《Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan》 Book 1 - 1 – Depending on each other for survival Book 1 Chapter 1 C Depending on each other for survival Yuwen Huaji stood straight up on themand deck of a warship, his eyes scanned both sides of the canal. It was not dawn yet. Thentern light of these five huge warship overshadowed the moon and the stars in the sky. Just like under the rising of his Yuwen n, thendlords[1] of the South had also lost the glory of their former days. Yuwen Huaji was in his thirties; tall, thin, with long arms and legs, but his face looked old with repressed emotion, looked cold and detached. His pair of eyes was immeasurably deep, giving others the impression that he was a very cold and ruthless man, while striking fear in their hearts with his domineering air. These five warships were built under the personal supervision ofte Chancellor Yang Su during the founding of the Sui Dynasty; they were called the Five-Fang Battleships. Each ship had five decks, with total height reached twelve zhang [unit of length, 1 zhang approx. 3m or 10ft]. Each ship could amodate eight hundred soldiers. The five main sails were fully open, the ships glided on the water as fast as runaway horses, heading toward Jiangdu [county level city in Yangzhou, Jiangsu] further downstream of the canal. Yuwen Huajis eyes caught sight of the top of the pce towering beyond the treetops lining the bank; it was one of more than forty pces built by Yang Guang, the Emperor Yang of Sui [569-618, reigned 604-618], along the river to be his imperial residences. When Emperor Yang of Sui ascended the throne, to link the North and the South, hemissioned the people to dig the canal. Whether it was for military or economic purposes, there was indeed a practical need in linking the North and the South. However, carrying outrge-scale construction, building imperial residences, and nting willow trees along the river, were a major waste of manpower and resources. Zhang Shihe, his trusted aide, who was standing behind him, leaned forward and respectfully said, We will arrive at Jiangdu before daybreak. If in this trip Zongguan [lit. chief manager] manage to obtain The Secret to Long Life and present it to His Majesty, it would indeed be a great merit. A mysterious smile escaped from the corner of Yuwen Huajis mouth; he said indifferently, His Holiness is fascinated with immortality technique concocted by the Daoist School[2]; it is indeed ludicrous. If there really is this pill of immortality, there ought to be immortals long ago, but looking at former sages of the Daoist School, which one did not avoid death? If it were not that this book is woven out of ck [or mysterious] gold thread, impervious of water and fire, we can randomly find someone to make a fake one and muddle our way through. Zhang Shihe said with augh, After more than ten years of open enquiries and secret search His Holiness has discovered that this book has fallen into the hand of Mountain-Pushing Hand Shi Long, who is regarded as the number one expert of Yangzhou. Funny thing is, that Shi Long obtained the book with an extravagant hope that he wouldnt die, yet he will definitely die. It is indeed extremely ironic. Yuwen Huaji let out a cold snort and muttered Shi Longs name under his breath. Immediately the blood in his body was boiling. Over the years, due to his high position, he rarely fought hand to hand with anybody. Now the opportunity has finallye. Great General Jiao Xie, under the Sky King [orig. fill the sky king] Wang Xuba, leading a dozen highly-skilled martial art experts under hismand, was speeding along the Yangtze River, destroying the tranquility of the river banks. Wang Xuba was one of the militia leaders who wished to topple Sui Emperor from his rule over thend under the heaves [i.e. the whole China]; he had considerable fame and power. Since Yang Guang assumed the title Emperor, because he always strived to achieve extraordinary things, he repeatedly conducted military expeditions abroad. Furthermore, he indulged in a life of luxury, building numerous pces and gardens, and went on inspection tour everywhere; hence he indiscriminately levied heavy taxes and made the people endured unspeakable hardship. As a result, robbers sprang up everywhere, those with power rose up to dere themselves kings. Sui Dynasty could no longer return to the grandiose of its founding days. In that darkest hour just before dawn, outside the city of Yangzhou, which was established as the capital of Jiangdu County by the Sui Dynasty, lots of ships and boats, big and small, were moored on the dock upstream of the Great River. Specks ofntern lights filled the air, carrying with it some kind of unspeakable destion in the midst of bustling atmosphere! Yet Jiao Xies mind was loaded with the antique jade piece in his bosom, a jade piece carved with two characters wan sui [lit. ten-thousand years, long live!] It was the well-known treasured jade belonging to the Great General Shi Wansui of the founding of the Sui Dynasty. In those days, because he listened to nderous report, the first Sui emperor Yang Jian [541-604, reigned 581-604] deposed Yang Yong as the Crown Prince and set up Yang Guang in his stead. Shi Wansui was implicated and died of injustice. The minister who searched and confiscated his house was Yang Su. This Yang Su was perhaps the most influential minister at that time. He went to war left and right, and triumphed in every battle; his merit was even more earth shattering than his Lord, hence he was at the receiving end of considerable suspicion and jealousy of the Emperor Wen Di [regnal name of Yang Jian]. Actually, Yang Su himself was unlike his contemporaries; he did not take part in conspiracy of rebellion, in amassing weapons, army provisions, wealth and riches; therefore, when not long afterwards Yang Su fell ill and died, and Emperor Wen Di wiped out his nsmen in one night, the Emperor failed to find Yang Sus treasure-trove. Henceforth there was a rumor that whoever could find the Duke Yangs Hidden Treasure would be able to unify the world [again, i.e. China]. And now the treasured jade has appeared, it has be an important trail in tracking down the treasure trove. Seven days ago, somebody found this piece of jade in a pawnshop in Danyang [county, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu]. As soon as Wang Xuba received the news, he sent out his men everywhere to track it down for hundreds of li [1 li is approx. 1/2km or 1/3 of a mile] before he was able to zero in on his target. Whats hard to understand was that if the pawnshop did indeed obtain the treasure, where were the other articles? Why was it that only this lightweight and well-known piece of jade managed to get out and thus revealed the secret of the treasure? Right this moment, Jiao Xies wandering mind abruptly came back to reality, for just beyond the ce where the Great River met the canal, he saw the dark shadow of the sail, as well as thentern lights of the fiverge Five-Fang Battleships. Jiao Xies heart was shaken; immediately he waved his hand, signaling his men to leave the riverbank and entered the forest next to the shore. Just east of Yangzhou city wall, there was a manor abandoned to thickets and undergrowth. For the most part the structure had already been worn down by years of disrepair. Eroded by the wind and the rain, invaded by termites, it was practically ready to copse. Only one small brick room on the corner, under roof tiles full of holes, covered by wooden board, could barely be used for shelter. From inside the dark room came the noise of someone moaning in pain, followed by the sound of a body rolling against the floor. A voice that sounded like it belonged to a child called out softly, Xiao Ling! Xiao Ling! [Little Ling] Is it still painful? After more groaning, another young voice replied, That damn Yan Laoda [boss, leader of a (usually criminal) gang], its really awful. Ay! Next time we have the goods, we must not go to that dead grass to do business. Not only he is mean and depressed prices, he still have to tell that dog-thief Yan Laoda. I just wanted to keep half a word hidden from him, and had to suffer extreme beating. The speakers were two street urchins who lived at that broken-down house. Their parents and family were fleeing the war and were killed by robbers, hence they became orphans. Two young boys met by chance and hit if off immediately, henceforth they depended on each other for survival, their rtionship was closer than real siblings. The slightly older one, Kou Zhong, turned seventeen that year, the younger one was called Xu Ziling, he was barely sixteen. Kou Zhong crawled over on the woven mat on the floor in the dark toward Xu Ziling, trying tofort him, Its alright as long as you are not beaten till your hands and feet are maimed. Even if he, Yan Laoda is as crafty as a ghost, he will suffer our wrath. Hey, once he drank the water to wash our, two Yangzhou dragons, feet, as soon as we can grab hold of two more piece of silver, we will have enough travel expenses to renounce the dark and seek the light; we can join the militia. Disappointed, Xu Zilingy down on the floor, while stroking his still burning jaw. Actually, how much more do we need? he asked, I really dont want to see that Yan Laodas crafty face anymore. A bit awkward, Kou Zhong replied, Hey, we still need two taels [unit weight, approx. 50g (modern) or 1/16 of a catty (old)] and a half, a total of twenty-five qian [unit weight, 1/10 of a tael] to go. Xu Ziling sat up in shock, his voice breaking, Didnt you say a tael and a half? Howe now it is two taels and a half? With a deep sigh Kou Zhong said, Actually, how much more money we still need is not a big deal, the most disappointing thing is that Peng Xiaocai who failed to live up to expectations; only two, three times, and he is already fixed by the authority. And then he got excited as he grabbed Xu Zilings shoulders and said, But dont worry, when I went to Chun Feng Lou [Spring Breeze Inn, lou refers to two-story building] to steal something to eatst night, I heard people say that nowadays the most powerful one is Li Zitong. The valiant generals under him are as numerous as the cloud, such as Bai Xin and Qin Chaowen, who are top experts of the Wulin [martial art] world. Recently they subdued another militia army led by Zuo Xiaoyou; their fame and power are flourishing even more. Doubtful, Xu Ziling asked, Didnt you say earlier that the most formidable is Peng Xiaocai? And after him it was Yang Gongqing, who once defeated Yang Guangs army in a surprise attack? Howe now it is suddenly Li Zitong? Other than he, you also mentioned some Li Hongzhi, Hu Liumiao, Wang Deren, and so on; what roles are they ying? Obviously Kou Zhong was unable to answer his question. He hummed and hawed, and then with a sheepish smile he said, In this whole wide world we only have each other, brothers; if you dont believe me, whom would you believe? How can I point out a ck road for you to take? Based on my insight, I am sure we will be able to pick the most promising militia army. When we gain the whole world, based on our, two boys, vision andpetence, I, Kou Zhong, will be, at least, the Prime Minister, and you will definitely be a great general. With a bitter smile Xu Ziling said, Merely Yan Laoda is able to beat us that we cannot crawl up; how can I have thepetence to be a great general? Puffing his chest, Kou Zhong said, Thats why I force you to eavesdrop Bai Lao Fuzis [old master/teacher] lecture every day; also go to peek and steal martial art skill from under therge tree by Shi Longs training field. Vision andpetence must be fostered; we will definitely be a pinnacle of virtue and ability. At least we can go back to be a state official in Yangzhou. When that timees, Yan Laoda will be in big trouble. With a deep frowned Xu Ziling said, Right now I am hurting really bad, Bai Lao Fuzi is as boring as watching bird hatching eggs. How about early in the morning tomorrow? After thinking about it for a while, Kou Zhong yielded, Ill let you go tomorrow, but you must take care of the early morning meal first. I want to eat the veggie steamed bun from Zhen Saos [sister-inw] graceful hands. Xu Ziling groaned andy back down on the mat. [1] From the dictionary:nd-owning ss, esp. during Wei, Jin and North-South dynasties. [2] From the dictionary: Daoist School of the Warring States Period (475-221BC), based on the teachings of Laozi (c. 500BC) and Zhuangzi (369-286BC). Part 2 Weed, ck, Anh, Yan, you are wee. Grundle, from what I read, you are doing pretty well. I like your sentences better than mine. Honest. I guess its true that oftentimes we are our own worst critic. Sirius, what weed said. Weed, thanks for getting it. Dragonsense, I didnt say it was the entire chapter, did I? My n is to do regr updates, every 2-3 days (or so ), the pace I amfortable with. This is marathon, not a sprint, so I dont want to burn out too early in the game. DongBin, you said it yourself, its sensible , so the hard work part is a risk I am willing to take. Heres some more of Chapter 1. Expect another update in 2-3 days. Because the whole world was in chaos, thieves and robbers sprang up everywhere, everybody felt insecure; the first to prosper was naturally the dozen or so martial art schools and Taoist monasteries in the city. [Trantors note: in this book, the term tian xia - nd under heavens or the whole world refers to China.] Speaking about prestige, the one regarded as the foremost was Shi Long Martial Arena [actually literal trantion would be field], which was personally founded by Yangzhous number one martial expert, the Mountain-Pushing Hand Shi Long. For thest ten years or so Shi Long rarely managed the affair of the training field, everything was taken care of by his disciples. But since the martial school still bore his name, people were stilling in unending stream from far and near, attracted by the schools reputation. Both in internal and external skills, Shi Long had already reached first-ss master level; otherwise, how could his famous reputation not see decline for thest several decades? This man had a good character, did not marry, and lived alone in a small vige courtyard at the outskirt of the city. Without having to set a foot outside, his disciples regrly delivered daily necessities. All day long he spent his time racking his brain to decipher the Taoists book of treasured wisdom, The Secret to Long Life. ording to the ancient legend passed on orally from one generation to the next, this book originated from Huangdis [Yellow Emperor, mythological emperor of China, c. 2697-2597BC] master, Guang Chengzi; it was written in oracle bone script, very deep and difficult to understand. Among former sages who have reviewed the book, although there was nock of talents who understood the heavens, yet no one has ever able to master the subject or decipher the secret. There were a total of 7,400 characters in the book, but only about 3,000 or so characters could be considered understandable. The book was densely packed with annotations made by the people who have reviewed it, but more often than not, these notes were even more confusing than the original text. Fortunately, there were seven diagrams of human figure, all with different postures, and all were annotated with symbols, for example, red dots, arrows, et cetera. These symbols seemed to be telling some kind of Taoist cultivation method; but without understanding it, one must not practice it. If one hastened to circte his inner qi [chi, vital energy] ording to some of these symbols, immediately his qi and blood would boil, followed by fire deviation. It was extremely dangerous. Shi Long has been sitting in front of this book day and night for three full years, but he gained nothing still; just like having a treasure chest in front of him, but there was no key to open the door. This particr day he was meditating, when suddenly warning signal was ring out in his mind. No matter what he could not focus his attention to the book. While he was deep in thought, a dry cough was heard from the main hall outside his room. Shi Long hurriedly put the treasured book in his bosom, while myriads of thought shed through his mind. He sighed and then said, Noble guest honors me with your presence, pleasee in and drink a cup of hot tea! But the other party did not respond until he arrived just outside the door. It was only then did Shi Long realize that the visitor was also a first ss martial art master. By this time Jiao Xie has arrived at a forest just due north of the city; apanied by his men, they jumped down their mounts and unleashing their martial art skills they entered the forest. Going over a small hill, they saw a broken-down temple down below. Two of his men appeared, one of them came near and whispered in Jiao Xies ear, The target tarried in the temple the whole night, he did not even step out of the temple gate; apparently he is waiting for someone else. Jiao Xie thought for a moment, and then he gave his orders. His men spread out to surround the temple. Only then did Jiao Xie fly down. Reaching the gate, he said in a loud voice, Life-Snatching Saber Jiao Xie, serving under the Sky Kings banner, received the Sky Kings order to ask Miss for guidance. Bang! The already dpidated temple gate suddenly shattered into pieces that flew everywhere, while at the same time a womans figure appeared at the door. Jiao Xie did not expect the opposite partys response was both swift and fierce; his heart was shaken. His hand immediately reached the hilt of his life-snatching saber, which has helped him kill the enemy and gain victory over and over again. The woman was wearing snow-white warrior outfit. With her outstanding good looks she stood with a sword in her hand. There was a bamboo rain hat on her head, tied under her chin with a strip of cotton cloth, covering her charming face above her fragrant lips, yet from the exposed part of her lower jaw, people could tell that she was indeed a rare beauty. This woman was rather tall, with some a-crane-among-a-flock-of-chicken kind of proud and arrogant attitude. The exquisiteness and well-proportioned features, and the beauty of her physique were almost indescribable. Especially impressive was a small mole, like a speck of paint, on the corner of her mouth, making her beauty even more mysterious. Jiao Xie was dumbstruck for half a day before regaining hisposure. He was about to speak when a voice more beautiful than the immortalsi [musical pipe with three reeds] came out of that womans cherry lips, You are finally here. Jiao Xie jumped in fright; for a moment he forgot about Duke Yangs treasure. Miss is waiting for us? he asked in astonishment. An iparably touching smile floated out of the corner of the woman in whites mouth. In a gentle voice she said, I am waiting for anybody toe to try my sword! Ring! The womans de left its sheathe. A thick cold sword aura engulfed Jiao Xie. Jiao Xie has roamed the Jianghu for more than half of his life, he was extremely experienced; just by looking at how the woman pulled the sword, he knew right away that he had met the most fearful swordsman in his life. Not daring to be negligence, he let out a wild roar while stepping back and pulling his saber, while shouting his order for his men to show themselves. There was neither hatred nor enmity between them, but as soon as they met they already used fierce and ruthless method to deal with each other. It was the first time he encountered such situation. The womans sleeve fluttered, the tip of her sword rose up suddenly and sharply. Biting cold killing aura immediately permeated the air. Jiao Xie knew he must never let the opponent gain the upper hand. With another wild roar both his body and his saber rushed forward together to be a blur of saber shadow, surging toward the opponent like a tide. By this time his men had rushed over to cheer him up. The woman in white let out a tender shout while rushing diagonally and leaped above Jiao Xies head. Like a lightning the sword struck down. Dang! Sword and saber collided. An irresistibly huge force swept pass through the saber, Jiao Xie felt as if a thunder has stricken the pit of his stomach. Unexpectedly he was unable to hold his stance and was forced to tumble back. Just a brief encounter like that and he had already suffered a big loss, it was also the first time Jiao Xie had ever experienced it. But he could also see that the strength behind the woman in whites sword was indeed overbearing. The woman in white did a somersault in the air andnded between two men standing at the edge of the battlefield. Her body spun, her sword flew, those two men were thrown out and were no longer able to get up. These men were used to have des on their heads and lick blood from their bodies, they were brave and fierce in battle; this situation has roused their vicious spirit instead, hence with no thought of personal safety they charged forward bravely. The woman in white let out a cold snort, the sword in her hand turned into hundreds and thousands sword shadows, like a ghost or a demon it easily prated the mens ferocious attack. Wherever the de reached, a man would fall down and die. No matter which part of the body was hit by the sword, the victim always dropped dead. As soon as the five viscera [i.e. heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys] were shocked by the sword aura and shattered, the person died. By the time Jiao Xie managed to regte his qi back, only four of his men remained, strenuously fighting to defend themselves; he could not refrain his blood from boiling as he threw himself to join the fray. Finally thest man fell. The tip of the sword rose up again to meet Jiao Xies Life-Snatching Saber head on. Jiao Xie gave everything he had. By the time he took the sixth sword strike, unexpectedly the refined steel of his Life-Snatching Saber was cut into two by the opponents sword. Jiao Xie was shocked. He threw the remaining saber in his hand toward the opponent as if it was a secret projectile, while at the same time raised his qi to push himself backward. With a tenderughter the woman spin her body around. Not only she evaded the shooting broken saber, she also threw her sword away. Jiao Xie could see very clearly the sword was flying toward him, and he still had time to think about different ways he could evade the sword, but by the time the sword passed through his body, he was still unable toe up with any response that might save his life. The woman in white casually pulled her sword from Jiao Xies body, as if what had just happened was nothing, and then she simply floated away. Those who attain can also aid the country, those who are poor can only support himself; Shi Xiong [brother, generic term] really aims to idealism. This kind of advancing opens the possibility of offense, retreating opens the possibility of defense thinking will enable one to conduct oneself with clear conscience. I, Yuwen Huaji, am full of admiration. Shi Long knew that the opposite party was reading his own inscription hanging on the main halls wall, and used it to mock him. However, his self-cultivation was profound; hence he did not take any offense. Still sitting calmly in his chair, he said tly, Turns out it is the preeminent martial art expert from Yuwen n, one of the four powerful ns of the current age. Isnt Yuwen Xiong busy serving His Holiness? How could you have time to leisurely visit an outsider, a ruralmoner like me? With his hands behind his back Yuwen Huaji strolled into the hall. He swept his gaze around the room first before finally he fixed his eyes on Shi Longs face, who was sitting as steady as a mountain. He sighed and said, I have Shi Xiong to me, the trouble you are giving me is not trivial. You obtained the treasured wisdom that can prolong life, which is the envy of every schr who practice Taoism, yet you did not even offer it to His Holiness, causing his dragon heart to be displeased. I receive official sry as a small pawn to run errands; I came here to see if Shi Xiong is a discreet person who understands the situation. Shi Long groaned in his heart that the situation was indeed serious. It was the first time that he ever dealt with someone from the Yuwen n. The master of the Yuwen family was Yuwen Shang, whose reputation was most resounding. Under him were precisely the four martial art masters; one of them was precisely this Yuwen Huaji, who was serving as the Imperial Bodyguard Zongguan of Emperor Yang of Sui, who was also the most well acquainted with Jianghu people. Rumor has it that after Yuwen Shang, he was the first person who mastered the secret family skill, ck [or Mysterious] Ice Energy. Its just that Shi Long has never expected that he looked this young, he seemed to be no more than thirty. Chapter 1, Part 3 ycb, anh, its good to see familiar names. weed, I just dont recall seeing your name during my other trantion projects. episode, you know, I dont know ... I tried wikipedia, no result. I tried googled it, only the TV adaptations appear. I think it was in the 1990s. Any help, anybody? Anyway, here is the end of Chapter 1. Since Wei, Jin and North-South dynasties[3], one distinguishing feature of influential families was what these families develop from generation to generation. The so-called high house or powerful house was entirely different [orig. as rivers Jing and Wei separate clearly] from themon popce. There was a saying, there is no poor and humble family in the upper ss, there is no influential family in the lower ss. Whether it was in economics or politics, thend-owning ss always enjoyed enormous privileges. By the time the founding emperor of Sui Dynasty unified the world, they started to use imperial examination to select government officials; it was only then did the dominance of powerful houses be somewhat broken. But powerful houses had not disappeared. The four powerful ns whose name shook the Jianghu were Yuwen n, Li n, Dugu n, and Song n. They had tremendous influence in economics, politics, as well as in Wulin. Among these four ns, only Song n belonged to the southern part of the country, having blood rtionship with Han people, dealing with orthodox schools. The other three ns were in the north, their ties with non-Han people were rather close. Yuwen n itself was a non-Han family, but they already embraced the Central ins culture, hence they were not considered foreigners anymore. Although Shi Longs mind was racing at the speed of lightning, on the surface he was still unruffled; he slyly said, This Ol Shi has always been wild and uncouth; he has never understood how to fawn. Moreover, he is a man that is amenable to coaxing but not coercion [lit. eats soft food but refuses hard food]. I cant say for sure, but perhaps when hard-pressed he might disregard everything and burn both jade andmon stone, and destroy the book altogether. Wouldnt Yuwen Xiong be at a loss on how to report to your master then? The two of them started fighting a battle of words, no more politeness, the atmosphere became very tense. After staring at Shi Long for quite some time, he said in astonishment, If Shi Xiong could destroy the treasured book, then that book must not be Guang Chengzis Secret to Long Life. Besides, destroying it is not a big deal, only with that kind of attitude, Shi Xiong would do more harm than good toward all schrs of the Taoist way. Perhaps disaster might even reach their parents and children. Arent two schools Taoism and Buddhism both emphasizing umtion of merit and being merciful? Shi Xiong is apparently going against these decrees! Shi Long could hear the threatening tone, clearly it was not an empty threat. Finally his countenance changed slightly. Right this split second when his attention was divided, Yuwen Huaji made his move; his punch split the air. The day before yesterday was the beginning of the Great Heat[4], the weather was blistering hot. But as soon as Yuwen Huaji made his move, the air in the hall immediately became iparably strange cold. If not for the fact that Shi Longs internal energy was refined and pure, perhaps his teeth would have been chattering. But it was not easy for him either. To counter a punch by this kind of master, one must distinguish clearly the gust of wind created by the fist and then break the enemys strike. But Yuwen Huajis cold strike seemed to be there yet it was not quite there. It seemed like the air all around was stirred up by him, it pressed on Shi Long from top, bottom, left, right, front and back. This kind of attack, where the target was not obvious, brought up the most annoying feeling: that he was helpless to counterattack. Yet Shi Long was still calmly sitting in his chair; his clothes, from top to bottom, began to swell. Bang! Two streams of qi collided, forming a vortex surging everywhere and all directions with Shi Long at its center. Table, chairs and other furniture were swept away like dead leaves, flipped over and broke down, and rolled away in all directions. Finally only Shi Long was left in the middle of the hall, still sitting in his chair. Astonishment appeared on Yuwen Huajis face as he held back his fist. Color like a wisp of red clouds appeared on Shi Longs old face, a sign that he was restraining himself. Yuwen Huaji roared inughter as he said, You deserve the title Yangzhous number one. Unexpectedly you are able to resist my fist relying on your pure qi to protect your body. Just based on this point, let me, Yuwen Huaji, advise you nicely. If Shi Xiong hand over the treasured book in good faith and from now on you go into hiding and live incognito, I would do my part ording to Jianghus principle, to let Shi Xiong have a horse and leave. I am saying this with good intention, without any malice whatsoever. Whether you will live in honor or die in disgrace, Shi Xiong may decide in just one word. Shi Long felt this was extremely ridiculous. After obtaining the Taoists Secret to Long Life, he thought about it so hard that his brain almost burst, yet he did not gain anything. In fact, his mind was more free and peaceful before he got the book. Now because of this book he has offended the current emperor, so much so that the Emperor seized this opportunity have his disciples killed. As if that was not enough, he also had all local martial art schools disbanded, to have this regions armed force annihted. Wasnt this precisely the disaster of cherishing treasure? Of course he was not stupid enough to believe that just because he handed over The Secret to Long Life, Yuwen Huaji would simply let him go on a horse. Based on Yang Guangs ruthlessness, how could he ever let him go free? Just now he had exchange one move with Yuwen Huaji. He could see very clearly that the opponents Mysterious Ice Energy was indeed some kind of fantastic, matchless swirling, cyclone-like force. Compared tomon straight [orig. there and back without dy] force, it was a lot more difficult to fathom, a lot more difficult to defend. But even though he knew that he knew, he still could not think of a way to break it. Shi Long was a well-known character in Jianghu. In this instant he suddenly hardened his heart, determined that even if he had to lose his life, he would not let this treasured book fall into Yang Guangs hand. Otherwise, due to the horde of talents under Yang Guangsmand, he might really be able to decipher the oracle bone script in the book and grasp the secret to long life, and then he would be an immortal tyrant. If that really happened, even ten thousand deaths would not absolve Shi Long from the me. Shi Long threw his head back andughed aloud. Afterughing twice, he shook his head and said with a sigh, This book is not brought together by karma, obtaining it only bring bad luck and harm. If Yuwen Xiong has the ability, you may take the book back to that muddled ruler and let him read. If he died from reading it, dont me me, Shi Long, for not giving you a fair warning. While speaking, he circted and gathered all the strength in his body. Immediately his ears could hear all faint noises within ten zhang circumference around him, even the sound of ants walking could not escape his hearing. Right away he could also hear the long, slow breathing of a dozen of people. Evidently the martial art experts surrounding him had deep cultivation both internally and externally. Yuwen Huaji looked up at the main beam in the middle of the hall; he sighed grimly and said, Not only Shi Xiong is not a discreet person who understands the situation, you are pigheaded as well. Only, remembering that it was not easy for Shi Xiong to make your name, I, Yuwen Huaji, am willing to let you gather your power, so that you can strike with all your strength, Shi Xiong may die with your eyes closed. Shi Long suddenly flew up from his seat; without his feet even touching the ground, he flitted across about a zhang of empty space, and in a blink of an eye he was already in front of Yuwen Huaji. Both palms pushed forward, like a typhoon his qi shot forward, immediately a tidal wave force surged toward the opponent. At the same instant, the chair he was sitting in a moment ago suddenly disintegrated and crumbled to the floor, a proof that when the two of them exchanged blows just now, Shi Long had already suffered defeat; he was unable to block Yuwen Huajis Mysterious Ice Energy so that the chair bore the consequences instead. Yuwen Huajis eyes shot lightning, but at the same time he was greatly stunned. Shi Long knew perfectly well that the strength of his own qi could not match the opponents Mysterious Ice Energy; why did he strike with such a direct force without leaving any leeway for himself? But right now he had no time to ponder about this question. When martial art experts exchange blows, victory and defeat were only a hairs breadth apart. Although he had confidence in himself that he could beat Shi Long easily, but if he lose this decisive opportunity, turning the table around would still be extremely difficult; on the contrary, he would face the danger of losing or even dying. Not daring to hesitate, he floated back three steps first, and then pushed forward again. His two fists separately shot toward the hollow of Shi Longs palms. Bang! Two streams of qi collided again; this time the resultant force shot upward, sending the tiles flying away, opening up arge hole on the roof. With Yuwen Huajis ability, he was still forced to floated backward and thus neutralized the incredible pressure from Shi Longs Mountain-Pushing Palm with which he criss-crossed the Jianghu unhindered. Shi Longs situation was even worse; he was jolted backward. Without his feet touching the ground, Yuwen Huaji spun around in a small circle, abruptly and swiftly, he suddenly arrived in front of the wall where Shi Longs back was crashing onto; like a bolt of lightning pped in an empty space a burst of energy wrapped around Shi Longs body, aiming toward his back. It came from a very clever angle that one could not help but gasped in amazement. Shi Long opened his mouth and a stream of blood shot out like an arrow toward the pit of Yuwen Huajis stomach; while at the same time he arched his back to receive Yuwen Huajis Mysterious Ice Energy strike directly. Yuwen Huaji was surprised that Shi Long would resort to such a strange tactic of destroying himself tounch an attack; hurriedly he stopped his body and bent his waist backward, dangerously missed the blood arrow by a hairs width. Shi Long groaned inwardly for the missed attack, but his whole body was jolted severely, the qi protecting his body was shattered, dozens of extremely cold Mysterious Ice Energy entered his back and invaded his inner core. Shi Long knew that it was the decisive moment whether he would be able to protect The Secret to Long Life or not; giving everything he had, he roared wildly while resolutely resist the powerful qi that was pulling him forward, and then rapidly he withdrew toward the wall behind him. As soon as Yuwen Huaji saw this, he knew something was amiss; quickly he straightened up his body. Gathering up all his strength, he sent out a punch through the air. But he was still one step toote. As soon as Shi Longs back bumped against the wall, a revolving trapdoor opened, carrying him into the other side. Crash! The trapdoor disintegrated, revealing another small room behind it, but there was no trace of Shi Long. Yuwen Huaji stayed calm; throwing himself to the floor, he pressed his ear against the ground. The sound of Shi Longs wild escape in the underground tunnel, which was also quickly fading away, entered his ear. [3] Between Han and Sui, c. 220-589. [4] The 12th of the 24 sr terms, 23rd of July to 6th of August. Check out Wikipedia if you want to know more, keyword sr term. Book 1 - 2 – Facing imminent catastrophe Book 1 Chapter 2 C Facing imminent catastrophe The City of Yangzhou gradually woke up. As soon as the city gate was opened at the mao hour [between 5-7am], traveling merchants, peasants, all kinds of people fell over each other to enter the city. The boats and ships that arrived the previous day already unloaded their cargo on the docks; they also took this time to deliver their goods into the city. All at the same time carriages and horses were moving together; hence it was so noisy. From Yangzhou going east down the Yangtze River, one could sail to Japan [lit. dwarf country], Ryukyu Inds, and Southeast Asia, making Yangzhou one of the nations most important transit centers to foreignnds; hence it was more bustlingpared to any other city. But today the atmosphere was a bit strange; there were arge number of officers and soldiers inside and outside the city. The crossing checkpoints were also a lot more stringent than usual, resulting in long queues. However, although everybody was burning with anxiety, nobody dared to open his mouth to grumble. Because anybody who was used to roam the Jianghu could see that mixed with local officials, there were not a few big men wearing the uniform of the Imperial Bodyguards. Unless one did not value his life anymore, who would dare to offend these tyrant Imperial Bodyguards from the Capital? There were a total of five markets in the city. The most flourishing one was the South Gate Market, which faced the Yangtze River. There were at least a few dozens stalls offering all kinds of food or food products, big and small. It was indeed an ideal ce for the would-be travellers, who were ready to embark their boats, to get their breakfast. Other than being an important hub, since ancient times Yangzhou has been well-known across the country for its prostitutes [̻ can either be prostitutes or fireworks]. Whether it was young master of rich merchant with ten thousand strings of cash in his belt, or self-proimed literary talent, romantic schr, or licentious swordsman, if they have not been here at least once, they could not be considered a romantic hero. [Trantors note: I dont think these people came to Yangzhou to enjoy fireworks.] Therefore, it was obvious why Yangzhou was flourishing. Among the food stalls in the South Gate Market, Ol Fengs vegetable and meat steamed bun [baozi] was the most famous. On top of that, the salesdy was Ol Fengs young mistress, Zhen Sao [lit. Sister-inw Zhen], who had countenance of a flower, face like the moon. She became the living advertising board to drum up business. By the time the Ol Feng brought out a tray full of steaming hot vegetable and meat steamed buns from the kitchen, the impatient customers who have been waiting outside immediately scrambled forward to hand over the money in their hands. While Sister-inw Zhen was busy and dripping wet with fragrant sweats, suddenly a big head belonging to a teenager stuck out from the crowd; with big smile on his face [orig. brows raised in delight and eyesughing] he said, Eight vegetable and meat steamed buns, please. Zhen Sao, how are you? It was Xu Ziling. Because he was afraid Ol Feng might see him, he deliberately hunched over that he was half as tall as the other people; his posture looked quiteical, actually. Fortunately his features were unusually charming; his eyes were long and lively, his nose straight and the bridge of his nose was quite high, his forehead wide, the corners of his mouth curled up in smile as bright as the sunshine. If not for his face was greasy and dirty, his clothes were shabby, plus he was beaten up by Yan Laoda that his face was blue and his lips swollen; so his appearance right now was quite unsightly, hence people did not have any reason topliment him. When Sister-inw Zhen saw him, the first thing she did was casting a worried look over at the Ol Feng and the evil first wife in the kitchen; seeing that they did not notice the situation over here, she was relieved. While serving the other customers, she pretended to protest coquettishly, No money yet you want to imitate other people buying steamed buns? With a forcedugh Xu Ziling said, Just a bit of dy, none will becking, tomorrow I will definitely pay you back. With the quickest movement Sister-inw Zhen grasped four steamed buns; after a slight hesitation she picked two more, and then wrapped everything nicely in paper, and stuffed it into his hands, while scolding him in low voice, This is thest time. Ay! Look how bad you have been beaten. Xu Ziling squealed in joy and withdrew from the crowd. Straightening up his back, his appearance looked a lot better instantly. Although he was very young, he had grown to be as big and tall as fully-grown men. His shoulders were wide, his waist narrow; its just that due to undernourishment he was rtively thin. Squeezing through a row of fruit and vegetable stalls, he bumped into Kou Zhong. Reaching into the bundle he grabbed a steamed bun and stuffed it into his mouth, while mumbling with his mouth full, Is it really thest time? Kou Zhong was a year older, but he was half a cun [a thumb, approx. an inch] shorter. His shoulders were wide, his upper arm bulging. He looked rather thick and solid. Although hecked Xu Zilings elegance, he had a broad face and big ears. All in all, he carried a strong masculine aura, with a free and happy-go-lucky attitude, which was unusually attractive; his eyes were deep but looked quick-witted. In short, he was in no way inferior to Xu Ziling, making people believed that in the future this kid would definitely not be a nobody [orig. an object in the pond]. However, his clothes were patched on the east and stitched in the west, it was even more filthy than Xu Zilings; in fact, it was just as bad as a little beggar. Xu Ziling was eating his third steamed buns. Suddenly he frowned and said, Dont you say that Zhen Sao is basically a good person? Nowadays, how many people in Yangzhou are as kind-hearted as she is? Too bad her parents owed money, plus her old dad considered money as important as life, so that he sold her to the Ol Feng as a mistress. Laotianye [God, Heaven, lit. old master of the sky] must be blind. By this time the two of them already left the market and reached the main street, mingled among the stream of people heading out of the city via the South Gate. With his tummy full, Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder; ncing to the left and right, he said, Fat sheep are especially many today, it is best to find a bit older, with gorgeous clothes, walking alone, looks like he had a lot of loads in his mind, and wont even know if he loses his wallet. That kind of old idiot. With a bitterugh Xu Ziling said, That time it was you, this muddled egg, who wanted to find an old man as a target. And then when you saw him scrambling on the ground and crying out to heaven, you pretended to pick it up and give it back to him, in the end I was beaten up by Yan Laoda. Kou Zhong was unabashed, Dont forget that I only wanted to return half of that old mans money; it was you who wanted make that man happy and insisted that I should stick to the original n and return the whole thing to him, and now you are ming me? Hey! But as thieves, we also have principles, so we can be considered good men. Ha! Look! Xu Ziling followed his gaze, and just happen to catch sight of a fifty-something old schr, walking in the direction of the city gate. He was well dressed, but had an anxious look on his face, as he walked hurriedly with his head down. He fit Kou Zhongs description perfectly. How could there be such a coincidence? The two of them stared nkly at the old man, and then they noticed that the back of his clothes was bulging, apparently he carried his purse hidden on his lower back. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Whether well meet with thedy luck or not, we only need to see whether this fellow looks impressive but is worthless or not. Xu Ziling anxiously said, I really need to pay Zhen Sao back. As the two of them hurried run after the old man, suddenly they saw a toon of soldiersing from the opposite direction. They were greatly shocked and quickly turned around and entered a small alley, and from there they run across toward another alley, which lead to another street big enough for sedan chair, which ran parallel to the southern wall of the city. The two of them plopped down to sit by the wall. After sighing for their bad luck, Kou Zhong came up with another idea, Maybe wed better try entering the imperial examination. Although the material we knowing from eavesdropping Bai Lao Fuzis [see Chapter 1] lecture, at least its better than those good-for-nothing people in ss who pay a lot of money to listen to stories. If our names make the list, not only we wont need travel expenses anymore, we dont need to take the risk of a long and difficult trek; well be high-ranking officials. With eyes zing with fire Xu Ziling said, Joining the militia is your idea, and now you want to enter imperial examination. You think it is as easy as taking a peek at those youngdies from the Spring Breeze Courtyard [i.e. brothel]? After all ... Kou Zhong suddenly elbowed his ribs and winked. Xu Ziling looked up toward the street, and saw the old schr was actually also running away in panic just like them. Even when he looked toward them, he did not seem to see them but just hurrying along toward the big street. The two of them were ecstatic at this unexpected turn of events, they sprang up and ran after him. Time for the operation. The old schr was such in a hurry that he did not even notice the clothes on his back was cut. Just now he wanted to leave the city via the South Gate, but was scared by the tight border security that he drew back. He knew it was not suitable for him to go out, yet he was afraid to return home; calling on a friend, he was even more afraid he would implicate other people. While he was hesitating, a shadow shed, someone was barring his way. While the old schr was shaking in shock, more men appeared from left and right and seized him that he was not unable to move a single step. The one blocking his way was Yuwen Huaji and one of his men. With a smile on his face this martial art expert from the Yuwen n walked over toward the old schr. After seizing him up from top to bottom several times, he said in a bored tone, Isnt this gentleman Jiangdus rising poetry and literature schr Tian Wen Laoshi [teacher]? I heard Laoshi is a good friend of Shi Long Shifu [simply a respectful form of address for older men]. Just now we took the liberty of paying an official call on Tian Laoshis respected residence. Unexpectedly, without suspecting anything, we managed to dredge up Shi Shifus body from the bottom of the well. And now Tian Laoshi seems to be in a hurry to leave; I wonder what was the reason? Tianwens countenance was changed greatly; he could not find anything to say. By this time the people passing through the street knew that something was not right, but seeing that among the men surrounding Tian Wen was their own captain of the local garrison, who would dare to be implicated by interfering? Meanwhile, the two men grabbing Tian Wen from both sides did not stay idle either; their hands were busy searching Tian Wens whole body, but they were unable to find the book that was supposedly in his possession. Zhang Shihe personally did the search. Before long he discovered that the back of Tian Wens clothes had been cut with a sharp weapon. "Not good!" his countenance changed, "The book is gone!" Yuwen Huajis eyes shed with cold rays as he called out in deep voice, "Chen Shoubei!" [Trantors note: Shoubei practically means on garrison duty. I am not sure his actual military rank, although earlier I said captain.] Chen Shoubei, who normally tyranize people, quickly stepped forward. As his eyes met Yuwen Huajis, his knees buckled and he dropped down kneeling on the ground, "Lowly officers here!" Yuwen Huaji coldly said, "Seal the city gates immediately. While you are at it, catch all thieves and local ruffians in the city for me. If we cant find the thing that His Holiness wants, they can forget about keeping their lives." Chapter 2, Part 2 Anh, Grundle, ck, you are most wee. Thanks for stopping by. SzFong, thanks for the info. I wouldnt know because I never watch any adaptation. CFT, howe you guys are so knowledgeable? Its one of the reasons I keep tranting, because even if I dont know much, you guys will step in and make necessary correction. Thanks. Here is the end of Chapter 2. If I can maintain my pace, well have Book 1 finished before Christmas. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were sitting side-by-side in a secluded alley by the East Gate, staring nkly at the book in front of them. Deeply disappointed, Xu Ziling said, "Next time we want to steal, we must never target those that look like a school teacher. This weird book with undecipherable handwriting is more difficult to understand than the Heavenly Book [mythical book of heavens]. Arent you the Zhong Shaoye [young master] who often brags about your great erudition and schrship? Tell me, what is this written on the top?" Kou Zhong proudly said, "How can I be like you, a mere kid without learning or skills? This book must be a secret martial art manual from the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors era [the earliest system of Chinese historiography]. We can train it, we will be unequalled under the heavens that even Shi Shifu will have to step down gracefully. Just look at these diagrams of human body, this is the secret to circte qi along the channels. Ha! This time wee across a treasure. Look! Did you notice the marvelous quality of the paper?" Xu Ziling could not stopughing. "Dont blow your horn too loud. Just read a couple of characters let me hear it. I want to see how good your education is." Kou Zhong has always been proud of his age and experience; his eyes were gleaming as he said, "If somebody could write it, then there must be somebody else who could understand it. Let us find an old schr with the most learning, well ask him to interpret these strange characters for us. Besides, we, the two dragons of Yangzhou, have specific responsibility to train martial art. This is called dividing up the work in coboration, each on in his proper ce. Do you understand?" With disappointment in his voice Xu Ziling said, "Do you think you are the Zongguan [see chapter 1] of Yangzhou? Who would listen to us and do our bidding? Right now we, the two snakes of Yangzhou, have a more pressing problem at hand: food. Looks like we will have to take the money we save for traveling expense and exchange it for a couple of steamed buns to feed our tummy. Ill say it is a bit more practical." Kou Zhongughed aloud. He stood up, hid the book in his clothes again, stretched, and said, Let me, Zhong Shaoye, take care of lunch. Come! Lets go home first to get some money, and then we go to the docks outside the city to do some damn business that requires no capital. Afterwards we run away as far as we can; otherwise, if that stinky Laoda discovered that we have some treasured book in our bosom, we will be in very big trouble. Recalling the fierce beating he received the previous day, Xu Ziling broke out in sweats. He sprang up and sneakily followed Kou Zhong back to the abandoned courtyard, their home. Yuwen Huaji was sitting in the main hall of the Zongguan Mansion, drinking tea; serving him was Yangzhou Zongguan, Yuchi Sheng. Not only these two men were well-acquainted with each other, the rtionship between them was more than casual. Before Yang Jian established the Great Sui Dynasty, he was a high-ranking minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty [557-581]. Later on, after Emperor Xuan of Zhou [? not sure about this one], Yuwen Yun, died of illness, Yang Jian colluded with Internal Historian Physician Zheng Yi and Imperial Justice Physician Liu Fang. Arguing that the sessor of the throne, Yuwen Shan, was still underage, they acted in the pretense of following imperial order by calling Yang Jian back to the imperial court to take over the government. One yearter, Yang Jian forced Emperor Jing to abdicate, and proimed himself as the new Emperor. Henceforth, the Yuwen ns Northern Zhou world now belonged to the Yang n. Yet because Yuwen ns influence was deep-rooted, although bing the Emperor, Yang Jian was unable topletely uproot the Yuwen n. By the time his son Yang Guang became the Emperor, Yuwen n rose up in power again. Strictly speaking, although on the surface the Yuwen n was loyal toward the Sui Dynasty, there was a hatred buried deep in the deepest of their hearts. After Yang Jian usurped the throne, there were three separate attempts by different high-ranking officials who supported the Yuwen ns Northern Zhou to rise up in rebellion, namely Xiangzhous Zongguan Yuchi Zhou, Zhengzhous Zongguan Sima Xiaonan, and Yizhous Zongguan Wang Qian. These people did not have any family rtionship with the Yuwen n, they were simply loyal to the royal family of the Northern Zhou. One of them, Yuchi Sheng, was precisely Yuchi Shengs paternal uncle; hence the reason these two people had close rtionship. Therefore, even when talking about secret matters, they did not have the slightest bit of worry. Yuwen Huaji sighed and said, This book is really very important. I have prepared some experts. As soon as we obtain the treasured book, we will pretend that we manage to break the secret, and let that incapable ruler train it. I guarantee that within three months, he will die of the training. Who would have thought that there are many twists and turns in getting that thing that ought to be in our hands right now? We cant even make a fake copy. With a cold snort Yuchi Sheng said, Even if the treasured book did not exist, I am afraid it would be difficult for the Yang n to protect their throne. The Heaven blesses the Great Zhou. Ever since that incapable ruler usurped the throne, internally he screws taxes out of the people by force, he carries outrge scale constructions; externally he engage in wars of aggression at will, engaging the Korean Goryeo in the military expedition to the east. Three battles and three defeats. And now rebel armies are everywhere. As long as we can seize this opportunity, we can restore the Great Zhous glory of the past. Yuwen Huajis eyes were gleaming with cold rays; he said in deep voice, Yang Guangs days are numbered. What I worry about is the other three powerful ns, especially the Li n that must not be taken lightly. Their n Leader Li Yuan[1] is the nephew of Empress Dowager Dugus maternal aunt; thats why they enjoy the Yang ns trust much more than our Yuwen n. The longer we fail to wipe out the three powerful ns, our Great Zhous restoration will undoubtedlye across considerable resistance. After a short pause, he continued, In regards to foreign power, Turkic ethnic group[2] is the biggest threat. Right now the rebel armies are allying themselves with Turkic people to borrow their influence, and thus increasing the Turkics power. Moreover, Turkics four masters martial art skill has reached perfection. Thinking about it indeed makes one anxious. Yuchi Sheng said, I am under the impression that you dont have to worry about the Li n. Although Li Yuan is Yang Guangs maternal cousin, just based on the fact that this man is giving favor to a lot of people far and wide, and thus he made friends with heroes everywhere, Yang Guang is very jealous of him. Right now Li Yuan is too busy to defend himself. As long as we can n our move, deepening Yang Guangs suspicions toward Li Yuan, we might be able to kill him with borrowed knife; hence we will reap the fishermans benefit. A smile appeared in Yuwen Huajis eyes. As he was nodding his praise, Zhang Shihe came in to report, We have a bit of progess! Yuwen Huaji and Yuchi Sheng were greatly delighted. Zhang Shihe said, ording to Tian Wens confession, before he was arrested, he came across two ruffians, about fifteen, sixteen years old. It seems like these two boys were the ones who stole the book. Yuwen Huaji happily said, And Shihe must have had investigated these two ruffians clearly; thats why you came to report. Zhang Shiheughed, That is correct. These two boys, one is called Kou Zhong, the other Xu Ziling. They are Yangzhous most famous pickpockets. Their boss is called Yan Kuan, right now he is in our custody to help us finding those two fellows. Yuchi Shengughed aloud and said, Thats an easy thing to do. Unless they can grow wings, as long as they are still in the city, they wont escape our grasp. Yuwen Huaji breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in his chair, as if the treasured book has already been in his hands. The two boys had not had any chance to get the dozen or so five-zhu [1/24th of a tael] coins stringed together, when Xu Ziling, who was on the lookout, saw the dejected Yan Laoda being dragged by a dozen or so big men toward the abandoned garden. Xu Ziling was very sharp; although he was greatly shocked, he knew he had to hasten quietly to the rendezvous point with Kou Zhong, and then together they slipped into another broken down room that only have three remaining rotten walls. They hid inside a hole in the ground, which they made especially whenever they wanted to avoid Yan Laoda. It was covered with a fake floor, made of wooden nks, strewn with fallen leaves, sand and stones, leaving only a small crack for venttion purpose. Crash, bang, thud, crack! Noise of overturned wooden chest and falling object unceasingly entered their small nest. Soon after they heard Yan Laodas bawling, apparently he was being severely beaten up by those men. Although they really wished someone would beat Yan Laoda to death, but listening to his situation right now, they still could not bear it. They were greatly puzzled as well. What had happened? After all, in Yangzhou Yan Laoda had a bit of reputation and power, he had more than twenty brothers as his underlings. More recently, he took the Hall Master of the Bamboo Flower n, Chang Ci, as his father-inw. But in front of these men, he seemed to be even lowlier than a pig or a dog. A grim and sad-sounding voice was heard from further down the path, Go search! Hearing this, the two dragons of Yangzhou immediately turned into two coiling snakes as they tried to curl up as small as possible, did not even dare to take half a breath. Yan Laodas trembling voice was heard, Gentlemen [orig. daye C big master], please give me a bit more time, we will definitely get the book back, I can guarantee with my head ... aaahhh! Evidently if he was not punched, then he must have been kicked. Footsteps were heard very close to the hole, followed by someone calling out, Still cant find them? Yan Laodas voice was hoarse with pain as he was begging for mercy, Please give me another chance, these two wretched kids must have gone to Shi Longs martial art training field to peek at people training martial art there. Aahhh! The grim and sad-sounding voice spoke, We closed Shi Longs martial art training field this morning; there is not much to look at over there. A short pause, and then, I want four of you to stay here, wait for their return. And you, this scum, take us to all the ces those kids might stroll to one by one. Quick, drag him up! The footsteps died away. Inside the hole, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; they both see the others face was as white as a ghost. Almost at the same time both of them recalled the dark culvert heading out of the city by the East Gate. Right now that was their only hope. [1] Personal name of first Tang emperor, Gaozu, 566-635, reigned 618-626. [2] Turkic people are collection of ethnic group that live in northern, eastern, central, and western Asia, northwestern China, and parts of eastern Europe, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_peoples Book 1 - 3 – Far and away from Yangzhou Book 1 Chapter 3 C Far and away from Yangzhou Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stripped stark naked. First, they washed their clothes clean by the creek, then they spread out the clothes on the thickets next to the bank to let it dry in the afternoon sun. They put The Secret to Long Life on a rock. Finally they shouted gleefully as they dive into the stream to wash away the grimes and the stink from crawling inside the dark culvert. They were still kids, after all. After running for their lives to this forest on a hill, about seven or eight li [1 li is approx. 1/2km or 1/3 of a mile] from Yangzhou city wall, they were so exhausted that they did not feel like moving anymore. Also, thinking that they were already far away from danger, their moods turned a lot better. While they were ying and singing happily in the water, suddenly they hear tender snorting from the creeks bank. At first they were startled and scared, and quickly looked at the direction of the noise. But then they saw a woman wearing snow-white clothes, with a bamboo rain hat on her head, was standing gracefully on the shore. With her pair of cold eyes that was hidden behind a white gauze veil, she looked at them, sizing them up, without any care whatsoever that they were stark naked. The two boys squealed in terror and quickly ducked inside the water, instinctively their hands went down to cover their lower parts. With a squeaky voice Xu Ziling cried out, Its improper to look, Dajie [big sister] please avert your noble eyes; spare us! Kou Zhong also cried out, Looking once you have to pay one wen [1/10 of a tael, approx. 0.5gram (of silver)]. Miss already looked at least a hundred times; even with fifty or perhaps sixty percent rate, you need to pay us about a hundred copper coins and then you may go. An ice-cold smile appeared on the corner of the woman-in-whites mouth. Little demon is asking for it, she said lightly. Stretching out her lily-white hand, which was as slender as a spring scallion, she casually flicked her two fingers. Pop, pop! The two boys screamed in pain and fell down to the water. It was quite a while before they finally emerged from the water, still in a lot of pain. The woman-in-white spoke matter-of-factly, When Miss asks you a question, you answer with an honest answer; otherwise, you, these two little demons, will suffer more pain. By this time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have already withdrawn to the other side of the creek. But since they were still naked, they did not dare to crawl out of the water. Unable to neither advance nor retreat, they werepletely at a loss. Kou Zhong has always been able to see the wind and set his sails; therefore, he forced augh and said, Lowly ones know that we cannot not speak, and speak cannot not be honest. [I know it sounds awkward in English, but Chinese loves to use double negative.] Miss, please go ahead and ask. Seeing he was trying to talk bookish talk, yet his appearance was nondescript, the woman-in-white let out a cold snort and said, I ask you, what kind of guts you, the little demon, have? Xu Ziling was shocked. All along we, two brothers, have never known how to tell stories. Miss, you may ask us anything. The woman-in-white still maintained her wooden expression. With a voice as calm as the water she asked, Do you live near here? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. And then one nodded, the other shook his head. Another flick of her fingers, their knees went weak and they tumbled into the water again. As before, it was quite a while before they were able to struggle up, battered and exhausted. As if nothing had happened, the woman-in-white calmly said, If I hear one more lie, dont even think that you will be able to crawl up again. The two boys were very scared of the woman-in-whites ruthlessness, but they have already developed resilience from receiving Laoda, Yan Kuans bullying. With a forcedugh Kou Zhong said, Dashi [lit. great schr/bachelor/member of senior ministerial ss; I dont know how to trante this properly], you misunderstood. I nodded because I certainly live in my inws vige nearby. And he shook his head, because he lives in the city. Today this brother of mine especially went out of the city to have fun with me. So now Dashi can see that we are indeed innocent. Hearing the smooth talk and theughter, Xu Ziling hastily covered his mouth, afraid that he might provoke this evil Luocha [demon in Buddhism, as in Yu Luocha, White Haired Demoness]. But the woman-in-white remained unmoved. If I hear more flippant answer, Ill gouge your tongue out of your mouth. Why do you call me Dashi? Xu Ziling was afraid Kou Zhong might ramble, he busily said, Just because you are wearing long white robe like Guanyin Dashi [Goddess of Mercy], he is honoring Big Sister as Dashi. It is just a show of respect, there is no other meaning. At this point, this scene was really weird. An enigmatic woman as cold as ice and frost, coldly dealing with two stark naked boys, embarrassed and were in a difficult situation, hiding in the water. If an outsider was to witness this scene, even if he rack his brain until burst, he would not be able to guess the rtionship between them. The woman-in-whites eyes fell onto The Secret to Long Life lying on the rock by the shore. What is that? she asked. Not missing a single beat, Kou Zhong reverently and respectfully replied, That is the book of the sages that Bai Lao Fuzis [see Chapter 1] wanted us to study. Would Dashi like to read it? Evidently the woman-in-white did not know that it was a very important book, because the fact was that from the outside, this book was not much different from any other book. Therefore, she only took a couple of nces, and then her eyes were back to the two boys. Do you know this man Shi Long? she asked in a heavy voice. Seeing she no longer care about their secret manual, the two boys inwardly wiped the sweats from their foreheads, while scrambling to answer at the same time, Of course we do! Tell me then, the woman-in-white said, Why are his house and institution teeming with soldiers and officers? And Yangzhou city gates are all closed? Kou Zhong pretended to be surprised, Is there such thing? he said, We have been here since early in the morning catching fish. Ah! Xiao Ling, how are you going to go back to the city? Although Xu Ziling knew he was lying, looking at his serious manner[1], he almost believed it was true. Assuming a pained expression on his face, he eximed in shock, Mother is going to kill me. Suddenly he felt Kou Zhong nudged him; realizing his intention, he said, That wont do! I must return to the city immediately. Hey! Dashi, would you turn your back momentarily, so that we can go up and put our clothes on? The woman-in-white did not have any intention of turning her back to them. With a cold snort, without seeing how she moved, she was already deep inside the forest. The two boys slumped down into the water, and then they floated back up. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This stinking b1tch is really formidable. Someday after we master unrivalled martial art skill, I must strip her naked and look at her mothers body until I am satisfied. Xu Ziling was really afraid she mighte back, giving Kou Zhong a little push, they crawled up to the shore. She might be very ugly, he said with a wry smile, Anyway, you have seen her enough. After they were fully dressed, Kou Zhong hid the treasured book well, and then with a deep frown said, What crime did Shi Longmit anyway? Not only his martial art arena is closed, even his house is being raided. Xu Ziling said with a sigh, It seems like training martial art is useless. Lets roll! Every time I remember that bunch beating Yan Laoda, my heart rmed, my body leaps in fright. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, How can martial art skill be useless? Just look at my stepping on drynd technique. Ow! He only took two steps when he tripped on a stone and fumbled down that he had to crawl on all four. Xu Ziling doubled up inughter, and momentarily was not able to stand up. The two boys crouched inside a thicket on a knoll overlooking the lower reaches of Yangtze River. They were dumbstruck to see three big warships and hundreds of speedboats close to the city, inspecting all departing boats. Kou Zhong sucked in a breath of cold air, My grandpa! he gasped, That book of ours must be a Heavenly Book [see Chapter 2]. Xu Ziling whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, Would Zhong Shaoye lower your voice a bit so we wont rm them? Perhaps there are militia army mingle among them, otherwise, their number would not be that big. Kou Zhong rubbed his empty tummy. Suddenly he was hit by realization, If the river route is like that, I am afraid thend route is being closed as well; wed better find a ce to hide. Oh, my God! Isnt that the sound of dog barking? The two of them listened carefully, and their countenance changed drastically. It was obvious that the dog bark came from the direction of the creek. Now they could also hear the sound of hoof beats. They thought that if the dogs sensitive nose had already picked up their scent from their old hole in the ground, would that mean they were in a very big trouble? They both shuddered. And then with a scream they ran for their lives into the depth of the forest in the mountain. They ran over a small hill, but as they were rushing downhill, Xu Ziling tripped. He groaned and rolled downhill. Kou Zhong ran over and pulled him up, Hurry up! Xu Ziling said sadly, I cant walk anymore. Take the secret manual and go quickly! In the future when you have mastered matchless divine skill,e back and avenge me. No matter how fast we run, we cant outrun dogs legs and horses legs anyway. Right now I can try to divert the enemy; its your only hope to escape with your life. Kou Zhong did not even want to think about it. He lugged Xu Ziling toward the sparse wooded area ahead as he cried out, If we die, we die together; otherwise, how can we be considered brothers? Suddenly he had a brainwave. Changing direction, he ran toward the Big River [i.e. Yangtze]. By this time they could clearly hear the sound of barking dogs and the hoof beats. Xu Ziling cried out in horror, Are we going to throw ourselves into the river? Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong replied, This is the only way. As soon as we are in the water, you have to hold on tight to me no matter what. Otherwise, if the river rushes you back to Yangzhou, it would be like sending themb to the tigers mouth. Xu Ziling recalled the evil bunch who beat up Yan Laoda, he thought that drowning in the river sure beats being beaten to death. Without saying anything, he summoned every ounce of his strength, which was not much, and ran after Kou Zhong toward the cliff by the riverbank. Kou Zhong roared wildly. With both hands he grasped Xu Zilings hands and shouted, Dont look; just stake everything you have and jump. Lets get it over with. [1] Serious manner, orig. seven emotional states: joy, anger, anxiety, thought, grief, fear, fright. Chapter 3, Part 2 Szfong, Strawberry, Janger, Anh, Weed, you are wee. Chik, thank you very much! Now I have a reputation to keep. My fear is that I fail to live up to your expectation. CFT, thanks. The rumbling river down below sounded very loud from up above the cliff, making them utterly terrified. Aaahhhh ...! With a roar the two of them jumped from the cliff down to Yangtze River, more than ten zhang [1 zhang is approx. 10ft or 3m] below. The wind whooshed in their ears. Ssh! Ssh! One after another they both fell sessfully into the raging river and immediately sank into the water. In the strong current, they had to struggle hard to float to the surface. Xu Ziling started to see stars, while desperately trying to hold on to Kou Zhongs shoulders. Kou Zhong himself was not any better, sinking and rising, he drank a lot of river water, as the current brought them more than ten zhang downstream. Lets not talk about crossing the river, trying to keep their heads above the water proved to be almost impossible. While they were thinking that this time their little lives would be gone, a fishing boat crossed the current toward them. A long rope flew out of the boat, urately coiled itself around Kou Zhongs neck. Actually, with Xi Zilings arms holding tight to him, Kou Zhong had already found it difficult to breathe; plus the river water unceasingly pouring into his nose and mouth. Now with the rope wrapped around his neck, he thought that the soldiers had finally got him. While he was crying inwardly, saying goodbye to the world, his ears heard the pleasant voice of the woman-in-white, Idiot! Why havent you held on to the rope? Kou Zhong was ecstatic. Freeing one hand, he desperately hung on to the rope. He felt a strong force transmitted via the rope. Miraculously the two of them were being pulled out of the water, and flew sideways toward the small boat. The two boys rolled along the deck like a pair of gourds, with only half of their lives remained. With one pull the woman-in-white raised the sail, and then she sat on the bow, staring at the two boys without looking happy at all. Kou Zhong rolled up first, and then, seeing Xu Ziling also survived, he groaned, and then begged the woman, My Guanyin Dashi,dy Bodhisattva, please be merciful to us, quickly set sail, evil people are after us. The woman-in-white already heard the sound of hoof beats and barking dogs. She said with a coldugh, What qualifications you have that you dare to offend Sui peoples dog soldiers? They are actually after your Miss. Kou Zhong remembered something. Heavens! he screamed, Our secret manual! He reached out to grope around his back. The woman-in-white only knew that he was anxious that the holy book was damaged by the water; she did not pay any attention to these two words, secret manual. Grapping the sail, she steered the boat upstream. After throwing up two mouthfuls of water, Xu Ziling crawled up. The book? he asked in horror. He saw Kou Zhong groping around his back several times, with a very strange expression on his face. He made all kinds of signals to Xu Ziling as he sat up. With his back toward the woman-in-white, he winked and said, Completely soaked. This time Bai Lao Fuzi will definitely p my hands ck and blue. The woman-in-white said with a snort, You still want to lie to me? Lets see if I dont throw you, these two little demons, back into the river. Kou Zhong was shocked; he thought she already saw through the secret of the book. Turning around, he said, I did not lie to you. Honest. The book is finished. With displeased expression the woman-in-white said, I am not talking about your book, I am talking about what kind of game are you, two little demons, ying? Didnt you say you must return to the city? Why do you want to go farther away now? While the two boys were at a loss of what to say, there were shoutsing from the riverbank. They raised their heads and saw a dozen or so riders galloping along the river. Stop the boat! they shouted. The woman-in-white did not move; she turned a deaf ear. She did not even look at them, as if it was beneath her to do so. Suddenly there was a long whistle from a distant, buting closer at an astonishing speed. The woman-in-white was amazed, I did not expect there is such a martial art expert in the Central ins. The two boys were stupefied. Could it be that this woman-in-white was of different tribe from foreign country? The woman-in-white suddenly stood up, her hand grabbed the hilt of her sword, she said in heavy voice, Two little demons, operate the sail for me. The two boys were taken aback. We dont ... The woman-in-white impatiently said, Even if you dont know you have to do it. Come! Horrified, the two boys looked up, only to see a figureing down on them. At first the figure looked small, but it grew big quickly, like a big birding down on the fishing boat. The power was extremely astonishing. The two boys instinctively threw themselves at the rudder. The man was flying about a zhang away from the small boat, a very strong and violent qi was pressing down on them. The surrounding air suddenly turned cold, as if it was condensing to be ice. Cold air permeated everywhere. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings teeth were chattering, as they swayed from side to side. Heavy gauze covered the woman-in-whites face, so that nobody could see her expression. But just like when she was dealing with Jiao Xie and his men, she maintained her carefree attitude, the clothes on her body fluttered everywhere, but she still did not look at Yuwen Huaji, who came down to them like descending devil or immortal. The out-of-control sail, the attack of the river water, plus the stronger vortex due to Yuwen Huajis fantastic Mysterious Ice Energy, made the boat tilt and spin, ready to capsize anytime. Ring! the woman-in-whites sword left its sheathe, as she leaped upward. The sword turned into millions strong tips, meeting Yuwen Huajis attack head on. Right away the cold air was cut more than half. By the time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling recovered from their earlier stupor, the battle between the two martial art experts had already begun. Yuwen Huaji knew that if with one strike he could not hit his target, the boat would sail farther away; therefore, he put everything he had in this one strike to generate maximum impact. He was the most aplished expert under Yuwen Shang, the Yuwen n Leader of one of the four most powerful ns. Even Shi Long, whose fame shook Yangzhou, lost his life under his hands. Therefore, his best shot was not a small matter at all. Boom! Palm and swords energy collided. Like sh of lightning or sparks of fire the woman-in-whites sword stabbed twelve times. He also countered with twelve palm strikes. The twobatants were sometimes engaged in close battle, another time they suddenly separated. Yuwen Huaji let out a fierce hiss. Borrowing the momentum he flitted across and flew toward a mud pier on the riverbank. The woman-in-white fell back onto the boat, she held her sword with the tip pointing at Yuwen Huaji. When these two people fought, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt that the small fishing boat was sinking down, only when they stopped that the boat floated again. From this one could see clearly how powerful Yuwen Huajis palm was. By this time one after another the other soldiers have arrived at the shore. It was only then did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling realized that their small fishing boat has been brought by the current to the shore downstream. Crying out in panic, they scrambled toward the rudder and desperately tried to control the boat. The woman-in-white acted as if she waspletely oblivious of everything else, her attention was focused solely on Yuwen Huaji, who, by this time, hadnded on arge rock on the riverbank. The fishing boat suddenly regained its bnce. Coupled with favorable strong wind, the boat traversed diagonally toward the shore of the opposite bank. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cheered in their shrill voice. While they were feeling very proud of themselves, Yuwen Huajis voice came across the water, Such swordsmanship is rarely seen indeed. Miss, what rtionship do you have with Gaolis[2] Yi Jian Dashi [great master of peaceful sword] Fu Cailin? With Kou Zhong on the helm and the full wind behind, the boat sailed upstream like an arrow. The woman-in-white did not utter a single word in response to Yuwen Huajis question, giving the impression that she was unfathomable. Yuwen Huajis voice was heard again, Miss is protecting these two kids, it is really unwise. Yuwen Huaji will definitely ask to have the benefit of your expertise again. The fishing boat was moving faster and faster away that over time they have left the enemy far behind. The woman-in-white was still standing on the bow, her clothes were fluttering in the wind. She did indeed look like a goddess from the world of the immortals. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had already regarded her as an immortal; they felt like they wanted to prostrate themselves in front of her and worship her. Right this moment, the woman-in-whites bamboo rain hat suddenly shattered, the pieces rained down on the deck, revealing the woman-in-whites matchless elegance, but also the unrivalled paleness of her jade countenance. She let out a tender moan, threw up a mouthful of blood, and sat down dejectedly on the deck. Shocked, the two boys rushed toward her. Kou Zhong barked, You steer the boat! Let me help her! Bang! The woman-in-white suddenly sat up cross-legged; with one palm she pushed Kou Zhong back to the rudder. Dont you dare touching me! she hissed hoarsely. And then she closed her eyes. The two boys stared nkly at the woman-in-white; they realized that although she managed to force Yuwen Huaji back, she had suffered a heavy injury. Momentarily they were at a loss of what to do. The fishing boat sailed farther and farther away from Yangzhou city walls. [2] Specifically, Gaoli refers to Korean Goryeo dynasty [918-1392], but generally, it refers to Korea, especially in context of art and culture. Book 1 - 4 – Impossible to unravel Book 1 Chapter 4 C Impossible to unravel Kou Zhong put his mouth next to Xu Zilings ear and said in a very low voice, This woman [orig. poniang, usually used derogatorily] is prettier than Auntie Hong of Spring Breeze Courtyard. Xu Ziling was staring nkly at the woman-in-whites stately and elegant jade-countenance; hearing Kou Zhong, he nodded in approval. The woman-in-white, who was still sitting in meditation, suddenly opened her eyes and glowered at them. The two boys were startled; they withdrew and huddled together, trying to get as far away from her as possible. The woman-in-whites delicate body suddenly shook violently, which forced her to close her eyes again. It was quite some timeter that she opened her eyes again. Casting an angry look at them, she asked in one breath, Where are we? The two boys perfunctorily looked around both banks of Yangtze River, and then shook their heads together. The woman-in-white looked up to the sky trying to determine the time of day. Seeing the sun was about to set behind the mountain, and the banks of the Great River was bathed in the glow of the setting sun, she knew that she has been meditating four close to two sichen [1 sichen is equal to two hours]. After pondering for a moment, she asked in soft voice, Why is Yuwen Huaji after you? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, and then both of them shook their heads vigorously, Dont know! The woman-in-whites eyes shed with cold rays. After staring fiercely at the two boys, she suddenly burst into tenderughter and said, I want you, two little demons, to jump into the river right now! The two boys were so hungry that their limbs did not have any strength; hearing her, their countenance turned pale with fright since they did not know what to do. The woman-in-white suddenly sighed; she said unenthusiastically, I want to sleep for three sichen, the two of you little demons must steer the boat nicely. If the boat capsize, I will want your lives aspensation. Stars filled the whole sky, the moon was low on the horizon. In the dim moonlight, these two good friends, who depended on each other for survival, huddled together to keep themselves against the attack of hunger and of the river breeze, while their palm was pressed on the rudder. The woman-in-white had her back toward them, as she sat facing the bow in meditation to heal her injury. She did look like a beautiful goddess idol carved from jade and stone. Her beautiful hair has been loosened by the wind, it fluttered freely in the breeze like a cloud. Kou Zhong whispered as softly as he could in Xu Zilings ear, Do you think she can hear us? Xu Ziling was watching her as if he was in a trance, hence he did not hear him. What did you say? he blurted out. Kou Zhong pinched his leg hard. He sighed and said, I wonder what kind of fellow is that Yuwen Huaji,pared to this wo ... hey, this evil woman, he seems to be more formidable. Horrified, Xu Ziling looked at the woman-in-whites back. It was quite a momentter that he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Kou Zhong elbowed his arm and said in ecstasy, She really cant hear. Xu Ziling asked the question he has been dying to ask, So the secret manual is really not damaged by the water? Kou Zhong reached out to fetch The Secret to Long Life and flipped a few pages before handing it to Xu Ziling. Why dont you look at it yourself! he said, Ive already told you that this is genuine goods at fair prices, a special treasure. Otherwise, why is that Yuwen Huagu so anxious to get it? Ha! Thats funny, the name Huagu [transforming bone] is a bit more-fitting than Huaji. [hua C change into/transform, ji C and/to reach/up to/in time for. I dont think it means anything.] Xu Ziling turned the book back and forth a few times. If it is waterproof, he mused, Chances are it might also be fireproof ... Ah! With lightning speed Kou Zhong snatched the book back, he deftly hid the valuable and heavy treasure well, while muttering, Dont even think of testing it. Ha! We are finally leaving that stuffy, confining egg Yangzhou city. And now everything is fine. Except for our precious belly. Now that he mentioned it, suddenly Xu Zilings tummy reacted with an unhappy rumbling. Do you think this beautiful evil woman would be willing to lend us some traveling expenses for us to treat our ailing belly? After all, her eyes have taken advantage of our best. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up because he spotted the small bundle lying by her side. He made some eye signals to Xu Ziling, and then started to crawl quietly toward the bundle. Naturally Xu Ziling knew that he was going to imitate the dog and steal chicken, to be a thief and to do some shady business. Quickly he grabbed Kou Zhongs ankle while shaking his head vigorously with a firm expression on his face. Kou Zhong struggled twice, yet he was unable to break free. Dejected, he sat back down by Xu Zilings side and said sadly, If Zhong Shaoye turns into a hungry ghost, I will definitelye to you, the other hungry ghost, to settle the ount. Xu Ziling said, Dont forget that we are heroes. Right now we are rushing together on a meteoric rise [orig. divine steed shes past] on a highway to the abundant enterprise of Duke, Marquis, General and Prime Minister. Making such a move against a weak and unsuspecting woman like this will really bring harm to our good reputation as Yangzhous two dragons; not to mention she did after all save our lives. Kou Zhong surrendered. This evil womans skill cant be considered bad, he said, But she is a weak and unsuspecting woman. Oh! Why does it have to rain now? They both looked up to the sky, and saw ck clouds rolling in fast. Very quickly the moon and the stars disappeared, followed by heavy rain pouring down. In no time at all the tranquil river turned into a wildly turbulent one. The Great River was pitched ck, they could not even see the fingers in front of their nose, let alone the woman-in-white. Therefore, they could forget about steering the boat in such a difficult situation. The fishing boat was tossed around endlessly by the river; they were surrounded by vast darkness. The rain shot down like arrows. Their clothes werepletely drenched, making them cold and miserable. In their frantic struggle, Boom! the fishing boat suddenly hit something, immediately it leaned sideways and capsized. They both cried out in rm and threw themselves in the direction of the woman-in-white. With its earth-shattering power [orig. hiding the sky and covering the earth], the river water swoop down on them. The three people held on to each other and sank down together into the river. In this situation, where the violent storm blew the rain horizontally, where the waves surged rapidly, where the turbulent water prevented them from seeing their own fingers, where Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were starving and freezing, where they were attacked relentlessly by the water, every time they struggled hard to surface, they would immediately be pulled down into the water again. The two boys original intention was to rescue the woman-in-white, but in the end Xu Ziling was holding on to her neck, while Kou Zhong was pulling her legs. The woman-in-white was still in deep sleep, but her body was perfectly straight; no matter how hard the wind and the rain attacked her, she stayed floating face up on the river. In a way, she has be the two little demons life-saving raft. They were struggling between being living persons versus being water ghosts for nobody knows how long. The power of the rain finally lessened. The moon also showed its face a little. It was only then did they realize that the water has washed them out closer to the shore. In their great delight they exerted the strength that they did not know they still had, to pull the woman-in-white along to the shore. As soon as they reached the muddy shore, the two boys were not able to hold on anymore; theyy down on the sand on either side of the woman-in-white. The river still sent its waves to the shore, but no longer with the violent force of a moment ago. The two boys could not stop panting, in contrast to the woman-in-white soft and slow breathing, as if she was sleeping soundly. The moon was obscure by drifting clouds once again. Before the three people were shrouded by the darkness, light suddenly came from the direction of the lower reached of the river. The two boys forced themselves to look up, and were shocked to see six big, brightly lit five-mast warships, with all their sails down, sailing at full speed toward them. They were so scared that their scalps felt numb. Quickly they crouched as low as possible behind a sandbar. In time like this they really wish the river tide would be a bit more violent. Time seemed to stop to a stand still. While in their hearts Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling beseeched all gods and Buddhas, known or unknown to them, the huge warships finally sailed far away. Fortunately the ships were so tall that their lights barely reached the darkness where the three of them were lying down, plus at that time the sky was still filled with drizzle, so the visibility was low, plusntern lights could not reach far; hence the three of them escaped great cmity. With the woman-in-white between their hands and feet, the two boys huffed and puffed to get her onto the grassy area farther up the shore, and then both of them dropped down, totally exhausted. Xu Ziling was the first to suffer a dizzy spell, he could not hold on, his vision ckened and he cked out. Kou Zhong called him twice. And then after feeling his back to make sure the secret manual was safe, he felt relieved and closed his eyes to sleep. After sleeping for nobody knows how long, Kou Zhong was the first to wake up. He saw the sun was shining on the open space around him, his body feltfortably warm, the heat seemed to prate his body and soul. Moaning infort, for a moment he felt as if he was still in his little nest in Yangzhou. It was not until he heard the rumbling noise of the river beneath his feet did he finally remembered what had happened the previous day. He woke up with a jolt, opened his eyes wide, and sat up. The ce where they were was surrounded by range of hills, the sun had already at the top of the hills, the Great River was flowing from the south, flowing right next to them. After looking more clearly, he could not help sucking a breath of cold air. Turned out in this section of the river the rapid water merged with rugged shoal, reefs stood up everywhere; no wonder that although he tried to steer it, their boat suddenly crashed and sank. But it was a good ident; if not for their boat capsized, perhaps Yuwen Huagus ships would have caught up with them early on. Xu Ziling was still sleeping like a dead person. Heavens! Where is that woman-in-white? Kou Zhong was at a loss, but he was also being paranoid; he was afraid she might slip back into the river. Quickly he crawled toward Xu Ziling and pped his face in his usual technique. Xiao Ling! Xiao Ling! Wake up! That evil woman is gone. Xu Ziling struggled hard to open his eyes, but unable to withstand the harsh sunlight, he closed his eyes immediately. Ay, he moaned, I was just dreaming of Zhen Saos delicious meat and vegetable steamed buns! What? That evil woman slipped away? Suddenly he sat up and nced to the left and looked to the right with a look of disappointment on his face. Chapter 4, Part 2 Szfong, Weed, Anh, Janger, Strawberry, you are wee. Scrapper, wee to the forum. In case you did not know, you may want to check other great stories here, quite a number have been finished. Drak, wee back. Its always nice to see familiar names. Weed, I meant to post thisst night, but was busy. Kou Zhong burst intoughter, Xiao Ling! he said, You fell in love with that woman, didnt you? Be careful, I think she might want to take your little life. Hey! Ha ha! Ow! Ay! You are not supposed tough on an empty stomach. Xu Ziling shot him an angry re, I am just afraid she slipped away for personal gain, taking along our secret manual with her! Startled, Kou Zhong felt his back. Suddenly he sprang up, his countenance changed. Stinky woman, mother thief, she really stole our secret manual! Xu Ziling still thought he was joking; reaching out to feel Kou Zhongs back and lower waist, he let out a miserable scream and threw himself to the ground. Spreading out his hands and feet, he sobbed, Its finished! The person is gone, the money is gone, the secret manual is gone, and we have be fugitives. O God! Everything is finished. Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong stood up, made a fist toward the heavens and shouted madly, No! I will do whatever it takes to get the secret manual back! Ah ...! Something flew across and hit his face. Kou Zhong screamed miserably and tumbled down to the ground. Xu Ziling sat up, aghast. He saw standing on a rock about a zhang away, was the woman-in-white. Her beautiful face looked as if it was covered in ayer of cold frost; with her apricot eyes opened wide, she glowered at them. When Kou Zhong was struggling to crawl up, he discovered that the secret projectile that attacked him was precisely the darling of their hearts, their life treasure. With a strange cry he returned the book inside his clothes on his back. His manner of regarding the book as important as his life was ridiculously funny. With a cold snort the woman-in-white said, What martial art secret manual? Dont make peopleugh until they die. Just by looking at those seven diagrams, I know that its a ything about training to reach immortality that the Taoists use to cheat people. Those talisman scribbling are to make it deliberately mystifying. Only Yuwen Huaji and you, the two ignorant children, consider it a treasure. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, It is best that Dashi is thinking that way. Hee hee ...! Last night we finally managed to save Dashis life. Although theres a saying, confer a favor do not expect rpense, slight reward is always ones duty under the circumstances. Is it possible for Dashi to give us a couple of coin strings? And then everybody may peacefully take different roads and urge the horses on. Good beginning and good end. Pow! Once again Kou Zhong tumbled down to the ground. Five clear finger marks appeared on his face. Of course it was the woman-in-white who sent him a p through the air. The woman-in-white ignored Kou Zhongs cry of pain; she turned her eyes on Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling raised his hands to show his innocence. I didnt say anything, he said, Could you not stare at Zaixia [lit. under, a humble way to call oneself. I think only Jianghu people used this, Ive never seen usage among ordinarymon citizens.] like that? You didnt say anything? the woman-in-white indifferently said, Then who said just now that I slipped away taking your rotten book along? Xu Ziling scooted several cun [1 cun is approx. an inch/a thumb] backward, while putting up a big smile on his face, It was just a misunderstanding! And now the misunderstanding has been dispelled, let the bygone be bygone. By this time Kou Zhong has crawled back up; while stroking his burning cheek, he nodded incessantly and said, Right! Right! Theres no more misunderstanding, we all are still good friends. The woman-in-white cast him a sidelong nce; she said in disdain, You little demon, who do you think you are that you are fit to bargain with your Miss? I only wanted to look at your stinking book with weird scribbling, thats why I took it. Alright, I want each of you to give yourself ten heavy ps on your mouth; lets see if after this you still dare to call me woman, woman? [See the beginning of this chapter.] The two boys looked at each other. Xu Ziling suddenly stood up straight with indignant look on his face. A warrior can be killed, must not be humiliated, he said firmly, You can kill me! Kou Zhong got a shock. Xiao Ling! he said, We can discuss everything slowly. Turning toward the woman-in-white, he said, My Dashi Miss, after we p ourselves, will we go our own ways, from now on all gratitude and grudges, kindness and enmity, will be severed, both parties wont have anything to do with each other anymore? The woman-in-whites cold eyes shed with thick killing aura; she said coldly, I changed my mind. One of you must take my sword. The two of you may decide for yourself, which one will die. The two boys looked at each other, and then they eximed together, Me! Ring! The woman-in-white unsheathed her treasured sword. The two boys exchanged nces again, and then they screamed together, turned around and ran toward the river. But before they could even take two steps, the clothes on their back tightened, because the woman-in-white picked them up like a couple of chicken. The wind swished by the two boys ears. They left the riverbank, but not toward the in or the forest lining up both sides of the rivers for hundreds of li. Bang! Bang! The two were dropped down one after another from about a zhang away, along a hard surface on inclined slope. Because of their own momentum, they rolled down the slope seven, eight times, before finallynded on the bottom, totally confused, and with all four limbs facing the sky. They had been hungry for a day and a night, their limbs had been devoid of strength early on, it was with great difficulty that they were finally able to crawl up. Looking around, they found out that they were actually at the entrance of a small town. People were walking around, the ce was buzzing with activity, it was a lively town, but the woman-in-white was nowhere to be seen. Kpu Zhong was greatly delighted, That wo ... ha! Dashi has left. Licking his lips, Xu Ziling said, How can we find something to eat? Kou Zhong pped his chest, assuming an upright and unafraid stance. Walking away from the wilderness, he took the ancient road leading to the entrance of the town, and went straight into the marketce. Xu Ziling ran after him. He saw the signboard above the city gate had three big characters Bei Po Xian [lit. north slope county] written on it. I wonder if they have militia army in here, he said hopefully. Kou Zhong snapped, When our tummy is rumbling, even Emperor or Laozi[1] will have to step aside. By this time the two boys have reached the main street, which was lined on both sides with houses, shops, and inns and restaurants. When the people saw their shabby clothes and unkempt hair, they raised their eyebrows and cast a despising look on them. They were ustomed to this kind of look; therefore, they did not think differently. Walking about a dozen zhang, a sweet smelling of food assaulted their nostrils. The two boys could not stop their feet from stepping toward the direction of the smell. There was a smallne crossing the main street, turning to the left, they saw spiraling smoke from kitchen chimneys rose to the air; they were wondering which house was producing such a fragrant smell. They had just decided to go in and take a chance when a shouting from behind them; evidently someone was calling out to them, Stop! The two of them turned around in shock, only to see two official looking men, with devils and monsters appearance, wereing toward them. From their expression, it was clear that their intention was not good. Seeing they were not Yuwen Huaji or his men, Kou Zhong was relieved. Taking the initiative, he stepped forward, raised his cupped fist and said, Finally seeing Uncle Officers, this is very good indeed. The two officers were taken aback. The one that looked a bit older asked in surprise, Why is seeing us good? Kou Zhongs eyes turned red, as he narrated his sad story, We, two brothers, are Daxing [district, in Beijing] people, My name is Yuwen Zhong, his is Yuwen Ling. We embarked a ship to Yangzhou, who would have thought that en route we were attacked by rebels? The boat capsized, the people perished, more than a thousand entourage were buried at the bottom of the river, only us, two brothers escaped with our lives, but we lost our way. The purpose of our trip to Yangzhou this time is to visit our uncle, the Zongguan of Yangzhou, Uncle Yuchi. Ay! Listening to him, the two officers looked at each other. One of them asked suspiciously, Where exactly did the mishap happen? How did you arrive here? Xu Ziling caught on, The ident happened at the Grand Canal[2]. To evade the thieves, we were in panic and did not see where we were going; it was after walking for many days that we are finally here. I wonder what are Uncles honored surname and great given name? If you could send us off to Yangzhou, Uncle Yuchi will definitely reward you handsomely. The older officer replied, My name is Zhou Ping, and he is Chen Wang. Noticing that the two officers were eyeing their shabby clothes that made them look more like beggars than young masters of prominent family, Kou Zhong promptly offered a remedy, During our journey over the mountains and across the forests, our clothes were ripped and damaged beyond repair, fortunately we came across a small vige, where we exchanged our jade ornaments for two sets of clothing, but we were given random direction that we ended up in here. May I ask Uncles, how much farther is it from here to Yangzhou? Chen Wang and Zhou Ping exchanged nces; their eyes lit up simultaneously. Zhou Ping let out a dry cough; his mannerism suddenly became a lot more respectful. In a low voice and less air he asked, May we ask which one is your esteemed father? With a straight face Kou Zhong replied, My father is Yuwen Huagu, my fathers younger brother is Yuwen Huaji. Ay! Father has never been good in martial art matters, he made us, two brothers, to work hard on the teaching of Confucius and Mencius. Every day we have to read some first concern is affairs of state, enjoying the pleasureester[3]. Otherwise, if we only learned one-tenth of our Uncles martial art skill, we wont be in such a sorry state today. Zhou Ping and Chen Wang were two straw bags. Hearing him quoting some literature, although they did not understand, plus they were intimidated by Yuwen Huajis prestige, their suspicion vanished. Hurriedly they fell on their knees and loudly expressed their respect. Kou Zhong was delighted. He said with augh, Two great uncles need not be overly-courteous. I wonder which restaurant nearby has quite decent dishes? Zhou Ping respectfully said, Two Gongzi [young master], please follow lowly ones! Our towns Gao Peng Xuan [gao peng C high/respected friend, xuan C pavilion with a view], although it is local, its appetizer is exceptionally well-known. Chen Wang turned around and said, I must report to County Deputy Chen immediately that Yuwen Darens [lit. big/great man, a term of respect toward superiors, usually government officials] nephews have arrived. The two boys jumped in fright, but their stomachs were rumbling violently, so they did not care too much about other things. [1] Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), Chinese philosopher, the founder of Taoism. [2] Da Yunhe, the Grand Canal, 1800km from Beijing to Hangzhou, built starting from 486BC. [3] Quotation from essay On Yueyang Tower, by Song Dynasty writer Fan Zhongyan; ergo, it was in the future since this story supposedly happened before Tang Dynasty. Book 1 - 5 – Thunder in a clear blue sky Book 1 Chapter 5 C Thunder in a clear blue sky When Kou Zhong woke up the next morning, the sky had not yet brightened. Recalling that the previous day using silver tongue and flowery words they were able to swindle food and a ce to stay, even the County Lord was regarding them as honored guest, he was feeling extremely proud of himself. As he opened his eyes, he found out that Xu Ziling, who was sleeping next to him, had already had his eyes open; half sitting and half reclining, supporting his head with both hands on the pillow, staring at the top of the mosquito above them, looking like he was lost in thought. Worried that he had nobody to share his glory, Kou Zhong sat up in excitement and said, Xiao Ling, did you see it? In Yangzhou we were beggars and ruffians, but as soon as we left Yangzhou city walls, we became big shot young masters. In all our life, this is the first time we ever slept on such afortable bed, hugging delicious quilt and having sweet dreams. Taking off and putting on clothes we have young beauties waiting upon us. Ah! Having that sister Xiao Juans small hands rubbing my body, I already feel like bing the Prime Minister. Unconcerned, Xu Ziling said, If you cant think of a way to escape, we will be sent back to Yangzhou. That would be awesome indeed. Kou Zhongughed quietly and said, Set your twelve thousand hearts at ease. After we have our stomach full, welle back here to pick up some good souvenirs, and then find any excuse, for example, we want to go sightseeing around town or something like that. Once we are out of town, wont it be easy to escape? Xu Ziling knew Kou Zhong was full of craft and cunning, so he was not really worried. He only sighed without saying anything. You did not sleep wellst night? Kou Zhong wondered, Why are you up so early? Xu Ziling was not in good mood, We went to bed right after dinnerst night, didnt we have enough sleep already? What is it then? Kou Zhong pressed on, Hey! You are not thinking about that evil woman, are you? Evidently he had revealed the load in Xu Zilings mind, since he stayed silent. Kou Zhong scooted over and held his shoulders as he said, One world two brother. Xiao Ling, are you in love with her? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Just go to your mother. Based on her age, she is at least half my mother. Besides, just like she said, we dont have qualifications to have any discussion with her. I was just wondering, you, this muddle-headed fellow, have always loved to look at pretty women. This woman is more beautiful than any women we have ever seen so far. Why did you always try to push her away? On the surface she appears fierce, but her treatment to us is really not bad. Otherwise she would not have sent us to the city gate. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I am merely thinking about our future outlook. Precisely because this womans beauty is difficult to deal with, plus we have had intimate contact with her, thats why we must especially guard against her. Men of character attach most importance to their exploits, especially since we have not achieve it yet, we must abstain from infatuation of beauty, to such an extent as to dampen our magnificent aspiration ... Hey! Why are youughing ...? Ha ... While they were talking and joking, the sky had brightened. They heard a muffled noise of the maids and servants sweeping and moving about outside. Kou Zhong rubbed his still unbearably sore legs. Let me swindle horses from County Deputy Chenter, Ill say that we want stroll around on horseback. That way when we slip awayter we can do it a bit faster, plus we could have substitute for the curse on our, Prime Minister and Great Generals legs. With a bitterugh Xu Ziling asked, Do you know how to ride a horse? Whats so hard about it? Kou Zhong proudly replied, Just climb onto the saddle, turn the horses head to the right direction, and strike his mothers butt twice, wont that be enough? Xu Ziling was about to reply when, bang, bang, bang! there was a knock on the door. Kou Zhong thought it was that good looking sister Xiao Juan; he coughed once, and said, Come in! As soon as the gate opened, like a tornado the short and fat County Deputy Chen burst in. Reaching the two boys bed, he saluted in a flurry and said, Its good that two Da Shaoye [big young masters] are awake. Last night subordinate officer received news that your respected uncle Yuwen Daren [see Chapter 4] has dispatched people everywhere to find out the two Da Shaoyes whereabouts. That very night I sent fast courier to get in contact with Yuwen Daren. He might arrive any moment. When two Da Shaoye see your respected uncle, please do not forget to say a few good words on subordinate officers behalf. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt as if they had just been thrown down from the world of the immortals to the eighteenthyer of hell. Immediately their hands and feet turned icy-cold, their souls had just left their bodies. County Deputy Chen thought that they were dumbstruck from extreme joy; he bowed respectfully with sped hands and said, I have instructed the servants to serve the two Gongzi [young master] taking a bath and changing clothes. Subordinate officer will wait in the main hall for two Gongzi to have breakfast together. Please excuse subordinate officer for now. He had just left the room, four young servants, including Xiao Juan, came in. They served them with great care, much more ceremonious and attentivepared to the previous night. Most annoying was Zhou Ping and Chen Wang also came; eagerly attentive, they waited on the side, telling them that the breakfast was ready. Therefore, they did not have any opportunity to slip out. During breakfast with County Deputy Chen, the situation was even more desperately serious; more than a dozen yamen [government office in old China] officers stood on both sides to serve them. The two boys ate with anxiety [orig. heart rmed, guts tremble] and were unbearably ufortable. It was not until Xu Ziling kicked his leg under the table that Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I wonder if there are any historical sites and scenic spots around this town. While my Uncle is not here yet, we want to take this opportunity to enjoy sightseeing and having fun, so that we wonte here in vain. County Deputy Chen wrinkled his face [orig. five sense organs: nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears], showing an extremely unsightly countenance. Smiling apologetically he said, For the past few years robbers spring up everywhere, it is not appropriate for the two Da Shaoye to go out of town; else something bad happened, then how would our county take the responsibility? Kou Zhong wished he could pinch him dead, but of course his face showed that he dly epted the suggestion. Xian Daren [lit. county officer] is indeed very thoughtful, he said, Hey! Xian Darens kindness to us, we, two brothers, will definitely report to Uncle as things really are, so that he could evaluate the merit and bestow reward ordingly. Its just that what we, two brothers, fear the most is staying idle inside. How about this: is there any fine courtyard or first ss brothel where we can seek pleasure? Ay, ever since leaving Dadu [old name of Beijing, lit. great capital], we have not ... Hey! Xian Daren should know what we are talking about. Originally we thought that as soon as we reach Yangzhou, we could have a bit of fun. Now that we have slept well, we are full of energy and in high spirit; no matter what, we must go ... Ha ... this kind of trivial matter, naturally we must not bother Xian Daren. From behind, Zhou Ping said, But I am afraid thedies in the courtyard are not even out of bed yet. County Deputy Chen barked, Then you tell them to get out of bed! But when he turned to face Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, his face was all smile, as he knowingly said, This is a trivial matter, subordinate officer will arrange everything. Turning to Zhou Ping again he barked, Why havent you left to make necessary arrangement? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; both spected that if they could not seize the opportunity while they were at the pleasure house to escape, most probably they could just kiss their prospect and their precious little lives goodbye. The two boys sat inside the carriage, apanied personally by County Deputy Chen, on their way to the countys most upscale pleasure house. Beipo County could be considered the biggest county around Yangzhou. In term of liveliness, it was not too far inferior to Yangzhou. Because the county fell under Jiangdus jurisdiction, plus it had direct export channel, the handicraft industry was particrly flourishing. Too bad that the two boys heart was loaded with concern over their little lives, so that although County Deputy Chen talked until his spittle flew everywhere, promoting his own countys benevolent government and giving runningmentary on everything they saw along the road, none of these even registered in their minds. They simply agreed thoughtlessly. Especially when they saw the dozen or so officers urging their horses to protect in front and behind them, they felt that they were not much different to the prisoners being escorted to the execution ground. Actually, Kou Zhong, who has always been quick-witted, has already had a n. He thought that if they could hide inside the room with the pleasure housedy, then they would have a chance to evade these peoples eyes. But whether they would be sessful in escaping, it was still unknown; hence the reason they were still secretly worried. The biggest threat would be Yuwen Huaji, who could arrive anytime, and reveal their true color, and then not only they would be humiliated, they could lose their lives as well. This kind of helpless feeling really did not need to be mentioned. Every time County Deputy Chen looked out the window, the two boys immediately signaled each other, using their usual method to discuss escape n. The carriage made a grand entrance into the courtyard. The two fake young masters followed County Deputy Chen stepping down from the carriage, and were greeted by a few bleary eyed and averaged-looking prostitutes, under the leadership of the brothel proprietress. As the two boys looked at each other with wry smile on their faces, suddenly the sound of hoof beats was hear from afar, buting toward them, fast. The Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling pair, which was hard to differentiate which one was the older and which one was the younger, knew that their situation was going from bad to worse. While they were thinking of how to stake everything they had and flee for their lives, a strong gust of wind arrived, pressing down from above. County Deputy Chen and his bailiffs still did not know what was going on, one after another they were thrown out in all directions. In the confusion they seemed to see a white shadow descending from the sky. But by the time they were able to crawl up, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had already disappeared without a trace, leaving only swirling dust that was still hanging in the air. The woman-in-white grabbed the two boys by their wide belts as they flew over houses and climbed over the ridges of the roof. In a sh they had left Beipo County but kept speeding over the mountain and fields, as effortless as blowing dust. The two boys felt as if they had juste back from deaths door, they almost could not refrain from cheering, but were afraid they might provoke the woman-in-white; hence they had to keep silent. Shortly afterwards they arrived at the riverbank. They saw mooring on the piers were numerous boats, and on both sides of the river several fishermen were busy mending theirs. Without even thinking the woman-in-white got into one of the boats and tossed the two boys on the deck. With her sword she cut the mooring rope, and then she grabbed the oar and vigorously started to row, sshing water everywhere. The boat glided on the water like an arrow, leaving the angry shouts of pursuing fishermen far behind. Chapter 5, Part 2 Strawberry, I dont think youll have any problem here. Anh, you are wee. Ill try to finish Chapter 5 tomorrow or Monday morning (US time) at thetest. Tossed by the woman-in-white, the two boys were aching all over; whining and groaning they sat up. You look at me I look at you, they saw the frosty face of the woman-in-white; how could they dare to speak? The atmosphere was extremely terrifying. After traveling for at least twenty, thirty li, the woman-in-white let out a cold snort and reduced the speed of the boat. Gathering up his courage, Kou Zhong tried to sound her out, Dashi, you must have followed us all this time; otherwise, how could you arrive at the nick of time? The woman-in-white did not even look at them; she said angrily, Who have time to follow you, two little demons who only know how to steal and swindle? Its just that noticing Yuwen Huaji is sending people to search nearby towns and viges, I came back for you. Xu Ziling respectfully said, Thank you very much for Dashis kindness in saving our lives. If we have the opportunity, we, two brothers, will definitely repay Dashi. The woman-in-white condescendingly said, I did not do it out of the kindness of my heart. Its just that if I can make Yuwen Huaji not happy, Ill do it in a heartbeat. So there is no need to thank me. When we arrive at Danyang, we will go our separate ways, and henceforth I forbid you to even mention me. Or else I wille and chop your little doggies head. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Go our separate ways then we go our separate ways. If in the future we master an unrivalled martial art skill, I want to see if you still dare to call us little doggy this, little doggy that. The woman-in-whites eyes shed in anger, but then she softened. When she spoke up, there was no trace of anger in her voice. Even if you do obeisance and enter Turkic peoples Wu Zun [Revered Martial Art] Bi Xuan [lit.plete mystery] school, dont even think that you would achieve any considerable skill. Therefore, it would be best if you forget this dream of yours. Go learn a good craftsmanship, make your living, take a wife, have children, and enjoy your life to the fullest. That will be the most decent thing to do. Hearing this, the two boys were deeply hurt. After staring nkly at her for a while, Xu Ziling could not help asking, Are you saying that our innate ability is toocking? The woman-in-white sighed. She looked down at the two boys tenderly, and then with an unusually gentle voice she said, You must have realized that you are not even qualified to have me lying to you. Your natural endowment is actually better than most people Ive ever seen. Takest night for example, after being tossed around like that you did not get sick, it is indeed hard toe by. But you dock the good fortune. Receiving herpliment, the two boys self-esteem and confidence was somewhat restored. What good fortune? they asked at the same time. While still rowing, the woman-in-white replied, Its the good fortune of training. All who wish to excel above the masses and be martial art expert must start their training since childhood. ording to my Shifu, anybody who wants to learn anything until achieving the what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes level, the most important period is the ten years between the age of five until fifteen. Just like learningnguage; if one starts to learn after this period, no matter what the pronunciation will not be just right. [Trantors note: the term here refers to the pronunciation of Chinese characters.] Martial art is also the same. Supposing you start today, no matter how hard you work, you will spend twice the effort to get half the result. If you only learn enough skill to run errands, sooner orter you will be killed. In that case, it will be better if you did not learn at all. Do you understand? The two boys stared nkly at her. They felt their hands and feet icy-cold; their world seemed to lose its life force and meaning. Kou Zhong has always had unyielding nature; he patted the treasured book behind his back and loudly said, Maybe we are an exception? Furthermore, we still have the secret manual. Dont you think our case is a bit different? For the first time the woman-in-whites eyes showed pity. Shaking her head, she said, The truth is always hard to ept. The book you have, Ive already looked. It is called The Secret to Long Life. It is indeed a treasury of the Taoists, but it has nothing to do with martial art. Youd better find a ce where you can throw it away. Otherwise, you may face disaster because of it. Ay, in my opinion, that book is just a lie; how could human beings can achieve immortality? The two boys countenance was immediately devoid of any color; they were unable to speak. The boat was filled with awkward silence. Danyang was the biggest town in the upper reaches of Yangzhou; it was the route that has to be taken if one was to go from the ind out to sea via Yangzhou. In importance, it was second only to Yangzhou. The only thing itcked was, of course, the Grand Canal that linked the north and the south. The scenery inside the city was unique; the river weaved through it, adorned with hundreds of stone arch bridges over the river course. People built their lives around the water; high and low, row upon row of houses strewn at random. Where there was water there was street, where there was water there was market, where there was water there was road. Water, road, bridge, building, mixed into one entity, into one tranquil, pristine water scenery; tender and soft was water. By early morning the next day, when the city gate opened, the woman-in-white, along with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, mingled into the throng of peasants and vigers to sneak into the city. Because their dream of the future was shattered, their enthusiasm was dampened, they just followed the woman-in-white like a pair of walking corpses wandering around the city. Obviously it was the first time the woman-in-white came here, her clear eyes looked around, seemingly interested in everything. Upon entering the gate, they followed the main street going deep into the city; both sides of the street were lined with shops that people used as a ce of business at the front, and as residence at the rear. The shop fronts were open, bright with the light from sunroof, and filled with all kinds of goods and arts and crafts products; it was extremely flourishing. The number of visitors was not a few either; it could even be said that the customers crowded these shops like a cloud. Everywhere the woman-in-white went, due to her beauty, both men and women gave her admiring look, but she did not seem to care, as if all of these were to be expected, as if she turned a blind eye to it. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have not eaten for half a day and one full night. Although they were not in a good mood, they still had to fight the feeling of the empty stomach; while the woman-in-white did not even seem to notice they were passing many restaurants already, she simply walked straight ahead. Kou Zhong could not helping over to her, coughed lightly, and said, Shouldnt we pay a visit to the temple of five viscera first? [Trantors note: I guess its a ng to refer to eating. Five viscera: heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys.] The woman-in-white halted her steps in front of a big building with white-washed wall and ck roof tiles. Do you have money? she coldly asked. From the other side Xu Ziling forced augh and said, Naturally we dont have any money. But Dashi, if you have some, wont that be the same? With a coldugh the woman-in-white said, So if I have money than it would be the same as you have money? Have you looked into the mirror recently? Besides, my money, along with my bundle, has long ago fallen into the bottom of the river when you, two little demons, crashed the boat and capsized it. Yesterday you had people serving you two meals, you had ample food and clothing, while I havent had even half mantou [steamed roll] to eat. And now you are still ming me for not taking you for a big feast? Kou Zhong was indignant. Are you angry with us? he said, If our boat did not capsize, Yuwen Huagu would have catch up with us early on. At best we would be turned into bones by him [Trantors note: y of words, gu hua, gu C bone, hua C transform]; but Dashi has countenance of flower, face like the moon. I guarantee that you will be taken as a concubine by that strange Yuwen fellow. The woman-in-white stopped abruptly. The two boys thought she was going to make things difficult for them; they were ready to run to two different directions. The woman-in-white was taken aback; looking at the two boys scared expression, she could not stop an amused look from appearing on her face for the first time. And then when she saw the boys stunned expression, she really smiled and said, You two little demons, wait here for a moment, let me get some silver, and then Ill take you to a nice meal. Afterwards all kindness and benevolence will cease, well have nothing to do with each other. When she spoke thest two sentences, she was imitating Kou Zhongs style; she broke intoughter and walked toward a shop on the left. Kou Zhong looked up and found out that it was actually a pawnshop. He quickly blocked her and said solemnly, Pawning stuff? Nobody is more adept than me. The woman-in-white was unhappy, How do I know you wont stuff your pocket first? Havinfg his real intention revealed by her, Kou Zhong could only sigh and dejectedly stepped back by Xu Zilings side. Following the woman-in-white entering the pawnshop with his gaze, Xu Ziling blurted out, Since our dream of bing the number one martial artist in the world is finished, looks like we dont have any choice but to focus on studying for the imperial examination. And then you can be the Right Premier, and I can be Left Premier. With a wry smile Kou Zhong said, While the world is in chaos, the one without prospect the most is precisely a rotten ghost schr. But I still dont believe her mothers opinion that The Secret to Long Life ispletely unrted to martial art. Although there is no Taoist priest who achieves immortality, we can see highly skilled Taoist priests on the street. From this we can clearly see that even though we cannot train to be immortal, we can still train to have exceptional martial art skill. Xu Ziling stood up excitedly, but then he sighed and said, But didnt that woman say that we missed the precious childhood to start training? Kou Zhong said, I think she could see that our bones are much better than hers; afraid that in the future we can surpass her head, she intentionally spoke some discouraging words so that we will lose heart. Ay ... Evidently he also felt that by what he said he was just deceiving himself; hence he did not continue. In the meantime, the woman-in-white walked out in high spirits. The two boys hurriedly came over to her. The woman-in-white said in a low voice, Listen up, you two little demons, if I hear you call me behind my back this woman or that woman, I will cut off both of you, little doggies. [Reminder: the word woman (po niang) is usually used derogatorily.] The two boys were deeply embarrassed; they could only nodded and said yes repeatedly. The three people climbed onto the second floor of a restaurant, sat on a table facing the window, and ordered some vegetable and meat dishes. There were more than a dozen tables, half were filled with diners. On one table, there was a respectable-looking young man wearing luxurious clothing; one look and others could see that he was the son of a prominent family. He repeatedly cast a nce toward the woman-in-white; apparently he was mesmerized by her beauty. Xu Ziling let out a dry cough, May we venture to ask Dashis honorable surname and great given name, so that we can address you properly? The woman-in-white propped her chin with one hand; she asked in surprise, The two of you little demons are no more than Yangzhous little ruffians, little gangsters; why is it that when you talk you always talk like you are old and full of experience, pretending like you are a pair of impoverished bookish students? Kou Zhong proudly replied, This is called the person is poor, the ambition is notcking. There wille a day we will be a pinnacle of virtue and ability; I want to see if you still dare to call us good-for-nothing. The woman-in-white was in an unusually good temper; she thought for a moment, and then said, After I leave, what are you going to do? Cheating for your food and drink has never been an option. Chapter 5, Part 3 Anh, Janger, you are wee. Heres the end of Chapter 5. It was the first time that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt that the woman-in-white really cared about them, but at this moment the vegetables and meat dishes arrived, the two boys did not have time to think further. They leaned forward on the table and gorged themselves without any care of the world. It was actually very unsightly. The woman-in-white only ate two mantou, and already stopped eating. She seemed to have something in her mind; she looked out the window without saying anything. When the two boys could not eat anymore, the dishes on the table have been swept clean, nothing remained. The two boys rubbed their belly and could not help but looking at the woman-in-white. The woman-in-white sighed. She took out more than ten taels of fine silver and put it on the table in front of the two boys. She said softly, Thinking about the trials and tribtions ahead, I am giving this money to you. Although right now there is confusion of war [orig. fire beacons in all four directions] everywhere, the South is stillparably peaceful. However, this peace wontst long, it will be dangerouster. Its not advisable for you to stay long. You two must behave. Ignoring the two boys lit up eyes, she stared hard at the money on the table, and then she beckoned the waiter to settle the check. The waiter respectfully said, Miss ount has already been settled by the Gongzi that was sitting on the table over there. They have just left. m! The woman-in-white took out a string of five zhu coins [1 zhu is 1/24 of a tael] and tossed it on the table. She said indignantly, I dont want anybody else pay my bills, take it! She rose up and went down the stairs without saying anything. The two boys saw how she decidedly left without looking back; since they already felt inferior and at a loss, after exchanging a nce, Kou Zhong sighed, picked up the silver and put it in his bosom, and dejectedly said, Lets also go! Xu Ziling had also wanted to leave this heart-breaking ce as soon as possible; hence he scampered behind Kou Zhong going down the stairs. When they reached the street, they saw the sun was shining bright, people came and people went, but there was not a shred or warmth in these two boys heart. When they were in Yangzhou, although life was hard, and often times they had to receive beatings and scolding from others, but they always had full hopes of the future. Although now they were free, plus there was a small fortune in their pocket, they felt emptiness in their hearts instead. It was as though the world was so big, but there was nowhere for them to go. They were thinking of looking for the woman-in-white again, but after looking for a while, they still could not see or even smell her fragrance. It was as if the woman had already be a distant and indistinct memory, adding to their sense of loss. Deeply disappointed, the two boys walked shoulder to shoulder in the direction of the city gate. Suddenly they felt something was different. A whiff of fragrance breeze blew, the woman-in-white came from behind and joined them; they walked together side by side. The boys were inwardly very happy, but they did not dare to express it; they did not dare to ask her even more. When the gate was in sight, the woman-in-white coldly said, Dont you two have any ideas. I am just afraid that Yuwen Huaji would catch up with you and take your Secret to Long Life and present it to the tyrant and get the credit for it, before he finally send you away to a distantnd. I am doing this to deal with Yuwen Huagu [sic], not that I have any particr good impression toward you, the two little demons. Xu Ziling could not stand it anymore. He halted his steps and angrily said, That being the case, no need to bother Dashi anymore. We have hands and feet, and we know how to run away. We dont need your money either. Kou Zhong, give the money back to her! Kou Zhong wanted to speak up, but in the end he just sighed, took the money from his pocket, and handed it over to her. Pfft! the woman-in-white stifled herugher, reached out to grab the two boys arms, and pulled them to walk with her quickly. The instant they left the city gate, while heading toward the river, she released them and said, Why such a temper? In all my life I have never learned how to curry favor like those girls trafficked into a brothel to work as prostitute; I have always lived a solitary life. Just consider I have offended you. It was the first time she was willing to lower her guard and plead with them. Xu Ziling, who actually had magnanimous nature, felt very bad instead. With a slight blush on his tender face, he said, Its not that Ive never been looked down upon by others, its just that when Dashi looked down on me, I feel exceptionally angry and feel it was extremely unfair. Kou Zhong came closer and whispered in the woman-in-whites ear, This fellow falls in love with you. The woman-in-white elbowed Kou Zhongs nk that he doubled-over in pain. She pointed her finger at him and angrily said, If you dare to say such again to your Miss, I will ... I will p your mouth. She had wanted to say that she would kill Kou Zhong, but knowing that she would not have the heart to do so, she corrected herself just in time and said a much lighter punishment instead. Xu Ziling was baffled, What did he say? he asked. The woman-in-white glowered at him, but did not say anything. Momentarily the three of them did not know what to say. The woman-in-white turned her gaze toward big and small boats moored along the pier outside the city. Howe there are so many boats sailing back from the west, but no boat sails to the west? she muttered to herself. The two boysposed themselves and took a look; indeed it was strange. The pier was full of people waiting to board their boats, busily talking to each other. Suddenly a gentle and pleasant voice was heard right next to them, May I ask if Miss and these two Xiao Xiongdi [little brother] are waiting for your boat? Still clutching the painful spot, Kou Zhong stood up. He and Xu Ziling looked at the speaker up and down. Turned out it was the young master at the restaurant a while ago, the one who could not keep his eyes from the woman-in-white, and the one whoter on settled their bill. This man indeed looked naturally handsome, his demeanor was elegant, and he was still half a head taller than Xu Ziling, but did not look like a weak schr. His back was straight, his shoulders broad. Although he was dressed like a schr, he gave the impression of someone who was well-versed in martial art. Without even turning her head, the woman-in-white said, Its our business; it does not concern you! The young master was not offended at all; raising his cupped fist, he said, Let me, Song Shidao, offer my apology first for offending a beauty. Zaixia [I, humble, see Chapter 4] did not dare to be presumptuous; its just that noticing that Miss seemed to be puzzled by the boats turning back on the river, I ventured to inquire. There is no other intention. Like a whirlwind the woman-in-white turned around. After sizing him up and down for a moment, she coldly said, Speak up! Song Shidao was overwhelmed by the beautys favor; he said in great delight, The reason is Li Zitongs militia army from East China Sea; they had just crossed the Huai River, and formed an alliance with Du Fuwei, dealing a heavy blow to the Sui (Dynasty) army. Furthermore, they are sending an army going south. They are fast approaching Liyang. If Liyang is under attack, Yangtze Rivers waterway will be cutoff. Therefore, right now everybody simply adopts wait-and-see approach. Nobody dares to venture to the west without being able to see the situation clearly. The two boys noticed how the woman-in-white was listening attentively. They also noticed that this Song Shidao seemed to be a lot stronger than they were; they could not help feeling deeply upset, yet they could do absolutely nothing. While the woman-in-white was still deep in thought without saying anything, Song Shidao spoke up again, Miss, if you dont mind, you can take Zaixias boat. I guarantee that even if wee across thief army, you wont be disturbed. The woman-in-white coldly stared at Song Shidao; she said indifferently, You talk big; apparently you have a bit of background. With a straight face Song Shidao said, How could Zaixia dare to swing an axe before a carpenter in Miss presence? Its just that my humble family can be considered as having a bit of reputation. As long as we fly our banner on the boat, friends on the road will give us a bit of face. At this point, even Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had no choice but to praise how this fellow has struck the right note; neither haughty nor humble, it was just right. The woman-in-white swept the two boys with her gaze while she pondered in silence. Evidently she was a bit tempted. Traveling with the two kids bynd, not only it was time consuming, they were bound to meet some mishaps as well. But if they travel by water and managed to cross Liyang, they would not have to be afraid Yuwen Huaji would catch up with them. Kou Zhong could not resist, I prefer to travel bynd, he said. Before the woman-in-white could answer, Song Shidao already pressed her, Excuse me Miss, these two Xiao Xiongdi are ... The woman-in-white impatiently cut him off, Nothing, no rtion whatsoever. Dont ask anymore. Where is your boat? While Song Shidao was giving direction with great delight, Xu Ziling pulled Kou Zhong aside and said, The time to go our separate ways has arrived. Let her ride her boat, well travel our road. Kou Zhong aptly showed his lofty spirit; with a loudughter he held Xu Zilings shoulders, Good kid! he praised. And then he pushed Xu Ziling to start walking to the west. The woman-in-white angrily shouted, Stop right there! Kou Zhong looked back and waved his hand, Good bye! The woman-in-white stomped her foot angrily and said to Song Shidao, Song Xiong, please board the boat first, we willeter. In a sh she was already behind the two boys. Capturing them, she brought them back like carrying chicken. Song Shidao was puzzled, but recalling that the beauty has agreed toe onboard, there was no need for him to worry that he would not have the opportunity to win her favorter. So why would he have to worry about other things? Therefore, he happily ran after her. Book 1 - 6 – Great Method of Nine Mysteries Book 1 Chapter 6 C Great Method of Nine Mysteries Four big ships [the original refers to ancient leather-d warships] raised their anchor and set sail upstream to the west. Song Shidao talked big, naturally his background was not simple at all. The fact was that at that time in Jianghu, in term of outstanding reputation, nothing can surpass the four powerful ns. But speaking about poprity, out of four surnames, only the Song family fit the bill. The Songs held the most power in the south. The n Leader, Heavenly Saber Song Que held the title Number One Saber Under the Heavens. When Yang Jian unified the world and established the Great Sui, because he was apprehensive of the Song ns power, he adopted a policy to appease them by granting Song Que the title of Zhen Nan Gong [duke who subdue/suppress the South]. Aware that the power of the Southern Dynasties [c. 420-589AD] was gone, Song Que pretended to bow before him to protect his n. [Trantors note: as I mentioned before, the world here always refers to China. I know its simpler just to say China, but I want the reader to know the different words to describe China. Tian Xia (lit. under the sky) being one of those. Interestingly, the word China itself does not exist in Chinese text.] Among the four ns, the other three had some blood rtionship with non-Han people; but not this one of the few greats extant. To maintain the prestige of the southern n, they persevered with tradition, strictly prohibited their nsmen from intermarrying with anybody outside the Han ethnic group; hence they were known in Jianghu as a Han orthodox n. During the reign of Emperor Wen, i.e. Yang Jian, although Song Ques influence was widespread, he still did not dare to act blindly without thinking. He concealed his own strength and bid his time, concentrated fully in building his power in secret to avoid inviting cmity. When Yang Guang ascended the throne, there were internal strife and external threat everywhere, imperial court was corrupt, armed rebellion rose up from all around. The Song n increased its level of activity once more. Song Ques younger brother, Earthly Sword Song Zhi, who was considered one of the top swordsmen, as well as top strategist in Jianghu, knew that Sui Dynastys power was still considerably great; if they prematurely move their troops, they would immediately be the first target of Sui force. Hence he advised his older brother to postpone their rebellion against the Sui, but use their resources to umte wealth in all kinds of lucrative trading. One of the most profitable businesses was transporting illegal salt from coastal regions ind via the Yangtze River. They obtained great profit this way. Song Shidaos four ships were precisely smuggling sea salt from the coast. While the imperial court was corrupt, the Song family relied on their influence in the south to easily gain ess thru all key ces, and openly transport salt. If there was any government official dared to investigate and arrest, they will be dealt with all kinds of method of intimidation. They even went as far as secret assassination to achieve their goal. Even though there were rebel armies everywhere, as long as they see the Song family banner, nobody dared to offend them, for fear of making enemies of this powerful n. Therefore, for thest few years, Song familys power grew in secret. So much so that they even finance several militia groups to weaken the Sui forces. Song Que had four sons and two daughters. Song Shidao was the youngest of his sons, with specific duty to run the salt smuggling operation. His father doted on him very much. His two daughters were Yuhua and Yuzhi; both had bashful flower obstructing the moon countenance. They were his fourth and sixth child, respectively. Three years ago Song Yuhua was given in marriage to Xie Wenlong, the son of Chengdu-based great hero Xie Hui of Sichuan. Xie Huis title was Wulin Panguan [the Magistrate of Wulin; Pan Guan was the mythological judge of the underworld], a top martial art experts whose fame was on par with Song Que and Song Zhi; the founder of Du Zun Bao [Bastion of Supremacy], one of the emerging new powerful surnames outside the original four powerful ns. The Song-Xie marriage arrangement reeked with political as well as business deal smell; with these two great forces forming an alliance, Yang Guang would be more afraid to act rashly against them. In this trip, the destination of these four ships was precisely Sichuan, delivering their cargo to Du Zun Bao, which, in turn, would be distributed to the local salt merchants. This moment, in a spacious room on the second deck of one of the huge ships, Kou Zhong, who was wearing a pair of boots presented by County Deputy Chen as a gift, was lying on the bed, holding the Secret to Long Life in his hands. He was deeply engrossed in studying one of the human diagrams in the book. Although there were chairs, Xu Ziling did not sit on one, he sat on the floor instead, hugging his knees, with his back against the cabin wall. He was in turmoil. Why was it that when he saw the woman-in-white and Song Shidao talking, he grew so jealous? Although concerning man-woman rtionship he was a bit curious, he had never had any excessive expectation or even delusion. There was an extremely big gap in all aspect between he and the woman-in-white. In term of age, she was at least seven, eight years older than he was. Could it be that Kou Zhong was right, that he really had a crush on her? But thinking about it, it did not seem to be the case. When he looked at the girls from Spring Breeze Courtyard, he did have impulses to embrace them, but toward the woman-in-white, he did not have that kind of idea. Even when he had a close contact with her, his heart were brimming with respect, there was only warm love, with no lust or desire between men and women. He could not bear not to ask, Zhong Shaoye! Do you think I really fall in love with ... with that woman? [Here the word is nu ren, not po niang like before.] Dont disturb me! Kou Zhong was impatient, I am studying the worlds most formidable martial art that is not martial art! The cabin was silent once again. After half a day, Kou Zhong put down the Secret to Long Life, propped his head up, and then he got up from the bed and came over to Xu Ziling. Copying him, he sat on the floor. Holding Xu Zilings shoulders, he said, I am sorry, I was in such a bad mood. I am afraid that even if Guigu Zi[1] is reborn, he wouldnt be able to make sense of this ghost book [y on words here: the gui of Guigu Zi literally means ghost]. Hey! What did you just say? Seeing Xu Ziling was angry and did not want to talk, he hurriedly said, I know, I remember now. Ha, a real man wont worry about not finding a wife. That wo ... oh, that woman [he was going to say po niang then changed it to nu ren] does not deserve us, two brothers. That Song Pidao [pi means fart] can easily beat us with his hand tied and using just half of his skill. Wed better retain our mind and strength to take a look at this secret manual, to eat, poop and sleep. Ha ... Xu Ziling was still in distress, But did I really fall in love with her? Kou Zhong racked his brain for a moment, and then calmly said, The fact is, I was jealous as hell, same as you. But I dont think that I fall in love with her. Hey! My feeling toward her is a bit like my feeling toward Zhen Sao [see Chapter 2]; she really does not deserve to be that stinky Ol Fengs concubine, but I can do nothing about it. Ah, right! I understand now. Xiao Ling, I think you regarded her as your Niang [mother, mommy]. Who would want his own Niang to remarry? Especially marrying that we-behind-the-ears whose talk is bigger than the sky, who only fit to be our servant, Chou Pidao [chou pi C smelly fart/arrogant]. Ha! This name Chou Pidao is more apt than Yuwen Huagu [see Chapter 5]. Xu Ziling kept a stout face, but in the next instant he burst into a wildughter; so wild that tears were streaming out his eyes. Suddenly the door was pushed open. The two boys looked up in shock, and saw the woman-in-white came in with icy-cold countenance like ayer of frost. She closed the door, and then stared fiercely at the two boys. Quite a whileter, she walked over to the two boys, knocked the cabin wall they were leaning on, and said, Dont forget who stays next door. Unless this wall is made of steel te, each sentence of stinky words you speak will be transmitted into my ears. Kou Zhong struggled up and said, We did not call you po niang, why did youe to us to vent your anger? The woman-in-white dropped down on one knee and ferociously said, What this woman or that woman [nu ren]? You two are dead little demons, stinky little demons! While speaking thest sentence, a fleeting smile escaped from the corners of her mouth. How could the two boys fail to see that she was not really angry? Xu Ziling was the first to speak up, But we really dont know your name! The woman-in-white lowered her voice, And did you tell me your names? Kou Zhong showed an oh, so thats what it is look on his face. He made the introduction, Xiaodis [little brother, referring to self] name is Kou on the top and Zhong on the bottom, and he is Xu Ziling. We are the Two Dragons of Yangzhou. May I ask Dashis honorable surname and great given name? And what is your nickname? Which holy ce did youe from? Are you married? Pfft! the woman-in-white stifled aughter muttered under her breath, Dead little demon. With that kind of unspeakably mesmerizing appearance, the two boys eyeballs almost popped out. Just as quickly the woman-in-whites frosty countenance returned as she frostily said, Married or not married, its none of your business. If you talk about me behnd my back, I will ... I will ... Showing concern, Kou Zhong asked, What punishment this time? It would be best if you dont p my mouth or scrape my eyelid; it wont look too good on me. Little demons should maintain their little demons face! The woman-in-white knew she could not do anything against him; she angrily said, I will make you regret it. During dinner, you must not babble nonsense. Understand? Giggling, Kou Zhong said, Wed better call Dashi our Niang in the future, then whenever we are using your money, we wont have to feel embarrassed. A slight blush crept onto the woman-in-whites face like red clouds, making her beautiful face even more lovely and alluring, particrly her spirited but tender eyes that can hook any mans soul. Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, the two of them called together, Niang! Finally the woman-in-white could not take it anymore; sheughed and sat down. Gasping for breath, she said, If I really have you, these two absolutely disgraceful, unfilial sons, I guarantee I will suffer headache and bowel disorders. Seeing she did not tly refuse, butughed so hard that her body shook instead, that she looked so charmingly happy, which he had never seen before, Kou Zhong became bolder and decided to strike while the iron was still hot, My Niang, oh, my Niang, your child thinks that your martial art skill can be considered pretty good, after being injured by Yuwen Huagu, you took only several sichen to recover. Youd better teach us a couple of martial art techniques, let us master some unique family skills with which we can brightened our familys social status and thus will not cause you to lose any face. [1] Guigu Zi (literally The Sage of Ghost Valley), or Mr. Guigu, is thought to be the writerpiler of the 6,000-7,000 Chinese-character book discussing techniques of political lobbying based in Daoist thinking; between thete Warring States period and the end of the Han Dynasty (source: Wikipedia). Chapter 6 Part 2 Scrapper, Anh, HPC, you are wee. Szfong, I am reading it as I am tranting it, and since this is my first attempt at tranting Huang Yis, I wouldnt know. But I did save the (English trantion) of Step into the Past in MS-Word document, at the exact format as Deer and Cauldron (font, font size, page size and margin). You know, SITP has 2166 pages, while Deer and Cauldron has 1768 pages. So if this novel is twice SITP, then it is probably 2.5 times longer than Deer and Cauldron. Fortunately the chapters are a lot shorter than Jin Yongs, so I get the feeling that I trante faster. CFT, thanks for the info. My Dad once told us, his kids, that the term China probably came from Qin (dynasty), simr to Jewsing from Judah. Anok, now, please dont scare me ... I cant promise you anything, since I dont even know what will happen tomorrow. But as I mentioned before, the Lords willing, I will try my best to finish it ... probably (ording to previous calctions by various readers) in 40 years or more ... Just kidding. But even if I maintain the same speed as when I did Deer and Cauldron, it will still take close to 8 years, probably more. Anyway, enough chit-chat, heres the end of Chapter 6. I will try to post more the rest of this week. I dont n on shopping on ck Friday anyway ... Hisughter was infectious. Once she startedughing, even though she knew that Kou Zhong was teasing her and trying to make herugh, she still could not stopughing that she needed to cover her mouth with her hand. Gasping for breath, she scolded him, Get your big ghost head lost. Little demon Xu is a lot more honest than you. Indeed a dogs mouth cannot grow ivory. Kou Zhong pretended to be deeply hurt by this injustice; he said in tiny voice, Xiao Ling is honest? My heavens! He is craftier than I am. Its just that he fell in love with her Niang that he turns into a fool. Xu Ziling indignantly said, How can I be crafty? All those crafty ideas came from you, but I, the fool, have always been the one who has to do it; and now you stille up with fabricated usation and dump it on my head? The woman-in-white struggled hard not tough. Looking out the window at the glow of the setting sun, she sighed and said, I must havemitted some sins in my previous life that in this life I have two kids like you to annoy me. Alright, although fully aware that nothing good wille out of it, Ill still teach you some kind of training method. If you really can master this skill, then Ill consider teaching you swordsmanship. But you two are not my children; even more, you are not my disciples. The two boys spirit was greatly shaken, they asked in chorus, What are you to us then? The woman-in-white was stunned. After staying silent for half a day, she said with wry smile, Dont ask me! But there was a warm feeling rising up in her heart. Even she herself could not understand why she felt it was hard to part with these two boys; so much so that when they called her Niang, she could not bring herself to reprimand them. Herself was an orphan born in the chaos of war, which was adopted by a Gaoli martial art master Fu Cailin. Ever since she was a mere child, she was trained to be an assassin, in addition to learning Han peoplesnguage and culture. The reason she came to the south this time was precisely to be a part of a mission. Happy and giggling, Kou Zhong said, Being our Niang is most fitting. Lets strike while the iron is still hot. Oh my Niang, quickly teach your consummate skill to your child. The woman-in-white gave him an angry stare, and then in a low voice she said, My name is Fu Junchuo. If you like, you can call me Chuo Jie [older sister]. I really have never imagined that in this trip I would be involved with you, two little frivolous and naughty boys. Kou Zhong noticed that her manner and her words differed greatly; he winked and said, I still prefer to call you Niang, dont you? Xiao Ling? Fu Junchuo spoke tenderly, The mouth is on your face, you can call me anything you want. Xu Ziling was overwhelmed with emotion that he felt like crying, his eyes turned red. Hanging down his head, he called, Niang! Fu Junchuo was also overwhelmed with emotions, it was quite a whileter that she was able to suppress this emotion that very rarely surfaced. She coldly said, You may call whatever you like, but no way I am willing to admit that you are my sons, and dont expect even more that I will take you by my side. Alright, now I am going to teach you the fundamentals of sitting in meditation to cultivate your qi. This is the unique skill passed on by my master, without my explicit permission, you must not pass it on to anybody else, or else, even if I cannot bear to do it, I must follow my schoolsw and kill you, two little demons. The two boys nodded their heads repeatedly signifying their promise. Fu Junchuo solemnly said, My master Fu Cailin achieved great sess inbining martial arts from the Central ins, Xiyu[2], and Gaoli, developing his own unique style. Therefore, together with Western Regions powerful hegemon Wu Zun [wulins most venerable] Bi Xuan, Central ins number one Taoist martial art expert San Zhenren[3] Ning Daoqi, became known as the three great masters of the present age. He once said that it is sufficient to know from oneself every change of divine power. He was saying that everyone has a treasure trove hidden deep within himself, the potential is boundless, but is blinded by all kinds of worldly attachments. No wonder Niang said that one must start training since childhood, simply because children have the least worldly attachments, hence it is very likely that they will be able to break free and be enlightened. Fu Junchuo stared nkly for a moment and then said, I have never thought it that way. Oh! You, this little kid, seem to have a bit ofprehension ability. Kou Zhong proudly said, This child Xiao Ling is constantly inspired, its only natural that he is not much inferior. Fu Junchuo glowered at him and said, This guy loves to show off his intelligence the most. Dont be conceited, intelligent people often have the most distractions, and distracting thought is precisely the biggest barrier to training basic skills. Only by guarding your heart and total focus can you get rid of the ego, and be alert to the mystery of heavens. Everything wille one by one, and then going through the meridians [or channels] ording to the training method, harmonizing the qi and the blood, regting the adverse and the favorable going in and out in bnce. Therefore, although the method is ever-changing, the basic idea is still this One word. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, In that case, isnt the person with the highest martial art skill ought to be the most stupid person? Is Niangs Shifu stupid and slow-witted? Fu Junchuo was angry, but was also stumped; knowing that it was not the fact, but did not know how to refute his argument. If it were before, she might just gave him a beating; but now, toward this child who kept calling her Niang, she was a bit fond of him. While she was vexed, Xu Ziling spoke up on her behalf, Certainly not. Someone who can master martial art skill and establish a sect must be able to create, only then would he be able to surpass the ordinary ability and aplishments of previous generations. Therefore, the one Niang is referring to ought to be someone who is sharp but petty-minded, not someone with great wisdom and great intelligence, the one so-called highly skillful but appears clumsy. Niangs Shifu must be this sort of great intelligence may appear to be stupidity person. Kou Zhong and Fu Junchuo stared at Xu Ziling as if it was the first time that they noticed that this person existed. They were both deeply moved. Fu Junchuo nodded and said, Little demon Ling indeed has a littleprehension. Kou Zhong happily said, This little brother of mine indeed has a littleprehension. Ill say he usually looks clumsy and stupid, turns out he has great wisdom that appears to be stupidity, hidden deep without revealing anything, makingozi [I, your father; used jocrly] has to show-off my highly skillful but appears clumsy ability, which, in the end, making me the sharp but petty-minded person. Fu Junchuo could not help knocking his head with her knuckles, while angrily said, If you keep jesting [orig. impromptuic material in opera performance], I wont teach you the training method. Kou Zhong rubbed his head and protested, Oh my Niang, next time would you just spank my bottom? Otherwise, if you badly knocked my head, how could I learn Niangs top quality training method? Fu Junchuo was not in the mood to bicker groundlessly with him; she simply said, What I am about to teach you is called Great Method of Nine Mysteries. It starts with one and end with nine. Other than Shifu, nobody has ever mastered the ninth Great Method. Even Niang ... oh! Even I only trained until the sixth. Fu Junchuo blurted without thinking, calling herself Niang. Embarrassed, her beautiful face turned red, making her looked even more irresistibly sweet and charming. Seeing the two boys trying to hide theirughter, she was greatly annoyed, Dontugh! You are the one who wears me out. Do you want to learn or not? The two boys hurriedly nodded their head promising they wanted to learn. It took Fu Junchuo quite a while before she was able topose herself. She said, Underneath its defending the form, above its defending the spirit. Spirit controls the spirit, mind controls the movement. Mind is movement, getting away from it means emptiness. This emptiness is an unusual emptiness, thus not empty is in fact emptiness. Peace and quiet is profound, its existence cannot happen by chance, where it goes cannot be pursued. Thus wee it ordingly, because unintentional is actually intention. At the beginning the mysterious way be the first level. [Trantors note: my apology, these passages are way above my head, I simply tranted it as close as I thought it literally means.] After a short pause, she continued, Dont covet this first level. A lot of people spent their entire life and still unable to connect qi and mind, obtain the form but miss the spirit, until they finally quit midway, having achieving nothing. Seeing the two boys shook their heads and swayed their minds, looking as if they gained a lot, she was astounded. Do you understand what I am saying? Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Such a simple words, whats so difficult to understand? Fu Junchuo recalled her Shifus high praise that she was an amazing talent to train martial art, yet until today it was only after reaching the sixth level that she was truly able to grasp the essence of the method. How could these two boys understand just by hearing it once? Pointing to Kou Zhong, she said, You, exin it back to me. The light from outside the window gradually dimmed; inside, the room was warm with faint fading light, carrying with it the deste feeling ofpsing time. Kou Zhong was stunned as he said, You have said it very well, its hard to find other words with which to exin it. If I have to exin it, Ill say that from a with-form method we need to enter the formless method, hoping to move the spirit. When the opportunity arrives, then we can have enough self-realization to ess the formless treasure-trove within ourselves that Niang was referring to. Spirit and mind unleashed, then using unintentional thought resist and harness it, so that we can produce his mothers ... oh, I mean, produce the true qi. Heavens, can I start training now? Listening to this, Fu Junchuo was dumbstruck. This exnation was clearer than her own Shifu, Fu Cailin. This boys innate talent was really high, it was just that he had been through horrifying situation that he could not progress further. Xu Ziling said, If Zhong Shaoye is that eager to train, it might be harmful to you instead. Speaking about unintentional is actually intention, it is referring to the kind of mental state where we intentionally forgoing the intention, where emptiness is not empty, where peace and quiet is profound, its existence cannot happen by chance, where it goes cannot be pursued. When Fu Junchuo heard this, her scalp felt numb. These two boys were like fine jade that has not been carved and polished; even she herself was somewhat inspired by this radiant light that prates ten thousand zhang of darkness. Kou Zhong said in embarrassment, I was just saying! But please, Niang, quickly teach us the with-form method, so that when the opportunityes, I can keep on training, even when I eat or defecate. Fu Junchuo angrily scolded him, Dont speak foulnguage. Now I will teach you first how to sit cross-legged and the method to circte the qi. I will say it just once and wont repeat it. While the two boys mind was greatly excited, there was a knock on the door. Actually, it came from Fu Junchuos adjacent room. Fu Junchuo sighed and said, Well continue after dinner! Looking at the two boys disappointed expression, she almost decided to turn down Song Shidaos invitation. All of a sudden a warm feeling toward these two witty sons grew in her heart. [2] Western Regions, a Han Dynasty term for regions beyond Yumen Pass; as in Journey to the West. [3] Zhenren literally means true man, a term of respect for Taoist master. Book 1 - 7 – Jade Annulus of the He Clan Book 1 Chapter 7 C Jade Annulus of the He n Song Shidao prepared a banquet in the dining cabin, simple yet impressive. There was another couple in attendance. The man was around forty, but the hair on his entire head was white; he also wore a long silvery color beautiful beard, but oddly he did not look old at all. His bearing was elegant, bold and heroic, like an important character of a sect or a prominent family, yet his manner was very modest and polite. The woman looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, rather flirtatious. Her attitude toward the man was very intimate, plus both her countenance and her physique were extremely tititing, giving other people a rather uneasy feeling. She reminded Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling of thedies of the Spring Breeze Courtyard, but naturally her beauty was far superior to some Auntie Hong of the Courtyard. ording to Song Shidaos introduction, turned out the man was a well-known martial art expert of the Song n, the Silver Beard Song Lu, whose creation, the set of Silver Dragon Cane Techniques was famous throughout Jiangnan [area south of Yangtze River]. He was Song Shidaos [younger] uncle, one of the core-leaders of the Song n. The woman was called Liu Jing, the new mistress of Song Lu, but nothing was mentioned about her background. By the time Song Shidao wanted to introduce the three people, he suddenly realized that he did not even know these threes surnames and given names. While he was stuck in embarrassing situation, Fu Junchuo indifferently introduced themselves, without concealing anything. Song Luughed and said, The person who imparted Miss internal skill obviously has first-ss martial art skill; your sword style is brimming with exoticism. I wonder which superior master instructed such a brilliant character like Miss? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were secretly speechless; this mans fame was definitely no fluke. Although they had never heard Song Lus name before, they knew that he must be a prominent figure; hence his eyesight was very sharp, his manner of speaking was very fitting. They could not help but admiring him, and it showed. Their gaze was actually more effective than any ttery, so that Song Lu immediately had a favorable impression toward them. Fu Junchuo calmly replied, Mr. Song, please forgive me. Junchuo received a strict order not to disclose my background. Liu Jing cast a sidelong nce toward the two boys with her as-clear-as-shallow-autumn-creek eyes; she smiled and said, Two Xiao Xiongdi look imposingly big and tall, why havent you practice Miss Fus martial art skill? I wonder what is your rtion to Miss Fu? Kou Zhong stuck his chest out and clearing his throat he said, We two brothers are ready to train our Niangs first-ss martial art skill. Thank you very much for Mrs. Songspliment. Hearing him saying our Niang, Song Shidaos eyes fell on Fu Junchuos infinitely beautiful and tender body; with a changed countenance he asked, Your Niang? Fu Junchuos charming eyes blushed slightly; after shooting an angry stare at Kou Zhong, she said in embarrassment, Dont listen to these two little demons crazy nonsense; they adamantly wanted to call me Niang. Xu Ziling rubbed his stomach theatrically and blurted, Niang! Child is hungry. Liu Jing could not helpughing so hard that her body shook continuously. But Song Shidao and Song Lu, uncle and nephew, were baffled. They could not figure out the real rtionship between this stunning beauty and the two little demons. Noticing the two boys were staring at Liu Jing like a lecher, Fu Junchuo felt a strange jealousy creeping into her heart. With a cold snort she said, If you dare to babble nonsense again, lets see if I ... if I ... Casting his doubt aside, Song Shidao said, Miss Fu and Xiao Xiongdi, pleasee into our dining room, we can continue our chat while we eat. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were youngsters after all; seeing Song Shidao treated them with respect, their jealousy diminished considerably. Plus they saw on the table was a sumptuous spread of food delicacies [orig. rarities from the mountain and the sea], hurriedly they entered the dining room and sat down in total ignorance of Jianghu etiquette. By this time Song Shidao was already able to more or less see the two boys real background; hence he did not mind them too much. He politely invited Fu Junchuo to take a seat, and then Song Shidao and Song Lu took their seat as the host on either side of her. Liu Jing sat next to Song Lu, followed by Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Two attendants immediately rushed forward to fill everybodys cup with wine. Fu Junchuo said, I have never moisten my lips with wine, and these two are underage, they ought not to drink wine as well. So gentlemen anddy, please enjoy yourselves. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were dying to have a taste of fine wine; hearing her, naturally they were quite disappointed, and it showed clearly on their faces. Fu Junchuo was inwardly very pleased; she was finally able to put these two lecherous little demons back in check. Song Luughed, In that case, lets everybody not drink wine. Xiao Jing [little Jing], do you have any problem? Liu Jing alsoughed tenderly, How can qie [I, your servant; deprecatory self-reference for women] have any problem? I am afraid the ones with the problem are these two Xiao Xiongdi. Kou Zhong stuck his chest out, A leader can submit or can stand tall as required. We can drink, we can not drink. How can there be any problem? The three Song family people were ustomed to spend their time at the docks; they have seen all kinds of situation, big and small. Looking at the two boys, they knew that they were trying to make do in spite of adversity, yet they did not wish to expose them. Thereupon they changed the subject. Apparently Song Lu was a food connoisseur; he casually introduced each dish on the table, and talked about the art of cooking. Listening to him, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose tummy always alternated between full and hungry, were stupefied. Their hands, however, did not stay idle; they attacked the vegetable and meat dishes systematically in a sweep-clean operation. Fu Junchuo was not interested in the food, she only ate two strips of Chinese cabbage, and already put her chopsticks down. Her jade countenance was still as calm as the water, her beauty really looked like Guanyin Bodhisattva descending to earth. The more Song Shidao looked at her, the more he fell in love. But because Song Lu indicated that she may havee from outside the Central Earth, he felt like his heart was pierced by a sharp thorn, because their Song n had a strict rule against intermarriage with different tribe. If this stunning beauty was really of a different tribe, unless he was willing to abandon his family, the two of them would never be brought together by fate. Liu Jing did not dare to eitherpliment or criticize Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys table manner, but she found them to be extremely amusing. With a smile on her face she watched them sweeping the dishes clean like the wind sweeping the clouds. From time to time she even picked the dish for them and served them attentively. After the attendants took away the bowls and the dishes, Song Lu personally served everybody tea. Noticing that Fu Junchuo was not interested in talking about food, Song Lu changed the subject, Miss Fu, I wonder if you have deep understanding of our Central Earths matters? Song Shidao immediately looked nervous; he knew that Song Lu was able to see his infatuation toward Fu Junchuo, hence he tried to test her to verify whether she was indeed of a different tribe, while at the same time telling Song Shidao to kill his heart. Fu Junchuo responded emotionlessly, How can Mr. Song judge from my sword style that Junchuo is of foreign origin? Song Shidaos handsome eyes immediately lit up. Song Lu apologetically said, Please forgive the Ol Song for being rude and impetuous. I was just wondering if Miss has ever heard about the matter concerning the He ns jade annulus? In the end he was still an old fox; in a roundabout way he was still testing where Fu Junchuo came from. Like a school children, Kou Zhong raised his hand and said, I heard about it. King Zhaoxiang of Qin exchanged fifteen cities for King Huiwen of Zhaos subduing the nation treasure, the He ns jade annulus. The Zhao King sent Lin Xiangru [c. 3rd century BC, a famous statesman of Zhao] to escort the He ns jade annulus to see the Qin King. The Ol Lin handled the jade annulus belonging to other people in a stupid way. Fortunately the Qin King was more stupid than he was, he let him bring the He ns jade annulus back to Zhao. This is called some his mothers returning the jade annulus to Zhao. [Chinese idiom, meaning to return something intact to its rightful owner.] Everybody wasughing. Liu Jingughed the hardest. Pointing to Kou Zhong, she asked, So what happened to the He ns jade annulus afterwards? Fu Junchuo was grateful in her heart; she knew that Kou Zhong was afraid she could not answer the question, hence he rushed in to answer it for her, while at the same time she was startled by this sons quick wit. It was only because he had heard Bai Lao Fuzi [See Chapter 1] telling the story of returning the jade annulus to Zhao that he had something to say. As for how it returned to Zhao and what happened afterwards, he had no idea. I am afraid only Laotianye [God/Heaven] knows, he said in embarrassment. Liu Jingughed even harder that her body shook all over as she leaned toward Song Lu; her seductive appearance grew without restraint. Seeing the kid was able to make his beloved concubine roaring inughter and looked so carefree, Song Lu was happy. Momentarily he forgot to continue his probing on Fu Junchuos background. He patiently exined, Later on this He ns jade annulus ended in Qin Shihuangs[1] hand. He ordered Li Si[2] topose a couplet shou ming yu tian, ji shou yong chang [lit. to be Emperor by the grace of Heaven, (enjoy) both long life and eternal well-being. Wikipedia trantion: Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (the emperor) lead a long and prosperous life], eight characters in seal script that look like birds and bugs, and have jade and stone craftsmen to engrave the jade annulus. Thereupon the He ns jade annulus has be the Emperors seal. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling showed an oh, so thats how it is look on their faces. Song Shidao was afraid Song Lu might continue interrogating Fu Junchuo, he continued, After Han founder Liu Bang[3] overthrew the Great Qin Dynasty [221-207BC], Qin King, Ziying offered the He ns jade annulus to Liu Bang. Liu Bang called it the Imperial Seal [orig. chuan guo xi, seal of state that was passed on]. Henceforth the He ns jade annulus became a symbol of rise and fall of the nation. Later on Wang Mang[4] intended to seize the throne, he sent his younger brother Wang Shun to Changle Pce to demand the jade annulus from Empress Dowager Xiaoyuan, making Empress Dowager Xiaoyuan angry and threw it to the floor; as a result the corner broke. Wang Mang ordered a goldsmith to fill the broken corner with gold. Henceforth He ns jade annulus also had another elegant name, jade body gold corner. [1] Qin Shihuang, first emperor of China, 259-210BC. [2] Li Si, (c. 280-208 BC), Legalist philosopher, calligrapher and Prime minister of Qin kingdom and Qin dynasty from 246 to 208 BC. [3] Han Gaozu Liu Bang (256 or 247-195 BC), bandit leader who became the first Han emperor, reigned 207-195 BC. [4] Wang Mang (45 BC-23 AD), usurped power and reigned 9-23 between the former andter Han. Chapter 7, Part 2 HPC, Anh, you are wee. SzFong, Ill say dont worry about the length. If I set my mind on the 63 books, I will get discouraged, because its almost four weeks, and we are still about 60-70% of Book 1. But ... my target is Book 1 by Christmas (which I am optimistic I will be able to aplish), and then Book 2 by Lunar New Year. Lets see what will happen. Kou Zhongughed and said, This story must be fake; if He ns jade annulus was thrown really hard like that, how could it not shatter? Song Lu emotionally replied, Kou Xiao Xiong [little brother] certainly has clear understanding like deities, but this story is absolutely true. It was because the jade was not an ordinary jade. In those years, a Chu[5] man named Bian He went to Mount Jingshan [Hubei] to chop firewood. He saw a beautiful phoenix perched on a piece of bluestone. Recalling that phoenix dont perch on anything that is not a treasure he concluded that this bluestone must be a treasure; thereupon he presented the stone to King Li of Chu. Who would have thought that all precious stone craftsmen of the Chu court pointed out that the stone Bian He presented was an ordinary stone? In his anger King of Chu chopped his left foot and expelled him from his presence. In his heart Bian He felt he was wronged. When King Wu ascended the throne, again he presented the treasure, this time his right foot was cut-off. When King Wus son, King Wen ascended the throne, he heard about this matter, and had the bluestone brought back to the Pce. He ordered the artisans to carve and polish with utmost care, and cut open the stone. From inside they obtain a piece of glossy, wless, sparkling and translucent, bright and clean, wonderful treasure that was out-of-this-world. In honor of Bian He, henceforth it was called He Shi Bi [jade disc of He]. [Trantors note: Wikipedia has a full entry on He Shi Bi in English, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Shi_Bi] Song Shidao said, If it were ordinary jade, its impossible for the Chu courts precious stone craftsmen not to know it. Their mistake was to think it was an ordinary stone. Moreover, precious stones have never been found on Mount Jingshan. Evidently He ns jade annulus was totally different from other jade or precious stones. Also, it was the first time that such amazing treasure was discovered; therefore, nobody recognized it. Being thrown down to the ground and broke only one corner clearly demonstrated He ns jade annulus extraordinary property. This time, even Fu Junchuo showed interest. She asked, What actually is the He ns jade annulus? It was the very first time that this beautiful woman ever asked him anything. Song Shidao was secretly very happy; he dly exined, ording to our Song Family legend from the ancient times, this piece of jade is a magical stone that came from the world of the immortals; it contains a world-shattering secret, only nobody knows what the secret is. Xu Ziling was curious, So in whose hand is the He ns jade annulus now? he asked. Liu Jingughed and said, Legend has it that by the time of Emperor Shao[6] of the end of Han Dynasty, He ns jade annulus was lost. By the time of the Three Kingdoms [220-280AD], the governor of Changhe [lit. long river, not sure if it is a province name; cant find it in the list of provinces of modern China] Sun Jian[7] was patrolling inside Luoyang[8] city walls, suddenly he saw rays of light radiated all around from a water well. He ordered his men to investigate, and they dredged up the corpse of an imperial concubine. There was a red box hanging from her neck, when they opened it, it was precisely the He ns jade annulus. When Sun Jian went to war and died, the He ns jade annulus fell into Cao Caos[9] hand, which he then passed on to hister generations. Until the Sui [dynasty] exterminated the Southern Chen [557-589], Yang Jian searched everywhere in the Chen Pce, but he failed to find the He ns jade annulus that was supposedly among the treasures hidden by the Chen Lord. This has been a matter for regret for Yang Jian in all his life. Fu Junchuo could not resist asking, Gentlemen, why did you suddenly bring up this He ns jade annulus matter? Song Shidaos countenance changed, Apparently although Miss is in Jianghu, you did not quite know what major event is happening in Jianghu. Stroking his beard, Song Lu said, He ns jade annulus, Yang Gongs [Duke Yang, see Chapter 1] treasure-trove, the two are actually one, they can pacify the world [again tian xia, i.e. China]. Right now fire beacons are everywhere, everybody wants to be the worlds emperor. So the people under the heavens are vying to obtain these two things. Recently there is a rumor in Jianghu that He ns jade annulus has appeared in Luoyang, hence people who think that they have some ability are rushing to Luoyang to try their luck. In this trip, after delivering the goods to Sichuan, we may make a trip to Luoyang to see what will the Song Familys destiny be. This Song Lus demeanor was extremely elegant, no matter how big he talked, he always made the listeners feelfortable. Kou Zhongs eye lit up; he said, Whoever obtain the He ns jade annulus may obtain the world. Ha! Xiao Ling and I will also go to try our luck. Fu Junchuos eyes shed with cold light; staring hard at Kou Zhong, she said, Do you think you, these two little demons fit to do that? I definitely wont allow you to go to Luoyang. If you keep indulging yourselves in wild fantasy,ter on I will not ... I will not pay any more attention you. She was going to say I will no teach you the secret method, but at thest moment she corrected herself. Naturally the power of her threat was greatly diminished. Song Lu was still unclear of the rtionship among these three people, but although Fu Junchuo was using harsh words, it was clear that she showed concern toward these two free-spirited boys. Song Shidao warmly said, Miss Fu is right. It would be wise not to take advantage of this excitement, especially because the He ns jade annulus involves the most mysterious sect in Wulin. This sect sends out their people every so often to enter the world to practice their religion; they are bing more unpredictably mysterious. What sect is that? Fu Junchuo asked in amazement. Miss Fu is asking the right people, Song Lu replied, If you asked other people, there is a good chance that they have not even heard about it. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings interest was greatly piqued; they were listening attentively. Song Shidao said, This sect is called Ci Hang Jing Zhai [ci Cpassionate/merciful, hang C boat/ship/to sail/to fly, jing C calm/quiet, zhai C abstain from meat, wine/give alms, hence it is some kind of religious organization; I checked ndhenrys trantion and he/she uses monastery]. For thest several hundred years, it has an unsurpassed status among the ck/mysterious organizations; but those who know the Jing Zhai location are unwilling to reveal anything pertaining to this Sect. Therefore, although because of He ns jade annulus we conducted open enquiries and secret searches on this Jing Zhai, what we know is not too much. We only know that the practitioners of this heavenlyw are women. It was said that one time the number one martial art expert of the Taoist sect, Shan Zhenren [see Chapter 6] Ning Daoqi went up the Jing Zhai to look for the presiding master to discuss martial art. Surprisingly, the presiding master of the Jing Zhai let him look at their treasured book, Ci Hang Sword Canon. Before Ning Daoqi finished reading, he already vomited blood and was injured; in the end he retreated from this awkward situation. Not many people know about this, hence it is not spread in Jianghu. Kou Zhong pped Xu Zilings shoulder and said with a sigh, Now that is the real secret manual! Among those people, naturally only Xu Ziling and Fu Junchuo knew what he was talking about. Song Lu sighed and said, There are people beyond people, there are skies above the sky. The more we learn, the more we realize how minuscule our knowledge is; then we wont dare to rely on force to go on the rampage anymore. Delighted, Xu Ziling said sincerely, Song Daye [big master, as in master-servant rtionship] is indeed a great man. In Yangzhou, he was used to call other people Daye, hence he automatically used that appetion. Song Luughed and said, Two Xiao Xiongdis basis and bones are extremely good. If I came across you a few years earlier, the Ol Song will definitely let you get away. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenances changed, their hearts sank. Their Niang has told them that, and now Song Lu said the same thing; apparently they could forget being martial art experts in this lifetime. [5] Chu, a kingdom during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods (722-221 BC). [6] Emperor Shao of Han (176C190) (other name King of Hongnong), was briefly an emperor of China during the Han dynasty; his name literally means young emperor (of Han), a name which he shares with several other emperors with brief reigns. He came to power in 189 and was deposed and then poisoned by Dong Zhuo in 190. [7] Sun Jian (155-191), famous general at end of Han dynasty, forerunner of the southern kingdom of Wu of the Three Kingdoms. [8] Luoyang, a prefecture level city in Henan, old capital from pre-Han times. [9] Cao Cao (155-220), famous statesman and general at the end of Han, noted poet and calligrapher,ter warlord, founder and first king of Cao Wei, father of Emperor Cao Pi; he was also the main viin of novel the Romance of Three Kingdoms. Chapter 7, Part 3 HPC, Anh, SzFong, you are wee. Jaya, what Whiteskwirl said. Strawberry, as much as I love reading yourments, you are under no obligation to do that. By holiday schedule, you mean Thanksgiving, I presume? Forgive me if it was not. For all I know, you might be in different country celebrating different holiday. I hope whatever it was, you had a good time? Anyway, heres the end of Chapter 7. Fu Junchuos heart went with them. She decided right then and there to try her best to see if there was any way she could reverse the hopeless situation [orig. reverse the rotation of the sky], to train them well. Her heart grew warm as she said, Itste, I want to go to bed a bit early tonight. Although Song Shidao a hundred times, a thousand times unwilling, he had no choice but to do as she wished, i.e. to end the dinner banquet. Kou Zhong actually wanted to ask what the rtionship between the He ns jade annulus and the Ci Hang Jing Zhai, but first, he was afraid Fu Junchuo would not be happy, second, he was dying to start learning the Great Method of Nine Mysteries. Thereupon he kept his mouth shut and, along with Xu Ziling, simply followed Fu Junchuo back to their room. Inside Fu Junchuos cabin, the three of them sat cross-legged facing each other in a triangle. Moonlight prated the room, shedding its ray on Fu Junchuos body, making her look more like Guanyin Dashi descending to the mortal world. With solemn expression Fu Junchuo spoke softly, Do you know why I left and then came back to rescue you from the hands of that county magistrate, and then at Danyang we separated, but again I could not help returning to you? Looking at her serious expression, Kou Zhong did not dare to crack a joke, he seriously replied, Is it because Niang cherishes us? Fu Junchuo sighed and said, You can say that. Among Yuwen Huajis personal attendants, there is one sent by our Gaoli King, thats why after I sent you to Beipo County, I made a secret contact with him, inquiring about the condition of Yuwen Huajis injury. Xu Ziling happily said, So Yuwen Huaji was also injured? Of course, Fu Junchuo proudly said, How could my Jiu Xuan Shengong [divine power of nine mysteries] stay idle and not inflict any damage? How could he not be injured? But he can be considered rare, he only needed to meditate for a couple of sichen [i.e. 4 hours] and already his strength waspletely restored. Just from this fact I can deduce that he is still oneyer above me. At the same time, I can also deduce that in order to get the Secret to Long Life, he wont spare any effort to hunt and capture you. Thats why I came back to rescue you, these two little demons. How can I let that tyrant of ten thousand evils live long? Kou Zhong forced himself to say, Niang can always take our Secret to Long Life away and then find any ce to bury it; clean hands clean feet, its much better than being burdened by the two of us! Fu Junchuo cut him off, I simply dont like doing hical things like that. Xu Zilings heart was touched. He asked, Then why did Niang want to leave us at Danyang? Fu Junchuo heaved a deep sigh. She said grimly, Didnt we get together in the end? I dont know why I treated you, these two irritating little demons, well. I was thinking of leaving you at Danyang, giving you enough traveling expense so that you could go your own way, and just forget about it. But after thinking deeper, Yuwen Huaji is able to utilize the power of the worlds government officials, in the end you wont escape his evil w; hence I couldnt help buting back to you. Do you think I fancy that Song Shidao? Not a chance! I had made up my mind long ago to die for my country; how could I be interested in man-woman rtionship? I just want to borrow their ship to get you two far away from danger. Once the ship docks at the pier, we will leave the ship to go ashore, flee to the rebel territory, then that Yuwen Huaji will be helpless to catch you. Kou Zhong resolutely said, We might as well destroy the Secret to Long Life first, so that even if that Yuwen Huagu manages to catch up with us, he still wont get the treasured book. Fu Junchuo and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised; they had never expected that this kid, who was usually greedy for wealth and greedy for benefit, would be willing to make this kind of sacrifice. Fu Junchuo nodded. Hearing Xiao Zhong [little Zhong] said so, I am really happy, she said, But for the time being, we are not that desperate yet. Let me teach you the meditation skill first. But you must promise me on an oath that before the day you reached the first level of qi and mind connection, you are not allowed to mingle out in Jianghu. Just quietly find a small town, hide from the chaos of war, and peacefully and happily live the rest of your lives. Xu Zilings eyes turned red as he said, Niang! You are really good to us. Kou Zhong was also deeply moved, Even if our own Niang came back to life, they wouldnt be as good as you. The two boys immediately made an oath. Fu Junchuo taught them to put their palms together in front of their chest, and then she said, Prior to training your skill, you must train your character first. Remove all distracting thoughts, and then sit cross-legged with left leg facing out, right leg facing in, use yang [positive/male principle in Taoism] to embrace yin [negative/female principle]; left hand thumb pinches the middle finger, right hand thumb enters the left hand and make a circle. Right hand on the outside, using yin to surround yang. This is called Nine Mysteries Meridian Chain Secret. The four limbs also join together as a chain. Four gates tightly closed to guard the median. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Niang, didnt you say that Great Method of Nine Mysteries is heavy on spirit and light on form? Why do we have to pay particr attention to form like this? Fu Junchuo was speechless for half a day. Finally she sighed and said, If you really can seed in mastering this divine skill, you must establish a sect, with your innovative idea you could be a peerless great master. I have never questioned the method like you do. But I can only teach you based on a proven method. If you can figure out other ways, you can always try it. But your heart and the method must be in agreement with each other; otherwise an unexpected disaster might ur. Kou Zhong sighed in admiration, Niang is indeed open-minded, the Shifus teaching their disciples in the martial art court have never taken this kind of approach. Thereupon Fu Junchuo exined in details the position and capacity of the Eight Extraordinary Channels[10] and all major acupuncture points, while repeatedly pointing to these acupoints on their bodies. By the time the two boys memorized everything, it was already the third watch of the night [between 11pm C 1am]. This moment the big ship suddenly slowed down. From the shore they could hear a faint howling. All three peoples countenance changed. [10] Eight Extraordinary Channels (Qi Jing Ba Mai) - These consist of the channels of Ren, Du, Chong, Dai, Yinwei, Yangwei, Yinjiao and Yangjiao. They differ from the Twelve Regr Channels in that they neither pertain to any organ, nor do they share an exterior-interior rtionship between each other. Their main function is to regte the cirction of energy (qi4) and blood in the Twelve Regr Channels. When the regr channels are satiated, excess qi and blood flow into the Eight Extraordinary Channels to be stored forter use. (Huang Yushi, wuxiapedia) Book 1 - 8 – In so much pain, wishing for death Book 1 Chapter 8 C In so much pain, wishing for death Yuwen Huajis forceful voice came from the right shore, I wonder which honorable person from the Song n presides over this fleet of ships, please pull toward the shore and halt the ships, let Yuwen Huaji get on board to send my regards. Inside the cabin, Fu Junchuo and the two boys looked at each other. They did not expect Yuwen Huaji would catch up with them this quickly. This moment the fourrge ships were heading toward the left shore instead; obviously they were afraid Yuwen Huaji would fly toward their ship, or perhaps he would use arrows to attack from the distance. From the bow Song Lusughter soared to the sky, Yuwen Daren, I trust you have been well since west met. Song Lu pays his respect. While spurring his horse to pursue the ship, Yuwen Huajiughed and replied, Turns out its the Silver Beard with a Silver Dragon Cane, Song Xiong, now everything will be alright. Would Song Xiong please have your fleet pull toward the shore first, so that Xiongdi [brother, referring to self] can tell you the details? Song Luughed and said, Yuwen Xiong ttered Xiaodi [little brother, referring to self] too much. If Yuwen Daren were in Xiaodis shoes, suddenly saw martial art masters from the Capital flocked in in the middle of the night, telling us to stop along the river, while Xiaodis ships are loaded with valuable goods, for the sake of safety, how could I not inquire clearly first the purpose of Yuwen Darens visit? Yuwen Huaji was extremely shrewd, he did not get angry at all; he said cheerfully, Thats easy. This time this officer [referring to self] received the Sages [referring to the Emperor] order to capture three offenders to the throne. Reportedly the Fourth Gongzi has paid the bills of these offenders at a restaurant in Danyang, andter on he even invited them toe aboard his ship. I wonder if there is indeed such thing? Without even thinking Song Lu replied, Someone must be trying to frame us up. Would Yuwen Daren please return and report to the Holy Sage that if I, Song Lu, see these offenders, I will personally capture them to bring them to justice, I will send them under escort to the Capital. Itste! The Ol Song is going back to his cabin to sleep. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not expect Song Lu to hold yi qi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice, code of brotherhood] like this. Without the slightest hesitation he simply refused to hand them over to him; they did not even hear him asking whether the offender was male or female, he simply asked Yuwen Huaji to return to the Capital. Hence they knew that he would not betray them. Such character indeed deserved to be called a hero and a warrior. Yuwen Huaji threw his head back andughed aloud, Song Xiong is quick to act and quick to speak. In this case Xiaodi wont hide anything from you. Although for the time being Song Xiong can enjoy your peace, you will only invite endless trouble in the future. Furthermore, this officer can push the me to your Song n. When the Sages dragon heart is angry, I am afraid Song Xiong and your family wont feel better either. Song Lu said, Yuwen Daren always loves to exaggerate, but you forget that mouth also grows on other peoples faces. Hearing Daren inflicts misfortune to my humble family, there will be another story in the Jianghu. It seems to me Yuwen Xiongs consideration is less than thorough. Yuwen Huaji seemed to be listening with great delight; heughed until he was out of breath and said, In that case, this officer will not rush back to the Capital just yet. I will quietly wait Song Xiongs honorable self at the Weeping Ghost Gorge ahead, where the river isparatively narrower, so that we can talk a bit more conveniently, no need for us, brothers, to shout until our voices hoarse. Again Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenance changed. Fu Junchuo suddenly stood up and said, I, Fu Junchuo, have received enough kindness from Han people, I will not implicate other people anymore. Come, lets go. The two boys havent even had the chance to hear Song Lus response when Fu Junchuo grabbed their belts and broke out through the window. Like a big bird they flitted across the surface of the river over four zhang or so distance toward the left riverbank. Song Lus surprised cry and Yuwen Huajis angry roar could be heard almost simultaneously before the three people entered the forest. The wind cut through Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings ear as Fu Junchuo took them soaring like a cloud or like riding on the mist, entering deep into the forest. In just a short moment they have covered over ten li. They felt that they were climbing higher and higher, the terrain was gradually getting steeper and more rugged. It was not until Fu Junchuo set them down that they realized that they were up on a high mountain. The mountain breeze blew, the two boys were so cold that their teeth chattered. Rounding around the mountaintop, Fu Junchuo brought the two boys to a shallow cave where on both sides the mountain rocks, the trees and the grass were tall, so that they could hide inside and were temporarily sheltered from the cold wind. Kou Zhong let out a relieved sigh and said, So dangerous! Fortunately we are on the other side of Yangtze River, Yuwen Huagu cannot chase after us. Fu Junchuo sighed and said, Maybe its impossible for other people, but Yuwen Huagu only needs a piece of dry stick, and he could easily cross the Great River. You, this kid, really dont understand anything. Shocked, Xu Ziling said, Why dont we quickly run away then? Fu Junchuo sat cross-legged. With a bitter smile she said, If I have trained to the ninth level, I would surely be able to continue carrying you away, but with my ability, I can only bring you here. Kou Zhong probed further, If Yuwen Huagu crossed the River and pursued to this ce, where should we flee to? Fu Junchuo tly replied, Someone with strong martial art skill like Yuwen Huaji has a lot stronger sensepared to ordinary person. We only need to leave some scent and traces along the way, and we could forget about evading his eyes and nose. Alright, stop talking, I want to meditate to build up my qi, hopefully by the time he arrive, my strength will be restored, and then I can fight him to the death. Finished speaking, she closed her eyes and went into meditation. The two boys dejectedly sat close to each other; they did not even dare to discuss their situation, for fear that they might agitate their Niang. As time passed, the two boys anxiety slipped away bit by bit. Suddenly Fu Junchuo stood up and whispered, Hes here! He is alone. The two boys followed her standing up. Kou Zhong said in trembling voice, Just give the book to him and be done with it. Fu Junchuo turned around and spoke sternly, Are you still considered human being? How can you say such thing? Xu Ziling said softly, He is only concerned over Niang. The bright moon high up in the sky shone its light down below. Fu Junchuo sighed. And then Pfft! sheughed and said, Xiao Zhong must not me Niang, I am so used to scolding you! Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings whole body trembled. Under different circumstances, with Fu Junchuo willing to call herself their Niang, they would be utterly delighted; this time, however, they felt ill omened. Fu Junchuo said in a low voice, No matter what happens, you must not get out of here. Niang will definitely take you leave this ce. Yuwen Huajisughter was heard outside the cave, For those two boys sake Miss has revealed your hiding ce. It was really unwise. These past few years, Miss has twice disguised yourself as a pce maid and prated the Pce to assassinate the Holy Sage, yet we could not even touch the tail of your gown. I had never expected that this time, for the sake of a ghost book, Miss feltpelled to show off your trace. If not for Miss granting these two kids a favor, even I, Yuwen Huaji, have to eat dust, I would never ovee Miss lightness skill. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. Turned out their Niang has entered the Pce to assassinate Yang Guang; even more, for their sake she has made such a big sacrifice, otherwise, with her lightness skill, which even Yuwen Huaji was ashamed of being inferior, how could Yuwen Huaji catch up with her? Fu Junchuos hand was already on the hilt of her sword. Under the hazy moonlight, she appeared majestic and stately. Yuwen Huaji, she said coldly, You came here alone, arent you afraid that you may not be the sword in my hands match? Yuwen Huajiughed and said, Although the sword in Miss hand is formidable, but how much weight it carries, I think you and I are already well aware of. If you want to ughter me, Yuwen Huaji, youd better make your move right away. Otherwise, if my men catch up with us, Miss will lose this golden opportunity. Fu Junchuo said indifferently, Since you, Yuwen Huaji, are so eager to die, let me help you fulfill your wish! Her silhouette shed, Fu Junchuo had already flown out; followed by the continuous sound of qi shing against each other. Both sides carries the almost the same thought in their hearts; both were disregarding his and her life, and both were going all out. Under the moonlight shining on the mountain ridge, Yuwen Huaji was seen standing on top of a giant boulder, while Fu Junchuo looked like a ghostly smoke, attacking him from four sides, eight directions. The de in her hand turned into myriad of sword tips, like tidal wave of mercury crashing against the opponent; it was a totally hard fight where both sides were staking everything they got. The expression on Yuwen Huajis long face was solemn and respectful, his hands turned into fist or w or open palm, interspersed with kicks here and there, as if he turned into an exorcist dealing with Fu Junchuos wild, out-of-this-world attacks. The two boys vowed that they would never forget his appearance for as long as they live. Although they were separated by a good seven, eight zhang away from him, the wind generated by the fierce battle still assaulted them that they felt the burning pain was about to crack their skin open, and it was difficult for them to keep their eyes open. When they could not take it anymore, they shrunk back into the rock crevices. By the time when they looked out again, the situation has changed. Fu Junchuo flew over Yuwen Huaji, her sword moved even faster, more vicious, and extremely ruthless; she was going on an all-out offensive without any defensive move at all. But the fact was that Yuwen Huaji could only defend without being able to counter. Apparently he was falling into disadvantageous position. This time the two boys endurance was even worse; they could only blink several times, and were already forced to withdraw with eyes so painful that tears streaming down their face. Right this moment, they heard Yuwen Huajis angry shout and Fu Junchuos muffled grunt outside. Forgetting the pain in their eyes, the two boys could not resist stretching out their heads to look. In a daze, they seemed to see white shadow floating over. By the time they realized what had happened, their belts tightened, as Fu Junchuo carried them up. Once again they felt like soaring above the clouds or riding into the mist as they flew down the mountain. In their hearts the two of them were wild with joy, because once again Yuwen Huaji had been beaten back by their iparably formidable Niang. Chapter 8, Part 2 Jiraiyan, HPC, ck, Lawwoo, Jaya, Scrapper, you are wee. Bocah, why didnt you read the existing work? Last I checked, Grundle and ndhenry reached early Book 4 already. Grundle, DongBin, Huang Yis fight is not as detailed as Jin Yongs, but definitely more graphic than Gu Longs. Strawberry, everything. Mostly because of smoke damage. Our electronics, especially, did not survive. Isnt what you said the mantra of the advertisers? Go get it, you deserve it ... not you need it. Oh well, at least you had fun, didnt you? This time Fu Junchuo did not hold back at all, she carried them in wild rush toward the most deste wilderness, without uttering a single word. By dawn they had reached a valley, where finally she set them down. The two boys crawled up with weary waist and aching back, only to see Fu Junchuo dropped down and sat on the ground, her pretty face was deathly pale, without the slightest sign of life. The two boys were so scared that their soul flew out and scattered away; they scrambled to her side and wailed, Niang, you are hurt. Fu Junchuo revealed a trace of tender smile as she reached out to grab the two boys shoulders, and disregarding any taboo between men and women, she pulled them down into her bosom, letting their heads resting on her breasts. With a voice full of tenderness she said, My, Fu Junchuo, two good children, listen to me carefully. Yuwen Huaji has received serious injury, he must immediately seek treatment, before a year or a half, dont even think to recover. Therefore, in the end Niang has saved you! The two boys cried out together, Niang, why dont you heal first? Fu Junchuo sadly shook her head and said, Niang also wish very much to spend more time to train you to be men who are worthy of respect, to see you get married and have children. I never thought that although I have always hated Han people, but when I saw you I havepletely forgotten my countrys animosity and my familys hatred, and was most willing to have you as my children. Niang has just stabbed Yuwen Huaji with a deadly strike, but I also received his full-strength punch. His Mysterious Ice Energy is indeed a well-deserved reputation, plus Yuwen Huaji himself is the most outstanding martial art expert in his n under Yuwen Shang. With Niangs hopeless condition, even if Shifu personally took care of me, he could not save me. After Niang is dead, you may bury me here. Niang has always enjoyed solitude,ter on you dont need to visit me. [Trantors note: thest sentence refers to religious rites people pay respects to their dead ancestors.] How could the two boys endure it? They burst into loud wailing while embracing Fu Junchuo with all their strength, until the front part of her gown was drenched with their tears. Fu Junchuo maintained a serene expression; she said in tender voice, Niang came all the way from Gaoli this time with bad intentions, my mission was to assassinate Yang Guang so that he cant send troops to Gaoli in the future; who would have thought that the martial art masters in the Pce are as numerous as the clouds. It was only relying on my qinggong [lightness skill] that both times I was able to escape. Consequently, I changed n. Using the treasure I found from Duke Yangs treasure trove, I made appearance in Jianghu, inciting your Han people to massacre one another. But by chance I came across you. Right this moment the two boys were only concerned over Fu Junchuos life and death, they were not the slightest bit interested in any Duke Yangs treasure-trove. Fu Junchuo tenderly stroke their hair as she continued, I went to Yangzhou to look for Shi Long, precisely because our informer within Yuwen Huajis men reported that Yang Guang sent him to find Shi Long, hence I came to investigate. As a result I met my two well-behaved darlings. Alright, Niang cannot hold on much longer. I still have a lot to say, but recalling how the Heaven often mess with people, saying it is as good as not saying it. I dont know if it is because at the death door people be especially astute, but Niang suddenly have a feeling that in the future my two sons will not be mere ordinary men. You two must not let Niang down! The two boys looked up mournfully and cried in grief, Niang! How could you leave us like this? Fu Junchuo suddenly called out, Oh! That treasure-trove is in Yuema Bridge [lit. galloping horse] in the Capital ... Her voice suddenly ceased. Fu Junchuo, like a fallen jade or vanishing fragrance, in her youthful radiance, closed her eyes and passed away. The two boys embraced the only family they had on earth, they wept until they lost consciousness. Using the sword Fu Junchuo left behind, the two boys pared some trees to make nks, they managed to make an extremely simple and crude coffin. And then they buried Fu Junchuo in a clearing among the trees, with only her sword to apany her. They missed Fu Junchuo very much, while knowing that this deep enmity could not be avenged no matter what. In their inconsble grief, their actions were aplete opposite of their normal state, they stayed all day next to the grave, and no longer interested in any rank, fame or fortune of the outside world. Even most talkative Kou Zhong suddenly became silent, he no longer talk. Making primitive bow and arrow and spear, they caught fish in the river and hunted birds and beasts in the forest to ay their hunger. They even shed their clothes and together with their silver, bury it well. Just wearing shorts they lived a primitive life, devouring raw meat and fowl. Fortunately it was already the transition from spring to summer that in the south the weather was blisteringly hot, plus the two boys had healthy bodies so that they did not suffer any illness due to wind chill. When night came they simply slept by the grave. They had the book Secret to Long Life hidden underneath the rock they used as the tombstone; neither one was interested in even touching it. That night when Fu Junchuo taught them the essence of Nine Mysteries Skill, she has not taught them how to do it when Yuwen Huaji came. Hence presently they only knew the essence, the locations of the acupoints, and the posture that they should assume in meditation; as for how to start practicing, they did not have the slightest idea. On top of that, in their hearts they wished they were dead; how could they have any mood to train? So every day they passed their days in daze, scorched by the sun and drenched by the rain, as if they did not know and did not even feel it. One particr night, there was a heavy rain. It was cold outside, the two of them huddled together, their hearts were filled with endless misery; recalling Fu Junchuo who was buried right next to them, they wept silently. When the cold was getting really unbearable, Kou Zhong pushed Xu Ziling to sit up; with his teeth chattering he said, If we continue like this, sooner orter we will get sick, how could we fulfill Niangs expectation then? In the past ten days or so, it was the first time that they talked. Xu Ziling finally could not endure the cold; he clenched his teeth and asked, What crafty idea do you have in mind? With a bitter smile Kou Zhong said, If we did not bury Niangs sword, we could at least build a tree house. Xu Ziling replied, Even if I have to freeze to death, I wont disturb Niangs peace. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. Thats only natural, he said, But wed better try practicing the meditation technique Niang taught us. Martial art master wont be affected by heat and cold. How do we start? Xu Ziling dejectedly said. Kou Zhong was speechless. He reached out to hold Xu Ziling, and that was how they endured the cold together until daybreak. When the sun came out, the two boys slowly recovered. However, misfortune does note singly; they have caught almost all the big fish in the creek that barely any was left. Birds and beasts also seemed to realize that they were dangerous, so none left in the valley. With no alternative, the two eventually decided to hunt for food outside the valley. Taking their bow and arrow, they stepped out of the valley, only to see clusters of wild flowers, luxuriant fragrant grass, hills and ins, and the quiet open sky above. As far as their eyes could see, they did not see a single sign of other human beings. In all directions they were surrounded by bluish-green, dense mountain range; they could not stop their spirit from being roused, the grief loading their mind was considerably lightened. Following the foot of the mountain the two boys searched for traces of their prey. Soon they had the luck of hitting a wild rabbit. In high spirits they returned to the valley. Because it was a blisteringly hot day, Xu Ziling went to have a dip in the creek. When he returned to the grave, he saw Kou Zhong unexpectedly took the book Secret to Long Life that was hidden underneath the tombstone out, and was reading it with rapt attention; he could not refrain from ring at him. After all, if not for this Secret to Long Life, Fu Junchuo would not have died under Yuwen Huajis hands. Kou Zhong beckoned him toe over. Dont get angry at me, he said, I am simply following Niangs order, we must keep on living. Although these human figures are not any divine skill training method, at the very least it is a training instruction to prolong life. Although we cant figure out these ghost hunting-like characters on the drawings, we can at least follow the dotted lines on the diagrams to circte our qi, ording to the theory Niang taught us, and the positions of the channels and acupoints. If we can reap a bit of benefit, then we wont have to freeze to death. When Xu Ziling was about to argue, Kou Zhong suddenly threw the book to his face as if it was an ordinary, worthless book. Naturally Xu Ziling caught it. The opened page happened to show a picture of a human lying down. When he looked at the drawing in the past, because he did not know the Eight Extraordinary Channels, it was as if he was looking at a meaningless drawing. But as he looked at it now, he suddenly understood it much better. Unexpectedly his eyes were glued to the diagram, and he was deeply attracted to it. Kou Zhong shouted, The sixth diagram is the most useful. It is best if you dont look at other pictures first. Xu Ziling turned the pages, and found out that the picture he was looking at was thest diagram. Looking at the sixth picture, it did not seem to be any easier than the seventh diagram, so he simply ignored Kou Zhong and sat down to study thest diagram. From that day onwards, other than hunting and sleeping, the two boys sat in meditation to practice following the diagram that they picked, living carefree without any worries in nature, thoroughly lived a primitive life. Perhaps due to their single-mindedness in studying, the sorrow in their hearts was also vanishing with each passing day. Without even thinking about it, they have entered the ten-thousand thoughts reduction realm that was the requirement in the Nine Mysteries training. Book 1 - 9 – Another Long Journey Book 1 Chapter 9 C Another Long Journey In the following eight days, the two boys practiced separately. Sometimes they did not even go hunting, they simply picked some wild fruits to fill their stomach. The diagram Kou Zhong trained was the one depicting a walking man, where the channels and acupoints were marked in red dots and dotted lines. It was not much different from the one Xu Ziling practiced, but the pattern the qi traveled waspletely opposite. It seemed to originate with a bold ck arrow pointing to the Tian Ling [lit. heavens spirit] acupoint at the top of the head. And from this the arrow split into red, orange, yellow, green, ckish green, blue and purple, seven colors. Each color seemed to indicate apletely different method. Not only the route was different, the acupoints it pointed to were also substantially different. Practically there were a lot of channels and acupoints that Fu Junchuo had not even mentioned, or perhaps she did mention it, but it was totally unrted to the method of training she taught. The diagram Xu Ziling picked was the lying man. The bold ck arrow was pointing to the Yong Quan [gushing spring] acupoint on the right foot. The seven-color arrows finally merged into the Yong Quan acupoint on the left foot, unlike Kou Zhongs diagram in which the lines returned to the Tian Ling acupoint. But theplexity of the two diagrams was more or less simr. In their hearts the two boys did not expect anything, they had nothing else to do anyway, so they simply followed the theory their Niang taught them. With single-mindedness, their thought involuntarily followed the channels and acupoints that they already memorized well, and thus in the end, whether intentionally or not, they were actually going deep into the Nine Mysteries Great Method training. Sometimes they practice following the red arrow, sometimes they followed different color. Although there was no immediate effect, the two of them did not mind too much. Later on, Kou Zhong would suddenly get up from his sleep and, with his eyes still closed, walked around the valley ording to the posture shown on the picture. And Xu Ziling would only feelfortable if hey down ording to the posture shown on his picture. One moving and the other still, each with his own interest. On the evening of the ninth day, there was a sudden thunderstorm; the two boys were unable to sleep, they werepelled to practice. As usual, Kou Zhong wandered around the valley, Xu Ziling went to soak in the creek, with only his head above the water. Both were training their respective skill. Not long afterwards, they both entered the peculiar state of no-self, where they seemed to be asleep, but were not actually asleep, and seemed to be awake, but not quite awake. In their mind suddenly there was the picture that they knew so well from the Secret to Long Life. Furthermore, they no longer care about following any particr arrow, they simply entered the state of emptiness where their spirit was fixed on certain hard-to-describe phase. Amazing things happened. First it was Xu Ziling who suddenly felt his heart was burning, the hot burning feeling like he was on fire. And then the heat reached its peak, linked in countless ways it spilled onto all channels and acupoints, big and small. This kind of feeling was so unbearable that he nearly wanted to kill himself to end the pain. It was fortunate that the ice-cold creek water and the rainwater slightly alleviate his pain. It was fortunate that Xu Ziling was smart that he knew that it was the moment his spirit and mind aroused, so he no longer paid attention to the pain in his body, he also ignored the arbitrary rushing and random surge of the real qi within him. He was deep in meditation, focusing his mind on only one thing. It was also fortunate that Fu Junchuo did not have time to tell him the condition concerning the unleashing of qi. If the movement of qi was due to regr Nine Mysteries Great Method training, the heat may start at the lower extremity of the backbone, and then following the arteries and veins, it would flow upward, breaking through Yu Zhen Guan [jade pillow pass], via Ni Jiu [mud/y nine], and then returned to Ren channels [see Eight Extraordinary Channels, Chapter 7] at the front. This cycle continued ceaselessly for thirty-six days and became the basic method. For average martial art practitioners, this is the state where they yearn for even in their dreams, because from this state they would embark on the path to be masters in internal strength. Xu Zilings situation was actually unprecedented. Average people would think that they were having fire deviation; if the fire deviation was mild, they would be paralyzed, if it were heavy their pulse and channels would rupture and they would perish. Hence when Shi Long tried to follow the diagram the other day, because he already had a preconceived idea, as soon as he felt something was not right, he stopped immediately and did not dare to continue. Xu Ziling, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on, and thought that it ought to happen this way; under no apprehensions, the dead horse has be a living horse, and he obtained the real essence of the diagram instead. Kou Zhong was under different situation. A burst of iparably strange cold qi prated the top of his head and flowed into all channels and acupoints, big and small. The cold was so intense that he nearly froze to death; automatically he started to run to keep the qi and blood flowing freely. And thus the two of them overcame their respective adversity this way for two sichen [i.e. 4 hours] until daybreak. Kou Zhong eventually could not endure anymore and copsed on the ground. In this terrible moment, the channels in his entire body seemed to burst open at once and he lost consciousness. Xu Ziling felt that the tidal wave of heat that nearly burned him to death was rapidly subsiding; momentarily he felt like he was falling into nothingness and lost his consciousness as well. By midday, the rain stopped and the sky was clear, the sun broke through the clouds and was shining brightly. Kou Zhong was the first to wake up; he felt his entire body was immerse in coolness and did not feel bothered by the burning sun at all. It was extremelyfortable. Kou Zhong was still unsure of what was going on. Recallingst nights experience, he still had a lingering fear, and sat up in daze. One look around and he was amazed. The whole heaven and earth seemed to be a lot clearer. Not only the colors were a lot richer, a lot of minute details that he usually overlooked have also be clear. Even the subtle change in the way the wind blows that he usually missed failed to escape his acute hearing. The strangest thing was that both the heaven and the earth, the stone, a single de of grass, seemed to be connected to him as if they were alive, while he himself has be part of them; the two no longer became separate entities. Kou Zhong was greatly surprised; he quietly pondered that after the qi was aroused, the world unexpectedly lookedpletely new. Right this moment, a surge of great delight rushed forth in his heart, making him sprang up immediately. First of all, Kou Zhong remembered Xu Ziling. Shouting gleefully, he called out, Xiao Ling, I finished the first level. Look! My body is a lot lighter, I can do somersault. After somersaulting twice, he ran up to find his good brother. The fact is that even if we asked martial art master of this age, great martial art schr with extensive knowledge and experience, they may not know what kind of skill these two boys have trained. Even the author of the Secret to Long Life may only return a nk stare looking at the two boys present condition. But the change in the two boys physique was real. Only, speaking about real fight, unless their opponent was an ordinary disciple of ordinary school, it would not be hard to make them kneel and beg for mercy. However, if this trend continued, nobody could predict what kind of level these two boys would be able to reach. Hearing his shout, Xu Ziling slowly woke up. Still floating on the water, he felt his body wasfortably warm, without the slightest bit of cold. Hurriedly he crawled up the bank, and was so shaken that he dropped on his knees in disbelief. Because he saw the world was twice as beautiful than before. From that day onward, the two of them believed that they had reached the first level of the Nine Mysteries Great Method. But remembering the deep pain they experience that night, temporarily they did not dare to continue their training. But then they could not stand having too much energy. As soon as they woke up in the morning, they went out to hunt, and did not go back to the valley until the sun set over the western hills. However, no matter how tired they were, they only need to sleep and when they woke up, the fatigue immediately went away. When they woke up that day, Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling toward Fu Junchuos grave. If we continue like this, he said, Niang would not be happy. Much less she still wanted us to get married and have children, to do great things and not simply be ordinary men. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day. Finally he nodded and said, I am also thinking of going out there. Its just that although we have trained a bit of our schools skill,pared with real martial art master, the difference is still more than a li away. If we only be foot soldier, my conscience will not allow it. Niang was so formidable, no matter what we must not make her lose face. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Absolutely. Just like Niang said, Yuwen Huaji is determined to have the Secret to Long Life, he will never let us off. Perhaps he already has people make pictures of us and spread it around the country offering a reward for our capture. Hence we still need to lie low until the fuss dies down. It is actually best to stay here, but if we continue like this, we will definitely turn into savages. So whats your n? Xu Ziling asked. Acting as if he had already nned ahead Kou Zhong said, First we must find a good ce to bury the Secret to Long Life, and then we head south, try to find a city, countryside, county or town to stay and see if we can make a living there. After we know the situation better, we can proceed with our original big n of joining a militia. For some reason Xu Ziling also wanted to go out very much. Thereupon they immediately paid their respect in front of Fu Junchuos grave, buried the Secret to Long Life, retrieved their clothes and put them on, bundled their silver well, and left this beautiful little secluded valley, which had made their hearts ached and their souls broken, which they would never forget forever. By this time it was already autumn, the air was fresh and cool. The two boys were still young, they slowly recovered from the blow of Fu Junchuos tragic death; they were starting to talk andugh more often. Furthermore, due to the early glimpse of martial art prowess they managed to acquire, their self-confidence enjoyed considerable boost. After walking to the south for seven days, they came across a small vige. There were only a dozen or so houses in this vige, with only two or three hadntern lights, indicating that this vige had suffered under the chaos of war, and that life was difficult, hence they had to save as much resources as possible. There was a tinge of regret in the two boys hearts for returning to civilization. As they were walking toward the vige, suddenly they heard a dog barking in the distance. Immediately several dogs responded, severalrge dogs were jostling with each other while slowly moving toward their direction. The two boys were inwardly scared so they were on guard. Fortunately a viger came out and shouted to disperse the dogs. He greeted them warmly and offered them lodging for the night. The next morning they left some coins for the lodging. And after asking for clear direction to the nearestrgest county-level town, they continued on their journey. After walking another ten or so days, they reached a big town called Cui Shan [lit. bluish-green/green-jade mountain] at the western extremity of Zhejiang River, south of Xinan County. It was a town of approximately two thousands households, located east of Poyang Lake [Jiangxi]. The residents looked rather prosperous, there were stone bridges and row upon row of houses with tiled roof; it was a typical thriving Jiangnan town. Although in term of size it was only about a quarter of Danyang, and it did not have high city walls, when the two boys saw the town, they both had a feeling that they wanted to live here. They were most interested in how exquisite was the clothes the women in this town were wearing. Both the tailoring and the embroidery showed off these out-of-the-water countryside girls skill and the way they paid particr attention to details. What made the boys even happier was that these girls were wearing embroidered scarf draped over their upper arms, embroidered shoes on their feet, and thickly pleated skirt around their waists, making them appeared more graceful and vibrant, as they paraded ostentatiously around town in groups. Looking at the girls, the two boys heart began to itch. Especially now that they had a few pennies in their pocket, unlike before, where they were just poor drifters; their mood waspletely different, they walked with puffed chest. The two boys found a small hotel that did not look too expensive, booked a small room, and then with much trepidation went to the town hall to scout around; if they saw their portraits in a wanted poster, they would immediately escape without a trace. Most shops in town had their businesses at the front, and an alley at the back, with residences upstairs. Workshops and warehouses were built next to the water, to make full use of river transportation. When they reached the town hall, they saw conscription announcement stered on the wall, but there wasnt any wanted poster. The two boys were ecstatic; shouting for joy they strolled along the street like a pair of big bosses. A group of young girls were walking straight toward them,ughing and giggling. When they saw the two boys amazing appearance, imposing physique and lofty expression, their eyebrows rose and their eyes showed admiration. The two boys halted their steps while their heart was bursting with joy. Ever since they were born, this was the first time the two boys received admiring look from the opposite sex; hence their confidence was highly boosted. Actually, during their stay in the valley for the whole summer, due to constant movement and first-ss martial art training they underwent, plus it was the time when their bodies underwent growth spurt, not only they now looked tall and sturdy, the most noticeable change was their countenance; they both now exuded some kind of hard-to-exin youthful charm. Very quickly the two boys were drawn into the familiarity of water-front town people; they thought that if they had to stay here, get married and have children, probably it was not a bad thing. When they were in Yangzhou, the reason they developed fantasy and lofty aspiration all day long was because they were dissatisfied with their current situation, and because they were bullied and humiliated often. Now that they had found this Garden-of-the-Peaches-of-Immortality like ce, where the people seemed simple and honest, they felt something new and fresh; thereupon they changed their mind and no longer had the intention to join the militia. Chapter 9, Part 2 SzFong, Jaya, Anh, ck, Janger, you are wee. Bocah, thanks for your support, much appreciated. And thank you for educating me. I thought since GT stands for google, perhaps MT stands for microsoft ... I have not read the story you mentioned. I did notice that there are new genre out there, called xianxia, but I have not read it myself. I am still an old school wuxia lover. Perhaps when I retire from tranting I will enjoy it. (Is Duoluo xianxia or wuxia?) Weed, OK, I wont hold it against you. Heres end of Chapter 9. Kou Zhong caught a glimpse of arge signboard, Liu Chun Courtyard [lit. preserving spring]; he pulled Xu Zilings broad shoulder and winked, Xiao Ling, he said, You are more or less sixteen, and soon I will be seventeen. Other men get married when they are fourteen years old, but until today we are still virgin ... Xu Ziling impatiently cut him off, I understand what you mean. We have money, and you, this fellow, itch all over your body; isnt that it? I am not opposed taking some money and waste it on some eye-opening activity at all, but at least we should wait until we find a job, find a ce to stay, and then we can explore this life of pleasure seeking. Besides, isnt the money left by Niang as our capital? It is enough for us to build a rather decent, simple house, plus to run a small shop; it must not be spent rashly on some extravagant thing. Seeing he did not really oppose the idea, Kou Zhong happily said, Naturally, let us have a big feast first, and then well go around to see what kind of work needs manpower. By this time they happened to stand in front of a restaurant. They were just about to enter when a big man, as sturdy as an ox, suddenly stormed out like a tornado, carrying a bundle in his hand. He turned to the left and gone. A short, skinny old man ran after him, shouting that mans name. But the man did not even look back, he simply left without saying anything. The short, skinny man sat down dejectedly, leaning against the door to the restaurant, while cursing ferociously. The two boys were baffled. They were just about to step in, the old man shrieked, We are closed today, we will be closed tomorrow and thereafter. They began to realize that this man was the owner of this restaurant; looking at him covered all over with grease, they also realized that he was the chef as well. Kou Zhong was most curious; he asked, Why wont you open hereafter? The old man looked at the two boys from top to bottom once, and then with a bored grunt he said, That prodigal son has left, my woman also passed awayst month, how can I run this big shop alone? Hanging his head down, he sighed and said, Speaking about culinary skill, if I, Ol Zhang, am considered number two, who would dare to say that he is number one? Any dumpling oil rice, cool-breeze rice, jade-well rice [I have no idea what these are: ͷ緹񾮷], which one I, the Ol Zhang, am not an expert at? But that prodigal son did not understand and did not want to inherit my consummate skill, all day long he is nagging about joining the army and setting up merit. Just you see, when the dayes that he be a beggar and return home, I wont support him! Humph, I might as well return to my vige so that even if he wanted to find me he couldnt. The two boys exchanged a nce and both squatted down. Kou Zhong said, Thats too bad, such a big restaurant is closing its door. Youd better hire us as your helpers, and at the same time, your apprentice, so that your, Master Zhang, consummate skill will not extinct. At most we only want you to pay us two hundred five zhu coins [see Chapter 50] each month. The Ol Zhang was stunned; he looked at them again, from top to bottom, and then after a while he curiously asked, Who are you? After Kou Zhong told him some made-up story, the Ol Zhang said, So its twenty strings of coins altogether? Each string is ten coins, twenty strings are precisely two hundred coins. Even for one person, it could be considered an unusually meager pay; now that two persons only received two hundred coins, it was excessively too harsh. No wonder even Ol Zhangs son wanted to leave. Kou Zhong wanted to learn his rice cooking skill, so that in the future he could make a living. But he was also proficient in scheming; therefore, without giving it a second thought he said, In that case you must also guarantee our food and lodging. Narrowing his eyes, Ol Zhang spoke in a strange voice, Guaranteeing your food and lodging is not a problem, but all cleaning and menial jobs will also be your responsibility. Kou Zhongughed, Its a deal! he said, Right now we are extremely hungry, naturally this meal will be on Boss Zhangs ount. And so the two boys moved in to the room upstairs that was vacant due to Ol Zhangs sons leaving. Every day before dawn they woke up and started to work. Every afternoon when the Ol Zhang closed the shop to take a nap, the two boys were responsible to purchase supplies and receive deliveries. After they closed for the night, Ol Zhang took a bath and went to bed, they washed the dishes and cleaned up. With such an extremely busy life, not only they did not have time to visit pleasure house for some eye-opening activity, they did not even have enough time to sleep. But Ol Zhang did indeed have true culinary skill; not only he was famous locally, even traveling merchants who passed by the town took pleasure in visiting the restaurant. The menu only consisted of three types of rice, the ones that Ol Zhang mentioned earlier, i.e. dumpling oil rice, cool-breeze rice, and jade-well rice. But Ol Zhangs skill was not limited to only these. After having Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to help him, from time to time he also received some catering order, people who showed up at their door to have a gathering. Since the two boys intentionally wanted to steal his skill, plus the Ol Zhang was old and weak and thus in day-to-day operation he relied heavily on them, bit by bit he passed on his culinary skill to them. Three monthster, they were brimming with confidence; they believed that they could spread their wings on their own. While on the other hand they grew tired of this business. The reason they hesitated over what move to make, and did not make up their mind to leave, was because they did not want to abandon Ol Zhang, for fear that he could not stand it. That night, after the shop closed, while Ol Zhang already went upstairs, the two boys had serious discussion. Have we made decision not to join the militia, or perhaps to be Wulin masters? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling sprawled himself on the chair; he sighed and said, Being busy like this every day until the sky turned dark and the earth ck, so that we dont have time to enjoy life, does not seem to be quite interesting. Kou Zhong said, How about we endure it some more? Lets stay here three more months, after the end of the year and the spring equinox [4th of the sr terms, March 21 C April 4], when the weather is warm, well get out of here. Xu Ziling was distressed, But I am a bit reluctant to leave, he said. With a wry smile Kou Zhong said, Me too. But I have an idea, it is called a real man aspires to travel far and make his mark in the world. Why dont we take refuge in the Song Family of Hunan? That Song Lu did not treat us too shabbily, if we could do obeisance and take him as our master, perhaps we can really aplish our dreams. And then, gnashing his teeth he said, If I can master martial art skill, the first thing I do is to kill that traitor Yuwen Huaji. Upset, Xu Ziling said, Last night I dreamt about Niang again, she med me for not having a backbone, for not having guts to avenge her. Kou Zhong blew a long breath, We are indeed too timid, he resolutely said, We cant be considered real men. The worst that can happen is we die. Yet these days we are afraid the hard work of training martial art, we are also afraid of fire-deviation, hence we do not dare to continue. How is it not letting Niang down? I decided that starting tomorrow, I am turning over a new leaf, I will start training again, and in the future, I will not give up before I kill Yuwen Huaji. Xu Zilings eyes suddenly shed with unprecedented sharpness as he stretched out his hand to grab Kou Zhongs and said, Its good that you have made up your mind, I support it with my entire being. Back in Yangzhou our ambition was higher than the heavens; how did we be people who refuse to face reality [orig. shrink the head like a turtle]? Wed better leave tomorrow. Kou Zhong was amazed, How did your eyes suddenly lit up just now? Just like Niangs eyes just before she died. Xu Ziling was dumbstruck for half a day; he mused, Truth be told, although I did not intentionally practice, every night when I lie down, that diagram showing how to circte the qi appeared clearly in my mind, and thus I followed it automatically. Kou Zhong regretfully said, If I had known earlier, I would have followed your example, diligently and relentlessly trained well. After this I definitely cannot stay idle. Alright! We will be on our way tomorrow. Xu Ziling muttered to himself, Who will tell Ol Zhang? With a wry smile Kou Zhong replied, Lets do it together. This miserly crafty old man ought to receive a bit of lesson as well. Book 1 - 10 – Dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety Book 1 Chapter 10 C Dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety When the sky was still dark early the next morning, the two boys slung their bundles over their shoulders and set off on another journey. It was precisely this sudden decision that would change their destiny. Not only theirs, but the Wulins as well as the worlds [tian xia] destiny. Their destination was the Great Sui Dynastys eastern capital, Luoyang. That day Song Lu said that after their business in Sichuan was done, they would go to Luoyang to look for the legendary Jade Annulus of the He n. Since it was not something that could be aplished in ten days or half a moth, although it was already half a year ago, they were still thinking of going to Luoyang to try their luck, to see if they could stille across Song Lu. The closer they got to Yangtze River, the more they felt the oppression and chaos of war. Along the way, from time to time they met groups of refugees. When asked, nobody could give them clear answer as to whom they were fleeing from; these people could not even tell the difference between Sui army and the rebels army. One day they arrived at a small county town, and found a small hotel that was not busy. They slept until midnight when suddenly the street was like a boiling cauldron of voices, a total chaos. Realizing that something was amiss, the two boys hurriedly packed their bundles and rushed downstairs. Pulling aside another guest that was just about to run outside, they inquired of what was going on. The man replied, Du Fuwei crushed Sui army at Dongleng upied Liyang. Its just that nobody expected to see his armying this soon. Finished speaking, he ran away in fear. The two boys were surprised that Liyang would fall this soon, which means their n of going up north by boat to Liyang was disrupted. When they got to the street, they saw people and carriages were fighting over the road, everybody was scrambling to escape to the south; people were screaming and calling out their child and their mothers, the cries of grief shook the heavens. Although the two boys courage was above average, at the end of the day, they were still big kids. Infected by this kind of terrible dooms-day-ising atmosphere, immediately their minds were on chaos, so they blindly followed the stream of people leaving the city. The road was littered with clothes, furniture, household utensils, shoes, everything, that people simply abandoned; evidently the situation was extremely dire. The two boys were holding on to each other with dear life, afraid that they might get separated by this tidal wave of people. Once they were outside the city, they saw covering the mountains and the ins werenterns and torches of the people fleeing the war. They could not believe that such a small county town, which streets ordinarily were sparsely travelled, all of a sudden could produce these many people. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling aside to go to different direction, following another road away from the crowd. He said in subdued voice, We still want to go north, worst case scenario it wont be via Liyang. Xu Ziling nodded, We should, he agreed, Well just have to be a bit more careful. The two boys turned; winding around the town, they proceeded to the north. After leaving Cui Shan, this was the first time the traveled at night. To their surprise, they found out that under the faint starlight, they could still see the road clearly. After walking for several hours, they saw zing fire filling the whole sky ahead, and they heard shouting and killing noise. Panicked, the two boys ran without looking where they were going. They took a long detour, and because of this, theypletely lost their sense of direction. By daybreak they reached a small vige. While they were thinking of asking for directions, suddenly they heard the sound of hoof beats. A group of riders were charging toward their direction from the hillside. The two boys were shocked, and quickly hid inside nearby bushes. There were about sixty riders. But looking at their all mixed up and chaotic warrior outfits, it was clear that they were rebels army. Everyone had a green cloth tied on their arms. As soon as they entered the vige, they shot dead several dogs that ran out toward them; and then they went from house to house to search, dragging several hundred vigers, men, women, young and old, out of their homes. In that instant chicken flew out and dogs ran away, parents called for their children and children cried out for their mother. The sound of wailing shook the heavens, making the two boys could not bear to watch much longer. If they had matchless martial art skill, by this time they would have gone out to uphold justice. But they also remembered that even a tyrannical man with superb martial art skill, who ran amuck in the world such as Chus Overlord Xiang Yu[1], still required coordination and all kinds of favorable factors before he ended up cutting his own throat at Wu Jiang [lit. ck River]. In this turbulent time, the power of a single person was negligible. The green cloth army divided the men and women into two separate rows, which were surrounded all around, to prevent anybody from escaping. It was only then that the two boys understood why upon hearing the rebel army approaching, the entire city immediately fled clean. Tragic was the fate of these vigers who heard the news but waited here, who, until the troops entered their vige they still did not know what was going on. The two boys had never seen such troops movement; seeing how those saber-wielding, halberd-holding militia troops look fierce and ruthless as if they are ready to kill without blinking an eye, they did not even dare to breath too loud. Especially the closest militia troop was only about fifty steps away from their hiding ce; it was indeed extremely dangerous. One of the riders, who seemed to be the rebel leader, nked by four escorts, urged his mount toward the row of vige men. He picked several healthy, robust men, and drove them to the side, where some other riders immediately tied them with ropes. They appeared extremely harsh, brutal and inhuman. Anybody dared to resist, instantly horsewhipshed down, beating him until he was half dead. Watching the scene, the two boys faces turned green and their lips white, but their hearts were boiling with anger. As those mothers and wives saw their sons and husbands being dragged away to be forcedbor, they wailed and cried out miserably that those who hear it could not bear it anymore. But those so-called righteous army maintained their fierce expression, without showing the least bit ofpassion. [Trantors note: the word volunteer army or militia consist of two characters C yi jun, the first character literally means righteous.] Finished selecting the men, the leader went through the womenfolk and the children. Suddenly he pulled the reins. Pointing toward the crowd with his horsewhip, he barked, You,e out! It immediately provoked uproar among the vigers, which the rebels army quickly quenched, naturally not without several people fell down in injuries. Watching this, Kou Zhong, two boys eyes were bloodshot with fury, but they knew that if they stepped forward bravely right now, they would suffer the same fate. It was this moment that they knew that their idea of joining the militia was a very ignorant and na?ve. The vige woman was dragged out, sure enough, she looked rather pretty, with a well-developed figure; no wonder the rebel leaders heart was moved. While the rebel leader wasughing lecherously, from the side a young militia soldier coldly said, Qi Laoda [boss, see Chapter 1], Du Zongguan [chief manager, also Chapter 1] has an order, we must not rape women. Qi Laoda right now is at the edge of a cliff, reining your horse; theres still time. This man was brimming with righteousness, and he dared to confront his superior. The two boys were surprised that there was such man in the rebel army; in their hearts they cheered for him. With a cold snort Qi Laoda said, Li Jing[2], you mind your own business. Am I raping any woman now? I want to bring this pretty woman back home and marry her legally, making her my official wife. Ha! Do you think Du Ye [master Du] will also manage my marriage? [reminder: guan of Zongguan above means manage] Li Jing was about to reply, the vige woman suddenly bit the back of the green-cloth soldiers hand. The green-cloth soldier was startled and let go his grip. With the strength that nobody knew where it came from, the woman dashed out wildly from the encirclement, and ran toward the direction where Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were hiding. Immediately four green-cloth soldiersughed and cursed while urging their horses to give chase. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling saw the fear in the vige womans pretty eyes, their hearts swelled with righteous indignation. Forgetting about their own safety, they picked stones from the ground, jumped out of their hiding ce, and threw the stones at the green-cloth soldiers pursuing the vige woman. When they were still at Yangzhou, their most formidable martial art skill was throwing rocks. It is called with a lot of work, the art is perfected, their throw has be urate. This time they made their move without hesitation, also it was a sudden attack that was not anticipated, two of the green-cloth soldiers were hit at the pit of their stomach and fell down from their horses. By this time the vige womans strength was finally exhausted, she tumbled down on the ground. Kou Zhong suddenly felt his entire body was full of energy, the true qi inside him was surging, he felt as if he could beat two tigers to death, the strength with which he threw the rock was also doubled. With great excitement he called out, Xiao Ling, snatch the horse and save her. The stones were thrown in rapid session. Two other green-cloth soldiers were about to shoot with their arrows when suddenly their cheeks were hit. With a miserable cry they fell to the ground. Hoof beats thundered as the rest of the green-cloth soldiers swarmed down to them. In the meantime Xu Ziling has already pulled the vige woman up. While he was worrying about how to ride a horse, he saw the crowd of soldiers was closing in. In his panic, he forgot that he did not know martial art; hastily he rushed forward toward a war-horse, while still dragging the vige woman, who seemed to be as light as nothing, he leaped onto the horseback. To his surprise, he easilynded steadily on the saddle. This moment Kou Zhong already jumped onto another horse. He mped his legs on the horses belly, but the horse reared on its hind legs and threw him down on the ground. Xu Zilings horse was also going around in circles, he was unable to make the horse run or even move forward. The green-cloth soldiers were only about twenty steps away. The several soldiers at the front have already prepared their bows and arrows, but they were afraid of hurting the horse, hence they did not shoot. Zhong Shao(ye), Xu Ziling called out, Come quickly. Kou Zhong was at his wits end; hearing the call, he dashed madly and unexpectedly leaped high in the air andnded on Xu Zilings horseback. Wrapping his arms around Xu Zilings waist, he shouted, Lets go! [1] Xiang Yu the Conqueror (232-202 BC), warlord defeated by the first Han emperor. [2] There was a real historical character Li Jing (570-649AD), Tang Dynasty general and purported author of Duke Li of Wei Answering Emperor Taizong of Tang, one of the Seven Military ssics of ancient China; not sure if this Li Jing was the same one. I guess well have to wait to find out. Chapter 10, Part 2 HPC, ck, Anh, Jaya, Weed, Jiraiyan, Janger, you are wee. In this critical moment, where one can have his ck hair turns white, the vige woman suddenly took over the reins, and then with a shout her tiny feet kicked on the horses belly. The horse neighed wildly and dashed forward like an arrow, carrying the three people on its back. They saw that very soon they were about to enter a wooded area; who would have thought that there was a dirt path inside the woods? Turning to the left and winding to the right, in a sh they saw the thief soldiers were left far behind on this unfamiliar road. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cheered in their rather strange voice. Thetter suddenly remembered that he was still embracing a strangers, the unfamiliar womans fragrant and soft body. The good-looking, capable woman not only had consummate equestrian skill, she was also familiar with the local terrain like the back of her hand. Going into the woods, passing through the open fields, climbing mounds, going down the hills, wading the creeks, ascending the mountains, the pursuing enemys voice gradually quieted down. When the three people were happy, the warhorse suddenly stumbled, throwing them into the underbrush in an unsightly heap. While they were crawling to get up, the vige woman suddenly cried out in rm and covered up her chest in panic. Turned out her clothes caught on something and was ripped, exposing arge part of her snow-white breasts. The two boys were frightened and busily turning their body around. Noticing that she was about three, four cun [an inch, a thumb] shorter than they were, Kou Zhong tossed his bundle to her and said, All clothes are clean, pick one and put it on, we wont peek. Rustling noise ensued. Soon after the vige womans bashful voice was heard, Im done! The two boys turned around and were momentarily stunned; both thought that unexpectedly she was so pretty. The vige woman was about twenty, her eyes were deep ck, her skin was unusually fair. Wearing mens clothing, she exuded some kind of spirited charm. The vige woman beckoned to them and said in low voice, Follow me. The two boys looked at the foamy-mouth, about-to-die war-horse; they sighed inwardly, and dejectedly followed the vige woman. After walking for about half a sichen, the vige woman led them into a secluded cave on the mountain. As the two boys sat down, the vige woman said with her head hung low, Thank you two heroes [the word here is hao han C strong and courageous man] for offering help from a sense of justice. Xiao Nuzi [little/lowly woman] is extremely grateful. Addressed by her as heroes, the two boys were ted that they felt they were high in the clouds; while at the same time they were surprised, because not only this woman did not look like a vige woman, from the way she talked, it did not appear like she grew up in some remote and deste ce. The pretty vige woman saw the two boys were staring at her with their big eyes, with a doubtful expression on their faces, and then she realized that although these two look tall and sturdy, they were in fact still big boys who were younger than she was, whose faces still looked na?ve and childish. Involuntarily the bashfulness and fear in her heart subsided considerably. Nu jia [lit. servant/ve; yet another word for lowly woman, referring to self] is called Susu, she said softly, Really isnt a Pujia Vige resident, its just that I got separated from my master that I fled to this ce and received Pujia Vige peoples kindness in offering shelter to me! Relieved, Kou Zhong said, Susu Jiejie [older sister, term of endearment] is so pretty, it doesnt matter whether it was kindness or ill-intention, I am sure a lot of people will scramble to offer you shelter. Susus pretty face blushed as she protested, Its not like that! Seeing Kou Zhong was starting to flirt, Xu Ziling gave him a rebuking stare as he asked, How long have Jiejie lived there? How did you be so familiar with this area? Kou Zhong added with augh, Jiejies equestrian skill is so formidable. The two boys were used to be despised and scorned by others, so if anybody was a bit kind to them, they were easily touched. And now suddenly there was this pretty older sister who regarded them as hero [now the word is ying xiong C hero], it was obvious that they felt a novel excitement. Yet for some unknown reason, Susus pretty face blushed even deeper. I only lived in Pujia Vige for a month, she whispered, But I havee with the vigers to go hunting in this area. As for equestrian skill, why, it was my masters Miss who taught me. Dont the two of you know how to ride? The two boys were greatly embarrassed. Inwardly they thought how could there be any heroes [this time its thebination of two: ying xiong hao han, which in English usually is being tranted simply as heroes] who didnt know how to ride? Kou Zhong cleared his throat, and then, not even dare to look at her he asked, Jiejies Miss, where does she live? Being called Jiejie this and Jiejie that by these two boys, Susu was also sighing in happiness in her heart. With a tender voice she said, My Miss is Zhai Rang Laoyes [old master] only daughter, Zhai Wuxia [FYI, her name means without w]. That day our troops were under surprise attack, in the confusion we got separated from each other. But my Miss has an outstanding martial art skill, so she should be alright. Now I ought to return to Rongyang. The two boys were moved immediately. These past three months when they worked at the restaurant, everyday they heard all kinds of news and rumor from the traveling merchants. One of the often-mentioned information was precisely about Zhai Rang and his top general Li Mi. Zhai Rang was known as Great Dragon Head [i.e. big boss], the leader of the Wa Gang army. Six years ago, along with his subordinate, another valiant general Xu Shiji, rose up in rebellion at Fort Wa Gang, seizing that territory and proimed himself king. Time and again they defeated the Sui army, but was then subdued by Sui general Zhang Xutuo, and since then he was unable to expand his influence anymore. Last year, Li Mi threw his lot with Zhai Rang, thus doubling Zhai Rangs strength. Li Mi attacked and crushed Sui army at Dahai Temple [lit. big ocean] in Rongyang, in which battle Zhang Xutuo was killed. Since then Wa Gang armys prowess was greatly flourishing, and implicitly became the chief of the worlds militias, and thus by men and horses of various paths he was honored as the big boss. Indeed he was not a nobody. It had not urred to the two boys that the beautiful Jiejie was Zhai Rangs daughters maid. The astonished Kou Zhong asked, Isnt Rongyang lies about a hundred li east of the eastern capital Luoyang? Its really far away from here. How did Jiejie end up here? Susu replied, Miss wanted to go to Liyang to listen to the worlds number one talenteddy Shang Xiufangs singing; who would have thought that our itinerary was leaked out, and before reaching Liyang something bad happened. If not for Jiejies horse was fast, I would not have the fortune toe across you here. Unwittingly she also considered herself to be their Jiejie. Just then, there was a light cough from the cave mouth. The three people were greatly startled; they all looked to the cave mouth, and saw a tall, majestic looking, sturdy man of about twenty-three or twenty-four, wasing into the cave. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sprang up, and both stood in front of Susu to shield her. Kou Zhong took a closer look, and his countenance fell, Arent you the one they called Li Jing? The neer was indeed Li Jing who reprimanded the green-cloth army leader just now. He did not look handsome at all, but his countenance looked forthright, the bridge of his nose was high, his forehead wide, his eyes were sparkling with spirit, giving other people the impression of poise and resourcefulness. Li Jing smiled, revealing two rows of white teeth, a strong contrast with his dark, roughplexion. He nodded in astonishment and said, I am indeed Li Jing. This Xiao Xiongdis vision is really formidable. At that time you and I were separated by at least a distance of 150 steps, unexpectedly you are able to recognize Ol Lis appearance, so that in just one look you can call out my name correctly. But looking at your skill, you dont look like someone who had trained martial art. This is very strange. The two boys trembled with fear inwardly. Just based on one sentence from Kou Zhong, he was able to deduce so many things. It was clear that he had vast knowledge, experience and wisdom. From behind, Susus trembling voice spoke up, At most Ille with hero [hao han] back, but you must not harm them. Li Jingughed aloud and said, Just based on Misspassionate and righteous sentence, even if I, Li Jing, have to risk my life, I will definitely protect you. The three of you may set your heart at ease. I came here alone. That Qi Laoda has been shot to death by me, the Ol Li. If that rapist, evil man were allowed to live in this world, he might harm several more people. Looking at his posture and bearing, Kou Zhong knew that even he and Xu Ziling fought together, they were still not the opponents match; much less he was armed with long saber and bow and arrow. But he did say that he shot Qi Laoda to death, and he did say that he was going to protect them, so he had no reason to deceive them. Thereupon he rxed his guard and said, Li Dage [big brother], please sit down. Li Jing took off the bow and arrows on his back, and put down the saber on his waist beforeing over and sat down in front of the three. After everybody was seated, he smiled and said, I ought to arrive earlier, but because I had to erase your tracks first, I spent quite a bit of time. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, they said with regret, We did not think about that. Li Jing happily patted his shoulder, while raising the thumb of his other hand. To see what is right and act courageously, to defy the strong, is the conduct of a real man, he said, Rarer still, you two are not fully grown men, yet you have this kind of guts, wisdom and skill. In the future, you will definitely be outstanding men. And then turning to Susu he said, Miss horsemanship is superb. Being praised by him, the three people were blushing, but they also grew favorable impression toward him. Susu asked, Could those green-cloth troops take their anger out on Pujia vige people? Li Jing nonchntly said, Thats the second reason I waste. I had to set those innocent vigers free. Killing Qi Laoda and those sidekicks and hunting dogs of his only took the time needed to drink several sip of hot tea. Although Susu was d, she was also aghast that he considered killing all those men as not a big deal. Li Jing indifferently said, Only by killing them I could seize their horses. But I only brought two horses, because I did not anticipate that Miss is not Pujia Vige native. But now that I see Miss, I know that we are still one horse short. Listening to him, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hearts swelled with respect. This Li Jing was definitely a person of wisdom and valor; but they also could not help feeling a bit afraid of him. Chapter 10, Part 3 Jaya, Anh, ck, Ms. Dongfang, HPC, you are wee. Ms. Smurf, wee back! Hows baby Fable? Hope everybody is well. You did not miss much because I also took a break and was only back early November. Strawberry, hope you feel better. Its that time of the year. May I ask which area do you live? Here, Pacific Norhwest, has been crazy: cold, rain, and then warm, but I think the cold will be back next week. After seizing the two boys up and down several times, Li Jing said in earnestness, This is the period when the whole country is in rebellion. When armed troops are against each other, its either you are dead or I perish. Those who are not vicious and merciless enough will be wiped out. As long as we can see our goal clearly and fix our own principle, distinguishing thoroughly between right and wrong, ck and white, friends or foe in righteousness, we will be able to face the heaven and the earth with clear conscience. The two boys nodded, indicating they epted the instruction. Susu asked, Those you did not kill, could they still be looking for us? Li Jing smiled and said, The most important thing for them is looking for me to settle the ount. Although Du Fuweis fame for fighting prowess is great, he is not a good material for vying over the world [tian xia]. Not only he condones his men, he is greedy of short-term small benefit; he enlists people into his army by force, and thus provoking the heavens anger and the mens me, causing viges and towns to be abandoned. Its really like drinking poison to quench thirst. I originally considered him as an important character, but now I can see everything clearly. Kou Zhong loved to talk about militia matters, too bad Xu Ziling was not too interested, so he did not have anybody to talk about it with. Right now he met Li Jing, someone with inside information, so he happily asked, Li Dage, in your opinion, which rebel army is the most promising? Xu Zilings thought was more thorough; recalling that Susu could be considered as Zhai Rangs people, he reminded him, Zhong Shao, dont talk nonsense. Li Jing noticed how Xu Ziling seemed to be incessantly making eye signals to Kou Zhong while referring to Susu; he was astonished and asked, Which party does Miss belong to? Susu hurriedly told him about her past, and then said, Xiao Bi [lowly maid servant/ve girl] has never been familiar with the matter of the worlds great powers; you must not have any misgivings on ount of me. Apparently Li Jing had high respect toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling; he seriously said, Looking at todays situation, although rebels army are everywhere, but those who can be considered excellent characters are not many. Right now the prime example of one with most fame and power is Great Dragon Head Zhai Rang; however, Zhai Yes [master] subordinate Great General Li Mis fame and power is actually above his, plus he is extremely well-versed in military strategy and tactics. Hence the rtionship between master and subordinate is not clear. This will bring trouble in the future. Susus countenance changed, What should we do then? she asked. Li Jing grimly said, If Miss will trust the Ol Li, from now on you need to distance yourself from the Zhai family, to avoid the boat capsize the people perish disaster in the future. Susu said in sad voice, Since childhood Xiao Bi has been sold to the Zhai Family. At that time Laoye [old master] was still a court ofw officer at Shujun [lit. Shu county(?)]. Later on because he killed the son of an influential official, he was condemned to death; hence he rose in rebellion and dered his independence. Not only that, Miss has always been treating me like a sister; how could I abandon her at this point? Kou Zhong was tongue-tied. He then said, Turns out Zhai Rang is still considered the most formidable. But is Li Mi the most promising? Li Jing could not stop himself fromughing. The way you use most promising [zui you qian tu], these four characters are very interesting. I can see that in the future Xiao Xiongdi will be an eloquent orator. What you said is correct; not only Li Mi nowadays has several Wulin martial art masters under hismand, he is skilled in the art of war and is able to move the troops like a deity, he is also a charismatic leader. In short, he is a figure with grand ambitions to win the world [orig. to inquire of the tripods]. Problem is, his rivals are simply too many. First and foremost are the Four Powerful ns, who have arge number of talents within their ranks. They would not sit still watching the Suis world [tian xia] fall into someone ofmon family name. Such powerful ns opinion is deep-rooted; nobody can change it. Moreover, the biggest advantage of the Four Powerful ns is that time and again the members of their n have held high positions in the imperial court, they are skillful in governing the country. This is something that ordinary citizens of mountain and fields who rise in rebellion cannot match. Du Fuwei is the best example. Even if his martial art skill is outstanding, its difficult for him to aplish big things. The two boys remembered Yuwen Huaji immediately, their faces revealed deep hatred. Li Jing noticed this and asked in bewilderment, Ol Li has not inquired two Xiao Xiongdis names. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that he has seen through the load in their mind, hence they thought that from their names, he could specte their background. Xu Ziling then told him their names, and calmly added, Yuwen Huaji killed our Niang, therefore, we want to look for him for revenge. Naturally Li Jing could not figure out the twists and turns of this matter, he thought Yuwen Huaji really killed their Niang just like Yang Guang implicated a lot ofmon people, making family bankrupt and the people dead; that kind of tragedy. And then Xu Ziling narrated to him thoroughly, and so he understood the details. He could not refrain from speaking solemnly, Obviously the two Xiao Xiongdi have not entered the world too deeply. There are rules that must be known before you started. Jianghu has a saying, Meeting people by chance, speak only three-tenth. There are too many people who on the surface look reliable, but in certain situation may be an enemy. Every word you said could potentially be the cause of your demise. The two boys nodded their head indicating they epted the advice. Susu was touched. Li Dage is really good to them, she said. Li Jing replied seriously, Very few people can hit it off with the Ol Li as soon as we meet; those who have dead hearts are unbearably many. There are a lot of things in the world that seem to be impossible, but can be done single-handedly by ambitious people. Commoners can be bestowed the title marquis or revered as prime minister, so much so that they can reach the top to the emperors throne. People who have nothing at all also can be rich merchant wealthy tycoons. This kind of matter is not without any precedence, so you can greatly encourage yourselves with this. Listening to this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were radiant with delight. This conversation with Li Jing has been like encountering bright beacon light in the dark night at the angry sea; making them see hope and giving them goals to achieve, and reignited the ambition that was hit hard by Fu Junchuos death. Li Jing continued, Other than Zhai Rang and Li Mi, those with most fame and power are Wang Bo, Dou Jiande and Du Fuwei. These three top powers are the most, hey, the most promising. Seeing a person with a lot of insight and vast experience like Li Jing was also willing to adopt his phrase, Kou Zhong was very proud of himself. Du Fuwei, you have alreadymented, he said, Wang Bo and Dou Jiande, whats so formidable about these guys? Pfft! Susu broke intoughter as she spoke up, How can you casually call people guys? Smiling, Li Jing said, Kou Xiao Xiong still has naivet! Wang Bo is the number one master of the Chang Bai Sect, he is known in Wulin world as the Whip King, but he calls himself Zhi Shi Lang [its hard to trante sinctly, it basically means the minister/official/youth who understood the world/lifetime/era]. Heposed the song Dont Go Toward Liaodong [penins, between Bohai and Yellow Sea] and Wasted in Death, which prated deeply into the peoples heart. He also knows how to grasp the popr sentiment; hence he receives great support from Shandong [province, northeast China] popce, far surpasses Du Fuwei. After a short pause he continued, If internal strife arose between Zhai Rang and Li Mi, I have no doubt that the one reaping the benefit must be Qinghe [county, Hebei] man Dou Jiande. This man is the overlord of the dark road [criminal/underworld] in Hebei. He has been absent for a long time. Later on, because his family and rtives were wiped out by men who were sent by Yang Guang, in his anger he joined Gao Shidas militia. When Gao Shida died in battle, the leadership of the militia then fell into his hands. This mans martial art skill already reached the state of perfection, his men numbered in hundred thousand. They upied Gao Jibo and made it the base of their operations, their influence reached the Yellow River. This man cannot be ignored. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Listening to Li Dages analysis sure beats listening to his mothers at the restaurant for three months. Those Yang Xuangan, Song Zixian, Wang Xuba, Wei Daoer, Li Zitong, Lu Mingyue, Liu Wuzhuo, and what have you. Listening about that bunch of names my head was swollen. Turns out the most formidable ones are only these few. Li Jing took out dry rations for everyone to share. He said, We must stay here untilte into the night before we can leave. By that time the pursuing troops would have been weary and their horses tired from the earliermotion. Even if wee across them, we wont have anything to worry. The two boys already regarded Li Jing, they simply nodded their heads vigorously. Susu asked, Now that Li Dage has left Du Fuwei, whats your n for the future? Li Jing did not answer. He asked them instead, What about the three of you? Whats your n? Hanging down her head, Susu said, I am thinking of returning to Rongyang to look for Miss, asking her to warn Laoye to guard against Li Mi. Kou Zhong replied, We want to go to Luoyang to find a friend. Li Jing nodded. I am thinking of going to the Capital to see what will be the destiny of the Sui people, he said, Since we all are going to the north anyway, let me see the three of you off for a while! Along the way I can teach two Xiao Xiongdi some horseback riding and archery, as well as some basic martial art skills. Shifu! the two boys called out in great delight. Li Jingughed in spite of himself, By all means you must not call me Shifu, he said, We are of the same generation who happen to make friends and exchange pointers. Besides, the basic internal training your Niang hasid down for you is indeed deep and immeasurable, plus the two of you have extremely fine bones, and are quick-witted and adaptable. In the future you will definitely be people of great power and influence or at least martial art experts of this age. Perhaps right now you dont even believe in yourselves, but future facts will definitely confirm the truth that I did not make any error in judgment. While the two boys you look at me, I look at you, Li Jing already straightened up and rose up. Let me teach you how to ride first, he said, Later on I will teach you saber technique. Back and forth my saber technique only consists of about a dozen styles. It will be most beneficial to be used to charge into thousand troops ten thousand horses, but to contend for supremacy in Jianghu, I am afraid it will be inadequate. Only in rushing headlong in the battlefield will it shows its infinite power, you wont have to fear the enemys many men and great force. As for the Ol Lis archery skill, it originated from Hu peoples [generic name for non-Han people] equestrian archery technique, hence I rather have confidence in myself. The two boys have never imagined that they would have this fortuitous meeting; hence they promptly prostrated themselves to express their gratitude. Li Jing roared inughter and led them out of the cave. Book 1 - 11 – Pursuing Troops’ Sudden Arrival Book 1 Chapter 11 C Pursuing Troops Sudden Arrival When darkness fell that day, because the two boys riding skill was not perfected yet, the four people rode on two horses, leaving one horse as spare, in case they had to make their escape by taking advantage of the dark. Li Jing and Xu Ziling rode together, while Kou Zhong and Susu rode the other horse. Kou Zhong wrapped his arms around Susus waist, leaning close to her fragrant back, smelling the sweet fragrance of her body and her hair; he was wishing that they could continue like this forever. On one hand, Susu was still fearful and nervous, secondly, she already regarded Kou Zhong as her little brother; although she did feel the close contact between them, the feeling was not intense. It had never urred to her that this kid Kou Zhong was immersing himself in this pleasure. Li Jing was definitely not an ordinary character; from time to time he would dismount and put his ear on the ground to listen whether there was hidden troops on the road ahead. He also knew how to make use of the terrain to mask their route; he was not impatient or reckless at all. By daybreak, the four of them finally left the danger zone and entered the suburb on the outskirt of Danyang County area. Jiangdu of Yangzhou was thest big city on the tributary of Yangtze River before it flows into the ocean. From here to the west were precisely Danyang and Liyang, two big strategic cities along the river. If Liyang fell into the hands of Du Fuwei, the river route along Yangtze was immediately cut off, while at the same time threw Danyang into a state of emergency. But Li Jing pointed out that it would not be easy for Du Fuwei to capture Liyang, he only had enough power to invade the neighboring viges and towns nearby, which were powerless to resist. Even stabilizing Liyang would require him to ask for the Heavens blessing, so invading Danyang would be out of question. Second reason was that Yang Guang remained in control of the Capital, Daxing, the eastern capital Luoyang, and the coastal Jiangdu, three of the countrys most important strategic cities. After the three big canals, Guangtong, Tongji and Yongji, were connected to each other, the north and south were also connected into one stretch, and the water transportation had the three strategic cities closely linked with each other, enabling the Sui countrys army, whose power was growing, to be deployed rapidly to the south to suppress the rebellion. Supposing that Luoyang was Emperor Yangs eastern capital, then Yangzhous Jiangdu was his southern capital. Both were areas that must be fought over, and both were areas that Emperor Yang must defend. Therefore, the Sui army spared no expense in defending Danyang, so that no disaster would reach Jiangdu. From this, it can be seen that Du Fuwei upying Liyang was the turning point in the struggle between the rebels army and the Sui army. The closer they were to Danyang, the more they felt the tension of the situation. They saw continuous flow of warships going toward Jiangdu, as well as warships bound for Danyang. The Sui army set up checkpoint everywhere, prohibiting members of Wulin from entering Danyang, causing people who did not live in Danyang to turn back and spread rumors that Danyang was already closed. Fortunately they had no intention of entering Danyang to begin with, so they simply entered the neighboring rural county and sold the three war-horses and made a small fortune. Li Jing divided the silver into four parts and urged the others to keep to money and hide it well; he said, At the time of turmoil and chaos of war, anything might happen. Right now the three biggest power among the rebels, Dou Jiande upied Hebei, Du Fuwei took over Huai River, while Zhai Rang held control over the Central ins[1]; the situation will gradually be clear. It also put the Sui army fragmentation in the open. However, taking the opportunity of the uprising, four ck hegemons started to loot, the ck road [again, ck here refers to criminal/underworld] powers intending to get their share of the action are measured in cartloads and gallons. If anyone meets some mishaps along the way, we will try to rendezvous at Gaoyou [county level city in Yangzhou], and well find a ship from there to go up north by the canal, trying to make it to Luoyang. After giving Susu a couple of nces, he noticed that due to her thin clothing, she was shivering from the cold. He said, Tonight well find a hotel here to get some rest. You two and Susu go buy some warm winter clothes to avoid getting sick due to the exposure to cold weather and snow. When you are done, well meet again here. Li Dage, where are you going? Kou Zhong wondered. Li Jing squinted his eyes under the bright afternoon sun to scan the shops lining both sides of the street; he seemed to be looking for something. I want to look for a weapon store, to see if I can find two simr long saber for you to defend yourselves. I hope the price is not too high! In time like this, selling sabers and swords is the best business. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted. In that case, he said, Lets go our separate way to do our business! Upon splitting up, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling walked on the right and left of Susu, following the crowd of pedestrians along the long street trying to find clothing store. This town was near Danyang; it was extremely thriving. Due to refugees who fled from Liyang, it was even more lively. However, there was a faint imprable fear and nervousness in the air. Most of the shops have already closed their door. Xu Ziling said, Maybe wed better go to the marketce to see if there is any mobile vendor stall over there? Thereupon the three of them changed direction toward the marketce. Because of the crowd, Susu reached out to hold on to the two boys arms so that they would not get separated, but also to get a bit of warmth from them. This had made the two boys pleased and a bit bewitched by her. Kou Zhong whispered in Susus ear, Jiejied better buy mens clothing; if you wear hat, it will cover Jiejies beautiful hair, others wont be able to see that Jiejie is actually a very beautiful woman. Being praised like that, Susu nodded her head cheerfully. In the meantime the three of them have entered the marketce. Sure enough, there were arge number of street stalls with their merchandiseid out on the ground, hawking all kinds of goods, especially winter clothing. Xu Ziling also whispered in Susus ear, Wed better trim your long hair a little bit, and have your hair in a male bun like ours. It will be even more foolproof [orig. in ten thousand, not one fail]. Susu happily said, Will you do that for me? The two boys bragged, Naturally that would be best! Susu pulled the two boys to stop at one of the street vendors, and enthusiastically selected a set of winter clothing and a pair of winter boots with exceptionally high heels. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were highly amused, while their hearts were filled with warm feeling. Suddenly, almost at the same time the two of them noticed several rogue, local-ruffian like, strong and muscr men nearby were staring lecherously at Susu, who were squatting on the ground, while whispering to each other. The two boys felt very uneasy, while cursing in their hearts. Kou Zhong hurriedly stooped down to help Susu picking suitable set of clothing. And then, without haggling over the price, he painfully paid at more than twice the price, and quickly turned around and left. As soon as they were out of the marketce, the two boys breathed a sigh of relief. Bang! They were just entering the main street, someone crossed the street and fiercely bumped his shoulder against Xu Zilings shoulder. Xu Ziling was caught off-guard, naturally his shoulder recoiled a little before he sent out his strength to react; at the same time the sole of his feet felt hot, as if there was a stream of heat flowing toward his shoulder. Ah! the man cried out in pain and fell back, nearly sitting on the ground. When the three of them halted their steps in shock, six other men came out to block their path and shouted, You hit people! The two boys took a closer look; sure enough, four out of six were the hoodlums who stared at Susu a moment ago, immediately they knew what was going on. [1] Strictly speaking, Central ins consists of middle and lower region of the Yellow River, including Henan, western Shandong, southern Shanxi and Hebei; but Central ins is also interchangeable with China. Chapter 11, Part 2 Szfong, HPC, Weed, Jaya, you are wee. Anh, we also moved to Washington State because of family. Sky, speaking of the devil ... When I mentioned New York the other day, I meant you. And suddenly you reappeared ... what a coincidence. Actually, I took several months hiatus to prepare for my certification exam and just got back early November. Strawberry, I forgot to answer your question: my home is Kirnd, but due to the fire, we temporarily reside in north Bothell. Which part of Seattle do you live? Other passerby got out of their way in a flurry, afraid a disaster woulde to the fish in the moat. [This must be a Chinese saying, but honestly I dont get it.] Susus flower-like countenance paled, Xu Ziling pulled her back two steps, while Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Everywhere under the sun [orig. fivekes four oceans] are brothers, a long and difficult road [orig. ten thousand rivers a thousand mountains] is a family. Yangzhous Zhu Hua Bang [Bamboo Flower Gang] Second Halls Hall Master is our Ah Gong [could be grandpa, or simply elder]; I wonder how should I address these Dage [big brother]. He also performed the secret hand signal of the Bamboo Flower Gang. The seven hoodlums exchanged nces with each other, while also made a bit panicky signals with their hands and feet. Bamboo Flower Gang had a rather considerable power in Yangzhou region, otherwise Kou Zhong would not invent crazy nonsense about him being Bamboo Flower Gang member. One of the men, a bulky man who was clearly the leader, took a step forward and said, I dont care who you are, the fact is that you hit one of our brothers. How are you going topensate for that? Since he was a kid Kou Zhong grew up in the marketce, how could he not know that the situation before his eyes would be difficult to defuse? Seeing how these mens eyes fell on Susus ample breasts, although he was a bit apprehensive, he knew that they could not run away. Therefore, hardening his heart, heughed aloud again and said, Money, we dont have any; but lives, we do have a couple. If you have enough ability,e and get it. With a gust of wind the thug on his left sent out a sweeping kick. Kou Zhong was greatly surprised; how could this guys leg move so slowly? It just did not make any sense. Another man charged from the right, sending a fist toward his face. When these two boys were still in Yangzhou, it could be said that they grew up with fighting and receiving a beating, hence their experience was iparably rich. They were used to fight together, so as soon as the opponents made their move, Xu Ziling pulled Susu two steps back. But as he was about to join the fray, Kou Zhong, as if he had eyes behind his back, called out, You watch for Jiejie. Kou Zhong leaned sideways to evade the attack, and then sent a kick to the left, while simultaneously ducked down and struck with his arm, punching the lower abdomen of the thug who attacked his face. His movement was so nimble that even Xu Ziling was awestruck. More fantastic things happened: right when Kou Zhong was brandishing his arm, he felt his whole body was immersed in unspeakable coolness, while from the top of his head a stream of cold feeling flowed down, linking up the channels on his arm, and burst forth from his fist. Bang! The sound of his fist striking its target was mixed with a miserable scream of his victim, whose entire body flew out and crashed onto another thug; the two men were thrown to the ground, rolling around as one entity like a gourd, totally battered and exhausted. While Kou Zhong was looking at his own fist in disbelief, his ears caught Susu and Xuzilings cry of rm; he knew something was wrong. Right this moment another man kneed him on his back. Kou Zhong tumbled forward in pain. Seeing his sneak attack seeded, the hoodlum wanted to follow-up with another attack, but suddenly he felt a burst of cold stream rushed forth wildly into his body from his knee, making him feel as if he had been thrown into an icehouse, while his brain was jolted with severe pain. Before he knew what was going on, he suddenly found out that he wasying face up on the ground, unable to crawl back up. Kou Zhong dropped down and rolled away to evade the iing two kicks; amazingly, the pain on his back suddenly went away without any medicine. As he sprang up, he found out that Xu Ziling was dashing on bravely with no thought of his safety. Bang, bang, pow, pow! He sent punches and kicks toward the remaining five overbearing thugs without reservation. The first thug who was hit by Kou Zhongs punch and the one who kneed him from behind were still lying on the ground, unable to get up. Xu Ziling fought like he was mad or was possessed; he waspletely ignoring the iing punches and kicks, yet was able to lightly evade the attacks, while ferociously counterattacked. The ones hit by him immediately sprayed blood from their mouth and fell down to the ground. Kou Zhong still did not understand what was going on. By this time there were hundreds of people all around them, cheering and pping for them. At the same time he caught a glimpse of several government officers, while shouting and yelling, squeezing their way through the crowd. Kou Zhong immediately called out, Xiao Ling, the legs [sic] areing, pull back! Xu Ziling jumped in fright. Heunched a flying kick toward thest opponent, and then turned around, and together with Kou Zhong and Susu, slipped away as fast as they could. The three people ran for a while until the found a secluded ce where they could change into their winter clothes. By the time they emerged from an alley and turned into the main street, at first nce people would merely see three ordinary young men. Susu was still very much afraid, but her expression was happy, knowing that the two boys were fighting for her. On the way toward the agreed ce where they were going to rendezvous with Li Jing, the two boys turned their faces toward Susus flowery pretty face while excitedly narrated what has just happened. Very proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, When that out-of-luck guy hit me on my back, it was so painful that I was about to vomit blood, but in the blink of an eye there was afortable cool qi bubbling forth in my entire body, sofortable that I wanted to call Niang, and all the pain was gone. And that guy was shaken back byozis [I, your father] inner strength protecting my body that he nearly lost his eggs. Hearing him speaking all those vulgar words, Susu felt an unspeakable intimacy and delight instead; she pulled the two boys arms closer. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, You are cool I am hot. I have never had such an immensely enjoyable fight. Real tooth real jaw, one man one punch, he hit me I am alright, I hit him he spurted blood. If the first level of Nine Mysteries Power is already this formidable, just think what would happen if we train to the ninth level, wont we blow off Yuwen Huagus eggs altogether? Kou Zhong stretched out his head to get a good sniff at Susus hair; swaying his head he said with a sigh, Our good Jiejie smells really good, no wonder she attracted that many wild bees and wandering butterflies. Susu was ticklish and shrunk down her neck. Xiao Zhong, she said angrily, If you keep making mischief, I am going to tell Li Dage. Xu Ziling also brought his nose closer and sucked in a deep breath, while saying with augh, One sniff per person, its only fair. Susuughed so hard that her beautiful body shook, while she tried to dodge left and right. The three of them zigzagging on the street, catching the attention of other passerby. Susu suddenly pulled the boys to stop, while calling out, We are here! The three of them still refused to let their hands go; they huddled together and yakety-yak they chatted incessantly. Yet there was not the slightest degree of improper thought or evil desire between men and women at all, there was only a pure, innocent love between sister and brother who have gone through trials and tribtions together. After waiting for a while and Li Jing has not returned, the three of them retreated toward a nearby small alley perpendicr to the main street, where they continued their chatting and joking. Kou Zhong jokingly said, Jiejie must not go back to where your Miss of the Zhai family resides. Servant girls have always had to suffer maltreatment, much less when your Laoye failed to ovee Li Mi, Jiejies life will be miserable. Those so-called righteous army people [see my earlier note, Chapter 10 on righteous army] are mostly worse than beast. I wonder how many are like Li Dage. With a bitterugh Susu said, Jiejie has no family no rtives; if I dont go back to Zhai family, where would I go? Xu Ziling excitedly said, You cane with Li Dage and us roaming the other end of the world! This world is so big, wherever we go, we can stay there making money and taking care of Jiejie. Only that kind of life wont bore us to death! Susu caught on the excitement. Thats right! she said, I can wash your clothes, I can attend to your daily life. Ay! I am sure Li Dage wont be willing join us in that kind of life. He is a broad-minded and open man, a man who aims high. Just look how he is always in deep contemtion and youll see what I mean. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, In that case you can be with us, two brothers then. We will be together forever, we promise to be obedient and show filial piety to Jiejie. Susu was overjoyed, We will be very happy then, she said. Oh! There is just one thing wrong: some day you will get married and bear children, wont my pitiful situation be very awkward? Striking his chest, Xu Ziling promised, For Jiejie, we will never get married. Susu shook her head, How can that be? she asked, Carryon on your ancestral line is every mans duty. It would be better if Jiejie is married to the two of you. What? the two boys were shocked. Susu matter-of-factly and innocently said, In Pujia Vige, there are a lot of two brothers marrying one wife. At night they all sleep together. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up, Thats a lot of fun too! Xu Ziling shook his head, That wont do, he said, It would be better if we draw lots to decide who get to marry Jiejie, the loser will have to find a way to find his own wife. Inplete bliss, Susu said, No, no, the right thing is: the loser will have to marry me. In the future both of you will be great heroes, the wife youll find will definitely be much better than having Jiejie as your wife. The three people looked at each other, then they doubled-up inughter at the same time. Pulling one another in a group hug, their hearts were brimming with a genuine, pure feeling that they would not part forever. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, Jiejie really knows how to y with us, how to coax us to be this happy, while actually she only wants to marry Li Dage! Susus pretty face immediately blushed deep red. Dont talk nonsense! she angrily said. Xu Ziling struggled hard to suppress hisughter until tears streaming down his face. Suddenly he saw a group of men, about a dozen men were walking across the street. Each one looked around with his eyes wide open. Two of those men had ck head and swollen face; they were precisely the thugs who received lessons from them earlier. Chapter 11, Part 3 Jaya, too bad they seriouslycked experience and good coach. Ahoxan, DongBin, thanks, Ill include the info into my source file. Sky, thanks for the email too. HPC, Anh, ck, you are wee. Strawberry, Tukw? Or farther south? This concludes Book 1. I will try to catch up during Christmas break. Hurriedly he pulled the other two aside to hide behind a big tree in an alley across the street. By this time Kou Zhong and Susu have also seen the men. They all held their breath in fear. Why havent Li Dage returned? Susu said, With him here, we have nothing to fear. The two boys were also wondering, Li Jing only wanted to buy some des, there was no reason he would take such a long time. Overwhelmed with horror, Xu Ziling said, Within this bunch of hooligans, there are two or three that look like they belong to the same gang, plus they carry weapons. I am afraid they dont have any good intention. Kou Zhong said in a low voice, If we have sabers, we need not fear them, but we must never take their des. Although our martial art skill is high, I am afraid the first level of Nine Mysteries Power is not enough to withstand weapons, especially necks are so frail. Dont say that! Susu shrieked, Ay! Where is Li Dage? Right this moment, from the other end of the alley someone staggered along in their direction, it was precisely Li Jing. The three people were scared out of their wits and rushed over. As soon as Li Jing saw them, his legs gave up and he copsed to the ground. Like an arrow Kou and Xu, two boys darted forward and propped him up from left and right. Susu nearly threw herself into Li Jings bosom, but when her hands touched his clothes, she was aghast to find that her hands were soaked with blood. Li Jings face waspletely devoid of any blood; strenuously, he said in low voice, Five men from Du Fuweis team of martial art masters Law Enforcement Regiment havee. I killed four of them, but one escaped. You dont have to worry about me, just run away immediately, otherwise it will be toote. Susu waved her hands and feet frantically, Where is the blood-clotting powder? We must stop Dages bleeding first. Kou Zhong knew the situation was critical, he pointed to one of the backdoors nearby. Together with Xu Ziling they helped Li Jing toward the door, pushed the door open by force, and took refuge in someones rear courtyard. Susu quickly pushed the wooden door closed again. The courtyard was overgrown with weed, apparently the residents of this house have left earlier. By this time Li Jing has already fallen into a semi-conscious state. The three people did not have time to observe propriety. They broke into the house,y Li Jing on a long table, and took off his clothes. To their surprise they found out that he had at least seven wound, the deep ones reached his bones, the shallow ones cut into his flesh. Fortunately, except for the most critical saber cut on is torso, the other cuts were either on his back, arms or thigh. Apparently the battle was very dangerous and very intense. In this critical situation Kou Zhong was not flustered, Xiao Ling, go find blood-clotting medicine, I will try to get a horse cart. Either by stealing, robbing or swindling, dont care about it too much. Well leave as soon as it is dark. Susu was busy examining and cleaning up the wound with tears streaming down her face. The three people looked at each other, they all determined to save Li Jings life. Then the two boys left separately. With great difficulty Xu Ziling managed to find a drugstore and bought some blood-clotting powder. When he was rushing back, he came face to face with the group of thugs they saw earlier. Xu Ziling noticed that every single one of them carried either a sword or a saber; they looked fierce and menacing. Busily he raised his cor and continued walking briskly with head hung low. As they past each other, he was recognized by one of the men who received a beating from him. Its him! the man shouted. Qiang! Qiang! the sound of the evil thugs sword leaving its sheathe lingered in the air, the other pedestrians were so scared that they scattered like flying chicken or running dogs. Xu Ziling did not have even a cun of weapon in his possession; even if he did, he would not dare to fight so many people. He yelled and ran like mad along the street. The evil thugs ran after him in hot pursuit. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong could be considered experts in running away. When they were in Yangzhou, every time they were defeated, they had to rely on their two feet to save their lives. This time, turning to the left and winding to the right, fully utilizing the other pedestrians as barrier between him and the pursuing troops, he ran faster and faster away. He felt the warm stream inside his body was circting endlessly. The sole of his left foot was steaming hot, while the sole of his right foot was icy-cold. The more he ran, the more he feltfortable. His mind was as calm as the still water; he even nearly forgot the enemy. By the time he rounded a bent and entered a small alley, he had left the bunch of thugs far behind that he could not even see them. Xu Ziling made another circle before returning to their safe house. When he arrived, Susu was waiting for him while her heart was burning with anxiety. The two of them scrambled with their hands and feet to apply the blood-clotting powder onto Li Jings wounds and wrapped the wounds well. By the time they finished dressing the wounds, it was already dusk. They also put clean clothes on him. Although Li Jing was still unconscious, his breathing was slow and even, so that they were a bit relieved. Susu said, Fortunately Li Dages wounds have the capability to automatically shrink to stop the bleeding, otherwise it would be even worse. Ay! Why havent Xiao Zhonge back yet? Xu Ziling did not say anything. He took out the treasured saber that Li Jing carried. Walking to the middle of the room, he practiced the saber technique Li Jing taught him on his own initiative, the one Li Jing names Bloody Battle Ten Styles. When Li Jing first taught them the saber technique, he did not have too deep ofprehension and perception. But now that Li Jing was seriously hurt and powerful enemy loomed outside, his heart was boiling with grief, indignation, and desperation. He only felt that each step each chop was a move with which he fought for his life. Temporarily he was in a no-self, no-consciousness state. From the first move, Two Armies Encamped Face-to-face, followed by Exposing the Tip of the Fire Beacon, Light Cavalry Charges Ahead, Feeling the Pocket and Taking Something Out, One Battle and Sess is Achieved, Acting on Overbearing, Stirring Emptiness, Troops without Regr Power, Life or Death, Exist or Perish, Unyielding and Escaping, until the tenth style, Ruler Overlooking the World; he felt that every move was going smoothly and easily. From the tenth style he was going to start over from the first one when suddenly Susu yelled at him, Xiao Ling, stop it! Xu Ziling was stunned and stopped abruptly. He saw Susu was standing in front of Li Jing, shielding him; her face was blue her lips white. Your saber seemed to emit hot wind; its extremely frightening. Xu Ziling stared nkly in amazement; why didnt he feel it, he wondered. It seemed that his Nine Mysteries Great Method could be considered progressing a bit more. Only if he really met an enemy, would he be able to put it to good use? Bang! Kou Zhong mmed the door open and came in. Mule cart is here, lets go! he cried out. The two people were greatly delighted. Without even asking how he managed to get a mule cart, they lifted Li Jing up using belts wrapped around his body, and loaded him onto the mule cart waiting in the courtyard, on top of piles of straw. Susu embraced him in her arms. Kou Zhong drove the mule cart, from the back door they followed the alley and turned into the street, just as more than a dozen other mule carts and horse carts, carrying men, women, young and old, were heading toward the county town gate. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, he steered the cart into the middle of the pack, hoping to pass off fish eyes for pearls, and slip out of the county town. Xu Ziling had Li Jings treasured saber inside its scabbard lying on his knees. He said in a low voice, Just now I practiced Li Dages Bloody Battle Ten Styles; it was really fun. Jiejie even said that my saber emitted hot wind! Looks like the Nine Mysteries Skill Niang taughtbined with those ghost diagrams from the Secret to Long Life can be formidable martial art, Kou Zhongmented, Ay! Too bad we only have one saber. Otherwise with a pair of sabers working together in harmony we could be matchless under the heavens. Xu Zilingughed, Go to your Niang! he swore, Oh, no! Wont that be go to my Niang as well? You, this kid, always love to boast and to praise yourself. Compared to Niang and Yuwen Huaji, our skills differ too far. Handling a few bullies is still alright, but if ... Kou Zhongughed bitterly and said, Precisely like you said. Look! The bullies areing. Shall we go or not? Following his gaze, Xu Ziling saw close to twenty local ruffians were mingling among the county officers by the county town gate, inspecting the carts and pedestrians going out of town, but they had not seen them. The two boys countenance became very ugly. Gnashing his teeth, Xu Ziling said, Ill draw them away! Kou Zhong was shocked, If you die, what am I going to do? he asked. Xu Zilings eyes flickered with cold rays. I wont die, he confidently assured him, You go about half a li outside the city and wait for me. Kou Zhong knew it was the only way. I wont leave without you, he said grimly, If I dont see you, I will go back and stake my life with them. By this time Susu also knew something was not right; terrified, she said, No, wed better find a ce to hide! Xu Ziling shook his head resolutely, If we tolerate these thugs, we lose a good opportunity to deal with them. If that bunch of Du Fuweisw enforcement murderers came, we will lose our lives. So this is our only chance. Be careful! Kou Zhong said. Xu Ziling took out the treasured saber, left the scabbard behind, and jumped off the cart. Kou Zhong and Susu watched as Xu Ziling courageously dashed toward the enemy; the two peoples heart almost got caught in their throat. The evil thugs also caught sight of Xu Ziling. Shouting and yelling, they drew their weapons and swarmed forward. Carrying Li Jings treasured saber, Xu Ziling turned toward the big street by the city wall. The convoy of carts and carriages immediately increased their speed to get out of the county town as quickly as possible. Kou Zhong and Susu felt as if their heart was twisted and was set on fire as they had to endure quietly and urged their mule to get out of town. As they watched those nearly twenty evil thugs chasing Xu Ziling, eventually Kou Zhong and Susu could not hold back their tears. The instant they passed the city gate, they saw Xu Ziling turned around and charged wildly toward the pursuing enemy. Susu screamed. The mule cart was out of town. Book 2 - 1 – The Wily Old Fox Book 2 Chapter 1 C The Wily Old Fox Tranted by Foxs In an instant Xu Zilings mind, body and spirit entered into an unprecedented state. He felt his mental and physical have fused into one entity, which was then transformed into some kind of transcending-the-ordinary surge of energy. His eyes brightened, as he charged fearlessly into a clump of ten or so thugs head on. He even felt that he could react a tad faster than they were able to move. Plus he could indistinctly feel the angle and the timing of each weapon as it came, as well as the opening in each attack. He felt that could even tell which enemy was strong and which one was weak. Too bad he did not know how to exploit this fantastic newly-found ability. The heat stream had started to flow from the sole of his left foot, going up. The first to arrive was obviously the strongest evil thug, who brandished a big hatchet in his hand from right to left, hacking at Xu Zilings face. Before the hatchet arrived, the gust of wind from the hatchet and the whistling noise as the hatchet split the air have already piercing his skin and his ears; with his new-found sensitivity, everything felt as if it was amplified several times. The Bloody Battle Ten Styles that Li Jing taught shed through his mind like a lightning or a flint spark. Without thinking heunched the move Exposing the Tip of the Fire Beacon, the treasured saber swept ... Ding! The hatchet and the saber collided. Xu Ziling did not expect he really could chop the enemys hatchet. While he was overjoyed, the man twisted his hatchet with great force, the treasured saber flew off Xu Zilings hand. Xu Ziling was so scared that he felt his soul flew out of his body; he did not foresee that although he knew exactly the opponents follow-up move, but he had no idea how to deal with it. Unexpectedly just one exchange, and he already lost his weapon. The big hatchet arrived again. Two other enemies also came from his left and right, one using a saber, the other using an iron chain, both were aimed mercilessly toward his body; they did not hold their hands at all just because Xu Ziling was a young kid. In this critical moment, Xu Ziling saw a gap. Instead of retreating, he lunged forward and rolled on the ground. To his shock, however, he rolled past these two men just to enter the enemys encirclement. As the first three enemies attack missed its target, their own momentum carried them two more steps forward before they managed to stop and turn around. The other men immediately swarmed in. Xu Ziling sprang up, only to see from left, right and center, three directions, sabers flickered and swords shed. He had no choice but to step backward. Bang! His back crashed onto the city wall. Not able to retreat anymore, he dropped down along the wall and fell sitting on the ground. First of all Xu Ziling remembered Kou Zhong; and then he remembered his Niang, followed by Susu and Li Jing. While in his heart he was crying out his goodbye, something shed in front of his eyes. Someone wearing tall hat, around fifty years of age, with countenance that looked old and clumsy, a bit like a dead person, suddenly dropped from the sky, exactly in between the evil thugs, who were charging wildly, and he. The man even had time to squat down, and showed a warm smile to Xu Ziling, a smile that did not match his weird countenance at all. Right this moment two sabers, one sword and one chain, because the wielders were not able to hold back, were striking the mans back. But four men screamed miserably with blood spurting out of their mouth as they were thrown backward, while their weapons were stuck onto this strange mans back. The other evil thugs have never seen such a brilliant martial art skill; overwhelmed with shock, they scattered away; but they still managed to maintain their encirclement. The man patted Xu Zilings forehead and helped him to stand up. He even dusted Xu Zilings clothes with absolute tenderness and attention. The four men that were shaken by him were still lying motionless on the ground. It seemed like their condition was not promising at all. The man showed another glimmer of smile as he spoke in tender voice, You are Xu Ziling, arent you? Xu Zilings mind went nk; he simply nodded with a nk expression on his face. One of the evil thugs behind him called out, Friend, from which way are you? A hint of grim smile appeared on the corner of the mans mouth. Because he had his back against those men, only Xu Ziling was able to see this. He suddenly had a nagging feeling in his heart that this man, who seemed to be making his move from a sense of justice, was not a good person at all. The man reached back and swiped, the weapons stuck on his back were wrapped in his palm, which was wider than average persons, without any fear of the sharp edges of the sabers and swords. As if nothing had happened, he said, I am Du Fuwei. When you, gentlemen, see Yan Huang [King Yama, King of Hell], you must not forget it. It was as if a thunderbolt echoed in Xu Zilings mind, wasnt Du Fuwei the top leader of Huai River militia, Li Jings former master? He had just led his army to take over Liyang, causing everybody to flee for their lives; how did he suddenly appear here, alone? Not only he saved Xu Zilings life, he even knew Xu Zilings name? While these thoughts were running wild in his mind, Du Fuwei flew backward in lightning speed, mming himself onto a man who was standing about a zhang away behind him. The man immediately spurted blood as he was thrown back violently; his entire body exploded with the sound of bones breaking and flesh splitting. At this moment the rest of the evil thugs deeply regretted that their mom and dad did not give birth to them with more than two legs as they scattered in all directions for their lives. Du Fuwei waved his left hand, the four weapons in his hand flew out to the left and separately embedded themselves into four mans back. His method was frighteningly cruel, but his uracy really rendered other people speechless. Xu Ziling thought that if he did not take this opportunity to flee, what was he waiting for? Thereupon he lifted his feet and ran toward the city gate. Incessant miserable screams followed him from behind. Du Fuweis cruelty in killing his victims broke Xu Zilings courage that he did not have the guts to even look back. Very soon he ran into the mass of refugees scrambling against each other to get out of the city. Ducking to the left and squeezed himself to the right, very soon he reached the official road leading out of town. Right now his only hope was to find Kou Zhong, and then together they would run far, far away, never again to see that Prince of the Devils. Suddenly Du Fuweis frightening voice echoed right next to his ears, Xiao Xiongdi, your feet are really fast! Xu Ziling turned his head around, but after ncing to the left and right, he still did not see Du Fuwei. Suddenly he noticed that all around him people were looking above him with terror-stricken expression on their faces. Xu Ziling came to realize something so scary that his soul flew away and scattered. Du Fuweinded behind him and grabbed his back. Five streams of qi entered his body via his back. At first Xu Ziling lost all his strength, but then the sole of his left foot starting to heat up, followed by the sole of his right foot cooling down; unexpectedly he recovered enough strength to struggle. Huh? Du Fuwei was surprised, and then he sent more true qi into Xu Zilings body. Kou Zhong steered the mule cart into a wooded area by the road. He jumped down the cart. Susu asked in horror, Where are you going? Kou Zhong came over to Susu. First he looked down to see Li Jing, who was still unconscious and lying in Susus bosom, and then he looked up and said seriously, I believe Xiao Lings situation is more dire than good. Right now I am going to go back to avenge him. Jiejie should drive the cart deep into the woods. Wait for Li Dage to wake up, then you can think of a way to escape. On an impulse he took all the silver out of his pocket and ced it in the cart before turning around and left, ignoring Susus tender call. He ran back to the main road, and rushed toward the city gate against the flow of people going out of town. Tears constantly poured down his face. His steps were getting faster and faster. Although all around him people and carts were fighting against each other over their share of the roadway, but to him all of these were not his concern. It was as if he and those people lived in two totally different universes. Nobody could understand heartfelt and genuine brotherly love between Xu Ziling and him. Chapter 1, Part 2 You are wee, cker ... HPC, Janger, Anh, you are wee too. Jaya, he is still around, at least for the near foreseeable future. I do not see Li Jing and Susu again though. Sky, agree, they were closer than brothers. The end of Book 2 Chapter 1. He was just avoiding a cart and was forced to move closer to the side of the road when a hand suddenly appeared from the wooded area, grabbed him, and pulled him inside. Then his entire body was sped under someones arm; immediately he felt weak all over. He tried to turn his head around, but was still unable to see what kind of person had captured him. Instead, he saw Xu Zilings big head protruding underneath the persons other arm just like a turtle, repeatedly making eye signals to him, warning him that they were in danger. Bang, bang! The two boys were tossed on a grassy ground at the edge of the woods; their heads dizzy from falling down headfirst. Humming and hawing they tried to crawl up. The two boys looked around, but Du Fuwei was nowhere to be seen. With a shout they fled for their lives. Suddenly thud! Kou Zhong fell down to the ground. Xu Ziling was already more than ten zhang ahead, but he turned around and ran back. It was not until he wanted to lift Kou Zhong up that he realized that Kou Zhong had fainted. Dejected, Xu Ziling sat on the ground. Du Fuweis legs suddenly appeared before his eyes. Gasping for breath, Xu Ziling asked, What do you want? Du Fuwei said indifferently, You may leave now! Shaken, Xu Ziling looked up. He saw Du Fuweis icy-cold expression. Did you just say I can go now? he asked in disbelief. Du Fuwei nodded, Thats right! he said, You may leave now. But only you, alone. Xu Ziling was crestfallen. I would never sell a friend to seek my own glory, he said. Du Fuwei squatted and smiled, Your Jianghu experience is too shallow, he said, Just with one test I can tell the rtionship between you and Kou Zhong. Great! Now I am going to ask you a question, and you reply with one answer. You must not hesitate at all; otherwise I will crush your good friends hands and feet, so that he will be maimed for the rest of his life. Xu Ziling was aghast. What do I am giving you wrong answers have anything to do with him? Dont you think you are being too unfair? With a wooden face Du Fuwei said, There is no such thing as fairness in the world. Otherwise, there wont be emperors, there wont be beggars begging for food. Dont even think of giving me any random answer. I am going wake Kou Zhong upter, and if your answers do not agree with each other, I will know whether you are babbling nonsense or not. One lie, I am going to dig Kou Zhongs eyeball out; two lies, it will be your good friends hands and feets turn. Listening to him, Xu Zilings entire body went numb. In term of cruelty and heartlessness, the so-called gangsters and viins he met in Yangzhou became kind and benevolent men. Du Fuwei spected inwardly, I want to see now if you, this kid, will be disobedient. Actually, he felt it was beneath his dignity to kill those evil thugs who pursued Xu Ziling and wanted to kill him; it was only because Du Fuwei wanted Xu Ziling to believe that he was a cruel man that he hardened his heart and bore the pain to kill them. The fact that Yuwen Huaji hunted down these two kids, and they were rescued by Gaoli demoness [orig. female Luocha (demon in Buddhism)] Fu Junchuo, has caused sensation in Jianghu; especially since this matter involved the treasure trove of Duke Yang, Du Fuwei was very interested. Therefore, when his subordinate spoke about the boys appearance, he rushed over personally, just as Xu Ziling and the others, including unconscious Li Jiang, were about to leave town. Now that he saw Xu Ziling has sumbed under pressure, he was very excited; but outwardly he showed indifference as he asked, Why did Yuwen Huaji want to catch you? After giving Kou Zhong a nce, Xu Ziling dejectedly said, That must be because of that ghost book! Du Fuwei showed off his acting skill; to show that he was notpletely ignorant, he carelessly said, So its the Secret to Long Life that the tyrant wanted to obtain. Not only that tyrant is bloody and cruel, he is totally ignorant as well! Immortality! What a devious idea! In a roundabout way he asked, So who taught you true qi cultivation? Judging from his questions, it was obvious that Du Fuwei was not a simple man at all. His question did not follow any particr sequence; rather, he adopted a surprise-attack technique so that the opponent did not have time to prepare the answer in advance. Sure enough, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. Seeing Du Fuweis eyes shed with cold rays, he hurriedly shook his hand and said, Dont! Ill speak! Niang taught me. It was Du Fuweis turn to be shocked, Your Niang? Xu Ziling knew he could not hide anything from this Prince of the Devils; therefore, he sighed and narrated the course of events concerning their encounter with Fu Junchuo. When he reached the part where Fu Junchuo died, his eyes turned red, he nearly cried. He forgotpletely that Du Fuwei was not someone with whom he could bare his soul to. Who would have thought that Du Fuwei stretched out his hand toward Kou Zhongs eyes, shook his head and said, You are lying! Xu Ziling was shocked. Calling out to Heaven for the injustice he said, If I say one empty word, may I die a horrible death. Du Fuwei really did not disbelief him, its just that he was toying with him to get the most important piece of information. His tone turned gentle as he said, The true qi within you does not seem to have the least connection with Gaolis Yi Jian Dashi [see Book 1 Chapter 3] Fu Cailins Nine Mysteries Qi; how could the Luocha woman teach you? Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief; assuming the oh, so thats what it is attitude, he sighed and said, Niang only taught us the theory of training, but she did not have time to teach us how to train. Without any clue, we had no choice but looking at the Secret to Long Life and train ording to the lines indicated by the diagrams. This is the truth; if you dont believe me, there is nothing I can do. Du Fuweis eyes lit up, but pretending to be discouraged he said, This is a really fantastic story, turns out the Secret to Long Life is indeed a martial art manual. But even if I obtain it right now, its useless. Unless I am willing to disperse my inner powerpletely. Humph, did the Luocha woman mention anything about the Duke Yangs treasure-trove? Never mind; even if she did not, its not a big deal, I can always dig her body out. I am sure I will find some spiders thread and horse track. Horrified, Xu Ziling cried out, How could you do such thing? Right this moment, he saw Kou Zhongs hand twitched a little; apparently he was about to wake up. Du Fuwei had his back facing Kou Zhong, hence he did not see it. He calmly said, Why dont you tell me then? Ay! Buried and at rest, naturally it would be best if we dont disturb your Niang. Xu Ziling hung his head down as he said with a sigh, I surrender! But you have to let us go. Duke Yangs treasure-trove is inside the Emperor Guan Temple located at the northern part of Yangzhou. If you move the idol away, you will see the tunnel leading to the hidden treasure. Niang was about to take the treasure out when she came across us. If you dont believe me, you can wake Kou Zhong up to see if our story matches. You knocked him out for so long, could there be any problem? Du Fuwei stared nkly and said, Yangzhou city? This is certainly unimaginable to present day people. Ha! Stretching out his finger, he sent out a strong gust of wind, Xu Ziling immediately passed out. After nobody knows how long, Xu Ziling finally regained his consciousness. He saw Kou Zhong was sitting dejectedly by his side, while Du Fuwei was looking up to the sky, God knows what he was thinking about. Kou Zhong sighed. Xiao Ling! Forgive me, he said, For your little lifes sake, I had to reveal the secret of the Temple of Emperor Guan. Shut up! Du Fuwei suddenly snapped, If I hear three more words from you, Ill kill you. And then he straightened up and stood up. Get up! he said. The two boys heart was thumping madly in nervousness, since they were unsure if he was going to kill them to shut their mouth. Du Fuweis eyes glittered like frost and snow as he coldly looked at them up and down several times. Only after seeing that the hair on their body stood up did he say gently, I want you, two little demons, to take me to the Secret to Long Life first before I can give you your freedom. Didnt you say Secret to Long Life is useless to you? Xu Ziling shouted. Du Fuwei smiled, There is no harm in looking, is there? he said, From now on, I want you two to call me Die [pronounced dee-eh, Dad, the counterpart of Niang]. Whatever I say, youll do it. Understood? Come! Let me hear you call me Die! The two boys looked at each other; they both thought that a wise man submits to circumstances [orig. only an outstanding talent can recognize current trends], helplessly they lowered their level and called him Dad, while having a feeling of acknowledging a bandit as their father [idiom, meaningplete betrayal or selling oneself to the enemy]. But Du Fuwei was greatly pleased; he roared inughter and said, Good kids, let your Die take you to a wine shop and have you eat your fill before leaving. Look! The day is breaking soon; before sunrise, we ought to be able to cover a hundred li or so. Book 2 - 2 – Mutual Deception Book 2 Chapter 2 C Mutual Deception[1] Carried under Du Fuweis arms, the two boys really covered about a hundred li that day. Before daybreak they have arrived at Xinan County [Luoyang, Henan]. This county is one of the two thriving big cities along the Yangtze River. Because the fire of war has not reached this ce,pounded with arge numbers of refugees fled here to seek shelter, the city was bustling with noise and excitement. With hands behind his back and a face that did not show any expression, Du Fuwei led the way. It was not clear whether he felt embarrassed that everybody was avoiding him due to his demonic appearance, or whether he was proud of it. Kou Zhong made an eye signal to Xu Ziling before he hastened his steps toward Du Fuwei. Die! he called, Arent you supposed to go back to Liyang to be big king over there? Perhaps there are people who took advantage of your absence to rise in rebellion! Du Fuwei said indifferently, Good boy, youd better speak a couple of words less. Otherwise, if other people hear it, I would have to kill them to shut their mouth. Kou Zhong stuck out his tongue. Pretending to be scared he returned to Xu Zilings side and said in a low voice, Li Dage was right. Die is not a good material for somebody who would conquer the world [tian xia]; he is too eager to kill, and dont know how to buy the hearts of the people. Du Fuwei turned his head around to glower at him; his sharp eyes shot a chilling murderous intention. The scared Kou Zhong did not dare to continue. Du Fuwei was about two cun taller than the two boys, plus he was wearing a tall hat; walking among the crowd, he really looked like a crane in a flock of chicken, very conspicuous. The three of them climbed the stairs in thergest restaurant in town. The restaurant was jam-packed with people, trying to find an empty table was definitely harder than ascending the heavens. Du Fuwei pulled a water aside and stuffed two strings of zhu coins [1 zhu = 1/24 of a tael] into his hand. God knows how the waiter conjured up his magic trick, right away the waiter led them to an empty table next to a window, and respectfully asked them, three father and sons to sit down. After ordering tea and some appetizers, Du Fuwei only took a sip of tea, and then he stopped and looked at the two boys devouring their food. With an indifferent tone he asked, Who said I dont know how to buy the peoples heart? Kou Zhong replied in low voice, If Die knew how to buy the peoples heart, you would not go around forcing people into service, to enlist your troops by force; as a result those who saw it are terrified. Du Fuwei was incredulous, What does a kid like you know? Theres amon saying, wealth define character. Right now Die can barely scrape a meager living by living like a pauper. If I am not careful, even my family property can be lost. Where can I find the capital to buy the peoples heart? Kou Zhong shook his head and swayed his noggin, If Die knew how to buy the peoples heart, you would dress your children to look like great heroes, so that when you toot your horn abouting to the aid of the people and saving the world, we, two brothers, will follow good ol Die delightfully, and even help you conquering the world. It would be much better than relying on fear to control us, and thus harming the congeniality between us, father and sons. Xu Ziling could not endure it, he nearly spurt the delicious pastries out of his mouth; but seeing Du Fuweis unsightly countenance, he hurried covered his mouth and hung his head low. Kou Zhong totally ignored the ominous glint in Du Fuweis eyes; he still giggled and said, Die, you, Senior, should not be angry; sincere advice is always unpleasant to hear. The reason the muddle-headed ruler is called muddle-headed ruler is precisely because he is unwilling to listen to sincere advice. Die, if you only want to be a gangster leader, naturally there wont be any problem, but if you want to be the worlds leader, no matter how unwilling you are to listen to criticism, you have to put up an attitude of respecting the wise, encouraging free airings of different views. Only then would people not call you just another muddle-headed ruler. Du Fuwei was listening to him with a nk expression on his face. He started his career by making a life-and-death [orig. kissing neck] friendship with Fu Gongyou, mustering wanderers and riffraff [orig. grass and weeds/uncultivatednd] and became the regions overlord of the underworld. Later on he led his troops to seek shelter under Wang Bo of Changbai Mountain. And then he broke away from Wang Bo to be an independent general crisscrossing the Huai River, never suffered any defeat. Right now even Liyang had fallen into his hands, his reputation shook the world. But he had never had anybody dared to reprimand him on his face, especially not a bookish adviceing from a kids mouth, whose smell of his mothers milk has not dried yet. However, while listening to him, he felt something fresh; in particr the way Kou Zhong kept calling him Dad. If he got angry because of this, he reallycked grace; therefore, momentarily he did not know how to refute. Kou Zhong had not finished; he ate and talked at the same time, Die, your martial art skill is so formidable. It seems to me that even Yuwen Huagu is not your match. Casting a nce at Du Fuweis expression, he let out a huh? and then continued, Could it be that your son kissed the wrong butt? Why does Dies expression be so unsightly? Ay! After obtaining the Secret to Long Life, you are going to kill your children to shut our mouths anyway, so just bear with us a bit longer! Or perhaps you could seal our mute acupoint, so that we cannot make any noise. Hee hee! Actually, is mute acupoint real? Du Fuweis strong eyes swept around, he noticed that Kou Zhong constantly increased the volume of his voice. He shook his head with a wry smile and said, If you, this kid, are thinking about drawing other peoples attention to save you, its just a wishful thinking. All you are doing is just adding a few more lives to take. Suddenly he reached down under the table to pinch Xu Zilings thigh. As soon as he exerted strength to his five fingers, Xu Ziling was in so much pain that he had to spit the culinary delicacy in his mouth. Kou Zhong raised his hands in mock surrender and said, Die is still more ruthless than your child. This strategy besieging Wei to rescue Zhao [to relieve besieged ally by attacking the home base of the besiegers] and make deration for the east but strike to the west, I really cannot ward off. Die, please be magnanimous! Child understood that in everything power trumps logic. Dies lesson is very good. Du Fuwei was still a bit at a loss. His biggest problem was that right now was not the time to kill people to shut their mouth yet. Withdrawing his big hand, he said drily, From now on you are not allowed to speak. Kou Zhong giggled and coughed, trying to stifle hisugh, but in the end he tossed his head back and roared inughter. Only then did he lower his head and munched busily. Du Fuwei was so furious he nearly blew his lungs. But since he did not say that they must notugh, he felt embarrassed to punish them. The two little demons exchanged a nce and both smiled knowingly in triumph. Leaving the restaurant, with bamboo toothpicks in their mouth, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling strolled leisurely behind Du Fuwei. From time to time they bumped their shoulders against each other; their mind seemed to be free from the immediate trouble. Without saying a single word, Du Fuwei headed for the marketce and bought two horses; he had the two boys rode together in one horse with a strict warning, If you are still daydreaming about relying on the horses legs to escape, I will dig one eyeball from each of you. Are we clear? The two boys nodded their head deferentially; their appearance made othersugh. Du Fuwei was in no mood to argue with them, he told them to ride in the front, leading the way, while he followed behind them. As soon as they left the city, the horses galloped along the official road. Xu Ziling let the horse speed along without trying to rein it at all. Seeing that Du Fuwei wasgging behind at least five zhang away, Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, This is bad, if we let this evil man takes the treasure underneath the Emperor Guan Temple in Yangzhou, Niang will definitely me us. But with his other hand he wrote on Xu Zilings back, Just now at the restaurant I tried to attract other peoples attention. If someone is blocking our way, we can seize the opportunity to escape. Xu Ziling understood his intention, so he said with a sigh, He is so formidable, we had no choice but to obey. In my opinion, although he is cruel and overbearing, he is actually a good person. At least until now he has not beaten us yet. Wed better give the Secret to Long Life to him first, and then well see whether he would really take us as his sons. When he bes the emperor in the future, wont we be crown prince? Yifu [foster father/godfather] ought not to kill yizi! [foster child; yi here means righteousness, same as righteous army I mentioned earlier, also same character in yiqi] Based on previous experience with Fu Junchuo, the boys knew that even though they were separated by a few zhang, it would be hard to conceal anything from Du Fuweis ears. Kou Zhong knitted his eyebrows and said, Ay! Just before her death Niang told us about the secret of opening the treasure-trove, something like three left six right, seven forward eight backward, three turns two spins; did you hear her clearly? Seems like there were two more sentences. Niangs death was so tragic, I cried so hard that my ears turned deaf; how could I hear clearly? Didnt Niang said that if we fail to know the secret of how to open the door, even if we get into the Temple we wont find the entrance to the treasure-trove? Inwardly Xu Ziling praised Kou Zhongs ingenuity. Of course I remember, he yed along, But unless he is willing to take us as his sons, otherwise he would kill us to shut our mouths anyway, we might as well not tell him anything. Fortunately Niang taught us the technique to break our main artery; worst case scenario we immediatelymit suicide to end our miserable life. Kou Zhong pretended to be horrified, You must not do that, he said, Ill say the old ghost Du can be considered a rare talent, as long as he does not have any son yet, he must find two genius and outstanding talents like us to be his heirs; at least he could use us to admonish his ministers. If he throws us away for nothing, he is a really big fool [orig. muddled egg]. After a short pause he sighed and added, Ay! But you were right too, if he deal with us ruthlessly, if he gives us even half a p on the face, we will immediately kill ourselves, to teach that evil tyrant Dad a lesson, instead of obtaining the treasure, he will be crushed to death when the while Emperor Guan Temple copse on him. Hearing the more he bragged, the farther off-track he was, Xu Ziling was afraid Du Fuwei might see through their charades. Stop talking, he busily said, He might catch up with us! Kou Zhong pretended to look back, he saw Du Fuwei lowering his head, so he knew their brilliant scheme was sessful; thus he promptly shut his mouth, while in his heart he was so pleased with himself that it was hard to describe his feeling right now. By dusk that day, the three of them reached a big town called Nanzhi. Du Fuwei found a small inn, but he only booked one room. And then he took the two boys to a small restaurant nearby to have dinner. His manner was a lot more benevolent than before. From the dozen or so tables, only half were upied. The patrons appeared to be local the haves. The three chose a quiet table on the corner. After ordering food and drink, slowly and casually said, Since the two of you are obedient, you are now allowed to talk. Kou Zhong lightly kicked Xu Zilings leg under the table. He heaved a sigh and said, Whatever Die, the Senior, is unwilling to hear, you might as well tell us inly, so that your sons will not offend you by breaking your taboo, but will seal our lips instead. [1] Title chapter original: you hoodwink me, I cheat on you. Chapter 2, Part 2 HPC, Anh, Jaya, Sky, you are wee. Merry Christmas!! And God bless us all everyone ... Although Du Fuwei was an ambitious and ruthless character of the dark road who could kill people without blinking an eye, he was helpless against Kou Zhong. To show that he was magnanimous, he forced augh and said, As long as you dont deliberately stir up trouble, why would I be afraid of your talk? The amount of salt I took is more than the grains of rice you have eaten, the number of bridges I crossed is more than the road you have travelled. Kou Zhong showed a I beg to differ expression, but he did not contradict. Xu Ziling said in a low voice, We, two brothers, ept our misfortunes as decreed by fate. Du Zongguan [see Chapter 1], after obtaining the Secret to Long Life, would you grant us a quick and easy death, and not subject us to prolonged suffering? Ay! Since Niang died, we have always thought about following her to the Yellow Spring [underworld in Chinese Mythology, equivalent to Hades or Hell]. Its just that we dont have the courage to kill ourselves! Kou Zhong interrupted, Die, after we die, it would be best if whenever you have spare time, you have your subordinates, the generals, to order those foot soldiers to burn some gold and silver paper[2] for us, so that in the Yellow Spring, Niang and us can livefortably and in style. With these two boys messing around with him, Du Fuwei really did not know whether he shouldugh or he should cry. Who said anything about killing you? he said with a wry smile. With a straight face Kou Zhong said, A rulers words is no joking matter; in that case you cant even harm us. Du Fuwei was indeed a wily old fox; he smiled and said, If you dont hide anything from me, I, Du Fuwei, will keep my promises [orig. one word worth nine sacred tripods[3]]. In the future I definitely wont mistreat you. The two boys knew he had fallen into their trap. After exchanging a nce, Kou Zhong said with a sigh, Dies promise is good enough. Xiao Ling, you may tell him! Xu Ziling said, The entrance to the treasure-trove must be opened in specific way. If Die is willing to swear a heavy oath, guaranteeing that you will not harm even half a hair on our bodies by any method, that you will truly consider us as your sons, then son will tell you the secret. Du Fuwei saw a group of men and women just walked in to the restaurant, one of them was an elderly man with an out-of-the-ordinary manner; obviously he was a martial art expert. Du Fuwei nodded and said, Well talk about itter. Lets eat! Following his gaze, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong also looked toward the door. Four eyes lit up simultaneously. The newers were five in total, one old man and four young people. Each one of them carried either a sword or a saber. The one causing the two boys eyes to light up was a sixteen or seventeen-year old, budding young girl in the prime of youth, with an exceptionally good-looking countenance. The old man was short and stout, his bearing looked bold and powerful; as soon as he walked in, his eyesnded squarely on Du Fuwei. The other three were young men around twenty-year old, their physiques looked heroic and strong, one of them was exceptionally handsome, and taller than the other two. This young man walked side-by-side with the beautiful girl in an intimate manner. The young girl noticed the two boys, Kou and Xus marketce rascals eyes were sizing her up without blinking, and angry look flitted across her pretty face; she turned her head away in disdain, and pressed closer to the tall and handsome young mans back as they entered the restaurant. Knowing that they had caught the young girls attention, the two boys were very excited; they looked at each other andughed. Du Fuwei saw everything clearly, but a warm, familiar feeling welled up in his heart. He was born into a poor family, and since childhood he wasted his time stealing and robbing at the marketce. He could not even remember how many times he was beaten up because he took liberties with beautiful women. Later on, after mastering martial art skill, it was his turn to bully other people. But after nearly twenty years of cultivating superior martial art skill and exercising restraint of his sexual desire, he no longer forced himself into a woman. Looking at these two boys mannerism has evoked his memory. Do you want Die to get her as your wife for a few nights? he asked in low voice. The two boys jumped in fright. They both shook their hands to refuse. Xu Ziling seriously said, There is no fun in those whoe by coercion; our eyes see but our hands do not move. Du Fuwei suddenly started to like these two boys, raising his thumb he said, Good child! The two boys inwardly thought that you curry our favor just to obtain the non-existent secret method to open the treasure-trove! Naturally they did not feel grateful at all. But they still put a happy expression on their face. Because he saw that the girl was already taken [orig. the flower has a master/owner], plus he was afraid that the girl would provoke disaster from Du Fuwei because of them, Kou Zhong renounced his urge to enjoy the beauty and simply stuffed himself. Hows Dies martial art skillpared to Yuwen Huagus? he asked curiously, Which one is higher, which one is lower? This was the second time Du Fuwei heard him arbitrarily changed Yuwen Huajis name to Yuwen Huagu; he was greatly amused. Being together with you, two kids, Iughed a lot more than I did for thest ten years added together, he said, Later on you must not ask this kind of na?ve question. I have never met him nor exchange palms with him, how do I know whos superior and whos inferior? For the sake of the treasure-trove, he gave this half true and half false answer to entertain them. Xu Ziling said, There must be some criteria. For instance, that guy Wu Zun Bi Xuan [see Book 1 Chapter 5], or San Zhenren Ning Daoqi [see Book 1 Chapter 6]; how many people have actually exchange palms with them? Yet isnt their rank set up on high? With a coldugh Du Fuwei said, They are undoubtedly most outstanding martial art masters of this age; but every generation in the rivers and mountains [i.e. country] produces talents. Who could guarantee that they will upy that position forever? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Dies opinion is very insightful. I wonder how many martial art masters in Jianghu are in the same level as you are? Seeing he was putting up a grownup manner in deadly earnest, Du Fuwei was not amused. Quickly eat! he snapped. The two boys were highly interested in the discussion, naturally they were quite put off; without any choice they simply go back to eating with heads down. Du Fuwei has always been highly authoritative in front of his subordinates. It could be said that no one did not respect him or was afraid of him. Who would have thought that these two boys acted like he was their real Dad? In actuality he did not know how to handle these two boys. His heart softened and he said, If we are talking about the origin of Wulins diverse schools and sects, it can roughly divided into north and south, two major systems. It is called southerners put emphasis on simplicity and obtain the essence; northerners delve deeper and exhaust their branch and leaves. The so-called north and south refers to the north and south of the Great River. South side Wulin always leans toward the esteemed doctrine of metaphysical study [Wei and Jin philosophical school amalgamating Taoist and Confucian ideals], continuing the so-called Central ins orthodoxy since the Wei [220-265] and Jin [265-420] dynasties. The north side on the other hand, receives heavy influence of extra-territorial Wulin world; the martial art skills branch into thousand schools ten thousand varieties in innumerable session. It could be said to be very dynamic and fascinating. But at the highest level, each one has its own distinguishing feature, its hard to say which one is superior, which one is inferior. Speaking to this point, he saw, sitting three tables away, the old mans ears were twitching; evidently he was listening to their conversation. In his heart he was a bit wary, since he had already used his inner energy to focus his voice so that it would not spread out. If the opposite side could still hear it, it means this person could be considered a top quality martial art master of the Jianghu. At other times, Du Fuwei might made his move to try him out, but right now he had an important matter at hand, he was not interested in meddling with any other matters. Therefore, he immediately stopped talking and urged the two boys to eat their fill, and then paid the bill and left. Patted their belly, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong followed him out. As they walked past the girls table, she suddenly stretched out her foot and with matchless precision ced it right between Xu Zilings feet, who was thest in line. She exerted her strength and twisted. Xu Ziling screamed and stumbled onto Kou Zhong back. The two of them fell down and rolled on the ground like a gourd. [2] Hell money or Joss paper, considered currency in the underworld, offered as burnt offerings to the deceased in Chinese culture. (Wikipedia, keyword hell money or joss paper) [3] Side note: for more on tripods, please read Jin Yongs Deer and Cauldron, Chapter 1, tranted by yours truly. Book 2 - 2 – Mutual Deception Part 2 ck, Yan, Anh, Jaya, Janger, you are wee. Gerald, the fight is too short ... Jiu Long, oh no ... the reason I rebooted has NOTHING to do with the quality of existing trantion. In fact, I still feel that Grundles sentences flow better than mine. I can go on and on on this, but I have already exined my philosophy in tranting in other threads. I am fully aware that I am in the minority here, but I believe in my reason of taking this approach. Anyway, here is thest part of Book 2 Chapter 2. I am trying to catch up as much as possible during this Christmas break, I am going back to work Monday. This incident caught both sides by surprise. The elderly man yelled, Wushuang! In all his life, Du Fuwei was used to tyrannize other people. He did note to provoke you, just consider your family and your mountain as blessed. And now someone dared to disgrace the people under his protection in front of his face. Immediately he turned around, his eyes gleaming with murderous aura. Being stared by him, the girl called Wushuang was a bit afraid, but apparently she was ustomed to being arrogant and willful, hence she still spoke defiantly, Who told them to stare at people with shifty gaze? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling crawled up awkwardly. Horrified, they both pulled Du Fuweis right and left arm toward the door. Who would have thought that Du Fuwei did not budge at all? He simply stared coldly at the girl. Kou Zhong knew Du Fuwei was about to make his move. Die! he pleaded, Lets go! Your sons were wrong. The elderly man also stood up and cupped his fist, In this matter my humble niece is wrong, we beg for two Xiao Xiongdis forgiveness. If you are injured from the fall, we are willing topensate for the medical bill. Du Fuwei coldly said, State your school and background, lets see if I will provoke you or not. The three young men immediately stood up with their hands on their weapons hilt, scaring the other patrons that they all left their table in a flurry and huddled in the corner. The tall and handsome young man proudly said, My humble father is Liang Shidu of Shuofang, Junior [orig. Wanbei C younger generation, referring to self] is Liang Shunming. Whether you want to provoke us or not, Sire may decide it for yourself. The other two young men and the girl also showed a proud, mixed with condescending expression; apparently they were quite proud of Liang Shidus name. Du Fuweis countenance did not change at all; as if nothing had happened, he said, Turns out Yingyang [soaring hawk] Lang Jiangs [lit. youth general] beloved son. Yingyang Pai [soaring hawk sect] has always been willing to be the imperial courts running dogs [i.e.ckeys]; only recently they saw the wind and set the helm and thus allied themselves with the Tujue [Turkic ethnic group, see Book 1 Chapter 2]. Two female soaring hawks Liang Shifu and Liu Wuzhou have be Tujues two dogs. Why cant I afford to provoke you? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have also heard the name Yingyang Pai, they knew it was a well-known big northern sect with impressive reputation. They believed this Liang Shunming must have a real skill; perhaps they could take this opportunity to escape. Hence they no longer said anything but quietly scooted over toward the door. The elderly man stepped in front of Liang Shunming and the other two young men who had already pulled their weapons out; he said in heavy voice, Friend, you are experienced and knowledgeable, obviously you are not an ordinary person. May I ask your honorable surname and great given name? And how should I address you? Du Fuwei replied indifferently, Since this kid is Liang Shidus son, Sire must be rted to Liang Shidus sworn brother, Shen Tianqun of Luling. Based on your age, you ought to be Shen Tianquns elder brother Shen Naitang, unless my eyes have failed me. The elderly man suddenly stood up straight, his beard spread out, his appearance became bold and powerful without equal. Laughing loudly, he replied, Looks like Friend understood Jianghu matters like the back of your hand, you must not be a nameless character. Why not announce your name? Perhaps we have a little bit of rtion. Having a bit of rtion was a Jianghu terminology, including rtion such as enmity. Du Fuwei threw his head back and let out a longughter. Yet as soon as he stoppedughing, the cold murderous look returned to his eyes, as he coldly said, I hope he is not Liang Shidus only son; otherwise, his family line will be cutoff. Shen Naitangs countenance changed immediately; it seemed like this person was not intimidated by Liang Shidu and Shen Tianqun, two powerful masters whose names shook Wulin; he must have a very strong background. Taking a step back, he pulled his broadsword and sternly said, Very well! Let me, Shen Naitang, increase my knowledge by experiencing Friends real skill. Relying on his family skill, Liang Shunming has always been thinking too highly of himself, plus he had his lover standing right next to him, naturally he could not stand it anymore. Moving along with Shen Naitang, heunched the Yingyang Pais famous Soaring Hawk Sword Technique, thrusting his sword toward Du Fuweis chest with half-real, half-fake stance. It was definitely not an ordinary move. Shen Naitang also had confidence in him, he moved aside and stood ready to give him assistance. Unexpectedly Du Fuwei still had time to look back toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling and said with augh, Yingyang Pai is located in the north; therefore, they are heavily influenced by Tujue martial techniques. They rely mainly on ruthless attack, strong offense but not strong defense; therefore, if in one attack they fail to down the opponent, they could only take the beating. In the meantime, Liang Shunmings sword was already less than three cun from his chest; suddenly it changed form, the fake became real, and went straight up toward Du Fuweis throat. It was indeed a ruthless attack. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stared with eyes wide open. On one hand they wanted Liang Shunmings sword to kill Du Fuwei, on the other hand they did not wish to see him fallen from power like this. It was a very conflicting thought. It was only this time that Du Fuwei finally reacted; tossing his head backward, his sleeve flicked forward. Ding! Surprisingly, it was the clear ringing of metal shing against metal. While everybody was still puzzled, Liang Shunmings body was severely shaken. As his sword was struck by an unknown object and was swept away, his defense was widely open. Du Fuwei bent his body on the waist, and fast as lightning his leg flew toward Liang Shunmings crotch. Apparently his objective was to cut his family line. Seeing this, Shen Naitangs countenance underwent huge changes. It was only then did he realize the opponent was the dark road overlord Du Fuwei, whose nickname was universe in his sleeve [orig. qiankun, also means heaven and earth/yin and yang]. Du Fuwei had a pair of arm guards about a chi [Chinese foot, approx. 1ft or 1/3m] long hidden inside his sleeve, with which he could injure his opponent by using it in a surprise attack. The reason he was using it in the very first move was because he had determined to kill these people to shut their mouth. Since Shen Naitang knew it was him, how could he dare to be confident? With a roar he brandished his broadsword while charging forward, his target was the left side of Du Fuweis neck. Du Fuwei let out a cold snort, the other arm guard in his left sleeve shed, it collided with Shen Naitangs de, but his kick was not affected at all. Liang Shunming knew the situation was far from good, unleashing everything he had, his left palm pressed downward, while taking a step back simultaneously. Bang! Liang Shunming let out a muffled grunt. Although he managed to block Du Fuweis kick, he was unable to block the shocking qi surging into his body from Du Fuweis foot. His mouth spurted fresh blood, while his body was thrown backward. After exchanging one strike with him, Shen Naitang was also forced to take half a step back. Get Liang Gongzi [young master] out of here! he bellowed. Who would have thought that as Wushuang and her martial brothers Meng Chang and Meng Ran, three people saw Liang Shunming was falling toward them, they automatically reached out to hold him, but felt as if Liang Shunming weighed a thousand catties [approx. 1/2kg or 1lb]? Although they were able to receive him head on, they were unable to withstand the impulse; four people fell back together, crashing onto the tables and chairs behind them that everything was shattered in pieces, the people and the cups, tes, and the food and drink inside them fell into a mess. It was a really sorry sight. Du Fuwei let out a coldugh. His sleeves shot out, with either the sleeve or the arm guard, he attacked Shen Naitang relentlessly that thetter was powerless to retaliate. Fortunately, Shen Naitangs foundation was quite solid; his martial art skill was also quite strong that for the time being he was still able to hold his ground. By this time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had already reached the door. After giving each other eye signals, they dashed out madly from the restaurant. Du Fuwei had never expected that these two obedient sons, who kept calling him Dad left and right, would seize the opportunity to slip away. Anger and anxiety attacked his mind, his offensive suddenly lost quite a bit of momentum, so that Shen Naitang was able to reim a little bit of advantage. Seeing Shen Naitang was able to prolong the channeling of his qi, Du Fuwei knew that he would not be able to kill the opponent within ten moves. After considering the pros and cons, he decided hed better capture the two boys first ande backter to kill these people to shut their mouth. With a loud roar he forced Shen Naitang to withdraw two steps back, while he himself floated out of the door. Meanwhile Shen Wushuang and the others were helping Liang Shunming, who had received internal injury, to stand up. They thought that once again Shen Naitang had disyed his divine power to repel the enemy. To their shock, however, as soon as Shen Naitang was able to stabilize himself, he was forced to withdraw three more steps while wah! he spurted a mouthful of fresh blood. Shen Wushuang abandoned Liang Shunming, leaving him with her two martial brothers, while she herself rushed toward Shen Naitang and grabbed his arms. Dabo! [paternal uncle, older than ones father] What happened? Shen Naitang took a deep breath, while wiping the blood on the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. This man is universe in his sleeve Du Fuwei, he said in heavy tone, Even if your Die came here personally, I am afraid he is still not his match. We must leave immediately. Book 2 - 3 – Acting Without Thinking Book 2 Chapter 3 C Acting Without Thinking When Du Fuwei pursued outside the restaurant, he saw all thenterns along this shady street were still shining brightly. It was only then did he realize that this was the red-light district; most of the brothels in this town were concentrated here, the sound of people and carriages still lingered in the air. Without thinking he dashed into a side alley, jumped onto the roof, focused his eyes and ears, and tried to listen with all his might, while at the same time unleashed his lightness skill to fly over houses and jumped over the roof. In just a short period of time he had already been around several streets in a big circle. But he still did not see the two little demons, neither did he hear hurried footsteps of people running away. With Du Fuweis ability, he still suffered a big headache. He had already made a prompt decision of leaving the enemy and running out to pursue, yet he was still toote to intercept these two boys. He knew the boys were exceedingly smart, they must have hidden somece nearby. Unless he could search every ce within a hundred zhang radius, he could forget about ever finding them. While running around, he could not stop cursing his own stupidity; if from the beginning he controlled them by sealing their acupoints, without any care whether he would hurt them or not, all these maddening things would not have happened. Could it be that he had lost his mind that he made such a gross miscalction? It was really unlike his usual style of always make thorough nning on everything. He sighed, and then jumped back to the ground to carry out his search operation. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys had just stepped into a low-grade brothel more than ten buildings away. Naturally it was Kou Zhongs crafty idea. Becausemon sense dictates that they would run as far away as possible. But if they do that, Du Fuwei only had to grab any passerby and asked, and he would immediately know the direction these two boys were running madly. Besides, Fu Junchuo once told them that martial art masters are also experts in following a trail. Therefore, they deliberately did the opposite. They looked for the most crowded ce nearby, and mingled among the crowd. Naturally it led them into this Piao Xiang [floating fragrance] Courtyard. But their clothes and down-and-out appearance gave the people no reason topliment them. Upon entering the gate, they were immediately intercepted by four bouncers who looked like they were also the bodyguards of somebody important. We are full! one of them shouted, Please go somece else. Kou Zhong giggled and put his hand into his pocket. It was only then did he recall that in his anxiety to rescue Xu Ziling and thought that he would not return alive, he had generously donated all his silver to Susu. Thereupon he hurriedly pped Xu Zilings arm. Having known each other so well, naturally Xu Ziling understood what the p means. He took out a few pieces of silver and stuffed it into one the mens hand, while saying with augh, Our father and all our five uncles are government officials in Yangzhou. This time we came with our [paternal] uncle to do some shopping here. Serve us well, and you will be heavily rewarded. Looking at the silver in his hand, the man smiled and said, Shaoye [young master[1]] please follow Xiaoren [little/lowly one, referring to self]. Greatly delighted, the two boys stepped into the hall. The procuress, who dressed like an old demon, stepped out to meet them. As soon as the two boys saw her, they sucked in a mouthful of air; thinking that just by looking at this old procuress, they knew thatpared to the Zui Feng Lou [drunken wind balcony; actually, lou means multi-story building], this brothel was several levels below. But this time escaping with their lives was a more pressing matter, so they could not be bothered by it. When the procuress saw them, she immediately frowned as well. Not because the smell of their mothers milk had not dried yet, because she had seen a lot of patrons even younger than they were, but because it was the very first time that she saw customers that looked like they have not taken a bath in a year, with their unkempt hair and filthy face. The procuress stared mercilessly at the bouncer and without any trace of politeness said, Ah Yuan, whats going on here? Grinning, Xu Ziling offered her some silver. Who would have thought that the procuress did not even cast him a nce? Rules are rules, she said in disdain, Didnt you see the sign at the main entrance, No proper attire, no service? If you want our Piao Xiang Courtyard girls to entertain you, go home, take a bath and change your clothes; then you cane back! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling thought: wasnt her request the same as asking for their life? Giggling, Kou Zhong said, The reason we came here other than to spend money is exactly to find a ce to take a bath and change our clothes. Puzzled, the procuress asked, You dont have even half a bundle, where will the change of clothese from? Kou Zhong calmly turned to Xu Ziling and said, Xiongdi, please give this Dage a lot of money so that he can buy two sets of clothes for us. Xu Ziling reluctantly took out a quarter of all the silver in his possession and handed it to the man. The man and the procuress immediately broke into smiles. After the man left, still with a big smile on her face, the procuress epted Xu Zilings tip and said respectfully, Shaoye please follow Nujia [female ve, referring to self]. When the two boys heard her, whose face was covered in heavy rouge, whose bloody mouth wide open like a sacrificial bowl, saying the two words nujia, the hair on their entire body stood on its end; they looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Just as they were about to step forward, a chirpy oriole-like voice came from behind, Chen Daniang [aunt, fathers older brothers wife]! Which auntie are these two Gongzi looking for? All three of them turned around in surprise. They saw a beautiful, lively girl stood behind them. Behind the girl stood a quiet maid and two bodyguards. The girl stared coyly and smiled flirtatiously at the two boys; her posture was extremely provocative in a loose way. The girl had a fair skin, youthful and tender, her figure shapely, her face elegant, dazzling and beautiful. Even in Yangzhou, which was well-known for its prostitutes, this kind of youthful glow, which was without broken flower, withered willow feel at all, was extremely rare. The two boys stared nkly at her, while that Auntie Chen immediately stepped forward to greet her, beaming with joy. Turns out its Qingqing, my obedient daughter, she cooed, Lu Daye has been waiting for you the whole night. Qingqing looked at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling up and down several times. Pfft! she giggled and said, The sky has just turned dark, how could they wait for me the whole night? But if they still want to continue waiting, they will wait the whole night. She spoke while walking over toward the two boys, and circled around them in great interest. Is this the first time you two boyse to this ce? she asked, Just now Nujia saw you outside, but I was inside the carriage, so you did not see me. Auntie Chen put on her best smiling face; she came over with a forcedugh, The two Gongzi are here to visit the bathhouse. Why dont my Qingqing be a good girl and greet Lu Daye, huh? Qingqing let out a tender snort and said, Tonight your Miss only want to apany these two Gongzi. Reaching out to grab the two boys arms, she said, Come! Follow me! She turned to her maid and ordered her to get some bath supplies, leaving the procuress stood in the hall while staring nkly at her. The two boys exchanged nces, they were both very excited with their luck that has just flown in; they thought that if their virginity was destroyed by this kind of woman, it was certainly worth it. However, they had just left the hall, the smiling expression on Qingqings face immediately vanished without a trace. Pushing the two boys through a long corridor, they arrived at the bathhouse; turns out it was a hot spring bath. Qingqing pushed the two boys in and coldly said, Go take a bath! The two boys were still stunned when the maid arrived with bath towel and other bathing supplies. Qingqing took one set and pushed it into Xu Zilings hands. With a wooden expression she said, Take your time! No need to hurry! And then she turned around and left. She even closed the door. While the two boys were still staring nkly at the closed door, they heard Qingqings nervous voice outside, Has Huang Gongzi arrived? And then they heard the sound of footsteps going farther and farther away. They suddenly realized that they were being used by this girl. Kou Zhong angrily threw the towel and everything else on the floor. The two boys looked at each other, and then almost simultaneously they doubled up inughter; theyughed so hard that they were nearly out of breath, with tears flowing down their face. [1] I feel that I need to exin this young master term more. Shao means younger or lesser, while Ye means master, as in master-servant or superior-subordinate rtionship (Laoye, old master, Daye, big master, Shaoye, young master]. The other term is Gongzi, which is a polite term to refer to young men in general. I figure it is simr to Master in old English literature, like Charles Dickens Christmas Carol, where Scrooge addressed Bob Cratchits son as Master. Example would best chapter, where Shen Naitang addressed Liang Shunming as Gongzi. Chapter 3, Part 2 SzFong, Anh, Jaya, HPC, Weed, you are most wee. Here is the end of chapter 3. Half a dayter the two boys happily immersed themselves in the tepid water, washing away the dirt, getting rid of the disgrace. Kou Zhong said with augh, We must have vited Peach Blossom Fiend[2] tonight; first we were tripped by that unruly girl that we tumbled down, then this unruly woman is using us as a bridge. With all these bad luck, the only constion is that we recover our freedom and preserve our little lives. Xu Ziling shook his head as he said with augh, Judging from the Ol Dus foot strength, right now he must be a hundred li away. And when he still cannot find us, he would think that our qinggong [lightness skill] is more formidable than his. Ah! Not right! The two boys countenance changed. They both realized that if Du Fuwei could not catch up with them, he woulde back to search for them here. Knock! Knock! Suddenly there was a knock on the door. The two boys immediately slid down underwater. Gongzi! The clothes are here! Greatly delighted, the two boys jumped out of the pool, opened the door, took the clothes, hurriedly put them on, and then slipped out the door and walked back toward the rear courtyard. From all around the courtyard their ears were assaulted by the sound of music and singing, the mor of peopleughing and talking, plus the hooting of people ying finger-guessing game and betting on drinks; it was certainly very noisy and lively. Unfortunately the two boys felt as if they lived in a big cold earth where there was no prospect of life; they were not the least bit affected by the gaiety of the world around them. Yet they were still unaware that Du Fuwei has just stepped into the main gate of this pleasure house. The two boys dodged to the left and slipped to the right, finally they reached the rear courtyard. But as soon as they looked around, their hearts sank, because the entire backyard was surrounded by solid, imprable tall wall [orig. not one drop can trickle through], more than two zhang high. The only way out was via an iron gate; to them, it was tantamount to a big prison where the heavens was the only way out. Kou Zhong threw himself toward the iron gate. But when he felt the lock with his hand, he was shaken, My mother! he eximed, Who sawed the padlock? Xu Ziling was greatly delighted. Who cares? he said, Lets go! Kou Zhong carelessly tossed the broken padlock and then he forced the door open. Two boys slipped out and reclosed the gate. While they were still thinking which direction to take, they heard hoof beats. A horse-drawn carriage came out from the shadow across the street. The man driving the carriage called out, Qingqing! Get in the carriage! The two boys were stunned. And then it suddenly dawned on them that Qingqing was going to elope with her sweetheart. In the meantime the man driving the carriage had seen clearly that they were not Qingqing and her maid; surprised, he halted the carriage. Kou Zhong waved at him andughed. Then he and Xu Ziling slipped away into a smallne on the opposite side. But they were only taking two steps when he suddenly stopped, pulled Xu Ziling along, and whispered, I have a great idea! Under the carriage! Xu Ziling excitedly replied. The two boys pped their hands together and then turned around and hurry back. The iron gate was opening again, Qingqing and her maid, who by this time have worn mens clothing, darted out the door and into the carriage. That Huang Gongzi lightly tapped the horsewhip onto the horses buttocks, the carriage started moving, and very soon it started elerating. Right this moment Du Fuwei had just flown over the wall overlooking the rear courtyard; he saw the carriage moving away. Immediately he exerted his true qi, and jumped into the air. Like a shooting star he flew toward the carriage, andnded about ten zhang behind it. Right away he ran after the carriage. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling saw Du Fuweis frightening long legs were getting nearer and nearer; they were so scared that they did not dare to breathe. Du Fuwei increased his speed and flew toward the window. Focusing his eyes, he looked through the carriage screen and into the dark cabin. As soon as he saw that they were not Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he somersaulted and jumped onto the roof of a nearby building to scan the surrounding for fear that the two boys have run far away. By the time the two boys were breathing a sigh of relief, the carriage had just passed the big board above the city gate, and galloped onward on the official road. The carriage stopped. Qingqing got out of the carriage door, and sat on the driver seat next to that Huang Gongzi. Next, the two boys heard kissing sound. Under the carriage, the two boys were greatly envious. After half a day, Huang Gongzi said, Do you have it? Immensely proud of herself, Qingqing replied, Of course. I earned these pearls, jewels and money, naturally I am taking everything away. Under the carriage, Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Turns out he is just a dirty old man who swindles money and sex; shall we take a bit of advantage [orig. lead away a goat in passing]? Xu Ziling shook his head resolutely. I dont want this kind of butchering-meat money, he said, Dont forget Niangs expectation on us. A bit nervous, Qingqing said, Cant we move a bit faster? Those underlings of Xie Laoda have fast horses. The carriage suddenly turned from the official road and continued galloping on the open in. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were holding on tight with their hands and feet on the axles. As the carriage traveled along a bumpy field, they were shaken and tossed around so hard that they could not hold on anymore. Qingqing suddenly asked in horror, Where are you going? Huang Gongzi replied, I dont know why the carriage is particrly slow today. Let us hide in the forest ahead for a while, and then after the pursuing party passed by, we can continue our journey. Qingqing did not understand. Didnt we prepare a boat ahead? Arent we going to board the boat and sail to Poyang? How can we change our n so easily? By this time the carriage had pulled into the forest. That Huang Gongzi had Qingqing lighted two windnterns. After galloping along a short stretch of road, he stopped the carriage. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could not hold on anymore, they let go and fell onto the grassy ground underneath the carriage. Huang Gongzis hey hey wantonughter was heard from above. Come! he said lecherously, We nothing to do anyway; lets get intimate inside the carriage. Qingqing angrily responded, Presently others are frightened and nervous, how can I have the mood? Besides, Xier is inside. What are you afraid of? Huang Gongzi replied, Sooner orter Xier will be mine too! From the front, the two people entered the carriage. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were crawling to stand up. They were about to leave when suddenly from inside the carriage they heard the rustling noise of people struggling, followed by Xiers shrieking, Let go of my Miss! The two boys were startled; they did not expect that not only this Huang Gongzi wanted to swindle money and sex, he also wanted tomit murder. Quickly they sprang up and open the carriage door by force, and just in time to see Huang Gongzi was strangling Qingqings throat, while Xier has been pushed down by him into the corner. Kou Zhong rushed inside and punched Huang Gongzis back. Huang Gongzi howled in pain and thus his hand loosened. Xu Ziling grabbed the bun of his hair, with some supernatural power that he did not know he had, he pulled Huang Gongzis entire body and threw him outside the carriage without too much trouble. This man obviously did not know martial art, being punched and kicked by the two boys, he was unable to crawl back up for half a day. Hero, please spare my life! he said in quivering voice. Qingqing stroked her throat while coughing incessantly. With a choked voice she called out, Stop hitting him! The two boys were taken aback. Dont you know he wanted to take your money as well as your life? Kou Zhong asked. Qingqing nodded. She hastily walked over to give Huang Gongzis handsome face several fierce kicks. Finally she sat slumped on the ground dejectedly and angrily shouted, Get lost! Blood had already filled Huang Gongzis face; hearing her, it was as if he had just received the Emperors pardon. Rolling and crawling he entered the forest, away from the reach of thentern lights. By this time the pretty maid Xier was helping Qingqing up. Four people, eight eyes met, nobody knew what to say. Qingqings erect breasts rose and fell continuously. Staring at the two boys, her countenance turned ugly as she said, Its you! Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Is that how you treat your benefactors who have just saved your life? Qingqing stomped her foot, Even if I am killed, its none of your, two little demons business. Xier could not put up with it any longer, she shook Qingqings arm and said, Miss! They are good people! Qingqings eyes were brimming with tears, yet she was still throwing tantrums, I dont care! she said, Get lost! The two boys felt really awkward. Xu Ziling still gave her earnest and well-meaning advice, If you know how to ride a horse, just untie the horse pulling the carriage, then you can go a bit faster. Throwing his arm around Kou Zhongs shoulder, with the other arm he waved, and then walked away. Qingqing threw herself on the ground, crying, I dont want those two little demons despise me! I am so angry I want to die! Xier was still looking at the direction the two boys went. The dark and dense forest seemed to extend far away endlessly. In her heart she mused that after taking a bath, those two boys actually looked better-looking than that Huang Gongzi; no wonder her Miss, who has always been strong-willed and eager to win at everything, did not wish for them to see her falling into misfortune like this. [2] Peach Blossom Fiend: I am not too clear about this; it has something to do with astrology, used to describe bad love entanglement. Book 2 - 4 – Great Scheme of Acquiring Wealth Book 2 Chapter 4 C Great Scheme of Acquiring Wealth After walking for more than twenty days in the southeastern direction, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the pair that was hard to differentiate which one was older and which one was younger, arrived at Yuhang [district, Hangzhou, Zhejiang], a big county town by the sea. After having their stomach full, Kou Zhong said, Now that everybody is after our treasure-trove, which make famous, if we roam the Jianghu without training exceptional divine skill first, we might have a miserable or even tragic ending. But if we look for a ce to hide and shrink our heads like a turtle, not only we wont achieve what Niang was hoping for us, we will never be able to kill Yuwen Huagu either. What do you think we should do? Xu Ziling sighed and said, I really wish to see Li Dage and Susu Jiejie; but Gaoyou is so close to Yangzhou. That old muddled-egg Du Fuwei must be in Yangzhou doing some treasure hunt; there is a pretty good chance we wille across him! He sighed again before continuing, Now we have only a little silver left, and I am tired of picking other peoples pocket. We dont even have a ce to stay, what do you want me to do? Kou Zhongs eyes lit up. Li Dage must have thought that we are dead; how could he wait for us at Gaoyou? he said, You are right, right now we have to get some money; otherwise, how can we have enough travel expense to go to Luoyang to look for He ns Jade Annulus? Do you have good idea on how to make a fortune? Xu Ziling asked happily. Kou Zhong already had the answer, All great schemes to acquire wealth are inevitably linked to set your hand on it when the price is low, and let it go when the price is high. This is a salt-producing area. As long as we buy his grannys cart of salt and smuggle his birds [must be swear word like his granny] into ind area where there is shortage of salt, we can exchange salt to money just like gold. At that time when we practice Li Dages Bloody Battle Ten-Style, we wont need to use ridiculous tree branches. Do you know a ce where salt is scarce? Xu Ziling wondered. Kou Zhongs eyes flitted toward a table on the left side of the wine shop; he said in low voice, Look, that girl is so cute! Xu Ziling was more worried over their livelihood [orig. firewood and grain of rice]; he was not interested even to look. Come on! he urged. Kou Zhong put on an air of importance; pointing to his own noggin he said, The most useful thing in the world is a smart mind. Right now the Ol Du has cut off the river route along the Great River. Unless people with power and influence like Song n, nobody has the ability to transport salt to the region west of Liyang. Therefore, if we can ship his birds one cart of salt over there, even if we have to set up a stall on the ground [fig. to start up a new business], we will earn a bowl full, a basin full of profit. Come! If you want to get rich,e with me! After paying the bill, the two left the wine shop. They asked around where the salt wholesale ce was, and immediately set out on their mission. Xu Ziling wavered. We have financial resources to buy salt, he said, But where would we find the money to buy a mule cart? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You did not seem to have heard of a reliable means of transportation called the wheelbarrow[1]. Come on! The two boys walked for half a sichen [reminder: 1 sichen = 2 hours] before reaching the dock outside the town. They saw boundless ocean extending indefinitely in front of them. This was the first time they saw ocean that they were dumbstruck. Kou Zhong breathed out a mouthful of cold air as he said, It would be better if we could steal a boat and then go to the other side of the ocean to take a look. Based on our skill, maybe we can be the emperor of another country; at that time, it wont be a problem for us to take a dozen concubines. As far as his eyes could see, Xu Ziling saw countless ships and boats, the masts were like a forest, and there were hundreds, if not thousands, of porters loading and unloading the boats, with merchants and travelersing and going in unending stream; it was really bustling with noise and excitement. Pushing along Kou Zhong, who was still having a longing look on his eyes, he said, Getting rich is more important, lets go! The two boys joined the throng. They saw not only all kinds of Jianghu personalities, they also saw a lot of government officers mingling among the crowd. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were unsure whether there were wanted notices on them in this ce; seeing the officers, they tried to avoid them as far as possible. Soon afterwards they reached the street where the most famous salt distribution center was located. There were more than a dozenrge, spacious stores with open areas where row after row of salt were on disy. These stores were built against the sea, behind these stores were the piers, where big cargo ships and small boats were moored. There were over a dozen shops, but each and every one of those shops was jam-packed with people. The salt piled up like a mountain, it was so cheap that it looked like one could just take a sack or half sack without paying anything. Encountering this kind of situation, the two boys merely stood timidly. After some argument, Xu Ziling was elected as the designated negotiator. They decided on an elderly gentleman standing behind the counter, doing some calction with an abacus. With great difficulty Xu Ziling squeezed himself through the crowd, and then clearing his throat, he said, Laoban [boss]! We want to buy your goods. Without even looking up, the elderly gentleman replied coldly, For the next three months all the goods here have been pre-ordered. Which store are you from? While Xu Ziling was at a loss and did not know how to answer, Kou Zhong pushed him from behind and said, Lets go to different store! The elderly gentleman acted as if he was not even aware of their existence; he continued concentrating on his abacus. A man leaning against the counter stared at them coldly; he said, Two Xiao Xiongdi looked unfamiliar; are you from out of town? Xu Ziling nodded, We are from out of town, he replied. The elderly gentleman mumbled, Ol Liu, if you want to gossip, get out of the shop, dont obstruct people picking up their order here. Ol Liu winked at the two boys, and led them out of the shop and onto the street, where he sized them up and down, and then with a condescending manner said, Looks to me you came here to buy goods, thinking that you can transport it ind to make a fortune. Its just that I rarely see someone as young as you are doing it. How much money do you have? Since childhood Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling grew up in the marketce, how could they not know that they have met a swindler? Shaking their head, they turned around to leave. Ol Lius countenance suddenly changed. He blocked their path and said menacingly, You think you can go that easily? Bang! Kou Zhongs fistnded on his lower abdomen. Immediately Ol Liu doubled up in pain like a shrimp, and then he dropped on his knew with his hands on his stomach, followed by his entire body slumped on the ground; he did not even have any strength to groan. One after another the people nearby scattered to avoid them. Xu Ziling looked at Kou Zhongs fist; he gasped, When did your fist be that formidable? Following his gaze, Kou Zhong also looked at his own fist; stunned, he said, Could it be because I have mastered the first level of Nine Mysteries Great Method that I am one sixth as formidable as Niang? Noticing that hundreds of eyes were looking at them, while this Ol Lius life and death was still unclear as he was still lying on the ground and became an eye-sore, Xu Ziling pulled Kou Zhong away into the crowd, which automatically made way for them. They were just about to enter another salt store to try their luck when from behind someone called out, Two Xiao Xiongdi, please hold your steps! The two boys knew that trouble has arrived; they stopped and turned around. They saw three men wearing dark green clothes walking toward them in triangr formation. The man taking the lead was about thirty, with straightforward appearance. His manner and movement indicated that he was a man who was used to run amuck. However, this time his face carried a smiling expression as he cupped his fist and said, I am Tan Yong, the Fu Duozhu [vice helmsman] of the Hai Sha Bang [sea sand gang] Yuhang division. Seeing two Xiao Xiongdis skill and toughness, my heart itches to make friends with you. What do you say we find a ce whereoge [old brother] can y a host to you? The two boys felt he was giving them a lot of face, but at the same time they realized that they had offended an underworld gang member, so nothing good woulde out of this. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, We still need to hurry to buy some goods to do business. Tan Yong quickly came over, If two Xiao Xiongdi want to buy salt, you need not bother to waste your time. Lets not talk about all the goods here have already been divided up among a dozen big firms, even if someone is willing to sell some to you, not only the gangs [orig. bang hui, n/gang and society] will want their share, the officers will want their share, the authorities will want their share, andstly you have to pay salt tax. In short, for a hundred hard work, the profit is not enough to spend three days in a low-grade brothel, and I mean the cheapest rural town low-grade brothel. Hearing this, the boys two hearts sank to the bottom. Wouldnt their great scheme of acquiring wealth result in nothing? Tan Yongughed and said, Come! The two boys exchanged nces, and then they followed him to a small restaurant nearby to sit down. Tan Yong introduced his subordinates first, the other two men, to them, one was called Xie Feng, the other Chen Gui, before casually asked the two boys background. Kou Zhong answered all his questions, but naturally he gave him fabricated answers. He wanted to be a Wulins martial art master, but he has not climbed up that high yet. However, speaking about lying, even Du Fuwei was duped by him, much less Tan Yong, who was practically a nobody; of course they believed everything he said without any doubt. He believed the two boys were Fu Zhong and Fu Ling, that their martial art skill was handed down in their family from generation to generation, and that currently they were looking for an opportunity to make money by bing daring small-caliber gangsters. [1] I found an interesting article on Chinese wheelbarrow, which is different from modern wheelbarrows, here: http://.lowtechmagazine/2011/...eelbarrow.html Chapter 4, Part 2 Anh, Jaya, HPC, Sky, Janger, you are wee. DongBin, CFT, the first time I saw (or noticed) that kind of wheelbarrow was in the movie Joy Luck Club (I am sure there are a lot more in other movies, I just did not pay attention). At that time I was just hmm, thats an interesting design, but did not think about searching it on the inte. Tan Yong seemed to be satisfied. Other than using your palm and fist, what kind of weapon can you use? he asked. Xu Ziling patted his chest, We use sabers, he replied, A dozen or so men cannot do anything to us. Tan Yong was a bit skeptical, Is it possible for me to test Xiao Xiongdis saber skill? he asked. Kou Zhong arrogantly replied, Real gold is not afraid of red fire. But it would be better if Tan Ye [master] tell us your business first. Mans life on earth is nothing more than to seek riches. I am sure Tan Ye also understands this logic ... Ha! Tan Yongughed aloud. He said, As soon as I saw two Xiao Xiongdi, I feel like Ive known you for a long time. Wealth is just material thing, Xiongdi wants money, you will get money, Xiongdi wants women, you will get women. Let us go back and meet our Duozhu [helmsman[2]]; after we be real sworn brotherster, anything you dont like, you can just let me know. Kou Zhong was very familiar with the way the dark road gang people worked just like his own ten toes. With a giggle he leaned over and whispered in Tan Yongs ear, Tan Ye noticed that we are from out of town, also we are just two kids who are still wet behind the ears; therefore, you want us to join your Haisha Gang to kill people from other gang. Afterwards, you push the me away, neat and clean. Hey! This is called ck pot can crush people dead. Tan Yong was immediately as dumb as a wooden chicken. Even Jianghu veteran like Tan Yong was caught unprepared and was unable to respond, because more or less what Kou Zhong said was exactly why he wanted to win the two boys over. It was as if Kou Zhong was the worm in his belly. Naturally there was considerable difference in the ins and outs of this matter. Kou Zhong patted Xu Zilings shoulder. Xiongdi! he said, Lets go! Tan Yong turned around and called out, Hold on! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling thought that from ashamed, he was going to fly into a rage; hence they stood close together, ready to fight. Xie Feng and Chen Guis eyes were also gleaming with ominous glint; they were ready to make their move. But Tan Yong sighed and said with a wry smile, Fu Xiaodi is really formidable. It would be better if I speak openly ... Kou Zhong cut him off, You must not say it. If you do, ording to Jianghu rule, we cant forget of getting away. Xu Ziling alsoughed aloud and said, We two brothers entering the Jianghu and making our names relying only on our skill; we have never considered relying on any patron. Hearing this, Tan Yong, three people were dumbstruck. These two boys possessed absolute sophistication that did not match their age; they were really impressed. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling away. After cupping their fist in salute, they no longer care about the three people, they simply turned around and left. Reaching the street, the two boys were a little apprehensive, without thinking their feet took them back to the piers. This time suddenly they saw a big ship far awaying near, and was met by two government boats. It appeared that these two boats have been waiting for the big ship. For some reason the big ship attracted the two boys attention, mainly because both the external shape and the g exuded exoticism. As the big boat docked, immediately they saw people appearing on the deck, but since the boat was far away, they could not see clearly. It was not until a government official, escorted by four officers, climbed up the ship on a ropedder that the two boys regained their vision. Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder; he sighed and said, Doing normal business is really not easy. Turns out people who can strike it rich are unscrupulous businessmen whopletelyck righteousness and justice. Ha! I have another great idea. Tonight wee back here and steal his birds boat of salt, and then we slip away quietly. This way we could even save those few coins. Xu Zilings heart was moved, They have so much salt, he said, We stealing a dozen sacks will not make them bankrupt! Lets steal from that shop just now! Thinking about that shopkeeper makes me angry. Seeing he agreed, Kou Zhong was delighted. Now thats my good brother indeed, he said, But being a thief we must have thiefs equipment; for example, steel wire to pick locks, weapons to protect ourselves, bunch of ropes, and so on. Our future rice and porridge will depend on this endeavor. You are the one who came up with the thief idea, naturally you must be the one who has to take care of all these things, Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Joined together we are strong, divided we are weak. In this world we two brothers only have each other, certainly you dont want me to rush about alone, tiring me so much that tonight I cant even move my legs, and then Ling Di [younger brother], you will have to be the thief alone. Xu Ziling was already ustomed to his schemes; he was just joking with him. Kou Zhong has always cherished his little brother so much, but from time to time he could not help taking a bit of advantage of him. While Xu Ziling was about to speak, he suddenly realized that Kou Zhong had his eyes fixed to their left, while his countenance underwent a great change. Xu Ziling promptly turned his head and saw a group of perhaps forty, fifty people that looked like ruffians and thugs, dressed in porter attire; in their hands they had sharp hooks, pointy sticks, shoulder poles, and the like. These people were heading their direction, and the one leading them was, not surprisingly, that Ol Liu. The two boys escape route waspletely blocked. The people on the docks immediately scattered away like flying chicken or running dogs; several government officers included. Apparently the situation was beyond the reach of thew. Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air. "Xiao Ling!" he said, "Did Niang ever teach us how to fight barehanded against naked des?" Xu Ziling had never seen such a big mob; he shook his head. And then, with a loud shout the two of them turned around and ran for their lives along the pier toward the ocean. The thugs battle cry shook the heavens as they also ran after them in wild chase. The situation was extremely chaotic. Evidently the two boys were able to run faster than the bunch of thugs; they swung to the left and swayed to the right among the piles of salt, passing over the people running away in all direction, and in a blink of an eye reached the seaside. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling toward the big ship that has just arrived and was anchored to the dock. If the ship belonged to some foreign envoys, naturally there would be some important people [orig. have face] on board; chances are these thugs would not dare to pursue them up. In a sh these two boys covered a distance of close to a hundred zhang before they finally reached the ropedder. Not having enough time to hesitate, they desperately climbed onto the ship. Thedder was approximately five zhang high; very soon they reached the top. Suddenly four swords blocked their way, while someone shouted angrily, "Get lost!" The two boys turned their heads to look down, and saw a lot of the thugs have already caught up with them at the bottom of thedder. It was indeed a case of no way out ahead, pursuing troops behind. The only way was to jump into the sea. While they were groaning inwardly, they faintly heard a tender, melodious female voiceing from above, "Let those twoe aboard!" Someone replied, "Yes! Madame!" The swords moved away. The two boys felt as if they had just been granted the Emperors pardon, and quickly climbed the rest of the way up. They had just reached the deck when the hands behind them started to move. The four men wearing white warrior outfit hacked, chopped and sliced the pursuing thugs as if they were chopping melon or cutting vegetables so that they fell from the ropedder, and had to jump to the sea. The rest of the thugs were so scared that they turned around and ran back toward the pier, nobody dared to climb up the ship anymore. There was no one on the deck other than the four warriors; they did not even see the Madame that has just let them got on board. The two boys breathed a sigh of relief, inwardly happy that they were able to snatch their little life back. They did not forget to look down at the Ol Liu and the others who were shouting and making a racket at the dock, and waved their hands at them. Suddenly they heard the female voice again from their back, the voice seemed toe from a distance. Two Xiao Gongzi, pleasee with me! The boys jumped in fright. But when they turned around, their eyes lit up. Turned out it was a young and pretty maid, who was sizing them up while hiding a smile on her face. Since they have saved the two boys life, it was only proper for them to obey theirmand. Assuming the air of a refined gentleman, Kou Zhong bowed and said, Jiejie, please lead the way! Pfft! the maid burst inughter. She turned around gracefully and led them in. The two boys scrambled over each other to walk behind her, to enjoy watching her beautiful back. They both felt that not only the Heaven did not bar their way, God treated them with exceptional generosity as well. Stepping over the door, they saw a hallway stretching out in front of them, with three cabin doors on either side, but they did not see anybody, giving them the impression that the overall atmosphere was rather mysterious. The pretty maid led them toward thest door on the left; beyond that they saw the stairs leading up and down to other levels of the deck. The two boys were ncing to the left and right in curiosity when the pretty maid pushed the cabin door open and spoke softly, Two Gongzi, pleasee in. As soon as they stepped in, they were stunned. Because this room was actually very spacious, only there was a hanging bamboo curtain right in the middle, dividing the room into two sections. On the door side, there were lighted oilmps on all four corners; there was also a bench and a small table for people to sit. Several scrolls of painting were hanging on the wall. Apparently the designer of this room put a lot of thought on theyout. [2] Helmsman: this is another thing that I have difficulty tranting. Some of you followed my Deer and Cauldron, in the end I decided to keep it as is. Chapter 4, Part 3 Anh, Jaya, ck, you are wee. Strawberry, thanks for asking. It was quiet, we went to Canada for the day. How about yours? Sky, thats the thing: none of these beauty stays ... they only appeared for a moment then vanished. About Strawberry, since he is from Washington State, I believe he was referring to Seattle Seahawks. Anyway, short update today, end of Chapter 3. Happy New Year everybody! Due to the light in this side of the bamboo wall was a lot brighter than the other side, unless they lifted up the bamboo curtain, they could never see the mystery that was on the other side. But if there were anybody on the other side looking this way, he or she would be able to see everything clearly, including the fine hair on their body. The maid politely said, Two Gongzi, please sit down. After the two sat down, the maid withdrew and closed the door behind her. The two boys sat facing the bamboo wall; they smell faint fragranceing from the other side of the bamboo curtain, a fragrance that was very captivating. While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were feeling lost, a very delicate womans voice was heard from the other side of the bamboo curtain. Two Xiao Gongzi, why did those dock ruffians chase you? Kou Zhong recognized the voice. Turns out it was Madame! he said respectfully, Let us, two brothers, express our gratitude for saving our lives first. Xu Ziling was afraid Kou Zhong might spout some nonsense, he interjected, We had a fight with one of them, hence he called on those people to deal with us. The Madame said dryly, Two Xiao Gongzi speak in refined manner, moreover, you have strong skill, but you dont seem to know martial art; why is that? Kou Zhong giggled and said, All our skill was taught by our Niang; how to read and recognize character, also she who took care of everything. After Niang passed away, we roam around everywhere, trying to see if there is any business we can do to make a fortune ... A tender snort came from behind the curtain, interrupting him, but clearly it was not Madames voice. The two boys were stunned; they have just realized that other than the Madame, there was another woman in there, whose status couldnt be lower than the Madame herself. But why did she express displeasure at what Kou Zhong just said? The Madames voice was heard again, And the other Xiao Gongzi, what is your intention? Xu Ziling knew she was asking him; shrugging his shoulder, he said, Advance or retreat, we are together. He wants to make a fortune, naturally I also want to make a fortune. The Madame sighed and said, Other than money, what else do you want to aplish? Madame, Kou Zhong replied, That is a very good question. After riches, naturally we want status. It would be best if we could be government official; that will certainly bring honor to our ancestors, spreading out our might to the eight directions. From gentle, the tone of Madames voice turned icy-cold as she calmly said, There are so many people suffering from the chaos of war and from the tyranny of the rulers out there; havent you thought about striving for themon people, to bring light refreshments to the people under the heavens? Xu Ziling replied in consternation, We are lowly and weak people, we cant even guarantee that we will eat three meals a day; we have never thought about that kind of things. Remembering Li Jing, Kou Zhong said with a bitter smile, That kind of great undertaking, only big hero can take it upon himself. Madame said tly, Everybody has his own ambition. Gentlemen, please disembark now! Horrified, the two boys cried out, How could you do this? The door was pushed open, the maid walked in without any expression on her face. Her pretty face looked serious as she said bluntly, Gentlemen, please! It was as if the two boys had seen twopletely different people. Knowing that pleading would only bring them ridicule and cursing, the two boys had no choice but to puff out their chest and follow her back to the deck. As they reached the hangingdder, they saw the four warriors were still standing there with their hands on the hilt of their swords, adopting an expelling-the-guest pose. On the dock below, Ol Liu and his gang of thugs were still waiting for their appearance, but they did not dare to make a ruckus. Evidently the warriors on the ship managed to strike fear in their heart. It appears that this ce was morewless than Yangzhou. Kou Zhong lightly pulled the corner of Xu Zilings clothes and said in low voice, Jump ship! Xu Ziling understood. Without saying anything, they ran at full speed toward the side of the ship farthest away from the dock, flew over the railings, and jumped into the ocean. Seeing they disappeared into the sea, a hint of smile appeared on the corner of the maids mouth, as if she already knew their response, but she did not stop them at all. Book 2 - 5 – Madame Dong Ming Book 2 Chapter 5 C Madame Dong Ming Ssh! Ssh! One after another the two boys fell into the water. The moment just before they entered the water, they saw three fast boats speeding toward them. There were several thugs on each boat, each one had a long punting pole equipped with sharp hook in his hand, they were shouting curses and swearing cuss words at the two boys as they came. In the water, Kou Zhong knew that Xu Zilings water skill was not as good as his, so he desperately pulled him to dive toward the bottom of the big ship. Only by using the big ship as shield would they be able to evade the enemys punting poles. As for how to take a breath, at this time he still did not bother about it. By the time the two boys reached the depth where the bottom of the ship was, the oxygen in their lungs had been depleted. They wanted to float up, but were hitting the keel. Being unprepared, they nearly died of suffocation; while they were at a loss, suddenly a stream of qi erupted. The two were pleased beyond their imagination; together they swam toward the stern. By the time this new qi was also depleted, another stream of qi was automatically generated from within their body. This time the two boys noticed that this strange qi was not dropped from the sky at all, but rather, it was generated by their bodys true qi. It grew and multiplied unendingly that the two boys enjoyed its tremendous benefits. At this moment, they had already forgotten about how to deal with the enemy on the surface. Xu Ziling felt strange heat appeared from the sole of his right foot, while cold stream steeped in from the sole of his left foot. The true qi surged and continuously circted within his body, causing him to automatically channel his true qi ording to the diagram in the Secret to Long Life. At the same time his vision brightened considerably that he could see the dark shadow of the hulls above him, big and small, different from each other, as if it was a pattern. Kou Zhongs experience was virtually the same; its just that the true qi originated from the Tian Ling acupoint on the top of his head. The two of them moved about slowly in the deep water, approximately four zhang below the sea surface. Each time they stretched out their limbs, the true qi in their body circted one time in perfect harmony [orig. seamless heavenly clothes]. The true qi was self-generating perpetually, without giving them the feeling of suffocation. After swimming for nobody knows how long, they crawled up onto the beach far away from the docks. The sun was about to set, the two boys lying side-by-side on the sandy beach,ughing heartily. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, I didnt know our internal strength is that formidable, without taking a breath we could swim that far, perhaps we could even swim to the other side of the ocean, without even have to pay for the ship fare. Xu Ziling was enjoying the glow of the setting sun; stretchingzily, he said, Right now I feel my body in full of energy. This is a good time to steal. Kou Zhong sat up excitedly and looked around. He saw the dock in the distance, about four, five li away, hidden behind the towering sail masts, while where they were was a wild, mountainous country, with no man in sight for as far as they could see. Heughed and said, Tonight we will swim back toward the dock behind the salt warehouse and think of a way to get in to steal some salt. And then we will transport it by boat. If anybody catches up with us, ssh! we will jump into the water, and y hide-and-seek with them underwater. Zu Xiling also sat up, stretched out his arms and legs, and said, If there are tigers right now, I feel like I can kill a few. That Madame is so strange; we were talking nicely, suddenly she drove us out. Humph! Does she think we are ugly? Why is it that other than Susu Jiejie, other women always think that our appearance is not pleasing to the eye? Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around his shoulder and said with augh, The reason is very simple: because they are afraid they cant help falling in love with us, to such an extent as they wont be able to extricate themselves. Ha! By the time they finishedughing hard to console themselves for a while, the sun has not disappeared behind the western hills yet. But during that time the two boys clothes have dried out. Upon looking at each other, they both realized that their hair was disheveled, their clothes in disarray, and they looked exactly like a couple of beggars. Suddenly both realized that they did not wish to go back to the water. Kou Zhong quickly found an excuse, Tomorrow well figure out which water route to take before stealing the salt. Right now while the city gate is not closed yet, lets return to the city to find a decent hotel and then have a good dinner, and then we can slowly think about our first big endeavor to make a fortune. Xu Ziling did not want to go back to the water any time soon either, he nodded in agreement. The two boys walked back toward the city gate. They felt their body was lighter than usual, at least by half; their speed was also increasing, also by half. Their eyes and ears were a lot more keen than usual, they did not feel that the darkness was too much different than daytime. Naturally they did not know that when they were underwater just now, they had identally entered the realm of endless qi cirction of Taoist internal energy cultivation, and had had an early glimpse of first-ss qigong [system of deep breathing exercises] mystery. Although the number of people practicing Taoism is too many too count, those that are able to achieve fine internal breathing state are actually not too many. It was called external qi not exhausted, internal breathing not generated. If they were not in such a special situation like being underwater, without the guidance of a good master, the two boys might not be able to make such a break through this period of difficulty even if they tried hard their entire life. But by lucky coincidence, they had taken the most important step in martial art study. From uncultured stone into fine jade, far surpassing the limitation of their age. The two boys took a cold bath in the hotel. When they got back to the street, they realized for the first time that nightlife in this town was more lively than that of Yangzhou. There was endless stream of horse and carriages, a sign of thriving city. The women on the street were even more gorgeously dressed [orig. lovely scene of blossoming flowers swaying in the breeze], they did not appear to be afraid of mens gaze. The two boys feasted their eyes endlessly with unspeakable delight. After having their stomach filled, the two boys excitement grew, they went out to join the crowd. Kou Zhong was craning his neck to look into the inside of one of the pleasure houses when Xu Ziling suddenly pulled him toward a nearby alley. He pointed to the street and said, Its the Ol Liu! Ah! Isnt that the Fu Duozhu of the Haisha Gang Tan Yong by his side? Stunned, Kou Zhong looked at the direction he indicated. Sure enough, he saw a group of men gathered inside a store across the street, each one carried a weapon, and two of the men were precisely Tan Yong and the Ol Liu, who were standing next to each other, the former was giving instruction to thetter, while Ol Liu nodded his head continuously. The ones called Xie Feng and Chen Gui were standing behind these two. Upon looking more clearly, they found out that the store was actually an external-injury clinic; it appeared that this ce must be one of their hideouts. What are they talking about? Xu Ziling wondered aloud. The two boys could not resist straining their ears trying to listen. Suddenly Tan Yongs voice ringing faintly in their ears, Boss [orig. long tou, dragon head] will arrive on the third watch [midnight, between 11pm-1am] tonight. Strange thing is, why couldnt we find the bodies of those two little demons? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling jumped in shock; they did not expect to really be able to hear Tan Yong. The two sides were separated by more than three zhang distance, plus the street was moring with all kinds of noises jumbled together; yet they were clearly able to hear Tan Yongs voice. The two boys were very excited. But when they wanted to listen further, they could not hear anything. Kou Zhong happily said, It seems that our skill is improving tremendously. But I wonder: Ol Liu and Tan Yong have been in collusion from the start to frame us. Apparently Ol Liu pretended to be the bad guy, and then Tan Yong posed as the good guy who helps us out of trouble. Butter on Tan Yong incited Ol Liu to kill us. Xu Zilings thought process was more meticulous. At that time they still did not know what we are Wulins martial art masters who are able to hit Ol Liu until he could not crawl back up; so why did they pay particr attention to us? he wondered. Even with Kou Zhongs quick-thinking, he was still at a loss. It doesnt matter what they are going to do, the point is that they want to harm us, he said in a low voice, Jianghu people live by the rule, enmity must be avenged. Tan Yong might be difficult to deal with, but Ol Liu is very easy to beat. We simply need to stalk him, as soon as we find he is alone, we can strike both to teach him a lesson and to rob his mothers purse; as well as to help us buy a couple of sharp sabers. Henceforth we need not be afraid to meet and fight those guys. Not only Xu Ziling was not afraid, he found it very amusing instead. Chapter 5 Part 2 DongBin, HPC, Bocah, Anh, you are wee. Jaya, my understanding is that they did not even master Nine Mysteries at all. By strange coincidence (i.e. plot ) they followed the Secret to Long Life based on what Fu Junchuo taught them, so it was a hybrid skill. Sky, truth be told, I dont like Canada much, prices are more expensive there. But this time we only visited rtives. Left home in the morning, around 9, and back home before 5 in the evening. ck, so far Huang Yi has introduced quite a number of female characters, but IMHO, none has good potential to be strong female lead. Of course, since I have not finished reading, there is a good chance that I am wrong. My point is, in many other wuxia stories, the female lead is introduced quite early. Heres end of Chapter 5 (Weed, I got it right this time). While he was about to reply, Ol Liu came out of the shop, followed by two men. They were heading to the left. The two boys eyes fell on the broadsword hanging on the two mens waists. The temptation of obtaining these sabers far surpassed their guts in dealing with the three men. Clenching their teeth, they decided to follow these three men. Ol Liu, three men, strutted down the street; passers-by simply avoided them by walking on the other side; clearly they were the people-see, people-afraid type of characters. When they came across five or six government officers, they even stopped and stood in the middle of the street, whispering to each other for a while, before they finally turned into a dark, secluded alley perpendicr to the main street. The two boys exchanged a e-on, be brave look at each other, and then they pursued on. Upon entering the alley, they found out that the three people have vanished. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling toward a wooden door of someones rear courtyard; he whispered, They must havee into this backyard, otherwise, how could they disappear just like that? Shall wee in to have a look? Xu Ziling was aghast, What if there are other Haisha Bang people inside? he asked. Kou Zhong sighed. Just consider Ol Liu is lucky tonight! Xu Ziling said, If we go back to the hotel, we are only going to sleep anyway; how about waiting here for a moment? Kou Zhong sat down on the ground at the corner of the alley; heughed and said, I feel like we are back in Yangzhou, when we were bored, we simply sat down and chatted for half a day. Ha! We finally enter the Jianghu and roam the world. Xu Ziling sat down next to him and said in a low voice, Haisha Bang seems to have a lot of power around here; even the porters at the dock have to obey their orders. Isnt sea sand [hai sha] referring to sea salt [hai yan]? To be able to gain control over salt trading in here, they must be very powerful and extremely rich; what could they possibly want from a couple of poor kids like us? Kou Zhong had a new level of respect for him; he said, I havent thought about it as thoroughly as you did; fortunately we have decided to steal the salt, otherwise, I am afraid we cant afford to buy even a grain of salt. And then he continued excitedly, The most important thing right now is getting rich. If we have money, we can go looking for Susu Jiejie; if she has not married Li Dage yet, she can marry us. Jiejie is pretty, and she is kind-hearted too; to have her as our wife, we would be very happy indeed. Xu Zilingughed and scolded him, Chatting andughing cannot be too much; how can Jiejie marry two persons at the same time? Are you saying we should sleep together in one bed at night? I dont want it. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The most important thing in life is to findfort for oneself. We have not even touched womens breasts yet, how can there be men as useless as we are? Hee! If we can seize those two sidekicks of Ol Liu, why cant we go to the pleasure house and be merry? Xu Ziling snapped, And at that time, if we do not immediately leave the city, Haisha Bang will chop us to pieces; how can we be merry then? Kou Zhong was jolted, Someonesing! Xu Ziling pricked up his ear and listened carefully; sure enough, he heard footsteps behind the wooden door. The two boys sprang up and stood on either side of the wooden door, while their hearts were pounding wildly. Ol Lius voice was heard from behind the door, Xiao Hua really knows how to make men lose their soul and rock their spirit; no wonder although Er Ye [second master] is so busy that he is spouting smoke through his seven orifices, he still have us deliver the swallows nest to coax her. The other man said, I was also itching all over to see her; if not for Dong Ming Pai [eastern sea sect] people came, I would immediately go to a low-grade brothel and have a woman taming the fire in me. Ol Liuughed lecherously, I heard Madame Dong Ming, Shan Mei [sole beauty] Xianren [immortal/celestial being/fairy or goddess] is just like her name, she is as beautiful as an immortal [usually female]. I hope her skill in bed is not inferior to her martial art skill. The other man, who had not spoken so far, suddenly said, I dont care how good her skill in bed is, would she even give us the time of the day? After the Boss, there is Second Boss; everybodys lining up, I doubt that you, Ol Liu, will get your turn. Three menughed lewdly. Squeak! The wooden door was pushed open. Totally unsuspecting, Ol Liu walked out. Bang! Bang! The two men behind him received a couple of punches from behind the door; with a miserable Oomph they fell backward. As Ol Liu turned around in surprise, the pit of his stomach also received a couple of punches, sending him rolling around on the ground in terrible pain. The two boys did not expect it would be this easy to deal with these three men. Kou Zhong stretched out his neck to look inside, but all he could see was a quiet little garden with no one in sight. Not far from the garden, there was a small two-story building; the door was closed, but there wasntern light prating through the cracks. Signaling Xu Ziling, together they dragged the three men inside. Other than Ol Liu, the other two men were unconscious, with blood all over their faces. Skillfully the two boys loosened up the three mens belt and tied them securely. After taking away their broadswords and purses, they grabbed Ol Liu. Do you remember us? Kou Zhong asked with augh. Ol Liu was still so much in pain that his face was twisted, his muscle trembled. Daye [big master] please spare my life! he groaned. Kou Zhong pulled out a broadsword and pressed it across his neck; with an ugly face he shot a string of foulnguage, and then he asked, I will ask you a question, and you will honestly give me an answer; or else Ill cut your throat. But it will be a little cut, just enough to bleed you to death. By this time Ol Liu already had a good view of them; he was aghast. Didnt you drown? he asked. Pow! Xu Ziling rewarded him with a p on the face, instilling fear on him. You are allowed only to reply, not to ask question, he said, Haisha Bangs salt warehouse, where are they? Dont beat around the bush. Ill interrogate your brotherster, and then Ill know if you told me a lie. Kou Zhong praised him inwardly; this was the technique Du Fuwei used against them. Busily he increased the pressure of the saber against Ol Lius neck and hissed, Answer quickly! Ol Liu could only mumbled uh, uh, ah, ah, but no words came out of his mouth. Xu Ziling said irritably, You saber presses onto his throat, how is he going to speak? Sheepishly Kou Zhong pulled his saber back a little. Betting on their young age, Ol Liu tried to be brave, If you kill me, I guarantee you wont leave this ce alive, he said. Xu Zilingughed and said, Arent you going to deal with Dong Ming Pai tonight? How can your gang people have time to pay us any attention right now? By the time they discover your three dead bodies, we will already be far away from here. Kou Zhong exposed his bragging, Dont blow your own horn; didnt we offend you today? Why are we still alive and well? Alright! Let me cut one of your fingers first, I want to see if you, this tough guy, are going to cry or not. No! Xu Ziling shook his head, Blinding his eye will be more fun. Question is: which eye? Left? Or right? Immediately from a tough guy Ol Liu turned into wimpy guy. Xiaoren [little/lowly one] admits defeat, he begged for mercy, We have eight salt warehouses in total, which one Shaoye[1] wants to know? Tell us about all eight of them in one stretch, Kou Zhong replied, If you hesitate one bit, you lose one eye. I am a skilled person in gouging someones eye. Terrified, Ol Liu talked in one breath. Kou Zhong had him repeating it several times until he was satisfied that Ol Liu did not lie; Which warehouse is the closest one? he then asked. Helpless, Ol Liu told him everything. Xu Ziling said, What kind of sect is Dong Ming Pai, actually? Why did your Boss have to be here for them? Ol Liu hastily said, If I tell you, would two Shaoye let me go? Kou Zhong said, If you are honest, well let you sleep in here for one night. But Ill have to cut your two friends head to show the way we, the two dragons of Yangzhou, work. Of course he would not actually kill anybody; it was just the technique frequently employed by the people of the dark road to let people know that they were not easy to deal with. As expected, Ol Liu was so scared that his face turned blue and his lips purple. Shaoye please spare my life, he begged, Ill talk. But you must keep your promise, dont hurt me. Quickly talk! Xu Ziling barked. Ol Liu dejectedly said, I only know what I heard from Er Ye. Dong Ming Pai came from an ind on the other side of the ocean called Liuqiu [Ryukyu]. The Sect is predominantly female. Hey! The ship you escaped to today was precisely their ship; did you see them? [Trantors note: they and them here are feminine.] Kou Zhong cursed, Are you asking me, or am I asking you? Besides, we did not escape aboard, we boarded the ship. Do you think having ten fingers is too much and you think caressing women with nine fingers would be more satisfying? Immediately Ol Liu pleaded for mercy again. He then continued, Every year around Chunfen time [Spring Equinox, 4th of the 24 sr terms, March 21 C April 4] theye to coastal regions to select young men to be brought back to Ryukyu. I dont know why Boss wants to deal with them this year. Oh! I really dont know the details of this matter. The two boys suddenly saw the light; they understood now the reason Tan Yong was interested in them, and they felt very proud of themselves. But then they recalled that in the end Madame Ryukyu Shan Mei Xianren did not select them, so they felt inferior mixed with self-pity. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce, they both lost interest in continuing the interrogation; so they tore the three mens clothes to stuff their big mouths, and then using their schools unique skill they made the men bend over and tied them tightly with special rope braided from the mens clothes so that it would not be easy for them to exert their strength. Only then did they leave unhurriedly. Concerning the matter between Haisha Bang and Dong Ming Pai, they had neither the interest nor the power to interfere. The only thing in their mind right now was how to stealthily loot Haisha Bangs salt and make a fortune out of it. When that timees, wouldnt they be able to soar over the wide ocean and the empty sky? [1] Continuing my note on Shaoye earlier, here he put himself in subordinate/servant position. Book 2 - 6 – Benefiting Self, Benefiting Others Book 2 Chapter 6 C Benefiting Self, Benefiting Others When they got to the city gate, they found out that not only the city gate has closed, there was also arge assembly of people. For some unknown reason, the yamen [government office in feudal China] officers who guard the gate were also reced by big men. Being new thieves, the two boys stillcked confidence; they retreated to a dark alley not far from the city gate and sat down on the ground. Kou Zhong took out the purse he snatched from his victims earlier. Under the dim golden and orange light shining from the torches at the city gate, he counted his booty. Xu Ziling took out the saber and lovingly yed with it in his hand. After counting it twice, Kou Zhong eximed in delight, This time we hit the jackpot; there are altogether about twenty taels of silver. Not only it is enough to cover our travel expenses to Luoyang, we can also have a feast, and stroll into a low-grade brothel for three days. With the saber rested on his knees, Xu Ziling stretched out his neck in disbelief, and then happily said, In that case, we need not steal salt, transport salt and sell salt; such a hard work. Sock of ambition, Kou Zhong scolded, Twenty taels is just to satisfy the most annoying needs, we will still steal Haishas salt as nned. We stay here one night, when the city gate opens tomorrow, we immediately pick up the goods and leave. Ay! I hope nobody will find Ol Liu. Xu Ziling said in dismay, I wish we know qinggong [lightness skill], so we could climb over the wall and leave. Ah! The two boys countenance changed greatly. They heard hoof beats in the distanceing rapidly over. As their scalp went numb, arge group of riders galloped along the main street outside the alley; there were at least a hundred riders, and all were speeding toward the city gate. Soon they heard someone yelled in subdued voice, Sea sand [haisha] raises its power! The other side replied, Eastern sea [dong ming] in trouble! When the two boys stretched out their neck to look, they saw the small door by the city gate was opened, the crowd of Haisha Bang riders urged their horses to file out of the city. The two boys looked at each other. But soon afterwards several more people went out of the city; all with the same secret password. Some of the gang members even went out on foot. Xu Ziling said, Seems to me Haisha Bang is going to attack Dong Ming Pais big ship tonight. Should we notify them? Haisha Bang definitely does not have even half a decent person! Kou Zhongs eyes lit up as he said in low voice, Do you want to go to Ryukyu? Just by marrying that little maid, our luck cannot be considered shallow. Come! Xu Ziling followed him standing up. With terrified expression he said, What if they recognize us? Puffing up his chest, Kou Zhong replied, Without going into the tiger den, how can we get a tiger cub? Oh! I get it. Its the tigers daughter, and the tiger is female. For the sake of those beautiful Dong Ming Pais beautiful tigresses, we have to fight his mothers battle. Look! The city gate is still open, we have sabers; if we get recognized, well kill our way out. As long as we could reach the seaside, ssh! we can plunge into the water. With our Nine Mysteries breath-holding Great Method, who could possibly catch us? Come on! Coward! Finished speaking he strode forward. Xu Ziling had no choice but to follow him out. They had just stepped into the main street, there was the sound of hoof beats again. Four riders came over, fast. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward the city gate, but did not see the big men earlier; there were only about a dozen yamen officers, who were staring hard at them. He could not go back even if he wanted to. Turning around to face the four riders he called out, Has Er Ye left of the city? The four riders brushed past; one of them replied, Da Ye [big/first master] and Er Ye are in the back! Then they went like a whirlwind. Terrified, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hastily increased their speed. Still far away from the yamen officers, they called out, Sea sand raises its power! One of the officers, presumably the leader,ughed and said, You, two kids whose smell of your mothers milk has not yet dried, also want to follow those men doing their work; dont you like to have a long life? The officers burst intoughter. One of the troops said, Who are you? Howe Ive never seen you before? Kou Zhong patted his saber; assuming a forthright manner he said, Er Ye is our elder [orig. agong C grandfather], Xie Feng is our adoptive senior [orig. adie C dad/old man]. It was onlyst month that they included us in. Seeing he spoke reasonably and with confidence, the troops did not stop them; they let the two boys got out of the city. The two boys were wild with delight; they rushed out of the city. But as soon as they stepped out of the city gate, both groaned inwardly. Because the area just outside the gate was densely packed with arge group of men and horses, at least the number was close to a thousand. However, because no one lighted a torch and that everybody was silent, the two boys did not find out until they were outside the gate; therefore, they were now stuck. Someone shouted, Sea sand raises its power! The two boys responded in unison, Eastern sea in trouble! A man came over to meet them, Which hall? he asked in low voice. Bracing himself, Kou Zhong replied, Yuhang division! The man did not suspect anything; he pointed to a group of men and said, Tie the red band and stand over there. Boss will be here soon! Seeing him handing out two pieces of red band, Xu Ziling hastily stepped forward to receive it. When they got to the Yuhang division group, the two boys pretended to be busy tying the red band, and then with head hung low they stood at thest of the line; surprisingly, nobody said anything. Several men at the front turned their heads around to look at them, but since it was dark, they could not see clearly. The men were just about to question the two boys when sound of hoof beats was heard; a group of riders went out the city gate. Hence nobody paid them any attention anymore. When they looked up, they saw a big man like an iron tower. Because the two men standing on his left and right were holding their torch high, everybody was able to see him clearly. This man looked intimidatingly impressive; on his back he carried a pair of hatchets, his eyes were like copper bells. When he swept his gaze around, everybody, including Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, felt that he was looking straight at him. The other people with him were different from each other. One of them was a rather good-looking Buddhist nun; her oversized Buddhist robe was blown by the sea breeze that it stuck to her body, revealing her beautiful and captivating curves. That Tan Yong was also one of them, its just that he was at thest of the line; apparently the other people ranked higher than him. The troops opened up a path in the middle. The big man urged his horse to gallop in a small circle before he finally stopped. One after another the Haisha Bang people pulled their weapons and paid their respect. While raising his saber, Kou Zhong took the opportunity to whisper in Xu Zilings ear, Looks like this Boss is much more superior than us, two martial art masters. As soon as we have the opportunity, we must slip away; dont care about anything else. Seeing this kind of disy of power, Xu Ziling was also extremely nervous; he nodded incessantly. The Haisha Bang Boss reined his horse and shouted, This time, we, Haisha Bang are working for Yuwen Huaji Daren; generous reward is not difficult to attain, plus there are other benefits as well. The key to victory this time is to attack when they are not prepared, leaving no one alive. You must make an all-out effort to follow your Boss in handling this matter; anyone who shrinks back on approaching the battlefield will be dealt with ording to our house rules. When we achieve sess, everybody will be heavily rewarded. Got it? The crowd responded in unison. This ce was still quite far from the dock, separated by a gulf. Even if they shouted loudly, Dong Ming Pai people on the dock would not hear it. Kou Zhong was just about to pull Xu Ziling to slip away from the back when he suddenly realized that there were people shouting their response from a small hill behind them as well; therefore, he abandoned his n. In the meantime, Tan Yong and a short man rode toward the Yuhang division people; he talked in a low voice for a moment, and then he gave the order to move. Those with horses galloped on horseback, those on foot ran behind them. The annoying thing was that Tan Yong fell behind, he rode at the rear of the formation, so that the two boys were unable to go AWOL. Without any choice they ran in the middle of the group. After traveling for little less than half a sichen, they arrived at the seaside, where three double-mast boats were already waiting. They were about three, four li away from the shore where the big Dong Ming Pai ship was anchored. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling braced themselves to climb onboard one of the ships under Tan Yongs supervision. As soon as they were on board, everybody started working. Some were preparing the stone catapult; some took care of the fire arrows, and some others manned the sail and untie the mooring rope. Only the two boys did not know what to do, so that they were sticking up like a sore thumb. While they were terrified and extremely nervous, Tan Yong suddenly decided to board their ship. Fortunately the ship was in total ckout; otherwise, they would be discovered early on as fake articles. Chapter 6, Part 2 Jaya, HPC, Anh, you are wee. Strawberry, its not difficult to guess since I also live in this area. Sky, I did not announce it here, and I didnt know you are an expert in football ... DongBin, thanks, but as I said, you didnt miss anything; the only reason Sky knew was because she sent me a personal email. Heres the end of Chapter 6. The two were at a loss; they were just thinking of leaning against the ships railing and jumping into the sea when a man stopped them and shouted, Why havent you go down to the bilge and get me the water armor and breaking-hill bore? The two boys jumped in fright; they went down to the bilge with heads hung down. More than a dozen men were already busy carrying some wooden chests up. One of the men said, Only one chest left, you two can take care of it. Their mind went nk, the two boys groped their way down the bilge. They saw under the dusky light of a windntern, piles of junks, but there was no one else; and then they saw the chest. Kou Zhong was overjoyed; he pounced onto the chest and opened up its lid. Inside there was a huge, sharp helix auger, weighed at least fifty, sixty catties. The ship shuddered slightly; apparently it cast off and set sail. Xu Ziling helped him taking the auger out of the chest; without prior discussion they put the sharp tip against the bottom of the hold and turned the handle. Kou Zhongughed and said, If we can sink this ship, all our enmities are avenged in full. This matter is rted to Yuwen Huaji, Xu Ziling said, We cannot just sit and watch and remain indifferent. After the water enters the ship, we will run to the deck and making a ruckus, to spoil Haisha Bangs n on attacking the unprepared enemy. And then we jump into the sea flee for our lives, and immediately steal some salt. Ha! The more they talked, the more excited they got; they turned the handle faster and faster like a windmill. Less than half a dayter, pop! a hole appeared on the bottom of the ship; hastily they pulled the auger out. By the time they were ready to take the chest to the deck, the seawater had already reached their ankles. Like a crouching monster the giant Dong Ming Pai ship sat still by the dock, the area surrounding it was dark without anyntern at all, only its bow and its stern had four small windnterns shining their cheerless, lonely and cold lights, which flickered incessantly in the sea breeze. There were hundreds or even thousands of other ships and boats around the harbor; some were moored close to the shore, but most dropped their anchor in the bay. The three Haisha Bang ships sailed quietly through this array of boats, until they were about ten zhang away from the giant ship before stopping. The boat that had its bottom drilled has been sinking for about two chi, only about a chi or so more, and the water will reach the deck. But because everybodys attention was on the enemys ship, no one took any notice yet. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were hiding in the darkest area near the bow; they each had a bow and an arrow, which tip was wrapped in a piece of cloth that had been soaked in oil. Their hearts were pounding wildly in anticipation. Tan Yong gave hismand, To the water! Silently eight of his men, wearing wetsuit and carrying the breaking-hill auger dived into the water. Suddenly someone let out a muffled shout, Why is the water level so high? Kou Zhong knew it was time. Nudging Xu Ziling, he lighted the arrow, and then, in everybodys amazement they shot the fiery arrows toward the big ship, drawing two beautiful fiery arcs in the dark sky. Are you crazy? Tan Yong roared in shock. The two boys shouted together, Sea sand raises its power, eastern sea in trouble! Haisha Bang attacks the unprepared! Tan Yong stormed across the boat. You, two little demons again! he thundered. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling threw their bows by swinging their arms like throwing secret projectiles toward Tan Yong. And then they turned around and jumped into the water together. On the other side, closer to the dock, the battle cry shook the heavens. The big ship slowly left the shore heading north to escape. It passed behind Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who had just climbed out of the water right behind Haisha Bangs warehouse by the dock. The two boysughed and ran toward the warehouse. When they reached the entrance, Kou Zhong grabbed the iron lock with one hand and eximed, Look at my internal strength! Umph! the padlock did not budge. Kou Zhong was at a loss. Grabbing the iron chain, he yelled, Get your saber and chop this thing! Xu Ziling shook his head, What if it breaks my saber? Kou Zhong angrily said, You break your saber, you can buy a new one. But if we cannot make a fortune, we will be paupers for the rest of our lives. Its not every day that Haisha Bang would deploy their entire troops to fight a battle like this! Xu Ziling giggled happily and pulled Kou Zhongs saber. Exerting his entire strength he chopped down. Tchak! The iron chain met the saber and broke instantly. The two boys were taken aback. But they were too busy to think too much. Pointing to the biggest sailboat moored on the dock behind them, Kou Zhong said, Quickly row that boat here, Ill get the goods. They have lived for more or less eighteen and seventeen years, respectively, but have never seen a better scenery than they saw right now. Kou Zhong was lying on the sacks of salt piling high on the boat, enjoying the early morning sunshine, while humming Yangzhous most popr folk song. He was sofortable that he looked like he was about to die ofziness. Xu Ziling was looking at the road stretching along the river on the left bank, his eyes darted quickly to the water level that was very close to the deck. I told you not to steal this much salt, he said with a frown, Now even the ce to sleep is crammed with goods, and the boat will sink very soon. Wed better cast off a dozen sacks or so! Kou Zhong jumped in fright; he turned around to hug the salt sack tightly and cried out, These are shining white silver; if you want me to throw away money into the sea, you might as well tell me to throw my life away into the sea. Seeing Xu Ziling stayed silent, he sat down again and giggled, Xiao Ling, please dont get angry. Alright, how about this: when wee ashore to buy clothes and provisionter, let me see if there are people willing to offer good price for several sacks! This is coastal salt-producing area, Xu Ziling angrily said, You want to sell salt here, those who are willing to offer good price must be either a lunatic or an idiot just like you. The difference is one spends money recklessly, the other considers wealth as important as his life. Kou Zhongughed aloud and came over to the stern. He wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder and said, One world, two brothers; theres no need to be mad. Ha! I am a bit greedy, but its all for our future. If we could earn a few coins, we will be a bit morefortable and happy in the future. Perhaps we can even organize a militia, strike the capital and be a happy emperor. At that time, wont we be able to push Yuwen Huagu out of Meridian Gate and behead him to avenge Niang? With a forcedugh he added, Look! This boat is so sturdy, we are making good progress with tail wind and following the current. Xu Ziling fetched his saber and shrugged his embrace; he stood up and stepped over nobody knew how many sacks of salt, toward the middle of the boat under the sail mast, where he stopped with his saber in hand. Do you, Zhong Shao, know how to operate the sail? he said with a wry smile, Right now the sky is clear the weather is fair, the breeze is still the waves are quiet; naturally we wont have any problem. But if wee across the wind and waves, in a moment or two when we are sinking down, dont you fight over the heavens and cry over the earth to me. Kou Zhong stroked his own big head and pointed to the shore to their left; heughed and said, This head of mine, which you think does not have any n inside, has already thought about all those problems. When the sky turns somewhat ominous, we immediately sail toward the shore. Ha! I thought you are worried about some serious things, turns out merely this trivial matter. Xu Ziling pointed his saber to Kou Zhong and said coldly, If this boat suddenly pull toward the shore, if we do not crash and have our body torn and our bones crushed, I wont open my mouth again, ever; and then you canugh at me that I am worried in vain. Apparently Kou Zhong has exhausted his argument, How many sacks do you want to throw away? he asked painfully. Xu Ziling dejectedly kneeled down on the sacks of salt; he sighed and said, Thats not our biggest problem, but if we travel along this route, sooner orter we will enter ind via the Great River, thus Yangzhou is the only route we must follow. At that time you should know who we are going to encounter. Kou Zhong acted as if he had just seen the light;ughing aloud he said, How could my outstanding brains not think about that matter? When we get there, we crash our way through Yangzhou in the night. Not only we will avoid the government boats, we also conveniently avoiding across our old Die. When we arrive at Liyang, we will disembark a bit early to sell half of our goods, and transport the rest by mule cart to his mothers far away ces, hencepleted our great scheme to make a fortune. Look! This n is so perfect. Xu Ziling knew he could not argue with him, he stood up and started practicing his saber y. Kou Zhong watched with rapt attention for a moment. Finally he drew his saber and said, Looking at you waving your hand and kicking your leg alone like a madman, let me, Zhong Shao apany you ying for a couple of stances! Xu Ziling tly said, I am afraid my hand will slip and injure you. You? Injure me? Kou Zhong screamed, En garde! The saber in his hand emitted a sharp cold wind that even he himself could not believe as it swept across toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling had never expected that he would be this formidable. Unleashing the stance Unyielding and Escaping of the Bloody Battle Ten Styles taught by Li Jing, he swiftly moved sideways before hacking down his saber once again. The two boys were so worked up that soon they even forgot the styles and simply moved their sabers any way they pleased. They also forgot to look at the sun, which was covered by dark clouds, and the sea breeze, which was getting stronger; they thought it was the wind generated by their sabers. Finally what Xu Ziling was worried about has arrived. Book 2 - 7 – Fish in the Net Book 2 Chapter 7 C Fish in the Net Splosh! Scowling miserably, Kou Zhong helped Xu Ziling tossing the twentieth sack of salt into the ocean. Only then did the seawater no longer attack the deck. Fortunately it was just a small storm; otherwise the boat would have been capsized. Completely exhausted, the two boys sat on sacks of salt; they did not even have any strength left tough or to cry. By the time the sun showed itself again, Kou Zhong suddenly burst outughing like crazy. Naturally Xu Ziling alsoughed with him until tears flowing out of his eyes. Kou Zhong sighed and said, We have lost at least enough money to stroll into low-grade brothel twenty times; Laotianye [God/Heaven] is really cruel. Xu Ziling sneered, Didnt Bai Lao Fuzi often say we should feel contented with our fate? My Zhong Shaoye, one drink, one peck [the context is animal], everything is pre-destined. The Heaven has decided that we lost these twenty sacks of salt, chances are most of sacks wont be left for us either. Kou Zhonge entire body, from head to toe, suddenly shook violently; pointing behind them, he groaned, You are right, looks like the Heaven really destined us to be poor wretches; even the remaining fifty, sixty sacks will be taken away. Xu Ziling looked back in shock; he saw five three-mast big ships have just turned from the sea into the river. Not only that, the enemys pursuing technique was clearly extraordinarily brilliant, because the two boys did not even realize their presence until they were only two li away from them. Judging by the pursuers speed, at most it would only take the time needed to burn an incense stick before they could catch up with them. The two boys looked up at their boats g first, it was embroidered with the fish pattern of the Haisha Bang g. When they looked at the five pursuing ships, they groaned together, because they saw simr pattern on the mast of all of them. Kou Zhong threw himself down on the sacks of salt and wailed, Finished! All my sea sands are finished! [reminder: haisha means sea sand.] Xu Ziling pulled him up and called out, Lets go! Before its toote. Suddenly there was a tenderughter, and then they saw a small fast boating over; the one sitting on the bow was precisely the Buddhist nun they saw the other night. There were ten men rowing the boat, ten well-trained men, so that the boat glided on the ocean surface like an arrow. The pretty nun called out, You just think about escaping right now, its really toote! The two boys noticed that she was wearing wetsuit, and it looks like she was ready to jump into the water to catch them. Their soul flew away and scattered, how could they still care about the sacks of salt? Immediately they turned around and jumped into the sea; they did not even have time to admire her clearly visible curves under the skin-tight suit, the body that could make the men who look at her pop their eyes and choke their throats. The pretty nunughed until her beautiful body shook uncontrobly. Gasping for breath, she said, If I, the Mermaid You Qiufeng, ever let you, these two kids ever escape the, I will never go down into the water again. Only after saying that did she jump into the water in an iparably graceful posture. Compared to Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings awkward jumped earlier, the difference was like night and day. Under water, the sun rays looked like tens of thousands strands of silver thread, turning the clear, deep-blue seabed world into an array of infinite stereoscopic mirrors. The nun, You Qiufeng, focused her eyes and immediately saw Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling about a hundred zhang ahead, desperately trying to swim toward the shore. The bottom of the sailboat looked like a strange clump of ck cloud hovering overhead in the clear and brilliant ocean surface. You Qiufeng twisted her waist, and like a wisp of smoke she darted forward with speed at least more than 50% faster than the ones she was pursuing. Within Haisha Bang, whose domain was the sea, there was not a second person whose water skill was even close to hers; from this, it was clear how formidable she really was. She did not understand at all how the two little demons were able to hold their breath underwater. Without first-ss internal energy, it was simply impossible to do. But this moment she was simply too busy to think. Their Bangzhu [n/gang leader], the Dragon King Han Gaitian, had already issued a strict order to spare no expense in capturing them alive. By this time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have already seen the pretty nun pursuing them from behind, but they had no way of escaping. At first Kou Zhong was about two zhang ahead of Xu Ziling, but seeing the enemy rapidly approaching, he knew that very soon she would catch up with Xu Ziling, whose water skill was not as good as his. Therefore, clenching his teeth, he waved his hand to have Xu Ziling swim ahead, and then, with the saber in his hand, he turned around to face the enemy. However, how could Xu Ziling be willing to let Kou Zhong face the enemy alone? Hence he also held his saber across as he turned around to fight the fast-approaching enemy. Two sides rapidly approaching each other. Soon they would be engaged in closebat. Suddenly a quirly smile appeared on You Qiufengs face as she reached toward her back. Waving her hand, arge shot out like an arrow to meet the two boys head-on. The boys saw therge like ayer of ck clouding fast at them. By the time they realized the situation was bad, they have already been captured inside the; persons and sabers became the fish in the. The boat they stole along with the salt suffered the same fate; it has be Haisha Bangs prisoner. It was towed behind Haisha Bangs gship using a very thick rope, with its sail folded down. Haisha Bangs big boss, the Dragon King Han Gaitian pompously sat on a special dragon chair. Behind his chair stood seven of his subordinates withw-protector level, who have been fighting from all four quarters with him. Their position was even higher than the eighteen helmsmen who were in charge of the eighteen coastal salt-producing divisions. His dragon chair was set up leaning against the door of the cabin at the stern. He was waiting calmly for the two young offenders to be brought over. Haisha Bang was one of three major gangs along the southeast coast; it share the same fame as the Shuilong Bang [water dragon gang] and Jukun Bang [gigantic leviathan gang]. The three major gangs were suspicious and envious of each other. Previously they were still able to delimit their respective territory and sphere of influence, hence they were able to maintain peace in general. But since Sui Dynasty government became corrupt, the heroes all over the world [tian xia] arose, the three major gangs also began to stir, each conspired to expand their influence, and thus the power struggle gradually turned intense. Shuilong Bang has always attached themselves to the powerful Song n of the south. But for their survival, Haisha Bang cast their lot to the Yuwen n and became one powerful w and teeth of the Yuwen family. Jukun Bang on the other hand, stayed independent. Nevertheless, in terms of fame and power they were not the least bit inferior. The hottest topic in Jianghu recently was after the former n Leader Yun Guangling was murdered and his daughter Yun Yuzhen took office, Jukun Bangs prestige has be even more dazzling. This beautiful woman with the nickname n Leader of the Fairer Sex [orig. hong fen bang zhu C n leader of rouge and powder] had a consummate martial art skill, even more outstanding than her father; she was considered as number one heroine of the southeastern Wulin world. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, with their hands tied behind their back, were dragged toward Han Gaitian, and were pushed down to kneel by the four strong men who were in charge of them; the two boys hung their head dispiritedly. The subordinate reported, Both they and their boat have been searched, only twenty taels of silver found, there is no other things. Han Gaitians eyes shot a cold ray. Report your name! he barked. Kou Zhong called out, I am Fu Zhong, he is Fu Ling ... Pow! Pow! Two long whipsshed out from behind, breaking the back of two boys clothes, and tore into their flesh; their faces muscles twisted in severe pain. Han Gaitianughed aloud and said, Still dare to lie to me? You are Kou Zhong, and the other Xu Ziling; both are criminals whose capture Yuwen Zongguan put in the wanted notice nationwide. Whoever can bring you back to Yangzhou and hand you over to Yuchi Zongguan will receive a thousand taels of gold as a reward. Standing on his right was the chiefw protector, the Fat Assassin. This man was so fat that he looked like a ball, his eyes small and treacherous. Hearing thest sentence, heughed eerily and said, Human beings will die for riches just as birds will for food; if not for these two kids were greedy, stealing a boat load of sea sand, it would not be easy for us to get these thousand taels of gold. Feeling the pain on his back, Kou Zhong was apologetic toward Xu Ziling and could only look at him with bitter smile. Thetter however, acted if nothing had happened; he said in low voice, Turns out we are worth that much. If we had sold ourselves, wouldnt we be very rich by now? Silence! Han Gaitian roared. While the two boys were frightened that they were trembling inside, the pretty nun You Qiufengs tenderughter was heard,ing from inside the cabin. She had changed into a dry robe; surprisingly she also wore a wig with the hair rolled up in a bun, which was held together carelessly with seven or eight silver hairpins; she looked quite odd. With hundred charms and thousand daintiness she came over to Han Gaitian, and then plopped her buttocks on his thigh, and wrapped her arms around Han Gaitians neck, which was as thick and solid as a tree trunk. With a tteringly sweet voice she said, To lose at sunrise but gain at sunset; although this time Dong Ming Pai escaped great catastrophe, in the end we obtain these two valuable kids. Now Bangzhu [n Leader] have enough face to see Yuwen Daren. Han Gaitian reached out to caress the pretty nuns bottom; he patted it twice and then talked to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling in grim voice, Tell me! Howe you, two kids whose smell of mothers milk has not yet dried, can be that valuable? The two boys deeply regretted the fact that they did not know Haisha Bang was rted to Yuwen Huagu; moreover, they did not expect Yuwen Huagu would give secret order to the ns and societies working for him to hunt and capture them. If they knew this fact, they would not risk being captured. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If Bangzhu agree not to hand us over to Yuwen Huaji, we will tell you this secret. Han Gaitian tossed his head backward and roared in heroicughter; gasping for breath, he said, Did you see that? This kid has the audacity to bargain with us. Chapter 7, Part 2 Anh, HPC, Jaya, Janger, you are wee. Here is the end of Chapter 7. Immediately thew-protectors under hismand apanied him inughter. Anotherw-protector, the Double Spears Charging Generals [the original rhymes: shuang qiang chuang jiang] Ling Zhigao said, I heard You Meizi [younger sister You] said that these two kids know the technique to take a breath underwater; while obviously their martial art skill iscking. This is extremely strange, there must be a reason. The pretty nunughed tenderly and said, Men! Give them threeshes; I want to see how profound their internal energy is! Amidst the roar of everybodysughter, immediately the whip rained down on the two boys. They were whipped at least a dozen times; not only the clothes on their back shattered into small pieces, their flesh was badly mangled as well, as they stumbled face down on the deck. But the two boys did not even let out half a groan. When they were pulled up, Han Gaitian was emotional as he said, The two of you indeed have strong backbones. These whips were infused with poison; if it were ordinary people, two, threeshes are all they can take. Considering this fact, if you are willing to tell me the truth, perhaps I, the n Leader, will deal with you differently. Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhongs voice was raspy as he spoke through his cracked lips, Naturally there is a reason why we are so valuable. It is because we know the secret of Duke Yangs treasure-trove. Suddenly the deck became very quiet, but everybodys eyes lit up. Han Gaitian signaled his subordinates not to say anything, he pushed the pretty nun aside and stood up, Let them stand up, untie them! he called out. The two boys were helped up, the ropes binding them were cut. Their clothes had been ripped by the poisonous whips, and there were bloody stripes on their arms. When the two boys saw their own condition, they were horrified; however, the strange thing was that other than the searing pain at the beginning, they felt as if it was not a big deal at all. Han Gaitians iron-tower like stature was still two or three cun taller than the two boys. With hands behind his back, he walked over to the two boys and spoke in softer tone, You really know Duke Yangs treasure-trove location? Our Niang told us, Xu Ziling answered. Han Gaitian nodded, We also know about that, he said, It was the female Luocha who rescued you. Why didnt shee with you? Niang was killed by Yuwen Huaji, Kou Zhong sadly replied, Therefore, we cant possibly tell him the location of the treasure. Swaying her bottom, the pretty nun walked over to the two boys; she reached out to pinch Xu Zilings cheek as she spoke with coquettish nces, Bangzhu! Looks like these two handsome Xiao Xiongdi really arent babbling nonsense. Man Tian Wang [fill-the-sky king, see Book 1 Chapter 1] has wholeheartedly follow Gaolis Luocha females trail. Rumor has it that she pawned a piece of ancient jade. At that time we were still in the dark, but now we ought to know that this piece of jade must be part of Duke Yangs treasure trove. The Fat Assassin You Gui said, Now that two Xiao Xiongdi are here, this is a proof that the Heaven has chosen Bangzhu to fulfill your destiny. Han Gaitian spoke in deep voice, Where is the treasure trove? Kou Zhong stayed calm, but before answering, he exchanged flirting nces with the pretty nun, provoking an enchanting giggle from her, The treasure trove is somewhere around the Emperor Guan Temple in Yangzhou, but it has to be opened using special technique; otherwise, you will never find the treasure. The pretty nun threw her tender body forward, pressing her erect breasts against Kou Zhongs chest; she spoke in intimate manner, Then why havent you tell us, Bangzhu will definitely not treat you shabbily. Kou Zhong obviously enjoyed this flirtation very much; he closed his eyes and moaned, If Bangzhu is willing to give us ten taels of gold, we will help Bangzhu find the hidden treasure. Ten taels of gold is a small matter, Han Gaitian said, Quickly speak up! The pretty nun stretched out her arm to pull Kou Zhongs neck, and nted a fragrant kiss on his face. Her smile was as pretty as the flower, Listen to Jiejie, quickly speak up. Kou Zhong giggled and said, We are all Jianghu people. As long as Bangzhu take us back to Yangzhou, and swear a heavy oath not to kill us, and give us the gold, we will open the treasure-trove for you. Otherwise, wed rather die than speak out. Xu Ziling added, The treasure is covered densely with mechanism, it is hidden over twenty zhang deep underground. Unless Bangzhu can obtain Yangzhou Zongguan approval to tear apart the citizens dwelling within five li radius, and turn the ground upside down, dont ever think of getting into the treasure-trove. Kou Zhong interrupted, If we leave out even half a sentence, Bangzhu will never know. Why dont we be friends and strike a fair dealing by mutual agreement? Being barraged with I speak one word, you speak a sentence from the two boys, Han Gaitian smiled wryly, shook his head, and said with a sigh, It is really a waste that you, two little demons, did not go into business. Alright! Ill take you back to Yangzhou, but you must not lie to me, or else you wont have a good end. And then he barked his order, Men! Have them locked up in the iron cage in punishment chamber. When Kou Zhong heard the two words iron cage, he immediately lowered his head to kiss the pretty nuns lips, while groping her hair at the same time. When his mouth was busy clicking his tongue in admiration, his hand deftly pulled a silver hairpin and hid it in his palm. The pretty nun angrily said, Kid with lecherous mouth! and pushed him away. In the meantime, her subordinates stepped out to grab the two boys arms. Han Gaitian did not feel at ease, he personally escorted the two boys into the cabin, down the stairs into the lower deck, and into the punishment chamber filled with all kinds of torture instruments. He watched as his men pushed the two boys into arge iron cage on the corner, checked the lock to make sure it was engaged properly, and only then did he leave. While Xu Ziling was staring nkly at the iron bars, which were as thick as a childs arm, Kou Zhong stretched out his hand to show him the thin silver wire in his palm, and said, I think Han Bangzhu is a good man; it would be best if we could work for him! Xu Ziling understood his intention; he caught on, I just hope that when we get to Yangzhou we wont be caught by Yuwen Huagu. Ay! We know exactly where the treasure is, but we dont have the guts to pick it up. Both boys were intelligent, seeing Han Gaitian and all his men withdrewpletely without a single man remained, which was too unnatural, they knew these men would eavesdrop somewhere nearby; which was precisely the case. Kou Zhong said, Can you really remember the key to opening the storehouse that Niang taught us? Its tooplicated for me, luckily your memory is always better than mine. Xu Ziling replied, I only remember the second half. Ay! At that time Niang was about to die, I cried so hard that everything was a blur to me. Kou Zhongughed and said, Leave the first half to me. Its something like three left seven right; I guarantee I wont make mistake. People are paying us high price, we have to hand over the goods. Xu Zilingy down on his side, stretched out, and said, Go sleep! Kou Zhongy down by his side; unexpectedly both of them really fell into deep slumber. The big ship sailed at full speed in northerly direction toward the mouth of Yangtze River. From sailing full speed, the ship suddenly slowed down. This change of speed caused the two boys to wake up. They did not know since when did the windnterns on the four corners of the room go out; in this closed room, they could not even see the fingers in front of their nose. But they felt that the walls seemed to radiate some kind of dim light, so that they could faintly see the silhouette of the objects around them. They felt very strange. ording to reason, Han Gaitian ought to want to arrive at Yangzhou as soon as he could; why did the ship slow down? They sat up. Kou Zhong reached out to feel his back, and then he touched Xu Zilings back; he could not help feeling very proud, We have definitely be internal energy expert. Earlier we were beaten until our skin cracked our fleshcerated, but now our skin is clear and our flesh smooth. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Could there be people out there listening to us still? Kou Zhong whispered in his ear, Supposed someone can make you the emperor, you dont have to suffer any hardship, would you or would you not send people to keep an eye on him? Xu Ziling was rmed, If we really get to Yangzhou without being able to escape, wont that Han Choutian [gai tian C covering the sky, chou tian C stinky sky] tear our skin and crush our bones? Kou Zhong took out the silver hairpin and said in low voice, Lets see if we can open the lock or not. You see that this punishment chamber is full of sharp tools. With our superb internal energy, drilling a hole on the bottom of the ship should not be too difficult. Xu Ziling sighed. I know that, he said, But how can we do it without making any noise? Kou Zhong came over to the iron cage door, he bent one end of the silver hairpin into a small hook, and then very carefully inserted it into the keyhole of the padlock. In no time at all there was a soft click. Xu Ziling was not surprised; he skillfully opened the lock and put it on the corner. Gently pulling the iron grille, the two boys crawled out like a dog. By this time the ship was slowing down even more, they heard rapid footsteps going back and forth on the upper deck. The two boys were greatly delighted; immediately they looked for a tool they could use. Xu Ziling beckoned Kou Zhong toe over, he pointed to a stove on the corner with branding iron in it and said, If we light the stove and heat the branding iron until red, perhaps we could burn a small hole on the ships bottom noiselessly. And then when the seawater pours in, we could use the saw to open a big hole from which we could escape. Kou Zhong patted his shoulder in praise. While Xu Ziling took a charcoal tinder next to the stove to light the fire, he took off his tattered outer clothes and stuffed it underneath the door to prevent the seawater to seep out prematurely. In the meantime the ship was going faster again, while apparently also made a sharp turn, as if it was trying to avoid something. Above, the footsteps stopped, but there were footsteps in the corridor outside. By this time Xu Ziling already dumped more than a dozen branding irons into the stove. Hearing the footsteps outside, he was startled and turned his eyes toward the door. Kou Zhong quickly positioned himself behind the door while signaling Xu Ziling not to show mercy by making a chopping gesture. Outside, a mans voice was heard, Any activity? And then two other male voices replied, Nothing! The first man said, The iing ship belongs to Jukun Bang, perhaps that pretty Bangzhu has eaten some leopard gall that they dare to intercept us. Bangzhu ordered us to keep a close eye on these kids, or else we will be punished ording to the gang rules. The two guards on duty promptly responded. Noise of footsteps went away. Kou Zhong promptly removed the tattered clothes he stuffed under the door. They heard the sound of lock being opened, the thick wooden door was pulled open, dimntern light shone in, but it was not bright enough to reach the iron cage on the corner. The two unsuspecting guards came in; one of them even said, Light thentern first! But the other man saw the burning stove. While he was wondering about it, Xu Zilings fist struck his head like a lightning; immediately he slumped down, but Xu Ziling caught him before he reached the floor. Kou Zhong made his move at the same time; he also knocked the other man down. He still had time to crane his neck outside to look, and saw three men standing at the corridor leading to the stairs. The men were looking at him. Luckily Kou Zhong was quick-witted; he raised his hand in greeting, and then quickly closed the door again. Luckily the corridor was dimly lit, plus his movement was very quick, so that the men could not see his face clearly. But he was so scared that his heart nearly jumped out of his throat. The two boys took off the mens clothes and used it to tie them and stuffed their mouths. Only then did they feel a bit better. The two mens money bags had already entered Kou Zhongs pocket, while Xu Ziling untied the mens short halberd and sword. Although they were not as ustomed in using these weapons as a saber, but it was definitely better than without a cun of iron in their hands and thus making them feel lost. Xu Ziling picked the smoldering branding iron and ced it on the cabin wall. A chi, chi sound ensued, followed by smoke rising up from a charred wood. When he removed the branding iron, as expected, a glowing red indentation appeared on the wooden nk. Kou Zhong plugged the bottom of the door again. This time Xu Ziling pressed three branding irons to the indentation, creating more smoke, and burning the nk red. The ship made another sharp turn; it seemed like the Jukun Bang people were getting really close. There were faint shouting from above, coupled with the sound of urgent footsteps. The situation was getting more and more intense. Pop! The branding iron finally prated the wood nk; seawater immediately came gushing in. The two boys cheered. Using the saw that they prepared in advance, they desperately sawed the wood to make the hole bigger. The seawater continued to pour in; very soon it reached their ankles. Soaked by the cold water, their two prisoners woke up. Crack! Kou Zhong sawed the nk until only a small section left, which he then pulled and twisted as hard as he could to break it. Immediately arge triangr hole appeared. The two boys did not have time to hesitate. They cut the knot binding their two captives first to let them untie the rest of their bind, and then they slipped into the sea underneath the ship. Haisha Bang gship was moving rapidly forward, the bottom of the boat they stole along with the salt appeared above them. The ocean surface was bright with the yellow glow of the moon; hence the boys knew it was already evening. Kou Zhong did not care whether Xu Ziling wanted it or not, he simply dragged him up toward the surface. Who would have thought that the ship was sailing too fast? By the time the two boys reached the surface, the salt boat has just slipped right through them. As soon as they had their heads above water, they were dumbstruck. Because Haisha Bangs five ships were besieged by more than a dozen smaller sailboats. Both sides were shooting fire arrows and throwing rocks at each other, the raging battle has reached the state where neither side could extricate themselves. The rockets lit the night sky. Kou Zhong had his eyes fixed on the stolen boat, which was getting farther and farther away. While he felt like crying, but did not want to shed any tears, as he looked at their fortune turning into water, suddenly the stolen-salt boat separated from Haisha Bang gship and slowed down. Apparently someone thought that the stolen-salt boat was too cumbersome and had the mooring rope cut off. The two boys were overjoyed at the turn of events; hastily they swam with everything they had toward their happy future. Book 2 - 8 – Clan Leader of the Fairer Sex Book 2 Chapter 8 C n Leader of the Fairer Sex[1] While the two boys were running around in circle trying to unfurl the sail, the battle was moving away from them. Now the moonlight shining on tranquil sea became dozens of small dots. A sea breeze blew. The boat sailed toward the shore at high speed. Kou Zhong crouched on the sacks of salt that was lost but now was won back. He mumbled at himself, and was so happy that nearly went crazy. Xu Ziling was at the helm; he suddenly called out, Well reach the shore very soon! Kou Zhong sprang up and saw the pitch-cknd ahead was gettingrger andrger at an rming rate. Aghast, he called, Can we slow down? We cant! Xu Ziling called back. That night happened to be high tide, plus the wind was strong, the boat sailed like an unbridled horse running away on an open field; it was totally out of control. Kou Zhong pointed to a spot that looked like a sandy shore, Steer toward that ce! he called out. Xu Ziling turned the rudder, the sailboat changed course on a slightly oblique angle, speeding toward the sandbar. Kou Zhong was about to cheer, suddenly his countenance changed. Not good! he cried. Xu Ziling was also shocked. Turns out under the moonlight they could see that all around them there were reefs sprouting from the seabed. That they had not had shipwreck by now was indeed a miracle. Screech! Screech! The hull emitted such a harsh grinding noise. The boat was pushed to the right, the two boys lost their bnce and fell into the water. Crash! The boat ran into an especially huge rock and disintegrated immediately. All the salt went down to the bottom of the ocean. The boys managed to swim across the shallow water; the lower half of their body was still immersed in continuously rushing tide. Their body weary, their strength exhausted, the two boysy face down on the sand, while continuously gasping for breath. Their mouth and nose were bloody from the collision with the reef, while their body was bruised all over. It was not even clear when did their weapons fall off. However, the physical pain they suffered was far less than the emotional pain they suffer from losing the salt. The effort they spent on stealing this batch of salt has be their highest standard of struggle, it had an iparably deep meaning for them, and it has thrown them into an endless rollercoaster of emotion. Yet in the end the salt was gone. Just like that. When salt meets water, wont it vanish without trace? Xu Ziling spat out a mouthful of saltwater mixed with his own blood. He groaned, Those who have never been underwater will never know that the seawater is so bitter. Kou Zhong wanted tough, but he choked and coughed hard, Who told you to drink it? Ha! Fortunately I still have a couple of money purses. Ah! Xu Ziling groaned. Dont tell me: you lost your purse as well! Kou Zhong smiled bitterly. Thats exactly what happened, he said, Dont me me! Next time youll take care of it. Xu Ziling made a show of turning his head around; after giving him a quick look, he sighed and said, Zhong Shao, is your tummy hungry? It seems to me that we make another progress in martial art; for two days and one night we did not eat a single grain of rice, but I am not that hungry. Dont mention the word hungry, Kou Zhong sadly replied, Ay! I am so tired that I feel like dying. Finished speaking he buried his face into the sand. Xu Ziling also felt senses faded; finally he sumbed to his weary body and fell asleep right there. The next thing he knew, someone was pping his face, hard. Kou Zhongs excited voice prated his ears, Heavens! Get up! This time gods and fairies are helping us. Xu Ziling opened his eyes; the sky was very bright. He sat up with nk expression, but as he turned his eyes, he was dumbstruck. The tide has receded a hundred zhang or so, exposing the spacious seabed, littered with jet-ck reefs. Those dozens of sack of salt, along with the debris of the boat and everything else left after the shipwreck, were strewn over the rocks; it was indeed a breath-taking, magnificent sight. Kou Zhong ran toward the nearest sack of salt. Xu Ziling was overwhelmed with fiery emotion. He sprang up, and only then did he realize that most of the wounds and bruises on his body werepletely healed. Other than his growling empty stomach, he felt that his entire body was full of energy. Hastily he ran after Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong was shouting and yelling in excitement, My Niang! All these salt have be hard lumps; nothing dissolves in water. This time Laotianye really appeared. Xu Ziling saw something among the rock crevices flickered under the sunlight; in great delight he threw himself in that direction. As expected, he found the sword. And then, not too long afterwards, he found Kou Zhongs short halberd. After losing everything and gaining it back, the happiness in their hearts was something that no pen and ink can describe. Kou Zhong still wanted to find the two money purses, but after suffering untold hardships, he could only find one; no matter how hard he searched the other one simply eluded him. Upon opening it, unexpectedly he found five silver ingots and some change; in his heart he was extremely grateful to Laotianye. The two boys were afraid the tide woulde back; busily they moved the sacks of salt ashore. After working hard until nightfall, they counted forty-eight sacks of salt; two sacks went missing; most probably when the boat disintegrated the sacks burst. By this time the two boys were so hungry that they no longer feel it. Hastily they went to the forest by the shore to pick some wild fruits to ay their hunger. Returning to the shore, they saw the tide was rising again; the waves were crashing onto the reefs, spraying seawater everywhere. They felt like they had just been granted a new lease of life. The two boys stood facing the ocean. They still had the feeling that the enemy mighte anytime, hence they went to the nearby forest to find a safe ce to hide, and once they found it, they moved all the salt there, and covered everything with leaves. Only then did they snuggle up to sleep. In their semi-conscious state, they felt like they were back at that little valley where they buried Fu Junchuo, training internal energy to withstand the cold night. About midnight, they heard noisesing from the shore. The two boys were shocked; taking their weapons, they crawled behind arge rock where they had a clear view of the beach and took a peep. They saw two small boats anchored at the beach, more than a dozen men with torches in their hands were carefully inspecting the debris of their boat that was washed to the shore. Farther away into the ocean, they saw eight medium sized two-mast ships, but they did not look like Haisha Bang battleship. Kou Zhong whispered, Loot at that girl, she is prettier than our Niang! Xu Ziling turned his attention to the woman. She was wearingke-water-green [i.e. teal] colored warrior outfit, covered by long white cape on the outside. Her beauty was something that those who saw her would forget about taking a breath. It was the first time that he saw such a ssy woman. Kou Zhongs throat suddenly created a glug noise; he was swallowing his own saliva, If I can spend the night with her, I am willing to have my life cut by three days. Xu Ziling let out a ha; he nearly guffawed, but quickly covered his mouth. Who would have thought that the woman was a martial art master indeed? They were about twenty zhang apart, yet hisughter could not escape her ears; she immediately turned her head in their direction, scaring the two boys that they instantly shrunk back behind the huge rock. After quite a while, the beach became quiet, they breathed a sigh of relief. How could they still dare to have devious thought? Kou Zhong said in low voice, Even in term of martial art this beautiful woman [orig. poniang, see Book 1 Chapter 4] could be superior to our Niang, but she is still outwitted by us, Two Dragons of Yangzhou. Suddenly a sweet-sounding, alto voice calmly descended from above, asking, Was she really outwitted by you? The two boys were so scared that their soul flew away and scattered; they rolled toward the sloping grassy knoll first before springing up, holding a halberd and grasping a sword, putting on a false bravado, but in their hearts they were seriouslycking confidence. The Bloody Battle Ten Styles they learned from Li Jing, only Xu Ziling had the opportunity to test it in armedbat with the enemy, but that one time he was useless to the extreme that he even lost Li Jings treasured saber. Therefore, the thing that these two boyscked the most was realbat experience; so if they were not scared in the face of battle, that would be strange indeed. That stunningly beautiful woman sat leisurely on the rock, she even had a windntern sitting next to her, shining its light on half of her so that it looked like her beautiful figure was glowing, adding some mysterious, yet pure and holy aura to her already out-of-this-world beauty. The white cape against theke-water-green warrior outfit, made her look exceptionally charming, very pleasing to the eye. The woman looked at them with her cold gaze, and said emotionlessly, I really dont understand how could these two virtue-less, ipetent street urchins stole the Secret to Long Life from under Yuwen Huajis nose, and then swindled Du Fuwei until his head and face were filthy with grime, and now you even messed with Haisha Bang that their head spins. Tell me! Do you always have your good luck charm with you? Hearing this, the two boys looked at each other with eyes open wide but their tongue tied. How could this woman know them like the back of her hand? Ashamed, Kou Zhong put his halberd down and used it to prop himself against the grassy ground. In deadly earnest he said, May I ask Miss honored surname and great given name? Who are you? Howe toward Zaixia [lit. under, referring to self] two brothers matter you seem to be very familiar [orig. as if enumerating ones family valuables]? The pretty woman let out a cold snort and said, Am I not called a woman [poniang]? Howe now I be a Miss? Such an inconsistency, evidently you are a despicable man. Kou Zhongs countenance fell, You call that despicable? he said, Even if in your heart you are dying to kill the opponent, but on the surface dont you still need to be polite? In this world who has never had his mouth in disagreement with his mouth? You, this ... hey! You, this Miss, how much more noble do you think you arepared to me? It was very rare that Xu Ziling saw Kou Zhong lost his temper like that; he waspletely blown away. The pretty woman stared at Kou Zhong for half a day. Suddenly Pfft! she burst outughing. You little demon, you have quite a stinky temperament. But dont me your Miss for not warning you: as far as Im concerned, I kill people like splitting gourd or chopping vegetables; no hesitation whatsoever. Xu Ziling finally came to his senses, he could not help exposing her bluff, You want to make your move then make your move! Why bring up that much superfluous words? Kou Zhong stuck out his chest and said, Those with enough guts dont need to call others for help. You alone against the two of us. The pretty woman did not stopughing; sheughed so hard that her body trembled like fluttering twigs. Looking at your appearance: clothes not covering your body, scars and bruises all over, yet you have devious thought of the two of you can beat me, one person. Ay! Dead little demon! You made meugh so hard that it hurt. Xu Ziling angrily said, Do you want to fight or not? If not, well go back to sleep. Naturally the pretty woman was able to see his hard shell but empty inside, showing strength while weak inside. She reached to her back and pulled a clear, golden-colored copper xiao [Chinese flute[2]], about four chi long, ced it horizontally on her lips, and blew a clear note, like a cool breeze entering their ears. And then she ced the flute on her jade legs, looked down on the flickering me inside the windntern, and said softly, Can you not view people with hostility? The reason I did not hesitate to dere a war with Haisha Bang was precisely because I wanted to see if we have any possibility of cooperation. The two boys looked at each other in confusion, but there was also a little bit of overwhelmed by favor from superior feeling. Kou Zhong reaction wasparably quicker; with a giggle he also sat down on another big rock, nodded his head, and said, Miss [or Young Lady; here he used guniang, whereas previously he used xiaojie] please state your attractive conditions first, so that we can see if we can reach any agreement. The pretty woman did not even cast him a nce; she still acted as if she was talking to herself, Shall I give them a hard beating first, so that these two little demons will behave a bit more? Kou Zhong jumped in fright; he adopted the first stance of the Bloody Battle Ten Styles, the Two Armies Encamped Face-to-face. Being treated with sudden hard and sudden soft by her like that, the two boys felt a headache. [1] Original title: Rouge and Powder n Leader. [2] Xiao usually refers to vertically blown flute (as opposed to Dizi, traverse flute), yet the next sentence says horizontally or across. I dont know, perhaps I misunderstood the sentence. Chapter 8, Part 2 Jaya, HPC, Anh, Weed, you are wee. DongBin, I hope it wasnt me ... Sky, funny thing is, each time a beauty made appearance, she was more beautiful than the previous one. Grundle, did a woman break your heart? The pretty woman suddenly turned her pretty face toward them, her phoenix eyes shed a cold ray as she focused her attention to size the two boys up, while they were still adopting a pretentious stance. She spoke coldly, If you must know, the reason I spoke so many words with you is because this Bangzhu thinks very highly of you, hence I am thinking of inviting you to enter our Jukun Bang and be this Bangzhus first andst disciples [orig. open the gate and close the gate, respectively]. The two boys were stunned; with different mouths, same voice, they cried out, My Niang! It was certainly beyond their wildest dream. How could this pretty woman, who was at most only three, four years older than they were, unexpectedly want to take them as her disciples? The n Leader of the Fairer Sex Yun Yuzhen was not in the least apologetic, Whats so surprising about it? she asked, Learning has never known early orte; those who attain it be the master, whos to me if your skill is socking? You dont even know the technique of holding a weapon. Xu Ziling was disappointed, Even holding a weapon also has technique? he asked. Of course! Yun Yuzhen snapped, Just by looking at how you grip the sword hilt with so much strength like you want to crush it I know that you dont know the key to holding weapon. Light and floating is actually tight. Too far is as bad as not enough [an idiom from the Analects]. Without instruction from a bright master, how would you, this little kid, know? Kou Zhong was afraid Xu Ziling might lose face, he changed the subject, Didnt you say earlier that we are virtue-less and ipetent? Why the sudden change of attitude, condescending first and became very respectfulter? Is it because of the Duke Yangs treasure-trove and the Secret to Long Life? After receiving us as your disciple, you will tell us that we must not disobey masters order, so in order to make you, Senior, happy, in the end we will obediently present the treasure to you. Yun Yuzhen stared at him nkly for half a day with an amused look in her pretty eyes. Finally she said in a gentle and soft voice, If I, Yun Yuzhen, am conspiring to get those two things, let me, Yun Yuzhen not die a good death. And then, pursing her lips sheughed and said, Perhaps you did not know, after Du Fuwei failed to find you, he returned to Liyang. One day he suddenlyughed. Naturally others asked him why did heugh? He mentioned you, the two kids, saying that the two of you were born as amazing martial art materials. Although he has inspected innumerable people, he has never seen anybody with better natural endowments than you, hence his heart was moved with loving talent thought. Its just that he hated it that you got away, so now he only wants to get rid of you. The two boys felt as if their faces were burning. What she just said seemed to be words ofpliment, buting from her mouth it sounded a lot more ambiguous. Xu Ziling awkwardly asked, How could you even know what Du Fuwei said? Its none of your business, Yun Yuzhen nonchntly replied, In todays world, other than Dou Jiande and Li Mi, two people with original insight, I am afraid nobody can surpass Du Fuwei. Therefore, this Bangzhu has the intention to take disciples. How about this, I dont care if you do obeisance to me as your Shifu, but if Haisha Bang catch up with you, dont me anybody for noting to your rescue. Her eyes shot another cold ray as she said, The Secret to Long Life is just a trick the Taoist school uses to scam people. As for the Duke Yangs treasure trove, it is only attractive to people who dream of bing the emperor. I have to spare time to join that muddy water ande after you, these two big-head ghosts. Kou Zhong was not happy at all, You want to be our, Yangzhou Two Dragons Shifu, at least you need to show your ability. Otherwise, if you cant even withstand our sword-halberdbination, how do you know that youll have enough capital to be our Shifu? Yun Yuzhen agreed, You spoke so much words, only thesest several words actually made some sense. Knowing that she was about to make her move, the two boys were in full alert. Since they grew up in the marketce, they had a deep understanding of the old-age immutablew anything that is easy to get is not worth coveting. Such a thousand-lovely, hundred-charm beauty with respectable status wanted to take them as her disciples, there must be evil intention or hidden plot somewhere; its just that they could not prate her thought yet! Yun Yuzhen grabbed thentern with her left hand, and pulled the flute with her right hand, she slowly left the big rock she was sitting on. Her cape fluttered endlessly behind her back, just like a firefly transforming into a beautiful woman, as she flew across over the two boys head. First, they never expected that she could possess such a move; second, they were a bit afraid to hack and injure her beautiful jade legs. Therefore, they scattered to the left and right in a flurry. Who would have thought that she used their heads as stepping-stones instead? Yun Yuzhennded behind the two boys; sheughed tenderly, My disciples, do you submit to me now? The two boys faces turned beet-red. Exchanging a nce, theyunched a converging attack from left and right. By this time they already knew that her martial art skill was extremely strong, hence they no longer show leniency, and attacked her with everything they had. Xu Ziling originally used the third stance of Bloody Battle Ten Styles, the Light Cavalry Charging Ahead. If he were using saber, he would have moved the saber from the waist out in a feign attack toward the enemys pit of the stomach. If the enemy withdrew, the would change into saber hack sideways; but because he was using sword, he lost the vor of the attack; hence he might as well halted his step and aimed for her shoulder. Fast as lightning the sword moved upward. Kou Zhongs situation was even worse; he had no idea how to use the short halberd, which differed considerably from a saber. He was going tounch the second stance, Exposing the Tip of the Fire Beacon, but he had to make slight modification. Borrowing the momentum of his revolving body, he swept across Yun Yuzhens nk. Yun Yuzhen let out a tenderughter, thentern in her left hand rose up, illuminating the fine hair on Xu Zilings head, who was on her left, while the copper flute in her right hand very lightly, as if she did not use any force at all, tapped the tip of Xu Zilings sword. At the same time, the cape on her back fluttered forward to meet Kou Zhongs short halberd. Bing! Bang! The two boys felt a soft, yet hard to resist, internal energy burst in via their weapons, and spread into their body via the channels on the hollow of their palm and through their arm, just like an electric shock, so that they nearly dropped their weapon. They both backed off in a very awkward position. Yun Yuzhen was even more shocked than they were. Actually, she was trying to force her true energy into the opponents vital acupoints; who would have thought that as her energy reached the opponents shoulder, the stream of energy toward Xu Ziling felt like y ox entering a sea of people; it disappeared without any trace, it dispersed into nothingness. The one going into Kou Zhong was pushed back by a rather overwhelming force. The three people separated; they all looked at each other with astonishment. Frowning, Yun Yuzhen said, If Luocha female taught you guys internal energy training, you ought to have simrity with the origin; but why is yours distinctly different? Tell me honestly, quick! Kou Zhong giggled and said, You saw how profound is our internal strength, didnt you? Beautiful Shifu. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, We are amazing martial art materials, naturally we developed different characteristics. Knowing her superb martial art skill, yet she was still unable to injure them, the two boys found it exceedingly interesting, hence their hearts and hands were itching. Besides, looking at her beautiful appearance and lovely attitude was enough to give them pleasure. Realizing that the master has not captured the disciples reverence, Yun Yuzhens pretty eyes shot a cold ray as she swiftly flitted to Kou Zhongs left, while her copper flute pointed to his face. Kou Zhong clearly saw her movement, and he knew exactly what to do to block it, yet his body moved a bit slow; by the time his short halberd swept across, not only the tip of his nose was already hit, a sweeping kick had alsonded on the side of his thigh. Immediately he fell to the ground with miserable groan,pletely dejected and depressed. Xu Ziling rushed forward to the rescue, brandishing his sword that it made whooshing noise to protect his own face. Who would have thought that Yun Yuzhen simply pointed her flute, and it prated his airtight sword, and hit the middle of his forehead? Xu Ziling felt as if he was struck by a lightning bolt; he was thrown backward andnded t on his back. Looking down at the two boys, who were momentarily unable to crawl back up, Yun Yuzhen said tenderly, I dont know where you learned those moves, which mainly rely on offensive, but you dont know that all these moves are disregarding life, seizing life, staking-it-all kind of fierce moves. If there is no determination to die together with the enemy, you wont be able to unleash the full power of the moves. Groaning and moaning, the two boys stood up; their body felt numb from the shock of her qi, they no longer had any strength left to fight. Hearing her exnation, admiration grew in their hearts, because Li Jing had said the same thing. Evidently this womans insight was extremely superior. Yun Yuzhen had increased her internal strength significantly, yet these two boys were able to stand back up this quickly; in her heart she was greatly amazed as well. Apparently she did not have the real intention of taking these two boys as her disciples, she only wanted to use them to do something that was extremely important to her. But they had to be delighted andpletely willing to do this thing, so that they would use various means to achieve the objective. However, right now her heart was moved with the real intention to take them as her disciples. If they seeded in this mission, in time these two boys would turn into her capable assistants. Kou Zhong sighed, We always hold womenfolk in the highest regard, therefore, how could we have the heart to harm you ... Shut up! Yun Yuzhen angrily said, You have the guts to speak that kind of frivolous words to me, are you asking for a beating? Xu Ziling hastily said, Whatever it is, lets talk about it slowly. You want to ept disciples to impart your skills, the other party must be delighted and sincerely willng for it to happen. Right now we do not have the mind to do obeisance to you as our master yet. Is it possible for us to finish our business dealing first, and then we alle back to discuss the feasibility of this matterter? At first Yun Yuzhens jade face turned frosty, but then it revealed a smiling expression. Totally beyond the two boys expectation, she said nonchntly, Very well! You two may think it over carefully. With a sway of her body, she was back on top of the big rock. With a tender voice she said, Haisha Bang wont spare anything trying to capture you back. You take care! With another charmingughter she disappeared behind the big rock. The two boys looked at each other; they felt disappointed to see her leave instead. Suddenly Yun Yuzhen came back. But when the two boys were secretly delighted, she instructed them just like a master lecturing her disciples, It would be best if youpletely erase any trace of you on the ground. Also, make it to appear that you have left far away from here. In the meantime, hide up here quietly for a month or two; otherwise, you wont be able to escape Haisha Bangs inescapable. Book 2 - 9 – Early Glimpse into The Mystery Book 2 Chapter 9 C Early Glimpse into The Mystery By the time Yun Yuzhen and the troops under hermand left, it was almost dawn when the two boys finished dragging the sacks of salt into square-shaped piles that was empty in the middle. With their body weary and their strength exhausted, they entered the square and immediately fell into a deep slumber. By that afternoon, voices from the shore have woken them up. The two boys crawled up and saw more than a dozen fast boats anchored on the shore. What attracted their attention the most were Han Gaitian and the pretty nun. Terrified, the two boys shrunk back and returned to the forest. Fortunately Yun Yuzhen had given them direction earlier; otherwise, this time it would be like their wings have been plucked and not able to fly. The two boys did not even have the courage to go outside to pick wild fruits. Even when the voices have gone, they still hid inside their cozy nest. That evening suddenly a rain came. Luckily they had built roof from tree branches and sogon grass mixed with mud, which was able to deter most of the rainwater, so that the trickling water inside their nest was still bearable. Kou Zhong happily said, This rain is so timely, it will wash away the traces on the ground; that Han Pudi must have thought that we are already far away from here. [Trantors Note: y on words: gai tian C covering the sky, pu di C falling face down on the earth/ground.] Xu Ziling could not helpughing, Gai Tian Pu Di, these names are as brilliant as that Yuwen Huagu. Kou Zhong reached out to stroke the almost-a-cun--long beard on Xu Zilings face. Heughed and said, Xiao Ling, you look a bit more macho now, its just that your beard is a bit shorter than mine. Do you want me to pull them clean by my miraculous hands, so that youll be little white face [i.e. pretty boy]? Xu Ziling pushed his hand away and said, When our beard grew until we cant even recognize ourselves, then we can go sell our salt for profit. Do you understand? Kou Zhong pped his thigh in praise; but then he said in distress, Is our martial art skill thatcking? Why did we clearly feel in our heart that we would be able to block our beautiful Shifus jade move, but our hands and feet did not want to obey us? Xu Ziling mused, I never thought about that. In my opinion, we learned an exceptionally amazing power from the Secret to Long Life, but we still cannot apply it to the moves. Moreover, each type of weapon has its own unique characteristic, which we have not grasped yet. Naturally we cannot use it as our hearts wish. Kou Zhong raised his thumb to praise him, This kid is amazing, he actually came up with the same idea I did. This proves that your natural endowments are as good as mine! They chatted and joked until darkness fell, and then the two boys slipped out. After they saw that the Haisha Bang people have left and not a single one remained, they left to find wild fruits to ay their hunger under the cover of darkness. After that, the two boys tore each other apart on that beach and sparred against each other in high spirit. They thought that they might as well take off their clothes and just wore shorts, ying in the sea waves joyfully. It was not until Xu Ziling identally made a minor scratch Kou Zhongs arm did they stop their sparring. Lying on the beach, the two boys found their interest waned, because no matter how diligent they trained, the true qi within their body and the styles of their movement could not be fused into one. Other than obtaining more understanding on how to use their weapons, it could be said that they did not gain anything. Not too long afterwards, the two boys fell asleep. When Xu Ziling awoke, bird songs entered his ears. He opened his eyes and looked up, and happened to see a seagull circling over the sea, its bearing natural and graceful, it looked so carefree and happy. The seagull suddenly dove down at an angle into the water. When it reappeared, there was a wriggling, struggling small fish in its w. Watching this, Xu Zilings mind was severely shaken. He grabbed Kou Zhong at his side and said in hoarse voice, I understand it! To his surprise, he was grabbing an empty space. Looking all around, he did not see any trace of Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling jumped in fright and shouted, Kou Zhong! Suddenly something emerged from the sea; it was Kou Zhong. He saw on one hand Kou Zhong was holding his sword, on the other hand he had a big fish. Immensely proud of himself he called out, Today we wont have to nibble those birds tasteless wild fruits. Xu Ziling did not say anything. He fetched the short halberd lying beside him and rushed toward Kou Zhong, who was walking from the sea to the beach. Kid, take this! he shouted. Kou Zhongughed aloud while brandishing his sword to meet the attack, Little thief, you are asking for death! At this time Xu Zilings mind was filled with the image of the trajectory of the seagull swooping down into the sea, his heart and mind in harmony, his intention and his hand working together, hepletely grasped Kou Zhongs sword movement and his footwork, as well as his speed. He let out a long whistle, while imitating the seagulls trajectory, the short halberd drew an arc in the air. The most amazing thing happened. The sole of his left foot heated up, but the sole of his right foot turned iparably cold; exactly the opposite of what usually happened during his training, where the sole of his right foot would heat up first. The amazing thing was not limited to this at all. Previously, the heat would appear first and then the cold. This time however, the heat and the cold urred together. Followed by two separate streams of qi, one hot and one cold, rushed upward from the Yong Quan [gushing spring] acupoints on the soles of his left and right feet, passing through the Yin Qiao channel on the inside of his legs, and reached the Sheng Si orifices on his crotch, passing through the Chong channels on his left and right chest, and returned to the Jiang Guan position below his heart, the cold and hot qi converged to be one stream, going down the Dai channel, extending toward the small of his back left and right, and going up along the Du channel toward his shoulders, and rushed down via Yang Shu channel on the outside of his elbow. The true qi flowed naturally, without human interference at all. [Sorry, I am sure my trantion is off since I know nothing of Chinese medicine.] Dang! Amid the miserable groan, the palm of Kou Zhongs hand was jolted open, his sword was thrown backward. The two boys stopped instantly and just stared at each other nkly. Meanwhile, the strange qi within Xu Zilings body kept flowing along the Yin Shu channel on the inside of his elbow, and returned to Jiang Gong, down to Sheng Si orifice, following the Yin Qiao channel inside his leg. It flowed back to the Yong Quan acupoint before vanishing. Kou Zhong tossed away the fish he caught and used that hand to hold his other hand, which was very painful, while he squatted in the shallow water. What birds thing was that? he cried out. [Trantors note: I just realized that Kou Zhong used the word bird a lot ...] Xu Ziling plopped himself down in the water and said in ecstasy, I got it now! Niang, Du Fuwei, our beautiful Shifu Bangzu, were right. Secret to Long Life does not have anything to do with martial art, however, it is the key to unlock the mystery of the universe. We have heard it before that human body is a small universe, while the world outside our bodies is another universe. Therefore, as long as we can grasp the natural essence of these two universes, inner and outer universes will merge together, and will be fused into one entity. Just like the move I have justunched. This remark, perhaps only if Guang Chengzi [see Book 1, Chapter 1] came back to life would he be able to infer it clearly. However, even if top-notch expert listened to this, he might still be confused. As a matter of fact, it was precisely the martial arts highest, most ideal principle of oneness of heaven and humanity. By lucky coincidence Xu Ziling arrived at this conclusion and simply blurted it out, but he did not know that his remark would be the starting point of their journey to be the peerless martial art expert of this age in the future. Throughout history, no one has ever obtained thisprehension. Of course, one of the many reasons was that no one has ever imagined that they would blindly and randomly train the internal energy cultivation ording to the Secret to Long Life either. Xu Ziling exined what he saw about the seagull. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted; he picked up the sword and roared, Try it again. Remember that you can only strike this martial art experts sword. Xu Ziling acknowledged the order. Grasping the short halberd, he repeated his strike just now. Ding! Kou Zhong blocked it with all his strength. Xu Ziling was disappointed, Howe this time it didnt work? Go back to the beach, Kou Zhong instructed, Rush forward just like you didst time. The problem could be that you have not generated enough heat in your body. Xu Ziling thought it made sense; he did as Kou Zhong instructed. Who would have thought that it was stillpletely useless? The brilliance was gone. Afterwards, no matter how they trained, they could not reproduce the formidable power of that one strike. Finally the two boysy down dejectedly on the beach, extremely frustrated. Kou Zhong turned around to lie face down on the fine sand, with his fist he hammered the ground, What is the problem? he asked. Xu Ziling had a brainwave, That day when Li Dage was seriously injured and lost consciousness, you went out to find a mule cart, I was bored and practiced Li Dages Bloody Battle Ten Styles. That time Jiejie was scared and told me to stop, because my saber emitted hot wind and saber aura. But afterwards, when I fought the enemy for real, I could not generate either hot wind or saber aura. Worse yet, as soon as I met the enemy face-to-face, my saber was twisted and thrown away. If we could figure out why it was so, maybe we could solve the problem. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused; he sat up and asked, When you practiced your saber y that time, what did you think? Recalling the situation that time, Xu Ziling said slowly, Nothing. I just wanted to practice my saber y so that I could protect Li Dage and Jiejie, and not let them toe to any harm. Greatly shaken, Kou Zhong said, I got it. Its what Niang told us about forgetting everything, inside and out; no-man no-self, the borderline between with and without intention. Just now you when you attacked me, basically you did not expect that it could be that formidable, hence you were able to reach the realm where inside and outside universes convergedpletely and became one entity, exactly like Niang said, forgetting everything, inside and out. Afterwards, you had the intention, hence you could not achieve the same realm. That was what they said, but for the following ten days or so, the two boys practiced from morning till evening, yet all along they failed to achieve the effect they wanted, that strike that was as if a divine being was behind it. However, they were, after all, young boys. They were ustomed to live azy life back in Yangzhou; unexpectedly, they stopped training altogether, and just spending their days hunting for fish in the ocean, feeling totally free and at leisure, and very cheerful. One day, when they returned from the sea to the beach, Kou Zhong said, Did you notice how the fish escape our catch? At first they concentrated their attentionpletely, and then with a flick of their tail, they slipped away at an unimaginable angle, and it also made full use of the stream characteristics. If we could copy some of sessful skill, even if our beautiful Shifu returned, perhaps it wouldnt be so easy for her to beat us askew to the left and copse to the right. Chapter 9, Part 2 Jaya, Anh, you are wee. DongBin, thanks. Strawberry, we are going to the Super Bowl ... Xu Zilings spirit was greatly aroused, I have not thought about that. Come! Let us find some fish and learn from them. And that was how they spent their days. The two boys integrated frolicking and training martial art, while rising and lying down, working and resting. Gradually they returned to the lifestyle of when they lived in that small valley; they talked less and less. When Kou Zhong trained internal strength, he would walk back and forth on the beach, while Xu Ziling would lie down unmoving. One moving, the other still; each one had his own interest. One day more than two monthster, the two boys were chasing a big ck carp when Kou Zhong shed with his sword. The sh inly missed, but to his surprise, the ck carp was jolted, turned belly up, and died. There was no scar on the outside, but when they cut it open, unexpectedly its internal organs were ruptured. At first the two boys were startled, and then their shock turned into great delight; henceforth they trained more diligently. Its just that Xu Ziling preferred to emte the birds; he loved to watch eagles hunting the seagulls, and learned from their flying posture. Kou Zhong, on the other hand, observed and learned from all kinds of fish; he also watched how the crabs moved sideways to dodge, and their tactics in attack and defense. It could be said that the two boys were addicted to what they were doing. Even while eating, they exchanged what they had learned, as well as sparred against each other. They also modified Li Jings Bloody Battle Ten Styles to fit their own style better. However, all along they still failed to attain the thunderous strike Xu Ziling previously produced. Nevertheless, the two boys were very happy, since they were much closer to achieve the what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes level. One day they woke up and walked to the beach, to their amazement they found two baskets sitting side by side on the sand. Inside they found two sets of clothes, and a couple of warm, thick, winter clothing. They found written on the sand: When the moon rise tonight, well meet here. Dont forget to put on clothes. Shifu. It was only then did the two boys realize that their clothes were tattered beyond repair. They looked at each other with a mixed feeling of delight and worry. What did she want? That night Yun Yuzhen indeed came. She wore a snow white warrior suite with yellow golden trim, her hair was rolled up in a bun on top of her head like a man, tied with yellow warrior band. All in all, her appearance cried out heroic, straightforward, mncholy, but there was also a beauty in it that dazzled and stunned others. Just likest time, she also carried an exquisite windntern in her hand, and the long copper flute on her back. She had the two boys to sit cross-legged first, and ced the windntern between them. After scrutinizing them, she said in great astonishment, We have not seen each other for only two months, howe not only you look taller, you also grew a bit of dignified, masculine look? The strangest thing is that your bearing is totally different. Just by looking at your eyes, I can tell that you have made great progress in your internal energy cultivation. Kou Zhong stroked his thick beard and said with augh, Just by relying on this guy, I look a lot more bold and powerful naturally. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong saw each other every day, naturally they did not pay particr attention to the changes in the others appearance; but in Yun Yuzhens eyes, the changes indeed cause her to have a whole new level of respect for them. Moreover, the two boys temperament and demeanor were distinctly different. Xu Ziling appeared to be more aloof and outstandingly talented, he had the refined, schrly yet unrestrained temperament that Kou Zhongcked. But he did not have the brutish, wild andzy impression, which made Kou Zhong looked boorish, but heroic and rxed. Speaking about their statures, although Kou Zhong was about a cun shorter than Xu Ziling, his shoulders were broader and his back thicker, giving him an imposing physique, and made him look more heroic and ferocious. Another reason was that Xu Ziling had delicate features; he looked a bit more like an elegant schr. On the other hand, Kou Zhong had thick eyebrows, square face and big ears, which stood in stark contrast against Xu Zilingsparatively slimmer and handsome face, giving people the impression that he was the more rough and wild one. Two boys, each with his distinct features, each with his own attractiveness. Yun Yuzhen was wondering in her heart, why was it thatst time she saw them, she did not pay attention to their outward appearance, but this time she could not help noticing their physical characteristics? Thinking about this, her pretty face could not help turning warm; busily she tried to cover up her embarrassment by saying, I sent people to monitor you a few times, each time they report back to me to you were enjoying yourself either on the beach or in the water. How did your internal energy improve then? Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said, We are ying, but never forget to study hard. But after ying for two whole months, we got bored ying, and are thinking of going out there. Beautiful Shifu, do you have any good advice? Yun Yuzhen did not know whether she shouldugh or cry; but in her heart she was happy, Finally you are willing to recognize me as your Shifu, she said. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Yun Bangzhu, please dont misunderstand. A Shifu is a Shifu. But by calling you Beautiful Shifu, we, two brothers are simply giving you a nickname, just like Yuwen Huagu and Han Pudi; it is a unique name we are giving you. Yun Yuzhen did not know whether she should be angry or she should feel amused; she wanted to put on a cold expression and scare them a bit with a couple of harsh words [orig. tigers roar], but in the end, Pfft! she could not help giggling and said coquettishly, You two big-headed ghosts, do you think I really want to take you, two little demons as my disciples? Its just that I see some benefit in you, hence I took a good care of you. The two boys looked at each other with an I knew it smile on their face. Yun Yuzhen was irritated; she angrily said, Believe it or not, I could put your martial art skill to waste, so that the two of you would return to your original shape; its much better than seeing you annoying like this. Kou Zhong leaned forward andughed, Beautiful Shifu mustnt be that cruel, hee! Remembering that your treatment to us is actually not bad, why dont you tell us your difficulties and needs! As long as there is enough reward, and it is a small thing that is easy to do, perhaps we will be willing to help you! Yun Yuzhen did not stop smiling; she cast a malicious sidelong nce at him and said with a sigh, You, two little demons, dont even know that your death is at hand. Right now you have be the target of hunt-and-capturepetition of several powerhouses. If even one of them managed to catch you, based on lesson learned from their previous mistakes, you may forget about escaping. If you knew whats best for you, youd better curry favor from this Bangzhu right away! And then she quickly added, If I want to harm you, it will be as easy as turning my hand over. I only need to let out the news, I guarantee you wont find a ce where you can fit in. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Your martial art skill far surpasses ours, and you have countless subordinates; why do you have to entangle us and insist that well have to do it? Yun Yuzhen indifferently said, Have you heard about Dong Ming Pai? The two boys stared nkly for half a day, and then they nodded together. Yun Yuzhenughed and said, I merely test you out, to see if you are really honest. The fact is, you havee in contact with them, and you jumped from their ship to the sea, and that night you spoiled Haisha Bangs plot to attack them sneakily. Is my information wrong? The two boys listened with their eyes open wide and their tongue tied. Kou Zhong let out a mouthful of cold air and said, Turns out you also have spies inside Haisha Bang. Yun Yuzhen said tenderly, The truth is, every single n and society in Jianghu needs huge expenditure. Take Haisha Bang and Shuilong Bang for example, their principal ie is from smuggling salt; hence they, along with our Jukun Bang, can be numbered among the eight ns and ten Societies. Among the eight ns, the most despicable, no-good at all, is Baling Bang, whose base of operations is Dongting Lake [northeast Hunan province]. They specialized in trafficking women, supplying the brothels across the world [tian xia], their profit is also the biggest. Xu Zilings voice cracked, Isnt there anybody in Wulin? Why would they let this kind of gang exist? Yun Yuzhen was unhappy, Right now the world is in chaos, every gang has to have strong backing, otherwise they will be consumed by others. Behind Haisha Bang there is Yuwen n, Shuilong Bang has be Song ns guard dog, Baling Bangs backstage boss has even greater power, because he is the present old man the Emperor. The two boys were speechless. Its no wonder that everyone wanted to crusade against the old man Emperor. Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of air and said, In that case, Beautiful Shifu, which strong hand is your backing? A hint of proud smile escaped from the corner of Yun Yuzhens mouth; she casually said, I am just I am, there is no need to rely on anybody else to survive. Besides, everything I sell is first-hand intelligence. Dont think that I only recognize money and dont recognize people; unless its people whom I, Yun Yuzhen, cant look at them with my eyes. I dont care how much money they offer, dont even think that this Bangzhu would sell them half a word of information. Xu Ziling said in hoarse voice, Intelligence can be sold for money like othermodities? Kou Zhong sighed and said, No wonder you know everything about us in great details. Turn out this is what you do for a living [orig. the rice you eat]. Know yourself, know the enemy, then you wille unscathed through a hundred battles [from Sunzis The Art of War], Yun Yuzhen said impatiently, Right now the world is in chaos to the level that is unprecedented throughout history; those who can control the enemy troops deployment, their strength and weaknesses, and the actual condition of the soldiers, will have the chance to dominate the world. My business actually emerged to meet a historic destiny. Were it not for this, I am afraid wed have been taken over by others long ago. In that case Beautiful Shifu, Xu Ziling wondered, You ought to want to know about the Secret to Long Life and Duke Yangs treasure trove. Yun Yuzhen calmly replied, Those are different matters altogether. Secret to Long Life is the treasure of the Taoists; even in their dreams those who practice Taoism yearn to obtain this heavenly book. But it has nothing to do whatsoever with the struggle to dominate the world. As for Duke Yangs treasure trove, basically that female Luocha did not tell you anything; otherwise, you, two little demons who are dying to get rich, would not have gone to Yuhang to steal salt. Ha! Duke Yangs treasure trove in Yangzhou? Only idiots like that Han Pudi would believe it. Kou Zhong was astounded, Beautiful Shifu, you are so formidable, it would be better if you marry the two of us ... Ah! Yun Yuzhen moved her jade hand to reward him with a p on the face; she coldly said, Even if I dont have any sweetheart, I wont even consider you, two kids whose smell of your mothers milk has not yet dried. Stroking his cheek, Kou Zhong giggled, In that case, Beautiful Shifu already has a sweetheart. What business of yours is that? Yun Yuzhen bluntly said. Xu Ziling suddenly said, This is called relying on force to maltreat the weak. When we master the martial art in the future, you will know how it feels. Yun Yuzhen smiled and said, I am looking forward to that day! Alright! Lets talk business: the two of you aplish something for me, this Bangzhu will let you off. Otherwise, no matter where you go, I only need to broadcast the information, and when youe across Yuwen Huagu, Han Pudi, Du Fuwei, or what have you, what will the consequences be? Its a threat, Kou Zhong said with a wry smile. Yun Yuzhen said softly, Other than coercion, there are incentives as well, to guarantee that you wont refuse. I will pass on to you some kind of lightness skill first, so that when you flee to the end of the world in the future, you have some asset to run away. Ay! It must be that I, Yun Yuzhen, owed you something in the past life that I am most willing to pass on my most outstanding skill to you, yet I dont even have a real status as your Shifu. The two boys were greatly touched; if they could really fly on and off the roof, they would be willing to give up three years of their lives. Kou Zhong quickly smiled apologetically and said, Albeit a bit reluctantly, we are willing to admit that you are our Beautiful Shifu; hows that? Xu Ziling was a bit more principled than he; he probed further, We simply wont do anything to offend Heaven and reason; much less murder and arson. Yun Yuzhen was peeved, You think you have that ability? she said, Little thief is just little thief; if I dont want you to steal something, what do you think I want? The two boys were greatly baffled; speaking about stealing, wouldnt she be morepetent and well-suited? Yun Yuzhen looked at the sky to determine the time; she said, Dont ask too much, of course there is a reason behind it. After you steal that thing, I will also give each of you ten taels of gold. If you are afraid of death, that should be enough for you to live incognito and live the rest of your life in peace. Right now I am going to pass on the key theory of the lightness skill to you, one monthter I aming back to catch you, a pair of dead little demons. At that time I am going to tell you what object to steal. Subjected to such a formidable coercion and bribery, naturally Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling readily agreed. Yun Yuzhens lucid and elegant beautiful face revealed a sweet smile; she gave the two boys several nces first, and then, after they were intoxicated by her charms, she turned serious as she said, My lightness skill was created as the convergence of different schools chief skills; it is called Wu Du Shu [crossing/passing-through crow technique]. In Wulin it is revered as amazing skill pinnacle art; it is extremely famous. So dont think that I simply pick some random low-grade martial art skill to cajole you. Xu Ziling was puzzled, What is amazing skill pinnacle art? he wondered aloud. Yun Yuzhen said, I dont have time to exin to you, but Du Fuweis Xiu Li Qiankun [universe in his sleeve] and Yuwen Huajis Bing Xuan Jin [mysterious ice energy] are two of those. After a short pause, she continued, The so-called lightness skill is just like fish swimming freely in the water; its just that you rece the water with the air and wind filling the space above the earth. The most crucial point is, first and foremost, how to reduce body weight and how to breathe in the air. My Bird[1] Crossing Technique put emphasis on the trajectory of gliding through the air. Because your internal energy already has good foundation, with only one month training ording to my technique, you will see small progress. The two boys did not dare to interrupt; they listened attentively, while the excitement in their heart felt like zing fire. Yun Yuzhen asked them how they circte their energy. Finished listening, she pondered for half a day and then said with disappointment in her voice, Practically I have never seen internal energy like yours; I am afraid I dont understand and cannot give you any directions. The two boys were greatly anxious. Xu Ziling said, Why dont you tell us your secret technique first, and then well find a way to train it. Yun Yuzhen sighed and said, You dont seem to know there is something called fire deviation. Kou Zhong sneered and said, Our internal energy cultivation is called capable person is not capable of achieving. Beautiful Shifu, please tell us quickly! At most when your sweetheart does not want you anymore in the future, you will have us as the recement. Yun Yuzhen stared angrily at him. When the scared Kou Zhong rolled away to evade, she said in a grim voice, If anything bad happened to you, dont me me for not giving you forewarning. The first step of Crow Crossing Technique is to understand what favorable and adverse qi is. The so-called favorable qi is when an object is thrown upward, it must fall down as soon as the momentum is exhausted. The adverse qi is when the momentum is exhausted, this is the qi being generated so that the upward momentum can continue. Only those with true qi inside their body can aplish this. Subsequently she spoke a string of secret keys, telling the two boys to memorize everything, as well as giving the boys some instructions on how to jump and the technique to take a breath. Finally she sighed and said, If during training you feel something is not right, you must not force yourself to continue. Ay! I have to go! Lifting up the windntern, she infused thentern with her internal energy; the windntern immediately flickered randomly. Soon afterwards from a distant ce on the surface of the sea came the responding shing ofntern light. It was only then did the two boys find out that thentern was actually amunication device. The two boys were rather reluctant to part. Yun Yuzhen looked at them, and then with a slight sigh she said, I hope when Ie again next time, you will still be alive and kicking [orig. lively dragon and animated tiger]! [1] FYI, previously, the text says crow ; here, it changes to bird B. My guess is the OCR, but since I dont have the book, I cant tell which one is the correct one. Book 2 - 10 – Classified Account Book Book 2 Chapter 10 C ssified ount Book Kou Zhong jumped down from a giant rock about three zhang high. Whump! hended hard on the beach; dizzy, and could not tell one object from another. On the side, Xu Ziling squatted and looked down; with a bitterugh he said, Our Beautiful Shifu was right. Her Bird Crossing Technique is basically unleashing the way of circting qi and taking a breath; with our so-called peerless divine skill it is a totally different thing, as if the two will never be mixed together. Looks like our qinggong is just a sweet dream, from now on we can just knock it off andy it down to rest. Kou Zhong turned over to look up to him and said, Can you not concede that quickly? Remember our great theory! We can unleash the true qi within our body, and the only way to unite the inner and outer into one entity is by forgetting ourselves. Distressed, Xu Ziling said, The problem is that were justmon folks, we cant to reach the state where we are able to jump high or leap low every time. Hey! I have a very stupid idea. Kou Zhong suddenly sat up and said, Since you can think of an idea for such a difficult problem like this, it must not be a stupid idea. Do you remember that strange encounter when we jumped from Dong Ming Pai ship into the sea? Xu Ziling asked. I cant forget it even in my dreams! Kou Zhong replied, We were nearly drowned to death. With a serious face Xu Ziling said, But not only we did not die, we also acquired the ability to breathe under water. It is clear that when we are in some kind of desperate situation, we can naturally, like Niang said, bring out the innate quality that is buried deep within us. This hidden treasure has been opened by the fantastic skill of the Secret to Long Life, but only in life and death crisis this hidden treasure can be forced toe out. Kou Zhong looked up to the boulder from which he had just jumped down; his countenance changed as he said, You are not suggesting that we jump down together from a hundred zhang cliff, are you? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, What are we afraid of? If underneath is the ocean, we wont fall to our death. Kou Zhong shook his head, No, cant do, he said, Only if there is a risk of our body torn and our bones crushed will our true qi be forced toe out. This time Xu Zilings countenance changed. Are you serious? he asked. With solemn expression Kou Zhong said, A hundred zhang cliff is just an exaggeration. I am afraid even our Beautiful Shifu will fall until her jade body perishes and her fragrance vanishes; ten or so zhang should be enough. Ay! Xiao Ling! Let Laoge [old brother, referring to self] try it first! If I really fall to my death, just cremate me, and then bring my ashes back to that small valley where Niang is buried. If your heart to be Wulins martial art expert is dead, you can be a good chef quietly; and if you have a son in the future, just change his name to Xu Zhong, tomemorate your great brother! Xu Zilings voice cracked, Tell me you are joking! Kou Zhong shook his head, After seeing Yuwen Huagu, Du Fuwei, that kind of people, you will no longer be willing to live a dull life. Aftering across beautiful women like Niang or our Beautiful Shifu, it will be very difficult to take an ordinary woman as my wife. I really want to fight this challenge; if I win, its very possible that I will master an exceptional qinggong, but if I lose, I will go down the Yellow Springs[1] to find Niang and show a bit of filial piety. Do you understand? My good brother. Xu Ziling sat down dejectedly; but suddenly he burst inughter, You are always greatly persuasive; if you want to die, lets die together. The two boys stood at the edge of a high cliff. Looking down at the underbrush and scattered rocks dozen or so zhang below, they hesitated. Seems to be a bit high, Kou Zhong said in a low voice, We are really stupid; we forgot to ask Beautiful Shifu how many zhang a beginner martial art master can jump. Xu Ziling looked up toward the magnificent starry sky. Shall we go back to sleep? he asked with a wry smile. Kou Zhong took a deep breath, closed his eyes and said, Well count to three, and then we jump together. Just remember to ... ay, dont try to think about anything, let the nature take its course. One! Xu Ziling shouted. Two! Kou Zhong caught on. And then the two of them screamed together, Three! Four legs kicked the ground, like a bullet the two boys left the edge of the cliff to enter the empty air outside the cliff. In that split second, all kinds of profound, unforgettable memories, such as: they were ying and swimming in the stream and met Fu Junchuo, her death, they were being carried by Du Fuwei as he rushed across the open field, strolling along the street with Susu, being treated in a cold manner by Qingqing at the brothel, the stunning beauty of Yun Yuzhen when they first met her; were flitting through their mind like shes of lightning, or like the flying sparks of a flint, followed by a nk. And then they started to sense that they were falling, fast. In the instant they were hovering between life and death, suddenly they werepletely without any ess to external qi, however, their internal breathing was like a torch. Bang! It lit up with an explosion. Just like a dream. All of a sudden, they understood the secret to speed up the movement of true qi within their body. They must first sever the outer physical breathing before unleashing the true qi inside the body. This is precisely what the Taoist School said about innate breathing. The two boys body was like ant marching, the true qi went back and forth endlessly. Xu Zilings started from Yong Quan going up, Kou Zhongs from Tian Ling passing down. At the same time they remembered Beautiful Shifus Bird Crossing Technique, quickly they raised a mouthful of true qi, their palms pushed down, and applied the adverse power. Immediately there was an opposing force in vertical direction; unexpectedly their descending speed experienced substantially reduction, and there was still enough force left over to push them back about half a chi up. Turning a somersault in the air, wham theynded on a pile of thick underbrush so hard that all they saw in their eyes were stars. Kou Zhong was the first to crawl up. Niang! he shouted loudly, We seed! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling finally made an iparable step in their martial art journey, a crucial breakthrough. Although there was still a considerable distance from the level of true martial art experts, but it was an important step in the right direction. One day Xu Ziling suddenly had a weird idea; he pulled Kou Zhong along to train martial art at the bottom of the sea. Trouble is, they could not get a stable footing. Thereupon they each tied a big rock on their leg, and this seemed to improve their situation. Gradually they discovered that they could channel their qi and focused it in their legs, so much so that they were able to withstand the attack of the undercurrent, hence they did not need to rely on the rocks anymore. With this discovery, they began to experiment rising up and sinking down in the water, which made their training more delightful. Back to the dry ground, after the underwater experience, they were able to train the Bird Crossing Technique until the what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes level. They could easily leap over ordinary a zhang, or perhaps two zhang tall trees, and on the way down, they could even show off a variety of poses and fancy postures. When they sparred against each other with weapons, they followed the same steps to gradually able to channel their qi onto the weapons. Tonight was the big night, the appointed day for them to meet Yun Yuzhen. The two boys dressed neatly and waited at the beach. After sitting down, Kou Zhong thought for a moment and said, We must guard against the peoples heart. I forgot who said that; was it Niang, or Du Fuwei? I think it was Niang, Xu Ziling replied, You dont seem to trust our Beautiful Shifu. Kou Zhong said, Wulins martial art masters are always enigmatic, we cant let people see through how much weight we carry [i.e. importance]; therefore, it would be best if we hide our true power, dont let Beautiful Shifu find out we have mastered her Bird Crossing Technique. Supposing she really wants to harm us, we still have a bit of asset to flee. Xu Ziling nodded his agreement; he turned his eyes toward the ocean and said, Look! Look! A dot of light appeared on the surface of the ocean; the dot rapidly growing bigger. A fast boat passed to the left and swerved to the right among the reefs and came to the shallow water. The two boys focused their eyes. Very soon they could see the boat clearly. Four men were rowing the boat, on the bow stood a young woman wearing white warrior outfit, but she was not Yun Yuzhen. The girl soared to the air; in just two leaps she already arrived in front the two boys, and spoke respectfully, Xiao Bi [little maid servant] Yun Zhi, on Bangzhu Miss Yun Yuzhens order to invite two Gongzi to get on the boat. They did not anticipate this move from Yun Yuzhen. After exchanging nces, they followed Yun Zhi to board the small boat. Aboard the three-mast ship, Yun Zhi led the two boys into the main cabin to see Yun Yuzhen, who was sitting in a plush chair. The two boys sat up straight in the chairs to her left and right, and Yun Zhi withdrew, leaving only the three people in the cabin. Yun Yuzhen smiled, Hows your training? she asked. Assuming an ashamed look, Kou Zhong shook his head. Catching on, Xu Ziling wlessly sighed and said, As soon as we started, the qi and blood in our body surged; how could we dare to continue? Yun Yuzhen found it hard to conceal her disappointment; bowing her head, she was lost in thought for a long time before finally managed to say, Since you cant train it, we have to make another n. The two boys immediately understood, although Yun Yuzhen said all those good things, the fact was that teaching them qinggong was part of her n so that they could use it to aplish their mission. They could not help rejoicing inwardly for not telling her the truth. Yun Yuzhen sighed again before asking, Do you know why Dong Ming Pai let theme aboard their ship that day? [1] Yellow Springs, underworld in Chinese mythology, equivalent to Hades in Greek mythology. Chapter 10, Part 2 Anh, DongBin, HPC, Jaya, Weed, you are wee. Kou Zhong replied, Every year theye to the Central Earth to select some young men with natural endowments to be brought back with them; needless to say, those men are to be the womens husbands, is that right? Yun Yuzhen said, Tell me everything that happened after you came onboard, dont omit anything. Kou Zhong only needed several sentences to exin everything; because the chain of events that day only happened in the time needed to drink half a cup of hot tea. Listening to him, Yun Yuzhens pretty eyebrows were knitted; it was quite some timeter that she finally said, This is strange, why did Madame Dong Ming ask you those strange questions? Xu Ziling replied, Do we need to tell you that? Since they are selecting son-inw, naturally they are looking for some guys with aspiration and ambition. Realizing that we are just two boys who are crazy about riches, they chased us out of the ship in anger. You are not asking us to steal their stuff, are you? Kou Zhong wondered, If thats the case, wont it be better for you to make the move yourself? They only need to remove the ropedder, and we wont be able to climb up. Yun Yuzhen was impatient, If I have a choice, why would I want to rely on you, these two little demons? she said, Right now, only you can stroll and swagger into their Floating Fragrance gship. The two boys were stunned. Beautiful Shifu must be mistaken, Kou Zhong said, I am afraid you and us are not on Madame Dong Mings weed guest list. Yun Yuzhen said, This time and that time are two different things. Right now you have rendered great merit to Dong Ming Pai, Madame Dong Ming even dispatched her subordinate, the fourw protector fairies to go everywhere to look for you; its just that they have not found you! The two boys spirit was immediately aroused; remembering that pretty young maid, their hearts warmed up instantly. Yun Yuzhen smiled, You understand it now? she asked, I could arrange that they coincidentally find you, and thus you will have a good chance of going into the Floating Fragrance gship. Xu Ziling said, Actually, you have not even told us what is it that you want us to steal! Yun Yuzhen nonchntly said, Do you remember I told you that every n and sect has their own way of earning a fortune? Dong Ming Pais expertise is in manufacturing high-quality weapons; this fact is extremely well known in Jianghu. Out of ten divine arms and sharp weapons, at least three were forged in their Ryukyu factory. Xu Ziling suddenly came to a realization, So you want us to steal weapons. Yun Yuzhen was irritated, Other than divine arms and sharp weapons like Gan Jiang and Mo Xie[2], there is nothing good to be stolen. What I want you to steal an ount book of a great importance. The two boys looked at each other in incredulity. Yun Yuzhens pretty eyes flickered. This ount book records all Dong Ming Pais weapon transaction in thest few years; both the seller and the buyer must sign and affix their seals, and it also lists the quantity as well as the type of weapons being sold. Yuwen Huaji ordered Haisha Bang to attack the Floating Fragrance gship, it was precisely for the sake of this ount book. Listening to this, the two boys were totally confused and were at a loss. Yun Yuzhen continued, It also involves the power struggle within the imperial court. For instance, certain high-ranking minister secretly purchased arge quantity of weapons from Dong Ming Pai, this ount book bes irrefutable evidence that will allow Yuwen Huaji to submit a memorial to the Emperor and thus drag his opponent down. Do you understand it now? Kou Zhong said, But Beautiful Shifu is not Yuwen Huaji; why do you want to obtain this ount book? You dont need to mind my business, Yun Yuzhen replied, In short, just get me the book, in turn I will set you free and give you the promised gold. If you are willing to try, while there are still ten days or so time, I will have my people teaching you first-ss technique in stealing. Are you clear? There was a knock on the door, Yun Zhi came to report, There is a small boating to us from behind; its probably Li Gongzi. Yun Yuzhens powdered face turned slightly red from annoyance; she said, That shameful, annoying @$$hole keeps entangling me; let hime aboard. After a short pause, she added, Take these two little demons go see Grandpa Chen. Seeing how happy she was at the prospect of seeing that Li Gongzi, the two boys were already upset. Now that she wanted to get rid of them, the two little demons, their ego took a hard beating. With anger and resentment they followed Yun Zhi out. Following Yun Yuzhens order, Yun Zhi took them along the hallway of the upper deck and came to a door. Knocking the door, she said, Grandpa Chen! Two Gongzi are here. An old-sounding voice came from inside, Have theme in! Yun Zhi pushed the door open and tell them toe in on their own. The two boys stepped into the room, and discovered that the room was surprisingly very big. Spread all over the room were all kinds of padlocks, scaled building models, and some tools of unknown purpose. The walls were covered with a lot of architectural drawings. Unexpectedly they were inside the ships main workshop. A decrepit, hunchback, old man with long beard was taking apart a padlock and examining it carefully by the window. Without even casting a nce to the boys, he said with his hoarse voice, Shut the door! Xu Ziling pushed the door closed. The old man put down the lock and went over to them. Because he was shorter by more than half a head than the two boys, he had to look up to them. After seeing clearly the two boys faces, he let out a hollowugh and said, I heard that you two have been stealing and swindling since childhood. Ha! Put out your hands first, let me take a look. The old man reached out to the two boys four hands, grabbing and pinching left and right for a while, he expressed his astonishment, I have never seen hands better than yours. Apparently very soon we will have two better pairs. Ha! I, the Ol Chen will have my sessors. With hands behind his back, he walked away and only stopped at the window. Staring out the window, he said, Trying to steal things, apart from a pair of dexterous hands, one must be quick witted and able to change ording to the situation, plus having excellent understanding of the building, its construction, mechanism, and so on. And then he strolled back and beckoned the two boys toe over to a building model on the table. This buildingplex is made of ten courtyard houses of different sizes. If I want you to steal a piece of precious jade, how would you find where the jade is? Noticing the two boys only return nk stares, he seemed to be immensely proud of himself as he moved to another model and said, Do you recognize this one? Kou Zhongs voice was hoarse, Isnt this Yangzhou Zongguans mansion? Precisely Yuchi Shengs doghouse, Ol Chen replied, Actually, stealing is not too difficult. If I want you to steal a ssified dossier, after reading all that stuff you must memorize everything written inside in your brains, and then return the dossier to its original ce, the owner will not know that the flies have been seen by others, now that would require not only outstanding skill, you must also have photographic memory. Oh! Do you know how to read? Kou Zhong was already suspicious of Yun Yuzhen, naturally he would not tell him the truth. Pretending to be ashamed, he said, How could we have the opportunity to go to school? I wont me you, Ol Chen spoke sympathetically, Luckily this time the mission does not require you to read. Taking the two boys to a drawing hanging on the wall to their left, he said, This is the Floating Fragrance gship, which you have been to. The ckened parts are ces where we are not yet clear. The diagram showed Floating Fragrance gship in stereoscopic perspective, but the main cabin section below the deck had been ckened. Like an unceasing torrent the Ol Chen exined everything, but the two boys found it fascinating, hence they listened attentively, while asking questions from time to time. By daybreak, Yun Zhi came to take them to the room at the end of a long hallway toward to bow to rest. The two boys put down their heads and slept peacefully and did not wake up until evening. Two pretty maids came to wait on them as they took a bath, changed their clothes, shaved their beards andbed their hair into a bun. When Yun Zhi returned to take them into the main cabin, her elegant eyes lit up as soon as she saw them; she said in astonishment, Turns out two Gongzi are so handsome; indeed I failed to admire that. Seeing she was so pretty and pleasant, Kou Zhong leaned over and said, How old is Jiejie this year? You seem to be almost at the same age as we are? Yun Zhi crossly said, Definitely your senior. Come! She turned around and walked away. The two boys realized she was looking down on them; after exchanging frustrated expression and eye contact with each other, they followed her. Arriving at the main cabin, they saw a dinner table was already prepared with food and wine, but there were only three seats, and one of them was already upied by a big man in embroidered robe. His face looked ugly, with an approximately two cun long saber scar on his left cheek, giving out the impression that he was a cruel man; but his pair of eyes was flickering lively, so with one look people could tell that this was a martial art master with exquisite inner power. The man was actually very polite. He stood up to wee them and said, Jukun Bang Fu Bangzhu [Deputy n Leader] Bu Tianzhi at your service. Yun Bangzhu has a business to attend to and has left for the shore, assigning the Ol Bu to take up the responsibility to greet the two Xiao Xiongdi. [2] Gan Jiang and Mo Xie: the following is from Faerie Queenes work, Legend of the White Haired Maiden (Liang Yusheng). I thought I repeat it here for reference: This pair of swords was said to be created by a pair of husband and wife sword smiths who lived during the end of the Spring and Autumn era (722BC-481BC) and were said to be apprenticesing out from the same school as the master sword-maker Ou YeZi who crafted the Dragon Springs Sword. Having crafted two of the finest swords of their career, they named these two swords after themselves Gan Jiang (literal trantion: Competent General), Mo Xie (literal trantion: Do not bemit evil). There appears to be various stories and legends surrounding these two sword-makers. It was said that though they worked for the Lord of the state of Wu (He Lu), yet Gan Jiang was also unjustly executed by the Lord of Wu because he did not want Gan Jiang crafting equally superb swords for the other states. Another story posits that it was Gan Jiang who crafted the pair of swords and named them after his wife and himself. He worked for the Lord of Chu and having anticipated that his lord would kill him immediately upon receiving this sword, he voiced these fears to his pregnant wife and left behind one sword buried under arge tree so that his unborn child may one day take revenge for him. Indeed, upon presenting the Gan Jiang sword to the Lord of Chu, Gan Jiang was executed. When their son Chi Bi (literal trantion: Scarlet Nose) grew up, he dug up the sword and swore revenge for his father. But unable to approach the Lord of Chu, he narrated his story to a noble warrior from the Chu state, who having been touched by his story promised to seek revenge for him. ording to legend, it was this warrior who by presenting the Lord of Chu with the Mo Xie sword as a decoy, beheaded the Lord of Chu with this very sword and knowing that being surrounded by numerous soldiers he would be unable to escape, this warrior beheaded himself with the very same sword. There was yet another legend which posits that Gan Jiang collected together the essence of the highest grades of gold and metals belonging to the five mountains (probably: SongShan, TaiShan, HuaShan, Northern HengShan, Southern HengShan) andbined them together within a forge. But the heat of the forge was not enough to melt the metals and since the metals were unable to merge together, his sword was unable to bepleted. Gan Jiang knew that his failure to finish the sword ording to his deadline would lead to his execution by the Lord of Wu and as a result was filled with despair. Suddenly, during one night, his wife smiled at him, causing Gan Jiang to be greatly worried as he pleaded for her to notmit what he feared she would do. But she only smiled and by the time Gan Jiang woke up, he found that she had already disappeared. He ran to the ce where they crafted the swords and saw his wife standing by the forge smiling at him. But before he could reach her, she had already thrown herself into the fire. Herst words to him were that of reassuring her husband that she has not died yet and that they would eventually reunite. The metals finally melted andbined together to finallyplete the pair of Gan Jiang, Mo Xie swords. Gan Jiang only presented the Gan Jiang sword to the Lord of Wu and secretly kept the Mo Xie sword by his side. But the Lord of Wu eventually discovered this news and had his men surround Gan Jiang. At that time, Gan Jiang opened up the box, which contained the Mo Xie sword and asked the Mo Xie sword how he could ever be reunited with his wife. But the sword instantaneously transformed into a great white dragon, which suddenly disappeared along with Gan Jiang himself. Simrly, the Gan Jiang sword, which was by the Lord of Wus side all this time mysteriously disappeared as well. Meanwhile, in a district called the Pin (destitute/impoverish) Cheng (City) located a thousand miles away appeared a young white dragon that suddenly emerged in their YanPingJinke. This majestic dragon was not only beautiful, but also kind-hearted and by calling upon the power of rainfall and the force of wind, it enabled the destitute city to benefit from the weather and prosper in its agriculture. As a result, the city was also renamed as Feng (Prosperity) Cheng. But the inhabitants found that the white dragon seemed always to be very unhappy as it looked towards the shores as if forever waiting for or pining away for someone with eyes filled with tears. After six hundred years, a young man named Lei Huan suddenly discovered a box buried within the ground. Upon opening the box, he discovered that it concealed the legendary Gan Jiang sword. Pleased with his finding, he hung the sword by his side and one day, when he past by the YanPingJinke, the sword that hung by his waist suddenly leaped up into the air and dived into theke. There was a greatmotion in the waters when suddenly two dragons leaped out, one white dragon and one ck dragon. These two dragons danced together in joyful happiness before returning to the bottom of theke, only to disappear forever. The next day, a husband and wife moved into the town. They were merely an ordinary couple and although the husband was a very skilled cksmith, yet he only crafted the ordinary tools used in everyday agricultural life while his wife stood by his side, fanning him with a little fan and wiping away his sweat. Chapter 10, Part 3 Sleepy, HPC, Jaya, ck, Anh, you are wee. I am d you guys like it. Jiu Long, thanks for the correction. Toozy to scroll back, but I did correct my source doc, so that when we have our unabridged thread in the future, it will have the corrected version. Here is the end of Chapter 10. There is one more week in January, I will try to finish Book 2 by next week or at least the beginning of the following week. Well see ... Seeing their Beautiful Shifu was not present, and thought that she must be with that Li Gongzi, the two boys felt extremely disappointed; its just that they could not resist the temptation of food, so they replied perfunctorily with some polite remarks, and then sat down to gorge themselves, pushing all unpleasant thoughts to the back of their minds. Bu Tianzhi was not talkative either; he spoke one minute and was quiet the next. He only asked the two boys past experience. Kou Zhong gave him some made up stories, yet he seemed to be very satisfied. At the end of dinner Bu Tianzhi beckoned his subordinate to fetch an embroidered case, opened the lid, and took out an exquisite looking book. The cover was embossed with Dong Ming Pai insignia, which was of the same pattern as the embroidered g of the Floating Fragrance gship. The two boys looked at Bu Tianzhi in astonishment. Bu Tianzhi did not say anything; he simply opened the first page. They saw the page was densely packed with small characters, written in ck, ink stick, and vermillion, ground cinnabar ink. On one side was the type of weapon and its quantity, written in ck, on the other side was the amount of money paid, written in vermillion; to their surprise, the unit of currency was gold, the highest amount reached three thousand taels of gold, which was more than enough for an ordinary person to eat for more than ten lifetimes. There was also a note on the date and ce of delivery. The most shocking was that written at the top was Li n the First of Longxi, six characters [long xi li fa di yi], but there was neither signature nor seal. Kou Zhong pretended to be confused. The letters recognize me, but I dont recognize them, he said, What does it say here? he pointed to the top. Bu Tianzhi turned to the second page, but it was nk. Bu Tianzhi turned back to the first page and said, What we are asking two Xiao Xiongdi to steal is precisely this ount book. When you open the book, the first page will look exactly like this. You must remember it carefully, dont make any mistake. Xu Ziling probed further; pointing to the character yi [one/first, which is basically a dash (-)] of the Li n the First, he said, I know this is character yi, but I dont know the rest. What does it say, actually? You dont need to worry about anything, Bu Tianzhi said, This yi character simply indicates the first page. By the time you leave the ship, I will show it to you again. The two boys were getting even more suspicious. But since they still need to learn Ol Chens great stealing skill, they did not have time to think about it too much; whenever they had spare time, they would practice secretly inside their bedroom. Five dayster after passing through the mouth of Yangtze River, they dropped anchor and tarried over for four days, but the two boys were not allowed toe ashore. After that they continued northwards. That evening during dinner they found out that Yun Yuzhen has returned, but they did not see Bu Tianzhi. Yun Yuzhen was in high spirits, it was as if her beauty had spread all over her body and made her glowing. But since Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already knew that she did not trust thempletely [orig. baring her heart into their keeping], they did not see her with the same longing as when they first saw her. Because she was definitely not another Fu Junchuo or even Susu. Where are we going, actually? Kou Zhong asked. We are now heading north toward Huai River, Yun Yuzhen replied, After that we will head west to Zhongyang. At that time we will n your mission. After sizing them up for half a day, sheughed and said, I am sure that after two years you will be dignified, handsome and imposing men. Right now after you have your beard shaved, your hair tidied up, you are already a lot more impressive than before. How old are you this year? I just turned eighteen, Kou Zhong replied, And he is a year younger. Yun Yuzhen cheerfully said, I heard from Grandpa Chen that you guys managed to master any trick as soon as you learned it; you did not fail to live up to my expectations at all. Xu Ziling asked, If we are sessful in stealing the ount book, how are we going to leave the ship? You dont have to worry about that, Yun Yuzhen replied, I will have my people teach you how to use the light signals tomunicate with us. At that time I might personallye to the ship to pick you up. I guarantee it will be foolproof. Kou Zhong asked, Dong Ming Pai came to the Central ins, why would they stay this long? Yun Yuzhen replied, Every three years they woulde to the Central ins for a period of time, to ept new orders and collect payments. As for the delivery of goods, they have other vessels transporting the weapons. This, you dont need to mind. Xu Ziling asked, Are there any new developments on the outside world? Yun Yuzhen unenthusiastically replied, Du Fuwei still upies Liyang unchallenged, several times has he repelled the Sui army. Four months ago Dou Jiande proimed himself as the King of Changle, his prestige is actually above Du Fuweis. Recently several new people emerged; among them is Xu Yuang, another one is Lu Mingyue. These two are Wulin characters who hold the bnce of power. But in term of sensation, no one surpasses Yingyang Pais Liang Shidou and Liu Wuzhou who together raised an army against the Sui. Both of them were originally Sui generals; therefore, their rebellion has significantly weakened the Sui forces. She suddenly sighed before continuing, These two men have close rtionship with the Tujue. Liang Shidou recently did obeisance to be a disciple of Tujues Wu Zun Bi Xuan [see Book 1 Chapter 5] school. With Tujue peoples involvement, I dont know how this mess is going to be cleaned up. The two boys recalled Liang Shidous son, Liang Shunming and Shen Tianquns beautiful daughter Shen Wushuang; momentarily they were lost in thought. Xu Ziling was concerned over Susu, he asked about her master, Zhai Rang. Yun Yuzhen was indeed well-informed of the current situation; she calmly replied, Zhai Rang and Li Mi are concentrating their forces in preparation to attack Xingluo Warehouse. If they seed, Sui n will be in danger. Speaking about character and prospect, among the militia the Great Dragon Head [or simply Big Boss] Zhai Rang has the biggest fame and power, but he achieved his fame and power relying on Li Mi. Sooner orter there will be a problem. And then she curiously asked, You seem to also know a little abut this aspect? Du Fuwei told us all of these, Kou Zhong said. The two boys were worried about Susu, they hurriedly finished their dinner, and went to the Ol Chen to continue their training. By the time they returned to their room, it was already the third watch of the night [between 11pm C 1am]. The two boys pretended to lie down on the couch to sleep, but they were talking it over under the bed curtain. Kou Zhong said, Our Beautiful Shifu is beautiful on the outside, but the scheming in her heart is not too good. She clearly wants to exploit us to steal something to harm others. Xu Ziling said, She must want to ckmail the Li n people just like she ckmail us. We simply must not be her aplice; we might as well slip away and be done with it. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Do you think I did not want to leave? Problem is, if Beautiful Shifu really wants to treat us cruelly, she would broadcast our whereabouts to the world, so much so that she might make our portraits, and then we certainly wont be able to move a single step. Therefore, we muste up with a proper escape n. Xu Ziling said, When we really see Madame Dong Ming, we can tell her everything, and then beseech her to take us to Ryukyu. Its just that by doing this, we wont be able to avenge Niang. And we wont see Li Dage and Susu Jie either, Kou Zhong added. After being silent for half a day, Kou Zhong said, Have you noticed that the situation on the ship these days is a bit peculiar? Xu Ziling nodded and replied, Ever since Beautiful Shifu is back, the ship suddenly be very tense, from time to time it changes course as if they are guarding against the enemy. I got it! Kou Zhong pped his thigh, Those people mighte for us. For example, Haisha Bang, or perhaps our Ol Die Du Fuwei. You can nt spies in other peoples organization, why cant others use the same trick to deal with you? Xu Ziling smiled wryly, What kind of bird trick is that? he said, Captured by the Ol Die or Han Pudi, Id rather stay here. At least we get polite hospitality. The know-it-all Kou Zhong said, Mountain people have brilliant scheme, wellunch the move escaping by death; we will appear to be killed, but actually well escape without a trace. Its easier said than done, Xu Ziling dejectedly said, But how do you do it? Kou Zhong said, If we are elsewhere, or our skill is as useless as before, naturally it is impossible. But now, as long as we pretend to fall into their trap and fall into the sea, and spurt some blood, and then walk secretly at the bottom of the sea, everybody will think that we are swallowed up by the sea. Wont we be able to regain our freedom then? Where can we get the blood from? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong made a gesture as if he was grabbing something. And then heughed and said, Every day we have arge chunk of chicken meat entering our belly, evidently they keep quite a few chicken in the kitchen; you got that? Xu Ziling was dismayed, Problem is we dont know exactly when the enemy will strike; if we take the blood prematurely, it will coagte into a hard lump. Supposing that when we fall into the sea and then lumps of chicken blood emerge, wont the enemyugh until their big teeth fall off? We can knock the chicken out, Kou Zhong said, We are the experts in that kind of trick in stealing chicken. After stealing it, we keep it under our bed. If the enemy has note yet, well rece the chicken with two others. This will work. While Xu Ziling was still hesitating, Kou Zhong sat up and said, Its time to test our lightness skill and Ol Chens stealing technique. Book 2 - 11 – As Poisonous as Vipers and Scorpions Book 2 Chapter 11 C As Poisonous as Vipers and Scorpions Kou Zhong pressed his ear against the wooden door, applied his energy to listen, and after making sure that there was no one in the hallway, he pushed the door and stuck out his head to look, and then darted out. Xu Ziling followed closely behind. If he said he was not nervous, then he was lying. The kitchen was located at the aft; hence they had to go through the hallway, going up the stairs, and across a zhang or so of deck, before they could reach the entrance to the galley. There were two windnterns hanging on either end of the hallway, one toward the bow, the other toward the stern; in between these twonterns, the hallway was dimly lit. At this time of the day, other than the crew on duty, most people were sound asleep. The two boys channeled their qi to lighten their body; like a ghost they flitted toward the stern. To their shock, as they reached the stairs leading to the deck, they heard voicesing from upstairs. More shocking, it was Yun Yuzhens tenderughter. The two boys were so frightened that their soul flew away and scattered; because the distance would not give them enough time to sneak back to their room. In their panic, they did not care which way to take, they pushed the door to the big room where the Ol Chen imparted his skills, and slipped inside. Only here they could hide temporarily. Familiar with theyout of the room, they hid themselves under a cab on the corner of the room leaning against the outboard wall, closest to the sea, while praying in their heart that Yun Yuzhen was not out to look for them. Squeak! the workshop door was pushed open. The two boys were happy and scared at the same time. Happy because obviously Yun Yuzhen came to this level not to look for them, scared because Yun Yuzhen might find them. So the two boys shut their qi while circting their energy, to move their inner breathing. If it were other people, even if their inner power were deeper and purer than the two boys, it would still be difficult to hide from a martial art master of Yun Yuzhens caliber. But since the Secret to Long Life was the Taoist schools highest cultivation technique, its focus was on maintaining good health in the deepest and most mysterious way. During the energy cirction, the body functioned like animal in hibernation, the breathing became as if it was nonexistent, the essence of qi vanished. Plus Yun Yuzhen was not intentionally trying to find them, hence her senses did not detect the two boys presence. At first they only heard Yun Yuzhens barely audible footsteps, but the two boys sensed that there were two people entering the room, because Yun Yuzhen was already inside the room when they heard the door being closed. Yun Yuzhens alluringughter was heard, Ce Ge [big brother Ce]! Come in quick! This is Floating Fragrance gship model; we lost three martial art experts to obtain this information. How are you going to reward us? Surprisingly, her voice was extraordinarily foxy, charming, tender, and coy. And then they heard Yun Yuzhens soft groan, followed by her panting and the rustling of clothes rubbing against each other. The two boys felt very embarrassed; they had never expected that Yun Yuzhen, who ordinarily treated them in cold and invible manners, was now sounded like a sex-kitten. On the other hand, they were greatly terrified, because this mans footsteps did not create any noise at all; apparently his martial art skill was above Yun Yuzhens. Then a chipper young voice said, Yuzhen, you look fuller now. Look! Such a firm and round body. Gasping for breath, Yun Yuzhen said, How about youe back after our business is done? Are you afraid I might fly away tonight? Hearing this, the two boys heart was burning with hatred; this Beautiful Shifus standing in their heart has just taken a thousand zhang drop. Obviously the man released Yun Yuzhen, since thetter said, Why havent you lighted thentern? Thentern was lit. Yun Yuzhen said, Shan Mei Xianren Madame Dong Mings [see Book 2 Chapter 5] power has reached perfection; fortunately I knew that in the next seven days she is at Pengcheng [lit. Peng City] to meet Li Yuan. Her return trip will take at least ten days. That will be our only chance to steal the ount book. The man said, Are those two little demons any good? They still have Dong Ming Pais little princess and thew-protector fairies on the ship; all are first-ss martial art masters. Yun Yuzhenughed and said, Those two kids are as smart as ghosts; the only problem is that they did not master Yuzhens Crow Crossing Technique; otherwise, with intention can be considered without intention. This matter will be ny percent sure. At that time, I might pretend to attack the Floating Fragrance gship, to lure their martial art experts out, so that they can make their escape. There shouldnt be any problem. The manughed and said, Each time you, this coquettish fox, mention those two kids, you always have your brows raised in delight and your eyesughing. Are you thinking of tasting their virginity? Yun Yuzhenughed and swore, With you, this big-headed ghost, would I look at those two little ruffians whose smell of mothers milk has not dried yet? Its just that they can still be considered rising star [the original was darker: delight of a girl trafficked into a brothel to work as prostitute]. Because the matter this time is of grave importance, we had to ask you, the new generation martial art expert of the Dugu n, toe and personally receive the goods. At that time we can easily kill them to shut their mouth. Others are making an all-out effort for your sake, but unexpectedly you said such thing about others. Ah ... oh ... The two people were making out again. But to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, it was as if they heard thunder from a clear blue sky, their heart waspletely broken; turned out the truth was this cruel. All those sweet speech and honeyed words from Yun Yuzhen were nothing but lies. At the same time they suddenly saw the light. Jukun Bangs backing was actually one of the four powerful ns, the Dugu n. Plus this matter was actually Dugu ns plot against the Li n or perhaps the Yuwen n. Then they heard Yun Yuzhens voice; moaning and gasping for breath she said, Do you want me to go back to my room? Do you really want to tease me to death? These two nights should be peaceful and safe, but as soon as we enter Huai River, I cant guarantee anything. I dont know how Du Fuwei got wind that the two little demons are on my ship. At that time, I will have to rely on your, Dugu Ces Bi Luo Jianfa [sky-blue fall sword] to deal with his Xiu Li Qiankun [universe in his sleeve]. Dont worry! Dugu Ce arrogantly said, Er Ge [second (older) brother] has personally prepared martial art masters to provide support to us; we can easily ughter Du Fuwei. At that time only Fu Gongyou left with Huai River army; not enough for us to fear. Yun Yuzhen said, When your Dugu n obtain the world [tian xia] in the future, dont forget me, Yun Yuzhen! Dugu Ce lowered his voice, Are you sure that those two kids really dont know the secret of Duke Yangs treasure trove? I am sure, Yun Yuzhen replied, Once I intentionally mocked them that they did not the treasures location, while I paid close attention to their reaction and facial expression. I knew that Fu Junchuo did not tell them. The fact is, Fu Junchuo has always been Gaoli people, how could she possibly spill the secret to Han people? Come! The door closed. The sound of footsteps moved farther and farther away. The two boys breathed a sigh of relief, but still felt extremely lost. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, There wille a day we will vent our anger to her. Xu Ziling said wryly, Looks like it wont be toote for us to steal chicken when we get to Huai River. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Lets go back to bed! That night they did not sleep well. When dawn came, they woke up and went to the deck to enjoy the ocean view, and their mood improved a little bit. A flock of seagulls hovered behind the ship; the two boys watched with rapt attention how the seagulls flew in arcs; aprehension grew in their mind, momentarily they had their eyes only on the seagulls and forgot about everything else. Suddenly Yun Yuzhens voice came from behind, Why woke up so early today? she asked. The two boys intentionally did not turn their head around, Kou Zhong only mumbled incoherently in reply. Yun Yuzhen stood next to Xu Ziling. Havent you seen seagulls before? she asked in astonishment, Why are you so enthralled? Xu Ziling gave her an indifferent look; recalling thatst night she said it with her own mouth that she wanted Dugu Ce to kill them to shut their mouth, and that he has finally seen her scious nature, a sense of loathing bubbled up in his heart. Turning his gaze back to the seagulls, he said in heavy tone, Naturally seagulls are a lot more enthralling; at least live a carefree live, without any fear of being harmed by their own kind. Kou Zhong was afraid Yun Yuzhen might grow suspicious, heughed and said, Xiao Ling has always been a helpless romantic. Beautiful Shifu must not me him. How could Yun Yuzhen know that the two boys have discovered her secret? With a charming smile she said, Young people always have their minds filled with fantasy. Just enjoy the view for a moment longer, and thene down to have breakfast with me! I will tell you more on the details of your mission. Finished speaking, she gracefully left. Three dayster, the ship finally reached the water where Huai River met the ocean, where they turn west to travel along Huai River. The people on the ship grew tense again. Yun Yuzhen even issued a strict order for the two boys to stay inside their room at all times. That evening, while other people were focusing their attention to the enemy outside, Kou Zhong sneaked into the galley to steal three chickens and brought them back into their room, where they waited patiently. The two boys were fully dressed, with their weapons tied behind their back; and then they separately stationed themselves by the window and by the door to listen to the activity outside. By the third watch of the night [between 11pm C 1am] there was sound of footsteps in the hallway,ing straight toward their room. Horrified, the two boys jumped onto the bed, pretending to be asleep. There was a knock on the door, followed by the door being pushed open. Yun Zhis voice was heard, Get dressed quickly, Ille back to take you outter. Without waiting for any response, she closed the door. The two boys jumped out of the bed in fear. They hastily ughtered the chicken and collected their blood, which they put into four empty stolen wine bottles, and divided the bottles into two halves. When they were just hiding the bottles into their pockets, Yun Zhi returned. She beckoned them to follow her. Right that moment the hull suddenly shook violently, the ship was making a hard turn, and sailed in high speed back to where they wereing from. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling concluded that not only the enemy hase, they wereing in full force and posed a real threat to Jukun Bang, putting them in a rather difficult situation. Only the two boys did not know what went wrong. The hallway was full of people going back and forth, there were a lot of people that they had never seen before but now making their appearance. They all seemed to be very tense, just like the tension before a giant storm. Kou Zhong quickened his steps to ask Yun Zhi, Whosing? Yun Zhi lost her usualposure; rudely and impatiently she said, Dont talk! Kou Zhong fell back to Xu Ziling and said in a low voice, Little ruffian will always be little ruffian. Naturally Xu Ziling understood what he meant. If it were not they identally came across the Secret to Long Life and the Duke Yangs treasure-trove, Jianghu people would definitely look down on them and dismiss them as nobodies. With her grand prestige as the trusted maid of the n leader, naturally Yun Zhi would never regard them as anybody important; simply because she received Yun Yuzhens order that she treated the two boys with fake respect and addressed them as Gongzi this and Gongzi that. Now that they encountered emergency situation like this, her patience was gone. Yun Zhi led them to the main deck. The two boys took the opportunity to look around. They saw five big ships about two li upstream,ing toward them at an amazingly high speed. The deck was full of Jukun Bang warriors; everybody looked tensed and alert, ready to fight the enemy. Yun Zhi kept walking toward the bow, where about twenty people gathered, including Yun Yuzhen and the deputy n leader Bu Tianzhi, whom they have not seen for a long time. The other people looked different from each other; about seven or eight were women, each one was as beautiful as a flower. When they saw the two boys, their beautiful eyes were shining with curiosity. Although the deck was in total ckout, the two boys were not in the least bit bothered by it. Standing next to Yun Yuzhen was a man who looked to be at the same height as Kou Zhong, approximately twenty-five or twenty-six years old. His face handsome, his bearings serious, his clothes was a tight-fitting warrior suit. He and Yun Yuzhen looked to be a perfect match. Its just that his face was even more gaunt than Xu Ziling, plus there was a hint of paleness from excessive drinking and womanizing, so that he could not bepared to Xu Ziling in terms of natural elegance; however, he did have the maturity that Xu Zilingcked. Chapter 11, Part 2 Anh, HPC, you are wee. Jaya, I am afraid youll have to wait for a while for that part. Heres the end of Chapter 11. Chapter 12 is a bit shorter, Ill try to post it on Saturday (my time). If this man was indeed Dugu Ce, then in terms of status and martial art skill, this man far surpassed the two boys. Yun Yuzhen stepped forward to meet them and said, The enemy is too strong, we must immediately escape to the shore. Bu Tianzhi and that man, whom they suspected was Dugu Ce, also came to either side of Yun Yuzhen. Thetter was staring at the two boys, sizing them up. Kou Zhong pretended to be surprised as he stared back at Dugu Ce curiously. Yun Yuzhen cleared her throat and made the introduction, This is our Gangs martial art master protector of thew. He and Bu Fu Bangzhu will personally protect you. Dugu Ceughed and said, Two Xiao Xiongdi need not be scared; leaving the ship is just a tactical matter, not that we are afraid of the enemy. As soon as he spoke, the two boys recognized his voice; he was indeed Dugu Ce. Whos the enemy? Xu Ziling asked. Yun Yuzhen replied, Du Fuwei has just taken the tworge towns along the river ahead; he blocks the route to Zhongyang, hence we must change our route and go different way. Kou Zhong smiled politely to Yun Zhi, who was standing to the side, Look! he said, Bangzhu treated us with a lot more courtesy than you did. Yun Zhi glowered at him for a moment, but then she hung her head and did not dare to say anything. Yun Yuzhen also glowered at Yun Zhi, but right that moment someone came to report, Bangzhu! We will reach Leigong [lit. god of thunder] Gorge soon. The two boys looked ahead, and saw the river narrowed, both banks were high and steep cliffs; the terrain looks extremely dangerous. Prepare to abandon ship! Yun Yuzhen ordered. The twenty-something people moved toward the port side of the bow. Bu Tianzhi and Dugu Ce separately came to Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs sides, and pulled their shoulders toward the edge of the ship. Meanwhile, the enemy ships were closing in behind them that they were now only about a li away. Jukun Bangs warship was steered toward the left bank. When they were only about three zhang away from the cliff, the twenty odd people soared to the sky across the Huai River, flying toward a dangerous cliff nearby. Bu Tianzhi and Dugu Ce wrapped their arms around the two boys waist, and then took them soaring into the air, andnded at the bank. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did a self-check: if they had to exert their strength and jump across three zhang distance, it would still be beyond their reach. But now everybody, including Yun Zhi, was able to easily do it. Based on this fact alone they knew that these people, at least in term of qinggong, was much better than they. Holding them in their arms, Bu Tianzhi and Dugu Ce were still able to handle the butchers cleaver with ease; it was obvious that the two boys could only see the other riders dust and have no hope of catching up. [Trantors note: I could very well trante this paragraph as: Holding them in their arms, Bu Tianzhi and Dugu Ce were still able to do it skillfully and easily; it was obvious that the two boys were far inferior. But to me, personally, Chinese idioms are fascinating, and Id like to share it with you.] Therefore, under normal circumstances, they basically had no hope of escaping. Afternding, Yun Yuzhen did not just stay there; they quickly ran into the depth of the mountain and fields. After running for a time needed to burn an incense stick, Dugu Ce suddenly shouted, Halt! Everybody halted in shock. A momentter, they heard the sound of bird cry and the pping of wings ahead; obviously the enemy ising their way, startling the sleeping birds away. Aghast, Yun Yuzhen said, This way! Taking the lead, she dashed to the right. After rushing down a hill, they saw ahead was a big mountain. Unleashing their lightness skill, everybody ran up the mountain at full speed. By this time the sky was gradually getting brighter; all around them was deste forest and mountainous open space that has never seen human footprint. Passing through a thick forest, suddenly they were greeted by vast open space with wide panorama; turned out they hade to the edge of a high cliff. Directly across the canyon, peaks of a mountain range still loomed at the distance that they were all horrified. Still holding Kou Zhong under his arm, Dugu Ce walked over to the edge of the cliff and looked down. This is a dead end! he eximed. Kou Zhong craned his neck, he saw the cliff was around a hundred zhang tall, but clusters of old trees sprouted along the wall of the cliff, easing the feeling of danger. Down below was an endless stretch of jungle that extended toward the sloping hill on the opposite side. Yun Yuzhen was trying to fins a way down when suddenly there was a longughing from behind them. Hongfen Bangzhu [orig. rouge and powder, see Book 2 Chapter 8], please hold! Du Fuwei of Huai River pays his respect to Bangzhu. Everybody knew hard battle was inevitable; they halted their steps and drew their weapons. Bu Tianzhi and Dugu Ce put the two boys down and stood in front of them to shield them. In order to deal with the powerful enemy, Yun Yuzhen and the rest stood in a semi-circle battle formation to protect them as well. Behind them was precisely the high cliff that could have their body torn and their bones crushed. Kou Zhong reached out to grab Xu Zilings hand; taking advantage while Yun Yuzhen and the others had their attention fixed on the enemy and did not pay any attention to the two boys, he whispered into Xu Zilings ear, Well wait for an appropriate time to jump down the cliff. The cliff wall is full of trees and bushes, which will reduce the momentum of our falling. The bottom of the cliff is a forest, I guarantee we wont die from falling. Xu Ziling clenched his teeth and nodded his head. Meanwhile Du Fuweis tall andnky figure has appeared ahead, and stopped about a zhang away in front of Yun Yuzhen and the others. Farther down, at the edge of the hill, there were thirty, forty people came out and immediately surround them. Du Fuwei still wore tall hat on his head, his vigor was still as before, his gaze fell to the two boys, unexpectedly, a smiling expression, which was very difficult to describe, appeared on his dead-man-like face. He said in tender voice, Children, now that you see your father, why havent youe over to pay your respect and admit your wrong? Kou Zhong giggled and said, Die, how are you, Senior? Your children have betrayed our family n, henceforth father and sons rtionship is cut asunder. Die, youd better go home to enjoy live of ease andfort, dont go around tiring yourself for the sake of your children. Seeing Kou Zhong was not the least bit afraid of the notoriously cruel and merciless Du Fuwei, Yun Yuzhen could not help feeling greatly amazed. If it were they, due to Du Fuweis reputation, they would not dare to speak thoughtlessly and thus offending him. What she did not know was that Du Fuwei was ustomed to listening to Kou Zhong, hence he still had a familiar feeling in his heart; smiling, he said, It was caused byck ofmunication between us, father and sons. Let your Ol Die get rid of these brazen, mad fellows who kidnap people first, and then we, father and sons can sit down and have a nice heart-to-heart chat! Dugu Ce and Yun Yuzhen let out a cold snort at the same time. Du Fuwei acted if he did not even see them. His gaze swept across the several women in the group; heughed and said, I often heard Jukun Bang is ustomed to use women to confuse people. Sure enough it is true. This time I, Du Fuwei,e prepared. If fighting breaks, I am afraid not many people will escape alive. The men will unavoidably die on the spot; the women will be difficult to escape humiliation. Does Yun Bangzhu still want to insist? With a cold humph Dugu Ce said, People said that Du Fuwei is so arrogant that no one else matters. Sure enough it is true. Whos strong and whos weak, well find out as soon as we fight; why talk too much? Du Fuweis gaze fell on Dugu Ces face; his eyes emitted a very cold and sharp ray. May I know this young friends respected surname and great given name? he asked in icy-cold tone, Your tone is bigger than Yun Bangzhus! With a charmingugh Yun Yuzhen said, Have Du Zongguan heard Yuzhen speaks? How do you know who has the bigger tone? Du Fuwei shook his head; he said, I only know that in these circumstances he can still talk out of turn, I know he is not your subordinate; why would Yun Bangzhu still want to cover him up? Yun Yuzhen was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Du Fuwei nonchntly said, Jukun Bang and I have always been without grievance without enmity. I am just trying to get back two naughty children whose inferior character is hard to change. Fighting always damages a good rtionship, but if we dont fight, it will be difficult to convince you. How about this! I have a proposal, I wonder ifdies and gentlemen are willing to listen. Yun Yuzhen coldly replied, This Bangzhu will listen with respectful attention. At this time, even Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that Du Fuwei haspletely seized the initiative, while Yun Yuzhens side could only y along. Although earlier Dugu Ce did not consider Du Fuweis prestige to be worthy in his eyes, but when he actually met Du Fuwei, it was like the hero suddenly turned into a coward [y on words here: hero C yingxiong, coward C gouxiong (lit. ck bear)]; his nastiness disappeared who knows where. Du Fuwei pointed to Dugu Ce and said, Let this mysterious friend have an all-out battle with the Ol Du for ten moves. Supposing I cannot achieve victory, I will immediately turn on my heels and will no longer consider these two inferior kids even exist. But supposing by fluke the Ol Du wins, Yun Bangzhu will immediately hand them over to me so that I could bring them home and give them a good discipline. Yun Bangzhu, whats your opinion? And then he added in an icy-cold tone, If Yun Bangzhu does not agree, my party will go all-out against yours. When that happens, please dont me Ol Du of being vicious and merciless, and totally disregarding Jianghus principle of giving you a face. Yun Yuzhens heart shivered in fear; she realized Du Fuweis vision was indeed brilliant. He had seen through that in her side, Dugu Ce possessed the most superior martial art skill, yet he still dared to challenge him for ten moves; thus it was clear how high the opponents confidence in achieving victory. All of a sudden, she came to a realization that she had fallen into absolute disadvantage, and that she had no other choice. Book 2 - 12 – Faking Death to Escape Book 2 Chapter 12 C Faking Death to Escape Although Dugu Ce was conceited, yet he admired Du Fuweis prestige. If he could not even take ten moves from Du Fuwei, it could be said that his side would definitely lose. Therefore, this proposal was definitely beneficial to them. However, he was also aware that Du Fuwei was afraid they would destroy indiscriminately [orig. burn both jade and ordinary stone] and kill the two boys first. If that happened, even if Du Fuwei killed them all, he would still fail to achieve his goal. After exchanging several nces with Yun Yuzhen, he stepped out of the formation, cupped his fist and said, Du Zongguan, please. Because nowadays Du Fuwei considered himself the Zongguan [chief manager, see Book 1 Chapter 1] of Liyang, everybody called him Du Zongguan. Du Fuwei still had his hands behind his back; he smiled and said, The number of people in Jianghu who wield sword is beyond counting, but those who really know how to use sword can be counted with my fingers; the most notable being the Dugu and Song, two powerful ns. Right now Song n is too busy dealing with the muddle-headed ruler. If I am not mistaken, concealed within Xiongtais [brother, polite appetion for someone of simr age] footsteps is lightness skill from superb school, which originated from Dugu ns top ranking consummate skill, Bi Luo Hongzhen [sky-blue falling word of mortals]. Is Ol Du mistaken? Everybody from Yun Yuzhens side was shaken; nobody expected that Du Fuweis vision was this brilliant. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were cheering in their heart; they really wish their Ol Dad would give this vile Dugu Ce a hard lesson, while dealing a heavy setback to Yun Yuzhen as well. Dugu Ce calmly replied, Seniors eyesight is indeed brilliant, Junior is precisely Dugu Ce, who rely on several moves based on my father Dugu Fengs direction. Would Senior please enlighten me? Du Fuweiughed aloud and said, Turns out it is indeed an old friends descendant. I wonder if Laotaitais [elderlydy] asthma is getting better? An angry look shed across Dugu Ces handsome face; he responded, Laonainai [(paternal) great-grandmother, but in this case I think it is simply old (paternal) grandmother] is well. Thank you very much for Du Zongguans concern. Actually, although the leader of Dugu n was Dugu Ces father, Dugu Feng, speaking about martial art skill, it was Dugu Fengs mother, You Chuhong, who held the first ce [orig. sitting steadily on number one chair]. You Chuhong was nearly a hundred years old. At the age of sixty she abandoned the sword and used a staff instead. During the creation of the Pifeng Zhang Fa [Cloak/cape Staff Technique], she nearly suffered fire deviation. Although luckily she was able to save herself in time, the after effect remained; from time to time it red up in asthma-like symptoms. That was the reason of Du Fuweis question. Du Fuweis intention was to infuriate Dugu Ce; having achieved his purpose, he roared, I want to see if there is anything new in Dugu Familys Bi Luo Hongzhen. Both sides were holding their breath in silence, waiting for Dugu Ce to make his move. Ring! the sword left its scabbard. Dugu Ce held the sword horizontally across his chest, He stood motionless, yet his imposing aura was suffocating. It was indeed the demeanor of a famous house. Kou Zhong, who was standing at the edge of the cliff, whispered in Xu Zilings ear, The opportunity to learn hase! Xu Ziling nodded excitedly. The one thing theycked the most was realbat experience. If they could watch martial art experts poised for battle, it would definitely bring great benefits to them. Dugu Ce coldly shouted, Pardon my offense! as he swiftly stepped forward and moved his sword to attack. A dense cold air immediately filled the air. They sawyer uponyer of sword shadows rushing forth in front of his chest, the moves were tricky, strange and tight, it appeared to attack, but seemed to defend, so that the opponent waspletely unable to estimate. Du Fuwei showed a grim expression. With a feign sway, he suddenly moved to Dugu Ces left side. Dugu Ces body followed the movement of his sword. He let out a muffled shout, thousands of sword tips rushed forth like raging tide or gigantic wave toward Du Fuwei. Unexpectedly it was an offense without any regard of self-defense. Du Fuweiughed aloud, his right hand sleeve flew out. Bang! it swept around the perimeter of the shadow of swords. Qi and sword force collided, emitting another muffled-thunder-like noise, making those to hear it to feel as if they were assaulted by a shockwave. Dugu Ce was jolted back half a step as if he was struck by a lightning bolt. Both of Du Fuweis sleeves flew together, seizing the opportunity to pursue and attack, while his body shed toward the other side tounch another attack; he was as fast as a ghost. Now everybody knew that Dugu Ces internal energy was inferior to Du Fuwei; but nobody could tell whether he would or he would not be able to take ten moves. Besides, the universe inside Du Fuweis sleeves have yet yed their part. Dugu Ces treasured sword swiftly shed up from the lower part of his side toward Du Fuweis face, totally ignoring the opponents two sleeves. It was another both-side-suffer move. Watching the fight, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling gained tacit understanding; theypletely grasped the concept of Dugu Ces sword technique and strategy. It must be noted that with his status as the Senior [qian bei, older generation], if he was injured by a younger generation, even if he was able to kill the opponent, it would be hard for him to im shameless victory. But under the opponents relentless offense without any regard of defense like this, to gain victory without being hurt under ten moves was certainly easier said than done. Seeing how Dugu Ce had full control of his swords position and was able to change ording to the situation, and how he was able to distribute his power evenly, and thus showing his profound mastery, Du Fuwei eximed, Good! His sleeves suddenly folded up to mp the sword de on both sides; in an instant he has grasped the initiative, rendering the opponent unable to continue his strike. Dugu Ces iparably fast and fierce sword was suddenly unable to advance even a cun. Dugu Ce knew the situation was bad. Just as he was thinking of pulling his sword in abrupt retreat, Du Fuweis right hand, which was still hidden inside his sleeve, suddenly flicked the tip of his sword. Dugu Ce felt as if the pit of his stomach was struck by lightning, he nearly vomited blood. Fortunately he had trained first-ss internal energy cultivation since childhood, his foundation was very strong; swiftly he channeled his true qi to disperse the opponents force with difficulty. But in the process he was jolted two steps back; one step and a half farther than the previous setback. Yun Yuzhen and the others were all shocked; their countenance paled. The arm guards inside Du Fuweis sleeves have not been used, Dugu Ce already fell into a disadvantageous position; how could the battle continue? To their surprise, however, Du Fuwei did not continue with pursue and attack; he put his hands behind his back again and said with a coldugh, If Dugu Feng himself were here, he might have a chance in an all-out battle with me, but you, noble nephew, fall far too short. There are still eight moves left. If noble nephew is trying to be brave and continue fighting, Ol Du can guarantee that you will find it difficult to guarantee your life. Noble nephew better think it over three times. Dugu Ces chest was heaving up and down incessantly, the color on his handsome face alternated between red and white. Now he knew that there is no famous reputation with empty skill. Du Fuwei has been moving across thend under the heavens unhindered for thest several decades; he was on par with top martial art masters of the four powerful ns, as well as other experts such as Zhai Rang, Li Mi, Dou Jiande, Wang Bo, and the like. He had real skill and definitely did not enjoy false reputation. However, if Dugu Ce had to concede at this point, he simply could not ept it, no matter what. Yun Yuzhens face was devoid of any color; she hurried forward and saluted, Junior epts your advice. Du Zongguan may take the two boys away, On behalf of Jukun Bang, Yuzhen assures you that we wont interfere in this matter anymore. Du Fuwei remained impassive; turning his gaze toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two people, he said in soft voice, Children! Lets go home! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling burst into loudughter together; theirughter carried a heroic feeling. Xu Ziling loudly cried out, Heroes can be killed but never humiliated. How could we, the Two Dragons of Yangzhou, be traded back and forth like merchandise? With an air of righteousness, Kou Zhong also said, Die! Please forgive your sons for not being filial. Dont! Yun Yuzhen and Du Fuwei shouted together. The two boys did not hesitate at all. Just as Yun Yuzhen and Du Fuwei rushed forward, they jumped over the cliff. Yun Yuzhen and Du Fuwei reached out trying to catch them, but both grabbed empty air. They saw the two boys figure rapidly getting smaller and smaller. Judging from the speed and the momentum with which the two boys were falling, they knew that these boys did not know qinggong. In fact, the posture as the boys fell was poles apart from conventional qinggong that Yun Yuzhen and Du Fuwei knew; naturally they could not grasp the truth of the matter. Ssh! Holding each others hand, the two boys fell through and broke the branch of an old tree extended from the cliff wall. Branches and leaves split up and closed down after them, and they disappeared from Du and Yun, two peoples line of sight. Du Fuwei looked up to heaven and let out a sorrowful roar, revealing regret and grief so deep that other people found it hard to express or exin! Yun Yuzhen was as dumb as a wooden chicken; she stared nkly toward the bottom of the cliff, while grieving silently. She thought that if she did not try to exploit them, right now the two boys would still live and y happily at that quiet beach. It was only then did she realize that she actually had some feelings toward them. Du Fuwei suddenly turned his body around, as if he could not bear to look down anymore. All of you must apany them in death! he coldly hissed. Yun Yuzhen came to her senses; she quickly stepped back into her troop formation. The men on Du Fuweis side swarmed in, forcing them toward the edge of the clff. Suddenly from the bottom of the cliff came the sound of howling wolves. Du Fuweis countenance changed as he said, Forget it! Get lost! Finished speaking, he jumped onto the edge of the cliff to look down. At this moment Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had sessfullynded in the jungle; without fighting, the four bottles of chicken blood broke, sshing chicken blood everywhere, some brushed onto the branches and leaves, some fell into the bushes. The two boys cried out for their Niang in pain, but they knew it was a critical moment. Crawling and rolling, they randomly picked a direction to take and madly rushed toward that direction, creating a strip of bloody path. Even when their weapons, money purse, and everything else fell from their pockets, they did not have time to pick it up. Since they fell down but did not die, naturally other people could also go down and see if they were dead or alive. Suddenly there was a loud howl of a wolf; the two boys lost their soul and dropped their spirit. They scuttled away and used the Bird Crossing Technique to jump onto a tree. Several hungry and very fierce wolves appeared, ferociously sniffing the chicken blood on the ground. Kou Zhong cried out and jumped onto another tree. Xu Ziling followed behind. Shortly afterward they have gone quite far. In the meantime, Du Fuwei has arrived at the bottom of the cliff. Seeing several dozens wolves chasing and beating around the bloodstained bushes, his anger red. He pounced forward and grabbed some hapless hungry wolves. This could also be considered the two boys good luck. If not for this flock of ravenous wolves fighting with each other over the bloodstain attracting Du Fuweis attention, the noise the two boys made as they were running away would surely fail to escape the ears of this top martial art master of the Wulin world. By nightfall, the two boys have covered over fifty li, and were extremely exhausted. When they found a clear creek nearby, they washed their chicken-blood stained clothes. As the moon rose, the two boys immersed themselves in the creek, and could not help thinking about the good old days when they met Fu Junchuo for the first time; it was so surreal that they thought it was a dream. What is this ce? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong thought for a moment before replying, We were traveling west along Huai River, and then turned around and disembarked on the northern bank. Right now we ought to be between Pengcheng and Donghai, two counties. Ha! Did you remember that Yun woman [poniang (derogatory)] said that these days Shanmei Xianren Madame Dong Ming mighte to Pengcheng to see Li Yuan, the n Leader of the Li n? If you want to marry beautiful Dong Ming little princess, we should go to Pengcheng. Because this kid had his heart filled with lofty aspirations, he made a serious effort in studying Central ins geography. Xu Ziling dove into the bottom of the creek. It was quite a while before his head emerged above the water. You havent had enough? he said, Right now everybody thinks we are dead, wouldnt it be better to go to Old Zhais residence first to find Su Jie, and see if Li Dage condition is better? Kou Zhong sneered and said, You, this kid, really dont have aspiration; arent we going to avenge Niang? If we go find Yuwen Huagu openly right now, we will only incurughter from his foul mouth. But mountain people have wonderful idea to kill Yuwen Huagu. [This is the second time he called himself mountain people. Must be a ng of some sort.] What wonderful idea? Xu Ziling wondered. The all-knowing Kou Zhong replied, Naturally that ount book. Perhaps Yuwen n also ced an order for weapons from Dong Ming Pai, with intention to rebel. Otherwise, he would not order Haisha Bang to attack Floating Fragrance gship. Isnt it clear that he wanted to destroy the evidence that he is going to revolt? Xu Zilings eyes immediately lit up. Kou Zhong lowered his voice, Come! Lets have apetition. Xu Ziling was stunned, Competing in what? he asked. Kou Zhong replied, Competing who get to wear our wet clothes first, and thenpeting whose qinggong is a bit better, by deciding whos going to step into Pengcheng first. The two boys looked at each other, and then with a scream they scrambled toward their wet clothes by the creek. With many twists and turns, these good friends who were closer than brothers, finally gain their freedom back. Once again they set their foot in another stage of lifes journey. Book 3 - 1 – People in Terrible Situation Book 3 Chapter 1 C People in Terrible Situation Tranted by Foxs Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling put on their tattered and wet clothes, and ran over the mountain and fields, giggling andughing, heading toward the direction of what they guessed to be Pengcheng. Right now they did not have a single wen, even their weapons were gone, nevertheless, in their heart they were exceedingly cheerful; there was a joyful feeling that the whole sea and sky were wide open for me to crisscross. The more they ran, the more the joy in their heart grew. Although they often felt that the breathing from their mouth and nose could not keep up, their inner breathing was circting endlessly. Kou Zhong jumped onto a boulder. From its top he soared high into the air and made a flip as he descended onto the slop below. Unfortunately his footing was unstable, he fumbled three, four zhang down the slope into a clump of underbrush at the bottom of the hill. This time even his left sleeve was caught by the twigs and tore, exposing his thick and solid arm. In his yful spirit Xu Ziling wanted to suffer the same fate, so he also rolled down and crashed onto Kou Zhong. Holding their head in their hands, the two boysughed heartily. In their delight they forgot their appearance. Ah! Kou Zhong suddenly eximed; pointing to the far away sky he said, What is that? Xu Ziling raised his head and looked; seeing bright and shing red light, he said in horror, Fire! Kou Zhong sprang up and said, Lets go and see! It was a burned down small town. All the houses have burned through the roof. Inside and outside the town was full of human and animal bodies scattered around. Some have turned into barely recognizable charred remains. The houses were still burning, creating crackling noise and emitting unceasing stream of thick ck smoke. Apart from that, this supposedly lively and prosperous market town had be a deathly still ghost town. The survivors must have fled far away. Some of the corpses still had dried bloodstains. Unexpectedly the murders did not distinguish men, women, young and old; everybody was massacred cruelly. Looking at all these, the two boys eyes were brimming with hot tears, but their hearts were as cold as ice. Could it be that Du Fuweis menmitted such atrocity? Why did theymit this kind of worse-than-a-beast action? From the west of town they heard faint noise of carriages, horses and men. But the noise was moving away. The two boys clenched their teeth and madly chased away. Passing through a thick wooded area, the two boys were stunned. They saw along the official road heading north arge number of Sui troops. Their body armor and helmet were in disarray, their banner askew; evidently these were retreating defeated troops. Falling behind at the end of the line were countless mule carts. Due to the load they carried, theygged some distance away from the troops main body, just like an old man struggling and trudging along this section of the road. The two boys were bewildered and were just wondering if it was this group of defeated soldiers whomitted the heinous crime when suddenly from a mule cart near the end of the line they heard a mans maliciousughter, followed by a naked woman, whose body was covered in blood, was thrown out of the cart. Bang! the womannded on the muddy road, motionless. Obviously she was dead. The Sui troop driving the cartughed heartily and said, Lao Zhang [ole Zhang], you are all right. That was the third. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were burning with anger. They could not hold it anymore and ran madly after the cart. The thief soldier, who had just raped and murdered an innocent woman, lifted himself up from the cart; suddenly seeing the two boys, he drew his saber and with a loudugh said, survivor [orig. dead leftover], was it your Niang that I just f*ck? Righteous indignation filled the two boys heart; without even remembering that they had no weapons, they flew toward the Sui soldier. Seeing the two boys know martial art, the Sui soldier jumped in fright; he cried out to the driver to turn around and help him, while at the same time he swept his saber horizontally to prevent the two boys fromnding on the cart. Kou Zhong was about to take him head-on, but then he suddenly realized that he had no weapon in his hand. Without even thinking he sent out a mouthful of true qi, unexpectedly, for the first time ever, while he was still midair, his body rose and the enemys saber missed by a hairbreadth. With great difficulty he somersaulted over the enemys head. In front, the Sui soldier driving the cart raised hisnce and thrust it toward Kou Zhongs chest. It happened right when Kou Zhong, who was still midair, suddenly realized that he had made a breakthrough; his heart was shaken, he abruptly sucked a mouthful of physical qi, hence his true qi became disturbed, hended heavily on the sacks of grain, the cargo of the mule cart, and thus escaped the enemysnce. In the meantime, Xu Zilings right foot had justnded on the railing of the mule cart. Seeing the saber swept, using this foot as the axis he hastily revolved his body around and fast as lightning his left foot kicked the enemys left ear. Both his qi and strength were transmitted via the foot, the result was so brutal that the Sui soldier did not even have time to cry out when his neck bone was broken while his body was thrown behind the cart and he died on the spot. It was the very first time that Xu Ziling ever killed anybody. Horrified, his true qi was disturbed and he also fell on the pile of grains. Kou Zhong had just raised his hand to grab the iingnce; clutching the enemysnce, he sent out his strength to pull hard. Unable to hold his footing steady, the Sui soldier, the driver of the cart, slipped between the driver seat and the cart. Immediately a shrill, blood-curling screech was heard. By this time the Sui soldiers at the front of the line already knew something was happening. A dozen or so riders turned around to charge. Lets go! Kou Zhong shouted. The two boys hastily jumped off the cart; like a wisp of smoke they darted into the dense forest and disappeared without a trace. The two boys ran for more than ten li at a stretch, before they finally sat down to rest. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I just killed a man! How would I know that with one kick I sent him to his death? Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder and said, Death of those people who murdered, burned and raped innocent people need not be begrudged; dont let your heart be troubled. After a short pause, he continued, Those dog soldiers in Yangzhou, if they dont go on the rampage with total disregard of thew, then they bully innocent citizens; I just did not expect that murder and arson are also their masterpiece. No wonder so many people rise in rebellion. Compared tost time, our Ol Dies men can be considered not too bad. Hey! Did you hear that? Xu Ziling focused his attention to listen carefully; sure enough there was a faint sound of battle carried by the wind. The sound seemed toe from a very wide area, as if two veryrge troops were fighting each other in life and death battle. Remembering the town people who were massacred by the Sui army, their heart was burning with anger as they sprang up at once. Kou Zhong said in deep regret, If I had known earlier, I would have seized thatnce, so that we could stake our lives against those dog soldiers. A murderous aura bubbled up in Xu Zilings heart; expressing his agreement he said, We can go to look at the situation first, wont seizing two sabers be easy then? After all, what weck the most is battle experience. Let those thief soldiers, who are worse than a beast, have a taste of our saber. The two boys have just had a small test of their skill with remarkable result, so now their confidence was at its peak. Kou Zhong nodded and said, It seems that we now have some real skill, its just that we dont have a chance for more practice. Xiongdi,e! Today is our first day of crisscrossing the Jianghu unhindered. Screaming with joy, they rushed toward the sound of battle. After swimming across a stream, they unleashed their lightness skill. Going over a small hill, they went straight up the slope. Upon reaching the top, a wide clearing suddenly appeared before their eyes. They saw on the ins below two armies were engaged in fierce battle. One side wore the uniform of Sui army, approximately ten thousand men strong; the other side wore one-color dark green in clothes. Their number was only about one-fourth of the Sui army, but every single ones martial art skill was not weak, their formation was still intact. As they charged toward the Sui army, thetter was smashed and scattered, and could not exploit the advantage of their superior number. On the other side of the ins, there was a small hill, which was where themand center of the warriors in green was located. There were several horses, with their riders on their back, standing on top of the hill. They were using red, blue, and yellow, three colors signal light to control the advance and retreat movements of the warriors in green. It was the first time that the two boys witnessed the desperate situation on the battlefield; momentarily they were stunned and forgot the purpose of theiring here. After a good while, Kou Zhong came to his senses. Pointing to a cluster of sparse lights farther down, he said, That must be another vige or town. Perhaps the warriors in green are trying to stop the Sui army from going over there to kill and burn. What has actually happened? Xu Ziling sucked in a mouthful of cold air and said, If they are people from Ol Dies side and we interfere, wont it be the same as delivering ourselves to the mouth of the tiger? Chapter 1, Part 2 HPC, Jaya, Ysabel, Anh, ck, you are wee. CFT, thanks. Ill include the note in my source doc. Bocah, you are right, Patriots scored two touchdowns in thest quarter. I feel sorry for Sweetstrawberry, he must be very upset. Kou Zhong thought for a moment, and then said, How can Ol Dies men have such a neat uniform? They must be from another militia. Hey, Xiao Ling! Are you afraid? Xu Zilingughed aloud. Reaching out toward a tree nearby, he exerted his strength and broke two thick branches, about the same diameter as a childs arm, and around a zhang long. Tossing one branch to Kou Zhong, he said with augh, To uphold chivalry, to be promoted and gain wealth, we are relyingpletely on these guys. After removing the foliage, Kou Zhong shouldered the tree branch and theatrically said, Xu Zhuangshi [hero/warrior/fighter], please be my guest! Xu Ziling waved his branch several times in the air, and then holding it solemnly with both hands, he started to sing, Whoosh, whoosh, cries the wind; River Yi is cold; brave men [zhuangshi, see above] once gone, will definitely return[1]. Ha! Laozi [I, your daddy, used arrogantly or jocrly] is going! Amidst theirughter, the two boys, one in front the other followed behind, rushed down the hill. But as they were about to charge to the ins, there was the swish, swish sound of arrows. From the bushes about ten zhang ahead, a row of arrows were shot toward them. The two boys have never had any experience dealing with arrows before, plus they had never anticipated there would be an ambush here. Terrified, they rolled down on the ground in such a sorry state. But the arrows flew overhead; they had just escaped a very dangerous situation. The two boys courage vanished immediately. Crawling and rolling, they hid behind a cluster of rocks and trees that extended over ten zhang wide, and no longer dared to move. Like a tidal wave the sound of stampeding feet flooding over their hiding ce. Suddenly there were Sui soldiers to their left and right, each one with ance in his hand, charging toward them. It was not even clear how many soldiers were there. It was only then did the two boys realize that while the warriors in green were heavily surrounded, the Sui troops who intercepted them right now were actually to prevent reinforcement from warriors in greens side froming to their aid. If the two boys had a choice, they would prefer to escape without any trace and not trying to be heroes. However, at this moment it was impossible to get away. Thereupon they jumped up and brandished their tree trunk, while exerting the entire strength in their body, wildly sweeping and striking the enemy. Fournces were struck by the tree trunk and flew away, two of thence wielders were even hit by the trunk that they dropped to the ground with head bleeding and broken. Meanwhile, the enemy was in front and behind them, surrounding them with torches lifted high, bathing the area around them bright red. A squad of saber and hatchet wielders burst into the encirclement, their chop and hack were directed toward the boys tree trunk. Battle cry shook the heavens. While the two boys managed to repel another round of attack, the tree trunk in their hands were only less than half their original size, but half of the enemy were not hurt yet. Realizing their dire situation, Kou Zhong called out, Climb up the rock! Xu Ziling somersaulted and followed him to fall back behind the pile of rocks. The enemy shouted, over tennces were thrown toward them. In this critical moment, the two boys became calm instead, as if they did not hear any sound, as well as no sound could prate their keen ears. The true qi within their body circted at a rate several times faster than normal; in contrast, the pursuing troops and the thrownnces seemed to be slowing down considerably. They were able to see clearly the angle, as well as the speed and the order of arrival of eachnce being thrown. It was a kind of feeling that even in their dream it was hard to achieve. They stood back to back and brandished their tree trunk, which were only about four chi left. Poking to the left and sweeping to the right, blocking the front and resisting the rear, their movements flowed naturally, their defense was so tight that not one drop of water could trickle through. When the enemy saw theirnce lost its effectiveness, five, six saber and hatchet wielders pounced onto the pile of rocks, they wanted to engage the boys in closebat, but the consequences was fatal. Kou Zhong ducked down to dodge a broadsword, his tree trunk swept the saber wielders ankle. The man immediately fell to the ground. Kou Zhong easily snatched the opponents long saber and swiftly swept it across the lower abdomen of another Sui troop wielding an axe. Meanwhile Xu Ziling also snatched another long saber; immediately his spirit rose. He threw the tree trunk and it hit a soldier, sending him tumbling down into the crevices between the rocks. Xu Ziling immediately jumped toward Kou Zhong and said, We break out! Letting out a shout, they left the rock and charged into the enemy formation. Xu Ziling unleashed the Bloody Battle Ten Styles taught by Li Jing, which would show its full potential in the battlefield anyway. He strode across, his long saber moved like lightning shes. The saber did not seem to have anything special or amazing about it, but the enemy being attacked found it difficult to evade, and thence in their hands seemed to lose its usefulness to block. Xu Ziling easily entered the gap, shed the fatal point on their chest, and they fell back, their blood sshed, and their life gone. Kou Zhong yed with his wrist more. First he deflected two thrustingnces, and then he swept his saber across, a Sui soldier immediately had his throat shed, and fell backward with miserable shriek. The two boys had never imagined that the Bloody Battle Ten Styles was this formidable; their courage doubled. They felt that although the enemy was numerous, they were able to see clearly the strength and weakness of each enemy attack, and all the subtle changes surrounding the attack, so much so that from the pressure of the enemys attack, they could even feel the power distribution on the peripheral; such feeling was certainly indescribable. In that instant they forgot about life and death. In this noisy, chaotic battle, they disyed their survival instinct. In the face of hundreds of enemy with their shing saber, spear, sword andnce, they remained fearless. Quite naturally they worked together, and the coordination between them was like seamless heavenly clothes, they moved rapidly among the enemy ranks; you attack I defend, I block you deflect. If they had to create this kind ofbined attack technique, in normal times they would not be able toe up with anything even if they thought until their brains burst. But this instant it simply came out like tidal waves, as if it was bestowed by the Heaven, without any trace of rough work-in-progress [orig. hatchet and chisel marks]. Xu Ziling brandished his saber and chopped ferociously, the true qi in his body was like the Great River surging out following the saber. The enemy did not even have time to raise their weapon to block, they could only watch helplessly as his saber, fast as lightning, entered their defense line and they fell to the ground in terror. Kou Zhongs saber was ever-changing; the seemingly endless supply of strength from deep within his body followed the saber. Although the opponent exerted all his strength to block the saber, they could not deflect Kou Zhongs chop even half a fen; worse yet, the person was carried by the sabers momentum that he flipped and fell dead. After Fu Junchuo taught them the Nine Mysteries Great Technique, in this extremely dangerous situation the two boysbined the Nine Mysteries Great Technique with the totally-unrted-to-martial-art Secret to Long Life, plus Li Jings Bloody Battle Ten Styles and the Beautiful Shifus Bird Crossing Technique to create their own one-of-a-kind fighting technique. This moment inside the forest ofnce, they felt that they could see gaps everywhere, hence they easily brushed the enemysnce away and advanced into the enemys line of defense; then the enemy would be helpless to do anything and had to resign to their fate of being ughtered. With each enemy downed, the power of their saber increased, until the enemy suffered a crushing defeat. Originally the enemy saw that since there were only two of them, they only dispatched apany of approximately a hundred Sui soldiers to intercept. Now that they saw how the two boys charged into the formation left and right, and how formidable the boys saber was, the Sui soldiers on the outeryer of the encirclement who cherished their lives scattered in all directions. Actually, by this time the two boys have already felt that their qi was depleted; therefore, seeing the opening, they hastily pressed on with all their strength, in a sh they sprinted out and broke through the heavy siege, and sessfully escaped. After running about a hundred zhang or so, they reached the dense forest. The two boys threw themselves on the ground, while panting heavily. Still wheezing, Kou Zhongughed and said, Ha! It worked! Such a big battle failed to kill us; have you ever thought about that? Xu Ziling stuck his saber into the mud; holding the hilt, he said while still gasping for breath, In fight like that, we wasted too much energy. We should have preserved our strength so that we wont have soft hands and weak legs like now. Are you injured? Kou Zhong asked, My back was cut twice; luckily I could dodge quite fast. Xu Ziling shook his head, Only my left thigh got a scrape from thence, tearing my pants; not a big deal. After catching his breath, Kou Zhong said, Shall we fight again or not? That militia does not seem to be well-off. Xu Ziling sat up and said, Of course we fight! If we let those inhuman Sui soldiers enter that vige or perhaps a market town, that dreadful situation we just saw might happen again. Kou Zhong crawled up in great delight. Now thats my good Xiongdi, he said, This time we must be a bit smarter; dont let them cut us off midway. The two boys leaped to the top of a tree to be able to see the situation clearly, and then looping around arge circle they ran to the battlefield. In this instant, they felt that they have grown up and not just two marketce ruffians. [1] From River Yi Song [yi shui ge], another name Song of Crossing River Yi. The song is part of the Chu Ci, the Songs of Chu, ancient book of poems collected during Han, but especially from State of Chu. Allegedly it wasposed by Jing Ke from the Warring States period [475-221 BC], who wasmissioned by Prince Dan of Yan to go to Qin State to assassinate King of Qin, at the farewell dinner he gave by the River Yi. (baike.baidu) The original song, as tranted by Yuri Pines, is as follows: Xiao xiao cries the wind, Yi waters are cold; Brave men, once gone, Nevere back! Here, Xu Ziling changed thest line to will definitely return. Book 3 - 2 – Crafty Plots and Intrigues Book 3 Chapter 2 C Crafty Plots and Intrigues The two boys stealthily [orig. walk like a snake, crouch like a mouse], very carefully walked toward the battlefield. After crossing a sparse forest, they reached the southeast corner of the battlefield. But they were finally discovered by the enemy. From the bushes on the left side, six, seven Sui soldiers emerged with swords in their hands, shouting harshly at them, pouncing at them like mad tigers. On the other side, soldiers were already in formation for battle. Within this tight formation, when a squad of about fifty cavalry heard themotion, they also charged toward the two boys, brandishing theirnces. The boys did not fear the enemy as much as they used to; without a word they turned to meet the Sui soldiers on foot and swiftly moved their sabers to chop and hack. Recalling the tragic situation in that town, where the buildings were burned to the ground and the people, as well as the animals were ughtered by these soldiers, the two boys heart was burning with murderous intention. The persons followed the sabers, their imposing manner was way above the enemys. The sabers split the air, the Sui soldiers fell face up, their swords flew away, not a single one was lucky enough to escape. In the meantime, the cavalry arrived. Unleashing their qinggong the two boys dodged into the bushes where the horses could not chase them. But as soon as the horses left, they rushed out to the ins, and sneaked behind apany of archers and saber and hatchet wielders, who had never anticipated that the enemy would sneak in silently from behind. As a result, even after the two boys ughtered quite a number of them like people chopping melons or slicing vegetables, they still thought that arge number of enemy reinforcement has arrived; hence they were thrown into chaos. Several torches fell onto the bushes and set the grass on fire, which rapidly spread everywhere. But the two boys did not know that this fire wouldter on save their lives. Actually, the number of Sui forces in this area reached three thousand. Quite a few experts with outstanding martial art skill included among these. Under normal circumstances, once they entered into the heavy siege, even people with strong martial art of Du Fuweis caliber would have no choice but to fight with all their might and perish; much less two boys whose battle experience was severelycking. This way! Kou Zhong shouted. Five Sui soldiers stepped out to meet them. Xu Ziling startedter but he arrived first. He pounced forward, shaking out his long saber,unching the Life or Death, Exist or Perish from the Bloody Battle Ten Styles. His saber moved like a giant wave rolling wildly onto the shore, his power overwhelming, one soldier immediately lost his life, another soldier was swept over and was thrown to the side. The other three cried out in fear and ran away. The two boys have never tested their skill with such an impressive result. They whooped in delight, and continued their killing spree into the heart of the battle. Dang! Suddenly someone blocked in front of Kou Zhong. Armed with a pair of awls he forcibly held Kou Zhong back that he was unable to advance a single step. When Xu Ziling tried to pounce, he was also pushed back by the opponent. Up to this point of the battle, the two boys have never encountered such a strong opponent. Countless Sui soldiers thronged behind this man to attack the two boys. The person who blocked the two boys was actually a high-ranking military officer of the Sui army. His countenance was aze with rage as he roared, Tear these two boys apart into ten thousand pieces for me! In the meantime, on a high ground on a hill about half a li from the ins, close to two hundred warriors in green were standing in battle array, with strong bows and powerful arrows, tightly guarding right in the center of the formation a beautiful woman in white clothes, with her long hair draped over her shoulder. Each time the beautiful woman gave out her order, the three men under hermand in charge of signal light immediately waved thenterns in three different colors strapped to the top of long poles, directing their warriors on the battlefield to advance, retreat, attack or defend. Behind the beautiful woman stood four people in a row. Just by looking at their expression and manner, it was obvious that they were all martial art masters. The first one was a stout man with thick beard, the next one was an iron-tower like huge man, the third one was a man wearing schrly attire, and thest one was a big middle0aged woman with an ugly face. The longhaired beautiful woman said in soft voice, Thats strange! Howe the southeast corner of the enemy formation seemed to be in confusion? Who could be helping us? The four people behind her focused their attention to look, but they did not see anything different. With deep contemtion in her beautiful eyes, the longhaired beautiful woman said, We cant see it on the surface; but I have an inkling from the way the opponent waves theirmand g. If the confusion spread, we must exploit it well. Not only we might break through the heavy siege, we might have the chance the win the battle. The eyes of the man wearing schr attire revealed an admiring look; he said respectfully, Miss knowledge surpasses heaven and men, your proficiency in the art of war even shines like a torch, you are indeed a capable person. The ugly woman said, In my opinion, if there is indeed reinforcement arriving, we ought to break out of the siege before nning any counterattack. Miss thousand-jin gold body must not be put in danger. As she spoke, the others immediately frowned because her screeching-owl like voice was grating their ears. But her remark gained support from the stout man with the thick beard. When Duke Li sent us to protect Miss, he ordered us to ce Miss safety above everything else, he said in agreement. A sh of displeased expression appeared on the longhaired beautiful womans unparalleled beautiful countenance; however, the tone of her voice was still as gentle and as tender as ever. She said nonchntly, As themander-in-chief, how can I care only on myself in the face of death and let my troops suffer defeat like andslide? If I cannot resist Qin Shubaos elite Sui troops and let him take over Fuchun, getting it back will be as hard as ascending to Heaven. She had just finished speaking, the southeast corner suddenly burst into mes. The longhaired beautiful woman immediately saw from the subtle change in the enemy ranks that the opponent indeed appeared to be in confusion. It must be noted that the southeast corner was the opponentsmand center from which the enemy direct the troops on the battlefield; a slight change there would affect everything else*, unlike if the sudden change happened elsewhere, it would be inconsequential. [*literal trantion: pull one hair and the whole body moves. Funny, suddenly Disney-Pixars Ratatouille came into my mind ...] Maintaining her elegant, carefree, charming demeanor, the longhaired beautiful woman issued the order tounch all-around counter-offensive on the southeast corner as their primary target. The four people behind her drew their weapons as they gathered around the longhaired beautiful woman as she mounted her war-horse. The more than two hundred riders galloped down the hill to join their two divisions of a thousand warriors each on the battlefield, unfolding a full-scale battle with the enemy. Right this moment Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two people, were caught in hard fighting and were unable to either advance or retreat. Suddenly the Sui army pulled back in all direction, because a group of warriors in green charged in on horseback, scattering the Sui troops all around them. The two boys were delighted to obtain a chance to escape the siege. By this time their spirit weary, their strength exhausted, they could not exert any strength to continue, hence they turned around and fled under cover of the raging fire burning the grasnd. Holding their breath, they rounded to the left and circled to the right to get far away from the battlefield. Finally they dropped down on a hilltop, with no strength left to run. Like ocean tide bursts of battle cry were still heard from the distance. Kou Zhong sighed and said, In the future we must not do such a foolish thing anymore. Even heroes are unable to withstand numerous enemies. Although we are not a hundred-percent hero, but the opponent have many men. You got it? I wonder who that Sui general was, Xu Ziling said, He is very formidable. Fortunately we are fast, otherwise his awls would take away our lives. Kou Zhong let out a cold snort and said, What kind of thing is he? We only need two more rounds of battle experience, I guarantee we will be able to beat him. Ow! Noticing that just as he was, Kou Zhong was covered in blood all over, Xu Ziling asked in concern, Any injury on vital point? Kou Zhong sneered and said, If there is any injury on my vital point, would I be able to run to here? What a contradictory question you are asking me. Ah right! Id better look at your wounds first. Whats so good to look? Xu Ziling replied, After you look, then what? Fortunately we have miraculous skill of self healing; wed better take a good sleep, tomorrow well talk again! Kou Zhong dejectedlyy on the ground. Very soon the two boys circted their inner breathing, and entered the state of emptiness. Xu Ziling felt he was asleep, but when he opened his eyes, Kou Zhong was still sleeping soundly like he was dead on the grassynd. When he stretched his four limbs, he felt that the seven, eight wounds on his body were burning with pain. The sun had just risen in the sky, all around were birdsong and fragrant flowers, the mountain was eerily quiet. The warst night seemed to be a distant and unreal nightmare. If not for the acute pain all over his body, he would think that such bloody battle has never happened. A flock of birds flew unhurriedly over the seemingly still blue sky. In this instant, Xu Ziling seemed to capture a great mystery of the nature that has existed since time immemorial, but he was unable to describe it in concrete words. Xu Ziling felt his heart was calm, his mind was bright and clear. After going throughst nights battle, where he was continuously on the brink of death, he felt that he had entered a brand new stage in life. All the dangers and suffering were merely course of events that he must go through and experience as part of his spiritual journey. Kou Zhong nudged him with his elbow, with a low chuckle he said, You are staring nkly at the empty space, what are you thinking about? Xu Ziling sat up. Frowning, he looked at his tattered clothes and torn trousers, which was covered in bloodstains and filled with ck soot. He said with a wry smile, I am thinking of a clean set of clothes and a big dish of meat and vegetables. Other things can wait for a bit. Kou Zhong struggled up; ncing to the left and right, he said in self-effacing way, Xiaodi [little brother, referring to self] seems to lose my bearings. I cant tell whether Pengcheng is to our east or west; what do you think? Shall we pick a direction at random and leave it to fate? Xu Ziling said, How could Zhong Shao suddenly lose his head? A big city like Pengcheng must be connected by official roads. If we go back to the major roadst night, we can humbly ask whomever wee across, I am sure we will find the right way. Kou Zhongughed and said, Very true! Lets go! Chapter 2, Part 2 Anh, HPC, Ysabel, Drak & ck, you are wee. Jaya, DongBin, I made simrment the other day. Too many beautiful women, one is prettier than the other. End of Chapter 2. The two boys looked for wild vine to casually fasten the saber on their back. Relying on their memory, they headed toward the ruins of the small town they sawst night. After dashing madly for a while, covering at least seven or eight li, they slowed down their steps to look around to find their bearings. Kou Zhongughed bitterly and said, Looks like we are lost again. Otherwise we should have seen that towns ruins. From here, we dont see any people ahead, we dont see any vige behind; we cant even find anybody we can ask direction from. Hey! Whats that? Xu Ziling had already noticed fire and smoke rising up from the foot of a hill ahead; he happily said, I dont care what that is. Once we go there, we will find out what it is. The two boys ran down the hill. Who would have thought that although the ce did not seem too far, it was already dusk when they reached it? Turned out it was a small vige. The smoke was spiraling upward from a kitchen chimney of the roof of one of the buildings, evidently some people were lighting the fire to cook dinner. But Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were worried for their safety instead. This area was not far from the battlefield; if those worse-than-beast Sui soldiers came here, great catastrophe would befall the people of this vige. In the blink of an eye they reached the entrance to the vige. They saw there were only about thirty houses in there, but the houses were spaced quite far apart from each other. Nevertheless, the vige was quiet; there was not even any sound of chicken crowing or dog barking that was normally found in such vige. The two boys felt something was really, really not right. Kou Zhong said, In this vige, every door is tightly closed; it appears that the vigers had already run away elsewhere because of the war. That house with smoke rising from it, probably it was someone passing through and used it to cook their food. Shall we go and try our luck? Worse case scenario, we can always run away. Relying on our qinggong, we shouldnt have any problem! Xi Ziling patted the saber on his back andughed aloud, We are not afraid of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, why would we fear his mothers passerby? If it is traveling merchant, well ask him for a bowl of rice to eat, we may even offer our services as his temporary escort so that we can earn a bit of profit as traveling expense to look for Susu Jiejie. Kou Zhong stuck out his chest and said, I nearly forget that we are top-ranking martial art experts. Ha! Come on then! And he took the lead striding into the vige. They saw the house with the smoke rising from its kitchen chimney was actually thergest house in the vige. It was separated into front and rear sections, with a courtyard separating it, but the gates were tightly closed, giving them a mysterious feeling, especially because they did not hear a single noise. Anybodys home? Kou Zhong called out. He repeatedly called several times, but still no response. Xu Ziling was rather nervous; he nudged Kou Zhong and said, Lets just go and forget about it. Kou Zhong sneered and said, Are you forgetting our status as martial art masters? Well go in to take a look, perhaps the person has already gone, but he left a couple bowls of rice for us. Stepping toward the door, he used his leg to push, the door sumbed and opened. The two boys stepped over the threshold and entered the main hall. They saw that all the furniture and household utensils were still there, but everything was covered with dust; there were even cobwebs on the corners, evidently this house has been abandoned for quite some time. They could not help feeling odd. Walking across the courtyard, they entered the residential section at the back, and found that not a soul was inside the house. Who lighted the fire in the kitchen and created the spiraling smoke from the chimney earlier? But by this time the fire was very weak, it nearly died out. While Xu Ziling was looking for any traces on the floor, Kou Zhongs voice was heard from the rear hall, Xiao Ling,e here. I found half of your dreams. Xu Ziling did not have time to decipher what he meant by that; he rushed over toward one of the rooms on the rear wing. As soon as stepped over the door, something assaulted his face like a ck cloud. Stretching out his hand to catch it, he found it to be a piece of clean linen clothes. He saw arge chest dragged out from under the bed, its lid was opened, and Kou Zhong was pulling pile after pile of clothing and other personal items, and scattered everything on the bed; it was like he was in a treasure hunt, picking to the left and digging to the right. The two boys were in high spirit. After changing into new clothes, they felt like a new person; only their stomach was rumbling with hunger; it was indeed a big fly in the ointment. Meanwhile the sky was getting dark, the two boys searched everywhere, but could not find even half a grain of rice or wheat. Kou Zhong said, Every vige must have some kind of grove of fruit trees; you stay here to prepare the bed, Ill go pick some good fruits to ay our hunger. They have all kinds of beds here, we will spend the night here and continue on our journey tomorrow. Xu Ziling nodded his agreement, and they went their separate ways. Half a dayter, Kou Zhong returned with a big rooster in his hand; he said, Turns out there are still some domestic animals left. Hey! There is a very big burial site at the back, mostly new graves. Looks like not all of the vigers have left, perhaps they died of some kind of epidemic. Xu Ziling gasped; he said, In that case, the clothes we are wearing ... Kou Zhong went to the courtyard to take care of the rooster; he called out, Theres at least one person who did not die; otherwise, who buried all those dead people? Maybe it was the person who lighted the fire? Hearing that, Xu Ziling was absolutely horrified; he went to the courtyard, pulled Kou Zhong up, and said, Wouldnt it be better to go to the next house? Ill get the fiint! Although on the surface Kou Zhong always put on an extremely daring appearance, he was actually very nervous inside as well; immediately he gave his full support to Xu Zilings proposal, and they both moved to aparatively smaller house on the other side of the vige. After having their stomach filled, the weather suddenly turned windy. The two boys did not dare to touch the beds or the couches; they closed all the doors and windows, and huddled in the corner to rest. Although they were nervous and jittery, eventually they sumbed to their weary body and fell into deep slumber. In the middle of the night the two boys woke up with a start. As they sat up in bewilderment, they heard the sound of hoof beats filling the air outside the house. They crawled up toward the window and looked out, and saw a band of riders swarming into the vige, their horses looked big and tall, their clothes and adornment looked bold and powerful, with quivers of arrows on their backs, and their appearance looked rough and wild, unlike people of the Central Earth. This group had approximately thirty men, one of them appeared particrly majestic, carrying roughly eight chi long rectangr box on his back, yet he did not seem to be burdened by it and appeared to be carrying it effortlessly. Arriving in the middle of the vige, the man carrying the box jumped down the horse with ease, and put the box in the middle of the road, while the other men also dismounted their horses. One of them, a tall and slim man who appeared to be the leader, was still sitting high on his horse; he signaled his men to search. With the exception of the huge man with the box, the rest of his men spread out, kicking on doors and entering the houses. Each and every single man was skillful, vigorous and nimble, and they all moved in such a fast and efficient way; which clearly showed that these were men with consummate and overwhelming martial art skill. Watching this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling no longer remembered that they themselves were martial art experts. They jumped up onto the beam, and hid themselves in the space between the beam and the roof, which they considered aparatively hidden and safe ce. Underneath, sound of footsteps came and then left, but then it came again, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor. The two boys could not refrain from peeking down. Turned out the men brought the box into this house and ced it right under the two boys. It was only then did the boys realize that the box had a dozen or so small holes on it. Four men stood guard in front of and behind the door; they all looked tense. And then someone walked into the house. The two boys hastily shrunk their heads back and stopped breathing from their mouth and nose, and just used their inner breathing, because they did not dare to make any noise. The people down below talked rapidly in somenguage that they had never heard before, which confirmed their suspicion earlier that these men were from outside the Central Earth. The boys were at a loss even more. The men down below suddenly stopped talking. It was quite some timester that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling heard hoof beats from outside the vige. They grew increasingly nervous and were afraid to make the slightest bit of noise, because clearly these foreign mens sense of hearing was several levels above theirs. The men spoke a few more sentences before stepping out of the house together. Kou Zhong reached out to write on Xu Zilings back: There must be a person inside the box, otherwise why made venttion holes? Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. Meanwhile another group of riders pulled into the vige. From the sound of the hooves, this group hadparable number of men with the first one. The hoof beats suddenly stopped. A mans voice rang out, Zu Junyan under Pushan Gongs [Duke of Pushan (Mount Pu)]mand sincerely wishes your distinguished countrys Shibi Khans dragon body good health. Shibi Khan was the Turkic peoples great Khan. A longughter outside the house responded, Turns out its Mr. Zu Junyan, a warrior under Duke Mi, who is well versed in letters and military matters. I wonder if Mister brought the thing that our Khan requested. Zu Junyan calmly replied, Excuse me, General, how should Zaixia [myself (humble)] address you? Another majestic voice from the Turkic side spoke up, People say that Zu Junyan has wide learning and retentive memory, and is known as the most experienced and knowledgeable figure of Duke Mis subordinate outside of the Handsome Military Counselor Shen Luoyan; howe you did not even recognize our General Yan? Zu Junyanughed and said, Turns out its General Yan Lihui, who made his name as the Twin Spears General. In that case, this friend must be the Dauntless Lion Tie Xiong. Zaixia has eyes but fail to see. Letting out a cold snort, Yan Lihui said, Lets cut all this crap, shall we? Where is it? Unfazed, Zu Junyan replied, Zaixia wishes to see Miss first before showing the treasure. This is Duke Mis order. General please forgive me. Listening to all these, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were sitting the beam, were shaken. The Miss that Zu Junyan mentioned, could she be Susus master? They recalled Susu once said that it was because they were being attacked that she wandered about destitute in rural areas of Jiangnan. At the same time the two boys were thinking about the box below. Was Big Boss Zhai Rangs [see Book 1 Chapter 10] beloved daughter [orig. pearl in the palm] inside the box? Kou Zhong wrote on Xu Zilings back again: Wait for an opportunity to save her! Outside, Yan Lihuis coldugh was heard, The treasure in hand, we will release the person. The words of our Khan have never been spoken in vain. If Mister does not show the treasure, what the Big Boss get could very well be only the body of his beloved woman. All me will be put on Misters head. Zu Junyan let out a longugh and said, The Jade Annulus of the He n is precisely inside the bundle on my back. You hand over the person, we hand over the goods; this has been our agreement. If there are any changes in the meantime, the responsibility ought to fall into Generals hands. It was as if a thunderbolt had just crashed inside Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings mind; it was only then did they know that the treasure these men were talking about was, unexpectedly, the Jade Annulus of the He n, which fame has spread throughout all ages. Right this moment, a sudden change urred down below. The back door suddenly shattered like flying sand, the two martial art experts Turkic guards did not even have time to react, they were sent out flying off the ground and died a violent death. By the time the other two men realized what had happened, a dark shadow flew over the two mens head, and powerfully grabbed and shattered the Tian Ling acupoint on the top of their head. The most frightening thing was that breaking the door, sending the dead bodies off the ground, and killing people with bare hands; everything was done in silence. It was as if everything was a routine activity that had nothing to do with this person. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that this persons martial art skill has already reached the near-perfect state, plus its nature was extremely soft, his movement was as fast as a ghost. Before the shattered door even reached the floor, he had already killed four Turkic martial art masters guarding the wooden chest. The two boys mind went nk; they did not dare to look down anymore, even their internal breathing was slowing down considerably. If it were not because of their mysterious skill came from the one and only Secret to Long Life, that when they circte their breathing it would not arouse a martial art experts alertness, that their qi and pulse, their heartbeat and vital signs slowed down nearly to the level of dead people, they would have been discovered by this person early on. This mans martial art skill was extremely high, it was definitely not below Du Fuweis. Creak! the lid of the chest suddenly opened up. The man cried out in surprise, followed by the loud sound of qi and force collided, and then there were repeated noise that sounded like muffled thunder. Boom! In the midst of an ear-splitting explosion, the brick wall to the left shattered. Unexpectedly it was actually the man who broke it; he then flew out of the opening, and ran far away, while letting out an earth-shattering fierce cry. His power was extremely astounding that the whole house was shaking. Brick and mortar shot everywhere, including onto Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings body. Although they had their true qi protecting their body, they still felt unbearable pain; another evidence that this mans internal energy was really strong. The two boys could not bear it anymore, they looked down again. They saw the chest had turned into wood splinters, the furniture inside the room had also turned into a sea of wood fragments. A man, as majestic as a mountain, wearing an oversized ck gown, was standing in the middle of the room, facing the hole on the wall, regting his breathing in full concentration. From the two boys angle of view, although they could not see his face, it was clear that this man was wearing a sinister, hideous mask on his face. They heard gusts of wind; several people flew into the room from the hole on the wall, as well as from the front and back doors, scaring the two boys that they hastily shrank back into hiding. Zu Junyans voice was the first to be heard, He is injured! A strange, unbelievable, hard-to-describe feeling rose up in the two boys heart. ording to reason, the man who came to rescue his Big Boss daughter ought to be on Zu Junyans side, and the mysterious man who was hiding inside the chest ought to be his enemy. However, from the tone of his voice, Zu Junyan seemed to be on the mysterious mans side? More unimaginable things followed; they heard the Turkic martial art master Yan Lihuis voice speaking up, Zhai Rang made it this far, this is the first time that he ever sustained any injury. This will make his sacrifice and achievements in the past proved to be fruitless. Tie Xiong spoke with a cold snort, It shows that he is a man without understanding of the times. The two boys realized now that Zu Junyan had betrayed Zhai Rang and Li Mi, and had allied himself with the Turkic people and put on a y. No wonder the Turkic people knew Susus Miss whereabouts and kidnapped her away. A deep and low, yet soft voice spoke up, Even though we failed to kill him, we have achieved the desired result. This ce is not suitable for us to stay too long, we should proceed with our n. Both Zu Junyan and Yan Lihui, along with their separate troops, responded in unison. Soon the people down below left until none remained. But the two boys were so scared that it broke their guts. It was just before dawn that they finally found their courage to slip down and left quietly. Book 3 - 3 – Betting Against Beautiful Woman Book 3 Chapter 3 C Betting Against Beautiful Woman After traveling for more than ten li in one stretch, they reached a secluded forest. Only then did the two boys dare to stop and pick up some wild fruits to eat. Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh and said, The man who attacked Zhai Rang sneakily is definitely not a Turkic, otherwise he would have the same ent as Yan Lihui and the other Turkic people; who could he be? Xu Ziling was sitting by his side; still having lingering fear in his heart, he said, That Zu Junyan is really despicable, conspiring with outsiders against his own Boss; we must expose him. Who would believe us? Kou Zhong replied with a wry smile, We have no control over this kind of matter. The most important thing right now is to pick up Susu Jiejie, and immediately get her out of the danger zone, lest disaster will find her like the fish in the moat [see Book 1 Chapter 11]. Would you like me to be the matchmaker to arrange your marriage to Susu Jiejie? Xu Ziling angrily said, You still have time to joke around in time like this? Youd better find the way to Pengcheng first, and then wed do a couple of business transaction without any capital, get a couple of fast horses to take us to Rongyang. That is most important. Kou Zhong sprang up, patted his chest and said, Leave it to me. Just now when we were on top of the hill, I saw a temple in the distance. We can go to that temple to ask for directions. Lets hit the road! The two boys continued their journey. But when the temple was in sight, they were greatly disappointed. The way leading to the temple was full of weeds; apparently it has been a long time since any human ever set foot on this path. Clearly this temple was an abandoned broken-down temple. In time when war was raging continuously, even an entire town could turn into ghost town; much less just a temple. When they reached the external wall of the temple, it was indeed dpidated and lifeless. Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, At least we will have roof over our head; tonight well sleep here! Xu Ziling sighed and said, I really missst nights roast chicken. You possess great magical power, why dont you conjure another one up for me to see? Kou Zhong pulled him toward the main gate. Just as they stepped over the threshold, they got a big shock. Two coffins were ced side to side in the temples main hall; both were covered in dust and cobwebs, and looked extremely creepy. The two boys were numb as they stood there as in a trance. After a long time Kou Zhong finally said, Do you dare to sleep in here? Xu Ziling shook his head emphatically; he said, Theres nothing good in here; Id rather sleep outside with the sky as our roof and the earth as our bed. Kou Zhong couldnt agree more, Lets go! he said. They were just about to leave when suddenly, bang! one of the coffin lid shot out and flew toward the two boys. The two boys were scared out of their wits and screamed together, Ghost! as they urged their feet to run like crazy out of the temple. Suddenly they heard a loud shout from behind, someone was shouting angrily, Kids, where do you think you are going? The two boys got their senses back; turning around, they saw the Sui general who wielded a pair of awlsst night at the battlefield, was running toward them. He had shed off his armor and helmet, and was only wearing a regr warrior suit. As long as it was human and not ghost, it would be a lot easier to deal with. Kou Zhong pulled the long saber on his back, stood in the middle of the courtyard, andughed aloud. Turns out its an old friend! he said. Like a lightning the Sui general was already in front of him; raising his pair of awls, he took Kou Zhongs saber head-on. Seeing the fierceness of the opponents move, Kou Zhong did not dare to meet hard with hard. Unleashing the Crossing Bird Technique, he swiftly darted a zhang away. But Xu Ziling refused to back down, he charged forward with his saber to meet the awls. Dang! Dang! Xu Ziling was shaken and had to take two steps back. Meanwhile Kou Zhong attacked from the side, his saber surged on like tidal waves, rolling around toward the opponent. The man stayed calm and unhurried, the awls in his left and right hands moved in continuous attack, separately blocking the two boys long sabers, alternating between wide open and tightly close, but the variation within the moves was endless. Momentarily Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were helpless to deal with him. But this mans formidable martial art skill only aroused the two boys fighting spirit. They were using him as their sparring partner in practicing their saber y. The more they fought, the braver they were; the longer they fought, the more proficient they got, until finally they managed to force him falling back repeatedly. The manunched a fake attack, and then floated backward. The two boys halted. Why stop fighting? they asked in chorus. Cannot beat you, why continue fighting? the man retorted. Seeing he was this forting, a good impression grew in the two boys heart. Where are your troops? Xu Ziling asked. The man returned his awls to his back, his eyes gleaming with cold ray as he said, If not for you, two people, disturbing my, Qin Shubaos troop formation, how could I be defeated by that stinky woman [poniang] Shen Luoyan? Although I cannot kill you today, I will never forget this big enmity. Kou Zhong sneered and said, So you consider that a big enmity? You Sui army are worse than beasts; burning the whole town is not enough, even people and livestock are not spared, yet you still rape and murder the women; how are we going to settle this blood debt? I really wish that Shen poniang would get rid of you. Qin Shubao was shocked, Is there such thing? he asked. Thereupon Xu Ziling narrated the tragedy they personally witnessed the other night. Hearing this, Qin Shubao shook his head and sighed; he dejectedly said, Just put that blood debts on my, the Ol Qins ount. In any case, when the Ol Qin go back this time, it will be hard to avoid losing my head; so I dont care about anything anymore. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Since you know you are going to lose your head, why go back? he asked, You are just a little kid, what do you know? Qin Shubao replied impatiently, Just get lost fromozis presence; if you provoke my anger, I will drag you down to the grave with me. Kou Zhong had an idea; heughed and said, To a dead person, money is useless. Since you are going to go back and deliver your life, it would be best if you use your money to umte merit and do good works; why dont you give all your money to us, brothers? To requite evil with good, wont this benevolence worth doing? Qin Shubao intently looked at the two boys, sizing them up; a moment or twoter, he burst intoughter and said, You, these two little kids, your martial art skill is not bad, plus you are getting more and more formidable; who could have thought that you are actually just two poor wretches. So be it! All the money I have is barely enough for us to eat a good meal. Before I die, let me, Qin Shubao, be your host, and give you your mothers big meal, and then well go our separate ways! Xu Ziling was skeptical, You are not going to look for an opportunity to harm us, are you? Pei! Qin Shubao spat; he said angrily, Who do you think you are? By the time I, Qin Shubao, started to fight in the south and attack to the north, you were still hiding behind your mothers breast, peeing in terror and crying for your Niang. Since you cant tell the good from the bad, the deal is off; dont even think that I will give you half a penny. Kou Zhong struck while the iron is still hot[1], saying, You really are sincere. Let us go to the best wine shop in Pengcheng; if we dont have enough money to settle the bill, we will ask you, Laoge [old big brother], to take the full responsibility. Qin Shubaoughed aloud and took the lead. Chatting and joking, the three of them walked for a while, and then they saw the glittering light of a river ahead, reflecting the starlight in the sky above. Qin Shubao pointed to a high mountain in a distant to their left, saying, That is Mount Luliang [in Shanxi], Pengcheng County lies about thirty li northwest of the mountain. The road ahead is Sishui [lit. river Si, county in Jining, Shandong]. We will stop for the night here,e daybreak tomorrow, well find a boat to go to Pengcheng, and save our leg muscles a little bit. If you use your money to hire a boat, will we have enough money to eat and drink? Xu Ziling wondered aloud. Qin Shubao patted the pair of awls on his back and said, Do we need money to ride a boat? Who would dare to inconvenient me, the Ol Qin? Kou Zhong was bbergasted, All soldiers are evil people, he said. Recalling his own impending fate, Qin Shubao dejectedly said, Stop deriding me. Taking off his pair of awls, hey down on the grassynd by the river, using his awls as the pillow. The two boys also took their long saber off their back, and copying him, theyy down on the grass. Watching the disappearing stars above, they realized soon it would be daybreak. Qin Shubao said, I still dont know your, two little kids names. After telling him their names, Kou Zhong said, We consider you,oge as a true friend, plus we know you are going to lose your head, hence we told you our real names. But you must never tell anybody else, otherwise, we wont live much longer than you do. Are you wanted criminals? Qin Shubao asked in surprise, In time like this, who has time to pay attention to you? Its really hard to exin in a few words, Xu Ziling said, But its the truth. Qin Shubao cheerfully said, You consider the Ol Qin as your friend, naturally I wont betray you, and I dont want to know your background either. But honestly, your saber technique can be considered quite advance, ordinary folks will find it difficult to be your match. More importantly, you are still young, in the future you will definitely be great men. The most formidable thing is that you continuously create new moves that change ording to the situation. The second time we fought, I had to strain a lot harder to deal with you. It was almost a miracle. Being praised by him, the two boys felt they were floating in the air like immortals. But Qin Shubao suddenly sat up and turned his gaze toward Mount Luliang, and heaved a sigh. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly puzzled, they also sat up to apany him. Whats so special about that mountain? Kou Zhong asked. Qin Shubao sadly said, Theres nothing special about that mountain, but there is a very special woman on the mountain. I rarely thought of here all these years, but now that my days are numbered, I cant help thinking about her. Sympathizing with him, Xu Ziling said, Qin Laoge should go see her first before making other ns. Perhaps after seeing her you wont be so foolish as to go back to have your head chopped by other people. You can easily lose your life in battlefield anyway, Kou Zhong added, Henceforth you can conceal your identity and live a peaceful life. Smiling wryly, Qin Shubao said, How can you understand me? I would rather die than being an ordinary citizen. Right now the imperial court is looking for talents, perhaps I can render merits to redeem my crime. If I really dont have any other choice but to die, do you think I would go back? Relieved, Xu Ziling said, I see. In that case, you ought to go see your sweetheart even more. Qin Shubaoughed aloud and said, Its just a wishful thinking on my part; she is the thousand-jin (catty) gold [i.e. daughter (honorific)] of the Sect Leader of Luliang Pai, while I am only a poor soldier. I only have the qualifications to look at her from the distance several times, but after I met her, every time I had intimate rtionship with women [Trantors note: the original word is the vulgar version], I always pictured them as she. Ay! This year she ought to be twenty, I am afraid she is already married and bore children. Thest sentence was spoken with a sob. The two boys scrutinized his appearance; they saw that although his built looked strong and powerful, his face looked like cast-iron, adorned with wind and frost [i.e. hardship]. His cheekbones were a bit too high, so that inparison, his sparkling, lively eyes looked a tad low; in short, he could not be considered handsome. Definitely not the type of men whom women would likely pour out their affection to. Noticing the sky was turning bright, Qin Shubao stood up and said, I dont know why I told you, two kids, the load on my mind. Look! A boatsing. The two boys followed him running to the shore. A small sailboat was sailing upstream. Since the three people had sharp eyes, they could see that there was only one person on the boat, wearing a long robe and a bamboo rain hat, standing at the stern to steer the boat. A fishing was spread across the deck, and several bamboo baskets were strewn on the bow. Qin Shubao waved and called out, Laoxiong [old chap], can you give us a ride? [1] Orig. beat the snake following the stick. From baike.baidu: the full idiom is wooden stick beats the snake, the snake follows the stick; meaning: one can look at an opportunity and seize the opportunity to increase the benefit/advantage. Chapter 3, Part 2 Jaya, HPC, Ysabel, Drak, ck, you are wee. Sky, girl friends ... The man did not pay them any attention, he steered the boat toward the distant shore on the opposite side instead, as if he intentionally wanted to avoid them. Qin Shubao signaled the two boys, and soared into the air, crossing about four zhang of water surface, toward the sailboat. Prior to this, the longest distance the two boys were able to jump was only three zhang. But since they had no choice, they simply braced themselves and jumped with all their strength. One after another the three peoplended on the fishing between the sail mast and the stern. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cheered together, they were very pleased with their own progress. Aiyo! the fisherman cried out with shrill voice, You broke my! The three people looked at each other; turned out he was a she, a young woman with sweet, pleasant-to-the-ear voice. Right that moment, the woman raised her right hand to pull something from the thin air, the where the three people were standing on was suddenly closing up, trapping the three people like fish in the, hanging from the mast in a very pathetic condition. It was only then did they realize that the was tied on its four corners with long, thin, transparent natural silk strings that were connected to an iron axle high up on the mast. Under the bright sunlight, it was almost invisible, so that they were being negligence and fell into the trap. The strange thing was that the transparent and thin silk strings were able to withstand the three peoples weight, which was more than 200 catties. [Trantors note: I dont think 200 catties is correct, because that means on average one person weighed only about 30kg; but I tranted it as is.] Three people struggled hard, the was swaying continuously, but with each sway, the tightened a bit, until the three of them were squeezed into a ball, that they nearly could not even move their fingers. The womanughed aloud; she lifted up the bamboo hat, and her thick, beautiful fair instantly cascaded down like a waterfall. Qin Shubaos voice cracked, Shen Luoyan! As soon as he finished speaking, following the swaying of the, his face turned to the other side. The beautiful woman shed her long robe, exposing in yellow, skintight warrior suit underneath, her waist was wrapped in wide blue belt. She smiled coyly as she looked at the three people she caught in the. Kou Zhong cried out, I am about to die, I am going to die soon! Why havent you let us out? Aiya! Dont struggle! Shen Luoyan was exactly like her name suggested: female beauty captivating even the birds and beasts [chen yu luo yan, lit. fish sink, goose alights; an idiom from Zhuangzi]. Her pair of eyes was just like limpidke waters in the fall [again, an idiom describing a womans beautiful eyes], perfectly matched her pretty eyebrows extending onto her slender temples. Her skin was snowy white like jade, coupled with her elegant and graceful demeanor, she was indeed a rare beauty that was not inferior to Yun Yuzhen in any way. Rarer still, she exuded some kind of noble air that could shake other peoples heart, that could make any man who look at her to adore her, while feeling ashamed of his own inferiority. Running her fingers on her hair, she brushed it aside to reveal her face, which could bewitch mens heart. Keep calm and dont get excited, she said nonchntly, Let Xiao Nuzi [little/lowly woman] speaks a few words, and then I will put you down. After another tenderughter, she said in soft voice, Qin Shubao! Do you surrender? This is the Capturing Immortals Net, the handiwork of number one craftsman in the world, Lu Miaozi; even immortals fall for it. At this moment her thick hair and lower garment were blown by the river breeze, sticking to her body at the front, and fluttering lightly behind her, highlighting her sweet, fair and graceful figure and her exceptional charm, making people believed even more than she was a fairy descending to the mortal world. The two boys were staring dumbly at her, but Qin Shubao angrily said, If that night these two kids did not mess around and spoil my troop disposition, the one being the prisoner would be you, this stinky woman. You just won by luck! Xu Ziling also angrily said, Didnt you hear that? We are your benefactors, how could you treat the benefactors who save you life like this? Shen Luoyanughed heartily, Of course not! she said. With a wave of her left hand, the fis fell heavily on the deck, and immediately opened up. The three people were burning with anger, this humiliation was difficult to endure. Shouting in unison, they pulled out their weapons to kill her. Shen Luoyan pulled her sword from the stern and drew three sword-flowers, her sleeves floated in the air, she sessively blocked the three peoples attack. Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang! As each weapon made contact with her sword, they all felt that her sword contained infinite consecutive changes, which not only neutralize their current attack, they felt that if they pressed on with another round of attack, it would also be defused. Overwhelmed with shock, the three people sessively retreated to the bow, away from the fis. The trio exchanged nces; a feeling of dread of her exquisite swordy started to grow in their hearts. Still calm and unruffled in the midst of fighting, Shen Luoyan sat on a small stool on the stern. cing her sword horizontally across her knees, she smiled and said, Do you, three big men, have the guts to listen to me say a few words? Qin Shubao coldly said, Ol Qin is the general of a defeated army, if you want to take my head, please do so with my respect, but if you want me to betray the imperial court to enter the Wagang Army, let Ol Qin advise you to forget this delusion. Shen Luoyan let the river breeze blew her fair freely, her soul-hooking beautiful eyes swept the three people. Finally her gaze stopped at Qin Shubaos face; with a delicateughter she said, I am surprised that such a grand general does not dare to listen to a lowly womans words. Very well! You may go. But two Xiao Xiongdi, please stay, let Luoyan expresses my gratitude properly. Kou Zhong was delighted. Staying, that wont be necessary, he said, Right now what we, two brothersck the most is money. Beautiful Junzhi [military advisor], whatever money you have on you, please just give it to us! Pfft! Shn Luoyan burst intoughter; covering up her mouth in mock anger she said, Who would have imagined that you are this greedy? You want money? Then follow me home. It does not matter whether she was lifting a hand or moving a leg, her movements were overflowing with charm. Altough Qin Shubao turned a blind eye to her, but the two boys were unable to take their eyes off her. Shen Luoyan turned her gaze back to Qin Shubao; pretending to be surprised, she said, Great General, why are you reluctant to leave? Qin Shubao angrily said, These two kids have nothing to do with Ol Qin. Truth be told, I even have animosity toward them for causing me to lose the battle. Shen Luoyan, if you think that you can use them to threaten me, you are gravely mistaken. Xu Ziling replied in surprise, Even if she wanted to detain us, I am afraid she does not have the ability; how could she use us to threaten you,oge? Qin Shubao shook his head and said, You must never underestimate this woman [just remember that in all these, the term woman was derogatory]. Other than being famous as the Pretty Junshi, she also has another nickname, Serpent and Scorpion Beauty [interestingly, the dictionary gave Femme Fatale as alternate definition]. From Wagang Armys world [tian xia], at least one quarter can be attributed to her. Even our Grand Marshal, the Henan Roads Twelve Counties Recovery Ambassador Zhang Xutuo was lured into her ambush and perished in the battlefield. Shen Luoyan was displeased, Toward the two Xiao Xiongdi, I only have good intention; you, Qin Shubao, can be considered an important person, dont start a rumor to nder me, a lowly woman, will you? Besides, Shen Luoyan really cannot live up to what General Qin said. When all is said and done, Luoyan is only a pawn under Pushan Gong [Duke of Mount Pu(?)]. If we are talking about devising battle n in a tent, determining victory a thousand li away, who under the heavens in the present day can surpass Mi Gong? [Duke Mi] After a short pause, she continued, Before the battle of Dahai Temple [lit. big ocean], Mi Gong already said, Xutuo is brave, but foolhardy. When his troops enjoy sudden victory, he was very arrogant, hence he could be captured in one battle. But the three generals under hismand, Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin and Cheng Yaojin, are rare talents. If we cannot use them, they must be killed! It is due to Mi Gongs injunction that Luoyan exhausted my lips and tongue to advise you, General, to renounce the dark and seek the light. Bright generals must have brilliant master. Right now destiny has already been determined, the demise of Sui n is at hand, all the people in the world long for brilliant master. If General Qin still wants to help tyrannical ruler, please feel free to leave. But these two Xiao Xiongdi must follow Luoyan home. Turning to the two boys, she smiled sweetly and said, If I dont go home, I wont have any money to give you! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. Their scalps turned numb; apparently Qin Shubaos conjecture was not incorrect, this woman was more formidable than their Beautiful Shifu. Qin Shubao looked around, he still could not see what other trick she was preparing to deal with him. With a deep voice he said, Ol Qin has never cowered under others threat. Shen Luoyanughed coquettishly, Isnt General going tomit suicide at Sishui? Why dont you make a bet with us? Right now Luoyan will let General and two Xiao Xiongdi go freely, within the next six sichen, you may go anywhere. After that, within three days I will capture you three times, but I guarantee that I wont harm even half a strand of hair on your body. If you lose, you must obediently join us, the Pushan Gongs force, and must not show any disloyalty. Xu Ziling protested, We are your benefactors, why do you include us, two people? Shen Luoyan frowned and said, I was only thinking for your good! When Mi Gong obtain the world in the future, you wont have to ask for money everywhere like little beggars. Qin Shubao threw his head backward and roared inughter, Very well! Its a deal. Just consider what happened just now as the first one. If you have the ability to capture Ol Qin two more times, Ol Qin will have to choice but to surrender. Shen Luoyan alsoughed and said, Qin Shubao is indeed a hero and a real man. Turning toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys, she said, It would be nice if you have half of Qin Xiongs heroic spirit. Qin Shubao shouted, How can you, Shen Luoyan, judge these two Xiongdi? Let us go! The trio let out a loud yell and leaped off the sailboat toward the shore, and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Shen Luoyan looked at the direction the three of them disappearing, an enigmatic smile appeared on the corner of her mouth. Book 3 - 4 – Fallen Into The Trap and Captured. Book 3 Chapter 4 C Fallen Into The Trap and Captured. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, along with Qin Shubao ran to the top of a small hill, behind them was a link of mountain ridges, while ahead of them was a great in, extending as far as their eyes could see. About five li to their left River Si was flowing into the wilderness; no human footprint was to be seen. Qin Shubao sat down and said, Lets take a rest for a while topose ourselves. The two boys followed his lead and sat down on the grassy meadow. Who is that Lu Miaozi guy? Kou Zhong asked, He can make such a formidable to capture people. Qin Shubao shook his head, I am not too clear myself, he said, Ay! How can you still have time to mind other peoples business? After lost in thought for half a day, he turned to the two boys and said, Since you two have helped her dealing with out Great Sui Army, it was such a good opportunity, why didnt you join their Wagang Army? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; recalling Zu Junyan colluding with foreign power against the Big Boss, Zhai Rang, there was lingering fear in their heart. Thetter replied, We recently saw a little affair concerning Wagang Army, hence we lost interest in joining them. Qin Shubao did not question closely, he thought aloud, Shen Luoyan is the number one tactician under Li Mismand, her scheming skill excels above others; since she said she is going to capture alive, it must not be an empty word. Let us y along with her, we will go our separate way, so that she cannot attend to us simultaneously, hence we are disrupting her troops disposition. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Xiao Ling and I are inseparable to the death, we have been like that since we were little. Qin Shubao nodded and said, Lets make two groups then! Pointing to the ins below, he said, If she wants to capture us alive, she will have to find our track first. I will run toward the ins first, you two stay here from this high point to observe, see what method that stinky woman will use to follow my trail. If we know her method, we can run away from her. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, But you will be far away by then, how are we going to notify you? Qin Shubao took out a small copper mirror from his pocket; handing it over to the two boys, he said, This is how wemunicate by reflecting sunlight, same as using signalntern during the night. And then he taught the two boys how to use it. Three dayster, he continued, Well meet again at Pengchengs eastern gate. If we really can beat that woman, we, three brothers, will have a big his grannys feast, and wont go home before we get drunk. Amidst his loudughter, he ran down the hill. The two boys concentrated their attention to watch Qin Shubao as he ran farther and farther away, while also looked around to see if there was any sign of the enemy. Who would have thought that until Qin Shubao has turned into a small dot at the edge of the ins, they still did not even see half a shadow of other human beings? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Turns out that beautiful woman was only letting out an empty tiger roar! Xu Ziling also felt relieved, Dont you need to ry the good news? he reminded him. With an air ofcency Kou Zhong aimed the mirror toward the sun and made some signals. On the other side, Qin Shubao tarried for half a day before continuing his escape, disappearing out of their sight. There ought to be three more sichen before dark, Kou Zhong said, Wed better to back to the river to find a way to Pengcheng. This move should be outside that Shen womans expectation. In my opinion, Xu Ziling said, We should go to the highest mountain and hide there for his mothers three days and three nights. If we see somebodysing, we can make out getaway; that will be a better idea. Kou Zhong shook his head, Dont forget that our peerless qinggong has not been trained to perfection, he said, I dont think we can outrun that woman. Therefore, we must to go a ce like Pengcheng, if that woman came, well cry out along the street, Wagang Army attacks! And then when the officers and men are dealing with her, we could easily get away. Xu Ziling thought that what he said was very reasonable; hence he stayed silent and simply followed Kou Zhong running to River Si. The two boys ran high and crouched low; they picked the less traveled wild, mountainous path, making a wide detour upstream of River Si, about thirty li away from the section of the river where they met Shen Luoyan. Perhaps it was because of the chaos of war, but a very long time has passed before they saw boats sailing on the river. However, no matter how these two boys threatened and bribed, nobody was willing to stop their boat for them. They were not ustomed to climbing onto boats relying on force; hence they could only watch the river and sigh quietly. After walking along the river for another sichen or so, ahead they saw a crossing pier, where a small fishing boat was moored, but they did not see anybody. In great delight the two boys rushed toward the boat. Coming closer to the boat, they heard the sound of snoringing from inside the boats canopy. The two boys looked inside and saw an old fisherman was sprawling on the deck, sleeping soundly. Kou Zhong said, If this is a trap, we can be considered losing with the most willing heart. Xu Ziling drew his long saber and chuckled evilly, I wont believe that easily. This must be her man. And then he signaled Kou Zhong with his eyes. Kou Zhong caught on; he also drew his saber and said with a coldugh, This is called Id rather defeat people than have people defeat me. He jumped and charged into the shed, thrusting his saber toward the old fishermans back. But the saber stopped as soon as it touched the mans back. Kou Zhongughed aloud and pulled his saber back; and then he signaled Xu Ziling that all is good. Right this moment the snoring stopped, the old fisherman woke up with a start; with sleepy eyes he sat up. Before Kou Zhong could say anything to greet him, the old fisherman screamed in terror and scrambled out to the bow from the other end of the shed. Help! Robbers! he shouted. And then with trembling hands and shaking legs he crawled to ashore, and ran for his life. Like a couple of stupid birds the two boys watched him disappearing into the forest by the shore. Kou Zhong said apologetically, The Senior must have been visited by robbers before, no wonder his reaction was so intense. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Most probably this fishing boat is his only possession, if he lose it to us, how would he make his living? Reluctantly Kou Zhong cast a couple of nces toward the fishing boat, and then he jumped ashore and said with a wry smile, Then we must rely on our qinggong, which prowess shook the Wulin world. Halfheartedly the two boys left and continued their journey along the river. But they had been walking for only ten zhang or so, the old fisherman tiptoed out of the woods, trying to sneak back into the boat. The two boys were overjoyed at this turn of events. Laozhang [Sir, polite]! Kou Zhong called out, We are not robbers! The old fisherman jumped in fright; he dove straight toward the fishing boat, taking thest three steps in only two. Desperately he tried to untie the mooring rope. By the time the two boys arrived, the old fisherman was still trying to untie the knot with lost soul, dropped spirit; but the more he pulled, the tighter the knot. Kou Zhong squatted down at the pier; while helping him untie the knot, he said, Laozhang! Look closely, do you think we look like robbers? Apparently the old fisherman was not as scared as before; still panting, he replied with his hoarse voice, Daye [big master, see my note on ye earlier], why are you looking for me? Xu Ziling politely said, Laozhang, where are you heading? If you are going upstream, would it be possible for you to give us a ride? The old fishermans courage was boosted some more; he said, You want a ride, then you must pay. Kou Zhong said awkwardly, We dont even have half a penny in our pockets. Laozhang, would it be possible for you to give us a favor? The old fisherman frowned. Where are you going anyway? he asked. Xu Ziling probed, It would be best if we can go to Pengcheng. But it depends on whether it is convenient for Laozhang to do so. That wont do! the old fisherman said, To go to Pengcheng, we need at least one day. How could I have time to fish then? If there is no money involved, I wont do it. And then, squinting his eyes, he sized them up for a while before he said with augh, How about this: those two sabers you have may be sold for a few taels. Just those to Laohan [old man, referring to self] as boat fare! Kou Zhong was cross, What do you mean a few taels? Our sabers are highest quality goods ... The old fisherman impatiently cut him off, You dont agree then forget about it. Laohan needs to set sail now. Xu Ziling pulled Kou Zhong aside and spoke in low voice, There is something wrong here. This old man otou, ng] could be really Shen Luoyans man; otherwise, howe he is not afraid that from feeling awkward, we may get angry, and thus resort to violence against him? Also, why would he want to get our weapons? Kou Zhong nodded, We need to test him, he said, If there is no problem, we can give the sabers to him; we can always snatch two more in the future, its not a big deal. Finished speaking, he turned toward the old fisherman and waved his hand, We dont need ride from you. Laozhang, please! The old fisherman grumbled a couple sentences, and then, ignoring the two boys, he steered the boat away from the pier. The two boys suspicion was gone. Leaping over the water surface, theynded on the fishing boat. The old fisherman was so scared that his face and lips turned pale, and he was unable to even cry. Kou Zhongughed and said, Laozhang, did not misunderstand at all, its just that we suddenly want to make a deal with you. When we get to Pengcheng, these two sabers will be yours. The old fisherman breathed a sigh of relief, I dont want your sabers anymore, he said, When we get to Qinglong Tan [azure dragon beach], you help me throwing the to catch fish, and then we go to Pengcheng to deliver the goods. Just consider that as your boat ride fare. Chapter 4, Part 2 Aitch, de nada. Ysabel, Jaya, Laoren, you are wee. DongBin, thanks. I fixed it in the source doc. Sky, if you put it that way, then yes, I agree ... Looks like there will be more fun women in theing chapters. Heres end of Chapter 4. The boat slowed down. The old fisherman ordered Xu Ziling to row at the stern, and told Kou Zhong to grab the pole; he said nervously, After the bend ahead is the Guishi Xia [ghost rock gorge], the stream is rapid, each time Laohan st through, I am always very scared and on edge. Thats why although I know Qinglong Beach has the most fish, I would not dare to go there without any reason. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling turned their gaze forward; they saw from here on, the cliffs on both sides of river gradually grew taller and the river narrower, the terrain was indeed very dangerous. At the same time they were thinking that if there were an ambush here, it would be really bad. Hastily they focused their attention to steer the boat, as well as paying close attention to any sound of activity on both shores. The fishing boat advanced bravely against the current. After turning a sharp bend, they saw the cliff suddenly narrowed, the river flowed faster; close to the shore there were hundreds and thousands of rocks, in all shapes and sizes, protruding above the water, making the water flowed even more like an unbridled horse running freely on the ins: harsh, powerful, rapid, and nasty; dashing against the boat, sending it swaying to the left and rolling to the right. The water surface was white with bubbles, frightening them to the core. The three people worked together with all their heart. At the stern, Xu Ziling rowed and steered the boat, Kou Zhong used the long pole to push the boat away from the rocks, while the old fisherman controlled the sail to maintain the proper course. The fishing boat forged ahead with great difficulty. As they turned another bend, the fishing boat suddenly leaned toward a boulder near the left bank. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Look at me! Leaping to the bow, he pushed the long pole forward forcefully on the rock. It was not clear whether it was because they were somehow caught in the current, or because Kou Zhong had used too much force, the bow of the boat swayed to the right, so that the boat was horizontally across the river, and then the hull continued to lean sideways to the right. Water immediately gushed into the cabin, the boat suddenly capsized to the right. By the time the three people cried out in fear, they were already in the water. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not afraid of the ocean, naturally they did not fear this trivial River Si. When they had their heads out of the water, they saw the old fisherman, who seemed to be fainted, bobbing up and down on the surface, carried away by the current heading downstream. In great shock the two boys swam desperately toward the old fisherman. Exerting their entire strength, soon they were able to catch up with the old fisherman, and grabbed him from left and right and pulled him up from the water. While they were just breathing a sigh of relief, the old fisherman suddenly opened his eyes wide. The eyes shone with a frighteningly sharp ray. Just when the two boys realized something was wrong and cried out in shock, their bodies went numb, because the old fisherman sealed the acupoints on their nks. The old fisherman roared inughter. Dragging the two boys along as his captives, he swam toward the left bank. After tossing the two boys to the bushes by the shore, the old fishermans crooked, hunched back suddenly straightened up as he proudly said, I am Old Man of the ins Mo Cheng, under Miss order to capture the two Gongzi. Please! This time you only have three sichen to escape. Finished speaking, he left with bigugh. After recovering their strength, the two boys sat up and looked at each other with wry smile. It just does not make sense, Kou Zhong spoke painfully, How could they track our whereabouts so clearly? Xu Ziling sighed and said, That old fellows disguise was really perfect. Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, If we cannot decode their method of tracking us, sooner orter we will get captured again. If that happens, how can we live with our heads lifted high in the future? Xu Ziling looked around; he said in a low voice, I wonder if Qin Shubao is as useless as we are? Kou Zhong retorted, Shen Luoyans main target is Qin Shubao, naturally she will handle him personally; it would be more difficult for him to escape. Ay! Rack your brains, quick! Look! Its getting dark really soon. Xu Ziling stared at the sinking sun on the horizon; he knitted his brow and said, She must have put some trick on our bodies, so that she can easily catch up with us. The two boys were severely shaken; you looked at me, I looked at you, Kou Zhong pped his thigh and said, It must be that Lu Miaozis fishing. And he examined his hand and feet and clothes, and sure enough, they discovered a lot of fine particles like dust all around their bodies. If they did not intentionally look for it, they would not detect it. By now the river has washed away most of the fine particles from their clothes, but arge amount of the particles still remained. Stop looking over it! Xu Ziling warned him, Maybe someone is still spying on us! What kind of cheap trick is this? Kou Zhong asked in terror, I cannot brush it off! It is colorless and odorless. That beautiful woman is really formidable, she has clearly nned ahead to bet that she would capture us, that way she would win us overpletely. Xu Ziling whispered in his ear, Our clothes have been infected, we can take it off; but we cant chop our head and limbs. What do we do this time? The enemy mighte here soon. Kou Zhong used his nose to sniff around for quite a while, and then he said in low voice, It does not matter whether this kind of powder has any scent or not, otherwise, even if the opponent can follow our trail based on scent, they can only follow our track from behind, unlike earlier, where they alreadyid up a trap ahead waiting for us. We were really too careless, Xu Ziling said in distress, We were blind not to know that others put some kind of trick on our bodies. However, even if they sent people to keep watch on all vantage points around the two hundred li radius, they have to have a special way of seeing this fine powder on us both day and night. But if they want to prepare a trap one step ahead of us, they must have an unusually rapid and effectivemunication method. At night they can use shing light, but how did they conceal it from us? Kou Zhong dejectedly lying down on the grass, looking up at the red sunset clouds in the sky; he muttered to himself, There must be a hup in our conjecture somewhere. Remember when Qin Shubao left, we lived high and looked down on him all the time, but did not see the fine powder on his body. Supposing this fine powder can glow in the dark, you and I would be able to see it on each others body. Not only that, keeping watch on all high points around is both not easy and not practical. If we went into hiding deep in the mountains, this method does not have the least bit of usefulness. If as you just said, we fled to the highest peak, they dont have the skill to monitor us. Therefore, that Pretty Junshi [seest chapter, Book 3 Chapter 3] must have some other ingenious way, otherwise it wont fit her fame in knowledge and scheming. Under pressure from Shen Luoyan, the two boys were forced to bring out their innate ability and wisdom as they vowed to fight to the end. In fact, ever since they found the Secret to Long Life, their life has been turned upside down, as they constantly dealing with all kinds of challenges. Just like rough jade that is continuously carved and polished, it will gradually reveal its beautiful nature. Xu Zilingy next to Kou Zhong; he just saw a small blue bird hovering above, after circling twice, it flew to a nearby forest. He had a brainwave, Perhaps this fine powder is not meant to be seen by human, but to be recognized by a trained bird, just like falcons can help the hunter hunt their prey. So even if we cover ourselves with cloth, or hiding in a cave, we still cannot hide from the birds eyes, because it has already identified us clearly. Kou Zhong was jolted awake; he sat up, looked around, and said, You are right, that is the most reasonable exnation. Just now there was a single, strange bird flying back and forth above us. His mother, let me hit it down and eat it to apany wine. Xu Ziling let out a hollowugh, I am afraid even if you hit it down now, it would be useless. Based on Shen Luoyans ability and wisdom, she would guess that we have defeated her trick. Dont forget that that old fellow also touched us; perhaps he did another trick on us. If we, like a fool, exhausted our strength dealing with that double-t feathered animal, it will only make that beautiful woman broke down inughter. Kou Zhong sized Xu Ziling up with rapt attention, and then scratching his head he said, Normally, in terms of crafty ideas, even if you, this kid, pat your horses bottom, you wont be able to catch up withozi. Who could have thought that under present circumstances, your thought is more meticulous than me, Zhong Shao. Xu Junshi Daren [see Book 1 Chapter 4 on daren], what are we supposed to do now? Xu Ziling also sat up and whispered in his ear, This time we must not lose against that woman. Speaking about tracking, they must use people or animal, two routes. But no matter how formidable that stinky woman is, or that her subordinates qinggong is a hundred times better than ours, they still do not know that we cane and go freely underwater without taking a breath. Kou Zhong nodded. If we hide underwater, he said, Unless that bird can fly underwater too, we canpletely disappear without a trace. Ay! But from here to Pengcheng, there is still about thirty li of waterway; if we have to swim to Pengcheng, we will die of exhaustion. Xu Ziling let out a low chuckle and said, How did you, Zhong Shao, be so stupid? When we hide underwater, as long as there is a boat passing by, we can attach ourselves to the bottom of the boat. This way we can have a boat ride without expending a great deal of effort. Kou Zhong pped his thigh and let out a muffled cheer. By this time the sky has turned dark, the two boys screamed gleefully as they sprang up, dashed madly along the shore first, and then when they reached a thick wooded area, they dove into the river; and then following the current, they swam quickly downstream, even farther away from Pengcheng. As expected, the strange bird suddenly appeared from who knows where. After making several circles in the air above the river, it let out a chirp, and soared into the air; soon it disappeared from sight. At this point three big, five-mast ships appeared from the lower reaches of the river. The two boys were greatly delighted. They swam up and attached themselves to the hull of one of the ships. Soon after the boys left, three men, including that Old Man of the ins Mo Cheng, darted out of the woods. When they got to the ce where the two boys disappeared into the water, they scanned the river course with their shining eyes. Naturally they did not know that the two boys could get away in this unimaginable way. It must be noted that even Wulin experts with superb water skill, although they knew some kind of breathing underwater skill, they could not stay underwater for this long. As for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who had innate ability to hold their breath and were able to stay underwater for a long time, they could bepared to first-rate characters of Du Fuwei, Yuwen Huaji, Zhai Rang and the other prominent figures caliber. This was the unique trait of Secret to Long Life; when practiced, one would nearly suffer fire deviation, however, if the practitioner seeded, it would unleash the most-advanced breathing regimen, which belonged to first-ss mysterious skill category, merely using different routes to the same destination. Therefore, although in terms of martial art and lightness skill their standing was only a tad above average Wulin experts, their mental cultivation[1] was at the grandmaster level; which became a substantial and solid foundation for their growth. This time Shen Luoyan miscalcted; it really had nothing to do with her ability and wisdom, but because the situation was simply too surreal. Mo Cheng and the others were searching along the river when they saw the three huge ships sailing upstream; they abruptly halted their steps to watch. When the ships had passed far away, Mo Chengs expression turned extremely grave as he spoke to the other two in low voice, Those three ships bear the g of the Li n. If the n Leader, Li Yuan is aboard the ship, something really big is going to happen at Pengcheng. We must return immediately and report this to Miss. Finished speaking, the three men disappeared into the darkness of the river bank. [1] Orig. xin fa, lit. heart/mind method/way. I have difficulty finding a good trantion; any ideas? Book 3 - 5 – One Business Deal Book 3 Chapter 5 C One Business Deal One after another Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling appeared out of the water, breathing thete night fresh and clean air of River Si. Without even exerting any strength, the hollow of their palms automatically produced suction force, attaching their bodies onto the wall of the ship; they did not even understand how it worked. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, This time we dealt a big blow to that Shen woman [reminder, the term woman here is derogatory] that she fell t on his grannys face. Ha! Its actually Shen womans granny. [Trantors note: his granny was a cuss word, equivalent to it.] Dont becent too soon, Xu Ziling said, Theres still half a day before we can be considered winning this bet. Excessivecency may cause hundreds of foolish negligence, dont ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Kou Zhong nodded, Well act properly. Ay! We are so stupid, when we made the bet, she only spoke about what wed do if she won, but not if we won. Otherwise, stroking her body a couple times wont be too bad. Xu Ziling chuckled softly and said, Less wishful thinking! This woman is full of thorns from top to bottom; she must not be touched. Ay! I am worried that Qin Laoge cannot deal with her! That would be better, Kou Zhong replied, Otherwise, I am afraid he would be beheaded by that muddle-headed ruler. Hey! These three ships seem to be prominent; will you be interested in borrowing a couple of clothes and perhaps some food and money? It is better than looking like beggars wearing worn-out clothes with nothing in our hands. Be careful! Xu Ziling said in low voice, The people who can use such three big ships must be eitherrge and influential family of high standing, or high ranking official and nobility, or perhaps big shots gangster boss. If we are not careful, we would just offer our little lives to the Heaven. Kou Zhong frowned, So are we going or not? he asked. Xu Ziling chuckled softly, If we are not afraid of the Ol Die, why should we fear anybody? Follow me, the future Wulin expert! Finished speaking, he crawled up along the wall. By this time the two boys already had considerable experience in hiding and concealing their track, in breathing with their mouth and nose shut, in exercising restraint to their bodily functions, so that when being cautious, they werepletely noiseless and undetectable. There were windnterns on the deck, as well as hanging from the masts of the big ship, but on the side facing them, from twenty-something cabin windows on three levels, only about half were illuminated. Xu Ziling selected a dark window on the second level from which he wanted to crawl into the ship. But as they passed an illuminated window, they heard a female voiceing from the inside. The two boys sumbed to their curiosity and stopped to listen. The female voice suddenly sounded very close to the boys ears, Er Ge [second (older) brother], it would be best if you stop persuading Die; he has always been loyal and devoted to the imperial court. Duan Shu [paternal (younger) uncle] has advised him for a long time, but did he even listen to half a word he said? The two boys jumped in fright; they had just realized that the dainty woman was moving to the window, hence they did not dare to make the slightest move. A distressed-sounding young male voice responded, What Die reluctant to part the most is our rtionship with the Dugu n; but he did not know that Dugu Feng is a wily old fox, who regards us as the thorn in his eyes. Right now the world is in chaos, tens of thousands people are angry, while the Tujue [Turkic] people are ring at us like a tiger watching his prey, and Sui imperial court is no longer viable. And we get hold of Taiyuan, our troops are sufficient, our provisions abundant, enough tost us ten or eight years. Right now Yingyang Pais Liu Wuzhuo and Liang Shidu are aligning themselves with the Tujue, raising their troops to fight the Sui, taking over Lon and Dingxiang, one after another. If they break through Yan Men [lit. wild goose gate], our Taiyuan will bear the brunt. If Die keeps wavering, ultimately we will be implicated by that muddle-headed ruler; the boat capsize, the people perish. Listening to this, the two boys outside the window sucked in a mouthful of cold air; who exactly were these man and woman inside? Whose children were they? Unexpectedly they were directly rted to the Dugu n and Emperor Yang of Sui. Terrified, they did not dare to budge even more. The mans voice was full of authority and power; needless to say, he must be a top quality martial art expert. The woman spoke in soft voice, Have you talked it over with Dage [big/first (older) brother]? I dont know how many times, the man replied, He cant think of any idea either. Xiuning should know how horrible Dies stubbornness is. That Xiuning said, Wed better confide with Madame Dong Ming; father always listen to everything she said. Ay! If only Niang came back to life; Die would definitely listen to her. The two boys outside were so terrified that their hands slipped and they almost fell into the river. Finally they were able to guess that the ship they were climbing actually belonged to the Li n; how could they dare to continue eavesdropping? Hastily and quietly they continued pulling themselves up. Right this moment the conversation inside the cabin suddenly stopped. But the two boys did not pay attention anymore. They opened the window, and after ascertaining there was nobody inside, they crawled in, and only then did they dare to breathe a sigh of relief. The two boys swept the room with their gaze, and noticed that it was a fairlyrge room, the furnishing was gorgeous. Other than bed, chairs and other furniture, there was also arge wooden chest; inside there should be clothes and that sort of thing. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, We ought to steal with principle; each person should only get a set of clothes, and if we find money, we should also take only enough to cover our meals for several days and one visit to the pleasure house. At this point a mans head appeared on the window, but when he heard Kou Zhong, the head suddenly disappeared again. Xu Ziling spoke in a low voice, I have never imagined that we would steal Li Yuans belongings. Didnt that Dugu fellow want to harm Li Yuan? Wed better harm him instead. Lets leave a brief note warning the Li n people, just consider it payment for the stuff we steal. [Reminder: Li Yuan was the personal name of first Tang emperor Gauzu (566-635), reigned 618-626.] Kou Zhong chuckled quietly and said, Since when did you be this conscientious? Ha! Perhaps in all the world, we are the only one who have the ability to cause Li Yuan to revolt. But I dont know whether this guy is a good guy or a bad guy ... Dont talk nonsense, Xu Ziling scolded him, If somebodysing we will be in trouble. Quickly steal! The two boys walked over to the chest and were about to lift the lid, suddenly there was a shush! from the window, as if it was warning the two boys not to make any noise. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were scared out of their wits. They froze and turned their heads toward the window. A dark shadow noiselessly came in through the window and stood in front of the two boys. The two boys calmed their nerves and looked closely. Turned out it was a tall young man that looked only a few years older than they were, with a rectangr face and big ears, with formidable physique and eyes that shone like glossycquer, and elegant bearing. Right now he was standing proudly yet selfposed, a demeanor that could stop deep pool and ovee high mountain peak; that could turn other peoples heart upside down. While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were as dumb as a wooden chicken, the young man spoke in low voice, Zaixia [I, humble] Shimin, the third son of Li Yuan, the caretaker of Taiyuan. Two Xiongtai [brother, of the same age] look just, honest and amazing, I wonder what are your respected surname and great given names? The two boys exchanged a nce; their heart has calmed down, but at the same time they felt at a loss. This man has caught the two little thieves red-handed, yet he was still this refined and courteous, as if the two of them were noble guests whose appearance was simply unexpected. The two boys stood up. Kou Zhong cupped his fist to show his respect, and said with a giggle, This name Shimin is very good. Ha! Saving the world,ing to the relief of the people [jiu shi ji min, same shi and min characters]; perhaps in the future you will be the emperor. Li Shimin smiled indifferently and said, Xiongtai needs not praise Zaixia; but this name indeed has a little bit of background. Why dont you two gentlemen have a seat so that we can talk? [Another reminder (because I think I already had the footnote somewhere): Li Shimin, personal name of second Tang emperor Taizong (599-649), reigned 626-649.] This moment Li Xiunings voice came from below, Er Ge! What happened? Li Shimin leaned over the window and called out, Ill tell youter! Turning around, he asked the two boys to have a seat; his manner was sincere and courteous. Deep in their heart the two boys knew his intention, but they also knew that they could not charge through him toward the window. Therefore, bracing themselves, they sat down in two armchairs leaning against the wall. Because their body was still dripping wet, it was quite ufortable. Li Shimin calmly smiled and sat down on a chair next to the window; he said, When Ziaxia was four, a man who was good in physiognomy came to our home; by reading my facial features, he predicted that by age twenty, you will relieve the world [shi] and pacify the people [min]. That time Niang doted on me very much, hence she changed my name to Shimin. While speaking, he casually picked up the flint to light up the oilmp on a small table by his side. Xu Ziling noticed that when he mentioned his mother, his eyes revealed a fondness of a childs deep admiration toward his mother; he could not help thinking about Fu Junchuo. Sighing, he said, You must miss your Niang very much. Li Shimin nodded slightly; turning his attention to the water droplets on the floor dripping from the two boys body, he said with a deep voice, What is the rtionship between the two gentlemen and Shan Mei Xianzi Madame Dong Ming of Ryukyu? Why did when you heard her name your hearts jump a few times? Otherwise, Zaixia would still be in the dark as to the two gentlemen have sneaked into our ship. It was only then did the two boys realize what went wrong. They were also astonished at Li Shimins thorough thought process; that just from this point he was able to deduce that the two of them were somehow rted to Madame Dong Ming. Kou Zhong giggled and replied, Naturally we are rted! But wed better make a business deal; supposing we can make your respected Ol Die to raise arms and rebel, you will give us, two brothers, two sets of clothes and ... hey! And two, no! Thirty taels of silver. Ha! What do you say? This time it was Li Shimin who was dumbstruck. Thirty taels of silver? he asked in incredulity. Xu Zilings heart skipped a beat, he hastily tried to remedy the situation by saying, If thirty taels of silver is too much, twenty-five is alright. Chapter 5, Part 2 Jaya, Faerro, HPC, DongBin, Ysabel, Drak, you are wee. Lawwoo, thanks foring out of your seclusion. Sky, oh, OK. I agree, it wont be fun if the entire story is about the two boys running around everywhere. But they have not mastered high level martial art skill yet, and they have not found good Shifu. Happy New Year everybody! Li Shimin looked at the two boys in disbelief; he reached into his pocket, took out a money purse and without even looking at it he tossed it to Kou Zhong. Just look how much money is in there, he said. Kou Zhong caught the purse, and opened it without hesitation. As soon as he looked inside, he gasped, My grandma, old dad, and all my ancestors! he eximed, Its his mothers gold ingots! Hastily Xu Ziling craned his neck to look. He was speechless. It worth at least several hundred taels of silver, he said. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up; he stuffed the purse into his pocket. Taking a deep breath he said, Taking peoples money, well avoid cmities on their behalf; the two of us brothers will take full responsibility of this matter. Xu Ziling had a bit more conscience. Zhong Shao, he said apologetically, You must return the money first, we have to wait until the business is done before we can receive the payment. Li Shimin shrugged him off, Take it! Whether sess or failure, we can all be friends. That money should be enough for you to stroll into low-grade brothel a hundred times over. The two boys were touched. Kou Zhong raised his thumb in praise, We ept your friendship. Not too loud, Li Shimin said in low voice, I dont want others to know that you are here. Kou Zhongs thick face blushed; he lowered his voice to the lowest volume and said, Let me tell you an astonishingly big secret! Madame Dong Ming kept an ount book in her residence listing the purchase of weapons your Old Die made in secret to her, on it there is his signature and stamp too. Just imagine if this treasure is stolen, what would happen then? Li Shimin was shaken. Naturally he knew that these two boys did not invent some crazy talk. Because the reason that he took his troops to Pengcheng this time was to ce another order to Madame Dong Ming for another batch of weapons. Since two years ago his father, Li Yuan, was transferred to Hong Hua to be its caretaker, while at the same time he was assigned to be the Junshi [military advisor] of Guan Yous thirteen counties. To deal with Yang Xuangans main forces, Li Yuan finally epted his advice to buy arge quantity of weapons from Madame Dong Ming. This matter was outside Emperor Yang of Suis knowledge; if it leaked, and there was credible evidence, the paranoid Emperor Yang of Sui would certainly suspect him of nning a rebellion. If not, it would be a fantastic story indeed. After staring nkly for half a day, Li Shimin frowned and said, Madame Dong Ming has several martial art masters under hermand, each one of the fourw protector fairies has ultimate skill. Other than Shan Ren Ning Daoqi [see Book 1 Chapter 6] personally made the move, who would be able toe aboard their ship to steal such an important thing? Xu Zilingughed and said, Seeing that you are such a true friend, we can tell you a secret; but you must not harm us like other people, or perhaps when this business is done use some trick against us. Li Shimin seriously said, If I, Li Shimin,mit any despicable act, let me not die a good death. Humph! You dare to look at me that way. As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong said, It is called once bitten by a snake. It is also called being careful sailing on ten-thousand-year ship. We must establish trust with each other first, only then will anyrge-scale n be effective. It was obvious that Li Shimin thought that between the two, Kou Zhong wasparatively the dishonest one. He turned to Xu Ziling and said, You will tell me! Right that moment someone was passing through outside. After the sound of footsteps was gone, Xu Ziling asked, Whose room is this? Li Shiminughed. Its mine, he replied, The deck below is used by the womenfolk. If you want to steal clothes, you havee to the right ce. Our builds are simr. The two boys were amused. Thereupon Xu Ziling narrated the story around Haisha Bangs desire to attack Dong Ming Pais gship. When Li Shimin heard that Yuwen Huaji and Dugu Ce were involved, his eyes flickered with cold ray, his imposing aura radiated all around. Therefore, Kou Zhong summed up, Right now only the two of us can mingle aboard the ship. Besides, they thought that our martial art skill is low, hence they do not guard against us so much. Of course, we will be very secretive, so that we wont let Laoxiongs [old chap] money down. Li Shimin was already ustomed to the way he tooted his horn, he did not even bother whether they would be secretive or not. After thinking hard, he said, What can we do to lure Madame Dong Ming somece else? This is something that I have to think about. Finished speaking he stood up, opened the chest and took out two sets of clothes, and handed them over to the two boys, Change into dry clothes first, and after a good night sleep, I will wake you up when we arrive at Pengcheng by daybreak. I need to go to the lower level and have some talk with my sister. We can sleep on the floor, Kou Zhong offered. Li Shiminughed and said, Such a big bed, enough for three people to sleep, why sleep on the floor? Are we not only business partners, but brothers and friends as well? Ha! Your encounter is so bizarre that it is hard to believe. Finished speaking he went out through the window again. When the two boys stepped into Pengcheng, they were rather hesitant, but were full of good feeling. What they were wearing was clean and tidy warrior outfit, on their waist hung highest quality steel saber and a full money pouch given by Li Shimin. Ever since they came out of their mothers womb, they had never looked so grand like this. Xu Ziling was tall and straight, schrly and elegant. On the other hand, Kou Zhong looked bold and powerful, with a heroic and imposing aura around him. The two boys walked side by side. From time to time people shot them admiring and envious look. Kou Zhongughed aloud and pulled Xu Zilings elbow, What we need right now is a pair of steeds and a dozen or so footmen, otherwise we can go to a low-grade brothel first and acting like young tycoons. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Visiting low-grade brothel is an essential program for tonight, but right now we need to find a wine shop. Bug bowl of wine, big piece of meat, well have a his-grannys good time, while casually discuss how we are going to proceed in this business deal. We have received other peoples money, naturally we must do something for him. Kou Zhong took a surreptitious look around, examining the fa?ade of the restaurants lining up both sides of the main street. I did not expect Pengcheng to be this thriving and lively, he said, The strangest thing is, there does not seem to be any refugee around. Look! Those of elder sisters are so pretty. Ha! Xu Ziling looked around and saw Kou Zhong was staring at a group of young women walking directly toward them, with what he thought was the most attractive smile he could muster. Amazingly, the group of young women did not try to avoid the two boys stare; they smiled back at them with even more attractive smile. It was the first time ever that the two boys received such courtesy. After the group of young women walked passed, they squealed in delight and entered a restaurant on their right that looked like a rather upscale restaurant. With their appearance, weaponry and attire, as soon as the two boys set foot on the second floor, the waiters greeted them attentively, and called them Gongzi this and Gongzi that as they led them to a table by the window facing the street. At this time from about a dozen tables on the second floor, more than half had guests sitting on them. Kou Zhong generously tipped the waiter while ordering food and drink. He said excitedly, Those sweet girls just now have a rather high nose, their eyes are big and blue; they must be Hu women [non-Han people, esp. from central Asia]. I heard that they are licentious by nature, very easy to get our hands on them. Ha! Perhaps this time we dont need to visit a low-grade brothel. Xu Ziling was worried, Why did you order that much wine? Two catties? Can you drink wine? I can only drink a little bit. Kou Zhong reached out to grab Xu Zilings shoulder. Life is short, make merry while you can! he said, From two marketce ruffians in Yangzhou, we now be big shots in Wulin world. With this kind of encounter, we have nothing toin to Laotianye; how can you not enjoy it with cheerful heart? With his other hand he beckoned Xu Ziling to look out the window at the endless stream of horses and carriages on the street below; he sighed and said, Look! This is such a beautiful world. Meeting this kind of fine time, beautiful scenery, we ought to wee it with a bit of wine and celebrate. You drink one catty, I drink one catty. Whoever does not get drunk will be considered a hero. Following his gaze, Xu Ziling also stared nkly at the street. He remembered Fu Junchuo, he remembered Li Jing and Susu, his heart was overwhelmed with an indescribable feeling. Alright, he nodded and said, One catty it is. Kou Zhong suddenly lowered his voice, On the table to the left, there is a handsome guy who keeps looking at you; I think he prefers male to female. Startled, Xu Ziling turned to look. Sure enough, on arge table by the stairs, about three, four tables away, sat three men. One of them wore a dark green schr robe, and was exceptionally handsome; he was sizing the two boys up. When he noticed that Xu Ziling was staring at him, he nodded and smiled. Remembering what Kou Zhong had just said, Xu Ziling was startled; hastily he averted his gaze and said in low voice, He seems to recognize us. Maybe its another trap of Shen Luoyan. Dont forget that the deadline for that womans three-day bet is still tonight! Kou Zhong nodded. I almost forget, he said, Did you see his throat? Xu Ziling was taken aback, Is it any good? he asked. Kou Zhong stroked his own adams apple and said with a low chuckle, That guy cannot be more handsome than that, plus he does not have this thing that we have; what do you say he is? Horrified, Xu Ziling gasped, Not Shen Luoyan in disguise! It doesnt seem like it, Kou Zhong replied, Oh no! She came over. Shocked, Xu Ziling turned around. The woman who disguised herself as a schr was already standing by their table. Her feature that was particrly impressive, other than her handsome face, which was adorned with a pair of big, bright and lively eyes, was her pair of long legs, so that disguised as a man, she gave other people some kind of tall and straight impression. While the two boys were staring at her in surprise, she revealed a faint nonchnt smile as she cupped her fist and spoke in deeper voice, Across fivekes and four oceans are brothers, two Xiongtai carried an extraordinary look; I wonder what are your honorable surname and great given names, so that I, Li Zhi, can make friends with you. Kou Zhong giggled and said, I am Zhang San, he is Li Si[1]. If across fivekes and four oceans are really brothers, there wont be people everywhere running away for their lives. Handsome Xiongtai, please return to your seat! [1] Zhang the third and Li the fourth are equivalent to Tom, Dick and Harry in western world. The third name is Wang Wu (Wang the fifth). Chapter 5, Part 3 DongBin, you mean thousand updates, right? With the number of chapters in this story, I think you will get your wish ... Sky, why oh, no? I thought you like the beautiful women that keep appearing in this story? Jaya, Smiling Proud Wanderer also has his granny a lot. Ysabel, you are wee. Anh, good for you. I did not have any special dinner ... We dont have any family/rtives around here. Short update today, the end of Chapter 5. Since he suspected that the other party was Shen Luoyans second trap, he tly turned her down. Xu Ziling took this opportunity to look at Li Zhis twopanions; he saw that they were genuine goods at fair prices: real, tough looking men. Their eyes gleaming with vigor and they had swords hanging on their waist; all in all, they smelled like bodyguards. Obviously Li Zhi was quite shocked that Kou Zhong was treating her like that; her pretty face alternated between red and white, her phoenix eyes turned cold. She looked like she wanted to turn around and leave, but could not let it go. After giving Kou Zhong a hateful re, she turned to Xu Ziling and said, You are Li Si? I ... Xu Ziling simply cut her off, I am definitely Li Si. Miss is flirting openly in such a public ce, dont you have any shame? Li Zhi was visibly shaken, her beautiful eyes shot a thick murderous aura, yet her jade countenance stayed surprisingly calm. The two boys thought, Here ites, their hands immediately grabbed the hilt of their saber. They were even more convinced that she was Shen Luoyans people. Suddenly Li Zhi seemed to be able to regain her self-control, her eyes calmed down as she said in low voice, Youd better remember what you said to me. Finished speaking, she brushed her sleeve and walked down the stairs. In a flurry the two middle-aged men paid the bill and ran after her. By the time the three people left, their food and drink were delivered; the two boys forgot everything about Li Zhi, they simply bent over the table and chewing busily. Cups came and cups went, very soon the two boys started to feel tipsy, and then they entered the world of the drunkards. Holding a cup of wine with both hands Kou Zhong giggled drunkenly and said, The first cup tasted pungent and difficult to drink, but the second cup turned into exquisite elixir; ha! I did not know wine is such a good drink. Xu Ziling looked at the more than half a cup strong wine still remained, he surrendered, A little tipsy feeling is enough; perhaps as soon as we step out of this wine shop Shen Luoyan will prepare a trap for us. Ay! Right now I only want to sleep. Last night that Li Shimin guy had his leg pressed on my side that I could not sleep well. Kou Zhong pressed his hand against Xu Zilings forehead, he drunkenly whispered in his ear, It would be better to go straight into the biggest pleasure house, find two most popr aunties to apany us sleeping. This is called today has wine, today get drunk [i.e. live in the moment, carpe diem]. Come! Call the waiter, have him tell us all the detailed information about this pleasure house. Xu Ziling nodded happily. He was about to call the waiter, when suddenly one of the two men sitting on the next table raised his voice a little bit, Zhang Xiong, you came to visit our Pengcheng, but if have never visited Yihong Courtyard, and have never seen that ces most popr aunties, Baiyun [white cloud] and Qiuyan [autumn swallow], how can you be considered ever visiting Pengcheng? [Trantors note: at first I thought Kou and Xu mentioned auntie (lit. paternal aunt) because the women were older than they were, but this man also said auntie, so perhaps the word refers to prostitute?] The two boys thought what a great coincidence; hurriedly they focused their attention to eavesdrop. The other man replied, Is Chen Xiong referring to the Yihong Courtyard that is at the corner of the street as you turned left from this street? How could I nevere there? Its just that now it is still daytime, the misses are still asleep; lets talk about it again tonight! Ha! Those girls are so pretty that I am drooling already. The one surnamed Chenughed and said, Right now its still wu hour [noon, 11am-1pm], Yihong Courtyard is not open to receive guests. Let us drink two more cups and then take a stroll around! Hearing this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were delighted; they kicked each others leg under the table, and decided right then and there that today would be the day they have a taste of women. For young men their age, what could be more interesting than the mystery of the opposite sex? What could move their heart even more? Book 3 - 6 – Escape from Dangerous Spot Book 3 Chapter 6 C Escape from Dangerous Spot As the two boys stepped out of the restaurant, autumn breeze blew, increasing their tipsiness by two degrees. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling in the Yihong Yuan direction. After walking for about a dozen steps, he said in low voice, Something does not seem right, those two mens conversation seemed to be too timely, as if they were afraid we would not know how to get to Yihong Yuan and thus have to spell out everything clearly. In my opinion, those two men must be Shen Luoyans people. As she saw one trap failed, she came up with another trap. Xu Ziling was just staring at the hustle and bustle of horses and carriages struggling for the right of way on the street with his drunken eyes; hearing Kou Zhong, he was startled and said, You are right. Since Li Zhi could be Shen Luoyans people, those two men might be her people as well. Ay! Where should we go then? It would be best if we can find a ce we can hide. With unbearable itch in his heart Kou Zhong said, If we dont go to Yihong, we should go to Yilu [yi hong C relying/riding on red, yi lu C relying on green. Yuan means Courtyard]. Suddenly they came face to face with another passerby; Kou Zhong respectfully asked, Excuse me Uncle, around here, other than Yihong Yuan, is there any other most upscale pleasure house with the biggest number of pretty girls? The person he stopped happened to be a middle-aged schr; hearing the question, a look of disdain appeared on his face. Pei! he spat, and walked away. Xu Ziling roared inughter, Are you asking where to go to take imperial examination? he jested, Asking for a pleasure house, you must ask twenty-something man, someone that with one look we can tell that he indulges excessively in wine and women. Watch me! Looking around, he happened to see a splendid-looking carriage stopping behind them, from which a young man with expensive-looking clothes alighted, followed by two attendants. The young man looked to be around twenty-three, twenty-four; attractive and intelligent, but his face looked rather unhealthy, as if he was too weak to stand up to the wind. He fit the exact criteria of the person Xu Ziling wanted to ask for direction. Kou Zhong gave Xu Ziling a sharp push that he stumbled two steps forward toward the rich-looking young man. The two attendants immediately had their hands pressed against the sword hilt with alert look on their eyes. Bracing himself, Xu Ziling cupped his fist and said respectfully, Respected Gongzi, Zaixia has something Id like to inquire of you, would Gongzi please do not me Zaixia for being rude. The young man looked at him up and down with interest; then he smiled and said, Renxiong [dear friend], please speak. Embarrassed, Xu Ziling took a step forward. Afraid that other people might hear him, he spoke in the lowest voice possible, We, two brothers, want to know: around here, other than Yihong Yuan, which pleasure house is the best? The young man was greatly surprised. Immediately a smile broke on his face from finding a kindred spirit; he sighed and said, You havee to the right person. My Ol Die opens a brothel, its at the next street, Hong Yuan Street, Cuibi Lou [both cui and bi mean green jade, lou is multi-story building]. In terms of scale and girls, Yihong Yuan cannot catch up even if they spur their horse. Its just that right now its still too early, you can stroll around somewhere else, ande there after you hour [5-7pm]. Just tell them that you are my, Xiang Yushans friends, I guarantee that nobody will dare to serve you not satisfactorily. Renxiong, please. I still have important matter I have to attend to. After Xiang Yushan left, the two boys felt as if they have obtained imperial edict. Bursting with joy, they walked along the street with arm around each others shoulder; surprisingly neither was singing at the top of his lungs. All kinds of stores lined up both sides of the street, there were butcher shop, cake shop, dry goods store, clothing store, cosmetic store, fish shop, et cetera. Due to the alcohol in their belly, the two boys felt as if the entire world had be unreal, but looking at the autumn sun high in the sky shining down its light to the gstone street, the sparkling reflection seemed like fantastic rays of light. The street, the buildings, the passer-by, the horses and carriages, seemed to synthesize into one perfect harmony, with no dividing line between distinct realms. Kou Zhong involuntarilyughed; half of his body was leaning ln Xu Zilings shoulder. With a sigh of contentment he said, Right now I dont want to join any militia army or government army. After killing Yuwen Huagu, we will focus on earning money, buying and selling goods, and when we have free time we just go to pleasure houses, getting drunk and passing through this life happy, and thats about it. Xu Ziling did not drink as much as Kou Zhong did, so his brain was a bit clearer. Didnt you often say that you want to aplish big thing in life? he wondered, Why all of a sudden you are thinking of being an unscrupulous businessman who make profit by spection [the term used here is hoarding goods for spection]? Kou Zhong giggled and said, Even bing unscrupulous businessman, I, Zhong Shao, will be the best unscrupulous businessman. When I see other people suffer hardship, suffer cmity, will we forget chivalry by throwing stones at those who fell down a well? Its just that honestly speaking, Beautiful Shifu was right: based on virtue and ability right now, how can we take care of other peoples business? Hey! When our martial art skill has reached perfection, when we finish training the Nine Mysteries Great Technique to the 108th level, then if we see anybody who is not pleasing to the eye, we can ughter him with a sh of a saber. That will be called removing harm for the sake of the people. With a bitterughter Xu Ziling said, How can there be such a simple thing in the world? But no matter what, we must ughter Yuwen Huaji, that treacherous bandit first. Suddenly a shadow shed in front of them, a fragrant breeze wafted by. The two boys took a closer look, turned out it was a rather good-looking middle-aged woman blocking their way. With a blossoming eyebrows and smiling eyes she said, Are two Gongzi lost? The Yihong Courtyard main gate is over there. We are just open for business. If two Gongzi be our first guest, our popr girls will definitely serve you will full attention. Following her pointing finger, they saw the big signboard of Yihong Courtyard was precisely behind them, to their left. They suddenly realized that in their muddled state, they had just walked pass Yihong Courtyards main gate. This procuress that was ordered to wait for them got panicked and blocked their way to solicit business. Since he was still a bit drunk, Kou Zhong leaned over to mercilessly leer over her towering breasts. And then he winked andughed, Pretty woman, tell that devious woman Shen Luoyan that we fell into her trap once, we wont fall the second time. If she has guts, have here and grab us. But dont forget that shes a felon wanted by the imperial court! While the procuress was stunned, the two boys walked away staggeringly, swaying left and right. Kou Zhong shook Xu Ziling, who was asleep on the bed, to wake him up. In his excitement his voice was hoarse, as he nervously said, Its going to be you hour soon, we must be Cuibi Lous first guest; perhaps well get a 50% discount! Xu Zilings head was still heavy; he crawled out of bed and whined, Drinking wine has this kind of after effect; if you are sent by that Shen woman, I would have been finished. Kou Zhongughed and said, I am the most responsible person on earth; otherwise, whos going to keep watch for you? Just now there was a waitering asking a lot of questions, I would not open the door for him. Ha! Just several more sichen and that Shen woman will lose to us. I wonder what is Qin Laoges fate? Xu Ziling took his saber, which he hid behind his pillow. Lets go to the Eastern Gate to see if he left any secret mark there. And then he added, Also, we must not forget that thing that we promised that guy Li Shimin. Kou Zhong impatiently said, How could I forget? Didnt that rich guy say that Dong Ming gship wouldnt be back from Luoyang until tomorrow? Lets take advantage of the fine time, beautiful scenery tonight; lets start without dy! Xu Zilings heart warmed up, Its funny that when we were in Yangzhou, when we looked inside from outside a brothels door, people always drive us out like beggars. But now even the brothel owners son recognizes us as shining treasure. But let me be clear first, on my first night [figuratively, first sexual encounter] I dont want to pick randomly, at least it has to be as pretty as Qingqing, who bite the hands that feeds her, from Piao Xiang [floating fragrance] Courtyard. Kou Zhong patted his money purse and said with augh, With money naturallye face and prestige, coupled with Xiang Yushans support, whatever you, Ling Shao [young master Ling] wants, you will get it. If the lord is not satisfied, cant we stick up our butts out of bed? Xu Ziling raised his qi to lighten his body; he just wanted to show off some nimble moves. Who would have thought that as soon as he rose up, he made a somersault andnded noiselessly on the floor? The two boys were severely shocked; they looked at each other with an I-cant-believe-that-just-happened look on their faces. Heavens! Kou Zhong was stunned, How did you do that? he asked, Can you do it again? How could you fly out from sitting position like that? Xu Ziling scratched his head, I am afraid I cannot repeat it, he said, Why dont you try it yourself? Previously, each time they raised their qi, they had to channel their strength to leap first, and borrowed the momentum to fly up. But to raise their qi from a still position like this, it had never happened before. Kou Zhong stood still, his expression looked odd. Dont you want to hurry up to the brothel? Xu Ziling urged him, Why havent you tried? Kou Zhongs face turned beet red; he said in embarrassment, I have tried it more than a dozen times, but my toes did not even move. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day; finally he said dejectedly, This time I did not get enlightenment as well. Ay! Perhaps we should really do obeisance to a great shifu, so that when we have a problem like this we could get a brilliant masters direction. Kou Zhong shook his head, Doing obeisance to a shifu is a farting useless, he said, What we learn is the strange skill from the Secret to Long Life, nobody in the world is proficient in it, we can only rely on ourselves to grope around. Perhaps our problem is due to our virgin male bodies, because solitary yang cannot develop. Only after we break it will our martial art immediately achieve great sess. Ha! It must be the case. Xu Zilingughed and scolded him, Less bullsh1t, will you? Arent you going to leave? Kou Zhong doubled up inughter, I am leaving! I am leaving! he said. Staggering along, they walked toward the door. But as they opened the door, a sharp cold wind assaulted their foreheads. Without even thinking Kou Zhong raised his qi to lighten his body just like Xu Ziling did; his body flew backward. The person whounched the sneak attack apparently did not expect that the attack should fail. Huh? he eximed, and fast as lightning he slipped into the room. Just like Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling did not have time to think, he halted his step, pulled his saber, and swiftly hacked down on the attackers head; all in one fluid motion, without the slightest bit of hesitation or sluggishness. It was perhaps the most outstanding saber strike he had everunched in all his life until today. Bing! The attacker used the long golden hairpin in his hand to block Xu Zilings unmatched fierce saber strike head on. For an instant both sides had to stop and were unable tounch any consecutive move. Bang! Kou Zhong fell heavily on the bed, but he immediately shot out like a bullet and shouted, Niang! I did it! The attacker pulled the hairpin back and withdrew from the room, the sleeve of his clothes floated away, as beautiful as a fairy; who else but Li Mis Pretty Junshi Shen Luoyan? Xu Ziling was shaken by her power and had to take two steps back. Seeing the door was no longer blocked, Shen Luoyan abruptly turned around and entered the room again, with the intention of pursuing and attacking Xu Ziling. But Kou Zhong already arrived; the flicker of his saber was like billowing waves, coupled with the surging gust of wind from the de, as he violently attacked her. Shen Luoyan cried out with her shrill voice as she rushed into the shadows of the saber, utilizing a closebat technique. Sessively she blocked a dozen or so moves from Kou Zhong. Each move was iparable vicious; but she failed to push Kou Zhong back. In the meantime, Xu Ziling pulled himself together [orig. reorganize gs and drums] and joined the melee. Without any choice Shen Luoyan was pushed back out of the room once again. The two boys stood on guard inside the door, but their hearts were like great waves rolling into the sky, with bitter thought raging endlessly. They had never expected that such abrupt turn of events, they would be able to disy the essence of Bloody Battle Ten Styles vividly and thoroughly, so much so that they did not know which move they were using. They only felt that their hands followed their hearts, their strength followed the saber technique, and everything was flowing without any restrain. Shen Luoyan, on the other hand, was greatly shaken. Her Soul-snatching Hairpin was the ultimate skill of her family, which has been passed down from generation to generation, and ranked quite high in the Jianghus Amazing Skill Ultimate Art List. In usual circumstances she very seldom used it; this time she was hoping to capture the two boys in one fell swoop. Who would have thought that these two boys were like shedding their mortal bodies and exchanged their bones, that twice she attacked, twice she was repelled back? If this matter spread in Jianghu, it would be sufficient to propel the two boys name to the top. With a saber in his hand, Kou Zhong struck a pose andughed aloud, Beautiful Junshi,e in quickly to have a taste of my saber. Xu Ziling also imposingly said, Just remember that you must not harm half a strand of our hair; otherwise you will definitely lose. Shen Luoyan nearly went mad from anger; with a furiousughter she said, The courtyard outside is a bit bigger;e out and lets try again. Are you thinking of having your men to surround us? Kou Zhong exposed her scheme, Ha! You should know that I can do lions roar; with a loud shout, I guarantee all the government officials of Pengcheng will hear everything clearly. Shen Luoyans pretty face turned cold, but instantly a moving smile reappeared as she said in tender voice, How about this? If I can crash through your barrier and enter the room, I will be considered the winner, then the two of you must surrender nicely to me. Calmly, Xu Ziling said, That means you no longer have the confidence to capture us alive; ergo, you already lose! Kou Zhongs fighting spirit was aroused, his confidence soared; immensely proud of himself he said, What are we afraid of, but we have to set time limit. I will count to ten, and if you cant pass, you lose. Shen Luoyan stuck the golden hairpin back to her hair; sheughed and said, So be it. Start counting! Finished speaking she walked toward the door inrge strides. While the two boys were stunned and were at a loss, she walked between them straight into the room without any obstruction at all. When she reached the bed, she turned around and leisurely sat down, looking at the two boys with a smile on her face. The two boys still had their sabers lifted high, but how could they hack on her just like that? Even until she turned around, they were still dumbfounded. Looking at the two boys weird expression, Shen Luoyan broke into giggle and pped her hands, Alright! I win! Chapter 6, Part 2 HPC, Jaya, Ysabel, you are wee. DongBin, Are you from Taiwan? Nowadays I see more and more people are using simplified rather than traditional, except people from Taiwan. But its just my observation, which may not necessarily true. Anh, hows grandkids? Any trip to Vietnam recently? Dejectedly Xu Ziling put the saber back into its sheathe as he sighed and said, I cant ept losing this way, because just likest time, you are exploiting our kind-heartedness. Shen Luoyan pretended to be surprised, Other than hacking people with your saber, dont you know any other way to subdue others? Kou Zhong put his saber down, he giggled and said, We did not lose, because although you entered the room, you did not crash through our barrier. The word crash through implied some fighting is involved! Shen Luoyan nced at him with the corner of her eye; still with a smile on her face she said, How about we sit down and talk? Wow! Now the two of you look pretty nice. The two boys sat on the chairs leaning against the wall on her left side. Looking straight at her alluring eyes that look just like limpid autumnke, Kou Zhong said, You want to talk, lets talk. We still want to visit the brothel! Shen Luoyan stared at him angrily, she said irately, Do you not know that those girls in the brothel are really pitiful? Just with some money in your pocket you feel that you are entitled to toy with them; dont you have any shame? Taken aback, Xu Ziling said, I have never thought about it that way. But if no one visits them, and they dont earn enough money to redeem themselves, wont they continue to live in destion? Kou Zhong stated matter-of-factly, Isnt that Yihong Courtyard opened by your Wagang Army? Why are you criticizing us? And then with a cold humph he added, Everything is born because there is a demand for it; otherwise, who would want to go to the battlefield to kill or be killed? Shen Luoyan knitted her brows. What are you talking about? she said, Yihong Courtyard has always been Du Fuweis eyes in this area. To us, Wagang Army, its a business. The two boys countenance changed. Shen Luoyan smiled and said, You love to fool around at the pleasure houses, thats enough. Now that Qin Shubao has surrendered to our army, what do you, two little kids, have in mind? Kou Zhong sprang up and went to the open door; craning his neck, he looked outside wondered aloud, The sound of our fighting shook the house, but howe there is no onee over to check it out? Shen Luoyan said indifferently, Are you forgetting that we want to capture you alive? There is an inescapable outside, even if you, two little demons, grew wings, it would still be difficult for you to fly away. With a wry smile Xu Ziling said, Do you not know that this is called biting the hand that feeds you? Shen Luoyan slyly replied, I only have your well-being in mind. Right now the whole country is in rebellion. To bring order out of chaos, only Duke Mi one person is able to do it. If not for the fact that you have given me a big favor, I would not have time to invite you to join our army. And then, a bit impatiently she added, Quickly make your decision! I dont have time to waste on you. Listening to her tone, the two boys pride was hurt. With a cold snort Xu Ziling said, If you dont have time then excuse yourself! We, two brothers, love to roam the wide sea and sky, to live free and easy life. A thick, cold murderous aura shed through Shen Luoyans eyes; she suddenly rose up and in a sh was already by the door. With her back toward the two boys, she coldly said, Since I cannot use you, I must kill you. Dont even think of leaving this ce alive today. In another sh she vanished outside the door. The two boys looked at each other in dismay. It only then did they understand why this Pretty Junshi, whose beauty matched the immortals, was also known as Serpent and Scorpion Beauty [see Book 3 Chapter 4]. The two boys stared nkly for half a day. Even then, there was still no movement outside. Kou Zhong took a very deep breath and said, What do you think? Shall we kill our way out? Xu Ziling maintained hisposure. He shook his head and said, Rushing out just like that is tantamount to deliver our lives in vain. Perhaps as soon as we step out the door, there would be a biging down to catch us, two fools. I say she still wants to capture us alive. And then he added in low voice, Just now when we heard Ol Dies name our countenance changed. With her keen eyesight plus her skill and knowledge, how could she not hear even half a word about us? Obviously she already knew our background; therefore, she spent so much effort, mentally and physically, to win us over, so that we will willingly offer Duke Yang treasure trove to her. Kou Zhong was astonished, Xiao Ling, you are really something. Unexpectedly you are able to infer so many things just from her reaction. Ha! I have an idea. Remember what Ol Chen of Jukun Bang taught us about architecture? This hotel is made up of eight courtyard houses. We are located at the west wing of the east courtyard, the door is facing the flower garden in the center of the courtyard, outside the wall opposite the door is the main garden surrounding the eight courtyards, with towering trees all around. Therefore, if we can get there, our chance of escaping will be a lot higher. Xu Ziling looked at the wall opposite the door, where the bed was located; he smiled wryly and said, We are not Zhai Rang, how could we break through the wall and flee? And then he looked up to the ceiling and said with a sigh, If my guess is correct, there are definitely enemies up there. As usual, Kou Zhong always had a n. First, he closed the door, and then he told Xu Ziling, Keep watch for me, I am going to loosen a few bricks. Finished speaking, he pulled his long saber and jumped onto the bed. Xu Ziling moved to the window by the door. When he looked outside, he saw more than a dozen big men jump down from the roof of the building across the courtyard, and immediately fanned out along the corridor, heading toward their direction. He was just about to warn Kou Zhong when there was a loud boom! from above, the roof tiles rained down, followed by an iron-tower like man with a pair of hammers in his hands, falling down. In that instant Xu Ziling threw away his conjecture that Shen Luoyan wanted to capture them alive; he was well aware that this Serpent and Scorpion Beauty has indeed chosen the evil scheme to kill them. At this moment, he was reliving the situation where a mob of gangsters was about to kill him. Everything became iparably clear. He knew clearly when this big man was going tond, as well as his falling speed; so much so that he also knew what the man was about to do next. The difference was that now he knew how to deal with this situation. He clearly knew that if he let the opponent unleash the power of his pair of huge hammers, which weighed over a hundred catties each, not only he could easily force Xu Ziling put the door, it would also be extremely difficult for Kou Zhong, who was standing by the wall, to escape with his life. In this moment where life and death was hanging by a thread, his mind and spirit became crystal clear; hepletely forgot about life and death. Focusing his willpower and all the strength he could muster, he readied himself for the exact moment when the opponent would touch the ground. Stepping forward inrge strides, his entire being moved as fast as lightning, even his saber chopped down swiftly. Indeed as Xu Ziling expected, the big man had already made up his mind that as soon as his feet touched the ground, he would borrow the momentum to shoot forward to increase the power of his hammers to thundering tens of thousand catties. Once he sent Xu Ziling out the door, hispanions would chop him into thousand pieces, and then he could focus his entire attention to deal with Kou Zhong. To his surprise, however, as he was exerting his strength, the saber aura already enveloped his body. He felt that no matter where he wanted move to evade, or perhaps to block the attack andunch a counterstrike, he simply was not able to. When he broke the roof tile, he was really underestimating the enemy; he thought that they were just two kids, it would not be hard to catch them. How could he know that in terms of timing and the angle of attack, Xu Zilings chop has reached a top quality martial art expert level? This moment he already had no time to think whether the opponent was indeed very formidable, or he just happened to use a move sent by the gods in heaven. In his extreme panic, he threw his pair of hammers, one to Kou Zhong, the other to Xu Ziling; while at the same time he pushed his palms forward to generate reaction force with strong gust of wind. With no other choice, he clumsily had to jump out from the ce where he came in. In the meantime, Kou Zhong, who was standing on the bed, was about to turn around to help. Suddenly he saw a big iron hammer was flying toward him. Good throw! he shouted. In a sh there was a loud Boom!, followed by bricks and mortar flew everywhere as the iron hammer broke through the wall. Xu Ziling also easily evaded the other flying hammer. He let the hammer hit the wooden door, sending splinters of wood everywhere. Finally the hammer itselfnded on the courtyard outside. Meanwhile Xu Ziling let out a wild cry, concentrated his power on his brows, and charged toward the broken wall. How could Kou Zhong not understand Xu Zilings intention? He also exerted his strength and charged toward the broken wall. Boom! The two boys, along with fragments of brick and stone, leaped into the neighboring room. Outside the door was precisely the big garden surrounding the eight courtyard houses. They shot forward, burst open the door, and ran outside. This move was obviously outside the enemys anticipation, unexpectedly they did not see anybody blocking their way; however, they heard the rustling of the wind from the tiled roof behind them. The two boys did not dare to tarry, they immediately unleashed the full potential of the Bird Crossing Technique taught by Yun Yuzhen; like an arrow they shot into the park. With several twists and turns, they went deep into the forest. Book 3 - 7 – Brothel and Casino in One Book 3 Chapter 7 C Brothel and Casino in One The two boys ran to a side alley. From here looking out, they happened to see the wall and the main gate of Cuibi Lou that was owned by Xiang Yushans old dad. There wereyers of courtyard on the inside, in term of scale, it was definitely above Yihong Courtyard. Following the setting sun in the west, the sky was gradually turning dark. Thenterns of Cuibi Lou were lighted, giving the two boys some kind of romantic, yet mournful feeling, reflecting the two boys uneasy mood. Out of habit, the two of them sat on the ground with their backs against the wall. After staring nkly for a long time, Kou Zhong gnashed his teeth and said, That woman [again, used derogatorily; also in subsequent references to woman below] is very ruthless, unexpectedly she really wanted to take our lives,pletely ignoring the fact that we are her benefactor. She did not want us to fall into Ol Dies hand, Xu Ziling said, So what do we do now? We promised that kid Li Shimin that we are going to wait for Madame Dong Mings arrival. But now Ol Dies people already knew where we are. If we dont leave now, what are we waiting for? Our little life is important, Kou Zhong said, Let that Li kid me us, but we must immediately leave town, and go the farther the better. And then well look for Susu Jie at Xingyang. Her Miss has already been captured anyway, so we can take her back to the south, where she can join our Shuanglong Bang [two-dragon n] in trading salt in peace and quiet. Xu Ziling forced a smile and said, If we just leave the town in big style like this, if that stinky woman did not catch us, we would be just like a sheep offering itself into Ol Dies tiger mouth. The best course of action right now is to find a ce to hide, and then at midnight we will try to climb the city wall to escape. Relying on our current skill, if we have things like rope and hook, we should be able to make it. More and more I found out that you, this kid, have a brain like mine, Kou Zhong praised, Come! There is plenty of money in our purse, while the sky is notpletely dark yet, we quickly find a hardware store to buy hooks. As for rope, to steal some is not a difficult matter. After making up their mind, their spirit was aroused; they came out to the street at the other end of the alley and stealthily walked along the main street, but soon discovered that other than wine shop and pleasure houses, other stores had already closed. Kou Zhong suddenly had a bright idea, Wed better look for that Xiang Yushan for help, that kid seems to have a little yiqi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice, code of brotherhood]. Right now there are friends meeting with misfortune, he should not be shirked without dishonor. Xu Ziling was doubtful, Is he that kind of person? he asked. Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around his shoulder as they turned into another side street and walked toward the direction of Cuibi Lou. He said bitterly, This is called we are at the end of our rope, without any choice we have to ignore what kind of saint he is, and simply consider him as a good saint. Worst yet, we are also wanted criminals; reporting to the authority is tantamount tomitting suicide. Besides, who knows if those government officials are not in cahoots with the stinky woman or Ol Die? Right now I dont dare to trust anybody. Xu Ziling spoke in distress, After hearing that stinky woman speaking about the girls in pleasure houses, I really do not wish to go to brothel anymore. Is there any other way? The other way is digging a tunnel, Kou Zhong replied, But please forgiveozi for not apanying you. Dont be so easy to be influenced by other people, will you? Dont forget that at Yangzhou, all thosedies that we know voluntarily sell their bodies to earn money. Dont those so-called government officers also prostitute themselves to be the Emperorsckeys? At least being ady you wont easily have your head chopped. Ha! We are here! The two boys crossed the busy street moring with horses and carriages racing against each other. The decorativenterns were hung high, shining their light on the peopleing and going on the street; it was indeed very lively. However, because the two boys have witnessed the brutal scene of war, they had a feeling that all these liveliness was but a fleeting moment. Upon reaching the main gate, they waited for a gorgeous looking carriage galloping inside, and then trailed behind it. Six, seven doorkeepers stepped forward to meet them. Seeing the two boys bright and neat clothing, and spirited expression, they did not dare to be negligence. One of them spoke respectfully, Wee Gongzi, your presence honors us; I wonder ... Kou Zhong knew what to expect; he casually stuffed a string of coins into his hand. Assuming a young tycoon air he spoke arrogantly, We are your honorable Xiang Yushan Gongzis old friends. Have Yushan arrived? The men felt even deeper veneration for them; the man who spoke earlier hastily said, Xiaoren [little/lowly one] He Biao, two Gongzi, please follow Xiaoren. Kou Zhong puffed up his chest and said, Lead the way! He Biao bowed respectfully with cupped fist and turned around to lead the way. The two boys followed him passing through a spacious square where at least a row of ten carriages could park, toward the main building. As the reached the bottom of the steps leading to the door, a rather good-looking middle-aged woman with gorgeous dress [orig. lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze] met them. He Biao hurriedly stepped forward and whispered a few words in her ear. And then after saluting them, he walked away. All smiles [orig. brows raised in delight, eyesughing], the beautifuldy stepped between the two boys, and then with each hand grabbing the boys elbows, she coyly said, Turns out Xiang Shaoyes good friends. I wonder what are two Gongzis honorable surnames and great given names? Ay! Almost forgot, you can just call me Feng Niang [lit. phoenixdy]. Kou Zhong enjoyed her generous gift of luck with women very much; while following her inside, he said, My name is Zhang Shi, and he is Li Min. Ha! Feng Niang, you are so pretty, you attract us to our death. Feng Niangughed so hard that she was shaking, Although Zhang Gongzi is young, you are an old hand in the midst of flowers. Dont tter people casually! Otherwise if Nujia [lit. ve] wants to entangle you the whole night, you will regret it. Casting a coquettish nce toward Xu Ziling, he said, Li Gongzi is more honest than you are. By this time Kou Zhong hadpletely forgotten about the stinky woman and the old dad; bursting with joy he said, This kid is only pretending to be an old hand; if Feng Niang dont believe me, you can give him a try. Greatly embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, Dont listen to him, I ... hey! I ... In the meantime Feng Niang already pulled them into the main hall, where more than ten clusters of chair were arranged, and she had them sit down in a cluster of chair leaning against the corner. Sheughed and said, No need to say anything, how can I, Feng Niang, make an error of judgment? Two young maids, about sixteen, seventeen years old, came out to greet them, to pour tea and offer towel; their service was very attentive. The two boys swept the room with their gaze, and noticed that there were already more than ten groups of guests in the hall; the atmosphere was very lively. After instructing the maid to notify Xiang Yushan, Feng Niangs fawning manner grew without restraint, Based on two Gongzis personality, which girl would not fight over the right to apany you? Xu Ziling also rxed. He was about to speak when Feng Niang asked to be excused; she stood up and rushed to meet another group of visitors that look like rich merchants. Kou Zhong told the two maids, Jiejie, no need to wait on us, we, brothers have a private matters wed like to discuss. The two young maids took their leave. Kou Zhong excitedly said, Have you ever be well-regarded like this? Wed better stay here tonight to celebrate a wonderful evening; whod think that we would hide in here? Besides, this grand asion is bestowed by that Li guy, we might as well wait until tomorrow night to sneak into Dong Ming gship and do the best for him. Hey! Xu Ziling stammered, I dont know why, but my heart is flustered and panic; I dont know what to do. Kou Zhong sighed. To be honest, he said, I am a bit nervous as well. But there is always first time for everything. Otherwise, how can we be considered real men? Later, we will ask yiqi Shan to pick two most beautiful girls and make it clear that they must take up the responsibility to give us guidance. Hey! But if we just say it like that, wont we have no face left? While the two boys were having tumultuous thought, Xiang Yushan arrived. For some reason, in his habitat, this fellow was exceptionally confident, not at all like the good-for-nothing appearance he disyed when they met in the street earlier that day. Especially since there were four big men escorting him, he lookedpletely imposing. From a zhang away Xiang Yushan had alreadyughed aloud and said, What Zhang Gongzi, Li Gongzi, turns out its two renxiong. Forgive me for failing to salute you! The two boys noticed his attitude was still sincere, he really lived up to the nickname they have given him, the yiqi Shan; hence they were relieved and immediately stood up to pay their respect. After the three of them were seated, Xiang Yushan inquired, This time two renxiong came to Pengcheng, is there any business you need to attend, or are you just sightseeing, enjoying some scenic spots around here? Knowing that he was trying to get a feel of who these two boys were, Kou Zhongughed and said, Theres a saying that traveling for ten thousand li is better than patronize ten thousand scrolls of book. We, two brothers, roam to the other end of the world, is precisely to widen our horizon. Leaning forward, he continued in low voice, Frankly speaking, our visit to the pleasure house is also part of our effort to enrich our knowledge. Because this is the first time we visit the pleasure house, our hope is that Xiang Xiong would give direction and take care of us. Hee, hee ... ! Xiang Xiong is sensible, most probably I wont have to exin more? In his heart Xu Ziling was full of praise; Kou Zhong indeed have a knack of turning such an embarrassing and reputation-losing matter into something that sounded so natural. Xiang Yushan suddenly understood; heughed and nodded his head, That should be no problem, he said, Just leave it to me. Chapter 7, Part 2 Jaya, Ysabel, Weed, Anh, HPC, you are wee. DongBin, sorry to disappoint you, but no. Critical, Sky, another beautying up. The Lords willing, I will post the rest of Chapter 7 within 24 hours. About slow or fast update, I checked Grundles original thread, ndhenry finished Book 4 Chapter 2. But I seem to remember somebody somewhere (not in Grundles thread for sure) said that he/she was going to continue. Does anybody know whats going on? Did he/shepleted the next chapter? Heres my n: chapters 8, 9 and 10 areparatively longer than the earlier chapters. Lets say one chapter per week, plus another week or so for Book 4, chapters 1 and 2, so I should be able to catch up in about a month, right in time for our moving date. Well see after that, but I will try my best to update regrly, about once every 2-3 days. After pondering for half a day, he said seriously, Zhang Xiong and Li Xiong please forgive Xiaodi [little brother, referring to self] for bringing up deep subject to aparative stranger, after all, what we, men, seek after in the world is nothing more than wealth and women. I see that two renxiong [dear friends] are men of character, and what you carry is top-quality de; you are definitely not a nobody. I wonder if two renxiong have any n for the future? Kou Zhongughed and said, We are living in the moment [as before, the original was have wine now, get drunk now]. Right now we only have n for tonight. As for what will happen tomorrow, we will think about it when we get out of bed. Ha ... Xiang Yushanughed a perfunctoryughter and then said, Turns out you have bottomless money purse, hence you have no worry about tomorrow. Xiaodi is really envious. Xu Ziling matter-of-factly replied, Xiang Xiong is definitely much richer than we are; we just recently made a business deal, so the cash in hand is rather abundant. After the money is gone, we must start earning money again! Xiang Yushan revealed a mysterious smile. I wonder which line of business the two gentleman do? he asked. The two boys were dumbstruck. And then Kou Zhong lowered his voice as he said proudly, I really dont want to conceal anything from you, our business is salt. Hey! The kind that does not need to pay taxes. I see, Xiang Yushan happily said, No wonder as soon as we met I got a feeling that we are kindred spirits. Perhaps there are more possibilities of cooperation between uster on? Is Xiang Xiong also in transporting salt business? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment. Compared to salt business, it is more small capital, huge profit, easy-to-get-rich kind of business, Xiang Yushan calmly said, But please forgive Xiaodi for temporarily keeping the climax of the story to myself. Ill wait until two gentlemen enjoy all kinds of pleasure my Cuibi Lou has to offer, I will examine the grand n to get rich with Zhang Xiong and Li Xiong. So there is a business that is more lucrative than sea sand? Kou Zhong happily asked, We will definitely listen with respectful attention. Xiang Yushan nonchntly replied, Xiaodi still has something Id like to inquire, and then Xiaodi will take gentlemen to broaden your horizon. The two boys were greatly delighted; they nodded their heads ready to answer his question. This Xiang Yushan was at most only two, three years older than the two boys, but his demeanor was just like a lot older man who had deep experience of the ways of the world, in just a few words he had yed down the information the two boys wanted to know more. Xiang Yushan said with a smile, Right now the world is in chaos, heroes and warriors arose, and gentlemen are definitely Wulin characters who understands thepass and set square of Wulin world. Right now Xiaodi is dying to make friends with gentlemen, I do wish you would inform Xiaodi about your martial school or sect origin, so that we can deal with each other candidly. Kou Zhong exchanged an eye signal with Xu Ziling first before answering, Our martial art skill is actually handed down in a family. Xiao Mins [little Min] and my dad were escort masters with an office in Yangzhou, but they served far away ces, and they were also sworn brothers. Hey! But in one expedition they encountered thieves and thus lost their lives. Hence we went out to roam the world. How could Xiang Yushan know that Kou Zhong was simply spouting nonsense? Heughed aloud and stood up, Gentlemen, please follow Xiaodi! he said. Recalling that they were about to receive the most important lesson in their lives, the two boys followed him delightedly. Both nervous and happy, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling followed Xiang Yushan stepping out of the main building, and only then did they know that the beyond the rear courtyard there were other buildings that look like residence buildings. A gravel path, lined with well-maintained flower gardens on both sides, led them from the main buildings rear door to another big door. This moment there were a lot of people walking back and forth on the path connecting the two doors; it was a very busy path indeed. Kou Zhong could hear noisesing from the inside, it sounded that there were hundreds of people inside the building. What kind of ce is that? he wondered aloud. Immensely proud, Xiang Yushan replied, This is the biggest casino in Pengcheng. Xu Ziling jumped in fright, But we dont want to gamble! he said. Xiang Yushanughed and said, Naturally Xiaodi understood, but throughout the ages brothel and casino are always inseparable. Any ce without brothel and casino will not thrive. The reason our Cuibi Lou can dominate Pengcheng is precisely because of thebination of these two businesses, and thus the whole Pengcheng is flourishing. Dont you want to broaden your horizon? Just rx and follow Xiaodi to increase your knowledge. The two boys looked at each other. They began to feel that this yiqi Shan was not as simple as he was on the surface. Just like in Yangzhou, the biggest casino was owned by Zhuhua Bang [bamboo flower n/gang]. Without a strong background, who would dare to touch this kind of big, lucrative business? As soon as the three of them entered the casinos main gate, Xiang Yushan loudly said, These two gentlemen are my friends, you must take care of them well. The several big men guarding the door immediately voiced theirpliance respectfully. As they stepped into the casino, a fat man, whose entire body was covered in copper stench, and looked unbearably vulgar, came out to meet them. Would you like Xiaoren to prepare guest rooms for three Shaoye? Xiang Yushan waved his hand and said, We are just looking around, you go take care of other guests. The fat manplied and withdrew. But Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were just staring agape. It was the first time that they were inside a casino. They saw the gambling tables, the gambling equipment, down to the furniture and furnishing, none was not gorgeous or exquisite. Moreover, the ce was veryrge. Not only it was divided into three sections, front, middle and rear, each section had halls on the left and right, joined together. Therefore, although there were about four, five hundred people there, these gambling halls did not feel crowded at all. Most striking was that all dealers, down to the women pouring tea and offering tobo in each hall were all young, alluring girls with jade countenance. And their clothes were sexy; they wore only moxiong [old feminine garment, covering chest and abdomen, simr to modern day tube top] and dudou [lit. belly cover; apron-like undergarment, also only covering chest and abdomen] like red upper garment, and skin-tight green short skirt, so that their jade, lotus root like upper arms and their fair, slender jade legs werepletely exposed. When they walked back and forth among the gambling tables, their breasts and buttocks swayed like rippling water, graceful and beautiful, so that the two boys who watched them had their soul shaken and their mind swept away, they werepletely stunned. Funny thing was that Xiang Yushan and the other gamblers seemed to turn a blind eye to these women. Right this moment two waitresses, whose smile was as beautiful as a flower, came over, offering fragrant tea and some pastries, while also helping Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to remove their outer clothing. Not only they were very attentive, their alluring flesh constantly touching and bumping onto the two boys body. Seeing the two boys powerfully built body, their fitting leather vest, their broad shoulders and narrow waist, their out of the ordinary might, Xiang Yushans eyes lit up. He sighed and said, Gentlemens figure is indeed shapely, certainly it is rarely seen. The two waitresses were also staring nkly at the two boys; they looked even more fiery with passion. One of them even embraced Xu Ziling from behind beforeughing tenderly and then picked their outer garments and left with the other waitress. It was the first time that the two boys received such a generous treatment; momentarily their soul melted and their mind turned soft; as for their body, who knows where they went? Xiang Yushan reached out to stroke Kou Zhongs leather vest; he said in astonishment, This is the finest quality bear hide, is only produced in thend of the north, and is pricier than gold. Xiaodi had to suffer untold hardships before obtaining one; I wonder where did Zhang Xiong buy it? How could Kou Zhong tell him that it was a gift from Li Shimin? Cooking up some nonsense he said, Xiang Xiong certainly knows good product. We exchanged salt for these two leather vests with a traveling merchant; indeed they cost more than gold. By this time the two waitresses returned, each one pulled the boys arms to press them bodies against their prominent and silky breasts with a very enthusiastic attitude. Xiang Yushan introduced these two women to them, one was called Cui Xiang, the other Cui Yu; and then he said, Zhang Gongzi and Li Gongzi do not need your service for the time being, they will call you when they need anything! Clearly disappointed, the two women went back to work. Kou Zhong delightedly said, Now I understand why brothel and casino are inseparable, Xiang Xiongs Ol Die is really business-savvy. Xiang Yushanughed proudly. Xu Ziling asked, Do these beauties have Cui as their surname? I wonder what is the history of the Cuibi, two characters, in the name Cuibi Lou? Xiang Yushans eyes revealed an adoring look as he spoke tenderly, That was the fragrant name of a thousand-tender, hundred-charm beauty; but she is already taken [orig. famous flower has its master/owner], she is our ns dragon head [i.e. boss] Laodas most favored concubine. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Turns out Xiang Xiong is a member of a n; I wonder whats your precious ns great name ... Xiang Yushan cut him off, Well talk about itter. Come! Why dont you y a game or two? If you win you can keep it, if you lose Ill settle the ount. Gentlemen, this way please. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly dismayed by Xiang Yushans yiqi; for the first time they started to get suspicious. Chapter 7, Part 3 Sorry guys, its been more than 24 hours, but I just got home, its been a long day at work. Jaya, HPC, Drak, Ysabel, you are wee. DongBin, d you agree with the n ... Sky, you got that right. So, nobody has the answer to my question yesterday? Although the two boys dreamed about making a fortune all day long, it was due to the necessities of life, not because they were greedy for money or addicted to stuffs. They had been drifting along in the marketce since childhood; they had deep understanding of the principle no one has voracious desire of inexpensive thing. Not to mention that they recently learned a valuable lesson from their mistake in dealing with their Beautiful Shifu. How could they easily trust this new acquaintance with evasive speech? Xu Ziling cleared his throat and said, We are not too interested in gambling; how about calling those two beauties just now to ... hey! To ... whatever! Is it alright? Not showing any concern, Xiang Yushan said, Speaking about beauty, those two servant girls[1] have not made the cut yet; the most popr in our ce are Cui Ning and Cui Zhi, two girls. But you can only see them in the noble guest room [i.e. VIP lounge]. Let us stroll around in here first,ter Ill take you to have a drink and be merry with them! I guarantee gentlemens trip would not be made in vain. Seeing that he did not pressure them to gamble, the two boys were somewhat relieved. dly they followed him passing through the left and squeezing through the right among the jam-packed gambling tables, toward thergest hall in the middle. By way of introduction Xiang Yushan said, Our gambling hall was meticulously designed by an expert in five-element principle. One big and eight small, nine gambling halls are positioned based on Nine-Pce formation. The biggest gambling hall in the middle joined together suppressing the eight points of thepass, as a result the color scheme rely mainly on bright yellow, because dark yellow is too heavy and sluggish. There are twenty-five tables, because five is the earth element, and twenty-five is the square of five, the meaning is that the profit will be doubled. It was only then did the two boys find out that opening a casino also involved certain knowledge; it was an eye-opener. By nature the boys were inquisitive. Listening to this interesting topic, inevitably they asked left and right, andpletely forgot about those beautiful waitresses who look at them with raised eyebrows and amused eyes. Xiang Yushan led them toward a table where twenty, thirty people were crowding around it. They watched as the beautiful and alluring female dealer threw the giant dice made of bone into a square bowl, and after covering the bowl she raised it above her head and shook it vigorously. And then she put it down on the table and shouted tenderly, Honorable guests, please ce your bet! One after another the gamblers put their bets on the betting board. Xiang Yushan said, This is called betting treasure; if the bet matches the number of dots on the dice, the payment is three times the stake. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The odd in winning is one in six, but to you, the casino, it is five of six. No wonder opening a casino can make a fortune. Xiang Yushanughed and said, You can also bet on the dice color; the odd is one to one, very even. Xu Ziling focused his attention to watch, most people bet on the number of dots, obviously they were all hoping to win triple their wager. Thats why betting on the color of the dice was provided no more as lip service! Dont you want to y a hand or two? Xiang Yushan prompted. The two boys just shook their head. Xiang Yushan simply brushed it aside and led them into the middle hall. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings eyes immediately brightened. They saw leaning against a gambling table to the left, a beautiful woman, like a red dot in the sea of obscurity, was gambling enthusiastically. Not only she had picturesque facial feature, the most noticeable thing about her was that the opening of the p of her gown was extremely low, exposing almost half of her jade breasts and her deep cleavage, so that she looked exceptionally tarty. The two boys often heard that a lot of people from the northern part of the country have blood rtionship with non-Han people, so that in general they were unrestrained by convention. Still it was the first time that they saw a woman openly dressed in such a low-cut dress in public ce with numerous people; they could not help staring with mouth agape. Xiang Yushan smiled wryly and said, That woman must never be touched. Despite her coquettish charm, she is actually one of the Peng Liang Huis [society] three masters, known as Sao Niang [coquettishdy], Ren Meimei. Her martial skill outstanding, she is adept at toying with men, from head to toe she is covered in thorns, and woe is men who run into her. Even I do not dare to mess with her. Kou Zhong swallowed a mouthful of saliva; he said in low voice, What is Peng Liang Society? Xiang Yushan was surprised, You have not even heard of Peng Liang Society? he asked, Peng is Pengcheng, Liang refers to Liang Jun [Liang county], sixty li northwest of Pengcheng. Peng Liang Society is one of Eight ns [bang] Ten Societies [hui]. Wherever they go, Jianghu people will have to give them some face. Finished speaking, he was just about to pull the two boys away, who would have thought that Ren Meimeis eyes happened to leave the gambling table and look at their direction? Seeing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two people, her beautiful eyes lit up, with coquettishugh she called, Yushan, what are you doing staring nkly like a fool over there? Why havent youe over and hang out with nujia [again, ve, a polite way a woman refers to herself]? While waving his hand in response, Xiang Yushan whispered, No matter what she wants you to do, remember to push all the me to me. Finished speaking he promptly walked over to her. As the two boys heard that she was another Bang Hui [n and society] people, immediately they felt headache. Without any choice they braced themselves and followed Xiang Yushan toward Ren Meimei. [1] Servant girl, orig. yatou - girl, can be used both deprecatingly and as a term of endearment. Book 3 - 8 – Trouble in the Casino Book 3 Chapter 8 C Trouble in the Casino Ren Meimei left the gambling table to meet them. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling found out that her clothes was tightly wrapped around her body, emphasizing her full body and exquisite curves; immediately their hearts were beating faster. This charming beauty moved her full-of-youthfulness-and-vitality body to three peoples presence. After sizing up Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling again, she turned to Xiang Yushan and said with augh, These two Gongzi seem to be strangers; are they your friends? With a bitterugh Xiang Yushan replied, Mei Gu [charming aunt], youd better not provoke them. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not expect Xiang Yushan to be that forting toward her; they got a shock. Ren Meimei did not take offense at all; she walked around to the two boys back andughed coquettishly, Xiang San Shao [third young master] must have spoken a lot of malicious words behind my, Ren Meimeis back, but two gentlemen must by all means not believe him. If he is a good man, then I am the Guanyin Dashi [Goddess of Mercy] who savesmon people. Xiang Yushan cleared his throat and said, Mei Gu, you must not damage our friendship. Dont forget that Peng Liang Hui and our Baling Bang have always been living together in harmony ... Ren Meimei circled around to face the two boys again; covering her mouth, sheughed tenderly, Did you see that? Xiang San Shaoye frequently uses Baling Bang to bully me, a weak woman; what kind of hero is that? Wow! Two little brothers[1] are really handsome, no wonder San Shaoye took a fancy to you. What are your names? The two boys had a feeling that Baling Bang sounder familiar, but momentarily they did not remember who mentioned this name to them. Xiang Yushan was showing his displeasure openly, Mei Gu, did you lose some money? Let mepensate you then, but dont babble nonsense in here. Evidently Ren Meimei was not afraid of him, she cast Xiang Yushan a flirtatious nce and said, Am I, Ren Meimei, someone who doesnt have any gambling nature? You are the one who babbled nonsense. Suddenly her hand shot forward to grab Xiang Yushan. Xiang Yushan let out a cold snort and raised his right hand to brush away her artery. Ren Meimeiughed and said, I dont want to fight! Yet although her mouth said so, her jade palm flipped over and swept down to block Xiang Yushans attacking right hand, while her crooked finger counterattacked by flicking Xiang Yushans artery. Xiang Yushan pulled his hand back and turned it into a chop, with his curved palm swatted her flicking finger. These several moves happened within an area about one chi wide; it was both swift and disying deep offensive and defensive techniques. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling watched the exchange wide-eyed; they were very interested in this kind of intricate fighting technique. Ren Meimeiughed tenderly, I havent seen you for several months, turns out you were hiding to train your martial art skill; no wonder your arrogance soaring to the sky. While she was speaking, her jade hand made subtle swinging a few times, as if she was going to attack, but not exactly attacking, as if she was blocking, but not exactly blocking. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling intuitively understood what she was doing, they were able to fully grasp her move and strategy. While obviously Xiang Yushan failed to understand Ren Meimeis bizarre technique; unexpectedly he took a step backward. The two boys knew the worst was yet toe, Ren Meimei alreadyughed tenderly, while fast as lightning she thrust her finger onto the back of Xiang Yushans palm. While Xiang Yushan was jolted by this attack, Ren Meimei already grabbed his sleeve and pulled it hard, so that he was carried away and stumbled to the side. All the while she did not forget to sh her enchanting smile toward the two boys and unhurriedly said, Ill have a few words with Yushan, and then Ille back to apany you. They saw the two people went toward the corner of the hall and mumbled several secret whispers with each other. Xu Zilings countenance suddenly changed. I remember now, he said in hoarse voice, Didnt Beautiful Shifu mention that Baling Bang is the Emperors young sons running dog? They are specializing in trafficking human beings! Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air, So what good can we say that he took a fancy on us? Quick! We must slip away immediately. Hold on! Xu Ziling pulled him back, They are back. We are going to change ording to the situation. Ay! I really did not see this mountain trader [y on words on Yushan, jade mountain] is also a martial art expert. On that street we randomly picked someone to ask, why did we pick a martial art expert and a bad egg [i.e. ] in one? Meanwhile Ren Meimei and Xiang Yushan walked back hand-in-hand toward them. Looking at their friendly spirit, the two boys knew that the two people had reached a private agreement. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt their scalp turned numb, knowing that once again the two of them had be amodity. From a distance Ren Meimei already let out her unrestraintughter, Turns out the two little brothers [see footnote 1] came here this time is to have a taste of womens gentle and soft feeling. Let me, Jiejie [older sister] take care of this matter. This time Xiang Yushans tone of speech was greatly changed, Its rare that Mei Gu shows such respect for you. I will have a VIP suite opened up for you, everybody can drink, have a chat andugh, and enjoy the romance together. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Why worry about it? I suddenly have an urge to y a hand or two, I am good at Paijiu [paigow, dominoes] the most. Xiang Yushanughed, So be it, he said, You ought to go to the VIP suite right away. Mei Gu also loves Paijiu the most. You guys want to apany her ying, nothing could be better than that. This time Kou Zhong was at a loss for words. Still maintaining his elegant and unconventional demeanor, Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said to Kou Zhong, If you want to gamble, you should seek my approval first. I dont know anything about Paijiu, but I do want to stroll around the casino to broaden my horizon. Ren Meimei moved her tender body to the front. Pulling the crook of two boys arms she gave Xiang Yushan a meaningful nce and said with a smile, Let me take care of them. Xiang Yushanughed to give his approval and immediately turned around and left. Ren Meimei intimately pulled the two boys along toward the inner lobby. She said with enchanting smile, You must not listen to that fellow Xiang Yushan talking any idle gossip about other people. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were about to speak, but when they looked at her, they saw that when she was walking, the twin peaks on her chest were continuously bobbing up and down following her gait; it was extremely captivating, so that they could not restrain their hearts from thumping wildly and jumping madly, and they forgot what they were about to say. All of a sudden they did not think that she was so scary anymore; especially her figure and her expression, none did not carry a special charm that was capable of moving other peoples heart, that unconsciously gave birth to a feeling that even if they had to die for her, they would dly do it. The fact was that Ren Meimei was extremely proud in her heart. She had read countless men, and in just one nce she could tell that these two boys were still virgin. To a person who was adept at collect and mend technique like her, the two boys were no more than exquisite serum or sweet nectar that would bring great benefits to her vitality; hence the reason she wanted to wrestle them, by hook or by crook, from Xiang Yushans hands. This moment she was exploiting her body, unleashing her superior charm, to evoke the two boys primal sensual desire. Xu Zilings mental power was slightly better than Kou Zhongs; only after a slight daze, his mind cleared up considerably. Seeing Kou Zhong involuntarily panting and licking his lips, and was showing a leering look on his face, while intentionally used his shoulder to bump her silky breasts, he knew something was not right; his brains moved fast, and he blurted out, Ol Die is here! Kou Zhong was startled and came to his senses. Where is he? he asked in panic. Ren Meimei was puzzled, Didnt his old dad pass away already? she asked. Inwardly, Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief; he cooked up some nonsense, Its just a joke we invented; it means a ghost ising, which means nobody is! Kou Zhong summoned all the willpower he could muster, he no longer dared to look at this womans chest. Ren Meimei was angry; she twisted her appealing body, immediately the two boys were aware of her well-developed body, burning desire touched their heart and strayed their mind. But since they were already wary of her, they firmly suppressed their surging lust, while groaning inwardly, wondering how they could get out of this predicament. If her flesh-temptation continued, and they were unable to resist, who knows what kind of dire consequences would ensue. Xiang Yushans earlier warning was still ringing in their ears. Kou Zhong happened to see the gambling table on their left only had five guests around it, which leave seven or eight seats vacant. A sudden inspiration struck his mind, Lets y a game or two! he said. Wriggling himself free from Ren Meimeis clutch, he sat on an empty seat. Ren Meimei did not seem to mind at all, still smiling coyly, she sat on his left, while Xu Ziling took the empty seat on Kou Zhongs other side. As soon as this beautiful woman sat down, the eyes of the other five guests were immediately drawn to her chest. When Ren Meimei swept her pretty eyes around, the five men were immediately ovee with lust; so much so that one of them was drooling. The dealer was a woman around twenty years old, quite pretty; butpared to Ren Meimei, she immediately lost her splendor, and no longer enjoyed the limelight. This table happened to be a Paijiu table. Although Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never really gambled before, growing up in the marketce they had seen enough people gambling, naturally they were also well-versed in the way of doing it. Ren Meimeis interest suddenly arose; she said to the dealer, Let me be the banker! The dealer naturally knew who she was; after repeatedly agreed, she withdrew to the side. Ren Meimei took the banker position andughed coquettishly, Why havent you put down your bet? Everybody immediately put down their bet; they were all very excited. But Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were groaning in their heart. To have their hard-earned money put down in gambling was naturally painful and heart-breaking. Ren Meimeis gaze fell on them. Dont you want to y a hand or two? she urged, Quickly put down your bet! Kou Zhong giggled and said, We need to sit tight first and observe how you, the new dealer, y your trick before wey our bet; alright? Ren Meimei only smiled tenderly without saying anything. With skillful finesse she shuffled the tiles, and only after she piled it up stack by stack did she throw the dice and deal the tiles. It was not clear whether she employed some kind of trick, but she lost three rounds in a row. The gamblers cheers and apuse immediately attracted the attention of the other gamblers on several tables nearby that they flocked over and took all the seats. Ren Meimei smiled and said to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, Jiejie suffers an adverse wind; if you want to win, quicklyy your bet. From the back, someone yelled, If you dont bet, give up your seat! Ren Meimei gave the man a hard stare; she shouted, Who dares to tell them to step aside, Ill wring his hands. The man obviously knew that she was formidable, immediately he kept his mouth shut out of fear. Kou Zhong had no choice; he fished a tael of silver and tossed it out as his bet. Ren Meimei burst into a tenderugh and cast a sidelong nce toward the two boys. She was about to deal the tiles under the burning gaze of more than a dozen pairs of eyes, when suddenly a soft and tender voice came from behind Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings back, Hold on! And then an iparably delicate and beautiful jade hand reached out from between the two boys, and put a piece of gold ingot, weighed at least ten taels, next to Kou Zhongs pitiful one tael of silver. This action sent the gamblers into an uproar, because this ingot of gold worth at least several hundred taels of silver, so it was indeed rare that someone would ce that much wager in one bet. Ren Meimeis eyes shot a cold sh as she looked at the beautiful woman that squeezed through several men that they were pushed to the east and opened to the west. When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked up in astonishment, a pair of delicate hands already pressed on their shoulders. As they looked closer, they could not help crying out to their Niang, because the woman was none other than the Serpent and Scorpion Beauty Shen Luoyan. Shen Luoyan was looking down at the two boys, her face showed a sweet smile as she said, I told you, two little kids, not to y around randomly. Look! People nearly cheated you your wealth and trick you into having sex. A deep, cold killing aura flitted across Ren Meimeis beautiful eyes. Whosing? she asked coldly. Shen Luoyan simply met her stare for half a day before smiling and said, Whos the banker? Since Third Master[2] wants to be the banker, you ought to follow bankers rule. If you cannot meet the stake, you ought to just admit defeat and leave the field. Realizing that the opponent already know who she was, yet still struck a hard stance, Ren Meimei trembled inwardly, yet on her face she still maintained that foxy attitude brimming with the thoughts of romance. Such a tiny gold ingot, our Peng Liang Hui can still deal with it, she said with a smile. Among the guests crowding around them, there were more than a dozen who, when they heard the name Peng Liang Society, were afraid of getting involved. These people immediately slipped out quietly, not even daring to fetch the money they put down as a wager back. The crowd around the gambling table was thinning out; two seats immediately became vacant. By this time Kou Zhong already calmed down; he patted Shen Luoyans jade hand that was pressed threateningly on his shoulder. Hi Beautiful! he said, There is an empty seat beside me, why do you tire yourself by standing up? Shen Luoyan smiled slightly; she stooped down to give each of the two boys a peck on the cheek. Unexpectedly she really sat down on the chair next to Kou Zhong. Noticing her confidence, as if she was certain she would get them, plus her affectionate kiss with her fragrant, delicate, soft and tender cherry lips, which melted their souls, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling really did not know whether they should be happy or scared. Ren Meimei still maintained her silence as she dealt the tiles. [1] Little brothers: here she did not use the term Xiao Xiongdi, which is rather polite, but Xiao Geer, basically means the boys. [2] Third Master - here, the word master is dang jia, someone who is in charge/who call the shots. I was tempted to use the word skipper or captain, but it sounds so western. Chapter 8, Part 2 Anh, Critical, Ysabel, Jaya, HPC, you are wee. 9Dragons, thanks, since nobody knows anything, I think it safe to assume that whoever that was did not trante the next chapter. Sky, sadly, no girl stayed long enough ... at least up to this point of the story. Suddenly several people appeared by the gambling table; they were all casino people, and Xiang Yushan was one of them. Next to him was a fat man wearing embroidered gown; he had broad face but small eyes, yet the pupil of his eyes flickered brightly, so that people know that he was not a character they would want to mess with. Both he and Xiang Yushan were sizing Shen Luoyan up and down with their gleaming eyes. Shen Luoyan acted as if she did not even notice people were staring at her; she whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, This time I am saving you once. Whatever big kindness, big enmity between us, well call it quits. Finished dealing the tiles, Ren Meimei cast a coquettish nce toward the fat man and said, Xiang Ye [master] hase in person! Do you want to y a round? The man she called Master Xiangughed aloud before plopping himself on an empty seat like a meaty pir on an upside down golden mountain. He sighed and said, Its rare that San Dangjia [see footnote] is willing to be the banker, Wagang Forts Pretty Junshi Miss Shen is willing to y; how could I, Xiang Gui, refuse to y along? Ren Meimeis beautiful body trembled; she looked at Shen Luoyan and coldly said, Turns out it is the Pretty Junshi Shen Luoyan; no wonder you talk big. But winning or losing, I, Ren Meimei, will apany you y. Shen Luoyanughed gracefully, her beautiful eyes darted back and forth between Xiang Gui and Ren Meimei. She said nonchntly, The two of you spoke too highly of me. I, Shen Luoyan, only run errands for Duke Mi; how could I talk big or talk small? This time I came here on Duke Mis behalf only to recover two wandering prodigal children. I am asking a lot of forgiveness from the two of you, so that when Duke Mi attacks Pengcheng in the future and we meet again, nobody will talk a bad talk against each other. As the remaining dozen or so guests heard the name Wagang Army, they did not dare to tarry; they all left that not even one remained. Even the hundreds of guests in the other halls also left as soon as they heard what was going on. But there was one person remained. This man wore a tall hat on his head, his countenance stiff like a dead person. He looked straight into Ren Meimeis eyes and spoke in cold manner, Why havent you throw the dice? The strangest thing was that his man was taller than average person, plus he was standing proudly with his hands behind his back, yet nobody even noticed that he was standing there until all gamblers scattered away and he opened his mouth to talk. By this time, only three groups of people remained around the gambling table: Ren Meimei who was acting as the banker; Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Shen Luoyan; and Xiang Gui plus his son Xiang Yushan and two of their mostpetent men, who were standing behind him. All three groups immediately turned around with changed countenance. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were the first who were spooked out of their mind; they shouted with cracked voice, Ol Die is here! The neer was indeed Du Fuwei. Besides, only he had the ability to appear out of empty air like shadowless rain. He showed a surprisingly warm smile as he said tenderly, These two sons of mine are really capable, even your Ol Die was nearly deceived by you. But now that I see you are not inside the hungry wolfs belly, I am so happy that I am willing to forget your naughtiness. Shen Luoyan always did her homework in researching the other militia leaders; she was the first to recognize who he was. Du Fuwei of River Huai! she gasped. Ren Meimei, Xiang Gui and the others were shaken; they were even more confused as to the rtion between this old dad Du Fuwei and the two boys. Du Fuwei still had his eyes fixed on Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling; without even casting any nce toward Shen Luoyan, he asked, Zhai Rang has not been harmed by Li Mi yet? Shen Luoyans beautiful body trembled slightly. Du Zongguan is joking, she replied in low voice. Pompously Du Fuwei sat down; his gaze moved to Ren Meimeis face as he spoke indifferently, Ol Du has not seen Demon w Nie Jing for several years, is he still not happy if he does not have any woman every night? After knowing that the opponent was Du Fuwei, Ren Meimei immediately turned from fierce tiger to tame kitten. She replied awkwardly, Da Dangjia [first master] is still like that. Seeing that as soon as Du Fuwei made his appearance all the men and horses of the opposite party immediately became docile, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both happy and groaning inwardly, yet they were helpless to do anything. Whether in terms of martial art or battle of wits, they were far inferior to this old fox. Previously, it was only because of various circumstances, coupled with Du Fuwei grossly underestimated them and thus he was careless, that they had their chance. Right now the situation differed greatly; it would not be that easy for Du Fuwei to be fooled again. Du Fuwei changed direction to Xiang Gui, I heard you are one of the four martial art masters under the smoking pipe Lu Kangshou, with specific responsibility to find handsome men and beautiful women for Lu Kangshou; did you fancy my two inferior sons? Xiang Gui jumped in fright; he hastily replied, Du Zongguan misunderstood; your esteemed sons are merely our casinos honored guests. We have nothing to do with each other. Du Fuwei nodded. That would be best! he said. Everybody knew how vicious and merciless he was, how easy it was to kill; who would dare to speak up? That day, when Yun Yuzhen, in her capacity as the leader of a n, plus she had Dugu Ces backing behind her, confronted Du Fuwei, in the end she had to submit to him [orig. hang her hands down and called herself your servant]. Now, unless Li Mi personally came, nobody even had the qualifications to stand on equal footing with him. Du Fuweis eyes returned to Ren Meimeis pretty face. Why havent you thrown the dice? he prompted gently. How could Ren Meimei dare to refuse? She threw the three dice in her hand onto the table. At first the three dice were spinning rapidly, but when they were starting to slow down, they stopped abruptly, as if being controlled by some kind of invisible power. All dice had one dot facing up. Everybody noted that Du Fuwei had his left hand pressed against the table. Needless to say, it was he who sent his internal strength via the table to control the number of dots on the dice. Merely this feat, everybody present asked themselves if they had the ability to imitate. Even Shen Luoyan who was hesitating whether she should make her move also immediately dispelled that thought. She came this time, not only she brought about a dozen martial art expert under hermand toe along, she also included Zu Junyan, who was of the same position as herself, so it was not because she did not have the strength to do an all-out battle. Du Fuweiughed and said, So Ol Du ought to pick the first tile. He had just finished speaking, a stack of tiles slid across the table as if pulled by invisible hand and stopped in front of him, while at the same time flipped open. To everybodys surprise, one pair was Heaven [all sixes], the other was Supreme [one and two, and two and four], a winningbination. Everybody watching felt their scalp turned numb, not only because of his internal energy that has reached perfection, but even more shocking was because he was able to see through the trick that Ren Meimei did. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Too bad Ol Die did not ce a bet. If you had put down a dozen his mothers ingots of gold, and share your winning with child, we would have struck it rich. Du Fuweiughed and said, I have already put down my bet. My wager is the two of you, unworthy sons. Come! Well talk when we get home. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, Please forgive your children for being unfilial. Since we have stepped out of the house, we will nevere back. At most we will use the snapping heart and artery that Niang taught us. Once we are dead, then we will go home to have you, Ol Die beat and scold us. As Shen Luoyan listened to their dad and mom, she was even more confused; yet she knew perfectly well that they were not Du Fuweis sons. Nheless, she admired their guts in standing up against Du Fuweis valor. Who would have thought that Du Fuwei did not think that they were being disobedient at all? He simply sighed and said, Lets not talk about Die will never let you break your heart and artery, I will never believe your nonsense even more. But since the day you left, Die has been really concerned about you. Not only I cannot bear to scold you, I will even recognize you as my own sons, to bear my Du family name. How could the two boys believe him? But since he had seen through their ruse, they could not fight him, and they could not slip away either; momentarily they did not know what they ought to do, they were at their wits end. Right this moment, a peal of tenderughter came from the direction of the main lobby. Du Zongguan, since your naughty sons are not obedient, why dont you hand them over to be disciplined by us? Everybody was greatly astounded; who in their right mind, after knowing that they were dealing with Du Fuwei, still dare to pick lice on the tigers head? Without even turning his head, Du Fuwei said, Whosing? State your identity and origin, lets see if you have enough qualifications to manage Ol Dus inferior sons. Two women, one tall one short, appeared about three zhang away from Du Fuweis back. One of them said, Protector of thew Shan Xiu and Shan Yudie of Dong Ming Pai of Ryukyu are here to see Du Zongguan. Du Fuwei was greatly astonished, Dong Ming Pai has always been specializing in weapons sale, and has never directly intervened the dispute internal to the Central ins. I wonder what is the reason you came to care about my two children. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling also you looked at me, I looked at you. They were both delighted and anxious at the same time. Delighted because they were finally found by the Law Protector Fairy [orig. xianzi C immortals] of Dong Ming Sect; anxious because they were afraid the women would not be a match for this old dad, who ought to be considered the most terrifying man in the world. Whether in terms of facial feature, skin and physique, these two women were totally unlike the image of fairies in average peoples imagination; however, although they were not standing by the foot of a beautiful hill like how the fairies are usually depicted, these women were definitely anything but ordinary. Shan Xiu wasnky; so skinny that she looked like ayer of skin wrapped around bones, yet her height wasparable to Du Fuwei. Her hair was tied into a bun on top of her head, her eyes looked spirited, yet they also looked dull, her robe looked too big for her body. It would be strange indeed if people came across her in the middle of the night at a deste area outside a town and did not think that she was a wandering ghost. But she gave people the impression that she was clean and tidy, so clean and dry that she was immune to any gue that might harm her. Chapter 8, Part 3 Yan, HPC, Jaya, Ysabel, Anh, Szfong, Drak, you are wee. Sky, tada ... another beauty enters the scene ... Yan, that was a very nice thing to say. I am touched, I truly am ... And I am not a hypocrite, I could use extra money, especially now; but ... One: I am not conceited, I know my own limitation, you cannotpare me with Ren. Two: I havent visited Rens website, so I dont know whats involved in setting up something like that. Problem is, I have a full time job and a family; I am not sure I will have time to manage such website. Three: even if I setup one, I cannot promise faster trantion. Plus my work is usually on traditional wuxia, not the new, more popr xianxia, so I dont think it will generate much ... But I am serious, I do appreciate your thought. Thank you. Here is the end of Chapter 8. Shan Yudie, on the other hand, was a plump butterfly [yu die means jade butterfly]. She was a full head shorter than Shan Xiu, and in term of age, she appeared more than ten years younger than Shan Xiu; her face round like a full moon, giving people the impression that she was warm and affable. It was hard to imagine that she was a leader-level martial art expert of Dong Ming Sect. But the most noticeable was the flexible steel rope, made of steel pieces linked together, that were hanging loosely on their waists. It was a singr weapon that was very hard to make well. Dong Ming Sects fame in weapon manufacturing shook the heavens. These two unique flexible steel ropes were naturally notmonce items. It was the very first time for everybody in the hall to see the two martial art masters protector of thew, so they all showed the weird expression oh, so this is what they look like on their faces. The tall and withered Shan Xiu spoke dryly, These two boys have shown kindness to our humble Sect by giving us warning, so that our humble Sect escaped the disaster of Yuwen Huajis sneak attack. If Du Zongguan is willing to be magnanimous, our humble Sect will definitely pay you back. This speech was very polite; she was giving Du Fuwei enough face. Yet without even thinking Du Fuwei sighed and said, Please forgive the Ol Du for notplying to your request. Two fairies, please go back! Ren Meimei, Xiang Gui, and the others were greatly confounded. It should be noted that Dong Ming Sect wielded tremendous power as the world leading weapon supplier. With their support, Du Fuweis contention for hegemony over the world would enjoy tremendous boost. However, for the sake of two nameless boys [orig. their names not encountered in the ssics] he tly refused Dong Ming Law-protector Fairys proposal. This has puzzled them greatly even after they pondered over it hundreds of time in their mind. At the same time, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling seemed to hear Madame Dong Mings familiar voice in their ears, giving directions. Shan Xiu also grimly heaved a sigh and said, We dont have any choice but to make our move to see your real skill. Right this moment, Du Fuwei already made his move. His target was Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. After his experiencest time, how could he be careless again? While the solid wood gambling table shattered into small pieces like sand and stones, he darted toward the two boys. Suddenly thousands of sword tips shot out from Shen Luoyans hand, she was attacking Du Fuwei. Among the people present, she was the only one who had clear understanding of Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings real background. When she failed to subdue the two boys before, she was determined to eliminate them. Simply because she wanted to get rid of the contingency factor, namely the Duke Yang Treasure Trove. Speaking about the current situation, among the various militias, Wagang Army held the biggest power. But they let if any other party seeded in obtaining the Duke Yang Treasure Trove, perhaps the current bnce of power would experience huge changes. Therefore, she would rather have the two boys killed and the secret would be like a stone thrown into the sea and sank without leaving any trace. This moment, other than Dong Ming Sects strong backing, she also relied on Zu Junyan and other martial experts under hermand; how could she let Du Fuwei get hold of the two boys? In the meantime, Ren Meimei and others were retreating outside the hall. Du Fuwei already anticipated that Shen Luoyan would try to stop him. His left sleeve rose up; he swept the perimeter of Shen Luoyans sword tips. Shen Luoyans sword tips shadow disappeared, leaving just one sword. Fast as lightning the sword floated outward, which was blocked and pushed back by Du Fuweis Qiankun [universe] Sleeve. Meanwhile Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, together with their chairs, tipped backward and fell onto the floor, and the two of them quickly rolled toward the door on the other side of the room; their movement was so fast than even Du Fuwei was taken aback. Shan Xiu and Shan Yudie, two great Law-Protector Fairies of Dong Ming Sect, had already flown over. Their hands reached out to their waists, with a flick of their wrist the two flexible steel whips, which were made of eighteen sections of steel pieces as thick as a finger linked together, with total reaching distance about a zhang, shot toward the back of Du Fuweis head and his back. As if he had eyes behind his head, Du Fuwei flicked his two sleeves backward, sweeping the tip of the whips. Ding! Ding! Shaken by the amazing strength of his sleeves, Shan Xiu and Shan Yudie were jolted backward. Seemingly without any effort Du Fuwei has consecutively forced three martial art masters to retreat. elerating his body, in an instant he flew toward the two boys who were still rolling on the floor. While he was thinking that very soon Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling would fall into his evil clutch, suddenly, Boom! There was a loud explosion, followed by a big hole appeared on the wall. As if the sand and stones had eyes, they were shooting toward Du Fuwei. For the first time that evening Du Fuwei showed some concerns on his face. Failed to grab the two boys, his arms swirled around, creating myriad of sleeve shadows, blocking the sand and stones and sending them shooting back toward the hole. At the same time he pursed his lips to send out a sharp whistle to summon his escorts, the ten martial art experts who were surrounding that ce to render their assistance. Boom! Unexpectedly another explosion on the tiled roof opened up another big hole. A flicker of the sword tip appeared. Like a rainbow the sword shot from above toward the tianling [heaven spirit] acupoint on the top of Du Fuweis head. A biting cold sword aurapletely enveloped Du Fuwei, blocking his entire advance and retreat paths, the power was extremely overbearing. Even with Du Fuweis ability, his only way out was to abandon his intention to jump through the hole where Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling escaped, and focusing all his strength to deal with this terrifying sword. Boom! Sleeves and sword collided, emitting a muffled-thunder like explosion as the qi and the sword force struck each other. Like a puff of white cloud something swept across the air about a zhang away, before slowly descending into the hall below. It was a stunningly beautiful woman, with the sword in her hand pointing to Du Fuweis direction. With jade face and vermillion lips, her tender and beautiful body seemed to radiate youthful vigor. Her shiny, jet-ck beautiful hair was in stark contrast to her snow-white skin, so that her jade bone and ice-sculpture muscle became even more prominent; in short, she was extremely alluring. Its just that her hair was tied into a bun on top of her head like a man, wrapped in a white warrior band; but her countenance, disposition andplexion shamed even Shen Luoyan. Du Fuwei actually thought that the one attacking him must be Madame Dong Ming, so when he looked closer, he was taken aback. Attacking Miss, who are you? he asked in astonishment. The sound of fighting also came from the middle hall. Evidently his men were also being intercepted by the enemy. Plus Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling has already gone out of the hole and disappeared without any trace. And Shen Luoyan and the two Law-Protector Fairies were standing about three zhang away watching him. The beautiful woman cast an indifferent look toward Du Fuwei. Soon afterwards her beautiful eyebrows frown slightly; quite naturally her face showed a displeased expression that would make other people not dare to offend her. She replied in gentle voice, Wanbei [junior/younger generation] Shan Wanjing; much obliged to experience Du Zongguans ultimate skill. A deep, cold murderous aura shed through Du Fuweis eyes as he nodded and said, Turns out its the Dong Ming Princess; its not surprising that ypu have such a skill. And then he turned his gaze toward the hole from where Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling escaped. I have long heard that the fame of Madame Dong Mings Shui Yun Xiu Fa [water and cloud sleeve technique] is resounding far and wide all over the world, he spoke in deep voice, Since you have arrived, why note down to the battle field to let the Ol Du experiencing it once. Otherwise the Ol Du will go all-out and offend your thousand-catty gold [i.e. daughter]. Just by these few sentences, Shan Wanjing was extremely proud. Among the present day Jianghu characters, how many have enough qualifications to make Du Fuwei goes all-out? Madame Dong Mings gentle and beautiful, deep and maic voice was heard from the hole, Du Zongguan is angry, but why? My Dong Ming Pai has always been attaching most importance to gratitude and grudges. Gratitude must be repaid, grudges must be avenged. For you to cultivate enmity with us, it will simply bring more harm than good toward Du Zongguans great undertaking. Besides, Zongguan has made quite a bit of unwise moves tonight, your acute spirit has been broken; wont it be better to transform a thousand spears into jade silk, and we all could end this matter amiably? Du Fuwei shivered inwardly; in all honesty, he did feel stupid and was greatly discouraged. Not to mention he had revealed his whereabouts, whatever happened he must not stay too long in this ce, where the imperial forces still held much power; yet he must not reveal this predicament. After pondering for half a day, he threw his head backward andughed heartily, Very well! I, Du Fuwei, am also a man who is capable to distinguish gratitude and grudges. This matter will be repaid. Madame, please! His shadow shed, he was already in the middle hall, where a series of blood-curling screech was heard, but died down very soon afterwards. While Shen Luoyans countenance was changing, the three Dong Ming Sect women leaped up through the roof, and Zu Junyan rushed in. He said with a sigh, He killed five of our men before running away. Shen Luoyan has already predicted this result; her expression stayed the same as she said in low voice, Notify Duke Mi immediately, if we can intercept and kill him before he reaches River Huai, we will gain at least a quarter of the world [reminder: tian xia C China]. Her beautiful eyes turned toward the hole on the wall, to the rear courtyard outside, where the moon and the stars shone their light. Her mind wandered to the two boys, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who evoked a faint feeling ofpassion and regret like a mist shrouding her thought. Although she had made up her mind to kill the two boys, it was only for the sake of the present situation; the fact was that a favorable impression had started to grow in her heart. Subtle, but it was there. These two boys were indeed very special and wonderful people. Book 3 - 9 – Dong Ming Princess Book 3 Chapter 9 C Dong Ming Princess The fast boat left the shore and sped up toward the Dong Ming gship anchored in the middle of the river. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were sitting in the bow, the one rowing the boat was another Dong Ming Sects Law-protector Fairy, Shan Qing, who was sizing the two boys up with a smile on her face, but did not say anything. After passing spreads of cattails near the shore and weaving through dense mooring ships and boats, thenterns of Dong Ming gship illuminated the boat. Under thentern light, they could see that although Shan Qing, whose sleeves were floating in the wind, was only thirty-percent beautiful, this kind of atmosphere kind of entuate her mysterious side. Trying to tter her, Kou Zhong blurted out, Xianzi Jiejie [fairy sister], you look so pretty! Naturally Shan Qing knew that he was kissing her @ss; she smiled and said, Dont be loquacious, Madame really hates kids who spout nonsense endlessly. If you provoke her, you wont feel good at all. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Dont think that since you saves us, you can treat us anyway you want ... ow! Kou Zhong elbowed his arm. Immediately he remembered their heavy responsibility toward Li Shimin, and shut his mouth at once. Naturally Shan Qing did not know the twists and turns in this matter, she moored the boat onto the Dong Ming gship. After leading the two boys to the ship, immediately she ordered her subordinates to get ready to set sail. Greatly astounded, Kou Zhong asked, Itste, where are we going? At this time a young, handsome man in white, leading two middle age men, appeared in front of the three people to wee the two boys. Shan Qing said, Our Dong Ming Pai is divided into two departments, men and women. The women take Shan as our surnames, the men are surnamed Shang. If you join our Sect in the future, you would also change your surname to Shang. The young man in white spoke indifferently, Zaixia Shang Ming. And then he introduced the two middle age men with majestic appearance, one was Shang Bang, the other Shang Kuitai. Shan Qing calmly said, Our women department have four great Law-Protector Fairies, the men also have four Sect-Protector Generals. The other two are Shang Ren and Shang Wannian, who presently are not here. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling really wanted to ask Shang Mings capacity, but looking at Shang Mings cold and indifferent attitude, they quickly swallowed their question back. Shan Qing ordered the two boys, Youd better stay in your cabin. Yuwen ns martial art masters have already caught wind of your whereabouts, the situation is extremely dangerous. Remembering their big enmity with Yuwen Huaji, the two boys jumped in fright, and obediently followed another man in white into their cabin. The two boys followed the man toward the passenger deck. The familiar hallway appeared before their eyes. They were hoping the man would take them to the lower deck, but the man continued on to the room at the end of the hallway, pushed the door open and invited them toe in. Are two Gongzi hungry? he asked. Reminded by him, the two boys tummy immediately rumbled thunderously; they nodded their head vigorously. The manughed and said, Two Gongzi please take a rest a bit, I will be back with two baskets of steamed stuffed buns. Xu Ziling gratefully asked, How may we address Dashu [big uncle]? Why dont you just call me Uncle Liu? the man replied. After the man left, the two boys closed the door and went to the window. They could not even describe their feeling. Xu Ziling said in low voice, This Dong Ming Pai is so strange, the men all take the same surname, all the women are also surnamed Shan; apparently their organization is very tight. It also seems like they are trying to pull us to be a member; this is really hard to understand. With a soft chuckle Kou Zhong said, Why do you care his mothers that much? As long as we can steal the ount book and jump into the river, we will all go our separate ways. But we must remember not to soak the ount book and damage it, then perhaps we could use it to bring harm to Yuwen Huagu. One move, two gains; what can you have against it? Xu Ziling replied with a wry smile, Its easy for you to say. Anybody in here could beat us senseless at will. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, I am telling you to steal, not to rob or fight. What are you afraid of? At this time a young maid came bringing some delicacies; she was not the beautiful maid who took them to see Madame Dong Ming the other day, in term of beauty, she was two notches below. After the main left, the two boys bent over the table, munching busily. By the time they finished eating and the food still left a rich aftertaste, the huge ship shuddered and started to sail. Kou Zhong looked out the window and saw that the ship was heading toward the northern channel. Hey! Why go north instead of west? he eximed, Going this way we will reach the Weishan Lake soon. Xu Ziling pulled him back, Dont shout and yell, alright? he said, That Madame Dong Ming is so formidable; even Ol Die cannot stand against her. Kou Zhong sat down on the seat by the window. He drank a cup of hot tea and voiced his agreement, Since we set sail, naturally she, the Senior, has safely returned. Seeing Xu Ziling was still frowning hard, he asked in surprise, What are you thinking? Xu Ziling dejectedly said, Although we can brandish sabers and y with swords like an expert, our mental cultivation is actually very low. Remember when we were at the casino, only after that Shen woman pressed her hands on our shoulders, we, two fools, knew that she had arrived. How could genuine martial art masters be that useless? Kou Zhong agreed. He nodded and said, We indeed dont have enough mental cultivation, and dont have enough Jianghu ... hey! Not Jianghu, just dont have enough martial art masters experience. Our, two brothers days as martial art masters are just too short, most of the days we dont even remember that we are martial art masters. While Xu Ziling was roaring inughter, there was a knock on the door. The two boys were greatly embarrassed, because even when they were talking about it, they did not detect someone was already at the door. Kou Zhong cleared his throat and said, Come in! The door opened; a pretty face as beautiful as a flower appeared first to greet, Gongzi, how are you? before her beautiful body followed into the room. It was the beautiful maid who took them to see Madame Dong Ming the other day. The two boys immediately stood up to greet her. The beautiful maids elegant eyes brightened as she cheerfully said, You have grown tall. Compared to thest time, your expressions are a lot better. A friendly feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; grinning, he said, Is it because we are wearing rather decent clothes that we appear taller? Plus we now have a couple pennies in our possession, hence we are a bit prouder. The pretty maid covered her mouth as she said with augh, Kou Gongzi loves to joke a lot, Xu Gongzi is a lot more proper than you are. Kou Zhong broke intoughter, That is because he has yet to show you his true face! Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Jiejie even know our names and surnames? The pretty maid acted as if she suddenly realized that she had talked too much; holding back her smile, she said softly, Right now all levels of society have been turned upside-down by you. Only the deaf have not heard about your feat and your background. Alright! I am going to take you to see Madame. Suddenly she broke into giggle and said, This time dont reveal your greedy and corrupt true nature anymore. Kou Zhong came over and leaned his face brazenly close to her pretty face and asked, What is Jiejies beautiful name? Surprised by this show of intimacy, the pretty maids face revealed an angry, but not quite angry, captivating expression. She spoke in low voice, Its not a big deal for you to talk flirtatiously like that, but when talking to Madame, you must never make an unreasonable scene. Ay! The one I am most worried about is Miss; her impression on you is down to the dirt. Xu Ziling knitted his sword-like eyebrows and said, We are not going to ask any favor from them, why must we conduct ourselves ording to their likes and dislikes? The pretty maid sighed and said, Because I know you are people with true feeling and true nature, thats why I told you this. In a lot of other things I am bound by our Sects rules and cannot tell you. As long as you are a bit more careful, you ought to be able to go through everything safely. What exactly is the danger? Kou Zhong wondered, Hey! This time Madame rescued us and brought us back, is it because she want to select a husband for her daughter? The pretty maid was shocked, How could you think that far? she asked, The candidate for Princess husband has been chosen long ago. Kou Zhong giggled and said, In that case, it must be because she wanted to choose a husband for you, Jiejie. The pretty maid blushed beet red; she said angrily, You keep bbering nonsense; just see if I am going to ignore you or not. Xu Ziling also felt that Kou Zhong was a bit excessive; he frowned and said, Kou Zhong, cant you talk with a bit more propriety? Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said, This is called curiosity. Jiejie is so pretty, and I am not yet married; cant I ask the question? Even the pretty maids small ears were blushing through and through as she cast an angry re toward Kou Zhong. But then she bowed her head and said, I do not really me him, but I already have a betrothed, its just that he has not passed through the doorway [i.e. marry into a family]! The two boys were shocked, He has not passed through the doorway? The pretty maid clearly did not wish to continue this conversation. Come! she said in low voice, Follow me to see Madame! And she preceded them toward the door. The two boys ran after her. When they got to the door, just before she pushed the door open, the pretty maid halted her steps and said softly, Remember, my name is Shan Ruyin. The two boys went to the same big cabin where they met Madame Dong Ming the other day. The pretty maid Ruyin withdrew after she had them sit down on the chairs facing the bamboo curtain. The two boys looked at each other while waiting painfully for half a day before Madame Dong Mings gentle voice came from the dark area behind the curtain, We see each other again. The two boys respectfully replied, Madame, how are you? Madame Dong Ming was quiet for a moment before speaking, I was mistaken that day; turns out your skill is not bad at all. Kou Zhong modestly replied, Madame praises us too much. Our skill is not even enough to defend ourselves; it cant be considered anything. Madame Dong Ming spoke indifferently, Toward such a martial art expert like Du Fuwei, how many people actually dare to speak up to defend themselves? It was only by exploiting all kinds of circumstances, and by deliberately forgetting my intention that I was lucky enough to snatch you from his hands. But time and again you were able to escape from his grip. Just by this fact alone is enough to have your name shook the Jianghu. Although hearing such praise, the two boys did not feel anything spectacr, because both times they escaped for their lives, they were relying on crafty tricks and their luck; it had nothing to do with actual skill. Madame Dong Ming suddenly sighed gloomily and said, I have a question, and I want you to answer me truthfully. The two boys nodded. When people were going to attack us sneakily that night, why did you take the risk by sending us warning? Madame Dong Ming asked. We couldnt just standing by idly and watch, Xu Ziling nonchntly replied, We need to teach those bad eggs a lesson! If we had known Madame is this skillful, we should have let Haisha Bang people fall head over heels. Madame Dong Ming spoke indifferently, By what qualifications did Haisha Bang people dare to provoke us? But their backing is people with great background. The situation that night was actually very disadvantageous to us. Yuwen ns third inmand Yuwen Shi personally led their martial art masters to mingle among Haisha Bang people. If they managed to sink our ship, I really dont know what the consequences would be. Thats why I am really grateful to you. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shocked to learn that there were martial art masters from the Yuwen n among those people that night. Madame Dong Ming calmly said, One question I wasnt clear previously was since the two of you made looking for fame and looking for profit as your life objective, why would you want to so something as dangerous as to offend Yuwen n? But just now Ziling has given me the most sincere answer, which is that you couldnt just standing by idly and watch. Hearing that my heart is very happy. Kou Zhongs thick skin turned red as he said, Madame praises us too much. There is actually another reason: we heard that guy Han Pudi said that they were under Yuwen Huagus order. And Yuwen Huagu happens to be our biggest enemy. Therefore, while we have the opportunity, why not try to inflict some harm on him? For the first time ever Madame Dong Ming lost her calm and broke intoughter, Han Pudi, Yuwen Huagu, what an interesting name you coulde up with. Incidentally, I want to warn you: after Yuwen Huagu was injured by Luocha woman, he went into hiding for a year to recuperate. My understanding is that his martial art skill has advanced by leaps and bounds instead; right now he is on par with the n leader Yuwen Shang. Therefore, if you are not sure, you must never provoke him. The two boys declined toment, but they did not take her advice to heart either, simply because they knew that even if Yuwen Huagus martial art skill remained unchanged, they were still too far inferior from him. Chapter 9, Part 2 Jaya, Ysabel, HPC, you are wee. Yan, thank you for the kind words. Ill have to give it more thought. Sky, why do I have a feeling that this Princess will end up with Xu Ziling? I agree with your previousment, it wont be fun if the two boys end up with damsel in distress. Their partners have to be strong characters. Madame Dong Ming continued, I am so d that in iming the credit for yourselves you are not arrogant and are very forting. When you were being chased by the mob at the pier by the city of Yuhang that day, I have already seen that your foundation is exceptional, indeed it is rarely seen in this age. Other than one person from the Li n, nobody else of your generation canpare to you. As a result I was moved by the love of talent and let you came aboard to meet in person. Kou Zhong replied with a bitterugh, But in the end we were driven out by Madame. Madame Dong Ming said, It was not me who wanted you to leave, it was my daughter Wanjing. The people she hates the most are worldly disciples who are only after wealth and fame. Nowadays my duties within the Sect are gradually being taken over by her, I just assume the responsibility to give guidance; hence everything is decided by her. The two boys suddenly understood why Ruyin said that Dong Ming Princess impression on them was very bad. Madame Dong Ming sighed and said, This daughter of mine is stubborn; once she had a preconception about anything, it is very difficult to change her mind. But surprisingly this time it was she who found you; furthermore, she gave the order to give you assistance. She did not understand, naturally the two boys did not understand even more; they merely listened attentively. Madame Dong Ming changed the subject, Whether its Du Fuwei, Li Mi, and perhaps Yuwen Huaji, or even all gangs and societies who know your whereabouts, nobody is willing to give up on you. Do you have any n for the future? The two boys shook their heads with nk expression on their face, indicating that they had no idea. Madame Dong Mings voice was a bit emotional as she spoke tenderly, Before we learned about your involvement in the conflict concerning Secret to Long Life and Duke Yangs Treasure Trove, we did have the intention of absorbing you into our Sect to strengthen our men department, but now I changed my mind. But please dont think that it is because we are afraid to be implicated in this matter, rather, we are afraid to waste the kind of talent that you have. I dont know whether its the Heavens will, but your suffering is actually a great opportunity for you to learn by experience. In just over a year, you have shed your mortal body and exchange your bones and be new persons. The most amazing thing is you are able to make your expression [or shen qi - divine qi] understated, which is the realm where only genuine martial art masters are able to attain. Obviously your internal energy level is not high, but you can definitely aplish it. Give it a little more time, your achievement will be beyond measure. The two boys jumped in fright; they thought that if they could not stay, wouldnt they lose the opportunity to carry out their trick to imitate the dog and steal the chicken? But Madame Dong Ming continued, By midday tomorrow, we will arrive at Weishan Lake. After taking care of some businesses, we can go up north along the canal. After Juye Wends, the water should be covered by mist for hundreds of li, we can easily shake off enemys pursuit; there we can arrange for you to slip away onto the shore. After that you will have to rely on your good luck. The two boys were relieved; within these next eight to ten days, they should be able toplete the heavy responsibility Li Shimin entrusted to them. From a very deep slumber, Xu Ziling slowly, fen by fen [1 fen ~ 1/3cm, 1/8-in], cun by cun [1 cun ~ 1-in] regained his consciousness. The feeling was like from the bottom of a deep, dark and quiet pool, gradually floating to the surface, and the instant he made contact with the water surface was the same instant he regained the perception of the outside world. Every night when he slept peacefully was the good time he practiced the Secret to Long Life. Thump! Kou Zhong, who was sleeping next to him, kicked the side of his thigh. Xu Ziling was already ustomed to this. Whenever Kou Zhong kicked him, a burst of true qi immediately entered his channels, while at the same time he also returned a stream of true qi back to Kou Zhong. This kind of feeling was really unspeakablyfortable. When sleeping, Kou Zhong always kept moving, while Xu Ziling always stayed calm like a deep sea. The sun outside prated the window, bathing the small empty space in front of the window with its light; everything seemed so peaceful, serene and beautiful. Xu Zilings mind was a piece of peacefulness, just like a calm deep pool, mirroring everything before his eyes. He looked up at the rectangr-shaped mosquito above the bed. The was made of silk yarn weaved together into a mesh; abundant with some kind of principle that was hard to describe with words, rich with many patterns. What seemed to be identical square holes were actually myriads of different holes. Each small hole, each small square actually had subtle differences with each other. Light and darkness, big and small, they were all different. Yet all these different holes formed a whole entity that could not be broken; each hole was independent, yet they also affecting each other. He had never thought that a mosquito could be so engaging and interesting. Buzz! Buzz! A buzzing noise came from the top of the. A mosquito wanted to break into the, but was thwarted by the mesh and was kept outside. After trying several times, the mosquito flew toward a corner. Immediately it attracted the attention of a house lizard that was crouching on the patterned ceiling above. The lizard rapidly traversed several cun across, andy prostrate again, motionless. The lizards movement was both steady and nimble, there was dynamic within the static, and there was static within the dynamic. Xu Zilings heart was filled with indescribable feeling; somehow he indistinctly captured the true meaning of the blend between static and dynamic. Suddenly this iparably rich and moving moment was broken by light footsteps from a distanceing near. The footsteps stopped in front of the door, and then the door was pushed open. Kou Zhong instantly reacted; he opened his eyes and sat up. The two boys focused their attention, and saw that it as a big and tall maid. She looked quite ugly, but the saddest thing about her was the thousand-li distant expression on her face, icy-cold and wooden, as if everybody in the world owed her money and has not paid her back. As soon as she came in, her gaze swept the boys behind the, and then she looked away as if she lost interest already. She brought along a basin of water, a towel, ab, and other things, which she then ced on a small table by the window. And then, without any trace of politeness she barked with her hoarse voice, Quickly get up! Commander Ming [orig. shuai Cmander-in-chief] is waiting for you for breakfast. The two boys exchanged nces; they wondered which divine being this Commander Ming was. Kou Zhong crawled out of the and went over to the ugly maid. Cupping his fist in respect he inquired, How may I address this Jiejie? The ugly maid spoke with disdain, I am not your Jiejie, and you dont need to pay attention to my name. Meanwhile Xu Ziling pushed the aside and sat on the bedside; he was stooping down to look for his boots. Hearing what was said, he said, If we made any mistakes, Jiejie is wee to scold us or curse us, so that we can make it right. The ugly maid did not expect the two boys would still be modest and polite even after her mean treatment to them. She stared nkly for a moment before finally walking toward the door. Ill wait for you outside, she said. Her tone was a little gentler. The two boys hurriedly wore their clothes and washed their faces. By the time they walked out the door, the ugly maid impatiently said, Hurry up and follow me! Kou Zhong giggled and ran after her. In the most respectful manner he said, May I ask Jiejie, who is Commander Ming? The ugly maid led them to the end of the hallway where the stairs leading to the upper deck was located. She appeared to be ignoring Kou Zhong, but then she suddenly said in cold manner, Didnt you see him yesterday? Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling who was running behind him, suddenly came to realization that the Commander Ming she was talking about was Shang Ming. Since they had generals, it was only natural that they also had Commander-in-chief. It seemed that this young, handsome Shang Mings status in Dong Ming Sect was, by no means, low. Climbing to the upper deck, they found out that it was actually a spacious cabin, almost like a hall. Shang Ming, apanied by Shang Bang and Shang Kuitai, two men, sat around a round table, where an assortment of light breakfast food was served, talking in low voice. Seeing the two boys arrival, Shang Ming did not stand up or show any sign of weing gesture at all; he simply smiled unenthusiastically and said, Two Xiao Xiongdi, please have a seat. After the two boys took their seats, the ugly maid left the hall. The cabin was decorated with over a dozen big windows on both sides, adorned with hanging curtains, but did not affect their view at all. They could still enjoy the panoramic view of the green mountains and verdant pastures scenery on both banks of the river. Did the two gentlemen sleep wellst night? Shang Bang asked. The two boys had already stuffed their mouth full with food, so they could only nod their head. Shang Kuitai said, There are two sichen more [i.e. 4 hours] before we reach Weishan Lake. Once we get there, we have no fear of being tracked. Shang Ming said, The weapons that you use, where did you buy them? The material and craftsmanship are quite good. Of course Kou Zhong could not tell him the truth, he randomly replied, Its Shen Luoyan, that woman [derogatory] who gave them to us. How could Shang Ming be able to distinguish whether he was telling the truth or a lie? He could not helpughing, There are not many people in Jianghu who dare to call her woman. The two of you can be considered having enough skill that there are a lot of Jianghu characters, that many people would be scared at the mere mention of their names [orig. turn pale at the mention of a tiger], are hunting you down, yet time and again you were able to escape with your lives. Being fugitives for thousand li, it can also be considered anecdote passed on with approbation in Jianghu. Xu Ziling was curious, What kind of ce is Ryukyu? he asked. Shang Ming proudly replied, Its the worlds most beautiful and mysterious ce. Its a big ind suspended over emptiness of the vast body of water. The climate is pleasant,rge part of it remains uncultivated fertilend, wonderful birds and different animals can be seen everywhere. The two boys listened with their minds wandering far away. Shan Kuitai asked, Was your martial art skill taught by the Luocha female? Kou Zhong nodded, That is correct! If that is the case, Shang Bang seriouslymented, It can clearly be seen that Gaolis Yi Jian Dashi [see Book 1 Chapter 3] Fu Cailin really possesses inscrutable, supernatural skill. Shang Ming said, People have name, trees have shadow. Since Fu Cailin was able to make his name alongside Wu Zun Bi Xuan and Shan Ren Ning Daoqi [all these names were mentioned back in Book 1 Chapter 6], and still enduring for thest few decades, they must have earth-shatteringly ultimate skill. Just look at how he sent one of his disciples over, and she had the Central ins Wulin world inplete confusion [orig. sky and earth turning upside down]; even Yuwen Huaji was injured and forced to return. Clearly he has real talent and is a solid material. Remembering Fu Junchuo, the two boys throat choked and they did not feel like eating anymore. This moment the ugly maid returned. Shang Ming and the others, all three people revealed a disgusted look on their faces. The ugly maid saluted, and then hoarsely and crudely said, Princess wants to see Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong was baffled, What about me? he asked. The ugly maid shook her head coldly, but did not say anything. Shang Ming and the others also showed a surprised look; especially Shang Ming, his expression looked quite unnatural. Why havent you followed me? the ugly maid urged. Having no other choice, Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders. Finally Xu Ziling set his foot on the cabin deck below the main deck. On the surface there did not seem to be any differences; there was also a long corridor, with more than a dozen doors lining both sides of the hallway, but the decoration was a lot more exquisite. From the ceiling of the hallway hung down more than a dozen delicate chandeliers, shining their lights on decorative pattern carved subtly along the wall of the hallways. Underneath his feet was in green carpet embroidered with geometric patterns like moss on grass, like uninhabited, calm and quiet meadows. The ugly maid led the way silently, until they arrived at the door at the end of the hallway, where she turned around and said, You wait here. When Princess is ready to see you, she will call you. Finished speaking, she left. Xu Ziling thought in his heart that this Dong Ming Princess really had a big ego; if she did not have time to talk, she could always summon him a bitter. Up to this moment he still did not understand why Dong Ming Princess wanted to see him alone. But just as quick his mind turned to the ount book. If this ount book really did exist, would it be kept in this room? The door and the walls of this cabin were extremely solid; breaking in would not be easy at all. While he was indulging himself in flights of fancy, a sweet, tender, but icy-cold voice sounded in his ears, Come in! Chapter 9, Part 3 Ysabel, Anh, Jaya, Faerro, HPC, you are wee. Sky, since neither of us have read the story, well have to wait. But just by reading this part, I am convinced that Princess likes Xu Ziling. With curious mind Xu Ziling pushed the door and walked in. His eyes lit up instantly, for this room was unusually spacious, with adequate illumination, and all four walls were lined up with bookshelves and bookcases. There was also arge desk by the window. A young woman, in the prime of her youth, wearing purple-red clothes, was sitting on the desk with her back facing him, leaning over the desk as if she was hard at work. Her long, shiny, jet-ck hair hung down to her back, giving him a soft, delicate and charming feeling. Xu Ziling bowed to salute and said, Xu Ziling pays his respect to Princess! Turning her head slightly, the woman only gave him a quick, cold nce, before turning her attention back to the desk and continued writing fine and dense characters on the file in front of her. Xu Ziling, on the other hand, was shaken to his core. Not only because her beauty was extremely startling, but also because she invoked a familiar feeling, as if he had seen her not too long ago. The nce she was giving him just a moment ago exuding some kind of loathing look, which made Xu Ziling felt even more that something was not quite right. This moment he was standing behind her back, staring nkly; he felt that speaking was inappropriate, leaving was even more not appropriate; he was in a very awkward situation. Dong Ming Princess voice was heard, Why switch from arrogance to deference? Just based on this fact alone, it is clear to me that you are a despicable man. Xu Ziling was startled, Have I really met Princess? he asked. Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing suddenly stood up and turned around. Her beautiful and elegant eyes were shooting deep hatred as she stared mercilessly at him, Arent you Zhang San or Li Si? Howe you have forgotten this easily? Xu Ziling was shaken. My Niang, so it is you! he eximed. Yesterday the two boys had just arrived at Pengcheng, they went to a restaurant to have a meal, and came across a woman who disguised herself as a man. They thought she was an enemy sent by Shen Luoyan to swindle them, hence they treated her without any trace of politeness at all. How could they know that unexpectedly she was the Dong Ming Princess in his presence right now? Involuntarily Xu Zilings eyes wandered toward her pair of long legs, which evoked his memory. What are you looking at? Shan Wanjing angrily said. Agape and tongue-tied, Xu Ziling stammered, I ... hey! The other day we thought ... Shan Wanjing regained her calm instead; she said indifferently, No need to exin; even if you do, I wont listen to you. I called you toe here this time, is because I want to tell you in person that even though you have given our Sect a huge favor, but we have also saved you, the two little kids, from Du Fuweis hands. Tit for tat, lets consider we are even. Seeing that she treated him as the enemy, and was unwilling to listen to exnation, Xu Ziling was rather put off by her capricious muleheadedness. Yet looking at her poetry-like, sunshine-like, graceful and alluring jade countenance, he simply could not get angry with her. He could only waved his hand in a not-a-big-deal way and said, It is best that we consider it even, then we all go our separate ways; hereafter clear gratitude and absolute justice have nothing to do with each other. Ha! Thest ha! exmation was because he recalled that thest sentence was Kou Zhongs pet phrase. But Shan Wanjings jade countenance turned cold; she spoke furiously, Gratitude is considered done, now is the time we ought to consider the grudges. Xu Ziling was shocked, What grudges to consider? he asked. Shan Wanjing took a deep breath and said, I really dont understand why Niang thinks so highly of you, two kids who are covered all over with vulgarity. The first time I saw you, I already loathe you. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, If elegance and vulgarity became the criteria, we certainly dont have any qualifications to be measured by Princess elegant eyes. But if Princess uses elegance and vulgarity to determine gratitude and grudges, I am afraid Princess would have grudges against most people walking down the street. Actually, even Shan Wanjing herself did not understand why she had so much hatred toward the dignified young man in front of her. Dont ther! she angrily said, I am referring to the insulting remark you hurled at me the other day. Others greeted you politely with good intention, yet you unexpectedly could be that rude. Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief, This will be easier to deal with, he said, That day was just a misunderstanding. We thought ... His gazended on the desktop, immediately he was shaken and shut his mouth. Heavens! Isnt that the ount book we are supposed to steal? But Dong Ming Princess thought that he was unable to put forward any convincing arguments, so it was hard for him to continue. Her face turned as cold as water as she said, You have nothing to say then dont say it! Now I am going to strike you with one palm, the target will be the pit of your stomach. If you cannot evade it, youll pay for it with your life. Xu Ziling came to his senses. Terrified, he said, We did not have past enmity, we do not have current hatred, Princess must not use violence. Shan Wanjing calmed down. She said indifferently, I am about to strike. Xu Ziling was so scared he took two steps back; waving his hand he said, Any problem we can talk it over slowly. Ah! Shan Wanjings body suddenly shot forward with raised right palm; lightly it floated indeterminately toward the pit of his stomach. Xu Ziling did not have time to think; focusing his attention to the palm, he saw that this jade palm, which appeared, soft and powerless, without raising any gust of wind at all, as if she only wanted to touch him, was actually following certain subtle striking trajectory toward him, yet it continuously changed, so that it was very difficult to pin down. The strange thing was that he seemed to be able to clearly grasp her changes, so much so that he could grasp her next move. But he also knew that if he let her hit the pit of his stomach, he might really die, finished, met his worst fate. Right in this moment between life and death, he did not dare to be careless. His broadsword left its scabbard and lightning fast it chopped toward her jade palm. Shan Wanjing let out a cold sneer and darted faster forward, while raising her left hand high, the back of her hand swept across the de of the saber; it was indeed a very ruthless move in closebat. Who would have thought that Xu Zilings saber suddenly changed direction? He abruptly pulled out the back of the saber to slice the opening on the wrist of her right palm, which has not changed its attacking direction. Shan Wanjing did not expect him to be able to use the saber with such agility. If she wanted to evade, it would be as easy as a hands turn; but she already said that she would only send one palm strike, how could she fail to hold on to her words? Clenching her silver teeth, her left hand changed, now she wanted to grab and snatch the de of the saber, while at the same time she leaned sideways to butt herself against Xu Zilings chest. Her right hand magically changed into millions of palm shadows; she was unleashing her real skill to the fullest. Although earlier she said that she had malicious intention, the reality was that she only wanted to beat him up that he would fall with all four limbs facing the sky; hence she could vent the resentment in her heart. But now that she was forced to go all-out, it was hard to attack and defend as she wished. Xu Ziling recalled the house lizard he saw as he woke up this morning, instinctively he evaded by sliding sideways. Not only Shan Wanjings left hand grabbed an empty air, his saber actually sliced the millions of her right palm shadows, which filled the air. Shan Wanjing had never expected that his response was so brilliant and quick; it was even harder for her to hold back. Exerting her most refined, outstanding technique, first, her palm pped the de of Xu Zilings saber and attached itself on it, like a shadow the palm followed wherever Xu Ziling moved his saber; while the back of her other palm struck Xu Ziling on the pit of his stomach. Xu Ziling let out a miserable scream as he was thrown backward and crashed through the door, until finally hended on the hallway outside. While he was still on the air he already spurted a mouthful of fresh blood, all the way until he fell heavily on the carpet outside the door. Shan Wanjing was shocked. As she was about to run out to see the oue, Madame Dong Mings voice already arrived, What happened? Shan Wanjing halted her steps and coldly said, This man had offended daughter; even hes dead he deserves it. Madame Dong Ming appeared on the door; she wore ake-green colored beautiful gown, her beautiful, thick hair was rolled up in a bun high on her head, her overall appearance was graceful and elegant, but her face was covered with ayer of thin gauze, like a dense fog concealing her countenance. From the other side of the hallway came more voices; apparently the sound of fighting had alerted the others. After staring at Shan Wanjing for quite a while, Madame Dong Ming looked down to examine Xu Ziling. After his qi was blocked, Xu Ziling slowly regained his consciousness. When he was struck by her palm a moment ago, he felt as if all the channels in his entire body were about to burst open, the pain was like one Buddha came into being, two Buddha ascending the heaven [not sure what it means], but after sprouting a mouthful of blood, the qi at the sole of his feet was unimpeded, the pain lessened considerably. Hurriedly he crawled up and while massaging the pit of his stomach, he said with a bitter smile, I am alright, Princess is indeed formidable. Ha! Unexpectedly heughed and staggered away. The only thing in his mind was that tempting ount book lying around on her desk. At first he did not feelfortable in this stealing-the-ount-book matter, but now he the mental barrier was no longer there. Book 3 - 10 – The Fire of War on Lake Wei Book 3 Chapter 10 C The Fire of War on Lake Wei While helping Xu Ziling massaging the pit of his stomach, Kou Zhong anxiously asked, Are you really alright? That female [usually refers to female animal] is really ruthless; just because we were not interested in hanging around with her! Unexpectedly she considered it big grudges and animosity. Can you lower your voice a little bit? Xu Ziling said in low voice, If she hears it we will be in trouble. Hey! Let me tell you something amazing. When the true qi in my body started to move, just a short while and I feel better already. If I transferred my qi a bit earlier, perhaps I could easily take her palm strike. Kou Zhong said, In that case this palm strike can be considered something of a value, as long as you dont die. And then he remembered something and giggled, Dont just look at her as being mean, the fact is that she unconsciously fell in love with you. But because she is already betrothed, and you treated her as a worthless nobody, in her anger she wanted to attack you, hence she made her move and injured you. Xu Ziling was not amused, Go to your Niang! Fall in love with me? This kind of love is not worth mentioning. The more Kou Zhong thought, the more he was convinced. He analyzed, Even if one time you cursed her as a loose woman and had no feeling of shame, hence your offense is more serious than mine, but my treatment to her was not much better. Yet she only looked for you to vent her anger; this kind of girls mind is the most difficult to fathom. When you went to see her, that guy Shang Ming could not sit or stand still, his expression turned really weird. Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to change the subject, In that case, that Shang Ming ought to be that evil woman Princess husband, who has not yet passed through a doorway [marry into a family, see Book 3 Chapter 9]. Ay! Even if the entire Dong Ming Pai people kneeled in front of me, I cant possibly join their Sect. Men married into the womens family, why would I want to do that? Kou Zhongughed and giggled, The biggest reason is that the women would take care of us. And then his expression turned serious as he said, After we get to Weishan Lake tonight, Madame Dong Ming and that evil woman Princess will go see Li Shimins old dad. That will be the time we make our move to steal that thing. From here we climbed down the window, it will be as easy as lifting our hand. Meanwhile the scenery outside the window has changed, no longer steep banks and cliffs, but clear and crystalline river water, clumps of white cloud, the far-side bank continued on to opennd as far as the eye can see. They have arrived at Weishan Lake. The door was pushed open. The ugly maid walked in silently, sized Xu Ziling up a moment, and then with her hoarse voice and crude manner she asked, Are you still in pain? Xu Ziling was touched by her concern; he was about to reply that it was not a big deal when Kou Zhong pinched him. Hastily he said, I think after two days rest I should be alright. Thank you Jiejie for your concern. Who cares about you? the ugly maid coldly said, Its just that tonight Madame wants to eat dinner with you, so she sent me over to check on you! Since you are alright, then thats it. Finished speaking she turned around and left. While the two boys were looking at each other in astonishment, there was a knock on the door, the beautiful maid Ruyin came from outside the door, May Ie in? Kou Zhong sprang up and pulled the door open. Good Jiejie, pleasee in! he greeted. Pfft! Ruyin broke into tenderughter; she cast a sidelong nce toward Kou Zhong and gracefully walked in. Seeing Xu Ziling was sitting in a chair by the window, without any visible change in her countenance she said in amazement, Madame is right, although on the surface you look badly injured, actually it is not serious at all. Xu Ziling could not bear lying to her; he nodded and said, Just a bit painful! Ruyin came over and stretched out her gentle and soft hand to feel the temperature on his forehead. Pulling her jade hand back, she said, Your internal energy is so unusual; void and fluttering, so that its hard for others to gauge the depth of it. Kou Zhong walked over to her, he took that opportunity to lean closer, his nose vigorously sucked in the fragrance of her hair first, before speaking right next to her ear, This is called unfathomable. Ruyin was displeased, Can you be more proper? To be honest, my impression on you is not much better than the Princess. Unexpectedly you hang around with those devoid-of-consciousness Baling Bang people; are you thinking of copying them in doing business in human trafficking? Kou Zhong awkwardly said, We did not know Xiang Yushan was Baling Bang people! The more Ruyin spoke, the angrier she was; with arms akimbo she angrily said, Then why did you go to their casino? Dont you dare to say that you did not know it was not a casino! Seeing her almond eyes grew big in anger, Kou Zhong replied in panic, We did not know it was a casino, we thought it was a brothel. What? Ruyins voice broke. It was toote for Kou Zhong to correct himself, he knew he was in trouble. Heaving a deep sigh, he said, Ay! Jiejie, how could you know our plight that time? We were in a tight spot, and had no choice but to find a ce to hide. Ruyins pretty face was flushed with anger, Its just an excuse; the truth was that you wanted to fool around in a ce where you wanted to ingratiate yourselves like that. Looking at your fine countenance fine appearance, I could not imagine that you are so corrupt in the inside. Just see if I will pay you any more attention in the future. Stomping her foot, she turned around and walked away. Kou Zhong reached out trying to get hold of her. Ruyin dodged; her eyes bulging like fish bowl, she screamed, You dare to touch me with your stinky hand? Princess is right, not many men on earth are good people. The two boys had never imagined that such a gentle and considerate girl could be this emotional; they stared nkly at her in silence and in fear. Ruyins silky breasts heaved up and down rapidly for a moment before calming down. Seeing the two boys who looked like a great catastrophe had just befallen them, her expression softened a little as she said grimly, I rarely get angry like this; its all your fault! Alright, if you are willing to promise me that from now on you wont go to that kind of ce, I will forgive you! Xu Ziling was ready to promise, but Kou Zhong beat him by saying, In that case wont we have to change our training to Tongzi Gong [virgin boy skill]? Ruyin was taken aback, and then her pretty face blushed as she stared hatefully at Kou Zhong before storming out in anger. Bang! as soon as he heard the door mmed, Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. He said, Fortunately I did not let you give your promise in a rush. Otherwise how could we enjoy life and be merryter? Xu Ziling let out a bitterugh and said, Thats one more person we offended. Right now on this ship, other than Madame Dong Ming, it could be said that we look up and see no one familiar. Kou Zhong sneered and said, This ship is full of entric people, fortunately we are going to leave very soon. Otherwise, sooner orter we will turn into one of them. Its not a big deal if we dont go to Ryukyu, I am sure they dont have half a ce where we can have fun. Xu Ziling sighed and said, What do you mean having fun? Every time we wanted to go to a brothel we always came across something shady. Apparently the two of usck pleasure-house luck. Kou Zhongughed and said, I dont believe in demonic influence. Come! Let us practice our exceptional divine skill, as long as our ears can hear the eight directions, we can carry out our grand n. Finished speaking, he started to walk back and forth in the room. In the hazy dusk of twilight, the Dong Ming gship sailed at full speed over the mist covered water of Weishan Lake, heading toward a certain destination. On the ship, a vegetarian feast has been prepared inside the hall of the main cabin. Madame Dong Ming still had her face covered in veil, her entire being was still shrouded in unfathomable mystery. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were sitting on her left and right, respectively. All three Law-Protector Fairies were present. Shan Yan and Shan Yudie, who dealt with Du Fuwei the other day, were expressionless [I could have sworn that it was Shan Xiu, not Shan Yan]. Only Shan Qing showed a bit of warmth. But obviously everybody strongly disapproved Madame Dong Ming showing such grand hospitality toward two boys whose names not encountered in the ssics. The other attendees included Shang Ming and a senile-looking old man. This old man, Madame Dong Ming called him Shang Gong [gong means grandpa, father-inw, or simply a term of respect to address (much) older man]. His stature was originally big and tall, but his back was crooked. However, the eyes under heavily wrinkled eyelids constantly flickered with strange purple light. He appeared spirited, yet appeared dull at the same time; in short, he was extremely intimidating. The other Dong Ming Sect people were very respectful toward him. Other than the first time when he was introduced to the two boys, he did not even look at them. The rest of the time he was simply holding on to the only wine pot on the table, silently pouring himself a drink. Toward the fine vegetarian dishes on the table, he was not even interested in giving it a single nce. Very soon the two boys even forgot that he was there. Apparently Shan Wanjing was still angry, so she did not attend. However, whether it was rted to Shan Wanjing or not, Shang Ming seemed to be brimming with hostility; he was even more unfriendly than before. Ruyin must be Madame Dong Mings personal maid; she waited on everyone. But she was still fuming with anger; apparently her resentment toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had not subsided. All in all, this meal was not a pleasant one. At the start of dinner, Madame Dong Ming spoke a few apologetic words on behalf of her daughter, but afterwards she chatted with Shang Ming and the others, leaving the two boys out on the side. The two boys were already used to this kind of treatment, so they did not give it a , but going all-out in wiping out the dishes on the table. However, they were used to eating meat, hence no matter how many dishes were delivered into their belly, it did not give them a sense of satisfaction. Seeing their table manners, other than Madame Dong Ming and Shang Gong, the rest of the people showed contemptuous look on their faces. Shang Ming was discussing the changes in the militia situation, The most worrisome is the Tujue [Turkic] peoples tendency. Right now Ying Yang Pais Liang Shidou and Liu Wuzhou already cast their lots with them, and are bestowed the titles Magnanimous Pijia Khan and Dingyang Khan, respectively. These two renegades have received Tujue Khans order to attack Taiyuan. If Li Yuan cannot defend Taiyuan, Tujue will definitely seize the chance to advance; at that time the Central ins will be in grave danger. Everybody was paying attention. Chapter 10, Part 2 Jaya, Ysabel, Critical, HPC, Drak, Anh, you are wee. DongBin, arent you an immortal, a prominent character in the Eight Immortals? Ba Xian Guo Hai ... one of my earliest memory of this group of immortals. Yes, I jested, but I was also serious. Ahoxan, I wouldnt know it since I never watched the tv adaptation. But please dont spoil it for me. I want to see if I was right, or Skywalker was right. Sky, that part, we are in agreement. Ysabel, thanks for dropping by. Shan Yan said, Right now the Li n is hard-pressed from front and rear, Dugu n and Yuwen n are dying to have thempletely wiped-out. But in this matter nobody could offer any help to them, they could only look at the Li ns good luck. Shan Yudie said, Fortunately Li Yuan has several good sons, plus Taiyuan is located upstream of River Fen, between Taihang Mountains [on the border between Hebei and Shanxi] and Yellow River, cradled by the mountain and supported by the river, they are squatting on the worlds shoulder, with the Hedong as the foundation. They have elite soldiers and ample provisions. On top of that, Li Yuan, father and sons, bestow benevolence far and wide, making friends with heroes everywhere, their influence continuously expanding; they are not a force of only one battle. Shang Ming objected, But Li Yuan is an indecisive leader, all along he considers himself as the incapable rulers aunts cousin. There wille a day where that incapable ruler will weary him to his death. If I were Li Yuan, I would take advantage while the incapable ruler is redeploying his border guards to deal with Du Fuwei in Jiangdu region, and Wagang Army is upying the Suis main force at Luoyang, to advance to the capital and take it, to raise his army in rebellion. Listening to this, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hearts were burning; they both thought, oh, so the current situation is like that, no wonder Li Shimin wanted it so much for his old dad to rebel. Shan Qing said, Too bad we are limited by our ancestors rule that we must not get involved in the Central ins affair. Otherwise when we see Shimin, we cany out the advantages and disadvantages thoroughly to him. Madame Dong Ming said indifferently, If we can see the situation clearly, do you think other people cant? This matter needs not be discussed anymore. How could anybody dare to continue the discussion? After an unbearably awkward silence, Shang Gong suddenly looked at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys. While the two boys grew nervous under his gaze that they could not swallow their food, Shang Gong spoke with his hoarse and hard-to-hear-clearly voice, Who taught you martial art? Kou Zhong braced himself and replied, It was our Niang! Whos your Niang? Madame Dong Ming asked in astonishment. Xu Ziling exined, His Niang is the same as my Niang, other people called her Luocha female. Madame Dong Ming said, Luocha female Fu Junchuo was famous for being vicious and merciless; I did not expect not only she took you as her adopted sons, she even sacrificed herself for you. It can be considered incredible. The two boys appeared deeply grieved. Shang Gong shook his head and said, Thats not right! How long have you been training martial art? Kou Zhong counted his fingers and gave him an honest answer, A bit over a year. Shan Qing and the others revealed a shocked look on their faces. Although their fighting skill did not count for anything, but in just over a year of training, they already had this kind of aplishment that they were able to take Shan Wanjings palm strike head-on; it was indeed shocking. Shang Gong was deep in thought for half a day, and then he sighed and said, If you can avoid experiencing fire deviation, in the future you ought to have superb aplishment. Madame Dong Ming said, Meixian[1] has inspected their qi cirction method, it is actually very vast without any clear boundary. I dont know where it starts, hence I dispelled the thought of epting them into our Sect and passing on our skill to them. If Shang Gong has an idea, why not giving them a direction or two? Shang Gong only shook his head; he no longer spoke. Back to their cabin, the two boys felt relieved as if they had just escaped from a trap. Kou Zhong said in a low voice, There are too many people who bite the hand that feed them on earth; just look at Shang Ming, a dog who relies on its masters power, he looked at us with disdain while he is acting as if he is sitting high on a pedestal. Ha! Fortunately this Young Master is broad-minded, cant possibly bicker with him. Xu Ziling sneered and said, If you really dont care about him, you ought not mention it. Kou Zhong pped his forehead and said, You are right! From now on, we wont talk about this guy. Xu Ziling said in distress, How would we know when Madame and the others leave the ship to see that Li guy? Kou Zhongughed and said, Isnt that simple? Whenever the ship stops, thats when they leave the ship. Xu Ziling said, Supposing Madame invited Li guy to meet on the ship, wont our dream be an empty dream? Kou Zhong was speechless for half a day. Finally he said in low voice, Lets not worry too much, as long as they congregate in the hall above, we will immediately make our move to steal that stuff. Li guy and his old dads fate is on our hands. Xu Ziling craned his neck to look out the window. After looking around for quite some time, he pulled his head back and said, Didnt they say Yuwen n people want to mount a sneak attack on Dong Ming gship? Howe theres not even a trace of them? You asked me? Kou Zhong said, Then whom should I ask? Huh? The sound of the ship suddenly changed; it slowed down. The two boys tensed up; they had to wait patiently. That night the sky was clear the weather was nice, the crescent moon was hanging low on the horizon, the night view was enchanting. Under the moonlight and starlight, the Dong Ming gship slowly docked onto a small lone ind in the middle of theke, where another big ship had already anchored. The two boys stuck out their heads out the window to look, and recognized that it was Li Shimins battleship; they grew even more nervous and their hearts were beating rapidly. When the Dong Ming gship hase to aplete stop, the two boys crouched down and pressed their ears on the cabin floor, while channeling their energy to listen carefully. Unexpectedly the cabin below was silent, as if it was a deserted ghost town. Right this moment, a sigh rang inside the two boys eardrum. The two boys sat up in fright, and they both saw that the others face was devoid of any color. Thats Shang Gongs voice, Kou Zhong said in horror, Even if he turned into dust I will still recognize it, How could that old fellows sigh be that loud? Xu Ziling asked, It sounded like he was sighing next to our ears. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, Lets not worry about it too much. In half the time needed to burn a stick of incense, we will climb down the window to steal, and then use the water to escape. The two boys sat back in the chair; waiting with heart rmed, guts palpitated. Suddenly they heard footsteps in the hallway outside, the two boys groaned inwardly. Fortunately nobody came in; very soon the footsteps were getting farther and farther away. Kou Zhong sprang up and said, Its time! In this frightening moment, someone knocked on their door. While the two boys were groaning incessantly, the ugly maids voice was heard outside the door, Come out quickly! Princess wants to see you. With bitter face the two boys followed the ugly maid down to lower deck and on to the Princess study rooms door. Without showing any expression the ugly maid pushed the door open and coldly said, Come in! Without any other choice Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling braced themselves and stepped into the room. Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing was back into wearing mens clothes, ready and waiting, sitting in arge chair by the desk, looking calmly straight toward the two boys faces. Under her suffocating gaze, the two boys felt as if they were half a head shorter, and were overwhelmed with a feeling of inferiority. As they stole a nce around, the ount book was nowhere to be seen. There was really no word that can describe the two boys disappointment. Shan Wanjing said dryly, The other day I was not in a very good mood, and my hands slipped and injured Xu Gongzi. Right now just consider me apologizing. Although her manner was very polite, plus she was apologizing in person, the two boys were able to clearly see that she did not really care about them; she did not even have the courtesy to have them sit down and talk. As if they were only fit to be her underlings who had to stand up deferentially while listening to her bossing people around. Shan Wanjing coldly sized them up and down several times, before continuing, Why arent you speaking? Full of anger, Kou Zhong said, We have nothing to say; if you want to say something, just be our guest and say whatever you want! A faint smile escaped from the corner of Shan Wanjings mouth. Her beautiful eyes prated Xu Ziling deeply as she spoke gently, I cant be considered good to you, but you brought it upon yourselves. Fortunately all these will be over soon; I have arranged a ce for you to stay. What?!? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong eximed hoarsely. Dont make much fuss about nothing, Shan Wanjing said indifferently, Currently the number of people in Jianghu who have the ability to protect you is indeed not many; Li n is one of them. Based on our rtionship with the Li n, we only need to open our mouth, they will definitely take care of you. The two boys called for their mother inwardly; if following her advice they went to the Li guys ship, would they still have a face to see the Li guy? Kou Zhong hurriedly said, Thank you Princess for taking a lot of trouble for us. We are the kind of people who are most afraid of lodging under another persons roof while watching other peoples countenance as we conduct ourselves. If Princess thinks that we are not pleasing to your eyes, we will immediately jump into theke. In this way we are slipping away to everyones delight and satisfaction, both parties are happy. Shan Wanjings pretty eyes shed with cold rays as she crossly said, What are you talking about? Xu Ziling was also indignant. Zhong Shao was so articte and clear, unexpectedly Princess was not able to hear it clearly? he asked in astonishment, We definitely will not live relying on other peoples charity; we wont need your so-called benevolence either. We are going back to our room right now to pack, and then will leave immediately. Please! Actually, the two boys did not have anything to pack, they just wanted to stall for time. After Madame Dong Ming and the evil woman in front of them left, they would return to look for the ount book before leaving. Halt! Shan Wanjing angrily barked. The two boys jumped in fright; they stared at her hatefully. Shan Wanjings silky breasts moved up and down rapidly. The fact was that even she herself did not understand why it was very easy for her to get angry at Xu Ziling; it was so not like her usual calm and cold nature. After half-a-day of awkward silence, Shan Wanjing calmed down. She heaved a deep sigh and her voice became gentle, How about this? Well ask Li n people to give you a ride. After you reach a safe ce, you may go as you wish. Perhaps you still dont know it, but that incapable ruler has issued a strict order to obtain the Secret to Long Life in your possession at all cost. For the first time ever there was a genuine concern over their safety in her voice. However, since they already had prejudice against her, naturally the two boys did not feel it; besides, they would not ept it anyway. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, If thats the case, we cant climb onto Li ns big ship even more. After all, Li n is one of the Emperors sons hunting dog; how would we know they wont see profit and forget morality, and sell us, the two brothers? Toward Kou Zhong, this beautiful Princess obviously had much higher tolerance. She smiled and said, Dont underestimate other people. When you see Li Shimin, you will see such a real hero that makes other people willing tomit themselves to him cheerfully. Not to worry, I can guarantee in the name of Dong Ming Pai that such thing will never happen. While she was speaking about Li Shimin, her bright, lively beautiful eyes were constantly looking at Xu Ziling; her eyes were saying thatpared to Li Shimin, you, Xu Ziling, are far too inferior. But Xu Ziling did not have the slightest idea; in his usual natural and unrestrained manner he shrugged his shoulders and said, Whether he is a real hero or a fake hero, we are ustomed to carefree life, and have no interest in clinging onto the hero Princess thinks so highly of. Kou Zhong remembered that Madame Dong Ming once told them that they ought to learn through experience in Jianghu; he had a brainwave, Princess idea, I am afraid you have not received Madames approval, have you? Swjs countenance turned cold again; brushing her sleeve away she said, Get lost! By the time I am back, dont let me see your face again. You want to deliver your life, just go to hell! The two boys felt as if they had just received the Emperors pardon; they withdrew from the room in great delight. Having much experience climbing down the wall, the two boys scaled down the wall without any mishaps toward the study rooms window. The study room light has been extinguished; it waspletely quiet. Not daring to hesitate, they craned their neck first to make sure nobody was inside before slipping in through the window; soon they were inside the study room. Following the technique taught by Ol Chen, the two of them split up and methodicallybed the study room until nothing was overlooked. After being busy for half a sichen [i.e. an hour], they have scoured every cun of the room, yet they still could not find the ount book. The two boys sat slumping on the floor, so disappointed that they almost cried. If they could obtain the ount book, not only they would do that Li guy a big favor, they would probably be able to implicate Yuwen Huagu and had him, along with his entire family, executed unto the third generation. But now everything was lost. The ount book was simply not in the study room. Kou Zhong painfully said, That woman [derogatory] must have brought that thing to settle the ount with that Li guy. Its over. The hardest thing for me is that we must leave immediately, otherwise, that evil woman would toss us out to the water like throwing garbage. Xu Ziling dejectedly said, If we want to go, the sooner the better! Shang Gongs voice, which was as easy to recognize as if it was the exclusive signboard above his head, rang again in the two boys eardrums. How could the two boys not realize that disaster was imminent? They sprang up and were about to jump into theke through the window when Shang Gong, as nimble as a wild cat, leaped inside from outside the window. The senile old man waspletely gone. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings only way out was blocked by him; they could neither advance nor retreat, and were in an extremely difficult situation. Shang Gong raised his left hand andughed softly as he said, Are you looking for this ount book? Come and get it if you have the ability! The two boys were dumbstruck; they could only stare with mouth agape at the precious ount book in his left hand. Naturally they did not dare to make their move to snatch it away. Shang Gong said nonchntly, Madame entrusted this responsibility to me, the old man. Naturally Laofu [old man, referring to self] must not disappoint her. These days Laofu has been watching you. Listening to your conversation, I even gave you a warning, but your thief character is hard to change, making Laofu very disappointed. With a bitterugh Kou Zhong said, We received a request from a friend ... Shang Gong coldly cut him off, Laofu dont give your reason a , I only know that this ount book concerns our Dong Ming Pais reputation. Its just that were it not for the two of you making such a big fuss over it, we would not know that such an ount book could be the root of great turmoil. When Madame is back, Laofu will ask Madame to destroy it, so that nobody will be able to exploit it as a fighting instrument. [1] Meixian, lit. beautiful immortal. At first I thought Shan Mei Xian was her nickname, but from this passage, apparently Meixian was her given name, surnamed Shan. Chapter 10, Part 3 Ysabel, Jaya, HPC, Anh, you are wee. Sky, you get your wish ... Here is the end of Chapter 10, and the end of Book 3. Say, can I ask how many of you: 1. Follow this thread from Book 1 Chapter 1, but have not read Grundles original thread? 2. Follow this thread from Book 1 Chapter 1, but have read Grundles original thread? 3. Follow this thread, but not reading it; i.e. you are waiting for me to catch up to start reading. I am just curious. This is not a demand, your answer will not affect my work at all ... Plus, I am asking you, my regr readers; if you dont usually post, dont bother answering. You wont get extra point for doing so. Again, I am just curious. By the way, Book 4 Chapters 1 and 2 are rtively shorter that thesest three chapters, so I hope by next week youll start reading Book 4 Chapter 3. This moment, the two boys interest was not so much on the ount book but on their own destiny. Speaking to this point, Shang Gong was still using a low voice, as if he was afraid others might hear him, which gave them hope. Shang Gong casually tossed the ount book onto the desk, while showing the first ever smile they saw since he came in, Your innate character cannot be considered bad, you have not lost your innocence. Sometimes when I was listening to you, I could not helpughing. Beating the snake following the stick [see Book 3 Chapter 3] Kou Zhong said in low voice, Shang Gong, is it possible for you to let us, two brothers, off this time? Shang Gong shook his head and said, Public is public, personal is personal [fyi, the gong of Shang Gong also means public or mon]. Our Dong Ming Pais most serious statutes, in all my life, since I was young, I have never deviate even half a step from it; how can I, at thest segment of my life, falter from it for the sake of you, two little kids? But when Madame returns, I can speak a couple of good words on your behalf. Now kneel down in front of Laofu. The two boys simultaneously thought about Dong Ming Princess; they both thought that warriors can be killed but never humiliated, so their hands instantly moved toward the hilt of their sabers. Shang Gong shook his head and sighed, If it were ten years in the future, Laofu really cannot guarantee whether this weary old body would be able to withstand your two boys joint attack, but right now your weight simply falls too short. Come! The two boys exchanged nces; they knew that they had reached a situation where there was no more leeway. So they drew their sabers and attacked. Shang Gongs face revealed a shocked look; but still calm and unhurried he raised both sleeves to generate two streams of powerful qi, meeting the two lightning fast saber hacking down on him. Based on his status, naturally his victory had to be neat and tidy. If he had to alert the others before they could subdue these two boys, his face would suffer a huge setback. Bang! Bang! with two muffled explosions Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt the palm of their hands exploded, their sabers were flung away, while their entire body was jolted, sending them tumbling backwards, and it felt like their internal organs were about to burst. While the two boys were groaning inwardly for their terrible situation, Shang Gong suddenly let out a painful grunt and staggered sideways. The two boys were at a loss; suddenly a human figure d in ck leaped in through the window and while he was still in the air, the shadow attacked Shang Gong left and right with a pair of daggers about a chi long in each hand, each move was never far away from Shang Gongs vital points; extremely urate, vicious and ruthless. In the blink of an eye Shang Gong, who was already injured by the sneak attack, has already exchanged more than ten moves against the enemy. Meanwhile the two boys recovered from their panic and dropped themselves down on the floor to get away from the scuffle. They saw that in the spacious study room, the man in ck moved like a ghost, they only saw his shadow like wisps of smoke floating above and all around Shang Gong, unfolding astonishing attacks like the tidal waves of Yangtze River or Yellow River toward Shang Gong, who, very soon, was falling into disadvantageous position, without giving Shang Gong the least bit of opportunity to catch his breath. By this time the two boys vision was much better than before, they could tell that this mans skill was not inferior in any respect to Du Fuweis. While they were contemting whether they should call for reinforcement, Shang Gong let out an earth-shattering roar as he forcibly extricated himself from the enemys sword. Bang! he crashed onto the cabin wall and into the adjacent room. Obviously that man was not interested in Shang Gong. Lightning fast he flew toward the desk, grabbed the ount book, and without even casting a nce toward the two boys he leaped out of the window. This moment sound of footsteps and people shouting and yelling were getting closer. The two boys yelled and sprang up, and then with all their strength they jumped out the window into theke below. Splosh! the two boys dove deep into the icy-cold water. They were trying desperately to distance themselves from Dong Ming gship, when suddenly they felt something was not right, and their backs were grabbed from behind, while at the same time a stream of true qi prated their back, consecutively sealing a dozen or so major acupoints on their bodies. The man apparently thought that he has immobilized them; he grabbed their arms instead, and dragged them along under water at an astonishing speed. It was only after covering more than ten zhang distance that they surfaced. Shouts were still asionally heard from the Dong Ming gship, which was thrown into total chaos. The man let out a coldugh, and then grabbing the two boys cor, he moved his two legs to swim really fast like a fish. Meanwhile the fantastic true qi inside the two boys body spontaneously surged on and opened the sealed acupoints. While they were contemting whether they should make their move, the man cursed under his breath, Reckless bunch! The two boys opened their eyes a little to peek, and saw a dozen or so fast boats were speeding up like artillery shells in their direction. When the man dragged the two boys back into the water, they knew their chance hase. Kou Zhong lightly nudged Xu Ziling, and then together they exerted everything they had into their elbows, striking the mans nk and his belly, respectively. The man doubled up in pain, automatically his grabs on the two boys loosened, while he spurted a mouthful of fresh blood. Kou Zhong already knew that the man had the ount book wrapped in a waterproof oil cloth bundle and tied it on his waist; he seized this opportunity to reach out and snatch the bundle away. Xu Ziling sent a follow-up punch toward the mans face, but the man was indeed highly skilled; unexpectedly he was able to endure the pain and evaded the punch. The two boys did not dare to pursue; desperately they dove down to the bottom of theke first before swimming away with all their strength toward the isted ind. This was the brilliance of their n; evading the martial art experts pursuit was by no means, not an easy task, but no matter how powerful the expert was, he would not dare to return to where Li n and Dong Ming Sect people were. The most ingenious thing was that Dong Ming Sect people would search the nearby body of water, but they would never suspect that the two boys would return to the ind instead. This moment the two boys looked exactly like fish in the water, in no time at all they already reached the bottom of Li Shimins big ship. Floating up to the surface, they saw Dong Ming gship was brightly lit, but Li Shimins ship was in total ckout, quiet, with no visible movement. Kou Zhong whispered, I hope Li guys people dont mistake us for thieves. Go up! Xu Ziling said, I was so shaken by that old fellow that I feel like my tender bones are falling apart! After suffering untold hardships, finally the mission was aplished. Now they could take Li guys money with clear conscience. The excitement in their heart was certainly hard to describe. Moreover, they bravely snatched this ount book away from that mysterious martial art expert, hence it lessened the guilty feeling of being little thief, and considerably cleared their conscience. Once again they put their climbing-wall experience to work. When they passed Li Shimins sisters cabin, recalling that gentle and pleasant-to-the-ear voice, Kou Zhong could not refrain himself from looking in. Completely caught off-guard, a dagger suddenly shot out, as fast as lightning, toward his throat. Kou Zhong was so scared that he nearly fell down. Not daring to move a finger, he froze on the spot, while still hanging outside the window. A half-delighted, half-angry, extremely beautiful pair of eyes appeared about a chi away from Kou Zhongs nose, coldly scrutinizing him. By this time Xu Ziling already climbed onto his side and gave him a little push, indicating that he should not stop here; Xu Ziling waspletely oblivious that Kou Zhong might lose his life at any time. This lovely young woman, whose beauty wasparable to Dong Ming Princess, said in low voice, Who are you? With strained breathing, Kou Zhong replied, I am Kou Zhong, Li ... The beauty withdrew her dagger and cried out softly, Why havent youe in? If somebody saw you, we will be in big trouble. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, he called Xu Ziling and still dripping wet, together they crawled into the girls room. The first thing Kou Zhong did was taking out the bundle and opened the oilcloth. The ount book was staring back at them. The two boys cheered in chorus. The beauty clearly knew about their deal with Li Shimin. Picking up the ount book, she flipped the pages for a moment, and then delightedly said, This is it. The two of you wait here for a moment, let me see if Er Ge has returned or not. After smiling sweetly, she went out the door. The two boys went over to the rear cabin wall and sat down on the floor, feeling once again like decent human beings. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This girl is so beautiful. If I had known, I would have asked for her and not for money. Xu Zilingughed and said, This time Ill let you have her; next time we encounter this kind of sweet girl, it will be my turn. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Yours, mine, have you thought about what kind of things are we? She is a thousand-catty gold [i.e. precious daughter], born into respected family, arge and influential n; when will we have our turn? Xu Ziling dispiritedly said, Zhong Shao, since when did you be so modest? Didnt you often say that we will be Wulin masters in the future? You also said that we will be bestowed the title marquis and promoted to be generals? Why so discouraged all of a sudden? Kou Zhong sighed and said, We can say what we want, butpared to that unlucky martial art master just now, our martial art skill is far too inferior. He was caughtpletely off guard when we attacked, yet he merely threw up a birds mouthful of blood and thats it. And then that old fellow surnamed Shang also said that before ten years, eight years, our martial art skills not worth showing. Thats right, we must remember to ask that Li guy for two more sabers; without sabers, we cant even fight. Not at all, Xu Ziling said, Otherwise, we can forget learning and understanding punching and kicking skill. No saber, just use our hands. We can still execute the Bloody Battle Ten-style taught by Li Dage. After waiting painfully for the time needed to burn an incense stick, Li Shimins beautiful sister returned. It was only then did the two boys notice that she was wearing beautiful pastel-colored dress, her figure sweet, fair and graceful, her manner dignified and elegant, making other people unable to criticize. Seeing the two boys were sitting on the floor like beggars, the beauty was greatly displeased, Why are you sitting on the floor? Still wont stand up? Feeling extremely foolish, the two boys stood up. The door opened, Li Shimin rushed in. Ignoring their drenched bodies, he hugged them tightly. Sess! his voice trembled with emotion, Just now Madame Dong Ming personally wrote a letter, telling me to immediately go to Taiyuan and hand it over to Die. If our Li family obtain the world [tian xia] in the future, we certainly wont treat two gentlemen meagerly. Book 4 - 1 – Aspiration Higher Than The Sky Book 4 Chapter 1 C Aspiration Higher Than The Sky Tranted by Foxs When Xu Ziling woke up, the sky was barely brightened; he saw for the first time ever Kou Zhong was already out of bed before he did. He was standing by the cabin window, staring nkly at the darkness outside. They were in a cabin, which the Li guy arranged for them. In the next room over was precisely the Li ns beauty Li Xiuning, the Li guys captivating younger sister. Xu Ziling walked over to where Kou Zhong was standing. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Xiao Ling! I found a sweetheart! What? Xu Zilings voice broke. Dont you think Li guys little sister is very beautiful? Kou Zhong whispered, She is easy-mannered and gentle, those eyes are pretty and charming, her breasts are exquisite floating protrusions, her legs, ay! They could lead men to their death. Her cheeks rosy, I am sure those are the cutest cheeks on earth. Her skin soft and smooth like satin brocade, white and pink. Heavens! If I can embrace her naked body every night to bed, I wont think of anything else; because what on earth could be more satisfying than that? When she speaks, her voice and her facial expression make me drunk, and when she asionally smiles sweetly, and casting your Niang a sidelong nce, Xiao Ling! I am going to die of love. Xu Ziling grabbed his shoulder andughed until he was out of breath. Do you call that love? he asked, You, this muddled-egg, are just lusting over her. And then he wondered aloud, Didnt you say that the more women we have the better? Why is it this time only she one person is enough? Kou Zhong said in distress, Can you not dig up my old scores? When I said those things, I did not even have half a girlfriend, hence I said all those heroic things to console myself. But now I have her, naturally I have to concentrate only on one aspiration. Do you understand? Xu Ziling changed into wrapping his arm around Kou Zhongs broad shoulders and said in amazement, Looks like you are serious. Of course I am serious, Kou Zhong indignantly said, Right now Li guy is rushing to Taiyuan to force his old man to revolt. Based on Li ns prestige, with Taiyuan as their base of operation, plus with elite soldiers and ample provisions, there is a good chance that he will be the emperor. Since we are going to join a militia anyway, why not rely on that Li guy? Since we have rendered great merit to him, the official position that Li guy is going to bestow us must not be too low. Xu Ziling stared nkly for half a day, and then he said in low voice, Is your heart not dead toward his mothers militia? It would be better for us to concentrate on salt-trafficking business and make money while the world is in chaos. If we have money we can help the people; wouldnt it be better than fighting for life and death for other people? Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and said, Times have changed too. Hey! Just look at that Li guys righteous manners; how can youpare him to Du Fuwei, Li Mi, those half man half ghost fellows? With a bitterugh Xu Ziling said, Lets not talk about this right now. At the end of the day, you only want to get close to Li Xiuning. Dont me me for pouring iced water on your keen interest. Although on the surface this noble familys girl treats us politely, I always feel that she kind of turn us down from a thousand li away. A girl who was born from this kind of respected family like her will always look down on little marketce ruffians like the two of us. This time Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders and said with a giggle, The first time people meet, of course they are strangers to each other; are you saying that she needs to keep you within a chi of her? There is nothing impossible in this world. To pursue a girl we only need a bit of creativity and smoothness. Later, when that Li guy invites us, two very useful fellows, to join his campaign, remember to leave everything to me. Xu Ziling frowned and asked, So whos going to save Susu Jiejie? Evidently Kou Zhong has not thought about this point; he was stunned speechless. Xu Ziling sighed and said, You go pursue Miss Xiuning whom you yearn for even in your dreams! Let me take care of Susu Jiejie. But I definitely dont want to join anybodys campaign. Only I need to take that ount book back, so that I can avenge Niang. While Kou Zhong was as dumb as a wooden chicken, there was a knock on their door. The two boys followed a maid toward the hall on the upper deck; Li Shimin had arranged a banquet to entertain them. Apanying them were a handsome young man and a forty-something schr, tall, thin, natural and unrestrained. Li Shimin stood up to wee them, Kou Xiong, Xu Xiong, please sit down. We are all family. The two men also stood up politely and cupped their fists, making the two boys quite ttered. Li Shimin introduced the middle-aged schr first, This is Mr. Pei Ji, his skill wang xing shan [forgetting-shape fan] can exhaust the worlds heroes. He is the deputy supervisor of Jinyang Pce, and my fathers chess [qi] mate. Pei Ji looked at the two boys indifferently, and said modestly, Nephew Shimin praises me too much; its just ame-hand duck-feet skill, how can it be something worth considering? Not to mention exhausting the worlds heroes. And then he turned toward the handsome young man and said with augh, Speaking about martial art skill, we must move aside for nephew Chai Shaos brilliance and prestige. The one called Chai Shao promptly declined modestly. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling noticed Chai Shaos splendid sword and beautiful clothes, his imposing manner and elegance, which was only slightly inferior to Li Shimins bold poise and some kind of hard-to-describe great generals air. But since they already had favorable impression toward him, the two boys hurriedly expressed some courteous words. However, all along Chai Shao carried a bit of haughtiness toward the two boys, unlike the Li guy who treated them warmly. Pei Ji was treating them only as younger generation juniors who happened to render a great merit. After they sat down, he only chatted with Li and Chai, two people, and no longer paid any attention to the two boys. The two boys were ustomed to be looked down like that, so they did not care much, but focusing their attention to dealing with the delicacies and gourmet foods on the table. In Li Shimins mind, naturally Pei Ji and Chai Shao were more important than Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, but he did not neglect hospitality; he personally picked two pieces of deep-fried dough cake and gave it to the two boys, while saying with augh, This is called Steamed Hu Cake [hu is generic term for non-Han people], it hasmb and scallion stuffing, salted fermented beans sauce and sesame seed, simmered in salt; very delicious. The two boys had never tasted any Hu cake, which was popr in the north; they ate with relish. This moment Chai Shao said, This time Uncle has no choice but to raise arms. And if he does, he will have to take Guanzhong first. My only concern is the two elite troops of Qu Tutong at Puguan and Song Laoshengs guarding Huoyi. It seems that Uncle is not without apprehension. Pei Ji said, Qu Tutong and Song Laosheng are indeed worrisome, but the one I am worried about is Tujue people; their power is stronger day by day. On the east Khitan, Shiwei, on the west Tuyuhun, Gaochang, and other countries are submitting themselves to them. Moreover, those who raise army in the north like Liu Wuzhou, Guo Zihe, Liang Shidou and the others, none does not rely on the Tujue for their existence. When we march toward Guanzhong, what we fear the most is sustaining the Tujue, Liu Wuzhou and the others mounting a sneak attack from behind. Li Shimin was already prepared a n, That is not a problem, he said, If we dont have enough power, we can use strategy. The one thing I am most worried right now is that Die will still be indecisive; I am afraid we will just sit and waste a good opportunity. Pei Ji patted his chest to vow, Leave this matter to me, Pei Ji. As long as Wenjing and I persuade him a little more, and seeing the critical situation in front of our eyes, how can your Die have any other choice? Li Shimin nodded his head delightedly. Turning toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling he said, This time it is all due to the two gentlemen. Were it not for the ount book got stolen, I am afraid it will still be difficult to create this kind of situation. The most wonderful thing is that that incapable ruler happens to go to Jiangdu to deal with Du Fuwei. This is a one in a million chance. The two boys looked at each other; it was only then did they know that the emperor guy finally visited their native ce of Jiangdu, Yangzhou. Right this moment there was the tinkling of girdle ornaments; without turning their heads, the two boys already captured Li Xiunings beautiful image in their minds, momentarily they could only stare nkly. She was wearing a Hu hat [see my note above on hu] that was as round as a bowl, with silkscreen hanging down all around its edge, the top of the hat was garnished with pearl and green jade. It was a unique style; not only it was gorgeous, it was also brimming with faintly discernible mysterious beauty. The clothes she wore was totally different from the Central ins and the southern style with its broad ovep and big sleeves, hers had big turndown cor and narrow sleeves, which was simr to the clothes those Hu women, which they saw at Pengcheng, wore; only the material was finer. This kind of clothes not only highlighted womens exquisite curves, it was also much more convenient in term of mobility. The first to stand up was Chai Shao. This guys eyes lit up; with fiery enthusiasm he cheerfully said, Finally Ning Mei is here, Yuxiong [me, older brother] has been waiting till my heart nearly burned into coal. It was as if Li Xiuning did not see other people; she smiled sweetly at Chai Shao, and moved her tender body to Chai Shaos side, allowing him to lightly support her fragrant shoulder and help her to sit. Only then did she greet her older brother and Pei Ji. Lastly she acknowledged Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong felt like he had just struck by lightning, as he watched the intimacy between Chai Shao and Li Xiuning in shock; his face turned ash grey. Chapter 1, Part 2 Sky, when I first read this part, I also have a feeling that Kou Zhong will end up with Li Xiuning, you know ... the twist and turn of fiction, something impossible happens, et cetera ... but my feeling about Xu Ziling and the Princess is stronger. Well find out together ... Jaya, HPC, you are wee. To the others, thanks for your response. Appreciate that. Here is the end of Chapter 1. Only one more to go ... Although Xu Ziling felt sorry for him, there was nothing he could do. Li Shimin noticed Kou Zhongs abnormal expression, he leaned over and whispered, Kou Xiong, are you not feeling well? Li Xiuningughed tenderly and said, Must be fromst night when he was soaked in theke so now he catches cold. And then she turned to Chai Shao to exin, When Xiuning saw themst night, I thought it was a couple of little water demons crawling up from theke to harm people. Seeing her casting amorous nces at Chai Shao while revealing loving smile at the corner of her mouth, and then looking at her jade countenance inside the silkscreen was full of tender feelings as she looked at Chai Shao, Xu Zilings heart, which was saddened on Kou Zhongs behalf, sank even lower. Suddenly he came to realization that Li Xiuning only regarded them as lowly errand boys who worked for her second brother; so evidently her view of the two boys was identical to that of Pei and Chai, two people. Kou Zhong hung down his head and said in a hoarse voice, I am fine. Its just that other than a water demon, I am also a hungry ghost, so I ate too much and now I am too full. Li Xiuning was exceptionally intelligent, hearing the displeasure in his voice, she apologized, I was just making an analogy, Kou Xiong please dont take offense. By saying that, now everybody else thought that Kou Zhong was narrow-minded. Pei Ji and Chai Shao immediately showed disdain on their faces. Li Shimin, on the other hand, was extremely grateful to Kou and Xu, two boys, and also because he was deeply impressed by these two boys vast intelligence and wisdom, to be able to think of such a divine-inspired scheme to steal the ount book. In order to diffuse the tensed atmosphere, he smiled and said, Kou Xiong is joking! Hey! The one went to Dong Ming gship and seized the ount book, what kind of divine being is he actually? Chai Shao wanted to show off in front of a beautiful [orig. jade] person, he let out a cold snort and said, Must not be a formidable person; otherwise how could Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong have any chance to take advantage of him? As soon as he said that, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenance turned unnatural, because he was saying that the two boys could not be considered anything. Li Xiunings thought process was definitely a lot more thorough than Chai Shaos; her jet-ck painted eyebrows were knitted as she said, That person has enough guts to single-handedly charge into Dong Ming gship, which has martial art experts as numerous as the cloud, to steal something; no matter how you say it, he must have a bit of weight. Chai Shao smiled and said, Didnt he take advantage of when Madame Dong Ming and Princess left the ship toe to our ship before he dared to make his move? Li Xiuning stole a nce toward Li Shimin first before giving him an ambiguous answer, If Wanjing Jie was not eager to see Er Ge, and remained on the ship, that thiefs sneak attack would not have been sessful, and Shang Gong would not have been injured! A look of regret flitted across Li Shimins eyes, Xiuning must not forget that I am married, he rebuked her, But on the other hand, were it not for Shang Gong is injured by that man, we could forget about getting this crucial letter from Madame. Pei Ji said in deep voice, Shao Xianzhi [virtuous nephew] must not belittle this man, just the fact that he was able to beat Shang Gong without he was able to resist, it is clear that although the ount book was snatched away by two Xiao Xiongdi, it may be assumed that he was just overly underestimating them! Li Shimin nodded and said, This man must be from Yuwen n. Speaking about water skill, within the Yuwen n, Yuwen Chengdu ranks the first. But I think it wasnt he who personally came, otherwise it would be difficult for Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong to unseal their acupoints. Realizing that these people, including Li Shimin, did not think too highly of their skill, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling was terribly upset. This moment Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes. Xu Zilings mind was interlinked with Kou Zhongs; he understood his intention, hence he nodded slightly and spoke seriously, We, brothers, wish that we could get the ount book back so that we could do something very important. Li Shimin and the others were greatly shocked. Relying on his seniority, Pei Ji imposed, This ount book records every aspect of Dong Ming Pais arms transaction; it is more appropriate to have it stay in our hands. Li Xiuning had a rather favorable impression toward the two boys, she urged, If other people knew that the ount book is in your hands, Dong Ming Pai will never let you off. Chai Shao showed an impatient look on his face. Xu Ziling remained calm, he boldly said, This is our, two brothers problem. Li Xiong, what do you think? Li Shimin knitted his brows and said, As soon as we met, I knew that we are kindred spirits; if two gentlemen do not have any ce you have to go, why not cooperate with me, Li Shimin, to fight for amon cause? When our Li family seed in the future, two gentlemen will also enjoy riches and honor. Kou Zhong resolutely said, Li Xiongs good intention is highly appreciated. Due to we have another important matter we need to attend to, I wish for Li Xiong to return the ount book to us, and then you send us off at any nearby shore. Chai Shao showed his displeasure, How can this ... But Li Shimin raised his hand to stop him from continuing. After looking at the two boys for quite a while, he sighed and said, If I say no, that means I dont have enough friendship and yiqi. Lets do it ording to what two gentlemen said. But please dont forget that when you change your mind in the future, you maye to look for me, Li Shimin. Jugong Pond extended before the two boys eyes as far as they could see. The fog covering theke changed ording to where the wind blew. Kou Zhong watched as the huge Li n ship disappearing into the fog, his eyes looked vast and obscure, and he was unusually quiet. Xu Ziling apanied him standing on the west bank of the bigke; momentarily he was also at a loss of what to say. It was after a long time that he sounded Kou Zhong out, Zhong Shao, are you alright? Kou Zhong dryly replied, How can I not be alright? Hearing the tone of his voice, Xu Ziling knew that he had not let it go yet. Without any better option, he consoled him, Why would a real man worry about not having a wife? Let alone Zhong Shao, this time you did not lose the battle, its just that Chai guy enjoys the benefit of the quick-footed who climb up first! Aplex expression flitted across Kou Zhongs tiger eyes; it was quite a whileter that he finally said in deep voice, I would rather she hates me! What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Kou Zhong turned around like a whirlwind, made a fist and cried out, I want her to hate me just like Dong Ming Princess hates you. At the very least I would still have a ce in her heart. But now when she saw me leaving, she did not show the slightest bit of sign that she cared. Practically we are just two little minions who rush about, exerting ourselves for her Li n; we are not even qualified to make her unhappy. Noticing how when he spoke, his eyes turned red, he gnashed his teeth in anger, Xu Ziling could not help thinking about Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing. He said dejectedly, How much better do you think I am from you? Didnt you hear that crafty and unruly Princess only has eyes for people with dignity and status like that Li guy? Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day. And then he turned around and saw that the autumn mist has gradually dissipated. Suddenly heughed. Xu Ziling was baffled. Whats so funny? he asked. Kou Zhong roared inughter; heughed so hard that he had to squat while holding his belly with both hands. Gasping for breath, he said, I just realized something; thats why Iughed so hard. Xu Ziling followed his example; he also squatted down and happily asked, Quick, tell me. Kou Zhong looked up and stared at Xu Ziling for quite a while before saying, Speaking about talent and appearance, I dont believe that we are much worse than Li guy or perhaps that Chai guy. So what made them treat us as nobody? Because weck aplishment. It doesnt matter whether we are in Jianghu or within a n or society, those without aplishment will most likely be ignored. Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said, But if we strive for fame, profit, and position only for other people, wont that be the same as letting others lead us by the nose? Kou Zhong sneered and said, At the end of the day, we are doing it for ourselves. To be respected deeply by others is just the natural consequences. A real man living his life in this world, if he cannot aplish an outstanding work, but let his precious life slips away in vain, wont that be a pity? Xu Ziling sneered, What crafty [orig. ghostly] idea do you have in mind this time? he asked, You dont want to do salt business anymore? Kou Zhong shook his head. I want to be the Emperor! he said. What? Xu Ziling was shocked. Kou Zhong suddenly stood up, clenched his fist and shout loudly, I, Kou Zhong, want to fight for the world [tian xia], to establish a glorious deed that willst for ten thousand generations. Xu Ziling sprang up and reached out to feel his forehead. Kou Zhong angrily brushed his hand away and grabbed Xu Zilings shoulders instead. With eyes shining brightly he said, Aspiration must be far-reaching. If we cannot aplish it, even a little deficiency still carries a lot a weight. Today is not the same as the past, speaking about ability and wisdom, we are not inferior to anybody; speaking about martial art skill, what weck is only experience and maturity. Right now we go to Xingyang first to find Susu Jie; if we can find Li Dage, that will be even better. One world, two brothers. Will you help me or not? Xu Zilings scalp felt numb. But under the circumstances, how could he refuse? Without any better option, he nodded his approval. Kou Zhong cheered, turned around and made a somersault, andnded on a big rock more than a zhang away. Heughed aloud and said, Come! Let uspete in leg power first, and then we must practice our punching and kicking skill. In any case, we do not have even half a knife to cut meat; without any other choice, we must put up with it a bit. Xu Zilings aspiration started to rise; he and Kou Zhong ran chasing one another. Book 4 - 2 – Enlightenment By The Well Book 4 Chapter 2 C Enlightenment By The Well More than ten li from where Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling disembarked, in the second story of a restaurant at the downtown area of Dongping County, the two boys ordered food and drink, and went eating and drinking as much as they liked. On parting, Li Shimin presented them a substantial amount of money. Naturally Kou Zhong was not shy to ept it; therefore, they instantly became high-spirited and set to work to spend it. Xu Ziling pressed his hand down on the wine pot and persuaded Kou Zhong, Enough drinking, you are about to pass out. Kou Zhong brushed his hand away and poured his own drink, Just let me be drunk this his mothers time! I guarantee I wont drink anymore after this. Xu Ziling was displeased, Didnt you say you havee to realization? And now you want to drown your sorrow in wine; what kind of hero is that? Kou Zhong squinted and cast a sidelong nce to Xu Ziling; brushing his hand aside, he squeaked and said, This is called wine of celebration! Celebrating my, Zhong Shaos first time learning to love and fell in love with a big-headed Buddha. Ha! I am going to get drunk for her grannys sake only once, in the future I will make her regret that she did not marry me. What kind of thing that Chai guy anyway to have the cheek to look down on me? Come! Bottoms up! Xu Ziling was at a loss. Seeing that there were only a handful of people in the restaurant and they were all looking at them, he had no choice but to clink his cup to Kou Zhongs, but he stayed silent. Kou Zhong was already drunk; he crouched on the table and mumbled, Alright, now its enough. Let us now go to the pleasure house next door, well pick a girl who is a hundred times, a thousand times prettier than she; lets see if I cannot live without her. Xu Ziling seized the opportunity to settle the bill, and forcefully pulled him up and helped him down the stairs, while going along with him, Go! Well visit a low-grade brothel. Half of Kou Zhong immediately perked up; he said, Dont lie to me, one world two brothers, you must take me to the pleasure house, and must pick the cutest girl for me. When the two boys stepped out onto the street, it was early evening when thenterns were first lit; the main street ought to be bustling with activities, yet it was as quiet as the ghost area. Under the autumn breeze, only one or two people were outside, walking briskly; it was indeed a deste scene. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Looks like you are still clear-headed! Kou Zhongs countenance changed, Turns out you do not have any intention to take me to the pleasure house; can you still be considered my brother? Xu Ziling forced himself to respond, Did I promise you that? Kou Zhong suddenly flung Xu Zilings arm away; staggering to the sidewalk he squatted and stooped down, wah! he vomited the content of his stomach. Xu Ziling rushed forward, squatted alongside him, grabbed his shoulder, and with his other hand he rubbed Kou Zhongs back. His heart was aching that he felt like crying. He had never seen Kou Zhong this unhappy. After vomiting all the yucky, gooey yellowish sour liquid from his stomach, Kou Zhong hung his head and while gasping for breath he said, Xiao Ling! I am so miserable! Xu Ziling sighed and said, Your love life has only just begun, yet you are so miserable like this. If after Li Xiuning and you pledge undying love to each other, and then she changes her affection, shifts her love; wont you kill yourself then? Kou Zhong shook his head, You dont understand, he said, Last night when you and Li guy were studying the ount book, she and I had a very congenial conversation; she was showing a lot of concerns over me. And then he became distressed, But now that I think about it, she was just probing our background on Li guys behalf. From the beginning to the very end, she had never had me, Kou Zhong, in her heart. Xu Ziling dejectedly said, You should have known that those people from upper ss, influential family would never show respect for us, lowly, nameless errand boys! Didnt you bring trouble on yourself this time? Clearly Kou Zhong was a lot more sober now, his tiger eyes flickered as he spoke in deep voice, Good brother, dont worry! After I recover, I wont be that easy to fall in love with any women. Xu Ziling probed him further, You still want to go to a brothel? Kou Zhong shook his head sadly. Letting Xu Ziling helped him up, he said, Lets find an inn to spend the night. Tomorrow morning we will immediately go to Xingyang. After finding Susu Jie, well ... ha! Xu Ziling was helping him walking along the street. Whats so funny? he asked in bewilderment. Kou Zhong held on to his shoulders. The more he thought, the more he was amused. All in all, Laotianye did not treat us too shabbily. At the very least we have had a glimpse into superior martial art realm, we evenpleted the first level Niang was talking about. Our money purse has enough silver, and at least we know that Duke Yang Treasure is somewhere near Yuema Bridge in the Capital. Moreover, we obtained the ount book that will really make Yuwen Huagu to transform his bones [reminder: huagu means transforming bones]; yet I am still weeping endlessly for a woman. I really did not make any progress. Xu Ziling was delighted. Now that is my good brother, he said, But do you still want to be the emperor? Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Finally he said seriously, We are starting to think sensibly, hence well have to look at other peoples countenance to conduct ourselves, this way we will enjoy our lives. Whether I still want to be the emperor, I dare not say, but in short, I do not want to ept our inferior status. What do other people have that we dont have? Xu Ziling agreed, We are not inferior to anybody, he said. Kou Zhong chuckled, So lets do some great undertaking, so that Niangs spirit in heaven will be gratified. In the future, no one will dare to consider us as not a thing. Hearing this, Xu Zilings heroic spirit soared. He broke into singing, a song that was popr at that time, I am an honorable young master [gongzi], in all my life I always love talent. Kou Zhong continued the next line, When thinking about dedicating myself to the service of my country, I pull out my sword and raise a heroic cry. The two boys marched bravely forward following the rhythm, while singing in chorus, Galloping fast westward to Dingling Pass, going up north to Chanyu teau. Climbing the mountain looking ahead for a thousand li, recalling the past, the heart is happy and carefree. Who has not forgotten the disaster will be erased into dust. The singing echoed along the deserted street. Atst Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings life of hiding to the east and escaping to the west was over, they were now free to be themselves and do the matters that they liked. The two boys came across a well; they sat down by the wells fence. Kou Zhong craned his neck to look into the well; seeing the water at the bottom of the well reflecting the bright moon hanging high up in the sky, heughed and said, Now this is called the universe [qiankun] inside the well. It is deeper and more unmeasurable than Ol Dies xiu li qiankun [universe inside the sleeve]. Following his lead, Xu Ziling also looked into the well. Heughed bitterly and said, I dont know what happened in this Dongping County; all inns are fully booked, but the streets are clear and empty. Hey! Kou Zhong was puzzled, You are looking at the bright moon inside the well; why make so much fuss about nothing? Xu Ziling appeared to be deep in thought, his tiger eyes lit up, I seemed to have just grabbed an important point, but its so hard to exin. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day, and then he looked into the reflection inside the well again. As it turns out, a cloud was passing by, so that the moon appeared to be suddenly hidden. Suddenly he also felt something indescribable at the bottom of his heart. Xu Ziling spoke as if he was in a dream, Didnt Niang say that her Shifu often said that everyone has sufficient resources within himself? This well is self-sufficient. The water inside the well is just like the treasure-trove within human body; it can be used and can be changed into anything. Like this moment for example, it creates the bright moon in the well. Are you saying that is not the real moon? The fact is, real or fake, its hard to distinguish. Whatever you think it is, it will appear exactly like that. Kou Zhongs pair of big eyes brightened; he pped the wells fence and said, Well said! Watch this! He randomly picked a pebble and tossed it into the well. Ssh! The bright moon turned into rippling, wavy lights, and it was quite a whileter that the water returned to its previous state. I understand now! Xu Ziling shouted gleefully, This is indeed some kind of formidable mental cultivation. When I was facing the enemy in the past, at the beginning I could still be calm, just like the clear water inside the well reflecting everything in the surrounding area. But once the fighting started, I was fuming with rage and everything was immediately forgotten. Kou Zhong sighed and said, You have not been thorough enough. Just like when we saw Ol Die, we immediately turned into a mouse seeing a cat. Same thing happenedst time we were facing Shang Gong. If we could ovee our panic and maintain the same calmness we can usually achieve during practice, we could be like the clear water in the well, able to reflect everything in the surrounding area. This ispletely different from our condition before. Xu Ziling leaned over and pressed his cheek against the ice-cold edge of the well; he sighed and said, I am awfully happy! If I can excel in this kind of no-victory no-defeat, no-demand no-desire, and forever-will-not-be-tempted realm just like the bright moon in the well, I would be willing to have my life shortened by ten years. Kou Zhong wanted to say something, but sound of footsteps roused the two boys up. Turning their heads toward the direction of the footsteps they saw two men wearing swords on their waists wereing toward the well. One of them, a man wearing grey clothes, shouted, Kids, dont block the well, Laozi wants to drink some water. Kou Zhongughed and said, Let the kids serve Daye [big master]! The two boys worked hands and feet to lower the bucket and get the clear water up. Without any trace of politeness the two big men received the bucket and drank. The other man said, Kids are well-behaved. Itste, what are you doing here? Xu Ziling replied, We have nothing to do, so we are just chatting idly here. May I ask where are two Dashu [big uncles] going? The man in grey stared coldly at him, and then said with a coldugh, So what if I tell you? Do you have enough qualifications to go? Finished speaking he and hispanion simply left. The two boys looked at each other; they had no idea what he was talking about [orig. ɰ˽ (zhang ba jin gang) - unable to figure out the whole story and its contents], and werepletely at a loss. Chapter 2, Part 2 Jaya, Anh, HPC, Drak, you are wee. Chiktikka, what you know is probably the same as what I know. From the text, it seems to me that if Li Shimin has not married, at least he was betrothed. And no, NOT to Shan Wanjing. Sky, samedies ... OK, here is thest part of Chapter 2, i.e. next update will be a fresh, never been posted, one. Kou Zhong said, Since we dont have anything to do, why not tail them and see why they are so pretentious? Finding a ce to spend the night will also be good. Xu Ziling readily agreed. The two boys childish character was aroused; unleashing their qinggong, they flew to the eaves and jumped over the walls just like walking on level ground. They were indeed able to do what their heart wished. Suddenly they entered a ce between the heaven and the earth, where previously they could only dream of, a ce where although there was only a fine line separating it from ordinary peoples world, yet it was vastly different; it was the pinnacle of qinggong, which could only be ssified as a ce where only martial art experts with ultimate skill could ever achieved. This has filled them with mysterious and marvelous feeling. Their heart and mind have be like the clear water in the well; nothing to think, no obstruction, but objectively reflecting the great mysteries of the universe. When they stuck out their heads from behind the eaves of a house, the two men had just turned from the alley into the main street ahead. They saw a huge residential building situated at the southern city wall where there was an endless stream of horses and carriages outside of its door; it was very lively. Inside and outside the gate thenterns were fully lit, peopleing and going, sound of people talking andughing could be heard everywhere. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Turns out everybody ising here. There must be a birthday or wedding, a happy asion. What do you say we also join the festivities? Xu Ziling said, No wonder those two muddled-eggsughed at us for not having enough qualifications toe. Just look at the ir, the one having this happy asion must not be a nobody. Without invitation, how are we going to mingle in? Kou Zhong seemed to have beenpletely recovered from the blow caused by Li Xiuning earlier; brimming with excitement, he said, If the front gate is imprable, we will go through his mothers back door. Right now our clothes are brand-spanking new; as long as we are in, nobody will suspect that we are not genuine articles! Without waiting for Xu Zilings response, Kou Zhong jumped down onto the alley and turned into the main street. Xu Ziling had no choice but to run after him. Side-by-side the two boys walked toward the big building at the corner of the street. It was only then did they discover that from their angle of view just now they could not see the entire situation of the front gate. It was actually jam-packed with crowd of people who were unable to get it; at least the number would be close to several hundreds. A group of more than thirty men wearing dark green warrior outfits was trying to maintain order; they did not let any onlookers from blocking the street, to let real guests on carriages and horses to enter the mansion. Kou Zhong was greatly surprised, My Niang! What happens here? Even if this family is holding a banquet, it definitely wont attract these many onlookers! Seeing the crowd ahead of them was blocked by those several men in warrior outfits, Xu Ziling turned around and hastily stopped one of the crowds and asked, What happen in there? The man glowered at him; he vented his frustration on these two boys, You dont even know that the world-famous Shi Qingxuan is here? Get lost! Go back to your nest to suck on your old Niangs breasts! he angrily said and walked away. Hearing that, the two boys were dumbstruck. It should be noted that Shi Qingxuans name has shaken the whole country as an amazing woman, due to her flute [xiao, see my note earlier, Book 2 Chapter 8] skill that was shocking the present age. They had heard her name as early as when they were still in Yangzhou, its just that they did not know which person had this much face that he was able to invite her to perform here. Rumor has it that she had lived a reclusive life, not many people were able to enjoy her flute music, but those who had heard her had all prostrated themselves in admiration. Kou Zhong elbowed Xu Zilings nk and said with a giggle, We wont have to worry about being lonely tonight; there are both a show to enjoy and wine to drink. Xu Zilings heart warmed up; heughed and said, If you drink again, I wont apany you. I wont drink! Kou Zhong hastily said, Come! Seeing the path ahead was blocked, he led Xu Ziling going around in big circle and arrived at the rear wall of this grand residence, which upied and close to a hundred mu [1 mu is approximately 1/5 of a hectare, or about ? an acre]. They lightly leaped over the high wall, andnded on a deserted rear courtyard. Walking toward the front of the building, they saw the big garden behind the main building was as bright as day with colorednterns hanging everywhere, and it was packed with maids and guests. The two boys brushed the dust from their clothes and then swaggered to join the crowd, feeling very excited in their hearts. With golden eyes zing gaze Kou Zhong sized up the meticulously dressed female guests who looked like lovely scene of blossoming flowers swaying in the breeze, while from asionally pointing out and making idle remarks about those womens appearance; it appeared that he has indeed gotten over Li Xiuning. When they squeezed themselves into the inside hall of the main building, they saw that the atmosphere was even more lively. Everybody was excitedly discussing Shi Qingxuans flute skill, as if they all were experts who have had extensive research about her. Inside the hall, leaning against the wall were a dozen of tables full with hors doeuvres and all kinds of delicacies for everybody to enjoy. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling along as he squeezed himself left and right toward the tables. He sighed and said, If I had known this good ce, we could havee here to have dinner! Xu Ziling suddenly let out a muffled cry and pulled Kou Zhong to hide behind a stone pir, as if he wanted to hide from certain people. Kou Zhong was baffled. Whats the matter? he asked in confusion. Xu Ziling pointed his finger, Look! he said. Kou Zhong stuck out his head to look. He saw among a crowd of men and women guests, six or seven respectable looking young masters [gongzi] in, were chatting around two beautiful young women; it was quite noticeable. His spirit aroused, he said, Those two girls are very pretty. I dont mean them! Xu Ziling angrily said, Cant you look a bit farther than that? You said you wont be so easy to be tempted by women. Kou Zhong reluctantly looked away from the girls, and saw toward the edge of the hall there was a cluster of rosewood chairs, where three men were sat. Other people could only stand on the side, emphasizing the status of these three men even more. One of the men had snow-white hair and beard, his bearing bold and powerful, but his clothes were tattered. Although he was sitting down, he still gave the impression of his magnificent build that was as majestic as the mountain. Another man was wearing long gown, the hair on his temples was peppered with white spots, so that people knew that he was definitely not a young man; but his appearance looked like a middle-aged man, carrying a distinguished and schrly air of a Sects leader, his manners elegant, giving the impression that he was an out of the ordinary, free from vulgarity, man. These days Kou Zhongs experience has advanced greatly, yet he still felt that these two were outstanding characters. Apanied these two was a middle-aged man dressed in a high-ranking government official attire; very lordly, and gave the impression that he was an astute and formidable man. Kou Zhong was wondering in his heart; although it appeared that these three were special personage, Xu Ziling should not make so much fuss about it. This moment Xu Zilings voice was heard next to his ear, Isnt that Shen Naitang who we encountered the other day? Kou Zhong jumped in fright; hastily he swept his gaze over the dozen or so people who stood around these three men, and he quickly found Shen Naitang. That day the two boys were detained by Du Fuwei in rtion to the Secret to Long Life, along the way they encountered Shen Naitang and Liang Shidous son, Liang Shunming, and the others. A conflict broke out, which gave the two boys the opportunity to escape in the midst of the confusion. These days he did not remember them anymore, but now that he saw Shen Naitang, immediately he recalled Shen Naitangs beautiful niece Shen Wushuang. Xu Ziling said in a low voice, Hurry up, lets leave! Why would we want to leave? Kou Zhong argued, Without listening to Shi Qingxuans flute, we cannot leave. Besides, old fellow Shen has not seen us yet. And then he added, That official looking guy must be the host. I wonder who those two are? Temporarily Xu Ziling cast Shen Naitang out of his mind; answering Kou Zhong, he said, Just look at how respectful the other men are, we know that they are not ordinary people. Hey! Ultimate martial art experts must have this kind imposing style! Right this moment, it was as if that bold and powerful old man and the schr in long gown have sensed the two boys staring at them; as if having prior agreement, they both shot a nce toward the two boys. The two boys jumped in fright, they hastily withdrew to hide behind the pir. Kou Zhong eximed in low voice, My Niang! Experts are indeed experts; they are definitely not a y thing. Flustered and panicked, Xu Ziling felt that someone was approaching him from behind. At first he thought it was just a guest walking by, but he clearly sensed that the persons hand was about to tap his shoulder. It was a subtle feeling that was hard to describe with words, he did not see the other persons movement at all, but he clearly just knew. In this instant, his mind entered the realm of clear water, not rippled, that can reflect the bright moon in the sky; he just knew that the other person did not mean him any harm. The hand patted his shoulder; it was gentle and soft. Kou Zhong also felt something was wrong, both he and Xu Ziling turned around at the same time. As soon as they saw who it was, their soul flew away and scattered. Because that person was the Dong Ming Princess who dressed as a handsome schr. The one person in the world that they did not wish to see the most. Book 4 - 3 – Shooting Star from the North Book 4 Chapter 3 C Shooting Star from the North All of a sudden, the two boys were surrounded. Dong Ming Sects young Commander-in-chief Shang Ming and two generals Shang Bang and Shang Kuiyi [sic. Last chapter it was Kuitai] appeared from the crowd at the same time. Along with Shan Wanjing they enveloped the two boys in front of the wooden pir. All escape routes were sealed. Kou Zhong forced augh and said, Everybody, how are you? Are you here to enjoy the show? Shang Ming let out a cold snort and said with disdain, Despicable man! Shan Wanjings jade countenance was icy-cold as she stared hatefully at Xu Ziling, I thought you were captured and taken away, she coldly said, But now that I see you are as lively as a dragon and as animated as a tiger, I know that you are wallowing in the mire with Yuwen Chengdu and came with the intention to strike us. This time it is called heavens has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it [idiom from Laozi, c. 73AD]. Xu Ziling shook his hand and said, Princess, please do not misunderstand; not only we do not know Yuwen Chengdu, we have big enmity with his Yuwen n. Shang Bang angrily said, Its very rare that Madame thought highly of you, yet you insist on breaking her heart. I dont care whether you know Yuwen Chengdu or not, whether you are rted to him or not, but you stole something, and that is an undeniable fact. Shang Kuiyis eyes exuded murderous intention as he asked, Who actually sent you? Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and said, Whatever it is, we can talk it over; how could there be anybody sending us? Because both sides were talking in low voices, in the other guests eyes, they were just like old friends who happened to meet and were having idle chat. Nobody knew that they were in a sword-drawn-and-bow-bent kind of dangerous situation; that the situation could easily escte into a fatal one. Shan Wanjings hatred and anger stare toward them subsided; she spoke indifferently, If nobody giving you direction, how did you know such ount book existed? Shang Ming continued on, Speaking with these low lives is just a waste of time; lets take them away. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling saw a gleam of hope. They knew that these people were giving face to the host, hence they did not dare to hastily break into fighting, and thus destroying the harmonious atmosphere in this ce. Kou Zhong smiled mischievously, If you fight, this martial art expert will immediately shout for help; therefore, before you fight, please think it over three times. Before he even finished talking, Shan Wanjing and Shang Ming already made their move. Shan Wanjings jade hand slide out of her sleeve at an unimaginable speed toward the acupoint on Xu Zilings lower waist, creating a swish noise of her qi splitting the air. Shang Mings five fingers were open into a w, grabbing toward Kou Zhongs arm. Both of them had the same intention, i.e. they wanted to subdue the two boys before they could shout asking for help. However, although Shan and Shang, two peoples movement was swift and fierce, their shoulders were absolutely still. Coupled with Shang Bang and Shang Kuiyi blocking other peoples view, although there was nock of Wulin masters in the hall, there was still no one noticed the changes. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that it was a critical moment; if Dong Ming Sect people found out that the ount book was in their possession, even if they jumped into the Yellow River, it would still be difficult to wash away the suspicion. In that instant, the two boys entered the still-water-in-the-well realm. All movements seemed to be slowing down considerably. Xu Ziling did not misjudge the speed, as well as the angle and strength, of Shan Wanjings finger jab, at all. He even had a very clear understanding that if hepeted with her in speed, he would definitely be defeated. Moreover, the only way he could withstand the attack was taking advantage of the opponents underestimation of him. With all these thoughts shed in his mind in lightning speed, he already drew a countermeasure strategy. Before the finger even touched his body, Shan Wanjings true qi had already prated his skin, attacking the acupoint on the right side of his lower nk. The true qi flowed along his arteries to strike the major acupoint on his backbone. And then Shan Wanjings delicate finger touched his lower waist. Xu Zilings mind became very clear. He used his thought to control his qi to meet the true qi entering his artery and acupoint. And then the muscle of his waist contracted to prevent the opponents jab from hitting him head-on. Shan Wanjing was delighted that her strike was going smoothly, suddenly she felt that not only did her fingertip hit something soft without any resistance at all, her opponent also sent out a surge of energy that her finger slipped to the side. While she was still in shock, Xu Ziling reached out to touch her cheek. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong was gnashing his teeth and giving everything he had to deal with Shang Mings attack. His palm sliced across Shang Mings right hand that changed from w into a fist. Bang! There was a dull thud as Shang Mings body was jolted and he was forced to take half a step back. On the other hand, Kou Zhong was shaken and crashed onto the stone pir behind him. It was so painful that he let out a muffled groan. Shan Wanjing and Shang Ming had never imagined that the two boys would have this kind of resisting power. The former let out a tender scream and dodged Xu Zilings frivolous hand. Before she couldunch a follow-up attack, Xu Ziling already hid on the other side of the stone pir behind Kou Zhongs back. If they fought for real, based on Shan Wanjings prowess, with which she was able to take Du Fuweis attack, perhaps the two boys fighting together would not evenst ten stances against her. However, one, she did not really wish to harm or even kill them, she merely wanted to subdue Xu Ziling; two, because she did not wish to disturb other people, hence she only used thirty, forty percent of her strength. It was only because she had misjudged Xu Zilings skill that now she could only stare nkly and let the two boys slipped away. As Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling circled to the other side of the pir, they happened toe face to face with the awe-inspiring old man and the refined, lofty-looking schr. The two mens eyes met the two boys, immediately an astonished look shed through their eyes. Worst yet, Shen Naitang also saw them and was greatly surprised. This moment Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not have time to worry about other people. They rushed several steps forward into the crowd of several dozen moring men and women, straight toward the front door. While they were still several steps away from the door, shadows shed, two men and one woman blocked their way. The woman stood akimbo and shouted, Little dogs, you want to run away? The two boys promptly halted their steps. When they looked up, they found out that it was the almond-eyed Shen Wushuang, while on her left and right were this crafty and unruly womans two martial brothers, Meng Chang and Meng Ran. Meeting their enemies, their eyes turned red in fury. Meanwhile Shan Wanjing and the others, four people already caught up behind the two boys, but since they were unclear about the two boys rtionship with Shen Wushuang, three people, they also halted their steps and just calmly observing from the side. Obviously Shen Wushuang did not know Shan Wanjing; her countenance immediately changed, Turns out you have yourrades here, no wonder you put on so much air. Kou Zhong was an expert in teasing techniques; he giggled and said, Wushuang Mei [younger sister, term of endearment] misunderstood. They just asked us to go outside so that they could study our punching and kicking skill. Shen Wushuang shrieked, Whos your Wushuang Mei? Xu Ziling interjected, We are all of the same side, lets not quarrel, shall we? We juste here as guests, not to fight with other people. From behind, Shan Wanjing impatiently said, Quickly make way! Shen Wushuang was so angry at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling that she was spouting smoke through her seven orifices; hearing Shan Wanjing, her anger turned toward her. You are the one who should get lost, she said furiously, Let me punish these two little dogs first, and then Ill settle the ount with you. Seeing she was humiliating his Princess, Shang Mingughed coldly and said, Stinky girl, what makes you think that you are qualified to settle the ount with us? This time it was Meng Chang and Meng Ran who fought for their martial sister. How dare you? they shouted angrily in unison. The more they talked the more both sides lost their temper, prompting the guests around them to raise their eyebrows. Seeing themotion, Shen Naitang came over. What are you doing? he scolded them, Do you know what kind of ce this is? He was relying on old affecting the old; as soon as he said that, from all three sides people were rebuking them. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stole a nce around, and saw like tidal wave the guests separated onto two sides, so that the sitting peoples line of sight was open and they were able to see the situation near the door. Just by this spontaneous action of the guests one could see the three peoples status must be out of the ordinary. Everybody was looking at them reverently, so that in that moment they had be the target of a multitude arrows. Kou Zhongughed aloud; bowing with cupped fist he said, It has nothing to do with us, two brothers; they are just quarreling among themselves. Shen Wushuang was so angry that her pretty face turned ashen; she was about to retort, but Shen Naitang stopped her. Now all gazes naturally fell onto Shan Wanjing, four people. This time Shan Wanjing came because of Shi Qingxuans fame; she was using the invitation card presented by Li Shimi, and did not have any desire to publicize their status, yet she did not wish to offend the master of this mansion even more. Although she was fuming with anger and wanted to kill the two boys very much, she did not have any choice but to smile slightly and spoke to the schr, Forgive us for rming Seniors. Ha! We dont have any problem. Leading the others, she mingled into a crowd of guests on the side. And thus a disturbance has been settled. However, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were groaning inwardly, because they could not stay, but they could not leave even more. The man wearing government official attire suddenly spoke up, Two Xiao Xiongdi, could youe over to meet with us? Chapter 3, Part 2 Chik, Critical, HPC, Gerald, Anh, Weed, you are wee. Drak, I said at least. Lawwoo, I am trying to ... but cannot promise anything. K2Grey, Ahoxan, George, Lost, thanks for responding. Now the tally is 6x #1, 9.5 #2, and 2.5 #3. Seems to me that most of you are already familiar with the story (at least you know what kind of story this is). DongBin, you keep track, huh? Has it been that long? Jaya, you are right. I lost track too. Sky, Ahoxan, that was one of the reason why I thought she might stay for a while. But well see ... Here is the end of Chapter 3. As I said a while back, I am busy with moving back into our home, but I will try to update regrly. The hundreds of guests in the hall were about to continue inquiring about what had just happened; hearing him, they all showed astonishment on their faces. Why would he be interested in these two kids? Actually, unlike Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had guessed, this official looking gentleman was not the master of this mansion; he was also one of the guests. Moreover, he was a Sui minister who held the bnce of power in the imperial court, plus he was also one of several martial art masters within the imperial court. This mans name was Wang Shichong[1]. He was under the order of Emperor Yang of Sui to lead the troops to deal with Zhai Rang and Li Mis Wagang Army. Amidst his busy schedule, he sneaked in to this ce to see Shi Qingxuans graceful bearing. And he had heard about Yuwen Huaji hunting down Kou and Xu, two boys. This time his heart was moved with suspicion. As for the majestic looking old man in tattered clothes and the old schr who looked like a middle-aged man, their background was also not a small matter. The former was known as Mount Huangs Hermit, Ouyang Xiyi, who had made his name for at least forty years as an ultimate martial art master. In Wulin, he shared the same seniority with Xuan Men [ck/mysterious school (I think Book 1 has Bi Xuan)] number one master Shan Ren Ning Daoqi, but he has gone into retirement for many years. This time he came to visit the master of this mansion, and happened to be there for this grand event. As for the old schr, he was the master of the mansion, Wang Tong, a great schr of the present age. In terms of learning theory, there was no one to his right (side) under the heavens. In terms of martial art, he was implicitly in the same league as first ss martial art experts like Zhai Rang, Dou Jiande, Du Fuwei, Ouyang Xiyi, as well as the master of the four ns. Wang Tongs character was peculiar. After he reached fame at the age of 30, he never fought anymore. He had forsaken the wu [martial art, military] and embraced the wen [literature, civil]; not teaching martial art, but amassing disciples to give lectures, and was prolific in producing literary works. The most interesting work he did was his imitation of Spring and Autumn Annals [722-481 BC], called Yuan Jing [primary/first ssic/scripture], and imitation of Analects of Confucius called Zhong Shuo [middle/center speech/theory], in which he said, There is no ce under the heavens where I havent gone to, havent been from, only the way I have never been through. [Sorry, this passage is beyond me.] Also, only because he was so talented that he was like a lone flower admiring itself [i.e. self-love, narcissist] that he had never betrayed his friendship with Shi Qingxuan. Because Shan Wanjing felt responsible, she also did not dare offend this nobody-dared-to-provoke aloof figure for the sake of the two boys. The guests who came to the event this time were people with position or status in town and surrounding counties; if not the head of a sect or school, then they must be a tycoon, high official or people of nobility. But even the most arrogant people would not dare to disy shocking bad behavior in this kind of situation. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, they both groaned inwardly. While they were stuck without any room either to advance or to retreat, there was a series of screams from the main entrance. Followed by two men flew in the air and fell face up. Bang! Bang! they bothnded on the floor t on their back. Like a tide the guests separated to the left and right, opening up arge empty space near the door. Looking at the two men who guarded the gate, who this moment could only groan and were unable to crawl up, everybodys countenance was changed; nobody could imagine who would be this extremely daring and rush to this ce to deliver his life? While everybody was looking at each other in shock, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to squeeze themselves into the crowd. The inner hall was already crowded, now that arge vacant area appeared, everybody was tightly squeezed against each other, so that even Dong Ming Princess and the others, who considered them as their prey, momentarily were unable to get close to them. Immediately several men appeared to help the two guards up on their feet. And then amidst the mor a man in blue clothes rushed over and grabbed the two men and thundered, Who dare toe here andmit this atrocity? A cold snort was heard from outside the door. Two people, one man and one woman, calmly appeared at the door. The man was tall, rather heroic looking and big. Although his face was long and narrow, but it was chiseled, and perfect like a marble statue. His skin was even more fair, soft and smooth than a girls, yet there was nothing effeminate about him. On the contrary, because of his sharp eyes, he exuded a thick manly, almost overbearing, type of charm. A strip of red cloth was tied across his forehead. Inside his blue-green robe, he wore a skintight yellow warrior outfit, plus a leather vest, making him appeared to have broader shoulders and narrower waist. Hanging on his waist left and right were a sword and a saber. His age was approximately between twenty-four, twenty-five; his form was extremely formidable. Most of the guests present were ustomed to people of all aspects of society. Seeing this man strolled in with his hands behind his back,pletely calm andposed, they knew this person was not simple at all. Moreover, from his high nose and deep eyes, they knew that it he was not a hu man [non-Han], then he must have had some hu blood in him. Nobody did not feel surprised. The womans appearance did not look like women of Central Earth [Zhong Tu] either, but she was clearly not of the same race as the man. However, whether it was her face, her figure, her general facial appearance or her skin, she was a picture of beauty that no one was not enchanted. Only her expression was as cold as ice and frost, yet her implicit charm and good looks was not the least bit inferior to Shan Wanjing, Li Xiuning, those kind of ultimate beauties. She also acted strangely; as soon as she stepped over the threshold, she deliberately held herself back about half a zhang behind the man, as if she wanted to keep a distance between her and the man. A longughter echoed from the mouth of Ouyang Xiyi, followed by this Wulin senior master who had made his name for several decades boomed, Alright! Young hero, what is your rtionship with Tujues Bi Xuan? The moring noise of people makingments immediately died down, even the big man in blue who was ready to fight was also shaken and did not dare to take any action. From this, it could be clearly seen how flourishing Bi Xuans prestige was inside and outside of the Wulin world of the Central ins. A look of surprise appeared on the young martial art experts face, his eyes shed with sharp ray. After carefully sizing up Ouyang Xiyi, he said nonchntly, Turns out it is Mount Huangs Hermit, Ouyang Xiyi; no wonder your vision is this brilliant. However, Zaixia not only have nothing to do with Bi Xuan, it is he who desires to be rted to me. When the people heard this, most of them were so astonished that their mouths were agape. He was able to recognize Ouyang Xiyi, it was not surprising, because an imposing, bold and powerful old man like Ouyang Xiyi was rarely seen in Jianghu; coupled with tattered clothes he wore, it was like he was disying his trademark for all the world to see. What was astonishing was that this kid knew perfectly well that the opponent was Ouyang Xiyi, yet he still dared to call him by name like that. Plus he did not seem to consider Bi Xuan, who was hailed as one of the three best martial art masters under the heavens, as someone worthy in his eyes. This was the shocking part. Kou Zhong leaned close to Xu Zilings ear and whispered, That beauty looks a bit like Niang. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. Not that he thought that the face of the woman in white who came uninvited resembled Fu Junchuos, but her clothes and her demeanor appeared to be unusually simr, only she appeared to be seven or eight years younger than Fu Junchuo. [Actually, the text says Fu Junchan, but since IMHO she was a very important character, I decided to change it to Fu Junchuo.] Kou Zhong continued, That guy seems to be very formidable; otherwise his eyes would not be as bright as lightning shes. Before Xu Ziling had time to respond, Ouyang Xiyi suddenly stood up; instantly there was an overwhelming ten-thousand-men-unable-to-withstand like aura emanating from him, giving everybody on the scene some kind of suffocating feeling. A gentle and soft voice suddenly rang out, Young man, what qualification do you have that even Bi Xuan wanted to associate himself with your little life? Without even looking at the person who talked among the crowd, the young man smiled and said, I dont think in this matter any exnation is necessary! Wang Tong was sitting motionless with rapt attention; fixing his gaze on the man, he said indifferently, Sire has just stepped over the door and you already injured people. Although Ol Wang is no good in brandishing saber or ying with stick, I ampelled to do something. State your name! At this point everybody knew that Wang Tong was really angry. Wang Shichong was also sizing up the heroic looking young man with a grim expression on his face. He spoke in deep voice, With Old Wang and Old Ouyang making the decision, Chen Dangjia [the one in charge, see Ren Meimei, Book 3 Chapter 7] may go back home! As soon as he said those words, the hall filled with several hundred people became deadly quiet [orig. Crow and peacock make no sound]. Although his remark was polite, it was tantamount to Wang Shichong telling the person he called Master Chen not to provoke this man. Wang Shichong was publicly known as one of the few top martial art experts in Jianghu, naturally his vision was extremely keen. If he said so, then that heroic looking young mans martial art must have had reached a universally shocking level. It should also be noted that Master Chen was the first Master [Dangjia] of Dongping Countys biggest Sect, the Qingshuang Pai [dark-green frost sect], Chen Yuanzhi. Her Qingshuang Sword was renown near and far, enough to rank her among the Wulin masters. Chen Yuanzhis countenance changed slightly. After hesitating for half a day she stepped aside. A hint of coldugh appeared on the corner of the heroic looking young mans mouth; calmly he said, Zaixia Ba Fenghan. This time I came together with this youngdy as mypanion, she is ... The beautiful woman in white coldly said, You are you, I am me, whos yourpanion? Humph, are you scared? While everybody was stunned, Ba Fenghan showed an awkward expression, as if he did not know whether tough or to cry. Yet surprisingly he still looked unusually natural and unrestrained, so that both men and women in the hall could not help but were attracted to him. Even Shan Wanjing, who was usually very proud and arrogant, felt her heart palpitating. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear again, This guys outward appearance is very unique. Hey! Lets slip away! With a bitter smile Xu Ziling replied, How do you slip away? Kou Zhong swept his gaze around, dejectedly he had to dispel the idea, because by this time even people who were originally in the garden had thronged inside to see the excitement. The hall was even more jam-packed than before that it was difficult to move for even a cun. Besides, Shan Wanjing and the others, who were standing across the room, were staring at them hatefully, so that there would not be much different between leaving right now and delivering their lives. Ouyang Xiyis hand slowly moved toward the hilt of his sword. In an instant the close to seven hundred people in the main hall all felt that the air temperature of the hall seemed to be dropping rapidly; the hall felt thick with murderous aura, which permeated into the entire room. Everybody knew that this senior martial art master, who had not exchanged swords for several decades, would make his move really soon; they could not refrain from withdrawing backward as much as possible to make room. Ba Fenghans tiger eyes flickered like shes of lightning, his outer robe started to move although there was no wind; it fluttered and produced rustling noise. Unexpectedly his valor was not the least bit inferior from his opponent; just like he was very confident that he was unequalled under the heavens, insufferably arrogant. Both Wang Tong and Wang Shichong looked extremely somber. People with discerning eyes all knew that the moment Ouyang Xiyi raised his body, these two men, old and young, would unleash their grandeur to decide who was superior and who was inferior. What was amazing was that in terms of momentum, this foreigner Ba Fenghan was able to match Ouyang Xiyi as his equal. If this matter was spread all over Jianghu, it would be enough to elevate the nameless Ba Fenghan to earth-shattering fame. The woman in white stood motionless, but her eyes scanned the crowd, as if she was oblivious of the imminent battle in front of her, while everybody else was waiting with bated breath for the moment the twobatants would cross swords. [1] Wang Shichong (-621) was a real historical figure, a general ofte Sui and opponent of early Tang. Book 4 - 4 – The Amazing Woman Qingxuan Book 4 Chapter 4 C The Amazing Woman Qingxuan Ouyang Xiyi took three steps forward, shortening the distance between he and Ba Fenghan by two zhang. His imposing manner as he stepped,bined with his majestic-as-the-mountain build and his sharp eyes, naturally highlighted his irresistible presence. A faint smile was still hanging out of the corner of Ba Fenghans mouth; he flung his hands, which were originally behind his back, out of the robe, separately grasping the saber handle and the sword hilt, so that nobody knew whether he was going to use saber or sword, or perhaps thebination of saber and sword. As soon as Ouyang Xiyi stopped, he threw his head backwards and let out a longugh. Immediately it was as if the entire huge hall was rustling with shudder. Qiang! Ba Fenghan pulled the saber in his right hand out a little, instantly it produced a whiff of unparalleled fierce saber qi, opposing Ouyang Xiyis overwhelming aura. Right this instant, Ba Fenghans saber left its scabbard, almost like a rainbow as he took the initiative to attack. At the same instant, Ouyang Xiyi also pulled his sword to attack. Two streams of formless, noiseless sword qi and saber qi, just before the sword and saber made contact, the two weapons wound around each other before they finally collided. It was only then did a genuinely good and hard ringing noise reverberated across the hall. Ba Fenghan suddenly floated backward, and stood holding his saber across in front of his body. He still looked calm and at ease as before, there was even a smile on his face, giving the impression that he was not inferior in any respect to this bold and powerful senior martial art masters tiger-like body as he stood steadily. Hence other people could not possibly think that he was being pushed back by the opponent. Ouyang Xiyi was standing motionless, still as imposing as before, but the upper part of his body swayed asionally, while there was a disbelief look on his eyes. None of the guests was not emotionally shaken. Nobody would ever imagined that this twenty something Ba Fenghan was able to take Ouyang Xiyis overwhelming strength head-on. Under the stare of the guests, Ba Fenghan threw his head backwards and let out a longugh, Good sword! I never expected that I, Ba Fenghan, have just stepped into the Central ins, and already met a martial art expert. Thank you for the advice! As soon as his voice fell, unexpectedly he took the initiative again to attack. Wang Shichong and Wang Tong exchanged nces; not only they could see the astonishment in each others heart, they could also see the murderous intention growing in each others mind. If they did not get rid of this kid, he might grow into another Bi Xuan. Ouyang Xiyi also had the same thought as they did. He was even clearer that Ba Fenghan would be Tujues most powerful figure after Bi Xuan. At this age he had already reached such an unfathomable level or martial art skill. Plus from the way he treated the guards, he knew that this kids character was ruthless. If this kind of manmitted evil, the disaster he created would be greater. Once he made up his mind, his hand moved. Ouyang Xiyi let out a cold snort; his sword met the opponents saber hack sweeping toward his left nk. This sword movement seemed average, nothing special about it, but it was actually the essence of Ouyang Xiyis whole-life training; it had reached the something-rotten-turns-into-something-magical level, a great-skill-looks-clumsy state. Even if Wu Zun Bi Xuan himself came, he would not dare to underestimate this move. Ouyang Xiyis chen sha jianfa [sinking sand sword technique] focused on overwhelming power, with a set of rigid movements; victory and defeat would be decided in just a few strokes. This moment he fought with killing intention, his movement differed from when he was just testing the water earlier. Ba Fenghans eyes gleamed with shing rays, his steps followed some kind of fantastic footwork, only he kept a distance of about a zhang from his opponent, making the spectators felt that he was not going to go for a direct attack, but constantly changing the angle and direction of this attack, yet it also felt as if he was going to advance in a straight line. If this kind of hard-to-describe feeling has caused headache to spectators, its effect on the opponent who was directly in front of him would not be difficult to imagine. For the first time the beauty in white who came with Ba Fenghan showed signs that she was paying attention; her entire being seemed to be absorbed in the fight between the two martial art masters. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were watching with great delight; they gained full understanding of the fight. They came to realization that footwork actually had this kind of wonderful usage. Ouyang Xiyi let out a sudden roar, fast as lightning he moved across, unexpectedly he moved toward Ba Fenghans long saber that was protecting his chest. Neither meeting the saber nor evading backward, he positioned himself about a zhang to the left of his opponent. Nobody understood why he, who had always been meeting the enemys attack head-on, would suddenly employ this kind of strategy. Only martial art masters like Wang Tong, Wang Shichong, Shan Wanjing and the others realized that Ouyang Xiyi was unable to see through the opponents footwork, hence he did not dare to advance prematurely, such that needless to say, the spectators were horrified and depressed. However, his avoidance was actually very logical; because he was upying the position where the opponents saber potential was the weakest. Therefore, he actually did not fall into disadvantageous position at all. Good! Ba Fenghan shouted. Unexpectedly he also withdrew abruptly. Qi and mind working together, the single sword in Ouyang Xiyis hand suddenly turned into sword shadows like stormy sea, as he entered the pursue and attack mode like the great river pouring down in torrents. However, Ba Fenghan seemed to be already anticipating this move. He remained calm like a deep pool with no wind, no waves; his handsome face remain as still as water as he swiftly withdrew about a zhang backwards, and once again charged forward with the saber blocking horizontally. His retreat and advance was like natural tidal wave; in fact, his entire body resembled nature itself, giving others an indescribable strange feeling. Wang Tong and the others could no longer conceal the horrified expression on their face. Ever since Ba Fenghan stepped into the hall, they had already sensed that this kid was not an ordinary person; however, even in their dream they would never imagine that he was this formidable. Dang! Dang! Dang! In lightning-fast, shing-sparks speed, the twobatants exchanged three strikes. Saber ray radiated all around, sword qi filled the air. Sword sharpness and saber power shrouded an area around three zhang in diameter. Those who stood on the perimeter subconsciously were trying to move back as far away as possible from hair-raising battlefield. Ba Fenghan suddenly narrowed his line of defense, he only tightly guard a narrow space in front of him. Under Ouyang Xiyis stormy-sea, high-waves like attack, wide-open and tightly-closed sword shadows, he moved around like ghost relying on his bizarre footwork. At a nce he seemed to be falling into a disadvantageous situation, but Wang Tong and the others knew that it was the most ingenious tactic to deal with Ouyang Xiyi. It should be noted that in order to stay on top of the game byunching continuous attack required a considerable true qi. Supposing Ba Fenghan was able to prolong the current situation, the time when Ouyang Xiyi exhausting his strength would be the moment Ba Fenghanunch a counterattack. Of course, Ouyang Xiyi had amassed his power for over seventy years, his qi and arteries and veins were longsting; it was possible that even before Ba Fenghan reached that moment, he would breathe hisst first. However, looking at the way he was advancing and retreating right now, nobody would dare to say that Ouyang Xiyi would be able to ughter him in the next two or three styles. Wang Tong and Wang Shichong rose up from their seats, but they had to restrain themselves from intervening. This moment Ouyang Xiyi had other thought. Shua! Shua! Shua! sessively his sword shed three times; each sh came from different angle, the power behind the sword varied, sometimes it was light, sometimes it was heavy, so that it would be difficult for the recipient of these attack to get a feel of where the sword edge would be. Yet Ba Fenghans long saber obviously moved swiftly, one after another he neutralized the attack. Plus the saber momentum broadened abruptly; now he took a little bit of initiative in offense, while maintaining the level of his power. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took a furtive look at Shan Wanjing across the hall; they noticed that her beautiful eyes were open wide without blinking as she was looking dreamily at Ba Fenghan, whose prowess was god-like, and seemed topletely forget about the two boys. Shang Ming and the others, with astonished look on their face, had their attention fixed at the hard fighting in the arena. If they did not leave now, what were they waiting for? Despite somewhat reluctant to leave the battle, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling thought their little lives were more important; they squeezed themselves step by step toward the gate. The people that they squeezed into did not seem to feel anything; they simply automatically moved aside a little bit to let them pass, while their eyes were still fixed on the battle. As with great difficulty they finally reached the overcrowded gate, the sound of flute [xiao] suddenly arose. The two boys curiosity was greatly aroused; in this kind of situation who had the mood to leisurely y the flute? They could not help but focusing their attention to listen. The flute sounded extremely wonderful, the transitions between phrases varied, but it always fell in between the shing sound of saber and sword; it appeared present, it appeared hidden, yet it lingered on with every note undefined as if it was casually weaved into the tune as an improvisation. What was more unbelievable was that the tune seemed to blend perfectly with the humming sound of shing of saber and sword. Note by note breathed question, twists and turns interspersed between phrases, water and milk blended within the flute sound. Even if there were disconnections, the listeners had the feeling that it would continue endlessly, until-death-put-an-end kind of lingering feeling. The flute technique was refined-by-fire quality, with transformation that was pounded-with-a-pestle-until-it-reaches-beacon-fire perfection. The flute sound sometimes carried a lofty fervor, sometimes a gloomy hidden bitterness. So high that it reached the endless sky, so low that it reached bottomless pit. Momentarily the listeners were stunned in silence. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were entranced as if their souls were hooked by the flute; for the first time in their life they felt that music could have the charm that was more touching than spoken words, unexpectedly they forgot to escape. Chapter 4, Part 2 Xanius, Bocah, Ysabel, Jaya, HPC, DongBin, Anh, Critical, you are wee. Sky, nope ... sorry ... Adrian, ck, Lawwoo, thanks for your response. Guys, it was not my intention to fish forpliment. As some of you who have been reading my trantion work in the past, my speed is not a function of your post. However, over the years, I have noticed some trantors who did not get enough response from the readers. I just want to encourage you to let us, the trantors, know that someone out there is reading our work. Thats all. Anyway, here is the end of Chapter 4. Sorry for the dy in posting this, I was extremely busy that I did not have time to ess sp earlier. The murderous aura of the twobatants in the arena diminished greatly. After a feint move, the two men moved back, and just stood respectfully to listen to the music. For the first time the woman in whites frosty jade countenance revealed a subtle sign that her mind was shaken, as if she was somewhat affected by the music. The flute sound seemed to be intermittent, yet continue to change, and linger endlessly. But it turned soft and quiet; although it continue to dominate every cun of hall, where no sound of breathing was heard, yet it also sounded hard to fathom as if it came from a far away ce. The musicalposition that could intoxicate peoples heart continued to murmur quietly like a session of the sounds of nature in some mysterious lonely ce between the heaven and the earth, evoking pain and pleasure hidden deep within everybodys heart, which welling up and unbearably turning back to hurt their emotion, like a song, but also like a sigh. The flute sound changed again. This time it carried some kind of restrained passion that bloomed through bright, shining notes, as if gently and tenderly telling the story inside everybodys heart. And then it stopped abruptly. Nobody in the hall was able to utter any word. Wang Tong had already forgotten all about Ba Fenghan, the murderous intention in his heart haspletely vanished. Facing upward, he sighed sadly, and then in deste voice said, Its finished! Its finished! After listening to Miss Shis tune, I am afraid henceforth it would be difficult to hear an even finer sound. Miss flute skill not only reaches the full potential of what your Niang taught you, it also surpasses the source [orig, blue surpasses the green]. Wang Tong hereby salutes you. It was only now that everybody knew that there was a profound rtionship between Wang Tong and Shi Qingxuan. Also, seeing how when he mentioned Shi Qingxuans mother his eyes were glistening with tears, they conjectured that there was a case of unrequited love here. Ouyang Xiyis eyes, which radiated sharp power, also grew softer and gentler as he raised his voice, Since Qingxuans immortal self is already here, why note in to let Bobo [paternal uncle, older than ones father] see how much you have grown to resemble Xiuxin. Everybody was astounded; only then did they realize that the reason they did not see this well-known but mysterious beauty was because it was only a moment ago that she honored them with her presence, right in time to dissolve a fierce fighting with her peerless flute skill. In loud and clear voice Ba Fenghan said, If I can see Miss beautiful face, I, Ba Fenghan, will die without any regret. By this time his reputation has increased many times over, nobody dared to me him for speaking conceited nonsense. There was a gentle sighing from the eaves, and then a sweet, clear and soft female voice that no one can describe entered the hall, Meeting in person is as if not meeting at all. Qingxuan received Niangsst wish toe with a specific purpose in mind to y a tune for two noble Uncles [bo C older than ones father]. Since this matter is aplished, Qingxuan is leaving. The people in the hall immediately broke into an uproar, they all urged her to stay. Shadows shed to the door, Ba Fenghan and the woman in white disappeared together. The hall remained extremely chaotic. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came to their senses; hastily they lifted their feet and slipped out of the door and disappeared into the deserted street. It could be said that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had be experts in escaping; taking advantage of themotion, they swiftly left the mansion, but did not go far at all. They simply went hiding in firewood shed at the backyard of another big house nearby, congratting each other on their luck. The two boysyfortably on a pile of straw, both felt that their trip to the mansion this time was not in vain. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Although the evil Princess found out that we are still in the world of the living, but we were able to watch the martial art match between that Fengshi Han[1] and old fellow Ouyang. We also got to hear the flute skill of Jianghus amazing woman. It was really worth it. Xu Ziling spoke with envy, That Fengshi Han is only several years older than we are, but his skill is really strong; I wonder when will we be like him? Kou Zhong let out a cold snort and said, That fellow cant be considered a good man, and he seemed to be very good at seducing women. Those women whom he cast a nce to, they seemed to lose their soul and drop their spirit. I think even your Princess has her soul hooked by him too! Xu Ziling sneered and said, What your Princess my Princess? Only ghost would like that kind of woman who considers everyone else is beneath her. I dont care if she is a stinky fart princess. Kou Zhong sat up and raised his thumb. You got guts! he praised, Ha! Even I seem to have forgotten my Xiuning Meimei too! Xu Ziling swayed his head, Turns out to poise for battle we must put emphasis on imposing manner. My Niang! How do we build up imposing manner? We cant do that by simply being vicious or ring out our hatred. If we can face the enemy while chatting andughing, now that will be the first-ss principle. Kou Zhong pondered for half a day, and then seriously said, That must be the effect of spirit and internal energy merging together in harmony. Indeed stronger and weaker can be seen right away; this is something that cannot be forced. After a short pause, he continued, Do you think that Fengshi Han can catch up with Shi Qingxuan? If she is seduced by him, we wont have any chance. Xu Ziling frowned and said, Can you save what little spirit you have not to indulge in wishful thinking? Is Li Xiuning lesson not hard enough for you? Embarrassed, Kou Zhongy back down on the straw. Closing his eyes, he heaved a deep sigh and then dejectedly said, Very well! First thing tomorrow morning well set out to Xingyang to find Susu Jiejie; I will no longer think about anything else. Xu Ziling suddenly said, What do you say, based on our qinggong, will we be able to jump over the city wall? Kou Zhong was jolted awake, Are you afraid that government official already recognized us? he asked. Outstanding people like us? Xu Ziling said, Ha! We are actually very easy to recognize. If you were him, what would you do? Kou Zhongs countenance changed, Naturally he would inform Yuwen Huagu. Xu Ziling said, If we travel far just like this, my main concern is that he would catch us himself. Just by looking at his eyesight and listening to himmanding that low hand Chen Dangjia to back off, I know thatpared to us, he knows more than a thing or two. Therefore, the one I am afraid of right now is him, not the smelly fart Princess. What should we do then? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, I was just thinking of asking you the same question, yet you still have the face to ask me? Kou Zhong racked his brains, and then he pped his forehead and said, We only need to hide in here and do not go out of this woodshed for three days, only go out to steal food and drink in the deep of the night, and then after everybody thinks that we have gone far away, we can set out on our journey. Dont you think this brilliant idea is not brilliant enough? Xu Ziling forced himself to exim, Good! Just let us hide in here, training our skill for three his mothers days. Based on what we experienced these past few days, well master the subject byprehensive study of what we saw and heard. If we seed, then we wont have to desperately run around every time anybody came to kill us. Kou Zhong said, But even after resolving this problem, we still have another problem. That is, after helping Susu Jiejie settling down, will we go to Yangzhou to submit our usation on Yuwen Huagu to the old Emperor, or are we going to the Eastern Capital and try our luck on the Jade Annulus of He n, or go to the Capital to retrieve the Duke Yang Hidden Treasure? What do you think? Xu Ziling asked in return. Do you think I am asking you simply out of respect toward you? Kou Zhong said. Xu Ziling crossly said, If you ask me, then Ill say that avenging Niang is the most important thing. Kou Zhong was upset, Didnt I say the same thing? he said, Lets just go to Jiangdu first, alright? Xu Zilingughed and said, I actually made you lose your temper. Alright! Just consider it I misunderstood you. In the dark, Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Finally he said, You are my good brother, the only family I have in this world. No matter what you say to me, I will not lose my temper to you. Kou Zhong sat up again. Holding his head in his hands he pondered for a short moment, and then he nodded and said, You are always more adaptable than me, it is easier for you to feel content, while I always want more. Ay! Living our live, if we dont achieve anything, how dull will that live be? I absolutely agree with what you said, Xu Ziling replied, Honestly, its just in terms of girls that I do not have as much interest as you do; only in the case that I met someone who can make me unable to restrain my emotions, otherwise my heart wont be moved so easily. But if I really like her, I will not change forever; I definitely will not have three hearts two intentions [i.e. indecisiveness]. Hugging his knees, Kou Zhong buried his head between his legs. He mumbled, Do you think it is so easy for me to fall in love with different girl? Like Li Xiuning, evil Princess, even our beautiful Shifu, and that b1tch Shen Luoyan, I always thought that they are not bad at all. But I know that I wont fall in love with any of those women. When all is said and done, am I more passionate than you, or am I more heartless than you? [Trantors note: although I am a bit hesitant to trante poniang as b1itch, I can see that this is a recurring term, hence I decided to just use b1tch forck of better term.] It was quite a whileter than Xu Ziling finally responded unenthusiastically, I think because girls are not your ultimate goal at all, at least I feel that you, Zhong Shao, are a natural born leader, what you like the most is to stick out your head to be in charge, plus I also like it that way very much. Ay! Itste! I want to practice. Listening to the sound of Xu Ziling breathing evenly, Kou Zhong could not help reying each stance each style of the fierce fighting between Ba Fenghan and Ouyang Xiyi. For a short while his mind was entranced, andpletely oblivious to the loss of time. By the time Xu Ziling woke up, the sky was already bright. [1] Fengshi Han C From Ba Fenghan, feng means point/tip/edge of a tool/weapon, han means cold, Fengshi (different feng character) means rheumatism, same han character. Book 4 - 5 – Peerless Yuwen Book 4 Chapter 5 C Peerless Yuwen Three days passed in the blink of an eye. The two boys were a bit reluctant to leave. In these three days, they felt like they had returned to the ce where Fu Junchuo was buried, back to their previous hazy, blurry state of mind, where day and night they buried themselves in training. Only when they heard voices did they withdraw back to their hiding ce. To be able to watch Ba Fenghan and Ouyang Xiyis shaking-to-the-core battle, the benefit they reaped was indeed no small matter. Previously theycked guidance in their training, just like a blind man riding a blind horse, or like in the absence of a target an archer shot the arrow randomly. But this time they had clear direction and objective; they understood that spirit, true qi, and strategy, three factors must merge together before they could be true martial art experts. Even they themselves did not know that the qi cultivation principle they learned from the Secret to Long Life in itself already emphasizing essence, qi, and spirit, the supreme marvelous method. This moment they acted without thinking, incidentally they grasped the essence of it, hence although it was a mere three-day period, they have received the lifelong benefit of breakthrough in the martial art way. After further discussion, they decided to stay seven more days. It was precisely this decision that made them avoid a disaster. After Wang Shichong grew suspicious of them that night, he talked with Shen Naitang, and found out that the two boys had been with Du Fuwei, hence he knew that two treasures has just slipped away in front of his face. Hastily he dispatched his men to hunt the fugitives everywhere, while at the same time notified Yuwen Shi, another important figure within the Yuwen n who happened to be in the vicinity, to personallye and take charge of this matter. Nearly all of Dongping County was turned upside down before they finally dered that the two boys had escaped far away. If this hunt and arrest operation was presided over by Du Fuwei, he would have known that the two boys were still remaining within the city walls. But how could Yuwen Shi have thought that the two boys could be that calm and not run away. After five days, the searchwork spread over to the neighboring counties, and no longer focused on Dongping County. By early morning the sixth day, the two boys remembered Susu, plus they felt a bit bored from training. Didnt Niang say that the best way of training martial art is to advance intentionally without any intention? Kou Zhong said, These past two days we ced great care in training, but we feel a bit unsettled and impatient instead. Xu Ziling agreed, I was just thinking about the same thing. Niang said that in cultivating internal energy we must have a strict control over body heat; cold and heat must be in moderation. We were immersing ourselves in hard training, apparently we went too far; wed better slow down for the time being. Kou Zhong said, In that case, wed better immediately leave for Xingyang, I am afraid Susu Jie already met a mishap. We cant just walked out of the city walls like this, Xu Ziling said, Cant say for sure, but that government official might have issued an order to arrest us. Dont forget that Shen Naitang knew who we are. Humph! Kou Zhong snorted coldly, In the eyes of the imperial court, isnt the old Shen in cahoots with the rebel thief Liang Shidou? Its just that other people didnt know! After a short pause he continued, Right now the weather is getting colder, we ought to buy some warm clothing, and while we are at it, we may also buy ropes, hooks, that kind of things. And then when the nightes we can climb the wall and get out of the city. Its a foolproof n. The n was decided, the two boys felt a little reluctant to leave this woodshed to kick-start their next move. That night, without any rm without any danger they leaped over the city wall to get out, just like a little bird leaving its cage. After ascertaining the direction to Xingyang, they ran all night in the wilderness. By daybreak, their body weary their strength exhausted. When they were seated, Kou Zhongughed and said, We are really stupid. We actually forgot that we have ample riches. Later on lets buy two horses to ride instead of walk, wont we avoid the hardship of journeying on foot? Xu Ziling alsoughed and said, Riding horses is not as good as taking a boat. We might as well buy a small fishing boat, you and I can take turn steering the boat and sleeping and practicing martial art; wont that be fun? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, You think we are on a scenic tour? Our destination is the nest of Wagang Army; if you were an officer, would you let peopleing and going at will? Land route is a bit more dependable. Ha, since you reminded me, let us by a carriage, so we can still take turn driving and resting. Ha, we save time, we save energy. Ha, when you areing with me, nothing can go wrong! Laughing and swearing, the two boys ran fast to thergest town nearby, bought a simple and crude carriage and two healthy horses to pull it along, and continued their journey. It was the first time that the two boys owned such an expensive and very useful means of transportation; they doted on the two horses very much. The white horse they called it Baier [simply dear white], the grey one they called it Huier [ash/grey]. Four dayster, they arrived at Wagang City, where Zhai Rang raised his army in rebellion. Only this moment the city already fell into the imperial armys hands. The two boys barely entered the city, they already felt the tensed atmosphere. Not only the city defense was reinforced, on the street they came across groups after groups of troops going God knows where. After finding an inn, Kou Zhong tipped the inn assistant with specific thing in mind, he repeatedly told him, a thousand times, ten thousand times, to take a good care of their horses, while in passing, he inquired about the current situation. While having a meal at the restaurant attached to the inn, he said in low voice, Turns out Li Mi originally wanted to attack the Eastern Capital Luoyang. For some reason, the secret leaked out, and now the n changed to attacking Xingluo Cang [barn/warehouse]. But the defender of Eastern Capital Wang Yangdong has dispatched Liu Changgong to intercept him. Furthermore, the defender of Xingyangs Western Tiger Prison Pei Renji is prepared to trail Li Mis rear leg. It seems that Li Mis circumstances really isnt so optimistic. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Isnt Wagang Armys big boss Susu Jies master Zhai Rang? Why is it that you open your mouth, you close your mouth, it is Li Mi this and Li Mi that? Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said, It was exactly what that inn assistant told me. Its very possible that because Zhai Rang was wounded by that strange man, he needs to live in seclusion to recuperate. But then again, ay! I really hope he is not killed by Li Mi. Speaking to this point, the two boys heart was burning with anxiety; they really wished they could grow wings to fly to Xingyang. With a wry smile Kou Zhong said, I just asked the inn assistant for direction to Xingyang, the assistant strongly urged me not to go there, and he said Yang Wu has be a mess, and that we can meet danger at any time. Ha, he said thating across Wagang Army is not a problem, the most scary thing ising across deserting government troops or perhaps defeated troops. That would be more disastrous thaning across a tiger or wolves. Recalling those killing and burning defeated army they had met, Xu Ziling sighed. Kou Zhong suddenly grew excited; he whispered, Now the world [tian xia] is bing more and more chaotic. I heard a man who was originally a defender officer of Jincheng county magistrate called Xue Ju, has raised an army to revolt, and has proimed himself Xi Qin Bawang [hegemonic prince of western Qin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xue_Ju)]. He wanted to imitate Qin Shihuang [the first emperor of China] in unifying the world. Right now he has taken Tianshui [prefecture, Gansu], and wanted to establish it as his capital. Ill say there is nothing exceptional about this Xue Ju. If it were me, I wouldnt be so foolish to impatiently dere myself an emperor. It clearly shows that he looks down upon the other militias, and hence has be the target of multitude of arrows. Where is Tianshui? Xu Ziling asked. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong replied, Tianshui is outside Qinling [mountain range, Shaanxi, between Guanzhong in and Han River], west of the Capital; no wonder you did not know. Assuming the air of an analyst, he said, If not for Wagang Army holding up the main forces at the Capital and the Eastern Capital, perhaps Xue Ju would not dare to revolt. Other than him, there is also a fellow called Li Gui who also raises an army at Wuwei [also in Gansu], and bestowed himself the title of Da Liang Wang [king of the great Liang]. In just several short months there are two more militias; it seems to me the Sui dynastys days are numbered. He added, In my opinion, like Li Dage said, other than Dou Jiande, Li Mi, Wang Bo and our ol Die, I am afraid other people would not amount to much. Xu Zilingughed and said, Are you forgetting Li guy? Kou Zhongs thick face turned red; he said, Honestly, I do not want to remember that Li guy. At that moment, flustered and exasperated, the inn-worker in charge of the stable ran toward the two boys table; he said in panic, Two Shaoye, not good! Some people are going to steal your horse. Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenance changed. By the time the two boys rushed toward the stable at the inn courtyard, Baier, Huier, and about a dozen other horses were led out of the stable by about a dozen soldiers; they were about to leave. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling pounced forward to block the exit and shouted at them to stop. Obviously the soldiers have never expected that someone would be so brazen like this, they all shouted back at the two boys, two of the soldiers even drew the saber hanging on their waists. Kou Zhong whispered to Xu Ziling, Grab the horse, Ill deal with the people. Just watch Laozis imposing manner! There was a saber sh, one soldiers broadsword chopped down on Kou Zhongs neck; the soldier did not have any care in the world whether he would kill an innocent civilian or not. Kou Zhongs eyes gleamed with sharp rays, his countenance turned iparably cold, just like Ba Fenghan, as he watched the iing momentum. Fast as lightning his right hand shot out, unexpectedly he grabbed the sabers hilt, while down below his leg also flew out as fast as lightning. The soldier screamed as he met Kou Zhongs foot and was thrown about a zhang away, and crashed against another soldier. The two soldiers rolled around together in a jumble, and looked extremely miserable. The other soldiers could only stare nkly; they started to realize that they have met martial art experts. Chapter 5, Part 2 But Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling actually looked at each other; they both did not expect Kou Zhongs kick would be that formidable. Kou Zhong tossed the saber in his hand into the air, and when it fell down, he caught it by the handle. Imitating Ba Fenghan, he held it horizontally across his chest. With a disdain look on his face he assumed a heroic air and coldly said, You are officers and soldiers, yet you openly robmoners horses; are you tired of living? The soldiers were overwhelmed by his imposing manner; unexpectedly no one dared to make a move. A big man that looked like their leader took a step forward and angrily shouted, We are under the Generals order to collect horses. Kid, you dare to disobey the imperial decree, you are the one who is tired of living. Still have not gotten lost? Kou Zhong himself was wanted by the Emperor, how could he give any thought to this kind of emperors order that oppressedmon people? Just now he made a move and was immediately triumphant, his excitement soared. He took two steps forward until the distance between he and the leader was only about a zhang. The entire power of his body was concentrated on the de of the saber, while at the same time he quickly sent out the true qi in his body. A stream of biting cold saber qi immediately appeared from the saber de. The most extraordinary thing was that the entire saber seemed to it up. More than a dozen soldiers countenances changed at the same time. The soldiers leader bore the brunt. He was pushed by the surge of saber qi two steps back. Kou Zhong did not expect he could really have this kind of power. Immediately he reverted back to his old self, the saber qi vanished. The leader still thought that just now it was his own illusion. Also, thinking that the two boys were merely young people, he cried his order, a dozen or so soldiers shouted and raised their weapons high as they charged toward the two boys. Kou Zhong was afraid that because Xu Ziling had no weapon, he would suffer losses. Therefore, with a shout he charged first and drew a semi-circle with his saber. The enemys sabers that were caught in the circle, four out of six left the hands and were flung aside, the other two were twisted on the wrist, and felt a shocking pain on the palm of their hands that they backed off. By this time Xu Ziling rushed toward Baier and Huier, and beat the two soldiers leading the horses until they fell on the ground like a pair of gourds; while also snatched a saber from them. Like lightning Kou Zhongs saber hacked and chopped, instantly one soldier got hit and fell to the ground. With a bigugh he said, Next year today will be the anniversary of your, these thief soldiers death. Just consider meeting us as your bad luck. Hearing that he was going to kill them, the soldiers who had not been injured immediately scattered like birds and beasts; those who had been injured had no choice but to crawl and roll to get away. Stroking the sabers de Kou Zhong sighed and said, Soldiers as small as a mouse, only know how to bullymon people around. No wonder that so many people are forced to rebel. Xu Ziling came over, leading the horses along. Heughed bitterly and said, If we dont slip away right now, when the enemys troops areing back, next year today will be the anniversary of our death. Waving the long saber in their hands, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling urged their horses to charge directly toward the city gate. Apparently the soldiers guarding the gate have not received the news. Caught unprepared, five or six soldiers were knocked down. By the time they wanted to pursue, the two boys have already disappeared behind the cloud of dust. The two boys were in high spirit. Although they felt a little distressed because they had to abandon their carriage along with their personal belongings, but momentarily the feeling of venting their anger and the pride in their heart trumped it all. After galloping for twenty, thirty li, it was already evening, the two boys spent the night in the open by the roadside. Kou Zhong hunted a pheasant and came back. Xu Ziling already gathered enough dry branches and sticks to make fire to roast the pheasant. Sniffing the aroma, the two boys felt perfectly content. With concern in his eyes, Kou Zhong shot a nce toward the horses, which were grazing on the hillside nearby. He sighed and said, Its hard to imagine that two poor wretched boys like us would finally own two good horses. But I always say that that day will eventuallye. Xu Ziling said, You, this guy, have imposing manner at the beginning, but no power at the end. At the start you radiated the air of a martial art master, just by saber qi you forced that soldiers captain to recoil in panic, but then your power did not continue on. A martial art master like you really shame our school. Kou Zhong smiled sheepishly and said, Next time I wont be like that, I know that mental cultivation is the most important. Duringbat we must be absolutely calm, just like the moon in the well. Any mood swings will make a master [orig. gao shou C high hand] turns into a low hand. That is easy to say, difficult to achieve, Xu Ziling said, For example, if you see me injured by the enemy, would you still be able to maintain essence, qi and spirit in that kind of moon in the well state? Kou Zhong asked himself, but in the end he admitted that it was impossible. Distressed, he said, But that fellow Ba Fenghan seems to have innate ability to be that kind of person. We are actually passionate persons. I wonder if there is any way toughen up and be people with iron-and-stone aspiration? Xu Ziling knitted his brows, deep in thought for a moment, before speaking in heavy tone, Looks like only during a life and death, decisive battle that we are able to pursue understanding. One day we do not achieve this state, one day we cannot boast ourselves as martial art masters. Kou Zhong excitedly said, But we already know what it is all about. After training hard in the woodshed for those few days, the true qi in my body is a lot more decent than before, only ... huh? rm went off in the two boys head at the same time. They looked at the horses, and as soon as they did that, they felt the corners of their eyes were about to split; they pulled out their sabers and sprang up. They saw a very big man, as magnificent as a mountain, his loose hair draped over his shoulders, and he wore yellow clothes. As if without any strength at all his hands separately patted lightly on Huier and Baiers heads. Immediately a terrible sound of breaking bones was heard from the pathetic two boys beloved mounts; without uttering any noise the horses copsed to the ground, dead, and the bodies slipped down toward the foot of the hill. Kou Zhong let out an earth-shattering sorrowful cry. He was about to charge when Xu Ziling suddenly thundered, Moon in the water! Kou Zhongs tiger body shook violently; suddenly he halted. With feet not touching the ground, the man floated down hill, to about a zhang away from the two boys, before stopping and standing loftily. This mans face looked like bronze, he had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and had a big wart right in the middle of his forehead, just like a one-horn monster; a totally terrifying freak. His hands and feet were thicker than average person, giving the impression that he had infinite power. This moment his pair of huge eyes was flickering with internal energy as he fiercely sizing up the two boys. Atst his eyes fell on the two boys sabers that were pointing at him. You think you are fit to fight with me, Yuwen Wudi? he said with a cold snort. [Wudi means peerless, the title of this chapter.] Reminded by Xu Ziling earlier, Kou Zhong understood that this was the critical moment; gradually he calmed down and said in low voice, Fit or unfit, only after fighting will we be able to see clearly. With a calmness that even surprised Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling spoke nonchntly, I wonder how shameless your Die and Niang were to give you such a boastful name? A furious look flitted across Yuwen Wudis eyes. His hand reached behind his back to fetch ance; immediately a surge of cold, harsh murderous aura shot out from him. Right this moment, the two boys spirit entered the moon-in-the-water realm; at the same time they also emitted saber qi. By joining their power, they were able to resist this dreadful opponent. An astounded expression swept past Yuwen Wudis face. His hand brandished thence, his feet powerfully surged forward three steps. Unleashing the full power of hisnce, it turned into thousandsnce shadows, attacking the two boys like the tidal waves of the Great River or Yellow River. The cirction of true qi in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings body was at its peak, their senses were amplified may times over; they were able to sense clearly that the opponentsnce shadows were entirely empty, only onence targeting Xu Zilings throat was real. Kou Zhong let out a wild roar, but his countenance was as clear as water as he abruptly charged forward and moved his saber in a chopping motion, aiming Yuwen Wudis left shoulder. The true qi was transferred by the saber, producing a sharp whistle as it split the air; the momentum was extremely astonishing. Xu Zilings mind was also very sharp, it was even clearer than when he usually practiced; he was able to see clearly the iingnces power, speed and angle. Without the slightest hesitation he bent his knees in a horse stance, while his saber also made a hacking motion. Fast as a lightning the opponent slid horizontally aside. Not only to evade Kou Zhongs saber, he also altered thences speed and angle, so that it now threatened Xu Zilings right nk. Xu Ziling kept his original style unchanged, except he modified the angle slightly. Qiang! the saber shed with the tip of thence. Force and qi collided with each other. Xu Ziling let out a muffled grunt; he was jolted by the opponents thousand-lightning-strike like force that his entire body was thrown backward. Yuwen Wudi also felt difort. He felt that this kids true qi that was transmitted via the sabers de was iparably strange. It felt like it was not there, but it also felt burning hot. When it collided with his own true qi, it changed into gossamer-like thin threads, like an arrow or a dart shooting straight into his meridians, forcing its way deep into his body. He could not stop his body from recoiling half a step back. He was numbered among the few martial art experts within the Yuwen n. Excluding their n Master Yuwen Shang, in terms of martial art skill, he was preceded only by Yuwen Huaji, Yuwen Chengdu, and Yuwen Shi, three men. Who would have thought that even after going all-out, not only he failed to kill Xu Ziling, he was pushed back half a step instead. If this matter leaked out, his fame for fighting prowess would suffer great damage; automatically his murderous intention was greatly aroused. After receiving report from his men that Kou and Xu, two boys, were seen inside Wagang City, highly confident of his own martial art prowess, he went alone on a hunting mission. He already made up his mind to kill one of the two boys first, and then force the other one to hand over the ount book. Actually, the one climbing up the ship and stealing the ount book that night was precisely Yuwen Chengdu. Suffering a major setback, upon returning he did not dare to tell the truth. He only said that the two boys were one step ahead of him and have stolen the ount book first; hence it gave birth to contempt toward the two boys in Yuwen Wudis heart. Only this moment did he realize that these two boys were really not simple. Kou Zhong instinctively knew that Xu Ziling would not die; however, if he failed to upy Yuwen Wudi, Xu Zilings death would be guaranteed. Therefore, not daring to hesitate, he unleashed the full power of the Ruler Overlooking the World, the most aggressive style of the Bloody Battle Ten Styles. The saber and the person blended together into one, as he charged into another circle ofnce shadows drawn by Yuwen Wudi. The very moment Xu Ziling was flying in the air and falling down, he knew that it was crucial for him to keep the burning hot true qi circting within his body. As soon as he touched the ground, like a spring he bounced back, and saw that about two zhang away, Kou Zhong was surrounded by Yuwen Wudisnce shadows, producing a continuous ringing of saber andnce shing against each other. Hastily Xu Ziling charged toward the two men. Actually, Yuwen Wudi was groaning inwardly, because he had secretly suffered a loss. What happened was that he had used the wrong energy. When receiving Kou Zhongs first saber attack, he thought Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling trained using the same method, thereupon he decided to meet the attack head-on by sending out a hundred percent Yang energy, to deal with what he thought was a burning hot Yang energy. Who would have thought that as the saber andnce collided, a stream of iparably strange and cold Yin energy surged into his body via Kou Zhongs de? By nature, Yin and Yang energy ovee each other. Caught off guard, Yuwen Wudi did not have enough time to protect himself, and thus several meridians in his body were injured. Although at thest moment he managed to turn the situation around, his strength has been greatly reduced, plus Kou Zhong continuously sending out attack after attack with his saber, momentarily he was unable to extricate himself. It was at this moment that Xu Ziling, totally unharmed, came to join the fray. Yuwen Wudi lost his confidence, because originally he was confident that if Xu Ziling did not die, he would be, at the very least, heavily injured. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling appeared toe out unscathed? How could he not be aghast and desperate? However, he was, after all, a first-ss martial art master, his mind remained unflustered. With a wild roar he broadened the momentum of hisnce to surround Xu Ziling as well. This time he held nothing back; his main intention was to kill these two boys as quickly as possible. Whether he could obtain the ount book or not, it has be secondary. Every time saber andnce collided, it produced a nice and crisp ring, multiplying the viciousness of this battle several folds. The longer they fought, the more Yuwen Wudi felt the battle grew increasingly strenuous. He felt that he was at his wits end to deal with the opponents cold and hot, yin and yang attack. Not only that, he also felt that the two boys true qi was broad and deep, mysterious and inscrutable; plus they seemed to have inexhaustible capacity that enabled them to go on forever. In reality, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had also reached the mountain and river exhausted condition. The opponentsnce appeared to continue its violent offensive indefinitely, making them felt as if they were under thousand-catty pressure, little by little sapping down their willpower. For the two boys, this battle was the biggest challenge and the heaviest physical exercise they ever had since their debut. Supposing they were able to survive this hurdle without dying, it would instantly propel them into the rank of first-ss martial art master list. In this case, Yuwen Wudi actually acted as their mentor, who intimidated them with death for a total work-out. Just as the two boys were about to fall apart, thences momentum suddenly slowed down. Yuwen Wudis spirit was greatly shaken. He knew that he was burdened with wounded meridians, so eventually he started to show some gaps in his offense. While he was groaning at the unfavorable turn of events, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings momentum immediately soared. Although unwilling, Yuwen Wudi knew that if he did not leave now, he could forget about escaping alive. Thereupon he abruptly increased his true qi while both hands moved toward the middle of thences pole. Exercising his amazing footwork, thences head and the end of the pole urately struck the des of the two boys sabers simultaneously, and then he flew backward to retreat. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling drew their qi, the des in their hands turned into a long rainbow, striking toward Yuwen Wudi. This martial art master from the Yuwen n groaned in pain; carrying two streams of blood sshing into the air, in the blink of an eye he vanished into the dark mountain forest. Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling dropped down on their knees, using their sabers to prop themselves up. This victory was indeed obtained through extreme danger; but in the end they managed to snatch their two little lives back. Book 4 - 6 – Meeting Susu Again Book 4 Chapter 6 C Meeting Susu Again The fall of Xingyang was actually one of the turning points rted to the rise and fall of the Great Sui; moreover, it was the starting point of Li Mis contention to gain control of the world [tian xia]. For this great undertaking, for thest twelve years Li Mi has been joining Wagang Army. This man was very resourceful; he had great aspiration, and knew how to exploit the potential of Wagang Army and Zhai Rang like the sun in the middle of the sky. Also, relying on his superior martial art skill, he subdued smaller militias and different powers nearby, and hence exponentially enhanced the power of the Wagang Army. At the same time, he was able to see clearly that the river section on which they had always been relying on to transport military supplies was in fact the Achilles heel in the development of the Wagang Army, because it was insufficient to supply the necessities. Therefore, he made a suggestion to Zhai Rang, Take Xingyang first, rest the troops, build storehouse. When the troops and horses are satisfied, we will have advantage in our fight against others. Just by this insight, it could clearly be seen that Li Mis power, talent, greatness and resourcefulness were superior to Zhai Rangs. If they were able to exercise control over Xingyang and the surrounding area, they could solve the long-term food supply problem, further expanded their influence, posed a direct threat to the Eastern Capital Luoyang, and affected the military affair rtions between the Capital, Luoyang and Jiangdu, three strategic cities. After gaining Zhai Rangs approval, in the tenth month of the same year, Wagang Armyunched arge-scale military operation. They took the counties around Xingyang first before advancing toward Xingyang City. Yang Guang valued this area very much, hence he dispatch Zhang Xutuo, who, at that time, was a top rank valiant general who suppressed the twelve counties along Henan road, to defend Xingyang, leading twenty-thousand elite troops to meet the enemy head-on. Whether in imperial court or in Wulin, this man had famous reputation; his skill Wild Wind Spear Technique was the de facto number on spear technique of the present age. His character was arrogant and conceited; naturally he looked down upon Li Mi, whose reputation was only so-so. Previously, each time Wagang Army met Zhang Xutuo, they were always defeated really bad that they ran away abandoning their armors and throwing away their spears; therefore, Zhai Rang feared him like a tiger. Hearing that the attacking enemy was this nemesis, he immediately wanted to retreat, saying, This man is proficient in the art of war, his spear skill matchless; moreover, his generals Luo Shixin, Qin Shubao, are brave and good at fighting. Wed better evading the point of his spear for the time being, and draw a future n. All the rest of his subordinates courage grew cold, everybody agreed; only Li Mi stood his ground against the opinion of the masses. He asked Zhai Rang to takemand of the main force to confront the enemy head-on, while he, leading four capable generals Wang Bodang, Zu Junyan, Shen Luoyan, and Xu Shiji, tookmand of about a thousand or so martial art experts to set an ambush in the jungle north of Dahai Temple. When the two main forces met, as expected, little by little Zhai Rangs main force was losing, and Zhang Xutuos forces pursued them for about ten li, until they came to the area north of Dahai Temple. Li Mi went into action, his troopsunched a surprise attack from behind Zhangs forces. Zhai Rang joined the battle by turning around and attacked from the front. Under this converging attack Zhangs forces suffered heavy casualties. Li Mi even went into action personally and killed Zhang Xutuo. This battle catapulted Li Mis fame throughout the world, he became the most prestigious figure within the Wagang Army, even above their Big Boss Zhai Rang. This great victory established the Wagang Armys foundation, it also inflicted serious damage to Sui Armys prestige. Under this kind of situation, Zhai Rang had no choice but to let Li Mi led an army, which was known as the Duke of Pushans Battalion. Li Mi was of noble birth, his previous generation was bestowed a title, hence he inherited the nobility title Duke of Pushan, and decided to use this name. Li Mi had great ambitions; already obtained Xingyang, he aimed to get Xingluo Warehouse. This warehouse was the Sui Dynastys biggest granary, which was extremely important to Yang Guang, so he sent brave warrior general Liu Wengong and his twenty-five thousand strong cavalry advancing from the Eastern Capital Luoyang in an attempt to reverse the situation. Yang Guang also dispatched Pei Renji from Tiger Prison to attack Wagang Army from behind, hoping that with these two big forces they could curb Li Mi. At the same time, Yang Guang even dispatched hispetent subordinate Wang Shichong to Luoyang to have direct confrontation with Li Mi. When Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong arrived in Xingyang, the opposing forces were in deadlocked situation, anything could happen at any moment. After repelling Yuwen Wudi, the two boys confidence increased sharply. Also because of this realbat experience where they were facing deathly danger yet came out alive, during martial art training they no longer blindly charging blindly striking like before; therefore, during these past twenty days or so of traveling, the two boys spirit and skill have advanced by leaps and bounds. If someone who knew them back in Yangzhou came across them at this moment, they would certainly be astonished by the change. Xu Ziling looked even more schrly elegant and unconventional. His shoulders broad his legs long, his physique stood straight like the pole of a spear. Under his wide forehead a pair of tiger-eyes flickered with divine light, filled with intimidating charisma. Although he had just turned neen, he had the impression of a grownup. On the other hand, Kou Zhongs domineering aura was growing by day. Although he was about a cun shorter than Xu Ziling, yet he was already half a head taller than average men. Due to his especially thick shoulders and back, his physique looked even more imposing. If Xu Ziling was elegant, then Kou Zhong was heroic. Rarer still, Kou Zhong often assumed a cynical look; but with his forceful and domineering aura, thebination produced a more neutral look, a style that was unique to him. However, the two boys were still unaware that they had entered the rank of martial art masters; when going into the city they were still nervous, acting like if anything happened, they were ready to escape without a trace. At this time, the security around the city gate was extremely tight, the two boys have just stepped foot over the gate, immediately they were interrogated by Wagang troops wearing blue warrior outfit. As the leader saw that they were wearing long sabers and their unusually imposing manner, he questioned their family and school background, the purpose of their visit, and so on. Kou Zhong cooked up some nonsense, but the captain was still not satisfied; he asked, Everybodying in and out of the city must obtain a pass signed and issued by Zu Junshi. Looking at you, I dont believe you arewbreakers, but military order cannot be disobeyed; forgive me for not allowing you to pass. Since the captain polite and courteous, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had good impression on him. Xu Ziling calmly said, Not to conceal anything, this time we came here to look for our close friend, Jiejie Susu; she is your ... hey! Your Da Longtous [lit. big dragon head, Big Boss] missing beloved daughters maid. If you dont believe me, you may find her and ask, then youll know. The captain frowned and said, Dont speak nonsense, Big Miss returned from her tour outsidest month; what do you mean missing? Instantly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned; they werepletely at a loss. At the abandoned vige that day, they saw it with their own eyes how Zhai Rang was struck by the strange man who conspired with Zu Junyan; how did Susus Miss suddenly return safe and sound? However, the captain did not suspect them; he said, I also know Su Jie; after she was separated from Miss in Jiangbei, she returned here. It was I who personally escorted her back to Da Longtous mansion. How about this: take off your saber first, let me send people to notify her. After a short pause, he continued, What are your names? Kou Zhong gratefully replied, Please just tell her that Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling came to look for her. He exchanged a nce with Xu Ziling. Because Susu was safe, they were quite excited. The captain ordered his men to take the two boys to wait in the officers hall near the city gate, and then he sent another man to ride a horse and gallop away to notify Susu. The two boys were seated in a small stone room, the door was made of steel, obviously it was a small prison room. Kou Zhong did not understand, Clearly Zhai Rang was struck and injured by that strange man, how did the daughter get rescued? Xu Ziling replied with a wry smile, Do you expect me to have the answer? Ay! The city defense is this tight, and every single one of the Wagang troops looked like they have fought a couple of times. Even if Susu Jiejie is willing toe with us, we wont have the ability to take her away. Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont be that pessimistic! The matter depends on the individual, we can always find ways; for example, we can try to steal his mothers two passes. Hey! Who would have thought that the one who issue and sign the passes is Zu Junyan; himself is a traitor. Do you want to expose him to Zhai Rang? How far can it get us? Xu Ziling replied, Right now I am most afraid toe across Shen Luoyan, that b1tch and her subordinates who have fought against us. If that happens, we will be in big trouble. However, Kou Zhong was very optimistic; very pleased with himself, he said, Shen Poniang [reminder: b1tch] is Li Mis Pretty Junshi, naturally she follows the troops going to war. The master has something to do, the skulk of foxes and pack of dogs under him have no choice but to wait upon him on his side. I am not worried. And then he added, Wagang troops seem to behave a lot better than Ol Dies Jiang Huai [River Huai] troops; were it not for we have other n, joining Wagang Army does not seem to be a bad idea! Xu Ziling snorted, but did not answer him; he closed his eyes and practiced his internal energy. These days, whether walking, sitting or lying down, the two boys were hard at work cultivating their internal energy. Kou Zhong was originally not a hardworking person, but after their fight against Yuwen Wudi, he knew that practicing martial art was the only way he could save his life; hence he had to be proactive in training hard, so that his motivation now did not fall shortpared to Xu Zilings. Very quickly they had already entered the extremely calm state where people who train martial art difficult to seek even in their dreams. The true qi in their body surged, it was flowing endlessly. In this no-consciousness no-feeling state, time passed quietly. Suddenly the door was pushed open. The two boys reacted instantly; they both opened their eyes and looked toward the door. Chapter 6, Part 2 Jaya, Bocah, HPC, Critical, DongBin, Komeng, Ysabel, Strawberry, Weed, Tgx, Xanius, Anh, you are wee. Drak, am I so pitiful that we need that feature? Sky, another beauty making appearance. On side note, I am terribly busy these days. Some of you may remember that we are moving back to our home, hence there is no rest for the weary ... But rest assured that I intend to continue posting the updates, hopefully every 2 or 3 days, but I now realize that there is a possibility I might have to stretch that schedule, at least temporarily. Here is the end of Chapter 6. The Lords willing, I am going to post first part of Chapter 7 Monday (my time) at thetest. The quietness did not diminish much, but the end result was the beautiful Susu rushed in, carrying a whiff of fragrant wind around her, toward the two boys who had just sprang up from their seated position, and embraced them. The three people cried andughed, andughed and cried, but there was not even half a sentence spoken. However, because there was an outsider nearby, Susu reluctantly let the two boys go. With hot tears rolling down her face she said, I thought Id never see you anymore! Ay! Unable to control her emotion, she threw herself into the two boys embrace again, while weeping uncontrobly, revealing her true feeling. The captain of the guard outside the door saw the red-hot brother-sister emotion in them, his heart was touched; lightly he closed the door to let the three freely talk about what happened to them after they parted. Kou Zhong stroked Susus cor, seeing she appeared to be pear blossom soaked in rain, his heart ached. Susu Jie must not cry, he said, You ought tough. Holding her fragrant shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Did Susu Jie receive wrong treatment here? Still in tears, Susu shook her head and said, No! Miss is still treating me very well! Ay! You two boys have grown tall and strong; there must be a lot of girls fall for you. Kou Zhong awkwardly replied, As it turns out, quite the opposite is true. Every time we met beautiful women, other than Susu Jie, if not shouting beat them, then they would shout kill them. Thats why we had no choice but toe looking for you, Susu Jie. Susu was ustomed to crack jokes with them; just like clear sky after the rain, Pft! she burst into tenderugh as she said, You are still the same. Ay! You dont know how much tears other has shed for you, two brothers. Wanting to amuse her, Xu Ziling pretended to be puzzled, Thats strange! Howe the more Susu Jie cried, the more beautiful your eyes be? Susuughed while leaning on the two boys shoulders. The love between these brothers and sister was genuine; although they could not avoid suspicions, there was no carnal desire between men and women, not the slightest bit. Kou Zhong whispered on her small ear, What about Li Dage? Susus tender body shook; lifting up her tear-stained pretty face, she said, After he escorted me back here, he went to the Eastern Capital. Looking at her expression, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong knew that this good sisters feeling toward Li Jing has rooted deep in her heart. Xu Ziling asked with a frown, He didnt ask you toe along? Susu bowed her head and said softly, It was me who refuse to go with him. He is a real man and true hero, naturally he ought to take advantage of his young age to make a break through on his own career. The two boys felt deep veneration for her. Kou Zhong seized the chance to say, Although the two of us are real men, we are simply not true heroes; Susu Jie pleasee with us. Susu was shaken, I still need to wait upon Miss, she said. Xu Ziling urged her, If you stay, you might lose your life; we saw it with our own eyes how Zu Junyan conspired with outsiders to injure your Laoye [old master]. Susu was stunned, Nonsense! she said, Laoye is fine, how could you say he is injured? Kou Zhong was taken aback, Wasnt your Miss captured by the enemy? he asked. There is no such thing! Susu replied. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; they were dumbstruck. Xu Ziling changed direction; he asked, Didnt your Miss go missing for a short period of time, and then she suddenly came back? Susu answered, When I came back, Miss was still traveling outside and came back home onlyst month. It was Zu Junshi who personally escorted her back. Kou Zhong pped his thigh, This Zu Junyan is very crafty; be a good man, be a bad man, he did all. Thereupon Xu Ziling narrated their encounter at the abandoned vige. Listening to him, Susus countenance changed continuously; finally she said with determination, I must tell this to Miss, and then let her inform Laoye. Ay! Now that you mention it, I remember something. When Miss came back, she was a lot thinner than before; also, its just so not like her to scold us a lot. What? Kou Zhongs voice broke, Does she like to scold people? Why did you say she is treating you very well? Susu earnestly said, Her temper is not good, but her character is very good. I served her for many years, I have the clearest understanding. And then she grabbed the two boys arms and shook them, imploring them, For Jiejies sake, would you help Miss and Laoye just this one time? With someone like Zu Junyan in the army, sooner orter it will lead to disaster. If you are telling the truth, Laoye will definitely believe you! How could he not believe us? Kou Zhong said, Otherwise, how could we know this much details? It depends on whether we can speak directly to Zhai Laoye, Xu Ziling surmised. Seeing the two boys were persuaded, Susu was greatly delighted, Whether you can speak directly to Laoye, it will be entirely up to Miss, she said, Maybe you can convince her. Theres no time to lose, Kou Zhong said, Well have to see Miss immediately! Susus pretty face blushed, It will also up to Miss, she said, Just wait here patiently for a while. Because even if Miss nods her head, we still need to get formal approval before you can stay in the city. The two boys had no choice but to look at each other with a wry smile. Who would have thought that waiting until deep into the night, there was still no news? Fortunately there were enough tea and food. The two boys might as well practice their martial art, so that they would not feel the bitterness of imprisonment. When Xu Ziling woke up the next morning, he saw Kou Zhong was sitting on a chair, staring nkly with face deathly pale. Xu Ziling was greatly shocked, What happened? he asked. Scowling miserably, Kou Zhong replied, I dont know whether it was fire deviation during practice, but I cant draw true qi from Tianling acupoint anymore. Aghast, Xu Ziling did quick self-examination, and his countenance immediately changed, I am the same thing; could it be that someone put poison in our food? Kou Zhong moaned miserably, Looks like its something like san gong wan [scattering energy pill]. Who would want to harm us like this? Xu Ziling closed his eyes and circted his qi, suddenly he felt his dantian [a point two inches below the navel where the qi resides] growing hot; the true qi was gradually condensing again. Opening his eyes, he happily said, Try again, I seem to be able to gather my qi. The two boys sat on chairs, closed their eyes and circted their energy. Half a dayter their skin emitted hot perspiration, which smell a little bit like medicine. They had never imagined that they would be this formidable; unexpectedly they could even discharge the poison from their body. While they were rejoicing inwardly, the iron door opened. The instant the two boys heard the lock, they immediately wiped the perspiration from their head and face, exchanged an eye signal, and pretended to look dejected, but inwardly they were in full alert. The iing person was, surprisingly, the one with beauty like a fairy, but the heart as poisonous as snakes and scorpions, Shen Luoyan. She was smiling coquettishly as she came in and walked over to the two boys. Bowing with cupped fist she said, Two Gongzi, how are you? Kou Zhong took a furtive look behind her; seeing there was only someone who looked like a city gate guard, he was relieved. Why are you harming us? he asked hatefully, If you are a heroine[1],e and have a fair fight with us. With flowery face and tender voice Shen Luoyan said, I only want you to be a bit quieter! However, one day I dont give you the antidote, two Gongzi may forget being as naughty and active as before. But you must not me me, Jiejie only received Duke Mis order, we must guard against anybody suspicious, thats all. [Trantors note: in this entire conversation, she was referring herself as renjia, basically means other people.] Xu Ziling angrily said, Dont you know that we are you Da Longtous precious daughters honored guests? Calm and unfazed by the usation, Shen Luoyan said, Naturally I do. Right now the city of Xingyang has be my, this bad woman, responsibility to administer. Were it not for reading the file that Zhai Jiao girl submitted to apply for pass you you, I would not have known that two Gongzi have honored us with your presence. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Are you really dying to get married? Alright, let me take you, beautiful b1tch as my wife! Shen Luoyans beautiful eyes flickered with murderous intent, which quickly died down. After carefully sizing up Kou Zhong for half a day, also examined Xu Ziling carefully, she smiled and said, Long time no see, you have made a little bit of progress, but it will still be difficult for me, Shen Luoyan, to have you in my eyes. You are very good at adapting to circumstances, if you are willing to obediently tell me the whereabouts of the Duke Yang Treasure, I will let you go immediately. Otherwise, I will have to kill you, once for all, so that no one will be kept in suspense. Xu Ziling forced aughter and said, I thought you were a bit more special; in the end it is still greed at y. Shen Luoyan sighed silently. The two boys knew that the time she was going to make her move was at hand; they quickly focused their mind and spirit in full alert. Right this moment, a feminine voice scolded from outside the room, Who dares to stop me, Zhai Jiao? Shen Luoyans countenance changed slightly. It looked like she was going to make her move to kill the two boys, but then she immediately withdrew to the side. Someone stormed in, a woman, who was thick and solid like men, who waspletely different from the image of the Miss that the two boys had in mind, who was wearing colorful clothes, suddenly appeared in the room, followed by indignant-looking Susu. Shen Luoyan saluted and said, Good morning Miss! Zhao Jiao, who did not look delicate at all [jiao means tender/delicate/frail], glowered at her with her round, copper-bell like eyes. Shen Junshi still considers me Miss? she said, I told you yesterday that I want to see these two boys; why are you still unwilling to let them go until this morning? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling turned as dumb as wooden chicken; they stared nkly at this Miss, who did not have the slightest womanly vor. Actually, she could be considered as having regr features; only her cheekbones were too high and round, her hair thick and her eyebrows coarse, her waist straight and her body sturdy, so that although she was wearing makeups, she looked nondescript [orig. neither fish nor fowl], enough to give a man who look at her nausea. On the outside, Shen Luoyan appeared did not dare to defy her. Smiling apologetically, she said, As per our usual practice, Luoyan only wanted to cross-examine them! Miss may take them right now, the pass will be delivered to Misster. This time around the two boys were greatly amazed. How could Shen Luoyan be this agreeable? Zhai Jiao maintained her reputation; she barked her order at the two boys, You, these two ves, have not quickly crawled out to follow me, do you want to be locked up in here forever? Looking at the smirking Shen Luoyan, and the apologetic and pleading expression on their good older sister Susus face, what could the two boys say? Without any choice they smiled wryly and crawled out of the room. They still heard Shen Luoyans voice giving them warning, Dont ever say that I drugged you, I would never admit it; I would kill you instead. [1] Hero C heroine. Orig. Chinese only have word for hero, ying xiong, ying C brave, xiong C male, could be used both for humans and animals. Here Kou Zhong said ying ci, ci C female, counterpart of xiong. Book 4 - 7 – Learning The Art of Taking Refuge Book 4 Chapter 7 C Learning The Art of Taking Refuge The big boss mansion was situated in the center of Xingyangs inner city. Previously it was the official residence of the governor in charge of the city. After it fell into Zhai Rangs hands, he built extension to the building. The originally magnificent mansion house now became even more spectacr. Xingyang was located south of the stream crossing the Grand Canal, along the canal connecting thend west of the Yellow River, passing Ho [lit. Tiger Cage] and Yanshi, two cities, and continued on to the Eastern Capital Luoyang,prising of several major water ways; therefore, Wagang Army was able to grow their roots and establish their foundation here, posing a significant threat to the Sui dynasty. If the Eastern Capital fell, not only it would cut off the waterway link between the west side of the Capital and the East, psychologically the victor would also be able to leap to the throne over the numerous militias and overlords all over the world [tian xia, i.e. China]. Due to its strategic geographical position, Xingyang has be the transit center of Yellow Rivers Grand Canal and other rivers, also an unavoidable fast horse ry station of past dynasties; for this reason, ever since Spring and Autumn, the Warring States period, it has been exceptionally thriving. In term of east-west waterborne transport center, its importance was second only to Luoyang. Even in this chaotic time of war, Xingyang remained unusually prosperous. Along the street section from the southern gate to the Big Boss Mansion, grain retailers, oil mill, grocery stores and restaurants stood in great numbers, their doors were interlinking with each other. The streets were exceptionally wide and could amodate ten horses running side by side; the exact ambience of big town, big city. Xingyang and the nearby Xingze along the Grand Canal, one was primary, the other one secondary; these two cities were practically one. If Xingzes pier were of the same scale as Xingyang, it would also be the shipping and distribution center, plus Xingyang was transit center for southern ships and northern horses, as well as the goods shipped between the River Wei and the Grand Canal. Both ces were located along a major route, in between was a very long official road, the houses and stores on either side of the road were linked together, became a major feature of this city. From time to time, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling saw towering temples and pagodas, tall buildings and big houses. They mused that no wonder Wagang Army wanted to seize this big city to be their base of operation. After they arrived at the big boss mansion, Susu led them to have a bath and change their clothes; she also repeatedly urged them to abide by the rules before taking them to the hall of Zhai Jiaosdy chamber to see this arrogant Miss. The two boys saw the reverent and respectful expression on Susus face, as she bowed humbly andplied fully with the courtesy, and stood with both hands hung down in front of the big miss of the Zhai family who was sitting on the host seat on a raised pedestal; just like a prisoner under interrogation. After barking her order to the servant girls and old servants on her left and right to withdraw, which included even Susu, Zhao Jiao stared coldly at the two boys for quite a while, without any intention of asking them to sit down at all. While the two boys were cursing her in their heart, Zhao Jiao said, Tell me again. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly and took a deep breath, and then he vividly narrated what happened that day to her. Afterwards he asked, I wonder where Miss was at that time? Zhai Jiao barked with her hoarse voice, Right now I am asking you, or are you asking me? Kou Zhong was speechless; he did not know how to respond. Xu Ziling was angry too. May I ask Miss, is Da Longtou in? he asked. Zhai Jiao pped the small table by her side, she roared, What a brazen ve material! Are you deaf? Always speaking unnecessary words; perhaps you want me to give you a beating before you are willing to behave yourselves. [Trantors note: ve material ū nu cai, nu C ve, cai C material. During Deer and Cauldron project, the word wasū nu cai C ve. I dont know whether the text is incorrect or Huang Yi intentionally usedū instead ofū. Unless somebody could verify for me, I will use the literal trantion: ve material.] Kou and Xu, two boys looked at each other in astonishment. They brought this important and very useful information, who would have thought that they were considered ve material this and ve material that, and each time she opened her mouth she was shouting about beating and killing? Seeing the two boys finally kept quiet out of fear, Zhai Jiao started to feel satisfied. Pointing to Xu Ziling, she said, You look a bit honest, you tell me. Suppressing his anger, Xu Ziling said in low voice, Please inquire, Miss. Zhai Jiaos expression rxed slightly; she nodded and said, How did you climb up the beam? Based on Dies martial art skill, how could he not know that you were hiding there? Moreover, based on Dies martial art skill, even if someone was hiding in the chest wanting to mount a sneak attack on him, it is unlikely that he would seed. Ill say Die did not look like he received any injury at all; that man covered in Buddhist monks robe mustnt be my Die. Kou Zhong was stunned. This matter is very easy to confirm, he said, As long as Miss asks Da Longtou, wont everything be clear? Zhai Jiao roared, Shut up! Who allowed you to talk? Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, I was just going to say the same thing. Find Da Longtou, one question, and the whole truth will be revealed. Zhai Jiaos plump, but not exquisitely shaped huge breasts, which looked like inted protrusion on her chest, heaved violently up and down several times; her big eyes glowered at them as she said, I will deal properly with this matter; you stay here, wait for Die to be back. Xu Ziling knitted his eyebrows and said, How long must we wait? Zhao Jiao was a bit gentler toward Xu Ziling; unexpectedly she was willing to answer, Ten days, eight days, nobody can tell. What can you do? I cannot feed you for free. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other. This Big Miss of the Zhai family, whom Susu said that her temper was not good, but her character was very good, did indeed treat them as ve materials who came to seek shelter to her. Kou Zhong tested her, Excuse me, Miss, may I talk now? Zhai Jiao seemed to particrly loathe Kou Zhong; she impatiently said, Speak quickly. Kou Zhong pressed on, Is it possible for us to rest for several days, and well decide on what kind of work we do after Da Longtou returns? Zhai Jiao replied crossly, I wish I had known earlier that you are azy guy. Was the restst night not enough? Whenever the kitchencks manpower, you go there to help. Remember, you are not allowed to tell anybody about this matter; otherwise I will chop your head. Kou and Xu, two boys did not know whether they should cry orugh. Right there and then they decided that they must persuade Susu to leave with them. At the kitchen, the two boys moving and lifting, chopping melon and slicing meat, washing the dishes and tes, and were very busy in general untilte at night before they could return to rest in the small room for the workers. While they sighing in despair, Susu came. Apologetically she said, I dont understand either, why Miss treats you this bad. But my two good brothers [didi, younger brother], please bear with it for a while. When Da Longtou returns, everything will be different. Kou Zhong tried to analyze the situation, I think she is annoyed that we unmasked the fact that she was abducted. She is the kind of person who puts emphasis on saving her face; naturally she is not happy. Susu was displeased, Can you not talk abut her like that? she said. Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said, Now your Miss is clear about the whole thing, Jiejie has also fulfilled your obligation, it would be better if we leave immediately, go to Luoyang to find Li Dage. Susus pretty face changed slightly; she shook her head helplessly. Kou Zhong was confused, Could it be that Susu Jie does not miss Li Dage? Biting her lip, Susu said in small voice, Even if I do, whats the use? Hearing that, the two boys heart sank. Could it be that this divine woman had the heart, but in his rush to be a ruler Li Jing did not have the dream? Susu looked at the two boys distressingly for a moment, and then she said with a hollowugh, Your Li Dages ambition is higher than the sky, he does not have any care about boy-girl feeling; I plead you from now on not to put he and I together, is that alright? Besides, I basically am unworthy of him. The two boys were left speechless, they both felt sorry for her, although they did not understand why she thought that she was unworthy. Susu changed the subject; she smiled and said, You have not had the opportunity to tell Jiejie your encounters after we parted; why dont you let Jiejie listen? It was just like the two boys have just met the only family they had in this whole wide world; chatting andughing they narrated their experience this past year or so. Susus pretty face blushed slightly as she said, Two Didi are so bad; all day long the only thing in your mind is visiting brothels. Xu Ziling did not expect that after telling her about all kinds of exciting and dangerous adventures, the only thing Susu noticed was this aspect. Feeling terribly wronged, he said, It was Kou Zhongs idea, I was only forced to follow him. Embarrassed, Kou Zhongughed awkwardly, You, this guy, only know how to put the me on me; you yourself dont have that desire? Susus pretty face turned even redder; she irately said, Stop it! All men are like that. The two boys looked at her in astonishment. Susu lowered her pretty face, suddenly she spoke in mosquito-like voice, Do you want Jiejie to serve you? Xu Ziling was greatly shaken, Susu Jie! he gasped. Susu distressingly said, Jiejie already apanied other men, and you are not my flesh and blood Didi, so whats the problem? Kou Zhongs countenance changed, How could Jiejie be good with other men? Li Dage ... hey ... Big drops of tears rolled down from Susus elegant eyes; hanging her head low she said, Jiejie is only a servant, masters order, I must obey; how can I make decision for myself? Chapter 7, Part 2 Jaya, Anh, Ysabel, HPC, Xanius, you are wee. George, thanks. Sky, what Shirak and Drax said ... Apu, poor Susu because the plot thickens? Chapter 7 is rather long, Ill try to post the rest Friday. The two boys suddenly understood; righteous indignation immediately filled their breasts! Kou Zhong stood up suddenly, he cursed, Ill go staking my life against that b1tch. Horrified, Susu pulled him back and cried out in grief, It has nothing to do with Miss! With eyes shooting mes Xu Ziling said, Then who did it? Susu forced Kou Zhong back into his chair first before speaking with a sob, That time Miss has not returned yet, Laoye was entertaining his subordinates in the mansion, Duke Mi also came. That night I came out to serve, someone asked for me from Laoye. Laoye agreed ... Speaking to this point, her sob turned into silent tears. The two boys were seething in anger, but when they asked that mans name and surname, Susu was unwilling to tell them. Quite a whileter, the three peoples emotion cooled down a little bit. Must be Li Mi, that son of a b1tch, Kou Zhong angrily said, Let us go and stake our lives against him. Susus countenance changed, It wasnt him! she said. Xu Ziling probed her, If you dont tell us, well just assume it was him. Old fellow Zhai is not a good man either. Susu anxiously said, Laoye had no choice either; since the great victory over Xingyang, everybody said the greatest meritorious service belonged to Duke Mi, the fame of Duke of Pushan soared even higher. Ay, I am not supposed to tell you. Gnashing his teeth in anger Kou Zhong said, If we had known, Susu Jie shouldnte back here. Susu wiped the tears using the corner of her sleeve, she forced a faint pained smile as she said in low voice, Now you know why Jiejie didnt want to see Li Dage again. Besides, he regarded me as his little sister. After that matter happened, Jiejie did not wish to live anymore, but I always felt that you are always lucky and under Heavens care, so I bore humiliation, hoping that there woulde a day when I see you again. And now my wish is fulfilled. Xu Ziling seriously said, Susu Jie must never have any thought of suicide. We are leaving tonight. As long as we can find some kind of hook and rope, we can bring Jiejie out. Afterwards we sister and brothers will not part anymore. Susu simply shook her head. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Why is Jiejie still reluctant to leave? Is it ... hey ... Dont make random guess, Susu firmly said, I really wish to tear that traitor into ten thousand pieces, but I am thinking of Miss kindness. Ay, how about this? After Laoye is back, and everything is made clear, Jiejie will entirely listen to your thought. Xu Ziling did not have any mood to stay; he resolutely said, As soon as Zhai Rang hear it, he will immediately know whether this matter is true or bogus, there is no point in us staying here. If Jiejie is determined to follow us, tomorrow we will slip out of the mansion to procure the tools to escape. Well leave in the dark. The most critical thing is that we must avoid Shen womans eyes and ears, Kou Zhong added. Under the two boys expectant eyes, finally Susu nodded her head. Zhai familys maids, servants, odd-job workers, guards, etc. numbered as much as around three hundred. Zhai Rang only had one daughter. His first wife died about two years ago. In Zhai Rangs absence, Zhai Jiao was in charge. Zhai Rang had three concubines, but none of them dared to provoke Zhai Jiao, this female overlord; thereupon Zhai Jiao, one person, ended up monopolizing the affairs within the Mansion. In Zhai Mansion, because Susu was Zhai Jiaos personal maid, although she did not like to stick her head in the mansions affairs, but most people were more or less looking at her face and thus treated Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling well. As a matter of fact, by this time the two boys were even taller, robust and magnificentpared to those mansion guards. Their eyes lively and showed their quick-witted, no servants in the mansion dared to provoke them. But because Zhai Jiao was deliberately tormenting them, the two boys job was heavy work of cleaning and other low-grade work in the kitchen. Naturally nobody dared to change this arrangement. Since before dawn the two boys had been called to work and continued on until the kitchen finished preparing and serving breakfast. After being busy for two sichen [i.e. 4 hours] the two boys finally found the opportunity to slip out of the kitchen. Kou Zhongughed and said, While washing the dishes, I did my best to practice. I never knew it could be so rxing. Xu Ziling was also very pleased of himself; he said, These past few days whenever I circted the true qi within my body, more and more I was able to hear random things. Try it, send your true qi to the acupoint on your eardrums, we can even hear very clearly people far away gossiping about us in low voices. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, I will definitely try as soon as we go back, right now shopping is more important, this Da Longwan Fu [big dragon stupid mansion] is lifeless, its not suitable for us to stay for a long time. Xu Ziling wrapped his arm around Kou Zhongs shoulder as they strode toward the front courtyard. He sighed and said, When I think about our Big Miss, everything came to a halt, I just want to leave quickly. The two boys were wearing servant attire in which they worked, not only their clothes were stained with grease and patches of sshing water, their heads, hairs, hands and faces were not spared either. In fact, they did not look any better than when they were still in Yangzhou. Kou Zhong proudly said, That so-called uncle manager or big kitchen manager or what have you, I saw his technique in cooking dishes and seasoning;ing and going, he only uses several tricks, so I knew that the dishes he is preparing will all taste the same. If we brothers are in charge of his mothers cooking, I guarantee that those Madame and Miss saliva will run over. By the time he finished talking, they have not crossed the wall surrounding the mansion yet, suddenly a cold snorting from the front. At this point they were still walking along the corridor by the mansion, heading toward therge square in front of the mansion. Three mansion guards appeared from nowhere and blocked their way. The leader was one named Zhang Li, Susu has introduced them to him, hence they recognized him. This time he was confronting them arrogantly. The two boys halted their steps and asked in surprise, Whats the matter? Zhang Li stood with his hands akimbo; casting a sidelong nce toward the two boys, he said, Didnt anybody tell you? Inner mansions servants are not allowed to go to the front mansion. Not abiding by the rules so soon, are we? Kou Zhong tried his luck; heughed and said, We are not going to the front mansion at all, we are going to the street. The other mansion guard said, Who sent you to go outside? Kou Zhongs finger rubbed his own nose; he said, Me. Zhang Li snapped, Go back quickly. Without her order, you are not allowed to leave the mansions door even for half a step. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, This is the greatest joke. We are not prisoners, at most we only skip work. We insist on leaving. Zhang Li and the others, three men, immediately appeared angry. One of them thundered, How dare you? Are you tired of living? Kou Zhong giggled and said, This brother of mine is bad-tempered, three Dashu [great uncles] Daren [title of respect toward superiors] are Daliang [magnanimous], please forgive us this time. Pulling Xu Ziling along he turned around and left. He spoke in low voice, Hero will not suffer loss frontally. If the entire Zhai mansion guards surround us, we, the two newly emerged martial art masters, will immediately fall from glory. And then he added, Just now I tried the skill you told me about, focusing my energy on the ears, instantly I was able to hear soft even breathing, as if it was not there, from inside the main hall. This person is a lot more formidable than Zhang Li and those abysmal characters. Evidently he is the real martial art master in the mansion. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Ol Zhai is afraid his beloved daughter will be abducted again, naturally he dispatched martial art experts to protect her. Are we going back to our room to sleep now? With an air ofcency Kou Zhong said, If the front door is impassable, well take the back door, and well leave immediately. People like Zhang Li and those lowly figures, it would be strange indeed if they dont sow discord by telling that female overlord. Therefore, after we buy our stuffs, we must hide it well inside the mansion, so that that evil woman will not snatch it to be her own mother monkey climbing the tree training tool. Ha! The two boys walked over the gravel path connecting the front and rear courtyards. A pack of five, six good-looking maids were walking directly toward them. Seeing the two boys, their eyes lit up. The bold ones even raised their eyebrows and made eyes with them, with a hint of smile at the corner of their mouth. Although these maids were only slightly good-looking, they have given a big boost to the two boys confidence of their own sex appeal, making the two boys felt like they were walking on air. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Too bad we are going to slip away tonight. Otherwise we may not need to go to the pleasure house to shed this litter-of-the-nest, green-head status. Xu Ziling admonished him, Those are daughters of decent families, if we spoil them, we may not be able to feed them far and wide, and then we will be bored to death. Kou Zhong was shaken. I have not thought about that aspect, he said, Looks like going to the pleasure house is more direct and efficient. Ay, but after this there will be Susu Jie watching on the side. On a lot of things we must be a bit more careful. In the meantime they have reached the big flower garden at the back of the mansion. Water was flowing in the little creek, thendscape was in good taste. Two good-looking maids were pruning the flowers and nts. Seeing the two boysing, they whispered to each other and their pretty eyes stole a nce at them, a nce heavy with desire. However, the two boys could only avert their eyes as they walked straight pass them. When the back door was in sight, they saw a middle age man wearing grey clothes was sitting quietly on a stone bench in the little pavilion on their left. The man was smoking pipe leisurely, swallowing clouds and blowing out fog, seemingly oblivious of these two boys. The two boys did not give him any thought either; but as they were about to push the door and go out, the man in grey suddenly called out, Two Xiao Xiongdi, pleasee here and speak a few words with me. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they knew something was not right, yet they did not have any idea how to deal with it, hence they could only brace themselves and walk over to the pavilion. Chapter 7, Part 3 Laoren, actually, you and Apu are right, poor Susu ... HPC, Jaya, Ysabel, Sky, Drax, Ari, Komeng, Critical, you are wee. DongBin, LOL. One, I still have my lunch break, two, I still have to take my kids to swim ss, three, it is not as hectic as thest couple of weeks. Funny as it is, I have more time tranting during the week than in the weekends. Bocah, not yet ... The man in grey looked ordinary, but his bones and joints looked thick and solid, hisplexion carried a strange red-purple aura, his eyes looked lively but also looked dull at the same time. He was indeed a profound mystery. The two boys remembered seeing him in the mansion from a distance, and the other people were very respectful toward him, but they did not know his status. With his pipe he pointed to the two stone blocks across the stone table from where he sat, and said, Please have a seat. The two boys had no choice but to sit facing him. The man in grey smiled and said, I am Tu Shufang, the Longtou Mansions zongguan [chief manager]; my specific responsibility is the security of the mansion. I wonder where are two Xiao Xiongdi going? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Just want to slip away to the street to roam around! Ever since we arrived at Xingyang, we havent had a chance to look around, its too bad. Tu Shufang nodded, That is only natural, he said, But Missmanded that if two Xiao Xiongdi did not have any urgent matter to attend to, it would be best if you dont leave Longtou Mansion, everything can be discussed when Longtou Laoda is back. Xu Zilings temper red, Wont that mean we are prisoners here? Tu Shufang sighed, We dont have any choice in this matter either, he said, and then continued, May I ask what animosity two gentlemen have against Shen Luoyan? The two boys were shaken; they inwardly med themselves for being muddleheaded and have not given any thought that Shen Luoyan would surely keep her tiger-eyes on them, and that Longtou Mansion was actually the only safe ce for them. Kou Zhong did not answer, but asked a question instead, Did Miss ever tell Zongguan why we came here? Tu Shufangs eyes were gleaming with lively ray, showing his consummate profound internal energy. He fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong for half a day before speaking in heavy tone, When Miss told the Ol Tu to inquire two Xiao Xiongdis affair, she only said I must protect you with all my strength. Naturally Ol Tu must follow the order. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, How long has Zongguan been with Da Longtou? Tu Shufang also replied in low voice, Two gentlemen please feel free to speak up, since whenever Da Longtou has something in his mind, he wont conceal it from me either. Kou Zhong was not convinced yet. He asked, What had happened to Miss recently, is Zongguan clear about that? Tu Shufangs countenance showed a trace of fear. It was quite a whileter that he finally said, Naturally I am clear, but I wonder which matter the two gentlemen were referring to? Xu Ziling said, Naturally it is concerning Miss traveling outside. Miss told us not to tell anyone, will Zongguan have the guts to hear it? Tu Shufang threw his head back and let out a longughter, his bearing looked heroic and imposing; he said nonchntly, You have guts to speak up, I will have the guts to listen. Seeing he did not have the ve mentality, the two boys impression on him improved by leaps and bounds, so why would they take Zhai Jiaos warning to heart? Thereupon they told him first about their encounter with Susu, and then they narrated in detail what had happened in the abandoned vige. When they finished, Tu Shufangs countenance turned extremely unsightly. It was quite a while before Tu Shufangs countenance returned to normal. He asked in amazement, In that case, two Xiao Xiongdi must have possessed divine skill; otherwise, how could you hide on the beam, and could evade those peoples eyes and ears? On the surface, although two gentlemen have lofty physiques, your waist and steps steady, and you are calm andposed, your eyes do not reveal inner gleam; could it be that you have reached the unpolished gem returns to the truth boundary instead? Kou Zhong knew that although he spoke politely, the bottom line was that he doubted the authenticity of their tale. He calmly replied, That is because our internal energy departs from the usual path, it differs greatly from martial art skill in general. If you dont believe me there is no harm in testing us. Tu Shufang held out his hand and said with a smile, In that case lets just shake hands! Kou Zhong gulped. Although he agreed to also reach out and shake his hand, he still said, You must not apply a heavy hand! Tu Shufang smiled mischievously and said, Of course! while applying his strength at the same time. At first Kou Zhong felt that the opponents hand suddenly turned into an iron hoop, which was continuously tightening up; when his finger bones were about to crack, the true qi inside his body automatically flowed through his wrist. Although he still felt severe pain, he was able to endure it. Tu Shufang was shocked. Xiao Xiongdis internal strength is indeed unusually strange; it seems to exist but not there either. It is deep and unmeasurable. For the first time the two boys received an assessment from a martial art master; they were greatly delighted. Tu Shufang consecutively sent his strength to break the opponents true qi, but each time it was neutralized by Kou Zhong. Finally he let go and said, Ol Tu believes. But then he frowned and asked, Based on your skill, why are you willing to stay in the kitchen and receive such maltreatment? Xu Ziling said with a bitterugh, What can we do? Its Miss order. Tu Shufang pondered for half a day, and then he shook his head and said, But Da Longtou did not look the least bit like he suffered internal injury. What actually happened here? Kou Zhong said, Did Miss really get abducted and taken away,ter on Zu Junyan pretended to rescue her and bring her back? That is correct, Tu Shufang replied, But in the Mansion, other than the Ol Tu, nobody else knew about it. This is no small matter, presently I can only be regarded as not knowing. Everything has to wait for Da Longtous return and then let him decide. Seeing him this sensible, Xu Ziling let out a breath of relief, So we can go out and roam around? he asked. Tu Shufang shook his head, You cant go out even more, he said, Right now Shen Luoyan stationed her men outside; the Mansion is under close surveince. I dare not report this matter to Miss, afraid that she might create a disturbance; thats why I hope Da Longtou woulde back soon. Recalling Shen Luoyans ruthlessness, how could the two boys still dare to swagger out to buy the tools they were going to use to flee? Where is Da Longtou? Kou Zhong casually asked. Seeing that the two boys bared their soul to him, plus they were still na?ve, candid and lovely, Tu Shufang felt some indescribable feeling welling up in his heart. He replied, Da Longtou and Duke Mi are going on an all-out effort to attack Xingluo Storehouse. If we win this battle, the muddleheaded rulers days are numbered. Kou Zhong scratched his head and asked, What kind of storehouse is Xingluo Storehouse anyway? Why is it so important? Tu Shufang patiently exined, Xingluo Storehouse is located east of Luoyang, at the mouth of River Luo west of Xingyang, which is the confluence of the Canal and the Yellow River. The storehouse city wall epasses twenty-something li, incorporating three thousand big cers, each cer contains eight thousand dan [dry measure of grain, approx. 100 liters/28 bushels]. If we can obtain such storehouse, our Wagang Army need not worry that we wont have enough army provisions for the next ten years. Xu Ziling was puzzled. Is the Sui Dynasty that stupid? he asked, Why would they set up such a clear target for others to attack? Tu Shufang let out a hollowugh; he said, When they set up the storehouse, how could they know that such a day woulde? In those days, the primary objective of setting up such storehouse was to collect rice grain taxation to supply the imperial court. You should know that when Emperor Wen established Changan [modern day Xian], oftentimes the Guanzhong in [Shaanxi, valley of River Wei] did not produce enough crops to supply the demand of the Capital. Transporting the grains from the east one must take the dangerous and difficult path of Sanmenxia [lit. three-gate gorge], plus it was time-consuming and effort-heavy. After this big granary was built, the Capital was able to maintain the stability of grain supply. Kou Zhong was distressed. In that case, he said, Nobody knows when Da Longtou will being back; wont that mean that we will still have to continue chopping firewood, fetching water, washing the dishes and mopping the floor every day? Tu Shufangughed. Thats easy, he said, Let me talk it over with Miss. Forck of better option, the two boys helplessly agreed. Besides, on further thought they still had Susu to apany them, plus they could take this opportunity to secretly train their martial art. After all, this Big Boss Mansion could still be considered as a cozy refuge. Thinking to this point, they were even more relieved. Beating the snake following the stick [see Book 3, Chapter 3], Kou Zhong said, Apart from our internal energy, which appears a bit decent, our punching and kicking skill is only so-so. I wonder if Zongguan would mind giving us a bit of pointers. Tu Shufang dly said, Because of your honest humility, you can consider this time you found the right person. Considering I have heard the news that you upheld justice in faraway ces, also you have saved Susu, I cannot be stingy. Let me pass on to you the skill that I am most proud of, the Twelve-hand Qinna [grab and capture, grappling technique] Meridian-severing Technique. Lets see if it will be useful for you. In great delight the two boys immediately bowed with cupped fist to express their gratitude. This moment, even if someone chased them away with a stick, they would definitely refuse to leave. Book 4 - 8 – Bird Inside The Cage Book 4 Chapter 8 C Bird Inside The Cage Indeed other than Zhai Jiao, Tu Shufang was the most influential person in the Longtou Mansion. That very same day they were excused from the drudgery of the kitchen work, and their amodation was also upgraded to the guards living quarters at the inner courtyard, where each person had a spacious bed to sleep on. For the past many years, the two boys have been sitting and lying down together like form and shadow; momentarily they felt unustomed to it, but they also felt it was a novel experience. Whenever Susu had spare time, she would visit them, she also sewed new clothes for them. The sister-brother feeling grew even deeper as they lived happily together. Tu Shufang grew fond of the boys as well; he unreservedly passed on his most exquisite skill of Twelve-hand Qinna Meridian-severing Technique, he even gave them pointers in their other martial arts. Tu Shufang was able to be the Longtou Mansions Zongguan, certainly it was not by luck at all. In Jianghu, he was an all-powerful figure [orig. rebuke the Heaven and Earth]. Within the Wagang Army, in term of martial art skill he ranked under Zhai Rang, Li Mi and Wang Bo. Receiving this kind of martial art masters direction, naturally the two boys skill advanced by leaps and bounds. When this great Tu Shufang taught them acupoint sealing technique, he said, Everybodys arteries, veins and qi are like the lines on our palms, no two are alike. Also, following the time of the day, the weather, different air cirction, the timing must be flexible, the response adaptable, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve the desired effect. Thats easy, Kou Zhong cheerfully said, As long as we send a stream of true qi first, and the mind following the qi, we can sense what is true and what is false. Tu Shufang was shaken, Mind following qi? he said, Are you saying that after the true qi enters someone elses body you can still interact with the condition of that stream of true qi? Xu Ziling nodded, Exactly, he said, We always do it that way, its really fun! With an incredulous expression on his face Tu Shufang said, That kind of realm, I am afraid even Da Longtou is not able to achieve. Could it be that Secret to Long Life is really that formidable? After spending time together for several days, Kou and Xu already told him what happened in the past, hence he was clear about the origin of the two boys martial art. Kou Zhong said excitedly, Even that chicken freak Yuwen Wudi was beaten by us that he covered his head and sneaked away like a rat. Turns out our internal energy is so unusual. Tu Shufang said in shock, You mean Yuwen Wudi of the Yuwen n? This part they have yet to tell Tu Shufang, hence they told him what happened. Tu Shufang shook his head and sighed, Over time, perhaps the two of you will be added to Ning Daoqis rank. When I learned Twelve-hand Qinna Meridian-severing Technique from Enshi [benevolent master], I had to train hard for three years before making a small progress. You only learned it for three days and already have clear and logical understanding; the only thingcking is maturity. If I am telling it to others, nobody would believe me. Kou Zhong was about to speak, one of the underlings came to report that Shen Luoyan wanted to see them. Tu Shufang was already aware of their conflict with Shen Luoyan; he said, Even if she had gargantuan guts, she would not dare to behave atrociously in here. Let mee with you, I want to see what kind of trick she is going to y against you. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had their own difficulty, because they had not told Tu Shufang the matter concerning Duke Yang Treasure; naturally they were afraid Shen Luoyang might bring it up. Thereupon Kou Zhong said, We are not afraid of her. Let us deal with her alone. Tu Shufang thought that he was showing off, hence he did not insist. The two boys went to the main hall and saw Shen Luoyan was enjoying a pot of indoor nt. It was the first time that the two boys set foot on this main hall, which Wagang Army considered Main Conference Hall. The lobby of this leaders mansion was magnificent and extravagant. Theyout was set ording to seat on the north facing south, three pirs seven beams, resting-on-the-mountain style, which was heavy with meaning and symbolism. The hall was furnished with primarily red wood furniture, the four walls were filled with famous paintings. Six octagonal pcenterns were hanging from the beam; rich, beautiful, and elegant. Most impressive of all, beyond the rectangr window that all four sides were highly decorated, one could see the hundred years old tree and the dancing and swaying bamboo grove outside, along with the autumn sun, which shone its light into the hall, resembling the nature itself. It was in this mesmerizing scenery that this beautiful Shen Luoyan, wearing her charming face barely hidden behind a fashionable veiled hat, appeared before the two boys. From their angle of view, the veil at back of the hat hung down to her waist, the skirt of the hat drooped down over her arms and was open, trailing over her shoulders, greatly amplifying the elegance silhouette of her back and shoulders. Watching all of these, the two boys momentarily could only stare nkly. Shen Luoyan slowly turned around, with sweet, enthralling smile she said, I came to make peace with you! Hearing this, the two boys looked at each other. If this b1tch was really willing to make peace, that means the sun could also rise from the west. Kou Zhong smirked and said, And the condition? Shen Luoyan lightly took jade steps, lithely and with ir went over to the two boys. It was only then did they find out that her clothes was rather revealing. It was an embroidered butterfly gown with round neck and narrow, straight sleeve, reaching down toward her feet. The line and pattern were delicate, the color simple yet elegant; but the neckline was low, almost reaching to her cleavage, exposing her fully rounded, milky white breasts. Noticing the two boys stare was dead centered her silky bosom, she was greatly displeased, How can you be this rude, staring on certain ce on my body? Glug! Kou Zhong swallowed his saliva; having difficulty breathing, he said, Clearly it was you who came here to seduce us; just consider us surrendering to you. All right, Ill take you as my wife for the night. Shen Luoyan cast him a sidelong nce and said, A woman cannot have two husbands, which one of you should I marry? Xu Ziling was more clear-headed; he cautiously said, Are you thinking of driving a wedge between us, brothers? Shen Luoyan forced a smiled and said, Is the brotherly feeling between you that weak? Ay! I am not here to ther with you; back to the topic: may I ask, do you want these two antidotes? Spreading her jade palm, she showed two light green pills, which, in the two boys eyes, looked dazzling. Kou Zhong recalled that they had already fallen into her trap once, he was on alert inwardly. He smiled and said, How do we know this is not piercing intestine poison? And then when we get to the Yellow Springs, you would jeer at us. Shen Luoyan returned the pills into her bosom. Nonchntly she said, If you dont want it, then lets forget about it. Just dont say that I, Shen Luoyan, did not remember you. Those who took strength-scattering drug and did not take the antidote within ten days will be useless people who cannot train internal energy forever. At that time, dont you regret it! Seeing her coy smile and flirtatious manner, Xu Ziling knew clearly that her words were iparably sinister; anger arose in his heart, Even if we die, we wont need people like you to feel sorry for us. Shen Luoyan pretended to be surprised, Why do you treat me like you have ten grievances and nine animosities against me? Whatever Luoyan did, I do it all for the sake of Wagang Army. Since you sincerely want to rely on Da Longtous help, we are on the same side; we ought to make peace now! Kou Zhong sneered and said, You just did it all for your Pushan whatever Duke Mi. Ha! You still want us to have a good impression on you? Just likest time, not only we helped you breaking Qin Shubaos heavy siege, we helped you turned defeat into victory. Those many different kinds of favor, you repeatedly harmed us in return. Now I have thought it through, I dont want you, this b1tch, to apany me even for one night! Shen Luoyan did not seem to take any offence at all, she only said crossly, Even though you repeatedly insulted me, I have yet made any move against you, two little demons; are you still saying I dont remember past friendships? All right! En garde! The two boys were startled; they have forgotten all about any moon in the water mental cultivation, and retreated hastily and in fear. Actually, Shen Luoyan did not have any intention to make any move;ughing merrily like quivering flower stems she said, Turns out somebody already neutralized the poison in your body. No wonder you dont want to be seduced. But your experience is really shallow; with only an empty threat others can see through you clearly. The two boys lost too much face; without any choice they had to curse their own uselessness. At the same time they realized that if they were not confused and disoriented by the seduction of her alluring beauty, how could they fail to see whether her move was fake or real? A real martial art master would never be confused by the charm of a woman. Shen Luoyan turned around and walked over toward a redwood table and chairs set on the corner. She sat down, ced her elbows on the table, struck a very charming posture with her hands supporting her chin, and said tenderly, My two Xiao Didi [little younger brother] who want to marry me, sit down! The time to talk hase. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, What makes you think that you can boss us around? Shen Luoyan calmly replied, Does the word someones treasure carry enough weight? Immediately the two boys countenance changed. Just based on this one sentence, they knew that Shen Luoyan had nted a spy in the Big Boss Mansion. Moreover, the spys status could not be low, so that she knew that the two boys have concealed the Duke Yang Treasure matter from the people in the Big Boss Mansion. If this matter leaked out, it would be greatly disadvantageous to the two boys. Worse yet, nobody knew what kind of method Zhai Rang was going to take to deal with them. Helplessly they had to sit across from her. Shen Luoyan rolled her beautiful eyes on the two boys faces for a moment before smiling sweetly and said, If I could pick, I will choose Xiao Ling as my husband, and Xiao Zhong as my lover. Then the two little demons could share nujias cup of soup. [reminder: nujia C female ve, a humble way a woman referring to self.] Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Beautiful must not toy with us, just be direct! In all honesty, even Shen Luoyan herself did not understand why she loved to tease them. All along she had always been showing her proud and arrogant side to men, and that was not a fake disy. But when dealing with these two boys, unwittingly she had the urge to tease and make fun of them in regards of men-women rtionship. Chapter 8, Part 2 Ysabel, Jaya, Komeng, HPC, Weed, Anh, you are wee. Sky, Drax, I dont know ... as of right now, I dont have a good impression on her. She is too ruthless for my taste. Critical, sorry, not yet ... Shen Luoyan sighed and said, Do you understand the present situation? First of all, the people of Da Longtou Mansion do not allow you to leave the mansion even for half a step. Secondly, I may do everything in my power to prevent you from leaving Xingyang. Therefore, although presently you appear to be free and easy, the fact is, you are no more than birds inside the cage; you have absolutely no power to be independent. You dont need to worry about that, Xu Ziling coldly said. Shen Luoyan lowered her voice and said, Right now within the Wagang Army, I am the only one who knew that you have the secret to Duke Yang Treasure in you, but if I reveal it, even Nujia does not know what kind of situation might develop. Just a friendly reminder, Wagang Army has specialists in extracting confession by torture, those experts will not be as polite and fun as I am. If thats the case, Kou Zhong wondered, Why do you still need to be this longwinded? Because, Shen Luoyan replied, I have a favorable impression toward you! I do not wish to see you being tortured that while still alive, you will be reduced to be crippled people. Furthermore, it will also implicate your Su Jie. Although she could be considered Wang Bodangs woman, under that kind of circumstances, even Wang Bodang himself wont shield her. The two boys were greatly shaken; on one hand they knew she had their Achilles hell, on the other hand, now they knew the traitors name who raped and humiliated their Su Jie. Looking at the two boys expression, Shen Luoyan was satisfied. Therefore, she said, It would be best if we can make a fair dealing. My two good Xiao Didi, what do you say? Kou Zhong felt that they had fallen into absolute disadvantageous position, that they were being led by the nose by this concealed dagger within a smile beauty. With a wry smile he said, If we knew where the treasure is hidden, we would have plundered it early on; why would we want to bicker with you in a hopelessly muddled way like a pair of husband and wife? Shen Luoyan shrugged her shoulders and said nonchntly, All right! In that case Ill go see Miss immediately, lets see how she is going to handle you, the two little demons. Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and said, Everything is negotiable. If you want the location of the treasure, we can casually give you one to satisfy your curiosity! Shen Luoyan angrily said, Looks like you absolutely dont know the meaning of regret. Very well! Lets not talk about whether you really dont know or just pretend not to know the location of the treasure, tell me quickly why Miss is so protective of you? And dont tell me that it is as simple as because you rescued her little maid. The two boys immediately felt their scalp grew numbed. Who could tell whether Shen Luoyan was not Zu Junyans aplice? Shen Luoyan straightened her tender body, her beautiful eyes shed with cold rays. Since you arrived here, Miss has deployed a troop division under Da Longtous directmand from outside the city, their number reaches five hundred men. What actually is going on here? By this time the two boys were already fully upied by bemoaning the craftiness of this lovely b1tch; they hurriedly racked their brains to get out of this situation. Kou Zhong rolled his eyes; he was about to concoct some stories when Shen Luoyan said with augh, Are you thinking of lying to me? Right this moment, when the two boys werepletely at a loss of what to say, one of Shen Luoyans underlings rushed in and reported, Our troops have attacked and captured Luoxing [sic] Storehouse [it was Xingluo in the previous chapter]; Duke Mi is sending his order to send reinforcement right away, would Miss please make decision. Shen Luoyan stood up in great delight; she said to the two boys, I have no time to chat nonsense with you right now, plus you cannot leave anyway, so Ill find another day to deal with you, two little demons! Finished speaking she left in a hurry. Recalling that the Big Boss Zhai Rang would soon return, the two boys could not stop their hearts from thumping wildly. Since Zu Junyan was Li Mis trusted aide, would they incite conflict between those two? That evening, Shen Luoyan led the army leaving the city. Almost at the same time, Zhai Jiao also left the city. But Tu Shufang would not reveal her destination; everything seemed to be very mysterious. Without Zhai Jiao, the Zhai Mansion immediately regained its liveliness, everybody seemed to be breathing a bit easier. Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong and Susu, three people ate their dinner together. Soon afterwards, Tu Shufang came in to join them. He asked about Shen Luoyan. Kou Zhong mentioned the part about neutralizing the poison, but he did not say anything about the hidden treasure. By speaking half-truth half-lie like this, Tu Shufang did not suspect anything. He only expressed his great amazement that they were able to force the strength-scattering drug out of their body using their internal energy. But while talking about the capture of Luoxing Storehouse, Tu Shufang actually looked very worried. He sighed and said, The reason we are able to capture Luokou Storehouse this time lies entirely in Duke Mis merit in deploying soldiers and dispatching generals. Although nominally Zhai Ye is the head, in reality the power actually lies in Duke Mis hands. Li Jings analysis remained fresh the three peoples mind, naturally they understood the cause of his concern. Tu Shufang also said, Luokou fell, the imperial court must be shocked. Right now Yang Guang must be thinking of regaining Luokou at all cost by pulling things around. He must have ordered Liu Changgong and Pei Renji, two people to separately deploy their main forces from Luoyang and Ho [tiger cage] to attack our troops at Luokou from two directions. If this battle is won, then we can be considered truly obtain Luoxing Storehouse. Otherwise we will have to return everything, both the capital and the interest. After Tu Shufang left, Kou Zhong spoke in high spirit, Shen Poniang went out to war, Su Jies Big Miss also left and we dont know where she went. If we dont leave now, what are we waiting for? Susu mournfully said, Why dont you two leave by yourselves? Xu Ziling was stunned, That kind of master who regarded you as a gift they could give others at will, why is Su Jie so reluctant to leave? he asked. Susu sobbed and said, Dont say anymore. This is for Miss sake. How could I abandon her and leave in this kind of situation? The two boys were panicked; they busily raised their sleeves to wipe her tears. Kou Zhong gently said, My good Jiejie, please dont cry; well stay with you. Ay! But even if we stay, we wont do you any good. Susu said, After Laoyees back, Jiejie will leave with you! Forck of better option, the two boys could only nod their agreement. Early morning the next day, the two boys woke up and practiced their martial art in the big garden at the rear courtyard, but Tu Shufang did not show up. Due to Tu Shufangs influence, the two boys had full ess to any weapon in the armory. This moment the two boys were in high spirit, they simply took out a bunch of different types of weapons: swords and spears, sabers and halberds, long weapons, short arms, they tried it all, testing all kinds of weapon, and were having a lot of fun. Susu cheered on the side. The three sister and brothers had a happy and warm rtionship. Gradually there were more and more maids and servantsing and going; they did not want to show off too much, plus the boys were scared at the maids passionate looks and coquettish nces, hence they called it a day. After taking a bath they changed into the new clothes Susu sewed for them. In their excitement, they wanted to seize this opportunity to slip away to the streets. Somewhat nervous, the three of them sneaked out via the back door. Once they reached the street, they saw dead leaves covering the road; a deste autumn scenery. Thinking about from the day they first met until today, two years had passed in the blink of an eye, right now Li Jings whereabouts was unknown; they could not help feeling emotional. Amidst the whistling autumn breeze, the three people walked side by side, with Susu holding on to the crook of the two boys arms, strolling along the street. The city of Xingyang was surprisingly thriving. ording to Susu, it was due to Li Mis deep understanding on how to win the peoples hearts; therefore, the people in nearby towns and counties had their hearts attached to them while obtaining Wagang Armys protection. After walking not even half a block, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling became aware of people on their trail. What they were most afraid of was Shen Luoyan, but since they knew she was out of town, there ought to be no one else who could deal with them. Therefore, they did not take it to heart and simply continued walking while joking, talking andughing. In the north, due to heavy influence of non-Han [hu] people, in general men and women were more unrestrained by convention. Therefore, although the three of them were having fun affectionately with each other in public, passers-by did not think it strange. The three of them found a dumpling restaurant, so they sat down and ate and drank as much as they liked. Kou Zhongughed and said, After this well go to cosmetics store, let Su Jie add flowers on brocade [i.e. decorating something that is already perfect], so that she will be more beautiful and alluring, and will pull mens heart even more. Xu Ziling excitedly joined in, And then well go to silk and satin store, so that relying on her pair of magical hands, Su Jie can sew herself a gorgeous new clothes to celebrate the New Year. Susu nodded slightly, but her countenance remained grim. Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong said, Su Jie, please be assured that one day we will ughter this lecherous traitor Wang Bodang so that Jiejie can purge your disgrace and wash away your hatred. Susus flower-like countenance turned pale, How did you know it was him? she asked, You must never mention this matter anymore. Speaking about martial art skill, within Wagang Army, after Laoye and Duke Mi, he ranks next in line. And then she turned sad again and said, This is the fate of a ve servant, Jiejie has to ept the misfortunes as decreed by fate. I forbid you to let your imagination run wild regarding this matter. The two boys remained silent in disappointment. At this point, they suddenly sensed that there was someoneing straight at them from the front door. Kou and Xu turned their gaze toward the approaching person, and were shocked. Turned out it was a Baling Bang member who they once thought had a strong yiqi toward them, the son of the boss of Cuibi Lou of Pengcheng city, Xiang Yushan. Book 4 - 9 – Sincere Collaboration Book 4 Chapter 9 C Sincere Coboration Xiang Yushan still looked like he was notpletely awake yet, the look of a second generation prodigal son with green face and white lips, but his smile was still very much amiable. Without any trace of politeness he simply plopped himself down on a seat, and cheerily said, Meeting old friends in a foreignnd is indeed a real joy in life. And this is ... Kou Zhong had no choice but to introduce, This is our Jiejie. Ever since Xu Ziling found out that he belonged to the notorious Baling Bang who specialized in human trafficking, he truly loathed this person from the bottom of his heart. He said coldly, Since Xiang Xiong is Baling Bang man, it can be said that persons who walk different paths cannot make ns together. Right now we are not even friends, Xiang Xiong please excuse yourself. Listening to this remark, even Susu was confused; she was not clear about the rtionship between Xiang Yushan and these two boys. But Kou Zhong giggled and said, What a coincidence, I wonder if Xiang Xiong has received favor from that Peng Liang Hui s1ut and is thinking of transferring us as your property to her? Xiang Yushan was still a slick and sly man; raising his hands in mock surrender he said, Xu Xiong, Kou Xiong misunderstood me. You misunderstood our humble gang even more. Please let Xiaodi [little younger brother] ... Xu Ziling impatiently cut him off, Could it be that Baling Bang is not in the business of selling human flesh but in selling pork meat? Kou Zhong patted Xiang Yushans shoulder, while with brows raised in delight and eyesughing said, I heard your precious gang is Yang Guang, that fatuous monarchspdog, and here is precisely the Wagang Army territory; if Xiang Xiong does not get out of here, this time it will be our turn to sell you. Xiang Yushan smiled wryly and said, Ever since we got to know each other, other than a bit of misunderstanding, we do not have any grudges. Could it be that two Xiongtai [brother, a polite appetion for a friend of ones age] will not even willing to give Xiaodi a chance to offer an exnation? Noticing that even after receiving a hundred insults from these two boys this man was still humbly stooping down trying to defend himself, Susu could not bear not to speak up, Just give Xiang Gongzi a chance to offer an exnation! Xiang Yushan gratefully said, Jiejie is really good. She is not your Jiejie, Xu Ziling crossly said. While Kou Zhong snapped, Spit it out! [orig. you have fart, let it out] But Xiang Yushan was amazingly patient; unexpectedly he still did not take any offence. Lowering his voice, he said, Within Eight Gangs Ten Societies, our Baling Bang ranks second of the Eight Gangs, our reputation is extremely resounding; however, it was destroyed by some people who are blinded by greed in order for them to curry favor with Yang Guang. Kou Zhong leaned closer to his ear and giggled in a weird way and said, Certainly Xiang Xiongs manner looks just like those blinded by greed people! Not to know whether tough or cry, Xiang Yushan said, Kou Xiong please do not speak sarcastically to Xiaodi. Xu Ziling asked in amazement, People who resort to propriety must have some favor to ask. Since Xiang Xiong submits to humiliation like this, there must be a conspiracy behind this. This has made Susu unable to stand by idly and watch; slightly on edge, she said, Even prisoners have the right to speak, couldnt you just let him finish? Xiang Yushan delightedly said, Miss[1] indeed understands reason. I, Xiang Yushan hereby swear that other than owning and operating casino and brothel, I have never participated in that kind of offending Heaven and reason activity the two Xiongtai are referring to. Kou Zhong sneered and asked, Then where did you get those beautiful women in your casino from? Xiang Yushan replied, If there is a single woman that our Xiang family has abducted and forced to be a prostitute, let me, Xiang Yushan, not die a good death. The two boys were simply too stunned for words. Xiang Yushan heaved a sigh, and then he continued, Truth be told, we have been harmed by that incapable ruler that we became like this. It was because our gang has always been in good rtionship with the imperial court, plus there are members of our gang who became government officers. At first we only helped that muddle-headed ruler to gather beautiful women from all over the world for his merriment and sexual enjoyment. Who would have thought that this fatuous monarch is avaricious and insatiable? Just because he loves to go on a tour, he built pces everywhere. Just from Luoyang to Yangzhou, he built no fewer than forty temporary imperial residences. And on each site he wanted over a hundred beauties to wait upon him. On top of that, he himself has several thousand imperial concubines and pce beauties. Just think, how many women he has altogether? We also have our hands and feet stuck deep in the mire. Of course the two boys had never imagined that Baling Bang had this kind of predicament; unwittingly their hostility toward Xiang Yushan was reduced by several degrees. Xiang Yushan forlornly said, Yang Guang not only loves women, he also loves men. And if that is not enough, the most terrifying thing is that he loves to do new trick every day. For example, he wants to make ceremonial clothes from the feather and plumes of birds and beasts, so all birds and beasts with the desired feather and plumes were caught until almost nothing left. Or like during the second year of the great undertaking, Tujues Qimin entered the imperial court. In order to show off his wealth, Yang Guang ordered to have the previous dynastys younger generations to act as his family members; unexpectedly he enlisted more than thirty thousand people in the imperial court. And when he did not have enough officers and men, we were forced to do it. In reality, we are also victims. And then he let out a cold snort and said, But now the situation is reversed. We no longer have to listen to his order. Kou Zhong frowned and said, You shouldnt have listened to his order to begin with! But if we did not do it, someone else would, and the oue would not be much different, Xiang Yushan argued, And inevitably our Baling Bang would have immediately fallen from power. So what do you want from us now? Xu Ziling asked. Xiang Yushan smiled apologetically, That day Xiaodi had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai; turns out two gentlemen are important characters whose names shook the Jianghu recently. Currently I am under Er Dangjia [second master, see also Book 3 Chapter 8 on Ren Meimei] Xiao Xians order toe specifically to explore the possibilities of mutual cooperation. Kou Zhongughed in spite of himself, You are too polite. Turns out you are also after that treasure, which we basically dont know anything about. Xu Ziling sneered and said, You might as well not exin it. Right now the rumor is spreading around everywhere; what was false has be the truth. Who would believe that we really dont know the treasures whereabouts? Gentlemen are wrong, Xiang Yushan said with serious expression, From the start Xiao Er Dangjia did not believe that you know the treasures whereabouts. The three people could only stare nkly. Susu knitted her eyebrows and said, Then why did you take the risk to find my two Didi? For what? Xiang Yushan lowered his voice, That is, of course, for the ount book! Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. Other than people from the Li n and the Yuwen n, who would know that the ount book was in the two boys possession? Xiang Yushan smiled and said, Just by looking at gentlemens expression, I knew that Er Dangjias belief is not bad. I, Xiang Yushan, had no choice but to prostrate myself in admiration. Right now the whole world is being led by the nose by two gentlemen. In full alert, Kou Zhong swept his gaze around the small dumpling restaurant, he sternly said, So you are going to rob the ount book from us! How could Xiaodi dare? Xiang Yushan hastily said, Since Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong were able to snatch the ount book from Yuwen Chengdus hand, and were able to elude Yuwen ns pursuit, plus you were able to inflict injury to Yuwen Wudi, how could Xiaodi have the guts to provoke the tiger? I am only here on behalf of our humble gang to discuss the conditions of our cooperation. And then he continued surreptitiously, Dont gentlemen wish to bring down Yuwen Huaji? He also happens to be our humble gangs number one enemy. [1] The word Miss here is guniang, not xiaojie like the one they used to refer to Susus boss, Zhai Jiao. The easiest exnation would be: xiaojie (miss) is the counterpart of shaoye (young master), while guniang (miss) is the counterpart of gongzi (young master). Am I confusing you? Chapter 9, Part 2 HPC, Ysabel, Jaya, Komeng, Anh, you are wee. George, Sky, thats the problem, I cant even imagine the women introduced so far to be their friend, even like Cheng Ying to Yang Guo; you know what I mean? Sky, Princess is for Xu Ziling, Li Xiuning for Kou Zhong. But you are right, my favorite so far is Princess. I dont know ... to me she seems to be different than the others. Anyway, here is the end of Chapter 9. Three more chapters to close Book 4. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were dumbstruck. It was half a dayter that the former let out a cold air and said, You, this kid, are indeed very well-informed. Xiang Yushan smiled and said, Over the years, we, under different names, have opened more than two hundred pleasure houses and close to three hundred casinos, big and small, across the country, and hence have established a vast investigativework. Whatever matter we want to investigate, naturally it is rtively easier for us to do than other people. Xu Ziling said, But I am afraid you wont get any information about Yuwen n by visiting brothel and ying in the casino! Xiang Yushan nodded, Thats a fact, he simply said. Kou Zhong knew that he was not going to speak up; greatly intrigued, he asked, Why would you want to deal with Yuwen Huaji? Xiang Yushans countenance showed grief and indignation; hanging his head low he said, Fifteen days ago, our humble gangs Da Dangjia [first master] Lu Kangshou met the shadow assassin and lost his life. ording to our investigation, the biggest suspect is someone from Yuwen n. We must avenge this enmity no matter what. The three people suddenly understood; no wonder he kept saying Er Dangjia Xiao Xian this and Er Dangjia Xiao Xian that. Turned out this matter involved someplex political power struggle, so naturally Xiang Yushan was unwilling to casually tell them. Xiang Yushan said in low voice, Our San Dangjia [third master] is leaning toward Yuwen n people. After the incident, Er Dangjia already sent our in-housew enforcement people to take care of him. We were also able to extract from his mouth the information that Yuwen Huaji and that incapable ruler are rted to this matter. That Yuwen Huaji really made a blunder this time! Xu Ziling said, He should have eliminated your precious gangs Er Dangjia as well. Xiang Yushan let out a cold snort and said, Do you think he didnt think about that? Its just that they did not know the level of Xiao Er Dangjias real skill. He has actually surpassed Da Dangjia early on, only it was kept a secret. Although the shadow assassin was formidable, he failed to take his life; furthermore, Er Dangjia pretended to be dead to lure San Dangjia to reveal his true colors. Otherwise, our gang would have fallen into Yuwen thieves and San Dangjias hands early on. Who was that shadow assassin? Susu asked in wonder. That persons identity is still a mystery, Xiang Yushan replied, It is rumored that he is still very young, perhaps he belongs to the imperial family, specializing in assassinating those who are unpleasant to the fatuous monarchs eyes. His favorite is making his move in assassinating the target during full moons. Even Du Fuwei nearly suffered a major setback. The two boys let out a mouthful of cold air. If this assassin had the guts to target Du Fuwei, the level of his formidability should be easy to determine. Xiang Yushan took out a letter from his bosom and said, To show our humble gangs sincerity in proposing this coboration, Xiao Er Dangjia specifically wrote a letter, in his letter he pledged a heavy oath that he wont be just like others who only want to exploit two gentlemen, but afterwards mean harm to you. After two gentlemen read this, you will understand, but please destroy this letter immediately. Kou Zhong received the letter, opened it and read. Sure enough, Xiao Xian put it in ck and white that he swore a heavy oath; in addition, he put his personal seal on it. After passing the letter to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Your Er Dangjia must be a powerful, capable and broad-minded man. Hey! Now he ought to be the Da Dangjia. No! Xiang Yushan replied, He is still Er Dangjia. Unless that muddle-headed ruler is dead, he is unwilling to take the Da Dangjia position. Xu Ziling handed the letter over to Susu; he said in low voice, What do you want us to do? Is it to hand the ount book over to you? We cant do that! Xiang Yushan received the letter back from Susu; using his internal strength he rubbed it until it turned to powder, and then he said with augh, Of course not. We will ask two gentlemen to kindly participate in this matter, enjoying the delight of watching that incapable ruler and Yuwen n fighting against each other. As soon as two gentlemen nod your head, I will immediately make arrangement for you. Hey! The three of you ought to leave this ce in secret [orig. gods do not know, ghosts do not detect]. And then he chuckled softly and said, Shen Luoyan and two gentlemen dont get along too well! Susu was shocked. We cant leave now, she said, We must wait for Laoyes return before we could leave. Surprisingly Xiang Yushan did not even ask why; he simply nodded and said, So be it. Whenever you are ready to leave, juste to Daiqing Yuan [lit. greenish-ck mascara courtyard] in here, and tell them you want to see Peipei, someone will definitely contact you, and will arrange everything. With a loudughter he stood up, and cheerfully said, When I first met two gentlemen, I already felt we are of kindred spirits, and now we have the opportunity to work together. And then facing Susu, he raised his cupped fist and said, I do hope to see Miss very soon. Finished speaking, he simply left. The three of them you look at me, I look at you; momentarily they did not know what to say. Although they had the ount book in their possession, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were still hazy and did not have clear n on how to actually used it to harm Yuwen Huaji. Now that this matter has turned for the better, they were happy, but were also anxious that it would not be as simple as Xiang Yushan said. Seeing Susus pretty eyes slightly blushed, Xu Ziling pondered a bit. Astounded, he said, Does Su Jie like that guy? Susu was greatly displeased, Stop talking nonsense! Kou Zhong said, This guy is a world-ss expert in patting the horses bottom, the words thate out of his mouth, not even half a sentence will not make people happy, and when he sees something good, he knows how to get it at once. Coaxing girls, he is even more formidable. Su Jie must not fall into his trap. Susu was greatly embarrassed; standing up, she said, You still want to stroll down the street? Whenever the two boys went, there would always be people spying on them, so they could not help feeling anxious for Xiang Yushan. But since this man possessed great magical power that he was able to find them under these circumstances, he must also have his own way to evade surveince. When they returned to the Big Boss Mansion, Tu Shufang berated them for going out without telling him first. The two boys humbly asked for forgiveness, hence this matter was dropped just like that. The two boys started to examine the ount book in details. They found out that the records were mainly on Li n and Yuwen ns arms acquisition from Dong Ming Pai: the type and quantity, the time and ce of the delivery, and so on. The records were quite exhaustive, and most of the transactions happened in thest two years or so. If it fell into Yang Guangs hands, and he did not suspect that they were going to rebel, it would be strange indeed. That night after dinner, the two boys had a secret meeting in Xu Zilings room. Xu Ziling probed, Looks like for the time being we cannot go to Luoyang. Going sooner orter is not the problem Kou Zhong said, If it is our destiny, we will obtain the treasure. After the Jade Annulus of He n is in our hands, we can head to Changan and try our luck to find the Duke Yang Treasure. If both are sessful, we will recruit soldiers and buy horses. At that time, I want to see who would be able to strive against us, the Two Dragons of Yangzhou? Xu Ziling sighed, You are thinking too far, he said, Right now I am worried about Su Jie. The scariest thing for me is that Baling Bang would abduct her and use her to threaten us. Dont look at right now that Xiang guy is taking our insult and our curses with a smiling face; just think about ever since we came out to travel around the country, from those who we met, how many are really good people? Kou Zhong also frowned. Right now Susu could be considered their only family, no matter what they could not let her be hurt. We have to be more careful, Xu Ziling continued, After avenging Niang, well bring Susu Jie to the south, find a ce to settle her down, and only then can we think about any fun thing to do and how to earn a living. There was a knock on the door followed by Susu pushing the door open and storming in. Miss is back. She wants to see you right away, she said in panic. The two boys groaned inwardly. What the fear the most right now was precisely to see this Big Miss of Zhai family, whose appearance and temperament were so ugly. Zhai Jiaos face, which was as ck as the bottom of an earthen pot, looked tense and jittery, her eyes flickered with cold rays; with one hand on her as-thick-as-a-chamber-pot waist and the other hand pointing at them, she cursed, I was out for five days, and you are already rebelling. You have the cheek to sneak out and stroll around the entire day beforeing back. If anything bad happened, how am I going to exin to Die? Now I have reported everything to Die, he said that no matter what you are not allowed to leave the Mansion for even half a step. Wait for his return and then well talk. Kou Zhong mused, Wherever Laozi [I, your father] wants to go, its none of your, this b1tchs, business. But of course he did not dare to say it out loud. Smiling apologetically, he said, Its our, two ve materials, fault; would Miss please calm down. Zhai Jiao pulled back her thick finger that was pointing at the two boys. She spoke harshly, Other than Susu, does anybody else know about this matter? With a straight face and a voice full of iparable confidence Kou Zhong replied, Of course not. Xu Ziling added, Since Miss has seen Da Longtou, you should know that we did not lie to you! With a hint of frustration in her voice, Zhai Jiao angrily said, Die did not say anything, except that he will be home as soon as possible. He alsomanded that this matter must be kept secret. I have already warned Susu, now I am warning you, these two ve materials. The two boys were already ustomed to her throwing a tantrum; hence they could only let her shouting and cursing. Zhai Jiao vented her anger a while longer. But then she suddenly said, Do you want women to apany you for the night? What?!? the two boys voice cracked. Zhai Jiaos temper cooled down somewhat; her voice was softer as she said, Die told me that you are free to pick any women you fancy among the maids to keep youpany at night. And when he is back, there will be other rewards as well. Kou Zhong was very tempted, but then he remembered that if he did that, what would the difference between he and Wang Bodang be? Xu Ziling resolutely refused, Thank you for Da Longtous good intention, but we two brothers definitely cannot ept it. As if relieved from a burden, Zhai Jiao said, You dont want it, that is the best. Who would want to apany you, two little demons anyway? The two boys were infuriated, but they had no choice but to keep silent. After staring hard at the two boys for quite a while, Zhai Jiao told them to get lost. As if they had just received the emperors amnesty, they hastily slipped away. Book 4 - 10 – Revenge and Repaying Debts of Gratitude Book 4 Chapter 10 C Revenge and Repaying Debts of Gratitude Recalling that they would soon go to Jiangdu to seek revenge against Yuwen Huaji, the two boys were even more dedicated in training martial art. The weather gradually turned colder, by the time the first Great Snow [21st of the 24 sr terms, December 7 C 21] arrived, report of victory also arrived. Sui generals Liu Changgong, leading twenty-five thousand strong cavalry, advanced from Luoyang to the east, to rendezvous with Pei Renjis forces from Ho [Tiger Cage], and proceed together in joint forces to the south, ready to annihte Wagang troops in one fell swoop. Who would have thought that Li Mis spy found out about this, and immediately opened the Storehouse door to feed the people, and thus he bought the peoples heart, so that he won the citizens of all counties in the vicinity before together with Zhai Rang led their forces to engage the enemy. Li Mi divided his elite troops into ten teams. He himself led four teams to set an ambush from across the mountain range, while Zhai Rangs six teams were arrayed in battle formation on the eastern bank of River Shizi, a tributary of River Luo, waiting for the enemy. Liu Changgongs main forces arrived first. Seeing Wagang Armys small number, he thought that during the battle to attack Luokuo, the enemy suffered heavy casualties. Unexpectedly, without giving his own troops some time to rest and eat, he drove his forces across the river to attack, forgetting his agreement to join forces with Pei Renji. Sure enough, Zhai Rangs forces suffered defeat and retreated. Having tasted the sweet victory, Liu Changgong tucked his tail and pursued. His troops immediately fell into Li Mis ambush. Liu Changgongs weary and hungry troops were routedpletely, countless casualties fell that day. Liu Changgongs defeated remnants slipped back to Luoyang. Learning about Liu forces defeat, Pei Renji did not dare to proceed alone. He withdrew to Baihua [lit. hundreds of flower] Valley and setup a fortress there, no longer dare to go out to war. Thereupon Wagang Armys prestige was greatly boosted. Because the victory this time was due to Li Mis brilliant strategy, his poprity was like the sun in the middle of the sky. Inside the city of Xingyang there was gaiety everywhere; incessant sound of firecrackers filled the air. And then heavy snow fell for several days. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings childish heart was greatly aroused; they built snowmen in the garden for fun. Seeing they were having so much fun, several pretty maids were emboldened to join in. The two boys had never had girls ying with them; they were beside themselves with joy. Kou Zhong and the bunch of pretty maids bumped into each other, sometimes he took advantage by intentionally bumping onto them; he was extremely delighted. One of the pretty maids was quite cute, her face was especially pretty; in term of beauty, she was only a tad below Susu. But her figure was alluring, plus she was particrly provocative, teasing Kou Zhong relentlessly, so that his heart was unbearably itchy. As soon as he had the chance, he came to Xu Ziling and said, I cant stand that girls teasing anymore. Since Zhai Jiao does not mind me hooking up with her maid, if I can have her for a night of passion, you wont oppose me, will you? Xu Ziling knew his character very well; if he wanted something, he would not be content before obtaining it. Thereupon he whispered, What if she gets pregnant? Kou Zhong was stunned. Cant be that easy! he said, Others have been married for many years, yet a lot of them still do not have any child. Xu Ziling said, If you want it, you do it yourself! But remember that she is the daughter of a good family, you must not abandon her without any reason! Pow! a snowball was thrown right on target, making Kou Zhongs face fully covered in snow. Chuchu [lit. cute/lovely] and the other five pretty maids cried excitedly, Bulls eye! Bulls eye! Kou Zhong leaned over to Xu Zilings side and said, Xiongdi is right, but I can always kiss and stroke their face! Finished speaking he opened his arms wide and shouted, Whoever got caught, the punishment is a kiss on the mouth! The pretty maids immediately scattered in all directions in fright. Kou Zhong identified Chuchu clearly, and then ran toward her. Watching Kou Zhong and the girlsughing and ying and chasing each other on the snow, Xu Zilings heart was overwhelmed with emotions. In the past, when they could not guarantee three square meals a day in Yangzhou, who could have imagined that today they were able to y and have fun with the pretty maids of Big Boss Zhai Rangs mansion? Pow! the back of Xu Zilings head was hit; the snow slipped into his cor that his neck was icy-cold. Based on his current eyes and ears, it should be very easy to dodge, but somehow he lost interest. Recalling Kou Zhongs remark about kissing and stroking their face, his heart grew warm. He turned around and gave another beautiful maid a chase. The beautiful maid was straining herself that her jade cheek turned rosy like red clouds. Whether intentionally or otherwise, she ran toward the cluster of trees nearby; how could Xu Ziling not understand her intention? He was about to run after her and take some advantage like Kou Zhong, suddenly a shadow shed; Tu Shufang blocked his path. Da Longtou is back, he said solemnly, He wants to see you immediately. Struggling to control themselves, the two boys went into the inner courtyard where Zhai Rang resided. They saw the people guarding the door were all unfamiliar faces; every one of them had their Taiyang [sun] acupoint [on the temples] bulging high. With just one look they knew that these people were all martial art masters. It was the first time that the two boys set foot on this part of the mansion. Along the way a forty-something schr came out to meet them, and politely said, Zaixia Wang Ruxin, Minister of War. Two Xiao Xiongdi please follow the Ol Wang, Tu Zongguan may go back. Tu Shufang was slightly taken aback. Wang Ruxin already led the two boys toward Zhai Rangs living room. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not the little kids of the former days whocked Jianghu experience; upon unleashing the power of their eyes and ears, they detected that the surrounding area was heavily guarded. There were warriors spread around the forest beyond the two-story building, the situation was as if they were about to face a powerful enemy. The two boys could not help but wonder. Wang Ruxin led them to the door of the inner residences opened-wide front door, where he stopped and said, Da Longtou is waiting for you, two gentlemen pleasee in on your own. The two boys thought that it would not be appropriate to discuss such a secret affair in front of other people, hence they did not suspect anything; stepping forward, they entered the hall. The man guarding the door immediately closed the door behind them. Bang! As they heard the sound of the double-door closing up behind them, the two boys saw a tall, slim, as straight as a ramrod, middle age man with beautiful beard, was pacing back and forth in the hall with hands behind his back. When he heard the door closing, he turned his head toward the two boys, his eyes shing with energy; not at all looked like someone who was suffering an internal injury. The man had a grand appearance, with a long hawk-like nose, making his expression gloomy and heavy, giving the impression that he was a man with heavy responsibility, but at the same time also gave the impression that he was a selfish and ruthless man. The hair on his temples ash-grey, his forehead narrow and wrinkled, looking as if it was portraying the difficult times that hase and gone over the years. After the two boys saluted respectfully, Zhai Rang said, Have you seen me? Kou Zhong hurriedly replied, At that time we were hiding on the beam, and did not dare to look. Considering Da Longtoue and go like the wind, we did not see Da Longtou. Zhai Rangs eye turned toward the window, as he gazed at the snow-covered winterndscape, he said tly, Then how can you be sure that that person was me? Xu Ziling replied, That was after the fact; we heard Zu Junyan and that strange man who hid inside the trunk mentioned it. Undisturbed, Zhai Rang said, Did you see that strange man? Only a nce, Kou Zhong replied, His figure imposing,pared to Zu Junyan he was at least half a head taller. However, because he was wearing mask, we could not see what he looked like. Zhai Rang was visibly shaken. What did his voice sound like? he asked coldly. Very gentle and pleasant to hear, Kou Zhong promptly replied, After he finished speaking, it seemed to me that his voice still lingered in the air. Zhai Rangs chest sharply moved up and down several times. After a long time of silence he finally let out a stifled grunt and said, What is exactly your school, your sect? How did your inner power be so strange that you were able to evade that strange man and my eyes and ears? Kou Zhong happily said, Turns out the one we saw was indeed Da Longtou. Da Longtou is really formidable. That strange man said that he injured you! Turns out he was just tooting his horn. Zhai Rang coldly said, You have not answered my question. Xu Ziling said, Our martial art was taught by Niang, but Niang has died. Good! Zhai Rang said in heavy voice. The two boys were greatly surprised. As he heard that their Niang has died, why did he apud? Right this moment, Zhai Rang made his move. In the blink of an eye he was already in front of the two boys; both of his sleeves rose up together. The two boys had never imagined that someone with his status would suddenly mount a sneak attack. They saw his hands came out from inside his sleeves, with an astonishing power his palms struck onto their bodies. There was not enough time for them to block. The two boys cried out in shock and flew backward. Bang! Bang! Zhai Rangs two palms separatelynded on the pit of the two boys stomach. A st of strong, violent, and hard to resist qi power prated their body from the chest. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling immediately spurted out a mouthful of blood, as their bodies were lifted off the ground and flew down. Thump! Thump! their backs crashed onto the wall on the left and right of the door, slipped down along the wall, and finallynded sitting down on the floor. Chapter 10, Part 2 HPC, Ysabel, Komeng, Jaya, you are wee. Drax, George, Kyss, Sky, the answer is here ... Ari, I think you misunderstood; I was referring to yourment about Ji Yanran (BTW, I had recently finished reading it). While its true that both of them were strategists, IMHO, thats where the simrity ends. DongBin, the same goes to you, I was speaking to those who knew the ending not to spoil it for us. For all I know, our guesses might be off, i.e. the two boys ended up with totally different women. About the Princess, I wouldnt say arrogant, since Fu Junchuo was also like that in the beginning. She is aloof, yes, but its natural, given her status and martial art skill were much higher than the boys. Speaking of arrogance, Zhai Jiao and that Wushuang girl came to mind. But again, I think it is very interesting that we all have our own favorite ... The pain was so severe that they felt their five viscera [i.e. heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys] were about to burst, their qi and blood surged over, they no longer had any strength left to fight. Who would have thought that Zhai Rang was actually more shocked than the two boys? He originally thought that with one palm strike he would be able to send them back to the Western Paradise, but to his surprise, as his strike hit the opponents chests, he felt two jolts of reacting forces, one cold and one hot,ing out of the pit of their stomachs. Not only these forces neutralized most of his own power, the forces also entered his body, sapping his strength that he could not even apply his inner power. Although Kou Zhong lost the strength in his entire body, he could still open his mouth to shout, You ... what are you doing? Zhai Rangs eyes shed with ominous glint. Shut up! he said, You can only me yourselves for knowing things that you are not supposed to know. And he stepped toward the two boys. Xu Ziling rolled over to embrace Kou Zhong, he said, If we are to die, lets die together! While casting a sidelong nce, Kou Zhong embraced Xu Ziling and whispered in his ear, Circte your energy! Ill distract him. Meanwhile Zhai Rang has arrived in front of the two boys; suddenly he let out a dry cough, and with a hoarse coldugh said, Just let Ol Zhai fulfill your wish! The two boys were crying inwardly, saying goodbye to the world, while Zhai Rangs palmsnded on the tianling acupoint on the top of their heads. A loud crash severely shook their brains, they vision turned ck, but immediately they regained their consciousness. While pondering whether they had arrived at the gate of hell, they found out that they were still sitting on the floor in the main hall. When their mind cleared up, they saw it was Zhai Rang who fell prostrate on top of their bodies; his face blue and his lips ck, his entire body, from head to toe, trembled. The two boys were keen; they immediately realized that Zhai Rang had indeed received serious internal injury, only he suppressed it down, acting as if nothing had happened. Presently, in order to kill the two boys, he rushed his true qi indiscriminately, so that his internal injury red out, in turn it rendered him useless like this. Kou Zhong pushed Zhai Rangs body and rolled him over on the floor. Stroking his chest he moaned, This guys palm power is really formidable. Xiao Ling, how are you feeling? Xu Ziling was still sitting on the floor. Massaging his chest, he said, Is everybody in the world only know how to bite the hand that feed him? Both father and daughter are just like that. Kou Zhong said, Right now escaping is more important, we must circte our energy to treat our injury. Oh! He shuddered. With a bitter smile Xu Ziling said, You are cold as hell, but I am unbearably hot. My five viscera and six bowels feel like on fire. Suddenly they both were shaken, as if they came to realization together, and looked at each other with great delight. Kou Zhong pulled himself together, raised both his palms and said, You send your true qi from your right palm into the hollow of my palm, and I will send my true qi from my right palm into your body. Ha! This is our original creation on how to heal our injury. Without slightest hesitation Xu Ziling quickly raised his palm ording to Kou Zhongs instruction, circting his power and transferring his qi. At first it was still extremely painful and very difficult. From time to time they still vomited wisps of blood, but soon cold and hot streams were flowing together; round and round the streams cycled inside their bodies, continuously without any break. They did not know that this kind of blending of cold and hot stream had actually saved these two boys little lives. What happened was that although the two boys unwittingly achieved sess in training the qi-circting technique from one of the diagrams in the Secret to Long Life, their result actually tended to be too cold or too hot. During the initial phase, this matter did not pose any problem. However, as the qi inside their bodies started to build up, they were approaching the critical stage where too much is as bad as not enough. If this condition continued, inevitably they would suffer fire deviation. In the too cold situation, their meridian would freeze and congeal, and they die. In the too hot situation, their yueyong [lit. moon forever] channel would burst and they perish. Therefore, in critical moment this time the two boys mutually transferring the true qi from his own body to treat the others injury, because the source of their true qi was identical, it was tantamount to the two boys separately cultivating their internal energy, hence the two streams of qi merged together; not only it has greatly elerated the progress of their cultivation, it has also brought up the miraculous result of the Secret to Long Life, which most people had never even dreamed about. If it were someone else, even if that persons talent was better than these two boys, by the time he reached thest two diagrams, he could forget about obtaining any result without spending eight or ten years. Deviating from the norm, the two boys have always trained separately, plus they did not understand how to blend the cold and the hot; therefore, contrary to expectation, they achieved the very purest result instead. Now that they blended with one another, it was as if individually they gained two-year worth of maturity. Up to this point, the two boys sess was only a small part of the Secret to Long Life, but now they no longer deviate from the norm. Nobody knew how much time has passed; the two boys pain was gone. Although they still felt weak due to the blood loss, their spirit was very much alive; their senses and their mind were much keener than before. Zhai Rang was still lying on the floor, but he no longer shivered, his countenance looked much better than before. Kou Zhong withdrew his palms and said in low voice, Do you want to get rid of this ingratitude [lit. forget favors and vite justice] fellow first? Xu Ziling sighed and said, If we do that, Su Jie will never forgive us. Hey! Your cold true qi felt veryfortable to me. Thats strange! Why does my tianling acupoint feel like it opens wide, and a cold stream flowing continuously inside? The tip of my tongue also tastes sweet. Kou Zhongughed and said, And my yongquan acupoint is steaming hot. Come! Lets go, we must find Su Jie. Xu Ziling followed his lead and stood up. After looking cautiously at Zhai Rang on the floor, he whispered, There are so many people outside; what should we do? Kou Zhong said, It seems like they do not know what happened here yet; well change ording to the situation. Steeling himself, Xu Ziling pushed the door open and walked out. Wang Ruxin was waiting outside the door. Seeing the two boys came out, his countenance became very strange; his mouth agape and he was speechless. Looking at his expression, the two boys knew that he was aware that Zhai Rang was going to kill them to shut their mouths. Hence when he saw the two boys strutting outside, alive and well, his face became ridiculously weird. Kou Zhong beamed in smile; pointing to his own noggin, he said, After listening to our story, Da Longtou knew there was some misunderstanding. But it has created new anxiety on him, so he told us to leave so that he could think quietly. He said nobody is allowed toe in and thus interrupt his train of thought. This was Kou Zhongs brilliance; knowing that Wang Ruxin understood the inside information, he used it against him. Xu Ziling gently closed the door, and while Wang Ruxin still did not know what to do, he ran after Kou Zhong, swaggering out of that ce. As soon as they were out of the inner courtyard, the two boys rushed toward Zhai Jiaos personal quarter. Kou Zhong said, It would be best if we could sneak out with Su Jie and immediately go to Daiqing Yuan to find that Peipei that Yiqi Shan [see Book 3 Chapter 7] was talking about. Otherwise, if we arete by half a step, people might chop us to pieces. Xu Ziling was exceptionally cool-headed; he said in a low voice, I feel that my power has doubled; maybe I can jump over the city wall. But if I have to carry Su Jie, I dont have any confidence. To be honest, until now I am still not sure if Yiqi Shan really has yiqi [reminder: spirit of loyalty, code of brotherhood]. Kou Zhong said, Our matter is as urgent as a horse running on the field, well borrow Yiqi Shans bridge first; whether after crossing the bridge wed pull the nk out or not, well think about itter. By this time the two boys have arrived at the main gate of Zhai Jiaos courtyard. One of the four guards at the door shouted, Did Miss summon you? With a pained expression Kou Zhong whispered, Were it not for her order, would you be willing toe see her? The guards all smiled knowingly. The two boys swaggered inside. That beautiful maid Chuchu happened to pass by inside the residence. Tugging at her sleeve Kou Zhong said with an embarrassed smile, Beautiful, how are you? Do you know where Su Jie is? Chuchus powdered face blushed slightly, casting a sidelong nce at him she snapped, You are not looking for me, how should I know where she is? Flinging his hand, she took a few steps forward before turning her head back and with a sweet smile said, Su Jie is serving Miss! Dummy! Finished speaking, she covered herughing mouth with her sleeve, and then gracefully walked away. Noticing that at a moment like this Kou Zhong was still watching her in daze, he pulled him, hard. Kou Zhong came to his senses and followed Xu Ziling toward the door. Before they saw the person, Zhai Jiaos unpleasant voice was already heard, as she said angrily, I dont know what trick Die is ying, I only said a few words and he immediately wanted to see you, these two little demons. Didnt I already tell him everything? He should have let me to be present to listen to you. Kou Zhong rolled his eyes. Stepping into the hall, he cupped his fist and respectfully said, Da Longtou asked Miss toe see him. He also said he has a gift for Miss! Even Xu Ziling had to admire Kou Zhongs quick wit. Zhai Jiao was sitting in a chair inside, while Susu was standing by her side with a nk expression on her face. Hearing Kou Zhong, Ah! she eximed, and stood up and rushed out, stormed between the two boys, and darted out the door. The two boys were overjoyed at this unexpected turn of events. They bolted forward to grab the shocked Susu from left and right. Dont ask, Kou Zhong urgently said, If we dont leave now, I am afraid we wont have the chance forever. Susus countenance suddenly changed; her eyes were fixed at the door. The two boys hurriedly turned their head around, immediately their soul flew away and scattered, while in their heart they were continuously calling for their Niang. Book 4 - 11 – Night Visit to the Pleasure House Book 4 Chapter 11 C Night Visit to the Pleasure House Zhai Rang, alone, stood in the middle of the door, staring coldly at the three people. Susu also felt that Zhai Rang was greatly different from usual; with a trembling voice she called out, Laoye! The two boys let off Susu and stood in front of her, preparing to fight to the death. Zhai Rangs countenance was back to normal, but it looked like he had aged by several years. With hands behind his back he slowly walked toward a chair, sat down, and spoke with soft voice, Susu, go inside, I want to speak with your two Didi. Obeying him, Susu was about to move, but Kou Zhong pulled her back; he said in heavy voice, How do we know that you dont have people waiting in the back for Su Jie. Seeing Kou Zhong was so rude toward her old master, Susu was so scared that the blood drained from her jade countenance. With a cold sneer Zhai Rang said, With just one order from me, do you think you will still be alive? There is no need for me to take you into my consideration. Susu implored the two boys in low voice, Please just listen to Laoye! Shaking off Kou Zhongs hand, she wobbled inside. The two boys exchanged some nces, and then both of them sat in front of Zhai Rang. Zhai Rang sized up the two boys in silence. Suddenly he said, Who is your Niang? Xu Ziling opened his mouth, he coldly replied, That is our secret. Zhai Rang shed an angry look at first, but then it was as if his anger dissipated. Forget about it! he said, Just now you had the chance, but did not make your move to kill me. No matter how shameless or how despicable, I, Zhai Rang, will not make my second move! Previously I wanted to kill you to shut your mouth, I was indeed had no choice due to a predicament. Its finished! Everything is finished. I wanted to kill you because of my recurrent acute injury, its Laotian [Heaven] punishing me for repaying kindness with evil, I am the one to me for inviting trouble for myself! Looking at this once all-powerful [orig. rebuking Heaven and Earth] figure under this all path exhausted, the road ended situation, the two boys were at a loss. Xu Ziling said, Da Longtou is back from great victory; even though Zu Junyan is in cahoots with outsiders, cant Da Longtou give your order and have those renegades head fall to the ground? Zhai Rang shook his head and sighed. He slowly said, Inside situation really must not be discussed with outsiders. Right now Ol Zhai only have one request, I wish two gentlemen can stay here ten days longer. After ten days, I will send people to escort you and Susu out. Die! Zhai Jiaos voice was heard from the door, You said you wanted to see daughter, why did you sneak up here instead? Zhai Rang looked at Wang Ruxin who came with Zhai Jiao, he said, Notify Duke Mi immediately, I want to have an emergency meeting in Longtou Mansion immediately. Everybody was stunned. Xu Ziling was lying on the bed. Kou Zhong was pacing back and forth in the room. Both had their eyebrows knitted deeply, they werepletely baffled. Why did Zhai Rang want to kill them to shut their mouth? ording to reason, he ought to be grateful to them for providing him with such useful information. Xu Ziling pped the bed and said, It must be this: the mastermind behind Zu Junyan must be Li Mi, thats why old Zhai is having such a headache. Kou Zhong sat on the bed; he mused, But he does not have to kill us. The guy who plotted against the old Zhai was wearing a mask, and he was hiding inside the trunk to make his move, naturally it was because he was afraid Old Zhai would recognize him. Based on Old Zhais skill, the number of people who are qualified to plot against him cannot be too many; so who could it be? The two boys were severely shaken at the same time; they looked at each other. Trembling with excitement, Kou Zhong said, Are you thinking what I am thinking? Xu Ziling sat up, his eyes showed a horrorstruck expression, Must be Li Mi! he whispered. Kou Zhong took a deep breath. This is bad, he said, Old Zhai summoned Li Mi to have a meeting, obviously he is going to reveal hisst card; wont he bring disaster to us and Su Jie? Speaking about scheming skill, old Zhai is not Li Mis match, especially now that he is injured so bad that he could not even kill us. It would be best for us to slip away as soon as possible, Xu Ziling said, But I know that there is a chance that Su Jie has heard Old Zhais remark that we are to stay ten more days before we can leave. Kou Zhong said, Wed better go to Daiqing Yuan [see Book 4 Chapter 9] first to get to the bottom of it. When we slip away in the future, it will be a lot more convenient; besides, if we stay ten more days, wont we find out whats going on? Xu Ziling said, But right now we have more martial art mastersing back with that Old Zhai, getting in and out will be very inconvenient. Kou Zhong said, Old Zhai did not say that we cannot stroll down the street. We can just strut down the main gate and test their reaction. Xu Ziling sprang up from the bed. They were about to go when from Kou Zhongs adjoining room they heard knocks on the door. Whos looking for me? Kou Zhong whispered, Its alreadyte. Soon afterwards the knocks moved onto Xu Zilings door, followed by a sweet voice calling out, Kou Zhong! Kou Zhong! Kou Zhong stared nkly. Its Chuchu! he said, Really bad! He jumped; first three steps, and then two steps, and finally pulled the door open. Seeing Kou Zhong, Chuchus eyebrows rose up in delight; her gaze flitted over Kou Zhongs broad shoulders and she stole a nce toward Xu Ziling as she reached out to grab Kou Zhongs sleeve and pull him out. It was quite some timeter that Kou Zhong returned, red-faced. Wiping his mouth, he said, The passion is really fierce, she also wanted to pull me into her room. This must not be the first time for her, otherwise she would not be able to teach me how to do things right like just now. Xu Ziling was horrified, Did you really f*ck her? Get lost! Kou Zhong snapped, Just kiss on the mouth, and stroking her fragrant shoulders! Our business is more important, lets go! Side-by-side the two boys left the courtyard of their living quarters, and walked toward the main gate. kes of snow were falling down from the sky like floating feathers, the moon and the stars did not show their light, the air was thick with an imprable feeling of tranquility, they met several mansion guards along the way, but nobody stopped them. When they reached the za in front of the main entrance, Tu Shufang caught up with them from behind. Where are you going? he asked. The boredom is driving us crazy, Kou Zhong replied, We want to go out to have a stroll! Tu Shufang cordially joined them, he apanied them going through the main gate and onto the street. He asked in low voice, When you see Da Longtou today, what actually happened? The two boys did not really know how to answer; hence momentarily they were at a loss for words. There were very few people on the street; those they encountered were passers-by who curled up shivering while walking hurriedly to get out of the cold winter breeze, in stark contrast to the three mens heavy gaits, giving the impression that they were moving in sluggish, slow-motion steps. Tu Shufang sighed and said, Da Longtou is really injured, isnt he? The two boys nodded nkly. Tu Shufang continued, Did Da Longtou say who was that man who mounted a sneak attack on him? Kou Zhong shook his head, He did not say, but we were guessing it was Li Mi. Tu Shufang was severely shaken; he was pondering in silence. Xu Ziling looked around. Tu Shufang said, Dont bother, I guarantee nobody dares to follow you. Shen Luoyan does not have that kind of guts. Kou Zhong was shocked. When did that b1tch return? he asked. Just yesterday, Tu Shufang replied. And then he continued, I have long suspected Li Mi. His only apprehension is precisely Da Longtous martial art skill. Thesest half a year were indeed not good for Da Longtou; not only he had to pretend that he is not injured, he had to fight war on all sides. Were it not for this, Li Mi would have rebelled early on, then it would really be a great loss for Da Longtou. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to ask, Da Longtou must have determined that the person who wounded him must be Li Mi; he summoned him to have a meeting, was it because he wanted to kill him? Tu Shufang shook his head, Ever since Zhang Xutuos defeat, they have been on guard against each other. Unless its a direct confrontation, nobody will be able to take advantage over the other. Ay! Each time Li Mi wins a battle, Da Longtous position suffers one big shaking, sending us into a situation where we take aplete beating. Most of the high-ranking military officers secretly express their loyalty and devotion to Li Mi only. Now that Da Longtou is injured, we dont have any asset with which we are going to confront Li Mi. Xu Ziling said, In that case, why not urging Da Longtou to avoid the problem by walking away from it? He could go somece else andy another foundations; it will definitely be better than staying here, waiting to be ughtered by others. Tu Shufang halted his steps; he let out a wry smile and said, This matter has to be decided by Da Longtou, we can only do what hemands us to do. I want to go back now, you must not stay out toote. Waving his hand, he walked away. Hearing him, the two boys felt as if their heart was weighed down by lead; absent-mindedly they continued toward the direction of Daiqing Yuan. Kou Zhong looked up, letting the snowkesnded on his face, enjoying the feeling of cold ice on his skin. He sighed and said, The struggle over the world [tian xia] has just begun, internal strife already appeared within the Wagang Army. Looks like Wagang Army is not a good material to vie for the world. Xu Ziling said ruefully, Just in that term vying for the world, naturally everybody will be you fight, I snatch. The greats will fight over big thing, the small will fight over small thing. Zhong Shao, do you still have the interest to enter the contest? Kou Zhongs spirit was shaken. He said, If the world is won by Li Mi, Ol Die, those kind of people who are crafty scoundrel by nature, wontmon people suffer cmity? Dont you think it would be better if we became the emperor? Xu Ziling sneered and said, There can only be one emperor; you can be one. I am not interested. Kou Zhongughed aloud. When he looked up, he saw the Daiqing Yuans big courtyard and the goldencquered signboard. We are here! he happily said. Chapter 11, Part 2 Komeng, HPC, Ysabel, Laoren, Jaya, Weed, Lawwoo, you are wee. Sky, DongBin ... noment. Ari, Bocah, power struggle indeed. But if my memory serves me right, this is not the first time KZ wanted to be the emperor, although from the start their ambition was to be great general and prime minister. End of Chapter 11, one more to go to close Book 4. Xu Ziling pulled him back. Are we going to go in and ask for Peipei right away? he asked. Kou Zhong was bemused, If we are not looking for Peipei, then whom are we looking for? he said. This ce is Shen Luoyans old nest, Xu Ziling reminded him, Although she does not dare to send people trailing us openly, its impossible for her not to know if we are randomly barging all over the ce. And then when she investigatester, she would immediately find out that as soon as we get in, we single out Peipei, as if we are her old mes. It would be strange indeed if that did not raise her suspicion. Kou Zhong pped his forehead, You are very thorough, he admitted, What should we do then? Are we going in or not? We are definitely going in, Xu Ziling said, But it must be the procuress herself who introduces us. At that time well y it by ear! Kou Zhong let out a forcedugh; he said, We must not fail our bodies in vain. The fire in me lighted up by Chuchu has not stopped burning until now! Amidst the happy giggle, the two boys strutted into Daiqing Yuan. Seeing the robe the two boys were wearing had Big Boss Mansion insignia embroidered on it, the guards at the door did not dare to be negligent. Bowing respectfully with sped hands they weed the two boys into the reception area, and handed them over to the female brothel keeper who wasing out to greet them. Although the two boys had never really enjoyed the gentle and soft taste of the inside of the pleasure house, they were already familiar with the initial procedure. First, they bestowed a tip, and then they found a set of chairs to sit down. The reception lobby was noisy, several pretty maids shuttling around six, seven groups of guests, waiting upon the customers attentively, while teasing andughing with them; the air was thick with the thoughts of love. The procuress serving the two boys was called Lan Yi [lit. orchid aunt], a middle-aged, but still attractive woman, she still looked rather pretty. Just by looking at her good looks, they knew that the brothel Baling Bang operated was a first-ss business. Lan Yi noticed the two boys were handsome and of outstanding quality. Xu Ziling was schrly and ssy, Kou Zhong was straight and impressive looking. It was the first time that she came across this kind of men in this kind of ce. Her beautiful eyes were nearly burning with passion. With a smiling face that looked like a flower she said, Two Gongzi mustve just been back in triumphal return with Da Longtou, otherwise, howe tonight is the first time you came to visit us? Taking a cup of fragrant tea offered by a pretty maid, Kou Zhong giggled happily and said, There will always be first time for everything. Tonight it is the first time that I came across such an enchanting beauty like Lan Yi. Who knows? Perhaps in our previous lives we were husband and wife! Hearing that, Lan Yi covered her mouth whileughing tenderly; like a fluttering stem of flower she said, Gongzi really knows how sweet-talk a girl; be careful now, nujia might disregard the girls resentment and hog you for myself! Xu Ziling was quite amused to see Kou Zhongs action in pretending to be an old hand in the midst of a cluster of flowers; but he only watched silently from the side. However, how could Lan Yi be willing to spare him? Her beautiful eyes swept across, she threw a coquettish nce over at him and said, Xu Gongzi is a lot quieter than you are, but all the same nujia is bewitched that my mind is in chaos. Kou Zhong sank himself in the soft chair; he sneered and said, He is the one who ought to be bewitched; if you let this kid climb onto your bed, do you think he would still be able to maintain his current dignified air of a sour-looking old schr? Noticing Xu Zilings face was blushing, Lan Yiughed happily. She reached out to pat Kou Zhongs thigh and while catching for her breath, she said, Right now Kou Gongzi is like this, but when you are on my bed, will you be like a dead person? Inwardly Kou Zhong was smiling wryly; because if he really went into her bed, practically he did not know how to start. But of course on the surface he still maintained the air of a veteran who has criss-crossed the field of love. pping the arm of the chair he said, Who are the most popr girls in here? Lan Yi dly obliged, Those with the highest status are already booked, but looking at two Gongzi, nujia may make exception to arrange for them to visit you. Let you meet them first, and then you can make your reservation. What do you think? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Can you at least tell us their fragrant names first? Lan Yi mentioned five, six names in session, like Cuier, Qinger, and so on, but there was no Peipei. Kou Zhong rolled his eyes; heughed and said, Other than Lan Yi, who might be avable to apany us enjoying the night? Lan Yi cast him a sidelong nce in mock anger; she sultrily said, If Kou Gongzi tease nujia again, lets see if nujia will let you get away. And then she mentioned another string of names, but still there was no Peipei. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt a headache wasing. It was only then did they regret not asking Xiang Yushan for more details. But this moment they were already riding a tiger, it would be hard to get off. In the past, although the two boys adored pleasure houses, but since each time they visited a brothel they always had danger lurking on every side, plus they were anxious over Susu, as well as anxious over the risky conditions in which they were nning to escape, they lost the mood to have fun with women [orig. cuddle with the red and lying down with the bluish-green]. However, if they turned on their heels just like that, it would be inappropriate; yet if they pressed on and continued questioning her, they would raise her suspicion. Logically speaking, it was unlikely that the entire brothel, from top to bottom, were Baling Bang people. If they were not careful, they would reveal their secret. Suddenly someone came to Lan Yi, leaned close to her and whispered a few words. When the man left, Lan Yis countenance became a bit unnatural; forcing a smile, she said, A room has just be avable. It would be better for nujia to take two Gongzi there first, at least it will be better than waiting in this crowded room. The two boys knew she was not telling them the truth, but they both thought that very likely that Peipei found out about their arrival, hence they dly followed her going upstairs. When the door opened, the person their eyes saw was Shen Luoyan, who was sitting calmly inside. She was greeting them with her charming smile. Lan Yi spoke in low voice, Nujia is only following order, two Gongzi please forgive me. The two boys felt as if a bucket of cold water had just been dumped onto their head, they both groaned inwardly. Kou Zhong carefully examined the surrounding; other than the young maid waiting upon them, there did not seem to be any troop lying in ambush. Therefore, he bravely walked in, and sat down across from her. Xu Ziling had no choice but to sit next to him. After the young maid left, Kou Zhong leered at her, Tonight, are you going to apany me, or him? Shen Luoyan indifferently said, Of course I will apany both of you. But only in this room, drinking wine and having a heart-to-heart chat. Tonight she was wearing in white clothes, while outside the window the fine snowkes floating in the air. The two boys felt that it was so hard for them to grow hostile toward her, yet they were fully aware that they were facing imminent catastrophe at every turn. It was indeed a very contradictory feeling. Xu Ziling sneered and said, Spit it out, Shaoye still needs to go home to sleep. Shen Luoyan raised her wine cup and cheerfully said, The night is young, raise your cup and have a heart-to-heart chat; isnt that a delight in ones life? Let Luoyan toast two gentlemen a cup. Kou Zhong giggled and said, How do we know you didnt put any drug in the wine? Displeased, Shen Luoyan put down her cup; she said with augh, If I want to drug you, I dont need to show myself! You havent made any progress at all; instead of seeking pleasure in Longtou Mansion, where most imperial concubines from Yang Guangs temporary imperial residence live, you came here to spend your silver to buy some smile. I wonder if all men are miserable wretch like you? Kou Zhong countered by saying, Somebody received someone elses benevolence, yet instead of thinking about repaying the debt of gratitude, she only thinks about how to conspire against her benefactors. I wonder if those people were born with the heart of wolf and the lungs of dog? Pfft! Shen Luoyan burst inughter. Touche! she said, But I am here now precisely to pay the debt of gratitude. Actually Luoyan ismitted to give myself wholly to marry one of you, Shaoye! Here we go again! Xu Ziling was upset, If you continue like this, well just brush away our sleeves and leave. Shen Luoyan said, Xu Shaoye must not take offense, there is a rumor in Jianghu recently, Yuwen Wudi was beaten by you that he ran away in panic. If this continues, perhaps one day your fame and power will surpass Ba Fenghan and the shadow assassin Yang Xuyan, who are currently like the sun in the middle of the sky. Hearing the name Ba Fenghan, and found out about the name of the shadow assassin, the two boys spirit was shaken; they both had a faint feeling that one day these two men would be their opponent. Observing their countenance, Shen Luoyan was greatly astounded, Turns out the rumor is not false at all, she said, In that case, it was indeed you yourselves who dispelled the strength-scattering drug from your body by circting your internal energy; no wonder at that time your forehead was gleaming with perspiration. Kou Zhongughed and said, All of those things have nothing to do with you. To make a long story short, Shaoye still want to seek pleasure. Shen Luoyan smiled and said, Then you ought to answer Luoyans question: among the outstanding heroes of today, who could surpass Duke Li? How about the Li n? Xu Ziling blurted out. Shen Luoyan showed disdain, From the four n leaders, speaking about martial art skill, Li Yuan can only be ranked at thest of the list; speaking about ability and sagacity, he is also number one, if you count backwards. Speaking about personal character, he is cowardice, afraid of getting involved, indecisive, and just like you: he clings to the loveliness of a woman too much. Even knowing that it was a crime punishable by beheading, he still privately epted from the pce supervisor of Jinyang Pce, Pei Ji, two stunning beauties hand-picked from Yang Guangs collection of pce maids. How can this kind of person aplish big thing? I cant believe your vision is severelycking like this! How would the two boys know that Li Yuan was that kind of person? But by looking at how Li Shimin was using a thousand ways and a hundred ns trying to get him to revolt, they knew that even if Shen Luoyan did not hit the target, she was not too far off. Shen Luoyancently said, As for your Old Die Du Fuwei, he can only be considered an ambitious and ruthless character of the underworld. Vying for territory in Jianghu, he is more than adequate, but vying for the world? When will his turne? After a short pause, she continued, Right now Duke Mi has opened the storehouse to aid themon people. He also calls the world to arms, by enumerating Yang Guangs ten major crimes. The heart of the people all over the world, none did not turn toward him. Those with a clear view of things ought to know who has received the Heavensmand to be the master. Xu Ziling let out a coldugh and said, You open your mouth, you close your mouth, its always Li Mi this and Li Mi that; where actually have you ced Da Longtou? Totally unfazed, Shen Luoyan calmly replied, You can only me yourself for being muddleheaded. Today Duke Zhai already informed me formally to notify Duke Mi that he is going to abdicate to yield to a more worthy person. As soon as the high-ranking military officers assemble, he will publicly announce this matter. Hence the reason I open my mouth, I close my mouth, its always Li Mi this and Li Mi that. So whats actually the problem? Hearing that, the two boys looked at each other. It was only then did they find out that Zhai Rang already publicly conceded, and gave up the Da Longtou [reminder: big boss] position of Wagang Army to someone else. Immediately they felt some kind of heavy burden has been relieved from their heart. A weapon of war ought to be kept in check. Shen Luoyans pretty eyes lit up, shing an unfathomable expression. Kou Zhong still refused to concede; he said, What about the other three ns? Will they be willing to sit back and watch the world falls into your Wagang Armys hands? Shen Luoyan cunningly and leisurely replied, The Song ns power is in the south, they can only rely on northern power to get the things done; hence we can set them aside. Dugu ns association with the imperial family is too deep; without the lips, the teeth feel the cold [i.e. interdependent], hence they also have no power to strive for the world. Only Yuwen n has sufficient manpower and enough talent to aplish something small. But because they have been hunting dogs for so many years, they nted enmity everywhere. If Yang Guang perishes, Yuwen n will turn into a target of a multitude of arrows. Even if they have three heads and six arms, they will not be able to deal with it. Hee ... hee ...! Plus you wont let Yuwen Huaji off. Is Luoyan correct? The two boys were silenced by her. This woman knew the current situation, big and small, from top to bottom, like the back of her hands; it was not surprising that Li Mi put her in an important position. Xu Ziling said, What about Guo Zihe, Liu Wuzou, Liang Shidou, three people? They have the Tujues behind their back. I am afraid your Duke Mi is not Bi Xuans match at all! Still rxed, Shen Luoyan calmly said, As it turns out, that is precisely their biggest weakness. Honestly, do you want Tujues evil ws to be extended to the Central ins? Duke Mi often says that opposing the will of the people is the surest way to defeat. Yang Guang is the best example. Kou Zhong looked like he was about to speak, but stopped himself at thest minute. Shen Luoyanughed and said, You were going to ask about Dou Jiande, Wang Bo, or perhaps Shen Faxing, Li Zitong, Xu Yuang, and the others, werent you? Among the warlords vying for supremacy, only our Wagang Army has tight control over the throat of the canal connecting Yellow River and its tributaries. From the west going toward the Eastern Capital, from the east facing Jiangdu, just looking at the geographical location and the terrain, nobody canpete with us. Kou Zhong was totally unyielding; he sighed and said, After all is said and done, all you want from us is the secret of the Duke Yang Treasure. How about this: you marry one of us, the treasure will be yours so that in turn you can hand it over to Duke Mi to ingratiate himself with. Seeing that even though she had exhausted all arguments and still failed to convince the two boys, she was greatly frustrated, Go to your Niang, you little demons with garrulous tongue; just watch if I dont pull your tongue out. The two boys did not expect that Shen Luoyan who has always been refined, gentle and soft, could imitate them in speaking vulgarnguage; they were overjoyed. Finally Shen Luoyan was unable to hold her temper; brushing away her sleeve, she walked away and said, This is called refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. If you could leave Xingyang safe and sound, I, Shen Luoyan, will ... The two boys exchanged a wink, and then together they loudly continued, Will give myself in marriage to you, two little demons. Shen Luoyan was taken aback, but then she regained her usualposure as she smiled sweetly and said, So be it! Listening to her footsteps disappearing in the distance, the two boys felt their scalp went numb. Why didnt she deal with them right away? Could it be that there was arger conspiracy brewing? Book 4 - 12 – Disaster’s Sudden Arrival Book 4 Chapter 12 C Disasters Sudden Arrival The next day Zhai Rang invited them to have breakfast together, apanied by Wang Ruxin and Tu Shufang, but Zhai Jiao was not present. Zhai Rang appeared mncholy. After asking the two boys some everyday life, current situation matters, he silently drank his tea. The other four had no choice but to also keep silent. Out of the blue, Zhai Rang suddenly asked, Hows the situation over there? But Wang Ruxin seemed to understand what he was talking about; he replied, Yesterday I bumped into Xu Shiji; he said that Duke Mi is thinking about taking Liyang Storehouse. After Luokou is captured, militias from all parts of the country wille to realign their allegiance, so our armys prestige will be even more flourishing. Zhai Rang let out a stifled grunt, Any news from Yang Guangs side? he asked. Wang Ruxin said, Right now Wang Shichong is already in Luoyang, plotting a counterattack n. This man is a great general of the imperial court, he is also proficient in military strategy and tactics, this time Duke Mi will meet a formidable opponent. Kou Zhong asked Tu Shufang in low voice, What kind of guy is Xu Shiji? Tu Shufang replied with a smile, He and Zu Junyan are known as the Two Valiant of Wagang Army, he is also Shen Luoyans boyfriend. But until now Shen Luoyan is still unwilling to marry him. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly stunned; turned out Shen Luoyan was already taken [orig. famous flower has its owner]. A sour, helpless feeling suddenly floated in their hearts. Wang Ruxin added, I heard there is also a Sui government official called Wei Zheng[1], who is in charge of Wuyang County regions Cheng Yuans Treasure Code; three days ago he offered the entire set of the Treasure Code to Duke Mi, so that nowadays Li Mi has be the most prestigious figure among the militias. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling noticed how Wang Ruxin seemed to be constantly provoking Zhai Rang; inwardly they felt very strange. Zhai Rang pressed on the table and stood up; turning toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two people, he softly said, Come with me to the garden! Unable to make any sense of it, the two boys simply followed him to the garden. Zhai Rang walked ahead of them, with his hands behind his back; he seemed to be deep in thought. The snow had stopped, but the snow umtion on the ground reached about a chi deep; icicles were hanging down from the trees. Several servants were busy shoveling the snow; seeing Zhai Rang, they hastily went down on their knees to kowtow. Zhai Rang went straight toward the small pavilion in the middle of the garden. He looked up to the sky, and with his back still facing the two boys, he said, Sit down! The two boys sat down absentmindedly. Zhai Rang spoke in heavy voice, When I heard about you, I immediately sent people to check the events surrounding your past. Onlyst night they returned to report back to me. I really did not know that your names have already spread all around Jianghu. Evidently there are a lot of things that Li Mi is keeping from me. And then he turned around; with eyes burning he looked at the two boys and said, Do you really know the location of the Duke Yang Treasure? With a bitterugh Kou Zhong replied, If we did, we would have gone to get it early on. Zhai Rang nodded. That is reasonable, he said, No matter how much Luocha Nu [woman] cherished you, in the end she was still a Korean, its improbable that she would entrust such matter concerning the rise and fall of her country two a couple of Central ins people like you. In their hearts the two boys cried out, Close shave! It was best if Zhai Rang thought like that. Zhai Rang sighed and said, If I were as young as you are, I would definitely run far away from here. After my internal injury recovered, I would fight for the rivers and mountains again. But now I am already old, I dont have the courage to do it all over again. And then he continued, Were it not for Li Mis malicious plot against me, today to whom the deer falls [i.e. the one to seize the empire. On side note: Jin Yong explored this idiom in Deer and Cauldron.] is still unknown. Seeing the two boys were not surprised at all, he nodded and said, You have already guessed that the man hiding inside the trunk who plotted against me was indeed Li Mi. The two boys had no choice but to nod. Zhai Rang breathed out a mouthful of air; he continued, I can never let the enemy, as well as my own side, that I really suffer internal injury. Even Wang Ruxin thinks that Li Mis plot against me had failed. Thats why he is trying to incite me to kill Li Mi and seize the power back into my hands. Xu Ziling was baffled, Then why did you tell Shen Luoyan that you are giving up the Da Longtou position? Wouldnt it be the same as telling them that you are injured? Zhai Rangs countenance changed. Did youe across Shen Luoyanst night? he asked. The two boys narrated what had happened the previous night. Zhai Rangs countenance turned incredibly ugly. He sighed and said, You have fallen into her trap, basically there is no such thing. She intentionally said that because she knows the current close rtionship between you and me, so she was testing your reaction. Supposing you did not show any sign of surprise, it would authenticate that I really suffer internal injury. Stunned, the two boys looked at each other, their mind was in turmoil. Zhai Rang recovered hisposure, Dont me yourselves, he said lightly, First of all, it was due to yourck of experience, secondly, Shen Luoyan is as crafty as a fox. All we have to do right now is to think of a way to remedy the situation. Xu Ziling apologetically said, We have implicated Da Longtou! Kou Zhong was overwhelmed with guilty feeling that he nearly wanted to kill himself. pping the stone table, he said, We shouldnt have slipped out. Zhai Rang sat down across the table from them, with an extremely solemn expression he said, We must beat them at their own game; lets get the throne out, hopefully it can buy us some time. After a short pause, he continued, Right now Ol Zhai has something Id like to entrust to you; I wish for you to take Jiaoer to a certain ce, then I will have no fear of trouble in the rear, and will have free hand in dealing with Li Mi. The two boys felt big headache; dealing with this hard-to-please Zhai Jiao, a short time already felt like forever, how would dealing with her for a prolonged period of time feel like? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Shen Luoyan hates us the most; just before leavingst night she said that she guarantees we wont be able to leave the city. Da Longtou is asking the wrong person. Zhai Rang was staring nkly for half a day. Finally he murmured, Who in the world does not want to catch you, yet you are still able to live free and easy. Its a clear sign that you do have some abilities. Hastily Xu Ziling declined modestly, That is because the opponents did not really want to kill us. Besides, all those times it was only the two of us, naturally making our escape were a lot easier. Zhai Rang nodded his agreement, In that case, he said, Ill have to make different arrangement to send off Jiaoer. Do you want me to send Susu along? The two boys hurriedly replied, That wont be necessary! Zhai Rang smiled wryly and said, It was because I spoiled her, nowadays everybody is afraid of Jiaoer. Only she and Susu happen to be especially good to each other. Ay! Remembering that Zhai Rang let Susu to apany Wang Bodang, the two boys did not feel particrly sympathetic toward hisments. Zhai Rang continued pouring out his heart to the two boys, When you reach to where I am, you will know that youll have to do a lot of things against your will. It was because I am not as ruthless as Li Mi that today I came to this plight. The two boys did not know how tofort him. Zhai Rang suddenly took off the dragon-engraved ring from his left middle finger. Stuffing it into Kou Zhongs hand, he said, Jiaoer will leave today, and tomorrow it will be your turn. One more day Li Mi has not returned, one more day the city of Xiangyang remains in my control. Kou Zhong looked down to examine the ring in his palm; he was confused, This is ... Zhai Rangs voice was heavy, I dont have any face to ask you to help me. But in order not to let my men suspect that I am a coward, I can only go to outsiders like the two of you to do it. Xu Ziling said, Whatever errands Da Longtou wants us to do, there is no harm in telling us. Zhai Rang said, Supposing my dying tactic seeded, I want you to take this ring to Leshou and look for Dou Jiande. In terms of talent, wisdom and martial art skill, this man is above me, plus he has a deep friendship with me. You can truthfully tell him my situation. Whates next, just leave it to him to handle. Kou Zhong received the ring, and resolutely said, Such a trivial thing, we can certainly do it for Da Longtou. Zhai Rang suddenly revealed a cold and ruthless smile as he said in low voice, He is ruthless, I wont hold on to righteousness. I only need to spill a bit of secret to Wang Shichong, I guarantee thatll teach Li Mi a lesson in suffering defeats. And then the legend that he emerged victorious in every battle will copse. Hearing that, Kou and Xu felt a chill crept in their heart. Although right now they were standing on Zhai Rangs side, they did not dare to givepliment toward the way he conducts himself or his method. Zhai Rang also seemed to realize that he hadmitted a faux pas. You may go back now, he said, I still want to sit here and think about how to arrange for your departure. I will let you knowter. The two boys breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew in haste. Li Mi maye back any minute, they went to Tu Shufang; Kou Zhong asked for a long saber, but Xu Ziling wanted to use short halberd. They both thought that starting now, even going to sleep they had to have their weapons in their bosom. [1] Wei Zheng (580-643), Tang politician and historian, notorious as a critic and editor of the History of Sui Dynasty. Chapter 12, Part 2 Weed, HPC, Jaya, Ysabel, Laoren, Komeng, you are wee. George, I do hope so too, but looks like we are stuck there for the foreseeable future. Bocah, I think this part can be considered action. DongBin, I know that, but we are talking about Zhai Rang and Li Mi and Wang Bodang of the novel, not the real historical figures. At least I have not seen any mention of the real Wang Bodang raping Susu. Sky, its a recurring theme in wuxia: the female character is engaged, but in the end falls for the protagonist. The two boys also went to find Susu, telling her that they were leaving tomorrow night. Afterwards they went back to the courtyard to practice martial art. That day passed uneventfully. After dinner, the two of them returned to hide in their room. Kou Zhong said, Since that loathsome granny Jiao is leaving tonight, wed better have Su Jie sleep in my room, while the two of us sleep together here like before. If something happens, escaping will be more convenient. Xu Ziling agreed, Old Zhai is asking us a favor, he wont dare to oppose. Whatever we do, even if his eyes are wide open, he would have no choice but just turning a blind eye on us. He has not finished speaking, there was a knock on the door, Susus voice was heard outside, Are you there? The two boys were greatly delighted; busily they weed Susu inside. Who would have thought that as soon as the door was closed, she threw herself to the two boys and cried bitterly? Miss has left! she said with a sob. Recalling Zhai Jiao, no matter how hard they tried, they simply could not emte Susus distress. Someforting wordster, Susu was calming down somewhat, but her pretty eyes were quite red and swollen from crying. Susu agonizingly said, Now you are the only family Jiejie has, will you leave Jiejie? Tofort Susu, Kou Zhongughed and said, Of course not, unless Jiejie really loves that Yiqi Shan. Married woman naturally cannot have us cherish our Jiejie anymore. Susu turned tears intoughter; pouting yfully, she reprimanded him lightly. The two boys hastily carried out their magic, and only when she seemed to forget Zhai Jiao that they made their proposal to have her stay in the adjacent room. Susu rolled her pretty eyes; blushing, she said, The bed is so big, if the three of us sleep together, wont it be safer? Xu Ziling jumped in fright, How can that be? Susu crossly said, Dont you dare having ideas. Between us, sister and brothers, we are as bright as the sun and the moon, its just that this time we are a bit closer than usual! This is everybodys dream, actually. Kou Zhong stammered, If people find out, what would they think? Susus pretty face blushed slightly, but she persisted, Who would find out? Dont tell me you dont think it is fun? Finally Xu Ziling conceded, Jiejie is not afraid, what are we afraid of? Tonight the three of us, sister and brothers will share the bed. Zhong Shao, you must not make any illicit move. Kou Zhong cried out to heavens for the injustice he received, Who do you think Zhong Shao is? Much less I revere Jiejie as an immortal. Xiao Ling, I demand an apology. Susu cheerfully said, I trust you, that should be enough. Xu Ziling warned her, This kid Kou Zhong always brandish his hands and swinging his legs during sleeping, for the past many years I dont know how many times I was punched by his fist, was kicked by his legs. Kou Zhongughed bitterly and said, Worst case scenario, Jiejie can sleep on your side over there. Susu shook her head, No! she said, I want to sleep between the two of you. Both are my good Didi. The two boys were overwhelmed with emotion that they felt like crying. Right now the three sister and brothers only had each other to depend to. Be careful, Xu Ziling reminded Kou Zhong, Chuchu mighte to look for you. That will spoil our grand n. Ah! Susu eximed; from her bosom she took out a ne with jade pendant, and solemnly said, I came here this time, it was actually on behalf of Chuchu, to give this jade pendant to you; she implored me to personally witness you putting it on your neck. Kou Zhong was shaken. Did she leave with your Miss? he asked. Susus emotion was stirred up with concern again, her elegant eyes turned red; hanging her head, she nodded. Kou Zhong solemnly took the jade pendant and put it on around his neck, and then he sighed and said, Why does the love between man and woman cause so much pain? Stomping his feet, Xu Ziling said, You should have asked Old Zhai to leave her behind. With a wry smile Kou Zhong said, At that time I practically did not even think about her. But now I am very sad, just like if I have lost something very precious in my life. Xu Ziling asked Susu on his behalf, Do you know where your Miss is going? Susu shook her head, Even Miss herself did not know, she replied, Only Tu Shufang knows. Xu Ziling said, We can always ask Old Zhai tomorrow. Kou Zhong felt a little relieved; he was back at his giggling manner as he teased Susu, Jiejie, can we go to bed now? Susu gracefully rose up, kicked her boots, threw off her silk gown, exposing her even more well-developed curves. Dont take off more clothes! Xu Ziling hastily said, If something happens we can go a bit faster. Susu stomped her feet in anger, Xiao Ling, really! Who wants to take off more clothes? Although the three of them were babbling about Li Mi was going to attack Big Boss Mansion tonight, but actually none of them really thought that Li Mi would return tonight. From his pile of clothes in the trunk Kou Zhong took out a cloth belt, tossed it toward Xu Ziling and said with augh, I want you to take care of this life-saving rope; if something happens, you carry Su Jie on your back, while I will be responsible to open up a path, killing our way out of the heavy siege. Susu shuddered. Can you not talk about scary things like that? she said. Xu Ziling lifted up the mosquito and respectfully said, Jiejie, please! Smiling, Susu gracefully climbed onto the bed, andy down in the middle. Flustered, the two boys hastily blew out the oilmp and took off their outer robe. And then one after another they climbed from the foot of the bed andy down on Susus left and right. In the darkness of the room, the three peoples heart was throbbing. Susu suddenly broke into giggle; gasping for breath, she said, I will be surprised if you dont fall off the bed tonight; cant you get closer to me? The two boys also giggled and scooted closer to her. An unbounded sweet and warm feeling welled up in three peoples heart. Susu pulled the quilt over to cover all of them. She sighed and said, Even if I die tonight, Jiejie has two such good Didi like you, I feel that my life has not been in vain. Uh? she suddenly eximed, Howe you did not even take off your boots? The two boysughed hysterically. Kou Zhong struggled hard to take a deep breath to say, So that when we have to flee it will be a bit more convenient! Susu was cross; she sat up and had the two boys take off their boots. While they were busy doing her bidding, suddenly there was a Pop! Pop! noise out of nowhere, followed by sound of people shouting. Kou Zhong sprang up, pushed the window open and saw zing fire from the direction of the front courtyard, the intensity of the fire was terrifying. By this time Xu Ziling and Susu hade to his side; watching the scene, they were dumbstruck. The fire is strange, Kou Zhong said, Must be an insider job. Before he even finished speaking, sound of fighting came from four sides, eight directions. Staying calm, Xu Ziling kneeled down and called out, Jiejie, quickly climb onto my back. Susu was so frightened that her knees went soft. She had to leaned on Kou Zhong, who quickly grabbed her and helped her up on Xu Zilings back. Althought Xu Ziling felt that Susus body emitted a high degree of attractive force, his heart was pure; he hastily cleared his mind and steered away his thought from that direction. Susu only felt that this little brothers broad back was warm and safe. Considering that she was scared out her wits [orig. lost soul, dropped spirit], for the time being she was not lost in wild and fanciful thoughts either. The sound of shing weapons kepting in. After tying Susu well, Kou Zhong fetched the short halberd for Xu Ziling, while took the long saber for himself. You follow behind me, he said coldly, If we get separated, well meet again at Daiqing Yuan. You must never try to leave the city, Li Mi will never let anybody out of the city. Finished speaking, he rushed out of the window. Xu Ziling gathered his thought, and then followed behind him. Kou Zhong leaped to a high ce, and saw all around him were warriors wearing red cloth on their heads, attacking in full force, killing the guards of the Big Boss Mansion, even the maids and servants were not spared. For a short while the sound of wailing shook the sky. Zhai Rangs voice was hearding from the left, Revel thief Li Mi, do you dare to fight mano a mano with me, Zhai Rang? Li Mis gentle and pleasant-to-hear voice responded, Da Longtous request, how could Li Mi dare not toply? This moment Xu Ziling already caught up with Kou Zhong; he called out, This is the only chance to escape! Kou Zhong understood immediately. If they did not take advantage of the moment Zhai Rang pinning down Li Mis main force to escape, they might never have the chance to leave. With a loud shout Kou Zhong raised his saber and flew toward the eaves of the building to their right. Book 5 - 1 – Escape By The Skin Of Their Teeth Book 5 Chapter 1 C Escape By The Skin Of Their Teeth Tranted by Foxs Most of Zhai Rangs Big Boss Mansion had caught fire, and the fire was continuously spreading, the me illuminated the sky, reflected by the dark cloud above that it felt like a big rock pressing on their hearts. Although the fire intensity was increasing, nobody was fighting it. The shouting from the killing shook the heavens; dead bodies were everywhere. Li Mis men had their faces covered in ck cloth like nightwalkers, making it difficult to recognize them. Kou Zhong raised his saber to open up a path, Xu Ziling, with Susu on his back, followed behind him. They had just leaped up onto the tiled roof when four men in ck pounced on them like mad tigers. When they saw that Kou and Xu, two people were not wearing ck, they immediately raised their swords to sh at them. Kou Zhong met the attack head-on. In this critical moment, automatically the true qi within his body surged on; an extremely cold qi, hidden inside a warm stream, flowed from his hand onto his long saber, emitting a whistling noise as it slice the air, cutting across the enemy. The man had never imagined that the sabers momentum could be this swift and fierce. The most frightening thing was that the opponents de carried a st of iparably frigid cold saber qi, so that when the enemy met it, he would immediately feel the chill in his heart, that even his qi and blood could not flow unimpeded. By the time the man allocated at least half of his strength to resist Kou Zhongs saber qi, Kou Zhongs long saber had already hacked onto the mans sword so that from attacking, the sword turned into blocking the saber instead. Dang! A clear ringing noise was heard, the man let out a miserable scream; unexpectedly the sword, along with the man, were hacked by Kou Zhongs saber that he fell off the roof tile. Kou Zhong was also shaken by the mans reacting force that his wrist felt numb. But a sudden qi arose from within his body; the numbness and pain immediately subsided. At this moment his eyes, ears, nose and the other senses have be iparably sharp; so much so that his skin was able to clearly sense the variation in the air surrounding him due to the opponents movements. Although by this time, due tock of experience he was unable to reach the state all-seeing, but the day woulde when even if his two eyes were blindfolded, he would be able to see the opponents attacking move. After the enemy taking the lead to attack had fallen, the other three men were obviously so shocked that their actions suffered a split-second dy, exposing a gap in their offense. Without even thinking Kou Zhong swiftly charged from the nted roof tile surface going upwards, entering the gap in the middle of the enemys attacking formation. His long saber swept in arge circle, shing the three enemys swords in session. This time, the people following Li Mi in the raid on the Big Boss Mansion were all handpicked from among Li Mis troops, every one was skilled, valiant, and ferocious; but encountering Kou Zhong, who was even braver and more unstoppable than they were, their acute spirit was dampened. The first two men had their swords hacked by Kou Zhong; they let a stifled grunt, and were forced to retreat. After dispelling the threat from these two swords, Kou Zhongs murderous spirit arose. With a loud shout his broadsword increased in speed, with all his strength he hacked down on thest mans sword. The man brandished his sword to block, but he felt the opponents saber strength was as heavy as a mountain; his entire body felt like he has just entered an icehouse. With a miserable scream he was hacked down by Kou Zhong that he rolled down to the ground. While Kou Zhong was still pondering why he became very formidable, Xu Ziling swept past to his side, while hurling another man in ck in Kou Zhongs direction. The man was jolted back by Kou Zhong that his qi and blood surged, and the icy cold saber qi prated his meridian; the feeling was unbearable. Suddenly hot tears welled up like lightning in his eyes. He was just about to raise his sword to block, the pit of his stomach felt as if he was struck by lightning. Without even having time to scream, he was thrown backward, fell face up on the ground and died a violent death. The other man was so scared that he turned around and ran toward the other side of the roof, while pursing his lips to send out a whistle, calling for help. The two boys exchanged nces; they did not dare to remain on the roof, hence they jumped down to the ground and relying on their memory, they killed their way to the left, toward the three buildings in the eastern courtyard. As long as they could cross the eastern courtyard, they would be able to climb over the high wall, and out of the Big Boss Mansion. However, Li Mis force was very organized; in groups of three or five, theybed the area looking for the enemy. Whenever they saw people not wearing ck clothes, they showed no mercy and simply killed them. On the other hand, the mansion guards on Zhai Rangs side was like a sheet of loose sand; every body was trying desperately to break out of the siege, no longer had any heart to continue fighting. Which one was the strong, which one was the weak, it could be clearly and easily seen. Kou and Xu, two boys had just taken about ten paces or so, they already met a group of enemy numbering about a dozen, some of them even burst out of the window of a nearby building, charging madly toward the two boys. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were scared out of their wits; they elerated forward so that in the twinkling of an eye the distance between two sides increased considerably. Kou Zhong was afraid the opponent would harm Susu with secret projectiles, hence they turned around behind the main hall, and like arrows the three of them flew toward the eastern courtyard. Ahead they saw a group of men in ck were surrounding about a dozen or so Zhai Mansions guards, engaging them in fierce battle. Xu Ziling was thinking about leaping onto the roof, but he suddenly felt stter of blooding from someone who was falling off the roof. Clenching his teeth, he rushed even faster forward, sweeping toward two men who had their back towards him. The two men suddenly felt a st of qi entering their body; abandoning the enemy in front of them, they turned their swords around to block. Xu Ziling let out a wild roar, his short halberd swept the sword of the one on the right first, jolting the man so that he was thrown aside. Immediately afterwards he changed his move, the short halberd pulled and pushed, so that the other man was blocking an empty space, and then Xu Ziling watched for a gap he could exploit, the tip of his halberd entered the mans chest. By the time the man fell dead, Xu Ziling, with Susu on his back, already entered the center of the hard battle. Like a shadow Kou Zhong followed closely behind him; flipping his broadsword up, he deflected an iingnce, and then with another flip he hacked another mans nk. As the Zhai Mansion guards felt the hard pressure suddenly decreased, they all scattered in all directions. The situation was extremely chaotic. Kou Zhong turned his head around and saw the dozen or so enemies they left behind were closing in fast. Aghast, he yelled, Go! Xu Ziling was also aware that the situation was extremely critical, if the enemy managed to cut their path, they would lose their lives right then and there. Additionally, he felt Susus body on his back was trembling violently. His heroic spirit rose up; using only the toes on his feet as a support, his short halberd turned into hundreds of shing des, forcing the four enemies right in front of him to scatter away, and thus he managed to split the encirclement, and was finally able to dash toward the eastern courtyard. But the situation on the area surrounding the Zhai Mansion was even more dangerous. Apparently Li Mi has deployed a massive military force to prevent anybody from the Zhai Mansion from escaping. They saw human shadows everywhere; you chase after me, I pursue you, the killing was so intense that the moon and the stars lost their light. The three people dashed to the left and darted to the right; each time they were forcing their way toward the eastern courtyard, they were always repelled by the enemy. Not too long afterwards, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already suffered countless minor injuries; even Susus milky white back also suffered a long de cut. Fortunately, in their attempt to escape, the several dozen Zhai Mansion guards were also rushing the same way, so that they impeded the enemys movement. Otherwise, their lives would definitely be hard to protect. Moreover, the two boys had already cut down at least a dozen men from the enemys side. After cutting down five more enemies, under the light from the raging fire the two boys saw that the enemy had seizedplete control over the situation; they were surrounding and killing the remaining thirty or so Zhai Mansion guards and slowly pushing them into a corner, unlike the previous you chase after me, I pursue you situation, where everybody was running randomly in all directions. By this time the three people had arrived at coppice woond outside the reach of the firelight; it seemed that the enemy has temporarily forgotten about them. Looking to the west, most of the buildings in the Zhai Mansionplex had already engulfed in me, while burst of shouting, yelling and screaming of the battle still came intermittently. Susu wept. Laoye must be dead, she cried. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they both felt their qi was depleted their strength gone, they no longer felt as brave as before. Kou Zhong asked, Is there any hiding ce around here? Susu was still shaking in fear by a miserable scream from the direction of the battle; hearing the question, she stared nkly for a moment before pointing toward a rockery in the middle of the pond situated north of the eastern courtyard. Lets go that way! she said. Without even thinking Xu Ziling carried her on his back flying toward the big pond about a dozen zhang away. Kou Zhong caught up next to Susu and asked, Is there any ce in the pond we can hide? Susu anxiously replied, Inside the rockery there is a little pond that was used as fish hatchery; after the water was drained, it became a dry well. It ispletely hidden. The two boys were greatly delighted; increasing their vignce, they listened to eight directions. After evading two groups of the enemy, they proceeded cautiously; making sure nobody noticed their movements. Taking advantage of the immensely golden opportunity while the enemys attention was focused on stopping the Zhai Mansion guards from escaping, they flitted across the side of the pond, andnded on the fake rock, which diameter was close to two zhang. Following Susus direction, the three of them squeezed into the small well, about five chi deep and four chi across [1 chi is approx. 1/3m or 1ft]. Unless someone deliberately broke into the crack in the rock and reached the side of the well, nobody would be able to find the three people. Thump, thump, thump ... They heard each others heart beating wildly. It was quite a while before, like the killing noise outside, their hearts gradually calmed down. Kou Zhong said in a low voice, Is Zhai Rang finished? Xu Ziling was about to reply when suddenly he felt his cor was dripping wet; turned out Susu was crying silently. Although the well was dark and he was unable to see Susus expression, he knew that she was choked with the bleakest emotions; his heart ached as he said, Dont cry! Your Laoye has led uprising in the past; he would have known that a day like this maye. The situation right now is if you dont kill me, then Ill kill you. Pressing himself against Susus back, Kou Zhong also whisperedforting words in her ear, In the future it will be the two of us who take care of Jiejie! Chapter 1, Part 2 HPC, Ysabel, Joaquim, Komeng, Jaya, Bocah, you are wee. Oh, Joaquim, wee to the forum. Laoren, that is affirmative, even SLY says so. Sky, I was referring only to their servant mentality. Please spare my life ... Drax, speaking about urban warfare, ckhawk Down came to my mind. Subudai, I did not realize you guys loathe Susu that much. I only feel sorry for her. The noise outside suddenly died down, even the crackling noise of the fire seemed to disappear; only asional rustling noise of the sleeve against the breeze was still heard. Apparently Li Mis men were conducting thorough search to ensure no one slipped through their. The three people knew it was a critical moment, they were so scared that they did not even dare to let even half a mouthful of heavy breathing escaped from their nostrils. Additionally, from time to time there were people raising their torches high to look at the rockery; fortunately no one could ever imagine that there was a dry well inside it. After nobody knew how long, a gentle and pleasant to hear voice was heard from the edge of the pond, Still cant find those two kids? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling recognized Li Mis voice; immediately in their hearts they did not stop crying out for their Niang. Luckily the other party was separated by a distance of four, five zhang, plus the three of them were hidden in the well under the fake rock; otherwise, it would be impossible to conceal their presence from this martial art master whose name shook the world. Zu Junyans voice was heard, They werest seen around this courtyard; that Xu kid was even carrying that precious little maid Susu on his back. And then in the confusion nobody knows where they sneaked out to. A loud and clear male voice was heard, Logically speaking, they must be hiding inside the Mansion; but now all rooms have been burned down, the underground tunnel has also been blocked. Where could they go? Shen Luoyans tender voice was heard next; she let out a snort and said, Even if they were able to escape from the Mansion, they can forget about leaving the city. While inside the well Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were busy raining down curses on her, Li Mi spoke indifferently, In any case, dont let these two boys escape. If we cant use them, finish them off with a de, to avoid a new branch grows out of a knot. Understand? Zu Junyan and the other chorused theirpliance. The sound of footsteps was getting farther and farther away. The three people have just breathed a sigh of relief, Shen Luoyans sigh was heard, Shiji, my heart is a bit uneasy. It was only then did the three people realize that the man with a loud and clear voice was Li Mis other general, Xu Shiji, who also happened to be Shen Luoyans boyfriend. Xu Shiji said, Luoyan, your wisdom and intelligence have always surpassed others, you always n in advance; why are you suddenly sounded so bleak, as if you have lost all hopes? Shen Luoyan let out a gloomy sigh again, and gently said, These two boys skill is getting better every day, each encounter is more formidable than thest; even Bai Laoliu [ol six], Xie Hei, those kind of martial art masters were sent to the western paradise just in a few encounters with them. Moreover, the cause of their death was because their heart and artery were shattered by their powerful qi. If this time we are unable to hold them down, in the future they will be a disaster for us. Listening to his, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heroic spirit swelled uncontrobly; they had just found out that turned out they carried enough weight in the minds of the enemy. Xu Shiji let out a cold snort and said, If it werent for the fact that our attention was focused on that dead devil Zhai, how could they have the chance to show off? Leave the search to me! Even if they flew to the end of the sky, I will bring their body back for you to see. The noises outside died down. The three people were unable to resist their exhaustion; they fell asleep in each others embrace. Finally they were able to aplish the magnificent feat of sleeping together. One after another the three of them were awakened by the cold falling snowkes. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have mastered the divine skill of Secret to Long Life, it was only natural that they were able to withstand the cold. Susu was wearing fur coat, plus she had practiced a little bit of martial art, and on top of that, she put on a cloak, which rendered her cold proof. The unbearable thing was that Kou Zhong, who pressed himself against her back, was emitting a stream on strangely cold qi that made her feel extremely ufortable; while on the other side Xu Ziling was emitting an iparably hot qi. It was as if her body was subjected to a severe winter on one side, and intense summer on the other; half cold half hot. She did not know whether she ought to feel painful or happy. Xu Ziling was the first to realize this situation; he knew during sleeping Kou Zhong would spontaneously circte his qi. Zhong Shao, he called out softly, Still havent restrained your inner qi? Kou Zhong obeyed him and woke up. Susu immediately felt a bit better. By this time the heavy snow had nearly filled the space above the three people to the brim. Naturally Kou and Xu, two boys had no problem. Automatically the true qi within their body reacted; the breathing from their mouth and nose was severed, they entered the inner-breathing state like a fetus. However, Susu did not have this kind of ability; she felt drowsy very quickly. I am stuffy! she moaned. Xu Ziling was about to push the snow out to let Susu breathe a bit of fresh air. A multitude of footsteps wasing near, someone spoke, Drain the pond water, I heard they are proficient in breathing-under-water skill, perhaps they are still hiding at the bottom of the pond. Humph! Let me search this pond carefully one more time. Recognizing the voice as belonging to Xu Shiji, how could the three people dare to move? Listening to Susus breathing that was increasingly short and hurried, the two boys were greatly anxious. If this condition continued, just the sound of her breathing would be enough to alert the enemy; not to mention she might be suffocated to death. They heard the sound of rushing wind; obviously someone was crossing the pond, flying toward the fake rock. Xu Ziling was facing Susu. Although he could not see Susus expression due to the thick snow above them, from the heaving of her breasts he knew that she was on the verge of taking herst breath, yet for the sake of the two boys, she fought hard to restrain herself. Critical situation gave birth to quick-wittedness; pressing his lips against her fragrant lips, he transferred his true qi to her. Susus tender body trembled a little before calming down. Her icy-cold lips gradually warmed up, as she silently receiving the true qi that made her entire body rxed. The three of them felt people were walking back and forth above; hence they were forced to beseech the gods and pray to Buddha that the people above would not step onto the snow covering the hole above their heads; otherwise, they would definitely be able to tell that there was something different with the snow. Crash! Someone opened the sluice, with a loud crash the water flowed out of the pond. Shen Luoyans voice was heard from the outside, I think they have already escaped. With a nce you can already see the bottom of the pond, there is no way anybody could hide in here. Xu Shiji clearly shared simr impression; he coldly said, They must be still in the city, well mobilize our troops immediately to search for them house-to-house, I want to see where can they go? A long time after Shen Luoyan and the others left, Kou Zhong was the first to stick his big head out of the snow and happily said, They are all gone! Only then did Xu Ziling leave Susus fragrant lips and help her to stand up. Turned out it was already dawn. Heavy snow was still swirling in the air; the Zhai Mansion had turned into broken-roof crumbling-wall ruins after the fire. Susu has been sitting with bent knees all night long, her legs went numb. Were it not for Xu Ziling holding her arm, she would not be able to stand. Noticing the slight blush on Susus pretty face, plus her bashful demeanor as if she did not dare to look straight at him, Xu Ziling could not help recalling the interlocking of the two sets of lips just now, and some kind of peculiar feeling grew in his originally pure heart. How could Kou Zhong be willing to let him get away with it just like that? Leaning closer to Susu, he whispered in her ear, Jiejie was kissed by Xiao Ling, how about letting him marry you? Dont talk nonsense, Susu snapped at him, Xiao Ling was doing that to save my life! How can you say that? Kou Zhong pped his forehead and remorsefully said, I deserve the scolding! I nearly forget that when sister-inw is drowning, we must lend a helping hand. [Trantors note: I believe he was referring to Confucianism restriction in man-woman rtionship.] Therefore, in this situation Xiao Ling was also helping Jiejie ... hey! There is nothing strange about it. Susu turned around nted a very light kiss [orig. the dragonfly touches the water lightly] on Kou Zhongs lips; she spoke tenderly, This way I treat you fairly. Dontugh at Xiao Ling again. While Kou Zhong was as dumb as a wooden chicken, Xu Ziling said, Dont be ridiculous; right now running away for our lives is more important. What should we do? At this time the three of them still had the lower part of their bodies hidden inside the snow-covered well, only their upper bodies were exposed outside. While helping Susu brushing off the snowkes from her beautiful hair, Kou Zhong mused, Now our hope is on the one called Peipei from the Daiqing Lou [sic. It was yuan in previous chapters.] But if we go there to look for her just like this, chances are we are going to reveal ourselves. Besides, at the moment we are not able to move a single step within the city of Xingyang. It would be best if we could find a ce where we could hide for his mothers several days, waiting for the smoke to clear, and then when Shen Poniang [b1tch] and the rest think that we have gone far away, well go to Peipei, asking her to find a way. This way it will be absolutely safe. With a bitterugh Xu Ziling said, Who dares to offer shelter to us now? Susus voice was trembling, They said they are going to conduct house-to-house search, it would be better for us to just stay here. Kou Zhong giggled and said, In this kind of weather, if we stay here, we will either die of the cold, or die of starvation. Ha! Does Jiejie know where that Shen Luoyans thievesir is? Susu was shocked. You are not thinking of hiding in her home, are you? she asked. Kou Zhongughed. Where can we find a hiding ce more secure than her ce? he said, Right now this b1tch is under Li Mis order to search for us, she shouldnt have time to go home to sleep, we will enter by exploiting this weak spot and put up with her ce just for a few days. By the time she goes home, it will mean that the search is over, and then we can go to find Peipei. Xu Ziling was greatly moved; he nodded and said, ording to reason, Shen Poniang wouldnt be so bad that she wont even spare her own thievesir. This n is certainly feasible. Susu still did not feel at ease. But there other people in her home! she said in fear. Nothing more than several maids, servants and low-grade workers, Kou Zhong proudly replied, Do you think she will station a massive military force over there, to guard thedys chamber like the battlefield? Ha! Xu Shijiing is another story altogether. Finally Susu was persuaded; she told them where Shen Luoyans official residence was located. The three of them waited until dark. This time Kou Zhong carried Susu on his back. Unleashing their Bird Crossing Technique, they leaped onto roofs and vaulted over walls toward Shen Luoyans residence to hide. Book 5 - 2 – Big Hiding Place in the City Book 5 Chapter 2 C Big Hiding ce in the City Were it not for Susu had oncee with Zhai Jiao to call on Shen Luoyan, even if they had her address in hand, perhaps they would have to waste considerable time before they could find this vicious and merciless beautys fragrant residence. Shen Luoyans house was located in a residential area by the eastern city wall, where the buildings were situated next to each other. Including her residence, there were thousands of courtyards surrounded by walls with dark green bricks and dark green roof tiles, linked together by small alleys, taking shape of deep alley between high walls. The alleys were narrow and winding; several hundred streets and alleys winding and turning, criss-crossing each other, and they all paved withrge dark green gstone, which looked virtually the same. After braving the snow, the three people arrived here and felt that that they were entering a maze; it was difficult to tell one street from another. Particrly during this time of the night, where the only light they could rely on was the dimntern lighting out from the buildings; it felt even more like entering a ghost area. But they felt unusually safe instead. Because in this kind of ce, it would be very convenient for them to either fight or stay. Kou Zhong slipped into an alley and said with augh, That Shen Poniang must have a lot of enemies that she lives in this kind of ce that will make people faint with blurred vision. Xu Ziling also felt rxed. While walking and stretching at the same time, he said, When I first heard that Shen Poniangs lover [orig. male adulterer] Xu Shiji said that they were going to conduct house-to-house search, he gave me a real scare. Turns out he was just tooting his horn; if he came to this side, we would go to that side. How could he deal with Wulin martial art masters like us? Susu was still having a lingering fear, Can you not be so carried away like that? she said, The people of Xingyang are all fervent supporters of Wagang Army. All it takes is just one person spotting us, and I guarantee that he will report it to them ... oh! Before she finished speaking, Kou Zhong already had his arms around her waist and whisked her up to the roof of a building on the left. Xu Ziling also leaped at the same time. The three of themy low on the roof and looked down toward the mouth of the alley some distance ahead. Amidst the swirling snowkes, all they saw was quiet, silent and lonely footprints. Susu was baffled, Is there anybody here? she asked. Kou Zhong replied in low voice, My intuition cant be wrong. Its really strange, howe I cant even see anybodys shadow, I cant hear anybodys voice, but I can feel that there is danger approaching? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I also feel a warning in my heart. Look! They saw a squad of about a dozen warriors in dark green clothes,ing from the alley on the other side, along the way they knocked on every door. Needless to say, obviously they were looking for the three people. Watching these men, the three people felt their scalp went numb. This Xu Shiji apparently someone who did what he said he would. By the time the entire city knew about these three fugitives, they would not be able to move a single step. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not ordinary people, their look was particrly easy to recognize, to conceal it from others would be more difficult than ascending the heavens. After the search party went far, the three of them cried out inwardly, What a close shave! If it were not for the heavy snow, Xu Shiji only needed to send his men to watch from vantage points, while the other team was conducting house-to-house search, and then even if the three people grew wings, it would still be difficult for them to fly away. But right now the weather was bitterly cold, plus visibility was very low, naturally Xu Shijis men only worked halfheartedly. Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong said, All along we only receive beatings without being able to hit back, greatly damaging our reputation as the Yangzhous Two Dragons. Since we have Daiqing Lous Peipei as our way out, we might as well strike back without restraint, making his mothers trouble that will turn the sky and the earth upside down, and thus venting the resentment in our hearts. Susu was extremely nervous [orig. a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow]; overwhelmed with horror, she said, How can you do that? How can you fight them? Xu Ziling, however, was greatly excited; he said in a low voice, If you want to be famous, naturally you must establish your prestige. However, wed better find a dependable hiding ce first before making a grand n. Jiejie,e! Kou Zhong excitedly said. As soon as Susu was perched on Kou Zhongs back, he brought her soaring into the air like a big bird. She suddenly had a feeling that she did not have clear understanding of these two brothers of hers. If it were other people, they would either be so terrified that they pulled their heads like a turtle and refused toe out, or with a thousand ways, a hundred ns would try to escape without a trace. How could they be like these two boys, who were fully aware that the enemys power was a thousand times, a hundred times bigger than theirs, yet they still had the courage to strike back, just like striking a stone with an egg? Looking at Shen Luoyans fragrant residence from the outside, there was really no difference from the other houses in the neighborhood, only the door decoration wasparatively more exquisite, unlike the peeling off door and walls of the next door neighbors. But the inside was a different story altogether. Not only it was spacious, elegant and pure, the garden and courtyard were integrated into one continuous entity, theyout gave a beautiful and secluded impression, the building disyed original architecture, and was quite distinctive. The house was called Luoyan Zhuang [lit. falling wild goose manor], where the manors courtyard was dominated by the main residence hall; water and rock in contrast with one another, pathways and winding corridor were running through rock garden, which also function as separator. The winding path went up and down, what is true and what is false engendered one another. North of the pond was a small two-story building styled as if it was resting on a hilltop, with five continuous pirs over two levels, and overhanging eaves, like butterfly pping its wings ready to fly; very unique. Shen Luoyans boudoir was precisely in that building. Behind the small two-story building was an artificial stream, with two small bridges connecting the rear court with the maids and servants apartments, as well as the storehouse. Luoyan Zhuang did not cover toorge of and, but it was just like a remote, secluded area; simple and unadorned, yet exquisite, and highly poetic. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling jumped over the sidewall into the courtyard, momentarily they were staring in awe. It never urred to them that Shen Luoyan was the type of person who knew how to enjoy life, her dwelling was rather like a Big Hiding ce in the Alley. Not too long afterwards, Kou Zhong already gathered the information that the manor only had four young maids, and a pair of husband and wife servants, none of which knew martial art. The three people finally settled on hiding in a guest room, which seemed like no one has slept in it for a very long time. The most wonderful thing was that this room was already well stocked with everything they needed. The three were not bashful; after drinking enough stolen tea, they fell asleep immediately. By the time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were awakened because they heard unusual noise, the day has already brightened. Kou Zhong moved away Susus arm, which was resting on his chest, walked over to the window, and peeked outside. Turned out it was the only male servant, sweeping the snow on the yard. Xu Ziling also got out of bed came over to him; he whispered, The snow has stopped! Without averting his gaze, Kou Zhong asked, Are you hungry? Hungry as hell! Xu Ziling replied. Kou Zhong whispered, We cant steal food in here, otherwise they will discover us. Let me go out to take care of the food and then Ille back! Xu Ziling said, Going to the street could be very dangerous. Kou Zhongughed, Dont worry! he said, As long as the three of us dont walk together, it wont be that conspicuous. Ill even scout around for the news. Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong was full of craft and cunning, plus he has been hungry sincest night, so after warning him repeatedly, he said, The sooner you go, the sooner youlle back. Kou Zhong consented; he then sneaked out of the rear window. Having nothing to do, Xu Ziling was about to sit cross-legged silently, when from the bed Susu called out, Li Dage! Li Dage! Xu Ziling was startled; he jumped onto the bed to cover Susus fragrant lips. Susu woke up. As soon as she regained her consciousness, her pretty eyes immediately shot a panic-stricken look. When Xu Ziling lifted up his hand, she cried out in low voice, The enemysing? No! Xu Ziling shook his head, But Jiejie was talking in your sleep. I was just afraid you might alert the man sweeping the snow outside. Susu was relieved, but then her charming face turned red as she said, What did I say in my dream? Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Nothing! he said indifferently, It was practically some unintelligible words. Susu sat up. Knitting her brows, she asked, Where is Xiao Zhong? After Xu Ziling told her, she began to worry again. Suddenly there was a sound of footsteps approaching. The two people were scared and busily folded the nkets back to their previous condition, and then they went into hiding under the bed. They were barely hidden when two young maids came in and started sweeping and dusting, as well as recing the bedding with a fresh one. One of the maid said, Miss has not returned home for eight full days, andst night Longtou Mansion was burned to the ground. And now rumors are flying all around town, making me really worried for Miss. Under the bed, Xu Ziling mused that it was other people who should be worried; definitely not that Shen b1tch. The other maidughed and said, Xiao Ju [lil chrysanthemum], you are worried over nothing. Last night Duke Mi has just deployed the troops to take over Liyang Storehouse. What happened to Longtou Mansion cant be helped; who told old ghost Zhai to be so stubborn that he adamantly refused to abdicate? Speaking aboutpetence, how could he be Duke Mis match? Xiao Ju was astounded, How could Lan Jie [elder sister orchid] know so clearly? she asked. Xiao Lan proudly replied, Naturally somebody told me! Xiao Juughed and said, Must be that guy Li Jie, hee ... hee ... Have you slept with him yet? And then chasing and hitting each other the two maids left the room. Chapter 2, Part 2 Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, you are wee. Sky, George, Ari, good analysis on SLY. My take on Li Mi? How could he (along with his minions) be so heartless as massacring their ownrades? We are not talking about enemies here. These people used to fight together. A bit of story: a recruiter contacted me with a very good job opportunity, but when I found out that it was for a directpetitor of thepany I am currently working for, I declined. Mind you, there is nothing illegal or hical here, I just dont want to be in direct confrontation with my colleagues. Now, its a different story if Zhai Rang fired Li Mi or being hostile to him first. You know what I mean? Laoren, I agree. Butst time I offer to wait until the story gets to the interesting part and post it at once, many of you objected. I skimmed ahead, and seems to me they are stuck in the city of Xingyang for the next few chapters. Anyway, here is the end of Chapter 2. Xu Ziling and Susu crawled out of under the bed. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Xu Ziling said, Li Mi is gone! Other people I am not too scared. Susu sat next to him on a long wooden bench; she said, They have many men, great force, you guys only have two pairs of fists, plus you have to take care of me. You must not be eager to excel and want to show off your heroism! Xu Ziling spiritedly replied, Dont look down on your two Didi; these past two years, I lost count on how many times we met mishaps, but every time we escaped alive from mortal danger, our skill seemed to be getting better. Hey! Jiejie may rest here for a while, Ill go around to take a look. Susu hastily grabbed his arm; her voice cracking, What if someone finds you? With a hundred-percent confidence Xu Ziling said, I have been an expert in imitating the dog and stealing chicken since childhood; I will not make an unwise move. This is called know yourself, know your enemy. The more we know about our surroundings here, the more confident we will be when somethinges up and we have to deal with it. Susu had no choice but to let him go. Very scared and on edge she waited for half a sichen [reminder: 1 sichen is 2 hours]; keeping watch alone and was bored, she could not help thinking about Zhai Mansion people who met cmity, thus she cried inwardly. Fortunately Xu Ziling returned with excitement on his face. There was also a folder in his hand. All thanks to the skill we learned from Chen Laomou for several days, I managed to find Shen Poniangs treasure she hid inside her secret chamber, he proudly said. Seeing he came back, the distress and terror in Susus heart reached its limit. Forcing herself to share his excitement, she asked, Whos Chen Laomou? Xu Ziling sat down and put the precious and heavy folder on hisp; he said, Chen Laomou was Jukun Bangs man, his specific responsibility was to train the gang member how to steal and gather information, which they would then sell for money. Oh! He is back. Following his gaze, Susu saw Kou Zhong, with two big bundles in his hands, pushing the door from the anteroom and walked in. Kou Zhongughed and said, One bundle of clothes, one bundle of food. Mission sessfully aplished. The most wonderful thing is that all the maids and servants have returned to their apartments in the rear courtyard. Xu Ziling and Susu cheered together. While they were eating and drinking as much as they liked, Kou Zhong said with radiant delight, That guy Xu Shiji searched the entire City of Xingyang and nearly turning it upside down; there are checkpoints at the mouth of every street, patrolling troops are everywhere. Seeing the look of things was anything but reassuring, I went to steal from house-to-house, in a random, different parts of the city. I guarantee nobody would suspect anything. Xiao Ling also stole something! Susu said. Only now did Xu Ziling remember; hurriedly he took out the folder that he stuffed into his pocket earlier and handed over to Kou Zhong. Look at this, he said, Do you think this looks like Shen Poniangs roster of spies in all parts of the country? Plus there are records of expenditures, big and small, and the amount of money exchanges, that kind of stuff. Kou Zhong stuffed the remaining mantou [steamed bun] in his hand into his mouth, freeing up both hands to thumb through the folder. A bit unsure, he said, Ha! Let my methodical eyes look at it, I guarantee nothing will be hidden from me. This guys name is really weird, Chen Siya [lit. dead duck]? Also his address andmunication method? Last month he received a hundred taels of silver. Turns out it is that easy to earn money. Susu leaned over to take a look. She angrily said, He is called Chen Shuijia [lit. water armor], not Chen Siya. You randomly change peoples name. Kou Zhongs eyes shone, Xiao Ling, he said, Based on this treasure, do you think we can ruthless rip some money off that Shen Poniang? Xu Ziling let out a cold snort, She harmed us like that, how could some moneypensate us? Horrified, Susu said, If you hand this thing over to the authorities, it will implicate a lot of people; their houses will be searched, their possessions confiscated, their heads chopped off. Kou Zhong put the roster into his pocket; heughed and said, How can we make things easy for the emperors baby boy? As for how we are going to use this thing, lets think about itter. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Its time for us to change our appearance a little bit. I dont know who did such a good job in painting our faces, but our three revered countenances are being pasted all over the streets, making our effort to call on Peipei of Daiqing Lou bes extremely dangerous. Xu Ziling said, Just now in the storage room at the rear court I found ten big earthen jars of kerosene. If we can find that guy Xu Shijis house, we can torch it and burn it to the ground; a tooth for a tooth. Oh, and I havent told you yet, but Li Mi is out to fight a battle, he is not in town. Kou Zhong let out a ya, yaugh like a crow cawing, and said, Xu Shiji is just a four-legged crawlingckey. Since Li Mi is away, we might as well burn his old nest. Hey, I wonder where that guy Li Mis doghouse is anyway. Noticing the two boys gaze was fixed on her, Susu pouted her lovely lips and tut-tutted, Dont even think that I will tell you. You said we are here to keep away from the way the wind blows, if you make such disturbance, everybody will know that we are still in the city. Whats more, Duke of Pusans Mansion has martial art experts as numerous as the cloud, if you are going there to create trouble, it will be nothing more than delivering your own lives! Kou Zhongughed and said, This is the most exciting ce; they know very well that we are still in the city, but they cant find us. Even better, right now the military is in a state of emergency, Xu Shiji and the others cant put us above the war. Therefore, as long as we are able to create internal anxiety for them, I guarantee they will have no room to advance or retreat. Xu Ziling added, It would be better if after setting on the fire, we lure them to pursue us, and we flee out of the city right in front of their eyes. Afterwards we cane back to fetch Jiejie. This will be even more foolproof. Kou Zhong frowned and said, The city wall is so high, can you jump out? Xu Ziling dejectedly replied, I cant. Pfft! Susu broke into a giggle. Casting a sidelong nce toward the two boys, she chastised them, Just a couple of kids who love to fool around. Kou Zhong stole a lightning speed kiss on her cheek; he sighed and said, Jiejies eyes can really hook peoples soul! At first Susu was beaming with delighted, but then her smile faded; perhaps she remembered Li Jing? Xu Ziling suddenly said, Does Jiejie know who is in charge of the city defense? The one really in charge, I do not know, Susu replied, But citys affairs have always been managed by Xu Shiji, so it ought to be his men. Kou Zhong was shaken, I got it! he said, Xiao Ling, are you thinking of escaping via the sewer like we did in Yangzhou? Susu was shocked, Down there is so dirty, how could we do that? she said, Arent you going to ask for Peipeis help? Xu Ziling said, Under present circumstances, I am afraid nobody will be willing to help us. Besides, as soon as we go to Daiqing Lou, we will be recognized immediately. Kou Zhong said, No good wille of receiving favor from someone like Xiang Yushan. Xiao Lings idea is really unique. Tonight we are going to Xu Shijis house to steal, trying our luck. Chen Laomou said that any city must have architectural drawings; otherwise, how are they going to do maintenance and repairs? Susu was helpless, Your prejudice toward Xiang Gongzi is too deep, she said. She proceeded by telling them the location of Xu Shijis residence, and then she said, I want to try the clothes that Xiao Zhong brought back. So the two boys slipped out of the room. After closing the door, Xu Ziling pulled Kou Zhong aside and said, Just now I heard Su Jie calling Li Dage in her dream. Ay, Jiejie is so forlorn! But in this kind of matter, nobody can help her. Kou Zhong slumped in silence; he sat down and after thinking long and hard he said, Wed better go to Luoyang first to look for Li Dage, and tell him directly about Jiejies situation, see if he has a way to help Jiejie settling down. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, That will make Li Dage feel very awkward; once things turn bad, it will also ce Jiejie in an awkward position. Furthermore, because of that lowly scum Wang Bodang, Jiejie seems to abandon herself in despair a little. One moment she said she ising with us, the next moment she speaks up on that fellow Xiang Yushans behalf. Forcing her to go to Luoyang might be counter-productive. In this kind of man-woman rtionship, Kou Zhong, who was always full of craft and cunning,pletely had his hands bound and was unable to do anything about it. While he was sighing in despair, Susu came out wearing the new clothes. The two boys promptly made a supreme effort to tter her by saying all good things they could muster. Although Susu repeatedlyughed charmingly, inevitably there was a trace of unraveled mncholy on her beautiful eyebrows, giving the impression that she was merely forcing herself to look happy. Kou Zhong finally surrendered, Does Jiejie still want us to go to Peipei of Daiqing Lou? With a not-so-hidden bitterness Susu said, Does Jiejie have any right to mind your business? Naturally the two boys understood her intention; busily they made an oath and swore that they would listen to her opinion in handling this matter. Only then did Susus joyous expression return. And then they discussed how to evade the patrolling troops eyes and ears to find this woman named Peipei. Kou Zhong came up with an idea, How about we go to the silk fabric store and buy a set of highest-quality silk brocade, and indicate that this is a present for Peipei. We will tail the delivery guy and see who will receive the gift, then we ought to know which one is Peipei. Susu frowned and said, But if the silk fabric store people recognize you as the fugitive wanted by Wagang Army, wont you harm Peipei instead? Kou Zhong was ready with the answer, Inevitably there will be people who dont have the least bit concern over the matters of the world, or perhaps they are simply ignorant. When I went out to steal Jiejies new clothes, one of the clothing stores bosses was an old man who looks as if his vision is already blurred of age; he is relying on two youngds to deliver the goods. As long as we wait until he is alone in the store, our great n can be executed. Susu happily said, It would be even better if I pretend to be Peipeis young maid and am doing my Miss shopping; it would be more foolproof. Noticing she was regaining her vitality, Kou Zhongughed and said, But Jiejie cannot wear this clothes! Susu began to realize that she was the dirty rotten thief who wore the stolen clothes from that exact store. Smiling sheepishly she returned to the room to change. The two boys looked at each other with wry smile. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I do hope Jiejie does not take a fancy to Xiang Yushan! You saw it yourself, as soon as we agreed to look for Peipei, her entire personality changed instantly. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Which part of that Xiang guy deserves Jiejie taking a fancy of? In my opinion, she is just bursting with joy from knowing that we wont take the risk of going to Xu Shijis house to set fire and steal things, and also from knowing that we esteem her opinion! Not too long afterwards Susu came out wearing suitable clothes. The three of them hence went out of their hiding ce. Avoiding several groups of Wagang Army troops, they reached the small alley across the street from the clothing store. Susu went in ording to n, while the two boys waited in a dark corner, ready to render assistance if needed. The snow was falling again, the streets were deserted; it was so peaceful that it felt like nothing had ever happened. But Xu Ziling knew that the Wagang Army, whose fame was currently at its height, has already developed irreparable rifts internally due to Zhai Rangs murder. He could easily imagine that because Zhai Rang was the initiator of Wagang Army, no matter how well Li Mi won the peoples heart, he could not entirely disce Zhai Rangs deep-rooted influence of the past. Inevitably disloyalty would grow among his men who had always been following Zhai Rang in the past. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong was also thinking about Li Mi. He recalled Zhai Rangs remark about him being not ruthless enough, and thus he failed in his fight against Li Mi. Therefore, is being vicious and merciless the most important prerequisite one must have if one wants to contend for control over thend under the heavens? While he was entranced in his own thought, Xu Ziling called out softly, This is bad! Kou Zhong was startled; his alertness returned, he looked toward the street, and the first thing that caught his eyes was Shen Luoyan, with her phoenix-like beauty and grace. And then his eyes were drawn into the girl in the prime of youth by Shen Luoyans side. At first nce this girl did not look too pretty; perhaps because her silhouette was reminiscent of a man. But her skin was snow white, glowing with healthy pink; her demeanor was noble and elegant, her legs long and her waist slender, she was approximately two cun taller than Shen Luoyan, she had bright eyes and white teeth, and all these features fit together perfectly, making her not the least bit inferior to Shen Luoyan, forming a very unique personality traits. In front and behind the two women were their attendants. They were strolling down the street, with Shen Luoyan pointing here and there while talking andughing with her; it seemed that Shen Luoyan was acting as her tour guide. In about ten paces or so the women and their party would reach the door of the clothing store where Susu was. The two boys hands automatically reached the hilt of their weapons. Their scalp went numb as they watched step-by-step the enemy approaching the dangerous position where they would be able to see Susu. Right this critical moment [orig. a thousand catty hanging on a thread], that healthy-looking, carefree beautiful woman suddenly halted her steps. Without showing any emotion she spoke to Shen Luoyan and then she stepped into the arts and crafts store right next door to the clothing store. Shen Luoyan cheerfully followed her inside. Those dozen or so attendants spread out; a small number of them followed the women inside, while the rest of them stood around the door, assuming bodyguards position. In the meantime Susu has just walked out of the clothing store. Seeing a bunch of armed men gathered outside the shop next door, she was terrified. Hanging her head low, she hurriedly crossed the street toward the alley where the two boys were waiting for her. The men did not pay her any attention. As soon as she was out of sight of the enemy, she met with the two boys. Her face paled as she said, "I am scared to death!" Having just recovered from a shock, the two boys pulled her deeper into the small alley. Once they were well hidden, Kou Zhong whispered, "Sess?" Susu nodded, "No problem. But the boss said that it is toote today, they will deliver the goods tomorrow." Xu Ziling sighed. "That would be bad," he said, "Pleasure house girls sleep all day. If the delivery is received by other person, our effort will be wasted." Pleased with herself, Susu said, "Dont worry! I already gave him instruction that the goods are to be delivered within shenshi [between 3-5pm] hour tomorrow. That old man already promised!" Forck of better option, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had no choice but to take Susu back home. Book 5 - 3 – The Shadow Assassin Book 5 Chapter 3 C The Shadow Assassin Returning to the beautiful, secluded, elegant and calm Shen residence, the three of them had a feeling like they had just escaped alive from a mortal danger. Also, recalling that tomorrow they were going to find Peipei, they felt that their situation was not as hopeless, without any way out, as before; therefore, their mood was greatly improved. Giggling andughing the two boys narrated to Susu their nearly two years of experience. The more the listener was engrossed in the story, the more the story tellers were getting excited. In the blink of an eye it was already evening. The Shen Mansion was bright with pcenterns everywhere, the front and rear courtyards were as bright as daylight. After eating their dinner, Kou Zhongzed around on a chair and contentedly said, Jiejie really loves cleanliness, you even swept this room, inside and out, clean. If it were us, we would not do that. Susu stared at him nkly, How could I have spare time to think of such thing? she said, It was those people this morning who came here to clean up! Kou Zhong suddenly sat up with a start. Oh, no! his voice broke. Stunned, Xu Ziling and Susu looked at him. Kou Zhong said, When we got here yesterday, the room was full of dust, obviously it hasnt been upied for a long time. Now all of a sudden somebody came in to clean up, evidently there will be guest who is going to stay here! Xu Ziling cursed his own negligence inwardly; he sprang up and said, Must be Shen Poniang is going to entertain that beauty whom she apanied just now. No wonder it is so bright outside. Come! We must quickly tidy up and sneak out. While the three people were busy tidying up the room, they heard faint hoof beats and voices from the front courtyard. Shen Luoyan and her guest have arrived. Not daring to tarry any longer, while Shen Luoyan was still at the front yard, the three of them hastily hid themselves in another firewood shed behind their building. Sure enough, a momentter they saw people entered the guest house; asionally they even heard voices and the sound of movements. All thenterns in the four rooms of the guest house were lit. The three people no longer felt safe. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took turn monitoring the activity outside. In the meantime, the snow stopped. Apparently the guests have settled down, because they did not hear as much activity as before. Kou Zhong, who was peeking out through a small window, suddenly signaled a warning. Xu Ziling and Susu hastily crowded next to him in front of the window. The three of them looked out together. They saw Shen Luoyan leading the energetic-looking, alluring and youthful girl, walking toward the small garden right outside the firewood shed. The former started the conversation, Luoyan loves to see the scene of prodigious abundance of fruit the most, hence I nted mostly fruit trees. Yan Jie is very thoughtful, the woman praised, Who would have thought that unexpectedly there is such a world-ss scenic spot deep in these alleys? Shen Luoyan modestly replied, Yuzhi please dontugh at me, your Song Familys Huai [Chinese schr tree/Japanese pagoda tree/Sophora Japonica] Garden is ranked among the top ten gardens of the Wulin; how can my tiny nest bepared to that? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shaken; it was only now did they realize that this charming and independent beauty belonged to the Song n. They were wondering what her rtion to Song Shidao was. The two women stopped to enjoy the icicles hanging from the tree branches. Song Yuzhi nonchntly said, This time Yuzhi pays a visit, based on Yan Jies ability and wisdom, you ought to be able to guess one or two reasons? Shen Luoyan muttered to herself irresolutely, I wonder if it has something to do with Yuwen Huaji start rumors and create trouble in front of that muddleheaded ruler? Song Yuzhiughed and said, I knew we cant hide it from Yan Jie; but that is only one of the reasons. Shen Luoyan slyly said, In that case the other reason must be rted to Du Fuwei. I heard that after capturing Liyang, he cut the Yangtze Rivers water traffic, by wantonly and indiscriminately looting the sailing vessels. ording to our information, they even confiscated three of your salt ships! Is that true? Song Yuzhi was indifferent. Yan Jie is indeed very well informed, she said, No wonder Duke Mi relies heavily on you! Shen Luoyan shook her head and sighed, I really dont understand whats inside Du Fuweis head; while Yang Guangs main force is establishing their presence east of the River, he still has the audacity to provoke such a powerful enemy such as your precious n. Perhaps he is tired of living? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly understood. Yangtze River was the Song ns lifeline in transporting the salt. By cutting off the salt ship traffic, Du Fuwei has greatly threatened the reputation, as well as the livelihood of the Song n. Therefore, the Song n sent Song Yuzhi with special mission to link with Li Mi, so that with north and souths joint forces they could attack Liyangs Jianghuai [River Huai] Army, headed by Du Fuwei and his lieutenant Fu Gongshi, from two fronts. But presently Wagang Army was suffering from internal strife, plus they were facing Sui Armys counteroffensive, therefore, chances are Li Mi would not have time to take care Du Fuwei. Song Yuzhi smiled and said, Du Fuwei thinks he is forced by circumstances, but he shouldnt have provoked our Song Family. We have time and again negotiated with Du and Fu, two men, all failed to grasp the main points. My father is extremely furious over this matter, he determined not to spare anything in giving a good lesson to Du Fuwei. However, because he does not know Duke Mis intention, he sent Yuszhi to have an audience with Duke Mi. Shen Luoyan sighed and said, Yuzhi should be aware that we always have mutual apprehension toward Jianghuai Army ...? Song Yuzhi cut her off, ording to ourtest information, after the Jianghuai Army captured Liyang, unexpectedly they hold back their troops without moving, simply constantly consolidating their foothold of the area. Indeed their motive is unpredictable. Did Yan Jie hear about it? Shen Luoyan said, Is Yuzhi referring to Du Fuweis desire to wait for Yang Guang to be impatient and turn his attention to deal with us? Song Yuzhi was still indifferent, Only this matter is not enough to make Yang Guang deal with you. And then abruptly she changed the topic, I wonder if Yan Jie has ever heard of certain Qu Ao [lit. proud/arrogant song], a Tiele[1] man? Shen Luoyan was surprised, Is Yuzhi talking about Qu Ao, the Da Kui [lit. big helmet], who run amuck on the western border? This mans fame is resounding; very soon he will catch up to Tujues Wu Zun Bi Xuan. I am afraid that Du Fuweis invitation cannot even move him. I wonder why Yuzhi suddenly mention this person. Song Yuzhi seriously said, That was then, now it is different. Tiele people have always been mortal enemy of the Tujue people; seeing the Tujues influence in the Central ins is growing deeper has sprouted their ambition to get a share of the cup of soup. Qu Ao has received Tiele Kings secret mission to connect with new rising powers of the Central ins, with the hope of fishing in troubled water, and acquire a little bit of profit. Knitting her brows, Shen Luoyan asked, Qu Ao really has any regards toward Du Fuwei? Calmly and confidently Song Yuzhi replied, Not only that, they even conspire to assassinate Duke Mi. If they seeded, Yang Guang would definitely take advantage while Wagang Army is in chaos, to go all out to attack you. At that time Du Fuwei would also seize that opportunity to absorb the scattering Wagang Armys troops, and then expand his influence to the north. Otherwise, the longer your Wagang Army exists, the more difficult it will be for Du Fuwei to expand northward. Just by looking at Shen Luoyans expression, Kou Zhong and the others knew that this Qu Ao was no trivial matter. Meanwhile, someone hurriedly came to report that Xu Shiji has arrived. Thereupon the two women went toward the front courtyard. Kou Zhong followed the two women with his eyes as they disappeared into the woods, dyed white by the snow and the frost. Breathing a mouthful of cold air he said, We might as well change profession to be assassins; it is the most profitable business. At least it will be a clean job, not as messy [orig. wading in mud and water] as stealing peoples belonging to ckmail them. Recalling Shen Luoyans secret roster, Xu Ziling was anxious. If Shen Poniang found out that her roster is gone, it would be extremely bad, he said, We can forget about escaping out of town. Looks like stealing that ghost thing not worth the risk well have to take, Kou Zhong admitted, Hee ...! But how could she guess that it was us who took it? Xu Ziling thought Kou Zhong was right. Heughed and said, This is called empty evil intention. But Susu was anxious endlessly; she said, Wed better secretly put that roster back where it came from! The most urgent matter right now is sneaking out of the city; its always better to have one less thing to worry! Listening to her, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly moved. When Xu Ziling stole the roster, his first intention was only for fun and perhaps to exact revenge on Shen Luoyan; essentially he had never thought about any benefit from extorting her with this roster. Better yet, right now both Shen Luoyan and Xu Shiji were in the main buildings hall; considering it was an easy trip on a familiar path for Xu Ziling, returning the roster to its original ce should not be a difficult task. Kou Zhong said, Su Jies order, we should follow. Susus mind was filled with conflicting thoughts, But there are so many people out there, she said hesitantly, If you walk around in the courtyard, people might see you! Xu Ziling also expressed hisck of confidence in himself, What should we do then? he asked. Kou Zhong patted his chest, This is called intention can be regarded as unintentional. There is benefit in many people present: it isparatively easier to fish in troubled waters. Su Jie can stay here, we will be back soon. The two boys slipped out of the firewood shed. Under cover of the trees, they swiftly walked toward Shen Luoyans private chamber. [1] Tiele is the ancient name of people living to the north of China and in Central Asia. Other names include Chile, Gaoche, Dingling and Tele (or Teleg). Chapter 3, Part 2 George, Sky, DongBin, and the others ... let me rify: I understand what you are saying, and I am sure historically what you say was what actually happened. But the start of our discussion was SLY, and I said one of the reasons I dont like her was because she was Li Mis woman, and then I mentioned those things about Li Mi ... My assumption is that I dont know Li Mi, except what the author told me, and from what I read, I dont like what he did. So ... we are in disagreement in this matter, which is all right. Jaya, Ysabel, HPC, Laoren, Komeng, Chua, you are wee. Kids, wee to the thread (officially ... since your post number is only 2), and thanks for your response on the poll. Anh!! I swear, I was just thinking about you the other day. Not that I expect you to post, but I have not seen your post for quite some time, and I thought is Anh all right? But I am d you reappear. Xu Xiong, we are in agreement ... (at least I also hope to see Shan Wanjing again, dont know about Shi Qingxuan, because officially she did not make appearance.) End of chapter 3. Unleashing the full potential of the true qi within their body, in an instant their spirit and mind reached the highest boundary. Not only their eyes, ears, nose and other senses were several times sharper, rarer still was that they had some kind of perception, which transcended physical senses. This was exactly the mystery of the Secret to Long Life, which was beyond the context of the general martial art study. Not only it surpassed the self-sufficient treasure trove hidden deep within oneself mentioned by Yi Jian Dashi [see Book 1 Chapter 3] Fu Cailin, it even reached the oneness of heaven and humanity realm, which people who practiced martial art spent their lifetime striving to achieve. Since time immemorial, people whose innate talent surpassed others like Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were extremely rare. By coincidence, they had the opportunity to train the knowledge from the Secret to Long Life, which has long been called a scam, and made a breakthrough into the extreme boundary of first-ss martial art skill, attainable only by Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan, and the like, people who were able to understand the realm of divine truth. Therefore, in just two short years, each of them doggedly trained their respective method and achieved unique mental cultivation in martial art, which has time and again helped them avoid great catastrophe. This moment, for instance, even though there were numerous martial art experts surrounding them like a cloud, relying on their unique senses, they were able to sniff danger one step ahead, and their hearts automatically guided them another way to evade the enemys detection. Not even for an instant did they ever stir up the alertness of the martial art masters in the house. Naturally at this point in time the two boys did not have such a clear understanding of what was going on. They only thought that their own qinggong was so superb that they were this formidable. They swiftly crossed the rear courtyard, along the side of the guesthouse, and straight toward the main garden in front of Shen Luoyans private chamber. Crouching in a cluster of underbrush, they focused all their power into their ears to listen carefully, and immediately ascertained that there was no one inside the second floor of the building. Although there was not a trace of noise inside, they saw faintntern lighting from downstairs. Xu Ziling said, Ill go upstairs to return the folder, you stay here and be on the lookout for me. Kou Zhong nodded. Xu Ziling looked around, and after he was sure that there was nobody around, fast as a ghost he leaped out of the underbrush and flitted toward the main door of the small building; pushing the door open, he slipped in. Just as expected, the hall was quite with no one in sight; coupled with light from the pcenterns, the room exuded some kind of tranquil sensation. But Xu Ziling did not dare to hesitate; he swiftly flew upstairs. At this moment there was only emptiness in his heart and mind, no thought no reasoning. It was not a deliberate state of mind on his part, but it simply arose spontaneously. He had just stepped into the small hall in front of Shen Luoyans private chamber, when a hard-to-describe feeling suddenly burst forth in his heart. He could not exin what he felt, just that it was very ufortable, as if there was an invisible pressure disturbing his clear-water-reflecting-the-moon state of mind. Xu Zilings consciousness suddenly arose to its upper limit, his true qi flooded his meridians; without the slightest hesitation he drew his short halberd. The hall brightened instantly. It was not because someone lighted thentern at all, but because of the true qi at work in his body, his eyesight sharpened considerably. As he scanned the room down, even the dust particle remained on the floor after being swept could not escape his sharp eyes. It was a new level that Xu Ziling has never been able to reach before. Previously, although frequently he was able to multiply his reaction speed due to applying the entire power within his body, he has never been able to reach the rity like he did this time. It was not only because this time he had reached the extremely-still state of mind, but most importantly it was because he sensed an enormous danger. The most frightening thing was that this sense of danger shed across his heart, and then immediately vanished. Like right now, he suddenly felt the situation was no longer threatening. After scanning the floor back and forth several times, Xu Zilings eyes faintly saw some kind of clues; thereupon he scanned the floor again very carefully. Immediately his heart shivered in fear. Turned out in several ces on the floor he caught a glimpse of a pair of dust traces, so tiny that it was nearly invisible. It appeared that someone was using the tip of his toes flitted over out of Shen Luoyans private chamber and stopped at the top of the stairs. Thinking to this point, a dark shadow suddenly shed out of the room. Xu Ziling was not someone who had never seen a battle, but he had never thought that there was such a terrifying martial art skill in the world. By the time he realized that he was under attack, his entire body had already fallen into some kind of whirlpool with nearly irresistible power. Hundreds, thousands of strands of forces; some pulled him forward, some pressed him back, still some actingterally and rotationally. It just felt like falling into a vortex in the midst of a raging sea, where it was impossible for anybody to have any control of anything. Fortunately Xu Ziling was one step ahead since before the attack came he was already on guard; otherwise perhaps by this time he was already swaying indeterminately from side to side, and was unable to stand steadily. Knowing that this was the critical moment, without even thinking Xu Ziling transferred all his strength into the short halberd in his hand. Leaning over, he assumed a horse stance, while at the same time he stabbed at the iing person and looked up at him. Momentarily, all he could see was a dark shadow. And one dot of the tip of the sword, which was growing fast in front of his eyes. A sword qi, which no stronghold can ovee, burst out of the sword, making his breathing stop, and his whole body felt like it was cut in two. From the moment Xu Ziling climbed the stairs to get here and detected that something was wrong to the time this dreadful adversary mounted a sneak attack on him, it was only two blinks of an eyelid, yet it already caused Xu Ziling to fall into dangerous situation that he had never encountered in his whole life. When the de of the short halberd in his hand was about to block the enemys weapon, the opponents sword suddenly changed direction; unexpectedly Xu Zilings short halberd struck empty air. This kind of situation, where he used incorrect amount of force that the momentum was out of his control, was very ufortable that Xu Ziling almost vomited blood. The enemy was out of his line of vision. Fortunately, utilizing his crystal clear senses he knew that by some strange and inscrutable footwork, the opponent has moved to the blind spot on his left. The strangest thing was that his eyes were still seeing a little bit of the sword tip, which was shing continuously so that although his eyes were open yet he felt as if he was blind, and was only able to react relying purely on his feeling. A stream of tapering sword qi seemed to be moving to stab the small of his back from the left side. Such a formidable body movement and sword stance was definitely terrifying to the extreme. How could Xu Ziling take his time to think? Withdrawing his short halberd that was striking empty air, he twisted his body and hacked; while at the same time he turned his head around to look at this frightening enemy. A shadow shed. For the second time in a row Xu Zilings short halberd struck empty air. This time Xu Ziling was a bit smarter. Before the force reached its limit, he immediately changed his stance, while swiftly moved back. He did not have any intention to run away at all; rather, he wanted to stabilize his footings. Although it was only two moves, he had done everything he could, staking his little life to fight bravely to the end. Suddenly the sword tip seemed to swell; four sides eight directions seemed to be full of howling and shing sword rays, what is true and what is false was hard to fathom. But Xu Ziling was able to clearly grasp that not only the opponent was right in front of him, the frightening sword was also moving at lightning speed toward his lower abdomen. The opponents speed was clearly several notches above his, so that even if he retreated swiftly, the initiative was still in the opponents hands. In this life-and-death border, Xu Ziling moved the short halberd to bring out the short halberds rotational characteristic, by twisting it and striking at the de of the opponents stabbing sword. Since the battle began, it was the first time that he came in contact with the opponents weapon in a tangible way. Due to the short halberds unique structure, supposedly it was the best way to lock the enemys weapon. Who could have thought that as the halberd and sword shed, none of his expectation happened? First of all, Xu Ziling felt that his true qi, which was concentrated on the body of the halberd, was very quickly sucked dry by the enemys sword; afterwards the sucking force of the enemys sword grew so that he was unable to yank his halberd back, even if he tried. At this critical moment Xu Ziling did not panic; he was about to abandon his halberd and flee for his life when the opponents sword, with the halberd still attached to it, like a viper rose up and stabbed toward his lower abdomen. Book 5 - 4 – Stealth Dragon Turns Into Phoenix Book 5 Chapter 4 C Stealth Dragon Turns Into Phoenix After Xu Ziling left, Kou Zhongs attention was focused on the front courtyard, with the idea of as soon as there was any unusual movement, he would immediately meow like a cat to alert Xu Ziling to flee. Looking at Xu Zilings full confidence as he pushed the door and went in, Kou Zhong also thought that this matter would be easy and effortless. He was even thinking that when they left the town the next day, he wanted to lead away a goat in passing, and steal the roster a second time, to inflict damage to Shen Luoyan by giving something to be anxious about. This kind of cold and ruthless woman [orig.pletelycking any feeling or sense of justice], even if she killed him, she would not let even half a sigh for him. Kou Zhong could not help thinking about Li Xiuning, and found out that her impression in his heart has been diluted considerably, unlike previously, where it was wind-around-his-dream and bound-his-soul kind of profound feeling. Right this moment, from the second story of the small building in front of him suddenly came the noise of shing qi and rousing battle. Kou Zhong was shocked. No longer cared whether people would see him or not, he raised his saber and rushed upstairs. Bang! Following the sound of falling weapon, Xu Zilings back crashed onto therge window of Shen Luoyans private chamber, carrying with it a ssh of blood, and continued dropping down. In that split second Kou Zhong recalled Xu Zilings remark, If Xu Ziling is injured, would he, Kou Zhong, still be able to maintain the moon in the well mental state? Like a ghost dark shadow shed out to pursue the falling Xu Ziling, with one palm hacked down, splitting the air. Obviously his intention was to kill. Kou Zhong forced himself not to think about what fate befell Xu Ziling; he quickly focused his mind and threw the saber in his hand out toward the enemy, while he himself swiftly flew toward Xu Zilings body, and shouted, Help! Thief! It was the full disy of the superiority of Kou Zhongs cunning and quick-wits. He knew that since the opponent was able to badly injure Xu Ziling in such a short period of time, he, Kou Zhong, was definitely not able to stop the enemy. The only way was to alert the people in Shen Luoyans residence, to give the enemy, whose movements were so stealthy, a little bit of concern. Of course, there was always the possibility that this person was the hidden troop nted by Shen Luoyan herself; however, seeing how this person also wanted to keep his movement a secret, that possibility was not too great. In the twinkling of an eye Kou Zhong already drew up a strategy, which sole purpose was to save Xu Zilings little life. That person apparently had never expected he woulde across such a vicious opponent like Kou Zhong; because based on his astonishing sense of hearing, any movement in the flower garden should not be able to escape his detection. Yet the fact was that not until Kou Zhong shot his big saber did he realize his presence. Actually, it was also one of the reasons the intention to kill Xu Ziling emerged in his heart. It was not until Xu Ziling pushed the door and entered the second floor did his senses detect his presence. Thereby he came to himself with a start that this kid was anything but. He was actually not a narrow-minded or someone who was jealous of others more talented than he was, its just that he misunderstood Xu Ziling as Shen Luoyans man. Hence he tried with everything he had to kill Xu Ziling. This person was precisely the world-famous Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan. In this mission he was hiding in Shen Luoyans private chamber, the main purpose was to assassinate Shen Luoyan, so that when the Sui Army deal a blow to the Wagang Armys old nestter on, they would gain the upper hand. However, because he saw Xu Zilings profound expertise, his assassination target changed. So it was obvious that he thought highly of Xu Ziling. Like a sh of lightning the long saber shot toward his nk just below his ribs. The sabers de emitted a dense, cold qi, whichpletely enveloped his body even before it reached him. With Yang Xuyans ability, he still had no choice but to postpone pursuing Xu Ziling and killing him, and had to use his entire strength to deal with this attack. While midair, suddenly his body twisted, surprisingly he was able to catch the long saber. In the meantime, Kou Zhong already arrived at the spot where Xu Ziling was about tond, and was able to catch him. Yang Xuyan let out a cold snort and threw the long saber he caught straight toward Kou Zhongs back. Based on the force he exerted, he was confident this saber would skewer both men. Without even thinking Kou Zhong pushed the ground with his toes, and still hugging Xu Ziling, who by this time was drenched in his own blood and has fell into aa, he rolled toward a nearby underbrush, and thus missing the lightning fast shooting saber by a hairbreadth. Yang Xuyan was about to continue pursuing the two boys when from all around he heard sound of pping sleeves and rustling clothes against the wind. After a short contemtion, he realized that he would not be able to kill Kou Zhong in one or two short moves, thereupon he sighed; unleashing his qinggong he soared into the air. Kou Zhong brought Xu Ziling rolling toward the other end of the underbrush. As he jumped up and about to flee, he suddenly came face to face with the most difficult decision he had to take in his whole life. If he ran back to the woodshed where Susu was hiding, he was sure they could not escape everybodys eyes and ears, plus Xu Ziling would not receive the medical treatment he so desperately needed and might die from his heavy wounds. But if he ran away immediately, Susu would be isted and without help, and it would be very easy for the enemy to find her. What should he do? Shen Luoyans tender voice was heard from above, Who dares to cause trouble? Followed by the sound of shing weapons in session, and a miserable grunt! Kou Zhong felt pain so deep that he nearly cried. Clenching his teeth, he brought Xu Ziling toward the outer wall and leaped out. Sounds of shouting and yelling immediately followed him, but he was simply unable to deal with anything else. Kou Zhong ripped open Xu Zilings outer garments, and what he saw was the pierced roster. This ce was the storeroom at the rear courtyard of a residential building nearby, which scale wasparable to Shen Luoyans. After evading the pursuing troops, Kou Zhong brought Xu Ziling to hide in here. Kou Zhong cried out inwardly for their luck; were it not for the roster blocking the sharp and powerful sword qi, perhaps Xu Ziling had already breathed hisst. Heid Xu Ziling on the grass; his eyes closed, his face pale as death, but surprisingly his breathing was still unusually even and soft, not urgent and harsh. Kou Zhong set the roster aside, tore his own clothes, and upon careful examination, he found that Xu Zilings wound has already closed up and no more seeping blood. Feeling relieved, Kou Zhong pressed his palms against Xu Zilings, and quietly transferred his true qi into Xu Zilings body, hoping to help him recover faster. After nobody knows how long, Xu Ziling breathed out a mouthful of air, and regained his consciousness; his face was also back to its original color. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted; he could not hold tears of joy from streaming down his face as he eximed sorrowfully, Xiao Ling! Xiao Ling! You scared me to death! Xu Ziling opened his eyes. Aghast, he asked, What is this ce? Kou Zhong busily exined. Xu Zilings countenance changed, How could you leave Su Jie alone in there? Kou Zhong mumbled, I had no choice but to do it. Dont worry! You stay here and rest, I will get Su Jie and bring her here. Xu Ziling was upset, Then what are you waiting for? Su Jies guts is so small, she must be really frightened. Kou Zhong reached out to pat Xu Zilings cheeks. Out of habit he reached behind his back to fetch his long saber, but naturally he was only touching the empty scabbard, and immediately remembered that he did not have the treasure with which he could protect his body anymore. He was just about to leave, Xu Ziling suddenly called him back. The blood drained from his face; he said, No need to go! Kou Zhong was stunned. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Based on Shen Luoyans astuteness, from the short halberd I left behind upstairs, she would immediately know that it was our doing. But when she saw that only the two of us escaping, how could she not guess that Su Jie must be somewhere in the vicinity? Therefore, I guarantee 100% that by now Su Jie has already fallen into her hands. What should we do then? Kou Zhong dejectedly asked. Xu Ziling struggled to sit up; he said, Just help me circting my qi, by daybreak we will go together to Shen Luoyan to get Su Jie back. Bang! Bang! Bang! The brass ring was banged against the main gate of Shen Luoyans mansion. And then Kou Zhongs voice followed, Lovely wife Luoyan, your husband Zhong Shaoye is back! Not too long afterwards, the main gate opened; surprisingly enough, only Shen Luoyan, one person, gracefully stood at the door, her jade countenance was as cold as the ice and snow outside, as she glowered at the giggling Kou Zhong. Naturally Kou Zhong knew that the other people were preparing an inescapable, so that even if he grew wings he still could not fly away. Shen Luoyan coldly said, Hand the roster over first, and then we can talk about other things. Only from this one sentence Kou Zhong knew that Susu had indeed fallen into Shen Luoyans hands; otherwise, how could she be that sure that the roster was in their hands? Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, Were it not for Xiao Ling blocking that guy fromst nights sword for you, you, beautiful woman, would have been dead. And now as soon as we met you already show no trace of politeness. Ay! A beauty like you looking down on a man like me, that is normal. But someonepletelycking any feeling or sense of justice like you, that is certainly unprecedented and never be duplicated! Shen Luoyans countenance returned to normal. Chi! a giggle escape her mouth as she said, I am really at a loss on how to catch you, these two little demons; unexpectedly you had an idea of hiding in my ce. All right! Hand the roster back to me, Nujia will return your Su Jie back to you, I will also give you free rein to leave town. As for what happen in the future, youll just have to rely on your good fortune. Kou Zhongughed and said, Shen Beauty, you really know how to crack a joke; you knew that since Xiao Ling is injured, we cant go very far. Ha! Let me tell you the truth: Xiao Ling is all right. Look! Isnt that him standing behind you? Shen Luoyan sighed, Please dont put on an act, she said, Xiao Ling left arge pool of blood, you arent deceiving anybody. Based on the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyans skill, if hit by his piercing blow and did not die, he could be considered the first! Kou Zhong cheered inwardly; it was precisely the remark he was expecting. Chapter 4, Part 2 Ysabel, Komeng, HPC, Jaya, you are wee. DongBin, Sky, yes, SLY did have some feeling toward Xu Ziling, but well see how it developed. I still dont like her too much ... Xu Xiong, George, no, sorry ... but the title of thest chapter was shadow assassin, so that should give you a hint. Akw, I did not see Ask the mirror, the legend of an ordinary guy practice Xian, or Fan Ren Sou Xian Zhuan on the first two pages of this forum. Either they are listed under different title, or perhaps they are buried deep in subsequent pages, which means there is no new updates recently. (Honestly, I am quite overwhelmed, since every time I check the forum, which is at least once every couple of days, there are like tons of new trantions.) Anh, Bocah, actually, I had the same thought, but as you pointed out, I am kind of hesitating to start, because from browsing through manga, I kind of have the feeling that it is mostly fantasy, with magic, supernatural forces and stuff. Anyway, thanks for your input. Heres the end of Chapter 4. Assuming a grieving and indignant look, he glowered at her and said, Turns out that guy is Yang Xuyan! Shen Luoyans delicate body shivered a little bit, her elegant eyes shot an iparablyplex expression, but immediately she collected herself as she said in heavy voice, Dont lie to me. Xu Ziling is dead, isnt he? Kou Zhong indeed wanted to lead her to have this misconception, so that in her eyes, he was the only person who knew the secret of the Duke Yang Treasure. Pretending to struggle hard in suppressing the pain and grief in his heart, he shook his head and said, Dont make a random guess; the roster is precisely in his hands. If Su Jie and I can go back safely, I guarantee that he will immediately give you the roster back; otherwise, after certain time limit, he will immediately run away and hand the roster over to Yang Guang. If that happens, your Wagang Army will have your spywork broken, and you will be deaf and blind. Shen Luoyang hung down her pretty face, but she still pursued on, Is Xiao Ling dead? Finally Kou Zhong detected her unusual expression. Could it be that she is in love with Xiao Ling? he mused. But then he convinced himself that that was not the case, because she had always treated them, the two boys, viciously and mercilessly. Even if he was letting his imagination running wild, he simply could not believe this aspect. Disying his perfect acting skill, Kou Zhong suddenly shouted, Dont ask! Are you or are you not going to hand her over? Shen Luoyan slowly lifted up her pretty face; her eyes shot a deep, dense cold ray that made others shudder. But the tone of her voice was iparably tranquil, No need to lie to me, Xiao Ling is dead. If I catch you, I guarantee I will find the roster in your possession. Kou Zhong threw his head backward andughed sorrowfully. From his pocket he took out the roster, which was rolled up and was bound with a piece of bloodstained cloth. Holding it horizontally across his chest, he said, Do your worst! If you could retrieve an intact roster, I will change my name. Shen Luoyans eyes fell on the bloody roster; her delicate body trembled again. Where is his body? she whispered. Kou Zhong couldnt help but wonder, When he was alive I didnt see you care about him, now that he is dead, you peppered me with questions. What is this all about? Shen Luoyans phoenix eyes turned cold. This is none of your business, she coldly said, Just give me back my roster, I will let you and Susu leave. I guarantee nobody will run after you. As for how you are going to go through Shijis city defense, forgive Xiao Nuzi [little/lowly woman] for not being of any help. Kou Zhong said, Where is she? Shen Luoyan recovered her usual calm; she said nonchntly, Hand the roster over first and then you can have her. Humph! Dont you forget that even if the roster is destroyed by you, we can always spend a little bit of effort to recreate it. Kou Zhong slyly said, Since you are not afraid of losing all ounts of previous transaction, and you are not afraid of losing the opportunity, I might as well destroy the roster first before staking everything in life and death fight against you. Xiao Ling is dead anyway, there is no point in me and Susu to keep on living! This was precisely the most crucial point in the n that Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong cooked up. They wanted Shen Luoyan to believe that since Xu Ziling was dead, Kou Zhong was starting to have suicidal thought, and thus giving pressure to Shen Luoyan. It would also lead the enemy into mistakenly assessing their strength. The only thing they did not anticipate was Shen Luoyans reaction upon hearing the news Xu Ziling was dead. Shen Luoyan did have the intention of mistreating Susu to force Kou Zhong to surrender, but hearing Kou Zhongsst remark, she swallowed back whatever it was she was going to say. She only sigh and said, Ay! So be it! But there are some things I find it difficult to make decisions. And then with her delicate voice she called out, Get Susu out! Not too long afterwards, the Old Man of the Field Mo Cheng, who had once captured Kou and Xu, two boys, on the river using brilliant scheme, came out escorting Susu and brought her to Shen Luoyans side. Susus tears were already flowing freely as she cried out sorrowfully, Is Xiao Ling really dead? Kou Zhong had mouth, but found it difficult to talk; he did not dare to signal her with his eyes either. With deste expression Shen Luoyan said, One hand deliver the book, the other hand deliver the person. I guarantee my subordinates wont pursue and attack you. Only one word No from you, Susus corpse will lie horizontally on the ground, and we will go all out to kill you. Kou Zhong pretended to surrender. Hey the book down on the ground, but stretched his feet to step on it. Release her! he said. Shen Luoyan nodded slightly. Mo Cheng grabbed Susu and tossed her high in the air, so that if he wanted to catch her, he would have to step back. Kou Zhong was really obedient; he leaped backward to catch Susu, and then like a burst of wind they went away. Mo Cheng picked the roster. With great difficulty he opened up the bind, and take a look. His countenance changed. Miss, not good, he said, That kid has the guts to swindle us. Shen Luoyan took the book and looked. Other than thest two pages, the rest of the book was Old Master Kongs Analects of Confucius, which gods know where they stole it from. Her pretty face immediately turned deathly white from anger. Her eyes shing with murderous intention, she said, I want to see where can they run away? Immediately her jet-ck eyebrows knitted as she softly said, Could it be that he is not dead yet? Speaking to this point, she felt her pretty face was burning, she did not even know what she felt in her heart. Could it be that this little demon had somehow taken a ce in her heart? Xu Ziling hugged theughing and crying Susu tight in his bosom; he said in great delight, I did not expect Shen Poniang would really fall into our trick. Kou Zhong sat down with his back against the wall. Your stratagem was indeed formidable, he said, First of all, you predicted that Shen Poniang was waiting for us toe back to rescue Su Jie. You even predicted that she would be willing to return Su Jie to us, to increase the difficulty of our escape effort. However, you still missed something. Xu Ziling was puzzled, What thing? he asked. Susu whispered, She seemed to be very fond of you! Xu Ziling scoffed. I dont care whether she is fond or not fond of me, he said, That kind of woman, even if she is given to me as a present, I wont ept it. Turning to Susu, he asked, Did Shen Poniang treat Jiejie badly? Susu shook her head and said, She lied to me by saying that she has caught Xiao Zhong, and she pressured me into telling her what had happened in thest few days, so Jiejie had to tell her. Kou Zhongs countenance changed. Jiejie did not mention anything about Daiqing Lou, did you? he asked. Susu sat up straight. Of course not! she snapped, How could Jiejie not know the severity of this matter? Kou Zhong scooted over and wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders. You can be considered very lucky! Turns out that guy who injured you was the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan, who even dared to assassinate our Ol Die. With hatred in his voice Xu Ziling said, Were it not for I managed to promptly transfer my inner power to neutralize his inner power entering my body, an insignificant book would not save my life. Humph! If this time we can escape alive, I want to take a good look on him. Kou Zhong patted his chest, Those who dare to offend us, the Two Dragons of Yangzhou, will not have a good end. Take Shen Poniang for example, I guarantee that theseing days she wont be able to sleep peacefully. Xu Ziling helped Susu up and said with a wry smile, I am afraid for the next few days I wont be able to fight. Supposing Peipei cannot help us, we have no choice but to exchange the real roster with our freedom. Kou Zhong apanied him in heaving a sigh. Suddenly they heard faint barking of dogs in the distance. The three of them exchanged nces. They knew that if they did not slip away now, they could forget about leaving forever. Book 5 - 5 – Entanglement of Passion and Evil Book 5 Chapter 5 C Entanglement of Passion and Evil Xingyang City. Heavy snow. Daiqing Lou has not opened its door to wee the guests. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Susu, three people were hiding inside a small uninhabited two-story side-building by the front courtyard, waiting quietly for the clothing store delivery boy. Peipei has be their only hope of escaping. Now that Xu Ziling was seriously wounded, relying on Kou Zhongs strength alone, it would be impossible for him to bring the other two escaping from the city. Losing the roster, Shen Luoyan would definitely do everything in her power to hunt them down, because this matter involved the rise and fall of the Wagang Army. Kou Zhong leaned against the window and looked out; he said in low voice, I am not lying to you, when Shen Luoyan, that b1tch, thought that you died, she was acting differently from her usual manner, and I know that she was not pretending. Xu Ziling was sitting cross-legged to recuperate; hearing Kou Zhong, he opened his eyes and said impatiently, Stop talking! Whenever I remember her, my heart is burning. Without turning his head, Kou Zhong warned him, Dont be impatient; be careful, or else you might suffer fire deviation. Xu Ziling was shocked. He realized that after sustaining serious injury, his strength was in decline, and his state of mind was prone to fluctuate. Hastily he focused his attention to recover his mental state to its original crystal clear condition. Her pretty face blushing slightly, Susu said, Shen Luoyan did ask about Jiejies rtionship with you two; when I told her, she did not seem to be convinced. Come to think about it, maybe she is really jealous! Kou Zhongs gaze returned to the floating snowkes filling the heaven and the earth outside. He nodded and said, Shen Poniang once said that if she married, she would marry Xiao Ling, but she wanted me to be her lover. At that time she was joking, but now I think there is 30% truth in what she said. Ha! If we can create distress in her mind, all enmity is paid in full! And then he excitedly said, Hey! Hes here! Bang! Bang! Bang! there was a knock on the door. The shop assistant holding a bundle of cloth in his hands shouted against the cold wind, Satin brocade delivery! A big man came out of the main halls door. He walked across the front courtyard, and pushed the main gate a little. What is it? he asked. The shop assistant handed the bundle over to the big mans hands and muttered, Naturally it is highest quality silk fabric; its for Miss Peipei. Finished speaking, without even turning his head around he hurriedly trudged away, braving the snow. The big man was stunned; he stared nkly for half a day before carrying the bundle back into the building. Kou Zhong quickly dropped down on the floor and stuck his ear to listen to the activity downstairs. He heard a woman asked, He Fu! What is it? He Fu replied, Really strange! Someones sending highest quality silk fabric and specifically indicated that it is for Lady Boss! That is strange indeed! the woman said, Lady Boss has not personallye out to greet the guests for a long time, unexpectedly someone is trying to curry favor with her. Just deliver it to her ce, well talk about itter when shees back! Noiselessly Kou Zhong shed out of the side-room. A momentter he came back and said, Turns out Peipei is thedy boss of this ce. She lives in a secluded room at the rear courtyard, but right now I dont know where she went. This is not a good ce to hide, Xu Ziling said, Wed better go to hide in her private chamber! Kou Zhong cheered, praising his good thinking. Carrying Susu, he left first to lead the way. Xu Ziling had no difficulty running after him. If Yang Xuyan were to personally witness the current situation, he would be shocked and would not dare to believe his eyes. Because he did not know that the Secret to Long Life was Taoist Schools secret, which was not passed on throughout the ages. It was also the secret that controlled nature; that gods and ghosts could notprehend. When Yang Xuyans sword pierced Xu Zilings lower abdomen, it was blocked by the roster, so that the speed was somewhat reduced. However, this split second buffer was enough for Xu Ziling to prevent the sharp tip from delivering fatal qi into his body. Lower abdomen was like the sea of qi, if this part were wounded, it would be very difficult to recover. To martial art practitioners who cultivate qi, it would be especially devastating. Yet the Secret to Long Lifes function was precisely to save ones life and to prolong it. On top of that, there was Kou Zhongs true qi, which came from the same source, giving aid to him in treating the injury. Therefore, within a period of one night, Xu Ziling was able to recover most of his strength, creating a miracle, which other people found it hard to believe. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Susu naturally thought that it was as it should be; they were not surprised at all. It was Shen Luoyan who has miscalcted; she had the search concentrated in the densenes, alleys and houses within two li radius from her residence, resulting the three people could easilye and hide in this ce. By this time the girls of Daiqing Lou have not gotten out of bed for too long, everybody was taking a bath and changing their clothes, and have not left their rooms, hence there were only a few maids and servant walking along the corridor, so that the three people could arrive at the Lady Boss Peipeis building without any surprise, without any danger. Avoiding two young maids at the anteroom, they slipped into her personal chamber. Without any politeness Kou Zhong pulled open the bedspread and asked shivering Susu to get into the quilt first, and then he had Xu Ziling lying down on the other side, while he himself sat at the foot of the bed. Heughed and said, Looks like there is nothing special about the Wagang Army, at least up to this time they still cannot do anything to us. Susu angrily said, The worst thing about Xiao Zhong is that you are very easy to becent. Wait until we can escape out of town, feeling proud about yourself at that time wont be toote! Xu Ziling said, Since leaving Yangzhou, night and day we lived a fugitive life. I really wish we could find a ce with verdant hills and limpid water where we can settle down, living a quiet and peaceful life. Susu excitedly went into detailed discussion on what kind of ce would be ideal for them to settle down. Soon afterwards Kou Zhong asked about Yang Xuyans martial art skill. After Xu Ziling told him everything he knew, as if he was still terrified he said, This persons internal energy has reached the following-ones-heart-desires level; not only the tip of his sword could spit out qi power, it was even divided further into hundreds and thousands streams, each one with different level of pulling force, so that I waspletely unable to disy my usual level. Kou Zhong muttered to himself, This is very unusual for sure, but since he could achieve it, we ought to be able to do the same. Xiao Ling, Susu was curious, You really could not see his appearance clearly? Thats what more surprising, Xu Ziling replied, The ce we fought was dark without any light, but clearly my vision was filled with sword rays, plus his movement was as fast as a ghost or a demon; I could not even tell whether he is tall or short, fat or thin. Kou Zhong pped his thigh, I understand, he said, Try pressing your eyeball with your finger; very quickly you will see stars. Yang Xuyan must be exploiting this principle; he used the sword qi to create pressure to your eyes, so that your misperception red out. Ay! This guy can be considered really formidable! Xu Ziling nodded, Perhaps it did happen like you said, he said, But his sword was even more terrifying. Obviously strike would hit the target, but suddenly it hit empty air, and the real strike came, it was so slick that I could not block it. No wonder there are so many dominating characters harboring a grudge under his sword. Kou Zhong breathed out a mouthful of cold air; he said, This guy is really proficient. Huh? The three of them shut up immediately. Sound of footstepsing from afar, even Susu was able to hear it. Followed by the two maids in the outer hall spoke in chorus, Madame is back! Inside the room, the three people were greatly delighted; knowing that finally they were going to find Peipei. A somewhat cold and detach, deep, but pleasant to hear female voice spoke, What is this? One of the maids replied, Somebody bought a bolt of silk fabric from the west street shop and have it delivered here, indicating clearly that it was for Madame. This matter has been reported to Yun Niang. Peipei was silent for half a day before finally spoke calmly, Go get Yun Niang for me. The two maidsplied and left. Straining his ears to eavesdrop, Kou Zhong heard Peipei sat down; he whispered, Lets hear what they have to say first. Xu Ziling said, Isnt Yun Niang the flirtatiousdy who received us the other day? Kou Zhong nodded. Suddenly the three people felt somewhat nervous. Right now it could be said that Peipei was theirst hope. If this road is blocked, then they could only rely on their own power to escape. Previously, when Xu Ziling was not injured, it was already hard to aplished; right not it was even more difficult to do. Soon Yun Niang arrived. After dismissing the two maids, Peipei said, What did you find? Yun Niang respectfully replied, I have investigated this matter. The one buying the cloth must be Susu, the time was yesterday afternoon. It appears that the two boys are using the toss a stone to find out whats ahead trick trying to find Madame. The three people listening inside the room shuddered in fear, because when speaking about them, Yun Niangs voice did not have any trace of politeness. Chapter 5, Part 2 Peipei was silent for half a day; she said, It should be so. But I am afraid they wont be able toe. Right now Xu Ziling is injured by Yang Xuyan, whether he will live or die is still to be seen. Shen Luoyan is going all-out to search for them. Just now she passed on a message to me, telling me that if our Baling Bang dared to interfere, she would not be polite. Therefore, we simply must not stain our hands. When Kou Zhong and the others, three people, heard this, they looked at each other, their hearts sank. Outside, Yun Niang griped, This time we are going to be killed by Xiang Shaoye! Offending Wagang Army, how can we set out foot in Xingyang? Peipei said, The only way is to cooperate nicely with Shen Luoyan. Just now I went out by myself to see whether Kou Zhong would show himself to meet with me. And now we have confirmation that he has note, I will notify Shen Luoyan about this matter. If they dide, you have to try to detain them here; wait for my return and then well talk. Finished speaking, she went out of the room. Now that the three peoplesst hope was dashed, after putting everything in the room to its original condition, they quietly left. Using the heavy snow as a cover, with Kou Zhong carrying Susu on his back, they swiftly traversed several buildings, and reached therge garden of Xu Shijis official residence. After surveying the surroundings for a moment, Kou Zhong said, ording to Chen Laomous instruction, Xu Shijis office must be in one of the side rooms east and west of the main building. And Xingyangs city blueprint ought to be there as well. Xu Ziling said, That will be easy to find out. Lets go! The three crossed the garden and headed toward the front courtyard. By this time Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings experience was already very rich; they knew when toe and when to leave, hence they stopped and proceeded ordingly. After avoiding several servants and maids of the mansion, they arrived at Xu Shijis study, a room filled with scroll after scroll of documents. Following Chen Laomous method, they searched around speedily, thumbing through the documents, and returned them to their original conditions so that not a trace of sign would be found that they have been manipted. The number of documents in the room exceeded a thousand scrolls, therefore, this task was time consuming andborious. The entire Xu mansion appeared to be deserted, it wasnt clear whether all the martial art experts in the mansion were involved in the operation to hunt and arrest them. The two boys focused their strength into their eyes, flipping over the left and uncovered the right in the dark, all the way until the first watch of the night [between 7-9pm] before finally Kou Zhong made a breakthrough. The three huddled together, looking at a roll of drawings Kou Zhong spread over the table. Susu lighted an oilmp on the table. Kou Zhong took off his outer garment to mask thentern, so that the light would not leak out. Xu Ziling turned to the third page from the bottom and called out happily, This is it. It was the map of Xingyang Citys underground sewer system, the drawing was very detailed, and it was well-annotated. Kou Zhong pointed to a sewer at the south of the city and said, This sewer is connected to the moat, the width reaches five chi [reminder: 1 chi is approx. 1 foot or 1/3m] enough for us to pass through. Xu Ziling pointed to the intersection between the sewer and the city wall river and said, There must be a drainage fence or some kind of barrier installed here at the mouth of the sewer; we must bring a saw or some other tool to break out. Kou Zhongughed and said, Thats easy, just leave it to me. Right now let me find the way first, you two hide in here, wait for me toe back. The three studied the map a bit longer. Susu dejectedly said, I am not leaving! Such a long underwater passage, I will be suffocating to death. Kou Zhong giggled and said, There is Xiao Zhong here, how can Jiejie have any problem? Last time Xiao Ling sucked Jiejies mouth, this time its my turn! Susu glowered at Kou Zhong, her pretty face turned red. Xu Ziling admonished him, Zhong Shao, how can you speak such frivolous words to Su Jie? Our sister-brother rtion is clear and white; that time it was an emergency! Kou Zhong busily apologized to Susu. Sweeping his eyes around, he said, Youd better hide inside that big wardrobe. I only need to take some of the contents out, it should have enough space for you to hide. Xiao Ling, use this opportunity to recuperate, Su Jie, try to get some sleep. By the time Xu Ziling awoke, Susu was still sleeping soundly in his bosom; her breathing was soft and even. He busily woke Susu up and whispered, Someonesing! Susu woke up with a start and turned around to bury her face into his bosom; she did not even dare to take even a half of loud breathing. The door was opened, Shen Luoyans voice was heard outside the wardrobe, Shiji! Where is the city map? After a series of light rustling noise, there was a sound of a scroll being opened. Xu Shijis voice said, We have searched the entire southern part of the city, still we cant find those two kids. We must expand the scope, while at the same time sealed off the ces we have searched, so that they cannot slip back in. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. Relying on his fantastic true qi, it shouldnt be difficult to evade these two peoples eyes and ears. But Susu only knew punching and kicking skill; she did not know any first-ss internal skill at all. When Shen and Xu, two people have calmed down, they would definitely be able to tell that there was something unusual inside the wardrobe. Thinking to this point, he had a sudden inspiration; quickly he covered Susus lips and slowly transferred his true qi into her mouth. As expected, Susus external breathing stopped. A pure, based on internal-breathing qi flowed in and out; from external breathing turned into internal breathing. Shen Luoyan and Xu Shiji discussed step-by-step method to search the entire city. While they were deciding on how to seal off the area, Shen Luoyan suddenly let out a tender cry; and then there was a sound of people kissing on the outside. Shen Luoyan furiously said, Dont do that! I am not in the mood. Xu Shiji let out a cold snort and said, Not in the mood? When did you ever be in the mood? How long has it been since we had some kind of intimacy? Displeased, Shen Louyan backed off, When Miss is not in the mood, that means the Miss is not in the mood. Could it be that Xu Ye is having some regret? Xu Shijis tone softened somewhat. In an almost pleading tone he said, Luoyan! You should know I am wholeheartedly devoted to you, dont let any outsider affect out deep affection to each other! Inside the wardrobe, Susu snaked her hand around to lightly pinch Xu Zilings lower back, indicating that the outsider who affected their rtionship ought to be him. Shen Luoyans voice turned icy-cold, Dont talk nonsense, she said, What outsider, insider? How can it involve any third person? You, Xu Ye, have always been very romantic, whether you have me, one person, or not, what does it have to do with you? You can be wholeheartedly devoted to me, I am afraid that was only a joke! From slightly ashamed, Xu Shiji flew into rage, Originally I did not want to say this, I have been ying along ording to the situation [orig. find a stage, put on aedy], and you know it. Why do you settle the score only now? After a short pause, he continued, Ever since you came across that guy Ba Fenghan, his sweet speech and honeyed words swept you off your feet, so that you roamed around together with him all day long. Upon returning, you suddenly changed. Even Duke Mi asked me about you. Tell me, what should I tell Duke Mi? This time it was Xu Zilings turn inside the wardrobe to feel awkward, but he was also greatly disgusted. Turned out Shen Luoyan came across Ba Fenghan, and perhaps they even went to bed together, otherwise Xu Shiji would not be that jealous. On the other hand, Susu was greatly surprised, because when she thought that Xu Ziling was killed, her demeanor changed, how could now suddenly Ba Fenghane into the picture? She heard Shen Luoyan furiously said, Your affair, I do not give a damn; my affair, I dont need you to care. Xu Shiji softened up; he sighed and said, Not only Ba Fenghan is a foreigner, this time he came to the Central ins, it is clearly to stir up the wind and the rain. Ever since he made a name in that sword duel, he has already defeated more than a dozen renowned masters in various regions. Pulling up a rtionship with someone like him wont give us the slightest bit of advantage. Shen Luoyan was silent for half a day; suddenly she said, Right now I am only thinking of how to get the roster back; if we let it falls into the governments hands, the repercussion is simply unthinkable! Lets go quickly. Only after the two people left that Xu Ziling and Susu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Susus raised her pretty face, with her breathing as fragrant as the orchid she said, Xu Shijis fear is misced! Xu Ziling let out a wry smile and said, Its because Jiejie has not seen Ba Fenghan that you said so. Not only this man has superior martial art skill, his appearance exudes a very breathtaking charm. All he has to do was to make an appearance, and automatically everybodys eyes were drawn to him. Compared to him, I am really far too inferior. Susu was displeased, I dont believe you, she said, Its just because you and Xiao Zhong are still young. But in time, Jiejie dont believe there are people who will overshadow your radiance. You just dont know it yet! In fact, every day you are still changing. Most of all, each one of you has your unique personality traits, even Jiejies heart is being moved by you! Although the two of them were in such a close, intimate situation, there was no amorous thought in their hearts, only pure love between sister and brother. Embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, Jiejie must notugh at me, how about getting some more sleep? Susu yielded; she nodded, and then like a docile littlemb she obediently buried herself in his bosom and closed her beautiful eyes, and fell asleep. With Susus alluring tender body in his embrace, myriads of thoughts were surging in Xu Zilings mind. All of a sudden he was overwhelmed with the feeling that he waspletely at a loss. The first thing he had to consider was not how to deal with Yuwen Huaji to avenge Fu Junchuo, but rather how to arrange a ce for the good Jiejie in his bosom to settle down. The problem was that all along the two boys were unclear on the rtionship between Li Jing and Susu. Even if they found Li Jing, they might only make things worse. It was the time when the soldiers mutinied and the troops rebelled, they would not feel at ease leaving Susu just anywhere. On the other hand, taking her along would also be extremely dangerous to her, considering the two boys have be the target of a multitude of arrows. While he was racking his brains until his head felt bloated, Kou Zhong came back. By this moment the sky has brightened. Kou Zhong slipped into the wardrobe and dejectedly said, This time we are doomed; turns out when the sewer reaches the exit, it is divided into a dozen passages so small that even a dog cannot pass through. We are wasting our effort, and have been rejoicing in vain. Did you go down to check it? Susu asked. Kou Zhong nodded, Of course I did, he said, I had just stolen another set of clothes to change. Ay! No wonder you smell different! Xu Ziling remarked. Kou Zhong said, While I was out, I also checked the situation of the city defense. There are Wagang Army troops everywhere, the city does notck elevated lookout posts; leaving the city is merely lunatic ravings. Hey! Xiao Ling, are you better now? Three more days before I am fully recovered, Xu Ziling replied. And then he said, I have an idea. You are really smart, Kou Zhong said in amazement, I have already exhausted my brains. Speak up quickly, let us hear it. Its that roster, Xu Ziling replied, For Wagang Army, this roster is a lot more important than some Duke Yang Treasure Trove. We can use it as our bargaining chip. What do you say? Kou Zhong pondered silently for half a day; finally he nodded his agreement and said, Certainly its the only way out in the middle of no way out. However, it would be best if we wait till you are fully recovered before going out to strike a deal with Shen Poniang, that way we will have a bit more assurance. Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders, We are not going to fight, he said, A bit sooner or a bitter wont make much difference. But ording to the news we just heard, this morning Shen Luoyan may begin searching this area. If we strike the deal after we are found out, it wont have as much value. All right! Kou Zhong said, Ill go find Shen Poniang then! Susu pulled him back, Xiao Zhong! she called, Jiejie is very scared! Kou Zhong nted a light kiss on her cheek; he said with a giggle, Jiejie, set your heart at ease! Whoever wants to deal with us, Yangzhous Two Dragons, must bag the food they cant finish and take it away [Not sure about this, must be some idiom]. And then it was Xu Zilings turn to pull him back, and without missing a word, he told him everything he heard from Shen Luoyan and Xu Shijis discussion about the hunt and arrest operation. Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! Kou Zhong happily said, This time they can forget of standing by my side at all! It was only then did he really leave. Book 5 - 6 – Vying for the book Book 5 Chapter 6 C Vying for the book Snowy evening. Like a bolt of lightning Kou Zhong flitted passed several buildings, and in short time he already ascertained that Shen Luoyan was not at home. Although just like other people, with all her power and influence Shen Luoyan also wanted to hunt and arrest them, Kou Zhong had always felt that this pretty Junshi [military counselor] had some kind of subtle connection with them, that she was one with whom he could talk to. To Shen Luoyan, this book represented the entire strength distribution and intelligencework of the Wagang Army, its importance was indeed iparable. Moreover, the book was lost while in her possession, naturally she would be held responsible. Therefore, in this business deal, he had no worries that she would not yield. Question is: how to contact her? Shen Luoyans private chamber was pitch-ck, the inner courtyard of her mansion was also devoid of any guard reinforcements. Although Kou Zhong felt as if he was entering a no-mansnd, his heart was actually full of disappointment and sense of loss. After waiting painstakingly for a long time, he still did not see Shen Luoyan came back. Without any other choice, he was thinking of returning to Xu Ziling to discuss this matter further. As he leaped over a high wall andnded on the roof of another house nearby, an rm suddenly went off in his heart. Kou Zhong was very astute; quickly he changed direction and traversed sideways. Who would have thought that his left ankle suddenly tightened? Something like a rope wound itself tightly around his ankle. Kou Zhong was shocked. He wanted to use the fastest and quickest way to pull the broadsword from his back, but then suddenly remembered that he had thrown his broadsword away in his effort to save Xu Ziling. While his hand was grabbing an empty air, he was pulled back that he rolled over the roof tile and fell. A thin stream of finger wind attacked him, threatening the vital acupoint on his back. In this critical situation, Kou Zhong remained calm; exerting his true qi, he sent out both palms backward to strike the enemy. The opponent did not expect Kou Zhong to be this outstanding; he swiftly retreated to the end of the narrow alley to evade the wind from Kou Zhongs palms. Bang! Kou Zhongs backnded on the ground. He was going to spring back up when a stream of strange energy flowed out from the rope binding his foot and prated his body, and in an instant permeated the meridians in his entire body. Kou Zhongs sturdy body was severely shaken, immediately his hands and feet went numb, and he fell back to the ground. A shadow flitted over; the shadows right foot gingerly stepped on the right side of the small of Kou Zhongs back. Kou Zhong immediately felt severe pain that his waist felt like it was about to burst; but the true qi in his body quickly reacted, from his tianling [at the top of ones head] acupoint it burst forth downward; not only it neutralized the numbness of his limbs, it also blocked the stream of energy from the tip of the opponents foot entering his lower back. Kou Zhong was about to strike back when that person bent down and reached out to brush the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach. It was only then did Kou Zhong see that the opponent was wearing night-walker outfit,plete with head covering, revealing only his eyes and mouth and nose. Kou Zhong inwardly called, Come closer! Unleashing the Meridian Severing Technique taught by Tu Shufang, his fingertips brushed over the opponents wrist first, and then using the qinna technique he grabbed him. That person obviously did not expect Kou Zhong still had the ability to fight back; his body went weak and he fell into Kou Zhongs embrace. Kou Zhong did not dare to hesitate; taking advantage while that person was still unable to defuse the stream of qi from Kou Zhongs fingertips that was blocking his channels, he rolled over and pressed the opponent against the ground. Unexpectedly that person let out a tender grunt as his four limbs were entangled by Kou Zhong that he was unable to move a single step. Kou Zhong was very proud of himself, thinking that this he was unexpectedly a she, as he groped around and discovered that she was very well developed. After retracting his right hand that locked the vital acupoint on her backbone, he peeled off her head covering. Ah! immediately both people cried out at the same time. Like a cloud her beautiful ck hair cascaded down on the snow-covered ground of the small alley. Under the dim light reflected by the snow, her eyes twinkled in the dark like a pair of precious stones. To his surprise, she was none other than Song Yuzhi, whose beauty was brimming with masculine air. Kou Zhong was stunned. So its you! he said. Not only Song Yuzhi was not shy at all, she spoke in cold manner, Let us make a business deal! Kou Zhong was tempted to take a little bit of advantage on her; for instance, kissing her fragrant lips or something like that, to see whether she would remain this aloof. However, he was intimidated by her cool-headedness, and in turn did not dare to offend her. Giggling, he said, If you want to use your body to make a deal, you can spare the haggling, because I, Kou Ye [master], will not be coerced by female charm trick. Ha! Turns out the thing wrapping around your Shaoyes big foot was the beautys flexible whip. Very formidable. Do you usually keep it wrapped around your tiny waist? Recalling that she was the n Leader of the Song n Heavenly Saber Song Ques daughter, whose status and honor iparable, yet he had given her body an all-around groping, he could not restrain a burst of excitement from rising up. Song Yuzhis ck eyebrows frowned slightly; she sighed and said, Dont be toocent! Your skill is still not enough to defeat me, its just that I underestimated the enemy, and was unable to gauge your foundation, hence Imitted a blunder, thats all! If you speak frivolously again, or do more improper things to me, unless you kill me afterwards, I will make sure that you will face endless disaster. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, You are encouraging me to continue pressing your alluring body? To ady of arge, influential family with high status like you, the fact that a guy from a poor and humble family that is not even worth mentioning has taken advantage of you, should give you enough reason tomit suicide! Song Yuzhi nonchntly replied, Since you already pressed me down, so what if you want to press me down half a day longer? All right! Are you ready to talk business? Kou Zhong reached out to press her Jianjing [lit. shoulder well] acupoint; he smiled and said, Beauty really know how to put an act. Turns out very soon youll unseal the locked acupoints, therefore, you deliberately talked to me like that to swindle me. Hee ... hee ... I am off! Song Yuzhis eyes gleamed; she softly said, Dont go. If you go, wholl shelter me from the rain and the snow? For the first time Kou Zhong felt that this beauty with unique charm was unfathomable. Although he appeared to gain the upper hand, the initiative actuallyy in the opponents hands. Song Yuzhi continued, You ought to know that I did not mean to hurt you. Based on this fact, can we make a deal now? Arent you looking for Shen Luoyan to make a deal? Kou Zhong forced a smile and said, You have seen through me; just consider me afraid you! Is Song Shidao your esteemed older brother? You must be aware that he and I have friendship rtion, hence the reason I did not really dare to touch you. Song Yuzhi indifferently replied, You are people whom the streets know the alleys heard about, no one is unaware of your matter. Were it not for as early as three months ago I learned about your ability from my Dage [eldest brother], but underestimated your progress, tonight I would not have underestimated the enemy and suffered your frivolous treatment. But my intuition was correct, you are not a despicable man. Ao! How could you ... Kou Zhong rolled away and sat up; he awkwardly said, It was a natural reaction of a normal man. Miss Song, please forgive me. Song Yuzhi immediately burst her acupoints open. Raising her tender body, she said with slight anger, Seeing you were unintentional, I let you off this time! But you must forget this matter; if I find out that you ever mention this to anybody, I will definitely take your little life. Finished speaking, she bent down to untie the whip rope on his ankle. Looking at her loose beautiful hair, Kou Zhong felt a bit unsure about their rtionship; he sounded her out by asking, Just now you were attacking me viciously, why suddenly be this considerate and kind to me? Song Yuzhi wrapped the entire five zhang of flexible whip around her waist; she said coldly, Whos considerate and kind to you? I never said that I wouldnt fight with you. Its just that seeing your natural character is simple and good, I am a bit more polite to you. Thats all! After staring nkly for half a day, Kou Zhong scratched his head and said, I really dont understand you. Song Yuzhi moved her tender body slightly farther away from him; with her beautiful eyes, which pupils looked very ck against the white eyeballs, she stared at him and said calmly, Who needs to be understood by you? Just listen carefully: under the current situation, sooner orter you will be caught by Wagang Army. Dont think that I simply said frightening words to scare you, Shen Luoyan already sent express report to Li Mi, asking him to dispatch Zheng Zong back to participate in this hunt and arrest operation. This mans nickname is Flying Feather, an expert in tracking and pursuing people; he raises birds with the sole purpose of tracking people. As soon as he is here, you wont have a ce to hide. Kou Zhong was greatly surprised; while at the same time realized the reason Shen Luoyan dared to make a bet that she would be able to catch them three times at the mouth of the river was because this man was working for her in secret. He giggled and said, Dont stare at me like that! Look, we met in such a strange situation. This is a narrow alley, and it is snowing heavily, plus it is hard to say whether we are friend or foe, yet you want to make a deal? Ha! Very funny! Song Yuzhi showed a thoughtful look, but then she looked annoyed as she said, Are you saying that I am lying to you to scare you? Kou Zhong leaned forward slightly; his tiger-eyes shot a scary gleam as he looked deep into her eyes and said, Until now you are still looking down on me. Humph! We two brothers have never needed anybody to pity us. You want Shen Luoyans roster? If you have the ability,e to steal or to rob it from us! I, Kou Zhong, have no interest in making any deal with anybody. Finished speaking, he straightened up and stood tall, brushed away the snow from his body, smiled slightly, and turned away to leave. Song Yuzhi also suddenly stood up and said coldly, Dont go! Kou Zhong looked at the especially long whip around her waist, he humphed and said, I know your magic weapon already, if you want to try it again, it wont be effective! Song Yuzhi loftily said, You think what kind of people are our Song Family? Since I failed to capture you, would I shamelessly try for the second time? If you dont want to leave this city, then get lost as far as you can, and dont let mee across you again, because by that time, it would be tote to regret. Kou Zhong was not the least bit angry; still giggling, he said, Beauty, please calm down. Since you already have this kind of good intention, as long as you do not cover my book, or that Duke Yang Treasure that your Shaoye does not even know where, everything else can be discussed nicely. Song Yuzhi crossly said, What do you think you are? Do you think for no reason I am going to offend Wagang Army just to help you? Besides, very soon you cant even guarantee your little lives, yet you are still holding on to the book that has no usefulness to you whatsoever. Kou Zhongughed aloud and floated away. Song Yuzhi stomped her feet in anger, but she was totally at a loss on how to deal with him. In Xu Shijis study room, Susu and Xu Ziling listened to Kou Zhong narrated his encounter with Song Yuzhi. The former anxiously said, How are we going to deal with it? Speaking about tracking and pursuing skill, within the Wagang Army the Flying Feather Zheng Zong undoubtedly upies the first spot. Even if we manage to escape from the city, sooner orter he will overtake us. Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said, We have already encountered him. His most formidable weapon is that magic bird. We are not afraid of him. Dont becent like that, all right? Susu reproached him. Kou Zhong was deep in thought for half a day. Suddenly heughed and said, It would be best if we swagger out, then look at Shen Luoyans face! Xu Ziling shook his head, That will diminish Shen Luoyans standing too much. Furthermore, her worst fear is that the content would leak out; she would rather destroy it. With head hanging down, Susu said, If you dont have Jiejie as your burden, right now you wont have such a headache. The two boys promptly spokeforting words to her. Xu Ziling scratched his head and said, With a thousand ways, a hundred ns we are trying to find a way, but most are unrealistic. Why dont we try just charging our way out of the city? As long as one of us can get out, we can haggle over the price with Shen Luoyan. Hearing this, Kou Zhongs heart was greatly moved. Hows your lower abdomen injury? he asked. Xu Ziling lowered his voice, If I tell you, you wont believe it, but I feel even better than before. Chapter 6, Part 2 HPC, Jaya, Ysabel, Laoren, Anh, Drak, you are wee. DongBin, good catch, thanks. I meant covet. Sky, reading the text, I did not get the same impression (spoiled brat). Care to borate? George, they are finally out of the city! Akw, I hope you are not giving us spoiler. If it was your own analysis, I am impressed. Good job! Xu Xiong, I am rooting for Shan Wanjing too! Bocah, I am d Xingyang episode is over, it was just too long for my taste ... To be honest, I nearly lost interest. Kou Zhong was greatly excited, Now thats different, he said, We might as well go all out, turn the city of Xingyang upside down. Do you still remember those dozen or so jars of kerosene in Shen Luoyans house? Xu Zilings eyes immediately lit up. The stable in Xu Shijis official residence was the first to catch fire. More than forty horses stampeded out of the opened-wide back door and bolted wildly off into the street. Next several spots of fire appeared in the main building. The melting ice and snow actually intensified the fire. Most of manpower in the mansion had been deployed to join the search operation for the three people; in the confusion that ensued the maids and servants fled for their lives. The fire spread out rapidly, fortunately because of the high walls all around the premise, plus due toe the heavy snow, it did not spread to neighboring buildings. By the time the people involved in hunt and arrest operation rushed over in panic, on the other side of town Shen Luoyans manor burst into mes, making the Wagang Army tired of constantly running for their lives. This moment Shen Luoyans beautiful body was standing on the roof of a building. Standing next to her, other than the Old Man of the Field Mo Cheng, there was also a team of handpicked martial art experts from the Wagang Army. Like the heavy snow falling into the earth, intelligence reports unceasingly brought up by the troops to her, but Shen Luoyan simply fixed her cold gaze on the two fires rising in the distance, but the fire was apparently under control. Mo Cheng took a step forward behind Shen Luoyan, he respectfully said, It appears that this is all those two guys doing. I really dont understand why after being stabbed by Yang Xuyan, not only Xu Ziling did not die, he is even able to raise such a big wind and a big rain? A faint bitter smile escaped from the corner of Shen Luoyans mouth; she said nonchntly, I did not underestimate them at all, but I still miscalcted. Now that I calmly think about it, I ought to know that since they are continuously making progress, not only their martial art skill are getting stronger with each passing day, their ability and wisdom should also grow along with their experience, so that they be very difficult to deal with. Mo Cheng snorted and said, It doesnt matter what they have be, tonight they are going to lose their lives. Zheng Zong has just arrived here, now he is with Xu Ye [master Xu] setting up the to intercept them; guaranteed that they wont be able to escape for too long. Shen Luoyan coldly snapped, Uncle Cheng! You are angry. Mo Cheng was stunned. Shen Luoyan calmly said, The number of people who want to seek the Duke Yang Treasure Trove from them is too many to be counted. But the fact is that until today, nobody is able to do anything to deal with them. If we still underestimate the enemy like before, we might fail and might be wiped over the floor. The missing roster is of grave importance, if they really take it with them, I would have no choice but to atone for my crime with death. This moment someone wasing to report that they have stopped the herd of horses running away from the Xu Mansion, but they failed to see the three peoples vestige. Mo Cheng sighed and said, Xingyang City is so big, they only need to find a ce to hide, we will have to waste so much effort to find them. Shen Luoyan shook her head, No! she said, I understand their character very well, especially that guy Kou Zhong; he is not that patient. Tonight they will go all-out in creating disturbance to take advantage of the situation to escape. After a short pause, she continued, What surprised me most is why did they seem to know about our hunt and arrest operation so that theye and go freely in the city? It is as if they personally listen to Xu Shiji and me nning it. Right this moment, Xu Zilings voice was heard from behind them, Shen Luoyan! Do you have time to chat with us? Shen Luoyan and her mens countenance changed immediately; they turned around to look. Under the heavy snow swirling in the air, Xu Ziling stood upright and unafraid on the roof ridge of a nearby house, he was speaking calmly,posed, elegant and stylish. An indescribable feeling welled up in Shen Luoyans heart. She felt it deep in her heart that Xu Ziling had grown up, not at all like the naughty, big kid, who still loved to y, impression she previously had. And she was not referring to his tall and straight figure, the most significant change was that the repeated crises and hardships have nurtured in him his current bearing and gantry, which made up the distinctive style of Xu Zilings intimidating charm. Without waiting for her to respond, her men had already flown over and surrounded Xu Ziling, in a swords-drawn, bows-bent like situation. Shen Luoyan gathered her thought and flew over; in the blink of an eye she already stood face to face with Xu Ziling on the rood ridge. The two peoples eyes were locked toward each other; both were having a hundred and one thoughts swirling in their minds. Xu Ziling nodded slightly, he calmly said, Fromughing, giggling and ying together, we have turned into archenemies who are fighting life and death battle against each other. Each time I am thinking about this I really feel downhearted. The affection in Shen Luoyans heart was even harder to describe. Right now Xu Zilings face still showed paleness due to the loss of blood, but it did notpromise his schrly, refined appearance; on the contrary, it added some kind of profound depth and a sense of maturity to his demeanor that only sufferings could bring. In all her life, a few men did indeed move her heart, but because helping Li Mi to gain the world has be her objective, love and family affairs have to be shoved to the side. So much so that she tried to make herself cold-hearted, that she would consider anything from the point of view whether this matter would be useful to their cause or not. After encountering Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, every time she had to deal with these two boys, she had to go through a struggle in her heart. But at that time she only thought her heart was torn because she was fond of their talents. However, she was acutely aware that she was actually happy to see them, that butting heads with them actually left a rich aftertaste in her mouth. Still, she never thought that there was any love between man and woman in her heart toward them. When she found out that Xu Ziling was injured by Yang Xuyan, at the time where his life or death was still unknown, it suddenly dawned on her that Xu Zilings death may actually deal an unbearable blow to her. It was as if she was losing the most precious thing in the world. Now that she was standing face-to-face as enemies with this young martial art master, who was three or four years younger than she, theplicated contradiction in her heart was not hard to understand. After taking a very deep breath, in the most calm voice she could muster Shen Luoyan said, Are you at the end of your rope? Xu Zilings eyes shed with spirited rays; calmly he swept the enemies all around him with his gaze. As if nothing happened, he said, Order them to stand back a little first, otherwise I will attack immediately. With a coldugh Shen Luoyan said, Dont overly overestimate yourself, I can order them to withdraw, but its not because I am afraid of your threat. Xu Ziling said indifferently, My threat includes a book, which you will never get back. But in case you dont believe me, this time I intentionally came to return the book to you, so that you wont bear the criminal charges. However, you are ustomed to repay kindness with evil; therefore, no matter what you think, I will not think it strange. Shen Luoyan was silent for half a day; finally she waved her hand to order her men to retreat, and then she sighed and said, At a time where everybody, by hook or by crook, fighting over the world [tian xia], any gratitude and grudges is just a waste of time. Hows this: if you hand over the book, I will guarantee your safe passage out of the city. Xu Ziling shook his head, How can that be enough? he said, I also want your personal guarantee that no matter what happen in the future, as long as its not us who stir it up, you must note looking for us to give us trouble. Shen Luoyan dismissed him by saying, The decision maker in the Wagang Army is Duke Mi and not me, Shen Luoyan. Even if I guarantee it, it will be useless. Xu Ziling helplessly shrugged his shoulders and said with a bitterugh, Do you want me to wait for Duke Mis return? Right here, right now, you are the decision maker, hence the reason we have no choice but to look for you. Ifter on Duke Mi overthrow yourmitment, I certainly cant me you. Shen Luoyans tender heart shook; she suddenly came to realization why between Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, her favorable impressiony with Xu Ziling. It was simply because he always projected some kind of upright and true personality, unlike Kou Zhong who was frivolous and full of slick-cynicism. She herself was a cunning, smart person who was used to handling any matter unscrupulously, yet she was obviously moved by Xu Ziling, someone with special quality that shecked, someone that was totally different from her. Xu Ziling was constantly on alert of any movement around him. Right now he caught a glimpse of the arrival of Xu Shiji and a group ofpetent-looking subordinate, who then stationed themselves on the roof ridge of a big residential building about a dozen zhang away to his left. But of course he was unclear whether the Flying Feather Zheng Zong was among these men. Shen Luoyan signaled Xu Shiji that everything was under control. She affectionately fixed her gaze on Xu Ziling for half a day before speaking softly, Very well! I agree to this condition. Where is the book? Xu Ziling suppressed the ecstasy in his heart; lowering his voice, he said, Withdraw your men from the eastern city gate immediately, open the east city gate, let Kou Zhong leave first, and then you alone apany me going out of the city, I will return the book to you then. Shen Luoyan sighed and said, Xiao Ling, you still dont have enough experience. By saying that, it is obvious that the book is in your hands, because Kou Zhong must get Susu to a safe location as soon as possible ... You are thinking of going back on your words? Xu Ziling cut her off. Shen Luoyan knew that Xu Ziling had seen through her attempt to sound him out; she smiled and said, Of course not! Please take a good care of yourself, my little sweetheart. While Xu Ziling was baffled because she had called him her little sweetheart for no reason, Shen Luoyan already flew away andnded by Xu Shijis side, and then they were whispering into each others ear. It was only then did Xu Ziling discover that his entire body was drenched in cold sweats. After going through numerous twists and turns, they were finally able to leave the city. Book 5 - 7 – Subduing Enemy on Snowy Ground Book 5 Chapter 7 C Subduing Enemy on Snowy Ground Side-by-side Xu Ziling and Shen Luoyan went out of the city. The former saw the marker Kou Zhong left at the city gate, so he knew that Kou Zhong and Susu already departed safely. His mood improved, he could not help the hostility in his heart toward Shen Luoyan decreasing a little. The two of them silently unleashed their foot technique, very soon they left the city of Xingyang far behind in the vast and indistinct wind and snow. When they reached the top of a hill, Xu Ziling stopped. He took out the book from his bosom, and without the slightest hesitation handed it over to her. Shen Luoyan flipped through it, and after verifying that it was indeed her roster, she put it inside her pocket. Sighing softly, she said, If my guess is correct, Xu Shiji will not let you off just because I gave you my promise. Therefore, unless you are fully confident that you are able to break away from Zheng Zongs pursuit, you must by all means avoid meeting with Kou Zhong and Susu right away; otherwise it would be the moment the three of you lose your lives. Xu Ziling was greatly puzzled, Why did you tell me that? Zhong Shao and I are already aware that your Wagang Army might go back on your word; but we did not expect that you would really be willing to let us go. Shen Luoyans pretty face blushed slightly; she said softly, I owe you so much, I ought to brag a little bit that I am also a good person. However, even though you heard Zheng Zongs name, you were not the least bit surprised. Evidently you have someone who already disclosed this information to you; no wonder you already nned in advance. Xu Ziling was secretly terrified; this woman was extremely intelligent and crafty, the more they talked, the more she would deduce their actual situation. While pondering how he could leave as soon as possible, Shen Luoyan looked deep into his eyes, and then lightly said, Im sure well meet again someday! Xu Ziling mused, Who wants to meet with you again someday? But without saying a word, he turned around and ran down the hill. Just before entering the forest at the foot of the hill, he looked back, but Shen Luoyan already disappeared without any trace. Xu Ziling turned around and ran back to the ce where he parted ways with Shen Luoyan. Not too long afterwards he found the marker left by Kou Zhong, i.e. a small twig indicating the direction they were fleeing; there were also seven small pebbles, indicating he should go that way for more than seven li. Xu Ziling messed up the marker, looked up to the heavens, and just as expected, he did not see Zheng Zongs magical bird. This moment the snow was swirling heavily in the air; he had already guessed that it would be difficult for Zheng Zong to follow their trail on horseback. Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to hear Shen Luoyans tender voice shouting from about half a li to the west. Without even thinking Xu Ziling went at full speed toward that direction. Following the shout was a series of shing qi noise like a muffled thunder. Xu Ziling unleashed the true qi in his body to its limit; he flew like a streak of shooting star splitting the snowstorm nketing the big earth. Since Yun Yuzhen taught them the Bird Crossing Technique, they had experienced countless setbacks, attempts, and hard work to get better. But because they had eventually seeded in training the Secret to Long Life, in turn their fantastic true qi could be applied in qinggong, so that each one of them was able toe up with amazing, beyondpare, shenfa. [Trantors note: this is rather hard to trante without wordy exnation, basically it is a pose or motion of the body specifically in martial art.] Because of different interests and focus in developing their lightness skill, their qinggong style was also vastly different from each other. When they started training the Bird Crossing Technique, Kou Zhong loved to observe the marine ecosystem of swimming and cruising fish; therefore, automatically he developed movements mimicking the best of variety fish motion, full of vivacious postures. Still as a maiden, moving like a fugitive. Xu Ziling, on the other hand, loved to observe the trajectory of all kinds of bird flying in the air; therefore, naturally the postures he adopted were full of soaring-bird and diving-falcon style. Like a heavenly steed soaring across the sky, difficult to trace its track. Supporting them to attain their ideal body movement [shenfa, see above] was the true qiing from diligent practice of the Secret to Long Life, which grew and multiplied without an end within their bodies. Their pursuit of lightness skill style was actually matching their inner true qi. ording to the five-element principle: fish is water and bird is fire. The true qi within Kou Zhongs body was cold; while Xu Zilings was hot. Hence Kou Zhong imitating fish and Xu Ziling copying birds was a good fit like seamless heavenly clothes. When they were injured by Zhai Rang, the two boys applied their inner power to heal each other, identally generating heat in the midst of cold, and cold in the midst of heat. Under the blending of Yin and Yang, it was no longer like before, where a lone Yang could notst and exhaustion was an endless recurring condition. The most noticeable change was in the current utilization of the qinggong. Hence the reason this moment as Xu Ziling unleashed his shenfa, he felt that his true qi circted endlessly. The more he ran, the faster he was, until finally even he himself was a bit scared. The sound of fighting suddenly ceased. Xu Ziling was rmed, thinking that based on Shen Luoyans martial art skill, unless she was facing an opponent of Du Fuweis caliber, she should not have any problem defending herself; why was that within more or less ten moves she seemed to be subdued by the enemy? If that was the case, wouldnt it mean that the opponent was of his old dads caliber? Could it be that the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan hase? Thinking about that, his heart shivered in fear. Instantly the true qi within his body from clear turned murky, from pure it became mixed; from flying in the air he suddenly dropped down to the ground. Hastily he took a sharp breath to dispel his apprehension toward Yang Xuyan. Hastening the movement of inner breathing in his body, he focused his heart and mind, and immediately entered the moon in the well realm. His five senses sensed the world around him, nothing could escape his detection. Not only he was able to feel every single snowke falling onto his body, he could even hear the sound of snowkes touching each other within several zhang radius from him. The heaven and the earth lit up; the wind, the snow, everything sounded very clear in his hearing. This unprecedented amazing feeling onlysted for a blink of an eye; just as it happened suddenly, it also disappeared quite suddenly. Shocked, Xu Ziling dropped down on his knees on the snowy in, thoughts shed in the speed of light in his mind. He gained a sudden enlightenment; he knew that his fear of Yang Xuyan has inadvertently stimted the self-sufficient treasure-trove within his body; unexpectedly he rose to another level of new realm. While he was scared and delighted at the same time, a sparkling object on the snow caught his attention. Xu Ziling gathered his thought. Springing up from the snowy ground, he walked over to pick up the object; to his amazement, it was Shen Luoyans soul snatching hairpin. He could not help but was shocked. It appeared that Shen Luoyan was really in danger so that even her golden hairpin fell on the ground. Xu Ziling hastened the cirction of his inner breathing; he drove away all shock and anxiety from his heart, and thenunching his lightness skill, he searched along the vast snowy ground. A short whileter, he did find some footprints that were already obscured by the falling snow. These footprints, one after another, pointed to a dense forest in the southeast direction, each footprint was separated by almost eight zhang distance [80ft/25m], the evenness and uracy of the footprints was quite shocking. Just from the distance it was quite clear that this persons martial art skill was really high, almost to the unimaginable level. Xu Ziling asked himself: under normal circumstances, on solid ground, if he gave everything he had, perhaps he would be able to cover the same distance in one jump. But absolutely not on soft, snowy ground. It was not something that he could aplish alone, much less if he had to carry someone else on his back. However, it was not enough reason for him to give up rescuing Shen Luoyan. After taking a sharp intake of breath, he swiftly chased forward. The snowstorm attacked him head-on, giving him the full taste of frigid wind and painful snow. He could see the feeble light from Xingyang City painting the distant horizon on his left, amplifying the deste feeling the snowstorm already given him. Xu Ziling had just entered the fringe of the snowy forest when his acute hearing already caught some kind of strange noise. It was the sound of a woman panting and moaning. Xu Ziling immediately realized what was going on. A righteous anger welled up in his heart, yet his mind was still iparably calm. Carefully but swiftly he moved toward the source of the noise. The perpetrator must be someone who has been lurking in Xingyang City, secretly watching their fight against the Wagang Army. And then taking advantage of the moment when he and Shen Luoyan split up, he made his move andunched a surprise attack. This person was not satisfied just by obtaining the roster, he still had to subject Shen Luoyan to his beastly atrocity. Fast like a ghost Xu Ziling ducked to the left and slipped to the right in the snowy forest; he tiptoed on the snowy ground, so that he did not create any noise at all. He even severed his mouth and nose breathing, and was only using the continuous internal qi to breath. His eyes brightened, he was able to utilize the faint glow of the snow in the night, which average person would not be able to see, so that in that pitch-ck forest he was able to distinguish objects and faintly see the fluorescent green of the snowy wondend. The sound of heavy breathing was bing clearer. Momentster, deep in the snowy forest a tall, majestic figures back caught Xu Zilings eyes. This mans shoulder was particrly broad, yet his waist was surprisingly slim; his long hair was draped over his shoulder, giving others a memorable impression. This moment he was pressing Shen Luoyans body against the trunk of a big tree. His pair of hands slipped inside the beautys half-opened clothes, voraciously fondling her breasts. Xu Ziling sent his power to increase his vision; he saw Shen Luoyans face was beet red, her elegant eyes were tightly shut, her mouth was also tightly closed, the expression on her pretty face was a mixture of pain and contradiction, with tears across her whole face. Every fondling of the mans hand brought a shiver over her entire body, plus a moan and a gasp. Chapter 7, Part 2 George, although I have read the Divine Eagle Gant Knights (even helping tranting part of it), I still dont know which scene Xu Xiong was referring to. HPC, Jaya, Ysabel, Anh, Komeng, you are wee. Laoren, except this damsel was not in distress ... (Sky, that goes to you too.) Mr. Weird, my source has 63 books. Drak, you get your answer here. Bocah, too short ... End of Chapter 7, and hopefully end of SLY (at least for now). A grating voice like a wolf in heat said with augh, My, Dugu Ba, technique can turn a chaste woman [lit. woman who dies fighting for her honor or who follows her husband in death] into a wh0re, let alone you, a s1ut. After you have a taste of me, I guarantee that you, the Pretty Junshi [military counselor] will never leave me, and will obediently be my woman. Moaning and panting, Shen Luoyan said, Just kill me! Dugu Ba clicked his tongue and then with a strange-soundingughter he said, Your figure is so well developed, your skin is so tender and smooth, how can I bear to harm you? After you be my woman, you will be delighted to work for my Dugu n. Shen Luoyan suddenly let out an especially intense moan, obviously Dugu Ba has vited the part that has caused her extreme difort. From behind a tree Xu Ziling noiselessly shed out, slowly creeping toward Dugu Ba. He was certain that he was not Dugu Bas match; the only way was to take advantage when the opponents attention waspletely absorbed in hisscivious behavior, to mount a sneak attack. The golden hairpin rose up, it was aimed at Dugu Bas back. With a trembling voice Shen Luoyan said, Even if you obtain my body, dont even think that you will obtain my heart. Obviously Dugu Ba was extremely proud of himself; gasping for breath, heughed and said, Arent you in love with that kid just now whose smell of mothers milk not yet dried? Were it not for you lost your soul and dropped your spirit after you two parted, I am afraid it would not be this easy for me to seed, to enjoy Li Mis woman. Ha! This moment Xu Ziling was still about a zhang away from Dugu Ba. Hearing what was said, his spirit trembled a little, his footstep immediately getting somewhat heavier. Unexpectedly Dugu Ba was able to react; his powerful body shook, as if he was moving. Xu Ziling did not dare to hesitate. The gold hairpin shot out, while at the same time he also shot forward at full speed, his entire strength was focused on the middle finger of his right hand, piercing Dugu Bas back. Although Dugu Ba was outstanding, he had never imagined that there existed a martial art expert who was able to conceal all phenomena of life, such as breathing, body temperature, heartbeat, et cetera, and was able, to certain degree, to be invisible. Combined with the fact that his attention was focused on Shen Luoyans alluring body, thus he was doomed to suffer this big loss. However, even in this such a disadvantageous situation, he was able to traverse in time, avoiding the strike to hit the major acupoint on his back. Just before the golden pin entered between his right ribs, it suddenly bounced back, while he also already traversed three chi. Like a shadow Xu Ziling followed him toward his right side, and his finger jabbed again, the target was another vital acupoint under his ribs. Before the finger arrived, a burning hot finger wind had already assaulted Dugu Bas body. Previously the needle, which was full of true qi, had already stabbed Dugu Bas muscles and bones, breaking the true qi protecting his body, enough for Xu Zilings true qi to prate his body. This time he was unable to endure the finger wind, so that he suddenly spouted a mouthful of blood and let out a wild roar. Turning around, he used the back of his palm to p Xu Zilings face. Now the two men were fighting face to face. Dugu Ba was around thirty years of age, his face was long and narrow, his eyes were also narrow and malicious-looking, his nose like an eagles beak, his lips extremely thin, giving others an impression that he was a cruel man withck of justice. Xu Ziling changed his finger stab into a fist, meeting Dugu Bas attack head-on. Bang! Dugu Ba spurted another mouthful of blood; letting out a miserable scream, he ran away as fast as he could. On the other hand, Xu Ziling was also jolted back three steps; the entire qi and blood in his body was surging, making him groaning inwardly. Even after Dugu Ba was seriously injured, his palm strength was still that formidable. Evidently, under normal circumstances, Xu Ziling was definitely not his match. After regting his breathing, he came over to Shen Luoyan, who was still standing with her back leaning against the tree, and her head down. Shen Luoyans clothes was still half-open half-closed, so that her ridges and peaks were visible. The blush of her jade countenance has not faded yet, making her extremely captivating. But her expression was unusually serene; with her shining eyes she looked at him up and down, sizing him up. Xu Ziling was somewhat at a loss. How are you feeling? he asked. Chi! suddenly Shen Louyan giggled. I was just giving him a bit of hand and feet advantage, not a big deal, she said, If you are interested, I guarantee I wont resist you. Xu Ziling was relieved, Where is the book? he asked. Shen Luoyan raised her lily-white hand, letting him see she had a secure grip of the book. She smiled and said, Dont me me as a horny b1tch; I deliberately moaned in loud voice to attract your attention, but I still did not expect you woulde that quickly. When you showed up just now, I intentionally made up an act to distract his attention, while at the same time grabbing the book. When he was evading you, the book then returned to my hands! Concerned, Xu Ziling asked, Is your acupoint still sealed? Why havent you straightened out your clothes? As if nothing had happened, Shen Luoyanughed tenderly and said, So that you can see! As soon as his hand left, I recovered my strength. Oh! Are you interested or not? Being messed up by him, I really want to have a man. Xu Ziling angrily said, Go back to Xu Shiji! I am going to leave. Shen Luoyan smiled sweetly as she stood her lovely body up. Soon afterwards her clothes have been straightened out properly, and her jade countenance returned to its usual calm andposed look. Xu Ziling picked up the golden hairpin and handed it over to her, saying, Next time be more careful! Is that Dugu Ba a Dugu ns man? His martial art is certainly very formidable. Shen Luoyans eyes shed a murderous look; she hatefully said, He is Dugu Fengs only brother, but their age difference is twenty years. He is famous for having voracious desire for flowers and being lecherous, but his martial art skill is second only to You Chuhong and Dugu Feng. Next time you meet him, you are the one who really have to be more careful. Let me walk you back, Xu Ziling said. Shen Luoyan cast him a sidelong nce and said, Do you think I am a pitiful woman who is too weak to stand up to the wind? Were it not for him buried himself under the snow and taking advantage while my mind was not focused to mount a sneak attack, I would at least have the chance to fight andunch fireworks to call for reinforcements at the same time. Ay! I was really a bit reluctant to part with you, but you must not think that I am really falling in love with you! Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, How could I have such thought? The one you really fancy is Ba Fenghan, right? Shen Luoyans tender body shook; but as she was staring at him, Xu Ziling drew back, and then swiftly disappeared into the depth of the forest. In the meantime, in another forest about ten li away from where Shen Luoyan was humiliated, Kou Zhong and Susu were crouching down at the edge of a cluster of trees. The former was concentratingpletely on the situation outside the forest. Susu said in a low voice, Perhaps Xiao Ling is in trouble? Of course not, Kou Zhong replied, If it were me, it would be hard to say! I dare say than Shen Luoyan has developed a subtle feeling for him; besides, its not like we have some unsolvable enmity between us, Xu Zhiji did not even know that Xiao Ling is his rival in love, Xiao Ling can certainly get away. But thats really strange! Whats really strange? Susu asked. Why there is nobody tracking us, Kou Zhong replied, Its a lot easier than tracking Xiao Ling. Susu said, Didnt you just say that in this kind of heavy snow Zheng Zongs magic bird may be a stupid bird? Kou Zhong said, If every time there is a wind or snow Zheng Zong could not find a solution, he need note out to mingle in the Jianghu. Therefore, chances are he has other animals he trained to follow someones tracks. Right now he is simply waiting for us to rendezvous with Xiao Ling, and then catch us all in one. Susu was horrified, What should we do? she asked. Kou Zhong whispered, First we must catch the animal following our track and eat it. Hey! How big are Jiejies guts? Susu forced a smile, You ought to be very clear about that, she replied, Speak up! Whatever you want Jiejie to do, Jiejie will do it. After Kou Zhong exined his n in low voice to Susus ear, Susu crawled up and went deeper into the forest. Kou Zhong put his ear on the ice-cold snowy ground, and applied his power to listen. The sound of Susus footsteps was immediately transmitted to his ear, but he did not hear any other unusual sound. Ah! he suddenly heard Susus tender voice shouting, startling him that he hastily ran over toward her. Turned out because Susu could not see a thing, she tripped over a shrub and fell to the ground. Kou Zhong picked Susu up and whispered, Zheng Zong personally came. This man is knows as Flying Feather, his qinggong must be extremely superior. What should we do? Susu asked. Kou Zhong was about to speak, sound of hoof beats suddenly came from the northwest direction. The two peoples countenance changed suddenly. If they left just like that, wouldnt they lose contact with Xu Ziling? Book 5 - 8 – Familiarity at First Sight Book 5 Chapter 8 C Familiarity at First Sight Xu Ziling ran at full speed toward the jungle indicated by the marking Kou Zhong left behind. After leaving Shen Luoyan, he immediately threw her to the back of his mind. In fact, up to this time, when he was flying over the snowy ground, he had encountered not a few beautiful women, yet none ever upied any ce in his heart. He was content just by practicing the energy cultivation of the Secret to Long Life; his mind was focused solely on the martial art training. It was not because he was after fame or fortune, but a personal pursuit; he wanted to surpass his own previous achievement. Lying in bed every night, he immediately entered the state of mind where he trained his qi, the state of forgetting object, forgetting self that fascinated the heaven and the earth. Although during his waking hours he asionally remembered Shan Wanjing, Yun Yuzhen, Shen Luoyan, and other beauties, but there were only vexation and loathing feelings in his heart, not the longing feeling between men and women. Only martial art cultivation brought him the greatest satisfaction; in everything else he was satisfied with himself, and nothing he wanted to seek. However, Kou Zhongs ambition was clearly much bigger than his, so that he started to feel that their differences continue to widen with each passing day. Other than that, speaking about deep affection for each other, naturally they were still the best brothers and the best of friends. Right this moment, from a distant ce ahead and to his left came the sound of hoof beats. It was the sound of horses hooves kicking against the snow. Xu Ziling was startled, but also felt strange. The hoof beats came so suddenly, the only exnation would be that these people were already there, but were only showing themselves up this moment. Judging from the sound of it, there should be no less than thirty riders, yet previously he did not even hear any horse whinnying, so obviously these horses must be well-trained war-horses. He rapidly eliminated the possibility that these people were from Wagang Army. Because Xu Shiji simply did not have time to make such arrangement. Could it be that these people were rted to Dugu Ba? The hoof beats stopped abruptly, as abrupt as they appeared. Xu Ziling found these mysterious riders unfathomable. Stretching his true qi to its limit, he darted toward the forest. Kou Zhongs voice suddenly rang out, Hurry up! Someonesing! Knowing that Kou Zhong and Susu were still safe and sound, Xu Ziling immediately felt relieved, and bolted toward the voice. Kou Zhong, with Susu on his back, jumped down from a big tree, and then side-by-side they ran deeper into the forest. Kou Zhong called out, Lets see between they and us, who will have longer breath. Xu Ziling rxed his tensed body. It should be noted that in this dense forest, which extended for hundreds of li, even using strong horses one could not travel easily. When ites to leg muscles, the number of Jianghu people who could catch up with them in a short distance was notcking, but other than people of Du Fuwei caliber, who would be able topete with them in generating continuous internal breathing obtained from the Secret to Long Life, without feeling exhaustion at all? Therefore, finished speaking thatst sentence, they did not talk anymore. From external breathing they switched to internal, concentrating their mind and spirit on fleeing, fast like a meteor they weaved to the left and slipped to the right, leaped high and crouched low, in that dense forest, only trying to get as far away as they could. On the other hand, Susu, who was crouching on Kou Zhongs back, was ovee with safe and warm feeling. These two boys were merely strangersing together by chance, yet to her they had suddenly be brothers closer than flesh and blood siblings. They always put her first in everything. No matter how bad the situation, they would never hesitate; even more, they would never cower. Currently they were sharing trials and tribtions together; hence the feeling in her heart was understandable. They ran all through the night until daybreak, when they were finally out of the jungle. By this time the snowstorm has stopped, the heaven and the earth were nketed in white, sparkling snow. In the still, pure white open ins, the three of them were suddenly overwhelmed with what next? feeling. Although the two boys inner breathing was still vigorous, their flesh and blood four legs were dead tired; hence they took this opportunity to rest on a small hill full of towering spruce. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Finally! We escaped! Who are those peoplest night? Susu asked. Xu Ziling replied, I dont care what kind of saints those people are, I am sure they are not people of the good way; most probably they are Dugu Bas men. Kou Zhong and Susu were stunned. After listening to Xu Ziling narrating what happened the previous night, Kou Zhong frowned and said, If that guy were not lecherous, perhaps we would have suffered a cmity. I did not expect Dugu n has such a formidable figure; I thought all of them were good-for-nothing characters like Dugu Ce. Xu Zilingmented, If they dont have a trick or two, how could Dugu n obtain the same fame in Jianghu as the other three ns? All right! Tell me, are we going to Luoyang? Or going back to our old home Yangzhou? With head down, Susu resolutely said, Go back to Yangzhou! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce. They said in low voice to Susu, We want to go to the Eastern Capital, the purpose is to try our luck in finding the Jade Annulus of the He n. Hey! Not necessarily to look for Li Dage. Susu shook her head and adamantly said, If you want to go, the two of you can go on your own! Supporting Susu, Xu Ziling said, Of course we should listen to Su Jie. Turning to Kou Zhong, he reproached him, What could be more important than causing harm to Yuwen Huagu? The night is long, the dreams are many; if we miss this golden opportunity, are you going to assume the responsibility? Kou Zhong gave up. I was wrong! he said, Hey! Which way to Yangzhou? Xu Ziling was stunned. Didnt you already calcte the direction before leaving? How could you be this muddleheaded? Didnt you say you are proficient in mountains and rivers geography? Stop arguing! Susu said, From here go to the northeast, sooner orter we will reach Tongji Canal. From there as long as we can find a boat going south, passing Junyi, Chenliu, Yongqiu, Xiangyi, Songcheng, Yongcheng, Xiaqiu, we will reach Yutai. From there going east, we can enter Kangou, and then go south to Jiangdu. That simple. Red-faced, Kou Zhong said, Turns out the most formidable one is Su Jie. Chi! Susu giggled and said, Its not that Jiejie is formidable, but that was the route we took that year when Jiejie followed Miss to the south. Xu Ziling asked in amazement, Howe Su Jie suddenly be bursting with joy? Susus jade cheeks turned as red as the sunset clouds, Dont talk nonsense, she said, I am not bursting with joy. The two boys were baffled. Kou Zhong rubbed his tummy as he stood up and said, Lets find a town first to find a cure for serious illness of hungry stomach, and then well make a n. Xu Ziling helped Susu up and cheerfully said, This time let Xiaodi [little brother] be Susus mount. Kou Zhong protested, You always know how to fight over my enjoyment. Susus pretty face went beet-red as she said, Turns out both my Didi are bad-eggs. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilingughed aloud as they pushed and shoved each other, very proud of themselves, and were brimming with sincere affection toward each other. It was only this moment that the three of them felt the joy of free and easy life. Susu was about to speak, the two boys suddenly froze up, and turned their gaze to the west. They saw three men on the snowy ground, like an arrowing toward them. The distance between them was less than two li. Susu jumped in fright, Hurry up! Lets go! Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, Its toote! Chapter 8, Part 2 Drak, you are right on this, i.e. SLY is the only other women who has a lot of screen time. Komeng, Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, Anh, you are wee. George, Sky, I know you guys dislike Susu, but I did not realize it was that bad ... Well, since I have not read the book myself, you could be right. Akw, good analysis, but I am leaning toward Xu Xiong; think SLY is not as innocent as you think. I dont know, perhaps I am more used to traditional wuxia, where the female protagonists are usually not so loose like Huang Yis description of SLY. But again, we will see together how the story unfolds. Here is the end of Chapter 8. It was not clear which side did those three men belong to, but in the blink of an eye they were already ascending the small hill, and suddenly stopped in front of the three. The men cupped their fists in greeting; their manner was very polite. The one in the middle was a man about twenty-seven, twenty-eight, wearing grey clothes. There was a cane strapped onto his back, there was a gentle, cultured manners in the midst of his heroic-looking features; a tough and stocky build man [orig. back of a tiger and waist of a bear], but there was something in his outer appearance that broke peoples heart. From the other two men, one was a forty-something short and stout man, while the other was a middle-aged man dressed like a Confucian schr. Both were extraordinary-looking men. Just from the fact that even after running at full speed like that, the men were still calm andposed, it was clear that these men were top quality martial art masters. The man in greyughed aloud and said, Finally we are able to catch up with two Xiongdi, we are indeed very pleased. I am Liu Heita, the Cavalry Commander under the banner of King of Xia. And then he proceeded to introduce the Confucian Schr on his left, This gentleman is known in Jianghu as the Iron Fan, Zhuge Dewei; he is also Ol Lius sworn brother. Zhuge Dewei waved his left hand, like magic a [folding] fan suddenly appeared. Cha! the fan opened, and he lightly fanned himself a couple times; his manner was full of confidence. Liu Heita pointed to the short and stout man and said, Dong Shu [uncle, younger than ones father] is known as the Door God. His skill is equally famous with the newly acquired general under Li Mismand, Qin Shubao, their fearlessness is without a rival. This Door God was surprisingly modest. Gongzi must not paste gold on my face, he declined, I am Cui Dong, only an errant-boy serving under Gongzi! Kou Zhong was bewildered, Who is this King of Xia? he asked. Liu Heita replied, No wonder the three of you did not know, our humble master Dou Jiande has founded a kingdom named Xia; it has not been announced to the world yet. The three people looked at each other; it was only then did they know that these men were on Dou Jiandes side. Liu Heita suddenly said, Would Miss turn your back around? Because Ol Liu has a first meeting gift Id like to present to these two Xiongdi, but I am afraid it will be frightening to Miss. Xu Ziling was astonished, What first meeting gift? he asked. Susu apprehensively turned her tender body around. Liu Heita smiled calmly; he gave a hand signal, the Door God Cui Dong immediately untied a cloth bag, with some unknown object inside, hanging from his waist, and casually tossed it toward Kou Zhong. Puzzled, Kou Zhong caught it, but very soon his countenance changed greatly. Immediately he tossed the cloth bundle back to Liu Heita and cried out in terror, My Niang! Whose head is this? Amidst Susus shrill scream, Liu Heita caught the bundle, calmly reached into it, and grabbed the head by the hair and took it out. Holding it in front of the two boys eyes, he said, Let Ol Liu introduces him to you. This man surnamed Zheng, given name Zong, known as the Flying Feather. If he did not lose his head and thus could not walk, I am afraid the three of you would have fallen into Wagang Armys hands. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were scared and very nervous, but seeing the opposite partys men did not show any changes in their countenance, they suppressed their fear of this dead mans head. The former let out a dry cough and said, Hey! Would Liu Xiong take this away first? We dont want to scare our Jiejie. Although Liu Heita had no problem with that, Zhuge Dewei and Cui Dongs faces shed a mocking look; obviously they looked down on these boys for being scared by a human head like that. Liu Heita handed the head over to Cui Dong and said, Hang this head on a prominent ce as a way for us to greet Xu Shiji. Cui Dong epted the order and left. With normal expression Liu Heita cupped his fist and said, Now that two Xiongtai have be characters that everybody in the world wants to obtain, I wonder what your future n may be? After exchanging a nce with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong cleared his throat and said, We dont know what kind of luck we have walked into that everybody believes we know the whereabouts of the Duke Yang Treasure, while the fact is ... Liu Heita showed his displeasure as he cut him off, Kou Xiong, do you think I, the Ol Liu, am also looking for you for the treasure? You are gravely mistaken! After a short pause, he continued, This time we hit the road, is because we received King of Xias order to confer with Da Longtou, to advise him to gain the initiative by striking first by eliminating Li Mi. Who would have thought that we were one step toote, Zhai Mansion has be ashes. We investigated for many days before discovering that only the three of you escaped the great catastrophe. Not only that, you also turned the City of Xingyang upside down. You gain Ol Lius utmost admiration. With her back still facing them, Susu asked, Has the human head been removed? Miss Susu, please set your heart at ease, Liu Heita apologetically said, Human head is gone! Still with fear and trepidation Susu turned around. Looking at her moving expression, frightened and timid, as if she was asking for pity, Liu Heita could only stare nkly. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not care, but Susu asked, One day earlier Miss was sent off by Laoye, she left under the protection of Tu Guanjia [housekeeper/manager]. I wonder if General Liu has heard any news about her. Liu Heita replied, With a martial art master of Tu Shufangs caliber protecting Miss Jiao, she should have no problem. I will dispatch my men to make inquiries on their whereabouts. Susuughed cheerfully and said, With Gongzi giving your promise, Susu is relieved! Seeing her blooming-flower-like smile, once again Liu Heita could only stare wide-eyed on her. This time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling noticed something different about him; all their eyes were on him. Zhuge Dewei let out a dry cough and said, Er Di [second (younger) brother], this ce has danger lurks on every side, wed better rush to Yangwu first, and then we can have a heart-to-heart chat over wine much morefortably. As if he was just awakened from a dream, Liu Heita noticed Kou and Xu, two boys peculiar look; his old face turned red from embarrassment as he said, As soon as Dong Shu is back from his task, we will set out immediately. To tell you the truth, I feel instant connection with the two gentlemen [orig. people of talent appreciate one another (idiom)/to sympathize with one another]. This is the time the worlds outstanding heroes rise up, a great time for those who are able to be kings. In sincerity Id like to invite two gentlemen to join our army. In the future riches and honor we will enjoy together. If there is any fake word in me, let me, Liu Heita, not have a good ending. Toward this young martial art master who was full of heroic spirit, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had quite a favorable impression; but joining his group was another matter altogether. Kou Zhong let out a dry cough and said, I also will tell you the truth; right now we have something important to do, about joining your precious side, lets talk about it a bitter. Liu Heita looked disappointed; he said, I hope the two gentlemen are really tied and not just finding excuses to decline the Ol Lius invitation. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not expect him to be this vain; they found it a bit hard to exin. Susu interjected, They really did not deceive Liu Gongzi, I can be their witness. Liu Heitaughed aloud and said, Since Miss says so, naturally I have no doubt. Its just that I was wondering if in this matter the Ol Liu can be of any help? Kou Zhongughed and said, Liu Xiong seems to have too much time in your hands, plus you are showing undeserved favor toward us, so we thank you in advance. However, this is a very delicate matter, involving our deep enmity with Yuwen Huaji; therefore, we simply cannot involve other people. Liu Heita shrugged, Turns out the widespread rumor in Jianghu that you have obtained evidence that Li n and Yuwen n are about to rebel is indeed not a wind from an empty cave. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. It should be noted that only a few people were privy about this ount book matter; who might have leaked it? Xiang Yushan came to look for them, the two boys still did not think much about it; but now Liu Heita also said the same thing, the two boys started to be afraid. Just one Duke Yang Treasure-trove already made them jumpy and jittery, now the ount book matter was piled on top of that; would they still have days of peace and happiness? Yuwen n alone was enough to give them a pounding headache. In the meantime, Ciu Dong came back, Liu Heita stopped talking, he urged everybody to hasten. Kou Zhong and the others also knew it was unwise to tarry, plus they had a good opinion on Liu Heita, hence they decided to travel together with them, so they set out toward Yangwu. Book 5 - 9 – Shaking Hands in Agreement Book 5 Chapter 9 C Shaking Hands in Agreement By nightfall, heavy snow started to fall again. After hastening on their journey, Kou Zhong and the others, six people, managed to cover more than forty li that day. Afraid that Susu would not be able to withstand the cold, plus coincidentally they came across an abandoned manor due to the chaos of war, they all decided to stop for the night, upying one broken-down room, burning firewood, and sitting in circle to warm themselves. Liu Heita took out his provision and fresh water, and politely offered it first to Susu, who was sitting between Kou and Xu, two boys. His demeanor looked like someone who was infatuated or intoxicated by beautiful face, but Susu did not seem to think anything. Recalling about the sound of hoof beats against the snowy ground the other night, Kou Zhong asked, Did Liu Xiong follow our trailst night? You could say that, Liu Heita replied, Li Mis underlings would do anything, by hook or by crook, to get what they want, no one is willing to abide by Jianghu rules. Therefore, we have already guessed that they would not give up on the three of you. Xu Ziling was staring at the dancing sparks of the firewood; hearing him, he asked, Then who were those riders? It seems to me they are not from the Wagang Army! We are not sure either, Cui Dong replied, Two gentlemens legs were very, very fast, even with Miss Susu on your back, you still covered quite a lot of distance. Kou Zhongughed, Fleeing for our lives, naturally we were running a bit faster than usual. Zhuge Dewei said, Tomorrow we will reach Yangwu, where are the three of you heading? Susu said softly, We will go back to Yangzhou first, and then make other ns. Liu Heita knitted his brows, Yang Guang and Yuwen Huaji are in Jiangdu; if you reveal your track, I am afraid disaster will immediatelye. We will be careful, Xu Ziling replied nonchntly. Looking at his determined expression, Liu Heita had no choice but to shut his mouth. Kou Zhong changed the subject, Your precious army upies Leshou, which is in the north. I wonder if there is any new developmenttely? Zhuge Dewei replied, The three most sensational news recently are the revival of the Tuyuhun [nomadic people of Xianbei], the Li n upying Taiyuan in rebellion to the Sui, and Li Mi sent Zu Junyan to promulgate the ten major charges against Yang Guang to the world. Kou Zhong happily said, Finally Li Yuan is willing to revolt! His face showed a very proud look. Li Yuan cant be considered anything, Cui Dong said in disdain, Unexpectedly he has the audacity to submit himself to the rule of Shibi Khan of the Tujue people, promising him to send the boys and girls, jade and silk, obtained from his conquest to Tujue people, so that he gained the ridicule of other people. Hearing this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other,pletely speechless. Zhuge Dewei said, ording to thetest intelligence we acquired, Li Yuan proimed himself as the Great General, appointed Pei Ji as the Chief Historian, Liu Wenjing as the Minister of War, his oldest son Jiancheng, his second son Shimin, and the Commander-in-chief and the Second-inmand of their three armies, ready to advance to Guanzhong. Giving a cold shoulder, Liu Heita said, Li n is simply counting their chicken before they are hatched, they do not know whats in Liu Wuzhous mind. As soon as Taiyuan is empty, it would be strange indeed if Liu Wuzhou did not seize that opportunity to attack Taiyuan. Moreover, along the route to Guanzhong, there are fierce generals of the Sui, Song Laosheng and Qu Tutong, along with their respectiverge army, separately guarding the pass. Li ns prospect, nobody dares to be optimistic. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly embarrassed; turned out the real situation out there was this discouraging. Susu did not understand; she asked, Dont the Li n know that submitting themselves to the Tujue is akin to leading the wolf into the sheep pen? Liu Heita smiled and said, They are wolves themselves, so whats the problem with other wolves? Li Yuans wife is a Xianbei woman; although they are not like Yuwen n who are barbarians per se, but they are hardly any better. Furthermore, the Li n are deeply influenced by barbarian customs, hence they are no different from the barbarians. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling recalled during the weing dinner that day Li Xiuning was wearing barbarian clothes; they had nothing to say even more. It was half a dayter that Kou Zhong finally asked about the Tuyuhun revival. Liu Heita replied, Tuyuhun are archenemies of the Tiele, its king, Fu Yuns ambition has always been very big, from time to time he sends martial art experts to the Central ins to gather information. One time Yang Guang sent Wang Yangxiong and Yuwen Shu, two generals to assassinate Fu Yun; they killed thousand of people, captured countless prisoners, but relying on his superior martial art skill, he led his brutal troops to kill their way out of the siege, and ran away to Dangxiang. Thesest couple of years, taking advantage while the Central ins is in chaos, to send his entire army to recover lost territory, and to conspire on arge scale, bing our Central Earths major disaster outside of Tujue and Tiele, two ethnic groups. Zhuge Dewei joined the discussion, The most disconcerting thing is that Fu Juns son, Fu Qian is a talent of this age; not only his martial art skill has reached perfection, his strategy skill is outstanding, and his ambition is not inferior to his fathers. Cui Dongughed and said, They say that when he was born, he already had horned-dragon whiskers, hence since he was young he grew horned-dragon beard. Such a preposterous matter, only barbarian dogs can think of it. Chi! Susu giggled tenderly. A baby with horned-dragon whiskers, his appearance must be ridiculously weird, she muttered. Looking at her cute and tender expression, and listening to her naivet, Liu Heita could not help staring nkly at her. Zhuge Dewei was wired up from the conversation; heughed and said, Do you want to listen to the ten charges Li Mi brought to Yang Guang? Kou Zhong was delighted, Please, tell us quickly! he said. As if he was enumerating his family valuables, Zhuge Dewei listed in one breath, One: patricide. Two: incest. Three: excessive drinking. Four: building pces and pagodas, extravagant and wasteful. Five: exorbitant taxation, crushingmon people. Six: cruising the world [tian xia], building great walls. Seven: sending punitive expedition to Korea, engaging in wars of aggression at will. Eight: refusing sound advice, killing the frank schrs. Nine: rampant bribery; persons of noble character are out of power, lowly people rise to important positions. Ten: going back on his own words. Ha! Xu Ziling shook his head and sighed, No matter how we count it, we cant enumerate all criminal charges against this fatuous ruler. Speaking about the deep disaster our country is in, this fellow can be considered unprecedented and never will be duplicated. Kou Zhong said, He promoted his own family behind closed doors, sooner orter the imperial court will be dominated by him. The most terrifying thing is attracting foreign invasion, making our countrys territory all split up and in pieces, and the people are in a terrible situation. Yang Guang is the greatest sinner. Liu Heita pped his thigh and said, Well spoken. In todays world, with the exception of Duke Jiande, who does not collude with foreign power and helping out each other? Since the two gentlemen already have ambition to be of help of the world, other than joining our army, is there any other alternative? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Liu Xiong seems to think too highly of us, two brothers! Zhuge Dewei said with augh, Jianghu has never been bustling with excitement like it was recently, probably the heavens good fortune has arrived, because outstanding heroes of the younger generation are rising. Other than Heita, the ones in the limelight most recently, from the men: Yang Xuyan, Ba Fenghan, the two Xiongdi, and one who called himself Passionate Prince[1], Hou Xibai. But speaking about sensation, no one surpasses you, two gentlemen. Susu happily said, Turns out my two Didi have be celebrities! Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Our most formidable ability is to escape; I couldnt believe it has made us this famous. Liu Heita burst outughing and said, Kou Xiong is too modest, not a genuine article and without good material, how could you have any qualification to escape? Furthermore, not only you were able to snatch the ount book from Yuwen Chengdus hands, you also beat Yuwen Wudi, who considers himself unexcelled in the world, whose arrogance soared into the sky, that he escaped with his tail between his legs; how could we say that you have false reputation? Xu Ziling asked, Just now Mr. Zhuge mentioned that these people are from among the men! What about the women? Liu Heita was about to speak, Kou Zhongs countenance changed as he hissed, Someonesing! Everybody scrambled to extinguish the fire. Cui Dong, who has just darted out to scout, flitted back inside the room, and spoke in heavy voice, Toote! The enemy has already surrounded us heavily. How many? Zhuge Dewei asked, Who are they? Ought to be more than a dozen, Cui Dong replied in low voice, Its hard to see in the dark. This moment, a nondescript, soft, androgynous voice came from the outside, I am Tuoba Yu, under the order of my master [here, the word is shi, as in master-disciple rtionship], Bi Xuan, toe with a specific purpose in mind to greet Kou Gongzi, Xu Gongzi, two gentlemen, and to inquire about your well-being. Everybodys countenance changed; they did not expect that the visitor were Tujue martial art masters, even more surprising, Bi Xuans disciple was the one on charge. Liu Heita spoke in low voice, He does not seem to know that we are mingling in here. Who has heard about this man? Both Zhuge Dewei and Cui Dong drew a nk and shook their heads. To stall for time, so that Xu Ziling could tie Susu behind his back, Kou Zhong responded loudly, We, two brothers are still as lively dragon and animated tiger, Tuo Xiong, no! It should be Tuoba Xiong, thank you very much for your concerns. Thiste at night, you still have us surrounded like this, afraid that we might escape. What is exactly your purpose? Seeing Kou Zhong had no weapon, Cui Dong took out his pair of weapons [orig. iron, but it could mean hard object or weapon in general] and stuffed one into Kou Zhongs hand. Liu Heita himself was using a single cane as his weapon, but inside his overcoat, he hid a long dagger, almost a chi and a half in length, which he handed to Xu Ziling. [1] Prince is machine trantors result, orig. gongzi (young master), but I thought prince will go well with passionate. Chapter 9, Part 2 Tuoba Yuughed aloud and said, Your precious country has a saying, one does not visit a temple without a cause [fig. to visit with an ulterior motive (esp. to ask for something)]. Xiaodi [younger brother, referring to self] this time came from a thousand li, on my masters order to borrow from the two gentlemen the Taoist treasure, the Secret to Long Life. The journey was hard, so please two Xiongtai, do not disappoint Xiaodi! After a short pause, heughed and continued, I dont know the three renxiong [friend, honorific address, see also Book 3 Chapter 6] are which heroes? Why dont you let Xiaodi get acquainted as well? Everybody was shocked. Just from the keenness of this mans ears, it was obvious what kind of first-ss master the opposite party was. Liu Heita replied, Just nameless soldiers, not worth Tuoba Xiongs hearing. Tuoba Yuughed three times. The firstugh, he was still some distance away from the building. The secondugh, he was already at the door. By the thirdugh, Tuoba Yu has already stepped over the threshold of the door to their room; calmly and leisurely as if he was exploring a friends house. His left hand carried antern. This man looked around twenty-five, twenty-six years old, his hair was tied in a warrior bun, he was dressed in warrior outfit with a leather vest on top of it. His appearance was attractive and intelligent, on his shoulders hung a pair of flying hooks. He looked a bit like a pampered son of a wealthy family; at first nce it looked as if he was too weak to stand up to the wind. Everybodys eyes fell onto the flying hooks on his shoulders. In Jianghu, this type of weapon was rarely used; the two hooks were shaped like eagle talon, with a thin rope about a zhang long; with just one look people would know that this weapon was extremely hard to control. When Tuoba Yus eyes were sweeping across everybodys face, no one did not feel strange feeling. It felt like the opposite partys eyes carried some kind of formless, yet in, unusual power. Liu Heita took a step forward,ughed aloud, and said, Let me get acquainted with Tuoba Xiong first. His right hand reached behind, the iron cane left his back and rose up; immediately a cold ray radiated all around, a dense cold air swamped everybody, but the target was Tuoba Yus chest, the momentum was swift and powerful, it was indeed the air of a great general. Kou Zhong and the others did not expect Liu Heita to make his move as soon as he saw the opponent; they were all delighted. Except for Susu who cried out in rm and closed her beautiful eyes. Tuoba Yuughed aloud as he traversed sideways as fast as lightning, while his right palm shot out. Whoosh! The edge of Tuoba Yus palm sliced down on the canes head. Liu Heitas earth-shattering move vanished instantly. It appeared he suffered loss; fast as lightning he changed style, and retreated backward. Tuoba Yus handsome face turned cold, as he sneered and said, We have not gotten acquainted yet! While speaking, fast like a whirlwind he suddenly moved to the blind spot on Liu Heitas left. It was unclear what kind of technique he was using, one of the flying hooks on his shoulder took off from the shoulder and flew like an eagle talon, creating a whistling noise as it split the air; swift like lightning bolt it circled around toward Liu Heitas groin. A very sinister technique indeed. These two exchanges happened like lightning shes, dazzling the eyes of those who watched the fight. Liu Heita was an outstanding character as well. In the critical situation, he did not panic. Knowing that the opponent did not give him the opportunity to take a breath, he spun his body around toward the door, and then brandishing his cane, it followed the flying hook like its shadow. Dang! Following the clear ringing sound Liu Heita let a stifled grunt as he was pushed back half a step and crashed against the broken wall by the door. Tuoba Yu let out a cold snort of contempt. His right hand reached toward the middle of the rope connecting the flying hooks; with a slight shake, the eagle talons on both ends immediately turned into thousands of dots of light, which, like a ssh of mercury, stormed toward Liu Heita, who was leaning against the wall. At the same time, his left hand tossed thentern, and itnded neatly on the horizontal beam above, not missing a single fen [1 fen is approx. 1/3 of cm or 1/8]. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling watched with mouth agape. Liu Heitas cane skill was brilliant; the technique, the vigor, the proficiency, all have reached first ss level. Rarest of all, he had guts, bold and daring spirit, and did not have much regard for life and death; once he took out his cane, a sweeping thousand army might took shape immediately. Who would have thought that this disciple of Bi Xuan was able to break through his defense and counterattack? In just a few moves he had him brought to a disadvantageous position; surely it was extremely shocking. From this fact, it could be clearly seen that Bi Xuan was able to gain fame, to rise among the three top martial art masters inside and outside the Great Wall, everything was not for nothing. Liu Heita let out a sudden roar; his cane withdrew and became a circle of rays of light, protecting all vital points on his body, from top to bottom, as he shifted sideways while still sticking close to the wall. The body followed the cane, just waiting to mount an offensive. Suddenly the cane ray was muted; turned out the iron cane was caught by the eagle ws five fingers open wide from one of the two Tuoba Yus flying hooks, while the other eagle w shot toward Liu Heita. Nobody had ever expected that the opponents eagle w had this kind of freedom of action; they were all shocked by this extremely weird phenomenon. As Susu was screaming, like howling wind and torrential rain Zhuge Dewei and Cui Dong stormed toward Tuoba Yu. Seeing the critical situation, they disregarded Jianghus rule and threw themselves into the battle. Tuoba Yuughed grimly; his left hand waved slightly, the eagle w at the other end of the rope immediately turned into dots of sharp rays, like a tidal wave storming toward the two men. At the same time his leg flew up to kick Liu Heitas lower body; all his movements were calm and smooth, making the observers gasped in amazement. Liu Heita unleashed his hidden ability; below he met the leg with his leg, above he seized the opportunity while the w intertwined with the cane, to meet Tuoba Yus internal energy head-on, trying to engage the opponent so that Zhuge Dewei and Cui Dong would have a chance they could exploit. Amidst the sound of internal power collided and the continuous ringing on weapons shing, Tuoba Yu did not hesitate to let the iron cane off, and released the full potential of the flying hooks, rolling up the three martial art masters inside the dots of sharp rays of the eagle ws. Every single move was an exquisite, beyondpare, consummate skill. Although the battle inside was fierce, the enemy outside did not make the slightest noise; which was quite baffling. With his right hand on the handle of the iron [see my note above], Kou Zhong stood outside the edge of the circle, watching Tuoba Yus hooks with rapt attention. Xu Ziling also focused his attention to the hard fighting of the four people; the astonishment in his heart was hard to describe. Speaking about martial art skill, Liu Heita was definitely a level above Shen Luoyan. Even if he came across Du Fuwei, he would still have a chance to give a strong resistance. Zhuge Dewei and Cui Dong were also first ss masters. Yet right now with the threesbined power, they were barely able to fight Tuoba Yu evenly. It is thus clear that one random disciple of Bi Xuan was already about the same level of martial art experts of Du Fuweis caliber; how could Xu Ziling not be shocked? Right this moment, Tuoba Yu suddenly let out a longugh, and retracted his ws. It looked like a defensive move, yet it engaged the three men so that they all felt there was a formidable killing move within his move; unexpectedly, as if by prior agreement all four men leaped backward in four directions. Merely based on this one move, where he was able to make the three opponents feel the threat of the flying hooks at the same time, it was clear that he had reached the using one move tomunicate intention level, a state of mind in which he relied purely on his qi power to control the enemys mind. Tuoba Yus eyes shone with cold light, the flying hooks intersect; it turned into a column of rays, shooting in full power toward retreating Liu Heita. Shockingly, it was even a tad faster than the retreating opponent. Zhuge Wude and Cui Dong cried out in rm. [Trantors note: at the beginning, it was Zhuge Dewei, but somewhere in the middle it changed into Zhuge Wude. At first I thought it was a typo, but after several Zhuge Wude, I decided to follow the text.] But because they had withdrawn some distance away from each other, plus they were still being carried away by their retreating momentum, there was no way they would be able to render any assistance. Tuoba Yus battle strategy was indeed ingenious, his method was very ruthless, and his technique fantastic and mysterious; everything about him wowed the onlookers that their throat could not even cry out. While it appeared that Liu Heita was about to injured by this full-powered attack, Kou Zhong suddenly shouted, followed by his body moved sideways to the left to bump into Tuoba Yu. For the very first time that night Tuoba Yu revealed an astonished look on his face, and was forced to abandon his attack toward Liu Heita. His flying hooks, one held back the other released, changed course to meet Kou Zhongs attack. Against all expectation, like a fish Kou Zhong suddenly traversed diagonally for three chi, so that he was face to face with Tuoba Yu, and thus he was right in between Tuoba Yu and Liu Heita; proximity transformedplexity into simplicity, with just his head he struck toward Tuoba Yu. Again for the first time that night Tuoba Yu revealed a serious look on his face; his hook became thousand shadows, he blocked Kou Zhongs simple, nothing-out-of-ordinary move. Pow! The hook shadows dispersed, Kou Zhong let out a stifled groan, and was pushed three steps back. On the other side, Tuoba Yus entire body shook, he was also pushed half a step backward, his eyes were shooting deep murderous look as he stood face-to-face with Kou Zhong, who by this time was standing with his back bent down slightly like a crouching tiger who was unwilling to back off. Everybody else stopped; nobody made any noise. The only thing audible was Susus nervous breathing. Among these people, Xu Ziling was the only one who understood that Tuoba Yu has incited Kou Zhongs fighting spirit that he forgot about life and death, and has entered the moon in the well realm, which was far higher than his normal level of achievement. Combining the shenfa [pose or motion in martial arts] he learned from the swimming fish with the fantastic internal energy from the Secret to Long Life, he challenged Tuoba Yus ferocity. That martial art was from the Secret to Long Life, right? Tuoba Yu asked in heavy voice. Kou Zhong smiled slightly, How did it feel? Not bad, huh? Xu Ziling shouted, The Secret to Long Life is not in our possession. If Tuoba Xiong insists on getting it, we will rather die than submit. If that happens, not only Tuoba Xiong will not obtain the Secret to Long Life, people might get hurt. Would Tuoba Xiong please think it over? Book 5 - 9 – Shaking Hands in Agreement Part 2 Bocah, I just want to rify: if you already know the story, then you are giving spoiler, but if you are guessing, like Xu Xiong, Akw or Ari above, then I dont have any problem. On the contrary, I think it is interesting that we have our own guesses, and as the story unfolds, we will find out together. I am reading as I am tranting this, so I dont know too far ahead into the future. Bocah, Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, Anh, Chua, you are wee. Laoren, I find it strange that they have so many things that others wanted: Secret to Long Life, Duke Yang Treasure, and ount Book. One is reasonable, but three? I think it was too much Huang Yi ... Sky, ROFL ... naughty, naughty ... Xu Zilingsment was extremely formidable; it showed clearly their determination that they would rather be broken jade pieces than bing roof tile, which matched the prowess Kou Zhong showed when he forced Tuoba Yu to retreat with just one move, yet there was also an intimidating power behind it. In the meantime, Liu Heita and the others did their best to regte their qi, preparing themselves to go all-out if they need to strike back. Suddenly a charmingughter came from the outside, followed by a young woman appeared from the big window to their left. The girl was wearing a hat with beads of green-jade curtain in front on her head, and an oversized gauze gown on her body, but a pair of bare feet was peeking out from under her skirt. Casually she leaned over the broken-down window, one leg stepping on the window sill, the other leg dangling down, swinging back and forth like a pendulum; looked like she was enjoying herself very much. This girl was extremely charming and cute; there were freckles on her melon seed face and her two cheekbones like the stars in the sky, giving the impression of a witty, wild and brutish girl. Her handsome eyes were long and enchanting, the jet-ck pupils of her eyes were twinkling with wild, untamed animal-like look as she was sizing Kou Zhong up and down with great interest, as if the other people did not exist at all. However, everybodys eyes were fixed on the odd-shaped dagger, which was usually hanging on the waist, but at this time was in her hand as she was ying with it. This kind of dagger was very popr among the Tujue[1], the de was slightly curved, the front part sharp, the back nted, with no hand-protector, the hilt was only wrapped with strips of cloth, the de started straight and curved down to pare, it was ground t without any dent. Because the edge of the de was only about a cun [approx. 1 inch/a thumb] wide, it was extremely sharp. Plus the dagger in this girls hand appeared to be of a very high quality. Under the illumination of thentern, which was sitting high on the beam, it flickered with cold rays. Just from her sudden appearance, it was clear that her martial art skill was not inferior to Tuoba Yu. This cute girls mouth pouted; she shifted her gaze toward Xu Ziling, and spoke in disdain, Turns out the Central Earth is full of foolish conceits [orig. Yng thinks highly of itself], no wonder Yang Guang overestimated his own capabilities and sent a military expedition to Gaoli [Korea]. I, Chunyu Wei, want to see your rather die than submit thingy. Tuoba Yuughed aloud and said, My Shimei [martial (younger) sister] is ustomed to be favored by Shizun [venerable master]; gentlemen, please dont mind her. This time Xiaodi received the order to request the Secret to Long Life; not to rob or seize by force. Shizun did say that after he has a quick look on the Secret to Long Life, he will immediately give it back, and in return, he will pass on a different set of consummate skills to each of Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong. I am asking two Xiongtai not to mistakenly think of our Master as someone who only want to take advantage of other people. Everybody exchanged a nce with each other; they all felt that Bi Xuan did not fail his poise as the grand master of this age. Chunyu Wei smiled sweetly at Kou Zhong and said, Your martial art skill is not bad! However, this time we came here, other than the two of us, brother and sister, there are still Duobei Desert Eighteen White-horse Riders who are also personally trained by Shizun, every one of them is dauntless and fear no death. If we fight, I am afraid not many of you will escape alive. After a short pause, she continued, I forgot to tell you that as long as you are still breathing, we will have a way to grant a new lease of life for you, then wont we be able to get the Secret to Long Life? Her voice was tender and sweet with a slight foreign ent that it gave some kind of exotic vor. Tuoba Yu frowned and said, Shimei, could you be a bit more polite? If we could avoid fighting, certainly that would be best. Two martial brother and sister, one hard the other soft, especially since Tuoba Yu had already demonstrated his power in pressurizing the group of heroes, certainly they were putting these people under a lot of pressure. Much less there were still at least eighteen powerful opponent, which were personally trained by Bi Xuan, waiting outside, hence which side was strong and which side was weak was very easy to see. By this time they had formed a small circle, protecting Susu, who was strapped onto Xu Zilings back, forming a barrier that clearly demarcated the opposing sides. Liu Heitaughed aloud and said, Its hard for soldiers and generals to avoid dying in battle, if the Heaven destines me, Liu Heita to die in this fight, Laozi [I, your father] will not knit half of an eyebrow. No need to talk too much, let it be decided under our hands. This mans natural character was heroic and brave, immediately everybodys fighting spirit was aroused. Tuoba Yu took a step forward and said in astonishment, Turns out Sire is the number one general under Dou Jiande, Liu Heita; no wonder your hands are that strong. But there is one thing Xiaodi does not understand. It is apparent that we all can exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk [i.e. turning hostility into friendship], but why did Liu Xiong strongly advocate for battle? Liu Heita knew Tuoba Yu was trying to divide his side; inwardly he cried out, Formidable! Yet without the slightest hesitation he said, Supposing this time Tuoba Xiong came only to discuss about borrowing a book, there was no need to deploy so many manpower. It shows clearly that you are relying on force to demand the book. However, now that we have three more people on our side, Kou Xiongdis power thus exceeds your brilliant anticipation, hence you changed your tone of speech, from demanding to borrowing. Did I say it wrong? Chunyu Weiughed and said, Of course you did. This time we came to the south, borrowing the Secret to Long Life is just one of our missions. The other important matter is to hunt and kill that evil disciple Ba Fenghan, to cut his stinky head and present it back to Shizun. Do you guys understand? Susu, who had been silent, suddenly spoke out, If we give the book to you, can you guarantee that you will no longer disturb us? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were about to speak, but then they swallowed back the words into their belly, because they simultaneously thought that even if they hand over the book to Bi Xuan, he would not be able to make any sense of what he was reading anyway. Therefore, they did not see any reason to sacrifice everybodys life just for the sake of this book. Tuoba Yu happily said, It is best that Miss is so reasonable. Whatever our Master has said, he always keeps it. In fact, Zaixia [lit. under] does have the intention to make friends with Liu Xiong, Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong. If we all can be polite and amiable, nothing can be more perfect than that! Kou Zhong said, Honestly my hands are itching very much right now, I really want to fight; winning or losing is not a big deal. However, not fighting also has its own benefit. Its just that we buried the Secret to Long Life in a secret ce, it will take a considerable effort for us to get it and hand it over to you. Problem is, we need to resolve an affair before we can handle this matter. I wonder what is Tuoba Xiongs opinion about it? Chunyu Wei interrupted, You are very interesting, so amusing that I like you a lot! When everybody heard that, they could only stared nkly with mouth agape; nobody had ever expected that this loveable and charming girl would publicly announce her interest in some stranger man. Tuoba Yuughed and said, My humble Shimei has always been this straightforward, but the number of men she likes actually cannot be counted, Kou Xiong must not take it to heart. Chunyu Wei crossly said, How could Shixiong say such thing about me? This time it is different! Kou Zhong facetiously asked, Isnt every time different than the others? Liu Heita and the others could not help feeling amused; they never expected that the three parties who were originally with swords drawn and bows bent would suddenly be tangled up in this matter. Chunyu Wei was going to speak, but Tuoba Yu cut her off, We still need some time to hunt and kill Ba Fenghan anyway, supposing I give two gentlemen half a year time, would you be able to fetch the Secret to Long Life? For the first time everybody started to have favorable impression on this entric Tuoba Yu, whose hands were unspeakably ruthless, simply because he attached most importance to keeping his words. Only people who keep his own words would put his trust that other people would also keep their words. It should be enough, Kou Zhong replied, Half a yearter we will meet in Luoyang. Even if we still dont have the Secret to Long Life in hands, we will take Tuoba Xiong to go fetch the book. Tuoba Yu raised his cupped fist and said in a loud and clear voice, Its settled then. Xiaodi asks to be excused. With a sh he was already outside the door. Everybody turned their eyes toward Chunyu Wei, but this girl had already disappeared as well. It was quite a whileter that Liu Heita exhaled a mouthful of cold air and said, This time Ba Fenghans little life is really in danger! None of the others did not share the same sentiment. If Bi Xuans two regr disciples were that formidable, wouldnt that mean that Bi Xuans martial art skill was much higher than anybody could imagine? [1] The text addedϷ zui li ma xi after this sub-sentence; the closest I could find after googling it was shamsir and scimitar. A search on Turkic dagger returned Kilij. So I dont really know what it is. Book 5 - 10 – Yuwen Chengdu Book 5 Chapter 10 C Yuwen Chengdu The farther north they travelled, the weather was growing colder and colder, the snow on the ground reached knee depth. The six of them forged ahead at full speed on the sea of forest and ins of snow, which extended as far as the eye could see. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took turn carrying Susu on their backs. After their battle against Tuoba Yu, they were more careful, not daring to be as negligence as the previous day. The snowstorm has stopped, the heaven and earth was a vast expanse of destion, with asional howling of the wolves, that as they heard it, their hair was standing on its end. After hastening for two days, one evening they reached the forest around the southern bank of the Tongji Canal. The deep dark-colored forest looked like a wall or a rampart,yer uponyer, standing up all around, if one was not careful, it would be very easy to get lost. Even if their bodies were made of iron, after running away for their lives like that for a couple of days, they would be extremely exhausted. It was not clear who started it, but eventually everybody slowed down until finally they walked as slow as marching ants or crawling tortoises, as they looked for a lodging ce that could provide shelter from the wind and the snow. The mountain and the forest were nketed inplete silence [orig. ten thousand pipes are still], only noise they heard was the rustling of soft snow underneath their own feet. asionally a light wind would blow, shaking the snow on the branches that it rained down to the ground below and filled the air with snowkes. Finally they stopped in a clearing in the middle of the forest. Liu Heita said, Looks like tonight we cannot find an abandoned house or a cave to spend the night, so well have to put up with building a bonfire in here and sit until daybreak before hasting up on our journey tomorrow. ording to my estimation, we will reach Yangwu by tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, Susu slipped down from Xu Zilings back onto the snowy ground below. Although she was wearing cotton coat, she was still shivering in cold. Without the slightest hesitation Liu Heita took off his sheepskin coat and draped it tenderly over her shoulder, while speaking softly, When we get the fire going, it wont be so cold anymore. This iron man was showing so much consideration and thoughtful action, it was quite touching, actually. Liu Dage is not afraid of cold? Susu gratefully asked. Liu Heitaughed and said, After being in battle for so many years, what kind of hardship I havent been through? Su Jie, set your heart at ease! Xu Ziling took off his outer robe and spread it over the snowy ground; he said with augh, Now I am really not afraid of cold, unlike the mighty Liu Dage. Su Jie please sit down. Susu knew that due to his Secret to Long Life internal energy, he really was not afraid of either hot or cold; she dly sat down. Kou Zhong reached out and wrapped his arm around Liu Heitas shoulder; he said with a giggle, Let me give Liu Dage a bit of warmth! Hey! You, this fellow, arecking in manners, you just copying us calling her Su Jie; you ought to call her Su Mei [younger sister]. After many days of close association, they had known each other better. The two boys grew very fond of this brave and cunning young general. Cui Dong did not like to talk, but he was a hot-blooded man. On the other hand, Liu Heitas sworn brother Zhuge Dewei always gave out the impression that he was a slick and sly man, while his actual character was a gloomy one; he did not seem to like the two boys too much. Seeing Liu Heita was showing some interest on Susu, Xu Ziling had a mind to y matchmaker, so that Susu might forget Li Jing. Turning to Susu, he said, Su Jies legs had to be bent all day long, right now you must be numb and sore, while we are going to fetch firewood, why dont Liu Xiong give you a leg rub? Susu jumped in fright. I am all right, she cried out in fear, No need to rub! Liu Heitas ck face turned red [Trantors note: hei from Liu Heitas name means ck], Ill go fetch firewood, he said. And then with Cui Dong and Zhuge Dewei he left without saying anything. Susu said, You should also go to help! Xu Ziling sat down by her side and shook his head, If we go, who would protect Jiejie if the hungry wolves areing? he said. Susu shivered, and no longer dared to insist. Kou Zhong sat down on her other side and muttered to himself, I wonder if Xiao Ling also has the same feeling; beginning yesterday afternoon, I have a feeling a disaster is looming ahead. Sometimes this feeling was strong, sometimes it was weak, as if someone was hanging on our tail. Overwhelmed with shock, Susu said, What should we do? Xu Ziling exposed an astonished look; he blew out a mouthful of breath, which became fog, and said, I thought I was being paranoid, turns out you are having the same feeling. There must be a martial art master following our trail, seeing that we are of many men with a great force, he is forced to wait for an opportunity to make his move. Kou Zhong said, If his target is the ount book in our hands, what he wanted to get hold of at first must be Su Jie, so that he could use her to threaten us. So no matter what happens, we must have at least one person by Su Jie all the time. Xu Ziling said, The enemy is in the dark, we are in the open; the one who will suffer losses will be us. I wonder if there is a way to turn the table around and lure him out to the open! Kou Zhong happily said, What do you have in mind? Xu Ziling said, When Dugu Ba plotted against Shen Luoyan the other day, he had himself buried in the snow, and then when she passed through, he seized the opportunity to attack. We can copy his trick. Right this moment, there was a howling of the beast from a distance; hearing that, Susus hair stood up on its end, and she threw herself on Kou Zhongs back. Kou Zhong continued, This person was able to follow us for a day and a night, and is still undetected, obviously his skill is extremely superior. Besides, he cant possibly identally walk through right above you. Dealing with him will require our cooperation. And then he added dejectedly, How are we going to bury ourselves in the snow anyway? Xu Ziling triumphantly said, I had thought about that problem before. Look! Finished speaking, he moved away a little,y down on the snow, closed his eyes and applied his internal energy. Soon the snow on which hey melted, and his whole body sank in, and Xu Ziling disappeared underneath theyer of snow. Kou Zhong knew that he was using his internal energy to generate heat; while he was inwardly cheered, Liu Heita and Zhuge Dewei came back withrge pile of dry branches in their hands. Thetter asked in surprise, Where is Xiao Ling? Kou Zhong and Susuughed; they immensely proud of themselves. Kou Zhong said, A wolf ate him! Liu Heita was displeased; he dumped the dry branches in front of the two people, and said with augh, Quickly call him back to scrape the snow from these sticks. Su ... hey ... Su Mei might be too cold. Where is Dong Shu [(younger) uncle]? Susu asked. Zhuge Dewei replied, He was afraid dry ration would not help Miss Su resist the cold, so when he heard the sound of wild animal, he went hunting! Liu Heita plopped his butt on the snow next to where Xu Ziling buried himself; he was stillpletely oblivious. I am best at roasting meat, I guarantee after eating it, Su Mei wont be cold anymore! Kou Zhong remembered something; he sprang up and cried out, Not good! Quickly call Dong Shu back, dont let him go alone! Before he even finished, there was a violent hissing from a distant ce in the southeast direction. Zhuge Deweis hands shook that the branches fell off to the ground; his countenance changed. Its Dong Shu! he said. Liu Heita already leaped up and pulled Kou Zhong, who was about to run, back. Stay here and protect Su Mei, he said, Where is Xiao Ling? Kou Zhong did not have time to exin, he cried, He is all right! Go quickly! Liu Heita, two people, felt their hearts were burning, without thinking anything, they shot away like an arrow. Kou Zhong had a brainwave; he spoke to Xu Ziling under the snow, Donte out no matter what! This must be the luring the tiger away from the mountain stratagem. As soon as he finished speaking, a dark shadow descended from the sky, with astonishing power the wind from the palm strike pressed down on the top of their heads. While Kou Zhong was thinking of grabbing Susu and brought her rolling away to the side, the strong wind already arrived. Left with no other options, he raised both fists upward to meet the enemys palm head-on. There was a powerful Bang! Kou Zhong felt his arms were about to break, his brain felt as if a lightning has just struck him, and his body was jarred that it flew backward. By this time hisbat experience was already very rich; the moment before he fell, the true qi inside his body already circted several times, neutralizing the enemys destroying the heart, splitting the lungs force. By the time he struggled to stand up, Susu already screamed, because she had fallen into the iing enemys hands. This kind of martial art skill was extremely frightening. The man had one arm wrapped around Susu, the other hand was pressing on her tianling acupoint [top of the head]; he roared inughter and said, Kid, stay where you are, you move half a finger, your Jiejie wont live. Chapter 10, Part 2 Xu Xiong, that, I know. In fact, if you google using the original Chinese characters, youd get circus or Lima (Peru) circus, hence the reason I thought it was a transliteration of some foreign words. DongBin, Jaya, HPC, Komeng, you are wee. Laoren, I am so sorry ... Bocah, dont worry about it. Sky, thats what I thought. So, dont hate her too much, OK? End of Chapter 10. It was only then did Kou Zhong see clearly that the opponent was a middle-aged man that appeared full of confidence, heroic, but also at ease. His nose was especially big, so that his eyes appeared slim, but his eyeballs flickered with very cold rays, that it chilled those who looked at him. Kou Zhong pulled the iron [see my note in previous chapter] Cui Dong gave him for self-protection. You dare hurting her? he angrily roared, while in his heart he was praying that Xu Ziling would note out of the snow right this moment, otherwise Susus life would be in danger. An idea popped out in his head, he called out, Kid, you must also stay where you are. You should not make any move until I say so. How could the man know that he was speaking to Xu Ziling, who was buried in the snow? With a coldugh he said, You are so scared that you turn mad. Just stop talking, get the Dongming Pais ount book out and give it to me. Otherwise this baby girl will lose her life. Kou Zhong signaled Susu with his eyes, telling her not to panic. When he was about to speak, Liu Heita and Zhuge Dewei rushed back. Seeing Susu had fallen into the enemys hands, they both roared furiously, and then together with Kou Zhong, they formed a triangle with the enemy surrounded in the middle. Where is Dong Shu? Kou Zhong called out. Liu Heitas eyes flickered fiercely, but surprisingly his expression was heavy and cold. He slowly said, He had fallen into this thiefs evil scheme. Kou Zhong was terribly grieved. Who are you? he asked, What enmity do we have against you? I am Yuwen Chengdu, that man calmly replied, How could there be no enmity no grudges between you and I? If you are done chatting, I am going to count from one to ten, if you havent handed the ount book over to me, your Jiejies head will burst open. He paused, and then, Huh? Where is that Xu kid? he asked. Everybody shivered inwardly; they knew that among the four top martial art masters of the Yuwen n, Yuwen Chengdus rank was only a tad lower than Yuwen Huaji. Although he might not necessarily be able to defeat theirbined power, but they could forget about stopping him either. Afraid that he might suspect Xu Zilings whereabouts, Kou Zhong fetched the ount book from his pocket and lifted it up high above his head. Release Su Jie, he said, I will toss the ount book to you. Seeing the ount book, Yuwen Chengdus eyes lit up. Rolling his eyes, he let out a cold snort and said, If I release her, but then you did not hand the ount book to me, wont I suffer heavy losses? Kou Zhong mockingly said, Is your head stuffed with straws? Such a simple matter you failed to understand. Now I am going to withdraw two zhang back but put the ount book on the ground. You tell my Jiejie to pick it up and throw it to you. But remember, before my Jiejie picks the book, you must not move even half a step. Otherwise, my twopanions will immediately attack you. Yuwen Chengdu thought that if that was the case, then could always take the initiative toy his evil scheme on Susu. Nodding, he said, So be it. You must not y any trick, otherwise I can send out a palm strike over the empty air to take your Jiejies life. While in his heart he had made up his mind that as soon as Susu threw the ount book to him, he would kill Susu at the same time, so that Kou Zhong would be grieved and his mind would be a confused mess. Kou Zhong called out loudly, You must act ording to my order! Naturally this sentence was directed to Xu Ziling. By this time Yuwen Chengdu no longer cared to argue with Kou Zhong. Seeing Kou Zhong really put the ount book down and backed away, he eagerly pushed Susu forward. Pick the book and throw it over! he ordered. Naturally Susu understood Kou Zhongs n. With weakened knees, she forced herself to walk toward the ount book. Kou Zhong withdrew about a zhang and a half and stopped; gathering his strength, he waited. Susu stopped in front of the book. Her knees gave up, she fell sitting down on the snowy ground. Yuwen Chengdu anxiously called out, if you want to live, throw the book here! Susu was a bit lost; she stared nkly at the book in front of her. Kou Zhong suddenly thundered, Now! Yuwen Chengdu still thought that Kou Zhong ordered Susu to hurry up and pick the ount book. Suddenly a wave of snow burst forth from behind him, followed by a violently hot palm strike hitting his back; it was only then did he realize that he had fallen into the enemys scheme. While spurting a mouthful of blood forward, his palm struck backward; to his surprise, however, he struck empty air. Knowing that the situation was not good, he hastily pulled back and leaped away. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong already rushed toward Susu. Liu Heita and Zhuge Dewei also soared; one cane and one fan attacked toward Yuwen Chengdu midair. While his first attack went smoothly, Xu Ziling second move hit empty air. This Yuwen Chengdu was indeed a first-ss martial art master; although he was unable to guard against Xu Zilings palm strike against his back that he was injured and spurted a mouthful of blood, his true qi reacted and shocked Xu Ziling that blood and qi surged, which rendered him unable to pursue. The three men exchanged blows midair. Yuwen Chengdu screamed miserably. Although he managed to block Zhuge Deweis iron fan, his left shoulder was hit by the extremely angry Liu Heitas cane that his bone broke and his flesh split, and he was thrown sideways. But this man was really outstanding; he was still able to rouse his qi andnded on the branch of arge tree nearby. Borrowing the momentum, he ricocheted and flew like a bird into the depth of the forest; in a few blinks he disappeared in the darkness. The pit of Cui Dongs stomach was hit by a palm strike, his sternum fractured and he perished. Everybody was inconsbly grieved; they vowed to avenge this great enmity for Cui Dong. That very night Liu Heita looked for a rather secluded spot on an elevated ground, dug a deep hole, and spreadrge rocks over the ce where he buried Cui Dong, so that hungry wolves would not catch the smell and dig the corpse and eat it. Recalling that it was because Cui Dong wanted to find a game to be roasted to help her resisting the cold that he went alone and was murdered by Yuwen Chengdu, Susu cried uncontrobly that her tears rained down like pear blossom. Recalling that Cui Dong died because of the ount book, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings grief was inconsble; but they were also greatly puzzled. Surprisingly, it was Liu Heita who was open-minded. After kowtowing in front of the grave, he spoke to the tombstone in a loud and clear voice, Dong Shu, you went a step ahead of us. After Xiao Hei [little ck, from Liu Heitas name] takes advantage of this numerous and disorderly world and damn y for a while, a bitter I will go down the spring [i.e. underworld] to find you to y finger-guessing game and drink wine. And then he walked over to Susu, who was supported by Kou and Xu, two boys; smiling, he said, Su Mei, please dont be sad, summer went, winter came [Trantors note: the dong in Cui Dongs name means winter], to be born, to grow old, to get sick and to die, life is nothing more than that." Finished speaking, he preceded the other to leave. With a grim expression Zhuge Dewei said, "Lets hit the road! If others dont kill me, then I will kill others. After fighting several battles, everything will be clear!" Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were somewhatforted. Helping Susu up, they followed the two men continuing their journey toward Yangwu. By midday, they cut through the mountain and fields toward the official road of Yangwu. They saw the road pas packed with refugees who were leaving Yangwu, pedestrians and carts fighting over the road, the cries of grief shook the heavens, so that the people who were already suffering from the intense cold weather became more miserable and flustered. Liu Heita and Zhuge Dewei keep their calm in the face of the unexpected; their expression remained aloof as they tried to ask around. They found out that Li Mi recaptured Liyang Storehouse, Wang Shichong led his main force to reinforce the Sui Army, but was defeated by Li Mi. Li Mi then recruited arge number of surrendering Sui soldiers and generals, so that his fame and power was greatly flourishing; he was about to march toward Yangwu; therefore,mon people in the neighboring area abandoned their homes to flee. After hearing this news, Susu was aghast, "Li Mi ising! We must run away now!" Hearing Li Mis name, her countenance changed as if she was hearing a tiger wasing. Liu Heita led them into the woods next to the road to get away from the crowd; he said with augh, "If you think these people are running away from Li Mi, you are gravely mistaken. These are peasant families from the rural counties near Yangwu. What they are afraid of is the defeated troops would scatter in all directions and looting the people. Yangwu closed its gate and not allowed them to enter the city, hence they had no choice but to flee for their lives first." Zhuge Dewei said, "Li Mi is the best at buying the peoples heart, chances are he will send grain to relieve the people; how could thosemon people fear him?" Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, "If thats the case, wont we be able to enter the city as well?" Liu Heita had already nned in advance, "Leave this matter to me," he said, "We have several officers of Yangwu who have dealings with us in secret, plus I have an official pass. As long as we are willing to spend a few pennies, bringing in two or three more people inside wont be a problem. Zhuge Dewei said, We also have some connections with the ns and societies in there, if the three of you still insist on going to Jiangdu, we can make some arrangements to have you take a boat. It would definitely be a lot morefortable than going on foot! Xu Ziling said, What I am afraid the most is Yuwen Chengdu waiting for us there. After all, Yangwu is under the influence of his Yuwen n. Liu Heita said, Before entering the city, I can disguise the three of you first, turning you into granpas and grandma. We will also change our appearance to avoid attracting undue attention. Zhuge Dewei proposed, It would be best if we enter the city in two batches, it would be even more foolproof. Kou Zhong pped his thigh and cheered, I have heard about disguising skill in Jianghu, turns out two gentlemen are experts in it, he said, Would it be possible for you to teach us, brothers and sister, a trick or two? It would help us as self-protection skill when we have to escape. Liu Heita dly said, I only have superficial knowledge on this, Dage is the genuine expert; within our army, he upies the first ce. If you want to learn, youd better beg him to teach you. Zhuge Deweiughed and said, Such a trivial trick, there is no need to use so much fuss on me; we all are friends in times of tribtions, to be able to catch your appreciation, you dont know what a privilege that is to me. The three peoples favorable impression on Zhuge Dewei suddenly enjoyed a great boost. Chatting andughing, they went against the flow of people leaving Yangwu. Temporarily the grief of Cui Dongs demise was pushed toward the back of their heads; their life force has returned. Book 5 - 11 – Imperial Court’s End of the Road Book 5 Chapter 11 C Imperial Courts End of the Road Kou Zhong washed the disguise from his face and hair; breathed a sigh of relief, he said, I didnt know disguise can be so difficult to bear. Look! My skin is red. Xu Ziling was squatting by the stove on the other side of the kitchen, rinsing his face with cold water, after seeping it with freshly boiled water; deeply in agreement he said, This kind of starch paste Wei Ge [older brother, referring to Zhuge Dewei] concocted is indeed a first-ss deceiving trick, but it is also a first-ss evil punishment. They were in an ordinary courtyard house inside the city of Yangwu, Liu Heitas guarantee indeed came about as predicted, the five of them entered the city in batches without a hitch. After settling them down in this house, which was the secret hideout of the Dou Army, Liu Heita and Zhuge Dewei went out to observe outside activities and scout for information. Kou Zhong went over to Xu Zilings side and whispered, Do you think the Old Liu has some interest in Su Jie? Xu Ziling was wiping thest piece of starch paste off his forehead; he was about to wash his hair when he heard what Kou Zhong said. Not just some interest, he replied, He is very interested. When he looks at Su Jie, his eyes seem to be shining. But then he sighed and said, But it appeared that Su Jie is avoiding him! Kou Zhong assumed the haughty manner of an expert; acting as if he was taking things very seriously, he shook his head and swayed his noggin and said, Girls are like that, the more she is interested in you, the more she will act indifferently, ying with your emotion and driving you crazy. She will even lure you and make your heart unbearably itchy. In terms of qualifications, Old Liu is not at all inferior to Li Dage, plus he knows how be particrly attentive and spare no effort to win her sympathy. I dont believe Su Jies heart is not moved. While speaking, he handed the towel to Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling took it to dry his hair; he said in a low voice, Do you want to fix them together? But Old Liu will go to war three hundred days in a year; if Su Jie marries him, wont she have to keep watch of an empty boudoir alone? Plus she will always worry that he wouldnte back. With a wry smile Kou Zhong said, I was thinking of the same thing. But if she marries Li Dage, wont it be the same? The most important thing is to gauge Su Jies heart. Let me go out to sound her out. Ignoring Xu Zilings advice to stop, Kou Zhong went to the eastern wing where Susus room was. Knocking on the door, he called, Su Jie! Come in! Susu replied. Kou Zhong pushed the door to enter. Susu was leaning against the window, looking outside; she appeared to be enjoying the snow scenery of the small garden in the middle of the courtyard. He came over behind her and said in a low voice, Does Jiejie have something in your mind? Susu trembled slightly, No! she replied, There is nothing. Kou Zhongughed and said, Is it that fellow Liu Heita? Susu turned around, her almond eyes opened wide, she said crossly, What are you talking about? Ay! You are thinking that far already. Dont you feel that he is especially good to you? Kou Zhong asked. Susu rolled her eyes on him, Dont be meddlesome, she said, You always love to let your imagination run wild. Are you tired of Jiejie following you? Kou Zhong cried out to Heaven for the injustice, How could Su Jie have such thought? We just care about you! After staring at him for quite a while, Susu sighed; half-leaning onto the windowsill, she gloomily said, Liu Dage is a one-hundred percent hero, but ... ay! Jiejie really dont know how to exin it! Kou Zhong happily said, That means Jiejie has a good impression on him; whats so difficult to exin? Susu shook her head sorrowfully; reaching out to pat Kou Zhongs cheek, she hung her head down as she said softly, You wouldnt understand the burden in Jiejies heart. Kou Zhong was dismayed, If Jiejie did not tell me the burden in your heart, how could I understand? he asked, Looking at Jiejies appearance, I am truly heartbroken. Susu pondered silently for half a day; finally she smiled bitterly and said, Every time I see Liu Heita, its just like I am seeing Li Dage. They both are of the same type of person, Jiejie is very scared. Do you understand what I am saying? Kou Zhong had no idea that she was having that kind of feeling and thoughts; greatly stunned, he was speechless for quite a long time. Susu forced herself to look excited as she said, Jiejie has decided that from now on I will serve and take care of you, two wild boys, I wont marry for as long as I live; so in the future you must not be heartbroken for Jiejies sake. Kou Zhong lost the interest to talk; he finally said, Jiejie must not set any rules for yourself like that; otherwise, if you meet someone that you fancy, you might miss the opportunity because of these words. Susu was slightly angry, Jiejie has given this matter careful consideration, I dont need you to lecture me. This moment Liu Heitas voice wasing from the main hall, the two people hastily went out of the room. Seeing the abundance of food and drink Liu Heita has purchased and brought back, without any trace of politeness Xu Ziling sat down in front of the table and started to chew. Kou Zhong and Susu promptly joined him. Susu watched as the three men busily sending the food to their bowls and to their mouths. Where is Wei Dage? she asked. Liu Heita replied, Yangwu water transportation is extremely scarce nowadays, money alone is useless, we must also have some power. Dage is trying to talk with Baling Bang people, they are the only one who can tread on both ck and white ways right now [i.e. both underground (criminal) and official] right now; other ns and societies are out of the question. Kou Zhong, three people, looked at each other; they did not expect that in the end they still had to deal with Baling Bang. Noticing their unusual expression, Liu Heita asked in surprise, Havent you had any dealings with them before? It was not a dealing per se, just some encounters, Kou Zhong replied, Liu Xiong, have you heard the name Xiang Yushan? Not only heard, I even met him face-to-face once, Liu Heita replied, This fellow is one of the newer well-known figures of Baling Bang. He knows a lot about business, rather popr in both the ck and white ways; his public rtion skill is exceptionally good. Hearing this, Kou Zhong could only stare nkly; he had never imagined that such a second-rate character like Xiang Yushan could also have some standing in Jianghu. Liu Heita lowered his voice, Although this persons martial art skill is sloppy and very ordinary, he is very resourceful. Currently, Yang Guangs two most favorite imperial concubines, one is Madame Xiao, the other is Zhu Guier. From what I heard, Zhu Guier was personally presented to that fatuous ruler by Xiang Yushan. If thats the case, Xu Ziling said, Why did Yang Guang send an assassin to murder Baling Bangs big boss? Liu Heita said, These things, we, as outsiders, can hardly understand. What other news did Liu Dage hear? Susu queried. The beauty stooped down to ask information, Liu Heita felt he gained a lot of face; excitedly he replied, Naturally the situation is very good:st month Li Yuan started a rebellion from Taiyuan; Li Mi repeatedly gained victory; Du Fuwei, Fu Gongyou, two men, unt their power in Jiang Huai, our army is known as Mighty Yan and Zhao [my dictionary gives beautiful women as alternate definition]. The only ces Sui household can defend right now are the western capital Changan, eastern capital Luoyang, and Yang Guangs nest Jiangdu, Yangzhou. Other ces, like where we stay temporarily, Yangwu, are basically without any ability to defend itself. The high-ranking military officers guarding the city are merely looking around to see which side they would surrender to! Xu Ziling excitedly asked, Hows the situation of the Li n? Liu Heita shrugged, They rely on help from the Tujue, bing their hunting dog; there is nothing left to say. Xu Ziling was greatly disappointed; he also had nothing left to say. There is one this that is really puzzling, Liu Heita went on, The rumor in Jianghu is that the two of you know the secret of the Duke Yang Treasure Trove. Whether this is just a rumor or not, Xia Wang [king of Xia] and I have repeatedly researched it, and our final conclusion is that this treasure is just make-believe tales. Why do you think the treasure does not exist? Kou Zhong wondered. Liu Heita said, When Yang Guang murdered his own father and dered his independence, he also murdered his brother Yang Yong. In this matter, Yang Su had expended a lot of effort for him. At that time Yang Guang was still putting on the cloak of righteous ruler on him, so he showed a lot of favor and trust toward Yang Su. Although time and again he wanted to kill Yang Su, on the surface he did not show the least bit of sign. This was about a year before Yang Su died. Logically speaking, Yang Su would not have the mind to rebel or hide a treasure. Xu Ziling joined in, Its possible that the treasure was prepared during the Emperor Wen, Yang Jians time [c. 581-604 AD]. Due to Yang Sus rigorous schemes and deep foresight, he ought to know that high meritorious service would shake the master, nothing good everes out of it. That is a reasonable argument, Liu Heita said, Butter on Yang Sus son Yang Xuan raised an army in rebellion, his men did not even have a single decent weapon, and oftentimes hecked the fund to pay the soldiers sry. This does not make sense. How could Yang Su not tell his son about the hidden treasure? Kou Zhong could not resist, The ce where Yang Xuan rose in rebellion is Liyang, the western capitals mountain is long and its water far, perhaps he did not have time to get the treasure! Liu Heita pped the table andughed, Two Xiongdis Jianghu experience is indeed too shallow; in just a few sentences you uncovered the secret to me that the treasure is at the western capital. Xu Ziling indignantly said, Who would have thought Liu Xiong would swindle us? Kou Zhong giggled and said, Liu Xiong just wanted to coach us in discipline. But we only know that the treasure is in Guanzhong. Before Niang could tell us, she already passed away. Otherwise, who knows? Perhaps we would give the treasure to Liu Xiong. Liu Heita was delighted, Hearing what you said is enough. Honestly, I dont believe such treasure would aplish much. This moment Zhuge Dewei came back. He sat down and said, Tonight Baling Bang may have a ship sailing for Jiangdu, with a cargo of all kinds of thread, gauze and satin for the muddleheaded ruler, so that the fatuous ruler can have his people cut it into flowers and leaves, and sew it onto the branches, and spread it over the pond, just so that he could enjoy the beauty of spring and summer in the middle of the winter. I already made arrangement; you can hitch a ride with that ship. This time Baling Bang really gives us a face. Liu Heita sighed and said, Death is near at hand, that muddleheaded ruler still does not repent. And then, broken-hearted at having to part, he said, We are going to partpany! Susu hung her head low, she did not dare to meet his gaze. Kou Zhongs blood was boiling; straightening up his body he said, Liu Xiong, I have something Id like to ask your guidance in private. Liu Heita was a bit surprised; as he followed Kou Zhong toward the garden outside, he asked in low voice, What is it? Are you hard pressed for funds? Kou Zhong patted the money pouch hanging on his waist; assuming a rich man air, he said, We have enough money to spend on wine and pleasure, Liu Xiong need not worry. Then, lowering his voice he said, I noticed that Liu Xiong is showing some interest on our Su Jie, is that correct? Chapter 11, Part 2 Liu Heitas thick face turned scarlet. In this kind of matter, naturally I cannot conceal it from you two, he admitted, The strange thing is, I have met not a few girls, but as soon as I saw your Jiejie, its hard for me to maintain self-control, ay! Kou Zhong was puzzled, This is a good thing, he said, Why did Liu Xiong sigh? Liu Heita dejectedly said, Five years ago, someone told my fortune by reading my facial features. He said my mountain root [dont ask, I dont know what it is ...] appears too low, my two eyebrows are squeezing my qi extensively, perhaps before I turn forty one I would have passed. Therefore, I have made up my mind, I will enjoy my forty years of life without the slightest hesitation. Other things, I dare not think. Kou Zhong downyed his remark, How can we believe Jianghu chatans words? Liu Heita smiled wryly and said, Problem is, that person was not a Jianghu chatan at all; rather, it was the Number One Expert of the Central ins, Ning Daoqi. And it was because I was not afraid of the truth that I implored him repeatedly before he was willing to tell me. Kou Zhong was severely shaken, Have you seen him? he asked. Liu Heitas face revealed an awed expression; he nodded and said, Only for a moment, and in a hurry. But his simple, rxed and calm demeanor, I will never forget until the day I die. Reaching out to pat Kou Zhongs shoulder, he said, My deep affection for your virtuous sister can only be buried deep in the bottom of my heart; I do not dare to implicate her. Furthermore, when Ie back this time, I am going to fight in one ce after another all around the world [tian xia, i.e. China], life or death is unpredictable, I dont know if in the future I will have the good fortune of seeing the three of you again. Kou Xiongdis good intention, Xiongdi is deeply grateful. What else could Kou Zhong say? Heavy snow was starting to fall from the sky, again. By nightfall, Baling Bang sent a carriage to pick up the three people. With heavy heart Liu Heita and the others bade farewell to the three people; recalling that they might never meet again in the future, everybodys heart was brimming with sorrows. After taking a seat in the carriage, Susu was overwhelmed with emotion, she bowed her head and shed some silent tears. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were scared; they did not dare to disturb her, they simply looked out the window, silently watching the snowke fluttered in the air along the street. The driver, Baling Bang man, was polite and very hospitable; he drove straight out of the gate toward the big pier by Tongji Canal outside the city, led the three people to a skiff, and a momentter they reached a huge five-mast ship anchored in the middle of the river. The three have just stepped foot on the deck, someone, beaming from ear to ear, already greeted them, Kou Xiong, Xu Xiong, Miss Susu, how are you? Ah! Susu was pleasantly surprised, Its Xiang Gongzi! The man weing them was unexpectedly Xiang Yushan. Noticing the ill expression on Kou and Xu, two boys faces as they looked at him, he hastily bowed respectfully with sped hands and said, Two Dage must not me Xiaodi, I have done everything in my power to find you threes whereabouts, but all those hard works aplished very little. Fortunately I guessed correctly that to go to Jiangdu, unavoidably you will have to pass through Yangwu, so I came here to wait for your news. Sure enough the Emperor of Heaven did not turn his back on resolute person, in the end I can meet once again with the three of you! With frigid irony and scorching satire Kou Zhong said, We were also very fortunate not to go to your Peipei or what have you, or else we would have fallen into the Wagang Armys hands early on. Xu Ziling let out a coldugh and said, Xiang Xiong indeed know how to introduce us to good people. Xiang Yushan was shocked, Is there such thing? he asked, Humph! If verified, Xiongdi will definitely punish the traitor ording to gang rules. Kou Zhong said, If we encounter something in the future, how would we know that you will not betray us like Peipei? Xiang Yushan feigned helpless ignorance as hemented, How could Kou Xiong look down on me, Xiang Yushan, like that? If I have that kind of intention, let me not have a good end. Susu could not bear not to say something, We did not know Xiang Gongzi have his own problem, you two must not me him again. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around; he noticed the sailors were raising the anchor and untying the sail in preparation to set off. Turning to Xiang Yushan he said, Very well! But if we discoverter on that you are ying trick on us, I will immediately tear you apart. Xiang Yushan indignantly puff out his chest and said, The three of you may set your heart at ease, I, Xiang Yushan is definitely not a despicable man. After a short pause, he continued respectfully, Xiaodi has prepared a banquet inside the cabin, especially in honor of the three of you. Miss Susu, please! After staring at Xiang Yushan for a few seconds, Susu dly walked over, Xiang Yushan delightedly led the way. Seeing Susu epting the invitation and entered the cabin, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had no choice but to follow behind her. The cabin was brightly lit, plus there was a stove in the corner, so that it was as warm as springtime. In the middle of the room was a table of sumptuous banquet, by the table was a beautifuldy in white. Leading four good-looking maids, she bowed to greet the guests. Xiang Yushan made the introduction, Xiao Dajie [big sister] is the younger sister of our humble gangs Fu Bangzhu [Deputy Gang/n Leader] Xiao Xian; she manages the daily expenses and necessities of the imperial concubines in the imperial pce, she knows the imperial pce situation like the back of her hands. With her working out a strategy, this time Yuwen n is in danger. [Trantors note: so far I always tranted Bang as n, like in Beggar n (gai bang), or ns and Societies (bang hui) just because this term is widely known in our circle; however, since in this story there are a lot of references to family n (fa), I feel that I need to differentiate these two. So ... I will make conscious effort to use gang instead of n when referring to these organizations.] This Big Sister Xiao was about twenty years or so, in terms of beauty, she was inferior to Shen Luoyan, Shan Wanjing, and the like, but her figure was like standing jade, her body alluring, her bearing elegant; in short, she was sexually very attractive. Big Sister Xiaosughter sounded like the ringing of a bell; absolutely unrestrained, she sized Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling up and down, andughed again before even speaking, You are fine specimen indeed, no wonder as soon as he saw you, Yushan has such a high regard of the two gentlemen! Awkwardly Xiang Yushan cleared his throat and said, Please sit down. After everybody was seated, the pretty maids poured wine into their cups and then withdrew from the cabin. Susu did not drink wine, she asked for fragrant tea instead. Xiang Yushan, who was sitting next to her, politely served her. With licentious look, Big Sister Xiao repeatedly urged Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to drink their wine; it was such a warm atmosphere. After three rounds of drink, Xiang Yushan said, Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated [idiom, from Sunzis The Art of War]. I wonder if two Dage are familiar with Yuwen ns affairs. Kou Zhong was particrly blunt toward Xiang Yushan; knitting his brows, he said, If you dont tell me, how would I know? Big Sister Xiaoughed coquettishly and said, Yushan is so bad, when he started, he gave two Gongzi bad impressions. Just consider this cup as my apology on behalf of Yushan. Since she spoke up the load in their mind in such a forting manner, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt embarrassed instead; they promptly drank their cups. Like a blossoming flower Big Sister Xiao smiled toward Susu and said, If I had two good Didi like Miss Susu, I would be extremely thrilled. At first Susu was ufortable with this young C but acted as if she was a seasoned windblown dust [i.e. prostitute] who had gone through everything C woman, who incessantly threw flirtatious nces toward Kou and Xu, two boys; but with such ttering remark, her ill will immediately diminished greatly. A smile burst open on her pretty face. Xiang Yushan was a bit mesmerized by her flourishing fresh flower-like smile; he sighed and said, If I could be like Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong who have a sister like Miss Susu, that would be really good! Susu rolled her eyes at him; her pretty face blushed, she hung down her head and said in a low voice, How could Susu dare to ept thepliment? I am only a maid. Xiang Yushan replied in earnestness, I dont care what Miss Susus status is, in my, Xiang Yushan, heart, you are a fairy from heaven. Susus pretty face blushed even redder, but her expression showed that she was delighted. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they both felt it was inappropriate. The first time Susu met Xiang Yushan, she already spoke up on his behalf. If this time Xiang Yushan mixed some sweet nothing in his old hand technique to arouse the romance and thus force his way inside her heart, wouldnt it be very bad? While both of them separately plotting a countermeasure, Big Sister Xiao said, About Yuwen ns affairs, let me tell you! The two most formidable persons in Yuwen family are Yuwen Shang and Yuwen Shu. The former concentrates fully on martial art training. Along with the Song ns Heavenly Saber Song Que, they are known as the Central ins two greatest martial art masters after Ning Daoqi. His martial art skill is matchless, but he never set foot in officialdom. He begets two sons, Yuwen Chengdu and Yuwen Wudi. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck. I thought Yuwen Huagu is his son, turns out he is not, he said. Big Sister Xiao shook inughter like a flower at the trip of a branch. Yuwen Huagu? she said, Fancy that you came out with that name. Kou and Xu could not avert their eyes from her silky breasts, which were trembling in sync with her shaking body due to theughter; they found it to be highly captivating. Xiang Yushan interjected, Yuwen Shu sessively held high positions in the imperial court, until his nobility rank reaches Guo Gong [state duke], the highest possible official positions. He has three sons; Yuwen Huaji is the oldest, followed by Yuwen Shiji [ʿ] and Yuwen Shiji [Ǽ]. Although Yuwen Shiji is not among the four great martial art masters of the Yuwen n, but since he is the most inscrutable, we must never underestimate him. Big Sister Xiao continued, Yuwen Shang never held any official position, his specific responsibility is Jianghu matters. From Yuwen Shus three sons, Yuwen Huaji inherited his fathers Guo Gong nobility, his official position is the Commander of the Right Reserve Officers, and the Zongguan [Chief Manager] of the Capital. His second son Shiji married Yang Guangs daughter Princess Nanyang, so he is the Sui Dynastys prince consort. Xiang Yushan joined in, Yuwen Shiji [the third son] is proficient in wood construction. Yang Guangs minor jail, north of Jiangdong citys Guiyan Pce, Huiliu Pce, Songlin Pce, and the others, the Shugang Ten Pces, were all built under his supervision. Xu Ziling breathed out a mouthful of cold air, Yuwen n is in such a close rtionship with the imperial household, how could one ount book make any difference? Thats why we must make a careful n, Xiang Yushan said, Otherwise we wont be able to harm them but suffer a heavy loss instead. It was only now did the two boys realize the dangerous nature of their mission; it was definitely not as easy as they thought. But they were already riding on the tigers back; there was no way they could shrink back. Book 5 - 12 – The Battle of Two Clans Book 5 Chapter 12 C The Battle of Two ns Xiang Yushan made arrangement that the three stayed in the cabins on the second level just below the top deck; the other three cabins across the hall, two belonged to Big Sister Xiao and Xiang Yushan. As for thest cabin, Xiang Yushan did not reveal the upants identity to them. For thest few days, Susu has been tossed from side to side, she was already exhausted. After the banquet, her qi bubbled up, she immediately went back to her room to sleep. Kou Zhong went to Xu Zilings room to chat. This time we are doomed, he said, Looks like Su Jie has some interest toward that Xiang fellow. I dont understand it, even toward someone like Liu Heita she did not show any regards, but toward this fellow, whose face green and whose lips white all year long, who looks like he never have enough to eat, she could have good impression. Xu Ziling was certain, I have no doubt that Su Jies real sweetheart is still Li Dage. I just dont know what had actually happened between the two of them that made Su Jies heart seems to be dead to him. No way! We must not let Su Jie fall in love with this fellow with dirty past. Kou Zhong said, Unless we leave right away, it is very difficult for us to get involved in this kind of matter. But if we avoid the problem by walking away, we must think first whether Su Jie will be willing to, also not only it does not make sense, we will even lose the opportunity for revenge. Could it be that we can take the ount book on our own and stop the sedan chair to cry out our grievances? [Trantors note: the picture here is stopping government official on the street (who was usually traveling by riding sedan chair) to lodge ain.] With one chop Yuwen Huaji would be able to kill us. Do you trust that Xiang kid? Xu Ziling asked, If we dare to believe his words, simply hand over the ount book to him, let him deal with it. And then we can go to Luoyang to look for Li Dage. That would be better than watching Su Jie with worried frown all day long. What do you mean worried frown? Kou Zhong countered, Didnt you see that Xiang kid managed to coax happiness from her just now? But your proposal worth considering; if we came across Yuwen Huagu in Jiangdu, our little lives would be difficult to protect! Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Still wont work. Niangs enmity must be avenged by us personally, if just because of little difficulty we then use someone else to achieve it, we are practically letting our own conscience down. Kou Zhang was cross, Crooked, it was you who said it; straight, it was also you who said it, but now you seem to me me? Xu Ziling smiled apologetically, Just consider I am in the wrong! Hai! That loose Dajie [big sister] seems to be very interested in you; perhaps tonight she is going to grope your bed! Kou Zhong jumped in fright, Dont talk nonsense, he said, If she found out that I am a green-head kid [i.e. a rookie], and afterwards she revealed my sealed red-packet, will I still a face to live my life? Ha! When we return to our hometown in brocade gownter, we must visit the biggest brothel, that Tianxian Lou [tianxian C fairy, lou C storied building], to look for that ces most popr Miss Yuling to apany us for a drink. Who knows? Based on our status, we may be able to get intimate with her. Xu Ziling was not the least bit interested; he said, If you want to go, then you can go alone! Just make sure you wont bump into Yuwen Huagu. Kou Zhong was astounded, Since when did you change your nature? Previously, didnt you want to hang around in the brothel more than I do? As if he still had some lingering fears, Xu Ziling said, Every time we went to the brothel, which one did we have good ending? If you dont have the guts to look for a woman to apany you for a drink, just ask that Xiang kid toe with you. Perhaps Tianxian Lou also belongs to his family. Kou Zhongs eyes grew big. Ha! I get it, he said, Your interest is on that Zhen Sao who sells steamed buns [see Book 1, Chapter 1 & 2]. Kid, you are really bad! Xu Ziling was so angry he nearly punched Kou Zhong to teach him a lesson. Am I that kind of person? he furiously asked, Zhen Sao is Old Fengs concubine. If you keep speaking nonsense, I wont talk to you anymore. Kou Zhongughed and said, Daye, please calm down. I just saw that you are too uptight, so I deliberately provoked you. You knew so well that brothels are very dangerous, yet you still want me to go alone to take risks? Can you be considered my brother? Unable to argue with him, Xu Ziling helplessly said, Just do whatever you want to do! But you must never let Su Jie know. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, We have learned a little bit of disguising skill anyway, we could disguise ourselves as a bit older men, Yuwen Huagu has not seen us for many years, even if he came face-to-face with us, I guarantee that he would not have any idea. Right this moment suddenly there was a knock on their door, Xiang Yushans voice said, Are two Dage still awake? May Xiaodie in to chat for a moment or two? The two boys frowned, but they really had no reason to refuse; without any better option, they had to let him in. Xiang Yushan satfortably in front of them; he said with augh, I am ustomed to sleepte, I cant sleep before the third watch [between 11pm C 1am]. I am really jealous of people who have the good fortune of falling asleep as soon as they lie down like Miss Susu. Kou Zhong stood up; he left the bed and walked over to sit in one of the chairs by the window. Giving Xiang Yushan a sidelong nce, he said, No wonder your face is green your lips white all day long, like people who are drowsy. Xiang Yushan let out a wry smile and said, My countenance is unsightly, but its definitely not because ofck of sleep, but two years ago, when I was training internal energy, I suffered fire deviation. Kou Xiong misunderstood! Xu Ziling was astounded, So thats how it is. What exactly was the martial art that created a problem? Xiang Yushan seriously said, Have you heard about the Yin Hou [Empress Yin] Zhu Yuyan? The two boys shook their head with nk expression. Xiang Yushan said, I am not surprised that you have not heard about her. Yin Hou Zhu Yuyan is the Sect Leader of Yin Gui Pai [not sure if it means anything or perhaps a ce name: yin C negative/feminine (from yin-yang), gui C tenth in order, pai Csect/school]. It is said that this Sect is the most mysterious gang or sect [bang pai] in Jianghu, extremely heretical. They are the mortal enemy of the equally mysterious, unfathomable Ci Hang Jing Zhai [again, not sure how to trante this: ci Cpassionate, hang C boat/to sail, jing C calm/not moving, zhai C building/fort]. Every once in a while, both factions would send out their prominent disciples to have a life or death decisive battle against each other. It is said that whichever faction lost, for the next twenty years no one from that faction is allowed to take even half a step in Jianghu. Fortunately, for thest hundred years or so, Ci Hang Jing Zhai has always been the winner, otherwise, if Yin Gui Pai appeared and do evil, I really dont know what kind of disaster would befall the Jianghu. Listening to his narration, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were you look at me, I nce at you, thinking that anything that happened in Jianghu, nothing could be considered too bizarre. So this Zhu Yuyan is very formidable? Xu Ziling asked. Xiang Yushan breathed out a mouthful of cold air, Do I need to tell you that? Our previous generation considered her to be the number one martial art master of the heretical world. ording to our intelligence, after nearly a hundred years, the most outstanding masters Yin Gui Pai sent out are extremely confident that they would defeat Ci Hang Jing Zhais representatives in the next battle. If that were the real case, the ups and downs in the Jianghu would have another variable that is a lot more difficult to predict. Is this person a man or a woman? Young or old? Kou Zhong wondered. [Trantors note: in Chinese he and she sounds the same, although Xiang Yushan used female radical.] That, I do not know! Xiang Yushan replied, My father has a bit of rtionship with one of Yin Gui Pai elders, the information we have actually came from him, but it is limited to that much. Those who want to enter Yin Gui Pai, every single one of them must make heavy oath never to divulge any Sect matters to outsiders. That elder was drunk and had a slip of the tongue; afterwards he was extremely remorseful and implored my father not to tell others what he had just said. Kou Zhong was baffled, If thats the case, why is it that you have no scruples in telling us about this matter now? Xiang Yushan angrily said, Because it was because of him that I trained and damaged my body. Before leaving, he wrote a secret instruction on how to train martial art, telling my father to practice it. Realizing that he himself is not a good material to train upper-ss martial art skill, my father handed over the secret manual to me. Who would have thought that it was something harmful? If the practitioner cannot refrain from sexual desire, his meridians and qi will deviate and he will perish. Not only that, once one started, one will be addicted and will practice endlessly until fire deviation urs. Fortunately I have always beenzy, plus I dont like to sleep around with women. After suffering fire deviation, Jing Xian [sic, I think previously it was Xiao Xian] Bangzhu [gang leader] wasted considerable energy to save me, so that I did not be a handicapped person. Tell me, should I keep a secret for someone like him? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stared nkly; it was only then did they realize that such a vicious, despicable man existed in the world. They could not help sympathizing with this Xiang Yushan fellow. Kou Zhong cleared his throat and said, I cant believe you dont like sleeping with women. Xiang Yushan embarrassedly said, Its not that I dont like sleeping with women, its just that I dont like to frequent brothels [orig. to pick the flowers and trample the grass], unless its with the woman that I really like. After fire deviation, my power diminished considerably, otherwise, why would I stop if I achieved any sess? Are youpletely recovered now? Xu Ziling asked. Xiang Yushan dejectedly replied, If I am fully recovered, my countenance would not be so unsightly. Every time theres a wind or a rain, extreme cold or extreme heat, I am aching all over and the pain is so unbearable that I wanted tomit suicide. That old thief indeed inflicted much suffering to me. It cant be treated? Kou Zhong asked. Xiang Yushan sighed. I lost track how many people have examined me, final verdict was unless someone with both extreme heat and extreme cold innate qi helping me unblocking my eight extraordinary channels, it would be difficult for me to recover. Kou Zhongs heart was moved, Can two people do it? he asked. Not impossible, Xiang Yushan replied, But to seed, both cold and heat must be ofmon origin. Ay! Ordinarily, when people cultivate internal energy, they would lean to either hot or cold. The most appalling thing is that these two aspects must be innate qi. Martial art master who has this kind of innate qi, to find one is already very difficult, much less someone who simultaneously has both hot and cold qi? I have already given up early on! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; and then both of them burst outughing at the same time, Kid! they said, You are saved! By daybreak the next morning, the ship sailed past Chen Liu. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Susu and Xiang Yushan, four people were having breakfast inside the cabin. Susu said in amazement, Xiang Gongzi must have had a very good sleepst night, you look a lot more spirited! Xiang Yushan excitedly said, It has nothing to do with me sleeping well, but the chronic ailment that has been guing me for thest two years has been cured half by the two Dagest night. One more night and then I will bepletely recovered. Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong have be like my second parents. Kou Zhong was still alive, but he had no spirit, Not only I am not your parents, I am not your, this old kids Dage. You are merely counting your chicken before they are hatched, just one night and I am so exhausted that I feel like I am dying, and you want me to do it again tonight? Xu Ziling still had lingering fears as well, Turns out Xiang Xiongs injury is so severe; I will need at least two days of rest before I could continue. After asking what had happened, Susu said, If you want to save someone, you have to save him to the end! Today you ought to sit in meditation to cultivate your internal energy, once your spirit is restored, you ought to send streams of qi to cure Xiang Gongzis injury. Xiang Yushan was both grateful and apologetic; he said, You should take two-day rest. Kou Zhong was unhappy, Well see about that! he snapped, Right! Last night I forgot to ask you why the battle between Dugu n and Yuwen n is so fierce. Logically, since Yang Guangs birth mother was from the Dugu n,pared to the Yuwen n, they have a lot closer rtionship with the imperial household, why would they let Yuwen n gain an upper hand? Its a long story [orig. as long as a bolt of cloth], Xiang Yushan respectfully replied, All Yang Jians [first emperor of Sui (541-604), reigned 581-604] five sons were born of the Empress from Dugu n. At that time Yang Jian was immeasurably content, thinking that since they were blood brothers who shared the same mother, there would not be any strive over power or battle over the throne. Who would have thought that Laoer [second son] Yang Guang would murder his father and brothers in cold blood? Not only that, he also raped Yang Jians beloved imperial concubine Madame Chen, and promiscuously slept around womens apartment at the pce. Dugu n people have the most detailed knowledge about these matters; therefore, Yang Guang is extremely wary of them. For that reason he turned to the Yuwen n and trained them to control the Dugu n. Naturally there are a lot of others details in this matter that outsiders are not supposed to know, and thus I am not clear on it myself! Chapter 12, Part 2 Xu Ziling asked, Right now, who is from the Dugu n serving as a government official in the imperial court? Xiang Yushan replied, The one most trusted by Yang Guang is actually the second figure of the Dugu n, Dugu Sheng. He is Yang Guangs personal bodyguard; wherever Yang Guang is, he will also be there. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to ask, Hows this persons martial art skillpared to Dugu Ba? Speaking about martial art skill, Xiang Yushan replied, Naturally You Chuhong ranks first. Compared to her n Leader son Dugu Feng, she is still far more superior. After these two are Dugu Sheng and Dugu Ba. In my opinion, Dugu Sheng is a bit more experienced and careful than Dugu Ba. Nowadays, are there other people who are close to Yang Guang? Xu Ziling asked. Xiang Yushan replied, These days, the most popr two people by Yang Guangs side are the Interior Minister Yu Shiji and Imperial Censor Fei Yun, two crafty and fawning vile characters. What Yang Guang likes the most about them is that they report only the good news, not the bad news, by blocking all documents and reports of urgent matters and emergencies from reaching him. Xiang Yushan sighed and went on, This time Yang Guang flees to Jiangdu. From the up to 150,000 soldiers and generals who came with him, other than handing down imperial edict to indict people to get their money as their only morale booster, they cannot do anything. Its a pity that he is still as licentious as before, bing someone who refuses to face reality, which is really hard for us to understand. Yu Shiji and Fei Yun must be civil officials, Kou Zhong said, What about other people? Is there anybody with strong martial art skill? Xiang Yushan replied, Dugu n has Dugu Sheng, which I have just mentioned. Yuwen n has Yuwen Huaji and Yuwen Shiji, two brothers. And then there is the Imperial Guard Commanding Officer Sima Dekan, a martial art master who is equally famous to Wang Shiyun, who, for the time being, is stationed in Luoyang. Were it not for these four men, that muddleheaded ruler Yang Guang would have been assassinated early on. There is one thing we dont understand, Xu Ziling said, On the surface, they still maintain a good rtionship with Baling Bang; why did as a member of the royal household the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan obey Yuwen ns order to assassinate your precious gangs Bangzhu? Xiang Yushan sighed. He said, Not to conceal anything from you, but in the struggle between the Dugu and Yuwen ns, ourte Bangzhu was leaning toward the Dugu n, hence he earned the hatred of the Yuwen n and was thus eradicated. Kou Zhong was even more confused; frowning, he asked, But how did Yang Xuyan involve himself in this struggle? Until today, the reason Yang Xuyan aligned himself with the Yuwen n remains a mystery, Xiang Yushan exined, But ording to our secret information, Yang Guang was kept in the dark concerning Yang Xuyans assassination of ourte Bangzhu; which is definitely thought-provoking. Susu said, When we get to Yangzhou, what exactly can Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling do to help you to deal with the Yuwen n? Xiang Yushans spirit rose. Good question, he said, I will make arrangement for Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong to see that muddleheaded ruler. The three were shocked. What?!? their voice cracked. Big Sister Xiaosughter came from the cabins door, That is the most brilliant deployment, she said. Like a wisp of smoke, this charming beauty whose looseness prated the bones, sauntered lithely into the cabin, carrying with her a whiff of fragrance. Stopping behind Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, she intimately reached out and put her hands on the two boys shoulders. Bending over, sheughed next to the two boys ears and said, Right now Yuwen Huaji put the me on the Secret to Long Life affair entirely on the two gentlemen. We might as well beat them at their own game by the two gentlemen personally present a memorial to that muddleheaded ruler that Yuwen Huaji had hidden the Secret to Long Life for personal gain. With the ount book on top of that, it would be strange indeed if the muddleheaded ruler did not suspect the Yuwen n. Kou Zhong exhaled a mouthful of cold air, Yang Guang is well-known formitting murder without blinking an eye; what if something goes wrong and he get rid of the two of us immediately? Xu Ziling added, We must never let that fatuous ruler to see Su Jie; otherwise the oue will be difficult to predict. Xiang Yushan hastily said, Gentlemen, please be assured that we have prepared a meticulous n; from the two imperial concubines Yang Guang most doted on, Zhu Fei [fei means imperial concubine] is our people. She has already sweet talk Yang Guang [orig. pouring confusing soup], indicating that there is another story within the Secret to Long Life matter; as a result, now the muddleheaded ruler has issued an imperial decree to summon the two of you, because he wants to find out the facts. Nothing ventured, nothing gain [orig. how do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tigersir?], the risk is worth it. Big Sister Shaw took her hands off the two boys and sat on Kou Zhongs left; she cheerfully said, With Dugu Sheng speaking up by your side, how could Yang Guang not believe you? I can guarantee that there wont be any surprise and danger to the two Gongzi. But our rtionship with the Dugu n is not so good, Kou Zhong stammered, Just a few days ago Xiao Ling injured Dugu Ba due to ambush. Xiang Yushan and Big Sister Xiao stared at Xu Ziling with that hard to believe expression on their faces, so Xu Ziling told them what happened. That should be no problem, Big Sister Xiao said, Besides, Dugu Ba wont be in Yangzhou very soon. Even if he were, with them facing a powerful enemy, who would be foolish enough to bother about personal gratitude and grudges? Xu Zilings scalp went numb as he said, After we enter the Pce, wont we lose our freedom? Xiang Yushan said, Gentlemen are not thinking of going everywhere, are you? Big Sister Xiao said, It depends on the development of the situation. We have had a discussion with Dugu Sheng before, in the future he might pretend that he loves talent and takes you as his disciples in Yang Guangs present. After two Gongzi obtain some status, the situation will be utterly different! Kou Zhong nodded; he said, Turns out this mission is rather fascinating. This time we will definitely have Yuwen Huaji bag his food and leave before he finish eating. Susu anxiously said, But that muddleheaded ruler is so temperamental; are you sure its going to be okay? Nobody knows that muddleheaded rulers character better than Zhu Guifei [imperial consort], Xiang Yushan said, Thats why she has prepared a bunch of arguments that Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong could deliver to the muddleheaded ruler. As long as you could cajole him that he is in a good mood, he might even bestow you official position to do part-time job. Miss Susu please set your heart at ease. Kou Zhong glowered at him for a moment and said, No wonder you, this fellow, are so insistent in cooperating with us; turns out you already prepared this scheme. Xiang Yushan protested for the injustice, Gentlemen are my great benefactors who are like a second parent to me; how could I harm you? If any cmity befalls you, I, Xiang Yushan, willmit suicide to apologize to you. Let the Heaven be my witness in this matter, if I ever renege my promise, let me not have a good end. By this time Big Sister Xiao has already noticed the vast improvement in Xiang Yushans countenance. After some inquiries she found out what happened; she was astonished. Secret to Long Life is indeed a rare martial art manual, this is really unbelievable. Kou Zhong was wary. Is Dajie being tempted by the Secret to Long Life? he asked. Big Sister Xiao was cross, Unless I am willing to discard the martial art I already trained, even if I obtain the Secret to Long Life, what good will it bring? Training randomly will only cause fire deviation. You look down on me like that, I demand an apology. Kou Zhong giggled and said, I was just blurting out without thinking, why would Dajie take it seriously? You want apology, then I apologize. Big Sister Xiao cast him a sidelong nce filled with ten thousand amorous feelings; she cursed in low voice, Truly without half a shred of conscience; I wonder how many poor girls will be swindled by you in the future. After eating and drinking to his hearts content, Xu Ziling stood up to excuse himself, Just continue your chat! Last night I did not sleep a wink, I want to go back to bed and sleep. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to leave the banquet table. After excusing himself, he followed Xu Ziling going back to their room. Along the way, Kou Zhong said, One mistake from us, we will be the chess piece of Baling Bang and the Dugu ns effort to frame the Yuwen n. Even though we will also benefit from it, but whether it will be a blessing or a curse, it is still difficult to predict. Xu Ziling said, How are we going to take Su Jie with us? Particrly that muddleheaded ruler must not see her; otherwise, if something went wrong, we cant even slip away. Baling Bang people must agree to this first. Kou Zhong said, Right now its they who came to ask for our help, how could they not agree? After Xiang kids countenance improves, he appears a lot healthier. Yin Gui Pais martial art is really heretical, unexpectedly it could make people appear to bepletely under evil influence. By this time they were stepping into the corridor leading to their rooms; suddenly they heard creaking noise, as if someone was opening and closing the door to one of the sleepingpartments, and slipped inside. The two boys exchanged nces; they both felt something was amiss. Kou Zhong whispered, Lets see who it is. Xu Ziling quickly walked over to the door, raised his hand to knock and said, We saw you! Quickly open the door! Actually, he did not see anybody, but since that person hid like that, he must be someone that they knew, so Xu Ziling was bluffing to swindle the opponent. The room was quiet. Only after a long time did the cabin door finally creaking open. Both parties wereing face-to-face, and the two boys cried out in surprise. The person inside the room was surprisingly the Beautiful Shifu who taught them the Bird Crossing Technique, Yun Yuzhen. This beauty looked a bit thinner, but her smile was still coy, her attractive bearing was even better than ever. This moment, with a smile that was as beautiful as a flower, she looked at the two boys up and down; her beautiful eyes lit up as she said, My two good disciples finally grew up to be adults. Looking at your imposing, formidable appearance, your master is very pleased. Suddenly the two boys realized that they were at a loss. Kou Zhong was the first to recover; giggling, he said, Where in the world would you find a master who is afraid to see his disciples? Even rarer, where could you find a Shifu who harms his disciples? And then, craning out his neck to look inside the room, he pretended to be astonished as he said, Why cant I see Shifus boyfriend Dugu Ce? Yun Yuzhen sighed and said, Just consider your Shifu is wrong! Afterwards I regretted it so much that I wanted to kill myself, plus because I thought that you were buried at the bottom of the cliff, I cried for so many days; can you not settle old scores with me? Xu Ziling said, Then why were you being evasive just now? Yun Yuzhen reached out to grab the two boys hands and dragged them inside. After shutting the door, she leaned against the door and closed her eyes. Because of guilty conscience, naturally I did not dare to face you! she said softly, But now that we are good, there is no need to hide anymore. The two boys had no way of pressing her. Kou Zhong said, Let bygone be bygone. What kind of game are you ying now? Xu Ziling angrily said, That Xiang kid has the cheek to hide you from us, I am going to break our partnership right away! Yun Yuzhen opened her beautiful eyes; she said with a wry smile, Dont me Xiang Gongzi, it was me who asked him to keep this matter a secret. Just now I wanted to slip out to see you, but when I heard your footsteps, for some reason I sneaked back into my room. Kou Zhong spread out his arms and said, All right! You are our Beautiful Shifu after all, past events can be disregarded, just one kiss and well call it even. Yun Yuzhens almond eyes grew big. What did you say? she angrily said, How can a disciple kiss his master? Kou Zhong put an act by pulling up his sleeves; striding over, he said, You think you are our real Shifu? It was just a nickname we, two brothers, gave you. Yun Yuzhen recovered her countenance; smiling coquettishly, she said, You want a kiss, then so be it! Good disciple, you think your Shifu is afraid of you? Spreading her jade arms wide, she was ready to take Kou Zhong into her fragrant embrace. Now it was Kou Zhongs turn to be so scared that he took several steps back. With a charmingugh Yun Yuzhen opened the door and slipped out. The two boys looked at each other, and then they both roared inughter together. Unexpectedly life could be so much fun. Book 6 - 1 – Duke of Pushan’s Decree Book 6 Chapter 1 C Duke of Pushans Decree Tranted by Foxs There was a knock on the door. Xu Ziling, who was sitting in meditation on the bed, opened his eyes and called out, Who is it? Kou Zhong pushed the door with hand and foot, and slipped inside. After closing the door, he still put his ear on the door to listen intently for quite a while before breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to sit on the bed. I have just scouted the situation in the enemy camp, he said proudly. Xu Ziling was bewildered, What enemy? he asked. Kou Zhong excitedly said, For us, there are only two kinds of people in the world; those we know, and those we dont know. From those that we know, we can further divide into two categories: friends or enemy. Anybody who is not our friend ought to be categorized as our enemy. Do you think Yiqi Shan [referring to Xiang Yushan, see Book 3 Chapter 7] is our friend or not? Is Beautiful Shifu our friend? Of course not! Therefore, before it is crystal clear to us, they ought to be regarded as the enemies. Ergo, why cant I say that scouting their situation is scouting the situation in the enemy camp? Xu Ziling nearly burst outughing. Painstakingly keeping a straight face, he said, You either took the wrong medicine, or have gone insane. You were simply eavesdropping other people talking and already so excited that you talk without rhyme or reason. And then, he lightly patted Kou Zhong shoulder and lowered his voice, What did you hear? it out! See if it worth my consideration. Kou Zhong giggled mysteriously and said, I heard the sound of a female enemy panting. Xu Ziling scratched his head, Female enemy panting? he asked, Is it Yun Yuzhen or Xiao Dajie? Those two appear to be the kind of women who love to pant. Kou Zhong pped a thigh and cheered, but it was Xu Zilings thigh. Roaring inughter he swayed back and forth and said, Women who love to pant, thats a good one. Only a lecher whos disguised as an upright gentleman like you coulde out with that, making those who hear it could not refrain from having a fleeting cloud, pouring rain kind of reverie. Xu Ziling knitted his scimitar-shaped eyebrows as he rubbed the sore thigh Kou Zhong pped. This time this kid has really gone mad, he muttered under his breath. Kou Zhong scooted over that they were now sitting side by side. Wrapping his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder, he said, Just now I touched Beautiful Shifu. Xu Ziling was visibly shaken, What did you touch? he asked. Kou Zhong boldly said, Her slender lily-white hand. Xu Ziling scoffed, And I thought it was somece important. When she taught us the Bird-Crossing Technique, didnt she also touch my hand? Earlier she was letting you to kiss her, why did you run away in panic? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This is called now is now, then is then. This time it was this Shaoye who made the move, so its a different matter altogether. After I touched her, she acted as if nothing had happened and went into hiding in her room, but when I focused my power to my ears, immediately I was able to hear that this female enemy unexpectedly was leaning against the door and panting. Obviously my sex appeal to her is just too strong. Xu Ziling was angry, Sex appeal your granny! he cursed, Could this woman be a good person? The lesson you learned from Li Xiuning is not enough? Right now we are going to avenge Niang ... Smiling mischievously Kou Zhong pped his back and said, No need to get angry. This Shaoye wont me you for being shortsighted, because you didnt know that moving troops with chat andughter is the highest realm of the military tactic. Whats not good about bad woman? At least she has ample experience in that kind of thing that she will be able to give guidance to the upstart boys. That was the reason why I gave her the nickname Beautiful Shifu, so you see, I already had the foresight. But then he sighed and went on, Actually, I was not happy because of her reaction, but I was happy for us, two brothers. Thinking about the first time we came across her, we were still frustrated and feeling inferior, but now not only I can touch her without getting scolded, I can also make her feel that I am a man qualified to touch her. Hence it is clear that we have earned our ce in Jianghu. Xu Ziling muttered irresolutely, You remind me of an immeasurably self-satisfied newly rich, or perhaps a snob who seeks governmental position and riches by hook or by crook. Kou Zhong forcefully pped Xu Zilings shoulder; he was inplete agreement, This four-character saying by hook or by crook [Trantors note: most Chinese sayings/idiom have four characters] is very true. If not by hook or by crook, if it was with hands and feet tied, then there wont be enough people fighting. Because Li Mi understood by hook or by crook, he became the Big Boss of the Wagang Army. Of course! My by hook or by crook is only directed toward the enemy. Xu Ziling sneered. I am sorry, he said, My understanding of this four-character mantra is a bit different from Zhong Shaos. If we are talking about a friend, there wont be any by hook or by crook! Not only Zhai Rang was Li Mis superior, he was hisrade-in-arms and benefactor. Now thats what I call by hook or by crook. With a wry smile Kou Zhong said, The main reason you are mad at me is because I am colluding with the female enemy. Ay! One lifetime two brothers, Ill do whatever you think is good! Worst-case scenario Xiaodi [I, little brother] will have to find another Beautiful Shifu inside the women apartment at the Tian Xiang Lou [heavenly fragrance building], Miss Yu Ling. I hope my foresight is a bit keener this time. Xu Ziling punched Kou Zhongs thigh; heughed and said, You just want to make meugh. Kou Zhong sighed; he said, In this world, there is nothing that I, Kou Zhong, fear. The only thing I am afraid of is seeing Ling Shaoye get angry and refuse tough. Hey! I have always wanted to ask you this: do you think Li Dage can be considered our brother? Xu Ziling was taken aback, I have never thought about it, he said, Why do you ask? Kou Zhong replied in a heavy voice, We knew Su Jie at least one or two sichen [1 sichen = 2 hours] earlier than we knew Li Dage, hence we ought to be a bit closer to Su Jie. Given that Su Jie is such a good woman yet Li Jing did not know how to cherish and take a good care of her, I felt very ufortable. Xu Ziling was about to reply when Big Sister Xiao, whose looseness prated the bones, called them out, Come to the main cabin, theres an important think we need to tell you! In the main cabin, everybody was sitting around the table. Other than Big Sister Xiao, Xiang Yushan and Susu, Yun Yuzhen also joined for the first time. Xiang Yushan and Susu sat together; from time to time four eyes met in such an intimate manner. Big Sister Xiao spoke up seriously, Just received thetest news: Li Mi imed that you killed his trusted lieutenant the Flying Feather Zheng Rong, as a result, he issued the Duke of Pushans Decree, vowing to cut off your heads. Whoever can capture you alive will not only receive a thousand taels of gold, but will also be his Junshi [military counselor, just like Shen Luoyan]. Whoever can present your heads to him will not only receive reward, but will also be promoted to be his great general. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other in dismay. Zheng Rong was killed by Liu Heita, yet the me was put on their heads; in the end, it was just an excuse to kill them. The person Susu feared the most was Li Mi; her countenance changed. What should we do? she asked. With a coldugh Kou Zhong said, I am not afraid of him! He did not know how lucky he is I did note to settle the debt with him, now he is taking advantage of us by putting the me on us, two brothers. Kou Xiong, please do not get angry, Xiang Yushan hastily said, Right now Li Mis fame and power covers the world, drawing the hearts of millions of people. Since he tantly issued a decree to kill you, it is clear that he will spare no effort to deal with you. After Yangzhou mission ispleted, Xiaodi can make arrangement to have two Dage to lie low until the fuss dies down; you must never let your emotion affect your decision. Big Sister Xiao added, Right now Li Mi has the greatest chance to be the Emperor, plus he knows to buy the hearts of the people; hence all the heroes of the world are looking up to him for leadership. Since he is offering heavy rewards, there must be a lot of people who will blindly follow him and give you trouble. Only an outstanding talent can recognize current trends; you hide for a while, nobody will dare to say that you are cowards. Looking at their hard-to-appease anger, Yun Yuzhen, who was rather familiar with their character, said, Li Mi issuing the Duke of Pushans Decree is really unwise, because you are alive and well a day longer, he could not get out of it a day longer too. The further it drags along, the heavier the damage to his reputation will be. It would be best if the two of you make appearances here and there from time to time; he will be like riding a tiger and cannot get off. Her remark was very effective. Kou Zhong immediately nodded and said, All right! He wants to drive us away, we swear to fight him to the end, so that he will find it hard to sleep, and he will eat without tasting the food. Xiang Yushanughed and said, And plus two Dages reputation will be flourishing even more. Even now there are people who ce you on par with people like Ba Fenghan, Yang Xuyan, the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai and the others. They believe that outside the Four Powerful ns, you are the most prominent rising stars. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, Where did Xiang Xiaoge [little big brother] hear it from? he asked, Did you disembark and listen to other peoples talk? Xiao Zhong! Susu scolded him, Can you watch your mouth? Xu Ziling sighed and said, This kid is too excited today. Kou Zhong shot a sidelong nce toward Yun Yuzhen; he said with a chuckle, Beautiful Shifu is very good to us, naturally her disciples are particrly happy. Yun Yuzhens pretty face blush a little; she glowered at him in return. Big Sister Xiao said, While we have time, lets eat dinner first, and then we can discuss how we are going to deal with that muddleheaded ruler! Changing the topic, Kou Zhong asked, What kind of person is Hou Xibai anyway? Howe his nickname is so weird? Xiang Yushanughed, If you want to know clearly, you ought to ask Yun Bangzhu, he said, She has met Hou Xibai. Aplicated look flitted across Yun Yuzhen elegant eyes; she said softly, I dont want to talk about this person. Big Sister Xiao let out a cold snort, What passionate? she said, Just being lenient everywhere, thats all! Funny thing is that he loves to seduce women. In fact, no one has ever heard him having a good rtionship with women. This mans background is more mysterious than Yang Xuyan and Ba Fenghan. Going back to the topic at hand, she turned to Kou Zhong with slight edge on her voice, Can we talk about proper business now? Xu Ziling answered for him, Xiao Dajie, please speak. Big Sister Xiao cast Kou Zhong a sidelong nce; smiling mischievously, she said, To convince Yang Guang, first of all, you have to fit his fancy; report only the good news, not the bad news. Xiang Yushan joined in, Yang Guangs mood is extremely unstable, from time to time he wakes up from a dream, shouting and screaming about ghosts who died of injustice demanding his life. Even when he isughing and looks so happy, he must not be provoked at all. If his underlings said something untoward and he happened to hear it, light punishment will be flogging, heavy punishment will be beheading. Therefore, everybody has to follow his tone and likes and dislikes in their talk. Susu asked, Hows his martial art skill? Is he formidable? Yun Yuzhenughed and said, His martial art came from Yang Jian, naturally he has some real skill. However, after wine and women nibbled away at his body and mind for so many years, how much weight left is kind of hard to say. Big Sister Xiao also coached the two boys on the court etiquette, and how to curry favor with Yang Guang. She stopped only when the maids came in bringing meat dishes for their dinner. The overwhelmed Kou Zhong said, This muddleheaded ruler is really difficult to serve. Susu reminded him, Helping people must be through the end,ter you must remember to do your best in treating Xiang Gongzi of his former ailment. Kou Zhong was actually unwilling, but he was helpless to refuse. On the other hand, Xu Ziling readily agreed. Xiang Yushan expressed ten thousand thanks for a thousand kindnesses. Chapter 1, Part 2 When the two boys finally took a walk on the cabin deck, Kou Zhong med Xu Ziling, How could you agree so readily? I was thinking of dragging this matter with that Xiang kid as long as possible, to teach him a lesson that he should not carelessly take any rash action. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I only do that for Su Jie. Kou Zhong was still resentful about it, Cant you see that that kid deliberately courting Su Jie only because he wants us to heal his injury? Xu Ziling reached out the bow of the ship, he grabbed the railings horizontal pole and breathed deeply of the ice-cold air of the river breeze. He said in heavy voice, If in the future Xiang Yushan dare to turn his back on Su Jie, I, Xu Ziling will be the first not to let him off. Seeing how resolute and decisive [orig. chop the nail and slice the iron] Xu Ziling was, Kou Zhong knew that there was no room for discussion in this matter. Changing the subject, he said, How do you think we should deal with that dog thief Li Mi? Xu Ziling said, Unless you have a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, what can you do? Just Wang Bodang that lowly man we are already unable to deal with him, much less Li Mi? Kou Zhongughed and said, What you said is in deep agreement with my thinking; right now he is forcing us to our head, therefore, we must establish our own troops, must make a supreme effort to recruit soldiers and buy horses. Just like everything else, without money nothing can be done. I am thinking that before we get the Duke Yang Treasure, we need to borrow money from the Xiang kid. After we get money, naturally doing things will be easier. Xu Ziling was shocked. It is for Niangs sake that we are doing this; how could we want other peoples money? Kou Zhong felt snubbed big time; with a wry smile he said, Ay! Howe nowadays every time I came up with any n you always disagree? Xu Ziling reached out to wrap his arm around Kou Zhongs shoulder; he said, If we want to earn money, we have to earn it using our pair of hands. Since temporarily we need to go into hiding, we might as well hide at the training beach, take that batch of salt out, transport it to the northwest and gain great wealth. After we have the money, we can buy arge house to be our base of operations. At that time, you could shut the gate, dere yourself a king or proim yourself a hegemon or whatever you want. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up immediately; he excitedly said, Wed better do it sooner rather thanter. Taking advantage while the Ol Die is cutting off the Song ns livelihood and the price of salt is skyrocketing, we will make a good fortune. Ha! This time we will seed! Footsteps were heard from behind, Susu wasing. Squeezing herself between the two boys, she wrapped her arms around the boys waists, and said in a low voice, Are you angry at Jiejie? Kou Zhong was puzzled, Angry at Jiejie for what? he asked. Susu hung her head low and said, Angry at Jiejie for forcing you to treat Xiang Gongzis illness. Ay! His character is not as bad as you think. He even told me about cricket fight he used to do when he was young. I did not know cricket has intelligence! Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged a nce; the former seized this opportunity to ask, Does Jiejie like him? Susu was blushing so deep that even her ears were red; greatly displeased and annoyed, she said, I only get along well with him! Jiejie has already said I wont marry! Suddenly Kou Zhong was severely shaken, Disaster! he eximed. Xu Ziling and Susu followed his gaze and saw under the moonlight, on the river ahead, two big ships sailed speedily like torrential rush, from the tributary, blocking their way. rm sounded on their ship, Xiang Yushan, Yun Yuzhen, Big Sister Xiao, and about a dozen Baling Bang martial art masters rushed out. When they got to the three peoples side, they looked suspiciously to the two big ships, which were gradually getting closer. Frowning, Xiang Yushan said, They are Li Zitongs ships. If this time he is personallying, we will be in big trouble. Kou Zhong sneered and said, Isnt Xiang Gongzi getting on very well with people from both the ck and white ways? Xiao Zhong! Susu scolded him, At this moment you still say such thing? Xiang Yushan smiled wryly and said, Whenever it involves the struggle over the world, there is no favor between sons and fathers, to say nothing of our Baling Bang has had no dealings with Li Zitong before. Xu Ziling said, We have also heard about this man, but we dont know enough details. Yun Yuzhen said, Li Zitong is a hegemon of the Eastern Sea, a vicious and merciless man. At first he was the leader of the uprising at Changbai Mountain; after crossing the Huai River, he supported Du Fuwei as the leader. Later on for some unknown reason he had a fall out with Du Fuwei; leading his own troops he upied Haling and called himself the Commander-in-Chief, his fame and power is extremely flourishing. Big Sister Xiao added, His bamboo joint copper whip is shaped like a long stick, it ranks among the amazing skill incredible art, it can be flexible it can be stiff, its specialty is to break the inner power and true qi of the opponent; very formidable. And then she continued softly, Two Gongzi and Miss Susu better avoid it in the cabin, let us deal with them. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around; seeing all of the Baling Bang masters on the ship were waiting in tight formation, his heroic spirit was aroused at once. So much avoidance already, he said, Can I borrow a saber or something? Xiao Ling will be in charge of protecting Su Jie. One of Xiang Yushans subordinate respectfully asked, What kind of weapon does Xu Ye want? Xu Ziling shook his head, I dont need weapon, he said. The man was startled, and then he simply left. Yun Yuzhen asked in astonishment, Xiao Ling dont use weapon? Xu Ziling did not have the least bit of good opinion on her, he coldly said, My hands are my weapon. Meanwhile the iing ships were only about ten zhang away from them. The opposite party shed them a signal, requesting them to lower the sail and stop the ship. They saw the two ships deck, as well as the viewing tform, were densely packed with people; it was indeed an impressive show of force that intimidated the peoples heart. Their ship was actually half size bigger than the opposite partys, but it was design mostly to ferry goods. In battle, not only it would not win against the nimble enemys warships, it would also be a prominent target for fiery arrows and sling stones attack, because the bigger the ship, the more difficult it was to protect. The situation right now was that although the opponent was strong, but to easily give in and surrender would also seem to be unwise. Xiang Yushan muttered, I did not expect Li Zitongs influence would reach to this ce. And then, waving his hand, he gave his order, Prepare to break a siege! Baling Bang people acknowledged the order loudly. Suddenly a cold snort, which actually rose above the hundred or so peoples voice shouting their acknowledgement, was heard from the enemys ship, followed by a one hundred percent bold male voice, Excuse me, may I ask if the Er Dangjia Xiao Xian Xiong [second master, see Book 4 Chapter 9] is on board, presiding over the current situation? Big Sister Xiaoughed tenderly and responded, Turns out it is indeed Li Longtou [lit. dragon head, i.e. big boss] himself who ising to visit; Xiao Huan pays her respect! When everybody heard that it was indeed Li Zitong himself, they all groaned in their hearts. Li Zitongughed aloud and said, Turns out it is the Coquettish Lady Xiao Dajie. Looking at your esteemed brothers face, this time the Ol Li will act ording to Jianghu rules; everybody please stay where you are. Xiang Yushan knew that he was going toe; hastily he ordered his men not to act. Before he even finished speaking, a man in white already soared from the deck of the enemy ship, across about a dozen zhang of empty space between the ships, andnded steadily on the bow of their ship. Composing themselves, they saw that this Li Zitong was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, his appearance was rather handsome and majestic. However, the hair on his temples was frosty white. His white clothes fluttered under the caressing of the river breeze, giving a bit of impression that he was a confident and at ease, someone who was above the dust of the earth. The only defect would be his eyes, which were thin and long, so that it felt out of proportion, something that did not match the perfect outline of his face. They did not expect Li Zitong to be this refined and graceful, so every felt a bit surprised. Li Zitong stood with hands behind his back, his bright and glistening eyes slowly swept across everybodys face. Finally he stopped at Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs faces. Acting as though there were nobody else present, he said, I want the two of you to follow the Ol Li obediently! I guarantee glory, splendor, wealth and rank, as well as endless benefit for you. Meanwhile the enemys two ships turned around nimbly. One in front the other at the rear, they sandwiched the big ship in the middle. Yun Yuzhen saluted and said, Jukun Bangs Yun Yuzhen pays her respect to General Li; I was wondering ... Li Zitong cut her off offhandedly, Turns out it is Yun Bangzhu. Unexpectedly you look this beautiful; no wonder there are so many heroes of Jianghu are infatuated with you. On the surface he was putting it nicely, but it was actually a very mean remark; he was implying that Yun Yuzhen was a very loose woman. Other than being extremely rude, he was also making it very clear that he did not have any regards toward Jukun Bang. Of course everybodys countenance changed. Yun Yuzhens pretty face turned cold; she was about to re out when Xiang Yushan took a step forward in front of her and said, Wanbei [younger generation] Xiang yushan, my humble father is Xiang Gui. May I ask what kind of task General Li has for these two brothers of mine? Li Zitong cast a disdained nce toward Xiang Yushan; with a mocking tone he said, I dont care if your father is here; would the Ol Li take any instruction from him? Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes; he shouted, I dont care if you are Li Zitong of Li Butong [butong means dont understand/does not make sense], if you want us to obey your orders, you will have to show us a bit of your real skill; would we, two brothers, be afraid of anybody? Seeing Kou Zhong ying a joke on his name, surprisingly Li Zitong did not feel it to be disrespectful at all; heughed aloud and said, Young upstart hero, no wonder Old Du also viewed you in a new light. Let us make a bet, as long as within a hundred moves I can beat the two of you together, both of you must obediently follow me, and listen to everything Ol Li orders you to do. Kou Zhong took the steel saber that was handed over to him; he strode out and said with a coldugh, What if you cannot force us? I definitely dont want to follow you by your side like a dog! Li Zitong finally could not take it anymore, his eyes shed a murderous look, he swiftly moved forward. Kou Zhong stayed calm without showing any fear, his saber also moved swiftly to hack. Stay tune for the big fight tomorrow. Bonus post in observance of Fourth of July ... Book 6 - 2 – Old Cat Burning its Whiskers Book 6 Chapter 2 C Old Cat Burning its Whiskers Everyone, excluding Susu and Xu Ziling, had never imagine that even toward such a powerful hegemon like Li Zitong, Kou Zhong would still be this brave. They wanted to stop him, but it was already toote. Li Zitong smirked inwardly. It should be noted that although nobody knew who started it, but the fact that Kou and Xu, two boys, joining hands in defeating Yuwen Wudi has been spread all over the world. Although upon self-reflection Li Zitong knew his martial art skill was above Yuwen Wudis, how could he not have some misgivings? However, seeing Kou Zhong attacked alone, he reckoned that as long as he could put this kid under control, the other kid would be captured obediently. Right this moment, a skin-piercing, bone-prating saber qi sted directly toward his face. Kou Zhongpletely ignored Li Zitongs long sleeves, which were brushing toward the eardrum acupoints on both sides of his head. Focusing solely on the opponents face, like a lightning bolt his saber struck down. It was a simple, straightforward, but also swift and fierce without equal. Watching Kou Zhongs saber strike, unexpectedly a feeling of dread and astonishment grew in the hearts of the crowd of people on the ship standing silently in circle to watch. Li Zitongs reputation was built not just in name only, but also in reality; in all his life, among the hundreds and thousands battles, there was no swift and fierce saber strike he had not seen, yet this single saber strike from Kou Zhong seemed to be able to tightly lock his state of mind, giving him a feeling like he could not unleash his ferociousness. He was a great master of martial art; as soon as that feeling came, he immediately understood the reason. At the same time his heart shivered in fear, because he knew that unexpectedly Kou Zhong was able to merge the mind, qi and spirit [three energies of Chinese medicine] into one entity, blending it into his saber technique. Only someone who has reached excellent innate saber qi realm would be able to produce this kind of astonishing power. Immediately he let out a cold snort and no longer dared to be careless, withdrew his sleeves, swiftly raised a mouthful of true qi, and threw his head backward as his body spun rapidly. inly Kou Zhongs saber was about to hit, but Li Zitong suddenly circled around to his left side, while stretching out his right hand to knock Kou Zhongs wrist. The style was exquisite beyondpare. Seeing Kou Zhong was able to force Li Zitong to change his move in meeting the enemy, everybody could not help cheering in unison. Susu pushed Xu Ziling forward and said in a trembling voice, Why havent you helped Xiao Zhong? A thread of smiling expression escaped from the corners of Xu Zilings mouth; he took three steps forward and stood guard at the perimeter of the fight. Kou Zhong stayed calm without any trace of fear, his left handunched the Meridian-severing technique taught by Tu Shufang, using his fingers as a saber to sweep aside Li Zitongs eagle w. Bang! Without anything fancy, without any trick, the two exchanged a move. Kou Zhong let out a stifled grunt and staggered to the side as if he nearly fell. Li Zitong also floated to the opposite direction. It was not until he reached the ship railing that he finally stopped; borrowing the bouncing momentum he soared high, like an eagle snatching a chick he aimed to grab Kou Zhongs head, who, by this time was nearly falling into the river. His two hands protruded from inside his sleeves, all ten fingers opened wide toward the tian ling acupoint on the top of Kou Zhongs head. Xiang Yushan and the others were about to rush forward to help, but Xu Ziling stood in front of them and spread his arms wide to stop. Calm andposed, he said, No need to be afraid! He was the only one who could see clearly that Kou Zhong was borrowing his own yang true qi within the yin true qi topletely neutralize Li Zitongs forceful internal energy. Li Zitongs internal energy was of hard, yang-character, by lucky coincidence, it was curbed by Kou Zhongs soft, yin-character energy. Therefore, although his power was deeper than Kou Zhongs, he still was not able to harm Kou Zhongs meridians. Xu Ziling took three more steps forward, maintaining the same distance to the twobatants, but still did not make any move. However, whenever Li Zitong was in the vicinity, he would feel Xu Zilings powerful threat, so that he had to reserve some of his power and thus did not dare to go all-out in dealing with Kou Zhong. It was a very strange feeling. It was as if each and every move he made could not escape this observer, who red like a tiger watching his prey. As soon as he had slightx concentration, the opponent would hit his weak point or w with tens of thousands catties strong thunderbolt. Naturally he could not protest Xu Ziling standing too close, because early on he had already said that he was not afraid of the two boys joining hands to take up the challenge. His w was about to hit Kou Zhong; who would have thought that it was as if there was oil on this kids feet? With matchless agility he slid three chi away, just like a swimming fish. Not only Kou Zhong evaded his strike, he also sprang up high in the air and made somersault, which was about a chi higher than Li Zitong, who was on his way down. His saber drew an arc in the air, sweeping Li Zitongs nk. Xu Ziling was pleased inwardly, knowing that Kou Zhong derived this skill based on the swimming fish, and was able to integrate it into the battle. Seeing not only Kou Zhong was able to evade Li Zitongs strike and even able tounch counterstrike, and that not only his saber technique did not follow any established rules but as if it came naturally without extra trouble, his shenfa [reminder: body pose or motion in martial art] was weird beyondprehension, Xiang Yushan and the others were stupefied; they could hardly believe their own eyes. Li Zitong was also sighing inwardly; he had no choice but to take out his three chi, two cun nine-section copper whip. Applying his power to shake it, the nine-section whip pulled back andshed out. Qiang! immediately Kou Zhong and his saber were thrown away and spun very fast like a windmill. But Li Zitong himself was also jolted by the reaction force that just like Kou Zhong a moment ago, he staggered toward the ship railings and nearly fell into the river; luckily his foot caught a piece of the railing and he swung himself up to pounce on Kou Zhong again. Xu Ziling let out a loud shout and soared into the air; one fist flew toward Li Zitongs lower abdomen, a gust of burning hot wind apanied the punch, the power was intimidating. Seeing Xu Ziling dared to deal with this nine-section whip C with which he ran amuck in Jianghu for many years C barehanded, Li Zitong sneered inwardly. Focusing his inner power to protect his lower abdomen, he rose up and sent his whip toward the back of Xu Zilings head. Susu screamed. Bang! Pow! After Xu Zilings punch hit Li Zitongs lower abdomen, like a hawk circling in the air, unexpectedly he spun around and was able to evade the whip. His left hand swept across the tip of the whip, knocking the whip section off using his fantastic power and consummate skill. Meanwhile Kou Zhong had justnded back on the deck, immediately he brandished his saber and charged forward. Li Zitong let out a stifled grunt. He came to sudden realization that he could only neutralize half of Xu Zilings burning hot fantastic force; there were at least forty-percent of that power prated his body. In shock he hastily transferred his own internal energy to resist, but he had already suffered minor injury. This moment Kou Zhong arrived, pouncing down on him from the air, enveloping him with an arc of saber ray. Even in his dream Li Zitong could not imagine that Kou Zhongs counterattack would arrive this quickly. Just now, in order to save his face, he went all-out with the hope of inflicting damage to Kou Zhong that he would at least vomited a couple mouthful of blood, and then he would seize the opportunity to deal with Xu Ziling, meeting hard punch with hard punch, so that Xu Ziling would suffer some damage. But now as if he did not suffer anything, like a lively dragon and animated tiger Kou Zhong was charging ferociously; Li Zitong could not stop fear from creeping up in his heart. For the first time he no longer dared to belittle the opponent. He secretly thought that over time, these two boys might grow to be more formidable than Ning Daoqi. At least from what he knew, before turning twenty, Ning Daoqi was not as formidable as these two boys. The most amazing thing was that these two boys did not follow any specific method. He had neither seen nor heard anybody ever encounteredbat tactic like these twos joint forces. Li Zitong himself was crazy about martial art; he loved to discuss anything about real battle situation and military strategy, yet he had never heard anybody ever mentioned that they encountered simr situation. Dang! Li Zitong carried out his pressing the bottom of the chest/trunk skill, his whipshed out toward the tip of Kou Zhongs swiftly chopping down saber de. In this split second, he continuously sent out nine different streams of qi, fully aware of the urgency of the situation. The twobatants interlocked; they both used their elbows to strike each other. Bang! By the time Kou Zhongs feet touched the deck, his entire body shook, his legs bent down and he rolled away, straight toward the stern of the ship, sttering fresh blood everywhere, shocking the eyes and astonished the hearts of those who watched the battle. Susu screamed and disregarding everything she rushed toward Kou Zhong; anybody would think that Kou Zhong was seriously injured. Li Zitong spun around on the tip of his toes, turning his back against Kou Zhong to face the rushing Susu, but did not do anything to stop her. He was, after all, an overlord of a region, so naturally he had to have some dignity. Xu Ziling suddenly appeared as if he had just dropped from the sky, his face showed neither anxiety nor delight, as calm as still water, both palms struck together toward Li Zitongs back. Li Zitong had just swallowed back the fresh blood bubbling up from his chest toward his throat, in order to avoid losing face on the spot; at the same time he started to regret his rash decision to brave the danger alone. Chapter 2, Part 2 If he had had his mening with him, he would not have stuck in this bad situation. Just now for the second time he had gone all-out in his attack, hoping to inflict serious damage to Kou Zhong using his schools unique qi cultivation technique, the nine-section shake; but once again he was giving Xu Ziling the opportunity to attack. By this time he had more or less have a feel on the two boys totally different techniques, yet there was some kind of subtle method within it that enable the two boys to blend their internal energy seamlessly. He was fully aware that just now he was barely able to neutralize Kou Zhongs yin- energy with his yang power; this moment he could not immediately use his yin power to deal with Xu Zilings apparent yang energy. While he was thinking of dodging the attack, he suddenly discovered that a fantastic sucking force was hidden within the gust of wind generated by Xu Zilings palms. If he dodged, the opponent could easily pull the qi back; not only the momentum would increase, it would also continue on endlessly, until it drained the opponents strengthpletely. His shock truly need not be mentioned. Immediately he roared, How dare you! Flicking his wrist, the whipshed out to the hollow of Xu Zilings palms. Xu Ziling screamed and spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood. Like a kite with its string cut he flew over Susu, straight toward Kou Zhong. Li Zitong struggled hard just to take half a step forward; lifting his sleeve to cover his face, he prevented Xiang Yushan and the others, who were standing about a dozen steps away, from seeing that finally he was unable to suppress his boiling blood and he spurted a little bit of fresh blood. Up to this point, the threebatants have not even fought for ten moves yet, but everybody had already overwhelmed with the intensity of the closebat that they felt as if the sun and the moon has lost their light. Kou Zhong was still rolling away that very soon he would hit the Baling Bang people watching on the sideline; unexpectedly he bounced back, caught Xu Ziling, and the two of them fell sitting down on the deck together. In this short contact, as short as a sh of lightning or a spark of the flint, the two boys true qi blended together like water and milk, flowing from each other and thus their internal injury was immediately seventy or eighty-percent healed. Li Zitong lowered his sleeves. Still in daze, he fought hard to stand steadily. Susu threw herself toward the two boys, bawling loudly. Xiang Yushan, Big Sister Xiao and Yun Yuzhen unblinkingly kept their gaze on Li Zitong, ready to deal with him. Everybody could see clearly that for Li Zitong to knock down the two boys, he had to pay a bitter price. Li Zitong was still hesitating whether he should just disregard his face and call for his men toe over to provide reinforcement when Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, helped by Susu, proudly stood up. Kou Zhong shook the broadsword in his hand and shouted, Li Zitong indeed has a bit of skill; let us fight again for a hundred rounds. Hearing the ample qi in Kou Zhongs voice, Li Zitong was inwardly shocked at how formidable the internal energy cultivation from the Secret to Long Life was; suddenly he moved toward the port side of the ship. His sharp gaze swept across everybodys face, heughed aloud and said, No wonder Old Du held such a high regard on you, you are indeed a great material that Ol Li could not help feeling fond of your talent. Lets drop this matter here and now; I wish you all safe journey with favorable wind and favorable current. He had been rolling about in the ck way [criminal world] for many years, he knew how to raise something up and when to put it down. Realizing that it was difficult to capture the two boys alive, plus the fact that Li Mi has issued a decree against them, he thought how much longer would you survive? This moment hed better win their favor, in case theyd meet again in the future. Besides, this way he would avoid inciting enmity with tremendously powerful Baling Bang. In addition, he had another thought: if they did not die, after several years, they would consider themselves to be top-notch martial art masters. This kind of enemy, one was already too many, let alone two. Therefore, he dispelled the idea of summoning his subordinates and thus creating more enemies. Xiang Yushan and the others were stunned; this did not seem like Li Zitongs usual style. Li Zitong cupped his fist, soared into the air, and returned safely to his ship. Watching the two ships sailed away, they were finally convinced. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling embraced Susu, they cheerfully shouted, We won! We won! By the time Yun Yuzhen and Big Sister Xiao entered their room to see them, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were lying on the bed, Susu was sitting on a chair by the bed, the three of them were chatting amiably. The room was filled with infinite warmth. The two women sat on the chairs on the other side. Big Sister Xiaoughed tenderly and said, Turns out you are really that formidable, even Li Zitong was beaten and ran away. Kou Zhong put on a modest act and said, He simply sounded out the difficulties and retreated to avoid defeat! Xu Ziling was puzzled, How did Li Zitong know that we are on board? Yun Yuzhen replied, Yushan is investigating this matter right now, trying to find the possible mole. Big Sister Xiao said, This matter cannot be easily resolved; based on Li Zitongs character, even though on the surface he spoke good words, he might secretly inform Li Mi, and thus borrow someone elses knife to kill you. Susu still had lingering fears, I was scared to death! Xiao Zhong spurted that much blood! Staring at Kou Zhongs pale face from the loss of blood, she went on, Are you sure you are all right? Kou Zhong sat back and said with augh, I am really all right. Its just that it will be difficult to treat Shan Xiaoges injury tonight. Lets wait until you are fully recovered before talking about it! Susu said. Big Sister Xiao said, Tomorrow morning we will arrive at Jiangdu, I hope there wont be any mishaps tonight. Giggling, Kou Zhong turned his attention to Yun Yuzhen and said, I want to go back to my room to sleep. Yun Yuzhens pretty face blushed slightly; she angrily said, You want to sleep, what does it have to do with me? In her heart, however, she recalled the powerful, elegant and brilliant tactics with which he dealt with the valiant, insufferably arrogant Li Zitong. Compared to the useless Dugu Ce in dealing with Du Fuwei, she could not help making the decision who was superior and who was inferior. Kou Zhong sprang out of bed and said to Susu, Let Didi walk Su Jie back to your room to rest. Big Sister Xiao cast Kou Zhong a suggestive nce full of foxy charms; she said in a straightforward manner, I have just got here, and you are going to sleep? Inwardly Kou Zhong was very happy, knowing that due to his performance just now, this coquettish woman has had a whole new level of respect for him; even her manner was different now. He said with a giggle, After I take care of Su Jie, why dont Dajiee to my room to have a heart-to-heart chat? Yun Yuzhen was jealous, but just now she was being too harsh; it would be hard to turn around and withdraw her previous remark. Big Sister Xiaoughed jovially that she looked like a flower trembling at the tip of a branch; she said, This Miss must train you, this reckless kid, that internal injury necessitates that you must avoid wine and sex. I still want you to go deal with Yuwen Huaji, I dont want to harm you. Susus pretty face immediately blushed deep red; she glowered at Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong was greatly embarrassed; he said with a bitter smile, Dajie is truly forting! Susu pulled Kou Zhong away and out of the room. With only Xu Ziling, Big Sister Xiao and Yun Yuzhen left, the room temporarily quieted down. Big Sister Xiao looked at Xu Zilings handsome, magnificent appearance; she suddenly had a strange thought: she was quietly pondering that if this young martial art master was maturing a little bit more, with his aloof and cool temperament, his trim and straight posture, he would be an outstanding character who will make any woman fall in love with him. Its just that his interest toward women was unlike Kou Zhong, who was always full of zest; however, this same exact quality was what attracted other people the most. She could not help teasing him, Xu Gongzis and Zhong Shaos personalities are so different, how could you get along so well? Xu Ziling was still lying on the bed practicing his internal energy, he really wished the two women would leave him alone; therefore, he snappily replied, Perhaps because we have been together since childhood! We are already ustomed to yield to each other. Yun Yuzhen was curious, So you never had any disagreement? she asked. Xu Ziling was growing even more impatient; he replied randomly, Of course we have disagreements, but when the anger subsides, we dont have any problem anymore. Hearing the tone of his voice, the two women knew it was time for them to excuse themselves. Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking about thest few days, he realized that in terms of ideas and actions, the differences between him and Kou Zhong were growing bigger and bigger; he sighed. Supposing Kou Zhong really wanted to recruit soldiers and buy horses, to fight over the world and be the emperor, would he or would he not help him? No one knew better than him about Kou Zhongs amazing strength. Not only his intellect surpassed others, his resourcefulness outstanding, his manner of speaking also exceptional, his method slick and sly. No matter how Xu Ziling mocked and ridiculed him, reproached him and med him, this kid did not get angry at all. His eloquence was like torrential tide, he knew how to see the wind and set the helm, so that it would be difficult for anybody to get really angry at him. Kou Zhong was naturally born with charisma and magnanimity of a leader; given enough time, perhaps even Li Mi, Du Fuwei and the like would even be put to shame by him. On the other hand, after practicing the Secret to Long Life, Xu Zilings desire for fame and profit, his admiration for women, were quickly pushed back that he became more and more indifferent. All he wanted to do right now was to find a less-travelled scenic spot, where he could wholeheartedly lock himself up for an in-depth study of martial arts, to see what kind of level he could climb to in the end. There was a knock on the door, followed by Yun Yuzhens voice, Can we chat for a moment? Albeit unwilling, Xu Ziling simply could not be rude to anybody; helplessly he replied in affirmative. After shutting the door, Yun Yuzhen sat on the bed. Looking down, she examined his more and more manly countenance. Do you really dislike me, your Beautiful Shifu? she asked softly. Xu Ziling and Yun Yuzhen stared at each other for half a day; finally he let out a wry smile and said, If you have ever been cheated, how do you feel? That night, when Yun Bangzhu and Dugu Ce were chatting and fooling around, the two of us were hiding in the corner, before we decided to flee. Ah! Yun Yuzhen eximed. She was blushing so bad that even the tip of her ears turned red. At a loss to know what to do, she said, So thats how it is, no wonder Kou Zhong was being disrespectful to me earlier, and you look down on me. But I want you to know that I have my own difficulties; such a big gang, without a strong backer, it would be very easy for us to be taken over by others. And then, with a hopeful look on her face, she said, After our business in Jiangdu is over, I can arrange a hiding ce for you, I guarantee it will be safe. Xu Ziling sensed that she had the intention to recruit the two of them to strengthen her Jukun Bang. His heart was moved; he spected that the reason Kou Zhong disregarded former enmity and teased Yun Yuzhen was most likely because he wanted to get the Jukun Bang under his banner, to be what he called our troops. Otherwise, when he was talking about Yun Yuzhen earlier, he would not have mentioned the by hook or by crook aspect. Kou Zhong has grown to be more and more formidable. Yun Yuzhen stretched out her lily-white hand to caress his cheek; she said softly, Just give it a serious thought! Xu Ziling waited until her hand touched the doortch before he suddenly asked, How was Kou Zhong being disrespectful to you? Yun Yuzhens pretty face blushed; still thinking that Xu Ziling was jealous, she irately said, He is so bad; do I need to say more? And then she hurriedly went out. Xu Ziling closed his eyes; suddenly his heart felt ufortable. Kou Zhong was lying. He said he was only touching Yun Yuzhens hand; it appeared that he was only testing Xu Zilings reaction to this matter. If his reckoning was correct, Kou Zhong was going to do anything necessary to have Yun Yuzhen acknowledging her allegiance to him. The one Kou Zhong loved was Li Xiuning, definitely not Yun Yuzhen. This was what he called dealing with the enemy by hook or by crook. Suddenly Xu Ziling felt that the gap between him and Kou Zhong was growing. Book 6 - 3 – Sui Emperor Yang Guang Book 6 Chapter 3 C Sui Emperor Yang Guang Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling climbed onto the carriage; apanied by Big Sister Xiao and Xiang Yushan, they entered the city. Susu, apanied by Yun Yuzhen, was riding on another carriage; they had different arrangement. Afraid that the Yuwen n might obtain information and thus prevent the two boys from entering the Pce, Dugu Sheng personally came out to meet them. Surprisingly, this Dugu n martial art master C who ranked second only to Dugu Feng C had a rather unremarkable appearance. He was about fifty, short and wiry, and looked a bit like an old monkey. But his eyes, which looked half open and half close, were deep and bright; the taiyang acupoints on his temples were protruding high, so that people immediately knew that he was not someone to be trifled with. Toward Kou and Xu, two boys, he was polite, but kept his distance; however, he was quite amiable toward Xiao Huan and Xiang Yushan, evidently he did not have too high of a regard toward Kou and Xu. Under the escort of Dugu Sheng and about a hundred imperial bodyguards, the party entered the city of Yangzhou. Returning to their hometown, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were immediately overwhelmed with unbearable itch; they really wished to slip outside right away to look for their old friends and foes and say hello, also perhaps to see if Yan Laoda [see Book 1 Chapter 1] was still alive and well. Xiang Yushan whispered in the two boys ears, We are really lucky, today Yang Guang happens to be in the Pce. You dont know it, but since bing the Emperor, he never stopped, always going on a tour or a military expedition, infuriating the heavens exasperating the people, angering the gods and distressing the ghosts; otherwise, the people would not have rebelled. Big Sister Xiao sighed and said, Now he is giving the western capital Changan to his grandson, Dai Wang [wang C king/prince] Yang You, and the eastern capital Luoyang to another grandson, Yue Wang Yang Dong, while he himself is hiding in here, so scared that he even abandoned the Luoyangs sixteen-courtyard madams. To his surprise, however, Du Fuwei attacked Liyang, Li Zitong is also moving to Jiangdu. Basically there is no happy ce for him on the earth. Irritated, Xiang Yushan said, Dai Wang Yue Wang, one is twelve, the other eleven, unexpectedly they are in charge of western and eastern capitals; wont the true power fall into the hands of high-ranking ministers such as Yang Shichong and the others? If any mishaps happen to Yang Guang, the world will be ten times more chaotic than right now. Listening to this, Kou Zhongs eyes lit up, and Xu Ziling could see it clearly. The carriage suddenly stopped. Dugu Sheng spoke from outside the window, His Holiness has just gone to Lin Jiang Pce, we must change our itinerary. After ascending the throne, Yang Guang issued a decree to build the city of Yangzhou, which formerly was under his stewardship as the Zongguan, and changed its official title to Jiangdu. Not only the city was expanded, numerous pces arose, parks and garden embellished it, north of the city, where there were mountain on one side and water on the other, he also established Gui Yan, Hui Liu, Song Lin, and the others, the so-called Shu Gang Ten Pces. But perhaps the most magnificent was the Lin Jiang Pce, which was built by the shore of Yangtze River. Whenever Yang Guang was prompted by a sudden impulse, whether it was morning or evening, he would go there to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Yangtze River. When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had an audience with this muddleheaded ruler of the historically shortest, and the fastest to disappear, dynasty, he was having a drinking party on a pce balcony overlooking the Yangtze River, apanied by his favorite concubines Xiao Yu and Zhu Guier [gui means imperial concubine, so I dont think it was her actual name],pletely oblivious of the ups and downs of the chaos of war outside. Kou Zhong and the others alighted from their carriage at the square in front of the Pce, which was tightly guarded by the Imperial Guards. After a thorough body search, which was personally conducted by Dugu Sheng, to make sure that they did not bring any weapons, he led them into the Pce. However, Xiang Yushan and Big Sister Xiao had to remain at the gate. As Dugu Sheng was leading them through the corridors and pathways, they could hear the surging water of Yangtze River, mingled with faint melodious music from the continuously stretching pces ahead. This was the first time that the two boys entered such a richly ornamented, brightly decorated, splendorous and majestic building. Momentarily their eyes were unable to take it all, and they were quite at a loss. Kou Zhong whispered, Now this is what I call glory, splendor, wealth and rank. Dont talk! from the front, Dugu Sheng coldly shouted. Kou Zhong jumped in fright and immediately shut his mouth. Xu Ziling mused in his heart, Only ghosts are willing to live in such noisy, raucous, tacky, and irritating ce like this. For me, it would be enough if I can live deep in the mountains, in a thatched hut in a secluded valley, with beautiful scenery and birds and beasts as mypany. There were Imperial Guards everywhere, with checkpoints at every entryway; without Dugu Sheng leading the way, it would be impossible for them to move a single step. When the Wangjiang Tai [Riverview Balcony; wang jiang means looking at the river] was in sight, an official appeared ahead and stopped them. The man looked gentle and handsome, about thirty-five, thirty-six years old. Upon introduction by Dugu Sheng, they found out that he was the interior minister Yu Shiji, one of Yang Guangs most trusted courtiers. Noticing his unstable, floating footsteps, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that not only this person did not know martial art, his body was scooped empty by wine and women, so that his appearance looked like he was too weak to stand up to the wind. Normally, an interior minister ought to be a high-ranking eunuch, but this persons appearance did not have a real eunuch vor, making it difficult for them to make correct assessment. After sizing up the two boys, Yu Shiji said to Dugu Sheng, Its really them. Dugu Sheng nodded in affirmative. It was only then did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling find out that Yu Shiji was involved in this matter. If that was the case, then Yang Guangs other favored minister, the Imperial Censor Fei Yun, ought to be key personnel in this operation, which was directed toward the Yuwen n, as well. After carefully examining the two boys again, Yu Shiji said, Give the ount book to me first, the two of you may wait in the side chamber. When the opportune timees, this official may take you to appear before His Highness. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; they were unwilling, but finally had to hand the ount book over to Yu Shiji. Yu Shiji immediately flipped the pages. When he reached certain page, he suddenlyughed aloud and said, General Sheng, this time we really obtain a treasure. I want to see how much longer Yuwen n will be able to shine. Hearing that, Dugu Sheng smiled while twisting the tip of his moustache. The two boys waited in a room by Wangjiang Tai for nearly two sichen [4 hours]. They waited until the sun was about to set, still no Yu Shiji or Dugu Sheng to take them to see Yang Guang. The pces, as well as the courtyards, were tightly guarded by Imperial Guards, making them feel like prisoner in the pce hall. Xu Ziling sat quietly in a corner. Looking at Kou Zhong, who was pacing back and forth restlessly, he frowned and said, Could you be a bit more patient? Kou Zhong halted in front of him; he sighed and said, Maybe we were wrong; now even the ount book has been taken away, and I still dont know how we are going to leave this ce. Dont worry! Xu Ziling said, As long as we are still useful, they will rely on us. These people put the cart before the horse, they dont care that outside the chaos is turning the sky and the earth upside down, they are thinking of fighting with other people around instead. No wonder the rebels momentum is growing day by day. After a short pause, he went on, What worries me most is Su Jie; after meeting that muddleheaded ruler, we must find a way to leave this ce and rendezvous with Su Jie, and immediately go as far away as possible. Whether Yuwen n is toppled or not, we must not tarry in this ce too long. Kou Zhong sat down by his side; he said, You are right. If Yang Guang issues in imperial decree to search and confiscate the Yuwen ns possession and have their entire family exterminated, it will incite a tempest; Yuwen Huaji and the others will definitely fight will all their strength. If that happen, it would be strange indeed if Jiangdu does not turn into a mess. Xu Ziling added, Dont forget that Ol Die and that Li Budong are ring at Jiangdu like a tiger watching its prey. As soon as they know that Jiangdu in chaos, they will immediately deploy their troops to attack. Ay, this thought is really frightening! Kou Zhong did not know what to think. While they were busy with their own thoughts, Yu Shiji came in. With him was a big, fat official, whose face was wide, his eyes thin, his nose long like a wine gourd; in short, a crafty viin look. Yu Shiji excitedly said, Two Xiongdi,e meet Imperial Censor Daren. Hearing him addressing them as brothers, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were rather ttered. Thinking that this must be Yu Shijis partner Fei Yun, they hastily paid their respect ording to the way Big Sister Xiao taught them. Fei Yun assumed an amiable appearance; he said with a chuckle, Two Xiao Xiongdi have rendered great merit, these days this official will present a memorial to His Highness, he will reward you heavily. Lets strike while the iron is hot, Yu Shiji continued, High Highness ought to see the ount book. Right now we are going to take two Xiao Xiongdi to have an audience with His Highness, but you must not mention anything about the ount book. Even if His Highness ask, you must pretend not to know there is such thing. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay; they understood that the great merit of obtaining the ount book would be falsely imed by these two crafty and fawning despicable men. Fei Yunughed and said, Two Xiao Xiongdi must be men who understand reason. Just serve us well, and I guarantee you will enjoy endless glory, splendor, wealth and rank. We are here! The two boys looked at each other with bitter smile; they could only follow behind the two men helplessly. Chapter 3, Part 2 Fei Yun, who was leading the way, suddenly lowered his voice. The two boys quickly focused their power to listen, immediately they were able to hear every single word. He said, In one day we received three emergency dispatches from Luoyang. Wang Shichong is really shameful; did he want us to lose our heads? I burned all the documents. There is another headache, Yu Shiji said, Just now the Imperial Guard Commander Sima Dekan ignored me when I tried to stop him, he forced himself into the Wangjiang Tai to see His Highness, reporting something about someone exploiting the Imperial Guard army provisions, that the soldiers dont have enough to eat and are hungry. And most of them came from Guanzhong, they knew that the Li n is raising an army to rebel, so they worried that their hometown is in trouble; batch by batch they ran away from Jiangdu, so he wanted His Mahesty to issue an imperial decree to pacify the heart of the people. Fei Yunughed and said, Fortunately the person who exploited the army provisions is His Highness himself, we are simply carrying out his order, so he cannot put the me on us. Hee hee ... did His Highness have Sima Dekan, that fellow who showed no understanding of the times, flogged? Yu Shiji replied, I dont know if His Holiness has changed from his excessive stubbornness? Or perhaps he knew that the Imperial Guard Minister General Dou Xian has also led his troops to flee, so he clearly knew that the situation is serious. He only ordered Sima Dekan to immediately pursue Dou Xian and have hime back here, or else he will have to present his own head. I really wish Dou Xian could go a little faster! Meanwhile they had reached the steps leading to the Wangjiang Tai. Yu and Fei, two men stopped talking. Listening to them, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling behind them were aghast. Yang Guang definitely was a muddleheaded ruler, otherwise how could he let treacherous court officials like Yu Shiji and Fei Yun emerge? Citizen Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling have arrived! The herald at the gate announced as the two boys followed Yu Shiji and Fei Yun toward the stone steps leading to Yang Guangs dragon throne. They kneeled three times and kowtowed nine times [my dictionary has this additional information: formal etiquette on meeting the emperor]. After the ritual was performed, the herald announced again, You may rise! The two boys followed Yu Shiji and Fei Yun stood up, and focused their attention to look. Immediately they were taken aback. They saw the twenty-zhang wide dragon tform was packed with beautiful imperial concubines; there were at least fifty, sixty women, like the starts cupping themselves around the moon [idiom from Analects], surrounding the elevated dragon throne, busy feeding fruits to the Great Sui Emperor Yang Guang. Dugu Sheng stood erect with straight face under the tform, leading the Imperial Guards standing around the tform, separating Yang Guang from Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. After stroking an imperial concubines breasts by his side, Yang Guang looked down the tform. As if he did not see Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling at all, he looked at Fei Yun and said with augh, Fei Qingjia [term used by the emperor for his subjects] is here, quickly help Zhen [an emperor referring to himself] solve this problem. Yun Shiji bowed andughed to tter him, Your Highness, these two ... Zhen knows, Yang Guang impatiently cut him off, Other matter can wait. Under the illumination of the pcentern, Yang Guangs countenance looked worse than Xiang Yushan before his illness was cured; he was so pale that he looked like a dead person. His age looked to be only around fifty, his head and shoulders stood tall; although he was wearing bright-colored nine-dragon gown, with a tall crown on his head, he gave a depressing impression of a dead person wearing burial clothes. Anybody could see that his destiny already nearing its end, his days were numbered. Fei Yun hastily said, Your Highness, please reveal it to us! Yang Guang sighed and said, Zhen really dont understand, whats not good in Jiangdu? To the south facing the Great River, undting hills, pleasant scenery, since ancient times has been number one scenic spot in Jiang Huai; yet troops are running away these days, even Dou Xian has personally fled. Qingjia, what do you think is the reason? This time even Fei Yun and Yun Shiji were left speechless, other people need not be mentioned; they were quiet out of fear, afraid that they might incur unexpected cmity. Fei Yun could not but respond; clearing his throat, he said, There must be some people spreading rumors, instigating the morale of the troops. Weichen [this small official] must investigate clearly, and then report to Your Highness. Yang Guang let out a coldugh and said, Who could instigate the morale of Zhens troops? Zhen has fought to the south and attacked to the north, pacifying thend under the heavens, three times went on military campaign to Gaoli [Korea], my military power unrivalled, admired by officers and soldiers. Zhen really cannot believe they would believe idle talk. Quickly investigate this matter thoroughly. Kou Zhong could not refrain from nudging Xu Ziling with his elbow, while putting up a I dont want to hear the truth expression on his face. Although Yang Guang did not seem to look at him, unexpectedly he saw that; angrily he shouted, Why is that little ones expression so strange? He has the audacity of being disrespectful to Zhen. Fei Yun and Yu Shijis soul flew away and scattered, afraid that before these two witnesses could testify, Yang Guang already had their heads chopped. Kou Zhong secretly signaled Xu Ziling, ready to break out the siege and flee for their lives, to create a gap they could exploit to get out. This moment he did not even want to kowtow; he said with a giggle, Most probably it was because Your Highness is too profound that you are able to think that deep. We are only simple ant people, naturally our thought process is also a lot simpler. Just a moment ago Xiaomin [small/lowly citizen] was not able to prate Your Highness enigmatic thought, thats why I knitted my little face. Everybody cried out inwardly, Yang Guang hated it very much when people used sarcasm against him; this time Kou Zhong was really courting death. Under these circumstances, Zhu Guier, who was serving Yang Guang eating fruits by his side, also did not dare to speak up to help Kou Zhong. Dugu Sheng sighed inwardly; if he had to personally behead these two boys, he really did not know how to exin it to the Baling Bang people. Everybody waited with bated breath; sure enough, Yang Guangs countenance sank and he said coldly, What profound or simple? Kid, what is exactly your point? Kou Zhong remained calm, while quietly gathered his mysterious power; he said indifferently, What kid was thinking was that if everybody is able to think like Your Highness, supporting the left and holding on to the right, yet they still want to desert the army, then they are not real men. At this point, no one did not consider Kou Zhong to be a criminal on the death row, because what he did was exactly what he should not do in front of Yang Guang, i.e. telling the truth. Yang Guang was startled; and then he pped the arm of his dragon throne andughed so hard that his body swayed back and forth. Like speaking to a child, he said, That is indeed simple! That is indeed simple! Everybodys heart went up and down following the sound of hisughter, because he lovedughing madly before killing someone. Xu Ziling nodded slightly to Kou Zhong, reminded him to be ready to slip away any moment. Theughter suddenly stopped. Yang Guang coughed twice, while allowing Zhu Guier and Madame Xiao to wipe the tears on the corner of his eye. When they were done, he looked down at Kou Zhong and said, As the Emperor, Zhen is buried in ten thousand affairs every day, so that my brain is a bit slow, causing damage to the country and suffering to the people. This time you, kid, spoke out the root cause, Zhen immediately think of countermeasures. Guards! All the imperial concubines wereughing and giggling tenderly to tter him. Dugu Sheng was still thinking that his fear finally happened; bowing down, he responded, Dugu Sheng is here! Yang Guang was stunned, This matter cannot be done by Qingjia. Guards! Everybody looked at each other; they did not understand, whether in the imperial court or in Jianghu, Dugu Sheng had a resounding prestige, why was he not qualified to do such a simple thing as putting these two boys to death? Fei Yun and Yu Shiji braced themselves and responded in chorus, Your Highness, please reveal your wish! Yang Guang cheerfully said, Immediately go around the surrounding area and collect all widows, unmarried women, even Buddhist nuns and Taoist priestess, anybody who is fit to apany Zhens troops, to boost the morale of the troops. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenance immediately changed; was he going to kill a lot of people? Who would have thought that Fei Yun and Yu Shiji immediately pped and cheered,uding the brilliance of the Sages idea. Amidst the roar of apuse, Yang Guang smiled proudly while twisting the tip of his beard; his Sages heart was greatlyforted. Xu Ziling could not help shouting, Your Highness! Yang Guang let out a cold snort, Enough! he barked, Today Zhen have spent too much time dealing with national affairs, you are all dismissed! The herald at the door shouted, Courts dismissed! Thank heavens and thank the earth, Yu Shiji muttered under his breath. Together with Fei Yun, they dragged Kou and Xu, two boys, out of the Pce. Leaving the Wangjiang Tai, Kou Zhong broke free from Yu Shijis grab and said, We have not said anything about our business, how can we leave? Wiping the cold sweats on his brow, Fei Yun angrily said, We almost get killed because of you, this ve who spoke recklessly. Humph! Kou Zhongs eyes shot a cold ray, What did you call me? he said. Fei Yun was agitated; he nearly flew into rage, but Yu Shiji interrupted him, We are on the same side, whats passed in passed, why do we have to argue about it? Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Your head is still on your neck, just consider yourself lucky, do you still have to b around and show off? Right now let this official make arrangement for you to rest, Ill pick several pce maids who are pretty and considerate to serve you. When the time is right, well arrange for you two to have an audience with the Emperor. Xu Ziling deeply detested these two big treacherous court officials, he said grimly, Just with that one ount book plus two gentlemen with silver tongue it is enough to kill Yuwen Huaji, even if we stayed here, there wont be any good; we have decided to leave. Fei Yun was still glowering at Kou Zhong, as if he wanted to eat him alive. But just looking at his belly, he probably could eat at least half of Kou Zhong. Chapter 3, Part 3 Yu Shiji stepped in between Fei Yun and Kou and Xu, two boys; he tried to persuade using all possible arguments, This is just a minor misunderstanding, two Xiao Xiongdi must not let emotions dictate your decision. Kou Zhong stared coldly at Fei Yun for a moment, and then he calmly said, Xiao Ling is right, we have to go! If you insist on us, two brothers, staying, I dont even know what I might say next time we see His Highness. With a coldugh Fei Yun said, You dare to threaten us. Yu Shiji stared hard at Fei Yun, but at the same time he signaled him to keep calm and not be impatient, to deal with these two boyster. And then, putting up a smile he said, Two Xiao Xiongdi did not know it, but although the ount book has been given to His Highness, but as for when he will actually thumb through it, even His Highness himself did not know. Xu Ziling was taken aback, So Yu Daren has not told His Highness? he asked. Of course I have, Yu Shiji replied, But His Highness acted as if he did not hear it; he was busy kissing and petting with Imperial Concubine Xiao, and simply told us to put it down, so that he could look at it when he has time. Therefore, we still have to rely on two gentlemen. Hey! I heard from Yushan that Yuwen Huaji is your big enemy, we all have anger against amon enemy, dont be concerned over this kind of small things! Turning to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong asked, What do you think we should do? Xu Ziling was well aware that unless they fought the problem on their face, they would never leave this dreadful ce. If it were only the two of them, they could always forcefully break through and leave it to fate. However, having to worry about Susus safety, they could only endure and keep the tone of their voice in check. Very well! he reluctantly said, But we only want to rest, no need for any pce maids to serve us. Yu Shiji breathed a sigh of relief and said, Not a problem at all. Everything will be as you wish. Kou Zhongy down on a long padded bench by the window, listening to the rushing water of Yangtze River; his thoughts wandering far away, he said, Being the emperor really knows how to enjoy life. Sitting by his side, Xu Ziling was leaning against the window, gazing at the starry sky of the dreary winter night. Seeing Yang Guang like that, you still want to be the emperor? he asked in disbelief. Kou Zhong sprang up; he came over to Xu Ziling. Half kneeling, he also gazed upon the night sky outside. He said, Since we have to pass this long night in the Pce, cant you let me, Kou Zhong, to reveal a little bit of my heartfelt wishes? Dont lie! Xu Ziling said guardedly. Kou Zhong was startled, When did I lie to you? he asked. Xu Ziling sighed and said, This is at least the second lie. The first lie was I, Zhong Shao, only touched Beautiful Shifus slender lily-white hands. Kou Zhongs thick face blushed; he said, You must have asked that Poniang this kind of embarrassing question about which part of her Laozi has touched, didnt you? Not yielding a single step, Xu Ziling let out a coldugh and said, So you finally admitted that you have lied to me? Kou Zhong was peeved, This kind of passionate love thing, naturally I cannot tell all the gory details to you. Xu Ziling said indifferently, I dont seem to recall hearing Zhong Shao said that he likes her? Kou Zhong let out a bitterugh, Just consider me afraid of you! he admitted, All right! I was not totally honest, hee hee ... I have never been an honest person; at least you, Ling Shao should know it better than anyone. Xu Ziling understood that Kou Zhong realized that he [Xu] has seen through his [Kou] heart, and knew that it was time to stop. Going back to the original topic, he asked, So what kind of heartfelt wishes do you want to reveal to me? Kou Zhong roared inughter as he stood up. Sitting on the arm of the chair, he put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder. His tiger eyes shed mysteriously, he turned his gaze toward the garden scenery under the night sky outside the window. His voice heavy as he said, Although I said those things, I do not really want to be an emperor; rather, I only want to join the hard-toe-by game of power struggle over the world. A game where there is no rule, where the ideas ofpassion, duty, propriety and integrity are only lip service, but not being used to govern real action in real life. Anybody with enough power, anybody whose fist is stiff enough, will be able to call himself a king. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day, finally he said slowly, I understand what you mean; since you were young you were always unwilling to be left out, you always need stimtion and challenges, you need other people to respect you, to fawn on you. You are never afraid of anyone ... Wrong! Kou Zhong cut him off, I fear nothing in Heaven or Earth, but I am scared of you. If you became my enemy, I wont be able to sleep in peace. Xu Ziling said indifferently, At that time, wouldnt you try to eliminate me by hook or by crook? Kou Zhongughed so hard that he almost choked; gasping for breath, he said, First of all, you cant possibly be my enemy, at most youll just ignore me! Even if I, Kou Zhong, can be merciless toward anybody, but I can never be heartless toward you. Good Xiongdi, lets not indulge in flights of fancy, lets think about how to get away and go find Su Jie! Looking at that dead fattys expression, after our business with Yang Guang is done, I guarantee that by the time we step out of the Pce gate, there will be several hundreds sabers and axes on every side, ready to chop us, two silly bugs, into minced meat sauce. Xu Ziling made an eye signal to him, and then he stretched and yawned, I am dead tired, he said, Go to sleep! Book 6 - 4 – Confidential Matter That Is Not A Secret Book 6 Chapter 4 C Confidential Matter That Is Not A Secret Kou Zhong slipped out the window and came back. Dejected, he said, Those two damn are really cruel, the security is so tight that even a fly cant escape. The ce they were staying was located in the garden at the southwest corner of Linjiang Pce, to the west and south of the ce were open spaces with nowhere to hide. The walls were high with watchtowers everywhere. To the east was a big garden, to the north was about a dozen big bamboo groves with no passable path. Therefore, the only way out was through the garden. Xu Ziling came back a step earlier, he also managed to obtain clear picture of the situation. Sighing, he said, The only way is to charge through the high wall, killing our way out. Its just that there is a thirty-zhang open space between the small garden to the high wall, I am afraid before we reach the foot of the wall, wed be shot dead by the rain of arrows from the watchtower guards, or perhaps wed be cutoff by the opponents martial art masters. Hows the situation at the flower garden? Kou Zhong smiled wryly and replied, By looking at my expression, you ought to know the situation without having to ask me; there are hidden guards everywhere in the flower garden, plus it is brightly lit, thinking about escaping without the gods know and the ghosts detect is just lunatic ravings. This must be personally arranged by Dugu Sheng to prevent us from escaping. And then, with a wolf-viciousness he said, If we cannot get away from a ce like this, it will really damage our reputation as the Yangzhou Two Dragons. Those two damn will despise us even more. Xu Xiling mused, Have it ever urred to you that even if we manage to get out, we still need to crash our way through the city defense, and then once we are inside the city, its still unknown whether we will be able to find Su Jie or not. Kou Zhong chuckled lightly and said, Dont worry! Beautiful Shifu will not dare to deceive me; she has already agreed to leave secret marks all around the city, so that we can easily find their location. This is the benefit of using the by hook or by crook method. Xu Ziling was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Kou Zhong continued his analysis, The security here seems to be iparably tight, but we can clearly see that the imperial guards are undisciplined and their morale is low, everybody wants to shirk responsibility or even run away from here. Hey! Just think, if we suddenly gone missing, what would the imperial guards guarding us do? Xu Zilings eyes lit up immediately, They would think that since Yang Guang ordered Dugu Sheng to keep watch over us, it would mean they are not fulfilling their obligations; it would be strange indeed if Yang Guang did not behead them all. Naturally the entire team will leave their job to join the rank of army deserters. Kou Zhong said, Under normal circumstances, my stratagem might not be useful, but right now their heart is anxious, they have misgivings toward each other, they would not dare to lightly and rashly make indiscriminate action! We still have several sichen until daybreak anyway, we might as well wait for two more sichen, and then when those guards are cold and tired, we willmence our grand n. The end of yin hour [3-5am], early mao hour [5-7am]. Whoo! Whoo! With two signals, one after another two shadows flitted out of the courtyard house where Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stayed, toward the bamboo groves, while several windnterns in the vicinity went out at the same time. Followed by chaotic noise of snapping bamboo branches, which alerted the guards. Among the Imperial Guards Dugu Sheng dispatched to keep watch over the two boys this time, there was nock of martial art masters. Immediately about a dozen men flew toward the bamboo groves in pursuit of the two boys, yet they did not even see any shadow of ghost. Nobody in the Imperial Guards was not familiar with Yang Guangs temperament; they did not dare to ring the bell to sound the rm, they only split up and searched around. Some even went into the two boys quarter to take a quick look; after confirming that nobody was inside, they hurriedly joined the search operation outside. Half a sichenter, several leaders huddled around in discussion. Someone said, This is awful; does anybody have any n? Another man said, If we stay here, we will die for sure; if we flee right now, we still have a little chance of surviving. Please forgive Xiaodi for not keeping youpany. In reality, everybody had the same thought, so as soon as that man spoke up, a hundred or so Imperial Guards scrambled out in confusion, climbing over the wall and disappeared until nobody remained. Only then did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling crawled out from the under the bed. The formerughed and said, While there is still time, lets get some of Zhen Saos steamed stuffed buns! [See Book 1 Chapter 1 on Sister-inw Zhen.] By the time Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong entering the city via the secret passage, i.e. the water sewer, the sky was starting to brighten. Returning to their former haunts, everything seemed to be familiar, but also seemed to be unusually strange. There was an indescribable inspiration in their heart. Last time Yuwen Huaji used hunting dogs to follow our trail, he should find this secret entrance; why didnt he have his men to block it then? Kou Zhong wondered. Xu Ziling was applying his internal energy to dry his drenched clothes, Perhaps he wanted to keep this secret passage for his own needs! he blurted out. Kou Zhong gave him a push and said with augh, Why bother applying your internal energy? Lets go to Chens old clothing store and steal two sets of clothes! Giving that penny-pincher some heartburn is a good thing. The two boysughed heartily, feeling very pleased with themselves; taking advantage before the sky was not quite bright, they leaped onto the roof of amoners house, like an old horse who know the way home, they flew over houses and building, enjoying the cold wind against their face, rushing toward Chens old clothing store in the eastern part of the city. Since they were counting their chickens before they were hatched, unexpectedly it fell through. When they arrived, they found out that Chens old clothing store, as well as about a dozen other stores nearby, had beenpletely converted into Sui army lodging house. Kou Zhong heaved a sigh and said, These troops are like locusts who devoured Yangzhou until it is riddled with gaping wounds and cuts and bruises all over. Ay! Zhen Sao is so pretty, I do hope those thief soldiers did not take a fancy on her. Without saying a word, Xu Ziling swept across a side alley toward the marketce. Sure enough, Sister-inw Zhens steamed bun stall was gone; on its ce was a fruit and vegetable stall. The market was still bustling with noise and excitement, but the people they were bumping into were unfamiliar faces with out-of-the-area ent. Xu Ziling grabbed the fruit and vegetable stall owner and asked, Where did that auntie who used to sell steamed buns [orig. baozi C stuffed steamed buns and mantou C in steamed buns] go? The owner let out a bitter sigh and said, Of course she is gone! Only people with nowhere to go like me would stay here waiting to die. But if my merchandise is robbed clean again, tomorrow I am going to try rushing out the city gate. An old man, the over of the next stall said, Is Sire asking about the Old Feng? Are you their rtives? Kou Zhong hastily replied, We are his nephews. The old man shook his head and sighed, Their steamed buns are too famous. As soon as His Highness arrived in Jiangdu, they were enlisted as cook in the Pce. Afterwards nobody knew what happened to them. Xu Ziling clenched his fists, turned around and walked away. Kou Zhong ran after him; he followed him turning to the left and swerving to the right in the midst of the tide of people in the marketce. Where are you going? he shouted. I want to rescue Zhen Sao out of that ce, Xu Ziling indignantly replied. Kou Zhong grabbed his arm, Calm down! he said, Have you forgotten the moon in the well? Xu Ziling was shaken and stopped abruptly. Immediately the people behind them pushed them forward and said, Dont block the way. The two boys hastily squeezed their way out of the marketce. Leaving that noisy overcrowded ce, their head cleared out somewhat. Kou Zhong proposed to treat their ailing tummy first. They went to a nearby restaurant and sat down. After absent-mindedly stuffed several kinds of steamed buns into their stomach, Kou Zhong said, No matter what you want to do, I will support you, but you must not be hot-headed; first of all, we need to solve the problem of Su Jie, and then we can have a free hand in going all out. He sighed and went on, The Great Sui is really finished, the world has turned into a terrible mess, if nobody took the initiative to unify the world, I dont know how much more misery the people on the street will have to suffer. One bad Tujue man fight his way into the Central ins, we, Han people, will fall under the harsh rule of foreign power. Only if you are willing to help me will we be able to rise in building the rivers and mountains [i.e. country] and, as much as possible, do some good things for the innocent people. Xu Ziling said, Your thought seems to be too beautiful and too far for me. Now is not the time to discuss this matter; we slipped away like this, do you think Dugu Sheng will be willing to let us go? It would be best if we could find our Su Jie as soon as possible. Kou Zhong grabbed a couple of meat steamed buns, stood up and said, You are in charge of buying us two new sets of clean clothes, I will go look for secret markings; we will meet again at the eastern end of Duke Ma Alleyter. Xu Ziling looked at him and said, Why not go together? If something happened, we can look after each other better. The two of us together is too conspicuous, Kou Zhong replied, Plus it would be easier for our old acquaintances to recognize us. Going separately is a bit safer. Xu Ziling had no choice but to let him go. Kou Zhong went strutting down the street; from time to time he came across Sui troops, womenfolk was nearly extinct from the street, only older ones remained. Merely from this fact it was clear why so many people wanted to leave Yangzhou. In the mind of the people, Sui troops were more frightening than any rebel force. Suddenly someone called out, Zhong Shao! Kou Zhong jumped in fright. Turning toward the voice, he saw someone hiding in an alley, beckoning him toe. Kou Zhong hesitated for half a day, but he finally came over. A young, robust-looking man, who was a bit older than he was, with dark skin and sturdy build, who seemed to know one or two stances of martial art, grabbed his shoulders and said, It is really you! At first I wasnt sure. Hey! You seem to live well! This man was called Gui Xiliang, he used to hang around the same crowd with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. When they were younger, they even had several bouts with another gang together, but all ended in defeat. However, the rtionship among these several boys could not be considered bad. Kou Zhong noticed that he was wearing Zhuhua Bang [bamboo flower gang] uniform, there were even three bamboo leaves embroidered on thepel of his robe. Since when did you be a Xiangzhu [fragrant master]? he asked in astonishment, You did not climb over a lot of other peoples heads, I hope? Gui Xiliang replied, It was entirely due to Bangzhu showing favor to me, by receiving me as his disciple; ay! Kou Zhong pulled him toward the other end of the alley, he was puzzled, It was a good thing, right? Why are you sighing? Gui Xiliang said, Such a big deal, and you did not know? Where have you been hiding these past couple of years? Where is Xiao Ling? Answer my question first, Kou Zhong said. Gui Xiliang let out a muted snort and said, Whatever I say, I am the Xiangzhu, why should I answer your question first? Kou Zhongughed and said, So you want to be the Laoda [the oldest, i.e. the boss]? In that case, Ill let you be you! These past couple of years Xiao Ling and I went mingling in the Jianghu. Du Fuwei, Zhai Rang, and the others have shook hands with us and drank wine together. Ha! Your turn to speak. Evidently Gui Xiliang thought he was bragging; clicking his tongue, he said, You, this little demon, look more thick and solid than I am, its a pity just like before, you did not make any progress. Ay! Do you know that two months ago Bangzhu was beaten to death by the men sent by that muddleheaded ruler? It was simply because he refused to hand over Yu Ling from the Tianxian Lou and sent her away instead. Kou Zhong raised his thumb and praised, Good man! With a bitterugh Gui Xiliang said, A dead good man is fart useless. Now most of the people in our gang have scattered away, leaving only about a hundred men. We hope that when Du Fuwei, or perhaps Li Zitonge to attack, we can be their contact on the inside so that we can avenge Bangzhu, the Senior. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up; lowering his voice, he asked, Have you elected new Bangzhu? Gui Xiliang sighed and said, Elect what ghost Bangzhu? Right now we are like a sheet of loose sand, we are only waiting for the muddleheaded rulers death, and then well hold an assembly in Danyang, to look at the possibility of electing the new Bangzhu. Meanwhile they have reached the end of the alley, ahead was another big street. Gui Xiliang halted his steps and said, I shall note out to the light. Do you remember that guy, Xing Rongs house? I am hiding in there. Chapter 4, Part 2 Kou Zhong casually asked, Hows Yan Laoda? You still have the nerve to ask about him? Gui Xiliang said, I dont know what kind of thing the two of you stole from some government official, you implicated more than a hundred people; since then, no one has seen them. I heard it has something to do with Yuwen Huaji; is that right? Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh and said, Dont worry! I guarantee that Yuwen Huaji wont have too many days to live. That muddleheaded ruler will soon open him up with a saber. Gui Xiliang snorted disdainfully, Your dead character has never changed. Yuwen Huaji basically never has any regards toward that muddleheaded ruler; before his death, Bangzhu had a very good rtionship with him, he even said that Yuwen Huaji even dare to steal the muddleheaded rulers women. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, Do you know which one he stole? he asked. Naturally the most beautiful one, Gui Xiliang replied, Otherwise, why would he risk his life to steal her? Do you think he dislike having a long life? Kou Zhong groaned inwardly; the most beautiful women by Yang Guangs side were Xiao Fei and Zhu Fei [reminder: fei means imperial concubine]. Zhu Fei was Baling Bang people, so there shouldnt be any problem. But if it were Xiao Fei, then Yuwen Huaji should know that he and Xu Ziling havee to Jiangdu especially to do harm to him. The more he thought, the more he was rmed; no longer in the mood to chitchat with this guy, he hurried away. Xu Ziling was waiting for Kou Zhong, empty-handed. Thetter asked in surprise, The clothes? Xu Ziling indignantly said, All satin garments and used clothing stores have been looted bare; they all closed down their businesses for good. Everybody said that wherever the muddleheaded ruler went, there wouldnt bew and order in that ce. Failing the peoples heart like this, I really wish to kill him with one punch. Huh? Why is your countenance so unsightly? Kou Zhong craned his neck out to look around, a squad of Sui troops has just passed by. Lowering his voice he said, Did you see anything different about those Sui troops? Xu Ziling thought he was still referring to the men that Dugu Sheng sent to catch them. Nothing different to me, he replied, In my opinion, currently the morale of the troops is in a mess, even if there is any order from above, they wont necessarily do it wholeheartedly. Kou Zhong sighed and said, What I am worried about is not that matter, rather, Yuwen Huaji might have received information about his unfavorable situation. Quick! Lets go find Su Jie, Ill tell you along the way! Xiang Yushan proved himself to be a schr of ability and wisdom; the safe house was at the outskirt just south of the city, not far from the Yangtze River. If any problem arose, it would be very convenient to escape either via the water or onnd. On the outside, it was no different than an ordinary family mansion, but it was actually Baling Bangs secret hideout. By the time the two boys stepped into the courtyard, they immediately felt something was unusual. One of Baling Bang leaders told them in low voice, Dugu Sheng and Fei Yun are here. Kou Zhong had already guessed that they would, so he simplyughed aloud and calmly and boldly he strode into the hall. Xu Ziling, who was following behind him, had a strange feeling; formerly this good brother of his was just a kid, but facing such a tough enemy he had shown his able side. Dugu Sheng grandly sat in the middle of the hall, on his side were Xiang Yushan, Susu and Big Sister Xiao, on the other side was the ill-countenanced Fei Yun. Only Yun Yuzhen was not present. On either side stood five, six big men wearing embroidered robe, with just one nce it was clear that these men were martial art masters of the Imperial Bodyguards. Dugu Shengs eyes were flickering sharply as he shouted with heavy voice, What do you two think you are doing? Kou Zhong leisurely halted his steps, his eyes swept across the hall, and he giggled and said, We, two brothers, also want to know what do you think you are doing? You lightly scolded us as ves, and locked us up as prisoners. Hey! Lets have everybody judge fairly between us. Xiang Yushan cast a deeply concerned nce toward Susu, who was so scared that her face was devoid of any color; he stood up and said, Its good that Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong came back, this is just a little misunderstanding. Come! Sit down and lets talk. Fei Yun was putting on an air of big official; he pped the armrest and shouted, What misunderstanding? Yushan, you sit down, lets clear up this matter first. Noticing Susu was scared, Xu Ziling empathized with her; letting out a coldugh, he said, I dont understand why you are still nagging endlessly; the smart thing to do right now is immediately slip away, if you tarry much longer, I am afraid it will be toote. Dugu Sheng understood his implication, he raised his hand to stop Fei Yun, who was about to re out in anger, and spoke in heavy voice, Can Xu Xiongdi speak a bit more clearly? Kou Zhong spoke up, I just heard information that one of His Highness favorite concubines has secret ties with Yuwen Huaji. Therefore, our secret n is no longer a secret. If you were Yuwen Huaji, what would you do? Everybodys countenance changed immediately. Suppressing his anger, Fei Yun asked, Where did you get the information from? Do you know which imperial concubine? From Zhuhua Bang people, Kou Zhong replied, I heard that thete Bangzhu was Yuwen Huajis man, and thats how I learned about the incident. Fei Yun was seething with anger, Turns out its that thief who did not know how to appreciate favors. From the tone of his voice, it was obvious that if the death of Zhuhua Bangste Bangzhu was not directly rted to him, he must have had some connection with it. Dugu Sheng turned to one of his men, Zhu Ming, did you see anything unusual with Yuwen ns troops activity today? The tall and thin Zhu Ming shook his head and replied, We have been closely monitoring Yuwen Huaji, Yuwen Shiji and Yuchi Shengs men, we did not see anything unusual. Dugu Sheng breathed a sigh of relief; he said, Wind from an empty cave cannot be without any cause. Moreover, Yuwen Huaji has always had free ess to the Imperial Pce, so this matter is highly possible. Fortunately, Laofu [lit. old man, referring to self] has been well-prepared; in the next two days, I have strict order that no one is to leave the Pce ... Xu Ziling cut him off, Now its not the time tofort ourselves; didnt you see thatst night our men managed to slip out of the Pce? If one of those men cast his lot with Yuwen Huaji, plus the secret information from that unknown imperial concubine spy, Yuwen Huaji should have a clear picture of his unfavorable situation. Big Sister Xiao joined in, Who currently holds power over the military? Dugu Sheng replied, All His Highness personal bodyguards have been with Laofu for many years, more or less there shouldnt be any problem. However, whether they are harboring some disloyal thought, or perhaps they have been bought, even Laofu does not dare to guarantee. Fei Yun added, Other than personal bodyguards, there are also Jiangdus own garrison and the Imperial Guards that areing with His Highness. The former is under Yuchi Shengsmand, thetter under Sima Dekan. Yuwen Huaji and Yuwen Shiji do not have direct authority over military affair. The tone of his voice softened as he said, This official is slightly mistaken, hereby I sincerely apologize to two Xiao Xiongdi. This matter should not be dyed, we must take advantage before Yuwen Huaji finds out about it to strike first and gain the upper hand; pull the Yuwen familys root from Jiangdu, otherwise it will cause no end of trouble. Would two gentlemen immediatelye with this official to have an audience with His Highness? His Highness sacred self has already returned to the royal city. Xiang Yushan also urged, Two Dage must use this opportunity to avenge your benevolent masters big enmity, before Yuwen Huaji finds out about this matter, act fast; otherwise, if you miss this opportunity, there wont be any second chance. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, So there is really no sign of troop movement or any rebellion? Hearing the tone of his voice, everybody was startled. Susu could not help asking, Xiao Zhong, what do you have in mind? Quickly speak up! Xu Zilings intelligence was on par with Kou Zhong, he understood immediately. How many men did Sima Dekan take to pursue Dou Xian? When did he leave? he asked. Dugu Sheng was shaken, Do you think he is going to rebel? he asked. Kou Zhong said, Soldiers and officers ran away, he will take the me. Does he have good rtionship with Yuwen Huaji? Zhu Mings countenance changed; he said, Before Commander set off this morning, he stopped by Zongguan mansion to see Yuwen Huaji and Yuchi Sheng. Fei Yun stood up abruptly. Thats not right! his voice trembled, He has no reason to bring twenty-thousand men just to pursue Dou Xians several hundred men. Xu Ziling said, His pursuit of Dou Xian is just an empty threat. In my opinion, noter than tonight, he will lead the troops back to join Yuchi Sheng and Yuwen Huajis troops to kill their way into the Imperial Pce. Fei Yuns countenance became extremely unsightly, This is extremely urgent, he said anxiously, We must enter the Pce immediately to report to His Highness. Hold on! Kou Zhong shouted, We are willing to apany you braving this danger, but you must let our Jiejie leave Jiangdu first, so that we wont have any fears of trouble in the rear. Dugu Sheng and Fei Yun exchanged nces; they hesitated and were unable to make decision. Without Susu, if these two boys employed some tricks and slip away again, they would have no way of finding them back, plus currently time was not on their side. No! Susu mournfully said, I will wait for you and we will leave together. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Then if something bad happens, nobody will be able to leave. I am afraid that for Yuwen Huaji, this house is no longer a secret. Xiang Yushan patted his chest as a guarantee and said to Dugu Sheng and Fei Yun, My two Dage are men who dare to do and dare to take responsibility, plus they have deep enmity against Yuwen Huaji. Two Daren can rest assured. Dugu Sheng reluctantly nodded his approval. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling bade their farewell to Susu. Only after handing her over to Xiang Yushan did they enter the How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tigersir? frame of mind, and followed Dugu Sheng and Fei Yun back into the city. Book 6 - 5 – The Muddleheaded Ruler’s End of the Road Book 6 Chapter 5 C The Muddleheaded Rulers End of the Road Yu Shiji intercepted them in front of Yangsheng Hall, Yang Guangs personal chamber. With bitter and paled face he said, We cannot have an audience now, His Highness is sleeping. Fei Yun anxiously said, Saving people is as urgent as fighting fire; cant we have Madame Guier [lit. imperial concubine] think of a way to wake him up? Yu Shiji sighed and said, I have talked to Madame Guier earlier, she said His Highness did not sleep at allst night, he went up the dragon bed to rest only a moment ago. Just who do you think will have the guts to disturb him? Dugu Sheng also panicked, What should we do then? After exchanging a nce with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong calmly said, Yu Daren, is it possible to ask Madame Guier, why did he stay up all night? Yu Shiji understood his meaning; he went into the pce hall again. Dugu Sheng helplessly said, It looks like well have to ask two Xiao Xiongdi to be a bit more patient and wait! Xu Ziling said, Just dont watch over us like prisoners. Fei Yun also beseeched them, Of course not, he hastily said, As long as two gentlemen do not leave the Pce gate, you can do whatever you like to do. Dugu Sheng still did not feel reassured, he beckoned a young man from among his subordinates and introduced him to them, This is Laofus [paternal] nephew, Dugu Xiong, let him apany you strolling around! Xu Ziling remembered something; he said, We have a friend who was enlisted to be a cook in the Pce, we want to ask a favor on his behalf, to have him return to his hometown and reunite with his family. Fei Yuns mind was already somece else; a bit impatient, he said, Such a trivial matter, Xiao Xiong [little Xiong] can do it for you. Finished speaking, he and Dugu Sheng went their separate ways. This Dugu Xiong was approximately two, three years older that the two boys, his appearance looked quite good, his brows and eyes astute. Shall we go to the kitchen first, then? he inquired, With Yu Daren in charge, nothing is impossible. In that case, Dugu Xiong [this time it is brother Dugu] please lead the way, Kou Zhong said. Dugu Xiong led the way. Whenever they encountered pce maids and beautiful servant girls, no one did not stare at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys. With a hint of envy Dugu Xiongughed and said, Looks like Kou Dage and Xu Dage are extremely popr with thedies. Very proud of himself, Kou Zhongughed and said, How long have Dugu Xiong entered the service as His Highness personal bodyguard? Not even two months, Dugu Xiong replied. Xu and Kou, two boys hearts were shaken, thinking that in order to overthrow the Yuwen n, the Dugu n had the martial art masters in their whole nest toe out and have them transferred to Jiangdu. Maybe after rooting out Yuwen ns influence, their next target would be Yang Guang. After exchanging some greetings with a group of patrolling guards, Dugu Xiong said in a low voice, I heard two gentlemen have defeated Yuwen Wudi, is there really such thing? Kou Zhong said in his heart, Not only Yuwen Wudi was beaten and fled, even your familys Dugu Ba was injured by Xiao Ling, yet you, this kid, still dare to be skeptical. However, his mouth said, Its just exaggerated rumor! The fact was that we were just lucky to escape alive. That was quite remarkable, Dugu Xiong said. Xu Ziling seldom saw Kou Zhong made modest remarks; inwardly he praised him for being more mature that before. Passing the imperial garden at the southeast corner of the Chambers of Imperial Concubines, the aroma of meat and vegetable dishes and cooked rice assaulted the three mens nostrils. Dugu Xiong said, Please wait here for a moment, let Xiaodi get Lu Gonggong [term of respect to address a eunuch], the kitchen manager, so that gentlemen can ask him directly. As long as he knows that gentlemen are Yu Darens men, I guarantee he will do his best to help. After Dugu Xiong left, Kou Zhong said, Chen Laomou [see Book 2, Chapter 10, Grandpa Chen] said: any imperial pce must have underground secret tunnel. Wed better try to find one, so that in time of emergency we can slip away a bit quicker. Recalling the dreadful situation when Li Mi attacked the Big Boss Mansion, Xu Ziling shivered inwardly. How are we going to do that? he asked. Kou Zhong pondered, Do you remember? Chen Laomou said that all tunnels must have venttion. Inside the building, the outlets will be easy to conceal, but in open space, in the garden for instance, it will be easy to find. Ha! Of course Yang Guang built the tunnel for his own use. Therefore, as long as we are looking around that imperial garden just now, well definitely find some tiny traces [orig. spiders thread and horse track]. And then when something bad happens, well flee from that tunnel! Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Your spection, I agree one thousand percent. But since Xiao Fei might be the enemys spy, chances are Yuwen Huagu also knew about this secret tunnel. If we rush in and Yuwen Huagu waited at the exit and smoked us, we will be choked to death. Kou Zhong pped his forehead. Dejectedly he looked at the magnificent scenery around the pce halls. Lowering his voice, he said, You are right, flying to the heavens we dont have the skill, fleeing to the earth we might meet dead end, the only way is to do it like thest time, find a ce where we could hide for several days. This ce is at least ten times bigger than the Big Boss Mansion; it should be easier to find a hiding ce. But we must be careful lest Yuwen Huagu set the Pce on fire to vent his anger. Xu Zilingughed and said, If the sky is falling, well spread it out as our bedding. When the time of soldiers mutiny and troops rebel reallyes, Yuwen Huagu will definitely deal with Yang Guang first, we will then take the opportunity to kill our way out of the siege. Dont forget that we are now martial art masters. Kou Zhong roared inughter, I almost forget! he said. A smile escaped from the corner of Xu Zilings mouth, the scene from their childhood years seemed to reappear. In those days they were both open and candid, sometimes they would argue about a small thing over many days, but they would also burst inughter for no apparent reason at all. Kou Zhong said in low voice, They are here. Xu Ziling had already heard the footsteps. Dugu Xiongs footsteps were steady and even; not only his foundation solid, the path he took in training martial art was also of the profound, powerful and bold style. That Lu Gonggongs footsteps, on the other hand, were floaty, plus his left leg was a bit longer than his right, so one was heavy the other light, his center of gravity was a bit off. Thinking to this point, even Xu Ziling himself was wondering why he could conjure up conjecture that many things purely based on ones footsteps. If his skill improved some more, perhaps he could grasp even more things. A person can always put an act, but the sound of his footsteps oftentimes can reveal the actual facts. From a distance Kou Zhong already saluted and said, Wishing Lu Gonggong good fortune, Xiaozi [I, the little one] Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, came with a specific purpose in mind to wish Lu Gonggong good health. Lu Gonggong, whose head looked like a snakes head and whose eyes looked like rats eyes, smiled creepily and said, We are all brothers, there is no need to stand on ceremonies, simply tell me what you need. Looking at him, Xu Ziling immediately lost his appetite, but on the surface he still maintained cordial expression; extremely deferential, he said, How could we dare to tell Gonggong what to do? We only want to ask Gonggong about certain fellow by the name of Feng Qiang. Seeing Lu Gonggongs nk expression, Kou Zhong exined, He is a short and stout fellow, about forty, formerly opened up a stall at the eastern city market selling steamed stuffed buns; very famous. Lu Gonggong sighed and said, I remember now, he had a beautiful mistress! Ay! Too bad he died. What?!? the two boys voice cracked. Lu Gonggong put on a grieving look on his face, he said, That guy was bull-headed, he frequently argued with the other people in the kitchen, someone framed him up by putting some two-fen long [approx. ? or 6mm] sharp fishbone inside the steamed buns served to His Highness, implicating a lot of people that even I nearly suffered several floggings. Along with him, more than 300 people were beheaded, most probably the fellow who framed him up was also among those people. Ha! Its really preposterous. Xu Zilings handsome face turned white. Kou Zhong hastily asked, How about his mistress? Acting as if he has seen through the worldly affairs, Lu Gonggong sighed and said, When His Highness wanted to kill someone, when was thest time he did not have the entire family executed? Oh! No! I heard that Feng Qiangs pretty mistress was given to someone who took a fancy on her, thus she escaped the tragedy. As for the particrs, I know nothing about it. Dugu Xiong asked, Who might have information about this matter? Lu Gonggongughed creepily and said, Naturally the guy who was in charge of the execution, Dou Xian. The three men looked at each other in dismay. Dou Xian already fled out of the city, how could they find him to ask about this matter? They waited until afternoon that day before Yu Shiji sent someone to tell them that they could see Yang Guang now. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling two steps back; he said, This muddleheaded ruler will kill people as soon as he is unhappy. If something happens, we split up and run away first, and meet again at the pagoda on the southeast corner. If necessary, we could jump down from the pagoda into the moat outside the city wall, and escape underwater. Xu Ziling was emotionally moved, That is really the best thing we can do under the circumstances, he praised, You, this kid, have made a lot of progress. Kou Zhong proudly said, We also have a bit of luck; because of that scoundrel Li Butongs messing up, we did not need to heal that Xiang kids illness, as a result, we now have more bargaining chip to control that Xiang kid. Otherwise, we would not feelfortable letting him take Su Jie away. Xu Ziling casually asked, Did you ask where Yun Yuzhen went? Kou Zhong lowered his voice, My guess is that Dugu Ce is somewhere nearby, hence she went to have a tryst with him, and did not have enough time toe back this morning. Of course! She never expected that we would leave Linjiang Pce. Chapter 5, Part 2 And you are still this happy? Xu Ziling asked in amazement. Kou Zhong glowered at him; he irately said, I am not going to marry her, why should I be unhappy? I really dont care. Ha! Dugu Xiong cleared his throat and turned around, His Highness does not like people making an unnecessary racket. Gentlemen ... hey! Kou Zhong pretended to be surprised, Of course! Other than His Highness own dragon voice, ha! Xu Ziling said in low voice, Our current business is urgent! The Emperors Private Chamber Pce in sight, Fei Yun was waiting in front of the Pces gate, beckoning them toe faster. The three men unleashed their qinggong to fly over. Fei Yuns expression looked heavy; he said, Your guess is not bad, Madame Guier said thatst night His Highness was pestered by Xiao Fei in some kind of game so that in his excitement he did not sleep a wink. I just now remembered that when I made my report to His Highness yesterday, this s1ut also deliberately teased His Highness by kissing him, so that His Highness did not hear what I said. Kou Zhong said, In that case, I am sure that Yuwen Huagu will make his move tonight. Have you found Sima Dekans troops? Xu Ziling asked, Are they nearby? Fei Yun shook his head and said, After his troops left the city, they disappeared, making me very nervous. Ay! I was so busy looking for women that I did not have time for anything else. Xu Zilings countenance changed, How could you do such thing that offends Heaven and reason? he said. Fei Yun was about to re-up, but he struggled hard to press down his temper. With a wry smile he said, I just went to the prison to look for some female prisoners so that if His Highness is excited and want to see it, I will have somebody to hand over to him. This is called looking up to peek into the superiors emotion; otherwise this officials head would have been separated from its body. [Trantors note: I am not sure about this part, I simply trante it as is. I am sure it is referring to something else, but for the life of me, I cant remember. EDIT: I just remember something: could it be that it was a reference to Fu Junchuo?] Full of regret, Kou Zhong said, His Highness memory shouldnt be too good; perhaps he has already forgotten about it. Fei Yun agreed, He often forgets things, he said, But I am afraid that as soon as His Highness sees you, he might recall this matter. If he asks about it, it will be terrible! What are we waiting here? Xu Ziling said, Time is of the essence here. With a bitter expression Fei Yun said, His Highness and the Imperial Concubines are taking a bath at the Long Life Pool, and then after they are done, they will eat something first, and wont be ready in one or two sichen. Even if we get in we will still have to wait. Very well! Please follow this official. Seeing Fei Yuns attitude to them was a lot friendlier, although knowing it was a fake, Kou and Xu, two boys felt a lot better; they followed him into the main hall of the Emperors Private Chamber Pce. It was the first time the two boys saw such a splendorous and majestic hall; the carpet underneath their feet was thick and soft, the furnishing was carefully selected for quality, no expense was spared, the painting and decoration hanging on the wall were all priceless treasures, dazzling to the eyes of the beholders. Kou Zhong pointed at something and whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Must be brought down here from Guanzhong, Luoyang. Dugu Xiong heard him; he nodded and said, Kou Xiong guessed correctly. Not a soul was in sight in the Hall, nting shafts of sunlight came from the western windows; it was a picture of peace and quiet. On the southern end of the Hall, there was a padded couch carved with dragons and iid with gold and silver; naturally it was Yang Guangs dragon seat. After asking to be excused, Dugu Xiong went out of the Hall, leaving the three men waiting painfully. Fei Yun was restless; they endured painfully for a couple of sichen until the sun was starting to go down before Yu Shiji came in a hurry to announce the good news, They are done! His Highness is putting on clothes, Madame Guier has persuaded His Highness to receive us. The three men had already stood up, hearing him, they sat back down dejectedly. A momentter pce maids came in to light the dozen or so pcenterns hanging all around the Hall; they also closed the doors and windows, and lighted the fire stove at the four corners of the Hall. And then Yang Guangs procession arrived. Several dozen eunuchs and pce maids trooped in and divided themselves into two rows. After a moment ofmotion, they all stood erect and waited. And then Dugu Sheng walked in, leading arge number of Imperial Bodyguards to guard all the entrance and exits. After everything was in ce, he whispered to the four men, I am sure Madame Xiao is our problem; just now she was pestering His Highness to go to Linjiang Pce to watch the sunset. Humph! His Highness is here! Fei Yun hissed. They heard the sound of drum and music from far away. With pce maids and eunuchs leading the way, Yang Guang, apanied by more than a hundred imperial concubines, leisurely came in. He and Xiao Fei and Zhu Fei were riding on plush sedan chairs, which were carried by strong porters; even their leg muscles were saved. Everybody crouched down on the floor to wee this muddleheaded rulers sacred self. It was not until Yang Guang half reclined on the couch and all the imperial concubines were sat properly around him that everybody chanted long live. As if he did not see Kou and Xu, two boys, Yang Guang heaved a deep sigh and said, Zhen knows that there are a lot of people out there who are fighting for Zhens title. Ay! If worstes to worst, I want to be like Chen Houzhu, who, after the country fell, he could be Duke of Changle, and continued his drinking party. Everybody was stunned; why did he make such an ominous talk? Xiao Fei, who sat on Yang Guangs right,ughed tenderly and said, Your Highness is really talkative; some people always exaggerate about those mobs; Your Highness must not believe every word they say. Dugu Sheng said in low voice, Just now under King of Yue, Dong Zhis order, Yuan Shan submitted urgent dispatch, saying that Li Mi is leading million troops, advancing toward the eastern capital, that he already upied Luokou Storehouse; asking His Highness to respond immediately, otherwise the eastern capital will fall. It was new information to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. To their surprise, however, Yu Shiji proudly said, Fortunately this official responded quickly; saying that if that thiefs power were really that great, Yuan Shan would have been killed along the way, how could he have reached Jiangdu? Therefore, on behalf of Your Highness, I already drove that fellow away. Hearing that, Kou and Xu shook their head and sighed. Since there really was an emperor like this, naturally there would be treacherous court official like that. If Yang Guang was unwilling to face the fact, how could he believe Yu Shijis tant lie? They heard Yang Guangs voice, Hows the situation of the robbers outside? Fei Dafu [senior official], give Zhen the truthful report. Calm andposed, Fei Yun bowed and said, Your Highness please understand, the robbers strength is decreasing day by day. Yang Guang sat up straight; frowning, he said, Decreasing by how much? Inventing crazy nonsense, Fei Yun said, Only ten percent of their former strength. Yang Guang breathed a sigh of relief. As if he had just remembered something, he asked, Yuan Shan said Tang Guo Gong [Duke of Tang State/Country] Li Yuan is rising in rebellion in Taiyuan; is there really such thing? Fei Yun jumped in fright; he dropped to his knees and said, Nowadays people on the outside often deliberately start rumors and create trouble; let Weichen [this humble official] investigate clearly, and then submit report to Your Highness. A cold humphing from the pce gate, followed by a shout, Liar! The crowd was startled; they all turned their eyes toward the voice. To their shock, they saw Yuwen Huaji in full military attire striding in. On his side was a lofty, handsome middle-aged man. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings eyes immediately shot out deep hatred, but at the same time they cried out in their heart that the situation has turn to the worse. Dugu Sheng, Fei Yun and Yu Shijis faces immediately turned colorless. They have already ordered their people that if Yuwen Huaji and his cronies wanted to enter the Pce, they must obtain their permission first, yet right now they did not hear anything until he appeared in their presence; therefore, it was very clear that the situation was far from good. It was only now that the Herald at the door announced, Right Guard Garrison General, apanied by Junior Supervisor, is seeking audience with the Emperor. As if they did not see Fei Yun, Kou Zhong, and the others, the two men walked into the middle of the pce hall. After kowtowing and paying their respect to the Emperor, they straightened up and stood facing the people in opposition to them. Dugu Sheng moved in front of Yang Guang. The Imperial Guards at the dragon thrones left, right and rear tensed up. Yang Guang seemed unaware of the swords drawn and bows bent situation in front of him; he asked in astonishment, Why did General Yuwen say that Fei Qingjia is a liar? [Trantors note: ording to the dictionary, the term Qingjia (used by the emperor for his subjects) was only used from Tang Dynasty onwards.] Fei Yun dropped on his knees and cried, Your Highness, please decide for Weichen, Weichen is loyal and devoted to Your Highness, if there is one word of lie, let Weichens dead body lie around in the wilderness. A mocking smile appeared on the corner of Yuwen Huajis mouth; for the first time he saw Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, a deep, cold murderous aura shed in his eyes, as he said indifferently, Previously Du Fuwei was at Shandong, Changbai; now he has reached Liyang. Previously Li Mi barely upied Wagang, but now he has Xingyang, and is taking over Luokou. Previously Li Zitong could not be considered anything, but now he is mustering his troops north of Jiangdu, ready to move south anytime. The reason Your Highness has never heard anything of these is simply because you are surrounded by treacherous court officials. There are changes everywhere, you never received the memorials. Thieves are really so many, but someone wantonly lied that their number is decreasing. Since Your Highness heard that the thieves are few, the troops dispatched are not many, hence they are heavily outnumbered. The bunch of thieves momentum is growing day by day, so much so that Tang Guo Gong Li Yuan rising in rebellion, everybody under the heavens heard about it, only Your Highness is kept inside the drum. Yu Shiji also dropped down on the floor and cried, Your Highness, please do not listen to nderous information, the one rising in rebellion is him. Yang Guang looked confused; he hurriedly said, Two Qingjia please stand up first, Zhen will never let you be wronged and suffer injustice. Yuwen Huaji and Yuwen Shiji let out a coldugh in disdain. Watching this sight, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart sank, realizing that Yuwen Huaji had seized control over the situation. Fei Yun, two men, were still unwilling to crawl up; they cried even harder, Yesterday Weichen presented an ount book to Your Highness, it was ... Yuwen Huajiughed aloud. What ount book? he said, Is it this thing? He pulled out something from his bosom; it was precisely the ount book. This time even Yang Guang knew that these two men did note with good intention. Guards! he angrily shouted, Arrest them! Amidst miserable scream, the imperial guards by the door fell to the east and copsed to the west, blood sttered everywhere, a group of men rushed in, led by several men wearing generals armor. These men immediately joined Yuwen Huaji, two brothers, and upied half of the halls space nearest to the main door. The crowd of imperial concubines flower-like countenance turned pale as they scrambled to hide. Dugu Sheng and his several dozen of Imperial Guards rushed forward and formed a barrier in front of Yang Guang. Fei Yun and Yu Shiji were so scared that their tears dried out instantly; they crawled and rolled to hide behind Dugu Sheng. Only Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood where they were, in the middle between the two opposing troops. Fortunately by this time everybodys gaze was focused on Yang Guang that nobody paid them any attention. Sima Dekan! Dugu Sheng shouted loudly, Are you rebelling? Still havent put down your weapon? Unexpectedly, Sima Dekan C who was the leader of the attacking troops Cughed and said, Officers and soldiers are thinking of returning to service, this old general only wanted to submit memorial asking His Highness to return to the Capital. General Dugus words are too heavy. Yang Guang stood up. Pointing his finger, he shouted, Zhens treatment to you has never been ungenerous, why did you force Zhen doing something that I am unwilling to do today? Yuwen Huaji let out a cold snort and said, Your Highness abandoned the ancestral shrine, traveling all over the ce continually: outside, sending military expedition, inside, excessive extravagance, sending the strong to perish under the edge of des, the old and weak to the gutter, the four citizen sses [i.e. schrs, farmers, artisans and merchants] lost their industries, robbers rise in masses, yet still fully employing traitors to tter, concealing a fault and refusing sound advice. If you are willing to execute the treacherous court officials by your side,e back to the Capital, Chen [your servants, used by official when speaking to the emperor] are still willing to vow loyalty and devotion, and will strive our hardest for the imperial court. Yang Guangs countenance changed. Indeed you are rising in rebellion, he shouted, Whos the provocateur? Qiang! Yuwen Shiji pulled the saber hanging on his waist, The peoples grievance has reached the Heaven, why need a provocateur? Yang Guang shouted at the top of his lungs, Kill them all for me! Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling away. Utilizing their power they flew backwards. Bang, they broke through the window and Crash! theynded outside. Meanwhile the sound of battle inside the Pce Hall shook the heavens, intermingled with the scream and wails of the imperial concubines, pce maids and eunuchs. The chaos was just like the sky has fallen. Once again Kou and Xu, two boys were caught in the middle of heavy siege. Book 6 - 6 – Killing Their Way Out of Imperial City Book 6 Chapter 6 C Killing Their Way Out of Imperial City Before Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings feet evennded on the ground, rain of arrows already shot at them. Evidently other than the Emperors Personal Chamber Pce, the rest of the Imperial City has noiselessly fallen under the control of Yuwen Huaji and the renegades under hismand. Apparently these hundreds of powerful arrows have been prepared as well; the arrows were hard and urate, perhaps even Ning Daoqi himself would have to entail strenuous effort to block them. Greatly shocked, while their bodies were still falling, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling raised their true qi with four palms faced the ground, unexpectedly before they touched the ground their bodies rose high into the air again. Not only they evaded the rain of arrows, they also managed to throw themselves into the cluster of trees in the imperial garden next to the pce hall. With a loud shout countless renegade soldiers, wearing white band on their heads, charged out of the woods to intercept the two boys. In an instant the two boys were falling into the enemy ranks and were separated by the crowd. Outside the woods there were torches everywhere; the battle cry shook the heavens. After brandishing his fists to knock out two men, Xu Ziling managed to snatch a long saber. Using the strength of his wrist, he brandished the long saber, a burst of powerful saber qi passed through the edge of his de, three men fell face up instantly and died on the spot. Seizing this opportunity, Xu Ziling fled up a tree. He saw everywhere outside the woods were people running and chasing and killing each other, several pce halls already caught fire, thick smoke rose up to the sky, blocking the light from the sun and the moon. Under the light of the ze, the Imperial City has be the killing hell. Two martial art masters from the renegade troops pursued him up the tree, Xu Ziling executed chain-saber technique, blood sshed and the two men dropped dead to the ground. Under the powerful sound of the arrows, Xu Ziling was unable to divert his attention to look for Kou Zhong. Soaring high to the sky, he unexpectedly broke his own record by crossing a distance of seven, eight zhang, andnded on the edge of the imperial forest. About a dozen renegade soldiers pounced on him, fast as lightning Xu Ziling darted forward. He tried to avoid being caught in hard fighting. The long saber in his hand flickered like lightning shes, with unbelievable speed he hacked on three sabers, immediately three more enemies fall face up, they met a violent death. Even he himself was so surprised that his hand could be that formidable. Two spears attacked from behind, without looking back Xu Ziling swayed left and right, relying on his senses, and dodged the spear attack by a hairs breath. And then he ducked forward and broke out of the siege. A harsh shouting from about thirty zhang on his left. Recognizing Kou Zhongs voice, Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong was in danger. His heart was shaken, he could no longer maintain the clear water in the well realm, immediately the spear of a renegade soldier, who had been hiding in the dark, was about to pierce the vital point on his nk. The instant the tip of the spear prated his clothes, Xu Ziling came back to his senses; his tiger body twisted abruptly, his internal energy reacted, the fatal spear thrust slipped away, it only ripped his clothes and scratched a long cut that reached his back. Flicking his saber, Xu Ziling hacked the renegade soldiers face. With a ferocious roar he swept past a dozen or so enemies. His toes kicked the ground, he charged toward the direction of Kou Zhongs voice. Under the flickering ze, a group of about thirty renegade soldiers were engaging Kou Zhong in close fight, one of them was surprisingly Yuwen Shiji. Xu Ziling noticed that for each sword attack from him, Kou Zhong had to strenuously move his spear to deal with it, giving the other soldiers the opportunity to attack. Xu Ziling also noticed that Kou Zhongs entire body was covered with blood, and that his footwork was unsteady, so he knew that Kou Zhong would not be able to hold on much longer. Letting out a wild roar, Xu Zilings saber and body merged into one entity; forgetting any saber technique, he simply brandished his saber in arge saber sweep, like a furious billowing waves of the stormy sea it shot toward Yuwen Shiji. Yuwen Shiji was just thinking that in two or three more sword moves he was going to take Kou Zhongs life, and then he would turn his attention to find Xu Ziling. Seeing Xu Ziling wasing to deliver his own life, he was delighted; leaving Kou Zhong behind, he turned around to meet Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling had already thrown the matter of life and death to the back of his mind; his heart and mind were free from surprise and fear. Dang! Dang! Dang! the two men crossed each other in the air and exchanged three moves. When his sword made contact with Xu Zilings saber, Yuwen Shiji knew something was not right; he felt that the opponents scorching hot true qi was bursting out of the saber and an instantter it attacked his meridians; his own Mysterious Ice Energy [see Book 1 Chapter 1] seemed to be subdued by the opponents iparably subtle innate true qi, so that he found it hard to block. Although his power was far inferior to Yuwen Huajis, butpared to Xu Zilings, it was still deeper. Just by taking a mouthful of true qi, he neutralized at least half of the strength of the opponents qi invading his body. The sword in his right hand executed an exquisite, beyondpare technique, to deflect the long saber sideways, and continued seamlessly to hack on Xu Zilings neck; only the power was not as severe as before. Xu Ziling stayed calm without any hint of fear, his left palm stretched out t, with incredible precision it moved from bottom to top, without even missing a hairsbreadth itnded on the swords de and pushed it up. A whiff of chilliness crept up in Yuwen Shijis heart; now he understood why Yuwen Chengdu and Yuwen Wudi suffered defeat in these two boys hands, and why his elder brother Yuwen Huaji repeatedly ordered him not to allow these two boys escape alive from this ce. A sudden gust of wind assaulted his back. Since the two men exchanged moves in the air, by now Xu Ziling hasnded behind him. Yuwen Shiji has never imagined that Xu Zilings saber would be that fast; unexpectedly without the slightest dy Xu Ziling alreadyunched a counterstrike, swiftly hacking toward his back. Yuwen Shiji ignored the still surging qi in his body. Clenching his teeth, he swiveled around and promptly blocked Xu Zilings saber. Qiang! Yuwen Shiji let out a miserable groan, his mouth spurted fresh blood, as his sword, along with his body, was struck by Xu Zilings saber that he flew backward until his back crashed against the trunk of arge tree. Injury on top of injury, he slumped down to the ground. Xu Ziling did not get it easy either, Yuwen Shijis reaction force jolted his body that his meridians nearly burst and his five viscera nearly ruptured; fortunately he had sustained many injuries in the past that he already knew what to do. The instant before he fell to the ground, he incited the fantastic beyondpare, which can bring people back from the dead, innate true qi from the Secret to Long Life, to neutralize Yuwen Shijis overpowering Mysterious Ice Energy. Bang! Xu Ziling fell heavily by Kou Zhongs feet. A hard fight where both sides went full strength like this, victory or defeat was decided very quickly. Having experienced how formidable Yuwen Shiji was, Kou Zhong thought Xu Ziling was dead. In his fury, with a divine strength, which nobody knew where it came from, his spear thrust to the left and pierced to the right, killing the enemy that they scattered to the east and fell down to the west. Someone wanted to attack him from behind; Kou Zhong swiftly turned around and thrust his spear. The enemy spurted blood as his body was thrown about a zhang back. The other enemies were intimidated by his power, plus Yuwen Shiji was out ofmission, hence they scattered away in panic. Kou Zhong felt the sky was spinning, the earth went around; he knew that it was because he had lost too much blood and had exerted too much strength. His condition was very close to antern which oil was nearly dried up. Letting out a deep sigh, he believed that the two brothers would lose their lives in this ce. But suddenly Xu Ziling sprang up and shouted, Get on my back! Kou Zhong was delighted, Good kid! he shouted. Casting off the spear, he threw himself onto Xu Zilings back, and held on to him tightly. Xu Ziling circted his qi to force a mouthful of fresh blood out of his system, afterwards the pit of his stomach felt better as his qi was able to flow freely. And then he leaped diagonally up onto a tree branch protruding horizontally overhead first before borrowing the bouncing force of the branch he flew ten more zhang toward the back of the roof of a two-storied building nearby. His movement was as fluid as moving clouds and flowing water. By the time the renegade troops wanted to pursue, he, with Kou Zhong on his back, was already at the roof ridge on the other side of the building. There was a longughter from afar but quicklying near. Yuwen Huaji flew over and shouted, Where do you think you are going? Hearing Yuwen Huajis voice, Xu Ziling knew that if he caught up with them, they would not escape alive. Hastily he jumped down, andnded in the courtyard of the pceplex where the pce maids and the eunuchs slept. Without thinking he ran inside the building. Chapter 6, Part 2 Yuwen Huaji did not expect Xu Ziling would dare to hide inside the building, he was still flying on the roof, looking for the two boys everywhere. Inside the building cries of grief shook the heavens, about a dozen renegade soldiers were pressing down several pce maids on the floor, doing their beastly deeds. Xu Ziling forgot their own safety, he brandished his saber with all his might, killing the renegade soldiers, but those pce maids were already at theirst gasp. Another group of renegade soldiers rushed in. Xu Ziling quietly raised another mouthful of qi to break out through the window, carrying Kou Zhong on his back. Kou Zhong whispered in his ear, Pagoda! Xu Ziling understood; he dashed toward the hiding ce. By this time most of the buildings in the pceplex have already engulfed in the sea of me, the only people going back and forth were the renegade soldiers searching for survivors. Xu Ziling unleashed his consummate escaping skill, fleeing high and ducking low, toward the pagoda on the southeast corner of theplex. The renegade soldiers did see them, but in a sh they already vanished, hence they did not know where to pursue. Meanwhile Kou Zhongs breathing has be short and weak, his hands and feet lost their strength. Xu Ziling thought fast; taking advantage while the two peoples chest and back were pressing against each other, he sent his true qi to enter Kou Zhongs body. The pagoda was in sight. Suddenly there was a cold snorting from behind. The two boys recognized Yuwen Huajis voice, their soul flew away and scattered. Kou Zhong wanted to let his hands and feet go, with the intention of letting Xu Ziling escape alive, but Xu Ziling held on to him tight, while suddenly made a sharp turn sideways to evade Yuwen Huajis splitting the air palm strike, and then promptly entered a pce building that was still burning. Yuwen Huaji had just scored a great victory C he killed his mortal enemy, Dugu Sheng, with one palm strike, naturally he was unwilling to follow the two boys taking risk, so he leaped onto the roof of the building, thinking that the moment the two boys going out of the building would be the moment they would lose their lives. To his surprise, however, all he saw was a ball of fire rushing upwards. Yuwen Huaji stared hard; turned out it was Kou Zhong brandishing a piece or burning beam with all his might. At first nce he thought it was just a ball of fire, so with a long whistle he swooped down. After receiving Xu Zilings true qi, whichplemented his own perfectly, Kou Zhong was able to recover some his strength. Upon seeing that, he looked back andughed, Yuwen Huagu, nice move! Waving his right hand, he transmitted his qi into the zing beam to created millions of burning fragments raining down on Yuwen Huaji. If it were only sparks of fire, Yuwen Huaji was definitely more than able to deal with it, but in the midst of the sparks was Kou Zhongs true qi, which was a different story altogether. If because of this he suffered damage on his face, the gain of killing the two boys would not make up for his losses. Therefore, he could only sigh inwardly and moved away to the side. Just this short dy was enough for the two boys to flee into the bamboo forest under the pagoda. Wherever the two boys went, fire sprang up everywhere. Yuwen Huaji was so angry that he spouted smoke through his seven orifices; he knew Kou Zhong set everything in his path on fire, to block him from chasing or intercepting them. Hurriedly he gathered his mysterious power and taking advantage before the fire grew, he rushed into the woods. To his surprise, however, these past several days the weather was dry and the wind was strong, plus Kou Zhong intentionally waved the burning wood around, so that sparks flew everywhere, the fire followed the wind, the wind intensified the fire, in a blink of the eye most of the bamboo forest caught fire. Crackling noise of the fire was everywhere, forcing Yuwen Huaji to make a detour and had to enter the forest in a roundabout way. The most annoying thing for him was that the burning bamboo created thick smoke, making it difficult for him to estimate the two boys position. Suddenly a loudughtering from above, Kou Zhong was quacking like a duck as he said, Yuwen Huagu, well let you keep your stinky head for the time being, but just be careful! Dont let anybody else take it before we fight you. A whooshing noise suddenly filled the air; by the time Yuwen Huaji cried out inwardly, there was a splosh! of the water from the moat just outside the imperial city wall. By the time Yuwen Huaji reached the top of the wall, he saw under the illumination of the ze that the water in the moat was as t and smooth as a mirror; the two boys have disappeared without any trace. Looking back, he saw the entire imperial city was like a sea of fire, thick smoke hid the starry sky above. Muddleheaded ruler is dead! The entire Jiangdu was boiling. The big fire of the imperial city painted half of the sky above this great city bloody red. From time to time renegade soldiers on horseback galloped by and cried out, Muddleheaded ruler is dead! Some people went into hiding in fear; but some others set off firecrackers in joyous celebration. The young and the strong swarmed toward the imperial city to look for Yang Guangs dead body, they wanted to burn and peel it to vent their anger, or perhaps they were hoping to get a bit of share of the treasure the muddleheaded ruler left behind from the hands of the renegade soldiers. The official storehouse was broken and looted bare. Some renegade soldiers even took advantage of the situation to break and entermon peoples houses to rape and plunder, so that a sh ensued. The entire city of Yangzhou was in chaos, Yuwen Huaji and his party were helpless to exercise control over it. Dripping wet and cold, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had to do their utmost just to crawl out of the moat, and groped their way toward the aqueduct outside the city. On the streets, mobs of people allied themselves with each other, carrying clubs, staffs, swords and spears; as soon as they saw a Sui soldier alone, they would swarm toward him and beat him up, without the slightest care whether the soldier was actually the hero who had helped killing the fatuous ruler. It was a clear disy of their bitter hatred toward Sui army and the government officials. Xu Ziling was straining to carry Kou Zhong on his back walking along the street, pushing his way through crowds of spectators bustling with noise and excitement. A burst of apuse and cheers shook the heavens, turned out a squad of about twenty Sui soldiers were being dragged down from their horses by the masses and were beaten half dead. Kou Zhong groaned, That section of river course was really hard, and I have no true qi at all; my body feels light and fluttering, and I seem to lose all my strength. Huh? You, this kid, are not injured at all, why does your footstep also seem floaty? With a bitter smile Xu Ziling replied, You have the nerve to say that? You, this kid, is so heavy. You dont know how hard it is to carry you on my back. Kou Zhong knew that Xu Ziling has exerted too much strength; struggling hard to separateughter from his coughing, he said, You, this kid, really know how to crack a joke. Ay! This time we failed to harm Yuwen Huagu, and nearly lost our little lives instead; we are definitely out of luck thoroughly. Xu Ziling nced around at the chaotic situation; he noticed that some houses at the west side of the city had just started to catch fire. He said with a heavy voice, Yuwen Huagu will not benefit too much advantage from this, to control this terrible mess is not easy at all; and dont forget that Ol Die and Li Zitong are waiting around here, ring like a tiger watching its prey! Kou Zhongs legs gave up, he nearly fell to the ground, his whole body was exhausted as he was holding on to Xu Ziling for dear life. The two boys strained hard just to walk several steps forward; finally they could not take it anymore. Entering a small alley, they sat down on the ground with their backs against the wall. After catching up their breath, Kou Zhong said, We might not be able to rely on that water route, cant say for sure, but Yuwen Huaji might be waiting for us there to walk right into the trap. This moment about a hundred or so renegade soldiers arrived; as soon as they saw the armed mob, they immediately attacked. The battle cry shook the heavens, everybody fell over each other whether to evade or to run away. It did not seem like an organized attack, rather, it looked like these renegade soldiers spontaneous act of retaliation. Watching people desperately running to the other end of the alley right in front of his eyes, Kou Zhongs spirit was aroused. I dare say that all the city gates are wide open, he said, I dont believe no Sui soldiers will take this opportunity to flee. Xu Ziling was trying hard to gather his true qi, but he could not seed. He mused that if they met even an ordinary Sui troop, they would suffer cmity. Sighing, he said, So what if the gates are open, do we have strength to walk out? Hows your injury? Kou Zhongughed and said, After we get out of the city, let me, Zhong Shao, strip naked and have you count how many cuts are there on my body, I guarantee it will scare you. Fortunately Laozi [I, your father] have deep power, the cuts can automatically fuse together to stop the bleeding, otherwise I would have died from hemorrhaging alone. The most formidable thing was that Yuwen Shijis sword; he could pierce the true qi protecting my body. But at least this young master returned thepliment by giving him a kick; otherwise, how could you knock him down? Quickly thank me. Xu Ziling roared inughter. You, this fellow, will never concede, he said, Were it not for me, you, this kid, would have be minced meat sauce. Kou Zhong joined him inughter. Wiping the tears from the corner of his eye, he said, Why is it that even after we failed and were wiped over the floor, and now whether we will live or die is still hard to forecast, we could still be this happy? Xu Ziling craned his neck to look at the street where there was nontern and no burning fire. The chaotic street just a moment ago has be as quiet as the ghost ce, except for unceasing shouting and screaming from the distance. Breathing a sigh of relief, he said, The reason is very simple: because we are still young. As long as we still have days ahead of us, and we dont die, even if we are a bitte, we can always find Yuwen Huagu to settle the old ount clearly. Kou Zhong acted as if he was deep in thought concerning this matter; and then, propping himself against the wall he stood up shakily, and spoke with determination, Even if we have to crawl, we have to crawl out of town. If we dont leave now, there is a good chance we will never leave. Book 6 - 7 – Father and Son Reunion Book 6 Chapter 7 C Father and Son Reunion Stepping into the main street leading to the southern suburbs, the two boys immediately felt at ease. They saw millions of people hurriedly moved in the same direction. People and carts fighting over each other for the right of way, the sound of crying and shouting shook the sky. It was not clear anymore who were the soldiers and who were the thieves, everybody just wanted to rush somewhere else to avoid the cmity. Xu Ziling was helping Kou Zhong walking through the crowd, groping in the dark, forging ahead. The sky was covered with the thick smoke and the debris blown by the wind from the direction of the imperial city. The grand city of Yangzhou has turned into the terrifying hell of Asura. When they reached another intersection with a small alley, the crowd ahead of them was suddenly thrown into confusion; they heard someone yelled, Hear the newly-appointed Commander-in-chief Yuwen Huajis order: go back immediately, otherwise you will be killed without any pardon. Everybody shouted together; ignoring the order, they walked even faster toward the port. Soon afterwards the flow of crowd was moving freely. Nobody knew where the renegade troops captain, who had just made the announcement, had gone to. Kou Zhong spoke in Xu Zilings ear, This is the power of the masses. As long as you know how to use it, it can disy previously unimaginable efficacy. Xu Ziling let out a bitterugh and said, How about leaving some spiritual talk behind? I am having a hard time helping you walk. Before he even finished talking, a crowd of men and women pushed them from behind that they had no choice but to stagger along for a dozen paces. And when they looked up, they were already in the wilderness outside the city. The two boys followed the tide of people, suffering untold hardships to leave the Jiang County behind, walking along the river toward Danyang. As long as they could find the biggest brothel along the Yangtze River, there was a good chance they would find information about Xiang Yushan, Susu and the others. Kou Zhongs internal injury was actually rather heavy. Fortunately, after taking a rest in the forest by the road for two days, Xu Ziling recovered his strength first, and then he put his hand to help Kou Zhong treating his injury. After ten days, the two boys continued their journey. While nearing Danyang, they came face to face with a group of refugees and found out that Du Fuweis partner, Fu Gongyou has captured Danyang, so that Danyang residents fled out of the city to take refuge in the rural areas and other towns and counties nearby. By the time the two boys arrived at a little town called Dingshi northeast of Danyang, nine out of ten houses were vacant; a dismal atmosphere just before a great catastrophe about to strike. After finding someone he could ask, Kou Zhong came back and said, Turns out five days after Yang Guang was killed, Li Zitong received the news and promptly brought his force to attack Yangzhou. That coward Yuwen Huagu did not dare to meet the enemy, he took a boat and slipped away. I heard that instead of going back to Luoyang, he went to Changan. Afterughing aloud, he went on, This kid still did not dare to be the emperor, he embraced Yang Huangs nephew Qin Wang [king of Qin], and made him the emperor, so they are going to Changan to seek only ease andfort. Xu Ziling, who was sitting by the well, sneered and said, The road is long, the soldiers are weary; Yuwen Huajis reputation has never been good, everyone regards him as the emperors hunting dog, and now just the evil rebel dogs master. Basically he does not enjoy popr support. I dont believe he can achieve any great things. Humph! Lets not talk about Changan, even if he went to Luoyang, would Li Mi be willing to let him off? Kou Zhongughed and said, Of course he is going to Changan! I heard the Li n is marching on to Changan, I just dont know whether they won or they lost? That kid Li Shimin is really not a simple person. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Why do you care about so many things? Right now I am most concerned over Su Jie. Danyang is a mess, that need not be mentioned, I dont know whether they have met some mishaps. Ol Die is not ay practitioner of Buddhism. If he found out that we are in the city, it would not be much different than bumping into Yuwen Huaji. Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Even if everybody in Danyang has turned into a tiger, we still have to go there; otherwise we will lose contact with Su Jie. Having made up his mind, the two boys continued their journey. The towns and viges closer to Danyang have all be disaster area after the fire. Their guess was that it was all the good craftsmanship of the defeated Sui troops who were running away from Danyang. Just these batches of defeated thief soldiers returning to the north have brought about such enormous suffering to themon people. The two boys heart grew very heavy. When the city of Danyang was in sight, the two boys discussed the best way to enter the city. Xu Ziling said, Although Danyang city wall is a bit lower than Jiangdus, it is still at least several zhang high. Without hooks and ropes, even if we trained the Bird Crossing Technique for ten more years, we would still be unable to jump over it. So what do we do? By this time the two boys clothes were soiled and raggedy, their hair messy and their faces dirty. In this kind of critical period, no matter how much money they had, it would be useless. Kou Zhong has been eating only wild fruits for thest twenty days, he lost the sense of taste in his mouth already, so he was dying to get into the city. Nobody would expect we came to Danyang, he said, Plus right now we cant even recognize ourselves. We might as well swagger into the city. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, The city guard is most strict in wartime, my fear is that there will be spies mingling among the people going into the city. If we simply crash in through the gate, I am afraid something wrong might happen. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Are you forgetting that we are Wulin martial art masters now? If we cant crash in, well simply run away, and then think of other ways to enter the city. Throw your ghost-headed saber first, lets go! Surprisingly enough, when the two boys entered the city, they saw Du Fuweis Jianghuai Army were interrogating everybody at the gate; however, they only asked a couple of questions to the two boys. After finding out that they were refugees from Jiangdu, they simply let the two boys entered without any further questions. As soon as they were inside, Kou Zhong excitedly said, Finally our bad luck days are over. Ever since we came to Zhai Rangs Big Boss Mansion, I dont know whether it was because we were affected by his rotten bad luck, but we always had bad luck, so much so that we almost lost our lives in Jiangdu. Xu Zilingughed and said, All Zhai Rangs people are dead, what else there is to say? You ought to look at it the other way: after so many cmities we did not die, our flood of good fortune is really the same as the heavens. Thinking that soon they were going to see Susu, Kou Zhong readily admitted, Right, right! Our flood of good fortune is the same as the heavens. Oh, something is not right here! Didnt Xiang kid say that after going into town, we need to walk straight for three hundred steps or so, and then we will see his mothers something courtyard? We have walked for over a thousand steps, why didnt we see that ghost signboard? Xu Ziling halted his steps in shock, Oh no! his voice trembled, Did you remember we saw several buildings that were burned through the top? I am afraid it was right there. Like a couple little beggars the two boys sat on the street, staring nkly at the passers-by sparsely gracing the street, with asional Jianghuai army soldier galloping on horseback, yet nobody paid any attention to these two boys. For thest few years there were people fleeing from cmity everywhere, this kind of sight no longer surprised them. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I really feel like seeing one Sui soldier kill one, seeing two Sui soldiers kill a pair. If they wanted to leave just leave! No one is stopping you; why would they burn everything before leaving? If they wanted to rob, why did they have to burn and kill? Xu Ziling indifferently, ming the Heaven and ming the Earth is useless. Logically speaking, that Xiang kid is highly intelligent, he must have a way to contact us. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, We have been sitting here for half a day, not even half a person came to contact us. I wonder if we should just wait here forever, or should we go buy some clothes that are a bit brighter and neater, and then find a cure for our hungry tummy, and finally find a ce to stay for the night? Xu Ziling straightened up and rose, I know you dont have the patience, he said, Just go! Xu Ziling was lying on the bed, practicing his internal energy cultivation. He only stopped when Kou Zhong came back. This ce was not a hotel or an inn, rather, it was a house abandoned by its master, who fled the cmity with his entire family, so that the two boys could use it as their temporary shelter. Xu Ziling sat up. Any news? he asked. Kou Zhong sat down beside him and said, I left Beautiful Shifus markings all over the city. If that Xiang kid sees it, he will know that we are here. Hows the situation outside? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong shook his head, Daytime is still all right, he said, But as soon as it is dark, everyone is afraid to go out into the streets. The shops are either closed for the day or closed for good. Ol Dies men are truly disappointing, from time to time they break into the citizens houses tomit their evil deeds, angering the heavens and grieving the people. No wonder hearing the Jianghuai Armys arrival, everybody ran away. In my opinion, Xu Ziling said, That Xiang kid ought to be gone somece else with Su Jie. Ol Die has so many enemies, Baling Bang could be one. Naturally Xiang kid wanted to preserve his head. While Kou Zhong was deep in thought, suddenly there was a knock on their door. The two boys shivered in fear, they looked at each other in dismay. Kou Zhong immediately sprang up and said, Perhaps its Xiang kid, because I left secret marks to point out that we stay in this ce. Xu Ziling was greatly delighted; he dashed toward the main gate, and standing behind the door, he called out, Who is it? No response from the other side of the door. Kou Zhong had a very bad feeling; he darted toward Xu Ziling and whispered in his ear, Somethings wrong, lets get out of here! But suddenly they heard a sighing from the middle of the hall. The two boys scalp went numb; they turned around immediately, and saw their tall and thin old dad, still wearing his tall hat, with his hands behind his back, was standing in the middle of the hall, with his face devoid of any expression, he was coldly sizing the two boys up and down. Among the people that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling feared to meet, Du Fuwei ought to be on the top of the list; even meeting Li Mi or Yuwen Huaji was not as dreadful. Thinking that this time Du Fuwei hase prepared, he must have prepared inescapable before making personal appearance for this father and son reunion, the two boys were groaning even harder in their hearts. Letting out a dry cough, Kou Zhong said, This is Ol Dies territory, just call your men out! Du Fuwei could not helpughing, Good kid! he said, Still so cunning. You are trying to sound out what your Ol Die has prepared this time, arent you? Let me tell you straight! After receiving the information that the two of you have entered the city this morning, Die immediately rushed for more than forty li nonstop to see you, these two little demons. Right now I dont have even half an attendant by my side. If you want to escape, just escape! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Die is the number one martial artist in the world, you have a reputation to keep, and now your children do not have a single weapon we couldy our hands on; is it possible for Die to give us three days grace period, so that we can make appropriate arrangement, before we and Ol Die go somewhere out of the city to have a his mothers battle? Du Fuwei looked up at the beam; he said indifferently, I want to speak alone with you, Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly stunned; they both thought that perhaps he wanted to deal with them one person at a time. But it was unnecessary, because even with the two boys fighting together, to defeat this world-caliber martial art expert was simply lunatic ravings. Deep in his heart Xu Ziling had a feeling that things were taking a turn for the better. Besides, if they were going to die anyway, there was no harm in taking his mothers gamble a little bit. Thereupon he nodded and said, In that case Ill wait outside the door! Finished speaking he climbed out the window. Du Fuweis expression was serene; he sat down in a chair at the southern end of the room and said in a soft voice, Xiao Zhong! Have a seat! A bit ttered by the courtesy, Kou Zhong sat down in an imperial tutor chair [high back with arm rests] on his right hand side. Du Fuwei was silent for half a day. Finally he said calmly, Yuwen Huaji has been with Yang Guang for too long, a lot of his bad habit cannot be changed. Going to Peng Cheng, because the waterway is blocked by Li Mi, he has to make a detour toward Changan, hoping that he could beat Li Yuan by one step in gaining control over the Capital. Unexpectedly he ordered his men to robmon peoples more than two thousand ox carts. More foolishly, he used those carts to transport pce maids and treasures he plundered from Yang Guangs pces, while weapons, equipment and food provision he had ordinary soldiers to carry on their back, provoking the soldiers that they are rebelling. The leader was precisely Sima Dekan, who once joined hands with him in killing Yang Guang. Although he managed to pacify the rebellion, his strength took a big hit. Ay! Yuwen Huaji has always been known for his wisdom and scheming ability, its hard to imagine that he wouldmit such an unwise move. Kou Zhong did not understand why the vicious and extremely wicked Du Fuwei would want to chat with him; he had no choice but to endure patiently and listen respectfully. Chapter 7, Part 2 Du Fuwei went on, His stupidity benefited Li Mi, who had Xu Shiji and Shen Luoyan prepare an ambush at Liyang, and inflict defeat on Yuwen Huaji; countless soldiers surrendered, women, money and goods were lost. Relying on his exceptional martial art skill, Yuwen Huaji led twenty thousand remnants toward Weixian at the north; his reputation will be difficult to maintain. Kou Zhong blurted, Wont that mean Li Mis prestige is flourishing? He could not help thinking about Li Mis Duke of Pushans Decree to have him and Xu Ziling hunted and killed. Their unfavorable situation has made a turn to the worse. Moreover, thinking back to Du Fuwei in front of him, whom he had no hope of oveing, unless there was divine intervention, there would not be any narrow and lucky escape this time. Du Fuwei turned his attention to Kou Zhong; gazing deeply into his eyes, he said, Between you and Xiao Ling, two boys, I like you, this kid, better. Do you know why? Kou Zhong thought that he was being sarcastic; he sneered and said, Toward Dies misced kindness, Child will be eternally grateful [orig. hard to forget even after ones teeth fall out]. A hint of smile escaped from the corner of Du Fuweis mouth; he said softly, Does Child want to know the reason? Speak up then! Kou Zhong grudgingly replied, Even if Child does not want to listen, I cant. Du Fuwei did not pay any attention to Kou Zhongs frigid irony and scorching satire; he said indifferently, Because you, this little demon, are a lot like me. Stunned, Kou Zhong looked at him; for the first time he could feel that Du Fuwei was sincere. Du Fuwei averted Kou Zhongs gaze. Looking straight ahead he said slowly, Yuwen Huaji did not look into the mirror; his martial art skill is abundant, but his poprity is insufficient. When the news of that fatuous ruler got killed reached Luoyang, Yang Shichong [sic, I think it was supposed to be Wang Shichong] immediately threw his support to King of Yue, Yang Dong to be a puppet emperor. Nowadays, whoever has control over the military will have control over the general situation. Otherwise, even if you have unrivalled martial art skill, you will be no more than an outstanding warrior or perhaps super assassin. Listening to the implication of what he said, Kou Zhong started to get a feel of the purpose of this one-on-one conversation Du Fuwei wanted to have with him. Du Fuwei exined further, Li Yuan cant be considered anything; however, this dog father unexpectedly begot a tiger cub Li Shimin. In session he swindled the Tujue and Liu Wuzhou not to attack Taiyuan, so that the Li n wont have fears of trouble in the rear, furthermore, it enabled him tounch sudden attack to defeat Song Laozheng [venerable old man], capture Changan, and support King of Dai, Yang You to be the emperor, and nearly angered Li Mi to death. Du Fuweis eyes returned to Kou Zhong as he spoke in heavy voice, Right now the Sui Dynastys name remains, but the reality is gone. Although one after another theirter generations are receiving support to be the emperor, it is nothing more than the final radiance of the setting sun; a little bit of excitement here and there before it is thrown into oblivion. Those with aspiration, who make unifying the world [China] as his mission, who are carrying thousand different schemes, who are surveying the world, other than Li Mi, who could possibly contend with me, Du Fuwei? Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes lit up; his eyes exuded iparable passion, but he did not say a single word. Boldly and powerfully Du Fuwei pped a small table by his chair, the solidly built table immediately disintegrated and crumpled to the floor. Kou Zhong jumped in fright and turned his eyes on him. Du Fuweis eyes exuded a spirited ray that Kou Zhong has never seen before. Staring at Kou Zhong, he said, If you are willing to earnestly and sincerely recognize me, Du Fuwei, as your father, and change your surname to my Du surname, I, Du Fuwei, will treat you like my own, and will help you be the new dynastys emperor. Kou Zhong was stunned, You dont want to be the emperor? he asked. Du Fuwei threw his head back and let out a longugh; he said, Li Mi wants to be the emperor, Yuwen Huaji wants to be the emperor, Dou Jiande wants to be the emperor, although he has no guts Li Yuan also wants to be the emperor. Everybody wants to be the emperor, but what about me, Du Fuwei? Its only this: with my martial art skill, I am unwilling to be left out. Kou Zhong looked at him incredulously; he sounded him out, You are really willing to yield the emperor position to me? Du Fuwei replied in a heavy voice, The fish and the bears paw, you cant have both at the same time [idiom from Mencius]; both are difficult to attain. If I forced you to help me bing the emperor, someday I will be killed by you. You and Xu Ziling are the type of person who innately unwilling to ept an inferior status. The first time I talked to you, I already knew it. Kou Zhongs tiger body shook severely; he awkwardly said, If I really admit you as my father, how could I possibly harm you? Du Fuwei sighed and said, In the struggle over the throne, nobody has any rtionship with anybody else;passion, duty, propriety and integrity are totally useless. Those who want to achieve big things do not attach any importance to reality, its easy for them to say empty words, and in everything they do, they must be vicious and merciless. The reason why the Ol Du thinks highly of you, is precisely because you are that kind of person. You have ambition, and you have the capability. So when everybody in Jianghu say that you are simply lucky, only the Ol Du is deeply aware that the two of you are really formidable. Just ask anybody, who has not fallen under your trick and fallen under your control? And who has really been able to deceive you? After a short pause, he continued, Xiao Ling and you are two different types of people; even if I killed him, he would never admit me as his father. His expression turned serious as he went on, As soon as you make your decision, we, you and I, have the world in our bag. Kou Zhong thought hard for half a day; he suddenly said, Supposing I am unwilling, are you going to kill me? Du Fuwei smiled wryly and said, Originally I did have such intention, but on second thought, if you are not delighted to do so,ter on you will guard against me, and I guard against you, whats the point in that? But I am quite surprised you asked me that; it seems to me that you are not going to ept. Kou Zhongs eyes were gleaming with unusual shine, as if he was entering a beautiful dream world. Brimming with vision for the future, he slowly said, If I obtained the world by relying on you, Ol Die, then its really to unexciting. Yes, I do have ambition to win over the world, but what I am really looking forward to is the course of events. Before achieving the goal, I want to empty-handedly experience the challenge and blood and sweat of invigorating the country. Die, do you understand? Du Fuwei straightened up and rose;ughing wildly, he said, Do you know that by calling me Die repeatedly, you have saved your and Xu Zilings little lives? Just now I was ready to make my move. So be it! I want the two of you to leave town immediately, I guarantee that no one will stop you. Next time we meet, dont me me for being ruthless. And then looking back, he smiled and said, Youd better find a good ce to hide, get out of the limelight and the intensity of the fire; otherwise you would be ghosts who died unjustly under the Duke of Pushans Decree. After another loudugh, he disappeared. Book 6 - 8 – Total Abandon Book 6 Chapter 8 C Total Abandon The two boys left Danyang city in a hurry, they ran for more than ten li in one breath before stopping on a small hill. Suddenly there was a crash of thunder, followed by lightning and more thunder urring at the same time, and then heavy rain started to pour. Kou Zhong thought he might as well take his upper garment off; standing bare-chested, he looked up to the sky and shouted, What do we do now? Laotianye [God/Heaven], how about telling me, Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling also looked up and opened his mouth wide, happily swallowing several mouthful of rainwater. Du Fuwei showed considerable respect toward you, why did Zhong Shao let this great opportunity slipped away? he said, If only you called him Die, Jianghuai Army is yours. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is called no desire for convenience. Besides, how could it be that simple? Dont forget that there is also Fu Gongyou. Xu Ziling roared inughter and said, Dont like to me, there must be another reason. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its indeed difficult to conceal anything from you. Jianghuai Armys thief-character is too heavy; bad habits die hard, they are definitely not a good material for the struggle over the world. But the most important reason is that I, Kou Zhong, dont want others to say that I start my career by relying on the Old Du. And then his eyes lit up as he said, In this world, there is nothing more beautiful than life itself, but life has to have meaning, the beautiful part is the process and the experience. Sess or failure is not a big deal, its the course of events during the struggle that is the most fascinating. My good brother, do you understand now? Xu Ziling nodded, Of course I do! he said, But Du Fuwei is also right, you and I are two different types of people, the pursuit of our goals is even more different. Perhaps there will be a day after you obtain the world that we, two brothers, will go our separate ways. Kou Zhong grew silent. Suddenly he roared inughter and said, The encounter of the future is his grannys goddamn business. Right now what do we do? Returning to Danyang is out of question, will we simply lose touch with Su Jie just like this? Xu Ziling mused, The lifes encounter is controlled by fate. Although everybody advises us to be a turtle who withdraw its head [i.e. person who refuses to face reality] by avoiding Li Mis decree to hunt and kill us, but where is the fun in being such people? We might as well look for something we can do in total abandon, so that the world will know. When that Xiang kid hears it, naturally he would want to bring Su Jie to be reunited with us. Crash! A sh of lightning split the sky, painting the heaven and the earth deathly white. Being at the front seat of the natures disy of power, the two boys were momentarily speechless. It was quite some timeter that Kou Zhong broke the silence, What are we going to do? he asked. Xu Ziling burst into loudughter, You are really absent-minded; have you forgotten about the batch of salt we transported the other day? Well take the goods out and transport it to the northwest region, where salt is most scarce. As long as we can ovee the obstacles along the dangerous and difficult path, if this mission seeded, we will be genuine martial art masters. Kou Zhongs powerful body shook. Good idea, he said, We deliberately publicize it along the way, so that whoever wants wealth but doesnt love his life may eithere to get our heads, or deliver his life to us. Crash! The thunderstorm grew more violent. As soon as the storm lessened up, the two boys immediately set off toward the ce they called the training beach, the ce they would never forget as long as they lived, the ce that, other than the small valley where they buried Fu Junchuo, was able to stir their emotion the most. Because this time they were takingnd route, they had to specte a lot along the way, which made their journey slow. However, the two boys did not grow impatient, because their focus was on the martial art training. By this time the two boys had gained a wealth ofbat experience. With the addition of the dreadful threat from Duke of Pushans Decree, plus knowing that this journey of transporting the salt was extremely dangerous, the two boys were very careful and extremely focused. They talked less, and tried as much as possible to avoid entering any vige, city or marketce; they only relied on wild fruits to ay their hunger, without any distraction they trained day and night, leading a rather ascetic life. Naturally at that time they did not know that this period was where they made an astonishing breakthrough, whichid the groundwork to reach the status as invincible martial art masters in the universe. One day, because their clothes have been so worn-out that it could not even cover their bodies, they had no choice but to enter a small town to buy two new sets of clothing as recement. This southern town did not seem to be affected by the fire of war; it was bustling, flourishing and peaceful. It happened to be some sort of holiday that every household was decorated withnterns and colored banners, everybody was wearing new clothes, and firecrackers were crackling incessantly. By nature, Kou Zhong was more inquisitive than Xu Ziling, so he went outside to find out what was going on. When he came back to the inn, he said to Xu Ziling, who was meditating in full concentration, Turns out this ce is under Lin Shihongs power. This fellow was originally the Er Longtou [second boss] of Poyang Hui [society]. After only a few months rising in rebellion, the Da Longtou [big boss] Cao Shiqi was eliminated by others, giving his cold hand the opportunity to hold some hot fried dumplings. On top of that, because he killed and beheaded Sui Dynastys valiant general Liu Ziyi, his reputation soared, attracting his former subordinates so that the number of his men added together reaches more than 100,000. This fellow dered himself an emperor, taking Chu as the name of his dynasty, with Yuchang as his capital. Jiujiang, Linchuan [both are in Jiangxi] and several otherrge counties have all fallen into his hands. Hey! There are other news, wed better go to a wine shop and talk it over some big bowls of wine and big chunks of meat. Xu Ziling frowned and said, This past month all we ate was wild fruits, cassava, King Solomons seal [Polygonatum], and the like; our digestive system is used to clean and mild food; I am afraid eating meat and drinking wine will make us sick. Kou Zhong pulled him up and said, Exactly for that reason we have to rejoin the world. You, this kid, have the tendency of withdrawing from worldly affairs, which makes me afraid that you might be a Buddhist monk or a Taoist priest. Worse yet, you seem topletely lose interest in girls. While talking, he pulled a pair of daggers from his bosom, and stuffed one into Xu Zilings hand; he said, These are very expensive, I bought them from a street vendor, very good steel. The best part is their names, yours is called cutting off jade, mine is called dispersing gold, Hui Jin Duan Yu, such interesting and strange names. Xu Ziling examined the dagger in his hand; the hilt indeed had ancient seal script engraved on it, duan yu two characters. He said, I dont like using weapons, why did you give it to me? Kou Zhong pped his back excitedly; with a heartyugh he said, Its for you to shave your beard. Go look into the mirror, see if you can recognize Xu Ziling! Xu Ziling still did not understand, Whats the big deal? he asked. Why you suddenly be so stupid? Kou Zhong angrily said, If nobody recognize who we are, then nobody woulde to us to settle the debt. If this matter is not elevated, how can we let Su Jie know that we are still in the world of the living? Still confused, Xu Ziling followed Kou Zhongs order and used the dagger to shave his beard. While shaving, he sighed and said, This is really a treasured de! Kou Zhong had just shaved his face clean, squinting as if he was looking at the bright sun he said in astonishment, Your, this kid, appearance seems to change, but I cant tell exactly whats different. Could be changes in personality traits, like a degree or two of transcending-the-earth refinement? Xu Ziling did not seem to care to even look back at him, he spoke indifferently, You look more like Wulin martial art master as well; you could even scare people without fighting. Kou Zhongughed and cursed, Get lost, you big headed ghost! And then he pulled Xu Ziling to go to the wine shop. The wine shops main hall was nearly full, more than thirty tables with only two empty ones. The patrons were mostly traveling merchants or people who make a living as traveling performers, those who wandered the world. When the two boys stepped into the hall, they immediately attracted the attention of most people, some even looked startled and showed unsure expression. Kou Zhong swaggered toward one of the vacant tables and sat down. Get Ol Kou two catties of good wine first, I want the top quality ones, he shouted. As soon as the two words Ol Kou came out of his mouth, those several people were visibly shaken immediately, and their faces looked weird, as if they were delighted. Xu Ziling saw this, and said in low voice, Be careful, someone might poison the food and wine. Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont forget that a hundred poison cannot invade our body, Shen Poniangs poison could not do anything to us. Xu Ziling irately said, Even if we can expel poison, it still wasted a lot of effort, not to mention the inconvenience. It is still better to be a bit more careful. There shouldnt be any colorless, odorless poison in the world, Kou Zhong replied, As soon as Laozi give it a nce with my keen eyes, a sniff with my sharp nose, I guarantee there wont be any poison slipping through my nose and my eyes. Although he said that, this kid actually went to the kitchen to personally monitor the server pouring wine. He also ordered some dishes, mainly dumplings with meat filling and green veggies, with only one dish of stewed meat. It was clear that although with his mouth he said all those things, he still took Xu Zilings likes and dislikes into ount very much. The two boys acted as though there were nobody else present, they ate and drank as much as they liked. While being tipsy and merry, Kou Zhong said in low voice, When Li Yuan heard that the muddleheaded ruler was killed, he forced King of Dai Yang You to hand over the emperor position to him. Outsiders naturally say that that child was perfectly happy to abdicate and yield to him. Ha! We have one more emperoring out. Must be Li Shimins idea, Xu Zilingmented. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Hard to say. I heard that Li Shimins older brother, Li Jiancheng is also a formidable character. Another brother is Li Yuanji, his bravery is unrivalled, his martial art skill surpasses his older brothers. Ay! That Li kid is so pitiful, with much toil he fights over the world, in the end he might only benefit Li Jiancheng. Xu Ziling said, They are hands and feet [fig. brothers] with deep feeling between them, riches and honor will be enjoyed together, why bother about that kind of things? A smile of contempt appeared on the corner of Kou Zhongs mouth, but he did not say anything. Chapter 8, Part 2 Unlike Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling was concerned about Li Shimin; he said, Hows the situation in Guanzhong? Guanzhong capital is a piece of fatty meat [fig. cash cow], everybody wants to eat it up. Li Mi and Yang Shichong [theres this name again, I dont know whether it was a typo or different character from Wang Shichong] actually had a lot of chances to snatch it away from the Li n at Changan, but they are curbing each others move that in the end nobody could make any move. Do you still remember that guy Xue Ju? Xu Zilings memory was exceptionally good; he nodded and said, That was the guy who wanted to copy Qin Shihuang [first emperor, 259-210 BC], that idiot who called himself Xi Qin Bawang [the overlord of the western Qin], right? His dominion Jincheng is west of Changan. Do you think he is fighting for food against the Li n? Kou Zhong said, Kid, you are so smart that others cannot help loving you, one guess and you hit the target. This idiot imed to have a hundred and thirty thousand men under him, and looked down on Li Yuan. Unexpectedly he dared to recklessly attack a solid city like Changan, and was beaten by that Li kid outside the city, and had to crawl back home before he finished eating, thus his prestige also took arge fall. Xu Ziling asked in amazement, This ce is so far away from Guanzhong, how could you describe it with living spirit, living image, as if you have witnessed it with your own eyes? Kou Zhong proudly said, In this small town, at least one out of four people is a refugee from the north. I am just adding a little imagination to that, and you are listening with smile of exultation. Xu Ziling said, The big battle between Wang Shichong and Li Mi is inevitable, I just dont know who won and who lost. Kou Zhong smiled mysteriously and said, Turns out you havent forgotten Shen Poniang. Xu Ziling let out a forcedugh; he said, You have contracted the incurable disease of using too much imagination. I was only concerned over the situation of the world. If this chaotic situation continues,mon people will have to suffer I dont know how much more pain. Kou Zhong said, Since that muddleheaded rulers death, the situation is getting more tangled andplicated. One of the so-called five martial art masters of Sui Dynasty, Shen Faxing, and thus is one strong character outside the Four Powerful ns who is able to gather his descendants based on surname connection, took office as the Governor of Wuxing. On the pretext that he was attacking Yuwen Huaji, he gathered sixty-thousand Sui troops, to upy Kunling. His fame and power flourished suddenly, and called himself Jiangnan Dao Da Zongguan [the big steward of Jiangan (area south of Yangtze River) road], in direct opposition to Li Zitong and our Ol Die. These rebel armies, one was originally Sui troops, and the other was originally born from grass and pond, have deep enmity against each other. Water and fire cannot tolerate each other. In that case, Xu Ziling said, Li ns victory over Xue Ju is actually a crucial turning point, because from now on they no longer fear threats from the west, and can simply sit and watch the heroes of the Central ins killing each other. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I know that you always think highly of that Li kid, but he and his brother Li Jiancheng once wanted to attack Luoyang, in the end there was neither aplishment nor pay back. The current situation is a stale-mate; nobody is able to do anything to the other side. Xu Ziling pressed Kou Zhongs cup down. Dont drink too much! he said, Something might happen tonight. Kou Zhong pushed his hand aside and drained his cup in one gulp. There was an unusual glint in his eyes as he said, This is thest cup. Xu Ziling knew that he had evoked the bad memory of Li Xiuning in Kou Zhongs mind. Sighing inwardly, he pulled Kou Zhong back to their room at the inn. That night indeed there were Jianghu people who acted recklessly bying to them looking for trouble, but they were beaten to be in a sorry state by the two boys, and ended up running away with broken arms and broken feet. The two boys knew it was only the beginning, so they might as well not hiding their identity, as they swaggered through towns and viges, pressing on toward their training beach. They were not people who love to unt their courage and strength at all, while deliberately elusive, sometimes for two, three days they trained in the wilderness, cultivating the internal energy from the Secret to Long Life, baffling those who were trying to follow their trails. On one hand, they were focused on their training; on the other hand, they wanted to use these endless streams of people C who wereing to their door coveting Li Mis reward C as their target practice, to see whether the technique they previously learned could be thoroughly blended with what they had just learned, or perhaps with their own interpretation, to be even moreprehensive, to enable them to control the true qi within their body smoothly, and to bring out the innate quality to its extreme saturation. One day the two boys chatted about making a stop at Yuhang, so they paid taxes as required by the rules and entered the city. Kou Zhongughed and said, I wonder if those Haisha Bang [see Book 2 Chapter 4] still exists? Now that the Yuwen n is powerless to defend itself, Haisha Bang cannot unt their viciousness. We might as well tear down their Yuhang Division, forcing them to offer us a big ship, with a hundred sailors, a thousand sacks of salt, and ten thousand beauties. Ha! The more I think, the happier I am. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around, the scene on the streets did not look much different from what he remembered, only there were a lot more Jianghu people around, but no one dared to look directly at them, obviously these people knew who they were. Some even made a detour to avoid them. Laughing aloud, he said, Gain the initiative by striking first, it can really save us a lot of trouble. This ce is probably Shen Faxings territory, someone who has been a government official is, after all, different; everything in this ce is clear and orderly, unlike Ol Dies ce that looks like a mess. Kou Zhong halted his steps and pointed to a shop across the street. Do you remember? he said, Its here! Look! Everyone in that bunch of people at the door has ominous glint in their eyes, their expression looks bad. Xu Ziling looked over; he recalled Haisha Bang Yuhang Divisions Vice Helmsman Tan Yong, who that night walked out of precisely that ce. Just like that night, about a dozen Haisha Bang disciples gathered in that store, everybody had a weapon in his hand, everybody was ring at the two boys, as if they were ready to fight at any time. Kou Zhong said, That idiot Dragon [King] Han Gaidi [reminder: his real name was Gaitian, tian C heaven, di C earth] mustve thrown his lot to Shen Faxing, otherwise, I would be surprised if he is not swept out of Yuhang. Shen Faxing made it clear that he is on crusade against the Yuwen n; thereby Han Gaidi, who is ustomed to piloting the ship, has a deep understanding on how to steer the rudder by looking at the wind. Xu Ziling took the initiative this time, he strode across the street straight toward that store; beckoning Kou Zhong toe along, he said, Attacking the unprepared is the best policy! Cmon good brother! Kou Zhongughed and followed him, just like they were going to y a fun game. Right this moment, they both felt that they had grown up to be adults, no longer two young marketce hooligans. Book 6 - 9 – Full Display of Their Capabilities Book 6 Chapter 9 C Full Disy of Their Capabilities Those Haisha Bang members were used to bullying, upon seeing this, those dozen or so men stormed out of the shop, carrying sabers and hatchets, to meet the two boys. Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep Xu Ziling charged into the enemy ranks, punching and kicking. Very soon those bull-like sturdy men were constantly flying off or falling to the ground, so after a moment no one could even crawl up. The passers-by on the street fell over each other to run away, the situation was chaotic. Kou Zhong whined, Cant you at least leave two for me to y with? while he hacked and grabbed one of the men, and dragged him inside the shop. Soon afterwards he walked out and took Xu Ziling toward the dock. He said, Their division headquarter is really at that salt street, adjacent to the warehouse where we stole the salt from. From there it should be a bit more convenient to steal a boat. Did the guy you grab cooperate? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong let out a cold humph, Can he not? he said. Xu Zilingughed aloud, and walked ahead of him out of the city. About midway, several hundred riders galloped out of the city gate like a whirlwind. Without even looking they knew that these riders must be from Shen Faxings army. Kou Zhong jumped in fright, Looks like they have more people than we can handle! he said. Recalling the hard battle in Jiangdus imperial city, Xu Ziling was rather timid as well; hastily he followed Kou Zhong running into the wilderness. Xu Zilingy down on top of a big horizontal branch protruding from a big tree in the jungle by the seaside, enjoying the spectacr scenery of the setting sun in the ocean, feeling that his heart and mind were as broad and infinite as the scenery in front of him, that all the you fight, I snatch of the secr world has turned into a trivial matter that had no ce in the grand scheme of eternity. Ever since he put on brand new clothes and shaved his beard that day, Kou Zhong also seemed to change into a different man, brimming with fighting spirit. While he was in deep contemtion, asionally his eyes would shine with unusual gleam, although it was not clear whether he was thinking about the struggle over the world. Xu Ziling himself was more and more intoxicated with exploring the way of the martial arts; other things no longer had any ce in his heart and mind. The only thing that he was unable to put down was Susu. As for Kou Zhong, naturally he did not need to worry. He also remembered Shen Luoyan and Princess Dong Ming. But they were merely like floating light or fleeting shadow, not something that could move him emotionally. For him, the most unbearable thing in life was feeling. Every time he thought about Fu Junchuo, he was always overwhelmed with heartbreak and depressing feeling, so that his hatred toward Yuwen Huaji grew deeper. After killing Yuwen Huaji, he would roam the world, even go beyond the Great Wall, to experience the many colors life has to offer. As for the great undertaking of unifying the world, it was not something that he dreamed of doing; those were things that people like Kou Zhong or Li Shimin should undertake. His only goal in life was to explore the wonder this world had to offer, to attain the highest level of the martial art world he could achieve, to see through the mystery of life. But he had never forced himself; he always let everything fell into its ce at its own time. Just like when Kou Zhong wanted him to eavesdrop the old teachers lecture, wanted him to stealthily learn martial art, he simply went to listen, to learn. Until heprehended the immeasurable mystery of the Secret to Long Life, he finally grasped the meaning of life in his hand, to have his own way of life and his own goals. Suddenly rm went off in his heart. Xu Ziling closed his eyes. Getting rid of ten thousand thoughts in his mind, he instantly sensed someone creeping toward him from the southwest direction. This person could be considered the best among the martial art masters whom he encountered ever since he left Danyang, but it was definitely not Kou Zhong. If it were Kou Zhong who sneaked in to y trick on him, he would have to enter the ten-zhang range around him before Xu Ziling could detect his presence. But this person was still thirty zhang away when Xu Ziling started to sense his presence. Right this moment, he also detected the enemys presence from other directions; all were about twenty zhang away from him, thus it was clear that these several enemies were a notch above the first one. In that instant he made up his mind to fight to the end; otherwise, he would lose contact with Kou Zhong, who went out to scout the enemy positions. Like a ghost Xu Ziling swiftly slid down to the foot of the tree. Because he had a more urate picture of the enemies position and their approaching route, with only one or two shenfa [motion in martial arts] he managed to slip through the enemy eyes and through the gaps in their blind side into lush underbrush. The sky was getting dark, the sunrays gradually disappeared on the horizon on the other side of the ocean, the woods grew so dark that it was getting more and more difficult to see anything. Suddenly there was the sound of rustling sleeves against the wind, followed by someone eximed, Huh? Apparently he was startled for not able to find Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling understood; the opponents must have seen him earlier from a distant height when he was lying down on the tree branch, but by the time they went into hiding in the nearby forest, Xu Ziling was already gone. Xu Ziling crouched low in the grass, narrowed his eyes, held his breath and calmed his qi as he looked out. Unless the opposite party searched to this ce, based on his fantastic true qi, they would never find him. In the past, when his cultivation was still shallow, even martial art masters like Li Mi and Zhai Rang were not able to detect his presence as he was hiding on the beam; let alone there were not too many people of Li Mi and Zhai Rangs calibers in the world, therefore, he was not worried the least bit that his presence would be detected. Two men in ck appeared under the big tree where hey down in contemtion earlier, one tall, the other short. But because their backs were facing him, he could not see their faces. Its just that by looking at the deep-pool, towering-peak way they were standing, the imposing manner and strength they exuded, he knew that these men were not mediocre masters. Another rustling of the wind, another person appeared under the tree, and Xu Ziling heard, I have searched everywhere, theres not even half a shadow of ghost around. This moment Xu Ziling suddenly sniffed an exotic delicate fragrance, followed by a subtle, almost inaudible noise of something splitting the air. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly, knowing that someone wasing from behind, and it was a woman, whose bodys fragrance had already been delivered by the sea breeze into his extremely acute nose. Xu Ziling hastily crouched down to the ground. A sword swept past the grass above him, followed by four more; each strike was fast and fierce. If he had been squatting just like a moment ago, he would have been hit by the sword. The delicate fragrance moved away, obviously the woman had moved somece else to continue her search. Xu Ziling snickered inwardly. He sat cross-legged, thinking that Kou Zhong should be back any time soon. A momentter the three enemies gathered together, two men and one woman; they talked in low voices. Most probably the other person was still searching in the vicinity. The first to be heard was a man with strong voice, This is perhaps the best chance to intercept them. Looking at the current situation, it looks like they are going to run away overseas to escape Li Mis decree to hunt and kill them. Where did that kid go? another man with coarse voice asked. The first man replied, Da Zongguan [big/first manager] and Han Bangzhu [gang leader] have already guessed from their route that they were heading this way. This matter is very important to Da Zongguan, otherwise, why would he toil our Xia Xianzi [goddess/fairy/female immortal] to personallye here? The speaker was a young man, apparently he was trying to tter that woman. A burst of silver-bell likeughter was heard, and then that woman, who was known as Fairy Xie said, In my opinion, he is trying to slip away. We willy a trap here. Supposing by lucky coincidence that kid Kou Zhong managed to escape Han Bangzhus inescapable, we will take care of him here. As long as we can capture one of them alive, the Duke Yang Treasure Trove will be in our, Jiangnan Armys bag. Xu Ziling was shaken; now he knew why Kou Zhong had note back yet. Not in the mood to listen further, he quietly backed away. He had just stepped out of the forest when a shadow shed in front of him, and he realized he had fallen into a heavy siege. Someone behind himughed aloud and said, Kid, you are so na?ve, we swindled you a little bit and you fell right into it. Another man said, It was not aplete lie either, the other kid might have been captured already. Xu Ziling maintained hisposure and did not show the slightest sign of fear at all, under the dim moonlight he coldly sized them up. Other than four people who appeared first, there were two more people. Every single one of them looked highly capable, obviously these were not ordinary warriors. The one blocking his way was a schr with a rather confident and casual demeanor, with a long sword in his hand, which he pointed at him from a distance. On his left was a bald man, thick and solid like a bull, both his left and right hands carried big hatchets, so that even without any exnation anybody could infer that he was an expert in external skill, the brave-general-who-charge-and-break-through-enemy-lines type of person. On the far right was a white-haired, dreary-looking, big and tall old man. His sword was still hanging on his back, his manner grave. If Xu Zilings guessed correctly, of the three men, this mans martial art skill must be the highest. Suddenly he heard the wind behind him, it was the two men and one woman who had just swindled him, flying over from the forest, blocking all of his escape routes. One of themughed and said, Kid, you missed yourst chance! If just now you turned around toward the dense jungle, you might be able to slip away. These people were saying all these things to attack Xu Zilings mind; they wanted Xu Ziling to feel foolish and thus disturbed his concentration. The white-haired old man cupped his fist to salute and said, Laofu [old man, referring to self] Shen Fazheng, the older brother of Jiangnan Dao Da Zongguan [seest chapter, Book 6 Chapter 8]. If Xu Xiongdi is willing toe back with us, the Ol Shen guarantees that Xu Xiongdi will be received as our honored guest and will be treated with utmost hospitality. Xu Ziling stood up straight in the middle of the siege, there was a deep and immeasurable, unusual gleam his tiger-eyes, but his countenance was still and calm like the surface of water without any ripples, his upright body was like lofty mountain that gave others the impression that he would be hard to shake. The schr-looking man held the sword with both hands as he saluted and said, Zaixia Li Changheng from Poyang Pai [Poyang (county in Shangrao, Jiangxi, Sect]. We are very fond of Xu Xiong; if we could exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk, nothing can be better that that. And then he introduced the bald man, Tu Li Xiong is Huangshan Pais [Mount Huang (in Anhui) Sect] martial art master; he is Da Zongguans Left Vanguard, while Zaixia is his Right Vanguard General. A tenderughter was heard from behind, the beauty, who was called Fairy Xie, said, Nujia [your (female) servant] is Xie Yujing, you must not forget it! The one called Shen Fazheng smiled and said, The remaining two gentlemen are the Lian ns brothers from Qishan Pais [Mount Qi (in Gansu)] Sect], Fan Xiong and Chu Xiong; both are martial art experts famous in Jianghu for their whip. In Laofus opinion, before long their Drifting Cloud Whip will be numbered among the Amazing Skill Ultimate Art. Are you done? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, If you are, just make your move! The six people were greatly surprised. It should be noted that none of the six of them was not martial art master with resounding name in Jianghu. Any one of them came out, very few people would dare not to give them any face. This time, under Shen Faxings bidding, all six of them came out of their respective Sect to deal with these two boys; at that time all of them felt that Shen Faxing was making a big fuss over a minor issue. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling had the impertinence to speak such a boastful remark? Actually, in Xu Zilings heart, because he was so ustomed to meet martial art masters, other than Du Fuwei, Madame Dongming, Dongming Princess, Ba Fenghan, and several other martial art masters of their rank, he did not have any regard to other people. Tu Li roared violently, This fellow is unable to differentiate good from bad! Before he finished speaking, his shoulders and arms turned around. Two huge hatchets, which were originally held t on his chest, hacked diagonally down. These two axes swept down one after another like a swiftly turning wheel. Just this one move has demonstrated that he did not simply rely on brute strength, but that he was a martial art expert who was beautiful inside and out. At the exact same time, a cold qi was piercing toward Xu Zilings vertebrae from behind. Seeing the opponents were this formidable, Xu Zilings spirit was greatly aroused. He knew that these two hatchets were simply to divide his mind, the real threat was the finger wind attacking him from behind. The opponents spent this much effort, in the end they merely wanted to capture him alive. Xu Ziling suddenly moved sideways toward Tu Lis right side. Not only he evaded the sneak attack on his back, by a simple shift like that he was also forcing Tu Li to change his move in panic. Everybody was shaken. It was called just with one move the expert will know which one was there which one was not. Tu Li was about to twist his waist in a horse stance to continue his attack, Shen Fazheng called out loudly, Hold it there! Xu Ziling halted instantly; he did not even dodge or block the huge hatchet hacking down on him, showing no sign of nerves at all. Tu Li took his hatchet back in horror, remembering Shen Faxings order to capture the two boys alive. Watching this, the rest of the people wiped the cold sweats from their foreheads, thinking that there was actually someone who had a full confidence on the enemy like that in the world. Shen Fazheng spoke politely, There is one thing Laofu would like to inquire. Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders nomittally. Whether it was his movement or his expression, everything disyed confidence, poise and elegance. Everybody was emotionally moved; they all sensed the unique gracefulness of this young, new rising star of Wulin who recently shook the entire Jianghu. Seeing Xu Ziling did not speak, Shen Fazheng had no choice but to go on, Xu Xiongdi, dont you want to know what happened to that other Xiongdi? Shen Fazhengs nickname was the de that attack the heart. As the name implies, this man was an expert in psychological warfare. Before they even came here, they had already decided that killing Xu Ziling was not a difficult task, but capturing him alive was not an easy thing at all. Therefore, Shen Fazheng designed a variety of psychological attacks to be used as appropriate. Previously, Lian Fan, Lian Chu and Xie Yujing, three peoples attempt to lure him out was his crafty scheme. Shen Faxing was able to rise to his present position, his older brothers contribution was extremely significant. However, against everybodys expectation, Xu Ziling did not show the slightest bit of surprise, the corner of his mouth even revealed an extremely touching smile. With that kind of touching, natural expression, nobody would dare to doubt his sincerity. The three people, who were facing him and watching his demeanor, were suddenly overwhelmed by a very strange feeling, as if they were enraptured by this young martial art masters graceful, elegant and outstanding innate beauty. Chapter 9, Part 2 Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Thank you for your trouble and your concern; unless I see that brother of mines dead body lying on the ground, I will not believe that anybody would have the ability to ... Lian Chu had a fiery temper, plus he did not see that extremely touching smile, so how could he bear it? Flicking his strong wrist, the long whip in his hand struck like a viper toward the vital acupoint behind Xu Zilings ear. If Xu Ziling were really hit, even if he had the divine skill protecting his body, the whip would have made him lose consciousness for sure. The reason Qishan Pais whip technique could dominate the Jianghu was precisely this unique skill whip acupoint. It should be noted that this amazing whip movement could beunched at any angle to attack the opponent, so that it was very difficult to guard against. Lian Fan and his brother Lian Chu had telepathic connection between them, seeing his younger brother made his move, his whip also moved. His whip suddenly bent in half, making it half as long as the original, but it still had the eight-chi long whip handle that shot forward from his left rear side toward the middle of Xu Zilings back. Shen Faxings Right Vanguard General Li Changheng also made his move; the sword in his hand created a dozen or so sword patterns, blurring the vision of the opponent, and then one pattern suddenly shot out toward Xu Zilings throat, with iparable viciousness and ruthlessness, without the slightest bit of reservation. The Left Vanguard General Tu Li let out a low whoo hoo roar from deep within his throat, while his pair of huge hatchets was moving up and down. Although he did not make any move, he created a great threat that at least Xu Ziling would not dare to evade on his direction. Although Shen Fazheng also did not make any move, he exuded an unfathomable-mystery feeling in other peoples heart. And then there was also the threat from Xie Yujing who was standing behind him. Nobody could predict whether she would make her move or not. And if she did, when would it be? It was the first time for Xu Ziling to face so many opponents of martial art masters with simr skill level; however, amidst the opponents fierce offensive and seamless coordination, there was one big weakness: they wanted to capture him alive. Therefore, the real threat to him was Lian Chus whip striking the acupoint behind his ear; the rest of the attacks were only to distract his attention. If not for the enemies were having this intention, they would have enough power to kill him; however, they would also have to pay a very heavy price. Xu Zilings mind entered the still water in the well realms; it clearly reflected the surrounding environment without the least bit distortion, urately grasped the opponents movements, the technique and timing of each attack. The sensing ability of his eyes, ears, and nose was elevated to its limit, even the skin underneath his clothes could generate the response he needed to attain the martial art masters knowing the enemy phase. With a low groan, with nobody able to see what style he was executing, Xu Zilings legs suddenly pushed hard, like an arrow he flew vertically straight into the air. This move was really outside everybodys expectation. It should be noted that when one was flying into the air, as soon as ones true qi was depleted, one would immediately fall back down. Moreover, when one was in the air, ones ability to change a move, as well as ones flexibility to defend oneself from the enemy suffered a huge setback, so that one would be the most obvious attack target. Under heavy besiege, even less people would dare to try this stunt. Therefore, Shen Fazheng and the others were all taken by surprise. As if Lian Chus whip had an eye of its own, it also rose up to chase Xu Ziling. It was due to Lian Chu was still under the effect of his forward momentum, so that momentarily it was difficult for him to pull back, so he might as well continued his whip to chase after the sole of Xu Zilings feet, relying on his a zhang and a half long whip, trying to attack this young adversary. Both Li Changhengs sword and Lian Fans whip stick struck empty air. From behind, the Flying Fairy Xie Yujing let out a peal of tenderughter, while like a wisp of smoke she also flew diagonally up into the air, chasing after Xu Ziling, whose speed kept increasing. The pair of daggers in her hand swiped toward Xu Zilings neck and waist; it was vicious and merciless to the extreme. Just now, when Xu Ziling threw a nce to look at the enemys situation, he only saw five people; she was the only one missing. Therefore, it could be clearly seen how superior her lightness skill was. Afterwards, he also sniffed her bodily scent carried away by the breeze, so he knew that she was closing in on him fast. Clearly she obtained her Flying Fairy nickname not by a fluke at all. It looked like Lian Chus long whip was about to hit the yongquan [lit. gushing spring] acupoint at the sole of Xu Zilings foot, so he was ready to send his energy via the whip. Who would have imagined that using a very simple footwork, Xu Ziling used the tip of his toes to meet the tip of the whip? Whap! Two streams of energy mmed into each other. Lian Fan [sic] felt a burst of extremely hot true qi flowed along the whip and prated his hand. The true qi turned into a strand of such a powerful force that his own true qi protecting his body did not seem to have the least bit of effectiveness. With a stifled grunt he was shaken so severely that he nearly fell to the ground. On the other hand, Xu Ziling borrowed the reaction force from the tip of the whip to give him the opportunity to draw another mouthful of true qi while his body was still flying midair, which enabling him to traverse sideways and fly outside the siege. Xie Yujings famous Flying Fairys Short depletely failed. Lian Fan had deep emotional ties with his brother; forgetting Xu Ziling, he rushed over to hold Lian Chu up and asked, How are you feeling? Lian Chus entire face was flushed with abnormal redness; with acute shortness of breath, he gasped, Quickly help me circting my energy! Seeing that in just one move Lian Chu had suffered great loss, everybody was overwhelmed with shock; however, they did not have time to think too much. Shen Fazheng, Tu Li, and Li Changheng, three men immediately gave chase. Again, Xu Ziling changed direction midair. But by the time hended on the slope of a small hill, Xie Yujing was soaring right behind him. Xu Ziling let out a smile brimming with masculine charm; stretching both hands out, suddenly the hands turned into hundreds and thousands finger shadows, palm shadows, to meet her Flying Fairys Short de head-on. For the first time the twobatants had the opportunity to meet face-to-face. Xu Ziling noticed than Xie Yujing was about twenty years old, her hair was rolled up in a bun on top of her head, the clothes she was wearing were of pce style colored painted-on design, her overall dress style resembled Yang Guangs imperial concubines. Her jade countenance was as pretty as a flower, her figure was graceful, brimming with extreme female charms. In terms of beauty, she was not inferior to Yun Yuzhen. Xie Yujing also noticed Xu Zilings good looks; her pretty eyes brightened, but her hands were not cking at all. Borrowing the momentum of her falling down from above, the two des protecting each other, suddenly advanced suddenly retreated, the des changed several times in the blink of an eye, in a chain attack toward Xu Ziling. Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang! Like a divine treasure Xu Zilings hands jabbed, swept and plucked, blocking Xie Yujings fierce offensive movespletely. The most formidable thing was that each finger, each palm also sent out iparably scorching innate qi, forcing this beauty to constantly bounce back, so that she was unable to fall to the ground, and had to continuously engage him in hard fighting in the air. By this time Shen Fazhengs sword attack arrived first. Letting out a long whistle Xu Ziling unleashed the Meridian Severing Technique Tu Shufang taught him, taking advantage while Xie Yujings blood and qi were churning after being shaken by him, he scratched the vein on her left wrist, while the middle finger of his right hand poked the tip of the other short de. Xie Yujing screamed involuntarily, both hands went numb, the short de in her left hand suddenly moved to Xu Zilings hand, followed by a burst of hot qi prated her right hand de and entered her body. Naturally she could show off by meeting the attack head-on, but it would not be much different than she was trying to kill herself. Therefore, she had no choice but to raise her qi and somersaulted backward, to fly away as far as she could, to neutralize the opponents fierce true power. For that reason, when Shen Fazhengs attack arrived, Tu Li and Li Changheng were still seven, eight zhang away, the situation became one-on-one confrontation between Shen Fazheng and Xu Ziling. Xu Zilings eyes shone with cold rays. With a cold humph he charged directly into the core of Shen Fazhengs sword, unexpectedly applying the dangerous tactics of burying himself in closebat. When Tu Li and Li Changheng arrived, they did not know where to start. All they saw was two figures chasing each other on the slope of the hill, entangling each other into a ball, while the sound of shing des was ringing continuously. It was only now that Shen Fazheng came to understanding as why Xu Ziling was able to drive Yuwen Wudi away in defeat, anger Li Zitong that he retreated, and escape the imperial city under the besiege of Yuwen Huajis rebel troops. It was because this young martial art masters most formidable moves were all without predetermined pattern, the moves were entirely instant creation like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies. The figures suddenly separated. Shen Fazheng staggered and fell back. In their shock, Tu Li and Li Changheng attacked together from left and right. Xu Ziling waved his right hand, the Flying Fairys Short de flew to meet Li Changhengs face, while he himself flew toward Tu Li. Bang! Bang! No matter how Tu Li changed the angle, Xu Ziling seemed to already anticipate the changes of his two hatchets, using the edge of his palm he ferociously cut onto the hatchets body. Tu Li let out a miserable grunt; the tremendous hacking force pushed him back. Momentarily forgetting that he was on a sloping hill, he nearly rolled down in an extremely awkward condition. Li Changheng evaded the short de thrown at him. He was about to charge upward when Shen Fazheng, with his hand pressing against his right nk, where blood was gushing out from an open wound, shouted, Changheng, back off! Li CHangheng stopped grudgingly; he cast an angry look toward Xu Ziling, who was standing at the top of the hill. The others have alsoe over, but not in surrounding formation like before. Xu Ziling looked at the enemy with his cold eyes and aloof demeanor, as if he considered himself unexcelled in the world. Shen Fazheng said, Lets drop this matter today, I am sure we will meet again someday. Just as they appeared suddenly, they disappearance was even more sudden. Naturally Xu Ziling knew that this was just the beginning. Collecting his terrified mind, he darted down toward the dock. Book 6 - 10 – Revealing True Feelings Book 6 Chapter 10 C Revealing True Feelings Xu Ziling ran over a small hill, and saw Kou Zhong at the foot of the hill. That guy only wore pants, he was bare-chested, with a steel saber of unknown origin between his teeth, and was immersing himself in a small creek, washing the bloodstains all over his body. Under the moonlight, his skin looked shiny and glistening, his perfect physique looked like a leopard that has just reached adulthood, brimming with power from head to toes, and some kind of extraordinary, yet conforming to thew of heaven, beauty. He looked focused and did not seem to realize Xu Zilings arrival. But suddenly he looked up at him and broke into wide grin. His smile was as brilliant as the shining sun, and it was full of captivating charms. The saber in his mouth dropped into his hand, with a casually flick of his hand the saber flew and embedded itself on the thick bough of arge tree by the creek. With several jumps Xu Ziling wend down the hill, and sat on arge rock protruding out of the water in the middle of the creek. He quietly stared at the still trembling saber hilt without saying anything. Kou Zhong dipped his whole head into the ice-cold water of the creek, drank several mouthfuls of cold water, pulled his head out the water, wiped the water from his face, and said with a sigh, I killed a lot of people, but also received injuries. The most serious one is a punch on the pit of my stomach, but I beat that guy up that his bones shattered. Humph! They wanted my life, naturally I took enough of theirs. A burst of emotion bubbled up in Xu Zilings heart; for the first time he realized that Kou Zhong and he had be important figures who were able to assume personal responsibilities. Kou Zhong immersed his entire body into the water. Giggling, he said, Fortunately, we have miraculous internal energy, any injury will be healed naturally without leaving any scar. Otherwise, it would be awful when we have to take off our clothes; our bodies will be covered with scars, how could we let others see that? Hey, why dont you take a dip in here? The water will clear up your brain a lot. Xu Ziling shook his head to decline, Who attacked you? he asked. It was Haisha Bang people, Kou Zhong nonchntly replied, They were under the leadership of that flirtatious Taoist Priestess, trying to catch me with ropes ands like I was a wild dog. Several hundred people against me, one man; I really dont know why theymitted such a shameless act. Fortunately I was fighting and fleeing at the same time, and in the end I slipped into the water to escape. You Qiuyan [(sic) it was the Mermaid You Qiufeng in Book 2 Chapter 7] still thought that I was the useless kid of the past, she went underwater to give chase, and fell under Laozis control. Fortunately I, Kou Zhong, have always had tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex; I only pinched her breasts a couple of times and then I let her go. This time Im telling you honestly, you, Ling Shao, should not suspect that I am lying to you. Xu Ziling sighed and said, You are such a loose guy; a Taoist Priestess, and an enemy in this matter, you still refused to let her off. This is called confusing the enemys heart, Kou Zhong lightly said, When that s1ut saw me, her eyes lit up; I was merelyforting her while we were at it. Who knows? Perhaps in the future there will be other benefits too. Xu Ziling remained silent. Kou Zhong rose up from the water with a ssh, the creek water came to his waist. Stretching, he said, Oh, my good brother! It seems to me that recently you disagree with my conduct a lot, is that right? Xu Ziling sneered and said, Marrying a woman is every mans dream; as your brother, how could I me you? Its just that you are basically only teasing them verbally and causing mischief driven by your carnal desire, you view everything only from a utilitarian consideration. That is what made me a little ufortable! Kou Zhong nodded, That is precisely the difference between intentionally seeking and without any desire to seek. We are pursuing different goals; hence we appear to have different opinion. This is the effect of training the Secret to Long Life; you are hot, I am cold. Not only it changed our temperament, it even changed our character. When I kill people, unexpectedly I dont have any stirring or surging emotion. Even now I dont feel like it was a big deal. Otherwise I would have been ughtered by others by now. Whats your n now? Xu Ziling suddenly asked. Kou Zhong sat on the bank of the creek, leisurely watching his feet kicking and ying in the water. He smiled and said, Didnt we agree to proceed with our salt business? When people no longer dare to mess with us, we will seed. Thats not what I am asking, Xu Ziling said, I want to ask you: how are you going to fight for the world? Kou Zhong looked at him. There was an unprecedented glint in his eyes. Without answering the question he said, If I really want to vie over the world, I must ask you to do something for me: to kill someone. Xu Ziling was visibly shaken. That Li kid! he eximed. Kou Zhong threw his head back and roared inughter; he looked so heroic and majestic. pping his thigh, he praised, This is called great minds think alike [orig. heroes usually agree]. Among the people worth our considerations, in terms of bearing and charisma, who could surpass him? Plus his predecessors have been involved in politics and government affairs, he is acutely aware of the way to govern the people, and he is still young, so I say that he is my, Kou Zhongs biggest rival. You are not afraid Xiuning will be grieved? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhongs eyes shed coldly; he said, How can one woman affect my grand n and great undertaking? Xu Ziling smiled wryly and asked, But why did you ask me? A faint smile escaped from the corner of Kou Zhongs mouth. I am not afraid of anybody, he said, Except you, one person. And I know that you have a very good impression toward that Li kid. As long as you dont stop me, and that Li kid agrees to work for me, there wille a day when he will die under my, Kou Zhongs hands. I am ruthless to anybody; you and Su Jie are the only exception. Xu Zilings razor-sharp gaze was fixed on him as he said, If one day after you obtain the world you find it necessary to have me eliminated, will you personally make your move? Kou Zhong pped the water surface with his palms, a column of water rose. Turning his head and his eyes to look at the drenched Xu Ziling, he roared inughter and said, Thats not going to happen. Quickly apologize to me! Xu Ziling leaped high into the air and pounced on Kou Zhong, pulling him down into the water. The two boys wrestled and fought just like when they were little kids, totally without any martial art masters style. When Kou Zhong had Xu Zilings head locked in the crook of his arm, gasping andughing he said, Kid, do you know that there is another decree to hunt and kill us? Xu Ziling stared at him nkly, What kind of ghost decree? he asked. It was that flirty Taoist Priestess who told me, Kou Zhong replied, The issuer is that Shan Wanjing, who grew to hate you because of her unrequited love for you. The reward is one thousand taels of gold plus one of Dongming Pais divine subduing-sect weapons, the Dongming Sword; very attractive. One thousand taels of gold is enough to finance a hundred-strong army for two, three years. Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, That stinky Princess is not worth the trouble. Its just a useless ount book! Hey, dont put my mouth into the water! Kou Zhong raised his head a few cun and said with a giggle, Its hard to fathom someones mind; girls mind is even harder to understand. Ha! Hatred caused by love. Do you surrender now? Xu Ziling suddenly lifted up Kou Zhongs entire body and threw him backwards. Without looking at Kou Zhong fell t on his back into the water, he cursed, Hatred caused by love my @$$. From beginning to end, the one she looked up to was that Li kid, or perhaps even Ba Fenghan, never the two of us. Kou Zhong pretended to be crawling up in such a sorry state; wiping his face, he said, Since we are already wet anyway, we might as well go steal a boat. I will settle the score with youter. The two boys returned to the past where there was no load in their minds. Hee hee ha ha they chased each other toward the sea. When the two boys had their heads out of the water in the sea, they saw moored at the pier hundreds of ships and boats, big and small, none of them was not brightly lit, and all of them were chained together to each other. Not only there were men on sentry duty on the boats, there were also patrolling boats going back and forth, and a lot of Haisha Bang men equipped with bows and arrows and other long range attack weapons. Kou Zhongughed and said, We created enough disturbances that Haisha Bang people will not have a good sleep tonight! Han Gaitian himself is an arrogant idiot. His subordinates, those Fat Assassin You Gui, Charging General Ling Zhigao [see Book 2 Chapter 7], and the others are nothing; this is such a counter-productive deployment. If I were in charge, I would have ordered all boats to steer away from the dock, so that even if we have the power, it would be difficult to carry out. Are all these dozen or so piers belonged to Haisha Bang? Xu Ziling asked. Ought to be so, Kou Zhong replied, Because of Yuhangs prime location, plus Han Gaitian tied brotherhood with Shen Faxing, Haisha Bangs navy vessels are concentrated at Kunling and Yuhang, two locations, with the main responsibility to transport army provisions and supplies for the Jiangnan Army. If we burn all these ships, Jiangnan Army will fall into predicament. Lets consider it a payback for their treatment to us. Come on! The two boys dove into the bottom of the sea and swam toward the enemys battleship. By the time they reappeared on the surface, they were already in the middle of the enemys ships. Avoiding the patrolling boat, the two boys hid in the dark side of a ship, discussing the next step. Kou Zhong said, These ships are at least one zhang apart from each other. Even if we burn one or two of them, it would still be difficult for the fire to spread to other ships. Thats easy, Xu Ziling said, We only need to scuttle one or two particrly big ships. When the ships sink, because they are chained to each other, the sinking ship will pull the other boats along. Burning them will be a lot easier then. Kou Zhongughed and said, That is a good n indeed. Ill go find tinder, you go bore holes on the ships. Remember to use your Jade Cutter, dont dig by hand. Ha! Third watch of the night [11pm C 1am]. Haisha Bang piers were suddenly thrown into confusion. The two biggest ships suddenly sank at the same time, pulling the other ships along with them. Looking at the speed those ships were sinking, those with discerning eyes knew immediately that someone was ying a trick on the bottom of the ships. You Qiuyan, You Gui and Ling Zhigao, three people led arge quantity of Haisha Bang martial art masters to rush out. The former shouted with her tender voice, Quickly untie the chain! Kou Zhong appeared at the bow of one of the ships. Naked from the waist up, he had a saber in his right hand and lifted high a torch in his left, as heughed aloud and said, Toote! Chapter 10 - Part 2 You Qiuyan and the others were still scared of him from their earlier battle, plus You Gui and Ling Zhigao were hacked by him, and their wounds were still burning. Seeing himing with such an awe-inspiring might, momentarily they panicked. mes soared to the sky. Just by looking at the speed at with the ze spread, one would know that kerosene must have been poured out onto the ship, thereupon the situation quickly got out of hand. You Qiuyan screamed, Kill him! Kou Zhongughed aloud and jumped onto another ship. With a saber in his right hand and a torch in his left, he beat the swarming in Haisha Bang people that they would whine on for days; one after another they were thrown into the sea. When You Qiuyan and the others were rushing toward Kou Zhong, they suddenly saw from another ship some distance away one fiery arrow after another were shot in session toward the other ships. mes immediately rose up from all around. Meanwhile Kou Zhong had disappeared. You Qiuyan focused her attention to look, turned out it was Xu Ziling who released the arrows, the Haisha Bang people who were guarding the ship had already driven to the sea by him. You Qiuyan shouted, Quickly put out the fire! By this time, cutting the ropes was already useless, all the ships were entangled in a heap. The me from the ship Kou Zhong burned had already spread onto nearby ships. The shouts from the ships shook the heavens. The Haisha Bang people whether they should put out the fire first or to chase and intercept the enemy; it was a total chaos. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling jumped from one ship to the other, setting everything in their path on fire, creating havoc wantonly, but always avoiding the enemys main force. You Qiuyan and the others knew they should have split up to intercept the enemy, but recalling how formidable these two boys were, they were scared to face the enemy alone and thus could not guarantee their little lives. With no other choice they had to hunt down only Kou Zhong. Night breeze blew, the fire was getting bigger. More than ten ships were trapped in the sea of fire. Suddenly Kou Zhong turned back to meet You Qiuyan and the others. The Hall Master of Yuhang Division, Leng Qiu bore the brunt. Hastily he brandished his staff to attack. Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes flickered continuously, brandishing his saber he hacked backward; suddenly he broke through Leng Qiu staffs line of defense. With one step forward he chopped at his left shoulder. Fortunately Leng Qiu could keep up with the helmsman, plus he really had real skill, so in his shock he swept the tail of his staff up to block, and took a step back at the same time. Two sabers chopped down on Kou Zhong in an attempt to rescue Leng Qiu from danger. Kou Zhongughed aloud, but his saber continued to strike the tail of Leng Qius staff, and swiped through Leng Qius left arm before he retreated to the aft of the ship. Leng Qiu grunted in pain, his blood sshed and he pulled back. A chill crept into everybodys heart, why did Kou Zhong seem to be more formidable than thest time they fought? Dang! Kou Zhong parried the two sabers at the same time, lightning fast both his legs executed chain kicks, two Haisha Bang martial art masters, who normally went on the rampage in Yuhang, immediately spurted blood as they flew face-up backwards, so that You Qiuyan and the others panicked. Holding the saber across his chest, Kou Zhong shouted, All right! Today I do not wish to kill anymore. You want to kill us, we brothers burned your ships, we are even. Tell Han Gaitian and Shen Faxing toe to us! If you dare to pursue us, dont me Laozis saber for not showing mercy. The crowd was intimidated by his disy of power, momentarily they only dared to make a show of charging, but nobody really dared to move forward. In the battle a moment ago, the dead and wounded on their side numbered more than thirty men, a considerable loss; this moment the opponent had the addition of Xu Ziling. While their own strength was substantially reduced, who would dare to step forward to strike the tigers whiskers? Kou Zhongughed aloud and soared into the sky. With two somersaults, hended on a medium sized sailboat that Xu Ziling brought over. Looking at the sailboat sailing away, You Qiuyan suddenly stomped her foot and pouted, Still not putting out the fire? I am annoyed to death! The sailboat went full speed ahead, the two boys took turns singing loudly. They were extremely happy, as if all the unhappy incidents recently have been purgedpletely. Kou Zhongughed and said, Haisha Bang is one of the eight-gang ten-societies. It ranks above Beautiful Shifus Jukun Bang, yet we managed to put their face in a bag and p their big mouth, we even burned a dozen of their ships. Dont be so smug, Xu Ziling said, We had just tied a deep enmity with Jiangnan Army; we are going to see some hard days ahead in transporting our goods. Kou Zhong sat at the edge of the boat, watching Xu Ziling at the helms; he cheerfully said, Isnt that our original intention? I dare say that since ancient times there never be martial art masters who fought day and night like us. Three months experience worth more than other peoples three years. If this continues, in ten months we will gain ten years worth of skill. Ha! What a great deal! Xu Zilingughed and said, You, this kid, seem to be more excited the more you fight. But you are right, only from realbat experience we will learn good stuffs; at least seeing sabers and spears flying around we dont feel it is such a big deal. Kou Zhong just smiled but kept his opinion for himself. Unexpectedly he fell asleep. Without any option Xu Ziling had to prop his eyelids open, while steering the sailboat toward the brightening horizon where the sky and the water met. Three dayster, the two boys returned to their former haunts. Gently and cautiously they brought the boat to the shore and moored it well. Sitting on the beach, all sorts of feeling welled up in their hearts. The two boys were lost in their own respective thought; they both felt their excitement was driving them mad. By the time the sun was about to sink into the ocean, Kou Zhong picked up a handful of sand. Watching the grain of sand trickling down from his fingers, he sighed and said, Xiao Ling! Have you ever thought that we would have days like today? In the past we often boasted that we are martial art masters, while in fact we are well aware what kind of nine-schools-of-thought[1] character we are. Now we have truly be martial art masters, but so what? We are still unable to do anything to Yuwen Huaji. Xu Zilingughed involuntarily, Zhong Shao really knows how to talk that kind of talks, he said, There must be something else behind it. Say it! Kou Zhong shook his head and sighed, Seems like in this world, you are the only one I cant fool, he said, All right! You want me to say it then Ill say it. What I mean is that the world is like a big pie [orig. t bread], whoever has the ability, that person will get a slice. That ability represents strength and power. Once we have these two distinct things, we will be qualified to do the things that we like, whether it is for the benefit of thousands of people, or to settle gratitude and grudges; in short, without these things, there is now. Even if I became Bi Xuan, and you became Ning Daoqi, killing Yuwen Huaji is still not an easy thing, perhaps we even have to pay it with our own little lives. Do you understand what I am talking about? Xu Ziling somberly said, I was just thinking about how we spent every moving moment here in the past, yet you are thinking about vying over the world; arent you afraid you will miss many wonderful things in life? Every day you are thinking about either killing other people or guarding against being killed by other people. Kou Zhongs big eyes lit up, But those are the stimting things, those are the exciting things. If I have nothing to do all day long, wont I suffocate myself to death? Previously I also thought about putting up with you a little bit, only doing conscientious thing and making profit unscrupulously, but the more I think about it, the more I feel its not worth it. If you dont do the most exciting things, how could you live with yourself? Presently what the people all over the world need is one true master and liberator; if you have aspirations, how could you miss anything? Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, When all is said and done, what you want is for me to help you. Kou Zhong moved in front of him, dropping down on one knee, he reached out with both hands to grab Xu Zilings shoulders. With eyes projecting deep emotions and passionate expression, he solemnly said, No one in the world understands your ability, wisdom and spirit better than I do. With you, my good brother, helping me, other people can only retreat for three days march [i.e. giving way in the face of superior strength]. Xu Ziling reciprocated by reaching out to grab his broad shoulders; he spoke heavily, Well said! No one in the world understands you better than I do as well. Only you, one person, can turn the entire world upside down. Basically you dont need my help. Kou Zhong dejectedly let his hands go and sat down on the sandy beach. He sighed and said, How can I see you go? Xu Ziling reached out to wrap his arm around him tightly; he said in a low voice, Weve grown up. Each one of us have our own vision and goal in life, we are no longer Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling of the past. In the future you dont need to take the responsibility of avenging Niang, just go do what you need to do! The day you and I go our own ways will be the day I set out on my journey to assassinate Yuwen Huagu. If I cannot put my hand on the de that will enter that wretched body, I can never find true peace in my heart. [1]Nine schools of thought, philosophical schools of the Spring and Autumn, and Warring States periods (770-220 BC): Confucians, Taoists, Yin and Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Diplomats, Misceneous, Agriculturalists. Figuratively: mainstream, abysmal. Book 6 - 11 – Delivered to Their Door In just one sichen [i.e. 2 hours] the two boys managed to load more than forty sacks of salt onto their boat. Only after thinking that in the past they had to work all night long and spent tremendous strength [orig. the strength of nine bulls and two tigers] to aplish the same thing did they really feel the progress they have made. Dawn had yet to arrive, they already set sail. Kou Zhong said, Let us try to follow the Great River upstream westwards ind, if we cant go on, then well takend route! Xu Ziling frowned and said, In term of steering the boat, you and I are low-hand [Trantors note: in Chinese, master/expert is high-hand], we cant evenpare with ordinary sailor. In the ocean, there is no problem, naturally! Especially under the situation where the breeze is still, the waves are quiet. But when we enter the river ... Kou Zhongughed and said, You think too much! If the boat sank in the Great River, we will simply dredge his mothers up. Taking thend route at that time wont be toote. Dont forget that we are high-hands [see note above] both onnd and sea. Xu Ziling put Kou Zhongs hand on the rudder and said with augh, Your turn. I am going to the cabin to sleep. Kou Zhong grumbled, If I had known earlier, I would have grabbed several Haisha Bang minions and forced them to pilot the boat, then we would not have to suffer like this right now. Xu Ziling woke up by the sound of battle drums; momentarily he thought he was in the battlefield. Rushing out of the cabin, he saw Kou Zhong was squinting to look at three boats in triangr formationing fast toward them. The boats had more tapered ends, and each one was about a zhang longerpared to their boat. Therefore, in term of mobility, especially since their boat was loaded with salt, those boats had the upper hand. Both sides wereing fast toward each other. Under the abundant sunshine, the two boys could see that all three boats had several dozen men standing on the deck; everyone had an arrow strung on a bow, or loaded stone catapult, ready for action. Some even had long poles and other tools to lock the ships in their hands, while they were moving back and forth on the deck; it was an awe-inspiring scene to behold. Flying high above the deck was a banner with Gao character on it. Xu Ziling came to Kou Zhongs side and frowned, Who are these people? he asked. A bright smile appeared on Kou Zhongs face; he said cheerfully, Just by listening to the drums, we know that they are in high fighting spirit. But looking at the disorderly way they are moving around, we know that they are simply a mob. They must be pirates who go everywhere to plunder; the best sailors we can catch. What? Xu Ziling cried out. Just leave everything to me, Kou Zhong said, Let us hide inside the cabin first to avoid the arrows. Once they board our boat, well show them some trick and have these hairy thieves see. Bang! Bang! Using hooks and ropes, two of the enemy ships sandwiched their boat from left and right, and the crowd of thieves immediately swarmed in. Three men charged into the cabin, while the rest inspected the sacks of salt on the deck and in the hold. The other pirate ship took the lead; all four boats now sailed together. For the time being, it looked like the pirates had the situation under control. Three of the pirates, who looked like the leaders, stood on the aft giving directions to the rest of the pirates. The biggest and tallest was a man with eyes that looked like bronze bell. His long hair was draped over his shoulders, his face full of beard, his physique looked bold and powerful. Two short tasseled spears, about five chi long each, were hanging in an X shape on his back, making his overall appearance even more awe-inspiring. It is kind of surprising that there was such character among the pirates. Huh? this man eximed, Er Lang has gone into the cabin for so long, why havent hee out with those two boys in custody? A short, thin man with a dignified look standing by his side said, Let me go take a look! The man on the other side, a thick and strong young man, who was only a cun or so shorter than the big man with loose hair, but still bigger and taller than average person, with two iron rings hanging from his waist, apparently some kind of weapon from a strange school, said, Let me go with Erge [second (older) brother]. The man with loose hair nodded his approval, he said in a low voice, Somethings strange, be careful! The young manughed aloud and said, What kind of wind and waves we, Donghai Sanyi [three sworn brothers of the eastern sea] have never seen? Finished speaking he followed that short and thin man, which he called the second brother, into the cabin. While the big man with loose hair was following his two sworn brothers disappearing into the cabin entrance with his eyes, an underling came to report, Daye [big master]! All the sacks piled up on the deck contain salt. The big man with loose hair muttered to himself, Tough luck. Unless these useless goods are transported ind, just how much money can we sell them for? But the boat is top-quality goods. A voice glibly responded, Your three boats are not bad either, perhaps youll let us make his mothers deals. The pirates were shocked; their countenance paled. Kou Zhong was sitting leisurely at the cabins roof, one leg above the other, the broadsword lying across his knees, his feet hanging above the hatch, swaying back and forth casually, looking indescribablyfortable. Under the bright sunlight, his smile looked so brilliant, his tiger-eyes exuded some kind of deep and immeasurable divine ray. When he looked around and their eyes met, nobody did not feel dread growing from the bottom of their heart. The man with loose hair was shocked. What did you do to them? he asked. With wless smile Kou Zhong replied, Tell your men not to act recklessly first, and then this Shaoye will be interested in considering whether he should answer your question. The man with loose hair made prompt decision. Everybody stop! Come to my side! he shouted. The more than twenty pirates who boarded the boat hastily moved to the aft, so that they became two sides facing each other, the enemy and us were demarcated clearly. The man with loose hair was clearly someone who valuedradeship. His eyes glittered like frost and snow, as he said coldly, This time just consider usmitting an offense. As soon as Sire release them, we will immediately turn on our heels, and we never eat our words. Kou Zhong knew that these people saw them quietly subdued five of theirrades, so they were scared in their hearts; thereupon, heughed aloud and said, How can it be that easy? I want all of you to throw yourselves into the sea, hand over your three boats; otherwise, dont even think that you will live to see tomorrows sun. Humph! You rely on strength to loot the week, you ought to know that this day wille. The pirates countenance changed, they all shouted and cursed. Everybody assumed the heroic posture of ready to fight to the death. The man with loose hair let out a sudden burst of shout, Shut up! Slowly taking out the pair of spears on his back, he said in a heavy voice, This is called refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Kid, state your name. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Old kid, you tell me first! The man with loose hair was taken aback, and then he smiled and said, One is a kid, the other an old kid, fair enough, listen up. Laozi is the head of Donghai Sanyi, the Double Spear, Gao Zhandao. Kou Zhong doubled over inughter, Luckily the weapon you use is rather special, if you only used sword, youd have to change your name to Single Sword, Gao Zhandao. That nickname, you must havee up with it yourself, didnt you? Gao Zhandao and the pirates have never met someone who in the face of a battle was still able to talk andugh as though nothing had happened, plus his words were amusing and without any devious or ming intention; a strange feeling started to grow in their heart. Rubbish! Gao Zhandao shouted angrily, Since you refuse to give up, just call yourpanion, we will see whos superior whos inferior. While secretly signaled his men by his side, as soon as the other enemy hiding in the cabin came out, they ought to immediately rescue theirrades. This was the brilliance of Kou Zhongs n of capturing five men of the opponents side, otherwise, Gao Zhandao mighte back to his pirate ship andunch long-distance attack, then their own boats demise would be guaranteed. Kou Zhong suddenly calmed down. His tiger-eyes shining with divine light, as he stared at Gao Zhandao and spoke indifferently, Just to deal with you, these small thieves, there is no need for my brother toe out. Gao Zhandao, if you still have a little bit of thiefs guts, just fight one-on-one with me; if you can take ten moves, this Shaoye will release your men. Shut up! Gao Zhandao roared angrily, How could I, Gao Zhandao, tolerate your random babbling of little thieves this and that, left and right? No need to have ten-move limit either, let us see who has real skill. Kou Zhong frostily said, You board boats to loot, if not thieves, then what are you? You rely on force to bully the weak, you only dare to make a move on fishermen,mon people who have no power to fight you, if not small thieves, then are you somethingpletely different? A man standing by Gao Zhandaos side retorted and cursed, Arent you also a thief? Is smuggling salt considered honorable or shady business? Kou Zhongughed involuntarily, Whats not honorable in this? he said, Northwest regioncks salt, we spare no effort, transporting salt over ten thousand crags and torrents, we buy and sell honestly, both sides are perfectly happy to do business; dont you think it is much more noble than robbing money and goods that others obtained from their blood and sweats and hard work? The crowd of pirates was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Kou Zhong vehemently continued, Mens existence in the world is to have critical and lofty aspiration, to have broad view over the world. After Laozi earns this profit, I want to use it to recruit soldiers and buy horses, to fight over the world, to aplish great undertaking that will stand for eternity; how could you, small thieves who only know how to rob left and seize right, understand? Gao Zhandao snorted disdainfully; striding over, he shouted, No kidding! Let Laozi see how much weight you carry. While the crowd of pirates burst into cheers and apuse, Kou Zhong already sprang up and swooped down from above; like a thunderbolt the long saber in his hand struck toward Gao Zhandaos face. Gao Zhandao did not expect Kou Zhong to be so dauntless, that as soon as he said that they would fight he immediately fought. The iing attack carried the ten thousand jun [1 jun = 30 catties] force of a thunder; without any choice he clenched his teeth and raised his double spears and crossed them on each other to block this iparably swift and fierce saber. It should be noted that for top-quality martial art masters, before they could disy their power at peak condition, they must focus their attention first and warm themselves up, and only then would they be able to release the full potential of their internal energy without any reservation. Someone like Kou Zhong, who did not go through the process but was able to unleash his power brimming with explosive force like this, was simply too shocking; the crowd of pirates was astonished beyond words. Pow! With a dull thud Gao Zhandao staggered seven steps back in session before he could stabilize his footing; his countenance was deathly pale. Kou Zhong, on the other hand, was secretly full of praise, realizing that this man was actually a lot more superior to them, two brothers; unexpectedly he was able to withstand Kou Zhongs full-powered blow. The crowd of pirates could see clearly that their leader was in bad situation; they rushed forward to stand in front of Gao Zhandao, but nobody dared to make any move against Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong stood quietly, holding the saber across his chest, exuding some kind of heroic, uninhibited aura in a beautiful, elegant posture. Bending his finger, he flicked on the de of his saber, creating a clear, ringing buzz. He smiled and said, Since you are able to block my saber strike, this time I am willing to drop this matter. Gao Zhandao had just finished driving away Kou Zhongs cold qi invading his body; overwhelmed with amazement, he said, May I ask Sires honorable surname and great given name? Kou Zhong replied nonchntly, My name is Kou Zhong, my brother is Xu Ziling. I wont be surprised if you have never heard our names. The crowd of pirates was visibly shaken. How could we have not heard? Gao Zhandao suddenly said, Recently you burned more than a dozen Haisha Bangs ships, even Li Mi cannot do anything to you. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, You have fast and abundant news indeed. Did you get the information while you were disembarking and strolling onnd? The pirates were amazed, one of them even said, How could Kou Ye [master] even guess those things? Kou Zhongs desire to fight vanishedpletely. Seeing the pirates looked at him with admiring, even adoring eyes, heughed aloud and said, Lets make a deal. We will release your five brothers; in turn you prepare a sumptuous banquet for us, two brothers to enjoy. After that, we will go our separate ways; hows that? Gao Zhandao put away his two spears; he said with delight, This is the first time in my life that I, Gao Zhandao, meet this kind of natural hero like Kou Ye. Kou Ye is willing not to me us for our recklessness, naturally we will dly ept [orig. deference is no substitute for obedience]. Ha! This is really wonderful. Turns out the pirates were originally Sui soldiers. In the seventh year, second month of the great undertaking [Trantors note: I believe this is in reference to the founding of the Sui Dynasty], Emperor Yang issued an imperial edict to send a punitive expedition to Gaoli [Korea, see my note, Book 1 Chapter 3]. These people were conscripted at Zhuo County, to join Sui Armys main force heading to Korean capital, Pyongyang [ping rang]. After the first victory, subsequent military expedition suffered defeat after defeat; Sui troops were demoralized, plus army provisions ceased to reach them. Gao Zhandao was a member of a 300,000-man army, they suffered crushing defeat in the middle of summer, and only 2,700 men were able to return to Liaodong [penins]. The first time they defeated Gaoli, the cost in terms of manpower and physical resources was disastrous, they ought to recover. Who would have thought that Yang Guang sent the second punitive expedition to Gaoli in the ninth year of the great undertaking? Taking advantage while Yang Guang was out in the military expedition, andmon people detest military service and forcedbor bitterly, while the world was in chaos, the Director of the Board of Rites Yang Xuan led the troops to rebel. It was during this time that Gao Zhandao and the others decided to rebel against the Sui and followed Yang Xuan as renegades. After Yang Xuans troops were defeated and he died, Gao Zhandao and the others fled back to Kunling. To their surprise, the family they left behind had been implicated and was beheaded early on. Without any other choice they had to flee to the sea and became pirates. The short and skinny fellow was called Niu Fengyi, the young man was called Zha Jie. Not only these two had a quite good martial art skill, they were also educated men who read a lot of books. Therefore, along with Gao Zhandao, the pirates pushed them to be their leaders. The group originally had 52 men, but presently they grew to be 228 men. This time they went out to sea, only 208 men joined the expedition, the others stayed to guard theirir in Changsu [county, in Suzhou, Jiangsu]. The four boats sailed together northward as a fleet along the coastal region. The sky gradually darkened, but the boats were brightly lit. A banquet was prepared on Kou and Xu, two boys boat. Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, Zha Jie, and a few more leaders sat around the table, drinking and chatting merrily in perfect harmony. As for steering the boats, they handed it over to some small thieves to handle. After listening to their life story, how the government official drove the people to revolt and forcing talents to be pirates, Xu Zilings ill will diminished a little. More so, he noticed that these people were real men who valued family, thereupon he asked, Gao Xiong, you cant go on like this; dont you have the desire to turn over a new leaf? Niu Fengyi smiled bitterly and replied, Right now the world is all split up and in pieces, where can we find a ce to live in peace and work happily? Currently we band together into a group, nobody dares to mess with us for no reason; we are quite well-off, even if we agree to stop, I am afraid our fellow brothers will not want to agree. Zha Jie spoke up in earnestness, We are merely forced to fall into the grass. Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, we would never kill indiscriminately. Even in robbing, we also have a sense of propriety; we never rob impoverished fishermen. If Xu Ye dont believe me, ask the people around here, you will now our, Donghai Bangs [eastern sea gang] work style. Another leader, Wei Yuan, said, At first we saw two gentlemens ship bore the g of Haisha Bang, we thought you were from Haisha Bang transporting goods for Shen Faxing, an attractive and easy mark. Gao Zhandao suddenly turned to Kou Zhong, who was enjoying arge bowl of wine and arge piece of meat and was chewing contentedly, Just now Kou Ye mentioned something about your aspiration to vie for the world; I wonder what kind of grand n do you have in mind? Xu Ziling shot Kou Zhong a look; he was the only one who understood Kou Zhongs super-outstanding trick in controlling others. Just now he was unleashing that skill with all his heart and soul to manipte Donghai Bang people, using both soft and hard methods to scare them off that they became like y in the palm of his hand. The most formidable part was to raise the opposite partys lofty aspiration, while disying the I-dont-give-a-damn attitude, so that they would be most willing toe to him. Kou Zhong drained the wine in his cup in one gulp, put the cup down, used his sleeve to wipe the wine stain from the corner of his mouth, swept everybody with his shing-with-divine-light eyes, and spoke nonchntly, Tell me, who is currently have the biggest chance and the most qualifications to obtain the world? Without the slightest hesitation Gao Zhandao replied, Naturally its ... hey! I am only stating the fact. In term of prestige, naturally Li Mi holds the first ce. Kou Zhong smiled and said, He is only well-regarded on the surface. The biggest problem is the Eastern Capital has high and thick city walls, it also has former Suis elite troops, on top of that, they are under the leadership of Yang Shichong [sic], who has real skill in military literature and military strategy. Previously Li Mi failed to attack Luoyang, and now cant attack Luoyang even more, even slight carelessness will cause him big defeat. [Trantors note: while I think it was Wang Shichong, but because I am not 100% sure, I am afraid to simply change it to Wang Shichong; henceforth I will write the name as is.] Zha Jie did not understand, It is rumored that Duke Mi is proficient in historiography, well-versed in Records of the Grand Historian [by Sima Qian (145-86 BC), Han Dynasty historian] and History of the Former Han Dynasty [by Ban Gu (AD 32C92)], and is also proficient in the art of war, his repeated victories over repeated battles confirm this. The most formidable thing is that he knows how to buy the heart of the people. If he cannot obtain the world, who will have that qualifications? Kou Zhong already had a card up his sleeve; he said, Dont forget there is still Dou Jiande in the northeast curbing Li Mi. Besides, this fellow Li Mi hasmitted something that a hundred-time, a thousand-time he should not have done. Niu Fengyi was stunned, Whats that? he asked. Xu Ziling knew what Kou Zhong was going to say, inwardly he admired Kou Zhongs ability, wisdom and charisma; to touch these three mens heart would be as easy as turning his hand. He murdered Da Longtou Zhai Rang, Kou Zhong calmly replied, Because of that, the old generals who had been following Zhai Rang are discontented and afraid of their own safety. Wagang Army no longer has the unity of the former Wagang Army. Gao Zhandao was puzzled, But presently tens of thousands people areing to him, outstanding heroes from all over the world are flocking to Xingyang to attach themselves with Duke Mi and achieve greatness; his strength ought to be increased. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Coincidentally, this has be two major problems for him. First of all, the old people are afraid they might be pushed aside by the neers, add to that the apprehension of high-ranking officers who used to have close rtionship with Zhai Rang; secondly, the elite troops of the new Wagang Army thereby has good and bad people intermingle with each other, who could tell if they have been infiltrated by the opponents spies? Humph! People keep saying how talented and outstanding Li Mi is; in my opinion, he is only so-so. If I were him, I would only house-arrest Zhai Rang, let him be a puppet leader who has a name but no reality. Gao Zhandao and the others exchanged nces, they all showed amazed look on their faces. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing that Kou Zhongs intention to vie over the world was already like an arrow that left the bow; there was no turning back. Li Mi and the others have just gained one more terrifying formidable opponent. Having Gao Zhandao and his group of pirates under his control was only the beginning. Book 6 - 12 – The Debut of the Wing Book 6 Chapter 12 C The Debut of the Wing Under the star-filled-sky ocean, four boats slowly sailed in a fleet. After another round of wine, Gao Zhandao modestly asked, That being the case, who does Kou Ye think will have the greatest chance to sit on the throne? Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and said, Why dont Xu Ye tell us? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Our Kou Ye can tell it more vividly, I also want to hear Kou Yes enlightening remarks very much. Kou Zhong sneered and said, You, this kid, are the best in deriding me. Meeting everybodys eager eyes, he said word by word slowly, Whoever can seize Guanzhong will be the emperor, ruler of the new dynasty. And then, as if his thoughts were wandering far away, he said, Those who desire to obtain the world but dont understand the time, geography and harmony of the people, these three things, are like the blind who rides a horse in the night overlooking an abyss. Changan is located at the Guanzhong in [in Shaanxi, valley of the River Wei]. It is situated south of Wei River, north of Qinling Mountain Range, fertilend that spans thousand li, surrounded by a range of hills. Since ancient times it has been a strategic location for both transportation and military matters. Zhou, Qin, and Han have all made it their capital, they constantly built and expanded it. The present Changan has been built by Yang Jian as a new city. Not only its scale is the apex in the world, it also opens wide the connecting canal drawing Wei River flowing to the east to Tongguan and enters Yellow River. Speaking of transportation, Luoyang is perhaps superior to some degree. But speaking about military affairs, we must give a serious look at thetter. In the past Qin Shihuang was able to unify the six directions, sweeping and wiping out the outstanding heroes, the reason is summarized in these eight characters: fertilend people flourish, danger can be guard against [di wo ren fu, you xian ke shou]. Niu Fengyi pped the table and sighed, Reminded by Kou Ye, todays situation came to Fengyis mind. The present situation is exactly the same as the Warring States period [475-221 BC]. History unceasingly repeats itself; this is the best example. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Compared to the Warring State period, where the heroes were fighting over the world, the present situation is a hundred times, a thousand times more chaotic. Everybody nodded their head in agreement. Gao Zhandao asked, Are you saying that the Li n has the greatest opportunity to be the overlord of the world like Qin Shihuang? Kou Zhong shot a nce toward Xu Ziling before saying indifferently, If I, Kou Zhong, did not exist, then that would be the case. By this time Gao Zhandao and the others were already inplete prostration to Kou Zhongs insight; they busily asked him to borate. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused; he said, The Li n has three big problems, which are not easy to resolve: in the first ce, they used to be Sui officials, andmon people detest Sui Dynasty bitterly. Anything, be it people or object, associated with Sui Dynasty is difficult to ept. Secondly, the Li n is a famous, rich and powerful family. During the time where peoples mind is in rebellion mode, this has be a burden instead. Thirdly, their heir apparent is Li Jiancheng and not Li Shimin. I, Kou Zhong, dare to bet my neck that this will go wrong in the future. Niu Fengyi agreed, Kou Ye has a brilliant insight. Although Li Jianchengs martial art skill is superior to his father, and has the reputation as the number one martial art master of the Li n, he is unlike Li Shimin whom people give their allegiance to, his poprity is far too inferior. Currently he is the Tangs Heir Apparent, but he is highly questionable. Kou Zhongs eyes shot a chilling light, but his tone was surprisingly calm. Again, word-by-word he said slowly, At the moment the Li Caln is barely able to stand firm and have a stable footing. The cmity within their bosom is precisely the territory they upy is Western Qins Li Gui and Xue Ju, tworge forces, the so-called Western Qin is settled Guanzhong is calm, Western Qin is a mess Guanzhong is chaotic; plus Qin and Liang are situation on higher ground to the west of Longshan Mountain Range, their tiger-eyes are staring at Guanzhong. The longer the Li n is unable to pacify the Western Qin, they cannot be considered as truly in control over Changan, Even more, they are powerless to go east to take Luoyang, and go on to pacify the world. And then he pped the table so hard that the soup and meat dishes sshed, bowls and cups shook. Whoever can drive the Li n away and upy Guanzhong will be able to rule the world, he said solemnly. Zha Jie scratched his head, But I heard that on the way to attack Guanzhong, the Li n absorbed a great number of generals and soldiers from various regions, as well as recruited able-bodied men, their military strength reaches 300,000 men. On top of that, their city defense is strong; taking Changan is easier said than done. Didnt Xue Ju have just suffered a crushing defeat? Kou Zhong leaned back on his chair, stretched himself, and said, The finesse of an army is not in its number; otherwise Gaoli would have been eradicated by Yang Guang early on. Dont forget that I still have the Duke of Yang Treasure Trove! Gao Zhandao and the others were emotionally moved. Recalling Fu Junchuo, Xu Ziling suddenly felt ufortable. He rose up and said, Please forgive Zaixia for taking my leave, I want to go to the cabin and rest for the night. Without waiting for any response he simply left. Kou Zhong was silent; his tiger-eyes shed a sad look. Xu Ziling stood quietly by the window, silently gazing at the bright moon over the sea. Kou Zhong quetly pushed the door and entered. He came behind him and said softly, Are you unhappy that I touched Duke of Yang Treasure Trove? Xu Ziling shook his head, No! he said, I have no such thought. Niang told us the location of the treasure, clearly she wanted us to go get it. Im just afraid that you talked too big too soon, if another day you cant find the treasure, you wont be able to honor yourmitment. Thats all. Kou Zhong said, Thats why I wanted you to help me. One lifetime two brothers; you have to help me find the treasure no matter what, and only then can you leave. Xu Ziling turned around to meet Kou Zhongs passionate expression in his eyes; all kinds of past events shed through his mind. His heart softened and he said, So what do you have in mind? Kou Zhong was greatly delighted; he said, Over thest several years that kid Gao Zhandao has amassed arge quantity of weapons, boats and wealth. If we can train them well, they can be our disciples army. With them as our troupe members, we can make meticulous n to put an act of transporting salt. Other than killing Li Mis prestige, our reputation will also soar. Along the way we can recruit soldiers and buy horses, and tie good rtionship with heroes all over the world. The best part of our n is that we do not upy certain territory, we wont dere ourselves king, and only emerge to contend for hegemony after we obtain Guanzhong. Hey! What do you think? Xu Ziling smiled wryly, You are talking too far ahead, he said, At most I will only help you find the Duke Yang Treasure, and then I will withdraw and leave you. Kou Zhong hugged him. That is enough, you are indeed my good brother, he said, We are going to organize Shuanglong Bang [double-dragon gang]. Leaving no stone unturned, we infiltrate all militias, gathering intelligence first, while continuously buying the peoples heart. Once the uprising begins, we know exactly who our opponents are. Knitted his brows, Xu Ziling said, Gao Zhandao and the others are used to be pirates, will they be willing to listen to yourmands? Kou Zhong let him off,ughed aloud, and then lowering his voice, he said, They have just kowtowed and offered me a toast, and called me Bangzhu [gang leader]. Now we are going to their pirate nest; after establishing good control over their power and organizing and training them, we can be on our way immediately. And then, patting his chest he said, Trust me! I, Kou Zhong, can train a team of peerless-throughout-the-world elite troops, a team that can beat Li Mi, Ol Die, Yuwen Huagu and the others that they will cry for their Niang. Oh! But you have to help me train as well. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I should have known that you would beat the snake following the stick [see Book 3 Chapter 3]. But after obtaining the treasure, you must not use any other trick to make me stay. Kou Zhong extended his big hand and said, One word and its settled! Xu Ziling also reached out to grab his hand tightly. Looking at Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes gleaming with unusual shine, a hard-to-describe feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart: he had a faint feeling that in this troubled times, right this moment, powerful hegemon, who could move clouds just by waving his hand, who could control rains with a turn of his hand, has suddenly emerged. Shuanglong Bang was established quietly without the knowledge of any Jianghu people. Kou Zhong demonstrated his outstanding talent in controlling the more than two hundred men who were ustomed to live of oppressing others; everybody was willing to look up to him for leadership. In just one night he managed to blend Li Jings Bloody Battle Ten-Style, Tu Shufangs Meridian-Severing Technique, plus the martial art of his own understanding, into a new set of Divine Dragon Eight-Strike, which he then passed on to Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, Zha Jie, three men, and delegated them to teach the Gang members. He also single-handedly developed a simple, yet tight organizational structure. The general idea was that there were two Gang Leaders; naturally Xu Ziling could not hold any other office, but the fact was that virtually all power was in Kou Zhongs hands. Under the Gang Leader, there was one military advisor [Junshi], four gang protectors, and then three Hall Masters overseeing three inner halls: internal affairs, finance, and training, which were under Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi and Zha Jie, respectively. The three outer halls were in charge of war, intelligence and provisions. Each hall had a hall master and his deputy hall master, which were in charge of day-to-day hall affairs to some degree. Except for the three inner hall masters, the other positions were still vacant, waiting for suitable virtuous candidates. In the water fort of Changshu [county, Suzhou, Jiangsu], Kou Zhong was busy day and night; he personally drafted a proposal of the Gang Bws. After he was done, Gao Zhandao and the others could not think of a single character to change; as a result, they admired him even more. He forced Xu Ziling to train his men. Xu Ziling was amiable and approachable, so he enjoyed great poprity, plus everybody could see that his pair of hands was superior to any weapon, hence he was extremely admired. His men were in high morale and did not have any contempt to him due to his young age. Two months passed quickly like that. One day Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were studying the changes and variations in troop formations, Gao Zhandao came to report that arge number of Jianghu people from surrounding area heard the news, and since they admired the two, they came to join the Gang as volunteers for the uprising. Kou Zhong pondered for half a day before saying, Please tactfully decline them all. Currently our condition is not stable yet, there are still a lot of things not on track; if we suddenly expand, we may have a dismal ending. Gao Zhandao epted the order and left. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Xiao Ling! When we are victorious in battle we can expand. Xu Ziling nodded and said, The rumor has leaked. This bunch of people must be spies sent by Shen Faxing. Seeing that we did not fall into his trap, these next couple of days he may send his men to attack us. Let me send our spies to scout the enemys movement, when theye back, I will report to Bangzhu. Kou Zhong doubled over inughter, Kid, dont tease me; what Bangzhu? Arent you also one? Bangzhu or Emperor are just appetion people use, between us, brothers, there is no such thing. Xu Zilingughed aloud and left without further ado. Chapter 12 - Part 2 After Xu Ziling returned that night, Shuanglong Bangs several highest echelons gathered in the main hall for a secret meeting. Xu Ziling said, It is just as Kou Bangzhu thought, Shen Faxing deployed approximately two-thousand men to lie in ambush in a forest southeast of our stronghold, estimated distance two-day marching. It was only now that Gao Zhandao and the others found out what happened. But looking at Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings we have everything under control expression, they became excited too; rubbing their fists and wiping their palms, they were eager to go into battle with heads held high. Kou Zhong said, This time we are going to fight a beautiful battle. We are not looking to annihte the enemies, we only hope to meet the enemy head-on, inflict heavy losses, and behead themander-in-chief. And then we will deal with other things one by one, proceed with previously developed n. So which n are we going to do? Niu Fengyi asked. Kou Zhong replied, If my estimation is correct, this time Haisha Bang is also taking this opportunity to settle old debt, therefore, they must havee with the enemy as well, if not, they must have taken the water route to attack us from two fronts, water andnd, hoping to kill us clean in one go. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Ill give you Han Gaitian. Xu Ziling smiled slightly and said, In that case Ill hide alone in Haisha Bangs gship, and be maritime assassin one time. Full of admiration, Zha Jie said, When as soon as we got here Bangzhu ordered us to reinforce the defense, we thought that it was superfluous; but know we know that Bangzhu really have foresight. Kou Zhongughed, but did not say anything, while thinking in his heart that if Laozi did not have a bit of ability, how could I control you, this bunch of big thieves? Three dayster, it was a moonless and windy night. Everybody was well aware that the time the enemy was going to attack hase. When darkness fell, all Shuanglong Bangs seven warships quietly left the dock. Kou Zhong led a hundred men to lie in ambush at the more than a dozen bunkers on the mountain and fields outside their water stronghold, quietly waiting for the enemys honorable selves to honor them with their presence. By the first watch period [7-9 pm] more than fifty warships, big and small, appeared on the surface of the sea outside the water stronghold, let down their skiffs, andunched the attack from the sea. Almost at the same time hundreds of torches lit up, covering the mountains and the ins, as probably close to a thousand men were charging toward their stronghold. The enemy taking thend route relied mostly on cavalry, with the infantry providing support; it was arge-scale military attack. Who would have thought that before they even reached the stronghold gate, the horses were either falling into pits full of sharp spikes, or stepping onto the field of sharp spikes that their feet were broken, their blood sshed and they fell to the ground. For a short while the situation was a total chaos. This moment, close to five hundred skiffs full of soldiers have just arrived at the wooden fence surrounding the water stronghold when suddenly out of nowhere several dozen fiery arrows filled the sky. The surface of the sea around them, as well as the dozen or so wooden constructions across the wooden stronghold rapidly caught fire. Very soon the invading troops were trapped on the sea of fire. Haisha Bang and Shen Faxings coalition army realized that they had fallen into a trap. Hastily they blew the trumpet signaling retreat. Kou Zhong led his men to fire arrows from the dark, while at the same time signaling his men everywhere to set on fire to cut the enemys retreating path. Right this moment Xu Ziling had just climbed onto Han Gaitians five-mast gship. He craned out his neck from the edge of the ship to look around, and saw on the tform above the cabin on the main deck Han Gaitian was standing anxiously, like an ant on a hot pathway, unceasingly issuing orders, while the subordinates around him were quiet out of fear. His other subordinates on the other ships were running back and forth, trying to get the ships turn around is hasty retreat. The most formidable part of Kou Zhongs n was that the enemy did not have any attack target. Xu Ziling took out the pebbles he had already prepared and suddenly jumped up onto the deck, and then soared onto the tform. His hands threw the pebbles in rapid session toward the windnterns hanging from the masts, rupturing their covering and extinguishing the fire inside, so that by the time hended onto the tform, the entire deck has fallen intoplete darkness. Han Gaitian did not even have any chance to fetch his weapon, Xu Zilings fist already arrived at his chest. Overwhelmed with shock, the Fat Assassin You Gui and the Charging General Ling Zhigao on his left moved to intercept. Bang! Han Gaitian was worthy to be the leader of a gang; crossing his palms together, he met Xu Zilings fist head-on. A scorching qi suddenly turned into million strands of soft thread, which, contrary to Han Gaitians wish, prated and invaded his arteries and veins. In unbearable difort Han Gaitian nearly threw up blood; hastily he recoiled backward and circted his internal power to dissolve the invading qi, while his subordinates swarmed forward to surround this terrifying lone assassin. Who would have thought that in a sh Xu Ziling disappeared from their midst and soared above Han Gaitians head? Fast as lightning his both feet kicked in session toward his face. You Gui and Ling Zhigaos weapons trying to meet him hit empty air. Although the other men also pounced on him, but because Xu Ziling was moving like a ghost, plus the deck was so dark that it was difficult to see, momentarily they were thrown into confusion, nobody knew how to deal against this enemy, so that although they had the strength, it was difficult to unleash it. Swish! Swish! Swish! The Mermaid You Qiuyan stepped aside, waved her hand and continuously shot three silver hairpins, which she pulled from her hair, toward Xu Ziling, who was flying in the air. Bang! Bang! Han Gaitian abruptly raised a mouthful of true qi to keep the endlessly surging blood in his vessels under control, while lifting up his palms to block Xu Zilings swift as the wind rotating wheel of six kicks. Han Gaitian let out a painful groan, staggered and fell down; trickle of blood appeared from the corner or his mouth, having experiencing the dreadful innate true qi from the Secret to Long Life. Xu Ziling fantastically shifted forward, missing You Qiuyans secret projectile by a hairbreadth. Although he startedter, he arrived earlier behind Han Gaitian. Han Gaitian was so scared that his soul flew away and scattered; although he knew that it was a desperate moment, he could only rely on himself to save his own life. Turning around, he raised his palms to attack Xu Ziling. Suddenly Xu Ziling spun swiftly; in an instant he counterattacked with five palm strikes and four kicks, plus a shoulder bump and an elbow strike, giving the impression that any part of his body could be a deadly weapon. The sound of shing qi rang continuously. The twobatants were suddenly closing in to each other, but then just as sudden they separated. Xu Ziling somersaulted and leaped away from the tform, and then with another push of his toes on the ships railing, he leaped into the boundless ocean, and disappeared without a trace. Everybody rushed toward Han Gaitian; they saw him sping his hand on the pit of the stomach. It was only by leaning on, and helped by, You Qiuyan that he did not fall down to the floor. They saw Han Gaitians face was like the golden paper used in funerals; he said in trembling voice, Retreat immediately, my internal injury is extremely heavy, albeit the opponent was being lenient to me. We hereby drop this matter. Everyone was stunned speechless. Who could have imagined that in mere two months Xu Ziling has be much more formidable? And thus Shen Faxing and Haisha Bangs coalition army suffered defeat and was forced to retreat. They lost more than a thousand men, while could not even touch the enemys shadow. By daybreak, seven warships, carrying the Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling-led Shuanglong Bang, quietly set sail from a hidden dock by the water stronghold, which had been burned to coke, bound for the ocean. Everybody of the Shuanglong Bang was in high spirits, they all looked up to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling like deities. Kou Zhong knew that he had established his credibility, so when the darkness fell, he summoned Gao Zhandao, three people, into his presence, and instructed them, We will separate here. You will secretly go to the appointed ce, to recruit soldiers and buy horses, and to advance our carefully drafted master n. Xu Ziling and I will take only four men to transport the salt to Guanzhong. Be sure to remember not to take any risk and to advance too quickly, you must not leak our rtionship even more. The three epted the order and returned to their respective boat. Kou Zhong walked over to the aft, toward Xu Ziling, who was standing with his hands behind his back, enjoying the ocean scenery. He sighed and said, Our great undertaking is finallyunched. When we left Yangzhou that day, I was dreaming that this day woulde. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, If Su Jie did not meet any mishap, we should be able to see her soon. A bit embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, I am very concerned about Su Jie too. We parted in the middle of winter, and now it is already the end of spring. Five months passed before we know it. Their sailboat changed direction, slowly leaving the fleet, heading toward the northwest. Only four sailors and those sacks of salt remained on the boat. These four men were Duan Yucheng, Bao Zhifu, Ma Gui, and Shi Jie. They were roughly between twenty to twenty-four, twenty-five years of age, and everyone was handpicked personally by Kou Zhong, and have undergone special training by him; they all had especially high natural gifts. Xu Ziling looked deep into Kou Zhongs eyes and said, Transporting the salt this time has made us tying a lot of enmities; have you considered the consequences? Kou Zhong smiled and said, But it has also made us tying a lot of friendships. Xiongdi! Life is like that; if we want friends, then we will have enemies as well. This can be considered an important phase in our training. As long as we dont die, by the time the salt is safely delivered to Guanzhong, we will be martial art masters unequalled under the heavens! The moon rose from the horizon, illuminating the entire border where the sea and the sky met, creating a mysterious, as well as beautiful, world. Book 7 - 1 – Two Lords of the Yangtze River Book 7 Chapter 1 C Two Lords of the Yangtze River The salt boat left the ocean to enter Yangtze River against the stream. Knock! Knock! Knock! Following the knocking on the door, Xu Zilings voice replied from the inside, Come in! Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered. Seeing Xu Ziling sitting cross-legged on a chair by the window, heughed and said, You, this kid, are really diligent. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, I have a very bad feeling; there will be trouble tonight. Kou Zhong sat down across from him; nodding his head, he said, I came here to tell you exactly that, the enemy has caught up with us, two ships are hanging on our tail. I really wish I could turn around and have fun killing them. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Fighting power is at the bottom of our list. What crafty idea do you have this time? Kou Zhong shook his head and swayed his noggin as if he was reciting something, Knowing me, Kou Zhong, am not like Xu Ziling. We can never sit quietly on a boat without inviting others to look for bad luck. But if there are that kind of shameless people around, if we dont have the guts to fight, then we have the guts to burn their ship or drill their boat. Otherwise our salt goods will be in jeopardy. Xu Ziling said, Kou Bangzhu must give considerations to Duan Yucheng, those four kids; otherwise, even in lifting or other menial jobs, Kou Bangzhu will have to toil your precious hands. Kou Zhong let out a bitterugh and said, I am begging you! Please stop speaking using that kind of sarcasm to make fun of me! Naturally I will give them consideration. As the Bangzhu, if I dont cherish my underlings, who would want to throw their lives in for me? Xu Ziling also felt that his tone was a bit too excessive. Just consider me in the wrong! he said apologetically, What brilliant scheme are you thinking? Kou Zhong made himselffortable, leaning back on his chair he stretched out his legs, and said, After dark, we will make our first move by getting rid of those two ships following behind us ... Xu Zilingughed and said, You are not thinking of scuttling other peoples ships, are you? Kou Zhong was upset. You guessed it again, he said, Speaking about underwater skill, who could surpass us? Those four guys are making preparations as we speak. When we get out of the back of the cabinter, they will release a great amount to thick smoke to interfere with the enemys line of sight, and then well seize that chance to go underwater, well take care of the enemys ships, one per person. This time we are going to use the real tool to bore a boat. Based on our Two-Dragon of Yangzhous divine skill, with two, three strikes we should be able to ... huh? Rapid footsteps were approaching, flustered and exasperated, the short, small, but highly capable Bao Zhifu blurted out outside the door, Two Bangzhu, the situation does not look good, the enemys catching up with us. The two three-mast ships behind them were only about forty zhang away, and were closing in really fast; evidently their speed was a lot faster than their boat. Presently the river course was deep, and the stream rapid; both banks were dangerous towering precipice, with the water closer to the edge full of dangerous reef, very steep. Obviously the enemy had already picked this exact ce tounch their attack early on. That night the moon was really beautiful, the turbulence reflected the moon and the stars splendor, like millions of slivery snakes dancing on the surface of the water; it was extremely wild and enchanting. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong stood at the aft, focusing their eyes to look, and saw that the observation tform on each ship were packed with dozens of people, all were also looking at and pointing at them. When the two boys gaze fell on the decks of the enemys ships, they could not help sucking a mouthful of cold air, because each ship had at least several men with drawn bow pointing at them, as well as several catapults. How could they fight this battle? Kou Zhongs eyes shed a cold murderous look. I wonder whose ships are they? he asked no one in particr in a heavy voice. The slender and handsome Duan Yucheng, who was in charge of the helm, heard him and called out, They should be Dajiang Huis [Great River Society] warships. Their best trick is that they are able to turn fast, which other helmsmen are not able to do. Dajiang Hui was one of the Eight Gangs Ten Societies; they achieved their fame in Jianghu early, which was by no mean an easy feat. Their Gang Leader and his deputy were the Dragon Lord Pei Yue and Tiger Lord Pei Yan, two brothers, famous to be vicious and merciless. Even as early as they were still in Yangzhou, the two boys had already heard about their notoriety; its just that they did not expect that as soon as they entered the Yangtze River they already came across these vicious people. Kou Zhong nudged Xu Ziling and muttered, His grannys Niang, we cant beat them fair and square, what can we do this time? Although ever since their debut they had already anticipated encounter with enemies who wanted to invade their territory, but they only thought about little clowns in groups of three or squads of five, or perhaps one or two martial art masters who wanted to curry Li Mis favor, never this kind of big troop formation. The enemy basically did not give them any chance to have a closebat. Xu Ziling spoke nonchntly, Abandon ship! Kou Zhong was staring at the enemy ships, which were about twenty zhang away by now; stunned, he asked, Wont that mean this batch of salt wille to naught? Xu Ziling said in amazement, Zhong Shao, why does your brain suddenly be so slow? The one abandoning the ship is the two of us. Dont you see that every one of the enemies is equipped with wet suit and harpoons? Apparently after sinking our ships they are going to go underwater to capture us. Then why dont we jump into the river one step ahead, so that the enemy wont need to waste arrows, sling stones, and the burning oil? Kou Zhong pped his forehead; applying his internal energy he shouted toward the enemys ship, Pei Yue, Pei Yan, are you, a snake and a cat, going to poo or pee here? A cold snort came from the enemys ship. The two boys shivered in fear; the opponents snort was loud and clear, but not excessively shrill, evidently he had a deep internal strength, definitely not someone they want to mess around with. If on top of that there were also other martial art masters plus more than two hundred warriors with deep water skill, equipped with, bows and arrows, their chance of getting capture was a hundred percent. Another dull, stuffy voice from the enemys ship on the left said, The two of you must be tired of living; death is near at hand and still dare to blurt out offending remarks. If you are a bit smarter youd immediately stop your boat. Do you think that our Dajiang Hui is as friendly as those Haisha Bang people? The two boys focused their power into their eyes, and saw the speaker to be a tall and sturdy man, with baldhead, broad face, and thick lower jaw, wearing ck robe, looked rather lofty, and only around forty years old. But the one really attracting the two boys attention was a twenty-something man in purple clothes standing to the left of the baldhead. This kid was tall and thin, but sturdy, the bridge of his nose was high, but rather t. His look was actually not bad, its a pity that his eyes were unusually small and narrow that they seemed to pull his face together, so they did not match his overall appearance, which gave people a very ufortable feeling. The reason the two boys paid a particr attention to him was because inside this mans narrow eyes, the pupils were gleaming with unusual shine, evidently it was because his internal energy was a notch above the man who has just spoken; definitely a rival difficult to deal with. This moment, Ma Gui, whose face was full of pimples came behind the two boys to report, We are ready to release the smokescreen anytime! Kou Zhong was greatly delighted. Watch for my signal! he said. Ma Gui received the order and left. To divide the opponents attention, Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, Stopping the boat so that everybody can be intimate with each other is a must, but I wonder which Dajiang Huis Dangjia [the one in charge] is speaking? The baldhead shouted coldly, I am Pei Yan. If you are tactful, immediately lower your sail and stop the boat, otherwise we will attack. If that happens, dont me our Dajiang Hui for not showing any mercy. The young man in purple clothing let out a shrillughter before saying, Currently Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong are very valuable; otherwise, how could you move Pei Er Dangjia to toil for ten days and ten nights to follow your trail? However, unlike other people, we dont capture you to be presented as a gift, we only hope to coborate with two gentlemen, to start a great undertaking. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they understood now that the opponents were after the Duke Yang Treasure. Noticing the enemies had been closing in for ten more zhang, Kou Zhong shouted, Sire, who are you? Pei Yan answered for him, You guys really have eyes without eyeballs, that even Changbai [mountain] number one martial art master Wang Baogongs only Gongzi, the Thunder Saber Wang Kuijie Gongzi you dont recognize. How could you roam the Jianghu? Pretending to be greatly astonished, Kou Zhong responded, I wonder if Bi Xuan and Ning Daoqi recognize Wang Gongzi? Wont that mean that they should not have roamed the Jianghu? Pei Yans original intention was to tter Wang Kuijie, but hearing Kou Zhongs remark, he was stumped. Worse yet, Wang Kuijie was embarrassed. Realizing that the opponent might turn embarrassment into anger, Kou Zhong hurriedly issued an order to release the smokescreen. Sure enough, the sound of drums arose from one of the enemys ships; everybody bent their bows with arrows at the ready; as soon as the ships were getting closer, they would shoot. With continuous creaking noise, more than a dozen stone, about a chi-square each, were shot first from the trebuchet, and flew high up in the sky toward them. At the same moment, four windows closest to the water at the aft of their boat suddenly opened, four streams of ck smoke erupted out. Chapter 1 - Part 2 Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling immediately soared into the air, their fists and feet worked together, diverting the stones that looked like they might hit the boat away. Before the enemys ships had the chance tounch the second round of stones, the thick smoke was blown by the wind so that they were trapped inside the smoke. ck smoke was continuously blown from the bellows operated by Bao Zhifu and Shi Jie, two persons. In the blink of an eye the air behind the boat was covered in thick, dark smoke. On the deck, Ma Gui, Duan Yucheng, along with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, four people, who, after all, were still young at heart, cheered excitedly. Suddenly there was a loud gust of wind; someone was breaking the smokescreen, like a big bird swooping toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, with the vigor of a gigantic hawk catching a rabbit, as a ball of saber ray pounced on them. Kou Zhong stayed calm without the slightest sign of fear; he shouted, Good move! Lightning fast he drew his long saber and turned it into cold light. Ding! it hacked onto the saber ray protecting the opponents body. The man and Kou Zhong exchanged an all-out saber attack; in horror he found out that Kou Zhongs saber not only carried an iparably amazing cold true qi, which broke through his own saber qi and even forced it back, but also the cold qi continued to seal his saber momentum so tight that he was unable to continue his attack. In his great shock, he borrowed the opponents force to catapult himself back, made a somersault in the air, with the intention tond on the tform on top of the cabin. On the other hand, Kou Zhong was also jolted by the opponent that his qi and blood surged up in his chest. While he was secretly shocked by the opponents formidability, Xu Ziling already soared into the air like an angry eagle, to intercept the dreadful opponent by one step, so that the two of them exchanged several moves in the air. Xu Zilings weapon was his body. In addition to his hands and feet, no part of his body could not be used as an offensive weapon against the enemy. Obviously that person has never encountered such moves; three times in session his saber attack were neutralized by Xu Zilings saber-breaking technique, so that his leap could not continue and he was forced to alter direction toward the side of the boat. Xu Ziling also felt his strength was exhausted, so he safelynded on the tform to take a breather. Only then did he see clearly that this person was precisely Wang Baos son, Wang Kuijie. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong had anticipated the point where the opponent wouldnd, hence he already shed over and waited with the saber held horizontally across his chest. Laughing aloud, he said, This time it is indeed a good move! Wang Kuijie groaned inwardly; he saw Kou Zhong was waiting down there with tight defense, while he himself was still unable to dissolvepletely Xu Zilings qi invading his body. Falling rapidly like this would not be any different than suicide. Swish! Nobody knew where the arrow came from, but it swiftly flew toward his back. Wang Kuijie was also an outstanding talent; abruptly raising his qi, he miraculously rose up by a chi or so to evade the powerful arrow, and then with a flip he leaped over Kou Zhong and plunged into the water. Carrying his big bow Ma Gui rushed over to the edge of the boat and ferociously shot an arrow to the spot where Wang Kuijie disappeared into the water. By this time the surface of the river behind the boat waspletely shrouded in ck smoke. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Ziling leaped down beside him and said, That guys saber technique was swift and fierce, I was nearly fooled. Kou Zhong nodded, His qinggong is not bad either, he said. Fixing his gaze at the ck fog behind the boat, Xu Ziling said heavily, If you have to fight him fair and square, how confident you are in scoring a victory? Kou Zhong smiled wryly and replied, At most only fity-fifty. Both were feeling heavy; they no longer had the same confidence as when they first started. The days ahead would not be easy. The morning sun was rising, a new day has begun. Avoiding the Yangtze River, the salt boat entered a tributary and cast anchor in a river bend hidden underneath thick lush trees. After rushing all night long, Duan Yucheng and the others, four men, needed a good rest. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys were on guard duty. Xu Ziling noticed that Kou Zhong was looking for a small sharp chisel, and when he found it, he diligently carved something on the de of his saber. Squatting next to him, Xu Ziling asked, What are you doing? I want to give my treasured saber a proper name, Kou Zhong replied proudly. Xu Ziling burst outughing; he said, If you consider this saber a treasured saber, then all sabers under the heavens, with the exception of some especially inferior quality goods, can also be considered treasured sabers. Kou Zhong solemnly said, That is precisely the reason it can disy my, Kou Zhongs prowess. This is originally an ordinary saber, but because of me it will be world-famous tool, this is the saber that will let me strike everywhere all over the world. Ha! Xu Ziling sat down on the deck, close to the boats railings. Taking a deep breath of early morning air, watching a flock of birds flying in the sky, he stretched and asked, What ghost name are you carving there? Kou Zhongs thick face turned slightly red; he said softly, Moon in the Well! At first Xu Ziling was startled, but then he could not stop smiling, Good kid! he said, You have the cheek to enjoy this good name alone! Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and said, How about yielding to me a little bit? One lifetime two brothers, why argue over such thing too much? Xu Ziling was lost in thought for half a day. He finally said, Duan Yucheng, these four guys natural talent is not bad. After checking out their channel and meridians, I designed a set of qi cultivation method for each of them. If they are sessful, they are going to be your biggest help. Kou Zhong gratefully said, Fortunately you had time to think about those kinds of thing, currently day in and day out my time is spent in thinking about future n, I dont have time to think about that kind of water-mill effort. Xu Ziling said, Speaking about intelligence, Duan Yucheng is at the top of the list. But in terms of martial art skill, Bao Zhifu will be the most aplished in the future. Above all, this man is unbelievably dauntless, with firm and persistent fighting spirit; he is the most suitable candidate to practice a hard-bridge, hard-horse skill like Li Dages saber technique. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement; he said, Shi Jie excels in light, nimble skill. Just wait till I finish teaching him a set of saber technique I developed based on myprehension of the swimming fish, I guarantee that his future aplishment will not be inferior to the others. Xu Ziling said, Ma Gui is most adept at archery and secret projectiles, only his internal energy iscking. If we can make up for this deficiency, his future aplishment will also be immeasurable. If these two boys dialog fell into the ears of great schrs and grandmasters such as Bi Xuan or Ning Daoqi, those people would be so amazed that their jaw would drop. The reason was not only because of their brilliant and original insight, but also because of their ability in measuring talents and designing teaching materials ordingly, with suitable internal energy cultivation method for each one, demonstrating the fact that the two boys have reached the level of aplished founder of a sect. Their fantastic martial art skill, first inspired by Fu Junchuo and the Secret to Long Life, enriched by Li Jings Bloody Battle Ten-Style, their Beautiful Gang Leaders Bird-Crossing Technique and Tu Shufangs Meridian-Severing Technique, has by this time evolved into a unique,plete set of martial art skill, which was totally their own. It was precisely because they had never received any rigid set of technique that they were relying on their own hard work and groping about, but the result was a more flexible change and variation, a set of technique of their own. Kou Zhong suddenly had his heart filled with emotional stirring; he said, Listening to the tone of your voice, it seems like you are ready to leave me anytime. Ay! I am so not used to not having you around. Xu Ziling smiled; he said, The most important thing for a real man is to keep his words. You, Zhong Shao, have already promised that after we find the Duke Yang Treasure, you will let me go freely; therefore, you cant casually renege on your promise. Kou Zhong sighed helplessly. This moment they heard the sound of oars hitting the water, a group of five fishing boats that were strung together was sailing not too far from the river bend; it was such a calm, peaceful and rxing scene that anybody would be hard-pressed to think that they were in the world that was all split up and in pieces, with war continuing everywhere. Xu Ziling said, Are we going to break through Li Zitongs Jianghu Armys barricade tonight? Kou Zhong mused, Li Zitong cant totally close the Great River, so he will still have to send his warship to check all vessels going back and forth. As long as we can grasp the right moment, we definitely will have a chance of breaking through. Xu Ziling was about to speak when suddenly the rm went off in his heart. Kou Zhong also reacted; both he and Xu Ziling turned their gaze toward the shore. But the shore remained dark and quiet with no human shadow in sight. The two exchanged nces; they both felt very strange. If it were only one of them felt it, they could dismiss it as mere misperception. But the current situation was simply too weird. Who could have hidden inside the two boys perception range? Not only that, who could have beaten their vision by one step faster? By dusk, the salt boat departed the river bend where they have been hiding. Transporting the salt to Guanzhong had nothing to do with making profit; rather, it represented the two boys cherished wish. It could be viewed as a severe test in their martial art cultivation. If they were able toplete this task sessfully, it would confirm their ability to resist any enemy. Book 7 - 2 – Alarming Change On The Salt Boat Book 7 Chapter 2 C rming Change On The Salt Boat Not long after the salt boat entered the Yangtze River, the weather turned bad, a drizzle fell continuously. Because Duan Yucheng and the others, four men were on duty, Xu Ziling went to the kitchen to prepare a meal. He and Kou Zhong have worked as cooks before, so it was a very easy task for him. Kou Zhong went up the deck to patrol a few times; for some unknown reason, he had a strange feeling that someone was watching them in secret, although there was no other boat in sight, the banks were also devoid of any trace of human presence. After telling Ma Gui and the others to raise their vignce, he went to the kitchen at the aft to find Xu Ziling. The dishes were nearingpletion. Seeing Kou Zhong came to see him, Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said, I also have a very ominous feeling; from time to time my heart rmed, my body leaping, and I cant calm down. After focusing his spirit to listen all around, he spoke in Xu Zilings ear, I suspect the enemy is already hiding on the boat; perhaps its even that fellow Yang Xuyan. Remember we had a strange feeling this morning, but did not see anybody? Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. Yang Xuyan was called the Shadow Assassin because he was skilled in hiding, was able toe and go without any trace, and only he had that kind of ability. Kou Zhong went on, Fighting one-on-one, neither one of us is his match, but if we join hands, we have a chance to stake our lives against his; therefore, from now on we must not separate. Xu Zilings eyes revealed a determined look; he shook his head and said, If we are like that, we will never be martial art masters who are able to assume personal responsibility. Kou Zhong stared nkly. You are right, he said, Since that the case, it will be better if we gain the initiative by striking first, well try to force him toe out and decide life and death. Ay! I wonder which side has this kid thrown himself into; the muddleheaded ruler is dead, why didnt he simply retire? Xu Ziling was dissatisfied, he said, Just by listening to yourst three sentences, I know you have trepidation in your heart. Didnt Niang teach us to ce ourselves on a field of death and fight to live? [an idiom from Sunzis Art of War] Only by forgetting life or death will we be able to bring out our skill to the finest detail. Someone like you, who is timid even before fighting, will be defeated for sure. Kou Zhong painfully said, Dont forget that Yang Xuyan that kid even dared to assassinate Ol Die. If we train our martial art skill for several more years, we might beparable to Ol Die, but right now we are not. Xu Ziling heaved a sigh. Honestly, he said, I am deadly afraid as well. But this is precisely the purpose of our trip in transporting the salt, to ce ourselves on the field of death, to seek survival with all our strength, to advance in the martial art cultivation by the most rigorous practice. Do you understand? Kou Zhong took a deep breath. Patted his chest, he said, All right! Ill listen and obey. Lets just be a bit more careful! Finished speaking he turned around and left. After finishing up thest dish of rice with vegetables marinated in soy paste, and as he was about to bring the dishes out, he seemed to hear a faint sigh that sounded like a womansing from the doorway. Xu Ziling was shocked. Based on his current mental cultivation, who could possiblye this close to him and was still able to fool his acute psychic senses? As he turned around abruptly, the lights suddenly went out. At the exact same time, a chilling malicious spirits howling pierced his ears, as if from thend of the living he was suddenly whisked away to theher world. Xu Ziling stayed motionless while collecting his spirit; focusing his power to his eyes, gradually the surrounding became brighter, and he was able to see everything with double rity. Immediately his tiger body was shaken severely. Because he saw a woman with long hair and white clothing was standing at the door. Although because her head was hanging down he was unable to see her face, but her bearing, her build, and most of all the strong deja vu vibe that she exuded, bore extremely strong resemnce to Fu Junchuo. Momentarily forgetting that Fu Junchuo had died early on, Xu Ziling blurted out, Niang! The woman trembled slightly, but then she suddenly disappeared. Xu Ziling bolted out of the door. The corridor was pitch-ck; there was no trace of the woman. With a gust of wind Kou Zhong flitted over; with calm andposed expression he simply said, All four of them have disappeared. Huh? What happened to you? Xu Ziling was about to answer when suddenly, Splosh! Ssh! Splosh! Ssh! one after another the sound of something hitting the water came from both sides of the boat. The two boys cried out, knowing something bad happened, and rushed out of the corridor. But just as they crossed the door and stepped into the deck, they halted their steps in extreme shock with their eyes fixed toward the bow. Under the drizzling rain, a lovely woman wearing white, a long sword hanging on her back, her beautiful hair like a cloud, was sitting calmly hugging her knees, as if she was the only one left in the world, at the tip of the bow. From their angle of view, her silhouette looked at least 90% like Fu Junchuo, especially her long hair and her posture; plus there was this overwhelming dj vu feeling in their hearts. Having seen her before, Xu Ziling was a bit better, but Kou Zhong simply lost himself as he cried out, Niang! The woman slowly turned her face around. It was a dignified and gentle face, with graceful and delicate, straight nose right in the middle between her pair of sweet and charming bright eyes, so bright that she seemed to be able to look deep into their soul. To their surprise, it was the same mysterious, beautiful woman who hade together with Ba Fenghan the other day. At that time the boys had already had a feeling that she looked a lot like Fu Junchuo. But tonight she deliberately imitated Fu Junchuos dress style, so that one after another Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were fooled and called her mother. The salt boat was without anybody steering it, but it kept sailing upstream due to the tailwind. For the time being, since the river course was straight, it was not a problem, but as soon as they encountered any twist or turn, the boat would crash into a cliff for sure. Kou Zhong came to his senses; he saluted and asked, May I ask Miss, what did you do to our four brothers? Throw them away! the woman replied indifferently. Hearing that, the two boys looked at each other in dismay. If Duan Yucheng and the others had their acupoint sealed and were thrown into the river, wouldnt their death be guaranteed? The woman let out a cold snort and said, You, these two kids, are more crafty than I thought. Harming my Shijie [martial (older) sister] is not enough, you called her Niang in front and behind her back, and have confused eyes and ears. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised; the opponent was unexpectedly Fu Junchuos Shimei [martial (younger) sister], so they also groaned inwardly, because now they could not avenge Duan Yucheng and the others. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Turns out its Shi ... hey! What should we call you? How about Shiyi [martial aunt (mothers sister)]? The womans jade countenance sank. Shut up! she bellowed, You may deceive others, but dont ever dream of deceiving me, Fu Junyu. Shijie hated Han people the most, plus she was a virgin, how could she admit you as her sons? Not to mention telling you, Han dogs, the secret of Duke Yang Treasure-trove. Xu Ziling hastily said, Shiyi must not misunderstand, before her death Niang confirmed us as her sons, and has passed on our precious schools basic skill. If you dont believe me, you can test us a bit. Fu Junyu coldly said, Very well! Tell me, what is Yi Jian technique? [yi C ancient name for go (Chinese chest), jian C sword, see also Book 1 Chapter 3, Yi Jian Dashi.] The two boys were dumbstruck; they were speechless. Kou Zhong said, Niang only taught us the internal cultivation of the first level of Jiu Xuan Da Fa [Great Method of Nine Mysteries] before she was heavily injured and passed away; she did not tell us anything about Yijian technique. Fu Junyu looked up at the rainy night, she said indifferently, Using sword is just like ying chess. Each sword move is just like moving a chess piece, and the battlefield is just like a live chessboard, ever-changing. If one fails to grasp the overall situation, cannot estimate the enemys next move, then he cannot grasp the chance of victory. This is a very important principle, Shijie did not tell you? This moment the boat was swerving out of the middle of the river and was slowly leaning toward the left bank. Xu Ziling said, Niang only told us about the every change of divine power and that the treasure trove hidden deep within oneself is self-sufficient. Fu Junyus charming body trembled slightly; she hung her head low in deep thought. The salt boat was only less than four zhang away from the shore; fortunately a wind blew, sending the boat back toward the middle of the river; it was exceptionally thrilling. The Korean beautys cherry lips suddenly blurted out, I will kill you! You still dont believe us? the two boys cried out involuntarily. Fu Junyus jade countenance turned extremely cold, but surprisingly the tone of her voice was extremely gentle, Its because I believe you that I must kill you. Ay! Shijie, how could you pass on our divine skill to Han dogs? Now Junyu will have to clean up our school for you and keep this matter from reaching Shifus ears. Thest two sentences were spoken with her face toward the heavens. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt their scalp went numb. Chapter 2 - Part 2 It was not because they were afraid of Fu Junyu at all, but due to her rtionship with their Niang, they must not harm her or use heavy hands against her, and since that the case, they could only ept defeat without any chance of victory at all. Kou Zhong hastily said, Yu Yi [Aunt Yu], please set your heart at ease; from now on we will never mention that Niang had taught us the Great Method of Nine Mysteries, is that all right? Fu Junyu scolded tenderly, Whos your, two Han dogs, Yu Yi? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong knew she would make her move any time, so they were instantly in full alert. Who would have thought that Fu Junyu appeared to be in deep thought again? It was quite a whileter that she finally spoke nonchntly, All right! Looking at Shijies face, I am willing to spare you two from death; but there are two conditions. Seeing things have turned to the better, the two boys promptly inquired. Fu Junyu coldly looked at the two boys up and down several times before speaking calmly, First of all you must swear an oath never to reveal the secret of Duke Yang Treasure to anybody, but you must tell me the treasures location. Xu Ziling had no problem, but Kou Zhong was stunned on the spot; that treasure concerned his grand n for vying over the world, how could he tell others? Fu Junyu continued, The second condition is that I must take your martial art skill back, our Yijian Pais core technique must not be disseminated to Han people. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief instead. He was originally afraid that Xu Ziling would force him to ept the first condition. But now Fu Junyu wanted to cripple them by taking their martial art skill, naturally they could not ept that. Thereupon, with a cold snort he said, If you are really Niangs martial sister, how could you not know the secret of Duke Yang Treasure? I almost fell into your ruse. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; he knew that because of his desire to vie over the world, Kou Zhongpletely disregarded the fact that Fu Junyu was their Niangs martial sister. Fu Junyu was exceptionally calm; as if she was talking to herself, she sighed softly and said, I knew Han dogs are like this; Shijie, how could you be so muddleheaded? Qiang! Fu Junyus sword already moved into her hand, while at the same time she flew up and over the two boys head andnded in front of the cabin door before turning around to face them. She looked at the two boys with disdain and said, Let me see how much martial art skill Shijie imparted to you! Her movement was swift beyond belief, like moving clouds and flowing water, her posture beautiful; her skill appeared to be superior to Fu Junchuo, who was adept at lightness-skill. Kou Zhong drew the Moon the the Well saber, and adopted a defense stance; he shouted loudly, Niang! We are cornered and have no choice, please do not me child. Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong was speaking those words for his sake. While looking up, he was aghast to see that far ahead upstream, a sharp bend appeared on the river course. However, he was helpless because Fu Junyu was blocking the path toward the rudder. Fu Junyus pretty face was still as calm as still water, but her pair of beautiful eyes shone with deep, determined murderous aura. The sword in front of her was vibrating lightly, exuding wave after wave of sword qi, forcing the two boys to circte their internal energy to withstand it. Kou Zhong took a step forward and raised his saber horizontally in front of his chest in ready-to-strike posture. He spoke coldly, Saber and sword are heartless, it would be better for Shiyi to think thrice. Fu Junyu mocked him, Didnt you say I was an impostor? Why do you keep on calling me Shiyi? Kou Zhong replied while maintaining his heroic spirit; heughed aloud and said, Why dont Shiyi think about it yourself? The fact was that Niang did not have time to tell us the treasures location before she died, so now you can only take our martial art skill back, but we certainly wont wait helplessly for death. Since things havee to this, let us look at Shiyis real skill! Before he even finished talking, Fu Junyu was already about five chi away on his left, swinging her sword swiftly toward Kou Zhongs left shoulder; her speed was indeed like a ghost or demon. Kou Zhong has never seen anybody with shenfa faster than Fu Junyus. Yet he remained calm and unhurried as he raised his saber to block. He did not rely on naked eye, but on the almost psychic sense he developed from the Secret to Long Life. Xu Ziling was also startled by her speed. When Fu Junyu was floating, it was as if she turned into light smoke, as if she was without any substance. Bing! The saber and the sword collided. Kou Zhongs tiger body was severely shaken; he had to stagger two steps sideways before he could stabilize his footing. Fu Junyu floated onto the edge of the boat, but she suddenly shed toward Kou Zhongs right side, and in an instant she shed her sword down five times. Each sh of the sword did not have Kou Zhong as its target, yet Kou Zhong was flustered trying to parry each strike, puzzling Xu Ziling, who was watching the fight. Fu Junyus leg suddenly flew out, the tip of her boot was going to sting Kou Zhongs calf, while Kou Zhong was straining left and right to parry her attack, demonstrating her forte in executing extremely cunning and strange changes. Kou Zhong roared sharply; like a swimming fish he moved toward Fu Junyus right side from an angle that was totally beyond the opponents expectation. Not only he evaded her absolutely brilliant kick, but at the same time he backhandedly swept his saber toward Fu Junyus right nk. Evidently Fu Junyu was taken by surprise. She dodged the iing saber, swiveled her body around, and moved toward Kou Zhongs back. From her nk, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well saber went down, forcing Fu Junyu to float away again. Suddenly Fu Junyu shed toward Xu Ziling, waving her hand around, so that the fingers turned into several dozen cold points shooting toward him. Xu Ziling sighed, realizing that after testing Kou Zhongs power, she was afraid the two boys would join hands against her, plus she noticed that Xu Ziling was without any weapon, so she wanted to deal with him first before turning back to deal with Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong roared, This Poniang is ruthless and formidable, Xiao Ling, you must not hold your hands! Like a big eagle Xu Ziling had already surged diagonally forward, using the edge of his palm like a saber, he hacked down on the t of the opponents sword. Two qi collided. While Fu Junyu was overwhelmed with amazement that Xu Ziling dared to meet the attack empty-handedly, also that he was able to pinpoint the exact location of her sword amidst the sword shadows and the de rays, and was able to brilliantly neutralize her attack, Xu Ziling had already moved behind her back and bumped her with his shoulder. She had never heard about this kind of fighting. However, she had already tested these two boys internal strength; although it was incredibly strange, it was still two notches below her seventh level of the Great Method of Nine Mysteries. Thereupon, while saying inwardly that you are just courting death, she also pushed her back to meet Xu Zilings attack. Bang! Xu Ziling spurted a mouthful of fresh blood; like a kite with cut string he flew away to the other side. Kou Zhong was at the ready; he was one step ahead to be at the ce where Xu Ziling was about to fall, and raised his hands to catch him up. Fu Junyu was also jolted by Xu Zilings reaction force that she staggered three steps forward, with streams of true qi invading her body, creating unbearable difort that she almost threw up blood like Xu Ziling. But she was actually delighted instead of rmed; suppressing her injury, she turned around and shot her long sword like a lightning toward Xu Zilings back, hoping that she would skewer the two boys together in one move, and dispose of them ruthlessly. What she did not know was that Kou Zhong had already transmitted his true qi into Xu Zilings body, dissolving his injury. This moment the two boys suddenly separated, Kou Zhong let out a violent roar, the Moon in the Well hacked down on the enemy. Xu Ziling sent out a punch, the target was her right shoulder. Caught off guard, Fu Junyu screamed; the sword in her right hand parried Kou Zhongs long saber, her left palm clenched into a fist, she simultaneously took the two boys toppling the mountains and overturning the seas attack head-on. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were jarred to the left and right, but Fu Junyu also spewed a little bit of blood. She soared into the air,nded on the viewing tform first, and then with a somersault she flew toward the left bank. Her tender voice came through, Some day I will take your lives, but now I will let you live a bit longer! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had just steadied their footing. Boom! The salt boat crashed onto the reef standing in great numbers along the beach, jolting the two boys that they rolled around on the floor, battered andpletely exhausted. Book 7 - 3 – General Assembly in Bamboo Forest Book 7 Chapter 3 C General Assembly in Bamboo Forest Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong crouched on a pile of rocks by the beach, staring nkly at the salt boat tilted at 45 degree, wedged between the reefs; they wanted to cry, but no tears came out. The sail mast was broken, a long,rge gash opened up on the hull from the sharp reef scraping at the bottom of the boat. Even if someone were able to take the salt boat off the reef, it would still be difficult to repair the vessel. When they set off, they were filled with heroic spirit; who could have guessed that before they even reached Jiangdu, the boat was destroyed, their men went missing; the blow they experience was understandable. The two boys lost their interest, they did not feel like hauling the salt down the boat. Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Before we graduate our first disciples, our boat is already destroyed; this does not seem to be a good omen. Xu Ziling sighed and said, After daybreak, well search along the river, to see if we can find their bodies and give them proper burial. Kou Zhong hatefully punched both fists into the air, with an angry humph he said, That Poniang does not deserve to be Niangs Shimei, her character and broad-mindedness fall too shortpared to Niangs, she refuses to understand that there are also good and bad among Han people, she only knows to call us Han dogs. Xu Ziling said, Thinking about how much suffering themon people of Gaoli had to endure under Yang Guang troops iron hoof, we cant really me her for that. Ay! Kou Zhong coldly said, Listening to the tone of your voice, when we meet her next time, even if we have the chance, you might treat her leniently. Dont you think Duan Yucheng and the others died an unjust death? Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Do you think killing her is that easy? Fighting one-on-one, we are still a level below her. This Poniangs qinggong is really formidable. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Hows your internal injury? Xu Ziling replied, Although our martial art skill is still not enough, our healing technique is actually iparable under the heavens. A moment ago I was aching all over, but now I ampletely all right. Kou Zhong roused himself; heughed and said, Xiao Ling is really exceptional; if it werent for you bumping her back, I am afraid we were still unable to injure her. And if we werent able to injure her, it would mean we were going to get injured or killed. Thinking about it, it was extremely risky and dangerous. Xu Ziling knitted his brows in deep thought, But her Yijian technique is really quite profound. Sword battle is just like ying chess, the battlefield is the chessboard. How would we know if the next move is double rook seize the warrior, or abandon the rook to protect themander? [not sure about this, must be some reference to Chinese chess.] Kou Zhongughed and said, They must be referring to Gaoli chess, dont think too much about it! Xu Ziling seriously said, Speaking about chess, the principle of chess is the same as the principle of mental cultivation. First of all we must see through the opponents opening [in chess], only then can we decide how to attack or defend, to advance or retreat. Formerly we only know how to counter every move; the troops arrive we resist really cant be considered first-ss martial art principle. Kou Zhong was about to reply when suddenly they heard unusual noiseing from downstream. Focusing their senses to listen carefully, unexpectedly it was Duan Yucheng and the others, four mens familiar footsteps. The two boys were pleased beyond their expectation; they rushed forward to meet them. After the cmity, renewed life, there was only joy in their hearts. Turned out Fu Junyu was being lenient to them; before tossing them into the Great River, she unsealed their acupoints first. Whether they wanted it or not, Kou and Xus ill feelings toward her was greatly reduced. Pulling themselves together, they moved the sacks of salt from the broken ship to the shore and hid them in the jungle. They also chopped the broken boat into pieces of boards and logs, and floated the pieces along the river. By daybreak, the surface of the river was back to normal, as if this matter had never happened. After being tossed from side to side all night, Duan Yucheng and the others, four men were exhausted. Thereupon Kou Zhong ordered them to rest in the jungle, while also guarding the salt. In the meantime, he and Xu Ziling went to the nearby town to see whether they could by a mule cart to transport the goods. When the two boys reached the official road, Xu Ziling said, You are proficient in astronomy and geography, tell me which way to go. Kou Zhong confidently said with augh, I knew you wouldnt let me off. We have just left Changsu the day before yesterday, plus we hid for half a day, so we should not have reached Jiangyin yet. If mountain peoples guess is correct, if we walk to the west for a couple of sichen, we should reach Jiangyin! Ha ha! Are you convinced? Xu Ziling sneered and said, Are we there yet? Just use your feet, not your mouth! The two boys unfolded their shenfa, and sure enough, less than a sichenter the city of Jiangyin appeared in the distance. Kou Zhong said triumphantly, When youe with me, you wont make a pointless trip. I was just wondering Jiangyin city nowadays has fallen into whose hands? Xu Ziling looked up at a caravan of horses and mules going down the hill heading toward Jiangyin; heughed and said, Cant you go up and ask? Kou Zhong bumped into him and with hee hee ha ha he ran down the hill. Xu Ziling ran after him. But when they were about to reach the caravan, the people of the caravan shouted repeatedly, telling them to stop. Five or six riders from the caravan reined their horses and turned back to block them. An old man who appeared to be their leader shouted, Whos there! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised; why did they act nervous and tense as if they were facing an enemy? The two boys had no choice but to stop. Kou Zhong cupped his fist and said, Gentlemen, Lao Ge [old elder brothers] please do not misunderstand, we, two brothers, only wanted to inquire about the situation of Jiangyin, to see if it is safe to enter the city. A middle age man with thick eyebrows and big eyes next to the old man nodded and said, You dont look like vicious disciples of Tieqi Hui [armored horses society]. What is it that you wanted to ask? Kou Zhong suddenly understood, Turns out Lao Ge mistook us as Tieqi Hui men. And then elbowing Xu Ziling, he went on, Do you know who is the leader of the Tieqi Hui? Could it be that he took the name Xiao [little]? Those several men under the leadership of the old menughed; they understood that Kou Zhong deliberately made fun of the name Ren Shaoming. Immediately the distance between the two sides diminished considerably. [Trantors note: this is hard to carry over to English. Ren C to take/appoint/assume, Shao C few/less/junior, Ming C name/famous. Kou Zhong said took the name xiao C ren xiao ming.] Tieqi Hui was one of eight-gang ten-society. In the recent years they emerged suddenly to be a big underworld gang in the Jiangnan [south of Yangtze river] area. Their Bangzhu [gang leader] Green Dragon Ren Shaoming was an expert in using the meteor hammer. Together with the Huizhu [society leader] of Poyang Hui, Lin Shihong, who recently called himself the Emperor of Chu, they were known as the Two Hegemons of Jiangnan, the two dominant figures [orig. whose foots move sways the bnce] of the Wulin world of Jiangnan. [Trantors note: here the dragon ( jiao) is legendary dragon with the ability to control rain and floods, not the usual / (long).] It was rumored that other than losing to the Song ns Heavenly Saber Song Que in a fight over territorial dispute, Ren Shaoming had never met a well-matched adversary. From this, it could be seen that he was indeed exceptional. The old manughed and said, You, this kid, have a bit of courage and insight; so which Sects disciples are you? Kou Zhong put on a respectful look as he said solemnly, We, two brothers Fu Zhong and Fu Ling are the seventh generation disciples of Zhuhua Bang [bamboo flower gang]; Yan Kuan is our grandpa [or master]. The old man was stunned, The Yan Kuan who was martyred due to his loyalty in Yangzhou? he asked. This time it was Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings turn to look at each other in dismay. First, they did not expect that the old man would know such an insignificant character like Yan Kuan; second, how did Yan Laoda be a martyr due to his loyalty? The man with thick eyebrows who had spoken earlier suddenly made a secret signal, which only Zhuhua Bangs member could understand. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hastily returned the politeness with another Zhuhua Bangs secret signal. All the six men opened their robe at the same time, exposing the Zhuhua Bang insignia on thepel of their clothes. It was only then did Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong realize that they hade across one of their own. However, even when they were still in Yangzhou Yan Laoda and the two boys were intermingling with various characters of the Zhuhua Bang, they had not reached enough seniority to have a bamboo tree, which was the formal low level insignia of Zhuhua Bang disciples, embroidered on thepel of their clothes; let alone this moment. Kou Zhong awkwardly said, Three years ago, in order to hide from the authorities, we, two brothers, wandered around everywhere, hey! We understand, the big man said, Yan Kuan was the first faithful martyr from our Gang who was killed by that muddleheaded ruler; if you did not flee, your lives would not be guaranteed. The old man showed a doubtful look, Since you are Zhuhua Bang disciples, howe you did not recognize Laofu [old man, referring to self]? Noticing that the insignia embroidered on the old mans clothes was eight wind bamboo [not sure, this is literal trantion], Kou Zhong knew that this man must be of Hall Master level. He had a brainwave and said, Could it be Wind Bamboo Halls Tangzhu [Hall Master] Shen Beichang, Shen Ye [master Shen]? Pulling Xu Ziling along, they hastily performed the ritual of saluting a Hall Master. The old man stroked the long beard under his chin; heughed aloud, You are indeed one of our own, he said, This time you came here, was it because you heard the news and came to participate in our Gangs General Assembly in Bamboo Forest? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces again; could it be that they hade across another lucky coincidence? Chapter 3 - Part 2 Zhuhua Bang was one of those gangs with tight organizational structure. Under the Bangzhu, there was one Junshi [military advisor], followed by Wind, Clear, Rain and Dew, four Halls. Under them were Duozhu [helmsman], Xiangzhu [fragrant master] and the Gang disciples. General Assembly in the Bamboo Forest was the highest assembly of the Gang, except in case of an emergency, it was held only once every three years. Kou Zhong turned to the man with thick eyebrows and said, My guess is Daye must be Wind Bamboo Halls Deputy Hall Master, Lou Feng Daye! Lou Feng had a rather favorable impression on these two boys; he said, Lets talk after we are inside the city! Along the way Kou and Xu, two boys figured out what was going on. Turned out after the muddleheaded ruler was killed, Yangzhou fell into Li Zitongs hands, Zhuhua Bang elected new Gang Leader at Danyang, but then Jianghuai Army attacked Danyang, Junshi Shao Lingzhou seized that opportunity to lead the Gang to upy Jiangyin. Although in term of power they were far inferior to Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, and the like, it was enough for them to be a local power. Recently all local powers were trying to pull them apart, notably the most active one was Tieqi Hui who upied Wuxi and Jinling, south and southwest of Jiangyin, respectively. Tieqi Hui Leader Ren Shaoming was even openly trying to lure the Hall Masters of Clear Bamboo Hall, Rain Bamboo Hall, and Dew Bamboo Hall, three halls; time and again he sabotaged the Gang Leader election. His intention was to absorb the dragon without a head Zhuhua Bang and incorporate it under Tieqi Hui banner. The General Assembly in Bamboo Forest this time was Junshi Shao Lingzhous initiative, supported by Shen Beichang, to discuss the effort to counter Ren Shaoming and the three other Halls renegades operation, while hoping that they would be able to elect new Gang Leader in the assembly. In this journey, Shen Beichang and the others have suffered repeated Tieqi Hui attacks, and have lost close to a hundred men; hence the reason they were nervous and tensed. During their Yangzhou days, other than Yan Laoda, practically nobody knew that these two boys names were Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. They only knew the two boys as Little Zhong and Little Ling; naturally nobody knew that Yan Kuan was implicated and was killed because of them, they thought that Yan Kuan was martyred because he dared to oppose the muddleheaded ruler. Only Kou and Xu, two boys, were aware that Yan Kuan and martyrdom had nothing to do with each other. Among the caravan, there was a carriage with its curtains hung down, and it was guarded particrly strictly. With ncing knock, sideways stroke Kou Zhong was trying to find out the identity of the person inside the carriage, but all he obtained was the reprimand of the Deputy Hall Master, Lou Feng. In the city, the two boys followed the Wind Bamboo Hall people into the Wind Bamboo Hall mansion house in the town center. Taking advantage while Shen Beichang and Luo Feng went to see Junshi Shao Wuzhuo [sic], the two boys slipped out into the street. Kou Zhongughed and said, This Shao Wuzhuo is indeed a talent; just look how he govern the city that everything in Jiangyin is clear and orderly, the chaos outside does not seem to affect this ce. Watching the bustling scene of peopleing and going, Xu Ziling agreed, The south has always been bountiful, plus Jiangyin is the connecting fort at the mouth of Yangtze River to the ocean; as long as their production capability is not destroyed, the people can live in peace and work happily. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had changed their clothes into Gang uniform with a single bamboo embroidered on them, the insignia of the lowest level Gang disciples. This moment they saw five or six Zhuhua Bang disciples were walking in their direction while talking loudly among themselves; hurriedly the two boys made a hand signal to show their respect. When those several people saw that the two boys insignia was of the Wind Bamboo, they snorted repeatedly and simply left without paying them any attention. Kou and Xu, two boys were taken aback; it was only then did they realize that those people did not belong to the Wind Bamboo Hall, and that the struggle among the four Halls was clearly very intense. They found a restaurant and took a seat, the waiter stepped forward and politely weed them. After the waiter left, Xu Ziling frowned and said, Zhong Shao, you seem to forget why we are here? Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and said, If I randomly fabricated some words, you will definitely use me of being not honest enough. The bottom line is that we are now considered Zhuhua Bang people, and now Zhuhua Bang is in distress as they are on the brink of annexation, we should really spend a bit of effort to help! Xu Ziling sneered and said, You are just thinking of taking Tieqi Huis ce and take over Zhuhua Bang for yourself! Kou Zhong said, How could you consider it the same thing? Ren Shaoming is a big rotten-egg of the dark road [i.e. criminal], but I, Kou Zhong am a good man who in all respects conduct myself in consideration of other peoples needs. If Zhuhua Bang fell into my hands, it would be their good fortune. One lifetime two brothers, will you or will you not help me? This moment the waiter came to offer some pastries, but he lingered at their table. I wonder if both masters belong to Wind Bamboo Hall, he asked respectfully. Kou Zhong was surprised, Whats the matter? he asked. The waiter said, As long as you are Wind Bamboo Hall or Shao Junzhis men, we will serve you free of charge. But Daye [big master] must not let Ren Shaoming prevails! And then he left, deeply worried and sick at heart. Xu Ziling stared nkly for half a day, and then he sighed and said, Very well! Kou Zhong was pleased beyond his expectation. General Assembly in Bamboo Forest will start tonight; we are going to see the opportunity and act ordingly! Recalling Duan Yucheng and the others, four men, Xu Ziling was about to speak when they heard a chuckle and someone spoke, You, two boys are unexpectedly here! Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong jumped in fright and turned their gaze toward the door. To their surprise, it was Gui Xiliang, who had risen to the Fragrant Master position, the guy the two boys used to hang around with. Next to him was another familiar face, also someone whom they hang around with, Xing Rong. This kid was slim, his hands and feet looked lithe, and seemed to be rather cunning. The four of them saw each other; naturally it was a very happy asion. The two boys were happy and they found it amusing that Gui Xiliang was putting an air as a fragrant master. Xing Rong knitted his brows and said, Since when did you be Wind Bamboo Hall people? You did not steal someone elses clothes, did you? Gui Xiliang asked suspiciously. Gui and Xing, two mens clothes had bamboo flower embroidered on thepel, showing that they were direct subordinate of their Gang Leader, but since they currently did not have Gang Leader, naturally they were under Junshi Shao Lingzhousmand. Seeing the long saber hanging on Kou Zhongs back, Xing Rong happily said, Watching you two with glowing faces, I dont know where you stole the weapon from, but you must be mingling with the right crowd! Xu Ziling self-deprecatingly said, Why stop with right? He practically had grand style. Zhong Shao practically held hands and drank wine together with Zhai Rang, Du Fuwei, and the likes; dont you think it was impressive enough? Tsk, tsk, Xing Rong repeatedly clucked his tongue, but his face showed that he was scorning Xu Ziling for boasting groundlessly. Kou Zhong reached out to pat Xing Rongs shoulder; he said with augh, You must not be that jealous. Xing Rongughed, but pushed his hand aside, and heaved a deep sigh. Dont brag, Gui Xiliang said, Remember that we are among brothers, youe with me from now on! Tonight after Shao Junshi bes Bangzhu, I will report to him about you. Kou Zhong made a nonmittal remark; and then he asked, Are you sure Shao Junshi will be Bangzhu? Xing Rong replied, In terms of poprity, capacity, status, and martial art skill, no one in our Gang can consider Shao Junshi is second to anybody, but the situation is not that simple. Gui Xiliang spoke in an authoritative tone, Nowadays everybody wants to stick their foot in our General Assembly in Bamboo Forest; they ought to know Ren Shaoming, that treacherous bandits behavior, plus that thief is now in cahoots with Lin Shihong. The situation is not too optimistic. Xing Rong said, Luckily Shao Junshi obtained the Song ns support; otherwise Ren Shaoming and Lin Shihong would be even more unbridled. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nced; their eyes lit up. The Song n? they asked, Who are they sending to support him? Gui Xiliang frowned and said, How could you inquire about such confidential information? We are going back to Junshi Mansion; are youing or not? Kou Zhong stood up while pulling Xu Ziling along, and said, Naturally we will follow Gui Xiangzhu [fragrant master] to increase our knowledge. Xing Rong objected, But we have not had our fill yet, why would you stand up so quickly? Kou Zhong giggled and said, But we are already full; let us go outside first and wait respectfully for two Dage. They had just stepped out of the door, the same bunch of young men from the Rain Bamboo Hall they saw earlier crowded in; they intentionally bumped the two boys aside, clearly they were trying to pick a fight. However, the two boys were familiar with this kind of situation; they refused to be provoked. Outside the door, Kou Zhong excitedly said in a low voice, This is getting more and more interesting. Let us strike a friendship with Shao Lingzhou during the assembly, and then see where things go from there. Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said, I just think that this matter is too troublesome, plus it is also not something we would receive any benefit from, nor is it something that we could do. Kou Zhong raised his clenched fist in front of his eyes and said, Under simr circumstances, it would be difficult for us to be of any use; being mere two kids would not suit us well. However, it has be clear right now that whoever has harder fist would get the chance to speak. Dont you think that we have a great opportunity here? Xu Ziling grumpily stared at him for a moment. Suddenly the sound of bowls and cups falling to the ground and shattered followed by the sound of people shouting and cursing was heard from inside the restaurant. The two boys were staring nkly at each other; could it be that the Rain Bamboo Hall people dare to vite their Gangs rule by starting a fight with Gui Xiliang, two people? Book 7 - 4 – Meeting Face to Face on a Narrow Path Book 7 Chapter 4 C Meeting Face to Face on a Narrow Path Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong were forced into a corner, with thetter was wounded in the left arm and blood was still trickling down from the wound; evidently they were at a disadvantageous position. The other guests, as well as the waiters, were crowding the wall on the kitchen side; everybody appeared to be outraged, but nobody dared to speak up. As soon as Kou and Xu, two boys entered the hall, two Rain Bamboo Hall disciples guarding the door pointed their finger at them and shouted, You, two small fry, get lost! You have no ce to speak up in here. Seeing an old friend injured, Xu Ziling let out a cold snort and strode forward. A sword shed; one of Rain Bamboo Hall men shing his sword toward Xu Zilings left shoulder. Xu Ziling had not even reacted, Kou Zhongs leg flew out. Bang! The man was kicked heavily that the sword flew off his hand and his body flew backward and crashed heavily on a chair; immediately the sound of splintering wood was heard. Everybody in the hall was shocked. The other five Rain Bamboo Hall men were scared out of their wits by Kou Zhongs disy of prowess; they all retreated to one side, opening up a gap between the two sides, with each side has received disadvantage from the opponent. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong looked at Kou and Xu, two boys in disbelief. Kou Zhong cupped his fist and said, Gui Xiangzhu, how would you like subordinate to handle these renegades who dared to offend their superior? A strong and muscr man, who seemed to be the leader of these Rain Bamboo Hall men shouted, What do you mean offending superior? I, Bai Rong, am a Rain Bamboo Hall Xiangzhu, under the order of Tangzhu [hall master] Luo Xian to invite Gui Xiangzhu to have a talk with us. You two are the ones who are offending your superior. Gui Xiliang looked at the enemy, who were still struggling to crawl up from the floor, and spoke in a heavy voice, Do you need a de to invite me to talk? Kou Zhong pointed his finger to Bai Rong and said with augh, In this matter, Bai Xiangzhu is wrong. All right! How about we tie them up and wait for Luo Tangzhu toe and be the judge between us, to see whos right and whos wrong. Bai Rong gave an eye signal, immediately two of his men charged forward, brandishing their saber to hack on Kou Zhong. This time Xu Ziling let out a cold snort and stepped in front of Kou Zhong. pping rapidly to the left and to the right, he pushed the two des aside, and then taking a step forward he punched the two mens lower abdomen. The two men were thrown back from the strike, and crashed onto Bai Rong, so that the three of them rolled down on the floor like a gourd, in a very sorry condition. The rest of their men stayed quiet out of fear, and even more scared to make any move. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong could only stare nkly with mouth agape. In just a short period of time he was already overwhelmed with a whole new level of respect toward these two boys. Kou Zhong calmly pped his hands and said, Well? Do you want to create havoc at the Rain Bamboo Hall and take down Luo Da Tangzhus [big/great hall master] power and prestige? If Gui Xiangzhu does not wish to go, just let us, the two small fry, do it for you. Gui Xiliang was silent; he signaled Xing Rong with his eyes, and then forcefully pulled Kou and Xu to the street and said, Lets go back to Junshi Mansion first and talk about it. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that he was scared; they had no choice but to smile wryly ande with him. Like most cities in Jiangnan, the river became the link between Jiangyin City and the four rural areas outside the city; the river also formed the skeleton of the townyout. The houses along the river were whitewashed, the ones facing the water had their walls and windows reflecting the ripples, painting a fresh and clean artwork like scenery of the patchwork of waterways. Rows of waternes interspersed with small bridges, small boats carrying people in beautiful silk dress; a touchingly beautiful spring scenery. Junshi Mansion was originally the Jiangyins provincial military governor mansion, it was located at the town center, the confluence of the river courses. Right in front of the main gate there was a big bridge spanning across the river lining the Junshi Mansion, so that the entire buildingplex looked even more imposing. Comparatively speaking, the south was more calm and peaceful than the north. Due to the influx of northerners who fled to the south to avoid cmity, Jiangyin appeared to be even more bustling and flourishing. In troubled times, it is easily understandable that themon people did not wish to see any changes within the Zhuhua Bang. Even though Xu Ziling also did not wish to be drawn into this kind of power struggle and territorial dispute, he still felt that he ought to prevent Tieqi Hui, whose evil reputation has spread far and wide, from taking over Zhuhua Bang. As Gui Xiliang was leading the two boys crossing the bridge, they came across trouble. Mai Yunfei, another fragrant master who was in guard duty that day, who was also the head disciple of Military Adviser Shao Lingzhou, with a rather handsome and dignified look, as well as an arrogant and conceited individual, stared hard at Kou and Xu, two boys, and said, Shifus order, from now on, no stranger is allowed inside Junshi Mansion. Gui Xiliang suffered quite a loss of face in front of Kou Zhong, two people; but he was helpless. As ast attempt, he said, These two were disciples of loyal martyr Yan Kuan, who in the past had bravely sacrificed his own life in Yangzhou. In recent years they roamed the Jianghu and have acquired good martial art skill. Just now they had beaten Rain Bamboo Halls Bai Rong until he was in a sorry state; therefore, I was hoping to introduce them to Shao Junshi and rmend them for promotion. Mai Yunfei condescendingly swept his gaze over the two boys, assuming an understanding look, he shook his head and said, You can do that tonight. Gui Xiliang helplessly pulled the two boys to the side and said, Let me go inside to see Shao Junshi first, and then Ille to get you two and take you in. Xing Rong groaning apologetically and said, Mai Yunfei relies on his position as Shao Junshis first disciple, plus he is Shao Lanfangs lover, so he has always been riding roughshod over people, especially to us, who used to be thete Bangzhus attendants. Sooner orter we will have him fall head first. Gu Xiliang knew he was not Mai Yunfeis match, so pulling Xing Rong aside he said, Dont talk nonsense, lets go in first and talkter. You two wait for us here. After the two men left, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling walked over to the rocky beach of the river at end of the bridge; just like in the past, like a couple of marketce rogues they sprawled on the beach facing the water. Kou Zhong looked at Mai Yunfei, who was guarding at the other side of the bridge, and said with augh, That scoundrel Xiliangs luck does not seem to be too good; originally he had the opportunity to achieve meteoric sess in his career, but the Bangzhu was ughtered by the muddleheaded ruler. And now he is up against Mai Yunfei, whos butting head with him in all aspects, so that even to get inside the Mansion he had his hands and feet blocked. I wonder why would he still want to be this kind of Xiangzhu? But then he turned excited as he said, Shao Lanfang is the most famous beauty in our Zhuhua Bang; we might as well rob Mai Yunfeis most cherished possession, so that he would die of anger. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, If you seduce somebody elses lover just for that reason, I will definitely not allow you to do that. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Zilings shoulder andughed apologetically, I was just kidding! he said, Xiao Ling, dont take it too seriously. And then he changed the subject, As a Xiangzhu plus thest disciple of thete Bangzhu, Xiliangs position is not low, on top of that he still has the support of thete Bangzhus direct subordinates. Tell me, do you think he has a chance to be the new Bangzhu? Otherwise, Mai Yunfei would not squeeze him on purpose. Xu Ziling was lying down, supporting his body with his elbows, enjoying the afternoon sun; hearing Kou Zhong, he was taken aback. Xiliangs skill is too shallow, he said, He is not qualified to be a gang leader, dont pull to the east and lead to the west, you are the one who wants to be the gang leader! Kou Zhong shook his head and said, I really dont have that desire, plus it wont work. Right now Li Mis power is flourishing, if I became Zhuhua Bangs Longtou [lit. dragonhead, i.e. big boss], there is good chance Zhuhua Bang wontst a few days. But if Xiliang became the new Bangzhu, he only needs to rely on us for support, and then there wont be any difference to me bing the Bangzhu. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, If you want Xiliang to be the Bangzhu, I am afraid you will have to ughter the current Junshi and all his cronies clean; are you that formidable? Kou Zhong looked down on the river water under his feet; he muttered, That is really a bit difficult, but it is not impossible at all. The most important thing is that Xiliang was thete Bangzhus disciple. This guy used to be very gutsy, but perhaps he has been bullied for a long time that he lost his confidence. Hmm! Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, That Mai Yunfei ising! Kou Zhong looked without raising his head; he saw Mai Yunfei, leading four of his men, walking away from the head of the bridge, following the rocky path toward the beach where they sat. Kou Zhongughed and said, Probably he is angered by Xiliang? Before Xu Ziling had any chance to respond, Mai Yunfei had already shouted from the distance, You, these two kids, are sitting and lying down in front of the Junshi Mansion like that; whatever next? Quickly go back to the Hall where you belong! Xu Ziling did not react at all, he was still enjoying the sun with his eyes closed. Kou Zhong squinting his eyes looking at him and said, Mai Xiangzhu, I was wondering if you are deaf, and did not hear Gui Xiangzhu ordering us to wait for him here? You quickly go back to the ce you are supposed to guard. Mai Yunfeis countenance underwent a drastic change, while the four hunting dogs behind him rushed out to close in on the two boys on the riverbank; very imposing. Kou Zhongughed and said, What? You want to fight? Mai Yunfei was so angry that his handsome face turned green; he gravely said, Stand up! Still calm and unruffled Kou Zhong said, Since you are not the Bangzhu, and you are not our grandpa, what makes you think you can order us around? Mai Yunfei could not hold back anymore. Throw them into the river! he bellowed. Chapter 4 - Part 2 The four men was about to make their move, Xu Ziling threw himself backward on the sand; fast as lightning his hands reached out to grab the ankles of the two men behind him. Under Mai Yunfei and the others utter shock, plus nobody knew what technique Xu Ziling used, the two men were thrown overhead, and Ssh! theynded in the river, and immediately struggled hard to crawl onto the opposite bank. Amidst the shouting and yelling, more than a dozen Zhuhua Bang disciples who were guarding the Mansion at the other end of the bridge rushed over. Qiang! Mai Yunfei and the other two men drew their sword, but instead of charging forward, they retreated. Apparently they were waiting for the rest of the men to arrive before they dared to make their move. Kou Zhongughed aloud and sprang up, his long saber left its scabbard and in one fluid motion hacked down on Mai Yunfei. Mai Yunfei raised his sword horizontally to block. Dang! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard. Mai Yunfei staggered five steps back before he could steady his footings; his countenance turned unbearably ugly. Meanwhile his reinforcement has arrived. They crowded behind him, but nobody dared to step forward to fight. Xu Ziling also sprang up. Pointing to the other end of the bridge, he said, Someonesing, you dont mind your proper business, but are engrossed in bullying your own people. If that is not dereliction of duty, then what is it? It was only then did Mai Yunfei caught his breath back; he was fighting hard to suppress his continuously surging blood and qi provoked by Kou Zhongs saber power. Along with his men, he turned his head around to see, and indeed there were a group of about a dozen riders galloping along the street heading toward the head of the bridge. Only after giving the two boys a vicious look and said, I will settle the score with youter, did he lead his men to hurry back over the bridge. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other and burst out inughter. The former shook his head and sighed, Why are there so many people who love to ride roughshod over others in the world? The sound of hoof beats was getting closer. The two boys looked over and were stunned. Because one of the riders turned and galloped toward them, on the horseback was astoundingly the beautiful and energetic youngdy of the Song n, Song Yuzhi. This beauty with unique style reined her horse and stopped. Arrogantly and coldly she looked at the two boys from head to toes several times. Finally her eyesnded on the Wind Bamboo insignia embroidered on thepel of their clothes. Knitting her jet-ck eyebrows, she said, You, these two drifters, why do you suddenly be a single bamboo [level] disciple of the Zhuhua Bang? Are you conspiring against thew? Although the other people did note over, their attention was fixed on the situation over here. Kou Zhong smiled slightly and said, Come! Let me do the introduction: this is Miss High and Mighty Song Yuzhi. And then wrapping his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder and pulled him closer, he said, My brother Xu Ziling; he looks handsome enough, right? Seeing him giving her an irrelevant answer, plus he was mocking her, Song Yuzhis jade countenance fell. Feigning disdain she shot a nce toward Xu Ziling. A weird expression appeared suddenly in her eyes, but just as sudden it died out. And then with a tender snort she said, Seeing that you have notmitted any wicked conduct, I want you to leave town immediately. Otherwise, with just one word from me, dont even think that you can leave town alive. Kou Zhong pped his own forehead, hard. Xiaodi [little brother, referring to self] nearly forget, he said, Our, two brothers heads are extremely valuable. Song Xiaojie [youngdy], please go ahead and give your word! Lets see how many people we can drag down to apany us to the grave. Amazingly enough Song Yuzhi did not get angry. After staring at Kou Zhong for half a day, she finally turned to Xu Ziling and said, I advise you and your brother to leave together! If people knew you are here, they might give you gargantuan problem. Xu Ziling has never had any good opinion on arrogant, precious daughters of lofty family and big n; he felt that those girls would always look down upon ordinary men. He replied indifferently, We are basically not afraid of anybody; otherwise, we wont be here talking to Miss Song. Song Yuzhi sighed and said, Although you have made a little name for yourself, butpared to Li Mi you are still far too inferior. Well, just think about it! Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Could it be that Miss Song has a high regard toward this handsome brother of mine? Why are you so amiable toward him, but toward me you are so stern and harsh? After all, the rtionship between you and I ought to be a bit deeper. Finally Song Yuzhi could not take it anymore. Shut up! she angrily said. Kou Zhong giggled and pulled Xu Ziling away. Hold on! Song Yuzhis tender voice called out. Already three or four riders galloped over toward them. Kou Zhong let Xu Ziling go, he stopped abruptly, his hand already pressed on the hilt of his saber, his entire body stood up perfectly straight, his tiger eyes shed with deep and unfathomable sharp gleam, his countenance became iparably hard and callous, his entire being seemed to exude a terrifying, powerful grandeur. Song Yuzhi suddenly felt that this instant Kou Zhong haspletely turned into someone that she did not recognize, no longer like the kid whoughed and giggled in the past, but rather a hero, a towering figure who stood straight and wouldnt surrender in front of any storm, who would not be afraid of anybody. But then, against all expectations, Kou Zhong suddenly broke intoughter, revealing a splendid, as bright as the sun, smile on his face. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, This wont do! How could I, Kou Zhong, be hard-hearted in front of Miss Song? Finished speaking, heughed aloud and pulled Xu Ziling away. Song Yuzhi was disconcerted by his dramatic change and the tone of his voice, as well as his demeanor, and his teasing, which were overflowing with youthful, masculine charisma. Unexpectedly she forgot to stop them. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat down against the wall in a quiet, secluded alley, just like back in Yangzhou, when they were still little rogues from the marketce. With a faint smile Xu Ziling said, Zhong Shao, are you thinking of recing Li Xiuning with her? Kou Zhong revealed a smile that showed that he had pondered it over; stretching himself, he spoke leisurely, Love affair between boys and girls will only increase the burden in our mind. I dont mind looking for a girl to have fun, but I will never let myself get emotionally involved. Our business is more important, other matters must be set aside. Teasing the haughty Song familys Miss is all right, but dont ever think that I, Kou Zhong, will want to be inconvenienced by fawning on her, by stooping down for her. Do you understand? But what are we going to do now? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong said, We can either leave right now, or wait until tonight, when we can create his mothers havoc in here. What do you say? Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders, I am certain my idea will be different than yours. In my opinion, we cant manage, nor do we have the ability to mind the Zhuhua Bangs affair. Not to mention Duan Yucheng and the others are still waiting for us. It is better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Dont you think we have enough trouble of our own already? Kou Zhong giggled and said, Can you not have that much prejudice against me? When did I, Kou Zhong, ever dare not to esteem your, Ling Shaos opinion? Just as you said, well steal a mule cart and leave. Perhaps two mule carts will be enough. Xu Ziling looked doubtful, Where can we steal mule carts from? he asked. Kou Zhongughed and said, Naturally from the Wind Bamboo Hall. They have that many mule carts, loaning two for our use shouldnt be any problem. We can simply make any excuse, the mule carts will be ours immediately. Just leave it to me. Xu Ziling was unhappy, Shen Beichang and Luo Feng are very kind to us, how could we repay good with evil? You are right, Kou Zhong nodded, In that case wed better go take a look at the Rain Bamboo Hall. Since we already had enmity with them, adding one shouldnt make any difference. Xu Ziling understood immediately; he smiled wryly and said, You muddled-egg [i.e. scoundrel/], after going around and around, in the end you still want to create trouble, and then see in there is any opportunity to fish in troubled water. Kou Zhong roared inughter, Nobody knows me better than you do, he said. And then he pulled Xu Ziling hard and lowered his voice, Just now Rain Bamboo Halls Hall Leader Luo Xian sent that Bai Rong to get Xiliang to Rain Bamboo Hall, there must be a conspiracy somewhere, so we might as well find out what it is. Hey! You cant ignore Xiliang and Xing Rongs two little lives, can you? Do you know where Rain Bamboo Hall is? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong replied, When a sage does not know something, he would not feel ashamed to ask and learn from his subordinates, right? Dont drag your feet,e on! Knowing he could not win against him, Xu Ziling helplessly followed Kou Zhong. Book 7 - 5 – Easy as Pie Book 7 Chapter 5 C Easy as Pie[1] The two boys arrived in front of Rain Bamboo Halls main gate. When the dozen or so doorkeepers noticed that they were Wind Bamboo Hall men, they immediately showed a hostile look, yet nobody really took these two boys seriously. Simply because among the Rain Bamboo Halls disciples guarding the door, the lowest rank was still above the two boys single bamboo level. The number of bamboo determined their rank. Bangzhu [Gang Leader] had ten bamboo sticks, Junshi [military counselor] nine, and below them were Tangzhu [Hall Leader], Fu Tangzhu [Deputy Hall Leader], Duozhu [Helmsman], Xiangzhu [Fragrant Master], in decreasing number of bamboo sticks. Previously, when the two boys were with Yan Kuan, they did not even have half a stick of bamboo, but now for no reason at all they were promoted to one bamboo stick. The two boys walked side by side toward the main gate. Someone immediately shouted, Wind Bamboo Hall kids, stop right there! Qiang! Kou Zhong drew his Moon in the Well. Xu Ziling pulled him aside and asked in surprise, Why use de? Kou Zhongs eyes shed with freezing cold sharp rays, the tone of his voice was even colder that it made peoples heart shivered as he spoke emotionlessly, If I dont kill these renegade Gang members, how could Xiliang obtain the Bangzhu position? Xu Ziling was shaken and let him go. A dozen or so guards also suddenly revealed their weapons and charged forward. Right away miserable scream and painful grunt fell incessantly on the ear. Like a swimming fish Kou Zhong weaved in and out among the men, those who came in contact with his de immediately had their blood sshed and they fell to the ground; unexpectedly no one was able to provide any resistance. By the time Kou Zhong stepped over the gate into the courtyard behind the wall, the ground behind him was littered with fallen enemies; although their wound was serious, no one had a life-threatening injury, or even suffered any disaster of losing their limb or broken bones. It was awfully clear that his move was very well measured. Xu Ziling could only stare nkly at him. Kou Zhong turned his head around and shrugged his shoulders, If you dont do this, who will fear you? Come! My Ling Shaoye! One in front of another, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling attacked their way into the Rain Bamboo Hall, those who tried to block them were swept by the wind, the disciples were beaten to a sorry state, and scampered off like wolves with their tails between their hind legs. Although the two boys made their debut not too long ago, they were already battle-hardened, even hard fighting with magnificent army with thousands of men and horses did not deter them, much less these unprepared Rain Bamboo Hall disciples who came under sudden attack. From the steps at the front of the hall they continued on to the main hall before finally met a martial art master. Ding! Ding! Ding! Three clear ringing sounds were heard. Kou Zhong did not even stagger a single step as he blocked three spears in session. Letting out a longugh, he said, Is it Rain Bamboo Halls Deputy Hall Master Bao Baiyou? The iing person had not replied, he was already kicked by Kou Zhong on his lower abdomen, and was sent flying backward and fell to the floor; his mouth spurting out fresh blood, and was unable to crawl back up. Xu Ziling struck with both hands, left and right, continuously sending four Zhuhua Bang disciples of deputy-fragrant-master rank. Hold on! While Bao Baiyou was being helped up, like a tide a hundred or so men flocked toward the other end of the main hall. A dozen or so men of all kinds of shapes and sizes appeared from among the crowd toward Kou and Xu, two people. Just by looking at the insignia on thepel of their clothes, it was obvious that other than Wind Bamboo Hall, the other Clear Bamboo Hall, Rain Bamboo Hall and Dew Bamboo Halls Hall Masters and their deputies were gathered here. Clear Bamboo Halls Hall Master Zuo Qiubi was the easiest to recognize;pared to average person, he was short and small, but very thick and solid like an ox. His eyebrows arched, his face sunken, and his shoulders were disproportionately very wide, so that he looked like a shrinking giant. This moment his eyes were shing with murderous intent; striding one step forward, he pointed his halberd and angrily shouted, Who are you? You dare to disy shockingly bad behavior in our Zhuhua Bang territory? Coming face to face with these numerous Zhuhua Bangs martial art masters, Kou Zhong stayed calm without any sign of fear; heughed aloud and said, Colluding with outsiders, traitors who attempt in vain to ruin our Gangs foundation, you are not qualified to talk to Yangzhous loyal martyr Yan Kuans disciples. Even though they were confronting this kind of swords-drawn-and-bows-bent situation, where life or death could easily be determined, Xu Ziling was greatly amused and had to struggle hard to keep himself from roaring inughter. One of Kou Zhongs strong points was that he was able to express any absurd thing in a bold and full of confidence, even lofty, manner. Rain Bamboo Halls Hall Master Luo Xian roared, I dont care who you are, today the two of you came in alive but will leave lifeless. A saber shed, a slim man charged at an oblique angle, drawing a cluster of saber flowers, swiftly attacking Kou Zhong from the left side. Without even looking Kou Zhong casually swept his saber. Dang! The attacking saber, along with the wielder, was jolted that the man staggered back and fell into the crowd. The hall suddenly fell silent. Kou Zhong returned his saber into its sheathe; his expression and bearing were not to be outdone by Ba Fenghan when burst into Wang Tongs Mansion the other day. Dew Bamboo Halls Hall Master Tong Changfeng let out a cold snort and said, So you do have a little bit of asset; report your names to this Tangzhu first! Turned out the oneunching a sneak attack just now was the Deputy Hall Master of the Dew Bamboo Hall, Yan He, whose skill level, as well as the depth of his power, was known very well by Tong Changfeng. He saw how Kou Zhong was able to push Yan He with ease, which he knew he would not be able to do, he became somewhat more polite. Kou Zhong threw his head back andughed aloud, Walking, I have never changed my surname, sitting, I have never changed my given name. Kou Zhong is my name, and he is Xu Ziling; have you heard it clearly? Zuo Qiubi and the others looked at each other in dismay; no one did not have his countenance changed. It should be noted that for thest few years, due to the Duke Yangs Treasure Trove affair, coupled with the fact that even Du Fuwei, Yuwen n, Dugu n, Li Mi, and the others were helpless to capture them, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings reputation soared; in fact, for the time being it was second to none. During the battle at the coastal region recently, they managed to inflict serious damage to the coalition force of Shen Faxing and Haisha Bang; this news has spread far and wide all over the world, and has propelled their prestige to top ranking martial art masters position. Therefore, when they found out that these two were Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, everybody was overwhelmed with emotion. Zuo Qiubi was a Jianghu veteran, he spoke solemnly, Rising young heroes, our Gang has always had deep respect toward two gentlemen; why did youe to bully us today? Xu Ziling took a step forward and said coldly, We are indeed loyal martyr Yan Kuans disciples, Gui Xiangzhu can bear witness for us in this matter; therefore, we are definitely entitled to care about Zhuhua Bangs affair, and we simply cannot not care about it. Kou Zhong heroically and loftily said, Where is Tieqi Huis Ren Shaoming? If he is sensible, he would havee out immediately, to let us cut his head off to be sacrificial offering to thete Bangzhu. If you still harbor any desire to betray our Gang, today you may forget about leaving this ce alive. Zuo Qiubis countenance changed. You went too far! he said, Charge! Everybody drew his weapon. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing that Kou Zhong had made up his mind to support Gui Xiliang for the Gang Leader position, so that through him he could exercise control over Zhuhua Bang, and thus expand his own power. For that reason he forced the other side to fight, to inflict heavy blow to the collusion forces with Ren Shaoming. Kou Zhong suddenly withdrew toward Xu Ziling, and rapidly said in low voice, After each of us kill a Tangzhu, we must slip away immediately. If we fail, we must escape even more. Just listen to my signal. At a moment like this, did Xu Ziling have a choice? He simply nodded. Two spears, three swords and one saber attacked the two boys from different angles. Kou Zhong roared, his body swayed, and somehow he has already entered the Clear Bamboo Hall crowd led by Zuo Qiubi; the saber in his hand whirled around, immediately two opponent sabers fell down. Xu Ziling soared into the air, his target was the top of Rain Bamboo Halls Hall Master Luo Xians head. Both his palms pressed down, an enormous qi forced the people around Luo Xian to scatter around, leaving Luo Xian alone to face the attacker. No matter how formidable Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were, they did not have the capability to kill the more than a hundred Zhuhua Bang martial art masters. Furthermore, if this hard fighting continued, they would fall into the disadvantageous position of the few against the multitude. Therefore, the two boys made up their minds to use the ten-thousand jun [unit of weight, 1 jun = 30 catties] thunderbolt force, while they were still in their peak condition, for each of them to kill one Hall Master. And then the remaining Hall Master would find it hard to p with one hand, and it would be foolish not to run away immediately. In the meantime, Kou Zhong already arrived in front of Zuo Qiubi; he sent out ten chops in rapid session, and all of a sudden Zuo Qiubi realized that everybody around him was hacked down all around and just happened to block the other Gang members froming up to help him. Bang! Four palms, belonging to Xu Ziling and Luo Xian, who did not even have time to use his sword, collided. Luo Xians arms flexed slightly; as if in the power department he was a notch below Xu Ziling, while the fact was that they both shared the limelight. It was simply because Xu Ziling was high in the air pressing down, so he gained a lot of advantage. Luo Xian was secretly delighted, thinking that Xu Zilings skill was only so-so. He estimated that if he could block Xu Ziling for a moment, then he would not have to worry because the other people would catch up and chop him into mincemeat. Right this moment, tens of thousands streams of burning hot qi suddenly entered through his palms, prated his own true qi, no-hole-did-not-get-entered like the hot qi invaded his arteries and veins. While Luo Xian felt his soul flew away and scattered, the pressure on his palms disappeared without any trace; however, an excruciating pain emerged in the pit of his stomach, and his ears heard the sound of disintegrating bones. Hisst perception was that Xu Zilings left and right knees struck his chest in quick session. Zuo Qiubis martial art skill was superior to Luo Xian; he drew a couple of short copper stick and parried Kou Zhongs three saber strikes. Dang! Dang! Dang! Zuo Qiubi yelled angrily, the pair of sticks shot out at the chest level straight toward the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach. Who would have thought that as he was clearly going to hit the enemy, he suddenly found out that he was hitting empty air? Saber wind was cutting down from behind. Zuo Qiubi turned around to parry. To his shock, behind him was also an empty air, not even the enemys shadow. Tangzhu, be careful! Zuo Qiubi felt stabbing pain on his lower back; a burst of cold qi invaded his body from the de of the saber. Instantly his body froze, he was unable to move a single step. From Zuo Qiubis right waist Kou Zhong pulled his saber out and in one fluid motion swept it across three enemies who attacked fiercely. Letting out a long whistle, he backed off immediately. Bang! Xu Ziling was one step ahead of him; he already leaped up toward the ceiling, broke through the roof and fled away. Kou Zhong followed closely behind him; using the same home he also flew up and was gone. Based on the two boys martial art skill and strategy, they had just aplished something that was nearly impossible. Like a whirlwind Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling rushed toward the big stone bridge in front of the Junshi Mansion. Mai Yunfei and the other disciples on guard shouted in a flurry, telling them to stop. The two boys did not bother to exin, they simply used their fists and kicks to charged through the barricade, sending them into the river like a gale sweeping dead leaves, battered and exhausted. Only Mai Yunfei seemed to be able to give a token resistance; he managed to block Kou Zhongs two moves before being kicked by Xu Ziling, who has been waiting impatiently on the side, and was also sent to the river. [1] Chapter title: orig. to feel in ones pocket and take something out. Chapter 5 - Part 2 As the two boys were charging into the main hall like a hot knife through butter, Junshi Shao Lingzhou, Wind Bamboo Halls Hall Master and his deputy Shen Beichang and Luo Feng, and Song Yuzhi and her team, who were having a meeting in there, were stunned to see them. Shao Ling zhou was slim, very tall, and on his delicate and handsome face there were five strands of long beard. His age was around forty, his overall appearance reminded them of a religious schr or even a Taoist immortal. When he saw the two boys charging in, his eyes flickered with cold rays as he shouted coldly, Which mad disciples have the impertinence to disturb my Mansion? On the north end of the main hall two rows of imperial tutor chairs were arranged, Song Yuzhi upied the seat of honor on the east, disying how much respect Zhuhua Bang was showing to the representatives of the Song n. Next to her were three men who appeared to be her martial art masters. Sitting on the wests seat of honor was surprisingly the thousand-loveable, a hundred-charm gorgeous woman, the famous courtesan who, back in Yangzhou, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling loved to peek from a distance, the most poprdy of Tianxian Lou, Miss Yu Ling. Zhuhua Bangs former Gang Leader Yin Kaizhan was executed by Yang Guang precisely because he refused to present her to him. It was only at this point the two boys understood the reason Yin Haishan was braving death by having her sent away from Yangzhou was because Yu Ling has be Madame Yin Kaishan. Sitting under Yu Ling were, in order, Shao Lingzhou, Shen Beichang and Luo Feng. Standing behind the imperial tutor chairs were a dozen or so Zhuhua Bang and the Song ns people whose rank was rather low. Standing behind Yu Ling were precisely Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, two kids, who, as with eyes open wide they stared at Kou and Xu, two childhood friends of theirs, were at a loss on how to defend them. Song Yuzhi was the first to speak up, Shao Junshi, please calm down. These two must have very strong reason, please let theme in and speak up! Shal Lingzhou immediately shouted his order, Let them in! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling strode a few steps forward. The formerughed aloud and said, We are here to propose a business deal. Based on the fact that we, two brothers, have just killed Zuo Qiubi and Luo Xian, perhaps we ought to have the qualifications to speak! When they heard this, other than Song Yuzhi, the others werepletely taken by surprise. Wind Bamboo Halls Hall Master Shen Beichang said in heavy voice, Even Laofu has eyes but failed to see; who are you two? A gentle and soft, and very pleasant to hear, voice rang from Yu Lings fragrant lips, These two are called Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling; they have grown so tall that Qie [I, your servant (deprecatory self-reference for women)] nearly did not recognize them. After a short pause, she went on, In the past they were the little bandits under Yangzhous loyal martyr Yan Kuan; they loved to steal a peek on Qie. One time they were caught Qies men, but seeing their extraordinary character, Qie decided to have my men let them go. Seeing Yu Ling still recognized them, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt both honored and greatly embarrassed at the same time, because what they did was not the most honorable thing. Luo Xian was relieved, So be it! he said, At least you did not really tell us lies. With a wry smile Kou Zhong said to Yu Ling, Yu Ling Jie, do you have to go into such detail about our past? Yu Ling covered her mouth as sheughed coquettishly and said, And you are still as shameless as before. This exchanged immediately eased up the tense atmosphere. Knitting his brows, Shao Lingzhou said, Since you are one of our own, plus you have trained quite a good martial art skill, we would be more than happy to receive you; why did you have to fight and force your way in? Xu Ziling cupped his fist and said, Gui Xiangzhu has indeed led us to pay our respect to Shao Junshi, but we were stopped by Mai Xiangzhu outside the bridge. Right now the situation is urgent, we simply had to force our way in, would Shao Junshi please forgive us. His refined and gentle bearing immediately earned Shao Lingzhous favorable impression. Nodding in approval, he called, Xiliang! Is that true? It is indeed true, Gui Xiliang hastily replied. Kou Zhong interjected, If Shao Junshi immediately dispatches the elite troops of our Gang, we should have enough time to intercept the renegades led by Dew Bamboo Halls Tong Changfeng, and annihte them in one move, and thus avert our Gang from being split up in pieces. Shao Lingzhou, Shen Beichang, Luo Feng, and the others were visibly shaken; they were obviously quite tempted by Kou Zhongs proposal. Song Yuzhi and her uncle, his fathers cousin, Song Shuang, who was sitting next to her, exchanged a nce; they knew Kou Zhongs courageous and ruthless style of cutting weeds and eliminating the roots. Just by utilizing a simple strategy, the entire situation, as well as the initiative and powers, immediately fell into Kou Zhongs hands. Therefore, it was clear that he was the kind of personality who could create clouds by turning his palm up, create rain by turning his palm down. A Duozhu [helmsman], Ye Bingchen, standing behind Shao Lingzhou expressed his opinion, This is a very important matter, how do we know that the two of you are not spies sent by the enemy to lure us into a trap? After glowering at Kou Zhong, Song Yuzhi said, Although this person loves to babble nonsense, he is not the kind of person who loves to tell lies; even more, he is not the kind of person who could be easily bought by the enemy. Am I right, Kou Zhong, Hero Kou? Everybody was shocked; it was only now that they realized that the Xiao Zhong, Xiao Ling in front of them were actually the Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose names shook the Jianghu, on whose headsid two separate hunt and kill orders, namely the Duke of Pushans Decree and the Dong Ming Dispatch. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rongs shock was, quite naturally, no need to be mentioned. Shen Beichang stood up abruptly; he said gruffly, Mere Tong Changfeng, he is not worthy in Laofus eyes. Leave this matter to Laofu! From his bosom Shao Lingzhou took out the Zhuhua Ling [Bamboo Flower que, symbol of authority] and whisked it toward Shen Beichang, who, upon receiving it, immediately took his men out. Song Yuzhi also made a hand signal, immediately two Song n martial art masters under Song Shuangsmand also left in a hurry. The main hall fell silent. Kou Zhong chuckled softly and said, Many thanks Miss Song for vouching for me; is it possible for me to have a private chat with Miss? Song Yuzhi spoke in disdain, There is nothing that cant be said in front of others. Whatever it is, you may speak up here. Song Shuang was surprised inwardly, recalling that although this beautiful niece of him was rather strong-willed, it was very seldom that she butted head with other people with equal harshness. Moreover, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings names were among the Song ns list of people whom they ought to try to win over. Therefore, determined to help to smooth things over, he said, I am Song Shuang. Why dont Kou and Xu, two Xiongdi,e over here and sit down first so we can talk it over? Shao Lingzhou also immediately ordered his disciples to serve tea; his manner was very polite. Putting on an angry expression, with a forcedugh Kou Zhong said, Since Miss Song refuses to do me the honor, is it possible for Xiaodi to have a private chat with Junshi? Shao Lingzhou was put on the spot; he looked awkwardly at Song Yuzhi, this beautiful representative of the Song n, his big supporter. Song Yuzhi could not help glowering at this lofty, wild and free-spirited young man. Why so sneaky anyway? she said crossly, If it is concerning Zhuhua Bangs affair, naturally we should discuss it together. Xu Ziling spoke up nonchntly, Since we cannot discuss it with you, we, two brothers, will leave immediately. Only we would appreciate it very much if Shao Junshi could bestow four mule carts for our use. Realizing the deadlock, Song Shuang signaled Song Yuzhi with his eyes as he stood up and said, Let us talk about it nicely. Kou Xiongdi, would you be willing to reveal a little bit of what you want to discuss, so that Yuzhi may consider whether she ought to talk to you privately? As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong said, Its nothing. I was mistaken to think that Miss is still interested in the Duke Yang Treasure; who would have thought that there is no such thing? I really dont have anything good to talk about! Everybody in the hall was emotionally moved. Seething with rage, Song Yuzhi stood up and walked over toward the inner chamber. Get your @$$ in here! she said coldly. Kou Zhongughed aloud; he winked at Xu Ziling first before running after her. A strange feeling rose up in everybodys heart; they all had a vague feeling that Song Yuzhi was unusually blunt toward Kou Zhong. Could it be that it was because she had viewed him in a new light? Book 7 - 6 – Passionately Selecting Precious Woman Book 7 Chapter 6 C Passionately Selecting Precious Woman Song Yuzhi took Kou Zhong through the corridor connecting the main hall with the rear pavilion, and then nting to the left into the west hall, before she was heading toward one of a row of rosewood chairs in the middle of the hall to sit down. Kou Zhong hurriedly preceded her to pull the chair out a little from the round table and pretending to be respectful he solemnly said, Song Da Xiaojie, please sit down! Song Yuzhi glowered at him angrily. She sat down, and said with a tight face, Speak up! With his left hand grabbing the arm of his chair and his right hand holding on to the back of the chair, Kou Zhong leaned over and put his mouth close to Song Yuzhis jade-like sparkling and translucent, emitting whiffs of fragrance, small ear, and sighed in admiration, Smells really good! He also made a show of sniffing around and putting an act of a yboy. Song Yuzhi struggled hard to maintain her wooden expression. Knitting her jet-ck eyebrows, she said, Would you mind moving a bit far way? Kou Zhongughed aloud. Suddenly he straightened up his tiger body, walked around the table, and sat down pompously. His eyes flickered with mysterious shes as he stared deeply into Song Yuzhis beautiful bright eyes. Just as suddenly he sighed and said, Looks really good! Displeased, Song Yuzhi said, What nonsense are you babbling about? Kou Zhong showed a brilliant smile, revealing a row of shining white teeth, and then he seriously said, The number of women who are worthy to earn my, Kou Zhongs praise is really not many, and Miss Song is definitely at the top of the list. Just now Xiaodi was enjoying Miss Songs graceful figure and your touching dainty steps from the back, already my heart and soul were intoxicated, and I am sure that I will never forget it as long as I live. Song Yuzhi was wondering in her heart why she did not stop this kid from speaking such frivolous words, even more so, why didnt she feel the slightest bit of anger? While averting his burning hot gaze, which was able to prate her heart, she lowered her head and said, If you continue speaking that kind of frivolous thing, I wont speak with you. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Men and women pleasing each other is the great unifying factor in human rtionship. As long as we are sincere an in a good faith, how could you call it frivolous? Song Yuzhi sighed and finally met his eyes. Shaking her head, she said, Kou Zhong, if you are thinking of ying a trick on me, Song Yuzhi, it will be useless. First of all, I will never be fond of you. Second, I always think that you are the kind of person who loves to speak flowery words to coax us, womenfolk. Third ... Kou Zhong smiled and said, Isnt it true that your Die has already given your hands in marriage, that you already have a future husband? Song Yuzhis tender body trembled slightly; hanging down her tiny head, she nodded and said, Its good that you can guess that! Kou Zhong mused how could he not guess? Such a high-ss family and powerful n like the Song n, especially the n Leader Heavenly Saber Song Ques beloved daughter, her marriage option was naturally strictly limited to families that were well matched in terms of social status. Men could take concubines based on personal preferences, but women did not have this kind of liberty; they could only depend on their family to make the arrangement, to be matched with appointed men. Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders with confidence and at ease as he said nonchntly, Difference in social status is one thing, how much Miss dislikes me is another thing. But for me, whatever I feel in my heart, I will only feelfortable if I speak it up. Heaving a deep sigh, he turned his gaze to the window, toward the garden outside the pavilion resplendent under the brilliant sunshine. Shaking his head with a wry smile, he said, Ever since that day in Xingyang city, at the small alley outside Shen Luoyans residence wrestling with Miss and hugging and having close personal contact, I ... Greatly embarrassed, Song Yuzhi cut him off, I forbid you to mention that matter, from now on you must not mention it to any other people, especially Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong broke into giggle, Forgive me, he said, I already could not bear not to tell him. If I kept it bottled inside of me, I would burst to die, ha ha! Song Yuzhi was greatly angered, You, this kid, will never be serious. It is clear to me that you are teasing me again. What I hate the most is people like you. Kou Zhong spread out his hands, Miss, calm down! he said, After all, I, Kou Zhong, have a little bit of self-realization. I clearly know that Miss cant possibly look up to a man with a humble origin like myself. Right now Miss is willing to listen to me unloading whats in my mind, Kou Zhongs appreciation is indeed not shallow. From now on I will not mention that matter! Song Yuzhi shook her head in distress and cast him a hateful stare. She hated him for being frivolous, but she was also afraid that from now on he would be heartless. The contradiction in her heart was really distressing. Ever since she was little, her dream mate was a man of noble birth, erudite and multi-talented, cultured and refined, charming and handsome. The one in front of her was wild from head to toes, a yboy loved to seduce women of good family. Hence, he should be a man she loathed the most. Yet he had created in her an unprecedented stimtion, and deep down in her heart she was wishing that he would continue talking to her like that. It was not to say that she had fallen in love with him, rather, that kind of stimtion had made her forget the load of her mind and made her wish to continue listening to his bullshit. Kou Zhong sprawled himselffortably in the chair, after stretching out, he said in gentle voice, After we part this time, I dont know whether there will be a day we will meet again, but I know that for the rest of my life, I will never forget Yuzhis demeanor when you are happy and when you are angry. Slightly cross, Song Yuzhi said, I forbid you to call my name, you and I dont have that kind of rtionship yet. With a hint of smile on his face, Kou Zhong looked at her straight in the eye and said, Very well! I respect Miss Songs view. Let us talk about Zhuhua Bangs affair now! Song Yuzhi fought hard to suppress the disappointment that arose suddenly in her heart; she said with a wooden face, Youd better not get involved in my Song family and Zhuhua Bangs affair. My Song family wont make any business deal with you even more. Kou Zhong straightened up his body; without the slightest care in the world he smiled and said, Then there is no point in any negotiation. Whether in the future your Song family and I will be friends or foes, let Laotianye decides. Turning around, he was about to walk away when Song Yuzhi suddenly stood up and shouted with her tender voice, Kou Zhong, dont you dare walking away from me! Kou Zhong leisurely walked around to Song Yuzhis back, put his face close to her brimming-with-energy beautiful face, breathing his warm breath next to herpletely-without-blemish skin, and said softly, Miss Song, what instruction are you going to bestow to me? Song Yuzhis breathing quickened; her breasts were heaving up and down in an unprecedented rate. Suddenly she turned around and fast as lightning her jade palm pressed on Kou Zhongs broad chest, and she said with hatred, I want to kill you! Kou Zhong opened up both arms and with smile across his whole face he said, Be my guest! Song Yuzhis pretty face alternated between light and dark, at first the beautiful pupil of her eyes was suffused with profound murderous aura, but just as sudden the murderous aura was reced by aplex emotion. From her jade palm she could feel Kou Zhongs heartbeat, and every single beat brought her unparalleled shock. In a sh she recovered her cold demeanor. Sending out a burst of force she pushed Kou Zhong away that he staggered three steps back, and then she said emotionlessly, What do you have in mind? A deep, unfathomable smile appeared on Kou Zhongs face; turning around, he walked over toward arge window. Standing proudly like a mountain, he looked outside the window, put his hands behind his back and said, When the world is in chaos, heroes appear. Take your Song family for example, before your ancestors established the Song n, werent they the same as Kou Zhong, people who dont have anything at all? In time of rapid changes like this, anybody could be a duke, marquis, general or prime minister, even an emperor who unifies the world [tian xia]. Song Yuzhi detected the heroic, proud and strong aura in the tone of Kou Zhongs voice; momentarily she was stunned speechless. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, Supposing I killed the Green Dragon [see Book 7 Chapter 3] Ren Shaoming, how would Miss repay me? Song Yuzhi was speechless for half a day. She left her seat and walked over until she was about five chi from his back. Shaking her head, she said with a sigh, You are either excessively overestimating yourself, or you are underestimating Ren Shaoming too much. Do you think Ren Shaoming is of the same level as Zuo Qiubi, Luo Xian, and the others? In Jiangnan, Ren Shaoming and Lin Shihong are equally famous. Other than my Die, nobody dares to think that he is better than him. Not to mention Tieqi Huis men are strong their horses robust. Merely his subordinates, Evil Monk and Amorous Nun, two great martial art masters, who both are in charge of their two factions, I am afraid the two of you will have trouble to deal with. After smiling wryly, she added, Much less presently everybody in Jianghu wants to capture you; the two of you are in an extremely difficult situation. Will you have time to mind other peoples business? Letting out a cold humph, Kou Zhong said, Future fact will authenticate what I, Kou Zhong, say today. Right now I just want to ask Miss Song: supposing I can kill the thorn in your Song familys side, will you, Song n, be willing to support Gui Xiliang, the beloved disciple of thete Bangzhu, to inherit the Bangzhu position? Staring nkly at him, Song Yuzhi said, You have such a grand ambition. Without ambition, how can you aplish great things? Kou Zhong loftily said, As long as Miss Song provides intelligence on that Ren Shaomings movements, I, Kou Zhong can guarantee that his little life will be difficult to protect. Against her will Song Yuzhi took two steps forward to his left side; after scrutinizing his silhouette, which was brimming with masculine charisma, she said in heavy voice, If you knew that we have sent three different teams to assassinate Ren Shaoming, all three times we suffered the misfortune of having our entire troops failed miserably, would you even consider another near-suicide n like that? Like a twister Kou Zhong spun around so that he came face to face with Song Yuzhi, who was only about a cun shorter than he was, and the distance between them was less than three cun. His tiger eyes shone with a very strong confidence while his voice was full of fighting spirit, Those who can achieve extraordinary great undertaking must achieve extraordinary matters first. What we, two brothers,ck right now is a great battle which will cause sensation in Wulin. This deficiency will be rectified by Ren Shaoming first. Even if you are unwilling to make a deal, this matter is still absolutely necessary. Besides, even if we do not make any move, do you think Ren Shaoming will still let us off? Chapter 6 - Part 2 Song Yuzhis nk expression immediately disappeared, her beautiful eyes were glistening as she locked gaze with Kou Zhongs eyes. She said in heavy tone, Although we have considerable influence toward the Zhuhua Bang, we may not necessarily be able to influence the candidates of Bangzhu election. Dont lie to me, Kou Zhong said, If Zhuhua Bang loses the Song ns support today, it will copse tomorrow. If I killed Ren Shaoming, you guys will support Gui Xiliang to be the Gang Leader. The first order of business is to dy the General Assembly of the Bamboo Forest. In this short period of time, I will rely on you to do your magic. Song Yuzhi said in distress, You are too overbearing and love to force others to do your bidding. After looking deep into her eyes for a moment, Kou Zhong said, I am leaving now. Miss Song, please think about it! Anytime Miss Song sends us intelligence about Ren Shaoming, well carry out the transaction. Song Yuzhi recovered her calm-demeanorpletely; not letting the proximity between them, so close that they could smell each others breath, bothered her, she looked back into his eyes and said, Dont you still have the Duke Yangs Treasure thing to tell me about? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Please tell your esteemed father, if he is willing to give his beloved daughter in marriage to me, Kou Zhong, the Duke Yangs Treasure will be my, Kou Zhongs betrothal gift to offer to him. If your esteemed father could ept Gui Xiliang as his disciple, that will be even more ideal. Yuzhi ought to understand my meaning! With a loudughter he simply walked away, leaving Song Yuzhi whose thought was in a whirl. Four mule carts were tied together. Driving the cart at the head of the train were Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong urged their horses to send them off out of the city. The city defense was strengthened substantially, the Zhuhua Bang men joined hands with the citizens of the city, working hard together to set up fortifications. Kou Zhong turned toward Gui Xiliang and said with augh, Kid, you need to work a bit harder, and then your brother, me, will help you to attain the Bangzhu position. Gui Xiliang was greatly shocked, What nonsense are you talking about? he said. Nonsense? Kou Zhong sneered, This is more real than a piece of pearl. With me and Xiao Ling supporting you, plus the Song n behind you, your chance of bing the Bangzhu is greater than anybody elses. Xing Rong, who was riding on the other side, was so shocked that his face turned green and his lips paled, Are you going to kill us? How could Shao Junshi let Xiliang be the Bangzhu? he asked. Xu Ziling remained silent, but from his expression, it was clear that he resented Kou Zhongs remark. Kou Zhong calmly said, We are all brothers, how could I harm you? The fact will prove everything. Go back now! Lashing the whip down, he drove the mule train faster passing through the city gate and into the dusty road outside. Kou Zhong cast a nce toward Xu Ziling. He sighed and said, Xiao Ling, just consider it I am asking for your help, all right? Dont give me that kind of look, you made my heart feel so uneasy. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, What did you talk about with Song Yuzhi? You made us waiting anxiously for more than half a sichen. Naturally talking about the conditions of our business deal, Kou Zhong nonchntly replied, But in passing I was also teasing her, to see whether she would refuse or wee my advance with her alluring seductive appearance. Dont you think she is alluring? Xu Ziling let out a subdued snort and said, I dont care how alluring she is, its no use. Because what you are looking for is not her as a person, but her Song familys tremendous power. If you obtain the Song ns support, you would obtain power over half of the south. Now I am convinced that in order for you to win over the world, you will do anything, by hook or by crook. Kou Zhong said exasperatedly, Xiao Ling, not again! To tell you the truth, I really have adoring thought toward her. But I realized its just a delusion. Because she has been betrothed early on. Ay! Right now my great undertaking is just getting started, your support is very critical for me. Besides, dont you forget that if we do not expand our power, sooner orter we will be ughtered by either your precious Princess or Li Mi. Xu Zilings heart softened. He heaved a sigh, and no longer said anything. By the time the sun set over the western hills, the jungle where Duan Yucheng and the others, along with their salt, were hidden appeared on the horizon. The surging water of the Yangtze River outside the jungle looked spectacr under the glow of the setting sun. Kou Zhong let out the secret signal. But after waiting for half a day, they still did not see Duan Yucheng and the othersing out of their hiding to meet them. The two boys exchanged nces, both felt something was not right. They jumped down the cart, untied the mules from the carts, and let them rest and eat some grass. And then side by side they walked down the hillside toward the jungle. Kou Zhong said in a low voice, If something is wrong, well flee toward the river and regroup. Do you think it could be Ren Shaomings men? I dont know! Xu Ziling replied. Fully alert, the two boys entered the jungle. They crept toward the ce where they hid the salt, while sending their qi toward their feet and eyes, to see whether there were any traps around. When they reached the clearing in front of the ce where they hid their salt, the two boys could only stare nkly with mouth agape. Because they saw Duan Yucheng and the others, four men, were tied with their arms behind their back and the rope looped around their necks. Even their mouths were stuffed that they could not speak. And they were ced on top of the salt sacks that were piled up into a small hill. A cold snort came from behind them. The two boys turned around in shock, only to see Fu Junyu standing enchantingly behind the two boys. Her face was as cold as ice and snow while her pretty eyes shot iparable hatred toward them. A warning signal went off in their hearts. The two boys turned their eyes toward the pile of salt again, and saw a handsome, dignified Ba Fenghan, whose entire being exuded some kind of cold de aura, was sitting leisurely at the edge of the salt hill, and was looking at them up and down, with a hint of smile at the corner of his mouth. The two boys scalp went numb, while in their heart they groaned incessantly. Any one of these two adversaries would give the two boys a very hard time to deal with, and now both of them were here and worse yet, they seemed to work together. Acting as if he was ready to destroy them, Ba Fenghan calmly and leisurely said, Kou Xiong, Xu Xiong are now renowned figures. Early on Zaixia [lit. under, myself (humble)] had a mind to make friends with you. Its a pity that you have provoked Junyu, so that even Zaixia is in an extremely difficult position. After a short pause, he went on, If you are willing to fight one-on-one with Junyu, life or death will depend on your real skill, Zaixia can promise not to interfere. I wonder what the two brothers think? Kou Zhong and Xu Xiling exchanged some nces. Suddenly they roared inughter together. Theirughter was filled with strong fighting spirit. Book 7 - 7 – Mortal Danger, Escape Alive Book 7 Chapter 7 C Mortal Danger, Escape Alive Kou Zhong thundered, Xiao Ling, you go pay your respect to Yu Yi [aunt], leave it to me to apany Ba Xiong ying several moves! Fu Junyu let out a cold humph and said, This fellow does not know the immensity of heaven and earth. Based on those several tricks of yours, what gives you the qualification to challenge Fennghan? And dont call me Yu Yi anymore. I have no rtionship whatsoever with you. Ba Fenghan burst outughing and said, Although you, these two kids, are quite all right, your level is not enough to y with Ol Ba. Just show your real skill nicely, see if you are qualified to have rtionship with Junyu! If I made my move, I will not hold my hands at all. While talking, both his facial expression and his demeanor carried the poise of a man from an influential family, perfectly matching his heroic and grand countenance, which made other people admiring him from the heart. No wonder Fu Junyu was conquered by him. Xu Ziling smiled faintly and said, Ba Xiong is too conceited. I am afraid that when you are too full of yourself, when suffering defeat, it would be even harder for you to get off the stage. It was Fu Junyu who scrambled to take the initiative on Ba Fenghans behalf; with her tender voice she scolded, No need to spout nonsense! Whos going to go first? Ba Fenghan did not take offence at all; he simply sized the two boys up coldly, but in his heart he started to get a peculiar feeling that he had never felt before. Since making great aplishment in martial art at the age of eighteen, these past seven years he made it his special purpose in life to fight in one ce after another all over the world, to temper himself through realbat experience, so that his spirit, qi and mind were rising into an unprecedented heights. It could even be said that his vigor was simply uncontested. Upon arriving in the Central ins, the number of martial art masters from famous schools who fell under his hand was at least forty, fifty people. However, he had never encountered anybody who could talk andugh as though nothing had happened like Kou and Xu, two people. Apparently these two boys did not think of him as a big deal. Simply this kind of cool-headed skill was enough to make him to have a whole new level of respect for them. Not to mention Kou Zhongs innate overbearing character and Xu Zilings calm, confident and cool character, which were rarely seen, were enough to make his heart itched. Too bad he already promised Fu Junyu that he would refrain himself and was going to sit on the sideline as a spectator; otherwise, he would have charged forward to try it himself. The official reason of his trip to the Central Earth this time was to flee from Bi Xuan, but the unspoken reason was actually to actively resisting Bi Xuan. Compared to Bi Xuan, he had to admit that he was still several notches inferior; therefore, he headed east to gain realbat experience before he would attempt to have a decisive battle against Bi Xuan again. And now that he saw a good test object, how could his heart not itch to try? Meanwhile Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Yu Yi, please keep calm, dont get excited! If you want to fight then fight! Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard, and immediately turned into a rainbow, shooting toward Ba Fenghan, who was sitting on the pile of salt sacks. Almost simultaneously Xu Ziling soared into the air, like a turning wheel his two fists attacked Ba Fenghans face. This move was totally beyond Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyus expectation; they had never imagined that the two boys would be so dauntless. Unexpectedly they had the impertinence to make their move against the most overbearing Ba Fenghan first. Ba Fenghan let out a cold snort. Nobody saw which move he was using, but his body suddenly flew upwards swiftly. His left hand drew the saber, his right hand pulled the sword, which exploded into two de bursts, separately meeting the two boys attacks. The two boys made a sound like a muffled thunder as the three figures swiftly met and just as swiftly separated. Even with Ba Fenghans ability, due to the fact that he did not anticipate encountering two streams of qi, one cold and one hot, from the Secret to Long Life, especially because Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew how formidable he was and thus they went all-out in this first attack, he could not help suffering a hidden loss. As his body flew backwards over the salt sacks, he made an effort tond behind the pile, and seized that opportunity to neutralize the true qi invading his body. Actually, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings condition was even worse. The strength of the earthshaking reaction force from Ba Fenghans saber and sword was definitely could not be anticipated in advance. Like a sharp de it prated the two boys body, so that they immediately suffered severe internal injury. Although the sh only happened in an instant, there was simple no room for maneuver in this simple, no-fancy moves, head-on sh. When Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well struck Ba Fenghans sword, he only felt that the opponents sword emitted two different streams of power, so that it was difficult for the opponent to pin down. Kou Zhongs entire body received a thunderbolt strike, which jolted him backwards. When Xu Zilings fists met the de of the saber of the most formidable opponent in his life, in the split second just before the fist met the de, the twobatants true qi had already shed heavily against each other. To Xu Zilings shock, the enemys powerful qi continued to flow along the swords edge into his body like hot knife through butter, and he could barely dissolve this qi just before it invaded the arteries and veins around his heart. Immediately his blood and qi surged, he was unable to continue with the follow-up move, and was thrown backwards. Just before the two boysnded heavily on the ground, like a ghost Fu Junyu floated over with the sword in her hand. The two boys knew that the moment they touched the ground was the critical moment between life and death, hence they swiftly rolled toward each other. Bang! When the two crashed into each other, Fu Junyus sword has be sword screen that filled the air, hiding the sky and covering the earth,ing down to trap them. But it never had any chance to hit the two boys. Right the moment when the two bodies touched each other, their true qi immediately flowed from one body to the other. Not only it healed each others internal injury, it also strengthened each others true qi. In the whole wide world, perhaps only these two boys were capable of doing this kind of iparably fantastic healing tactics. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well soared into the sky, prating Fu Junyus sword. Taking the opportunity while Fu Junyu was impeded by Kou Zhong, Xu Zilings body shot up from the ground toward the opponents left side, and send out a palm strike across empty air. Ding! Although Fu Junyu has already anticipated that the two boys still had strength to strike back, she did not think that they would be able to strike back at full force. In her shock, even though she managed to block Kou Zhongs saber attack with ten-thousand jun [1 jun ~ 30 catties] thunderbolt force, she was caught off guard by Xu Zilings palm wind. However, she was a martial art master after all. The instant before the palm wind reached her body, she suddenly changed direction midair and moved sideways. But still, the palm wind swept her and made her let out a stifled grunt, while she was thrown far away. Ba Fenghan, who was on the other side of the salt pile, was actually more shocked than Fu Junyu, who had suffered injury. Having a superior eyesight, before the two boys even made their move, he had already seen the level of their skill, and was so sure that even they joined hands, they would still be not his match. Who would have thought that even after he was using two different stream of qi to attack the two boys, not only he was unable to injure the two boys, unexpectedly they still had enough strength to strike back with even more bold and powerful force? How could he not be shocked? By this time he still has not been able to neutralize the two boys cold and hot qipletely, yet he knew that the current situation demanded immediate action. Therefore, forcing himself to raise his qi up, he soared high into the air. The sword returned to its sheathe, the saber moved to his right hand, he swiftly charged toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who had just emerged from the pile of salt. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Ba Xiong, please return! While speaking, his hand did not hesitate at all, he raised his saber to parry. Chapter 7 - Part 2 Meanwhile Xu Ziling swept toward Duan Yucheng and the others. Left and right he moved lightning fast to pat around on the four mens body, the ropes binding them disintegrated into cun-long pieces, and their acupoints were unsealed at the same time. Ba Fenghan, who was still in the air, saw all these and his scalp went numb. It should be noted that he sealed the four mens acupoints using his unique schools technique; not only it was a high level technique in acupoints-sealing, he also spent considerable time to do that. Yet Xu Ziling was able to break his technique merely by brushing his hands. No wonder he was greatly shocked. Actually, Xu Ziling did not understand any acupoint-sealing technique, he was simply sending his true qi into their bodies, and simply prompted natural cirction of their own qi through their meridians, and thus spontaneously breaking the unique skill that Ba Fenghan was immensely proud about. In the meantime Duan Yucheng and the others heard Xu Zilings order; they hurriedly climbed down the pile of salt and ran away as fast as they could. By this time continuous ringing was heard as Kou Zhong was blocking three of Ba Fenghans swift, fierce and unparalleled saber strikes. Noticing how Kou Zhong was quite straining in taking Ba Fenghans attack from above and the danger seemed to be growing without restraint, Xu Ziling hastily charged from an angle; his two hands turned into a blur of fists filling the air, violently attacking Ba Fenghan. After restoring her qi, Fu Junyu also charged forward with the sword in her hand. Kou and Xu knew their situation was getting worse; if they let Fu Junyu took control of either one of them, the other one would be ughtered by Ba Fenghan in under ten moves. Therefore, they immediately attacked Ba Fenghan together with everything they had. Ba Fenghan knew very well that given a bit more time, he would be able to get these two under control; however, his true qi was depleted, plus the two boys hot and cold, two opposing true qi were very difficult to deal with. Therefore, helplessly he had to fly side ways to evade the attack. The two boys did not dare to continue fighting; they halted their movements and immediately turned around to escape toward the Great River. Even if Bi Xuan, Ning Daoqi came personally, it would still be difficult for them to catch up with the two boys, who were already more than a dozen zhang away in such a short period of time. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stuck out their heads from among the reefs littering the bank of the river, to see whether Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyus shadows have entered the darkness in the distant opposite bank downstream from where they were. Xu Ziling stuck out his tongue and said, That Fengzhi Han [rheumatism, see Book 4 Chapter 4] is probably more formidable than Old Die or Yuwen Huagu. Among the people they had encountered thus far, Du Fuwei and Yuwen Huaji were the ones with the highest martial art skill. Therefore, Xu Ziling was saying that among the martial art masters they encountered, Ba Fenghan was the most overpowering one. With lingering fear, Kou Zhong said, Have you forgotten Yang Xuyan? At least this time we are not injured. Do you reckon they mighte back? If I were them, Xu Ziling replied, I would find a hilltop where I could wait patiently. The moment we, two big melon heads, came back to retrieve our goods will be the moment we die in our beds at ripe old age! Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, This is called heroes usually agree. Right now Fengshi Han and Yu Yi must be blowing their little noggins top in rage because of us; they would not let us off even if they had to die. Ha! If we can lure that pair of wild mandarin ducks [i.e. lovers] in a wild goose chase for several hundred li, wont Xiao Duan [little Duan] and the others have plenty of time to deliver the goods? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Whether we can outrun Fengshi Han or not, I dare not say. But we definitely cannot outrun Yu Yi; have you thought about it clearly? Kou Zhongughed and said, ying hide-and-seek is ying hide-and-seek, it is a different thing frompeting qinggong with everything we have. Speaking about escaping skill, they are not our, Central ins Two Dragons match. Xu Zilings childish heart was greatly aroused, heughed and said, Who approved our promotion from Yangzhous Two Dragons to Central ins Two Dragons? While ying with the water, Kou Zhongughed and said, This is called progress. Right! We should meet Xiao Duan and the others. Where did we say well meet? Xu Ziling replied, Since this ce is not far from Baling, we might as well go there to look for Su Jie, perhaps shes been looking for us and could not find us. Excellent n! Kou Zhong cried out, Well find those four kids first and then well think about it carefully. Come on! Finished speaking, the two boys dove into the water again. The two boys ran swiftly long the river toward aparatively higher elevation. Crouching on top of arge rock, they concentrated their attention to the lower reaches of the river. Howe we have not seen anybody? Kou Zhong wondered, Could it be that we overestimated them? If we had known this, we might as welle with Xiao Duan and the others to deliver our precious cargo of salt. Xu Ziling frowned and said, I have a very ominous feeling. They may have been winding around and wait for us ahead. Aghast, Kou Zhong abruptly turned his head around, and happened to see from the jungle ahead a flock of birds flew up because something startled them. Nudging Xu Ziling, he said in a low voice, You are right. Now what should we do? Xu Ziling smiled lightly and said, Now we circte our breathing properly, preserving and nurturing our spirit, waiting until they cannot take it anymore ande out of their hiding, and then well leave. With a wry smile Kou Zhong turned over to lie under the bushes, and then with a sigh of contentment he said, I wonder how many stars are there in the sky? Copying him, Xu Ziling also pushed everything out of his mind as hey downfortably next to him. Staring at the magnificent vast night sky full of stars above, he said, Everything before our eyes are so fantastic. Ever since the heavens and the earth existed, those stars also existed for eternity. Not only have they cycled continuously, but the unlimited changes also contain imperturbable physicalw. If our martial art skill can imitate the stars, i.e. constancy is concealed inside the changes, will it also exist eternally? Kou Zhong was emotionally moved, This logic is even deeper and more mysterious than the moon in the well. For the time being, let us call it Star Transformation. But how do we apply it to martial art? This moment Xu Ziling haspletely forgotten about Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu who were persistently hunting them. He said seriously, Perhaps this is what Niang said about the principle of guarding only one thing. When we are fighting against people, there were thousand thoughts ten thousand considerations on how to achieve victory; there are too many variables, yet we still cannot truly grasp the subtle constant within the ten thousands variables. Therefore, from the beginning we failed to achieve the first-ss level. Kou Zhong was shaken, I understand now, he said, What you said about guarding only one thing is merely the mental cultivation [xin fa], just like the moon in the water well. In my opinion it is like what Yu Yi said about the Yijian principle [reminder: yi here is the ancient name for Chinese chess]. The emptiness is the chessboard, the stars in the sky are the chess piece. Although the chess pieces move with countless permutation, they still have to follow certain immutablew. Therefore, as long as we can grasp this legal principle of obtaining victory, countless permutation will never leave each other, in the end we can still control the enemy to score a victory. Xu Ziling sat up and thought hard, When we y chess, if in every step we can force the opponent not to have any option to react, we could gain control over the overall situation. But in facing Ba Fenghan, Yang Xuyan, Ol Die, that kind of martial art masters, we are practically on the receiving end of being forced not to have the ability to deal with it, and were forced to just counter every move; hence none of those changes or constants can be used. Kou Zhong also sat up straight; scratching his head, he said, Honestly, the more I think, the more confused I am. But is it possible that the opposite is true, i.e. if we can grasp the opponents constant, it would be as if we know theyout of his chess pieces, wont it be like grasp it and the victory is assured? Casting his gaze toward the distant jungle where Ba Fenghan, two people might be hiding, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, When one is in a battle, he only knew how to defeat the enemy to save his own life; how could he grasp the constant change of the enemy? Unless he is able to transcend the chess movement ... Speaking to this point, the two boys were shaken at the same time, and looked at each others eyes. Kou Zhong spoke with trembling voice, His grannys Niang, I know the Yijian principle. First, we must understand the immutablew of the chessboard, just like the other day Yu Yi hacking and chopping randomly, seemingly without any principle, yet she was forcing me to respond constantly, totally powerless to take the initiative to strike back, just because she was one step ahead of me in grasping the several moves I was going to y next. Only if our martial art skill can reach this realm will we be able to feel that our skill has finally attain the way. But her cultivation is still too shallow, only after several moves, she was confused by my changes. If Fu Junyu knew that the remark she casually blurted has helped these two martial art talents in making an unmatched breakthrough, she would definitely regret it. Gazing up at the stars above, Xu Ziling muttered to himself, Yijian Method, Yijian Method! Kou Zhong groaned as if he was sighing, Its not Star Transformation, but Chess Transformation. No! Star Transformation is a bit better, a bit more mysterious. After this my Moon in the Well ought to be called Star Transformation Precious Saber. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, No! Your saber is still the Moon in the Well. You cant have three hearts two intention [i.e. wishy washy]. Star Transformation is mine. You cant be serious! Kou Zhong cried out, Are you saying that you are going to carve the Star Transformation, two characters [xing bian] onto your hands? Which one are you going to call Star Transformation? Your left hand or your right hand? When you fight, are you going to warn your opponent to watch for your Star Transformation hand? Ha ... While Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were doubling up inughter, a warning signal suddenly went off in their hearts. Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu appeared about twenty zhang away to their left, and were fleeting over like a shooting star toward them. Book 7 - 8 – Excellent Escape Plan Book 7 Chapter 8 C Excellent Escape n One after another Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling fled for their lives on the mountain and fields. By this time the two boys had reached the body weary, strength exhausted state; but because powerful enemies were after them, they could only run toward the precipitous mountain trying to escape. Since three days ago when Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu caught up with them, they had run for several hundred li from Jiangyin toward Dongji, passing through Yixing and Yongshi, two big county towns. Although the have given everything they had, with crafty scheme and brilliant n, all along they were unable to shake off Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu. It was only then did they realize that either one of Ba or Fu was an expert in tracking and following; they could not help whining on for days. That evening Ba Fenghan, two people were getting closer and closer, the two boys sensed that they were only about a hundred or so zhang away. Fortunately they came across a rapids in a secluded canyon deep in the mountains, plus the rain was pouring heavily. The two boys followed the rapids downstream for more than ten li before they were able to dy the imminent disaster for a few moments. By the time the two boys crawled up from the river, not only their strength was gone their muscles weary, their clothes were tattered and they were covered in scars due to the frictions with sharp rocks along the way; in short, they werepletely battered and exhausted. Kou Zhong even lost his Moon in the Well. Under the downpour the two boys climbed over an overhanging cliff, and since they were unable to take it any longer, both copsed on the ground. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, You think we lost Fengshi Han yet? The rain is so heavy, any scent or trace ought to be washed away! Xu Ziling turned his face up, to let the sharp raindrops shot like arrows onto his face. He sighed and said, No matter how you look at it, it seems to me that this guy is determined to stake it all against us; whoever copse first is the loser. Kou Zhong bitter said, Supposing this time we can escape alive, it would mean that our qinggong has made tremendous progress. Ay! When we left that day, we were so proud and strong, who would have thought that this wicked Ah Yi [maternal aunt] who cannot tell good from evil, plus one Fengshi Han, can make us look like the dog of a mourning family? Xu Ziling dropped down with his entire body crouched down on the ground, his handsome face close to the muddy edge of the cliff, he groaned and said, The Heaven decreed that to be a great man, one must firstbor his muscles and bones, temper his will, and deplete his body. In my opinion, before we are out the critical circumstances, we ought to practice for three more days! Kou Zhong also craned his neck to look down into the ravine below, he saw a waterfall from the upper left cliff rushing down into a smallke, with dark jungle all around it, which extended continuously in the canyon below until nobody knew how deep or how far. Leaning out farther away, he saw underneath the cliff about ten zhang away from him was an old pine tree with great number of branches and luxuriant leaves; it was exceptionally spectacr. Having a brainwave, Kou Zhong called out, Xiao Ling,e quick and look, like a miracle a big tree unexpectedly grew under the cliff; it must be a ce of charm and beauty. We might as well go down to take a look, who knows if there is a cave down there where we can hide for several days, so that even their feet be crippled from walking, that wicked Ah Yi and Fengshi Han cannot find us. Xu Ziling made an effort to prop himself up and crawl toward the edge of the cliff; but before he had any chance to look down, his body suddenly shook, Bad! he said. Kou Zhong was greatly startled; following Xu Zilings gaze, he looked toward the opposite side of the ravine, to a small hill that was perhaps about fifty zhang lower than their cliff. But he did not detect anything unusual. What is it? he hastily asked. This moment the rain was getting heavier, plus the forest was dark, so that not only it was difficult to see into the distance, they also had to raise their voices just to be heard. Xu Ziling put his lips next to Kou Zhongs ears and said in a low voice, They areing! Just now a sudden gust of wind carried the sound of broken branches into my ears. Heavens! How did they do it? Kou Zhong was frightened as well. Under this kind of circumstances, how did the enemy manage to trail them and keep them at their arms length? Do you still have any strength left? he asked in heavy voice. Xu Ziling shook his head with wry smile. Do you? he asked back. Kou Zhong sighed and said, We, two brothers, are the same thing. If you are incapable, naturally I am too. But in my opinion, wicked Ah Yi and Fengshi Han are not much betterpared to us. Otherwise they would not have broken a branch. Right now there is only one way out, which is going down to look for a cave. What do you think? Do you want to try? Xu Ziling said, Based on our experience these past few days, no matter where we hide, they always managed to find us. But tonight apparently their hearing is also impeded by this heavy rain, so that for the first time they let us lie down here for nearly half a sichen. If we could exploit this favorable situation, we might be able to escape with our lives. Recalling the smallke at the bottom of the waterfall, Kou Zhong had a brainwave, Right now, even though Ning Daoqi and Fu Cailin have eyes, its like they are blind. Supposing ... ha ... I got an idea. The two boys standing side by side at the edge of the cliff, each one holding arge rock that they wrapped in their tattered outer robe. This moment they heard the sound of wind from behinding nearer and nearer. Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, suddenly the two boys let out a shout and throw therge rocks down first before they followed by jumping down. By the time the two boys have safelynded on the old pine tree below, the rocks were still falling rapidly down. The sound of their robes rustling against the wind continued on, getting farther and farther away; there was really no difference from if they were jumping down. The two boys did not dare to breathe loudly, they crouched on the pine tree and did not dare to budge. Ssh! Ssh! The sound of objects falling into the water was faintly heard from about a hundred zhang below. Fu Junyus voice followed from above, Good kid! Unexpectedly they escaped. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, These two kids endurance is indeed astonishing, their courage is even bigger that it wraps the heavens. Junyu still want to go after them? Fu Junyu resolutely said, Even to the end of the earth I want to go after them. Listening from below Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay; they really wished to know why Fu Junyu was fuming with rage between gritted teeth and hated them so much. Ba Fenghan suddenly said, The rain is getting heavier. After a moment of silence, Ba Fenghans voice was heard again from above, Is it possible for me to take care of some business first before I can apany Junyu looking for those two kids to settle the ount? he said tenderly. Fu Junyus reply was cold, Who wants you to apany me? Get lost, go see that Dongming Pai girl! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly astonished. Could it be that Dongming Pai girl was Dongming Princess Shan Wanjing? Could it be that she already joined hands with Fengshi Han? Forcing aughter, Ba Fenghan said, Junyu, havent wee into an agreement to be intimate friends? Why does the tone of your voice sound like you are a jealous lover? Fu Junyu said heavily, Do you really think that we are good friends? This time you, Ba Fenghan, volunteered to deal with those two boys, in the end you only want to win that girls favor. Are you saying it was because you really want to be good friends with me? Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, If Junyu wants to think like that, there is nothing that I can do. But in conduct and interaction in society, a real man ought to know when to let go and when to act, and not to be controlled by others; only then will he delight in what he say. I dont care how Junyu views me, from beginning to end Junyu is the first [female] confidante I encountered after I entered the Central Earth. Fu Junyu replied indifferently, You may say whatever you like! From beginning I, Fu Junyu, am already aware what kind of person you are. After killing those two boys, I will immediately return to Gaoli, and will nevere back. Another gust of wind arose; apparently in her anger Fu Junyu abandoned Ba Fenghan. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, This guy is alone now, will we seize this opportunity tounch a sudden attack? Do you have any strength? Xu Ziling asked back. Kou Zhong shook his head dejectedly. Above, Ba Fenghan heaved a deep sigh and then talking to himself, heughed coldly and said, Fu Junyu, who do you think you are? How could you understand me? Finished speaking, he left immediately. But Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling who were listening from down below suddenly felt chilliness creeping into their hearts. Chapter 8 - Part 2 The two boys did not find any cave down below. Without any choice they had to crawl back to the cliff above. They waited until the rain eased up, then very gently and cautiously they left the mountain area. Rushing toward the northeast, they crossed over a green mountain ridge, and picked up some wild fruits in a dense forest in a small valley to ay their hunger. Only after resting for the night and restoring their strength did they continue their journey. After going through these three days as fugitives, the two boys felt that they had renewed life after the cmity, and that they finally saw light again. Two dayster, they came into a vige. Upon entering the vige, they asked around and found out that Baling was actually only about fifty li south of this ce, and were pleased beyond their expectations. After buying two sets of coarse clothes from the vigers, they found a ce to stay overnight, and the next day, even before the sky brightened they already hastened on their way toward Baling. Aware that sooner orter they would meet either Ba Fenghan or Fu Junyu, those formidable opponents, they were more interested than ever in training their martial art skill, delving into the newly gained insight of the Yijian principle. As they took a rest along the way, Kou Zhong said, Do you remember those two disciples of Bi Xuan, one man and one woman? Looks like they cannot deal with Fengshi Han at all. Xu Ziling let out a bitterugh and said, Are you talking about Tuoba Fang [sic, it was Tuoba Yu in Book 5 Chapter 9] and his pretty Shimei? Of course I do. We still have the appointment to meet at Luoyang, but it looks like we are going to miss it. Kou Zhong said, We are forced by circumstances, nobody can do anything about it. Ay! We are in such a mess because of that wicked Ah Yi and Fengshi Han, I am afraid even my business deal with Song Yuzhi wille to nothing. What business deal? Xu Ziling asked in surprise. Kou Zhong dejectedly replied, Her Song Family will support Xiliang to be Zhuhua Bangs Bangzhu, I will kill Tieqi Huis Ren Shaoming for her Song Family. Xu Ziling was horrified, Have you thought well what kind of person Ren Shaoming is? If he is someone without an oilmp [this is literal trantion, I dont know what it means, but I think we can guess ...], he would have been ughtered by the Song Family early on; why would they need to inconvenience you, Zhong Shao? His spirit aroused, Kou Zhong said, Do you remember what I said about our goal must be far-reaching? Supposing we can make a n to assassinate Ren Shaoming, Tieqi Hui will received the most severe blow, Lin Shitong will also be like he is losing an arm. One eliminated the other diminished, Zhuhua Bang and Song ns power will rise. It would be a lot more interesting than it is now. But then he turned dispirited and downcast, But now I lose contact with Song Yuzhi, how could we achieve that? Xu Ziling said, I am not averse to assassinate Ren Shaoming. This man has always been notorious, his bad deeds are too many, indeed death cannot wipe out his crimes. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up, he said excitedly, Obtaining Ling Shaos approval, things are greatly different. Come! Let us go to Baling first to find Su Jie before discussing this matter further! By dusk that day, the city of Baling finally appeared ahead. The two boys entered the main road and not long afterward they reached the city gate. They saw a g fluttering from the top of the city wall with one character Liang embroidered on it. The security was very tight, those who entered the city must show their passes. When their turn came, Kou Zhong braced himself to say, We are here to pay a visit to our friend. The city guard eyed them up and down before saying, Right now the situation is very tense, all unauthorized people are prohibited from entering the city. Quickly get lost! Kou Zhong giggled and said, The friend we are looking for is a Baling Bang people, would officer please make things easy for us? And then leaning closer, he whispered in the guards ear, Would ten taels of silver be enough? The soldier coldly sized them up; seeing that the two boys were dressed in coarse peasant clothes, he suddenly shouted, Guards! Help me capture these two spies! More than a dozen city guards swarmed over to surround the two boys. Kou Zhong waved his hands and said, We are here to find Xiang Yushan; if you dont believe me, just ask him and everything will be clear. The soldier asked them in disbelief, Are you really General Xiangs friends? This time it was the two boys who looked at each other in disbelief; how could that Xiang kid suddenly be General Xiang? Xu Ziling hastily said, That is certainly the case. We will have to trouble Officer to pass on the message, just tell him that Su Jies brothers are here looking for him! He did not dare to report his name, for fear that it might bring unnecessary trouble. The soldier stared nkly for a moment, and then said, Turns out Madame Susus rtives. Guards, report to General Xiang immediately! Madame Susu! the two boys blurted out. The soldier looked at them with an odd expression on his face, Could it be that you dont know your virtuous older sister has married General Xiang? The two boys scalp went numb; they could not utter even half a sentence. Xiang Yushan, wearing full military regalia, jumped down the horse, walked over to the two boys, and said with great delight, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! I have been hoping two Dages arrival. Seeing how respectful Xiang Yushan was toward these two boys who professed to be rtives and were dressed in coarse peasant garments, also hearing how Xiang Yushan addressed them as Big Brothers, the soldiers were so surprised that they could not keep their mouth shut. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, on the other hand, simply looked at each other with wry smile on their faces; they were not sure how to deal with this Jiefu [older sisters husband]. However, since family scandal should not be told to outsiders, Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Xiang Yushans shoulders, and pulled him to enter the city. With a cold humph he said, How could Su Jie be married to you? It must be that you, this kid, used some kind of shady trick to force her! Without saying anything Xu Ziling walked on Xiang Yushans other side, so that they formed a left-right guard against him. Xiang Yushan hastily said, How can I, Xiang Yushan, be that kind of person? It is possible that your virtuous sister discovered my infatuation toward her and thus she agreed to give herself wholly in marriage to me. Ay! You dont know that each time Madame remembers you, she is so worried that she always cry. It is good that now you are here! Kou Zhong stretched out his arm out of his sleeve and said with a wry smile, Did you see this? As soon as you said infatuation, Laozis hair immediately stood up. Xiang Yushan was greatly embarrassed; smiling apologetically, he said, If I, Xiang Yushan, tell you even a single word of lies, let the Heaven strike me with lightning. Kou Zhong stared ferociously at him and said, If you dare to be capricious toward Su Jie, even if you became the Emperor, I will hunt you down and take your little life. Are we clear? Xiang Yushan hurtfully said, How could it be? Two Dage, please dont worry! The three of them walked briskly along the street, while behind them about a dozen of Xiang Yushans personal attendants followed on horsebacks, which prompted the passers-by to look at them with raised eyebrows. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, How did you be a general? Xiang Yushan was astounded, Havent you heard? he asked, After the muddleheaded ruler was killed, Xiao Er Dangjia [second chief] proimed himself to be the Emperor in Baling, taking the title of his dynasty the Great Liang. And then he lowered his voice and went on, Er Dangjia is actually the descendant of the Southern Liang Dynastys Emperor Wudi, Xiao Yan, so now he simply reinstated the title of the former days! Kou Zhong nodded and said, And he always think highly of you; no wonder your face is glowing. Blushing, Xiang Yushan said, That is by two Dages grace, together with Xiaodis own effort, so that now I recoveredpletely! Kou Zhong let go of his arm draped around Xiang Yushans shoulders; he sneered and said, Its good that you know your ce and call yourself Xiaodi; dont you ever have any delusion by expecting us to call you Jiefu. Is that right, Ling Shao? Xu Ziling spread his arms and smiled wryly, What can I say? he said. Kou Zhong gave Xiang Yushan a hard push as if he was venting his anger. Come! he shouted, Let me increase my knowledge by looking at General Xiangs qinggong after you recovered from your injury. If we walked as slow as a snail like this, chances are even after daybreak we still cant see Su Jie. Xiang Yushan staggered two steps sideways, but then he shot up andnded on a private citizens house, while the two boys hurriedly gave him a chase. Book 7 - 9 – Deep Love between Sister and Brothers Book 7 Chapter 9 C Deep Love between Sister and Brothers Susus gentle voice came from the inner hall. She seemed to be talking with someone else. Even until now, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have not been able to ept the fact that Susu had been married into the Xiang family. Especially since her husband was this Xiang kid. Even if they thought until their brains burst, they could not find anything good in Xiang Yushan that would attract the opposite sex, something that could make Susu fall in love with him. The one she loved should be Li Jing. Like a whirlwind Xiang Yushan entered the inner hall and cried out, Madame, Bangzhu, look whos here? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who halted their steps outside the door, were greatly astonished; who did Xiang Yushan call Gang Leader? Ah! Susus tender voice was heard, followed by another womans voice, Let me look for Su Jie. Unexpectedly it was the Jukun Bangs Gang Leader, the Beautiful Shifu Yun Yuzhen. She rushed to the door and upon seeing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, her pretty eyes lit up instantly, while her countenance showed that she was pleasantly surprised. Heavens! she cried out in her tender voice, You are finally here! Kou Zhongughed aloud and took a stride forward, reaching out toward her face, he stroked her cheek and said with augh, Beautiful Shifu has lost some weight, could it be it was because you missed your disciples? Yu Yuzhen revealed aplicated look on her face; both angry and happy, she stared fiercely at this frivolous disciple of hers. In the meantime, Xu Ziling already flitted past these two persons and rushed inside the hall. Susu was being helped by Xiang Yushan to rise up from her chair, her face revealed a mixture of disbelief and delight as she cried out in her tender voice, Xiao Zhong! Xiao Ling! Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings eyes immediately fell onto her bulging tummy. Everything seemed to be impossible and unreal. It was as if they were deeply lost in some fantastic, bizarre dreand. Finished crying, Susuughed. Finishedughing, Susu cried again. She was so overwhelmed with emotion that she scared Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who used everything they knew to console her before she was slowly calming down. Xiang Yushan ordered his servants to prepare a sumptuous banquet, and let the two boys gorging themselves. Susu, Yun Yuzhen and Xiang Yushan also apanied them eating a little bit. Talking about what happened after they parted, they chatted endlessly. Xiang Yushan sighed and said, We escaped the very night just before Danyang fell to Fu Gongyou, Madame adamantly refused to leave, leaving Bangzhu with no choice but to seal her sleeping acupoints. Du Fuwei has always been like fire and water with us; if we were captured by him, we would surely lose our lives. We left a mark outside the brothel door; didnt you see it? What mark? Kou Zhong said with a bitterugh, The building had been burned to the roof. Yun Yuzhen said, We waited at Yongshi for the whole month,st thing we heard was that you inflicted great damage to Haisha Bang and Shen Faxing consecutively at Yuhang and Changre. By the time we sent people over to find you, the two of you have already slipped away to who knows where. Susus eyes turned red again, she said usingly, Dont you know how toe looking for me a bit earlier? Xu Ziling hastily apologized, We are wrong. We have never thought that you would return to Baling. Trying to change the subject, Kou Zhong asked Xiang Yushan, Hows your current situation? Our situation is really not bad, Xiang Yushan excitedly replied, We have just taken Yulin and Cangwu, and right now our Right Marshal Dong Jingzhen are fighting over Panyu against the Tieqi Hui. The victor will be the overlord of the South. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused; he said, I was just looking for Ren Shaoming to test my saber. Where is that guy? Xiang Yushan and Yun Yuzhen were stunned; they stared nkly at him. Xiao Zhong always love to do dangerous things, Susu said with displeasure, In the south, Ren Shaomings martial art is second only to Heavenly Saber Song Que, he is equally famous with Lin Shihong. Cant you consider it carefully? Jiejie wants you to stay to apany me. Ay! You dont know how hard it was to worry over you. Kou Zhongughed but did not say anything. Underneath the table he kicked Xu Zilings foot. Xu Ziling shook his head slightly, he was unwilling to stick his head out for him. Kou Zhong had no choice but to turn to Xiang Yushan to probe further, If you could deal with Ren Shaoming, Panyu would be yours. Knitting his brows, Xiang Yushan said, Lets not talk about Ren Shaoming, merely the Left and Right Law Protectors under him, the Evil Monk Fa Nan and the Amorous Nun Chang Zhen are all first ss martial art masters. On top of that, nowadays everyone is afraid of being assassinated, so their guard is extremely tight. Even if Ning Daoqi agreed to personally assassinate him, his chance of sess would still be extremely low. After a short pause, he went on, Tomorrow I am going to submit memorial to His Highness, he has always had deep appreciation toward two Dage, he will certainly put you in important position, and this Madame will not have to worry about two Dage anymore. Kou Zhong said indifferently, No need to bother you! We, two brothers, are ustomed to free and easy life, we are not used to listen to anybody elses order. And then, ignoring Xiang Yushans disappointed look, he turned toward Yun Yuzhen and said, Beautiful Shifu, what kind of business you are running now? Casting a coquettish nce toward him, Yun Yuzhen said, Just menial job delivering goods here and there. Kou Gongzi cant possibly be interested. Hearing that, Kou Zhong immediately guessed that having acquired Xiao Xian as big supporter, Jukun Bangs power enjoyed tremendous boost, and now they were bearing the heavy responsibility of transporting supplies for him. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, What a coincidence, we are also in the cargo industry now. Ha! I almost forget to tell Xiang kid ... I mean, General Xiang. And then he told Xiang Yushan about Duan Yucheng and the others might arrive at Baling any time soon. Why didnt you guys travel together? Yun Yuzhen asked in surprise. Kou Zhong replied nonchntly, That muddled-egg Ba Fenghan chased the two of us for several hundred li, how could we go together with them? Xiang Yushan and Yun Yuzhen were greatly shocked. Ba Fenghan? they blurted together. Is there a problem? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment. Susus flowery countenance lost its color, You guys really did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. Ever since Ba Fenghan entered the Central Earth, he consecutively defeated several dozens of martial art masters from famous schools; he triumphed in every battle, his reputation flourishes even above the Four Major ns. Several times several big schools sent their martial art masters to join hands besieging him,st I heard he was able to leisurely escape while still managed to kill a lot of them. How could you possibly provoke him? We are not scared of him, Kou Zhong sneered, Were it not for him joining hands with that Korean Fu Junyu, we could have had him bag his food and leave before he finish it. Xiang Yushan and the others were dumbstruck. Yun Yuzhen asked in disbelief, Korean woman Fu Junyu is even more superior to Luocha woman. If she really joined hands with Ba Fenghan, how did you two escape with your lives? Kou Zhong stroked her thigh underneath the table, making her charming body trembled slightly. And then he shrugged his shoulders and said, Whats so strange about it? Being hunted and nearly killed was not a proud thing to say, why would we want to toot our horn? It was still hard for Xiang Yushan to believe; he asked, Did you fight with them openly? Of course we did, Kou Zhong replied, Otherwise we did not need to run his mothers several hundred li, until finally we came to this ce. While Xiang Yushan and Yun Yuzhen were looking at each other, Susu reproached him, Xiao Zhong! Cant you be a bit more polite? You still cant change your bad habit of using foulnguage. Kou Zhong giggled and said, I intentionally used foulnguage just to hear Jiejies touching tone in reproaching me. Ha! Although she was happy inwardly, she glowered at him and said, Xiao Ling is much better than you! So naughty! Momentarily the banquet table was rippling with the sincere love between the sister and brothers. The beautiful circumstances when they first met in the past seemed to return this very moment. When Xu Ziling woke up the next morning, he felt his entire body, from head to toe, was full with qi. Seeing Susu was safe and sound, and that she had found the home of her own choice, Xu Ziling seemed to put down the big stone weighing his heart. Last night as hey in bed cultivating his internal strength, his mind, qi and spirit entered an unprecedented level of cohesiveness. As hey down, looking at the top of the mosquito, his mind was focused on the Yijian Sword inspired by Fu Junyu, which was the ideal realm duringbat where one was able to grasp all the changes and the constant elements of the overall situation. When the two sides were facing each other, it was just like they were scrutinizing each other, inevitably they would be able to home on the hidden clue. It was the insight that one could only gain via realbat experience, something that would match his own strength. Just like the other day Fu Junyus seemingly random and non-threatening sword strikes toward Kou Zhong, yet Kou Zhong was flustered and could only run in circles; simply because she had the insight to gain initiative, just like in chess, each move could make the opponent struggled to cope. While he was deep in thought, Susus voice was heard outside the door, Xiao Ling! Are you awake? Xu Ziling hastily jumped down the bed, put on his outer robe, and pulled the door open to let Susu in. Chapter 9 C Part 2 After seated properly, Susu sighed and said, Are you guys angry that Jiejie married Yushan? I dont know why it happened but it did; even though I know that you dont like him, but his character is actually very good. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Jiejie is oversensitive. At first we did not like him just because there was a bit misunderstanding, thats all! Afterwards we understood, the sky is already clear after the rain, and now we are happy that Jiejie has found a husband ording to your wishes. Things havee to this, what else could he say? He and Kou Zhong were different. Kou Zhong did not like Xiang Yushan because he was unpleasant to the eye; but Xu Ziling did not have favorable impression toward him because he was too smooth and evasive worldly-wise. Susu gloomily said, Other than Yushan, Jiejie only has the two of you as my close rtives. But Jiejie knows that your aspiration is a thousand li away, and very soon you will leave me. Ay! Does it have to be like this? Why dont you stay and nurture your career here? How could Xu Ziling tell Susu that Kou Zhongs aspiration was to vie over the world and be the emperor? And that while he watched all these changes, his real hope was to roam the world like the wild crane in the clouds? While he was at a loss on what to say, Susu went on, Other than Li Mi and Dongming Pai, right now the number of people outside who want to get the Duke Yang Treasure from you is really beyond counting, but you dont give the least bit of thought to your own safety. Tell me, what should Jiejie do? Xu Ziling felt a big headacheing. Letting out a forcedugh, he said, I am afraid the number of people who want to kill Ba Fenghan is no less than those who want to kill us, but isnt he still pretty much alive and well? Cant Jiejie not worry about us too much? Just assist your husband and educate the children [idiom] well, when we have spare time, wed definitelye to visit you. Have you thought about your childs name? Immediately Susus pretty eyes shone. Sheughed and said, Why dont you think for me? See if you cane up with a good name. And then as if she suddenly remembered something else, she lowered her voice and said, Does Xiao Zhong really like Yun Bangzhu? Xu Ziling found it was getting harder and harder to tell Susu the truth, because the fact was that Kou Zhong was only toying with Yun Yuzhens feeling, just like Yun Yuzhen used to toy with their emotions. You lied to me, I cheated on you, the one to emerge victor has yet to be seen. Without any better option he replied vaguely, I am not too clear about what happened between them. Susu knitted her beautiful eyebrows anxiously; she said, Although Yun Bangzhu is verypetent, she is not an honorable woman; she has a hopelessly muddled rtionship with one of the Gongzi of the Dugu n, while she also has a secret affair with Hou Xibai. When you have a chance, go talk to Xiao Zhong! You are the only one he would listen to. While with his mouth Xu Ziling said yes, in his heart he could only smile bitterly. This sister of his had a very good intention, but her thought was just too na?ve; she still thought Kou Zhong as a little child. While the real Kou Zhong in front of their eyes was not someone who could be pushed around by anyone, including Xu Ziling. Meanwhile Kou Zhong pushed the door and came in. Seeing the two people inside, he immediately roared inughter and said, I thought Xiao Ling was still asleep, turns out he is already chatting with Su Jie who ys favorite. You are not talking about me, are you? Having a guilty conscience, Susus pretty face blushed; she was somewhat at a loss to know what to do. Kou Zhong was astounded, You are talking about me! he said. Xu Ziling sneered, What if we talked about you? he said, Su Jie is very concerned about you, she is afraid you might fall into some bad guys trap. Kou Zhong immediately understood. Laughing involuntarily, he walked over to an empty chair and sat down. Finally we, the three sister and brothers, meet again! he said with a sigh. With a slightly trembling voice Susu said, Can you stay here for a few days longer? Just consider it Jiejie is beseeching you. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Tonight we are going by boat to Jiujiang. Supposing everything went well, we will be back in a few days. Susu was stunned, What are you going to do at Jiujiang? she asked, Does Yushan know? Jiujiang was a strategic town at the confluence of Lake Poyang and Yangtze River. Currently it was under Lin Shihongs power. Going downstream from Baling, it could be reached within two days time. Naturally Xu Ziling was able to guess that Kou Zhong wanted to take the advantage while the salt goods was still on its way to aplish the assassination mission of the unapproachable Ren Shaoming without making any noise. If he could really kill Ren Shaoming and afterwards could escape safely, undoubtedly he would gain formidable renown to give him authority over the world. And after gaining the reputation, naturally everything would go smoothly and easily [orig. what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes]. Moreover, this way he could also crush Lin Shihong and Ren Shaomings alliance in dominating the south. Kou Zhong indeed had rigorous schemes and deep foresight. If the South really fell into Kou Zhongs hands, he would advance to Guanzhong and seize it, and then the various powers in the north could only clench their fists in envy. Kou Zhong revealed a confident smile as he spoke softly, At the end of the day I am doing this for Su Jie. Both Lin Shihong and Ren Shaoming could go to Jiujiang to formalize their alliance. If this matter is aplished, their first order of business would be to forge ahead and take down Baling; therefore, this matter must be broken at the earliest possible time. It was Jiejies fujun [lit. husband lord] who told me, he also made the arrangement for us. Do you think he is aware of it or not? Susus countenance changed, How could Yushan let you brave this danger? she said, No! I am going to talk to him. Xu Ziling pulled her tender lily-white hand, and said in all earnestness, Jiejie please dont worry, what Xiao Zhong said is right; if we dont break Lin-Ren alliance earlier, the South will be a one-sided situation. Even the Song n who is far away south at Lingnan will be powerless to stand on their feet, let alone your Baling Bang. Xu Ziling very rarely parroted Kou Zhong. Although he knew that it was mainly for Susus sake, Kou Zhong was still very happy, Xiao Ling is right! he said excitedly, Su Jie! Trust us! After cutting of Ren Shaomings stinky head, we wille back to apany Jiejie for several days before heading north. Someone knocked the door. Xiang Yushan came in and said, After breakfast, we will go to the Pce to see His Highness. Two Dage, what do you say? Under the escort of a dozen or so Xiang Yushans personal guards, Kou Zhong, along with Yun Yuzhen, Xiang Yushan and Xu Ziling, divided into two rows, galloped their horses out of the General Mansion toward the Imperial Pce, which was originally the Zongguan Mansion that the Liang Dynastys Emperor Xiao Xian rebuilt and refurbished. Because Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were so eager to see Susu the previous day, plus it was already evening, they did not pay any attention to the citys scenery. It was only this morning that they found the city to be remarkable. On the north, the city stood against the Yangtze River, on the west it bordered thergemercial hub of Dongting city. The scale was quite grand. The city was square-shaped, with the crossing main street as the central axis. The streets, alleys, and buildings were neat and orderly, most of the houses facing the street had covered veranda, which functioned as a shade in hot summer days and protection from rain during rainy season. Not only it provide convenience for the pedestrians, it also gave cozy and intimate feeling. All houses had fa?ade with decorative carved pattern, which showed that the residents were well off, everybody lived in peace and worked happily. Because Baling Bang has always had close rtionship with the Sui Dynasty, they enjoyed the domination over the county towns in the surrounding area. Xiao Xian himself was originally a local official, hence he enjoyed the support of the local rich families and members of the gentry. Since Emperor Yang has died, it was only natural that Baling Bang took control over the local situation, while the county citizens were only too happy to celebrate; therefore, unlike the other gangs and societies who had to go through struggle and the fire of war, the county was able to preserve its strength, and has be the most advantageous condition for the Baling Bangs newly founded Liang Dynasty in their contend for hegemony over the world. Currently there were six big powers in the South. The one with the most flourishing prestige was Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyous Jianghuai Army, which upied Liyang and Danyang, two big strategic towns. But since for the time being they had to deal with the powers from the north, they had no time to expand southward. Although Li Zitong upied Jiangdu, but since Emperor Yang and the Sui Army made a mess of things, their strength suffered a huge setback, so that they appeared strong, but in reality was quite weak. Shen Faxings Jiangnan Army was at the Southeast, but since the northwest route was blocked by Li Zitong and Du Fuwei, and the south was prominently under Guangdongs Song ns control, it was difficult for him to make any move. Therefore, the conflict in the South has be the stage for the two big powers, Lin Shihong and Xiao Xian, who refused to concede to each other. Presently the bnce of power was leaning toward Lin Shihong, simply because he had Tieqi Huis help. From this, it was clear that the Green Dragon Ren Shaoming was a crucial factor in the southern arena. Kou Zhong was able to see through this, hence he came to Song Yuzhi to strike a deal. If it were any other condition, the Song n would not be interested. This moment everybody was riding along a span of street lined with two-story buildings on both sides. Xu Ziling looked up to enjoy the richly ornamented, carved with fancy patterns, windows and eaves. While the bustling atmosphere of the city gave him an unspeakable feeling, there was another extremely familiar sensation that suddenly bubbled up in his heart. The same sensation that he felt just before the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan mounted a sneak attack. That instant he knew that Yang Xuyan has arrived. Book 7 - 10 – Street Assassination Book 7 Chapter 10 C Street Assassination Kou Zhong brashly, but with elegance, helped Yun Yuzhen climbed to her mount, and then he himself also flew up onto the horseback. Side by side they galloped together out of the General Mansions main gate. Beautiful Shifu, he said with augh, You look more and more beautiful! Yun Yuzhen lightly squeezed the horses belly; glowering at him, she said, Since when did you pick up this bad habit of speaking in flowerynguage? Kou Zhongughed involuntarily. He shook his head and sighed, while looking at the busy street ahead, full of carriages and pedestrians. This is called it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter ones character, he said indifferently, Fortunately, the disciples small fault in the eye of Beautiful Shifu might just be disciples strong point. Although on the surface Shifu looks sad, in reality you are delighted inwardly. Otherwise, your stern nce would not be so sweet and charming, so captivating. Pfft, Yun Yuzhen could not helpughing. I dont have this kind of inferior disciple whos an expert in infatuated with self skill, she said crossly, Henceforth you are expelled from my school, never to be readmitted. Kou Zhong turned his head around toward Xu Ziling and cried out, Xiao Ling! We are being expelled from Beautiful Shifus school! Henceforth we can do whatever we please. Xu Zilingughed and said, Dont bother me! I am enjoying the scenery of the city. Seeing Xu Ziling was unwilling to respond, Kou Zhong turned his attention to Yun Yuzhen and lowered his voice, I can do whatever I please; Yun Bangzhu, are you scared? Yun Yuzhen boldly met his gaze. Giving him a coquettish nce, she said, If I am scared, I wont personallye with you to Jiujiang. In my eyes, you and Xiao Ling are big kids who will never grow up. Kou Zhong pretended to be surprised; he said, Beautiful Shifu forgot that I have kissed you, I have also taken the liberty of running my hands and feet all over you. Yun Yuzhens pretty face immediately blushed. In great anger, but in a mosquito-like voice she said hatefully, Are you forgetting that this is a big street? There are people all around us; shame on you for saying such a scoundrelly words. Seeing her embarrassment, Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Enough provoking each other! Which man can incite such an intense reaction from Beautiful Shifu? While Yun Yuzhen was unable to ward off, the two of them reached the street with two-story buildings on both sides. Kou Zhong also felt the rm went off in his heart. The changes happened so suddenly. One of the big, finely carved windows facing the street on the covered porch on the second floor of the building, which bottom was approximately two zhang from the ground, suddenly exploded into millions of wood fragments, each one was infused with powerful qi, shooting toward the caravan passing through the street below. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, who were already on guard, were the first to react. In the instant before Yang Xuyan made his move, Xu Ziling has already ascertained that this most terrifying assassins target this time was not them; rather, it was Xiang Yushan. This was no doubt a carefully nned mission, not an operation that was executed at the spur of the moment, because they arrived at Baling just the previous night. Unless Yang Xuyan was some kind of an immortal, how could he know that they were going to pass by here and pay him a visit? Xiang Yushan was an important figure within the Baling Bang. Just like Shen Luoyan of the Wagang Army, his main responsibility was intelligence. Ever since its founding, Baling Bang has always been engaged in brothel business; the pleasure houses under its banner covered the whole nation, therefore, their newswork was very fast and abundant, it could even be said that no other entity could surpass it. The reason Xiang Yushan was promoted to be a general was precisely because he was responsible for this critical task. If he were assassinated, Baling Bangs striking power would suffer a very heavy blow. Xu Ziling did not dare to be negligence; while pulling the Severing Jade dagger from inside his trouser leg, he shot up to meet Yang Xuyan midair. Like a thunderbolt Yang Xuyans sword shed down amidst the rain of flying wood fragments, his target was Xiang Yushan. As the rm went off in his heart, Kou Zhong looked up and saw a blinding light. In that instant, based on previous experience, he knew that he was looking at Xu Zilings body, but his eyelids were subjected to the pressure from the swords qi, so that he was unable to see anything. Were it not for he knew this deceitful trick, by this time any other person would definitely be thrown into panic. But Kou Zhong was cool-headed, like the moon in the well water. Whoosh! The whip in his handshed out to the air, carrying with it a sharp whistling noise, ferociously whipping toward the source of the sword qi. Xiang Yushan, Yun Yuzhen, and all the personal attendants were thrown into confusion. First of all, they were shot by the wood fragments, so that several attendants, who wereparatively weaker, had the qi protecting their body shattered so that they suffered a crushing defeat. Those with outstanding power like Xiang Yushan and Yun Yuzhen, because their mounts were also being attacked that their legs buckled, they were thrown down in such a sorry state, so they could forget aboutunching a counterattack. Ding! Xu Zilings Jade Severing dagger parried the tip of Yang Xuyans ten-thousand jun [1 jun ~ 30 catties] lightning bolt sword strike. Yang Xuyans sword immediately generated a stream of strange sucking force, so that not only Xu Ziling wasplete unable to use his strength, the Jade Severing dagger was nearly knocked off of his hand. Apparently this world famous assassin had never expected anybody to be able to block his sure-kill sword strike. By the time he was about to follow-up with another killer strike, the tip of Kou Zhongs whip has already arrived on his back. Even with his skill level, Yang Xuyan was helpless to continue his attack toward Xu Ziling, while dealing with Kou Zhongs killer move at the same time. Sighing inwardly, he suddenly soared into the air. Swish! Swish! Swish! Just before he soared into the air, Xu Ziling suddenlyunched three dagger strikes. Yang Xuyan met these three strikes head-on, while at the same time borrowing the reaction force to propel himself toward the broken window on the second floor. Meanwhile Kou Zhong also pursued behind him, the long whip in his hand shot toward Yang Xuyans feet trying to coil it around his ankles. To Kou Zhongs surprise however, with some unknown technique, Yang Xuyan suddenly threw his outer robe down; it descended upon Kou Zhong like a cloud. While Xu Ziling was being forced to fall back to the ground, and Kou Zhong was shifting to the side to evade the enemys strange tactic, Yang Xuyan disappeared into the hole. From the time the fight began until now, what everybody saw was Yang Xuyans ghost-like shadow; nobody was able to see his appearance. It was only now did Xiang Yushan finally pulled his sword and shouted his order, After him! But he himself knew that relying on his astonishing qinggong, Yang Xuyan had already gone that not even his shadow could be found. Xiao Xian, wearing the yellow royal robe, personally led his personal attendants to go out the door to receive them and lead them to the main hall. Finished listening to the thrilling narration of assassination attempt toward Xiang Yushan, he sighed and said, Yushans good fortune is indeed flooding the heavens. If the two Xiao Xongdi were not by your side today, inevitably there would be more chance of misfortunes, less chance of good. It can clearly be seen that my Great Liang Dynasty bears the Heavens blessing, and no human power can alter it. This Emperor of the Great Liangs physique was thick and solid; he looked formidable. His height nearly surpassed Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, his age looked to be around thirty-five or thirty-six. Whether he was really enjoying the Heavens blessing or not, his entire being seemed to glow, his vigor seemed to illuminate other people. It was obvious that his qigong cultivation has reached first-ss masters level. Sooner orter he would be able topete against Du Fuwei and the others in the struggle over the world. An eternal smile seemed to freeze on his face. Perhaps this was due to the upturned corners of his mouth that made him looked friendly and cheerful. But if one was looking deep into his eyes, one would find some kind of calm and collectedposure, as cold as ice and frost, which would make others feel the chill in the air. This man was definitely not a simple, ambitious and ruthless character of the underworld. Yun Yuzhen, who was walking behind him, was puzzled, In the past, when Emperor Yang was still alive, it could be said that Yang Xuyans operation was under that muddleheaded rulers order; but nowadays, who is he working for? Most likely Wang Shichong, Xiang Yushan replied, I heard that Wang Shichongs daughter is an outstanding beauty [orig. national grace, divine fragrance], a beauty whom Yang Xuyan admires. Meanwhile the procession had reached the main hall. As soon as they stepped in, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned. They were expecting civil and military officers to line-up on either side, with imperial bodyguards standing around to protect them; who would have thought that not even half a guard was even seen in the main hall. The strange thing was that Xiao Xian took them straight passed the main hall, and into a small hall in the back, where two sets of rosewood table and chairs were arranged in a simple, yet elegant, royal atmosphere. Even more surprising to the two boys was that Xiao Xian halted his steps, sighed, and said, This dragon robe and crown is really annoying; so ufortable to wear. And then two attendants served him in taking off his hat and robe, revealing the schr attire underneath, immediately giving Xiao Xian some kind of refined, schrly look. Noticing the two boys stared at him, dumbstruck, Xiao Xian burst intoughter and said, I proimed myself Emperor because I was forced by the situation. If you dont dere yourself Emperor, others would think that youck ambitions; not only would they not be willing to attach themselves to you, they would not be afraid of you either. Therefore, in front of outsiders, I always put an act as the Emperor. But since Kou Xiao Xiong and Xu Xiao Xiong are one of our own, there is no need to do more than is required. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; they both were able to see the fear in each others heart. Xiao Xian was indeed not a simple man, his technique in winning others over was brilliant yet subtle; his amiable character attracted others favorable impression. Xiao Xian smiled leisurely and said, Come! Sit down first so we can continue chatting! Following his lead, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Yun Yuzhen and Xiang Yushan sat themselves around the table. Chapter 10 C Part 2 Xiao Xian was sitting with his back toward the window overlooking the big garden outside resplendent in bright sunlight. He shook his head and sighed, It is indeed a pity, Yushan told me that two Xiao Xiong have no intention of joining our army. But everybody has his own ambition; naturally I, Xiao Xian, respect the two Xiao Xiongs decision. Much less two Xiao Xiong and I have made friendships, for which I am very grateful. Kou Zhong pped the table and sighed, No wonder under Er Dangjias [see Book 4 Chapter 9] leadership, Baling Bangs prestige far surpasses the former glory. Now that I have met Er Dangjia, I suddenly know the reason why. Xiao Xian chuckled and said, Kou Xiao Xiong really know how to tter people. Back to the topic at hand, why do the two Xiao Xiong have so much confidence that you will be able to assassinate Ren Shaoming? After a short pause, he continued thoughtfully, His meteor hammer ranks among the fantastic skill amazing arts, his mastery has reached perfection, suitable for both long-range attack and closebat. In all his life, other than crushing defeat from the Heavenly Saber Song Que that he was chased out of the Lingnan area [old term for south Shina, esp. Guangdong and Guangxi], he had never met his match. Kou Zhong revealed a smile full of strong confidence; he said indifferently, If one does not take a bit of risk, how could he aplish great things? Hearing his heroic, passionate and swelling-with-pride speech, and watching his somewhat hard-to-describe charming smile, Yun Yuzhens graceful eyes shot a perplexed expression. Kou Zhong seemed to sense this; he cast her a nce filled with meaningful smile. This beautiful Gang Leader suddenly felt her cheeks were burning. Angry and bashful at the same time, she hung her head low; her demeanor was graceful, charming, and alluring. Xu Ziling, who was watching her, was touched as well. His perception on her was slightly improved. Xiao Xian, on the other hand, acted as if he did not see anything. His gazended on Xu Zilings face and he asked warmly, Xu Xiao Xiong seems to be a man who values his words like gold. Full of confidence, Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulder leisurely and said, Xiao Dangjia misunderstood, I just do not know what to say! Xiao Xian roared inughter. Well said! I like it best when I make friends with true-natured people. Two gentlemen are both passionate men, men with character, which can be clearly seen from your sister-brother rtionship with Madame Susu. Currently, whether the two of you can sessfully assassinate Ren Shaoming it is still too early to say, but if it is too dangerous, Kou Xiao Xiong and Xu Xiao Xiong must tolerate him for the time being, let us temporarily drop this subject. Inwardly Kou Zhong praised Xiao Xian for being formidable. He nodded and said, Er Dangjias sincere advice, we, two brothers will engrave it in our hearts. Xiao Xian said, This time you are going with Yushan, you may utilize all manpower and physical resources to your aid. Other than being wary of Ren Shaoming, you ought to also keep an eye on Lin Shihong. Not only this man has superior martial art skill, he is crafty, vicious and ruthless. Plus the martial art masters under hismand is as numerous as a cloud. One in particr is Cui Juexiu, whom he appointed Guoshi [master/teacher of the state ], a man well versed in letters and military skill, whose knowledge and scheming skill surpassed others. You must be especially mindful of him. Xu Ziling asked in surprised, It is really not necessary for General Xiang to risk this danger alongside us. I am the only one who is clear about Jiujiangs situation, Xiang Yushan interjected, I can make the most suitable arrangement. If it were some other people, it would be difficult for them to take on this task. If you can advance, then advance; if you must retreat, then retreat, Xiao Xian decisively said, Without Yushan apanying you, how could I feel at ease? Two Xiao Xiong must not refuse. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other with a wry smile; they both thought that if any mishaps should happen to Xiang Yushan, how could they exin it to Susu? At dusk that day, a Jukun Bangs medium sized fast ship departed Baling, going downstream to the east. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were standing at the stern, looking at the sshing, rippling water on the ships wake. The sad scene of Susu bidding them farewell sorrowfully was still ying in their heads, making them nearly wanted to turn back tofort her, to tell her that they would be by her side forever. They felt that the heavy burden of Xiang Yushans safety has now rested on their shoulders. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I did not expect Xiao Xian to be such a formidable character; he did not mention even a single word about the Duke Yang Treasure. Apparently he adheres to his position previously stated in his letter [again, see Book 4 Chapter 9]. This man is very difficult to fathom, Xu Ziling said, He is somewhat enigmatic. I am sure he is a first-ss master in both martial arts and tactics. Compared to the Ol Die he is a lot slicker. Kou Zhong giggled and said, If there is a master, there must be subordinates. Now I know where that Xiang kid stole his skill from. Xu Ziling silently stared at the as-beautiful-as-a-painting distant clouds and mountains, which were dyed red by the twilight sun, for half a day, before he said in a low voice, Why do we dislike Xiang Yushan this much? Is it because some kind of prejudice? Or perhaps of jealousy, because he took Su Jie away from us? Kou Zhong was slightly taken aback. He pondered over it for quite a long time before finally saying, Perhaps the first impression is very important. In the first ce, he is a businessman who operates brothel and casino; very few of these men are upright gentlemen. Secondly, he abused his power to sell us to that gaudy woman Ren Meimei of Pengliang Hui, so in our hearts we always see him as someone we should not rely on. Ay! Right now we can only hope that his feeling toward Su Jie is sincere, and not just exploiting her to scheme us. And then heughed and said, How about not discussing this kind of things that will give you headache and make you upset? Very soon we will have the opportunity to leave the ranks of green [or young] head, one lifetime two brothers, I will let you have the first chance. Have some yiqi! Xu Ziling stared nkly for a moment, after half a day he finally understood what Kou Zhong meant; frowning, he said, You should know the answer. I would rather you go to a pleasure house girl than doing it with Yun Yuzhen. Kou Zhong smiled and said, One big difference between Beautiful Shifu and a pleasure house girl is that she has the freedom to select her opponent from the forest. Besides, women as beautiful as her are extremely rare in the pleasure house. Xiao Ling, you really have no reason to fight against it. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, There is another big difference: you deal with the pleasure house girl using money, while you deal with Yun Yuzhen using emotion. I want to see who will pay higher cost in the end. If you want to exploit her to take control of Jukun Bang, my heart will be very ufortable. Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Finally he said in low voice, Supposing I really like her? Xu Ziling sneered and said, If you really like her, you would notpare her to pleasure house girls. Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Power struggle over the world is something where you cannot yield even for one cun. If I follow your example of always emphasizing principles in everything, my hands and feet are tied. And if I had to contend for supremacy against Li Mi, Wang Shichong, those vicious and merciless, treacherous and cunning foxes, there wont be much difference to delivering my life to die. Xu Ziling reached out and ced his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder; he smiled and said, On this, I understandpletely, hence I advised you not to mingle in this turbid pond water. But since you already established great aspiration, I cant possibly stop you from within, so that your hands and feet are bound. But since you asked for my opinion, it is only natural that I wont speak anything against my convictions just to make you happy. River breeze blew, their clothes created rustling noise. Kou Zhong stared nkly at the river flow; he muttered, Sometimes I really dont know what I am doing. So much so that I wanted to abandon everything and just hanging around with you everywhere, passing the free and unconstrained days. But if I did that, I would miss countless exciting things. Furthermore, I really want to spend a bit of my heart and strength for this chaotic world, so that all the people can have days of peace and happiness. Did you forget that we have witnessed firsthand the dreadful catastrophe brought by the fire of war? Xu Ziling said, This is called everybody has his own aspiration. But if you really want to bring happiness to all the people, you can choose virtuous deeds; add to it your zeal, and you can still reach your cherished desire. Kou Zhong scoffed at him and said, With that muddleheaded ruler Emperor Yang as an example, I will not trust anybody lightly, especially those people from respected school and big ns, those who practically look down on us, people who came from marketce. Ay! Itste! We should go to bed and have a good night rest. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, thinking that that would be thest time he persuaded Kou Zhong to give up his ambition of vying over the world. Henceforth he would not mention this subject nor persuade him anymore. Back to his room, Kou Zhongs mood was extremely downcast; he knew in his heart that due to different goals, the difference of opinion between him and his brother was growing wider. Problem is neither side was willing to change. He paced back and forth in the narrow, limited space of his cabin. Very soon he entered the state of nothingness, forgetting self, in his mental cultivation. His and Xu Zilings style of cultivating internal energy were the exact opposite of each other. One moving, the other still. Perhaps it was precisely the difference between him and Xu Ziling. One was seeking excitement, the other was seeking peace and quiet. In the end it turned into Kou Zhong was striving toward hegemony of the world, while Xu Ziling only wished to retreat to some remote mountains. Knock! Knock! A knock on his door roused Kou Zhong up from deep within his internal cultivation. Pulling the door open, he saw Yun Yuzhen, smiling coyly, standing quietly outside the door. If this happened before he has had a talk with Xu Ziling, with Yun Yuzhen delivering herself to his door, it would be no time before Kou Zhong would wee her with open arms. But now not even half a desire between a man and a woman remained in his heart. He simply spoke indifferently, Not sleeping yet? Yun Yuzhen replied softly, I have just had a talk with Yushan. May Ie in to chat with you? Neither for nor against it, Kou Zhong simply let her in. After she was seated, Yun Yuzhen said, Latest news: Lin Shihong at present remains in Poyang. The day after tomorrow Ren Shaoming may return to Jiuyang first ahead of him, because he has such a crush on the most popr auntie of the Chun Zai Lou [lit. spring in the second floor], Huo Qi. His spirit greatly aroused, Kou Zhong asked, Does Chun Zai Lou belong to Baling Bang? How can there be such an ideal situation? Yun Yuzhen replied, The first day Poyang Armys main force entered the city, Baling Bangs four casinos and two pleasure houses big and small were razed to the ground. And now Baling Bang people in there have to make their living sneakily; if their identity is discovered, they would immediately lose their lives. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, How are we going to enter the city then? Thats easy, Yun Yuzhen replied, Because we have Tieqi Huis main force at Panyu under control, and Du Fuweis Jianghuai Army is forcing Lin Shihong to deploy his troops to Xinan County south of Liyang, Jiujiangs military force is not strong, the city defense isx. Moreover, due to Lin Shihongs tyrannical rule and he condones powerful disciples of Tieqi Hui raping local women, he does not enjoy local support, to such an extent that the discipline of the newly recruited peoples militia to guard the city degenerates substantially. No one willingly throws their lives in for Lin Shihong. Among those people, we even managed to bribe some of the military officers. After pondering for half a day, Kou Zhong said, In that case we must seize the opportunity before Lin Shihong arrives to assassinate Ren Shaoming. Do you know if there are any martial art masters by his side? Yun Yuzhen said, Ren Shaoming is very conceited over his own martial art prowess. He always like to travel light with just a small escort of only four, five attendants. But these people are all first-ss martial art masters. And if either one of the Evil Monk Fa Nan or Amorous Nun Chang Zhen is by his side, the risk of our mission will increase many times over. Kou Zhong asked, Who are these two, actually? Howe they are so formidable? Yun Yuzhen replied, These two are Ren Shaomings ministers who have given outstanding service during the establishment of the Tieqi Hui. It is rumored that either Ren Shaoming has some Tiele [see footnote, Book 5 Chapter 3] blood in him, or that Tiele King sent him with covert identity toe to the Central ins to stir up havoc, because he is extremely cruel to us, Han people. The Evil Monk Fa Nan used to be big bandit of Jiangnan; he killed and burned, raped and looted, and would not stop at anything. Afterwards because he incited the wrath of the people, he finally seek refuge under Ren Shaomings wings, while continuing his evil deeds and going on the rampage. Until now, nobody is able to do anything to him. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Isnt he a man who has left his family [to be Buddhist monk or Daoist priest]? Yun Yuzhen simply shrugged her shoulders, Nobodys clear about that, nor do any schools or sects acknowledge him as their disciple. All that we know is he loved to wear crimson kasaya [Buddhist robe], plus he shaved his head clean, and he keeps calling himself pinseng [lit. impoverished monk; humble term used by Buddhist monk to call himself]; hence he is known as the Evil Monk. With great interest Kou Zhong continued asking, And how about the Amorous Nun? Is she really beautiful and alluring like a flower, but poisonous like a viper or scorpion? Yun Yuzhen gave him a vicious look. You, men, are really incorrigible; as soon as speaking about beautiful women you give out a malicious, lustful look. By this time Kou Zhong had already forgotten about his unpleasant talk with Xu Ziling a moment ago; giggling, he said, With Beautiful Shifu here, how could I have spare time to think about other women? Yun Yuzhen cast him a sweet and charming nce before continuing, The Amorous Nun is the Evil Monks woman. But oftentimes she also fools around with other men, leaving everything in a tremendous mess [orig. foul ck smoke atmosphere], yet Fa Nan seemed to be see no evil, hear no evil [orig. not to hear, not to question]. We suspect that Chang Zhen belongs to the worlds most mysterious, most sinister sect, the Yingui Pai.[see Book 5 Chapter 12], even Fa Nan is of the same origin; but we have no way of confirming it! Kou Zhong was greatly surprised. Yun Yuzhen went on, This pair of wicked monk and nun is Tieqi Huis protector of thew, just like Ren Shaomings right and left arm. In the past, were it not for them risking their lives to protect Ren Shaoming, it was quite probable that he would lose his life under the Heavenly Saber Song Ques hands. Kou Zhong said heavily, In that case lets just get rid of them once and for all! Yun Yuzhen snapped at him, Evil Monk and Amorous Nun are practically public enemy number one, but up until now they are still alive and well; do you think it was merely due to their good fortune? Kou Zhong stretched; his entire body rose up as he said, Itste! Wed better sleep! Yun Yuzhen also stood up; she said, Sleeping early is also good; once we get to Jiujiang, it will be difficult to find such an easy time like this. With pomp Kou Zhong swaggered toward the door, pulled thetch, stretched out his finger and lightly flicked it, the oilmp immediately went off and instantly the room sank into darkness. Yun Yuzhen jumped in fright. What are you doing? she whispered. Kou Zhong suddenly moved behind her. His long arms snaked out from behind and embraced her. His pair of hands gently stroked her lower abdomen, while he bit her small ear and said, Shifu, please give me pointers! Embraced by him like that, Yun Yuzhens tender body weakened. In her daze, he wrapped his arm over her waist and brought her over to the bed. She could not even utter half a word of protest. Book 7 - 11 – Penetrating Deep Into the Tiger Cave Book 7 Chapter 11 C Prating Deep Into the Tiger Cave Xu Ziling woke up the next day. Declining the offer to get together with Xiang Yushan and the others on the lower deck, he sat in meditation alone in his room. Every time he finished training, he always felt some kind of contentment and satisfaction, a sense of self-sufficiency that did note artificially from the outside. Strange thing was that he used to be like Kou Zhong, who loved to eat. But as his inner cultivation grew deeper, his appetite progressively decreased. He was especially sick of meat and fish, instead, wild fruits and green vegetables became more and more to his liking. So much so that for two, three days went by without eating and he still had no problem. The reason he wanted to stay alone in his room today was that he left a fantastic development all over his body. Unexpectedly he has shed an entireyer of his skin, just like a snake shed its skin. The newyer of skin was smooth and tender, almost like a babys skin, so that hisplexion looked different to ordinary men. Xu Ziling did not care about such changes too much. Lifting both hands up, he struck various poses, while at the same time sending his true qi up to his hands. He started to have more and more confidence to his pair of beautiful, more and more sparkling and translucent, hands. When he concentrated his true qi, even blocking any divine weapon head-on, he was not afraid that he would suffer the slightest injury. Besides, there is no divine weapon that was more flexible and follow his heart desires. When he had confrontation with Yang Xuyan the previous day, he clearly felt his progress in the martial art study. Yang Xuyans sword-y, in which he moved like an immortal, no longer that hard to pin down anymore. It was due to his grasp of Yang Xuyans fantastic sword technique that he was able to save Xiang Yushans little life. Although Xu Ziling was not aggressive at all, he was fully aware of the Jianghus truth that the strong would rule: if you dont kill, you will get killed; especially in this turbulent era, where justice practically did not exist. This moment, Kou Zhong walked in in high spirits; after a quick nce, he eximed, Huh? Howe you look so much different than before? Your entire body seemed to be glowing. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Havent you also changed? Look at your smug appearance. But please, dont tell me what happenedst night. Kou Zhong was well-aware that he could not conceal anything from Xu Ziling. Awkwardly he sat down by the bed and said hoarsely, Some things are bound to happen sooner orter. After ncing surreptitiously to the left and to the right, he went on, I heard that Xiang kid said that Ren Shaomings martial art differs very little to the Ol Die, at most he is only one or half a notch inferior. Seems like this matter is extremely thorny. Do you think Ba Fenghan is formidable? Xu Ziling asked, Compared to Ol Die, isnt he a bit more formidable? Kou Zhong knitted his brows and said, That is really hard to say. My guess is that Ba Fenghan is slightly more formidable, because he is still very young, he is still making progress on a daily basis. Xu Ziling said, If we join hands against Ba Fenghan, what do you think our odds of sess? Kou Zhong pondered silently for half a day; finally he said with a bitterugh, Although we have a higher chance of winning, he will surely drag one of us along to apany him to theher world. This kid is really difficult to deal with. That day, were it not for us attacking him while he was unprepared, I am afraid we, two brothers, will have to lie t in that jungle forever. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Forgive me, but this time I beg to differ. I disagree with your, Zhong Shaos judgement. If we fight against Ba Fenghan again, he will undoubtedly lose, because I have figured out the Yijian Technique; better yet, I have figured out a way to chop Ren Shaomings stinky head. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, This is the first time that I am very excited that you have a different idea. Tell me, quick! Xu Ziling turned his gaze out of the window, at the continuously changing scenery of the river bank. With a wistful look on his face he said, It started when we beat back Li Zitong that time, I discovered that mine and your martial art canplement each other and double our might to bebined striking power, but I could not think of how to actually carry it out. Taking a deep breath, he then continued word-by-word, Last night I finally figured it out. Kou Zhong stared at him. I understand it, he said, Its the Yijian Technique. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Its precisely Yijian Law. Just think, supposing we can grasp the overall situation, and then transcend the battlefield like the chess board [reminder: yi from Yijian means (game of) chess], relying on our mutual understanding, which we have cultivated since childhood, and join hands to deal with just one person; perhaps even Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan and other martial art experts their caliber dont dare to say, but I dare to guarantee that even Ba Fenghan, Ol Die and the others will lose their lives, let alone Ren Shaoming. Kou Zhong pped his thigh, I really understand! he said, Our chess techniques most formidable feature is the constant permutation,pletely without established rules. I am the swimming fish, you are the flying bird; moreover, one cold one hot, who could withstand? Ha! Finally we are nearly unequalled under the heavens [tian xia, China]. Its a pity that we still have to rely on more to take unfair advantage of less. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, It doesnt matter how many are the opponents, it will still be the two of us dealing with them. Ah, right! You lost your Moon in the Well, what shall you use to rece it? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, I am a bit tired ying with saber, but I dont know what kind of toy I want to y with next? Xu Ziling said, That day I noticed that you are very skillful in using the horsewhip. Using the flexible whip to break the meteor hammer, it should be very interesting. Whoosh The long whipshed across the two-zhang space on the deck. With Xiang Yushan, Yun Yuzhen, and a group of Jukun Bang disciples as spectators, first it traversed the deck like a quick snake, and then when it was about three chi away from Xu Zilings feet, the tip of the whip suddenly rose up like the snakes head, and fast as lightning it struck toward Xu Zilings lower abdomen. Nobody did not gasp in amazement. In Kou Zhongs hand, the two and a half zhang long whip became alive. Xu Ziling did not even look at it, his right thumb simply pressed down, right at the tip of the whip. The two boys were severely shaken simultaneously, and both recoiled one step back. Losing its forward momentum, the whip flicked back toward the top of Kou Zhongs head, where it looped around five, six times. It was very beautiful to watch. Xu Ziling shook his head, No way! he said, It did not have the same feeling as when itshed out toward Yang Xuyan. Kou Zhongughed and said, It was simply because before I moved the whip, I had a quick look at Beautiful Shifu, so it was hard for me to concentrate. Standing on the side, Yun Yuzhen scolded, You are the one who is inadequate, yet you med it on somebody else. Xu Ziling said, Concentration is not the problem; the problem is that it had too much vestige. Flexible weapons have flexible weapons characteristic, unlike stiff weapon, such as saber, which is constrained by its direction and angle. Do you have a way to make the whip as if it has eyes on it, and is able to change its course automatically to attack the position the enemy least expected? Kou Zhong was staring nkly for half a day. Suddenly, as if the whip had a head and brains of its own, itshed toward Xu Ziling. When the whip was about to hit, Xu Ziling suddenly sidestepped. Who would have thought that a section of the whip, about six chi long, suddenly bent and coiled itself toward Xu Zilings back, and brushed away toward the back of his head? Now, that is not bad! Xu Ziling shouted. With a sh of his body, the whip hit empty space. The whip seemed to recoil in Kou Zhongs direction; suddenly the entire length of the whip vibrated in a wave-like pattern, bing more than a dozen whip shadows, which all flew toward Xu Zilings face. It was brilliant to the extreme. Watching this, Xiang Yushan, Yun Yuzhen and the others could only stare nkly with mouth agape. They all knew that it was the very first time Kou Zhong picked up a whip and used it in a practice, but it was as if he had been using whip for as long as he lived, there was not the least bit of rookie or upstart impression about him. The most formidable thing was that not only he was able to transmit his qi through the tip of the whip, he was also able to use his true qi to control the whip that it was able to change direction randomly, to attack the enemy at the position that was impossible to defend effectively. Crack! Xu Ziling used his palm to break three whip rings in session, while flying backward simultaneously, and thus evaded Kou Zhongs round of attack. Kou Zhong casually pulled the whip back, which, like a snake, coiled itself around his waist. Raising his hands high he said, Whip is gone! Xiang Yushan was shaken; he said, If Kou Dage could use other weapon first to confuse the enemy, and then suddenly take out the whip, it could be even more difficult for the enemy to resist. Kou Zhong was taken aback; and then he raised his thumb and said, General Xiang is indeed very astute, I will follow your advice. But you must find a good saber for me. Saber on the left and whip on the right, Ren Shaoming will have to bag his food before he finish eating and go to theher world. A Jukun Bang disciple hurriedly took out the saber hanging on his waist and presented it to Kou Zhong, while shouting, Sabersing! Everybody cheered and pped; they were in very high spirit. Kou Zhong received the saber. Cha! Cha! Cha! he chopped the air three times, emitting a hard and sharp saber qi. Suddenly the saber stopped. The tip pointed at Xu Ziling. In a sh Xu Ziling already arrived in front of Kou Zhong. His two hands turned into palm shadows filling the air, hiding the sky and covering the earth in an overwhelming offensive toward Kou Zhong. The saber in Kou Zhongs left hand rapidly chopped several times. Saber and palms collided, a stream of powerful qi swept through the air like a cyclone, forcing the crowd to take several steps back. Suddenly Kou Zhong withdrew. His right hand moved to his waist, like a fierce dragon the whip left his waist and shot toward the pit of Xu Zilings stomach. And then abruptly it changed course upward to circle around Xu Zilings neck. The change was so skillful that the spectators could only stare in shock. Xu Ziling stretched out his finger and flicked the tip of the whip. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong spun his body around? Not only the saber in his left hand hacked down, the whip in his right hand circled around toward the lower back of Xu Zilings body,shing around Xu Zilings legs. Xu Ziling soared into the air, the tip of his palm swept across the sabers de, while at the same time his fist shot toward Kou Zhongs face. His movement looked unhurried, full of confidence and at ease, very nice to behold. The crowd burst into cheering and apuse. Chapter 11, Part 2 Like a swimming fish Kou Zhong slid sideways to evade. Heughed aloud and said, My mistake was using the whip too early. If I can hack on you that you forget Laozis whip, I would have a chance to fix you, this kid, up. Xu Zilingnded on the deck and solemnly said, That is exactly the crucial point. If you could make Ren Shaoming to go all-out in warding off your attack, the whip would have a chance of sess, because not even in his dream he would have thought that you would have another killer move. Scratching his head, Xiang Yushan said, Even to my death I could not believe that Kou Dage has never used left hand saber before. Even more unbelievable you have never officially picked up a whip and used it to fight. After returning the saber to its owner, Kou Zhong walked over with a chuckle. He said, General Xiangs guess is right; Beautiful Bangzhu ought to have the clearest understanding. In the past, at the beach where our boat crashed against the rock and capsized, day and night Xiao Ling and I trained our martial art, both using our right hand and left hand. When we are in the mood, wild vine also became our whip. Hence now naturally we can easily master the weapons. Xu Ziling added, I have to admit that we rely mainly on the fantastic true qi from the Secret to Long Life, which continuously flowing inside our bodies. Therefore, each part of our bodies can be easily controlled and has freedom of action, our training bes half the work, twice the effect. Yun Yuzhen sighed in envy. She said, It is still unbelievable. You dont realize how useless you were back then. Even with one hand tied behind my back, I would still be able to beat you that you fall face down to the left and tumble to the right. Kou Zhong changed the subject, How much longer it is to Jiujiang? I am a bit impatient. Xiang Yushan answered, Two Dage may go up your cabin, Xiaodi guesses we will arrive in about five sichen. Yun Yuzhen said with augh, One side calls General Xiang, the other side uses Dage Xiaodi; in the ears of outsiders, your rtionship with each other is really hard to understand. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, What about you and I? One side calls Beautiful Shifu, the other side calls Kou Gongzi or Kou Xiaozi [kid]. Whats the rtionship between us? Yun Yuzhen cast him a stern look; she said crossly, Who wants to talk nonsense with you? After casting charming eyes toward both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, her slim and graceful figure disappeared into her cabin. At this time the sun was setting in the west, the sky over the Great River gradually turned grey. The big ship continued sailing speedily downstream to the east. At the door of his cabin, Xu Ziling was about to enter to lie in his bed and cultivate his qi, but Kou Zhong pulled him forcefully toward his room next door. Wrapping his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder, Kou Zhong took him to the window and said, Xiao Ling, did you see the beautiful starry sky and the open country outside? The most touching thing is that it contains countless challenges and immeasurable changes. Xu Zilingughed and said, Whatever it is, just spit it out! Do you still have to talk in circle with me? Kou Zhong said, I have a feeling that afterst night, I truly think that I have be an adult, and I am eligible to have any beautiful woman in the world. The most wonderful thing is the power over others and the conquering feeling. Normally Beautiful Bangzhu assumed a cold, untouchable haughty manners, but in that moment if I, Zhong Shao want her alive she would be alive, if I want her dead she would die, or perhaps she would want to live and die. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, In man-woman rtionship, I do not have the desire to conquer the other side at all. I only feel that when the two lovers are in harmony with each other, when they advance to sexual intercourse [orig. the joy of fish in the water], both sides will go hand in hand to pursue and break new ground in some kind of beautiful, wonderful, and boundless realm. Therefore, I can only seek sweet dreams together with a woman that I really like. Kou Zhong mused, In theory, I can ept your idealized way of thinking; but in reality I am incapable to break away from the pleasure of greatly spreading out my awe-inspiring conquest. Perhaps this is precisely the difference between you and me. Didnt you say that I am a leader who loves to issue order and be inmand? After a short pause he patted Xu Zilings shoulder and said with a wry smile, Sometimes I really worry that you will turn into a vegetarian Buddhist monk. Xu Ziling roared inughter. Get lost! he swore, I just have not met a woman who canmand my admiration! Kou Zhong sneered and said, Shen Luoyan, Shan Wanjing, which one is not beautiful woman who has both first-ss wit and charm? Yet your heart was not moved at all. Apart from you basically dont have any interest toward a woman, is there any other exnation? Xu Ziling elbowed Kou Zhongs nk so that thetter yelped in pain and had to release his arm wrapped around Xu Zilings shoulder. Only then did Xu Ziling said indifferently, The attractive thing about women, more important than their outward appearance is their inner essence and personality traits. Shen Luoyans ambition is too great, plus she is as cunning as a fox; what could possibly attract me, Xu Ziling? Presently Shan Wanjing and us are like fire and water, so we must stop mentioning her. You used these two women as an example, I should really beat you up. With a bitter smile Kou Zhong rubbed his painful nk; he said, I forgot that if we seed in assassinating Ren Shaoming, most probably we will have another deep and unmeasurable formidable opponent, because that pair of evil monk and nun under Ren Shaomings banner, or perhaps even Yin Gui Pai might dispatch their people to create trouble. Xu Ziling stared nkly for half a day. Finally he sighed and said, This is the price of contending over the world. We are falling deeper and deeper into the trap, in the end, all around us there is no friend, only enemies. Kou Zhong breathed a deep sigh. He said slowly, There is an even greater possibility that Ren Shaoming is a spy sent by Tiele King in secret mission to create trouble in the Central Earth; therefore, we may very well be offending two great powers from inside and outside. Are you afraid? Xu Ziling smiled and shook his head. He said lightly, Without these challenges and pressures throughout this life, perhaps it would be difficult for us to pry into the pinnacle of the martial art way. The reason we cane this far is all thanks to every single one of those people who wanted to kill us. Chou hour that night [1-3am], the battle ship dropped anchor at a hidden jungle in a tributary of Yangtze River about ten li from Jiujiang. There was another ship, a freighter carrying grains, waiting at that dock. On board was Jukun Bangs Deputy Gang Leader Bu Tianzhi and the skilled workman Chen Laomou. As soon as they boarded the cargo ship, Chen Laomou immediately started to work to alter the appearance of these four people. First of all he changed Kou Zhongs appearance to that of a merchant with poor taste. Immensely proud of himself, Chen Laomou said, In disguising technique, the most critical application is to make others do not expect it, to create something that they cannot associate the new appearance with the old one, something that even an acquaintance will not see through it. Yun Yuzhen, Bu Tianzhi, Xiang Yushan and Xu Ziling who were watching nodded their heads in praise; their spirit rose up even more. Xu Ziling even gushed, An imposing figure like Xiao Zhong here, any disguise he takes will always expose some hole. Only by disguising him as a fat man who moves slowly will conceal his disguise from other peoples eyes and ears. Yun Yuzhen said, Kou Zhong must remember that you are from Yuanling [county, Hunan], taking Yuan River route, entering the Great River, to do business in rice and grain. You are delivering goods to Jiujiangs merchant Xing Fa Long, who has a long-established reputation. Because the army needs provision, Lin Shihongs Chu Army cant possibly give you any trouble. Much less you do have a copy of Xing Fa Longs purchase order and formal customs clearance document. Looking at his reflection in the copper mirror, Kou Zhong asked Yun Yuzhen, who was standing by his side, So whats my name? Bu Tianzhi, who was standing further down, replied on her behalf, Kou Gongzi will be Gu An, who, with a little worth loves to roam pleasure houses and wine shops, but you are rather stingy, hence you are not weed by those sisters who love gold. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Is it because you all are afraid that I will squander your money that you made me into such a loathsome character? Yun Yuzhenughed tenderly while covering her mouth. A bit awkward, Xiang Yushan replied, That is Yun Bangzhus idea; she is afraid you might really wander around the pleasure house and thus spoil our proper business. Hey! Bu Tianzhi went on, Xu Gongzi is your younger brother Gu Xiang, whom you always bully; he suffers enough from your pushing him to the east and to the west, your constant maltreatment of scolding and cursing him to your hearts content, but since his natural disposition is cowardly, he is angry, but not daring to speak up. Xiang Yushan added, I am your familys ountant, your manager; all tedious works belong to me. My name is Gu Ning, your [paternal] cousin. So who is Yun Bangzhu? Kou Zhong asked. Yun Yuzhens pretty face blushed slightly as she said, How about a young concubine you have just acquired? Kou Zhong roared inughter. I must be afraid someone might steal you away, therefore, even doing business out of town I must bring you along by my side. Ha! Dont forget that we must stay in one room, otherwise people will be suspicious. By this time Chen Laomou has finished dying the hair on his temples slightly white, making him looked like a forty-something man. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Chen Gong [honorable gentleman] is really talented. If Zhong Shao knew how to restrain the divine light in his eyes, nobody would be able to recognize him! The cargo ship shuddered slightly, it raised the anchor and set sail. Early morning, the two ships arrived at Jiujiang. Under the potbellied merchant Kou Zhongs supervision, the Jukun Bang people, who disguised themselves as porters, unloaded the goods onto mule carts, which were prepared well by Xing Fa Long. Xiang Yushan, who was disguised as an ountant, went with Xing Fa Longs man to the local water transportation office to file the document and take care of formalities. It was already noon when they all followed the goods into the city. Surprisingly the city was thriving, but by looking at their appearance and clothing, one would know that they were either traveling merchants or Wulin figures. Bu Tianzhi was very familiar with the situation here, he informed everybody in low voice, These past few years Tieqi Hui amassedrge quantities of money and goods by plundering and looting, therefore, outsiders are thronging in here, if not for doing business, then for joining the Chu Army. Apparently many people are optimistic about this alliance between Lin Shihong and Ren Shaoming. Looking out the window, Xu Ziling said, Looks like these people are well-behaved. Bu Tianzhiughed and said, Because it is still daytime. At night those Jianghu people, either because of personal vendetta or self-interest, would go into hard-fighting; the casualties are not a few. As long as it did not affect the life of themon people inside the city, Tieqi Hui and the Chu Army adopted the see no evil hear no evil stand; but the fact is, it is really very difficult to manage anyway. Especially pleasure houses, wine shops and casinos; anybody who does not have a bit of weight [i.e. social standing] would not dare to venture out at night. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, Does Lin Shihong prohibit outsiders from entering the city? Xiang Yushan replied, That would make Lin Shihong lose a lot of taxation area outside the city, plus a lot of Wulin characters are more-or-less connected to Tieqi Hui, or perhaps they know somebody in Tieqi Hui. Not to mention Tieqi Hui is extremely keen to take in new blood, hence the reason Jiu Jiang is so crowded. Like most cities in Jiangnan, transportation inside and outside Jiujiang relied mainly on water ways. The principalyout was cross-shaped main gstone streets connecting four city gates, wide enough for eight horses to gallop side by side. Lanes and alleys were arranged in square grids crisscrossing the main streets, everything was clear and in good order. Xing Fa Long was located at Sweet Green Jade Street, in the affluent part of the city. All houses along the street had their gates and multi-leveled buildings decorated with engraved roof tiles, the courtyards were lush with trees and flowers; it was a picture of serenity, without any trace of the fire of war. River channels interweaved with the streets, the banks were lined with luxuriant trees, with weeping willows brushing the water; another beautiful scenery. When the mule train pulled into the big warehouse behind Xing Fa Longs shop, everybody breathed a sigh of relief. By the time they finished freshening up and taking a rest, it was already dusk. They all gathered in a small pavilion at the rear courtyard to eat and drink. Xing Fa Longs owner Niu Fangcai, who was actually Xiang Yushans subordinate whom he had sent here, was a verypetent man. He took this opportunity to report Jiujiangs situation to the party. Hearing that Ren Shaoming would arrive the next day, Xiang Yushan said, This time for the ceremony of forming the alliance, Lin Shihong and Ren Shaoming selected Jiujiang, obviously they want to show their fighting power to the world. I dont believe that various powers in the north are not concerned about it; those who areing to wreck the alliance cant be just a few. Right now Jiujiang ought to be the ce where dragons and snakes mingle, we must act with great care. Kou Zhong said, Sometimes being too careful wont work. Tonight let us go to Chun Zai Lou [see previous chapter] first to scout the enemy territory, to see if we could exploit the environment over there to ughter Ren Shaoming. Niu Fangcai brought out a scroll of painting. After Bu Tianzhi moved the bowls and the dishes away to make room on the table, he spread the scroll. To everybodys surprise, it was an aerial view drawing [orig. birds eye view] of Chun Zai Lou; the drawing was very fine and detailed. Niu Fangcai said, Chun Zai Lous buildingplex is divided into the front and rear courtyards. The front courtyard consists of three two-story buildings, which are separated by awork of ovepping winding corridors and rock garden and fishponds. It is used mainly to receive general visitors. Yun Yuzhen asked, If Kou Gongzi and the others go there, could they be making merry in this area? Niu Fangcai nodded and said, They should be. The rear courtyard is twice as big as the front one, it is full with trees and flowers, one of Jiujiangs top ten scenic spots, and is known as the Spring Garden. Ten buildings are arranged symmetrically, it is used mainly to receive VIP guests [orig. with head with face] and those who are willing to spend money. One of the buildings, also called Spring Garden, is for Ren Shaomings exclusive use. It is the room he always go to whenever he is in Jiujiang. My granny, Kou Zhong eximed, Thats it. Xu Ziling said, Uncle Niu is really resourceful, you managed to investigate Chun Zai Lous situation very clearly. Kou Zhong said, Based on Ren Shaomings influence in here, he could have any woman he takes a fancy to be brought into his private residence; why did he let her staying there so that other people could also enjoy her sweet taste? Xiang Yushan said, That is precisely Ren Shaomings character. He will not let himself be preupied by any woman that it would negatively affect his great undertaking of vying over the world. Kou Zhong asked again, You must have a spy in there, dont you? Otherwise, how could you know Chun Zai Lous situation like the back of your hand? Xiang Yushan nodded. Of course, he replied, We have had the intention to assassinate Ren Shaoming. Its just that we never had the opportunity! Xu Ziling said, Ren Shaoming is obsessed with Huo Qi, is that also public knowledge [orig. the street aware thenes hear]? Yun Yuzhen shook her head. Quite the contrary, she said, This is a top secret information. Other than select people at Chun Zai Lou, nobody else knows. That is even better, Kou Zhong delightedly said, Now who can take me to Chun Zai Lou? Naturally it will be Xiaodi! Xiang Yushan hurriedly replied. It would be better if General Xiang stay here, Xu Ziling said, We only need somebody to show us the way. Book 7 - 12 – Running Amuck at the Pleasure House Book 7 Chapter 12 C Running Amuck at the Pleasure House When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling went to Chun Zai Lou, they changed their appearance again; they now looked just like ordinary Wulin figures. It was Yun Yuzhens idea, if anything bad should happen, they could return to their grain merchant identity, and nobody would know their identity. Under Chan Laomous skillful hands, Kou Zhong became a thirty-five, thirty-six years old man with a moustache. Xu Ziling wore thick eyebrows and his skin was darkened considerably, to conceal his schrly and handsome features. He also had five strands of beard, so that even old acquaintances would find it hard to recognize him. Nobody knows how many ordinary-looking warriors like them were going in and out of brothels every day; therefore, when they appeared, the bouncer at the door [orig. turtle ve doorkeeper] did not pay the slightest attention. It was not until Kou Zhong stuffed a piece of gold into his hand that he realized the visitor was a big, rich man, and thus he busily bowed respectfully with sped hands and respectfully weed them into the guest lounge. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, I hope our luck this time is a bit better. Xu Ziling sighed, recalling that every time they visited a pleasure house, not once the oue has been good. Meanwhile the turtle ve was pulling the bawd, Bai Niang [lit. whitedy, I dont know whether it is a term to call a female brothel keeper in general], a woman with fancy eyebrows andughing eyes, to greet them. This time Kou Zhong was getting even more serious, he stuffed two pieces of gold into her hand before saying, We came here because we admire Miss Huo Qis name, Bai Niang must not let us down! Bai Niangughed cheerfully and said, Two Daye are so generous, of course Nujia will do anything for you! But every night Qiqi is so busy and has no time to spare. Nujia has to think of a way that she coulde down and sing you a song to satisfy Dayes cherished desire. How could Kou Zhong ept that? Being more generous at the expense of Xiang Yushan, he stuffed another piece of gold into her hand and said, Singing in a hurry is just too nd; how about Bai Niang arrange an appointment for me and Miss Huo Qi tomorrow night ... Aiyo! Bai Niang cried out tenderly, cutting him off, Tomorrow is even more out of the question, even Nujia is helpless. Ay! You dont know how popr Qiqi is, if Nujia did not see how generous two Daye are, why would I be willing to receive a scolding to make arrangement for you? And then she went on, Gentlemen please stay here and have some tea, let Nujia go into the inner courtyard on Dayes behalf to find other courtyard with face, to select several beautiful women with excellent voice, face and skill for two Daye, and then Ille back here to take Daye in. The two boys were taken into the noisy parlor and were seated in a set of table and chairs. After taking a cup of fragrant tea offered by a young maid, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stealthily looked around with great interest. There were more than a dozen sets of table and chairs arranged along the wall of the parlor, all filled with people. Everybody seemed to be afraid that their voice was not loud enough, so they talked and quarreled so loud that the mor shook the heavens, just like rowdy people at the marketce. Kou Zhong sipped his tea for a moment, and then he sighed and said, Sitting here in this ce, who would have thought that the fire of war is ravaging the Central Earth, and the people are in a terrible situation? Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, You have to be careful, there are two guys by the door staring at us. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong muttered, There should be nothing in our appearances that give us away; whats so good about looking at us, we are not popr aunties of the brothel. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, We will find out soon enough; one of them is heading our way. The two boys pretended not to notice, and then when that person sat across the table from them, they pretended to look up in surprise. But as soon as they did, their soul flew away and scattered; they nearly spring up and run away. Because that person was the Dongming Princess Shan Wanjing, who disguised herself by wearing mens clothing. But this time her jade face was frosty, as she stared hatefully at the two boys and said, Even turning into ashes I will still recognize you, two little thieves. Having just recovered from shock, Kou Zhong recalled that they had indeed stolen her belongings, so her scolding them as little thieves was really difficult to refute. Therefore, he awkwardly said, Princess, how are you? Long time no see, I cant believe you are not only getting more beautiful, you are getting more mature too. Dongming Princess Shan Wanjings eyes were full of murderous intent; she said in heavy voice, Death is near at hand, you still dare to be loquacious. If I cry out either Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling, I guarantee you will never leave this brothel alive. And then, turning her gaze toward Xu Ziling, she said mockingly, I cant believe the haughty and conceited Xu Gongzi is not only a thief, but he is also a lecherous thief. Xu Ziling boldly returned her gaze. Focusing his eyes on her oval face, a hint of wry smile appeared on the corner of his eyes as he shrugged his shoulders and said, Whatever Princess wants to do to me, just do it! Kou Zhongughed and said, Princess seems to have a particrly close rtionship with this brother of mine so that your scolding to him was not as severe as to me, Xiaodi. Shan Wanjing was slightly taken aback; aplex, undecipherable emotion shed through her beautiful eyes. And then, looking down, she said, I indeed have close rtionship with the two of you, with your two dogs life. Right now I am giving you two options: one, I will expose your true identity, two, youe with me to resolve the problems between us. Recovering his rascally character, Kou Zhong asked with a giggle, Princess, how many attendants do you have this time? Shan Wanjing replied with a coldugh, To take care of you, two thieves, do I need any helpers? Kou Zhong stretched out and said with a smile, Princess, why dont you examine yourself: how do you farepared to your Ba boyfriend? Shan Wanjing was greatly stunned. After staring nkly for a moment, she asked, What Ba boyfriend? Oh ... you ... Xu Ziling said indifferently, We have had confrontation with Ba Xiong. But may I ask Princess, this time you came to Jiujiang, what noble errand brings you here? Shan Wanjing was so angry that her seven orifices seemed to be spouting smoke. My business has nothing to do with you! she said, You dont even have the qualifications to ask. And then, glowering at Kou Zhong, she fumed, Ba Fenghan is just a friend I can get along with, there is no private matters between man and woman involved; dont you try to make others vomit blood. Kou Zhong spread out his hands and said, How about that Li guy from the Li n? Is he also just a friend you can get along with? I am asking this on Xiao Lings behalf. Naturally Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong was exploiting his subtle rtionship with Shan Wanjing in an attempt to cross this difficulty; since he did not think it was inappropriate, he remained silent. Shan Wanjings tender body trembled slightly, her jade face turned ashen from anger; gnashing her teeth, she said, Full of nonsense! I swear that if I dont kill you today, I cannot conduct myself in the world. Laughing apologetically, Kou Zhong said, Princess, please calm down; in everything we must consider the oue. For instance, fighting is definitely not a good thing, but if after the fight we can turn the enemy into a friend, this is a good thing. I admit that stealing is not a good thing per se, but if the oue is the death of that muddleheaded ruler so that your other good friend that Li guy can have a better chance in contending over the world, we have changed a bad thing into a good thing. Hee hee ...! Princess, please be magnanimous, Xiao Ling and I apologize to you. Shan Wanjing was silent for half a day. Finally she said softly, It doesnt matter if your tongue can grow beautiful lotus flower, tonight dont even think of escaping alive. Starting from now, within ten breaths, if you donte with me out of this ce, I will immediately shout Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. I want to see what good thing will the oue be. The two boys scalp went numb, but there was no way they would surrender to her will. If the grandiose Dongming Princess did not bring any attendants, they did not believe she had the ability to kill them. But that was not the reason of their distress; their biggest headache was that in this fight, they could only take a beating, otherwise, how could they bite the hand that feeds them by injuring Dongming Pai people? Seven breaths, eight breaths ... Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce with a determined look on their faces to win. Nine breaths! Ten breaths. Shan Wanjings eyes were shing with sharp, bright gleam. Suddenly she cried out with her tender voice, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling are here. Her voice was backed by her inner power, the sound shook the main hall, prated every single ear. The main hall suddenly turned so quiet that the sound of a falling needle could be heard, more than a hundred pairs of eyes were staring at the three of them. Against all expectation, Kou Zhong suddenlyughed aloud. The entire length of his body rose up and he said, Turns out Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, those two kids are hanging around in here, but why did Xiongtai think it was necessary for you to stretch your throat by shouting and yelling? He has not finished talking, Shan Wanjings palm struck from across the table, carrying an intense qi power, like an arrow it shot toward Kou Zhongs broad chest. Kou Zhong thought saving his life was more important. Unwilling to reveal his skill, he slipped behind Xu Ziling like a swimming fish. The hall remained silent [orig. crow and peacock make no sound]. Nowadays, anybody who was moving about in Jianghu would more or less hear about these two boys; not only about the two separate hunt-and-kill decrees on their heads, but also because of the widely spread rumors of their knowledge of the Duke Yang Treasure Trove secret. Xu Zilings eyes shone with unprecedented divine light as he fixed his gaze on the Dongming Princess Shan Wanjing and spoke slowly word-by-word, Do you know what you are doing? And then his palm struck the table. The entire solid Chinese cedar wood table immediately shattered into cun-long fragments, wood pieces sprinkled down all over the floor. Chapter 12, Part 2 Xu Ziling shouted loudly, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling are here. Whoever wants to get the head above our neck maye here to make your move; otherwise, please get out of here, so that we, brothers, wont identally hurt bystanders. With the crashing sound of the table as it broke into pieces, three persons involved, including Xu Ziling himself, jumped in fright. Xu Ziling was so shocked because he only wanted to p the table to vent out the resentment in his heart. Because by doing what she did, not only Shan Wanjing put them in a dangerous spot, the most insufferable thing was that she seemed to wreck their entire assassination plot, while the two boys obviously could not do anything to her to teach her a lesson. Who would have thought that his palm was so formidable that such a hard Chinese cedar wood table would disintegrate into pieces? Kou Zhong was so shocked, first of all because Xu Zilings palm strength seemed to increase all of a sudden, secondly, because he had never seen Xu Ziling that angry. Momentarily he threw all kinds of problem arising from the revealing of their identity to the back of his mind; inwardly he wasparing Xu Ziling to Du Fuwei, who shattered a rosewood table with his palm power the other day. Dongming Princess Shan Wanjings tender heart was severely shaken; other than she had never thought Xu Zilings skill has reached such state, she was deeply shocked by Xu Zilings disy of power and his unfriendliness. Besides, having provoked Xu Ziling so that his reaction was that intense, she could not help feeling a bit of regret. Momentarily the three of them were staring nkly at the wood fragments on the floor. Xu Ziling and Shan Wanjing were still sitting on their chairs, separated by the debris. It was an extremely strange scene. Most people remaining in the hall were Wulin characters who came from various part of the country. At first some of them were itching to get their hands to capture or kill these two boys, but after Xu Zilings disy of earth-shattering skill, they instantly grew quiet out of fear. One after another those sitting in several tables in the three peoples vicinity started to move away in fear. Kou Zhong was the first one to regain his wits. Pointing to Shan Wanjing, heughed aloud and said, Gentlemen! This is a woman who dresses as a man, the Dongming Princess Shan Wanjing. This time she came to Jiujiang to assassinate the Green Dragon Ren Shaoming. Shan Wanjing was furious; pointing her halberd-like finger she said, What nonsense are you talking about? Kou Zhong winked at her and said in low voice, You can talk nonsense, we can also talk nonsense; its only fair. Ha! If we dont drag you down to suffer inconvenience together with us, we are idiots! When the people in the hall heard the sentence assassinate Ren Shaoming, not a single one of them had his countenance unchanged. Timid merchants and maids and servants were the first to scramble out to escape, followed by the Jianghu people. Nobody knew what would happen next, but either way, nobody wanted to be implicated. After quite a while, the noisy chicken flew dogs ran away hall became people left the hall empty. Except for one person, who was sitting on the table near the door. This persons build was as majestic as the mountain, his countenance handsome and grand, he wore a blue-green powerful-looking outer cloak; there was an unspeakable terrifying charm aura around him. It was none other than the young Tujue martial art who recently caused sensation in the Wulin world, Ba Fenghan. It suddenly dawned on Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling that the other day Fu Junyu and Ba Fenghan were talking about meeting Shan Wanjing, turned out the meeting ce was this ups and downs city of Jiujiang. Ba Fenghan rose up to his full height,ughed aloud, and said, We are separated for only three days, I already have a whole new level of respect for you; I have never thought Xu Xiongs palm power could be this terrifying. Tonight I am brought by fate to meet with two Xiongtai, the Ol Ba is indeed very happy. Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled the fine-steel saber Yun Yuzhen gave him and pointed the de toward Ba Fenghan. Heroically and loftily he said, Mutual desire to meet is better than chance encounter, even more importantly, Ba Xiong is in such a good spirit. Let us, two brothers, send you off on your journey first! A strange expression shed through Shan Wanjings eyes. With her tender voice she scolded, Little thief Kou, you think I am nonexistent? Deal with me first and then you can do whatever you want. Ba Fenghans murderous intention was greatly aroused, but his face was still wearing a smile. He spoke indifferently, Right now Wanjing is not the only one who wants to kill you, even Ol Ba cant stop my hands from itching. How about Wanjing let Xiaodi beat the head of the [troops] formation? Xu Ziling rose up suddenly. Princess business, we will deal with it in a moment, he said coldly, But Ba Xiong is just pushing us too far ... Shan Wanjing sneered and said, He is pushing you too far, but you take advantage of superior number to gang up with him, one person. What kind of hero is that? Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. The only way they could deal with Ba Fenghan was precisely by joining hands. If Shan Wanjing insisted on interfering, not to mention she was herself a first-ss martial art master, in dealing with her, they must not harm her or kill her; this was the most annoying thing and would definitely assure their defeat. Completely calm, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, If thats the case, let me and Ba Xiong have a one-on-onebat, lets see who is taking advantage of whom. Shan Wanjing waspletely helpless to conceal the slight change in her jade countenance. Do you want to die? she said angrily. Since his beautiful dream of assassinating Ren Shaoming was shattered by her, Kou Zhong has been dying to lie her down on his knees and spank her bottom really good. Given this golden opportunity, he pretended to be surprised, Isnt that what Princess has in your mind all along? he asked. And then, turning to Xu Ziling he said, Xiao Ling! Didnt I tell you that although on the surface Princess hates you, her heart has always been leaning toward you? Ah! Qiang! Shan Wanjings sword left its sheathe, bypassed Xu Ziling, and turned into dots of cold rays shooting toward Kou Zhong in raging temper. Seeing her outstandingly exquisite swordsmanship, and her extremely swift and fierce move, Kou Zhong did not dare to be negligence at all; he withdrew abruptly. Shan Wanjing rounded behind Xu Ziling, forcing Kou Zhong to withdraw to the other side of the hall. She scolded, Little thief Xu, since you dont know the immensity of heaven and earth, then go to hell for this Princess! Qiang! Ba Fenghan suddenly drew his sword. Immediately a burst of powerful, without equal, sword qi shot toward Xu Ziling, who was standing about two zhang away, enveloping himpletely in the sword qi, so that even if the opponent wanted to shrink back, it would be impossible to do so. However, Xu Zilings mind was as clear as the moon in the well; there was no anxiety over victory or defeat, there was no distracting thoughts whatsoever. Raising the true qi inside his body to its extreme, he withstood Ba Fenghans astonishing power. Two young martial art masters, finally brought together into a life and death situation. Shan Wanjing bit her lip and tightly clenched her silvery teeth; with great difficulty she resisted the urge to look back. Her only hope was that this matter would be over soon, and henceforth she would try her best to forget it all. Even she herself did not understand what kind of ce Xu Ziling held in her tender heart. On the other hand, Kou Zhongs mind was churning at the speed of light. He was trying to find a way to take advantage of the long whip around his waist, to gain control over Shan Wanjing in one move, and then together with Xu Ziling, they would have a chance to get rid of Ba Fenghan, this formidable opponent. Ba Fenghans mind was focused on Xu Ziling; without the slightest bit of hesitation the sword in his hand unceasingly sending out sword qi, no hole left unprated as he tried to look for Xu Zilings weak point. Nheless, under this intense pressure, the opponent was still standing as stable as the mountain, who automatically exuding swallowing-river-and-high-mountain-kind of qi, with the imposing manner that no gap can be prated. Unexpectedly Ba Fenghan did not dare to act recklessly. While he did not dare to make his move, Kou Zhong did not dare even more. Momentarily four people fought separately in two groups. All of a sudden there was the sound of gushing wind from all directions, a clear sign that arge number of martial art masters was rushing over to this ce. Ba Fenghan was about to take advantage of this window of opportunity to go all-out and take Xu Zilings little life, but in a strange turn of events Shan Wanjing abandoned Kou Zhong and rushed over to Ba Fenghan, while shouting tenderly, We have to go! Kou Zhong was greatly delighted; he rushed over to Xu Ziling and called out loudly, We must also leave! Ba Fenghan grudgingly withdrew his qi. Since he had the initiative, he was able to send and retract his qi at will. Shadows of people shed through the windows and doors, martial art masters from Tieqi Hui have arrived. The four people, in two separate groups, soared to the air and broke through the roof, andnded on the roof tile outside. They saw torches everywhere, with countless people surrounding the area. Kou Zhongughed heartily and said, Princess and your Ba boyfriend, Im sure we will meet again someday. Winking to Xu Ziling, he traversed the air. The two boys, one after another, flew toward the rear courtyard. They knew Chun Zai Lou situation like the back of their palm, naturally they were able to escape quite easily. On the other side, Ba Fenghan and Shan Wanjing knew that if they did not seize the opportunity to escape while the enemy has not yet in position, while their besieging formation was still iplete, they would have to fight with all their might and might end up dead. Not daring to be negligent, they ran to the opposite direction and killed their way out, and escaped to the wilderness. Sound of shing weapons was ringing continuously, followed by the mor of people pursuing vigorously. But the noise gradually went far away. Book 7 - 13 – Troops Movement Into Danger Book 7 Chapter 13 C Troops Movement Into Danger That night, Tieqi Hui and the Chu Army, who was responsible for city defense, conducted a house-to-house search operation. Xing Fa Long, where Kou, Xu, and the others stayed was no exception. Fortunately, everybody had formal entry-exit document, plus Niu Fangcai has secretly sent out bribes, hence they were able to get through this ordeal safe and sound. After the enemy left, Xiang Yushan made an executive decision, This time our plot fell through and stood exposed, Ren Shaoming is already alerted, we lost the opportunity. The most terrible thing is that he has seen through our intention to make our move at the Chun Zai Lou. Everybody understood that unless it was a public ce like Chun Zai Lou, where they could have an urate grasp of the time and ce, basically they would have no way of proceeding with the assassination. Yun Yuzhen sighed and said, We will leave town first thing tomorrow morning. The longer we stay, the more danger we face. Chen Laomou, who was bandaging the skin and flesh wound on Kou Zhongs right arm, which he suffered during the escape, nodded and said, We would be very lucky if we could leave safely. Xu Ziling said indifferently, You all are leaving tomorrow, but Zhong Shao and I will definitely stay. Bu Tianzhi was stunned. That is not a sensible approach, he said. Giggling, Kou Zhong said, In short, one day we have not died, there is still chance of sess. Xiang Yushan smiled wryly and said, In that case we all are staying. Besides, for the time being there wont be any problem with our identity. No! Xu Ziling resolutely said, You must leave tomorrow, while we will pretend we are staying to discuss some business. If you dont leave, in case we have to leave in a hurry there will be a lot of concerns. Yun Yuzhens countenance turned pale; she said in heavy voice, Is this risk worth taking? Whats the difference with delivering your lives? Kou Zhong said with a sneer, Beautiful Shifu, do you think we are idiots who would be willing to die for nothing? Please obediently return to Baling and wait for the news of our victory there! Biting her lower lip, Yun Yuzhen spoke with determination, You are not leaving, I will stay. A strange expression appeared on Bu Tianzhis face. After staring at his Gang Leader for a moment, he said, It would be best if two Gongzi tell us your n. If Bangzhu thinks it is feasible, and she knows that our leaving will be advantageous to the gentlemens operation, she might be willing to depart one step ahead of you. This remark was reasonable and fair. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The reason is very simple: Ren Shaoming basically does not have any regards of us in his eyes. Xu Ziling added, Even if he really has any apprehension about us, he would never let others know, or perhaps let his subordinates know. Therefore, he might pretend that he did not care and would still go to Chun Zai Lou to look for Huo Qi. Of course! Kou Zhong said with augh, Even when he and Huo Qi are having sex, he would definitely have that pair of meteor hammers stuffed under the pillow. Ha! How can he sleep with that kind of pillow? Ignoring everybody elses reaction, Xu Ziling continued, Before the assassination operation, all Niu Shus [uncle] men over there must leave first, because we are going to use these identities to act. Frowning, Xiang Yushan said, But, under this kind of situation, Evil Monk and Amorous Nun will definitely be nearby to protect their master, even if you have a chance to act, you wont be able to harm even half a strand of Ren Shaomings hair. Niu Fangcai also nodded and said, Ren Shaomings men might even greatly enhance the security. Under these circumstances, I am afraid you wont even get a chance to get close to him. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, If not for the danger, why would we insist on you leaving one step ahead of us? Xu Ziling added, Only when we have no fear of trouble in the rear will we have a chance to escape after the mission is aplished. Echoing one another, Kou Zhong said, Dont forget that we are the world best when ites to escaping. Otherwise we would not be sitting here urging you to cooperate with us. Bu Tianzhi agreed, We understand, he said. Turning to Xiang Yushan and Yun Yuzhen, he said, Wed better move upstream to wait for two Gongzi. As long as they manage to get back to the ship, we will be able to leave safely. Disgruntled, but had no other choice, Yun Yuzhen grumbled, You dont have any chance. And then she stormed back to her room. Losing Yun Yuzhens support, Xiang Yushan was forced to give in. After discussing the details of their n, everybody returned to their room to rest. Kou Zhong followed Xu Ziling back to his room. Wrapping his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder, he said with augh, How did you do that with your palm? You scared the entire hall that they scrambled out in fear. Xu Ziling pondered over it for a while before responding, This is really strange. Just like when we were at the Training Beach that day, when we struck unintentionally; before, we never thought about that, after, we could not repeat it. It seems to me that we still have potential that we have not been able to bring out yet. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Your stance when you were facing Fengshi Han was also very brilliant. Humph! I want to see if that stinky Princess and that Ba guy still dare to look down on us, two brothers. Xu Ziling indignantly said, There wille a day I am going to knock that Fengshi Han down. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, You seldom care about victory and defeat, why is it that Fengshi Han is an exception? Xu Ziling sat down. He mused, Perhaps because I feel that he is ying with Yu Yis feeling? Kou Zhong sat down across from him. Leaning forward, he asked in a low voice, Is it really that it has nothing to do with Shan Wanjing? Of course not! Xu Ziling replied crossly, I have never really cared about her. Kou Zhong leaned back on his chair; pping his own forehead, he said, If stinky Princess heard you, she will be inconsbly heart-broken. Toward you, she really cannot distinguish love from hate, otherwise, she would not havee between the two of you, forcing Ba fenghan to beat the gong to recall the troops. A bit agitated, Xu Ziling said, Itste! We really need some rest. Kou Zhong had no choice but to get up to leave. But as he reached for the door, he turned around and said, Xiao Ling! I really appreciate you. If you were unwilling to stay to help me deal with Ren Shaoming, I would have had to follow the troop home, and that would be the biggest regret that I will never be able to make up. Only then did he push the door and leave. Xu Ziling flicked his finger to put out thentern before entering the darkness of his bedroom. The sound of hoof beats could still be heard from the street outside. This time tomorrow night, would they still be alive? Book 8 - 1 – Meticulous Planning Book 8 Chapter 1 C Meticulous nning The next morning, the situation inside the city was still very tense. Tieqi Huis warriors and Lin Shihongs Chu Army could be seen galloping on horsebacks back and forth on the streets, patrolling and searching. Fortunately Niu Fangcai was in good rtionship with the high-ranking military officer guarding the city gate; therefore, Yun Yuzhen, Xiang Yushan and the others were able to leave the city and went on board their ship without any surprise without any danger, so that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief. After Niu Fangcai returned, he fetched a map of the City of Jiujiang, and coached the two boys in detail. He said, Jiujiang is located at the heart of the route connecting the north and the south. Those who want to travel from south to the north will most likely take the waterway first and then abandon their boat here to continue bynd. There is a stone pier at the north side of the old city that has a reputation as southern boat northern horse; it is very prosperous. Kou Zhong said, This time Lin Shihong and Ren Shaoming are forming alliance in Jiujiang and announced it all over the world, their intention must be to disy their strength to the heroes and warriors from both the north and the south. Ay! Vying over the world is really not a simple matter. Niu Fangcai went on, On the south Jiujiang is connected to Dongting [Lake], on the north it is connected to the Great River,work of waterways crisscrossing the city. The main part is the old city district. The city wall reaches fifteen zhang high, with four city gates and three sluice gates. My Xing Fa Long and the Chun Zai Lou are both located at the old city district, only one in the south the other in the north, at the ends of the North Gate Avenue and the South Gate Avenue, respectively. These two streets meet at the city center, where the city hall, Zhen Jiang Lou [lit. river town building] is located. Xu Ziling said, Fifteen zhang is such a high wall, we will need some kind of tool to climb over it. Or, find a way to slip out via the sluice gate, Kou Zhong said. Niu Fangcai said, The sluice gate is reinforced with double steel walls, extremely sturdy. Plus all three sluice gates are especially equipped with monitoring posts and are being patrolled regrly. Trying to destroy it in advance is also very difficult to do. Xu Ziling asked, Does Niu Shu [uncle] know the patrolling schedule and the times of the changing sentry guards? Niu Fangcai proudly replied, That is our main task, we have all the records. All together there are ten different schedules, which is changing once every five days, and then the schedule will cycle. Kou Zhongs eyes brightened as he said, As long as we conduct the assassination operation with an urate grasp of the schedule of the patrols and the changing of the guards, we can get out from the sluice gate before the enemy finds out. But of course we need special tools. Niu Fangcai frowned and said, But that would alert the guards. Kou Zhong said, In that case we might as well get rid of them. Niu Fangcai smiled wryly and said, The guards post is on top of the city wall. If you can reach that ce, you might as well climb over the wall to escape. But from the city wall, the closest house is at least twenty zhang away, if two Gongzi show yourself in that range, you will be immediately found out, and they are going to shoot arrows from the elevation; it is very difficult to deal with. That shouldnt be a problem, Xu Ziling said, We can stay underwater for a long time without needing to take a breath, we might as well take the water route, we break the sluice gate underwater and escape from there. Niu Fangcai agreed, If two gentlemen have this kind of diving ability, it is indeed a feasible strategy, because the enemy surely wont expect that you can hide underwater for a long time. But then he sighed and said, The biggest problem is still that it is impossible to get near Ren Shaomings ce at Chun Yuan [spring garden] without being detected. This is, of course, assuming that Ren Shaoming will go there to visit Huo Qi tonight! Kou Zhong said in a heavy voice, In that case well ambush him on the way to Chun Zai Lou. Niu Fangcai shook his head and said, Because Ren Shaoming is ruthless and has killed a lot of people, he has a lot of enemies; therefore, he never takes the same route to a certain ce. This method will be difficult to implement. Having a brainwave, Kou Zhong said, Arent there several banyan trees outside Chun Zai Lou? We can swing the tree up, borrowing the force to cross over the thirty some zhang distance andnd on the back of the Xiang Yuan [fragrant garden] roof. Ay! But the escape will not be as easy. Xu Ziling said indifferently, Its always difficult to have ones cake and eat it too in this world! Kou Zhong took out the aerial drawing of the Chun Zai Lou and spread it out on the table. Pointing to the big tree at the southwest corner outside the Chun Yuan, he traced his finger to another big tree, which scale-wise was about five zhang away from the first tree to the north. He said excitedly, If we can tie a strong and stic rope across the top of these two trees, we can escape by catapulting ourselves out. Oh, heavens! If we couldy out several stic ropes on high ces, wont we be able toe and go like flying? My only concern is that the enemy would notice it first. Niu Fangcai was emotionally moved; he said, That is a wonderful opening the heaven idea, but it is feasible. Ill find a way to make arrangement for the ropes. If we put iron hook on both ends, and paint it ck, plus we put it high up in the air, hopefully nobody can see it. The only problem remaining is how to conceal all these preparations from the enemys eyes and ears. Furthermore, can the two Gongzind your feet on these ropes without missing a hairbreadth? Kou Zhong said, Let the two of us worry about these two issues. Standing up abruptly, heughed aloud and said, Well scout the site first. Unless Ren Shaoming does not go to Chun Zai Lou, he will lose his life tonight. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat on the table by the window on the second floor of a restaurant, both were looking out the window. The first thing that entered their vision was the wide street outside, wide enough for five four-horse carriages toe and go at the same time, and then they looked at the row of shops across the street from the main entrance of the restaurant, five of which were pharmacies. It can clearly be seen that since Jiujiang has always been prosperous, it was themon practice of the residents to frequently rely on medicaments. The other shops were grain retailer, oil mill, cloth shop, grocery store, et cetera. Every seven or eight zhang, there was a tree nted by the side of the road, to provide shade to the passerby. Toward the south, the high wall at the northeast corner of Chun Zai Lous rear courtyard was barely visible. Beyond the wall, behind the trees, patches of dark green roof tiles could be seen. It was a massive building, and was quite imposing. Inside the courtyard, fresh and green, verdant trees: elms, Chinese schr trees, old banyan trees, had their luxuriant leaves rustling in the breeze. The trees did not seem to know that a life and death battle involving the fate of the world [tian xia] would happen that night. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said in a low voice, We will install the first batch stic ropes on the trees in this side of the road, and then when we get to the treetops at the other side of the road, well install the second batch of ropes with which we can shoot into the courtyard. This way with just a few ups and downs we could reach the Chun Yuan. We will get out following the same route. This moment the waiter came with some noodles. Kou Zhong quickly engaged him in some chitchats. After the waiter left, Xu Ziling started to eat his noodles and said, It would be best if we could be one step ahead of Ren Shaoming, lying in wait for him outside the Chun Yuan, so that we wont have to take the trouble of making our move inside the room. Also it would be a bit easier to escape. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. Looking down, he concentrated on eating and drinking for a moment. But when he drank the soup, he suddenly said in heavy voice, If we fail to kill Ren Shaoming, we will die instead. We wont leave unless we seed. Do you understand? Xu Ziling smiled, Fully understand, he replied, If we dont set up an impassable aspiration, we will never seed. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This is actually my business, you should not get involved. Chapter 1, Part 2 With a forced smile Xu Ziling said, Why do you suddenly be sentimental? To achieve sess, there is always a price to pay. With any challenge naturallyes pressure; have you thought about such contradiction? Kou Zhong slowly breathed out a long breath. Leaning forward a little, he said, What we are going to do might very well be our, two brothers, most important turning point in life. If we seed, we will reverse the situation in the south immediately, while our names will shake the world at the same time. Ay! I know that you dont have the slightest bit of interest in this kind of thing. It is merely to help me that you are willing to risk your life. Tell me, dont you think I am able of having conflicting thought? Dejectedly he slumped back into his chair and said softly, All you need to do is just say the word, and we will drop the operation tonight. Xu Ziling said indifferently, All will go ording to n! By tomorrow morning, either Ren Shaoming will die a violent death around the Chun Yuan, or Shuanglong Bang will be finished. The only other possibility is if Ren Shaoming never show up. Leaving the restaurant, the two boys walked in the direction of Chun Zai Lou, oblivious of anything unusual. Kou Zhong was back into his usual rxed self; he whispered in Xu Zilings ear with augh, I was right, wasnt I? That evil princess is very interested in you! Xu Ziling casually shrugged his shoulders and said, Have you forgotten that she and Fengshi Han were having private meeting in here? She is interested in me all right, but her interest is in taking my life, hence I dont think it is worth mentioning. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, A womans heart is the most difficult thing to fathom. Maybe the reason she is good with that Ba kid is merely because she wanted to forget you. But when she saw you, anything wet and cold will be cast out to the back of her mind. [Trantors note: y on words C shi shi han han (wet and cold), the character shi and han are the same as in fengshi han (rheumatism).] Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, You actually understand narcissistic people. Uh, looks like someone is following us? Kou Zhong also sensed it; lowering his voice, he said, Do you also feel that it was that guy wearing dark green clothes? He has been trailing us as soon as we left the restaurants door. Hey! Turn left! The two boys turned left into a side street. It was a secondary street only for pedestrians, with tall walls and deep courtyards, a serene and quiet alley, vastly different from the noisy and lively street outside; a very peaceful environment. He did not follow us! Kou Zhong said. Xu Ziling signaled him with his eyes, the two of them soared up to the left and right, separately jumping over the walls, entering the residents courtyard on either side of the alley. Not a momentter the man wearing dark green clothes also flitted over. By the time he heard the rustling gust of wind behind him, his retreat path has already been sealed dead by Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Standing behind him, Kou Zhong said with augh, This Xiongtai ... The man suddenly turn around and hissed, Finally I found you, two kids who dont know how to spell dead. Turned it was a woman dressed as a man, the big beauty of the Song family, Song Yuzhi. The three of them stepped out of the alley and walked over to an arch bridge constructed over the river. The stream winding its way toward Chun Zai Lous side of the city. Strewn randomly along the river bank were row upon row of houses at different elevations, with the stone steps in front of the houses leading into the river. The scenery was extremely unique. However, Song Yuzhis face, which had two strips of moustache on it to enhance her masculine air, was as cold as frost. She halted her steps on the bridge and spoke in a heavy voice, Why are you still here and have not slipped out? For no reasons you created havoc that now the entire city know that you havee here to assassinate Ren Shaoming, and in the process you destroyed our carefully drawn up n. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I wonder if our agreement is still in effect? Have Miss Song discussed this matter with your esteemed father? Song Yuzhi turned her tender body around; seething with anger, she scolded in low voice, Whats the use of discussion? Under present circumstances, nobody will have any chance. Xu Ziling walked over to the edge, leaning against the bridges railing, he looked down on the water below, while silently listening to the two peoples exchange behind him. Calm and unfazed, Kou Zhong said, As long as the agreement is still in effect, that is enough for me. Miss, please immediately leave the city, I guarantee that by tomorrow you will hear good news. You must be mad, Song Yuzhi was not happy, If you want to kill yourself, why dont you just jump into the river? Giggling, Kou Zhong leaned closer to her pretty face; shoving the unbearably vulgar fake face with drools at the corner of his mouth to her, he said, How about making an additional bet? If, under this very difficult situation, I can still seed, Miss will give yourself in marriage to me, Kou Zhong, okay? Song Yuzhi stared hatefully at him for a moment before angrily said, You fake belly touches me! Kou Zhong deliberately used his fake belly to squeeze her a bit before backing off and said with mischievous smile, Miss has not replied to my question concerning the rest of your life! Exasperated, Song Yuzhi said, Why are you so hopelessly muddled like this? Didnt I tell you that Die has already promised my hands in marriage to another? Besides, I see that you are always upset and angry, nobody will fall for you; just go home and look at yourself in the mirror. Turning around, she looked at Xu Zilings back and said, Xu Ziling! Do you have to apany him in losing his mind? Xu Ziling spoke emotionlessly, Tonight will be the anniversary of Ren Shaomings death. Miss Song, please leave the city immediately. While Song Yuzhi was stunned by Xu Zilings answer, Kou Zhong, assuming a distressed face, said, Turns out Miss Song has had a change of heart, you are now falling for Xiao Ling. I, Kou Zhong, have no choice but to dere my withdrawal from thispetition; I only want to kill Ren Shaoming and ... ow! p! With a crisp pping noise, five traces of Song Yuzhis slender fingers immediately appeared on Kou Zhongs face, even the grease and powder were scraped off of his face quite a bit. Song Yuzhi herself was shocked, Why didnt you dodge? she asked. Stroking his stung face, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, I wanted to see if I can sober you up, so thatter on I wont have to cause trouble or illness to you. Song Yuzhi wanted to say something, but in the end she held her peace, and turned her beautiful face to look at Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling stood motionless, with his gaze fixed on a fisherman who had just appeared from the bend of the river; he seemed to be deep in thought. Kou Zhong saw several people were walking toward the bridge where they were standing. Pulling Song Yuzhis sleeve, he said, Go home, lets talk about thister! Xu Ziling suddenly trembled slightly. My Niang! he eximed, Zhong Shao! Fishing line! Forgetting Song Yuzhi, Kou Zhong walked over to Xu Zilings side and said in great delight, We are really stupid! What can be more stic and invisible than fishing line in the world? That time Shen Poniang [reminder: b1tch] used super long fishing line to trap us, and in broad daylight! That moment those people were walking passed them, the three people remained silent. When those people were out of earshot, Song Yuzhi asked in bewilderment, What are you guys talking about? Have you really turned crazy? By this time, how could Kou Zhong be in the mood to bicker with her? If they were using fishing line, plus it was installed ten zhang above the ground, ordinary martial art masters would find it difficult to see, especially if they were not intentionally looking for it. Since now they had to move as soon as possible, Kou Zhong simplyughed and said, Miss Song, please move your jade self out of town. There is a good chance that tomorrow you will receive report of sess! At the end of her patience, Song Yuzhi snapped, No! I want the two of you to follow me leaving the city. Kou Zhong was stunned. Turns out Miss Song is so concerned about us, he said. Song Yuzhi suddenly recovered her cold, detached demeanor. Of course I am! she replied in soft voice, If the Duke Yang Treasure fell into Ren Shaoming and Lin Shihongs hands, the whole world will suffer a cmity. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Turns out you are that good to me. Never mind! Let us now go our separate ways, but dont forget the agreement; otherwise your Song Family and I will have nothing to do with each other anymore. Song Yuzhis voice was as cold as ice as she stared at him and said, Do you really want to deliver your life? Bright and shiny light shed through Kou Zhongs eyes. Exactly, he said decisively. Then go ahead and die! Song Yuzhi spoke indifferently. Brushing her sleeve, she walked away. Just like that. Book 8 - 2 – The Fish in the Net Book 8 Chapter 2 C The Fish in the Net By dusk, darkness gradually descended upon the sky. From behind the high wall of Chun Zai Lou came the melodious sound of birdsong. After looking to the left and right and saw no one, Kou Zhong hurriedly responded with birdsong. Xu Ziling looked down over the wall, and then together they ran to an alley some distance away. Halting his steps, Xu Ziling reported, Everything is in order and ready. ording to n, I put five strings of heavenly silkworm fishing line on the designated treetops inside the courtyard. Hows the situation at your side? Naturally there is no problem, Kou Zhong replied proudly, We are going back to the restaurant this morning, eat a little something, and then well proceed ording to n. In the noisy restaurant, most customers were Jianghu people, the topic of the conversation did not depart from Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings feud with Dongming Princess at the Chun Zai Lou the previous night. Kou Zhong perked up his ears to eavesdrop for a moment; radiant with delight, he said, Turns out our reputation in Jianghu is so resounding! Xu Ziling replied in very low voice, Well talk about it after tonight! Kou Zhong nodded. This is my weakness, he admitted, I am very easy to be so pleased that I lose my sense of measure. Right! I wonder where are Fengshi Han and the stinky princess hiding? If they are hiding in a small room together, the stinky princess chastity cannot be guaranteed. Xu Ziling nonchntly said, You still have time to think about such thing? I am more worried about Song Yuzhi did not have the opportunity to leave town! Kou Zhong was speechless for half a day. Finally he sighed and said, It seems like you really dont care about Shan Wanjing; otherwise, after hearing me saying that, how can your expression be as natural as before. Xu Zilingughed and swore at him, Good kid! Unexpectedly you are harboring the intention to sound me out. Time is running out, lets go! The two boys paid their bill and went down the stairs. As they stepped out into the street, their countenance changed. Because they saw the big and round moon was just showing its immortal beauty at the eastern horizon, and for tens of thousands li above the sky was without a cloud. The moon bathed Jiujiang with its radiant light. It was apletely different night to the cloudy and dark night of the previous day. Damn it! Kou Zhong blurted out, In this kind of bright moon night, as soon as someone looks up to admire the full moon, we are finished! Too many ears, Xu Ziling hissed, Lets go somece else and talk. A momentter the two boys jumped over the wall into the courtyard of arge residential building. They shed off their outer disguise clothes and scraped the powder and paste off of their faces to reveal their real identity. Inside, they were wearing ck skintight night walker suit. Kou Zhong fetched his broadsword and whip, which he had hidden in this ce earlier. After putting it on, he smiled wryly and said, This is called man proposes but God disposes. How would we know the moon woulde out so quickly? No useining, Xu Ziling said, Well look at the situation first, if it is impossible, well have no choice but to slip away via the waterway. Jumping high and crouching low, the two boys returned to the roof of the restaurant they had just left, and cast their gaze toward Chun Zai Lou in the distance, to observe the situation carefully. Kou Zhong was greatly surprised, Thats strange! Howe I dont see anything like both covert and undercover officers keeping watch? Could it be that Ren Shaoming is afraid of death and did not show up? Xiao Ling, whats your feeling? The rear courtyard of Chun Zai Lou was dedicated to serve VIPs only. All ten buildings in this courtyard were brightly lit, with a faint sound of strings and woodwind instrumentsing through. Because it was still early, only maids and servants were asionally seen moving about. Xu Ziling took a deep breath and replied, I have an uneasy feeling. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day; finally he said in low voice, Shall we beat the gong to recall the troops? Xu Ziling slowly shook his head. His tiger eyes shot sharp gleam that Kou Zhong has never seen before. He said calmly, If we shrink back on approaching the battlefield without knowing what is true and what is false, this matter will stay as a scar in our heart and mind that will be difficult to mend! It will prevent us from ever reaching the pinnacle of the martial art realm, it will also represent our fear of death. Kou Zhong heaved a heavy sigh, breathing out the heroic pride that was surging wildly in his heart. Well said! he said huskily, Even if the enemy is spreading out the waiting for us brothers to fall into it, we still want to prate deep into the tiger cave to stroke Ren Shaomings tiger whisker. This is called treading various deathly ces toe back to lifeter. Looking at the brook flowing toward the Chun Zai Lou, Xu Ziling said, This river runs through Chun Zai Lous rear courtyard. Anybody with discerning eyes would know that this is a shortcut to sneak into Chun Zai Lou, hence we must not use water route to get in. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Question is: will Ren Shaominge? If he ising, the Chun Yuan and its surrounding area will be packed with martial art masters, so we cannot enter from the air either. It leaves us only thend route, and this way it will be very difficult to avoid falling into a heavy siege, which will force us to fight will all our might and will have death as the conclusion. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Can you see the fishing like installed horizontally between those two trees? Kou Zhong turned his gaze twenty zhang away toward the empty space spanning the top of two old banyan trees outside Chun Zai Lous rear courtyard. Due to the trees reflecting the moonlight, even after sending enough qi to his eyes, he still found it difficult to see the fishing line that he has personally tied on there. Thereupon he shook his head in satisfaction. Xu Ziling said, I have conducted an experiment: as long as you jump straight up and reach any spot approximately one zhang away from the line, you could barely see the line reflecting the light, and thus you can urately grasp the lines position. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, If we were using pitch-ck rope, under this kind of moonlight, it would be difficult to hide it from other peoples eyes. Calmly Xu Ziling said, We must change our n; we must be sure that Ren Shaoming has arrived at the Chun Yuan before we break through Chun Yuan with ten-thousand jun [1 jun ~ 30 catties] lightning bolt force. If with one strike we fail to hit the target, we will have to leave immediately by means of the fishing lines installed in many ces. This act will definitely be outside the enemys expectation, so that they cant even touch the corner of our garment. The two of them carefully studied the route and method to break through into the garden, before they finally hid themselves and took turn in surveying the Chun Yuans situation, while waiting quietly for the Green Dragon Ren Shaomings honored self to make his appearance. While watching the Chun Zai Lou from afar, which was gradually staring to get busier, Kou Zhong said softly, Ever since we started, we always wanted to go to Luoyang, but until today we havent been able to go. This time, after returning to Baling, we must immediately go north, I wonder if we can make a detour to Luoyang? Xu Ziling was lying down on the side of the roof opposite to Chun Zai Lou, where the moonlight could not reach, and was counting the stars in the sky. Hearing Kou Zhong, he sighed and said, Dont overestimate our luck too much; moreover, He ns jade annulus involves martial art masters Buddhist nuns of the Ci Hang Jing Zhai [see Book 1 Chapter 7]. If you are not careful, you may have to bag your food before you finish eating. At that time please do not implicate me, your little brother. Kou Zhong said in distress, You guessed it again. Cant you pretend you are a bit dumber? And then he sighed and went on, Ill say Song Yuzhis impression on you is much better than her impression on me. Hey! Are you interested? She is in no way inferior to Shan Wanjing or Shen Luoyan. Xu Ziling irately replied, Dont you remember her Die already betroth her to someone else? Kou Zhong sneered and said, Laozi dont believe it a bit, everything under the heavens can be changed, much less mere verbal engagement? Strange thing is, she must be over eighteen already, why hasnt she passed through the doorway [i.e. getting married]? There must be a problem somewhere. Xu Ziling said indifferently, You can do whatever you want to do, why make so many excuses? My Niang! Kou Zhong suddenly eximed softly, Ren Shaoming is here. Chapter 2, Part 2 Xu Ziling turned around and crawled to Kou Zhongs side. Looking over the top of the roof ridge, he fixed his gaze on the direction of Chun Zai Lous Chun Yuan. He saw a flurry of activity. Although he could not see clearly who wasing, yet he was able to tell that a VIP has arrived; otherwise, that person would not have such arge number of entourage. More than a dozen people filed into the Chun Yuan, leaving only four men, who looked like bodyguards, to stay outside the door. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay. Could it be that Ren Shaoming was not afraid of assassination at all? Is this a trap? Kou Zhong wondered aloud, But perhaps he really thinks we have slipped away. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Now we can only ask Laotianyes blessing and protection. Lets move! The two flipped over the rooftop and fast as demon and ghost they flew over another building, and then hiding along the trees lining up the riverbank they headed toward the external wall of Chun Zai Lou. Since they could not use the waterway, they jumped over the high wall, andnded at a flowerbed in Chun Zailous backyard. Without the slightest pause they flew toward a lush tree nearby, to hide and look down to survey the surroundings. From all ten buildings in theplex came the sound ofughter mixed with the sound of music. Theplex across the courtyard from the Chun Yuan was even more bustling with noise. Other than the four bodyguards at the door, they did not see any other guards around the Chun Yuan. Xu Ziling pointed to the fishing line again and said, Well split to see if Ren Shaoming has his men hidden somewhere around here, and then well meet again on that big tree behind the Chun Yuan. Well decide how to proceed then. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. The two immediately split up. A momentter, one after another they were back on the big elm tree behind the Chun Yuan, which was about a zhang or so taller than the other courtyard. Xu Ziling sighed and said, It doesnt make any sense. Even if Ren Shaoming is not worried, his men would not be so negligent like this. Kou Zhong looked down at the Chun Yuan roof below him, he said with a wry smile, I also feel that something is definitely not right. But it is also possible that Ren Shaoming is not afraid of us or any other people. If we withdrew just like this, there is a chance that we missed an extremely rare good opportunity. I really want to take a peek inside, but perhaps we wont escape Ren Shaomings eyes and ears. Xu Ziling said heavily, Well separately crash into Chun Yuan from left and right. When we see a big man with pock-marked face and a tattoo of green dragon on his forehead, strike immediately. If it is a trap, break out of siege from the front door, remember that the seventh life-saving fishing line is between the two big tree fifteen zhang from the front door. Once they made up their mind, they swept down noiselessly andnded on the roof below. And then separated to the left and right they flipped over the eaves and charged inside. Bang! Bang! The wooden window shattered, the two boys broke into the main hall of the Chun Yuan. Quickly their eyes scanned the room and immediately they knew that they had fallen into a trap. Sitting around the two sets of table across the hall from the main gate were more than a dozen men. Not only they did not see anybody that looked like the Green Dragon Rhen Shaoming, they did not see even half person of the pleasure houses misses and maids. There were no food and drink on the table, on the contrary, there were all kinds of weapons in tight formation. As soon as the two boys feetnded on the ground and they sprang back up, the enemy was swarming toward them. The two boys met in the middle of the hall. While they were about to charge toward the main gate before the enemy arrived, they heard the sound of wind as a clump of rosy clouds suddenly descended from the beam toward the top of their heads, so that even if they wanted to jump up, they simply could not. At the same time countless torches lit up the area surrounding the Chun Yuan, so that outside was as bright as day; however, they did not hear a single shout. In just a short moment, the two boys have turned from gods appear and devils vanish assassins into the fish in the, as they discovered that they had been heavily surrounded. A sharp, intense, ominous and cold qi was pressing down above their heads. With a loud shout Kou Zhong thrust his broadsword up. Meanwhile Xu Ziling raised both palms up; his right palm looked like it was lifting up a thousand-jin rock, but his left palm was light and floating indeterminately, giving a weird feeling those who watched him. A bald, beautiful head suddenly appeared from the rosy clouds, it was precisely the Amorous Nun Chang Zhen. Her big eyes that could hook souls and melt spirits were ck and bright, her delicate face was radiant with healthy glow, the corners of her thin, beautiful eyebrows arched upward, her cheek bones high, her nose straight, her pink lips matched perfectly with her straight, snow white teeth, so that her alluring aura was shining down on the two boys like the sun. Bang! The jade face faded, the rosy clouds swiftly pressed down. Kou Zhong felt his long saber was hitting a soft, pliable material that he was unable to continue pushing the saber farther. In his shock he withdrew his saber and retreated toward the main gate. The force from Xu Zilings heavy, overbearing right palm was also neutralized by the brightly setting-sun-red-clouds colored long robe, while surprisingly enough the yin-force of his left palm was met head-on by the opponent. A strange, demonic true qi, which was so gentle and reserved as if it did not exist, but so powerful as if it was capable of seizing his soul, prated his palm. In his shock Xu Ziling rolled away on the ground, so that borrowing the rolling momentum he was able to dispel the opponents qi. Amorous Nun Chang Zhen did not get it easy either. Basically she was looking down upon these two boys; she was thinking of subduing them with just one strike. Who would have thought that the two boys true qi was vastly different from each other? One cold the other hot; it was extremely strenuous for her to dissolve them. Although her schools unique skill Melting-Soul Colored Clothes [the dictionary gave me this definition: Ravishing Technicolor Dream Coat] was not only able to execute countless changes but was also very good at dissolving internal energy experts true qi, she was still struggling not sustain injuries on the spot. But when she shed with Xu Zilings left palm, which carried simr gentle and reserved character as hers, she was helpless to dissolve it, so that she had no choice but to meet it head-on. Letting out a tender grunt, Chang Zhens entire body bounced back upwards. By this time Kou Zhong had already rushed toward the closed main gate. Lifting up his foot, he kicked hard. Bang! By the time the wooden door sumbed to his leg and broke, four spears swiftly stabbed him. Blurs of shadows outside filled his eyes. Moreover, because of the torches, it was difficult to tell how many people were out there. Suddenly there was a warning sign in his heart, something was attacking him from behind. Chapter 2, Part 3 It was the barely audible sound of secret projectile splitting the air. In that instant, Kou Zhong had to make a decision; he could only deal with either the attack from behind the door he was about to break through, or with the secret projectile threatening his back. If he evaded the projectiles, these four spears would arrive, and most probably he would lose the only chance of escaping by means of the seventh fishing line. This moment, not only he had forgotten about his desire to contend for the world, he even forgot his own survival. His only thought was that even if he was struck by the secret projectile and died, before his death he could still cut a bloody path out of a battlefield, so that his good brother would have a path to escape alive. Letting out a wild roar, Kou Zhong brandished the long saber in his hand to create hundreds and thousands of sharp rays, the saber and the person had fused into one entity, with a sudden increase in speed he shot like an arrow toward the four spear-wielders, who by this time were almost climbing over the steps leading into the hall. Meanwhile Xu Ziling rolled behind Kou Zhongs back. From his angle of view, he saw the Amorous Nun Chang Zhen, while bouncing back into the air, while she was still high in the air, was shooting a handful of fine needles the size of cows hair, which, like a swarm of angry bees, were flying toward the back of Kou Zhongs head. By this time, the thirteen men who were originally sitting around the table, were also charging toward them and were already less than a zhang away from where he and Kou Zhong were. If he dyed even for an instant, the two of them would immediately be engaged in a hard battle. Their situation was deteriorating rapidly, and it was about to get worse. From the windows to their left and right more people were charging in; if they stayed in the hall, they would definitely die without any chance of survival. This was definitely a carefullyid out trap. The enemy seemed to know their n like the back of their hands. First they were posing as all kinds of brothel visitors, and went to the other courtyard next to the Chun Yuan. Therefore, although the two boys did not see any ambush around Chun Yuan, there were actually hidden troops everywhere, which, in the end, gave rise to the current situation, where the boys were heavily surrounded. Xu Ziling sprang up, his palms made a circle in the air as if he was holding a ball, like magic the fine cows hair needles Chang Zhen shot were caught inside the qi generated by his palms, and then making another circle the needles were whirled out violently. The cows hair needles became a rain of sparkling dots,pletely shrouding the twelve men charging at the two boys. Amidst the miserable scream, the men scrambled away in panic. In the flurry five men were hit by the needles. Xu Ziling himself did not know since when he became this formidable, and this moment he had no time to think. He swiftly backed off until his back was nearly touching Kou Zhongs back, who by this time was starting to fight his way out the door. Lightning fast Xu Zilings left and right hands reached out to snatch a saber and a sword, which were threatening Kou Zhongs back. Exerting his internal strength, he sent the two attackers flying backwards while spurting blood from their mouths. And then with a backhand swing, he sent the saber and swords in his hands out, each weapon lodged itself into the iing enemys chest. Finally the two boys reached the yard in front of Chun Yuans main gate. The distance to the seventh fishing line was only about thirteen zhang away. But it felt like a journey through ten thousand crags and torrents. From the main gate the enemy flocked out, blocking the two boys retreat path. Under the dancing me of the countless torches, they saw all around them were hundreds of enemies. They were trapped insideyer uponyer of heavy siege. Even to make one step progress they had to exert moving mountain and draining sea kind of effort. With every single chop of his saber Kou Zhong exerted enough power that as his saber was drawing a sharp rainbow, either the enemy blocking his saber was thrown back, or the enemy was shaken and was forced to retreat. Suddenly a spear and a saber attacked together from left and right, both were full of power; obviously these two attackers were outstanding martial art experts among the enemys ranks. Not only Kou Zhong already forgot about life and death, his mind was as calm as the moon in the water, which could reflect clearly every trace of change in this battlefield. He quickly figured out that it was impossible for him to block these two different weaponsing from two different angles of attack before the weapons made contact with his body. In normal times, he would be able to deal with the attacks by changing his position. But under the circumstances, even moving one step would entail withstanding very heavy pressure from the siege, plus if he evaded, Xu Ziling behind him was bound to suffer a cmity. With an angry snort his long saber shed diagonally down, faster than lightning, to pare the enemys saber. His right shoulder also exerted powerful force, it shrank and immediately pushed out. Qiang! the saber-wielding enemy sshed blood and tumbled backward. At the same time blood also spattered from Kou Zhongs right shoulder. The enemys spear slipped off his shoulder, but when he wanted to follow-up with another thrust, Kou Zhongs shoulder continued on to crash against him that he was thrown back with blood spurting out of his mouth. The enemys ranks were immediately thrown into confusion. Wasting no time at all, Kou Zhongs saber and body moved as one, he swiftly charged forward. Xu Ziling took all attacks behind Kou Zhong, so that Kou Zhong did not need to worry about any trouble in the rear. The most formidable benefit was that whenever they were shaken by enemy that their qi and blood were churning, or perhaps they were out of strength at the end of a move, as long as Xu Ziling bumped his back against Kou Zhongs, the two boys qi wouldplement each other, so that they were able to maintain their power throughout the battle. Xu Ziling concentrated his true qi on his four limbs. With each sh of his limbs with the enemys weapon, he transmitted his power via the weapon, shaking the enemy that they were thrown back with depleted strength and fell to the ground. This moment two spears attacked together from left and right, carrying with it a tornado-like wind, so that their breathing was somewhat restricted. Apparently the attackers were not ordinary warriors. Xu Ziling stayed calm without the slightest sign of fear. Ignoring the many wounds on his body, his left hand swept backward, his right hand pped straight on, meeting the opponents tidal-wave like surging spear rays; his technique was exquisite beyond imagination. Pow! His right hand met the tip of the spear. The spear wielder staggered to the left and bumped into another spear wielder. Xu Ziling had already snatched the mans spear and thrust it to the mans lower abdomen. By the time the two men screamed miserably and fell to the ground, with the spear in his hand Xu Ziling walked backward behind Kou Zhong, creating millions of spear shadows, forcing the enemies to stagger, exposing arge area of empty space. The seventh fishing line was still ten zhang away. Dang! A crisp sound shook everybody present. At the same time, Xu Ziling felt Kou Zhong was mming onto his back, and his internal energy prating Xu Zilings body. Like a tidal wave the enemies surrounding them retreated. On behalf of Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling used his internal energy to neutralize the enemys qi entering their bodies. And then turning around, he used the spear in his hand to attack the enemy who forced Kou Zhong back. Dang! The enemy used his staff to sweep at the spear, parrying Xu Zilings attack. The staffs momentum continued exerting heavy pressure on Xu Ziling, forcing both sides to take half a step back. Both men were shocked. Surprisingly, the terrifying enemy did not seize this opportunity to press on; he withdrew three steps back instead, and then stood up holding his staff horizontally across his chest. Turned out it was a tall, ferocious bald monk wearing red Buddhist robe, with steel hoop around his forehead. The Evil Monk Fa Nan. With him guarding the escape route, there was no way Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling would be able to reach the seventh fishing line. Meanwhile more than a dozenyers of enemies already surrounded them. They had be the bird in a cage, the fish in the,pletely without any way out. A cold snort followed by tenderughter came from behind. And extremely seductive females voice said, Fa Nan Bro [orig. ge er C brothers/boys, very informal]! You are ring like a tiger watching his prey as if you want to swallow these two boys whole, how can they turn their heads around to admire nujia? Fa Nans huge eyes twinkled withughter. He raised his heavy iron staff and put it on his shoulder. From one side he walked around to the other side, keeping his eyes on Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, sizing them up. The two boys also slowly turned around, following Fa Nan with their eyes, there was no time to admire the Amorous Nun, until finally they came face to face with the one whose prestige shook the southern part of the country, whose reputation was second only to the Heavenly Saber Song Que, who was equally famous with Lin Shihong, the Green Dragon Ren Shaoming, the target of their assassination mission. Book 8 - 3 – Turning Defeat Into Victory Book 8 Chapter 3 C Turning Defeat Into Victory It did not matter how many people were standing by Ren Shaomings side, he would be easily recognized at a nce. This was not only because of the baring-its-fangs-and-brandishing-its-ws green dragon about half a hand palm size tattoo on his forehead, but because of his very particr shape and sharp and harsh expression. Ren Shaomings skin was shiny like burnished bronze, his entire body looked as if it was made of cast metal. His height exceeded Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong. Wearing ck tight warrior outfit with white cloak, the contrast was quite intense, giving out the impression that he was extraordinarily powerful. His wide face was covered with pockmarks, his eye sockets were deep, his eyebrows were prominent on the ridge of his skull above his eyes, dark and thick like two strokes of dense ink. His long and narrow eyes were shing with sharp cruelty that incited fear and hatred in the hearts of other people as he coldly stared at Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong. His bigger-than-average hands were hanging loosely on either side, each hand was carrying a meteor hammer forged of hardened steel, about as big as a human skull. Standing on his left was the Amorous Nun Chang Zhen, whose gaudiness radiated all around; on his right was a tall and slim schr; with his tapered face and the moustache above his lips, he looked a bit like a goat. But his eyes were bright and cool. By the time the Evil Monk came to Chang Zhens side, the tall and slim schr spoke up with augh, Zaixia Cui Jixiu. Its nice to see Xu Xiong, Kou Xiong. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged nces, both felt fear in their hearts. This Cui Jixiu was the number one strategic adviser under Lin Shihongsmand, he was bestowed the title Guoshi [teacher/master of the state] by Lin Shihong, the new Emperor of Chu. He was widely known as a top strategist of the present age. It was very likely that the trap tonight was nned by his brilliant mind. Sure enough, Cui Jixiuughed and said, It is said that new-born calf has no fear of the tiger; therefore, while everybody else thought that two gentlemen had sounded out the difficulties and retreated to avoid defeat, Zaixia was quite sure that the two gentlemen would move the troops into danger. By lucky coincidence Zaixias guess is correct. The Amorous Nun Chang Zhen let out a silvery bell tenderughter, her beautiful eyes were rippling with bright light as she swept her gaze over the two boys several times before saying, Two brothers skill is out of the ordinary; if you are willing to switch your allegiance to Huizhu [society master/leader, simr to Bangzhu for gang leader], Huizhu cant possibly treat two gentlemen with meager hospitality. Ren Shaoming let out a cold snort before speaking unhurriedly, If you want to switch your allegiance, you must do so in good faith. You dont need me to teach you how to do it! Kou Zhong said, Is it possible for us, two brothers, to discuss it first? Ren Shaoming nodded, As you wish! he said. Wrapping his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder, Kou Zhong put his lips next to Xu Zilings ear and said softly, If we dont surrender this time, well lose our lives for sure. While his mouth said so, his hand lightly squeezed Xu Zilings shoulder, indicating that he was lying. Noticing Ren Shaoming was watching them with rapt attention, Xu Ziling caught on. At the same time, he felt Kou Zhong was writing fight and fishing line, three characters on his shoulder. He whispered hurriedly, Unless he can personally defeat us, how can we surrender without any fight? Kou Zhong nodded. Stepping away from Xu Ziling, heughed aloud and said, If Huizhu wants us to surrender to you, you must defeat us first, and then we, two brothers, will immediately present the Duke Yang Treasure as our meeting gift. Unexpectedly the several hundred people in there grew quiet, only the crackling noise of the torches was heard. A faint smile of disdain appeared on the corners to Ren Shaomings mouth. He looked like he was about to respond when Cui Jixiu spoke up, What if Huizhu defeats you separately? Will that count? Kou Zhong really wished he could punch this mans face a couple times. Pretending to be proud but astounded he said, We, the two kids, are only lowly juniors of younger generation, plus right now we are already injured and are weary. If we are fighting one-on-one against Huizhu, wont we show too much disrespect to him, the Senior? The Evil Monk Fa Nan raised the gigantic a zhang and a half long staff in his hand a little bit, and then he stomped heavily it against the floor. Not only it created a loud dull thud, it also seemed to make the earth shook. Heughed wildly and said, Just let Pinseng [impoverished monk, a humble term used by Buddhist monk of himself] serve two brothers then! Why must we inconvenience Huizhu? Xu Ziling said indifferently, If Dashi [great master, a term of respect to address a Buddhist monk] loses, will that be the same as if Huizhu himself loses? Fa Nan was taken aback. The ominous glint in his eyes reappeared. Ren Shaoming let out a cold snort again and said, If I dont fight personally, it will be difficult to make the two of you submit wholeheartedly. Come! Finished speaking he took arge stride forward. As soon as he took the first step, immediately suffocating killing aura filled the air. With his second step, a burst of unmatched powerful aura assaulted Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. If they were ordinary fighters, they would have been shivering in fear early on, abandoning everything and run for their lives. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had firsthand experience of the prowess of this overlord of the ck way [i.e. criminal world] whose name has been shaking the southern sky. Involuntarily the Tieqi Hui men who were surrounding Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took a few steps back, opening up an evenrger ring for this decisive battle. Kou and Xu, two boys fully realized that this mans character was fierce and fiery, hence by the time he took the third step, he would immediatelyunch a violent offensive. Therefore, pretending that they were intimidated by his powerful aura, they retreated backward. One saber and one spear shed as they struck a pose, ready to fight. Naturally the people behind them did not know that the two boys were only about seven zhang away from the fishing line traversing the air above them; afraid that they would bring disaster to the fish in the pond [must be an idiom, but I think the meaning is clear], they backed off even more, opening up three more zhang of space behind the two boys. Just by moving four more zhang, they would be right below the fishing line. Right now the two boys were only thinking of slipping away unharmed. As time passed, Ren Shaomings imposing manner suddenly soared. With a flick of his wrists, two meteor hammers suddenly turned into millions flickering red dots as they reflected the torches mes, just like swarming bees and dancing butterflies, stunning everyone present. It was only after looking at Ren Shaomings skill did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling finally understand why Song Yuzhi said that they did not know the immensity of heaven and earth. They had never imagined that someone would be able to handle the heavy meteor hammers and made them dance in perfection. The astonishing pressure did note only from the direction of Ren Shaoming in front of them, rather, it appeared toe from four sides, eight directions. The more shocking thing was that Ren Shaoming was able to utilize the reflection of the me so that he appeared to be vanishing, hiding somewhere in the flickering lights. The two boys were unable to either advance or retreat; forget about any essence of the Yijian Technique of transcending the chess game board. Furthermore, after the hard battle they had just gone through, they could not even use half of their normal strength. Suddenly a ball of shing shadow, carrying with it a strong, severe gust of wind, smashed toward Kou Zhongs left shoulder. Kou Zhong realized the iing attack just in time. With a loud shout he raised his saber to block. A loud dang! resounded. Kou Zhong staggered sideways toward Xu Ziling. The shing shadow scattered, like a ghost Ren Shaoming suddenly appeared. Like shing thunder the two meteor hammers in his left and right hands pursued Kou Zhong, who by this time was unable to retreat farther. A violent stream of qi exploded, forcing the several-zhang away spectators to back off even farther away. The miserable plight of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling who bore the full brunt of this explosion need not be mentioned. Ren Shaoming did not spare any strength, relying on his powerful true qi, he relentlessly pressured the two boys that they were unable to move a single step; employing a blitzkrieg strategy, he wanted to finish these two boys in the shortest time possible, and thus showing off his prowess in front of his subordinates. To his shock however, even after fighting with everything they had, the two boys were still able to fight tenaciously. And now that he saw Kou Zhong was losing steam, how could he miss this opportunity? Immediately, with the power of a ten-thousand--jun thunder, he was ready to subdue the two boys in one fell swoop. At first nce, it appeared that his double-hammer chain attack was going to strike the two boys dead. But actually he had hidden softness in the middle of hard, so that he could seal the opponents acupoints. Kou Zhong mmed hard onto Xu Ziling. Contrary to everybodys expectation, Ren Shaomings included, thetters tiger body suddenly went stiff, so that Kou Zhongs body recoiled and shot toward Ren Shaomings double hammers. While Ren Shaoming was greatly stunned, Kou Zhong, taking advantage of Xu Zilings true qi replenishing his own, so that not only his qi and blood recovered and was able to flow unimpeded, also taking advantage of Ren Shaomings slight gap due to his shock, brandished his saber and hacked down on the gap, so fast that nobody was able to see clearly. Ren Shaoming quickly retreated half a step back. Letting out a muffled grunt, his left and right meteor hammers recoiled, and with unbelievable precision mped down on the de of Kou Zhongs saber. His reaction was shockingly fast that everybody gasped in amazement. Crack! The long saber snapped into two. Holding the broken saber in his hand, Kou Zhong fell back in shock. The meteor hammers turned into shes of shadow filling the air, hiding the sky and covering the earth, they continued to enshroud him. While Kou Zhong was crying out for his Niang in his heart, Xu Zilings spear suddenly slipped through his nk and shot straight toward the center of the shing shadows. The shing shadows dispersed. Even with Ren Shaomings ability, he was still forced to take two steps back by this strange move, which broke his toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas attack. Dang! The right hand meteor hammer shed with the spearhead and was jolted sideways, while the spearhead was also jolted away by the impact. Chapter 3, Part 2 While Xu Zilings hands were going numb from the shock, Kou Zhong tossed his broken saber away, snatched the spear, and then with a loud shout he turned the spear into millions of light and shadow enveloping Ren Shaoming, using the sweeping a thousand-army stance. Even if this Society Leader of Tieqi Hui thought until he cracked his brains, he would never understand why after receiving such a heavy blow, contrary to his expectation, Kou Zhong was able to counterattack dauntlessly with such power that was even stronger than before. Inevitably Ren Shaomings imposing manner was somewhat impeded; without any other choice he was forced to spin around. Unexpectedly he entered into Kou Zhongs spear shadows, his meteor hammers moved fast toward Kou Zhongs spearhead. As a result Kou Zhong was unable to unleash the full potential of his spear technique. Holding the spear right in the middle, he used both the spearhead and the butt of the spear to parry the swift and fierce meteor hammers left and right. The twobatants moved very fast. A midst the raging meteor hammers shadow, the spear shadows, two human shadows were weaving in and out like rabbit escaping from the falcon. It could easily be seen that they were both fighting with everything they had in a life and death battle. Xu Ziling soared high toward the top of Ren Shaomings head. He could clearly see that Kou Zhong was already like an arrow at the end of its flight. Not daring to hesitate, he tossed away the thought of escaping from within his brain. With a cold shout both of his hands wed down on the top of Ren Zhaomings skull. By this time the several hundred people watching felt as if they were suffocating, hence nobody even thought about shouting and cheering. The arena was so quiet that it felt unreal. Dang! The spear in Kou Zhongs hands snapped into two pieces, while blood spurted wildly from his mouth; fortunately just before the meteor hammers touched his body, he managed to slip away like a fish, so that Ren Shaoming, who was absolutely sure that his hammer would hit Kou Zhong, had to see the hammer hit empty air instead. Only then did Ren Shaoming lower his body in a horse stance, while raising his two hammers to meet Xu Zilings palms overhead. Bang! Bang! Xu Zilings entire body was jolted by the collision and he was thrown up toward the empty air bathed in bright moonlight. Kou Zhong was thrown away for more than three zhang, so that the spectators were forced to back off some more. Before his footstep was even steadied, he already leaped up to the sky with outstretched arms, while exerting his entire strength to catch Xu Zilings body, which was thrown into the air. Xiao Ling, run! he shouted. Ren Shaoming let out a longugh. He also shot half way up before suddenly turned direction midair toward the two boys. Xu Ziling reached backhandedly to grab Kou Zhongs cor, pulling him along as they ascended two more zhang upwards before tossing Kou Zhong outward. Everybody thought that knowing their defeat was decided, the two boys wanted to escape. They all jeered and shouted insult to the two boys as well as cheering for their leader. The surrounding expanded outwards, taking the shape of a kitten ying with a mouse. They wanted to see how Ren Shaoming was going to toy with the two boys. Ren Shaoming startedter, but he arrived sooner. When he was about a zhang away from the boys, he casually put his pair of meteor hammers behind his back first before reaching out to grab the two boys back. The most unexpected thing happened. Suddenly, right in the middle of an empty air, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling separated, and paused for a split second. Ren Shaoming could not help but was greatly amazed, because he knew that it would be very difficult for him to stop midair and exert any strength, yet the opponents seemed to be able to hold their body still midair and borrow the reaction force to bounce back. While he was shocked out of his wits by this strange happening unfolding before his very eyes, like powerful arrows the two boys shot back toward him. Everybody on the ground was also shouting in shock, yet nobody was able to stop whatever it was from happening. At this point Ren Shaomings true qi had been depleted; he was no longer able to change his move to resist the enemy. On the other hand, the opponent was still able to go all-out; therefore,pared to before, the situation this time was vastly different. Bang! Bang! Ren Shaoming took Kou Zhongs punch and Xu Zilings palm strike, respectively. While he was going to borrow the reaction force to withdraw, suddenly his neck was wrapped by a flexible whip, which coiled forward from behind him, cutting off his escape route. And then there was a sharp pain at the top of his head, because Xu Zilings finger jabbed his tianling acupoint, a vital acupoint at the top of the head. Bang! Sucking in another mouthful of qi, Kou Zhong spun around; just before casting his whip away, he kicked the pit of Ren Shaomings stomach. Ren Shaomings breastbones shattered, blood spurted out wildly from his mouth. By the time Fa Nan, Chang Zhen, Cui Jixiu and the others recovered from their shock and rushed over, the two boys already borrowed the impact force against Ren Shaoming to soar upward again. Their toes bounced on the fishing line, like big birds they soared toward another fishing line about eight zhang away. Crash! Ren Shaomings lifeless body crashed heavily on the ground. By the time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling crawled up the bank of the Great River, they had already left Jiujiang about ten li behind. This moment the sky has not brightened yet, but the two of them were extremely exhausted. They could only crouch on a mud mound on the shore, unable to move a single step. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong groaned, Finally we got rid of that Ren guy. Ay! He was really formidable, I am afraid Fengshi Han would not be able to kill him; yet ... Ouch! With difficulty Xu Ziling raised his head to give him a nce before burying his face in the mud again. Straining hard, he said, You dont know how ridiculous your battered and exhausted look right now. Is it painful? Still gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, As long as I am notughing, it is still bearable. I just did not expect that under the circumstances, we were able to stab that dragon to death. Ha! Aiyo! After resting for half a day, Kou Zhong went on, Since we are heading to Luoyang anyway, we might as well ughter Yuwen Huagu along the way to avenge Niang. Xu Ziling sighed and said, You must never feel so pleased as to lose your sense of measure. This time we could kill Ren Shaoming, we relied on a little bit of good luck as well. It could be that because he had done so much injustice that he was finally strung through and filled with evil. Besides, although Yuwen Huagus fate is not so good that he suffered setback, he still has the Yuwen ns support behind him. Plus Yuwen Shang is a grandmaster whose martial art cultivation enjoys equal fame with the Heavenly Saber Song Que. Zhong Shao, youd better concentrate on your effort to strive for the world! After a short silence Kou Zhong said in a heavy voice, But how could I see you braving the danger alone? Xu Ziling said, Lets wait until we find the Duke Yang Treasure before doing anything! Huh? A ship ising our way! A medium sized sailboat appeared from the bend downstream,ing fast at their direction. Kou Zhong strained his neck to look, Did you see that? he said happily, The ship is flying the Song n banner; must be Song Yuzhiing to find us. Xu Ziling responded heavily, Before recovering our strength, its not a good idea to meet with anyone. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. Together with Xu Ziling he crawled into a pile of rocks, resolutely suppressing his inclination and waited quietly while the ship came and went. By daybreak, relying on their fantastic skill ofplementary true qi, they managed to restore about eighty, ny-percent of strength. After bathing in the river, although their clothes were still worn-out, it did not adversely affect their natural poise and shapely appearance. After picking up some wild fruits to ay their hunger, they unleashed their shenfa to rush toward the river bent where Xiang Yushan was waiting per their earlier agreement. As they run over the top of a hill, a beautiful scenery all around appeared before their eyes, so that they stopped to enjoy it. White clouds floating slowly in the sky, the rushing water of Yangtze River was seen down below to their left, the water looked so clear and sparkling, the unbroken chain of peaks on the opposite bank reflecting the sunlight, while to their right was a wide-open space. A small vige adorned the scenery, with thousands of pathways crisscrossed the in, lined by thick, bluish-green mountains. In this quiet world, the only sound was the surging water and roaring torrents of the River. A heroic feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, like the incessantly surging water of the Great River. Suddenly he shouted at the top of his lungs, Kou Zhong is here! His voice echoed on both sides of the riverbank, it sounded like a low rumble of distant thunder. Xu Ziling also felt his chest broadened. Since the muddleheaded ruler was killed and they escaped from Jiangdu, this was the first time that he felt this kind of wide sea and open sky, which will enable me to soar high feeling. Kou Zhong slowly breathed out the heavy feeling pressing his breast, letting his blood boiled with heroic emotion and powerful passion. He said word-by-word, Starting from today, there will be no one under the heavens dare to despise us, two brothers. Whoever dares to do so will ultimately pay a painful price. Xu Zilings mood was also unusually good; heughed and said, It is still too early to say. We were relying on our joint power plus meticulous nning in advance before we were able to get rid of Ren Shaoming. Next time someone is going to deal with us, they would definitely be wary of us [orig. he whoes is surely ill-intentioned, those well-meaning will note (idiom)], so that it will be more difficult for us to deal with them. Kou Zhong stretched out and said, What I fear the most right now is that no one wille as a sacrificial offering for us to temper ourselves. Hey! What are you looking at? Xu Ziling turned his head to look at the direction of Jiujiang city. Didnt you see the rising dust? he asked, It could be the pursuing troops. Kou Zhong shrieked and took the lead to dash down the hill. Book 8 - 4 – Earthly Saber Song Zhi Book 8 Chapter 4 C Earthly Saber Song Zhi Kou Zhong looked at the sailboating fast at them from the upper reaches of the River. Stopping Xu Ziling, he said, Dont you think that boat look a lot like the ship that flew Song ns bannerst night? But now the g has been taken down. Isnt it very easy if you really want to know? Xu Ziling replied indifferently. Suddenly he leaped onto a big rock by the beach. Applying his qi, he called out, May I ask if Miss Song is onboard? His voice was carried by the wind toward the approaching sailboat. Kou Zhong was stunned. He looked up at Xu Ziling, who was perched high on the rock, in disbelief. Completely at a loss, he asked, Arent you in strong opposition of me getting close to Song Yuzhi? Why today you arepletely changed from your normal self? This kind of proactive action is really shocking. Xu Ziling let out a sincere and touching smile; he slyly said, Basically you already knew that it was the same boat asst night, yet you put an act by asking me. No matter what I say, you will always find a way to make me do what you want me to do. So I might as well help you aplish your aim. Arent I a good enough brother for you? Kou Zhong roared inughter, You are funny enough for sure, you got me there. Ha! Youll make me die ofughing! One after another the two boys leaped onto the deck. Song Yuzhi looked at them coldly, without showing any emotion she said, Turn around, return to port! Song Shuang, who was standing behind her, quickly transmitted the order. The sailors got busy immediately. Kou Zhong bowed to salute and said, Miss Song is going back and forth on the Great River, I wonder if it was for us, two brothers? Song Yuzhi stared at him coldly for quite a while. Suddenly she shook her head and sighed, How did you do it? she asked. Xu Ziling replied nonchntly, Miss news is really fast and abundant. Upset, Song Yuzhi said, Only the deaf and the blind would not know about it. Ren Shaomings death has turned the entire Jiujiang region into chaos, nobody is able to put it under control. Tieqi Hui is expressing their rage toward the Wulin characters inside the city, a lot of people have died. I heard that Chu Army is also in conflict with Tieqi Hui. Listening to her, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay, thinking in their heart that they had implicated a lot of people. Noticing that her boat has sessfully turned around and was now sailing against the stream, Song Yuzhi softened. How about two Gongzi giving me a face bying inside for some refreshment, and food and drink? The two boys entered a small cabin at the end of a narrow gangway where a round table with more than a dozen chairs arranged around it. Immediately they were stunned. Seven or eight people were crammed along the wall opposite the cabin door. Only one of them sat, steady and stable; obviously he was the one with the highest status. The man looked to be around forty years of age, slim and tall, his skin was as white as snow, on his thin and narrow face was a pair of enigmatic, yet intelligent eyes. Along with a passionate and sensitive mouth with long, five-strand beard, and his schrly attire, he was a picture of an elegant and handsome man, like Zhuge Wuhou[1] descended to the world of the immortals. Seeing the two boys entered, his entire body rose, and he said with a smile, Zaixia Song Zhi, weing two Gongzis honorable selves who grace us wih your presence. Please sit down! Unexpectedly he was the second-inmand of the Song n, the Earthly Saber Song Zhi! After regaining hisposure, Kou Zhong saluted and said with augh, Turns out Song Er Ye [second master] hase. Song Zhi cheerfully said, Sit down first, well chatter. Only after Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were seated properly did Song Zhi also sat down. The other martial art masters of the Song n stood behind Song Zhis chair. Only Song Yuzhi and Song Shuang stood on the two boys side. Xu Ziling felt awkward, Why dont Miss Song and the others sit down? he asked. Calmly Song Zhiughed and said, Just let Laofu [old man, referring to self] sit on their behalf! This time the two Gongzi were able to strike and kill Ren Shaoming under the heavy siege of Tieqi Huis as-numerous-as-the-cloud martial art masters, skillfully executed brilliant scheme, in battle of wits and battle of strength, inevitably the news about this battle exploded all over the world. However, with increasing famees increasing trouble. I was wondering what n do the two Gongzi have for the future? Noticing that Song Zhi was well-aware of the situation as if he had personally witnessed it, the two boys heart shivered in fear, knowing that he must have an informant nted within the Tieqi Hui. Song Zhi went on, There is one thing that I am not sure two gentlemen are aware of. Ren Shaoming was actually Tieles Big Bandit Qu Aos son. This man is going on the rampage along western frontier, no one is able to put him under control. Speaking about prestige, he is second only to Wuzun [martial art venerable] Bi Xuan. But in terms of cruelty and killing skill, Bi Xuangs far behind him. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly astonished. Qu Aos name, they overheard it when they eavesdropped Song Yuzhi and Shen Luoyans dialog the other day. Song Yuzhi was emphasizing to Shen Luoyan that Qu Ao was colluding with Du Fuwei to deal with Li Mi. Unexpectedly he and Ren Shaoming had a father and son rtionship. However, they were not afraid at all. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, A n, we do not have any. But it is quite possible that Song Er Ye has never heard that we, two brothers, are nning to haul a batch of salt to the salt-deficient Guanzhong, hoping to earn his mothersrge profit. Hearing Kou Zhong spoke vulgar words, although on the surface Song Yuzhi was frowning deeply, a feeling of intimacy and hard to describe thrill welled up in her fragrant heart. Song Zhi was silent for half a day. Suddenly he threw his head back and let out a longughter. Looking out the window, he stared at the riverbank resplendent under the bright sunlight. He was quiet for quite a while with just a smile on his face. Finally his gaze returned to the two boys as he said with a hoarseughter, Am I right in saying that two Gongzi do not consider me as a friend? Song Yuzhi, who was standing behind Kou Zhong, said in disdain, I already said that this man does not speak half a word of truth! Rather surprised, Song Zhi cast a nce toward his niece before turning to the two boys and spoke in earnestness, If that is indeed the two Gongzis only aspiration, you would not have killed Ren Shaoming, and would not have asked us to support Gui Xiliang to be the Bangzhu as the condition to our business deal. Is Laofu wrong? As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong calmly said, How could Song Er Ye be wrong? But I was telling you the truth. Xu Ziling added, This time we are transporting salt to Guanzhong is indeed our, two brothers cherish desire to temper ourselves. A mysterious smile appeared on Song Zhis face. The Duke Yang Treasure is in Guanzhong, isnt it? he said lightly. The two boys heart shivered even more. This Song Zhis reputation as the Song ns wisdom sack was indeed well deserved; unexpectedly he managed to deduce the fact with seventy, eighty-percent uracy. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Song Er Ye is indeed formidable! Song Zhi said indifferently, Why not do a bit bigger business? Might as well do it. Kou Zhong was puzzled, How can we do a bit bigger business? Song Zhi smiled and said, No matter how much salt the two Gongzi want, we can supply it. After exchanging nces with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, One thing we, two brothers, are most afraid of is precisely falling into someone elses control. Its not that two gentlemen are afraid to fall into someone elses control, Song Zhi cut him off, Rather, you are unwilling to bow down to anybody. If I, Song Zhi, cannot see this point, I would not have spoken these words today. Song Yuzhi joined in, Er Shu [second uncle]! Yuzhi already said that they dont know the immensity of heaven and earth! Song Zhiughed and said, Yuzhi should not say anything emotional; anybody who could kill Ren Shaoming is qualified to speak like Kou Xiaoxiong and Xu Xiaoxiong. After fixing his eyes on Kou Zhong for quite some time, he stroked his beard and said with a smile, Currently, with the death of Ren Shaoming, the situation in the south is reversed. Looking at all the warlords vying for supremacy, only Lin Shihong and Xiao Xian are more or less able to vie with our Song Family. If the two gentlemen have the aspiration to obtain the world, why not talk about the possibility of cooperation with each other? A fantastic feeling rose up in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart, realizing that they were highly regarded after killing Ren Shaoming. Otherwise, how could they stand on equal footing with this second-inmand of the Song n? Let alone having high-level talk about cooperation with him. After short contemtion, Kou Zhong nodded and said, Only under one condition will we be able to really work together with amon purpose: your precious ns n Master must be willing to betroth Miss Yuzhi to me, Kou Zhong. All the martial art masters of the Song n, who all long stayed silent, were stunned. Song Yuzhi even eximed, Ah! with her tender voice. Red clouds appeared on her jade cheeks, whether from happiness or anger, it was hard to distinguish. Only Song Zhi remained as calm and cool-headed as ever. After staring at Kou Zhong for quite a while, heughed involuntarily and said, Kou Xiaoxiongs ambition is indeed not low, but you are simply counting your chicken before they are hatched. Xu Ziling remained unruffled. Nobody was able to see his innermost thoughts. Kou Zhong felt no qualms; maintaining a straight face he said craftily, The dowry is the Duke Yang Treasure. Song Yuzhi almost wanted to pinch Kou Zhong dead on the spot. No! she screamed, I am not going to marry him! Song Shuang, who doted on Song Yuzhi the most, could not refrain from saying, Yuzhi is already engaged! Song Zhi raised his hand to stop the two from speaking further. He looked at Kou Zhong, and then he looked at the ever-enigmatic Xu Ziling. Finally he nodded and said, Kou Xiaoxiong is definitely a worthy candidate to vie other the world. If our Song n missed this opportunity, my humble [elder] brother will definitely me me. Severely shaken, Song Yuzhi eximed, Er Shu! Song Zhi smiled at her and said, The Duke Yang Treasure is still an exceedingly remote possibility. Besides, this matter will not happen unless we receive your fathers nods. Yuzhi, why panic? Kou Zhong was delighted, Miss Song, please set your mind at ease, he said, If when the dayes you say No, how could I, Kou Zhong, shamelessly force you? Everybody nodded their heads in approval; they all admired Kou Zhongs broad-mindedness and elegance. Only Song Yuzhi tightly pursed her lips, but she did not speak a single word of opposition either. Song Zhiughed and said, This matter has thus been more or less decided. Would two Xiaoxiong require our assistance? Kou Zhong shook his head to decline. Lowering his voice, he said, Er Ye ought to give forming an alliance with Xiao Xian a careful thought. That Lin Shihong is being pressed by the enemy front and back; its hard for him to aplish anything. None of the people from Song ns side was not emotionally moved. [1] Zhuge Wuhou C Marquis of Wu, is the nobility title of Zhuge Liang, a famous character from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Chapter 4, Part 2 Song Zhis eyes were gleaming with lightning shes. It was quite a momentter that he said, All along we and Baling Bang are like river water that does not interfere with well water, yet there is no friendly rtionship either, so ... Kou Zhongughed and said, Leave it to us, two brothers, to act as a go-between [orig. to thread a needle]. And now let us return to Baling. Whatever Xiao Dangjia thinks, we will let Er Ye know. Song Zhi chuckled and said, Talking with two Xiaoxiong, you act quick and you talk quick, it is indeed very stirring. Wed better have Yuzhie with you to take a look what Xiao Dangjia has in mind. Er Shu! Song Yuzhi protested. Song Zhi smiled and said, This is an important matter, Yuzhi is the most suitable candidate, it will also show our Song Familys sincerity. Song Yuzhi gave Kou Zhong a hard stare for a moment before she finally sighed and said, Yuzhi ept the order! The three people disembarked the ship and hurried toward the appointed ce where Xiang Yushans ship has dropped anchor. Song Yuzhi deliberately fell behind, she did not want to walk alongside the two boys. Half a sichenter, the two Jukun Bang ships appeared on the hillside below. Kou Zhong stopped abruptly, so that Song Yuzhi nearly bumped onto his broad back. However, Xu Ziling did not stop at all, he continued rushing down. Behind Kou Zhong, Song Yuzhi knitted her brows. Why are you stopping? she asked. Kou Zhong kept his gaze downward; he replied in heavy voice, Do you see that red and white g hanging on the mast? That means there are enemies onboard, but the people on the ship are still all right. Song Yuzhi looked down below and saw the masts with the fluttering red and white g towering over the wooded area by the riverbank. Her countenance changed, Then why did you let Xu Ziling brave the danger alone? Kou Zhong smiled and said, First of all, Xiao Ling is highly capable of dealing with any danger, alone. Secondly, people on our side still have the freedom to move freely, hence it can clearly be seen that the situation is notpletely dire. Annoyed, Song Yuzhi said, But we are dilly-dallying here, arent we wasting our time? Without turning around, Kou Zhong giggled and said, As long as Miss Song is here with me, there is no problem of wasting time. Song Yuzhis pretty face blushed slightly. Kou Zhong, she said fiercely, Just remember that even if Die and Er Shu say yes, I, Song Yuzhi, will never marry you. You, this guy, basically dont have the least bit of sincerity. Kou Zhong replied indifferently, Supposing I do have sincerity, would Miss change your mind? Song Yuzhi kept a straight expression on her pretty face, as if she did not see him at all. Putting an air of a free spirit, she spoke casually, Expecting you to have sincerity is like expecting the sun to rise in the west! This moment Kou Zhong heard Xu Ziling issuing three birdcalls in session. Come! he said, Miss Song is destined to always follow me, the Ol Kou. Without waiting for her response, he dashed downhill. On the deck of the ship, Xiang Yushan, Yun Yuzhen, Bu Tianzhi, Chen Laomou and the others were standing on one side, whereas on the other side stood the most outstanding martial art master of Tujues younger generation, Ba Fenghan, and the newly appointed master of Dongming Pai, the Dongming Princess Shan Wanjing. Looking at both sides demeanor, apparently they had not fought yet. Although Ba and Shan, two peoples martial art skill surpassed those of Xiang Yushan and the others, but they were heavily outnumbered by Xiang Yushans side, so that achieving victory would not be easy. Leading Song Yuzhi along, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling leaped onto the deck and joined Xiang Yushans side. Immediately Ba Fenghan and Shan Wanjing were put into the weaker side, yet the two did not show the least bit of disturbed look. When he saw the unique charm of Song Yuzhi, Ba Fenghans eye lit up. He said with augh, This Miss is ... Shan Wanjing cut him off, Turns out Song Familys Miss Yuzhi. I wonder why you came back with these two little thieves. Obviously Song Yuzhi was acquainted with Shan Wanjing; she replied indifferently, If Princess wants to fight with these two little ... hey! Two little kids, please dont involve Yuzhi. Our Song family is not going to meddle in your affairs. Xiang Yushan, Yun Yuzhen, and the others were greatly perplexed, they could not figure out Song Yuzhis rtion with the two boys. It was unclear whether she was driven by jealousy, but Yun Yuzhen deliberately came close to Kou Zhong, affectionately put her mouth by his ear and said, Unexpectedly you guys really killed Ren Shaoming; a lot of people cant believe it! This illicit couple came here half a sichen earlier than you did, they insist on waiting for you here. Kou Zhong nodded. He turned to Ba Fenghan andughed aloud, Hows Ba Xiongs martial art skillpared to Ren Shaoming? he asked. Letting out an indifferentugh, Ba Fenghan replied, We have not fought each other, how would I know whos superior whos inferior? This time I came here to wait respectfully for the two gentlemens honored selves, it is precisely to get the answer to the question of whos superior whos inferior. It was only now did Song Yuzhi find out that that man was Ba Fenghan; she could not help looking at him with interest, sizing him up. She felt that both in terms of outward appearance and poise, he was not inferior to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Not only his sharp features were not obnoxious, it even added an unusually appealing charm. Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said, Ba Xiong and us have never had any real enmity, why would you readily want to fight a life and death battle? But we are not afraid of Ba Xiong, not at all. We merely have deep respect out of believe that people of talent appreciate one another! Ba Fenghan did not expect Xu Ziling to speak so appropriately. He was stunned for half a day before finally spoke with a wry smile, Although I do not have any personal enmity against Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong, its a pity that two of Ol Bas close female friends are determined to kill two gentlemen. How could Ol Ba simply watch with folded arms? Kou Zhong smiled and said, If Ba Xiong can really watch with folded arms, the problem will be easily solved [orig. the bamboo splits as soon as it meets the knifes edge]. You dont believe me? Ha! Let me conduct an experiment and have you see it. Xiao Ling! Get out and stand over here, let the Princess kill you! By no means, do not hit back! Shan Wanjing, who all along has been silent, suddenly became agitated. Kou Zhong, she angrily shouted, Get out and roll over here to die first, lets see if I dare to kill you or not. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Ladies and gentlemen, did you see that? If Princess can really make her move to kill Xiao Ling, why would she want me, Zhong Shao, to take his ce? Qiang! Shan Wanjing drew her sword, took two steps forward, and then with face as cold as ice she pointed the tip of the sword toward the two boys and said, Get out, both of you. To kill you, two little thieves, I do not need any help. Xiang Yushan spoke up respectfully, Princess, please think thrice. Once someone shed blood, the enmity that ensues will be difficult to resolve, resulting in endless entanglement. Shan Wanjing replied coldly, This is a matter between me and these two; it would be best if outsiders not interfere. Laughing tenderly, Yun Yuzhen said, Is Ba Fenghan considered an outsider? Resolute and decisive [orig. chop the nail and slice the iron], Shan Wanjing said, He cant interfere either. Ba Fenghan sat casually on the ships railings; unruffled, he said, I have something Id like to say: if it is a fair, one-on-one fight, the Ol Ba will not interfere. With a forcedughter Kou Zhong said, Princess is fully aware that we are unwilling to harm you; this is extremely unfair! Xiao Ling! You go first! Xu Ziling strode forward. He stopped about half a zhang in front of Shan Wanjing, and calmly said, Princess, please bestow instructions! Shan Wanjings beautiful eyes exuded an iparablyplicated expression as she stared at Xu Ziling for a moment. And then, as if she finally made up her mind, suddenly her lily-white hand started to move; in an instant it turned into millions of light and shadow, sword qi permeated the air, nketing Xu Xilingpletely in the inside. Everybody already knew that her swordsmanship was superb, but no one had ever expected that it would be this astonishing. Xu Ziling watched as the tip of her sword turned into a dot of cold star and shot into his chest, yet unexpectedly he did not respond at all. Kou Zhong raised his eyebrows; his eyes glinted sharply. He did not look at Xu Ziling at all; rather, he was staring viciously at Shan Wanjings serene yet terrifying eyes. He was the only one who understood that Xu Ziling was using his life as a gambling stake in an attempt to resolve this hopelessly muddled enmity. Ba Fenghan also revealed an astonished look on his face. His hand pressed on the sabers hilt; but it was unclear whether he was thinking of preventing this matter from happening, or he wanted to stop Kou Zhong and the other spectators from interfering. Xiang Yushan, Yun Yuzhen, Bu Tianzhi, Song Yuzhi and the others had their countenances changed at the same time, but it all happened so fast that they did not even have time to scream. The tip of Shan Wanjings sword was already only a cun away from the pit of Xu Zilings stomach. Kou Zhong leaned forward slightly, his eyes shone with lightning shes. As soon as Shan Wanjings sword prated Xu Zilings chest for real, he would disregard everything to charge toward Shan Wanjing. Ba Fenghans eyes were also focused on Kou Zhong, he was also prepared to make his move. The sword qi was pressing on Xu Zilings tattered garment that it was fluttering wildly backward, but he still stood there upright and unafraid; his pair of tiger eyes was flickering with divine and unfathomable radiance, his countenance was as calm as the water in an ancient well without any ripple on it, without the slightest care of this sword, which was about to decide his life and death. Even his eyebrows did not wrinkle at all. Right this instant between life and death, Shan Wanjings eyes finally appeared to change. It was a subtle expression of distress mixed with anger. Sword qi suddenly subsided, the sword tip skewed three cun upward. The de stabbed Xu Zilings nk. Xu Ziling clearly felt the sword de reached his bone. But then Shan Wanjing swiftly pulled her sword and retreated. Blood spurted out wildly, but Xu Ziling was still as steady as the mountain, he was not swayed at all. Up to this point nobody made any noise yet, the more than a hundred people onboard two ships appeared to have turned into mutes. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. Ba Fenghans gaze returned to Xu Ziling. An admiring nce shed through his eyes, followed vicious murderous aura, but it also quickly disappeared. Shan Wanjing retreated almost to the end of the bow. She looked down on her sword stained with Xu Zilings blood, her face turned ashen as she spoke with a trembling voice, Xu Ziling! Why didnt you fight back? Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling transmitted his qi to stop the blood flow from his wound. He spoke gently, Has Princess anger subsided somewhat? Shan Wanjings breasts went up and down rapidly. Looking up, she met Xu Zilings eyes as she shook her head slowly and said, My anger will never subside, but the matter of stolen ount book can be dropped at this point. Soaring high into the air, she made a somersault and disappeared into the forest by the riverbank. The most surprising thing was that she did not call Ba Fenghan to go together with her. Now everybody turned their eyes toward a little awkward Ba Fenghan. Having just recovered from the shock, Yun Yuzhen called out with her tender voice, Princess is gone, arent Ba Gongzi going to leave as well? Ba Fenghan shook his head with a wry smile. What good is it to chase a woman who has had a change of heart? he said. His body shed, he left as if he suddenly disappeared into thin air. Book 8 - 5 – Night Talk on Yangtze River By dusk that day, the warship sailed out of the river bend and entered the Yangtze River, going upstream toward Baling. The cargo ship also sailed along the river going north. When Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered into Xu Zilings cabin, thetter was regting his qi and his breathing. Other than the paleness due to slight loss of blood earlier, he did not look like someone who had just been stabbed by a sword. The two boys sat in the two chairs by the window. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Your guts are really not small. At that time I was so afraid that she could not stop her hand and hence take your life for real. Whenever I thought about it I am still having cold sweats. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, It was the only way to resolve the enmity; otherwise, how would she be willing to step back? If we fought, no matter who got injured, the result would not be good. Kou Zhong seemed to be deep in thought. He said slowly, Ren Shaomings death not only alters the situation in the south, it also changes our fate, making us the target of a multitude of arrows. Although it has been like that for a while, but now the danger increases several folds. After pausing for a moment, he continued, There are two people that we must guard against even more so than before. Can you guess which two I am talking about? Xu Ziling mused, Is one of them Ba Fenghan? When Shan Wanjing let me off, I felt his murderous intention toward me. And the other one must be Tieles Big Bandit Qu Ao? If it were Qu Ao, I dont need you to guess, Kou Zhong replied, I was thinking about Yang Xuyan. He wanted to assassinate Xiang kid; obviously it was for Lin Shihong and Ren Shaomings sake. Now that we killed Ren Shaoming instead, it would be really strange if he did note looking for us to create trouble. Xu Ziling turned his gaze toward the window, to the riverbank under the bright moonlight. He sighed, and then slowly shook his head, as if he wanted to throw away all the burden of his heart. Kou Zhong tried to sound him out, Even Ba Fenghan seemed to think that that wicked Princess has a great interest toward you. Xu Ziling absent-mindedly said, So what if she is interested. Dongming Pai has the strangest rule; Princess has already had prince consort early on. More importantly, I basically dont want to get married and have children. I just want to spend my days living a free and easy life. I am not like you with your lofty aspiration of saving the world or helpingmon people. Kou Zhong was upset, You are making fun of me, he said. Im just speaking the truth, Xu Ziling replied seriously, In terms of strategy, it would really help your cause if you could marry Song Yuzhi. Kou Zhong looked up at the cabins ceiling, there was a sh of longing look in his eyes, which was quickly reced by ayer of nk expression. He spoke dreamily, Cant say for sure which part of her attracts me most, but I cant ever think of her like I do Li Xiuning, which keeps winding around in my dreams and pulling away my soul, that keeps me awake at night feeling sad, giving me both pain and pleasure. Ay! Is it because I learned my lesson with Li Xiuning that I no longer have the guts to rush into love rtionship? Xu Ziling emphatically shook his head and said with a smile, Li Xiuning represents a key turning point in your, Zhong Shaos life. From that moment on, your desire for the fine things of the world was transferred to the great undertaking. Therefore, before you can figure out whether you love Song Yuzhi or not, you already decided to marry her. Because from your point of view, no feeling is more important than contending for the world. Hence anything that you have your eyes on, you only view it from this aspect. Am I wrong? Kou Zhong was stunned, In that case, have I lost the ability to love a woman deeply? he asked. Xu Ziling sympathetically said, This is called if you want to gain something you must lose something. A choice is a choice; since you chose one thing, naturally you lost something else. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhongmented, Cant I choose two things at once? Cant I find bnce? Upset, Xu Ziling said, Supposing right this moment Li Xiuning came to you and told you that she finally realized that the one she loved was you, and asking you to grow old together with her, would you be willing to give up Song Yuzhi? Kou Zhong was immediately dumbstruck and was unable to reply. This moment Yun Yuzhen pushed the door and walked in; smiling brightly, she asked the two boys, What are gentlemen, great heroes talking about? May I join you? Kou Zhong patted his thigh and said with augh, Beautiful Shifu, are you interested in sitting on the mostfortable seat in the world? With ten thousand flirtatious expressions Yun Yuzhen glowered at him and sat on the bed. Turning to Xu Ziling, she said, Are you still in pain? That Princess seemed to treat you with ... Seeing Kou Zhong kept signaling her with his hand, Yun Yuzhen quickly corrected herself, Ay! I almost forget to tell you thetest news: the Jade Annulus of He n has reappeared! Kou Zhong was visibly shaken, Could you tell me the details? Yun Yuzhen said, The widely spread rumor in Jianghu is that just before he left for Luoyang, while he was still at Duanwu, Ning Daoqi had given the Jade Annulus of He n to Shi Feixuan. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were puzzled. So the Jade Annulus of He n is in Ning Daoqis hand? Xu Ziling asked in bewilderment. Kou Zhongs interest was in something else, Who is Shi Feixuan? he asked, From the name, she should be a woman? Seeing the two boys interest, Yun Yuzhen was delighted, The rumor is highly doubtful, she said, First of all, both parties cant possibly leak this kind of information, which would only bring endless trouble for them. Plus whoever started the rumor must have very strong imagination and have deep understanding of unpredictable human psyche. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, You havent answered my question: who is Shi Feixuan? Yun Yuzhen cast him a sideways nce and said, So you are very interested because the person involved was a woman? Kou Zhong burst outughing, My Beautiful Shifu, even if you said that Ning Daoqi was giving the Jade Annulus of He n to someone called Kou Laoniu [lit. old cow], I would be very interested in this Kou Laoniu. This is called I am interested in the people involved, not the gender. With an enchanting smile Yun Yuzhen said, Just consider Shifu has med you wrongly, all right? Have you guys heard about Ci Hang Jing Zhai? She and Yin Hui Pai are very simr [see Book 5 Chapter 12 for first mention of these two organizations], they both enjoy supreme status, but both are equally mysterious. The difference is that one is upright the other is heretical! Xu Zilings tiger-eyes were shing; he said slowly, That Shi Feixuan is the representative of Ci Hang Jing Zhai in the decisive battle against Yin Gui Pai. Yun Yuzhen nodded and said, Turns out you guys already know about these two upright and heretical major sects. This time you killed Ren Shaoming, Yin Gui Pai will definitely not let you off. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If there was no such enemy like Yin Gui Pai, we will never reach martial art master level like Ning Daoqi. Yun Yuzhen stared nkly at him for half a day. She could not help asking, Do you want to be the emperor, or you want to be a genuine Wulin expert? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Beautiful Shifu talked about these two things as if it is as effortless as being a salt merchant or a chef. To Zhong Shao, these two objectives are the fish and the bears paw, you cant have both at the same time, both desires could be obtained quickly andter. Yun Yuzhen was pleased, Xiao Ling, it has been a long while since you called me Beautiful Shifu! What wind has been blowing today? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Tonight, whether Beautiful Shifus scowling orughing, there is a little bit of sincerity that was not there before, so that my heart is touched, remembering those beautiful days when we first met. Yun Yuzhens charming body trembled slightly; she looked at Xu Ziling, and then gazed at Kou Zhong. Hanging her small head down, she said softly, When I knew you, you were urchins who have not grown up. Fast forward to today, you have killed a formidable figure who had dominated the south for more than ten years, I suddenly realized that you have finally matured into Wulin experts who assume personal responsibility. After a moment of pause she sighed and went on, Although I have schemed against you, the fact is that at that time the pain of contradiction in my heart was killing me. I dont know why, but I always felt you and I are kindred spirits; I am willing to trust you, to work for you. I dont trust Xiao Dangjia too much. Thest sentence was spoken with a voice as tiny as a mosquito. Kou Zhongs eyes were gleaming with mysterious glint; he said in low voice, If Beautiful Shifu is willing to help me, I guarantee I will treat you right. Assuming a bit of helpless attitude Yun Yuzhen said, I hope you wont one day forget that promise. Xiao Ling is my witness. Xu Ziling could only smile wryly. Kou Zhong was progressively aplishing his n to build up his power and prestige. And sessful mission to kill Ren Shaoming was the most important juncture. Otherwise, how could such a figure like Yun Yuzhen, a Gang Leader rich with Jianghu experience, express allegiance to him? Moreover, it appeared moreplicated because it involved the man-woman attraction between them. Supposing in the future Kou Zhong let Yun Yuzhen down, what could Xu Ziling do? Kou Zhong showed an engaging smile toward Yun Yuzhen as he said tenderly, Beautiful Shifu may be rest assured! I understand revering master is a serious thing. Right! What kind of person is Shi Feixuan? Hows her martial art skill? Enchanted by the charm of his smile, Yun Yuzhen blissfully said, Shi Feixuan is just like Shi Qingxuan [Trantors note: not the same shi and xuan characters]; they are both shrouded in mystery. The number of people who had seen them is really not many, but those who have, all of them are awed by her extraordinarily refined personality traits. She appears to represent the most beautiful thing of the world, so that people adore her, without ever arousing lust in their hearts. Moreover, she brings forth a feeling of inferiority in both men and women who are in her presence. Listening to her, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only stare nkly; unexpectedly there was a character like her in the world. Isnt she a [Buddhist] Nun? Xu Ziling was puzzled, Howe she is using secr [orig. sujia, original home of a monk/nun] name and surname? No one knows, Yun Yuzhen replied, But although she grew a cloud of hair and used secr family name, her conduct and her way of living is no different from someone who has left home [to be Buddhist monk/nun]. She lives an ascetic, in and simple life. Part 2 Highly interested, Kou Zhong asked, What kind of weapon does she use? Yun Yuzhen shook her head and replied, On the surface she is not carrying any weapon, and no one has ever heard she fought with anybody. It is said that whoever came across her was overwhelmed with respect and adoration; how could they have any heart to massacre her? How did Shifu know so clearly? Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Listening to your tone, you have not seen her either, have you? Yun Yuzhens pretty eyes radiated sadness and hurt; she hung her head down dejectedly and said, It was Hou Xibai who told me just before we parted, he is one of several people that Shi Feixuan look up to; he had once roamed Sanxia [three gorges of Yangtze River: Qutang, Wuxia and Xiling] with her, talking of the past and discussing the present. Ay! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged some nces. They both felt Yun Yuzhens regret and misery from parting with Hou Xibai. Last time, when they mentioned Hou Xibai, she refused to answer; this time she spoke out calmly, apparently she was expressing her true feelings toward Kou Zhong, not wanting to arouse misunderstanding in the future. By throwing herself toward Kou Zhong, quite possibly she wanted to use him to forget her sorrow with Hou Xibai. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Could it be that in her presence, Hou Xibai did not have any feeling of inferiority? A tender feeling shed through Yun Yuzhens beautiful eyes as she said softly, He is an outstanding person, so free and easy. His literary talent distinguished and aplished, his insights profound; perhaps only he fits to be friend with Shi Feixuan. The two boys looked at each other in astonishment; it was only then did they understand Hou Xibais position in Yun Yuzhens heart. Although they had separated, she was still unable to extricate herself from this entanglement of the heart. Did Hou Xibai try to pursue Shi Feixuan? Xu Ziling asked, Who is he, actually? What is his background? He is an enigmatic figure, Yun Yuzhen replied, No one knows his background or history, he seems to have unlimited the money in his purse, he is always able to visit any world famous courtesans anywhere. Himself is a proficient guqin yer, and an adeptposer. Because he is multi-talented, he is known as the Passionate Prince. It was because of my curiosity that I intentionally went to a pleasure house that Yushan has just opened to get to know him; who would have thought ... ay ... I dont want to talk about it. Lets not talk about this aspect then, Kou Zhong indifferently remarked, Hows his martial art skill? What kind of weapon does he use? Yun Yuzhen replied, His martial art skill can only be described as deep and immeasurable. Since his debut less than five years ago, the number of flower-pickingscivious thieves who died under his hands is already over one hundred. The weapon he uses is arge folding fan with pictures of beautiful women on it, which he painted with his own hand. Each time he met a woman he admired, his folding fan would have one more portrait of that beautiful woman. Kou Zhong was amazed, This kid can really be considered romantic, he said. Yun Yuzhen sighed. She said in anguish, Can we not talk about him anymore? There was a knock on the door. Who is it? Kou Zhong asked. Song Yuzhis voice came from the other side of the door, Is Xu Gongzi free? Id like to talk to him a little bit. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other in shock. What could she possibly want that she wanted to talk privately with Xu Ziling? Xu Ziling followed behind Song Yuzhi. Stepping out of the cabin, the river breeze assaulted their faces, rousing his spirit. When Jukun Bang people who were on duty on the deck saw him, they all busily greeted Xu Ye [master], in a very respectful manner. Perhaps it was due to his rising prestige from killing Ren Shaoming. Song Yuzhi walked inrge strides toward the stern. Although her gait was not as graceful as Shen Luoyans or Yun Yuzhens, there was a delightful and refreshing feeling that invigorated those who saw her. When she stopped at the stern, Xu Ziling also stopped by her side, but he kept silent. Song Yuzhi let her long hair blown by the wind. With her hands resting on the railings, she sighed gloomily and said, You dont like to talk, do you? Or you simply dont want to talk to me? You dont even ask me why I risk others suspicion by talking with you out here. Xu Ziling kept his gaze on the vast river under the bright moonlight. Moored on the left bank in the distance were a dozen or so fishing boats, with a dimntern light emanated from each one of them. When he thought about how eachntern light represented a warm home, his heart was overwhelmed with emotion. Since they were little until now they were grown up, they alwayscked a real home, and quite possibly they would never have one. So he was used to the feeling of not having a home. Taking a deep breath of the river breeze, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Miss Song, please speak freely. Song Yuzhi turned her pretty face to look at him. She smiled and said, How could you and Kou Zhong be friends that are closer than brothers? Your personality is so different from each other. Xu Ziling met her gaze. Shrugging his shoulders, he replied, This is called one wishes to give a beating, the other is willing to take a beating. Or perhaps when we were small we were a lot simpler, hence it did not take long to get used to and ept each other. Song Yuzhis eyes brightened like the continuously twinkling stars in the sky, while her face had a faraway look as she reminisced her past. She spoke quietly and calmly, Since childhood I have always been a tomboy, I loved to y with the boys of the family, and always considered myself one of them. My curiosity has always been bigger than the other kids. When I saw a mountain, I would ask whats beyond the mountain. When I saw a river, I wanted to know where the water is flowing to. Xu Ziling let out a hollowugh, I would never have guessed, he said, Why did Miss Song recall these childhood memories? Song Yuzhi knitted her brows and shook her head, I dont understand it either, she said, Perhaps because I trust you? Whenever Ie face-to-face with you, my mood feels particrly rxed! Xu Ziling was stunned, That is even more unexpected, he said, Miss Song and I have just met, why are you willing to put your trust me? Dont forget that Zhong Shao and I are partners; thats why people are calling us two kids or two little thieves. Pfft! Song Yuzhi burst out inughter, which rarely happened. Casting a sidelong nce toward him, she said, Your craftiness is actually not the least bit inferior to Kou Zhong, its just that you are always collected and quiet, so that others are not aware of this side of your personality traits. But when I first saw you, I was able to immediately see that you are that kind of person, who is chivalrous by nature, who are always thoughtful toward others; thats why I am willing to put my trust in you, knowing that you wont lie to me. It was the very first time that Xu Ziling came into contact with her feminine, touching nature. After staring nkly for a moment, he smiled wryly and said, Can we not talk about that question anymore? Looking up to the starry sky, Song Yuzhi slowly said, Can you guess the question I wanted to ask you? Xu Ziling dejectedly nodded; he said with pained expression on his face, No matter what he did, Kou Zhong is my good brother. If you ask me anything about him, how am I supposed to answer that? Song Yuzhi looked down at the sparkling water of the River reflecting the moon and the stars above. She spoke in heavy voice, I just want to know the truth. Xu Ziling! Take your chivalrous heart out; tell me, Song Yuzhi, truthfully: Kou Zhong is only using me, isnt he? Seeing her gleaming eyes, as she stared at him, were shooting deep hatred, Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Miss Song called me out thiste at night to ask me such thing, even if tomorrow I do not tell that kid Kou Zhong that Miss fragrant heart is in chaos, he will definitely have a way to extract the information from me by ncing knock, sideways stroke [i.e. in roundabout way]. So what if he knew? Song Yuzhi calmly said, He has already seen long ago that my mind is confused. That was the reason I wanted to know the truth, and you have already told me the answer. Xu Ziling was silent for quite a while. Finally he said gently, When did I answer Misss question? Song Yuzhi replied indifferently, Your mouth did not say it, from the way you are not willing to help him dealing with me, how could Yuzhi not understand your heart? Xu Ziling sighed, This is terrible, he said, That kid will definitely me me to death! Song Yuzhiughed in spite of herself, You are really forting! she said, Ay, I cant believe I can stillugh. Isnt this finding joy in my sorrows? Experiencing the gentle and lovely aspect of hers, Xu Zilings heart welled up withpassion. He said tenderly, Kou Zhong may be an astute and formidable person, someone who exploits any benefits he could get; but he is not a bad person at heart, his affection for others is particrly abundant. Its just that currently he is throwing himself, heart and soul, into his dream of contending for supremacy over the world, so that to him, everything else is secondary! Ay! Does that count as helping him? Song Yuzhis beautiful eyes rippled with strange gleam. Shaking her head, she said, No! You are just telling me the truth. Kou Zhong is definitely not a bad guy; on the contrary, he is very promising. In all aspects, he has the quality that I, Song Yuzhi, am looking for in my ideal husband. But I know that he isnt reallymitted to me; I was fully aware of it from the start. Ay! Even knowing that, why would I still be willing toe with him to Baling? If I firmly refused, there was nothing that Er Shu could do to me. Part 3 Xu Ziling let out a wry smile and said, Looks like Miss Song cannot extricate yourself from us, two brothers! A faint smile, brimming with confidence, appeared on Song Yuzhis face as she said calmly, Wrong! Its not that I cannot extricate myself from you guys; rather, I choose to meet this challenge face-to-face. This is my, Song Yuzhis, character: I will never cower. This time I came with you, I want to see how many tricks and tools Kou Zhong, that repulsive guy, has. Xu Ziling was at a loss, Since Miss Song already had that thought, plus you are also aware of Kou Zhongs intention, why did youe to me and ask all these questions? A helpless smile appeared on the corners of Song Yuzhis lips as she spoke wryly but tenderly, Because I am afraid that for the sake of Duke Yang Treasure, Er Shu will persuade Die to sacrifice his own daughters happiness. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that that possibility seemed to be great. Song Zhi was an old fox; Kou Zhong schemed against him, he also schemed against Kou Zhong, Song Yuzhi has be their chess piece. He said in heavy voice, Do you really dislike Kou Zhong? Song Yuzhi heaved a deep sigh; she spoke calmly, If I do not have any good impression toward him, I wont have to be this distressed. If I do not have any feeling toward him, for the benefit of my n, I wont refuse him, because I know that under any circumstances, I will not be sad for him. But now I am very scared. Do you understand my feeling? Xu Ziling did have deep understanding of her conflicting emotions: it was a hard-to-ept fact on top of a case of love and hate. To a certain degree, Kou Zhong has hurt her. Song Yuzhi suddenly stretchedzily and smiled, We are done talking; I feel much better! Xu Ziling, indeed you dont disappoint me. You are not willing to help tyrant Zhou in his oppression [idiom, meaning taking the side of the evildoer], but perhaps you can be my savior. Youll never know. Giving him a sweet smile, she walked away gracefully. Xu Ziling was left alone on the stern, lost in thought, pondering upon the deep meaning behind herst sentence. Xu Ziling tapped Kou Zhongs door lightly. Xiao Ling? Kou Zhong responded from the inside, Come in! Knowing Yun Yuzhen was no longer inside, Xu Ziling was relieved. He pushed the door and walked in. Beside himself with joy, Kou Zhong instantly rushed over to wrap his arms around Xu Zilings shoulders. Heughed and said, You have no idea how hard it was to wait for you. I wanted to ask, but am afraid your look will give it away. Hee ...! Did she have change of affection, shift of love, and now she fancies you? Ha! One lifetime two brothers. If I really cannot gain her affection, I, Zhong Shao, would yield to you, albeit reluctantly. Afterwards I will find a way to mend this scar in my heart! With a wry smile Xu Ziling replied, Song Yuzhis insight is really not bad, she already knew long ago that you, this kid, are just exploiting her, not really in love with her. Kou Zhong was stunned. She is more formidable than what I imagined, he said, Looks like in this task my chance of losing is greater than my chance of winning. If I had known this, I might as well ask Beautiful Shifu to stay, then tonight I wont have to worry about being lonely. Ay! Dont be so serious, I was just joking to ease the pain in my heart. Xu Ziling was displeased, Basically you dont have any feeling at all. I am the one who suffers the most here, on one side is my good brother, on the other side is a good girl, and my good brother is going the cheat the good girls feeling, and all I could do is to implicitly encourage her so that she would not be cheated. Pulling his arms from Xu Zilings shoulders, Kou Zhong blurted, What? Wont that mean I will lose the love of my life? Wine! Wheres the wine? Xu Ziling dejectedly sat down. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, Stop yacting! If vying for the world means you have to use methods that are hurtful to other people, I am going to leave you! Kou Zhong sat down on the other chair; smiling apologetically, he said, Affection can be fostered, I guarantee that I will not hurt her. But speaking is useless; I hereby proim that this matter is finished. Are you satisfied now? Xu Ziling was deep in thought for half a day. Finally he slowly said, The matter between a man and a woman, once started, no one knows for sure how it will end. As your friend and more so, your brother, I can only give you a word of advice: feeling is sharper than the sword, plus it is a two-edged weapon; you have to take care of yourself. Kou Zhong solemnly said, I will take your advice to heart, I will never take a wrong step in this aspect. Right now I am going to dere to Song Yuzhi that the engagement is cancelled, so she no longer has to worry. Finished speaking, he pushed the door and left, leaving Xu Ziling alone in the room, smiling wryly. Book 8 - 6 – Love and Hate Difficult to Distinguish Book 8 Chapter 6 C Love and Hate Difficult to Distinguish Kou Zhong tapped Song Yuzhis door and asked, May Ie in and speak a couple of sentences? If only two sentences, you certainly may, Song Yuzhi responded. Kou Zhong sighed before pushing the door anding in. The room was dark, only the moonlight from the windowing at an angle illuminated thentern-less room. It happened to fall onto Song Yuzhi, who was sitting in the only chair in the room, enveloping her in faint golden glow. The womans beautiful long jet-ck hair was untied, it draped loosely over her fragrant shoulders, her pair of eyes looked like deep and bright precious stones, and they were gazing steadily at him. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly shaken. It was the first time that he found out that her feminine side and outward appearance were in no way inferior to Li Xiuning. Song Yuzhi was a bit impatient, Didnt you say you were going to speak a couple of sentences? Well, speak up, and then get lost. With a wry smile Kou Zhong said, This time I came just to acknowledge my mistake toward Miss Song, and to call off our wedding contract. From now on Kou Zhong will not dare to have any delusions toward Miss Song. Finished speaking, he turned around to leave. Song Yuzhi was dumbstruck. Come back here! she said. Kou Zhongs hand was already on the doors knob; hearing the call, he stopped on his track. With his back toward her, he said bitterly, I was wrong; I should have not linked the Duke Yang Treasure to Miss lifelong happiness together, and treated it as a business deal. Song Yuzhi was silent for half a day. Finally she said gently, Would you sit down so that we can talk, please? Kou Zhong shook his head and sighed, Right now I just want to hide alone and think about this matter quietly. These days all I can think about is how to gain victory in my contending for supremacy against other people, while ignoring other important matters. I really want to reflect upon myself for a while. Song Yuzhi raised her pretty eyebrows; somewhat unable to hold back her anger, she said, You, this kid, listen to this Miss and sit down. If you slip away just like that, I am going to hate you for the rest of my life. Like a whirlwind Kou Zhong turned around and asked in amazement, Dont you already hate me to the core? Are you telling me you were only pretending? Avoiding his sharp and prating gaze, Song Yuzhi hung her head down and said, When you came in just now, why did you, like a fool, look at me like that? Kou Zhong walked over to where she sat, kneeling on one knee, he put his right hand on the armrest, and said with a sigh, Because I suddenly realize that you, Yuzhi, are unexpectedly so touching, so that I could not stop an adoring feeling from growing out in my heart, and thus I reflected upon my own various wrongdoings. Song Yuzhi could not avoid smelling his body scent, as they were so close, almost face-to-face with each other, invoking the memory of when she was pinned down on the snowy ground the other day. Her fragrant heart fluttered, she said, Can you stand up first and sit down next to me? Surprisingly enough Kou Zhong obeyed her; after he was seated nicely, Song Yuzhi continued in low voice, What do you really want? Grabbing his own head, Kou Zhong said, Which one is Miss Song referring to? Song Yuzhi was back to her calm andposed self; she said indifferently, Naturally the contending for hegemony matter. When all is said and done, why are you doing it? Kou Zhongs eyes immediately lit up. Nodded, he said, Miss Song is the first person ever who is asking me that question; even Xiao Ling has no interest in knowing. After a short pause, he continued, I was born in the marketce, from firsthand experience, I deeply feel how when the governmentpletely loses its benevolence and righteousness,mon peoples life would be so miserable and painful. Ay! At the beginning I was just wanted to join a militia, which I think would have the most aspiration and prospects. But having encountered such people like Du Fuwei, Li Mi, and the like, none of them do not look for personal benefit, they are also vicious and merciless characters. If they became the emperor, it would definitely not a good thing. Furthermore, since people like them can vie for the world, why cant I, Kou Zhong do it? What matters most in people is aspiration. He sighed before continuing, Question is, since I want to vie over the world, in no way I can treat benevolence and righteousness as idle chit-chat, to let benevolence and righteousness bind my hands bind my foot in all respects. Therefore, in Miss Songs eyes, I became someone who, in order to seek my goal, would do anything by hook or by crook. Hey! In reality, I just wanted to make one move and get two gains! Song Yuzhi pondered in silence. Kou Zhong rose up, stretched out his entire body in an exaggerated stretch and said, I want to go back to my room! Hee .. hee ... after talking it out with you, I feel much morefortable. Song Yuzhi spoke gently, Do you know, Kou Zhong? Die and Er Shu would never let me marry someone with your background. You y games on them, they also y games on you. What? Kou Zhong blurted. Gracefully Song Yuzhi stood up and walked over to him; staring right into his eyes, she said, Why didnt you ask me whom Die has betrothed me to? Is it because you feel its beneath you to ask, or you simply dont care? Kou Zhong replied in embarrassment, Actually, I am bit scared of asking. Song Yuzhi spoke indifferently, Even if you asked, I dont think Er Shu would tell you. My future husband is Li Mis only son, Li Tianfan. The engagement was decided a year ago. As long as Li Mi could capture Luoyang, I would have to marry into the Li family. Do you understand? Hearing this, Kou Zhong could only stare nkly with mouth agape, unable to make any sound. Song Yuzhi reached out with her lily-white hand to stroke his cheek and said with a smile, Kou Zhong Gongzi, go back to your room and rest! Contending over the word is never a simple matter, but I really wish you would seed. Xu Ziling flicked the oilmp to extinguish it. Pulling the door open, he was just about to step out, while in his heart he was still thinking about Kou Zhong, who could be faking it, but could be really repentance after self-introspection, so that Xu Ziling was worried and delighted at the same time, and his heart was tumultuous, when suddenly a fragrant wind assaulted his face. Instinctively he backed off to evade it; who would have thought that a tender body was suddenly throwing itself into his bosom, a pair of delicate hands wrapped itself around his neck, and fragrant lips covered his mouth? It was only then did Xu Ziling realize what happened. Grabbing the other sides fragrant shoulders, he gently pushed her away a little, and while his handsome face turned beet red, he said, Its me! Yun Yuzhens charming body was severely shaken; she flung back, her jade cheek was burning like the sunset clouds. Recovering his confident and easy-going manner, Xu Ziling smiled good-naturedly and said, Now this is my romantic and beautiful memory. Finished speaking, without waiting for any response he simply turned back into the room. The ship arrived at Baling. Xiao Xian himself went out of the city gate to wee them. Apanying him was the Great General, the Left-field Marshall Zhang Xiu. This man was short, but his head was humongous, his hair unkempt, yet his vision was cool and razor-sharp, as if it could prate other peoples heart and soul, so that whomever he gazed upon would feel as if he was interrogating him. ording to Xiang Yushans exnation earlier, his martial art skill was superior to the Right-field Marshall Dong Jingzhen, and was barely below Xiao Xians. Naturally Susu was part of the weing team. Seeing her husband-lord and two brothers returning safe and sound, and had established great merit, she was so happy that she felt her heart was turning upside down. The ones who really made Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling bursting with joy were Duan Yucheng, Bao Zhifu, Shi Jie and Ma Gui. These four kids were covered in scars from head to toe; turned out along the way they encountered countless thieves and robbers. But presently they were in very high spirits, apparently because their martial art skills were honed and they made great progress. Xiao Xian assumed a grateful, rely heavily upon and respect for the wise manner toward the two boys; he was even more respectful toward Song Yuzhi. Naturally he was thinking of the many benefits if he aligned himself with the Song n. That evening Xiao Xian hosted a banquet to celebrate, during which he praised the two boys without cease. After the banquet Song Yuzhi remained behind with Xiao Xian for a confidential meeting, while the rest returned to Xiang Yuzhans General Mansion. En route Susu reminded them of the promise they made that they would apany her to go on a tour for several days. Since the two boys felt very deep attachment to her, they regarded her as if she was Fu Junchuo, naturally they readily agreed. Returning to the Mansion, the three sister and brothers chatted freely at the inner courtyards pavilion, recounted what had happened since they parted. While they were talking andughing happily, Xiang Yushan came in a hurry. As soon as he sat down, he said, Tieqi Hui has been split into three factions: one faction throws themselves to Lin Shihong, one faction adheres to Shen Faxing, the remainders swear an oath to avenge Ren Shaoming. Thisst faction is headed by the Evil Monk and Amorous Nun. Susus flowery face lost its color, What do we do? she asked. Xu Ziling shot Xiang Yushan an unhappy look, ming him for frightening Susu. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, How did this happen? Xiang Yushan smiled apologetically toward Xu Ziling first, and then heforted Susu before replying, The ranks within Tieqi Hui are veryplex, good and bad people intermingled. Even before, there were different opinions as to whom they ought to align themselves with. Only because everybody was intimidated by Ren Shaomings power did they appear as millions of people all of one mind. But now that Ren Shaomings big tree has fallen, the monkeys and apes under the tree are all split up and in pieces. Kou Zhong was delighted, This is a good thing for the South, he remarked, Tieqi Hui was just a group of organized thieves anyway. If they gained momentum, the first to suffer cmity would be the civilians, themon people. Xu Ziling rarely heard him opening his mouth on behalf of the country, closing his mouth on behalf of the people; he shot a curious nced at him. Xiang Yushan said, The news of Ren Shaomings death is currently still confined in the South, yet it already stirred up a great deal of chaos. Once it is leaked out to the North, nobody knows what the consequences will be. Kou Zhong suddenly asked, Hows your rtionship with Li Mi? In the past, Xiang Yushan replied, Because we worked for Yang Guang, it could be said that we were always at odds with Li Mi, our rtionship has always been a bad one. However, there has never been any direct conflict; therefore, our rtionship is in a very delicate bnce. Why do you suddenly ask? Right this moment Yun Yuzhen arrived, hence Kou Zhong changed the subject and did not answer Xiang Yushans question. Chapter 6, Part 2 That night Song Yuzhi returned veryte, everybody else was asleep already. By daybreak Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling went out for a stroll with Susu, while she was still asleep. By the time they came back, they found out that she had quietly slipped away. After dinner that evening, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had private discussion with Duan Yucheng, four people, about the route they were going to take to return to the North. Afterwards they returned to their rooms to rest. Trailing behind Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong proudly said, Ling Shao! This time I am listening to you! Last night I personally called off my engagement with Song Yuzhi, and this morning she left without even saying goodbye. Xu Ziling was amazed, You dont seem to have the least bit of displeasure of her leaving? he asked. Kou Zhong sat down dejectedly, looking at Xu Ziling, who was standing by the bed, about ready to lie down and sleep; letting out a wry smile, he said, I would be lying if I said I did not suffer any blow. But with so many things giving me headache right now, how could I have the luxury of worrying over this matter? Girls are like butterflies, if they want to fly away, just let them fly away! Ha! Not only we do not have any luck at the brothel, we dont have any luck with pretty girls either. All beautiful women seem to have ten grievances nine enmities with us. Xu Ziling was raising the mosquito curtain and was sitting down on the bed; hearing Kou Zhongs remark, his heart ached, recalling Fu Junchuo and Sister-inw Zhen [See Book 1 Chapter 2]: the formers sweet soul was already gone, thetters whereabouts was unknown. He could not help feeling depressed. Currently Elder Sister Su was the closest woman to them, but her happiness was closely rted to Xiang Yushan; would they be this helpless for the rest of their lives? Kou Zhong mused, Our trip back to the north this time could very well be the most dangerous journey we ever take. We dont even know for sure how many enemies we have out there. Taking a very deep breath, Xu Ziling said, Starting tomorrow, we will have Duan Yucheng and the others subjected to the most rigorous training we can muster, so that they at least will have the ability to protect themselves. Kou Zhong nodded. How many days do you think we ought to stay here? he asked, If we leave too early, Su Jie will certainly me us. Why dont we stay with Su Jie for ten more days? Xu Ziling replied, Incidentally we can also use this time to drill Yucheng and the others. Kou Zhong agreed, Lets do it just as you said. Hows the situation with Beautiful Shifu? Xu Ziling asked. Of course she wants toe with us to the north, Kou Zhong replied, But she is going to make her own arrangement. And then immediately lowering his voice, he said, That Xiang kid told me quietly that she is going to rendezvous with Dugu Ce, thats why she is unwilling to leave Baling. Asking for this woman to be devoted to just one man is probably more difficult than plucking the bright moon from the sky. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Why did that Xiang kid tell you this kind of thing? This is totally unlike him. Letting out a cold snort, Kou Zhong said, Naturally he received Xiao Xian, that old foxs order; he is trying to damage my rtionship with Beautiful Shifu. Currently Haisha Bang has suffered severe setback, leaving only Jukun Bang, Shuilong [water dragon] Bang, and Dajiang [great river] Bang. In Xiao Xians eyes, Beautiful Shifu is a lot more important than us. Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, Just now our side warned Xiang kid, if Su Jie is the least bit unhappy, I will demand exnation from him. Kou Zhongughed and said, Even if he has guts as high as the sky, he wont dare bully Su Jie. Ay! I still dont understand why did Su Jie agree to marry him. Shushing him, Xu Ziling said, Its no use talking about it now. After pausing, he went on, Do you know why I want to stay for that long, ten days? Although you agree, I know that you actually dont have any choice. Kou Zhong was stunned, I really have not thought about it, he replied, I only think that being with Su Jie right now is the most important priority. As long as I am with her, I feel rxed andfortable. Xu Ziling apologetically said, It was me who had weird thought. In my opinion, Evil Monk, Amorous Nun, and those vicious people would look for us to give us trouble. If we could ruthlessly inflict heavy losses to them first before starting out, our journey would be a lot smoother! Frowning, Kou Zhong said, This ce is Baling Bangs domain; do you think theyd dare toe here and run amuck? Xu Ziling smiled and said, We came to their domain and killed Ren Shaoming, naturally they also want to kill us in our domain, so that they could show off their prowess. Therefore, unless they are noting, they would definitely want to, using the ten-thousand-junpower, inflict the biggest casualties and heaviest damage in the shortest possible time. Raising his scimitar-like eyebrows, Kou Zhongughed grimly and said, Hence they must be sending people in advance to scout the situation and gather information. If we could intercept these vanguard troops, we can defeat them before they start, humph! With an indifferentugh Xu Ziling said, If I were they, I would take advantage while we go out with Su Jie on a tour to make my move; dont you agree? Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes immediately lit up. Xu Ziling went on, Once we are going up north to transport the salt, we will be in the open while the enemies are in the dark; we will be caught in the disadvantageous situation of an absolute passive position. Tactically, it is extremely unwise. If we cannot get hold of the initiative, I can guarantee that we will never reach Guanzhong. Kou Zhong was astounded, Whats going on today? he asked, It seems to me that you have never been this enthusiastic and proactive about these things. Xu Ziling shifted over to the window; with his hands behind his back he turned his gaze toward the starry sky outside, and said mysteriously, The moment we killed Ren Shaoming, I suddenly felt myself stepping into another stage of my lifes journey. Yet I know clearly that we have an unclear entanglement with several evil forces, and are being sucked into the maelstrom of the present age. We cant avoid it; either we choose to kill ourselves, or choose to confront it. There is no third possibility. Turning his head around, he noticed that Kou Zhong was staring at him with some strange expression. Why are you looking at me like that? he asked in astonishment. Kou Zhong stood up abruptly, and then spoke in earnestness, Because you have just disyed the prestige and style of a martial art master of the present age. What struck me the most was that it looked so smooth and natural. Xu Ziling smiled, Oh please dont lick Xiaodis butt, he said, Are you saying that you dont realize that recently your mannerism has also changed? Swindling, pretending, leading, listening, teaching, and every now and then speaking some pompous words, deceiving me big time. Kou Zhong pped his shoulders hard and roared inughter, Sometimes a man shouldnt be that forting, he said, There is one more thing that I havent told you about: do you know who Song Yuzhis future husband is? My Niang! Its Li Mis only son. Although Xu Ziling was fully aware that Kou Zhong deliberately changed the subject, he still could not help crying out involuntarily, What? Kou Zhong let his hand off Xu Zilings shoulder; leaning on the window sill, he gazed into the boundless moonlit night, with gleaming eyes he said, This is the Song n and Wagang Armys business deal. North and south aligning themselves, together they are going to deal with the Li n of the northwest. If we cant find a way to crush this north-south union, the world will eventually fall into the hands of Li Mi. Letting out a wry smile, Xu Ziling said, Are you persuading me to agree with you in exploiting Song Yuzhi? Kou Zhong smiled and shook his head, You despise me, Kou Zhong, too much, he said, As long as we can prevent Li Mi from taking over Luoyang, the engagement will be invalidated. At that time, whomever the Song familys Big Miss wants to marry, I, Kou Zhong will not destroy her happiness. However, if by that time she finds out that she is helpless to leave the Ol Kou, it will be the Ol Kous good fortune. Hows that? Am I forting enough for you? Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders, All right! he said, We are all adults, lets leave this matter in Laotianyes hands. Right now let us focus our attention to deal with the enemy. Other things, we will think about it when we are still aliveter! Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Are you implying that we must go to bed now? We havent talked happily and excitedly like this, and havent been getting along so well like this for a long time. Ha! These words getting along well are so appropriate. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, While we are getting along very well and our amiable talk is in full swing, Ive got a hunch that Evil Monk, Amorous Nun and their cronies are lying low in the vicinity of Baling, waiting for an opportunity to kill us. Kou Zhong sat down and mused, Perhaps they are even inside the city already. Is there any way we could lure them out? Calm andposed, Xu Ziling said, He whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille. If we wait for them to act first, it would be difficult for us to avoid dead and injured; hence the best strategy is whether we could gain the initiative by striking first. A faint smile, brimming with confidence, appeared on the corner of Kou Zhongs mouth; he said slowly, This time we will be dealing with our enemy without relying on Xiao Xians support at all; only by doing this will we reach our goal of tempering ourselves. After thinking deeply, he added, In my opinion, due to their distinctive appearance, Evil Monk and Amorous Nun would not dare to venture into the city. Rather, they would send their people to spy and watch our movements. So they must be somewhere outside Xiang kids General Mansion, watching ouring and going. As long as we can find those spies, we canunch the anti-tracking operation, and will be one step ahead in killing the enemy. Xu Ziling said, After failed assassination attempt by Yang Xuyan, Xiang kids military mansions security is strengthened considerably; they even have hidden sentries outside the mansion. Therefore, if the opponents are sending people here, they must be good in hiding their tracks and are martial art experts in qinggong, so that it wont be easy for us to detect their movement and find their hiding ce. Therefore, unless we have certain technique, it might be hard to find such people. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Dont worry! he said, Leave it to me. If even Evil Monk, Amorous Nun, I am unable to deal with, would I talk about vying over the world? Book 8 - 7 – The Mysterious Giant Ship Book 8 Chapter 7 C The Mysterious Giant Ship Early morning the next day, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong supervised and urged Duan Yucheng, four people to train and spar against each other. While Kou Zhong, using a whip, was straining Bao Zhifu and Shi Jie to their limit, Yun Yuzhen came to stand by Xu Ziling and watch. Amazed at the situation in the arena, she said, These twos martial art skill is indeed not bad, how did you get them back here? Dang! Bao Zhifus broadsword was coiled by Kou Zhongs whip and was pulled away. Xu Ziling cast a sidelong nce toward the radiant-looking Yun Yuzhen. His eyes then fell onto the double-spear wielding Duan Yucheng, who was taking over Bao Zhifus position. Ma Gui, your turn! he barked his order. Ma Gui shouted his acknowledgement, his left and right hands sessively shot three iron bullets toward the vital points on the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach and his crotch. Yun Yuzhen immediately jumped in fear, thinking that even the training looked a lot like a life and death struggle. Kou Zhongughed aloud, his body swayed, Ma Guis secret projectiles all hit empty space. Only then did Xu Ziling smile and asked, Beautiful Shifu, why are you up so early? Casting him a flirtatious nce, Yun Yuzhen replied, I was concerned over you guys! Forcing aughter, Xu Ziling said, Shifu seems to mistake me for Kou Zhong again! Yun Yuzhens pretty face blushed slightly. Awkwardly she glowered at him and said, I thought you are not going to bring that matter up anymore. By that matter, naturally she was referring to she was throwing herself in Xu Zilings bosom and kissing him, mistaking him for Kou Zhong. Xu Zilingughed indifferently, stepped into the arena, and shouted, My turn! Kou Zhong retrieved his whip and withdrew to Yun Yuzhens side. Xu Ziling used his bare hands to face the four men. Kou Zhongughed and said, These four boys are getting more and more formidable. It proves that we have original insight, and that we use the correct method in teaching them. Humph! With me by your sidest night, Beautiful Shifu naturally tossed and turned restlessly, hard for you to sleep. Yun Yuzhens powdered face turned even redder; she spat and said, I dont know how fragrant and sweet my sleep was. Why is it that men always arrogantly thought that girls cant do anything without them? Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. Thats very good, he said, I was afraid Beautiful Shifu could not do without me. In that case, when I leave in a few days, I wont have to rush back anytime soon. Albeit knowing that Kou Zhong was teasing her, Yun Yuzhen could not help getting angry, Kou Zhong! she snapped, You bully me too much! Kou Zhong smiled and said, I was just testing Yun Bangzhus heart. Hee! Su Jie is here, do you want to go out and have fun with us? Yun Yuzhen cast him an angry look and said, Only ghosts want to apany you! After giving him a sweet smile, she simply left. The carriage left the General Mansion. Eight riders opened up the path, eight riders protected from behind, plus Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling riding leisurely side by side with Susus carriage. Susu was rxed and was in a very good mood, every now and then she chatted andughed with the two boys through the window; they were happy and were in harmonious rtionship. The cavalcade exited the city via the north gate, their destination was Linjiang Pavilion at the upper reaches of the River, a well-known scenic spot outside the city of Baling, from which they would be able to feast their eyes on the beautiful scenery of the Yangtze River. Outside the city, Susu followed the two boys suggestion to take a break in the wayside. Kou Zhong noticed that not only Xu Ziling seemed to be deep in thought, his face also seemed a bit pale. What are you thinking? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling hesitated for half a day before relying, I suddenly remembered Yang Xuyan. I wonder whom does he work for? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Didnt somebody say that he is in pursuit of Yang Shichongs beautiful daughter? They all surnamed Yang, naturally it should be easy to get close to each other! [I think it ought to be Wang Shichong. Authors error?] After a quick and thoughtful nce toward the dock outside the city, Xu Ziling said, Of course I remember that. I just think something does not fit here. Right now the person Yang Shichong fears the most ought to be Li Mi, and then Xiao Xianes after him. Deep in thought, Kou Zhongmented, It wont make sense even more if he is working for Lin Shihong. Someone like Yang Xuyan, who is of the royal family origin, would not have anything to do with Lin Shihong, who is of lulin [lit. green forest, i.e. criminal world] origin. But you are also right, if I were Yang Shichong, how could I have time to deal with the things in the south? If Yang Xuyan is not Yang Shichongs man, Xu Ziling continued, He must be rted to one of the Four Major ns. The Song n is at odds with the royal family, plus they tend to stay in the south, so we can eliminate them. That leaves us with the Li n, the Dugu n, and the Yuwen n. Kou Zhong analyzed, Dugu n has always been an ally of Baling Bang, so they can also be eliminated. That leaves us Yuwen n and Li n. It seems to me that Yuwen n has a slightly higher possibility. Ay! But Yuwen n is also too busy with their own problems; just like Yang Shichong, they dont have time to meddle with the south. My Niang, could it be that Li Shimin guy? Xu Ziling was emotionally moved, That possibility is really high, he said, That Li guy has an acute foresight [orig. stand tall and see far], a man with power, aptitude, and broad outlook. Only he has the ability to see through the Xiang kids importance; if he were killed, Xiao Xian would turn half-blind. From this, it could be seen that that Li guy thinks highly of Xiao Xian. Kou Zhong nodded, In Sunzis [Sun Tzu] Art of War, it is said know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Speaking about the vastness and density of the intelligencework, no hole left un-entered, nothing surpasses Xiang kidswork of brothels and casinos all over the country. Hey! Li guy plus Yang Xuyan, wont you say they are an interestingbination? This moment Susu opened the curtain and stuck her head out, Hey! Its so boring here! Come and chat with Jiejie, all right? Back at the General Mansion that evening, Duan Yucheng reported, Subordinates followed two Bangzhus instruction: from the time the carriage left the door, we monitor any movement all around, but we did not find anybody following your track, or any unusual activity. The two boys returned to their room, totally mystified, and even more disappointed. Could it be that they have guessed incorrectly? Or perhaps the enemies were clever enough to evade Duan Yucheng, four mens detection? pping the table, Kou Zhong eximed, It does not make sense. Yucheng and the others monitoring positions are strategically located and carefully selected; as long as anybody was following our trail, they would definitely see it. Unless ... hey! Xu Ziling caught on, I dont believe that the Evil Monk and Amorous Nun would be willing to swallow their pride to do it personally. That Evil Monk is irascible, he wont have the patience to wait for long. Unless ... The two boys looked at each other, with myriads of thoughts shing through their minds. Unless they were waiting for reinforcement, there was no reason to miss their chances of attacking and killing them outside the city. Supposing Evil Monk and Amorous Nun were really Yin Gui Pai people, the reinforcement must be from Yin Gui Pai or perhaps martial art masters from Qu Aos side; this was definitely not a trivial matter. Kou Zhong blew a mouthful of cold air. We must never take Su Jie out of the city, he said, Well simply use an empty carriage as a decoy and forget about it. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, We must find a way to have our passive situation reversed; it would be best if we can do it ahead of the enemys martial art masters arrival, we need to be one step ahead by getting rid of Evil Monk and Amorous Nun, otherwise we will meet a disaster. Grabbing his own head, Kou Zhong said, Have you ever thought that this matter is really strange? On the surface, basically Evil Monk and Amorous Nun dont even know that we are rted to Baling Bang, they did not even know that after the killing we would slip away to Baling. Why do we always think that they clearly know our whereabouts and are ready to ambush us anytime? This is purely some kind of almost supernatural intuition, Xu Ziling replied, I cant exin it. Kou Zhong sighed and said, It is thus clear that the Secret to Long Life is indeed a Taoist treasure, plus in this aspect you are much more keener than I am. Simply because your state of mind is closer to real warrior cultivation. No! You are basically an authentic [orig. recement guaranteed if not genuine] Ziling Zhenren [lit. true/real person, Taoist Master]. Hee! The only thingcking is the Taoist robe. It would be best if you and that Shi Feixuan make a pair, and snatch away Hou Xibais heart of love. Ha! Xu Ziling spoke in anguish, In time like this you are still talking nonsense. This is not nonsense, Kou Zhong seriously replied, Supposing you really have this kind of supernatural intuition, we might as well exploit it to our advantage. For example, can you feel the approximate position of the enemy? Xu Ziling was silent for half a day; he slowly shook his head and said, No! I simply have an ominous feeling. Thats all. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and said, Wed better conduct an experiment. Lets go around the city first, if it doesnt work, then well go out of the city. Supposing the feeling of danger in your heart is getting stronger, it will mean that we are getting closer to the enemy. I guarantee that this kind of investigative method has not been used since the dawn of time until today. It will be unimaginable, and it can kill the enemy unprepared. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, We wont need to go around the city. Do you remember when we first came out of the city this morning, you asked me what am I thinking? I replied by asking you if you remembered Yang Xuyan; actually, that matter cameter. At that time my feeling of danger was increasing substantially, my heart felt very ufortable. It was just like the feeling I got before Yang Xuyan mounted a sneak attack on us that day. That was the reason I was thinking of Yang Xuyan. But after we headed west, that singr sensation gradually disappeared. Chapter 7, Part 2 Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, That will do, he said, Outside the gates, the piers are full of ships and boats in all kinds of shapes and sizes, one must be the enemys hideouts. At that time they must be watching us in secret, to determine whether they should trail us and make their move; thats why it induced a reaction from you, just like the other day when Yang Xuyan was trying to assassinate Xiang kid. Ha! This time we hit the jackpot! Xu Ziling rose up suddenly. His tiger-eyes shed with sharp glints, he spoke in heavy voice, There is no time to lose, well go now to give the enemies an unexpected shock they wont forget for the rest of their lives. The one-li-or-so long pier outside the city of Baling was full with docking ships and boats, big and small; at least there were two or three hundreds of them. On the vast shoreline stood about a dozen or so canopied structures, where goods and cargo, which did not make it into the city that day, were piled like small hills. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong followed the water line, and crouched behind a pile of goods, looking at the hundreds of flickering lightsing from the ships. They had no idea where to start looking for the enemy. Do you feel anything stronger anywhere? Kou Zhong whispered. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, I dont feel anything at all. Ay! Shall we go back to sleep? Kou Zhong shook his head to indicate he had different ideas. He said thoughtfully, Supposing we stick our ears to the bottom of the boats and apply our inner strength to eavesdrop, do you think we will be able to listen to the conversation inside the boat? So what if we could? Xu Ziling was displeased, Supposing the people in the boat are sleeping or not talking, do you still want to continue taking turn in eavesdropping? Dont forget that there are hundreds of boats here. Even if we only listen for a moment each, we wont even cover one tenth by daybreak. Finally Kou Zhong relented. Welle back tomorrow then, he said disappointedly, I hope your feeling will be a bit stronger by then. Huh?! Following Kou Zhongs gaze, Xu Ziling saw a skiff, without any light on it, was weaving through the rows after rows of ships,ing toward the shore. By looking at the speed of the boat, they knew that the one steering it was a very capable sailor. Applying their inner power, the two boys focused their attention to the boat; they did not wish to miss any movement or sound. On the boat stood two people: one man and one woman. The youthful looking woman was standing on the bow. Just by looking at her clothes, they knew that she was a maid. She had a graceful and good-looking countenance, but there was a little bit of licentious feeling on her. The man looked thick and solid, but his face looked uncouth. Apparently this man had the same capacity as the woman; they were both maid and servant. The skiff was fast approaching. Before it even reached the shore, the maid soared into the air. With several ups and downs she reached the dark shore, while under the skillful hand of the servant the skiff stopped ashore to wait. The two boys were overjoyed at this turn of events. Although they could not ascertain if these two were Evil Monk, Amorous Nuns people, this matter was definitely iparable to their previous situation where they had no clue of what to do. After exchanging eye signals, the two boys stealthily circled around and went down into the water outside the male servants range of vision. A momentter they reached the bottom of the boat and applied their strength to attach themselves to the boat. They used this opportunity to cultivate their strength to deal with the hard fighting that mighte soon. Less than half a sichenter, the maid returned. The servant asked, Did you get it? Uh huh, the maid replied, indicating that she did indeed get what they were looking for. The skiff set off, the servant and the maid on the skiff no longer speak. Quite half a dayter, the skiff reached a huge sea-going ship, and stopped by its side. The two boys left the skiff and dove under the giant ship. Sticking their ears to the hull, they seemed to hear voices, too bad the sound of the wavespping against the hull distorted it, so that they could not hear it clearly. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling away; as the two of them emerged from the water at the aft, he said, How do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tigersir? Well? Xu Zilingughed and said, No need to talk too much, go! The two boys looked at each others eyes andughed. They climbed up, stopped at the edge of the deck, and craned their necks to take a peek. Even at its bottom, this ship already felt huge. Now that they looked from this angle, it felt even grander; the hull extended to more than two hundred chi. Three floors of cabin towered above the main deck, with more than thirty cabin windows, but only four of those windows were lighted, and they heard voicesing out of these windows. But the deck was quiet, no one was in sight. Putting his mouth close to Kou Zhongs ear, Xu Ziling whispered, I found two guards on sentry duty, both are on the third floor. Clearly their job is mainly to monitor any movement of other boats on the surface of the river, not to watch for any activity on the deck. Kou Zhong nonchntly said, Well just have to gamble his mothers a bit; if things go awry, well escape via the water. Lets go! The two boys somersaulted over the railings. Crouching low on the deck, they crept toward the aft and hid in the shadow. Not only their movement was as fast as a ghost, they were in sync with each other, as if they had already practiced this mission a hundred or a thousand times before. They did not dare to rashly break into the cabin. Focusing their power in their ears, they listened carefully and quietly. A mans voice was heard inside. The man said, When the two boys fight together, they be especially formidable that even Ren Shaoming ended up in injustice death. Therefore, when we fight, we must pick just one and go all out to kill him, and then we can capture the other one and torture him to extort his confession. I dont believe he wont spill the Duke Yang Treasures secret. Listening to this, the two boys looked at each other in shock; wasnt it the voice of Dajiang Huis Second Chief Tiger Lord Pei Yan, who pursued and attacked them at the mouth of the river when they had just left Changshu? At that time there was also Wang Kuijie, whose martial art was extremely strong. This time they were looking for Evil Monk and Amorous Nun, but unexpectedly found a second carriage. Another unfamiliar voice said, We will wait for eight days until after they cross the River to the north before using the force of a ten-thousand-jun thunderbolt to either capture or kill them in one fell swoop. With our strength, dealing with them ought to be as easy as pinching a few ants. This person was speaking in a variable voice; sometimes it was low and muffled, sometimes it turned shrill and sharp, somewhat disjointed, so that it was quite ufortable to listen to. If his voice became like that due to the martial art he trained, then it must be an entric, strange, heretical and unusual martial art that was hard to estimate. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenance changed. Not because of the strange voice, but because the opposite side had such an urate information of their whereabouts. Needless to say, someone must have tipped them off; no wonder they did not have to send anybody to watch the two boys movement. A muffled female voice filled with hatred said, Well kill that Xu Ziling, and captured Kou Zhong, who attacked us the other day. I want him to suffer all kinds of torture before we kill him. Just by listening to the fiery animosity in her voice, one would immediately know that she hated Kou Zhong to her heart and to her lungs. The two boys felt that the voice sounded familiar, but momentarily they could not figure out whose voice was it. Another charming and sweet female voice, as soft as the clouds in the sky, spoke indifferently, You Xiangus [female immortal/goddess/fairy] desire is definitely attainable. Those two boys must be proud for being able to facilitate the joining hands of Die and Shen Dangjia [Chief]. When we dere our kingship in the future, we can have them to thank! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling immediately remembered that the woman who hated them to her guts must be Haisha Bangs pretty nun, You Qiuyan, the other Amorous Nun. Shen Dangjia must be Shen Faxing, to whom Haisha Bang recently pledged their allegiance to be his hunting dogs. The allied force has suffered devastating setback in the two boys hands; no wonder they were this thirsty of revenge. But who was the girls dad? It sounded as if Dajiang Hui was also taking orders from him. Shen Faxings voice was heard, This time Princess Mei presides over this mission, I am sure the two boys will fall into our hands. After we obtain the Duke Yang Treasure, plus the alliance of our Jiangnan and Garuda [Jialouluo], two armies, wont we have the world [tianxia C China] in our bag? Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart shivered in fear. They finally realized who this Princess Meis dad was. Among the warlords vying for supremacy over the world [China], in terms of brutality, nothing could surpass Zhu Can, who called himself Garuda King, whose fame and power was, currently, growing day by day. It was said that when Garuda Armycked provision, they even cooked human beings for food. This matter might be grossly exaggerated, yet it showed how bad their reputation was. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, What do we do? Perhaps we could carve Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were here with a knife, so that they would jump in fear. No! Xu Ziling shook his head, That way we will never be real martial art masters. We might as well go his mothers all out, so that in the future they will not be in our way. Kou Zhong grabbed Xu Zilings shoulder forcefully, his tiger-eyes were gleaming. All right! he said, We will change ording to the situation. Well see whose fist is a bit harder. Hee! Book 8 - 8 – Brilliant Scheme to Break the Enemy Book 8 Chapter 8 C Brilliant Scheme to Break the Enemy Kou Zhong was about to move, but Xu Ziling pulled him back. While he was baffled, Xu Ziling pressed his mouth on Kou Zhongs ear and said, Zhong Shao, you must not forget that we are now contending over the world, not trying to show off our bravery. We need to talk about strategy. Kou Zhong was stunned. What brilliant scheme are you thinking? he asked. Xu Ziling replied in low voice, Do you remember the battleship we took on our way from Jiujiang to Baling? The bow is equipped with pointed iron. If we drive it fast enough, I guarantee we can hit this gigantic and stiff ship squarely in the middle and break it into two. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, You, this kid, are actually more aggressive than I am, yet you normally pretend to be Taoist teacher who dont care about fame and fortune. Hee! Dont you feel that tonight you are so not normal? Cut it out! Xu Ziling snapped at him. The two boys woke Bu Tianzhi, who remained on the [Jukun Bang] ship, up. Having understood the situation clearly, he excitedly said, Let me dispatch someone to notify General Xiang immediately. If we can capture Zhu Mei, it would be like severing one of Zhu Cans arms. Kou Zhong hurriedly said, The enemy is saving their oil by not lighting anymp, plus they must have set up sentries onshore to send them warning. If you are going out with magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, the enemy would have to be bird-brained if they do not immediately run away. Fu Bangzhu [Deputy Gang Leader] must act ording to our n. You are in charge of driving our ship into theirs, we will be in charge of going underwater to capture the enemy. This is called cooperation and division of work. Do you understand? Xu Ziling also asked, Is Zhu Mei formidable? While nodding his head to acknowledge Kou Zhongs instruction, Bu Tianzhi answered Xu Zilings question, Zhu Mei is like having Zhu Cans brains but with beauty like flower, and poison like serpent and scorpion. I dont know how many heroes have met their tragic end under her floating cloud sleeves. Kou Zhongughed and said, Good thing that under water no floating cloud sleeves can be used; let us see how beautiful and how fierce she really is. Bu Tianzhi suddenly sighed and said, Not only two Gongzis action is beyond expectation, the method youe up with is even more amazing, like opening up the sky. Tianzhi received benefits from your instruction! He summoned his men at once and had them quietly raise the anchor and set sail upstream. The warship slowly turned around. On the deck stood more than a hundred Jukun Bang warriors, each one skillful in using bow and arrow, ready to meet the enemy head-on. Twelve sets of catapult were also at the ready, poised for action. Ever since the two boys seeded in killing Ren Shaoming, the Jukun Bang people honored them as gods. This moment they were serving under the two boysmand, their morale was like rainbow, everybody was in high spirit. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, with bow in their hands, stood on the bridge, giving direction to the targets position. Bu Tianzhi continuously giving instructions, the ship was slowly elerating. The river was quiet, the only audible noise was the wavespping against the shore, a gentle reminder of natures perpetual motion. The moon already moved away from its zenith in the sky, the river reflected its light, creating patterns of light and darkness. There were hundreds of ships and boats, big and small, on the river that night, not one was aware of the impending battle. When they were about two hundred zhang away from their target, the giant ship, which cast its anchor, alone, at the outskirt of the harbor, the warship turned toward the bend on the opposite bank, preparing to increase its momentum. Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, To contend for hegemony over the world, we must line up talents. Otherwise, even though we have this brilliant scheme, we wont be able to execute it. Xu Ziling looked at the fully opened sail, but did not say anything. Kou Zhong could not help asking, Xiao Ling, why are you so proactive tonight? Xu Ziling turned his gaze toward the giant ship right ahead, he said in heavy voice, You are my best brother in the world, since I already promised to help you acquire the Duke Yang Treasure, how would it work if I am not being proactive? Kou Zhong felt his heart suddenly grew warm; he was unable to speak. Xu Ziling reached out and put his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder, he said gently, It is also for Su Jies sake. Those people have a mole inside Xiang kids mansion, naturally they are very clear about Su Jies rtionship with us. If they could not do anything to us, maybe they would try to get Su Jie into their hands. Therefore, we must capture one or two leaders from the opposite party alive, hand them over to Xiang kid, let him force confession by torture, uncover the mole within, and only then will Su Jies safety be guaranteed. The warship picked up speed, fast like a runaway horse it rode the waves straight toward the nk of the giant ship. Only this moment did the enemy find out something was amiss; rm went off, human shadows flickered everywhere. But it was toote to change their fate. It was as if the sacred state of tranquility was suddenly shattered. Attack! Bu Tianzhi thundered. Like thunderstorm huge rocks, arrows and darts rained onto the enemys warship, battle cry shook the River. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling also shot their arrows. Wood pieces flew, the sail mast broke. Amidst the miserable cry of the enemies hit by the arrows, there was a loud Boom! as like a mad bull the pointy iron figurehead of Jukun Bang warship rammed into the weakest part on the starboard side of the enemys ship. The sound of the ship splitting and the wood snapping rang continuously, the enemys ship leaned toward the opposite side and spun around. Their own warship also shook suddenly and leaned sideways. After a burst of ear-piercing grinding noise, the warship rubbed itself along the bow of the enemys ship. The warship was pushed outward and thus recovered its bnce. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling soared into the air, traversing the empty space between the two ships, toward arge gaping hole on the hull of the enemys ship, which, by this time, was still spinning slowly around. The enemy was thrown into chaos; thentern lost its light, nobody knew how many people were thrown into the water that night. Other people on the ships and boats all around were awakened by the noise, so that there weremotions everywhere. By the time Kou Zhongnded onto the other sides bridge, the giant ship already started to tilt and sink down. The enemy simply did not have any heart to fight, one after another they slipped down into the water to escape. The pandemonium was like theing of the doomsday. In this extreme confusion, he saw two graceful figures breaking out of the window and cast themselves into the river. Their movement was agile, fast and nimble. Kou Zhongughed aloud and ran after them. On the other side, Xu Zilingnded on the bow. Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep he attacked like crazy, those who tried to block him werepletely routed. By this time, due to the hull was tilting sideways, the deck has also sloped down, so that whoever got hit were rolling down the slope, straight into the river below, battered andpletely exhausted. Suddenly there was a loud shout behind him,ing from above going down, coupled with a gust of wind. Xu Ziling was in the height of the fighting spirit; without even looking, after throwing down an enemy, his palm struck backhandedly. Bang! Xu Ziling was jolted by the impact that he nearly fell down the slope, but the enemy was also severely shaken that he staggered back and nearly fell down. Taking advantage of this slight intermission, the rest of the enemies scrambled away to run for their lives. This moment Bu Tianzhis warship already made a U-turn and rained down arrows onto the enemies still floating on the river. After taking a sharp intake of a mouthful of true qi, Xu Ziling turned around to see the enemy face-to-face. With astonishment he found out that it was none other than the Second Chief of the Dajiang Hui, the Tiger Lord Pei Yan, with whom he has had a predestined affinity to meet once. Pei Yans pair of vicious eyes flickered continuously; apparently because he had tested Xu Zilings extremely strong power, fear was starting to creep into his heart, and so he continuously withdrew toward the top of the slope. The giant ship has sunken down more than half. Other than they, there was no other enemy on the deck. Xu Ziling slowly pressed forward, using the edge of his palms like sabers, he sent out his true power by hacking from a distance, putting the opponent under his control. Laughing calmly, he said, Er Dangjia, you want to run away too? Pei Yan swung his broadsword. Pei! he spat while halted his step, and then shouted harshly, It wont be toote to leave after killing you, this kid. Lightning fast Xu Ziling slid sideways, and sent out a punch over the empty air. Pei Yan roared and nearly tumbled down. What happened was that because Xu Ziling suddenly changed position, plus his punch came from an unbelievably ingenious angle, it immediately hit Pei Yans right shoulder. Not only the pain prated his bones and marrows, he even nearly lost his grip on his saber. Actually, he was not this useless, its just that he was not in the mood to fight, and was already intimidated by Xu Ziling, and thus Xu Ziling was able to exploit this weakness. At this moment his desire to escape was growing, but while he was about to slip backward, like a ghost or demon Xu Ziling suddenly came to his right side. Helplessly he roared while turning the saber into his left hand, and then he counterattacked with everything he had. Xu Ziling chose to take a floating tactic; no matter how Pei Yan dodged, he was always able to force him to block with all his strength, jolting his left hand that it turned numb, and was incapable of carrying out even fifty percent of his usual strength. Under this constant barrage, before long Pei Yans left arm was hit by Xu Zilings finger, his broadsword fell off. Scared out of his wits, Pei Yan unleashed his pressing down on the box/chests bottom, he deliberately rolled down the slope, while his legs swept swiftly; it was extremely vicious. Xu Ziling let out a longugh, his fists punched together. When he was about to subdue the enemy in one stroke, a burst of an extremely sharp wind shot from his left side. By the time Xu Ziling realized suddenly that the enemy has been hiding behind the cabin door, the enemys sword has already enveloped the space to his left, the sword qi pervaded the air. In that split second, Xu Ziling already determined that the attackers power was at least two notches above Pei Yans. If he did not go all-out to deal with him, most likely he would suffer a heavy loss. Therefore, without any choice he abandoned Pei Yan, turned around and waved his hand to parry the enemys sword. Bang! Palm and sword collided. Xu Ziling was shaken that his blood and qi bubbled up within him, and he was forced to slide two steps sideways to neutralize it. The attacker borrowed the reaction force from the impact to fly away, andnded on the tilting sail mast. Chapter 8, Part 2 Pei Yan had just reached the edge of the sloping deck; he had not entered the water yet. The attacker was covered in ck clothes; he wasnky and handsome, with extremely heavy make-up on his face. Letting out a longugh, he said, This time lets consider you win. But there wille a day when I, Bai Wenyuan, will repay you nicely. With a somersault he entered the river. His voice was sometimes low and muffled, sometimes shrill and overbearing; he was the person who spoke in the cabin. By this time the water has reached the bottom of Xu Zilings foot, the giant ship was finally sinking. Under water, Kou Zhong was chasing the two women for nearly a li. When he was about four zhang away from them, the two women split up to the left and right to escape. In the dark water, Kou Zhong selected one of them and exerted his strength to give chase. From the opponents beautiful diving and swimming style, he was quite sure that this mermaid was indeed You Qiuyan, particrly her sleek bald head; it was something that no one else would be able to impersonate. Kou Zhong has fought face-to-face with her many times. In terms of underwater skill, he definitely could not match her, an underwater expert. However, in terms of internal strength and punching and kicking, he was far superior to her; hence he did not have any concern that she would fly out of the hollow of his palm. Ahead, You Qiuyan seemed to lose strength, she started to slow down. Kou Zhong was amused inwardly, knowing that she was going to either release secret projectiles or throw a; pretending not to know anything, he increased his speed instead, while at the same time his hand grabbed the whip around his waist, ready to give her a surprise shock. Three zhang, two zhang, one zhang, You Qiuyan suddenly turned around, the was thrown over his head. Kou Zhong swiftly dove down, his right hand lightly groped his waist, the whipshed out like sea serpent to coil itself around You Qiuyan; his left hand reached out toward the edge of the, and transmitted his true strength via the. You Qiuyans tender body was jolted, while the whip wound around her slender jade leg, sealing off her acupoints. Seeded in capturing his target, Kou Zhong brought her rising to the surface. Upstream, the River was still shaking with shouts and yells; obviously the hunt and arrest game was still growing strong. Kou Zhong nted a kiss on You Qiuyans sweet lips, and said with a giggle, Would Yan Jie [older sister Yan] like to make out in the River, or do you want to wait until we are ashore before we get intimate? After giving him a hard stare, You Qiuyan closed her beautiful eyes tightly. It was the only way she could show her helpless protest. Kou Zhong embraced her and brought her up to the sandbar; pressing her body underneath his, he smiled and said, Last time I let you off, thinking that you would feel grateful to me. Turns out the most vicious one toward me is you. Is your honored Bangzhu well? You Qiuyan opened up her beautiful eyes; staring at him coldly, she said, Just kill me! Kou Zhong put his mouth on her jade-like sparkling and translucent small ear, and nibbled on her earlobe. No! he said, I am still going to let you go! And then he proceeded by patting open her arteries and veins acupoint. Springing up, heroically and loftily he said, Because I like your beauty. The other day your honored Bangzhu wrapped his arm around your small waist, it irritated me so much that I did not know what I wanted to do to him. Ha! But in the end didnt I manage to hold you and kiss you and touch you? You Qiuyan sprang up, her beautiful eyes spun around and around for a while; finally she sighed and said, Kou Zhong, dont you regret it. When I have the opportunity, I will definitely not let you off. Kou Zhong reached out to stroke her cheek; heughed indifferently and said, I know that you actually love me; hence the reason you hated me so much, but you just didnt realize it! Lets just wait and see. You Qiuyan was unsure whether she was mad at herself for not dodging when he stroked her cheek, or because she could not tell whether in her heart she loved or hated him; ferociously kicking the ground, she turned around and left. Watching her beautiful back gradually going away, Kou Zhong could not help thinking about the ambiguous rtionship between Dong Ming Princess and Xu Ziling, and then he also recalled Li Xiuning. Sighing, he rushed back toward the upper reaches of the River. The first streak of dawn finally appeared on the eastern horizon. The Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling-led military operation was a total sess, it sent tremors throughout the City of Baling. The enemies captured were more than thirty people, three of which were women, including the maid who went ashorest night. The dead and the wounded were difficult to count because most were underwater and were carried away by the river. Knowing that there was a mole inside the General Mansion, Xiao Xian and Xiang Yushan were extremely nervous; theyunched an investigation immediately. Yun Yuzhen was a little upset. She med the two boys for not informing her before going personally to deal with the enemy; she med them even more for not gaining her approval before going into battle, which was quite overstepping her authority. However, under Kou Zhongs gentle ministration, very quickly she went from anger to happiness. The two of them were soonughing and joking as usual. That evening, Kou Zhong inquired about the investigation concerning the mole. Xiang Yushans countenance sank as he said, She found out about it and already escaped. Susu added, She is one of my personal maids; she has been missing since going out this morning. Ay! I treated her like a sister, unexpectedly she could do such thing. With a wry smile Xiang Yushan said, She has been serving me since her childhood, I cant believe she has been bought by the enemy. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Does she know martial art? Stunned, Xiang Yuzhan shook his head. Kou Zhong sighed and said, You have been deceived. If my guess is right, the little maid was murdered. The objective is that you will think that there is no more mole in here. Susu was severely shaken, Xiao Mei! she eximed, and burst into tears. Xu Ziling shot Kou Zhong a reprimanding look. Helping Susu up, he brought her into the inner chamber to console her. Kou Zhong pped his forehead, My bad! he said remorsefully. Yun Yuzhen spoke in low voice, You are so good to Su Jie; others wont have anything to say. Xiang Yushan muttered, How can we dig this mole out and dismember his body into ten thousand pieces? Casting a nce toward the inner chamber, Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh, and said heavily, Just by making Su Jie grieving and shedding tears, I wont let him off. Get that maid who was captured alive for me, I guarantee that I can get the moles identity from her. The maid was brought into the side pavilion. Kou Zhong waved the other people to get out of the pavilion. The maid looked to be around twenty, her countenance was quite pretty, albeit a bit pale. But her expression was quite firm, evidently she refused to give in easily. Kou Zhong say leisurely in an imperial-tutor chair [i.e. armchair]; smiling, he said, Miss, please sit down! The maid shook her head with her lips closed tightly, showing clearly that she refused to talk. Remaining calm and unfazed, Kou Zhong said, As long as you agree to answer a few questions, I will immediately let you go, so you can enjoy your youthfulness well. The maid could only stare nkly, with a disbelief look on his eyes, but in the end she shook her head. Knowing that she refused to believe that there was such an easy thing in the world, Kou Zhongughed and said, Who did not know that I, Kou Zhong, is a good person? Your master wanted to kill me, not because I did something bad, but because he is greedy of the Duke Yang Treasure; therefore, your master is the bad person. Ha! This logic is so simple; only idiots fail to understand it. Although the little maid did not speak, her face was no longer stretched so tight. Kou Zhong patted his chest and said, Let me, this good person, give you guarantee: as long as you agree to answer three questions of mine, I will let you go. The little maids tender body trembled slightly; hanging her head down, she spoke hoarsely, If I answer your question, but you use me of lying, then ... Kou Zhong cut her off, Whether you lie or not, we will both know it. For instance, if you are hesitating, or perhaps you are stammering, then it will be clear that you are making up stories. In that case there is no need for us to continue! The little maid bit her lower lip. Are you really going to ask me only three questions? she asked. Kou Zhong spread out his arms, Of course! he said, I am not one who goes back on his word. Summoning her courage, the little maid looked up to meet his gaze; with her spirit returning to her pretty eyes, she said, As long as I do not hesitate, and I am not stammering, then I can go? That is correct, Kou Zhong assured her, But if you offend my by telling me lies, I will immediately waste your martial art, and then Ill sell you to a low-ss brothel, so that youll have to serve at least ten patrons a day. Do you understand? Hearing that, the little maids countenance changed greatly. Actually, Kou Zhong did not even know how to waste anybodys martial art skill, plus he would not possibly sell her to any pleasure house. It was all nothing but intimidation. Quite half a dayter, the little maid nodded her head in agreement. Such an easy matter, anybody would find it hard to refuse. Kou Zhong was just feeling her heart, he did not have any concern that she would not fall into his trap. His tiger-eyes gleamed with cold rays, Kou Zhong looked at the little maid, whose head was hung low, whose heart was trembling with trepidation, and said in heavy voice, Whats your name? The little maid was stunned. My name is Xiao Qiu, she replied, while in her heart mused whether such an easy question could be considered the first question. pping the small table next to him, Kou Zhong said, You passed the first question! The little maids heart was mad with delight; she spoke gently, Kou Gongzi, please ask me your second question! With the same gentleness, Kou Zhong said, The second question is, hey! Who is your master? Princess Mei! the little maid answered quickly. Kou Zhong was pleased. Congrattions Miss for passing two questions. After answering the next question, I will personally escort Miss out of the city to reunite with your family. It would be best if you donte back to your Princess Mei. Such master with bad reputation, if you stay with her, disaster maye to you anytime. Let this time be a lesson to you. The little maid said in low voice, Gongzi, please ask your question! Kou Zhong deliberately stayed silent for half a day. When the little maid grew so nervous that her whole body trembled unnaturally, he suddenly shouted hisst question, Who gave you the letterst night? The little maid suddenly opened her mouth, but no word came out. Kou Zhong thundered menacingly, You fail! Tears flooding out of the little maids eyes, she cried out anxiously, But I dont know his name! Kou Zhong did not give her any chance to think deeply, How tall is he? he shouted. The little maid did not dare to hesitate, she replied, Half a head taller than me. Subsequently Kou Zhong shot her more than a dozen questions in rapid session. Finally he rose up and said, I know who he is, I will take Miss out. Please stop crying! Book 8 - 9 – Moon in the Well Champion Book 8 Chapter 9 C Moon in the Well Champion With smile on his face Kou Zhong entered the mail hall, he was met by Yun Yuzhen and Xiang Yushans expectant nce, but he noticed that Xu Ziling was standing by the window, with neither concern nor delight on his face. Kou Zhong asked in amazement, Xiao Ling, dont you want to know who the mole is? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, How could such a tender young child be your, Zhong Shaos opponent? Unless she basically does not know anything. Unable to hold back, Xiang Yushan asked, Whats the oue? Kou Zhong sat down opposite the two people, Its one of your personal guards, he said, I think his name is Ouyang Ji or something. You know what to do! A strong murderous intent red in Xiang Yushans eyes; without saying a word he stood up and left. Kou Zhong winked at Yun Yuzhen and said, Would Beautiful Shifu be interested in a trip out of town with us, two brothers? I promised to escort that poor girl out of the city! The next several days, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling devoted their heart and mind to push Duan Yucheng, four men to train martial art. The four, on the other hand, also realized that this matter concerned their honor and disgrace, their life and death, plus they obtained these two highly talented brilliant masters direction, therefore, they strived and hence advanced by leaps and bounds. The rest of the time, the two boys abandoned everything to go with Susu on scenic tours, doing their best to make her happy. Time flew. The next day they were going to start their journey north. Xiao Xian hosted a banquet to give them a farewell dinner. There was an additional guest at the dinner that night: Big Sister Xiao, Xiao Huan, who had just returned from Lingnan. Xiao Xians Left-field Marshal Zhang Xiu was unable to attend because just that morning he set out leading his army into battle. As usual, the ten-thousand-kind flirtatious Big Sister Xiao was continuously throwing the two boys flirtatious nces and raining them with sweet talks [orig. confusing soup]. After saluting them with a round of drink, Xiao Xian said, Turned out the person who mounted sneak attack on Ziling to give Pei Yan the opportunity to escape was Bai Wenyuan, a newly rising martial art master of Jingjian Zong [lit. clean sword school], who is also Zhu Meis current lover [orig. handsome malepanion, i.e. gigolo]. He is quite famous in Sichuan region, it could be that he is infatuated by Zhu Meis beauty that he came to take refuge in Zhu Can. Kou Zhong blurted outughing; he said, Current lover. The term Xiao Dangjia used is definitely top-notch; it clearly showed that Zhu Mei used to have numerous lovers [here the term is adventurous head, also in subsequent paragraphs]. Ha! Big Sister Xiao glowered at him and said, Being Zhu Meis lover is not a good thing, because she is paranoid and jealous; if she suspected her lover was having affair with different women, she would not hesitate to kill him to vent her anger. Thats the reason Jianghu people call her Poisonous Spider. Obviously Bai Wenyuan dislike having long life that he attaches himself to her. Xiang Yushanughed and said, That kind of heavily-made-up person, how could two Dage have any regards for him? But Zhu Mei is indeed highly capable; rumor has it that she has mastered 90% of Zhu Cans skill. That night she did not fight back, simply because she was intimidated by two Dages fame for fighting prowess after you killed Ren Shaoming, plus she was unclear of the situation, hence she could only flee. Susu said anxiously, Since she is a narrow-minded person, certainly she would not want to let this matter rests; you two must be absolutely careful. Yun Yuzhen said with augh, Su Jie please set your heart at ease. Talking about wisdom and strategy, Xiao Zhong, Xiao Ling, are definitely not inferior to anybody. Su Jie just think, ever since their debut, the ones suffering losses were other people, when did they ever any suffer defeat? Big Sister Xiaoughed like a fluttering stem of flower; she said, Since Yun Bangzhu is able to say such thing, surely you have suffered losses in the hands of these two boys! Yun Yuzhens pretty face blushed like red clouds; casting a flirtatious nce toward the two boys, she said, Dajie has never tasted any losses from them! Seeing she tantly flirted with the two boys during the banquet, Susu was displeased, her jet-ck eyebrows were knitted. Xiao Xian also felt rather ufortable with his younger sisters licentious behavior; changing the topic, he said, There is one thing that even now I still dont understand: how did two Xiaodi find out that Zhu Mei and Shen Faxing were hiding in ambush outside the city? They are all old hands in Jianghu; they even managed to keep our people in the dark. Naturally Kou Zhong would not divulge the fact that Xu Ziling possessed a supernatural intuition; inventing crazy nonsense, he said, That was a pure spection. Funny thing is that at first we did not know it was them; we were looking for Evil Monk and Amorous Nun, but found them by mistake. Just consider it their bad luck, ha! Xiang Yushan smiled and said, This Kou Dage of mine often downys their achievements, but always speaks cheerfully and wittily, so that with him around, the atmosphere is always full of joy. Big Sister Xiao could not help asking in bewilderment, Why is it that talking to the left General Xiang calls Kou Dage, talking to the left you calls Xu Dage? In term of age, you are older, in term of rtionship, you are their jiefu [older sisters husband]. And Su Jie, why didnt you correct him? Susu happily said, My two Didi are not ordinary people, naturally Yushan wants to show his respect! Yun Yuzhen also smiled and said, Therefore, I also feel that Yushan did not use incorrect appetion. Xiao Xian chuckled, Well said, he said, Two Xiaodi are indeed not ordinary people that I, Xiao Xian, seldom encounter in my life; people who, opening up their palm they create clouds, turning down their palm they create rain, who, leisurely and casually, turned the entire situation of the South upside-down, who also caused our Great Liang kingdoms power and influence to flourish greatly. Although you have not officially joined my army, I, Xiao Xian, already consider you one of my own. And then, pping his hands he called out, People! While everybody else was stunned, two beautiful maids carrying exquisitely embroidered cases, one long one short, appeared in front of the banquet table. Xiao Xian signaled with his hand, the two maids separately presented the long case to Kou Zhong, and the short one to Xu Ziling. After the maids withdrew, Xiao Xian cheerfully said, Small gifts, not worth showing my respect. Gentlemen, please open the cases and take a look whats inside. Kou Zhong opened his embroidered case. To his astonishment, it was a steel saber. At first nce it seemed to be an ordinary saber, nothing special about it. But after careful look, whether it was the saber itself or the scabbard, although there was neither ornate decoration nor any other embellishment, there was some kind of ancient, simple yet elegant taste on it, so that nobody dared to despise it. Watching Kou Zhong taking the saber out of the case, Xiao Xians eyes emitted some kind of unfathomable gleam as he spoke softly, This saber has no name, but it is said that it is a divine weapon from the ancient times, the steel quality is marvelous, the de can emit faint yellow glow. Two hundred years ago it fell into the hands of the number one saber expert of the time, the Saber Overlord Ling Shangren [term of respect to address Taoist Master]. Afterwards Ling Shangren retired from Jianghu, this saber also disappeared. Later on, after some twists and turns, it fell into my hands. Although I do not like to use saber, I do have special fondness toward it. Hence I have the intention to present it to Kou Xiaodi, to show my, Xiao Xians sincerity and gratefulness. Ring! Kou Zhong pulled the saber off its scabbard. Everybody focused their attention to look, but all was disappointed. The saber de was dull without any luster; where was the yellow glow Xiao Xian was talking about? But suddenly the de changed; although it was barely noticeable, there was no doubt a genuine soft yellow glow around it. Xiao Xianughed aloud and said, Xiao Xiongdi is indeed the true owner of this saber; your true qi is able to incite this treasured sabers reaction. I have yed with this saber thousands of times, but the de has never disyed the yellow glow. And thus everybody understood that in the past, when Ling Shangren was using the saber, his true qi must have brought out the strong yellow glow of the de, but if anybody else picked up the saber, it was no more than an ordinary iron. They all could not help clicking their tongue in wonder. Kou Zhong knew very well that Xiao Xian was trying to win him over, but still, he was quite delighted and said gratefully, From now on, this saber will be called Moon in the Well. This kid bows to Xiao Dangjia for bestowing this gift. Astonished, Xiao Xian asked, The name Moon in the Well has a heavy Zen vor in it; whats the story behind it? Kou Zhong replied perfunctorily, I just saw a marvel in the well one night; nothing special about it. Xiao Xian suddenly sighed and said, In the past, my ancestor, Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, loved to collect divine weapons. This saber cost him ten years of mental and physical efforts, he sent people on open enquiries and secret search, and went to the end of the world, before he had the destiny to obtain it. Afterwards the enemy troops broke the city defense, but because this treasure was hidden deep in underground storehouse, it was preserved. Only then did everybody understand why he was having a reluctant-to-part expression on his face. Curious, Susu said, Xiao Ling, why dont you see what kind of treasure Xiao Dangjia is giving you? Xu Ziling picked the case and presented it back to Xiao Xian; he smiled and said, I appreciate Xiao Dangjias good intention, whatever it is inside the case must be a rare treasure of the world, but I am a kind of person who dont like to be concerned about worldly possession, and I do not wish to know what unfathomable mystery inside the box. I am asking for Xiao Dangjias forgiveness. Other than Kou Zhong, everybody else was surprised by Xu Zilings refusal. However, instead of being astonished, Xiao Xian simply sighed and said, Xu Xiongdi is independent and loves to travel alone, someday you will certainly be an exceptional and peculiar character. Not only Laofu [old man, referring to self] does not have the slightest displeasure, my heart is full of admiration instead. Everybody present was quite moved by Xiao Xians poise. Wanting to steer the conversation away from the Moon in the Well, Kou Zhong changed the subject, I wonder if Xiao Dangjias meeting with Miss Song the other day went well? Xiao Xian nodded and said, Arrangements are being made for me to meet with the Heavenly Saber Song Que, I have always had high esteem toward him, Senior. If we can bring this matter to fruition, two Xiao Xiongdis merit is great. Chapter 9, Part 2 Aware that Xiao Xian would not reveal the details of their meeting, Kou Zhong changed the subject once again by talking about the current situation of the warlords vying for supremacy. After the banquet, Big Sister Xiao unashamedly went back with them to the General Mansion. She was very passionate toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, and did not try to be discreet at all, so that Yun Yuzhen was pouting, and Susu was frowning deeply. But since they were aware that that was her nature, they were quite helpless to stop her. In the inner hall they chatted about this and that for the whole sichen, and then, although she was unwilling, Susu had to remember about the baby in her womb and had to take her leave to return to her room and take a rest. On the pretext that he had to apany his tender wife, Xiang Yushan also seized that opportunity to take his leave; leaving Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Yun Yuzhen and Xiao Huan, whose flirtatiousness and charm prated the bones. Immediately the situation became awkward. Xu Ziling rose up; with aloofness that push other people ten-thousand li away, he said, I also have to take my leave, forgive me for not apanying you, but I need to go back to my room to train, to deal with the travel tomorrow. Kou Zhong also stood up, but before he even had a chance to speak, Big Sister Xiao already spoke crossly, We are just having interesting conversation here, how could you slip away just like that? Hee! How about Dajie and you go to your room and have some drinks? After sending him a my deep regret, but Xiaodi is unable to help however much I would like to look, Xu Ziling hurriedly slipped away. Kou Zhong noticed that Yun Yuzhen was fuming with anger while hanging her head down. For the first time in his life he envied Xu Zilings no woman is important view; with a wry smile he said, If I dont train but drinking and be merry all night with you, two beautiful women, the day after tomorrow you will forever not see me, this the will is there, but not the strength [idiom from Confucian Analects] kid. Early morning the next day, when the sky has not even brightened, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling left Baling. Together with Duan Yucheng, Bao Zhifu, Shi Jie and Ma Gui, four men, driving four mule carts loaded with salt, crossing the river to the north, starting their long journey. Their first destination was Jingling Prefecture by Han River. Learning from experience, this time they did not take the waterway, but opted fornd route instead, which was more convenient to cover their tracks. By dusk, they stopped and pitched camp in the wilderness, while letting their mules to enjoy the beautiful grass around. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat down on underbrush by a pile of rocks. The former sighed and said, Xiao Xian is really formidable; he could eat people without spitting their bones. Xu Ziling lifted up his eyes toward the towering, steep mountain peaks vying to be the most beautiful, beyond the in, which, under the glow of the setting sun, gave him some kind of elusive immortality feeling. Sighing with Kou Zhong, he said, With Su Jie in his hands, he does not need to be afraid we are going to take him down. If Xiang kid married Su Jie for the sake of Duke Yang Treasure, I will be the first who is going to take his little life away. Grabbing his own head, Kou Zhong said distressingly, This is more formidable than threatening Su Jie with a saber. Lets forget about Xiang kid treating us with deferential respect, the fact is that he is most probably more cunning than the two of us put together. To say the least, we have absolutely no way to take him down. Xu Zilings countenance sank; he said slowly, If we meet Li Jing someday, I will certainly ask him why he let down Su Jies affection toward him. Were it not for Su Jie, he would have lost his life in the South. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Ling, this is the first time that you addressed him directly by his name. Xu Zilings palm struck a hundred-jin rock by his side. Bang! The rock crumbled immediately. While Kou Zhong was staring at him, tongue-tied, Xu Ziling let out a heavy sigh and said, Why is it that there are so many things in the world that we know that it should not be like that, but we are helpless to do anything about it? Kou Zhong hung his head down in silence, engrossed in his own thought. That night the two boys simply sat like that until dawn. Early the following morning they continued their journey. Two dayster they entered the mountainous area. Along the way the scenery was extremely beautiful. The mountain road was nestled among the dense forest, one segment of the roads overlooked a hundred-zhang deep ravine, while below the mountain was the panoramic view of rice fields and cultivatednds. When they reached certain elevation, their eyes feasted on the range upon range of bluish-green, ten-thousand-hill going up and down as far as their eyes could see. That night they pitched camp at the foot of the mountain. Since that day when they sat staring nkly all night long, Xu Ziling was unusually silent. The two boys did not even sleep in the camp; instead, they stayed outside with the earth as their sleeping mat and the heavens as their bed curtain, as if they were back at the small valley where they buried Fu Junchuo. Sometimes when Xu Ziling was sitting alone far away, Kou Zhong would chat with Duan Yucheng and the others. Duan Yucheng respectfully said, For the four of us toe with Zhong Ye and Ling Ye out to temper ourselves in the world, is truly a blessing. In just a short two-month period, its like what other people would go through in several years; it is indeed eye-opening. Bao Zhifu and the others nodded their agreement. In order to avoid other peoples eyes and ears, they agreed not to address the two boys as Gang Leaders. Shi Jie also expressed his feelings, No matter how bad the situation, as long as Zhong Ye and Ling Ye are around, we are always full of fighting spirit and vitality; and we have the confidence to cope with any danger. Ma Gui joined in, The hardest toe by is that the two masters have never treated us as underlings; moreover, you never put on airs. Kou Zhongughed nonchntly and said, Right now we all are brothers, hands and feet, together going out into the world. Not only to establish great undertaking that willst hundreds of generations, we are wishing to bring peace into the world, so that everybody can live in peace and work happily. Destiny is made whenever there is a will to create. Hearing that, the four men seemed to be emotional and excited. Shi Jie hatefully said, What we detest the most is those dog officials and thieving soldiers; we want to kill them as many as possible without showing mercy. Duan Yucheng suddenly hanged down his head, his shoulders twitched. Real men dont cry easily; evidently he had a very painful past. Kou Zhong looked at him with astonishment; Ma Gui leaned over and whispered exnation on his ear, Xiao Duans fiance was raped and murdered by the thief soldier; he always cries bitterly every time he remembers it. Kou Zhong nodded sympathetically; reaching out, he put his hand on Duan Yuchengs shoulder and said, Let bygone be bygone! Tomorrow is our hope. Our destiny should not be in other peoples hands, but it ought to be in your hands and mine. Even if our heads are rolling away, our blood stters; there will never be any regret. Kou Zhong walked over and sat cross-legged next to Xu Ziling, who was lying down, looking up at the sky. When Kou Zhong also looked up, he saw ck cloud was rolling in, covering most of the originally starry sky. Sighing, he said, Looks like thunderstorm and heavy rain ising! Xu Ziling remained silent. Kou Zhong looked down and asked, What are you thinking about? Xu Ziling sat up and spoke heavily, I am remembering the days when we lived in that small valley where we buried Niangs bones. Supposing we never left, today there would not be that many people whose spirit disappear whose soul broken in pain. Arent human beings always bringing trouble to themselves? A bean-size raindrop fell on the back of Kou Zhongs neck, and slipped into the cor of his clothes. As he looked up, a lightning happened to streak across the night sky, followed by the muffled sound of distant thunder, shattering the tranquility of the mountain and fields, as if it was ying overture to the iing storm. Reaching out to Xu Zilings shoulder, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Fate does not have this if syble in it. What has happened has happened. Supposing we did not obtain the Secret to Long Life by lucky coincidence, right now we would be facing different trouble and different pain; Yan Laoda would not have died and would continue abusing us, and we definitely would not have sat here waiting for the storm toe. Life is like that, Lao Daye [lit. old big master; another term for God] put you in such position, whether you want it or not, you simply must do your best to y that role. Crash! A crashing thunder was followed by a gale that swept the mountain and fields, and then the heavy rain was pouring from the sky. Letting the rain drenching his entire body, Xu Ziling said in a low voice, Since when did you believe in destiny? Revealing a hint of wry smile, Kou Zhong replied, I only believe that everything that has happened was fate. As for the future, I believe our fate is in our hands. If we did not have this thought, how could there be any fighting spirit and meaning in the way we conduct ourselves? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Since it is unknown, it does not exist. This is destinys most captivating aspect. No matter what the future holds, we are going to challenge the future, to seek our own ideals. Kou Zhong smiled, Ha! he said, Wed better sing a song together in this dark and stormy night, in order to unfold the solemn and stirring feelings toward life in our hearts. Ling Shao, what is your respected opinion? Xu Zilingughed aloud and pulled Kou Zhong up. After exchanging a determined and full-of-passion nce, as if by prior agreement, they both broke out in loud singing, Deep in the mountains watching the heavens fate, evesting thoughts appear one by one, since ancient times keep flourishing without end, heroes and sages are definitely able to strive ... The singing voice reverberated into the distance, even the thunderstorm could not cover it up the least bit. Duan Yucheng and the others heard the song, their heroic spirit was excited by this ode to their pride and longing. The rain was growing more violent, but raging mes have already sparked off in their hearts, there was not even a shred of fear of the blowing and beating wind and rain. Chapter 9, Part 3 The mule train passed through a valley, entering the in southeast of Jingling city, gradually leaving the towering mountains and precipitous ridges behind. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling rode side-by-side ahead, acting as the vanguard of the mule train. In thesest ten days of travel, every body did not rx their guard, they forged ahead vigorously and worked very hard in training their martial art skill, so that they were ready to face the hard fighting that mighte at any time. Pointing to a smallke in the distance to their left, Xu Ziling said, Well pitch camp by theke tonight, plus we can take this opportunity to swim. Still sitting on the horseback, Kou Zhong was looking at the map Xiang Yushan gave them. Hearing Xu Ziling, he said, By tomorrow afternoon we should reach Baizhang [lit. hundred-zhang] Gorge. This gorge extends as long as two li, with ten-thousand ren [not sure what it is, dictionary only says measure] steep cliffs on both sides. In some ces we can only see a sliver of blue sky, there is even waterfall seemingly hanging down from empty air. It is an extremely strategic ce. If anybody is going to ambush us over there, we cant guarantee the safety of the mule carts. Xu Ziling was an animal lover; heughed and said, Tonight well take a bath in the clear creek, and then well go there to scout the route. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Good idea! Patting the horses bottom, he galloped toward the smallke. Xu Ziling also urged his horse to pursue closely. Duan Yucheng and the others had no choice but to urge their mules to go faster toward their destination. Wearing only shorts to cover his groin, Xu Ziling crawled up from the warmke water, dripping wet. He turned around toward Kou Zhong, who was still floating face up, looking at the starry night sky, and said, That treasured saber of yours that was given by the Old Xiao, why did you give up the name Star Transformation and picked Moon in the Well instead? Kou Zhongughed and said, Its because I want to let our Xu Ziling Gongzi to use the name Star Transformation! Xu Ziling sat down on arge rock and crossed his legs; he said crossly, Please stop ying dumb in front of me, quickly exin the fact to this young master. Kou Zhongughed to his hearts content before saying, The lost past has returned to me. This is one of the good times that I dont mind you cursing me about. There is no harm in telling you. Ha! Moon in the Well is Star Transformation; Star Transformation is Moon in the Well. The next move in the Moon in the Well is changes; isnt that Star Transformation? Do you understand? Xu Ziling was moved, It does make sense a little bit. Very well! Scouting time is here; get out of there right now! Kou Zhong acknowledged the order; he jumped up ashore. They dressed up using the fastest technique. After letting the four men know, they unleashed their shenfa using all their strength, flying toward the Baizhang Gorge. Half a sichenter, the two boys already covered a distance of nearly twenty li, a clear indication thatpared to before, their qinggong has enjoyed great progress. By this time an expanse of dense forest appeared before their eyes. Under the dark night, where the moon and the stars did not show their splendor, from the outside, the forest looked gloomy and mysterious. The two boys childish heart was greatly aroused; as soon as they entered the forest, they jumped onto the tree branches and leaves with great delight. As they swept through the forest, they saw dots of mes outside the forest, while also heard the sound of fighting. Greatly astonished, the boys stopped by the edge of the forest and looked out. Outside the forest, far into the distance across the in, was a row of towering mountains and precipitous ridges; the space in between as undting hills and mounds and sparse woonds. This moment the mes were flickering; several hundreds torches covered the hills and ins as two groups cavalries were engaged in life and death battle. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; what was happening out there? Xu Ziling breathed out a mouthful of cold air, They arepletely blocking the way to Baizhang Gorge. Shall we continue on our mission, or shall we turn around and go back to sleep? Focusing his power into his eyes, Kou Zhong turned his gaze to the two groups of riders fighting at close quarters about two li outside the forest. Did you see that? he said, There is a yellowntern hung high right in the middle of the battlefield, it hangs from a wooden post on an elevated tform. There seem to be several more things hanging from the post, and there seem to be someone tied at the bottom of the post. Xu Ziling nodded, And that person is wearing yellow clothes, he added, Could it be that these two groups are fighting a life and death battle over that person? Kou Zhongs heart was unbearably itchy; he said, If I dont go to the bottom of this, how can I sleep tonight? Lets go! Xu Zilings curiosity was greatly aroused; he followed Kou Zhong rushing toward the tform. The closer they got, the louder was the battle cry; they were also able to see more clearly the two groups of rider in closebat. The torches were strewn at random, some were stuck on the ground, some were tied on the trees. The closer to the tform, there were more torches and ced more closely to each other. By this time the two boys were able to see clearly that one group of riders wore non-Han attire; obviously they were not people from the Central Earth. On the other hand, the other group was wearing ck, tight warrior attire, so that the two groups were in stark contrast to each other [orig. like rivers Jing and Wei separate clearly]. Quite naturally, the two boys heart was leaning toward the ck-d warriors side. The situation on the elevated tform was even clearer, the person who was bound on the post was a woman wearing yellow clothes, her long cloud-like beautiful hair was loose, covering most of her face, so that nobody could see her jade countenance clearly. The warriors in barbarian clothes were blocking the ck-d warriors from attacking the tform, and they clearly were gaining the upper hand. The ck-d warriors numbered more than a thousand, more than twice the number of barbarian warriors; however, the barbarian warriors had the advantage of stronger martial art, so that they were sessful in holding the enemy at bay. From time to time the swords qi and the sabers shine reflected the torchs me that it looked like dots of continuously jumping will-o-the-wisp, giving the out-of-the-world impression from the stark horror of the battle. The fighting was spread over arge area. Although it was concentrated mainly around the tform, but there were fierce battle everywhere they looked. This group chased that group pursued; it was an extremely bitter fighting. Forced at the edge of the battlefield was a group of five, six ck-d warriors, surrounded by a crowd of more than a dozen barbarian warriors. Sabers shed and men fell down. Witnessing this view, the two boys blood was boiling in their breast; feeling of solidarity and anger against foreign enemy burst forth in their heart. Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well out and strode forward. Without saying anything, Xu Ziling followed close by his side. Soon enough the dozen or so barbarian warriors discovered these two intruders presence. With eyes gleaming with ominous glint they swarmed toward the neers. There was only about a hundred zhang or so battlefield separating this corner from the elevated tform. The ck-d warriors were in absolute disadvantage; not only they were unable to maintain their formation, they were beaten so bad that everything broken and in disorder, giving the enemy one opportunity after another to strike at their core strength. As the enemy arrived, like torrential rush spears, hatchets, sabers and halberds also swarmed in. Kou Zhong quickened his steps. Shaking the Moon in the Well in his hand, instantly the saber de emitted yellow glow so strong that even the enemy blocking him was aware of it. Like shes of lightning he swept to the left and hacked to the right, urately striking the enemys de and their bodies, so that two men were killed instantly. The most shocking thing was that unlike before, where as they were hit by the saber they would drop their weapons and fell down, the dead bodies stayed still, their weapons fell down first, and then like snapping pirs the bodies suddenly copsed. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly amazed. It was only then did they realize that this blunt, ordinary-looking saber was actually a divine weapon with unmatched sharp de. The rest of the barbarians only saw two shes of yellow light, and immediately two of their men were killed on the spot under such a strange, baffling circumstances. Without exception everybodys guts suffered severe blow, thinking that who could possibly withstand such saber technique, where they could not even see how it happened? Immediately their will to fight was gone, and they all scattered in all directions. Kou Zhong pulled the saber back and scrutinized it under his eyes. Standing proudly, he ran his fingers along the de and said with a sigh, From now on, other than Xu Ziling, you are my bestpanion. By no means, dont let down my, Kou Zhongs high expectation on you! This moment, another group of barbarian warriors was charging toward them, but acting as if he did not see them, Xu Ziling remained standing by Kou Zhongs side and said, Do you realize that before the de even reached the enemy, the saber qi has already preceded the saber in invading their body and controlling their channels so that they obediently waited for death. Kou Zhong nodded, indicating that he was aware of it, but then he said in distress, In your opinion, was it because of my power has increased greatly, or was it entirely due to this amazing saber? Three iron spears were thrust swiftly toward them. Without even looking, Kou Zhong took a step forward, the Moon in the Well swiped toward the enemy, sabers ray swirling, yellow glow suddenly stormed, three spears met the saber and broke, scaring the three spear wielders that they staggered and fell, battered and exhausted. Two other foreign bandits were still heroically defying death by charging in, each one had a pair of hatchets in their hands. Kou Zhong casually turned his saber around, like a violent lightning yellow light shed, the two enemies hatchets flew from their hands while they themselves died on the spot. The rest of the enemies dispersed in confusion. As if he was not aware the enemies had just attacked, Xu Ziling diplomatically replied, I think it was both. Watching you making your move these two times, I could tell there was a bit of Yijian Technique feel in it, in a sense that you were able to anticipate the next bestowing-death-to-the-enemy moves change one step ahead, pressuring the enemy that they were unable to change their move to counter, so much so that their acute spirit disappearedpletely; otherwise, how could they be that useless? Kou Zhong sighed, Ay! he said, If only Ba Fenghan, Yang Xuyan, or the likes of them were here, I could have tested my saber to my hearts content! This scene was extremely weird. All around the cry of killing reached the sky, saber light and sword shadow everywhere, but it was as if the two boys were talking a leisure stroll over to this ce, chatting idly discussing martial arts. Xu Ziling suddenly traversed sideways, with a lightning move of the hand he snatched one saber and one sword that sneakily attacked them from behind. His legs kicked twice, while at the same time throwing the saber and the sword in his hands, four foreign bandits were eliminated immediately. Momentarily no one else dared to mess with them. Returning to Kou Zhongs side, Xu Ziling elbowed his nk and said with augh, Dont forget you still have me as yourpetitor. Bring it on! Let me see if after obtaining the Moon in the Well, whether you be like a tiger that has grown wings, or like a mouse that has grown a tumor? While crying out in pain, Kou Zhong struck a posture, and with a squeal said, Lately you, this kid, have been admonishing me with straight face. This time I am going to repay injustice with injustice, animosity with animosity. En garde! However, the saber was hacking toward a young, heroic barbarian man, who pounced on them. ng! Unexpectedly that man used his sword to block Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, and was still able to fiercelyunch a counterattack. The swordsmanship was swift and fierce, strange and mysterious, the power behind it profound. Obviously this was a martial art masters from the barbarian bandits side who heard about the neers and hade to hispanions aid. Forgetting about Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong swiftly traversed sideways, thick fantastic yellow glow arose, like the billows of Yangtze River it met the iing attack. The man blocked seven saber strikes in session. Dang! Unexpectedly his sword broke right in the middle. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well seized this opportunity to advance, but the man was indeed brilliant; right in time he produced a dagger. Ding! The dagger blocked the definite-kill saber strike, while, borrowing the momentum from the impact, he floated about a zhang back. By this time Xu Ziling was also heavily surrounded, but he still called out, I want to see something! His fist and his leg moved together, he simply fought his way out, and rushed in the direction of the elevated tform. When Kou Zhong wanted to run after him, shadows shed in front of him, as three men barred his way, one of them happened to be the barbarian with superior skill, holding a fresh sword in his hand. The young barbarian shouted, Friend, who are you? Your skill is quite exceptional, what rtionship do you have with Duba [lit. sole hegemony/dominator] Vige [orig. mountain vige/vi/manor]? Kou Zhongughed aloud. What Duba Vige? he replied, I have never heard of it. I am who I am and Im not ashamed of my name: Kou Zhong it is. Where have thoueth from? Why had the guts toe to my Central Earth and disy shockingly bad behavior? Hearing Kou Zhongs name, the three barbarians countenance changed. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Do you know me? The barbarian that had just exchanged blows with Kou Zhong replied, I am Tieles Flying Eagle, Qu Aos third disciple Genggehuer. Kou Zhong, this time you dropped by, dont ever think that youll leave alive. Go! The two barbarians behind him immediately fanned out and surrounded Kou Zhong in the middle. Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders andughed, Turns out Ren Shaoming was indeed your man. Since my hands are unbearably itchy, and now you are here to offer yourselves as sacrifice for my saber! Ha! When Xu Ziling was breaking throughyers uponyers of the enemyswork of defense, burst after burst of shrill whistling sound was heard from the battlefield; there must be some sort of pattern and order,manding the barbarians advance and retreat, because he suddenly felt increasing pressure from the enemy. However, the two boys have obviously impeded the Tiele troops main force, giving big boost to the ck-d warriors momentum, so that theyunched wave after wave of attacks toward the elevated tform. Xu Ziling has entered the as-clear-as-still-water state of mind; although all around him was chaotic battle and tangled fighting, but he was able to clearly grasp what was true and what was false in both the enemys and his own sides movements, and was always a step ahead in evading or intercepting the enemies, so that they were unable to surround him. The ck-d warriors have also regarded him as an ally; every now and then they helped him blocking the Tiele peoples attack against him. By the time he was about ten zhang away from the elevated tform, a charming shout came from above. Xu Ziling quickly recognized her as a first-ss martial art masters from the enemys side; thereupon he also let out a ferocious shout and soared into the air. Under the illumination of the torches, he saw a pair of milky-white arms, round navel, belonging to a beautiful woman in red dress, whose pair of short des in her right and left hands turned into two balls of sharp-me-like shes of light, one on top of the other, striking toward his face and chest; unbelievably fast, and swift and fierce to the extreme. The womans silhouette was very pretty, her features were so clear and distinct that it was as if she was carved by a sharp knife, her pair of beautiful eyes sparkled spiritedly like precious stones; in short, she was extremely attractive. But Xu Ziling did not pay the slightest bit of attention to her beauty, one after another his left and right palms struck out. Bang! Bang! By the time the twobatants were interlocked with each other and then separated, they had already exchanged three moves. Xu Ziling had used a carefully calcted force, so that to her surprise, he was able to utilize the reaction force from the impact to propel himself up, and like a big bird he flew toward the elevated tform. Obviously the beautiful barbarian had never expected that not only Xu Ziling was able to meet her full-powered, swift and fierce move head-on, he was able to brilliantly borrow the force to fly upwards swiftly. By the time she wanted to run after him, it was already toote. Book 8 - 10 – Siren[1] or Saint? Book 8 Chapter 10 C Siren[1] or Saint? Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well was like a storm filling the sky; when he warded off the two broadswords from his left and right, Qu Aos third disciple Genggehuer stepped over inrge stride, thrusting the sword in his hand straight toward Kou Zhongs face. Before the sword even arrived, cold air already shrouded the entire area in front of Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong knew that this one sword strike carried Genggehuers entire strength, taking advantage while he was blocking his two subordinates attack, he watched for a gap in Kou Zhongs defense and went straight in; it was an unusually formidable attack. However, Kou Zhong felt immense delight instead; his saber swiftly moved to parry the sword. Yellow light shed everywhere, carrying with it an ear-splitting noise. Kou Zhong concentrated his strength as he stood still like a mountain, while Genggehuer subsequently took two steps back. Two sabers attacked again, making it difficult for Kou Zhong to pursue and attack. Although these two Tiele martial art masters skill was exquisite, Kou Zhong knew that if fighting one-on-one, he would be able to subdue any of them within three moves. However, when the two men joined hands and fought together, in terms of timing and angle of attack, they prevented him from dealing with just one of them with all his strength; therefore, he was feeling that he had the power but could not carry out his attack. Also, obviously the two men were using some kind of mysterious fighting technique, so that by fighting together, the two of them would be able to deal with a much stronger opponent. However, Kou Zhong remained calm without any sign of fear; his heroic spirit was swelling. Weaving left and right, his shenfa was as fantastic as swimming fish, as he dodged the enemys sabers. Whoosh! Genggehuers sword pierced; just like before, the sword went straight toward Kou Zhongs head. Although it was an iparably simple sword strike, Kou Zhong felt helpless to evade, hence he sent his Moon in the Well to strike back. Dang! The yellow light from Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well intensified as he blocked the enemys sword once again. This time Genggehuer was shaken and had to take three steps back, but Kou Zhong was also forced to take half a step back. Both men were shocked. Kou Zhongs shock was because he felt that for no reason at all Genggehuers power suddenly increased; it was far stronger than the first one, so that his own qi and blood was churning. If the power behind the next sword strike increased proportionately, it would be strange indeed if Kou Zhong were not defeated. Genggehuers shock was because of Kou Zhongs resilience. It should be noted that his so-called Seven-Turn of Violent Wave was his schools unique skill, one of the Three Amazing Skills created by Qu Ao himself. Each strike was capable of absorbing a little of the opponents power, and turned it to enhance the power of his own sword; it was an extremely strange and crafty skill. Who would have thought that not only Kou Zhongs power was well stored-up and did not leak at all, it was also iparably cold? Although he barely managed to suck in a bit of breath, he was actually feeling iparable difort, so that the second time he exchanged blows, he was forced to take one step more than the first. It was only then did he realize why with his ability, Qu Te, who assumed the name Ren Shaoming, still had to sumb under the opponents saber. This moment Kou Zhong heard the sound of saber de splitting the air behind him. His mind was churning at the speed of light, he knew that if this situation continued, he would be stuck in apletely passive situation where he was at the enemys mercy; so he cooked up an action n. Following his body, the saber in Kou Zhongs hand also spun around, seemingly blocking the saber attacking from his left. But suddenly he crabbed sideways to face the saber chopping down from his right. Exuding a strong qi, the Moon in the Well sliced diagonally at the enemy. The Tiele master felt the yellow glow from the opponents strange saber suddenly red up, the saber qi rushed down directly at him with a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses power. Scared out of his wits, he stopped right on his track, not knowing whether to advance or to retreat. The originally invulnerable fighting formation immediately revealed a gap, which ought not to be revealed. With a longugh Kou Zhong suddenly straightened up his waist and back, his bearing became even more intimidating without equal; his confidence soared. Like a thunderbolt the Moon in the Well struck down on the Tiele master. Dang! The man raised his saber to block. Who would have thought that with a yellow sh, Kou Zhongs saber chopped down on both the saber and the man, throwing him outward, that he breathed hisst even before his body touched the ground? By this time, Genggehuer had just managed to regte his qi, indicating the intensity and the swiftness of the fight between these four men. Upon seeing this, he was greatly rmed. Immediately he stepped forward and hacked down his earth-shattering third surge of violent wave. Meanwhile, the situation at the battlefield intensified, the fighting was concentrated around the elevated tform. There was continuous flow of people sshing their blood and falling to the ground, it was an extremely bitter fight. Another sword attacked from the left side. Kou Zhong struck a pose as if he was going to block; the Moon in the Well feigned a strike, but when the enemys sword was about to arrive, he shifted half a step sideways. The enemys sword flit across right in front of his nose; a hairsbreadth closer and his body would be cut open. Effortlessly the Moon in the Well swiped horizontally sideways. Dang! The martial art master was jolted by him that he spurted a mouthful of blood. He staggered back, and momentarily had no more power to attack. Having the pressure on him reduced, Kou Zhong let out a longugh and took a stride forward. The Moon in the Well shook, like raging wave crashing onto the shore it attacked Genggehuer. For Genggehuer, it was the very first time that he encountered someone who was able to ovee his Seven-Turn of Violent Wave by receiving it head-on. His courage was shaken, unexpectedly he did not dare to take the saber, but flew back instead. Kou Zhongughed aloud. He did not pursue, but went toward Xu Ziling to provide support. Xu Ziling had justnded on the edge of the elevated tform. Over a dozen Tiele people guarding the tform divided themselves into two groups. One group swarmed forward to intercept, the other group positioned themselves around the post where the woman in yellow was held captive, tightly defending this ultimate target. Xu Ziling knew that if he failed to use lightning fast trick to knock down the Tiele people guarding thisst defensive line, if that Tiele beauty had time to rush over, forget about saving people, there would be no guarantee that he could save his own life. Not to mention that the Tiele people currently attacking him obviously had significantly superior martial art skillpared to the Tiele warriors he encountered in the battlefield a moment ago, especially the huge man in the middle wielding a spear. Before the spear even arrived, the spear qi was already pressing down on him, powerful and harsh to the extreme. Not daring to underestimate the enemy, he soared to the air. As he reached approximately three-zhang altitude, unexpectedly he was able to apply his qi to make a somersault toward the wooden pole in the middle of the tform. The Tiele people underneath had never expected that Xu Ziling would be as nimble as an eagle in the air, and was able to flip over and fly. Momentarily they were caught off-guard and their formation became chaotic. The worst thing was that Xu Ziling was able to borrow the reaction force as he made contact with the post, and would be able tond anywhere he wished, so that they were unable to anticipate how to guard against him, and thus were at a loss on what to do. Chapter 10, Part 2 As they were still thinking about it, Xu Ziling struck the pole with his palm, grabbed it, and slid down the pole. With unequalled ferocity his qi pressed down on the heads of the six Tiele warriors guarding around the pole. This time, even if they wanted to kill the beauty tied on the pole, they did not have the ability to do so. Amidst the tender shout, the outstanding Tiele beauty has arrived on the tform. But the wooden post suddenly disintegrated into cun-size fragments. It was only then did the enemy realize that it was the handicraft of Xu Zilings palm. Even more, they now realized how formidable Xu Zilings palms were. But the realization came toote. The beauty in yellow was suddenly loosened from the pole, but as she was falling backward, Xu Ziling caught her. Soaring at an angle to the sky, he let out a long whistle, calling out to Kou Zhong, who had just caught up with him on the stage, to leave together. With Kou Zhong leading the way and Xu Ziling carrying the woman in yellow, they ran for more than twenty li at a stretch before reaching a small hill and came to a halt. Setting down thedy in yellow on the grass, Xu Ziling knitted his brows. Thats weird, he said, Her acupoints must be sealed; but no matter how I sent my qi to stimte her blood flow, she remains unconscious. Copying him, Kou Zhong also squatted on the ground. As he reached out to push aside her beautiful hair, the two boys were dumbstruck. My Niang! How could there be such a ssy, stirring beautiful woman like this in the world? If behind her closed eyelids she had beautiful eyes that matched her exceptional flower-like countenance, then those beauties like Song Yuzhi, Shen Luoyan, Shan Wanjing and the likes would have to yield to her somewhat. Staring at her figure, which was as elegant as the undting mountains and rivers, her skin and flesh, which was as sparkling and translucent as the snow, so smooth and supple [orig. brimming with stic energy], Kou Zhong breathed a mouthful of cold air and said, Beauty that is capable of causing the downfall of a country is probably no more than this. No wonder those two troops were fighting a life and death battle over her. Xu Ziling took a deep breath and said, Looking at her jet-ck hair, her snow white skin, I feel like this is how the beauty of the nature ought to look like. I have never seen such beautiful, captivating hair and icy muscle; so beautiful that it is almost unnatural. Kou Zhong responded in amazement, You are right. But when I see beautiful women, usually my heart warms up, howe just now there was a chill in my heart? Xu Ziling looked at her from head to toe, but was unable to find on this iparably well-proportioned figure anything that was enough to spoil her perfect and without the least bit of blemish body; on the contrary, the more he looked at her, the more he felt that she had a hard-to-describe, the kind that borders magical, out-of-this-world, beauty. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Could it be that she is basically not a human? Looking at her along, looking at her across, she looks more like a fairy than human; how could a human be this beautiful? Xu Zilings voice turned cold, You seem to forget why you squatted down to examine her! It was only then did Kou Zhong remember that he was supposed to find a way to unseal her acupoints. Embarrassed, he said, It was because her beauty is too shaking to the core. Huh? Howe your countenance is so unsightly? Touching his face, Xu Ziling pondered and said, Perhaps because when I was trying to unseal her acupoints just now I used too much true qi! Kou Zhong secretly signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, but his mouth said, That must be it! Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were connected at a deep level; standing up, he said, Let me look around to see if there is any enemy pursuing us. You stay here and think of a way to wake her up! How could Kou Zhong not understand his meaning? He also stood up and said, Its better for us to look together! Reaching out to Xu Zilings shoulders, he sent his true qi into Xu Zilings channels. The two boys distanced themselves from the peerless beauty for at least thirty zhang before Kou Zhong said in low voice, Extremely not right. Before, even after fighting with all your might, your countenance would not turn white suffused with green, and only after I transmitted my true qi the green disappeared. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This woman not only has scary beauty, even her person is very scary; I seem to hit the right spot, but how could there be any acupoint sealing technique that we cannot unseal? Could it be that the person sealing her acupoint is stronger than Ba Fenghan? Thats impossible. Kou Zhong replied with a wry smile, If the person sealing her acupoint was Qu Ao? Dont forget that Qu Ao is just a tad inferior to Bi Xuan. Have youe across Qu Ao? Xu Ziling blurted out. Kou Zhong was upset, If I havee across Qu Ao, do you think I would still be alive and debate with you in here whether we should help this siren [see chapter titles footnote]? Ay! Such a beautiful siren, she made me feel that even if I was killed by her, I would be most willing. Noticing Xu Zilings ferocious stare, he busily added, Those bunch just now are Qu Aos men; that guy wielding a sword, and his skill in using the sword is not bad, called himself Qu Aos third disciple Genggehuer. The other side was Duba Vige. Just listening to the name, I know they are not good people. [Reminder: duba means sole hegemony/domination.] Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Why would they fight over this siren? Kou Zhong shook his head, indicating that he had no idea. Wrapping his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders, he took him down the sloping hill and said, Looking at her eerie beauty, I was having a panic-stricken feeling. Perhaps femme fatales are this kind of touching rarity. Tell me, have you ever imagined that there are women more beautiful than Shan Wanjing, Shen Luoyan, Li Xiuning, and the likes? Xu Ziling shook his head, indicating that he had not. Agreeing with him, he said, Our only option is: if everything else fails, retreat! Huh? Howe you are walking slower and slower? Kou Zhong sat down dejectedly. Holding his head in his hands, he said, Xiao Ling! Tell me! Supposing we are actually good people who acted like thieves, that Miss is meless, but because we are overly suspicious, we let her be captured back by Tiele people, or perhaps be eaten by wild beasts, would there be peace in happiness in our conscience? At a loss, Xu Ziling also sat down on another rock at the bottom of the hill; he said, But how do you exin why my face was turning green then? Kou Zhong asked, Before you rescued her, did you sh with any formidable opponent? Xu Ziling nodded, I encountered that Tiele beauty who wields double-dagger, he replied, But she is not yet qualified to injure me. Qu Aos martial art is strange, Kou Zhong said, Take Genggehuer for example, he was able to use strange technique to enhance his strength. Perhaps that Tiele beauty injured you surreptitiously. Therefore, there is still the possibility that we wrongly used her as a siren. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling said, She is either a weak woman who does not know any martial art, or her martial art skill is so superior that we cant even detect the true qi within her body. Ay! I dont know how to deal with her either. Having a second thought, Kou Zhong said, ording to reason, this cant be a trap set for us, because how could she know that we were going to rescue her? But why do we feel that something is not right? Xu Ziling mused. Kou Zhong rose up and said resolutely, Letse back to take a look first before we talk further. The mysterious, captivating beauty was still lying without moving on the grass. This moment the ck clouds have already past, the stars filled the sky, her brilliance was even more mysterious and enchanting. Suddenly there were wolves howling in the distance, it was unclear whether they smelled the reeking of blood from the battlefield and thus were flocking there. The two boys hid behind a bush, hesitating. Since their debut, it was the first time that they were caught in this kind of dilemma, where there was no room to advance or retreat. Staring at her undting, alluring soft breasts, Kou Zhong spoke softly, Looking at her face, she could not be more than twenty. Even if her Shifu was Bi Xuan or Fu Cailin, its hard to imagine that her power cultivation is deep enough that she is able to conceal it from us. Sneering, Xu Ziling remarked, Unless she is another Shi Feixuan ... heavens ...! The two boys were shaken. It was indeed a possibility. Kou Zhong said in low voice, My granny! If she is a direct-line disciple of Yin Gui Pai sent out to have a duel with Shi Feixuan, everything bes clear. Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, That possibility is high. Ren Shaoming is Qu Aos son, Evil Monk and Amorous Nun are Yin Gui Pai people; otherwise, why would they tie her to a post and just waiting for us to rescue her? Kou Zhong nodded, That must be it, he said, Lets go! I want to see how long she is going to lie down over there. Nheless, the two boys were only speaking without actually doing it; they did not leave. Suddenly a wolf was howling nearby. The two boys heart was still on the woman in yellow, they jumped in fright immediately. Several hungry wolves were running up the hillside. Seeing the woman in yellow, immediately their eyes brightened and rushed over toward her. The beautiful woman remained motionless. The two boys were unable to hold back; they rushed out to drive the hungry wolves away. After so much hard work, they finally assembled a stretcher from tree branches and vines. It was a cumbersome process, but in order not to touch her body, even if they had to spend more time, they would still have to do it. They were very much in fear. With utmost care and full alert, they finally managed to move her soft, as if it had no bones, and alluring body onto the stretcher. Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Lets bring her back first and talk about itter! The two boys lifted up the stretcher, and then ran as fast as they could. Book 8 - 11 – I, your servant, Wanwan Book 8 Chapter 11 C I, your servant, Wanwan Urging his horse, Kou Zhong caught on to Xu Zilings side, who was riding ahead of him; he said, She is not awake yet. If she continues without water, in a few days this jade woman will perish. Xu Ziling turned his head around to cast a quick nce on the mule cart, which was specially equipped with a canopy to shield her from the sun, suddenly his face showed a little smile as he spoke indifferently, Zhong Shao, have you noticed that both in terms of breathing and pulse, the frequency and amplitude are unswerving from start to finish. In my opinion, this is some kind of first-ss, very exquisite Gui Xi Gong [lit. turtle breathing skill]. I dare to say that she must be the Yin Gui Pai ambassador sent out to deal with Shi Feixuan. Deeply vexed, Kou Zhong gloomily said, Last night, if we were willing to let the hungry wolves ate her, we would have found the truth. But I was afraid we might make one mistake and regret it for all eternity by harming other peoples little live due to our overly suspicious thought of some demonic character. Although all around them the wilderness was full of rustic charms, with floating mist, luxuriant forest, a truly poetic and picturesque beauty, but with this load of worry in their mind, the two boys were not in the mood to enjoy the scenery. Kou Zhong went on, Supposing she is really a Yin Gui Pai siren, she could simply join hands with Qu Ao to give us bad luck; why would she go to a lot of trouble dressing up as God, ying the devil on us? Xu Ziling replied seriously, It seems to me that her beauty has gradually conquered you; otherwise, why would keep speaking in defense of her? Dont you forget that things of the world oftene as a surprise; for example, she might want to lure us to unseal her acupoints, and then uses some evil method to absorb our power; or perhaps she wanted to break the secret of our fantastic power cultivation, so that she could use it to increase her own power to defeat Shi Feixuan. Who would dare to ascertain that these possibilities are invalid? Grumbling to himself, Kou Zhong said, How could I be conquered or confused that easily by her? But after seeing her, Duan Yucheng those four guys have be dazed; this is what worries me! Xu Ziling spoke resolutely, Since she hase to our door, she will not be able to escape. We have no choice but to deal with her to the end, I want to see, other than pretending to be in aa, what magic trick she could y. Kou Zhong asked in surprised, You seemed to be convinced that she is a female demon. Ifter on we can confirm that she is a pitiful woman who had her acupoints sealed by Qu Ao using some bizarre technique, wont it be a big joke? Revealing a confident smile, Xu Ziling replied in aid-back manner, This battle is about patience and confidence; as long as we can drive her to show her true character, we win. Do you understand? Kou Zhong nodded, Your feeling cant be wrong, he said, Well simply go along with her to the end! I dont believe she can pretend to be asleep forever. Ay! I would rather face Qu Ao than falling into this thorny problem. By dusk that day, they have already covered a distance of approximately ten li, while studying the surrounding for a good ce to set their camp that night. At this time they were only about six or seven li from Baizhang Gorge, but in order to avoid the battlefield the previous night, they had to make a detour, and thus had to travel seven, eight li extra distance. Besides, they would not be able to reach Baizhang Gorge tonight anyway, plus it was really not a good idea to journey through the Gorge at night. The route they were taking was all out-of-the-way mountain and fields, deste terrain, where weeds grew and spread, without any sign of human habitation. Finally they decided to stop for the night at a t, open space. After taking the woman in yellow into the tent, Duan Yucheng and Bao Zhifu walked out in silence as if they were in daze. Shi Jie and Ma Gui found an excuse to look at her. As a result the four guys looked as if they were bewitched. Seeing this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were inwardly very anxious. Although the two boys have repeatedly warned those four guys, but not only they did not believe, they practically did not even listen to them. Pulling Xu Ziling aside, Kou Zhong said, And now we are really stuck between a rock and a hard ce. If this woman is indeed a treasure that worth those two sides fighting over, then at least one side will prepare an ambush at Baizhang Gorge. In which case we can dere the end of our salt trading endeavor, and Yucheng and the others, those four guys life will be difficult to protect. After a short pause, he continued, If we go Baizhang Gorge tonight to scout, if someonesing to steal her, not only well lose her, Yucheng and the others will also lose their lives in vain. What should we do? Moving is not as good as staying still, Xu Ziling replied, We are staying here to guard tonight, tomorrow well go to the front of the Gorge and make ns there. Ay! Other than Baizhang Gorge, is there any other route we can take? Of course there is, Kou Zhong replied, But it will take ten days longer. Perhaps by that time the Jade Annulus of He n will already be snatched by someone else. Xu Ziling was upset, You already have Duke Yang Treasure, yet you still dwell on Jade Annulus of He n; since when did you be so greedy? he asked. Kou Zhongughed apologetically and said, Ling Shao, please calm down. I was just making a real-life analogy! Cant I even joke with you? Before Xu Ziling could answer, a faint sound of hoof beats wasing from a distance, gradually getting louder. Could it be that speaking of Cao Cao[1], Cao Cao thus appears? If Qu Ao personally came, how should they deal with him? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood side-by-side, calmly waiting for the enemys arrival. Duan Yucheng, four guys immediately got busy buckling up their mules, as well as taking the woman in yellow out of the tent and into the mule cart especially fitted to transport her. Under the light of the crescent-moon above, they saw thirteen riders galloping toward them along the route they took earlier; apparently they were following the tracks left by the mule carts. Obviously the neers had seen them, because they slowed down their horses. The leader was a big and tall middle-aged man, d in ck warrior attire, with a red cloak on the outside, and a thick ck moustache above his lips. One of his features that left the deepest impression on the two boys was his face; the skin was full of holes and protrusions like rough lemon skin, but the pair of eyes embedded on that pockmarked face was shiny like a pair of smallnterns, making his entire person gives off some kind of both terrifying and powerful charisma like a wild beast. All the men behind him were also dressed in ck; all came in various shapes and sizes: tall, short, lean and stout, but none did not reveal some kind or heroic air. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, I am afraid the Vige Master of Duba Vige is here. Xu Ziling nodded, Speaking about which,st night he and us wererade-in-arms, so if we can avoid fighting, lets not fight. Meanwhile the Duba Vige men reined their horses to stop about ten zhang away from the two boys, and then they flew down together; their movement was orderly, fast and nimble. The leader stepped out of the formation, walked over toward the two boys, and then cupping his fist, he said, Zaixia Duba Viges Zhuangzhu [Vige Master] Fang Zetao; I wonder if the two gentlemen are Kou Xiongdi and Xu Xiongdi, whose name shook thend under the heavens recently. Seeing his polite manner, good impression grew in the two boys heart. Kou Zhong returned the propriety and replied, Fang Zhuangzhu praised us too much; the two of us are merely fugitives driven to the east and chased to the west by other people. Fang Zetaoughed aloud and said, Sess without arrogance is the sign of true heroes. How could we call those who were able to kill Ren Shaoming in the midst of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, and were still able to get away easily, as mere fugitives? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Fang Zhuangzhu needs not praise us. You are gracing us with your presence this time, is it for the sake of thatdy in yellow whom we rescuedst night? Fang Zetaos eyes shone with a warm and concerned look; modestly and politely he asked, Gentlemens kindness in rendering assistance to usst night, I, Fang Zetao, will never forget. May I ask where Miss Wanwan is now? Breathing a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong said, So she is called Wanwan. May I ask what is her rtionship to Fang Zhuangzhu? Fang Zetao looked back to his men and said, Spread out and be on the lookout, be sure to be on your guard. After his men acknowledged his order and spread out to all directions, Fang Zetao said amiably, May we talk while walking? The two boys felt a little ridiculous for their previous paranoia. Nodding their heads, they led him toward the mule cart where Wanwan was. Fang Zetao said, Wanwans lot in life was extremely pitiful. When Ol Fang met her, her familys carriage and horses were robbed by thieves, not one of her family members was spared. Those lowly thieves had voracious desire for her loveliness, and were about to carry out their beastly desire when I encountered them by chance. So I killed the bunch of them and rescued her back to the Vige. Kou Zhong said, Please forgive this kid for being short-sighted, but seeing your respected Viges troop arrangementst night, I know that you are definitely not nameless entity of Jianghu world, yet why have we never heard about your Viges distinguished name? Perhaps it is because the days of our Viges existence is still short, Fang Zetao answered, I was originally a Sui general. After the muddleheaded ruler was assassinated by Yuwen Huaji, I went to set my foot at Jingling, but I did not have any thought of proiming myself king like other people; therefore, together with many brothers who have apanied me for many years we established Duba Vige. On one hand it is to guard against robbers, on the other hand we want to wait for a wise master to appear, so that we can pledge our allegiance to him, and hence avoid Jingling from disaster and misfortune. The two boys nodded for this sudden enlightenment. However, Xu Ziling said, These two characters Duba seem to be extremely overbearing. Zhuangzhus not afraid others might have misunderstanding? Fang Zetaoughed and said, Without a domineering name, how could we suppress the thieves from everywhere? Presently marauders are forming alliances and building their powers, there are hundreds of such groups. They loot all over the ce and enlist ruffians and runaway criminals. Included among these, Xiang, Fang, Mao and Cao, four major bandits are the most vicious as well as the most famous. Oh! Wanwan! By this time the three of them had reached the mule cart. As soon as Fang Zetao saw the peerless beauty Wanwan, who was lying on makeshift bed of straw, he disregarded everything and rushed desperately toward the cart; overwhelmed with emotion, his voice trembled, How is she doing? This moment the two boys no longer had even half a shred of suspicion. Kou Zhong exined her condition. Seriously and with utmost care Fang Zetao reached out and pressed his fingers on her wrist. Soon afterwards bean-sized beads of sweats appeared on his forehead. Disappointed, he said, What kind of acupoint sealing technique is this? Her meridian is empty and fluttering; it is not blocked, but it cant converge the qi and breathing either, as if she is weak from an incurable illness. Judging from what he said, the two boys were able to infer that Fang Zetao was an expert in internal, qigong skill, a first-ss martial art master of the Wulin. No wonder he was able to proim himself hegemon in Jingling. Xu Ziling had quite good impression on him, he said, Is Fang Zhuangzhu familiar with Qu Aos acupoint sealing technique? Such a strange technique, which we have never seen before, must be Qu Ao personally put his hand to it? Until now, they were still unclear on how the battle started the previous night. Fang Zetao shook his head and said, Definitely not Qu Ao personally, because he has never set his foot on the Central ins. The ones who came were his three disciples, Chang Shumou, Hua Lingzi and Genggehuer. Most probably it was Chang Shumous handiwork. This man reportedly has acquired eighty percent of Qu Aos skill. Qu Aos three major consummate skills with which his name shook the outer regions, only he is able to link up all three together. Aftermitting the name Chang Shumou into his memory, Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes shone coldly as he said, How did Miss Wanwan get tied on that post? Fang Zetaos eyes softened as he looked at Wanwan tenderly, and then sighing, he said, It could be said a sudden and unexpected disaster. Half a month ago, I suddenly received Ren Shaomings letter, requesting me to realign my allegiance to Tieqi Hui. Naturally I categorically declined his request, and right away strengthened the city defense, afraid that they woulde to attack. These past two years not a single day passed without we are making adequate preparation. With the support of the citizens, we dare to boast that even Ren Shaoming going on an all-out attack, we can easily defend ourselves for about a year. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Naturally Ren Shaoming would not dare to provoke Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyou. If he managed to seize Jingling, he could establish a northerly-essible military base north of the Yangtze River; thats why he was very interested in Jingling. Fang Zetao was astounded, I did not expect Kou Xiong to be so knowledgeable in this area, he said. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Ren Shaoming is dead, Tieqi Hui is all split up and in pieces, Chang Shumous men became lone army, why did they stille to provoke you? Fang Zetao replied distressingly, On this, even I cannot figure it out either. Three days ago, somebody suddenly broke into our Vige. This persons skill was very high, not only he wounded more than a dozen of my men, he even kidnapped Wanwan. Ay! To be honest with you, nowadays Wanwan has be my, this Ol Fangs lifeblood. Its not that I have never seen beautiful women, but since the first time I saw her, I have fallen deeply in love with her. I just feel that if I lose her, everything else will lose its meaning. This scheme of Chang Shumou really pinched my crucial point, so that I was losing my mind. Duan Yucheng, Bao Zhifu, Shi Jie and Ma Gui, who were standing around listening, all nodded their head in empathy. It would be strange indeed if anybody who saw such a beautiful woman did not fall head over heels in love with her. Fang Zetao continued, Three days ago I received a letter from Chang Shumou, telling me that Wanwan has fallen into their hands, and told me to decide life and death outside Baizhang Gorge, as well as to decide Wanwans fate. Ay! It was the most difficult decision I have to make in my whole life. I knew very well that the opponent was using the moving the tiger from the mountain stratagem, but inside Jingling there are thousands and tens of thousands people relying on my protection. Between that and Wanwan, how am I supposed to choose? Kou Zhong and co showed an understanding and sympathizing look. Fang Zetao sighed and said, Finally I decided to hold back my troops without moving, I stayed in Jingling. Between public and private matters, I still know what to do and what not to do. Kou Zhong and the others looked at each other in bewilderment; if that was the case, howe there was warst night? Fang Zetao smiled wryly and said, I am not surprised gentlemen are at a loss, simply because my valiant general, who was also my younger brother Fang Zeliu, against my expectation went out with his troops privately to rescue Wanwan. It was only then did I know that he was also in love with Wanwan. Last night it was unfortunate that he died in battle. When the survivors came back to report to me that two gentlemen had rescued Wanwan, I was unable to hold back anymore. Leaving the city, I went to look for gentlemen, until finally I met with you here. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly that she was indeed a femme fatale. I wonder if Fang Zhuangzhu has taken Miss Wanwan as your wife? he asked. Fang Zetao shook his head dejectedly, That is something that I wanted very much to ask her every time I saw her, but each time I did not dare to open my mouth, afraid that she would tly refuse, or worse, she would simply brush her sleeve and leave, he said, She does not like to talk, she likes to be alone, her character is very difficult to fathom, but obviously my adoration of her is growing with each passing day. Everyone was silent. Looking at this exceptional beauty, which looked like she was sleeping soundly, an image of beauty speaking softly and smiling tenderly appeared in everybodys imagination. Right this moment, a strong force was pressing down from above. The cart covering burst open. [1] Cao Cao (155-220), famous statesman and general at the end of Han, noted poet and calligrapher,ter warlord, founder and first king of Cao Wei, father of Emperor Cao Pi; the main viin of novel the Romance of Three Kingdoms. Book 8 - 12 – A Thousand Li to Save a Beauty Book 8 Chapter 12 C A Thousand Li to Save a Beauty Duan Yucheng, four men, had rather shallow power, they were the first to be jolted and staggered back, away from the mule cart. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were also aghast, knowing that the iing persons martial art skill was at least at Ba Fenghans level that he was able to elude Fang Zetaos men who were guarding all around outside, and only after he dropped from the sky did they realize his presence and thuspletely lost the key moment. Kou Zhong traversed one step sideways, the Moon in the Well left his back and went up to chop the air above him. Xu Ziling lowered his waist in a horse stance, with both palms raised up. Feng Zetao was an outstanding martial artist as well, pulling out his sword, he drew six, seven sword patterns in the air, to protect the area above Wanwan. Dang! Bang! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Wells yellow glow grew strong, it hit the enemys weapon squarely. But he immediately groaned inwardly. Turned out the weapons the opponent was wielding was a pair of flickering-with-golden-rays strange shields, each shield was about two chi long, wide on the top and pointy on the bottom, the edges were sharp like saber de. This kind of never-seen-before strange-shaped weaponry not only could attack and defend, it also seemed to be imprable of the enemys weapon. As soon as the saber and the shield collided, a strong, peerlessly violent reaction force immediately shook the Moon in the Well that it bounced back. Before Kou Zhong had any opportunity to send out the second strike, like a clump of floating cloud the shields sharp edge already pared down in an oblique angle. Even though Kou Zhong was dauntless, he was caught off guard and had no choice but to move away. Xu Zilings double palms struck up and hit the center of the left shield. He felt the surface of the shield was covered with sharp spines. Although the spines failed to pierce his true-qi-infused muscle of his palms, he did not dare to go all-out; withdrawing his strength, the opponents strength immediately overpowered him and sent him rolling on the ground in such a sorry state. Fang Zetao wanted to take advantage while the enemy was dealing with Kou and Xu, two people, by thrusting his sword in the gap between the two shields to injure the enemy, who would have thought that in the blink of an eye Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were forced to retreat, and the pair of shield closed up? Bing! The sword was rigidly locked down by the pair of shields, which then continued to press down on his head. Having no way out, Fang Zetao dropped down to the bottom of the cart. A man, wearing snow-white outfit, handsome and slender, looked about thirty, descended on the mule cart like an immortal descended from the heaven, with a lofty quality as if he looked at the world disdainfully out of the corner of his eyes. His eyes emitted faint blue glint, a hint of gentle and soft smile seemed to be eternally carved on the corners of his mouth. His straight nose and strong jaws, his sharp contrast physique, his broad shoulders, made others felt like he was a lofty mountain that would not be easily knocked down by the enemy. With a slight smile on his face, he fixed his gaze on Wanwan. Putting the shields back behind his back, he praised, This stunning beauty is certainly the best in the world. This moment Fang Zetao came out from the bottom of the cart on the other side; he was apanied by twelve of his men, who rushed over in a flurry. On top of that, with Kou Zhong and hispany, their strength suddenly increased several folds. However, because they refrained from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vase, afraid that he might harm Wanwan, nobody dared to rush onto the mule cart to attack. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were baffled; the former came closer to the rear of the mule cart and said with a giggle, Are you that guy, Chang Shumou? Your pair of golden shields is quite interesting. On the other hand, Xu Ziling inched closer to the front of the mule cart and calmly stood there. There was not the slightest hint of anxiety or upset because of the setback they suffered on his face. Instead, it was Fang Zetao who lost his cool. Chang Shumou, he said sternly, If you dare to harm her, dont even think of leaving this ce alive. Chang Shumous blue eyes cast a disdainful look at Fang Zetao, but he turned toward Kou Zhong and said, Do you know who Ren Shaoming is? Kou Zhong replied nonchntly, I heard he was your Shifus illegitimate child; is that right? Murderous aura shed briefly in Chang Shumous eyes. Throwing his head back and roaring inughter, he said, You really have guts. But one day you will regret what you have just said. And then, turning to Xu Ziling, he smiled and said, Your punching and kicking skill is quite exceptional; that Luocha woman would definitely not have such disciple, was it from the Secret to Long Life? Calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Ziling replied, What I learned is just cheap tricks I pieced together from the east and gathered together from the west, how could it worthparing to Changshu Xiong who received instruction from brilliant master? The two boys indifference toward him has incited a profound-mystery feeling in Chang Shumous heart. Suddenly he had an idea, How about I kill this woman first, and then we all fight with everything we have? he said sharply. His countenance changed, Fang Zetao shouted, How dare you! But Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Good idea! Jumping up suddenly, he brandished his saber and hacked down on Chang Shumou. At the same time the mules neighed in a start and jumped forward. Turned out Xu Ziling shot two streams of finger wind in secret, shooting at the butt of the two mules in front of the cart. Fang Zetao and the others turned pale with fright. They knew that as soon as Chang Shumou kicked with his toes, Wanwan would definitely perish, saints and deities would not be able to save her life back. Xu Ziling made a somersault andnded on the driver seat of the mule cart, and immediately sent out a punch toward Chang Shumou across empty air. Chang Shumouughed aloud, like a pair of wings, his golden shields rose up to the left and right, subsequently blocking one saber and one punch. At the same time his toes kicked forward to provoke the beauty lying down at his feet. But suddenly his ankle tightened. Unexpectedly a whip wrapped itself several times around his ankle, and it was only then did he realize he had fallen into a trap. A huge force tugged him that he nearly fell facedown. Busily he applied his power to weigh himself down, but his left foot was already shifted four cun before he steadied himself and stood still. The mules were running faster and faster. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong attacked simultaneously from front and back. Even with his conceit, Chang Shumou did not dare to deal with the two boys violent attack head-on, especially not with his left foot under the enemys control. Taking a sharp intake of qi, he leaped halfway into the air, his left foot spun several small circles to free himself from the entanglement of the whip. By this time the mule cart already rushed out five more zhang ahead. Fang Zetao, who was running after them from behind, soared into the air, his sword swept in a long arch to take a stab at Chang Shumous back. Still three zhang high in the air, without even looking Chang Shumou swept the golden shield on his right hand backhandedly, parrying Fang Zetaos attack that both the sword and the person were thrown to the other side, while at the same time he seized this opportunity to send out two streams of powerful qi with his shields, forcing Duan Yucheng and the others to roll sideways to evade. Meanwhile Chang Shumou borrowed the reaction force and raised his qi to propel himself like a shooting star to catch up with the racing mule cart from above, andunched an attack toward Kou Zhong, who was standing on guard on the tail end of the cart. Xu Ziling called out loudly, Fang Zhuangzhu, no need to run after us, we will meet again at Jingling! Being frightened, the mules ran wildly forward as fast as they could; by the time Xu Ziling finished shouting, they already covered more than a dozen zhang of distance. By this time Fang Zetao has just sprang up from the ground, he watched helplessly as the mule cart rushed onto a small hill, and vanished down the slope on the other side of the knoll. The yellow glow from Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well shed suddenly, strike after strike the saber kept hacking down, each time the saber struck Chang Shumous golden shield, it forced him to fall back about a zhang, so that he had to exert his strength to keep up. Xu Ziling was in charge of driving the mule cart, and he quite enjoyed it. Chang Shumous heart sank, he was also furious that smoke was spouting through his seven orifices. Yet because Kou Zhong was waiting leisurely for the enemy to exhaust his strength, and he was tightly defending the rear end of the cart, plus his saber technique was swift and fierce beyondpare, even if Chang Shumou had ability that epassed everything under heaven, all along he was unable to catch up with the mule cart, and thus was unable to unleash his specialty of neutralizing the saber with his pair of shields. Watching Chang Shumou chasing them from behind like a mad dog, Kou Zhongughed involuntarily, Kid, run faster! Thats right! Like that! he hooted. Suddenly his saber swept down. Dang! Chang Shumou was forced back again. From the front, Xu Ziling jovially shouted, Is there any way you can chop and split his shield up? And then we can turn around to give him bad luck. Kou Zhong had a brainwave; lowering his voice, he said, Under the cart! Understand? And then throwing his head back, he roared inughter, Whats so difficult about that? Suddenly he let out a roar; as if a scorching thunder emerged from the t earth, his pair of sharp eyes, as bright as the cold star, exploded with unprecedented dense and biting coldness, his power spiked up abruptly, forceful and ferocious without equal. Kou Zhongs entire body leaped out of the cart, the Moon in the Well turned into a streak of glittering yellow ray shooting toward Chang Shumou, who, by this time, had managed to get as close as half a zhang away from the cart. Chang Shumou had never expected Kou Zhong to be this dauntless; even more, he had never anticipated that Kou Zhong would leave the cart to pounce on him. However, although he knew that Kou Zhongs saber strike would not be easy to block, in full confidence of his superior martial art skill, he was not afraid at all. His left shield went up to block, his right shield swept across Kou Zhongs legs. But suddenly he had a feeling that something was not right; instantly his soul flew away and scattered. What happened was that Xu Ziling unexpectedly dropped himself from the front of the cart to the ground, and let the cart passed above him, so that in a moment he was exactly below Kou Zhong. And then from the ground, he propelled himself up. Chang Shumou was also an outstanding character, in this critical moment he was not flustered. Changing the direction of the right shield, he cut down instead. Xu Ziling met the right shield with both palms; a loud shing sound like a muffled thunder ensued as the two streams of qi power collided. At the same time, Kou Zhongs full-powered saber strike violently crashed onto his left shield. One cold, one hot, two streams of frightening qi power burst into Chang Shumous body together. Dang! The golden shield shattered in pieces. Like a kite with cut string Chang Shumou flew backward, with fresh blood sprayed out of his mouth. Flying ten more zhang back, as soon as he touched the ground, he ran into the sparse forest on the left. By the time Kou Zhongnded on the ground, Xu Ziling has already sprung up from the ground. As they exchanged victory smile, they suddenly realized that the cart carrying the beauty was still pulled along by the mules that were running away like mad. Hence the two boys ran after it in a great rush. Book 9 - 1 –Amorous Demon of Yin Gui Book 9 Chapter 1 CAmorous Demon of Yin Gui Passing through the woods and crossing the creek, the mule cart continued on to the wilderness, going faster and faster. But the more they were chasing it, the more Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt rmed. This was impossible. Even if the cart was pulled by highest quality colts, with first ss driver driving it, because the path was not really a t street, it had holes and bumps and would be difficult to pass, the two boys ought to be able to overtake it for quite some time. Yet it was as if the mules knew the way as they swerved left and swayed right through the woods, over the hills, thru the gaps between rocks, running as fast as speeding horse, totally beyond their natural ability. The two boys knew something was amiss. They took a chance to leap up the top of a tree, but as they looked down, their entire body suddenly turned cold. They saw a woman with long silvery hair, wearing golden colored oversized robe, was sitting on the driver seat of the mule cart. Her upper body leaned forward in some kind of weird and unnatural posture, both hands reached out with her palms on the mules buttock. Blood was seeping out of the two mules eyes, ears, mouth and nose as they desperately ran for their lives. The peerless beauty Wanwan was still lying peacefully on the cart, so serene that she did not seem to be affected by everything that was going on outside. This kind of tyrannical skill where one was able to spur and enhance an animals potential, not only the two boys had never heard of, they had never even thought that such skill existed. But obviously the mules would not be able to hold for long; this extremely cruel thing has almoste to its end. The two boys exchanged eye signals. A righteous indignation red out in their heart for the opponents disgraceful act. At this moment the pair of mules racing wildly was running through a wooded area and snapped and broke more than a dozen small trees blocking their way. As they ran up the slope of a small hill, naturally their speed decreased considerably. Seeing that they could not afford to lose any more time, Xu Ziling called out, Ill help you! while deliberately fell back a bit. Kou Zhong has been working with him for so long that he intuitively understood what he had in mind. Immediately he raised his qi to leap up. Very lightly, as if he did not use any strength at all, Xu Ziling pressed his palms onto Kou Zhongs back. Kou Zhongs body immediately soared into the air, his speed was several times higher than his regr speed. Like a rainbow he swept the air in an arc toward the mule cart. When he was about to reach the mule cart, as if she had eyes on the back of her head, the silver-haired woman suddenly waved her left golden sleeve back; more than ten ck dots shot toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong remained calm. The Moon in the Well left his back and swept arge circle in front of his body. Twelve cows hair needles met the saber and fell down. But Kou Zhong was also adversely affected; he slowed down, and the mule cart dashed over the top of the slope and rushed down the other side. Xu Ziling sped up to catch up and give Kou Zhong another push. Seizing this opportunity, Kou Zhong and his saber fused together and soared high into the air. He startedter but arrived sooner. Flying over the top of the hill, he reached just above the silver-haired woman, and hacked his saber down. The silver-haired woman suddenly shook her square head [orig. small cicada with square head], her silver hair shot up like a whip,shing toward Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well. The timing and the angle of attack were impable. Naturally Kou Zhong did not expect such weird move. The hair and the saber collided; bothbatants were severely shaken. Kou Zhong was jolted by her seemingly continuous soft internal energy that he was thrown backward. The silver-haired woman was jerked by his strong qi that her tender body lurched forward. The two mules neighed miserably and fell down, dead. Receiving continuous blow, both the cart and the mules dead body continued rushing down the slope at great speed. The situation was extremely dire. Kou Zhong knew that after his powerful qi entered her body, it was transmitted into the poor mules body. Inwardly he was very regretful, but the die has already been cast, nothing he could do about it. Seeing the cart was about to stumble over the mules carcass and flipped to its side, he hastily raised his qi to make a somersault. His left hand reached the whip around his waist and sent it out toward the cart to catch Wanwan. Who would have thought that since the cart was about to overturn and was lurching forward, plus the carts own momentum was rather strong, the tip of the whip missed Wanwan by a hairsbreadth. He failed within the sight of sess. Meanwhile one side of the carts wheels had already off the ground, the cart was about to topple to the other side. Like a clump of golden cloud the silver-haired woman soared into the air, spinning her body around, she waved her sleeve. Immediately Wanwan was rolled up inside her golden sleeve, her graceful hair came loose, its beauty surpassed the immortals, lightly floating like fallen leaves. As Kou Zhong met the silver-haired woman face-to-face, immediately a chill crept into his heart. The womans profile was quite beautiful, but her face was deathly pale without the slightest bit of humans color. Her eyes flickered with bizarre, gloomy and fierce sharp gleam, just like an amorous ghost from theherworld looking to devour humans life. The mule cart overturned; it continued rolling down the hill, dragging the mules dead body along the dirt path, creating a chaotic collision noise. Holding Wanwan in her arms, the silver-haired woman made a somersault andnded on the green grass at the bottom of the hill. Not far from there was a small river, the opposite bank was emerald green forest. Under the moonlight it looked even more serene, peaceful and beautiful. One after another Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling caught up with her, ready to confront her. With wooden face the silver-haired woman said, Indeed you carry some weight, no wonder even Ren Shaoming lost his life under your hands. Her voice hoarse and deep and low, making those who hear it feel very ufortable. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Yin Gui Pai female demon [see footnote on chapter title, Book 8 Chapter 10], report your name to me. Without any change in her countenance, the silver-haired woman said, When did I tell you that I am from Yin Gui Pai? Shaking the Moon in the Well in his hand, Kou Zhong thundered, Your internal energy is of the same character of Amorous Nuns; you still want to deceive us? The silver-haired womans countenance still did not change the slightest bit, she said coldly, Just consider you have a bit of eyesight. I am one of the four demons under Jiaozhu [Cult Leader], Yin Fa Mo Nu [Silver-haired Demoness] Dan Mei. I am going to take this natural born beauty back with me and report to my superior since she is most suitable to enter our Sect. If the two of you understood my intention, get lost immediately, the farther the better. Otherwise I might teach you a lesson that it would be toote for you to regret. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I dont believe you have the ability to teach us a lesson that it would be toote for us to regret. Why not let the woman down, and let me see if you really have some skills I can learn? Dan Meis eyes shed sharply. Get lost! she hissed in low voice, Or Ill kill her first. Xu Ziling, who all along was watching with folded arms, suddenly sneered and said, Really funny! You have just said you are going to recruit Wanwan on your honorable Jiaozhus behalf, and now you said you are going to kill Wanwan; it can clearly be seen that you are just spouting nonsense. Less bullsh1tting. Zhong Shao, show your formidability and let her increase her knowledge. All right! Kou Zhong thundered. As soon as his roar subsided, Kou Zhong straightened up his backbone, his bearing suddenly became bold and powerful without rival; raising his saber, he strode forward. His pair of tiger-eyes was bright and clear like the cold star, emitting a deep, iparably chilly sharp gleam, his imposing manner solid, full of power. The strangest thing was that he did not seem to be afraid at all that Dan Mei would use Wanwan as a shield. Even Xu Ziling standing on the side also felt that the Moon in the Well carried dense, austere saber qi, so what Dan Mei, who was standing right in front of him, felt need not be mentioned. For the first time Dan Meis pale countenance showed a stunned look. You really dont care about this womans life? she shouted sternly. Thats exactly right! Kou Zhong thundered. The Moon in the Well attacked swiftly, it turned into a rainbow, the target was unexpectedly Wanwan, which was carried horizontally in Dan Meis arms. Xu Ziling acted as if he has had foreknowledge of what was happening; standing in rxed position with folded arms, he looked like someone who was enjoying a good show. Finally Dan Meis countenance changed slightly; she quickly floated backward. But Kou Zhong was unwilling to let her off, like a shadow he followed her closely, like a meteor catching up with the moon he chased after her. The Moon in the Well chopped down from top to bottom, his movements were faster than lightning shes, while at the same time the wind generated by his saber was as strong as the mountain, swift and fierce without equal. Dan Mei was so furious that her eyes shot ominous glint; she soared high, like a turning wheel the pair of delicate feet under her golden-colored embroidered skirtunched chain-kicks to block Kou Zhongs saber momentum, which was storming up toward her like violent waves. The sound of shing qi lingered on faintly. Seeing her kicking skill was this formidable, Kou Zhongs fighting spirit was aroused. With a somersault he leaped above Dan Meis head, the Moon in the Well turned into cold rays filling the air,ing down like a above her head. The most formidable aspect of this move was that it would be difficult for Dan Mei to use her legs to block the saber. Dan Mei snorted coldly; unexpectedly she tossed the peerless beauty Wanwan in her hands upwards to meet Kou Zhongs de, while at the same time she dropped rapidly to the ground and spun sideways to evade. Although Kou Zhongs saber strike seemed so ruthless, he actually left a lot of leeway; seeing his scheme prevailed, he promptly held the saber back, while his left palm brushed on Wanwans body and then he leaped back to get out of the way. Xu Ziling finally made his move. Faster than a spark from a flint he shed toward Dan Mei andunched an attack with all his might, without giving any leeway at all. In an instant the two of them already exchanged more than a dozen punches and kicks. Not only Dan Mei lost her acute spirit, when dealing with Kou Zhongs hacks earlier, her blood and qi were churning, so that this moment she was unable to cope with the two boys tag-team tactics. As soon as she revealed a gap in her defense, Xu Ziling sent out a palm strike toward her left shoulder. Instantly her mouth spurted blood, she staggered and stumbled down sideways. But she was also an outstanding character. With a loud roar she ran away toward the wilderness, crossing the brook, and disappeared into the depth of the forest on the opposite bank. As if she was being carried by invisible hands, Wanwan dropped slowly on the soft grass, unscathed. Chapter 1, Part 2 Kou Zhong came over to Xu Zilings side. They both gazed on this otherworldly fairy-like peerless beauty. Reaching out and putting his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, Kou Zhong whispered, Whats our chance of sess? For an outsider, Kou Zhong seemed to bber incoherently. But naturally Xu Ziling did not have that problem. At least 80%, he replied indifferently, Whether it was Chang Shumou or Dan Mei, both wanted to lure us away, so that this most formidable direct disciple since the beginning of the history of Yin Gui Pai can carry out some kind of plot against us. And it may be assumed that this plot must involve some physical contact. His countenance changed, Kou Zhong rubbed his hands and said, My hands seem to be okay! Knowing that Kou Zhong was simply dressing up as God, ying the devil, Xu Ziling was unable to helpughing, Go to your Niang! he said, If just by touching she can inflict damage, even Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan and Fu Cailin, add to that the Zhaizhu [monastery master] of Ci Hang Jing Zhai, are no match for her. Ay! Too bad theres still 20% uncertainty; otherwise, Zhong Shao, right now you could get your saber and see if you could chop her alive. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I definitely wont have a heart to do that. If she really is a Big Sister of Yin Gui, you cant but admire her. Just look at how touching she is. Looking down or looking across, she does not look like a goblin that kills or harms people. Yet the fact is that any man who came across her would, to some extent, suffer some pain because of her. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, And the two of us are remarkably alike one of her victims. Leaning close to him, Kou Zhong spoke in the tiniest voice possible, How about sending her back to Fang Zetao and tell him to take care and bid him farewell? That way, wont we escape from the abyss of suffering? Like waterfall Wanwans beautiful hair cascaded down in all directions, lining her jade face vermillion lips, which, under the illumination of the moon, looked beautiful and alluring beyond humanprehension, that even a senior monk who has had painstaking cultivation for many years would be moved by her that he would be reluctant to leave this world. Xu Ziling sneered and said, Funny that you and he are still calling each other Xiong and Di [older and younger brother, respectively]. Supposing she is genuine goods at fair prices Yin Gui siren, it would be strange indeed if Fang Zetao would not suffer his city broken and the people perish. If a moment ago we did not lure Chang Shumou away, perhaps Fang Zetao would have been killed by him. Kou Zhong blew out a mouthful of cold air and said, Are you saying that we ought to bring this hot potato along on our journey, and ascertain first whether she is a dragon or a snake before making decision whether we should hand her over to the infatuated Fang Zhuangzhu? Xu Zilings eyes were gleaming with cold shes as he stared hard at the beautiful Wanwan, who was lying on the ground, who, in her tight gauze clothing, revealed her iparably graceful lines. His lips curled into a smile as he said, This is a battle on an uncharted territory. As long as we are able to force her to show her true identity, we win the first battle. And then he broke intoughter and said, Come on! Let us build another bed to carry this beauty along; lets see how long can she sleep? From the broken down mule cart the two boys tore off an eight-chi long and three-chi wide board, and then with utmost care they ced Wanwan on the board. Without even trying to secure her on the nk, they carried her just like that, one at the front the other at the rear, and went on their way promptly. Although the path was rugged and uneven, and from time to time they had to jump high and crouch low, yet under their ingenious cooperation, the nk stayed level throughout, which gave them quite an enjoyment that they did not feel it was a burden at all. Originally, after what Fang Zetao told them about Wanwans background, their suspicion toward this sleeping beauty has been greatly reduced, but after Chang Shumou and Dan Mei appeared one after another, they suddenly felt that the opponent was trying to hide something, which made it more conspicuous. Plus for no apparent reason Xu Ziling had always had premonition, which was hard to dispel. Therefore, renewed suspicion started to grow in their hearts. Not only Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling possessed superior ability and wisdom, they were also adept in marketce and Jianghus scamming and swindling tactics; coupled with imagination richer than average persons, they were able toe up with ideas that others would find it hard to achieve even in their dreams. This moment the two boys were afraid toe across Fang Zetao and his men instead, and that was the reason why they were speeding along on the opposite direction. Only after rushing for more than ten li did they finally begin to slow down. This moment the stars have disappeared from the night sky and the moon dimmed; it was the darkest hour just before dawn. They havee to the top of a small hill. Looking around as far as they could see, they saw there was a small vige in the northwest but the grass and the trees have overgrown it. Apparently it has been abandoned by its inhabitants quite some time ago. Beyond the vige was a range of hills. Casting a nce toward the peerless beauty sleeping on the nk, Kou Zhong sighed and said, The inhabitants of the vige must have fled to Jingling to take refuge. There seemed to be a path behind the vige cutting through the mountains, perhaps its a shortcut to Jingling. Xu Ziling looked up to the sky; he saw dark clouds gathered on the northeaster horizon. Nodding his head, he said, Looks like heavy rain ising this way. We do not have any problem, but I am not sure if this Miss Wanwan will have some problems. Let us seek shelter from the rain first, and then think about what we are going to do next. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, No matter how much we think, we wont find anything. The most formidable thing about her is she is unfathomable. Just to guard against her suddenly making her move to injure others, we have to take the trouble and spend a lot of energy. Resting seemed to be a very good idea. Once they made up their mind, the two boys lifted Wanwan up and rushed toward the small vige. Noticing that the surrounding area has been left to return to unchecked growth, Kou Zhong recalled the abandoned vige where they encountered Zhai Rang and Li Mi. He said to Xu Ziling, who was carrying the nk backhandedly at the front, Do you remember the vige where Li Mi plotted against Zhai Rang? That time we inly saw someone setting fire in the vige, but when we got there, not even half a ghost was to be seen. Later on whoever that was, he never showed up. Who on earth was he? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling replied, Only ghosts know! Why did you suddenly bring up the past? I nearly forget! Kou Zhong shook his head, I am not sure, he replied, Perhaps because seeing this creepy-looking vige has brought back old memories? Ay! War truly inflicts a lot of suffering. Just imagine how peaceful, tranquil and leisurely this small vige was, everybody lived in peace and worked happily, chicken clucking and dogs barking, but look at how dpidated this ce is now. Xu Ziling sighed with him; momentarily nobody spoke a word. In that moment the picture in their mind was transformed into the scenery of the Garden of the Peaches of Immortality. Soon the first streak of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, but because the dark clouds were still covering the sky, it was even darker than before. Suddenly a lightning shed, followed by the rumble of a thunder, and then bean-sized raindrops started to fall, sparse at first, but soon became thick, and in the blink of an eye became a downpour. They had just passed through the decorated archway at the mouth of the vige, hastily they bolted toward the closest house. The building was dpidated, the paint peeled off, the door opened as soon as they push it. This house was separated into three parts, the front, the middle and the rear, with two courtyards connecting them. The house was fully furnished; although everything was simple and unadorned, it was by no means broken, its just that everything was covered in cobweb; a totally bleak sight to behold. After setting the nk, with the beauty Wanwan still on it, on the floor, Kou Zhong took it on himself to close the door, while Xu Ziling went to open the window a little bit, to let fresh air in and stale air out. Ah! The two boys turned around at once. The mysterious beauty Wanwan still looked like she was in eternal slumber, but her face already had a little bit of color, making her looked even more tender and beautiful and alluring. Seeing Xu Ziling was walking toward her, Kou Zhong jumped and pulled him back; he said in a low voice, Dont touch her! Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said, Whatever happens, we still have to try! Whether someone sealed her acupoints, or she is ying ghost on her own, it is still a difficult problem and a challenge in the study of martial art. If we can unravel it, we will certainly be able to learn something that we previously did not know. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, If by thousand ways, a hundred ns she did that precisely to entice us to do just that, wouldnt that mean we fall right into her hands? Pulling Kou Zhong aside, Xu Ziling said in a low voice, Just treat this as another battle! If not, how are we going to settle this matter? Kou Zhong finally agreed. I have a great idea, he said, You alone will touch her body, I will transmit my internal qi into your body, while taking the responsibility of simultaneously monitoring your and her condition. This way, if there is something wrong, we wont suffer an all-army being routed situation. Very well! Xu Ziling replied. The two boys came over to her side and exchanged nces. Xu Ziling propped her up. He felt her hands were soft, tender but supple, and could not help his heart from being swept away. Frightened, he hastily put this thought away, and calmed his mind down. Sitting cross-legged behind her, he put one palm at the middle of her back, and used the other hand to support the back of her small head with her face looking up. Kou Zhong also sat cross-legged behind him; his eyes looked down on his nose, his nose looking down on his heart, both palms pressed onto Xu Zilings tiger-back. After discharging all distracting thoughts from his heart, Xu Ziling asked softly, Are you ready? Do it now! Kou Zhong replied heavily. Focusing his mind and spirit, Xu Ziling slowly injected a stream of warm Yang true qi into the channel on her spine. Right this moment, the sound of hoof beats was heard from a far, but it was getting near. Unexpectedly, in this extremely critical moment, Wanwans tender body started to shake. Book 9 - 2 – Fortuitous Meeting at an Abandoned Village Book 9 Chapter 2 C Fortuitous Meeting at an Abandoned Vige The two boys groaned inwardly at the same time. What happened was that when Xu Ziling was sending his true qi into Wanwans body, immediately he felt as if he lost control over his meridians and eight extraordinary channels. In his great shock, Xu Ziling hastily sent out his internal energy trying to recover the true qi that was scattering like a runaway horse on an open in, but he was still a step toote. His true qi had turned into hundreds and thousands of streams of swirling force surging through and circling along Wanwans eight extraordinary channels [see footnote, Book 1 Chapter 7], just like when a martial art master of internal school suffer fire deviation during true qi cultivation. This kind of fire deviation could be catastrophic to the practitioner; minor incident would result in the loss of ones entire internal strength, major incident would result in paralysis or even sudden death. The two boys werepletely unprepared for this kind of situation, they did not know how to deal with it, and hence momentarily they panicked. Kou Zhong cried out in low voice, Female demon is formidable; Laozi cannot deal with her anymore! Xu Ziling hastily signaled him not to be reckless. Thunder crashed, heavy rain pummeled the roof of the house, the eaves, canopies, screen windows, the courtyards and the streets, creating a variety of noises, as well as varying intensities of the sound. Cool and crisp air burst into the room and assaulted their bodies. Mixed with this loud ensemble of the pitter patter of the rain was a cacophony of horses hoof. A dozen or so riders were entering the vige. Xu Ziling did not have time to be bothered by anything other than Wanwan; receiving Kou Zhongs true qi, which was yin and soft in nature, he continuously blended it with his own yang and hard true qi, and said softly, The biggest problem in true qi is that singr yang would notst. Same nature qi will repel each other, because it will surge against each other, scattering the qi of the arteries and veins all over the body. Therefore, as long as we can lead the true qi back into one, we can solve the problem. And then, putting his mouth behind Wanwans jade-like sparkling and translucent small ear, he said, Isnt this precisely what you nned all along? Right now I have a 90% confidence that you are that Dajie [big sister] from Yin Gui Pai, Xiaodi really admit defeat. Another sh of lightning streaked through the sky west of the vige, painting the heaven and the earth deathly white, followed by deafening p of thunder. Those dozen or so riders stopped their horses, but nobody dismounted. It appeared that they were waiting for someone else. Kou Zhong acted as if he was unaware of this bunch of peoples arrival; leaning forward, he said, Do you want to make a his-mothers bet? I bet you she is Yin Hou [Empress Yin (soft/negative/feminine)] Zhu Yuyans disciple, or perhaps she is her. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling asked, Whats your confidence level? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Only 80%, ten per-cents less than yours. Based on the heretical nature of Yin Gui Pai people, how could they be willing to put themselves in such a dangerous situation? But if she had some other kind of heretical skill, which would make her impervious of fire deviation, this would be a different matter altogether. Ay! Just let me make my move; someone has to do it anyway. Xu Ziling shook his head resolutely, We have no right to gamble with somebody elses life, he said, In fact, this is a fair decisive battle, she is using her real skill to deal with us. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, But if she really is a female demon from Yin Gui Pai, and we are helping her treating her injury, wouldnt she be able to see through [orig. mountain has a connecting pulse throughout like a dragon (idiom from fengshui)] our unique qigong? What other secret can we talk about then? Supposing because of this her internal strength enjoyed tremendous progress and she defeated Shi Feixuan, we would havemitted a grave offense. More hoof beats were heard from the other end of the vige. Surprisingly it was a single rider, riding his horse slowly under the heavy rain toward the dozen or so riders that have arrived earlier. There was a series of ringing noise as sabers and swords left their sheaths. It was obvious that the neer was not a friend of the dozen or so riders. Xu Ziling did not pay any attention of what was happening outside, he constantly gathered the true qi sent by Kou Zhong into the qi reservoir in his dantian [pubic region, about 2 inches below the navel where ones qi resides], consciously and without exercising any restrain letting the qi automatically became a vortex of true qi, so that the qi would not be wasted. With a faint smile full of confidence he said, Even if she really is a female demon, despicably exploiting our chivalrous intention, we still have to deal with her righteously to the end. And then he called out in low voice, Are you ready? Kou Zhong thought Xu Ziling was talking about regting the meandering qi that created havoc inside Wanwans meridians. Looking at the continuously shuddering Wanwan, without much choice he replied, As ready as I can be! By the time Xu Ziling, beyond Kou Zhongs expectation, raised the vortex of qi from his dantian and flowed it upstream along his channels and burst into the hollow of Kou Zhongs right palm, somebody was shouting outside, Passionate Prince, you are indeed gutsy and wise; knowing perfectly well that you are delivering your life yet still dare toe to keep our appointment. We, Qing Jiang Pai [Clear River (in Hubei) Sect] are full of admiration. It was only then did Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong realize that the neer was the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai, whose fame was rising recently, but this moment was a critical juncture where they were transmitting their internal strength and applying their power; the slightest carelessness would result in catastrophic fire deviation. Therefore, they did not dare to split their concentration to care what was going on outside. Kou Zhong let the vortex of qi to enter the Yin Shu Channel at the center of his right palm, and then circled up toward the Yang Shu Channel on his middle finger, along the right elbow toward the Jiang Gong, over the Zhong Lou, passing through these channels and burst into his dantian. And then it flowed toward the Yang Jiao Channel on the outside of his right leg, over his toes and finally stopped at the Yong Quan acupoint in the center of his foot. He felt his whole body was warm and cozy, and unspeakablyfortable. This time he understood Xu Zilings intention and strategy. Actually, although there were thousands of schools and tens of thousands of systems in the world, each with its own unique physical characteristic, inevitably there would be the universalw of many superficial changes but no departure from the original stand. Qigong method was no exception. There will always be natural phenomenon of the strong ovees the weak, opposite prities attract. In ying this game, Xu Zilings strategy was to let the two persons yin and yang, two different true qi characteristics tobine naturally first, resulting in an automatically swirling entity. Due to themon and unusual origin of the two boys true qi, after the integration, practically the result was self-sufficient, capable of repelling any true qi from the outside which characteristic was different from theirs, while also able to absorb any true qi simr to their own. Therefore, as long as they were able to inject their vortex of qi into Wanwans qi channels, they could immediately absorb back the scattering, wandering, disarrayed true qi like sea sponges absorbing water, while also link up Wanwans meridians by relying on the same favorable method. Supposing Wanwan was really a female demon, or perhaps Zhu Yuyan herself, due to the different internal energy cultivation method, not only it would be hard for her to restrain or gather this swirling qi, she would not have the ability to decipher the source of the qi either. The reason Xu Ziling was sending the vortex of qi back into Kou Zhongs body first was that, on one hand, he wanted to increase the swirling power, on the other hand, more important reason was he suddenly thought that this technique would bring great benefits to both of them, to cause their qi channels to flow all around, to link up the energy channels in their entire body, to harmonize their qi. Furthermore, yin and yangplemented each other, it could reach the Taoist schools top theory fire res out of the water, flower blooms in the snow, the so-called Leisurelying and going the Temple of Heavens Moon Cave, its spring time in all thirty six pces realms. Although any ordinary martial art master of internal school would be able to steer the qi through the channels, a brilliant master would be able to process yin and yang in parallel, but never in the form of vortex of qi. Only by learning it from the Secret to Long Life, and by training it separately, would the two boys be able to produce such phenomenon. However, were it not for the special case because they wanted to help this woman treating her injury, where the true qi was rapidly draining away, the two boys would not have this kind of opportunity. ording to physicalw, vortices carry stronger and more condense forcespared to straight flow. After understanding Xu Zilings intention, Kou Zhong immediately grasped this one in a thousand golden opportunity. Letting the vortex of qi circled around his body, he absorbed the true qi filling up his channels while continuously strengthening it. Outside, the hoofbeats grew quiet; apparently Hou Xibai reined his horse to stop. Thunderstorm continued, the shing of lightning and the rumbling of thunder intermingled with the sound of horses neighing. Every time the lightning lit up the murky dark house, Wanwans cloud-like beautiful hair seemed to shine; it was mysterious and surreal. When the vortex of qi was flowing from the Yin Qiao channel inside the right leg back to Jiang Gong, and then down the Yong Quan acupoint in the middle of the left foot, a clear and melodious male voice outside spoke indifferently, Cut the crap! Where is Chen Buyun? A mans voice replied, Your Shaoye is here. Hou Xibai, you killed two of my sworn brothers, today a debt of blood must be paid in blood. Hou Xibai threw his head back and roared inughter, which even the thunder and the rain calling each other were not able to drown it. Theughter suddenly ceased. Calmly, Hou Xibai said, You want others to pay your blood debt, but others innocent and honorable daughter, who will return it to them? Killing your two depraved thief brothers was just fulfilling the way of the heaven. And now it is your turn. Whoever dares to stop me, that person will die. The hoof beats rumbled, indicating both sides were charging toward each other. Chapter 2, Part 2 By this time the vortex of qi has just passed the Tian Ling acupoint at the top of the head, and down the twelveyers of Tian Chi acupoint above the jaw, down the Ren Channel, up the Du Channel, again to the left Yang Shu Channel toward the hollow of the left palm, and circled back into Xu Zilings body. Xu Ziling felt Kou Zhongs meridians were empty and fluttering, a condition resembling when he sent his true qi into Wanwans system. His heart was moved; he had a faint feeling that Wanwan was really a female demon who was using this secret method, but this moment he did not have time to ponder this matter over, he could only proceed following the rule, sending the enhanced C dont know how many times - vortex of qi toward the Tian Ling acupoint first, and then sent it down tp Yong Quan acupoint; precisely the opposite of the sequence Kou Zhong used in transporting the qi. It was indeed an opportunity that was difficult to encounter throughout all ages. First of all, finding two persons with internal qi ofmon origin yet dissimr was harder than ascending the heaven. Moreover, even if two such persons could be found, for a variety ofplex factors, such as the preconceived idea of cultivation method, or the problem of trust, they would nevery down everything in such a creative joint-research to develop such a strange but marvelous way of energy cultivation method. Although previously the two boys have exploited the characteristic of these two different internal qi ofmon origin to enhance their own or even heal each other injuries, they had never tested this technique thoroughly, and had never converted their entire true qi into a natural vortex of qi, without leaving the least bit of true qi in their individual system, i.e. without harboring any unfathomable motive toward the other. Plus there was no way to specte the origin of their cultivation method back to the Secret of Long Life from the way their qi flow through the arteries and veins. From the outside, the sound of the shing weapons fell incessantly on their ears, the sound of miserable scream and cry of pain also unceasing. Obviously the injured party could not be Hou Xibai, otherwise, he would have beaten the gong to recall the troops early on. The scattering uncontrobly true qi inside Wanwans body was growing wilder, at any time her meridians could break and her life would be gone. Barely inaudible sound of feet touching the roof overhead was suddenly heard. The two boys jumped in fright that they nearly suffered fire deviation. Xu Ziling struggled hard to put his shaken mind under control, because if anyone sneaked into the house at this time, taking their little lives would be as easy as turning his hand over. The vortex of qi prated the hollow of the palm, it went against Wanwans Du channel. The two boys simultaneously broke off their breathing from the mouth and nose, and controlled their inner qi to breathe instead. With only the Ling Tai, one spot remained clear and bright, they silently controlled the flow of the vortex of qi inside Wanwans body. As expected, the vortex of qi flowed unimpeded,pletely absorbing the wildly scattered true qi creating havoc, so that everything was back to the right track. Outside, the sound of violent battle suddenly fell silent. Hou Xibais voice was heard, Which sides expert is gracing us with your presence? Why not show up? A tenderughter came from the roof tile right above the three peoples head, followed by silver-bell-like alluring female voice, Hou Xibai is indeed not an ordinary man. The crooked Qingjiang Pai, who consider themselves to be big Sect in Jiangnan, unexpectedly not a single one of them is able to withstand the power of Hou Xiongs one folding fan. It is really ridiculous. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Just by listening Miss voice, I know that you are a woman with natural beauty. I was just wondering, Miss did not spare the effort to follow Zaixias trail for a thousand li, what is your purpose? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong had just circted the vortex of qi through the channels in Wanwans entire body. This peerless beauty was also calming down. If they withdrew the vortex of qi immediately, Wanwans condition might return to its previous state. Fortunately the two boys were extremely daring, they were unwilling to let go just like this, thereupon they continued to transmit the vortex of qi into the most important, the life and death orifice in Wanwans body, which was still closed firmly. When Fu Junchuo was exining the Great Method of Nine Mysteries to them the other day, she told them about the most important secret in training it. Therefore, when they practiced the Secret to Long Life, involuntarily theybined the training method of the Great Method of Nine Mysteries with the Secret to Long Life, so that the originally pure secret spiritual cultivation method has been merged together with martial art. ording to Fu Junchuos exnation, although the channels and the acupoints are one integral entity, the usage was different. Channels are like the road between acupoint to acupoint, while the acupoint positions are like the ce to lodge for the night. Every point where the channels confluence is called the gateway, which was the important building blocks that link up the channels. If the gateway is blocked, it will be like the road closure, the person will then fall sick. Ordinary folks have regr qi channels where blood and qi flow. But true qi requires painstaking cultivation for it to develop. If the practitioner cannot get the qi to start, then his cultivation effort will be in vain. The qi development point bes the orifice. Therefore, as long as a martial art master of internal school is able to examine the opposite sides channels and acupoints, he would know the depth of the opponents maturity. Whether it was ordinary acupoint or qi orifice, it could not be concealed from the knowledgeable. Previously, Wanwans internal system was empty and fluttering. Forget about any qi development or closed orifice, even ordinary peoples qi channels were deficient. Hence the reason they had no idea where to start, and the case became inscrutable. From the numerous orifices, there was one which was the most important, the life and death orifice. Supposing Wanwan wanted to find a ce to collect the true qi, it would have to be in this mysterious, abstruse ce. Within the human body, there are two crucial progenitor orifices, connecting the internal brain and womb, which shaped the humans real nature. If this ce were injured, serious case would result in death, less severe case would result in mental capacity suffering some damage. But they are still not the ce where once could store or collect true qi. Rash action would lead to headaches. Progenitor orifices are the Ren and Du channels most important junctures; if concentrated qi manage to enter the progenitor orifices, two channels Ren and Du would circle endlessly. But the ce where one could really condense the true qi is dantian at the lower abdomen; it is like the supply station of the true qi for the entire body. Ordinary peoples qi meridian is like food that they consume, the stomach wall will ingest and turn it into nutrients. But internal energy cultivation would turn power-reproducing qi essence into refined, as well as true, qi, which, at the end, would turn into power. This was called perfecting essence transforming qi, perfecting qi transforming spirit. As for the biggest difference between nature and nurture, the innate [nature] can absorb the heaven and earths energy, but the nurtured will have to stop at the qi essence in itself; therefore, there is distinct difference between the two, which is beyond logical calction. As the sea of qi, dantian is subdivided into fouryers of heavens. The topmostyer is Huang Ting [lit. yellow main hall], followed by Jin Lu [lit. golden stove/furnace], Jin Xue [lit. advance/increase acupoint], and the bottommostyer leads directly to Guan Yuan [primary pass] of testicles or uterus. The one life and death orifice pointing to was precisely the Jin Xue. Among those that the qi moves, one bes life and death orifice, or just in Jin Xue. If the progenitor orifice is the Heaven, then life and death orifice is the Earth. The top concerns character, the bottom concerns life. Character and Life must both be cultivated. Just like rudder and oar, one cannot work without the other. The so-called under the heaven above the ground progenitor orifice is safe and secure, the sun on the west the moon on the east amassing Jin Xue is talking about their rtion, which is as close as lips and teeth. The most formidable aspect of what Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were doing was assembling the vortex of qi from two boys entire strength, and injecting it into Wanwans Jin Xue. Supposing Wanwan practiced fraud, the true qi she received by unfathomably secret means would gather in the depths of her Jin Xue; in which case the invading vortex of qi would definitely stimte her own true qi to react. If that happened, she would then expose the foxs tail [idiom, meaning revealing ones evil nature]. If she were really innocent, the vortex of qi would trigger her meridian qi, and thus stimte her to regain her consciousness. By lucky coincidence, the two boys were finally able to find the best method to test whether she was real or fraud. Just like Xu Ziling had said, in this battle they were breaking a new path. While they were at the most intense juncture, Hou Xibai on the outside was leisurely calm;pletely unaffected by the thunderstorm, he continued, Miss qinggong is superior, something that Zaixia barely see in all my life. Therefore, each time Zaixia want to see Miss, I always ended up unfortunate and never see your face. However, tonight in this abandoned vige, under particr circumstances, if Zaixia want to see Miss beautiful face, I am afraid I wont have the opportunity. By this time, the vortex of qi had entered Wanwans dantian, and arrived at the firstyer Huang Ting; they have not found anything unusual. Although Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could not split their attention, they still could not help to be baffled. If this womans qinggong was as superior as Hou Xibai said, why were they able to detect the tiny bit of noise she made as her feet were touching the roof tiles? The woman responded, Magnificent real man ought not force others, right? Just now I deliberately made some noise, precisely to let you know that I have arrived. I was seriously considering whether I should show myself to you, but turns out you are this overbearing. Kou Zhong, two people shivered in fear; they could not help having a whole new level of respect for Hou Xibai. Just now they could barely hear the sound of footsteps from inside the house, but Hou Xibai was fighting a life and death bloody battle with the enemy, not to mention thunderstorm urred at the same time, the distance was several folds farther than where they were, yet it did not escape his ears. Just from this fact, it could be inferred that Hou Xibai was superior to them. The vortex of qi was flowing down slowly, entering the secondyer, Jin Lu. Hou Xibai spoke indifferently, If Miss really have the intention to see Zaixia, Zaixia will be extremely delighted. Is it possible for you to grant me to know your fragrant name first? That way I will be able to address you a little bit more intimately. This man spoke elegantly, his intonation gentle and soft, his manner cool and easygoing; no wonder he was able to make beautiful women all over the world admiring him whole-heartedly. Apparently the woman was delighted to be coaxed by him; she said cheerfully, I will only say it once; you ought not be negligent and forget it. With an iparably sincere and touching tone Hou Xibai said, Hou Xibai is listening with respectful attention. In the future I will not dare to forget, Miss please set your heart at ease. Hearing this, Kou Zhong sighed ruefully in his heart. Upon self-introspection, he knew that hecked Hou Xibais suave and convincing manner of speech. No wonder even Shi Feixuan regarded him highly, and let him apanying her touring the Three Gorges. On the other hand, Xu Ziling was thinking: if this persons natural disposition was really like that, then nobody could say anything; otherwise, he was just a despicable, evil person. The womans fragrant heart seemed to be impressed; she said, My name is Dugu Feng [phoenix]. Huh? Howe your countenance look so strange? You must be familiar with my background. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Miss Dugu indeed has well-deserved reputation; just by looking at the change in my eyes you are able to deduce what I feel inside. You are worthy to be called the direct descendant of two families of the pinnacle of knowledge. Dugu Fengs tone suddenly became very calm, as if she suddenly changed into a different person. This is rather strange, she said slowly, I wonder where did Hou Xiong obtain the inside information about me? Hou Xibai replied apologetically, Please forgive Zaixia for not able to disclose it. Ol Hou also knew that not only Miss Dugu had surpassed Dugu Twin Heroes, Dugu Sheng and Dugu Ba, two Seniors, early on, even your honorable uncle Dugu Shang has also stepped down gracefully. Yourpetence is approaching You Chuhong; no wonder Zaixia wanted to escape Miss tracking but it was so difficult to aplish. And then his tone turned cold as he went on, Previously the Ol Hou was thinking that Miss was a crafty and unruly woman who came because you admire Zaixias passionate reputation, but now of course I know this way of thinking is gravely mistaken. May I ask Miss Dugu, what noble errand brings you here that unexpectedly you determined to pay such attention to me, Hou Xibai? Please forgive me for not able to disclose it, Dugu Feng responded, All right! I have to go! This moment the vortex of qi finally flowed from Jin Lu into the crucial point life and death Jin Xue.; suddenly an unexpected development urred. The vortex of qi did not stop, it continued slipping down and flooded the sea of qi, dantians lowestyer Guan Yuan, with a potential of leaking and scattering outside the body. The two boys were immediately spooked out of their minds. If this really happened, it would be like their many years of painstaking work in cultivating the inner power automatically melt awaypletely; to return to their original level would require untold time and effort. No longer listening to the two peoples dialog outside, they focused their mind and spirit in determination to pull the vortex of qi back. Responding to their determination, the vortex of qi rushed back in the form of rapidly swirling column of qi, in reverse of Wanwans Du channel direction; like a sharp arrow it pierced the Yin Shu channel on the hollow of Xu Zilings palm. Split secondter, the pir of qi grew until it spread onto the meridians in two boys entire body. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs brains were severely shaken with a loud bang; they were both thrown backward and crashed onto the wall, and then slowly slipped down along the wall and crumpled on the ground, with blood seeping out of their eyes, ears, mouth and nose, and their breathing cut off. Losing Xu Zilings support, Wanwan, who was still fast asleep, did not fall down. Like a specter she slowly floated in the air and stood up gracefully in the middle of the room. Her eyelids opened slowly, revealing a pair of absolutely worthy of her beautiful face, jet-ck and shiny, capable of evoking the most beautiful dream ever, eyeballs. Wanwan slowly turned her tender body around, her gaze was fixed on Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, who were crumpled on the floor and unable to rise, and sighed softly. When it appeared that she was about to move toward the two boys, the main door opened, someone burst in, carrying with him the wind and the rain. Book 9 - 3 – Profiting from a Disaster Book 9 Chapter 3 C Profiting from a Disaster Hou Xibai was handsome and tall, his physique perfectly straight and well proportioned. He wore a bamboo rain hat on top his head, but his clothes was Confucian schr attire, which emphasized his literary talent and style, as well as his intelligence and bravery. This moment he waved the fan in his hand, making him appeared indescribably elegant above the crowd, so free and easy. His most attractive feature was not only his pair of gentle and soft eyes, yet sharp enough to melt womens hearts, but also the thick ck and elegant moustache above his lips, which seemed to eternally frozen with a hint of proud smile, brimming with masculine charms. He seemed to be very easy to approach, yet there seemed to be an insurmountable distance that kept others at bay. All these featuresbined to form his outstanding and out of the ordinarily touching personality traits. Just now Dugu Feng said she was leaving and she immediately left. Originally he intended to run after her to see what she looked like. But suddenly he heard something unusual and knew that there were people inside the house; hence he came in to look. This moment his eyes revealed a shocked look. Without blinking he stared at Wanwan, whose elegance and invulnerable figure wasparable to Shi Feixuans, as if he waspletely oblivious of Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings existence. Wanwan halted her attempt ating closer to the two boys. With a faint and gentle sigh she said, I did not have any enmity against you, but the two of you are too formidable, and I promised someone that I would personally take your lives, hence I was forced to make my move. If you still have any grudges in the Nine Springs [underworld/Hades], you may direct your hatred to me! Standing behind her, Hou Xibai said in trembling voice, Just by listening to Miss heavenly music voice, ah ... Very casually, yet with immortal-like beauty, Wanwan gracefully turned around to meet Hou Xibai face-to-face. Hou Xibais entire body shook; unexpectedly he was rendered speechless. His eyes shot a disbelief, excited look. But any spectator would be able to read from his eyes, Unexpectedly there is such peerless beauty like this in the world. Wanwan cast him a serene nce as she moved toward the door. Immediately Hou Xibai was ovee with a feeling that he did not dare to be disrespectful toward her, and stepped aside to get out of her way. Wanwan stopped in front of Hou Xibai, turning he gaze toward the wind and the rain outside, she said in a low voice, Would you bury them for me? This moment Hou Xibai was staring nkly at her out-of-the-worldly refined side silhouette, smelling the natural fragrance emitted by her long, beautiful hair. Because Wanwan was about a cun shorted than him, he could almost whisper in her sparkling and translucent, finer than jade, small ear, Miss! They ... Wanwan let out another gentle sigh to interrupt him, and then she spoke softly, Dont be negligent and forget it, I will remember you! That was the words Dugu Feng said to him just now. While Hou Xibai was at a loss of how to respond, a shadow shed, Wanwan floated out the door and into the wind and the rain outside. Hou Xibai was shocked. He darted to the door but was still one step toote; a sh of lightning struck the mountaintop nearby, the entire vige was rocked by the sudden p of thunder that ensued. Wanwan had already disappeared without any trace. Hou Xibai slumped to his knees in the storm, he did not care that his feet were covered in rain-soaked mud. Looking up to the sky, he let the arrow-like raindrops shot onto his face as he said with a sigh, Feixuan, oh, Feixuan! Do you know that someone with appearance and martial art skill well matched to yours really exists in the world? Your worthy match has finally appeared. As if suddenly remembering something, he hurried back into the house, totally disregarding Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling crumpled against the wall, he took out his painting tools and drew something right in the middle of his folding fan. This fans other side already had over twenty full body portraits of beautiful women, but this side waspletely nk. If Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not incapable of talking, they would have asked him why there was no portrait of Shi Feixuan on it. Soon afterwards Wanwan came alive on the fan. Not only it had physical and spiritual resemnce to the real thing, even her ethereal characteristics were captured entirely, not a single one was missing. The lines were concise and strong, sharp like a de. Unable to take his eyes off the fan, Hou Xibai yed with it for a while. Finally he folded the fan back and absentmindedly stepped out of the door. The wind and the rain suddenly made him remember Wanwans request just now. Going back swiftly, Bang! he crashed his back against the wall next to the door. With his extremely overbearing power, the wall copsed. Hou Xibai charged inside the house, consecutively sent out four palm strikes, hitting the four main pirs supporting the building. By the time the pirs started to crumble, Hou Xibai soared into the air and forcibly knocked against the main beam, and carried the broken beam to break the roof tiles down, while he himself continued to shoot out into the stormy sky above. The house caved in with a loud bank, burying Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling deep under the roof tiles, bricks and wood fragments. Without looking back, Hou Xibai let out a long whistle and flew far away. If he were willing to look closely, he would have found out that Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, two peoples bodies, one was burning hot, the other was cold like ice and snow; totally unlike two corpses without any life in it. Even Wanwan would not have imagined this change. The storm continued all day long. Only by dusk the following day the sky returned to normal. The bright moon behind the eastern mountain revealed its immortal countenance. Under the rubble, Kou Zhongs big head was resting on the pit of Xu Zilings stomach, while his back was pressing against the beam. There were countless crushed bricks and shattered roof tiles around; fortunately the beam protected the two boys from the copsed wall, so that the two boys head and face did not suffer any damage, while still had a bit of breathing space. Kou Zhong shuddered and spit the sand and mud out of his mouth. He grumbled, Female demon is formidable, but she also gave us a bit of advantage. As he stretched out his limbs, the sand and stones above rained down on him. His grannys Niang, he cursed softly, My whole body feels like I have shed my mortal body and exchanged my bones. Before, the true qi inside my body was just like countless threads forming a beam of qi force; but now these threads are swirling like vortices traveling along my meridians and acupoints. Not only the speed increasing, it also feels like I suddenly gain several years of cultivated power. It is immensely enjoyable. As a matter of fact, the two boys had always been awake the whole time; they merely stopped their breathing from the mouth and nose. When the vortex of qi turned into spiraling-whirlpool-like beam piercing their meridians, they really thought that this time their lives would be gone, especially with that kind of feeling, where their meridians were about to burst, which was more than they could bear. But they did not die, simply because the vortex of qi that circted around more than a hundred times back and forth between the two of them was gradually reverted back into their Jin Xue. The strangest thing was that each time the spiraling beam entered Kou Zhongs body, it immediately became iparably cold, but when it went back to Xu Zilings body, this extreme cold turned into extreme heat. In this way, one cold and one hot cycled back and forth, even the meridians which previously were not linked up or they even aware of, were broken through and became wide open, just like the barren hill in the wilderness was reimed as fertile farming field. The situation was like sending out old qi to wee the new qi. Not only Wanwan has never thought about it, even if all the Zen and Taoist masters, plus the martial art grandmasters, of the world were gathered together, they would remain puzzled after pondering this never-happened-in-Wulin-world matter a hundred times. Xu Ziling blew a mouthful of air and said, When these brick debris and wood fragments were pressing down on us, it felt veryfortable, just like several dozens of people came to give us massage. And then, after a short pause he smiled wryly and said, In the end, did we win against that female demon, or did we lose? Kou Zhong breathed the evening breeze blowing through the cracks amidst the broken down bricks; he muttered, On the surface it does seem like a crushing defeat; at least the siren thought so. But she is very crafty; unexpectedly she knew the capturing interest first tactic. First she misled us into thinking that the vortex of qi was going to escape out of the body, and then we were trying to pull back the vortex of qi in panic, she pushed the boat with the current and mmed the vortex of qi into our bodies, hence as easy as blowing off dust she reversed our vortex of qi and used it against us. Xu Ziling shuddered in fear, That was an extremely dangerous moment. Were it not for that idiot Hou Xibai barging in, she would havee to check on us, and then she would know and give us each a palm strike. If that happened, we would have gone to theherworld to apany Niang! Kou Zhong acted as if he was listening intently. Dont move! he hissed, Looks like someonesing. Chapter 3, Part 2 Xu Ziling listened carefully; aghast, he said, Why does our sense of hearing be this formidable? The hoof beats are at least ten li away, yet we can perceive it. Before, we could hear only at most five or six li, and it had to be under favorable wind direction. Kou Zhong was tongue-tied as well. And dont forget that right now we are buried under the rubble, he said, Hey! The sound must being from the underground; I can even feel the vibration. Xu Ziling chuckled softly, You, this kid, love to exaggerate the most, he said, Huh? They seem to be in great rush. Eleven, twelve, oh! Seventeen riders, and they are heading this way. Kou Zhong squealed excitedly, Lets y dead again! Who knows, maybe well gain another unexpected benefit. As soon as the riders entered the vige, most of them immediately dismounted from their horses to stick torches everywhere, and then started searching from house to house, in a tyrannical, overbearing manner. Hidden under the rubble, when Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong heard the way they were forcing the doors open, breaking down walls, and basically forcing their way into the houses everywhere, they knew that this bunch of people was not ordinary Jianghu characters; rather, they could be considered martial art masters of the Wulin. Under normal circumstances, it would not be easy to meet even one of this kind of people, yet now suddenly more than a dozen appeared here and with impressive show of force searched the entire vige; naturally the two boys were greatly curious. Two of the riders did not dismount, evidently their rank was the highest. Urging their horses, they slowly came near the rubble where the two boys were buried. One of these two was fat, the other thin, but both had unusual look. The fat ones body type was big and loose, yet surprisingly it still gave other people the impression that he was sturdy, healthy and beautiful. His age was around thirty, his skin was abnormally bright. He was gifted with a broad face and bulging chin; his eyes were as sharp as a pair of will-o-the-wisp, with a bit of sinister and terrifying aggressiveness. Fortunately from time to time his thin lips pursed into a thread of smiling expression, and thus greatly diluted the burning murderous aura from his eyes. The skinny one was a few years younger than the fat one. His build was well proportionately slender, his face was rather handsome, but his bearing looked conceited. After looking around for quite some time, he finally opened his mouth, This y house must have copsed not too long ago, thats why the interior has not been eroded by the blowing sand, the furniture still considerably intact, plus the two rear buildings are still standing straight. The copsing front part is indeed very intriguing. His voice was deep and low, and was pleasant to hear, plus he spoke with confidence, giving the impression that he was someone who seldom suffered setbacks. The fat and sturdy guyughed aloud and said, Ling Feng Xiongs observation is a valid one. Just by looking at the dead bodies scattered all around the vige, we know that something happened here not long ago. Also, looking at the way this house copsed, it is obvious that someone deliberately smashed the beams and pirs, and pushed the four walls down. Listening from under the rubble, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were moved by these two mens power of observation. The one called Ling Feng smiled and said, Jin Bo Xiong is well-known for your intelligence; indeed it is not a baseless information. This is very strange; who would spend so much effort to knock the entire building down? Plus this person must be very powerful; I daresay he can be ssified as one of the top-ranking experts of the martial art world. The fat guy Jin Bo responded indifferently, As long as we excavate the debris, we will obtain the answer. Is Ling Xiong interested? This moment a short, thin old man came to the two mens presence and said in heavy voice, There are a total of fourteen dead bodies in the vige. Most died from having their vital acupoint sealed with some kind of internal schools technique. Only three of them died from having their throat cut, but the wound does not look like it was caused by sharp object, such as a saber or a sword. Who are these people? Ling Feng asked, Can Old Chen see? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt strange. Listening to the appetion these people used to address each other, it was obvious that they did not belong to the same School or Sect; there was no superior-subordinate rtionship between them, yet it was clear from their attitude that they were in this together. What was their objective? The old man surnamed Chen replied, All their weapons have the identical markings. If my, Chen Guangs memory serves me right, they must be Jiangnans Qingjiang Pais people, whose power is increasing tremendously these recent days. Phew! Jin Bo said with a sigh, This is getting more and more interesting! Qingjiang Pais Zhangmen [Sect Leader] Variable Wind [wu ding feng C no fixed wind] Xiang Qingliu loves to shield his people who break thew andmit crimes, and now unexpectedly someone is daring enough to stroke the tigers whisker. I, the Fat Demon Jin Bo dare to guarantee that a good drama is about to unfold. It must be lively and good to watch. Ha! Listening to his mouthful taking joy in cmity and delight in disaster tone, Xu and Kou, two people could not help feeling contempt toward him. Puzzled, Ling Feng asked, But this bunch of people did not work under those two kids; who could have done it to them? The two boys listening under the rubble were moved. They had a faint feeling that these men wereing for them. Meanwhile another man came to report that there was no one else in the vige. Jin Bo sighed and said, Right now we dont have time to mind other peoples business. The intelligence from Baling was that those two kids are heading north to dig up the Duke Yang Treasure. This information has spread everywhere, creating quite a sensation. Even the Four Big Bandits are sending their martial art masters to intercept along the way. Even more reason for us not to dilly-dally. Chen Guang said, There has never been anybody in Jianghu with higher price than theirs. Undoubtedly, obtaining the hidden treasure is not insignificant; we can immediately recruit soldiers and buy provision to contend for hegemony over the world, or at least we can be the richest man in the world. Let alone we can bring their heads to see Duke Mi. It will definitely bring honor to our ancestors. Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenance changed. Their northern expedition was a top secret. Only a limited number of Baling Bang and Jukun Bang people were in the know. But now they had just left Baling, and already someone has leaked the news. Not only that, but their route to the north was clearly indicated. Otherwise, how could these people look for them here? Ling Fengs voice was heard, We must leave immediately and hasten on our journey; otherwise the quick-footed will climb up first! Jin Bo and the others were too preupied to care about what buried under the rubble; in the blink of an eye they already left far away. Bang! Gravels shot up midway into the sky. The two boys soared high andnded on a vacant lot in the middle of the vige. Brushing off the sand, pebbles and dust from his clothes, Kou Zhong frowned and said, Dust and debris are getting into my clothes; its really ufortable. It would be best if we can find a creek to take a bath before continuing on our journey. Xu Ziling nodded, Well look for one along the way. The most important thing right now is going to Jingling to rendezvous with Yucheng, Zhifu, and the others, and then think of a way to deal with this situation. Patting the Moon in the Well on his back, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, It had not urred to me that our prestige from getting rid of Ren Shaoming is still not enough to intimidate and deter those greedy people. We might as well have a free hand to go all out; let those people know the meaning of the word regret. Xu Ziling smiled faintly and led away. By this time the bright moon had climbed up to its zenith, bathing the whole earth with its golden light. Book 9 - 4 – Flying Horse Ranch Book 9 Chapter 4 C Flying Horse Ranch One after another the two boys emerge from the water of a smallke. Their clothes that have been washed clean were hanging on a small tree by theke. Looking at the bright moon in the sky above, Kou Zhong sighed and said, We have not bathed in a creek like this for a long time! If Niang were still here watching us, how wonderful that is? Xu Ziling pushed the water with both hands; his eyes revealed a sad look. He did not respond. Stark naked, Kou Zhong climbed onto a t and smooth big rock by theke; he said, Could it be that Xiao Xian is secretly betraying us? Only by Xiang Yushans intelligencework will he be able to spread the information this fast. That is a very high possibility, Xu Ziling agreed, If it were other people, they might be afraid of spreading the news, because someone else might beat them to it [again, the original was the quick-footed climb up first]. Kou Zhong stood up on the big rock; assuming a perfect diving posture, he leaned his head aside in deep thought, But what benefit could Xiao Xian reap? Supposing the Duke Yang Treasure fell into someone elses hands, he would only suffer harm without any advantage whatsoever. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, For an old fox like Xiao Xian, it is very difficult to guess what kind of crafty scheme he is running. Perhaps he wanted us to sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat, and obedientlye back to rely on his help. Naturally we would offer the secret of Duke Yang Treasure in return! Kou Zhongs heart was moved, This guess is quite reasonable, he said. Rising up high, he dove into the water. Seeing how much fun Kou Zhong was having by diving into the water, Xu Ziling imitated him by climbing onto the rock, and then deliberately made a cannonball dive into theke, sshing water high into the air. Swimming toward him, Kou Zhongughed and said, Ling Shao seems to be in a very good mood. Xu Ziing cheerfully replied, Why should I be unhappy? The female demons identity is discovered, our strength is increasing considerably, we have confidence to deal with any powerful enemy; tell me, why should we be worry? Kou Zhong had a brainwave, Do you want to test the extend of our formidability now? he asked. Xu Ziling looked as if he was returning to the yful mood of his childhood; he said, Zhong Shao, do you have any good suggestion? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Those seventeen idiots just now seemed to be people of real skill. If we go over the hill to pursue them, we might still be able to intercept them; while we are at it, seizing two horses from them seems to be a good idea. Ling Shao, do you have a better suggestion? Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, How could I dare to offer any suggestion? Now, let us have a race on putting on our clothes first, and then wellpete on our legs strength; what do you say? Kou Zhong squealed. Laughing and giggling, the two boys raced each other to climb up the soft greenke bank, without showing any sign that they were two martial art masters. The first light of dawn. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat side-by-side by the roadside, with their backs against a huge old pr tree, which trunk was so big that it would require several people to wrap their arms around it. Glowing with health and vigor they nibbled on fresh fruits they picked on the mountain along the way. In short, they looked very rxed andfortable. A faint sound of hoof beats wasing from the other end of the road. Spitting the pit of the fruit, Kou Zhong proudly said, The fools delivering horses are here. We must interrogate them where they heard the news about us from. Xu Ziling mused, They must have rested along the way; otherwise, there is no reason for them to fall behind us this long. Kou Zhong sneered and said, Why do we care his mothers business? This kind of reckless fellows is only good for me to test my saber. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Since when did you be so blood-thirsty? Unless we absolutely have to, it would be best if we dont kill anybody. This is called amassing secret virtue. Understand? Kou Zhongughed and said, Xu Yes admonishment is right, how could this kid dare to disobey? Hey! Since our debut, may I ask when did I ever willfully ughter the innocent? Xu Ziling replied crossly, Who are the innocents? Wasnt it you, Kou Daye who decided based on your own idea? Kou Zhong was speechless for half a day. Finally he had a sudden understanding and said, Yourment is very interesting. When all is said and done, all the strife in the world can be regarded as some kind of ideological struggle. And then after a short pause he said, Everybody has his own set of ideas, wishing other people would ept it, and thus the struggle starts. Take that Li kid for example: he has Li kids way of thinking. I, Kou Zhong, also have a set of my own. Whoever prevails, it does not matter if the other side submits willingly or not, they still have to ept the victors way of thinking, or else they will have to be eliminated. Of course, I am referring to the kind of situation that can only ur where everybody has the same goal but different standpoints. Otherwise, just like you and me, river water will never offend the well water. Xu Zilingughed and said, Arent you just babbling nonsense? Such a simple idea and you make it soplicated. Direct and inspoken is still the best. There is only one Emperors throne, and only one person can sit on it. Isnt this clearly understood? Kou Zhong responded with serious expression, Actually, I was thinking about another issue, that is, if we want to vie for the world, we must have a perfect set of ideas first, so that others will befortable in following it. This set of ideas includes aplete n, an ideal, even futures distribution of power, and the style to rule the country. This is called having a clear-cut stand. Otherwise, it would be just like the Four Bandits; from top to bottom, nobody knows what he is doing. And then, bumping Xu Ziling with his elbow, he smiled mysteriously and said, Like Li Mi previously published Ten Charges of Yang Guang. He was announcing to the whole world that if he, Li Mi, became the Emperor, he would never repeat these chronic illnesses of Yang Guang. Therefore, his reputation soared immediately, his influence expanded greatly, all without even need to spend a great deal of effort or waste a soldier or half a troop. What a deal. Xu Ziling was emotionally moved; he said, You, this kid, indeed have some ideas. The hoof beats were getting closer. Kou Zhong sprang up and stood in the middle of the road, in full anticipation of the enemy soon to appear from the road bend ahead. Xu Ziling was still sitting peacefully, eating thest wild peach. Kou Zhong pricked up his ear and listened carefully, he detected at least thirty horses; perhaps the enemy rendezvous with their reinforcement somewhere that their number increased by one fold. The only thing puzzling him was that the hoof beats varied; some were heavy and some were light. Even though the enemys strength increased tremendously, Kou Zhong found it to be more interesting. Like meteors catching up with the moon, the true qi within him spiraled back and forth between his tianling, yongquan and various acupoints, so that his entire body, from head to toe, was brimming with explosive, as well as iparably cold, power. His mind became even more still and cold, without a single thread of disturbing emotions. So much so that he did not even feel his self existence, just like the clear water in a deep well, which could only reflect the world objectively. This kind of perception preserved several breaths of circumstances; he was awakened and returned to the previous state of mind. It was just like from the Heaven returning to the Earth, back to his true character. While Kou Zhong was about to discuss this feeling with Xu Ziling, the enemies two front-most riders have already appeared from the bend. Furthermore, as soon as Kou Zhong entered this fantastic realm, Xu Zilings mind also produced immediate reaction. Within these several breaths of time period, Kou Zhong was inly standing in the middle of the road, but Xu Ziing had a mysterious, strange perception that Kou Zhong has turned into a formless entity. He even could no longer feel the cold air emitted from Kou Zhongs body, a clear sign of his existence. And then a momentter everything was back to normal. Kou Zhong was looking at him, agape and tongue-tied, with astonishment on his face. The riders continuously entered the road. The galloping riders were men in grey warrior-style uniform; the top of theirpels was embroidered with flying horse with a pair of wings on their back. There were a total of twelve men, plus more than a dozen wild horses without saddles, strung together with a rope. Seeing Kou Zhong still standing in the middle of the road with nk bird-brained expression, Xu Ziling cried out, Wrong persons! Come back here! By now the troop of galloping riders that drove the wild horses was only about two zhang away from Kou Zhong. The leading rider was a middle-aged robust man with only one eye. His countenance looked old and dull, but his single eye was still flickering lively. Seeing someone barring their way, he shouted his order telling the men behind him to rein their horses and slow down. As if he had just been awakened from a dream, Kou Zhong bowed respectfully with sped hands toward that man to express his apology, before awkwardly returning to Xu Zilings side, while still waving his hand telling the other side to go on with their journey. The robust middle-aged man already reined his horse abruptly, so that it reared on its hind legs and stopped. Seeing this, the other men also reined their horses and stopped about a zhang away on the road in front of the two boys. Chapter 4, Part 2 Twelve men, twenty-three eyes, like twenty-three arrowsnded on the two boys. Even the horses puffing white steam from their nostrils were casting their eyes warily on the two boys. Kou Zhong knew he was in the wrong;ughing apologetically he said, We mistook you for someone else, would gentlemen be magnanimous and forgive us? A short and thin old man by the one-eyed man took out a tobo pipe from the saddlebag hanging on the horses belly. Chuckling sinisterly, he said, Good kid, looking at your dignified manner and handsome faces, you have the appearance of amazing people, yet instead of learning something good, you learned to be low-ss thieves who way and rob people on their journey. Now that youve seen that we are not to be trifled with, you retreat hastily. Dont you have any shame? Other than the one-eyed man, the rest of the men roared inughter, ridiculing and mocking them to their hearts content. Kou Zhong was indeed a strange person; although the opposite side wasughing and hurling insults at them, realizing that it was just a misunderstanding, surprisingly he did not take any offence. Smiling, he said, This Senior is mistaken. What we, two brothers, disdain the most is the conduct of bandits who rob traveling folks. It was just a misunderstanding. Another man taunted, Whether you want to be a bandit or not, its just a question of eligibility. But just by looking at the saber on your back, which will easily tempt you to be one, I know that you are indeed a low-ss thief ... Ha ... Everybody roared inughter again. Several of them even drew their weapons, ready to fight. Someone even went as far as shouting toward Xu Ziling, who was still sitting undauntedly on the ground, You, that kid, you still have note over here to kneel, begging for forgiveness? Xu Ziling rose up slowly. Patting the dust from his clothes, without even looking at the opposite party he said to Kou Zhong, Lets go! While puffing smoke from his pipe, the little old manughed coldly and said, You think its that easy to leave? North of the River, who dares to block our, Flying Horse Ranchs way? The other men shouted and cursed at once, while quickly spreading out to surround the two boys, in a way that could be described as operation storm. Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and said with a wry smile, Nothing we can do about it! Someone with peculiar voice interrupted, You got that right! Perhaps we, two low-ss thieves, better kneel down to beg for forgiveness! Maybe big masters of Flying Horse Ranch would show us some clemency? He was imitating Xu Zilings ent in responding Kou Zhongs remark, and he was dead on, which, quite naturally, drawing another round ofughter and mockery. Xu Ziling casually turned his gaze toward the speaker. Turned out he was a young man about 17 or 18 years old, the youngest among the riders, dark-skinned from being under the sun a lot, but his teeth were snow white and neat, so that his cannot-be-considered-good-looking countenance was a lot nicer to look at. This moment he was sticking out his chin and narrowing his eyes in a mocking expression. Suddenly someone thundered, Dont be reckless! Everybody, including Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, were stunned. The speaker was precisely the one-eyed man. This moment he was staring hard and Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, sizing them up. He said toward the little old man, who was swallowing clouds and blowing out fog from his tobo pipe, with a heavy voice, Has Xu Gong [term of respect to address an elderly man] seen any low-ss thief, who, under heavy siege, still have calm demeanor, and is still able to talk cool-headedly like them? The old man surnamed Xu looked startled, and then he turned his gaze toward the two boys, examining them closely. His eyes showed that he was deep in thought. The other men did not dare to make any noise. Obviously the one-eyed man was their boss. The one-eyed man seemed to appreciate the two boys very much; he smiled and said, I am Flying Horse Ranchs Er Zhishi [second manager; zhishi basically means doing/carrying out matters] Liu Zongdao. This time due to our Dangjia [chief] entrusted heavy responsibility, we take special care along the way. After a short pause, he went on, Although two gentlemens clothing is ragged, it is still cannot hide your dignified bearing; I wonder what are gentlemens honored surnames and great given names? Where are you from? What business do you have here? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could not help having favorable impression toward this man, its just that naturally they could not reveal their real identity to him. They only wished to perfunctorily pass this encounter and go their separate ways. ustomed to inventing crazy nonsense, without even thinking Kou Zhong replied, Someone who understands reason like Er Zhishi is hard toe by. We, two brothers are from the same vige, the Fu family vige in Yuhang. His name is Fu Jing, and I am Fu Ning. [Trantors note: Characters Fu from Fu Junchuo, Jing from Shan Wanjing, and Ning from Li Xiuning.] Liu Zong Dao was emotionally moved; he said, You made light of traveling a thousand li, what is your purpose? Kou Zhong sighed and said, What else but to find support for our lives by joining a militia, wishing that in the future we can stand out among our peers, and bring honor to our ancestors, so that our parents [Trantors note: the words here indicate that they were paternal cousins] can pass their days in peace and happiness. This time, even the old man surnamed Xu believed him. Nodding his head, he said, Younger generation kids should have high aspiration. Listening to your refined style of conversation, I am sure you have had several books to read? Kou Zhong blurted out without thinking, Old Xu is indeed formidable; just by listening to a couple of words from us you are already very clear about our foundation. In our neighboring vige, there was this Kou Laoyezi [polite appetion for an elderly male] who has read intensively the Book of Songs and the Book of History. He is a kind old man, as long as on holidays we delivered two catties of dried meat to him, he was willing to teach us to read, to study all those Four Common Characters of ssical Chinese, Isnt That a Joy? [quote from Confucius], and so on. Being ttered like that, the old man Xu was immediately ted, Now heres a little boy who is worth teaching! Ha ha! The youngest, the smart aleck guy said, The ones you were waiting for must be that militia you are talking about! It was, Kou Zhong replied with a forcedugh, We heard Li Mis army might be passing by here; who would have thought that it was all of you, Daye. Amused, Liu Zongdao smiled and said, Li Mi is way too busy right now, how could he have time to mind the South? So what did you do for a living? Reaching out and grabbing Xu Zilings shoulders, Kou Zhong said, We, two brothers, are expert in providing meals for the important generals. All those dumpling oil rice, dumpling oil cake [see Book 1 Chapter 9], ours is the most famous. Ha! Liu Zongdao appeared to be slightly moved; after exchanging a nce with the old man Xu, he said, Seeing that the two of you have spirit and a face of righteousness, I wonder if you are interested to be chefs for our troops and earn money. Our Changzhu [ranch master] loves to eat dumpling oil cake. As long as you can satisfy her taste, I guarantee that several yearster you can go back to your hometown in silken robes; wont it surpass earning a living by fighting life and death battle? However, if Changzhu is not satisfied with your craftsmanship, the two gentlemen will have to pack up and go home immediately. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned; both thought that their joke seemed to backfire. While they were about to decline, the old man Xu said with augh, Its very rare that Er Zhishi would make an exception and give you rmendation; your family must have amassed virtue as high as the mountain. Our Flying Horse Ranchs name shakes the area north of the River, even Li Mi came to us to buy war horses and equipment; if you dont believe me, feel free to ask around. Kou Zhongs eyes immediately lit up; staring at the old man Xu with his big eyes, he murmured, War horse? One of the riders sneered and said, Kid, you really have eyes without eyeballs. This time we travel to the frontier, is precisely to get these more than a dozen barbarian horse pedigrees to breed. You get it? Sucking a deep breath of air Kou Zhong said, Liu Zhishi has shown such a high regard to us, two brothers, a benevolence and kindness that is hard to forget even after our teeth fall out; but is it possible for us to discuss this matter in private first? Liu Zongdao did not think of anything out of ordinary, Of course I understand, he said, Two Xiao Xiongdi, take your time! Kou Zhong hastily pulled Xu Ziling a bit farther up and said, Since we are not doing anything right now, why not go to their ranch to look around? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Arent you forgetting something? Yucheng and the others are waiting for us in Jingling. Just give me ten days, Kou Zhong asked earnestly, Consider it we identally lose our way! Left without any choice, Xu Ziling helplessly agreed. Kou Zhongs spirit rose up immediately; striding toward Liu Zongdao, he cupped his fist and said, Thank you very much for Liu Zhishis guidance! The old man Xu dly replied on his behalf, No need to mention sentimental words, get on the horse! The young man cried out enthusiastically, Xiao Ning, you can ride with me! Xu Ziling was grateful inwardly that these people were not loathsome; otherwise the next ten days would be very difficult to endure. Book 9 - 5 – Room for Hegemony Book 9 Chapter 5 C Room for Hegemony West and south of Jingling County, the Yangtze River and its two tributaries, the Zhang Shui and the Ju Shui form a delta of fertilend. As the two rivers flowing through, they irrigate good agriculturalnd on both sides, before finally converge into the Great River. The climate here is mild, the soil fertile, natural resources abundant. Flying Horse Ranch was located in such open country. The pasture was particrly rich, all four sides were bordered by mountains, surrounding a fertilend of more than ten li in either direction. There were only two gorges to the east and to the west providing ess. The ranch was an inessible stronghold with the protection of natural barriers. After entering the mountain pass with the team of riders, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling reached the mountain ridge where they could have a birds-eye view of the ranch. They saw piece after piece of cultivatednds, big and small, were covering the valley below, forming beautiful patterns like a quilt; they could not help feeling carefree and rxed. On the pasture full of beautiful colors: dark green, light green, umber-ck dye, in all kinds of hues stitched together, more than a dozen mirror-likekes of various shapes and sizes dotted thend. The deep-green color of the water of thekes vying against the dark-green color of the grass to be the most morous, with their flowing light and overflowing color, full of life and beauty that the two boys held their breath in admiration. No matter from whichever angle they looked, the border of the grasnd was an endless line of undting mountain peaks, stretching as far as their eyes could see. In this fairynd that resembled the Garden of the Peaches of Immortality, countless poultry and livestock roamed around freely: white sheep, brown or grey cows, all kinds of horses; adding even more color to the already-saturated beautiful prairie. The northwest corner wasparatively higher than the rest. A magnificent castle was built there, with its back against the steep wall of ten thousand fathoms precipice, and its front overlooking a winding-like-a-piece-of-ribbon brook, making it even more spectacr. By this time everybody dismounted from the horses and continued on foot. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling walked in the middle; looking around, they were ecstatic, almost felt that this trip has not been made in vain. The things Kou Zhong noted were the construction of the fortress and its strategic points, as well as the sentry tforms and lookout stations, while Xu Ziling was single-mindedly enjoying the beautiful and picturesque scenery. The exit to the gorge was equipped with a city gate tower, with a trench, three zhang wide and five- zhang deep dug in front of it, crossing the gorge outlet. The bottom of the trench was full of sharp spikes, so the only way in was via the drawbridge. It was indeed a one man can defend it, ten thousand men cannot cross situation. Upon entering the grazingnd, it was obvious that Liu Zongdao and the others became more rxed; everybody was chatting andughing loudly as if they had justid down the heavy burden on their backs. Mounting their horses again, they galloped toward the castle along the gravel road. Different types of farm animals were separated by wooden fence. The shepherds were rushing back and forth between the wooden fence, shouting repeatedly. The farmers were working quietly on the fields, asionally the low mooing of the plowing ox blended with the neighing of the horses and the bleating of the sheep. Along the way, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling gained further understanding of this seemingly standing-aloof-from-worldly-affairs Flying Horse Ranch. The founder of this Flying Horse Ranch, the first generation Ranch Master Shang Xiong was a military leader from the end of the Jin Dynasties [265-420AD]. When Liu Yu broke away from Jin and changed the countrys name to Song [of the Southern dynasties (420-479)], the world split up. Avoiding the disaster of war, Shang Xiong led his troops and nsmen to go down south, and by chance found this hidden valley. Thereupon they decided to live in peace and work happily in here, establishing the Ranch. From the time the Ranch was founded to the time the Sui Dynasty unified the world, spanning a period of 160 years, the Flying Horse Ranch has had seven different Ranch Master, all from the Shang family n, passing down from generation to generation, and all had supreme power over the Ranch. As for the other ns, namely Liang, Liu, Tao, Wu, Xu, Luo, and the others, after more than a century they multiplied and continuously moved out to the surrounding area, forming the viges and towns around the Ranch, so much so that the majority residents of the two big cities by Ju Shui, Yuanan and Dangyang, were originated from Flying Horse Ranch. Flying Horse Ranch was also the economic lifeblood of the region. Their product, excellent quality horses, was world-famous. Yet because the Ranch Masters always adhered to the teachings of their ancestors, they did not participate in Jianghu matters, as well as got involved in imperial court. Maintaining a low-key work ethic, they had always been businesspeople; hence the reason Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling never heard about them. The first generation Ranch Master Shang Xiong was of military background, with deep understanding of punching and kicking principles; hence he encouraged his subordinates and nsmen to research and study martial arts, promoting martial style throughout, so that everybody in the Ranch was strong, brave and adept in warfare, unafraid of bandits and robbers from the outside, and became a force able to ensure the peace and safety of the region, and thus won the veneration of the citizens of the cities and towns in the vicinity. It was somewhat simr to the role of Duba Vige toward Jingling. Whenever the Flying Horse Ranch was in need of staff, they usually recruited new people from the surrounding area; it was very rare that they would seek employees from different part of the country. But this time it was a special case; first of all, it was due to Liu Zongdao had a favorable impression as soon as he saw the two boys, but probably more importantly, it was because the Pastry Chef of the Ranch had passed away recently, and none of the new recruits was able to satisfy the female Ranch Master Shang Xiuxuns taste buds. Consecutively more than ten different people have been discharged, prompting Liu Zongdao to invite the two boys to try. Seen from the front, the Flying Horse mountain city was even more impressive. The city wall was built following the topography of the mountain, constructed from uneven pile of rocks; it wound and snaked, and went up and down along the steep terrain. Behind the city was bare stratified rock, with cavities perched high into the sky, so that even flying birds would find it difficult to cross. The troops crossed the river via the suspension bridge, and entered the city. All the bridge guards treated them amiably and enthusiastically, in friendly atmosphere, giving the impression that they were all members of one big family living in harmony with each other. Beyond the city gate was a wide street sloping upwards, extending to the Ranch Masters inner castle at its highest point. On either side of the road was an unbroken line of houses, with streets and alleys all connected to the sloping road; a distinct characteristic of a mountain city. Pedestrians and carriages traveled back and forth along the road, as majestic as a thriving metropolis. Flocks of children yed noisily, making Kou and Xu to open their eyes wide and click their tongues in wonder, since they had never imagined that such a happy ce really existed in the world. All the buildings were in and simple, constructed mainly of rocks, but the model was spacious. Bell-shaped pavilions, decorated archways and doors heavily lined up both sides of the road; in, unadorned design that clearly defined the grand and heroic spirit of the establishment of the city. The scale of the inner castle was even grander; the main buildingplex consisted of fiveyers of halls and pavilions, plus another side pce hall colonnade. Buildings of various sizes were spread out within the castleplex, everything clear and in good order, linked together by gardens and shrubberies, small bridges and fountains and waterfalls; elegant and graceful. Upon entering the castle, Liu Zongdao and the old man Xu took the good horses from outside the northern border to see the Ranch Master, but Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling was led by the young fellow Luo Fang toward the Housekeeper Mansion to report for duty. Due to their lowly position, naturally the two boys did not have the qualification to see the Housekeeper, Shang Zhen. Therefore, they were received by his assistant, Liang Qian, who was in charge of personnel affairs. This man was around forty-years old, dressed in schr attire. At first his manner was arrogant, but after hearing Luo Fangs exnation that these two were the Pastry Chef rmended personally by Liu Zongdao, he became rather polite. After routine interview of the two boys background, Liang Qian said seriously, There is one thing that I must make it clear to the two of you: unless Changzhu [Ranch Master] nods her consent, gentlemens employment here is only probationary. During this probation period, unless under someone elses escort, you are not allowed to leave your lodging house. After you are officially employed here, I will personally go through the Ranchs rules and regtions with you. Kou Zhong said excitedly, A country has nationalws, a house has family rules; this aspect, we understand clearly. Its just that when can we showcase our unique talents, so that Changzhu get a taste of the goodies we can produce? After casting a sidelong nce toward the two boys, Liang Qian asked Luo Fang, who was standing on the side, What was Liu Zhishisment on their products? Luo Fang replied awkwardly, Er Zhishi has not tasted their handicraft. Liang Qian stared nkly for half a day. His countenance changed, he said, Why didnt you tell me earlier? If Changzhu med me for dereliction of duty, who would have pity on me? Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, Liang Fu Guanjia [Deputy Housekeeper] may rest assured that we ... Less bullsh1t, Liang Qian cut him off impatiently, Right now Ill have someone take you to have some rest. After making some arrangement, Ill have someone bring you to the kitchen to see what can you do? Well talk again after you pass my test. After a pause, he went on with a sympathetic tone, I want you to be well aware of the situation: I lost track of how many Pastry Chefs, all with experience over ten years more than you have, plus outstanding reputation, yet they absolutely had no luck in this matter at all. Men! Take Xiao Ning and Xiao Ling to the courtyard of the Rear Castle. And then, turning to Luo Fang he said, You are dismissed! The courtyard was located east of the Rear Castle. There were more than a dozen buildings in it, and next to it was precisely the kitchen that supplied food to the people of the Inner Castle, from top to bottom. The two boys were ced in a small room in one of the buildings; they also had to change into low-rank Flying Horse Ranch uniform. Sprawling on the bed, Xu Ziling grumbled, Thousands and tens of thousands names in the world, why must you pick Fu Jing? People are calling me Xiao Jing, Xiao Jing; so awkward, like I turned into a woman. It also reminded me of Dong Ming Princess. [Reminder: same Jing character as Shan Wanjings name.] Kou Zhong was leaning against the window, looking out. He said proudly, You are Xiao Jing, and I am Xiao Ning; both reminded us of people we ought to forget; we are even. Ay! Why am I thinking about these things at time like this? I was just inventing crazy nonsense and blurting out those names, I thought we only had to tell them and be done with it. And then he became excited as he said, That day in Cui Shan town when we worked for Ol Zhang, he often bragged that his dumpling oil rice, jade-well rice are peerless under the heavens [see Book 1 Chapter 9], and now we can confirm whether he indeed has bragging rights. Xu Ziling chided him gently, You are right; Ol Zhang often bragged about his rice dishes, but he had never said his pastries were anything amazing. Ay! You, this kid, also love to brag, and this time you are implicating me that I have to share the humiliation with you. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day. Like a wandering soul he walked over to the bed and sat down. Logically speaking, Ol Zhangs pastries cant be thatcking, he muttered to himself, At least, I think so. Hey! I think they are all very tasty! Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Other than being good at consoling yourself, what else can you do? Have you forgotten what that rotten ghost schr surnamed Liang told us that there are a lot of outstanding pastry chefs who had been sacked and sent home to till their fields? Ol Zhang is just like you; he loves to brag. Rice dishes he may have a skill or two, but pastry? Ill say even by patting the horses bottom he wont be able to catch up with big citys or big towns famous masters. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, What should we do? he asked. Xu Ziling said in an unusual tone, If you really want to be Pastry Chef in here, I may be able to apany you. What I am most afraid of is if you are coveting others ranch, and here to obtain both riches and sex. If thats the case, please forgive Xiaodi for not be able to keep youpany! Kou Zhongs old face turned slightly red; he said in embarrassment, Can you not paint me in such an unbearably light? Most probably that Shang Xiuxun is just another Zhai Jiao; nothing to look at. I only want to build a good rtionship with her, so that when I buy horses from her in the future, I can get a bit more discount. Thats all! Staying calm andposed, Xu Ziling said, Whatever you say, its useless. First thing tomorrow morning we have to get out of here; I forbid you from looking at her even for a nce. Pow! Kou Zhong pummeled Xu Zilings thigh and cried out, You have to think of something for me! Ow! Xu Ziling cried out in pain and dropped back onto the bed. Stroking the sore spot, he moaned, You wanted to kill me? Kou Zhong was skeptical, Based on your, Ling Shaos power this day and age, a gentle p could give you that much pain? Xu Ziling angrily replied, Your Niangs gentle p carried the strength of a vortex of qi. You nearly broke through the qi protecting my body. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong was about to speak, when a young womans voice was speaking angrily from outside the door, Whos making a big fuss inside? Get your @ss out here right now! Stunned, the two boys looked at each other. Chapter 5 C Part 2 The woman shouted again in her tender voice, If you dont get out, Ille in and youll be sorry! Wereing! Wereing! Kou Zhong replied, Miss, please calm down, we are just goofing around here! The woman said in heavy voice, The two of you are neers from the outside, you think our Ranch is the ce to goof around? More bullsh1t and you will be rewarded with ten sticks each ording to our rules. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay before rushing to the door and out to the corridor. Standing under the sunshine was a tall and thin, with slender waist like a willow tree, middle-aged woman. Although her overall appearance could be considered all right, her hollow cheeks were dry and heavy, as if she could fly into a rage at any time. With frosty countenance she stared at them. Her clothes were of gorgeous silk, but it did nothing to help herck of luster, just like it was hung on the bamboo pole to dry under the sun. Standing behind her was a little maid that looked pretty and pleasant; she was secretly sizing up the two boys in curiosity, her eyes showed sympathy. Kou Zhong cupped his fist to salute and said, This is ... Without any trace of politeness the tall and thin woman cut him off, You must be Fu Jing and Fu Ning. Looking at your smell-of-mothers-milk-not-yet-dried appearance, how much experience can you possibly have? Er Zhishi is an astute man, but sometimes he is muddleheaded, unexpectedly he got you, these two useless people to waste my precious time. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were broadminded people, they could not possibly lower themselves to her level; thereupon they kept silent and ignored her insults. The more the woman cursed, the more her anger rose; she grumbled, Just yesterday I sent people to Yiling to send gifts and invite the most famous Pastry Chef in the area toe and serve Changzhu, but now you, two kids who dont know the immensity of heaven and earth, came to mess things up. This is really irritating! The two boys suddenly understood, the reason this woman was so unfriendly was because of rivalry. She wanted to be in charge of hiring and firing kitchen workers, but the people she hired failed to satisfy the Ranch Masters taste, hence she lost face big time. This time, supposing the Second Manager Liu Zongdao seeded in rmending these two boys, wouldnt she lost even more face? In view of this, Liu Zongdao was not as simple as he looked to be. Three or four young male servants congregated at the corridor on the other side of the courtyard, busily gesticting at the two boys, in a taking-joy-in-cmity-and-delight-in-disaster manner. However, even under this vicious womansshing out without leaving them any room to maneuver, the two boys remained calm andposed, like even if they were being scolded for three days and three nights, they would not be impatient. More and more people heard themotion and came to watch, filling the corridors around the courtyard. Arge group of children, who were ying in the vicinity, also rushed in, creating a very lively scene. Xu Ziling noticed that one of the children, a little girl was staring at him curiously, seemingly unable to take her pair of big eyes off of him; he could not help smiling at her. The woman angrily scolded him, Are you listening to me? Bashfully the little girl hid behind her friend. Xu Zilings tiger-eyes shed with cold rays; he looked straight into the womans eyes and unfazed, he said, We are hired to make cakes and pastries, not to receive your insults. Besides, why speak so much nonsense? Wont testing our skill be enough? Whats more, we dont even know who you are. If you think we are unsuitable, why not confront Liu Er Zhishi directly? With Xu Zilings piercing gaze on her, the woman immediately felt as if she was burning in a scorching me; her arrogance was gone instantly. Furthermore, considering the opposite partys response was reasonable, neither haughty nor humble, momentarily she was stumped. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, We still dont know how to address Auntie. The vicious woman finally regained herposure. Letting out a cold snort, she said, I am in charge of the general affairs of the kitchen; everybody calls me Lan Gu [(paternal) auntie Orchid]. Hey! Come with me! I want to see what amazing skill you have. Finished speaking she stormed away. Kou Zhong put on an act by bowing respectfully with sped hands in four directions, just like a performer expressing his gratitude to the audience, which immediately prompted a roar ofughter. Lan Gu did not look back, but her originallycking-color face became even more pale from anger. The two-storied building they called kitchen was actually made up of twelve kitchen units. Working in this ce were the chefs and their subordinates, amounting to more than sixty people: chefs, assistants, apprentices, and kitchen helpers; each position was clearly identified, and everything was under Lan Gus supervision. One unit, called the Upper Kitchen, specialized in supplying meals for the Ranch Master, Housekeeper, and other important personnel of the Ranch, and was further divided into four stations: east, south, west and north. The south station was Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings pastry section. Still fuming, Lan Gu took the two boys to this ce, and then with a wooden face said, Before the day you are officially hired, you must not roam around anywhere. Otherwise, if you offend the Ranchs rules, even Er Zhishi wont be able to protect you. Noticing that in their station, other than the steamer basket to make pastries, knives and cutting board, stove and other kitchen tools, the table was as empty as anything, Kou Zhong asked, Where can we get the ingredients? Struggling hard to keep her temper under control, Lan Gu ordered the pretty maid standing to her left, Xiao Juan! See if they need anything, and then let Uncle Gu know. Understand? With her head hung low, Xiao Juan acknowledged the order, but she could not help stealing a nce toward the two boys, while a delighted expression appeared on the corners of her mouth. I want to see what kind of trick you are going to y, Lan Gu muttered to herself. Finished speaking, she left without looking back. The three people looked at each other. Pfft! Xiao Juan suddenly burst into tenderughter and said, I am waiting for two Big Masters instruction! Kou Zhong sat on the edge of the stove. After scrutinizing Xiao Juan for quite a while, he smiled and said, Xiao Juan Jie [elder sister] is really pretty. Xiao Juans jade cheeks immediately turned as red as sunset clouds; half delighted half angered, she cast him a hateful look and said, If only I had known earlier that this person cant be serious. Folding his arms in front of his chest, Xu Ziling went to the door, looked out all around, and said with a wry smile, Wed better get out of here as soon as possible! How could Lan Gu be willing to give us highest quality ingredients? This is called even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice. With a serious expression Xiao Juan said, Two Xiao Shifu need not be worry! You have the support of Er Zhishi behind your back, no matter what Lan Gu wont dare to y tricks in this regard, not to mention she basically does not believe that you can make any cake that will satisfy Changzhus taste. Does Xiao Juan Jie believe? Kou Zhong asked slyly. Hanging her head down, Xiao Juan chuckled lightly, and then shook her head slightly. But then she looked up with a puzzled expression on her face, You dont seem to be nervous at all, shemented, Could it be that you really have full confidence? Kou Zhong breathed out a sigh and said, Speaking about taste, everybody is different. Even if you get the Chief of Imperial Kitchen who previously served that muddleheaded ruler toe over here, your honorable Changzhu might still be dissatisfied. Xiao Juan turned her gaze toward Xu Ziling, who was still leaning against the door, looking out. Xiao Shifu, what are you looking at? she wondered. Xu Ziling was focusing his power onto his ears, trying to eavesdrop the conversation in the other stations. Hearing the question, he replied indifferently, Nothing. I am just looking around. As long as you are willing to look attentively, youll be able to see a lot of things. Xiao Juan seemed to understand, but she did not really understand. Nodding her head, she sat down on a chair at the side. Knitting her jet-ck eyebrows, she said, I am still waiting for two Xiao Shifus instruction. Hmm! But you really dont look like Pastry Chefs; you look more like chivalrous heroes and warriors. Turning toward Kou Zhong, she said, The saber behind your back is not just for decoration, is it? Why not get good knives that are more decent? Kou Zhong changed the subject, Isnt Xiao Juan Jie Lan Gus trusted aide? Why do you seem to be very willing to help us out? Pouting her pretty mouth, Xiao Juan replied with a little disdain in her voice, Whos her trusted aide? I am Fu Dajies [big sister] subordinate. Were it not for Fu Dajie sending me to tell Lan Gu to have you make pastries, she could have been leaving you forgotten, or perhaps even forcing you to leave. Whos Fu Dajie? Kou Zhong wondered. Xiao Juan proudly said, She is Miss must trusted person, the head of the maids of our Changzhus mansion. And then, lowering her voice, she added, And she is in good terms with your good friend, that Luo Fang bro. I dont need to tell you why she is willing to keep an eye on you, do I? Kou Zhong suddenly understood what was going on. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, We need three catties of dragon eye flour, a bottle of cows curdled milk broth, ten strips of white lotus roots, eight taels of fresh lotus seeds ... He listed a string of ingredients in one breath. Xiao Juan took note of everything, cast a sweet smile toward the two boys, and happily left. Stupefied, Kou Zhong asked, Arent those the ingredients for cool-breeze rice, dumpling oil rice, and jade-well rice? Xu Ziling calmly sat down and said, Exhaustion drives changes, changes drives breakthrough. Just now I overheard that not only Shang Xiu Xun is a glutton, she also loves to try novel things. So well make cakes that even we have not tasted yet. After she has tasted it, shell definitely have a second thought. Zhong Shifu, do you understand? Book 9 - 6 – Beauty As Fair As Jade Book 9 Chapter 6 C Beauty As Fair As Jade Sweet aroma from the pastry kitchen permeated the whole ce. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at the new strange-looking cake they pan-fried with butter, both were radiant with delight. But when the former scooped up some, the cake, which aroma was so tempting, torn apart immediately. The two boys wanted to cry, but they had no tears. They have worked hard all afternoon, but until the sun set over the western hills, they still did not have any cakes. The most annoying thing was that Liang Qian, Big Sister Fu and Lan Gu repeatedly sent their people to urge them, adding urgency to this matter. The good ol cake seemed to give them more headaches than Wanwan. Kou Zhong said, We might as well make these cake ingredients as stuffing, wrap it in dough mixed with bean flour. After ttening it, well use peeled sesame seed to pick it up and evenly deep fry its egg in the wok; I guarantee it will be sweet smelling, crispy and tasty. Xu Ziling crossly said, Whats the difference from molded ky pastry then? Wed better use the steamer basket; after heating the spices, it will also emit sweet aroma withoutpromising its natural vor. This moment Lan Gu entered the kitchen. Feigning surprise look, she said, Whats that in thedle? Are you going to make deep-fried cake, or thin porridge? Kou Zhong struggled hard to restrain the fire in his belly; he glowered at Lan Gu, making thetter immediately felt chill all over her body, so that she was trembling uncontrobly. Like a defeated hen she went out obediently. Regaining hisposure, Kou Zhong said, Perhaps we should separately try pan fry, deep fry, roast, and steam, four different methods, making four different cakes. As long as there is one that that poniang [woman (derog.), b1tch; see Book 1] think its tasty, wont we be able to redeem our face? Once I think about Lan Gu, that b1tch, I feel like we should not lose this battle. Xu Ziling agreed, Let me make some deep-fried pancake with fresh savory taro vor. You think about the other three vors. This moment Xiao Juan came; the two boys hurriedly pleaded with her to get more ingredients. By the time the two boys sat down, both mentally and physically exhausted, four different new cakes emerged. Xiao Juan pped and cheers. Picking the tray up, she said, Ill take this to Fu Dajie. Mmm! Smells really good! Just by looking at them I know they sweet, crispy and tasty. The two boys sprang up at once. One on her left, the other on her right, they walked out with her. Stunned, Xiao Juan halted her steps, What are you doing? Kou Zhongughed and said, Such a precious thing, how can we not escort it personally? If someone should add any strange material to it along the way, wont we be finished? Xiao Juanughed tenderly and said, It is well covered; how could anybody y a trick? Who would have such guts? But if you want to roam around, juste with nujia [I, your servant] then. A shadow shed, Liang Qian barred their way, and said crossly, I have not tasted it, where are you taking it? Sticking out her silky breasts, Xiao Juan said, This is Fu Dajies order; as soon as it is done, I must bring it to Changzhu while it is still warm. Its none of your business. Obviously Liang Qian was rather afraid of Big Sister Fu; as soon he heard that, he was stunned and could only stare nkly. Lan Gus voice was heard from the side, You two forgot the rules? Who gave you permission to roam around randomly? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, We are people who abide by the rules, right now we have Xiao Juan Jie leading the way, how can it be regarded as roaming around randomly? The three people boldly marched forward, leaving the angry-until-their-faces-were-devoid-of-any-color Liang Qian and Lan Gu standing behind. Ranch Master Shang Xiuxuns residence was called the Flying Horse Courtyard, located in the middle of the Inner Castle. It consisted of more than thirty buildings, surrounded by wind-and-fire wall all around, constructed of brick and wood. The two boys followed Xiao Juan into the courtyard via the back door, passing through a nine-bend corridor attached to the buildings. As they walked along, their eyes feasted on garden sceneries, one seemed to be more beautiful from another. Far and near the buildings were of different heights, strewn at random among the wooded area, a picture of elegance and rustic blended in harmony. The most unique aspect was that due to the manors elevation, asionally they were able to catch a glimpse of the beautiful pasture below the Flying Horse City extending endlessly into the distance. Under the dim light of the crescent moon, it looked even more serene and peaceful. Along the way, they encountered numerous maids, servants and mansion guards; all were staring at them politely, but with Xiao Juan, a maid close to their Ranch Master, leading the way, plus the two boys were wearing pastry chef attire, everybody knew that they were the neers and thus nobody was giving them any trouble. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not people who had not seen the world, but seeing the hall and the other main buildings construction, their style and raised beam type and the roof beam structure, with their fitting delicately carved eaves beamponents and the gorgeously ever-changing trim of the corridors, which strengthened the sense of depth, thendscape garden lining it, has sparked the prating, serene feeling hidden deep within their hearts. The three of them walked through gates and passed doors, sometimes one or two atriums and winding corridors, until finally Xiao Juan took them into a reception hall. Putting the cakes down on a round table, she said, You sit here for a moment, I going to notify Fu Dajie. After Xiao Juan left, Xu Ziling sat down quietly, while Kou Zhong looked around everywhere. He looked at the western garden scenery outside the window on the other side of the room; he also looked at the structure of the buildings, as well as leaning out of the window to look at the adjacent room, which happened to be a study room. The study room was furnished with mahogany furniture; there were Four Treasures of the Study on the table [i.e. brush, ink stick, paper and ink-stone]. Leaning against the wall was a shelf full of antique knickknacks. Under the illumination of a pce-stylentern, he could see a roll of rhyming couplet hanging on one side of the wall, on it were written There is delight in the Five Confucian rtionships [ruler-subject, father-son, brother-brother, husband-wife, friend-friend]; apart from the Six ssics [Book of Songs, Book of History, Book of Rites, Book of Music, Book of Changes, and Spring and Autumn Annals], there is no other literary works. But he did not see anybody. Walking back to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong sat down by his side and said, Looks like not only this Changzhu is a poetic individual, she has some schrly knowledge as well. But there is also a tiny bit of lone flower admiring itself feeling on her. I just hope she does not look like Zhai Jiao! Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Being born ugly is not a sin. Zhai Jiaos fate is pitiful, it would be best if you dont joke about her. Kou Zhong nodded to acknowledge the admonishment, Yes! he said, I was wrong! Xu Ziling was emotionally moved. This is perhaps one of your strengths, he said, You are willing to admit mistake, and can learn something from it. Just like recently you love to talk aboutpassion, duty, propriety and integrity, just because I often used you of being too exploitative; is that right? Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, You, this kid, are making fun of me. Xu Ziling looked out the window, at the garden reflecting the moon and thentern light; smiling, he said, You are right. This Shang Xiuxun is definitely not an ordinary person. Just look at theyout of the rockery and amazing stones, and the ingenious arrangement of the wintersweet [chimonanthus praecox], the Japanese banana [musa basjoo], the wisteria, the osmanthus flowers; none did not appear as stereoscopic image standing right in front of the window, making people ponder endlessly. From this you could tell that she is brilliant. Kou Zhongughed and said, And dont forget that she really knows how to eat. And then he turned around and leaned over and said in a low voice, If she is as beautiful as Shan Wanjing, would Xu Ye give her your consideration? Based on your moral standing, outward appearance and martial art skill, you should be a good catch. Hey! Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, It would be best if I married both Shan Wanjing and Shang Xiuxun; that way, by the time you are striking the world, when you need weapons youll get weapons, and when you need warhorses youll get warhorses! Having his foxs tail revealed, Kou Zhongs big eyes lit up as he said, Good idea! Aiyo! Xu Ziling withdrew the fist he struck Kou Zhongs thigh with and said, You should know whats called vortex power by now, ha! How can I be as hical as you are? Suddenly they heard barely audible sound of footsteps. The two boys looked at each other, and both could see the surprised look on each others face. Turned out the sound of footsteps came from the Riders Building connected to this reception hall, which was less than a zhang away from the door. That is to say that the neer was within two zhang from them before they started to detect her presence. Definitely it was not the sound of Xiao Juans familiar footsteps. This adorable girl hase and gone their pastry kitchen no less than twenty times today; they could even rey it in their mind. This persons qinggong was superior, definitely not below Fu Junyus. At this thought, the two boys scalp went numb as they watch the door, thinking that it would be really terrible if Fu Junyu really showed up. Then the two boys eyes lit up. A young woman, with multifarious bearings, whose jet-ck and beautiful hair cascaded down like two streams of waterfall on her fragrant shoulders, which looked like they were carved by a knife, whose beauty was extraordinary, which probably wasparable to Wanwans, who was dressed in tight warrior outfit, stepped into the room. She did not seem surprised at the two boys presence. Her simple and elegant outfit highlighted her outstanding face and her shiny sun-bronzed skin and tender and lovely flesh, which exuded a burning hot youthfulness and enviable health. Her pair of beautiful eyes was unfathomably deep, her thick eyshes were adding more mystery to her phoenix eyes, which were rippling like the most fragrant and richest wine brewed by the immortals. While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were looking at her, dumbstruck, she gracefully walked over to the best seat across from the two boys and sat down. Stretching out her slender lily-white hand under her gauze dress, she opened the lid of the tray, took a quick look of whats inside, wrinkled her pretty, straight, and small nose, and said, The aroma is ordinary, but the outward appearance is very unique, because I have never seen an ugly delicatessen like this. Greatly surprised, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, and then they scrambled to stand up and salute her. Changzhu! they eximed, Please forgive our disrespect! Without even looking at them, Shang Xiuxun put the lid on the side, and grabbed one of the cakes, put it in front of her fragrant plump and glossy lips, and then with her neat and snow white small teeth, which colorplement her skin color well, she gingerly took a bit on the corner, and carefully sampled the cake. The two boys nervously looked at her cheeks, which movements were barely perceptible. However, even after the movements ceasedpletely, this peerless beauty outside of Wanwan still did not speak, and still did not react to either their stare or their salute. Since she did not speak, the two boys did not dare to ask. It was not that they did not have the courage; rather, deep down they were afraid to know the answer, especially recalling Lan Gus loathsome look. Chapter 6 - Part 2 In this life-and-death-decisive-battle like moment, a smile, like a glimmer of the moon breaking through the dark clouds, escaped from her mouth; her pair of big eyes, which looked as if they affectionately contained her feeling, swept the two boys over. She nodded and said, Can still be considered edible. Although not top grade, the creativity ismendable, it surpasses those so-called famous chefs who are hidebound by convention. Sit down! The two boys cried out close-call in their hearts; they dly sat down across from her. Shang Xiuxun sized them up and down, her definitely-not-simple sharp eyes made the two boys ufortable. They struggled hard to curb their true qi, so that it would not leak out via their eyes and thus exposing their true identity. Shang Xiuxuns pair of jet-ck eyebrows was suddenly knitted together, making her pretty forehead appeared like beautiful rippling waves of the ocean. Looking perplexed, she asked, You dont look like people who do this kind of thing for a living, am I right? Kou Zhong regained hisposure, while in his heart he groaned, This fairy is formidable! Nodding his head, he said, Changzhu is formidable. Making cakes is indeed our side upation, our main line of work is salt trading. Pfft! Shang Xiuxun covered her mouth as a tenderugh escaped her mouth. It was quite some timeter when she finally let her hand down. As if she had just seen Kou Zhong for the first time, she looked at him for a good while with graceful smile on her face before speaking softly, You are forting and witty; you amused me that I am also going to be frank with you. Just by looking at this cake, I am going to give you half a tael of gold per month per person; is there any problem? It should be more or less the same as profiting from salt trading, isnt that right? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised. They had never imagined that Shang Xiuxun would be this straightforward; even more surprising, they never expected that pastry chef ie could be this lucrative. A strange feeling welled up in their heart. Without waiting for their response, Shang Xiuxun went on, These days I am going to have a lot of guests. Just like your cake, your outward appearance is not bad, but your eyesck a bit of spirit. But I dont mind that at all, I just want you toe out and greet the guests for me during the banquet, or perhaps Ill have you exin how to make these strange cakes. Without much choice the two boys nodded their agreement. After stretching her alluring limbs, Shang Xiuxun stood up. The two boys hurriedly paid their respect and sent her off. Shang Xiuxun casually said, Every ranch has its own rules, vitors will be severely punished, even Er Zhishi will be helpless to defend you. The Housekeeper will be responsible to exin this aspect to you clearly. Finished speaking, she left without even looking back. The two boys looked at each other in dismay. After making sure that she has really left, Kou Zhong heaved a sigh and said, This beauty is both pretty and formidable. Do you think she has seen through us? Xu Ziling smiled wryly and replied, This is extremely hard to say. But one thing I know: this poniang is capable of enticing any man to his death. Kou Zhong felt the same way. She is blessed by the Heaven, hemented, Not only with exceptional countenance, but also with naturally touching gracefulness. As for wealth, power and martial art skill, not a single one iscking. Hey! Are you interested? Xu Ziling irately said, Your own heart is moved yet you still say such thing. Do you believe that I can beat you up? Kou Zhong sat down disappointedly; he said, For the sake of Song Yuzhi, I have lost the eligibility to pursue the deer, to chase under her skirt. This is the high price one must pay for the sake of vying over the world! Familiar sound of footsteps was approaching, the ted Xiao Juan, like a burst of fragrant wind, stormed in. Changzhu is willing to hire you! she called out with her tender voice, And now I am taking you to see the Housekeeper. Xiao Juan took them to the Housekeeper Mansion, and signaled them to stop just in front of the main gate, while she herself stepped over the threshold and continued toward a chair at the inner end of the hall, where she said respectfully, Da Guanjia [great housekeeper], the two Xiao Shifu are here. The two boys took a furtive nce, and saw smoke filling the air; not only tobo smoke spouting out of the pipe, but also spiraling fragrant smoke from the sandalwood stove on a small table at the corner of the room, blending into some kind of scent filling the room. A tall and sturdy man with bald head was reclining on the couch, with two pretty and flirtatious women on each side, giving him massage. This big housekeeper of the Flying Horse Ranch was swallowing clouds and blowing out fog from the long tobo pipe in his hand in aid-back manner. His head was supported by a pile of soft pillows, his eyes were on the beam overhead, and he spoke glibly, So young yet have good skill; it is indeed rare. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only listen quietly; they both thought that this mans airs was above Shang Xiuxuns. Looking from the side, this Housekeeper appeared to be around fifty, his nose straight, his upper lip arched slightly over his upturned lower lip, giving him some kind of charm, showing his very strong personality and self-confidence. A bit like he was talking to himself, Shang Zhen continued, Entering our Ranch, you must observe our Ranchs rules. Offender to the rules is subject to severe punishment. Do you understand? The two boys promptly acknowledged. Shang Zhen turned his head to cast them a quick nce before his gaze returned to the roof. Letting out a dry cough, he said, We rarely employ outsiders, but this is a special case, plus you have a manager-level rmendation, so I have nothing to say. After a short pause, his eyes gleamed with cold shes as he turned his head toward the two boys again and said, Although what you are wearing now bears Flying Horse insignia, you are still considered outsiders. Unless within three years you go the distance inpliance to our rules, receive a manager-level rmendation, and receive Changzhus approval, you cant be considered Ranch people. Understand? Just by looking at his fierce and sharp gaze, one would know that his internal strength had reached a first-ss master level. No wonder the Flying Horse Ranch was able to stay aloof from the dispute of the outside world. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only nod their heads in agreement. Shang Zhens gaze returned to the ceiling. Suddenly he sucked in a mouthful of smoke, and then slowly blew it out, Outsiders also have outsiders rules to follow. First of all, you must never engage in an illicit sexual rtionship with any Ranch women. You want women? Take a leave and go to neighboring cities and towns to solve your problem. Otherwise I will castrate you. Xiao Juan, who was standing across the threshold from them, lowered her head; even she was blushing to the roots of her ears. The two boys embarrassment need not be mentioned. As if nothing happened, Shang Zhen calmly continued, Unless receiving special approval, usually you are not allowed to leave the Inner Castle. As for other rules, Liang Qian will exin to you in details. You are dismissed! By the time they finished with Liang Qian and returned to their living quarters, it was already the first watch of the night [between 7-9pm]. It was only then did Xiao Juan happily bid her farewell from the two boys and returned to the Ranch Master mansion. After sniffing at himself and then sniffing at Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong proposed, We are covered in greasy smell, and then well have to crowd into one bed; how could we sleep? We might as well go to the bath house and enjoy a good his mothers cold water bath. I wonder if there is any housew prohibiting us from sleeping this his grannyste at night. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, But where is the bath house? Right now everybody is hiding under his quilt looking for a dream; we wont find anybody to ask for directions. Just now I still saw some rooms withntern lights in them, Kou Zhong said, Besides, bath house cant be several li away from here, we can always look around while trying to find somebody to ask. Hey! We can always use some warm-up exercise before looking for the Duke Yang Treasure. This one will do! Xu Ziling finally agreed. The two boys picked up two sets of clean uniforms, and groped their way around out of their room. The huge courtyard was quiet with no one in sight. Apart from their room, the other rooms were dark without anyntern or light, some even transmitted sounds of people snoring. Fortunately the main gate had antern hanging above it to provide illumination. The sky was full of stars, but the moon was not showing its face. From the direction of the pasture came the sound of sheep bleating and horses whinnying, interspersed with the dogs barking, creating a unique atmosphere of a mountain town. Kou Zhong unleashed his natural gift of geography, To the left is Changzhus mansion, the Flying Horse Courtyard, to the rear is the kitchen building, to the right is the rear mountain, only the direction of our exit that I dont know where it leads to. If we want to try, we should try this direction. Xu Ziling pricked up his ears and listened carefully, he said, But the sound of running water actuallyes from the rear mountain, perhaps there is a seasonal spring in there somewhere. Only we will have to blindly grope and bump our way to it. If we break many taboos of this ce, taking sticks or whips is totally not worth it. Kou Zhong agreed, You are better than me in being a servant; I have never thought about sticks or whips. Ha ... While talking and cursing at each other in low voice, the two boys walked quietly on tiptoe toward the exit leading to the rear mountain. Only after entering a moon gate that they found another garden behind the courtyard. The most amazing thing was that there was a corridor that wind back to the outside, that extended into the garden, opening up the depth of field, bringing about beautiful scenery as one walked along the corridor toward the garden. There was a lily pond on the left, with a small hexagonal pavilion built in the middle, and a small bridge connecting it to the bank. The moon appeared on the horizon to their right, bathing the serene rear courtyard in its silvery light; the scenery was extremely moving. The two boys forgot about bathing, they stood still, full of praise. Kou Zhong looked up toward the sharply bent cliff behind the courtyard, where on a crack in the rock an old tree defiantly grew with its branches dancing lightly in the wind. He could not help sighing and said, Since our debut, this is the first time I am having the intention to shun the world and retreat to secluded ce; a clear indication of how strong the influence of this ce to me. Xu Ziling deeply shared his sentiments; he said, Whoever built thisndscape garden in the Inner Castle must be a master builder. Even Yang Guangs imperial garden doesnt have this kind of intoxicating effect. Kou Zhong nudged him and said with augh, Do you see that gracefully winding clear creek? It must havee from a spring on the rear mountain. If we can find its source, we could take a quick bath and go back to the hexagonal pavilion to cool off and admire the moon; wont that be fun? Xu Ziling was also in a good mood; he stepped forward as soon as Kou Zhong finished. With a tourist mind, the two boys turned to the left and wound to the right along the winding corridor, where more and more beautiful sceneries emerged on both sides. After passing a bamboo forest, they heard the crashing noise of water. Turned out at the end of the path was a square pavilion, overlooking a hundred-zhang high cliff, where a stream of waterfall flew down with irresistible momentum. Were it not for the bamboo forest separating the two ces, the thundering sound of the waterfall could have been heard from the courtyard. The two boys gasped in amazement. To the left there was a gravel path leading toward the square pavilion, winding along the edge of the cliff, extending toward the depths of the forest, creating in their hearts the desire to explore this secluded area. Following the path, the two boys turned to the left and wound to the right, until suddenly a wide panorama opened up before their eyes. There was a small two-story building strategically situated on the tablnd overlooking the cliff. This moment they could still see lighting from the second story, indicating that not only this building was inhabited, but also that the inhabitant had not gone to sleep yet. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never expected that there would be a ce of charm and beauty at the end of the path. They were about to turn around and walk back when an old-sounding mans voice was heard from the upstairs, Noble guests have already arrived, why note up and meet Laofu face-to-face? Book 9 - 7 – Strange Encounter At The Back of The Mountain Book 9 Chapter 7 C Strange Encounter At The Back of The Mountain An elegant room does not need to be big, fragrance does not require a lot of flowers. As the two boys stepped over the main gate, where a sign board carved with the characters An Le Wo [Comfort Zone; lit. still/calm happy nest] was hanging over it, a feeling of serene, peaceful harmony welled up in their hearts. Opposite the entrance, on the beam supported by two pirs, there was another wooden board with this couplet written on it: Mornings are suitable to make qin [zither] music, evenings are suitable to strike the se [standing harp with 5-25 strings]; old friends have arrived, new rains are starting to fall. The calligraphic style was elegant yet simple, bold and powerful. This hall was shaped in a four-sided living room style, with all four sides have wooden pot-style windows. On the far end the nt in the pot drooped down, covering the view of the dangerous precipice beyond. The gentle sound of the bamboo grove dancing in the wind faintly prating the inner hall, adding a more rxed, natural feeling to the simple, in, rustic mahogany furnishing of the room. On the corner, there was a cedar wood stairs leading to the upper floor. The old-sounding voice came again, Gentlemen, pleasee upstairs! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce, then walked slowly up the flight of stairs. The room upstairs was divided into two sections by a standing screen. The front section had a round table and several chairs; presumably the rear section was where the host slept. This moment a man was standing at the window, facing out. He spoke in soft voice, Two Xiao Xiongdi, please sit down, try the Six-fruit Brew Laofu personally made. It was only then did the two boys notice the wine bottle and wine cups on the table. The aroma of the wine permeated the whole ce. Under the illumination of two pce-stylenterns hanging from the beam, they saw that other than the table and chairs, there was only a few necessary furniture, all made of rosewood, disying its stylish, quaint grandeur. The old man dressed in formal intellectual attire. Although because his back was facing the two boys that they were unable to see his face, he looked slightly taller than Xu Ziling. Furthermore, because of the oversized long robe he was wearing, he exuded some kind of loftiness thatmanded other people to look up in respect. Recalling their own low rank, the two boys looked at the wine on the table, but were unsure of what to do. The old man sighed and said, Drink! Theres wine to enjoy, life is short! His voice carried a profound helplessness, giving the impression that he must have a sad past. Kou Zhong pushed Xu Ziling and sat down first. They were both moving very cautiously, not willing to make any noise to disturb the sacred quietness of the small room upstairs. They could still hear the faint sound of waterfall from the distance. Kou Zhong lifted up the wine bottle and poured three cups. Seeing the old man has not made any movement, he picked one cup, and handed the other one to Xu Ziling. The fruit brew entered his throat. The aroma was mellow and rich, soft and fresh. The most amazing thing was that the fragrance was thick, but in congruence, so that the aftertaste lingered long. Tranquil and calm, the old man said, This wine is brewed from a collection of pomegranate, grape, tangerine, crabapple, green plum, and pineapple, six types of fresh fruits. The manufacturing method involves picking the fruits, washing in water, bleaching in water, crushing, pits removal, soaking, juice extraction, fermentation, blending, filtering, and aging process, before loading it in barrels and burying it for three whole years. And it tastes good! Kou Zhong praised wholeheartedly, Laozhang [Sir/gentleman] is adept in wine brewing, and is very creative. The old man was silent for half a day before speaking softly, Laofu has lived here for nearly thirty years. Other than Xiuxun, nobody ever dared to barge in here. You must be neers. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that they had vited a taboo; thetter apologetically said, Liang Fu Guanjia [deputy housekeeper] has never mentioned this ce to us, and thus we have disturbed Qianbeis [senior/older generation] peace. I ... The old man interrupted him, You have Yangzhou ent; this is strange, since the Ranch very seldom hires outsiders. What do you do? Thereupon Xu Ziling narrated their story again. Up to this point the two boys were still unclear of the old mans identity, or his rtionship with the Ranch, but they were quite sure that he was an unfathomable senior martial art expert. Kou Zhong could not help asking, Has Qianbei really never left this ce in thirty years? The old manughed aloud, Of course not, he said, Although these past thirty years I have lived peacefully in this An Le Wo, but I spent quite a bit of time outside, more than the time I spent in this ce. This time I came across you, it can be said it is predestined affinity; its not easy for us to be here. Finished speaking he slowly turned around to face the two boys. It was a very particr face; in, simple, inelegant, amazingly old. His long, thick ck eyebrows extended almost to the edge of his temples, while the other ends nearly met above the bridge of his nose, in stark contrast with his deep, elegant hawk eyes. There were wrinkles at the corners of his mouth and under his eyes, making him appear to have a rather cold, tired and sad look of the affairs of life. The bridge of his nose was straight and powerful, just like his waist. With the addition of his lips, which disyed natural air of arrogance, his slender and clean face, he ought to be someone who enjoyed the riches and honor, the glory and splendor of the world to the fullest; yet now he looked more like a dejected nobleman whose heart had died. His gaze slowly swept the two boys. Smiling slightly, he said, Do you know why as someone who take no notice of the things of the world I asked you toe up here? The two boys shook their head with nk expression on their face. Revealing an exhausted look, both physically and mentally, the old man sat down slowly, took the six-fruit brew cup and drained it in one gulp, and said with a wry smile, Were it not for this thing suspending my life, theres a good chance I would not see gentlemen today. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay. Is Qianbei injured? thetter asked. The old man nodded, The injury I received thirty years ago, he said, Although that witchs demonic power wasuded as the crown jewel of the heretical schools, it still failed to take my life; by taking advantage of the mountains topography and utilizing my knowledge of geography, I managed to escape a thousand li and finally hid in this ce. He sighed and went on, In thirty years, with my heart and soul I built thendscape garden. Were it not for this sustenance, I am afraid I have already sumbed to my injury and died. But these days I asionally remember the old enmity, thereupon my injury red out. I am afraid the old mans days are numbered. Breathing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong asked, Who was that witch? The old man stared hard at him for half a day; he also cast a nce toward Xu Ziling. Instead of answering the question, he said, Actually, I have seen you a while back; I even eavesdropped your conversation. You two are very interesting kids indeed. The two boys were stunned. Where did Qianbei see us? Xu Ziling asked. The old man spoke indifferently, Do you remember that abandoned vige? The one where Zhai Rang fell into a sinister plot, so much so that his full works fell apart. The two boys remembered the smoke from kitchen chimneys; their countenance changed instantly. It was you! they said. Although the old man has exposed their true identity, his demeanor was still as amiable as before. He smiled and said, That was the reason I invited you toe up; just by looking at your ability to suppress your divine qi, so much so that you can conceal it from Xiuxun, I know that your skill has advanced tremendously. Kou Xiao Xiong and Xu Xiao Xiong, can you tell me what enmity has brought you here to be pastry chefs? The two boys were greatly embarrassed; however, seeing his friendly manner, they did not conceal anything, and told him about how they acted before thinking. Naturally they did not tell him about Kou Zhongs intention to utilize the Ranch in his effort to vie over the world; they only told him about trying to evade the enemys tracking. The old man did not reveal whether he believed their story or not; after pondering for half a day, he said, Among the four managers of the Flying Horse Ranch, in terms of intelligence and martial art skill, Liu Zongdao ranks first. Logically speaking, under normal situation, he cant possibly meddle in the kitchens personnel affairs. His high regard on you may be due to something else; perhaps your outward appearance and your aptitudes! Xu Ziling respectfully asked, Qianbei must be a greatly well-known character of the Jianghu; would it be possible for you to reveal it to us? A glimmer of proud smile appeared on the corners of the old mans mouth; he replied nonchntly, Even if Ning Daoqi sees me, he would respectfully greet me Lu Laoshi [teacher]. Ay! What does it mean anyway? Ultimately I still nurse a grievance under that witch hands, and the illustrious name I built my entire life hereby lost forever. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong racked their brains trying to remember a Jianghu senior character with the surname Lu. Feeling it would be embarrassing to ask directly, Kou Zhong tried a roundabout way, Who was that witch anyway? The old man straightened up his back, his eyebrows rose, his sharp eyes shone with murderous aura as he said hatefully, Have you heard about Yin Gui Pai? The two boys blurted out in chorus, Empress Yin, Zhu Yuyan! It was the old mans turn to be stunned. You are indeed not simpletons! Unexpectedly you knew about this witch. Ay! There are two things that I regret doing in all my life, and one of them is to fall in love with this woman. To think that I, Lu Miaozi [his given names literal trantion is clever kid] has always been conceited all my life, unexpectedly I made continuous mistakes; other than ming it to my luck, what else can I say? Chapter 7 - Part 2 The two boys felt the name Lu Miaozi sound very familiar, but it took them quite a while to remember that it was Shen Luoyan who mentioned his name, saying that he was the number one skilled craftsman under the heavens. Supposedly her weird wasing from his miraculous hands. No wonder the design of this Inner Castlesndscape garden, theyout of every tree, every stone, seemed as if it was made by Heaven, all because he was secretly behind it. Glistening teardrops appeared from Lu Miaozis eyes; unable to bear it anymore, he turned his head around and let out a painful sob. Suddenly he shook his head and heaved a deep sigh, and then spoke in low voice, Youd better go back and go to bed! If you are free tomorrow, try to find time toe here, I have something to tell you. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling slept for less than two sichen [i.e. 4 hrs] when the sound of knocking on their door woke them up. From the outside, Xiao Juan called out, Two Xiao Shifu, wake up quickly, it is dawn! The two boys were a hundred thousand times unwilling to get out of bed, but Xu Ziling was pushed by Kou Zhong to open the door. As soon as Xiao Juan came in, her eyebrows rose up so high as she said, What happened to you two? Such a dirty clothes and you went to bed in it? Take it out now and change, let me take the dirty ones to be washed, all right? Two great generals? Rubbing his eyes, Kou Zhong fell back onto the bed and said, Can I sleep a little longer, please? Putting her hands on her small waist, Xiao Juan angrily said, Changzhu wants to see you, quickly take a bath and change your clothes. Xu Ziling sat down on the corner of the bed and said with a wry smile, Not taking a bath is also vition of the house rule? Xiao Juan stomped her feet and said, If you keep doing this, I wont pay any attention to you anymore! Kou Zhong sprang up, pressed his hands on Xiao Juans shoulders, and smiled apologetically, Xiao Juan Jie, please calm down; may I ask which way is to the public bath, north, south, east or west? Also how many li do we have to walk? The sooner we go, the sooner we wille back. Xiao Juan wanted to keep a straight face, but in the end, Pfft! she could not helpughing. Rolling her eyes, she frowned and said, Dont stand too close; you stink! Kou Zhongughed aloud and stood back. Casually he caught the clothes Xu Ziling threw at him; he was adamant not to concede, There are many kinds of stink, my kind is the best kind of stink. Xiao Juanughed tenderly and went out the door. The two boys scrambled to follow on her left and right sides. The weather was very nice that day, an old servant was sweeping dead leaves in the courtyard, everywhere they looked, they saw people wereing and going. Three young maids, who were pruning the flowers and bushes, were brazen enough to stare at them. Kou Zhong whispered in Xiao Juans ear, Why does Changzhu want to see us? Xiao Juan did not care at all, How would I know? she replied, It was Fu Dajie who ordered me to get you. Kou Zhong fell back to Xu Zilings side, who was walking three steps behind; heughed softly and said, It ought to be because you are handsome enough, right? Ha! Xiao Juan suddenly stopped, turned around with arms akimbo, her apricot eyes glowered at them as she shouted with her tender voice, What did you say? You must be talking bad things about Changzhu. The two boys did not expect her reaction to be this intense; they jumped in fright. Xu Ziling hastily said, Xiao Juan Jie, please dont misunderstand, Xiao Ning only said that probably Changzhu did not think we did not learn enough lesson, so that she summons us to admonish us. Xiao Juan half-believing, half-doubting; she spoke with serious expression, Just remember: dont be disrespectful toward Changzhu, otherwise, no one will be able to bail you out. Without any choice, the two boys nodded their promise. Xiao Juan continued in low voice, If you really dare to speak ill of Changzhu behind her back, I will no longer pay attention to you. When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling arrived at the Flying Horse Pavilion, where Shang Xiuxun handled day-to-day operation of the Flying Horse Ranch, this beautiful Ranch Master was having a meeting with the Housekeeper Shang Zhen and the Four Managers, including Liu Zongdao. About a dozen men and women were standing outside the courtyard, Deputy Housekeeper Liang Qian and Lan Gu were among them. Noticing the two boys arrival with Xiao Juan, they all turned their attention to them. Lan Gu even whispered something to a man standing next to her, evidently she was talking about the two boys. One of them, a young girl with well-proportioned figure, gentle, refined, and dignified, with elegant appearance, stepped forward to meet the three people. Frowning, she said, Why sote? Changzhu has already asked about you, you dont know how embarrassed I am. After exining the reason, Xiao Juan introduced them, This is Fu Dajie! The two boys hurriedly paid their respect, while secretly praised Luo Fangs luck with women was indeed not shallow; they also did not expect her to be so young, yet her position within the Ranch was quite high. Big Sister Fu studied the two boys for a moment; an amazed look flitted across her pretty eyes. She was just about to speak, when the man standing guard by the door called out, Summoning the two Pastry Chefs! Big Sister Fu instructed them in low voice, Come with me, be careful when speaking. The two boys could not help feeling a bit nervous as they came to just outside the threshold. They saw that the entire furnishing inside the hall was finely carved furniture, in the middle was three-panel marble-deck big reclining chair, on east and west were symmetrically ced two marble armchairs with circr screen and a matching small table decorated with some small objects; the atmosphere looked solemn and serene. Shang Xiuxun was half-reclining on the chair, she was dressed in mens clothes,plete with a hat to cover her beautiful hair, yet it was still difficult to conceal beautiful glow of her oppressing natural beauty. The Housekeeper Shang Zhen was sitting on the first chair to her left, and the next in line was precisely Liu Zongdao, while the other two [sic] managers were sitting on the other side. The three people had to give way to an old maning out of the pavilion. Big Sister Fu saluted to him and reported, Two Xiao Shifu are here. And then she whispered, You are new here, you cant cross the threshold. After that she withdrew to the side. The two boys had no choice but to stay outside the threshold and saluted inside, feeling a bit awkward. Shang Xiuxun had her head down, concentrating on drinking her tea. Shang Zhen was blowing smoke from his pipe. Liu Zongdao returned their salute with a smile, but the other three managers eyes were like sharp arrows shooting at them. Li Zongdaos single eye lit up as he smiled and said, Was it because the hard journey that you were unable to get out of bed? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were quick-witted; they knew he was saying that in their defense, hence they promptly agreed with him. Taking advantage while Shang Xiuxun was still drinking her tea, Liu Zongdao introduced the other three managers. The First Manager Liang Zhi was a man short in stature, about forty years old, but grew a beautiful, glossy ck beard. His eyes flickered with terrifying sharpness, the taiyang acupoints [on ones temples] bulged out. Just by looking at his appearance, one would immediately know that he was a martial art master expert in both inner and outer skills. The Third Manager Tao Shusheng was a big and tall middle-aged man, his eyes long and narrow like a goats, making his appearance unttering. On the contrary, the Fourth Manager Wu Zhaoru was young and handsome, his skin as fair as a girls; butpared to Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings unique physical appearance, he appeared exceptionally inelegant. The three managers response seemed to be rather cold; it appeared that they only nodded their heads to acknowledge the two boys salute just as a courtesy to Liu Zongdao. Shang Xiuxun put down the cup and picked up something that looked like an ount book from the small table and looked down to browse it. Absent-mindedly she said, Other than pastries, what else can you make? Everybody, including Big Sister Fu and Liu Zongdao, was taken aback; nobody ever thought that their astute Ranch Master would summon the two boys just to ask such a trivial matter. With his hands hanging by his side, Kou Zhong respectfully replied, We know a bit of everything. The Third Manager Tao Shusheng scolded them harshly, Genius! Changzhu is asking you, outside of pastries, what other expertise do you have. Do you understand the question? Wu Zhaoru seemed to be breathing through the same nostrils with Tao Shusheng; heughed mockingly and said, Perhaps they have expertise in a bit of everything! Xu Ziling did not take any offence, but Kou Zhong really wished he could take the two men outside and give them a good beating; but right now all he could do was glug! swallow his anger into his belly. Shang Xiuxun still had her attention focused on the book; she did not even seem to hear what others were talking about. It was quite a momentter she finally said slowly, In the meeting tonight we will have honored guestsing from the north. Northerners love to eat roast meat, smoked meat and stuff like that the most. Do you know how to make them? Chapter 7 - Part 3 Kou Zhong nodded and said, Roast meat, smoked meat are no problem. Changzhu, please just instruct us which one to make. Smoked meat then, Shang Xiuxun replied without thinking. Clearing his throat, the First Manager Liang Zhi said, Its not that I dont trust you, but the guest status is definitely not a small matter, plus he is from a dignitary family, and pay particr attention to food and drink. If your skill in this regard were slightlycking, you would only disy your meager skill before an expert. Therefore, is it possible for you to tell us first how you are going to make the smoked meat? Finally Shang Xiuxun raised her small head up; her pretty eyes were fixed on the two boys, Thats right! she agreed, Tell us then. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were well aware that Liang Zhi and the others suspected their identity; fortunately they did have genuine goods at fair prices skill they learned from Ol Zhang. Thetter spoke nonchntly, The most critical thing in making smoked meat is to blend the vor of the seasoning well, requiring boiling water over high heat, mixing Sichuan pepper, lc, amomum, cardamom, ominato, garlic, fresh ginger, thick soybean paste, tofu, and sweet soy paste [please dont ask me, I have no idea what these seasoning are]. Only then will the finished product have both the bright color and the thick savory taste. Kou Zhong joined in, Next will be the smoking technique itself. First, mix the choice meat and the sauce well in a big pot, and then smoke it over cedar wood. The skin will be crispy and the meat tender, inside and outside will be cooked uniformly; the fat wont taste greasy in the mouth, the lean meat wont break our tooth, and the distinctive vor will be unique. The two boys were both eloquent and able to adapt to the situation well; echoing one another like that, they painted a very vivid picture as if a te of hot, spicy delicacy with its aroma permeating the whole ce was already served on the table. Emotionally moved, the Housekeeper, Shang Zhen, removed the pipe from his mouth and said, Indeed you have real ability and learning, definitely not con artists. The two boysughed in their hearts. Thank you for Da Guanjias praise, they spoke in unison. Shang Xiuxun was nomittal; she looked down on the book again and said absent-mindedly, Tonight, other than in charge of the main dish, you also have to prepare some dessert. Dismissed! Returning to their room, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not know whether they shouldugh or cry; Shang Xiuxun grandly and seriously summoning them, unexpectedly it was only to discuss such a chicken feather, garlic skin matter. However, this matter has brought unintended aftermath; since Lan Gu could not figure out Shang Xiuxuns treatment toward them, immediately she became a lot friendlier than before. After inquiring about the ingredients, she immediately went to make arrangement for them. Kou Zhong thought hard, Who coulde from the north and has illustrious family background? he asked aloud. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Youd better leave some brainpower to deal with the pastries and dishes for tonight! Although we know how to make smoked meat, but what we learned from the Ol Zhang would not do the trick. If they had never eaten any smoked meat before, it is still all right, but if we want to gain those northern peoples praise, it would be no more than a dream. With much trepidation he said, Just by remembering our creativity in producing the cakes yesterday, I already have a headache. You must think of something. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I am relying on you to think of something. The two boys you look at me, I look at you, suddenly their eyes lit up at the same time. Pointing at Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong said, Are you thinking about him? Xu Ziling nodded and said, He is the number one master craftsman in the world; plus he is experienced and knowledgeable, at least he is able to brew outstanding wine, cooking dishes and making pastries should not be too far below! The two boys sprang up immediately. Xu Ziling pulled Kou Zhong back and said with augh, You stay here to deal with Lan Gu, I am going to ask him, the Seniors guidance, understand? Xu Ziling had just left; Lan Gu stepped across the door. Frowning, she asked, Where is Xiao Jing? Kou Zhong simply rubbed his belly, and then pointed outward. Lan Gu smiled knowingly and said, Everything for the sauce is readily avable, but you must select the meat yourselves. Do you need any help? Or perhaps another room in the kitchen? Kou Zhong immediately unleashed his dying tactic; he said, We, two brothers, have always advanced together, retreated together; we have business, then we have the capacity. I am going to wait until he finishes pooping before we set about our task together. Hee! If we need extra hands or extra room, well let you know! Lan Gu gave him a dirty look. She was about tosh at him, but then she changed her mind and pressed down her temper; so after mumbling something she left. Soon afterwards two make servants came to deliver the seasoning. Kou Zhong immediately got busy. A momentter Luo Fang came to find him. After chatting for a few moments, Kou Zhong asked him, Do you know what kind of people areing tonight? I am not clear about that, Luo Fang replied, All I know is that the guests are obviously people of great influence; otherwise Changzhu would not personally go out to meet their ship. From time to time these past few years, there have been peopleing here trying to build friendly rtions, but Cahngzhu has never attached any importance to them like she does this time. Kou Zhong failed to grasp the main points; he blurted out, Right now the whole country is in rebellion, and we have war-horse to sell, naturally people are trying to build friendly rtionship with us! That is true, Luo Fang proudly said, But there are some guys who acted recklessly, they came wanted to take control of us by force. Its just that within hundreds of li around here, who are not our Ranchs descendants and disciples? Any wind blowing swaying the grass, nothing escaped our attention. Following the tone of his voice, Kou Zhong said, Which people have that much guts? A bit vexed, Luo Fang said, Have you heard the people on the street mentioning the four popr piece of doggerel recently? They are the Not even a de of grass grows Xiang Batian, Chicken and dogs wont remain Fang Jianding, scorched earth for a thousand li Mao Zao, the Ghosts weep the Deities cry Cao Yinglong. Kou Zhong had a sudden revtion, Ah, those must be the Xiang-Fang-Mao-Cao, the Four Big Bandits! Luo Fang hatefully said, Precisely those four men, whom the deities detest and the ghosts loathe, who loot all over the ce and in all directions, who leave trails of destruction everywhere like locusts, who rape and pige, not stopping at anything. After a short pause, he went on, We are as close as lips and teeth with Duba Vige of Jingling, we support each other, and have several times killed their small bands of raiders, so that they view us as a nail in their eyes early on. But recently they secretly forged an alliance, in preparation to break off the rescue route between Jingling and us, and then they will go all-out to attack Duba Vige. This scheme is certainly very malicious. Kou Zhong understood now. Although in themselves the Four Big Bandits power was insufficient to deal with war on two fronts, it was enough to separatelyy heavy siege on Jingling or Flying Horse Ranch, then they would be able to nibble away the surrounding towns and viges, so that it would be difficult for the Duba Vige and Flying Horse Ranch to maintain their existence. Even if they ultimately obtain victory, their strength would take heavy beating. Hows those thieves strength? Kou Zhong asked. Lou Fang replied, Of the Four Big Bandits, in terms of martial art skill, the Ghosts cry deities roar Cao Yinglong is the most superior, he also has thergest number of thieves under hismand, up to 30,000 people, and they constantly recruit new people; constantly expanding on daily basis. Currently they are upying Baodong County near the Great River, more than a hundred li to our west. Their prestige rose up greatly, the other three Bandits consider him as their leader. This moment Xu Ziling returned, his face flushed with excitement, Lets start immediately, he said. After greeting him, Luo Fang said, Do your job well. Changzhu has never shown such high regards to anybody from the kitchen. Perhapster on you and I can be brothers. All right, Ill leave you alone! After Luo Fang left, Kou Zhong happily said, You have good material? Xu Ziling sighed in praise, Not only good material, this is basically the secret recipe of the unique school of the number one skilled craftsman in the world. For the time being we can learn two recipes, one is smoked fish, the other is Jinhuas sweet and crispy. Come on! Processing takes time, while we dont have much time. We can talk while working. Tonight, we, the Twin Chefs of the Central in, will show off our great skill, which will shake the four seats. Those who eat it will sincerely convinced and ready to concede. Wont it beat martial art superiority? Kou Zhongs old pride swelled up; heughed and said, Why, of course! It would be best if after eating it, Shang Xiuxun would give her heart to you, Great Chef Xu; that would be even more blissful! Ha ... Seeing Kou Zhong would never change his character, Xu Ziling said irately, Come on! This treasured dish is called Saber Fish of Yangtze River, Mr. Lu said that if we mix and stir it with eggs, sauce and flour, and make it into strips, and then smoke it until crisp, it will be so tasty that after eating it, even the blinds would want to open their eyes. Get out! Less talking about your dream of vying over the world. After all the ingredients were ready, the two boys were busy non-stop. By dusk, the smoked fish and the sweet and crispy were ready. It was only then did the two boys remember that not even half a grain of rice entered their tummy that day. Without any scruple they helped themselves to a piece of smoked fish each and ate it with total delight. Kou Zhong chewed and spoke, Such delicious food, I cant believe it came from our hands. Wed better do obeisance and take that old fellow as our master, see if he has other consummate skills we can learn from him. This moment, Xiao Juan and Big Sister Fu decided to honor the kitchen with their presence. Seeing the two boys embezzled the food, the formers almond eyes grew big as she scolded them, You two are really brazen; you have the cheek to eat the food meant to entertain the guest to your fill. Kou Zhongughed and said, We are only checking the taste. Hey! This smoked fish stillck a little bit, let me add a bit more sauce and check it again. Grabbing another piece of smoked fish, he made a show of basting it with more sauce, and then wolfed it down his stomach with total abandon. The two women were at a loss on how to deal with him. Big Sister Fu said crossly, Changzhus order, although during the banquet you will serve nearby, you will also have to introduce Jiangnan delicacy to the guests. Do you understand? Xu Ziling did not like the crowd; even worse, he did not like to be other peoples servants who were sent to do their bidding. Pretending to be exhausted, he said, We have been busy all day long, our body weary, our strength exhausted early on; can we be excused from this one obligation? Xiao Juanughed and said, What one obligation or half obligation? Are you being drafted to fight a war? Changzhu has high regards on you, thats the reason she is willing to let you increase your knowledge by getting involved in this asion. Whatever Changzhu says is the golden rule; disobedience is punishable by beheading. Are you clear? Big Sister Fu smiled sweetly and said, In the Ranch, nobody else is like you, who make things happen but love to act behind the scene. Quickly get those things ande with me, Changzhu wants to sample it first! Book 9 - 8 – Meeting Face-to-face On A Narrow Path Book 9 Chapter 8 C Meeting Face-to-face On A Narrow Path Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood respectfully by the table, unable to take their eyes off beautiful Ranch Master Shang Xiuxun, whose beauty shared the limelight with Wanwan, who, at this moment, was picking up a piece of smoked fish with her fingers, and sent it to her fragrant lips, using her unique schools eating technique, slightly revealing a perfect row of her snow white teeth, and took a small bite with a charm that was beyond human understanding. Her pretty eyebrows were slightly knitted as she slowly chewed the fish. Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juan, who were standing on the other side of the table, were also nervous. They were afraid she would be dissatisfied and kick the two boys out of their Ranch. Shang Xiuxun cast a sidelong nce toward the two boys. Suddenly, with a somewhat childish embarrassment she gobbled up the rest of the fish, and chewed happily. Her table manners and her expression were indescribably moving. Pretending to be modest, Kou Zhong asked, Is it eptable? Shang Xiuxun rolled her pretty eyes, but was still unwilling to meet his eyes. Well, she said, Your level of achievement this time is better than those strange cake. Ah! No! It is simply iparable. After this, I dont want you to be Pastry Chefs anymore! Xu Ziling respectfully said, How about Changzhu try the sweet and crispy first before making decision? Shang Xiuxun cast him a quick nce, making Xu Ziling, a man with very high mental power also felt the unusual force from her pair of vast and deep, limpid-autumn-water eyes that hooked his soul and summoned his spirit. A bit reluctant to put down the smoked fish, she grabbed a piece of sweet and crispy, and quickly put it in her mouth. Emotionally moved, she asked, Did you really make these? Very pleased with himself, Kou Zhong said, Hey! Yesterday we were still getting used to the kitchenware and the ingredients in this ce, hence we somewhat failed to meet your standard. This time Changzhu is finally able to taste our real skill! Like having a full wind behind his sail, Xu Ziling caught on, Culinary art is just like calligraphy or painting, only by having ideas one would be able to move the brush. We also have to immerse ourselves to study meticulously. If Changzhu can give us more free time to study, our products will be a lot better. Regaining herposure, Shang Xiuxuns beautiful eyes flitted across the two boys. Slowly putting down the crispy cake, she leaned back into her chair and closed her eyes. Do you know how to paint? she asked. Just now Xu Ziling was merely parroting Lu Miaozi, but at that time he did not teach him how to answer this kind of question; without any choice he simply said, Xiao Ren [little/lowly one] does not know. It was our Shifu who told us when he taught us this skill. Shang Xiuxun opened her eyes, nodded and said, Your Shifu must be an extraordinary person. And then she went on, Looking your as-healthy-as-a-horse physique and your robust body, have you ever learned martial art? Xiao Juan hastily signaled them with her eyes, imploring the two boys to be careful in responding to this question. Sticking out his chest, Kou Zhong said, A dozen or so ordinary low-ss thieves are not our match. This was precisely Kou Zhongs brilliance. It should be noted that although the two boys were able to suppress the natural true qi within their body, and were able to diffuse the gleam in their eyes, but martial art masters are martial art masters; inevitably, there would be enough of spirited vigor showing through. At least due to their qi cultivation, their skin would glow, their muscles firm, which would be hard to conceal from anybody with discerning eyes. Kou Zhong straightforwardly admitted that he knew martial art, and he did it with such exaggeration that others would be suspicious instead. Shang Xiuxun spoke indifferently, So you use a saber? Feigning amazement, Kou Zhong asked, How did Changzhu know? Big Sister Fu was obviously Shang Xiuxuns pet; she interjected, When your arrived, every body in the Ranch saw a rusty saber hanging on your back. Hee! Did you pick it up on the road? Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Dajie guessed correctly! Shang Xiuxun spoke tactfully, Tomorrow morning, get the saber and show it to me. Turning to Xu Ziling, she said, How about you? What kind of martial art did you learn? Who taught you? Xu Ziling replied, I trained punching and kicking skill; just like Xiao Ning, we have trained under more than a dozen different Shifu, none of them belonged to certain school or sect. This moment the Housekeeper, Shang Zhen came in from the main hall to report, The guests will be here shortly. Shang Xiuxun stood up gracefully and said to Big Sister Fu, Teach these two kids the Mansions rules, do not becking in manners toward outsiders. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat in a cloister built around a building behind the Ranch Masters residence, enjoying the preferential treatment Big Sister Fu was giving them. Sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, Kou Zhong stretched out and said, Can you guess whosing? Xu Ziling was sitting on the lowest wooden step in the middle of the porch leading toward the courtyard, with his feet stepping on the grass. He was listening attentively to the voices intertwined with the sound of cups and tes in the main hall. Hearing the question, he said, There are a lot of elites in the north, how can I guess which one is it? Being a servant does not seem to be too bad, Kou Zhong said, But the worst thing is that we have no freedom; the Ranch is this much big and this much fun, but we are trapped in here. You just want to learn how to raise horses, right? Xu Ziling asked, If you are not happy, we can leave anytime. Dont go yet, Kou Zhong excitedly said, If we go, we cant walk the Heavens way. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What do these two things have to do with each other? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong told him about the Four Big Bandits forming an alliance. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, We cant just ignore this matter, but what can we do? Hearing that, Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, but he was interrupted by Xiao Juans footsteps. Seeing the two boys disregarding the filth, like a dead snake or rotten trash sitting on the floor, the little girl angrily scolded them a moment. She said, Crawl up quick! Changzhu wants you in the main hall to serve the guests, to exin how you made the smoked fish. Upright and unafraid, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stepped into the main hall. From behind the carved-flower screen they peeked into the packed hall, where the banquet was taking ce; immediately their countenance changed. With their heads hung low, they turned around to scurry back inside. Seeing this, Big Sister Fu was startled; quickly spreading out her arms, she blocked the two boys escape route and hissed, What are you doing? Dont you know Changzhu and the guests are waiting for you? Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and spoke in the lowest voice he could muster, Just now the two of us ate the wrong things, so now we need to go to thetrine to poo. Advancing together retreating together. Fu Dajie, please be kind and make things easy for us. Big Sister Fu was angry, amused, and anxious, all at once. Stomping her feet, she said, Dont act willfully and make a scene, whatever it is, you just have to bear it for a moment. Humph! Only ghost will believe your nonsense [orig. ghost talk]. Quickly get in! Otherwise, house rules await. Xu Ziling also lost his heroic spirit; he pleaded for leniency, Xiao Ning indeed talked nonsense [again, ghost talk]; the fact of the matter is that we are not ustomed to grand asion like this, right now we are so nervous that we feel like going pooping. Would Fu Dajie please tell Changzhu, so that we would not make her lose face? Before Big Sister Fu had any chance to reprimand the two boys sternly, Shang Xiuxuns silver-bell-like voice already called from the inside, Xiao Ning, Xiao Jing, what are you doing over there? Come here quickly to greet the noble guest. Princess Xiuning enjoys your smoked fish very much; she wants topliment the Chefs! This time, even Kou Zhong regretted that from thousands and tens of thousands names in the world, why would he called himself Xiao Ning? But now it was toote. Just like riding a tiger and cannot get off, plus Big Sister Fus push with all her strength, the two boys braced themselves to step away from behind the screen. Under everybodys gaze, they felt like they were marching into the marketce without a single thread of clothes on; totally embarrassing and unbearable. Ah! Li Xiunings sweet and tender voice entered their ears; knowing that they had been recognized by her, the two boys did not have any courage to even raise their heads. This evening, the Flying Horse Ranchs six most important people were all present, because the VIP guest was none other than the Tang King Li Yuans daughter, Li Shimins younger sister, and Kou Zhongs first love, Li Xiuning. Chapter 8 - Part 2 Even when facing a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, Kou Zhong would not be this timid and desperate. Shang Xiuxun, Shang Zhen, and Liang Zhi, the four Managers attention was fixed on Kou and Xu, two boys. Suddenly hearing this tender exmation, they could not help turning their gaze toward Li Xiuning in shock. Apanying Li Xiuning this time was Li Gang and Dou Wei, but neither one knew the two boys. Seeing Li Xiuning, who had always been sweet-tempered, gentle and quiet, unexpectedly cried out involuntarily because of two Pastry Chefs, they were also greatly puzzled. Li Xiunings astonished expression quickly faded; somewhat embarrassed, she said, Please forgive Xiuning for failing to follow etiquette; it was simply because I have never expected that the two Shifu are so young. This moment Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already came to the banquet table; they stood facing Li Xiuning, with grim expression and hands hanging by their sides. Li Xiuning recovered her usual calm, poised and elegant demeanor; turning toward Shang Xiuxun on her right, she smiled and said, How do we address the two Shifu? Shang Zhen, who was sitting to her left, replied on Shang Xiuxuns behalf, One is Fu Ning, the other Fu Jing; they are fellow brothers from the same vige. He did not point out which one was Fu Ning and which one was Fu Jing; apparently because he did not have any respect toward the two boys, and simply introducing them perfunctorily. Li Xiuning repeated the names Fu Jing and Fu Ning twice in her heart. Her pretty face suddenly turned slightly red; apparently she had just gained a suddenprehension. Fortunately the change was not too obvious, so that the other people were unaware of it. Shang Xiuxunughed and said, Xiao Ning, Xiao Jing, Princess Xiuning and Li Gang, Dou Wei, two Daren are praising your smoked fish to high heaven; they even thought that it was wirhout equal under the heavens. Why havent you thanked them? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling forced a smile inwardly; without any choice they bowed down to express their thanks. Li Gang was astute; seeing the two boys outstanding appearance, which was rarely seen in the world, he knew that only Li Shimin could bepared to them. Thereupon he sounded them out, Based on two Xiao Shifus natural endowments and talents, no matter which business you picked, I am sure you will stand out among your peers. How did you select culinary art? Kou Zhong replied nonchntly, This is called the time dictates the fate. If it were time of peace and prosperity, we, two brothers, might find a way to seek schrly honor, to do something good formon people. Astounded, Dou Wei said, Xiao Shifus style of conversation is not uncouth, your words carry deep meaning, but was the tone deste and cold? Was it because of some sad memories? Xu Ziling was afraid Kou Zhong might expose some mistake in his speech, plus he noticed that Shang Xiuxuns beautiful eyes were fixed at them with thoughtful expression in them, thereupon he hurriedly replied, Just before entering the Hall, we, two brothers were chatting idly, which led us talking about our hometown being ravaged in the fire of war; therefore, our mind was in turmoil. Dou Daren, please do not take offense. Li Gang nodded; addressing everybody sitting around the table, he said, The whole country in rebellion, the first to bear the brunt has always been themon people. Take the private coin minting that is very popr nowadays; it brings the maximum destruction towardmon peoples livelihood. Originally one thousand qian is worth two catties. But now in private coin minting, a thousand qian is less than one catty; so much so that iron disk, leather and paper are being used in ce of copper coin. If this situation continues, I really dont know what the end will be. Liu Zongdao joined in, If only the Great Tang can unify the world, corrupt practices will be eliminated, the world will be in peace and security. Li Gang chuckled and said, It will require Changzhus full support for this endeavor to seed. Shang Xiuxun declined toment. Rolling her beautiful eyes, she turned toward Li Xiuning, who was sitting quietly with a nk expression on her face, Princess, arent you going to inquire how they made the smoked fish? As if she was just awakened from a dream, Li Xiuning said, Xiuning is going to! Tomorrow I want to visit the kitchen to get a hands on lesson with two great Shifu; that would be the best approach. A jealous look flitted through the Fourth Manager Wu Zhaorus eyes; he proposed, Im sure Princess Ning is very busy. I could have them write the recipe in details; that would work as well. Li Xiuning cast a quick nce toward Kou Zhong, who had his head hung low, and insisted, It would be better if Xiuning personally ask for two great Shifus brilliant guidance! Shang Xiuxunughed indifferently and said, Just as Princess wishes! Turning toward the two boys, she said, You are dismissed, go get some rest. Returning to their room, Kou Zhong dejectedly slumped himself in the chair. He seemed to want to talk, but no words came out. Xu Ziling sat down opposite him; he said indifferently, As long as she is not married yet, you still have a chance to get her. Kou Zhong of today is totally different from Kou Zhong of yesterday; nobody will dare to despise you. Kou Zhong sighed. After pondering for a moment, he slowly shook his head and said, I already have no way to turn back. Lets not speak about she already has a sweetheart, even if she is willing to marry me, I wont abandon my aspiration of contending for hegemony of the world over wife or family. Ay! I know my own problem, you should also understand me, I, Kou Zhong, am absolutely not a person who will be easy content with my lot in life. Xu Ziling had no more to say. He said, I promised Mr. Lu to visit him tonight. Are youing? Kou Zhong shook his head, I just want to think by myself quietly. After pondering for half a day, finally Xu Ziling rose up and left. When Xu Ziling arrived at Lu Miaozis little two-story house, this number one master craftsman in the world was standing proudly at the edge of the cliff outside his house. He appeared to be contemting old affairs; there was a mncholy look on his face. Xu Ziling came behind him, paid his respect and greeted him. Lu Miaozi did not seem to care that Kou Zhong was noting at all. He led Xu Ziling to the hall of the lower floor of his house, and after seated properly he said, Although Jianghu people esteem me as the number one master craftsman in the world, they thought theres nothing I dont know, theres nothing I cannot do; this is definitely a misunderstanding. Xu Ziling sincerely said, Mister is definitely someone with most experience and knowledge this kid has ever encountered in my life. The smoked fish and sweet and crispy that we made ording to Misters instruction were simply ... Lu Miaozi cut him off, Regretfully that is precisely my weak point. I was interested in everything, anything can provoke my curiosity; with limited life I was pursuing infinite knowledge. Supposing I was able to focus on martial art, although I may not necessarily able to ovee that witch, at least I would be able to escape unscathed, and thus would be able to live eight or ten years longer. But then he smiled and said, Then again, were it not for my extensive knowledge of medical science and therapeutic regimens, I would have been dead thirty years ago, and today I wouldnt be able to meet with you, Ziling, to spend the night chatting and drinking. Xu Ziling deeply felt his conflicting emotions, but could not find any word to say. Lu Miaozi said, Since leaving my home town at the age of twelve, until I was fifty, not a single moment I spent not living a wandering life; only constant changes and continuous stimtion made me enjoy the beauty of life. It was not until the bitter defeat in Zhu Yuyans hands thirty years ago that I finally settled down. Although from time to time I still travel around, my mood is already substantially different. I became more interested in arts, and have spent considerable time and energy to delve into it, until I finally obtained an unexpected discovery. Xu Zilings interest was greatly piqued; he could not helpmenting, This discovery must be extremely important! Lu Miaozi revealed a knowing even you, this kid who have neither greed nor ambition, are also tempted by it smile, but he did not respond directly. Instead, he changed the subject by saying, These past thirty years the things that fascinate me and drive me to study meticulously are:ndscape gardening, building construction, mechanism, weaponry, history, geography and botany, the seven subjects of knowledge. Xu Ziling sucked in a mouthful of cold air and said, Any one of those subjects will take an average person a lifetime of effort to master, yet Mister is able to master all of them at the same time. Hey! It is really hard to believe. Smiling wryly, Lu Miaozi said, This is called a leopard cant change its spots; however, if I wasnt wearied because of the internal injury, I might have concentrated on the martial art and then gone to find that witch so that both of us would perish together. With a wistful look on his eyes, he heaved a deep sigh and said, Actually,ndscape and building architecture was not something Laofu loved dearly. It was because I lost a game of chess against Qingya that I was forced to fulfill my bet, and had to design the courtyards, orchards, buildings and pavilions in this ce. After a sad sigh, he continued, However, if I did not devote my heart and mind in this, there is a good chance that the remorse would attack my heart and my injury would re out and Laofu would have died. Oh, Qingya! This debt of mine, when can I repay it to you? Noticing Xu Zilings puzzled look as he stared at him, Lu Miaozi exined, Qingya was Xiuxuns mother. Ay! Intuitively, Xu Ziling understood that there must be an unusual rtionship between Lu Miaozi and Shang Xiuxuns mother. Lu Miaozi looked as if he suddenly aged several years. After another deep sigh, he went on, After inflicting injury that time, Zhu Yuyan personally hunted Laofu down. Originally I wanted to go to Ning Daoqi to seek shelter; who would have thought that he was traveling abroad? I could only go to the Flying Horse Ranch to hide. By employing all kinds of deploying troops to mislead the enemy schemes, I managed to deceive the witch into thinking that I have also escaped abroad; otherwise, Laofu would have been killed by that witch early on. And then, with a serious expression he continued, This witchs heretical skill has reached the pinnacle of demonic school proficiency, it involves inscrutable supernatural beings method. Ning Daoqi has subsequently fought hand to hand with her three times, yet he still cannot do anything to her. Remembering Wanwan, Xu Ziling remained silent. Lu Miaozi was deep in thought for half a day. Suddenly his palm, which appeared empty, powerless and floaty, pped the surface of the table. Although it did not create any sound, an imprint of his palm, at least a cun deep, appeared on the hardwood tabletop. With pained voice he said, Oh, Qingya! I really owe you so much. If I could go back in time, I would definitely not slip away secretly. All those mans great undertakings are no more than fleeting smoke; how could it bepared to your nce filled with love? A burst of emotion welled up in Xu Zilings heart; remembering Kou Zhong, he wondered if someday, just like Lu Miaozi, Kou Zhong would also regret this chance encounter? Kou Zhong rose up to his full height from the chair. Gnashing his teeth, he picked up the Moon in the Well, and then like a floating smoke he flew out the window, and disappeared into the dark courtyard. Book 9 - 9 – The Escaping One Book 9 Chapter 9 C The Escaping One Lu Miaozi said apathetically, Before my death, can youe here to see me every night? Xu Ziling nodded and said, As long as I am still here, I can apany Mister every night to chat. Lu Miaozi said, If it were Kou Zhong, he would have been very eager to learn all kinds of skill from me; you have neither greed nor ambition, and are at home wherever you are. Thirty years ago I would have chosen Kou Zhong instead of you; but today, you are my best choice. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Compared to Mister, I am apleteyman; I am afraid it would be hard for me to learn anything in such a short period of time, or live up to Misters expectation. Lu Miaozi smiled slightly and said, Sess or failure, you and I need not worry about it; just consider it an idle chat. Were it not for coincidentally meeting you in this time, I would not have any interest to hand down the understanding I gained during thest thirty years to you. Xu Ziling mused, Supposing Kou Zhong asked me what I learned from Mister, it would be difficult for me not to tell him honestly. Lu Miaozi was unable to helpughing; he said, You are very forting; but what I am going to teach you is the natural way; it will be useful only for someone with indifferent attitude toward life like you, Kou Zhong will not be interested. Whats the harm in telling him honestly? Xu Ziling breathed out a sigh of relief. Thats good, he said, I thought Mister was going to teach me how to build all kinds of mechanism and gadgets. Lu Miaoziughed involuntarily again; he appeared to be considering the best way to unload everything in his mind to the young martial art expert with extraordinary natural ability in his presence. Kou Zhong flew to the top of the bell tower on the Ranch Masters residence. He saw row after row of roof ridges extending continuously to the distance. There werentern lights everywhere, and guards, maids and servants walking along the corridors connecting the buildings. Using the technique he learned from Chen Laomou, he quickly determined which building ought to be the main building, and that building should be the guesthouse. With further investigation, he was sure he could find where Li Xiuning was staying tonight. He could not refrain his heart from sighing. She was scheduled to see and talk to him the next day, yet he still wanted to see her tonight; if it was not superfluous, then what was it? But soon his mind was flooded with zing fire of desire. He was about to fly toward his target, a cluster of courtyards, when in a distant building he saw a shadow shed. Greatly astounded, Kou Zhong temporarily pushed Li Xiunings matter to the back of his mind and flew out to pursue. Lu Miaozi slowly stood up and walked over to the window. Looking out at the steep rock wall of the opposite cliff, with his back toward Xu Ziling, he said in heavy voice, Between the Heaven and the Earth, everything has its ownw, as well as many superficial changes, but no departure from the original stand. Thew has its own beginning, and also has its end. Xu Ziling was astounded, Thew has its own beginning, this logic is quite simple and easy to understand, but it has its end? I remain puzzled after pondering over it a hundred times. Turning around, Lu Miaozi smiled and said, Didnt I just say that after spent considerable time and energy for thirty years, I finally obtained an unexpected discovery? This is precisely the answer to your question. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Mister keeps dangling a carrot in front of me; cant you just speak out? Lu Miaozi cheerfully said, I just want you to have a deeper impression, hence I intentionally used some tricks. After pondering silently for half a day, Lu Miaozi slowly said, Great spread out is numbered fifty; forty is used, nine remains. These two sentences are from The Book of Changes [Yi Jing], which has always regarded as a teaching method of divination, simply because divination uses fifty stalks, which evolved into several methods. Except for one, I dont know how many heaven and earth principles are hanging on these two sentences. And then he asked, Have you read The Book of Changes? Xu Zilings thick face turned reddish; he shook his head indicating that he had not. Lu Miaozi sighed and said, When our ancient predecessors said anything rted to these methods, due to their beliefs that mysteries of heaven must not be revealed, they always hid the head and showed the tail. Due to the proceeding sentence, dividing two will take the shape of two, which is precisely a divinatory diagram method, people have taken wrong steps in life, not knowing the usage of the hidden principle, and the principle of the hidden usage in the preceding two sentences; it is indeed the deepestyer of meaning of thew. It was the very first time that Xu Ziling had any exposure to the changing principles. His interest greatly piqued, he said, Those two sentences sound interesting. What Heaven and Earths secret they actually contain? Remaining tranquil and calm, Lu Miaozi said, Fifty is the perfect number. When the number reaches fifty, all living things under the heavens are on their ces; there is no movement. However, if one number is missing and bes forty-nine, there will be a lot of empty positions open. The other forty-nine will thus be on the move, there will be thousands changes and ten thousands usage; there will be no limit. Xu Ziling pped the table and shouted with praise, This exnation is exquisite beyondpare. Lu Miaozi was astounded, Do you really understand what I was saying? he asked. Whats so difficult to understand? Xu Ziling asked in consternation, Just like fifty chairs will seat fifty people. If these people are not allowed to change position, or allowed to go somewhere else, naturally there wont be any changes. But if there was one less person vacating one chair, its only natural that there would be a lot of changes. After staring nkly at him for quite a long time, Lu Miaozi sighed and said, You, this kid, indeed have superior natural talent; probably there wont be any second person in the present age with that thought. What you just understood is precisely the essence of thew. It is called the escaping first; what has escaped is precisely this one. All the things that those river diagrams and stream books are talking about are no more than nature [innate] and nurture Bagua [eight divinatory trigrams of the Book of Changes]. From nature and nurture, the heaven and the earth exchange position, the universe turns around, and thus the change begins. After a short pause, he continued proudly, Any knowledge between the Heaven and the Earth, including martial art and life, in its highest realm is how to find back this escaping one. Only after this one is found will everything begin to return to the perfect before the Heaven and the Earth discerned it realm. This is the greatest discovery I made after thirty years of hard thinking. Xu Zilings body shook severely; his tiger-eyes shot an unprecedented level of shes. In that instant, he grasped one kind of mystery within a mystery, rting to the secret principle of the Heaven and the Earth. Kou Zhong pushed his speed to its limit. Inside his body, like shes of lightning the vortex of cold energy traveled back and forth at an astonishing high speed within his meridians, enabling him to move nimbly with the same freedom of action of the fish swimming in the water;pared to before, the difference was like the Heaven and the Earth. His feetnded on the back of a buildings roof, and he swiftly slid down to the ground. Passing through a moon gate at the entrance of a side garden, he swiftly moved across toward the back of a thicket, barely missing an elderly maids sight, who had just opened the window to look out. Somersaulting over the perimeter wall, he flitted diagonally to the top of a building nearby, and then ricocheted toward a horizontal branch protruding from a big tree next to the building. Borrowing the stic energy of the branch he flew toward the top of another building, from where he just caught sight of the shadow was shooting up at an angle toward the top of the Inner Castles external wall. Kou Zhong jumped in fright; but then immediately realized that the opposite side must have used flying rope with hook or simr tools; otherwise, other than Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan, or other martial art masters their caliber, who could leap straight onto the city wall over fifteen zhang high? Who was this person? Kou Zhongs toes pushed on the branch of an old Banyan tree by the wall; unleashing his qinggong and exerting his entire strength he flew to the top of the wall just like a fish leaping out of the water. He was still about a zhang away from the top of the wall when he ran out of momentum. While Kou Zhong was groaning inwardly, suddenly he felt the vortex of cold energy within his body grew and multiplied without end, giving him a boost of power. Greatly delighted, he raised a mouthful of true qi and lightly set his feet on the wall. Due to its geographical advantage of inessible natural barrier, the Flying Horse Ranchs defense was concentrated on the outer wall; they guarded against the outsiders but not against the insiders. Therefore, the Inner Castle defense was not as tight. Anybody who was familiar with the situation and knew how to avoid several sparsely located sentry posts and lookout towers, plus in possession of first ss shenfa, would be able to enter. Kou Zhong was an expert in escaping and hiding. As soon as he reached the top of the wall, hey prostrate while craning out his neck to look back and forth. The mountain towns chain of buildings below the city wall extended all the way until the outside city wall. Beyond that wall was the vast pasture, with tents everywhere and where the horses and the sheep whinnying and bleating. After entering a small house with a courtyard, the dark shadow did not reappear. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, knowing that he had to cancel his desire to meet Li Xiuning privately, a rare opportunity in thousands of years. Leaping down the wall, he darted toward the building where the dark shadow disappeared. Lu Miaozis face was radiant with a divine light, as he spoke word by word, This missing one or escaping one is circting around the world continually, it roams around incessantly, while at the same time exists inside all living things. Laozi [Lao-tze] called it Dao [Tao, the way], Sakyamuni called it Fu [Buddha/Buddhism]. The idea behind Fu is consciousness [Buddhist enlightenment]; thousands changes and ten thousands usage, there is no limit. Chapter 9 - Part 2 Xu Ziling pped the table and said with a sigh, This is indeed the most formidable xinfa [lit. heartw/method, I think I tranted it as mental cultivation before] in the martial art study; just like during the life and death battle, this escaping one also circting incessantly following the moves. If one can urately grasp this concept, then one would be able to determine the opponents life and death. This time it was Lu Miaozis turn to be bewildered; frowning, he said, I have never thought that this principle and martial art theory are rted. Xu Ziling exined matter-of-factly, Within the duel itself, the qi is produced by the orifice, and the original spot of the qi creation is the life and death orifice. If this orifice was broken, even Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan and their peers would undoubtedly die. Supposing during the time the true qi is circting within the body this orifice is also constantly moving, it will be just like the escaping one, with constant change following the Heavens enumeration. And thus the enemy would have no ability to grasp it or break it. Stunned, Lu Miaozi stared at him for half a day. He sighed and said, This xinfa of yours, not only it has never been recorded in any ancient books or martial art manuals, nobody has ever mentioned it either. Ay! I always boasted that my intelligent surpasses others, just because I had extremely vast knowledge. It was only because I failed to focus on martial art that my aplishment could not reach Ning Daoqi and his peers level. Who would have thought that only after seeing you today, I realize what exceptional talent in martial art study is really like? Xu Ziling said sheepishly, I was just thering; but this is really an interesting principle, I must study it carefully with Kou Zhong. I hope Mister would not mind? After staring nkly for quite a while, Lu Miaozi said, Why would I mind? It seems to me that just now you have not fully expressed yourself; would you care to borate some more for me? Exerting himself, Xu Ziling said, Just based on the qi orifice within ones body: during battle, there will always be the strongest and the weakest points, which are also moving incessantly following the styles changes. Being able to avoid the strong and strike the weak is the most formidable technique to control the enemy. Frowning, Lu Miaozi said, This method maybe effective in dealing with ordinary martial art master, but Ning Daoqi, Zhu Yuyan, and the likes, I guarantee there wont be any weak point to be found. Xu Ziling begged to differ; he said, Its not that they dont have any weak point to exploit, its just that the strong and the weak merge together, so that others cannot find it! Supposing we can be one step ahead in finding the next moves changes, by striking into an empty point, we can make them revealing the weakest point. Heavens! I finally understand the Yijian method. Its like anticipating the next piece; each move is forcing the opponent to have no choice but to respond, to have no choice but to expose their weak points. Listening to that, Lu Miaozi was dumbstruck. It was quite half a dayter that he regained hisposure. First he revealed a bitterly self-deprecating expression, and then with a hoarse voice he said, Now you can grasp the essence of this principle better than I do. I can teach you anything and you can use this profound theory to learn aboutndscape and building architecture, mechanism and various other subjects. Kou Zhong flitted across the rear courtyard of the big building. Passing through a long corridor, he reached the courtyard connecting the front and the rear sections. Pulling himself up, he waited on the roof for a moment before leaping back down on the ground, and moved toward the shadow under the window on the west side of the building. Just as he was about to take a peek inside, someone in the house cried out, Huh? Kou Zhong was greatly shocked. Unexpectedly this person was so superior that he was able to detect his approaching; his martial art skill was definitely better than the one wearing ck night-walker outfit Kou Zhong was stalking earlier. Not daring to be careless, like a lightning he hid behind a cluster of trees nearby. A gust of wind ensued, a man in dark clothes flew out of the window, his luminous eyes scanned the surrounding, and then he jumped onto the roof. The person in ck clothes just now also jumped out the window, walked around the building to the west window, and called out in tender voice, Nobodys here! Are you sure you did not hear it wrong? She was wearing a hood, so that only her eyes and nose were visible. At his hiding ce, Kou Zhong mused inwardly, Turns out its a girl, but he was sure that he had not heard her voice before. The man jumped down to the ground. Wrapping his arm around her waist, he said with augh, Perhaps a rat passed by! Its always good to be a bit more careful. Kou Zhong cursed in his heart, Your Die is a rat! Narrowing his eyes until they appeared as a line, he looked at the man. The man was between twenty-four, twenty-five, not too tall, but his shoulders broad and his waist solid. Although he could not be considered good looking, but there was a hint of manly man in him. He was talking andughing with the woman, but there was no smiling expression on his eyes; they look grim and callous. Under his thick eyebrows, his two eyes continuously scanned every nook and cranny in the dark courtyard, but somehow he missed the underbrush only about ten paces away from him. The women spoke intimately, How could I dare not to be careful? Arent I afraid to receive punishment from you like the other night? The man burst into lewdughter; the arm around her waist moved toward her fragrant butts and he said, Its gettingte, the old guy will be back from the feast soon, and I need to make a report. If we are sessful this time, I can guarantee endless glory, splendor wealth and rank for you to enjoy. What a pity! Kou Zhong cried out inwardly; unexpectedly he would not have the opportunity to eavesdrop their plots. Unwilling to part, the woman said, The old ghost still has to deal with a lot of things, he would not be back this early. The night is still young! The tone of her voice was so suggestive that even Kou Zhong who was eavesdropping also felt the enticing force; he could not help praying to the Heaven that the man would stay, so that he could learn more about their secret. Who would have thought that the man remained unmoved? His eyebrows slightly rose, his face was back into its callous expression, and he said with a sinister smile, If we are dyed, I might be falling under your coquettish hooves punishment; go back quickly! The woman whined, You really have a heart of stone; you already sent me to sleep with the old ghost, leaving me unsatisfied every night, and when a rare opportunity arises, you still refuse tofort me. Hee! But what nujia loves the most is your heroic air and generosity. Off we go! After kissing each other in the mouth, the two people promptly left in separate directions. Without the slightest hesitation Kou Zhong ran after the man. If he heard that s1uts voice again, he was sure he would be able to recognize her. Right now he was most curious about how this man would ovee the Ranchs natural stronghold to go back to the outside world. Besides, his hands were terribly itching right now. Lu Miaozi said cheerfully, Gardenndscape design is a natural design. The gist of it is to bring out the power of the scenery, just like painting a dragon and dotting in the eyes. In such a clear matter like this, in addition to the things mentioned above, it has to be wide open and clear; not only it will harmonized mental cultivation, it will also trigger the mystery known only to Heaven. Thus this is not a simple principle at all. Noticing that Xu Ziling was nodding continuously, he asked in amazement, Such an ethereal, difficult ideas, yet you are listening with smiled of exultation? Xu Ziling calmly replied, Since setting foot in the Castle, I already have the feeling that Mister has just described. Its just that I cant describe it as exquisite and as thoroughly and in appropriate terms as Mister did, so when listening to it, I am very delighted. Lu Miaozi was dumbstruck for a while. Finally, half delighted half frustrated he said, I really want to find something that when you hear it, you wont understand. Ha! Actually, I ought to be happy, just like meeting an intimate friend or something; otherwise, it would be like casting pearls before swine [orig. ying lute to a cow], perhaps I would have been so angry that I lost several days of my life. After taking a long, long breath, Lu Miaozi went on, Although there are countless changes inndscape design, only nine are important, i.e. space, light and shade, partition, lining, form, hue, climate, scent, and the type of fruit you want to offer. Do you have it memorized? Xu Ziling repeated what he said, word for word. Do you understand it? Lu Miaozi probed further. Grabbing his head, Xu Ziling said, Mister exined it so clearly, whats not to understand? However, from those nine items, I cant think of a way to use thest two in martial art; the rest may be put to good use. Its only now do I understand that on the highest level, all that Mister had said so far are interlinked. Lu Miaozi smiled wryly and said, When did I exin that? Even if you beat me to death I would have not believed that merely based on these several sentences you already understand the essence of what I researched for many years. Why dont you exin to me the first key point, space? Xu Ziling smiled and said, What if I exin it incorrectly? Lu Miaozi roared in wildughter; patting Xu Zilings shoulders vigorously, he said, while stillughing hriously, Over thest thirty years, I have never been as delighted as tonight; I can even say that perhaps my life has just been extended for a few days. Go ahead! Do you think I, Lu Miaozi, am so narrow-minded that I cant even tolerate mistakes? And thus Xu Ziling exined, Space is something that exists everywhere. For example, when two people are facing each other, the space between them will change constantly; whoever grasps this space concept will grasp the chance to seize victory. Landscape design is the same way, it suggests the concept of space; for example: a residential building behind a high wall; there is a far-reaching concept of space, as if there is an abyss behind the house. All those level ins/high ins, high/low or visible/invisible, looks big in the midst of small, are all about spaceposition. Am I wrong? Remaining calm and collected, Lu Miaozi asked, What about light and shade? Xu Ziling replied, Actually, it is directional issue; facing the sun or facing away from the sun, the scenery will bepletely different. Take the tall forest grown at oblique angle west of Misters small two-story building for example; they can provide heavy shade during the full light of day. Another example would be under the bright sun or moonlight, the shadows on the wall moves, banana shades cover the window, parasol tree [Sterculia tanifolia] shades extend on the ground, Chinese schr tree [Sophora japonica] shades cover the front courtyard. Just by exploiting this kind of light and shade, we can create unlimited creative concept. Without giving Xu Ziling time to think, Lu Miaozi skipped to the fifth item, form. Staying casual, Xu Ziling replied, That is like painting dragon with fine points; i.e. involving linked items in thendscape design. For example courtyard, atrium, moon tform, intersection, and the like; also ancient vines, old trees, balcony, benches, railing, fence, or perhaps gazebo, veranda, elevated pavilion, rotunda, rockery, fishpond, small bridges, and so on, stitched together to form the scenery, so that people will look it with pleasure. Lu Miaozi pped the table and sighed, You, this kid, have finished your apprenticeship. Get lost now! Come back tomorrow! Book 9 - 10 – Gratitude and Grudges Spanning Two Generations Book 9 Chapter 10 C Gratitude and Grudges Spanning Two Generations When Xu Ziling was leaving Lu Miaozis little house, he almost burst into a song to vent his excitement. Having a conversation with the wise is better than studying for ten years. This saying probably described this case the best. Many things that usually stayed as clear as mud even after he bitterly pondered over it, suddenly made sense. Just like after zing sun drove away the dark clouds, now he was able to see ten-thousand li of clear skies. This escaping one principle would enable him to real infinite benefits throughout his life, it was more formidable that discovering a breakthrough consummate skill. When he stepped into the gate leading to the rear courtyard, the rm suddenly went off in his heart. The feeling that he usually got when someone was spying on him in the dark. From the abstruse mysterious realm Xu Ziling immediately returned to reality. Regaining hisposure, he quickly restrained his true qi, and continued walking to his room in ordinary peoples heavy steps. The first watch of the night [between 7-9pm] has already passed; the moon was already high in the sky. He decided to use no change to deal with ten-thousand changes, deliberately pretending to bepletely off-guard as he walked along the corridor surrounding the space between the building and the courtyard, toward the front door of his room. He deduced that whoever was watching him must have already been lying in ambush somewhere inside the room, while Kou Zhong was strolling outside to look for Li Xiuning. It would be strange indeed if anybody from the Ranch came looking for them at this time and was not surprised to find the room was empty. With this thought, he felt relieved and simply pushed the door and walked in. A sword qi assaulted his body. In that instant, Xu Ziling already determined that the attacker was the outstanding beauty [orig. national grace, divine fragrance] Shang Xiuxun; moreover, although the sword carried ferocious momentum, it still left some leeway, and was not meant to take his life at all. Ah! The edge of the sword already rested on Xu Zilings throat. Shang Xiuxuns cold-frost-like face was right in front of his. Where have you been? she coldly asked. Xu Ziling used his power to drain the blood from his face; pretending to be scared out of his wits, he replied with trembling voice, I just went to the small pavilion by the cliff at the back to enjoy the cool air! The tip of Shang Xiuxuns sword emitted powerful qi, prating deep into his channels. Fortunately he had learned the skill he stole from Wanwan, and applied it pragmatically to send his vortex of qi to the yong quan acupoint on his left foot a step ahead of Shang Xiuxun, so that the qi in his meridians was only slightly stronger than average person. Unfortunately however, he was unable to maintain this condition for too long, but he really did not have any other alternative. Sure enough, Shang Xiuxuns true qi reached his dantian and circted there for two cycles before she retrieved it away. Returning her sword to its sheathe, she hissed, Where is that good Xiongdi of yours? Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief for real; he said, He had some tummy problem, and went to ... hey ... Changzhu ought to know? Half-believing half-doubting Shang Xiuxun stared hard at him for a moment, Light thentern first, she ordered. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; if Kou Zhong did not return soon, even with his silver tongue he would not be able to convince this beauty with above average intelligence. Thentern gradually brightened, bathing the room in its gentle and warm light. Sit down! Shang Xiuxun ordered. Shang Xiuxun waited until Xu Ziling was sitting properly in the chair by the window before she took the chair by the table in the middle of the room. With her pretty eyes shoot sharp rays, she fixed her gaze on him and said, You must have known Li Xiuning before, havent you? It was only then did Xu Ziling understand the reason she was looking for them. Pretending to be stunned, he asked, Whos Li Xiuning? Shang Xiuxun smiled and said, You are acting very well. With Li Xiunings self-cultivation and wellposed character, it was impossible that she would suddenly make much fuss about nothing. You want to conceal it from me; I wonder if you would confess after being served the house rules? This is called refusing a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Xu Ziling mused that probably Kou Zhong would not return tonight, so if he still wanted to cover up the left and conceal the right, he could only cook up some dumb excuses. But if he had a falling out with Shang Xiuxun, he would not be able toe to Lu Miaozis ce tomorrow night. With a wry smile, which came from his heart, he said, If Changzhu dont believe us, we will leave tomorrow. Even if we really know Li Xiuning, we did not vite any Ranch rules. Ay! I really dont know what to say. Aplex expression, which was hard to decipher, appeared in Shang Xiuxuns eyes; as she was about to speak, footsteps were heard,ing toward their direction. The two peoples eyes immediately fell toward the open door. Kou Zhong swaggered into the room, Changzhu! he blurted out in shock. Shang Xiuxun looked at him coldly. Kou Zhong was certainly a genius at practicing fraud; pretending to have a sudden inspiration he said, Changzhu must be here to admire my treasured saber a bit early! Shang Xiuxuns eyes fell onto the Moon In The Well hanging on his back; she spoke indifferently, Where have you been? Why do you have to bring a saber? Kou Zhong was used to seamless coboration with Xu Ziling, naturally his gaze flitted toward him first, but without missing a beat his mouth spoke, Just now Xiao Jing and I ... He noticed Xu Zilings toes were pointing at the direction of the back mountain, and his hand was rubbing his belly; being a smart aleck as he was, he continued, Hey! Xiao Jing and I went to the back mountain to see that old Mister to learn some skills; we also ate something. Ha! What? Shang Xiuxun blurted out. Kou Zhong knew something was not right, but he did not know where he had revealed the cloven foot. Xu Ziling hastily tried to remedy the situation. What did you say, he angrily said, Have you forgotten Old Misters order? Kou Zhong realized suddenly; smiling apologetically, he said, Although Old Mister told us not to tell anybody, Changzhu is our boss. Its all right for us not to tell anybody else, but we should not conceal it from her. Xiao Jing, you are so muddleheaded; why havent you apologized to Changzhu? Xu Ziling continued the charade, I only know that a real mans word is worth nine sacred tripods; no wonder after eating Old Misters stuff you got diarrhea. Shut up! Both of you! Shang Xiuxun hissed. Stunned, the two boys looked at her. Shang Xiuxun stood up and said, You two,e with me. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling followed behind Shang Xiuxuns alluring back, straight toward Lu Miaozis small two-story house. There was still light at the upper floor, but there was no sound. Shang Xiuxun looked up to the upper floors window; her pretty face lengthened as she shouted heavily, Old Man [orig.o tou er, usually used in a rude manner]! You break your promise! The two boys jumped out of their skin; they had never expected Shang Xiuxun would be so impolite toward the number one master craftsman in the world who designed and built the Inner Castlesndscape garden. Lu Miaozis voice was heard, Changzhu has not visited my An Le Wo for three years; why dont youe upstairs and enjoy a cup of Six-fruit Brew with the Old Man? Shang Xiuxun turned frosty; she said coldly, This Changzhu is not interested. I only know that you broke your promise; so are you going to leave on your own, or do you need me to personally kick you out? Listening to this, the two boys were at a loss; they did not understand why Shang Xiuxun adopted a like fire meets water attitude toward Lu Miaozi. Lu Miaozi sighed and said, When did I break my promise? Shang Xiuxun replied heavily, Three years ago when Niang passed away, you promised in front of Niang that you would not meddle in our Ranchs affairs, and that you would not leave the back mountain even for half a step, which was why I let you stay. But now you have the audacity to teach my Ranchs people; if that is not breaking your promise, what is it? Lu Miaozis head suddenly appeared on the window. He looked down and stared nkly at Shang Xiuxun. Shang Xiuxun was furious, I forbid you to look at me! she shouted. Lu Miaozi sighed. Shifting his gaze to the night sky above, he yearned, You look so much like your Niang. Regaining herposure, Shang Xiuxun coldly said, I forbid you to mention Niang. You are basically not worthy to talk about her. Until today I still dont understand why Niang adamantly wanted to protect you. All right! Are you or are you not going to nicely get out of here on your own? Lu Miaozi asked softly, Are they your Ranchs people? Shang Xiuxun was taken aback, They are hired by me, personally. If they are not my Ranchs people, what do you think they are? Lu Miaozis gaze fell on her face again; he said with a sigh, It hasnt been three years, they are still outsiders. Ay! He was clearly unwilling to argue with Shang Xiuxun, but in this case he was forced to; otherwise, he would have to leave in a big hurry. Shang Xiuxun was indeed stumped; stomping her feet, she said, Lu Miaozi, Niang is dead, why are you still reluctant to leave? Lu Miaozi sighed and said, Is it possible to give ten more days? After that, Changzhu will definitely not see me again. Shang Xiuxun took a deep breath and said, Looking at Niangs face, this Changzhu agrees to grant you ten days grace period. Turning around, she glowered at the two boys and barked, Get lost and go back to sleep! Lying on their bed, the two boys were silent for a long time. Finally Kou Zhong was unable to hold back, I found some spies, he blurted out. Xu Ziling responded indifferently, Didnt you go out to look for your Princess Xiuning? Kou Zhong sat up and said with a wry smile, I did want to look for her, but along the way I came across the spies. Thereupon he narrated his experience. Xu Ziling frowned and said, If you ran after that guy, howe you were back so quickly? Kou Zhong dejectedly said, That guy has hooks and ropes and wooden cut [I dont know what this is: ľ] kind of tools to climb the mountain, he was able to hike precipitous cliff, and I did not dare to follow him up too closely, so in just several twists and turns I lost him, making I nearly die of anger. But then he turned cheerful and said, This is called blessing in disguise, because if I did note back in time, Beautiful Changzhu would discover our true identity. Xu Ziling also sat up and said, You said that rubbing tummy means you have to go to the bathroom, howe you said you were eating something? Kou Zhong blurted outughing and said, You did not show your going to the bathroom expression, how could I tell? Xu Ziling was also amused; thinking deeply, he said, This time you clearly made a mistake; if the one you were following was that s1ut, you would know by now the spy who is colluding with the enemy. Kou Zhong sneered and said, With so many clues, are you afraid she might escape out of the hollow of our palm? After a short pause, he continued confidently, First of all, this **** must be somebodys concubine, plus she has not been someones concubine for too long. Secondly, the sucker she cheated must be one of the Ranch people attending the banquetst night, and since they referred to him as the old guy, only Shang Zhen and Liang Zhi are eligible to be in the list. So easy to investigate, what are you afraid of? Recalling the two gorgeous women massaging Shang Zhen when they first met, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Shang Zhen holds the highest possibility; but this kind of case is not easy to investigate. Besides, even if we knew who she is, unless we reveal our own identity, we still cant do anything to her. We can start from her lover, Kou Zhong said, He wille back here, sooner orter. Xu Ziling said, Well find a way to examine that building tomorrow, there bound to be some spiders thread and horse track to be found. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Xu Shaoye seems to be very concerned about Beautiful Changzhu, ha! I think she was just using all kinds of excuses to be close to you. Xu Ziling said irately, You seem to forget about Li Xiuning already; otherwise, how can you stillugh? Kou Zhong was stunned, Because of that adulterous couple plus Beautiful Changzhu, I really forgot about her. Therefore, I can safely say that I am able to get her out of my mind. Right! I forgot to ask you what skill you learned from Lu Miaozi? Is it something fun? Thereupon Xu Ziling had Lu Miaozis abstruse theorypletely out in the open. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, This theory is more profound than the Yijian Technique; we must explore it to the end. What else? Xu Ziling exined the nine important aspects ofndscape design; who would have thought that he was only on the third item of the list when Kou Zhong already yawned and interrupted him, There is one thing that I feel very strange; didnt Shang Xiuxun say that three years ago Lu Miaozi promised not to leave the back mountain even for half a step? Yet he obviously slipped out from time to time. There must be a secret tunnel somewhere; otherwise, how could nobody ever detect hising and going? Knowing that Kou Zhong had no interest inndscape design, Xu Zilingy down and said, Sleep! Bang! Bang! Bang! The two boys were absolutely unwilling to get out of their bed. Lan Gus harsh voice screamed from outside the door, Have you be thievesst night? Do you know what time it is? In the entire Ranch, only the two of you are still asleep. Will you believe me if I say I am going to get in and tear your bed down? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other with wry smile on their faces. The former jumped out of bed to open the door and said, The two of us went to the back mountain to apany Changzhu admiring the moon, and we talked all night long. Cant we just sleep a bit longer? Lan Gu was immediately scared by him and stopped talking. Changzhu? she blurted out. Kou Zhong continued boldly, If you dont believe me just ask Changzhu, see if we really went with her to the back mountain or not. Noticing the bright sunlight outside, Xu Ziling realized that the sun was already three-pole high. Only because the two boys were ustomed to using their sleep time to train, plus they did not have enough sleep thest two nights, they felt that it was not enough. Dont make a fuss! he cried out, We are awake! Lan Gus horse face alternated between red and white, but the tone of her voice was a bit more polite, Changzhu is taking Princess Ning on a tour around the Ranch, she said, When they are back, Princess Ning is going to visit the kitchen to see how you prepare the smoked fish. This is Changzhus order. You havent prepared anything yet? As Lan Gu was about to leave, Kou Zhong called her, There are a few things that we, two brothers, really dont understand; every time Lan Gu came to us, you always want us to work like an ox, to work like a horse. But nobody ever told us where the public bath is, where thetrine is. Not to mention how to solve the problem of getting three square meals every day. Last night Changzhu even wondered why we, two able-bodied men, have to crowd into one bed. Whos in charge of these things anyway? Appearing behind Kou Zhong, Xu Zilingughed and said, Therefore, we decided to cken off in our work today, unless there is great improvement in our living arrangement. At first Lan Gu put her hands on her water-snake-like waist, but then she let her hands dropped limply by her side. Its just that these past two days we are extremely busy that we have no time to pay attention to you, she said weakly, Go freshen up and change your clothes first, well talkter. The two boys smiled victoriously. Book 9 - 11 – Wholehearted Gratitude Book 9 Chapter 11 C Wholehearted Gratitude Xu Ziling was about to slip out of the pastry kitchen when Kou Zhong grabbed him and pulled him back. Helplessly he smiled wryly and said, The entire process of making the smoked fish has been prepared properly; to exin it, the famous chef Kou, whose mouth is like a torrent, can handle it singlehandedly with ease. By firmly detaining Xiao Ren in here, dont you feel like you are wasting manpower? With pained expression on his face Kou Zhong said, Just consider me begging you to stay this time, all right? Without you here, I am afraid things will go wrong. Hey! What can go wrong? Xu Ziling asked, Give me an example? Clearing his throat, Kou Zhong said, For example, in a moment of rashness, I might abandon the great undertaking in favor of my feeling toward the Princess. Or perhaps I will lose face as a real man to kneel in front of her, begging her to marry me. Ay! One lifetime, two brothers; please be obedient and stay here to give me moral support. Xu Zilingughed in spite of himself, You think she ising to have a tryst with you? he asked, I can guarantee that Lan Gu will be by her side to lick her butts, even Beautiful Changzhu might be here, ring like a tiger watching its prey, to see what dirty little secret you have with Li Xiuning. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Your experience with women is still somewhat inferior to Laozis. I dont know if you noticed Princess demeanorst night; that kind of her thoughts in a whirl, not knowing what to do expression, clearly represented the fact that she has no affection toward me at all. Therefore, she is noting today for that, or else she will find all kinds of excuses to dismiss others. Xu Ziling said in astonishment, Not only you grew an acupuncture orifice on your tian ling acupoint [i.e. top of the head], you also grew a pair of eyes there. I inly sawst night you fixed your eyes on the floor, how did you see the subtle changes in her expression? A bit embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, A martial art master [orig. gao shou, lit. high hand] like me, merely depending on my perception I would know a lot of things; do you understand? Xu low hand? So, get back in here! Xu Ziling raised his hands, Can I go to the bathroom first? he asked. Kou Zhong changed tactics, hugging Xu Ziling as warmly as he could, short of giving him a kiss, he said, My good Xiongdi, remember, the earlier you go, the earlier youlle back. Xu Ziling was indeed thinking of slipping away, but Kou Zhong preemptively said, One lifetime, two brothers; we advance and retreat together. Unable to get away, Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Such a timid guy, how could you contend for hegemony of the world? Where are you two going? Stunned, the two boys turned around. Shang Xiuxun and Li Xiuning were walking along the promenade, and would soon catch up with them. Surprisingly, there was no entourage. Shang Xiuxun was still wearing tight warrior outfit, with a feather on her hat, so that in her loveliness, there was a vigorous heroic air. Li Xiuning was surprisingly in and simple; she wore a pure white long gown with blue vest with yellow-flower pattern on it. She appeared lovely and touching. This beauty was simr to Song Yuzhi, in that she also carried a particr grandeur and daintiness specific to women who were born in high-ss family and big n, a personality trait that can make any man feel small in her presence. The two women were outside the corridor, basking in the beautiful sunlight, so that their mour radiated all around, so that they appeared to be exuding some kind of exotic natural endowment that transcended the mortal world. Momentarily the two boys could only stare nkly at them. As the two women elegantly came to their presence, Li Xiuning graciously said, Im sorry! I made the two Great Shifu waiting for a long time! The two boys hastily saluted and answered humbly. Shang Xiuxun spoke indifferently, Xiao Ning, you exin to Princess, I need to talk to Xiao Jing for a moment. Seeing Li Xiuning, Kou Zhong forgot everything else. He also wished that he could have an opportunity to talk with her privately; thereupon he hurriedly took Li Xiuning to the kitchen. Shang Xiuxun took Xu Ziling toward the garden at the rear courtyard. Reaching a pavilion, she stopped and said, What did that Old Man tell youst night? He taught us how to design garden andndscape, Xu Ziling replied, Would Changzhu like me to repeat it for you? Turning her back toward him, Shang Xiuxun asked, He didnt say anything else? Xu Ziling sighed and said, He also told us about himself, how thirty years ago he was wounded by the enemy, and how these past few days the old injury red out, that his days are numbered! Shang Xiuxuns tender body trembled slightly, What? she blurted out. Xu Ziling continued in low voice, ording to Mr. Lus own estimate, he would only live eight to ten more days. Perhaps because of this he kind of look upon us with favor! Shang Xiuxun slowly turning her tender body around, her beautiful eyes looked deep into Xu Zilings eyes for half a day, before she said softly, Have you two thought about your own future? Will you be satisfied being two chefs for the rest of your life? She suddenly changed the subject like that, Xu Ziling was caught off guard and was at a loss of how to respond, hence he only gave her nomittal answer, If we dont be chefs, what can we do? Displeased, Shang Xiuxun said, You are originally not chefs anyway, you were merely salt smugglers; how dare you say such thing to me. It was only then did Xu Ziling remember what Kou Zhong had told these people; he calmly said, Whatever we do, in the end its just looking for money. Smuggling salt carries very high risk, we may lose our life savings at any time; how can it bepared to earning steady ie of half a tael of real gold each month? Shang Xiuxuns eyes shot sharp rays, her words contained deep meaning as she asked, After earning enough money, what are you going to do? Xu Ziling improvised on the spot, It depends on the current political situation; if the world is back to its unified peace, we will return to our hometown and open a small restaurant. Hey! For us, this is terrific! Shang Xiuxun smiled and said, You are still lying to me? Just by listening to your clear reasoning, the elegance of your style of conversation and response, I know that you are definitely not ordinary folks. Besides, Lu Miaozi is haughty and conceited, how could he have any interest in spending any time with you? Who are you? Why did youe here? Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; fortunately his mind churned an idea, immediately he found a countermeasure. Smiling wryly, he said, Changzhu is indeed formidable. The two of us are actually Yangzhou people. Niangs family was aristocratic family in Yangzhou, we ran a restaurant that had good reputation locally. Afterwards the muddleheaded ruler was assassinated, Yangzhou was thrown into chaos, the mobs and the soldiers looted all over the ce, implicating us that we were left destitute and homeless. We wandered around and ended up in Yuhang. At first we worked in a restaurant;ter on we saw how profitable salt trading was, hence we took the risk to run one. Who would have thought that we met robbers along the way, and were barely able to escape with our lives? And that was how we ended up here. What he said was half truth and half false; unless Shang Xiuxun was able to confirm certain details of his story, it would be difficult to find any w. He was not concerned that this beauty might find out their real identity in Yangzhou, because other than Yuwen Huaji and a limited number of people, nobody knew that they were actually Yangzhous ruffians. Shang Xiuxun stared at his face for a moment; her jet-ck eyebrows knitted slightly, she asked, Where did you learn your martial art from? We were Shi Longs martial school disciples, Xu Ziling replied, Later on Shi Long offended that muddleheaded ruler, he was executed, along with all his rtives. Fortunately [maternal] grandfather spent a lot of money on our behalf, so that we were not implicated [orig. guilt by association]. Shang Xiuxun looked as if she did not know what else to ask; she was silent for a long time. Only now did Xu Ziling really breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that she has not heard anything about Shi Longs rtionship with the Secret to Long Life. Shang Xiuxun suddenly looked at him up and down several times, and then calmly said, Honestly, people with physical and personality traits like you, two brothers, are really rare in the world, otherwise the Old Man would not have high regards on you. However, because you have missed the prime age to start training martial art, no matter how hard you train, your aplishment would be limited. Ay! Being chefs is a waste of talent for people like you; therefore, while the Old Man has not died yet, you might as well ask him to impart on you some kind of unique skill, perhaps I will consider hiring you in different capacity, and thus you wouldnt have to waste your lives. For the first time Xu Ziling started to have a good impression on her; he respectfully said, Thank you very much for Changzhus direction. Somehow Shang Xiuxun let out a gentle sigh before saying, You may go back now! Li Xiuning ought to finish learning about how to make smoked fish; whats so attractive about firewood anyway? Thest sentence made Xu Ziling stared nkly at her. As soon as Kou Zhong stepped into the kitchen, he pointed to the various ingredients neatly organized on the table, and in deadly earnest expression he started to exin, This is the seasoning, and here we have the sauce; this ... Theres no one else around! Li Xiuning cut him off. It was as if Kou Zhongs acupoint had just been sealed; he froze for half a day, before finally hung his hands and said dejectedly, Princess, please grant your advice. Li Xiuning moved up behind him and said softly, Er Ge [second brother] was very concerned over you, because you were unwilling to follow him in conquering the world, he often felt unhappy. This time I can see you again, its really great. Ay! How did you end up hiding here and being chefs? Was it because you were afraid of Li Mi? Kou Zhong suddenly straightened up his back and said coldly, We are not afraid of anybody! Li Xiuning cheerfully replied, No wonder Er Ge praises you without cease; just by looking at wherever you go you turn the sky and the earth upside down, I know your ability. Now I understand Er Ges evaluation on you in those days was not simply exaggerated praise. The fragrance of Li Xiunings breath as she spoke was wafting gently into Kou Zhongs nose; he shook his head with a bitter smile as he walked over toward the window. As he stared nkly outside the window, at the scenery of people moving about in the courtyard under the bright sunny sky, his mind was in turmoil. He has finally made it. But he could not go back to the former days. If Li Xiuning had said those words in the past, he would not have to bow out sadly, did not dare topete with Chai Shao over her fragrant heart, because of low self-esteem. Seeing he walked over and was lost in thought, Li Xiuning sighed inwardly. Based on her orchid hearts intelligence, she already understood Kou Zhongs feeling for her even then. But with her familys power, talent, and beauty, there were an untold number of men who fell for her; therefore, she did not take it seriously. But this time seeing Kou Zhong again, not only he had turned into a dignified, handsome and great man, the most attractive thing about him was that he exuded some kind of hard-to-describe personality traits. Its just that the matter between Chai Shao and her had already been settled conclusively; no one could alter it, including her. But she did not wish to change it either. While she was in dilemma, not knowing whether she should stay where she was or should walk over toward Kou Zhong, Kou Zhongs voice entered her ears, Are you married? Li Xiunings tender body shook dramatically; hanging down her small head, she sadly said, Although I am not yet married, my situation is not much difference to a married woman. Kou Zhong threw his head back and let out a longugh; like a whirlwind he turned around and with his eyes shooting lightning-like light he said, Very well! Ill consider you as someone else wife. Perhaps youll find it difficult to understand, but I really am happy with your answer, because from now on I can get rid of the distraction in my heart and wholeheartedly fight for my ideals. In Li Xiunings eyes, he seemed to be changing into another person, revealing Kou Zhongs insufferably arrogant, overbearing heroic spirit, that she had never imagined would appear from him. Shocked, she was momentarily unable to say anything. Kou Zhongs awe-inspiring, radiating all around air suddenly turned into an iparable tenderness; revealing his bright, sunshine-like signature smile, his shing snow-white teeth, he said apologetically, Xiaodi was momentarily unable to restrain emotions, and have frightened Princess; I am terribly sorry. Looks like Princess interest today is not in smoked fish, but is us, the two boys, instead. So now Princess ought to know the answer. Taking a deep breath, Li Xiuning fought to keep her emotion, which was fluctuating endlessly due to Kou Zhongs instigation, under control. She nodded and said, Although Xiuning understood Kou Xiongs kindly feeling, it is still hard for me to avoid feeling extreme regret and disappointment. I wonder whether there is still room for amendment? Kou Zhong nearly turned from hero [ying xiong] to a coward [lit. gou xiong, ck bear] and blurted out, Only if you are willing to marry me! Fortunately he remembered Song Yuzhi and the Shuanglong Bang he personally founded; pressing hard this urge, he calmly smiled and said, Life is interesting because although we lost a lot of things, we also gained a lot of other things. There are moments of joy, there are also days of wounded spirit and broken soul. And then, striding in front of Li Xiunings tender body, he looked down and stared deep into the beautiful princess beautiful eyes; his tiger-eyes shooting out ocean-deep emotion that stirred her heartstrings and made her shivering inside. With an iparable tenderness in his voice he said, Perhaps Xiuning has never had me, Kou Zhong, in your heart, but in my, Kou Zhongs heart, you, Xiuning, was the first woman that made me fully enjoyed the kind of feeling that made me difficult to sleep at night, that made me worry about personal gains and losses, but also made me enjoyed the matchless excitement of the first love. Although it was only for a night, it has made me extremely grateful. Thank you. Ah! By the time Li Xiuning was crying out tenderly, Kou Zhong already left the kitchen in big strides. And he never looked back. Shang Xiuxun and Xu Ziling, one in front of the other, arrived at the kitchen door. Seeing Kou Zhong strode out with grim expression on his face, they were both stunned. Without waiting for Shang Xiuxun to ask any question, upright and unafraid Kou Zhong walked past the two and muttered, I am going to thetrine. Book 9 - 12 – Underground Collection Book 9 Chapter 12 C Underground Collection Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat side-by-side on the low stonewall by the pavilion on the back mountain, facing the precipitous cliff towering in the sky; below their feet was precisely the hundred-zhang deep abyss where the falling water rolled on endlessly. After Kou Zhong finished listening to Xu Zilingstest generation of lies he told Shang Xiuxun, Kou Zhong wiped the cold sweats from his forehead and said, Fortunately I said I was in a hurry to go to the bathroom; otherwise the beautiful Changzhu might grab me and ask questions, and then we would have to jump down this ravine. Craning his neck to look down into the rapids at the bottom, he wondered aloud, Based on our martial art skill, if we jump down, would we die or not? Xu Ziling smiled slightly without saying anything, but his eyes seemed to prate the deepest part of Kou Zhongs heart. Finally Kou Zhong surrendered, Why didnt you ask me what happened between Li Xiuning and me a moment ago? Xu Ziling sneered and said, Didnt you say that the martial art from the Secret to Long Life has turned you more and more cold-hearted? You also said that for the sake of vying for the world, you would do anything by hook or by crook, and that youd sacrifice everything you valued in your life? Since that is the case, do I still need to beg for an answer from you? Kou Zhong pped his thigh and said with a sigh, Ling Shao, this time you are wrong. The fact is that I am extremely vexed right now, because I could not help asking her if she was married to that muddled egg Chai Shao [Trantors note: I feel that muddled egg is funnier than scoundrel, or @$$hole ...]. Just think! Ling Shao! Supposing her answer was Im not married yet, how would I handle her? I was fully aware that by asking that question I was spinning a cocoon around myself, yet I still asked her. Tell me, why did I do that? Xu Zilings response was tepid, So what did she say? Grieved, Kou Zhong replied, She said that although she has not officially married, but theres not much difference with a married woman. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, That is akin to saying that the one she loves is Chai Shao. That answer is indeed very difficult to bear, and also made me feel for the first time that you deserve sympathy. So what are you going to do? The moves you make in the battlefield of love will give you more headaches than the moves in the life and deaths confrontation, plus the battlefield of love will leave both sides wounded. Kou Zhong coolly said, Hence the reason I turned grief and indignation into strength; I told her I did not care in the slightest, and I thanked her for giving me the taste of grief for losing my love. With great difficulty I resisted the intense urge to kiss her and stormed out of the door. With my back against her, I felt so much pain that my entire body went numb. Xu Ziling casually remarked, So did you go to thetrine to hide while weeping in bitter tears? Stunned, Kou Zhong turned his head to stare at him, Dont you have any sympathy toward the poor me? he asked. Xu Ziling coldly replied, Because the one deserving my sympathy is not you, but Li Xiuning. Kou Zhong had his eyes fixed on the cliff across the canyon; he mumbled as if he was talking to himself, I was indeed a bit out of line, but at that time I really had a feeling that the more hurt her, the happier I would be. That was apletely out of control emotions, I know in my heart that Im still holding tight on her. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Thereupon you gave it your all in your attempt to, in a snap of your fingers, make her that she wont be able to forget you. Isnt that more cruel and ruthless to her? As if he was in delirious ravings Kou Zhong said, Kill me now! I am in unbearable pain. Xu Ziling reached out to put his hand on his shoulder; he said with a wry smile, I spoke without tact too much! Matters between men and women are like this, basically there is no logical exnation. Whoever has a bit stronger divine power to protect the body will suffer less harm; upon inspection, looks to me that its very difficult for your divine power to protect the body to meet a minimum standard. Kou Zhong said in astonishment, You said you dont have any tact, but now I just want to cry bitterly. The two boys you look at me, I gaze at you, and then a smile started to form at the corners of their mouths, followed by a chorus ofughter and difficult-to-discern bitter-sweet hot tears, which warmed their hearts, and enforced the mutual feeling of sincere friendship between the two brothers. Gasping for breath, Xu Ziling patted Kou Zhongs shoulder and said painfully, Every time you lose your love, you are dragging me down and leaving me confused; therefore, I am the real victim here. Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Why is it that although I have suffered losing my love for the first time early on, the second time around is still unbearable? Not only that, its getting worse! Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Whats so strange about that? Its because your love to her was even deeper. Kou Zhong seemed to be fully recovered; he nonchntly nodded his head and said, What you said is not without reason; over time, dripping water can wear out hard rock, therefore, right now my heart must have hundreds of holes and thousands of cavities. This is called the great method of dripping tears on the heart; its a different tune yed with equal skill with Lu Miaozis escaping one, because Li Xiuning is precisely my escaping one. Even though Shang Xiuxun is half a notch superior to her, in my heart I only have her. And then he added, The rice has already been cooked, theres no more stopping. To conform to the Yijian Technique, what will our next step be? Xu Ziling calmed down; pondering deeply, he said, Well have to find a way to identify that s1ut first. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If only we could go door to door and knock. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, With your exceptional ears, eavesdropping within a radius of a hundred li should not be a difficult thing to do! Kou Zhongughed despite of himself, Real exaggeration! he said, Come on! One after another the two boys jumped down from the stonewall and strode away from the pavilion. Arriving at the winding corridor, they were met by Xiao Juans slim and graceful figure. I found you! she called out cheerfully. Shang Xiuxun was sitting upright and still on one side of the spacious study room, engrossed on a book she was holding with both hands, seemingly oblivious that Big Sister Fu has arrived, with the two boys right behind her. Across the small garden outside was precisely the reception hall where Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling met her for the first time. At that time they had their spirit and soul upside down by this beautys charming and touching mannerism as she sampled their handicraft. The fact was, in her heart, Shang Xiuxun hated herself. Even she did not understand why she loved to see these two boys so much; perhaps because she was so lonely? It was not an issue of how many people she had by her side; rather, it was an issue of her state of mind. She was the only daughter of the former Ranch Master; since her childhood she had been cultivated to be the heir, hence with aloof and remote position, governing her subordinates was as natural as breathing. Everybody venerated her like a deity; only these two boys were the exception, although on the surface they were very respectful. Just by looking at the brazen and wild expression in their eyes when they looked at her, she knew that in their eyes, she was just a woman. This has sparked a ripple in her heart, something that was fresh and unique. Big Sister Fu reported, Two Xiao Shifu are here. Kou Zhong took a few steps forward; holding his saber with both hands he presented it to her and said, Treasured Saber is here! Seeing Kou Zhong pretending to be respectful and proper, Pfft! Shang Xiuxun burst out giggling, just like a blooming fresh flower, so that Big Sister Fu, who seldom saw her beautiful demeanor like this, was stunned. Noticing the three people were staring at her, Shang Xiuxun strived to suppress her smile; with a wooden face she scolded in low voice, How many treasured sabers are there in the world? Still in low voice she went on, Fuer, you may withdraw! Big Sister Fu was slightly stunned, and then she withdrew from the study room. Shang Xiuxun put down the book on the small table by her side. From Kou Zhongs hands she took the Moon in the Well; immediately her face showed astonishment. I did not expect it to be this heavy, she said in surprise. Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and said, This treasured saber is different from ordinary sabers. Frowning, Shang Xiuxun said, Why are you standing so close? Embarrassed, Kou Zhong stepped back to Xu Zilings side. Only thetter knew that he really did not wish to part with the Moon in the Well. With her left hand Shang Xiuxun held the scabbard, with her right hand she lightly grabbed the hilt, but her pretty eyes were fixed on the two boys. She said calmly, Although this saber is unremarkable at all, plus its a bit rusty, but somehow when I went back, from time to time the sight of this saber appeared before my eyes, and I have some kind of unspeakable feeling toward it. Kou Zhong praised her wholeheartedly, Changzhu indeed has a superior taste, unlike people with mediocre, superficial taste. Shang Xiuxun was already ustomed with the two boys conversational manner, which did not regard her as the Ranch Master. Glowering at him, she said, Who wants you to tter me? Ring! The Moon in the Well went out about half a chi from its scabbard. Emotionally moved, Shang Xiuxun said, I have never seen any de more blunt and more dull, without any shine, than this one, yet I have never seen some kind of loftiness in a simple and unadorned, inelegant de like this either. Her pretty eyes shot toward Kou Zhong, she said in a heavy voice, How did you get this? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong replied, It was my Ah Ye [(paternal) grandpa who gave it to Die, and Die gave it to me. Returning the saber to its scabbard, Shang Xiuxun muttered irresolutely, I wonder what did that Old Man say about this saber? Kou Zhong was slightly stunned; now he remembered that that night he lied about carrying this saber to see Lu Miaozi and learn martial art from him, but Lu Miaozi basically has never seen this saber. However, naturally not answering was not an option, therefore, he replied respectfully, Mr. Lu said that this saber was the personal weapon of the one saber expert of two hundred years ago, the Saber Overlord Ling Shangren; I dont know how it fell into my paternal grandfathers hands? Ring! The Moon in the Well was pulled out of its scabbard by Shang Xiuxuns delicate and beautiful lily-white hand; she drew with it about a dozen saber flowers in front of her, but there was no frightening yellow glow like when Kou Zhong was using it. A bit disappointed, Shang Xiuxun held the saber still and examined it carefully. She was puzzled, Is it really rust? But it does not look like rust stain; rather, its the texture of the metal specific to the sabers body. Noticing that just like Xiao Xian, Shang Xiuxun did not bring out the sabers unusual luster, Kou Zhong was even more convinced that he was the true master of this treasured saber. He said proudly, This is a psychic treasured saber; my grandfather once said that one time a thief broke into our house, this saber unexpectedly let out incessant ringing to warn us! Listening to this even Xu Ziling was frowning, thinking that Kou Zhong went too far; but then again, only by doing that would they convince Shang Xiuxun that it was part of family legend. Shang Xiuxun glowered at Kou Zhong and said, You are bragging! Have you ever heard the saber ringing? Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Last time a thief came, it happened to be resting, so it did not ring. Shang Xiuxun was unable to hold back much longer, she burst into silver-bell like moving tenderughter, put the saber back into its scabbard, and tossed it back to Kou Zhong. She said, y a move or two, show me how much sess you achieved from Shi Long. Kou Zhong held the saber across his chest, pulled it out of the scabbard, and hacked into the air several times, using low hand moves and techniques unique to Shi Longs martial school, with all the shorings disyed urately and wonderfully. Shang Xiuxun covered herughing mouth and said, Although your expression is of a martial art masters, your technique is quite mediocre, ay! You paid money to learn the skill in vain. Pretending to refuse to concede, Kou Zhong said, Please check this out, my move stars fill the sky! He moved the saber and brandished it wildly. Seeing him going all-out until his face turned red and his ears hot, Shang Xiuxunughed like a shaking stem of flower; she said, If you continued like this, there is no need for the enemy to kill you, you would die of exhaustion! Kou Zhong awkwardly returned the saber to its sheath; panting, he said, Sabers are used to attack the enemy; how could you not use any force? Shang Xiuxun no longer paid any attention to him; turning to Xu Ziling, she said, And what is your expertise? Xu Ziling was just admiring her alluring, beautiful-beyond-humanprehension, touching manner while she wasughing; hearing the question, it was as if he had just been awakened from a dream. I am worsepared to Xiao Ning, please excuse me! Irritated, Shang Xiuxun said, Looks like you disregard me as your Changzhu more and more. Dont you know that what I say is an order? But then she smiled and said, So be it! Avoiding disying your disgrace to save face is a smart move. Suddenly rapid footsteps were heard in the distance, buting fast toward them. The First Manager Liang Zhis voice was heard outside the door, Subordinate has an urgent matter needs to be reported to Changzhu. Still smiling, Shang Xiuxun said, Da Zhishi, pleasee in! The two boys hastily stepped aside. Liang Zhi came over toward Shang Xiuxuns seat inrge strides. Bowing, he said, Reporting to Changzhu: there are about 2000 enemies appear about thirty li from west side entrance of the Ranch, they look to be the vanguard regiment of the Four Big Bandits. Shang Xiuxuns pretty eyes shed with cold rays; she spoke cool-headedly, Any movement outside the east side entrance? With solemn expression Liang Zhi replied, Theres no report yet. Shang Xiuxuns gaze fell onto the two boys; she spoke heavily, You may return to your lodging house. If there is nothing important, do not walk around; understood? The two boys promptly acknowledged the order and withdrew from the room. Closing the door to their room, Kou Zhong sat down by Xu Zilings side. This does not make sense, he said, Anybody knows that Flying Horse Ranch is more difficult to break than any other fortified city; why would the Four Big Bandits abandon their stronghold and attack this ce? There must be an intrigue here. Could it be only a diversion? Xu Ziling mused, Their real target might be the nearby Dangyang or Yuanan, or even farther down Jingling. Chapter 12 - Part 2 That is more preposterous, Kou Zhong said, If I were the Four Big Bandits adviser, I would concentrate my force to attack one of those cities, to lure the Flying Horse Ranch to send rescue expedition, and then ambush them along the way; that would be the proper thing to do. Once their troops are dispersed, it would be strange indeed if the Ranch would not suffer total defeat. Suddenly heughed aloud and said, The theory that Lu Miaozi invented is best applied to the art of war; currently we arecking this escaping one from what we know about the Four Big Bandits plot. If we could find this precious one, then the enemys movement will be in ce. Everything bes reasonable and fair! His granny, what in the world is this precious escaping one? Knitted his brows, Xu Ziling said, If that guy and the spy were sent by the Four Big Bandits, they would hatch their plots in the dark; there is no reason for them to attack with clear saber and clear spear like this. With regard to the Ranchs topology, coordinated offensive from inside and outside wont do much good either. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, I get it! You get what? Xu Ziling happily asked. This must be the luring the tiger from its mountain stratagem, Kou Zhong said, The wine lovers heart is not in the cup, but on my sweetheart who does not love me, Li Xiuning. Xu Zilings tiger eyes shed brightly, You are right, he nodded, Because she saw Li Xiunings arrival during the day, the spy reported it to the outside ghost; the outside ghost then left sneakily. From this, we should know that this matter is rted to the sweetheart in your dreams. A bright murderous intent appeared on Kou Zhongs eyes; he snorted coldly and said, The Four Big Bandits really dont know what they are getting into, unexpectedly they have the guts to target Xiuning. Uh! Not right! What benefit could they gain by offending the Li n? The benefits might be in many aspects, Xu Ziling analyzed, For instance, breaking the good rtion between the Ranch and Li n; or perhaps generous rewards or support from Li ns enemies, and so on. Has your brain been dulled by Li Xiuning? Kou Zhong embarrassedly replied, Maybe a bit confused; but what can we do now? Xu Ziling said, If I were the character inciting the Four Big Bandits behind the scene, naturally one alive Princess is more useful than one fragrant, worn-out jade, perished Princess. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Could it be that the man behind the scene is Li Mi? Xu Ziling replied, Li Mi, Yang Shichong [sic], and Xue Ju are highest in the suspects list. Just imagine that on one hand the Four Big Bandits are dragging the Ranchs main force, on the other hand they are deploying their strongest martial art masters from the mountain area descending into the mountain city, with the spy providing support from the inside. Shall we tell Shang Xiuxun directly? Who can tell how Shang Xiuxun would react? Kou Zhong said, Better leave it unsaid. Let us find the spy first, and then well meet the iing enemies head-on. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Youll be in charge of the inside, Ill concentrate on the outside. Only then will we have the golden opportunity of destroying the Four Big Bandits for a thousand years. Kou Zhong jumped in fright, Can we do it the other way around? Let me take care of those four thieves heads. The one in charge of the inside must work closely with Li Xiuning, Xu Ziling countered, Only you deserve it. With a pained expression Kou Zhong said, Have a pity on me, this kid who lost his love! Xu Zilingughed involuntarily, Didnt you want me to pursue Shang Xiuxun? Maybe this is an opportunity. When someday she realizes how much effort I spend on her behalf, perhaps she will be touched and will give herself to marry me! Naturally Kou Zhong knew that he was just joking and teasing him, but he also knew that there was no room for discussion. Gnashing his teeth, he said, And you still call yourself my good Xiongdi? Its so unfair that you trick me into the trap. Xu Ziling roared inughter and said, I am enabling Zhong Shao to disy your prowess both on the battlefield of the heart and the battlefield of life and death; you ought to be grateful to me. Come on! Kou Zhong was stunned, Where? he asked. Letting out a natural and unrestrainedugh, Xu Ziling said, Why, to see our facilitator behind the scenes of course! After listening to the entire matter to the end, Lu Miaozi looked at the two boys up and down for half a day, sizing them up. And then rising to his full height, he walked over to a bookshelf, and stretched out his hand inside to operate some sort of mechanism. Creak! Creak! A stone b, about three chi by three chi square in the middle of the hall caved in, to be the topmost step of a series of steps leading down; it was indeed astonishing to behold. This was the very first time that the two boys saw such an borate mechanism with their own eyes; they were dumbstruck. Get down! Lu Miaozi ordered, and took the lead going down the stone steps. The two boys excitedly followed him down the two-zhang deep flight of stairs. At the bottom was a spacious cer about three-zhang square. On one side were two big wooden crates, on another side ten borate wooden cases were arranged on small tables along the wall. Hanging from the wall on all four sides were seven, eight kinds of strange-looking things that might be weapons. Surprisingly enough, the air in the cer was only slightly more stuffy than the room upstairs; evidently the room had an adequate venttion system. Lu Miaozi took a case from one the small tables and handed it over to Kou Zhong, saying, If you really want to get the Duke Yangs Treasure, you must read and study this book. Kou Zhong received the case and took a look. Carved on the surface of the case was Mechanism Study, threerge characters [ji guan xue]. Greatly delighted, he said, Mister really knows whats in this kids heart. Lu Miaozi took three other cases at once and handed them to Xu Ziling; smiling wryly, he said, After I am dead, you may open the cases and browse through whats inside. Otherwise, if you tell me that after reading through one time you already understand itpletely, I wont die with closed eyes. Ha! Xu Ziling smiled sheepishly and looked down to read. Turned out they were the Astronomy [lit. Heavenly Star Study], Mathematics, and Architecture, three books. Pointing to the two cases with characters Military Strategy and Geography carved on them, Kou Zhong said, Those two cases will also be very useful to me. Absent-mindedly, Lu Miaozi said, Take it! Who told me to have such fate as meeting with you! Without any trace of politeness Kou Zhong took the wooden case. Were it not for Xu Ziling stopping him with his eyes, he might have opened the case and looked at the books inside. Lu Miaozi walked over toward one of the big crates and plopped himself down. He patted the wooden crate, making a Peng! Peng! sound, and with a wistful look on his face he said, These are the gadgets I created thirty years ago. While wandering destitute in Jianghu for many years, they had made me countless glistening yellow gold. And now whats left in the box are things I do not have the heart to sell. After I die, whatever you can use you may take away, but leave the rest to apany me buried in this room! Pointing to an iron-rod sticking out from the corner, he said, If you use your power to pull the iron rod down, this room will close in ten breaths, and nobody will be able to open it. Moreover, this room will descent ten more zhang, and will be my An Le Wo [reminder: Comfort Zone, the name of his house] after I die. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Mr. Lus reputation is indeed well-deserved; merely this kind of brilliant construction and mechanism is enough to earn you the title of number one master craftsman since times immemorial. Lu Miaozi sobbed while shaking his head; with such an unbearable sorrow he said, Life is like a dream, in just a snap of the fingers, we will return to dust, leaving only intertwining disgrace and regret. If I had the chance to start all over again, I would not have been interested in these ythings that make people addicted. And then, pointing to another chest he said, In there you will find ten exquisitely made masks, which can make you change shape in a single shake and be another person. It was most convenient when I roamed the Jianghu. I guarantee that nobody can see through it. Tonight you can put the masks to good use. The two boys were greatly delighted, and were very excited as well. Lu Miaozi seriously said, No matter how exquisite and ingenious the device is, in the end it is still minor art. Relying on it opposite to cultivating upper-ss martial art, it is really harmful and not beneficial; therefore, I do not encourage you to use them. These ten masks are the exception. Kou Zhong was emotionally moved, Misters lesson is very good, he said, Just now I had greedy thought to find a way to transport everything out, but now of course I do not dare to disobey Misters instruction! Lu Miaozi fixed his gaze on him for a moment. He sighed and said, Now I like you a little bit. Kou Zhong was stunned, Turns out Mister did not have favorable impression toward me all along, he said. Lu Miaozi shook his head and said, Its not like that; its because I am quite proficient in the art of looking at peoples countenance. I noticed that your eyebrows rose up and your eyes sharp, your noses energetic look straight through your face and it is pointy; evidently you have great ambitions and not afraid to take a risk out of desperation. The good aspect is that you are the type of hero people of all ages admire. The bad aspect is that you are the type of dominating hegemon. Therefore, I always have thirty-percent wariness toward you. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Since Mister is adept in looking at peoples countenance, cant you see that I do have good and honest heart? Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, Such sickening words and yet it came out of your mouth; from this it can be clearly seen that your goodness is limited! Lu Miaozi alsoughed involuntarily. Standing up, he took a pair of steel ws from a wall nearby, and gave each person one, saying, This is a pair of Flying Divine Escape [fei tian shen dun, lit. fly to heaven divine escape]. In those days I relied on these treasures to escape Zhu Yuyans hunt. They can be used separately, can catch and bore through any object; naturally only those with strong martial art skill can operate them easily. The steel ring on their tails can even extend as long as ten zhang of rare, precious ice silkworm thread. With your true qi, you can use the steel w as nimbly as your hands, the silk thread can be long or short, but today I am not in the mood to borate, you must research it yourself! The two boys were pleased beyond their expectations; they expressed their gratitude promptly. Lu Miaozi said, You may leave the books here. After each of you pick your mask, you may take Flying Divine Escape ws and join the excitement. Remember toe back here to recount to me the course of events you subdue the enemies and seize the victory. After exhaling a mouthful of air, he added, I dont know if it was the Li ns good fortune or the Four Big Bandits lousy luck that they unexpectedly provoked you, these two guys. Book 10 - 1 – Separate Deployment Book 10 Chapter 1 C Separate Deployment The atmosphere at the Flying Horse Ranch tensed up. The sentry stations and lookout towers, which were normally unguarded, were now tightly guarded. All the able-bodied men in the entire Ranch marched out of the mountain city batch by batch, and reassembled at the pasture ready to head for the battlefield. As soon as Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling slipped back into their room, before they even had any chance to sit down, Lan Gu already came and ordered them, Changzhus strict order: unless under specific assignment, Inner Castle people are to stay in their respective courtyards. Vitor will be dealt with in ordance with the house rules. Are you clear? Leaning by the door, Kou Zhong said to Lan Gu, who was standing outside the door, We are at war or not, everybody still has to eat; therefore, Lan Gu came to deliver this strict order to us, isnt it superfluous? Lan Gu did not expect that Kou Zhong would not give her any face at all, his expression did not show any concern for his superior; she was so angry that her thin face turned green as she said, I am in charge in this vige courtyard. If I want you two to stay her then you are not allowed to take one step out of the door; otherwise, dont me me for being discourteous. Giggling, Kou Zhong said, Lan Gu, calm down. Just now the Housekeeper reported to Changzhu that the vanguard of Four Big Bandits allied armies appears in the vicinity; we were just talking with Changzhu about our living arrangement. Turning his head toward Xu Ziling, who was sitting in a chair, covering his mouth and snickering, he called out, Xiao Jings memory is better than mine; what did Changzhu say again? Xu Ziling promptly put up a serious expression, and said tly, Changzhu told us not to worry. She ordered us to make more pastries to entertain Princess Ning and her entourage, and we must not be careless, because our Ranchs grand reputation in negotiation and troops deployment depends on it. Lan Gu was tongue-tied, because she remembered that she has not made any new arrangement for their lodging; her anger subsided considerably. Since you have Changzhus order, why are you still here? she spoke haltingly. The two boys thanked the Heaven in their hearts, and quickly slipped out toward the firewood shed. Dusk. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling finished making pastries, put them in brocade box, and holding it with both hands they headed toward the Green Ring Courtyard where Li Xiuning stayed. Along the way they encountered several patrolling troops, but after some exnations, they did not have any trouble. Green Ring Courtyard was a standalone courtyard surrounded by high walls on all four sides. The right side of the middle of the courtyard was dancing trees; the scenery was serene and seemed to be detached from the outside world. The most distinguishing feature of this courtyard was that outside the entrance, there was a rock garden approximately ten zhang in diameter, the pouring water from which form a pond underneath with goldfish in it. There was also a long nine-bend bridge, more than ten zhang long, connecting this garden and the middle courtyard. The long bridge weaved left and right among the rocks, much like a maze, and in the middle there was even a hexagonal pavilion; theyout was ingenious, making people sighed in admiration. Xu Ziling noticed that Kou Zhong was silent the entire trip; he knew the conflict in Kou Zhongs heart because of Li Xiuning, yet he also knew that in this kind of matter, nobody can lend a helping hand; therefore, he could only sigh in his heart. Inside the hexagonal pavilion sat two fully armed men; looking at their clothes, the two boys knew that these men were part of Li Xiunings personal guards. Seeing the two boys, the two men asked in surprise, Anything wrong? Kou Zhong exined the purpose of their visit. One of the men said in relief, Just give it to us! Kou Zhong had already anticipated that this would happen; he smiled and said, Earlier this morning, Princess Xiuning came to tour the kitchen, and instructed us, Xiao Ren, that after we make the pastries, she wanted us to exin how to make it. Would two Daye please make a report inside? The guard frowned and said, Princess is receiving guests, plus this is not an urgent matter. We must report it first and see whether Princess can receive you or notter on. It would be better if you just give that thing to us. Without much choice the two boys put the pastries down, turned around and left. Once they were out the guards vision, Xu Ziling wondered, Who might be Li Xiunings guests? Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, I am sure they are Ranch people; for her, they are guests. Oh! Not good! The two boys remembered the spy at the same time. Xu Ziling made a prompt decision, We will immediately split up; remember to go back first to fetch your Moon in the Well. Kou Zhong pulled him back and said, Outside, the enemy may attack and besiege us for ten days, half a month, the situation inside is more critical, how could you slip out and have fun this soon and leave me to suffer in here alone? Xu Ziling pushed him back and said, If we are acting together, it will be easier for others to suspect us. Dont forget that body shape and height cant be changed. Besides, we want to train ourselves to assume personal responsibility to better prepare ourselves for the future. Do you understand? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling changed into the night-walker outfits that Lu Miaozi supplied them earlier. After putting on the masks, they immediately changed into twopletely different persons that they nearly could not recognize each other. Xu Ziling turned into a thirty-something rough-looking man, with rough bronze face, full of pockmarks, plus saber scar about three cun long on his right cheek; a Jianghu big-bandit, who was used to kill and burn, persona. His face matched well with his tall and straight, sturdy built; so that his entire person exuded an indescribable coarse and wild aura. Kou Zhongs appearance was even weirder. Not only he had an aquiline nose, which was not too pleasant to look at, his face was covered in full beard; an arrogant, violent, tyrannical and wild persona. His age looked to be about ten years older than Xu Zilings new persona. The two boys took turn looking into the copper mirror and both doubled-up inughter. Kou Zhong patted Xu Zilings shoulder and said, Tonight we, the Two entrics of Yangzhou, are deployed separately, to turn his mothers heaven and earth upside down. [Trantors note: just want the readers to know that the same character () was tranted as freaks in Eagle Shooting Hero (as in Seven Freaks of Jiangnan), but I feel that in this context the two boys were not exactly freaks.] Xu Ziling nodded and said, If anybody finds out that we are not here and inquireter, we must say that we went to Mr. Lu to learn his skill; are you clear? Hanging the Moon in the Well on his back, Kou Zhong replied, In that case, we ought to rendezvous at Lu Miaozis ce first to be absolutely safe. Come! The guy who does not have any yiqi [spirit of loyalty, code of brotherhood]! They jumped out the window. Xu Ziling followed closely behind Kou Zhong, unleashing their night-walk skill, darting like a rabbit, crouching like a heron, subsequently passing several rows of buildings, until they finally reached a two-story building and crouched on its roof. Why did you say I have no yiqi? he whispered. Staring at the general direction of the Green Ring Courtyard where Li Xiuning stayed, Kou Zhong said hatefully, You said you have yiqi? The fun things you hogged for yourself, leaving me in here eating the northwest wind, waiting for the enemy to execute their plot like an idiot. At first Xu Ziling was smiling, but then he could not helpughing. Who told you to be that romantic? The hero rescues the beauty; its yours exclusively. Remember to regroup at Mr. Lus ce before daybreak. Please behave! Now if youll excuse me, Xiaodi is not able to apany you! Raising his arms, like a lightning he soared into the night sky in the direction of the Castles wall. Watching Xu Ziling disappearing into the distant darkness, Kou Zhong sighed helplessly and slid down onto a smaller building. With movements like a swimming fish, his ghost-like figure floated toward the Green Ring Courtyard. The vortex of qi within his body grew and multiplied endlessly, making him appeared to have unlimited supply of explosive power. Evading several teams of patrolling guards, traversing the rock garden, he reached the foot of the courtyard wall. Kou Zhong focused his mind and sent his power to his ears. Immediately an iparably moving world of audio descended into his ears. The swimming fish moving their tails in the pond under the forest of rocks, the dancing leaves in the evening breeze, even any noise within the ten zhang radius around him: the breathing, the coughing; nothing escaped his eardrums. So much so that he startled himself, surprised that he had be more and more formidable. If he could hide within the central zone of the Green Ring Courtyard, wouldnt he be able to use his pair of ears to listen to most of whats happening within the Courtyard? But of course it would not be easy. Not only was Li Xiuning herself a martial art master within the Li n, her intelligent was also surpassed others. Under the current circumstances, she would have deployed her men to form a tight perimeter, which would prevent the enemy from breaking in. And then there were Li Gang and Dou Wei who came with her; both were not easy to deal with. Once a misunderstanding arose, things could go bad real fast. Thinking to this point, since he already had a good grasp of the situation on the other side of the wall, he drafted a n to infiltrate the Courtyard. Chapter 1 - Part 2 Xu Ziling shot toward the city wall like an arrow, the divine escape in his hand shot out, controlled by his internal power, noiselessly grabbing the top of the wall in between two lookout towers, and then at the dead end, out of the line of sight of the guards, he flipped over the wall, and then after loosening up the divine escape, again he noiselessly flipped over the fifteen-zhang city wall, and stuck himself to the wall he slid down to the ground. Taking advantage while the guards attention was focused on the pasture outside the city, he darted along the foot of the wall toward a safe ce where the river was running along the city wall. The stars filled the sky, but the moon was hazy; suddenly a strange feeling welled-up in his heart. A strong feeling of loneliness overwhelmed his heart, as if he was entering an isted world, where he no longer rted to anybody else. The divine escape shot out again, grabbing arge rock on the opposite bank of the river. The vortex of power concentrated at the yongquan acupoint on his right foot, enabling him to shoot to the other side almost parallel to the water surface, greatly reducing the chance of being detected. Without even stopping he entered a sparse forest and ran toward the eastern gorge entrance. He had neither a n nor confidence that he would be able to avoid detection from the guards at the eastern gorge entrance, because by using the flying divine escape, he could easily climb over the steep and dangerous cliff to get to the battlefield outside. Kou Zhong leaped over the wall, the divine escape in his hand shot out like lightning, the w traversed an eight-zhang of empty space and caught the eaves of the building nearby, propelling him toward the roof, where he quickly ducked into the darkness. After listening carefully and making sure he clearly grasped theyout of his surroundings, he slipped down to the ground. Halting and darting, he passed through a small garden and flitted across three buildings, and finally hid under a flowering shrub. Sweeping his eyes around, Kou Zhong found out that he was in right in the heart of the garden, with flowers and trees, a pond, rockery and a pavilion around him; an elegant and serene environment. All the buildings surrounding the garden were brightly lit, and he was able to faintly hear voices from those buildings. Focusing his heart and mind, Kou Zhong listened carefully. Immediately a womans voiceing from the building to his left caught his attention. Just by hearing her voice Kou Zhong immediately recognized that this was the woman whom he trailed secretly the other night; the spy. Deliberately lowering her voice, she said, Princess Ning ought to understand by now, that since Changzhu knows Li Tianfan and is going to have confidential meeting with him in the near future, she is very likely to provide Li Mi with war-horses and equipment. Although Housekeeper and most of the Managers are in strong opposition, their urging is in vain. Kou Zhong shivered in fear; he had a faint feeling that this conspiracy is somehow rted to Li Mi. Because no matter what happened to Li Xiuning, the Li n would naturally suspect that the root cause was the collusion between Shang Xiuxun and Li Mi. If Li Tianfan was Li Mis son, then he must also be Song Yuzhis fianc. This is serious, Li Gangs voice was heard, I wonder if your honorable husband is aware of Madams visit this time? Full of confidence, the woman replied, Of course, it was Laoye who implored Yuaner to seize this opportunity toe and discuss this matter with you, with the hope that our rtionship with your honorable n will not be damaged just because Changzhu is unable to think straight. Kou Zhong praised her in his heart; under these no-conflict circumstances, she was able to make Li Xiunings side at least have some misgivings. Dou Weis deep and heroic voice was heard, This is really strange, because as far as we know, Li Mi is the main culprit who secretly supporting the Four Big Bandits in disrupting the South; why would the Four Big Banditse to attack the Ranch? The woman named Yuaner calmly replied, Laoye has already analyzed this matter; it may be a deliberate diversion. Thats why he repeatedly urged Yuaner to contact you as soon as possible, because most likely this is Changzhus first muddleheaded action under Li Tianfans instigation. Princess Ning, Dou Wei said, No matter what, we must immediately strengthen our defense. He whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille, Li Xiuning replied indifferently, If this matter is really driven by Xun Jie [elder sister], she knows our strength like the back of her hand; we cant guard against her even if we want to. Hearing her voice, there were both love and hatred in Kou Zhongs heart. The beauty was able to disy such cool-headedness under these circumstances, no wonder the Li n entrusted the heavy responsibility of negotiating with Shang Xiuxun to her. Li Xiuning went on, Is it possible for Yuan Jie to notify Da Zongguan [big chief manager] to have a confidential discussion with us? Kou Zhong cheered inwardly; if Li Xiuning saw Shang Zhen, Yuaner cheap trick would be exposed immediately. To his surprise, however, Yuaner readily agreed; she also said, Yuaner will immediately dispatch a messenger to notify Laoye. He is currently in charge of the eastern gorge defense; unless there is a military emergency, there shouldnt be any problem. And then Yuaner took her leave, Li Xiuning, three people personally sent her off. Kou Zhong has more or less understood Yuaners plot. He pondered over whether he should seize this opportunity to hide inside Li Xiunings personal chamber, waiting for her return, and then he could ... hey! Thinking to this point, his heart was burning; forgetting everything else, he shed in. Xu Ziling stood on top of a peak above the steep cliff, overlooking the in extending into the distance outside the mouth of the western gorge. Under this hazy moonlight and star-filled night sky, the winding mountains and rivers appeared to unfold from under his feet. Suddenly Xu Ziling understood Kou Zhongs desire for supremacy over the world. It was the feeling of sovereignty over the world, the feeling of dominion over the mother earth. Someone Kou Zhongs character would never take second ce to anybody. He, Xu Ziling, would not be willing to ept inferior status either, but what he was after was free and easy, unfettered way of life. No one can tie him down. Including Kou Zhong. After helping Kou Zhong getting the Duke Yangs Treasure, he would have aplished his responsibility as a good brother. The meritorious deedpleted, he could retire. At the end of his eyesight, he saw a small hill about three li southwest of the city gate tower at the mouth of the gorge, where human figures were moving about; by his estimate there were at least several hundred people going down the slope of the hill, pouring into the vast prairie between the small hill and the mouth of the gorge. It appeared that these people were pushing toward the Ranch. About five li to the northwest, there was a winding river with nine bends and ten turns traversing the prairie toward the back of that small hill, with dense forest on both sides, from where came the neighs of the horses hidden over there. Between these two ces, there was a small vige built by the river, but he did not see the least bit of lights, neither did he hear any sound of dogs or chicken; obviously all the vigers have fled early on. On this side of the mouth of the gorge, the Flying Horse Ranchs warriors also marched out of the city gate tower, with the imposing manner of soldiers ready for war. Just by looking at the two sides movements, he knew that hard battle was inevitable. Xu Zilings blood was boiling. Like a big bird he soared into the air and jumped down the cliff. Kou Zhong flitted up toward the roof, and immediately crouched down motionless. Dou Weis voice was heard again, Does Princess think that that Yuaner is trustworthy? Li Xiuning sighed and said, How could Shang Xiuxun be that kind of despicable scumbag? But we definitely must be on guard; well decide what to do after we talk with Shang Zhen. Oh! Is there a way for us to examine Yuaners background? Li Gang said, For the time being, we have no way ... He suddenly stopped speaking. While Kou Zhong was pondering why, a clear and bright male voice came from the eaves of the opposite building, Friend, you broke into the Green Ring Courtyard at night; may I ask what brings you here? Kou Zhong jumped in fright. Granted that his attention was focused at eavesdropping Li Xiunings party discussion, but the other side was able toe this close him so quietly; evidently he was a martial art master. And the voice sounded a bit familiar. When he looked up to see, to his astonishment, it was Li Xiunings lover, Chai Shao. Book 10 - 2 – Debut of the Divine Skill Book 10 Chapter 2 C Debut of the Divine Skill Leaving the gorge area, Xu Ziling raised his qi to speed along among the trees, while from time to time shooting the divine escape to alter his angle and direction, as well as to increase his speed, sort of like a kid who had just received a fun new toy, which he enjoyed and loved very much that he could not bear to let it go. He felt as if the Flying Divine Escape has be a part of his body. The nimble and free-flowing true qi was the ingenious link between he and the divine escape, enabling him to manipte it like what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes. It was a little bit like using a long whip; he was even able to use the divine escape to forge ahead in a roundabout way [orig. going round the curves and skirting the corners], so that he was able to go through the forest like a ghost, without any obstruction at all. In fact, he was almost flying freely like a hawk; whenever his toes pushed on the tree trunk or horizontal branches, he would get enough force to propel him forward, so that he was flying across the woods without his feet ever touching the ground. This kind of joyous feeling was indeed the most fresh and exciting experience he ever felt in his entire life. The most wonderful thing was that because he was using the spiraling power, the divine escape automatically spun as it flew toward the target, so that not only it shot faster, the strength also increased tremendously as well. Right this moment, the wind-borne sound of battle was starting to enter his ears, and it was growing more intense by the minute. Recalling that the Four Big Bandits killed and burned everywhere, making themon people live in utter misery, Xu Ziling could not stop righteous indignation from filling his heart, so he flew toward the sound of the fighting at his top speed. By the time Kou Zhong slid down to the ground, sound of the wind sprang up everywhere; he already fell into a heavy siege. Dou Wei and Li Gang blocked his escape route, while fast as lightning Li Xiuning also arrived; together with the two men they formed a triangle, with Kou Zhong in the middle. While Kou Zhong was groaning inwardly, Chai Shaonded by Li Xiunings side. Laughing proudly, he said, Friend came here easy; if you are able to leave easy, will our Li Family have any face to see our Jianghu friends? If Chai Shao was not present, Kou Zhong would have simply revealed his identity and exined the purpose of his visit, and this matter could be resolved. But now that he came face-to-face with his rival in love, unexpectedly an indescribable fire rose up in his heart, no matter what he refused to get away from this situation in such a stupid and cowardly way. Its just that he was caught off guard because he never expected that Chai Shao might hide to protect Li Xiuning in secret. Sound of the wind sprang up everywhere, more than a dozen Li Xiunings personal guards showed themselves up the parapets and between the building and the trees, forming a ring around him so tight that not one drop of water could trickle through. Most had a bow or a crossbow in their hands. Li Xiunings sword was pointing to the vital acupoint on his chest, bursts of chilling sword qi were pressing on him. She spoke coldly, Which side does Sire represent? Qiang! It was only now did Chai Shao pulled a pair of arm-protector steel truncheon, one long, one short, from his back. The long one was approximately three chi, the short one was about a chi and a half; both were glittering gold, extremely dazzling to the eyes. He was moving in such a confident and at ease way, which was pleasant to look at, but at the same time his imposing manner was quite intimidating. Somehow, this has aroused Kou Zhongs eager-to-win, striving-to-excel, strange state of mind even more. Dou Wei was wielding a heavy steel staff, which he held horizontally in front of his chest, practically cutting off Kou Zhongs rear right sides escape path, making people felt like wherever he was going to run to, he would have had to stake everything he had. Li Gang was armed with a pair of sword, but the degree of sharpness of his sword qi was a notch below that of Li Xiunings; hence it could be said that among the four people besieging Kou Zhong, his martial art was the weakest. Before they fought, Kou Zhong was already certain that Chai Shaos martial art was superior to Li Xiunings, because as soon as he appeared, the besiegings pressure immediately multiplied several folds, so that Kou Zhong did not dare to rashly run away. Abruptly sucking in a mouthful of true qi, Kou Zhong pressed down the anxiety in his heart, returning to the moon-in-the-well cid condition. Using the technique taught by Lu Miaozi, he applied his internal energy to tighten up his vocal cords, so that hisughter became sharp and shrill, This time I came blindly here, indeed there is something Id like to tell you. Would Princess Ning be interested to hear? As Li Xiunings eyes met his, her heart was suddenly filled with a familiar feeling. Have we met before? she asked in astonishment. Letting out a cold snort Chai Shao said, If Sire is willing to throw your weapon down and have your hands tied, we would listen to whatever it is you have to say. Remembering Chai Shaos arrogant manners toward him and Xu Ziling with arrogance the other day, and how his expression showed contempt as he looked at the two boys, Kou Zhongs anger red. Especially now that he was standing side-by-side with Li Xiuning in an intimate manner, like they were a couple of talented man and beautiful woman, a match made in heaven, it would be strange indeed if Kou Zhongs heart was not filled with hatred out of jealousy. He was even considering going all-out, breaking with siege with all his strength, no longer care about Li Xiunings affair, to see what kind of ability this kid had that he dared to protect Li Xiuning. Li Gang spoke in heavy voice, If friend is unwilling to have your hands tied and waiting to be captured, dont me the saber and sword for not having any eyes. Kou Zhong sighed and said slowly, I only want to say something, and then Ill leave immediately. Would Princess Ning step aside and talk to me? Dou Weiughed toward the other men and said, This guy thinks that we are just the same as him, an idiot! Hearing that, Li Xiuning and Chai Shao looked at each other andughed. Originally Kou Zhong was going to persuade using all possible arguments to uncover Yuaners conspiracy, but seeing Li Xiuning and Chai Shao looking at each other with lovey-dovey eyes, instantly he threw this thought at the back of his head. Worse yet, he saw Li Xiunings limpid-autumn-water like touching beautiful eyes cast a sincere look full of deep passion; immediately he had a hard-to-understand feeling as if he was being cheated. Ring! As the Moon in the Well left its scabbard, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, If you want to fight, then lets fight! But dont you ever regret it! Li Xiuning and the others immediately felt his forceful, overbearing saber qi; hastily they hastened their own true qi to resist. Chai Shao asked in surprise, Friends skill is out of the ordinary; definitely you are not a nobody in Jianghu. Why until now still insist on being sneaky by not daring to reveal your name and surname? Kou Zhongs sharp gaze fell on Li Xiunings pretty face, which wound around his dreams and pulled away his soul; he said indifferently, Isnt Princess Nings future husband being superfluous? If I can reveal my name and surname, wouldnt I already say it early on? The four peoples countenance changed greatly. It should be noted that presently Chai Shaos identity was kept a secret, because he was tasked to protect Li Xiuning in secret. If Shang Xiuxun found out, the rtionship between the two sides would immediately turn awkward. However, this was not an unresolved matter, they could always exin. The frightening thing was if Kou Zhong were Li Mis man, it would mean that their real strength has been exposed to the enemy. A murderous aura flitted across Li Xiunings pretty eyes; she said coldly, How do you know his identity? Actually, it was tantamount to admitting to Kou Zhong that Chai Shao was her future husband. Although Kou Zhong was already aware of this fact, he still felt as if the pit of his stomach was struck by a thunder, making him so angry that he nearly vomited blood. Smiling wryly, he said, There are a lot of things in this world that are difficult to exin. But I am definitely not rted to either Li Mi or the Ranch. If Princess can be sensible and agree to have an earnest talk with me, I can guarantee a valuable information in return, and then I will immediately leave. Chai Shao shook his pair of long and short arm-protector steel truncheon; murderous aura immediately pervaded the air. Laughing casually, he said, Do you think you can leave that easy? If you dont throw down your saber and surrender immediately, youll see real trouble under my hands! Dou Wei, who was standing at Kou Zhongs side, also shouted, Since you have the guts toe, dont be gutless by wanting to run away. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly; if this moment he changed his mind and introduced himself, it would appear that he was afraid of Chai Shao, which, even if he had to be killed, he would never do. Thereupon he nodded and said, Sword and saber indeed dont have eyes. Gentlemen, please be careful. With a sudden gust of wind Dou Weis heavy staff smashed toward Kou Zhongs head from behind, practically pulling open the curtain of battle. Xu Ziling flew through the sparse forest, and saw outside the forest, torch mes at the prairie illuminate the sky. A group of more than a hundred thieves wearing red band on their heads was besieging a group of twenty or so Ranchs warriors in closebat. Surprisingly he recognized one of the warriors as Luo Fang. On the hilltop at his left, a dozen or so men were standing; other than one man, who presumably was the leader, the rest were wearing red band on their heads, so they were very easy to recognize. Obviously Luo Fang and his men had fallen into disadvantageous position; they fought strenuously in circr formation. In the middle of the circle, seven or eight men were either lying on their backs or on their stomachs; apparently they had received injury and thus lost their strength to continue fighting. On the thieves side, there were quite a number of casualties as well; it was indeed an intense battle. Xu Ziling had no time to think why Luo Fang and his men fell into such perilous situation. He soared to the air and threw himself in the middle of the thieves formation. Before his feet even touched the ground, two men were kicked and died on the spot. Chapter 1 - Part 2 With this sudden change, while the thieves were still unclear of what happened, four more men received his punches and died. Whether it was a kick or a punch, Xu Zilings vortex of hot power shot out freely. The strangest thing was that his victims were not thrown back; rather, they suddenly dropped down to the ground, their faces did not even show any bruise. Two enemies rushed in from the left side, the flickering sabers in their hands matched their loud shout and violent hiss, as they rapidly came to attack. Like a ghost Xu Ziling darted in between the two, his body shed, his shoulders subsequently mmed onto the two. This time, learning from experience, he was using hard, ferocious force. The two mens shoulder bones shattered immediately, the sabers in their hands were spun around and flung to the side, their bodies were thrown toward a dozen or so thief troops that were rushing toward Xu Ziling, so that the enemy ranks were immediately tumbling down in confusion. By this time, he was only about twenty paces or so from Luo Fang and his men. One after another the nearby thieves left Luo Fang and the others to charge toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling sent out a punch across an empty air, the violent vortex of hot energy shot straight toward a man who seemed to be the leader of those dozen or so men charging toward him. Bang! As if he was swept away by a storm or a gigantic wave, his entire body were lifted off the ground, and then like a kite with cut string he crashed onto two of hispanions behind him. The three men rolled on the ground like a gourd, their muscles and bones shattered. The rest of the men had never seen such a powerful long-distance punch like this; they were scared and flew away in all directions. With Xu Ziling diverted most of the enemy, Luo Fang and his mens momentum was greatly boosted; they charged forward that the opponents suffered a crushing defeat, while trying to move toward Xu Ziling. Another group of about forty enemies came to attack Xu Ziling, giving him an enormous pressure. Yet Xu Ziling was by no means cowardly and panicking; his spirit has entered the no-victory, no-defeat, the still-water realm. Amazing things happened. All of a sudden, he was able to clearly grasp the situation of the entire battlefield. That is not to say that he knew every little detail of everything happening; rather, by means of different levels of his vision and hearing, he was able to grasp the variation of whats true and whats false in his surrounding, both near and far, thereby he could determine his advance and retreat. It was an unprecedented feeling. Prior to this, he could only deal with the most critical thing in front of him. But now, even though the enemies were swarming at him from all directions, his perception was extended beyond the crisis he was facing. Not only was he aware that the enemies on the hill were advancing toward him, he was also aware that Luo Fang and his men had again fallen into heavy siege of the regrouping enemies after his attack. Xu Ziling let out a long whistle and soared into the air. When hended, it was precisely by Luo Fangs side, while at the same time he formed a saber with his hand, and fast as lightning swept it across the shing sabers of the thieves, who were raining their attack toward Luo Fang and his men. The man did not even have any chance to evade, so forget about turning back the saber to block. Looking helplessly he was cut by the palm saber at his chest, was thrown back and died. With the same manner Xu Ziling subsequently stepped a dozen times around, immediately the opposite side suffered a crushing defeat and was thrown into a mess. Xu Ziling was able to clearly sense the strong or weak point of every single one of the enemys attack, his countermeasure matched their situation perfectly. It was a very subtle feeling. Just like the limpid water in the well that can reflect anything. On the surface, the opponents in front of him appeared to carry torrential momentum, but in his eyes, there were gaps and ws everywhere. Basically this situation did not even worth him using the Yijian Xinfa. This moment a broadsword came sweeping across, carrying with it a fierce whistling noise; the saber qi was threating, it was the fiercest saber Xu Ziling ever encountered since the battle began. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly. His palm hacked down, it hit the de of the opponents saber, sending the vortex of hot energy toward the enemy. The saber wielder groaned miserably, the saber fell down, his mouth spurted out blood, he staggered and fell back. Apparently this man had quite a status among the bunch of thieves; as the crowd saw that he could not take even one palm strike from Xu Ziling, they were terrified and followed him fleeing in all directions. Xu Ziling forgot that he was in disguise; without thinking he came over to Luo Fang and asked in concern, Are you all right? Luo Fang was astonished, I am all right, he replied, May I know En Gongs [benefactor] honorable surname and great given name? Your kindness in saving our lives, our Flying Horse Ranch will definitely pay you back. Xu Ziling just realized his faux pas. This moment the bunch of thieves had run away one after the other, the Ranchs fighters came over, they all looked at him with grateful eyes. Assuming a bold and uninhibited manner, Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, Rioting thieves and bandits, every single one deserved to be punished. As for my name and who I am, it is not even worth mentioning. It would be best for you to immediately return to your unit, I have not killed enough people. With another longugh he ran toward where the enemys forces were concentrated. As Dou Weis staff was smashing his head from the back, Chai Shao made his move at the same time. Like two streaks of lightning the long and short arm-protector steel truncheons separately shot toward Kou Zhongs face and chest. It was filled with murderous intention, bold and powerful to the extreme, and extremely ruthless. His qi power tightly covered the opponent, so that whether Kou Zhong wanted to strike back or run away, he would have to go all-out first to face this attack. Although Li Gang was one stepte inunching his attack, he also took an unfair advantage by attacking from the side. The pair of swords in his hands swept across Kou Zhongs neck and his waist, with iparable ruthlessness; a move so vicious that people would find it difficult to associate his attack with his usual air of an elegant Confucian schr. Only Li Xiuning took a half step back. The tip of her sword was still exuding sword qi, to prevent Kou Zhong from breaking the siege in that direction, but she did not join the foray. If it were the former Kou Zhong, this moment he would be at a loss to know what to do. Even though he might not necessarily suffer immediate defeat, injury would be hard to avoid. Fortunately, after surviving near death experience with Wanwan, where he reaped profit from a disaster, he learned to develop the vortex of qi, which no one from ancient times had ever learned, his martial art took a step C which could not be imitated, forward, so that it was not just a case of self-improvement by diligent study. This moment, just like swimming fish, he weaved in and out among the siege, and then brandishing his saber in ferocious hack. Swish! Swish! Swish! three consecutive chops, yellow glow filled the air, unexpectedly he hacked Chai Shaos two arm-protector steel truncheons and Dou Weis steel staff. Chai Shao and Dou Weis hearts turned cold. Originally they had ny-percent confidence of their own moves, but under Kou Zhongs fantastic shenfa, they felt as if the opponent was clearly in front of them, but suddenly he turned into a disembodied ghost so that they werepletely off in trying to seize his position. It was a very serious problem. It should be noted that when martial art masters exchanged blows, they must constantly estimate changes and adjust their moves ordingly. On the surface it appeared to be a simple problem, but it really contained a myriad of knowledge. Kou Zhong was able to fully use his fantastic shenfa within about three chi of space, so that the opponents could not correctly predict and determine his position. In other words, it was akin to suddenly lose their target; how could they not be in great shock? Immediately they were at a loss. Under the flourishing yellow glow and the criss-crossing saber qi, Chai Shao and Dou Wei met Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well head-on. Dang! Dang! Dang! With three shocking explosions, like an astonishing cyclone of ice the unmatched fantastic vortex of qi flowed through the point of contact of the saber de and their weapons, and burst into their bodies, straight toward the bottom of their abdomens. The two men had never expected Kou Zhong to be this formidable, their entire bodies, from head to toe, were severely shaken. Chai Shaos power was still two notches above Dou Weis; he only staggered two steps back before managing to steady his footing. With a stifled grunt thetter was jolted backward. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Li Xiuning waved her delicate hand to create a sword pattern pressing down on Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong opened his tiger-eyes wide open, shes of lightning shot out. With unspeakable calmness he casually turned his saber backhandedly to pare between Li Gangs two swords, and then striking up followed by cutting down, Dang! Dang! Li Gang was immediately routed, his pair of swords bounced up and down, so that his line of defense was wide open, while at the same time he felt the opponents hard-to-resist vortex of qi burst in, straight toward his heart and spleen. His soul flew away and scattered, he ran away backward. Donte! Chai Shao shouted, stopping his own men, who were standing outside the arena, from entering the fray, while he shed into Li Gangs position to mend the siege. He coordinated his double arm-protectors with Li Xiunings offensive, his expression looked extremely heavy. Such a formidable foe, he had never imagined it in advance. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Unexpectedly he bent his back and bumped himself against the retreating Dou Wei, not only to temporarily widened the distance so that it would be hard for Li Xiunings sword force to reach him, Chai Shaos attack also fell on empty space. Under this situation, if it were before the battle, Dou Wei would have brandished his staff to block, so that if Kou Zhong did not die, he would definitely suffer serious injury. But presently Dou Wei was making every effort to dissolve Kou Zhongs fantastic qi invading his channels, so that his current power was only about fifty-percent his usual strength, plus he was still oveing the backward momentum of his retreat earlier. Therefore, if he forced himself to fight, other than he did not have any confidence of breaking Kou Zhongs true qi protecting his body, if the opponents back, which was brimming with vortex of qi, crashed onto him, how could he stay alive? In great shock, Dou Wei did not dare show-off; he hastily sidestepped Kou Zhongs body. Actually, Kou Zhong himself did not expect that in these several shes, he was able to take the initiative and full control of the situation, so that advancing he could attack, retreating he could evade; he could not help feeling so pleased. Stop! he shouted. Li Xiuning and Chai Shao were afraid he might take the opportunity to kill either Dou Wei or Li Gang; thereupon they followed his order and held their weapons. Qiang! Kou Zhongs saber went back to its scabbard, but he himself still carried the aura of an unsheathed saber, so that others did not dare to belittle him. His gaze swept the crowd with his awe-inspiring might radiating all around; with his intimidating body shape and expression, which did not match his fake faces smiling expression, he spoke nonchntly, Gentlemen should have known that if I meant harm to the Princess, I would not need to hide the head and show the tail. That being the case, let us all sit down and drink some tea, and have a nice chat! None of Li Xiuning and her men was not stunned. Book 10 - 3 – You Hoodwink Me, I Cheat You Book 10 Chapter 3 C You Hoodwink Me, I Cheat You Xu Ziling squatted by a brook. He washed his hands first, and then scooped the water with his hands and delightedly drank two mouthful of fresh water. The refreshing creek water poured into his throat, greatly rejuvenating his mind and spirit, while not too far away the sound of killing and the hard battle was still heard, and on the other side the hoof beats sounded like a distant rumbling of a thunder. But in that instant everything seemed to be detached from him. The three cuts on his arm, left shoulder and right leg still hurt a little bit, but the cuts were more or less healed; they no longer bled. In his mind he still remembered vividly how under the enemys heavy siege he killed a lot of the enemy leaders. And then using the divine escape he easily got out of the siege by hanging from tree to tree. The thieves forces were clearly more than several thousand strong, plus their martial art masters were as numerous as clouds, so that the Ranchs fighters who met the enemy head-on were repeatedly caught in bitter struggle. Right now, the only way he could help the Flying Horse Ranch to get out of this disaster was to find the location of the Four Big Bandits main force first, and then utilizing gueri warfare he would kill their Commander-in-Chief. In this way he wouldpletely frustrated enemys morale and disrupt their troop disposition. His mind made up, Xu Ziling shot the divine escape and leaped to the top of a towering old tree by the creek, to survey the battlefield situation. Chai Shaoughed coldly and said, If Sire does not die, we will apany you drinking hot tea and chatting! Reaching out to pull Li Xiunings lily-white hand, he quickly withdrew. Watching that, Kou Zhongs heart was burning with anger; he stood nkly on the spot, unaware that Li Gang and Dou Wei had also moved away. Release the arrows! Chai Shao thundered. Amidst the swish, swish! noise, the Li ns warriors on the eaves and in the garden pulled their bows and crossbows and shot arrows toward Kou Zhong. Chai Shao also let go of Li Xiunings hand. Fast as lightning, his two arm-protectors shot toward Kou Zhong, carrying with them an extremely swift and fierce power. Even if he were able to, it would still be very difficult for Kou Zhong to block this well-coordinated salvo of arrows with the Moon in the Well in his hand, to say nothing of he still had to deal with Chai Shaos shooting arm-protector steel truncheons, which were suffused with powerful qi. In that instant Kou Zhong regained his senses and soared straight up to the air just before the arrows prating his body. Li Xiuning cried out tenderly. The moment the arrows, darts and arm-protectors hit an empty space, her body followed her sword, tailing Kou Zhong to the air. The sound of crossbows being reloaded echoed from all directions, indicating the second salvo of arrows was about to beunched. Kou Zhong was unable to borrow more strength; he had nothing in the air he could use as a shield. At the same time he had to deal with Li Xiunings attack from below, while a concentrated arrows mighte any time. Even Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan and martial art masters their caliber would be at a loss to know what to do. Nevertheless Kou Zhong remained calm without any fear. The divine escape in his left hand shot like lightning toward the peak of an old tree on his left. Just before Li Xiunings sword reached him, he changed direction sideways and disappeared into the distant darkness. Watching this, Chai Shao and the others could only stare nkly, but nothing can be done. Raising his qi, Xu Ziling sped along, and stopped only after going over a hill. Many different trees were growing thickly at the foot of the hill, with a small river flowing gently in the middle. Far ahead he saw the small vige that he saw earlier from the top of the cliff. Just now when he was surveying the battlefield situation, he found out that the main force of the thieves scattering in all directions were all centered on this small vige. Feeling strange, he decided toe over to look. Currently the small vige was as quiet as a ghost town, he did not feel anything unusual at all. After a short contemtion, he decided to run down the slope of the hill. But as he almost reached the vige, suddenly an rm went off in his heart; a feeling simr to when he felt someone was watching him from a boat docking by Yangtze River outside the city of Baling. He could not help feeling surprised. Could it be that someone was hiding inside the house over there? From time to time the sound of battle was still resounding from all directions, reminding him that the battle was still raging, and it was growing in intensity. After taking a deep breath, filled with great confidence, Xu Ziling walked over to the gate of the biggest and tallest house in the vige. Reaching out, he knocked the door three times. Creak! The wooden door opened to the inside, while a sword swiftly and fiercely stabbed onto his chest. This sword strike was not simple at all. It looked like just one strike, but it actually contained endless attacking attribute and countless changes and follow-up moves. The most formidable aspect was that while the tip of the sword was vibrating and shaking, it sent out seven, eight sword qi in session, Chi! Chi! continuously, enveloping all the vital acupoints around Xu Zilings chest and abdomen with suffocating power. Xu Ziling had a feeling like the one he had when he was confronting Yang Xuyan, plus because he was in the open while the enemy was hidden, temporarily his eyes were filled with dots of sword tip, and his breathing could not flow freely. When it looked like he was about to be injured by the sword, Xu Zilings slender hands suddenly shot up in front of his chest, his ten fingers opened up like a blooming flower, each finger carried a subtle change, and each moved gracefully beyond belief in different angle, to meet the sword tip in such a narrow space. Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang! Amidst the continuous sweet sound like tinkling pearls on a jade tray, Xu Ziling neutralized the opponents swift and fierce sword move while standing steadfastly, without moving a single step. Bang! The door closed again. But Xu Ziling was able to see the sword wielder was none other than Shang Xiuxun wearing tight warrior outfit. Although he felt strange on why Shang Xiuxun was not in the battlefield leading her troops but stayed here instead, but Xu Ziling was relieved because this beautiful Ranch Master was still safe and sound. While he was about to raise his voice to call, thunderous sound of hoof beats came from both ends of the vige. Xu Zilings mind was churning at the speed of light; he flew back, leaped onto the roof of the building across the street, andy prostrate motionless, calmly waiting for the uing change. Leaving the Green Ring Courtyard, Kou Zhong leaped onto the top of a bell tower. He felt like crying, both from grieving and bitterness of his heart, which were extremely unbearable. Previously he thought that he could get over Li Xiuning easily, but when he saw Li Xiuning obediently let Chai Shao pulled her tender lily-white hand, Kou Zhong realized what important ce she upied in his heart. Since she already had Chai Shao protecting the flower, why would she bother minding him, an outsider? A breeze came, rippling the pond water, distorting the image of what was at the bottom of the pond. Kou Zhong sighed. He made up his mind to no longer pay attention to Li Xiuning, as he flew toward the Castles wall. Apparently he decided to vent up his heartache and grievances on those hapless low-ss bandits. The hoof beats stopped suddenly. The two groups of riders stopped at the entrances to the vige and jumped down their horses. Most of them spread out to guard the exits, while only about twenty people boldly entered the vige. From his high vantage point, Xu Ziling looked down and saw that other than four men wearing white bands on their heads holding torches high above their heads, the rest of the people all dressed differently. All carried the air of martial art masters. Apparently they were the leaders of the thieves. The four men taking the lead looked even more distinct. Most likely they were the Four Big Bandits, who ran amuck the Yangtze River region, whose terrifying names spread out in all directions. Their age appeared to range between thirty and forty years. Xu Ziling could not help shuddering in fear, while thinking inwardly that no wonder Shang Xiuxun was hiding in here. Because of intelligence failure, they thought the iing enemy was only one team several thousand strong, while the fact was that the Four Big Bandits were going on an all-out attack, with the objective of seizing the Flying Horse Ranch in one move. The strange thing was that in this time of turmoil and chaos of war, how did the Four Big Bandits obtain such a great magical power and find out that Shang Xiuxun was hiding in here? The bandits stopped in the middle of the vige. One of the four leadersughed aloud and said, I am Xiang Batian; Jianghu friends who love to joke bestowed me the title not even a de of grass grows as my nickname; all because they dont understand me at all. The fact is that I am a man who loves and cherishes flowers; if Shang Changzhu dont believe me, just try giving yourself to me for three days, I guarantee that you will be able to correct the notion of the gravely-mistaken people all over the world. The other thieves immediately roared inughter; aughter brimming with obscene overtone. Xiang Batians profile and outward appearance really made others did not dare to give apliment. He was a fat man, short in stature. Not only his body was short, his limbs were also sort and stubby. He had a pot belly, and a t, gourd-shaped head that looked like it grew out directly from his fat shoulders. But his eyes, which were so narrow that he appeared to be eternally squinting, were gleaming with demonical, unusual blue shes, so that people would know that not only he was an expert in internal martial art, the path he took was that of the heretical school of martial arts. In his hands he was holding a pair of flickering silvery light steel rings with sharp teeth on the edges, strengthening the impression that he was a dangerous and mysterious person. Nobody knew how many people had died under his Soul-snatching Tooth Ring. Chapter 3 - Part 2 Xu Ziling, who was lying low on the back of the roof slope, suddenly felt an overwhelming and intense murderous intention, which he himself did not understand. Upon further reflection, he realized that it was because of the verbal insults were directed to Shang Xiuxun. Standing next to Xiang Batian was a thick and solid, sturdy man, with a criss-crossing pair of wolf-teeth clubs on his back, the flesh on his face grew without restraint, and a big wart grew on his forehead, which made him appeared uglier. The manughed wildly and said, Changzhu recklessly went out to battle, your defeat is guaranteed. But if you are willing to give yourself to serve us, to be ourpanion in bed, naturally everything can be discussed. His talk was even more obscene. The thieves roared in lewdughter again, filled with arrogance. Xu Ziling suddenly remembered that spy. If there were no spies ying their tricks, how could the thieves know Shang Xiuxuns whereabouts? They would not know the Flying Horse Ranchs strength, and thus the Ranch would not take such a beating in such a short period of time. However, as long as the Ranch was able to steadily defend the mouth of the gorge on both sides, they still could not be considered lost. Another bandit leaderughed eerily and said, One bed onepanion. Fang Sandis [third (younger) brother] proposal is amazing. Its just that Shang Changzhu is a virgin; even if in her heart she is a thousand times, then thousand times willing, but in the presence of so many people, naturally her tender face is blushing bashfully, so she is speechless! Dont you think my, Mao Zaos perception on womens heart is thorough enough? This persons figure was tall and thin, a picture of a bad demon schr; he had a pair of double apostrophe thin moustache above his lips [orig. eight character () shaped], and a horsetail whisk stuck on his back. His attire was nondescript [lit. neither fish nor fowl]. Just by a single nce one would have been able to guess that he must be the scorched earth for a thousand li Mao Zao, who ranked second among the Four Big Bandits. The one who spoke earlier, the man with a wart on his forehead, the one he called the third brother, must be the chicken and dogs wont remain, Fang Jianding. The one Xu Ziling paid particr attention to was the only one who had not spoken yet, who ought to be the leader of the Four Big Bandits, the ghosts weep the deities cry, Cao Yinglong. This person looked majestic; he had a pair of big catching-the-wind ears, his forehead was covered in deep wrinkles, his cheekbones high, his cheeks sunken, his eyes appeared half-open half-closed, giving others deep impression. But his overall appearance was not as loathsome as the other three; he appeared a bit like an old pedant who does not like to talk. In his left hand he held a spear forged entirely from refined steel; it appeared to weigh at least forty or fifty catties. Ding! Xiang Batian raised both hands up and struck his pair of Soul-snatching Tooth Ring, creating a clear and crisp sound. The dozen or so of his men standing behind him immediately fanned out to do house-to-house search. Some even leaped onto the roof to act as a lookout. For the next few moments, the continuous sound of doors breaking and windows shattering was heard. The murderous intention in Xu Zilings heart was rising as he quietly gathered his power. With the aid of the divine escape, Kou Zhong dove through the Inner Castle, flying over the houses and leaped over the buildings, in the direction of the outer city wall. As he was passing the courtyard where he caught sight of Yuaner and that outside ghosts tryst the other night, he had an idea and turned toward it. He faintly heard voices from the building, but saw nontern light. Kou Zhong crouched low in the courtyard. After going through a fierce battle of conflicting thoughts within himself, he still could not bear to let it go. Leaping onto a tree by the house, he looked in through the window. From this angle, he was able to see Yuaners lover [lit. male adulterer] from the other night and another man sitting on the chairs by the window, facing other people, who were out of his line of sight. But listening to the conversation, he determined that there were no less than ten people in that room. With the lesson he learnedst time, Kou Zhong knew that the lovers skill was quite outstanding, so he hastily employed the inner breathing from the Secret to Long Life, while at the same time suppressing the brilliance of his eyes. He heard someone said, The most brilliant aspect of our entire operation this time is the coordinated attack from the inside and the outside, and thus catching them off-guard. Moreover, with Gongzi [young master] personally presiding over it in secret, we need not worry that the Flying Horse Ranch will not fall into our hands. The loverughed aloud and said, Chen Laoshi [lit. teacher] ought to stop ttering me. I, Li Tianfan, am merely a small fry who waves the banner and cheers from the side. The one holding themand g is Shen Junshi [military strategist/advisor]. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb instantly; it was only then did he realize the seriousness of the situation. Military Advisor Shen was, naturally, Shen Luoyan. Li Tianfan was Li Mis son, also Song Yuzhis betrothed. Just the fact that these two people were sitting in this meeting was a strong and powerful indicator that Li Mi did not spare any effort to seize the Flying Horse Ranch and deal with Li Xiuning at the same time. Sure enough, Shen Luoyans warbling sweet voice came from inside, Gongzi is too modest! Luoyan is ashamed and dare not ept the honor. Right now its only the hai hour [between 9-11pm], Shang Xiuxun has be the fish in Cao Mengzhus [alliance master/leader], we should also hear news from the Inner Castle. Li Tianfan sneered and said, Shang Xiuxun has always been a lone flower admiring itself; she has no regards toward the people of the world. In terms of ability and wisdom, how could she match Shen Junshi? While we still have a bit of time, it would be best if Shen Junshi could give us more details on our coordinated operation. This man struck the right note, proving the adage that tiger father would not begot dog child; apparently he was a very capable leader. Kou Zhong was seriously considering killing this son; if he seeded, wouldnt Song Yuzhis engagement be annulled immediately? Or else, if Li Mi seeded in capturing Luoyang, Song Yuzhi would have to immediately marry into the Li family. He already lost Li Xiuning; if Song Yuzhi was married to someone else, and the Song n and Li Mi became family, it would be a big blow to Kou Zhong, both in his public, as well as his private lives. Thinking to this point, his heart was boiling, but his mind was still as cold as ice. The most important thing right now was to get a feel of the strength of these people inside. Just one Shen Luoyan was already difficult to deal with, not to mention Li Tianfan, who was even more formidable. If he was not careful, he might even lose his life here. Ay! If only Xiao Ling were here. Now he only wanted to be the knight in shining armor [orig. hero who rescues the beauty]. If he by any chance could win her heart, nothing could be more ideal than that. Bang! The wooden door burst open. A man burst into the house where Shang Xiuxun was hiding. Xu Ziling was storing up his power and waited. The moment the Four Big Bandits made some unusual move toward Shang Xiuxun, that would be the moment he would also make his move. The Four Big Bandits looked shocked as they turned to look at both the front and rear doors of the house. Not because they heard any particr noise, but because there was no sound from the inside, not even footsteps. This did not make any sense at all. The man who entered the house was not an ordinary fighter. Even if the entire Flying Horse Ranch was inside the house, they could not possibly subdue him in just one move. Xu Ziling was surprised as well; he forgot to make his move. Cao Yinglong, who thus far has not spoken yet, suddenly said coldly, Men! Smash the whole house to pieces for me! The crowd of bandits behind him thundered their acknowledgement and moved out immediately. The martial art masters among the bandits, who were standing guard on the surrounding roofs, also had their attention focused in this ce. They all held their torches high, so that the entire vige was aglow. Fang Jianding shouted harshly as he stepped out from among the crowd. Storming up the stone steps, with both palms he struck the wall next to the door. At first the wall did not show anything unusual, but then the eaves above started to shake like in an earthquake, followed by the entire wall started to crumble and ruptured inward, slightly exposing the situation inside the hall, before it got covered by copsing roof, the broken tiles and the rising dust. The crowd of bandits broke in thunderous cheers and swarmed toward the house like a pack of hungry beasts sniffing the blood of their prey. Witnessing Fang Jiandings formidable palms, Xu Ziling thought that if he was using the pair of wolf-teeth clubs on his back, it would definitely a total annihtion [orig. sweeping away a thousand armies]. But this has aroused his fighting spirit even more. This moment he heard gusts of wind from the building to his left. The martial art masters on the bandits side were swarming toward his hiding ce. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Momentarily putting aside his intention of killing the bandits leaders, his gaze quickly scanned his surroundings, near and far, trying to find a new hiding ce. In a side garden of a house just outside the range of the torches light, he saw a small brick structure C approximately two zhang square C that looked like a shed where people put their junks. Quickly sliding down the roof, he went to hide in there. The wooden door opened easily. Before he was able to see anything clearly, he heard a soft rumble of mechanism from the underground. But because of the incessant noise outside from the houseing down, the other noise was kind of drowned, so that he would not have to worry that the people outside would hear it. Xu Ziling quickly closed the door. As expected, the room was filled with misceneous farming tools, but the middle of the room was empty. A b of floor slowly sank down, exposing a dark and deep tunnel underneath. Xu Ziling immediately remembered Lu Miaozi, the number one master craftsman under the heavens. Shen Luoyan was about to speak when a bird cry was heard from a roof on a distance. Li Tianfan immediately said, Li Xiuning has fallen into the trap, everything proceeds as nned. Kou Zhong knew that they received the signal Yuaner transmitted from the Inner Castle; he could not help smiling wryly inwardly. Could he really ignore Li Xiunings safety? Let alone this matter had direct rtion to his endeavor for hegemony over thend under the heavens! Book 10 - 4 – Display of Prowess Book 10 Chapter 4 C Disy of Prowess Xu Ziling leaped onto the beam and hid himself in the little space between the beam and the roof, suppressing the refined qi within his body, while activating his inner breathing, and quietly waiting for what would happen below him. The noise from the copsing wall was still continuing. Xu Ziling saw eight people came out of the tunnel in single file. Bang! He knew that the building outside waspletely gone. But naturally the bandits outside could not find anybody inside, because Shang Xiuxun had moved her troops over here. The Third Manager Tao Shushengs voice was heard below, I wonder what is Liu Zhishi doing? Howe he has not arrived to lend us a hand? Shut up! Shang Xiuxun coldly snapped, Liu Zhishi and his troops must avoid the enemys main force toe here ording to our n. This ruse to mislead the enemy is not working. Who told us to miscalcte the enemys strength? Now we have no room to advance or to retreat. Someonesing! Big Sister Fus voice was heard. Everybody hastily held their breath and calmed their qi. Outside, the sound of broken doors and shattered windows was still resounding. Xu Ziling peeked down, and saw the eight people have divided themselves into four groups, with each group looking out from one window on each side of the building. Shang Xiuxun and Big Sister Fu were standing behind one window, Tao Shusheng upied one window alone, the other five people appeared to be Shang Xiuxuns personal guards. Xu Ziling could imagine that Shang Xiuxuns troops must have fallen into an ambush, and this group of people must have fought their way out of the siege while protecting Shang Xiuxun, and reached this small vige, which was designed by Lu Miaozi, from which they sent out a signal to Liu Zongdao to lead his troops over here to rescue them. Who would have thought that for some unknown reason, the Four Big Bandits had clear information of their whereabouts and personally pursued them? And now they were trapped in this predicament. Tao Shusheng suddenly turned his head around to look at the other people. After making sure that everybodys eyes were focused on the outside, his right hand swiftly reached into his pocket and took out something. When he started to move his hand to throw that thing outside, Xu Ziling no longer care about anything, he shouted in low voice, Stop it! The eight people inside the shed were greatly shaken; they all looked up to the beam. Tao Shusheng hastily put that thing back inside his pocket without anybody noticing. Shang Xiuxun and the others knew very well that there was someone up there, but they did not dare to make any noise. Xu Ziling stuck out his head and called out softly, I am absolutely not with the thieves, and I dont have any ill-intention. I aming down now! Shang Xiuxun was indeed a capable Commander-in-Chief. She knew this mysterious persons power was definitely not inferior to hers; even more, his internal energy was iparably strange, if she had to fight with him, they would only rm the bandits. Thereupon she waved her people to make some room to show him her good faith. Xu Ziling slid down along the pir. But before his feet touched the ground, Tao Shusheng rushed one step forward and stretched out his finger to jab on his chest. The finger created a loud swishing noise. Shang Xiuxun wanted to stop him, but it was toote. Xu Ziling knew that Tao Shusheng was afraid he might expose him as the traitor; letting out a coldugh, unexpectedly he let Tao Shushengs fingertips jabbing on his chest, but fast as lightning his right palm shot out. Tao Shusheng was greatly delighted, thinking that even if you have your true qi protecting your body, it would be hard to resist my fierce finger power. Who would have thought that as soon as his finger touched Xu Zilings skin and he was about to send out his power, a burst of strange and iparably hot true qi had already prated his own body via his fingertip, straight toward the meridians in his hand? Not only it neutralized and scattered his own true qi, it still had enough power to burst into his channels. Tao Shushengs entire body shook; while his soul flew away and scattered, Xu Zilings right palm changed from pping to sweeping, it swept his lower abdomen. Tao Shusheng slumped down immediately, but Xu Ziling quickly grabbed his belt and gently set him down on the ground. Originally, he thought that at least he would have to use eight to ten moves, but had never expected that there was such a strange powerful qi in the world that he would seed as soon as he and the enemy met face-to-face. Including Shang Xiuxun, everybody was dumbstruck. Nobody expected that based on Tao Shushengs power, he would be this easy to be subdued by the opponent. Fortunately, this man did not seem to bear any evil intention and only sealed Tao Shushengs acupoint to make him temporarily lose consciousness. Shang Xiuxun raised her sword and pointed to this majestic looking man, brimming with wild and free charms. Who the hell are you? she shouted coldly. Focusing his power in his ears, Xu Ziling listened carefully for any activity near and far; he knew that the bandits have temporarily moved their troops elsewhere to search, hence he heaved a sigh of relief. Looking deep into Shang Xiuxuns beautiful eyes, he assumed a heroic, uninhibited manners as he said nonchntly, Just now your humble servant blindly spoke out and rmed everybody. Does Changzhu know the reason? Shang Xiuxun coldly sized him up and down several times; she also looked at Tao Shusheng who was lying on his back under his feet. She spoke indifferently, If friend wont state your identity clearly first, we can forget about having a civil conversation. Xu Ziling stepped back to where Tao Shusheng was originally standing. He said, As soon as Changzhu sends someone to search your respected subordinates pocket, you will understand what I am talking about! Startled, Shang Xiuxun stared at him for a moment. Her pretty eyes shooting sharp gleams, she said in heavy voice, Is friend saying that he is the traitor? Just by hearing this, Xu Ziling knew that she has already had doubt, but she merely did not dare to affirm that he was indeed the traitor! Because this month happened to be the month where it was Tao Shushengs turn to assume the heavy responsibility of intelligence gathering. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Just now I saw him about to throw something like fireworks or res out of the window. Huh! Someonesing! The sound of something splitting the air suddenly arose in all directions. Open country by the pasture at the mouth of the gorge. Kou Zhong was hiding on a tree, focusing his attention on Li Tianfan, Shen Luoyan, and the others, a total of fifteen peoples activities. Looking at those wearing the Ranchs uniform, he saw one whose body shape, as well as appearance, looked a lot like the old man Shang Zhen. He even dressed like Shang Zhen, so that unless one was very familiar with Shang Zhen and was scrutinizing him at close distance, one would not be able to tell that this old man was a fake. Otherwise it would be very easy to pass off fish eyes for pearls [i.e. fake from the genuine]. This moment the man was lifting up his tobo pipe and puffing smoke like swallowing clouds and blowing out fog; even Kou Zhong was very impressed. The other people were dressed as Shang Zhens personal guards. To Li Xiuning and those outsiders, especially with Yuaner covering up on the side, it would be strange indeed if they were not deceived. The most formidable part of this scheme was that Li Xiuning was lured away from the Castle, plus although Li Xiuning had the power, she could not bring arge number of her men to go to a meeting. If the fake Shang Zhen plus Li Tianfan, Shen Luoyan and their numerous martial art masters rose together in rebellion, their chance of sess would be quite high. The one posing as Shang Zhen was actually the one they called Teacher Chen. In terms of martial art skill, he was second only to Li Tianfan and Shen Luoyan. In addition, there was also a thirty-something man surnamed Bai and a thin man called Ma Fang, who seemed to be the martial art experts within this group. The former had double axes on his back, while thetter had a sword hanging from his waist. The other dozen or so men appeared to be between twenty and twenty-five years old, and all of them had protruding taiyang acupoint [on the temples]. Just by looking at their skill in climbing the mountain and scaling the ridges while they stole into the pasture, it was clear that these people were not ordinary fighters. Shen Luoyan looked cold and detached; it looked like she lost a bit of weight, but was still very beautiful. She wore a hat to conceal her long hair, and was dressed in a mans clothes, which increased her attractiveness. From time to time there was the sound of horse neighing breaking the tranquility of the pasture. Right now all the Ranch people were concentrated on both entrances to the gorge and in the Castle, the pasture was left with only about a dozen guards, which was akin to leaving it unguarded at all. Plus this ce was part of sparse forest near the eastern gorge, and it was veryte at night with only the hazy moon and dim stars providing illumination. If anything should happen here, nobody would know. The entire plot was so perfect [orig. seamless heavenly clothes]. The only w was Kou Zhong. Shen Luoyan was still briefing her men on the timing and the method of their operation when Li Xiuning arrived. Kou Zhong applied more power to his eyes and looked at the direction of the Green Ring Courtyard. He saw seven [sic] figures appeared at the edge of the sparse forest. Li Gang and Dou Wei took the lead, followed by Li Xiuning and Yuaner in the middle, and Chai Shao and another young martial art master closing the rear; they quickly came near. Kou Zhong had a thought; he quietly slid down the tree. Chapter 4 - Part 2 Shang Xiuxuns countenance changed, Into the tunnel! she ordered, while her palm pressed on Big Sister Fus back, pushing her beloved maid to enter the tunnel first. The others hurriedly followed. Grabbing Tao Shushengs belt, Shang Xiuxun hesitated a moment. And then she turned to Xu Ziling and said, Friend, get down! Xu Ziling smiled slightly and said, Ill stay to deal with the enemy. Changzhu, dont forget to close the entrance. Shang Xiuxun was grabbing Tao Shusheng and jumping into the tunnel; hearing him, she looked at him in shock. By the time the two sets of eyes met, the door shattered and someone charged in, brandishing his saber. Xu Ziling shouted loudly and with all his strength concentrated on his fist, he sent out a punch over the empty space. Bang! Unexpectedly, the man was unable to withstand at all and was thrown back with his body, along with his saber, spun like a windmill, knocking down five or six bandits who were following behind him; all had their bones broken and their viscera shattered. No survivor. And thus the power of the fist was proven. Watching this, Shang Xiuxun was dumbstruck. It was not until Xu Ziling urged her again that she went down the tunnel and closed the entrance. Two windows on the left and right shattered at the same time, two spears shot in like the tongue of a viper. Xu Ziling waited until he heard the sound of the tunnel door closing, and then his hands spread out to the left and right to grab the two spears; shook and broke them. Brought by their own momentum, the two spear-wielders stumbled toward him. Xu Ziling pulled his hands back. Using his elbows he struck left and right toward the two mens chests. They spurted fresh blood and fell to the ground. Without even looking, Xu Ziling proceeded by throwing the two broken spears backwards and hit a man who had just leaping in through the window right on his chest. The man fell onto the window frame without uttering any noise, the upper part of his body was knocked out of the window that he was hanging face up on the window will, he died a horrifying and bizarre death. Outside the building suddenly fell silent, except for the crackling noise of the torches, and nobody else dared to charge inside. Suddenly Cao Yinglong thundered from the outside, Shang Xiuxun, if you have guts, get out andpete real skill with the ol Cao. Apparently Xu Zilings blitzkrieg method has provoked his ferocious character. A ten-thousand-zhang heroic feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart; heughed aloud as he walked out the door leisurely with his hands behind his back. Tangled bodiesy outside the building, dead bodies in all odd conditions that were difficult to describe. Led by Cao Yinglong, the Four Big Bandits were standing in a row, while their men spread out in crescent moon formation behind them, while all kinds of weapons, spears, bows and arrows, sabers, axes, swords andnces, flickering incessantly under the torches light, with thick murderous aura filling the air, plus more than a hundred pair of eyes, all focused on Xu Ziling. When the crowd of bandits saw the one walking out was not Shang Xiuxun, they were all stunned. Who are you? the not even a de of grass grows Xiang Batian roared. Xu Ziling calmly replied, Who I am, you are not even worthy to ask! The crowd of bandits roared in anger; more than a dozen arrows were immediately shot toward him. The two groups slowly came toward each other. Li Xiuning was also a prudent and cautious person; she slowed down and stopped at approximately three zhang from the fake Shang Zhen and the others. Raising her cupped fist, she greeted, Housekeeper, how are you? The fake Shang Zhen took a step forward and led the others to return the courtesy. He said, These are all my trusted subordinates who have been with me for many years. Princess Ning may set your heart at ease. This man could even imitate Shang Zhens voice with seventy, eighty-percent simrity. Added to that, he was speaking in low voice, so that anybody who was not familiar with him would find it hard to tell the difference. Li Xiuning cast a sidelong nce toward Yuaner first before saying, Xiuning apologizes for pulling back Housekeeper from your duty at the eastern gorge. Why didnt you all ride instead of walk? The fake Shang Zhen putting an air of sighing and said, Naturally its to conceal our movements from the enemy. Ay! Huh? Footsteps were heard from behind Li Xiunings group. Both groups turned to look in astonishment. They heard someone yelled, Princess! Sorry, I am done [the word here refers to relieving oneself] now! It feels good! Li Xiunings delicate body shook severely, because she recognized Kou Zhongs voice. Under everybodys watchful eyes, a full-bearded man with boorish appearance and a nose like a hawk, appeared from among the trees, rushing over, while rubbing his hand over his tummy, skipping and leaping. Chai Shao and the others knew this guy was formidable, their countenance changed; but as they were about to pull their weapon out, Li Xiuning signaled them to stop. I said you dont need toe, she called out in tender voice, Why didnt you obey me? Kou Zhong nodded. Changing his voice, he said, Princess, dont be angry! Princess, dont be angry! On the other side, the fake Shang Zhen, Li Tianfan, Shen Luoyan and the others were watching with knitted eyebrows; they were all confused. With Li Xiunings respectable status, how could her subordinate be that rude by saying relieving himself right in front of her? Kou Zhong acted as if he did not see Li Xiuning; swaying to the left and swaggering to the right, he walked over under Chai Shao and the others angry re toward the space between the two groups. Clearing his throat, he said, Princess, please forgive me, let Xiaoren do the introduction first, hey! Pointing to Li Tianfan, who was standing behind the fake Shang Zhen, he spoke as if he was reciting a poetry, This is Li Tianfan Gongzi, the Wagang Forts Duke Mis only son. Li Xiuning and the others countenance immediately changed greatly. In a sh Kou Zhong was already standing by Yuaner; with hee, hee, ha, ha he said, And this pretty madam is Housekeeper Zhens new concubine; her former status, however, was Li Gongzis wom ... Ah! Knowing her identity was exposed, Yuaner could not stay calm anymore; she reached inside her sleeve and pulled out a poisonous dagger, with which she stabbed Kou Zhong and Li Xiuning. As soon as Kou Zhong exposed Li Tianfans identity, Li Xiuning was already on guard against Yuaner. With a tender humph her green-jade sleeve swept across the stabbing tip of the dagger. Kou Zhong pretended to be horrified and jumped back to evade, while shouting and yelling, Murder! Murder! and rushed toward the fake Shang Zhen. Seeing Kou Zhong was no longer there to stop her, Yuaner pulled her dagger away from Li Xiunings sleeve. She was just about to leap back when Chai Shao noiselessly pressed his finger onto her back. Yuaner immediately slumped down to the ground. Ignoring the fake Shang Zhen and his mens murderous look, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This gentlemen who impersonate the Housekeeper is called Chen Laoshi, as for his great name ... humph! A young man standing next to Li Tianfan was unable to hold back; he rushed forward while brandishing his saber to hack Kou Zhongs left shoulder. His saber technique was swift and precise. Ring! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard. Everybody was stunned with the yellow glows sudden appearance; but before they could see clearly what it was, Dang! the attacker and his saber were flying backward in swirling motion. Even afternding on the ground, he was still rolling away for a zhang or so, and stopped only after crashing against a tree, and died on the spot. Such an overbearing and fantastic saber power, nobody had ever seen it before. Those in Li Tianfans side who wanted to make their move immediately changed their mind. Acting as if he had done nothing unusual, Kou Zhong nonchntly put the saber back into its scabbard as he stepped over toward Shen Luoyan, who was standing on the other side of the fake Shang Zhen. But before he said anything, Shen Luoyan already spoke coldly, Stop dressing up as a god, ying the devil. Where is your good Xiongdi? Kou Zhong leaned over; with a brazen face he said, He is afraid of you, hence he is hiding! Everybody in Li Tianfans side was stunned; they had never expected that these two people were old acquaintances. But they could not remember which formidable Wulin figures had appearance like he did. Shen Luoyans beautiful eyes exuded a singrlyplex expression; she said softly, Tell him toe out and kill me! Kou Zhong backed off andughed aloud, Who will have the heart to kill Shen Junshi whose beauty captivating even the birds and beasts? [Orig. chen (shen) yu luo yan - fish sink, goose alights, an idiom from Zhuangzi, which was a y of words on Shen Luoyans name.] Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard again. Kou Zhong straightened up his back; immediately an overbearing aura of total annihtion [sweeping a thousand armies] filled the air. He sternly shouted, Other than Shen Junshi, nobody will be spared! The cold light from his eyes shrouded Li Tianfan. The Moon in the Well shed out, its power fierce and strong beyondpare, yet it also carried a swift and nimble, fantastic feeling with it. The spiraling power enveloped the entire battlefield. Li Xiunings charming body trembled lightly, knowing deep in her heart that she would never forget Kou Zhongs overbearing and moving spirit in front of her eyes. Stealing a nce toward Chai Shao, who was standing by her side, she saw his frightened look as he fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong. Her fragrant heart could not help feeling slightly guilty. Book 10 - 5 – The Actual Life and Death Situation Book 10 Chapter 5 C The Actual Life and Death Situation Xu Ziling pushed the ground with his toes; he soared to the sky to evade the arrows raining down on him. Makin a somersault in the air, he was aiming at the Four Big Bandits, when one of the four bandits, the scorched earth for a thousand li Mao Zao roared and leaped into the air in an angle, like an artillery shell he shot toward Xu Ziling with both palms extended out. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly, because this attack saved him from receiving the second round of arrows. At the same time he felt the air around him became as cols as ice and snow. His qi spiraled violently, boosting his already strong will to fight. Seizing this opportunity, both his legs shot out, the tip of his toes happened to hit the hollow of the opponents palms. Mao Zaos tall and thin body was shaken violently for a moment; not only his powerful palm strength was dispersed out of the palms, part of it even burst back into his body and scattered inside his channels, which caused him unbearable pain. What happened was that Xu Zilings kicks were imbued with extremely strange power, one light the other heavy. The light one was so soft that not only Mao Zaos right palm was unable to send out his qi, like gossamer the opponents true qi bored into the hollow of his palm, and dashed through into his inner organs. The heavy one was solid and violent beyondprehension, like an unceasingly spinning drill boring into the hollow of his palm, so that his palm suddenly felt burning, and his true qi was like a rock sshing into the water and dissipated in all directions. In all his life, Mao Zao has killed people like scything x, and gone through countless battles, big and small, but he had never met such a strange and formidable true qi before. Letting out a muffled groan he applied the thousand-catty fall and dropped down to the ground. Seeing Mao Zao suffered a big defeat, the chicken and dogs wont remain, Fang Jianding was afraid Xu Ziling might followed up the victory and pressed home the attack, he drew the pair of wolf-teeth clubs, each weighed more than a hundred catties, from his back. His huge figure rolled diagonally, he quickly came above Xu Ziling. His wolf-teeth clubs danced to createyers uponyers of clubs shadows, swift and fierce beyondpare shooting down toward Xu Ziling. The not even a de of grass grows Shang Batians short and stout body dashed out from below to take Mao Zaos position. His two steel-tooth ring flew around at an angle from left and right, their target was Xu Zilings nks, who was still about a zhang away from the ground. During their flight, the steel rings created a strange high-pitch noise, carrying with it a threatening force. Other than Cao Yinglong, who stood motionlessly with his head raised high, the rest of the bandits were also closing in toward the three people in fierce battle, formingyers uponyers of heavy siege. As he followed Mao Zao closely as he dropped suddenly to the ground, Xu Ziling took a sudden breath of true qi, and then turning his body around, and kicked with both legs to the middle of Fang Jiandings clubs shadows. Without missing a single hairsbreadth he kicked right at the wolf-teeth clubs, while at the same time his palms pushed down on an empty air, sending out two streams of spiraling-wildly qi, to attack Mai Zhaos thin back. Cao Yinglong, who was about a zhang away, was shocked. Anxiously he leaped up; with his palms faced down, he swept across in cutting movement. The two sweeps of sharp qi did not attack Xu Ziling, but cutting at Xu Zilings palm force attacking Mao Zao. Tchok! Tchok! Xu Zilings toes hit the wolf-teeth clubs. The vortex of qi burst via the clubs and pushed Fang Jiandings true qi back into his body. Not only Fang Jianding could not continue on to the next change of his attack, his footwork was greatly disturbed as well, forcing him to borrow the momentum to fly backward to evade. He could not help but was horrified and greatly shaken; how could such a powerful martial art master suddenly appear like this? The falling down Mao Zao also felt the vortex of qi pressing down on him; realizing the situation was bad, he struggled hard to press down the surging qi inside his own meridians, as well as spurting out a mouthful of blood to lessen the pressure. His right palm pressed down toward the ground, his real qi spat out, he borrowed the reaction force to roll his body in the air, with the hope that he could evade these two palms that were about to take his little life. Bang! Bang! Like muffled explosion Xu Zilings palm power met Cao Yinglongs palm wind, which although startedst, but arrived first. And thus his momentum was greatly reduced, while his entire body flew backward. It was then did he know the reason Cao Yinglong was able to be the head of the Four Big Bandits; his power indeed far surpassed the other three Big Bandits. Cao Yinglong himself was not any better; his entire body was severely shaken, he staggered back two steps, and cried inwardly, how formidable! Because Xiang Batians soul-snatching tooth-rings were linked with a fine thread, he was able to control the rings by transmitting his true qi via the thread. The two rings changed direction, like shadows following the shapes the rings followed Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling let out a long whistle and fast as lightning he dropped straight to the ground to evade the flying rings. Lances, spears, sabers and axes immediately swarmed in from all directions. Xu Ziling knew that if he did not seize this opportunity, taking advantage while Mao Zao has not recovered his qi and joined the fight, he would not have the second opportunity tonight. The image of Kou Zhongs big head suddenly shed in his mind, wishing that he were here with him. Having that thought, Xu Ziling threw himself crouching on the grass in the courtyard, both legs sweeping wildly to four directions like a wheel, while the flying divine escape noiselessly shot out like lightning through the gap between the enemies legs. The gods was not aware, the ghosts did not perceive, the w shot toward Mao Zaos right ankle, who at this time was just about to bounce up after hended on the ground. Seeing Xu Ziling was surrounded by a dozen or so martial art masters of their side, Xiang Batian and Fang Jianding thought that exhausting the enemys strength first might not be a bad idea; thereupon they waited outside the formation, while catching up their breath and restoring their energy. On the other side, Cao Yinglong slowly approached the battle arena, holding a spear in each hand. With every step he took he created an indentation on the ground about three cun deep, indicating that he was continuously amassing his energy. By the time Mao Zao was leaping up, his strength had already been more or less recovered; the murderous intent in his heart was ring. He was thinking of taking revenge and erasing the humiliation when suddenly a severe pain shot up from his right ankle, straight toward his heart and spleen. In his shock he looked down, only to see an exquisitely made steel w, as if it was a living devil hand, was embedding its five fingers deep into his flesh. Not only that, it also carried a powerful pulling force. Mao Zao was so scared that his three immortal souls and seven mortal forms [a Taoism concept] have gone for the most part. Hastily he lowered himself in a horse stance and sent his strength to his right leg to resist the pull. On that side, Xu Ziling had just kicked two bandits on the pit of their stomachs. Seeing Mao Zhao fell into his trap, he sent his strength to pull. And then taking advantage of Mao Zaos own reaction force, his entire body shot like an arrow toward Mao Zao, who was still about three zhang away, sticking close to the ground between the crowd of thieves legs. Not only those who were bumped by him had their bones broken and their flesh rent, the weaponsing down at him were hitting an empty space as well. Such strange move ought to be the first since the history of the martial art world. While Cao Yinglong, Shang Batian, Fang Jianding and the crowd of bandits were still at a loss of this shocking move, Xu Ziling consecutively knocked down seven, eight men. Like an artillery shell he shot until he was about half a zhang in front of Mao Zao. Mao Zao knew it was a critical moment. Although all around him were the brothers from his side, he felt as if he was standing alone between the heaven and the earth, and could only rely on himself in everything. The horsetail whisk on his back, with which he ran amuck in the world, suddenly appeared in his hand. He was just about to sweep away when the steel w on his ankle suddenly produced five streams of spiraling energy attacking his heart and his veins. Although Mao Zao managed to sweep his horsetail whisk, since he was using at least eighty-percent of his true qi to deal with the enemys power from his leg creeping up toward his body, his own power was greatly diminished. Xu Zilings left palm strike changed direction; it turned upward at an oblique angle. In the eyes of the spectators, who were unable to see clearly, it looked like the two were brushing past each other at high speed. Mao Zao let out an earth-shattering scream, his entire body was thrown sideways, and his horsetail whisk was flung to the ground. Until now, Cao Yinglong and the others were still unclear on how Xu Ziling managed to get out of the siege, and how he could ovee Mao Zao that easily. Overwhelmed with shock, they pounced toward Xu Ziling. When it looked like Xu Ziling was about to fall into another siege, he suddenly changed direction sideways. By using the divine escape, which was still attached to Mao Zaos dead body, he suddenly traversed sideways along the ground, so that Cao Yinglong, who was extremely powerful, also had to pounce on empty air. Xu Zilingughed aloud; adeptly pulling back the divine escape, he leaped onto a thick branch protruding horizontally from a big tree. He knew that if he did not leave now, he would not need to bother to leave at all. While he was about to shoot the divine escape out, he heard a tender shout. Looking down in surprise, he saw Shang Xiuxun, alone, was charging out of the small building, attacking the crowd of bandits that they suffered a crushing defeat, with blood sshed everywhere. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. After examining the three bleeding wounds on his own body, without the slightest hesitation he shot down toward Shang Xiuxun. One side had imposing manner like a rainbow, the other side had their plot fell through and stood exposed, fearful and timid due to their guilty conscience. This side was growing, that side was declining; it was indeed aparison of heaven and earth, or cloud and mud. Added to that was Kou Zhongs first taste of the vortex of qis astonishing power. Too bad that due to the limitation of present circumstances, he could find any worthy opponent to test the full power of his saber. But this moment murderous intent was growing in his heart, and he wanted to kill Li Tianfan, so that the political marriage between the Song n and the Wagang Army would die and thus ended all his troubles, while at the same time it would break Li Mis heart. One stone to kill three birds. His imposing manner soared; for the time being nothing could match it. The Moon in the Well swept across the air. Although it was an extremely simple saber strike, coupled with his swimming-fish shenfa, it was like the flight trajectory of a bird, or the swimming path of a fish; there was no trace. Rolling, whirling, surging saber qi followed the saber shooting toward Li Tianfan first. Li Tianfan has mastered Li Mis skill. These past several years he had been following his father in fighting in one ce after another all over the world [reminder: tian xia, i.e. China], his realbat experience was iparably vast, but it was the very first time that he had to deal with such a formidable saber. By the time he saw yellow glow arriving, the opponents long saber was already in front of his head, hidden in it was an overbearing qi that he would not be able to resist. Upon self-inspection, he realized that even if he had several sabers, it would still be very difficult to block. Thereupon, he thundered, Attack! while he himself leaped backward to evade. Chapter 5 - Part 2 The one on his left was the Great General under Shen Luoyansmand, Chen Tianyue, who impersonated Shang Zhen, a martial art master from Hua Shan Pai [Mount Hua in Shaanxi]. Hearing themand, together with a young martial art master on Li Tianfans other side, Xia Xinquan, one sword and one saber, they intercepted from left and right, one shed upward the other stabbed downward, with the intention of giving Kou Zhong difficulty in dealing with it. In terms of strategy, they were doing the proper thing, simply because anybody could see that Kou Zhongs saber strike some kind of un-retractable overbearing momentum, so that it was impossible to meet the saber de head-on. Everybody at Li Xiunings side pulled their weapons and thronged forward to prevent the enemy from forming a siege against Kou Zhong. Kou Zhongughed aloud; like a swimming fish he shed in between the two enemies, unexpectedly Chen Tianyue and Xia Xinquans sword and saber fell on an empty space, while their bodies were brushing close to each other. It was precisely this cun or so distance that decided their fate. Like lightning shes the yellow glow struck. Xia Xinquans power was at least two notches below Chen Tianyue. He was the first to be hit by the saber, so that he spun and staggered back, his blood sshed. Even he himself was not clear which part of his body was hit, due to the speed of the saber. Chen Tianyue now had to face Kou Zhong alone. By this time, Li Tianfan, Shen Luoyan, and the others were retreating outwards. While he was in shock and was about to dodge out as well, Kou Zhongs saber qi had already enveloped his entire body. The Moon in the Well sometimes appeared another time disappeared in front of his eyes; the changes were indeterminate. Clenching his teeth, he focused all his energy, and shed out with his sword. Ever since his debut, this was the first time that he was unable to grasp the changes in the opponents moves, and was forced to brandish his sword blindly. Dang! Dang! Dang! Chen Tianyue continuously changed his direction three times, while also continuously backing off before he was able to neutralize Kou Zhongs one saber strike. Kou Zhong was cheering inwardly, but his saber was still relentless. The Moon in the Well fantastically filled the air with its yellow light, like howling wind and torrential rain it stormed toward the pasting and gasping Chen Tianyue. This moment Li Xiuning and the others also arrived. Shen Luoyan and Li Tianfan exchanged nces; they knew that their plot tonight haspletely fallen through and stood exposed, plus they were totally under the enemys control. If they did not seize this opportunity to escape, they could forget about staying alive. Thereupon with a loud shout they quickly flew away. Chen Tianyues miserable scream was heard from behind. When Li Tianfan and Shen Luoyan looked back, they only saw Li Xiuning and the others chasing them like the wind, but Kou Zhong had disappeared. Xu Ziling flew down at an angle like a big bird toward Shang Xiuxun. Xiang Batian and Fang Jianding immediately soared to the sky to intercept. Cao Yinglongs spear merged with his body into one entity as he charged toward Shang Xiuxun, bing a blur of spear shadow, with awe-inspiring momentum. His thought was that if he managed to separate the two, and strike them one by one, even though they had lost Mao Zao, it would still worth the price. This moment Shang Xiuxun was busy facing the three long sabers and two long spears that attacked wildly from all directions, so that momentarily she had to change from offense to defense. Seeing Cao Yinglonging to attack, she knew the situation was not good; hurriedly she focused her attention and gave her all. Her left hand unleashing her exquisite and outstanding technique, she grabbed a spear being thrust toward her nk. Exerting a sudden force, thump! the bandit wielding the spear immediately fell sitting down on the ground, with blood flowed out of his eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Without making any noise he fell face up and gave up his ghost. Applying a sucking force onto the sword in her right hand, she led the man wielding a saber who was meeting her face-to-face, toward the spear thrusting at her from behind. With a miserable cry the spear pierced his chest and thru his body. At the same time she flew backward; not only to evade the other two sabers, but also to make the spear wielders behind her to kill their own men. In his confused state of mind, plus he was unable to hold back his spear, a saber wildly struck the vital point on the pit of his stomach. The man was thrown backward. Shang Xiuxun abruptly charged forward, the sword in her hand turned into thousands of sword shadows, two saber-wielders were nearly hit at the same time, and thus ended the bandits effort to besiege her. Meanwhile Cao Yinglong had just flown above her. Seeing her brilliant swordsmanship, he knew that they would not be able to capture her alive, so he put all his strength into his spear to strike. The violent qi was suffocating that the crowd of bandits had to move back, opening up arge area of open space. Bang! Bang! continuous shes rang as Xu Ziling relentlessly exchanged blows with Xiang Batians pair of rings and Fang Jiandings pair of wolf-teeth clubs. Although he had the advantage of downward momentum, the force from the two mensbined assault was enough to jolt him that his mouth spurted blood, even a small piece of skin and flesh from his right leg was gashed by the wolf-teeth mace in Fang Jiandings right hand. However, the two Big Bandits had also suffered quite a setback. Xu Zilings fantastic technique and his spiraling energy pressed them down that they were unable to unleash their follow-up move, and their bodies were spun sideways and were thrown to the ground, in such a sorry state. On the other side, Cao Yinglong was striking down from the air, each spear strike was fast beyond humanprehension, yet each one also carried a sh of change, swift and powerful without equal, unceasingly taking advantage of each spear-sword impact force to propel himself halfway back into the air, before using the thousand-catty fall to drop back down; hence he was always upying advantageous position. Being the Ranch Master of Flying Horse Ranch, all along Shang Xiuxun wascking Cao Yinglongs rich realbat experience; it was only now did she realize that she had fallen into his evil schemes. Not only she had to deal Cao Yinglongs full weight, she had also cope with unending volleys of arrows and secret projectiles from four sides, eight directions. As one can well imagine, she was struggling with everything she had, and very soon she already suffered not a few injuries. While her fragrant sweats were dripping profusely, Xu Ziling arrived. Cao Yinglong was aghast; he had never expected his hurricane-like offensive still failed to put this delicately pretty beauty in order. While maintaining his attack in disregard of minor injuries he suffered, a strong vortex of qi stormed at him from above. Cao Yinglong groaned inwardly. Raising a mouthful of true qi, he turned from smart to clumsy, and soared to the air, brandishing his spear to meet Xu Zilings fist head-on. A bizarre thing happened: Xu Zilings own body was unexpectedly spinning faster and faster, so that by the time the fist and the spear met, Xu Zilings body had turned into a rapidly spinning shadow. Watching this, the hundred or so bandits in the battlefield were bbergasted. Cao Yinglong had no choice; the power of his entire body had been concentrated on the tip of his spear, so he might as well shoot it out toward Xu Zilings fist. Boom! Two streams of qi collided, violent explosion spread out everywhere, forcing everybody to back away. Cao Yinglong did not feel like he was hit by a solid object, rather, it was a huge, unequalled rapid vortex of energy with sharp edges, which rolled around his own true qi and forced it back into his body. He was an outstanding character after all; throwing his body sideways, he rolled over while spewing a mouthful of fresh blood before he was able to disperse the opponents extremely strange qi energy. Chapter 5 - Part 3 Xu Zilings condition was just slightly better than his. Stopping the spin, he had to spurt out the second mouthful of blood; but then he took advantage of the impact force to turn around and leap to Shang Xiuxuns side. After staggering a few steps he was able to steady his footstep. Cao Yinglong dropped down on his butt on the ground, rolled about a zhang away, and only then was he able to spring up. Idiots! he roared, Why havent you attack? Like having a rude awakening the crowd of bandits swarmed toward Xu Ziling and Shang Xiuxun. Once again the ear-splitting battle cry filled the air. Kou Zhong was sitting on a rock high on the cliff above. Removing his mask, he fixed his eyes on the two figures, which, by this time, had just reached the edge of the mountain. Because he had trailed Li Tianfan before, he was able to use this shortcut to beat him by reaching this ce one step ahead and waited for his honorable arrival here. In his heart, he had neither anxiety nor delight; his feeling was cold and detached that even he himself did not understand. He could not just kill indiscriminately, but he could not turn a blind eye toward the enemy either. After finding out that Li Tianfan was Li Mis son, he already made up his mind not to let him go back alive to see Li Mi. But all along he still had a feeling toward Shen Luoyan; it was hard for him to ruthlessly destroy the flower. Outside Baling County that day, he even let the Mermaid You Qiuyan go, much less Shen Luoyan! Under the moonlight, Li Tianfan and Shen Luoyan were approaching rapidly. They started with more than ten people and now they became only two people; evidently in order to pursue and attack Li Xiuning, they had paid a bitter price. It was also obvious that Li Tianfan and Shen Luoyan were selfish people, who did not hesitate to sacrifice their subordinates lives in exchange of their chance to escape. If they were not solely preupied with escaping, it would not be that easy for Li Xiuning, Chai Shao and the others to subdue their men. The two people eventually detected his presence; they halted in shock. Raising the Moon in the Well, Kou Zhong leaped down, and stood at the peak of the slope to block their way. You think its that easy to leave? he said with a coldugh. Li Tianfans eyes shed with a deep cold murderous intent; ring viciously at him, he said, Wheres your partner? Shen Luoyans beautiful eyes suddenly exuded a red-hot expression, but it disappeared just as quick. Kou Zhong sneered and said, To deal with you, this kid, me, one person, is more than enough. Others are experts in both literature and martial art, but you are an expert in hiding and fleeing, plus very adept in easily abandoning your subordinates. You are really unworthy to be Li Mis son. Li Tianfanughed indifferently and said, Do you want to arouse my anger? Its not that easy. No need to waste too much words, make your move, lets see your real skill! Kou Zhong saw Shen Luoyan pulled the soul-snatching hairpin from her hair, but did not see Li Tianfan producing any weapon. Inwardly he was quite astonished; could it be that just like Xu Ziling, this guy also loved to use his fists and legs? But this moment he had no time to think. Taking a step forward, he pointed to the two using his Moon in the Well, sending out a powerful saber qi. Li Tianfan let out a coldugh. Not allowing Kou Zhong to amass his momentum, he flipped his two hands to reveal a pair of short des approximately two chi long each. One shed upward the other stabbed downward, his technique was vicious and harsh to the extreme. Laughing, he said, The right is called shooting the sun, the left is called moonshine; they can cut gold and pare jade. Kou Xiong better be careful! Seeing that even though he verbally abused Li Tianfan, yet he was still able to maintain his elegant demeanor, Kou Zhongs heart shivered in fear. The Moon in the Well swept swiftly; relying on the weight, length and the sharpness of the weapon, he tried to gain the upper hand first. Yellow glow suddenly red out. Its power was definitely unstoppable; the violent saber qi hacked down on Li Tianfans clothes fluttering in the breeze. Li Tianfan did not show the least bit sign of fear; rising to the challenge, he fought a fierce hand-to-handbat with Kou Zhong. The sound of weapons shing was ringing incessantly. Surprisingly, Shen Luoyan was simply watching with folded arms, as if she had full confidence on Li Tianfans ability. In a sh, Kou Zhong, using the extremely agile swimming fish shenfa, sessively sent out a dozen or so swift saber strikes toward Li Tianfan from different angles; a very intense offensive so that from attacking, Li Tianfan was forced to take defensive stance, the all-out attack became dodging and evading. But Li Tianfans shooting the sun and the moonshine, two des, were moving with borate and exquisite changes. On top of that, his footwork was fantastic. Every time Kou Zhongs saber cked off a little bit, immediately he adopted counterattack style, forcing Kou Zhong to strenuously maintain his offensive momentum. It was only now did Kou Zhong know that Li Tianfan was indeed not a dog child [from idiom: tiger father would not begot dog child]. Shen Luoyan ring like a tiger watching its prey on the side also posed a great threat to him. Kou Zhong remembered Lu Miaozis Escaping One principle, but in reality he still did not know how to use it. All he could do right now was sending his vortex of qi via his Moon in the Well, which turned into streak after streak of yellow lightning constantly striking Li Tianfan. From the beginning Li Tianfan did not stop retreating, the sabers circle was getting narrower and narrower. When it looked like his blood was about to ssh under Kou Zhongs saber, suddenly he abandoned his de and stretched out his arm to block. Kou Zhong was greatly surprised; he thought that the opponent should not be so desperate to risk his life like this. Hurriedly he reduced his power by thirty-percent. It was at this moment that Shen Luoyan made her move. The Soul-snatching Hairpin swiftly lunged toward Kou Zhongs open right nk. Her shenfa was as quick as a demon. Dang! The Moon in the Well struck Li Tianfans right arm, creating a loud metal-to-metal shing noise. Kou Zhong realized that Li Tianfan must be wearing some kind or magical armor on his arms. He knew he had fallen into disadvantageous position; also, he knew now why Shen Luoyan picked this right moment tounch her attack. Hastily he dodged sideway. Li Tianfanughed aloud; his des momentum changed fast. Relying on his arms, which were impervious to the enemys sharp weapon, he unleashed a series of violent attacking moves to prate the opponents defense, entering every crack and loophole in Kou Zhongs saber momentum. Shen Luoyan repeatedly let out her tender shouts, as she continuously circled around Kou Zhong,unching surprise attacks each time she saw an opening. Kou Zhong has lost his advantage. Were it not for the opponents had to spend considerable strength to deal with his vortex of true qi, perhaps he would have been defeated early on. Realizing the disadvantageous situation, Kou Zhong let out a longugh, and suddenly retreated toward the top of the slope, while at the same time his saber hacked down an empty air. This saber strike was actually in ordance with the Yijian Technique. Li Tianfan and Shen Luoyan realized suddenly that this one saber strike actually sealed up all spaces from which they couldunch their attacks, so that any sessive move they were nning could not be unleashed. Overwhelmed with shock, the two people backed off. Revealing a bright, sunny smile, Kou Zhong put his saber back into its scabbard and spoke amiably as if he was addressing his old friends, Enough ying today, please say hello to Duke Mi on Xiaodis behalf. And then after another loudughter, he winked at Shen Luoyan, and flew away. After being shaken by Kou Zhongs like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies saber strikes, unexpectedly Li and Shen, two people did not dare to restart the battle. With their backs and hips pressed up against each other, Xu Ziling and Shang Xiuxun dealt with wave after wave of attacks from four sides, eight directions. A strange feeling that they were of the same flesh and blood started to develop in two peoples hearts. Dead bodies were scattered all around them, the number of cuts and wounds on their bodies was also growing more and more. Cao Yinglong, Xiang Batian and Fang Jianding, three Big Bandits were standing on the eaves. From their vantage point they directed their subordinates in continuous offensive against the two people under siege below. Suddenly the sound of battle cry sprang up everywhere from the southeast direction, and rapidly approaching. Cao Yinglong stomped his feet, his countenance changed. What kind of trick is this? he said, Howe we know nothing until they arrived here? Fang Jianding roared; he was about to rush down to deal with Xu Ziling, two people, when Cao Yinglong pulled him back and shouted, Small neglect may breed great mischief, we retreat immediately. Book 10 - 6 – The First Drop of Tear Book 10 Chapter 6 C The First Drop of Tear Crack! Boom! Bang! Bang! The sound of exploding firecrackers in the courtyard, mixed with the boisterous sound of shouting, cheering and apuding, woke Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling up from their slumber. Kou Zhong sprang up from the bed, ran to the window, looked out and called, Xiao Ling,e quick! The firecrackers are better than the ones at Yangzhao piers during New Years celebration! Xu Ziling let out a moan; he turned around and went back to sleep, ignoring himpletely. Kou Zhong came back and sat on the bed; he sighed and said, I have already advised you; if only you listened to me, we would joined hands to deal with Li Tianfans plot, and then go find the Four Big Bandits to give them trouble. You would not have to suffer eighteen wounds, big and small! Xu Zilingughed in spite of himself, Since when did you pick the habit of taking joy in cmity and delight in disaster? he said. As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong calmly said, Sincest night, when you abandoned me, a pitiful orphan. Tell me, whos the one causing a lot of trouble? Xu Ziling sat up cross-legged on the bed; he said indifferently, You should be grateful to me. Otherwise, how could you be this high-spirited? Oh! No! You should be fuming mad! The two boys red at each other hatefully, and then turned their heads around to avoid each others eyes. But the two boys could not bear to stay mad at each other for long. Very soon both burst out inughter. The difference was that there were tears in the midst of Xu Zilingsughter, because his wounds have not healedpletely. Catching his breath, Kou Zhou said with augh, Actually, I have fallen into your evil scheme: Li Xiuning is yours, Zhong Shao ought to go be the hero who saves the beauty. Would that Shen Luoyan be considered mine? Other than you, Xu Shifu, who would be the best hero to reprimand the beauty? Xu Ziling reached out to gently stroke his big head and said, Out ancestors said: between the heaven and the earth, nobody does not belong. Li Xiuning is definitely your escaping one; its not appropriate for any outsider to meddle. I was that good to you, yet you have the impertinence to me me. Besides, great spread out is numbered fifty; forty is used, nine remains. If we exclude Li Xiuning, the escaping one, who could say for sure that beautiful Junshi is not included in that number? Who could say for sure that she does not belong to you? Kou Zhong asked in amazement, Howe Ling Shaos mood is much better today? As soon as you woke up, you are like the little bird in the springtime that sings continuously. Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, If you think Shang Xiuxun would have any regard toward me, the Daxia [chivalrous hero] with saber scar ofst night, then I can tell you that you have a crazy thought! When I left, she did not even know whats my surname and whats my given name. Speaking to this point, he could not help recalling the feeling when he and the beauty stood with backs and hips pressed against each other as they deal with the enemy. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Its useless for you to say anything now; lets just wait and see whos right! Ha! There was a knock on the door. Xiao Juan called out from the other side of the door, Other than you, two fellows, the entire Ranch are ready to express good wishes and celebrate the victory; you are not out yet? Just by listening to her tone, which was unlike before where she shouted and berated the two boys, they knew that she was carried away with excitement. The two boys looked at each other, they could see the delight in each others eyes. If they could make Xiao Juan, this adorable girl, this happy, then all the hard work and pain they sufferedst night was worth it. The two boys were of humble origin; therefore, they had special affection and a feeling of camaraderie with lowly people such as maids, servants, and the like. Without waiting for their response, Xiao Juan continued her shouting outside, Quickly get up, wash up and change your clothes. The troops returning in triumph will be back in the city soon, we must wee them outside the city gate! Nujia must go now! After sister Xiao Juan left, Kou Zhong knitted his brows and said, I really do not dare to think: our victory inst nights battle was not easy, I dont know how many people sacrificed their lives? What do you say, how would Shang Xiuxun deal with Tao Shusheng and Yuaner, that pair of spies? Xu Ziling mused, These two are people with some status; Tao Shusheng even holds a very important position. Shang Xiuxun will have a very big headache in dealing with this, it could even implicate a lot of other people. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, I hope this matter will upy enough of beautiful Changzhus mind, because if she stays idle, she might suspect us. We simply have too many things that she ought to be suspicious! Xu Ziling sighed and said, One day dy is better than nothing. My wounds wont bepletely healed and leave no scar before three, four days. Kou Zhong pulled him out of bed and said, Then what are we waiting for? Right now it is crucial for us to buy some time and hope that Li Xiuning would understand the situation and be a bit more discreet in concealing our identity, so that we can learn some exquisite skills from Lu Miaozi. That day Shang Xiuxun and Liu Zongdao did not return to the city with the troops. The one leading the procession was the Housekeeper Shang Zhen. Obviously he has not been informed yet about Yuaner; while receiving the des of the people lining up the streets, he looked so proud. For those who came back to the city, their most important task was to take care of the wounded soldiers and the remains of those who sacrificed their lives. So it could be imagined the intensity of the battle outside, as they were still in ruthless pursuit of the defeated troops of the Four Big Bandits. By dusk that night, the two boys groped their way toward Lu Miaozis small two-story building. This number one craftsman under the heavens was surprisingly in a very high spirit. Pointing to the pair of divine escape ws on the round table, he asked, Are these things working? The two boys wholeheartedly and sincerely nodded their heads, while their mouths uttered incessant praise. Lu Miaoziughed aloud and said, I did not expect Ziling to be able to get rid of one Big Bandit using this trinket. The two of you were able to turn the Ranchs defeat into victory; otherwise, the consequences would be simply unthinkable. In thest thirty years, I have never been as happy as today. Finished speaking, he picked up the pair of divine escapes from the table; shaking his hand, he threw them out the window, into the abyss under the cliff. The two boys were stunned. Lu Miaozi spoke casually, I dont want you to repeat my disastrous policy. If you are used to depending on this gadget, dont think that you will make a cun of advancement in your qinggong. Although in the beginning you will have some conveniences, in the end the gains do not make up for the losses. Do you understand? Albeit begrudgingly, the two boys understood Lu Miaozis good intention; they both nodded their heads. Lu Miaozi cast his nce toward the beautiful scenery under the setting sun outside the window, the scenery that recalled past memories. With a wistful sigh he said, There is a subtle and inalienable rtion between time and life, just like the alternating night and day, just like the elusive life itself, so that the heart is distracted, and it is difficult to be oneself. Just like sess and failure, which is only a fleeting matter, and not an impassable chasm at all. In the end, a pile of yellow dirt will bury all those sesses and failures. You are still young, it might be very difficult for you to understand what I said. But in the end there wille a day when you will have the same perception that I have. Beyond victory, there might be defeat. The two are the different sides of the same coin. The two boys listened with a frown on their foreheads as they ponder over it deeply. Lu Miaozis expression showed that he was reminiscing of the past. He said gently, In all my life, I only fell in love with two half-women. Tell me now, dont you think that was a strange remark? Kou Zhong said, One of the half women must be Empress Yin, Zhu Yuyan. I wonder whatplicated and confusing rtion did Mister have with her? Lu Miaoziughed and said, Kid, you are very practical. As soon as you see any opportunity, you wanted to know the details about Yin Gui Pai. Kou Zhong unashamedly said, This kid just want to obtain justice for Mister. Lu Miaozi nodded and said, That was the main reason why I am holding the two of you in such a high regard; if we cannot deal any harm to that witch, even in my death Laofu will not be able to close my eyes. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Mister, please set your heart at ease, we have already had some enmities with Yin Gui Pai. Thereupon, with I spoke one sentence you narrate one word, he and Kou Zhong told Lu Miaozi their story. When they narrated how Wanwan was able to make her body appear without the slightest bit of qi in her meridians, Lu Miaozi showed a serious, deep-in-thought expression. Finally Kou Zhong said proudly, And now that demon [or beautiful woman, see Book 8 Chapter 10; also in subsequent paragraphs] must be thinking that our souls are roaming theherworld. You cheated me, I deceived you; how fun! Lu Miaozi pondered deeply for half a day; finally he spoke solemnly, From what you told me, this demon has received Zhu Yuyans personal instruction, and has be the next person after Zhu Yuyan within the Yin Gui Pai to master the Tian Mo Gong [celestial devil skill]. Xu Ziling asked out of curiosity, Is Tian Mo Gong difficult to train? Kou Zhong mused, There must be at least three people who had mastered it; otherwise, who handed down the Tian Mo Gong? pping the table, Lu Miaozi said, Well said. But the first one who unlocked the Celestial Devil Secret was not Yin Gui Pai people, his background was even more unfathomable, unlike Ci Hang Jing Zhais [see Book 1 Chapter 7] Sword Canon, which was founded by a Buddhist nun. As if he had just gained a sudden understanding, Xu Ziling remarked, That Celestial Devil Secret is a bit like Secret to Long Life. Although there were people of the sessive generations who managed to cultivate it, but nobody can really be immortals; including the two of us. Delighted, Lu Miaozi said, Speaking with you, I can save a lot of time. Celestial Devil Secret, the Sword Canon, the Secret to Long Life and the enigmatic War God Catalog put together are known as the Four Masterpieces of the Ancient and Modern times. Each book contains secrets about life and the universe throughout all ages. How could they be that easy to unlock? War God Catalog? the two boys asked in unison. Chapter 6 - Part 2 Lu Miaozi said, That is probably the most elusive among the Four Masterpieces. Although subsequent generations have orally passed on the legend about this book, nobody has ever seen it for real. I am not too clear on the details myself, so dont ask me. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Supposing Zhu Yuyan and Wanwan really mastered the Tian Mo Gong, who, other than Ci Hang Jing Zhai people, could possibly match them? Lu Miaozi said tly, You, two boys. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other; they were dumbstruck. Quite a whileter Kou Zhong grabbed his head and said, I was just identally training a little bit. The fact is that I dont understand one word of those undecipherable strange characters in the Secret. Hey! Can it be considered I have mastered it? Lu Miaozi burst outughing, The Secret to Long Life was passed on from generation to generation, and I dont know how many people have trained it, but no one has ever learned any martial art out of it. You did. Whether it was idental or the right ce at the right time, that is the fact. Moreover, just by looking at the fact that Wanwan tried to harm you but failed to kill you, I can tell that the entric martial art from the Secret to Long Life is able to contend against the Tian Mo Gong; otherwise, I would suggest that you two find a hole to hide, and never again appear in Jianghu. And then, he rubbed his hands excitedly and said, All right! Enough chatting, lets go back to the topic at hand. Are you interested in learning more about Yin Gui Pai? It was only close to daybreak that the two boys returned to their lodging. Sleeping less than three sichen, Lan Gu already came to wake them up. But this time she came with good intention: she had arranged new residence for them. It was in the Senior Shifu living quarters at the kitchen courtyard, located at the southern side of the Flying Horse prairie. Altogether there were four separate buildings. The two boys original expectation was merely that each of them would have a decent room, but beyond their expectation, Lan Gu actually took them to the doorstep of one of the buildings and said, This house has a front hall with bedrooms at the rear. Other than public baths, everything else is avable. The house has been swept clean. You may bring your stuff and move in immediately! It was the very first time that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a house all for themselves; a peculiar feeling welled up in their hearts. Lan Gu was unusually pleasant toward them; she said, These past few days everybody was busy. Wait till Liang Fu Guanjia [deputy housekeeper] has a bit more time, I will ask for a maid for you to better serve your amodation. And then, beaming with smile, she said, Since you are from our kitchen courtyard, when you have a chance to see Changzhu, dont forget to say a few good words on our kitchens behalf. It suddenly dawned on the two boys that since they have be Changzhus favorites and were often called to see her, this woman was trying to curry favor from them. Lan Gu also said, Princess Nings party sent someone to let me know that when you have time today, go to their ce. She really enjoyed the cakes you made for her the other day! By dusk that day, after moving their belongings, which could not be called simple anymore, to the rooms they selected, the two boys returned to the spacious front hall and sat down. Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs and said with a sigh, Now this is what I call power. Even if the kitchen is like this, were it not for Shang Xiuxun treating us favorably, we would still be piling up and being squeezed into that narrow nest. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Li Xiuning is looking for you, why dont you go to see her? Casting him a sidelong nce, Kou Zhong said, One lifetime, two brothers. You cant possibly let me going alone miserably to see her, can you? Xu Ziling could not helpughing; he said, You think Li Xiuning is extremely dangerous [orig. severe floods and fierce beasts]? The one she wishes to see is you, not Zaixia. You think I am that na?ve? Ha! Please forgive Xiaodi for not able to help however much Id like to! Kou Zhong sprang up and started to sing, The wind came whistling over the cold water, once the warrior leaves ... Ha! I am not going to say any ominous words! You want me to go, then Ill go! Seeing Kou Zhong left excitedly, Xu Ziling was amused; he sprawledfortably on his chair, and turned his gaze toward the garden outside the window. His mind went back to their discussion with Lu Miaozi the previous night. This number one craftsman under the heavens was definitely very experienced and knowledgeable, erudite and multi-talented. He had read ten-thousand scrolls of books, and he had walked ten-thousand li of road, so the benefit they derived from him was not shallow. Because he was not an ordinary person, oftentimes his conduct came as a surprise, which was puzzling to everybody else. Suddenly his sixth sense picked up something, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching. Almost immediately the image of Luo Fang appeared in Xu Zilings mind, which surprised him to no end. How did he recognize Luo Fangs footsteps without deliberately trying to? How did he automatically know it was Luo Fang just by the sound of his footsteps? Right this moment, Luo Fang stepped over the door in high spirits; he called out, You must congratte me, I am now a Fu Zhishi [deputy manager]! Kou Zhong walked past the stone forest, and reported the purpose of his visit to the Li ns guards. Soon afterwards he was sat in the side hall where Li Xiuning was talking to Yuaner the other night, and the guard withdrew. Kou Zhong waited in bewilderment; leaving the chair, he looked out the window. A pair of beautiful butterflies was frolicking among the cluster of flowers, chasing each other. From the inner hall, Li Xiunings footsteps wereing closer. Finally she stopped behind him and said, Thank you! Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Am I free to go now? Li Xiuning was silent for half a day. Finally she spoke softly, Do you remember that night I stabbed you with a dagger over the window? She had provoked a beautiful memory in Kou Zhongs heart. It was the night the bright moon shone its light at an angle, he and Xu Ziling had just obtained the ount book and thus performed meritorious deed for Li Shimin. When they were climbing the hold of the ship, he heard Li Xiunings charming voice, and could not stop himself from looking in to take a peek. As soon as Li Xiuning found out, she pressed her dagger against his throat. It was love at first sight, as well as the instant his extreme failure of the first love began; naturally it was ingrained in his memory and he would never forget it. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, How could I not remember it? I cant forget, even if I wanted to for just half a moment. Therefore, I must leave now; otherwise, even if I turned into smoke fish, I would be unwilling to leave. Pfft! Li Xiuning giggled tenderly. She said, If you were smoked fish, I would have eaten you, so that you wont be able to go anywhere else. Please tell Xiuning, was it because of this that you decline Shimin Erges invitation? With his back against her, Kou Zhong said, Dont tell me that it is only now that you guessed the reason. The bitter pain in hisughter was getting deeper. Li Xiuning heaved a deep sigh. She said, Oh, Kou Zhong! How can Xiuning deserve your misced kindness? On this earth, I dont know how many women, who are a hundred times better than Xiuning, are waiting for your love. Oh, Kou Zhong! Can you look up to the sky? She gracefully walked over to Kou Zhongs side and pointed to the star-filled night sky; she said, Each star represents one opportunity; therefore, there are countless opportunities, just like there are infinite stars. The chance encounter between Xiuning and you was just one opportunity. But out there, there are still countless opportunities, some are painful, some are happy, so much so that sometimes it is difficult to differentiate between the pain and the happiness that it is sad and discouraging. You are not an ordinary person at all, naturally you will have extraordinary encounters. You should not be concerned with identally missing one opportunity. Kou Zhong did the one thing he longed for the most, but also the most unwise: he turned his eyes on her. He saw an absolutely elegant beauty looking up to the sky, her eyes gleaming with thirst, as if it was a dream or a fantasy; chilling and moving to the extreme. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, The problem is that you, Xiuning, are the bright moon in the dark sky of my heart. Under this bright moon, other stars have be dim. Li Xiuning shot a nce toward him, but as soon as the two sets of eyes met, they both averted their gaze, as if it was a bit unbearable. It was an extremely delicate situation. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong spoke with pained expression on his face, This kind of matter, the more we talk about it, the more it bes impossible to unravel. It would be best if I leave as soon as I can! Li Xiuning was startled, Can you at least stay to hear what Xiuning has to say? she asked. Kou Zhong already made a somersault out of the window. Returning to his mischievous, free and easy style, he revealed a brilliant smile and spoke nonchntly, If Princess Ning wanted to invite us, two brothers, on your esteemed brother Shimins behalf, please forgive us. After staring hatefully at him for half a day, Li Xiuning stomped her feet and said, Very soon you are going to make Xiuning very angry with you. Kou Zhong had his hands pressed on the window sill, as if he was about to lean over and support his weight on it. He said dejectedly, I am doomed! I should not havee today. Every single expression of yours had made every single illness in my heart more serious; and now I am afraid I am already beyond cure. Li Xiuning hung her petite head down and said, Just consider me begging you. Oh, Kou Zhong! Forget me! Kou Zhong turned around and left. Dispirited and downcast, without looking back he raised his hand to say goodbye. And then, entering the woods, sometimes he was visible, sometimes he disappeared behind the trees, but it was a long time until he finally disappearedpletely from Li Xiunings blurry vision due to the tears in her eyes. She finally shed her first passionate tear for Kou Zhong. Book 10 - 7 – Returning To The Western Paradise Book 10 Chapter 7 C Returning To The Western Paradise Luo Fang excitedly said, This time our victory was an extremely close call, even I almost lose my life. Fortunately there was a mysterious scar-faced Daxia [great hero] who drew his saber to help us, attacking the bandits that their casualties are very heavy. As if he was feeling his pocket and took something out, he even took the scorched earth for a thousand li Mao Zaos severed head in the middle of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, and thus reversing the situation of the battle. And then, with much trepidation he went on, You would not have believed how thrilling the situation was. At first we thought it was just an army of two, three thousands to invade and harass us; who would have thought the bandits would cover the mountains and the ins? They attacked us that we werepletely routed. Fortunately Changzhu [ranch master] and Er Zhishi [second manager] separately led their troops via two different routes to curb the enemys main force, again with the help of that mysterious Daxia, Also Da Guanjia [housekeeper] led his troops out of the pass to face the attack head-on. Only then did we manage to resist the enemy. By the time Changzhu lured the enemy into the trap outside the vige, the eastern gorge also dispatch troops to help, and so we defeated the enemy in one move, pursued and attacked them for a hundred li, and killed them until they threw off their pants. Hey! Where is Xiao Ning? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Fu Zhishi [deputy manager], please sit down! Luo Fang acted as if he did not realize that he was the deputy manager; he was only staring nkly for a moment, before as if he had just been awakened from a dream he sat in the chair Xu Ziling pulled out for him. Looking all around, he remarked, This house is not bad at all. Where is Xiao Ning? Xu Ziling sat down across the table from him. He knew that Kou Zhong knew how to coax him; hence the reason Luo Fang preferred Kou Zhong over him. He replied, He was summoned by Princess Ning; he should be back any moment! Luo Fang revealed a disappointed look, but immediately returned to his excited mood. As if he was about to confer a top secret, he leaned over and lowered his voice and said, This time it was entirely due to Er Zhishis rmendation, because under the Third Manager, people more qualified than me can be found everywhere. Besides, the San Zhishis [third manager] position has been taken over by Xu Lao. So now all managers and their deputies are our Er Zhishis men, something that was unthinkable in the past. Fortunately in the battle this time I have shown a bit of performance. But I heard that it was Er Zhishi who talked to Changzhu for the whole sichen, and with Da Guanjias support, before she finally agreed. Xu Lao was Xu Yang, the deputy of the Third Manager, who, like Shang Zhen, loved to smoke pipes; hence they had a good rtionship. Liu Zongdaos face, who was blind in one eye, appeared in Xu Zilings mind; a slightly ufortable feeling crept up in his heart. This man actively groomed his own power. Could it be that he had another agenda? Speaking of which, he and Kou Zhong could also be considered his men. Staying tranquil and calm, he asked, Has misfortune befallen San Zhishi? Letting out a cold snort, Luo Fang said, He usually did not have any regards toward others, and loved to unt his awe-inspiring authority. When he visited the battlefield for real, would he still be able to show off? Just in a couple of confrontations he was ughtered! Xu Ziling was well aware that Tao Shusheng was executed in secret, but the official announcement was that he sacrificed his life in battle; either because the family scandal should not be broadcasted outside, or it was a method to purge the remnants of a defeated clique. The Fourth Manager Wu Zhaoru has always been breathing through the same nostril as Tao Shusheng; perhaps he was also involved in this matter. Xu Ziling very much wanted to ask about Yuaners fate, but in the end he held back and asked, Has Changzhu returned? Luo Fang was unsure, She should be back in a few days. The situation outside is very chaotic. After Ren Shaoming was assassinated, not only there was a fast change of scene in the south, the turn of events north of the River is also not too encouraging. After exchanging some more chitchats, due to his newly-appointed post, Luo Fang had hundreds of matters to attend to; thereupon he said goodbye and left. While Xu Ziling was still musing over the situation caused by Ren Shaomings death, Kou Zhong, with stupefied look on his face, came back. He sat down absent-mindedly, his eyes looking straight ahead, just like two empty holes. Xu Ziling was about to question him, Kou Zhong dejectedly sighed and said, Finally she and I came to an end. Xu Ziling reached out to grab him by the shoulders and said heavily, Not everything in life is lovely flower, round moon, blissful with everything going on as you wish. While we do not need to serve beautiful Changzhu these next few days, we might as well ask for guidance Mr. Lu, to have a bit more positive outlook. Kou Zhong nodded; he said, Its critical that you tend to your injury and heal quick, dont leave the slightest amount of scar; otherwise, your scar faced Daxia will expose the foxs tail! And so they passed their days like that. Lan Gu appeared to be afraid of them that she did not dare toe and harass them; so the two boys enjoyed a free and easy life, day and night they slipped out to talk with Lu Miaozi, discussing the written notes of his lifelong learnings. Due to the differences in characters, Xu Ziling held special interest inndscape design and astronomy, while due to his ambition, Kou Zhong was more interested in history, the art of war, and mechanism; each in the correct ce. On the surface, Lu Miaozi did not look like someone at the deaths door; hisplexion was still ruddy and bright. Yet the two boys were aware that he had reached thest brightest moment just before the me dies. One evening, the two boys were just thinking of going to Lu Miaozis ce, when Xiao Juan, whom they have not seen for a few days, suddenly appeared, telling them that the Ranch Master wanted them. So they knew that the beauty hase back. Having a guilty conscience, they could only brace themselves to go see her. Shang Xiuxun was sitting alone in her study; she was busy reading scrolls of document piling up on her desk. The two boys stood in front of her desk and saluted, she merely uttered an ehm, as if she thought looking up to acknowledge their presence was not worth doing. After the two boys stood transfixed for quite a while, she suddenly said tly, Take off your clothes! What? the two boys blurted. Tossing the writing brush in her hand, Shang Xiuxun looked up to stare at them. She spoke irately, Take off your clothes is take off your clothes. Which part of it you dont understand? My word is yourmand; otherwise, house rule is waiting for you. Forcing augh, Kou Zhong said, Other than our Niang, no other women have ever seen our innocent bodies. If we strip naked in front of Changzhu, it wont look so good if anybody ever finds out! Shang Xiuxun gave him a stern look; she scolded, I did not tell you to take off your pants. Still refuse toply? Are you waiting for the beating? Xu Ziling was about to argue, Kou Zhong was afraid he might unmask their true identity, he quickly cried out, You want us to take off our clothes, we will take off our clothes! Seeing Kou Zhong peeling off and stripping his upper garments, exposing his refined naked thick and solid torso, and knowing that Shang Xiuxun wanted to see if they had any scars on their bodies, plus remembering that they were going to see Lu Miaozi, finally Xu Ziling relented. Shang Xiuxun rose up to her full height, walked around the two boys for a few turns, and then returned to her desk, while failing to cover her disappointment. Waving her hand, she said, Get lost! The two boys picked up their clothes, and were about to get out when suddenly Shang Xiuxun stopped them, Get dressed first before going out. If you go out like that, are you looking for scandal? The two boys awkwardly put on their clothes under her shining eyes. Noticing that she looked like she was still thinking about something, Kou Zhong probed, Changzhu! Can we get lost now? Shang Xiuxuns eyes looked at the two boys up and down several times. She said coldly, Do you work out every day? Kou Zhong realized that she had her doubt upon seeing their perfect and solid muscles. Of course, he spoke without thinking, Every day, first thing in the morning, we spend at least one sichen punching and kicking, only then will we be in high spirit. Bang! Shang Xiuxuns palm pped the table; her apricot eyes grew big as she scolded them, Nonsense! In the entire Ranch, you are the ones who get out of bed thetest; you need people to ring the gongs and beat the drums before you are willing to wake up. You dare to lie to me? Smiling apologetically, Xu Ziling said, Getting up early is indeed our habit, buttely we followed Changzhus instruction to learn new skills from Mr. Lu every night, so that our day and night are reversed. Thats why we sleepte! Kou Zhong did not expect her to know about their everyday life; without any better option, he awkwardly admitted, Changzhu Daren, please be magnanimous. I was merely speaking out of habit, forgetting the recent changes in our lives. Shang Xiuxuns eyes were growing brighter and sharper; regaining her calm andposed manner, she said, But Liu Er Zhishi said that during the several days of travel to this ce, he has never seen you two trained martial art? Afraid that Kou Zhong might brag, Xu Ziling hastily said, Simply because we saw Er Zhishi and the others have superior martial art skills, how could we dare to disy our slight skill before an expert? Please Changzhu understand. Half-believing, half-doubting, Shang Xiuxun stared at him for quite a while. Finally she sighed and said, If one day I find out that you are hiding something from me, I will kill you with my own hands. Kou Zhong heaved a sigh of relief inwardly, knowing that Shang Xiuxun no longer suspect Xu Ziling to be the scar-faced strange hero. Now can we get lost? he asked respectfully. With a straight face, as if she was furious, Shang Xiuxun said, No! The two boys were stunned. Shang Xiuxun pondered a moment. In the end she waved her hand and said, Go! But every day you must report to me the old guys condition. What time do we need to see Changzhu? Kou Zhong asked. Shang Xiuxun replied impatiently, I will have someone summon you. Now get lost! As if they had just received the Emperors amnesty, the two boys scurried out. Upon arriving at Lu Miaozis small building, the two boys were shocked. Chapter 7 - Part 2 Lu Miaozi was still sitting up straight, but there was no sign of blood on his face anymore; his eyes were closed and he did not say anything. The two boys jumped forward to hold him from left and right. Lu Miaozi let out a long breath and opened his eyes, Help me get down! he said. Kou Zhong quickly jumped toward the bookcase and pulled the iron rod to open the tunnel door. With squeaking noise the trap door opened, revealing the basement underneath. Lu Miaozi said, I have set aside your stuffs and my notes and packed them up properly. When you leave, you may take it with you. The two boys helped him down the tunnel and came to the underground room. To their surprise, they saw a stone bed in the middle of the room,plete with a pillow, quilt, everything. Following Lu Miaozis instruction, theyy him down on the stone bed. Lu Miaozi put his head down on the wooden pillow, folded his hands over his chests, and told the two boys to cover him up with the shockingly crimson embroidered quilt. And then this dying old man sighed and said, Our life in this world is merely a white steed flitting past a crack. When you think that youll never reach the end of life, in the blink of an eye you are already at the moment where you breathe yourst. Kou Zhong felt like crying, but not even half a drop of tear came out of his eyes. He said resolutely, Mister, rest assured! We will definitely deal with that Yin Gui Pai witch, so that you can vent your anger. Lu Miaozi shook his head with a wry smile; he said, You must weigh your ability and act ordingly! If you came across Zhu Yuyan right now, it would be akin to you are delivering your lives in vain. Besides, my hatred toward her right now haspletely disappeared. Were it not for her, I wouldnt have apanied Qingya for twenty-five years, and I wouldnt have realized that in the end, she is the only one in my heart. Its finished! Its finished! The two boys looked at each other, at a loss of what to say. Gasping lightly, Lu Miaozi said, Off you go! Dont forget what to do. Aghast, Xu Ziling said, But Mister is not dead yet! Lu Miaozi suddenly brightened up; slightly angry, he said, Do you want to see me breathing myst and turn into a useless creature? The two boys did not know what to do. Lu Miaozi softened up; he said gently, Each of you kowtow to me three times and then leave! I cant hold it much longer. Ha! Death is not so terrible. I wonder what will happen? After hiding the stuffs given to them by Lu Miaozi in a safe ce, the two boys dejectedly left the small two-story building, which has now be deste, cold, and cheerless. With his right hand pressed against Xu Zilings shoulder, Kou Zhong sighed bitterly and said, Other than Niang and Susu Jie, quite possibly that old guy was the nicest person to us. Too bad that just like Niang, we only met for a few days and he was gone. Recalling Susu, Xu Ziling sighed. Are we going to leave tonight, or tomorrow morning? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling shook his head, No! he said, We are leaving right now. Whats the point in staying? Li Xiunings beautiful image appeared in Kou Zhongs mind; her voice as she told him to forget her seemed to resound in his ears. Nodding his head, he said, Very well! Ill fetch my Moon in the Well, and then well find a way to slip out of here. When their door was in sight, Lan Gu suddenly appeared in front of them and said, You two, pack your valuables immediately, you are going with Changzhu on a trip; it is indeed an honor! Changzhu appointed you to be in charge of her diet along the way! The two boys could only stare nkly. At dusk, a party of twenty-eight people galloped out of the eastern gorge into the vast ins outside. Other than Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the two servants of the Great General, Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juan also came along to take care of Shang Xiuxuns everyday life. The others were all Flying Horse Ranch people, consisting of manager-level Liang Zhi, Liu Zongdao and Xu Yang, and deputy-manager-level Luo Fang, and Liang Zhis deputy Wu Yan, a stocky man of around forty years of age. There were also two old men called Shang Peng and Shang He. Everybody, including Shang Xiuxun, addressed them as Peng Gong [grandpa/a term of respect to address an old man] and He Gong. The two old men very seldom spoke, but their eyes were shing like lightning; obviously these two were Flying Horse Ranchs martial art masters who shared the same surname Shang with the original founder. After traveling for half a day, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling still did not know where Shang Xiuxun was heading leading such a team of warriors. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were in charge of driving the only cart they brought. The cargo was naturally their tents, food, cookware, and other stuff. While urging the four steeds pulling the cart, Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Well slip away as soon as we finish preparing dinner. If we wait till they eat their fill and drunk of wine, it could be considered extreme benevolence and beyond our line of duty! Xu Zilingughed and said, Arent you an expert in geography? This direction seems to be leading to Jingling. Zhong Shao, do you concur? Kou Zhong looked distracted for a moment. Smiling wryly, he said, This time lets consider you win; with practice, your geography skill seems to be improving. But taking care of twenty-eight peoples livelihood is not an easy task, how can it bepared to going on a scenic tour to Jingling? Xu Ziling nodded and said, In that case we are leaving tonight! As night fell, Shang Xiuxun issued her order to pitch their camp by a brook for the night. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling immediately got busy lighting fire and cooking dinner. They worked hard until dark. Fortunately Xiao Juan was helping them, so they were able to rx a little bit. After eating their specialty, dumpling oil rice, everybody praised them without ceasing, so that the two boys were beaming from ear to ear. Luo Fang, Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juan ate together with the two boys in a circle around a bonfire, giving them an interesting taste of the wild open country. Kou Zhong took this opportunity to ask, Where are we going, actually? Lou Fang was surprised, Nobody told you? he asked, This time we are going to Jingling! What happened in Jingling? Xu Ziling wondered aloud. Obviously Luo Fang did not know the details, he said, It seems like something important is going on there. Big Sister Fu lowered her voice, It was Jinglings Fang Zhuangzhu [vige master] sending a messenger to Changzhu, asking for help. We are just the advance troops, as soon as the others are ready, they are going there as well. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; they both can see the fear in the others heart, because both of them were thinking of the same terrifying possibility. Losing their interest in small talk, after sprouting some nonsense for a while, they excused themselves to take a rest, and hid inside their small tent. Lying on his back next to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, This is terrible; we should have guessed from Wanwans affair that Qu Ao has joined hands with Ol Die. After a short pause, he went on, Do you remember when we were in Xingyang, at Shen Luoyans courtyard, Song Yuzhi told Shen Luoyan that Qu Ao is working together with the Ol Die to assassinate Li Mi? And now clearly Ol Die is using beauty entrapment. Wanwan must be back in Jingling, weaving a tale to tell Fang Zetao, that affectionate Zhuangzhu. As long as she stretched her finger, Fang Zetao will be finished. Xu Ziling had his eyes fixed on the top of the tent; he spoke bitterly, Even without Wanwan, Fang Zetao is already no match for the Ol Die. The most tragic thing is that Duba Vige has always relied on the Flying Horse Ranch for mutual support. However, after their disastrous victory, their strength suffered a big blow; basically they were no longer able to aid Jingling; otherwise, they would not have sent twenty eight people, but a big army of over ten-thousand men and horses. Kou Zhong peeked out the tent to look at Shang Xiuxun and the others, who were sitting around the campfire, chatting. He said in a low voice, By todays reckoning, wed better go to Jingling as quickly as possible, before Wanwan makes any move, we take one step ahead to kill her. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, By that time, we will be extremely tired, how could we still have any strength to deal with Wanwan? Not to mention that even if we are on our top form, we still cannot easily score a victory against her. Worse yet, what if she badmouthed us in front of Fang Zetao? This guy has been enchanted by this fox spirit that his eyes are blinded, his heart is confused. If we try to be clever and end up with egg on our faces, I guarantee that demon [or beautiful woman] willugh until her belly hurts. Distressed, Kou Zhong said, This one is not right, that one is wrong, what should we do then? Xu Ziling calmly gave him his analysis, There is no quick fix for this matter. If I was the Ol Die, since I only need to grasp it and the victory is assured, I might as well lure the entire Flying Horse Ranch people out of their nest, and then set up an ambush along the way. This way I can take care of tworgest powers of this whole area in just one move. After that, either going north or south will be a lot more convenient. Kou Zhong acted as if he had just met him for the first time; delighted and sincerely willing, he said, You are a lot more formidable than I am. Ay! I dont know why this moment my brains went nk, my mind and spirit are restless; I cant seem to think about anything. So what do we do? Xu Ziling sat up, and said indifferently, Its not that I am more formidable than you are, its just that my mind is clear my heart is unobstructed. Just like the water in the well, it can reflect everything. You, this kid, on the other hand, since you saw Li Xiuning yesterday, you look like a mess. If your eyes are not opened, you might as well go back to your vige to cultivatend or perhaps open up a restaurant! Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day; finally he nodded and said, Your lesson is well-said, I definitely did not make any progress. All right! From now on, I want to reform and start afresh. I wont think about her anymore. After pondering silently for a moment, he went on, Hence this time Shang Xiuxun led her people to Jingling, there is a good possibility that we will fall into Ol Die or perhaps Chang Shumous plot. And that would be very dangerous. Finally your head clears up! Xu Ziling delightedly said. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Not quite, only a bit. Based on Ol Dies dynamic character, right now he must be itching to make his move; he might already take control of Duba Vige that they are not able to move a single step, and then Flying Horse Ranch will be left alone to fend for themselves. Oh! Xiao Juan ising! The two boys promptly pretended to be asleep. Outside the tent, Xiao Juan called out in low voice, Are you asleep? Changzhu wants to see you. Book 10 - 8 – Night Talk by the Creek Book 10 Chapter 8 C Night Talk by the Creek Just like a goddess from Heaven descending into the world, Shang Xiuxuns sleeves were fluttering in the night breeze as she stood proudly with her hands behind her back. Tranquil and calm, she said, The dumpling oil rice you made tonight was of an extremely high level of achievement; it was very satisfactory. Promptly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling modestly express their gratitude. The beauty looked up at the starry sky. Her tone turned cold as she said, The old fellow is already dead, isnt he? Xu Ziling nodded sadly. Shang Xiuxun did not turn around, she had her back against the two boys, as if she did not want them to see her expression. It was quite a whileter when she spoke, Come with me! The two boys were greatly surprised; this woman has always been arrogant, difficult, and was always proud of herself; she took credit alone, and alone she bestowed rewards. This invitation was indeed out of keeping with reason. Without much choice, they followed behind her, with belly full of suspicion. Shang Xiuxun walked slowly in the wilderness. Under the dim light of the stars and the moon, her beautiful hair looked sparkling and dazzling. Her elegant figure exuded with otherworldly, indescribable, and mysterious beauty. For a long time Shang Xiuxun did not say anything. Until they came to an area withrge rocks strewn along the creek. She stopped, sighed softly, and said, Sit down! We can stay standing, Kou Zhong hastily said. Shang Xiuxun selected arge rock and satfortably before saying again, Sit down! Seeing her sitting down, how could the two boys stay polite? Each of them selected a nice t and smooth rock and sat down. They could still hear the voices of Liu Zongdao and the others conversation in the distance. Shang Xiuxun said softly, Do you think I am too harsh? You were asleep and I woke you up to see me. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You are our big boss, naturally we have to obey your orders. Pfft! Shang Xiuxun giggled tenderly. She was deep in thought as if she was entranced for half a day, before smiling and said, This is precisely why I like to talk to you, these two boys; because you treated me as your boss, not like other people who regard me as supreme Changzhu. The most amazing thing is that I know that in a lot of matters you keep me in the dark and deceive me, yet I have no way of grabbing your Achilles heel [orig. pain foot]. The two boys were greatly embarrassed. In which regards Changzhu thinks we are deceiving you? Xu Ziling asked. Shang Xiuxun coquettishly shook her small cicada head; her eyes swept the boys around. Looking up to the sky, she said softly, I am not too clear myself, but I always feel that you two are not simple at all. Niang used to say that Lu Miaozi was highly intelligent, his natural disposition proud and aloof, had never had any regards toward anybody, hence he had never taught anybody his skill. Ay! A persons character is not going to change, so why did he have such a high regards on you? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, I am afraid we wont know the answer unless he is back from the dead! Tranquil and calm, Shang Xiuxun said, Dead men tell no tales! So what did he leave you with? Just before we left, I took a walk over to that small building of his, and that hateful old guy did not leave anything behind! Xu Ziling replied heavily, Mr. Lus exquisite gadgets have be funerary objects, everything was buried with him underground. Shang Xiuxuns beautiful eyes gazed deeply into his eyes; she asked indifferently, So he did not leave anything to you? Kou Zhong replied, Only a few written ount of what he learned in all his life. Changzhu wants to look over it? Shang Xiuxun shook her head and said, I dont want to touch his stuff. The two boys breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, both thought, That would be best. Liar! Shang Xiuxun suddenly said. The two boys jumped in fright. They thought that if she wanted to do a body search on them, they would leave immediately. A hint of smile escaped from the corners of Shang Xiuxuns lips; after staring at the two boys for a few moments, she said calmly, It does not make any sense. The old guys inventions are thousand-gold treasures that Jianghu people find it hard to find. Since he had such a high regards on you, how could he be that stingy? However, I wont investigate this matter further; or else that old fellow willugh at me from the Nine Springs [underworld in Chinese mythology] below. The two boys breathed a sigh of relief inwardly again, yet their faces did not show the slightest trace. Shang Xiuxin sighed grimly before saying, My heart is a bit of a mess, why dont you two find any interesting things to talk about? Unexpectedly the beautiful Ranch Master was talking to them in an imploring tone; the two boys felt quite overwhelmed by this favor. Xu Ziling suddenly said, How about I set up a divinatory diagram to see what is happening to make Changzhu have such a troubled heart. Kou Zhong inwardly praised Xu Zilings brilliance. Shang Xiuxun was greatly astonished, You know divination method? she asked. Xu Ziling confidently replied, Just learned it from Mr. Lu. Afraid that she might refuse, he hurriedly raised his hand ording to the method Lu Miaozi taught him, showing a form of [divination] six ren [not sure what it is, dictionary says ninth of the ten Heavenly Stems], pinching one finger to another [as in calcting] and then with a serious expression said, This form of divination is called covering distress. The reason Changzhus heart is in turmoil is simply because the situation is unclear, there are snares along the way. Shang Xiuxun was stunned, Seems like you do have a bit of skill; in just a short seven, eight-day period you managed to learn such a difficult and obscure thing? Having a sudden inspiration, Kou Zhong caught on, Xiao Jing is a genius in divination, and I am a genius in the art of war. Hee! Shang Xiuxun said in disdain, You are a genius in thick-skin-ness; have you look in the mirrortely? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Dont despise the old fellows insight; if you dont believe me, go ahead and test me. Snorting disdainfully, Shang Xiuxun muttered softly and said, All right! Sun Zis [Sun Tzu] Art of War has eight main essentials; recite them for me. Remaining calm, Kou Zhong exined, The book is dead, but the people are alive. So let me analyze the situation Changzhu is facing. Changzhu does not need to have your heart distracted, your thoughts in turmoil just because the situation is unclear. Shang Xiuxun stared nkly for half a day; finally she decided to test him for the time being, Tell me! she said. Kou Zhong spoke respectfully, This time Changzhu is leading your troops toward Jingling, was it because Jingling sent people to ask for your help? Shang Xiuxuns phoenix eyes turned cold; slightly angered, she said, Was it Fuer who divulged it to you? Xu Ziling was displeased; he said, Disaster is facing us, Changzhu still haggles over every ounce in such thing as house regtion, Ranchs rule, those kind of chicken feather, garlic skin, small matters? Shang Xiuxun was taken aback. A strange feeling started to creep up her fragrant heart. The Xu Ziling in her presence did not have the least bit of subordinate-feel at all; unexpectedly she had forgotten to reprimand him. Calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong started his analysis, This time Jianghuai Army is moving west, their timing could not have been better, obviously they had already nned it well ahead and now making their move ... Shang Xiuxun cut him off, Who told you that Jianghuai Army is threatening Jingling? Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, If you need somebody to tell you, then you are not a real genius in the art of war. There are a lot of things the eyes dont see, the ears dont hear, but the eyes and ears of the heart can figure out. After a short pause, he smiled and said, All along, Jinglings Duba Vige and our Changzhus Flying Horse Ranch are the big powers surrounding the fatty meat at the side of the mouth. Its just that this meat is difficult to swallow, and its hard to know where to start! Currently the Four Big Bandits invaded our Ranch, so Du Fuwei seized the opportunity to move his troops to threaten the nk, which is Jingling. If you say that these two things have no rtion at all, even if you beat me to death, I will not believe you. In Shang Xiuxuns eyes, the two boys seemed to be transformed into two totally different persons, who were speaking frankly and with assurance, so that she could not help being entranced while listening to them, and momentarily forgot that their lowly position within the Ranch did not afford them the qualifications to talk to her like that. Frowning, she said, You are rather familiar with the situation in Jianghu, but how did you guess that Du Fuwei is holding back his troops without moving outside Jingling? Why didnt he besiege the city and attack violently? While speaking thest two sentences, the tone of her voice turned stern, her jade countenance appeared to be skeptical. Xu Ziling replied nonchntly, Besieging the city will be his next move. Du Fuwei ran amuck along the Great River, and he is well versed in the art of war; right now he has the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, why wouldnt he use it? Just think, if the Ranchs main force is already defeated before it reaches Jingling, Changzhu could only retreat and defend the Ranch, and then contacting the towns and viges all round, deploying tight troops formation to resist. If Du Fuwei decided to spread out the battle, it would be more difficult than ascending to the heaven. Shang Xiuxuns tender body trembled slightly; she pondered deeply in silence, while her face showed her deep concentration. Evidently she was moved by what Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, This time Changzhu leads your troops in a journey, there is a possibility that Du Fuwei might pull a snake from its hole [i.e. exposing a malefactor] ... Shang Xiuxun stood up suddenly; she said coldly, You two go back to sleep! Finished speaking, she hurried toward Liu Zongdao and the others to discuss the new development. Chapter 8 - Part 2 When they woke up the next morning, Shang Xiuxun summoned the two boys into her tent. She was apanied by Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juan. Her countenance heavy, she said, This time, I consider the two of you have rendered great merit; some other day I will evaluate your merit and bestow rewards. For now, we need to change direction. You two and Fuer, Juaner go back to the Ranch with Er Zhishi; understood? The two boys groaned inwardly. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Changzhu dispels us, it is really unwise. Both Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juan turned pale; they thought that the two boys dared to contradict their Ranch Master, perhaps they did not want to live anymore. Yet Shang Xiuxuns reaction was not as intense as they imagined; she was only showing displeasure as she said, In which regard am I unwise? If you cant give me a good reason, I guarantee that you will be sorry. Kou Zhong calmly said, Dont forget that we are ... hey! You know what I mean! You have talents yet you dont want to use it; that is not a smart decision. Astonishingly, Shang Xiuxun did not get angry; she sighed and said, Its not that I wasnt thinking of taking you along, but our journey to Jingling is treacherous and hard to fathom. If something should happen, how am I supposed to take care of you? Kou Zhong lowered his voice to make a show that he was taking this matter seriously, To tell you the truth, the two of us, brothers are actually crouching tigers, hidden dragons. If something happens, defending ourselves is not a problem. Hey! What are youughing at? Both Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juan were unable to hold themselves; from snickering they burst into bigughter while covering their mouths. Shang Xiuxun was smiling as well; she said crossly, Based on your three-legged cat martial art skill, what crouching tigers, hidden dragons are you talking about? Just follow my order, I have no time to waste on you. Xu Ziling hurriedly said, Changzhu, please listen to me. We have received Mr. Lus instructions, when we meet the Ol Die ... hey! I mean, Ol Dus main forces, we could be put to good use ... Rubbish! Shang Xiuxun snapped, By the time you use what you learned in a few days to build some mechanism, the city would have been broken and perished. With tongue like a reed [i.e. glib tongue], Kou Zhong said, Changzhus reasoning is wed. Lu Miaozis breast was filled with knowledge of this age, one of those happen to be troop disposition. Just like Zhuge Wuhou [i.e. Zhuge Liang of Three Kingdoms] arranged eight troops disposition diagram at the stone quarry, learning this kind of thing depends on talent and not on the learning duration. For example, for example, just by hearing it once, Xiao Jiang already understood the lesson. If you dont believe me, Changzhu may give him a test. Shang Xiuxun, Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juans doubtful look fell on Xu Ziling. Without much choice he simply blurted out, The Heaven is numbered five, the Earth is numbered five, five counted five results in a whole number. Hey! Is it enough? Kou Zhong added interest to the story, This is called the five whole troop-dispositions of the Heaven and the Earth, it could give rise to changes and battles of supernatural beings, even if the opponent has magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, as we enter the troops disposition, we could ... ha ha ... as if entering the fog. Half-believing, half-doubting, Shang Xiuxun said, If you two changed into Taoist robe, you can be two novice Taoist demon. Big Sister Fu and Xiao Juan saw the two boys awkward manner as they were being ridiculed and scolded, and could only endure with bitter smile. Seeing one stratagem failed, Kou Zhong executed a different n, Changzhu is sending us back to the Ranch, simply because you are afraid our little lives cannot be guaranteed; therefore, I will perform another divination. This divination ... oh ... this divination is called absolute guarantee, meaning it will guarantee our two little lives, guaranteeing that not a single strand of our hair will be harmed. Shang Xiuxun sneered and said, Since when did you change from a military genius to a divination genius? Kou Zhongs serious expression did not change; upright and unafraid, he said, This is the simplest and most fundamental divination skill; it relies on sincerity and upright intention. The heart as the basis, the calction is employed; the so-called joining the Heaven and the Earth in reliance of the calction. Great spread out is numbered fifty, starting from one to equip five. Small spread out bes ten, hence the great spread out bes fifty-five. Based on these arguments, the divination is as urate as the deities. He was an extremely intelligent person; although he had little interest in divination, but listening to Lu Miaozi and Xu Zilings discussion, he learned a little bit of superficial knowledge. That plus his bragging skill, in the end he was able to provide clear and logical exnation. Shang Xiuxun pondered for half a day; she said coldly, Why are you so eager to go to Jingling? You dont seem to care even for your own lives? Thinking fast, Xu Ziling replied solemnly, Because when Mr. Lu saw that we want to study for practical applications, and that we want to strive our hardest for the Ranch. Kou Zhong added, Before his death, he also said that we do not have the appearance of those who would be short-lived, and that our good fortune is profound, therefore, we can have a free hand in tempering ourselves in a great undertaking. The two boys were ustomed to echo one another. Listening to them, Shang Xiuxuns jade countenance was slightly moved. She asked, Can your divination foresee good and bad luck? His countenance did not change at all, Kou Zhong said, That is only natural. Whatever you want to know, let Xiao Jing calcte with his fingers, and everything will be all right. In his heart, Xu Ziling could not wait to box Kou Zhong a little bit, but on the surface he had no choice but to put on the air of the number one divination expert in the world, naturally apanied by a smile and a nod of his head. Shang Xiuxun seemed to go through a very strenuous effort to convince herself; she said listlessly, Very well! Ill let you stay to give it a try. Good or bad, you only have that old fellow to me for mistakenly scrutinizing your facial features. After you be ghosts, dont me me for not giving you sufficient warning. And thus they continued their journey. The original group heading for Jingling consisted of twenty-eight people has now be twenty people, which was divided further into four groups, each group adopted different route, with several rendezvous points in towns and viges along the way, to pull wool over peoples eyes. It was unclear whether Shang Xiuxun wanted to rely on their divination ability, or she simply loved to listen to their bullsh1t, or perhaps she wanted to personally protect them, but she had Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong in her team, along with Liang Zhi, Wu Yan, plus the two senior martial art masters Shang Peng and Shang He; hence this group had the greatest power. This group of seven people embarked on their journey in disguise; Shang Xiuxun was wearing mens clothing. Shang Peng and Shang He sat in the carriage, with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling still acted as the drivers. Liang Zhi and Wu Yan became the family warriors who rode behind the carriage to protect them. By that afternoon the group cut into the official road leading to the big city of Xiangyang, northwest of Jingling. Gradually the road became busier with men and horses. Traveling merchants tend to stay together as a group, as they relied on numbers to provide strength. Only Jianghu characters would dare toe and go alone, or perhaps traveling as small group of two or three people. Liang Zhi fell behind a little bit, and then he came to report to Shang Xiuxun, Subordinate has inquired of people whoe from Xiangyang, I heard that the city is under the control of one Qian Duguan, a local warrior. This person is adept in using a pair of sabers, and has proimed himself the hegemon of Xiangyang. Anybody who spares no effort in his ount will have no problem with the authority. But the entrance duty into the city is considerably high, so the traveling merchants are grumbling. Shang Xiuxun said, In front of Xiangyangs gate, just before entering the city early tomorrow morning, we must board a boat going down to Jingling. Although we will have to spend another day of traveling time, we will make the enemies unclear of our course of journey. It is still very worthwhile. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly understood that Shang Xiuxun epted their advice and thus ying some tricks on their route to Jingling. Shang Pengs voice came from the carriage, It would be better if Laofu go ahead of you to Xiangyang to make arrangement about the boat. In this time of chaos all over the world, sometimes huge amount of money may not necessarily be able to hire a big boat to carry men and horses. Shang Xiuxun said, Peng Lao, please dont worry, Xiuxun has already sent Xu Yang and Luo Fang to travel at double speed to hurry to Xiangyang to handle this very same matter! Changzhu is very thorough! Shang Peng praised. When Liang Zhi was about to speak up, rapid hoof beats came from behind. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were about to look back, Liang Zhi shouted in displeasure, Dont be meddlesome, quickly get the cart to the side. The two boys were startled by his order, they hastily brought the cart to one side of the road. A group of more than thirty people, who looked like ouws and fugitives of Jianghu, galloped fast past them; every one of them looked at this group to size them up. One of them, a young man who appeared to be their leader, said, Do they look like it? Another fat man replied, Not quite! And then, like a tornado they disappeared around the bend ahead. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong wiped the cold sweats on their foreheads. Turned out the two men speaking were the Gold and Silver Spear Ling Feng and the Fat Demon Jin Bo [See Book 9 Chapter 3]. The other day when they were hiding underneath the ruble, they heard the voices of these two men, hence they immediately recognized them. Later on they wanted to pursue these men to test their skill, but came across Liu Zongdao and his men, and ended up hired as chefs at the Flying Horse Ranch. It was quite a surprise toe across these men again in here. Fortunately the men did not recognize the two boys; otherwise they would be in terrible trouble. What were they doing going to Xiangyang? Who are these people? Liang Zhi wondered aloud. Shang Xiuxun suddenly said, Xiao Jing! Do your divination for me, see if you can find out what they are up to? Xu Ziling helplessly pinched his fingers in calction, and said, They are looking for two men, full of fierce fighting spirit and animosity. Ah! Wu Yan eximed, They must be Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. These two men have turned the southern skies upside down, and they have the secret of Duke Yangs Treasure. Every body wants to capture them. Liang Zhi nodded and said, Fu Zhishi is right. But since these two were able to assassinate Ren Shaoming in the midst of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, how could they be easy target? Those men are simply overestimating their own capabilities. Shang Xiuxun asked in heavy voice, How old are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling? Do you know what they look like? Wu Yan replied, They made their debut several years ago, so perhaps they are around thirty! Ive heard people say that they look pretty thick and solid like an ox, their faces and eyes sinister, with just one look youll know that they are not of the benevolent type. While on one hand the two boys cursed him in their hearts, on the other hand they were quite grateful to Wu Yan. Shang Xiuxun was silent for half a day before giving out her order, Lets hurry on! Knowing the danger has passed, the two boys breathed a sigh of relief. Crack! The whip gently struck the horses bottom, the carriage once again proceed speedily along the official road. Book 10 - 9 – Enemies On A Narrow Road Book 10 Chapter 9 C Enemies On A Narrow Road Xiangyang was located at the confluence of various rivers by the Han River. Following the River downstream, in one day one would reach a Hannan, a market town rather smaller in scale, and then in two more days one would reach Jingling. Since Yang Guang was assassinated by Yuwen Huajis uprising, sharp changes have been happening in all parts of the country. The original hegemons proimed themselves king or emperor, taking advantage of the situation to expand their territory. Those who were former Sui officials adopted a wait-and-see attitude or unmasked their poles to rise up, bing local power, safeguarding their own towns and viges, their homnd. Xiangyangs Qian Duguan was a ssic example. Double Sabers Qian Duguan was the big boss of Hanshui Pai [River Han Sect], his character was in between orthodox and heretical, he had quite a face both in front of the local ck and white circles. His main business was silk, and his family owned ample properties. When the news of Emperor Yangs death arrived, Qian Duguan arose with the peoples support. He was elected leader by local wealthy families and members of the gentry, as well as by the local gangs and societies. Driving out the Xiangyangs district magistrate, he formedrge militia and seized the power. Although Qian Duguan himself knew he did not have enough power to contend for hegemony of the world, yet in this time of rising wind and rolling clouds, the world was in chaos, he was able to maintain Xiangyangs autonomy without any need to look up to anybody elses face. During the time where Li Mi, Du Fuwei, Li Zitong, and the other major powers were standing in opposition to each other, he was still able to strike water right and left, so much so that his business was flourishing, his trading brisk, majestic as if he was the local king. By dusk, Shang Xiuxun and her party rushed into Xiangyang just before the city gate was shut; after paying glistening-yellow gold entry duty at the gate, they entered the city. Xiangyangs city wall was tall and thick. The wall was equipped with arrow-tforms and watchtowers, as well as bell towers and drum towers opposite to each other, giving up an air of grandeur, so that before even entering the city, they already had deep impression. Upon stepping into the city, everybody entered the main street connecting the north and south city gates. Since it was already early evening, thenterns were lit. Over the street wereyer uponyer of towering arches and sky bridges connecting the unending row of store buildings from one side of the street to the other. The long street was simple and unadorned, with row upon row of residence buildings. Pedestrians and carriages traveled back and forth on the street, a picture of lively city in time of peace and security, making people forgot the fire beacon and dangerous situation on the outside. From time to time, a group of three to five armed men in blue warrior outfit passed by, with overbearing attitude, hence it was clear that they were Qin Duguans men. They almost did not see any young women on the street; asionally they saw a few out-of-towners, but they were all scurrying along with heads hung low. Xu Yang, Luo Fang, and the others have been waiting for them in the city for quite a long time. Luo Fang has even prepared some rooms at a rather upscale hotel. After settling down, Kou and Xu, two boys remained in their room, waiting for Shang Xiuxuns further instruction. Kou Zhongughed quietly and said, Luckily just now we were sitting down, plus we are wearing stable hands attire. Otherwise, with our builds, we might be recognized by Ling Feng and Jin Bo, those two muddled-eggs. [I know the official trantion is scoundrel/, but I think muddled-egg is funnier.] Xu Ziling crossly said, Are you a narcissistic freak? One day without praising yourself makes you feel ufortable? Kou Zhong giggled and said, Everythings good! I was just lightening up the atmosphere. Ay! This time we are going to Jingling, just thinking about Wanwan made my heart as heavy as lead; I feel so upset that I wanted to cry. Not to mention there is also the Ol Die to be dealt with! Xu Ziling sat on the bed with nk expression on his face. It was quite a whileter that he said, So finally you decide to stand head-to-head with the Ol Die? How do you feel? Kou Zhong dejectedly sat down on a chair by the door; the corner of his mouth revealed a hint of bitter smile as he said, I only know that this time he will be unwilling to let me off. But if I have a chance, I still want to let him off one more time, to make it even, nobody owes the other anything. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Now thats a good man; outstanding! Kou Zhong sighed and said, But this time dont expect any chance to do a good mans deed. Whether it will be a one-on-one fight or we meet in the battlefield; we are still a notch below him. Jianghuai Army is a matchless powerful army; it cant bepared to the Four Big Bandits mob army. Xu Ziling muttered hesitantly, Beautiful Shifu is sending Liu Zongdao back to the Ranch; what exactly is her n? Kou Zhongughed and said, Once Xu yaodao [demon Taoist] pinches his fingers to calcte, wont he know everything? Smiling, Xu Ziling said, Just go to your granny; as soon as you have a chance you framed me. While Kou Zhong was roaring inughter, Luo Fang knocked on their door and entered, We have a reservation at Jia Xiang Lou [House of Fragrance] the biggest restaurant around here for two banquet tables on the second floor. Come with me! The two boys were greatly astonished; they did not expect that under the circumstances, Shang Xiuxun still did not forget to show of extravagance. The House of Fragrance had three floors, bottom, middle and top. The third floor was exclusively for distinguished guests. Unless frequent visitors and local celebrities, practically nobody else would be able to make any reservation. Flying Horse Ranch were outsiders, so they could only reserve tables on the first and second floor, plus Xu Yang still had to bribe the proprietor that he gained a face and thus was able to make this arrangement. Not only Shang Xiuxun was wearing mens clothing, she also darkened her face a little, and stuck two pieces of nted moustache, giving the impression of a Confucian schr. Although her overall appearance was ratherical, it was better than showing off her beauty, which was capable of causing the downfall of a city. Looking at her oundish look, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling nearly split their sidesughing, but struggled really hard not to. The crazy thing was: Shang Xiuxun did not consider them being disobedient; she simply smiled slightly, and proceeded to take the lead together with Liang Zhi. Once the group was assembled, they walked down the street. Shang Peng, Shang He, two old men, were tasked with guarding the rear. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understood that more and more people recognized them; without much choice they pulled their servants hat low, covering their foreheads down to their eyebrows. They also deliberately hunched their backs that walking has be quite an ordeal. Luo Fang, who was walking beside them, asked in bewilderment, Howe you be so sneaky all of a sudden? Avoiding a group of people walking straight toward them, Kou Zhong put on a fierce-looking Jianghu thugs and replied in a low, serious tone, Even Changzhu has to put on an act; we as subordinates also have to conceal our true identity, right? Suddenly there was amotion to their left; pedestrians scattered everywhere. To their surprise, there were two gangs of more than a dozen men each were involved in street brawl; they chased each other along the street, sabers and swords flew everywhere. Luo Fangs mind was divided; he quickly pulled the two boys aside. With her hands behind her back, Shang Xiuxun stood boldly, as if she was interested in watching the fierce battle where flesh and blood sshing everywhere. Puzzled, Kou Zhong turned to Luo Fang and Xu Ziling and said, Did you see that? Arent those Qian Duguans subordinates, the Xiang Han Pai disciples? Why are they watching with folded arms and not try to interfere? Xu Ziling turned around and sure enough, he saw a group of seven, eight men wearing blue warrior outfits, mingled among the crowd watching the bustling scene. Not only they acted as spectators, they even continuously gesticted excitedly that their spittle sttered flew around. Luo Fang was not surprised; he said, This is Qian Duguans rule; as long as it does not harm his interest, he adopts neutral position to all fights and vendettas among the Jianghu people. Besides, even if he wanted to interfere, there is really not much that he could do. Kou Zhong was speechless. Is there stillw and order? he asked. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, Law and order have long gone. Kou Zhongs eyes shed sharply, but he no longer spoke. Meanwhile, victory and defeat would be decided soon. The beaten group left behind several dead bodies as they ran toward a side alley. The Xiang Han Pai warriors in blue outfits swarmed around to drag the dead bodies away. In the blink of an eye the street returned to its former lively condition, so that it was hard for others to believe that something has just happened here. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were aghast, but Luo Fang remained calm, as if nothing had happened. After crossing an intersection, they could see the House of Fragrance big signboard in the distance, while from across the street they heard the sound of bamboo flute and string ensemble, mixed with the sound of finger-guessing game, gambling and drinking. Turning his head around, Kou Zhong saw a pleasure house. The entrance was packed with people; it was unusually busy. Four or five rough-looking bodyguards were stopping the guestsing into the brothel; perhaps they wanted to check whether the guests had enough money in their purse. Kou Zhong could not help stopping to watch. While he was thinking about his and Xu Zilings own adventure, that each time they visited a brothel, the result has always been a disaster, he could not helpughing inwardly, three people bumped into him. He did not dare to reveal his martial art skill, hence using ordinary peoples step he simply moved aside. Right this moment, one of them reached out to grope his pocket. Inwardly Kou Zhong was delighted, thinking that you dare to fully use your magic hand to me, an expert in stealing away other peoples silver pouch, it was just like brandishing arge hatchet in front of Lu Ban [legendary master craftsman, called the father of Chinese carpentry]. Thereupon he unleashed his Severing-arteries Skill he learned from Tu Shufang, the chief manager of Zhai Rangs household. In one grab he already caught the opponents wrist. The man was about to struggle, Kou Zhong sent a stream of true qi into his wrist; immediately his entire body went numb. When the other two men saw what happened, they scurried away in panic. You are hurting me! Kou Zhong looked closer; turned out the perpetrator was a sixteen, seventeen years old boy with rather delicate features; he did not look like a bandit at all. Chapter 9 - Part 2 Remembering his own life back in Yangzhou, Kou Zhongs heart softened. His left hand took out a piece of gold, he stuffed it into the boys hand and said in low voice, Your pickpocket skill is so sub-standard; you shouldnt continue doing this! Dumb as a wooden chicken, the boy looked at him, and then he looked at the gold in his hand; his eyes revealed a grateful look. From ahead, Luo Fang turned around and called, Xiao Ning,e on! Patting the boys shoulder, Kou Zhong hurriedly caught up with Luo Fang and Xu Ziling. By the time the three of them climbed the stairs onto the second floor, Shang Xiuxun and the others had already been seated around two of the five tables by the windows facing the street. The entire second floor was morous and crowded with all kinds of people. But one of the tables next to the window was upied by only one person. This persons body type was majestic. Just looking at his back, others would feel that he exuded some kind of terrifying aura. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenance changed; they groaned inwardly, because even if this person had turned into ashes, they would still be able to recognize that this back belonged to Ba Fenghan. The waiters and other guests appeared to be ustomed to this young martial art master who upied an entire table all by himself; nobody even showed unusual look toward him. While the two boys were contemting whether they should turn around and slip away to avoid being recognized by him and thus unmasked their identity, Ba Fenghan already turned his head around to look. He shed a meaningful smile toward the two boys. And then his gaze turned toward Shang Xiuxun, and his face immediately revealed an astounded look. Lou Fang has also noticed Ba Fenghan; immediately he pulled the two boys along and hissed, Dont just stand here and block the path unless you want to create trouble. Come on! Helplessly the two boys followed him to sit on the table adjacent to Ba Fenghans table. Copying him, they also sat with their backs facing the head of the flight of stairs. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were only separated by a distance of half a zhang or so, while at the same time he blocked Ba Fenghans line of sight toward Shang Xiuxun, who was sitting on the seat closest to the corner. Ba Fenghans table had a pot of wine and several dishes of appetizers. But looking at those dishes, it was obvious that he had not touched the food at all; he was simply pouring his own drink in a leisurely manner of a martial art master. His sword wasid down on the table, but they did not see his saber. Shang Xiuxun leaned forward slightly and looked back toward Ba Fenghan; her pretty eyes showed that she was emotionally moved. Obviously she was shaken by Ba Fenghans perfect wild, leisurely, and extremely masculine countenance and build. Swept by Ba Fenghans prating gaze, the other people sitting in Shang Xiuxuns table: Liang Zhi, Xu Yang, Wu Yan, Shang He and Shang Peng, all felt a chill in their hearts. How formidable! they cried out inwardly; nobody has ever expected they would encounter this kind of rarely seen martial art master who was still this young. But nobody knew who he was. Suddenly someone on the street shouted loudly, Ba Fenghan,e down to receive your death! Immediately the entire restaurant gradually quieted down. But there were stillments like Here we go again!, Lets watch some excitement, and the like, rising and falling in session, until finally it grew so quiet that even the sound of a falling pin would be heard clearly. Astounded, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked down and saw standing on the street were four men, tall and short, but each mans eyes revealed ominous glint. With weapons in their hands, they issued challenge to Ba Fenghan, who was sitting upstairs. Shang Xiuxun and the others were all emotionally moved. Ba Fenghan was a martial art expert from the Western Regions. These past couple of years he unceasingly challenge martial art masters from famous houses and schools, as well as local heroes and evil tyrants, in all parts of the country, yet suffered not even one defeat. So much so that the families seeking revenge assembled and besieged him, yet he was still able to escape easily. His reputation has spread in Jianghu for a long time. Together with Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai and Yang Xuyan, they were known as most outstanding martial art masters of the present days young generation, obtaining the highest des. In the eyes of the Wulin people, it was only after they seeded in assassinating Ren Shaoming that Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings prestige barely caught on with the other three, and they were considered as one entity, unlike the other three, who were considered able to assume personal responsibility. The four challengers on the street were wearing ck warrior outfits of the same style. Their ages ranged from around thirty to around forty. The tallest guy was wielding a pair of hooks, while the other three used sabers. Their appearance looked fierce and tough, making others feel that they were not of the benevolent type. Luo Fang said in a low voice, Did you see the plum blossom insignia embroidered on thepel of their robes? These four are the leaders of the Plum Blossom School. Together with their Laoda [oldest/big boss] Gu Yue, they are known as the Five Vicious Plum Blossoms. Their subordinates numbers more than a hundred young men, specialist in breaking into a house for robbery, and they wont shrink from any crime. I wonder if their Laoda was killed that they came here to seek revenge. This moment, the tall guy thundered, Little Thief Ba, get out here! Dages [big brother] debt of blood must be repaid by your blood. Kou Zhong raised his thumb toward Luo Fang, praising him for hitting the target at the first guess, so that Luo Fang was feeling very proud of himself. Calm andposed, Ba Fenghan poured the wine from the pot into his cup; without even looking at the four remainders of the Five Vicious Plum Blossoms, he smiled and said, What qualifications do you have that you ask me to get out for you? I can take care of your Laoda in less than three moves. If you can take one move, I will be very surprised. As if he knew that Shang Xiuxun was watching him with rapt attention, he turned his head around and raised his cup to toast her with a smile. Rather unnaturally Shang Xiuxin averted her gaze to avoid his. With a sudden shout, as if the earth was struck by scorching thunder, one of the Vicious leaped up at an angle with the intention of charging onto the second floor. Ba Fenghan let out a cold snort, his eyes were still fixed on the side view of Shang Xiuxuns face. Fast beyond humans understanding the cup in his left hand moved. The wine inside the cup turned into droplets of arrows shooting at lightning-fast speed toward the enemy who was leaping upstairs. The mans feet have just left the ground, his roar had not yet stopped, the arrows of droplets urately pierced his mouth. The mans entire body shook severely; his eyes, ears, mouth and nose spurted blood, his head was thrown backward, he fell t on his back and died a violent death on the spot. The entire second floor stood up with a thunder-like roar. It was the first time that these people personally witnessed someone killing the enemy using droplets of wine as arrows, and the victim was an evil bully who ran amuck the region. Flying Horse Ranch people were all shaken as well. Only Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys, continued drinking their tea calmly as if nothing has happened. The other three Vicious turned pale with fright; their aggressive arrogance disappeared without a trace. Lifting up their deadrades body, they immediately covered their head and sneaked away like a rat, provoking the hooting and booing of the people watching down the street from the second floor windows. Ba Fenghan acted as if what he just did was a trivial matter; he resumed his leisure drinking. Soon afterwards the restaurant was also back to its former condition, just like the street after the two gangs brawl earlier, as if nothing had ever happened. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling heard someone on the table behind them speaking in low voice, This was the seventh idiot who did not like to have a long life. They could be considered lucky; prior to this, those who came were more powerful than they, but half of them could not leave alive. The food and wine arrived. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling no longer had any interest in Ba Fenghan; plus they saw that he did note to provoke them, hence feeling relieved, they chewed vigorously. On the contrary, Shang Xiuxun, who was usually addicted to food, perhaps because of Ba Fenghans influence, she appeared to be heavy-hearted. Only after eating two pieces of yellow-croaker fish, she put down her chopsticks. Shang Peng and Shang He, two old men, still from time to time looked at Ba Fenghan, sizing him up. Suddenly a voice wasing from the top of the stairs, I want those two tables! The waiters stunned voice was heard, But the guests have not left! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stared at each other in horror, knowing something was wrong, simply because they recognized this repulsive voice belonged to Qu Aos first disciple Changshu Mou. They were sure this time he came to confront Shang Xiuxun and her men. Evidently the Flying Horse Ranch people also knew who Changshu Mou was. Other than Shang Xiuxun and Peng, and He, the two old guys, they all looked keyed up and alert. Naturally the two boys did not dare to look back; thinking that the opponent hase prepared, they would be lucky if after an all-out battle the entire team could retreat safely. Ba Fenghan seemed to be entranced; he did not pay any attention to what was going on behind him at all. More than a dozen footsteps appeared behind Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, a womans voice shouted, We want to use these two tables; go! It was the voice of the Tiele beauty, Hua Lingzi, who once exchanged blows with Xu Ziling. Because Kou and Xu were sitting with their backs facing them, they were not yet aware about these two big adversaries presence. It was as if Ba Fenghan had just woken up from his stupor; heughed aloud and said, The disciples that Qu Ao is sending out are all so overbearing like this? When the guests at the two tables behind the two boys learned that the people who wanted to use their tables were Qu Aos disciples, they immediately became as tame as sheep and ran away in panic. Changshu Mou came to the table behind Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, and deliberately sat down with his back toward the windows. His back was less than half a zhang away from Kou and Xu, two boys. To his left was Ba Fenghan, to his right was Shang Xiuxun. The distance between them was less than a zhang; the situation was indeed very strange. Chapter 9 - Part 3 One after another the other martial art masters on Changshu Mous side sat down; their number happened to be twenty even, Genggehuer and Hua Lingzi separately sat down on Changshu Mous left and right. Seeing the waiter was still standing with trembling hands and feet and did not immediately clear up the leftovers on the table from the previous guests, Changshu Mou calmly said, When I, Changshu Mou, was still in my humble country, I have already heard Ba Xiongs illustrious name, and was already filled with admiration, wishing earnestly that I can have an opportunity to ask for your brilliant guidance. I wonder if in these couple of days Ba Xiong has spare time, can we agree on a time and a ce where we can talk intimately? Ba Fenghan drank the wine in his cup in one gulp, and casually threw the cup to the floor between he and Changshu Mou. Crash! The china cup shattered into pieces and scattered all over the floor. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; inwardly they were greatly surprised. Whether it was intentional or unintentional, this Ba kid unexpectedly was helping them! Calm andposed, Ba Fenghan said, Selecting an auspicious date is not as good as a chance encounter. I will leave town tomorrow, just let me, Ba Fenghan, see how much of Qu Aos skill has Changshu Xiong mastered. Everybody halted their chopsticks; several hundreds eyes were all on Changshu Mou, wanting to know how he would react. Genggehuer and Hua Lingzis countenance changed suddenly. While they were about to rise, Changshu Mou waved his hand to stop them, and then he let out a longughter that shook the roof tiles. Those in the restaurant who knew whats what were emotionally moved; they heard the sound of hisughter was high-pitched but not overbearing, yet it was able to pierce their eardrums. Obviously in terms of both inner and outer skills, Changshu Mou has reached transformation stage. Theughter suddenly stopped. Although there was no wind, Changshu Mous white clothes suddenly fluttered; immediately a burst of cold and sharp murderous aura arose. A gentle and soft smile appeared on his handsome face, as he shook his head and said with a sigh, What a delight. Too bad right now I have an important thing to do. I wonder if Ba Xiong could stay a bit longer? And then he turned toward the waiter, who was standing on the side without knowing what to do, and barked his order, Give me two more orders of the same food that the friends from Flying Horse Ranch behind me ordered. Go! The waiter hurried away. Shang Xiuxun knew the enemy would make their move anytime; she signaled her men to instruct them who should fight and who should leave. This is called he whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no one well meaning wille [i.e. be careful not to trust strangers]. Changshu Mous party seemed to have very high confidence, they must have something to rely on; perhaps they still have hidden troops downstairs or outside the building. However, merely Changshu Mou, three martial brothers and sister, already had formidable power. The other seventeen Tiele warriors had understated expression; each one was as calm as ordinary people. Those with discerning eyes would be able to tell that these men were not to be trifled with. In the restaurant, crow and peacock made no sound [i.e. absolute silence]; nobody was willing to leave and miss watching the excitement. Everybody was waiting quietly for Ba Fenghans response. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked down to the street, and found out that the street, which was originally bustling with peopleing and going, has suddenly turned as quiet as a ghost domain; the stores and shops have closed their doors, and not a single human being was to be found. Immediately they realized that Changshu Mous operation to deal with the Flying Horse Ranch has received Qian Duguans tacit approval; they could not help shivering in fear. Ba Fenghans voice rang out, This is indeed a coincidence. I was going to deal with two friends from the Flying Horse Ranch for some personal gratitude and grudges; would Changshu Xiong also wait a little bit? Both Shang Xiuxun and Changshu Mous men were surprised. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew it was time for the ugly woman to meet the father-inw. While they were looking at each other with wry smile on their faces, Ba Fenghan suddenly muttered as if he was talking to himself, Why is Junyute? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were gob smacked; they both thought that it would be worse if they came across Fu Junyu. Shang Xiuxuns gaze fell on them, her eyes gleamed with cold shes. Kou Zhong finally spoke up; he sighed and said, Since Changshu Xiong lost your golden shields, I wonder if you are now using iron shields, copper shields, wooden shields, leather shields, or perhaps rotten shields? This remark was like a sharp tip suddenly appeared out of nowhere. First, Changshu Mou was greatly shaken; next, he turned around and seeing Kou Zhong, he stared in disbelief at the two boys. Luo Fang was even more shocked; along with everybody elses golden eyes and fiery gaze, he stared fiercely at the two boys. Kou Zhong turned around and shed Changshu Mou one of his splendid smiles. He even raised his hand to greet him and said, Hello! You have fallen into a trap! Wanwan is secretly conspiring with us; otherwise, how could you idiots drop by here to receive a beating today? Ha! Really funny! And then, pointing at the two new shields hanging on Changshu Mous back, he roared inughter and said, Turns out its iron. Ha! Suddenly you became poor! Next, he turned toward Shang Xiuxun, who was glowering at him, winked and said, Changzhu Daren, please be magnanimous; we, two brothers, will atone for our crimes by meritorious acts! Other than those in the know, everybody listening was baffled; they were unclear on who exactly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were? However, just by the fact that Changshu Mous side did not recklessly make their move, they knew that these two boys must have unusual background. With a tenderugh Hua Lingzi said, We should be the one who said interesting; let this Miss see how you, these two kids, are going to render meritorious acts? Finished speaking, two short des immediately moved from her sleeves into her hands. Hold on! Ba Fenghan suddenly shouted. Just like that, the swords drawn and bows bent atmosphere was temporarily suppressed. Genggehuer had found early on that Ba Fenghan was unpleasant to the eye; heughed coldly and said, Isnt Ba Xiong meddling on other peoples business too much? Ba Fenghan sneered and said, Whether I am meddling or not, it depends on my mood. But if even a little bit of face you are not willing to grant me, dont me Zaixia for putting my foot down. Even with Changshu Mous arrogant and conceited character, he was unwilling to deal with the Flying Horse Ranchs martial art masters and Kou and Xu, two boys at the same time; not to mention with the addition of Ba Fenghan, a formidable opponent. Thereupon he put down his ambitious and ruthless character. With his back against Kou Zhong, he satfortably in his chair and pped the table and shouted, Why havent the food and wine being served yet? Shang Xiuxuns silver-bell-likeughter rang out, attracting the entire restaurants attention. She then said calmly, I have long heard Ba Xiongs saber and swords mutual splendor; is it possible for you to let Xiuxun broaden her horizon? Everybody, including Ba Fenghan himself, was stunned; nobody understood why grew new branch out of a knot by suddenly issuing challenge to Ba Fenghan. Except Xu Ziling. He understood a little bit her frame of mind. First of all, she was annoyed that the two boys deceived her, and then she was mad at Ba Fenghan sticking his nose right this moment by wanting to settle scores with the two boys, which would give Changshu Mou an unfair advantage. This moment Xu Ziling turned his head to look at Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan also happened to look at him. As the two mens eyes met, it was as if four streaks of lightning struck against each other in the air. Xu Ziling straightened up his back and shoulders, his imposing manner rose up steeply, revealing a terrifying graceful bearing that no one, Kou Zhong included, has ever seen before. Calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he cast a sidelong nce toward Ba Fenghan and said with a smile, Has Ba Xiongs saber been broken? Ba Fenghan was astonished, Xu Xiong has indeed guessed correctly. Ten days ago Zaixia met a martial art master that I have never met before, which resulted in my saber broken. How did Xu Xiong guess? As soon as the two words Xu Xiong came out of his mouth, the room was abuzz with people expressing their opinions. By this time everybody guessed that these two brothers must be Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, who dealt with Ren Shaoming. Shang Xiuxun revealed an extremely angry expression. She stomped her feet under the table to vent out her anger, yet in her fragrant heart she was secretly pleasantly surprised; it was indeed an extreme contradiction. Liang Zhi, Luo Fang and the others were dumbstruck; in their hearts, there was an equal amount of disbelief and delight. When Ba Fenghan mentioned that he encountered a strong opponent that he had never met before, his eyes revealed an extremelyplex expression, as if it was a very memorable encounter. Noticing that, Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he said, Whats so difficult to guess? We also know that the opponent Ba Xiong encountered was a woman as beautiful as an immortal from the Heaven; her fragrant name is Wanwan. Ha! Isnt that right? Ba Fenghan burst outughing. He said, Right! Ha! But Kou Xiong is only half right. She did look amazingly beautiful, but she was not Wanwan at all; rather, the most outstanding female martial art master since the beginning of Dugu ns history. Dugu Feng? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling blurted out together. This time Ba Fenghan was stunned. Have you fought with her too? he asked in astonishment. Changshu Mou joined in; he asked in amazement, Does that mean Ba Xiong was losing a battle? Howe I have never heard about this woman? Kou Zhong sneered and said, Whats so strange about you never heard about it? Isnt Ba Xiong also unclear about this female demon Wanwan? Changshu Mou was displeased, I was talking to Ba Xiong, you interrupted me, he said. Kou Zhong was about to retort, Shang Xiuxuns tender voice snapped, Why so much bullsh1t? Just shut up! Ba Fenghan, let me see if your sword is stronger than your saber. The room grew quiet again. Book 10 - 10 – Strange Move to Suppress The Enemy Book 10 Chapter 10 C Strange Move to Suppress The Enemy Before Ba Fenghan had any chance to reply, Fu Junyus voice came from the top of the stairs, Why is everybody quieted down? What happened here? She appeared like an apparition or a demon thate and go without any trace. Although there was nock of capable people on the upstairs, no one heard any footstepsing up the stairs. When thingse to a head, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling calmed down instead; they took the stand and were ready to adapt to any circumstances. Ba Fenghan rose up to his full height; heughed and said, Finally Junyu is here; I have been waiting for you for five days! While walking over, Fu Junyu swept her gaze around the room. This Korean beauty was wearing purple-red warrior outfit inside, and purple-red cloak on the outside, in stark contrast with her snow-white skin. Her mour radiated all around, taking away the limelight from Hua Lingzi. However, if Shang Xiuxun was willing to reveal her true identity, although Fu Junyu was an outstanding beauty, she would still have to concede to her. Fu Junyu gazended on Hua Lingzi first before moving to Changshu Mou; she said in astonishment, Unexpectedly its Tieles Changshu Mou. Changshu Mou immediately rose up to salute and said, Turns out its Yijian Dashi Old Fus distinguished disciple Miss Junyu. Changshu Mou is paying his respect. With Changshu Mou standing up like this, he was blocking Fu Junyus line of sight toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Ba Fenghan took this opportunity to signal Kou and Xu, two boys; he made a helpless gesture by spreading out his hands with a bitter smile on his face. Obviously he was saying, I already warned you guys, but you did not leave earlier. Now you cannot me me. Fu Junyu halted her steps to return the greeting and said, Turns out its the White Clothes Golden Shields Changshu Mou Xiong. Junyu failed to show her respect. The two were so polite and courteous toward each other, so that casual onlookers were unable to make any sense of the tangled andplicated rtionship between the two. Finished with the propriety, Fu Junyu walked over toward Ba Fenghan, who was standing respectively, waiting to receive her. From the corner of her eye she suddenly caught Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong. In shock, she stopped right on her track. The two boys hastily left their seats and greeted in chorus, Yu Yi, how are you? Nephews pay you their respect! Other than Ba Fenghan, who was still smiling wryly, the others were even more confused. Fu Junyus phoenix eyes shot a deep cold murderous intention. Whos your Yu Yi? she said frostily, Watch the sword! Ring! The sword left its sheath. This moment Fu Junyu was standing closest to Xu Xiling, about a zhang away. Once the sword shed, immediately it turned into a dozen sword shadows. Just before the sword momentum reached him, Xu Ziling let out a cold shout and took half a step forward. Unexpectedly his palm cut into the empty space separating the two. It was such a simple chop with the edge of the palm, but to those who watched the process, there was some kind of extremely bizarre, yet wless feeling. First of all, Xu Ziling gave up the impression that this palm chop carried the power of his entire being, yet it also gave up the impression of light, powerless chop. The contradiction was very difficult to exin. Secondly, the observers clearly saw every detail of his movement from start to finish, yet the entire process felt totally natural, without beginning, without an end. Just like the motion of the stars in the blue dome of heaven, which has no beginning and has no end, just like the flight of a bird, or the path of a swimming fish, unconstrained like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies, without leaving any trace. Thirdly, the moment his palm cut the empty space, Fu Junyus suffocating sword qi seemed to be all of a sudden sucked clean by this one palm, leaving only an empty, floating sword shadow, which no longer constitute any killing power. To experts like Ba Fenghan, Changshu Mou, Shang Xiuxun and others on their caliber, it was even clearer that this one move by Xu Ziling had deadlocked the strongest attack route of Fu Junyus sword technique. The timing and the position were like seamless heavenly clothes. None of the spectators was not emotionally moved. Letting out a muffled groan, momentarily Fu Junyu was unable to alter her sword momentum that she was forced to retract her sword and even took half a step back. With all blood drained from her pretty face, she said in shock, Yijian Technique? Everybody was even more stupefied. They all knew that Yijian Technique was the consummate skill of Koreans Yijian Dashi [reminder: dashi C great master, sometimes used to refer to Buddhist monks] Fu Cailing, with which he moved unhindered outside the Central ins. As Fu Cailins direct disciple, naturally Fu Junyu was also an expert of the same skill. Therefore, if it were Xu Ziling who uttered that question, everybody would feel it was proper and to be expected as a matter of course, yet now it was the other way around, naturally the spectators were even more confused. Xu Ziling stood proudly with both hands hanging free by his side, and a faint smile on the corners of his mouth, looking absolutely elegant and outstanding, proud and aloof above the crowd. He said respectfully, I still need to ask Yu Yis directions. The murderous intent in Fu Junyus beautiful eyes grew even stronger. Kou Zhong knew the situation was about to get worse; being a quick-witted person that he was, he suddenly shouted, Changshu Mou, watch the saber! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard and curved toward Changshu Mou, who was standing by the table. Yellow glow shed, saber qi filled the air. Ah! Shang Xiuxun cried out. She did not expect that in Kou Zhongs hand, this saber could generate such an unusual glow. Changshu Mou did not expect Kou Zhong to suddenly make his move to challenge him; the most aggravating thing was that following the opponents saber, there was a burst of spiraling saber power, so that other than withdrawing from the table, he basically had no other choice. Right now he did not have time to examine why Kou Zhongs power had advanced by leaps and bounds, and was capable of sending out this kind of unheard of qi power, which was even stranger than the Yuwen ns Mysterious Ice Energy. Letting out a cold shout, the pair of shields moved to his hands, while at the same time he lowered his torso in a horse stance, and in split second concentrated all the power in his body. Right shield moved first, left shield held back, both shield met Kou Zhongs divine C as if it was made by heaven, saber strike. His tablemates, Genggehuer, Hua Lingzi and the seven Tiele martial art masters, werepletely shrouded by Kou Zhongs saber qi. Their response capability was inferior to Changshu Mou, naturally their only way out was to scramble away from the table to evade. Immediately chairs were overturned, the people scattered, chicken flew and the dogs scampered. Kou Zhongs saber strike did achieve what he expected, while at the same time it intimidated Fu Junyu, letting her know that without Ba Fenghans assistance, basically she did not have any chance to deal with the two boys alone; naturally she must not act recklessly. Ba Fenghans eyes lit up. Just now Xu Zilings palm strike was undoubtedly an amazing move throughout all ages. But the simplicity was in the defensive style. Not only it would not incite the opponents desire to win, it was also effective in calming down the opponents arrogance; hence it carried the sense of subduing the army without a fight. On the contrary, Kou Zhongs saber strike waspletely offensive, a domineering move, a sweeping, insufferably arrogant, something that would not go back unless it sees blood. Immediately this martial art master, who had taken an oath to climb to the summit of martial art study, had his blood boiling. Dang! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well hacked down on Changshu Mous right shield. Like a mountain sh flood break out the dam, a powerful vortex of energy, resembling a thousand whirlpools all of a sudden rolled toward the iron shield. Changshu Mou lowered his body even more, using the amazing skill Concentrating Nine Real Changes taught personally by Qu Ao, within a snap of the fingers he turned the innate true qi within his body into nine sequences to withstand Kou Zhongs invading vortex of energy, also to stop his shield from spinning around like a windmill. If he was using his former golden shields, due to the exceptionally good metal property, which contained softness in the hardness of the metal, this single sh would not be able to determine victory or defeat. However, this pair of shields had just been forged a few days ago. The pure steels property was not suitable for Changshu Mous usage. It was meant to be temporary recement. All around the room, only he and Kou Zhong were clear of this fact. The moment the shield and the saber impacted, the shield suddenly became the point of power struggle between the twobatants true qi. Kou Zhongs power was trying to spin the shield and wrestle it from Changshu Mous hand, while Changshu Mous power was trying to twist it in opposite direction to counteract the opponents violent spinning force. The two streams of true energy collided, the iron shield immediately fell apart. Dang! Changshu Mous left shield moved up to fend off Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well. Kou Zhong put his saber back into its scabbard andughed aloud, You broke another one. The cksmiths will have new business. Hee! Genggehuer and the others, including the Tiele martial art masters on the other table, immediately stood up in anger; they all drew their weapons. Shang Xiuxun also issued her order, Flying Horse Ranch people also stood up from their table with weapons withdrawn; the battle could happen at any moment. When the guests at the seven, eight tables nearby saw how formidable Kou Zhongs saber was, they were afraid to be the fish in the moat [i.e. coteral damage], and thus scattered everywhere, clearing up the dozen or so tables on this side of the window. Changshu Mou raised his arm to stop his men from making any move. After looking down at the remainder of the iron shield on his right hand, he casually tossed it to the floor,ughed involuntarily, and said, Kou Zhong, do you understand Jianghu rules? You mounted a sneak attack like that, what kind of hero are you? Chapter 10 - Part 2 Greatly surprised, Kou Zhong said, That day when Fang Zhuangzhu [vige master, see Book 8 Chapter 11] and I were chatting, didnt Changshu Xiong also drop from the sky and mounted a sneak attack? Whatever kind of hero Changshu Xiong is, I am also that kind of hero. Although she knew that she was not supposed tough at a time like this, Shang Xiuxun could not hold it. Pfft! she burst out giggling, and greatly diffusing the swords drawn and bows bent intense atmosphere. Kou Zhong cupped his fist toward Shang Xiuxun and said, Thank you very much Changzhu for cheering on me. Shang Xiuxun glowered at him viciously. But with her pair of fake moustache, she looked absolutely weird. Obviously Changshu Mou was at a loss. Looking up to the ceiling, he could only say, All right, three times, and then his eyes shed with ominous glint as he coldly said, I wonder if Zaixia and Ba Xiongs fight can be momentarily postponed? Hearing thatst sentence, everybody knew that since the battle was imminent, he wanted to rify Ba Fenghans position first. The situation at hand was clear; whichever side Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu stood with, that side would have assured victory. Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, hinting that if Ba Fenghan was not tactful, they would join hands and take care of him first. Although this was not an easy matter, they simply must try. Aplicated look shed through Ba Fenghans eyes. Finally he turned his gaze toward Fu Junyu. Fu Junyu maintained a wooden expression; it was quite a whileter that she spoke up, No matter how Changshu Xiong look at it, you are already lost by half a step. ording to Jianghu rules, the gratitude and grudges between Changshu Xiong and these two boys must also be postponed. Noticing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were looking at her, she angrily said, I am not helping you at all, I just dont want you to die under anybody elses hands! Why havent you ... Kou Zhong was afraid she might say the word get lost. If she did and they really get lost, they would lose quite a bit of face. Therefore, he cut her off in loud voice, Yu Yi please take care of yourself, we, two brothers, are showing filial piety toward Niang, the firmament can be our witness. And then he signaled Liang Zhi with his eyes. Liang Zhi understood; he bowed toward Shang Xiuxun and said, This ce is unsuitable to stay for an extended period of time, Changzhu, let us continue our journey. Pow! Shang Xiuxun tossed two ingots of gold on the table and said coldly, Today its our Flying Horse Ranch treat! Finished speaking she walked out leisurely between the two groups of Tiele warriors. Shang Peng, Liang Zhi, and the others followed closely; they swaggered freely under the ominous glint of Changshu Mou and his mens eyes. Leaving the House of Fragrance, they saw the street was filled with Tiele warriors and the people of Xiangyang; fortunately, after considering the pros and cons, Changshu Mou did not issue any order to attack. However, naturally the enemy was unwilling to let the matter drop just like this. Shang Xiuxun made the decision to abandon their horses and luggage at the inn, and immediately climb the city wall to leave the city. Along the way Sang Xiuxun ignored Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongpletely, but she did not drive them away either. Seeing Shang Xiuxun like that, other people, including Luo Fang, who has always been in good terms with them, did not dare to talk to the two boys. Xu Yang had already paid a lot of money to hire a cargo ship. This moment he added three more ingots of gold, ordering the boatman to sail immediately. It was only after the boat departed the dock and sailed down the River that everybody breathed a sigh of relief for being able to escape with their lives. The ship was spacious and sturdy; there were seven, eight cabins avable for them to use. In a rather awkward atmosphere, Xu Yang assigned the cabin at the aft for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. He said in a low voice, Changzhu is mad at you, the two of you better do something. Ay! I did not expect Er Zhishi to be that astute and able to see far ahead. After shaking his head with a sigh, he gave the two boys a friendly pat on the shoulders, and then without saying anything he went to the aft to swallow clouds and blow out fog. Kou Zhong whispered to Xu Ziling, Guarding against people, that we cannot do without. Ill go to check the boatman and his three mens foundation. When Kou Zhong went out to talk to the boatman, Luo Fang waited until Shang Xiuxun, Liang Zhi, Shang Peng, Shang He and the others went into their cabins, and then he went out to find Xu Ziling. Which one of you was that scar-faced Daxia? he asked. Xu Ziling was leaning against the railings, enjoying the night scenery on both sides of the river under the moonlight. Facing the night breeze, heughed and said, The scar-faced part was real, but the Daxia part was a fake. We are brothers of the same Ranch, there is no need to speak superfluous words. Luo Fang gratefully said, I owe my little life to Xu Xiong. Hey! Your martial art skill is indeed formidable. Do you really know Yijian Technique? How did that one palm chop into the air force that b1tch [orig. poniang] to draw back? Xu Ziling exined, The logic is actually very simple; it does not matter what style or move, everything uses the good ol timing. As long as you can grasp the timing urately, you can be one step ahead of the opponent in sealing the path of his attack and transfer of energy, and at certain point intercept and destroy, the opponent would find it difficult to make any changes, and bes like having his hands and feet bound. If he strives to continue the attack, it would be akin to breaking his own strike, and wont have the power to meet the enemy. Luo Fang was speechless. He said, This principle is easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice. Like that Korean womans sword technique that has countless changes, I couldnt even see it. But even if I could see it clearly, it is still difficult to oppose her swift and fierce sword qi; so that even though I know the theory, it is useless to me. Knowing is always better than not knowing, Xu Zilingforted him, As long as you set this target and train your eyesight and skill hard, one day you will seed. Luo Fang seemed toprehend this logic. This moment Kou Zhong was back and said cheerfully, There shouldnt be any problem. Turns out there is a small cabin at the aft. Since we are pastry chefs, we should be able to make some cakes and present it to Changzhu to make her happy. Xu Ziling understood his intention. Do we have enough ingredients to make some cakes? he asked. Kou Zhong whispered in his ear, The boatman has some lotus fragrance cake leftover. You know what to do! It should be all right as long as there is no poison in it. Knock! Knock! Knock! Who is it? Shang Xiuxuns voice came from the inside. Its Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling delivering some snacks, Kou Zhong replied. Shang Xiuxuns response was tepid, I am not hungry! Donte bothering me! Kou Zhong shed Xu Ziling a there is hope expression. He smiled apologetically and said, Just now Changzhu ate only a little bit of food; it would be best if youll let me send you a little bit of cakes, so that it is ready whenever Changzhu wants to eat! Creak! The wooden door opened, revealing Shang Xiuxuns fairy-like countenance. She stared coldly at the two boys for a moment before turning around and walked in. By the time the two boys pushed the door and came in, Shang Xiuxun was standing in front of the bed, with her back against them. Although she was still wearing mens clothing, her beautiful and shiny jet-ck hair was cascading down her fragrant back like a sheet of delicate satin, filled with females most moving charming beauty. Kou Zhong put down those several pieces of shameful lotus fragrance cakes on the simple and crude small wooden table, and then with a ir he plopped his buttocks down on the chair, and signaled Xu Ziling to sit down as well. Why havent you left? Shang Xiuxun said in soft voice. Xu Ziling closed the door, and then with a bitter smile he said, We did not intentionally want to deceive Changzhu; it was just ... Shang Xiuxun cut him off, Who killed Mao Zao that night? Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes lit up. Changzhu, please understand, he said respectfully, That man was Xiao Ling. Shang Xiuxun slowly turned her delicate body. Stomping her feet, she said angrily, Really doesnt make any sense! I inly tested you, but I could not detect any true qi inside your body. Kou Zhong said in great delight, Changzhu is back to your regr self! The fact is that we were using an extremely simple technique. All we need to do was to hide our true qi in an acupoint that nobody expects. Leaning against the window, Shang Xiuxun said with a frown, True qi is circting endlessly, it flows continuously among the Eight Extraordinary Channels; how could you conceal it in certain acupoint? Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, So thats how it is? But we can do it, and that demon Wanwan is even more superior. Whos Wanwan? Shang Xiuxun asked. Thats the reason why we must discuss it in details with Changzhu, Xu Ziling replied, This matter is extremely important; it even concerns Jinglings survival. Shang Xiuxun slowly walked toward the table and sat down on a chair that Xu Ziling pulled out for her. Tell me! she said solemnly. Book 10 - 11 – Under Heavy Rewards Book 10 Chapter 11 C Under Heavy Rewards By midday the next day, the boat reached Hannan, another big city before Jingling. Entering the full harbor, they cast anchor at the dock. They saw boatsing back, but not one boat heading towards Jingling. The boatman went out to ask around, but the opinion differed. Some said there were pirates blocking the water ways, some said the City of Jingling had been taken over by the Jianghuai Army, some even said that there was a water demon in the river, boring into the passing boats. In short, the people were in turmoil, nobody dared to proceed toward Jingling. Naturally this boatman was no exception. No matter how Xu Yang and the others tempted him, offering more money, he was unwilling to take the risk. Finally the boatman said, How about if I sell this boat to you, and you can take it to Jingling yourself? Xu Yang and the others looked at each other in dismay; simply because no one knew how to sail. Kou Zhong stepped forward bravely; he pped his chest to indicate leave it to me. And thus the transaction, involving a huge amount of money, took ce. After the boatman and his sailors left, carrying their gold in great delight, Kou Zhong said, We left our luggage and supplies at Xiangyang, and now since we are already in Hannan, we might as well go into the city to buy some supplies and make preparations. It would be best if we could buy a dozen or so strong bows and a thousand or so arrows, so that if something happens, we would not be caught in a difficult situation. He added, Also, some kerosene, oil cloth, and other materials. I am skilled in water battle; we will use fire to attack, so must not be unprepared. Shang Xiuxun, who was still wearing mens clothing, asked in doubt, You really know how to do it? Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, Havent you heard about my bold and powerful victory over the Haisha Bang? If I did not have any weight in maritime warfare, how could I deal big blow on Haisha Bang? Liang Zhi modestly asked, So what else do you want to buy? Seeing Xu Ziling snickering on the side, Kou Zhong shouted, Whats so funny? And then he gave them a shopping list. Wu Yan, Luo Fang and the others listened with respectful attention, and then they left noisily, entered town and spread out to do some serious shopping. With nothing else to do, Kou Zhong proposed that they go to a restaurant by the dock to eat lunch. Liang Zhi shook his head and said, This is not a good time. It was not easy for us to obtain this ship. You go ahead! Ill stay to guard the ship. Shang Peng and Shang He also refused to go ashore. Seeing Kou Zhong looking at her expectantly and making an eye signal, Shang Xiuxuns heart softened. Very well! she agreed. Xu Ziling wanted to go back to his room to rest, but Kou Zhong pulled him toe along. As soon as Shang Xiuxun stepped into the restaurant, she wrinkled her brows. Turned out the inside was crowded to its bursting point; the restaurant was full with people from all trades[1], so that all thirty or so tables were filled to capacity. Shang Xiuxun turned around and was about to leave. But Kou Zhong pulled her sleeve and said, Changzhu, dont worry, subordinate can make arrangement. Shaking off his hand, Shang Xiuxun said, If you want me to sit on the same table as these people, just forget it. If you want to squeeze in, just squeeze in yourself! Giggling, Kou Zhongs said, I told you not to worry. Changzhus temperament, we are quite clear about it. Just give me a few taels of silver first! Ill clear up a table immediately. Youll see. Shang Xiuxun crossly said, You have no money? Smiling mischievously, Kou Zhong said, I have a little bit, but how can I bepared to Changzhu whose riches rank high in the world? Shang Xiuxun painstakingly held her temper in check; she grabbed three taels of silver and dropped it on his outstretched palm. Kou Zhong took the money and boldly marched away. Shang Xiuxun scooted over toward Xu Ziling, who was standing quietly with his hands behind his back. She spoke gently, I have not yet had the opportunity to thank you! Xu Ziling knew she was referring to that night, where they fought a hard battle side-by-side; he smiled and said, That was an unforgettable memory; I should be the one who thanks you. Pfft! Shang Xiuxun burst into a tender giggle and said, You and Kou Zhong are practically two very different kinds of people, I really dont understand how you can mingle together. He loves to brag about little things and speaks about it as if it was a big thing; but you love to y down big things as if it was an insignificant matter. Xu Xiling said, Under normal circumstances, he is indeed, as you said, that kind of person; but in really important matters, in no way would he act willfully and make a scene. Otherwise everybody would have seen his other side! Shang Xiuxuns pretty face suddenly reddened; she said in a low voice, I suddenly feel very happy. Do you want to know why? A peculiar feeling crept into Xu Zilings heart; he asked in astonishment, What makes Changzhu suddenly opens up your heart? Shang Xiuxun shrugged her tender and beautiful shoulders, and said nonchntly, No reason at all. Since I became Changzhu, this is the first time I feel happy for no particr reason. I only had this kind of feeling when I was little; I had never expected that today I can relive my childhood feeling. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Changzhus remark is really thought-provoking. Hey! That kid seeded! Under heavy rewards, the waiter led them to a small table by the window. Not only nobody else try to sit on it, they could also their eyes on scenic view of the Han River pier. After taking the order, the waiter bowed respectfully and left. Satisfied, Shang Xiuxun said, You do have a knack on doing things like this; but three taels of silver to buy an empty table is kind of expensive. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Only one tael of silver. What about the other two? Shang Xiuxun asked in surprise. Without even thinking, Kou Zhong replied, To pay the billter, of course! Right now you are dressed like a pampered, spoiled brat, a white-faced Gongzi of noble family; naturally youll have attendants like us whod settle the bill. Look! There are already people who stare at you with drools on their mouth. Shang Xiuxuns entire face was burning; she spoke ferociously, Really dogs mouth wont grow ivory; cant you speak a bit more proper and polite? Xu Zilingughed in spite of himself; he said, Changzhu has fallen into a trap. He deliberately said those things to divide your attention, so that you wont force him to spit out the money he already pocketed. Do you think the wine and food we ordered will cost as much as two taels of silver? Shang Xiuxun was delighted, Very good! she said, Xiao Ling is helping me! Turning toward Kou Zhong, she spread her palm wide and protested coquettishly, Give it back! Kou Zhong grabbed her delicate jade-palm; scrutinizing it, he analyzed, This palm has three peaks, meaning fame and profit of every kind! Blushing profusely, Shang Xiuxun pulled her hand back, and crossly said, How could you be this rude? Not fair! Kou Zhong cried, Just now Changzhu let Xiao Ling pulled your hand to have a heart-to-heart talk, but now I cant even read your palm? Greatly embarrassed, Shang Xiuxun said, How can there be such thing? From the corner of her eye she caught Xu Ziling was bursting outughing; she realized she had fallen into his trap again. Stomping her feet, she said, Dont think that I will fall into your trickery again! Quickly take out the silver you embezzled. Finished speaking, she covered herughing mouth again, prompting more people to stare at her charming, pretty beyond humanprehension, pampered son of a wealthy family look. Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes shed with cold rays; sweeping the restaurant, he scared those people that they hastily averted their gaze. Shang Xiuxunughed until she was out of breath; she said, If you, Kou Daye is in urgent need of some money, eight or ten ingots of gold, I wont be stingy; why would you bother embezzling me a mere two taels of silver? Kou Zhong heaved a sigh of relief; shing his brilliant smile, he said, Men who stretch out their hand to ask for money are the most useless. Only those who have guts will earn money with all his heart and all his strength. Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart was moved. These sentences pretty much summed up Kou Zhongs frame of mind in his endeavor to vie over the world; he disdained to do it just by hanging his hands by his side. The more difficult and the more challenging it was, he would be most interested; otherwise, he would have epted Du Fuweis hard to refuse proposal the other day. Shang Xiuxun seemed to be in very good mood; she no longer argued with Kou Zhong. Meanwhile the waiter returned with their food. The two boys leaned over and started to chew. But she cast her gaze outside the window, looking at the boats turning back from the Han River. Who could tell me what had actually happened in Jingling? she mused. With his mouth full of food, Kou Zhong mumbled, One ingot of gold! What? Shang Xiuxun blurted out, I have not even settled the ount of those two taels of silver with you, and now you want to be a hopeless ghost who demand money? Deadpan, Kou Zhong said, Under heavy rewards, there will be brave men. You want news, others want gold. Its fair and square! Seeing his oundish behavior, Shang Xiuxun could not help glowering at him; but in the end she fished out an ingot of gold, while speaking disdainfully, Its easy for you to say; one tael of silver to buy an empty table, one ingot of gold to buy ghost news, but you dont know whether the person wanting to earn the gold will tell you rubbish. [1] People from all trades - Orig. Three Religions (Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism) and Nine Schools (Confucians, Daoists, Yin-yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists). Chapter 11 - Part 2 Kou Zhong swallowed his food. Sighing contentedly, he said, Money is supposed to be spent; money that dont get to be spent is a waste. This is a money in exchange of goods society, if it is used properly, not only it could make you enjoy everythingfortably, it could also make your life more colorful, and could even earn you fame and profit, and power too, to such an extent that the Emperors throne is not impossible to obtain. Shang Xiuxun was emotionally moved. Turns out you want to be like others who vie for the throne. But the money you spent so far has been mine! As the spectator, Xu Ziling was able to see more clearly. He knew that Kou Zhong has been going all out to win Shang Xiuxuns heart, to make her happy, and thus greatly reduced the distance between the two, so that in the future this beauty would support him. Against all expectation, Kou Zhong suddenly rose up to his full height and raised the gold high above his head. Whoever can tell me whats going on in Jingling, this gold will be his! he shouted loudly. His voice was full of energy; it immediately subdued the mor that the noisy restaurant gradually quieted down. Everybodys eyes were on him. As soon as they saw the glittering yellow gold high up in the air, seventy-percent of the people there shouted, I know! and then stood up hurriedly, so that the restaurant was in an uproar. Ring! Kou Zhong pulled his Moon in the Well and waved it lightly; fast as lightning the treasured saber soared and embedded itself deep into the beam. While the de that was outside the beam was still quivering endlessly, Kou Zhong thundered, I am Kou Zhong who cut off Ren Shaomings bird [or pen1s] head. If anybody dares to babbling nonsense to deceive me, or perhaps simply giving me news that everybody already knew, I will immediately break his mothers egg. After this, one after another the people sat back, no longer made any noise. Right this moment, a middle-aged man in schr attire stood up smoothly, with an unspeakable calmness. Kou Zhong said, Everybody continue eating, your Daye does not like to be looked at! Everybody kept quiet out of fear; they simply buried their heads in the dining table. The sound ofughing and chatting was greatly reduced as well. Pointing to the middle-aged schr, Kou Zhong called, You,e here! And then, sitting pompously, he said to Shang Xiuxun, who was stillughing like a trembling stem of flower, Interesting! This is the power of goldbined with the saber. Shang Xiuxun rolled her coquettish eyes to him, and swore under her breath, A dead evil tyrant whose entire body is covered in copper stench. But at the same time there was a peculiar feeling rising up in her fragrant heart. All along, in the Flying Horse Ranch she was aloof and remote. Forget about ying or joking with others, she did not even have anybody with whom she could vent up to unload her mind. Yet the kid in her presence was able to make her bursting with joy, mixed with bashful and anger, which was difficult to differentiate. It was undeniably a fresh and moving feeling. She could not help shooting a quick nce toward Xu Ziling, who appeared to be deep in thought; a totally different type of person, yet was also able to pull her heartstrings. The middle-aged schr came to their table. The waiter hurriedly added a chair for him, while continuously bbering Kou Ye this and Kou Ye that for fear that his service was unsatisfactory. After the waiter withdrew, Kou Zhong put the gold in front of the schr, and said with an indifferentugh, Let me hear first what makes you qualified to earn this gold. The schr smiled and said, Zaixia Xu Xingzhi, a public figure in Jingling; formerly I held an official post as the secretary of Duba Viges Right Vanguard Fang Daoyuan, and only this morning I came here by boat. Kou Ye, do you think this qualification is enough? [Trantors note: different Xu surname from Xu Zilings.] The man spoke with grace, his demeanor calm and collected, neither servile nor overbearing. The three could not help sizing him up again. Xu Xingzhi looked to be approximately thirty, his gaze ran deep without betraying his emotion, obviously he was well versed in martial arts and possessed considerable skills. His long eyes and straight nose,bined with his five-strand long beard, which matched very well with his delicate features, gave him the impression that he looked like a Taoist immortal. Kou Zhong nodded, No question about that, he said, Please continue! Xu Xingzhi looked up at the Moon in the Well stuck in the beam; he said slyly, The first thing in military operation is to gain military intelligence. I wonder if Kou Ye would be willing to add another ingot of gold? While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were looking at each other in disbelief, Shang Xiuxun already took out another ingot of gold and heavily dropped it on the table in front of the schr. Letting out a cold humph, she said, If what you say is not worth two ingots of gold, I will cut off your ear. Xu Xingzhiughed aloud. He put the two ingots of gold into his pocket, and then calmly, without any sign of fear, he said, Dont worry, I totally earn these two ingots of gold. A bit impatient, Kou Zhong said, Speak up quickly! Xu Xingzhi was still calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos; he said slowly, Right now Jingling has worries outside and trouble inside. On the outside is Jianghuai Armys massive military force besieging the city, cutting off the water andnd transport. In the inside is gorgeous female demon causing internal strife, brothers are massacring each other. Kou Zhong and the others countenance changed immediately; at the same time they felt that the two ingots of gold were money well spent. Xu Ziling asked heavily, Is that demon called Wanwan by any chance? This time it was Xu Xingzhis turn to be astonished; he said, This gentleman must be Xu Ye! How do you know that woman Wanwan? Lets talk about thatter, Shang Xiuxun interjected, Tell me Jinglings situation in details, dont miss anything at all. Xu Xingzhi said, And id Zaixia is not mistaken, Miss must be the Flying Horse Ranchs Changzhu, Shang Xiuxun, because only she would be so concerned about Jingling, and only she would be so liberal with money. The three people were moved again; they had a feeling that this Xu Xingzhi was not simple at all. Naturally Shang Xiuxuns bossy demeanor [orig. order people around by pointing the chin] also contributed to give away her status as someone who was ustomed to boss people around, only Xu Xingzhi did not want to speak it out. Kou Zhong asked, So what happened in Jingling? And how did you know that Wanwan is a female demon? Because on the surface she is apparently a fairy. Xu Xingzhi smiled wryly and said, Ever since she pretended to sleep without waking up, I have already warned Fang Ye that this womans background is dubious, and did not conform to reason at all. But Fang Ye simply treated my warning as the wind passing his ear, just because he is obsessed with her beauty. Xu Ziling asked in wonder, Didnt Fang Daoyuan know that Wanwan is Fang Zhuangzhus woman? Xu Xingzhi sighed and said, That was precisely the reason I warned Fang Ye. What happened between that female demon and Fang Ye, nobody knows. But the result is that Fang Ye was killed by Fang Zetao. Fortunately, knowing that disaster was hard to avoid, I already made preparation, hence the reason I was able to escape Jingling in timely manner. Now under Fang Zetao there is no more capable general, plus the morale of his soldiers was shaken. If I were Shang Changzhu, the best strategy right now is to immediately return to the Ranch to prepare your troops for imminent war, while at the same time make contact with other powers in the area, to resist the Jianghuai Armys invasion. The three people looked at each other; nobody expected that Jinglings situation has deteriorated to this condition. Wanwan has managed to make the originally as-steady-as-iron-bucket solid fort to copse silly and became as precarious as a pile of eggs. Kou Zhong asked, Hows the situation at Du Fuweis side? Xu Xingzhi replied, Du Fuwei personally led the seventy-thousand strong main force, besieging Jingling heavily, but deliberately open up the southeast road, in order to sway Jingling peoples heart and crush their aspiration to defend their property to death. It is definitely a brilliant strategy. Right now Jinglings power is gone, the citys fall is just a matter between morning and evening. Shang Xiuxun coldly said, The gold is yours. Xu Xingzhi understood that she was dismissing him. He was about to stand up and leave, when Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes gleamed with cold rays. Mister Xu, whats your future n? Kou Zhong asked with a smile. Smiling wryly, Xu Xingzhi said, I was thinking of taking refuge in Guangdong, but deep in my heart I am rather unwilling. Presently I have not made any decision yet. Kou Zhong probed further, A talent such as Mister, any militia would be happy to employ. Why dont Mister go around to try your luck? Xu Xingzhi sighed and said, In terms of fame and power, nowadays Li Mi is at the top; but in terms of long-term n, the Li ns base at Guanzhong is the most advantageous. But I dont like Li Mis biting the hands that feed him, and I never likedrge and influential ns style. The rest are not worth mentioning. Shang Xiuxun asked in astonishment, Li Yuans second son Li Shimin is talented and capable, plus he likes to befriend heroes and warriors from all over the world, he appoints talents appropriately, and washes away the degenerate custom of the rich and powerful family; why did Mister speak of him in such an inferior tone? Xu Xingzhi said, If the Li n has Li Shimin in charge, he will be able to unify the n. Problem is that Li Yuan is a gutless muddle-head; unexpectedly he abandoned Li Shimin and set up his oldest son as the heir apparent. Although this man Li Jiancheng has high martial art skill, he is an obstinate and self-opinionated man, always suspicious and envy talents. Never mind! It looks like Id better be looking for a quiet ce and stay outside of the arena watching a bustling scene! Kou Zhongs eyes shone even brighter. Laughing aloud, he said, Mister was born in this world, if you dont create a great undertaking, wont you just turn your back on the aspiration of your heart? If it were me, rather than feeling wronged all my life, I might as well follow a dead-end road to bring forth new ideas. Even if the horse inside the hide is a dead horse, it is better than gloomily and stuffily enduring life month after month, year after year. Xu Xingzhi was amazed, Turns out Kou Ye harbors magnificent aspiration in your heart. But the worlds great powers are already established, what else can we do? Kou Zhongughed and said, If we can find a suitable location, we can talk about itter. If I, Kou Zhong, be fated not to die in Jingling, I will see Mister in Luoyang. Xu Xingzhis countenance changed, You still want to go to Jingling? he asked. Shang Xiuxun seriously replied, Fearing cmity and turning back, how could that be what we do? Xu Xingzhi pondered quietly for half a day, he also sized Kou Zhong up for a while; finally making up his mind, he said, Merely based on Kou and Xu, two Dayes courage and insight is assassinating Ren Shaoming, I will wait for two gentlemen in Luoyang for three months. Immediately they decided on the secret mark with which they would contact each other; only then did Xu Xingzhi took his leave cheerfully. After retrieving his Moon in the Well from the beam, Kou Zhong and the others rushed back to their boat. As soon as everybody was back onboard, they weighed anchor and sailed toward Jingling. Book 10 - 12 – Forcibly Crashing Through A Barrier Book 10 Chapter 12 C Forcibly Crashing Through A Barrier Under the boundless drizzle, the boat zigzagging along the river course, rapidly heading downstream. The Han River was as quiet as a ghost country, just like this iparably solitary boat was the only thing remaining between the heaven and the earth. Xu Ziling, Liang Zhi, Luo Fang, Wu Yan, four men, each one armed with a three-zhang pole in their hands, stood on the bow. Every time the boat was about to crash onto the dangerous pile of rocks strewn along the riverbank, four poles stuck together, changing the boat direction to safety. The other team of warriors united inmon effort to scull the boat and control the sail under Kou Zhongs yelling and screaming, enjoying themselves amidst the extremely busy situation. Shang Peng and Shang He finally went up the deck, preparing themselves to flee for their lives in case the boat capsized. Shang Xiuxun was standing on the bridge, viciously staring at Kou Zhong, who was flustered at the helm. She said crossly, Didnt you brag about your expertise in steering skill? Something about leave it to me? Did you see this? If there is no one dedicated to help you, this boat would have been capsized ten times already. Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, Beautiful Shifu, please calm down, my experience is in sailing in the ocean; therefore, momentarily I am not used to this nine-bent thirteen-turn small river like this. Look! Shang Xiuxun looked forward, a bend rapidly approaching right ahead. Kou Zhong shouted repeatedly, the boat made a sharp turn, and then smoothly entered a river section that was as straight as a ramrod, giving them a moving feeling like they had just climbing over an endlessly rugged mountain and set foot on verdant vige on a level road. Before their eyes the river section suddenly opened up to a wide panorama, light drizzle filled the sky. Everybody wiped their foreheads, and broke up in cheers. Even Shang Peng and Shang He showed a rarely seen happy expression as if relieved from a burden. Kou Zhong sighed and said, We finally finished our apprenticeship! In the future, whether vast body of water or gigantic ocean, big river or small creek, it will not confound me. With her back against him, facing the wind and the rain, Shang Xiuxun said indifferently, What did you just call me? Kou Zhong was taken aback; after thinking for a moment he came to realize what she was asking about, Ah! That is your nickname, Beautiful Changzhu. Although it is a bit long, but it is both easy to say and suits you well. Hee! [Trantors note: Beautiful Changzhu has five characters (mei ren er chang zhu). Most nicknames were four characters or less.] Shang Xiuxun said in a low voice, You think I am really beautiful? Kou Zhong was greatly stunned; he asked in wonder, Changzhu, do you really not know that you are as beautiful as an immortal, that you are absolutely stunning? Shrugging her shoulders, Shang Xiuxun replied, Who has ever told me? For the first time Kou Zhong realized how lonely she was. Her situation at the Ranch was simr to Yang Guang of the former Sui; nobody dared to tell him the truth. While it was in as day that they were defeated in battle, he still thought that he wasparable to the Emperor of Qin, Han Wu. Shang Xiuxun did not know her own beauty. The Ranch people naturally could make idle remarks about her appearance quietly, but nobody dared to dere it openly. A bit bashful, Shang Xiuxun asked for advice, Which part of me do you think beautiful? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Your beauty is perfect. Xiao Ling and I love to watch your lovable disposition and wonderful manner when you are eating the most; whether you are biting lightly or chewing vigorously, you intoxicate peoples heart and mind. Shang Xiuxun turned her tender body around and said in delight, You speak pleasant words, just like you make such good cakes. It was also the first time that Kou Zhong saw her like this; he could only stare at her without being able to speak even half a word. Shang Xiuxun suddenly reverted back to her usual cold, indifferent way; she said, Theres still about a sichen before we reach Jingling. If the enemy seal off the river with steel rope, what should we do? Another first for Kou Zhong; it was the first time that he felt Shang Xiuxuns trust and reliance on him. He also felt that the distance between the two of them had been reduced significantly. He could not stop strange feeling from bubbling up in his heart. In term of beauty, without question Shang Xiuxun was a level above Li Xiuning, but for some reason she could not touch his heart like Li Xiuning did. There was no denying that this beautiful Ranch Master had a tremendous attractive force to him, but it was not strong enough to make him desperately cast everything, forget everything, to pursue her, to obtain her. He would have to weigh the pros and the cons and find the bnce, and adjust the distance between himself and her, because he did not wish to damage the delicate rtionship between him and Song Yuzhi for her sake. A bit impatient, Shang Xiuxun pursued, Whats on your mind? With this rude awakening, Kou Zhong looked up to meet her flower-like jade-countenance and her expectant gaze. His heroic spirit greatly aroused, he said, If I, Kou Zhong,e out to vie over the world, will Changzhu sell warhorses and equipment to me? Without even thinking, Shang Xiuxun frowned and said, Of course I will help you! But you are so destitute, where would you get the money to buy horses from me? Even though I am the Changzhu, I still need to scrupulously abide by my ancestral way of doing business, I cant do business at a loss, and I cant be involved in disputes of the Jianghu. Kou Zhong replied in all earnestness, Can Beautiful Changzhu at least suspend all trade? Give me three months, I will have enough gold and I wille to see you. Displeased, Shang Xiuxun said, Let us talk about it aftering out of Jingling alive! Seeing she did not categorically deny his request, Kou Zhong was inwardly very happy. This moment Shang Xiuxun turned her head around and saw Xu Zilings tall and straight, confident and at ease, back as he was talking with Luo Fang and Liang Zhi on the main deck. Her fragrant heart unexpectedly had a nagging feeling that she had done something wrong. The sailboat continuously sped up, rushing farther downstream. Under the continuous drizzle, they saw two warships standing side-by-side on the watercourse ahead, behind a strip of steel rope traversing the surface of the river. Xu Ziling was now at the helm, Kou Zhong was now standing proudly at the bow, carrying a rather insufferably arrogant, overbearing air around him. Shang Xiuxun and her men stood on the deck behind him. Everyone had a bow and arrow in their hands. Each arrowhead was wrapped in oilcloth, ready to be lighted with the stoves avable all around them to be fire arrows. Walking away from Kou Zhong, Shang Xiuxun asked, Do you really have confidence? Kou Zhong was watching the flurry of the enemys activity from realizing that they wereing straight toward them. Hearing the question, he turned his head around, shed a smile full of confidence at her, patted the Moon in the Well on his back, and said, Dont forget that this is a divine saber that canmunicate with the spirits. I guarantee that no one would expect this move. Even if they personally see it, they wont dare to believe their own eyes. After a short pause, heughed aloud and said, Did you see that? Right now they dont even have time to raise the sail; we break through their barricade, straight toward Jingling, they would not even able to see our tail clearly. That would be interesting. Liang Zhi anxiously asked, What if you fail to cut the steel rope? Kou Zhong shook his head, Impossible! he said, I will definitely cut the steel rope. This moment they were only about seven zhang away from the steel rope blocking the river. The situation on the two enemy ships more than twenty zhang away was clearly visible. The Jianghuai Army troops on the boats were already in battle position. Bows and catapults were strung, ready to shoot arrows and rocks. But this was not the reason why the heart of the people on the boat was anxious. Looking at the steel rope, which was as thick as a babys arm, everybody felt their scalp went numb, imagining the dreadful consequences if Kou Zhong failed and the boat crashed onto the rope. Only Kou Zhong remained as calm as usual, as if he never thought there was a remote possibility that he might fail. Four zhang, three zhang ... With no breeze, Kou Zhongs clothes fluttered, creating rustling noise. A stream of invisible vortex of energy was surging around his body. Xu Ziling, who was standing on the bridge manning the rudder, had his eyes gleaming with divine light; they were fixed on Kou Zhong, who was standing proudly at the bow like a deity descending into the mundane world. His heart was also filled with overflowing heroic spirit. This steel rope represented one crucial step in the course of events in Kou Zhongs endeavor in vying over the world. If he was able to break through this obstacle and sail toward Jingling, the spirit of the troops in the city would definitely be greatly roused, their morale would be greatly boosted. He even had indistinct feeling that if Kou Zhong was able to aplish this magnificent feat, he would win over the Flying Horse Ranch people, from top to bottom, so that they would be in favor of supporting Kou Zhong in his great undertaking of hegemony over the world. This saber strike must only seed and could not fail. Chapter 12 - Part 2 Not only would it disy his astonishing power, the more important thing was that it would validate the uracy of his judgement. The enemy ships were beginning to hoist their sails. Three zhang! With a wild roar Kou Zhong soared into the air to pounce on the steel rope. This was such an unexpected move that even the enemy was awed. Everybody stared with their eyes grew wide, and forgot to release the stones and the arrows. Fiercely gnashing her silvery teeth, Shang Xiuxun shouted tenderly, Light the arrows! Flying over the empty space, Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well from its scabbard, and turned it into a sharp ray that violently chopped down in the steel rope below. Right this moment, Kou Zhong seemed to transform into a totally different person than his usual self. Dang! While the men from both sides were craning their neck to look down, the Moon in the Well turned into an arc of yellow light, like a streak of lightning struck the steel rope. The steel rope seemed unable to withstand the saber strike; it suddenly snapped and fell into the river. Shang Xiuxun shouted tenderly, Release the arrows! Soaring into the sky, the fiery arrows illuminated the river course, separately raining down on the two enemy ships. Flying Horse Ranch peoples morale was high; they were full of confidence and fighting spirit. Like a swift running horse their boat sailed across the steel rope that was blocking the river, speedily glided downstream. It was not until the arrows nearly arrived that the enemy appeared to be awakened from a dream; with rallying cry they returned fire. Kou Zhong somersaulted in the air. As steady as Mount Tai hended back to his original position at the bow of their boat, with aloofness as if he looked at the world in disdain. The saber was back in its sheath. This moment two huge rocks happened to fill the sky as they flew toward them. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Like a leopard he leaped and met the rocks head-on with his fists. Bang! Bang! The rocks shattered into powder and rained down the river. Kou Zhong was shaken by the impact as well; he dropped back onto the deck, right next to Shang Xiuxun. Seeing his fists were covered in blood, Shang Xiuxun was aghast, Are you all right? she asked. Kou Zhong was unable to crawl back up; his body appeared to have lost all its strength. But he was stillughing heartily and said, That was fun! That was fun! Boom! The hull shook violently. Without anybody able to stop it, a huge rock hit the port side deck. Immediately wood fragments sttered everywhere as the deck shattered. The boat leaned to its side before finally leveled up again. Xu Ziling thundered, Brothers, were through! Everybody cheered. Looking back, they saw the two enemy ships were on fire. Forget about pursuing, they were having a difficult time just to take care of themselves. Book 11 - 1 – Troubles Inside and Outside Book 11 Chapter 1 C Troubles Inside and Outside Shang Xiuxun and Kou Zhong walked over to Xu Ziling, who was standing at the bridge, manning the rudder. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Shang Changzhu, there are still five more li before we reach Jingling, this is the golden opportunity to gather intelligence about the enemy. Look! There are several dozens army camp on that hill over there. The two turned their eyes toward the hill Xu Ziling pointed to. Indeed they saw the small hill several li away from the left back was covered with army camp, at least seventy, eighty tents. Kou Zhong pretended to be shocked; he grabbed Xu Zilings shoulders and said in a trembling voice, You should have realized that your skill in steering the boat is still in apprentice level. You are ncing to the left and right instead of focusing your heart and mind in doing your job, in case the boat crashed into something and capsized, wont our Yangzhous Two Dragons illustrious name go down the drain? Shang Xiuxunughed involuntarily, Everybody is nervous as hell, but you are still in the mood to joke around, she said, Be careful or else some bad things might happen! Suddenly they heard hoof beats from the right bank. Seven or eight Jianghuai Cavalry were chasing them along the coast, pointing their halberds at them while cursing and swearing, so that the already tensed atmosphere was growing even more tensed. Xu Zilings gaze moved from Liang Zhi, Xu Yang, and the others, who were standing in formation on the deck, toward the riverbanks. He saw abandoned farnds, rubble and remains of destroyed hamlets, scorched forests; a deste sight to behold. He could not stop a strong sense of sadness from welling up in his heart. This moment the cargo boat turned around a sharp bend, the enemy riders were obstructed by a forest, and were falling behind. By the time the boat reached a straight river course again, the city Jingling appeared ahead. Their target in sight, even the high and mighty Kou Zhong also held his breath. At the upper reaches of the river outside the city moored more than thirty warships, each one was approximately one and a half time bigger than their cargo ship. The gs above the ship were fluttering in the wind, spears andnces flickered brilliantly; it was quite an intimidating sight. Ashore army camp was everywhere, sealing the southeast side of Jingling so tight that not one drop could trickle through. The troop arrangement was breathtaking that those who saw it were overwhelmed. Shang Xiuxun shouted tenderly, Cast the anchor! Xu Ziling shook his head and said, If we cast the anchor here, we will get caught in hard battle and would be annihted for sure. Our only chance is to take risks by breaking through the enemys ship formation, going straight toward the pier outside the city. Only then will we have a chance to live. Kou Zhong ran his eyes over the enemys warship formation. He nodded and said, This is called to do the least expected. It seems dangerous, but it is in fact the most viable solution. A gust of wind happened to blow, like a speeding horse the boat slid across the water, rushing toward the enemys ship formation. Shang Xiuxun thundered tenderly, Prepare the fire arrows! Kou Zhong saw that on the enemys ships, everybody was also pulling their bow, aiming their arrows at this boat, and thus they were like a fat sheep entering the tigers den. Suddenly he had a brainwave and could not stop himself from shouting, Set the boat on fire! While everybody was stunned from hearing this strange order, he already pounced toward the bridge and kicked the kerosene container. Luo Fang was the first to regain hisposure; hurriedly he lifted another container and threw it to the bow. The container broke, the kerosene sshed on the deck. Bang! mes immediately rose up; the entire bow became a fire curtain, while spitting out a big cloud of thick smoke. Aided by the wind, the smoke was blown toward the enemys ships. It was only now did Liang Zhi and the others understood. Hurriedly they feed the fire with bits and pieces that the ze grew in intensity. Even Shang Peng and Shang He, two old men, also joined the operation to burn their own boat. In the midst of the war drums, the sky was filled with arrows raining down toward them. Kou Zhong raised his arms and called out, Brothers, shield formation! Bang! Bang! Bang! The cargo boat leaned to the left and back to the right, wood fragments sttered everywhere, nobody knew how many hits they suffered from the catapulted rocks from the enemy ships. Quickly everybody took shelter behind the shield formation blocking the enemys arrows. Crack! The main mast broke, the sail happened to fall forward, toward the zing fire at the bow of the boat. The me rose up to fill the sky, very soon the sail and the mast were engulfed in mes, increasing the intensity of the fire and thickened the smoke rolling up toward the enemy ships. The situation was extremely chaotic. Boom! Amidst the thick smoke and raging mes, nobody knew which enemy ship they hit, but the speeding cargo boat suddenly spun like crazy. The stern hit another enemy ship first before the cargo boat finally entered the enemy ships formation. Three Ranch warriors were shaken by the collision and were thrown onto the deck. Two others had their chest pierced by the enemys arrows and were thrown into the river. The surface of the river was covered in heavy smoke, while the mes were raging. The boat was rocking wildly, the people were tumbling down; it was hard to distinguish one thing from another. Yet Xu Ziling was as calm as ever. Even though he was unable to see, relying on thest thing he saw, he steered the boat, which front half waspletely engulfed in mes, continuing downstream. Brandishing the Moon in the Well, Kou Zhong parried a steel spear thrown from behind the smoke threatening Shang Xiuxuns back. And then he cried out, Burn the stern as well! Shang Xiuxun looked back toward the stern, and sure enough, she saw two sets of me soaring into the sky, while the shouts and the screams shook the heavens. Boom! The entire vessel leaned sideways so deep that it appeared that it was going to sink into the bottom of the river. By the time it eventually leveled up, they were through the enemys ship formation and reached the expansive waterfront outside the city of Jingling. Xu Ziling steered the still speeding boat toward the shore while thundering, Prepare to abandon the ship! Bang! The aft was hit by another catapulted rock; wood splinters flew. The already-fraught-with-damages cargo ship could not endure anymore; finally it gave up and leaned sideways to capsize. Shang Xiuxun shouted tenderly, and led her people jumping toward the shore. The others did not dare to tarry, immediately they followed her out of the cargo ship. Arrows still rained down on them like a storm. Because as they were leaping into the air they could not help exposing themselves, even though Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Shang Xiuxun and the others had outstanding skill, they could only protect themselves. Immediately five Ranch warriors were hit by the arrows and fell into the river. The tragic scene was nearly unbearable to behold. In this kind of situation, Shang Peng and Shang He, two veteran martial art masters from the Ranch, really showed their true skills. Together with the First Manager Liang Zhi, they formed a triangr formation [orig. pin-character (Ʒ) formation] in the air with Shang Xiuxun in the middle, protecting her from the shooting arrows, until theynded safely on the shore. With the previous lost of lives, the remaining warriors numbered only eleven people. As soon they had their feet firmly on the ground, they flew away toward the Jinglings city gate. The war drums continued, two units of Jianghuai Army, about three hundred men each, rode out of the army camps by the river outside the city, charging toward them from two sides. The sound of hoof beats shook the heavens, the murderous aura soared high into the sky. Before the enemys cavalry arrived, their arrows already reached them. If Kou and Xu, two boys, used their vortex of energy tounch the Bird-Crossing Technique, although it might not necessarily be better than Shang Xiuxuns lightness skill, to escape from this critical situation was not a difficult matter. But the two of them were outstanding heroes. They already jumped out of the group to meet the enemying from two directions, so that their route would not be blocked by the enemy and they fell into bitter siege. Between the dock and the Jingling city gate was an open space of several hundred zhang wide. Du Fuwei was setting up his camp on both sides of the river; they erected two sturdy wooden forts surrounded by wooden fence with traps and trenches, as well as tforms to shoot arrows from as their defense facilities, practically cutting off water andnd routes to the city of Jingling. The sergeants of the city defense witnessed how they managed to break through the enemys ship formation with worn-out and broken-down cargo boat, and how they sessfullynded on the shore. They immediately burst into earth-shattering cheers, so that those who heard it had their blood boiling. However, although every one of them had bow and arrow in their hands, due to the fact that these people were far out of range, they could only cheer to boost their morale, while at the same time lighted the fire beacon to notify theirmander, Fang Zetao, to rush over and take charge of the situation. Seeing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exerted themselves to fight the enemy, Shang Xiuxun wanted to turn around to join them, but Liang Zhi and the others desperately stopped her. Shang Peng, who never liked to speak, thundered, If Changzhu turns back, none of us would be able to climb over the city wall alive. Shang He also joined in, It is because of Kou and Xu, two heroes, defend our back that we have a sliver of chance to live. Shang Xiuxun realized that they were speaking the truth; without any better option she fought her tears and continued fleeing toward the city gate. This moment Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling braved the arrow rain while cutting off the enemys vanguard troops. Kou Zhong soared into the air. The Moon in the Well turned into a streak of yellow lightning, chopping down on the four, five spears thrust toward him. The treasured de reflected the brilliant sun shining down overhead, adding an irresistible momentum to his strike. Chapter 1 - Part 2 The seven or eight foremost Jianghuai Army sergeants were dauntless tiger or leopard-like warriors, but when the Moon in the Well chopped down on them, not only their eyes were blinded by severe light of the Moon in the Well, their eardrums were also pierced by the whistling noise of the Moon in the Well splitting the air, so that they were unable to ascertain the enemys position. By the time they felt that their hands had lightened up, they saw that their spears had been cut in two. While they were still in shock and wanted to withdraw, one after another their blood sshed and they fell down, dead. Even in their death they did not know which part of their body was hit by the enemys saber. Suffering such a crushing defeat, the originally unstoppable-lion like troops were thrown into confusion. The riders charging from behind collided with the frightened horses in the front that were jumping and rearing wildly; as a result, a lot of horses tumbled down and fell, throwing their masters off of their backs. Like a torrential flood Kou Zhong simply stormed at them before quickly backing off. On the other side, Xu Ziling was even more brilliant. He rushed toward the enemy until the distance between them was only about a zhang or so, and then throwing himself on the ground, from a squatting position he propelled himself forward, shooting toward the enemy formation like an arrow, while in the blink on an eye his palms struck a dozen times. Each palm strikended on the horses body. The palm power passed through the horses straight toward the riders on their backs, so that wherever he went, the riders spurted blood and fell off the horseback. In this way the enemys vanguard waspletely routed. As the dozen or so riders fell down to the ground, Xu Ziling had used up his stored up true qi. Feeling that there was no point in continuing, he quickly turned around to leave the enemy ranks and flew toward Shang Xiuxun, who by this time had reached the city gate. The officer in charge of city defense was Fang Zetaos subordinate, a high-ranking military officer Qian Yun. This moment he already ordered his men to lower the drawbridge to let Shang Xiuxun and the others to cross the moat and enter the city. When the soldiers on the city wall saw how extraordinarily heroic and brave Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were, their morale was greatly boosted. They cheered loudly, their voices shook the city of Jingling, inside and outside, that those who heard it had their blood boiling. Shang Xiuxun was the first to climb the city wall, she happened to see how the two boys separately stopped the enemys attack, and dealt a severe blow that the opponent suffered a crushing defeat. Although unfazed by the cheering, an unprecedented deeply-concerned feeling started to well up in her fragrant heart. Meanwhile Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had regrouped about a hundred zhang outside the city wall. Since they had just exerted a lot of power, their hearts were beating fast while their strength was exhausted. Hurriedly they ran toward the city gate. By this time the enemy cavalry had also regrouped after the confusion and were pursuing wildly behind them. The sound of the galloping horses plus the riders battle cry mixed with the cheering of the people on Jinglings city wall really shook the heaven and the earth. The two boys bumped each others shoulder. Immediately their true qi strengthened each other, so that with renewed energy the gap between them and the enemy widened from ten zhang or so to more than twenty zhang. The Jianghuai Army soldiers on their tail produced their bows and arrows. Immediately about a dozen powerful arrows shot at their back like lightning. By the time Shang Xiuxun and the others on the city wall cried out in shock, Be Careful! as if they had eyes behind their backs, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling separated to the left and right, so that the arrows fell into an empty space. The enemy was still pursuing them, but the soldiers on the city wall shot arrows and threw rocks at them so that they were thrown into confusion and were forced to retreat. It was in this instant that the two boys flew over the remaining several dozen of zhang distance, climbed over the drawbridge, and rushed into the city gate, drawing more earth-shattering scream and cheers. They finally arrived at Jingling. It was only after everybody standing on the city wall watched the Jianghuai Army returning to their fort that they breathed a sigh of relief. The river was still covered in mes and ck smoke, but the intensity was far less than it was just a moment ago. Two overturned battleships had their bottom visible above the water, while the third one was slowly leaning to the side to sink. Qian Yun did not know the identity of the two boys; he thought they were valiant generals under Shang Xiuxunsmand. He said respectfully, I really did not expect Changzhu to honor us with your phoenix self. The other day we learned that the Four Big Bandits joined forces attacked the Ranch, our humble Zhuangzhu wanted to send troops to help, but because the Jianghuai Army besieging us, we were forced to abandon the idea. Listening to this, Shang Xiuxun and the others looked at each other. Obviously Duba Vige sent envoy asking for help; why did he say such thing? Frowning, Liang Zhi asked, Didnt General Qian know that your honorable Zhuangzhu sent someone named Jia Liang to our ce requesting reinforcement? He even brought an official letter in your honorable Zhuangzhus own handwriting bearing his personal stamp. Qian Yuns countenance changed. How could there be such thing? he said, This General has never heard Zhuangzhu ever mentioning it, plus I am not aware of anybody by the name of Jia Liang. Besides, we alwaysmunicate with each other using pigeon post; why would we need to send people asking for help? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces. They knew in their heart that this must be the plot hatched by Wanwan. Shang Xiuxun asked emotionlessly, Where is Fang Zhuangzhu? Qian Yun replied, This general has dispatched someone to notify our humble Zhuangzhu; he should be here any moment. Kou Zhong joined in, We need to immediately pay a visit to Fang Zhuangzhu. Would Qian Xiong send someone to lead the way? A bit embarrassed, Qian Yun cupped his fist and said, I have not asked for two gentlemens great name. Lowering her voice, Shang Xiuxun replied, He is Kou Zhong, the other gentleman is Xu Ziling. Both are Zhuangzhus friends. Qian Yuns countenance changed abruptly; he quickly took two steps back, pulled the saber hanging on his waist, and shouted, So it is you! Zhuangzhu has ordered us to kill you without mercy! Shang Xiuxun and the others were stunned. From about a dozen high-ranking military officers behind Qian Yun, half drew out their weapons, but the other half were hesitating. Ring! Shang Xiuxun also drew her sword. Whoever dares to make his move, I will kill him! she scolded angrily. Shang Peng and Shang He immediately stood on either side, ready to protect Shang Xiuxun. Liang Zhi, Xu Yang, and the others also drew their weapons out and positioned themselves around Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to protect them. The other soldiers defending the city were confused by this change of events; they were at a loss of what to do. An ear-splitting longugh suddenly came out of Kou Zhongs mouth, which immediately drew everybodys attention to him. While roaring inughter, Kou Zhong put his hand on Xu Zilings broad shoulder and said in a loud voice, Xiao Ling! This is really killing me! I wonder if Fang Zhuangzhu has another nickname called a blockhead? Unexpectedly he is bound hands and feet by that Yin Gui Pai female demon Wanwan; first he forfeited his own brothers life, killing the top rank fierce general under hismand in the process, and then he let her steal his personal stamp and forge a letter in his name and send an impostor to set a trap. And now treating friends as enemies, he firmly set on killing us, two good people. Tell me, do you think it is ridiculous or what? Qian Yuns already unsightly countenance alternated between red and white; his eyes flickered with sharp rays as he suddenly roared, You dare to offend Madame Wanwan ... I ... Shang Xiuxun had her sword pointed at his chest as she cut him off with a tender scolding, Shut up! Right now Du Fuweis troops are waiting outside the city, while inside there is a female demon holding the power. You, this blockhead, not only did not show your loyalty by admonishing your master, you still want to massacre one another with us, your ally. Humph! If we brush our sleeve and leave, I want to see how youll end up. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong was hiding behind Shang Xiuxuns delicate back; sticking his head from behind her shoulder heughed and said, I wonder if General Qian is also bewitched by that Yin Gui Pai female demon! While Qian Yun was left speechless, from among the men standing behind him an old general that appeared to be in his sixties stepped out and asked respectfully, Kou Ye kept on saying that Madame Wanwan is Yin Gui Pai female demon. I wonder if you have evidence? Xu Ziling calmly replied, If youd just let us confront Wanwan, everything will be clear. Is this something that General Qian unable to do? Ling Zhi let out a coldugh and said, If you are rushing indiscriminately into using your weapon, pain and enmity wille quickly. General Qian ought to think thrice about whether this is something that a wise man would do. Most of the men to Qian Yuns left and right nodded their heads indicating that they agreed. From a distance outside the city, the sound of bugle horn was still rising and falling in session, increasing the sense of crisis. Qian Yun dejectedly lowered his sword and said with a sigh, Since Changzhu is willing to vouch for them, Xiao Jiang [little/lowly general, referring to self] cannot do anything. Lets just wait for Zhuangzhu to make his decision. He was about to send another messenger to urge Fang Zetao to hasten, when Shang Xiuxun crossly said, Qian Yun, when did you be so timid? Just open your eyes and look outside the city. Jinglings fall is just around the corner, you still unable to make prompt decision. Get out of my way, I want to personally kill that female demon. Raising his arms, Kou Zhong loudly said, Were it not for that female demon, how could Jingling fall into such a perilous situation? Jinglings survival depends on all of you uniting your minds. The old general boldly took a step forward and bowed, Gentlemen, pleasee with Laofu [old man]! Qian Yun was furious, Feng Ge, you ... you are rebelling ... Before Qian Yun had a chance to finish, one saber and two swords immediately pressed on his back, practically cutting him off. Shang Peng shed forward from the side, with his finger he jabbed the vital acupoint on Qian Yuns neck, sending Qian Yun slumping down to the ground. Ignoring Qian Yun, Shang Xiuxun took the lead to walk down the stone steps. Everybody followed her in a great rush. Book 11 - 2 – Siren Flaunting Her Power Book 11 Chapter 2 C Siren unting Her Power Over twenty riders under Feng Ge leadership galloped along the main street toward the Duba Manor House at the heart of the city. The street was bleak; most of the shops have ceased to do business. If there were any pedestrians, they were all walking hurriedly. The fall of the city was imminent; the hearts of the people were suffocated with the doomsday approaching. Kou Zhong spurred his horse at full speed. He rode alongside Feng Ge andplimented him, Feng Lao is indeed exceptional; you are able to make prompt decision. Otherwise we would have massacred each other. Its totally not worth it! Feng Ge was not pleased at all; still with heavy expression he said, Since the first day Laofu saw Madame Wanwan, I already had a feeling that she is a root of trouble. I racked my brain trying to think of any acupoint sealing technique that can make someone stop breathing and appear to be in an eternal sleep. And then this time she was brought back by Zhuangzhu as if nothing has ever happened to her, and she used Kou Ye and Xu Ye of having bad intention toward her. I was getting more suspicious. Pity that loyal advice has fallen in deaf ears, nobody believed Laofu. Kou Zhong nodded, This is called everybody is drunk, only Feng Lao is sober, he said, I have one thing I want to ask: what happened to my fourpanions? Feng Ge replied, I heard that since Zhuangzhu believed that demon, he flew into rage, and immediately sent Kou Yes four brothers to Huaqing border under escort. Afterwards I did not hear anything about them anymore. After thanking him, Kou Zhong slowed down a bit and told Xu Ziling everything he knew. Shang Xiuxun, who was riding on the other side, said, How do you n on dealing with that female demon? If she denied everything, what should we do to her? Smiling slightly, Xu Ziling said, If we cant deal with her nicely, well just use force. Do you think shell let us get rid of her that easy? Shang Xiuxun was delighted; she said, Yin Gui Pais conduct and deeds angered everybody. If we can put an end to this female demon this time, we are doing good things to the world without doing any harm. Therefore, as soon as we make our moves, we must not show any mercy. Liang Zhi and the others acknowledged in loud voice. Feng Ge took the lead into the main gate. The guards recognized him, hence they did not dare to stop them, so everybody was able to enter swiftly. This allied force of Flying Horse Ranch elite troops, Jinglings high-ranking military officers plus Kou and Xu, two boys, galloped toward the stone steps in front of the Masters Mansion, leaped off their mounts, and grandiosely swarmed up the steps and straight into the mansion door. Over a dozen guards walked out of the Mansion and stopped at the top of the stone steps to meet them. The young general, who was apparently their leader, suddenly thundered, Without Zhuangzhus permission, breaking into the Mansions gate is punishable by death. You still havent stepped down? Feng Ge thundered in response, Suffering untold hardship Flying Horse Ranchs Shang Changzhu led the brothers here to help, even if Zhuangzhus passion is inside he ought to immediately wee her personally and jointly discuss the important matter at hand. And now not only even after repeated urging he did not respond, he is closing the door and refusing to receive the guests. Is this Zhuangzhus idea, or you, Ma Qun, acting on your own initiative? Ma Qun angrily said, Feng Ge, dont you rely on your seniority to bully me, Zhuangzhu assigned the responsibility of guarding the Mansion to me, Ma Qun. I am simply executing Zhuangzhus strict order. If you want to see Zhuangzhu, stay here nicely for me, let me report to Zhuangzhu first to see how he decides. Otherwise, dont me me for disregarding the sentiment between colleagues. Kou Zhong, who was standing behind Feng Ge, could not help asking another Jinglings high-ranking military officer by his side, Who is this guy? In disdain, the high-ranking military officer replied, He is a nobody. Were it not for Madame Wanwan favoring him, he would never hold any position in the Mansion. When the two were still talking, Shang Xiuxun stepped out of the crowd and scolded tenderly, Even when Fang Zhuangzhu sees me, he would be respectful toward me. How could you, a dog ve, dare to speak arrogantly in my presence? Get lost! Seeing more than a dozen of his subordinates appeared behind him, Ma Quns courage was boosted. On the contrary, the warriors guarding the gate stood afar off, watching with folded arms. Evidently the fact that Fang Zetao was losing himself to Wanwan had already caused disgust among quite a number of his men, not to mention everybody in the city of Jingling was aware of their good rtionship with the Flying Horse Ranch. This time, witnessing Ma Quns arrogance and overbearing attitude, it would be strange indeed if they did not feel ill will toward him. Ma Qun stood with his saber held across his chest; he shouted, I, Ma Qun, received Zhuangzhus order to guard the door; who dared to tell me to get lost? With hands behind her back, Shang Xiuxun slyly said, Guards! Arrest him! Well take him to Fang Zhuangzhus presence and have him punished. Before Ma Qun had any chance to speak, as fast as lightning Shang Peng and Shang He, two senior martial art masters of the Ranch shed by, two pairs of withered palms fantastically turned into palm shadows with myriads of changes, enveloping Ma Qun inside the shadows. A tornado-like wind rose up, as if Ma Qun was standing right in the eye of the storm, totally oblivious of the terrifying power of the iing storm, while his subordinates have been wiped out left and right by the force of the palms that they staggered and stumbled backwards. If even Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were emotionally moved, there is no need to mention the effect of this disy of power to the others who did not know the real identity of these two old men. Nobody has ever imagined that these two, who, no matter how you look at them, would look like a pair of old muddle-heads, would have such a formidable martial art skill. Not only that, it was obvious that these two men mastered some kind of fantastic technique of fighting together, so that theirbine power was doubled. Actually, based on their individual power, they were not inferior to Li Zitong, Yuwen Zhiji, and martial art experts their caliber. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, they both thought that they were lucky; if they really had a falling out with Shang Xiuxun the other day, even if they managed to get away, perhaps the price they had to pay would be exorbitant. But now naturally their spirit had received tremendous boost, because they had more confidence that they would be able to deal with Wanwan. Bang! Bang! While Ma Qun was hacking down left and right although he did not know what he was hacking at, he had already been hit by two palm strikes and fell down to the ground. Watching this, naturally Feng Ge and the other Jingling generals were grieved, because Ma Qun had caused them to lose face. Meanwhile the two old men no longer paid any attention to Ma Qun, they charged toward the guards standing in front of the door, much like a tiger charging toward a flock of sheep, so that the guards weapons were thrown away, and they were either falling face down or t on their backs. With Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling escorting her from left and right, Shang Xiuxun, with her hands behind her back, proudly but leisurely strode into the Mansion. Not a soul in sight at the spacious main hall. Come with me! Feng Ge called out, and preceded them storming through the back door, into the winding corridor leading toward the rear courtyard. Straight ahead there were two servant girls; when they saw these people, they were so scared that their flowery countenance turned pale as they cowered to one side, with their bodies trembling. Feng Ge pointed to one of the maids and asked, You! Where is Zhuangzhu? The maids pretty face turned deathly white; her knees gave up as she dropped to the floor and replied in trembling voice, In ... in Yi Qing [harmonious passion] Courtyard. Another high-ranking officer asked, What about Madame Wanwan? Also in there, the maid replied. In high spirit they all flocked inside. After passing through several buildings and a dozen or so warriors on guard duty at the Mansion, they reached a big, secluded garden. The faint sound of zheng [long zither with 13 to 16 strings] came from behind a bamboo forest, the melody was haunting and poignant, making those who hear it had their soul melted and their mind went weak; automatically everybodys murderous intent was lessened somewhat. Kou Zhong whispered in Shang Xiuxuns ear, I want Shang Changzhu to deal with Fang Zetao, while me and Xiao Ling deal with that female demon. Have other people stand guard in all directions to prevent her from escaping. Raising her eyebrows, Shang Xiuxun spoke in heavy voice, How could we make such arrangement? Lets just act ording to circumstances! While talking, they all flitted across the bamboo forest along a small pathway. Past the bamboo forest, they came to a wide clearing, another big garden that was also serene, elegant and quiet. There was neither maid, servant, nor mansion guard in the garden, only a couple people, one man and one woman, who were sitting in the small pavilion in the middle of the garden. The man was Fang Zetao. He was closing his eyes, as he was totally immersed in the world of the zheng, so that he was totally blind and deaf toward all things outside this world. The woman had her back toward them; her hands were dancing on the zither, but merely the sight of her beautiful figure was enough to move anybodys heartstrings. Even if she turned into ashes, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling would recognize her as Wanwan. The sound of her zheng had a different vor from the sound of Shi Qingxuans xiao [vertical flute]. Thetter carried some kind of near, yet far; making one felt that he had left the world and was alone in the universe. Yet Wanwans zheng carried a lingering attachment, making one felt unable to divert oneself from the sadness of loneliness. The more one listen, the more difficult it was to free oneself from this entanglement, as if their heart and mind were pressed down under a thousand-jin rock, so that only by looking up to heaven and cried out would they be able to vent out this burden. Ring! Kou Zhong pulled his Moon in the Well. It left its scabbard with clear ringing noise, so that Fang Zetao was awakened from his stupor. By the time Fang Zetao suddenly opened his eyes, other than Shang Xiuxun, Feng Ge, Shang Peng, Shang He and Kou and Xu, six people, the other men had already spread out to form a around the small pavilion. Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! After letting out a series of notes full of murderous intent, the zither stopped suddenly. Whoosh! Fang Zetao stood up abruptly; his eyes swept everyone, his face showed an angry look. With a coldugh Shang Xiuxun said, Outside, your warriors throw their head, spill their blood, but Zhuangzhu is peacefully enjoying tenderness in here, so happy that you forgot to return. Dont you have any shame? Everybody could not refrain from showing disdain look on their faces. Fang Zetaos thick face reddened; he said crossly, Jinglings matter is my business; there is no need for Changzhu to lecture me. Wanwan was sitting calmly in the pavilion, as still as water, as if although she neither saw nor hear them, making everybody felt that she was unfathomable. Chapter 2 - Part 2 Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, We should have asked how could Zhuangzhu still have a face to see us. Merely based on this Yin Gui Pais female demon Wanwans one sided story, you cut off your friendship with us, two brothers. Worse, disregarding the wind and the rain outside, you only know how to listen to the zheng and make merry with the female demon Wanwan, copying the conduct of Yang Guang, the muddleheaded ruler. And yet you still have the audacity to say that you dont need anybody to lecture you? Fang Zetao sternly said, Wanwan is gentle and sweet, plus she does not know martial art, how could you say that she is Yin Gui Pais female demon. You two have done misdeeds, yet still want to vomit blood toward others? Feng Ge said in a heavy voice, If Madame Wanwan is indeed an ordinary woman, how could she, in this kind of sabers drawn, swords raised moment, still act so calm as if nothing is happening? Zhuangzhu is an astute man, how could you be so muddleheaded right now? Fang Zetaos eyes shed murderous intent; his hand moved to his swords hilt, he said with ashen face, Feng Ge, are you rebelling? Another high-ranking military officer said, We just dont want to die together with you and end up as muddleheaded ghosts; thats all! Shang Xiuxun scolded tenderly, Fang Zetao, if you are still bewitched and refuse to wake up, dont me my, Shang Xiuxuns sword, for not showing any mercy. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Why dont Fang Zhuangzhu ask your esteemed Madame, and see how she is going to answer you? Fang Zetao was stunned. He stared nkly for a moment, before turning his gaze to Wanwan. His eyes became extremely gentle as he asked softly, They used you wrongly, right? Seeing this, everybody sighed inwardly. Wanwan lightly shook her head and said in soft voice, No! They did not use me wrongly. Zhuangzhu is indeed a muddlehead! Fang Zetaos powerful body shook severely; he was dumbstruck, as if he could not believe such words coulde out of her mouth. With strange expression on his face he rose up. Zheng! One of the zithers strings suddenly snapped; and then, like a viper it shot up. A sh of lightning pierced through Fang Zetaos chest, and came out of his back. Fang Zetao let out an earth-shattering wild roar and leaped back. Bang! he crashed onto the pavilions railing, and was thrown face up onto the grassywn outside the pavilion. The blood was drained from his face, but it sshed behind him following the shooting string, sttering the railings, as well as thewn. It was such a horrible scene. Seeing this, everybodys scalp felt numb. This was the very first time that they saw such a formidable demonic skill that nobody could guard against. Momentarily nobody dared to charge ahead to fight with her. Among the crowd, Shang Xiuxun, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Shang Peng, Shang He and Liang Zhi, six people had the strongest martial art skill, yet upon self-inspection, they realized that they would not be able to snap the zither string and shoot it out as their heart wishes like that and injured, even killed, someone. Fang Zetao, with one hand on his chest, and the other hand pointed to Wanwan, who was still sitting calmly in the pavilion, spoke in shock, You ... you ... how? Wanwan said gently, I have never forced you to like me; furthermore, I have never forced you to kill anybody. It has always been you who were delighted to do everything. Who can you me? In rage, Fang Zetao spurted a mouthful of blood. His eyes were overflowing with remorseful expression as his head fell backward and he died a violent death on the spot. Wanwan slowly stood up; her left hand grabbing her lustrous and ck beautiful hair, while somehow ab appeared in her right hand, with which shebed her hair with unbounded gentleness. She appeared unspeakably tender and feeble, alone and dejected [lit. looking at ones shadow and feeling sorry for oneself]. Everybody was in full alert, they even stopped breathing. Kou Zhong took a step forward in front of Shang Xiuxun. The Moon in the Well pointed at Wanwan, immediately a stream of vortex of qi rose up and burst toward this thousand-tender a hundred-charm demoness. It was precisely this moment that Wanwan seemed to evolve from her naturally delicate body and turned around to face this group of people led by Shang Xiuxun. Moreover, she exuded a hard-to-describe fantastic cyclone that momentarily seemed to suck Kou Zhongs vortex of qi dry. It was also the first time that Kou Zhong had ever encountered such a bizarre martial art; it was so unbearable that he nearly vomited fresh blood. Most of all, he felt as if his true qi had nowhere to go, so that his acute spirit disappearedpletely. Overwhelmed with shock, he took a step back. None of the other people did not have their countenance changed. Wanwans gaze fell on Shang Xiuxun. Her eyes lit up immediately. Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong had suffered defeat. He suddenly took a step forward and sent out a punch over the empty air toward Wanwan. Immediately the air around was burning hot, thick with murderous aura. Wanwan put down her beautiful hair and lightly shook her head, her beautiful hair rose up immediately. The people surrounding her had a terrifying feeling that they were about to tumble forward. They were ovee with a dreadful feeling as if Wanwan has suddenly turned into a bottomless pit, and that if they fell into it, they could forget about ever climbing out of it alive. Such a formidable demonic skill, nobody has ever thought about it even in their dreams. Xu Ziling, who was right in front of her, felt that the qi power he sent seemed like a stone thrown into the sea and sank without a trace. He could not pull it back, but it could not affect the enemy the slightest bit either. In his shock, just like Kou Zhong, he also took a step back. Wanwan was astonished as well; looking at him, she frowned and said, I have never thought that the two of you unexpectedly profited from disaster, your power increased tremendously; otherwise, this time you would have suffered a serious internal injury! When they all came here, they have already decided that as soon as they saw Wanwan, they would attack her without any mercy. But now as they saw Wanwan standing right in front of them, even the usually proud and arrogant Shang Xiuxun also did not dare to act blindly without thinking. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Female Demon Wan, since you are unable to inflict injury to us, doesnt that mean that you are strung through and filled with evil, and thus you deserve to die? A thin smile appeared on Wanwans beautiful face, the face that would make everybody holding their breath. But this smile was quickly reced by a sad, mncholy expression. She sighed gloomily and said, The two of you were able to escape great catastrophe, the wisest thing to do would be to find a ce to hide, and not letting me to find you forever. But now you insist on seeing me; even though I have the thought of cherishing talents, I have made a promise to someone, so without any better option I will have to take your two lives. Shang Xiuxun could not hold her temper any longer. Attack! she shouted tenderly. The sword became hundreds and thousands dots of cold light, moving forward as fast as lightning, filling the air with the sword qi, rolling toward Wanwan. The rest moved at the same time. Sabers shed and swords flickered from all direction, converging toward Wanwan in a violent attack. Wanwans eyes zed over, as if she waspletely oblivious that she was the target of this danger, plus everybody spread out and she was immediately in between two Jingling generals, yet she did not show any sign that she was going to intercept their weapons. Martial art masters such as Shang Xiuxun, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were able to see clearly that using some kind of unique shenfa, she was floating and weaving through the gap between weapons like a ghost. They knew the situation was bad and groaned inwardly. Ah! The two Jingling generals were thrown sideways to the left and right with half ab embedded on each face. Nobody could even see clearly how she killed these two generals. Watching this, righteous indignation filled Xu Zilings breast; he soared out of the pavilion over Wanwans head with both palms pressed down. Wu Yans saber, Liang Zhis sword, and another Flying Horse Ranch warriors spear simultaneously attacked her back, chest and nk. When it looked as if she could not avoid the catastrophe, she suddenly whirled around, her sleeves fluttered, her delicate finer jabbed upward. Saber, sword and spear suddenly slipped sideways by her magic skill, and hacked and pierced empty space. Xu Ziling turned his palm strike into finger attack, and met Wanwans fingertips. Spiraling hot energy burst out violently. From head to foot Wanwan was shaken; she raised her head to look at Xu Ziling, her expression mncholy, yet so enchanting. Her purple-red mouth slightly opened, she blew a stream of qi. Xu Zilings astonishing vortex of energy had just prated the jianjing acupoint on Wanwans shoulder; immediately it went up in smoke, and waspletely useless to inflict any damage to her channels. The worst part was that the opponents fingertips shot two streams of seemingly no magic, nothing particr about it, yet as it prated his own channels, the strange energy burst everywhere, so that his channels felt like splitting. The pain was so unbearable that his arms immediately went numb. Forget aboutunching a counterstrike, he was even at a loss as to how to dissolve this encroaching energy. His plight did not stop there. When the stream of qi blown from Wanwans mouth was about a chi away from his face, the impossible thing happened: it divided itself into two streams, left and right, piercing toward his eyes. If he was hit, it would be strange indeed if he did not turn blind. In this dire and desperate situation, Xu Zilings mind was still as calm as the moon in the well. A free and easy cold smile, not forced, yet iparably proud and aloof, escaped from the corner of his mouth. A stream of zing hot energy came outpletely naturally from the yongquan acupoint on his right foot, which spread out to his entire body at the speed of lightning or spark from the flint. In the blink of an eye it developed new energy. Not only it neutralized the numbness of his arms and eradicated the pain, it also gave him the strength to fly backward and thus he barely escaped the blindness of his eyes and only spurted less than half a mouthful of blood. Chapter 2 - Part 3 Although Wanwan gained the upper hand, the shock in her heart was no less than Xu Zilings. Her Tian Mo Gong [see Book 10 Chapter 6] has reached the level where she could send out and pull back at will, it could be hard, it could be soft, in countless permutation. Other than her benevolent master Yin Hou [Empress Yin] Zhu Yuyan, although Yin Gui Pai has nevercked capable persons, nobody else has been able to reach this level in such a young age as she was. Moreover, from their previous contact she had more or less grasped that Kou Zhong, Xu Zilings fantastic true qi originated from the Secret to Long Life, not only it has spurred her to strive in unleashing her power, it also gave her the confidence that she would be able to kill Xu Ziling in one fell swoop. Who would have thought that as the Tian Mo true qi stabbed Xu Zilings arms, it was locked down rigidly by his spiraling energy, so that it could not go pass the jianjing acupoint on his shoulders, and thus her grand n of attacking straight into his heart and arteries and veins has be an empty dream? Moreover, just now without sparing any energy, she unscrupulously blew out her true qi to pierce Xu Zilings eyes; who would have thought that he was able to evade? Therefore, how could she not be shocked? Meanwhile Wu Yan, three men, had already withdrew. Yellow glow shed, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well hacked down on her head, carrying with it a powerful vortex of qi, brushing against her clothes that it created rustling noise. Based on Wanwans ability, although she was confident that she would be able to fend off Kou Zhongs saber strike, she did not have any confidence that she would be able to deal with Shang Xiuxun, Shang Peng, Shang He and Liang Zhi, four peoples joint attack. Right now the image of Xu Zilings coldugh just a moment ago was still reeling in her heart. Abruptly raising up her Tian Mo Gong, she retreated backward toward Wu Yan. Her sleeves raised up. Bang! Kou Zhongs eyes shot a strange light; his saber came down on Wanwans intersecting sleeves blocking his strike, but Wanwans sleeves felt solid, yet empty at the same time, so that not only he was unable to exert his strength to push further, he also felt a strange stream of sucking energy, making him feel that if he continued pushing forward, he would fall into an immeasurable danger. Although Kou Zhongs guts surpassed others, he did not dare to advance prematurely, and thus in his shock he pulled his saber back and withdrew in such a sorry state. In the meantime, Shang Xiuxun, four people, attacked from all directions. Shang Peng and Shang He, two veteran martial art masters worked together to attack Wanwans left nk. Four hands hacked down using the edge of their palm like sabersing together as if it was one person with four arms, flowing swiftly like quicksilver in an iparably powerful offensive toward her. Shang Xiuxun charged forward from behind retreating Kou Zhong, her sword weaved awork of de shadows closing in straight toward Wanwans face. Her sword qi created sharp whistling noise, not at all inferior to Kou Zhongs saber strike a moment ago. Liang Zhis sword came from the other side, heavy and precise, it looked clumsy, but actually brilliant, inside the deep and powerful strike there hidden light and easy move. With a seemingly irregr pattern he practically sealed Wanwans escape route on this side. By this time Wanwans delicate back was only about half a zhang away from retreating Wu Yan, but she suddenly moved faster. Wu Yan thought that it was a good opportunity that he must not miss; instead of retreating farther, he advanced quickly, and with all his might he hacked his saber onto the back of her head. As he saw that his strike was about to hit its target, Wanwan suddenly swayed away slightly with a superhuman speed so that his saber struck down on her shoulder. Wu Yan was cheering inwardly, but then to his shock he felt as if his saber did not hit a solid object, instead, it slipped over her shoulder and continued moving down. His soul flew and scattered away, his nose suddenly sniffed an overflowing fragrance. This demoness with peerless beauty had already crashed herself into his bosom. By the time Shang Xiuxun and the others cried out inwardly, the sound of shattering bones and splitting flesh continuously filled the air. Blood oozed out of Wuyans eyes, nose, ears and mouth, as he died a violent death on the spot. Wanwan spun around to evade the three-pronged attack. She whirled behind Wu Yans dead body, and then with her back against the not-yet-fallen-to-the-ground Wu Yan, her two sleeves swiftly fluttered forward. A Ranch warrior and another Jingling general were immediately hit by the sleeves and were thrown backward. Their weapons flew away from their hands, their blood gushed out, their lives have been taken away. Wanwan pushed Wu Yans dead body with her head swiftly backward toward Shang Xiuxun, four people, who, by this time, had their spirit discouraged. And then using her qi, she shook the corpse that it flew toward Shang Xiuxun, along with her two sleeves attacking from the left and right. At this point of the battle, although it had been only a few blinks of an eye, she had already killed five people; evidently her formidability was utterly shocking. Although Shang Xiuxun hated her to the bone, she was aware that Wu Yans dead body was imbued with Wanwans Tian Mo power, plus she was unwilling to damage her subordinates body, thereupon she helplessly pulled her sword back and sidestepped. Bang! Bang! Powerful qi collided. Liang Zhi was brushed by her that he spun around and tumbled sideways. He crashed onto Feng Ges old chest, who was about to charge forward. Feng Ge let out a painful grunt and fell down to the ground, unexpectedly he was unable to crawl back up. Wanwans seemingly simple sleeve-brush actually contained the marvelous power of Tian Mo. First, she sucked the power from Liang Zhis saber that not a drop remained. And then using her own qi, she turned it back against Liang Zhi, while hiding within it a spiraling energy. If Liang Zhi did not crash onto Feng Ge, he would suffer internal injury to some degree; but now, that energy was passed on to Feng Ge. Naturally Feng Ge had never imagined that Wanwan would have this kind of amazing move; immediately he received internal injury and fell down to the ground. From the original twenty-four people besieging Wanwan, the number was suddenly down to eighteen; five dead, one injured, yet no one has been able to harm half a strand of Wanwans hair. Wanwan brushed away Shang Peng and Shang Hes sleeves. It was such an impressive move that people were gasping in amazement. Before she even touched the opponents two pairs of hands, suddenly her sleeves turned into a blur; what is true and what is false was difficult to tell. The two old mens storm was like casting stone into the ocean; it could only cause a small ripple. Afterwards the four hands tightened together; unexpectedly the hands were wrapped solid by the sleeve, which was then pulled by Wanwan that the two old men crashed against each other. Xu Ziling, who by this time was still soaring in the air, was able to see everything clearly. He saw Wanwans sleeve suddenly grew about half a zhang longer. Turned out a white ribbon was flying out of her sleeve. First it passed through the two old mens four hands, and then when it returned, it wound around the two pairs of hands and tied them together. Xu Ziling instinctively knew the situation was far from good. Still high up in the air he elerated his fall. Wanwan looked up. Her out-of-the-world beautiful face appeared to be angry, yet it also appeared to be amused, as she cast Xu Ziling a sidelong nce, before moving sideways to dodge him, dragging the two old men along that they stumbled and fell, without the slightest bit power to strike back. Shang Xiuxun cried out tenderly, raising her sword in a rescue attempt, when suddenly she realized that using the ribbon, Wanwan was controlling the two old men to crash against her. In her shock she quickly leaped back. Bang! Bang! Luo Fang and another Ranch warrior had their weapons struck by Wanwans sleeves. They spurted blood and fell down, no longer had any power to continue fighting. Kou Zhong also knew that the situation was deteriorating. Like a swimming fish he swayed and shed behind Wanwans back and to the side, and then brandishing his saber he chopped on her waist. Stream by stream Tian Mo true qi attacked the two old men via the ribbon. With each attack the two old men spurted mouthful by mouthful of blood. They werepletely under Wanwans control just like puppets; whether moving sideways and crashing forward, it was entirely Wanwans decision. Such a tragic scene, making people could not bear to witness. Crash! A Ranch warrior failed to evade, he was knocked by the two old men that he flew about a zhang away and died on the spot. This moment Xu Yang attacked Wanwan from the side; with great difficulty he used his tobo pipe to block her fragrant sleeve. But Wanwans leg flew up and kicked him on the lower abdomen, sending him flying away. Fortunately Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well happened to arrive at this precise moment, forcing Wanwan to divide her strength to deal with it first; otherwise, this kick would definitely take Xu Yangs old life. Like a living serpent, the ribbon shook the two old men off; it then rolled back and shot out to brush away Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well. Pow! The Moon in the Well was swept away. Shang Peng and Shang He, two veteran martial art masters, spurted theirst mouthful of blood, as they followed the ribbon flying out in separate directions, knocking against a Jingling general and a Ranch warrior, who were about to attack, sending them to the ground with heavy injury. The ribbon made a circle in the air before it flew to wrap itself on Kou Zhongs neck. Since his debut, Kou Zhong has gone through several hundreds battle, big and small. But he has never encounter any adversary whose martial art skill has reached perfection like Wanwan, who was able to change unpredictably. No wonder the other day Lu Miaozi said that if right now they came across Zhu Yuyan, they would only deliver their lives. As a matter of fact, Tian Mo Gongs most formidable feature was its ability to follow the practitioners hearts desires, and thus was able to injure the opponent under any circumstances, something that no one cannot guard against. Besides, if the opponent waspletely blind as to the changes in her move, how could he decide whether to attack or to retreat and defend? Chapter 2 - Part 4 Shang Peng and Shang He were adept at fighting together, individually they were also rare martial art masters, yet as soon as they met her, they could not figure out her technique. One wrong move and they had to pay the full price of having their four hands bound by her exquisite beyondpare technique that they were unable to unleash their power at all, and were beaten to death. Once this thought entered his mind, Kou Zhong let out a wild roar and spun around to dodge the ribbon winding around his neck. As he called out out, Xiao Ling! he chopped three times in session, but each chop actually struck empty air. It was a gamble. He was betting that Xu Ziling would arrive in time, so that while he cut Wanwans movement space Xu Ziling would give her a fatal blow. Shang Xiuxun saw the tragic death of the two elders, but being an outstanding person herself, she raised a mouthful of true qi to totally put her rage and surging wave of emotion under control, and then fast as lightning she shed forward. Right this moment Kou Zhong was executing his third precise, hair-splitting saber chop, so that Wanwan, who changed indefinitely like a ghost, so that others could not grasp her position, suddenly had her path cut-off. Naturally Shang Xiuxun immediately exploited this opportunity. Her treasured sword disguised ingenuity as clumsiness, it rose up like a poisonous dragon rearing its head, it appeared to cut the ribbon brushing toward Kou Zhong. This moment Xu Ziling was just flying over Wanwans head. Without Kou Zhong calling out to remind him, he knew that this was a one in a thousand golden opportunity; he struck down with both palms, while sending out his vortex of energy. Until now, Wanwan has been able to control the overall situation, by exploiting the strength variation of the opponents, and skillfully strike them one by one. But after Kou Zhong executed the three saber strikes based on his own understanding of the Yi Jian Dashi Fu Cailins Yi Jian Technique, for the first time Wanwan realized that she could no longer obtain wind when she wanted wind, obtain rain when she wanted rain, like before. By this time, the battlefield by the small pavilion was filled with the dead and the injured, or with those who practically were unable to get close to Wanwan. Only three people remained, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Shang Xiuxun, whose martial art skill was the strongest, and who were still able to strike back. Wanwan was a smart and cunning person, otherwise, how could she be the beloved disciple who received direct instruction from Zhu Yuyan? Intentionally she used her most ruthless technique to kill Fang Zetao, and then with blitzkrieg method she struck the others one by one, so Jingling and Flying Horse Ranch could be subdued hands down. But Kou Zhongs three saber strikes werepletely beyond her expectation, it gave her for the first time the disadvantage feeling of falling into a besiege. Kou Zhongs first saber strike fell behind her, in the shape of a stream of spiraling strong force, cutting off her retreat route. The second and third separately chopped down in front and at her right side, practically sealing off her escape route from these two directions. If she fought Kou Zhong one-on-one, if this moment she used the absorbing technique from Tian Mo Gong, she could have absorbed the three streams of spiraling energy and took it as her own. Taking advantage of the moment Kou Zhong raised his qi, killing him would be as easy as turning her palm down. If she wanted to withdraw, she could have moved to the left, or perhaps soared up to the air. But now those two directions were sealed by Shang Xiuxun and Xu Ziling, respectively; leaving her the only option of facing the attack head-on, relying on her real skill. From this it could be seen how brilliant Kou Zhongs eyesight and strategy was. Wanwans elegant eyes shot an unusual gleam that has never been seen before. Two short des suddenly slipped out of her sleeves down to the hollow of her palms; shing two streaks of fantastic light the des separately met Shang Xiuxun and Xu Ziling. Finally, she was forced to use the skill that was buried deep at the bottom of the chest. This pair of a chi-long short des was known as Tian Mo Shuang Zhan [Celestial Devil Twin yers], one of the tree treasures of Yin Gui Pai, specializing in breaking the true qi of opponent from internal school. It enhanced Tian Mo Gongs ability that it would be like a tiger that has grown wings, its power was hard to withstand. This moment the recovery speed of Kou Zhongs true qi was a hairbreadth faster that Wanwans guess. As soon as the yellow glow shed, the saber was already chopping down. With pressure from three sides, if it were someone else, her head would have been separated from her body. Too bad it was Wanwan, who was proficient in the heretical schools supreme skill, Tian Mo Gong. In that split second, Tian Mo Gong formed a boundary: with Wanwan in the center, the area about a zhang radius has suddenly sunken to be like a bottomless pit. On the surface, this change was not apparent; it was purely in the form of qi energy. The yin [negative/feminine or yin and yang] and cold qi locked the three people inside. Bing! Subsequently a series of clear ringing of sword and de shing against each other was heard; in term of speed and frequency, it wasparable to the pitter-patter sound of rain of banana leaves. Shang Xiuxun was the first to cross weapons with Wanwan. She was using the most formidable sword technique handed down from generation to generation, the unique skill of the Shang family. Each sting of the sword turned into sword pattern, moving swiftly indeterminately. But each move was an all-out attack that was more than Wanwan was able to deal with, with the aim of giving Kou and Xu, two boys, the opportunity to deal fatal blow on Wanwan. If they let Wanwan lived, it would be difficult for them to sleep peacefully in the future. All along Wanwan has been trying to avoid direct contact with Shang Xiuxun, precisely because she knew how swift and fierce her swordsmanship was, and how good she was in entangling the opponent in a prolonged battle. But since she was unable to avoid it, she could onlyunch the Sou Xin Jianfa [soul-searching sword technique] created by Zhu Yuyan herself. Fast beyond human understanding she stabbed the de a dozen times, each strike stabbed at the dead-center of Shang Xiuxuns sword pattern. Sword qi collided with each other. Shang Xiuxun felt that each sword strike of the opponent carried a stream of cold and poisonous true qi, which flowed from the sword and prated her channels, which was quite strenuous for her to deal with it. The most shocking thing was that no matter how she changed her style, Wanwan seemed to clearly understand the key point, which enabled her to anticipate Shang Xiuxuns next move and meet the attack head-on. By the twelfth sword strike, Wanwan managed to break through the true qi protecting Shang Xiuxuns body, the precise moment when Xu Zilings pair of palms arrived. Ding, ding! Ding, ding! Like fresh flower Xu Zilings palms bloomed. The five fingers of his right hand moved in an obscure and iparably strange style, like plucking a string instrument or in sweeping motion, with the total energy focused on fending off Wanwans Tian Mo de swiftly stabbing on him. Meanwhile, his left hand turned into a fist, punching at Wanwans left arm, which was attacking Shang Xiuxun. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well was wlessly in-sync with Xu Zilings attack, as it sliced across Wanwans waist. In this critical moment, Wanwans beautiful eyes, the eyes that could hook the soul and break the spirit, suddenly lit up with clear dark blue bizarre light, as she swiftly pulled back the Tian Mos demonic energy that was attacking Shang Xiuxun. Actually, Shang Xiuxun was thinking that serious injury was inevitable. Seeing the opponent suddenly beat the gong to recall the troops, she quickly raised the true qi inside her to force the remaining Tian Mos demonic energy out of her meridians, while at the same time raising her sword that like a gale it rolled toward Wanwan. Three great martial art masters, while gaining the upper hand they fought with all their might. Even if it were Ning Daoqi himself came, perhaps it would entail extremely strenuous effort for him to deal with them, as well as a great chance that he would suffer defeat or even die. Just with these three saber strikes, Kou Zhong managed to reverse the battle situation. Others could only helplessly watched the development of the situation, and were in no position to interfere. Right this moment, where people were watching with baited breath, Wanwans entire body seemed to shrink, before bursting open again. Wanwan folded her limbs first; she curled herself up into a ball to dy the moment the opponents attack reaching her body slightly. And then, as if filled by her qi, her snow white robe ballooned out to take the three opponents swift and fierce attack, leaving her only wearing white undergarment, leaving her jade arms and powder-white legsplete exposed to everybodys eyes. Her graceful line and her beauty stopped everybodys breath. Bang! Bang! Bang! Shang Xiuxuns treasured sword, Xu Zilings fist and palm, and Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, could only strike on her cicada sheds its carapace-like white robe. Bang! Under the three pincer attacks of the qi energy, the ballooning white robe exploded into pieces. The three people were severely shaken by the enormous Tian Mo Gong energy contained inside the white robe that they were thrown outside and tumbled down. Wah! Wanwan spurted a mouthful of blood, her face turned green. Like a clump of cloud she kicked the ground and flew, in the blink of an eye she was already perched on top of the wall. The bright moon was high up in the sky. Her wless half-naked tender body stood beautifully on the wall, she turned her head around and said with a smile, Seven dayster, after qies [a humble way to say I for a woman] body recovers, that will be the day Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong lose your lives. And then she suddenly disappeared. Everybody looked at each other, speechless. This moment a warrior rushed into the garden. Seeing the horrifying scene where the dead and the injured were scattered everywhere, his legs went soft and he dropped down on his knees on the ground. Feng Ge struggled hard to sit up. What is it? he called out hoarsely. Raising the letter in his hand high, the warrior replied in a trembling voice, Flying pigeon letter from the Ranch, the Four Big Banditsunch the second round of attack to the Ranch, in coordination with Jianghuai Armys attack to Jingling. Everybody turned pale. Liang Zhi scrambled forward to take the letter and handed it over to Shang Xiuxun. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked into each others eyes, thinking that if the Ranch did note to Jinglings aid, with Jinglings generals dead and injured, how could they fight this battle? Finished reading the letter, Shang Xiuxun handed it over to Liang Zhi and said resolutely, We will return immediately. Whats your position? Naturally thest question was directed to Kou and Xu, two boys. Kou Zhongs gaze fell upon Shang Peng and Shang Hes dead bodies; he sighed and said, I really dont know. Xiao Ling, what do you think? Grieved, Feng Ge said, You must not go, Jinglings survival depends entirely on you! Phew! What a long fight ... Book 11 - 3 – No Generals in Shu Book 11 Chapter 3 C No Generals in Shu The battle drums shook the heavens. By the time the first rays of morning sun illuminated the top of Jinglings city wall, Jianghuai Army had alreadyunched wave after wave of attack from all sides, amidst the earth-shattering battle cry. Not only they have cut off the source of the water of the moat, they also used sand and stones to tten arge section of the moat right in front of the main city gate. By the time Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and the injured Feng Ge climbed onto the city gate tower, they saw the enemys main force was slowly pouring into the in between the city wall and the Han River. Arge banner with a Du character was pping freely in the wind in the middle of the army. A magnificent army with awe-inspiring prestige. After their first wave of attack was crushed by the slings and arrows raining down on them, the Jianghuai Army retreated and regrouped. When the swelled-headed Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at the huge array of troops made up of thirty-thousand soldiers outside the city, they were at a loss. Although their intelligence surpassed others, in front of this kind of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, in this kind of situation where they came face to face with the enemy across the battleground, they actually did not know how to deal with it. Feng Ge simply sat down dejectedly between the two boys. Were it not for the two boys helping him treating his injury, perhaps he would have had to lie down in bed. But right now his qi was still deficient and his strengthcking. It was with great difficulty that he managed to stand up in order to hand over themand into the hands of the two boys in emergency deliberation with the other high-ranking military officers. Seven generals defending the city came to the three peoples presence; all their faces showed misgivings. These generals were Duba Viges second-tier leaders. In terms of experience and strength, they were inferior to the generals who died and injured in the battle against Wanwan just now. But now that there were no great general in Shu, Liao Hua would have to be picked to make up the number[1]. Simrly, now it became Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings turn to act as the Guardian Commanders to defend Jingling. To avoid leaking the secret information, the people gathered around them were Feng Ges trusted aides and trusted soldiers. Feng Ge addressed the seven generals in heavy voice, Listen to what I have to say, but dont be rm, and do not cry out to avoid disturbing the troops morale. Understand? The generals nodded their understanding. Feng Ge himself was originally a Sui Dynasty general, a person of good moral standing and reputation, so that he was respected and quite popr. It was due to him that the situation was under control until this time. Feng Ge forced himself to straighten his back up and spoke in a nonchnt manner, Zhuangzhu has been killed by Yin Gui Pai female demon Wanwan. Immediately the generals countenance changed. After giving them a brief ount of what had happened, Feng Ge opened his palm to reveal the military seal he took from Fang Zetaos dead body. Zhuangzhu sacrificed his life in crisis, he said in earnestness, He left Laofu in charge of the Vige. But since presently the two armies are facing each other, the news of Zhuangzhus death must not be leaked out, otherwise the morale of the troops will be shaken. The generals heart was overwhelmed with grief and indignation, but there was nothing they could do. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling mused that Fang Zetaos death has already shaken the morale of these seven generals. Feng Ge forced himself to sound energetic when he said, Because I also suffer minor injury, it would be difficult for me to personally preside over this battle rted to Jinglings survival, so I am obliged to plot it from the side. Everything pertaining to the defense and offense, Kou Xiongdi and Xu Xiongdi will be in charge. Theirmand will be like Laofusmand, disobedience is punishable by beheading. Understand? The generals thought was in a whirl, they were out of their wits; however, knowing that the two boys possessed outstanding intelligence and strategic thinking ability, also knowing that they had matchless bravery, they all nodded theirpliance. One of the generals asked, How do we deal with General Qian? Qian Yun was actually Feng Ges immediate superior; however, in terms of talent, ability, morality and insight, he was inferior to Feng Ge. A murderous intention shed through Feng Ges eyes; he said indifferently, Let me worry about this matter. Go back to your post immediately, wait for further instruction! The generals withdrew. Feng Ges countenance turned from green to ck, he was coughing severely that the two boys hastily transmitted their qi to help. A momentter he recovered somewhat, but he looked even weaker than before. Morning breeze was blowing, Feng Ge shuddered, scaring the two boys that they hastily took him into the tower. Feng Ge had a general by the name of Feng Han summoned into the tower. This man was Feng Ges nephew, someone they could trust. After dismissing the other men with a wave of his hand, he had Feng Han close the door, and then he sighed and said to Kou and Xu, two boys, If the news of Zhuangzhus death is spread, the entire Jingling will be thrown into chaos, everybody will fall over each other in their eagerness to flee, Jingling will copse. Do Gentlemen have any good idea? Kou Zhong asked in heavy voice, How many soldiers are actually avable in Jingling? Feng Han replied on his uncles behalf, The Vige itself is thirty-thousand men strong. If we add the able-bodied men who can be mobilized temporarily, that number will reach fifty-thousand. Wont that mean we have twenty-thousand more menpared to Jianghuai Army outside the city? Xu Ziling asked in bewilderment. Feng Ge swallowed hard and said, What you just saw was only Jianghuai Armys main force. They still have several other units that are attacking other city gates. All their forcesbined, the number reaches seventy, eighty-thousand, maybe more. Moreover, in terms of training, weaponry and experience, they are superior to us. Feng Han joined in, Our Vige force consist of seven army units. The one under Zhuangzhus personalmand has the highest number of troops, eight thousand in total. The other units have four thousand troops each. Dashu [first uncle] and I lead one unit each, the other generals leading the army were killed by that female demon. Their recement must be appointed. Listening to that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a terrible headache. The adversary they were facing was the Du Fuwei, who was able to move unhindered among the heroes contending for hegemony of the world, while on their side, the people were anxious, their morale was low. In this battle, they were already lost without even need to fight. Feng Han sighed and said, If Dashu was not injured, he could still maintain stability, and we could still fight a few hard battle against the enemy. But now? Ay ... Feng Ge was about to speak, but suddenly he coughed violently that he even spurted a bit of blood, shocking everybody else. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hurriedly transmitted their qi to regte the blood flow; who would have thought that Feng Ges eyes turned white as he copsed into the chair? The three of them looked at each other in panic. It was quite a whileter that Kou Zhong made up his mind and said, Feng Xiong, take this seal of authority and immediately appoint new leaders from among the generals, and thene back here to discuss how to deal with this situation. Leave Old Feng to us, we will take care of him. Feng Han started to open his mouth to talk, but in the end he swallowed it back. Obeying the order, he left. [1] From the novel Sao Mi Zhou (; lit. The broom which sweeps away superstitions), a novel written by a certain Zhuangzhe (; lit. strong man) during the Qing dynasty, contained a saying about Liao Hua: If there are no great generals left in Shu, Liao Hua will be the vanguard. (Пo󌢣λh). It can be interpreted as: Shu was socking in talents and new blood in its twilight years that an elderly Liao Hua had to lead the vanguard of the Shu army in battle. The proverb is also used to describe a situation in which a person who is seemingly unfit for a job is forced into doing it, but is willing to face what seems to be insurmountable odds against him/her (Wikipedia). Liao Hua was a real historical character during the Three Kingdom era, and was also a character in the historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Chapter 3 - Part 2 After checking Feng Ges pulse, who was reclining on the chair, Kou Zhong let his hand down and said with a sigh of relief, He is already able to regte his own qi. Seems like his fainting is slightly betterpared to when he is awake. Ay! That female demon is really formidable, I am afraid even Ning Daoqi wont be able to kill her. Leaning sideways, Xu Ziling said, They died a very tragic death. Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Cocking his head, he listened to the neighing of horses and the beating of the drums outside the tower. I wonder if Flying Horse Ranch people manage to leave safely, he said in a low voice. Xu Ziling walked over to the long and narrow peek hole on the wall. Looking outside, he spoke with his back toward Kou Zhong, There shouldnt be any problem, because Ol Die Du deliberately leaves an opening, to give Jingling people a way out that direction to flee for their lives, and thus hes actually making things easier for them. Humph! Unless Ol Die fought personally, with Shang Changzhu and Liang Zhis martial art skill, they ought to be able to escort Luo Fang and Xu Yang to safety. Ay! Kou Zhong walked over to his side. He looked out from another window for shooting arrows, and saw that the Jianghuai Army was still sending wave after wave of attack. Suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of helplessness, he smiled wryly and said, I wonder if previously we were too conceited, thats why today we receive grand, inevitable retribution. Now I feel so depressed that I feel like killing myself, yet I even hate my own ipetence. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day. Suddenly heughed aloud and said, Do you want to know why? Kou Zhong was stunned, What are you talking about? he asked. Xu Ziling calmly replied, I am talking about you losing your confidence. All because you have never thought that there exist in this world an opponent as vicious, powerful and cunning as Wanwan, you helplessly watched her killing ourrade-in-arms, and could do nothing to stop, thereupon you hated yourself, and med your own ipetence. If you cannot restore your fighting spirit, we can forget about leaving this ce alive. Forcing a smile, Kou Zhong said, Do you have fighting spirit? Xu Zilings tiger eyes shed sharply. Nodding, he said, Of course! The worst thing that can happen is we die. Do you remember what Bai Laofuzi (see Book 1 Chapter 1) taught us, Those who aspire to be great men must firstbor their muscles and bones, must hungry their stomachs, must bring suffering to their will, must deplete their bodies, must brush away the confusion from their minds? Kou Zhong immediately stuck out his chest, solemnly listening to him. Xu Zilings eyes shed spiritedly as he fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong and continued, Presently we are at the turning point of our life. Only if you, Zhong Shao, use your brain to think will we be able to contend with that number one female demon in the world with real swords, real spears in one hard battle ... And then, pointing to the Jianghuai Army covering the mountains and the ins outside the peek hole, he said, Outside is the Ol Die, who has a chance to unify the world. We have the opportunity to stand off against this martial art master who look disdainfully at the world out of the corner of his eye, no longer the marketce riffraff of the past, or perhaps low-level martial art yers of Jianghu. Kou Zhongs eyes light up at once. Ha! he said in high spirit, I got it now. Just by the fact that not only Wanwan failed to kill us, she ended up wounded and ran for her life, we are actually quite amazing. Its just that we achieved victory by superior number, so theres not much glory in it. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Vying over the world, how can you equate it with the fighting in Jianghu? There is no such thing as fairness! We have to create unfair situation with thousand ways, a hundred ns. Wanwan was trained at an early age, plus she received brilliant masters instruction, while we are only halfway out of our home, plus we have to grope about blindly. This is so unfair. Presently what we are fighting for is time. Before Wanwan kill us, we must kill her first. Do you understand? Understand, Kou Zhong replied; but then turning a little discouraged, he said, It doesnt matter how much confidence we have, the fact is that our situation right now is the enemy strong, while we are weak. As soon as the news of Fang Zetaos death leaks out, Jingling will fall apart without the enemy attacking it. Ay! Tell me, what should I do? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, You must drop this bad habit of easily get excited and easily get discouraged. Only then you will have the hope of aplishing great things. For a man living in troubled time, worste to worst, he will die in battle, among the carcasses of the horses. What are you afraid of? Kou Zhong was silent, but his pair of tiger eyes gradually lit up. Xu Ziling reached out to grab his shoulder. He said, On the battlefield, although thousands and tens of thousands people charging and breaking through the enemy lines, each one is actually alone. In death, he is even more iparably alone! Think about the feeling loneliness while exerting yourself, fighting at close quarters in the middle of tens of thousands people, you wont be confused by the scene of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses outside. Zhong Shao, you still want to contend for hegemony over the world, right? What you see outside the city is actually the litmus test for you. I fight for the sake of the innocent people of Jingling, but you fight to pave a path of hegemony. Kou Zhongughed aloud. You are indeed my good brother, he said, Each sentence is like the evening drum and morning bell [Buddhist monastic practice] going straight into the bottom of my heart. But mypassion toward Jingling people is not different from yours. This moment, Feng Han stormed in like a whirlwind and cried out, Not good! Qian Yun was rescued by his men. The news of Zhuangzhus death can leak at any time. Kou Zhong has fully returned to his old decisive and brimming-with-confidence self; he said coldly, Have you aplished your mission of appointing new leaders? Infected by his calm demeanor, Feng Han calmed down. Theres no problem in that regard, he replied. Throwing his head back, Kou Zhong let out a longughter and said, Very well! Let me give Ol Die a good fight, lets see whose fist is harder. Whos Ol Die? Feng Han asked in bewilderment. Its Du Fuwei, Xu Ziling replied, Feng Han, have your men escort your Dashu to the Ranch immediately, also dispatch your troops to evacuate women and children to a safe ce out of town. If the city is broken, tell them to take refuge at the Flying Horse Ranch. Shang Xiuxun is definitely not someone who see people dying and not offer any help. And then he turned his eyes to Kou Zhong. Looking up to heaven, Kou Zhong let out another longugh, revealing his steely determination, fighting spirit and confidence, before taking the lead to leave the tower toward the city wall. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood side-by-side on top of the city wall. Outside the city the battle was at its peak. Under the sea of fluttering banners was the Jianghuai Army, their number has increased to forty-thousand men. Du Fuweis main force stationed themselves on a small hill; it was dominated by cavalry, with heavily armored infantry as secondary. The vanguard regiment was equipped with shields, arrows, hatchets, and apanied by the construction battalion to build fortifications, outfitted with wooden logs, clouddders, towering vehicles, and other tools necessary to besiege a city. The left and right nks had fifty-thousand men each, purely cavalry. Behind the main force there were two groups of army, both to defend their escape route and to act as reinforcement. This moment the sun was already at its zenith. Its bright light illuminated the earth, the naked des reflecting its light flickered dazzlingly, intensifying the already thick murderous aura in the atmosphere. Battle drums sounded. More than 70 armored vehicles with tower to shoot arrows began to move in the direction of Jingling. Each vehicle concealed more than a dozen archers. As soon as they reached the shooting distance, they would be able to shoot arrows from behind the iron panel elevated about two zhang above the carriage toward the top of the city wall, and thus providing cover to theirrades attack. Thinking about Jianghuai Army, which managed to conquer such a strong fortified city like Liyang, it was obvious that this seemingly aesthetically unpleasing, the tombstone-shaped armored vehicles, were definitely not just toys. When the armored carts started to move, it looked like a tall, towering building, was moving toward the city. Due to their elevated position, the soldiers on the carts were standing eye-to-eye with the soldiers standing on top of the city wall; therefore, not only they were able to cover the entire city wall within their arrow range, when the carts were positioned right next to the wall, the attackers would then be able to directly step over the wall and force their entrance into the city. Bugle horns sted. Under the ministration of the several hundreds construction battalion soldiers, the catapult vehicles sent out several hundreds rocks. The rocks were shotter, but arrived sooner; they flew over the tower carts, overtaking the armored vehicles to block the arrows. At the same time, forty thousand Jianghuai Army troops shouted and the warhorses neighed wildly, changing the atmosphere outside the city of Jingling. After exchanging nces with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong raised his voice to shout, Kou Zhong is here! Du Fuwei, do you dare to have a one-on-one duel against me? His voice traveled far into the distance, the voices of several tens of thousands troops were still unable to drown it. The civilians and military personnel inside the city of Jingling were cowered by the systematic and organized, tightrge-scale attack of the enemy. Hearing the shout, their morale was greatly boosted; they all shouted in unison, their voices shook the heaven and the earth. Even Xu Ziling, who only wished to live a simple life, also felt his heart was burning and his blood boiling. pping the buttocks of his horse, Du Fuwei rode alone down the hill. He shouted coldly, If Fang Zhuangzhu can guarantee that if you, Zhonger, lose, the city of Jingling will be handed over to me, then this Ol Du is prepared to answer your challenge. Ignorant children, unexpectedly you regard the tens of thousands troops facing each other in battlefield as childrens yground. Ridiculous! Ridiculous, indeed! His voice was high, but not overbearing; it spread widely over the hills and the ins, outside and inside the city. The lingering sound rose up in spirals, thus it was clear that his power cultivation was exquisite; in fact, it was above Kou Zhongs. The most formidable thing was that he seized this opportunity to use psychological tactics by emphasizing his old ginger characteristics, in contrast to Kou Zhongs shallow experience, painting him as an improbable opponent to him. The Jianghuai Army immediately followed their Commander-in-Chiefs bold, visionary words, by raising their voices, so that the shouts of Jingling people were pressed down. His heart moved, Xu Zilingmented, Female demon Wanwans injury must be very heavy, hence she had to find a ce nearby to recuperate that she did not even have time to notify Du Fuwei. If we can find her before she recovered, we might be able to eliminate her. Kou Zhong had his eyes on the distant Du Fuwei; as if he did not hear Xu Ziling, he said in a low voice, This time we are in trouble. Xiao Ling, quickly think of something. Xu Ziling was stunned and was speechless for a moment. And then he understood. The sound of footsteps was approaching; Feng Han with about a dozen of his personal guards came from behind. Evacuation n is aplished, Feng Han reported. Sure enough, Du Fuweis voice rang out, Fang Zetao, are you dumb? Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong and Feng Hans countenance changed immediately. Book 11 - 4 – Defending the City to the Death Alone Book 11 Chapter 4 C Defending the City to the Death Alone Kou Zhong shouted toward Du Fuwei, who was on the hill, When you, Ol Die, are captured and be brought into Zhuangzhus presence, Zhuangzhuand you may have a heart-to-heart talk. Ha! With a longugh he stop Du Fuwei from continuing. The construction battalion pushing the clouddder and the armored troops were starting to move, followed by the ramming vehicle to break the city wall and city gate. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged nces; they both thought that it would be strange indeed if a man as astute as Du Fuwei would not suspect Fang Zetaos death. Feng Han spoke in a low voice, The moat is filled up, the enemy can directly batter the city wall. If we can make it through the night, it could be considered not bad. Kou Zhong asked, How long will it take to evacuate everybody to the Ranch? I only need the most elite troops of the Vige to stay with me. Feng Han replied, Du Fuweis target is to take Jingling, so that he will have strongholds tounch both water andnd attack toward the cities along Han Rivers coastal area, as a shortcut to march toward Luoyangter. Now that he has leveled up the moat on this side, the other units wille here soon to ensure day and night siege; therefore, themon people can leave the city via the other gates safe and sound. If we have three days, then all personnel that have nothing to do with city defense can be removed far to a safe area. In that case, Kou Zhong decided, We must hold on for three days, lets see how formidable the Jianghuai Army really is. Feng Hans face revealed a pained look, Im afraid the morale of the troops is quite low, he said, Qian Yun has always been at odds with Dashu [first uncle], he will definitely use this opportunity to seize power over the military. Worse yet, the news of Zhuangzhus death may leak any time. If that happens, no one will have the heart to continue fighting zealously, and then holding on for even one sichen will be a problem. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, People look toward the high ce, water flows toward low elevation. Right now the only hope the Jinglings citizens have is to flee toward the Flying Horse Ranch, and we are the only one who can guarantee that that will happen, not a lowly scum like Qian Yun. Let us give the Old Du a fierce fighting first to strengthen the confidence of the officers and soldiers before discussing about the pros and cons. I dont believe everybody will be so dumb as being unwilling to fight bravely for their own, as well as their rtives lives. Hey! How can I issue an order? Feng Han called out loudly, Where is Feng Qing? A young man scrambled forward and kneeled in front of the three people, Feng Qings here! he replied. Feng Han said, This is my younger brother Feng Qing. Any instruction Kou Shuai [Commander-in-Chief] have, you may tell him and have him do it. It was the first time that anybody has ever called him Commander Kou. While he was feeling highlycent, a warrior rushed in panic up the city wall and reported, Not good! Leading several hundred of his personal troops, General Qian Yun is heading this way. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, Ill leave the heavy responsibility to defend the city to Commander Kou, let me deal with Qian Yun. Finished speaking, he pulled Feng Han along and left. Kou Zhongs gaze returned to outside the city. The armored shooting arrow vehicle gradually entered the city defense catapult range. Kou Shuai, Feng Qing reminded him, We can release the rocks and arrows soon! Coldly and calmly Kou Zhong replied, Let them get a bit closer, then the rocks and arrows will have more power. Feng Qing hastily sounded the bugle horn, signaling the city defense warriors not to act rashly. Come with me! Kou Zhong shouted loudly, and strode along the city wall. Feng Qing and a group of his personal guards scrambled to follow him. Along the way, Kou Zhongforted the troops defending the city and boosted their morale. Everybody knew his matchless divine bravery; although they were not clear why he suddenly reced Fang Zetao, but looking at his shing eyes, his magnificent trim build, his dragon stride and tiger step as he walked, his voice that exuded strong fighting spirit and confidence, his imposing style of considering himself unexcelled in the world, everywhere he went he aroused burst of salutes and shouts of cheers; the morale was greatly boosted. After walking along nearly half a li of the city wall, Kou Zhong turned around and walked back while shouting, You listen: Jingling Army will prevail, Jianghuai Army will fail. Following his lead, all the officers and soldiers shouted together, their voices filled the night, so that the enemys shouts and battle cry werepletely drowned. Filled with admiration, Feng Qing said, Zhuangzhu has never encouraged us the way Kou Shuai do. Oh! We can release the rocks and arrows now. Kou Zhong calmly turned his eyes toward the Jianghuai Army. Sure enough, their vanguard battalion has already entered the hundred-zhang range. Smiling, he said, We can wait just a bit longer. Feng Qing wanted to persuade further, Kou Zhong suddenly stopped next to a catapult. He stood still in full concentration. The enemy continued to advance. Qian Yun, leading three hundred troops, his supporters, furiously rushed along the main street toward the main gate. Presently Jinlings main force was concentrated here. As long as he could kill Feng Ge, the control over the military would fall into his hands. At that time, dealing with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling would not be toote. While he was having that thought and was feeling over the moon, a pressing force suddenly came overhead. His warhorse was the first to buckle, throwing Qian Yun forward. By the time Qian Yunnded on the ground and looked up, he saw Xu Ziling pouncing on him from the top of a two-story building nearby. When he was about to pull his sword, he felt sharp pain on the pit of his stomach. With a miserable shriek he died on the spot. Xu Zilingnded among the soldiers, and immediately soared back into the air. From all around hundreds of archers appeared, surrounding Qian Yuns soldiers. With the seal of authority held high above his head, Feng Han appeared in the middle of the street and shouted, Abandon your weapons, those who rebel will die. Xu Ziling stood by his side, looking as formidable as an immortal. Witnessing how Qian Yun died without even any chance to fight back, the soldiers knew that the momentum was lost. One after another they surrendered and realigned their allegiance. And thus a civil war was averted. Kou Zhong inspected arge block of rock that appeared to be around a hundred catty; he shouted, Du Fuwei, lets see what will happen to your armored vehicle. With a loud shout he kicked hard, hurling the rock flying toward the armored vehicle, which was about seventy zhang away from the city wall. First therge rock rose about a zhang high, and then it spun swiftly as it flew toward the wooden structure of the armored vehicle. People inside and outside the city were staring with their eyes wide open. Nobody believed that a piece of rock like this would be able to destroy an armored vehicle. Yet Kou Zhong disyed his astonishing divine power and judgment. Boom! Therge rock hit the wooden structure squarely, smashing it into smithereens. Beyond all expectation, the armored vehicle did not move back, instead, it leaned sideways and toppled. Bang! it fell on its side, injuring a dozen or more people in the process. Everybody could only stare nkly. The officers and soldiers defending the city burst into an earth shattering cheers. Knowing the time was right, Kou Zhong roared, Release the rocks and arrows! Amidst the battle cry, along the city wall extended over a li, about a hundred catapults shot outrge rocks, along with countless arrows raining down toward the nearly ten thousand enemies attacking the city. Immediately the vehicles rolled over and people copsed in an extremely tragic scene. The battle has unfolded a new leaf. Kou Zhong spoke to Feng Qing in a low voice, That will do! Now even if they knew that your Zhuangzhu is dead, there shouldnt be any problem. Feng Qings eyes were brimming with unbounded respect. By the time Xu Ziling returned to the city wall, Jingling Army has crushed the enemys first wave of attack, leaving hundreds of dead bodies, more than a dozen armored vehicles, siege towers, and countless broken bows and arrows, as well as other weapons. The city wall was full of military personnel and able-bodied civilians going back and forth to replenish the supply of arrows, rocks, boiling oils, and so on, which were being continuously used up in the city fortification. The high-ranking military officers executed every order that Kou Zhong issued without the slightest hesitation. Jianghuai Armys battle drums resounded. The destroyed unit withdrew, while another unit, about five thousand strong, started to advance toward the city gate to be engaged in what appeared to be more than what they could attend to. Xu Ziling came to Kou Zhongs side. Looking at the enemy outside the city, he said, Qian Yun has been taken care of! Kou Zhong acted as if he did not hear it; pointing at the hundred or so trebuchets moving toward the city wall, he said, Those stupid things are so formidable; just now they managed to knock several sections of our wall, and crush several hundred of our men to their death. If this situation continues, I am afraid we wontst until tomorrow. Do you have any ideas? Xu Ziling thought for a moment before replying, Id better take men to rush out and kill the enemy for a moment. What do you think? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, What good will that do? If the enemy cut your escape route, I am afraid you will be the only one who coulde back alive. Besides, those stupid things cannot be easily destroyed. Xu Ziling said, As long as we have a good grasp of the timing; one group is responsible for killing and breaking up the enemys rank, the other group is in charge of pouring kerosene to those siege towers, armored vehicles, trebuchets and what have you, and then the men on the city wall will be in charge of shooting fiery-arrows. I guarantee that the Ol Die can only stare in envy. Kou Zhong pped the wall and cried out, Wonderful! Immediately he had a general selected five thousand elite troops and put them under Xu Zilingsmand, while he himself went to the city gate to make preparation. Boom! Fragments of stone sshed, a piece of big rocknded on the city wall by Kou Zhongs side. Release the arrows! Kou Zhong thundered. Several thousand arrows were shot out of the battlements on the city wall toward the enemy flocking toward the gate. Two siege towers rushed in. Before the vehicle arrived, more than a dozen men already leaped out and soared toward the city wall. Kou Zhong knew the opponents martial art masters have arrived; luckily he did not see the Ol Die Du Fuwei among them. With a loud shout he also leaped up, the Moon in the Well turned into a streak of sharp light, rolling toward the iing enemies. Chapter 4 - Part 2 Two men responded by flying away to evade the de. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well hacked down left and right, two other enemies, who had just had their feetnded on the wall, immediately had their blood sshed and they were thrown down the city wall. But there were still seven enemies who seeded innding on the city wall, who attacked left and right on the ordinary soldiers defending the city that they suffered a crushing defeat. Like a swimming fish Kou Zhong shed toward an enemy, who was fighting hand to hand with Feng Qing. Lightning fast his Moon in the Well swept across the enemys waist, a short and stout man who was striking down on Feng Qing with his pair of axes. A vortex of energy rose up. Dang! The Moon in the Well entered the space between the two axes, and suddenly retracted. The short mans double-axe fell down. By the time a trace of blood appeared on his forehead, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well has already shed another enemy. Ding! The mans broadsword was cut off by the Moon in the Well as if it was just a dried twig. In his horror he stepped back, only to be kicked by Kou Zhong and was thrown outside the city. Kou Zhong immediately pounced onto the other three enemies. Meanwhile the short mans dead body has just fallen to the ground. It is thus clear that his movement was very fast. The spirit of the officers and soldiers defending the city was greatly aroused; swords and spears moved out immediately, pushing the remaining five enemies into a corner. Kou Zhongs murderous intention arose, every saber strike of his seemed to be the death penalty of the enemy; as soon as he saw an enemy, he would immediately kill. In the mid of sshing blood, the remaining two men saw how greatly disadvantageous their situation was, they simply jumped off the wall, and ran away for their lives. Kou Zhong leaped to the top of the wall; lifting the saber high above his head, he cried out wildly, Jingling Army will prevail! Jianghuai Army will fail! All the soldiers responded in unison; momentarily the heaven and the earth shook. Open the gate! Kou Zhong thundered. The suspension bridge was lowered. Leading three thousand soldiers, Xu Ziling rode out, killing the enemy left and right as he rushed out of the city. The besieging enemy troops have never expected Jingling would dare to open their gate; immediately they were thrown into confusion and scrambled away in all directions. The other two thousand soldiers came out carrying earthen jars filled with kerosene, which they poured over the enemys besieging carts. And then they immediately set the vehicles on fire, and thus increasing their momentum. Kou Zhong saw mes rose up everywhere under the city wall, but his heart was as cold as ice and frost; his face did not betray his emotion as he looked at the enemy situation. The battle drums were beaten again. The two cavalries, which were Jianghuai Armys wings, came out from left and right to attack and provide reinforcement. Momentarily the sound of hoof beats shook the sky. Kou Zhong stood on top of the city wall; he looked like a deity as he raised his saber and called out, Withdraw the troops! Feng Qing hurriedly beat the gongs and blew the bugle horn. Xu Ziling dashed out through the scattering enemy of nearly a thousand men wielding shields marching behind the carts, while escorting his own troops retreating back into the city. From the top of the wall tens of thousands arrows were shot toward the enemys cavalry that row after row fell down to the ground and thus it was difficult for them to advance even for a cun. Bang! The drawbridge closed. Without waiting for Kou Zhongs order, the soldiers and civilians on the city wall broke into loud shout, Jingling Army will prevail! Jianghuai Army will fail! Cries of joy thundered on. Kou Zhong saw that at least half the enemys besieging towers, armored vehicles and trebuchets were trapped in the sea of fire. Breathing a sigh of relief, he issued an order, We will take turn to rest; no matter what we will hold on for three days. By this time Feng Qing and the others have already been convinced and were ready to submit to him; they chorused theirpliance. Boom! Like a furious dragon the wooden ram struck against the city gate, emitting an ear-splitting rumble. The enemy suddenlyunched another wave of offensive. In a corner of the city wall, the very tired and sleep-deprived Xu Ziling woke up. He saw that the city wall, which was intact when he went to sleep, started to show a crack, while outside the city zing torches were covering the mountains and the ins. His ears were inundated with the sound of battle cry, the sound of catapults sending out rocks, the sharp squeaky noise of the wheels, and the explosive noise of the rocks crashing against the wall or falling on the ground. Crash! Without even looking Xu Ziling knew that that was the sound of hot oil being dumped down the city wall. Rising to his full height, Xu Ziling waved his left hand to catch an arrow, which came from God knows where, as he walked along the wall toward the citys main gate. Soldiers and civilians alike were busy running up and down the city wall to resist the enemy. Everybodys eyes were bloodshot. There seemed to be just one simple goal in everybodys mind, i.e. to do whatever they can to block and kill the invading enemies. Dead bodies were everywhere along the city wall, dark red blood was turning into burnt, ckened bloodstain, but nobody had time to pay attention. Heavy clouds were hanging low in the sky, the moon and the stars lost their luster. zing torches flickering in the night sky, dying everything blood red. As far as the eyes could see, it was like hell on earth. If he was not mistaken, today was the eighth day since the Jianghuai Armyunched theirrge-scale attack to besiege the city. The enemy continuously increased their forces, as well as feigning attack to the other gates, and thus dispersing their strength. Without stopping to sleep or take a rest, he and Kou Zhong have been conducting this bitter battle to defend the city, until he really could not take it anymore. He was just thinking of lying down for half a moment, but fell asleep at once. Battle drums suddenly sounded; he was a bit disoriented as to where it came from. Boom! This time it was the sound of ram mming against the city wall; he felt the ground under his feet seemed to be shaking a little. Bang! A siege tower just in front of the wall was smashed so that it toppled and fell down, that even the Jianghuai soldiers on it were falling to the ground outside the city, and crushing nobody knew how many more troops on the ground. Finally he saw Kou Zhong. This good brother of his was standing proud and erect on top of the wall, overlooking the situation outside the city, far and near, while incessantly summoning soldiers to transmit all kinds of orders. The way he conducted the operation was precisely the bearing of a Commander-in-Chief. Kou Zhongs entire body was stained with blood; perhaps even Kou Zhong himself did not know whether the blood was his own, or it came from the enemy. Arrows filled the air like rain. Xu Ziling came over to Kou Zhongs side. Kou Zhong looked at him. His eyes were bloodshot. Pulling Xu Ziling aside, he said, This time it is really bad. I am afraid we cantst the night. Pointing to a distant ce, he said, Over there the wall is struck that it cracked, we used sand and stones to block, sacrificing a lot of brothers lives in the process. Ill say the Ol Die is going to personally make his move soon. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Arent the women and children out of the city? Why havent we withdrawn? Kou Zhong replied with a bitterugh, There are still a lot of people inside the city. Do you think as soon as we wanted to leave we can just leave? Dont you see that right now everybody is dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety? As soon as the order to retreat is issued, I guarantee that they will fall over each other in their eagerness to flee, and everything will be a mess. Moreover, we have already tied unsolvable blood feuds with Jianghuai Army. If they decide to pursue the retreating enemy, our share will only beplete wipeout. Right now we can onlypete in strength, to see which side will not be able to endure anymore. Ay! It looks to me that most probably it would be us who cannot hold on! Xu Ziling swept his gaze around. Under the around-the-clock fierce offensive from the enemy, the soldiers and civilians of the city of Jingling have turned into injured and weary troops. Once the gap on the wall was breached and the enemy entered the city, due to the deep enmity between the two sides, the enemy would definitely kill everybody in sight. Under this kind of circumstances, based on his and Kou Zhongs character, how could they disregard and abandon these people and run away for their lives? In the end, they would fight on bravely and be buried with the city. This was what Kou Zhong was saying. Leaning over, Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Is this fate? The first time being amander-in-chief, and end up being extremely unlucky. Ha ... oh ... and then he coughed incessantly. Helping him rubbing his back, Xu Ziling asked, Did you suffer internal injury? Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong replied, Just now a few martial art masters came, I was unexpectedly punched by one of them, but I managed to cut off his stinky head. This moment a soldier came and reported frantically: Du Fuweis main force has started to move. The two boys groaned inwardly. Bracing themselves, they climbed the watchtower. Feng Han, Feng Qing, and the others were there. Everybodys countenance was heavy, as if they have seen that the end was near. The troops besieging the city retreated to give way to the new forceunching a new wave of powerful offensive. Outside the city wall dead bodies were everywhere, as a reminder of this eight-day and eight-night desperate battle in sieging the city. The vast open space in the city was full of dots of fire as far as the eyes could see. The battle drums and bugle horns, the hoof beats and the squeaky wheels filled the heaven and the earth. Realizing that everybodys eyes were fixed on him, inwardly Kou Zhong was smiling bitterly. Today he had learned that being a Commander-in-Chief was definitely not easy. Xu Ziling apanied him to an empty corner of the external wall. Feng Han said in a heavy voice, Du Fuwei has concentrated all of his forces here, by rough estimation his force numbers eighty-thousand men. Presently our own forces added up together only numbers in the vicinity of ten thousand men. The enemy is attacking us with eight times our strength. Looking at immediate situation, it will be very difficult for us to survive the night. A gust of wind suddenly blew over the watchtower that everybodys clothes were fluttering. Kou Zhong looked up to heaven and saw the scurrying ck clouds; he spoke slowly, If the Lord of Heaven shows mercy and pour down on us heavy rain, I wonder which side will reap the advantage. Everybody was greatly shaken; they all copied him looking up into the night sky. We would be saved! Feng Han said. Before he even finished speaking, a streak of lightning shed across the sky, blinding everybodys eyes. And the rumble of thunder that followed immediately drowned all noises on the battlefield. Bean-sized drops of rain started to hit their heads. Sparse at first, but quickly became thick, and soon became pouring rain. Millions of torches were extinguished one by one. Throwing his head back, Kou Zhong let out a longugh and said, Thank you Laotianye, because you, Senior, have not destroyed me, Kou Zhong. As long as I can avoid Du Fuwei personally hunting me down, there wille a day Jingling will return to my, Kou Zhongs hands! And then he thundered, This battle has been lost. Immediately withdraw in batches. Xu Ye and I will guard the rear; we will fight to the death to ensure that all of you will leave safely. Seeing the two boys righteousness reached the clouds and the sky, none of the generals was not moved. Xu Ziling shouted coldly, Still have not left promptly? Anybody has confidence of taking Du Fuweis Xiu Li Qiankun [universe in his sleeve]? All the generals dropped down on their knees; they kowtowed three times first before they epted the order and left. Under the thunderstorm, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings clothes were soaked wet, but they still looked at each other and let a longugh. There was an indescribable passion and heroic air around them. Book 11 - 5 – The First Defeat Book 11 Chapter 5 C The First Defeat Under the thunderstorm, the city of Jingling looked like a ghost domain. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the two boys, followed batch after batch Jingling officers hurriedly leaving the city from the north gate with their eyes. Thest group of soldiers to retreat had Feng Han and Feng Qing in it, they all seemed to be reluctant to part. Hardening his heart, Kou Zhong shouted, Just go! If you tarry, it might be toote! Feng Han was unclear whether the water on his face was raindrops or his own tears. Let us leave together! he called out sadly. Xu Ziling firmly shook his head, Only the two of us can lure Du Fuwei to pursue us. You, go quickly! Feng Han called out loudly, In the future, as soon as we hear the news that two Masters are raising righteousness, as long as I, Feng Han, am still breathing, I will definitelye to throw my lot with two gentlemen. Finished speaking, he urged his horse to run after the tail of the procession, and in the blink of an eye vanished in the vast darkness of the rain interspersed with thunders. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling rode side by side slowly, letting the wind and the rain fell on both their bodies and their horses. Every now and then the lightning shed, making the shops and building on both sides of the long street looked transparent; it was such an indescribably strange atmosphere. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, It had never urred to me that the first time I was in a real battle and I already suffered a big defeat, and thus lost the entire city of Jingling. Ha! Really funny! Right now my entire body feels numb. Have you seen so many people died in front of you? Xu Ziling looked up to let the heavy rain pour down on his face, as if he wanted to have the rainwater wash away his bloodstained clothes and the more than a dozen, big and small, bloody wounds from the battle. Blowing out a mouthful of air from his lungs, he said, Sess or failure, how could you let it bother you so much? You and I have tried our utmost, we have done our part the best we can! If today you seized total victory, you would think that sess woulde easy, perhaps it would cause you even greater defeat in the future. Ha! Therefore, this time we suffered a good defeat. Kou Zhong roared inughter, which affected the wound all over his body that hisughter turned into a miserable groan. Gasping for breath, he said, Toward sess or failure, I cant ever be like you, Ling Shao, who look at it so free and at ease. Perhaps because by nature I am ayperson! His mother! Huh? The two boys suddenly reined their horses. On the long street ahead, which was shrouded in the heavy curtain of the wind and the rain, and under asional lightning splitting the sky overhead, which washed the heaven and the earth a deathly white, suddenly appeared a tall and slender figure. Even if this person has turned into ashes, the two boys would recognize Du Fuwei from his tall hat. He has finallye! Du Fuwei let out an ear splitting wildughter, brimming with murderous intention. Suddenly he stoppedughing and said with a cold snort, They say that even cruel tiger would not eat its own cub, but tonight I, Du Fuwei, in this stormy night, must personally put away the two of you, unworthy children. As fate has it, nothing can surpass this. After paying his respect, Ring! Kou Zhong pulled his Moon in the Well, lifted it high above his head, andughed heartily, In order to vie over the world, father and son destroy each other, brothers and martial brothers against each other, is amon thing. Why would you, Ol Die mind it too much? A faint gust of wind came from behind. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; they both knew that martial art masters from Du Fuweis side have arrived. Merely Du Fuwei, one person, would be difficult for them to deal with; if they fell into Jianghuai Army martial art masters siege, how could they escape alive? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Ol Die, please forgive your child for being rude! Suddenly he pressed his horses belly to charge toward Du Fuwei. Kou Zhong also urged his horse to charge forward. The Moon in the Well turned into sharp rays splitting the wind and the rain, hacking down on Du Fuwei. Spiraling energy rose up, the wind and the rain was intensified by the saber power as well that it turned into a tornado that attacked first even before the saber arrived; the momentum was extremely astonishing. Xu Ziling was faster than Kou Zhong by half a horses length. By the time he was only about a zhang away from Du Fuwei, he sent out a punch with all his might, raising another wave of rain water surging toward this hegemon who ran amuck around the Jianghuai region. Du Fuwei has never imagined that the two boys had made tremendous progress, plus it was the first time that he encountered a spiraling energy. However, he was a veteran of a hundred battles. With a spin of his body he neutralized the strange power of the surging rain raised by Xu Ziling bombarding his body, while at the same time he soared to the air and brandished both sleeves. The sleeves carried the power he amassed throughout his life, hence it was not a small matter at all. Crash! Boom! A streak of lightning struck not too far away. Along with the rumbling of the thunder, the street was as bright as day. Xu Ziling abruptly pulled his rein; the horse reared, it kicked Du Fuwei. Du Fuwei was slightly stunned. Xu Ziling already slipped down on the side of the horse belly, the tip of his toes kicked on Du Fuweis left sleeve. At the same time Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well struck his right sleeve. Inunching this move, Xu Ziling has followed the most esoteric principle. It should be noted that Du Fuweis original thought was to strike Xu Ziling first, and then turned his attention to Kou Zhong. Therefore, his left sleeve was heavy, his right sleeve was light. He wanted to brush Xu Ziling away from the horseback before dealing with Kou Zhong. When martial art masters fight each other, a good grasp of timing and the moves indeed ys a decisive role. Who would have thought Xu Ziling exploited his warhorse? Not only he was forcing Du Fuwei to alter his angle of attack at thest moment, Du Fuwei had to reduce his speed a hairbreadth as well. Without any choice he had to quickly transfer part of the power from his left sleeve toward his right sleeve to deal with Kou Zhongs ten-thousand-catty thunderbolt saber strike. Hence he had lost his original seamless heavenly clothes [i.e. wless] meticulously nned tactics. There were two whooshing noise, followed by a clear ding! Xu Ziling was jolted as if he was struck by lightning, his entire body, along with his miserably neighing horse, was thrown back and fell to the ground; it was extremely shocking. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well hacked down on the arm protector inside Du Fuweis universe in the sleeve. Immediately he was shaken that the wounds on his body split open and bled, while he horse under his crotch was struck by the two mens impact force that it was knocked down sideways. Kou Zhong quickly soared to the air, the Moon in the Well turned into countless spiraling saber shadows, rolling Du Fuwei, who was taking a step back, inside. Even with his ability, Du Fuwei had no choice but to let Xu Ziling off; sending his strength to both sleeves, he concentrated all his power to deal with the iparably brave Kou Zhong who risked his life in this one strike. Bearing the brunt of nearly all of Du Fuweis inner power, just before he and the horse touched the ground, Xu Ziling spewed out a mouthful of blood while circting his power throughout his body, and thus his strength was restored. Meanwhile Du Fuweis reinforcement was only about thirty zhang away, and was fast approaching. Knowing that this was the most critical moment, Xu Ziling quickly raised a mouthful of qi while lightly pressing down on the side of the neighing miserably horses belly, and then borrowing the reaction force he rolled away swiftly, straight toward Du and Kou, two men in fierce battle. Sending out his power to his ten fingers, ten streams of qi shot out like arrows toward Du Fuweis feet. Du Fuweis second error was that he did not anticipate that Xu Ziling would be this quick tounch a counterattack. Although he was eager to kill Kou Zhong, this moment he had no choice but to protect his old life first. With a sudden shout he leaped up to evade. How could Kou Zhong, whose momentum was like a rainbow, miss this one-in-a-thousand opportunity? The Moon in the Well sliced across, while letting his face and his entire body exposed, in an apparent all-out, staking-his-life move. Du Fuwei raised his qi while flipping his body, so that his head was down, his feet up, while his right hand opened up into a w to grab the tianling acupoint on top of Kou Zhongs head. His other hand formed a halberd to pierce Xu Zilings back. All these moves happened in a sh, all threebatants were disying their ingenuity, every one of them executing their amazing tactic, which was quite astonishing to see. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Die has fallen into a trap! Suddenly he moved sideways toward Du Fuweis lower part; holding the Moon in the Well with both hands, he swiftly chopped upward. His target was Du Fuweis throat. Xu Ziling pushed the ground with both hands; borrowing the reaction force, he slid sideways. Both fists punched together, he created an iparably strong and violent spiraling qi, interspersing with the wind and the rain, striking toward Du Fuwei, who was attacking the top of Kou Zhongs head. It was bold and powerful without equal. This moment the nearest man among Du Fuweis subordinates was still about ten zhang away. If Du Fuwei managed to hold on for a bit longer, Kou and Xu, two boys could forget about getting away with their lives. Even with his shrewdness and brilliance, Du Fuwei could not help feeling remorse. As soon as he received the news that Jingling Army had abandoned the city and ran away, in his eagerness to kill the two boys, he only brought a small number of martial art masters to rush over at full speed, leaving the rest of his men behind. He had never thought that the two boys martial art skill has made tremendous improvement; this was his first mistake. His second mistake was leaping to the air to evade, so that he was unable to use timely force to deal with the two boys iparably strange spiraling energy. Even if he used his entire strength, it would still be difficult to take the two boysbined power at the same time, especially since they both went all-out. Chapter 5 - Part 2 Boom! Lightning shed, followed by a thunder. Du Fuwei was forced to use the skill he stored at the bottom of the chest; his left sleeve swept Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, while his right sleeve met Xu Zilings double punch. Qi energy shed. Du Fuwei spewed a mouthful of blood and was thrown far away. Xu Ziling fell down to the ground, while also spurting a mouthful of blood. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling up; both of them flew to the roof of a multi-story building nearby. Two Jianghuai Army martial art masters arrived; they rushed to pursue, but Kou Zhong swiped his saber backhandedly and viciously forced them to fall back to the ground. Du Fuweinded on the other side of the long street and stood still. By this time Xu Ziling had received the true qi transmitted by Kou Zhong, so that his strength was recovered somewhat. Sending out a punch, he forced another martial art master down to the ground. Bang! that mannded on the mud. Boom! Heaven and earth was awashed in bright light. By the time it was dark again, the two boys had already disappeared with any trace. Dont chase! Du Fuwei shouted loudly. Taking a deep breath, Du Fuwei shook his head and said with a sigh, They are worthy to be my good children. Even if you catch up with them, it would be useless. The two boys rolled down the slope, and fell into a deep pool of muddy swamp, unable to crawl back up. The heavy rain was still pouring on their heads and spilling down their faces, but the thunder and lightning gradually became sparse. After leaving Jingling, they had been running in northerly direction for more than thirty li. By now they were likentern which oil had dried up, they could not even raise their true qi. The big and small wounds on their body unbearably ached. The two boysy side-by-side, continuously gasping for breath. Kou Zhong painfully said, You still had a chance to rest for a moment, but I have notid down with everything steady and stable like this for eight consecutive days and nights. Ha! In the end we did not die, even Ol Die failed to do anything to us! Xu Ziling groaned, Cant you not boast and praise yourself too soon? Presently, if we came across a small thief, he could easily take our lives. Still gasping for breath, Kou Zhongughed and said, Laotianye cant be that unreasonable. Um, if that female demon Wanwan is also recuperating nearby, it would be really interesting! Xu Ziling no longer talked; he simply circted his qi and regted his breathing. As soon as Kou Zhong closed his eyes, he was no longer able to open it; he immediately fell into deep sleep, where the heaven and the man intersected. Heavy rain finally stopped at daybreak. The ck clouds gave way to clear sky. Thete spring morning sun shone on the two boys. When the sun reached its zenith, Kou Zhong was the first to wake up. When he opened his eyes, he found out that they were lying down by a stream. Next to the stream, the trees of the forest were dancing. It was such a beautiful scenery. On the other side of the creek was a small hill, its slope was covered in verdant grass, while its peak was covered in dense forest, with fruits hung heavy on the bough. Straightening up his waist, Kou Zhong sat up. The pain ofst night has already disappeared without a trace; the wounds on his body have healed, leaving only scars. Laughing aloud, he sprang up and stretched his four limbs. Xu Ziling was aroused from slumber by him. Seeing Kou Zhongs tattered clothes and face covered in bloodstain and mud, yet looked very happy, he sat up; hugging his knees, he asked in astonishment, Zhong Shao, why are you so happy? Kou Zhong sat cross-legged in front of him; he sighed and said, I have never felt like I do this moment: that life is precious. When you see so many people died in front of you, you will know that being alive is truly a great miracle. I am not happy, I am just enjoying the pleasure of living. Hey! Do you know what I mean? Xu Ziling nodded, Well said, he said, At least we still have a few days to enjoy life. Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes shed a cold ray; he said, Although female demon Wanwan is more formidable than the Ol Die, killing us is still not going to be easy. What I am most afraid of is that shed summon Yin Gui Pais martial art masters, or even Empress Yin, Zhu Yuyan. If that happened, our good luck is going to be finished. Do you have any good idea? Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Looking at your demeanor, you already have a card up your sleeve. Youd better tell me quick! Kou Zhong smiled and said, My n can be divided into two parts. First, we must hide so that that female demon Wanwan cannot find us. Xu Ziling had a brainwave, You mean we are going to wear Mr. Lus mask and be different persons? he asked, But if we are together, based on female demon Wanwans intelligence, she might still recognize our disguise. Kou Zhong replied, There are so many wealthy people on the road running away from the war, we can find and join any group of people to travel together, so we wont stick out like a sore thumb. Moreover, we can try to find Yucheng and the others at the same time. I hope they have not lost our salt! And what is the second part? Xu Ziling asked. The murderous intention in Kou Zhongs eyes red up; he spoke hatefully, If she did not die, then I perished. I will use whatever method to kill everybody from Yin Gui Pai, from top to bottom; or else I will write my name Kou Zhong, two characters, upside down. Do you have any objection? Recalling Shang Peng, Shang He and the others tragic death, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Totally agree! Kou Zhong leaned forward a bit and lowered his voice, That female demon Wanwan must have guessed that we are going north to Luoyang, and will try to rendezvous with Yucheng and the others. Therefore ... ha! You ought to know ... ha! Xu Ziling was surprised, You are not thinking of using Yucheng and the others as a bait to lure Yin Gui Pai people out, are you? By doing that, wont it mean that you are ying with Yucheng, four peoples lives? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, This is called putting out all kinds of death to gain lifeter. Starting from today, we ought to study the Yijian Technique will all our heart and soul; otherwise, when we meet that female demon Wanwanter, we would only be throwing our lives in vain, and thus provoking her ridicule. Xu Zilingughed aloud. He stood up and said, How about taking a bath first before starting on our journey? A drizzle came down from the sky, the road became mud everywhere; wet and slippery and difficult to walk. The two boys bought two sets of coarse hemp garment from a farmer in a small vige about fifty li north of Jingling. After putting on their masks, they changed their shape in a single shake, bing two gathering herbal medicine peasants, one old and one young, who were on their way back to Xiangyang along the Han River. Xu Ziling became a fifty-something man with a goatee on his chin, the corners of his eyes, as well as his forehead, were full of wrinkles; an old man with embittered face. When he started to hunch his back, even Kou Zhong found it difficult to recognize him; he felt it odd, yet amusing. Kou Zhong turned into a thirty-something man with a rough and ugly face, someone who looked like he knew martial art. He wrapped the Moon in the Well in oilcloth so that it would not reveal his background. They galloped at full speed on the mountain and fields for two days before reaching the intersection of the official road leading to Xiangyang about three li away from the city, where they mingled with the travelers heading toward Xiangyang. Suddenly they heard a rumble of hooves beat, more than a dozen men were galloping past, scaring the travelers that they scrambled to make way. It was only after the riders sped away that everybody was cursing and swearing. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling returned to the road to continue with their journey. The former said, Looking at their clothing, that bunch of men must be Qian Duguans subordinates. From the way they are hurrying, perhaps they had just obtained the news of Jingling falling into Ol Dies hands, and are rushing off to notify Qian Duguan. I am afraid that guy Old Qian wont have any good sleep anymore! Xu Ziling said, Isnt Changshu Mou in collusion with Qian Duguan? Plus Changshu Mou is the Ol Dies secret ally. By stretching this fact a little bit, perhaps Qian Duguan wont have to be afraid of Ol Die? Kou Zhong looked up to the heavens to enjoy thefortable feeling of the drizzle sprinkling down on his face. He said, I think Qian Duguan simply does not wish to offend Tiele people, hence he gave free rein to Changshu Mou and his barbarians! Otherwise, that time he ought to join hands with Changshu Mou to deal with us. Although right now Ol Die has seized Jingling into his hands, but he suffered disastrous casualties, his strength took heavy beating; for the time being he is powerless to go up north. Qian Duguan will still have a few days he could pass merrily. Meanwhile the two boys were climbing over a small hill, the city of Xiangyang appeared far away beyond the hazy drizzle; there was some kind of unspeakable dreariness and lonely feeling surrounding it. Especially when they were thinking of the fall of Jingling, they felt that simrly for Xiangyang, a good thing would notst forever. Kou Zhongughed and said, What should be the first thing we do upon entering the city? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling replied, With the waterway heading south cut off, there must be a lot of people being stuck in Xiangyang; trying to find a ce to stay will be extremely difficult. Lets see if Yucheng and the others left any marks in the city; if they did not, well leave the city immediately, so that we wont waste valuable time. Patting the Moon in the Well on his back, Kou Zhong stretched his waist and said, I suddenly feel my hands are itchy; I want to cause havoc a little bit. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Kou Zhong smiled, Nothing, he said, Lets enter the city first, well talkter. Book 11 - 6 – Joining Hands in Expelling the Poison Book 11 Chapter 6 C Joining Hands in Expelling the Poison Arriving at the gate, they saw there were already a lot of people in front of it, some were even leaving in disappointment. Turned out Qian Duguan issued an order that starting that afternoon, no outsiders were allowed to enter the city. Naturally the two boys did not mind it too much. Relying on their current-level of Bird Crossing Technique and with the help of a rope, they would be able to easily climb the more-than-ten-zhang high city wall. While they were looking for a good location to climb into the city, a man, around forty years of age, wearing servant attire, intercepted them and with eyes brimming with expectation he asked them, I wonder if the two gentlemen know how to treat illness? Making his voice hoarse, Xu Ziling replied, What is it? We do have a little bit of medical expertise. The man happily said, My name is Sha Fu. If Lao Xiansheng [old mister] knows how to treat illness, pleasee with me, we will definitely not treat Mister meagerly. Seeing his polite demeanor, after exchanging a nce, Kou Zhong said in rough voice and rough manner, Lead on then! Sha Fu led them toward the pier; while walking, he grumbled, We thought that as soon as we enter Xiangyang we would find a doctor, who would have thought that we are not allowed to enter the city? Fortunately I saw two gentlemen carrying mountain herbal medicine basket on your back, so I took my chances and asked, and sure enough I was lucky. May I ask gentlemens honorable surname and great given names? Stroking his beard, Xu Ziling spoke in an old-man manner, I am Mo Wei; he is my nephew cum apprentice, Mo Yixin. We are specializing in massaging [tui na] acupoints to treat illnesses, including treating various strange andplicated diseases; hands arrive, illness gone. Hearing that, Kou Zhong nearly burst outughing; fortunately he was able to hold back in time. Delighted, Sha Fu said, Thats great! For some reason our Xiao Gongzi [little young master] suddenly having cold and fever, and is delirious. Ay! Shao Furen [young madam] is such a kind person, yet she has to suffer this torment. The two boys jumped in fright. They originally though the sick was a grownup. As long as they could transfer their qi to open his channels, whatever his illness was, his condition ought to improve somewhat, which means they were doing a good thing. But since it was a child, they did not have too much confidence. The pier was crowded, quite a lot of them were refugees from Jingling. Sha Fu took them toward a skiff anchored on the shore. The servant on board the skiff immediately loosened the rope and rowed the boat toward a medium sized sailing boat anchored on the opposite bank. The fine rain continued drizzling endlessly, the sky was gradually darkened. Unceasing flow of boats were moving along the river course, taking advantage of still avable light to leave Xiangyang before dark. In time where warlords were setting up independent regimes, where everybody waspeting fiercely against each other, owning a ship in peace and quiet was not an easy matter at all. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling pretended to curiously looking at the ship. They saw several men standing on the deck, staring condescendingly at them with wooden expression. Very soon the skiff attached itself to ships port side. Sha Fu was the first to climb to the deck. Doctor is here! he called out. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; they could see how anxious the other side was. If they failed to treat their little young masters illness, their young madam would be very disappointed. But things havee to this, they had no choice but to step onto the deck. Those five men, who looked like courtyard [i.e. pleasure house] bodyguards, came to meet them. The leader was a tall,nky middle-aged man, only about a cun shorter than Kou Zhong, but half a head taller than Sha Fu. His face was long and thin, his eyes narrow, his nose crooked; in short, his outward appearance would not incite anypliment from anybody. Moreover, his manner was haughty; he looked at the boys with his nting eyes, without any hint of friendliness at all. After introducing the two boys, Sha Fu said, This is Ma Xuran Laoshi [teacher] ... Ma Xuran was sizing Kou Zhong up; he coldly cut Sha Fu off, This Xiongtai [brother] must leave his saber first before he is allowed to enter the cabin to diagnose and treat Gongzi. Stunned, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, wondering why he would deliberately make things difficult for them. One majestic sounding voice came from the cabin door, Rules are dead. Two friends, pleasee in, Shao Furen has been waiting anxiously! Ma Xurans countenance changed slightly; he stared furiously at the man talking at the door, but did not say anything. Obviously he was rather afraid of him. Sha Fu hastily led the two boys to the door. The man stepped out of the door. Turned out he was a fat man with fair skin, a bit like a big businessman; but his eyes were sharp, plus although he was fat, he gave the impression that he was a solid and nimble person. Cupping his fist toward the two boys, he said, Zaixia Chen Laiman. I wonder how I should address Laozhang [sir] and this renxiong [dear friend/brother]. [Trantors note: I know that I might irritate a lot of you, but I wanted to show just howplicated Chinese appetion is. From the way they address each other, you can deduce their rtion. In this case, Chen Laiman was being very polite without lowering himself.] Xu Ziling replied in hoarse voice, Laofu [old man] Mo Wei. This is Laofus apprentice and nephew Mo Yixin. Helping people is like fighting fire, is it possible for you to take Laofu to see Xiao Gongzi? [Interesting fact: surname Mo can also mean do not/there is none who. Wei means to be/to do. So Mo Wei can mean nobody. Yixin means one heart/wholehearted, so Mo Yixin can mean without aspiration.] Chen Laiman gave Ma Xuran a hard stare first before saluting and said, Gentlemen, pleasee with Ol Chen! The two boys and Sha Fu followed him into the cabin. Without saying a word Ma Xuran followed behind them. The atmosphere was very strange. Knock! Knock! Creak! the cabin door opened immediately, revealing a delicate face. Chen Laiman said, Xiao Feng, tell Shao Furen, the doctor is here! Xiao Feng opened the door wide, she said delightedly, Doctor, pleasee in, Shao Furen has been waiting anxiously. Chen Laiman signaled Sha Fu with his eyes; thetter immediately said, Let me wait outside with Ma Laoshi! Doctor Mo, pleasee in! Until now Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling was still unclear of Ma Xurans status, but one thing they know was that this fellows rtionship with the young madam was definitely a problematic one, but Chen Laiman and Sha Fu were on the young madams side. However, their main concern right now was whether they would be able to treat the little young masters illness; therefore, without any choice they followed Chen Laimans fat body stepping into the cabin. The cabin was quite spacious; it was furnished with interesting and antique-looking bits and pieces, revealing both the schrly and the richness of the host. Near the door was a set of rosewood furniture, against the window was arge mahogany bed, with gauze curtain hanging above it. A magnificently dressed woman, who was sitting on the bed, stood up to greet them. Other than Xiao Feng the maid, there was another pretty maid in the room, which was thick with the aroma of herbal medicine. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took a closer look, and their eyes lit up. The woman looked around twenty, with a delicate, pretty and pleasant face, and rather petite. Although not nearly as beautiful as Wanwans deceptively out-of-the-world beauty, and could notpare with Shang Xiuxuns proud and aloof elegance, yet she possessed some kind of charm that they felt in their bones, mixed with lovely, yet pitiful, and fascinating good looks, so that others could not help but would be moved by her. Chen Laiman obviously had deep respect toward this young madam; scrambling one step forward, he spoke gently, Shao Furen! The doctor has been invited. This is Doctor Mo, and the other gentleman is Doctor Mos disciple. The young madams pretty eyes lit up with hopeful expression. She bowed and said, Sorry for troubling gentlemen, my child ... ay ... Her voice was soft, gentle and clear, matching her graceful bearing perfectly like seamless heavenly clothes. Especially now that her heart was grieving, she could not even speak without choking, that anybody who heard her could not help feeling pity. Yet Xu Ziling was thinking about Sister-inw Zhen, the steamed bun sellers in Yangzhou in the past [see Book 1 Chapter 1]. She often revealed an expression simr to this young madam, an expression showing that she bore life inequities and injustice quietly, and could onlyin silently. His heart softened as he asked, May I ask how did Xiao Gongzi get sick? With glistening tears hidden in her beautiful eyes, the young madam hung her small cicada head and said, This morning, when Xiao Zhu came to wait upon the child, the child was already like this! The maid by her side, Xiao Zhu, immediately had her tears flowing down like rain, yet she was sobbing quietly. Her excitement was a bit over the top. Chen Laiman signaled Xiao Feng to take Xiao Zhu out of the room. He said, Doctor Mo, pleasee over. No need to stand on ceremony. Kou Zhong secretly gave Xu Ziling a push. Thetter had no choice but to suppress his feeling, brace himself and walked over to the bedside. A three, four years old boy was lying quietly with his eyes closed; his face was so pale that it was scary, his breathing was short but quick, making those who looked at him could not help having tender affection for him. Xu Ziling sat down on the bed and reached into the cotton quilt to find his little hand. In an instant he already had his true qi circted around the boys Eight Extraordinary Channels. A hard to describe intuition, so strange that he found it difficult to exin, burst forth in his mind. His heart was greatly shaken as he blurted out, Xiao Gongzi is poisoned! Kou Zhong included, the three other people by the bed was shocked. Kou Zhongs shock was different from the young madam and Chen Laimans, because only he knew perfectly well that Xu Ziling did not have the skill of diagnosing illness by checking the sick persons pulse. The young madams face waspletely drained of blood; she nearly passed out. The terrified Chen Laiman and Kou Zhong were in predicament; it was improper for them to help her, yet not helping her was even more out of question. Madam, please be careful! Chen Laiman anxiously called out. Fortunately the young madam quickly recovered; but hot tears flowed down her face as she spoke in distress, How can it be so? Does Doctor Mo have a way to save him? Chapter 6 - Part 2 Kou Zhong hastily consoled her; without thinking he blurted out, Shao Furen please dont worry. My uncle has wandered the Jianghu, he is a divine doctor with miracle hands who has tasted all kinds of herbs; he certainly can ... hey ... Chen Laiman took a step forward to Xu Zilings side; with deep frown he said, How much confidence does Doctor Mo have? I have examined Xiao Gongzis channels; his channels are indeed in a mess, hurried and brief, yet weak. But looking at his appearance, he does not show the slightest sign of poisoning. Xu Zilings hand moved down. Sticking his palm to the bottom of the young masters right foot, he closed his eyes and spoke as if he was in a dream, This is some kind of strange hot poison, hidden deep inside the inner organs, destroying Xiao Gongzis vitality. Laofu is 100% confident that this is so. In the end the young madam was no longer able to stand; only by holding on to Xu Zilings shoulder with her delicate hands that she barely managed to stand. Sobbing quietly, she asked, Can Doctor heal him? Xu Zilings eyes suddenly opened; a divine light shed, but it died just as quick. Fortunately he had his back against the capable fellow Chen Laiman; otherwise his true nature would have been revealed. Yixin! he called in heavy voice, Press Xiao Gongzis tianling acupoint for me. Kou Zhong secretly mused, There is no such method of treating illness, but naturally he knew that it was the only way they could expel the poison. Moving to the head of the bed, he ced his left palm on the young masters skull. Chen Laiman was the first to feel that something was not right. Does Doctor Ma understand how to circte qi to expel poison? he asked doubtfully. It should be noted that only martial art masters with expertise in internal power who have full control of their own true qi are qualified to transfer the true qi into somebody elses channels without any possibility that something would go awry. Using true qi to treat other persons injury was substantially more difficult; only those with clear understanding of channels and acupoints would be able to do it. Moreover, using true qi to get rid of poison that was hidden in the five viscera and six bowels and that has be an integral whole with the blood vessels, only first ss masters would be able to aplish. Chen Laiman knew he did not have such ability; hence he raised the question. What he did not know was that Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings innate true qi came from the Secret to Long Life. Not only their mastery entirely came from groping around, in itself it was effective to heal their own body and repel poison. Hence the reason Shen Luoyan failed to poison them in the past. Naturally Chen Laiman did not know this fact. Kou Zhong sent his true qi from the top going down. By the time his true qi converged with Xu Zilings at the ocean of qi at young masters dantian, Xu Ziling has regained hisposure from the young madams ice-cold little hands on his shoulder. He spoke indifferently, This is the great method to expel poison handed down from my ancestors, it can eradicate any strange poison. Chen Laoshi please be patient for a moment, you will see the result. In order to divert their attention so that they would no longer investigate their origin, Kou Zhong interjected, Who do you think put the poison? The young madam straightened up her tender body and moved away her delicate hands pressing on Xu Zilings shoulders. She looked at Chen Laiman. When their eyes met, a look of horror appeared on the two peoples faces. It looked like they were about to talk, but stopped short of speaking out what they were thinking in their mind. Kou Zhong was astute; he did not pursue. Meanwhile the two boys cold and hot, two streams of vortex of true qi already took shape. In the blink of an eye it rapidly swept past the young masters entire body. The young masters entire body, from head to toe, was severely shaken. Ah! he suddenly cried out and sat up, opening his big, beautiful eyes. Kou and Xu, two boys, were also surprised that their poison expelling divine skill was this effective; they looked at each other in astonishment. The young madam cried out in delight. She threw herself in total abandon to embrace her precious son, who was staring nkly, not knowing what had happened, demonstrating the true love between mother and son. Xu Ziling felt as if his palm was pricked by millions silver needles, it was numb and painful, so he knew that the poison has been entire absorbed by his palm. Formidable! he silently cried. After thinking for a moment, he circted his power to neutralize it. The two boys stood up to their full height to pull Chen Laiman, who was moved to tears and was prostrating himself in admiration, to the corner by the door. Kou Zhong said, Who actually did this evil scheme? Will you need us to help? Chen Laiman seemed to have a problem that he could not mention; after hesitating for half a day, he said, Perhaps he was stung by some kind of poisonous mosquito or poisonous bug. Two gentlemens great kindness and great benevolence, I, Chen Laiman and Shao Furen, will never forget ... This moment the young madam carried the young master to the two boys presence and have him kowtow to express their gratitude for the great kindness, and thus interrupting their conversation. Hearing themotion, Sha Fu, Ma Xuran, Xiao Feng and Xiao Zhu burst into the room. Ma Xuran and Xiao Zhus countenance looked a bit unnatural. When Kou and Xu, two boys noticed this, they started to understand that it was a struggle within the family. When the young master saw Xiao Zhu, he revealed a frightened look. Hiding his face in his mothers bosom, he pointed at her and cried out, Niang! Xiao Zhu Jie pricked child with a needle. All eyes immediately shot toward Xiao Zhu. Xiao Zhus face turned white, an ominous glint shed through her eyes. Knowing something was amiss, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, as if unintentionally, shifted their position so that they were standing between Xiao Zhu and the young madam, mother and son. Letting out a cold snort, Chen Laiman was about to make his move, but Ma Xuran was one step ahead of him; he rushed to pounce on Xiao Zhu, and thus by lucky coincidence blocked Chen Laimans path. This moment Xiao Zhu was standing side-by-side with Xiao Feng at the door; seeing Ma Xurans stretched out hand to grab her, without showing any fear, she calmly, but as fast as lightning, shot out of the door, in full disy of her brilliant skill. One after another Ma Xuran and Chen Laiman chased her out; the sound of wind was getting farther and farther away. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other. With Xiao Zhus skill, unexpectedly she was willing to lower herself to be a maid, and even poison the young master; it could be deduced that the family of the young madams husband was not an ordinary rich family or nobility, but it involved something that provoked other people to covet it. Having just recovered from the shock, Xiao Feng and Sha Fu waited upon the young madam and her child and helped them sitting down on the side. Meanwhile Chen Laiman and Ma Xuran came back empty-handed; evidently Xiao Zhu had sessfully fled. With anger and ashamed expression Chen Laiman came to report, Laiman is ipetence, I am awaiting Shao Furens punishment. The young madam shook her head and said, Nobody can anticipate such thing would happen, the me is not on Chen Laoshi, what punishment are you talking about? Seeing Ma Xuran did not show the least bit of shame, Kou Zhong could not helpughing coldly and said, Just now Ma Laoshi helped Xiao Zhu escaping, what punishment does he deserve? As soon as he said that, everybodys countenance changed; the ugliest naturally belonged to Ma Xuran. Murderous intent shing through his eyes, he glowered at Kou Zhong and said, What do you mean by saying that? Kou Zhong spoke with disdain, Upright people dont do sneaky things, only despicable people doing that kind of thing while pretending to be upright; you secretly let that wicked scoundrel escaped. Ma Laoshi ought to know Jianghu rules. Since you have the guts to do it, you ought to have the guts to admit it. Raising both hands, Ma Xuran gathered his power and said with a coldugh, My rule says those who speak out to harm others must die, those who babble nonsense will only provoke disaster. Let me see how much weigh do you, these two Jianghu chatans, carry? Frightened, Sha Fu and Xiao Feng quickly hid on the young madam and the young masters either side. Chen Laimans heart was moved; without saying anything he stepped in front of the young madam and the others, ready to protect them. The atmosphere turned tense. As if he was oblivious that Ma Xuran was about to make his move, Xu Ziling moved his hunch-backed body to block the door, practically cutting off Ma Xurans escape route in this direction. At the same time Kou Zhong strode two steps sideways to seal off Ma Xurans escape route through the cabin window; hence, together with Xu Ziling, he sandwiched Ma Xuran in the middle. He said with a coldugh, My rule says that if you can take my three saber strikes, and are willing to kneel down and admit your guilt, then Ill let you go. The young madam buried the young master into her bosom, to prevent him from watching the impending battle. Ma Xuran turned his eyes around in panic, while groaning inwardly. Just by watching how Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling move, their shenfa and footwork had given him a singr feeling that there was no gap at all that he could exploit. Momentarily he was at a loss of what to do. In that blink of an eye he suddenly felt that he had fallen into an inferior position with the enemy in front and behind him. Not to mention there was this Chen Laiman, whose skill was not inferior to his, standing on the side, staring at him like a tiger watching its prey; so how could he fight this battle? His mind churning wildly, he suddenly lowered his hands and facing the young madam, he said, Xuran is innocent, would Shao Furen please decide for Xuran? Everyone was stunned by his cowardice; they looked at each other in astonishment. The young madam heaved a deep sigh and said, How could humble woman make decision on this kind of matter? While Ma Xurans countenance was undergoing huge change, Kou Zhong shed behind him and jabbed a finger on his back. Ma Xuran was hit and slumped down. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Quickly tie Ma Laoshi down, and then have him tortured well. I guarantee we will find out who is behind this. Humph! Really stupid and cowardly. Still hugging her beloved child tightly, the young madams gaze fell onto Ma Xuran, who was crumpling on the floor. She was about to speak when from the direction of Xiangyang came bursts of shouts. Everybody was stunned. Book 11 - 7 – Witnessing Injustice Along the Way Book 11 Chapter 7 C Witnessing Injustice Along the Way There was a chaos on the city of Xiangyangs side river bank, there were even three, four boats moored on the pier on fire, sending a lot of smoke and fire debris into the originally clear, cloudless night sky. The dozen or so bamboo and wood sheds on the dock did not escape the fire; they were aze, sending out crackling noises. Bitter cries and shouts shook the heavens. Under the light of the zing fire, several thousands of refugees and traveling merchants outside the city gate were running like wolves, rushing like rats; nobody could see clearly which ones were the perpetrators and which ones were the victims. Rushing to the deck, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong could only stare nkly at the scene unfolding before their eyes; they both thought that perhaps even ten Ning Daoqis would not be able to control the present chaos. His countenance changed, Chen Laiman said, Must be horse thievesing to loot money and goods; we must weigh anchor and set sail immediately. His men acknowledged the order and moved out. Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and said, Shushu [uncle]! We still need toe into the city to visit our family! Xu Ziling actually forgot his identity; suddenly hearing someone calling him uncle, he nearly burst outughing. Fighting hard to control himself, he nodded and said, Yixin is right. Mr. Chen, please inform Madam, we are leaving! Sha Fu, who was standing on the other side, anxiously said, We have not given gentlemen your due rewards! Kou Zhong reached out to pat his shoulder; giggling, he said, Luckily Sha Guanjia [Housekeeper] reminded us. To tell you the truth, we have always been known for our chivalry, oftentimes we forgot to ask for the rewards due us. Ha! Guanjia really understands people! Regaining hisposure, Chen Laiman said, Gentlemen, please wait here for a moment. Immediately he disappeared into the cabin. Looking at the shadow of people running around on the opposite bank, Xu Ziling was overwhelmed with a powerless and helpless feeling. No matter how superior he trained his martial art skill, under the chaos before his eyes, he knew that there was nothing he could do. Only when the world [tianxia] was unified would government decree be able to be implemented urately, and then everything could be kept in track. Should he help Kou Zhong reaching his goal? He was sure that Kou Zhong would be a good emperor who loves themon people as his own children; he could not possibly turn into another Yang Guang. Meanwhile, apanied by Chen Laiman, the young madam came on deck and walked gracefully over toward the two boys. Bowing down, she said, Since two Gentlemen have important matter to attend to, Bisu understood that it is difficult to urge you to stay. If in the future you have a chance toe to Luoyang, pleasee to the Sha Mansion at Shihu [stoneke] Street in the south side of the city. Bisu will definitely receive you wholeheartedly. Xu Zilings eyes met with her limpid eyes; some kind of hard-to-describe feeling flitted across his heart. It was not a feeling between a man and a woman. Because the young madams eyes were pure and faultless, only it revealed a heartfelt childish admiration and gratitude, so much so that there was an eagerness to get his protection and thirst for an older generation doting on her. After suppressing the surge of bizarre feeling in his heart, Xu Ziling spoke casually, Shao Furen is too polite. Supposing we go to Luoyang, we will definitelye to your precious abode to pay our respect to Shao Furen. When the young madams eyes met his, her fragrant heart was shaken as well. She had never seen an old man with a pair of eyes like Xu Zilings. Not that the opposite partys eyes were bright and sharp, neither were they deep and unfathomable, rather, there was a profound, attractive intelligence and affection in them, making her heart yearning to be dependent on him as her elder generation with a subtle child-like admiration. Shocked, she immediately hang down her small cicada head; offering the heavy-looking purse in her hand, she said, Such a meagerpensation is inadequate to express Bisus gratitude, would Mister please ept it? Kou Zhongs eyes lit up; he nudged Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling cursed in his heart; reaching out, he took the purse. When his fingertips touched the young madams delicate hand, although he already exercised strict control over his own emotion, he could not stop his heart from being shaken. When the young madam had her hands touched by his fingertips, she felt a burst of fiery feeling spread out all over her tender body. It was a feeling she had never even imagined before. Her entire body trembled, she nearly cried out. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling away abruptly. The two of them expressed their thanks, and soared away immediately. They firstnded on a boat in the middle of the river, before sweeping away toward the opposite bank, and disappeared into the dancing shadows beyond the zing fire. A strange feeling like she had just lost something welled up in the young madams heart; it was the first time that she encountered such strange people as they were. These two mens, one old the other young, appearance left nothing to be desired, yet in the young madams eyes, they were the great benefactor who saved her beloved childs life. Moreover, the longer she came in contact with them, the more she felt their good and honest, frank and sincere character, that they were real chivalrous heroes who were hidden deep without showing off. When could she see them again? When Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings feetnded on the ground by the river bank, all around them were people running away without their clothes and belongings, while dead bodies were scattered everywhere; it was an unbearable scene to witness. Those who were able to escape had already fled; the boats and ships moored at the dock were bogged down by raging mes and thick smoke. The City of Xiangyang was brightly lit, a clear indication that Qian Duguan was closely monitoring the situation outside the city. From the wooded area southeast of the city came the sound of battle. After exchanging a nce, the two boys let their feet had free reins as they ran at full speed toward the sound. Until now, they were still unclear of what had just happened. A momentter, after they had run for nearly three li, with the torch light of the City of Xiangyang behind them, they heard the sound of battle was getting nearer. Raising their qi, the two boys ran at full speed and very soon they were through the woods and reached the wilderness outside the forest. Sword qi and flickering saber immediately came into view. It appeared that more than a dozen people were engaged in a fierce battle. Upon a closer look, they were dumbstruck. Turned out this crowd of about a dozen men was part of arger group of nearly three hundred Wulin people; they were besieging one person, and that man happened to be Ba Fenghan. Pulling Xu Ziling back into the forest, Kou Zhong looked outside, blew out a mouthful of cold air and said, This time Fengshi Han will be toast; why dont I see his confidante, Yu Yi? Xu Ziling was bewildered as well; he was even more confused as what the event in front of his eyes had to do with the murder, looting and arson that were happening outside the city just now. Under the torches that were lifted high, he noticed that the dozen or so men in the wilderness seemed to be from different gangs, societies, schools and sects, who stood in neat rows in all direction, surrounding Ba Fenghan in the middle. They were employing tag-team tactic, by taking turn so that someone would always be in the arena to fight. Ba Fenghan already had two or three bloodstain on his body; although he looked somewhat tired, his movement was still like a whirlwind, as he freely advanced and retreated among the seven or eight people besieging him. Reflecting the torches light, the sword in his hand flickered endlessly. Wherever the sword shed, someone would suffer the consequence. On the ground there were already more than a dozen dead bodies, which naturally was his handiwork. But the enemy had inexhaustible reinforcement; if he could not break the siege and escape, he would definitely die of exhaustion. Dang! Dang! Dang! Ba Fenghans sword suddenly brightened; brandishing his sword to attack, his momentum increased sharply. He flew around like a tornado; two opponents in grey clothes were thrown high in the air, and the number of terrifying looking dead bodies on the ground was increased by two. A sweet-sounding female voice said, Yichun Pai [Yichun is a prefecture level city in Jiangxi] Er Dangjia [second chief], please send out your men! Four men immediately jumped out from a group of people: two wielded spears, two wielded axes, in a tight yet meticulous and flexible formation to join the fray, so that Ban Fenghan, who was about to escape, was pushed back into his original spot. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong cast their gaze in the direction of the voice, and saw that the person who bossed everybody around was a woman in white with beautiful shoulder length hair, her figure was well proportioned and graceful. Under the zing torch, her slender eyebrows extended into her temples, her skin as fair as jade, her beautiful countenance as picturesque as a painting; she was extremely good-looking. Standing next to her were all female warriors, eight young women with awe-inspiring heroic spirit, wearing yellow warrior outfit and swords on their back, protecting her in the middle. Evidently she was themander who directed this besiege against Ba Fenghan. Just by looking at the way she maneuvered the troops in timely manner to intercept Ba Fenghan, it was clear that she was a very formidable character. The woman issued hermand again, Qingjiang Pai, Cangwu Pai, retreat! Jiangnan Hui, Mingyang Bang[1], take their ces. Most of the people besieging Ba Fenghan withdrew quickly, leaving only those four Yichun Pai martial art masters engaging Ba Fenghan in hard fight, while the other two groups of people entered the arena, attacking Ba Fenghan so that he did not even have any chance to take a breather. In order to kill the two enemies just now, obviously Ba Fenghan had spent considerable energy; unexpectedly he was unable to break the siege to escape, and thus he was caught in the bitter struggle once again. Aiya! Ba Fenghans sword shed past, sharp ray suddenly disappeared, the Yichun Pai martial art master wielding a spear lost his life. But the victory was like the night blooming cactus appears only once [i.e. short-lived]; the new batch of people with sabers and swords moved together, everyone went all-out in disregard of their lives, so that the circle tightened, the space in which Ba Fenghan could move freely was getting smaller. The danger was escted substantially. [1] Qingjiang river in Hubei, Cangwu county, Wuzhou, Guangxi, Jiangnan is general area south of Yangtze River, Mingyang means bright sun. Pai C Sect, Hui C society, Bang C gang. Chapter 7 - Part 2 The woman called out, Badong Pais [Badong county, Hubei] Chen Dangjia please personally make your move! As soon as her voice fell, a man wielding a staff soared up and leaped toward Ba Fenghan, with the staff striking down on his head; his timing was impable. While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were left speechless with the woman in whites brilliant insight, Ba Fenghan let out a cold snort; like magic his sword createdyer uponyer of sword waves, forcing the men besieging him to back off, before he himself leaped up to parry. Qiang! Badong Pais Chief Chen, along with his staff, was thrown far away and spurted a mouthful of blood. But Ba Fenghans favorable situation did notst long; the men besieging him took the opportunity to close in. After a series of shing des, two men were hit by the sword and fell down, dead. But Ba Fenghan also staggered because his shoulder was hit by a flexible truncheon. Three sabers and one sword from four different angles hacked together toward Ba Fenghan, who was losing his strength; each one carried a full power, each strike was swift and fierce. While it seemed like Ba Fenghan was about to lose his life, this guy suddenly straightened up his body and drew a rainbow to protect his body. The enemys weapons could only strike the sword light, which sent them stumbling back immediately. Six other men immediately entered the arena, without giving him any chance to rest. The woman in white signaled the others to retreat, while calling out four more names; they were either of sect leader, a longtou [dragon head/boss] or dangjia [chief] rank. They attacked Ba Fenghan so that he did not have any strength left to shout angrily. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, In any case, we could be considered friends. Last time in Xiangyang this kid was not bad toward us. Do you want to rescue him? Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Zhong Shao, you have never had favorable impression toward him, havent you? A bit awkwardly Kou Zhong said, Just consider it we are doing Yu Yi a favor! Xu Ziling smiled slightly and nodded, You are just afraid that without Ba Fenghan, Wulin world will lose its color quite a bit! Ha! Lets go! Taking advantage of superior number to bully inferior number, what kind of heroes are they? Outside, Ba Fenghan already changed his previously hard, disregarding-everything, all-out attack, to a subtle, mysterious, extremely tight defense, watching-for-every-crack-and-exploit-it, kind of sword technique. Very soon two more people sshed their blood and fell to the ground. But those with good insight would know that he had no spare capacity to break the siege, and that was the real reason why he adopted defensive position, hoping to dy him getting knocked down. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Wed better take off our masks first, otherwise everybody would find out that we understand the art of disguise, and that would be truly disadvantageous for us in the future. The two boys immediately took off their masks and after putting it away properly, they looked at each other andughed, before they swiftly ran out of their hiding. With a loud shout Kou Zhong pulled his Moon in the Well and charged forward. The people besieging Ba Fenghan seemed to know that someone woulde to help him. Under the woman in whitesmand, the two groups of people nearest the forest separately sent out four men to meet him. Flicking his wrist, Kou Zhong turned his Moon in the Well into saber light and yellow rays filling the air, rolling in toward the enemy like a raging tide, its imposing manner like a rainbow. Xu Ziling let out a shout, Xiao Dis [little brother]ing! and soared forward toward the siege. Hearing that, Ba Fenghans spirit was greatly aroused; his sword ray red out, forcing the enemy all around to drop and withdraw in a flurry. With a hack of his sword, one enemy was stuck and fell, and died a violent death. The eight men meeting Kou Zhong had to face the Moon in the Well, and every single one of them felt that they werepletely shrouded by the opponents saber power, so that in terror, they were unable to attack. The most shocking thing was that the opponents saber qi carried a stream of spiraling energy; it was both hard to fathom and difficult to resist. Terrified, they withdrew in profusion. Kou Zhongs leg flew. After kicking an enemy, he entered the enemy ranks. The enemy could no longer maintain their previously calm attitude; their formation turned chaotic, they lost their systematic offense as attacked Kou Zhong in confusion. By this time Xu Ziling already entered the perimeter of the siege surrounding Ba Fenghan. His fists sending out two punches, Bang! Bang! two enemies were thrown sideways by this exploding spiraling qi. With his feet firmly on the ground, Xu Ziling kicked an iron staff sweeping at him, while as if he did not use any strength at all his left palm lightly tapped on a shield, but the shield wielder immediately spurted out a mouthful of blood and fell back. Naturally Ba Fenghan would not stay idle; as soon as the pressure lessened, he swiftly backed off, like a thunderstorm his sword burst forth, first it knocked off arge axe and sent it flying, and then it cut through another mans saber ray, followed by using the back of his sword to sweep a middle-aged man wearing ck, sending him rolling away for a zhang or so. Letting out a longugh, he said, Two gentlemen are indeed Ba Fenghans friends. The siege surrounding him immediately melted like ice and broke like tiles. Blocking the sabers, spears, swords and halberds from the four sides and eight directions, Xu Ziling called out loudly, Lets not stay too long, well find a ce to drink tea together. Ba Fenghan voiced his agreement; attacking all around, the enemy suffered a crushing defeat. In an instant he already joined Xu Ziling, and together they charged toward Kou Zhong. The battlefield turned chaotic; from the previously orderly and well-coordinated attack, it turned into every man for himself. Even when the woman in white shouting and scolding in her tender voice, nobody had any time to listen to her order. With Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan fought side-by-side, the people trying to block them were already swept by the wind, much less right now they were heart and soul trying to escape, who could stop them? Instantly they were able to join Kou Zhong, which increased their momentum by leaps and bounds, hence they were able to break the siege and easily ran away. In a valley about fifteen li west of the City of Xiangyang, Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong jumped down from a slit on the hills wall toward a small pool below, where they drank some water and took a rest. Ba Fenghan was dead tired; slowly taking off his upper garment, he revealed chiseled muscles and three cuts. Suddenly he shook his head and said with a sigh, Wow, that b1tch [poniang] is really formidable; she drained my spirit that I nearly fell headlong under her hands. Kou Zhong was kneeling by the pond, scooping the water to wash his face, enjoying the cold water sshing into his cor and down his neck. Hearing Ba Fenghansment, he said, Is Ba Xiong talking about that b1tch [see above] in white? She is quite beautiful. Who exactly is she? How could she make so many people from different gangs and sects to listen to hermand? This moment Ba Fenghan has stripped to his underwear; his majestic-as-mountain body entered the pool, and he waded toward the waterfalls. Casually, he replied, That b1tch is called Zheng Shuming, the widow of thete Dajiang [Great River] Alliances Mengzhu [alliance master], the Jiang Ba [River Overlord]. Have you heard about the Great River Alliance? They are the union of the dozen or so schools and sects, big and small, around the Great River. After I killed the River Overlord, Zheng Shuming temporarily takes the River Overlords position. In fact, from the beginning this b1tch has been the mastermind behind the Great River Alliances policy. Standing by the pond, Xu Ziling was watching the waterfall falling down on Ba Fenghans head; frowning, he asked, Why did Ba Xiong kill the River Overlord? Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fanghan replied, I really dont have any logical exnation; he started it by taking his men to give me trouble. Problem is, his skill was not as good as mine so that in the end he lost his life. Thats all. Kou Zhongy down and closed his tiger eyes; sighingfortably, hemented, I am afraid the number of enmity Ba Xiong has is higher than ours! Smiling slightly, Ba Fenghan said, Kou Zhong, youd better do as Xu Xiong is doing, stand up for a moment. After each fight, it is best not to lie down. Lying down is not good, even harmful for your cultivation. I am also dead tired right now, but I am forcing myself to hang on, and not letting my exhaustion to conquer me. Ha! The battle just now was very exciting. Kou Zhong jumped in fright, Is that right? he asked. Ba Fenghan burst outughing, You are very obedient! he said. And then, pointing to a three-cun saber cut on his left arm, he sighed and said, This cut was from Mingyang Bangs Fu Bangzhu [Deputy Sect Leader] Xie Hou. His saber technique was very good in exploiting cracks and gaps; it was very effective in tangled battle like that. If it were not for my over eagerness to kill, my sword momentum would not be that exhausted and Xie Hou would never had a chance to injure me, but then I would not have counterstruck and killed him. Thus life and death was decided in just one moment. Xu Ziling looked up to the heavens, the stars seemed to be disappearing from the night sky above the valley, it would soon be dawn. He said indifferently, This time Ba Xiong went to the Central ins, was it for the purpose of stirring up trouble, presumptuously unting your aggressiveness, and going on killing spree? Ba Fenghan moved away from the waterfall; standing in the middle of the pool, he disyed his overbearing might as heughed aloud and said, Kou Zhong would not ask such question. It is thus clear that underneath Xu Xiongs strong heroism is the weak heart of a woman. You might make womenfolk happy, but its definitely not what manly men harbor in their hearts. After a short pause, with his eyes flickering with cold rays, he looked at Xu Ziling, who was staring at him, and boldly said, In the life of the real men, the most important thing is to have a free hand, to stride toward the goal he himself had established. Whoever stands in his way, whether he is the most revered in Wulin or the old man Emperor himself, must be cleaved open by the sword. How could I, Ba Fenghan, have the leisure time to stir up trouble? I even disdain to have dealings with ordinary men. The way of the sword can only be brought to maturity by tempering oneself. I came to the Central ins with the spirit of making friends in the martial art world, but those who were subdued under my sword have always refused to submit, and thus it has be hopelessly muddled, and by hook or by crook, trying to seek revenge. But why should I, Ba Fenghan, be afraid of them? Ssh! The stark-naked Kou Zhong jumped into the part of the pool where the water was chest deep, sshing water toward Xu Ziling, who was standing by the pool, until his clothes was soaking wet. Only then did he emerge from the water right next to Ba Fenghan. Gasping for breath, heughed and said, Ba kid, that was a very beautiful speech. What do you mean by Ba Fenghan is not afraid of them? Dont forget that just now you were nearly chopped down into minced meat sauce by those people, yet you still put an air of considering yourself unexcelled in the world? Ridiculous! Ba Fenghan did not know whether he shouldugh or he should cry. You are getting more and more blunt toward me! he finally said, But I think this is very refreshing, because there has never been anybody who talk to me bluntly as a good friend like this before. And then, after letting out a cold snort, he continued, There is no harm in telling you, I have an especially potent xinfa [mental cultivation] skill with which I could send out my power at once; if I had used it, I would definitely be able to break the heavy siege. However, afterwards I would have to regte my breathing for six months to recover. Therefore, I am still very grateful that you came out to help me. Even though you mock and ridicule me, I dont mind too much. Xu Ziling squatted down by the pond; wiping the water droplets from his face he said, Where did you learn your martial art skill from? How did you offend Bi Xuan? Xiao Ling, Kou Zhong asked in surprised, Others insulted you and spoke unbearably bad things about you, yet you are not angry at all and did not refute? Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders elegantly and said, Everybody is entitled to his own opinion; womens heart represents goodness, honesty, and tenderness; there is nothing wrong with it. Am I right? A faint smile appeared on Ba Fenghans mouth; he said, Xu Ziling is indeed Xu Ziling; no wonder Wanjing was very reluctant to part with you. And then he immersed his entire body in the water. When he re-emerged, his pair of tiger-eyes revealed a far-away look as if he was remembering something fondly. He spoke slowly, Everything I understand in life came from my growing up in the middle of a group of horse thieves. All I know was that whoever has sharp de wont have to suffer under other peoples rage. Ay! Its been a very long time since I recalled all these things. Kou Zhong, who was right next to him, rose up to his full height. He was only about a cun shorter, but his build, as well as his imposing attitude, was not inferior in any respect. In that case, you dont need to talk about it. Right! Werent you traveling together with Yu Yi? Howe you are alone now? Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan replied, She and I got separated! What? the two boys blurted out. Book 11 - 8 – Ten Days in the Mountain Book 11 Chapter 8 C Ten Days in the Mountain The three men sat by the pond. Ba Fenghan started his story, When Junyu and I left Xiangyang that day, we took thend route going north to Luoyang. After hastening on our way for three days, we arrived at Nanyang Prefecture. Who is in charge of the Nanyang Prefecture? Kou Zhong asked. Ba Fenghan was wiping the sword on hisp with his sleeve; he replied, Nanyang is guarded by Wang Shichong and the great general under hismand, the Wuliang Jian [Immeasurable Sword] Xiang Siren. This guy really knows a thing or two, and I believe he has some kinship with Wang Shichong. Emotionally touched, Xu Ziling said, You seem to know our Central ins situation quite well. Who is the enemy of whom, and who is the rtive of whom, our knowledge is quite a mess! Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I simply paid more careful attention! Besides, in a lot of things, it was Junyu who told me. Once I heard it, I will not forget. And then what happened? Kou Zhong interrupted. It started as small thing, Ba Fenghan said, A bunch of enemy from the cold outside [of Great Wall] caught up with us, and we had a hard battle. After killing and injuring several people from the other side, we left Nanyang that very same night, continuing our journey to the north; who would have thought that we fell into an ambush along the way? He yed down the story, but the two boys could imagine the intensity of the battle; otherwise, Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu would not have to flee. The other party surprisingly had this kind of power. His heart was moved, Kou Zhong said, Did youe across Bi Xuans entric disciple Tuoba Yu and his licentious, wild and romantic, pretty Shimei? Ba Fenghan was stunned. How did you know them? he asked. Its aplicated story that cant be expressed sinctly, Kou Zhong replied, Was it really them? Kou Zhong, whats with you tonight? Ba Fenghan asked in surprise, You seem to be very impatient. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day. Finally he admitted, I do feel a bit unusual tonight; it is very easy for me to lose my patience. I wonder why? Xu Ziling said, Must be because you feel something is about to happen, but you cannot exin it. Am I right? Because I also feel a little ominous. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Lets not doubt the gods and suspect the ghosts! Anyway, with the three of us together, even if Bi Xuan wants to stir up trouble, he would have to pick some other day. You have nothing to worry about. Kou Zhong pped his thigh, Well said! he said, Old Ba, didnt you say that its difficult for you to get along with people? I asked you something, you always hum and haw; not giving the straight answer, you skirt around the question. How actually did you get separated with Yu Yi? I am concerned over our Niangs Shimeis safety! Ba Fenghanughed teasingly, It was you who changed the subject! Are you interested in Tuoba Yus pretty Shimei Chunyu Wei? This time it was Xu Ziling who got impatient, Ba Xiong, just answer the question! he said. The smile suddenly disappeared from Ba Fenghans face; his eyes turned cold. With a terrifying and chilling smile he said heavily, We were intercepted by Yin Gui Pais second best person, Bian Bufu inside an ancient temple; without saying anything he simply attacked us. I strived to fight him alone, giving Junyu the opportunity to slip away first. But after I managed to get away and went to the ce where we were supposed to meet, I did not see her. I am afraid she has fallen into the hands of Yin Gui Pai people. I searched everywhere within the ten-li radius from that location, before finally, following the spiders thread and horse track, I went back to Xiangyang to look for her. Who would have thought that I came across that s1ut Zheng Shuming? Listening to him, the two boys looked at each other. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Where did this guy Bian Bufue from? Howe I have never heard anybody mentioning his name? Ba Fenghan said, Bian Bufu is Zhu Yuyans Shidi. This mans martial art skill is very high; indeed something that I rarely see in all my life. Any move that he made, my sword had to change several times before I could barely block him; it was such a strenuous fight. But he was half a notch inferior to me in terms of knowledge and strategy; otherwise right now I would not sit with you waiting for the dawn together. The two boys looked up to the sky; the first streak of dawn finally appeared on the eastern horizon. Ba Fenghan casually made a remark, He is Wanjings biological father. What? the two boys blurted out. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, If Wanjing did not look like him, how could I recognize him in one nce? Bian Bufu is a Devil Cults hermit; his nickname is Mo Yin [devil hidden/secret]. Are you unhappy because I strayed too far from the subject? Kou Zhong sneered and said, I dont care if he is the Mo Yin or Pi Yin [pi C fart/nonsense], but I can guarantee that at most he is only ranks third in Yin Gui Pai. If you came across the real second best person, female demon Wanwan, chances are you wont have any chance to see the sunlight. His expression turned serious, Ba Fenghan said, So Yin Gui Pais direct descendant finally set foot in Jianghu? Can you tell me the details? Thereupon, with you spoke one sentence, I tell one word, the two boys narrated theirplicated and confusing encounter with Wanwan. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, I have never imagined that Yin Gui Pais direct disciple this generation could be that formidable, Ol Ba must give it a go. Supposing I can take her, then I would be able to make a business deal with Yin Gui Pai. Your n is too passive. You wanted to find your four brothers first, but all these things are unknown factors. Xu Ziling said indifferently, What makes Ba Xiong think that Yin Gui Pai would be willing to spend any effort in dealing with you? A faint smile appeared on Ba Fenghans face; sweeping the two boys with his gaze, he said, You ought to be very clear about that. Since female demon Wanwan already joined hands with Changshu Mou and Du Fuwei to capture Jingling, naturally that means that Zhu Yuyan and Qu Ao have an agreement with the Old Du to lend their hands in his effort to conquer the world. Moreover, Junyu and I have inadvertently spoiled their operation in dealing with you and the Flying Horse Ranch. The way the Devil Cult do business is blood for blood; enmity must be avenged. Just based on this little fact, Yin Gui Pai will not spare any effort to kill me. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings countenance changed immediately. Ba Fenghan understood the cause of their anxiety; he said with a cold snort, Gentlemen need not be anxious too much; your Yu Yi is the direct disciple of Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin. Even if Zhu Yuyan does not have any regard for anybody in the world, she would not be that stupid by provoking a big enemy that can easily capsize Yin Gui Pai. The one they want to deal with is just this Ol Ba. If we can capture female demon Wanwan, we can negotiate with Zhu Yuyan to exchange life for life. Blowing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, It has been many days, that female demon Wanwan might havepletely recovered, if she has the help of that Bian Bufu and several Yin Gui Pais bandits, whether we can escape alive or not would be a big question, much less capturing her. Ba Xiong must be joking. Ba Fenghan let out a slight smile; he said full of confidence, If our martial art skill can advance by leaps and bounds in a short period of time, but we keep low profile, and then suddenly attack, picking the enemys important character and plot against that person by hook or by crook, what do you think will happen? Listening to that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, and then they promptly asked for guidance. Ba Fenghans sharp eyes flickered with chilling murderous intent as he slowly said, The reason I went around everywhere looking for martial art masters and challenging them was because I have not met any opponent with enough weight. If two Ren Xiong [brothers, generic term] are willing to delve into martial art study with me, sharpening our strength and repairing our weaknesses, if we have eight to ten days of time, we can surpass other peoples eight to ten years of effort. This is something that other people would never expect. Our advantage is that we are still young; however, in our continuous progress, weck new challenges. Kou Zhong pped his thigh in praise; he said, Good for you to think about that. But there is one thing I dont understand: your rtionship with us has never been a good one, why are you willing to sincerely coborate with us, two brothers? Besides, Yin Gui Pais real target is us, not Ba Xiong at all, so by doing this Ba Xiong will tie an unresolvable deep enmity with Yin Gui Pai and Qu Ao. Ba Fenghan looked up to the sky to greet the first ray of the sun into the valley; he smiled and said, I am used toing and going alone, coboration with you is just a n of convenience, just something that will bring enormous benefit to everybody, also the iparably significant step in our journey to reach the peak of martial art study. There is a chance that we might cross sword someday, but right now, for a short period of time, our only way of survival is to throw away all gratitude and grudges of the past, and work together to fight a big enemy. Humph! Whoever wants my, Ba Fenghans life wont have any good days to pass. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Ba Xiong has formidable eloquence; listening to you, my heart is deeply moved. But we cant possibly fight all day long, we must also find time to scout the enemys movement. Xu Ziling disagreed, This is not inaction, he said, Last night we already revealed our track, that female demon Wanwan would cross the ocean to kill us. Since the Devil Sects enmity must be avenged, they will definitely fulfill their oath. As soon as they mobilize their people to find us, chances are they would. Our only concern right now is Yucheng and the others safety. If we can find them, we can put the load on our mind, at least in this aspect, down! Ba Fenghan nodded; he said, Xu Xiong is right. Within these ten days, we must abandon everything and focus our aspiration on the martial art study; a race against time. Everything else will have to wait until after ten days. Otherwise, even if we go out, we will simply go out in vain, we will only invite disgrace, andter on we can only hide to the east and escape to the west, always anxious without being able to carry on even for a single day. Whats the meaning of our lives, then? Extending his right hand, Kou Zhong spoke seriously, Well said! We will hide for ten his mothers days, after that we will strike with ten-thousand-catty-force thunder, to let Zhu Yuyan know that the world is not for them to go on the rampage. Ba Fenghan also extended his right hand to hold Kou Zhongs hand; he solemnly said, If my guess is right, when the enemy fail to find us, they would set up an inescapable at Luoyang, waiting for us to fall into it. That will be the best moment for us to strike back. Xu Ziling put his hand on the back of Ba Fenghans hand and said, Therefore, the most important thing right now is how to find a secret ce to hide. If we hide here, just by the sound of shing des and the wind from our palms will be enough to attract the enemy. Ba Fenghan had already nned in advance; he said, Southeast of Xiangyang, there is a mountain called Dahong; it stretches for hundreds of li. We can randomly pick a remote valley deep in the mountains, I guarantee we will be able to avoid the peoples eyes and ears. Gentlemen, what do you think? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling readily agreed. Chapter 8 - Part 2 And thus the die was cast. With this sudden decision, not only they avoided the distress of being killed, the three of them would also take another crucial step in their journey through the martial art study. Under the moonlight, River Han meandered in the distance, flowing swiftly outside the mountains; the reflection of the moon on the waves created quite an impressive sight. Xu Ziling was sitting cross-legged on top of a high cliff; he slowly opened his tiger-eyes. After nearly four sichen of quite meditation and internal cultivation, the scene in front of his eyes became even more brilliant, filling him with a fresh, touching feeling. Sweeping his eyes around, he saw the mountain peaks to his left and right were like a giant roc spreading its wings. The cliff walls extended for thousands of li felt like a barrier that even birds would find it difficult to cross. In fact, even with their ability, they still had to spend a considerable effort to climb up. The lower-elevation mountain range on the opposite side was covered in lush, thick forest, with rarely seen vegetation too many too count. From among the rocks and crevices a stream of spring appeared. It flowed toward the wall and flew down as a waterfall, adding charm to the already fascinating secluded valley this deep in the mountains. With a gust of wind Kou Zhongnded by his side, and sat down on the edge of the cliff, with his feet dangling above the ravine, looking unspeakably free and rxed. Where is Ol Ba? Xu Ziling asked. I dont know where that guy went to train, Kou Zhong replied, Ay! Frankly speaking, although our training this time is for mutual benefit, but because in terms of martial art foundation and knowledge and experience that Fengshi Han is stronger than we are, plus his natural talent is also not inferior to ours, perhaps he is merely nurturing a tiger to invite cmity upon himself. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Zhong Shao rarely praised other peoples spirit and extinguished your own prestige; why suddenly have such a feeling? Kou Zhong sighed and said, The more you get along with Fengshi Han, the more youll feel that he is a callous and fickle man. Although right now everybody considers everybody else as brother, in the future nothing good wille out of it. Xu Ziling asked in bewilderment, Listening to the tone of your voice, you seem to have misgivings toward him. Kou Zhong replied in heavy voice, These past few days I continuously either sparing hand to hand or study meticulously; I came in contact with him a lot, and could only describe this man as deep and immeasurable. In crucial points he is somewhat reserved, hence he derives greater benefitpared to us. I still think that both sides are even, Xu Ziling said, It doesnt matter if he keeps a skill for himself, we still learn many things that we have never thought before, not to mention we also heard a lot of exotic conditions and customs of people outside the country. Right! Didnt you tell me that these days you are reading the book on history and military strategy and tactics that Mr. Lu left behind? What have you learned? Radiant with delight, Kou Zhong said, The benefit is naturally not shallow. Military strategy is thousand-time, hundred-time moreplicated than two people fighting one-on-one; there are millions of changes, there is no way we can talk about everything. But in my opinion Mr. Lus imagination is not rich enough; sometimes his arguments are too conservative. Xu Ziling admonished him, You need to be modest enough to understand others experience and learning! I respect him, the Senior, more than you do, Kou Zhong said, Mr. Lu paid the most attention to the changes in troops disposition, such as triangr formation, plum blossom formation; the usage of strange and straightforward, what is true and what is false, and so on. Everything can be used like our predecessors have never used before. He taught me military strategy and tactics, his intention must be for me to use the things he researched in the actual battlefield. I definitely wont let him down. And then, lowering his voice he said, Do you think that Fengshi Han is really interested in Yu Yi? Xu Ziling sighed and said, This is really hard to say. This Ba kid is very shrewd, he never revealed his innermost feeling. In my opinion, he still loves himself a little bit more. A shrill whistle came from the mountain peak; it was time to practice. The round and bright moon cast its light across the mountain ridge. Ba Fenghans sword fiercely shed down three times, creating ear-piercing noise as the sword split the air; vicious, violent, and ruthless, with the prowess that could chill the heart and split the gall. Ring! The sword returned to its sheath. Calm andposed, Ba Fenghan said, Xu Xiong, Kou Xiong, what do you think of these three sword strikes? Please give me some advice. Kou Zhongughed and said, The most formidable part of these three strikes was that whether it was the strength or the speed, either one can be adjusted to uniformity. The most hard toe by was that each strike is more powerful than the other, so that anybody facing these three sword strikes of Ba Xiongs will have to wait until the third strike before he can counterattack. Ba Fenghan nodded; without offering anyment he asked for Xu Zilings suggestion. As if he was still thinking about it, Xu Ziling answered, There is something strange with Ba Xiongs three sword strikes; they appear to be executed in one fell swoop, but the fact is that is not the case. There seems to be a gap that can be exploited. If the opponent is a martial art master, he would be able to exploit this small gap to counterattack. Sighing in admiration, Ba Fenghan said, That is an excellent opinion. If I wanted the three sword strikes to have equal power and speed, I would have to send out my power to the sword three times; thereupon the situation is exactly like Xu Xiong mentioned. During the decisive battle against Dugu Feng that day, she did find out this gap, and with her sword she broke my strike. This womans beauty is astonishing, but her hand is even more terrifyingly strong. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. They both asked themselves: even though they had this insight, whether they would be able to exploit this gap to break Ba Fenghans sword strike was a totally different matter. Moreover, their opinion was based on the spectators can always see more clearly than the yers, where they had aparatively serene state of mind. If they were the recipient of these three sword strikes, they would thank the Heaven and thank the Earth if they could block the attack. From this, it was clear what kind of martial art master Dugu Feng was. Blowing a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong asked, Did you lose to her? Ba Fenghan proudly replied, She won in the exquisiteness of her swordsmanship, but I won in realbat experience. I intentionally let my saber broke and thus deceived her by half a move, so that she left in anger. But next time we meet, I wont be able to get away that easily. This b1tch [poniang] is more belligerent than I am. Xu Ziling suddenly understood, No wonder Ba Xiong suggested that we entered the mountain to train; this must be one of the reasons! With a cold snort Ba Fenghan said, If it was only to deal with that b1tch, one person, its enough for me to train alone. But my target is Ning Daoqi, Zhu Yuyan and the like. When I return in the future, the first I want to challenge is that fellow Bi Xuan, so that he will know who the real number one martial art master in Tujue is. Kou Zhong could not help asking, Have you actually fought Bi Xuan? Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan replied, If I have actually fought him, how could I still be alive and studying martial art together with you today? But it was actually as if I have fought with him, because I have ughtered his first disciple Yan Huifeng. Do you know what I mean? The two boys mused inwardly that no wonder Bi Xuan wanted to kill you. Ba Fenghan returned to his cold and detached manner as he said, Xu Xiong, Kou Xiong, please be prepared. Kou Zhong was taken aback, Are you going to deal with the two of us together? he asked. Ba Fenghan smiled and replied, Why not? Xu Zilingughed and said, After spending four sichen in quiet meditation, Ba Xiong must have gained some understanding, so he wants us to broaden our horizons! Ba Fenghan slowly drew his treasured-sword; as he stood facing the breeze blowing across the mountain ridge, his clothes were fluttering. Since behind him was the cliff edge, it looked as if his entire being was embedded in the star-studded night sky; looking straight at him was like looking at a deity, but there was also an insufferably arrogant and overbearing spirit surrounding him. Stroking his sword, he muttered softly, This sword is made of steel I mined from the deep sea, and took me seven days and seven night of exhausting forging to finish. The hardness contains softness, the rigidity contains flexibility; it far surpassed my other saber, which was broken. In the past I could not find a suitable name for it, but tonight I suddenly have an idea. I hereby name this sword Zhan Xuan [beheading mystery]. Gentlemen, please be my witness. The one the Beheading Mystery wanted to behead was Bi Xuan [lit. wholeplete mystery]. This was the target of Ba Fenghans pursuit. Straightening up his back, Kou Zhong drew his Moon in the Well, and said with augh, The name Moon in the Well came from a profound mysterys idea; lets see if Ba Xiongs Beheading Mystery sword can really behead mystery. Ba Fenghans eyes shot cold rays while his gaze was fixed on the Moon in the Well, which, imbued by Kou Zhongs internal energy, was flickering with yellow glow; with deep contemtion he said, Kou Zhong, your sabers murderous aura is very heavy; just remember that the man can control the saber, the saber can also control the man. Stunned, Kou Zhong ran his finger along the saber; he spoke doubtfully, Is there such thing? Letting out a long whistle, Ba Fenghan turned his gaze toward Xu Ziling. The bright moon happened to shine on the high ce behind his handsome face. Under the golden moonlight, the more he got the impression that Xu Ziling appeared to be standing above themon crowd, with his confident and at ease, proud and touching temperament. Ba Fenghan could not help thinking about Shan Wanjing. Sighing inwardly, he said in heavy voice, I am going to put forth my sword! Xu Zilings pair of tiger-eyes brightened; he spoke indifferently, Why is Ba Xiong suddenly exuding murderous aura, unlike before, where you exercised restrain and hid it deep within you? Ba Fenghans heart shivered in fear, knowing that any exnation would be superfluous. Smiling, he said, Hence gentlemen this time must be especially careful. Who knows? Maybe on a whim Xiaodi [little brother] will kill you! En garde! Cold energy suddenly arose. Chapter 8 - Part 3 Beheading Mystery Sword swiftly attacked Kou Zhong. His left hand, constantly changing from a fist to a palm and vice versa, shot out toward Xu Ziling; powerful and dauntless without equal. shing noise lingered on faintly. Without yielding a single step, Kou Zhong sessively took Ba Fenghans three sword strikes. The opponents sword potential suddenly changed; sometimes it opened wide, another time it closed tight. The sword style changed delicately: rolling, sweeping, shing, cutting; the technique was mysterious and unusual, so that Kou Zhong waspletely shrouded inside the swords power. The other hand alternated between stable as the bridge and nimble as the horse, striking from a distant and attacking from near, so that Xu Ziling was unable to coordinate his attack with Kou Zhongs to besiege him. The most formidable thing was that he was able to divide his mind into two different xinfa, so that he appeared to be two different persons, who were able to use different strategy to deal with the two boys. For a while, on this approximately three, four zhang diameter mountain peak, the sword qi rose high into the air, murderous aura filled the atmosphere. Seeing how heroic and brave Ba Fenghan was, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings spirit was greatly aroused. They were abut to counterattack with all their might when Ba Fenghan suddenly spun around so that with his left hand he now dealt with Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, and with the Beheading Mystery in his right hand he attacked Xu Ziling wildly; immediately the two boys offensive was put under pressure. By the time they steadied their footing, Ba Fenghan let out a thunderous shout, his left palm and his right sword moved together, bing a fantastical mix of sword ray and palm shadow, like howling wind and torrential rain the left and right hands moved alternately, attacking the two boys that they were trapped in the disadvantageous position and could only react passively. Kou Zhong raised a mouthful of qi, he shed across while his saber hacked ferociously. At first the saber seemed to be splitting an empty air, but by the time the Moon in the Well dropped, it was as if Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword was delivered right into the saber path that the sword had to meet the saber head on. Vortex of qi like a torrential flood burst forth, shaking Ba Fenghan that he was forced to take half a step sideways. Ba Fenghan roared inughter and said, Now that was an interesting saber strike. Bang! Xu Ziling seized the opportunity to punch; Ba Fenghan lost his momentum, he was forced to meet hard with hard. Even with Ba Fenghans ability, he was forced to open wide his defense that he was unable to maintain his dominance with powerful attack like before. Kou Zhong won over Ba Fenghans right position. When Ba Fenghan retreated swiftly with the intention of regrouping anding back stronger [orig. return in a swirl of dust], the Moon in the Well changed into a streak of yellow light, swift as a thunder, fast as a lightning it shot toward Ba Fenghans right nk. The saber had not arrived, the vortex of qi already sted him. First, Ba Fenghans left palm chopped down an empty space, forcing Xu Ziling to back off; and then he swung the sword backhandedly while twisting his body to evade Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well. Just like before, he exerted a hundred percent of his power, yet he did not seem to be as dauntless as before. Suddenly Ba Fenghan retreated backward before advancing forward again; the sword following the person, he took the opportunity just before Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well arrived in front of him, the Beheading Mystery Sword turned into a rainbow, shooting toward Xu Ziling, who was about a zhang away from the edge of the cliff. Swift and fierce without equal, surpassing his previous attack, indicating that his retreat just now was not a sign of weakness, but a decoy. The most dangerous thing was that the sword was covering quite arge area; Xu Ziling could not retreat, his only choice was to meet the attack head-on. Pow! It was as if Xu Ziling already anticipated that Ba Fenghan wouldunch this move; he lowered his body into a horse stance, one palm struck the body of the Beheading Mystery Sword. If this were a t ground, the attack was brilliant, the block was wonderful; it could be said that the beauty was divided evenly between the two parties. However, under current circumstances, when the two streams of energy collided, Ba Fenghan could move backward, while Xu Ziling absolutely must not back off. Seeing Xu Ziling was nearly knocked off the cliff by Ba Fenghans internal energy, Kou Zhong turned pale. But Ba Fenghan shouted, Grab the sword! Xu Ziling grabbed the body of the sword, and Ba Fenghan pulled him back, away from the cliff edge. Releasing the Beheading Mystery, Xu Ziling wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, How dangerous! I thought Ba Xiong really wanted to kill me. Ba Fenghanughed aloud. He put the sword back into its sheath and said, How can I be that despicable? If I wanted to kill Xu Xiong, I have to do it in an upright and frank way. I was just testing Xu Xiongs real ability, and sure enough, you were really able to take what I thought to be a surefire [orig. not one failure in ten thousand] sword strike. And then he mused, Your so-called Yijian Technique, which you mastered by self-study, is actually simr in shape and appearance, as well as in spirit, with Fu Cailins Yijian Technique. Just like Xu Xiong blocking technique a moment ago, it has some kind of proactive overtone that is hard to understand. But with Yijian techniques xinfa of Using the man to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy is quite different. What is Using the man to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy? Kou Zhong asked. Ba Fenghan replied, Generally speaking, it means using the sword like a chess piece [Reminder: yi of yijian means (a game of) chess], which can be put in all kinds of situation. As soon as the enemy entered the game board, it can be arranged at ones discretion; it looks as if one can anticipate the variation in the opponents style. But gentlemens Yijian Method is not like that at all. For example, can Xu Xiong tell me why just now you were able to be one step ahead by sealing off the attack path of my Beheading Mystery Sword, so that I was unable to unleash the subtlety and force path of my swordsmanship as much as I liked? Xu Zilings eyes lit up; he nodded and said, Ba Xiongs analysis is unusually thorough; it was purely driven by instinct, giving me the feeling that Ba Xiong would brandish your sword and attack like so. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, That is precisely the beauty of the Secret to Long Life. This Taoist Schools treasure book indeed contains the mystery of life. Not only did it change your physique, it also, cell by cell, hair by hair, releases your spiritual potential. One might well ask, in the history of Wulin, who has been capable of progressing at a lightning speed like you? Being able to drive spiraling qi is even more unheard of. But I also gained considerable benefit. If I can be sessful in the future, this experience of being together for ten days with two gentlemen will definitely upy a key position. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, Listening to you, my hands itch! Wed better fight for several rounds. Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard and swiftly attacked Ba Fenghan. Book 11 - 9 – The Bloody Battle of Xiangyang Book 11 Chapter 9 C The Bloody Battle of Xiangyang Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. When the three of them left the Dahong Mountain, they all had a feeling that they had be apletely new person. Although Ba Fenghan was extremely daring, he had be cautious and timid as he used all kinds of trick to look carefully at the enemys track, so that they would not fall into an ambush. After hastening toward Xiangyang for one day, they looked for a hilltop to stay for the night, and filled their stomachs with Huangjing [King Solomons Seal (genus polygonatum)] berries. Under the starry sky, Ba Fenghan suggested, Even with female demon Wans outstanding intelligence, she could not have guessed our temperament that we were willing to hide for ten days. She must have guessed that we are already heading north to Luoyang; hence we should not be in any apparent danger along the way. Kou Zhong, who was sitting against a rock, noddedzily and said, Let us take the quickest route to Luoyang. I am afraid Yucheng and the others are unbearably anxious waiting for us. Ay! Perhaps they had fallen into female demon Wans hands. Dont worry! Ba Fenghan said, Those four brothers of yours have been with you for a long time, and they knew the danger they are facing, so they should have hidden their track. To tell you the truth, the reason I have such a high regard on you was when Junyu and I started to pursue you and failed, which was practically an impossibility. At that time our qinggong surpassed yours, yet after pursuing you for a long time we still could not catch up with you. I still dont understand why. Xu Ziling replied nonchntly, Supposing that time you caught up with us, would Ba Xiong really get rid of us? Ba Fenghan freely and carelessly smiled and said, Mortal beings will die eventually; whether they die sooner orter, it is still the same death. If you have lived the life I was living at the great desert, among the horse thieves, you would also have an apathetic view of life and death; do you understand what I mean? On this earth only the strong can rule the world, others are just a fake. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, If strength is really a virtue, wouldnt that be better than using force to subdue people? Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, Strength is strength, everything else is nothing more than a means to achieve a certain goal and strategy. Just look at the emperors and hegemons who seeded throughout history, which one was not a vicious and merciless person? Compared to Bi Xuan who kills people like scything x, the Ol Ba is still far inferior! Xu Ziling cast Kou Zhong a nce, but seeing him looking up at the sky without saying anything, he could not help feeling bitterly disappointed. Ba Fenghan said calmly, Everybody has his own conviction and style of doing things. Dont think that because I am dauntless andbative I would not distinguish between red-green or ck-white, and kill people indiscriminately. All right! Go back to the topic at hand. After reaching Xiangyang, I dont care whether we will have to buy, to rob openly or steal sneakily, we must obtain a boat and go up north along the River Wei; this will save us a lot of leg muscles. What do you think? Kou Zhong cast him a sidelong nce, Doesnt Ba Xiongs purse have enough gold in it? Robbing and stealing are not a heros conduct. Ba Fenghanughed in spite of himself, If you have misgivings about this, just let me take care of it, he said, Ol Ba cant possibly treat anybody who is willing to sell his boat to me with meager hospitality. A cool night breeze blew; the three of them feltfortably safe and free. Kou Zhong said, Listening to Ba Xiong, seems like you packed a plenty, it wont be exhausted in this lifetime; you made Xiaodi extremely envious. I wonder if I could ask Ba Xiong for some way to make money? Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, We will still be together for a few days; just watch carefully! And then a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth as he said in a heavy voice, As long as I can capture a Yin Gui Pai people, I have a way of forcing him to reveal where Yin Gui Paiir is. At that time, we can flip the situation: they will be in the light while we are going to be in the dark. We will use the assassination method of seeing-one-killing-one, so that Zhu Yuyan will know the consequences of offending me, Ba Fenghan. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged some nces; they both shivered in fear inwardly. Ba Fenghan might not be a bad person, but if he was offended and the offense turned into enmity, he would definitely be a dreadful enemy. At noon the following day, the three men arrived at Xiangyang. Xiangyangs city gate has been reopened, business was back to normal. They paid the tax and entered the city, and looked for an inn to stay the night. After freshening up, the confident Ba Fenghan went out to take care of the boat for them to go up north. Since the two boys had nothing to do, they went to a nearby store to buy two or three sets of new clothes, and afterwards they looked for a restaurant to sit down. Each one of them ordered a bowl of meat soup noodle, and gobbled it up heartily. Because it was already past lunch hour, the restaurant was quite empty. Other than the two of them, only two other tables were upied. Kou Zhong spoke in a low voice, I have never had any thought like the present that contending for hegemony over the world is such an out-of-reach goal. But more than ten days ago, when I stood on Jinglings city wall, I felt like the world was acknowledging allegiance under my feet, and that I would never be struck down. Ay! Xu Ziling said, Thats because you are the kind of person who is unwilling to be left out. These more than ten days, you withdrew to a secluded ce and lived a life of cultivation; you must be depressed. Kou Zhong mused, I dont think that is the case. These more than ten days, I was as absorbed as you were; I enjoyed the excitement of the shing of the des, and I reveled in the tranquility of quiet meditation even more. Sometimes I even forgot about Li Xiuning, Song Yushi, and the otherspletely, I was as rxed as the swimming fish and the flying bird, so carefree and without worries. Sometimes my inner energy even felt like it could control the speed of spiraling qi. It made me felt I am rather like Ning Daoqi, that I have be the number one martial art master in the world. Xu Ziling pped the table and said with a sigh, Supposing we can control the speed of the vortex; slow first and then elerating, for instance, or fast first and then slowing down, perhaps the Ol Ba would not be able to hold on too long. But to reach that level, I am afraid we still have a long way to go. Kou Zhong was surprised, Turns out you are also thinking about this wonderful possibility; I thought it was just my imagination? Xu Ziling happily said, This time we spent many days and nights with the Ol Ba, whether it was our fortune or our bad luck, I cannot say. All I can say is that there is a great benefit in front of us. At least it let you experienced the happiness and rxed state of mind where there was no burden at all, which somewhat lowered your ambition of hegemony over the world; otherwise, how did youe out with the idea that contending for hegemony over the world is such an out-of-reach goal? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Brother, you are making fun of me again. But it has also led to another heaven-sent wonderful idea in my mind. If I could seed in contending for hegemony over the world, while at the same time maintain the forgetting worry, no-anxiety, considering life and death, honor and disgrace, outside my sphere of consideration state of mind, who could be my adversary then? His mothers! I can use the Yijian Technique in the battlefield; it will be Kouzis Art of War [y on words: Sunzis (Sun Tzus) Art of War]. At that time the world will be mine. While speaking thest sentence, his pair of eyes shone with spirited light; it was really intimidating. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Its easy for you to say, but the fact is, its difficult to put into practice. For example, when we were standing on Jinglings city wall that day, facing Jianghuai Armys thousands troops tens of thousands horses besieging the city, can you really rx? I couldnt, Kou Zhong admitted, Because I was overwhelmed with the scene of death and destruction all around me; my mind was in great turmoil. But if I consider the whole battlefield as a big chessboard, all the soldiers and generals are chess pieces, and I am rxed andfortably ying the game, wont that be superb? And then he smiled and said, The first stratagem of the Kou Tzus Art of War: the first and foremost xinfa is deploying troops with chatting andughing. Xu Ziling sighed and said, The only thingcking right now is that you dont have any troops to deploy. Otherwise I would be really worried for your enemies. Kou Zhong was about to respond when a longughter came from the entrance, followed by weird-sounding male voice speaking, Xu Xiong, Kou Xiong, how are you? Tuoba Yu is here to pay his respect. The two boys jumped in fright. Turning their heads toward the door, they indeed saw Tuoba Yu, the disciple sent by Bi Xuan to settle their score with Ba Fenghan; immediately they groaned inwardly. Tuoba Yu was still carrying his calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos attitude, he was still dressed like a prince or a pampered son of a wealthy family: in brocade clothes and magnificent adornment. On his waist hung his unique weapon, the eagle w flying hammer. The most amazing thing was that both ends of his eagle w were made in such a way that they fit perfectly into each other, to form an unusual belt. With face full of smile, he walked over to their table and eximed, Huh? Why does two Xiongtais countenance look so strange? Could it be that you are embarrassed because you missed the appointment we made six months ago to meet at Luoyang? Listening to his mocking tone, the two boys knew something was amiss. Tuoba Yu himself was a first ss martial art master. Thest time they met, he faced the two boys, plus Liu Heita and Zhuge Dewei [see Book 5 Chapter 9], alone, and he was still able to gain the upper hand. Although his martial art skill might not necessarily match Ba Fenghans, but the difference was not much, to say nothing of his martial sister Chunyu Wei, whose skill was not below his, and the Eighteen White-horse Riders of the Northern Desert, who were personally trained by Bi Xuan in group fight. If a fight broke, although the two boys had made tremendous progresstely, they still did not dare to be too optimistic. Kou Zhong smiled apologetically and said, Tuoba Xiong, please calm down. This past year, what Xiongdi went through is really hard to exin in a few words. Would Tuoba Xiong please sit down first? Have a bowl of broth noodles or something to cool down your temper first, and then we all can slowly discuss everything! Tuoba Yuughed aloud again before sitting down. He said slyly, The waiter is gone, how could we order something to eat? The two boys were startled; they looked around and saw that not only the two waiters have disappeared to who knows where, even the diners at the two other tables have slipped away quietly as well. Such a big restaurant, but only the three of them remained. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, We are ready to go up north to Luoyang to see Tuoba Xiong. Tuoba Xiong must not misunderstand. Tuoba Yuughed and said, Two gentlemen must not have any guilty conscience. This time Xiaodie here because there is an important matter I need to discuss. The Secret to Long Life can be temporarily set aside. When this matter is resolved, we can talk about it again. What do gentlemen think? Displeased, Kou Zhong said, You think we have guilty conscience in this matter? Tuoba Yu revealed a faint dubious smile on his face. Nothing could be better than that, he said, Xiaodi has a question that I hope two Xiongtai would be able to provide the answer. Tuoba Xiong, please speak up! Xu Ziling said. Remaining tranquil and calm, Tuoba Yu said, This time we came to Xiangyang with the main purpose of hunting down that traitor Ba Fenghan;ing across two gentlemen was purely coincidental, we did not even think that you were traveling together with that Ba thief. Frankly speaking, Xiaodi and my humble Shimei have favorable impression toward Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong, because you are willing to lend the Secret to Long Life on good faith. Therefore, I came with a specific purpose in mind to ask two gentlemen to not get involved, please do not get drawn into our fight with that Ba thief. I want to have your word on this. The two boys exchanged nces; now they really felt awkward. Presently they were about to take the same boat and travel through the wind and the rain together with Ba Fenghan, on their way tounch a fight against Yin Gui Pai. If this matter had not yet begun, they could watch Ba Fenghan facing cmity with folded arms and forget everything they have discussed, let alone talking about coborating with each other. Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Its not that we want to put ourselves in opposition to Tuoba Xiong, because we also treasure the friendship between us. However, Tuoba Xiongs request is putting us in a rather awkward position. If Tuoba Xiong and Ba Xiong are having a fair duel, then we wont interfere. Tuoba Yu was silent for a moment. After his sharp eyes swept the two boys faces back and forth a few times, he sighed and said, I wonder if Kou and Xu, two brothers knew why everybody in this restaurant suddenly slipped away? The two boys shivered in their hearts; focusing their power in their ears, they were immediately aware that there was something unusual going on outside the restaurant. Tuoba Yu spoke softly, Ever since Li Mi issued the Duke of Pushan Decree against you, countless number of Jianghu people want to take that credit. Among them are the Gold and Silver Spear Ling Feng, and Fat Demon Jin Bo, who formed the Supporting Li Alliance, whose momentum is the strongest. They assembled more than a hundred Wulin characters, among which there is nock of martial art masters, and are going all-out to hunt and kill two gentlemen. So your situation is extremely dangerous. Just consider me, Tuoba Yu, giving you warning based on our friendship! Kou Zhong calmly asked, And right now they are already outside? Tuoba Yu replied, They are merely a bunch of people from their group. Kou Xiong, Xu Xiong, please be careful! Chapter 9 - Part 2 Finished speaking, he rose up to his full height, and then strolled outnguidly. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling. Thetter nodded. The two boys immediately sprang up from their chairs, leaped up to the air and broke through the roof; in the midst of broken roof tiles filling the sky, theynded on the back of the restaurants roof. As soon as they swept their gaze around, they were dumbstruck. The roofs of the buildings far and near were full with people. At first nce, there were at least over a hundred people. The Fat Demon Jin Bo and Gold and Silver Spear Ling Feng were standing on the roof of the store across the street, putting an air of catching a turtle in the earthen jar. A longughter came from the roof of a neighboring building to their left. The two boys turned their gaze toward theughter and saw a middle-aged man withnky stature and outstandingly handsome face, and a free and easy manner, but his countenance was suffused with a harsh and sinister expression, so that his smile looked callous and cruel. He held a broadsword in each hand; his look was quite intimidating. Next to him were about a dozen people; tall, short, in all kinds of size and shape, but each one had high and protruded taiyang acupoint, they looked quite impressive, hence it was clear that these were not people that would be easy to deal with. The man stoppedughing and spoke in deep voice, I am Qian Duguan, the Chengzhu [city master] of the City of Xiangyang. I havee specifically to pay a visit to Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong, to inquire the gentlemens current situation. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces. For the first time that day they felt the seriousness of the situation. If it were only Ling Feng, Jin Bo, that kind of Wulin characters, if they were unable to defeat them, they could always run away. But if Qian Duguan was personally involved, it was as if they were fighting against the entire city. Whether they would be able to escape was a big question mark. Jin Bo let out a cold snort to attract the two boys attention, and then with a sinister smile he said, If gentlemen are willing toy down your weapon, have your hands tied and waiting to be captured, I, Jin Bo, guarantee that before delivering you to Duke Mi, gentlemen will be treated well. Shaking his head, Kou Zhongughed involuntarily; turning toward Qian Duguan, he said, Old Qian, since when did you be Li Mis ws and teeth? Doesnt the rumor in Jianghu say that Qian Duguan has always maintained his neutrality and nobody has been able to buy your allegiance? Following his lead, Xu Ziling said, Zhong Shao, you are somewhat ignorant; this is called the time has changed. Right now Old Du has taken Jingling, within the next few days he is going to go north, Old Qian is naturally looking for a master to take care of him! I am surprised that you can still ask such a stupid question. Listening to the two boys banter, which was full of taunting tone, murderous intent immediately appeared on the faces of Qian Duguans subordinates standing by his side, everybody was eager to move. On the contrary, Qian Duguan himself remained unmoved. Shaking the double sabers in his hands, he calmly said, If two gentlemen agree to tell me the real secret of the Duke Yang Treasure, I, Qian Duguan, will immediately withdraw from this dispute. Gentlemen, what do you say? Kou Zhong burst outughing and said, How can it be that easy? If Qian Xiong can guarantee that we will be able to leave safely, telling you where the treasure is buried is not a problem. Qian Xiong, please make your decision first. The men on Ling Fengs side immediately showed tensed expression on their faces, they all wanted to know Qian Duguans answer. Qian Duguan smiled and said, If Kou Xiong is thinking of driving a wedge in our friendship with Jin Bo Xiong, you are wasting your time. Enough idle chat; either the two gentlemen will have your hands tied and wait to be captured, or be killed on the spot. There is no room forpromise. Are you clear? Kou Zhong and Xu Zilingughed aloud. And then they disappeared through the hole on the roof, back into the restaurant below. Boom! Before the enemy split up to enter the restaurant from the front and the rear, Kou Zhong was one step ahead by crashing through the wall and escaped to the shop next door. It was a grocery store. The people inside had already heard themotion outside and closed his door. The proprietor and his two workers were huddling behind a slightly open small window by the bolted door, peeking at the movements in the street outside. Suddenly disaster arrived; the fully stocked shelves, along with the sand and the stones, sshed down, so that the store looked like the disaster area after an earthquake. While the three people were stunned, fast as lightning Kou Zhong shed toward the boss and stuffed an ingot of gold into the inside of hispel. Not forgetting to smile, he said, This is for everything that fell on the floor! And then he suddenly disappeared toward the back door, to rendezvous with Xu Ziling who had already out, and then in a blink of an eye they both vanished. Bang! Xu Ziling kicked the wooden door leading to the alley behind the grocery store; like an arrow he shot toward the end of the alley. With the Moon in the Well in his hand, Kou Zhong followed closely behind him. Ever since these two boys were little, not a single moment they did not pass either fighting or escaping. Naturally they were very much at home in this regard. A gust of wind arrived. Xu Ziling shouted at Kou Zhong and changed direction. Leaping over the alley wall, they saw the four sides eight directions were pursuing enemies. Hastily they dropped back into the rear garden at a residential home. With wild barks, three vicious-looking dogs were pouncing at the two boys. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both animal lovers. Leaping up, theynded on the horizontal branch of a big oak tree, and then borrowing the rebounding force they soared again across two buildings andnded on the roof of yet another building. Swish! Swish! It was not clear who released the arrows, but the two boys were forced to jump down from the roof and back to the main street below. With unceasing shouts the enemies also scattered down from the roof and spread out to surround and intercept the two boys. Since it was afternoon, the streets were bustling with passer-byes; carts and horses were lining the street like a dragon. With this sudden change, the street turned chaotic, everybody scrambled and fell over each other to run for their lives, the carts and the horses were crashing against each other as the drivers and passengers were racing out of the carts in panic. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took advantage of the situation; they mingled among the scattering crowd, shing to the left and darting to the right and into a fresh fruit store. While crying out Im sorry! in their hearts, they knocked down two baskets of watermelon, scattering the fruits all over the floor. Two enemies had just rushed into the store. Stepping onto the watermelon, they slipped and rolled on the floor like a pair of gourds, while the two boys already disappeared via the back door. Running away at full speed, the two boys entered another big street, where they ran along the city wall closest to the southern gate. By this time they had escaped the siege, the enemy seemed to be falling behind. The two groups of men and horses in hot pursuit of the two boys provoked panic and confusion everywhere; the sound of shouting and screaming shook the heavens. Half a dayter the two boys entered the main street connecting the south and the north gate, with the south gate appeared at the left side of the street. Originally the two boys decided break out of the city via the south gate, but upon a quick nce, they saw that the south gate was closed, plus upon a closer look, they also noticed that a segment of the street, about two-hundred zhang long, leading to the south gate waspletely empty without any trace of humans. Immediately warning bells went off in their mind. Making a prompt decision, Kou Zhong called out, North gate! Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong had a telepathic connection; even before Kou Zhong called out, Xu Ziling had already turned right to dash toward the north gate. From the direction of the south gate Qian Duguan and a group of his men immediately appeared and ran after them in a wild chase, carrying with it an overbearing momentum. After Kou and Xu, two boys were more than a hundred zhang away, constant stream of the enemies leaped down from the roof on both sides of the street; they all missed the two boys just by a little bit. The crowded street with people and horses scurrying along made the perfect cover and obstacles for the two boys. In just a dozen or so breathster, they already crossed the middle section of the long street. Suddenly the crowd ahead separated. Like a tidal wave more than thirty fully armed men, led by Ling Feng and Jin Bo, surged toward the two boys. On both sides of the street, more than a hundred Qian Duguans men appeared from behind the roof, practically sealing off their escape route. Kou Zhong roared. Raising a mouthful of true qi, the Moon in the Well in his hand turned into a streak of yellow light shooting toward the leaders, Ling Feng and Jin Bo. Spiraling energy red out, a burst of cold air rolled wildly. Xu Ziling chopped down with his palms left and right, a dozen or so gusts of wind, which were sharper than de, struck with high uracy, in terms of speed and timing, so that he hit a dozen or so enemies jumping down to the street as soon as theynded on the ground, but before they managed to steady their footings. The enemies immediately suffered a crushing defeat. Those with rather weak skill were instantly thrown down to the ground, and rolled away toward the shops or the wall lining up the street. Those withparatively stronger skill staggered back and vomited a mouthful of blood as they suffered internal injury. Dang! Dang! Dang! The Moon in the Well subsequently shed against Ling Fengs gold and silver spears, and Jin Bos iron staff. Vortex of qi burst out, the two men were instantly shaken back by Kou Zhong. But Kou Zhong also did not expect that these two were quite tough; although he was sessful in beating them back, but it was quite straining, hence he did not feel the least bit of delight. Worse yet, he knew that if he did not kill ruthlessly to break the enemys siege, he could forget about leaving this city alive today. With a loud shout he pounced forward, not giving Jin Bo and Ling Feng any chance to breathe. Jin Bo and Ling Feng were cunning and quite smart; realizing that Kou Zhong was dauntless and unstoppable, they immediately retreated to let their men attacking from the sides, and thus giving them a chance to catch their breath. Chapter 9 - Part 3 This moment Qian Duguan and his men were also catching up; they were only about a hundred zhang behind them. If these two groups were allowed to pinch them in the middle, the situation would be unimaginable. Having his little life threatened like that, Kou Zhong no longer had any scruple. The Moon in the Well swept to the left and hacked to the right, he killed indiscriminately. After ten days training in the mountain, his saber power became even more swift and fierce without equal. The vortex of qi went in and out as he wished. As soon as his saber went down, the person blocking it would be thrown back instantly, the men and their weapons were flying left and right, momentarily no one was able to stop him. Xu Ziling was following closely behind him, but his back was against Kou Zhongs back, so that the two boys were like two persons with one body. His punch and palm strikes created strong gusts of wind, so that the attacking enemies were tossed to the left and tumbled to the right. Hence Kou Zhong had no fears of trouble in the rear. Its just that none of the attacking enemies were not skillful, valiant or ferocious, especially Qian Duguans men, who had undergone rigorous training under powerful master, so that although they were unceasingly knocked down, but as soon as one fell, the other followed. It was indeed more than the two boys could attend to. Along that long street, other than abandoned carriages, all passer byes had already fled into the alleys or into the shops, hence the situation was greatly disadvantageous for the two boys. While still retreating, Jin Bo and Ling Feng continued calling their men to join the fray. Qian Duguan was also only about twenty zhang away. Kou Zhongs murderous intent was aroused. Recalling Ba Fenghans three sword strikes, the Moon in the Well hacked more than a dozen times in session, immediately there were seventeen, eighteen men fell to the ground. Dang! Jin Bo knew it was time; he turned retreat into advance. Carrying fierce gust of wind, his iron staff blocked, seizing the moment where Kou Zhongs momentum was somewhat exhausted, followed by a sweep across Kou Zhongs lower part. Even with his ability, Kou Zhong still felt that his advancing momentum was obstructed; halting his steps, he waved his saber to block, jolting the iron staff sideways. Ling Feng shook the gold spear in his left hand and the silver spear in his right incessantly like a pair of poisonous vipers as he took the position Jin Bo had just vacated, and trust the spears toward Kou Zhongs chest. While Kou Zhong was groaning over his bad luck inwardly, Xu Zilings back crashed heavily onto his back, transferring a stream of true qi. Naturally Kou Zhong understood Xu Zilings intention; seizing the opportunity, he dashed diagonally and hacked his Moon in the Well toward Ling Fengs head. Ling Feng had never expected Kou Zhong to be able to jump and attack him like that; scared out of his wits, he rolled away on the ground, his gold and silver spears blocked upwards. Kou Zhongughed aloud, the Moon in the Well drew a circle of yellow light, cutting off the weapons of several enemies in the vicinity, and only then did it chop down in between Ling Fengs two spears. Ling Feng was worthy to be called spear expert; his pair of spears formed an X as he parry the chop. Wham! Although Ling Feng managed to block the saber, he was unable to withstand Kou Zhongs spiraling energy; spurting out a mouthful of blood, he rolled away to evade, and along the way he sessively knocked down seven, eight men from his side. Qian Duguan and his men were closing in; they were only about fifty zhang behind. The situation was critical. Xu Ziling spun around and took his position below Kou Zhong; while with a punch he struck Jin Bo, his left and right legs flew out in rapid session to kicked two enemies that were charging from the side. After this round of fight, the more than thirty men on Jin Bos side had gathered around to cut off their escape route. Bang! Jin Bo shot out his left palm to meet Xu Zilings over-the-empty-air punch head on. While he was staggering from the jolt, he heard sudden whooshing of the saber above him. The Moon in the Well wasing right into his face. The other men were scattered around from the saber wind. Jin Bo suddenly found himself alone against Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs pincher attack, one from below, the other from above. In his shock he threw himself to the ground and rolled away; he looked exactly like a big ball. With this powerful enemy out of the way, the pressure against the two boys was lessening. Immediately they charged toward the thirty or so enemies, attacking them left and right that they werepletely routed. In an instant the two boys broke through the blockade in front of them. In this crucial moment, suddenly they heard tenderughing from ahead. As the two boys looked up in terror, they saw Zheng Shuming, the beautiful widow of Jiangba, the alliance master of the Great River Alliance, who had been defeated by Ba Fenghan earlier. She was smiling sweetly as she barred their way about twenty zhang ahead. On both sides of her various martial art masters from various schools and sects under the Alliance appeared continuously. The two boys mind travelled at the speed of light; they immediately shot up toward the roof of the building to their left. Amidst the tenderughter, the Amorous Nun Chang Zhen, whom they have not seen for a long time, appeared from behind the roof. Her sleeves, like a pair of ribbons, flew out to brush them away. The more than a dozen men alsounched their secret projectiles toward the two boys. The two boys cried out inwardly, calling for their Niang, as their good luck seemed to be deteriorating very fast. From the other side of the roof, the gigantic figure of the Evil Monk, Fa Nan, appeared. Holding his staff across his chest, he roared in wildughter and said, Why dont you, two kids, try to break through this side, guarded by pinseng [impoverished monk, referring to self]? Just this short dy was enough for Qian Duguan and his men to catch up, hence the two boys were immediately falling into a trap where all four sides were guarded by the enemies. The crowd backed off to free up arge tract of open space; everybody glowered angrily at the two boys. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood back to back; although on the surface they did not show the least bit of fear, deep in their heart they regretted endlessly. The reason they were caught in such plight was simply because they never expected that the four different powers would join hands to deal with them. It must be because the enemies could not find any trace of the three of them along the road heading north toward Luoyang, they concluded that the three must be still in the vicinity of Xiangyang, and thus they set up an inescapable, waiting for them to show up and enter the trap willingly. Also, their mind was upied with dealing with Yin Gui Pai, so that they were momentarily being negligence about everything else. Moreover, they had never anticipated that Qian Duguan would be their enemy, and thus theymitted this blunder. The Evil Monk Fa Nan was the most aggressive, plus he had an irreconcble enmity with the two boys. Leaping down onto the street, he held his staff toward the two boys, exuding a deep cold momentum. If it were someone else, he might be either trembling in fear, or abandoning his weapon and fled. However, knowing that hard fighting was inevitable, Kou Zhong gathered his thought, focusing his heart and mind and raised his Moon in the Well toward Fa Nan. Fa Nans pair of huge eyes shot a deep, cold and cruel light; they were fixed on Kou Zhong as he shouted, I want to take care of you, this kid, with my own hands; nobody is allowed toe up to help. Instantly Fa Nan rushed forward, his staff swept across ferociously. Xu Ziling calmly walked away; he stood proudly, a clear show that he would not interfere. Kou Zhongs strong wrist flicked, the Moon in the Well swiftly chopped out, unexpectedly he dared to meet Fa Nans more than a hundred catties steel staff head on. Dang! The saber and the staff collided; the noise shook everybodys eardrum. Against all expectation, not only Kou Zhongs saber did not fly away and the person perished by Fa Nans overbearing arms strength, Fa Nan, with a face full of shocked expression, even had to take half a step back. In the split second when the staff was jarred away, fast as lightning the Moon in the Wall in Kou Zhongs hand swept its second attack. Its speed was indeed hard to believe. The yellow light split the air and entered in, so fast that no one was able to see clearly. If it were more than ten days ago, Kou Zhong would not be able tounch such a torrential, overbearingly swift and fierce saber strike. But after ten days of arduously tempering himself against such a powerful opponent like Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong was able to utilize his spiraling energy to diffuse the unprepared Fa Nans staff power, and was still able to swiftlyunch a counterattack. While the crowd cried out in shock, the tail of Fa Nans staff swung back and barely managed to block Kou Zhongs earth-shattering saber strike. Letting out a stifled grunt, Fa Nan was forced to retreat about a zhang backward by the chop. Returning to the crowd besieging the two boys, his old face turned green from anger; his prestige took a severe beating. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, With such a tree-legged cats martial art you dared to show off your disgrace? Come on up together! Immediately more than a dozen men rushed forward. But Qian Duguan stepped out from among the crowd and shouted, Back off! Apparently his words still carried a lot of weight in everybodys eyes; the rushing men promptly halted their steps and withdrew. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stepped toward each other again, while groaning in their heart. Their present hope was that the situation would turn as chaotic as possible, because only in such confusion would they be able to find an opportunity to escape. Otherwise, if the opponents were using the tag-team tactic they used to deal with Ba Fenghan, they would be dragged into exhaustion and die. The enemies backed off some more, making the circle even bigger. On both sides of the street the people crowded the pedestrian paths, with the two boys standing in the middle of the street like a fish in the. Zheng Shuming came out from among the crowd some distance away opposite of Qian Duguans group. On her left and right were Ling Feng and Jin Bo. Laughing tenderly, Zheng Shuming said, Two kids who do not know the immensity of heaven and earth, unexpectedly you dare to oppose our Great River Alliance. This time, even if you grow wings it will still be difficult for you to escape. Letting out a coldugh, Kou Zhong said, Talk is cheap; send your men with real skill out, lets see who will be the first to have a round of all-out battle with the Ol Kou! Suddenly the crowd roared in anger; their voices reverberated along the entire street. Book 11 - 10 – Enlightenment By The Deep Pool In The Wilderness Book 11 Chapter 10 C Enlightenment By The Deep Pool In The Wilderness Qian Duguan shouted his order. Immediately more than twenty men in warrior outfit rushed forward. Sabers, spears, swords and halberds entangled the two boys in endless hard fighting. It was clearly a sea of people tactic to exhaust the two boys strength. Zheng Shuming shouted tenderly, from among the martial art masters of the Great River Alliance, a dozen of men came out to join the battle. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood back-to-back, gnashing their teeth and met the wave after wave of violent attack that came like tidal torrent. Xu Ziling sent out a punch and a palm strike at the same time, while fast as lightning his two legs flew in chain kicks; three men instantly hit and were thrown away, and died on the spot. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well waved to the left and dance to the right. The saber did not miss at all; everywhere the yellow light arrived, someone was hit and fell to the ground. It was an extremely bitter battle. Xu Ziling had just hacked down his palm over an empty air and seized a spear; in a fluid motion he swept a man, along with his sword, and knocked him down that he was unable to crawl back up. And then he called out, Zhong Shao, a move without any movement. Letting out a wild roar, Kou Zhong sidestepped; not only to evade a chopping down ax, he cut off two spears as well, and kicked another enemy and sent him flying. Xu Ziling followed him moving sideways, his left palm hacked down on empty air, sending out a burst of vortex of qi. The man he hit was whirled and thrown some distance away. With another strike of the spear he swept a thousand-army [i.e. total annihtion]; his move was unpredictable. Three enemies that did not have time to evade were hit on their chest and abdomen; blood sshed, the enemies fell down to the ground. Because of this move, the entire siege was thrown into confusion, unlike previously where they were organized in tight formation. Feeling the pressure was greatly diminished, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not hesitate; immediately they exploited the gap and let their hands and feet had free reins. Kou Zhongs saber moved like the wind; it was faster than shing lightning as it danced and leaped unhindered among the crowd. Wherever the Moon in the Well shed, an enemy would scream miserably and was thrown away, leaving a mess of dead bodies scattered everywhere. Xu Zilings vortex of energy shot out from the spear in his hand, prating an enemys wooden shield and through the pit of his stomach, while like a fantasy both of his hands turned into myriad of palm shadows, attacking the enemies that they fell face up, and their hearts and guts turned cold. Qian Duguan and the others actually already held a high regard on these two boys, yet they never expected they could be this overbearing; momentarily they were reluctant to personally join the fight. They only ordered their men to continuously enter the arena to exhaust the two boys strength. In a moment like this, where they had their lives at stake, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were having the result of their ten-plus days of hard training in full disy. In terms of internal energy and external strength, hands, eyes, ears, and footwork, everything worked seamlessly together. The most shocking thing to the enemies watching around the arena was that oftentimes their moves seemed to fall into empty space, but it was in as day that the enemies seemed to be drawn into that very spot and had their attacks directed to this empty move, without having the power to counter at all. Those with superior insight naturally could see that the boys were one step ahead of the enemys attack path. Yet they had to ask themselves whether in the midst of such an intense battle they would be able to see through the opponents move, and even if they could, it would still be difficult to do as the boys did, that in such time and position they were able to grasp the enemys movement so urately, so that even though realizing they were about to throw away their life, there was not enough time to change their move. In the blink of an eye, there were approximately thirty dead and wounded scattered on the ground. Clearly the battle was very intense. The Evil Monk Fa Nan and Amorous Nun Chang Zhens demonic character was aroused by the scene unfolding before their eyes; they rushed forward to enter the arena, and thus increasing the intensity of the attack. By this time it was inevitable that the two boys body was covered in wounds, its just that in this critical juncture, they relied heavily on their subtle movements and the qi protecting their bodies that they avoided serious injury, and minimized the lethality of the enemys weapon reaching their body. After fending off a round of violent attack from Fa Nan, two more wounds appeared on Kou Zhongs body. Spinning around, he swept five, six enemies. But then he was hit by Chang Zhens ravishing colored clothes, who attacked him sneakily, and was thrown toward Xu Ziling behind him. Both boys body was blood-soaked from head to toe, but for the most part it was the enemys blood that was sshing on them. Peng! Xu Zilings fist met Chang Zhens colored sleeves, who was flying overhead, shaking her so bad that she was thrown outside the arena. Realizing that they could not hold on much longer, he bellowed, Follow me! And soared away in the direction of where Chang Zhen was falling. Kou Zhong drew a circle of yellow light, sweeping the enemies all around that they scurried away like wolves and scampered like rats, that even Fa Nan was forced to back off. And then with a somersault he followed behind Xu Ziling. High up in the sky, Xu Ziling shot two stands of finger wind toward Chang Zhens beautiful eyes, who was pulling her clothes as she floated back, hoping to force a gap from her as she dealt with the attack. But a sword wind shot from the side. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; his left hand cut down. Bang! The attacker let out a tender grunt and floated away. Turned out it was the beautiful widow Zheng Shuming, who so far has not made her move. Her sword was extremely swift and fierce, plus Xu Ziling did not use his full strength, hence he was knocked down to the side, and his grand n of escaping to the back of the roof was shattered. From this, it could clearly be seen how astute this woman was. Getting a chance to catch her breath, Chang Zhen turned her colorful clothes into a clump of flying clouds, shooting toward Kou Zhong, who was still somersaulting in the air. Kou Zhong had just blocked two spears that were thrown toward him, he did not have any strength left to deal with Chang Zhens full of true qis colored clothes. Realizing the critical moment, he dropped down back to the ground, and once again entered the seemingly never-ending battle. A powerful qi approached from the left, Jin Bo and Ling Feng reentered the besieging crowd, spurring a new round of attack. By this time both ends of the main street were full of people rallying to boost the enemys morale. Were it not for the two boys unswerving determination, their spirit would have been deted early on and their will to fight would have been gone. But the prospect was clearly not beneficial to their side. As soon as Xu Zilingnded on the ground, Qian Duguans double-edged de attacked him head on. As the city master of Xiangyang, naturally his skill was extremely strong, plus Xu Ziling was exhausted after fighting with all his might, and he had to deal with the attack of the other martial art masters besieging him. Thereupon he was instantly forced to adopt the defensive position, and could only defend an extremely narrow territory as he passively reacted to violent attack from the enemies on four sides and eight directions. Bang! Xu Zilings palm cut in an empty space. Even with his ability, Qian Duguan was unable to change his move, one after another his double des seemed to deliver themselves right to the point where his palm was chopping down. It was the optimum situation Xu Ziling could hope for after exhausting his thought, exhausting his knowledge; borrowing the reaction force of the impact, he flipped over backward, and swooped toward Kou Zhong. Suddenly he felt searing pain on his calf, yet it was unclear who cut him. This moment Kou Zhong was besieged by Chang Zhen, Fa Nan, Ling Feng, Jin Bo, Zheng Shuming, and the other martial art masters. He should have returned to the western paradise early on, fortunately each strike of his saber carried a burst of spiraling true energy, plus he was quick-witted and very resourceful, and had mastered the Yijian Technique, so that the enemy waspletely at a loss on how to deal with his heavenly steed soaring across the skies saber strikes, so that he was able to hold on to this moment. As soon as Xu Ziling arrived, he forced Chang Zhen to back off with a punch first, and then shouted, Lets go! Kou Zhong roared. The person and his strength fused into one, he shot straight toward Ling Feng. Although Ling Feng had his pair of spears in front of him, but the internal injury he suffered earlier had significantly affect his strength to go all out. Shocked, he hastily sidestepped. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Thank heavens and thank the Earth! while gathering the little strength he had left to charge through the dozen or so Qian Duguans men swarming toward him. Amidst a series of shing noises, the men staggered and fell backward and sideways, so that a gap appeared within the enemys line of defense. Qian Duguan, who was soaring in the air to pursue, shouted, Up! From among the crowd lining the street, about a dozen men responded. Spears and sabers rose up to block Kou Zhongs escape route. Xu Ziling took a palm strike from Zheng Shuming, but he managed to kick Jin Bo, sending him flying to the side, before shing behind Kou Zhong. Stretching out both palms, he gave Kou Zhongs back a push. Kou Zhong was ustomed to work together with him; reaching back, he grabbed Xu Zilings forearm, together the two boys immediately soared at an angle, over the enemies, toward the roof ahead. Swish! Swish! The enemies on the roof immediately shot their arrows toward the two boys. Kou Zhong mustered the little true qi remaining in his body and transferred it into Xu Zilings, while using thest ounce of his strength to throw Xu Ziling away. Xu Ziling knew it was the critical moment between life and death, he quickly gathered the two persons true qi together and transported it into Kou Zhongs body, so that this one throw was full of explosive strength. Xu Ziling flew with his back first so that he was facing backward, while pulling Kou Zhong along that the two of them were flying far away together. The arrows flitted across the two boys, missing their body just by a hairsbreadth. Qian Duguan and the others pursuing behind them had never imagined that the two boys were able to exchange qi mid-air, and that they were able to use such a strange move of changing a fall into a rise up in the air. They rushed at thin air in profusion. Hand in hand, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong already left the enemy on the roof far behind, and soon they disappeared without any trace. Although Qian Duguan and the others still pursued with all their might, inwardly they knew that the chance of catching up with the two boys was next to nothing. Chapter 10 - Part 2 By the time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling entered the little valley where they escaped from the enemy with Ba Fenghan, they were very close to copsing; their footsteps already faltered. There were two reasons why they came here. First of all, it was because they had no strength left to run farther. Secondly, if Ba Fenghan seeded in evading the pursuing troops, he woulde here to rendezvous with them. Even without prior agreement, he should have known this. One after another the two boys staggered toward the small pool under the waterfall, and dropped down on their butts dejectedly. Raising his right hand, Kou Zhong said, Ol Ba said that when our strength is exhausted our qi is gone, we must not lie down to sleep; instead, we must use supreme willpower to restore power, forcing ourselves to hold on. This is the key to skill refinement. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If we lost too much blood, must we also doggedly endure that? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Fengshi Han did not teach us that one trick. Ay! I wonder if that kid has been ughtered? I thought he would be here sooner than we are. Suddenly Xu Ziling stood up shakily. First he took the secret books he got from Lu Miaozi and hid them between the crevice of the rock, and then he leaped into the middle of the pond and said, When we escaped from Xiangyang a moment ago, we even forgot the moon in the well; it felt like every strand of our nerves was as taut as the bowstring. Wed better take advantage of this moment to copy Fengshi Han by training secret power under the waterfall to be amazing. If it really works, every time we did not die, well train his Niang like this. Kou Zhongughed so hard that he coughed a mouthful of blood. Crawling up, he took out several books given by Lu Miaozi from his bosom, and said with augh, We must not soak these treasures. And then, like Xu Ziling, he hid the books in the crevices among the rocks. Ssh! Kou Zhong, along with his saber, plunged into the small pond. Instantly the water turned red. Xu Ziling roared inughter, and then he coughed, before finally waded toward the waterfall. Like two little kids, the boys you crowd in me, I push on you under the waterfall, resisting the pain all over their body, withstanding the dizziness that wanted to drag them to lie down, letting the waterfall pounding on their heads. The bright moon appeared along the top of the eastern ridge of the peak, casting its light into the valley at an angle, creating shadows of the trees on the bottom of the valley. The droplets of water sshing on the two boys body looked like specks of golden light; it was such an impressive spectacle. Having been through mortal danger and escaped alive, the two boys were suddenly able to see this wonderful sight, especially the subtle little things that they normally missed, so that momentarily they were dumbstruck, and subconsciously their entire body rxed, and their mind felt carefree and without worries, their spirit also felt so peaceful. Their back became even more perfectly straight, their spirit bright and clear; other than the physical objects visible in their eyes, there was nothing else. It was a feeling that they had never experienced before. It was not like the selflessness state they reached when they were sitting in meditation before, but more like the spaces on the outside and the inside were suddenly linked, so that they could percept the unfathomable mystery of the universe, and could grasp some kind of inexpressible power. True qi converged. The essence of the Heaven and the Earth separately entered Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings meridians via the tianling [on top of the head], and the yongquan [at the sole of the feet], two acupoints. The two boys did not dare to speak; with all their might they tried to maintain this too-wonderful-for-words state of mind. Nobody knows how much time has passed, when the sound of footsteps suddenly woke the two boys up. Opening their eyes at the same time, they saw a tall shadow from the entrance of the valley swaying and staggering straight toward the pond, before it knelt down dejectedly, and while gasping for breath, casting its eyes toward the two boys under the waterfall. To their astonishment, it was Ba Fenghan, who was covered in blood from head to toe. While the two boys were looking at each other, Ba Fenghan spat out a mouthful of blood, pointed his finger at them, and said with augh, If I had not turned back to look for you, I would not have encountered that b1tch [poniang, woman] Zheng Shuming, and would not have suffered such a serious injury. Before finished speaking, he already rolled down into the pond, and stretched out his limbs in like a [da, big] character as he floated on the surface of the water. Kou Zhong called out to remind him, Dont sleep! Xu Ziling added, Youd bettere here and endure the water for a while! Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Just let me take a couple of breaths first, only a living person can have the advantage of enjoying fresh air! Tuoba Yu, Chunyu Wei, plus those eighteen muddled eggs trained by Bi Xuan, beat me so bad that even my eggs were nearly popped out. Were it not for the ten days of hard training, how could I, after taking down five , still be able to break my way out of the siege? Ha! Kou Zhong roared inughter. And then, signaling Xu Ziling, the two of them got out from under the waterfall, waded to where Ba Fenghan was floating, grabbed his hands and feet, and dragged him away. Ignoring his protest, they pulled him toward the waterfall, and forced him to stand up straight underneath the falling water. The two boys had never touched and yed with Ba Fenghan without any scruple like this before; the feeling was fresh and interesting. Ba Fenghan was exhausted and amused at the same time; struggling hard to keep his imposing physique erect, he closed his eyes and circted his internal energy to treat his injury. Seeing this disy of staunch willpower, the two boys could not help feeling admiration. They also continued circting their qi to train. The moon slowly climbed up to its zenith, before slowly descending toward the western wall of the valley. From time to time they heard faint whinnying horses in the distance, but in this ce there was only serenity and peace, like the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss that stood aloof from worldly affairs. In the darkest hour before the dawn, a human shadow, so ghostlike because whether it was real or simply an illusion was difficult to tell, floated into the valley. The three men instinctively reacted; they opened their eyes. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling blurted out almost at the same time, Wanwan! Ba Fenghans heart shivered in fear as well, because with their current condition, this was the worst possible time toe across Wanwan. Book 11 - 11 – Chance Encounter with Li Mi Book 11 Chapter 11 C Chance Encounter with Li Mi Lowering his voice, Ba Fenghan whispered in the two boys ears, Retreat inside, we wont have to worry about being seen. The two boys followed him inside, leaning against the smooth mountain wall, the waterfall was like a curtain hiding them. Unless one was to pass through the waterfall, there is no chance anybody could find them. Wanwan stepped over the mouth of the valley, she examined the ground for any traces. Lightly shaken, Kou Zhong said, She was following the bloodstain to this ce; we are too careless. Ba Fenghan coldly and calmly said, Bloodstain has no direction, we might came here or perhaps already left. Who could have thought that after being hurt so badly we could still stay underneath the waterfall drenching ourselves? The rumbling of the waterfall served as instion for their voices, plus they were whispering in each others ear, hence they did not need to worry that Wanwan outside would hear them. Meanwhile Wanwan already floated to the edge of the pond. After sweeping the area around with her eyes, she fixed her gaze on the deep water. The three men immediately closed their eyes, and looked at her through the slit between their eyelids, afraid that their eyes would show any reaction when they looked face to face with her, while at the same time they used their internal energy to suppress the heat and the essence of qi emitted by their bodies, so that it would not catch her attention. Ba Fenghan has never seen Wanwan before, immediately he was ovee with breathtaking feeling. Her beauty was definitely unique; a beauty that would make people holding their breath, like a fairy thate and go in the night. Her countenance carried some kind of pure, wless beauty and charisma; even after looking at her left and right, he could not imagine her as a female demon who inflict suffering to other people. The most fascinating thing about her was her pair of vast and hazy-like-a-fog eyes, eyes that seemed to contain endless sweet dreams, eyes that seemed to be expecting and waiting for you to explore. Any subtle change of her expression was so gripping, making people find it difficult to contain himself. Her graceful figure, her charming good looks, everything about her emphasis her beauty without the least bit of blemish. Wanwan suddenly fixed her gaze on the waterfall. If they were ordinary martial art masters, inevitably they would be startled and their heartbeat would speed up, which would definitely alert Wanwan. But these three were top quality martial art masters who were exquisite inside and out. Their bodily function did not reveal any reaction at all. Light gust of wind was heard. Suddenly a tall, thin middle-aged man dressed in schrly attire appeared by Wanwans side. This mans face was white, clean-shaven, confident and at ease, handsome, brimming with mature masculine charm. His eyes opened and closed like lightning shes. He stood proudly with hands behind his back, with some kind of distinguished and aplished confidence, proud and aloof above the crowd. Without Ba Fenghan needed to point it out, the two boys immediately recognized the man to be Mo Yin, Bian Bufu [see Book 11 Chapter 8], because his facial feature was unusually simr to Shan Wanjings. Wanwan saluted and said, Bian Shishu [martial (younger) uncle], how are you? We are one step toote! Her deep and low voice was sweet-tempered and touching. Even though the three men knew very well that she was the most terrifying female demon in Jianghu, they still wished to hear her say a few more words. Bian Bufus eyes flickered with spirited light as he swept his gaze around, and then said with a cold humph, They are heavily injured, where could they go? Wanwans soft voice replied, There are still traces of blood by the pond, evidently they have been here washing their wounds. What does Bian Shishu think we should do next? Bian Bufu spoke heavily, We must use everything we have and spare nothing in killing these three boys, otherwise, how could we live with this resentment? And then he continued coldly, Chang Zhen and Fa Nan are really useless. If those idiots had waited for our arrival before making their move, those three kids would have gone to theher world early on. Wanwan lightly said, These past twenty years, Wanwan has never seen Shishu losing your temper like this. Shishu rest assured! Leave this matter to Wanwan, I guarantee they wont have too many days to live. Bian Bufuughed aloud and said, With you, Wanwan, personally in charge, Shishu is extremely relieved. These three are rare talents of the Wulin world; in terms of wisdom and martial art skill, they are extremely remarkable. Wanwan, you may consider the hunt for them as a step in your training. Shishu will be entirely at yur disposal. Ha! Wanwan, how are you going to thank me? Listening to this, the three men behind the waterfall were astonished; how could a martial uncle use this kind of teasing tone when speaking with his martial niece? But thinking about demon cult people did not follow conventional reasons in their conducts, and did not regard proper morality in human rtionships; they did not feel it strange. Wanwan revealed a sweet, tender and soft smile, with a bit of coquettish and moving manner, as she replied, Shishu is doing it again! Dont forget that before my decisive battle with Shi Feixuan, Wanwan must maintain my pure yin character! Bian Bufu replied softly, Of course not! I am just reminding you! Rather than giving the advantage to an outsider, you might as well give your red pill to Shishu. Wanwan threw her gaze toward the pond water again. Her eyes shot a chilling and wistful look, as if her mind was in another space and time. Bian Bufu affectionately patted her fragrant shoulder and said, Almost dawn; lets go! Looking at the two of them disappeared outside the Valley, the three men breathed a sigh of relief. Tongue-tied, Kou Zhong murmured, If they examined the area a bit more, they could have found the treasure books Xiao Ling and I hid in the rock crevices. Is it the Secret to Long Life? Ba Fenghan asked. Of course not, Xu Ziling replied, A certain old mister gave us some books onndscape design, architecture, military strategy and tactics, and the like. If Ba Xiong is interested, please feel free to borrow it. Obviously Ba Fenghan was not interested. He said, Right now, the safest ce to hide is precisely inside this waterfall. You guys better get out and hide those books first, and thene back here. We are going to recuperate here, and tonight well think of a way to strike back. Humph! We must take out the old thief Bian and female demon Wan first, and then take care of the rest one by one. I, Ba Fenghan, am not that easy to be trifled with. The horizon gradually turned pale. Even before noon, there were several Wulin characters came to the small valley, but nobody could find them. After the sun set, the three of them got out of the waterfall with bright qi and clear spirit; they felt that their physical strength has beenpletely restored. The only fly in the ointment was that they were soaked wet from head to toe, and that their clothes were tattered. Sitting down on a rock by the pond, Kou Zhong sighed in regret, If we did not leave the clothes at the restaurant, we would have changed into new clothes by now. Ba Fenghan stared at him for a moment, and then while stroking the Beheading Mysterious resting on his knees, he asked, Hows your injury? Wiping the water dripping down from his hair, Xu Ziling replied, Should be seventy, eighty-percent recovered. Two or three days more, and we should be a hundred percent recovered. Ba Fenghan was silent for half a day. Finally he sighed and said, The Secret to Long Life is indeed amazing. Merely its ability to heal injury, none of the other so-called divine skill can match. Kou Zhong could not help asking, Hows yours? Ba Fenghan cheerfully replied, Fortunately you, two guys, pulled me by force to the waterfall to circte my qi and move my energy, which not only avoided a fatal disaster, it sped up the healing process as well. Now I am more than fifty-percent recovered. As long as I momentarily avoid martial art expert like female demon Wan or Bian Bufu, the others are not even worth Ol Bas consideration. Troubled, Xu Ziling said, I hope Yu Yi did not fall into their hands. Kou Zhong replied, Listening to their tone, they had not captured Yu Yi yet; otherwise, it would be enough to use Yu Yi to lure us out. And then, turning to Ba Fenghan he asked, Are you sure Princess Dongming is Bian Bufus daughter? Wanjing did not tell me right out, Ba Fenghan admitted, There must be some embarrassing scandal in it. But looking at Wanjings expression when mentioning Bian Bufu, it was clear that she had deep hatred and loathness toward this father. She even said that she wanted to kill him with her own hands. Listening to that, the two boys were staring nkly. Ba Fenghan suddenlyughed in a very rxed manner, We might as well return to Xiangyang; other than to find two sets of new clothes, we can also teach that idiot Qian Duguan a lesson. While we are at it, we can also try to seize a fast boat per our original n to take us north to Luoyang, and establish our power under the heavens; wouldnt it be delightful? Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, Those are precisely what I have in mind. Dodging to the left and hiding to the right, that is the true quality of a real man. Who is daring enough may release his horse ande out! Frowning, Xu Ziling said, If we keep in the light while the enemy is hiding in the dark, wont we be at the disadvantage position and could only wait passively to be beaten? Thats the reason why I wanted to take a boat to go north, Ba Fenghan replied, By the time they find out, it will take a lot of time for them to catch up with us; it wont be as easy as gathering a mob onnd to besiege us. If necessary, we can lure them to pursue us onnd, and then we can think of a way to defeat them. The initiative ispletely in our hands. pping his chest, Kou Zhong guaranteed, I am master helmsman. As long as the boat has a good performance, I can break away from any enemys vessel. Chapter 11 - Part 2 Hearing that, Xu Ziling could only shake his head. Ba Fenghan stood up and said, All right! We return to the city now, then well still have a bit of time to sleep. Qian Duguan is filthy rich; other than his main residence inside the city, he also has other courtyards everywhere, plus golden houses to keep his mistresses. We are going to go to his most beloved concubine Bai Jingers residence, the Hidden rity Pavilion, to make some trouble for an evening. If Qian Duguan came to visit the Bai beauty, that will be the moment his bad luck arrive. How do you know Old Qians business so clearly? Kou Zhong asked in amazement. Ba Fenghan replied nonchntly, Because I have received five hundred taels of gold to take the head above his neck. Its just that I have not had a chance to kill him! Hearing that, the two boys looked at each other in astonishment; they started to understand a little bit how Ba Fenghan sought his livelihood. The three of them jumped over the wall, and saw unbroken line of houses, with faint noise of dogs barking in the distance. In the dead of the night, the only light they saw came from one towering building and its main hall. Ba Fenghan said, This residence is divided into two courtyards, inner and outer. The outer courtyard has vicious dogs guarding it, but because Bai Qinger is afraid of dogs, her people did not let the dogs enter the inner courtyard. Lets go! The three men soared into the air, crossing several buildings, over the inner wall, and reached the big garden inside the inner courtyard. They saw pavilions and gazebos, and a small bridge over running water. Under the moonlight, the quiet and secluded garden was like a picture of serenity; a beautiful and touching scenery. The three held their breath and listened carefully. After making sure that there was no one in the wing room on the building to their left, they crossed the garden, and entered in through the window. Turned out this room was a big study room; therge desk had the Four Treasures of the Study [i.e. brush, ink, paper and ink stone], as well as a stack of fine writing paper and other stuff. All four walls were full of calligraphy and painting; the entire room was brimming with schrly atmosphere. Smiling, Ba Fenghan said, I forgot to tell you that the Old Qians Bai beauty is an expert in painting and calligraphy. You two wait here for a moment, I am going to steal three sets of clothes and will be back soon. After Ba Fenghan left from the window, the two boys walked over to two couches on the corner andy downfortably. Recalling the fierce battle just the previous day,pared to the leisurely and carefree moment of right now, the difference was like the heaven and the earth. Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh and said, Nothing is too bizarre in this world; can you imagine that we would share trials and tribtion, would join hands and advance and retreat together with Fengshi Han like this? Xu Ziling muttered, I still think that the Ol Ba is the kind of man who could turn his face against anybody and show no mercy at any time, a man with callous character. Walking with him, whether it is a blessing or a curse, it is still difficult to predict. Letting out a cold humph, Kou Zhong said, Our partnership is based merely onmon immediate interest. As long as we are careful, what can he do to us? At the Dahong Mountain the other day, I really think that he genuinely wanted to kill you, only I do not know why he suddenly changed his mind. Xu Ziling said, This man is hovering between upright and evil, his conduct is difficult to fathom, we definitely must guard against him. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement. This moment Ba Fenghan returned. Tossing two sets of clothes to them, he said, Quickly change, I think the Old Du will be here tonight, because two of Bai beautys personal maids are preparing swallows nest soup, but the amount is enough to feed ten people. The two boys spirit was greatly aroused; they got up and changed clothes. After putting on their fresh warrior outfit, all three men found out that the clothes were a bit too small. Ba Fenghan smiled wryly and said, These are thergest clothes I could find. Does that mean our build is just bigger than average men? It does have its advantages and drawbacks! The two boys also found it amusing andughed. Kou Zhong was about to speak, when suddenly they heard voices from the direction of the front courtyard. The three focused their attention to listen; they recognized one of those voices belonged to Qian Duguan. A deep, cold murderous intention shed in Ba Fenghans eyes; with his right hand he made a chopping gesture. Kou Zhong moved toward the window to peek outside. He saw more than a dozen people walking along the promenade toward the building they were in. Leading the procession were Qian Duguan and a big and tall man with a peculiar look; his long hair was draped over his shoulders. Overwhelmed with shock, Kou Zhong stepped back. Li Mis here! he blurted out. Even with the kind of guts that Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling had, they could not stop their countenance from changing. Book 12 - 1 – Free Talk Between Major Powers Book 12 Chapter 1 C Free Talk Between Major Powers The three had never expected they would encounter Li Mi in this ce; immediately their carefullyid out n went out the window. Li Mi was among the world-renowned martial art masters; his fame for fighting prowess was even above Du Fuweis, the number of capable people under hismand was countless. Even though the three of them had high self-confidence, the only thing in their mind right now was how to slip away quietly, and not how to settle their score with Qian Duguan. ording to reason, if Qian Duguan wanted to entertain such an esteemed guest, he ought to have his household maids and servants lining up in formation. Yet presently he did not even send anybody to clean up, plus the preparation was severelycking. No doubt Li Mis visit this time was strictly confidential. Unfortunately the three men identally found out about it. What could be so important that they had to discuss it? Li Mi was a man skilled in military tactics and trickery, his scheme to have Zhai Rang murdered was just one spot on the leopard. Yet despite his busy schedule he still made time to see Qian Duguan. Whatever it was, it must be something extremely important. Ba Fenghan called out in low voice, Lets go! They areing here. Kou Zhong swept his gaze. Finally his eyes stopped at arge wardrobe standing at the corner of the study room. He said, You go find a ce to hide outside, I want to listen to whatever they have to say. Fast as lightning he moved to the wardrobe, which reached up to eight chi in height, opened the door, and saw that the inside of the wardrobe was stuffed full of rolls of paper; there was no way Kou Zhong could fit himself there. Kou Zhong did not dare to be negligence. He picked up onerge roll of paper and stuffed it in Xu Zilings bosom, who had juste to his side. Ba Fenghan understood immediately; he also rushed over and picked up anotherrge roll of paper, and then the two of them, carrying rolls of paper that weighed approximately a hundred catty, left from another window on the side. Kou Zhong barely had time to find a ce where he could fit in and closed the door when Qian Duguan pushed the door and came in. It was indeed a hairbreadth escape. Were it not for the fact that the three men were superior martial art masters, it would be strange indeed if Li Mi did not detect their presence. Inside the wardrobe, took a deep breath and restraint the qi within his body, entering the breathing system of the Secret to Long Life, so that his bodily function slowed down considerably to avoid Li Mis perception. Qian Duguans voice was heard on the outside, Mi Gong [Duke Mi], please sit down! Followed by the sound of everybody sitting down. Kou Zhong pricked up his ear and listened carefully. Judging from the sound of the breathing, there were only five people inside the study room. Needless to say, the other three must be extraordinary characters. He could not help feeling very proud of himself, thinking that although Li Mis perception was higher than the heavens, he still did not imagine that there was someone else a step ahead of them hiding inside the study room. His only hope right now was that Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan also evaded their detection. Li Mis breathing was strong, fine and long, and rxed. The other twos breathing seemed to be there, yet seemed to be nonexistent as well; a clear sign that these twos martial art skill was not too far below Li Mis. Simply this one discovery was enough to shock Kou Zhong. Li Mis firm, yet deep and low voice was heard outside the wardrobe, This Hidden rity courtyard is elegant and secluded, he said with augh, It is like the outer-worldly Peace Blossom Spring in the midst of bustling marketce. Qian Xiong really knows how to enjoy life. Qian Duguanughed aloud and said, Mi Gong indeed have singr insight; in just one nce you already see through Xiaodi. Since childhood I am the kind of person whock ambitions, my only hope was to live in gentle and soft vige, simply going through life in happiness. Gentlemen please do notugh at me. Kou Zhong cursed in his heart, because if Qian Duguan was really that kind of person, he would not have be the City Master of Xiangyang. And the previous day he would not have besieged Xu Ziling and him. What he said was to dere his position; on one hand, he told Li Mi that he would not contend for the world against Li Mi, on the other hand, he wanted to put himself in a more favorable situation in the uing negotiation. Killing two birds with one stone; a rather effective strategy. A young sounding male voiceughed and said, Qian Chengzhu [city master] really know how to be modest. I hear that Chengzhu has ten-thousand matters to attend to in daily basis, that one time you have work nonstop without sleeping for seven days and nights, without leaving your office for even half a step. Your energetic vigos is truly admirable. Surprisingly, it was Xu Shijis voice. On the surface it sounded as if he was ttering Qian Duguan, but he actually hinted that they knew Qian Duguans situation like the back of their hands, and thus suggesting Qian Duguan not to y games with them. Clearing his throat, Qian Duguan said in amazement, That was when the Ol Qian has just taken over Xiangyang; I am surprised that Xu Junshi [military counselor/advisor] has such a fast and abundant newswork. Li Mi spoke indifferently, That is because we have extremely high expectation of Qian Chengzhu, hence we pay close attention to Chengzhus affair. Qian Duguanughed aloud and said, To be able to catch Mi Gongs attention, Ol Qian is deeply honored. My only hope is that the Ol Qian will not disappoint Mi Gong. And then, heaving a deep sigh, he went on, Ol Qian was hoping that meeting Mi Gong this time I can offer you two great gifts; its a pity that the enterprise is ruined for the sake of one basketful, unexpectedly those two kids slipped away. Two cold snorts were heard simultaneously; one was sharp, the other deep and low, but both were brimming with disdain. Evidently these were the other two people who had not spoken yet. Even inside the wardrobe, Kou Zhongs ears were buzzing from the snort; clearly these two were martial art masters of internal energy, and their skill level was quite superior. Obviously Qian Duguan was a bit unhappy; his voice turned cold as he said, Fortunately now the Changbai Pai [Changbai is a mountain range northeast of China] two teachers Fu Zhen and Fu Yan whose names shook the northern desert [or Outer Mongolia] have personally arrived; in my humble opinion, these two despicable fellows days are numbered. While Kou Zhong was specting who in the world were Fu Zhen and Fu Yan, Li Mi changed the topic by saying, I hear Ba Fenghan is hanging around with them. This Tujue man is the Western Regions most outstanding and brimming-with-talent martial art master after Bi Xuan. Also he is very ruthless; killing people as easy as breathing, so rxed, free and easy. Hence we must tread carefully. This man spoke in a way that was neither servile nor overbearing; not only it demonstrated his vision, it also showed modesty in his prudence. He truly deserved his reputation as the most charismatic and respected leader of the present age. The man with the sharp voice spoke coldly, Mi Gong, please set your heart at ease. In dealing with anybody, we, two brothers, have never been negligence of our heavy responsibility. Kou Zhong shivered in fear; inwardly he wanted that man to look down on him, which would make dealing with themter a lot easier. Li Mi said cheerfully, With Fu Zhen Laoshi [teacher] giving us his words, those three boys are dead for sure! Qian Chengzhu, do you have any valuable advice you could offer the two teachers? With these words, not only he ttered both Qian Duguan and the Fu brothers, he also reduced the distance between the two, Qian and Fu, parties, and built a bridge connecting the three men. Indeed Li Mi was an outstanding leader. Qian Duguan sighed and said, Not that I want to exaggerate the two kids power and prestige, but the most formidable thing about them is that their style is highly unconventional with constant permutation; strange technique and ultimate skill emerged one after another. Their powerful spiraling true qi is even more difficult to deal with. Xu Shiji ruthlessly said, Killing them demands immediate action. Because there has never been anybody who trained the Secret to Long Life could produce martial art like they do, and they are improving every day. If we do not seize this opportunity to kill them, and they divulge the secret of Duke Yang Treasure to Li Shimin, it will cause no end of trouble for us. A big question mark suddenly appeared in Kou Zhongs heart: why would Xu Shiji think that he might divulge the secret of Duke Yang Treasure to Li Shimin? Fu Yan spoke in his deep and low voice, My Dage is an expert in tracking skill, even that treacherous banding Wang Bo has to step down gracefully. As long as we can follow their trail, I guarantee Mi Gong will have nothing to worry about. Li Mi spoke heavily, In that case I will have to request two teachers to do just that. But it would be best if we could catch up with them before they reach Luoyang. Otherwise, once they entered Wang Shichongs sphere of influence, it would be difficult for us to gather manpower to hunt and kill them openly. Fu Zhen and Fu Yan loudly gave their promise. Li Mi let out a powerful but sweet-soundingughter. And then he sighed and said, To be able to unload my mind freely with Qian Chengzhu is a pleasure in Li Mis life. Come! Let Li Mi toast Qian Chengzhu a cup first. Kou Zhong knew Li Mi was going to pour out even bigger scheme; his spirit was greatly aroused. Hastily he focused his mind to listen carefully. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were hiding inside the dense foliage of an old locust tree. From their vantage point, they were able to see the tightly guarded study room far below. They put the two rolls of paper inside underbrush under the tree. It was the first time that Xu Ziling was alone and in close proximity with this Tujue martial art master; a strange andplicated feeling grew in his heart. The rtionship between them was quite subtle. They were close, yet it also felt so far away; it was the case of people of talent appreciates one another, but there was also a feeling that they were inpetition with each other, so much so that there was a sense that they were enemies. Perhaps nobody could exin clearly the real situation between them. Ba Fenghan whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Dont you feel strange? The main hall, the side hall, or any other halls of the building in the inner courtyard are so much better suited to receive the guests, yet he came to the beloved concubines study room to have a high level talk. This does not make any sense at all. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, This is called catching other people by surprise. It can be clearly seen that Qian Duguan is afraid his meeting with Li Mi would be leaked out; hence even the maids and the servants are told to make themselves scarce. It is even clearer that what they are talking about tonight may have serious implication to the situation in all other ces. This must be bad. Perhaps Qian Duguan is about to get his entire city razed down and its people exterminated. Ba Fenghanughed involuntarily and said, He will be dead all right! Because your brother will not show him the least bit of pity, and will definitely not lend a hand to rescue him. Right this moment, almost at the same time the two boys were startled, and turned their heads to the building to their left. What happened was that there was originallyntern light at the small upstairs room in the middle, but now the light suddenly went off. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, That must be Bai beautys room. If I guess correctly, this Bai beauty is definitely not a simpleton, I even dare to say that she may be a spy sent by Yin Gui Pai to prate Xiangyang. Xu Ziling could not help thinking about Yuaner, the spy Li Tianfan sent to the Flying Horse Ranch; both had exactly the same motives and used exactly the same means. Evidently beauty was still considered the most powerful weapon, and not many men could pass this obstacle. Chapter 1 - Part 2 Has Ba Xiong seen her? he asked. Ba Fenghan nodded. Ive seen her once, he replied, But it was only after seeing Wanwan that I had this strange idea. Because Bai Qinger has some kind of peculiar characteristic; she very much resembles female demon Wan. Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, because he knew that Ba Fenghans perception was terrifyingly sharp. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Although her beauty cannot match Wanwans, there is a troubling, bone prating charm in her, which is bewitching the spirit and itching the heart. Thats why even a Jianghu veteran like Qian Duguan who are ustomed to see beautiful women also fell under her control. Xu Ziling turned his gaze back to the study room. Suddenly he noticed that the Fat Demon Jin Bo and Gold and Silver Spear Ling Feng have appeared among the guards; however, as if nothing happened, hemented, Perhaps we need to tell Qian Duguan about Fang Zetaos tragic fate, maybe he would be awakened. Ba Fenghan bitterly said, I still dont understand how did the Jianghuai Army, the Tiele people and Yin Gui Pai, three different factions, forge an alliance to join hands in this power struggle. His eyes also fell to the same ce, but naturally he did not recognize Jin Bo and Ling Feng. Slightly startled, he said, The number of martial art masters within Li Mis men is certainly as numerous as a cloud; assassinating Li Mi is definitely not an easy matter. They say that Wang Shichong offered ten thousand tael of gold for sessful assassination of Li Mi! Xu Ziling suddenly had a premonition; turning his gaze back to the small upstairs room, he was finally able to see the Bai beauty. Immediately he understood the stunning peculiar feeling Ba Fenghan said he experience the first time he saw Bai Qinger. Li Mi slyly said, Du Fuwei has taken Jingling, within the next few days he will go up north along the river, but Xiangyang has be the only thing in his way. What will Qian Chengzhu do in this situation? Inside the wardrobe, Kou Zhong cried in his heart, Formidable! Li Mi went straight to the point. In just a few words, he has hit Qian Duguans vital point, making it difficult for him to sidestep or have the strength to withstand. Sure enough, even an old fox like Qian Duguan was stumped that he stared nkly for half a day before finally smiling bitterly and said, Relying on the power avable to Ol Qian in the city, naturally our prospect is not too good. However, there is one thing that Ol Qian does not understand; I wish to ask for Mi Gongs enlightenment. Astounded, Li Mi asked, Qian Chengzhu, please speak forthrightly. Qian Duguan spoke in heavy voice, The reason Jingling fell was simply because the Flying Horse Ranch was facing the Four Big Bandits attack at the same time, and thus was powerless to render any help. Moreover, from the intelligence the Ol Qian gathered, the Four Big Bandits have inseparably close rtionship with Mi Gong. If this matter turns out to be true, why did Mi Gong let the Four Big Bandits did a big favor to Du Fuwei? As a matter of fact, Kou Zhong, who was hiding in a secret ce, has already thought about this question. Plus he knew for a fact that in the Four Big Bandits attack to the Flying Horse Ranch, Li Mis heir apparent, Li Tianfan and the pretty Junshi the Serpent And Scorpion Beauty Shen Luoyan were involved in the case. At first, just like Qian Duguan, he was unable to prate this mystery either, but now that Li Mi has personally arrived in Xiangyang, just like being awakened from a dream, it suddenly dawned on him the subtlety of this matter. Li Mi was a master strategist whose prestige shook the heavens; his ultimate goal was, quite naturally, the world [tianxia]. But the most pressing problem in his face right now is how to ovee Luoyangs Wang Shichong, and then consolidating both powers, he wanted to attack the Li ns father and son of Guanzhong. In this way his im of the rivers and mountains would be decided. Nowadays, although Li Mi had upied Xingyang, his route to advance to the west, either bynd or along the Yellow River, was cut off by Wang Shichong, so that Li Mi was unable to move a single step. Moreover, with Wangs army impeding him, Li Mi was powerless to attack the other militias. In the north, Liu Wuzhou and Dou Jiandes powers were dominant. The former even had the support of Tujues main forces, while thetters prestige was not inferior to Li Mis. If without careful consideration he started a war with them, he would only benefit Wang Shichong, by letting Wang Shichong to take advantage of thepse in the power bnce. Therefore, the most important thing for Li Mi right now was how to defeat Wang Shichong, how to take the Eastern Capital Luoyang; other matters would be secondary. Trouble is, Luoyang was well known throughout the world as having solid city walls, and the route toward it, both by water andnd, was dangerous. On top of that, Wang Shichongs martial art was outstanding, and he was an expert in the art of war, plus the Dugu n was behind him. The officers and soldiers serving under him were, for the most part, came from the former Sui army; they were very well-trained. Therefore, although Li Mi was highly capable, up until now, he was unable to do anything to Wang Shichong. Under these circumstances, if Li Mi wanted to take Luoyang, he must do so in a totally new situation; namely, he had to iste Wang Shichong, turning Luoyang into a lone city, and then Wagang Army would have hope in seeding. Li Mi was worthy to be called a brilliant military strategist; he took a risk by secretly directed the Four Big Bandits to coordinate their operation with Du Fuwei, to break the rtionship between the Flying Horse Ranch and Jingling, which was as close as lips and teeth, and as stable as iron bucket, and thus Jingling had fallen. At first Li Mi was counting his chickens before they were hatched; with his support, he let the Four Big Bandits upied the Flying Horse Ranch and the several big cities in its vicinity, and thus controlling Du Fuweis Jianghuai Army; however, there was a change beyond his control: Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling spoiled his grand n. With just this one thing, the entire north-south situation suddenly changed. Du Fuwei had acquired strong and solid foothold on the north; advanced he could attack, retreated he could defend. Even more, he could pose a direct threat to Xiangyang and Wang Shichongs terriroty as well. Previously, Qian Duguan was able to maintain Xiangyangs independence and autonomy, simply because all the major powers were at a stalemate, so that he was able to survive exploiting the gap while all sides were too busy with the power struggle. But now the situation was changing, fast. Qian Duguan was forced to take refuge to one of the major powers, to throw his lot to one who could offer him protection, and thus he no longer able to strike water right and left [i.e. reaping benefit from both sides]. This was precisely the situation Li Mi wanted to create; he wanted to force Qian Duguan to pick side, by luring him with huge profits, so that Li Mi, without shedding blood on the mens swords, would be able to obtain Xianguang, which would be a significant military base just south of Luoyang. In attacking Jingling, Du Fuweis loss was quite disastrous; for the time being he would not be able to advance north. But he would not give up nibbling on the other territories around. Therefore, as soon as Li Mi acquire Xiangyang, Wang Shichong would feel the enemys pressure on both sides, while at the same time he would have to deal with the battlefronts at the southeast. This would give Li Mi great benefit. This scheme of Li Mis was definitely ruthless, but absolutely necessary. Hence the reason Li Mi had to personallye here. Pretending to be surprised, Xu Shiji said, Surely Qian Chengzhu does not believe the rumor that we are helping Du Fuwei? Letting out a cold snort, Qian Duguan said, The wind from an empty cave must have its cause. Thats why the Ol Qian wish for Mi Gong to personally rify this matter. Wagang Army and the Four Big Bandits have no direct rtionship, Li Mi exined, However, we were already aware of the Four Big Bandits n of attacking the Flying Horse Ranch for a long time, and we even know who the provocateur was. Trying to exploit this opportunity, we wanted to carry out certain operation; unfortunately it was spoiled by those two despicable kids, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Listening to this, Kou Zhong could not help giving himself a kick in the butt inwardly. Now he was unsure if Li Mi did have any rtionship with the Four Big Bandits or not, much less Qian Duguan? Very faint footsteps suddenly appeared in the hall. Qian Duguan delightedly said, Shiru has finally arrived. Come and see Mi Gong! In his heart, Kou Zhong was greatly rmed. This neers footsteps were very light, a clear sign that in qinggong department, he must be rather superior; he could even be considered a top ranking martial art experts. Li Miughed aloud and said, Ive heard about the Henan [province] Mad Schr for a long time; today I finally see it. After a strong, longughter, Zheng Shiru slyly said, Mi Gong praised too much, Zaixia is ashamed and dare not ept the honor. And then there were some polite exchanges as they met each other for the first time. Kou Zhong wondered in his heart; listening to this Zheng Shiru, not only there was not the least bit of madness, he was rather modest and quite polite. Then why did he obtain the nickname Henan Mad Schr? It seemed like the nickname was inconsistent with his character. He also med himself for not having enough knowledge and experience that he had never heard about this persons name. Moreover, he was unclear what rtion this person had with Qian Duguan. After everybody in the hall was seated and after a round of toast, Qian Duguan briefly recounted his recent discussion with Li Mi. Zheng Shiru calmly said, Despite your busy schedule, this time Mi Gong personally came here; I wonder if your desire is in Luoyang, your aspiration is in Guanzhong? Delightedly Li Mi said, Zheng Xiong is certainly fast-thinking, fast-talking, but its no more than obtaining Gansu while desiring Sichuan [Trantors note: I am not too sure about this, but I believe it means insatiable greed. Li Mi has always followed the prescribed order; I will definitely not be reckless. Zheng Shiru spoke indifferently, There is one thing Zaixia does not understand. In the past Mi Gong inflict heavy losses on Luoyang Army, your advance route to the west was unimpeded with nothing in the way; why didnt you direct your army straight into Guanzhong, like Qin Shihuang establishing his stronghold at Guanzhong Mountains three rivers, and gained his supremacy as the Emperor? Wasnt it a waste of a good opportunity? Only now did Kou Zhong start to understand the origin of the nickname Mad Schr; he also guessed that Zheng Shiru must be Qian Duguans think-tank. Unless Li Mi could convince him that Li Mi was the sole material for the hegemony over the world, Qian Duguan would maintain his wait-and-see attitude. However, his question was really not easy to answer. Li Miughed aloud and said, Mr. Zheng asked a really good question. The answer is not that I did not have the desire, rather, its because I did not have the ability. The matter of entering Guanzhong, I have considered it for a long time. But at that time the muddle-headed ruler was still alive; engaging the troops is like involving the people. Most of Wagang troops are from Shandong; since Luoyang has not yet fallen, who would be willing to go the far away west to enter Guanzhong? If I presumptuously entered Guanzhong, I am afraid I might lose Henan and Shandong. If that happened, although I gained Guanzhong, but what do I have to contend over the world? If this remark was heard by someone who did not know the inside story, he would definitely be at a loss, and was not able to make head or tail of it. However, Kou Zhong understood thoroughly. At that time, Li Mis biggest obstacle was Zhai Rang. Even if Li Mi wanted to enter Guanzhong, Zhai Rang would want to remain in Henan as his garrison. When that happened, how could Zhai Rang let Li Mi go? As soon as he attacked Luoyang, the Sui Army at Luoyang would cut Li Mis return route. And then not only Li Mi could not upy Guanzhong, he would be trapped in Guanzhong instead. Xu Zhiji joined in, Another reason was that the muddleheaded ruler and his main force was already in Jiangdu. At that time Guanzhong would lose its role as the core site. The one we ought to attack should be Jiangdu and not Changan. Zheng Shiru was indifferent, The situation at that time was exactly like Mi Gong and Xu Junshi said. But lets take an overall look on the major powers nowadays: speaking about prestige, nobody can match Mi Gong. But speaking about situation, the Li ns father and son still dominates, since they upy the position where they can just sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. Li Mi snorted coldly and said, Li Yuan is just a dirty old man. Only Li Shimin has a bit of prospect. When Li Yuan raised his troops at Taiyuan that day, he wanted to hunt deer in the Central ins [i.e. attempt on the throne[1]], and he only had two routes to take: one was to the west into Guanzhong, the other was going south to Henan. But even if he had gargantuan guts, he would not dare to invade my territory. So his only way was to enter Guanzhong. Its just that this fellow has always been a bit lucky; having already obtained Tujues support, it was also the time when Guanzhongs troops were out of their nest to the east to attack me, that he was able to exploit the weak spot and entered in. Otherwise, how could he even have the opportunity to content for supremacy against me? These words revealed a strong confidence, he was really worthy of his status and authority as an overlord, so that not only he aroused other peoples admiration, he also showed his charm in intimidating their hearts. Xu Zhiji added, Presently our Wagang Army has just defeated Yuwen Huaji, our reputation enjoyed great boost. If we can take Luoyang, what can the Li kids of Guanzhong do about it? This time Mi Gong came to Xiangyang, is precisely to talk with Qian Chengzhu. As soon as Chengzhu give us a nod, I guarantee that after Mi Gong obtains the world, he wont treat gentlemen meagerly. Kou Zhong thought that finally they came to the point. Only how would Qian Duguans response be, he wondered. [1] Again, please see Jin Yongs Deer and Cauldron, Chapter 1, tranted by yours truly. Book 12 - 2 – Following The Boat Going Up North Book 12 Chapter 2 C Following The Boat Going Up North It was when he was looking at Bai Qinger that Xu Ziling had a real understanding of what Ba Fenghan was talking about. Standing leaning against the window, Bai Qingers gaze was fixed at the direction of the study room. In Xu Zilings sharp night vision, the one feature that attracted his attention the most from this beautiful exotic woman was her long, ck and shiny hair. Lining her beautiful face with skin as fair as snow, it seemed to exude some kind of devious sexual attraction that would make the mens heart palpitating; just like Wanwan. Whatever clothes she was wearing were all elegant and graceful, and also gave up the impression of dignity and aloofness. However, her pair of full-of-tender-feelings, bright and beautiful, elegant eyes matched very well with her seemingly innate, somewhat shy, but touching mannerism, which not many men would be able to resist. Although her countenancecked Wanwans shaking-to-the-core beauty, but there was some kind of amiable and approachable, friendly feeling instead. This moment, Ba Fenghan whispered in his ear, Yin Gui Pai women are best in concealing their demonic nature, but I am proficient in reading people; therefore, she can forget about deceiving me. After a short pause, he went on, Apart from her thirst of blood, if you pay close attention to the color and luster of her hair, youll know that her physique is nothing like her soft, weak outer appearance; there is an exquisite qigong foundation in it. Her tender and lovely skin is not natural at all; rather, it appears to be the result of long-term training in some kind of demonic skill, her fair skin seems to be aglow, just like Wanwan. After taking a closer look, Xu Ziling had to agree with him; he asked, What else did Ba Xiong see? Before Ba Fenghan could answer, Bai Qinger already disappeared; she withdrew inside the room, outside their line of sight. Wild Schr of Henan Zheng Shiru spoke in heavy voice, Xu Junshi, please hold that thought for a moment. Zaixia still have one more thing Id like to ask Mi Gongs guidance. Inside the wardrobe, Kou Zhong cheered inwardly; he praised this Wild Schr of Henan as someone who had his own ideas and was not easily impressed by others. The Two Malevolent of Changbai Fu Zhen and Fu Yan separately let out two cold snorts. Obviously they were a bit impatient of one question after another from Zheng Shiru. However, Li Miughed and said, Mr. Zheng, please speak freely without any reservation. Zheng Shiru remained indifferent, After Yuwen Huaji killed the muddleheaded ruler, he led his troops back to the north, targeting Luoyang. With Mi Gongs ability and wisdom, why didnt you pretend to form a unified front with Yuwen Huaji, assign Yuwen Huaji to attack the Eastern Capital, and then reaping the fishermans benefit while sitting down? Now the opposite happens; you are gratuitously doing Wang Shichong a big favor, enabling him to conserve his strength. Just look at how Wang Shichong is moving his troops east. As soon as his army reaches Yanshi [county level city, Henan], I knew that he is waiting for Mi Gong to lose most of your strength first before he would take the opportunity to strike! I wonder if Mi Gong has any regret about this? Li Mi roared in ear-splittingughter and said, Mr. Zheng is worthy to be called Henans sage; you knew the current situation like the back of your hand. But Li Mi also have a question Id like to ask Misters guidance: supposing you have established your base, if Mister were in Li Mis ce, and you are confronting Yuwen Huajis a hundred-thousand strong elite troops from the south, how would you deal with it? If Yuwen Huaji captured Luoyang, and he made the fortified city his base, and he had adequate provision, then Yuwen Huajis main forces would not havee from afar and would not be weary. If I, Li Mi, had to contend with this situation, would it worth doing? Zheng Shiru was silent for a long while before he finally spoke, Mi Gongs remark is rational, but current situation is clearly disadvantageous to Mi Gong; what would Mi Gongs countermeasure be? Brimming with confidence, Li Miughed and said, Wang Shichong is just a general who suffered defeat in my hands; hes not worth mentioning. Nowadays from the number of the troops he brought in, Luoyang must be empty. As long as I, Li Mi, take part of my troops to guard the eastern passage where he ising from, he would find it difficult to advance a single cun. The other several tens of thousands elite troops will advance west along the river pressing toward the Eastern Capital. At that time Shichong will be forced to return. And then we will simply retreat and defend the south, bidding our time. If Shichong came out again, I will push him back. In this way I will have enough power to spare, he will have to go back and forth in vain, and he will break down in the end. Kou Zhong suddenly came to realization about the importance of Xiangyang to Li Mi. Because under such circumstances, Xiangyang would be Li Mis logistic base to support Wagang Armys military operation to take over Luoyang. Therefore, Li Mi simply must acquire Xiangyang. Xu Shiji joined in, If Wang Shichong is moving east to attack us, he wont have enough provision, and thus will hope for a quick battle. As long as we dig deep ditch and build high rampart as defend mechanism, in just two, three months time, Wang Shichong will be out of supplies and must withdraw. At that time we will clip his tail in pursue and attack; if Wang Shichong could return to Luoyang alive, his must have been blessed by his ancestral mountains! Bang! Zheng Shiru pped the table and said with a sigh, Simply by listening to Mi Gong and Xu Junshi, I know that Wagang Armys victory is assured; Wang Shichong will be in trouble. Chengzhu, do you still have any doubt? Kou Zhongs brain was severely shaken, while in his heart he groaned endlessly. If Li Mi indeed do as he said he would do, it would be strange indeed if Wang Shichong would not suffer crushing defeat. Moreover, if the Eastern Capital really fell under Li Mis control, it would be difficult for the Li n of Guanzhong to maintain their immediate dominance. And then Song Yuzhi would be married away to Li Tianfan, and Li Mis prestige would enjoy dramatic increase due to the Song ns support. If that happened, Li Mi would then apply pressure to the Li n that they would be forced to defend Guanzhong. Afterwards Li Mi would easily put Du Fuwei and the others in order. Wouldnt the world then be an object in his bag? Bai Qinger reappeared on the window, but she was now wearing ck night-walker outfit, while she silently watched Qian Duguan escorting Li Mi and his entourage out of the study room toward the main gate of the mansion. This time Li Mi is in trouble, Ba Fenghan whispered, Just now she must have notified her Sects people by some secret way, to mobilize their people to kill Li Mi. And now she is ready to track Li Mi to get exact location of his position. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Do you think Li Mi is the kind of person who would easily fall into ambush and be killed? he asked. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, What if Zhu Yuyan personally came? A shadow shed; like a wisp of smoke Bai Qinger leaped out of the window into the garden below; in just a few ups and downs she disappeared into the distance. Xu Ziling said, Bai Qinger left just like that, isnt she afraid Qian Duguan mighte back to look for her? Ba Fenghan said, Naturally she knows Qian Duguans habit and style of conduct better than we do. Hey! I have an idea: how about putting those two rolls of heavy drawing paper in female demon Bais personal chamber, and then lets catch up with Li Mi, see if we can reap a bit of benefit. Xu Ziling smiled and said, In that case, after you! The two jumped down the big tree and met with Kou Zhong. The three silently and quietly dove into the cold river, and swam toward one of the three ships Li Mi brought with him. In the meantime, Li Mi was still at the dock, bidding Qian Duguan a warm-hearted goodbye. While everybodys attention was still focused on the dock, relying on their ghost-like dexterity, the three men stealthily [orig. gods did not know, ghosts did not perceive] climbed onto the ship from the left, aft side. Craning their necks to look over the side railings, immediately their brows were knitted, because the deck was full of armed men. There was no chance for them to slip into the ship hold undetected. Noticing the four skiffs, about a zhang or two in length, hanging from the side of the ship, and that the skiffs were covered with tarp, Kou Zhong suggested, Wed better hide inside one of those skiffs. Unless they suddenly want to use the boat, this should be the safest ce. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling nodded their agreement. Creeping along the edge of the railings, they quickly moved toward one of the hanging skiffs. After some effort they managed to untie the tarp, and then they all slipped inside. As soon as they finished closing the cover, the hull shook as the ship weighed its anchor and started to sail north along the river. Ba Fenghany down at the aft, while Kou and Xu, two boysy down side-by-side on the bow side. But in order to talk, they had their big heads in close proximity to each other, giving the three of them a strange, yet intimate feeling. Kou Zhong narrated in details Li Mis determination to kill the three of them, but about Li Mi persuading Qian Duguan, he only mentioned it briefly, simply because he was still deeply wary of Ba Fenghan. Finished with his story, heughed and said, If those Two Idiots of Changbai stayed behind to look for us, its going to be a big joke! Ba Fenghanughed coldly and said, Do you know what kind of people they are? Turning his gaze to the top of the tarp covering, Xu Ziling said, Judging from the tone of Ba Xiongs voice, I can tell that these two fellows must have a bit of skill. Ba Fenghan said, These two are Wang Bos Shidi [younger martial brother]; but they have had fall out with Shixiong [martial brother, in general, although it could mean older brother as well] for a long time. Who would have thought that now they are throwing their lot with Li Mi? Although these two are egotistical arrogant, but they do have some real skill; otherwise they would have been killed by Wang Bo early on, especially the older brother Fu Zhen, who is a well-known tracking expert. He is even more famous and more prestigious than Li Mis former subordinate, thete Flying Feather Zheng Zong; his martial art skill is even heaven-and-earth, cloud-and-earth different to Zheng Zongs. Fortunately we are hiding in here; otherwise we will be in big trouble. Seeing that even with his conceited nature Ba Fenghan was still speaking so highly about these two men, the two boys shivered inwardly. Ba Fenghan said, Lets take advantage of this opportunity to cultivate our vitality, so that when the timees for us to kill, we will be a bit refreshed. The three of them closed their eyes in meditation. Soon afterwards they entered the subconscious realm of deep meditation. Chapter 2 - Part 2 The hull shook as the ship slowed down. The three of them awoke at the same time. Ba Fenghan reached out while sending out his internal energy to his finger to poke a hole in the tarp. The three waited for the opportunity to peek outside. When they did, they saw people came and went on the desk; it was very busy. The first light of dawn had appeared on the horizon. Evidently Li Mis fleet has been sailing straight for at least three sichen [i.e. 6 hours]. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, They are not going to cast anchor! Ba Fenghan turned to the other side and took a peek from the slit of the tarp. There are people on the shore! he called out in a low voice. The two boys turned around, and saw the left bank of the river was densely popted with army barracks. They even constructed a temporary dock, whereparatively smaller warships and about a dozen skiffs were moored. Li Mis fleet slowly moved toward the dock. Xu Ziling had a sudden inspiration, Turns out Li Mi is hiding his troops in here, he said, If the negotiation with Qian Duguan fell apart, he wouldunch a surprise attack against the unprepared Xiangyang. He is really ruthless. Ba Fenghan nodded in agreement, Everybody knows that Li Mi is not ay practitioner of Buddhism. Xu Xiongs conjecture matches well with Li Mis style. All right, even if Zhu Yuyan has guts that reach the heavens, I am afraid she would not dare to provoke Li Mi now. What are we going to do? Kou Zhong said resolutely, We steal a speedboat and go up north to Luoyang. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, Stealing boats now, its no longer stealing secretly, but robbing openly. Lets not talk about Li Mis superior martial art skill, he does notck martial art masters under hismand either. We may not necessarily seed. Why is Zhong Shao so anxious to go to Luoyang? Xu Ziling wondered aloud. Kou Zhong whispered, Ill exin to youter. If we cant steal, then lets rob! Look! Li Mi is going ashore. The other two also saw Li Mi and Xu Shiji, two men, under heavy escort of a crowd of high-ranking military officers, left the ship to go ashore. Another crowd of people had already been waiting on the dock. The leader was a tall, dignified-looking young general. Ba Fenghan said, Thats Li Mis general Pei Renji. This man and Wang Bodang are equally famous; they are called Wagang Army Two Valiant Generals. Their martial art skill outstanding, their intelligence is also above average. Hearing Wang Bodangs name, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong recalled Susu, who was disgraced by him, and their hearts immediately felt ufortable. This moment Li Mi and his entourage was about to enter the camp. Ba Fenghanughed and said, If we want to rob a boat, now is the time! The three had their heads emerged from the water surface, and pulled themselves up into a speedboat moored on the bank of the river. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling calmly untied and hoisted the sail up, while Ba Fenghan pulled his Beheading Mystery Sword, raised it up and chopped it down, to cut the mooring rope. Hey, what are you three doing? someone on the shore shouted. Ba Fenghanughed heartily and said, Sorry to bother you, but could you tell Mi Gong that Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling borrow a boat? Finished speaking, he thrust both palms forward, a strong gust of wind sshed the water everywhere, drenching the head and face of the dozen or so Wagang troopsing to attack them, while at the same time the wind also propelled the speedboat, sending it swiftly toward the middle of the river. A river breeze happened to blow at the same time; Kou Zhong busily performed the master helmsman style as he operated the sail to take advantage of the tail wind. The boat sailed north along the river, and in the blink of an eye already left the shore far behind. After being cooped up under the tarp-covered boat for several days, they reached the part of the river where rows of peaks of mountain range, as well as serene greeneries, crowded both sides. Their mind felt clear, their mood brightened, their spirit rose. Ba Fenghan, who was sculling the oar leisurely at the starboard side of the boat, threw his head back and let out a longugh. This time we really shaved Li Mis eyebrows, forcing him to send his men to hunt and kill us. Turbulent water at the northern extremity, close to three hundred li from Luoyangs south side, will be the most excellent ce. Xu Ziling, who was rowing on the port side, was puzzled, Based on our galloping-horse sailing speed, how could Li Mis men overtake us? Ba Fenghan patiently exined, If Li Mi were an ordinary thief, naturally there is no way he could chase us. But nowadays Wagang Army has be a highly organized military unit; plus because they want to seize the Eastern Capital, they must have set up military intelligencework that is able to transmit information at top speed. As soon as something is happening, they would dispatch fast horse with ry stations along the way, or perhaps flying pigeons, to notify the remote division to carry out whatever mission is required. Therefore, we absolutely must not ck off. Kou Zhong said, We are going north to Luoyang this time, working smart is the way to go, recklessly charging ahead is not suitable. As long as we can arrive at Luoyang at the earliest possible time, we can be considered winning already. Both Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan looked at him in surprise, because that kind of remark really should not havee from his mouth. ording to Kou Zhongs usual style, he ought to propose that they created havoc first. A bit awkward, Kou Zhong changed the subject, Two Idiots of Changbai were left at Xiangyang, while it would be difficult for Li Mi, Xu Shiji and Pen Renji to divert their attention; perhaps the pretty Junshi Shen Luoyan wille to deal with us? Murderous aura shed through Xu Zilings eyes; he said emotionlessly, It would be best if Wang Bodang ising, then we can collect an old debt from him. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I seldom see Xu Xiong hates someone to the bone like this. But Wang Bodangs skill in double-point flexible spears is very remarkable; he ranks among the top practitioners of amazing and unusual skill. Even if he came alone, killing him wont be easy. Xu Ziling did not say anything. The three gave everything they had to sail the boat against the stream; by dusk that day, they have crossed the city of Nanyang, which was guarded by a valiant general under Wang Shichongsmand, the Immeasurable Sword Xiang Siren. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling rxed their effort somewhat, letting the wind to carry the boat forward; the speed was reduced considerably. Ba Fenghan said with augh, Have you guys heard the fragrant name of Dong Shuni? Kou Zhong shook his head, I have never heard of it, he said, But the name sounds unusual. Ba Fenghan cast his gaze toward the western horizon where the sky was aglow with the sunset; he took a deep breath of the headwind blowing his direction. His thought seemed to be wandering far away as he said, Dong Shuni is the only daughter of Wang Shichongs younger sister, Wang Xin. She has lost both parents since she were little. This year she turns eighteen; she was born with countenance of a flower, face like the moon, indeed a national grace, divine fragrance, the color of Luoyang. [Trantors note: or, I can just say, she is very beautiful, period.] Kou Zhongughed and said, Is Ba Xiong interested in chasing the skirt? Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, To me, man-woman rtionship is merely flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in theke [i.e. unrealistic rosy view]. The fleeting youth neithersting nor have eternal value. Furthermore, this woman is Wang Shichongs greatest political asset. I hear the Li n has some interest in this woman, they want to use this to forge an alliance with Wang Shichong, so that together they could face Li Mi. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, If she marries Li Shimin, they will be talented man and beautiful woman, a match made in heaven. Ba Fenghan smiled wryly and said, Kou Xiong is simply taking it for granted! Because from what I heard, the one interested in Dong Shuni is Li Yuan himself! Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay; they were speechless and could only muse silently that Li Yuan was ridiculed as a lecher. Remembering something, Kou Zhong said, That day when we were at Dongping County listening to Shi Qingxuan ying the Xiao, I remember that after Shi Qingxuan left, Ba Xiong ran after her. What happened afterwards? Ba Fenghans countenance slightly darkened; he sighed and said, I was only able to see her back, but it has left a profound andsting impression on me. But that is probably for the best; if she and I see each other morning and night, perhaps one day I would be tired of her. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Isnt Ba Xiong contradictory? On one hand you said you dont care about man-woman rtionship, on the other hand you thirst for a beauty and longing to pursue her, plus you have her engraved in your memory. After pondering silently for half a day, a faint bitter smile escaped from the corner of his lips; he said, No wonder Xu Xiong has this misunderstanding, because you often saw me hanging around with different beauty, but then now you heard me saying that I dont care about man-woman rtionship. The fact is, these two are not necessarily in contradiction to each other. Kou Zhong found it greatly fascinating; he asked, I wonder if I could listen to Ba Xiongs enlightening remarks? Ba Fenghan blew out a mouthful of air, as if he wanted to blow away the burden pressing in his heart. He seemed to be falling into a deep abyss of the ocean of his memory; his eyes were gleaming as he spoke slowly, Since I started to understand the ways of the world, I feel like life is a series of constantly repeating affairs; every day is more or less the same thing that has happened before, only the circumstances surrounding it are constantly changing, we constantly face new challenge. Only by letting ourselves constantly falling into different circumstances will we experience the fresh and moving aspect of life. And then, spreading his hands he said, Like whats happening now: there is not the least bit of repeat or depressing feeling. Spread before our eyes right now is a vast, unfathomable future, which appears to be in your hands, yet it is not under your control. Joining hands with you is exciting and fascinating, but who could tell whether very soon we are going to encounter Zhu Yuyan or not? This is one of the reasons I do not want man-woman rtionship to burden my mind. Kou Zhong blurted outughing; he said, In that case, by nature Ba Xiong is a fickle and a traitor to your own love. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Kou Zhong, dont youugh at me; you and I both are ambitious men. Its just that my aspiration is in the way of the martial art, and yours is in your dream to rule the world as the emperor. Although our paths differ, but if we want to reach our goal, we both must abandon a lot of things. Kou Zhongs old face smiled as he said, When did I ever tell you that I am dreaming of bing the emperor? Staring at Kou Zhongs eyes, which were full of ambiguity, Ba Fenghanughed hoarsely and said, Men are known by their deeds. You, Kou Zhong, turned the South upside down, thendscape underwent huge changes because of you. Plus you have the desire to go north to fetch the Duke Yangs Treasure, and haveid the best description for your n. Last night inside the study room at the Hidden rity Pavilion you clearly heard an extremely important secret, yet you decided to keep it in your heart; otherwise, why would you be so anxious to go to Luoyang? Under the fiery gaze of the other two, Kou Zhong shamelesslyughed aloud and then replied calmly, Old Ba, you really have a skill, concealing anything from you is as difficult as ascending to the heavens. But I am going to Luoyang this time, just to do a buying and selling; other people are buying, I am selling. They pay me money, I give them information. It has nothing to do with dreaming of bing the emperor or what have you. Ba Fenghan simplyughed without responding. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Xu Xiong, do you believe him? Xu Ziling raised his hands in mock surrender; he said, I dont want to lie to Ba Xiong, but I dont want to offend Zhong Shao either. I dont have any choice but to shut my mouth and not answering. The three of them looked at each other. Suddenly all three of them burst outughing. Right this moment, a dot of light appeared some distance away on the river just ahead of them,ing slowly closer toward them. Book 12 - 3 – Tiele Eagle Book 12 Chapter 3 C Tiele Eagle Astonished, the three men stood up. As soon as they were able to see what it was, they were all stunned. Under the moonlight high above their heads, they saw that it was a small boat with pointy bow and stern. There was a bamboo pole stuck in the middle of the boat, and there was an octagonal pce-stylentern hanging from the pole. But other than these, the boat was totally empty; not even half a shadow of ghost was seen. The strangest thing was that the boat seemed to be driven by somebody swimming underwater, because even sailing through the winding river, around the most dangerous sharp bend, it was sailing smoothly, and was still moving toward them; it was extremely creepy. Blowing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, This is called the non-spirit dont do along with ugly spirit. The oue of this is definitely not something we can hold in our hands. Staring at the empty boat, which was still around three hundred chi away, Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, There must be someone steering the boat underwater, why havent you thought of a way to evade? Reaching out to grab the oar, Ba Fenghan said with a coldugh, I dont care who he is, I, Ba Fenghan, dont believe in ghost. I want to see what kind of trick he is going to y. This moment Kou Zhong steered their boat toward the left bank; who would have thought that as if it had eyes, the empty boat immediately changed its course as well, still sailing swiftly straight toward them. Sweeping the bank with his gaze, Kou Zhong said, There must be an ambush on the shore. If we get separated, well meet again at Luoyang. The strange boat was only about sixty chi away, and still rapidly approaching. Ba Fenghan shouted, he threw the oar in his hand with all his might. The two boys fixed their gaze at the flying oar. Like a streak of lightning the oar flew across the twenty chi distance, very close to the water surface. The water split, cutting about a chi deep groove on the water, like a big white water dragon shooting toward the small boat. It was an amazing use of strength, which made people gasp in amazement. Xu Ziling grabbed the other oar and moved back to the stern, where he plunged the oar into the water. Their boat immediately sped up; if the opponent hid on one side of the boat, they would seize the opportunity to crash onto it. Under the three mens six eyes gaze, the empty boat sped faster than the oar Ba Fenghan threw, chi by chi, cun by cun, the distance was diminishing constantly. The empty boat did not show any sign that it was going to evade the collision. Bang! The oar and the bow of the boat collided and exploded into splinters of wood filling the whole sky; evidently the energy Ba Fenghan was using was the hard, rigid type. The water sshed into the boat. The three immediately felt something was not right. It was too easy. Right this moment, the three felt strange sensation on their feet. Enemy below the boat! Kou Zhong roared. Ba Fenghanughed aloud. He gathered his entire strength and concentrated it at the soles of his feet. The boat suddenly slid about a zhang sideways. Bang! A column of water rose up more than twenty zhang into the air from the original position of the boat, and then the water rained down again. Having a clear grasp of the enemys position underwater, Xu Ziling threw the oar with a spiraling energy into the water. With both palms Kou Zhong struck the surface of the water behind the boat, sshing the water everywhere. Propelled by the reaction force, the boat flew swiftly upstream like a runaway horse on the in, and in an instant it passed the empty boat, which, by this time, was sinking down, leaving the smashed up pcentern above the water, scattering the mes floating on the surface of the water; it was such an extremely strange scene. All three mens eyes were focused on the spot where the enemy was supposed to be hiding, yet they did not hear any noise of the oar hitting the enemy, while the boat continued sliding rapidly away. They felt strange sensation on their feet again. Kou Zhong roared wildly. The Moon in the Well left its scabbard hanging on his back. Leaping off the stern, his saber hacked down into the water; he went so deep that even his arm entered the river. Underwater, the Moon in The Well went sideways and collided with the oar, creating a dull thud as the two streams of energy shed. It was the most vulnerable point, where the saber had just collided with the head of the oar. Bang! As if he was struck by lightning, Kou Zhongs entire body was jolted backward. Hastily he seized the chance to somersault twice, returning to the boat. Even after his feet touched a solid surface, he still staggered two steps backward. After taking a deep breath to suppress his churning qi and blood, with changed countenance he said, Who is it? Underwater, the oar made a few turns before disappearing down into the river. Ba Fenghan drew his Beheading Mystery sword. Returning to his calm demeanor in facing the enemy, he smiled and said, Well find out soon! Before he even finished speaking, a streak of dark shadow shot out from the water about ten zhang away, carrying water with it that water droplets filled the whole sky, like a shooting star it flew toward their boat along the surface of the river. Such speed seemed to be beyond physical limitation. Although the three men knew the enemy would pursue them, they were still unprepared mentally to see this kind of speed with this kind of astonishing power. Before they even had any chance to see clearly the enemys appearance, a powerful, unequalled force pressed down violently. Tens of millions dots of energy, as sharp as knives, following the strong wind, attacked the three men; chopping, piercing, cutting and shing silvery droplets stormed in that they were powerless to guard against it. It the first time that the three encountered this kind of internal energy, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong shouted at the same time. One sword and one saber filled the air with a of sharp lights, just like opening up an umbre, to meet the attack from above. Xu Ziling lowered his torso in a horse stance and sent his punch upward; a burst of vortex of qi shot out from the only hole in the center of the virtual created by the sword and the saber, straight toward the enemy. The man had his back to the moon, so that his back was suffused with the golden light from above, while the front part of his body was kept in the dark, giving the impression that he was in an indescribable state between the good and the evil. Boom! Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong staggered back and fell, the protecting dissipated. While blocking the opponents monstrous-without-equal storm, although the two managed to jolt his powerful qi back, like a needle concealed in silk floss, the enemys droplets of qi flowed via the sword and the saber to prate the two mens body. In shock they hastily circte their internal energy to neutralize it. Such a strange internal energy, they had never encountered it before. The man was about tounch the second round of attack when Xu Zilings vortex of energy arrived. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhongsbined assault, which managed to jolt him back, was definitely not a small matter. Although the enemy was formidable, it was quite strenuous for him to cope. And now that a vortex of energy arrived, he did not dare to be careless, and thus was forced to change his offense into defense. His palm met Xu Zilings de-sharp vortex of qi. Boom! The vortex of qi dispersed. The man let out a stifled grunt and flew toward the shore. Thump! Xu Ziling fell sitting down on the deck, while spurting out a mouthful of fresh blood. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong had just diffused the droplets of energy invading their body; promptly four palms moved together to strike the water surface behind the boat. While the water sshed, the bow of the boat rose up to the air, the keel cut the waves as the boat flew against the current. As if by prior agreement, all three of them cast their gaze toward the terrifying, overpowering enemy. The mannded on arge rock by the river. Turning around, with his hands behind his back, he threw his head back andughed loudly, The hero of youth, no wonder you can make Laofu [old man] suffer the pain of losing my son. Qu Ao wont apany you much longer! With eyes opened wide and mouth agape, the three watched Qu Aos shadow gradually became smaller and smaller, until finally it disappeared behind a bend in the river. With one hand on the rudder Kou Zhong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said, Turns out its him; no wonder people say that his martial art skill approaches Bi Xuans! Wiping the bloodstain from the corner of his mouth, Xu Ziling stood up and said with a smile, Since Qu Ao already made his move, Zhu Yuyan cant be too far behind. Gentlemen, do you have any suggestion? Ba Fenghan slowly returned his sword into its scabbard. This is inevitable. Other that the troops arrive we fight, the water arrive we build earthen embankment, what else can we do? he said proudly. But Kou Zhong sat down and shook his head, If we only unt reckless courage, I have no doubt that we will die tonight. We have multitude enemies, few friends [an idiom from Mencius], plus among the enemies, there are at least three, four people who could defeat us easily. This is called know yourself, know your enemy [idiom from Suntzu]. Ba Fenghan was dumbstruck and unable to reply. He pondered silently that in terms of resourcefulness and the ability to act differently under different situations, he was no match to these two boys. Standing erect at the bow of the boat, Xu Ziling stared fixedly ahead, while circting his qi and regting his breathing. The river breeze blew that his clothes were fluttering in the wind. There was a calm, magnificent, proud-and-aloof-above-the-crowd, moving charisma surrounding him. Remaining tranquil and calm, he said, The reason Qu Ao was able to intercept us a moment ago must be that as soon as he received the information about us, because of his eagerness to avenge the death of his son, he immediately rushed over to act alone, leaving the rest behind. Letting out a cold snort, Ba Fenghan said, I am sure that when we appeared to snatch the boat, the female demon Bai saw that from her hiding ce; therefore, she immediately dispatched flying pigeon or simr method to send information to Qu Ao and the others. Kou Zhong joined in, Therefore, if we abandon the boat and go ashore right now, the enemy will momentarily lose our track. Plus we are turning the table, from being in the light, we are now in the dark, so that we will be able to seize the initiative. Obtaining tacit understanding, the three looked at each other, and then sent out their strength to their feet at the same time. The boat immediately disintegrated and slowly sank into the river. The tree soared into the air and flew toward the dark forest at the right bank of the river. An instantter they disappeared without any trace. The river returned to its tranquil condition. The surface of the water flickered with the reflection of the bright moonlight. Not long afterwards a big ship sailed swiftly along the river, its hull pushed the waves over the ce where the boat sank, as the ship continued its voyage downstream. Chapter 3 - Part 2 After passing through the sparse forest reaching to about fifty li beyond the shore, they saw ahead of them a range of hill extended as far as their eyes could see, practically blocking their way. Naturally the three men were not scared of high mountain at all, on the contrary, they felt that the hills could screen their path; therefore, they ran even faster. Running next to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong asked in concern, Did Qu Aos palm injure you? Do you want to take a rest? Well have a good his mothers night rest. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, That palm is nothing; it only injured my inner organs and blood vessels. After throwing out blood, I felt better already. Once I be able to circte my internal energy to heal the wound, I will recover about 70, 80%. Its a trivial thing. Ba Fenghan, who was running ahead of them, was touched; he said, The brotherly love between the two of you is indeed something that nobody can match. In my opinion, only Xu Xiong could make Kou Zhong dy his n of rushing toward Luoyang at top speed; am I right? Kou Zhong shook his head, Wong! he said, I, Kou Zhong, value yiqi above everything else. If you, Old Ba, were the one who is injured, I would do the same to you, because now we arerade-in-arms who will go life and death battle together. Ba Fenghan did not slow down; after a moment of silence, he suggested, How about we call each other by name? It sure beats calling Xiong this and Di that [older and younger brother, respectively] like addressing outsiders. Xu Ziling dly replied, In that case, just call me Ziling, well call you Fenghan. That would be a lot more amiable! Kou Zhong frowned deeply; he said, My name only has one character, Old Ba cant simply call me Zhong; that would be so unpleasant to the ears! Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling could not help feeling amused; the formerughed and said, In that case Ill call you Zhong Shao, you can still call me Old Ba, because I am several years older that you are anyway. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted. The three were chatting andughing. The prairie under their feet appeared to be flowing backward like a tide. Very soon they arrived at the foot of the hills. They stopped and looked up to admire the mountain. It was not a particrly high mountain, but it rose steeply like a wall, extending straight up for hundreds of zhang. Even qinggong expert like them had to groan at the prospect of climbing such a mountain. While they were about to walk along the foot of the mountain to find a good spot from which they could climb, Xu Ziling found the entrance to a gorge. Shouting to attract the others attention, he rushed ahead toward it. Upon reaching the entrance, he saw that someone had carved three big characters on the left wall some distance away from the ground, Tian Cheng Xia [Heavenly City Walls Gorge]; the strokes had the grandeur of a dragon or a snake. Xu Ziling led the way into the gorge. They noticed on both sides the cliff wall was steep and smooth, as if it was cut with a knife. The path extended about half a li. The farther north they went, the narrower the path became, until at the northernmost end the path was so narrow that only one person could pass through; it was indeed an inessible stronghold. After they were out of the gorge, Kou Zhong sighed and said, If we could lure the enemy to enter this gorge, our one hundred hidden troops would be able to wipe out the opponents tens of thousands of powerful army division. It can clearly be seen that failing to understand the geography, the war will be lost for sure. Meanwhile the first light of dawn appeared on the horizon. Ahead were endless rolling hills, bathed in the pale morning mist, brimming with an indescribable natural beauty, filling their heart with unspeakable yearning. Pointing to a big mountain spanning several dozen li over the ins on their left, Ba Fenghan said, That mountain is called Yintan Mountain [lit. hidden pool]. Beyond that mountain is Xiangcheng [county, Henan]. Luoyang is about a hundred li north of that city, I have been there once before, the scenery is quite beautiful. Xu Ziling said, We should have been thrown the enemies off by now; if I were they, nowadays I would have no choice but to set up a road block south of Luoyang to intercept us. Therefore, while we are forging on, we might want to travel in arge circle to enter Luoyang from the other three directions. Its just that by doing this, we will have to spend several more days. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, We will go to Yintan Mountai first, take a rest for a while, and when the night falls we will go straight to Luoyang; lets see what they can do to us. By nature, Ba Fenghan was an aggressive man; heughed cheerfully and said, Now thats a real mans conduct. Come on! Without waiting for the others he took the lead by dashing out first. A sichenter, the three prated deeply into the mountains. Only now did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understand why this mountain was called Hidden Pool. Turns out in the depths of the peaks vying to be the most beautiful against each other, due to the topography of the mountain, the springs formed more than a dozen pools, big and small, bing a chain of clear, pure water streams numbering in hundreds or even thousands. The highest pool was located at a t peak, where the gathering water formed ake. Around theke pine and cypress grew in abundance, painting a quiet and secluded scenery. More amazing was the cliff between pools was like a standing screen, with caves and ravines everywhere, collecting water full to their brims, and flowed out swiftly that they became flying springs, adding unlimited liveliness to the serenity of the Yintan Mountain. In such a good ce where the birds congregated and the beasts took their shelter, the three felt their spirit was greatly roused, and their exhaustion seemed to be washed away. Following their original n, they climbed to the highest pond and waited quietly for nightfall. Without the slightest hesitation all three of them bathed in the pool. After picking up wild fruits to eat, Xu Ziling found a secluded ce to heal his internal injuries, which were notpletely recovered yet. Kou and Ba, two people, climbed to a peak in the north to scout their surroundings. They looked as far as their eyes could see to the north, and were overwhelmed with the vastness of the heaven and the earth, and felt their heart and mind were as vast as the wide open space. Looking down from this angle, range upon range of emerald mountains and tens of thousands peaks as far as their eyes could see. Outside the mountains fields and farms scattered around, about a dozen viges were nestled among the forests. Pointing to a big city, which was built next to a long river that flowed across the big earth, in the distance, Ba Fenghan said, That is Xiangcheng, the river is Ru Shui. Left of Xiangcheng is a mountain called Mount Ji, a very majestic-looking mountain. Kou Zhong blew out the heroic emotion and the pride bubbling out in his heart, like a halberd his finger pointed to the north and said, And north of that is the Eastern Capital Luoyang. Whether I, Kou Zhong, am a dragon or a snake, I will have to go there to see how I will conduct myself. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, This world belongs to people with lofty aspirations. Me and you, Zhong Shao, are people unwilling to ept the ordinary. Only this way life will have more variations and be more colorful. In Wulin history, Luoyang has never been like its present day situation, where dragons and snakes mingle, bing the hub where those who have their eyes on the world gather. Whoever can capture Luoyang will be able to have the convenience of advancing in any directions. However, this moment Zhong Shao has neither troops nor generals under yourmand, how can youpete against those warlords vying for supremacy? Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong smiled and said, My biggest advantage right now is precisely that my strength ispletely invisible, but has been secretly manipting the development of the situation of the world. As for the details, for the time being it is really hard to exin. Ba Fenghan was well aware that Kou Zhong would never confide his secret to him. Smiling, he said, Just by listening to Zhong Shao expressing your confidence, I know that you already have a n in your heart. Ha! Come to think about it, this is quite interesting. If anyone could see us standing right here right now, who would think that one is an unbeaten-throughout-history fighter to the throne of the emperor, the other is mbering toward the pinnacle of the martial art way. Kou Zhong suddenly asked, Legend has it that whoever obtain the Jade Annulus of He n will obtain the world. I wonder if you, Old Ba, have anyment on this matter. Scoffing, Ba Fenghan said, Only stupid men and foolish women would believe such thing. But theres always the other side of the story. Precisely because there are a lot of stupid men and foolish women who believe this rumor firmly without any doubt, plus the Jade Annulus of He n was indeed the seal of the past dynasties emperor, and its origin is mysterious beyond understanding; therefore, whoever can obtain it must have multitude power to rally supporters, and enormous strength and capital to contend for the world. This fact must not be ignored. Kou Zhong sighed in admiration, Talking with you, Old Ba, is indeed a pleasure. That was precisely the reason I wanted to obtain the Jade Annulus of He n. Ba Fenghan said, I usually do not have any interest of such treasure, only this Jade Annulus of He n can affect my mind, like it can broaden my horizons. But if this jade annulus is in Ning Daoqis hands, our chance of evering across this Jade Annulus of He n is next to nothing. The spection circting in Wulin is that Ning Daoqi maye to Luoyang to personally hand over this Jade Annulus of He n to Ci Hang Jing Zhai [see Book 1 Chapter 7] representative Shi Feixuan [see Book 8 Chapter 5]; do you think this might be just some busybodys in fabricated rumor? Kou Zhong asked. Hearing the name Shi Feixuan, Ba Fenghans spirited eyes brightened; he spoke in heavy voice, In my opinion, this is absolutely true, and it was originated by Ning Daoqi and Ci Hang Jing Zhai themselves to drum up the interest of the future true master. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Zhong Shao cant think of this thing, all because you dont understand Ci Hang Jing Zhais rtionship with the political atmosphere of the world. Since the Earthly Nun founded Ci Hang Jing Zhai, the peaceful monastery [jing zhai] has be the supreme representative of the righteous [orig. white way] of the Wulin world, both the religious and secrs [orig. out/withdraw from and enter the world]. From the religious side, there rarely has any disciple treading the Jianghu, so they wont be drawn into any dispute, and thus maintaining their aloof attitude. After a short pause, he continued, From the secr side, they tried to maintain control over the strongest among the devil cults Yin Gui Pai from the distant, not to let theme out to cause any wind and rain, and bring harm to mankind. However, in case they encountered the whole country in rebellion, the peaceful monastery would make an attempt to assist the rightful emperor ordained by heaven that will benefit tens of thousands of people, and thus turning the world from chaos to order. Kou Zhong was greatly astonished, Old Ba, how did you know about such a secret like the back of your palm? he asked in amazement. Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, I headed off to the east to the Central ins this time, other than its a necessary step in my cultivation, it was also because of my admiration to your distinguished countrys civilization that goes back to the dim and distant past; therefore, I pay particr attention to this kind of time-honored sacred ce like Ci Hang Jing Zhai, so I know a little more than average person. I rarely hear you speak with such modesty, Kou Zhong said in surprise. Ba Fenghanughed involuntarily and said, You and I are merely people who grope in the dark to find our ideals, if we are not a bit modest, how can we make any progress? Hey! How about me going out to hunt some wild animals for our dinner? That way when we rush into Luoyang, we will do so with enough vitality. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, Conversing with a gentleman, the benefit I, Kou Zhong, reap is indeed not shallow, so I should be the one who goes to hunt for our dinner. Ba Fenghan burst outughing and said, I was just thinking of getting away on my own to think in peace and quiet! Ill see youter. Finished speaking, he shed away and disappeared from the peak. Book 12 - 4 – Eastern and Western Tujue Book 12 Chapter 4 C Eastern and Western Tujue Xu Ziling sat cross-legged on arge t and smooth rock by the pond. His gaze was fixed on the crystal clear water reflecting the blue sky and white clouds above; his mind was clear and bright. To him, on this earth, other than Kou Zhong, Susu was the only person who could worry him, other people were like a far away, fuzzy impression. Both Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan had their separate goal in their lives, but Xu Ziling only wanted to live an unconstrained, free and easy life, where he could be at home wherever he was. It did not mean that he was a man without any desire to make progress; it just meant that he did not set for himself a certain goal he had to achieve. In terms of martial art way of pursuit of knowledge, he already derived pleasure in the process; it was a significant part of who he was. This moment Kou Zhong came over and sat by his side. He spoke seriously, Its not that I want to conceal anything from you, but I do not wish Old Ba to know too many secrets. All along I always feel that he is not too reliable; he could turn his face against us and show no mercy anytime. Without showing the slightest bit of care, Xu Ziling said, You dont have to tell me either, I will never me you. Kou Zhong was upset, Can you not talk to me like that? he said, One lifetime two brothers. You are the only one I canpletely trust, plus I do need your help very much. Where is Old Ba? Xu Ziling grudgingly asked. After answering his question, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, If I am not here, Wang Shichong would definitely lose this battle, because he practically is not Li Mis match. If Li Mi captured Luoyang, those Li Yuan, Li Shimin, Dou Jiande, Ol Die Du, or what have you, would all have to return to their hometown to till the fields; but even then they would have to rely on their family mountains blessing. Otherwise, they would be lucky if they could remain alive. Xu Ziling was emotionally moved, What exactly the information that you heard? he asked. After briefly recounting what he knew, Kou Zhong gave him his analysis, Li Mis biggest strength is actually self restrain. He obviously hurt Zhai Rang that day, but since he was unclear of the degree of his injuries, he restrained himself until Zhai Rang exposed the cards in his hand beforeunching the offensive and taking over Zhai Rangs Da Longtou [big boss] throne. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. If Li Mi rose in rebellion too early, even if he managed to seize total victory, but because Zhai Rang still had his prestige, plus he still had solid rtionship with the leaders of Wagang Army, he might make the Wagang Army to split up and disintegrate. Such a tragic victory would not be worth mentioning. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, After obtaining the authority over the military, he actually had the opportunity tounch a direct attack to Guanzhong and thus upying the Western Capital. If that happened, wouldnt he have the Eastern Capital inside his bag as well? But he was afraid that after entering the Pass, Zhai Rangs former loyal subordinate would im independence and dere himself king, and refuse to obey hismand. Thereupon he strongly defended his position in Henan, and reced the Wagang Army leaderships with the generals loyal to himself. In terms of strategy, it was a wise one. After a short pause, he went on, Time and again Li Mi opened the storehouse to provide relief to the people, so that he won the popr sentiment, and his prestige enjoyed a great boost, plus all the heroes of various region came to pledge their allegiance to him. If he were a reckless man, he would denounce the canal construction early on, and deployed his troops south to attack Jiangdu. But Li Mi restrained himself by not doing it; he waited for Yuwen Huagu to rise in rebellion and killed Emperor Yang like a chicken in a basket, and then when he led his troops north to return to his base, Li Mi raised his troops to meet the enemy. Yuwen Huagu is not ay practitioner of Buddhism at all, plus he still had the most elite imperial guards under hismand, yet he still lost to Li Mis self-restrain. Do you still want to listen more? Hearing Yuwen Huagus name, Xu Zilings tiger-eyes shed a chilling murderous intent. Of course, he said simply. Kou Zhong sighed in admiration, Even self-restrain needs to be particr about tactics, be particr about deceit. And Li Mi is a master in these. In order to escape Wang Shichong and Yuwen Huagus left and right pincer attack, unexpectedly Li Mi shamelessly expressed goodwill toward the puppet emperor at the Eastern Capital supported by Wang Shichong. He even expressed to Yuwen Huagu his willingness to atone for his crime, so that he would not have to worry of trouble in the rear. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, But by doing that, wouldnt his reputation take serious hit? Kou Zhong continued, In time where rumors are flying everywhere, who would care if that kind of information is true, or whether this kind of information is false? However, Wang Shichong is afraid Li Mi would join hands with Yuwen Huagu to attack the Eastern Capital, so for the time being he simply hold back his troops without moving, just contend to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. It would be best if Li Mi and Yuwen Huagu fight until both sides suffer, or perhaps they would be locked in perpetual hostility against each other. Nothing could be more ideal than that for him. How did you know everything so clearly? Xu Ziling asked in amazement. Half by listening to others, half by guessing! Kou Zhong replied, Ha! You ought to know that my cognitive ability is quite strong! And then, pping his thigh he said, Yuwen Huagu set his military supply wagon on a slippery stage when he led his troops to attack Liyang. Li Mi exercised self-restrain against him by ordering Xu Shiji, who was guarding Liyang, to avoid direct confrontation, but to guard the storehouse city to the west. Needless to say, not the least bit army provision would be left for Yuwen Huagu! Listening to him, Xu Zilings interest was piqued; he asked further, Cant Yuwen Huaji seize the opportunity to pursue and attack? How could the storehouse city defend themselves against the pressure of arge army at their border? On this, Kou Zhong said, You have to hand it to Li Mi. He personally led twenty-thousand cavalry marching to Qingqi. Coordinating with Xu Shiji, they excavated deep trenches and built high wall, but refuse to have direct confrontation with Yuwen Huagu. If Yuwen Huagu attacked the storehouse, he would pull his rear leg to form non-confrontational deadlock. Problem was Yuwen Huagucked provisions; that old fox still deceive him by negotiating peace, making that idiot Yuwen Huagu think that they were in cease-fire, and no longer limit the soldiers ration. Li Mi picked this time to pick war with him at Tong Shan [Mt. Tong], Yuwen Huagus grain was depleted, he ran away in defeat to Wei Jun [Wei County], his power took a serious beating. The reason Li Mi achieved victory was not because Yuwen Huagus knowledge is inferior to him, or because his military power and strategy and tactics could not match the opponents. Rather, he lost to Li Mis self-restrain. And then his eyes shone as he went on, Therefore, as long as I can break Li Mis resolves in exercising self-restrain, I would be able to make the invincible Li Mi to suffer the first major defeat in his entire life, a defeat so bad that he would not be able to recover from. The opportunity is here. I only need to see Wang Shichong, and then I will have a way to make him listen to me. Otherwise, the world will belong to Li Mi. Xu Zilings heart was severely shaken. Kou Zhong was correct. And he did understand Li Mis strengths and advantages. As long this strength could be used against him, Li Mis advantage would be his weakness. And Kou Zhong did have enough ability and wisdom toy a trap and lure Li Mi to enter it. Even with Li Mis wisdom as deep as the sea, he would never have expected that a terrifying adversary such as Kou Zhong was watching in the dark, had a good grasp of his strategy, and waiting for an opportunity to deal him a heavy blow. Question is: how would Kou Zhong make Wang Shichong to listen to him? In the present case, it was out of the question. This moment Ba Fenghan returned, carrying a small roebuck, cutting the two boys discussion. By dusk that day, the tree left the mountain area. By the time they reach a jungle by the south bank of River Ru, the night already fell. The moon had yet to appear in the night sky, the specks of stars filled the firmament, so magnificent and moving. Ba Fenghan drew his sword to cut a tree trunk. Paring its branches and leafs, he said, I am going to toss this tree trunk into the middle of the river, well use it as a stepping stone to reach the opposite bank. Whos first? Kou Zhongughed and said, Xiao Ling should be first! Actually, whos first whosst shouldnt make any difference. Xu Ziling suddenly lowered his voice, Something is not quite right. I dont know what it is, but ever since we left the mountain area, I have a heart rmed, body leaping feeling, a bit like that time when we were outside the city of Baling. Ba Fenghan was aghast, Actually, I am also good at tracking and anti-tracking technique, he said, Just now, I have used all kinds of methods to test whether anybody was tracking us. If Zilings feeling is unmistaken, then the enemy lying in the dark must be at least Qu Aos level. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Why hasnt he made his move then? Perhaps he does not have enough confidence to deal with us all at the same time, hence he is waiting for reinforcement. But then again, it is very likely that he is Qu Ao himself; perhaps he is nning onunching a sudden attack when we are crossing the river, to kill one of us first, and then leisurely clean up the other two. Ba Fenghan said, I dont care who he is; even if he is Qu Ao himself, so what? We will find a way to lure him out, and then with ten-thousand catty thunderbolt strike we kill him, and get rid of the root of trouble. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, This is not the time to show off your bravado; since our whereabouts is already detected by the enemy, our route will be full of thistles and thorns all the way to Luoyang. If we simply fight our way through, we would eventually fall into bitter battle and die of exhaustion. Its really not worth it. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, Do you have any suggestion? Whose territory is Xiangcheng anyway? Xu Ziling asked back. Wang Shichongs, of course, Ba Fenghan replied, Otherwise the Eastern Capital would be done for long ago. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, If anybody is watching us right now, they would think that we were going to cross the river. If we suddenly run along the River toward Xiangcheng, other than tucking their tail in wild pursuit, the opponents practically dont have any other choice. Ba Fenghan was delighted, The wilderness outside the city of Xiangcheng is a wide open space; it does not give anybody any shelter. If anybody is following us, we will know who it is! After further discussion about the details, as well as deciding any contingency measures, the three of them walked over to the river. Ba Fenghan transferred his strength to his arm and flung the tree trunk to the middle of the river. Ssh! Water burst everywhere. With a loud shout the three men dashed along the river toward Xiangcheng. Chapter 4 - Part 2 Xiangcheng was located on the north bank of River Ru, connecting the vast area of mountains with the upstream and downstream river traffic. Due to its geographic location, it was a very strong and inessible fortress. Whoever had any control of it would have a significant role in determining the Eastern Capital Luoyangs safety and danger. The Xiangyang city walls were surrounded by chain, the wall was solid and grand, the gate and the city watchtower was spectacr, arrow tower stood tall; in short, it was an austere scene to behold. About a li away from the city, they crossed the River Ru and reached the section where the river was diverted to make up the moat surrounding the city, and crouched low among the tall grass. Looking back, the vast wilderness waspletely empty, not even half a ghost was to be seen. The tall and lofty, reaching up to fifteen zhang high, city wall was brightly lit, so that the moat was as bright as daytime. Even a fly would not be able to escape the city guards eyes. Other than charging in from the outside, there was no other way to enter the city. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, If someones really trailing us, this person must be so brilliant that he will make our hearts tremble. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Zi Lings intuition is well-tested; he cant be wrong. Xu Zilings gaze fell on a small hill in the distance; he spoke withplete confidence, The enemy is on top of that hill. With a deep frown on his forehead, Ba Fenghan asked, Shall we make a detour to go to Luoyang immediately? It would be better than staying here, where we can neither advance nor retreat. If the enemy set up an inescapable, we would be in big trouble. Hey! I heard hoof beats! Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong immediately focused their power on their ears and sure enough, they heard from about three li on the north there was arge number of cavalry rushing toward Xiangcheng. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, This is called the Heaven is in our side! We have the opportunity to sneak into the city. Ding! Three cups clinked against each other. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Tonight the bright moon is high up in the sky, if there is any major enemying here, let me, the Old Ba, be the host. Zhong Shao, Ziling, you must promise to give me the honor. Kou Zhong raised the wine cup in his right hand, and like an arrow the wine shot into his throat. The most amazing thing was that he took it all, not a single drop of wine was spilled. Laughing to his hearts content, he said, This is the first time you call yourself Old Ba, and with unprecedented politeness too! I wonder whats the reason? Ba Fenghan also drained the wine in his cup in one gulp. His lightning-like eyes swept the other patrons of the restaurant first, scaring some people who were staring at them because of the three mens unrestrained words and actions, so that they quickly lowered their heads to avoid his gaze. Only then did he smile and said, The purpose of my, Ba Fenghans visit to the Central Earth is to meet as many as possible martial art masters of this ce. Now that someone voluntarily drops in, naturally my mood is getting better, my attitude automatically bes different. Will Zhong Shao be satisfied with this exnation? Xu Ziling only sipped his wine before setting down the wine cup. Laughing involuntarily, he said, I am afraid the enemy wont be able to enter the city until tomorrow morning. Old Ba, I think you are rejoicing too soon! With a faraway look on his face, Kou Zhong said, Tomorrow will be a very interesting day. The best thing is that we practically do not know who is going toe looking for us. This moment their dishes arrived. Kou Zhong refilled the three mens cups and then said, Old Ba, you are a Tujue, I was wondering if I could ask you some Tujue-rted matters? Speak up! Ba Fenghan replied. Kou Zhong thought for a moment, and then lowering his voice he said, Which side are you guys really supporting? The other day Tujues Shibi Khan dispatched the Double-Spear General Yan Lihui and Dauntless Lion Mu Tiexiong to collude with Li Mi, with the aim of killing Zhai Rang. But ... Ba Fenghan cut him off, First of all, you need to know that Tujue is divided into eastern and western parts. Shibi is Eastern Tujues Khan. For thest decade or so, there are wars on all sides; on the east from Khitan, Shi Wei, on the west from Tuyuhun, Gao Chang, both were officials in the Eastern Tujues feudal court. As for the Western Tujue, their base of operations is at the river basin of Ili River; all thend west of Altai Mountain Range is their domain, a vast territory that in no way is inferior to the Eastern Tujue. Ba Fenghan continued, Whether it is the Eastern Tujue or Western Tujue, the structure of the line ofmand is different from the dynastic imperial court system of the Central Earth; they are more tribal-centered. For instance, Eastern Tujues Shibi is just a tribal chief, but he has the strongest power, hence he was elected as the supreme leader. In such ce where the strongest became king, no one can guarantee that tomorrow he can keep his power and status. So what about Bi Xuan? Xu Ziling asked out of curiosity, Is he from the Eastern Tujue or Western Tujue? Hearing Bi Xuans name, Ba Fenghan let out a cold snort first before replying, Our Tujue people attach most importance to courage and strength. Bi Xuan is the number one martial art master of the Eastern Tujue, hence among the locals he holds a god-like status. If Shibi Khan did not have his support, he could forget about having a stable position as the Khan. Therefore, when I offended Bi Xuan, it was tantamount to offending the entire Eastern Tujue. Ha! But why should I, Ba Fenghan, be afraid? Arent still alive like a lively dragon and animated tiger? From Ba Fenghan, the two boys could clearly feel the valiant style of the Tujue people. At the corner of the restaurant, there was a table on which sat several people, men and women. They all wore warrior outfit, and everybody was armed; they seemed to be the disciples of the same school or sect. The two women among them were young, charming, and quite pretty. These two women noticed the outstanding build and appearance of the three men, and seemed to be unable to restrain their emotions; they could not keep their eyes from drifting toward them. The fact was that the three were indeed extraordinary characters, which might not be found one in ten thousand, and were brimming with masculine charms. Forget about the young girls at their first-awakening-of-love stage, even the rest of the party, which were men just like the three, could not help staring at them with respect. This moment the two women happened to look their direction, and Ba Fenghan met their gaze, and gave them a very gracious smile. His neat rows of snow white teeth were dazzling, and were extremely captivating. The two young women were surprised and delighted at the same time; hastily they hung their head low to avoid his eyes; even their ears turned red. Upon seeing this, their three male tablepanions revealed an unpleasant look of jealousy and anger. Ba Fenghan ignored them and remarked, At our ce, a womans worth is measured by the number of horses, cattle and sheep; they are considered as mens property. Kou Zhong had no interest in this aspect; he said, You have not answered my question. For some unknown reason, Ba Fenghans mood was very good this evening, Lets talk while we eat, he said. The three men raised their wine cups and their chopsticks; the atmosphere was exceptionally lively. After staring quietly at Xu Ziling for a moment, Ba Fenghan asked in surprised, Does Ziling have a load in his mind? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I suddenly remembered Yu Yi; I wonder what happened to her? Ba Fenghan sighed and said, To be honest with you, I am worried about her as well. Hence I really want to catch one of Yin Gui Pai people to interrogate him; its just that I did not say it out loud! Upon hearing this, the two boys good impression on him rose up several notches; at least he was not as cold and heartless as he appeared to be. Tonight they gained further understanding of Ba Fenghan, but they still had a profound, unfathomable feeling toward him, because they were well aware that Ba Fenghan kept his innermost feeling deep within, and also because his way of thinking and his working style were different from ordinary peoples, making it hard for other people to pin down. Like he was expressing his true feeling right now; to him it was a rare urrence. Kou Zhong said, Yu Yis qinggong is very superior; if she could not take it, she could have just gotten away. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Junyu once told me that her Shifu taught her the Ni Tian Dun Shu, which enable her to get away far and wide under any circumstances. Huh? Howe your countenances be so unsightly? [Trantors note: I have difficulty finding a concise, yet urate trantion for this: nitian C defiance of the natural order, dun C escape/flee, shu C method/technique. So the long version would be escape method in defiance of the natural order, or supernatural escape technique, but I thought supernatural is not urate.] Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Speaking of which, our Niang actually had a chance to escape alive, but because she wanted to protect us, she was forced to stake it all against Yuwen Huagu that in the end both sides suffered. Ay! Ba Fenghan was stunned, Whos Yuwen Huagu? he asked, Oh! I understand. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I will definitely kill him. Ba Fenghan understood their grief; he deliberately changed the subject, Nearing the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Central Earth was a big mess. Worse yet, due to Emperor Yangs three military expeditions to Gaoli [Korea], in the north the people had no way to make a living. Due to many reasons, for example unbearably harsh taxation, or perhaps to evade military conscription, or to escape from corrupt government officials, many people, military personnel and civilians alike, crossed over the Great Wall to take refuge in the Eastern Tujue. Not only this had given great boost to Shibi Khans power, it has also enabled him to have a clear grasp of your distinguished countrys situation. Have you ever heard the name Zhao Deyan? Kou Zhong shook his head, Never heard of him, he replied, Sounds like a Han name. Be Fenghan said, In terms of martial art skill, intelligence and strategy, this man is superior. But his origin is mysterious. His martial art style and mental cultivation [xin fa] seem toe from his own development, so different from the others. If you want to know the extent of his brilliance, its very easy, owing to the fact that when Bi Xuan saw him, his interest was aroused that he wanted to have apetition with him, until in the end he was forced to use the Hua Yang Da Fa [Great Method of Transforming the Sun], a skill he kept at the bottom of his chest, before finally able to defeat him. From this you can tell how formidable he really is. The two boys could not help being tongue-tied. Ba Fenghan went on, This battle has propelled Zhao Deyans fame within the Wulin circle outside the Wall, and has earned him the position as Shibis most trusted aide. The year beforest Shibi fell ill and died, and Chuluo Khan took his ce. Strange thing was that without any illness Chuluo Khan suddenly passed away, and Xieli Khan reced him. But Xieli Khan has a very good rtionship with Zhao Deyan. If anybody said that Chuluo Khans death had nothing to do with Zhao Deyan, I will be the first to disbelieve it, because all along Chuluos rtionship with Xieli and Zhao Deyan was like fire and water. Amazed, Kou Zhong asked, So the power nowadays is in Xielis hands; what kind of man is he? With a coldugh, Ba Fenghan replied, Just by looking at how he is using Zhao Deyan, we know that he is a very ambitious person. To him, the more chaotic the Central Earth is the better, it would be best if it all split up and in pieces, and always in perpetual conflict; this way he would have an opportunity he could exploit. ording to Zhao Deyans grand n, anybody whosing to ask for help, they would help indiscriminately, while as much as possible preventing any single party to grow. Therefore, they both supported Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidu attacking the Li n, and also supporting the Li n to rebel against the Sui Dynasty by attacking Guanzhong; themselves constantly invade the border and looting, while using war to incite war, waiting for fortunate timing. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, At most this Zhao Deyan has to be killed; why would they have to swap the spearheads against their own people? Ba Fenghan replied, His style is a bit like Yin Gui Pai, full of hatred against the world, and will only be satisfied if the whole country is in rebellion. Eastern Tujue has another person we need to watch, the Cyclone Tu Li. This man is Xielies [paternal] nephew. Not only his martial art skill outstanding, he is able to move the troops like a deity. The other day the one Xieli sent out to help Li Yuan capturing Guanzhong was precisely this person. It is said that he had an excellent rtionship with Li Yuans second son; they called each other Xiong and Di [older and younger brother, respectively]. Li Yuans second son was none other than Li Shimin. Kou Zhong was listening with keen interest;ughing, he said, Old Ba, you really enlightened me today; in the future, would you like me to bestow you the title of some Fenghan Khan? Ba Fenghan smiled in amusement; he said, I almost said go to your Niang. If I, Ba Fenghan, want to strive for high official position in Tujue, the effort I need to spend is like the exertion of lifting my hand. But I must say the same thing to you: if you want to ascend to the most venerable throne in the world, you must make this positionparatively more pleasing to the eye than if other people are sitting on it, because after all, we have been through trials and tribtions together! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, That is the most fitting remark bare none! While the three were bursting out inughter, the men and women on the other table paid their bill and left. The two women were still reluctant to part; they had their eyes on the three before finally leaving in disappointment. Meanwhile the food on the table had been thoroughly wiped clean. Ba Fenghan said, Western Tujues people are powerful their horses strong, not inferior to the Eastern Tujue by any means. If both countries unite, great catastrophe will befall the Central Earth. Fortunately Xieli and Western Tujues Khan Tong Xiehu have never been in good terms with each other that they are incapable to form an alliance powerful enough to invade to the east. Xu Ziling said in wonder, Fenghan Xiong is very considerate to us, Han people. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Countries and peoples are just a source of confusion. As far as Im concerned, border between countries are nothing more than man-made game, it cant exist in perpetuity. The only thing really worth our consideration is the culture we inherited from the previous generations. Deep contemtion look came to Xu Ziling; if they did not chat with Ba Fenghan, they would never know that he had such thought that transcend worldliness. But Kou Zhong did not give it further thought; he asked, Eastern Tujue has Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan. Does Western Tujues Tong Xiehu have any capable person under hismand? Ba Fenghan replied, Western Tujues Guoshi [teacher of the state] is a Persian martial art master Yun Shuai [lit. Commander Cloud; not sure if it was his name or his title]. This man uses a crescent-shaped saber, and his mastery has reached perfection, no one in Western Tujue can match him. More than that, he is a master in deceit and scheming, in strategy and tactics. Were it not for him, Western Tujue would have been wiped out by other tribes early on. After a short pause, he went on, Yun Shuai has a daughter named Lian Rou. I heard that not only she is highly intelligent, her cunning and martial art skill were handed-down directly from her father. Moreover, her beauty is the kind that is capable of causing the downfall of a nation. Tong Xiehu regards her as his own daughter; he loves and dotes on her in every possible way. Kou Zhong was about to speak when suddenly the rm went off in his heart. Together with Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling they turned their heads to look at the entrance. In fact, this moment all the diners over a dozen or so tables inside the restaurant had their eyes on a woman in white standing in front of the door. Just as if they had their acupoints sealed, they all stared with big, shiny eyes, dumbstruck, and in daze. If anybody were able to read what was in their mind, they all had the same thing, Unexpectedly there is such a beautiful woman like her in the world. Like an apparition Wanwan, in clothes as white as the snow, stood at the door. Her beautiful but hazy eyes, as if she was dreaming, were fixed on the three men, but her beautiful face was as tranquil as a still water. Her bare feet were sticking out under her skirt. Even the pickiest person would not be able to say that he found any w in her. Book 12 - 5 – Battle Over The Table Book 12 Chapter 5 C Battle Over The Table Wanwan, like a fairy, who did not feed on human world smoke and fire, descending from the heavens, elegant and supple, walked over to the three mens table, which was leaning against the corner of the restaurant, and sat down in an easy and rxed manner on the empty chair between Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan. Her beautiful eyes, which aroused wild and fanciful thoughts more than in a dream, swept the three mens faces, until it finally stopped at Ba Fenghans. A faint smile, which was more gentle and natural than a ripple, escaped from the corner of her mouth as she spoke in her sexy contralto voice, Ba Fenghan, how are you? [Reminder: in Chinese, how are you is are you well/good (ni hao).] Ba Fenghans tiger-eyes shed with cold light as he swept his eyes around at the staring, bewitched eyes of the other diners, before he suddenly exploded, What are you looking at? The other diners felt stabbing pain as if their eardrums were pricked with needles; they work up with a start and hastily lowered their eyes. The waiter, who was about to greet Wanwan, was scared and withdrew. It was only then did Ba Fenghan turn his eyes to Wanwan,ughed aloud and said, Theres a beauty honoring me with her presence, how could I, Ba Fenghan, be not good? [see my note above]. Only I dont know whether Miss Wanwan has just arrived in town, or whether your lotus self has been around for a while in here? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling maintained their calm-and-unruffled-in-the-midst-of-chaos bearing; they did not appear to be troubled by Wanwan suddenly paying them a visit. While actually, they focused their attention to hear what Wanwan was going to say in response to the question. It should be noted that presently the City of Xiangcheng, or any other cities for that matter, was in a tight-security, very high alert situation. Unless one knew some invisibility technique or was relying on brute force to charge into the city, one could forget about sneakily slip into the city without anybody noticing it. Therefore, if Wanwan replied that she had just entered the city, there was a very high possibility that she was colluding with Xiangchengs city master, plus it was very possible that she was the enemy stalking them in secret outside the city just now. However, her other answer would be more troubling: how could she, without being a irvoyant, have predicted that they woulde here and thus was waiting for them here? Wanwans lucid and elegant like a fairys jade countenance was as calm as still water; her gaze slowly swept Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling before her cherry lips spat out the answer, Ba Xiongs question is very odd; under current circumstances, what difference does it make if I arrived here earlier orter? Plus the real problem you are facing right now is actually only one: unless the three gentlemen can fly to the sky to escape, you wont be able to fly off the palm of nujias [lit. woman, humble self-reference by young female] hand. The question you should ask is: why does nujia has time to casually chatting with you? Giggling, Kou Zhong said, Why you have time to chat, we do not have time to ask. Ha! I almost forget to tell you: we are never afraid of empty-word threat; if you have the ability, bring it on and let me see! Pfft! Wanwan stifled her tenderugh; her manner looked extremely enchanting as she cast Kou Zhong a sideways thousand-tender, hundred-charm nce and said, You dont seem to have heard the saying, those whoe bore ill-will, those who are benevolent donte ... Suddenly Ba Fenghans palm struck the table, jarring the bowls and the tes while cutting her off at the same time. His eyes shot an unprecedented terrifying light as he thundered, Everybody else get lost! I am going to kill! The diners, waiters and the proprietor were scared sh1tless; they scrambled out in confusion that in the blink of an eye the spacious restaurant was empty except for the four people. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were well aware that Ba Fenghan deliberately created a scene so that the people in the restaurant would notify Xiangcheng authority, so that Wanwans people could not attack them unscrupulously. Wanwan clearly did not expect Ba Fenghan would use this move; her phoenix-eyes turned cold, obviously her fragrant heart was in fury. Without looking at her at all, Ba Fenghan said, Cut the crap; let me see how much weigh Zhu Yuyans conceited disciple really weigh. Throwing his head back, Kou Zhong chuckled loudly and said, If I, Kou Zhong, am not mistaken, just now outside the city it was you, female demon Wan, who followed us around like a hanging-boot ghost. And now you are afraid we might suddenly slip away from the city, hence you came here executing a stalling tactic, all because your helpers have yet to arrive. Am I right? Wanwan recovered her no-wind, no-wave calm demeanor. Her sparkling-and-translucent-like-superior-jade skin appeared to glow with a hard-to-describe luster; she sighed gloomily and said, You are courting death! The three immediately knew she was about to attack. While they were about tounch a preemptive attack, the entire table suddenly slid sideways to crush Ba Fenghan. At the same time Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong sensed that under the table, Wanwans bare feet were flying toward them. In the split second, as quick as a flints spark, before the edge of the table crashed onto the pit of Ba Fenghans stomach, Ba Fenghans right palm, with unbelievable speed, chopped down on the tables edge. The solid wood table broke; the two halves of tabletop caved in, but the side closest to Wanwan was sent by Ba Fenghans skillfully applied force that it flew at an angle, aiming toward Wanwans throat. Bang! Bang! The two boys separately blocked Wanwans kicks. They were already wary of Wanwans Tian Mo Gong with its unpredictable changes; therefore, they retained some strength to guard against unexpected follow-up attacks. Wanwanughed tenderly; her tender body, along with the chair she was sitting on, flew backward, so that the half the tabletop flew only a hairsbreadth away from the tip of her nose, and failed to inflict the least bit of damage on her. The tes, bowls and wine cups, which were originally on the table, fell down to the floor. Crack! Crack! Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong simultaneously applied their inner power to shatter their chairs and flew backward to dodge two streams of powerful, swift and fierce, winding out from Wanwans fingers. Xu Ziling was still sitting steadily on his chair. While sending out a punch over the empty space, he took advantage while the table was falling to the floor, the tip of his toes caught one of the saucers on their way down and then sending out his spiraling energy, the saucer spun out at an oblique angle with astonishing speed toward Wanwans knee. If she were hit, it could almost be guaranteed that none of Wanwans kneecap would stay intact. This close range battle across the table was a hundred times more dangerous than any battle the four of them had ever encountered in all their lives. It was swift beyondprehension, and was both a battle of strength and a battle of wits, where myriads of changes happened in such a short period of time. The Beheading Mystery Sword and the Moon in the Well Saber left their scabbards. Wanwan soared to the air. With the tip of her toes she kicked the saucer shot by Xu Ziling. The saucer immediately changed it direction, with an even faster speed it spun to cut Ba Fenghans face. With a longugh Xu Ziling sprang off the chair, made a somersault in the air, and fast as lightning he flew up feet first toward Wanwan, who was about to escape by crashing through the roof. Kou Zhong also leaped up at an angle, the Moon in the Well turned into a streak of yellow light, shooting straight toward Wanwan. Ba Fenghan turned his head sideways to evade the splitting-the-air flying saucer, but because of this he was dyed a fraction of a second and thus missed the distinguished meeting of dragon and phoenix in the air. Wanwan let out a cold snort. As if she was catching butterflies, her palms fluttered in the air, creating thousands of palm shadows, in full disy of her formidable Tian Mo Gong. Almost simultaneously Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong felt as if the space, approximately a zhang in diameter, with Wanwan as the center, suddenly copsed that they had nowhere to apply their forces. If it were during the days before they spent ten days in hard training on the mountain, this moment the two boys would be undeniably at a loss, and just like in the battle at Jinglings Duba Mansions garden, they could only withdraw to save their own lives. However, after ten days of vigorous sparring with Ba Fenghan, the two boys have made tremendous progress, both in terms of knowledge and experience, as well as in skill and power. They knew that if they withdrew right now, Wanwans concentrated Tian Mo Gong would attack Ba Fenghan in full power. Xu Ziling quickly withdrew his kicking right foot; in a calm and measured manner he drew a small circle, his movement was so perfect as if it was carved by the Heaven, without the jaggedness of a hatchet or a chisel, so that Wanwan, who was in a life and deathbat against him, could also feel the mystery of mysteries he exuded. Like a tornado the spiraling energy rolled out, but it was spinning in the opposite direction, so that the seemingly copsing space suddenly solidified again, which was then punctured by Xu Zilings scorching vortex of qi, which then continued on toward Wanwans t, without-an-ounce-of-extra-fat, belly. Xu Ziling suddenly attained a sh of inspiration; he understood that by using the most innovative move he had ever thought of in all his life, he had prated Tian Mo Shen Gongs secret. Space cant possibly copse. Chapter 5 - Part 2 Because Tian Mo Gongs special characteristic was that it had some kind of ability to absorb the opponents power and use it for its own purpose, whenever any true qi met with Wanwans devilish skill, its power was greatly reduced as if it was wilting away, leading up to the illusion of the copsing space. But when Xu Ziling suddenly pulled back his full-powered right kick and changed the direction of its rotation, Wanwan was caught off guard and was unable to absorb his energy. Furthermore, he was able to break the Tian Mo shield of qi, which Wanwan had trained to the highest, i.e. forty-ninth, level, and continued the attack toward her. Witnessing what had just happened, Ba Fenghan screamed wildly, Good! Like a furious dragon the Beheading Mystery Sword shot up to attack Wanwan. Just before the force from Xu Zilings foot made contact with Wanwan, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well also made a changed as well, from stabbing it turned into sweeping chop, hacking Wanwans extremely small waist. Along its trajectory, the Moon in the Well constantly altered its angle and direction, as well as its speed and strength, as it chopped wildly, as if an invisible enemy was wrestling it in the air. This saber strike was also the pinnacle of Kou Zhongs lifelong effort. The purpose of each change was to make Wanwan unable to grasp, and therefore unable to weaken its spiraling energy. Yet Wanwan remained calm without the slightest bit of fear. The thousands of palm shadows converged back into two, with the right palm blocked Xu Zilings foot power, and the left hand withdrawn inside her sleeve, and the sleeve brushed against Kou Zhongs chopping Moon in the Well. Bang! When the force from the foot collided with Wanwans jade palm, which was so delicate that it appeared as if he used a bit more strength he would be able to shatter it if he crush it in his grip, unexpectedly his power dissipated, and its direction altered, so that with an even higher speed it swiftly shot toward Ba Fenghan, who was dashing upward. In shock Xu Ziling withdrew his power. Wanwan seized this opportunity to increase the momentum [orig. push the wave and add to the billows], by adding her powerful heart-destroying, lungs-splitting Tian Mo qi, as if ten sharp needles were mixed into Xu Zilings withdrawn spiraling energy, without he be able to do anything about it. Wham! Like a steel whip the soft sleeve rammed onto the de of the Moon in the Well. Immediately Kou Zhong felt his arm was about to split. Not only his own force was deflected sideways, Wanwan also added a generous amount of her power that, like a snake, coiled and wrapped around his qi, and pulled him toward thebined forces line of action. At the same time Wanwans snow-white bare foot flew out from underneath her skirt, if Wanwan seeded in pulling Kou Zhong to this position, her foot would hit him right on his groin, and thus destroying the out of the ordinary martial art skill he obtained from the Secret to Long Life. No one understood the fantastic skill resulted from the Secret to Long Life better than she did. Because no one had a more intimate contact with the two boys than she did. Also, only she understood how terrifying these two boys actually were. Over time, these two boys would be out-of-the-world martial art masters of Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuans caliber. Killing them one day earlier was definitely better than killing them a dayte. Bang! Ba Fenghan was the first to meet the flowing-smoothly-and-swiftly column of spiraling qi that Wanwan borrowed from Xu Ziling to kill him. With a muffled grunt he was thrown sideways. Xu Ziling pushed with the tip of his right foot, while originally he wanted to withdraw his power, and changed it into a forward push, while also changing the direction of the spiral. It was a totally brilliant move. Wanwans mistake was that she neglected Xu Zilings true qi directed against her, which was like a part of his body and thus capable to respond to changing circumstances. As soon as it detected Wanwans sinister method, it immediately held on [orig. reining in the horse at the edge of the precipice] and changed from pull to push. The dozen or so streams of Tian Mo needle-like energy returned intact into this beautiful demoness body. Kou Zhong also altered his saber strike; exploded into a ball of saber light, each strike carried a short, pulsing spiraling energy, to meet Wanwans Tian Mo power and dissipate it. In both defense and offense move, like snowkes the saber light floated toward Wanwans left nk. Meanwhile Ba Fenghan was thrown toward the wall farthest away from the battle. Using his toes to make contact with the wall, he ricocheted back like a bullet. The Beheading Mystery Sword in his hand moved in arge arch, it shed toward Wanwans delicate back. Wanwan immediately fell into the perilous situation where she was facing three-pronged attack at the same time. As the sword qi arrived at her back, Wanwan spun around, pulled her sleeves back and rolled them to her elbows, exposing her pair of whiter-than-snow, superior-to-frost, jade arms, which fantastically shing indeterminately into countless arm shadows, making she looked exactly like thousand-arm Guanyin [Goddess of Mercy] in a marvelous demonic [Tian Mo] dance. Her originally sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade slender jade arms were glowing with eerie color and luster, so that the onlookers were even more dazzled and stunned. A continuous sound of shing qi rang. In that instant, Wanwan sessively blocked a kick, a saber and a sword. Ba Fenghans sword camest. First, one after another Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shaken by Wanwans Tian Mo Gong that they were thrown backward. Right this moment, the de of Ba Fenghans no-stronghold-he-could-not-ovee sword was pared down by Wanwan. Like a shattering mountain rock the powerful qi sshed out at the impact of the palm and the sword. Using the jade finger of her left hand Wanwan burst Kou Zhongs sphere of saber, while with her right palm she parried Xu Zilings powerful kick. In all honesty, she was forced to use up her entire strength. Plus Ba Fenghan was shrewd and ruthless. In terms of skill and strength, he was slightly above Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. This one sword strike was sent not only with the condensed essence, qi and spirit that had been trained to perfection, it also carried the dauntless, overpowering, and matchless confidence. It was only this moment that Wanwan understand why Ba Fenghan was acimed as Tujues most outstanding martial art master after Bi Xuan. The instant her tender and delicate palm hacked down on the de of the sword, Ba Fenghan felt his entire body was swaying; he felt lightness as if his meridians werepletely ruptured. Knowing the seriousness of the situation, he withdrew half of his power to protect his body, while at the same time borrowing the reaction force from the impact to fly away. At first Wanwan tasted the sweetness in her throat, but then she vomited a mouthful of fresh blood from her cherry lips, while feeling the residue of the impact force was still trying to spin her around. Quickly she jumped upward, broke the roof, and disappeared beyond the gaping hole on the ceiling. Bang! Kou Zhong crashed onto a chair, which immediately disintegrated, so that hended on his butt on the floor. Xu Ziling was not so lucky; he was thrown straight toward the window, shattering the frame, andnded on the alley behind the restaurant. Compared to the two, Ba Fenghans escape was the least awkward; he managed tond safely on his feet, and immediately cried out, Lets go! Other trouble ising! Crawling back up, Kou Zhong also heard the sound of hoof beats outside,ing toward the restaurant. He knew that if they did not leave now, they would be caught in another bloody battle in the city. Chapter 5 - Part 3 The three men crashed through the city walls, slipped out of the city, and ran to the north. After speeding along for more than ten li, Ba Fenghan told them to stop in a forest. He said, Now even I have to admire inplete prostration to Zilings extraordinary instinct. I wonder if Ziling currently still have the feeling that someone is following us like before? Xu Ziling seldom received such a heartfeltmendation from Ba Fenghan; his handsome face blushed slightly, he shook his head. Ba Fenghan was delighted, That means we have temporarily broken away from this female demon Wan; this womans martial art skill is so high, it surpasses Bian Bufus. Acting as if he was still under much trepidation, Kou Zhong said, Just now the difference between victory and defeat was really a hairsbreadth; fortunately she was alone, otherwise I am afraid we would suffer a cmity! Ba Fenghan sat down, leaning on a tree, Lets sit down and rest for a moment, he said, We still have a long way to go. After Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat down on his left and right, he went on, Demonic school people very seldom working in team, simply because ofck of trust between each other, plus the process of their training can be considered individual top secret; therefore, they are used to leave home to make their way in the world alone. This should not be surprising to us. Fortunately so, Kou Zhong remarked, Luckier still, we had the ten-day training up the mountain, so that we developed tacit understanding among us; otherwise we could forget about injuring her. Xu Ziling said, I wonder if this would provoke Zhu Yuyan toe out? Ba Fenghan said, By that time we will be in Luoyang already. The problem at hand will be dealing with the Tiele Eagle Qu Ao. Just like me, this man was born among the horse thieves, so he is adept in the art of tracking and pursuing. If we do not alter our conduct slightly, sooner orter he would definitely catch up with us. What would be a feasible solution? Kou Zhong asked. Ba Fenghan replied, The art of tracking is nothing more than examining traces, sniffing smells, looking far, and listening to the wind, four major methods. Examining traces involves looking for vestiges our target may leave behind; for example footprint, snapped branches and leaves, stepped over flowers and nts, and so on. Expert trackers such as Qu Ao or even me, Ba Fenghan, whether day or night, in just one nce will be able to see minute details like that, therefore, no trace can actually be hidden. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay; they both mused inwardly that no wonder that time Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu were able to continuously follow behind them. Ba Fenghan went on, Next one is sniffing smells. Human bodies have open pores that constantly send out odors, which will linger long before dissipating. Unless you are in running water, the scent will be attached to the flowers, nts and trees you are passing through. Those with superior tracking skill have a sense of smell which is more sensitive than a dogs, so with just one sniff we would know. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Why didnt you tell us earlier? he asked, We could apply our power to shrink our pores, so that our qi would not leak out, hence we would not need to expose our whereabouts, at least in this aspect. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Frankly, because it was unnecessary. I did not wish to tell you about this either, because there is no guarantee that one day we wont be standing in opposite sides. When that day came and I had to track you, it would be very, very difficult. Kou Zhong was stunned. You are frank enough, he said, But why did you change your mind now? The reason is very simple, Ba Fenghan replied, Because there are currently too many enemies looking for us. Yin Gui Pai and Qu Ao in one group, Li Mi and the Great River Alliance in another group. And then there are the disciples and subordinates that Bi Xuan sent out. Any one of these groups has enough strength to annihte us, enough power to make us at our wits end. Therefore, we absolutely must not reveal our track. Under these circumstances, how could I remain selfish? Xu Ziling asked, Is looking far referring to climbing to a higher ne and looking far and near from high vantage point? Exactly, Ba Fenghan replied, It sounds simple, but each time it was surprisingly effective. If we have sufficient number of people, we could send each one to different peak to keep watch, it would be difficult for the enemy to evade the trackers eyes and ears. Therefore, if we want to reach Luoyang alive, we must make a n to counter these three points, absolutely must not hasten up recklessly toward Luoyang. And then he added, As for listening to the wind, its only useful when we are near the target, plus the target must be somewhat inferior to the tracker. Those with superior martial art skill will be able to hear the rustling of the clothes from several li away; thereby they will be able to pinpoint the exact location of the target. All horse thieves, regardless of their martial art skill, are expert in listening to the wind. Just by identifying the changes of the wind, they will know where the enemies are. But this technique is more suited to ins or deserts; its not suitable for terrain like we have now. Kou Zhong said, You are the expert in this, what should we do? Ba Fenghan smiled and replied, In current situation, we may have sessfully broken away from the Twin Malevolent of Changbais people; at least we have left them far behind, hence we can put them aside for now. Tuoba Yu, Shixiong and Shimei, ought to be in simr situation. Therefore, the most worrisome right now are Qu Ao and Yin Gui Pais people. If my guess is correct, they must be on their way toe here at full speed. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, I dont know how many branches and twigs we broke, how many flowers and nts we treaded along the way here, wouldnt that mean if the enemy was following our track, they could be here anytime? What are we doing tarrying in this ce? Ba Fenghanughed and said, If they are able toe so quickly, just now that female demon Wan would not have employed dying tactic by trying to hold us there. Kou Zhong was anxious to get to Luoyang as soon as possible; he urged, You seem to have answer for everything, why dont you quickly tell us your countermeasure? Ba Fenghan replied, First, let us set two different routes, leaving clues [orig. spiders thread and horse track] along the way just like we did, so that the enemy can follow our track, but they will have to split their forces to pursue along two different trails. And then after reaching certain point, we will make our pores vanish, to prevent our bodies qi from leaking out, plus we will be careful in treading the path; step on the rocks, the tip of the trees, or perhaps along a creek to escape. And then well meet again somewhere else. By that time the enemys forces would have been scattered everywhere while they suddenly lose our whereabouts. I guarantee that they will be at a loss to know what to do. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, That is certainly a brilliant scheme. But the enemies definitely know we are heading to Luoyang. As long as they set up sentries on high ces, wont that mean we still cannot cover our tracks? Ba Fenghanughed and said, Looking far technique is only effective during daytime; during the night its efficacy is lost big time. Besides, this method requires a lot of manpower, and they dont really have too many martial art masters who could see in the dark as well as under the bright sunlight. Qu Ao, Changshu Mou, and other masters their caliber will never be sentinels on the mountain top waiting like a dumb bird! Therefore, we can hide by day ande out at night; we can even take the opportunity during daytime to train, to preserve and nurture our spirit, so that we can move again at night. I guarantee the enemy wont even grope our shadows. Afterughing aloud, he went on, Enough chatting, let us now look at two possible escape route! Remember that you can only leave traces of one person; this way it will confuse them even more as to which of us take which route! Listening to this, the two boys pped their thigh and eximed in praise. Book 12 - 6 – Hard Battle on the Mountain Top Book 12 Chapter 6 C Hard Battle on the Mountain Top It was just before daybreak. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongy down in a sparse forest on the slope of a hill at the foot of the Shaoshi Mountain southeast of Luoyang. On a distance down below was the Ying River tributary, which was flowing at great speed. This was the ce where they agreed to rendezvous with Ba Fenghan; about a li away, they had four short bamboo sticks arranged in certain position, which only the three of them understood, pointing to the exact location where the two boys were hiding. But Ba Fenghan has not showed up. Looking up to the vast sky full of stars, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Under different circumstances, the entire heaven and earth is different. Normally we did not have time to wholeheartedly look up to the sky. The more I look, the more I realized that the way I looked at the sky previously was so careless. Xu Ziling pointed to a cluster of brilliant rays on the horizon and said, That is the Pleiades, a constetion made up of seven bright stars; it is also known as the Seven Sisters. Amazed, Kou Zhong asked, How do you know such a profound name? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Everything is from Mr. Lus books. Dont you think that recognizing a couple more stars would be very interesting? Is it possible for you to teach me a thing or two? Kou Zhong asked, Next time we are looking at the sky, I can show off a bit in front of other people! One life time two brothers, Xu Ziling replied, What do I have that I cannot teach you? Kou Zhong was delighted, I was always the one who said that; this is the first time that it came out from your mouth. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Whether I say it out or not, whats the difference? The fact is we are closer than brothers. Back to the topic, if you want to recognize the stars, you must understand the dividing line between distinct realms of three walls and twenty-eight constetions. Three walls are Zi Wei, Tai Wei and Tian Fu [sorry, I have no idea what these are: zi C purple, tai C grand, wei C micro or abstruse, tian C sky, fu C kneepad]; the twenty-eight constetions are the seven constetions on each direction: east, south, west and north, added together to make the twenty-eight constetions! Kou Zhong gave a hollowugh, Hey! he said, I have enough for now. Next lesson Ill learn the position and name of the twenty-eight constetion. Changing the subject, he said, When we fought female demon Wan the other day, the victory and defeat only differed by a hairsbreadth. Slight miscalction and the one who was injured and escaped would be us and not female demon Wan. It was really dangerous. Xu Ziling said, If skills can be measured by scaled, female demon Wan cant possibly surpass the three of us put together. Yet obviously she was able to exploit all kinds of situations. On top of that, more and more demonic skill emerged, that she was able to toy with us in the palm of her hand. Were it not for her underestimating me, Ol Bas sword may not necessarily be able to injure her. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement. But Ol Bas sword was definitely our of the ordinary, hemented, Even when it was in as day that female demon Wan was able to block, she still suffer injury. Ay! Its going to be dawn soon, why hasnt Ol Ba arrived? Finished speaking, he sat up. Xu Ziling still had his mind on the sky; he seemed to be extremely fascinated. Kou Zhong looked around. Suddenly his whole body shook as he pointed in the direction of the upper reaches of the Ying River. Xu Ziling was awakened from his dream. By the time he sat up, Kou Zhong already sprang up and soared like a shooting star toward the Ying River. When Xu Ziling arrived at the shore, Kou Zhong, with Ba Fenghan, whose right hand was still gripping the Beheading Mystery Sword, whose face was as pale as a dead person, in his bosom, was leaping up from the water. When Xu Ziling took the sword from his hand, Ba Fenghan groaned, Quickly go! Qu Ao ising! The two boys were shocked. Carrying Ba Fenghan, they ran to the wilderness. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took turn carrying Ba Fenghan on their back as they covered more than thirty li distance. They ran in and out of the depth of the jungle. On one hand it was to evade the peoples eyes and ears, on the other hand it was because there were many streams in the jungle, in which they could wade along, so that it would be difficult for the enemy to follow their track. By that afternoon, they really could not move a single more step, hence they looked for a cave to rest and to transfer their qi to help Ba Fenghan treating his injury. The innate true qi from the Secret to Long Life was indeed extraordinary; not even half a sichenter, blood wasing back to Ba Fenghans face. After throwing up two mouthful of clotted blood, his breathing was starting to flow freely. He sighed and said, This time I was really lucky; if you guys did not pull me out of the river in time, I am afraid I would have drowned. How are you feeling right now? Xu Ziling asked in concern. Ba Fenghan let out a cold snort and said, Although Qu Aos Ning Zhen Jiu Bian [lit. condensed true nine changes] is formidable, it still failed to take my life. I only need three more sichen, plus with your help, I will be able to recover fully. And then he added in distress, I still dont understand how he could keep up with me; but it was obvious that in his rush, he had consumed arge amount of true energy, otherwise I wouldnt be able to use the cliff to add more distance between us, and also to use the water to escape. Lets talk about itter! Kou Zhong said, Right now we can only ask the deities and pray to Buddha that within these three sichen Qu Ao wont be able to find us here; otherwise we will be in big trouble! Minute by minute time passed. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took turns in transmitting their qi into Ba Fenghan to heal his injury and to stand guard outside the cave. Into the evening, it was Xu Zilings turn to keep watch outside. He selected a craggy boulder nearby to sit, from which he could monitor the entire mountain area below, but was rather hidden from sight. In the beautiful scenery under the setting sun, he enjoyed the steep cliffs and towering peaks, and the Ying River flowing between the two mountains, the lush water nts on the river, and the dark reflection of the dense green vegetation on the surface of the Ying River, in stark contrast to the red mountain and crystal-clear water. Three sailboats had just entered the periphery of his vision; the flowing water, rapid current, dark-green and bluish-green forest, in this instant the time seemed to stop. It was an unprecedented feeling. The ones moving were not the sailboats, but Xu Ziling and the entire perilous peaks spread out over the mountain and fields, while the water seemed to move at different speed. In his heart, Xu Ziling had no worry no delight; it was just a in of quietness. His entire sphere of thought was wide open. The true qi inside his body spiraling and surging. The exhaustion from the rushing journey and from treating Ba Fenghans injury was swept away. No one knows how much time had passed, the sun already disappeared beneath the western hills, a burst of night breeze blew his way, carrying with it the sound of the sleeve brushing against the wind. Without the slightest trepidation in his heart, Xu Ziling slowly closed his eyes. The approaching person was getting closer and closer. Just by listening to his speed, Xu Ziling knew that if it was not Qu Ao, then he must be a martial art master of the pinnacle of perfection like Wanwan or her caliber. With a long, clear whistle Xu Ziling soared into the air andnded among the weeds within the cluster of misceneous trees growing on the slope of the hill below, to the shock of the number one martial art master of Tiele, the Flying Eagle Qu Ao, who had just stepped his feet on the slope that he stopped suddenly. Qu Ao was tall and thin, but giving the impression that he was straight as a ramrod and robust. His skin was dark from long exposure to the sun, his face long like a goats, but it was well-defined, clear and powerful, like a statue carved with knife, which fit very well with his pair of sharp eagle or falcon-eyes. His overall impression was vigorous, powerful and intimidating. Only from the flickering expression shown in Qu Aos eyes Xu Ziling already knew that he was a vain and selfish, sinister and deceitful person. This kind of person would consider himself as the center of the universe, someone who seems to think that he has received the Heavens privilege to wantonly go on the rampage. Now the two people were separated by a full three-zhang distance, but without any visible posture, a surge of deep and cold murderous aura already assaulted like a tidal wave toward Xu Ziling. Upright and unafraid Xu Ziling stood calmly, while quietly gathered his energy to contend against the opponents irresistible qi power. Your son, it was me who killed it, he spoke emotionlessly, If you want revenge, go ahead! Qu Aos eyes exploded with sharp light; he said in astonishment, Kid, you do have the unyielding attitude of viewing death as a return home. How many moves do you think you can stand from me? Originally Qu Ao was nning oning up with ten-thousand-catty thunderbolt to knocked one of the three down and capture him alive, and then leisurely taking care of the other two, and then he would gain total control of all tree, making them hover between life and death, so that he could vent the hatred of his beloved sons murder. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling blocked his path before he reached the top with the spirit of a champion and unassable masculinity? If they fought under this kind of situation, even with Qu Aos ability, he would have no choice but to go all out. If that happened, they would have a life and death battle, where killing might be easy, but he could forget about capturing the opponent alive. Chapter 6 - Part 2 Qu Ao was a great martial art master of the present age. Finally he decided to crumble the loftiness in Xu Zilings heart. As long as the opponent was thinking of how many moves he could survive Qu Aos attack, naturally a feeling of unable to withstand the enemy would grow in his heart, and then the loftiness would diminish. Smiling slightly, Xu Ziling said, Old Qu, you are getting on in years, yet still so na?ve. Right now I have preserved and nurtured my spirit, plus I have helping hands nearby. While you, Old Qu, have been rushing around for two days, and have risked your life in a strenuous battle. You have be a weary army who cannot afford to make the slightest miscalction, or else you will implicate the illustrious name you painstakingly established all your life and let it down the drain. Qu Ao shivered in fear, because for the first time he saw how formidable Xu Ziling was. The most puzzling thing was that the opponent seemed to be filled with vitality and ample spirit, without showing the least bit ofck of true qi and the exhaustion of the hard battle earlier and the tiring journey of running away for their lives. It was simply impossible. Although he wounded Ba Fenghan earlier, his victory was really not easy; plus under Ba Fenghans counterattack, he suffered minor internal injury. And then in order to pursue the enemy, he did not have time to recover his energy, and thus like Xu Ziling said, he had be a tired army. The most formidable aspect from Xu Zilings remark was the implication about his age being young and his reputation being far below his, so that losing would not be a great deal to him, while on the other hand, Qu Ao simply could not afford to lose. Suddenly Qu Ao sensed that Xu Ziling appeared to be unfathomable. Previously, every time he faced an enemy, he was always able to see through the opponent, but this time was an exception. Even if Bi Xuan, Ning Daoqi, or the like were in his ce, they might also be simrly ovee with anxiety and doubt. Even Xu Ziling himself did not understand it; he seemed to understand the situation he was currently facing, yet he did not seem to recognize it for what it actually was. All because the Secret to Long Life was not a secret that was passed on from generation to generation, it agreed implicitly with the concept of Man and Heaven, that everything was beyond the natural world, from Laozis [Lao-tze] own word, the Law of Heaven: Road to road, extraordinary road, mystery within a mystery, arriving at its wonderful gate. [From the Book of Changes. Sorry, its beyond me.] Just now Xu Ziling skillfully obtained the image of the Heavenly Law prating the unspeakable, the nonexistent moment, something that ordinary people would not be able to see or could not understand clearly, where the essence and qi of the human body mixed with the essence and qi of the heaven and earth to be one entity, like a moment of enlightenment all of a sudden recovered the consumed true qi to nearingpletion, and still have enough strength to forge ahead vigorously. Such a mysterious principle, who could understand? [Definitely not me, I just tranted it as is. Sorry ...] An unspeakable feeling also grew in Qu Aos heart. But he has made his name for several decades, his will was as steadfast as a rock, hence he would never let discouragement overwhelm him. With a cold snort, fast as lightning he charged up the sloping hill toward Xu Ziling. But contrary to Qu Aos expectation, Xu Ziling also leaped up to meet Qu Ao in the air. Qu Ao was thinking that Xu Ziling would stay at the top of the slope to defend his position to the death and not letting Qu Ao to cross the line even half a step, to prevent him from going after Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, who were in hiding. But now Xu Ziling was staking everything up by leaving the passage wide open, without any apprehension he attacked with all his might; how could Qu Ao not be surprised? Its just that at this moment Qu Ao did not have the luxury to analyze the situation. His ten fingers spread open, he pushed the ground with his toes, and leaped up to meet the attack. His ten fingers generated powerful qi energy, sealing both Xu Zilings iing momentum and his escape route tightly, so that the only way out for Xu Ziling was to fight in total disregard of everything else. Seeing Qu Aos w was abstruse and unfathomable, extending and retracting indeterminately that it was hard to pin down, and it sealed the opponents movement with iparable tightness, but suddenly changed course midway from offense to defense, Xu Ziling could not help letting out a longugh, unexpectedly made a somersault in the air to rise half a zhang up, so that he was in a higher position looking down, and sent out a double punches in full strength to invade the shadow of Qu Aos w. The sound of colliding qi rang out continuously. In the blink of an eye the twobatants have exchanged more than a dozen moves. Amidst the dull grunt, Xu Ziling floated back to the top of the slope; he had to stagger one step back before he was able to gain a firm foothold. His left pants leg shattered into small pieces, two visible blood traces appeared, with fresh blood still oozing from them. Trace of blood also appeared on the corner of his mouth. Qu Ao was standing straight at the middle of the slope, his countenance ashen, his eyes shing with ominous glint. Just now he already gave it everything he had; who would have thought that Xu Ziling sent out amazing moves one after another, each move neutralized his killer move? How could he not lose face and his pair of eyes lost its light? Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, I told you Old Qu, you are tired! Yet you insist on showing off. En garde! This time even Qu Ao had to respect his heroism and boldness. Just now it could be said that Xu Ziling had gone through mortal danger and escaped alive. Were it not for his quick thinking of evading the attack on the vital part below his groin by blocking Qu Aos exquisite w using his leg, this moment he would have been lying on the ground. Right now the blood has not stopped flowing, yet he returned in a swirl of dust. Qu Ao could not help viewing him in a new light, but at the same time he also fanned out the murderous intent in Qu Aos heart. Again, without any visible posture, Qu Ao charged toward Xu Ziling. Lets try another move! he said with augh. Xu Ziling saw Qu Aos palm hacking down at an angle, his stance and footwork contained limitless changes, all of a sudden a continuous flow of powerful qipletely enveloped him like the undting wave; he knew that in his anger Qu Ao went all out to attack him. Naturally Xu Ziling did not dare to meet the attack head on. Abruptly he took three steps back, and then subsequently sent out three punches over the distance. Even with his deep cultivation, Qu Ao was still taken aback. In an outsiders eye, this punch waspletely senseless, yet it hadpletely blocked Qu Ao from making any changes to his move. Supposing Qu Ao kept to his original n of continuing his palm attack following the original path, before he was able to make any changes, undoubtedly it would meet the opponents razor-sharp punch head on. Such an amazing move, it was the first time in his life that he had ever seen. Under normal circumstances where his condition was at its peak, even if he did not have enough time to regenerate his power, he had full confidence that he would be able to shake the opponent and to make him spurting blood and falling back. However, right now his body was weary his strength exhausted, he was only able to use sixty, seventy-percent of his normal power; if he forced himself to meet the attack head-on, he could not guarantee the oue. Shouting angrily, Qu Ao sidestepped and kicked Xu Zilings open right nk. Seeing his ploy worked, Xu Zilings spirit rose up greatly, his confidence boosted, his hands turned into thousands of fantastical palm shadows, raining down on Qu Ao in wild attack. Seeing this junior, this younger generation actually seized this opportunity to take the initiative in offensive moves, Qu Ao nearly went mad from anger. Promptly he focused his mind to unleash the Thirteen-Style Eagle Transformation, which was heavily imbued with his true divine energy. This Thirteen-Style Eagle Transformation was actually the essence of the martial arts that Qu Ao created. It transformedplicated martial arts into simplicity, merging the iparablyplex palm, finger, w, and many other styles into these thirteen styles,bining it with soaring, leaping, shing, shifting and many other shenfa [reminder: motion in martial arts]. The changes were undefined, so that it was difficult to estimate, like flying eagle in the sky swooping down on its prey with profound uracy. Xu Ziling has just had a feel of the change before his eyes, Qu Ao already flew upward, while unleashing mercury-like, which flowed swiftly, no-hole-not-prated, violent and ferocious attack. The initiative was back into the opponents hands. Xu Ziling knew that in terms of experience, martial art skill and insight, he was a level below the opponent. Without any better option he clenched his teeth and relied mainly on dodging and evading, with blocking and parrying as secondary mechanism, while using the amazing moves from Yijian Technique to strenuously withstand the opponents powerful-like-the-Great-River, pouring-down-in-torrents violent offensive. Qu Ao sprang up and dropped down again, looking exactly like an eagle sending out wave after wave of attack toward Xu Ziling. Wah! Xu Ziling spurted out blood and fell to the ground; with his right foot raised, he met Qu Aos piercing fingertips. He was in extremely grave danger. Qu Ao rose about a zhang up in the air, while shouting loudly, This date next year will be the anniversary of your death. Both palms struck down in full power. Xu Ziling hurriedly rolled down the slope. The ground where he was immediately sank, two palm prints appeared. Having used up his true qi, Qu Aonded on the slope. Suddenly the sound of saber and sword splitting the air came from behind. Bang! Xu Ziling, who had just struggled to stand up, fell down again. This time he could not crawl back up. In a sh, as quick as a flint spark, Qu Ao already employed his internal energy to examine his own condition, and knew that in his eagerness to kill Xu Ziling, he was presumptuously using the Thirteen-Style Eagle Transformation, which was not suitable to be used when his true qi was suffering from the wear and tear of his body. And now while he had no strength left, he had to deal with Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhongsbined assault. Making a prompt decision, Qu Ao sidestepped the attack, and disappeared into the darkness of the mountain and fields. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong made their awe-inspiring presence known on the top of the sloping hill; they stood majestically as they watched Qu Ao disappeared without any trace, before looking down at Xu Ziling, who was trying to climb back up. And then, looking at each other, they smiled wryly and dropped down on their knees together. Other than panting heavily, they were unable to say anything. Book 12 - 7 – Chance Encounter with Stunning Beauty Book 12 Chapter 7 C Chance Encounter with Stunning Beauty Three shadows leaped down from a giant boulder about three zhang tall, none of them was lucky enough to escape falling into knee-deep grass, gasping for breath, and unable to get up. Xu Ziling was exhausted from the bitter fight plus he suffered injuries; after running away for close to two sichen, he was approaching the dried-out-oilmp condition. Ba Fenghan was seriously injured to begin with; after spending quite a bit of true qi, he was weary and unable to stand. Kou Zhongs condition was not any better. Earlier he was transmitting his internal energy to heal Ba Fenghan; when he heard Qu Aosughter, in his anxiety he tried to increase his effort by rushing the flow of qi to open up Ba Fenghans blocked meridians. And then with excessive loss of energy he had to run for such a long distance; so now he was simply too tired. Kou Zhong forced himself to roll so that he was facing the sky; scanning the area around, he saw under the moon light that they were surrounded by endless ups and downs silhouette of mountain tops and wild ridges. With a bitterugh he said, Are we lost? Howe we still cant see the shadow of the city of Luoyang? Gasping for breath, Ba Fenghan said, I looked at the stars in the sky to navigate our way, I am sure we are not lost; we ought to at least reach the south bank of the Great River. Xu Ziling shouted in low voice, Get up and train! What? Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan blurted together. Setting up an example, Xu Ziling struggled as hard as he could to sit up; although he was swaying and staggering, his voice was full of determination, Ol Ba was the one who said this: if what we are training is first-ss martial art, the thing we must avoid at all cost is that when we are weary we abandon everything as if we are paralyzed. Therefore, we must grasp this rare opportunity to withstand the exhaustion with iron will. Do you understand? Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, Xu Shifus admonition is correct. Copying Xu Ziling, he struggled to sit up. Kou Zhong also struggled to get up, but raised his tiger-body even more; standing upright and unafraid, he said, To me, standing up is a bit more natural. The other two did not have enough strength to pay him any attention; closing their eyes, they went into meditation. They all understood that this was the only way to survive. If they could restore their spirit and physical strength, either fighting or escaping would be a lot more convenient. In fact, it was a race of power and stamina. Originally it was only people of Wanwan and Qu Aos caliber who could keep up with them, the others were left far behind. But they already wasted a lot of time by repeatedly stopping either to rest or to treat injuries, so the situation may have changed. Just before dawn, Kou Zhong suddenly shouted loudly. When Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan opened their eyes with a start, Kou Zhong was leaping in the air, the Moon in the Well struck down a strange bird flying overhead. The two had just waked up from the deepest breathing exercise, so they did not know why Kou Zhong did what he did. Squack! the strange bird cried out and flew sideways to evade toward the top of the sparse wood on the left. Kou Zhong sent out a burst of finger wind from his left hand to strike the strange bird. As if it had eyes on its back, the bird pped its wing to fly diagonally up, but the tip of its left wing was still swept by Kou Zhongs finger wind. Uttering a sad cry, like a drunk it fell into the forest. As if he was fighting an archenemy, Kou Zhong pursued into the forest. Meeting Ba Fenghans questioning look, Xu Ziling said, I remember now. That must be the feathered beast raised by Shen Luoyan especially for finding the enemy; it was extremely mystical. Ba Fenghans countenance changed, That means Li Mi has more or less grasp our location, hence he released the strange bird in this area to look for us. Xu Ziling silently examined his condition, and found out that he has recovered about sixty, seventy-percent of his strength; the weariness has gonepletely. Hows your condition? he asked. Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, Outside the Great Wall, I dont know how many times I have been injured; at least it was ten times more serious than this. Its nothing! This moment Kou Zhong came back, disgruntled and upset. It slipped away, he said hatefully, But it wont fly too far; that feathered beast relies on two wings to obtain bnce, but since one side is wounded, it will be like us turning crippled. Ha! The two smiled without saying anything. By dawn, the three felt their spirit rose, as if they had just regained their lives and felt wonderful. Returning the saber to its scabbard, Kou Zhong said with augh, Which way? Ba Fenghans eyes shed with cold rays; turning his gaze to the north, he said, Well go down to the Great River first, and then well find a way to get a boat to save our leg muscles! The three men gave it all as they unleashed their qinggong, while using the hiding-their-track technique, to cover several dozen of li of distance to the north. The sun has not reached its zenith yet when they slowed down to preserve their physical strength and true qi, while looking around to examine their surroundings. Pointing to the northwest, Ba Fenghan said, Luoyang and Yanshi should be that direction, but if we ran along a straight line, it would be strange indeed if we did not enter into the enemys inescapable. Kou Zhong was visibly moved; he said, In that case, lets go to Yanshi first! Naturally Xu Ziling knew that he wanted to go to Yanshi in search of Wang Shichong, in order to offer him advice on how to deal with Li Mi. Ba Fenghan, on the other hand, was slightly surprised, Didnt you want to go to Luoyang in a hurry? A bit awkward, Kou Zhong replied, One of the reasons I want to go to Luoyang is to look for Wang Shichong, but I heard Li Mi said that he was leading his troops to Yanshi city. Since we are on our way over there, I want to talk to him a little bit! Ba Fenghanughed involuntarily, Dont invent crazy nonsense! he said, Do you think I dont know that you, Zhong Shao, want to kill using borrowed knife? Just like Ziling, I dont give a about this vying-over-the-world business; but since we know each other, and I have nothing important to attend to,ing with you to join the fun is not a big deal. Kou Zhong was happy, I didnt know you are such a true friend. By this time the three of them were staring to climb on a hill; they saw a small vige down below with several dozens of homes, but there was no liveliness, apparently it was an abandoned vige. In this age of chaos, abandon viges like this one could be seen anywhere, so nothing surprising here. But Ba Fenghan suddenly halted his steps and spoke in low voice, Somebodys in the vige! Following him, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling also stopped; concentrating their attention, they noticed that all doors and windows were shut tight, the buildings were dpidated with the paint peeled off. There was really not much different to the abandoned viges they had seen previously. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I am having simr feeling, like something is not right. Ol Ba, what did you find? Ba Fenghan replied heavily, I just saw a flicker from the crack of one of the windows; must be an eye reflecting the light. I am so sure about it. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Who could it be? Perhaps somebody who has nothing to do with us, Xu Ziling tried to analyze, If it were Shen Luoyan or Yin Gui Pai people, why so sneaky? Xiao Ling is right, Kou Zhong said, So what are we going to do? Shall we make a detour? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Since he is contending for the hegemony over the world, Zhong Shaos guts have be smaller. But being careful has its own pros and cons; if we take a detour and bump into the enemy instead, it is not worth it. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Enough thinking and bullsh1tting, lets go! Taking the lead, he ran down the slope. Chapter 7 - Part 2 Adopting a rxed attitude, the three strolled over the viges entrance. To their left and right, rows of houses extended into the distance, but everything was as quiet as a ghost domain. Suddenly the sound of hoof beats was heard from the other side of the vige, and wasing very fast. Cocking his ear, Ba Fenghan frowned and said, If we continued walking like this, we will meet with the iing riders just outside the vige. Do you want to find a building to hide and see what is going on? Out of curiosity, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. Thereupon the trio quickened their pace into the vige, and after peeking into a house and made sure there was no one inside, they twisted and broke the door lock, pushed the door and went in. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan separately picked two windows facing the street, and pushed the windows a crack to peek outside. This moment the sound of hoof beats was getting louder and clearer; it sounded like in the time required to drink a cup of hot tea, the riders would arrive here. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, It sounds like there are forty to fifty riders, all are expert equestrians, the hoof beats are orderly and even. Only those who are well-trained through long-time cooperation will have this kind of momentum. Kou Zhong said, The strangest thing is that the hooves started suddenly, like they had waited some ce and then suddenly moved together, straight toward this direction. I wonder, are theying for us? Meanwhile Xu Ziling was walking toward the back door. Pushing the door open, he saw a big courtyard, and beyond that were the bedrooms. Hearing Kou Zhongs remark, his heart was moved; he said, Could it be that ahead is the ce where the Great River flows through, and these men had just disembarked from a boat? Both Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong felt that that was a reasonable exnation. The former spoke in heavy voice, If that is so, then in case we get separated during escapeter, lets make a secret mark on the south back of the River to indicate where to meet, and then well go to Yanshi together to see the Old Wang. The two boys nodded their agreement. Right this moment, Xu Ziling heard a barely detectable sound of breathing from thest room on the back. His curiosity was piqued, he said, I am going to the back to take a look! Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhongs attention was fixed on the situation at the front of the house; they simply nodded slightly. Xu Ziling crossed over the threshold and stepped into the courtyard. Relying on what he heard just now, Xu Ziling tried pushing the door to the side room on the left. The wooden door opened easily. Xu Ziling looked inside and was startled. He saw a healthy and beautiful young woman d in ck warrior outfit, sprawling on the bed under gauzed bed screen; her eyes were closed, and shey still. Through the gauze curtain, he could see that the womans jade skin was unusually white like snow. ck outfit, white skin, the contrast was eye-catching. Her ck eyebrows curved up into her temples, her jet-ck hair was tied on the top into a beautiful bun, with a tuft of bangs gently cascaded on her forehead. The corners of her eyes curved upward. The one feature giving the deepest impression on others was her straight nose, which matched impably with her slightly high cheekbones, giving her the haughty air withoutpromising her charm and elegance. Her rosy lips curled into a touching expression of like a smile, but not quite a smile, as if she was in the middle of a sweet dream. Xu Zilings first thought was Wanwan; but then he decided that this pretty girl before his eyes did not appear to be a female demon from Yin Gui Pai, because this woman carried some kind of cheerful personality, which was vastly different from Wanwan, Dan Mei, or Bai Qinger, with their seducing but chilling beauty. After staring nkly for half a day, Xu Ziling finally stepped into the room, walked over to the bed, and opened the gauzed curtain. Even with his strong mental power against womens charms, he could not help sighing in admiration in his heart. In tight outfit, her slim figure with all the exquisite curves were in full disy, so that he was lost in reverie. With no curtain separating them, her facial lines looked even more distinct that he was shaken to the core. Her beautiful eyes were deep under her handsome eyebrows. Her two fragrant lips, brimming with an air of aristocracy were tightly closed, her breathing was as light and gentle as the brushing wind after sunrise during an early spring day. Even though she was fast asleep, Xu Zilings gut feeling was telling him that she was a yful, lively and charming girl. Her beauty was not inferior to the sleeping Wanwan. In that moment, Xu Ziling haspletely forgotten about the thundering hooves about to enter the north entrance to the vige. The beautys eyshes fluttered for a moment, and then her eyes opened. Looking at him, she broke into a sweet smile, revealing a row of neat, white and beautiful teeth. Outside, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong sensed that Xu Ziling must have had encountered something unusual, but since they did not hear any sound of fighting, plus the riders have already entered the vige, their attention was still focused on the street outside the window. Amid the thunderous hooves, more than 40 riders galloped into the vige; each and every one of them wore tight warrior outfit, and each one carried some sort of weapon. The leader was big fierce-looking man, with a double-saber hanging across his back, his pair of eyes was flickering with spirit; evidently he was a martial art master adept in inside and outside skills. None of the others did not look tough. They all moved in a precise, almost uniform, way; apparently they were used to working together. As the leader reined his horse to a stop, the others quickly scattered to the four winds to guard all paths within the vige. Ba Fenghan moved to Kou Zhongs side and while looking outside, he said in a low voice, This man is called Double Sabers Du Ganmu. Ive met him once in Luoyang. I think he is a great general under King Dong of Yues chancellor Yuan Wendu, the most prominent martial art master of present day Luliang Pai. His mastery of the double sabers is indeed not bad. Kou Zhong thought that if even the proud and arrogant Ba Fenghan could say that this man was not bad, then he must really knew a thing or two. He also felt that this name Luliang Pai sounded familiar. After thinking about it for a moment, he remembered the sweetheart Qin Shubao secretly in love with, which was the daughter of Luliang Pais Master [see Book 3 Chapter 3], and thought what a coincidence. King Dong of Yue was the self-proimed emperor of Luoyang, and Wang Shichong was merely his minister. Du Ganmu made a signal, the riders dismounted and began to search the entire vige. As Xu Zilings eyes met the pair of beautiful and bright eyes that was brimming with challenge, his heart was slightly shaken. The woman suddenly stretched out her spotless and delicate lily-white hand, and said with a smile, How about helping me up? Xu Ziling hesitated for half a day before grabbing her dainty, slender jade palm; immediately a warm, soft and tender feeling prated the bottom of his heart; his mind was swept away. Helped by him, the woman pulled her tender body up. Lowering her head, she giggled tenderly and said, Thank you, and then she scooted to the edge of the bed, patted the empty space next to her and said, Can you sit down? Lets talk! Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Arent those people outside looking for you? And you still have time to chat? The beauty cocked her head to listen, her demeanor was enchanting; looking startled, she said, Those wicked people areing to capture nujia! You must help me; other than qinggong, my martial art skills are sloppy and very ordinary. Her eyes were like a pair of stars rippling in a vast and deep autumn pool; extremely appealing. Especially when she spoke, her eyes and facial expression were changing continuously, just like a series of ripples, so that those who look at her could not help having his heart shaken and his spirit moved. Xu Ziling could not refrain from asking, Miss, who are you? Who are those wicked people outside? The beauty rose up to her full height. Turned out she was only about two cun shorter than the tall, straight as a ramrod Xu Ziling; her figure was graceful, slender and tall. Without any trace of politeness she sat at the chair at the corner of the room; leaning her small cicada head against the back of the air, she closed her eyes and blew out a mouthful of fragrant breath. I am dead tired! she said. And then she opened her beautiful eyes again and cheerfully said, I saw you when you entered the vige; you appeared to be heroes with lofty quality, so I knew you must be chivalrous heroes and would never harm this weak and helpless woman, am I right? Oh! I almost forget to tell you, my name is Dong Shuni. Wang Shichong is my [older maternal] uncle. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbfounded; turned out the woman before his eyes was the Luoyang beauty that Ba Fenghan mentioned earlier, Dong Shuni. Book 12 - 8 – Rushing to Yanshi Book 12 Chapter 8 C Rushing to Yanshi Soon the people outside were going to break the door open and enter in. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan already prepared some countermeasure. But suddenly the sound of hoof beats came from the south side toward the entrance to the vige. The men under Du Ganmus leadership immediately stopped their search operation and stood guard in full alert. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Ling seems to be talking with a woman back there; whats going on? Ba Fenghan turned his head around and nced toward the open door and the wide-open space of the courtyard; staying calm and unruffled, he said, As long as its not female demon Wan or Zhu Yuyan, we dont need to worry about him! The sound of hoof beats from the south side was getting louder; the horses must have juste through the top of the hill like them. Without any mountain range to separate them, the sound was a lot clearer. The iing riders numbered around fifty or sixty people. Kou Zhong said, Perhaps these newers are the enemies looking for us; it would be best if they dont agree with Du Ganmu and break into a fight, and then we will reap the fishermans benefit. From his angle of view, Ba Fenghan was able to see the iing riders ahead of Kou Zhong; smiling, he said, Looks like your wish cane true! Because the iing people are Wagang troops. This moment the iing riders entered Kou Zhongs line of sight. The graceful, pretty and elegant Shen Luoyan caught his eyes. Dong Shuni coquettishly cast Xu Ziling a sideways nce; a bit bashful, she said, Do you know who I am? Howe you have not introduced yourself to me? This moment Xu Ziling also heard the hoof beatsing from the southern end of the vige. Seeing her maintaining her na?ve and spoilt childs demeanor, as if she could not care less of everything that was happening outside, he could not help feeling somewhat at a loss; he replied, I am Xu Ziling ... Dong Shunis beautiful eyes lit up, I have heard a lot of people mentioning your name, she said excitedly, They say you and Kou Zhong are two of the most promising men of the younger generation. In that case, the one outside must be Kou Zhong. Hee ...! I am lucky I am hiding in here; you must take up the responsibility of protecting me! Xu Ziling did not know whether he shouldugh or cry; but even if she was not Wang Shichongs niece, he still could not refuse to lend a hand. Thereupon he asked, If you want us to protect you, you must answer a few questions first: who is going to hurt you? And why did you flee to this ce alone? In distressed, Dong Shuni knitted her ck eyebrows; she sighed and said, They are King of Yues men. The King of Yue wanted to kill my uncle, and I found out about it. The King then sent his men after me to kill me, hence Shuni took a boat to escape; who would have thought that the troops overtook me. Hee ...! Luckily nujias qinggong is not bad, thereupon I escaped to this ce, and luckily I came across you guys. Xu Ziling was astonished, Why did King of Yue want to kill your uncle? Isnt he only ad of about ten years old? Dong Shuni shrugged her shoulders and said, Great meritorious service shakes the master and provokes traitors; it has been like this since time immemorial. Nujia is heading to Yanshi to see Uncle; will you go with nujia? And whos that good-looking man who does not look like a Han? Shen Luoyan and another man flew off their horses. Just by looking at the double-point spear in that mans hand, Kou Zhong knew that he was Wang Bodang, the other valiant general who shared the same fame and prestige with Pei Renji. Recalling Susus humiliation, Kou Zhongs right hand reached out to his back to grab the hilt of his saber. Ba Fenghan reached out and pressed his shoulder lightly, telling him not to act rashly; he whispered, Something is amiss here, lets listen to what they have to say first. Du Ganmu stepped forward to meet the two and said, We have followed Shen Junshis direction: from the Great River we searched to this ce, yet we have not found any trace of her. Kou Zhong carefully sized up Wang Bodang. He casually hung the double-point spear over his shoulder; whether it was the way he flew off his horse, or the way he moved about, it was clear that he was a bold and powerful man who did not have any regard to anybody else. As soon as Kou Zhongs gaze fell upon him, he appeared to be reacting by turning his gaze toward them; luckily the two had already anticipated this and were one step ahead of him by dodging behind the window. Outside, Shen Luoyans tender voice spoke up, General Du, please be assured that we haveid out inescapables within fifty li radius of this ce. Even if her qinggong is brilliant, or even if she grew wings, she cannot fly away. But be aware that she might have martial art masters protecting her, otherwise my bird would not have its left wing wounded. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan looked at each other and smiled; both thought that luckily that strange bird could not talk, otherwise it would have revealed their secret. Somewhat displeased, Wang Bodang said, Such a ssified information, how could it leak to Dong Shuni who only knows how to seduce men? As if they agreed by chance, both Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong cast their nces in the direction of the rear courtyard, while thinking how could there be such a coincidence? The distressed Du Ganmu replied, Precisely because theres someone in the imperial court who was obsessed with her beauty that he used this to curry her favor and leak the secret to her; fortunately we found out in a timely manner. Now as long as we can catch her back, it is not toote to mend the pen after the sheep are lost. Listening to this point, since Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were holders of the pearl of wisdom, they were able to guess the gist of this matter. Due to Yuwen Huaji leading his troops returning to the north, King Dong of Yue formed an alliance with Li Mi to fight theirmon enemies. And Li Mi also received the title of Wei Guo Gong [Duke of State of Wei] bestowed by the King Dong of Yue. After Li Mis costly victory against Yuwen Huaji, Wang Shichong saw an opportunity they could exploit, so he led his elite troops to Yanshi, thinking that he could seize this opportunity to attack Li Mi. Who would have thought that people from the King Dong of Yues camp feared Wang Shichong far more than they were afraid of Li Mi? As a result, they colluded with Li Mi to conspire against Wang Shichong. But the confidential affair became not a secret anymore and Dong Shuni found out about it; hence she wanted to go to Yanshi to notify Wang Shichong. Unfortunately her entourage fell into the pursuing troops ambush and was repeatedly hunted down until she was the only one remained and relying on her superior qinggong she was able to escape to this ce. Kou Zhong no longer interested to listen further; after discussing his n with Ba Fenghan, he slipped out from the rear door. Creak! The double-door opened. Ba Fenghan strode out, stretched his limbs, and swept his gaze around at Shen Luoyan, Wang Bodang, Du Ganmu, and the hundred or so men from both parties, who were stunned to see him. Laughing aloud, he said, Such a confidential matter, yet gentlemen are talking about it on the street in broad daylight as if it was a trivial matter. Very funny, very amusing! Du Ganmus countenance changed, Ba Fenghan! he eximed. Throwing his head back, Wang Bodangughed aloud and said, Theres a path to paradise you didnt want to take, theres no door to hell yet you insist on breaking in. We happen to receive an order to catch you. Where are the other two kids? Shen Luoyan, on the other hand, looked doubtful. Signaling with her hand, shemanded about a dozen or so of his men to fan out to surround Ba Fenghan, who was still standing in front of the house. Ba Fenghan chuckled calmly and said, Since I dare toe out and stand here, naturally I have confidence in dealing with you. A big man with an especially fierce and tough appearance on Shen Luoyans left suddenly charged forward, his broadsword hacked down on Ba Fenghans head. Ba Fenghanughed proudly; without anybody seeing how he moved, the Beheading Mystery Sword suddenly appeared in his left hand. Without even moving his head, by only relying on his hearing to listen to the wind to determine position, he swung the sword to meet the enemys saber. The man was shaken and his arm turned numb. By the time he hastily withdrew in shock, the light from Ba Fenghans sword suddenly red out. The fierce and tough man was jolted as if he was struck by lightning; blood sshed from the pit of his stomach, he was thrown back and fell to the ground. Everybodys countenance, including Wang Bodangs, changed. Actually, even Ba Fenghan himself did not expect his sword qi to be this formidable. The man had already withdrawn a zhang away, yet the sword qi still split his chest that he died; something that previously was difficult for him to aplish. After the hard training on the mountain for ten days plus repeated bloody battles, unwittingly he had made a breakthrough, which he had never even dreamed of, in martial art cultivation. In that instant, shing through his mind were series of events where he was with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, and they were treating one another with absolute sincerity; a warm, happy feeling burst out in his heart. To him, who was usually very cold and detached toward interpersonal rtionship, this was a highly unusual feeling. Qiang! Returning the sword to its sheathe, Ba Fenghan coldly said, I, Ba Fenghan, have been through thousands of battles, big and small, but nobody has been able to take my life. I want to see if you can be the exception. Wang Bodangs expression became even more iparably heavy. His double-point spear shot out and twirled in the air, before returning to his chest, which he pointed toward Ba Fenghan. The other men leaped onto the roof, some broke through the windows into the house behind Ba Fenghan, formingyer uponyer of heavy siege around him. Shen Luoyan took a step forward and shouted tenderly, Where did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling go? Ba Fenghanughed involuntarily and said, I am in charge of the killing, they are in charge of creating disturbance; is Shen Junshi clear now? Not good! Shen Luoyan blurted out. Chapter 8 - Part 2 Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Its toote! Pulling the sword out, heunched the sweeping a thousand-army style. Who did not fear his ability to kill from a distance of a zhang away? They only felt the invisible [lit. no-shadow no-shape] sword qi storming in; nobody did not stumble and stagger back in fear. At this point, the forest behind the vige caught fire; heavy smoke soared to the sky. Ba Fenghan and his sword fused into one entity, he soared to evade Wang Bodangs double-point spear, as well as Du Ganmus pair of sabers, and on to the roof. And then to avoid the men blocking his way, he soared once again toward the heavy smoke behind the vige, and in the blink of an eye disappeared into the forest. Kou Zhong was squatting. Heavens! he groaned good-naturedly, Were finally here. Niang! This is the Great River! The rolling water of Yellow River flowed swiftly under a low cliff. This section of the River was quite narrow, but it was still about ten zhang wide. The water dashed against the rocks on both sides of the river, the billows rolled and the waves sshed, creating myriad changes in an instant; raging waves crashing onto the shore, surging up violently, creating a spectacr sight. On the opposite back was an endless stretch of virgin forest, interspersed with towering, strange-looking rocks. Xu Zilings mind was also raging; moving closer to the shore, he stared at the water crashing against the rocks, which then flowed back swiftly, arousing smaller eddies, which roared wildly and disappeared just as quickly. Ba Fenghan came over to Xu Ziling and eximed in admiration, The first time I see the Great River was the section that runs through Longxi. The power of its surging waves was as if it tumbled down for the sky. It simply took my breath away. Dong Shuni has always been the center of attention of everybody around her, no matter where she was, whether around royal family and descendants of feudal aristocrats, or the sons of the high-ranking officials of the imperial court. Everybody was always trying to tter her in every possible way. Only these three men, who had saved her from danger, did not appear to have any regards toward her. Like right now, for example; their amazement at the River far surpassed their pleasant surprise at seeing her for the first time. A fresh, exotic feeling started to appear in her heart, mixed with resentment and jealousy. Visibly annoyed, she said, The pursuing troops areing! You are still chitchatting about the wind and the moon! With a solemn expression Kou Zhong puckered his lips to kiss thend by the riverbank. Ba Fenghan looked back and smiled, Miss, dont worry, he said, After the sun set behind the western hills, well set out toward Yanshi. We just take this opportunity to rest a bit, while enjoying the spectacr view of the setting sun on the Great River. Dong Shuni felt that whether in his speaking voice, his tone, and his manner, there was some kind of intimidating charm that made people willing to submit; unexpectedly she did not dare to argue. Grumpily she walked to the side and picked a rock to sit down, but her eyes were fixed on Xu Ziling. She had quite a good impression on this casual yet elegant, and standing-above-the-crowd, young man. Yet Xu Ziling did not show the least bit of attention to her; he was preupied with an interesting discussion about the River with Ba Fenghan. Finally Kou Zhong rose up and walked over to a rock next to her and sat down. Revealing a bright smile, he spoke softly, Are you hungry? Atst someone cares about Shuni! Dong Shuni happily said, I am not only hungry, I am starving as hell. Do you have something to eat? Seeing her brightening mood, Kou Zhong felt that she had some kind of innocent and unaffected, touching look, but every frown and every smile also carried some kind of seductive-to-the-bone charm. He spoke cheerfully, Ol Ba still has a few slices of air-dried meat; I personally dressed it, its very tasty. Would you like to try some? Dong Shuni shook her head straightaway. Kou Zhong was surprised, Arent you starving? he asked. Dong Shuni leaned over and whispered in his ear, I dont want to eat his food, he is so mean to me! Hearing that, even Kou Zhongs ear was melting. Unable to helpughing, he called out, Ol Ba! When did you offend Big Miss Dong, so that even though she is starving, she refused to eat your food? Ba Fenghanughed aloud. Walking over, he offered a piece of dried meat, while solemnlyughed and said, Miss Dong, a person of great moral stature does not remember the offensesmitted by one of low moral stature. Please be my guest! It was obvious that Dong Shuni enjoyed this treatment very much; pursing her lips, she giggled softly, while her pretty face blushed slightly. Her demeanor was extremely attractive. Swiftly she took the slice of dried meat offered to her, tore a piece and ate it. Thats more like it, she said. Ba Fenghan shook his head and smiled despite of himself; patting Kou Zhongs shoulder, he stuffed the rest of the meat into his hands, and then returned to Xu Zilings side without saying anything. Kou Zhong was pleasantly surprised that Ba Fenghan was giving him so much face, and he knew that Ba Fenghan was thinking of Dong Shunis importance to him; he could not help feeling warm in his heart, and Ba Fenghans standing in his heart rose up. Ba Fenghans original character was not like this at all. Dong Shuni was eating very fast; taking the second piece of dried meat, sheughed and said, Your handiwork is indeed not too shabby. This moment Ba Fenghan came over again. Signaling Kou Zhong with his eyes, he said, Ziling and I are going up to a high ce to look around. Zhong Shao, you stay here to apany Big Miss taking a rest for a while, as soon as Ziling and Ie back well be on our way. Kou Zhong agreed. After the two left, he changed the subject, Actually, who wanted to harm your Da Jiujiu? Is it King of Yue and Yuan Wendu? After finishing the second piece of meat, which she ate with gusto, she knitted her beautiful eyebrows and said, What do they have that they dare to conspire against Da Jiujiu? Naturally there is another big power in the background supporting them! Kou Zhong was stunned, You are not talking about Li Mi, are you? he asked. Dong Shuni wrinkled her cute little nose, You are wrong! she said, However, who it is, I can only tell Da Jiujiu. Da Jiujiu has taught me to make it clear which matter I can tell others, which matter I must keep from others. Hey! The sun is set. Kou Zhong was upset; he thought that if merely you, a baby girl, can confound me, how could I vie for the world against the outstanding heroes? After racking his brains, an inspiration suddenly shed in his mind. Heughed and said, Even if you dont want to tell me, I know who it is. Must be the Dugu n, am I right? Ha! Dong Shuni stared at him in disbelief with her big beautiful eyes. Just by looking at her expression Kou Zhong knew he was right. A bit unwilling to concede, she said angrily, You indeed have a bit of skill, no wonder Da Jiujiu pays attention your affairs. I do not like a single person from the Dugu n. After a short pause she went on, Especially that Dugu Feng. Every time he sees me, he always looks at me from head to toes, as if he wanted to strip me off with his eyes; I loathe him very much. That kind of talking out from such a stunning, enchantingly beautiful pair of lips, Kou Zhong could not stop his heart from being swept away. But recalling the business at hand, he promptly pushed his wild fantasy far away. Hows the current situation at Luoyang? he asked, Has it fallen into the Dugu ns hands? In their dram! Dong Shuni spoke in disdain, The city guardians, Lang Feng Shushu [uncle] and Song Mengqiu Shushu are Da Jiujius trusted aides; only the Imperial Bodyguards of the Pce are under the Dugu ns control. Their strength is merely five thousands; if they do not use dirty trick, they are not Da Jiujius match. Kou Zhong thought, So thats how it is. He thought that if he were the King Dong of Yue, he would want to make a n to kill Wang Shichong as well. Dong Shuni suddenly said, Its very interesting talking with you! You are smart, and you are good-looking as well! Kou Zhong did not know whether tough or to cry, You are the true stunning beauty, he said, Your beauty is capable of causing the downfall of a country. Have your Da Jiujiu betrothed you yet? I am only seventeen! Dong Shuni said, I dont want to get married that soon! Hee ...! Do you want to marry me? Kou Zhong was stunned, You are not only pretty, but you are very special as well. This is the first time that a pretty girl asks me that question. Dong Shuni was slightly annoyed, Cant we talk about it? she pouted, We are not talking for real anyway. You, Han people, are really overly cautious. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck. Grabbing his head, he said, Are you saying you are not a Han? Dong Shuni was snappy, Who told you I am a Han? Everybody knows Da Jiujiu is not a Han, only you dont. Kou Zhong examined her flowery jade countenance closely, What are you, then? he tried to pry her. Very pleased with herself, Dong Shuni said, You are so smart; why dont you guess? While Kou Zhong was left speechless, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan stormed in, Lets Go! they shouted. Book 12 - 9 – Brilliant Scheme to Escape Book 12 Chapter 9 C Brilliant Scheme to Escape The four people hid behind a mountaintop. On the distant, from all directions came long queue of torches, moving slowly like a fiery dragon. It appeared that they had fallen into another heavy siege. Kou Zhong pointed to a ce about five li to their left, where severalnterns of three different colors, red, white and yellow, were hung on bamboo poles, each one reached several zhang high. Xiao Ling, he said, his voice was filled with hatred, Your Shen sweetheart is no good; were it not for her directing her people using thosenterns, how could we fall into the situation we are in now? Dong Shuni, who was behind Xu Ziling, pushed him and said sourly, Shen Luoyan is your old me? Xu Ziling crossly said, You need to stop listening to Zhong Shaos nonsense; she and I dont have the least bit of involvement. Thats really good then! Dong Shuni excitedly said. Seeing that while being surrounded by the enemies, isted and without help, yet she still maintained her blunt demeanor and expressed her jealousy openly, the three men could only shake their heads and smile ruefully. Letting out a cold snort, Ba Fenghan said, If I am guessing correctly, Li Mi and the Two-Malevolent of Changbai are all here. Otherwise their morale would not be this high. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shocked. Speaking about martial art skill, Li Mi might rank in the top three among the warlords vying for supremacy over the world, while the Two-Malevolent of Changbai were second only to Wang Bo. Merely these three, they would have to struggle to cope with, not to mention the rest of the people, plus they had to protect this pampered girl. Ba Fenghan went on, Were it not for tracking experts like Fu Zhen presiding over the general situation, we would not be stuck in this predicament. Kou Zhong nodded and said, We already used all kinds of techniques, and still cannot get rid of them, and now their hidden troops are pressing from all sides that we cant advance or retreat. By this time they ought to know our position in general, and are gradually tightening the around us. This is an extremely brilliant scheme. Pointing to the southeast, Xu Ziling asked, Isnt Yanshi in that direction? Exactly, Ba Fenghan replied, Less than thirty li. This moment Dong Shuni also realized the gravity of their situation; she spoke in low voice, Can we forcibly break our way through? That would be our contingency n, Kou Zhong replied, The enemy is already cleat about our strength. If they do not have any confidence, they would not foolishlye here to provoke us. Just by counting the torches light, I can estimate that the opponent has at least two, three-thousand men; how many can we kill? Subconsciously Dong Shuni squeezed herself between Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, What can we do then? she asked, Think of something! Ba Fenghan coldly said, Arent we thinking of something? Panicking now will only be a bad thing. Ba Fenghans eyes shed sharp gaze at her, Dong Shuni shut up immediately. Xu Ziling said, Is there any way to alert Yanshi? Have them send help here. ording to reason, Wang Shichong ought to station men on the hills outside the city to monitor the situation around. Hearing that, Dong Shunis sprit was greatly aroused; she whispered excitedly, Shuni has two special signal res on my back, if my Da Jiujius men saw it, they would know one of our people is in danger. Can we do it? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Question is: can we hold on until the reinforcement arrive? Dong Shuni dejectedly shut up. If they release the signal rocket, it would be tantamount to revealing their position. Li Mis side would definitely go into an all-out attack at once. On the other hand, from the moment the sentinel saw the re and transmitted the news to Yanshi via fire beacon and so on, supposing Wang Shichong was able to make prompt decisions and immediately moved his army and sent his generals, it would take at least one or two sichen for the help to arrive. By that time they would have been done for. While they were talking, Xu Ziling and the others, four people, were paying attention to the situation. This moment they noticed that a line of torches was moving straight to their hideout; they promptly ran away again. Ba Fenghan led them groping in the dark downhill, toward a sparse wooded area at the bottom of the hill. Finding a stream, they quickly continued their escape by wading in the water. After covering approximately two li, the terrain was sloping up, turned out the source of the stream was a small waterfall from up the mountain, with water flew out from hundreds of small cracks, pouring down into a small clear deep pool. By this time the moon was high overhead, so that the reflection of the moon made the water glistened. The scenery was exceptionally beautiful, too bad the four people were not in any mood to enjoy it. Dong Shuni heaved a deep sigh and said, We are getting farther and farther away from Yanshi. Dispiritedly she sat down by the pool, with a mentally and physically exhausted, as well as pitiful, expression on her face. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This is exactly the enemys tactic: forcing us to constantly on the run to the south, so that in the end they can take care of us without much trouble. Ba Fenghan suddenly came close to Dong Shuni and asked, Miss Dong, what kind of perfume are you wearing? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shaken; their burning gaze was fixed on Dong Shuni. Dong Shuni was crossed, What kind of question is that? she asked. Kou Zhong understood suddenly; he said, That was the precisely the reason why Du Ganmu was able to track you to the vige. It was simply because he was ustomed to the perfume Big Miss is wearing, and that was also the reason why presently we cant throw off our pursuers. Xu Ziling said, I dont know if we are already ustomed to her scent, but I dont smell anything. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Clear pool under the bright moon, why dont Miss Dong be the beauty who takes a bath here? We will act as lookouts for you, and I guarantee no one will be able to watch. Dong Shuni revealed a sweet, sweet smile; reaching up, she started to unbutton her gown, and cheerfully said, So what if someone is watching? As long as they dont do anything, I am not afraid. Ay! Perhaps I will have to wash my clothes as well; everything I wear is already soaked in my fragrance. Even under this extremely tense situation [orig. wind sighing and crane calling, i.e. panic at the slightest move], and Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not lechers, yet such an alluring, captivating wordsing from cherry-red lips of a stunning beauty, the three could not help palpitating with excitement. Xu Ziling suddenly reached out and pressed his hand against Dong Shunis lily-white hand, stopping her from taking off her clothes. I have a better way, he said. Puzzled, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling. Chapter 9 - Part 2 Xu Ziling muttered softly, Zhong Shao! Do you remember outside the city of Xiangyang we cured that young master from poisoning? I absorbed the poison into my palms. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, But scent is not the same as poison; scent has no essence. Dong Shuni also stared at him with her big, beautiful eyes. Xu Zilings palm pressed against her hand felt hot and soft, making her exhausted body felt sofortable that the feeling went deep to the bottom of her heart. Her face burning hot, she said, If your palm can really absorb my scent, do you have to touch every single cun of my body with your palm? The three mens heart was pounding. Even when speaking such alluring words, this beauty still looked na?ve and unsuspecting, yet she was definitely more seductive than any kinky s1ut deliberately uttering tantalizing words. Xu Ziling subconsciously pulled his hand holding her right lily-white hand. He said, Under normal circumstances, I do not have the ability to absorb fragrance, but now if Shuni immerse your entire body into the water, while your body is still soaked wet, Zhong Shao will help Shuni to evaporate the water, wont the fragrance also evaporate along with the moisture? I am confident that I will be able to absorb the scented water vapor, and then I will spread the fragrance around to lure the enemy to pursue the wrong course. Ba Fenghan pped his thigh and eximed in praise, Thats an amazing n, truly heaven sent; I guarantee the enemy will fall into the trap. Dong Shuni leaned over to kiss Xu Zilings cheek; giddy with excitement, she said, You are indeed very smart, I love being called Shuni by you! After this, how about all of you just call me Shuni? By now Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were already ustomed to the brazen way she talked, they did not give it further thought. It was Xu Ziling who was greatly embarrassed; his handsome face blushed deep red. Dong Shuniughed tenderly and said, Ling Shao is more bashful than a little girl. Shuni is going into the water! With that, Ssh! Like a mermaid she disappeared into the water, and reemerged on the other side of the pool. As soon as the three men looked at her, they groaned inwardly. Under the nting moonlight, Dong Shunis semitransparent wet clothes stuck close to her body, even her short undergarment were visible with astonishing rity, so that nothing of her graceful curves was left to the imagination. Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, You two go ahead and do you thing, but please dont embezzle the goods. I will do the lookout thing! The four left the pool and climbed onto the top of a hill. The nearest fiery dragon was only about a li away. Ba Fenghan said, After Ziling and I left, you must hide inside the water, this way you will definitely evade the enemys eyes and ears. Its foolproof! Dong Shuni was stunned, But I dont know how to breathe under water! she said. Kou Zhong smiled and said, You have me to teach you. Then turning to the two, he said with serious expression, You must be careful, I want to see you again, alive! Ba Fenghan sneered and said, Dont worry! How could we be killed that easy? Taking the two sticks of signal rocket from Dong Shuni, he and Xu Ziling left together. Kou Zhong hurriedly took Dong Shuni back to the clear deep pool. Bang! The signal rocket flew more than twenty zhang into the air, and burst into a dozen or so blood red rays of light; it was a dazzling sight. Kou Zhong and Dong Shuni entered the water along the shallow end of the pool; they looked up together at the man-made marvel in the sky not too far away. Leaning close to him, Dong Shuni asked, Why are you guys willing to risk your life to help nujia? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Because we all love and dote on you! Shaking her head, Dong Shuni said, No! Ill say its because all of you are real heroes. I have seen many men! When they see me, every single one of them, were looking at me lecherously. Some men pretend to be righteous, but deep down they still have that revolting behavior. Hee ...! I love to y tricks on them. But you are different, unlike some people who pretend to be heroes, brave warriors, but as soon as they encounter trouble, they turn into cowards. Kou Zhong giggled and said, You are so touchy-feely, maybe I will turn into a lecher as well. Ha! Dong Shuni leaned over to kiss his cheek; sheughed softly and said, Shuni is not afraid of you, not at all, because nujia likes you. Kou Zhong met her eyes, which looked like they were spouting passionate me, and spoke in astonishment, Little girl, you are just starting to feel the stirrings of love! Tell me! Whom you really like? Just now you said the same thing to Xiao Ling. Dong Shuni cocked her head sideways as she pondered deeply; she said, I dont know either, but right now I just feel that you are handsome and strong, plus you have enough power to protect me. As for other things, I prefer not to think about those. In his heart, Kou Zhong said, Girl, you are just too passionate. Right this moment, the sound of sleeves brushing against the wind was heard from halfway up the hill. Kou Zhong shivered in fear, knowing that the iing people were martial art masters; otherwise, they would not have been this close before he detected their presence. Hastily he pulled Dong Shuni to hide at the bottom of the pool, while at the same time sealed her tantalizing fragrant lips with his own. Dong Shuni already knew what was going to happen, so she quickly opened her mouth to receive the inner qi Kou Zhong was transferring to her; immediately her entire body, from head to toe, felt veryfortable. Kou Zhong pulled her behind the waterfall, into the crack of the rock at the bottom of the pool wall. Even if someone was to dive into the pool, unless he came close to the wall, it would be difficult to find them. As soon as they were hidden, like an octopus Dong Shunis four limbs wrapped themselves around Kou Zhong, while her well developed and touching tender body did not stop twisting and turning. Even under the ice-cold water, Kou Zhong could feel her fiery passion. On one hand, Kou Zhongs own passion was greatly aroused, but on the other hand, he was shocked. Although they were covered by the waterfall, but if they continued twisting and turning under water, the enemies might see unusual ripples on the surface and sense something unusual under water. When that happened, they would ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Thinking fast, he reached out and wrote a character No on her back as a warning. Sure enough, Dong Shuni obediently stopped, but she embraced him more tightly. Kou Zhong was relieved; focusing his power to his ears, he listened to any sound of activity above. Not too long afterwards, sound of footsteps came, followed by voices. Fu Zhens familiar voice was heard, Mi Gong! I am sure they tarried here for quite a while, thats why the scent around here is especially thick. Shen Luoyans voice came next, They released signal re at the top of the hill, evidently they are already at the end of their rope, hence relying on transmitting signal from a high ce they are hoping that the rescuing troops woulde. We should pursue at top speed. Li Mi said, Those three little thieves are cunning and intelligent; as soon as they knew their track has beenpromised, they knew they could not take Dong beauty along to break the siege easily. Perhaps they looked for a ce to hide nearby, most probably in a steam somewhere, so that her scent would be extinguished. Therefore, we must search carefully. Inside the rock crevice at the bottom of the pool, Kou Zhong had a strange feeling of dj vu. In the past, at Zhai Rangs Longtou mansion [dragon head/big boss], he and Xu Ziling and Susu, three people, were also hiding like this, eavesdropping Li Mi talking to his subordinates. Fu Zhen and Fu Yan epted the order and left with their men. Wang Bodang said, This time, with Shen Junshis carefullyid out n and Fu Laoshi in charge of tracking andying out of inescapable, they can forget about escaping from the hollow of our palms. Li Mi spoke heavily, This time involves a matter of grave importance; if Wang Shichong got wind of this, our great endeavor of taking control of the Eastern Capital with no blood on the mens swords mighte to an empty dream. Therefore, we must make sure that that little beauty will never reach Yanshi. Letting out an evilugh, Wang Bodang said, This girl is the Luoyang Beauty, those who see her will take pity on her. After capturing her, subordinate will present her to Mi Gong! Li Mi sighed with regret, I have promised this girl to that lecher Dugu Feng; for the time being I cannot get my finger on her. Under the water, when Kou Zhong heard this, his anger red. The touching beauty locking lips with him and had her hands around his neck also showed some reaction; her breathing became urgent. Scared out of his wits, he quickly wrote another No to warn her. Once her breathing became chaotic or she was unable to remain calm, she would put both of them in great danger. This moment Fu Zhen returned to report, We have found clues the enemy left behind, they should be fleeing to the south. Bang! Without even looking, Kou Zhong knew that Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan had just released the second signal rocket from another hilltop. In the blink of an eye, the people above the water left until nobody remained. When Kou Zhong was breathing a sigh of relief, he suddenly felt that Li Mis little beauty had her fragrant tongue out, pressing against his, while her tender body twisted and turned. His mind exploded, he lost his bearing in the iparably moving world. Book 12 - 10 – Devising Battle Plan in a Tent Book 12 Chapter 10 C Devising Battle n in a Tent One after another Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling leaped onto a big tree among a towering forest. Sweeping their gaze around, they saw all around them were long lines of torches; their escape route waspletely sealed. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If not for the spring nights fog that makes the air wet, we could light a fire to create some chaos; perhaps we could then seize an opportunity to slip away. With a cold snort Ba Fenghan said, Even if we have to fight with all our might and die, but as long as Kou Zhong and Shuni could leave safely, I have no regret. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, If I did not hear it from Fenghan Xiong with my own ears just now, I really did not dare to believe that Fenghan Xiong is this kind of no-surrender, not-afraid-of death hero. [Orig. honor does not allow one to nce back, viewing death as a return home.] Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Honor does not allow one to nce back, is just inted praise, viewing death as a return home also still fall short. I simply never regretted the decision that I made. As long as things can go ording to my wishes, I am happy. You, two kids, are so loyal and true to me, but I am not a despicable fellow with the heart of wolf and lungs of dog either. My wish right now is that in the future Zhong Shao will be able to kill Li Mi with his own hands to avenge us. Xu Ziling shook his head, No! he said, I definitely wont allow Li Mi to kill you. Hey! If we can change our shape in a single shake and be two of Li Mis men, do you think it will increase our chance of survival? Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, Are you thinking of grabbing two men and change into their clothes? But Wagang Army is famous for being highly organized. Under the army theres regiment. Under regiment theres battalion. Under battalion there are a number of smaller toons. Each one has distinct line ofmand. Plus we may change clothes but we cant rece faces. We will only provoke jeers! From his bosom Xu Ziling pulled out a mask. Handing it over to Ba Fenghan, he said, This is the handicraft, a legacy of, the number one master craftsman in the world, Mister Lu Miaozi. We change our faces first, then well find a way to change clothes. Finished speaking, he put on another mask first, and immediately turned into the scar-face hero who once battled the Four Big Bandits. Watching that, Ba Fenghan clicked his tongue in amazement. And then with Xu Zilings help, he also put on the mask. Changing shape in a single shake, he incarnated into a young warrior with sunken eyes, thin lips and protruding jaw. His spirit greatly aroused, Ba Fenghan said, Now this is different! Come! Well cut some branches for secret projectiles first. Follow me! Carrying Dong Shuni on his back, Kou Zhong ran wildly and leaped swiftly along the mountain and fields. After rushing through a forest, as he ran up to the top of a hill, he saw the Luo River flowing across in the valley ahead, and on the opposite bank were the glitteringntern lights of a big city. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, We are here, atst! and he halted his steps. Reluctantly Dong Shuni left his thick and broad and warm tiger back. She looked at Kou Zhongs imposingly standing like a mountain, his eyes were gleaming as he gazed at the Yanshi City, standing tall and upright about five li across the in. There was some kind of intimidating insufferably arrogant charisma around him. Her heart was trembling with enchantment, like a little bird relying on people she leaned into his arms and said in a low voice, You must never tell anybody about us! If Da Jiujiu found out, he will definitely kill you. Kou Zhong looked down at this charming beauty, he could not help reying what had just happened in his mind, while thinking that it would be perfect. Otherwise, if after having a physical rtionship with him Dong Shuni forced him to ask her hand in marriage from Wang Shichong, what would happen would be greatly unpredictable. Slightly angry, Dong Shuni said, Why dont you say something? Is it because you dont like me? Kou Zhong felt big headache wasing; wrapping his arm around her delicate, soft, and small waist, he pulled her into his bosom, nted a deep kiss on her tender mouth and smiled and said, What aboutter? Can we do what we just didter? Smiling enchantingly, Dong Shuni said, It will be up to me. If I have time, I mighte looking for you. Kou Zhong was positive that he was not her first man, because while they were doing the deed, Dong Shuni was more adept than he. Although there was no denying that she beat Yun Yuzhen in every aspect, but just like with Yun Yuzhen, he maintained a chance-encounter mentality, and would never recklessly consider this affair as true love. Besides, there were so many urgent and more important matters waiting for him. As he ran all the way to this ce, his mind was, for the most part, upied by thought about Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghans safety, while the rest was dedicated to thinking about how to exploit Wang Shichong to deal with Li Mi. Not once he thought about the moving, tender body on his back, let alone thinking about whether he would have a future with her together. Dong Shuni yanked his hand and said, Lets go! The two rushed down the hill toward Luo River. Li Mi was standing on top of a sloping hill. His brows were in deep frown as he looked at his subordinates setting up a vast around their target, a two-li jungle, so tight that not even one drop could trickle through, also at the several dozen martial art masters under Fu Zhen and Fu Yan, two brothers leadershipbing the area. Yet more than half a sichen has passed, and there was still no movement. Wang Bodang, standing to his left, ferociously said, This is impossible. How could that baby girls scent suddenly disappear? There were about a dozen high-ranking generals standing behind Li Mi; no one could answer this question. Standing to Li Mis right, the distressed Shen Luoyan spoke softly, I have a feeling that something is amiss. Logically speaking, they cant fly even if they grew wings. Li Mi sighed and said, There is no such thing as logically or illogically speaking. Kou and Xu, those two little thieves should have been dead dozens of times, but they are always able to run away from critical circumstances; its really mind-boggling. Wang Bodang spoke heavily, Supposing they really seeded in bringing Dong Shuni into Yanshi, what should we do? Li Mis eyes lit up with cold rays; he spoke slowly, word-by-word, The best way is to attack Yanshi immediately, take Wang Shichong under control, make it difficult for him to return to Luoyang to oppose Dugu n and the King of Yue. But it will wreck our entire n, plus during the battle with Yuwen Huaji we had suffered heavy casualties, our strength has not recovered. Therefore, it would be more appropriate for us to focus on defense and not on offense, hence we have to find another way. And then, turning to Shen Luoyan he said, Luoyan has any suggestion? Shen Luoyan said, Another countermeasure would be secretly sending martial art masters to infiltrate Luoyang, to instigate Dugu Feng to sweep away Wang Shichongs influence in Luoyang, so that Wang Shichong will be isted, his support will be cut off. At that time, to take the head on Wang Shichongs neck will be as easy as feeling it in our pocket and take it out. Frowning, Wang Bodang said, Wang Shichongs influence in Luoyang is deep-rooted; I am afraid it would not be easy to uproot itpletely. There must be a proper arrangement. Li Mi said resolutely, Whether this scheme will seed or fail, it will only bring benefit to us without any disadvantages. The more chaotic Luoyang is, the better it will be for us. It would be best if Dugu n and the King fight each other until both sides suffer. That would be ideal. Turning to Shen Luoyan, he said, We are racing against time. If we let Wang Shichong make the first move, his losses would be minimal. Does Luoyan understand the serious consequences? Shen Luoyan nodded and said, Mi Gong may set your heart at ease. Leave this matter to Luoyan! I will not fail Mi Gongs trust. Chapter 10 - Part 2 Li Mi issued his order, I give Luoyan full authority in this matter, with Bodang as your deputy. I would also like to ask Nanhai Xian Weng [immortal elderly man of the South Sea] holy self to strengthen our force. The rest of you will be assigned ordingly, do as you see fit! As everybody heard the name Nanhai Xian Weng, they all revealed both respect and fear expression. Turned out Nanhai Xian Weng Huang Gongcuo was a martial art master of Ning Daoqi caliber, an important figure of great-schr-respected-for-learning-and-integrity level. The present day Sect Leader of the Nanhai Pai of Zhuya County [historic name for Hainan (south sea) Ind] Mei Xun could only be considered his disciple or descendant. It was rumored that one time Ning Daoqi and Huang Gongcuo was having a decisive battle at Leizhou Penins, and only after a hundred moves that Huang Gongcuo was defeated under Ning Daoqis bottom-of-the-chest consummate skill, the San Shou Ba Pu [scattered hand eight attacks]. It could be said that although he was defeated, it was a glorious defeat. From this, it could be seen that Nanhai Xian Weng Huang Gongcuo had a sterling reputation. Due to Li Mis father, Li Kuan has done a big favor to Nanhai Pai, after Li Mi rose up in rebellion, time and again he sent envoys to ask Huang Gongcuo to leave the mountain [i.e. to take a leading position], but only after Emperor Yang was assassinated by Yuwen Huaji did Huang Gongcuo agree to give him a nod. He even promised that Nanhai Pai would support Li Mi to obtain the world with all their strength. Naturally it included the harsh situation they were currently in. Wang Bodang and Shen Luoyan epted the order in unison. At that point, the torches guarding the south side of the forest were extinguished one by one, followed by continuous shouts of surprise. Instead of getting angry, Li Mi was delighted. Leading his subordinates, he rushed down the hill toward themotion. Under the escort of officers and soldiers guarding the city, Kou Zhong and Dong Shuni galloped toward Wang Shichongs Zheng Guo Gong [Duke of State Zheng] Mansion inside the city of Yanshi. It was as if Dong Shuni had turned into apletely different person; she was collected and was smiling, her demeanor became solemn, like an invible pure and holy leader of a Sect. They had just entered the Mansions gate, Wangshichong, who already received news, was walking out the gate, under the escort of a dozen personal guards, to wee them. Dong Shuni flew off of the horseback, and threw herself into Wang Shichongs bosom, crying. Wang Shichongs vigor was still like before, but the hair on his temples started to mottle with a few more gray hairs. He lovingly held Dong Shuni in his embrace, while repeatedly cooing, Xiao Ni, dont cry! Da Jiujiu is here. What happened? While doing that, he also cast a nce toward Kou Zhong, and his eyes immediately became iparably prating. Kou Zhong dismounted, saluted, and said with a smile, Whether we will seed or fail, it will all depend on what Shangshu Daren [basically it means government minister] will do. Wang Shichong was stunned, If you are thinking of using frightening words to scare people, dont me me ... he started to speak in obvious displeasure. Da Jiujiu! Dong Shuni cut him off with a slight edge on her voice, He is a good man; without him, Xiao Ni would have met disaster too horrible to contemte. Extremely deferential, Kou Zhong spoke, Is it possible for Wang Shangshu to grant me audience to have a word with you? We have to make prompt decision in this matter, otherwise, even if Suntzu was still alive, Wu Hou is reincarnated, they would not be able to reverse the losing battle this city will experience. Kou Zhong! Wang Shichong sternly called. Kou Zhong bowed and responded, Kou Zhongs here! After glowering at him for quite a while, Wang Shichong said with a cold snort, Come with me! But dont even think of ying tricks on me. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling ran for more than fifty li at a stretch, until they reached the Great River downstream from Luoyang. The two could not take it anymore; one after another they crouched by the shore, just ahead of the billowing waves of the Yellow River. In the distance, they could see thentern lights from the city of Luoyang brightened the horizon. After going through much exhausting effort, they finally broke away from the danger zone. Ba Fenghanughed heartily and said, Good kid! You are really quite something! Wang Bodang was face-to-face with us, and he did not know who we are. He even shouted an order for us to quit. Fortunately I was able to hold myughter; I was choking hard and was quite in pain. Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a sigh, Li Mi deployed such arge force, but he could not even touch the tail of our garments. If this goes out, I guarantee he would be theughingstock of the whole world. Ba Fenghan managed to get up; he said, While we still have time before daybreak, it would be best if we could preserve and nurture our spirit, before swaggering into the city with our fake faces to drink some hot tea. I have several old acquaintances in Luoyang, I guarantee they will take a good care of us. Xu Ziling had to struggle hard to sit up straight, I wonder if Kou Zhong was able to move Wang Shichongs heart? he mused. Ba Fenghan took a deep breath to restore hisposure; smiling, he said, Wang Shichong is a tiger dressed as a man, while Kou Zhong is a man dressed as a tiger. Victory or defeat is already abundantly clear, Ziling why worry? Inside the secret chamber. Dong Shuni revealed everything in one breath, concealing nothing. But Wang Shichongs countenance changed at least a dozen times. After pondering for half a day, Wang Shichong said heavily, Shuni go take a rest for a while, Da Jiujiu needs to make decision. Dong Shuni was thinking of acting like a spoiled brat and refusing to leave, but looking at Wang Shichongs solemn expression, where his face seemed to be covered in thick cloud, she did not dare to create a scene. Therefore, after casting a quick nce toward Kou Zhong, who was sitting opposite of Wang Shichong, she obediently left. The door was closed. Such a spacious private room, there were only Wang Shichong and Kou Zhong, two men. Kou Zhong was unusually silent. Since entering the room, he has not said a single word. Chapter 10 - Part 3 Wang Shichong was deep in thought for half a day. Finally he spoke in low voice, You guys were willing to brave death to save Xiao Ni, I, Wang Shichong, is eternally grateful. Say your request now! Kou Zhong knew Wang Shichong did not trust him; heughed indifferently and said, My request is the demise of Li Mi. Wang Shichong was stunned. He stared at Kou Zhong for half a day before frowning and said, Right now I have internal trouble and external aggression, I am facing enemies in front and behind me. I am afraid I cannot help you aplishing this wish. With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Wang Shangshu is wrong. The fact is that there has never been a better time like right now, where your side have the opportunity to crush Wagang Army. Displeased, Wang Shichong said, In all my life, the kind of people I hated the most are those who use favor to threaten. What have I, Wang Shichong, never seen? How could I listen to anybody who wanted to manipte me? Kou Zhong calmly said, This time Wang Shangshu sent your troops to Yanshi, I wonder what is your intention? Wang Shichongs eyes flickered with sharp lights; he said coldly, Now is now, then is then. Right now my top priority is returning to Luoyang to clean up a clique of traitors. Kou Zhong smiled and asked, And then what? Wang Shichong proudly replied, Once the inside is pacified, naturally going out to fight foreign aggression. Li Mi and I cannot exist together. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This time Wang Shangshu sent your troops, is to observe and confirm that after defeating Yuwen Huaji, Li Mis strength took a big blow; therefore, you wanted to seize the opportunity to thoroughly and swiftly cut him down. But now you want to pacify the inside first and let the opportunity slip away for nothing, giving Li Mi the opportunity to recover. Wont it be a grave miscalction? In daze, Wang Shichong stared at him for a long time, as if he had never seen Kou Zhong before. And then he said seriously, So Kou Xiao Xiong believes that I ought to put Li Mi in order first, and then return to base to deal with Yang Dong and Dugu Feng? Kou Zhong shook his head, Not quite, he said, Even if there was no problem in the Eastern Capital, if this time Shangshu rashly attack Li Mi, I have no doubt you will still be defeated. At first Wang Shichong wanted to probe whether Kou Zhong had an ulterior motive, i.e. wanted to exploit Wang Shichong to deal with his archenemy Li Mi. But now, after hearing him said so, he was taken aback, and asked modestly instead, Id like to hear the details. Thereupon Kou Zhong told Wang Shichong how Li Mi was going to deal with him, but naturally he said it as if it was his own spection. Wang Shichongs countenance changed slightly; for quite a long while he did not say anything, evidently Kou Zhong had hit the target. Half a dayter, Wang Shichong sighed and said, I am originally from the Western Region. Because of my admiration of the Celestial Empires [tributary title conferred on imperial China] civilization, I followed my father to the Sui Dynasty. Since childhood I love to read history books, I love to study the art of war. Finally I arose to be the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, and quite obtained Yang Guang, that muddleheaded rulers high regard. After the battle against Meng Rang, my name shook thend under heaven. I thought that nobody in the world surpassed me, Wang Shichong, in the art of war. Who could have thought that I came across that Li thief, to whom I am inferior in every aspect? Were it not for Kou Xiao Xiong warning me, this battle will only result in defeat with no chance of victory. So you think I ought to immediately return to the Eastern Capital? Kou Zhong knew that Wang Shichongs mind was in turmoil; he smiled and said, Like I said just now, to destroy the Wagang Army, this is a chance one in a thousand years. There are two reasons: one, currently Li Mis strength is greatly wounded, his troops weary his generals tired. Two, Li Mi is still in euphoria after defeating Yuwen Huaji recently; inevitably he will have condescending thought toward you and will be underestimating you. After a short pause, he continued seriously, Forgive my bluntness, but speaking about military strength, your side is not Li Mis match, plus your repeated defeat has made Li Mis despises you even more. Therefore, if Wang Shangshu is showing your weak front, and we fabricate ingenious circumstances, luring Li Mis entire nest toe out, with our meticulous nning and setting up traps, I guarantee that Li Mi will fall headlong and take serious tumble that henceforth he will be powerless to press toward the Eastern Capital. Hearing that, Wang Shichongs heart was pounding with eagerness, his doubt toward Kou Zhong diminished significantly, while his trust soared. How can we show a weak front? he asked. Kou Zhong asked in return, May I know how many men Wang Shangshu has in your disposal right now? Wang Shichong hesitated for a moment before making up his mind; he replied, This time I only brought twenty thousand men, but not a single one is not a trained elite troop. Kou Zhong pped the table and said, That will do. Sun Tzu said: troops are valued by their quality, not quantity. Because we have fewer soldiers, Li Mi would look down on us even more. Now if he also mistakenly thinks that we do not have enough provision, I dont believe the recently-victorious Li Mi could bear not to lead his army to indulge in another war. Shaking his head, Wang Shichong said, He can always wait until we are really short on provision before attacking. This ruse may deceive others, but definitely not Li Mi, who has rigorous schemes and deep foresight. Kou Zhongughed and said, Thats why I said we need to fabricate ingenious circumstances to force Li Mi so that he wont have any choice but to fight. Wang Shichong was astonished, What circumstances? he asked. Kou Zhong said, This operation can be carried out in two phases. First, we create a fake situation of supply shortage; for example, send your men everywhere to rake in army provisions, also broadcast a rumor that you are returning to the Eastern Capital soon. It would be strange indeed if Li Mi does note to intercept. And then he leaned forward and lowered his voice, For the next phase, we mend fences with northern forces whose power is not under Li Mis: Dou Jiande; ask him to send troops to attack Li Mi. Naturally we leak this information to Li Mi. I wont have to worry that he wont take the initiative to attack first. Although Wang Shichong was a conceited and talented fieldmander, he could not help pping the table and eximed in praise, That is indeed a brilliant n! But there are a lot of details that still need to be considered. Soon after his eyes shot sharp rays; fixing his gaze on Kou Zhong, he said, Everybody knows that Kou Zhong is ambitious; you managed to turn the south upside down. And now you help me like this, whats in it for you? Kou Zhong calmly met his eyes, Because, he slowly said, If I dont kill Li Mi, he would kill me. I dont care who will be the Emperor, as long as its not Li Mi. Is Wang Shangshu satisfied with my answer? Wang Shichong spoke in heavy voice, You are indeed a rare talent. If you are willing to throw your lot with me, I, Wang Shichong, definitely wont treat you meagerly. Kou Zhong cheerfully replied, Thank you for Wang Shangshus guidance. But in everything I still want to wait until Wagang Army is destroyed before making any decision. Although dealing against Li Mi is important, but the Eastern Capital must be grasped firmly in our hands. As long as we can hold out against Li Mis forces, we can attack the King of Yues imperial pce, pulling all who oppose you by the root. At that time Wang Shangshu may think that the King of Yues throne will be more desirable. Besides, you have at least half of the people in the world already in your pocket! This speech went straight to the bottom of Wang Shichongs heart, making him forget that Kou Zhong did not immediately dere his allegiance to him. Greatly delighted, he said, Dugu Fengs forces in Luoyang cannot be ignored. If I am not in Luoyang, I am afraid it would be difficult to have control over the general situation. Kou Zhong smiled and said, That is precisely one crucial point in the show-your-weakness phase. Wang Shangshu may want to select several elite troops to ride with you back to Luoyang to settle the situation in Luoyang, and then y it by ear. As soon as Li Mi makes unusual move, Shangshu immediately slip back here to take charge of the general situation. Wont that work? Wang Shichong was staring nkly for half a day. Finally he heaved a deep sigh, shook his head, and said with a smile, Other than that, do I have a better choice? Book 12 - 11 – Ancient Capital of Thousand Years Book 12 Chapter 11 C Ancient Capital of Thousand Years Luoyang was located prominently at the southern bank of the Yellow River. On the north, Mount Mang acted as a screen, to the south it was connected to Luo River. To the east was Hu Lao [tiger prison], west was Han Valley. It was surrounded by range of hills all around, with the Luoyang ins in the middle, and four streams: Yi, Luo, Chan, and Jian, passing through it. It was both strategically situated and easy to defend, and had beautiful scenery. The soil was fertile and the climate moderate, while water transport was convenient. Since ancient times, eight different dynasties established their capital here: Xia, Shang, Eastern Zhou, Eastern Han, Cao Wei, Western Jin, Northern Wei, and Sui. The so-called River Yang [positive/male/opposite of Yin] ground to set up the sacred tripods [not sure, I simply tranted as is] between the Central ins and the four sides of the wind, Luoyang was a major crossroad linking thend under the heavens, and a military stronghold. After Yang Guang ascended the throne, from Luoyang he selected another location for his capital and established a new one. The new imperial city was located between the Zhouwang [king of Zhou?] City and Han Wei old city, across the Chanshui River on the east, spanning toward the Luo River on the south, facing the Jian River on the west, and leaning against the Mount Mang on the north. The citys circumference was more than fifty li; indeed a grand and magnificent sight. Again, with Luoyang as the center, Yang Guang cut a canal reaching Hangzhou in the south, Zhuo County on the north, cutting through the Grand Canal spanning from north to south, and connecting the Hai River, Yellow River, Huai River, Yangtze River, and Qiantang River, five major waterways, so that Luoyang became the major hub of the worlds [remember: tianxia, meaning China] center ofmerce. This particr day, the sky has not brightened, the city gates have just been opened, arge number of traveling merchants, intermingling with farmers heading toward the morning market, were already lining up, waiting to enter the city. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, still wearing their masks, mingled among the crowds, were strutting leisurely into the city via the south gate. Luoyangs scale naturally could not bepared to average size cities. The south gate itself actually consisted of three gates: the middle one was called Jian Guo Gate [founder of the country], the left one was called Bai Hu Gate [white tiger], and the right one was called Chang Xia Gate [eternal summer]; all three were broad. This moment the two men no longer wore Wagang Army uniform, but ordinary old peasant clothes just like two farmersing into the city to do business. Each man carriedrge bundles of fresh-cut vegetables on shoulder pole. They reported randomly selected names to the city guard, and the soldiers let them in without any trouble. They had just entered the city, when Xu Ziling, who had never been to a city like this, suddenly had his eyes wide open. He saw the Heavenly Street, the main street connecting the north and the south gates, which spanned about two hundred steps, opened up before his eyes in a perfectly straight line, perhaps its length reached around seven or eight li. On the sidewalk were nted cherry, pomegranate, elm, willow, and all kinds of other trees. The middle of the street was the imperial road, where the Emperor would go on inspection tours. At this time of the year, between the spring and the summer, the flower-pink and the willow-green met together to create picturesque scenery, more beautiful than anybody could imagine. The main street was lined with unending row of shops, each one opened up to the street or the dozens of smaller streets and alleys linking up all the city gates; everything was clear and in good order. Ba Fenghan said with augh, Louyang has two major characteristics that everybody should know. Highly interested, Xu Ziling asked for guidance. Ba Fenghan said, First is this north-south axis, which permits the Luo River to cut across the whole city, dividing Luoyang into two regions: north and south, which are connected by four big bridges, which also connecting the Luo River with the other three streams, Yi, Chan and Jian, inside the city, so that the river course encircle the city, bringing the water from the mountain into the city, making the city and itsndscape seem to be made by Heaven and arranged by Earth. This moment, suddenly a marvel appeared ahead; a sailboat, previously concealed beneath the buildings, sped over. From their angle of view, only the top of the sail appeared to move, as if the boat was gliding over the drynd. Xu Ziling delightedly said, I am ustomed to the patchwork of waterways in Jiangnan, which draw water from the rivers and thekes into the cities, so this is no surprise. But seldom did I see something like this, the Luo River is wide, deep and perfectly straight, giving Luoyang its unique orderly and harmonious atmosphere. And the size of the city is certainly notparable to the cities along the patchwork of waterways. So whats the other characteristic? By this time the sky has brightened considerably, there were more people and vehicles on the street. From time to time a team of soldiers or guards in their glittering armor sped by along the imperial road on their way to their morning drill, adding an imposing air to this beautiful imperial city. Ba Fenghan went on, The other characteristic is the Wai Guo Cheng [outer city wall] outside the western city wall. Due to its natural setting of the Western Park, to the west it reaches Xinan, to the north Mount Mang, to the south Yi Que and various hills, the area two hundred li surrounding it isparable to the Shanglin Yuan [upper forest park] during the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the past. Wai Guo Cheng and the Western Park joined together, it increases the scale of Luoyang. The two traveled along the street until they reached the southern bank of the Luo River. Pointing to the big bridge across the Luo River, connecting the north and the south banks, Ba Fenghan said, That one is called Xin Zhong [new middle] Bridge. Just by looking at the size of this bridge, we can thus estimate how Yang Guang wasted manpower and resources in the past. Rumor has it that in order to make Luoyang the capital city, that muddleheaded ruler mobilized several tens of thousands wealthy tycoons from every part of the country, also three thousand plus master artisans from Henan and settled them at the twelvene area by the Luo Rivers south bank at the southeast corner of Wai Guo Cheng. Hence the reason we have such ambience nowadays. And then, lowering his voice he said, This is called good result came out of bad intention. Whoever obtains the world in the future is going to enjoy the result of Yang Guangs construction effort. As long as he manages the government properly, he will enjoy period of prosperity. Xu Ziling was listening with deep veneration. Athough Ba Fenghans aspiration was in the martial art way, he was very insightful toward current political climate; he was definitely standing out from the masses. While the present time was clearly not the time anybody would want to put themselves in Yang Guangs side, he was able to point out that Yang Guangs construction establishment would bring great benefit to the future generations. Ba Fenghanughed and said, We ought to find a ce to cure our stomach. Xu Ziling readily agreed. The City of Yanshi was located at the north bank of Luo River, south of the Yellow River, and north of the lofty Mount Song, Shaoshi Peak and other mountains, upstream from Luoyang, about a hundred li downstream was Ho, and was an auxiliary strategic stronghold protecting Luoyang, also the front line military base to resist Li Mis attack from the east. The fell of Yanshi would have directly shaken Luoyangs stability. Yanshis role on Luoyang was like Hos to Xingyang. This time Wang Shichongs leading his army to Yanshi, he immediately posed direct threat on Hos existence, because Li Mi was forced to respond, either to defend or to attack, but he simply could not y safe by waiting and not doing anything. Under the escort of a dozen or so loyal and reliable high-ranking military officers and renowned martial art masters, Kou Zhong, Wang Shichong and Dong Shuni, who had put on informal military officers attire, went onboard a battleship that was moored on the dock outside the city. Apanying them were close to two thousand guards, filling a fleet of battleships. After stepping on deck, Kou Zhong had a sudden inspiration and pulled Wang Shichong toward the aft. Pointing to the Luo River, he said, We must create some fake appearance to convince Li Mi that we determine to send troops to Ho. Frowning, Wang Shichong said, I stationed massive military force in Yanshi, isnt that enough? Kou Zhong said, That could be regarded as strengthening the defense, plus not giving the enemy any opportunity to set fire on the provision. I have just studied the geographic and terrain map Shangshu gave me, Ho and Xingyang are located south of Luo River and Yellow River. It would be better if Shangshu sends some people in this city to build some pontoon bridges, connecting both sides of the Luo River; establishing two or three cannot be considered too many. And then establish storehouse and army camp on the south side. This kind of maneuver will show off more force than transferring troops around, while also avoid Li Mi making such a big fuss over besieging the city. Ha! What do you think of this strategy? After staring in daze at him for a moment, Wang Shichong sighed and said, Such an excellent n, how could I refuse? Chapter 11 - Part 2 Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan crowded into a noisy restaurant, with great difficulty managed to find an empty table near the corner, ordered some pastries and light refreshments, and ate at their hearts content. Xu Ziling casually asked, Fenghan Xiong seems to have special admiration toward Luoyang, am I right? Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Among the cities and towns of the Central Earth, Luoyang and Changan give me special impression, simply because these two cities have royal air, which no ordinary city can imitate. How about Jiangdu? Xu Ziling asked. I have not been to Jiangdu, Ba Fenghan replied, That is your, Zilings birthce, naturally you have a profound affection toward that ce, just like me with my steppe and desert. And then, smiling, he said, However, byparison, I still prefer northern cities andndscape. That kind of arduous, imposing and wonderful mountains and rivers has apletely different vor to the enchanting, bright and beautiful South; it is more suited to my taste. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Ba Xiong is like the Great River and lofty mountain range of the North, be able to withstand the test of the wind and the frost over the years, unafraid to face the difficult and nasty environment. Zhong Shao and I are, after all, southern people, very easy to develop love of ease andfort and hate work. Even though we trained martial art, we do not have any stringent rule to follow. Hee ...! Ba Fenghanughed and said, Ill say Kou Zhong is more akin to me, and you are not one who love ease andfort and hate work. Its just your natural instinct is you dont like confrontation. But if someone really provokes you to fury, I will be very worried about that person! Xu Ziling smiled and said, Am I that terrible? Ba Fenghan turned serious as he said, I rarely admire anybody, but you are an exception. In normal times you look suave, as if you dont care about anything. But each time we are facing the critical juncture between life and death, you always show unswerving determination, no-nonsense willpower, plus the ingenuity ofing up with brilliant scheme to escape from the enemy, otherwise this morning we would not have been here, eating light refreshments in Luoyang. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I have never thought about that side of me. Right! Should we think of a way to make contact with Zhong Shao? Ba Fenghan muttered to himself, I wonder hows Zhong Shao and Wang Shichongs business deal? It should have been settled conclusively by now, but its inappropriate for us to meddle. It would be best if Kou Zhong ising to look for us. We only need to leave some signs like originally agreed, so that he knows where we are. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement, but then he frowned and said, So what are we going to do in the meantime? Ba Fenghanughed involuntarily and said, Ziling, you are too ustomed to have your days with Kou Zhong. Tell me, when you were together with Kou Zhong, have you ever had to think about what to do or what not to do? Embarrased, Xu Ziling said, I seem to be too ustomed to that, but theres always the first time for everything. Ay! Later we ... hey! Ba Fenghan doubled up inughter; heughed so loud that other patrons on several tables nearby raised their eyebrows. Finishedughing, Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, We are going to see a beauty whom we both know first, to see if she has some information about your Yu Yi, while making inquiries on thetest news about the Jade Annulus of the He n. Ziling, what do you think? A beauty that we both know? Xu Ziling asked incredulously. Ba Fenghan revealed a strange expression first, before smiling and said, Dongming Princess Shan Wanjing ought to be considered one of those, right? What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Wang Shichong and Kou Zhong were standing on the bridge of the battleship [orig. viewing tform], with their gaze fixed on the direction of Luoyang. Kou Zhong said, Does Shangshu know that Li Mi had been to Xiangyang to pay a personal visit to Qian Duguan, to persuade him to supply him with manpower and provision when he attack Luoyang from the south? Shocked, Wang Shichong said, Qian Duguan is not afraid of death? Unexpectedly he is this brazen! Kou Zhong said, Li Mi has always been known for his cunning, he deliberately conspired with the Four Big Bandits and Jianghuai Army to take over Jingling, while pressing against the various cities on the north. It was indeed a brilliant killing two birds with one stone stratagem. He made Du Fuwei too busy to mind the South, while at the same time making various cities south of Luoyang afraid of the Jianghuai Army and thus they threw their lots with him. Therefore, if Shangshu is toote in attacking the Wagang Army, sooner orter you will fallpletely under siege. By that time it would be toote to be sorry. Wang Shichong was greatly astonished, How did Kou Xiao Xiong know the North-South situation so clearly? he asked. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Naturally in order to deal with Li Mi. That old thief issued the Duke of Pushan Decree, making us, two brothers, fell into danger time and again, several times we nearly died and escaped only by the skin of our teeth; how could we not try to quench this manhunt? After thinking in silence for half a day, Wang Shichong suddenly said, Supposing this time I cannot defeat Li Mi, should I go west to ally myself to Li Yuan? Kou Zhong wanted to say, This battle will be won, but then he had another idea and answered the question with a question, Between Li Yuan and Li Mi, which one Shangshu thinks is a bit more terrifying? Smiling ruefully, Wang Shichong replied, I previously have never had any regard toward Li Yuan. Even when he rose in rebellion in Taiyuan, crossing Longmen [dragon gate] into Guanzhong, sessively defeating venerable Old Song and Qu Tutong, I still thought it was just a fluke. But when Li Yuans second son Shimin routed Xue Ju and Xue Renguo father and sons Xiqin Army [western Qin] at Fufeng [county in Baoji, Shaanxi], and then pursuing the retreating enemy he pressed on to Longcheng, I have no choice but to change my view. Because Guanzhong no longer has any threat from the west, they can concentrate on the east, to take over the Central ins, bing the biggest threat to Luoyang after Li Mi. Kou Zhong said, Shangshu seems to be very clear about Li ns situation, you probably know that Li Shimin is a person who has the high aims of pacifying the Central ins in his heart. Therefore, unless Shangshu is willing to bow before him, if you let Li Shimin acquire more strongholds and strengthening his position in Guanzhong, sooner orter Luoyang will fall into his hands. Wang Shichong sighed and said, Luoyang is the hub of water transport of the world, but for that same reason it is also caught in the middle of the enemies on all sides battling each other. Even if Li Mi is gone, it still has to deal with attacksing from four sides eight directions, unlike Li ns situation, where they could attack or retreat as needed. Kou Zhong said, Therefore, after getting rid of Li Mis threat, Shangshu must move your troops to Guanzhong. Whether you like it or not, you must control the Li n so that they cannot leave Tongguan even for half a step, and then Shangshu could press on you victory by taking advantage of the canal Li Mi leave behind, to progressively nibble away the cities and towns in the vicinity, to increase your strength, so that others outside will have no other way. Smiling wryly, Wang Shichong said, Im a bit tired! I want to go into my cabin to rest. But Kou Zhong was sighing inwardly. All along Wang Shichong was not a material for the contention over the world; he was absolutely nothing like Du Fuwei, he fell shortpared to Xiao Xian, so naturally it was even more difficult topare him with powerful talents with great aspiration like Li Shimin or Li Mi. Ŷͤʫ˼ԣ üŮ֣̣ ˿س룻 ǰٺȣ־񲻳䣻 [Trantors note: my apology that this is beyond my ability to trante. ording to my research, this poem is supposedly written by Bai Juyi (772-846), a Tang Dynasty poet, and the title is Tianjin Bridge. I would appreciate it of any of you could help me find a good trantion.] As the two men stepped on the Tianjin Bridge spanning across the Luo River, Ba Fenghan slyly said, Tianjins Xiao Yue [dawn moon] is the chief among Luoyangs Eight Sceneries. The most fascinating is in the still of the night, when the bright moon is hanging in the sky, capturing the beauty touring it arm-in-arm. The atmosphere is certainly no word can exin. Xu Ziling halted and said, I suddenly remember something, I am afraid I cant apany Fenghan Xiong seeing the Princess. Ba Fenghanughed and said, I wonder what urgent matter Ziling Xiong needs to attend to? Xu Ziling forced a smile and said, Fenghan Xiong, please do not think that I am looking for a pretext to avoid seeing the Princess, but my heart is concerned over our missing brothers that got separated from us. So I want to try to find them. Are you talking about Duan Yucheng and the others, four men? Ba Fenghan asked. Precisely them, Xu Ziling replied. In that case I wont stop Ziling! Ba Fenghan calmly replied. After agreeing on where and when to meet again, they went their separate ways around the city center. Book 12 - 12 – Meeting an Old Friend on The Road Book 12 Chapter 12 C Meeting an Old Friend on The Road Stepping down from the Tianjin Bridge, Xu Ziling arrived at the southern part of of the city; he felt rxed and was in a good mood. He really did not want to see Shan Wanjing. This moment the City of Luoyang looked like it has just been awakened from sleep. Streams of carts and sedan chairs flowed without stopping. The city was bustling with noise and excitement. Among the pedestrians, many were wearing barbarian attires; obviously they were traveling merchants from the Western Regions. Just by looking at the prosperity before their eyes, anybody could not imagine that there were endless wars outside the city, and that people were in a terrible situation. Even more difficult to imagine was that Luoyang was caught in the midst of internal and external problems; that it was in the center of conflict among major powers. Leaving the Heavenly Street bubbling up with a tide of people, he walked to the west along the Luo River. On a more than ten zhang wide waterfront, a huge ship standing right by the dock, with smaller boats moored on the aft of ship. The size of the iron chain itself was a marvel. Looking back at the Tianjin Bridge, Ba Fenghan had already disappeared. The four multistory building opposite each other on the north and south of the Tianjin Bridge added to the grandeur of the bridge itself; it was such a magnificent sight. Leaving the shopping area south of the Bridge, he noticed that the pedestrians were a lot more sparse. Xu Zling strolled along the Luo dike. The dike was lined with misceneous nts, Chinese schr trees and willows. The green trees provided shade. It was a charming scenery. Collecting his thoughts, Xu Ziling could not help thinking about the rtionship between Ba Fenghan and Shan Wanjing. That day Ba Fenghan and Shan Wanjing agreed to meet at Jiujiang. Perhaps it was not such a simple matter of man-woman rtionship. It should be noted that Shan Wanjing was the new generation leader of Dongming Pai. Internally, that Shang Ming fellow has been chosen to be her future husband. Therefore, although she fell in love with Li Shimin, they were not fated to be together. Judging from Shan Wanjings strong character and the way she conducted herself, since she was able to restrain her feeling for Li Shimin that nothing went wrong, ording to reason, she also should be able to refrain from making a tryst with Ba Fenghan. Therefore, between she and Ba Fenghan, there must be some cooperation of mutual benefit. Xu Ziling originally did not consider this aspect of the matter, but because Ba Fenghan had intimate knowledge that Shan Wanjing was in Luoyang, and he knew where she was staying, this was definitely not a simple matter at all. If between the two people there was only a simple matter between a man and a woman, with Ba Fenghans attitude in which he did not attach most importance to family love, and the fact that Shan Wanjing did not have the heart to kill Xu Ziling the other day, it was enough for Ba Fenghan to never turn his back against Shan Wanjing. Xu Ziling shook his head with rueful smile. Could a wind blowing a ripple on a spring [season] pond interfere with the matters between a man and a woman? Right this moment, someone was hurrying over. Xu Ziling looked up to see, and instantly he was dumbstruck, and nearly could not believe his own eyes. Leaning on the window, Kou Zhong looked out, wile myriads of thoughts shed through his mind. The road to hegemony over the world was definitely not a broad and open road. Not only it was unpredictable and hard to fathom, it was rugged and hard to pass, with the risk of having his body torn and his bones crushed lurking at every turn. The one brought him the most headaches was that there were so many forks on the road. One slip and he would lose the opportunity to reach his goal. And opportunity was of a really crucial importance. Li Shimin was a person who understood how to grasp opportunity the most. He watched for opportunity, pushed his old man to rebel, and raised an army at Taiyuan, taking advantage while Guanzhongs elite troops were pressing west to deal with Li Mi, he crossed the river to enter the pass, and seized the Western Capital ChangAn, a staunch and solid point, all along only had to face danger from Xue Ju, father and son, on the west side, and was able to take control of Guanzhong, in the midst of great heroes pursuing the deer in the Central ins [fig. many vie for supremacy], and seized the advantage of sandpiper and m war together, and the fisherman catches both without even lifting a finger. And right now he had just started. Admittedly, while toppling Li Mi would break the Song n and Wagang Army alliance like killing a fetus inside the belly, the one reaping the most benefit would be Li Shimin, and not him, Kou Zhong. Therefore, now it was not the time to kill Li Mi. Even though Li Mi was craning his neck waiting to be chopped, he could not kill Li Mi. Ay! I wish Xiao Ling were here! Then at least Ill have someone to unload my mind. If Xu Ziling was killed, he would recklessly abandon everything to avenge him. All those aspiration to obtain the world or what have you, would have to be set aside. Knock! Knock! Kou Zhong was stunned. Come in! he said. A young maid pushed the door and bowed respectfully while saying, Miss is inviting Kou Gongzi to her cabin for a meeting. Xu Ziling hesitated for a moment, before running to block the person who had just brushed past, and called in heavy voice, Li Dage! Unexpectedly it was Li Jing, whom he had not seen in a very long time. The reason of his hesitation was because all along he could not ept what happened to Susu. If Li Jing was not a fickle man, Susu would not receive disgrace from Wang Bodang, and furthermore, she would not have married Xiang Yushan. Li Jing was dressed in everyday clothes, but he still looked heroic and frank; his eyes had be even sharper, evidently in these past few years his martial art skill had progressed tremendously. Stunned, he halted his step. With confused expression he knitted his brows and asked, Could this Xiongtai be mistaken? It was only then did Xu Ziling realize that presently he was the Scarface Hero. Thereupon, lowering his voice he said, Its me, Xu Ziling. I am wearing a mask. First, Li Jings tiger body shook, and then, showing a pleasantly surprised expression, he pulled Xu Ziling over the row of locust trees by the pathway and toward the edge of the sloping dike. I also heard the rumor that you guys are heading to Luoyang, he said in great delight, But I would never have expected that we woulde across each other by chance like this. Wheres Xiao Zhong? Xu Ziling pulled his mask off and stuffed it into his bosom. Li Jing sighed and said, You are taller than me now. Time flies really fast, unexpectedly it has been many years. Those two urchins of the old days have be world-shaking figures. Nowadays, at the mention of your name, people are either gnashing their teeth in anger, or praising you to high heaven! And then he quickly added, Xiao Zhong is all right, isnt he? Listening to his sincere concern, while also recalling Susu, Xu Ziling was so torn that he hated himself for it. He said, Xiao Zhong is all right, we are just temporarily splitting up, each one handling different matter; thats all! Li Jing breathed a sigh of relief and said, Come! Lets find a ce to sit down and talk! Kou Zhong was led by the young maid to the inner cabin. Dong Shuni had changed into fancy dress, and had put on meticulous makeups. Sitting nicely in a chair, her beauty was even more dazzling. Her smoky eyes also increased her charm and grace, and made her look a bit more mature. Kou Zhong was sat on a chair on her left. The young maid retreated, and even closed the door behind her. Kou Zhong looked unsure, Arent you afraid your Da Jiujiu might me you? he asked. Imitating Wang Shichongs tone, she spoke in an old, gruff voice, Now is now, then is then. How can they be the same? But then she could not refrain fromughing tenderly, like a sprig of flower trembling uncontrobly, unleashing her seductive appearance at its full power that she looked extremely captivating. Kou Zhong suddenly understood: Dong Shuni was Wang Shichongs secret weapon. By exploiting her beauty, he coaxed and took advantage of talents, and perhaps to gather intelligence as well. Otherwise, perhaps even to his death Wang Shichong was not aware that he had fallen within Li Mis range of bows and arrows. In order to subdue Kou Zhong, right now Wang Shichong was ying this Dong Shuni trump card. Smiling sweetly, Dong Shuni said, You are indeed a very capable person; I have never seen Da Jiujiu has such a high regard of anybody. But right now I dont like you! What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Chapter 12 - Part 2 The buildings along the Luo River banks stretched out to the left and right. Not too far ahead there was a tall campanile, magnificently towering high over the Luo River dividing the city into two sections. Li Jing sighed and said, I had never thought that when we parted that day, its only now that we can meet again. Su Mei is really something; were it not for her, I, Li Jing, could forget about sitting here with you, reminiscing over the old times. Therefore, when I heard Li Mi rose up in rebellion, I knew something bad was about to happen, I rushed to Xingyang immediately, and found out that you guys have rescued her out. Xu Ziling felt a lump in his throat; he nearly burst into tears. Struggling hard to control himself, he said in heavy voice, Why did Li Dage let her return to Xingyang that day? Didnt you know that Xingyangs Longtou Mansion was a very dangerous ce to be? Li Jing smiled wryly and said, Su Meis kindness to me was as heavy as the mountain, how could I, Li Jing, be that kind of ungrateful ? Its a pity that she had had her mind made up. Knowing that I would stop her, unexpectedly she left a letter and quietly left me. At that time my internal injury had not been healed, if I ran after her, we woulde across more wind and rain. Upon recovering from my heavy injury, I went to Xingyang to look for her, but Su Mei refused to see me. I had no choice but to go to Luoyang first, and then continuing into Guanzhong. And now I am working for the King of Qin. Listening to this, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. Turned out that was what happened! Dong Shunis countenance turned cold, Anybody that Da Jiujiu like, I dont! she spoke indifferently. Seeing Kou Zhong was staring at her with his big eyes, she stomped her feet and snarled, Whats so strange about that? Cant I pick someone I like? Da Jiujiu has never liked my Die, but Niang was happier than any woman out there. Niang used to say previously they were free to select any partner from among the wildfire. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief instead. Smiling, he asked, In that case, can I get lost now? This time it was Dong Shuni who stared at him with her big eyes. Did you hear what I said? she said, I said I dont like you anymore; dont you feel sad and broken hearted? Kou Zhong stood up, stretched his limbs, and started to walk toward the cabin door. Without stopping, he said, Of course I am deeply grieved. I just want to go back to my room and cry my eyes out. Ha ... Kou Zhong turned around to catch the precious porcin vase Dong Shuni was throwing at his back. Giggling, he said, I have a really bad habit: I dont like to be manipted by others. I prefer to eat soft food, but refuse to have hard food [i.e. amenable to coaxing but not coercion]. Ha! With a wave of his hand, he whisked the porcin vase back toward Dong Shuni. While Dong Shuni was frantically catching the vase, he pushed the door and swaggered out. Bang! The vase was thrown once again; it crashed against the door and disintegrated into pieces. Hows Su Mei doing? Li Jing asked in concern. Xu Ziling heard his own voice responding, She is in Baling, and she is married now. Li Jing sounded cheerful, I am really happy for her. Which family is so lucky to have her? Xu Ziling was visibly shaken; he looked at Li Jing in disbelief. Li Jing was puzzled, Why did your, Xiao Lings countenance, look so strange? Is there something wrong with Su Meis husband? Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Su Jie married another man, Li Dage did not feel disappointed? Frowning, Li Jing said, If Su Mei has a ce to call home, I cant be more happy than that. Is there any problem with this man? After staring at Li Jing for half a day, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, I do not dare to be positive about it. Li Jingughed and said, You nearly scared me to death. Who is this man anyway? Isnt Baling Xiao Xians territory? Xu Ziling nodded and said, This man is precisely Xiao Xians man, his name is Xiang Yushan. Li Jings countenance changed, What? he blurted out. Xu Ziling was shocked, Is there really a problem with him? Li Jing showed a pained expression. It was quite a while before he sighed and said, Whether in himself this man has a problem, I am not sure at all; but I do know ... ay! Xiao Ling, please forgive me for having a hidden trouble too hard to mention, hence I cannot fluently tell you all I wanted. Heavens! How could there be such a coincidence? Xu Zilings brain traveled at the speed of light; he spoke heavily, Just now Li Dage said that you are working under the King of Qin. Isnt the King of Qin Li Yuans second son, Li Shimin? Li Jing nodded, Thats him all right, he replied, He also has high regards toward you. Arent you looking to make a breakthrough in doing great undertaking? He is going to be a good emperor. Xu Zilingughed coldly and said, Can he ascend to the throne? He is merely the King of Qin, but the heir apparent is actually Li Jiancheng. Just by listening to Li Dage, I know the rift between the two brothers. Li n is facing a disaster, big chaos will arise. Li Dage still want to mingle in this muddy water? Li Jing solemnly said, Xiao Ling, you have grown up, your knowledge and experience are greatly different from the past, but I, Li Jing, am not the kind of person who sees trouble and shrink back. After a pause, his eyes glittered like frost and snow as he gazed on the Luo River below, which water flowed in perpetuity, and then he said slowly, The trials and tribtions of a nation today are the same as in time past, unless it obtained enlightened sage as its lord, it cannot be governed peacefully. And the problem facing the nation is not for the squeamish. Nowadays, who did not know that the Li ns territory was won over by the King of Qin? Also, only he has the talent and morality and conduct, which will benefit thousands of people. Xiao Ling, do you understand what I am saying? Xu Zilings heart was vexed, as if there was a heavy stone weighing the pit of his stomach; after taking a long, slow breathe, he felt slightlyfortable. He said, Li Dage is not in Guanzhong, but came to such a dangerous ce like this, what is this all about? Lowering his voice, Li Jing replied, I came to Luoyang this time is indeed for a very important matter, but right now I cannot tell you yet. And then he pulled Xu Ziling up and said, Come with me, your Sister-inw must be worried sick waiting for us! Sister-inw? Xu Ziling blurted. Book 12 - 13 – Past Events Like Fleeting Smoke Book 12 Chapter 13 C Past Events Like Fleeting Smoke Wang Shichong, in full military attire, stood on the bow. Kou Zhong and a group of high-ranking military officers stood behind him. Luoyangs outer city wall was already in sight, the atmosphere was solemn and respectful. Four navy ships joined the procession, making the fleet look even more spectacr. Wang Shichong was in great spirit, apparently he was in a very good mood. Beckoning Kou Zhong toe over, he asked, Has Kou Xiao Xiong been to Luoyang? This will be my first visit, Kou Zhong respectfully replied. Wang Shichongughed aloud; he proudly said, The Luo River underneath us divides the Capital City into two sections, the north and the south. The Imperial Pce and the Imperial City are located on the northwest part of the City. The streets, squares, and marketces are scattered around the southern and eastern parts of the City. Can our fleet sail directly into the City? Kou Zhong asked. Immensely proud of himself, Wang Shichong replied, Not only we can sail directly into the City, we can go anywhere we like. In terms of convenience in water andnd transport inside and outside, no ce under the heavens can match the Eastern Capital. Other than the Luo River running through it, there are Chan River on the east, Gu River on the west, Jin River Canal on the north, and to the south, it goes through Jin Canal, through Ji Canal, Yi River, Cao Canal, Dao Canal, back to Jin Canal, Danshui Canal, and great streets and small alleys criss-crossing the entire city. Carts and boats interlink that nothing is more convenient than this. The water gate has already risen, the fleet pushed deep into the City along the Luo River. The view suddenly changed into a bustling scene of the city; Kou Zhong forgot to breathe, his tiger-eyes were wide open. Wang Shichong whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, If you help me destroying Li Mi on the east, and subduing Changan to the west, I will make you King of Luoyang. This city then will be your territory, plus Xiao Ni will be your queen! Recovering hisposure, Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, Thank you very much Sheng Shang [Your Holiness, a term used by a subject to address the Emperor] for your dragon kindness! As soon as he finished speaking, he was amused inwardly. However, he also knew that he must not pretend in giving out ttery, because Wang Shichong might change his view toward Kou Zhong at any time. Hearing the two-character appetion Sheng Shang, Wang Shichongughed aloud. And then lowering his voice, he said, Rumor has it that you two know the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure; is it true? Kou Zhong cursed in his heart, but on the surface he maintained a deferential expression. Also lowering his voice, he said, We only have a bit of clues, but whether we can really find it or not, it remains to be seen. Is the treasure in Luoyang? Wang Shichong probed further. Kou Zhong pretended to be stunned. Shangshu is really formidable! he eximed. Letting out a cold snort, Wang Shichong said, When the new capital was being built a few years ago, Yang Su was actively involved in it; hiding the treasure here is the most logical thing. Kou Zhong was delighted inwardly, thinking that it would be best if you think that way. Suddenly he saw the fleet was sailing toward the Big Bridge spanning across the River. Aghast, he shouted, We are going to hit the bridge! Although Wang Shichong and his generals tried hard not tough, but it was very hard. While Kou Zhong was still at a loss, the middle of the big bridge opened up, both sides rose upwards, revealing enough space that the fleet was able to sail through in single file unhindered. Wang Shichong turned toward Kou Zhong, who was still dumbstruck, unable to conceal his amazement, and said, This is our Central Earths first drawbridge, designed by the worlds renowned master craftsman, Lu Miaozi. I am not surprised that Kou Xiao Xiong has never seen anything like this. Pointing to the right bank ahead, he said, That is the Imperial Pce. Well go directly to see Yang Dong, I want to know what kind of trick he is going to y. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Li Dage is married? Li Jings old face blushed; he said, Its been a while! When Su Mei and I fled to the north that time, I was fortunate toe across her and obtained her benevolence by having my severed tendon fixed; otherwise your Li Dage would be a cripple. In that moment Xu Ziling understood the whole thing. Because of Li Jings change of affection, shift of love, in her grief Susu was forced to leave Li Jing, and was no longer willing to mention him. Li Jing was puzzled, Howe Zilings countenance became so unsightly? Xu Zilings countenance turned cold; he spoke word-by-word, From this day onward, we are no longer brothers. Li Jing, please leave! Li Jing was severely shaken, What exactly is going on? he asked. Xu Ziling coldly said, You should be well aware of whats going on. In vain Su Jie loved you with all her heart. You fell in love with someone else and abandoned her. I have nothing else to say to you. Finished speaking he turned around and walked away. Xiao Ling! Li Jing shouted. Unleashing his qinggong, in an instant Xu Ziling left the river bank area and disappeared into the stream of people on a side street. The grand, imposing eastern imperial pce was located at the extremity of the Luo River inside the city, northwest of Waiguocheng. The imperial pce was divided into two sections: the Huangcheng [imperial city], and the Gongcheng [pce city]. The Imperial City was protected from all sides by Pce City on the east, south, and west, three sides, shaped like a letter U [orig. character - ao], while its north side was separated from the Pce City by the city wall. Imperial City city wall was a double-wall. The north side was triple-wall, and thus increasing its defense capabilities. East and west inside of Imperial City were four side streets, which intersected the three streets going north and south, with the main street in the middle being the axis, where the government buildings, city hall, military headquarters, and so on were located along the side streets on either side of the main street, like the stars cupping themselves around the moon [idiom from Analects], on the left and right, not far from, the imperial pce. Pce City was Yang Dong, the child emperors residence and the reception hall where he received the ministers. North of Pce City were two walled cities Yaoyi [lit. glorious rites] and Yuanbi [lit. round rampart], so that Pce City was heavily surrounded and so the defense was much tighter than Jiangdu. The fleet was slowly docking on the pier outside Imperial City. Wang Shichongughed and said, Since Li Mi did not know that you and Shuni have gotten away, the news should not have reached Luoyang yet; so now Yang Dong is going to be caught off-guard. Perhaps until now he does not even know that I, Wang Shichong, am back. This is called defeating the slow by speed, Kou Zhong said, As long as we can control Yang Dong, the Dugu n will lose their strongest backing. At that time, whether we want to kill or cut [referring to cutting off the flesh as punishment], it will not be up to them to decide. Wang Shichong said, Although Dugu Fengs martial art skill is very high, he is still unworthy to make me lose sleep. But that old granny You Chuhong is indeed no small matter. Although the number of martial art masters under my banner is as numerous as a cloud, I am afraid none will be able to stop her. If she managed to escape the and fled, the catastrophe will be great indeed. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Why didnt Shangshu mention Dugu Feng? [Trantors note: I know this could be confusing. The first Dugu Feng was peak/summit; he was Dugu ns leader (see Book 2 Chapter 12 for first mention of this man). The second Dugu Feng was phoenix, the girl who came across Hou Xibai in Book 9 Chapter 2.] Wang Shichong was taken aback, Why would I want to mention her? Kou Zhong knew situation was worse than he originally thought; he spoke heavily, My friend Ba Fenghan has had confrontation with Dugu Feng [phoenix], he was nearly unable to escape alive. Reportedly her martial art skill has surpassed Dugu Fengs [peak]; it is second only to You Chuhong. How could Shangshu not know anything about this? Wang Shichong has personally witnessed Ba Fenghans extremely strong skill at Pengcheng; hearing Kou Zhong, his countenance changed. If this is really the case, he said, Perhaps Dugu n still has other strengths hidden for an opportunity to plot against me. Kou Zhong nodded. That must be the case, he said, We must be careful, otherwise, one slip and the loss will be heavy. The ship was anchored; Wang Shichong led his entourage stepping down the nk. With head down, Xu Ziling scurried along the street; halfway down, his mood calmed down somewhat. Especially with the street was lined on both sides with trees, providing him with ample shaded; the sky was blue, the cloud white, it was a love spring sunshine. Thereupon he strived to set aside the matter of regret that could not be undone between Li Jing and Susu, and put his mind on the buildings in the City of Luoyang. Since leaving the Flying Horse Ranch, he was using his spare time to fetch Lu Miaozis book he left behind and browsed it to study. Having a considerable interest in building construction, this moment he was able to look around with expert eyes at this carefully nned cityyout, which conformed to the terrain of thend, creating a capital that was famous throughout the world. Xu Zilings mood turned to be more cheerful as he wandered the side streets and alleys. No matter where he went, the streets and alleys intersect each other in checked pattern like a chessboard, with the houses evenly distributed in perfect order. A group of children was ying in a vacant lot, innocentughter filled the air, making him reminiscing his childhood he spent with Kou Zhong in the City of Yangzhou. It seemed like the two of them had never yed like this, every day was filled with the struggle to have enough food and warm clothes, as well as dealing with bullies. While he was lost in his thought, he heard the sound of wind behind him. Quickly turning around, he saw that it was Dou Jiandes top general, Liu Heita. As Wang Shichong was stepping on the dock, a middle-aged general met him up. After saluting, he said, Everything is in order, Shangshu, please set your heart at ease. This man was quite tall; he was probably a cun or so shorter than Kou Zhong. His face was long like a horses, and he wore a goatee, but his eyes were shining; evidently he was a martial art master in internal and external skills. Wang Shichong introduced Kou Zhong to him, This is General Lang Feng. In my absence, Luoyangs affair is in his and General Song Mengqius hands. Kou Zhong suddenly understood that this man was Wang Shichongs trusted aide. At the same time he shivered inwardly. Just by looking at the calm situation before his eyes, he knew that Wang Shichong has already transmitted his order via a special channel ofmunication, instructing Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu to secretly mobilize their troops to gain control over Imperial City. Therefore, although when he first heard the news Wang Shichong appeared to be helpless, the fact was that an old fox would remain an old fox. After calming down, he exposed his true color: shrewd, ruthless, and formidable. Lang Feng said, Shangshu Daren, please! Wang Shichong smiled calmly, and took the lead to stroll toward the gate leading into Imperial City Book 13 - 1 – Who Is The Wise Ruler? Book 13 Chapter 1 C Who Is The Wise Ruler? Liu Heita tapped Xu Zilings shoulder, and went into a nearby shop selling silk cloth. The two aging shop attendants did not even step out to greet them, as if they did not see them at all, as the two men proceeded deep into the shop, pulling the bead hanging curtain separating the front and rear sections, passing through the small warehouse filled with bolts of cloth, and stepping out into a courtyard. Turned out there were two otheryers of building at the back. Four men and one woman were congregating at the courtyard, talking. Seeing Liu Heita, they all showed respect as they greeted, Liu Dage! Liu Heita nodded. He led Xu Ziling into the building at the left side of the courtyard. It was a simple, unadorned, small hall; other than a table, few chairs, and some essentials, there was no other furnishing, not even a cab, much less any decorative furnishings. When the two was seated, Liu Heitaughed aloud and said, Very good! Unexpectedly I came across you. I dont know how many times I heard evil tidings about you, who would have thought that you are still like a lively dragon and animated tiger. Where did Kou Zhong go? I lost touch with him, Xu Ziling replied, But we agreed to meet here. Finished speaking, he sighed inwardly. Although Liu Heita was a good man, all along he was Dou Jiandes man, so he should not disclose too much to him. Knitting his brows, Liu Heita said, I hear Li Mi sent his men to intercept you. Shall I send out my men to look for Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling could feel his sincere concern, which gave birth to unbearable guilty conscience in his heart; shaking his head, he said, He should not have any problem defending himself; in fact, we separated on purpose, with me luring away the pursuing troops, while he is in charge of something else. Liu Heita understood. This moment, the girl that was just chatting with the four men outside came in to serve fragrant tea. It was only now that Xu Ziling noticed that this girls profile was rather beautiful, and she exuded a delicate and pretty personality. Liu Heitaughed and said, She is Tongtong; her flying de skill is indeed not bad! But he did not introduced Xu Ziling to Tongtong. Tongtong smiled as she shot a couple of curious nces toward Xu Ziling before withdrawing from the room. Liu Heita was deep in thought for half a day before he finally sighed and said, Assassinating Ren Shaoming not only propelled your names to the sky, it has also changed the entire situation of the South. Lao Ge [old elder brother] is really proud of you. Xu Ziling was afraid Liu Heita would repeat his invitation for them to join his organization, he busily changed the subject, This time Liu Dage came to Luoyang, I wonder if there is something big going on here? After gazing deeply into Xu Zilings eyes, Liu Heita spoke heavily, This matter can be big or small. The fact is this is actually a trivial matter, only it is possible that this matter rtes to the question of who can really unify thend under the heavens. Xu Ziling was confused, What matter can have that kind of impact? he wondered. Liu Heita did not answer; he asked back instead, This time you came to Luoyang, is it in preparation to go west to enter Guanzhong? Xu Ziling understood that Liu Heita was a man with a very good moral standing, but he was definitely not a fool. On the contrary, he was astute and formidable, so it was absolutely not easy to deceive him. By asking that question, it was tantamount to indirectly asking if he was going to dig out the Duke Yangs Treasure. If Xu Ziling responded evasively, it would be difficult to get Liu Heita to bare his soul to himter. During the time where the warlords were setting up independent regimes, even between father and son, brothers and friends, there must be matters that have to be kept secret to some degree for the sake of their respective master. Just like Li Jing a moment ago, who wanted to tell him something but hesitated; obviously he also had to have some reservations. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, The fact is that we only know that the treasure is somewhere near Guannei [lit. inside the pass; I think this is a ces name, but it could point to the general area inside the Great Wall]; other than that, we know nothing at all. Therefore, this time we are simply going to take our chances. Liu Heitas honest and considerate, guileless dark-skinned face revealed a trace of sincere smile; he nodded and said, What Ziling told me, how could I not believe it? Its just that rumor has it that within the Duke Yang Treasure, other than rare treasure that Yang Su had plundered for many years, there are also tens of thousands of weapons and other items. To haul away these things out of the Li ns territory, one must have considerable manpower and physical resources. If you think that I, Liu Heita, am trustworthy, I can give you full support, on the condition that each takes what he needs; you can go your way to be rich and powerful, and I go my way to vie for the world. We get the best of both worlds to everyones delight and satisfaction. After a short pause, he went on, ording to the information I have, the Duke Yang Treasure has sevenyers altogether. Other than the firstyer, which has no mechanism or booby-traps, everyyer is more dangerous than the previous one. If you know that the man who designed the room to store this treasure was the Number One Master Craftsman in the world, Lu Miaozi, youd know that to acquire the treasure is not an easy matter at all. As far as I know, that Luocha woman only entered the firstyer and promptly sounded out the difficulties and retreated to avoid defeat. Huh? Why do you look so weird? Hearing the name Lu Miaozi, naturally Xu Ziling was severely shaken. He began to understand a little bit why when he showed the secret book on mechanism, it strongly reminded him that he would have to rely on this to enter the Duke Yang Treasure-trove. But why did Lu Miaozi not teach them directly how to enter the Duke Yang Treasure, which he personally designed? This is really puzzling. Liu Heita continued, Yang Su and Lu Miaozi were close friends; the drawbridge Xing Jin Fu Qiao [xing C star, jin C river crossing (abbreviation for Tianjin), fu qiao C floating/pontoon bridge] was his design. This mans talent in this area is extremely high; I dont think there is any second person to him at the present age. Noticing Xu Ziling was frowning hard, he reached out to give him a friendly pat on the shoulder and said, You dont have to answer me quickly; you may talk to Kou Zhong first. Even if you decided not to cooperate, I, Liu Heita, cant possibly me you. By the way, Zhuge Dewei is quite knowledgeable at mechanism and building constructions; certainly that would be very helpful in entering the treasure trove. Xu Ziling had no choice but to nod in agreement. Liu Heita stretched out and spoke in a rxed manner, To be honest, I really did not want to say those things, because it made me look like those greedy people who covet the treasure. But taking the present conditions into ount, I did not have any choice. I understand, Xu Ziling said, Liu Dage need not be concerned about it. Liu Heita dly said, I have mentioned the two gentlemen to King of Xia, King of Xia is also highly appreciative toward the two of you, and he sincerely hopes to see you face to face. The King of Xia was Dou Jiande. Xu Ziling calmly replied, If there is any opportunity, we would also love to pay our respect. But still, just now Liu Dage mentioned that you have a business here that can be big but can be small as well; what is that all about? Liu Heita replied in heavy voice, It has something to do with the Jade Annulus of the He n, which is equally famous with the Duke Yang Treasure! Chapter 1 - Part 2 They had barely entered Imperial City, the more than a dozen men gathered inside the door went out to meet them. Other than three men wearing high-ranking military uniformplete with armors, the rest wore casual Confucian schr attire. One of them, which Kou Zhong was surprised to see, was Ouyang Xiyi. Ouyang Xiyi was a martial art master who had made his name for several decades; in Jianghu, his seniority was extremely high. Together with great schr Wang Tong, they forged a very deep friendship, but for thest several years he had already disregarded the affairs of the life. Unexpectedly he could be here to help Wang Shichong in vying over the world. [See Book 4 Chapter 3] At Pengcheng a few years back, using Chen Sha Jian [Sinking Sand Sword], he waged war against Ba Fenghan. Although at that time victory and defeat had not been decided, he had left an indelible impression in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hearts. Apart from Ouyang Xiyi, there were two men and one woman that especially caught Kou Zhongs attention. The woman was like a red dot amidst a cluster of then thousand greens; extremely noticeable. She was a very pretty young woman, petite and nimble, carrying a sword on her back, but her expression was unusually somber, a no-nonsense attitude, yet there was also a cool and elegant, mature sex appeal. She exuded a proud and aloof aura that made people felt that she was cold and must not be offended, but also made people secretly felt that if they could break open thatyer of protective screen, it would be a mans greatest aplishment. But the reason Kou Zhong paid particr attention to her was not her good looks at all, rather, it was her pair of radiant and glittering azure eyes, which made him realize that not only she was a Wulin master, but that she was not of Central Earth origin. The others who caught his attention were two men: one old, one young. The old one was short and stocky, wearing Taoist robe, holding a whisk in his hand. His eyes, ears, nose and mouth were squeezed together at the middle of his fat face. A look at him was supposed to provokeughter, but his half-closed narrow eyes were gleaming with sharp and luminous flicker, which faintly conveyed some kind of fierce and ruthless feeling, without the least bit ofical taste. The young one was a sturdy looking man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with imposing built. Although he could not bepared to outstandingly handsome men like Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, or the like, his face was simple and adorned, his darkplexion looked solid, giving out a tyrannical, dauntless, overbearing impression. His weapon was a pair of pecks hanging on his back. It seemed like other than Ouyang Xiyi, from among the crowd, these three had the highest martial art skill; they could be listed among the front ranking martial art masters. Ouyang Xiyis gaze fell on Kou Zhong first; an astonished look flitted across his sharp eyes, but he did not say anything. This moment Wang Shichong had already run up to meet them and said with a chuckle, Withdies and gentlemen rushing over like this, I, Wang Shichong, have nothing else to fear. Kou Zhong slightly shivered in his heart, realizing only then that without making either motion or noise Wang Shichong has already mobilized people with most power under hismand to deal with the immediate crisis. Ouyang Xiyi and the others returned the propriety by declining modestly. One of the generals said, Mengqiu has made all the arrangements ording to Shangshus instructions. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong realized this man was the great general Song Mengqiu, the other trusted aide of Wang Shichong, Lang Fengs counterpart. Hastily he gave him a quick look. This man was ugly, but his face radiated with bravery, mixed with excessively exaggerated loyalty, giving people the impression that he was wearing a mask. In just a nce Kou Zhong already developed a dislike toward him. By this time Wang Shichong had already introduced Kou Zhong and the crowds to each other. Surprisingly, the womans name sounded like the person; she was called Linglong Jiao [together, it means exquisite and delicate]. The fat Taoist was Ke Feng Daozhang [Taoist priest]. The sturdy-looking man was Chen Zhanglin; the rest were martial art masters from various famous schools and sects. Apparently Ouyang Xiyi upied highest position among the group; he smiled and said, The Secret to Long Life is worthy to be one of the Four Great Amazing Books, otherwise it cannot bring up a talent like Kou Xiongdi. Kou Zhong promptly declined modestly. After another round of polite greeting with everybody, Wang Shichong curbed his smile and said, This matter should not be dyed, we must immediately enter the Pce to see that little muddleheaded ruler; lets see what kind of trick Dugu Feng [summit] is ying. Noticing that even after hearing the word Jade Annulus of He n Xu Ziling was able to maintain his indifferent demeanor, Liu Heita smiled and said, If Ziling knew more about the Jade Annulus of He n, perhaps you would be a bit more interested. Xu Ziling was thinking about Kou Zhong; sighing inwardly, he forced himself to rouse his spirit and asked, The Jade Annulus of He n is, of course, not only the seal of state, it was also the Emperors personal symbol of authority. But other than that, what else does it worth? Liu Heita replied, Frankly speaking, I am not too clear about this matter as well. But just from the fact that Ning Daoqi made an agreement with Ci Hang Jingzhai that he would loan the jade annulus for three years, evidently the Jade Annulus of He n is not simply a piece of precious gem. Otherwise, how could it move the heart of such an out-of-the-world, free-from-vulgarity, outstanding holy man like Ning Daoqi? Xu Ziling was stunned, In that case, he said, Are you saying that the Jade Annulus of He n has been hidden in Ci Hang Jingzhai all along? But how did Liu Dage know? Liu Heita smiled mysteriously. Lowering his voice, he said, On this, please forgive me, your Liu Dage, for keeping the climax from you; simply because I have made my promise not to divulge it to anybody else. Suffice it to say that you must know that this information is absolutely true. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, If that is really the case, the rumor widely spread all over Jianghu that Ning Daoqi maye to Luoyang to hand the Jade Annulus of He n back to Shi Feixuan is not a fabrication relying on nothing at all. Ning Daoqi and Shi Feixuan are making an ostentatious disy like this, did they think that the world is not chaotic enough as it is now? Liu Heitas dark face revealed a hint of smile as he spoke indifferently, As it turns out, the opposite is true. This is the condition that Ci Hang Jingzhai imposed on Ning Daoqi before they agreed to loan the jade annulus to him: he must help set things right in the world to the benefit of thousands of people. His heart moved, Xu Ziling said, In that case, Ning Daoqi is helping Ci Hang Jingzhai to promote the future ruler. Liu Heita was surprised. Listening to your conjecture, it seems to me that even if you did not know the truth, yet you are not too far from it. ording to Duke Dou and my own spection, the purpose of Shi Feixuans extraordinary visit to this mortal life this time is not only to deal with Yin Gui Pai, but its also for an even more important mission, which is to find the true master for the sake of all the people. Just think: under todays circumstances, whoever can win Shi Feixuans favor and is given the Jade Annulus of He n, what can that person be in the future? Xu Ziling immediately felt a big headache. Chapter 1 - Part 3 It dawned on him that the problemy with Kou Zhong. Under current circumstances, no matter how Shi Feixuan would make her choice, she would never pick Kou Zhong. Just like Liu Heita said, the Jade Annulus of He n itself is only a trivial matter, but Shi Feixuan selecting the Emperor was the big matter involving thend under the heavens. Shi Feixuan being the representative of Ci Hang Jingzhai,bined with Ning Daoqis power and prestige, as soon as they announced to the world that they have given the Jade Annulus of He n to certain person, how would the outstanding heroes all over the world react? Therefore, Kou Zhong must not allow this matter to happen. Previously Kou Zhong used to say that he wanted to snatch the Jade Annulus of He n away for himself. Perhaps half of it was spoken in jest. But now it was a totally different story. If Kou Zhong entered the fight over the Jade Annulus of He n, could he, Xu Ziling, stay out of it? If not, wouldnt it evolve into enmity between them and Shi Feixuan and Ning Daoqi? Wang Shichong, inpany with Kou Zhong, the high-ranking military officers, and the various martial art masters moved quickly to mount their horses, and then under the escort of nearly a thousand personal guards, they galloped through Imperial City to the north toward Pce City. Along the sides of the road they saw soldiers in full armor, obviously the control over Imperial City haspletely fallen into Wang Shichongs army. The surrounding city wall was about nine li long, with pce gates all four sides. The Heavenly Gate was in the middle of the south wall. To the south it faced the Duan Gate, to the north it faced Xuanwu Gate, and the pce halls in between had their main gates all connected by a central axis. Under the thundering hoof beats, the entire Imperial City seemed to be shaking. Kou Zhong was riding on Wang Shichongs left side, while Ouyang Xiyi was riding on the other side. Ahead of them Lang Feng, leading thirty riders, was clearing the way. It was such a vast and mighty momentum. Very soon the Heavenly Gate was in sight. It was actually a double-gate, the depth was twenty-something steps, with imperial city watchtower to its left and right, which were connected by an eighteen-step wide city wall. There was a twelve-zhang open area outside the city gate. This moment the atmosphere was solemn, which was quite intimidating to the onlookers. The middle gate of the Heavenly Gate was wide open, yet not even half a shadow of guard was to be seen. A baffling situation that was clearly contrary tomon sense. Wang Shichong looked calm. As they were speeding along, he turned to Kou Zhong and said, Inside the Heavenly Gate, there is Yongtai Gate, and after that is precisely the lords pce, Qianyang Hall, where general assembly and ceremony are being held, which double as the hall to receive foreign envoys. That fellow Yang Dong usually never goes there. Howe I dont see a single pce guard at the Pce City? Kou Zhong wondered. Someone behind him replied, Looks like we scared them off. But no one considered this as a joke. Wang Shichong said in heavy voice, The Imperial Bodyguards under Dugu Fengs control are divided into Yi [assist], Ji [cavalry], Wu [martial/military], Tun [stationed troops], Yu [chariot driver], Hou [nobility/high official], and so on, twelve guard units. Each unit is approximately five hundred men, so that the entire military strength is more than five thousand men; a number that cannot be scorned at. With the solid city walls that they defend, and in line with Dugu Fengs character, they cant possibly retreat without any fight, so we must be a bit more careful. Everyone acknowledged with loud noise, their voices shook the Imperial City. In the blink of an eye, the vanguard had reached the Heavenly Gate. But as they were about to charge inside, a man, with his hands behind his back, stepped out the gate,ughed aloud, and spoke slyly, Shangshu Daren is bringing your troops pressing on toward the Imperial City like this, I wonder what business do you have? Liu Heita heaved a deep sigh. He said, The world is already in chaos; if Shi Feixuan was more involved, the situation would be even moreplicated. And that was the exact reason why Xu Ziling had headache. Both Shi Feixuan and Wanwan were the representatives of two major sects, upright and heretical; and both were outstanding martial art masters, which were hard toe by. And now that Wanwan had be their archenemy, if Shi Feixuan was involved, it would not be something fun for the two boys. Xu Ziling could not help asking, Where is Shi Feixuan now? Shrugging his shoulders, Liu Heita replied, I heard ten days ago she made an appearance in the vicinity of Luoyang, but afterwards she disappeared without any trace; no matter what, nobody could find the slightest bit of clue on her whereabouts. Just from this fact, we can tell the degree of her brilliance. Remembering Wanwan, Xu Ziling could already infer how formidable Shi Feixuan must be. And then thinking that she might be enemy with he and Kou Zhong, momentarily he did not know what to say. Even if he did not promise Kou Zhong that they would part ways after obtaining the Duke Yangs Treasure, he could not possibly leave Kou Zhong under current circumstances. Liu Heita went on, This is precisely the reason I came to Luoyang this time. If we could acquire the Jade Annulus of the He n from Shi Feixuans hands, it would be the same as half of the world already belonged to King of Xia. Therefore, whats happening in Luoyang this moment can be called a magnificent and unprecedented event. To obtain the world, who would not want to take a chance? Xu Ziling also remembered Li Jing. Perhaps he came to Luoyang this time was for the exact same reason, i.e. he was trying to win over the Jade Annulus of He n for Li Shimin. In Liu Dages opinion, who would have the chance to win over the Jade Annulus of the He n? he asked. Liu Heitaughed involuntarily, Zilings use of these words win over may not be too appropriate, he said, Lets not talk about Ning Daoqi watching on the side, merely Shi Feixuan herself, whose swordsmanship has reach the great heights, is enough to prevent anybody from having a wild fantasy. Therefore, using the word beseech instead of win over might be more appropriate. Xu Ziling was amused inwardly, because he was thinking on behalf of Kou Zhong, hence unexpectedly he unconsciously used the word win over. A bit embarrassed, he asked, Whos most likely to beseech and receive the treasured jade annulus? Smiling wryly, Liu Heita replied, I would love to tell you that it ought to be Duke Dou. But the fact is that is not necessarily true. There are at least three men who have equal chance with us, who are also the three most qualified men to unify the world. He paused, and then went on, If I were Shi Feixuan, I would evaluate each person in terms of military aplishment, administration, reputation and so on to consider whether he is fit to be the future Son of Heaven receiving the heavensmand. Therefore, the first person to have the best chance will be, no doubt, Li Mi. Coincidentally he had just scored a victory over Yuwen Huaji, he also opened the storehouses to provide relief for the people several times in the past, his reputation is ster; who could match him? Xu Zilings heart sank even deeper. If Li Mi obtained the Jade Annulus of the He n, how could Kou Zhong and he still have any chance of contending against him? Liu Heita continued in heavy voice, The second candidate would be Wang Shichong. Just look at the stability of Luoyang. It is a clear proof that he is able to govern well. Plus his base of operation is at the heart of the Central ins, his prestige is acknowledged at the four winds, so its hard for others to lightly overlook him. Xu Ziling nodded and said, These two are definitely men who can contend against the King of Xia. Is thest one Li Yuan? Li Yuan can indeed be considered one, Liu Heita replied, Its just that he himself is a lecher, plus he attached himself to the Tujue. Although he has power, his chance of being selected by Shi Feixuan does not seem to be too great. Recalling his Ol Dad, Xu Ziling said, Do you think Du Fuwei has no chance of being chosen? Liu Heita replied, Du Fuweis reputation has never been good, plus recently he has been colluding with the Tiele people. If he wants to obtain the Jade Annulus of the He n, I am afraid the only way would be to rob it from someone else! Xu Ziling shivered slightly in his heart, because he was fully aware that Yin Gui Pai would also be involved. Besides, Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, Qu Ao and Du Fuwei were all eligible candidates to challenge Shi Feixuan. Therefore, even though thetter had Ning Daoqis support, but because the opponent was simply too strong, her situation was not without any danger. The situation was indeed tooplicated. Liu Heitas excitement was aroused; heughed aloud and said, Although the world is falling apart, those who can gain eptance, those who are qualified to be the king are but a few. Right now south of the Great River we have nothing more than Xiao Xian, Lin Shihong, Shen Faxing, and the Song n, four major powers. After you killed Ren Shaoming, currently Xiao Xian is the most powerful, too bad Baling Bang still has the tainted reputation of human traffickers, so that it would be difficult for them to win Shi Feixuans favor. After a short pause, he continued, Among the various powers north of the Yellow River, other than the three I just mentioned, the rest, Xue Ju father and son, for example, had just been defeated by Li Shimin, so that whether they are able to defend themselves remains to be seen, hence they are not worth mentioning. As for Liang Shidou, Liu Wuzhou, two men, they only rely on barbarians support to have a bit of fame and power, so there is no glory in that; I doubt that Shi Feixuan would even give them a nce. And then there are Gao Kaidao, Li Zitong, Xu Yuang and the like, separately they have been pushed into the corner by us, Li Mi and Du Fuwei; it would be hard for them to advance even for a cun, and would be difficult for them to gain eptance. If we push this matter further, there is still Li Gui of Wuwei [prefecture, Gansu]. Too bad he is leaning toward the western frontier, in everything he depends on the barbarians; how could he have any bargaining chip to win the peoples favor? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Listening to Liu Dages tone, are you saying that who will be the Emperor will be entirely within Shi Feixuans power to decide? Liu Heita smiled and said, Whether that is the case or not, it still depends on future developments before it can be decided. But judging from the various powers sending their people to see Shi Feixuan, it is obvious that they attach most importance to this issue; otherwise, how could I have free time to sit here and talk to you? And then, averting Xu Zilings burning gaze, a bit shy, he asked, Is your virtuous sister well? Xu Ziling felt a stab of pain in his heart. Su Jie is married! he dejectedly replied. Liu Heitas imposing figure shook. After staring nkly for a long time, he coughed dryly and said, Hey! I was going to ... ay ... Xu Ziling suddenly did not feel like facing Liu Heita anymore; he only wished to go away the farther the better, and would never have to talk about Susu, ever. If Xiang Yushan was indeed just a despicable human trafficker, what should he do? Seeing Xu Ziling suddenly stood up, Liu Heita was stunned, Ziling is leaving? he asked. Grieved, Xu Ziling replied, I just want to drink a cup or two alone. Ille back to find Liu Dage a bitter! Book 13 - 2 – The Path of the Ruler Book 13 Chapter 2 C The Path of the Ruler Kou Zhong focused his attention to look; he could not help thinking that like a father like a child. This man was at least seventy-percent simr to Dugu Ce, only he appeared to be a few years older, but still outstandingly handsome, plus he had the magnificent bearing that Dugu Cecked. Therefore, anybody would be able to guess that he was the leader of the Dugu n, Dugu Feng. He was the kind of person that as soon as one took a nce on him, one would know that he was a very ambitious person, someone who would not have any scruple in killing others. Although he was wearing a smile on his face, there was a murderous air around him. He was of medium height, but there was an obvious lofty quality of extraordinary capability. Not only that, he also carried a straightforward and powerful manner, which disyed his strong confidence in himself. This moment his pair of eyes, his eagle-beak nose and the firm and persistent corner of his mouth exuded a distinct and contrasting sharp expression, as his gaze moved from Wang Shichong to Kou Zhong. Kou Zong felt his face was burning, so that he knew that Dugu Feng was worthy to be the leader of the Dugu n. His power was not inferior to Du Fuwei, Li Mi and those martial art masters of the same caliber. Everybody halted their horses. The vanguard at the front understood their role; they separated to both sides of the road, so that their master could have a dialogue with the opposite party without any barrier. Wang Shichongughed aloud and said, Dugu Zongguans [reminder: chief manager] words are too heavy. In the past few days there has been sighing wind and calling crane; I heard that not a few people wanted to take the head above my, Wang Shichongs neck. I, Wang Shichong, have always been greedy for life, afraid of death; therefore, going in and out the Capital I must have men protecting me, hence the reason I brought a few more men; how could I date tomit the crime of the troops pressing on toward the Pce City? I earnestly hope Feng Xiong would not block the Pce gate, and let me in to have an audience with Huang Taizhu [grand master the emperor] to make a report on military situation; otherwise, the Ol Wang would suspect that Feng Xiong already instigated mutiny and is holding Huang Taizhu under duress, and thus forcing me to direct the troops to besiege the City. If that happened, no one would have any benefit! It was only that Kou Zhong realized how formidable Wang Shichong really was. Those words of his did not have any hole at all, so that nobody would be able to ward it off. But Dugu Feng was not ay practitioner of Buddhism either. Just by the fact that he was guarding the Pce gate alone was a clear disy of his unfathomable scheme, which was equivalent to seeing one spot on the leopard. Sure enough, Dugu Feng calmly took a step forward, smiled in a rxed and easy manner, and said, Shichong Xiongs desire toy on guilt is really formidable, how could Dugu Feng take it upon myself? The most ridiculous thing is that I, Dugu Feng, am earnest and sincere, yet I saw Shangshu Daren withdrew your troops and returned to the imperial court, so I came out specifically to wee you; who would have thought that I was misunderstood by Zhengguo Gong [Duke of Zheng State]? In just one sentence he had used three different appetions, from Shichong Xiong to Shangshu Daren to Zhengguo Gong; naturally it was without the slightest bit of sincerity, but with some kind of attitude that was difficult to guess, mixed with frigid irony and scorching satire, without any implication that he had any regard toward Wang Shichong. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Since you havee to wee us, why did previously Dugu Zongguan did not say that Shangshu Daren withdrew his troops to return to the imperial court, but said that we brought the troops pressing on toward the imperial city? Are you correcting yourself now? Casting a contemptuous nce toward Kou Zhong, heughed grimly without moving a single muscle on his face and said, This young boy is very brazen; I wonder since when did he be Shangshu Darens spokeperson? But Wang Shichong was no less formidable; remaining tranquil and calm, he said, I have not introduced this gentleman, Mr. Kou Zhong, whom I hired back with a lot of gold and gift. In my, Wang Shichongs absence, he is in charge of Luoyangs affairs. Later on it will be more appropriate if you get to know each other better! This time, even Lang Feng and the other people from Wang Shichongs side were shaken; they did not expect Wang Shichong to show such a high regard toward Kou Zhong. Dugu Feng was stunned for half a day, before finally saying, Although Shangshu Daren has the right to pick any worthy person to assume responsibility, but such an important position, you must ... Wang Shichong cut him off, This is precisely one of the reasons this officer wants to have audience with Huang Taizhu. Will Dugu Zongguan insist on blocking the Pce gate? Dugu Fengughed aloud and said, How can I? How can I? Shangshu Daren, please! Unexpectedly he really withdrew to the side of the gate, and then with an exaggerated gesture he invited them to enter the gate. Wang Shichong and Kou Zhong looked at each other in consternation; momentarily they did not know how to react. The deep gate looked as if it would devour anybody who dared to enter into a bottomless hole. After taking his leave from Liu Heita, Xu Ziling looked for a wine shop nearby, and ordered a pot of wine. After pouring himself a drink or two, tipsy feeling started to assault him, making him feeling like he wanted to have a good cry. He has never been good with wine; although he was ustomed to be affected by Kou Zhongs keen interest, but he really was an amateur in this regard. But now he wanted to drink until he passed out, so that he could forget the cruelty of the real situation, which he could not change anyway. Liu Heitas pointing out that Xiao Xian was human trafficker has bored into his heart. And now the matter between Susu and Xiang Yushan was like the rice that has already been cooked, plus a child was on his way; even if he killed Xiang Yushan, he would not help Susu the least bit. Ay! Xu Ziling poured another cup of wine down his throat before cradling his head on his arms on the table; he wanted to cry, but there were no tears. This moment, only two of the tables in the restaurant were upied, plus he deliberately chose a table near the corner, because he did not wish to attract undue attention from anybody else. Come to think about if, all these misfortunes befell on Susu were brought by Li Jings heartless andck of friendship. Which part of Su Jie was not good? Yet he insisted on changing his affection, shifting his love. Sound of footsteps approached. Hearing the footsteps, immediately Xu Ziling remembered Li Shimins dragon gait and tiger steps; startled, he quickly looked up. He saw a man wearing bamboo hat with a veil hanging down to shield the wearer from the sun. The man wore nondescript grey clothes. He was walking straight toward Xu Ziling. His steps were nimble yet powerful, carrying with him a wave of suffocating momentum, extremely intimidating. Composing himself, Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, Qin Wang [king of Qin], please sit down. The man was slightly taken aback; he stared nkly first before taking the seat across the table. Taking off his bamboo hat, he revealed a heroic and grand face. Greatly astonished, he said, Xu Xiong was able to see my face behind the veil? Raising his hand, he called the waiter, Bring more wine! Xu Ziling met his sharp gaze, the gaze that could prate the deepest secret in anybodys heart. He spoke indifferently, I merely recognized Shimin Xiongs footsteps! Wine cup and wine pot arrived. Li Shimin poured some for Xu Ziling first before filling up his cup to the brim. He sighed and said, Not only Xu Xiong has a pair of sharp ears, your memory is also astonishing. And then, toasting Xu Ziling, he said with augh, This cup is for meeting Xu Xiong again after a long period of separation. Xu Zilings eyes were fixed on the clear wine inside the cup; reaching out, his finger lightly flicked on the rim of the cup, creating a crisp ringing noise. Did Li Jing ask Shimin Xiong toe to me? he said slowly. Li Shimin smiled. Putting down his cup, he said gently, Xu Xiong misunderstood your Li Dage! Xu Ziling spoke apathetically, If Shimin Xiong is here to talk on behalf of Li Jing, then let us stop at this point. Chapter 2 - Part 2 Li Shimin was slightly startled; and then heughed aloud and raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp. After wiping the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, he spoke with an air of authority, Then well do it as Xu Xiong wishes! Besides, this kind of man-woman affair, how could we, as outsiders, care about it? Forcing a smile, Xu Ziling said, This remark of yours is more formidable than talking straight; Li Shimin is worthy to be Li Shimin. Li Shimins eyes gleamed brightly; he carefully looked at Xu Ziling for a while and then said with a sigh, Ziling Xiong has really changed a lot. In terms of outward appearance, poise, and imposing attitude, you are exuding confidence. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Shimin Xiong needs not praise me too much. Xu Ziling is nothing more than uncouth man of the mountain and fields, unlike Shimin Xiong, who is a dragon among men, who seized the rugged Guanzhong in order to raise your influence, slowly looking at the wind and the rain outside the Pass, staking everything against each other, and thus stabilizing your position as the overlord. This time it was Li Shimins turn to smile wryly; shaking his head, he said, Ziling Xiong, please do not mock me. At best, I, Li Shimin, am merely a high-ranking military officer of the vanguard regiment in my father and brothers effort to take over the world; what overlord position are you talking about? Xu Zilings pair of tiger-eyes shot a sharp, terrifying gleam, as he spoke in heavy voice, A pearl has always been a pearl; even if momentarily it is covered by grass, one day it will reveal its brilliance. How could Shimin Xiong be willing to ept an inferior statuspared to others? Li Shimin was silent for half a day, his eyes gradually brightened, followed by a grieved expression of dissatisfaction. He said in low voice, When I helped my humble father raising an army at Taiyuan that day, he promised us, brothers, that whoever could take down Guanzhong would be appointed his heir apparent. At that time he privately told me, This matter depends entirely on you standing with all your strength. If we seed, naturally the merit will belong to you, and I certainly will establish you as the heir apparent. And then his eyes gleamed with cold rays as he continued, At that time I replied to him, The Emperor Yang is tyrannical, people are in a terrible situation, outstanding heroes are rising together, Child only wish to assist Die to overthrow the tyrant, to free themon people from the pain of being hanged upside down [i.e. extremely critical situation]. As for other things, Child does not dare to have any delusion. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Since Shimin Xiong already has this way of thinking, why did just now you show a dissatisfied look? Li Shimin dejectedly replied, Because I was afraid Dage would be just another Emperor Yang, then I would have been guilty of terrible crimes. Otherwise, even if my humble father is burdened by the promise he made to his wife, but since ancient times there is always this ancestral way of establishing the son of first wife as chief, and thus I have nothing to say. Xu Ziling had a deep veneration toward Li Shimin in his heart. Because on the basis of his keen perception, when Li Shimin was telling him about all these things, he was expressing the truth, he was baring his bemoaning-the-state-of-the-universe-and-pity-the-fate-of-mankind heart. Li Shimin suddenly stretched out his arm to grab Xu Zilings shoulder. His tiger-eyes prating deep into Xu Zilings soul, he said, I have always hidden this deep within my heart, and have never poured it out in front of anybody else. But seeing Xu Xiong today, I was unable to restrain my emotions and thus spoke it out. It even surprised myself. Or perhaps in my heart I have always regard you and Kou Zhong as my best friends! Xu Zilings heart warmed up, but it also turned cold. Warmed up because of Li Shimins friendly feeling, cold because of the thought that one day Kou Zhong and Li Shimin would face each other in the battlefield. Well said! suddenly someone called out in low voice. Startled, the two men looked up, only to see the only remaining guest in the wine shop, who was sitting on the opposite corner farthest away from where they were. He was having his back against them, as he poured wine and drank alone. Li Shimin and Xu Ziling exchanged some nces; they were unable to hide the astonishment in their hearts. This man obviously had juste in, but the two did not have any idea when. Plus when the two were talking, they used their internal energy to suppress their voices as much as possible and focused the sound so that it would not scatter outside. Furthermore, the opposite party was at least five, six zhang away from them. If he was really able to hear their exchange, it would mean that he must be a first-rate martial art master. From the back, this person looked slim and elegant, exuding a confidence and suave aura. His long, shiny ck hair was tied into a bun on top of his head. In short, he was very attractive. Raising his voice, Li Shimin said, Was Xiongtais remark just now directed to Zaixia? Without even turning his head, the man spoke indifferently, Theres only the three of us here, even the waiters have been dismissed by this Ol Qin. To whom did Li Xiong think my remark was addressed to? Hearing that, Li Shimin and Xu Ziling looked at each other. A profound and unfathomable feeling appeared on their faces. But his voice was deep; he spoke slowly, but it was extremely sweet sounding. It did not appear to be malicious. It should be noted that Li Shimin was the most important figure of the Li n. About ny-percent of Li Yuans rivers and mountains were won over by him. If his whereabouts was leaked out, who among the hostile major powers did not wish to get him? Were it not for his trust toward Xu Ziling, he would never show himself. Just from this little fact, it was obvious that Li Shimin really regarded Xu Ziling as a good friend. Focusing his power to listen, Xu Ziling found no unusual activity outside the wine shop. Feeling relieved, he spoke indifferently, Qin Xiong, why dont youe over to have a cup of wine? The man calmly replied, Xu Xiong is too polite, but the Ol Qin has always been a recluse. Talking this way is actually morefortable for me. Li Shiminughed aloud and said, There are many unconventional schrs in the world. May I ask how should we address Qin Xiong? The man spoke slowly, Names and surnames are just artificial marks; two gentlemen can call me Qin Chuan! More and more the two men felt that this man was not simple. Xu Ziling said in astonishment, Please forgive me for talking too much, but Qin Xiong must be a follower of Buddha, or perhaps you are rted [by karma] with the Buddhist way. I wonder if I have guessed wrong? Stunned, Li Shimin looked at Xu Ziling; he waspletely unable to make any sense of the matter, how could Xu Ziling make such an unexpected spection just by looking at the persons back and hearing him said a few words? However, without giving it the slightest bit of thought, Qin Chuan replied, Xu Xiongs perception is indeed extraordinarily brilliant. Just now, were it not for the Ol Qin entered in when Xu Xiong was crouching on the table, I am afraid I would not have escaped Xu Xiongs detection. Li Shimin was shocked, Qin Xiong was trailing me? he asked. Chapter 2 - Part 3 Remaining tranquil and calm, Qin Chuan replied, Exactly so. At that time Li Xiong had your attention focused entirely on Xu Xiong, naturally you would not take any notice of me, an ordinary bystander! Li Shimin and Xu Ziling looked at each other in shock. Lets not mention that this person intentionally followed Li Shimin to this ce. Just by Li Shimins brilliant cultivation yet still failed to realize that someone was trailing him, it was clear that this persons skill must be out of the ordinary. Without waiting for the two men to respond, Qin Chuan went on, Back to the topic at hand, just now Li Xiong was speaking about your esteemed brother. I wonder what are you going to do about it? Smiling ruefully, Li Shimin said, That was not supposed to enter Qin Xiongs ears; must we discuss it openly now? Qin Chuan shrugged his shoulders and said, Li Xiong has arge number of martial art masters apanying you here. After unburdening yourself off this matter, you could always send your men to have the Ol Qin killed. This way you wont have to worry that any third party would find out about it. Li Shimin and Xu Ziling looked at each other again. Here was someone who suggested others to have himself killed to close his mouth. But the way he was shrugging his shoulders was very pleasant to watch, so that it would be difficult for others to have the heart to kill him. Bang! Li Shimin pped the table, and then said with a sigh, How could I, Li Shimin, be a despicable person who only has interest in his own benefit, and presumptuously harming other peoples lives? Qin Xiong must be joking! Qin Chuan coldly said, You dont kill people, people wille to kill you. Your esteemed brother is more than ten years older than Shimin Xiong. During the rebellion in Taiyuan, he was still at Hedong Mansion, and had never participated in the grand scheme. A yearter, he was firmly established as the crown prince. Under normal circumstances, this is not a big deal. However, in time where outstanding heroes all over the world are contending against each other, Shimin Xiong is outside as a soldier, charging and breaking through the enemy lines, beheading the Pass, seizing the narrow path, killing the enemy, taking the cities, while he remained in the western capital, reaping where he had not sown. Even if Shimin Xiong did not have different thought, your esteemed brother is merely where he is by virtue of seniority. How could he convince the heart of the people under the heavens? Could it be that he is not afraid repeating the disastrous history of Li Mi assassinating Zhai Rang? Li Shimins countenance fell; he spoke slowly, Who is Qin Xiong actually? How did you know my Li familys matters this clearly? Listening to him, Xu Ziling was amazed as well, but his interest differed from Li Shimins. Besides, this persons spoke powerfully, his reasoning was prating and exquisite, plus it had substance [orig. if thrown on the floor, it will make a sound], so that others would find it hard to refute. Qin Chuan slyly said, If Shimin Xiong does not wish to chat about this, how about if we change the subject? Once again Li Shimin and Xu Ziling looked at each other in shock. Ouyang Xiyi chuckled; he patted his horses butt and stepped out, Then lets Laofu be your foot soldier to open the path for you! Kou Zhong hurriedly whispered in Wang Shichongs ear, Lets just employ the charging forward resolutely tactic! Wang Shichong was indecisive, but as he heard Kou Zhong, heughed heartily to stall for time. When everybodys attention shifted from Ouyang Xiyi back to him, he pretended to be calm andposed as he said, Apparently this is still too early in the morning, Huang Taizhu probably has not left his dragon bed, this officer can always return to have an audienceter! Drawing out his whip, he turned around and left, without even casting a single nce toward Dugu Feng. Kou Zhong and the others hastily followed him. Qin Xiong has something else to say? Li Shimin asked in wonder. Qin Chuan spoke slowly, I wish to ask for Shimin Xiongs guidance concerning the path of the ruler. Xu Ziling and Li Shimin were baffled being yed around by him like this. First of all, Li Shimin was nowhere near the monarch position, let along now was the period of fighting over the world. Even if Li Shimin had the thought of taking over Li Jianchengs position, Li Shimin ought to be asking for guidance to others, not the other way around. A vague feeling started to well up in Xu Zilings heart, he vaguely felt that he ought to know this persons identity, yet he was unable to prate the fog toe up with any definitive guess. Staring at the persons back, Li Shimin frowned and said, If Qin Xiong is able to exin the reason you are asking this question, then there is no harm in me, Li Shimin, offering up an answer. Qin Chuan calmly said, The way I conduct myself has always been I do whatever I think I should do; very seldom did I question God as to what I ought to do. Just now I recalled that Shimin Xiong has the heaven policy in government, particrly having the country in the palm of your hand to go on a punitive expedition, with a long history of ministry of war one person, handling two-person civil officers, two-person military-advisorymitte, four-person secretarial department, two-person clerks, two-person office of records and military affairs, and then two-person construction, warehouse, soldiers, horses, weaponry and nomissioned officers, six department of the military, and six-person military advisory board; altogether there are thirty-four people, in tight coordination like a mini imperial court. It is clear to me that Shimin Xiongs aspiration is not limited to insignificant military campaign; hence I waspelled to ask the question. Listening to him exining the organization of heaven policy in government in details as if he was enumerating his own familys valuables, Li Shimin and Xu Ziling were dumbstruck and did not know how to respond. Was that a good enough reason? Qin Chuan asked nonchntly. With a wry smile Li Shimin replied, I concede! If Qin Xiong is willing to work for me, I would definitely ask Qin Xiong to be in charge of reconnaissance and intelligence. As for the path of the ruler, of chief importance is understanding how to select worthy person to be employed. Otherwise, even if there is the best national policy in ce, without obtaining the right person, the implementation will not follow thew, then everything will be in vain. In his heart Xu Ziling was full of praise. If it were either Li Mi or Du Fuwei, seeing this person understood him like the back of his hand, it would be strange indeed if a desire to kill him did not arise in their hearts. But Li Shimin was sincerely true to his word, he really provided answer. Moreover, his answer was beautiful, and was delivered in such a free and easy manner. Merely this aspiration was not something that others could emte. Qin Chuan spoke heavily, After the big chaos, how to achieve big government control? Li Shimin smiled slightly at Xu Ziling first before answering, After chaos, it will be easy to teach the people, just like hungry people are easy to feed. If as the ruler one is willing set an example, countering the detrimental government of the previous dynasty, practicing diligently, while getting rid of the extravagant and wasteful way, seeking to govern in peace and quiet, promoting reform and rising interest in culture, spreading virtue and giving charity, light on mandatingpulsory service and belittle the self, working together from top to bottom with one heart, the people will respond like an echo, sooner orter the Central Earth will be pacified, estranged people will submit. Qin Chuan listened silently. It was quite a while before he finally said, Xu Xiong, what do you think of Shimin Xiongs view? Xu Ziling did not expect Qin Chuan would suddenly ask him, a bystander, for an opinion. Laughing involuntarily, he said, In terms of politic and government, Xiaodi is just ayman, I am not qualified toment on Shimin Xiongs view. But Shimin Xiongs true statement, seeking to govern in peace and quiet four characters [jing Zhong qiu zhi], fits very well with my personality. After the big chaos, only by getting rid of extravagance and wasteful government will we recover the people. Only by doing farm work in the right season will we produce harvest, so that the people will have clothes and food in abundance. Qin Chuan was still sitting facing the nk wall. He spoke in heavy voice, In olden days, when Emperor Wen, Yang Jian, ascended the throne, there was nothing but strictly benevolent government. Who would have thought that two generations perished, Shimin Xiong has such opinion on this matter. Li Shimin sighed and said, Qin Xiong asked the most crucial question. Just from this it is evident how brilliant Qin Xiongs knowledge and experience is, definitely you are not an idle person. I wonder if the two of us may move to Qin Xiongs table so that we can continue talking face to face? Qin Chuanughed and said, I had heard that Heir Apparent loves to make friends with entric people and unusual schrs all over the world, naturally you also have the aspiration to tolerate all kinds of entric deeds and unusual conducts. How could a trivial man, who has always beening and going alone, discuss the most fitting trivial intention? If Shimin Xiong insists on another form of formality, the trivial person just had to take his leave! Li Shimin made a gesture, as if he was shrugging his shoulders, toward Xu Ziling, expressing his resignation. Smiling, he said, I just wanted to have a glimpse of Qin Xiongs expression. But since it is not the case, let us proceed ording to what Qin Xiongs decided! Qin Chuan spoke indifferently, I knew Shimin Xiong would never force anybody to do something against his will. In that case, how about Shimin Xiong give an answer to my question? Li Shimin asked in consternation, It seems like Qin Xiong is testing my skill if I were to be the Emperor? As soon as he said those words, Xu Zilings heart was greatly shaken; he had guessed Qin Chuans true identity. The fact is, Qin Chuans identity has always been very obvious. Other than Shi Feixuan, who would be interested in asking Li Shimin questions about governing the country? She was making determination on who should be the recipient of the Jade Annulus of He n. Qin Chuan spoke slyly, A fine bird chooses a tree to nest in. Will this answer satisfy Shimin Xiong? Li Shimin cast his gaze toward Xu Ziling. Evidently he had detected the change in Xu Zlings heart from the change on his countenance, hence he was casting an asking-for-opinion nce toward Xu Ziling. Thinking about Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. But he nodded toward Li Shimin, indicating that he ought to give an honest answer. After contemting silently for a moment, Li Shimin spoke seriously, The root of peace rests solely on obtaining people. The Sui Family flourished since the founding Emperor, simply because Emperor Wen was diligent in considering the government; each dawn there was imperial court hearing, day and night he worked, forgetting tiredness. The suffering of the people, not one he did not attend to personally. Moreover, he conducted the business frugally, rewards and penalties strict and impartial. Its a pity that hecked one move; otherwise the Sui Dynasty would continue for a thousand years, hundreds of generations. Withot waiting for Qin Chuan to reply, Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and said, Gentlemen, please continue your discussion, Zaixia takes my leave! Li Shimin was greatly astonished. But Qin Chuan did not show any movement. Xu Ziling nodded his head slightly before floating away. Book 13 - 3 – Leisure Situation at the Eastern Capital Book 13 Chapter 3 C Leisure Situation at the Eastern Capital While urging his horse to gallop back to his official mansion, Wang Shichong asked Kou Zhong with knitted eyebrows, If what he was ying was the empty city strategy, and we retreated without any fight, wont we be theughingstock of people all over the world? Ouyang Xiyi on the other side of him, as well as Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu, who were behind him, all showed an expression that showed that they agreed. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If we mobilized the whole army to attack the Pce City, there would be only two possibilities: one, we broke the city wall and entered in; two, we would suffer heavy casualties and would not be able to continue. However, either one of those two possibilities would do us more harm than good. Because we have our ambition somece else. As long as we can rout Li Mi, we dont have to be afraid Yang Dong and Dugu Feng would not surrender nicely. Just now, by looking at Dugu Fengs secure-in-the-knowledge-that-he-has-backing attitude, I knew he has Li Mis support behind his back; therefore, he basically is not afraid we would attack. Ouyang Xiyi was puzzled, If we could control the Pce City, and got rid of Dugu party once and for all, what harm mighte to us? he asked. Kou Zhong answered respectfully, Qianbei [senior/older generation] is asking great question. Lets not talk about the difficulty of breaking the city yet. Supposing Luoyang returned to stability, how could Li Mi be willing to move his army to the west? He would definitely be adopting a wait-and-see attitude; once the other favorable situation arises, then he woulde to attack. By that time, victory or defeat will be hard to fathom; how could that be more favorable than our current situation? Hearing that, the people all around, including Wang Shichong, were greatly convinced. It should be noted that in the past, when Wang Shichong battled Li Mi, he had never won even half a battle. The reason Wang Shichong was still able to stand firm was because he was relying on Luoyang, which was surrounded on all four sides by twelve gates. Each gate was a gateway to theyer uponyer of defenses inside, while on the outside it was protected by the long moat all around. And then there was the solid city wall acting as natural protective screen. Therefore, once Li Mi found out that something was happening in Luoyang, he would not be willing to miss the golden opportunity and would exploit their weakness. Wang Shichong was still having his doubt; he asked, Dugu Fengs power is strong and solid, and he is not ay practitioner of Buddhism. Plus by doing this, wouldnt we hand over the initiative into his hands? With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Of course it wont happen that way. Currently, as long as wey out massive military force outside the gate, Dugu Feng wont be able to move a single step. By the time Li Mi came to attack, we will seal all gateways to the Pce City, but not besieging the city; we merely cut the flow of provisions from inside and outside the city. At that time, we can force Yang Dong to hand over the man; there is no need for a blood-soaked siege. Ouyang Xiyiughed cheerfully, No wonder Xiao Xiongdi managed to disturb the south and turned the sky and the earth upside down; you really are a man of courage and strength. But we must be watchful of the enemys martial art mastersunching a sneak attack. Particrly if that granny personally made her move, I am afraid she wont be easy to deal with. Wang Shichongughed coldly and said, If I, Wang Shichong, am that easy to kill, perhaps I have been dead more than a dozen times. Kou Zhong giggled. Thats for sure, he said, Hey! I am going to look for some people to help us with our punching power! Xu Ziling went to Xinzhong Bridge [not sure if it is the name of the bridge, xin C new, Zhong C middle], where Ba Fenghan had been waiting for a long time. He cheerfully weed Xu Ziling and said with augh, I was counting the number of boats mooring at the Qiaodong dock [lit. east of the bridge, but there is an actual ce called Qiaodong in Hebei], and I was at the boat number three-hundred eighty-three when you showed up. The waterways and the roads in here are densely connected with each other. It seems like all the boats and carriages in the world areing here to fill up the river course and the streets. Plus all kinds of merchants from both the Central ins and out of the Pass areing here to sell their perfumes, jewelries and trinkets, brocades, satin and silk, or perhaps foodstuff, tea leaves and other goods, making Luoyang the distribution center between Central ins and out of the Pass, something that none of the other cities and towns can match. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around. The bridge was definitely so crowded that not one drop can trickle through [i.e. imprable crowd]; tens of thousands people crowded together on the streets, inns, restaurants, and shops, making the towns north and south of Luo River became one big area bustling with noise and excitement. Smiling, Xu Ziling said, I thought I would be here earlier than Fenghan Xiong! Following the tide of people, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling stepped down from the Xinzhong Bridge. They walked pass the marketce, but did not enter. Walking along the street, Ba Fenghan said, Wanjing would like to see you; I wonder what do you, Ziling, think? Xu Ziling jumped in fright; frowning, he asked, Why does she want to see me? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, She wanted me to pass on a message to you, so this is definitely not about love affair between a man and a woman; Ziling need not be worried. When the timees, she will certainly tell you. Xu Ziling wanted to say something, but hesitated. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Are you wondering about what kind of rtion do I and she have? How do I make you understand? How about if I tell you this: at one point in time, we really have an opportunity for our rtionship to develop into lovers, but we both let this opportunity slip, because my heart already belong to ... vigorously patting the Beheading Mystery Sword on his back, he continued, This. Xu Zilingughed freely and said, Maybe one day the two of you would look back and would have profound regret! Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, I will never have any regret for such thing. I dont care if you call me heartless or anything. I always say that things between men and womenck an eternal value. For me, men and women can also be in close rtionship as friends. This moment a group of armed, valiant-looking men were walking directly toward them; they stared hard at the two men, but with one sweep of Ba Fenghans sharp eyes, they cowered and averted their gaze. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Both Fenghan Xiong and the Princess seem to be aware that your rtionship is more than just a simple friendship, right? Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghan said, Some things that are inconvenient for Dong Ming Pai to do, I do it for them. Take ounting for example, or finding people to settle the ount. Otherwise, how can I make a living? Is Ling Shao satisfied? Xu Zilingughed involuntarily, I seldom see you this easy-going and witty, he said, It is obvious that after meeting beautiful woman, Fenghan Xiongs mood is much better! Thats strange! Ba Fenghan said in astonishment, They say that people of noble character match each other. In this world, beautiful women like Princess are extremely rare; even I have my heart moved whenever I see her. Only you, Xu Ziling, do not have the slightest care toward her. Whats going on here? Xu Ziling followed Ba Fenghan turning to the major street leading to the East Gate. That was the ce they agreed that Kou Zhong should leave his marking at. Because of their distinct appearance, as they were walking side-by-side, they attracted a lot of attention from the other passersby; especially girls who threw flirtatious nces at them. However, Xu Ziling turned a blind eye to other peoples attention and the beautiful womens favor. Remaining tranquil and calm, he said, Since ancient times, how many men and women threw everything away recklessly in the name of love? Can Fenghan Xiong tell me what kind of feeling is that? Reaching out, Ba Fenghan pressed his hands on Xu Zilings shoulders. Smiling wryly, he said, I am afraid, me, you, and even Kou Zhong, are not qualified to talk about this issue. Whether intentionally or not, any living person in the world might pursue certain things; for example, schrly honor [in imperial exams], riches, lovely wife and beautiful concubine. Only by pursuing these goals will life be meaningful. Remembering Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Well said! The most interesting thing is the course of events during the pursuit, and the moment the goal is achieved. After that, another pursuit will begin. Ba Fenghan was emotionally moved; sighing, he said, Therefore, unrequited love will be the most perfect instead. This argument seems to be very pessimistic and grim, nevertheless it is an immutable truth throughout all ages. Ay! Any woman who fall in love with us is destined to fail; I am depressed just by thinking about it. And then he went on, You havent answered me whether you are willing to see Wanjing or not. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Give me a break, will you? Dont forget that she had stabbed me with her sword once. At that time I already made up my mind not to have any involvement with her. Ba Fenghan was silent for half a day. After walking for more than ten paces, he nodded and said, Thats probably a wise decision! Later on I wont mention Wanjing in your presence anymore! Casting Xu Ziling a quick nce, Ba Fenghan continued, Do you realize that by strutting down the street like this, it is as if we are dering war on and issuing challenge to all of our enemies? Xu Zilingughed, I havent thought about that, he said, But now men and horses are converging here in Luoyang, everybody is exercising self-control, and thus it has made our life easier instead. I dont believe anybody would be foolish enough to form an unscrupulous mob to besiege us. A hint of deep, cold smile escaped from the corner of Ba Fenghans lips. As if nothing happened, he said, Therefore, this is a good opportunity for us to strike back. Tonight we are going to settle a rotten ount; lets see if the other party would be willing to pay an overdue debt. Listening to the tone of his voice, Xu Ziling knew instantly that Ba Fenghan had received some intelligence from Shan Wanjing. Thereupon, he smiled and said, So who owes us this debt? Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, This person is an important figure of the Elder level from Yin Gui Pai. As long as we are able to capture him, we wont have to worry about your Yu Yis situation. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Yin Gui Pai people are famous for their sneaky, hidden way, yet you made it sound like it would be easy for us to find him! On the surface, this man assumes some other identity, Ba Fenghan exined, Nobody knew he is an important figure in Yin Gui Pai. Furthermore, he is actually the chief intelligence officer of Yin Gui Pai in the north. You ought to know who told me this important news! Because I promised you that I wont mention her name in front of you! Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Dont mess with me! If you want to say, just say it! I also want to find someone who might have some information about Yucheng and the others whereabouts. I just dont have any idea whom to ask! When they were still a few hundred paces from the East Gate, Ba Fenghan halted his step. Pointing to a noodle house across the street, he said, Thats the ce Kou Zhong and us agreed on where we would leave our markings. The shops specialty is Sichuan noodle. If you are like me, i.e. you think that the spicier the better, then you ought to gorge yourself here. In that case, lets try their Dandan Noodles [Sichuan noodles with spicy and numbing sauce]! Xu Ziling cheerfully replied, This time its my treat. The two were about to cross the street when suddenly a carriage stopped right in front of them, practically blocking their way. Chapter - Part 2 Startled, they halted their steps,posed themselves, and looked. The curtain on the carriage window was hanging down, so that it looked mysterious. The driver of the carriage was unfamiliar-looking man. This moment the driver grinned, revealing two neat rows of snow white teeth. He said in heavy voice, Wherever two Yeer [masters] want to go, let Xiaoren give gentlemen a ride! Your enemies are numerous, I am afraid strolling everywhere like this will not be too appropriate! As soon as he spoke, the two immediately recognized him as Kou Zhong. Laughing and swearing, they dly boarded the carriage, separately sitting on Kou Zhongs left and right. Shouting dramatically, Kou Zhong urged the two steeds pulling the carriage to head south, round a corner, and into a big street parallel to the city wall. Pulling his mask, he stuffed it into his pocket and said with a bigugh, We are finally in Luoyang! Our enemies are in trouble! This time, sitting on the driver seat of the carriage, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan enjoyed their higher position as they looked at the wide open and endlessly long street. It was a busy street, with carriages going back and forth, and restless pedestrians crowding the walkways on both sides of the street. It was a different feeling. Kou Zhongs mood was particrly good. Between the rising and falling of the horses hoofs, he narrated his encounter with Wang Shichong and Dugu Feng. Obviously his trust toward Ba Fenghan had increased significantly. Finished listening, Ba Fenghan said with a smile, Looks like now well need to arouse twelve of our spirits, especially since even though the granny might feel it beneath her dignity to personally deal with us, but Dugu Feng certainly wont let us off. Female assassin might be more unscrupulous than men. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, How could our ten-day training on the mountain be in vain? Moreover, weve learned through experience that along the way all three of us continue to make breakthroughs. Its just that I dont know where to find some real martial art masters to test my saber. They are willinge, I cant ask for more. Hey! But its best if from now on we do not separate. When the two heard how in hisst sentence Kou Zhong was revealing his tail, they nearly burst outughing. Greatly embarrassed, Kou Zhong busily changed the topic, What are you two guys up to? Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghan said, I came across Shan Wanjing, and obtained some news concerning Yin Gui Pai. Nothing much. What? Kou Zhong blurted out, The two of you went to see Dongming Princess? A burst of bizarre feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Before meeting Ba Fenghan, he always thought that Ba Fenghan was a cold-hearted man, yet he found out that he actually had an emotional side as well. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Brothers are like hands and feet, wives are like clothes. Not to mention Wanjings fate has been fixed, whats wrong with going to see her? But actually Ling Shao shrank back as the time for battle approaches, so I had to go alone. Turning to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong asked, Have you had a chance to look for Yucheng and the others? Xu Ziling shook his head indicating that he has not. And then, sketching in light shades he said, I only met four people: Li Jing, Liu Heita, Li Shimin, and Shi Feixuan, in that order. What? the other two blurted out; so loud that other people on the street turned their attention to the slow-moving carriage. With the bluish green Tianjins imperial willow in the distance, the riders and the pavilion were getting closer to each other. Kou Zhong urged his horses to turn into the Heavenly Street connecting the southern end gate of the Imperial City with the Dingding Gate [lit. set up the sacred tripods, fig. the founding of the dynasty]. Beyond the shade of the Chinese schr trees and the willow trees lining both side of the street, tens of thousands buildings stood in great numbers. Looming in the distant bell towers and drum towers looked at each other, over the inns, leather shops, bamboo pole business, woolen business, grocery stores, paper shops, cotton goods, fresh fruit stalls, and other businessespeting against each other, creating an atmosphere of thriving economy. Pedestrians crowding the street like a school of fish, mixed with unending stream of carriages and sedan chairs, the perfect picture of flourishing metropolis bustling with noise and excitement. This moment Xu Ziling had just finished recounting his encounters this morning. The other two agreed that it was highly likely that Qin Chuan was indeed Shi Feixuan. The carriage glided toward the Tianjin Bridge. But due to the crowded street, their speed was quite low. Under the shadow of the four multi-story buildings facing each other, Tianjin Bridge exuded its myriad ambience. South of the Bridge was precisely the Dongjia Restaurant where Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan enjoyed a cup of fragrant tea this morning. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, Theres something that I feel its really strange. Just now Ziling said that he caught some kind of mystery-within-a-mystery tranquil sensation from Qin Chuan, who might be Shi Feixuan; hence he asked whether Qin Chuan was a follower of Buddha. Is that right? Xu Ziling nodded, Whats so strange about that? he asked. Kou Zhongs eyes glittered like frost and snow, but he did not make any sound. Was it a very strong sensation? Ba Fenghan asked. After pondering quietly for half a day, Xu Ziling replied, I cant say it was very strong, but it was definitely very clear. pping his thigh, Ba Fenghan said with a sigh, Thats what I am talking about. If Qin Chuan is indeed Shi Feixuan, based on her brilliance, there is no way she would leak out anything that would give out her identity. Therefore, the Jade Annulus of the He n must be in her possession, and the sensation Ling Shao caught must be the Jade Annulus of the He n on her body. Besides, legend has it that the Jade Annulus of the He n has a miraculous effect of calming the spirit. The two boys felt it was a very reasonable argument; furthermore, they had always greatly admired Ba Fenghans intelligence. Blowing out a long breath, Kou Zhong said, This Qin Chuan must be Shi Feixuan then. Ba Fenghan spoke in heavy voice, He could also be Ning Daoqi himself. Xu Ziling jumped in fright, My Niang! he eximed. Kou Zhong urged the horses to pass four sturdy-looking servants carrying a gorgeous sedan chair; smiling ruefully, he said, I dont care whether Qin Chuan is Shi poniang [b1tch] or Ningotou [lit. old head, derogatory term to address older man], I am going to get the Jade Annulus of the He n into my hands, by stealing openly or robbing stealthily. Otherwise, if that Li kid obtain it, I am going back to my vige to till the fields! The two men drew a mouthful of cold air; they both were stunned speechless. Book 13 - 4 – Stealing Openly Robbing Stealthily Book 13 Chapter 4 C Stealing Openly Robbing Stealthily Because it was noon, the lower level of Dongjia Restaurant was packed; it was so crowded that it was impossible to even squeeze a needle through it. Kou Zhong was back to the same old stuff; he whispered Lang Fengs name in the waiters ear. The waiter immediately became reverent and respectful, as he led them to afortable lounge on the wing of the third floor of the restaurant. Kou Zhong sat down by the window. Looking at the boatsing and going along the Luo River below, he sighed and said, This is the benefit of having power; just by touching the edge a little bit, we can be a cut above others. Ba Fenghanughed and said, No matter how noble and virtuous you are calling yourself, you cannot deny that those so-called noble and virtuous must have powerful support behind their back; otherwise, how could they be noble and virtuous? Seeing Xu Ziling was staring at him in displeasure, Kou Zhong quickly surrendered. I was just taking advantage of the little convenience power can bring, he said, I will never bully other people, or make an attempt to take away the justice that power brings. Ha! Ba Fenghanughed and said, Comparatively speaking, Zhong Shao and I are somewhat boorish, unlike Ziling who is suave and aloof. Xu Ziling smiled wryly without saying anything. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, Now the struggle between Wang Shichong and Yang Dong has reached stalemate, we can set it aside for the time being. Hey! As for the Jade Annulus of He n, ha! Ziling, youve got to help me. Why did you ask Ziling only? Ba Fenghan wondered, Why not me? Stunned, Kou Zhong replied, Ol Ba, you have nothing to do with this matter, why would you gamble your life away with me? It is precisely because I consider you my brother that I do not wish to implicate you. Arent your own trouble still too much? Xu Ziling also looked at Ba Fenghan in consternation. Whether it was Ning Daoqi or Shi Feixuan, both were formidable opponent that no one would dare to provoke. If Kou Zhong were not in such a critical juncture between sess and failure, he would not have even dreamed of offending them. But now he simply had no choice. Ba Fenghan was speechless for half a day. After sweeping the two boys with his gaze, his sharp eyes gleamed with some kind unusual emotion, as he spoke slowly, Its because I love to hang out with you, two kids. Moreover, the more I hang out with you, the more I feel the excitement, satisfying my interest; all because we share simr background and childhood years. The ones I hated the most are those people from respectable schools and big ns. I loathe those Jianghu school and sect people who think of themselves as supreme beings even more. Therefore, I helped you dealing with Changshu Mou the other day. I just cant stand that kind of people, who believe themselves infallible, with their condescending, overbearing attitude. A short pause, and then he continued, The ones I admired the most are true hero who, not having anything at all, bring about epoch achievement. Supposing Li Shimin and you two were in each others shoes, would he be able to obtain your achievements? I just cannot stand by idly and watch this kind of thing. Ha! Challenging Ning Daoqi or perhaps Shi Feixuan would be the thing I want to do. How could I, Ba Fenghan, miss this kind of golden opportunity? Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, With Ba Xiongs assistance, we, two brothers, are like a tiger that has grown wings. With a wry smile Xu Ziling said, I always have a nagging feeling that something isnt right. When all is said and done, Shi Feixuan is simply striving for the benefit of the people under the heavens ... Ba Fenghan coldly interrupted him, Ziling is too obstinate. Only by asking those few questions, how could she decide whether certain person would make a good emperor? Furthermore, I always feel that only someone with poverty-stricken background would be qualified to be a good emperor. Those who understand the peoples pain and difficulties very well would have the zeal to get rid of the peoples pain and difficulties. Kou Zhong pped the table and shouted with praised, Han Shao said it well. Emperor Qin and Emperor Gaozu of Han are a good example. The former was born of aristocracy, thetter was born ofmon people [lit. in cotton clothing]. Which one was the good emperor, is an indisputable historical fact. Ha! Staring at him in displeasure, Xu Ziling said, So you are sure you will be a good emperor? What do you think? Kou Zhong asked in return. Xu Ziling was left speechless. His eyes shone, Kou Zhong said, I havee to the point that even if I know perfectly well that I am going to throw away my life, I simply cannot turn around. To vie over the world, one must bepletely unscrupulous. Just like Han Shao said, even if Tianhuang Laozi [the old emperor of heaven], Taishang Laojun [title of respect for Lao-tze, the founder of Taoism], Ri Fozu [Tathagata Buddha] are standing on the road, I must kick them out of my way. The Jade Annulus of the He n, we simply must obtain. Otherwise, if it fell into Li kids hand, it would be tantamount to forcing him to rebel against his old Die and his older brother. It would be best if Shi Feixuan already gave the Jade Annulus of the He n to Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan said, Snatching it away would be a bit easier. His gaze fixed on Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong said, Are you or are you not willing to help me? Dont forget. Hee! One lifetime two brothers! Other than smiling ruefully, what else could Xu Ziling do? Ba Fenghan said, Now we must investigate clearly whether the Jade Annulus of the He n is in Li Shimins hand or not before making our move. That is extremely simple, Kou Zhong said, If Li Shimin obtained the Jade Annulus of the He n, he would immediately depart Luoyang in secret. Therefore, as long as we closely watch his movements, we would obtain our clues. Ba Fenghans eyes shone with cold rays. He said, I heard that Li Shimin has obtained the teachings handed-down by Li Yuan himself, so he really know a thing or two, plus the capable people working under him are numerous. If we cut him off along the way, we would lose our advantage. Therefore, stealing will be the better strategy, robbing openly would not be an effective strategy. Heaving a sigh of relief, Xu Ziling added, If we do not need to rob the jade annulus from Shi Feixuans hand, we still have the hope to seed. Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder and pulled him closer as he spoke in great delight, Ling Shao, what you said has given me muchfort. In my opinion, there is 90% chance that Shi Feixuan would favor Li Shimin. This guys outward appearance easily beat the long-haired-like-a-ghost Li Mi, or perhaps the wily-old-fox Wang Shichong. Too bad I have not stuck out my head, so that that Li kid is under no threat ofpetition at all. Bursting outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Speaking of tooting his own horn, nobody in the world cane close to you. All right! Enough chitchat. Leave the duty of watching Li Shimin closely to me. He has some connection with Dong Ming Pai, well meet again tonight between the you [10th earthly branch, 5-7pm] and xu [11th earthly branch, 7-9pm] hours, and then well decide what to do next. This moment the waiter arrived with food and drink. Ba Fenghan took a steamed bun and left without saying anything. Chapter 4- Part 2 While gobbling up the food, Kou Zhongughed and said, Who could have thought that that Ba kid is such a true friend; it is really unexpected. Heaving a deep sigh, Xu Ziling said, We have not found Yucheng and the others; arent you worried? Kou Zhong put down his bowl, empty with no single rice remained, and said with a wry smile, In this kind of thing, worrying is not worth a fart. Fortunately the four of them have received our hand-down teachings, so the Heaven helps the worthy. Who knows, perhaps as soon as we go down the stairs, well see them eating. Let us go to the agreed meeting ce and then the oue will be apparent. Xu Ziling said, Do you remember that man called Xu Xingzhi? Didnt you agree to meet him in Luoyang? Kou Zhong nodded, Of course I do, he replied, This man is a natural talent inmanding the army. I already left some markings at the appointed ce. When he sees it tomorrow morning, he will be waiting for me at the specified ce. Let me, Zhong Shao, do the work, and you, Ling Shao, set your heart at ease. And then he added, I have neither likes nor dislikes toward that Li kid, so fighting him face to face is not a big deal. But we have been brothers with Li Jing; this is what gives me headache. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day. He quietly thought that whatever resentment he had against Li Jing, in the end it would be difficult for him to have any malicious intention toward him. Thereupon he said dejectedly, As long as you promise me one thing, I will help you get the Jade Annulus of the He n wholeheartedly. As long as it is reasonable and fair, how could I not promise you? Kou Zhong guardedly replied, You just have to help me in this. If Li kid cant even defend the Jade Annulus of He n, it would greatly change Shi Feixuan and Ning Daoqis impression on him. You must never underestimate the enemy, Xu Ziling crossly said, Li kid is well versed in both literature and martial art [or civil and military]. No matter how you look at it, he is superior to us, not inferior. Its just that he falls short of you in the craftiness department. Once we are not careful, the boat will capsize in the ditch. Kou Zhong smiled and said, He is as cunning as I am, but it is possible that he is not as flexible and pragmatic as us. We need to be intentionally unintentional. Especially since this is Wang Shichongs territory. Currently Wang Shichong and me are like honey to the bee. I only need to move a finger, Li kid may forget of leaving Luoyang alive. And then his eyes shed a deep, cold murderous intent, as he spoke in heavy voice, Li n without Li Shimin is just like a tiger without sharp w, sharp teeth; any viciousness is gone. Do you understand? Forcing a smile, Xu Ziling said, That is precisely my condition. Li kid exposed his whereabouts because of me, so you must not use this opportunity to kill him. If you want to kill him, you must wait for the next opportunity. Kou Zhong was stunned for half a day. Finally he sighed and said, One lifetime two brothers; what can I say? Very well! I will face him on the battlefield in the future; whoever lose will have nobody to me. And then he took out a roll of silk map from his bosom, removed the bowls, chopsticks and other things away from the table, and spread out the map, saying, Ill let you take a look at this treasure. If after reaching Guanzhong, Zhanliang, Fengyi and the others are able to give me a sheet of simr thingy, nothing could be better than that. Ban Zhanliang, Niu Fengyi, and Zha Jie, three men were the three Inner Hall Masters of the Shuanglong Bang [twin-dragon gang, Book 6 Chapter 12, only it was Gao Zhandao, not Ban Zhanliang] that they established. ording to n, they ought to precede the two boys going to Changan in secret, to do the preparatory work in digging out the Duke Yangs Treasureter. Taking a closer look, Xu Ziling saw that it was the map of Luoyang City,plete with the streets, squares, rivers and bridges, city gate towers, and everything else depicted in detail. Astounded, he said, Wang Shichong really trusts you. Smiling, Kou Zhong said, Its not that he trusts me, but he is showing trust in order to buy me, and I pretend to love Dong Shuni deeply. Actually, on the surface this man Wang Shichong looks na?ve and honest, but he is a wily old fox. What he shows on the surface, quite another is in his heart. He is capable of not making neither movement nor noise, and then only after everything is arranged will he let you know whats going on. Xu Ziling examined the rtionship between the Pce City and the Imperial City with rapt attention. His heart moved, he said, Li Shimin came to Luoyang this time, could he have other reason than for the Jade Annulus of the He n affair? Do you remember that Ol Ba once said that Li kids old man Li Yuan wanted to get Dong Shuni as his imperial concubine? If this matter seeded, it would be like Li Yuan and Wang Shichong are forming an alliance. Your counting ones chicken before they are hatched n of using Wang Shichong to deal with Li Shimin will misfire! Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont worry! For this chick, Dong Shuni, rebelling has be second nature. Every time Wang Shichong arranged any man for her, she always refuses to ept. If I can exploit her mentality, maybe I can destroy the rtionship between Li Yuan and Wang Shichong. And then, thinking out loud he muttered, How can we steal the Jade Annulus of the He n without anybody knowing that we do it? Ha! I got it! I almost forget that you are the Scarface Hero, and I am your sidekick, the Pockmarked Face Bandit. Knock! Knock! Startled, the two boys looked at the door. They were greatly rmed; just from the fact that even though this person was just behind the door, yet he still managed to hide from the two boys ears, they knew that this person was by no means ordinary. Pleasee in! Kou Zhong shouted. There was no reaction from the outside at all. Kou Zhong sprang up, darted toward the door and pulled the door open. Immediately the sound of people drinking,ughing and ying finger-guessing game flooded into their ears like a rushing tide, but they did not see anybody, not even a waiter, either outside the door or along the corridor. Koo Zhong withdrew, stuck his big head out and looked left and right, and closed the door. His countenance changed, he said, This is bad! Xu Ziling was frightened as well; he spoke in heavy voice, Could it be Ning Daoqi or Shi Feixuan was standing outside the door, eavesdropping our conversation? Returning to his side and sitting down, Kou Zhong blew out a mouthful of cold air and said, I think we can rx. Ay! I am only talking about he is eavesdropping outside the door. Because there are peopleing and going along the corridor all the time, only a moment ago there was no one, so he took the opportunity to warn us. Obviously he has been watching us for a while. Xu Ziling could not help his scalp from tingling; he said in low voice, This person, at least in term of qinggong, is superior to us. Problem is if the opposite party is either Shi Feixuan or Ning Daoqi, your grand n to steal the treasure is destined to fail. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, I can guarantee that this person could not hear us. Because with you, Ling Shao, in here, nobody can evade your keen intuition. Secondly, the doors of this restaurant are of very high quality, it has high degree of sound-proofing property, plus we deliberately talked in low voice ... Knock! Knock! The door was knocked again. Just like before, there was no other sound, not even footsteps. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Only by using the win by a surprise move tactic will we be able to regain the initiative and cant be led by the nose by others. Hey! How about pretending to be cowards? Xu Zilings mind was interlinked with Kou Zhongs. After exchanging nces, they put down some silver and folded back the silk map. Laughing aloud, like a wisp of smoke the two boys disappeared via the window. First, they leaped up onto the roof, and then traversed the more-than-ten-zhang of empty space, andnded in an alley by the bridge, which was crowded with residential buildings. With several leaps, up and down, they were already far away from the restaurant. This moment, a thousand-beauty, hundred-charm, petite and nimble, young girl appeared on the roof. Staring hatefully at the direction the two boys disappeared, she stomped her feet, gnashed her teeth and said, I want to see where can you flee? The moment the Jade Annulus of He n falls into your hands is the moment you are going to die. Kou Zhong took Xu Ziling to a multi-story building on which door was carved Luoyang Square, three characters [luo yang fang]. Behind the building was precisely the Luo River, which cut across the City of Luoyang from west to east. Very proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, This time I am confident that the opponent would not be able to follow us. In my opinion, the person knocking the door was definitely not Shi Feixuan or Ning Daoqi, because they are followers of Dhyana [Zen] Way, who are particr about touching something and leave it there; how could they do such a lowly deed like knocking on our door twice? Xu Ziling nodded in agreement, But still, hemented, This person is definitely not an easy opponent. The most difficult to deal with is that we do not even know whether this person is a man or a woman. He is hidden in the dark while we arepletely exposed, hence we are absolutely at his mercy. Reaching out, Kou Zhong put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder and said with a giggle, We were using the technique Ol Ba taught us, dodging to the left and fleeing to the right in downtown area for more than half a sichen, if we still cannot throw him off, we, two brothers, could only ept misfortunes as decreed by fate! The two boys entered the long and narrow alley. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Where are you taking me? Home, of course! Kou Zhong replied cheerfully. Xu Ziling was stunned, Home? he asked. While walking along, Kou Zhong focused his attention to listen to any movement in the houses on both sides of the alley. Giggling, he said, The two of us are the Bangzhu [gang leader] of the Shuanglong Bang; how could we not have even one secretir? Ha! Right! In here! Come in, please! Xu Zilings eyes followed Kou Zhong, who was jumping over the wall and entered in, absentmindedly before it dawned on him. Before the two boys and Gao Zhanliang [sic] and the others separately went up north, Kou Zhong and their subordinates had a discussion for a number of days, naturally one of the topic was setting up this hideout inside the city of Luoyang. And Kou Zhong must have seen secret markings left by Gao Zhanliang and the others, which indicated the direction and location of this address, hence he was able to find this ce. Thinking to this point, Xu Ziling could not help admiring Kou Zhongs meticulous nning and attention to details. The biggest advantage of this secret hideout was to let the gang people know where to meet when they went to Luoyang. Kou Zhong satfortably in a high-backed chair; raising his arms and sticking out his legs, he had a big stretch and said with a sigh, This house is not bad! Sitting down across Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling looked out the window, at the small courtyard under the bright sunlight. Howe I cant see even a speck of dust in this house? he asked in astonishment, Everything is clean and tidy, even the flowers and nts in the yard are neatly trimmed. Whos taking care of it? Acting as if everything was as it should be, Kou Zhong said, Dont think that Zhanliang is just a boor; the fact is, he is extremely attentive. Only by doing this others wont suspect anything. My guess is hes hired people to clean it up on a regr basis; perhaps every three days, once every six days. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I still feel that something is not right. Right this moment, an rm went off in the two boys hearts at the same time. Wanwans soft and deep voice rang out from outside the door, Ziling guessed correctly! Since I had nothing to do while waiting for you, I became edgy and cleaned up the house to pass the time! The two boys countenance changed immediately. [Trantors note: Huang Yi messed up names quite often. This time the original was guan-guan; however, since she was an important character, I decided to keep the name Wanwan.] Book 13 - 5 – Psychological Warfare Book 13 Chapter 5 C Psychological Warfare When the two boys heard Wanwans voice, their anxiety was not over their own safety at all, but they were worried over Duan Yucheng and the others, four men. The reason Wanwan was able to wait for them here must be because she managed to extract information by torturing Duan Yucheng, four men, about their secret markings. Thereby for Duan Yucheng and the others, everything boded ill, with no positive signs. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; both discovered astonishment in the others countenance. Unlike before, this time the enemy was waiting with stored up energy; she evenid out meticulous arrangement to deal with the two boys. Based on Wanwans talent and strength, she definitely would not give them any chance to escape. Wanwans tender and sweet voice sounded again from the outside, but it had changed position. This time it came from the west window, as she spoke softly, Ziling Xiong and Zhong Shaoye must be so shocked that your legs must be weakened! Why havent you run like two dogs into the wilderness like before? Although her voice was iparably gentle and soft, but the substance of her remark was filled with detest, a gnashing of teeth toward the two boys. Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, and then he spoke in mock surprise, Whenever the enemy is happy, I, Zhong Shao, want to fight with all my strength instead. Besides, everybody is entitled to remain in his own warm home to enjoy the precious life! Ah! Please forgive Xiaodi for not having any interest in running away! Xu Ziling was of the same mind; he knew that they were going to fight to the death inside this house, and that albeit slim, they still had an opportunity to live. So he rose up to his full height and stood in the middle of the hall. Focusing all his power on his ears, he listened to the sound of activity in four sides eight directions. In that instant, he forgot about life or death, his mind and spirit concentrated on the fantastic world of his sense of hearing. And then he sensed that other than Wanwan, there was another person nearby. It was an inexplicable feeling. As a matter of fact, the opposite party did not make the least bit of sound, yet Xu Ziling knew clearly that he was in the rear courtyard. Plus he was certain that if this person was not Qu Ao himself, then he must be a top martial art master of Qu Aos level. This moment Kou Zhong had just finished speaking, Pfft! Wanwan burst out giggling and said, It was me who actually rent this house! Wanwan has never been married to you, yet you came to reap where you have not sown [orig. the magpie made a nest, the turtledove dwells in it]; wheres the logic in that? This time her voice came from the east window, creating a weird, indescribable feeling as if she was able to transform herself into an omnipresent being that existed in different ces at the same time, heavily surrounded the house, and that several different incarnations of her were speaking to the two boys from different locations. The amazing demonic technique of Tianmo [demonic/devil] Secret was indeed out of the ordinary. Kou Zhongs heart was shivering in fear, but when he looked at Xu Ziling, he saw that Xu Zilings expression was tranquil, as calm as the surface of theke without any ripple on it. Xu Ziling was signaling Kou Zhong with his hand, telling him that there was another person at the rear courtyard. Kou Zhong spoke in heavy voice, If any unexpected misfortune befell my four subordinates, I dont care if you are a demoness from the Demon Cult, or you are the old man Emperor of Heaven himself, I will require your blood to atone for their blood. Like a gentle breeze Wanwans tenderughter entered their ears, After a man gets out of his mothers womb, he strives and works hard, until finally enters rest in death. Since sooner orter he has to die, wont dying earlier save him a lot of suffering? Your four subordinates are a lot luckier than you are! They are able to be one step ahead of you in lying down to rest. I have been kind enough to let them rest in peace by building four new graves in the backyard. While you still have breath, why not go out to pay them your respect? Kou Zhong took a deep breath, forcing out the anger and hatred filling his heart. It could be said that this time they had the best chance to die since their debut. Their only way to survive was to rely on their real skill; therefore, now he simply had to use up his real skill, to enter the empty-spirit, the ethereal realm of the moon in the well. The person at the rear courtyard was definitely not Qu Ao, because with the great hatred he had against the two boys for the death of his son, he would never be this patient. His heart moved, Kou Zhong rxed his body and slumped back into the chair; he said, Bian Bufu, since youvee here, why be sneaky like a turtle who withdraw its head? Wanwans voice came from the roof, You, this kid, indeed have a bit of skill; but Bian Shishu does not like to talk to stranger. Whatever you say, he is not interested in giving you any answer. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You are going back and forth outside, other than absurd, you are tiring your legs. Why note in here and drink some tea? There was neither wind nor rain, but the front and rear doors of the hall suddenly opened at the same time, and the entire room was suddenly permeated by some eerie ghostly aura. Xu Ziling stared fixedly at Kou Zhong, his face revealed a hint of smile, while his eyes exuded profound feeling. He signaled Kou Zhong with his hand, telling him to run away. Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook severely. Xu Ziling had decided to sacrifice himself so that he could escape, not only to continue his beautiful dream of vying over the world, but also to avenge him. Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard on Kou Zhongs back. At the same time he rose up to his full height, threw his head back and let out a longugh. Today we, two brothers, will leave this ce hand-in-hand, or fight together to our death. There is no other possibility. Chapter 5 - Part 2 With the sound of fluttering sleeves, the beauty that was not possible to exist in ordinary human, the in white clothes, the bare feet Wanwan appeared at the main gate; smiling gracefully, she said, The thing that Wanwan appreciate the most is your, two kids heroic spirit, hence killing you will be extraordinarily satisfying. If it weremon mortals, even if they craned their necks, nujia wont be interested in chopping it down! Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, I am afraid Female demon Wan is simply showing strength while you are actually weak inside! Which encounter with us did not cause you a minor injury or some degree of suffering? Furthermore, we are getting more formidable with each encounter. This time you are willinglying to help us train our skill, this is what we seek but fail to get. Without even casting a single nce toward Wanwan, Kou Zhong had his gaze fixed on the Moon in the Well in his hand; he sighed and said, Xiao Ling! This is the first time ever that I have the feeling that you are really angry; your murderous aura is really strong! Wanwan slightly shrugged her shoulders; with her tender and graceful demeanor that would shake any mans heart, she walked pass the two boys toward a small table standing by the rear door. Acting like a wife who had deep love toward her husband, she calmly said, Forgot to tell two gentlemen! I have prepared a pot of Bieli Tea especially for you; while it is still hot, why dont you drink it? The two boys looked at each other in astonishment; the same question appeared on both mens heart: did Wanwan deliberately open up an escape route for them? But then they immediately realized what was going on. Right now Wanwan was using some kind of psychological tactics. As soon as they harbored any intention to escape, their viewing death as returning home momentum and their formidable confidence will immediately fall apart. And the moment that happened would be the moment Wanwan would make her move. This woman was indeed worthy to be called Devil Cults sessor who could rival Zhu Yuyan. Aware that the state of mind was the most important realm of the amazing skill of the Secret to Long Life, she intentionally entered from this aspect to break their ultimate art. The saber de reflected the sunshine from the outside, golden rays flickered gloriously. In that instant, Kou Zhong has entered the moon in the well realm. This has been forced out. But it has also proven that as long as they were able to maintain the Secret to Long Life realm, even Wanwan would have some degree of apprehension; hence the reason she has not made her move until now. Whether she told them that she had killed Duan Yucheng and the others, four men, or, like now, she was deliberately opening up an escape route, her true intention was to break their ultimate art. Right this moment, just like Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong suddenly sensed Bian Bufus position. He has jumped onto the roof. An odd, indescribable feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, because right this instant he really understood the profound logic behind Yijian Technique. Previously, his Yijian Technique was only aimed at the chess pieces offensive and defensive, while neglecting the overall situation. The chessboard was precisely the directly tangible or perhaps the indirectly perceived empty space before his eyes. The chess pieces were precisely himself, Xu Ziling, Bian Bufu and Wanwan, two groups of hostile opponents. No matter which chess piece moved, it would directly affect the overall situation. Since he was one of the pieces, if he moved, the opponents chess piece would also have to react. For example, if he moved to the main gate, pretending to run away, how would the enemy react? If he was able to anticipate the enemys reaction, wouldnt it be consistent with the spirit of using the man to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy? [Reminder: yi is the ancient name for Chinese chess.] Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong had a sh of understanding on the rtionship of Yijian Technique. A formidable-beyond-understanding confidence and fighting spirit bubbled forth in his heart. After signaling Xu Ziling with his eyes, he giggled and said, Unless your cup of tea is joyous harmony tea [ϻC not sure what it is], I would have to ask Miss Wan to enjoy it yourself! Ah! I forgot to buy something, I must go out. Would Xiao Ling be enough to wait upon you? He walked toward the main gate inrge strides. Xu Ziling knew the time to make their move was at hand; smiling slightly, he stored up his power and waited quietly. He has already obtained deep understanding of the Tianmo Gong, which was the constant permutation that was beyond human beings ability toprehend. Wanwan was pouring hot tea into four empty cups. With her back against the two boys, she said indifferently, How about we just have a nice discussion? As long as you agree to tell Wanwan the whereabouts of the Duke Yangs Treasure, the gratitude and grudges between us will be hereby written off at one stroke. Later on everybody will not interfere with one another [orig. river water does not mix with well water]. Gentlemen, what do you say? Wellposed, Xu Ziling spoke calmly, I wonder if Miss Wan will be willing to realize that you have missed both the time and the opportunity to kill us; therefore, no matter what you say right now, or what crafty scheme you use, it will work to no avail. Although with this remark Xu Ziling has exposed her ruse, Wanwan remained unmoved. Holding up the tray with four cups of green tea in her hands, with such a wonderful and hard-to-described manner, she turned around to face the standing-still-like-a-mountain Xu Ziling and the just-about-to-step-out-of-the-front-door Kou Zhongs back. Her pretty brows slightly knitted, she said, I spoke out of the sincerity of my heart, yet that is how you look upon me, you have just broken nujias heart. Her voice was filled with strong sincerity and moving emotion that provoked sympathy, so that even Kou Zhong nearly stopped his steps and turned around. Unmoved, Xu Ziling looked at her and said indifferently, Miss Wan needs not waste your time. The Secret to Long Life and Demonic Secret [tianmo mi], one upright the other heretical, the natures are in opposition to each other. You are speaking around and around like this, how can it be effective? At this point Bian Bufus voice came from outside the door, Waner! The Chinese peony you bought has bloomed five stems of flowers! Kou Zhong had just stepped over the threshold of the door. He saw on the sun-drenched open space in front of the door stood the tall and suave Bian Bufu, wearing schrly attire, with his hands behind his back, examining the flower bed by the main gate of the courtyard. An amazing feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, which came from the realization that he hadpletely grasped the essence of the Yijian Technique. If he had not anticipated that Bian Bufu would intercept him outside the courtyard gate, this moment he would have stopped and then decide whether he should advance and attack, or he should retreat and defend. But now, of course, was another matter altogether. Carrying the Moon in the Well across his shoulders, he kept going, while said with a giggle, Ol Bian, turns out other than being old without the respect thates with age, you are a man with voracious desire for flowers. No wonder you wanted to pluck the fresh flower, your Wan Shizhinu [martial niece]! Bian Bufu and Wanwans hearts were shaken at the same time. Chapter 5 - Part 3 It should be noted that this matter was a shady secret between Bian Bufu and Wanwan that must not be exposed in the light, yet Kou Zhong just blurted it out. Naturally the two peoples mind was disturbed as they were caught off guard. For Bian Bufu, obtaining Wanwans body was the deepest longing of his heart, yet until today he has not been able to get it; therefore, Kou Zhongs remark has brought the load on his mind up to the surface. Wanwan was pondering how could Kou Zhong know this secret? She immediately remembered her dialog with Bian Bufu that night by the deep water in the small valley. No doubt Kou Zhong and the others were hiding nearby, yet she failed to detect their presence, and in that crazy way she missed the golden opportunity to kill the enemy. On the other hand, by lucky coincidence Kou Zhongs seemingly fleeting remark has shaken the two peoples spirit, exposing the gap in their thought that must not be revealed. Two hostile forces facing each other, from the beginning they have been using all kinds of psychological tactics to disturb the opponents no-gap-can-be-found mental state. The end result was Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings side gained the upper hand. Such an opportunity, how could the two boys be willing to let it slip by? With a loud shout Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well shot out from his shoulder, creating a streak of yellow rays, chopping down on Bian Bufu. Xu Ziling shed toward Wanwans left nk. Bian Bufu and Kou Zhong shed first. Seeing the swift and fierce momentum of the Moon in the Well, Bian Bufu remained calm without any sign of fear; focusing his attention, his right hand deftly swept across to meet the attack. The long sleeve of his broad robe slipped off, exposing the flickering, silvery circr iron hoop, about a chi and a half in diameter, which moved topletely sealed off the Moon in the Wells attack path. Kou Zhongs saber strike was imbued with the power he has already stored up for quite a while. Seeing Bian Bufu fell into defensive position, he was unwilling to miss this golden opportunity. Dang! Saber and ring collided. Bothbatants staggered two steps back. Although on the surface it appeared that they were even, Kou Zhong was well aware that even after sending out his stored-up energy, plus he was on the offensive, he still failed to gain much advantage. He knew instantly that in term of power, this devil head was at least two, three notches above him. Precisely like Ba Fenghan said, he could only outsmart this man, but he must not try to overpower him. In this move the Moon in the Well had not achieved anything. Inside the house, Xu Ziling and Wanwan were also engaged in a dangerous battle of life and death. While Xu Ziling was moving toward Wanwan, his mind traveled at the speed of light, he suddenly understood something. During his several encounters with Wanwan in the past, this woman did not seem to mention anything about the Duke Yangs Treasure, yet this time she inly bring it up. Obviously she had forced out a confession from Duan Yucheng and the others that they were going to Guanzhong for the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure, hence a feeling of covetousness started to appear in her heart. This information was extremely useful; it also exined why Wanwan was using all kinds of psychological warfare to break up their fighting spirit and confidence, because her goal was to capture them alive, and then using the Devil Cults secret method she wanted to extract the location of the treasure from them. Having this thought, Xu Ziling twisted around and sent out a punch toward Wanwan. Maintaining her charm, Wanwan revealed a moving expression with hidden bitterness, secret grudge. Swinging the tea tray, the edge happened to meet Xu Zilings fist. A sudden burst of violent vortex of energy blew her clothes up, her beautiful hair fluttered. It was as if Xu Ziling already anticipated that she was going to resort to this move. With a coldugh he said, You have fallen into a trap! His fist suddenly appeared floating and powerless, as it gently brushed against the edge of the tea tray. Even with Wanwans brilliance, she was shocked. She has already sent out the Tianmo Gong at full power; using the tray as the medium, she wanted topletely suck the vortex of energy from Xu Zilings fist, and then seized the opportunity to regain the initiative, in order to kill Xu Ziling in ten, or perhaps eight, moves, and then helped Bian Bufu to capture Kou Zhong alive. This time they were nning on dealing with Kou and Xu, two boys, without informing Qu Ao. They thought that theirbined power was more than enough to defeat the two boys, but more importantly, they were hoping to obtain the secret to Duke Yang Treasure without having to share it with him. However, what she and Bian Bufu did not anticipate was: after being separated for only a few days, in terms of wisdom, scheming and martial art skill, the two boys were progressing substantially. Only when the tray hit the fist did Wanwan suddenly realize that Xu Zilings attack was not directed to her, but to the teacups on the tray; but by this time she already lost the decisive opportunity. Xu Zilings spirit and mind were clear and bright, his entire vigor and willpower were focused on the power of the fist he sent into the tea tray. In that instant, he felt that his spirit and inner qi had merged into one entity, there was no longer separation between the two. In the past, he could only send out fist power. The best he could do was to control the magnitude of the force But this time it waspletely different. First of all, he could feel the condition of the unleashing and the flow of the true qi in the meridians all over his entire body in details, as well as the umtion of qi in every single one of the vital acupoints. Just like the Commander-in-Chief of the army defending a city has a clear understanding of the strength of every storehouse, every unit of soldiers and every city gate tower. It was an amazing, indescribable feeling. He let his true qi to grow and multiply without end from the yongquan acupoint on his right foot entered and circted through his whole body, and coalesced at the ocean of qi on his dantian. Afterwards, via the two meridians, ren and du, it supplied the true qi necessary for fighting. The magnitude and speed werepletely under his control. It was the reason he was able to change at thest moment by sending out a move that Wanwan had never anticipated. Only this moment did he gain a deep understanding on why in his effort to fight the world, Ba Fenghan had to temper his willpower and skill. Were it not for several times after sustaining heavy injuries they willed themselves to fight exhaustion, their willpower would never reach such a level that even these two top characters from the Devil Cult were unable to sway the least bit. Were it not for Wanwan and Bian Bufu exerting so much pressure on them that they threw everything else and only had the raw determination of fighting to the death, there could never be a breakthrough in the martial art cultivation that they would never even dream of achieving. The spiraling energy changed from fast to slow as it entered the four teacups. Xu Ziling made a somersault and leaped over Wanwan. The teacups tilted over first, the fragrant tea inside the cups turned into four streams of water arrow, shooting toward Wanwans out-of-the-world beautiful face. Bing! Bian Bufus Devil Heart Chain, a consummate skill that he has always been proud of, met Kou Zhongs saber head-on, as if it was delivered to the door and let him hacked down on it. The demonic skills basic principle has always been harming others for ones personal benefit; Bian Bufu was no exception. His Devil Heart Chain was second only to Zhu Yuyan and Wanwans Tian Mo Dafa [great method of the devil]; it was capable to borrow the opponents energy and sending it continuously, an extremely vicious and formidable skill. Like just now, after blocking Kou Zhongs saber strike, the silvery ring in his hand swung around, both to neutralize Kou Zhongs spiraling energy, and to borrow the strength to counterattack as well. Taking advantage of the opponent exhausting his strength, before he managed to refresh his force, Bian Bufu would swiftly counterattack and grab the initiative back. Afterwards, using a chain of attacks, which flowed out swiftly like mercury, no-hole-did-not-get-prated continuous attack, he would subdue the enemy. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong, as if he knew the enemy like a deity, sent out a saber strike to crush his wishful thinking? Like a rushing current the silvery saber flew away. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Ol Bian, arent you going to see your daughter? Moving one step sideway, he gathered his power into his left palm and chopped down, with the edge of the palm, on the never-ending ring in Bian Bufus left hand. Bang! Even with Bian Bufus ability, he lost the momentum and was forced to take a step back. Kou Zhong understood that whether the two brothers were dead or alive today, rested entirely in his hands. He knew that no matter how much Xu Ziling has progressed, he was definitely not Wanwans match; hence all Xu Ziling could do was to buy them some more time. Therefore, the only way to survive now was to fight life-for-life, trying to injure Bian Bufu, and then turned around to help Xu Ziling dealing with Wanwan. At that time, they would have a much better chance either to continue fighting or to run away. As he was having this thought, the three energies of Chinese medicine [i.e. essence, pneuma (breath, energy, vital force), spirit] in Kou Zhongs entire body rose up to an unprecedented level, like shing lightning his gaze enshrouded the opponent. Chapter 5 - Part 4 He felt as if he was able to prate deep into Bian Bufus being, inside out. He was even aware that when he mentioned Dong Ming Princess, Bian Bufus mind fluctuated slightly. For a top-notch martial art master like Bian Bufu, he had to guard his heart and mind tightly, and must never reveal the slightest w or negligence. In fights betweenbatants ofparable skill, often time this kind of slight difference was enough to influence the oue of the battle. Seeing this slight opportunity he could exploit, Kou Zhong did not hesitate at all; after taking half a step back, he strode forward forcefully, carrying with him a dense, chilling-to-the-bones, powerful momentum. Recovering the knocked away saber, he seized the opportunity to attack, straight and earth-shattering that no one can withstand, with the awe-inspiring authority of the ruler of the world. This time Bian Bufu was really shocked, realizing that just now he underestimated the enemy too much, which made him repeatedly missed key moments. With an angry shout he brandished the pair of silver rings in his hands, creating silvery shadows dancing in the air, which the rushed forward to meet the enemy head on to prevent Kou Zhong from gathering enough power in his saber. Kou Zhongughed aloud and changed his style. Now his saber hacked down and swept across in straightforward manner, no more feign attacks. His target was, surprisingly, the center of the dancing rings, where the momentum was the strongest. The tea tray was thrown upward, fast as lightning Wanwan traversed sideway, while also sending out ten streams of finger wind to attack Xu Ziling, who was still leaping in the air, while at the same time evading the four streams of water arrow. In this critical situation Xu Ziling remained calm; with a cold sneer he even said, You fell into a trap again! His toes kicked on the tray, Bang! it flew through the roof and fell to the yard outside. Wanwan has always been extremely shrewd; neither delight nor anger ever appeared on her face. But this time she was so angry that it showed. Speaking about real skill, she was highly confident that within ten to twenty moves she would be able to take care of Xu Ziling. However, after fighting to this point, she was always at a disadvantage, all because Kou Zhongs tiresome remark has divided her mind. Moreover, Xu Zilings amazing moves have been growing without restraint, making her unable to regain the initiative, so that in the end she was forced to free herself and ran away. But when she was rushing toward the front yard to take care of Kou Zhong first, hundreds and thousands pieces of roof tile rained down on her, making it difficult for her to evade. Boom! The ring shadow dissipated. A bold and powerful beyond imagination spiraling energy hacked down on Bian Bufu, forcing him to withdraw two chi back. Finally, when he was facing a life and death situation, Kou Zhong understood the Escaping One concept that Lu Miaozi taught him. Such a martial art master of Bian Bufu caliber, whether it was the movement of the hands or the feet, there was no gap that could be exploited. But regardless of the style, any move would have a point where the potential for attack was the strongest. If this point was broken, all the subsequent forces and changes could be broken as well, and thus the potential was lost. Kou Zhong was able to grasp this strongest point. By concentrating his entire power, with one saber strike he was able to break Bian Bufus ring shadow filling the air, which was actually difficult to differentiate between the real ring and the mere shadow. However, if his saber did not carry the extremely strange vortex of energy, it would not be that easy for him to force Bian Bufu to retreat. Naturally Kou Zhong would not hesitate at all. Taking a stride forward, with a powerful momentum that could easily chop down three armies, he brandished his Moon in the Well again. This moment Xu Zilings longughter came from high in the air, I ughtered Wanwan! he said with a loudugh. An incredulous look appeared on Bian Bufus eyes, yet he could not deny the fact that Xu Ziling, with no sign of damage at all, jumped down from the roof above. His spirit was greatly shaken, the Moon in the Well have arrived in front of his chest. Having failed to guard his heart and mind, Bian Bufu did not dare to block head-on. Urgently he backed off; crashing against the wooden door that it exploded into pieces, he disappeared from the two boys sight. Xu Zilingnded by Kou Zhongs side. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, Only demonic schools people could be that selfish. The two boys turned their head around to look at the house. Book 13 - 6 – Helping People Like Fighting Fire Book 13 Chapter 6 C Helping People Like Fighting Fire Like a specter Wanwan was standing beautifully at the door, her pretty eyes were gleaming with unusual radiance that was hard to exin, as she fixed her gaze at the two boys. Kou Zhong took a step forward; pointing the Moon in the Well at Wanwan, he said, Your Bian Shishu has abandoned you and left. Today we are going to settle the old debt and new animosity between us once and for all. Wanwan knitted her jet-ck eyebrows, her expression was very cute and moving, in perfect harmony with her beautiful and elegant physique, something that nobody could match, the bewitching beauty that came only from a certain school. Even though Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were standing in opposition to her on the battlefield, they could not but admit that she was extremely moving. Against his will, Kou Zhongs murderous intent decreased by thirty-percent. Wanwan sighed lightly, as if she felt sorry for their ignorance. She said slyly, How could Bian Shishu be easily deceived like that? Its just that he saw your extremely flourishing acute spirit, and decided to temporarily avoid you! It was nujia who told him not to show his face, so that nujia can chat with you for a moment! Then she burst out into a giggle and said with a tenderughter, I did not know you wanted to vie over the world like other people! Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Unless you release Yucheng and the others immediately, there will be no talk. We will decide life and death on fists and kicks, saber and sword. Wanwan slowly moved forward until she was about half a zhang away from the two boys. With a gentle, captivatingughter she said, If we can cooperate honestly, releasing those four kids is not a big deal. Recalling the Flying Horse Ranch people like Shang Peng, Shang He, and the others, who lost their lives in her hands, Xu Ziling shook his head resolutely and said, You dont seem to realize that there is this inextricable deep enmity between us. The only way to settle this is if one side waspletely wiped out. Just call your Bian Shishu back! Otherwise, dont me us for dealing with you two against one. As if nothing had happened, Wanwan simply turned her attention to Kou Zhong, and spoke indifferently, What do you say? Astonished, Kou Zhong replied, My Xiongdis word is the same as my own. Did Miss Wan find out about it only today? Wanwan nodded and said, I understand. There wille a day I will make you regret what you said today. Nujia takes my leave now! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling pounced on her together. Wanwan let out a burst of tenderughter. Producing a ribbon from the sleeve of her right arm, she separately brushed away Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well and Xu Zilings iing palm strike. Borrowing the reaction force, like a burst of wind Wanwan flew to the top of the roof. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Didnt you brag a few days ago that you were going to get rid of us within the next seven days? Its nearly seventy days now! Howe your words remained to be unfulfilled? The two boys knew that even they fought together, killing Wanwan was still more difficult than ascending to the heavens. If she wanted to leave, there was no way they could stop her. But for the sake of Duan Yucheng, four people, how could they let her slip away? Xu Ziling added, Dont forget that next time you want to kill us, it will be even more difficult than this time. With a thousand tenderness and a hundred charms Wanwanughed sweetly, her beautiful eyes looking deep into their eyes, she said, Shizun [master] told me that if this time we still cannot get rid of you, she would personally undertake this task. Based on Shizuns usual practice, chances are at that time you will reach the state of seeking life yet wont get it, seeking death yet cant obtain. Cant you be a bit more patient? Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling shivered in their heart. Wanwan was this formidable, wouldnt Zhu Yuyan be even more desperately serious? Suddenly Wanwan sighed grimly and said, Kou Zhong! If you are willing to work together with nujias school, wont the world be in your bag already? Why do you haggle over every ounce with several human lives? Real men conducting themselves in life, why bother over trivial matter? Besides, when two parties battle each other, there bound to be people injured or even killed! Kou Zhong sighed and said, Obviously you only have regards on my treasure, yet you said you have regards on me. Female demon Wan, why dont you go back to sleep with your Bian Shishu? A murderous aura shed through Wanwans beautiful eyes, which was quickly reced by a moreplicated emotion. Revealing a bitter smile on her face, she suddenly floated away and disappeared behind the roof. The two boys exchanged nces; they both saw the heaviness in the others heart. The enemy was really too difficult to deal with. Kou Zhong took a sharp intake of breath. Did you smell something? he asked in a low voice. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Some kind of a very strange fragrance. Female demon Wan is, after all, a woman. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Whether Yucheng and the others are able to escape this cmity depends on whether the great tracking skill taught by Ol Ba is really effective. The two boys became the Scarface Hero and the Pockmarked Face Big Bandit, respectively, and changed into warrior outfitmonly wore by Wulin people. They were sitting in a teahouse, sipping tea and carefully watch a magnificent mansion house diagonally across the street at the mouth of the Xinzhong Bridge. Pointing at the said building, Kou Zhong asked the waiter, Whose house is that? Looks a bit imposing. After casting him a sidelong nce, the waiter replied, You must be new in Luoyang that you dont even know the mansion house of the Da Longtou [big boss] of Luoyang Bang [gang]. When the waiter left to attend to the guest at another table, Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered to Xu Ziling, Tonight, after meeting the Old Ba, welle here on a rescue mission. You dont have any problem with that, do you? Xu Ziling pondered for half a day; finally he replied in low voice, I am afraid in her rage female demon Wan might execute Yucheng and the others right away. Do you think its likely? Kou Zhong said, This is called anxiety to the level of confusion. Did you notice that? The waiter that talked to us just now is slipping out. Perhaps he is going to tell Luoyang Bang people that we are stepping on their te. Isnt Luoyang Bang a big organization within the eight-gang ten-society? Xu Ziling said, If we can confirm which side Shangguan Long is leaning to, we might be able to exploit the delicate situation currently going on in Luoyang to deal with him. I can always go back to Wang Shichong to find out the answer to that question, Kou Zhong said, Plus I can also take a look whether there is any development concerning Dugu Feng. Well meet again at the appointed ce well rendezvous with Ol Ba! Ay! I wish I dont have to leave you alone. Xu Ziling burst outughing, Screw you! he cursed, Since when did I be your girl? Get lost! After Kou Zhong left, Xu Ziling pondered over a lot of things. Ba Fenghan once mentioned that Yin Gui Pai had a man in Luoyang, someone who, on the surface, is an important figure [orig. have head, have face], while secretly he was a Yin Gui Pais undercover agent working in the Wulin of the north, with specific responsibility of intelligence-gathering. This perhaps exined why Duan Yucheng, four men, could not escape Wanwans evil clutch. Thinking to this point, he heard footsteps approaching. Five big men, wearing blue warrior outfit, were stepping into the teahouse. Their eyes quickly found him, and then they went straight toward him. Without even casting a nce from the corner of his eyes, Xu Ziling continued drinking his tea. Upon seeing this, one after another the other patrons of the teahouse paid their bill and left in a hurry. Even the waiters were gone. Chapter 6- Part 2 Arriving in front of Xu Ziling, two of the men stood behind him, while two others stopped right in front of him, pulled the chairs, and sat down on the table to his left and right. In short, he was surrounded. Thest one, a man who looked like he was in his forties, wearing two nting moustache above his lips, without any trace of politeness sat down across the table from Xu Ziling. With ominous glint in his eyes, he said, Xiaodi Chen Lang, the Xiangzhu [fragrant master] of the Xuanwu Hall [ck Tortoise, one of the seven mansions of the north sky (in Daoism)] of Luoyang Bang. I hear that the friend here is inquiring about us. May I ask what is friends affiliation? Xu Ziling leisurely sniffed the fragrant steam rising up from his cup of tea, nced nonchntly at the man, and then said with a smile, I wonder if Chen Xiong is merely making a big fuss over a minor issue. I was just noticing the particr look of your honorable Bangzhus mansion house, and thus I was asking out of curiosity. Is there any crimemitted? Are we going to fight just because of this? Seeing his calm demeanor, Chen Lang was taken aback. Frowning, he said, This is not about asking too much, surely friend knows it, right? Currently Luoyang is in an unusual time, if friend does not harbor any evil intention, just report your school or sect, your name and surname. If this is just a misunderstanding, we certainly wont make things difficult for you. This kind of talk came from a Luoyang Bang man, who was used to go on the rampage around Luoyang region, it could be considered very polite. It was simply because Chen Lang noticed that Xu Ziling was carrying himself in the manner of a martial art master of major sect that he spoke those words, to make it easier for both sides to step down. If Xu Ziling was indeed what he appeared to be, he would definitely take this opportunity to beat the gong to recall the troop, so as not to arouse his suspicions and thus beat the grass to scare the snake. But now, of course, was another matter. Xu Zilings gaze fell onto the long saber hanging on Chen Langs back. Smiling unhurriedly, he said, My mood today is not too good, I was wondering if Chen Xiong would be willing to lend me your saber, so that I can borrow it to break my vow against killing. While Chen Lang and his four mens countenance changed abruptly, Xu Ziling had already stretched out his hand slowly toward Chen Langs throat. The two big men on his left and right pounced on him angrily. Who would have thought that the table suddenly snapped, and split into two halves, separately knocking against them. The two men from behind drew their sabers and ferociously hacked down on the back of Xu Zilings head. Xu Ziling only smiled. Suddenly the chair he was sitting on shot back like a bullet and crashed against the two mens legs; knocking them down in a crushing defeat. Now there was no barrier between Xu Ziling and Chen Lang. The teapot and teacups have been falling to the floor. Using the tip of his toes fast as lightning Xu Ziling kicked, sending the pot and cups safely onto the adjacent table, as if the waiter had carefully set them down on the table in front of the guest. The way he control his power was very ingenious that others could only gasp in amazement. By this time Chen Lang was miserable. On the surface there was nothing special in the way Xu Ziling was reaching out to grab him, but the fact was that the opponents finger technique was exquisite, carrying with it five strands of swift and severe finger winds,pletely sealing off Chen Langs escape path. The most formidable thing was that the opponents body emitted a stream of impossible-to-withstand deep, cold murderous aura, making it difficult for him to breathe, increasing his heartbeat, and making the blood in his entire body seemed to freeze, so that his body was unable to move the slightest bit. In that instant, Xu Ziling suddenly understood that after going through perilous situations for thest several months, he had made an all-around breakthrough in the martial way. Even Wanwan, while she momentarily lost her spirit and was caught off guard, he had, step-by-step, managed to gain the upper hand. And his progress could be divided into two aspects. The first aspect was mental/spiritual. After undergoing unceasing danger and fierce battle, he had cultivated iron will and steel confidence, and could face anything without any fear. But more importantly, he had developed the fantastic skill of having foresight. Every time he was battling the enemy, oftentimes he was able to be one step ahead by grasping the changes of the moves the enemy was using to advance and attack or retreat and defend. It was an inexplicable thing; he could only give credit to the magical effect of the Secret to Long Life. The other aspect was the martial way. Because Kou Zhongs and his martial art moves basically did not follow any method, they also did not suffer the limitation of a particr set of method. Each time they were facing the enemy for the first time, their martial skill would progress oneyer up. Until now, each move and every style was uniquely directed at the situation at hand, as the moves came out freely, following their hearts desire. Even a martial art master of Wanwans caliber would find it hard to fathom, causing them to struggle to cope with the two boys. But the biggest breakthrough was that he was able to control both the speed and the intensity of the spiraling energy. This has given him the confidence in the ingenious use of this fantastic qi power, so that others were unable to make any sense of logic behind the changes of his spiraling power. This has been highly beneficial to him whenever he wanted to hide his identity. Rescuing people are like fighting fire. He did not have the patience to wait until tonight. Ah! Chen Lang let out a miserable grunt as his throat was grabbed by Xu Ziling, and his entire body was lifted up that his feet were dangling about half a chi above the floor. Xu Zilingughed aloud, and then, still carrying Chen Lang by the throat, he went out the back door. Chapter 6- Part 3 Kou Zhong removed his disguise, back to his original self as he returned to the gate at the end of the Imperial City. He noticed the tight security on the gate, withyers of guards, with the intensity of the atmosphere before the storm clouds approached. Inside the Imperial City, even more teams of soldiers were pushing logs [to be rolled down in defense of the city], clouddders, armored vehicles to block arrows, and other battle equipment, forging ahead toward the Pce City. Lang Feng was extremely busy. Seeing Kou Zhong returning, he only said that Wang Shichong was waiting for him in the Shangshu Mansion, hence Kou Zhong went to the Mansion alone. Under the escort of more than a dozen city guards, Kou Zhong went to see the radiant looking Wang Shichong inside the heavily guarded private room inside the Shangshu Mansion. After he was seated, Wang Shichong said with a coldugh, I have already sealed off all the gateways into the Imperial City, to force Yang Dong to hand over Yuan Wendu and Lu Da, two men. Currently the Pce City ispletely dependent on Dugu Familys support. As long as I can eliminate Dugu Feng, the Pce City will crumble without any attack, I am not worried that Yang Dong will not surrender. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, If we could sever Pce Citys supply line, how many days are they going to survive? Wang Shichong replied, The Pce City has always hadrge quantities of army provisions in store, plus Dugu Feng has already had an intention to confront me. I am afraid two, three months would not be a problem for them. Does Li Mis side show any activity? Kou Zhong asked. Wang Shichong replied, Although on the surface Li Mi seems to hold back his troops without moving, but secretly they are mobilizing the troops and horses, as well as amassing provisions. Looks like your scheme to lure the enemy has shown some results. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, The day Li Mi seeded in burning down our fake granary will be the day he will deploy his troops. At that time we mustunch a surprise attack. Therefore, our top priority right now is to send people to investigate the situation around Yanshi, to gather intelligence on his marching route. Wang Shichong spoke without restraint, Li Mis surprise attack and his scheme to entice the enemy are well-known throughout the world. This time, if we could use his trademark method back against him, it will be extremely delightful. And then, changing the subject he said, These past ten days a lot of Jianghu figures have arrived in Luoyang. Because our focus was in dealing with the Dugu n, we have not been paying attention. Do you have any information or perhaps an opinion? While cursing Old Fox in his heart, Kou Zhongs mouth was saying, I have just found my Xiongdi, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, and together we went all over the ce, stepping on tes and scouting information. Right now the most important thing is your safety. As long as Shangshu Daren is safe and sound, victory will be ours. Wang Shichongughed and said, You dont have to worry about me, but there is one thing that Id like to ask you to do. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What is it? Bang! Chen Langs back knocked against the courtyards wall, he slipped down along the wall to the ground, fainted. Xu Ziling looked up to the heaven; his heart was filled with grief and indignation. Using thunderous method of reversing the blood and qi, Xu Ziling has forced Chen Langs confession on Duan Yucheng, four mens tragedy. Turned out they arrived in Luoyang six days ago, and that very night were besieged by the martial art masters under Shangguan Longs leadership. The four men showed great progress in their martial art skill, they managed to engaged Shangguan Long and his men in fierce battle. The end result was Shi Jie and Ma Gui died in the battlefield, Bao Zhifu was seriously injured and was captured. Only Duan Yucheng managed to escape albeit heavy injury. Comparatively speaking, Bao Zhifus fate was more tragic than Shi Jie and Ma Gui, who heroically sacrificed their lives in the battlefield; he was cruelly tortured by Shangguan Long, and after giving out everything, Shangguan Long personally pinched and shattered his throat that he died. After sharing delights andmon hardships for a period of time, Xu Ziling grew fondness toward Duan Yucheng and the others. Today was the first time that he learned about their tragic fate, how could his heart not filled with fury? At the end of the day, didnt Bao Zhifu, three men, lose their lives because of them? Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling suppressed his angerpletely before leaving the alley, and walked over to Shangguan Longs mansion inrge strides. Book 13 - 7 – Buried Treasure in Dhyana Temple Book 13 Chapter 7 C Buried Treasure in Dhyana Temple After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Wang Shichong said, I want the three of you to steal the Jade Annulus of He n for me. Kou Zhong was stunned, Do you know where the Jade Annulus of He n is? With a cold snort Wang Shichong replied, Of course I do. Luoyang is my territory, nothing can be hidden from me. And then after giving him a quick look, he said, If you do this for me, Shuni will be yours. Kou Zhong busily replied, To be able to work for Shangshu Daren, how could I ask for any reward? But there is something I dont understand, I want to ask Shangshu Darens guidance. Frowning, Wang Shichong said, You have something to say, just say it! Why suddenly be so bookish? With a giggle Kou Zhong said, ording to Shangshu Darens knowledge, isnt the Jade Annulus of He n in Shi Feixuans hands? Smiling wryly, Wang Shichong replied, Of course not in her hands, otherwise, asking you to steal it would be a vain endeavor. My understanding is that Shi Feixuans martial art skill has reached the divine level of Ning Daoqi, that kind of out-of-the-ordinary, bing-an-arhat master. Stealing something from her is as impossible as ascending to the heaven to pick the moon and bring it down to earth. This time Kou Zhong was astonished for real. Stupefied, he said, Such an important object, she did not carry it with her? As if he feared someone might hear him, Wang Shichong leaned over and lowered his voice, This is a great secret in Jianghu. Only because I know a close friend of Ning Daoqi that I am privy of this information. You have also seen that person, its Wang Tong Laoshi [teacher]. Of course Kou Zhong remembered the great schr Wang Tong. It was during the banquet where he saw Wang Shichong, Ba Fenghan and Fu Junyu for the first time, also listened to Shi Qingxuans unparalleled-under-the-heavens Xiao [flute] skill. Wang Shichong continued, The Jade Annulus of He n is a secret treasure of an unfathomable mystery in the human world. It looks like jade, but not exactly a jade. The most extraordinary thing about it is that it could foster spiritual cultivation of Buddha followers to achieve Zen. It is also of immeasurable benefit to people with innate true qi in their cultivation. Kou Zhong was puzzled, That being the case, Shi Feixuan out to hold it in her arms even when she is going to bed. Why on the contrary she does not bring it with her? Laughing involuntarily, Wang Shichong said, This is because you only know part of it [orig. knowing the first but not the second]. Turns out the Jade Annulus of He n also has a fantastic characteristic, which is its ability to follow the changes in time, whether cold or hot, light or dark. Its extremely difficult to master. When it is used in training, slight carelessness would result in mysterious breakout, which would easily make people suffer fire deviation. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, Just put it inside an iron box, wont that do? No instion can cut off its influence, Wang Shichong said, Unless you are a martial art master who is training first-ss innate true qi, as soon as you entered its sphere of influence, you would basically gamble with destiny. Depending on its condition at the moment, it might change irregrly and might arrive at some kind of freakish stage. Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Then why do you want me to steal such a dreadful object? Dont you know that at what I train is a first-ss innate mental cultivation [xin fa] of the mysterious school? Wang Shichongughed cheerfully and said, I am only asking you to steal or rob, not asking you to hold it while meditating or training your power; what are you afraid of? As soon as you obtain the treasured jade annulus, hand it over to my men; youd havepleted the task. Kou Zhong was puzzled, If it will only produce adverse effect during training, why didnt Shi Feixuan carry it with her? Is Shangshu Daren trying to harm me? Wang Shichong smiled and said, I Like straightforward person like you the most. The Jade Annulus of He n will only adversely affect its master under two conditions: one, when he is sitting in meditation and deep in thought, two, when he is transmitting his inner power during fight. Therefore, either Ning Daoqi or Shi Feixuan, they cant possibly carry the Jade Annulus of He n everywhere with them. Kou Zhong thought this exnation made sense. If while carrying the Jade Annulus of He n Shi Feixuan came across Wanwan, wouldnt it be bad for her? Thereupon he nodded and said, This exnation is a bit reasonable. But if I were either Shi Feixuan or Ning Daoqi, I would have hidden the Jade Annulus of He n in a secret ce that no one else knew, so that nobody would have any ess to it. Wang Shichong calmly said, You have a very reasonable thought, but that is justmon sense; it cant be applied to an unusual treasure like the Jade Annulus of He n. From a historical point of view, whenever the Jade Annulus of He n is lost, there must always be ways to find it back. Perhaps it would emit some kind of strange light, or even silently summoning one who is fated to find it, or things like that. Therefore, if Shi Feixuan wanted to keep the Jade Annulus of He n safe, she must have handed it over to a trusted person for safekeeping. Do you understand? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Barely understand only a little bit. Wang Shichong seemed to be in a great mood. Which part you still dont understand? he asked cheerfully. What I dont understand is, Kou Zhong said, You, Wanggong [lit. king and duke] have a very high chance of being selected by Shi Feixuan to be the true master of the Jade Annulus of He n. At that time all the outstanding heroes under the heavens will bow to you. Plus you will receive Ning Daoqis and the entire Ci Hang Jing Zhais nuns, both with and without hair, support. Wouldnt it be much better than doing imitating-the-dog-and-steal-chicken, not-fit-to-be-seen deed like the one you want to do right now? Wang Shichong sighed; he said dejectedly, If you were Shi Feixuan, and you had to choose between Li Mi and me, just based on the fact that I am a barbarian, you could not possibly choose me. And then after a short pause he went on, Hence the reason I am begging you to steal the treasure for me, because who would believe that you, Kou Zhong, would do an errant for someone else? This way I will not be implicated. You really must help me. Otherwise, if Li Mi obtained the treasured jade annulus, you and I can forget about having an easy day ahead of us. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Wanggong really counts your chicken before they are hatched. But arent you afraid that after obtaining the treasure I might embezzle it for myself? Smiling, Wang Shichong replied, Even if you have the Jade Annulus of He n in your hand, what are you going to do with it? There is an ancient saying: treasuring a jade annulus bes a crime [idiom: to get into trouble on ount of a cherished item]. The jade annulus being referred is precisely the Jade Annulus of He n. Even if you are stupid enough to embezzle it, you will only make it easier for the jade annulus to fall into the hands of Li Mi, Dou Jiande, Li Yuan, or the others. Inwardly Kou Zhong thought that it is best if you think that way, but on the surface he pretended to be worried, Very well! he finally said, So wheres exactly this Jade Annulus of He n? Wang Shichong lightly replied, I dont know! What? Kou Zhong blurted out in shock. Chapter 7- Part 2 Xu Ziling was just about to step out of the alley when he heard a dry cough from behind. Shivering inwardly, he quickly looked back, and saw Ba Fenghan, who was wearing his mask, wasing fast toward him. Pulling Xu Ziling toward the main street, he said, I closed that mans mouth forever on your behalf! But what happened? Looking at you, it seems to me that you are heading to Shangguan Longs ce for a killing spree. But doing so just show reckless courage; no different to delivering your own life in vain. Xu Ziling came to himself; turning around, he cast a nce at Shangguan Longs magnificent residence, across the street, toward the right and rear from where he stood. The The Yin Gui Pai Elder you were talking about, is he Shangguan Long? Ba Fenghan nodded. After Xu Ziling finished narrating they key points of what had happened, overwhelmed with shock, Ba Fenghan said, You are really unafraid of death, knowing full well that female demon Wan and Bian Bufu are most likely hiding in Shangguan Longs mansion, you still want to charge in to avenge your men. Fortunately I am here to step on your te; otherwise I would not be able to intercept you. And then, dragging Xu Ziling into another alley, he said, Come! Ill take you somewhere else. Wang Shichong smiled, pulled a roll of silk map from his bosom, spread it out on his desk and said, This is a sketch of the Jing Nian Chan Yuan [lit. clean thought Buddhist Hall] located on the open area just south of Luoyang. Jing Nian Chan Zong [zong means school/sect] has always had close rtionship with Ci Hang Jing Zhai, and just like the Jing Zhai, it has never been involved in the dispute of the Jianghu. Although not famous in the Wulin world, it upies a majestic status. Therefore, as long as Shi Feixuan has not handed over the Jade Annulus of He n to somebody else, she must have handed it over to Jing Nian Chan Yuans Chanzhu [Dhyana/Zen master/chief] Liao Kong Dashi [great master, a term of respect to address Buddhist monk] for safekeeping. It would be best if due to the strange property of Jade Annulus of He n, nobody dares toe close, so that the Jade Annulus of He n must be hidden somewhere in the temple, separate from where the people are. Kou Zhong examined the map of the Temple. Seeingyer uponyer of temple halls, his scalp went numb as he said, Just to go around such a big ce would require at least half a day; how could we find the Jade Annulus of He n? Smiling bitterly, Wang Shichong said, If it were easy, I would have sent someone else to do it. The fact is that although the capable people under mymand are numerous, none can surpass you in terms of ability and wisdom. Plus you have two good helpers, so logically speaking you have more chance than other people. Sinking back into his chair, Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh and asked, Hows Liao Kongs martial art skill? Wang Shichong replied nonchntly, I dont know! Kou Zhong nearly sprang out of his chair. What? he blurted out, Dont tell me nobody has ever seen him? Wang Shichong replied helplessly, Of course some people have seen him, I have even met him twice, but he is practicing silent meditation, so he had never talked to others. Astounded, Kou Zhong said, Based on Wanggongs eyesight, you still could not see through him? With frustration in his voice, Wang Shichong replied, Naturally Buddhist monks who can train silent meditation are unfathomable people! I dont even know whether he understood martial art or not. All I know is that the four Vajra Great Protectors of the Temple under him are all deep and immeasurable martial art masters; otherwise, I would not have to bother Kou Gongzis honorable self. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, You are even better than Shi Feixuan in selecting people. The most annoying thing is that you, Wanggong, are just guessing out of thin air. If I risk my life fighting everywhere all over the Temple and still cannot find the Jade Annulus of He n, that would be injustice indeed. Wang Shichongs eyes lit up, As long as there is a chance, we must not let it slip by, otherwise, if Li Mi obtained the Jade Annulus of He n, you and I can only abandon honor and glory, so much so that we will pass our days getting trampled on by others. Kou Zhong sighed and said, That being the case, whatever you, Shengshang [a courtiers form of address for the current emperor] say, I will do it! Pointing to a courtyard amongyer uponyer of houses across the street, Ba Fenghan said, That is Man Qing Yuan [House of Fine rity], Luoyangs most famous pleasure house. The three most popr courtesans are Qing Ju, Qing Lian and Qing Ping [lit. chrysanthemum, lotus and duckweed, respectively], who are known as Man Qings three flowers. The owner is precisely Shangguan Long, whom you, Ziling, really wish to tear into ten thousand pieces. The street was crowded with pedestrians, the atmosphere was extremely lively, they had to step back in order not to block the traffic. This moment the sun was nearly set behind the western hills, some shops even had already lighted theirnterns. Xu Ziling coldly said, Could Shangguan Long being over here tonight? He has a private room here, Ba Fenghan replied, On the surface it is to be used to entertain friends, but actually it is used to gather intelligence from all over the ce. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Howe Dong Ming Pai is able to know so many secret things? That, I am not clear either, Ba Fenghan replied with a frown, I asked Wanjing twice, but she did not give me a straightforward answer, I had no choice but to be discreet and did not ask her anymore. But since Wanjing has Bian Bufu as her father, and supposing Madame Dong Ming is Wanjings birth mother, that means Dong Ming Pai and Yin Gui Pai must have a rtionship with each other, so naturally they would know more things rted to Yin Gui Paipared to other people. This moment a group of barbarian merchants were entering the shops behind the two men to look at the goods, so they tactfully stepped aside. Ba Fenghan then took this opportunity to pull Xu Ziling to continue walking. Wanjing has a deep hatred toward her father, Bian Bufu, he went on, But she knew that she is not heartless enough to personally kill him; furthermore, this is not an easy thing at all, thats why she pleaded with me to handle this. The fact is that Bian Bufu is extremely powerful. Even if the three of us fought together, without favorable environment, we could forget about overpowering him. While still walking side-by-side, Xu Ziling leaned closer and spoke in a low voice, She wanted to deal with Yin Gui Pai, isnt she afraid of Yin Gui Pais retaliation? Ba Fenghan replied, That is precisely the other reason why Wanjing wanted to deal with Bian Bufu through me. Because merely Nan Hai Pai [South Sea Sect], Wanjing is already struggling to cope. If they openly provoke Yin Gui Pai, a powerful opponent, which nothing can be more powerful, perhaps Dong Ming Pai would face the disaster of having their Sect wiped out. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, What thing is Nan Hai Pai? Howe Ive never heard of it? Ba Fenghanughed involuntarily, Nan Hai Pai is not a thing, he said, It is the biggest Sect on a big ind of the southern sea, which name shook the southern part of the country, its prestige second only to the Song n. Seven years ago, its Zhangmen [sect leader] Mei Xun, merely twenty at the time, ascended the Zhang Men position. His expertise in using spears is very famous. Xu Ziling sighed and said, The Central ins is really too big, amazing people and extraordinary warriors are too many to count; even if I want to hear their names, I will never hear all. The two stepped over Xinzhong Bridge, and continued east along the Luo River, heading toward the ce they were going to join Kou Zhong. Ba Fenghan said with a smile, But the most frightening person of the Nan Hai Pai is not Mei Xun. Rather, it is his martial father-inw [not sure about this, ʦ], Nan Hai Xian Weng Huang Gongcuo [see Book 12 Chapter 10]. In terms of resources, seniority, or perhaps with regard to martial art skill, he could be included in the top ten martial art masters of the Central ins. Compared to Ning Daoqi, he is perhaps only a tad below. Fortunately he has been retired for many years, or else Wanjing would have even more headache. Gaining a bit more understanding, Xu Zilingmented, No wonder you knew about the Central ins affairs like the back of your hand, at least there is this Dong Ming Princess who is willing to provide information to you without reservation. Indifferent, Ba Fenghan replied, As early as I was with the Tujue, I already know a lot of things pertaining to the Central ins. Come! Lets sit by the dike, waiting for Zhong Da Shao! After they were seated, Xu Ziling gazed at a speeding sailboat on the Luo River under the setting sun, his mind filled with myriads of thoughts, he said, You see how free and easy that boat is, sailing along a busy downtown, as if all the struggle in the world has nothing to do with it. Contrary to you and I, who are deeply involved in the never-ending circle of the squabble of the mundane world, which is difficult to get out. Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, Ziling is definitely an unwilling participant in the world of the living, but since you are talking about the boat, the fact is that this boat is just like us, rolling about in the sea of people. When we finish chatting, wed better think of a way to capture Shangguan Long alive and force a confession from him on your Yu Yis whereabouts. This moment Kou Zhong arrived. Full of joy and expectations, he kneeled down behind the two and giggling mysteriously, he said, How about we steal the Jade Annulus of He n tonight? The two looked at each other in disbelief. Book 13 - 8 – Wang Bo of Changbai Book 13 Chapter 8 C Wang Bo of Changbai The three donned on their masks and changed into nondescript Jianghu attire. They sat on a table by the street in a restaurant across the street from Man Qing Lou [seest chapter, lou here means a building with more than one story], enjoying some dessert after satisfying dinner. By this time Kou Zhong had already finished narrating everything Wang Shichong said, without leaving anything. Ba Fenghan was the first to speak, Turns out the Jade Annulus of He n is that strange. But if Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Ning Daoqi could not prate its ever-changing secret, I am afraid nobody in the world would be able to. Giggling, Kou Zhong said, I dont care what strange usefulness or miraculous benefit of the jade annulus, the most urgent thing is to destroy the good rtionship between Shi Feixuan and that kid Li Shimin. When I raise my thing in the future, I am going to use it as a handsome seal. Thinking about it, it will be grand and immensely enjoyable! So, are the two of you going to help me or not? Ba Fenghan said in straight face, Helping you is not a problem, but after obtaining the treasure, you must give me eight, ten days to study it. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Of course there is no problem. We are all brothers, well enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together. Ba Fenghan said with a wry smile, You know how to beat the snake following the rod. Huh? Why do Ziling have deep frown? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Even with Fenghan Xiongs extensive experience, he does not seem to have heard of Jing Nian Chan Yuans name. From this, it is obvious that the martial art masters of the Buddhist Hall are genuinely out of the world, who dont pay attention to the affairs of life. Yet we are going to disturb their peace. How could Xiaodi be happy? Letting out a cold snort, Ba Fenghan said, If they really dont pay attention to the affairs of life, they shouldnt have touched the Jade Annulus of He n. If they have touched the Jade Annulus of He n, then they cant me us for stealing the treasure. After a short pause, he patted Xu Zilings shoulder and said with a smile, Ziling, rx! We will find a way to determine whether the Jade Annulus of He n is really inside the Temple first, before we make our move either to steal or to rob, so you dont need to feel uneasy! Kou Zhong said in astonishment, I did not expect Ol Ba to empathize with Ling Shao like this. Sneering, Ba Fenghan replied, I, Ba Fenghan, rarely made friends with others, but for some reason I hit it off with you guys. Since we are friends, we should be more sympathetic to each other. Giving thought to others is the way of friendship. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Its not that I didnt give thought to Xiao Ling, but the idea you proposed just now is easy to grasp, but difficult to put into practice. Just think! Such a big Buddhist Hall, unless we disturb one of the monks peace, grabbing him to be questioned via torture, how are we going to know whether the Jade Annulus of He n is in the Temple? Ba Fenghan was ready with the answer, To untie the bell, the bell must be tied first [not sure what it means, must be an idiom]. Listen to my reasoning first! Astounded, the two boys asked, What reasoning? Ba Fenghan slyly said, Supposing that guy called Qin Chuan was really Shi Feixuan in disguise, most likely she had just received the Jade Annulus of He n from Ning Daoqis hands, before going to test whether Li Shimin has the qualifications to be the future Son of Heaven. Thereupon Ziling was sensing the treasure in her bosom ... Kou Zhong was shaken, I got it! he said, Therefore, as long as Ziling went to Jing Nian Chan Si to stroll all the way around, he would know where the Jade Annulus of He n is hidden, or perhaps it is practically not in the Temple at all! That is indeed a good idea. Ba Fenghans eyes flickered with cold rays; he spoke in heavy voice, However, our wishful thinking mightpletely misfire. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Since Shi Feixuan feltpletely at ease handing the Jade Annulus of He n to Liao Kong Chanzhu for safekeeping, she must have full confidence that he has the ability to protect the treasure. Just from the fact that what he is training is called silent meditation or something, and that even Wang Shichong is unable to gauge his depth, we know that his aplishment must not be a small matter. Kou Zhong said, If the treasure can be stolen easily, Wang Shichong has already made his move early on. Hey! Something is not right here. The other two cast him a questioning look. Kou Zhong appeared to be in deep thought. He said, When I asked why Wang Shichong himself did not send people to steal the treasure, he revealed a bitter expression, as if he was having a pent-up unspoken grievances. Perhaps he has indeed sent martial art masters to probe the actual situation, but failed miserably; hence he pleaded with us to do it. Listening to this, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling frowned deeply, because if someone has already beaten the grass to scare the snake, even if Shi Feixuan did not hesitate in leaving the treasure in the Temple, Jing Nian Chan Yuan would definitely be on alert, so that the difficulty in stealing the treasure would increase tremendously. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Your conjecture makes a lot of sense. I dont believe Wang Shichong would be willing to trust you like this in such a short time. Besides, anybody could see that you are a highly ambitious person, so it is unlikely that you would be willing to bend under other peoples wild ambition. Therefore, it is possible that this is no more than killing people with borrowed knife stratagem. The Jade Annulus of He n basically is not in the Temple. This is called before the crafty rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is being cooked first. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Xiongdi is making fun of me again! Ba Fenghan burst outughing and said, I really dont get you two. But Zilings spection is very reasonable. This whole thing might be no more than Wang Shichongs scheme to frame you up, and it looks to me that is the case. Hey! Shangguan Longs carriage is here! Ba Fenghan stepped into the street inrge strides. He was about to cross the busy street with endless stream of horse and carriages when Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong pulled him back from left and right. Why are you pulling me back? he was puzzled. Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, I forgot to tell you that the two of usck pleasure house luck; whenever we went to pleasure house, not once we had good result. Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, Turns out there is such thing. So should we just go home and sleep now? Or should I attack Shangguan Long and take him to the street, and then you two finish him off? With determination in his voice, Xu Ziling said, Tonight we are going to fight. But at least you should tell us your battle n! Calmly Ba Fenghan said, Just dealing with a big bandit from Yin Gui Pai, why must we use any n? Just use the style of horse thief killing people. Wee like a thunderbolt, before it reaches their ears, we charge inside, and after catching one, well find a ce and let me do the interrogation. I guarantee that he would even spill everything, including his ancient ancestors, out, along with the tray. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, Isnt that a n? In the Thirty-Six Stratagems, this one is called using speed to defeat the slow, to catch an enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sunzis The Art of War]. But you have to tell us in which courtyard and which wing Shangguan Longs private chamber is, lest we grope the wrong door. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Forgive me for unable toply to your request, because I dont know either. Therefore, be prepared to do a room-to-room search, to disturb him and turn his world upside down, while we are having a good stretch at the same time. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other in shock. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Ill do the work, two Laodi [lit. old younger brother] please set your heart at ease. I was just joking with you! Come! Pleasure house is the kind of ce where as long as you have gold in your purse you maye in. Well find four or five nice girls first to chat while taking the time in making our decision! Kou Zhong was puzzled, There are only three of us, why do you want to get four or five, that many girls to apany us? Fixing his gaze at Man Qing Yuans main gate across the street, Ba Fenghan slyly said, This is outside the Thirty-Six Stratagems; the thirty-seventh stratagem is called with many monks there is not enough gruel [fig. demand exceeds supply]. Among a group of women fighting over our attention, it is easier to feed the natural appetite and lust of the gentleman. People like you, who are making your debut, must learn this stratagem. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were amused, while thinking that they had so much to learn. Chapter 8- Part 2 The more they came in contact with Ba Fenghan, the more they felt that he was so unlike his cold-hearted exterior, but was a lot more witty than an average person. At this time, several people wereing toward Man Qing Yuan, stopped outside, then confidently walked in. One of them was elegant and charming. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling eximed together in low voice, Song Shidao! Unexpectedly it was the martial art master from the Song n, Song Yuzhis second elder brother Song Shidao, whom they have not seen in a very long time. In the past, it was because Song Shidao had admiration toward Fu Junchuo that he invited them to board his ship sailing to the west. These scenes were still fresh in their mind, as if it happened only yesterday. They could not help feeling overwhelmed with emotion. By the time the three of them were crossing the street, there were two, three more Wulin figures entered the brothel, as if they already had an appointment. Something is fishy, Ba Fenghan spoke in low voice, Definitely something is going on at Man Qing Yuan. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong nodded their head in agreement. But because by this time they had reached the Courtyards front door, it was inconvenient to talk, therefore they remained silent as they stepped into the door. Several big men guarding the door immediately stretched out their arms to block the three. They said, Tonight Man Qing Yuan is reserved by Changbai Wangye [king/prince]; if you do not have invitation forgive us for not being able to entertain you. Three gentlemen please go to another House! Kou Zhong was stunned. Luoyang has a Huangye [emperor], that is not strange, what kind of ye [master, lord] does Changbai have? Noticing the threes imposing appearance: a scar-faced man, a pockmark-faced man, and a ck-faced man, which, obviously were noty practitioners of Buddhism, the doorkeepers could only swallow their anger and grumpily exined, Wangye is Zhi Shi Lang [lit. the guy (or minister) who understands the era] Wang Bo Daye, not Huangye. Hearing that, the three were shocked in their hearts. Wang Bo was the number one martial art master of Changbai [Changbai is the mountain range on the border between China and North Korea]. In term of martial art skill, his reputation was resounding over the northern area, above Li Mi, Du Fuwei and the likes. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling even had a fight with his heir apparent, Wang Kuijie, who, in term of martial art skill, could also be numbered among top ranking martial art masters. From this, they could infer Wang Bos superiority. Curiously, Wang Bo has always been dominating the Changbai region; why would he suddenlye to Luoyang? Moreover, he seemed to be unting his prestige by reserving Man Qing Yuan and holding a big banquet inviting Jianghu friends. Wouldnt it mean he regarded Wang Shichong as nothing? However, thinking deeper, they knew that right now Wang Shichong was too busy to deal with Wang Bo. Kou Zhongughed aloud; sailing with the wind, he said, Of course we know who Wanggong is! I was just kidding! We came tonight precisely because we have an appointment. Its just that because we were taking our time that we are half a stepte. A moment ago Song Shidao Xiong has just walked in, we are in his party. Our invitation card happened to be in his possession. Dont believe me? Would Laoxiong do me a favor by taking us to meet him, and you can ask him out! None of those guards was not Jianghu veteran; naturally it would not be easy for him to mislead them. One of themughed and said, Turns out Song Taiyes [big master] friends. May I ask three gentlemens honorable surname and great given name? Let Xiaoren ask Song Ye first, and then well show gentlemen the way. Naturally Kou Zhong had already anticipated this; he dly said, Please tell Song Ye that Fu Renzhong is here! The man left in a hurry. The three tactfully stood aside, so that they would not block other guests from entering. The guests were streaming in endlessly. Looking at their imposing manner, it appeared that they were all important figures of the Jianghu [orig. have head have face]. Kou Zhong took this opportunity to fish for information. First he made an indirect approach toward one of the doorkeepers, How many girls does your Man Qing Yuan have? Whats this Dages honorable surname? The one he asked was a rather old man. Oftentimes people with more experience would be reluctant to offend others over trivial matters. Sure enough, that man replied, Xiaoren is Li Xiong. You must be new in Luoyang. Our Man Qing Yuan have three hundred girls in total, all are carefully chosen, one in a thousand. Xu Ziling, however, had no interest in listening to their exchange; pulling Ba Fenghan three, four steps aside, he spoke in low voice, This time Wang Bo is having a banquet here, it should be known to everyone; howe Princess did not tell you? Frowning, Ba Fenghan replied, She had no idea I am going to deal with Shangguan Long. But even if she knew but did not tell me, there must be a little problem. Meanwhile a group of about a dozen people, with invitation card in their hand, entered the Courtyard gate. Taking a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, Xu Ziling was surprised to see Li Jing among those people. Knowing that Li Jing would recognize his scar face disguise, he hurriedly turned around and hunched his back a little bit. Kou Zhong, who was fishing for information, was also scared that he immediately closed his mouth, afraid that Li Jing would recognize his voice. But Li Jing and his party thought that the three were just doorkeepers, so without paying any attention they simply walked in. Ba Fenghan whispered in Xu Zilings ear, And what a coincidence; you just asked, and herees the answer. Xu Ziling was stunned, What answer? he asked. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Just now that was Wanjing in mens clothes, with her were, I dont need to tell you, that kid Li Shimins men. Do you understand? Kou Zhong came over to the two and said in low voice, Turns out two major events might be happening simultaneously here tonight: one cultural, the other martial art. Dont you agree that this is brilliant? Ba Fenghans expression was back to normal; heughed and said, Tell me. Kou Zhong said, The cultural event is that the world-famous talented woman Shang Xiufang maye here to have a performance of singing and dancing. The martial event is that with Wang Bo presiding, there are two great martial artists from outside the country who will have a duel to the death. And then, giggling mysteriously, he added, One of them is our old friend! Surprised, the other two asked, Who is it? Kou Zhongughed and said, Its Qu Ao, that old kid. Listening to him, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan looked at each other. Qu Le Eagle [I think it was Tiele Eagle previously] Qu Ao was one of the finest martial art masters whose reputation trailed Bi Xuans closely. He did note to give you trouble, you may give thanks to God and consider yourself lucky. But now somebody actually dared to challenge him in a duel. This was really unexpected. Whos the other one? Ba Fenghan asked in heavy voice. Kou Zhong replied, The other is a Tuyuhun, but I do not have his name yet. Shaken, Ba Fenghan said, Must be Tuyuhun king Fu Yuns son, Fu Qian. When I was north of Xinjiang, I already heard about this man; he is an expert in using spears, on the battlefields his divine bravely unrivalled. Only he has the guts, as well as qualifications, to challenge Qu Ao. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling immediately recalled Liu Heita has also mentioned this man. He also said that Tuyuhun and Tiele were mortal enemies. No wonder even after they were in the Central ins, they were still unwilling to let go of each other. Kou Zhong mumbled to himself, Turns out that kid who already grew beard when he was still a baby. Ha! Song Shidaos voice came from the distance, Renzhong! Turns out it is you! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling turned around to meet Song Shidao, who was walking over toward them, face-to-face. Song Shidao obviously did not recognize their disguise; he stopped in shock. Kou Zhong walked over and called in low voice, Its me! We are wearing mask. Ay! Our Niang is dead. Because of Fu Junchuos affair, previously the two boys were having childish jealousy toward Song Shidao. But now that Fu Junchuo was dead, seeing Song Shidao, whose hair was originally jet-ck, now the hair on his temples seemed to have sprinkles of white powder, his eyes exuded a grim and mncholy look, which was hard to understand, their hearts were moved, as if they were meeting a long-lost rtive; they were filled with an indescribable feeling. Song Shidaos body slightly shook; looking up to heaven, there was a hint of glistening teardrops in his eyes. He heaved a deep sigh before hanging down his head and spoke in heavy voice, Was it Yuwen Huaji, that traitors hand? Kou Zhong nodded dolefully. With hatred in his voice Song Shidao said, Good! Good! And then, looking up to heaven again heughed aloud, but hisughter was filled with indescribable grief and indignation. Lets go in and talk! he said in a clear, bright voice. Turning around, he led the way. His steps staggered; obviously his was emotionally shaken and had difficulty controlling himself. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never expected that an elegant, suave, confident and always at ease, man like Song Shidao could have such a deep feeling toward Fu Junchuo. They felt sorry for him, but also unbearably sad. As they were starting to move, there were light footsteps from behind. As they were turning around to look, the beautiful and flowery Shen Luoyan already threw her tender body in between the two boys, while hooking her pair of jade arms into the crook of the two boys arms. Smiling enchantingly, she said, Its so difficult to find you! Zhong Shaoye, are you wearing a mask? Is it a premium product from Lu Miaozis amazing hands? Ba Fenghan took his position behind the three, so that with Song Shidao in front, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Shen Luoyan in the middle, and Ba Fenghan at the rear, each one with his or her own thought, they walked together toward Man Qing Yuans main hall. Book 13 - 9 – Life Without Regret Book 13 Chapter 9 C Life Without Regret Feeling Shen Luoyans soft, yet firm, silky breast pressing against his left arm, Kou Zhongs heart was slightly swept away. Looking back, he exchanged a nce with Ba Fenghan, but did not see Shen Luoyan bringing any attendant. Surprised, he asked, Why did Shen Junshie alone? Your boyfriend Shiji did not have time to apany you? At first Shen Luoyan looked at him with solemn and respectful expression, as if she waspletely aloof toward the intimacy shown to her. After a quick nce toward Xu Ziling, who had his gaze fixed that the back of Song Shidao, who was walking in front of him, she smiled like a blooming flower, overflowing with seductive appearance, and said, Just like you, I was one stepte! Why dont you go to Er Shaoyes [second young master] wing? Jiejie willeter to have a heart-to-heart chat with you. Ay! Just get rid of these three masks! Are you going to do something shady? Releasing her lily-white hands, she stopped just before Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stepped into the main hall. Ba Fenghan continued walking until he was side-by-side with her;ughing indifferently, he said, If you want to kill us, you must not miss tonights opportunity; otherwise you might not find another convenient time. A murderous intent shed through Shen Luoyans eyes, but it vanished as quickly, although she did not say anything. Man Qing Yuan was worthy to be called Luoyangs most upscale pleasure house; the design was indeed unique and distinguished. Wang Bos banquet was held in Tingliu Pavilion [lit. listening to the remains], located behind the main hall. On the east, west, north and south there were four three-story buildings forming a square, encircling a vast, about fifty-zhang wide, garden area in the middle. Each floor on each building contained more than a dozen rooms, with the window of each room opened toward the garden, and in front of each window there was an individual balcony, so that the people in each room had full visibility of the garden below. Compared to the buildings in the south, Man Qing Yuan was definitely more grand, more luxurious, and more beautiful. Especiallypared to Jiangnans architecture, which emphasis was in simplicity and elegance, so much so that it tended to be in, thisplexs exquisite architecture both in building andndscape was vastly different. Tingliu Pavilion embodied thebined functionality of partition and see through. It utilized some kind of enormous closed screen to cleverly bring about a feeling of it was there, but not really there. Although it relied mainly on the building itself to define its space, yet virtually it had the spirit of a garden,bining the interior and exterior as one entity in perfect harmony, with an artistic concept of creating an unlimited space out of the confinement of the limited space. The side of the multi-story buildings facing the garden were interlinked with semi-corridor; not only it enforced the impression of the empty space of the garden, it also enforced the idea that in essence the four buildings were actually one. Right in the middle of the garden there was arge fishpond. This even-more-open space strengthened the admiration of the guests. The ground all around the fishpond was verdant with green grass and artificial brook; there was also a gravel path wound around the pond. From higher elevation the winding path and the verdant grass formed a beautiful pattern that warmed the heart and delighted the eye. When the path met the brook, it became the arch of a small bridge, so that the entire garden never fell into monotonous and dull scenery. Whether it was a performance or a duel, the people on the surrounding rooms would be able to watch simultaneously. It was obvious that Wang Bo knew how to choose a good ce for his banquet. The three followed Song Shidao climbing the stairs to a room on the top floor of the building on the north side. They already felt that tonight would be interesting, but they were also groaning inwardly, because under such circumstances, how could they make their move against Shangguan Long? This moment all rooms on all three floors of the four buildings around the garden were brightly lit, plus there were pcenterns hanging every few steps along the semi-corridor around the garden, making the entire garden as bright as day. With the noise of people talking andughing, the atmosphere was boiling hot. Song Shidao stopped in front of a certain door; looking up, he took a deep breath to calm himself down. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, three people also stopped behind him, waiting for him to speak. Along the corridor richly attired beautiful courtesans and good-looking maid servants were going back and forth in and out of the rooms, like a lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze, dazzling those who watched them. Seeing the four men, the women repeatedly sent coquettish nces, but clearly they were most interested in the handsome Song Shidao, because after putting on their masks, the other three were concealing their extraordinary good looks. Nevertheless, Song Shidao was turning a blind eye to them. With a soft sigh he said, I have never epted the fact that Junchuo had died. How could the Heaven be so heartless, the spring flower has fallen before it wilted? I will definitely put that traitor Yuwen Huajin under my de. The three did not expect Song Shidao to be so deep in love that momentarily they did not know what to say. Song Shidao sighed and said, San Mei [third (younger) sister did not wish to see Xiao Zhong, I have arranged another room nearby for her. Come! Stunned, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces. It was only then did they know Song Yuzhi wasing as well. Song Shidao downed a cup of strong wine in one gulp. Kou Zhong narrated in details the events leading to Fu Junchuos death. In the other rooms, near and far, the sound of people talking andughing, finger-guessing game and drinking contest, mixed with the sound of woodwind and string ensemble, so that Man Qing Yuan appeared to be burning with the fire of life. Only in this room everybodys expression was solemn. The good-looking maids and beautiful courtesans did not dare toe in and disturb them. Ba Fenghan was the most awkward, because until now Song Shidao did not even ask his name. Song Shidao only stared nkly at Kou Zhong refilling his cup on the table for the fifth time; he remained silent as if he was a stone carving without any life in it. Kou Zhong reached out to peel his mask off, breathed a sigh of relief and said, Wearing this ghost thingy is really ufortable. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan also felt that wearing a mask to conceal their face was of no use anymore, thereupon they also took their mask off. As if he waspletely oblivious of what they were doing, Song Shidao asked in heavy voice, Did Junchuo ever mention me? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; they were unable to respond. Song Shidao smiled sadly, picked up the wine cup from the table, and rose up. Facing the garden under the tform, which looked like a roll of big painting, he shook his head and said with a sigh, I dont care how she treated me, but my love for her is just like a life without regret. Where is that small valley? After I kill Yuwen Huaji, I am going to build a cottage and live there, so she wont be lonely. Xu Ziling felt as if the pit of his stomach was pressed down by a thousand-catty rock; withbored breathing he said dejectedly, When we have timeter, well take Er Gongzi [second young master] there to visit Niang! Song Shidao shook his head, No! he said, I want to go there alone. As long as you tell me the approximate location, I am sure I can find it. Clearing his throat, Kou Zhong said, Telling Er Gongzi is not a problem. Hey! But can we talk about the condition first? Song Shidao was greatly surprised, There is a condition on this? he said, No wonder San Mei did not like you. Kou Zhong was greatly embarrassed; he said, I only wish that Er Gongzi would leave the matter of killing Yuwen Huaji to us, her two sons! Chapter 9- Part 2 Xu Ziling added with determination in his voice, Just before her death, Niang urged us to train martial art well, so that we can take revenge for her. Song Shidao was silent for half a day. Finally he said dejectedly, Very well! Based on your skill, with which you were able to kill Ren Shaoming, dealing with Yuwen Huaji shouldnt be any problem. And then his eyes lit up with strange gleam. Quickly tell me where your Niangs grave is! he urged. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces. And then, making up their mind, they stood up and whispered the location of the little valley in Song Shidaos ear. Finished listening, Song Shidao poured the wine in his cup into his mouth,ughed aloud, and cheerfully returned to his seat. Dumbstruck, the three could only look at him in consternation. Song Shidao acted as if Fu Junchuo basically had not died; moreover, she had married him and be his wife. He spoke lightly, After our business here is done tonight, I am going there to apany Junchuo. And then, turning to Ba Fenghan, heughed pleasantly and said, And could this gentleman be Ba Xiong? Based on what the Tujue people told me, you look like their description: strange and grand, imposing and heroic. Ba Fenghan was focusing his attention on the situation outside, people were going back and forth; hearing the question, heposed himself and replied indifferently, Ol Ba also often feels that the Heaven did not treat me meagerly, because of my oath life without surrender I am always able to pay back. Bang! Song Shidao had returned to his usual poise; he pped the table and praised, Life without surrender, well said! Xiao Zhong, pour the wine, let me offer Ba Xiongdi a toast. Kou Zhong quickly assumed his modest, honest and loyal demeanor, and poured wine for the two men. He tried hard to dilute the sad and difficult-tofort atmosphere a moment ago. After staring silently at Song Shidao for half a day, Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, I, Ba Fenghan, have always look down on respectable school and big ns people, believing firmly that all rich and powerful families are wastrels. But seeing Er Gongzi can have a passion as deep as the ocean for a woman that you only met once, and will never change as long as you live, thinking about my own painstaking pursuit of the way of the martial art, I can only have one word to describe my feeling toward Er Gongzi: admiration. This toast, I will make an exception, I am going to drink. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stared nkly at Ba Fenghan; it has been a long time since they saw his overbearing and unting-his-ability demeanor like this. A strange feeling rose up in their hearts. Song Shidao was slightly startled, but then heughed involuntarily and said, Since the Heaven has not treated you meagerly, why should Ba Xiongdi be hostile at others who enjoy the same luck? This is actually the problem of the heart. Take me for example, as soon as I know where Junchuo is, I immediately feel that she is alive again in my heart; there is no more regret in my life. Come! Bottoms up! Ding! The wine cups clinked against each other. Both men drained the cup in one gulp. A trace of blush flitted across Ba Fenghans snow-white-like-jade perfect face, which quickly vanished. His pair of tiger-eyes shed brightly. After wiping the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, he coldly said, Just consider this cup is to toast me on my challenge to Qu Ao. What? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling blurted together. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes shed even brighter, filled with strong fighting spirit and confidence. Throwing his head back, heughed aloud and said, That day Qu Ao failed to kill me, it was the greatest mistake of his life. Because I have already figured out the cards in his hand; therefore, how could I miss this kind of golden opportunity? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shocked; both thought that this was desperately serious. Although Ba Fenghan was a rare genius of martial art, but with his limited experience, maturity, and power, he was still a distance away from Qu Ao, whose fame has spread outside the country for several decades. After being kicked by Kou Zhong under the table, Xu Ziling hastily made a suggestion, If Ba Xiong made your move, whether you win or you lose, tonight we can forget about getting Shangguan Long, that kid! Taken aback, Song Shidao said, What gratitude and grudges does Luoyang Bangs Shangguan Long have against you? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Is it not because of Niangs meizi [younger sister] Yu Yi? Only by capturing Shangguan Long and beating him up will we be able to save her. Greatly shaken, Song Shidao said, Junchuo has a meizi? Kou Zhongs heart was moved; leaning closer, while radiant with delight, he said, She looks a lot like Niang! Not in form, but in spirit. When Er Gongzi sees her, you will know what I mean. Frowning, Song Shidao said, Why do you keep calling me Er Gongzi this and Er Gongzi that? Kou Zhongs smile turned even more bitter; awkward, but honestly, he replied, Are you saying that I ought to call you Song Shushu [uncle]? Then how am I supposed to call your San Mei? In that instant, the room fell silent, as if the time froze over. And then these several men roared inughter at the same time,ughing so hard that tears fell from their eyes and they had to hold their belly with both hands. Getting hold of himself, Kou Zhong reached out to pat Ba Fenghans wide shoulder and leaned closer to say, Ol Ba, you have to be good and help us saving Yu Yi. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Whenever I make up my mind, I have never looked back. Under tonights circumstances, it is still possible to kill Shangguan Long, but there is no way we can capture him alive. Smiling, Song Shidao said, If you have my help, the situation will bepletely different; am I right? The three were dumbstruck, but then they nodded their head simultaneously. Based on the Song ns reputation and prestige, dealing with Shangguan Long was not out of the question. If they could outsmart him by using strategy, naturally it would be much better than by using brute force. Knock! Knock! Knock! Someone was knocking on their door. A sweet-sounding male voice rang out, Zaixia Qin Chuan; I wonder if Song Shidao Xiong is here? Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong looked at each other in shock. Wasnt Qin Chuan Shi Feixuan? No wonder she was right outside the door but nobody detected her presence. Surprised and unsure of what to do, Song Shidao replied, The door is not bolted, Qin Xiong, pleasee in! Outside the door, Qin Chuan replied, Xiaodi has a few questions; speaking over the door like this would be more convenient. Frowning, Song Shidao said, Is it possible for Qin Xiong to introduce yourself? Otherwise please forgive Ol Song for refusing to answer questions over the door. Remaining tranquil and calm, Qin Chuan said, People say that from the Song n, Song Shidao is the most outstanding hero with great aspirations. If you adhere rigidly to your status and refuse to talk over the door, Ol Qin has no choice but to admit failure and walk away to avoid any problem. Song Shidaoughed aloud and said, Well said! Your argument against the refusing to talk over the door certainly is reasonable. Speak up then! Xu Ziling, three persons, understood immediately. Shi Feixuan was ying her trick in selecting the future emperor. Chapter 9- Part 3 Qin Chuan calmly said, I just want to ask Song Xiong, what is the meaning of life? Song Shidao was stunned for half a day. Finally a pained smile appeared on the corner of his mouth; with forlorn expression he replied, Before tonight, the meaning of lifey in whether one could spread out his aspiration to the greatest extend, to aplish something that is profitable to mankind. But now I feel like life is but a dream, death is also a dream; in fact the whole life is just a big dream. All of us are living as if being drunk, and dying as if in a dream, drifting along in the sea of bitterness [Buddhist term], hard to extricate ourselves. Listening to this, Xu Ziling and the others could only shake their heads; they all thought that it would be strange indeed if Shi Feixuan would select Song Shidao. Outside the door, Qin Chuan was silent for half a day, before letting out a light sigh and said, Song Xiongs words are indeed thought-provoking. But human came to this mortal life, if not for doing something on his own, then he must be doing something because he is required to. Which one is Song Xiong and why? Even Ba Fenghan showed admiration on his face. Qin Chuans pointed question was iparably remarkable. Smiling ruefully, Song Shidao said, Right now I just want to drink two cups of wine. How about Qin Xionge in and have a toast with me? Qin Chuan replied indifferently, I understand. Xiaodis taking my leave! With a leap Kou Zhong rushed toward the door and pulled it open. Sticking his head out, Qin Chuans shadow has already vanished. Quickly grabbing a pretty maid who happened to pass by and asked, The man who had just stood outside the door, what did he look like? The pretty maidughed tenderly and replied, What man are you talking about? Taking a nce at the other three men inside, her beautiful eyes immediately lit up. Trying to ingratiate herself, she said, Would four Daye like to have maids serving you? Kou Zhong was not in the mood to flirt around with her; he smiled and said, We are in the middle of secret meeting, no need! Ignoring her disappointed look, he simply closed the door. At a loss, he said, How could it happen again? Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, This might be some kind of brilliant transmitting-sound technique, using martial art skill to control the voice, bringing about the someone-outside-the-door effect. But she must be somewhere nearby too. Looking at Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong asked, Ling Shao, did you feel anything? Thinking deeply, Xu Ziling said, I did not have the slightest feeling. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were shaken, In that case ... they blurted out almost simultaneously, but also shut up immediately. Puzzled, Song Shidao asked, In that case what? Kou Zhong giggled and said, Nothing! In that case it goes to show how formidable that Qin Chuan is, hence Xiao Ling did not feel anything. Xu Ziling naturally understood that Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were thinking that the Jade Annulus of the He n must not be on Shi Feixuan; otherwise he would have felt its presence. This fact was extremely important; it also indirectly confirmed that Wang Shichong had not lied. Such an important treasure, yet she did not carry it with her; there must be a very unusual reason. Qin Chuan has evoked the load in Song Shidaos mind; after drinking two more cups of wine, he stood up and said, Wang Bo wont be here until xu hour [between 7-9 pm], we still have more than half a sichen before the banquet is officially begun. Do you guys want to call a few gorgeous hostesses to apany you to while the time away? Kou Zhong and the others knew he was leaving, so they also stood up to send him off. Xu Ziling said, We just want to quietly drink our wine. Walking toward the door, Song Shidao nodded and said, That would be good too. I am going next door to chat a little bit, and then Ille back to discuss with you our rescue n. Ba Fenghan said, Ol Ba has something Id like to ask for guidance. Wang Bo is far away at Changbai, why did he suddenlye to Luoyang to hold a banquet here, and made arrangement for a duel between Fu Qian and Qu Ao, and even invited the tremendously popr Shang Xiufang to perform here? Frowning, Song Shidao said, I am afraid nobody is too clear on this. Only after dering his intention to give up striving for the world about half a year ago Wang Bos prestige in Jianghu rose rather than fell. Therefore, this time he issued hero invitation for the friends toe to Luoyang to watch the duel, to coincide with the Jade Annulus of He ns matter. Hence no one wanted to miss this opportunity. And then he smiled and said, I will drop in to say hello to Shangguan Long and snoop out the enemy. I will be back to report to three gentlemen. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Just now it was San Mei who guessed correctly that the name Renzhong was the Zhong character; otherwise, in such a short period of time I would not have guessed that it was you. [Trantors note: the character Zhong from Kou Zhongs name is actually the character zhong (middle/center) with ren radical.] After Song Shidao left, the three sat down again. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, This is very strange. Could it be that tonight is Yin Gui Pais plot? Because Qu Ao has always been in collusion with Yin Gui Pai, and moreover, this Man Qing Yuan belongs to Shangguan Long. Kou Zhongughed and said, If they could kill everybody who came to this banquet in one fell swoop, it would give Yin Gui Pai a lot of convenience. But this is very not likely, because even Wang Shichong in his own territory would not dare to do such folly. Xu Ziling guessed, Maybe Yin Gui Pai has developed some kind of extremely formidable poison that even the top martial art masters would be taken in, and afterwards they would put all the me on Wang Bo. Kou Zhong shook his head, There is no such poison in the world, he said, In my opinion, Qu Ao came to the Central ins this time with his grand ambition to use this as a pretext to establish his prestige, while eliminating Fu Qian, this thorn in his side. One move, two gains; what can you have against it? Ba Fenghan said, In terms of name and talent, Qu Ao and Fu Qian, these two are almost the same! But I am not surprised that Zhong Shao made that mistake, because you did not know Fu Qians formidability. Wang Bo renouncing his n to vie over the world, quite possibly it has something to do with him. Kou Zhong was taken aback. You mean Fu Qian has a better chance than Qu Ao? he asked. This is really hard to say, Ba Fenghan replied, But we have had confrontation with Qu Ao before; dont you think that Qu Ao is not as formidable as we imagined him to be? While I was at the Western Regions, I heard that in recent years Qu Ao has been indulging himself in wine and women. You ought to remember that martial art is like rowing the boat upstream; if you stop moving forward, you fall back. Apparently this saying is not false. Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Xu Ziling said, He is doing less well than before, yet he is still that formidable. If he was not crazy about wine and women, wouldnt we be finished early on? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Aftering out of our mothers womb, everybody mustpete against others. Those who want to stand out among their peers must pay the price. But although its difficult to begin an undertaking, it is more difficult to preserve the aplishments of previous generations. Country is like that, martial art is also like that. It was as if Kou Zhong did not even hear the exchange between the two; he suddenly spoke up, If, under the impossibility of tonights circumstances, we managed to capture Shangguan Long, wouldnt it be grand? Xu Ziling nodded and said, There is nothing impossible in the world. The problem is that other than being an important figure in Yin Gui Pai, Shangguan Longs men must be very strong as well. If we want to catch him alive, once we failed, next time dont even think we will be able to repeat it. Therefore, without seventy, eighty-percent confidence, we should not act blindly without thinking. Kou Zhong said, As long as he is alone, we have a chance; he cant be as strong as Bian Bufu! Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Shangguan Long is a wily old fox, for sure. Otherwise he cant possibly upy such an important position in Yin Gui Pai. Even if Song Er Gongzi is willing to help us, we cant expect to find him alone before we could make our move. Kou Zhong appeared as if he was thinking of something funny. He said gleefully, When he is going to thetrine, he cant possibly have a whole bunch of people heralding from the front and thronging from the rear, can he? The two men had to smile. Laughing and scolding, Xu Ziling said, First of all, you have to know when and where he is going. But this valuable intelligence is not easy to get. It could only work if we know his entire schedule. Hey! Knowing his superior ability and wisdom, the other two looked expectantly at him, wanting to hear what he thought. With a bitter smile Xu Ziling and said, Dont look at me like that, I only grasped something vaguely, but not sure whether it would work. Ba Fenghan said, Since we are unable to find any solution anyway, why dont you tell us what you think? Xu Ziling said, The reason we are targeting Shangguan Long is simply because of his rtively high position within the Yin Gui Pai, and thus he is privy of a lot of Yin Gui Pais ssified information, so if necessary, we can trade him for Yu Yi. But if the problem is only to find out Yu Yis whereabouts, by catching Shangguan Longs left and right hands man or someone like that, we might also obtain the same information, only it would be much easier. Recalling the tragic death of Bao Zhifu, three men, Kou Zhongs eyes shone with strong murderous aura. He said, As long as we are sure that Yu Yi did not fall into Yin Gui Pais hands, tonight I will challenge Shangguan Long and take his dog life. Ba Fenghan said, Just hand over Qu Ao to me, will you? Knitting his brow, Xu Ziling said, Making this matter a big deal will actually do us more harm than good. If either female demon Wan or Bian Bufu is disguising themselves as Shangguan Longs subordinate and take up the challenge for him, would Zhong Shao still have such confidence? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, With Shi Feixuan, this archenemy spying upon nearby, how could female demon Wan lightly show herself up? As for dealing with Bian Bufu, I, Kou Zhong, am not necessarily without any hope of victory. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, This n is indeed feasible. Bian Bufu has always been secretive, under this kind of circumstances he would certainly not show up his face. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, I have an idea! He had just finished speaking, Song Yuzhis voice rang outside the door, Kou Zhong, get the hell out of there! Book 13 - 10 – Verbal Sparring at the Pleasure House Book 13 Chapter 10 C Verbal Sparring at the Pleasure House Following the taut-faced Song Yuzhi, Kou Zhong went to the corridor on the third floor on the side opposite to the garden in the middle. The Song n beauty was standing leaning against the railing, as she spoke coldly, You knew perfectly well that I was in the next room, yet you did note to see me? Kou Zhong waited for a group of constantly-sizing-the-two-of-them-up Jianghu figures to pass by before sighing and said, I was afraid to provoke you to anger, so I wanted to see the way the wind blows and the intensity of the fire first! Hey! Yu ... hey! Miss Song, please calm down. Song Yuzhi cast her gaze far beyond Man Qing Yuan, toward Luoyang nightscape, which was aze with lights. Her beautiful hair fluttered in the night breeze; she looked as beautiful as the statue of a revered goddess. Moreover, from her perfectly straight and luxuriant hair, down to the bridge of her nose, people could feel her firm, strong and unyielding character, which also intensified her delicate and pretty, and haughty temperament. With his nk leaning against the railing, Kou Zhong enjoyed the silhouette of her face from the side. Suddenly he remembered Li Xiuning, and his heart was burning with a feeling of guilt. Song Yuzhi spoke indifferently, These days my mood is not too good. But it has nothing to do with you, Kou Zhong. Ay! Why is it that bad people live longer than good people? At least you, Kou Zhong, is not dead yet! At first Kou Zhong was stunned, and then heughed involuntarily and said, With so many people want me dead, why arent Miss Song afraid people would push you over, and stille here to beat up the excitement? If Song San Xiaojie [third youngdy] really loathes me, it is enough if you tell me so. Although my face cannot be considered thin, but it still has a certain thickness. A hint of smile escaped from Song Yuzhis small mouth; turning her pretty face around, she stared at him ferociously and said, I do not loathe you; I hate you! I hate you for without any reason you came to disturb my heart. Now that it is clear that sooner orter Luoyang will fall into Li Mis hands, and ording to the agreement I am going to marry into the Li family, was it for this reason that you did not dare toe to see me? Kou Zhong scooted over closer to her until he nearly bumped into Song Yuzhis tender body before he came to a halt. Giggling, he said, One day Luoyang has not fallen into Luoyangs hands, this matter has not been decided yet. What worries me is your honorable father, the Heavenly Saber Song Que, the Senior. Due to my humble origins, even if I found the treasure, he might refuse to ept me as his son-inw. Song Yuzhi shifted her gaze back to where it was before; she said with a faint sigh, After the battle of Jingling, who did not have a whole new level of respect for you and Xu Ziling? Even with Du Fuweis ability, plus his superior number of troops, the disabled troops under yourmand were still able to hold him off outside the broken city wall for more than ten days. The problem is not on my Die, rather, I basically do not want to marry you. Kou Zhong was stunned, From your remark earlier, it was obvious that you had great affection for me. Could it be that it was fake? Song Yuzhi turned her pretty face toward him, her beautiful eyes stared deeply into his as she spoke with a cold sneer, You are just a typical man; you dont seem to get a straight understanding of a woman, or just always negligent, or presumptuous. If I did not care about you, I would have no wish to speak to you even half a word more. Do you know why I called you out? Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Right! What is it? Stretching out her jade hand, Song Yuzhi poked his cheek lightly with the tip of her finger, and then said with a gentle smile, Because I want to see whether you are more mature than before. But more importantly I do not wish for you to mess with Li Mi. It would be best if you hide far away. Because ording to our secret information, the senior figure, martial art master from Nan Hai Pai, Huang Gongcuo is responding to Li Mis invitation, and is on his way to Luoyang. At that time, the first to suffer cmity will be you, two brothers. Li Mi has already guaranteed to my Die that he would not let you two leave Luoyang alive. Puzzled, Kou Zhong asked, What kind of guy or thing is Huang Gongcuo? Unhappy, Song Yuzhi replied, If you pick ten people from the Central ins with the most overbearing martial art skill, Huang Gongcuo will definitely be one; I dare say that he is probably in the top five. Do you know now? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, The world cant possibly be always the same. Dynasties will change, much less the ranking of martial art masters? In the past, you can randomly pick anybody and he would be able to beat us, one falling down on our face, the other falling t on our back. But those days are gone. Dont you see that we are still alive and well? This old man Huang cant possibly be more formidable than Yin Gui Pai, can he? Her countenance changed, Song Yuzhi asked, You have messed with Yin Gui Pai? Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, Not messing up with them, just fighting to the bitter end [orig. you die, I live] with them. Otherwise, I cant possibly see you tonight. Hee ...! Can you say some good things for me? Then even when I die, I could bring some beautiful and happy memory to theherworld to be a ghost there. Song Yuzhi reached out with her fingers and vigorously jabbed his chest twice. With a slight anger in her voice she said, Your Miss here will never say anything untrue to my convictions. My warning, you did not want to listen. So be it! I am leaving! Kou Zhong deftly grabbed her jade arm and pulled her to his side. Song Yuzhi struggled slightly and spoke crossly, Dont pull my hand or my leg, turn around and leave, Die might send someone to kill you. Kou Zhong whispered in her ear, Believe it or not, you are going to marry me! Song Yuzhi protested coquettishly, You are boasting shamelessly and acting recklessly! Kou Zhong smiled and left. He was still perhaps four doors away from his own door when the door of the room just ahead was suddenly flung open, and two shadows shed out of the room, blocking Kou Zhongs path. These two men looked alike, only their heights were different, their ages were about forty, and both had the same ugly nose. Some kind of weird ashen color emanated from their skin, giving the impression that the martial art they trained must be of some strange, demonic school. Even when they were still about a zhang away, Kou Zhong already felt their murderous spirit pressing down on him. Slightly shivering inwardly, Kou Zhong halted his steps. The tall ones eyes shot a deep, cold murderous intent, while putting up a ridiculous self-importance air on his face. Casting a sidelong nce at Kou Zhong, he said, This is called there is a path to paradise you didnt take, there is no door to theherworld you insist on breaking through. Kid, you did not look for a rat hole to hide, but swaggered over like this; you must be tired of living. As soon as he opened his mouth, Kou Zhong recognized the voice as theoda [first, oldest] of the Two Malevolent of Changbai, Fu Zhen. The other man, the short one, must be Fu Yan. Although Kou Zhong knew that these two mens power was close to Li Mi, he remained calm and was not afraid at all. Pretending to be surprised, he said, Dont you know Wang Bo is here tonight? If you dont tuck your tail and flee to the wilderness as soon as you can, I am afraid even Li Mi will find it hard to protect you! Fu Zhen did not show the slightest bit of anger; he was surprised and said, Good kid! Unexpectedly you know who we are. Since that be the case, you ought to also know that we fear nobody, why still spoke such nonsense? Seeing he could not get them to lose their temper, Kou Zhong pressed one step forward,ughed aloud and said, Since you fear nobody, then there is no need to run away all the way from Changbai to here. Let Ol Kou see whether the skill of your hands is as strong as your glib tongue! Together Fu Zhen, Fu Yan let out a hey hey coldugh, while their eyes shot ominous glint. By having a face off at the corridor like this, they had practically blocked the traffic; on either side behind them immediately piled up maids and the iing guests who could neither advance nor retreat. The situation was rather chaotic. This moment a man stepped out from Fu Zhen, Fu Yans room. Glowering at Kou Zhong, he thundered, Just now, what did you and the Ol Lis fiance [orig. wife who has not pass through the door] talk about? Surprisingly, it was Li Mis son, Li Tianfan. Kou Zhong swept him with his gaze;ughing heartily, he said, All the Jiejie and Meimei in this ce are my, Kou Zhongs fiance [see above]. I wonder which one was Li Xiong talking about? Everybody, no exception, was stunned and rose into an uproar. Rubbish! a female voice protested coquettishly, Whos your wife? Whod want to marry a man like you? Kou Zhong took a closer look; his eyes lit up at once. The speaker was a young woman wearing a very elegant tight ck warrior outfit, with ck belt and ck trimming, but with red silk overalls on the outside. While speaking, she revealed a neat row of snow-white teeth. Her stature petite and nimble, her jade countenance carried some kind of as-cold-as-ice-and-frost beautiful lines, yet although she was calm, her face appeared vivid and lively; her overall demeanor was very charming. Something that when one saw her for the first time, the impression was youthful beauty, but the longer he looked the more he saw her strange and fascinating character. Kou Zhong immediately recognized her voice; roaring inughter, he said, Miss Dugu Feng said it well. If those who have not passed through the door can be considered wife, wouldnt thend under the heavens be thrown into big confusion? When the crowd, including Li Tianfan and the Two Malevolent of Changbai, suddenly heard the name Dugu Feng [reminder: this is the phoenix Feng], they all craned their neck to look at Dugu Feng, who was standing behind the crowd of people. Dugu Feng actually came to give the three some problem, but unexpectedly in just a few words Kou Zhong already recognized her and announced her name to the world. Moreover, she realized that under this kind of circumstances it would be hard to make her move. Thereupon she only smiled, turned around, and left. A majestic voice rang out from behind Kou Zong, Li Gongzi and two Fu Laoshi [teacher], please give us, Man Qing Yuan, a bit of face. If you have anything, please go outside the Courtyard to deal with it! Obviously this man had been observing them for a while, hence he knew that it was Li Tianfan and the others who created the disturbance first, and thus spoke up to advise them. Li Tianfan also knew that this was not a good time to fight. Throwing his head back in loudughter, he led Fu Zhen and Fu Yan back to their room. When Kou Zhong was back in his room, Ba Fenghan was sitting in silence, while Xu Ziling was standing in front of the balconys railing, looking up to the heavens. With the sleeve of his robe fluttered in the wind, there was an indescribably proud, above-the-crowd aura surrounding him. Chapter 10 - Part 2 Seeing himing back, Ba Fenghanughed and said, Let me see your face, I want to know if there is an additional palm print from Song San Xiaojie. Kou Zhong sat down across the table from Ba Fenghan; as if he was a tired and weary soldier he stared at Ba Fenghan first, and then turned his gaze at Xu Zilings back before whining, Just now I was in trouble outside that even Man Qing Yuan nearly copsed, yet the two of you did note out to lend a hand; so much for one lifetime two brothers. Ay! This is called human feeling changes daily like the weather, the hypocrisy of the world. Ba Fenghan cackled and said, Zhong Shao, did you really fight with your hands? If it was only duel of words, why must you need anybody elses help? With his back still facing Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling spoke coldly, We were hoping they would make their move, so we deliberately did not go out, so that they would have no apprehension. Kou Zhong giggled and said, I was just kidding. Uh! Where were we? Beauties are really no good, its so easy for them to make us forget things. Dont y dumb, Ba Fenghan said, Have you thought about the brilliant scheme to deal with Shangguan Long yet? pping his forehead, Kou Zhong put on an act, Ah! Now I remembered! Suddenly sitting up straight, he thundered, Shangguan Long, where are you? Zhu Yuyan chose you to be Yin Gui Pais undercover agent in Luoyang, you ought to know a thing or two. If you dare,e out to fight to the death immediately! These words were pushed out by his spiraling energy, and immediately spread out to every nook and corner of the four three-story buildings of the Tingliu Pavilion. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling also acted strange; it was as if they did not hear Kou Zhongs beyond-all-expectations words at all, they both maintained their original posture and facial expression. Around the Tingliu Pavilion, all noises gradually died down. By the time Kou Zhong finished speaking the third sentence, it was the crow and peacock made no sound, they could hear the pin drop kind of quietness. Hundreds and thousands of eyes from all the rooms on the left and right, as well as the building across the garden, were looking at the direction of their room. After a keyed-up and suffocating silence, a dignified, but with matchless gentleness and reservation, male voice came up from the floor beneath them, Just for your super-annoying remark that made me want to throw up blood, I, Shangguan Long, will never let you off. Xu Ziling coldly spoke up, There are three of us here, you can pick any one you wish. But this preferential treatment is only given to Yin Gui Pai demon, because each and every one of you is guilty and worthy of death. His voice spread far and wide without being overbearing, it was resounding but not sharp, and was clearly heard by each meeting participants ear. Kou Zhongs n was indeed very brilliant; he exposed Shangguan Longs identity on the spot, so that nobody dared to interfere. In this riding a tiger and unable to get off situation, Shangguan Long could only straighten his back and get out to fight. Furthermore, Xu Zilings words were as sharp as a sword. If he could not control himself and re out in anger, it would be tantamount to indirect admission that everybody was Yin Gui Pai demon who was guilty and worthy of death. Qu Aos voice rang out from the same ce. It was an ear-splittingughter first, followed by a shout, This is called traveling far and wide looking for you, only to find it easily here. Kou kid and Xu kid,e down together! It will save me from making my move twice, plus I could use some warming up before the actual battle. Qu Ao was worthy to be an old fox; just with a few words he managed to suppress the momentum they created earlierpletely down. Ba Fenghan cackled and said, Qu Ao, you are mine, Ba Fenghans. But dont you wish for preferential treatment like Shangguan Bangzhu, you wont get it! This remark was extremely harsh; a roar ofughter rose up from the four multi-storied buildings all around, greatly diluting the tense atmosphere [orig. with swords drawn and bows bent]. Even with his level of cultivation, Qu Ao still unable to curb his temper; he shouted angrily, Ba Fenghan, if you leave Man Qing Yuan alive tonight, I, Qu Ao, will start writing my name backward. Again the crowd fell silent. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This is really strange. Last time you, Old Qu, fighting one-on-one, did not have enough power to fix Fenghan Xiong, why now you suddenly have the power? Is it because writing your name backward will give you a fresh feeling? But now is still not your,oxiongs turn to fight, because just now in a finger-guessing game I beat Ba Fenghan. Therefore, Shangguan Bangzhu ought to draw the straw first. Qu Ao was speechless, which made other people aware that the rumor that Qu Ao has indeed never won against Ba Fenghan was confirmed to be true. Therefore, without anybody needed to mention it, the shock in his heart was conceivable. It should be noted that although Qu Aos prestige was still below that of Wu Zun [Revered Martial Art] Bi Xuan, whose name dominated the area outside the country, but the difference was very little. On the other hand, although Ba Fenghan was an outstanding figure whose name soared like aet within the Wulin world inside and outside the Central ins in recent years, he was, after all, only an up-anding youngster. It would be difficult topare him with Qu Ao, a figure of great-schr-respected-for-learning-and-integrity level, who had made his name for several decades. Therefore, when Kou Zhong said that while fighting one-on-one he was going all-out yet still failed to put Ba Fenghan in order, the sensation he created would set the world on fire. This moment Qu Ao waspelled to suffer in silence; if he denied it, he would be speaking big, but if he did not deny it, he did not know where to hang his face. Fu Zhens grating voice came from the neighboring room on the same third floor, Qu Laoshi pities you being young and inexperienced; therefore, he let the three of you off, yet you dont know how to be grateful. It is extremely ridiculous. Astounded, Kou Zhong replied, Fu Laoshi, your invisibility skill must be ten thousand times more superior than your tracking-of-missing-people skill; otherwise, howe with Old Qu and Old Ba, two mens level of cultivation, they still did not know that you were spying upon them nearby? Even such a subtle situation like being young and inexperience, you were able to see clearly to the finest detail [orig. seeing clearly the downy feather of autumn, an idiom from Mencius]. Whoever dares not to submit to you? The sound circled around the vast empty space surrounding the four multi-storied buildings and the empty air above the fishpond garden area, which immediately triggered another wave of roaringughter. Naturally there were also people who worried for Kou Zhong, three people, who were offending many different powers all at once, which was definitely not a fun thing to do. Bu Fu Zhen was immediately silenced. He could not say that he was really spying on them, could he? But if he said no, he had no qualification whatsoever to make the remark he had just said. A burst on intense apuse came from the room on the opposite end of the building, and then Liu Heitas voice was heard, Well said. I, Liu Heita, have a question, however, which is why did Kou Xiong believe that Shangguan Bangzhus other secret identity was to be Yin Gui Pai demon? The Tingliu Pavilion fell silent again. Before Kou Zhong had the chance to answer, Shangguan Long interjected, Clear is clear; if hereby someone came to nder me, dont me me, Shangguan Long, for not showing mercy. From a room on the third floor of the building to the left came a cold snort, followed by someone said with a sneer, Since clear is clear, why afraid someone will say it? Kou Zhong pped his hands and said with augh, Now that is indeed well said. May I ask this friends honorable surname and great given name? I want to see if Shangguan Bangzhu will dare to look for you to give you a hard time. The manughed aloud and said, I am Xing Yifei, Fu Qian Wangzis [prince/son of a king] Captain of the Vanguard Regimen. I have arrived one step ahead of him. Shangguan Bangzhu, please do not forget. The crowd immediately booed. A buzzing noise arose, just like tidal waves going up and down. Just by looking at the heroic spirit of Fu Qians subordinate, his own power and prestige could be clearly seen. While Shangguan Long was put on the spot, Kou Zhong issued another challenge, Before Miss Shangs performing troupe beat the gong to open their show, would Shangguan Bangzhu be interested in ying one round with Xiaodi, to relieve the noble guests on the four sides boredom? A tender and sweet female voice cheerfully said, That was very pleasant to listen to. Kou Zhong, you are the best at stirring up my delight! The crowd rose up in another uproar. In this era, although the barbarians wind was blowing to the east and the general mood was much more open, but a girl tantly reveal her affection under public event where several hundred people gathered, was still universally shocking. Chapter 10 - Part 3 Stranger still, when this girl was unting her skill, her voice, carried by her internal energy, moved indeterminately to the east and to the west, floating without any fixed pattern, so that it was difficult to determine her position. Ba Fenghan rolled his eyes; muttering under his breath, he said, Here we go again! Naturally Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew what he meant, because that voice belonged to Chunyu Wei. No need to mention, Tuoba Yu must have arrived as well. Just like a hanging-boots ghost, they were always following Ba Fenghan. From the lower level of the building to their right, an old-sounding voice said, I am Qi Bazhou of the Luoyang Eight Schrs, this time knowing that Shi Lang [Minister Shi, not sure who that is] is holding a hero feast at Tingliu Pavilion, it wasofu who is in charge of making arrangement in everything. Since Wanggong has not arrived,ofu ought to be entitled to say a few words. This man spoke with pride of his old age and experience, and relying only on his age. Listening to him, the crowd felt that it was a time-wasting nuisance. Kou Zhong sprang up and shouted, Theres not much time. Shangguan Long, do you still want to be the turtle who shrinks its head? Sweeping over to Xu Zilings side, he leaped up and made three somersaults in session, over the more than ten zhang empty space, andnded on the pool wall on the other edge of the pond in the middle. There was a thunderous apuse and cheer. Kou Zhong stood proudly, lifting his head high, and raising his cupped fist to salute, which immediately provoked another wave of cheers. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around; he saw the several hundred people in all the rooms stood up one after another and moved toward the railings of their respective balcony to have a better look at Kou Zhongs elegant manner. Turning toward Ba Fenghan, he said with augh, This kid is so impressive. Unexpectedly he snatched away Fenghan Xiongs leading style. Ba Fenghans eyes shone with spirited shes; he looked at Kou Zhong in the middle of the garden, shook his head and said with a sigh, If I were Shangguan Long, I wont meet the enemy head-on, no matter what. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. This moment, a sudden shout like a thunder scorching t ground rang out, followed by a shadow shing. Shangguan Long finally showed himself on the arena,nded on the gravel path about three zhang away from the fishpond. He stood opposite Kou Zhong, separated by the pond, with a steel staff with dragonhead in his hand, in such an imposing manner. This Luoyang Gang Leader appeared to be around fifty years of age, he had a pair of protruding ears, his stature was not tall, yet he exuded an overbearing and tough impression. He was gorgeously attired, but his face looked pale, with puffy eyes, so that those with discerning eye could easily see that he had been indulging himself in wine and women for a long time. This moment his eyes shot vicious look as he spoke with a cold snort, You say I am Yin Gui Pai man, what evidence do you have? Voices gradually subsided. Everybody was holding their breath, waiting to hear Kou Zhongs answer. Although there were a thousand Sects [pai] and ten thousand schools [men] in Jianghu, in term of evil reputation, nobody surpassed Yin Gui Pai. Not only because their members were sinister and were used to savage method, but also because the way they trained was heretical, which was very different from the internal energy cultivation method and the xinfa of orthodox schools. Therefore, Jianghu people disdained them, its just that they were incapable to deal with them! If Kou Zhong was able to confirm Shangguan Longs true identity, he could forget to have his subordinates support as the Gang Leader. Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well, andughed aloud, You want evidence? That is easy. If within ten moves I am unable to force Shangguan Bangzhu to reveal the cloven foot [i.e. unmask ones true nature], the Ol Kou will pour a cup of tea to admit my mistake to Bangzhu. Shangguan Long immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He thought that even though Kou Zhongs move was extremely brilliant, it definitely would not work on him. In order to conceal his devilish skill, these past ten years or so he had painstakingly trained new martial art, creating Ying Feng Zhang Fa [Facing-The-Wind Staff Technique], which had 102 styles. If Kou Zhong thought that within ten moves he could force him to expose his tail, it was no more than lunatic ravings. From Bian Bufu and Wanwans lips he already had a clear idea of the depth of Kou Zhongs skill. Upon self-inspection, he was confident he would be able to withstand about a hundred of Kou Zhongs moves, and even had a chance of victory. Shangguan Long stomped his dragonhead staff to the ground, creating a shockwave like a muffled thunder, so that the entire garden seemed to be shaking a little bit. Nobody ever expected that his power was this profound; they could not help feeling worry for Kou Zhong. In the room upstairs, Ba Fenghan spoke in astonishment, Zhong Shao seems to be too full of himself. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Our skill will be forced out, Zhong Shao must have his way. Shangguan Longsugh filled the sky above the garden; after repeatedly saying Good! he said, Kou Zhong, dont you renege on your own words. Do it! Finally verbal sparring has turned into decisive battle. Book 13 - 11 – Original Identity Fully Revealed Book 13 Chapter 11 C Original Identity Fully Revealed Although the spectators were numerous, the entire Tingliu Pavilion was quiet. Kou Zhong also quieted down. The moment Shangguan Long stomped his staff on the ground just now, he knew that he had made a grave mistake in underestimating the enemy. His original inference was based on Shangguan Long leading his men surrounding Duan Yucheng, four men, the other day, where they were able to capture only one man alive, and Duan Yucheng managed to break the siege and escape. So his martial art skill could not be too superior. But by doing the demonstration just now, Shangguan Long has shown that his martial art skill was actually closer to Bian Bufus level. And this moment, as the four eyes met, Kou Zhong found out that Shangguan Longs eyes were gleaming with unusual shes. Obviously the strange internal energy cultivation he practiced from the Devil Cult was absolutely not a mediocre skill. But Kou Zhong was like riding a tiger, easy to get on, but hard to get off; he must forced Shangguan Long to reveal his demonic skill within ten moves. Otherwise, the fame for his fighting prowess that he had built up painstakingly would be lost tonight. A peal of stimting feeling circted all over his body; he sensed that under this kind of dreadful pressure, his essence, qi and spirit rose up simultaneously to their peak condition. Shangguan Longs spine and shoulders suddenly straightened up, while holding the staff horizontally across his chest. Kid, bring it on! [orig. release your horse ande over] he shouted coldly, Let me see, you who speak conceited nonsense, what kind of ability you really have. Kou Zhongs expression was like an old monk in deep meditation, he did not seem to see Shangguan Longs awe-inspiring prowess. Nobody knew that at this instant his mind was entirely on the more than a hundred goldfish of every kind, which were swimming freely in the pond, as if they did not have any care of other peoples business in the world. By the time he pushed all distracting thoughts from his mind, he entered the defense realm, where everything in his surrounding did not escape his attention, not even the slightest bit. When he was fighting Bian Bufu earlier that day, he had already experienced this kind of grasping-the-overall-situation fantastic feeling, where he was able to look at, and had total awareness of, the entire battlefield like looking at a chessboard. But this moment, the feeling was even clearer. The thing that captured his attention the most was the fish, carefree and without worries, in the pond. Each movement of the fishtail, whether the fish were frolicking with each other, or was simply cruising alone, or was hiding in the crevices of the fake mountain rock, was captured in his mind. It was an unusually strange feeling. Human and fish upied two entirely different worlds, which coexist but did not interfere with each other. But passing through Kou Zhongs heart, these two different worlds connected. In the pavilion the crow and peacock made no sound, even the breathing noise has stopped. Not only the silent standoff between Kou Zhong and Shangguan Long has taken their breath away, each spectator had a strange feeling in their heart. Kou Zhong appeared to blend in with the environment, bing an integral whole, as if he was part of the nature itself. On the contrary, Shangguan Long seemed to be a hard addition to the garden, destroying the harmony of the entire pond and garden-scape. It was some kind of indescribable subjective impression. Shangguan Long shifted his right foot forward, creating a heavy footstep. Nobody expected that he would grab the initiative to attack first; they all gasped in surprise. Shangguan Long had his own predicament. Because of the ten-move agreement, Shangguan Long was thinking of using defense-as-a-means-to-attack frame of mind. Who would have thought that as they were facing each other, Kou Zhong did not appear to have any intention to make his move? Yet he was continuously amassing his momentum, so that it was expanding continuously at a wild rate. The most terrifying thing was that Shangguan Long felt that the whole site was constantly increasing the momentum of the coalescing of Kou Zhong with the heaven and earth, so that he had no w that Shangguan Long could exploit. Moreover, Shangguan Long was keenly aware that if this situation continued on, his own momentum would soon be overshadowed by Kou Zhongs; if that happened, he had no confidence that he would not use the demonic skill before the ten moves were over. Therefore, although he had decided to focus on the offensive, he was still adopting a passive stance. In the room upstairs, Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief, and go back to his chair opposite Ba Fenghans. This kid is indeed all right, he praised. Ba Fenghan also showed an amazed expression; he said, This kid could really make people exim in admiration. By this time Shangguan Long had approached the fishpond, only about three zhang away from Kou Zhong. He stepped onto the small bridge spanning across the creek nearest the pond. The water under the bridge was trickling slowly. Kou Zhong held the Moon in the Well lightly in his right hand, the de was following the approaching Shangguan Long from the distance. His senses followed the water flowing out of the pond into the creek, passing underneath the small bridge Shangguan Long was standing on. In no time at all he grasped the environment surrounding him, the subtle rtionship between one object and the other, and between one empty space to another. Using the man to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy. Shangguan Longs biggest weakness was that he did not dare to use his demonic skill; as long as Kou Zhong could make him feel that victory or defeat would be decided within two, three moves, and that if he did not make an all-out effort he would lose on the spot, then Kou Zhong would have seeded. Shangguan Long stepped down the small bridge onto the embankment on the other side of the fishpond, where he stood straight like a mountain, with his face as cold as ice. Those with rather superior insight inwardly felt bad for Kou Zhong. Because this kind of situation was more harmful than good to him. Whether advancing to attack, or retreating to defend, there was a fishpond between them. If Shangguan Long was able to exploit the pond, even if his skill was a bit inferior, holding up for more than ten moves should not be a problem. Under the illumination of the me, the saber and the staff were facing each other across the pond, each one amassing its power. Murderous aura permeated the garden. One side was hastening the release of his true qi, the other side was watching for the enemy to reveal a crack. The twobatants stared at each other with eyes open wide, as if one blink of an eye would reveal the w that the enemy would immediately exploit. The tension was so thick. Ssh! Ssh! Suddenly the water sshed. Two fish, which were frolicking with each other, jumped out of the water one after another. Shangguan Longs robe suddenly fluttered lightly, the dragonhead staff in his hand slowly swayed, immediately generating a burst of even stronger momentum, countering the murderous aura emanating from the de of Kou Zhongs saber. The superior martial art masters all knew that in this duel of momentum, Shangguan Long has already lost, hence he had to use this movement to make up for it. Still, nobody dared to put their money on Kou Zhong yet. If this time were about life and deathbat that went as far as one side would not stop until the other side lose his life, then the great majority of the spectators would bet that Kou Zhong would be the final victor. But in todays ten-move agreement, Kou Zhongs chance of pouring tea to admit mistake appeared to be ten out of ten. Kou Zhong was still standing erect holding the saber, as steady as the lofty mountain, his eyes flickered with strange rays. Chapter 11 - Part 2 Finally Shangguan Long was unable to hold back; with a violent roar he leaped up, crossing the fishpond, and the dragonhead staff came crashing down on Kou Zhongs head. A strong gust of wind incited the water of the pond, the water surface sank, billows whirled around, the fish were startled and leaped out of the water, and thus the hallow tranquility of the underwater world of the pond was disturbed. A faint smile, brimming with confidence, escaped from the corner of Kou Zhongs mouth. The entire power in his body was concentrated on the Moon in the Well. A sh of lightning shot out. Dang! The saber and the staff collided. Sparks flew in all directions, followed by an ear-splitting explosion. Kou Zhongs body swayed, but Shangguan Longs entire body was jolted that it flew to the other side of the fishpond. Although it was just one sharp and clear contact, everybody appeared to be dazzled by the fiery sh. Nobody knew who did it, but someone shouted loudly, The first move! It was a female voice. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling upstairs frowned, because they recognized Dugu Fengs voice. Obviously she wanted to see Kou Zhong lose his prestige, hence she spoke to increase the psychological pressure on him. Shangguan Longnded back on the edge of the pond; immediately he spin his staff into a b of staff shadow to guard against Kou Zhong seizing this opportunity to strike back. The staff shadow suddenly vanished. Once again Shangguan Long adopted a stance with the staff held across his chest, because he simply could not move the more than a hundred catty dragonhead staff like that indefinitely, otherwise eventually he would be dead of exhaustion. In the pond, the water calmed down, but the fish still leaped out of the water continuously. The instant Shangguan Long held the staff still, Kou Zhong finally made his move. Against all expectation, he did not move like Shangguan Long earlier, where he leaped at an angle across the pond and then strike down from the air; rather, with his sole on the surface of the water, he slid across the pond, as if he was sliding on a tnd. The Moon in the Well suddenly gleamed with yellow light as it struck the enemy. The crowd roared in shock. ording to physicalw, only by leaping vertically into the air will one be able to attack while advancing, defend while retreating. By doing what Kou Zhong did, dashing horizontally and attacking from the front, as long as Shangguan Long was able to hold his ground steadily at the edge of the pond, he might be able to force Kou Zhong to fall into the pond. Shangguan Long knew that Kou Zhong was deceitful in many ways. Although was fully aware that it was a bit unconventional, in this tense moment, he did not have time to think too much. Focusing his power on his arms, he roared and brandished his staff to sweep at Kou Zhong. The strangest thing happened. When Kou Zhong was at the middle of the pond, suddenly he sprang up to the air, not only to evade Shangguan Longs staff sweep, he also leaped above Shangguan Longs head to send a full blow downward. Upstairs, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan stared in awe; they both guessed that Kou Zhong had used the fish as a stepping-stone, borrowing the reaction force to bring about this totally unexpected change. Immediately cheers and apuse thundered throughout Tingliu Pavilion, increasing Kou Zhongs prowess. As soon Shangguan Longs staff swept across an empty space, he knew the turn of events was far from good. With the saber de pressing down overhead, in order to save his own life, he had to unleash the skill stored deep at the bottom of his chest to deal with the attack. With a wild roar he raised the staff with both hands to block the full power that Kou Zhong had been amassing for quite a while; the saber strike that could break the gold and shatter the rock. Boom! The saber and the staff collided again. But unlike the previous time, the sound of shing was a low, distant and stifled rumble. Spiraling energy rolled the dragonhead staff in, and continued to invade Shangguan Longs meridians via his two arms. Of course Shangguan Long did not dare to be negligence; opening up his mouth wide, he spurted a mouthful of ckish violet rain of blood, while from the sleeves of his garment, the arms, which were raising the dragonhead staff high above his head, immediately turned ckish purple as well. It was extremely scary. From all around the crowd cried and gasped in shock. Although not many people have ever seen this kind of demonic martial art, but nobody doubted that what they were witnessing was a martial art technique that was definitely not from an orthodox school. Borrowing the reaction force from the impact, Kou Zhong somersaulted toward Shangguan Longs back. Before his feet touched the ground, he already sent out a backhanded saber strike toward Shangguan Long, whose eyes were gleaming with purple light, and was brandishing his staff into tens of thousands staff shadow in a furious attack. Now, even if the ten-move limitation was no longer in effect, but as soon as there was the slightest chance to escape, Shangguan Long would definitely take the opportunity to flee. Sess or failure, it depended on whether the saber strike would be able to control Shangguan Long, who was rushing his demonic skill to show its full potential. This saber strike was carrying the full power he had amassed a moment ago; it was swift and fierce without equal. Its area of coverage was quite vast, as he did not wish to let Shangguan Long to find a gap that he could exploit to run away. The saber light passed through. Qiang! Shangguan Long was hit that he nearly stumbled into the pond, in an extremely sorry situation. Letting out a longugh, Kou Zhong moved like a shadow-following-shadow, to pursue and attack. Shangguan Longs old face from purple turned ck; clearly he was extremely frightened. Doing everything he could, he retreated by winding around the pond. The sound of the saber shing against the staff became more and more frequent, like the continuous ringing of bell or chime stones [ancient percussion instrument mad of stone or jade pieces hung in a row and struck as a xylophone], or the urgent beating of battle drum. The atmosphere was very intense. Both sides were fighting speed with speed, like a rabbit zigzagging away from the falcons hunt, unfolding into an iparably intense hand-to-handbat. All around the crowd was watching with bated breath. Those with rather inferior martial art skill were dazzled. Anybody with a rather keen insight ought to know that when a long-weapon wielder like Shangguan Long was forced to deal with an opponent like Kou Zhong in a close-rangebat, he would fall into an absolutely disadvantageous situation. Suddenly, amid a loud ringing, the shadows separated. Qiang! The Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard. Kou Zhong stood at the edge of the pond, staring ferociously at the dumb-as-a-wooden-chicken opponent. Not even half a sound was heard throughout the whole audience. Victory and defeat has been decided. Ssh! The dragonhead staff slipped off from Shangguan Longs hands and fell into the pool. The purplish ck color from Shangguan Longs skin subsided; it was reced with a morbid pale color. After a bout of shaking, Shangguan Long dropped down on his knees, while continuously gasping for breath. Several human figures,ing from several different ces, separately darted over toward the two. Book 13 - 12 – Matchless Demonic Skill Book 13 Chapter 12 C Matchless Demonic Skill The first to arrived were Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, two men. Having achieved their purpose, they did not have any interest in watching Shang Xiufangs singing skill or even Qu Ao and Fu Qians duel. Yin Gui Pai has always conducted their business in secrecy. Even if some people had the intention to deal with Yin Gui Pai, they had no way of finding any Yin Gui Pai bandit to know where to start. Unexpectedly now someone managed to force and defeat an important figure, who was in charge of the intelligence gathering of the entire northern area of the country. In such an impossible situation, quite naturally snatching him away alive would be their highest priority. If they could extract from Shangguan Long information about all aspects of Yin Gui Pai operation, they, along with everybody else who were the enemy of Yin Gui Pai, would be able to use this intelligence to strike back, not remaining passive like right now. The third to rush toward the garden was Song Shidao. His intention was identical to Kou Zhong, three people. They all knew that if there were other Yin Gui Pai people present, they would definitely prevent them from taking Shangguan Long alive. However, as he was following Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan closely, Qu Ao overtook him. From a room in the lower level he darted over, and although he startedter, he managed to get in front of Song Shidao, and caught up with Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan. Noiselessly he raised both palms to strike the two mens backs. From the roof of the multi-story building on the other side, Bian Bufu swept down, with a ten-thousand-catty thunderbolt power he pounced on Kou Zhong. Bian Bufu and Qu Ao were both top-tiered martial art masters. The two of them attacking together, the momentum was shocking to the extreme. Song Shidaos sword already left its sheathe, he shot toward Qu Ao, who had just flitted past under him. Seeing it would be toote to stop him, Ba Fenghan fell back a little, his left palm pressed on Xu Zilings back, his right hand drew the Beheading Mystery Sword, turning it into millions of sword rays, and each ray reflecting the light from thenterns all around him, just like a big ball of fire that was constantly shing brightly, exploding from his hand, curbing and shrouding Qu Aos offensive powerpletely in it. Such sword skill has reached a universally shocking stage. The most amazing thing was that Ba Fenghan seemed to already anticipated Qu Aos sneak attack from behind, and thus was at the ready to strike back. This has certainlye as a surprise to everybody. This moment Kou Zhong had just sent out a stream of finger wind, hitting with a piercing blow the space between Shangguan Longs eyebrows, who was still kneeling and panting for breath. Bian Bufus astonishing qi power was already pressing on top of his head, blowing on him that his clothes fluttered up, and his breathing became impeded. Kou Zhong cursed inwardly, while realizing the difficulty he was facing. Based on Bian Bufus brilliant insight, he should have known that Shangguan Long did not have any chance of victory, only defeat. Yet obviously he waited until this moment to make his move. Naturally his objective was to wait until Kou Zhong exhausted his true energy, the moment his acute spirit was drained, and then eliminate him in one fell swoop. And this devil head knew that Kou Zhong would not be willing to withdraw, so by letting Kou Zhongs n on capturing Shangguan Long to go smoothly, and then taking advantage of this moment to make his move, naturally his chance to kill Kou Zhong would be increased tremendously. Fiercely clenching his teeth, Kou Zhong summoned the rest of his energy, the Moon in the Well met Bian Bufus pair of silver hoops head-on. While Kou Zhong was facing the critical juncture between life and death, Xu Ziling, borrowing the power imbued by Ba Fenghans palm, shot like an artillery shell, and just before Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well shed against Bian Bufus pair of silver hoops, he cut off Bian Bufus path of attack. All these high-speed actions were aplished in a few blinks of an eye; even if anybody else had the intention, they simply did not have time to intervene. Ba Fenghan and Qu Ao were the first to be locked in a fierce hand-to-handbat. Palm and sword came and went, force and qi shed against each other, the sound lingered on. Afterwards Qu Ao withdrew; he quickly retreated to evade Song Shidaos swording down on him from high in the air. Ba Fenghan stood straight like a mountain, pointing the Beheading Mystery Sword to Qu Ao, heughed aloud and said, Qu Ao, your acute spirit has already dwindled, your confidence has gone. Later on, dont let Fu Qian seize the opportunity to ughter you. By the time Song Shidaonded by his side, Xu Ziling has already hacked his palm down on Bian Bufus silver hoops for eighteen times in a row, while both of them were still in the air. Twice has Bian Bufu suffered losses, and both times it was because he made an error in judging the enemy, resulting in the lost of decisive opportunity. The first mistake was that he thought that before Xu Ziling arrived, he would be one step ahead of him in taking care of Kou Zhong, so that at least he would have saved Shangguan Long. Who would have thought that Ba Fenghans palm has enhanced Xu Ziling approaching speed several folds, so that he was forced to change his move to deal with him first. The second mistake was that he did not anticipate that Xu Ziling was able to control the speed of his spiraling energy; sometimes fast, but quickly became slow, or from fast, it suddenly turned slow, so that he was caught off guard and did not know how to deal with it. The risk elevated to a dangerous level, and it entailed an extremely strenuous effort from him. When martial art masters were facing each other, one mistake was enough to be fatal, let alone two in sessions. Were it not for his demonic power, which, although it has not reached Zhu Yuyan or Wanwans heaven boundary level, it has already reached the earth boundary level, he was able to send out and retrieve at will, Xu Ziling would have taken his life early on. Upon self-introspection, Bian Bufu realized that with his power alone, it would be difficult for him to deal with the two boys at once. Thereupon he made prompt decision: as soon as his feet touched the ground, he soared back up into the air toward the roof of one of the multi-storied buildings, and disappeared without any trace. This moment Ba Fenghan has already retreated toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Letting out a loud roar, the three caught Shangguan Long in the middle, and then, under Qu Aos hateful eyes, they carried him off, turned and left abruptly. Qu Aos gaze turned toward Song Shidao, whose sword qi was aimed at him from a distance. Astonished, he said, This Xiongtais swordsmanship is indeed not bad; I wonder what is honorable surname and great given name? Song Shidao knew that Qu Ao would definitely vent all his anger and resentment to him, yet he remained calm without any sign of fear;ughing leisurely, he said, Its better for Qu Laoshi [teacher/old master] not to know, so that in making your move you wont have any misgivings. Nodding his head, Qu Ao said, Very well! Madughter suddenly rang out. Qu Ao was about to go all-out when this majestic-sounding, resonantughter shook the heavens; even the entire Tingliu Pavilion seemed to be shaken. No one was not emotionally moved. This personsughter carried strong qi, obviously his qigong has reached the pinnacle. Qu Aos countenance was slightly changed as well. Whos there? he shouted. Theughter stopped abruptly. The persons voice seemed toe from an exceedingly remote ce. I am Fu Qian, he said, Qu Laoshi is indeed like Fenghan Xiong said, your acute spirit has already dwindled; Fu Qian will fight a one-sided battle. Why dont you pick another day for the duel? Tonight while the romance is in the air [orig. wind, flower, snow and moon; trite poetry subject], well enjoy Miss Shangs ultimate art in peace and quiet. Qu Laoshi, what do you think? The crowd roared inughter. Turned out Fu Qian has been here earlier. Triumphant over kidnapping Shangguan Long, the three men dashed out of Man Qing Yuan from the back, and ran along the ridges of the roof, heading toward the south of the city. Their destination was the Jingnian Dhyana Hall located at the southern suburb. Their n was that as soon as they obtained necessary information from Shangguan Long, they would immediately head toward the Dhyana Hall to look for the Jade Annulus of He n. They were all in the highest state of alert. Since Bian Bufu had made his move, naturally Wanwan could be lurking somewhere nearby, so of course they had to be vignt. Yin Gui Pai has always been a despot, there was no way they would easily let others capture their man like this. Kou Zhong was leading, Ba Fenghan carried Shangguan Long, and Xu Ziling brought up the rear. They randomly jumped down sidenes, or entered some residential buildings and got out the other way, altering their escape route indeterminately, so that others would not find them easily. After traveling for three li, the tall southern wall of the city was in sight, so far no one was trying to stop them. The three were happy, but were baffled as well. With Wanwan and Bian Bufus ability, how could they watch helplessly as the three walked away? The only exnation was that Wanwan was not in Luoyang, and Bian Bufu realized that alone, he did not have enough power to deal with the three. Kou Zhong was leaping toward the roof of a magnificent looking residential building, but suddenly he jumped back down to the ground and led the other two slipping away from the other direction. Behind him, Ba Fenghan knew something was not right, Whats the matter? he called out. While his feet did not stop running, Kou Zhong replied, Theres a woman ahead. Is it female demon Wan? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong hesitated, It didnt look like her, he said, Wanwan has never worn a veil. In the blink of an eye the sidene ended. The three of them simultaneously heard a tender and soft humph of a female voice resounding in their eardrums. Even with their guts, they could not stop chilliness from creeping into their heart. Although I did not intentionally stop at a cliffhanger (this part happens to be right in the middle of chapter), but I thought you might love the anticipation ... Chapter 12 - Part 2 It should be noted that they were rushing at full speed, yet the opponent was still able to send her voice into their ears. Merely this skill has already reached the universally shocking level. Kou Zhong made a somersault sideways over the top of the wall of the building to their left, and then he darted across some unknown familys rear garden, and leaped onto the closest roof of the building inside the courtyard. Like his shadow the other two followed closed behind him and onto the back of the roof. The three stopped suddenly. They looked toward the roof of another building ahead. Under the nting moonlight, they saw a woman, wearing in and simple, yet elegant and beautiful, clothes and ornaments, her face was hidden inside thick veil, was standing against the wind, facing them. A strange, indescribable feeling appeared in the three mens heart. They knew that with the opponents qinggong, there was absolutely no chance for them to escape. Her slender figure was graceful; her hair was tied in a bun on top of her head. Although they could not see her flowery countenance, they could feel her elegance and charm that drew people toe to her. Merely her standing posture had some kind of feeling that would cause people not want to turn their eyes from her; it was also full of extremely subtle tempting insinuation. In this way, without the need to expose her jade countenance, this woman was still able to exude such a powerful charm, which, even in their dream, the three had never thought about. Ba Fenghans tiger-eyes shone with sharp shes; setting down Shangguan Long slowly, he spoke in heavy voice, Has Empress Yin Zhu Yuyane in person? Although Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong had already guessed that it was her, yet this moment hearing Ba Fenghan spoke out her name, they could not help feeling numbness on their scalp. Another tender shout rang in the threes eardrums. Even with their skill, they felt sharp pain as if their eardrum was pricked with a needle. Zhu Yuyan suddenly vanished, while at the same time the three felt violent whooshing in their ears, like the sound of the howling wind of the storm. The howling wind seemed to be growing in intensity like tidal waves; suddenly the whole world seemed to be full of the dreadful sound of the gales angry roar. Yet all around, they saw the world was as peaceful as before. Hence they knew that Zhu Yuyan was ying her trick on them. By the time the sound of the howling wind turned into the sound of thunderstorm, the three were ovee with terrifying feeling as if they were right in the eye of the storm, with howling wind and torrential rain all around them; their bodies felt mmy, their footsteps faltered. It took supreme willpower just to keep their bnce. Such a devilish skill, certainly it was unheard of. The raging waves crashed onto the shore, the storm surged up violently. The three werepletely at a loss as how Zhu Yuyan could make them feel such an illusion. They really felt huge waves, taller than the city wall, were crashing down on them with astonishing power. Xu Ziling was the first to react. This time it was not an illusion, but Zhu Yuyan, taking advantage while their mind was under her control, wasunching a surprised attack. In this critical junction between life and death, Xu Ziling calmed down. Although his eardrums were still confused by the demonic noise, his perception was as calm as the moon in the well, he did not miss everything that was going on around him the least bit. With a cold shout, his spiraling energy shot out, in the shape of a fist that moved toward the nucleus of the toppling-the-mountain-and-overturning-the-seas gigantic wave that was crashing down on them. The gigantic wave suddenly turned into a deep and immeasurable vortex, trying to suck Xu Ziling into it. But the demonic noise wreaking havoc in his eardrums suddenly vanished, indicating that this acimed-to-be the number one martial art master of the demonic school must exert all her strength to be able to fully use this demonic noise; if it werent like this, probably even Ning Daoqi would be defeated under her hands. This moment the three already lost the key moment. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan regained their senses at the same time. They both drew their saber and sword, and separately attacked Zhu Yuyan, who appeared from the end of the roof slope, from left and right. A lily-white hand, which surpassed snow and outshined frost, which beauty could be regarded as extraordinary, stretched out from inside the oversized robe sleeve; delicate, slender, which grace was superior to jade, fingers delivered abstruse, difficult to understand,plex movements in the night sky. This moment Xu Ziling could not hold himself; he was being pulled by her Tian Mo Gong that his body was swiftly flying toward her, while in horror he realized suddenly that the movements of Zhu Yuyans delicate fingers unexpectedly faintly controlled his quite-possible attack route, and it was as if he was delivering himself to her to be ughtered. If Wanwan was a deep and immeasurable pond, then Zhu Yuyan was a vast and boundless ocean. Wanwans demonic skill already has myriad changes, so that it was impossible to defend effectively. But Zhu Yuyans Tian Mo Da Fa [great method of the devil] has reached the following-ones-hearts-desire, the omnipotent, the acme-of-perfection level. Xu Ziling was quick-witted by nature; he already sent out his spiraling energy in the opposite direction. Immediately his body lightened, and he broke away from Zhu Yuyans concentrated Tian Mo Gongs gravitational field. A gentle, beautiful, and sweet-sounding sigh rang in Xu Zilings ear. By the time Xu Ziling realized something was not right, a burst of demonic energy, which seemed to be there but not exactly there, was already encroaching the meridian on his right hand right when his spiraling energy wasing to an end. Xu Ziling had superior ability and wisdom, he had already guessed that she might do this trick, thereupon he spat out a burst of his own spiraling energy. The two streams of true energy met at the Jianjing acupoint [on the shoulder]. Zhu Yuyans demonic energy was immediately burst more than half, but there is still one stream of sharp-needle-like swimming energy, which managed to enter his body. Xu Ziling grunt in pain and staggered back, while spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. Bonk! he fell sitting down below Shangguan Long, who was lying on the roof ridge. Huh? Zhu Yuyan eximed in surprise, obviously she was extremely shocked that after receiving her full st of energy, he still did not lose his life. Meanwhile Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword and Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well arrived at the same time. Letting out a tender sigh, Zhu Yuyan withdrew her lily-white hand into her sleeve, and then like moving clouds and flowing water she met the twos attack. Left and right, her sleeves swiftly brushed away, heavily whipped the de of their weapons. Actually, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan have already given their all, within less than ten paces of distance they already changed their moves many times, with the purpose of preventing Zhu Yuyan from grasping their momentum path. Who would have thought that Zhu Yuyan floated to the left and shifted to the right, so that they practically could not grasp her position, and were thus from taking the initiative, they fell into the passive side. What appeared to be light brushing of the pair of water-and-cloud sleeves, in their eyes were irresolute like gliding bird or leaping fish, with no track to be traced. In just a short period of time they were being whipped by her head on. This moment Xu Ziling took a deep breath and sprang up; sending out his power via his legs, he shot up to the air, his pair of hands turned intoyer uponyer of palm shadows shooting toward Zhu Yuyan. Bang! Bang! After two explosive noise of qi shing against each other, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were jolted from head to foot, and fell down to the left and right. Were it not for the fact that Zhu Yuyan had to divide her power to strike the two at the same time, perhaps just like Xu Ziling earlier, they would have sustained injuries and spurted blood. Originally Zhu Yuyan was determined to kill one of them, but she did not anticipate that the injured Xu Ziling would attack again. Her fragrant heart could not help feeling greatly surprised. Meanwhile Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan regrouped and attacked again from both sides. Zhu Yuyan let out a tenderughter, both hands turned into myriad sleeve shadows,pletely shrouded all three. For a period of time the sound of shing qi rang out continuously. And then the tree men simultaneously hit empty air. Zhu Yuyan already broke away from the threes toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas offensive. Floating away toward the roof ridge, she grabbed Shangguan Longs belt and lifted him up as if he had no weight at all. The three stood side-by-side on the roof spine, all with disheveled hair, and were in such a sorry state. From behind the veil Zhu Yuyan swept the three with her gaze once; and then she sighed and said, Ill let you three live two, three days longer! Right now I need to preserve my strength to heal my man. You may go! Ba Fenghan smiled slightly and said, Such a beautiful speech. But just now you, Zhu Hou [Empress Zhu], has tried with all your might but failed to defeat us. That is an indisputable fact. Zhu Yuyan spoke softly, I dont care if it is a fact of not a fact, Ill leave it up to you to decide! Goodbye! With a slight sway, she was already far away, carrying Shangguan Long with her, and disappeared into the depths of the splendid light of the City of Luoyang. With a mortal-danger-escape-alive feeling the three did not dare to tarry too long; they quickly slipped away. Book 13 - 13 – Dhyana Hall Jing Nian Book 13 Chapter 13 C Dhyana Hall Jing Nian The three sat on a grassy hillside, looking south at a grand monastery located on the hill in the distance. Heaving deep sigh, Kou Zhong said, After suffering untold hardships we managed to catch Shangguan Long, but without even half a thank you that witch Zhu Yuyan took him away. Thinking about it makes me upset. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Everything can be looked at from different perspectives. First of all, we still exist in the world of the living like lively dragon and animated tiger; second, we finally fought the top figure in the martial world, and gained understanding of who they are. As long as we are not dead, that was the best training we can get. With quite a lingering fear Xu Ziling said, Just now if we were one person less, the other two would definitely lose their lives. Tian Mo Da Fas most formidable feature was that you wont be able to fathom her method; any foresight, Yi Jian Da Fa or what have you, are going to be useless, so that any power we have will be difficult to utilize. Ba Fenghan said, It was because our mind was disturbed by her demonic noise first. Fortunately you were able to be one step ahead in grasping the direction of her attack; otherwise we would have been finished early on. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, Tian Mo Yin [demonic noise] is practically not martial art at all; it is ck magic. How do we deal with it? With full confidence Ba Fenghan replied, You must consider Zhu Yuyan neither a deity nor a demon; in my opinion, Tian Mo Yin is also some kind of martial art. Its just that its target of attack is our sense of hearing. Were it not for our staunch will, I am afraid the illusion that time would grow out of control. Thinking hard, Xu Ziling said, But how are we going to deal with it? Kou Zhong said, If we send out our true qi to fill the ears, hey! I got it! Tian Mo Yin might be some kind of method affecting the eardrum acupoint. If we can hold fast to our eardrum acupoint, we are not afraid of anything. But then he continued dejectedly, However, how can we hold fast to the eardrum acupoint? This is unlike saberes-and-sword-arrives sort of thing; sound is without shadow without shape. There must be a way, Ba Fenghan said. Frustrated, Kou Zhong said, Our man was snatched away, what are we going to do with Yu Yi? Ba Fenghans gaze fell onto the Dhyana Hall on the distance. Our hope is in there, he said heavily. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were stunned. Ba Fenghan went on, If Wang Shichong did not lie to us, other than being the Emperors symbol of authority, the Jade Annulus of He n ought to be also an unusual treasure in martial art training; otherwise those Ci Hang Jing Zhai nuns could not possibly keep it in their monastery, Ning Daoqi would not have the leisure of borrowing the treasure for three years. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly roused, Makes sense! he said. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, When you sensed the Jade Annulus of He ns presence on Qin Chuans body, how did it feel? With a wry smile Xu Ziling replied, Dont be happy too easily! First of all, I am not even sure if the reaction was from the Jade Annulus of He n. Secondly, the feeling was not intense at all; I only felt unusual spiritual harmony in my heart. By the time I left the wine shop, all feeling was gone. Shaken, Ba Fenghan said, If the feeling can be obtained only at close range, while in front of our eyes is such a big Buddhist Hall, how can we find it? Kou Zhong said, Dont forget that the Jade Annulus of He n can change continually, sometimes strong sometimes weak. Or perhaps when Ziling saw Qin Chuans back, the Jade Annulus of He n happen to be in a weak state. Ba Fenghan stood up in determination and said, Thinking too much is useless. While it is still three sichen before daybreak, let us try our luck. Otherwise, if Shi Feixuan came back to fetch the treasure to be given to somebody else, our beautiful dream wille to nothing. Dang! The melodious bell chime came from the monastery at the top of the hill. The three were hiding on a big tree by the temples main gate; they all groaned inwardly. Who could have imagined that the monastery was this big? When they looked at it from the opposite hill, because the monastery was hidden deep in the woods, they thought it only had several buildings. Now that they were right outside the door, they realized that added together, there were more than a hundred buildings. It did look like a small city, only the residents were all Buddhist monks. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Just in the middle there are seven big halls. Those must be the Wenshu Dian [Manjushri Hall], Daxiong Baodian [Hall of Great Strength, the main hall of the temple containing the main image of veneration], Wuliang Dian [immeasurable hall], and so on. How are we going to search? Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Any feeling? Xu Ziling crossly said, You are carried away by your wishful thinking. And then his eyes lit as he pointed to a building at the back, which, under the flickeringntern lights, looked a lot smaller and less exquisitepared to the other Halls, and said, That small hall looks very strange, but it appears more important than the other halls, which are ten times bigger. Ba Fenghans spirit was greatly aroused, That is a copper hall [not sure if it was called copper hall because it was made of copper, or the name of the building was Copper Hall] that canst forever. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were speechless. For the first time they felt that Jing Nian Chanyuan, which they never heard of before, was not simple at all. Not only this kind of three zhang deep and three zhang wide, and a zhang and a half tall copper hall would require a lot of copper, but it also require a genuine master craftsman to build. Even the rich Yangzhou did not seem to have this kind of cast-bronze temple. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, This time we are in luck. If the Jade Annulus of He n is inside the temple, it must be kept inside this copper hall. Only copper can separate the bizarre power of the Jade Annulus of He n with the other bald heads. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up; he said, So what are we waiting for? Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Just a bit more careful, will you? Right now the monks in the temple are starting their evening meditation, at least we must wait until they go to bed before making our move! Pointing to a building, which looked prominent among the other halls due to its multicolored ceramic ze roof tiles, with arge bell tower positioned between two pagodas, Ba Fenghan said, Since the night bell has already sounded, there should be nobody upstairs. We should go and hide in there first, while carefully examine the situation of the entire monastery. In case when stealing the treasure we are found out, slipping away from there should be a bit more convenient. The two boys cheered for this brilliant n. Ba Fenghan was the first to leap down to the ground. The two boys promptly followed behind. In the blink of an eye they already leaped over the high wall, and darted in the direction of the bell tower. Book 14 - 1 – Martial Art Master from The Other Side Book 14 Chapter 1 C Martial Art Master from The Other Side Bursts of long and drawn out, rising and falling, chanting voices that seemed to being from an unknown distant ces, spread throughout the temple. The three felt as if they were entering an uninhabited ce, as they climbed the stairs of the tower where the huge bell, which weighed around a thousand catty, was hung, from where they looked down far and near to examine the situation. The buildings inside Jing Nian Chanyuan were arranged neatly along the central axis, which ran directly from the Temples main gate, with the Copper Hall as the center of the monastery. The buildings were sized uniformly. Other than the Copper Hall, all buildings had tri-colored zed roof tiles. The color and luster looked new; perhaps some monks in the Temple were diligent enough to clean up, so that the tiles looked like this. Among the three colors, the peacock blue was the most dazzling. It could be imagined that the buildings would be resplendent under the bright sunshine. From the bell tower where the three were located to the Copper Hall, there was only other building in between, but the distances were quite different; the former was far and thetter was near. In front of the Copper Hall there was a vast open area, approximately a hundred zhang wide, covered in bs of white stone, encircled by a fence made of carved white stone, forming a t za. In the middle of the white stone za was a shrine with a bronze statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva, riding on the back of a golden-mane lion. The statues height was approximately two zhang. Next to the shrine were the painted y figures with gold ornaments of Pharmacist Buddha, Sakyamuni Buddha, and Amitabha, the three-world Buddhas. [Sorry, I am not familiar with Buddhism; these are simply what the dictionary gave me.] The figures looked imposing, but there was a bit of out-of-ce feeling with the general situation of the monastery. On all four sides of the white stone za, other than four gateways with white stone steps, there were 500 luohan [arhats] scattered around; all were made of cast bronze, each ones expression and posture was different from each other. However, whether it opened its eyes wide and had protruding forehead, or with its eyes drooping down in self defense, every single one was vivid and lifelike, no different from any living being. The other buildings formed a whole entity with the main hall as at the axis; they were spread out in a clear and good order to the eight points of thepass, separated by wooded path, creating a divine atmosphere that was solemn and serene. There was arge incense burner in front of the Manjushri Bodhisattva in the white stone za, burning sandalwood incense that the aroma permeated the air, so that the three could not help their mood from calming down, almost to the point of feeling as if they had withdrawn from worldly affairs. Looking into the distance, at the stone steps outside the main gate extending down toward the foot of the mountain, Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, There ought to be eight hundred and eight steps; what a coincidence. However, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were unable to take their eyes off the Copper Hall, which main door was tightly closed, while thinking about their n of action. The chanting noise came precisely from the main hall, which was only about ten zhang behind the Copper Hall, while elsewhere in the monastery there was not even half a shadow to be seen. There was some kind of profound mystery that made people did not dare to act blindly without thinking. The strangest thing was that other than thenterns illuminating the white stone za and the statues in it, there was no other light. Even the main hall, where the chanting wasing from, was in total darkness, giving out the impression that as soon as one would step into the white stone za, one would immediately be the most obvious target. Its just that tonight the bright moon was high in the sky, illuminating the zed roof tiles, bringing out their extraordinary splendor, and making the trees along the pathways, inside and outside of the Temple casting their shadows onto the streets, adding an unfathomable mystery onto the Temples already mysterious atmosphere. Craning his neck to look down, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, What exactly is wrong? Howe theres an uneasiness in my heart? Xu Ziling, standing on his other side, sneered and said, This is calledcking in confidence in being a thief; you know that? Kou Zhongughed and said, I am definitely a thief, but I do notck confidence. Just think, the Jade Annulus of He n is an unusual treasure handed down from generation to generation for thousands of years, basically it does not belong to anybody, and only virtuous persons can obtain it. Of course! Nobody can decide whether someone else was virtuous or not. Therefore, now we can only see whose luck is a bit better, whose fist is a bit harder. shing with divine light, Ba Fenghans tiger-eyes stared at the cast-copper buildings door; frowning, he said, This copper hall does not have even half a window. There are only four venting holes as big as human fist on the top. Supposing Liao Kong Dashi is personally sitting inside to protect the treasure, and he did not forget to bolt the copper door, it would be strange indeed we are not going to have a headache just thinking about it. Kou Zhong scooted over to him; acting as an old friend, he put his hand on Ba Fenghans shoulder and then with brows raised in delight and eyesughing, he proudly said, I guarantee that wont happen, unless he wanted to taste how fire-deviation would feel like. This kind of old baldhead spends his time all year long in hard cultivation. Sitting in meditation is like lustful over women, he cant miss even one day. Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, Havent you heard Buddhist saying, If I dont go into hell, who would? Your guarantee does not amount to half a chance of sess. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, I was only hoping that Liao Kong is not that great of a monk. How about this: let me go down and give it a try? After pondering silently for half a day, while staring at Xu Zilings back Ba Fenghan said, Ling Shao, do you have any idea? Certainly Kou Zhong was not surprised that Ba Fenghan would want to seek Xu Zilings advice first. Because, just like Ba Fenghan, he had great respect toward Xu Zilings perception. Xu Ziling shifted his gaze to the night sky. With yearning look in his eyes he said, Have you noticed the way they are chanting? They are reciting the scripture in one breath; so chanting is like in-and-out breathing. Plus they are divided into two groups: one group finishes reciting, the other group continues on without the slightest bit of interruption, just like the unceasing flow of water. Not only it is pleasant to hear, it is also one kind of superb training method. Hearing that, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong looked at each other. The fact is that as soon as they entered the monasteryplex, these two had their mind only on the Jade Annulus of He n. They only listened to a few words of some unknown scripture and promptly regarded the chanting of the sutras as the wind past their ears. Emotionally moved, Ba Fenghan said, If the length of the chanting is to be used as the criteria to measure the in-and-out breathing, all the Buddhist monks here have very strong base in internal energy, plus each group ought to consist of about a hundred men. His countenance changed, Kou Zhong said, More than two hundred monks with superior martial art skill, plus the Four Great Vajra protectors of the Temple, and one Liao Kong Chanzhu [dhyana master/leader] who practices silent meditation. Oh my Niang! Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, Therefore, we must absolutely not act blindly without thinking. If they are rmed, all three of us might have to stay here forever as Buddhist monks. For me, I dont have any problem, but I am afraid the two of you might unable to endure it. Breathing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Are you saying that we should go back empty-handed? Xu Ziling said, Seeing difficulty and turning back is not a real mans conduct. This is called a thief will have a thiefs way. However, there is not a single thing in this Buddhist Hall that is rational. Since Shi Feixuan has the confidence to entrust the Jade Annulus of He n, which rtes to the fate of the world, to them, she must be confident that they have the power to guard the treasure, and wont let you easily crash into the Copper Hall to snatch and take it away just like that. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong cast their gaze back toward the Copper Hall; they both felt big headache wasing. The entire monastery was suffused with enigmatic chill. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, Is it possible that as soon as the copper door is opened the rm bell will ring? Although it is just a widget, but very effective, and there is no way to break it. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, That is indeed a very intelligent method to guard against theft. If they hang bells inside the door, as soon as we open those two copper doors that weigh a thousand catty, it would be strange indeed if we do not fall into a trap. Chapter 1 - Part 2 Ding! Ding! Ding! Three sharp and clear chime-stone rings came from the main hall where the evening prayer session was being held. The sound of chanting stopped suddenly. The entire monastery fell into dead silence. The sound of insects chirping gradually filled up the air over the Temple and the mountaintop. Xu Ziling moved over. Along with Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, he craned his neck to look. They are out! Ba Fenghan hissed. One by one the monks, with their palms sped together, came out in single file from the main hall behind the Copper Hall. Kou Zhong said with augh, After reciting sutras for that long, they must be going to the toilet together before going to bed. Ha! If more than two hundred monks crowd into thetrine, Im sure some of them wont be able to hold his mothers while waiting for their turn. Ha! Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling did not know whether tough or to cry. And then their countenance changed. They saw that not only the monks walking out in single-file [orig. long snake formation] did not scatter, they were, under the leadership of one monk whose build was intimidating, wearing blue robe instead of the grey robes of the other monks, heading straight toward the white stone za. Other than the blue-robed monk, who was carrying a hundred-catty Buddhist Staff, all the monks had Buddhist beads in their hands. Their eyes looked down toward their nose, their nose looked down toward their heart, they walked solemnly. Yet given their field of view, which could not be narrower than that, they did not stumble and fall. Thetrine cant be this way, can it? Kou Zhong muttered under his breath. Ba Fenghan spected, Perhaps it is the Temples custom: after their evening session all those baldheads areing here for training before dispersing their separate ways. Seeing the dozen or so monks at the front were already entering the za, Xu Ziling could not help shrinking two cun shorter, leaving only his eyes peeping down from the railing of the bell tower. His scalp felt numb as he said, I hope that is the case! The three watched helplessly as the two hundred thirty-two monks, young and old, arranged themselves in a dozen or so neat formations on the open space between the Manjushri Bodhisattva and the bell tower, facing the Bodhisattva shrine. Although they were numerous, not a single sound was heard; not even their breathing. In addition to the big and tall monk wearing blue robe leading the procession, there were three other monks also wore blue robe just like his. Their shapes and sizes were all different. All four of them took their position on the four corners of the za. Hence it was very easy to guess that these four must be the Four Great Protector Vajra of the Jing Nian Chanyuan. From their vantage point looking down, the three were having a lot of trepidation in their hearts. They secretly thought that if these monks formed an army, they would definitely be bashing sideways and colliding straight on the battlefield, as if there was no one else there. Fortunately currently they all had their back to the three, so that they feel a bit morefortable. Kou Zhong muttered to himself, They must be waiting for that old fellow Liao Kong toe out and give his lecture. Turns out his silent meditation is just used to cheat some sesame oil. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling struggled hard not tough. Creak! While the three were dumbstruck, the copper double-door, which reached a zhang in height, opened on its own without any wind blowing, exposing the pitch-ck interior. They could not help rejoicing inwardly that a moment ago they did not rush in. Turned out there really was someone inside. Unless the copper door had wood core or perhaps hollow, the three realized that they did not have enough power to push the door that easily. And the one pushing the door open must be the powerful fellow inside who stood guard of the door. Only this kind of power has reached universally-shocking level. Although they were aware that Liao Kong was a martial art master, they had never thought that he was an expert of Ning Daoqi caliber. The crowd of monks called out the names of Buddha together, startling the three that they jumped in fright, while a feeling that they were being overly fearful [orig. to see a bow reflected in a cup and thought it was a snake] appeared in their heart. A tall and elegant looking monk, leisurely walked out of the Copper Hall and stood on the top of the white stone steps leading down to the za. Under the leadership of the Four Great Vajra, the crowd of monks put their palms together in salute. The three had never imagined that the Chanzhu, Liao Kong Dashi, who practiced silent meditation, was not an old monk who looked miserable, he was actually still this young and elegant. Looking at him from left and right, their estimate was that he was no more than about forty years of age. He was of slender build, confident and at ease, his nose straight, and looked like he had great personality. His upper lip curved like an arc, his lower lip was slightly upturned. When he raised his cupped hands to return the salute, there was some kind of indescribable charm around him, making his slim face looked extraordinarily handsome, carrying aid-back attitude. His neck thick and broad, his elegant and bright face carried some kind of beyond-worldly deep and righteous divine shine. His posture looked neither schrly and feeble, nor aloof and remotely overbearing; rather, it was one that made people looking at him feltfortable and natural. The most unforgettable was his pair of deep, unfathomable eyes, which could create a feeling of immeasurable mystery to those who came in contact with him, but which also made people did not dare to despise him. This Liao Kong was wearing yellow inner gown, with brown monk-style outer coat; his external appearance expressed his crane-in-a-flock-of-chicken transcendental stance. At this time, one of Protector Vajra shouted a chant. Just like the arm moves the finger, the rest of the monks, as if they were one body, turned around to face the bell tower, which rose about ten zhang high, and put their palms together in salute. The three were so scared that they immediately slipped down to sit on the floor, and looked at each other. Someone, unclear who, called out from below, Buddhism is a quiet ground, those who pass over are brought together by fate! These words had just ended, the crowd of monks raised their voices in chanting, wooden fish and bells resounded. There was a certain pattern, a cadence that rose and fell simr to the sound of chanting sutras. The night sky seemed to be infected with its serene atmosphere, which searched far into the profound and unfathomable outer space. Breathed out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong whispered, Have they found us out? This is very hard to say, Ba Fenghan replied, Or perhaps after chanting for a while they are going to disperse and go to bed? Nearest to the railings, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, I do not have an extravagant hope in this. Right now there are only two paths we can take: one, we immediately slipped out and forget about this Jade Annulus of He n; two, we stay here for a while, until a monke up here to ring the bell. Kou Zhong resolutely said, They have no reason to find us up here. That little white face [pretty boy] monk Liao Kong with the highest martial art skill was originally inside the Copper Hall hell. It should be just by coincidence that he is like that right now. No matter what we are definitely going to stay his mothers a while. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, First-ss martial art masters pay particr attention to advance when it is time to advance, and retreat when they ought to retreat. Although I cannot say that I am familiar with your Central ins temple rules and regtions, but I have never heard of chanting sutras toward Buddha and Bodhisattva and then turn toward the bell tower. It is clear that before the fight they are performing religious ceremony [to help the soul find peace] to the three of us, who, in their opinion, are people with serious crime. Merely one Liao Kong all of us added together may not necessarily be able to defeat. If you dont go, please forgive Xiaodi for not keeping youpany! With a bitterugh Kou Zhong said, You want to go then go! Why make it so hard, as if you did not like that I did not receive enough disappointment tonight? Right this moment, the rm went off in their hearts at the same time, so they turned their eyes toward the huge bell in the middle of the tower. Dang! Just before the bell rang, all three had already covered their ears. One Buddhist bead knocked the bell to ring it, and then it bounced off in front of the tree. Immediately their countenance changed. Turned out it was a copper ball, yet it could strike the giant bell that even the entire bell tower was shaken by the loud noise; what kind of Dhyana skill was this? Chapter 1 - Part 3 The sound of fluttering sleeve rose up. Naturally the three could not refrain from sticking their head out to look. All the monks downstairs, including Great Master Liao Kong, turned around to face the Copper Hall. Of course the three realized they had just been given the opportunity. Hastily they jumped down the bell tower and ran away into the wilderness. Back to the mountaintop they previously stopped by, still with a lot of lingering fears the three looked up at the Jing Nian Chanyuan on the distant hill, where they had just lived through nightmare. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, No wonder Shi Feixuan hid the Jade Annulus of He n in there. Unexpectedly there is such a powerful monk in this world! Dejected, Kou Zhong said, Wang Shichong really knows how to exploit people; he went so far as to tell me to scheme breaking into the Temple. When I get back, I will definitely settle the score with him, I will at least spank his butt three times. Ha! Ba Fenghan roared inughter, Its lucky that you are still interested in cracking jokes, he said, Never in my life I felt so useless like I did just now. I really wanted to burn his birds monastery to the ground. Noticing a hint of smile at the corner of Xu Zilings mouth, Kou Zhong praised, Ling Shaos cultivation is really good. Even after fumbling down such a huge setback, he is still as happy as a strong, dry small pump. Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, You yourself have your belly full of grievances, and you are looking elsewhere to vent your anger? How could you call yourself a Xiongdi? Kou Zhong wasughing so hard that he gasped for breath; pointing at Xu Ziling, he said, He looks like he is not only very happy, but he is ecstatic. Ol Ba, dont you feel that is strange? Xu Ziling burst outughing and said, Cantozi [I, your father] be happy? Isnt it not your, Kou Zhongs damn business? This time Ba Fenghan was astonished. Why does Ziling look really happy then? he asked. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Because this stealing treasure game has just begun, so I feel very good. Do you understand? Thatst remark drew nk expression on Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhongs face; they could only stare at him with eyes open wide but could not find anything to say. Unless he was crazy, nobody would dare toe back to steal the treasure. Xu Ziling went on, But you two must promise me one thing: you must not kill or injure any monk in the Temple. Stupefied, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan looked at each other. Those monks did note to kill or injure them, they ought to offer thanks to Buddha for their good fortune; how could they dare to hope otherwise? Xu Ziling proudly stood up. Looking at the flickering light of Jing Nian Chanyuan in the distance, he slyly said, The Jade Annulus of He n is in the Copper Hall. I can feel it. Kou Zhong was extremely baffled. So what if it is in there? he asked, Even if you are willing to let us go on a killing spree [orig. refrain from the oath of abstaining from killing], we do not have the slightest chance of sess. Ba Fenghan nodded in agreement. The difference in power between the two sides was simply too great. Xu Ziling smiled slightly and said, As long as we do one thing, the Jade Annulus of He n will be ours tonight. What thing? the other two asked together. Calmly, Xu Ziling replied, As long as we can go back to hide in the bell tower, sess is guaranteed. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Would Xu Shifu please speak a bit more clearly? Under the eager eyes of the two, Xu Ziling slyly said, A moment ago, just before the copper door was opened, I was able to feel the Jade Annulus of He n inside the Hall for the first time. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were stunned. If Xu Ziling had said, When the copper door started to open he could feel the Jade Annulus of He n inside the Hall, that would have been logical, the two would not be surprised. Because the meaning would be like opening the door to see things. Xu Ziling continued enthusiastically, It was approximately the ten-breathing period of time just before Liao Kong pushed the copper door open with his true power. If Xiaodis guessing correctly, until that moment Liao Kong was still using the Jade Annulus of He n to advance his training in some kind of Dhyana set of skill. Therefore, up to that moment I still did not feel the existence of the Jade Annulus of He n. It was only after the moment he withdrew his power that I was able to sense the Jade Annulus of He n. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Does it have anything to do with our chance of sess of stealing the treasure? Ba Fenghan spoke delightfully, Of course it does. Did Ziling feel any peculiar characteristic of the Jade Annulus of He n? Xu Ziling nodded. Precisely so, he replied, So much so that even Liao Kong is unable to curb it. Therefore, if we want to open the door and get out of the pass, we must leave now. Wang Shichong was not lying, the Jade Annulus of He n is constantly changing, but only martial art master of Dhyana way who has reached his innate boundary would be able to sense the peculiar power hidden inside the Jade Annulus of He n. You ought to be able to sense it too. Its just that at that time your mind was divided, plus the distance was far, so you could not detect its presence. Kou Zhongs confidence grew. He said, Quickly tell me your grand n to steal the treasure. Xu Ziling said, First, we have to assume that Wang Shichongs remark about the Jade Annulus of He n may follow the heavenly stars and changing constantly is not just a brag. If this is true, then the Jade Annulus of He ns changes also follow the stars, i.e. it follows a cycle. Ba Fenghan was shaken, Is Ziling referring to the Jade Annulus of He n gradually generates harmful changes to those who follow Dhyana way, and hence the monks must keep some distance away from the Copper Hall, and so they could only post guards at the periphery? he asked. Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, In the entire monastery, only the white stone za in front of the Copper Hall is brightly lit. As long as they stationed several monks withparatively good eyesight to keep watch, I am afraid even a housefly flying past would not escape their eyes. How are we going to enter the Hall? Its all a gamble, Xu Ziling admitted, My bet is that because Liao Kong is experiencing some setback in using the Jade Annulus of He n in his Dhyana training, he must find a quiet ce to train. This could be to our advantage. Ba Fenghan was puzzled, Just the Four Great Protectors Vajra plus more than two hundred monks with superior martial art skill we already cannot deal with. Looking at how well they are training, perhaps they even know some kind of Luohan Formation, Vajra Formation, or something like that. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said with a sigh, I get it. As long as we can lure them to fight in front of the Copper Hall, they would have to guard against the Jade Annulus of He ns influence more than we do. Perhaps after fighting once or twice we can cover our heads and slip away. Ha! This is really interesting. But afterwards, how are we going to escape? Xu Zilingughed and said, This is called in your eagerness you be confused. As long as we manage to snatch the Jade Annulus of He n away, it would be the same as obtaining the evil incantation to deal with the crowd of monks. But we must wait until the moment the Jade Annulus of He n is most harmful to them before we cany hands on the treasure and snatch it away. If we miss this opportunity, we will have to wait until the next cycle. But then the other side would guard against it even more! Ba Fenghan said, Ziling seems to be certain that we wont be like those monks who suffer the Jade Annulus of He ns harmful effect and have our power greatly reduced. What exactly is the reason for this? Xu Ziling smiled and said, It is purely my intuition. Because the Jade Annulus of He n only created in me the feeling that made me want to get close to it. But because it is beyond my capability to estimate what kind of state it would change into, we must go into hiding somewhere closest to the treasured jade annulus first, we must observe its change, and wait until the most fortunate timing before we make our move. Do you understand? Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans spirit soared, itpletely washed away the frustrated and useless mood they felt just a moment ago. Xu Zilings tiger-eyes were shing with spirited light. Just go! he spoke nonchntly. Leading the way, he shot out in the direction of Jing Nian Chanyuan. Book 14 - 2 – Extraordinary Treasure of Thousand Years Book 14 Chapter 2 C Extraordinary Treasure of Thousand Years The three took a different route this time, they went up the mountain from the direction of the monasterys rear wall. Naturally there would not be 808 steps leading up to the top here, instead, there was steep hill and dangerous cliffs. While crossing a brook winding through the foot of the cliff, Xu Ziling made a suggestion, If the three of us rob that thing together,ter on when those monks describe the heist, I guarantee that anybody would know that it was the three of us who did it. Presently we have enemies everywhere, if added to that number a bunch of monks and nuns with superior martial art skill, so much so that we provoked Ning Daoqi, our days would definitely be not easy. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong nodded in agreement. Due to the fact that not too long ago the three of them made public appearance at the Man Qing Yuan, plus their body build was different than ordinary people, if in thetter half of the night there were some people stealing something as a group, only the worlds greatest idiot [orig. stupid egg] would not be able to guess that it was them. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, But some things are going to be difficult to conceal. For example, our spiraling energy has be a wonder skill that is well-known throughout the world; we cant simply disappear after all these are done. Xu Ziling smiled and said, On that, you dont have to worry. My spiraling energy has reached the level where I could send and withdraw at will, with the speed that is ording to my wishes. To deliberately deceive people, I guarantee that there wont be any w. The other two were emotionally moved. With envy in his voice, Kou Zhong said, When will I be able to achieve a level like that? Ba Fenghan said, There is no need for you, Zhong Shao, to imitate Ziling. Everybodys talent is different, and everybody utilizes unique method in his growth, so it is best if you let everything runs its natural course. When Kou Zhong nodded acknowledging the instruction, Ba Fenghan said to Xu Ziling, Wed better lie low somece, and then when you seed in snatching the treasure, well cover you to retreat. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, In any case, you must not show yourselves and fight, or it will reveal our true identity. After a short pause, he sighed and said, This time we must not use force, we can only rely on the Jade Annulus of He ns unusual capability, to wait for an opportunity and make our move. If a fight broke with all those monks, there wont be any difference whether I am alone or the three of us fight together. Therefore, we can only have me, alone, to do the job, alone to try our luck. You two wait for me here. When I jump down the cliff, then you promptly cover for me. This kind of support will be most effective. Kou Zhong was greatly amazed, Xiao Ling, you have always been uninterested in the Jade Annulus of He n and my desire to vie over the world; why this time you are so proactive? Xu Ziling was nonchnt, The most fundamental reason is that at the bottom of my heart I agree with the Jade Annulus of He n, this kind of unusual treasure: virtue is the only thing worth talking about. Next, I am also curious; the Jade Annulus of He n might represent our three persons three different dreams. Ba Fenghan nodded, In my opinion, he said, The Jade Annulus of He n represents a stepping stone, which would make me take a step to the highest peak of martial art way. In Zhong Shaos opinion, it is the crucial point in his strive for the world; he would rather toss the treasured jade annulus into the sea than to let it fall into Li Shimins hands. And then, staring at Xu Ziling, he asked, But Ziling, what vision do you have with the Jade Annulus of He n? Xu Ziling took a deep breath and said, When I sensed the presence of the Jade Annulus of He n, there was a mysterious tranquility welling up in my heart, as if hidden deep within the jade annulus was some kind of secret truth of the universe that cannot be measured; therefore, the desire to seek it grew in my heart. From the bundle on his back Ba Fenghan took out a set of tight nightwalker outfit, which he handed to Xu Ziling and said, Theres not much time, you need to make your move right now. Perhaps tomorrow Liao Kong will have the Jade Annulus of He n moved out somece else. Kou Zhong said, Youd better make yourself look a bit older. After you leave, we will chant sutras for you, while thinking about how to handle the aftermath of the stolen treasure at the same time. The most important thing is that the three of us are unanimous: we will categorically deny everything. Just be careful! My good Xiongdi. Xu Ziling crouched down on the zed roof tile at the top of a temple building. The Copper Hall was already in sight, while the main gate and the brightly illuminated White Stone za were on the other side. He did not see even half a shadow of another human being. At the same time, he clearly sensed the Jade Annulus of He n inside the Copper Hall. It was a very strange feeling. It appeared that this rare and precious piece of jade, which name has been passed down throughout the ages, was emitting some kind of energy that was beyond anything that anybody could understand. In just a short period of a dozen breaths, the emission of this strange energy seemed to be doubled. Even with his level of self-cultivation, Xu Ziling was affected that a sense of restlessness appeared in his heart, so that he nearly wanted to turn around and leave. It was only now did he truly understand why all the monks in the monastery must keep away from the jade annulus. This moment he put on the mask, transforming himself into an old man. As long as he hunched his back a bit, he could guarantee that even an acquaintance would find it difficult to identify him. Moreover, with the hood covering his jet-ck hair, there was no w at all. On his back was a solid wooden sword that Kou Zhong carved for him, to confuse others ears and eyes even further. Xu Ziling took a deep breath. The true qi rose up from the yongquan acupoint on the sole of his right foot, and in an instant it roamed around his entire body. The jittery feeling disappeared. He could not help wondering inwardly and clicking his tongue in amazement, but was also greatly puzzled. If the Jade Annulus of He ns influence could be dissolved this easily, why did the monks in the monastery dread it like a tiger? But this moment he did not have time to worry about it. Raising a mouthful of true qi, he flew down the Hall and wound his way around the Copper Hall toward the main door facing the White Stone za. The names of Buddha sprang up everywhere. The sound of fluttering clothes came from four sides, eight directions. Dang! Dang! Dang! The Dhyana Halls bell tolled. Xu Ziling already anticipated all of these; without paying the slightest attention he dashed toward the door, grabbed the tworge brass rings and, exerting his energy, yanked them out. The Halls door began to open. A burst of cold stream assaulted his face; so cold that his blood nearly froze, the true qi in his body was dispersing randomly, making it hard for him to breath. Xu Ziling made a split-second decision; hastily he scattered the wandering energy and raised his inner power. The cold air immediately disappeared, everything was back to normal. Not daring to tarry, he immediately rushed inside the Hall. He felt as if he had just entered a copper shield, or perhaps wandered inside a bronze bell. The walls on all four sides were densely packed with tens of thousands small Buddha images made of cast copper, none was not exquisitely carved, lining the Halls wall between the cast copper column with no beam, bringing out the richness of the texture, resulting in splendorous and majestic, glistening with golden light, hallowed ambience. The light from the outside shone in from behind, casting his long shadow on the wall of the middle of the Hall, as well as to the door on the opposite side, making him suddenly ovee with a peculiar feeling of a thiefcking-in-confidence. And his shadow also fell onto the small copper table in the middle of the Hall, as well as several round meditation mats sitting behind the small copper table. A pure white, wless, glittering-jewel like jade seal [orig. rulers seal, symbol of authority], was sitting nicely on the copper table, aloof from worldly affair. The seal was engraved with five intertwined dragons, the craftsmanship was superb as if it was made in Heaven, but other thancking a horn, the splendor was inferior to gold. Xu Zilings spirit was shaken. Chapter 2 - Part 2 Outside the door, there was continuous sound of fluttering sleeves, but no one rushed into the Hall. This was the rare, priceless and unique treasure, the Jade Annulus of He n, which the warlords of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were falling over each other in their eagerness to obtain, thend under the heavens one and only priceless treasure from the tale Returning the Jade Annulus to Zhao, which was on everyones lips for all eternity, the one Qin Shihuang use to obtain the world and unify China. At this moment, suddenly Xu Ziling felt that his connection with his own countrys thousand-year history could not be broken. A gentle and reserved voice calling out the name of Buddha came from the door, followed by, Pinseng [lit. impoverished monk, a humble term use by monk of himself] Bu Chen [his name literally means not to be angry or no hatred] is the chief of our Temples Four Great Protector Vajra, with specific responsibility of guarding the treasure. If Shizhu [benevolent master (term used by a monk to address ayperson)] is willing to get back on the right path, Bu Chen promises to let Shizhu leave. Xu Ziling took a step forward and stretched out his hand to grab the treasured jade annulus. A burst of difficult-to-describe ice-cold air prated the palm of his hand and entered in. Deliberately changing his voice, Xu Ziling let out a harshughter and said with voice full of furious rage, Since Laofu dares toe to take the treasure, I have enough confidence that I am going to be able to leave. I just dont know whether Bu Chen believe it or not. A cold humph came from the outside, followed by a strong, overbearing voice shouting, Ignorant fanatic, you dare toe to Buddhists peaceful ce and disy shockingly bad behavior. If you donty down the treasured jade immediately and leave the holy temple, dont me my, Bu Chis [lit. not stupid/foolish] demon staff for not showing mercy. Xu Ziling quietly raised his true qi, while very carefully he sucked the cold air from the jade annulus into the palm of his left hand, passing through the yangyu meridian on the outside of his elbow, to the jianjing acupoint on his shoulder, and down toward dai meridian, and as the final stretch of the journey it went to du meridian on his back. Right now his biggest problem was that his qi has been dispersed, plus he received the Jade Annulus of He ns influence; if he could not change the situation, his only option was to obediently ept Bu Chens kind intention by abandoning the treasure and covering his head and sneaking away like a rat. Hence his most critical priority was to see whether he could rely on the Secret to Long Lifes fantastic inner qi to tame this treasure. Cold qi was everywhere. Xu Ziling felt as if his meridians were about ready to burst, the jittery feeling in his heart seemed to be ready to explode at any time, the hair on his body stood on its roots, and his eyes, ears, mouth and nose seemed to close up that the pain was unbearable. Only the zuqiao acupoint inside the yintang [not sure what it is, ӡ] on the space between his eyebrows still had rity, so that he did not turn crazy. While clenching his teeth to bear the pain, struggling hard to fight the threat of fire deviation, he roared inughter and said, Anybody dares to enter the Hall door even for half a step, I will apply my inner power to crush this trinket, so that nobody will get it. Another deep and low voice outside the door said, Pinseng Bu Tan [not greedy]. Shizhu is mistaken; for such thing as sacred treasure, it is the deepest mystery of God and Buddha who will determine its fate, absolutely not for a mortal to decide. If Shizhu can destroy this treasure, it is simply the Will of Heaven! This moment, Xu Zilings mind was fully focused on the Jade Annulus of He n, also concentrated the cold qi inside the meridians in his entire body; he was already at the stage where he could not bear anymore. The most frightening was that his whole body was unable to move a single step; even if he wanted to put the Jade Annulus of He n down, he did not have the strength to do so. Suddenly his energy and qi rose up violently. He clearly felt a huge Buddhist monk wasing down on his back, and yet he had absolutely no way of dodging or dealing with it. At the beginning he was still able to control the speed of the cold air going through his meridians, hoping to add to, and fuse with, the burning hot yang power within his body, to take full advantage of it. Who would have thought that as he absorbed the cold qi, the mysterious force from the Jade Annulus of He n suddenly grew exponentially? Like a surging tide and rolling waves it rushed into his system, turning itself into a vast and mighty, violent cold stream, so that his own true qi was smashed and crumbled into pieces. When any meridian was unable to withstand the iing pressure and burst, that would be the stage when fire-deviation was irreversible. While crying in his heart, my life is finished, the heavy Buddhist staff struck his back. With a loud bang Xu Zilings mind was severely shaken, his tiger-body violently shook, but to his own surprise he did not hear the sound of his flesh snapped and his bones shattered. Instead, he heard a stifled grunt from behind. Poof! Poof! Poof! Along with the sound of heavy breathing, he also heard footsteps going away, so he knew that the attacker was jolted by the reaction force and was staggering back out of the door. The instant he was hit by the staff, Xu Ziling felt his body rxed. It was as if the cold qi that was nearly causing him to suffer fire-deviation suddenly found a venting point, so just like a bursting dam, the flood of water was using the Buddhist staff as the channel to discharge out of his body. Furthermore, his body suddenly felt empty and floating; the feeling was so unbearable that his knees nearly gave up to bring him down to the floor, Xu Ziling did not dare to be negligence; he promptly aroused his inner qi. A wonderful thing happened. The snatching the heaven and the earth essence of the burning hot true qi from the yongquan acupoint of his left foot mixed with the Jade Annulus of He ns cold energy still from its source invading his body from the palm of his left hand. Realizing what happened, the quick-thinking Xu Ziling, this time learning from experience, regted his true qi to synchronize its speed with the iing cold qi from the Jade Annulus of He n, so that the two converged at the ocean of qi below his dantian, the most important acupoint shengsi qiao [life and death opening/orifice]. Bang! He heard the sound of heavy object falling to the ground and repeated shouts from behind him. Xu Ziling did not have the leisure to wait. He knew that if he did not immediately bring the Jade Annulus of He ns fantastic cold stream invading his body under control, this time he could forget about leaving this ce alive. With an abrupt intake of a mouthful of qi, he dispelled the jittery feeling and restlessness, which came from the Jade Annulus of He ns influence,pletely out of his mind and flung it far away into the ocean, while tightly guarding a bit of sobriety and calmness in his zuqiao acupoint, and putting his mindpletely on the ocean of qi. This was the basic skill concentrating the mind to enter the acupoint taught by Fu Junchuo. Its just that when Fu Junchuo taught him, she had never dreamed that he would use it under this special case that nobody has ever heard about. One hot, one cold, two qi powering from two different sources, like arrows entering the qi ocean. Xu Ziling knew that this was the moment between life and death, sess and failure. His spirit was as clear and quiet as the moon in the well, with the mind controlling the strength, transforming the true qi within his body into a vortex of strange energy, like a winding stick or a long snake, coiling itself around the cold qi from the Jade Annulus of He n entering his acupoints. If he had not had rich experience mutually linking his qi with Kou Zhongs yin and cold true qi, this moment his natural reaction would be trying to expel the terrifying cold qi invading his body with all his strength, and would not attempt to use it for his own. After training the converging yin and yang with Kou Zhong, within his true qi, there was yin hidden in the midst of yang, removing the danger of lone yang growing uncontrobly, but the true qi was still yang and hot; the yang was still dominant, with yin as the supplement. Only the cold qi from the Jade Annulus of He n was greatly different from Kou Zhongs; it grew and multiplied without end, brimming with vitality. Xu Ziling was unable to specifically define the cold qi from the Jade Annulus of He n. It was very different from any qi energy generated within the human body; it carried an irresistible force, enormous without equal. The small sized Jade Annulus of He n, only three cun square, stored some kind of seemingly endless, inexhaustible terrifying energy. The two streams of qi finally converged at the ocean of qi. Xu Ziling raised a mouthful of true qi again, he spun his own true qi to wind around the cold qi. Boom! He waspletely at a loss of what happened; only all his meridians felt expanding, and then immediately shrinking. Swelling and shrinking, he felt his nerve was being pounded by a big iron hammer. Chapter 2 - Part 3 Countless bizarre scenes, constantly shing in his brain between the swellings and the shrinkings. The sky full of stars, the vast emptiness, the fantastic realm that cannot be described with words. The space and time expanded without boundary. Wah! Xu Ziling vomited a mouthful of fresh blood. After his meridians were swelling and shrinking nobody knows how many times, he finally regained his clear-headedness. The cold qi in his body has disappearedpletely, reced by an extremely strange sensation; the meridians in his whole body seemed to be basking in the warmth of the sun. It was unspeakablyfortable. The cold qi from the Jade Annulus of He n seemed to stop pouring in into his body. Xu Ziling was still unclear of what was going on; only his mind and spirit felt clear and bright, and there was an indescribable ecstasy welling up in his heart. Turning around abruptly, he went out. The space outside the door was packed full of monks. Just outside the door, a bent Buddhist staff was lying on the ground. Seeing this, even Xu Ziling himself shivered inwardly. That was the representation of two violent, ferocious genuine forces shing against each other. On the stone steps outside the door, three Great Protector Vajra were supporting the big and tall monk with terrifying build. Thetters body was still trembling, with blood trickling down from the corner of his mouth, and a disbelief expression on his face. Xu Ziling knew the monk was injured by the jolt; inwardly saying Im sorry, he wiped the blood on his lips, with the extraordinary treasure of thousand ages, the Jade Annulus of He n, in his left hand, he walked over to thending at the top of the stone steps. Stars dotted the sky like chess pieces on the board, the night breeze was blowing gently. The Jade Annulus of He n radiated an indescribably glorious rays, the glittering of the treasure was overflowing. Everybody, including the Four Great Protector Vajra, backed off. Astonished, Xu Ziling looked at the treasured jade annulus resting in the palm of his hand, secretly wondering why he was nowpletely immune to the effect of the Jade Annulus of He ns peculiar power? Suddenly he remembered that he was in disguise as a hunchback old man, but now it was toote to remedy it. One of the Protector Vajra, an old monk around sixty years old with grizzled eyebrows, put his palms together and said, Shizhu can withstand Bu Chis full-power staff strike with your back, clearly your power is unrivaled; I wonder how should we address you? From his voice, Xu Ziling recognized him as the chief of the Four Great Protector Vajra, Monk Bu Chen. In his heart he was ashamed of the praise, but this moment he had no other choice. Altering his voice, he let out a howl ofughter while throwing his head back and said, Where is Liao Kong? I was about to look for him to settle a debt. Bu Chi struggled to free himself from hispanions support; taking a step forward, he shouted, What a scoundrel! Even if you handed over the treasure right now, dont ever think of leaving. Xu Ziling was ying the role of an arrogant and conceited old man, who considered everyone else beneath him. Naturally he had to continue to be believable;ughing aloud, he handed over the Jade Annulus of He n and said with a cold humph, If you have the ability,e and get it! Bu Chi immediately frowned, while taking two steps back in session. Another tall and thin Protector Vajra put his palms together and said, I wonder what gratitude and grudges does Shizhu have against our humble Temples Chanzhu, that you came here to settle a debt with him? Xu Ziling had a sudden realization: he knew that they were afraid of the Jade Annulus of He ns terrifying energy radiation; thats why they were stalling for time, hoping that Liao Kong, who was meditating in his private chamber, woulde promptly to handle this situation himself. Thinking that if he did not leave now, what was he waiting for? With a bigugh he said, That debt can be settledter! Right now I am terribly itching; whos going to y with me? His right hand grabbed the pomegranate wooden sword, his left hand held the Jade Annulus of He n, he dashed down the stone steps. An enormous force, like an imprable wall, pressed down on Bu Chen, four men. Bu Chen, who bore the brunt of the attack, brandished his staff, sweeping across him. Obviously he did not want Xu Ziling to get close to them. What he was afraid of naturally was not Xu Ziling, but the Jade Annulus of He n in his left hand. Xu Ziling noticed that although the sweep looked simple and ordinary, within the sweep there were countless changes and follow-up moves, coupled with fantastic and mysterious footwork. It was indeed not easy to ward off. The most formidable thing was that the sweep of the staff started slowly, but turning fast, with a powerful qi shrouding him so that he could not get away. At the same time, he also felt the Jade Annulus of He ns extraordinary power was diminishing. If he ever got himself entangled by these monks terrifying formation, the final oue would be he had to fight with all his might and perish here. Other than Bu Chi, who kept out of the way due to his injury, the short and stout Bu Ju [no fear] and the tall and thin Bu Tan brandished their staffs simultaneously. Xu Ziling was well aware that if he did not take the advantage to escape while he was not under siege yet, he might never get a chance to flee. A wild roar. The pomegranate wooden sword sliced through; it heavily attacked Bu Chens sweeping Buddhist staff. His left hand, carrying the Jade Annulus of He n, made a circle in the air. The three monks attack suddenly halted. Bang! Qi forces collided. Xu Ziling cried inwardly, I am lucky! Borrowing the reaction force, he flew up. A few somersaultter, he was already above the Copper Halls roof, and to his surprise he found out that the entire Copper Hall was surrounded by staff-wielding monks, while the dozen or so monks hiding on the top of the Hall called out the name of Buddha in unison, waiting for the moment Xu Zilingnded on top of the Hall. Shocked, Xu Ziling immediately raised a mouthful of qi. A fantastic thing happened. Previously, he had never tried to take a breath while flying in the air, but only used the residue of power within his body to continue, which naturally could notpare with the new power he generated when he started to soar. But this moment waspletely different. The true qi within his body was like the breaking out mountain sh flood; it surpassed the previous one, as if the meridian itself was full of infinite power. This kind of feeling was like his entire body was able to circle in the air. Hu! Xu Ziling made another somersault over the Copper Halls roof, while at the same time he evaded Bu Ju and Bu Tans, who were also flying in the air in hot pursuit, attacks. By the time Bu Ju and Bu Tannded on top of the Copper Hall, Xu Ziling was already approximately ten zhang away from the top of the Hall. More than a dozen monks immediately raised their qi, as well as their voices, as they threw the Buddhist staffs in their hands toward him. Certainly none of the Jing Nian Chanyuans monks did not have superior martial art skill. These dozen or so Buddhist staffs were very urate. But Xu Ziling was not the target; rather, the staffs were surrounding him, closing up any escape path he might take, so that the staffs became an inescapable closing in on him. The sound of qi splitting the air filled the space above the Copper Hall. Yet Xu Ziling remained calm without the slightest hint of fear. He suddenly sank down. This moment two Buddhist staffs shot out at the speed of lightning. The toes on Xu Zilings two feet pointed out, separately touching the head of the staffs. Pow! Pow! His direction changed. Like a lightninging out of a clump of ck cloud he flew horizontally over another big Hall. Under the helpless look of the monks surrounding the Copper Hall, he crossed over, and flew in the direction of the rear courtyard. Book 14 - 3 – Altering the Acupoint, Exchanging Meridians Book 14 Chapter 3 C Altering the Acupoint, Exchanging Meridians Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were eagerly looking up and around. On the starry sky under the moonlight, Xu Zilings familiar shadow appeared; small at first, but quickly growing bigger. Hastily they raised their power, ready to provide support. Amidst the light flutter of the sleeve, Xu Ziling came to within three zhang above their heads. Suddenly he flipped over, and miraculously slowed down. And then light and easy like a falling leaf he floated for about a zhang, before finallynded on the ground. Afterwards he staggered a little bit and nearly falling on his butt on the ground. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were stupefied. Although this cliff could not be considered high, but it was at least thirty zhang tall. Upon introspection, they realized that if they jumped down, although they would not die, but at least they would receive light injury from the shock; they could not do like Xu Ziling just did. By the time they rushed over, Xu Ziling was already one step ahead by darting toward the woods on the opposite cliff. Of course the other two knew what was going on; without wasting any time they followed his lead. After running for more than twenty li at a stretch, the three stopped in a dense forest at the foot of a mountain. Opening up his left hand, Xu Ziling smiled and said, Look! It was because of this treasure that Lin Xiangrus [3rd century BC famous statesman of Zhao] name spread throughout all ages. The two were unable to take their eyes off the treasure in Xu Zilings hand. Kou Zhong reached out to take it, Ow! he cried and said, My heavens! Why is it so scalding hot? Xu Ziling was dumbstruck, Thats impossible, he said, It is clearly as cold as an ice cube. Kou Zhong handed it over to Ba Fenghan and said, You be the judge; is it cold, or is it hot? Very carefully Ba Fenghan took it. The first to capture his attention was the engraving, Ordinary Han characters I know, but these eight undecipherable writing, do you know what they say? Kou Zhong leaned over to look; shaking his head, he said, This is bird-shaped seal character, we need Wang Tong here to read it. Ol Ba! I wanted you to feel this ghost thingy, whether it is cold or hot, not to research what characters are engraved on it. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Right now my heart is calm; I feel so rxed andfortable. Evidently the legend that the Jade Annulus of He n can calm and subdue the mind is not fabricated. Xu Ziling reached out to gently stroke the characters engraved on the seal. With his fingertips he traced two simplest characters and said, Although I do not recognize these two characters, I can guess what it is; it must me Yu Tian [from heaven] two characters. It is really strange that a moment ago this ghost thingy was able to make people feel agitated and wish to die, but now its giving people light, rxed feeling. Kou Zhong also reached out to stroke the characters; he said, The first two characters should be Shou Ming [ordained/appointed], and thest two characters are Yong Chang [forever/eternally prosperous]. Ha! Shou Ming, Yu Tian, something something, Yong Chang, only two characters are not recognizable. The three of usbined ought to be equal to six out of eight Wang Tong. All along Ba Fenghans attention was focused on the treasured seal he held on his open palm. His eyes shining with strange light, he said, And now do you guys feel this is cold, or hot? Of course it is hot! Kou Zhong eximed. Amazed, Xu Ziling said, What seems to be the problem? How could there be hot jade and stone? The two boys turned to Ba Fenghan, waiting for his answer. Ba Fenghans whole face lit up; he said, I have never seen jade and stone with this kind of texture, with cold inside the heat, and heat inside the cold. Even more, there seems to be endless energy hidden inside. If we could use it for ourselves and carefully research it, I am sure there will be some previously unimagined gain. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Problem is even the nuns and the monks of Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Jing Nian Chanyuan are unable to do anything about it; what can we possibly do? Tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, I have a way. While there is still another sichen before daybreak, we immediately research it, hoping for some result. If our inner power cannot advance greatly in a short period of time, tomorrow will be our unbearable day! The three went into hiding at the top of a mountain about fifty li east of Jing Nian Chanyuan, where they sat cross-legged around arge piece of t rock, with the rare treasure ced in the middle of the t rock. In the pitch-ck night before dawn, under the starlight above, it emitted an extraordinary splendor, so that they were overwhelmed with an out-of-the-ordinary, free-from-vulgarity, immeasurable-mystery, fantastic feeling. When Xu Ziling had finished narrating what he went through and what he felt during the stealing of the treasure in the Copper Hall, Ba Fenghan spoke in delight, Ziling, on this kind of situation, former sage has already said it well; it is known as shedding ones mortal body and exchange ones bones, or perhaps washing the marrow and exchanging the tendon; while actually it is only strengthening the meridians and intensify the ability, increasing the capacity of the true qi, or perhaps increasing the speed of the qi power flow. It looks like Ziling is suitable to have the good fortune, as well as foundation, of bing top-tier martial art master. Usually this kind of process will take long years of struggling arduously, but you have obtained it in mere several breaths. It is indeed unprecedented in the Wulin history. Kou Zhong happily said, Does that mean Zilings skill has advanced tremendously? Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Skill, perhaps increased a little, but he still has to undergo a period of training. However, what he has is not small matter either. You should know that human power is sometimes exhausted, just like a bucket; it could only contain a fixed amount of water. After the transformation driven by the Jade Annulus of He n, Ziling has been transformed from merely a bucket to be nobody-knows-how-deep a pool. Afterwards, it will depend on Ziling on how much water he can absorb. Xu Ziling wholeheartedly epted the enlightenment; he said, That was what I feel. Fenghan Xiongs analysis is very urate. Sucking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, And now how are we going to deal with this treasure? Ba Fenghan also frowned. Do I have to wait for this treasured jade annulus to turn berserk and raging fiercely before I can absorb its energy? he asked. Having foreknowledge, Xu Ziling replied, That is unnecessary, plus it will be too dangerous. Could it be that I have to beat you as hard as I can with a staff? Kou Zhong nodded. I understand, he said, Xiao Ling, why dont you tell Ol Ba the details of what you were going through? I am going to check around, perchance someone was hiding nearby and we didnt know it. After Kou Zhong left, Xu Ziling said, This move of mine was stolen from Wanwan; i.e. I gathered all my true qi in the shengsi qiao acupoint at the ocean of qi, so that the meridians do not have the least bit of true qi, so that we can repeat what happened within my body caused by the Jade Annulus of He n, and can acquire its energy. After pondering silently for half a day, Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Now I know what true brotherhood is. If it were other people, it would be strange indeed if he did not do anything in his power to monopolize the treasure. But you guys merely treated it just like eating a meal or drinking wine, without giving it the slightest thought. Just from this fact alone, I, Ba Fenghan, submit to you wholeheartedly. Xu Zilingughed and said, This is called blessing will be enjoyed together! And then he carefully exined how to circte the power. This moment Kou Zhong returned. The three of them sat in formation. Xu Ziling sat in front, Kou Zhong at the rear, and Ba Fenghan in the middle. The two men on the back had their palm pressed onto the middle of the back of the person in front of him, while Xu Ziling was holding the Jade Annulus of He n in his hand. After taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling said, Begin! Suddenly applying his power, his right foot was burning hot, the true qi from his entire body entered the Jade Annulus of He n. The treasured jade annulus immediately lit up with dazzlingly bright color. All three of them were severely shaken at the same time, as if they were electrocuted. It was an intense feeling that was hard to describe. It was as if the Jade Annulus of He n came alive and radiated an iparably lively extraordinary power that was trying to invade their brain and body. Strange and unfamiliar scenes flitted through their mind, making them jittery and nearly driving them mad and making them wanted to scream, as if they had fallen into a nightmare from which they could not extricate themselves. Xu Zilings true qi, which originated from the Secret to Long Life, hastened the violent aspect of the treasured jade annulus. But this time they were like riding a tiger, from which they could not get off; they could not stop even if they wanted to. The three could only disperse the qi power within their body, while maintaining a little bit of rity in the taizu qiao acupoint, and keep pressing on. Xu Ziling, who bore the brunt of the Jade Annulus of He n, felt that the extraordinary energy within it was many times more violent than thest time; it unceasingly surged up like an escaping wild horse, entering the palm of his hand, then bursting through each and every one of his meridians, big and small, in his entire body. Xu Ziling has never imagined this situation would happen. The instant he felt that he gained control over the true qi in his meridians strengthening his body, the qi and blood in his entire body seemed to freeze up, while the coldness of the Jade Annulus of He n was increasing steadily without any sign that it would stop soon. Ba Fenghan immediately detected that something went wrong; he knew that Xu Ziling already lost control over the Jade Annulus of He n. Suddenly he was faced with the most painful decision he had to make in his entire life. If he removed his palm from Xu Zilings back, which had turned as cold as ice and snow, he would be able to escape unscathed. But Xu Ziling definitely would be done for. If he continued doing what Xu Ziling taught him to, the oue might very well be the same as the Buddhist staff Bu Chi used to strike Xu Ziling, i.e. he had to sacrifice himself to withstand the blow. Ferociously clenching his teeth, Ba Fenghan applied his power for a sudden intake of a breath. A cold stream like torrential flood after the storm surged violently into Ba Fenghans system. Wah! Ba Fenghan spurted mouthful after mouthful of fresh blood, spraying on and turning Xu Zilings head, neck and back, dark red; it was shocking the eye, astonishing the heart. It was as if the palm of his hand has be the bridge connecting the two peoples meridians. The strangest thing happened. When the unusual qi prated his palm, it was still bone-chilling cold, but suddenly the heat and the cold rolled up together as a stream, like a million naughty and repulsive rats were scurrying around wildly all over his body, with no meridian was spared. The strangest thing was that clearly the cold stream was a lot stronger than the heat stream. Even with Ba Fenghans firm, steadfast willpower, he nearly could not help screaming. The qi and blood in his entire body swelled. His meridians felt as if it was ready to explode. This kind of pain was clearly beyond the limit of pain that anybody was able to endure. When the strange qi from the Jade Annulus of He n going through Xu Zilings body, during the exit it automatically rushed out in the spiraling manner, and thus the emissive destructive power was multiplied. Kou Zhong at the back already saw Ba Fenghan spurting out blood, followed by the two were shaking violently, while Ba Fenghans back alternated between cold and hot; so he knew something was terribly wrong. But he did not know that Ba Fenghan was in the battle between Man and Heaven. Without even thinking, immediately he used all his strength to absorb the strange qi from Ba Fenghans body. Wah! Just like Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong also spurted blood. It was scorching hot that he felt his meridians were about to dissolve from the heat and turned into violent flow, which immediately piercing through his whole body. In that instant, Kou Zhong knew that the fate of all three of them was entirely in his hand. If he let the strange qi conquer him, the three of them would end with their meridians burst open. He had to send the strange qi back into Ba Fenghans system, and in turn would have to be transferred back to Xu Ziling, until finally Xu Ziling had to send it back into the dreadful-like-the-gods-or-the-demons Jade Annulus of He n, bringing about aplete circle. At this time the threes meridians were still linked without any barrier. Kou Zhong had just had this thought, the spiraling cold qi he stored in his ocean of qi rushed forth in full-strength, meeting the heat energy that was entering his meridians, as swift as the lightning, head-on. Boom! The nerves on the entire body of all three persons were split like they were struck by violent lightning; all three of them could not help spurting out more blood. Chapter 3 - Part 2 Ba Fenghan felt the cold/hot intertwined spiraling qi were circling back and forth; but this time it was not too cold. Rather, the bnce between cold and hot was just right, so that he felt unspeakablyfortable and at ease. Evidently its destructive nature has been greatly reduced. Originally he had made up his mind to face death, but now that things took turn for the better, his spirit aroused, he took advantage of the iing momentum by first drawing the qi power toward his dantian, and then let his meridian carried it through into Xu Zilings body. Xu Ziling also felt his originally icy-cold meridians turned pleasantly warm somewhat; immediately he also pacified this slight difference to recover his vitality. Quickly he used his thought to control the flow of qi, from the scorching hot yongquan acupoint on his right foot pierced through his body, while returning the cold stream to its rightful owner, back to the Jade Annulus of He n, which tightly gripped in his two hands. Kou Zhong at the back constantly generating cold qi from his tianling acupoint, striving his hardest to reconcile it with the hot stream entering his body. Strange things happened. The Jade Annulus of He ns brightness was constantly increasing at an rming rate, until it was as bright as the moon in the sky, its brilliance sparkled brightly; it was strange to the extreme. The strange thing was that the stream of qi was constantly circting inside the three mens meridians, from the icy-cold it split apart into the intertwining cold and heat, and it was only upon reaching Kou Zhongs system that it turned into heat energy. Furthermore, it was flowing faster and faster, until finally it went out of the three mens control, as it continued to cycle without any sign that it would stop any time soon. The yongquan acupoint on Xu Zilings left foot grew increasingly hot, while Kou Zhongs tianling acupoint grew increasingly cold. Under normal circumstances, the two boys would not be able to endure these abrupt changes from hot to cold and vice versa. But this moment they felt that the colder the better, the hotter the more wonderful it was. All kinds of illusions flitted across their brains; this one rose up the other one disappeared, in an endless string of strange scenes. Several cyclester, the cold and hot stream in Ba Fenghan system was approaching its equilibrium; the strong and weak locked in a stalemate. Even with his vast experience and knowledge, after traveling ten thousand li, Ba Fenghan did not understand exactly what happened at the moment. In a word, from the time Xu Ziling released the cold qi and it entered his body to cause the cold/hot flow, which deviate from cold, and the time Kou Zhong returning the flow, it turned into cold/hotbined flow, which deviate from hot. What he really wanted to do, and the only thing that he could use, was trying to bring the true qi inside his body to a bnce cold/hot flow. Because the strength or weakness of these cold and hot flow was changing constantly, Ba Fenghan was like a tight-rope walker over a high cliff, unleashing everything he had just to maintain the equilibrium; otherwise he would lose his footing and fall into the cliff to end up having his body torn and his bones crushed. By this time Xu Ziling was already able to move his own true qi, although he was still unable to cutoff the iing huge qi from the Jade Annulus of He n, which surging up violently. Fortunately the meridians are divided into yin and yang. The cold qi from the Jade Annulus of He n wasing from the yang meridian, entering via the palm of Ba Fenghans hand. Coming back from Ba Fenghan, the intertwined cold/hot true energy returning inside the jade annulus wasing from the yin meridians. Each cycle of the flow of qi had made the three mens meridians to be swelling a little. After the flow was getting faster and faster, suddenly it slowed down. In this way the fast flow became slow, and the slow flow became fast. It kept cycling like this for no one knows how many times and how much time passed. Suddenly all three of them felt sharp pain like the heaven fell and the earth rent, the meridians inside their body seemed to be bursting open, their bodies sprang up at the same time. Xu Ziling fell forward, while Kou Zhong fell back. Ba Fenghans entire body was thrown up halfway into the air, before it fell heavily on the grassy ground. Lying down on the ground, the three could only pant, and momentarily they were unable to crawl back up. But they all knew that some extremely fantastic thing had happened inside their bodies. Ba Fenghan groaned, and was the first to get up. He found out that his entire body, from head to foot, was drenched in sweat; moreover, the sweat beads were ckish and smelled fishy, but his body felt rxed and extremelyfortable. Opening his eyes to look around, the whole world looked different. The forest of the mountain tops near and far appeared to be a different world. Not only the color gradation and richness appeared to be enhanced many times over, the most emotionally moving was that in just a nce, he seemed to be able to distinguish the difference poses and different expressions of each leafs movement under the morning light and the gentle breeze. Ba Fenghan was so moved that his body was shaking violently as he kneeled down, with hot tears welled up uncontrobly in his eye sockets. As he closed his eyes, the heaven and earth inside and outside immediately water and milk blended into one entity. The warm sunshine radiated from the east, casting its light on his body. From not having a moment of his own, it was as if presently he felt he has received his existence, the meaning of his life. Ba Fenghan unleashed the method to look deep into himself, and was immediately gob smacked. There was also a burst ecstasy and a feeling that he no longer needed to search for something to satisfy his need. As he said earlier, his meridians were thus reinforced many times over. Although it could not be said that his skill had been increased tremendously, but as long as he consistently made intensive effort to cultivate his skill, he certainly could achieve twice the effect with half the work. It should be noted that humans strength was sometimes limited. For a martial art master of Ba Fenghans caliber, even a cun advancement could be more difficult than ascending the heaven. But after undergoing such a singr transformation like the course of events just now, he would be like a clear puddle that turned into bottomless deep natural pond. Every single acupoint, every channel, would be like shedding ones mortal body and exchanging ones bones by turning into unlimited storehouse of growth potential. Naturally it had made him so happy that he nearly went mad. Suddenly Kou Zhongs voice entered his ears, My Niang! Why am I so smelly? Ba Fenghan opened his tiger-eyes. Xu Ziing and Kou Zhong sat up; with a nk expression they turned their eyes toward the rising sun in the east, and then they vigorously sniffed the sweats on their palms. In a veryical way Kou Zhong crawled on his hands and feet toward Ba Fenghan and said, Ol Ba, howe you suddenly be more handsome? Your whole face is shining. It looks like the Jade Annulus of He ns best feature is to be used as skin moistener. Using the sleeve of his clothes, Ba Fenghan wiped the dirt umted on his face from indistinguishable sweats and tears;ughing involuntarily, he said, Although you are not dead yet, but I think you have turned crazy. You dont have any manners at all. The two looked face to face for a moment, and then they roared inughter together. However, as why they wereughing, what was so amusing that theyughed, nobody knew for sure. Xu Ziling was still staring nkly at the sun. Exhaling a mouthful of air, Xu Ziling said, I am staring directly at the sun, howe I do not feel the re? The two quickly turned their gaze toward the sun; the usually ring sunlight felt so warm andfortable. It was definitely different than usual. With a dreamy sigh Kou Zhong said, My Niang! Turns out the sun is a big ball of fire; howe usually I could not see it? His heart moved, Ba Fenghan asked, Where is the Jade Annulus of He n? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling opened up both palms, which were covered in fine-powder like substance, interspersed with bits of irregr-shaped pieces of gold, which also looked like their shapes have been changed by some kind of powerfulpression. The two stared at the remnants on his palms. They blurted in disbelief, Is that the Jade Annulus of He n? The extraordinary treasure, which fame spread out throughout the ages, has be a pile of dust? Xu Ziling nodded, This thing has just burst into dust in my hands. Finished! The Jade Annulus of He n is finished! Clicking his tongue, Kou Zhong said, We carefully scrape the dust from Xiao Lings hands,ter on well find a way to repair it. Maybe there are people who can work wonders. Ba Fenghan and Xu Zilingughed and swore at him. Kou Zhong alsoughed aloud, sprang up, assuming a grand-ruler-facing-the-world attitude, he shouted, Who dares to say that I, Kou Zhong, did not receive the Heavensmand to be the Son of Heaven? Even the Jade Annulus of He n has be one with me. I am the treasured seal of the Emperor by the grace of Heaven. The treasured ruler seal is me. Anything I sign using either my fingers or my toes will be the imperial seal. Ha! Ba Fenghan returned to his calm andposed demeanor. Rising up to his full height, he said, Do not get carried away. The trouble that we face because we stole the jade annulus is just the beginning. Now we need to look for a stream to wash clean the dirt and bloodstain from our bodies, and then we need to fabricate a decent story to exin where we werest night. We will deny categorically that it was us who stole the Jade Annulus of He n; otherwise, before we even be genuine martial art masters, the nuns and monks of Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Jing Nian Chanyuan will brandish their sticks randomly to beat us to the death. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, No wonder they say that those with riches and honor are beyond the fear of death, unlike the rotten life of the poor. Come! The earlier we return to the city, the more we wont attract other peoples suspicion. I still need to make a private appointment to meet and deal with Wang Shichong, that old fox! Amidst theirughter, the three left the jungle. Book 14 - 4 – Coming in with Ferocious Momentum Book 14 Chapter 4 C Coming in with Ferocious Momentum Stunned, Wang Shichong asked, Didnt the Jade Annulus of He n fall into your hands? And thus with that question Kou Zhong knew for sure that there was some mole in Jing Nian Chanyuan that sent information back to Wang Shichong. Because he knew that the Jade Annulus of He n has been stolen, hence he was surprised that the one stole the jade treasure was not Kou Zhong. This morning, after the three washed all the traces fromst nights heist at a clear stream, they buried all evidence, including masks, clothing, and pomegranate wooden sword, in a secure ce before swaggering back into the city. The guards at the gate were all Wang Shichongs men; they immediately stopped Kou Zhong and invited him to see Wang Shichong. And this Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan parted ways as well. The former went out on some fictitious errand, thetter went to Princess Dong Ming to fish for information. Inside the secret chamber. Kou Zhong put an act by smiling wryly as he sat down; with a sigh he said, I dont want to talk about it! We did touch the bell tower of the Monastery, who would have thought that baldhead Liao Kong detected our presence and mobilized several hundred to chant salvation prayers for us? Without any choice we had to sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat. Wang Shichongs eyes shed with cold rays. After ring at him for a moment, he asked in astonishment, Lets not talk about the Jade Annulus of He n first, howe your countenance and your eyes look a bit different than before? Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs and said, This is called mastery of study lies in diligence, also amusement in destion. Last night after escaping the Jing Nian Chanyuan, we had nothing to do, so we went to a mountaintop nearby and used our true qi to open up each others meridians. Since Wanggong [king and duke] is able to see it, it shows that our training method is really effective. This was the alibi that the three fabricated. Lies hidden within the truth, and truth contained within the lies. Even someone as cunning as Wang Shichong would find it hard to differentiate true or bogus. Kou Zhong then frowned and said, Listening to the tone of Wanggongs voice, it looks like the Jade Annulus of He n has been stolen. This is not possible. First, Jing Nian Chanyuan is like the Imperial City, to find a tiny precious jade is like fishing a needle from the sea. Second, everybody in the Monastery has superior martial art skill, Liao Kong is even more deep and immeasurable; unless you, Wanggong deploy arge army to storm in, all we could do is just standing at the bottom of that eight-hundred plus stone step leading into the front gate of the Temple, heaving a sigh. Wang Shichong was slient for half a day. Finally he sighed and spoke dejectedly, Its useless even if I believed you. Just now Jing Nian Chanyuan sent a messenger to me, asking me to inform you that tonight before the Zi hour [11pm C 1am] you are to return the Jade Annulus of He n to the Monastery. Otherwise they wont spare any effort to get the Jade Annulus of He n back from you. Under this circumstance, even I will be helpless to protect you. Kou Zhong suddenly flew into a rage, This is preposterous! Even if they killed me I could not hand over that pain-in-the-butt ghost jade annulus to them. Thest sentence was an absolute truth. But by saying that, Wang Shichong overthrew Kou Zhongs conjecture earlier that he had a mole in the Monastery sending him secret information. Frowning, Wang Shichong said, Liao Kong has never paid any attention to the affairs of the world, but this time due to the lost treasure is true fire has been ignited. As chance has it, just before the treasure is stolen, you happened toe over there, hence even if you jump into the Yellow River, it will be difficult to wash the suspicion from you. It would be best if the three of you lie low until the intensity of the fire dies down. I really do not wish to stand face to face with Jing Nian Chanyuan, Ci Hang Jing Zhai, so much so Ning Daoqi, as the enemy. Inwardly Kou Zhong cursed Wang Shichong as not having enough yiqi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice/code of brotherhood], but on the surface he put on an understanding expression as he said, Wanggong, set your heart at ease. I will definitely not put you on the spot. Hey! Am I free to go? Wang Shichong sighed and said, I know you must be ming me for not having enough friendship, but under current situation, I really cannot divide my attention to deal with such a formidable foe. However, if you indeed have something to do with the Jade Annulus of He n theft, naturally I will have the as the water receded, the rocks appear opportunity. Kou Zhong knew he did not believe the story concocted by the three of them; smiling, he said, Whom do I, Kou Zhong, fear? Even his mothers Shi Feixuan, baldhead Liao Kong, Old Demon Ning, if they insist on using me wrongly, let them e with their horses. Stretching out his hand, Wang Shichong pressed it down on Kou Zhongs shoulders. Kou Zhong thought he wanted to plot against him or perhaps take this opportunity to do a body search. Startled, the true qi within his body reacted naturally, in an instant his entire body was filled with true qi, in term of speed, it was at least double the previous speed, one of which bore through the jianjing acupoint on his shoulder and went straight into Wang Shichongs palm. Pow! As soon as Wang Shichongs palm touched Kou Zhongs shoulder, it was jolted out. What are you doing? he cried out in fear. Fortunately Wang Shichongs internal energy cultivation was quite deep, otherwise he would have been hurt. It was only then did Kou Zhong realize that he had misunderstood him. Quickly thinking of an excuse, he said, Reporting to Wanggong: the skill I learned from the Secret to Long Life oftentimes is out of my control. Wang Shichong circted his inner power to neutralize the vortex of qi invading his body. With a strange expression on his face, he said, Your power is a lot more superior than my original estimate. No wonder Shangguan Long was defeated under your hands. I forgot to ask you: after you caught him, how did you deal with him? Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Empress Yin, Zhu Yuyan personally made her move; she intercepted us and snatched that fellow away from us. Shaken, Wang Shichong asked, Zhu Yuyan? This time Kou Zhongs rueful smile was real; he said, If not her, who else? Who else would be able to snatch the fatty meat at the edge of our mouth? Ah yes, aboutst night: in the duel between Qu Ao and Fu Qian, who won and who lost? After staring wide-eyed at him for half a day, Wang Shichong revealed a hard-to-believe expression as he shook his head and said, Since Zhu Yuyan already made her move, how could she only take the person without taking lives? Letting out a cold snort, Kou Zhongs eyes shed spirited light, which was several times more intense than previously. He spoke heavily, It all depends on the contest of true ability. I admit that fighting one-on-one, I definitely am not her match, but with thebined power of all tree of us, she is helpless against us. Wanggong still has not replied my question. Wang Shichong exhaled and said, Do you know that when you got angry just now your eyes lit up with strange rays of light like the flickering stars in the sky? That is the innate true qi of the Man and Heaven touching each other realm; the Daoists call it empty space creating lightning. Although I have met countless capable people, but those whose eyes can emit golden rays like that cant be more than five people. No wonder Zhu Yuyan is unable to deal with you. Inwardly Kou Zhong was delighted, but he was also afraid to raise his suspicion again, hence he giggled and said, Wanggong praised me too much! How could I be that formidable? Its just that the Secret to Long Life is unusual; the beginning is indeed Man and Heaven touching each other, but I have not really reached the level of martial art aplishment Wanggong just said. Almost forget to ask you: is there any movement of the Dugu n on the other side? Didnt you say you have the Pce City heavily besieged? Howest night I saw Dugu Feng walking to and fro freely in Man Qing Yuan? Wang Shichong said, Do you remember the Beautiful Barbarian Lady Linglong Jiao? Not only she is beautiful and her martial art skill high, she is also intelligent and cunning, an expert in reconnaissance and intelligence about the enemy. Indeed she is a rare talent. The image of her cold-as-ice-and-frost, aloof and thousand-li-distant, yet brimming with strong feminine charm, moving appearance immediately floated in Kou Zhongs heart. Nodding, he said, My memory on beautiful women has always been good. Wang Shichongughed and said, Men should be like that. Theres no harm in telling you! She went into the Pce Cityst night to scout information. When she got back, she said that the Dugu n, from top to bottom, everybody was in high-spirit, full in confidence. As soon as I heard it, I knew something was amiss. Dugu Feng [summit, not phoenix] must have something up his sleeve, hence he could be this calm andposed, not afraid that I besiege the Pce City. After some deliberation, Xiyi Xiong, Kefeng Daoren [Taoist Priest] and Chen Zhanglin unanimously agreed: Our battle line has been stretched too thin. If the enemy attack, it would be hard for us to look after both the head and the tail. Therefore, we will concentrate our forces inside the Imperial City, while spread out secret agents inside the Pce City. In this way, we can advance to attack and retreat to defend; in terms of military tactic, this is a lot more brilliant. What do you think? Kou Zhong inwardly thought that this Beautiful Barbarian Lady was indeed a rare talent; unexpectedly she was able to deduce the situation based on the other sides demeanor. Nodding his head, he said, Linglong Jiaos insight is very urate. In my opinion, Dugu Feng is waiting for someone from Nanhai Pai. I heard that the Nanhai Xianweng [old immortal of the Southern Sea] Huang Gongcuo is rushing here. Wang Shichongs countenance changed, When did you obtain that information? How did Dugu Feng persuade him toe? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, Naturally Dugu Feng does not have that ability. But Li Mi has a close rtionship with Huang Gongcuo. It is also possible that the Nanhai Pai wants to expand their influence to the north. Theds passion meets thess desire, they are together from the first beat. Old man Huang and old woman You, the twobined equal to nearly two hundred years of power, they are really not easy to deal with. Wang Shichong rose up to his full height. He said, This is no small matter, I must deal with it immediately, otherwise we will die without knowing whats going on. Kou Zhong already understood his selfish personality. Leaving aside his question earlier about the oue of Fu Qian vs. Qu Aos decisive battle, he immediately took his leave. Stepping out of the strictly guarded Shangshu Mansion, Dong Shunis cute voice called out from behind, Kou Zhong! Where the hell have you been these past two days? By the time Xu Ziling stepped into the Dongjia Restraurant at the head of the Tianjin Bridge, more than a dozen pairs of eyes were immediately fixed on him. The restaurant was crowded as usual, the atmosphere was very lively, with more than half of the patrons were traveling merchants and Jianghu people from all over the country. Those who stared at him looked surprised, and then they whispered to each other. There were even some girls who threw amorous nces at him. Xu Ziling knew that it must be because at Man Qing Yuanst night he revealed his skill, so that he became an instant celebrity. Especially since they dared to stand up openly against Li Mi, Yin Gui Pai, Qu Ao, and other major powers, hence nobody dared to belittle them. Moreover,st night they uncovered Luoyang Bangs Shangguan Longs real identity, and even captured him using their real skill. This matter was rted to the rise and fall of the Wulin world of Luoyang; it would be strange indeed if it did not create quite a sensation all over the city. All these factors added together, overnight, the three men became Luoyangs most attractive figures. Turns out it is Xu Ye; is Kou Ye going toeter on? Shall Xiaoren take you to the VIP room upstairs? Turned out it was the same waiter who greeted them yesterday. It was unclear whether he had heard the rumor, but his manner was a lot more reverent and respectful, almost with trepidation,pared to the previous day. Xu Ziling actually wanted to find a quiet ce where he could spend time with himself. The purpose of his fictitious errand this time was to find himself. Sighing inwardly, he said, I aming alone, and I think the main hall will be a bit more lively. The waiter busily replied, Everything will be as Xu Ye wishes; Ill find a table for Xu Ye right away. Receiving such a grand and serious reception like this, Xu Ziling felt ufortable instead. Smiling indifferently, he said, Just call me when you find an empty table! I am going to enjoy the scenery of Tianjian Bridge outside. Without waiting for an answer, he simply walked out of the door. Chapter 4 - Part 2 Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, Sky, DongBin, you are wee. Ari, wee back! Hows baby? Almost one, I reckoned? Akw, thanks for sharing. Xu Xiong, Xiaohu ... I was just wondering because it is unusual; dont you think so? Under the sunny sky, people and vehicles wereing and going on the Tianjian Bridge, boats and vessels were traveling back and forth on the Luo River flowing under the Bridge. It was a bustling scene of the water andnd transport hub of a metropolis. This moment, someone was stepping out of the restaurant. When Xu Ziling was stepping aside to let him through, the man suddenly stuffed a ball of paper into his hand. Xu Ziling recognized the man was Xu Xingzhi; his anxiety vanished, he quickly put the crumpled piece of paper into his sleeve pocket. Xu Xingzhi walked up the Tianjin Bridge, and disappeared into the stream of people. Xu Ziling was about to return to tell the waiter not to bother finding him a table when a carriage halted right in front of him. The curtain lifted, revealing Shen Luoyans flowery jade countenance. This pretty military strategist, whose intelligence and nning and scheming skill was well-known throughout the world,ughed sweetly and said, Ziling! Would you get in the carriage to chat with me for a while? A feeling of disgust welled up in Xu Zilings heart; he coldly replied, We are treading different paths, we are not scheming against each other, what is there to talk about? Shen Luoyan did not pay him the slightest bit of attention; she said, Xu Gongzi is obviously unaware. Currently rumors are flying around the Eastern Capital like crazy, they all said that the Jade Annulus of He n has fallen into one of you and your two friends hands. This moment nobody do not rub their fists and wipe their palms in eagerness, vowing to wrest the treasure out of your hands. Dont you want to know a bit more news? Inwardly Xu Ziling was shivering in fear. Jing Nian Chanyuan lost the treasure just happened the previous night. If the Monastery people did not deliberately leak the news, how could the streets know and the alleys hear? But when Shen Luoyan spoke, it has always been difficult to tell the truth from the lies; perhaps she was exaggerating on purpose. Xu Ziling nonchntlyughed and said, No need to chat andugh! Although I know one possible location where the treasure might be stored, but upon self-examination, I know I do not have the qualification to steal it. And I dont believe someone really stole the ruler seal from there; you dont have to sound me out. Shen Luoyan stared at him for half a day, as if she was trying to tell whether he was telling the truth or was just lying to her. Finally she sighed grimly and said, If you are telling the truth, then you are in a really big trouble. Ci Hang Jing Zhai upies paramount position in Jianghu; nobody dares to mess with them! Xu Ziling pretended to be surprised, What are you talking about? he asked, You talk like the Jade Annulus of He n is really lost. Where did you hear it from? Shen Luoyan swept her gaze around, the passerbys eyes were on them, sizing them up. Slightly angry, she said, Just get in the cart and talk, all right? The big street and big alley, where people areing and going, is not the ce to talk about confidential matter. Xu Ziling smiled slightly and said, We have nothing to talk about, they want to think that I stole it, then let them think that I stole it! No longer paying attention to her, he turned left toward the Tianjin Bridge. He had only walked for a dozen paces when Shen Luoyan got off hear carriage and ran after him. Very angrily she said, What is your head made of? Such a stubborn and obstinate man. You were at the Jing Nian Chanyuan just before the treasure was lost; if I dont look for you, who should I look for? Although you put on a mask, but someone recognized your build. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; fortunately the opposite side still had no conclusive evidence. Its just that all he could do currently was to keep denying insistently. Shen Luoyan was wearing light yellow tight warrior outfit, her beauty wasparable to the glorious splendor of Luoyang City under the brilliant sun, which Xu Ziling was not in the mood to enjoy. Sighing, Xu Ziling said, Where exactly did you hear that from? Shen Luoyan replied indifferently, Do you know that Wang Bo and Liao Kong have close to fifty years of friendship? This morning he issued Wulin notice to men and horses of all sides, announcing the circumstances surrounding the theft of the Jade Annulus of He n. Furthermore, he said clearly that if by zi hour [11pm-1am] tonight you have not returned the treasure, he will stop at nothing to have the three of you killed. You still think this is a joke? Xu Ziling smiled and said, If I really the one who stole the treasure, I would have flown far awayst night; how could I stay here, waiting for others to give me bad luck? I dont care what would happen, if they have the ability, let theme to me! By this time the two have reached the Tianjian Bridge. The man was like deep and clear wine, elegant like an immortal amongst the mortals; the woman beautiful and alluring, lucid and elegant, just like a fairy descended to the world. Naturally they attracted the passer-byes nces and envious and admiring gaze. Who would have thought that they had the appearance of unity, but divided at heart? To talk further, there was this kind of intense murderous air in the radiance of spring between them. Shen Luoyan roused her spirit to walk with him for a short time; lightly stomping her tiny foot, she said, Since when did you be arrogant and wild like Kou Zhong? Do you know that after the zi hour tonight you will be Wulin worlds public enemy? Shi Feixuan and Ning Daoqi will be among those who will look for you. Top martial art masters from the most powerful schools and sects, both orthodox and heretical, will be your enemy. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, What can I do? I have no choice but to resist the iing troops, to build earth embankment when the floodes. Lowering her voice, Shen Luoyan said, If that thing is really in your hands, we can make a deal. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Even if it were in my hands, I would never make any deal with anybody rted to Li Mi. Shen Junshi, do you understand? Shen Luoyan hung her head in silence. She quietly came closer and spoke in tender voice, If I had nothing with Li Mi anymore, then what? Stunned, Xu Ziling cast her a quick nce; shaking his head in disbelief, he said, I can only think that you must be joking. Shen Luoyan heaved a deep sigh; she nodded and said, I know you wont believe me, but this time it is really for your own good. Perhaps the biggest problem is that practically there is not a single man who can ascertain who the big treasure thief is? The only possibility is one of you three in disguise, since the body type matches yours. A real man dares to do dares to admit; why should he be afraid of admitting what he had done? Wont he be afraid to be theughingstock of all men under the heavens? Her speech was very formidable, even Xu Ziling was nearly unable to withstand. Smiling bitterly, he said, That being the case, we have to take advantage before the zi hour to escape from Luoyang, because no matter how we plead our innocence, nobody is going to believe us. Shen Luoyan pulled him into a sidene; turning to the left and winding to the right, they finally arrived at a quiet ce. Lowering her voice, she said, This is precisely the deal I wanted to make with you, and it was Mi Gong [Duke Mi] himself who gave me instructions. As long as you admit that the Jade Annulus of He n is in your hands, not only we do not want you to hand it over to us, all old debts will be struck in one stroke. Furthermore, we will utilize all manpower and physical resources to bring you out of Luoyang. What do you think? Listening to this, even Xu Ziling had his heart slightly moved. Frowning, he said, Stop lying to me. Is Junshi saying that your boss does not wish to take the Jade Annulus of He n for his own? Shen Luoyan crossly said, Both you and Kou Zhong can be called smart, but can be also called stupid. Who didnt know that nobody does not want to have the Jade Annulus of He n? But definitely nobody is stupid enough to make his move to steal that thing. Itself, although the Jade Annulus of He n is the most famous precious jade since times immemorial, its true worth is actually on its historic significance and what it stands for. Moreover, originally this jade was held in safekeeping of the worlds most revered Ning Daoqi, and then from him, it was handed over to the representative of the White Way Wulin, Shi Feixuan. Only madman who does not wish to live would try to steal it. Do you really get it? Only when Shi Feixuan personally hands it over to you would this Jade Annulus of He n be able to y its intended role. Xu Ziling was puzzled, So your Mi Gong is already positive that Shi Feixuan wont pick him as the Jade Annulus of He ns true owner, and thus he would rather have the Jade Annulus of He n disappear forever? he asked. Smiling wryly, Shen Luoyan replied, If I denied that, then I would be lying to you. But under the circumstances, I am sure you would understand if I cant reveal anything more to you. After a short pause, she went on, Never, ever, underestimate Shi Feixuan. There is a very strong possibility that she would be Ning Daoqis sessor as the most outstanding grand master of the Wulin world of the Central ins. Just by looking at the swift and decisive way [orig. sound of thunder technique] she handled the missing treasure this time, we know that the method she is using is in profound congruence of the swordsmanship. Very soon you will be forced to a dead end! Xu Ziling cut her off with a cold snort, Therefore, if we really run away, it would be tantamount to admitting that we did steal the Jade Annulus of He n. Ha! Shen Junshi, your scheme this time is really brilliant, no wonder you are willing to write off our former hatred at one stroke! Its becauseter on, Shi Feixuan and Ning Daoqi will look for us to give us bad luck. Am I right? As if she was hurt, Shen Luoyan took a step back; her pretty face turned white. With ashen countenance, she furiously said, You really dont know others kind intention. That being the case, you will take responsibility of the aftermath yourselves! I have nothing more to say, just do your best. Stomping her feet in anger, she turned around and left. Xu Ziling remained standing still. A long whileter, he chuckled and said, Since friend already honored me with your presence, why dont you show up? From both ends of the alley cold snorts were heard simultaneously, followed by the Changbai Twin-Malevolent Fu Zhen and Fu Yan jumped down from the top of the wall. The former carried a long-handled ax made of pure steel, only he added a sharp-pointy awl on the ax head, making the weapon effective to chop, hack, as well as pierce, like a spear. Thetters weapon was even weirder; it looked like a sword, but was curved, the de and tip looked like a beak. In just a nce it was obvious that the style he used must be dangerous and odd. Xu Ziling was very well aware that he had fallen into Shen Luoyans carefullyid-out trap. This time the opponent must have spared no effort and was doing everything they could to have him either killed or captured alive. But remaining calm and without any fear he suddenly raised a mouthful of true qi, and took the initiative to charge the enemy. Dong Shuni pulled Kou Zhong asie to evade a toon of guards; pouting yfully she said, How messed up are you? Yesterday, for the whole day, I did not even see your shadow. You are just like heartless rat that as soon as your tummy is full, you ran away as far as you could. Seeing that the more than a dozen guards in front of Shangshu Mansions door were staring at them with eyes wide open, Kou Zhong was embarrassed. Cant you talk with a bit lower voice? he said. Dong Shuni broke out in an extremely charming smile; with an air of innocent, she nodded and said, As long as you are willing to apany me, nujia will naturally listen to you! Today she was wearing a tight-fitting warrior outfit, white skirt with red trimming, so that the curves of her beautiful body was shown in full light: whats supposed to be protruding was protruding, whats supposed to be small was small, brimming with youthful and fiery seductive charm. However, Kou Zhong was not in the mood to enjoy all of these; he said in astonishment, Didnt you say you dont like to see me anymore? Why this sudden change of heart? Pulling his sleeve, Dong Shuni walked alongside Kou Zhong along the main street of the Imperial City toward the South Gate of the Imperial City. With a child-like excitement, she said, Because, after thinking about it back and forth, I realized that among all these people, you are the best, unlike those people who crowd around me like houseflies swarm around honey. Much less Shangshu Daren basically has no intention of letting me to marry you; he even forbids me to have any rtionship with you. Kou Zhong cursed in his heart. Indeed Wang Shichong was up to no good. Perhaps the theft of the Jade Annulus of He n was no more than a trap. Its just that he never expected that Kou Zhong would be sessful, and now he was trying to shirk from responsibility and push this matter aside and wipe his hands clean. Putting her lips at his ear, Dong Shuni softly said, I want you to apany me in taking part in a dinner party. Well talk about ns for eloping then. What did you say? Kou Zhong blurted out. Book 14 - 5 – Songs of Chu on All Sides Book 14 Chapter 5 C Songs of Chu on All Sides[1] Xu Ziling nearly cried out in surprise. Because the instant he raised his true qi, the yongquan acupoints on the sole of both feet left and right turned one hot one cold: the cold qi from his left yongquan acupoint burst straight toward the Du meridian on his back, via wei zhen, passed through ni wan, followed the Ren meridian and downed to his dantian. The hot qi from his right foot was flowing on the opposite direction; upstream the Ren meridian, passed through the zuqiao acupoint between the eyebrows, through niwan and down Du meridian, and entered the dantian from the weiban acupoint on his backbone. The most amazing thing was that when the two different streams of hot qi met with each other at the niwan, immediately the two streams became a vortex: one along the other inverse, the two streams flowed swiftly in opposite direction within the meridians. Every time the flow arrived at certain acupoint, the true qi unexpectedly coalesced and expanded just like a whirlpool, making each acupoint inside him be like a storehouse of true power. His dantian thus became like the headquarter where his main force resided, while his thirty-six main acupoints became like the positions where his smaller squadrons were stationed. This has never happened before. Even during training with Kou Zhong, where the yin and the yang converged, it was merely yin hidden amidst the yang, and yang contained within the yin; unlike right now where the yongquan on his left foot was able to automatically absorb abundant innate yin qi from between the Heaven and the Earth. The only exnation was that the fantastic power of the Jade Annulus of He Can has thoroughly transformed his meridians, and not simply, as Ba Fenghan said, enhanced it. If formerly the meridians were like trickling water from a brook, currently it has be surging and rollingrge river. This kind of shedding ones mortal body and exchanging ones bones feeling was truly hard to describe. The sensitivity of all his senses was raised exponentially. Any sound within a hundred zhang radius around him could not escape his hearing. Even his skin was sensitive to the changes in the air induced by Fu Zhen, Fu Yan, two mens movement. An enormous momentum emanated from the two mens bodies. Its strength was not evenly distributed; rather, it followed the movements of their thoughts as they were constantly looking for any gap or weak point on Xu Zilings body that they could exploit; therefore, the intensity of the momentum was also constantly changing. He had never experienced this kind of clear understanding of what is true and what is false of the opponent; it was just like a somewhat blind person who suddenly gained his eyesight back. In that same instant, he also sensed another enemy was hiding somewhere behind the wall to his left, waiting for him to escape before carrying out a surprise attack. His entire mind was crystal clear; nothing could escape his perception. In this instant, he knew that Fu Zhens long-handle axe would be the first to attack, and then Fu Yans strange-looking beak sword would follow. These two definitely had overbearing martial art skill; when they appeared just now, their aggressive momentum immediately enveloped him, so that he was unable to get away. If it was before his meridians were transformed, they definitely had the strength to kill him, but now he had utmost confidence that if he wanted to escape, he would have no problem. The only question remained was how to deal with the third enemys sneak attack. Thinking to this point, Fu Zhen and Fu Yan had already pressed on to within ten paces of him. Qi power stormed in, murderous aura filled the air. The two enemies roared at the same time. The long-handle axe rose up to the air; it turned into a sh of lightning swiftly chopping down on his neck. A powerful, without equal, qi power had already split the air toward him. Assuming a horse stance, Fu Yans beak sword, following a weird attacking path, struck from an approximately a zhang away. It appeared capable of attacking any part of him, in ordance with the variety of fantastical changes unique to unconventional weapons characteristic. The Two-Malevolent of Changbai dared to stand in opposition to Wang Bo; they were indeed not ordinary men. For a moment murderous aura filled the air. These two brothers eyes shot cold rays as they hatefully stared at Xu Ziling. If it were someone else withparably weak mental strength, merely their stare would be enough to turn his heart and guts cold, his fighting spirit gone. Xu Ziling was well-aware that based on his current skill, which had advanced by leaps and bound, he could ovee one of them, but under normal circumstances, there was no way he could resist both of them at the same time, not to mention there was another martial art master lurking nearby, waiting for an opportunity to attack. Any one of these two brothers from Fu family was top ranking martial art master who was able to stand on his own; otherwise, Shen Luoyan would not have trusted them to take care of him. His brain traveling at the speed of light, Xu Ziling swiftly, beyond human understanding, shed several times. Fu Yans figure snapped immediately; his eyes shot a disbelieving expression, his momentum and confidence weakened somewhat. Turned out with every sh, Xu Ziling was able to meet every single one of Fu Yans beak swords attacking paths. The most shocking thing was that Xu Ziling seemed to have the foresight: he had just made the change, Xu Ziling already made a very subtle shift, so that his offense immediately lost its biggest threatening force. More astonishing yet, when Fu Yan altered his offense ordingly, Xu Ziling was one step ahead in staggering away a little. This situation happened several times in a row, so that Fu Yan was unable to do anything, the same helpless feeling when one tries to catch a loach, which keeps slipping out of his hands. It was the very first time that Fu Yan ever experienced this kind of abnormal situation. Before, at least half of his abilitiesy in the special structure of his beak sword and the strange and crafty changes of its attack paths, something that was impossible for the opponent to defend effectively. However, this time was different: before they even fought hand to hand, the opponent had already grasped the sword path. It has never happened before. Momentarily from being active he was forced to be passive, so that he was at a loss of how to proceed, hence his offensive slowed down. In this battle of supremacy, the battle line was precisely this sliver of difference. These past several decades, these two brothers from the Fu n had developed impable joint-strike technique. As soon as it was unleashed, there should be absolutely no w that could be exploited by the opponent. As soon as the pressure disappeared, Xu Zilings momentum increased rapidly. Amidst the tranquil-without-any-ripple frame of mind, he shed forward to meet Fu Zhen, with his finger pointing out. The true qi within his body was like a broken dam. The spiraling stream of qi, which relied mainly on the ocean of qi to spin, circted on the Ren and Du, two meridians one cycle first, before flowing toward the intersection of falun and kanli. By the time it reached the armpit, cold and hot separated. One followed yang yu, the other passed through yin yu, and converged at the palm of his hand, bing vortices of cold and hot true power that flowed in parallel, each stream of qi power contained thirty-six flying-thallium[?] like vortex, shooting out from his middle finger. In the meantime, Fu Zhen had also pulled back his qi; because of the sudden decrease in Fu Yans momentum, the front line was affected as well, so that they had no room to advance or to retreat. But he was like riding a tiger where it was difficult to get off, he wanted to stop but was unable to do so, plus he wanted to take advantage of Xu Zilings power, which could not surpass his several decades of training. Therefore, he increased his speed instead to charge forward, with his long-handle axe swiftly chopped down. Relying on the heavy and sharp axe head, he wanted to suppress the opponents insignificant finger. Were it a top-ranking martial art master of Wanwans caliber, by this time he would have attempted to drag the offensive back a little, to match Fu Yans heavy offensive move, hence although Xu Ziling could not be immediately defeated, he would have had a hard time in dealing with them. However, in term of intelligence Fu Zhen has always been known as inferior, therefore, this strategy was actually a big blunder. When the fingertips were about to make contact with the axe de, Xu Ziling swayed back in the direction of Fu Yan; his shenfa was as amazing as if it was made by heaven, so confident and at ease, yet also looked casual as if it was a random move. The axe de swept down about five cun away from the fingertips. Immediately Fu Zhens soul flew away and scattered. But he was still an exceptional master; hastily altering the chopping motion into thrusting, he simply pulled back the axe and used the sharp pointy awl of his axe head to stab the opponent. Xu Zilingughed aloud, knowing that the force behind Fu Zhens de has diminished, while the new force has not been generated yet. Touching the axe head with his fingertips, his true energy shot out like crazy. Bang! Two streams of qi, one hot and one cold, flowed into Fu Zhens body along the axe under Xu Zilings control, separately toward the yang yu and yin yu, two meridians. Like a string of pearls vortices of qi burst in one after another, Fu Zhen immediately suffered major loss. Another mistake he made that he had already heard about Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs unique skill of spiraling energy, and had already drafted a n on how to deal with it, but he had never expected that the opponent was able to generate two separate streams of qi, cold and hot, in the form of swirling energy balls, which also able to prate the true qi protecting his body. The most formidable part was that the cold and hot, two energies were entirely different, as if two separate martial art masters were attacking him at the same time. This moment he no longer had the time to think about injuring the enemy. Gathering the power in his entire body, he struggled hard to pull himself away and withdrew. In his heart Xu Ziling cried out, How formidable! When his no stronghold one cannot ovee qi power entered Fu Zhens body, it immediately encountered a powerful resistance and unexpectedly it was reduced in half; otherwise, just this one finger would be enough to make Fu Zhen vomited blood and sustained internal injury. The beak sword attack arrived. [1] Fig. Surrounded by enemies, isted and without help. Chapter 5 - Part 2 Letting out a cold snort, Xu Ziling made a back flip. Not only to avoid the ruthless-without-equal sword attack, he also flew over Fu Yans head, and pressed both palms down. Fu Zhen was still being carried away by his backward inertia. His face alternated between red and white, and temporarily was powerless to meet the attack. Fu Yans momentum had already diminished, plus his power was half a notch below Fu Zhen. Seeing his older brother was beaten back by Xu Ziling using only one finger, his courage turned cold, and was secretly thinking about retreating. However, how could he retreat now? Thereupon he had no choice but to brandish his beak sword into a thin disk of sword shadow, while bending down his knees to guard against the attack from above, no longer trying to attack but only trying to protect himself. Seeing that even in such a bad situation he was still able to maintain a leak-proof defense, Xu Ziling cried inwardly that he was very lucky. If his strategy had not been brilliant, which prevented the two brothers from forming a siege against him, quite possibly this day next year would be the anniversary of his death. Therefore, he did not dare to tarry either. One palm struck down on the ground, the other palm turned into finger jab, the tip of his finger pushed the de of the sword. Borrowing the reaction force, Xu Ziling soared vertically into the air. Suddenly a spear shed by from the sky. After taking a quick nce, Xu Ziling nearly abandoned his n to stay and stake his life, because the attacker was precisely his archenemy, Wang Bodang. Were it not for his brutality against Susu, there was great possibility that Susu would not have married Xiang Yushan, and her lifes happiness would not have been in such a predicament. This man definitely had excellent martial art skill. Upon applying his power, the pair of flexible spears in his hand became curved like a bow, plus when the spears sprang up again, the stic force added the intensity of the attack that it was difficult to resist. Furthermore, the timing and the angle of attack was so urate without the slightest error, so that Xu Ziling, who was still soaring in the air, had no choice but to go all-out to deal with it. However, it was not clear whether Xu Ziling had already anticipated this move, but his palm strike to the ground happened to be effective. Utilizing the bacsh force, Xu Ziling traversed sideways andnded some distance away. With several leaps, he disappeared behind some roof tiles. Wang Bodangnded on the alley; together with Fu Zhen, two brothers, they looked at each other helplessly, their eyes were filled with frustration and amazement. Who would have guessed that with the three mensbined power they still failed to hold him back? Dong Shuni furiously said, Whats the emergency that you frightened me? Do you want me to marry that lecherous old man Li? Kou Zhong was shaken inwardly, Xu Ziling guessed it right: in order to deal with the currently most powerful Li Mi, Li Yuan and Wang Shichong had stricken a political marriage deal. The goods was precisely Luoyang beauty, Dong Shuni, whose fame spread out in all directions. After taking care of the threat from the west, Wang Shichong would have a free hand in dealing with Li Mi, while the Li n would be just as happy to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight. All these were nned by Li Shimin; its just that he did not think that he would be the person Shi Feixuan would choose, and that in the future he would contend against Li Jiancheng for the throne. Actually, what kind of person was Li Jiancheng? He has always been arrogant and headstrong, certainly he would not give up that easily. If this news leaked out into Li Jianchengs ears, it would be difficult for Li n to maintain good faith and solidarity. Too bad this brilliant scheme could not be put in practice, because Xu Ziling would absolutely not be happy if Kou Zhong ever employed this kind of dirty trick. Much less the news came from him. Kou Zhong simply had to let nature take its course. Paper cannot wrap fire, sooner ofter Li Jiancheng would find out about this matter. The city gate in sight, Dong Shuni pulled him to stop; probing Kou Zhong, she asked, Have you found a way? Kou Zhong was awakened from his deep thinking, This matter involves manyplex issues; lets talk about it tonight! he replied perfunctorily. How could Dong Shuni know what went through Kou Zhongs head had nothing to do with eloping? She happily said, Tonight, early xu hour [7-9pm], wait for me at Rong Fengxiangs mansion houses back door. I will try to sneak out. Dont leave without me! Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Who in the world is Rong Fengxiang? Where does he live? What are you doing there tonight? Dong Shuni snappily replied, Such a famous person like Rong Fengxiang you dont know, yet you dared to hang around Luoyang? In Luoyang, he has both money and power, Da Jiufu [first maternal uncle] is even jealous of him to some degree. Here, eight out of ten casinos belong to him. His daughter, Rong Jiaojiao, is in good term with me, we are known as Luoyangs Two Beauties. Today is the auspicious day for his fiftieth birthday; therefore, he is holding a feast at his house. Do you understand? Kou Zhong said with augh, Since he is a Jianghu celebrity, of course I know how to find his house. But when you slip out and do not see me, it would be best if you find a second man to elope with you, because I might have been beaten to dead by a bunch of vicious nuns and monks! Unwilling to be bothered by her any longer, fast as lightning he slipped away, leaving the furious Dong Shuni stomping her feet, yet was unable to do anything to hold him down. The crumpled paper was crushed into pieces by the internal energy, and the breeze scattered it into the Luo River. Under the sunlight, the water of Luo River glittered brightly, while continuous stream of passenger ships and cargo boats came and went. Xu Ziling sat on the dike of the Luo River, basking in the sun. He waspletely rxed, putting the trouble of the Jade Annulus of He n totally out of his mind. He was well aware that after going through the bizarre encounter the previous night, he had made a very important breakthrough in his pursuit of martial art excellence. Otherwise, he would not be here enjoying the sunshine and the tranquility of the enchanting scenery of the busy downtown area. Some distance away to his left, the flow of pedestrians and carriage on Tianjin Bridge spanning the Lou River had been steadily increasing, but it seemed to be in another dimension that had nothing to do with him. Right this moment, someone wasing behind him. Without needing to turn around to look, Xu Ziling knew that it was Li Jing; he sighed inwardly. Li Jing came over and sat down beside him. Fixing his gaze at the Luo River, he sighed and said, Just hand me that thing! Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Since when did you be Shi Feixuans spokesperson? Li Jing said bitterly, I know that you are mad at me because of Su Mei. But I have always regarded her as my good Meizi, I had never had man-woman feeling toward her. Just like you and Kou Zhong are my good Xiongdi; therefore, now I have no choice but to advise you to return something to its rightful owner. With a coldugh Xu Ziling said, Whether anyone wants to do something or decides not to do a certain thing, it is very easy to find words of exnation and excuses. Its just that in this kind of thing, it is difficult for outsiders to intervene. I just want to ask you one thing: did Li Shimin ever send Yang Xuyan to assassinate Xiang Yushan? Li Jing had never expected Xu Ziling would ask such question. After staring nkly for half a day, he responded, This matter involves Qin Wangs ssified information. I, Li Jing, earn my sry from others, there are certain things that I am not at liberty to speak out. Actually, by saying that, he had indirectly admitted it. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, And now, did Li Shimin send you here to advise me to surrender something? Displeased, Li Jing said, How could Qin Wang be that kind of person? Besides, he basically does not have any desire to obtain the Jade Annulus of He n. I just worry about you, and I just found out that you have the ability to turn into someone else, but I could only hide it in my heart, and do not dare to tell Qin Wang. You ought to understand that I am hard-pressed from left and right! Laughing aloud, Xu Ziling said, Since we are not brothers anymore, you are free to do anything you want. Li Jing sighed and said, I understand your feelings. Actually, it was also due to Su Meis matter that I am having a very bad misunderstanding with you guys. But public matter is public matter, personal matter is personal matter; the Jade Annulus of He n is something that you must not touch. Even if you obtained it, what good would it bring you? So much so that even if you gave it away, nobody would dare to ept it; why bother then? Toward Li Jings earnest and well-meaning advice, Xu Ziling only felt disdain; he coldly said, If Li Shimin really does not have any interest to obtain the Jade Annulus of He n, and there is no more gratitude and grudges between us, wont that mean we no longer have anything to talk about? Li Jing stood up suddenly. Her tiger-body stood erect, his eyes flickered with cold rays. Fixing his gaze on theyer uponyer of buildings on the opposite bank, he spoke in heavy voice, Since Ziling is determined to be like this, I have nothing more to say. But no matter what, we all are brothers. I just want to say something, and I do hope youd listen. Recalling the trials and tribtions they were going through together in the past, Xu Ziling was ovee with emotions. Smiling wryly, he said, Please speak up! Li Jing said, Currently, thend under the heavens is all split up and in pieces, disaster of war never ends; in the end, the victims are themon people. We are men with lofty aspirations; we must choose brilliant master to serve, so that the whole world will be reunited once again. And ording to my many research, only Qin Wang is worthy to be such person; Shi Feixuans opinion is no different than mine. By saying this, I hope you understand what I mean? Virtuous cause of today, any personal feeling ought to be set aside. Chapter 5 - Part 3 Xu Ziling knew that Li Jing had seen through Kou Zhongs ambition, not his, hence he was able to say all these things. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, Who the real brilliant master is, I am afraid only time will tell. When all is said and done, this matter is as simple as contending over the world. If you are just beating around the bush on this topic, I would rather you dont say anything. I, Xu Ziling, have no interest in serving anybody. This is called everybody has his own ambition. Li Jingughed aloud; he even said several Good! in a row, before calmly walked away. Kou Zhong hurriedly left the Imperial City to rejoin Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan. This matter has taken surprising turn and has developed rather abruptly. First of all, Liao Kong Dashi has been using his good friend Wang Bo to announce this matter publicly. This seemingly reckless move was actually a brilliant tactic after careful deliberations. Perhaps Shi Feixuan was the mastermind behind it. It was a clever scheme; it would turn whoever stole the Jade Annulus of He n into wless disciple, and thus would be the public enemy of all major powers. Secondly, it will unite all school and sects of the White Way, who had been admirers of the Ci Hang Jing Zhai, under amon goal. As an outsider, it would be inappropriate for Shi Feixuan to be directly involved in the dispute of the mundane world; therefore, by having Wang Bo, who had announced that he withdrew from the race of bing the Emperor, contacting various powers of the White Way, if she could retrieve the Jade Annulus of He n and then continued her selection process, the momentum would be even more explosive. Of course she did not know that the Jade Annulus of He n had met its fate and was finished. And now, even if she had the three men fried and had their bones torn, she could not force the Jade Annulus of He n to appear. Ah! Thinking about it, he felt it was very funny. When he was about to turn into the main street, a figure ahead of him shed by and blocked his path. Kou Zhong focused his attention to look. Turned out it was a schr who looked like a clerk. Twirling the moustache above his lips, he nodded and smiled at Kou Zhong. This persons sparse moustache matched his morbid countenance; only it looked grossly disproportionate, making him looked frivolous, but also a bit deliberately mystifying. His eyes even had yellowish tinge; very unattractive. His belly swollen, a sign of his indulgence of wine and women. Yet Kou Zhong was certain that the opposite party was a first ss martial art master, or at least close to Bian Bufus caliber. It was purely an intuition when martial art masters encountered one another; there was absolutely no supporting evidence. When Kou Zhong was inwardly scolding himself, Do not judge a person by appearances, this sickly-looking middle-aged man saluted and said, Zaixia the Sick Schr Jing Zhaoning, a guest of the Zhi Shng Mansion, receiving Zhi Shngs order to invite Kou Gongzi to Zhi Shngs boat for a chat. [Trantors note: not sure if it was a name or a title, Shi Lang literally means noble minister.] Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, How do you know that I am Kou Gongzi? This is the first time we met, is it not? Jing Zhaoningughed aloud and said, Such a talented person like you, Kou Gongzi, is not necessarily one in ten thousand; as long as someone gives me direction, how could I not recognize you? Kou Gongzi must be joking! Kou Zhong sighed dejectedly and said, It must be because of the Jade Annulus of He n. I dont know what ill luck I encountered today, but no matter where I go, I always have this ck pot on my back! But right now I have some urgent work to do, plus I do not wish to deliver amb into a tigers den, so after I figure out a few problems, I am going to pay a visit to Wang Gong. How about that? Frowning, Jing Zhaoning said, Gongzi really puts me in a tight spot. If I fail to invite Kou Gongzi, when I go back, how am I going to exin it to Zhi Shng? Kou Zhong was fired up; he said, Right now I am already on edge that my brain is smoking; if I had to take care of how you are going to exin to others, arent you forcing me to my death? Jing Shaoning burst outughing and said, Kou Xiong please do not take offence, I just wanted Kou Xiong to see Zhi Shng, or let Zhi Shnge to see Kou Xiong. Whatever problem you have, you may discuss it with him face to face. As long as the two of you are candid with each other and adhere by Jianghu rules, what is there worth to be worried over, or cannot be solved? Seeing he did not get angry, and his words contained hard within soft, on the surface he remained polite and maintained etiquette, yet inside hidden sharpness like a knife de, Kou Zhong cried, How formidable! inwardly. Heughed calmly and said, Based on Wang Gongs prestige, it is only proper that this Xiaozi pay a visit to him. But since Jing Xiong mentioned Wulin rules, you also ought to know that without any reliable evidence, you cant adamantly point finger saying that the Jade Annulus of He n is in Xiaodis possession. Jing Zhaoningughed aloud and said, Kou Xiong is indeed very interesting and is an outspoken person. But I, Jing Zhaoning, am not someone who goes round the curves and skirts the corners; we do have more than two hundred witnesses. As long as the three of you appear together, there will be someone who can tell the truth from the lies. Buddhism does not do deceit, you ought to be able to trust Jing Nian Chanyuans Dashi [great master, generic term to refer to Buddhist monks]? Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, but on the surface he pretended to be greatly delighted. Laughing, he said, Nothing can be better than that, as the water recedes, the rocks will appear, the truth wille to light. Before dusk today, the three of us will pay an official visit to Wang Gong; may I ask at which pier does Wang Gongs boat cast its anchor? After receiving direction from Jing Zhaoning and crying inwardly calling out for his Niang, Kou Zhong walked away like a wisp of smoke. Book 14 - 6 – Taking a Break From Danger Book 14 Chapter 6 C Taking a Break From Danger Sitting down by Xu Zilings side, Ba Fenghan asked, Whos that man just now? Both in terms of build and poise he showed a lot of lofty quality. Although he was walking away furiously, I was standing behind the willow tree yet still could not hide from him. Indeed he is a rare martial art master. He is Li Jing, Xu Ziling replied, During our debut, it was from him that we learned our Ten-Style Saber Technique. Ba Fenghan has had discussion about martial art with him on the mountain, so of course he knew the Bloody Battle Ten Styles. Emotionally moved, he said, If a few years ago he has already been able to create such a powerful, overbearing saber technique, he must be even more out of the ordinary now. I really wish for an opportunity to try the Bloody Battle Ten Styles directly from his hands. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, We have had life and death friendship with him; it would be best if Fenghan Xiong did not look for him for a fight. Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, Right now it is not that I want to look for him for a fight, rather, he wont let us off; a soft way [orig. wen, literature, civil] will not aplish as much as a hard way [orig. wu, martial art, military]. I hear Li Jings wife has an outstanding martial art, an expert in using red brush[?], her origin is a mystery. Hey! Howe I havent seen Kou Zhong? Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, What news did you get? Why did you say that Li Jing want to fight with us? With a cold humph Ba Fenghan replied, If that kid Li Shimin is still unclear that we are against him, do we still need toe out to announce that we are contending over the world? From the tone of Dong Ming Princess voice, that Li kid is very afraid of the three of us. If he could not use us, he will disregard everything to have us killed to nip the problem in the bud. Xu Ziling noticed that when he mentioned Shan Wanjing, the tone of his voice was cold, unlike before, where he used to call her Wanjing or Princess with intimacy. Astonished, he asked, Is there something wrong between you and Shan Wanjing? Ba Fenghan fixed his gaze on a speedily passing boat, his eyes shed with cold rays as he sighed and said, I had a big fight with her. Xu Ziling was stunned, Why did you fight? With a rueful smile Ba Fenghan said, Of course it was because of the Jade Annulus of He n. But when all is said and done, it was because of that Li kid. At first she was very nice; she med me for hanging around with you, and thus was drawn into this tight knot that cannot be untied. She also said that Li kid is destined to be the Son of Heaven ordained by heaven itself, and wanted me to hand the Jade Annulus of He n to him. Humph! Who did she think she is to talk to me like that? Blurting outughing, Xu Ziling said, Treasure of the heart is a sin, this saying is surely not an empty words. Suddenly friends be enemies; really interesting. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Just like the Jade Annulus of He n, that kind of treasure, only the virtuous can obtain it, it never belonged to anyone. I will never surrender to the authority, who have the ability may give me all he got, right now I am terribly itchy. And then he sneered and said, I thought that after partingpany with you this morning there would be someoneing to get even with me; at least there should be people like Tuoba Yu and his pretty Shimei, or perhaps Dugu Feng and the likes who would love to try their luck. Who would have thought that I did not encounter even half a shadow? Its so disappointing. Xu Zilingughed and said, You, Lao Ge, fully disyed your capabilitiesst night by forcing back Qu Ao; whoever wanted to mess with you would have to figure out their own weight first. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, In my opinion, that was not the case. Rather, it was because Wang Bo has already issued a decree in Jianghu, and he has Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Jing Nian Chanyuan behind him, hence everybody wanted to give him face, by letting him figuring out a way to get the Jade Annulus of He n back. Pushing toward the deadline of zi hour [11pm-1am] tonight, we may feel nervous because nothing is happening. Xu Ziling said, Dont forget that Wanwan cant possibly be subject to any restriction; perhaps shelle first to give us bad luck, while conveniently see whether she could force the Jade Annulus of He n out from us. Ba Fenghan delightedly said, That is exactly what Ive been looking for. As long as we can capture one of her men, we will have a way to find out Junyus whereabouts. What I am afraid the most is that Yin Gui Pai would want to reap the fishermans benefit by waiting until the zi hour tonight before taking any action against us. Thinking hard, Xu Ziling said, Right now people on the street are our enemies. With multitude of enemies and few friends, our only strategy is to deal with them using martial art power; does Fenghan Xiong have any clever move? Ba Fenghan calmly said, If my expectation is correct, Shi Feixuan is the mastermind behind all these. Her objective is to make us a thiefcking in confidence, and bring the stolen goods far away from the city. But we will definitely not give her what she wished for; we will remain here and deal with her to the end. Ha! Who would have guessed that the Jade Annulus of He n is practically not in our hands? Afterwards, it will not be in anybodys hands either. Xu Ziling was baffled, In this kind of situation, plus you just had a fallout with Shan Wanjing, howe your mood seems to be better than before? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Quite possibly you and Kou Zhong are not aware yet how much benefit we gained from the Jade Annulus of He n; it has never happened in the history of Wulin inside and outside the Central ins. Currently the three of us, each one is a living miracle, as well as a witness to this matter. Dont you feel the wonderful feeling of shedding ones mortal body and exchanging ones bones? Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Is it as amazing as you described it? Ba Fenghan took a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was quite awhileter that he opened his eyes and said, What I said was very modest. As the legend says: the Jade Annulus of He n is a divine object from the outer space, with terrifying mysterious power hidden inside, but this power is now owned by the three of us. Not only it expands and strengthens the meridians and acupoints throughout our entire body, it also enables us to extract some kind of power and the essence of the universe. As long as we strive untiringly, there will be a day when we will surpass anybody else. Because in itself the power inside the Jade Annulus of He n already surpasses martial arts model and resources. That I am able to obtain this amazing opportunity, how could I not be in good mood? And then he added, As for my disagreement with Shan Wanjing, its a trivial thing. Having a fall out with her is actually a kind of painful pleasure. As long as we can get Junyu back, I, Ba Fenghan, will no longer care about it. At that time Kou Zhong will fight for his world, and you will roam the four seas to seek after the joy of life, I will return to Tujue to challenge Bi Xuan. Each one of us will pursue our respective goal and aspirations. Life at this point, a man should return to his quest. Thinking about our dreams all of a sudden be palpable reality, how could my mood be bad? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Let us see whether we can survive after the zi hour tonight to talk about it! Ba Fenghan let out a smile brimming with air of arrogance; he spoke nonchntly, Tonight at zi hour the three of us will find a ce to drink and be merry. Whoever has the ability, let hime to take my, Ba Fenghans life away. But bear in mind that no matter what, we must not admit that it was us who stole the Jade Annulus of He n, because then both sides, the enemy and us, will have no wiggle room to turn away. With deep frown on his face, Xu Ziling said, I am not afraid of anyone, but I do not wish this matter to turn into rivers of blood. Sighing, Ba Fenghan said, Do you think I really like to kill people? But you dont want to kill people, people want to take your life. All we could do is to act ording to the circumstances! What I can promise you is that unless I absolutely have no other alternative, I will not randomly cause anybodys death. Xu Ziling was deeply touched. Ba Fenghan wasing from horse thieves background; he has always been vicious and merciless. He was able to speak those words, it was purely for Xu Zilings sake; what else could he say? This moment Kou Zhong arrived. Squeezing himself in the middle of the two, he sat down andughed aloud and said, Arent you going to look for a ce you can hide your Niang for a while, to lie low until the fuss dies down? The three wandered around Luoyangs most prosperous Heaven Street in a triangr formation [orig. Ʒ (pin) character]. Xu Ziling was in front, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan walked side-by-side behind him. The shops along the Heaven Street were meticulously decorated, the ledges and the room blended well, with magnificent screen and canopy spread over the treasures, utensils, and all kinds of goods. The shop attendants dressed in bright, colorful and splendid uniforms were busy hawking their merchandise. The most attractive thing was that among these sales people, there was nock of gorgeously dressed young girls [orig. lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze], so that the eyes cannot take it all. Even the street vendors also disyed their wares on dragon-themed carts; uniform and aristocratic looking. Each of the three men had distinctive appearance. Xu Ziling was casual and elegant, Ba Fenghan was stalwart, magnificent, unusual yet grand, Kou Zhong had an overbearing air around him. Walking together, naturally the passers-by could not help casting an admiring nce toward them. While talking andughing, the three were also pointing and gesticting toward things that attracted their attention. Sometimes they even stopped to look at certain things. From the outside, nobody would have guessed that they were racking their brains on how to deal with the disproportionately powerful enemies. Smiling at a young upper-ssdy passing-by on a sedan chair, making her blushed, Kou Zhongughed and said, Luoyang is indeed a good ce. The most wonderful thing is that no matter where you look, you will see beautiful girls. Ha! What is it? Thest sentence was spoken in a low voice, which he focused using his internal energy, then sent it toward Xu Zilings ears. Sidestepping a bunch of children chasing each other, Xu Ziling replied in soft voice, There are at least five groups of people following us; they dress as all kinds of people, and are constantly moving around to avoid our suspicion. Ba Fenghan praised, I only know that we are being followed by a lot of people, but I cannot tell that they belong to five different forces; how did you do it? And what puzzles me most is that unlike me and Kou Zhong, you did not look around at all, yet nothing seems to escape your attention. Chapter 6 - Part 2 Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, you are wee. Sky, IMHO, in term of mental cultivation, I agree that XZL was the strongest, but that was because of his hermit character. However, overall martial art skill, I think Ba Fenghan was still the strongest. Xiaohu, that is certainly a valid request; however, it will take a lot of time on my part. Probablyter, when I have more time? (There is no quick and easy way to do it, I will have to edit the link one by one.) Xu Xiong, I dont care much about Li Jings wife, since up to this point she is not even named yet. But I agree with you on Shi Feixuan (and Ning Daoqi, and Bi Xuan, and Fu Cailing ...) Lao Qianbei, I never understand how sp works ... Xu Ziling stopped at a booth selling ginseng. Turning to Kou Zhong, he asked, Do you want to buy some ginseng and go back to make some ginseng tea? The hawker was a fat barbarian man from outside the area; hearing Xu Ziling, he crossly said, My ginseng is authentic first grade wild ginseng transported over ten thousand crags and torrents; it is most effective to improve blood cirction and rx the tendon, this product will extend your life. Steeping it in wine will bring about its efficacy. Making a tea is just too wasteful. Giggling, Kou Zhong said, Please forgive our ignorance; which one is the best? Tonight we are going to steep it into wine to drink. His countenance changed, the peddler angrily said, I wont sell! I wont sell! These ginsengs have to be steeped into wine for a year or so, and have to be stored in underground cer. How can you just dip it and drink right away? Pulling Kou Zhong away, Ba Fenghanughed involuntarily and said, That man is so stubborn, I guarantee that he wont strike it rich, but he does win our respect. So in the end, do the gains male up for the losses? And then he quickly added, Ziling has not answered me. Xu Zilings sharp gaze swept the pedestrians walking to and fro on the street like a school of crucian carps; heughed calmly and said, Using undivided aspiration, and focused mind. When I focus all my senses, my perception thus extends to the surrounding crowd, so much so that I can feel it when someone was casting me a nce. The most wonderful thing is the footsteps of those people following us. Each time we stopped, their speed also changed ordingly; sometimes they intentionally walked pass us and then somewhere in front someone else would rece them. Therefore, you will be able to quickly grasp the style and pattern with which they are trailing us, and also deduce clearly that they belong to five different groups. Kou Zhong took a step forward to walk side-by-side with Xu Ziling. Ziling is indeed exceptional, he praised, But why did you say that there are at least five groups of people? Does it mean that outside those five groups, there are others who secretly follow us but you are not able to grasp their exact position? Exactly right, Xu Ziling replied, This purely my feeling. This man is our real formidable opponent. Unless we can throw him off our track, we can forget about waiting happily for the zi hour to arrive. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, The one in charge must be Shi Feixuan, Ning Daoqis caliber. I did not expect Ziling to have this kind of outstanding ability; therefore, our n will definitely seed. Can we make our move now? Xu Zilingughed aloud and replied, Yes, certainly! Traversing sideways, they entered Fengdu Township, one of the three major markets of the City of Luoyang. The entire city district east of the Imperial Pce and south of the Luo River epassed an area one hundred and three li square. Inside this area, the streets were interconnected bynes and alleys. ying hide-and-seek in this area crowded with residential buildings was definitely very exciting. Fengdu Township was the top among the three major markets of the City of Luoyang. It was bigger in scalepared to the other two townships, Datong and Tongyuan. Food stalls and peddlers stalls lining the crowded street, the mor shook the heavens. Xu Ziling led the other two passing through the left and slipping to the right. It appeared that their speed was only so-so, just because their upper body did not move much, but their lower part was unleashing their footwork, as they glided like a loach slipping through the gap among the crowd. At this time Xu Zilings senses were at their peak. Abruptly turning left or right, suddenly slowing down or speeding up, going sideways or straight ahead, every move was a response to the changes in the trailing enemies movement; it was no different than fighting hand to hand. Sometimes he even turned back the same way, to make it difficult for the enemy to predict their move. In the blink of an eye they already slipped out of the marketce via the northern gate; crossing the vehicles and horses road, they entered someones house from the front door and slipped away from the back door, despite the upants protest and attempt to block them. Finally they reached a small alley and leaped over the wall to escape. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan followed closely behind Xu Ziling, climbing over the wall, slipping through the house and jumping over the building, sometimes running fast along a small alley, until they reached the southeast corner of the city, where a river wound its way from the east, with dancing trees andyer uponyer of residential buildings along both banks. Proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, ording to the map, this is the Yi River. And then, pointing to the stream on the right, he said, And that is Jixianne, where the Yi River split into two, from Changxia Gate flowing left and right to the southern suburb, and continue toward Liao Kongs old nest! Lowering his voice, he asked, Have we thrown them off? Xu Ziling pondered quietly for half a day. He shook his head and said, We have thrown off only those with mediocre skill. I just mentioned the formidable opponents; they are still following closely behind us like maggot sticking to the bone. Right now my feeling is even more intense. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, We still cant throw them off; could it be Shi Feixuan or even Ning Daoqi? With his hands behind his back, Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, Of course not them. With their status, how can they bother to do such trivial thing? If I am guessing correctly, the tracker ought to be Dugu Feng, because when we were passing through the marketce, I seemed to sniff her scent. Recalling how the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai tracking her down by her scent, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. Upset, Kou Zhong said, This is called ruining the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Without any marketce to y hide-and-seek, it is more difficult to avoid her tracking. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Do you see the River is bustling with boats storming back and forth? How about sticking ourselves to them? Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, If only sticking ourselves to the bottom of the boat, Xiaodi is willing to y along. That is a brilliant n indeed! Kou Zhong happily said. He was the first to run through the sparse wooded area by the river bank and threw himself into the water. The three left the water and went ashore unnoticed [lit. the gods did not know, the ghosts did not realize] under a small bridge at the citys southwest. Using their internal energy, they incited their bodies to generate heat, so that by the time they passed through the decorated archway of the city square, their clothes were dry, just like magic. The square was an open space with gstone floor in random arrangement, resulting in rich texture, making their heart thoroughly refreshed and rxed. There was a well in the middle of the square. Two women were drawing water from the well; a picture perfect depiction of ordinary peoples life. It was so moving that it seemed to be in a painting and not in real life. With a rueful smile Xu Ziling said, Our misfortune is that we had never experienced and enjoyed the fun of ordinary life. Like right now, for example, my mind can only think about whether we can escape people tracking and following us, everything else have to be put aside. Dont you say we are so helpless? Ba Fenghan took the lead toward an alley to their left. He had to step aside to let a bunch of you chase me, I run after you little kids who were rushing toward the gstone za. Listening to the childrensughter going farther away, Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and said with a sigh, When we were those childrens age, other than fighting and trying to survive, we never seemed to y until the sky darkened the earth turned ck like those children. Does it mean that we have lost a real childhood? The three continued deep into the alley. Ba Fenghan continuously scanned the buildings on both sides of the alley. Xu Ziling reached out to pat Kou Zhongs shoulder; with a wry smile he said, That is precisely the price you have to pay if you want to stand out among your peers. Were it not for you wanted to imitate the dog and steal the chicken, also wanted to study and train martial art, how could our precious childhood years be this empty? And now we wouldnt be like three rats crossing the street while everybody else is shouting and yelling to beat and kill us. Ba Fenghan burst outughing. He said, Wont it be a bit better if you said three tigers crossing the street? At least no one is not afraid. Everything has a price, and now is the time to settle the debt. Come! This way. The three turned right into another alley, a gstone-paved alley, suggesting an endless rxed atmosphere, standing aloof from worldly affairs. A teenage girl was washing clothes in front of the door. Suddenly seeing the three, immediately her eyes grew wide as she stared nkly at them. Unexpectedly there were such heroes in this world; not only one, but three appeared at the same time. Ba Fenghan was in a very good mood; he turned his head around and gave her a smile. Catching up with the other two, he said, If someone mobilized Luoyangs local ruffians and gangsters to investigate all over the city, before the zi hour they would have discovered that we have been here. Because we are so easily recognizable; once they saw us, they would never forget. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Arent you going the wrong way? Is this a diversion? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I call this surveying the terrain first. Come on! Suddenly he somersaulted over the roof of the building to their left, leading the two boys leaping onto the roofs and vaulting over the walls. It was quite a whileter that they finallynded into a small courtyard of one of the many single-story houses. Above the main door was a que with three big letters House of Contemtion [Si Shi Ju, si C think/consider, shi C life/age/era, ju C residence]; the strokes were free yet powerful, like a dragon flying into the sky. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Mr. Xus penmanship is indeed extremely outstanding. The piece of paper Xu Xingzhi handed over to Xu Ziling [just a quick note: these two Xu are not the same] was actually a map giving direction to this Si Shi Ju, which was also the ce where he was supposed to meet Kou Zhong. The house was divided into front and rear sections, with a courtyard in the middle. Xu Zilingughed and called out, Mr. Xu, we are here! No response from the house. Ba Fenghan was surprised, Could it be that he is not back yet? he asked. Kou Zhong took the lead toward the door. With one push the door was opened. As he stepped into the house, his tiger-body was severely shaken. Its you again! he called out in shock. END OF CHAPTER 6 (so you wont use me of cliffhanger ...) Book 14 - 7 – Marquis WuReincarnated Chapter 7 C Marquis Wu[1] Reincarnated Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling stepped over the threshold and stood on either side of Kou Zhong; they were stunned as well. The furnishing of the reception hall was simple. There were only a table and a few chairs, and some other essential things. Leaning against therge window on the south side was a long bench where Xu Xingzhi was sitting motionless with his eyes closed. His long hair was undone, and Wanwan, in her in white clothes, was standing behind the chair, with ab in her hand, and a gentle and soft expression on her face,bing his hair with utmost care. It was an extremely weird scene. With a thousand ways and a hundred ns the three were able to break away from their pursuers; who would have thought that in this ce, which they thought would be the Peach Blossom Spring [i.e. utopia, a hiddennd of peace and prosperity] in the midst of chaotic world, and the Holy Land where they could retreat in peace, they were weed by their terrifying archenemy? Wanwans deep gaze was fixed on Xu Xingzhis hair. With breathy voice that came out of her purple-red lips, she said, What took you so long? I have been waiting here anxiously! The three looked at each other; they all felt that they had fallen into an absolutely disadvantageous position. Unable to think of any way to deal with the distressing situation in front of their eyes, Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs, and sat down on a chair on the opposite corner from where Wanwan was standing; he said, You really have some ability. How did you find this ce? Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling separately sat down on the chairs left and right of the main door; they have regained theirposure. Wanwan still did not look up; her eyes were following the movement of herb along Xu Xingzhis hair. Since you are smart, she said tenderly, If you think it through, you ought to know the answer. But enough chitchat, I want you to look at something interesting. Ah! Nobody knew what kind of trick Wanwan was ying, but Xu Xingzhi suddenly opened his eyes and regained his consciousness. But he was still unable to move a single step. Wanwan hung her small cicada head low; looking at Xu Xingzhis profile from the side, she chuckled and said, Whatever you say now, Mr. Xu will be able to hear every single word without missing anything. Let us y am imteresting little game now. Xu Xingzhi seemed to understand what kind of game Wanwan was talking about; his eyes revealed a pained and helpless expression. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You seem to have a bad habit of breaking into others warm homes. Spit it out! [orig. you have a fart, let it out] Wanwan still did not look at them; she calmly said, How could you be so foul-mouthed toward a girl? I just want to ask you one thing: which one is more important: the Jade Annulus of He n, or Mr. Xus life? Immediately the three felt big headache. Currently, Wanwans manner and movement were graceful and elegant, extremely touching. Her white clothes and ck hair matched very well with her bare feet and exceptional countenance. She was the epitome of feminine charm, beauty and tenderness. But the three knew that she could make her move any time, and when she killed, she would not be tenderhearted at all. And the most formidable part of her n was to let Xu Xingzhi hear Kou Zhongs answer with his own ears, so Kou Zhong could not y any trick. Holding his head in his hands, Kou Zhong painfully said, The Jade Annulus of He n is really not in my hands, how am I supposed to hand it over to you? Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling also looked at each other with wry smile on their faces. Hearing Kou Zhongs response, Wanwan was stunned; raising her beautiful face, she looked at the three men, and then her tender body shook severely. Her beautiful eyes, which appeared to be eternally shrouded in dense fog, shot a look of disbelief, and herbing movement stopped. On the other hand, Xu Xingzhis eyes revealed a hopeful look. Ba Fenghan interjected, Not in our hands means not in our hands. For the sake of Mr. Xus life, I, Ba Fenghan, will make an exception of swearing an oath that the Jade Annulus of He n is really not in our hands. If you still insist on taking Mr. Xus life, I, Ba Fenghan, vow that I will kill every single person of Yin Gui Pai. Wanwan appeared to regain herposure; her beautiful eyebrows knitted together, she asked, What happened to you? Howe your expressions look like you have shed your mortal body and exchanged your bones? The three shivered inwardly at the superiority of Wanwans eyesight; at a single nce, she was able to see that in mental cultivation, they had made aprehensive breakthrough. Tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling responded, Even if we tell you, you wont believe it. Last night we went to Jing Nian Chanyuan to steal the treasure; its a pity that before we even see the Jade Annulus of He ns shadow, Liao Kong already detected our hiding ce that without any better option we sounded out the difficulties and retreated to avoid defeat. Afterwards, with nothing else to do, we trained together following the Secret to Long Lifes technique. Totally unexpected, we actually made a breakthrough. But the Jade Annulus of He n is really not in our hands. In their hearts, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong cried Wonderful! Coming from Xu Ziling, who had never lied, these words were more convincing than if it was Kou Zhong who said it. Wanwan seemed to be deep in thought, a facial expression that was enough to make others lost in wild and fanciful thoughts. With a faint sigh she put away theb, and spoke softly, You may not believe this, but I really believe that the Jade Annulus of He n is not in your hands, because I know listening to the sound to distinguish emotion technique. Just now Kou Zhong was sincere, but Ziling Xiongs remark has a notpletely dishonest nuance. But since it has nothing to do with the Jade Annulus of He n, nujia naturally has no time to think about it. Anyway, who stole the Jade Annulus of He n? Of course you did not have this ability. The three heaved a sigh of relief, but at the same time their heart was overwhelmed with horror. Secret consummate skill of the demonic school emerged more and more, turning their hearts cold. Kou Zhong spoke in distress, If Shi Feixuan had the same ability as you to tell the truth from the lies, we would not need to carry this ck pot on our backs! Pow! Wanwans palm pped Xu Xingzhis back. Thetter immediately regained his speech and movement ability. Naturally he understood the gravity of the situation that he did not dare to act blindly without thinking. Wanwan turned her tender body around, so that her milky white back was facing four men. Looking at the small garden in front of the wall, she said softly, This time even if you wash yourself in water you cant be clean. However, ording to what I heard, I still feel it strange: howe the thief was only one person and not three? Yet Liao Kong was adamant that it was the three of you who did it. He must have his reasons. Ba Fenghan coldly said, And now, what do you want? Wanwan shrugged her fragrant shoulders slightly. Laughing tenderly, she said, If you are willing to tell me the secret of Duke Yangs Treasure, I can help you get out of here safely. Currently, other than us, who dares to offend those women from the Jing Zhai? With a bitter smile Kou Zhong said, Ill say your listening to the sound to distinguish emotion technique is not always effective. That time our Niang did not have time to tell us the secret of the treasure before she passed away. And now what do we have as an exchange to your help? Pfft! Wanwanughed tenderly, and turned her tender body around. Full of tender feelings, she looked at Kou Zhong and said, You are still lying! Dont forget that we obtained all information about your Shuang Long Bang [double-dragon gang] from your subordinate! Xu Ziling let out a cold humph; his tiger-eyes shed with sharp rays. Were it not for Xu Xingzhi was still under her control, hence he refrained from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vase, he would have made his move immediately. Wanwan cast her gaze on Xu Zilings out-of-the-ordinarily outstanding handsome face. Sighing gently, she said, Two sides fighting each other, if you didnt kill me, I would kill you. However, due to changing circumstances and vital interest, cant we temporarily work together? Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, I wonder if Miss dares to have a one-on-one duel with me, other things can be discussed after victory and defeat is decided. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in surprise; they did not expect Ba Fenghan would make this move. Although in term of power they had enjoyed tremendous advancement due to the Jade Annulus of He n, yet they still needed to digest and train diligently. At that time they might have enough power to fight one-on-one against Wanwan. But right now their chance of victory was really very little. Wanwanughed calmly, Either you were born with self-destructive character, or you were born an idiot, she said. Ba Fenghan revealed a smile full of confidence; he responded indifferently, You are free to say anything you want to say. The Ol Ba just wants to know if you have enough guts to ept the challenge. Frowning, Wanwan stared at him for half a day. Finally she nodded and said, It was because you have seen right through me that I cant possibly fight with you right now that you spoke conceited nonsense like that. But be careful since I might suddenly change my mind, and take Shi Feixuans ce in taking care of you. Ba Fenghans eyes were gleaming with sharper-than-saber-de rays as he stared deeply into Wanwans beautiful eyes. Shaking his head, he spoke heavily, I also know that not only you cant possibly fight with us, you do not dare to do so. The most subtle reason is because your decisive battle against Shi Feixuan is near at hand; therefore, both sides want to save your energy. Under this situation, do you dare to fight to the death against me, Ba Fenghan? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a sudden understanding; they were both crying wonderful! inwardly. The biggest problem right now was that the initiativey entirely in Wanwans hands. She could both throw stones at somebody who fell down a well, by announcing the location of their hideout, or make her move by killing Xu Xingzhi, to vent her resentment for their refusal to cooperate with her. But Ba Fenghan had pointed out her only weak spot, which was afraid to have a hard battle and suffer damage of her strength, which Shi Feixuan could exploit to her advantage. [1] Marquis of Wu (Wu Hou) or Marquis of Zhongwu is another name of Liang (181 C 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a chancellor (or prime minister) of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is recognized as the most aplished strategist of his era. (Wikipedia) Chapter 7 - Part 2 HPC, Ysabel, Jaya, Lao Qianbei, Anh, you are wee. Heres the end of Chapter 7. If it were another ce another time, this threat might not be effective. But now that they were in the middle of the city where Shi Feixuan might appear anytime, how could Wanwan not have any apprehension? Therefore, as soon as she harmed Xu Xingzhi, the three would not hesitate to immediately stake everything they had to fight her, and would definitely not be lenient to her. Pfft! Wanwan burst out in giggles and spoke tenderly, I am afraid Ba Xiong misunderstood me. I did not have any intention to kill anybody. I just had nothing to do, so I wanted to chat a little with you to relieve boredom! Kou Zhong rose up to his full height andughed aloud, Nothing can be better than that! he said, Come! Let us drink a cup of fragrant tea! After all, you are our guest! While speaking, he walked over to the table in the middle of the hall. Xu Xingzhi seized this opportunity to leave the bench. He said with augh, As the host, Zaixia should be the one pouring out tea. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling had their eyes on Wanwan, while storing up their power to deal with her. Wanwan floated out of the window andnded on the courtyard. Laughing tenderly, she said, I wish you good luck! Finished speaking, she disappeared in a sh. Xu Xingzhi heaved a sigh of relief and sat down. Still palpitating with fear he said, That demoness has a really good memory. Previously at Jingling she had seen me from a distance, so she knew who I am. This morning when I made contact with Xu Ye, she must be nearby, so as soon as she saw us, she knew whats going on. Frowning, Ba Fenghan asked, So did she have you in her control just this morning? Nodding, Xu Xingzhi said, She followed me to this ce, and then I lost consciousness. Really strange, why didnt she use some dirty tricks to force some confession out of me? Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, You might have already done that. All Demon Cult people know some kind of evil bewitching, soul-altering skill that can make you reveal all kinds of secret while you are sleeping or in some dream-like condition, and will not have any recollection of it afterwards. Xu Xingzhi said, No wonder my head still feel unbearably weird. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Because she saw great increase in our power, female demon Wan momentarily had no choice but to relent and withdraw. But since Yin Gui Pai has been known to always exact revenge, there must be some other tricks with which she will deal with us. This ce does not seem to be appropriate to stay for a long time, but where can we go to hide? Letting out a longughter, Ba Fenghan said, Our biggest barrier right now is that we feel that we are in the wrong, hence we always look for a hiding ce to take shelter from the wind. While in fact, as long as we can ovee this barrier, we can just wait here for the zi hour withrge bowl of wine andrge bowl of meat, to see if anybody will be able to take one of lifes great pleasures from us. Puzzled, Xu Xingzhi asked, What exactly happened? Putting his hand on Xu Xingzhis shoulder, Kou Zhong asked, Do you have any wine? Xu Xingzhiughed and replied, How can a house be without wine? Let me go to the back to get some wine. Kou Zhong apanied him to the back and exined to him what happened. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling sat quietly for half a day, and then as if by prior agreement they both moved to the chairs in front of the table. The former spoke coldly, If I am guessing correctly, next time wee across Wanwan, it will be a hard fighting. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement, but he knitted his brows. Because of the great advancement of their skill, they have be a serious threat to Yin Gui Pai. Wanwan did not make her move immediately, it was because she was hoping they would fight a hard battle against Shi Feixuan until both sides suffer, and then Wanwan could reap the fishermans benefit. Noticing Xu Zilings pensive look, Ba Fenghan wondered, Are you thinking about something unusual? Returning to his senses, Xu Ziling replied thoughtfully, Just now Zhu Yuyan must be at the rear courtyard somewhere. If she had confirmed that the Jade Annulus of He n was in our possession, she would immediately snatch it away. Fortunately the Jade Annulus of He n is really not in our hands. Taking a deep breath, Ba Fenghan said, That makes sense. Just before we made a breakthrough, Wanwan already had no capability to deal with the three of us fighting together. Therefore, she must have another backup that she dared to wait for us in here. Sucking a mouthful of cold air, Xu Ziling said, Only one Wanwan is enough to give us headache, if there was Zhu Yuyan waiting on the side ring like a tiger watching its prey, wont our days be a lot more difficult? Laughing heartily, Ba Fenghan said, Tomorrows sun will be the one thing we are most eager to see. Only by living like this will life be interesting. Only in the face of death will we appreciate that life is precious. And in martial art way, only by defying death will we gain life. Only by not being afraid of death will we ovee death and wont be conquered by death. Xu Ziling dly said, What a heroic remark and powerful speech! We must use wine to liven things up. Bang! pping the table with his palm, he called out, Wheres the wine? Kou Zhong scampered over holding a pot of wine in his hands, Coming! Coming! Two Daye please be patient. Xu Zingzhi set the cups for everybody. Kou Zhong was in charge of pouring the wine. Ding! Four cups clinked against each other, and then they were drained in one gulp. Looking at the bottom of the cup, where not a single drop remained, Ba Fenghan praised, Good wine! Kou Zhong pretended to be unable to hold alcohol; slumping on the table, he moaned, What kind of person is Wanwan? Can she still be considered a human being? Does she have human beings seven emotional states and eight desires? Howe I always feel that she is not a human being with flesh and blood? Surprisingly, it was Xu Xingzhi who responded, Devil Schools people have been trained since they were young, and rarely left their homes halfway. Therefore, every three years they have selection process, where martial art masters of Elder-level went out everywhere to abduct small children who did not understand human affairs to be their disciples. Merely this cruel act has made God knows how many fathers and mothers have their hearts shattered and their souls broken. After a short pause, he continued, Therefore, all Yin Gui Pai people whose instinct is dead; but in order to achieve their goal, they would do anything, by hook or by crook. Xu Ziling looked at Ba Fenghan, who was slowly raising the wine pot and pouring the wine into his cup; he said, Instinct cant be dead, but it can be reced and suppressed. From time to time Wanwans eyes revealed an indescribablyplex emotion, but her hands are definitely not lenient. Putting down his cup, Ba Fenghan turned toward Xu Xingzhi and asked in astonishment, Mr. Xus remark must be a secret that Yin Gui Pai would be afraid if others would know; I wonder how did you obtain it? Xu Xingzhi took a quick nce at Kou Zhong, who was still crouching on the table. A sad expression flitted through his eyes as he spoke in heavy voice, Old affair needs not be raised again. Suffice it to say that there is a very deep enmity between me and Yin Gui Pai; hence with thousand ways, a hundred ns I investigated everything rted to them. Kou Zhong sat up straight and spoke in earnestness, In that case, Mr. Xu and us are kindred-spirit. Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Just based on the fact that Kou Ye is willing to confide in the Ol Xu with entire sincerity, so much so that you did not conceal anything pertaining to the Jade Annulus of He n, I, Xu Xingzhi, will not fail to live up to Kou Yes deep affection. And then, revealing a vehement expression, heughed and said, For the past many years, I, Xu Xingzhi, have roamed the world, but have never seen heroes like the three gentlemen. Even if I had to deliver my life in Luoyang together with three gentlemen, I will have no regret. Raising his cup in a toast, Ba Fenghan said, Isnt Mr. Xu also an outstanding hero? Otherwise, how could you speak with such heroic passion? We salute you with a toast. After draining another cup, two red clouds appeared on Xu Xingzhis face, his eyes were shing with the radiance of wisdom as he said, This time it could be said that we are caught in the passive, take-a-beating, the lowest possible position. If we only rely on courage and strength, ultimately we might end up fighting with all our might and perish. Have three Daye thought about any n on how to deal with it? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Of course we have. But other than taking up the challenge or escape, two ways, I really cant think of the third way. Hiding in here cannot be considered a solution. Xu Xingzhiughed calmly and said, Theplicated situation in Luoyang nowadays is unprecedented. For instance, Yin Gui Pai is willing to watch with folded arms, simply because the situation dictates it to be so. If we are able to take advantage of it, perhaps we can find a way to survive. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong asked, What should we do? Fiddling with his moustache, Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Let me analyze the situation first. The most important factor is naturally the triangr rtionship between Wang Shichong, Yang Dong and Li Mi. Although they do not seem to have direct rtionship with the Jade Annulus of He n, but if they knew that after getting the Jade Annulus of He n Shi Feixuan was going to bestow it to Li Yuans second son, Li Shimin, they would definitely wish for the Jade Annulus of He n to fall into other peoples hands rather than letting Li Shimin have the advantage. Pondering deeply, Ba Fenghan said, Mr. Xus remark is very logical. Presently the people from three sides are most afraid of Li Yuan, whose fame and power grow more flourishing by the day, whose upation of Guanzhong, overlooking Hudou, is table. And the most outstanding among the Li n is precisely Li Shimin. In such situation, they would never allow Shi Feixuan to obtain the Jade Annulus of He n and hand it over to Li Shimin. A short pauseter, he went on, But the problem is that the three sides are pinning down each other that they are in deadlocked situation; who would dare to take the risk of offending Ci Hang Jing Zhai by thwarting Shi Feixuans effort to retrieve the Jade Annulus of He n? Plus lets not forget that Shi Feixuan also has Ning Daoqi on her back, the great master of martial art that no one dares to mess with. Having a n up his sleeve, Xu Xingzhi said, Perhaps they wont dare to directly intervene this dispute, but they might mobilize their own men and the Sects, Schools, Gangs and Societies who have some ties with them to indirectly meddle with this matter, or perhaps trying to bluff their way to thwart Shi Feixuans operation. If that happens, wont we have to face so many different battle fronts? Kou Zhong nodded and said, In theory, that is certainly something that can be exploited. But the biggest problem is that we wont admit that the Jade Annulus of He n has fallen into our hands, while we want others to believe that Shi Feixuan recovered this ghost thing from us. Wont these two situations be in contradiction with each other? Letting out a deep sigh Xu Xingzhi said, Have three gentlemen ever thought that Shangguan Long might have great value to us? By this moment, the threes confidence toward this advisor [orig. zhi shi, wisdom schr], who retained five strands of long beard, with a somewhat immortal air, and a highly educated vor, has been boosted considerably. Hearing what was said, they all listened with rapt attention. Xu Xingzhi was quite satisfied with their reaction; he slyly said, To resolve the difficulty raised by Kou Ye, we certainly have to go all out. As long as we can separately broadcast two separate information, we will be able to achieve the effect of deploying troops to mislead the enemy, so that it would be difficult for them to distinguish true from false. The three were men with high intelligence; it was just because they were right in the middle of this situation that Xu Xingzhi had the advantage of spectator sees more of the game. Hearing that, they immediately understood. Xu Xingzhis eyes lit up as he continued indifferently, The first information is to make people believe that you knew the Jade Annulus of He n was hidden in Jing Nian Chanyuan from forced confession out of Shangguan Longs mouth. This way, Yin Gui Pai will be directly drawn into this circle! The three could not help pping the table and shouting with praise. It should be noted thatst night, in front of several hundred witnesses, they abducted Shangguan Long, and afterwards immediately went to Jing Nian Chanyuan to steal the treasure. Despite the fact that these two matters had nothing to do with each other, outsiders were not aware of it. As for Shangguan Long was immediately rescued by Zhu Yuyan, even if someone knew about it, who would dare to be sure that in such a short period of time they did not manage to get some secret out of his mouth? The most wonderful thing that no one knew that they did not kill Shangguan Long on the spot, but took the effort to kidnap him away, was simply to find out about Fu Junyus whereabouts. Therefore, if they could broadcast such information, any party would grow suspicious of the other ones, because Yin Gui Pai has always been known for their diversion tactics and was notorious for their strategy of framing other parties. If Shangguan Long knew where the Jade Annulus of He n was, naturally Yin Gui Pai also had people who were qualified to steal the treasure. In the Devil Cult, capable people were numerous; finding someone to impersonate Xu Ziling was definitely a highly possible matter. Therefore, the release of this information would certainly trigger all parties to make associative connection of the different parts of the puzzle. And then the attention focused on the three would be divided; both the three and Yin Gui Pai would be equally suspected. Ba Fenghan praised, Mr. Xus wisdom, even if Zhuge Liang is reincarnated, he would be nothing more than this. I wonder if the other information is that Shi Feixuan has selected Li Shimin as the true master of the Jade Annulus of He n, and thus all others who are not selected will be discontented? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, That seems to be a bit too unscrupulous! Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Xingzhi said, Since Xu Ye has this misgivings, we can make slight adjustment: lets just say that Shi Feixuan has already selected the recipient of the Jade Annulus of He n, but lets not be specific on who. That should be enough. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, This move is even better. But how are we going to broadcast these two information so that the entire Luoyang will hear it before the zi hour? Xu Xingzhi was about to answer when they heard Knock! Knock! Knock! It sounded like wooden staff striking the ground. The first knock came from an unattainable distant ce. The second one sounded like it came from outside the wall of the rear courtyard. By the time the third knock was heard it definitely came from just outside the door. When the four mens countenance changed, Bang! the sound of the courtyard door shattering into pieces pierced the four mens ears. Just this momentum alone was enough to snatch anybodys soul. Could it be that Ning Daoqi himself has arrived in person? Book 14 - 8 – Cloak Staff Technique Chapter 8 C Cloak Staff Technique Crack! The door bolt[1] snapped. The four men inside the hall saw that without any wind, the door just opened by itself. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan could be considered veterans of a hundred battles, world-ss martial art masters, yet they could not help shivering inwardly. Upon self-inspection, although they were able to send out forward force across empty air to push the door open, but definitely not the suction force to pull the door and break the door bolt. Just from this skill alone, they knew that the iing person was of Ning Daoqis caliber. Four pairs of eyes were able to see through the door without any barrier, toward the courtyard, which was covered in door debris. Beautiful woman with white hair entered their vision, in stark contrast to the scene outside, creating an unforgettable impression in their mind. The exquisite and dainty Dugu Feng entered the courtyard, holding the arm of a stooping olddy, whose white hair was speckled with gray, whose eyes were half-covered by her eyelids as if she already lost her eyesight, whose face was filled with deep wrinkles, yet it was brimming with a noble air. The olddy was wearing ck gown with white silk outer garment, her forehead was high and protruded, her cheeks were deep. The strangest thing was that her pale skin emitted some kind of pink color, which did not belong with her age. This olddy, whose age was perhaps more than a hundred years, was quite tall; even when stooping, she was still half a head taller than the attractive and charming Dugu Feng. If her back was straight, perhaps her height would differ very little from Kou Zhong and the others. The eyeballs inside her eye sockets appeared to be looking down at the ground, but the four men could feel her grim gaze was silently scrutinizing them. A feeling that brought chill into their hearts. Dugu Fengs full-of-vitality face was still very charming, but her mouth was curled in anger; with disdain in her voice and head held up high, she said, Do you think you can throw me off just like that? Your skill is still far too inferior. Kou Zhong called out in low voice, Its You Chuhong! Although he made his voice as low as possible, it still could not escape the senile-looking granny. Like a pair of arrows her eyes bore into Kou Zhong. Her high-pitched feminine voice cursed, You dared to callosens [lit. old self] name? You are asking for a beating! Naturally the four mens eyes were focused on the crutch in her right hand, with which she walked step-by-step, which body was translucent like the luster of gems, because it was made of jasper, which length was approximately five chi, which shape was like bamboo cane. This moment You Chuhong shook Dugu Fengs hand off, as she stepped into the room. The speed of her movement would make any young, strong and agile boys tog far behind. Qiang! Qiang! Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong drew their sword and saber, respectively, out of their scabbards. The iing person was the number one grand master of the Dugu n. If they were knocked by that jasper stick, which looked like a piece of antique rod, Kou Zhong and the others may forget about going anywhere. Like a miracle You Chuhongs stooping body suddenly straightened up. Without any wind her thick white hair suddenly fluttered, every wrinkle on her face seemed to radiate unusual pink ray, her half-closed eyes shot arrow-sharp light; all in all, her appearance looked extremely weird. Among the four men, Xu Ziling was sitting facing the front door. Back off! he cried out in low voice. His palms struck on the edge of the table, while his body rapidly flew backward. As Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were also flying backward from left and right, the table spun like a big wheel as it flew toward You Chuhong. The strangest thing was that the wine cups and wine pot on the table also spun along the rotating table, but not a single drop of wine was spilled; certainly the cups and pot would not topple down. A look of surprise shed across You Chuhongs eyes. Like a spirit she flew vertically up. By the time the table arrived under her, her right foot appeared from her ck gown; fast beyond humanprehension her toes touched the surface of the table. It was only this moment that the four men saw that she was wearing red embroidered shoe on her right foot, but a green one on her left. Crack! The four solid wood table legs shattered into cun long pieces, but the tabletop was left intact. It dropped to the ground, also without a single drop of wine spilled, as if an invisible hand had carefullyy it down on the ground. This skill was definitely better than Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong knew that if they let her to gain the initiative, the oue would be desperately serious. Thereupon he let out a longughter while he flew forward, and lightning fast, the Moon in the Well swept across You Chuhong, who was still in the air. Intense qi power immediately filled the hall. Although Xu Xingzhi could also be considered a martial art master, butpared to the three, he was still far behind. When Kou Zhong was making his move, he felt a burst of explosive cyclone forming all around Kou Zhong, which cut through his body. Shocked, Xu Xingzhi knew that he had to retreat. Obviously You Chuhong had never estimated that these three could be so overbearing; yet she remained calm without any fear. Letting out a night-owl-like harshughter, her body shed in the air; not only to evade Kou Zhongs swift and fierce de, she even charged toward the three men. Like an eagle w the long pointy nails of her withered hands swept across; immediately a burst of bluish green shadow of the staff, like the luster of gems, filled the hall, enveloping the three men in the middle. In terms of speed, power and uracy, she has reached the shocking level. The most formidable thing was that each sweep of the staff carried razor-sharp qi power that was capable of cutting their body, making it very difficult to counter. For a period of time there was continuous string of Swish! Swish! noise like beads of pearl dropping down on a tray. Xu Xingzhis inner power wascking. Merely the sound of the wind generated by her jasper staff was enough to cause pain in his ear; with no other choice he had to retreat outside the back door. Ba Fenghan was standing motionless; he suddenly shouted, Cloak Staff Technique indeed enjoys a well-deserved reputation. Like magic the Beheading Mystery Sword in his hand turned into a sheet of sword shadow, creating an air-tight defense. Even with his dauntless character and his power, which had progressed tremendously, he still had to adopt defensive position and did not dare to advance recklessly; thus You Chuhongs prowess was quite clear. On the other hand, Kou Zhongs murderous intent red up; adopting close hand-to-handbat style, he charged straight into You Chuhongs staff shadow in total abandon, as if he was staking his life against her. With the tip of his finger Xu Ziling stabbed the tip of You Chuhongs staff sweeping toward him. He felt a stream of razor-sharp true qi, with copious amount of irresistible force behind it, prating his fingers and entered straight into his system. As if he was struck by lightning he was jolted two steps back, while inwardly he was extremely shocked. It should be noted that this moment You Chuhong was facing three martial art masters simultaneously. In term of internal power, there was no way she would be able to beat the three mensbined power. But she was able to utilize an extremely profound footwork with exceptional qinggong, so that each time she was able to move to an unexpected position, so that even Yijian Technique could not be put to good use on her. Were it not for the fact that his power and the strength of his meridians had enjoyed great advancement, just this one staff would be enough to make him vomit blood and sustain serious injury. Ding! Ding! Ding! the sound lingered on faintly, increasing the sinister atmosphere this battle has generated. Xu Ziling charged forward again to enter the battle arena. Saber light and sword shadow, mixed with Xu Zilings hands and feet, attacked You Chuhong from four sides, eight directions. After their defense was steady, Ba Fenghan also changed his defensive stance into offensive. Surprisingly this old womans every single move was hard in nature, relying on powerful inner and outer energy, crushing wave after wave of the three mens offensive. The bluish green rays shed, as the green jade staff in her hands rolled the three inside its circle. The sound of staff stopped abruptly. You Chuhong shed three consecutive times to break away from the battle arena and retreated toward the front door, while continuously gasping for breath. Dugu Feng quickly came over and reached out to rub her back. Her apricot eyes grew big as she said, Its all your fault; if you exhausto [maternal grandmother] that she is sick, I will kill you. The three men simply stared nkly, not knowing whether tough or to cry, but at the same time they were aghast. This olddy with ample panaches Cloak Staff Technique has reached perfection; it could even be said that it has reached divine stage. In her withered hands that look like eagle talons, the jasper staff was transformed into a no-name-could-describe-it weapon. Not only it could be stiff or flexible, the stiff and flexible existed together, and it could disy the characteristic of a whip, a sword, a saber, a truncheon, a spear, and all kinds of other weapon; and the changes were infinite, in innumerable session, so that the three were unable to grasp its essence. With such formidable moves, she was not inferior to Zhu Yuyan in any respect. Her internal energy was deep and unmeasurable; even after the three had their power greatly enhanced, they could not gain advantage over her at all. [1] Door bolt in those days was a horizontal bar across the width of the door, made of wood or metal. Chapter 8 - Part 2 Thats it! Is that how you repay me? Ysabel, HPC, you are wee. Lao Qianbei, only if you are wearing embroidered shoes ... Xu Xiong, I know my own ability (or inability). But thanks. Were it not for world famous asthma attack, the three would more or less suffer injuries as well. Its just that right now they had obtained inadvertent benefit. By going at the three men with all her strength, You Chuhong had actually helped thempleting the process of strengthening their meridians, which was started by the Jade Annulus of He n. Under the extreme situation of life and deathbat like this, the only thing they could do was going all-out, pushing their strength to its limit, so that the meridians in their body move forward a step to join together, to achieve the perfect stage. While the three men were severely shaken, they did not know that You Chuhongs astonishment was in no way less than theirs. Actually, her Cloak Staff Technique did not fear tangled battle; the more the enemies, the more she could unleash the effectiveness of the staff in borrowing force to strike the enemy. On top of that, her footwork was profound, so that facing more than one opponent was no different than fighting one-on-one; she would not have any problem. Therefore, when she saw that the three were joining hands, she thought there would be no problempared to if she was only facing one of them. Never once had she doubted her confidence that they would definitely suffer defeat. In other words, with You Chuhongs attitude of considering everyone else beneath her, she should have no problem in taking care of one of them before her asthma red out. But then again, dealing with three men at once, her power consumption doubled, the time between asthma attacks shortened. Therefore,pared to dealing with just one person, her chance of victory was greatly reduced. You Chuhong suddenly took a deep breath, a blush appeared on her old face, but it quickly disappeared, and then she stopped gasping. Taking the position of a junior, Kou Zhong saluted You Chuhong and said with a smile, Wed better sit down and drink some hot tea. If there is any problem, lets talk about it slowly. If Juniors did something wrong, well ept your instruction. Naturally Xu Xingzhi and the others knew very well that Kou Zhong wanted to borrow their mouth to broadcast the information they had just drafted. Dugu Feng crossly said, Stop talking nonsense. Seeing that you do have a bit of skill, well spare your four persons lives. Just hand over the Jade Annulus of He n, and you can go! Among the four, only Xu Xingzhi was at a loss; he did not understand why even after You Chuhong lost her strength and retreated, Dugu Feng was still shamelessly boasting like that. But Kou Zhong and the others knew that she was not simply talking big. One time Ba Fenghan had his saber broken off by her, which was a solid proof that she was indeed very formidable. From You Chuhongs brilliance, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could specte that Dugu Fengs skill was no small matter. In the past, Hou Xibai inferred that within the Dugu n, Dugu Feng was the most formidable figure next to You Chuhong. If her achievement was closer to You Chuhongs, and she did not suffer from asthma attack, then she was definitely not aughing matter. Pretending to be surprised, Kou Zhong said, If we really have the Jade Annulus of He n in our hands, I guarantee that we will offer it immediately, to avoid being in such a miserable situation as the target of a multitude of arrows. I really dont understand why the two of you are willing to touch such an inauspicious object? Taking several steps forward, Xu Xingzhi came to Xu Zilings side and said in all earnestness, I am willing to make a heavy oath on their behalf with the head above my neck as a stake that the Jade Annulus of He n is practically not in their hands, hence it is impossible for them to hand it over to you. You Chuhong and Dugu Feng exchanged a few nces; they were both stunned. Letting out a cold snort, You Chuhong said, Who the hell are you? What makes you think you can speak on their behalf? Twisting his moustache, Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Wanbei [junior/younger generation] Xu Xingzhi, I used to work under Fang Zetao of Jingling. Dugu Feng turned her gaze to Ba Fenghan; exceptionally polite, she said, I wonder if Ba Xiong dares to personally swear an oath? Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, In all my life the Ol Ba has never sworn an oath, simply because I feel that this kind of action is senseless and ridiculous. But the Jade Annulus of He n is really not in our hands. If you dont believe me, then I can do nothing. Kou Zhong and the others cheered inwardly; what he said in his unique way was actually more convincing than any vows. With a coldugh You Chuhong said, The why did that bald donkey [derogatory term to call a Buddhist monk] Liao Kong insist that it was you who stole it? With a rueful smile Kou Zhong replied, Because we had walked straight into great misfortune. We were one step ahead in going to the Chanyuan to steal the treasure, but before we even touched the Jade Annulus of He ns shadow, we werepelled to leave. We had just left, someone else seeded in stealing the treasure. Without any choice we are forced to take the bitter herbs and had to bear this ck pot on his behalf. Humph! The army came, we will fight. We are not scared of anybody. You Chuhongs eyes narrowed that they became a pair of slits, but her eyeballs shot terrifyingly sharp rays as she stared at Kou Zhong and spoke sternly, Was it Wang Shichong who prompted you to go there? Kou Zhong and the others understood whats going on. The purpose of these twos visit was not to get the Jade Annulus of He n, but it was an action against Wang Shichong. Supposing they were sessful in recovering the Jade Annulus of He n, they would publicly return the treasure to Jing Nian Chanyuan. In this way Dugu ns prestige would soar, plus they would win goodwill and support from Shi Feixuans side. But more importantly, they would ascertain the rtionship between Kou Zhong and Wang Shichong, with the hope that they could use this fact as the proof that Wang Shichong was the mastermind behind all these things. It was the key point that all major powers who were involved in this power struggle wanted to exploit. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, What does it have to do with Shangshu Daren? You Chuhong took a step forward. A very dense murderous aura immediately enveloped the four men. Still ying dumb? she scolded harshly, If it wasnt Wang Shichong, how could you, a bunch of rookies, know that the Jade Annulus of He n was hidden at Liao Kongs ce? Xu Xingzhi was the first one unable to withstand her enormous momentum and had to take two steps back. Xu Ziling quickly moved in front of him to shield him. In that moment the murderous spirit permeated the hall. Kou Zhong putting an act by sighing dramatically and said, Its a misunderstanding! The one who told us the Jade Annulus of He ns whereabouts is Yin Gui Pais Shangguan Long, not Wang Shichong. At that time we thought he only wanted to use this information in exchange of his dear life; who would have thought that the dirty scoundrel wasying up a trap for us? This time the boat really capsized in the gutter, so that we had to take his mothers tumble. You Chuhong stared nkly for a moment. The murderous aura was greatly reduced. At this point, a longugh came from the roof of a building some distance away from the courtyard, If thats the case, why did you hide and do not dare to see me, Wang Bo? a voice asked. Hearing Wang Bos name, everybody, including You Chuhong, was emotionally moved. Book 14 - 9 – Meeting Again After a Long Period of Separation Book 14 Chapter 9 C Meeting Again After a Long Period of Separation Under everybodys gaze, somebody appeared outside the window, looking inside the hall with a smile on his face. This man looked about fifty, tall and thin, his waist and back perfectly straight, with short moustache that looked like a brush above his lips, his clear and handsome face carried harsh lines of someone who experienced long and arduous years in tempering himself; perhaps it was due to the mncholy wrinkles appeared on his face and around his eyes, which strengthen his appeal. His eyes were bright and shiny, as well as deep and solemn, inciting fear on those whom he was staring at. However, the perpetual smile hanging on his mouth seemed particrly out of ce, making his overall appearance seemed extremely odd. This expertposer, whose name was well known nationwide, the one acimed as the Number One Martial Art Master of Liaodong, Wang Bo, hase in person. Kou Zhong and the others groaned inwardly. Not only because they felt that he totally did not believe them, but also because they knew he was not easy to be deceived. His eyes looked like they could see through lies. With a cold snort, You Chuhong said, What the hell are you doing in Luoyang? Nodding slightly, Wang Bo said, First of all, Wang Bo pays his respect to Hong Jie [older sister]. This time Shaodi [younger brother] came to Luoyang, at least half of the reasons pertain to Hong Jie. It was only then did everybody else know that not only these two knew each other, the rtionship between them was not shallow either. Giggling, Kou Zhong said, While two Qianbei [senior, older generation] are having heart-to-heart chat talking about the past, why not allowing us, the younger generations, to go out to handle some private affairs, ande backter for advice? Wang Bo looked at Kou Zhong with astonishment, You ought to be Kou Zhong! he said, Didnt others say that you are both shrewd and cunning? Why is it that disaster is looming over your head and you still dont know it? Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Less bullsh!t! If you want to fight then fight! The Jade Annulus of He n was stolen by us; if you want to stick your head out for Liao Kong,e and get it! Combined with earlier denial, which also came out of Ba Fenghans mouth, this truth sounded more like it was spoken in anger, which was more effective than any apology. Dugu Feng seemed to have a slightly better impression on Ba Fenghan; she scolded tenderly, If you didnt do it, dont talk nonsense. Calmly Wang Bo sized up Ba Fenghan. It was half a dayter that he finally said, I dont care if you steal the treasure or not, but just based on what you said just now, Ol Wang has to teach you a lesson. With repeated sneers, You Chuhong said, In that case, this Old Woman has to see how much you progressed these past several years. Youd better not disappoint me. Wang Bo was surprised, Have you fought with him? he asked. You Chuhong stomped her jasper staff on the ground, creating a deep, gloomy sound like a muffled thunder, shaking up the sole of everybodys feet. Kou Zhong, three men, were secretly dumbstruck; they were d that while going all-out in battling her, they did not injure her by mistake. After scanning the crowd with her eyes, the old woman nodded and said, I believe the Jade Annulus of He n is not in your possession. First of all, based on yourbined power, you dont have the capability of stealing the treasure, hence it is more presumptuous to think that just one of you could do it. Secondly, you dont look like fools, so you knew that stealing the Jade Annulus of He n must be useless; it will bring you more harm than good. Then her eyes opened; she looked up, revealing a pair of brightly lit pearl-like pupils. With augh that sounded like a screeching owl, she addressed the crowd, Youd better leave Luoyang. Otherwise, next time you run into me, I am not going to be lenient for the sake of the Jade Annulus of He n like this time. Do you understand? Lets go! Naturally the four men did not expect her to be this understanding, as soon as she said it, she was willing to put this matter down. They watched quietly as Dugu Feng helped You Chuhong disappeared beyond the shattered courtyard door. Then four pair of eyes turned toward Wang Bo. All they heard was a fluttering noise, and Wang Bos shadow had disappeared. Coming and going without neither trace nor vestige, he was worthy to be called a martial art master whose name spread far and wide around the world. The sun had moved above the western hill, casting its nting light on the City of Luoyang. Upright and unafraid, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan wandered side-by-side along the street, among the gradually thinning pedestrians. Thetter burst outughing and said, With Wang Bos ego, why did he slip away before fighting? ording to reason, he cant be afraid. Of course not, Xu Ziling replied, This mans prestige in Wulin has always been above Li Mi and Du Fuwei; although he cant defeat the three of us fighting together, he surely has enough power to hold his ground or run away. In my opinion, it was because he heard that Yin Gui Pai might be involved that he hurried back to deal with it. Lowering his voice, Ba Fenghan said, Yin Gui Pai definitely has to bear this ck pot on their back! It would be more wonderful if we could find Yin Hui Pai people and confront them. And the best part is that Yin Gui Pai has all the reason to thwart Shi Feixuans good deeds. This Xu Xingzhi is indeed a genius; just with one word he is able to overturn the universe. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Lying with my eyes open wide is really unbearable! This kind of thing, once is enough, I dont care to have the next time. Tranquil and calm, Ba Fenghan replied, Two armies facing each other, how could one prevail over the other without resorting to some misleading the enemy tactic? Are we going to admit straight out that we stole the treasure? It was not the first time that you told a lie anyway. Muttering irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Of course not for the first time, but previously the target of our lies was evil people and scoundrels. This time the target of our lies are martial art experts representing two righteous ways; hence I feel so ufortable. With a cold humph Ba Fenghan said, Rules are made by men; so why cant it be up to us to decide? Being led by the nose, how it make a good man under current situation? Shrugging, Xu Ziling said, Things havee to this, the only thing we can do is not to do anything that will result in death, otherwise we would tie deep enmity that cannot be resolved. Ba Fenghan smiled and took the lead to cross a long street; he said, Hence the reason this tactic of misleading the enemy can only be used for goodwill and not for evil intention. The goal is to reduce the likelihood of deadly battle. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Just think about it that way then. Ba Fenghan pointed to a signboard hanging in front of a restaurant that said River Luo Tavern; he said, This is it! He pushed the door and walked in. At this time the tavern has not started dinner rush yet. Two waiters were wiping seventeen, eighteen tables inside the shop. Pow! Ba Fenghan tossed an ingot of gold onto the table and shouted, I reserve this shop tonight! Chapter 9 - Part 2 Shangshu Mansion. Inside the secret chamber. Wang Shichong pped the table and shouted with praise, Lucky that you thought about it. Just now I painstakingly thought but could note up with any good n. Because the more we are trying to hide it, the more it would appear conspicuous. Inwardly Kou Zhong cursed him as selfish andcking yiqi, but on his face he put on a smiling expression, continued withughing aloud and said, Naturally my first consideration is for Wang Gong. Now, pushing the me to Shangguan Long is ideal; this ck pot ought to be put on Yin Gui Pais devil back, considering they are more veteran than we are. It is just right to ease the pain of us, three pure an innocent people. Among the three, Kou Zhong was not afraid of lying. Ba Fenghan disdained lying, but Xu Ziling simply did not want to lie. Just by looking at this respect, the character differences between the three were obvious. Wang Shichong cast him a couple of nces and said with a nod, Xiyi Xiong and I have reflected on this matter, and both of us agreed that if it was stolen by you, there will be many things that do not make sense. For example, after you were discovered and were driven away, how could you immediately turn back and eager to snatch it away? Plus where did the confidencee from that you let only one person to brave the danger? Moreover, you did not apply your inner power to alter your body shape, to such an extent that someone recognized you? And things like that. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its all because Wang Gong understands reason. Even if we took that ghost jade, what can we use it for? Even if it were delivered to me, I would reject it. Besides, I would have to gamble my little life away. Ay! I wonder if Wang Gong has some information on Liao Kong or Shi Feixuan that you can pass on to me? Wang Shichong shook his head, No news, he said, But Wang Bo came to talk to me. Although on the surface he was very polite, he pleaded me to urge you to hand over the Jade Annulus of He n, the fact is that he indirectly threatened me. Humph! What kind of person he thinks I, Wang Shichong, am? How could I be so easily intimidated? Inwardly, Kou Zhong was amused; he said, Right now Wang Gong has no time to do other things, you might as well not get involved in this. I only have one favor Id like to ask, is that Wang Gong would protect a friend of mine. Nodding his head, Wang Shichong said, Are you referring to that man who came with you, Xu Xingzhi? Thats not a problem. If I cant even do such a trivial thing, I, Wang Shichong, need not go out to see other people. Kou Zhong delightedly said, In that case I am relieved! And then, lowering his voice he said, Is it possible for Wang Gong to give him a part-time job in your government? This man is indeed a rare talent; in term of wisdom and scheming, he is even better than I am. After he bes your staff, when otherse to ask for him, you can give him sh!tty argument not to hand him over. Wang Shichong was skeptical, I can talk with him, he said, If he is indeed a talent, I will retain him in my employment. Kou Zhong smiled and said, He is a man you can trust. And with him dealing with Li Mi, I guarantee Wang Gong will win this battle. All right! I have to go. If I am still alive, I wille again tomorrow to pay a visit to Wang Gong! Clink! After a toast, the two drained their cups. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If this continues, we may turn into drunkards who only have passion for the wine. Ba Fenghan leaned back on his chair, his eyes scanned the not-a-soul-in-sight shop and the closed main door; he said, We should not be drunk tonight. But while we dont have anything to do, we can try to guess who will push the door and enter in next. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, There are too many possibilities, can you really guess? Smiling, Ba Fenghan replied, The highest possibility would be Zhong Shao. He ought to find a ce for Xu Xingzhi, this very important chess piece! Before he finished speaking, the door was pushed open. Kou Zhong had just left the Imperial City and turned into the main street. Two men, who have been following him, ran up to overtake him. He was wondering why the other side could be this reckless and not afraid to reveal their own track when one of the shouted, Dead Kou Zhong, you still havent stopped! Kou Zhong turned around in shock, and cried out involuntarily, Miss! Turned out the two men were Zhai Rangs daughter, Zhai Jiao, and Tu Shufang, who escorted her out of Xingyang in the past. Zhai Jiao was dressed as a man, but she was definitely androgynous, making it hard to tell whether she was a male or a female. On the other hand, Tu Shufang was his old self, only there was some sign of wind and frost [i.e. hardship] on his face. Without any trace of politeness, Zhai Jiao grabbed his arm and pulled him scrambling into a side street. You, two kids, are quite famous! she cursed, No need to listen to mymands anymore. Perhaps it was because of Susu, but in Kou Zhongs heart welled up a meeting-again-after-a-cmity and a hard-to-describe intimate feeling. Smiling wryly, he said, How could your servant dare? Miss must be training hard day and night these past years, your grab nearly broke my arm bone. He also raised his hand in greeting toward Tu Shufang, who was watching on guard on the other side. With a cold humph Zhai Jiao said, Do I need you to tell me that? Without any real skill, how to get that traitor Li Mi, the renegade leader, onto the de in my hand? Come this way! Letting him go, she slipped into a small alley to their left. By this time the sky was gradually darkening, every house has started lighting theirnterns. But the alley was cold and cheerless, like an uninhabited ce. Unleashing their footwork, Kou Zhong and Tu Shufang followed closely behind her. Zhai Jiao really did not brag, her skill now was clearly superior to before; although her lower back was thick and solid just like before, she was really nimble, she was able to jump vertically with ease. Suddenly she leaped over a tall wall, and then passed through a house, leaped over a building, flying high and crouching low, and after rushing over for a time needed to drink a cup of hot tea, they reach a private house located at a scenic pedestrianne by the canal on the northeast side of the city. The three entered the reception hall and sat down. A pretty maid came out to serve fragrant tea. Kou Zhong took a nce, and called out in delight, Arent you Chuchu? The beautiful maids eyes turned red; with her small cicada head hanging down, she spoke faintly, Its hard to believe Kou Gongzi still remembers me! Kou Zhong recalled the happy memory of throwing snowballs with her at the Big Boss Mansion. Naturally he could not forget even more the sweet memory of that night when she came to his quarter and the intimacy that ensued [see Book 4 Chapters 10 & 11], which invoked in him the distant and fuzzy feeling that he had already forgotten. He was about to reply, when Zhai Jiao rudely cut him off, What I fear the most is seeing people cry. Chuchu, get lost! You are not allowed to set foot in the hall anymore! Chuchu jumped in fright; after casting a very sad look toward Kou Zhong, she hurriedly scampered into the inner hall. Tu Shufang has been sizing up Kou Zhong with rapt attention; this moment he sighed and said, Old acquaintance must not be forgotten. Xiao Zhong, you are now more understated, and did not unt yourself at all; no wonder your name shakes the eight points of thepass and you are able to criss-cross the world undefeated. Kou Zhong wanted to make some modest remarks when Zhai Jiao pped her palm on the table, creating a loud Bang!. The two men were startled; they turned their eyes at her. Zhai Jiaos huge, round and bulging eyes shot deep hatred; gnashing her teeth, she said, I want to kill Li Mi to avenge Die; Kou Zhong, you must help me! Kou Zhong really wanted to tell her that whether he could survive the night was still a big question mark, but being swept by her brass-bell like eyes, his heart softened. Striking his chest, he said, Of course, how could we be people without yiqi? Finished speaking, he was amused. That day Zhai Rang bit the hand that feeds him, he did not withhold yiqi at all. But now, under the big yiqi banner, he, Kou Zhong, would have to avenge his death. Sound of rustling wind. While Kou Zhong was startled, a young man of about twenty-seven, twenty-eight, came in through the window. Standing in front of Zhai Jiao, he saluted and said, Reporting to Miss: we have thrown off the pursuers. Zhai Jiao let out a stifled snort; she stood up first before saying, This is Kou Zhong! The man smiled and said, I have seen Kou Gongzi. I am Xuan Yong, Zhai Yes no-name disciple. Kou Zhong examined him carefully; this man looked imposing and dignified, there was a strange looking weapon hanging on his back, his build was like a fierce general who could take the head of the enemys chief in the middle of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses as easy as feeling ones pocket and taking it out. Delighted, Kou Zhong promptly returned the propriety. Noticing Kou Zhongs curious look at the weapon on his back, Xuan Yong took it and handed it over to him, saying, I got the inspiration for this weapon from a pitchfork. Originally pitchforks are used to defend the city; its length may reach up to five chi, specifically design to deal with the enemy who use clouddders to climb into the city. This one has horizontal steel de mounted at the top of the pole, it can press against the enemys weapon, but can also be used to peck or pierce. Therefore, I named it Bird Beak Strike. Tu Shufang rose up to his full height; walking over toward the two men, he said, Not only has Xuan Yong received Zhai Yes personal instruction, he has also created the thirty-six moves Bird Beak Strike technique. That day, were it not for him, we would not be able to fight off the pursuing troops sent by Li Mi. Kou Zhong was about to speak when Zhai Jiao scolded, The situation is urgent, you are still in the mood for chitchatting? The three helplessly sat down around the table. Zhai Jiao pointed to the tip of Kou Zhongs ear; she said, You are well-known for being cunning; quickly tell me how we are going to kill Li Mi. Hearing that, Tu Shufang and Xuan Yong frowned deeply, but they did not dare to many any noise. Kou Zhong did not know whether he shouldugh or cry, but on the surface he put on serious expression as he said, First of all, I want to understand the situation on Miss side. What is there to tell you? Zhai Jiao replied impatiently, That day Die sent me to Dongping County to rely on help from Tai Shu [uncle]. Li Mi sent his troops to attack the city several times, but Xuan Yong beat him back every time. Until recently the old thief Li scored big victory over Yuwen Huaji, but on the contrary, Xuan Yong said that the opportunity to assassinate the old thief has arrived. Thereupon he selected a group of martial art expert and came to Luoyang to try our luck. Perhaps the old thief would sneakilye to Luoyang for the sake of the Jade Annulus of He n, and so I must make him leave without his life. Kou Zhong immediately had a whole new level of respect for Xuan Yong; he asked, How did Xuan Xiong know that this time Li Mis victory was so tragic that it was tantamount to defeat? Although Xuan Yong could not be considered good-looking, he had appropriate outline and was pleasing to the eye, giving the impression that he had unswerving determination and he stood above the masses. This moment he had his attention fixed at Kou Zhong; his eyes bright and lively, his thick eyebrows slightly nting upwards, in contrast with his rather long nose and slightly higher cheekbones, and his wide mouth, which revealed a calm smile. All in all he made people feel that he had the air of a great general. He methodically exined, That old traitor Li Mi has never been able to wipe out all the people who have had connection with Zhai Ye from Wagang Army; therefore, I always know what happened to him like the back of my hands. Kou Zhong pped the table andughed aloud, This time Li Mi will surely die! he said. Hearing that, the other three looked at each other with bewilderment; they werepletely at a loss as why Kou Zhong said so. Book 14 - 10 – Various Strong Hoops Book 14 Chapter 10 C Various Strong Hoops Liu Heita walked into the shop inrge strides, straight toward thest table from the main door where the two men were sitting. Without any trace of politeness he pulled a chair and sat down, and nodded slightly at Ba Fenghan as his only acknowledgement and greeting, and then his eyes became like sharp and fierce like a hawk, as he stared at Xu Ziling without blinking and asked, Did you do it? Xu Xiling felt there was absolutely no way he could lie to him; therefore, he smiled and said, Smashed it! Liu Heitas countenance dropped first, and then, against the two mens expectation, a leisure smile appeared on the corner of his lips, just like sunshine suddenly appeared from behind a dark cloud to illuminate the earth, which very soon turned into a bright smile. Raising his thumb in praise, heughed aloud and said, Youve got guts! I, Liu Heita, surrender to you! Bang! Liu Heita shouted, Why havent Xiongdi poured me a cup of wine to send me off? Before Xu Ziling could move, Ba Fenghan already raised the wine pot and poured a cup full to the brim; he cheerfully said, Liu Heita is indeed a good man, I, Ba Fenghan, toast you a cup. Filled with heroic spirit, the three raised their cups high and toasted each other in ardent mood. Xu Ziling put down his empty cup and asked in astonishment, Where is Liu Dage going? Liu Heita leanedfortably onto the back of his chair, wiped the drips of wine from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, and said in a low voice, I have a military order with me; since the Jade Annulus of He n is already gone, I must immediately hasten back to Shoule to report to King of Xia. If you want to leave Luoyang, I can arrange everything. Ba Fenghan said, Ziling only tell the truth to Liu Xiong; we still deny everything to outsiders, so I hope Liu Xiong would bear with us for a moment or two. Besides, now is not the time for us to leave Luoyang yet. Only after tonight will we be able to think about this problem. It was the case of a hero admiring another hero, hence the reason the proud and arrogant Ba Fenghan was showing no formalities toward Liu Heita. Liu Heita expressed his understanding. He reached out to stop Xu Ziling pouring another cup for him. After a moment of hesitation he took out an antique and elegant looking jade pendant. Handing it over to Xu Ziling, he said, I always meant to give this to your virtuous sister, just consider it ate congrattory gift! Xu Ziling felt a stab of pain in his heart; he silently received the gift. Liu Heita let out a longughter, then turned around and left. Kou Zhong arrived at the wine shops door and bumped into Liu Heita head-on. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong pulled him aside and said in a low voice, I was trying to find you. Liu Heita looked at Kou Zhong up and down, and asked in surprise, Howe while facing vicious wind and cloud your face still look like a spring breeze, and you look immensely pleased with yourself? Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, The sky is falling we put to quilt over our head, when the boat gets to the pier-head, it will go straight with the current [i.e. everything will be all right]. Worrying will not do us his mothers birds use. Hey! Do you want Li Mi to suffer big defeat or not? His heart moved, Liu Heita said, Of course I want it very much. Our route south was cutoff by him. As long as we can inflict damage on him, we will spare no effort. Kou Zhong looked around. After the two passers-by walked away, he leaned over to whisper on Liu Heitas ear, If you can bluff by pretending to go down south to join hands with Wang Shichong, it will force Li Mi to deploy his troops to Yanshi. I am sure Li Mi will be done for. Liu Heita was already clear about this situation, plus he was proficient in the art of war, hence he understood immediately. After repeatedly expressed his admiration, he frowned and said, The problem lies in Wang Shichong; I am afraid he cannot grasp this golden opportunity and thus miss the whole point. Striking his chest, Kou Zhong guaranteed, Liu Dage may set your heart at ease; I will guarantee it. Liu Heita nodded and said, To us, this matter will only bring benefit without any harm, but you must be careful too. Li Mis intelligent is outstanding; one bad thing, and you will fall into his trap instead. With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, A wise person reflecting a thousand times can still make a mistake. Li Mi cant be the only one on earth who has all the luck. Liu Heita wanted to say anything, but then hesitated. Finally he patted Kou Zhongs shoulder vigorously and swaggered away. Kou Zhong was about to enter the wine shop to rendezvous with the other two when someone was calling his name from behind. Recognizing Song Yuzhis voice, he turned around. Song Yuzhi was still a dozen of zhang away. Naturally she was afraid he might slip away, hence she used her inner power to focus her voice into a thread and sent it to Kou Zhongs ears. Surprisingly, she did not wear her usual attire of tight warrior outfit; instead, she wore light gauzed dress and silk trousers typical of southern women of noble families. Her hair was rolled up in a bun, hanging low at the back of her head, fixed by a hairpin that looked like ab. Her manner of dressing was simple and elegant, grandeur and charming. Kou Zhong suddenly realized that he had never for a moment taken any notice of her expression and the way she dressed up, like right now. Concealed in her masculine charm was a lovely graceful bearing, which brought up her outstanding, as well as unique, beauty. In fact, she was not inferior in any respect to Li Xiuning. But why was it when he had difficulty falling asleep deep in the night, the one in his mind was Li Xiuning rather than Song Yuzhi? For a moment Kou Zhongs mind was a jumble of emotions. Fragrant scent assailed his nostrils. Song Yuzhi already arrived in front of him; her beautiful eyes shot an iparablyplex expression. Slightly angry, she said, Kou Zhong, you are really muddleheaded. You went so far as to rush down this disaster filling the entire sky. Noticing that everybody on the street was looking at them, Kou Zhong pulled her sleeve and took her to a side alley, where he said with augh, Turns out San Xiaojie [Third Miss] is so concerned about me! Song Yuzhi sighed. She gently shook his hand off, and looking deep into his eyes she said, The one concerned about you is not me, but Er Ge [second older brother]. Kou Zhong giggled and said, That being the case, Song Er Gongzi ought toe looking for me; why would he trouble Song San Xiaojies honorable self? Song Yuzhi crossly cast a nce his direction, and then spoke in low voice, You dont know how much trouble you have caused. Lu Shu [uncle] is afraid Er Ge would be draw into your maelstrom and thus bring disaster into our Song Family, hence he strictly prohibited him from seeing you. Our house rule is strict, Er Ge had no choice but to return south. But on leaving he implored me to warn you. Facing a jade-beauty, listening to her talk, which sounded passionate, but heartless at the same time, smelling the delicate fragrant from her hair and neck, which prated deeply into his heart, Kou Zhong spoke softly, Yuzhi, dont worry! I have a way to deal with the danger facing me. I can use it to achieve great endeavor, I know that not everything will be smooth sailing [orig. breeze is still, waves are quiet]. Song Yuzhi showed a contradictory expression; after giving him a stern look, she lowered her small cicada head and said, I really dont know whether I should admire you or reprimand you severely. Although nobody said it yet, but everybody admires you from the bottom of their heart that you managed to achieve these impossible feats. But these are also the most unwise moves on your part. Are you really thinking of not handing out the treasured jade annulus no matter what? Kou Zhong smiled and said, How could Yuzhi be sure that the Jade Annulus of He n is in our hands? Looking up, Song Yuzhi stared at him hatefully and said, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, plus that Ba Fenghan, is there anything you guys do not dare to do? But this time your opponent is too strong! Even though Lu Shu has a very favorable impression toward you, he dares not interfering. Also, I have two things I want to warn you. Kou Zhong happily said, Yuzhi must like me very much in your heart, isnt that so? Song Yuzhi knitted her umber-ck dyed eyebrows lightly and said in displeasure, I am speaking about serious matters concerning your life or death, dont try to change the subject into such a senseless thing, all right? Kou Zhong raised his arms as if he was surrendering; he said, Yuzhi said it well, Zaixia is listening with respectful attention. Song Yuzhi rolled her eyes at him. Pressing her jade hand on his chest, her eyes suddenly shot razor-sharp look, as she calmly said, As soon as I exert all my strength into the hollow of my palm, I guarantee your, Kou Zhongs little life, will be gone. Arent you afraid? Kou Zhong replied nonchntly, If I have to die, I have to die! What is there to be afraid of? Astonished, Song Yuzhi said, Do you think I cant possibly kill you? Our Song Family has always had close rtionship with Li Mi; maybe Ill kill you for real. Kou Zhong looked down on her jade-palm pressed against the vital acupoint on his chest, her slender scallion-like jade-fingers; he was overwhelmed with a hard-to-describe emotion that felt as if it was going to melt his heart. He spoke tenderly, Because other than Niang and Su Jie, you are the only woman that I, Kou Zhong, absolutely trust. Enough said! Song Yuzhis eyes changed. And then she sighed and leaned closer to him; her palm pressed onto his chest turned into the support she needed as her tender body nearly copsed onto his. Whispering on his ear, she said, Qu Ao already formed an alliance with Tujues martial art master; they vowed to kill the three of you. I just dont know whether they are going to make their move before or after the zi hour. Kou Zhong looked down at her slender, milky-white jade-neck appearing from her cor; he had a strong urge to bite her, but because he was afraid to offend her, he fought hard not to recklessly rush into action. He spoke in heavy voice, Are you referring to Tuoba Yu, martial brother and sister? Song Yuzhi replied, Apart from them, there are also the Tornado, Tu Li, and arge number of martial art masters apanying him, who have just arrived in Luoyang. Although Ba Fenghan is their primary target, they do not have any good opinion toward you either. Ay! What do you have that you can use to deal with them? The difference in strength is just too much. After racking his brains, Kou Zhong remembered Ba Fenghan had mentioned this person; he was a preeminent martial art master among the Tujue Kings n, who had helped the Li n attack Kaizhong, and had good rtionship with Li Shimin. Chapter 10 - Part 2 Letting out a cold snort, he said, He cant being across a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers to Luoyang just for Ba Fenghan. In my opinion, he came to the Central Palins to disturb the wind and stirred up the rain. I dont care the reason, Song Yuzhi said, The think I am most afraid of is that he is going to use you to establish his might. Presently the Tujue is very powerful, nobody wanted to have this kind of enemy. And dont think that Wang Shichong is willing to protect you. He is actually a barbarian who came from Tujue. Do you understand me? Kou Zhongs heart turned cold; he was speechless. Song Yuzhi spoke softly, The other man to watch for is Fu Qian. This man is both smart and brave, with a lofty quality of considering himself unexcelled in the world. This time he came to Central ins definitely not to do some good deeds. He and Wang Bo must have close rtionship; perhaps he will be dispatched to deal with you. It was only then did Kou Zhong remember the duel of the previous night; he asked in surprise, Listening to the tone of your voice, it looks likest night that Fu kid and old man Qu Ao did not have any duel at all; what happened? Song Yuzhi replied, When you were disying your mightst night, Fu Qian was already there. After you left, he took the initiative to change the stage; they agreed to have a decisive duel at Man Qing Yuan tomorrow night. Ay! With only a few words this man has established his status in the Central ins and gained the upper hand by a show of strength; his method is out of the ordinary. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Now my head starts to hurt! Can Yuzhi give me a kiss to encourage my morale? Song Yuzhi moved away in shock, her pretty face blushed. Angrily she said, Stop being carried away by your wishful thinking; it was because of my regard to Er Ge that I came to warn you, this shameful fellow. Giggling, Kou Zhong said, Whatever. San Xiaojies kindness to me is as heavy as the mountain. I guarantee that after we are married, I will make you happy all day long. Song Yuzhis flowery countenance turned cold; she said indifferently, Well talkter if you are still alive after tonight! Ay! I really dont know whether you are a genius or an idiot, in just a short period of time you managed to offend so many overbearing enemies. Thats it! Yuzhi has nothing else to say, you do your best! Kou Zhong followed her with his eyes, and then he somersaulted over the roof tond in the courtyard of the wine shop. He did not want to be stopped anymore. Ba Fenghan sat on the table alone; he closed his eyes and sat still and did nothing. Xu Ziling was in another corner; arranging a few chairs to make a temporary bed, hey on his back and went to sleep. His breathing was deep and even. Tonights fierce battle was inevitable. The two were trying hard to cultivate their power to maintain their optimal condition. The main door opened a little, a shadow shed; swift like a demon it stopped in front of Ba Fenghans chair. Ba Fenghan opened his eyes. Chunyu Wei, he said in surprise, What are you doing here alone? The charming and wild Chunyu Wei shed a nce toward Xu Ziling, who was sleeping on the side. Knitting her brows, she asked, Wheres Kou Zhong? Not to know whether tough or to cry, Ba Fenghan said, You dont seem to remember that we are big enemies. Standing akimbo, Chunyu Wei revealed an enchantingly sweet smile and said, You are a hero! Could it be that as soon as you saw meing alone you would seize this opportunity to make your move? Besides, I simply am not afraid of you. Oh! You have wine; give me a cup. Plopping her buttocks on the chair opposite him, she grabbed the wine cup, and pushed it toward Ba Fenghan, hinting that he should pour the wine and serve her. Ba Fenghan was helpless against her; he poured one cup full to the brim. Chunyu Wei nced left and right, and without the slightest care said, Your rival in love ising. Ba Fenghan remained cold and detached; he said in heavy voice, So Tu Li has finallye! Chunyu Wei turned her attention back to his ancient-well-without-any-ripple like handsome face, and asked innocently, Back in Tujue, didnt you like to tie a red scarf around your head? Howe you changed your habit? I like it better when you were wearing red scarf; you looked very attractive. Ba Fenghan put down his cup;ughing involuntarily, he said, Back in Tujue, when did you ever see me? How do you know what I looked like? Whether I was attractive or terrifying? Chunyu Wei did not answer. Without saying anything she put the cup by her lips and sipped lightly. Staring at Xu Ziling, she asked, Is he pretending to sleep? Or is he eavesdropping our secret talk? Ba Fenghan had a big headache dealing with this little sister; hence he simply ignored her. Receiving no response, Chunyu Weis gaze returned to Ba Fenghans face, Are you suddenly be a mute? she asked in astonishment. Ba Fenghan shrugged his shoulders with wry smile on his face. Chunyu Wei also put down her cup. Leaning forward to make a show of being very much in earnest, she said, Your old me is alsoing to the south with Tu Li. Rumor has it that she hates you to the bones; she wanted to see Tu Li cutting off your head with her own eyes. A sad look flitted through Ba Fenghans eyes. He sighed, but did not say anything. Chunyu Wei angrily said, If you dont talk, I am going to carryout Masters order, Ill fight with you! Ba Fenghans eyes shed with sharp light; he said coldly, Youd bettere backter for Kou Zhong. Chunyu Wei suddenly smiled sweetly and said, How could I fight you alone? I just wanted to scare you off! How about if I apologize? Hee! Have Kou Zhong ever mentioned me in front of you? Displeased, Ba Fenghan said, Kou Zhong has never talked about women with me. Chunyu Wei looked disappointed; standing up, she said hatefully, Tell Kou Zhong, that heartless guy, for me that he ought to run as far away as possible from you. Otherwise, dont me me for turning my face against him and show no mercy. Furiously stomping her little feet, she stormed out like a tornado. Ba Fenghan pushed his palm forward; the opened door closed up. Right this moment, he heard Kou Zhongs voice. Book 14 - 11 – The Passionate Prince Chapter 11 C The Passionate Prince Kou Zhongnded on the roof of the building at the wine shops back garden; he was just about to jumped down into the courtyard below with the intention of entering the wine shop from the back door, he saw the silhouette of someones back was leaping up from the courtyard, and happened to block his path. Looking at the mans back, he had at least 70, 80% simrity with Du Fuwei: tall and thin. Only he did not wear tall hat, and dressed in Taoist robe, with antique-style sandalwood sword hanging on his back. His posture when he jumped was extremely bizarre; his arms and legs did not bend at all, instead, he flew straight vertically like a floating zombie. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Heretical skill! and abruptly halted his step. Ning Daoqi? he called out in low voice. The Taoist looked up at the bright moon that had just risen from the eastern mountain. Ning Dao Xiong has long ago paid no attention to the things of the world, he replied indifferently, You dont have that kind of qualification. Kou Zhong was relieved, but he still did not dare to be negligence the slightest bit. Hearing this man casually used Xiong and Di [elder and younger brother, respectively] appetion toward Ning Daoqi, Kou Zhong knew that he must be a senior Wulin master of Ning Daoqis generation. Kou Zhong calmlyughed and asked, How must I address Daozhang [Taoist Priest]? You have honored me with your presence; do you have any advice for me? The Taoist spoke softly, Pindao [impoverished Taoist] Bi Chen [his name literally means flee from the dust (or earth)]. My visit this time is to spend a bit of effort for the sake of our Taoist School. As long as you are willing to hand that thing over, Pindao is willing to resolve the enmity between you and Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Jing Nian Chanyuan. I guarantee they will not investigate this matter further. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, If I really had the stolen treasure, I would personally send it back, why would I want to waste Daozhangs time arguing over it? Taoist Priest Bi Chenughed aloud and said, It was precisely because I knew you are not willing to return the treasure that I came to take care of this matter. Kou Zhong sneered and said, Since Daozhang calls yourself Bi Chen, why suddenly bother to meddle in the affair of this mundane world? Although being mocked and ridiculed with frigid irony and scorching satire, Bi Chen was not offended; he simply sighed lightly and said, Good question. This time Pindaos heart is moved by the dust (of the earth), simply because I cannot bear to see two amazing flowers, who are the only ones who could see through the Secret to Long Life since time immemorial, being destroyed in one evening just for the sake of struggle over power and position. Feeling deep veneration toward him, Kou Zhong said, Turns out Daozhang has this breadth of mind. Please forgive me, Kou Zhong, for being young and inexperienced; but supposing I insist on not handing the treasure over, would Daozhang personally destroy me? Chuckling, Bi Chen replied, Your brain is indeed fast. How about this: Ill have my back against you, if you cant force me down the courtyard within ten moves, you will obediently hand the Jade Annulus of He n to me, let Pindao return it to its rightful owner on your behalf, then this matter will be settled satisfactorily. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Please forgive me for not agreeing. Not at all because I did not have confidence, but because even if Daozhang wins, I cannot produce the Jade Annulus of He n. This is not an empty word, I dont know if Daozhang is willing to believe me or not. Astonished Bi Chen turned around to face Kou Zhong. Taoist Priest Bi Chens facial features were high, ancient, clear and amazing; he had a lofty quality that was above ordinary men. Just by looking at his sparkling and translucent, ivory-white skin color, one would know that his innate qigong has reached the transforming stage. His pair of eyeballs appeared to be in perpetually unfathomable serenity, a fantastic feeling that transcended the flesh and blood and physical appearance. While Kou Zhong was sizing him up, he also focused his attention to examine Kou Zhong; there was a shocked look on his eyes that was difficult to conceal. For some unknown reason, Kou Zhong felt kindness and intimacy from the opposite party, and firm belief in his heart that he really intervene in this dispute in good faith. Bi Chen turned his gaze toward the starry sky above the roof; shaking his head and heaving a deep sigh, he said, Kou Zhong, you did not know that in your cultivation you have reached the stage of empty-harmony way of the Daoist School training. The only one youck is maturity! Puzzled, Kou Zhong asked, What do you mean by empty-harmony way? Bi Chen looked straight at Kou Zhong; with solemn and respectful expression, he spoke slowly, word-by-word, Our Taoist School cultivation is divided into four stages: training essence and transform it into qi, training qi and transform it into shen [soul/spirit/mind], training shen and transform it into emptiness, and training emptiness and harmonize it into the way [Dao/Tao]. The course of events in all these stages cannot be exined clearly, like the person who drinks it knows best whether the water is hot or cold [i.e. self-awarenesses from within (Zen proverb)]. You must understand that no matter how huge the human potential is, there will be limit. The first two stages refer to corporeal body cultivation. Only thest two stages of training will interlink the practitioner to the abundant appearance of the way in the universe; hence it can transcend the flesh, and reach into the sacred harmony way of transforming stage. [My apology, having no familiarity with Taoist concept, I tranted it as best as I understand it.] Delighted, Kou Zhong said, When we trained the Secret to Long Life, it seems to me from the beginning we have been training thest two stages as Daozhang exined it. Smiling wryly, Bi Chen shook his head and said, This is something that Pindao is unable to understand. Now, how can this matter be resolved? Under present situation, once we are not careful, it will develop into Buddhist, Taoist, Heretics; three-school dispute. Kou Zhong smiled and said, To be honest, even if I had the Jade Annulus of He n in my hands, I would not hand it out. Such a treasure like the Jade Annulus of He n, only the virtuous can obtain it. Whoever has the ability, he ought to be the owner. Whoever wants to take the treasure, he ought to use real skill to obtain it! Bi Chenughed aloud and said, Your character is very simr to Pindaos youthful temper. Very well! I wont care about this matter anymore! You do your best! With a longugh, he turned around and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Kou Zhong jumped down into the courtyard. Ba Fenghan, who was already waiting, promptly opened the door. As soon as he walked into the wine shop, the first thing caught his attention was Xu Ziling, who was lying on the corner like a statue of reclining Buddha. Shaking his head, Kou Zhongughed involuntarily and said, This kid is really a happy-go-lucky person; I cant remember when thest time I had some sleep was! Putting his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder, Ba Fenghan spoke with serious expression, Sit down first, lets talk. After sitting down, Kou Zhong swept his gaze around. Where are the waiters? he asked in surprise. Ba Fenghan replied, A tael of gold can make people willing to do a lot of things. It was only then did Kou Zhong notice Ba Fenghans expression, Why does your countenance look this heavy? he asked in surprise, Did you hear what that Bi Chen said? In one nce I could tell he is a virtuous qianbei [senior] of the Daoist School! Ba Fenghan replied with a coldugh, This time your eyes have really left you. That man is called Demon Taoist Pi Chen [repel/refute dust], not Bi Chen. Thirty years ago he ran amuck in the north, never shrink from any crime, a Demon Cult martial art master that can be reckoned as the first or second best. His prestige is second only to Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan. Fortunately the Jade Annulus of He n is really not in your hands; otherwise just now he would have found out the truth from you. Exhaling sharply, Kou Zhong asked in surprise, How did you know his background that clearly? Howe Ive never heard his name? A pained smile appeared on Ba Fenghans face; he said, Do you know who told me everything about the Demon Cult? Although both Pi Chen and Zhu Yuyan are Demon Cult people, they belong to different factions. In normal times they fight and scheme against each other, only when dealing with outsiders they are rather united. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day. Frowning, he said, That Demon Taoist is really formidable; he did not leak even half a bit of demonic air. Ba Fenghan said, If I didnt know that the Demon School had such character, I would have been fooled, just like you. Just from this fact we know that this mans cultivation is very high; he has reached the pinnacle of aplishment. Can he really take my ten saber moves with his back? Kou Zhong mused. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan replied, That is not possible. Even Ning Daoqi cannot. He just wanted to bluff to see if the Jade Annulus of He n is really in your hands or not, but he ended up deceived by you instead. On the surface hisst remark was pleasant to the ear, but beneath the surface he was actually pushing the wave and adding to the billows [i.e. adding fuel to the fire]; hoping that we will fight against Liao Kongs side until both sides suffer. It was extremely despicable. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If there are other martial art masters his caliber around, youd better tell me about them now, so that I can be ready. Ba Fenghan smiled wryly with him; he said, Wed better not scare ourselves. At least before the zi hour he wonte to bother us again. If we are still alive by then, well continue this talk! Kou Zhong sighed and said, I have someone giving me information; rumor has it that Qu Ao and Tujues Tornado Tu Li are allying themselves to deal with us. It will be a hard battle that wont be easy to fight. Must we change our heroic n and investigate how we can escape into the wilderness tonight? Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, Do you think that under present circumstances we can still easily ride a boat or take a cart to leave the city? Listen carefully, outside is as quiet as a ghost domain, where have all the people gone? Do you think they blocked the street? Kou Zhong asked in surprise. Ba Fenghan slyly replied, Although not quite, its not too far from the truth. After taking a quick nce at Xu Ziling, he smiled and went on, Do you think we need to copy Ziling and have a good nights rest? That proposal suits Zhens idea the best [Trantors note: zhen is how an emperor refers to himself]. Ay! A rider ising our way! Dont you think its a bit too early? Ba Fenghan replied, Those whoe before the zi hour are our friends, those whoe after are our enemies. See if my guess is urate. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and walked over to the other corner about three zhang away from Xu Ziling. Stretching his limbs, he said, Friends who disturb my sleep are considered enemies. Whatever it is, Ill let you deal with it, Watching Kou Zhong moving the table and arranging the chairs, Ba Fenghan smiled ruefully and said, You are such a true friend. The hoof beats wereing nearer, the rumble reverberated along the street. By the time Kou Zhong was lying down two tables that he made into a bed, the hoof beats stopped in front of the door. Chapter 11 - Part 2 A young, sweet-sounding male voice rang outside the door, The three of you, get out! Although he spoke without any trace of politeness, the tone of his voice was gentle and pleasant to listen to, refined and calm, in total contrast to what he said. A cold, deep murderous aura flitted through Ba Fenghans eyes; he coldly said, Whos there? Tonight I, Ba Fenghan, will not kill an unnamed nobody. The man was silent for half a day before he finally spoke in soft voice, Ba Xiong, please forgive Zaixia for speaking harshly in the urgency of this situation. If Ba Xiong is willing to exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk by handing over the Jade Annulus of He n so that Zaixia may return it Miss Feixuan, Zaixia wishes to apologize over a toast for provoking Ba Xiong just now. The voice prated the tightly closed door; it was loud enough to be heard, but not overbearing, each word was spoken clearly, but imbued with power, so that others would not date to take it lightly. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs even breathing rose and fell continuously, causing a strange rhythm that seemed to reveal some kind of unspeakable truth. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, The thing I loathe the most is people who strolled in and talk out of turn. Who exactly is Sire? Are you really representing Shi Feixuan? The man let out a longughter and then said, Listening to the tone of Ba Xiongs voice, the handing over of the Jade Annulus of He n has not been discussed yet! In that case, lets exchange some palm strikes first. Even after racking his brains, Ba Fenghan still could not think of the identity of the young martial art master on the street, hence he decided not to answer but closed his eyes and sat quietly instead. Bang! The shop door shattered into wooden debris filling the air inside the wine shop. Even with Ba Fenghans unperturbed, the-Mount-Tai-copsed-in-front-of-his-eyes-his-countenance-would-not-change cool-headedness, he could not help being emotionally moved. It should be noted that the double-leaf door was hollow on the inside; it could not take impact force at all. But the opposite party was unexpectedly able to send a punch over empty air and shatter the two doors at once; merely this kind of skill has reached a universally shocking level. An unspeakably outstanding and elegant, refined in manner, like the jade tree facing the wind, young and handsome man, appeared from behind the shattered door, his hand holding a folding fan with painting of beautiful women on it, swaying gently into the room. His rxed and wellposed manner did not look like he was an evil guest who came to seek bad luck. Ba Fenghans pair of tiger-eyes burst with sharp light; staring intently at the iing man, he suddenly said, Turns out its the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai; no wonder you are such a protector of the flowers [i.e. beautiful women]. Please forgive me for failing to salute you. He spoke those words with an extremely cold and indifferent tone, implying that his remark was brimming with frigid irony and scorching satire. Hou Xibai revealed a helpless look on his face; sighing, he said, To be quite honest, Zaixia has always longed to see three gentlemen with a heart full of admiration, but has never wished that we would meet under such circumstances. Huh! Are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling injured? Or are they sleeping? Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, Hou Xiong needs not pay them any attention. Since this is our first meeting, wed better drink two cups first before fighting. What do you say? Hou Xibai silently sized up Ba Fenghan. It was quite a momentter that he replied, This is called peaceful measures before using force, not just in name only, but also in reality. Let Zaixia toast Ba Xiong first then. Striding over, he sat down across from Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan sat motionless in full concentration. Without blinking he watched as Hou Xibai put his folding fan into his sleeve pocket before reaching out to pour wine for him as well as for himself. Hou Xibai waspletely unfazed by the opposite partys sharp eyes, which seemed able to prate into the bottom of his heart; his movements remained confident and at ease, worthy of his romantic reputation that could make beautiful women all over the world fell in love with him. Holding his cup with both hands, Hou Xibai saluted and said, Knowing someone by their reputation cantpare to meeting them in person. Ba Xiong did not disappoint Zaixia. Ba Fenghan did not show any indication that he was going to return the propriety; instead, he spoke indifferently, Hou Xiongs folding fan has refined-steel as its skeleton, but I wonder what kind of material is the fan itself made of? Hou Xibai smiled and replied, This is the first time anybody ever asked me this question. Ba Xiong eyesight is indeed very keen. My humble fan is made of heavenly spider silk, iparably strong and tough; unafraid of any de. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Good weapon. I was just wondering: do you have Shi Feixuans portrait painted on it? Hou Xibai lowered his head; staring at the good wine in his cup, he said with a wry smile, The only thing this fancks is Miss Feixuan. Can Ba Xiong guess why? Ba Fenghan calmlyughed and said, That is not difficult to guess. One reason would be her unique personality traits, which Hou Xiong found it difficult to capture; or perhaps Hou Xiongs passion runs too deep, you worry about personal gains and losses instead, and thus was unable to describe it with ink. Hou Xibai dejectedly said, Those two reasons Ba Xiong mentioned are both logical. For me, I do not know which posture of hers ought to be put into the painting to show off her beautiful form; hence I am always hesitant and do not dare to move my brush. Touched, Ba Fenghan said, That remark is more touching than any praise. Hou Xiong might as well paint a dozen or so Shi Feixuan on the fan, each one depicting one of her postures, charm or grace; wont that solve the problem? Sighing, Hou Xibai said, In that case, I am afraid I will have to paint endlessly, and thus I will be too disrespectful to her. Ba Fenghan was stunned for half a day. Finally he raised his cup and said, That was a brilliant remark. Let Ol Ba respect Hou Xiong with a toast. Clinking their cups, the two drained the wine until not even half a drop remained. After putting his cup down, Hou Xibais eyes suddenly became as sharp as a de as he stared straight into Ba Fenghans eyes; his voice became cold, Can this matter find a peaceful solution? Ba Fenghan tly shook his head and replied, Hou Xiong, lets not talk nonsense. Hou Xibai wondered, Ba Xiong has never shown any interest in our countrys affairs, why be involved in this pointless dispute? By obtaining the treasured jade annulus, what good would that bring Ba Xiong? Ba Fenghan replied impatiently, Didnt Hou Xiong want to fight? Ol Ba wants to get a firsthand experience of Hou Xiongs fan art, which has shaken the world. This is called chance encounter is better than asking to meet. Hou Xiong, please! Both mens eyes suddenly brightened up, neither one willing to concede as they stared at each other. A strong stream of murderous aura emanated from Hou Xibais body straight toward Ba Fenghan. Without any breeze, the schr attire he was wearing suddenly fluttered like a g, increasing his already-strong momentum. On the other hand, Ba Fenghan remained as calm as an abyss and ocean, or like towering mountains and precipitous ridges; even though the wind and the waves crashed against it, they failed to sway him the least bit. The wine pot and wine cups on the table started to shake; it was a very strange spectacle. The two stared at each other for half a day; they both know that in term of momentum, it would be difficult to overwhelm each other. In the end, they had to exchange blows to seek each others weaknesses and ws. Swish! The fan appeared in Hou Xibais hand and opened up. The side facing Ba Fenghan had the paintings of eight beautiful women, each with different pose, showing off the beauty and disposition of each woman to the fullest. Taken aback, Ba Fenghan said, Isnt that Shen Luoyan in the corner? I have never seen her with that kind of expression, and I have never thought she would be that fascinating. Hou Xibais momentum grew without restraint, but his face showed a tender expression as he spoke gently, Luoyan is a very lonely girl. When I picked a white chrysanthemum that day and inserted it on her hair, she revealed that pleasantly-surprised and forlorn expression. At that time she must be remembering someone else. I was not jealous at all, on the contrary, I captured that moment in the painting. Only this expression can represent her best. Qiang! Ba Fenghans sword left its sheath and sliced across Hou Xibai sitting on the other side of the table. Zip! the fan closed, with casual ease and freedom of action it parried Ba Fenghans swift-and-fierce-without-equal sword strike. Both were shaken. Both sides shivered inwardly. Ba Fenghans seemingly simple sword strike was actually extremely difficult to block. While moving at lightning speed, it subsequently changed direction three times; his estimate was that no matter how brilliant Hou Xibai was, it would be quite awkward for him to evade or withdraw. Who would have thought that the sword was doomed to be blocked by the opponent? A feeling of disbelief also appeared in Hou Xibais heart. Since his debut, no matter how brilliant, illustrious, or overbearing opponent he encounter, no one has ever able to block ten strikes of his fan. But to deal with Ba Fenghans fantastically-changing-without-direction sword strike, he was forced to give it all he had. Although on the surface he seemed rxed, inwardly he had to waste tremendous strength on just this one move. His natural disposition was free-and-easy and aloof-above-the-crowd; his disy of martial art skill was also like that. Even if he got killed, on the surface he would still appear free-and-easy, unlike other people who would appear in great distress. Two soaring stars of Wulins younger generation martial art masters finally had a face off. The sword and the fan stopped in the air above the table. Hou Xibai continuously blocked wave after wave of powerful five-way true qi streaming out of Ba Fenghans sword. Emotionally moved, he said, Ba Xiong is more formidable than I thought. Inwardly, Ba Fenghan was actually shocked as well. He had never imagined Hou Xibai would be this brilliant. If his meridians had not been transformed by the Jade Annulus of He n the previous night, quite possibly by this time his internal energy he would have entered fire-deviation stage, and perhaps he would have suffered serious internal injury. Laughing indifferently, he said, Same here! Same here! The Beheading Mystery Sword retracted and extended, leaving Hou Xibais Fan of Beauty, and in session cut and stabbed across the table five times. Hou Xibais Fan of Beauty opened and closed at random, but it was always able to parry Ba Fenghans flowing-mercury like wild attack and ferocious strike in such an extremely ingenious way. The most amazing thing was that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were still sleeping like they were dead, seemingly oblivious that a life-and-death battle was happening between the two men. Yawn! Kou Zhong sat up from his makeshift bed; looking around, he asked in surprise, Hou Xibai, what are you doing here? The Jade Annulus of He n is practically not in our hands. Even if it was, we could always disregard his mothers Jianghu rules and team up to kill you first. Qiang! The Beheading Mystery Sword returned to its scabbard. Book 14 - 12 – Falling From the Sky Chapter 12 C Falling From the Sky Zip! The Passionate Prince Hou Xibais Fan of Beauty drew a semicircle in front of Ba Fenghan with a gesture that warmed the heart and delighted the eye, before it was closed and held horizontally across his chest. Staring at Ba Fenghan, he asked, Is that true? Ba Fenghan coldly replied, Jade Annulus of He n is not in our hands. Frowning, Hou Xibai asked, Why didnt you tell me earlier? With pained expression on his face, Ba Fenghan replied, Did you ask me? The two stared at each other for a moment, and then they suddenly burst outughing together. Kou Zhong was about to go back to sleep, Hou Xibai held his Fan of Beauty high and opened it, showing the side that only had Wanwans portrait on it to Kou Zhong and asked, May I ask Kou Xiong, who is this beauty? Squinting his sleepy eyes, Kou Zhongs voice was emotional as he replied, It is indeed life-like and vivid, preserving the resemnce and maintaining the wonder, as if it came alive on the surface of the fan. Ba Fenghan leaned sideways to take a look; with heartfelt praise he said, Hou Xiongs most admirable skill is your ability to grasp her hard-to-exin, mysterious and hazy characteristics. If your martial art skill is as good as your painting brush, I am afraid everybody would have to step down gracefully. Kou Zhong was still staring nkly at the picture of Wanwan on the fan; greatly puzzled, he asked, Your painting of female demon Wan is only in ck and white, two colors, but howe I feel like it is in full color? Really weird. Hou Xibai shook the Fan of Beauty closed; stunned, he asked, Female demon Wan? Kou Zhongy back on the table; he moaned, That was the number one formidable opponent of your dream lover Shi Feixuan, the female demon Wan; the best and the brightest martial art expert of the Demon Cult after Zhu Yuyan. Fortunately she does not like to gather essence for her cultivation, or else she would suck your passionate seed until not a drop of juice remains. A wistful and faraway look appeared on Hou Xibais face; shaking his head, he sighed in admiration and said, Turns out it is her. No wonder there is this unique and unmatched personality trait on her; charming scents seem to keep erupting from her tender body. And then he added in astonishment, Kou Xiong does not seem to be too polite to me! Kou Zhong sighed, Because I am jealous! he replied. Hearing that, Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai looked at each other in confusion. With his eyes closed, Kou Zhong mumbled as if he was in a dream, Shi Feixuan is willing to take you as her confidante, but she is instigating people to persecute me. Two kinds of treatment differ like heaven and earth, cloud and mud; how can I not be jealous? Hou Xibai burst outughing, Its just a misunderstanding, he said, Ill stay with you until the zi hour in here. Anyway, I have not seen her immortal countenance for more than three months. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, It is not that simple. Hou Xiong, it would be best if you do not get involved in this, otherwise in the future you wont have good days either. Kou Zhong also asked, Do you believe us simply based on what we said? Sneering, Hou Xibai said, What rule says we cannot believe somebody based on what he said? Dont think that it is easy to lie to me, rather, from the nature of Ba Xiongs sword, I knew that he is someone who will stop at nothing; he will never care what other people think of him. This kind of people, they will never be afraid to admit what they did. Kou Zhong, do you understand? Astounded, Ba Fenghan said, Based on this skill alone, Hou Xiong could be considered top expert in the art of war." Noticing that Kou Zhong acted as if he was going back to sleep, Hou Xibai turned toward Ba Fenghan and asked with a smile, In Ba Xiongs heart, who is the most beautiful woman? He picked up the wine pot to pour a cup for Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan replied in displeasure, Hou Xiong did not seem to hear what I say; I just wanted to sit quietly, waiting for the zi hour. Hou Xibaiughed aloud and said, Zaixia appreciates Ba Xiongs good intention. However, I am the kind of man whod do what he thinks, willful and never had any regard of the consequences. Unless Ba Xiong asks me to leave, I really want to enjoy this excitement. In any case, in Luoyang right now, there is no ce more interesting than here. Ba Fenghan coldly stared at Hou Xibais fine, slender and white hand that was pouring the wine, a hand that looked like it belonged to a woman; he spoke heavily, The three of us are of one heart; we can work together without any gap. But if an unknown variable like Hou Xiong joined in, it might disrupt our formation instead. Lets just consider this one cup a send-off wine. Hou Xibai raised his cup and made a toast, Ba Xiong is definitely my friend. Cheers! The two roared inughter and drained their cups in one gulp. Hou Xibai rose up to his full height; after casting a deep nce toward the unmoving, sleeping-like-a-Dali-stone-statue Xu Ziling, he leisurely walked away. Kou Zhong sat up and said, Quarrelling with that kid, my sleep is driven away. I really wish I could beat him up to vent my anger. Ba Fenghan waited until Kou Zhong sat himself next to him before speaking with a hint of smile, He is definitely an outstanding character that will make people admire him wholeheartedly; his skill is even more shocking. But why you dont like him? I dont understand it either, Kou Zhong muttered, But his paintings are undeniably unparalleled in the world. Hey! Basically I am not qualified to say that, unless I have seen all famous, ancient masterpieces of the world. But its hard to imagine someone will be able to paint more vivid than he does. Ha! If this kid is to paint pillow-side paintings, I guarantee he will attract perverts from all over the world. Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, Youd better not say those words in front of his face; otherwise, it would be strange indeed if he didnt want to stake everything against you. Kou Zhong suddenly turned serious; he said, In Ba Xiongs opinion, who is the most beautiful woman in the world? If it is female demon Wan, youd better not say it. Realizing Kou Zhong was imitating Hou Xibai, Ba Fenghan wanted tough, but his countenance abruptly turned dark as he slowly shook his head and turned his gaze toward the wine shop door, which had be a gaping hole. Sighing gloomily, he said, Perhaps it is Shi Qingxuan! Just by listening to her flute and her sweet voice, it is enough to make me wanted to see her face. But seeing her is just as good as not seeing her. Seeing her only by imagination might be the best. Kou Zhong leaned over to scrutinize Ba Fenghans facial expression. Noticing that he was looking through the doorway at the dark and deserted street outside, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Your mouth says Shi Qingxuan, but your expression looks like you are thinking of another woman. Too bad I do not have Hou Xibais painting brush, otherwise I would have captured this rare expression of yours, like that time when Shen Luoyan let Hou Xibai stuck a flower on her hair, but in her heart she was thinking of Xiao Ling. Kou Zhong, shut your dog mouth! Xu Zilings angry voice rang out. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were stunned, and then both howled inughter until a few drops of tears escaped from their eyes. Kou Zhong sprang up from his chair, and then in three and two steps he bounced toward Xu Zilings makeshift bed and got down on one knee and said, Ling Shao, please calm down. I thought you were sleeping like a dead pig as usual; who would have thought that you heard everything? Sin, sin! Xu Ziling suddenly opened his tiger-eyes wide. They were gleaming with unusual light that even Kou Zhong, who was very familiar with him, was terrified. He spoke heavily, Which martial art master ising? There is an open front door you did not take, but you linger on the roof instead? Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong jumped in fright. Although their minds were somece else just now, but this person was able to hide from their eyes and ears; merely from this skill, they knew the iing person was no small matter. An ear-splitting longughter rang out from the roof. Boom! The roof shattered. Following the dust, crumbs and wood fragments, a magnificent shadow fell from the sky, andnded on a table in the middle of the wine shop. Drawing the Moon in the Well, Kou Zhong shouted angrily and went all-out without showing any leniency. It was still one sichen before the zi hour. Book 15 - 1 – Seeking Life In Death Book 15 Chapter 1 C Seeking Life In Death The man was wearing tight nightwalker outfit, his face was wearing multi-color, garish, but with sinister and terrifying expression, wooden mask. His hair was loose, and from the edges of the mask it was clear that he had thick dragon beard on his face; his overall appearance was extremely dreadful. Although his Mt. Lu true appearance could not be seen, under the skintight outfit it looked like his build had some kind of terrifying beauty. His height wasparable to Kou Zhong, three men, and he looked extremely sturdy, with the back of a tiger and waist of a bear, and broad shoulders, with thick and solid neck, as well as extrarge palms visible under his clothes. Every single part of his body taken separately gave out the impression of rough, boorish in nature, yetbined together the whole entity shouted a healthy and beautiful, well-proportioned physique, exuding agility, strength and flexibility; an immactely perfect posture. The weapon in his hands was a rough, jet-ck, but shiny staff, a bit more than a zhang long, about the size of a babys arm in diameter, yet it was unclear what kind of wood it was made of. By the time his feetnded on the table, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well already turned into bright light, swiftly slicing across his lower part. Qi power filled the hall. An amazed look flitted through Ba Fenghans eyes, but he was still sitting motionless, while watching the fight unfolding before his eyes with the cool eye of a bystander. Xu Ziling, however, closed his eyes, as if he had no interest whatsoever to watch. Qiang! The attacker raised the end of his long staff to block Kou Zhongs saber. Its uracy and speed were unbelievable. That hed used his ebony staff to meet Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well head-on, Kou Zhong was not surprised at all; since he had the guts to break down alone, he ought to have the ability, and his ebony staff must be a strange weapon from unorthodox school that was unafraid of any de. But that the opponent was able to neutralize all follow-up changes of his Moon in the Well was like someone was hitting the vital acupoint on his throat; he could not help feeling greatly shaken and his acute spirit fell. The rarely-matched and shocking qi power burst out of the end of the staff into the de of his saber like a torrential flood, dashing against Kou Zhongs powerful spiraling qi power that everything was broken and in disorder; he barely had the strength left to prevent the Moon in the Well from being thrown off of his hand. Naturally Kou Zhong had never imagined that the attacker would be this overbearing. Fortunately his meridians had undergone the shedding-of-ones-mortal-body-and-exchanging-ones-bones transformation the previous night, so that his true qi capacity had increased rapidly, and he was able to replenish it quickly. The old power disappeared, the new force arrived. Urgently raising a mouthful of true qi, he immediately neutralized the opponents true qi invading his hand, followed by Swish! Swish! Swish! three saber strikes in session like a rainstorm. The man was strange as well; silently he blocked two saber strikes and then somersaulted above Kou Zhongs head, the ebony staff turned into a shaft of ck light, shooting toward Ba Fenghan, who was sitting quietly behind a table at the end of the wine shop. Ba Fenghan sat motionless with fixed gaze, so that he looked like a stone statue, until the ebony staff was only about five chi away from his face, and then while his left hand was pressing the edge of the table, fast as lightning his right hand drew the Beheading Mystery Sword, and Pow! it hacked the head of the ebony staff. The table did not move, even the pot and cups on the tabletop were not overturned, but the chair that Hou Xibai was sitting on just now suddenly had its four feet snapped and crumbled onto the floor. Powerful energy flowed freely. The upper part of Ba Fenghans body swayed, his face turned into a slice of red cloud. Borrowing the reaction force, the man rose up and somersaulted backward, the long staff in his hand moved at the speed of sparks from a flint stone to block Kou Zhongs two attacks in session: the first was an upward motion, thest was a sweeping motion, both struck against the tip of Kou Zhongs de with incredible uracy, making Kou Zhong felt helpless; even though he had the power, he was unable to use it. This mans martial art skill was very high; perhaps it wasparable to Wanwans. The ebony staff in his hand, which weigh was estimated at approximately a hundred catty, was able to move nimbly like a de of grass; lightweight and freely. From this, the level of his strength could be clearly deduced. This moment his toes pushed the ground, the ebony staff turned into ck shadow filling the air,pletely surrounding Kou Zhong, who was charging over toward him. The two shadows advanced and retreated in session, the sound of saber and staff colliding against each other was ringing continuously. The faster they fought, the more the shing noise became stringed together like the sound of the rain pattering against the roof tiles; so clear and beautiful. Qiang! Ba Fenghans sword returned to its sheath. Is it Tuyuhuns Fu Yuns son Fu Qian? he shouted coldly. The man gave out an ear-splitting longugh, parried another strike of Kou Zhongs saber, and then borrowing the reaction force he leaped up, and Zoom! he disappeared into the hole on the roof. His voice came back, Thanks for the experience! By the time thest word arrived, he was already over a hundred zhang away; his speed was as fast as a shooting star. Qiang! Kou Zhong also returned his saber to its scabbard, and looked at Ba Fenghan with shock. Ba Fenghan inhaled sharply and said, I did not expect him to be this formidable. Even if the three of us joined hands, I am afraid we still could not hold him down. After his mind calmed down, Kou Zhong looked up at the night sky above the hole on the roof. Frowning, he said, What did that bearded kid want? Did he want to show off his strength, or he just wanted to damage the wine shop owners livelihood a little bit? Xu Zilings voice came, He is not Fu Qian, but the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan. Only he was using a stick, hoping that we would not guess that it was him! Stunned, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong looked at each other; they were relieved instead. Yang Xuyans best skill was his ability to hide his track and avoid the targets eyes and ears until he was very close. Kou Zhong stepped aside to sit on a low wall. Looking and the chaos and the wood-fragments-strewn floor after the cmity, he cursed, Must be that Li kid who sent him to assassinate me. Ba Fenghan exhaled a mouthful of air and said, His martial art skill is more formidable than what I thought; the most formidable aspect is his ability to move indefinitely, like he seemed to move forward but actually backward, making it difficult to grasp. And then, turning toward Xu Ziling, he asked, How did Ziling guess that he was Yang Xuyan? Xu Ziling sat up, he looked at Kou Zhongs face, across the floor filled with debris and overturned and skewed and broken tables and chairs; smiling, he said, Although he was using all kinds of method to hide his identity, both by altering his shenfa [body motion/posture] and footwork, and abandoned his consummate skill of using sword sh to confuse the enemy and used matte, non-reflective ebony staff, he still could not hide his dense, cold, and intense true qi; therefore, as soon as he made his move, I knew he was Yang Xuyan. Kou Zhong had a sudden revtion. No wonder he did not mess with you, he said, He was afraid you might recognize him. And then he frowned and said, But he created havoc in here, what good would that bring him? If by doing this and that he think he can frame others, its just a joke. Xu Ziling stared at Kou Zhong for a long time before finally he spoke slowly, He came here to kill you. Kou Zhong was stunned, Kill me? he asked. Ba Fenghan was puzzled as well, If he was trying to kill Zhong Shao, he ought to use the weapon that he is good at, he said. Xu Ziling raised his head to look at the hole on the roof. Heaving a deep sigh, he spoke indifferently and calmly, Because he was afraid Li Shimin might know that he disobeyed his order against getting involved in tonights dispute over the Jade Annulus of He n; hence he hid the head and showed the tail like that. Once he realized that he was unable to kill Zhong Shao using the ebony staff, he attacked Fenghan Xiong in passing to confuse others eyes and ears. The three grew silent; there was neither the least bit of noise nor movement. Time slowly passed; it was less than a sichen from the zi hour. A long whileter, Kou Zhong, who was still sitting on the low wall, untied the Moon in the Well, along with its scabbard, andid it t on hisp. Shaking his head, he said, I nearly split my brains, but I still cannot think of any reason why Yang Xuyan would go against Li Shimins order, and why he might want to kill me so urgently. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, But you cant help but agree with Zilings spection, because when he crossed hands with you, the murderous aura was so thick, but when he attacked me, the staff was purely to test me out. It had killer power, but no killer intention. Kou Zhong swayed his head, as if he wanted to drive everything that has been bugging him out of his mind. He said, I dont care his mothers reason, but next time we meet, Ill cut his egg and eat it to apany wine. Ha! Ba Fenghan smiled and said, If we did not die tonight, it is definitely a lifetimes unforgettable experience; especially since in one night we be the target of multitude of arrows of various hegemons from all sides, as well as people from both the ck and the white ways. I am afraid there has never such a grand asion throughout history. Xu Ziling slyly said, After this matter is over, what is Fenghan Xiong going to do? Ba Fenghan pondered for half a day; finally he spoke with indifferent smile, I am going to part ways with you two gentlemen, going back to the prairie and great desert beyond the Great Wall, to start another stage on the road of spiritual cultivation. After I have fully digested all the benefits I reaped in the present days, I am going to return to Tujue to challenge Bi Xuan, irrespective of victory or defeat, life or death. Chapter 1 - Part 2 Xu Ziling looked at Kou Zhong, and then turned his eyes back at Ba Fenghan as he said wholeheartedly, I really envy you. Ba Fenghan threw his head back and let out a longugh before saying, By nature I am a loner; I never had any friends. You two are the only exceptions. The two boys were emotionally moved. To have Ba Fenghan spoke those words, how rare would that be? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, You want to leave, naturally we must respect your wishes. But dont you care about Yu Yi anymore? Ba Fenghan rose up to his full height and calmly said, This, of course, is one of the unfinished businesses. Zhong Shao, dont worry. How can Ol Ba be a quitter? Kou Zhong sprang up; lightly gripping the Moon in the Well still in its scabbard with his right hand, he said in delight, I am bored just by sitting in here; perhaps taking a stroll down the street is a good idea. Ba Fenghan proudly said, Before the battle, it would be best if we make a vow: tonight, either the three of us die in battle, or walk away safely together. There will be no third possibility. With his heroism reaching the clouds, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Let us use wine to settle the vow then; we will drink three his mothers cups, and then go out and kill to our hearts content. Calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Ziling stared at Kou Zhong and coldly said, Zhong Shao seems to be confusing yourself. Tonight we must not kill anybody. If we are involved in an inextricable enmity against Ci Hang Jing Zhai, it wont bring any good to your dream great undertaking. Kou Zhong was stunned. He said, Two armies facing each other, if we are being lenient everywhere, wont that be the same as having our hands and feet tied? Smiling, Xu Ziling said, That was precisely why I went to sleep. Finished speaking, he stood up and walked over to the table where Ba Fenghan was sitting. Picking up three cups, he arranged them in a triangr formation [orig. Ʒ (pin) character]. Kou Zhong has alreadye over. Grabbing his head, he said, What is this? Xu Ziling did not know that in the spur of the moment earlier, Kou Zhong was forced to use too much of his brain power. Looking at Ba Fenghan, he asked, Fenghan Xiong, what do you think? Ba Fenghan fixed his attention on the tree cups. His eyes flickered with terrifying light as he spoke heavily, Theoretically speaking, the most perfect shape in the world is a circle; it has no beginning, it has no end. Coming and going, it has defensive advantage, but no offensive advantage, simply because there is no particrly sharp point. After a short pause, he went on, A triangle has both defensive and offensive advantages, simply because each side has de edge and sharp corner, but with the underlying characteristics of a circle. Does Ziling have this kind of troop disposition in mind? It is exactly that, Xu Ziling replied, If the three of us fight alone tonight, there is no doubt that we will die. Only by relying on a counter-intuitive strategy will we be able to have an opportunity to live. And then he pointed to the three cups and said, We are these cups. Because we have been through many life and death situation together, in term of coordination, we are not the least bit inferior to those who have trained battle formation for many years. Moreover, we do not confine ourselves to certain technique, we can change ording to the situation; the variation is endless. The only thing we need to discuss right now is the heart of the problem. Frowning, Ba Fenghan asked, What problem? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I understand! Xiao Ling is referring to ourplementary true qi, just likest night when we were training. Old Ba, you be the Tianjin Bridge connecting the two of us, connecting the north and south parts of the City of Luoyang separated by the Luo River, so that the entire city bes one solid city that no one can capture. Shaken, Ba Fenghan said, I understand now! Kou Zhong lifted the wine pot and poured wine into the cups, saying, The Battle of Luoyang Street tonight will be our biggest test. If we can stay alive, we will immediately enter the rank of top martial art masters of the world. Thinking about it makes me feel excited. Xu Ziling was the first to raise his cup; proposing a toast, he said, But we must not get excitedter. Drink it up! The other two raised their cups and drained them in one gulp. Afterwards they all smashed the cup on the floor, creating a loud, clear sound. Looking at each other, they allughed. The zi hour has finallye. Crossing the threshold, they went down the steps in front of the wine shop. Kou Zhong leaned close to Xu Ziling and whispered, Thank you! Xu Ziling was puzzled, Why thank me all of a sudden? he asked. Walking in front, Ba Fenghan already reached the end of the stone steps. Stopping, heughed and said, Zhong Shao is rarely this courteous! Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh; continuing his stride out of the door, he walked over to Ba Fenghans side, and after looking left and right, he said, The shops in Luoyang have their front door higher than elsewhere. I wonder if they are afraid that during heavy rain the Luo River would overflow and flood the street? Ba Fenghans attention was piqued; he mused, If I were Li Mi, I would take advantage before the rainy season is over to lead my troops to attack Luoyang. It can work wonders. This moment Xu Ziling finally reached Ba Fenghans other side; he looked up and down the long street. This most prosperous street in Luoyang was as still as a ghost domain, not even half a shadow on anybody was to be seen, all shops and buildings had their doors and windows tightly shut, leaving only thenterns hanging underneath the eaves casting their nting light along the street. About a thousand paces to their left, the Luo River was flowing; it was such an overwhelming, magnificent sight. With the Milky Way as its meteorological guide, the magnificent Tianjin Bridge spanned across the river, connecting the number one main street of Luoyang, which width reached a hundred paces and which length exceeded eight li, which both sides were lined with trees. Laughing heartily, Kou Zhong said, If Fenghan Xiong agrees to help me conquering the world, why would I worry that the great undertaking will not seed? A terrifyingly sharp light flitted across Ba Fenghans eyes; his gaze moved from the stone steps toward the middle of the street, the imperial highway, which was constructed of hundreds of white stone bs and separated by rows of pomegranate and elm trees on either side. Smiling, he said, When all is said and done, I am not a Central ins man, so I have my ambitions elsewhere. Besides, based on your, Zhong Shaos intelligence and wisdom, you have more than enough in you; you dont need an insignificant Ba Fenghan. That moment, Kou Zhong was scanning the surrounding area for any trace of the enemy; he calmly said, I just have a feeling. But Old Ba, although you are a foreigner, you seem to be more familiar with our countrys affairs and cultures than the two of us; which I found it to be extremely weird. Ba Fenghans eyes softened; he seemed to be hiding a sad, painful feeling in his heart. He sighed, but did not answer Kou Zhongs question. Taking the lead, he stepped down the stone steps, crossed the pedestrian pathway and the vehicles and horses road, and onto the imperial highway. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong followed behind him. Myriads of thoughts filling his heart, Kou Zhong said, During Yang Guangs days in the past, if anybody dared to travel leisurely along the imperial highway, he would be executed for the crime by the authority. This imperial highway is a symbol of separation between the Emperor and all the people. One who has never personally bowed to the pain and difficulties ofmon people, how could he be a good emperor? Xu Ziling remained silent. He was just staring at the majestic silhouette of Ba Fenghans back. Entering the imperial highway, Ba Fenghan turned left toward the Tianjin Bridge. Kou Zhong leaned over to Xu Ziling and said, The reason I thanked you just now is because if you, Ling Shao, did not help me these past few days, I would have been finished. And what I appreciate more is that if not for my sake, you would never have done anything you have done today. A hint of smile appeared on the corners of Xu Zilings mouth; he said indifferently, Life is like a big blocking a river; none of the fish that are trying to swim through will be able to slip past it. Since I already promised you that I will help you dig the Duke Yangs Treasure, I knew that this kind of situation may appear and I must deal with it with all my strength. After a short pause, he sighed and went on, But I never thought that we might provoke Shi Feixuan, Ning Daoqi, that kind of dreadful enemies. And now, what else can I say? Walking in front, Ba Fenghan seemed to turn a deaf ear to the two boys conversation; he kept walking with his hands behind his back toward the Tianjin Bridge. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, You ought to anticipate this kind of consequences early on, yet you are still actively helping me. Other than your brotherly yiqi toward me, I dont think there is any other reason. Xu Ziling kept staring at Ba Fenghans majestic back, which seemed that it could never be knocked down, while continuing to walk silently. It was quite a whileter that he finally spoke, Of all kinds of reasons, one of them might be my desire to vent Su Jies anger toward Li Jing, thatpletelycking-any-sense-of-justice , so that he wont have good days. Taken aback, Kou Zhong shot a couple nces toward him; momentarily he was speechless. Of all the reasons he could think of, he had never thought that Xu Ziling would fight for the Jade Annulus of He n for this one. Ba Fenghan suddenly stopped. His eyes shing bright, he had his gaze fixed on the Tianjin Bridge. One slender and elegant man in schr attire was standing on the apex of the bridge with his hands behind his back, leaning against the railing to look down on the Luo River flowing under the bridge. A barge happened to float by. OK, who would be the first one to fight them? Book 15 - 2 – The Immortal By The Bank Of River Luo Book 15 Chapter 2 C The Immortal By The Bank Of River Luo Xu Zilings tiger-body shook. Qin Chuan? he called out in low voice. Actually, without he mentioning the other partys name, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan also instinctively knew that the person ahead was Shi Feixuan, who was using the name Qin Chuan as an alias, gracing their presence with her fragrant self. When they were stepping out of the wine shop door earlier, the three had naturally thought about whom they might encounter first. The biggest possibility was of course Reverend Liao Kong, apanied by the Four Great Protector Vajra and a bunch of Buddhist monks, big and small, who emptied their temple toe here looking to give them bad luck. Next would be the whip-bearer old friend, Wang Bo. And then schools and sects who had good rtionship with Ci Hang Jing Zhai, or perhaps the dragon-bearded Prince Fu Qian who had just arrived in the Central ins. [Trantors note: the word dragon here is (qiu), young dragon with horns.] But they had never imagined that their first encounter would be with the most esteemed martial art master after Ning Daoqi, unmatched in her generation, Shi Feixuan. She was so young. Caressed by the night breeze of the Luo River, dressed in light greenish blue gown fluttering in the wind, in indescribably rxed and graceful manner, leaning forward to gaze into the clear water down below, so calm and natural. An antique-looking, elegant sword was hanging on her back, increasing her heroic aura to some degree, while also reminding others that she possessed matchless swordsmanship in the world. From the three mens angle of view, looking up at the highest point of the center of the Tianjin Bridge arch, they saw the half-moon in the night sky happened to appear right next to her face, bathing her in the gentle and soft moonlight, emphasizing her beautiful C as if it was born of, and received spiritual influence from, the heaven and the earth, silhouette against the outside world, just like distinct undting contours of the river against the mountain. Even though the three were ustomed to see rare beauties, they could not refrain the overwhelming feeling that took their breath away. But her beauty was different from Wanwans. It was some kind of clear water out of cotton rose [hibiscus mutabilis], carved out of the Heaven kind of natural. The innate, natural beauty that was iparably pure and simple. Like the beautiful goddess that has been resided in the River Luo forever suddenly made her appearance by the riverbank. Even in the middle of this bustling metropolis, her arrival immediately turned everything else into a superiornd of empty mountain and spirit rain, as if it was really a fantasy, an extremely moving ce. Although she appeared mortal, there seemed to be no way that she would ce herself in the midst of dusty, vulgar earth, which did not match her identity. Her beautiful, lucid and elegant eyes looked like the sun appearing from behind the red clouds, and yet able to always maintain some mysterious, immeasurable serenity. It was only this moment that the three men realized that Hou Xibais praise of her was not an exaggeration at all. Shi Feixuans extraordinary beauty, the kind of beauty that takes ones breath away, was not something that an ordinary brush of the mundane earth could capture and control. The three were staring nkly at her. Not only they havepletely lost their will to fight, they could not even squeak any noise. The very moment that their heartstrings were being shaken, the bright and beautiful, the beauty standing proudly like lotus in the middle of clear water, spoke softly using herpletely-free-from-impurity, sweet voice, Feixuan really did not wish to meet three gentlemen under this circumstance. Due to her appearance, the entire heaven and earth seemed to be shrouded byyer uponyer of intensely sweet-smelling immortal fragrance, which surrounded them and rendered them unable to get away, neither did they want to get away. Beneath the calm and cold outward appearance, her eyes revealed strong determination like fresh flowers blooming in a dark ce, far above the passion of love and secr pursuits. Compared to Wanwan, with her exotic appearance and devious gorgeousness, demonic tenderness and slinky beauty, who looked like the faintly discernible bright moon that was hiding behind light cloud, she looked like a burst of sunshine splitting the empty valley and secluded forest, sprinkling the mother earth with its light, brilliant, bright and graceful. Even with Kou Zhongs cynicism, Xu Zilings indifference of life, and Ba Fenghans callousness, in an instant they were awed by her beyond-the-world immortal beauty and elegant appearance, so that they nearly forgot that He whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille [i.e. Be careful not to trust strangers]. The Heavenly Street was as quiet as a ghost domain; only the rustling noise of gentle wavespping the dike of the river and the foot of the bridge was heard. Under the nting moonlight, the four buildings towering on either side of the River forming a square with the Bridge in the middle, cast their magnificent shadows on the street and the surface of the water, adding the intensity of the already dreadful atmosphere. Ba Fenghan was the first toe to his senses; taking a deep breath, he said, Miss Shi has graced us with your immortal good self, naturally it is for the Jade Annulus of He n. I was wondering: what are you going to do? Shi Feixuan basically did not even look at them; a thin, indifferent smile floated on the corner of her cinnabar red lips, her sandalwood-colored mouth opened slightly as she said, After Feixuan left the Monastery [orig. zhai from Ci Hang Jing Zhai], I have never fought with anybody, but tonight, quite possibly because of three reasons, I will have no choice but to break this oath [orig. Buddhist monastic discipline]. Do you want to hear it? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, To be able to make you, Miss Shi, vite your religious precept and make your move, it is our, three mens greatest honor. But Xiaodi [little brother] is untalented; even after thinking until my brains split I can only think about the Jade Annulus of He n, one reason for you to make your move. I wonder what the other two are. Shi Feixuans voice turned cold, as she spoke icily, One of the reasons is that the three of you have stirred up the alertness in Feixuans heart. Even with the three mens intelligence and wisdom, they still failed to understand; their brains went nk. Ever since Shi Feixuan made her appearance, Xu Ziling remained silent and did not say a single word. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, Could Miss Shi speak more clearly? Shi Feixuan did not wear the least bit of cosmetics, but her brilliance was like the glow of the sun rising over the red clouds, as a helpless smile flitted across her jade countenance. Sighing lightly, she said, How could Feixuan be one who loves to use weapons of war? Only because the opportunity to unify the world, to cross over the suffering of all the people, that in fear and trepidation, not daring to be negligent, I bear the mandate that my Master entrusted in me. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly, but on the surface he pretended to be surprised as he probed further, What does it have to do with whether Miss is going to deal with us or not? Shi Feixuan lightly twisted her long, beautiful and elegant neck, turning to face the three men for the first time. Her beautiful eyes rippled, she looked extremely enchanting. And then she even turned her tender body around to face them. Obtaining the full view of her was like she threw a stone in theke of their hearts; it created countless undting ripples. Under her long and naturally curved eyebrows, her bright and deep eyes appeared even more beautiful, in perfect harmony with the dimples embedded onto her jade cheeks, which seemed to carry perpetually smiling expression. Her shoulders were like they were carved with de, her twisting waist so fine, delicate, yet full, so that others could not help having their soul snatched away. Under the illumination of the moon, her skin was sparkling and translucent like jade, so that her figure appeared even more lithe, her posture extremely exquisite, free from the vulgarity of the dust of the earth. This moment, her beautiful eyes, which had turned the three mens spirit and soul upside down, were shooting sharp light that seemed to be able to prate the bottom of other peoples heart. After sweeping the three mens faces with her gaze several times, her eyes stopped at Kou Zhong, and then with a tranquil, indifferent tone she said, If Kou Xiong agrees to immediately hand over the Jade Annulus of He n, and possibly from now on withdraw from Jianghu, everything between us may be written off in one stroke, and hereafter we have nothing to do with each other. Kou Zhong did not expect she would suddenly be so direct and inspoken like this, without any trace of politeness at all. Stunned, he said, Did I hear it correctly? Did Miss say that if I agree to withdraw from Jianghu, the Jade Annulus of He n does not even need to be handed out? Ignoring him, Shi Feixuans gaze turned toward Ba Fenghan. She sighed faintly and said, Is the Central ins not chaotic enough? Why dont Ba Xiong return to the outside? Ba Fenghans eyes shot sharp, shing light, as he returned her gaze unyieldingly. Without blinking the least bit, he spoke heavily, Miss is wrong. Wherever Ol Ba wants to go, I have never let anybody tell me whether I should turn left or right. A hint of pained smiled escaped from the corner of Shi Feixuans lips, but her voice turned gentle, This is precisely the reason you are stirring up the alertness in Feixuans heart. All three of you are extremely daring, nobodys willing to submit easily. Since the moment you set foot in Luoyang, you immediately broke the bnce of forces in the Eastern Capital. Just from this point alone, nobody dares to lightly neglect you. And then her gaze turned toward the standing silently Xu Ziling; she said indifferently, May I ask why did Xu Xiong steal the Jade Annulus of He n? All three cried out, Formidable! in their heart. Ever since her appearance on the Bridge, she had all initiatives in the palm of her hands. They could only be in the disadvantageous position of reacting to her every move. Her speech was deeper than the way of the sword; it was like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies, totally hard to pin down, impossible to defend effectively. After silently staring at each other for half a day, Xu Ziling calmlyughed and said, Listening to the tone of Miss Shis voice, it seems to me that even though the Jade Annulus of He n is not in our hands, you would still refuse to let us off! Both Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan silently heaved a sigh of relief. They felt that Xu Ziling wasunching his counterattack; moreover, it struck the only weak point in Shi Feixuans words. Ever since encountering Shi Feixuan, they felt as if they were half their original height and were overwhelmed with thiefcking-in-confidence feeling. But if Shi Feixuan felt that even though the Jade Annulus of He n was not in their hands she still wanted to deal with them, it would put them in apletely different set of frame of mind. Focusing her attention, Shi Feixuan sized Xu Ziling up and down for a while before sighing lightly and said, Using the sword to rule the world is, of course, must not be allowed. But using the sword to obtain the world seems to be the only way since times immemorial. Feixuan has no choice but to ask for advice of Xu Xiongs consummate art. I want to see whats so mysterious about the amazing skill from the Secret to Long Life. The three did not expect she would take this abrupt turn and chose Xu Ziling to be their representative. Throwing his head back, Ba Fenghan gave out a longughter; his heroism reaching the clouds, he spoke boldly, Who would want to experience Miss Shis swordsmanship more than the Ol Ba? Miss, please enlighten me first! Dang! A sharp and clear ring of the bell came from behind, resonated along the deste, illuminated by the moonlight, street. The sound lingered in their ears for a very long time. And then a gentle, thick and deep male voice invoking the names of Buddha spoke in tranquil tone, Pinseng [impoverished monk] Liao Kong, wishing to represent Feixuan in fighting Ba Shizhu [benefactor]. Hearing that, the three looked at each other. Reverend Liao Kong unexpectedly opened his golden mouth to speak. Shi Feixuan sighed and said, And this is the third reason Feixuan has no choice but to make my move. Because of the theft of the Jade Annulus of He n, Dashi [great master/reverend,mon term to address Buddhist monks] had to break his vow of silent meditation that he had already cultivated for many years. Feixuan fells even more guilty, and had to make exception by personally making my move. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Even if the Jade Annulus of He n was not taken by us, the battle tonight is still inevitable, isnt it? In that case, which sacred self would be my, Zhong Shaos opponent? Remaining calm in the midst of chaos, Shi Feixuan said, As long as Kou Xiong and Ba Xiong do not strive to make your move, how could Feixuan offend you? I just want to confirm whether Xu Xiongs xinfa [Trantors note: so far I tranted this as mental cultivation; I am starting to think that I need a better trantion] from the Secret to Long Life is drawn from the unusual power of the treasured jade annulus imperial seal! Kou and Ba immediately cursed their own stupidity for neglecting the fact that Shi Feixuans swordsmanship also came from the highest art of their mysterious school, Ci Hang Jian Dian [lit. sword canon of Ci Hang]; perhaps she really could see through whether Xu Ziling had the capability to steal the treasure. In which case, they still could not dispute it even if they had a hundred arguments. The only way would be to escape as far as possible, and unless they knew for sure that they could defeat Shi Feixuan, they might as well not to show themselves in Jianghu. At the same time, they both felt lucky. After absorbing the energy from the Jade Annulus of He n, perhaps Xu Zilings power xinfa became so superior that even Shi Feixuan would fail to recognize it? However, the other possibility would be that as soon as they fought, Shi Feixuan would immediately see through that Xu Ziling indeed possessed the unusual energy from the Jade Annulus of He n. This would be disastrous. The two flipped back and forth between these two contradicting thoughts; advancing or retreating, they would lose. Should the refuse, or ept dly? The first attitude would show clearly that they were thievescking in confidence; the second attitude was a trap, with even more worrying consequences. Shi Feixuans personality was just like her sword: difficult to ward off. And she has hit their weak point. On the surface, the two were, naturally, as calm andposed as usual, without disclosing the storm in their heart. On the contrary, the person involved, i.e. Xu Ziling, remained confident and at ease; he smiled and said, Miss has this kind of validation art, it is indeed what Zaixia wanted to seek but failed to get. Please! Shi Feixuan took two C seemingly very casual, steps forward; immediately a burst of dense, fierce without equal, momentum enveloped all three men. The three shivered inwardly. Her two seemingly simple steps were like moving clouds and flowing water that gave out a fantastic feeling of a dam cutting off the flow of water; clearly it was some kind of first-ss, profound and esoteric footwork style. Otherwise, how could mere two steps express movement and talent strung together, and express her prowess as well? They could also feel her essence and qi power was closing in tightly; as soon as one of them revealed any gap, she would immediately draw her sword to attack. And the attack must be of a ten-thousand-catty-thunder strong, which was impossible to withstand. In that instant, she already grasped the advantageous offensive position. Shi Feixuans pretty face radiated a pure and holy glow, making others did not dare to have any morbid and sacrilegious thought, and were deeply ashamed. Xu Zilings tiger-eyes suddenly burst an unprecedented strange light as he took a stride forward. In response, Shi Feixuans generated fierce sword qi was immediately concentrated on him. While using all his power to resist Shi Feixuan, who was standing proudly about eight paces away at the head of the Bridge, Xu Ziling spoke coldly, Zhong Shao and Fenghan Xiong, please move aside slightly, let Xiaodi have a taste of Sword Canon of Ci Hang, the matchless sword technique in the world. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong took the opportunity to move separately to the left and right, leaving the twobatants standing face-to-face amassing their power. Night breeze was blowing from the River Luo, but the twobatants sleeves were not affected at all. The man was casual and elegant; the woman was graceful like a fairy. Watching them was like watching a pair of matching jade annulus made in Heaven; who would have imagined that they were about to fight, so much so that it would be a life and death battle? Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were standing on either side of the long street. Although they had great confidence at Xu Zilings martial art skill and his intelligence, but his opponent this time was the preeminent swordswoman who came from the number one holynd under the heavens; plus the two were worried about their personal gains and losses, hence their hearts were burning with anxiety. Far away, on the street at the other end of the bridge, Reverend Liao Kong, holding the copper bell in his hand, stood quietly, acting as Shi Feixuans backup. As for how many people were lurking in the dark, perhaps nobody knew for sure. The barge that was sailing under the bridge a moment ago came back, and even stopped under the bridge. A faint silhouette of someone sitting on the deck was seen, giving out a mysterious vor. To Xu Ziling, who was in a standoff against Shi Feixuan, it was a totally different vor. It was only this moment that he finally understood why Wanwan, with all her brilliance, was still afraid of Shi Feixuan and did not dare to make her move so easily. Because from head to toe, this woman could really reached the extraordinary qi controls the momentum stage, where without the sword leaving its sheath, she could already injure the enemy using the sword qi. The most terrifying thing was that under her without-any-distracting-thought, deep, clear and bright beautiful gaze, it was so easy for the opponent to lose his will to fight, and thus would greatly reduce his originally unyielding, focused, matchless momentum. Her bearing, movements, every frown and every smile, not only left deep, unforgettable impression on others, her graceful, wless, leaving-nothing-to-be-desired personality did not have the least bit of blemish at all. It should be noted that with Xu Zilings eyesight, tempered over many years of battle all over the world, coupled with his unique innate talent, he has already reached the Grand Master level. Even against superior masters of Qu Aos caliber, he was able to tell the depths of their skill in just one nce, hence he was able to decide whether to stake it all or to escape. But facing this immortal-and-sage-like, otherworldly beauty, he waspletely unable to grasp the depth of her skill, or even the strength or weakness of her true character, and as a result, he was unable to develop any strategy. Shi Feixuan was also sizing up the opponent with full concentration. Even in this time of two strong opponents facing each other, her mood remained transparent and ethereal, without the slightest desire to kill or to boast. Strictly speaking, although she received mandate from her Master and has not shaven her head to take the oath as a nun, she could definitely be considered an outside-person who spread out the religious practice of Buddhism. Other than Hou Xibai, there has never been any young man who leaves the least bit of impression in her heart. But the young martial art master in front of her eyes had a kind of hard-to-describe personality, so that a feeling of tenderness and sympathy grew in her heart. Plus his martial art skill was much higher than she imagined. Since her debut, rarely had she encountered such opponent. These were all the perceptions that grew in her heart during the standoff. They would not affect her mood at all, much less her swordsmanship. By the time her sword leaves its sheath, all distracting thoughts would vanish like smoke in thin air, without leaving any trace at all. Thinking to this point, Shi Feixuan sighed inwardly, and then refocused her mind. Qiang! The treasured sword left its sheath. One stream of no-stronghold-one-cannot-ovee sword qi shot out from the tip of the sword, piercing the air, straight toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling stretched out his right hand, drawing a wless small circle. Peng! Sword qi and palm power collided. Xu Zilings was severely shaken; he staggered half a step back. Shi Feixuan was still as graceful and serene as ever. In the midst of this vicious-weapons-dangerous-battle moment, she still gave out the impression that she was hiding in a cluster of dense, fragrant orchids, pacing back and forth in a deep valley on a remote mountain. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan had never imagined that her sword qi was this formidable; it has practically reached the splitting-the-air-to-attack-the-enemy, freely-ording-to-her-wishes stage. But worrying right now would be useless. The former called out, Miss, have you tested it out? Shi Feixuans pretty eyebrows were slightly knitted; toward Kou Zhongs cry, that was an obvious attempt to distract her mind, she simply regarded it as a bad smell, but toward Xu Zilings move, her fragrant heart was actually greatly astonished. Her sword technique was the highest xinfa of the mysterious school; as soon as she made contact with the opponent, she would be able to detect the others actual depth; thereby she could determine whether Xu Ziling had the ability to harness the special power of the Jade Annulus of He n. However, when their true qi shed just now, Xu Ziling was sending out a fantastic vortex of energy, whichpletely sealed and blocked her exploration, so that her true qi failed to prate his meridians to incite proper reaction. Xu Ziling was finally relieved, albeit only slightly. Before the zi hour, he intentionally spent two sichen in sleep-meditation, it was precisely to deal with this situation. Under normal circumstances, he could not surpass Kou Zhongs hundred-tactic acumen. But it was not because his talent was inferior; rather, it was due to his character who did not like to contend against others. However, in critical junctures like this, he would alwayse up with amazing idea that even Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong would have to prostrate themselves in admiration. From this, it was clear that his ability and wisdom was actually very superior. Although Xu Xingzhis tactics were brilliant, Xu Ziling had already realized that he stole the treasure would be the only w. Because although outward appearance could be imitated, martial art would not lie. His original target was Liao Kong, because Liao Kong used to sit facing the wall studying the Jade Annulus of He n, hence he was deeply familiar with its characteristic, and should be qualified to determine whether Xu Ziling had the ability to control and resist the Jade Annulus of He n. Supposing Xu Ziling did not absorb the Jade Annulus of He ns special power, this moment not only he did not need to be afraid, he would be happy to let the opponent test him. It was because he was basically unable to control the Jade Annulus of He n that Bu Chis staff, with its ten-thousand-catty-thunder-power, coincidentally dissolved him from critical circumstances and brought him greatest fortune instead. But now that his meridians had been flushed open by the treasured jade annulus extraordinary power, he could not erase the evidence that he hade in contact with the treasure. Therefore, his two sichen of sleep was not in vain at all; rather, he made use of that time to take the blending of the Jade Annulus of He ns special power and his own true qi one step further, to a different from of qi power, that even Liao Kong, or perhaps Shi Feixuan, would find it hard to identify. Presently, although they were still at an early stage, even a brilliant master like Shi Feixuan felt it difficult to affirm. Although admittedly luck also yed an important role here. Were it not for the fact that Shi Feixuan had never fought with him in the past, this moment she would have been able to sense the difference in his true qi. Staring at him without blinking, she spoke softly, The sword in Feixuans hand is called Color Empty [ɫ], specializing in defending the heart. Xu Xiong, watch out! Xu Ziling smiled and said, Miss Shi, please enlighten me! The moment two great martial art masters contended against each other in terms of real talent and solid skill has finally arrived. Xu Zilings clothes suddenly looked like he was facing a gale; it stuck closed to front part of his body, while the corner of his sleeves fluttered backward as if blown away by violent storm, creating an extremely weird scene. Shi Feixuan remained calm as ever, but her pretty eyes were growing brighter and brighter; even the Color Empty Sword seemed to be glowing with brilliant light. Overwhelmed with amazement, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans countenance changed; they knew that in term of imposing manner, Xu Ziling had already fallen into an absolutely disadvantageous position. The Color Empty Sword finally made its move. Book 15 - 3 – Major Enemy Waiting For The Opportunity Book 15 Chapter 3 C Major Enemy Waiting For The Opportunity Lightning shed, sword qi filled the air. Shi Feixuans Color Empty Sword filled the air with light and shadow, whichpletely enveloped Xu Ziling. She was like a fairy dancing lightly and gracefully. Her shadow was barely discernible amidst the shes of her sword, like the bright moon hidden behind hazy cloud. The densely cold sword qi spread far and wide that Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, who were standing three zhang away, could also feel it. The momentum swaying back and forth was like swirling kes of snow in the middle of a storm. Xu Ziling had already stored up his momentum as he was waiting quietly, and was in full alert. But he still could not anticipate that this seemingly gentle, tender and graceful, touching, engaging and charming beautys delicate hand, which was whiter than frost and softer than snow, would be able to unleash such a terrifying sword moves, which were swifter than a rainstorm. He knew that this was a critical moment. As soon as he failed to block, her sword qi would invade his meridians, it might immediately spur reaction, and then she would know that the Jade Annulus of He ns special power has entered his system. Xu Zilings body turned into shadow, which swiftly advanced and retreated in the midst of sword shadow. With the fingers closed together his left hand formed a saber, brimming with his true power, moving so fast that ordinary people would not be able to see it, as it chopped to the left and parried to the right, each palm strike urately hitting the body of Shi Feixuans Color Empty Swords de. Still, everybody knew that Shi Feixuan held the initiatives in her hand, while the opponent was stuck in passive position and could only react to her move. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong stared tongue-tied, and felt so helpless. Xu Ziling has always been able to utilize his acute sense of touch to grasp key moment, but this time, this advantage waspletely lost on Shi Feixuan. With mystical and abstruse style, and graceful-like-an-immortal shenfa, every single sword strike of Shi Feixuan seemed to be able to grab the key moment and thuspletely nullify Xu Zilings counter-offensive. No more than twenty movester, Xu Ziling waspletely under the swords control; without the freedom to act independently he was falling under the opponents like-a-heavenly-steed-soaring-across-the-sky swords sphere of influence. His range of motion diminished. The moment he was unable to evade would be the moment he suffered utter defeat. Even in this precarious situation, Xu Zilings heart was still free of distraction, his mind was as still as the moon in the well. Although he was in the worst predicament possible, this situation has actually stirred up his overbearing, unyielding determination. With heart and soul he met Shi Feixuans floating-freely, fantastically-changing, ever-increasing-in-power, sword technique. Using the heart to control the sword. Shi Feixuans sword technique did not follow any established rules, but each strike of the sword was designed to hit the opponents weak point. Every sword strike carried the power of a thousand hammers, a hundred (scale) weights, which seized away the heaven and the earths good luck. The most formidable thing was the sword qi shooting out of the de of her sword, which flowed swiftly into every gap, no-hole-left-uninvaded, which was very difficult to guard against. Xu Ziling suddenly closed his eyes; pulling back his left hand, he sent out a right punch. Peng! The body of the Color Empty Sword was hit by Xu Zilings fist. Powerful qi swept across horizontally, kicking up the dust in the street. Ever since the start of the battle, this was the first time Xu Ziling was able to attack the de of Shi Feixuans Color Empty Sword. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan could not refrain from shouting out, Good! Sword shadow dissipated. Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to seize this opportunity to attack, when suddenly a bright light shed in front of his eyes; like a lightning that suddenly struck from the outer sky and broke through the dark cloud of the night, the Color Empty Sword suddenly appeared in front of his chest. It was the very first time that the idea that the enemy was not someone he could defeat appeared in his mind; his heart was shaken even more. He knew that under the opponents powerful offensive, he had lost his confidence. If he let this condition continued, his defeat was decided. Then in his pursue of martial art cultivationter on, this blow would be a setback that he could not remedy. It might also prevent him from reaching the peak of perfection all his life. It was a distracting thought. But just before Shi Feixuans prating-the-universe sword momentum, who could resist such dejected feeling? Such a simple sword, yet it contained iparably profound xinfa and sword logic. It looked slow, but it also looked fast. Just in term of speed alone, it was already difficult toprehend; plus the de was vibrating, like a vipers tongue, which gave up the impression that it could change direction at any time. In this instant where victory and defeat would be decided, Xu Ziling took a deep breath and pushed away all distracting thoughts out of his mind. His eyes shed with lightning, both palms closed together like a lotus, and then like a blooming flower all ten fingers opened up in front of the de like countless finger shadows. Pow! Xu Zilings left thumb knocked horizontally against the body of the de, but his entire body was jolted back as if he was struck by lightning. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were shocked. Shi Feixuans sword strike was undoubtedly unparalleled in the world, but Xu Zilings weird move was exquisite and brilliant beyondpare; it has practically sealed off all attack routes she could possibly take, while also met this one strike head-on. The problem was that all along, Xu Zilings true qi was still a level below Shi Feixuans the iparably refined and pure enigmatic sect and orthodox schools sword qi, which she cultivated since childhood. In addition, the opponent has always been upying the superior position of offensive initiative. Therefore, not suffering any setback would be a marvel indeed. Wah! While his body was spiraling in the air as he was thrown back, Xu Ziling spewed a mouthful of blood. Shi Feixuans sword momentum congealed; unexpectedly she did not follow up her victory and press home the attack. Xu Zilings martial art cultivation was far beyond her expectation. Not only his tenacity was outstanding, he was able to produce strange moves one after another, so that although she maintained the offensive for a long time, she failed to defeat him. Thest sword strike just now looked like it would hit his acupoint and thus render him incapable to continue the fight, but unexpectedly it was neutralized by his top-notch amazing technique. She was able to injure him until he vomited blood, but it was not her hearts desire. Qiang! Qiang! Finally Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were unable to hold on anymore. Saber and sword left their scabbards. Dang! Again Liao Kong rang the copper bell as a warning. Right this moment, a shadow shot down like an arrow from the building to their left, straight toward Shi Feixuan. The air around them seemed to implode, so that they all felt extremely ufortable. Such a dreadful martial art, except for the Tian Mo Gong, there was no other. The in-clothed, barefooted Wanwan suddenly appeared like a spectering out of the deepest ck hole of the dream; before the person arrived, a thin stream of ribbon already flew out of her right hand sleeve, like a snake it rolled toward Shi Feixuan, whose mind was still distracted by Xu Zilings profoundness. Its momentum was swift and fierce to the extreme. It was absolutelyparable to Shi Feixuans sword a moment ago. Only it did not generate any noise or even the whistling sound of qi power splitting the air. When her body was still high in the air, her other hand lightly waved her gauzed sleeve in such an amazingly graceful manner, shooting three streams of white light, attacking Xu Ziling, who was still staggering, and Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, who were in ready-to-pounce stance. Nobody knew how she did it, but it was very fast and urate. Following the sound of yelling and angry scream, four different shadows shot down from the top of two opposite buildings nearest this side of the bridge. Surprisingly they were Bu Chen, Bu Ju, Bu Tan, and Bu Chi, the Four Great Protector Vajra of Jing Nian Chanyuan. Under the moonlight, especially because the light was behind them, their Buddhist staffs appeared even darker; carrying thunderous whistling, their might was awe-inspiring. Apparently they were stationed around the battle ground to guard against other people rushing to intervene; but obviously they could not stop Wanwan, this special grade martial art master. Reverend Liao Kong invoked the many names of Buddha, and like a meteor catching up with the moon he flew over at top speed. In spite all these, Shi Feixuan, who was the target of the sneak attack, remained calm as usual. The Color Empty Sword rose up, while her body floated diagonally up to meet Wanwan. However, everybody knew that Wanwan chose this exact moment to make her move, because she knew that after fighting a hard battle with a formidable opponent, and moreover because she identally injured Xu Ziling, her mind was distracted and her acute spirit was discharged. Hence for Wanwan, who had been amassing her momentum for a long time in waiting, this moment was precisely the one-in-a-thousand golden opportunity to strike the enemy. At this point, the one closest to Wanwan was Xu Ziling. But he simply had no time. Plus he had to deal with the secret projectile shot by Wanwan; hence even if he wanted to help, he was simply powerless. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were, first of all,paratively farther away, and secondly, they were also busy blocking the secret projectile, hence no matter what, they were a hair slower. Other people need not be mentioned; they were like water from afar quenches no fire. In the blink of an eye, these two illustrious sessors representing orthodox and heretic, two separate ways, were engaged in a confrontation against each other. The tip of the sword hit the end of the ribbon. Shi Feixuans tender body was slightly shaken; she flew horizontally toward the Tianjin Bridge. Jolted by the impact, the three-zhang long ribbon was bended first, and then the force flowed along the length of the ribbon, making a wave, which, in turn, became a dozen or so rotating rings; like a shadow it followed Wanwan as she soared into the air to pursue Shi Feixuan, who was flying away in the opposite direction. One after another Kou Zhong, three men, dodged the flying des thrown by Wanwan. Meanwhile the two women already crossed sword and ribbon in the air above the bridge, like numerous strings [of musical instrument] being plucked together at the same time, in an instant they already exchanged more than ten moves. Although it happened in such a short period of time, the battle was iparably intense. Each move carried full power; ruthless, swift and fierce, speed against speed. Amidst the shes of the sword and the shadows of the ribbon, the two women fought in the air, and down onto the bridge. Their figures advancing and retreating abruptly, like a rabbit evading the falcons hunt. Since the spectators could not even see their face and figure clearly, they could forget about trying to intervene. They only know that at any time the conclusion woulde, in the form of sshing blood and a dead body lying on the ground. Ba Fenghan was the first to rush toward the head of the bridge. He was about to act when Wanwan and Shi Feixuan suddenly separated. Shi Feixuan floated toward the railing of the bridge, the Color Empty Sword was pointing toward Wanwan; an unusual redness appeared on her pretty face. In an extremely graceful posture, Wanwan soared up andnded down on the head of the bridge on the opposite side. Before her feet touched the ground, Bu Tan and Bu Jus more than a hundred catty Buddhist staffs swept down from the sky, bringing with them the pressure of a storm, blowing her clothes that it was pressed up against her body, emphasizing her beautiful body lines. Kou Zhong and the others cried Bad! inwardly; they were the only ones who knew best the level of Wanwans formidability. How could these two monks be her match? Wanwans sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade bare feet lightly pushed on the gstone of the bridgehead, propelling herself at an angle, and in an instant she broke through the two monks staff shadows. Amidst her tenderughter, Bu Tan and Bu Ju staggered and fell to the side. Wanwan continued to rise, and then changed direction toward the Luo River. ncing back, sheughed and said, Meizis [younger sister] is indeed out of the ordinary; thank you for letting Wanwan experience it! Right this moment, strange light suddenly shed; a burst of rays of light shot up at an angle from the small barge parked under the bridge, fast like a thunderbolt it struck Wanwan, who was still flying in the air. Again Wanwan let out her sweet-sounding, silver-bell like tenderughter. Her right sleeve brushed away, she swept the tip of the folding fan to the side, and said with augh, Hou Xiong is no longer a man who cherishes flowers? The interceptor was none other than the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai. His folding fans momentum being blocked, Hou Xibai let out a stifled groan as he was jolted back onto the ground, and was thrown about a zhang until he was stopped by the embankment. Borrowing the reaction force, Wanwan flew up at an angle and disappeared behind the multi-story building some distance away from the River. Came and went like the wind, or like a demon or a specter, making people unsure whether it was real, or they were simply having a nightmare. In the meantime Bu Tan and Bu Ju had justnded on the ground. Although they were no longer staggering, their footsteps were heavy; a clear sign that they had suffered injury. Liao Kong swept past Ba Fenghan, three men, who were stopping at the head of the bridge, toward Shi Feixuan, and put his palms together in greeting. Bu Chi and Bu Chen stood behind the three, quietly taking their position to surround them. Shi Feixuan floated over the bridge; her expression was as calm as ever, with some kind of gracefulness, free and easy, beautiful appearance of a fairy. Her deep gaze was fixed on the distance, where Wanwan was disappearing in the dark. Hou Xibai scrambled toward the bridge. Deeply concerned, he asked, Feixuan, is your honorable self well? All eyes were on this as-simple-and-elegant-as-a-fairy beauty. Shi Feixuan gave a slight smile; she said glibly, Tian Mo Gong is indeed worthy to be called the Demon Cults consummate skill; its countless changes emerge in endless session. And then her gaze fell on Xu Ziling. Hows Xu Xiongs injury? she asked tenderly. Xu Ziling did not expect that, under this circumstance, she still cared about the injury of this enemy; an extremely odd feeling emerged in his heart. Shouldnt be a problem, he replied seriously, Thank you, Miss, for your concern. Pfft! Shi Feixuan burst out in tenderughter. It was me who injure you, she said, Why did you thank me? Her rarely-came-out burst ofughter was like a blooming flower, or the sunrise from the eastern mountain; so brilliant that it dazzled everybody else. Except for Liao Kong, who still looked like an old monk in deep meditation, even the Four Great Protector Vajra were also staring nkly at her. Kou Zhong, Hou Xibai, and the others need not be mentioned. The smile subsided, Shi Feixuan returned to her still-water-without-any-ripple expression. Sweeping Xu Ziling, three men, with her gaze, she spoke indifferently, For the time being, well set the Jade Annulus of He n matter aside. I will decide how to pursue this matterter. And then turning her attention to Hou Xibai, she said, Feixuan will momentarily stay at the Dhyana Temple to recover. If theres karma between us, I will see Hou Xiongter. Finished speaking, she turned around and left. Liao Kong and the others, five monks, immediately put their palms together in salute toward Xu, Kou and Ba; they were very polite that it did not look like they consider the three as their enemy. And then they left to escort Shi Feixuan. Ba Fenghan and the others looked at each other; they all did not expect that this matter would end like this, so they were not sure if they should thank Wanwan, or they should hate her. Hou Xibai appeared to be in daze; he mumbled repeatedly, Feixuan is injured, Feixuan is injured ... Kou Zhong made an eye signal toward Ba Fenghan. Thetter turned to Hou Xibai, Hou Xiong ... He had just started, Hou Xibai, who was still on the bridge, suddenly turned around to look at them. His eyes turned cold as he said, Next time if the three gentlemen are dealing with Yin Gui Pai, please do not forget to leave me a share. With a leap hended on the small barge under the bridge, and let the current bring the boat downstream. All around them the street has returned to its cold and quiet atmosphere. Ba Fenghan sighed involuntarily; turning toward Xu Ziling, he asked, Is Ziling all right? Xu Ziling looked up at the moon above; heaving a deep, heavy sigh, he shook his head and said, Just now my heart was slightly tight, but now I feel much better! Kou Zhong walked over toward Xu Ziling; with an arm around his shoulder, he raised the other hands thumb and praised, Xiao Ling is really all right! This is called glorious defeat. Over time, we need not be afraid of anybody. And then he added, What are we going to do now? Shall we go back to that wine shop and drink until morning, or find a quiet ce and have his mothers good sleep for a while? Looking around, Xu Ziling wondered aloud, Howe along the Heavenly Street all stores and shops have their doors and windows closed? We dont even see half a pedestrian on the street either. Dont you think this is strange? Kou Zhong spected, Perhaps that ********* Wang Shichong is afraid bystanders might be injured identally, hence he issued an order prohibiting anybody to step out even half a pace after certain hours certain time. Or something like that. Maybe? Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, That is one possibility, but I still feel like something is wrong. Kou Zhong pulled the arm with which he embraced Xu Zilings shoulders, Standing foolishly waiting for people to challenge us for battle like this is not the way to deal with this matter; wed better go somece else. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Who would put us up for the night now? Including your old friend Wang Shichong, whod wee us in Luoyang? It was not clear whether Ba Fenghan was thinking about Princess Dong Ming; he sighed and said, How about Mr. Xus little nest? Kou Zhongs heart was moved; heughed and said, How about going to the casinos big boss Rong Fengxiangs magnificent residence to hide for the night? Doing a bit of harm to this fellow is not a bad thing either. The other two looked at him, stunned. Kou Zhong exined, Tonight Dong Shuni was going to the Rong Mansion to join Rong Fengxiangs birthday feast; she even told me to wait at the back door, shed slip out and wed elope together, so ... Hey! Why are you two looking at me with such a dreadful and dubious expression like that? Ba Fenghan coldly said, If Dong Shuni had wanted to elope, she would have eloped for a hundred times. Why does she show you, Zhong Shao, a special favor? Dont you find it suspicious? Kou Zhong was stunned. You think thats impossible? he said, I did not treat her too shabbily either! You think she is setting a trap to harm me? Xu Ziling said, What rtionship does she have with you? Why did she pick you? Why does she want to elope with you? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Actually, she and I had a bit of rtionship; but now that you mentioned it, I also feel that theres something not quite right. I hope she was just joking! Otherwise there must be a bit of problem here; like, she is a woman who adores glory, splendor, wealth and rank, how could she be willing to abandon all those, ande with me, a lone wanderer, to the other end of the world? And then he pped his hands and said, All right! Enough chitchat! Where are we going now? Suddenly all three mens eyes lit up. Actually, the entire Tianjin Bridge lit up. Turning their heads around, they saw a huge, brightly lit ship, was sailing upstream toward the Tianjin Bridge. This ship originally had no light, but suddenly it became this bright; they definitely had a team of well-trained mplighters. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Old Ba, you win! I am afraid tonight we really have to bear it until dawn. I hope two gentlemen still remember that Triangr Formation. Book 15 - 4 – Bearded Visitor From The East Book 15 Chapter 4 C Bearded Visitor From The East The gloriousntern lights illuminated the entire river bend and both banks of the river around the huge ship as it sailed speedily toward the Tianjin Bridge. The sails have been lowered, the ship was relying entirely on the eighteen oars on each side, pushing the water to move it forward. Windnterns were hanging along the side of the ship at one step intervals, so close together so that thenterns practically outlining the contours of the whole ship, creating a surreptitious, indescribable impression. Above the main deck was a two-story bridge; the top level had the helm and the observation tform, on which more than a dozen men and women were standing at random. But Kou Zhong and the others, three men, only saw one person. Because this man was like a crane in a flock of chicken, all at once he attracted their attention so that they had no time to take notice of the other people. This lordly gentleman looked to be around thirty, wearing barbarian attire, with long bushy beard on his face, tall and majestic;pared to the people around him, he was at least half a head taller, he was perhaps of the same height with Kou Zhong, three men. Although he was standing with his hands behind his back, he was able to make people feel that he had a lofty mountain, high peak, outstanding, out of the ordinary, spirit, a heroic, overbearingly imposing style. His face, surrounded by the bushy beard, was actually clear, amazing, and heroic. Although his cheekbones were high, his nose was big, grand and powerful. His eyes were surprisingly thin, but the pupils inside them were bright and shing with clear, deep, and intelligent radiance, as he was sizing up Xu and the others, three men, from a distance. Both on his left and right stood two beautiful women, but in the eyes of the three men, they were not as attractive as this dragon-bearded man brimming with masculine charm. Facing the huge boat that was still twenty zhang away but fast approaching them, Kou Zhong shouted, Whos there? If youe for us, report your name. I, Kou Zhong, am not interested in killing an unnamed nobody. Thest sentence was, naturally, the bold, visionary words that Ba Fenghan spoke toward Hou Xibai, and indeed it showed aggressiveness. Ba Fenghan smiled. Xu Ziling was silent, but he was circting his breathing to treat his injury. Shi Feixuans sword qi was a rare, innate qi. If not for his foundation came from Taoist Schools secret treasure, the Secret to Long Life, plus his meridians have undergone transformation by the Jade Annulus of He ns special power, perhaps he could not fully recover for the rest of his life. At that time he felt that at thest moment Shi Feixuan withdrew some of her true qi; supposing it were not so, perhaps he would have to suffer for several days. Since the engagement began, although Shi Feixuan appeared to send swift and severe offensive, the fact was that the attacks were well-measured, purely to test him out, without any intention to harm him. This woman had a not-eating-the-food-ofmon-mortals kind of noble character. Compared to Princess Dong Ming, Shang Xiuxun, women of high position and status, she had different noble air, making her towering above those other women, making her extremely unique. A longugh awakened Xu Ziling from his deep contemtion, so that he could not help shivering inwardly. He had never given any woman this much thought. The dragon-bearded mans voice rose up, Kou Zhong must be joking! Xiaodi Fu Qian;ing with specific purpose of making friends with three gentlemen and paying my respect! He spoke perfect Chinese with very articte pronunciation and vocalization, paying particr attention to the tone of each word, so that he could be considered half a notch above Ba Fenghan, who had left home to make his way in the world for many years. From his appearance and his dragon-beard trademark, the three had already guessed who he was, hence hearing his response, they were not surprised at all. The only thing they did not expect was that he would look this formidable and overbearing, his heroic aura covered the sky. The huge ships speed was decreasing, otherwise the mast, which came out to two zhang above the bridge, would shake and break the bridge, and even the lid of the top level of the bridge would not survive. His deep, manly, and sweet-sounding voice vanished, Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Fu Xiongs great name is like thunder piercing the ear, ol Ba admire it very much. But there is one thing I am not clear; I want to ask for guidance! Hai! Thunderous shout boomed from the belly of the ship. At precisely the same time, thirty-six men cried out as if it came from one persons mouth. Thirty-six oars reversed direction at the same time; the giant ship miraculously stopped on the surface of the River, maintaining about three zhang distance between the bow and the bridgehead. Fu Qian and the other dozen or so people happened to stand at the same elevation as the bridgehead, so that as they spoke, neither side was put in an awkward position of one was higher or lower than the other. On the surrounding area, thenterns were dim; only this section by the Tianjin Bridge the Luo River was aze with light, even the moon and the stars in the sky were eclipsed. Due to the movement of the giant ship, bigger waves pped the embankments, creating louder rustling noise. Other than that, everything else was so quiet and harmonious. The oars kept moving in such an ingenious way that the huge ship stayed unmoving in the middle of the river. Fu Qian calmly replied, Ba Xiong need not be hesitant to ask, Xiaodi wont hide anything I know, I wont stop before I have said it through. Ba Fenghans eyes shed with cold rays; he spoke coldly, Fu Xiong hid the ship nearby, and suddenly appeared. Your timing is urate, I wonder what do you intend to do? These words bore no trace of politeness, but Ba Fenghan could not be med. Because Fu Qian and Wang Bo were intimately rted, it would be easy to make an associative connection that Fu Qian came with malicious motive. The people standing around Fu Qian revealed a displeased expression on their faces. The two Tuyuhun women by Fu Qians sides even showed disdain, as if they were ming Ba Fenghan for failing to appreciate their kindness. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were ustomed to Ba Fenghans no nonsense attitude toward anybody; they did not feel it strange at all. Surprisingly, Fu Qian did not take offense as well;ughing aloud, he said, There are three reasons: one, Xiaodi loves to join in the fun. This time I came to the Central ins, this is the main reason. The three did not expect him to be this forting. He said clearly that while the Central ins was in chaos, he came to take this advantage of fishing in troubled water. Kou Zhong scanned the entourage standing by his side, the oldest looked no more than forty years old, every single one of them had bulging taiyang acupoints [on the temples], their eyes were flickering brightly; obviously Fu Qians martial art masters were as numerous as the cloud, his strength must not be scorned. Only Kou Zhong did not know whether Xing Mofei, who spoke in public at the Man Qing Yuan the other night, was one of them. Thereupon he said with a cold snort, Joining the fun sometimes requires that you pay the price. I wish Fu Xiong to have propitious wind throughout your journey! From Song Yuzhi, he knew that Fu Qian had special interest toward them. And with Song Yuzhis shrewdness, if she said so, she must have strong reason, and not something that she shot without aiming. A young man standing behind Fu Qian was about to open his mouth in retort, but this martial art master from the Tuyuhun Kings n signaled him to stop, and then, remaining tranquil and calm, heughed and said, Xiaodi came to the Central ins, from the beginning I havent had the enjoyment of roaming the mountains and ying in the waters; many thanks for Kou Xiongs concern. As for the second reason, Xiaodi wants to destroy Tiele peoples conspiracy; I dont want Qu Ao, Tulis crafty scheme prevails. And thest reason: I want to see if three gentlemen have time to spare to have your honorable selves onto my humble boat to drink and chat until daybreak? Ba Fenghan threw his head back andughed aloud; he said, Fu Xiongs two good intentions, we appreciate very much! Right now we only want to find a ce to stay for the night and have a good sleep. Please! A thin smile appeared on the corner of Fu Qians mouth; nodding, he said, Three gentlemen are indeed exceptional heroes, ol Fu admires you. The oars moved, the huge ship went in reverse. And then thenterns went off, as the ship disappeared in the dark river bend. The sound of turning wheels against the gstone, mixed with the hoof beats of the mules, came from the street down below. Kou Zhong stretched his limbs before opening his eyes and sat up. Xu Ziling had already woke up; he was standing against the railing of a bell and drum tower located on the northern bank of the Luo River, gazing into the distance at the Tianjian Bridge spanning across the River. It was not clear whether he was thinking about his encountered with Shi Feixuan the previous night. Ba Fenghan was sitting cross-legged in meditation, closing himself out of anything that was happening around him. The Beheading Mystery Sword was lying t across his legs. Kou Zhong sprang up and walked over to Xu Zilings side. Outside the tower, the drizzle continued; it was as if the entire Luo River had fallen into a vast expanse of mist whiteness. Kou Zhong took a deep breath of the early morning air mixed with the fog. Looking far into the distance, across the misty rain, he sighed and said, Its really nice! We are still alive, and had just had a great nights sleep. Xu Ziling noticed that Kou Zhongs left hand was fiddling with the pendant on his chest, at the end of the chair hanging from his neck. He asked in surprise, Why this sudden interest of the pendant? Kou Zhong replied in delight, I forgot to tell you, I met its original ownerst night. Xu Ziling was stunned, You met Chuchu? he asked. Kou Zhong got this pendant when they were at Zhai Rangs Big Boss Mansion. Chuchu went with Zhai Jiao to take refuge. Just before they left, she had Susu hand the pendant to Kou Zhong [See Book 4 Chapter 12]. Recalling this matter, he really felt as if it all happened a lifetime ago. Kou Zhong told him about Zhai Jiao looking for himst night, and then he said, Li Mis days must be numbered, hence the reason Zhai Jiao, which is his unexpected archenemy, emerged. Zhai Jiao has a subordinate named Xuan Yong, absolutely a talent. Xu Ziling nodded, Killing Zhai Rang was Li Mis grave mistake. If it were you, Zhong Shao, youd have put Zhai Rang on pedestal, let him have a false reputation, while the real power is in your hands. By the time you really obtain the world, you would ask Zhai Rang to abdicate, then it would not appear as if there is a big gap to cover. And now how are you going to take advantage of it? Having a n up in his sleeve, Kou Zhong replied, Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. I have already made arrangement with Zhai Jiao, she will supply me with intelligence data on Li Mis activities. Humph! This time I am going to have Li Mis highest intelligence capability and hidden troops in my disposal. As long as he fell into my luring-the-enemy strategy, this world will be out of his reach. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, If because of this Wang Shichong grew big, wouldnt that bring you no good at all? Kou Zhongughed and said, That happens to be the most exciting point. Right now everybody thinks that Wang Shichong cannot beat Li Mi, hence the reason Dugu Feng dared to publicly stand against him. Better yet, even Wang Shichong himself has no confidence, hence he secretly established friendly rtions with Li Yuan so that together they might fight Li Mi. This is the reason that Li Shimin kid dared toe to Luoyang to unt his might and glorious martial power. Ha! But once Wang Shichong inflicted big damage on Li Mi, this Wang C Li alliance will copse. At that time, the only thing Wang Shichong could do would be blocking Li kid; he would not let him prevail. Then we can carry the treasure back to the south and retrieve Jingling back from Ol Dies hands. At that time we can go to the north or the south, the world will be mine, Kou Zhongs! With a rueful smile Xu Ziling said, Actually, what you have here is just a wishful thinking. And dont forget that we basically dont know where the Duke Yang Treasure is. Disappointed, Kou Zhong said, There are a lot of things that wont happen like if we think about it in details, we will aplish it. The so-called sess is heavens responsibility, for us the mortals, other than doing our utmost, what else can we do? Changing the topic, he said, I am going to see Wang Shichongter today; do you two have any n? Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, Today no matter what I am going to stay close to Old Ba, because there is great chance that Tuli will choose the moment he is left alone to make his move. Kou Zhong sighed and said, You seem to forget that we are their big foe for killing Qu Aos son. Last night he did note looking for revenge, he had me scratching my head. Staring into the boundless drizzle hiding the sky and covering the earth, the water droplets blown by the wind floating down to the ground, Xu Ziling slyly said, Your memory is really bad. Fu Qian and Qu Ao are going to decide male and female at Man Qing Yuan tonight. This battle rtes to Qu Aos lifetime honor and disgrace and Tielie peoples reputation, so Qu Ao must preserve and nurture his spirit, everything else must be cast aside to deal with tonights duel. Nodding, Kou Zhong said, What you said makes a lot of sense. Only I dont know hows Tulis temperament? I hear that he and Li kid have a very good friendship. Quite possibly Li kid will lend him a helping hand. Heaving a deep sigh, Xu Ziling said, I dont know whether it was because we have always had good rtionship with Li Shimin that unconsciously we always underestimate his formidability. The fact is that after raising his troops at Taiyuan, he always triumphed in every battle. Without any shocking-the-heaven method, I dont know how he aplished it. Supposing he is certain that the Jade Annulus of He n is in our hands, maybe hell deal with us using thunderbolt means. Kou Zhong dismissively said, Whod dare to be certain that the Jade Annulus of He n was stolen by us? At least Wang Bo, that old kid, would believe us. Xu Zilings countenance dropped; he coldly said, Li Jing ought to believe that we stole it. Because he had seen my appearance after I put on the mask; therefore, he knew that I have the ability to change my appearance for other purposes. Kou Zhongs eyes shed with cold rays; he said, Therefore, if Li Shimin pursues us to demand the Jade Annulus of He n from us, that means Li Jing has forgotten the old friendships and betrayed us. In that case, we wont have any brotherhood love to speak about with him. Xu Ziling sighed. He said, Although Li Jing turned his back on Su Jie, he is not a man who would sell his friends for glory; I might be worrying in vain. But Shi Feixuan once pointed out that martial art masters under Li kid are as numerous as the cloud, plus he has established such a heavenly-policy government. Therefore, we must not ignore him lightly. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day. Suddenly he said, Do you think nobody knew we are hiding in here? After pondering for a moment, Xu Ziling replied confidently, I am sure nobody does. After absorbing the special power of the Jade Annulus of He n, the most prominent advancement is in the raising of qi in lightness skill aspect; taking a breath while being high up in the sky is as easy as a hands turn. In this case, even though it was Ning Daoqi who followed our track, it would not be that easy. Kou Zhong was suddenly shaken, We are so stupid, he said, Why didnt we exploit this strong point? If we can bring out this strong point as much as we like, even if the enemy has many men, great force, they wont be able to hem us in. Xu Zilings tiger-eyes lit up; they were glistening brightly, but he did not say anything. Ba Fenghan voice was suddenly heard, Two Xiongdi, are you interested in going to Dongjia Restaurant for a cup of hot tea? House of Dong [Dong Family] Restaurant was crowded and noisy. The three sat around a table on the corner, they all had a from hell and back feeling. After the waiters delivered fragrant tea, cups and chopsticks, Kou Zhong pricked his ears to listen carefully; heughed and said, Out of ten tables, eight are talking about what happenedst night; the martialw was definitely issued by Wang Shichong. I dont know what malicious intention this guy is harboring, he seemed to resent that our enemies did not have enough convenience. Ba Fenghan was silent without saying anything, he seemed to hear without listening. Ever since he woke up this morning, he seemed to be full of thoughts, but did not want to talk about it. Knowing his temperament, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not dare to provoke him. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, I am guessing one possibility that might exin why Wang Shichong did what he did. This moment the waiter came with some pastries. After he left, Kou Zhong leaned over and said, Tell me quickly! Xu Ziling sighed and replied, Wang Shichong may do so upon Li kids request. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, In that case, wouldnt that mean Li Jing really betrayed us? It was indeed the most logical inference. Li Shimin was definitely not someone who is particr about friendship, only after knowing for sure that they wrecked his good rtionship with Shi Feixuan, he might initiate drastic action to deal with them. Moreover, looking at major forces around Luoyang nowadays, only Li Shimin had the capability to move Wang Shichong, because presently Wang Shichong did not wish to offend the Li n, no matter what; otherwise, he would be caught up in the vile situation of facing enemies on the east and the west. Perhaps because Li Shimin still remembered old friendship he did not want to openly confront them, but it was quite understandable if he made the arrangement on behalf of Shi Feixuan, to let her have a free hand in dealing with the three. Xu Ziling sighed and said, This is just a guess; I hope the actual situation is not like that! Ba Fenghan suddenly spoke up, Kou Zhong, when you see Wang Shichongter, it wont hurt if you just ask him bluntly, see how he answers it. His face darkened, Kou Zhong stood up and spoke in heavy voice, In this world, other than you, I wont trust anybody easily anymore. Finished speaking, he left, full of joy and expectations. As soon as Kou Zhongs shadow disappeared outside the restaurants main door, Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, Today well do our separate business: you are responsible to scout Yin Gui Pai peoples activity, I am going to see Shan Wanjing. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, How am I going to do that? Ba Fenghan replied, Yin Gui Pai must have a secret nest in here, and thats where Shangguan Long is hiding to recuperate. To investigate that, there are two indirect ways. Because Yin Gui Pai always have more yin than yang, and plus most of them are beautiful women, and women by nature love beauty, if you pay attention to several stores along the Heavenly Street that are well-known as specializing in cosmetics and perfumes, you may obtain unexpected gain. Xu Ziling nodded and said, That is indeed a wonderful idea! And what is the other one? Ba Fenghan said, Although Zhu Yuyan have the capacity to treat the internal injury in Shangguan Longs meridians, but afterwards, to regte and make up for it, they cant avoid drawing support from primary medication to restore his original strength. Therefore, as long as you pick the most upscale herbal medicine shop and guard a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits [idiom, meaning waiting idly for opportunities], you might see someone suspicious. Since I have nothing to do anyway, I might as well try my luck by doing what Fenghan Xiong said, Xu Ziling glibly said. And then his scimitar-shaped eyebrows lightly knitted in confusion, But didnt you just have a fallout with Princess Dong Ming? he asked, Why are you seeing her again? Aplicated expression shed through Ba Fenghans eyes; he replied in low voice, Ill tell you after I see her! Im off! Xu Ziling did not answer him, but inwardly he knew that the one Ba Fenghan wanted to see was not Shan Wanjing, but the old me who came with Tuli to the Central ins, the one with whom his gratitude and grudges were tangled up. It was an extremely dangerous thing to do, how was he going to handle it? Book 15 - 5 – Misty Rain Book 15 Chapter 5 C Misty Rain Kou Zhong had just stepped out of the House of Dong Restaurants main door when a carriage arrived; the driver saluted and said, Kou YeYe, please get in the carriage. The voice sounded familiar; as Kou Zhong looked up in surprise, turned out the driver was the Deputy Gang Leader of Jukun Bang, Bu Tianzhi, an old acquaintance. He was well aware of who was inside the carriage, but recalling that Beautiful Shifu Yun Yuzhen was Dugu Ces girlfriend, this womans position was dubious. Thereupon he took one step closer to the window, with its screen hung low, and knocked three times and said with augh, Shifu, would you let Xiaotu [small/lowly disciple] take a look at Seniors flowery countenance tofort the pain of my yearning heart? The corner of the screen rose up, revealing Yun Yuzhens delighted and angry jade countenance. Her jet-ck eyebrows slightly knitted, she pouted yfully, You, this low-grade disciple who loves to defy his superior, why havent you jumped in? Do you want Shifu to expel you from my school? Putting on an act as if he was extremely terrified, Kou Zhong stole a nce inside, and after making sure that there was no one else in the carriage, he pushed the door and got inside thepartment. He barely closed the door, not even seated properly yet, Yun Yuzhen already threw herself in his bosom. The gentle, fragrant scent assaulted his nostrils, Kou Zhong struggled to sit down on the seat and immediately looked down to look for her fragrant lips. The carriage started to move. After the extremely dangerous, intense situation ofst night, his heart was moved by this romantic situation. By the time Kou Zhongs mouth left her lips, this Gang Leader of a big gang was panting, her face turned fiery red. Smiling, Kou Zhong asked, When did Beautiful Shifu arrive? Why didnt you send word, so that Xiaotu could act as the host? Burying her pretty face in his chest, her starry eyes were half closed as she spoke crossly, Are you Luoyangsndlord? Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Just that restaurant, the House of Dong. Why did you stay outside and did note in? Didnt you know that your other disciple was inside, drinking wine? Yun Yuzhen struggled to free her tender, charming and soft body from his embrace; looking up, she cast him a nce, and then pressed her jade cheek back onto his chest. Wrapping her arms around his sturdy back and waist, she spoke tenderly, I just arrived yesterday; you dont know how difficult it was to find you! Kou Zhong looked out from behind the screen. On the street, pedestrians, horses and carriages braved the rain,ing and going in a hurry; looked like it was going to be another busy day. Kou Zhong asked casually, Beautiful Shifu, where are you staying? Has Su Jies baby born yet? Yun Yuzhen happily replied, Your Su Jie and Yushans baby is fair-skinned and chubby; he is very active and cute. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, In that case I really have to thank the Heaven and thank the Earth! he said, Hey! Let me go back and tell Xiao Ling! Displeased, Yun Yuzhen said, Theres no rush, it wont be toote to tell himter. I have something important to discuss with you. Kou Zhong took another nce outside. Frowning, he said, Tell me where we are going first. Unconcerned, Yun Yuzhen replied, Are you afraid I might kidnap and sell you? Giggling, Kou Zhong replied, Of course I am; very much. Currently I, Kou Zhong, worth a few pennies. Sneering, Yun Yuzhen said, Kou Ye, your value nowadays has risen dramatically; you worth far more than a few pennies. Ay! Cant you seriously listen to Yuzhen for a moment? Hearing her soft, beseeching words, Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, As long as you dont ask me to surrender to Dugu Ce, that stinky kid, other matters can be discussed slowly. Yun Yuzhens tender body suddenly bolted up from hisp; she spoke angrily, Where do you think you are going? My, Yun Yuzhens real feeling toward you, you, this ungrateful man, still do not believe it? How could Kou Zhong believe her that easily? However, on the surface he smiled apologetically and said, Beautiful Shifu, please calm down, I was just joking. Ha! You have not answered my question: where does the horse pull this carriage to? Yun Yuzhen went from anger to happiness; she said, Seeing that you still know how to sweet-talk people, Ill let you off this time! But just this once. After meeting Kou Zhongs expectant eyes, Yun Yuzhen revealed a deeply meaningful smile, leaned over and whispered in his ear, I am taking you to see someone. Kou Zhong was stunned. Xu Ziling slipped quietly into an alley. Raising his qi, he unleashed his qinggong, like an arrow he sprinted over approximately ten -zhang distance; suddenly taking a breath, unexpectedly he changed direction just like that, and leaped over a tall wall on his left. After passing nobody knows how many backyards drenched in the endless rain, he leaped out of the wall on the other side of a courtyard, jumped over buildings and passed through several roofs, and finally turned back into the Heavenly Street from a small alley. shing into a ready-made clothing store, with the fastest speed possible he bought a hat and an outer robe. And then by the time he was back into the Heavenly Street and walked long the Luo River, he had be an old man with stooping back, who, unable to bear the beating rain and blowing wind, had the hat pushed low toward his eyes. Ba Fenghan was still more than ten zhang ahead, walking briskly; he did not seem to notice, nor was he interested in finding out, whether someone was following him. That was, quite naturally, not the case. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were still inferior to Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan was looking for his prey. Tulis target was Ba Fenghan; surely he would dispatch his men to closely watch Ba Fenghan. It would be quite likely that as soon as Ba Fenghan was alone, Tuli would personally seize the opportunity to make his move. Ba Fenghans false statement that he was going to see Shan Wanjing was just a ruse to get Xu Ziling off his back, so that the people who hated him would be lured out. Ba Fenghan suddenly turned to the west, wandering along the Luo River under the wind and the rain; his majestic figure looked proud, but alone. On this segment of the street, other than the trees on either side, there was nothing protecting the passers-by from the rain, hence there were very few pedestrians, only horses and carriages passing by. Xu Ziling was not afraid Ba Fenghan might detect his presence; rather, he was afraid the people following Ba Fenghan might detect his presence. Sweeping his gaze around, an idea popped up in his heart; hastily he jumped down the dike, and climbed into an unmanned small boat moored to the riverside. An easy drive on a familiar path; he sailed west along the river, shadowing Ba Fenghan, who was walking alone, from a distance. In the boundless drizzle, the buildings along the river loomed high on his left and right; ships and boats were moored on the piers along the river. Xu Ziling was suddenly overwhelmed by snapping-the-soul, depressing feeling. One Secret to Long Life book haspletely changed his and Kou Zhongs fate. If he could go back in time, would he snatch that thing away for himself? He really did not know! If it were the time of peace and prosperity, they could not possibly meet Susu, Li Jing, and the others, so much so that they were now in the difficult situation where it was difficult to distinguish gratitude and grudges. Sister-inw Zhen would still sell meat buns on the street of Yangzhou, rather than her whereabouts was unknown. And then the lucid and elegant jade countenance of Shi Feixuan appeared in his mind! Was her injury serious? After she recovered, would she look for him to settle their ount? Heaving a deep sigh, the small boat has entered the gate of the famous Luoyangs Western Park. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, Who do you want me to see? Dodging his question, Yun Yuzhenughed and said, After the City of Jingling fell, you and Ziling, two guys, slipped away safe and sound, while leaving such a huge mess behind. And then you came to Luoyang stirring up the wind and the rain through the town, so that everybody wanted to beat the hell out of you, two boys. Kou Zhongughed and said, Your Big Boss Xiao ought to thank me. Although in the Battle of Jingling I lost the city, but Ol Die only got a tragic victory; otherwise his Jianghuai Army today would have been moving to the Eastern Capital, and then how could you and I have some intimate time inside the carriage like this? Yun Yuzhens pretty eyes blushed slightly; casting a sidelong nce at him, she said, Do you or do you not want to listen to me? Kou Zhong has not heard any news pertaining to Du Fuwei for a long time; he would be lying if he said that he did not care about Shang Xiuxun and those officers and soldiers who have fought alongside him, who have escaped from Jingling. Thereupon, suppressing his anger, he spoke in low voice, Beautiful Shifu, please continue. Yun Yuzhen appeared to be a bit unable to restrain her emotion; falling into his arms again, she spoke dreamily, When I first met you, you were still ignorant kids whose smell of mothers milk has not yet dried. Who would have thought in merely a few years you became influential figures who, opening up your hand you create the cloud, closing in your hand you create the rain. After a short pause, she continued slyly, Although Du Fuwei gained victory, it was definitely a defeat; what he obtained was just an empty city, making him temporarily unable to move north, and had to change his n into attacking the southeast. Kou Zhong asked impatiently, Hows the situation between the Flying Horse Ranch and the Four Big Bandits? Ah! I should have said Three Big Bandits, because the one called something like scorched rice for a thousand bowls Mao Zao was killed by Xiao Ling. In his embrace, Yun Yuzhen let out a silver-bell like tenderughter; she angrily cursed for a moment, and then said, What do you have to do with Shang Xiuxun? Did you seduce her and have your hands on her? Quickly confess! Kou Zhong inwardly thought, Women will be women; unexpectedly under these circumstances they still did not forget to drink vinegar [i.e. jealous]. Smiling wryly, he said, You consider me a sex-hungry ghost? Seducing women everywhere? Quickly report the military situation to me, otherwise, if I punish you, I guarantee your white butt will bloom like a flower. Yun Yuzhen raised her flower-like jade countenance with coquettish nce and spoke in an alluring voice, The Three Big Bandits suffered defeat in their first battle, plus Flying Horse Ranch has the advantage of dangerous terrain, so after going on the offensive for only a month or so, their provision depleted and they withdrew their troops. More important reason was that the Three Big Bandits might grow in power, hence he did not want to deploy this troops to help. Also, Xiao Bangzhu is setting up his forts at the upper reaches of the Great River, dragging their hind legs, so that your Ol Die does not dare to act blindly without thinking. Otherwise, perhaps the Flying Horse Ranch was already finished early on! Breathing out a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong said, You nearly scared me to death. Turns out the situation in the south is still good. Yun Yuzhen sighed and said, Exactly the opposite. The situation in the south is currently quite critical; otherwise I wouldnt be here asking you a big favor. Kou Zhong was startled, What happened? he asked. The Western Park was located in the middle of Jicui Pond, and was filled withndscape garden of all kinds of architectural style. By the time Ba Fenghan entered the Western Park, the drizzle was getting heavier, bringing in the spring chill, so that the tourists disappeared. The Jicui Pond, with more than ten li perimeter, mixed with the misty rain, it was as boundless as the heaven and earth. The piles of stones in theke looked like mountains; some of them were more than a hundred chi above the water surface. In the vast and hazy drizzle, they were faintly discernible, like the fabled mountains of the immortals in the Eastern sea: Peni, Fangzhang and Yingzhou. The thing that cause people to daydream the most was that there were pavilions built on all three stone mountains, connected to each other by nine-bend bridges, and this strongly increasing the profound sense of far-reaching and empty-space feeling. North of theke, there was a channel leading into theke. On either side of theke, residential buildings stood in great numbers; halls, mansions and pavilions, none was not extremely gorgeous. The river channel was about twenty paces wide, with a flying bridge spanning above it. With grim expression, Ba Fenghan was stepping onto the flying bridge. Ahead was andscape garden full of willow trees interspersed with tall bamboo trees. In the middle of the garden was a small pavilion. The drizzling rain blurred its beauty, so that it looked even more bleak and cold. Ba Fenghan set foot on the gravel path, walking slowly toward the pavilion. Right this moment, a woman shed out of the pavilion. He was not surprised at all; he keep walking toward the pavilion, neither slowing down nor speeding up. The woman was tall, willowy, and elegant; she was wearing beige gown with narrow sleeves, her waist was tied by a dual-color broad belt, red and white, making her slender waist appear even slimmer. She was wearing a rain cloak. But because her tender back was facing Ba Fenghan, he could not see her face. However, anybody could tell from her beautiful figure that she must be the most beautiful thing. The woman was speaking in Tujue. Her voice was deep, mncholy, and moving. Ba Fenghan stopped when he was about ten paces away from the pavilion. He sighed and replied in Chinese, And what is the reason for all of these? The woman turned around like a whirlwind; her left hand rose up, a sh of golden ray like a thunderbolt shot toward the pit of Ba Fenghans stomach. Yun Yuzhen spoke softly, Presently Du Fuwei is forming an alliance with Shen Faxing in preparation of big war. The one bearing the brunt will be Li Zitong. Kou Zhongs worried heart wound down; breathing a sigh of relief, he said, I thought it was a serious matter. Li Zitong is not a good person. Letting them ghost beating ghost is the most ideal thing. Amidst the sound of the rain, the clippity-clop of the hooves continued along the street. Kou Zhongs impression of Li Zitong was a bit vague. It happened many years ago, when they, the two brothers plus Susu, were onboard the ship to Jiangdu, arranged by Xiang Yushan, with the intention of stealing the Dong Ming Pais ount book to implicate Yuwen Huaji, but they were intercepted by Li Zitong on the Big Stream. They even fought with him. Its just that Li Zitong had quite an elegant demeanor; even when he did not achieve what he wanted to do, he retreated politely [see Book 6 Chapters 1 & 2]. Yun Yuzhen sat her tender body up; she spoke in disdain, I thought you are a somebody, turns out you are this shortsighted. Reaching out, Kou Zhong pinched her cheek and said with a sneer, Your reverse psychology is ineffective against me, Zhong Shao. Hey, since when did Li Zitong be your rtive? Howe you are so concerned about him? Yun Yuzhen angrily said, Get out of here! In the future, I dont want to talk with you, this ignorant disciple. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Again I am asking Beautiful Shifu to calm down. Li Zitong is certainly a key character. In himself, he is nothing, but the Jiangdu in his hands controls the hub of the north-south traffic, plus he has the convenience of marching to the north via the waterway. Hmm! That is indeed a problem. Naturally Yun Yuzhen knew that he was only speaking half-heartedly; astonished, she said, Do you really understand, or just pretend to understand? If Du Fuwei took Jiangdu, your Ol Die would want the entire Jiangdong and Huainan territory, and then he would seize the signal path from the Great River out to the sea. You are from Jiangdu, you ought to know how important that ce is, and how you can make a fortune out of that ce. Kou Zhong sat backfortably on the seat; stretching out his limbs, he said, This situation only urs if Jiangdu fell. Presently Ol Die strength has taken a big beating; otherwise he would not need to suck up to Shen Faxing. And Shen Faxing has had a sh with Xiaodi; no matter how you look at him, he is not a good material. Although Li Zitong is also not a good thing, but supporting him for a year or a half shouldnt be a problem. Right now I have enough to worry about, how could I have time to care about something that is happening so far away? Besides, it is not my ce to care about that; since Xiao Xian is currently doing nothing anyway, let him handle this matter! Yun Yuzhen took a nce out of the window; snorted coldly, she said, This is called since you dont know yourself, naturally you dont know others. In himself, Shen Faxing is not trying to save oilmp; on the contrary, he put forth his brilliant, a divine talent in military, son, Shen Lun, a fine schr and soldier, so that his prestige enjoys great boost. Your Ol Dies partner Fu Gongyou is enlistingrge number of new army recruits, he appears to secretly strike his gongs and beat his drums, gearing up for war. If we let them attack Jiang Jun [county], Li Zitong will be finished. Your Shang Changzhu [ranch master], Shang Meiren [beauty] will immediately be the second target. Why dont you think about that? Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, This, at most, can be considered as not knowing others. What do you mean I do not know myself? Yun Yuzhen let out a stifled snort and said, Were here! Ill let him talk to you! The carriage drove into a side street, and turned into a courtyard. Ba Fenghan reached out unhurriedly; his movement seemed slow, but without missing a fraction he caught the golden light shot by the Tujue young woman right between his fore and middle fingers. The golden light turned out to be a gold hairpin. With voice as cold as ice and snow, the woman spoke in fluent Chinese, This gold hairpin is hereby returned to its rightful owner. From now on, Ba Daier no longer has anything to do with you, Ba Fenghan. [Trantors note: just so you know, these two Ba characters are not the same.] Ba Fenghan stared nkly at the gold hairpin in his fingers, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart. Sighing, he said, Did Daiere here to return this gold hairpin to me? Compared to before, Ba Daier was clearly thinner, although she still possessed the same beauty that made him fall in love with her at first sight. She was only fifteen then, the young betrothed wife of Tuli Khan. When Tuli and the martial art masters under hismand were out to the desert to hunt and kill Ba Fenghan, they were caught in a big sandstorm, which caused her to lose her way. It was when she was wandering alone that she was captured by Ba Fenghan. Her slender and fully developed, beautiful naked body, her seductive, as if they could speak to him, big eyes, her unyielding and brimming with challenge expression, were intensely attractive to Ba Fenghan, and has awakened the sensual desire hidden deep within him. And thus the most intimate rtionship arose between the two. Afterwards, Ba Daier was hell-bent on falling in love with him; she even followed him roaming around the desert and the prairie for some time. Nowadays Ba Daier has be Tujue King, Xieli Khans military counselor Zhao Deyans disciple, receiving direct martial art instruction from him. Ba Fenghan actually learned to speak Chinese from her, which also brought up in him the yearning for the Central ins wide-ranging and profound culture, and thus made him decided toe to the south. In his pursuit of the martial art way, in a dispirited, soul-wrenching night, he finally quietly left her. Ba Daier was the only woman who could make him remorseful. Every single cun of her tender, smooth, ivory-colored skin currently wrapped inside the cloak was able to evoke his sweetest memory! This pretty girl was so attractive to him not only because of her captivating beauty, but for her talent, her open-mindedness, her straightforward character or even her naivet, which,bined, formed an iparably magical power of attraction, making him unable to stop himself from falling into the snare of love. And the beauty he was madly attracted to was originally the enemy. But now everything has changed. Ba Daier has be Tulis woman. And now there was only hatred in her eyes, not love. From the speed and the force with which the golden hairpin was shot, he knew very well that within the five years after he left, Ba Daier has been diligently training her martial art skill. With her outstanding innate ability and intelligent, she has be his terrifyingly formidable opponent. Ba Daiers jade countenance quickly returned to its calm andposed condition. After staring deeply into his eyes, her pair of big eyes underneath her thick eyshes was burning with hatred and fury, as she spoke word by word, I want to kill you with my own hands! Book 15 - 6 – Love and Hate, Passion and Enmity Book 15 Chapter 6 C Love and Hate, Passion and Enmity Kou Zhong barely stepped out of the carriage, a burly man in tight-fitting warrior outfit came out to meet him; he saluted and said, Vanguard General under Ding Yang Khansmand, Song Jingang pays his respect to Kou Xiong. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was confused. This man did not look like a Tujue. Although he spoke with heavy northern ent, yet with a very articte pronunciation and vocalizing; clearly he was a local, Central Earth man. Moreover, the four heroic-looking men apanying him also did not look like Tujue people at all. Yet he called his master his mothers Khan something. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, I have heard Shibi Khan, Chuluo Khan, Xielie Khan, even Tuli Khan who had just arrived in Luoyang; but I have never heard of Ding Yang Khan. Song Xiong did not change these Tujue peoples name into Han name, did you? He could speak without any trace of politeness, because he thought that he had fallen into Yun Yuzhens deception, or entered into the Tujue peoples carefullyid trap. Who would have thought that Song Jingang was not offended at all? He simply smiled and said, Kou Xiong misunderstood! My humble master Liu Wuzhou was granted the title Khan from Tujue people, but he is not a Tujue. Kou Zhong thought, Yet he has be Tujue peoples hunting dog. Yet at the same time he was greatly astonished. Based on Yun Yuzhens spection just now, even if he met Li Zitong here, he would not be surprised. Yet the one he met now was a character that he had nothing to do with, which made him unable to make any sense of it. One after another Yun Yuzhen and Bu Tianzhi came to his side; the former said, Its raining here. Wed better go inside to chat! Song Jingang respectfully stepped aside to let him pass. Kou Zhongs curiosity was greatly piqued, plus he felt that the other party did not have any evil intention; hence he dly walked toward the door. Ba Daier has grown up; she now had the mature charm that she did not have before, but she also lost the sincere, innocence characteristic that she had before. Hearing that Ba Daier wanted to kill him, Ba Fenghans face was as calm as a rock, without the slightest sign of emotion. Daier, please go home! he spoke indifferently, This is not a ce for you. Ba Daier belongs to the prairie with its snowcapped peaks. Ba Daier spoke softly, The day I have your head inside my luggage will be the day I go back. After staring at her for a moment, Ba Fenghan suddenly shouted, Tuli, you dont dare to show yourself? A cold snort came from the depth of the bamboo forest on the left. And then a man, wearing Han attire, around thirty years old, with well-built physique, strolled leisurely out of the forest, and stopped about twenty paces to Ba Fenghans left. He put the short-handlednce in his hand back onto his back, the head of thence protruded at an angle from behind his left shoulder. He looked extremely powerful; his elegant attitude gave out the impression that he was a wless man. Without even looking, Ba Fenghan knew that the handle of hisnce was made of cast metal in the shape of a condor, the craftsmanship of a Persian master artisan. The entirence weighed about sixty catties, and the body was made of refined steel. In Tujue, thisnce has be a symbol of his martial prowess, the Crouching Eagle Spear, his family unique skill, which was passed on from generation to generation. When the enemy heard the name, they would lose their guts. In the past, when Ba Fenghan was overtaken by him in the desert, he suffered quite a bit from this Crouching Eagle Spear. Luckily a sandstorm reversed the entire situation, which made Ba Fenghan not only Tulis mortal enemy, but earned him a status as a rival in love as well. If Ba Daier was not Chuluo Khans rtive, plus she was Zhao Deyans beloved disciple, considering how deep Tulis loss was, perhaps Ba Daier would have been executed early on to wipe out this most unbearable shame and humiliation a Tujue man could suffer. The two mens gaze met. It was like two lightning shed against each other in the sky, neither side was willing to yield. Just like Ba Fenghan, Tuli was a typical thick-and-strong Tujue man. Although he could not bepared to Ba Fenghan in the looks department, his outline was tough, his hair looked like iron wire, yet he had some kind or robust, powerful masculine charisma. He was not too old, yet his face had rough, dark skin and a long scar on his left cheek, a sign that he had already undergone arduous years and dangerous des and arrowheads. His eyes were sharp and ice-cold, yet there was no hatred seeping through; evidently it was the result of hidden-deep-without-revealing, and martial-skills self-cultivation. After staring at each other for half a day, Tuli revealed a hint of deep, cold smile, as he spoke indifferently, Unexpectedly a mere little horse thief is able to make us toil-our-master and mobilize-our-crowd. Ba Fenghan, you should be proud of yourself. He was speaking in Tujuenguage, but Ba Fenghan replied in Chinese, with a smile, The reason we became little horse thieves was actually to salute your, a bunch of big horse thieves charity. The strong will be the King; this is the unchanging truth throughout all ages. And now let the Ol Ba to experience your Crouching Eagle Spear technique, so we can conclude our unfinished battlest time. Tuliughed aloud. He changed to using Chinese when he spoke heavily, Death is near at hand, still dares to speak conceited nonsense. Turning to Ba Daier, he said, Daier, didnt you endure may years of waiting in heartache for this day? I am going to deploy my troops for you today, so that you ... Ba Daier coldly cut him off, You promised me that you would note. For the first time anger shed through Tulis eyes, but it disappeared just as quickly. He spoke gently, which was in stark contrast with his temperament, I care about you. Ba Daier replied hatefully, With you present, I am not going to fight. Without even casting half a nce toward the two men, she turned around and left. The two men were taken aback by this sudden change. First, they looked at each other, and then they both remembered that the other party was his sworn enemy. Qiang! Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword left its sheath. Tulis Crouching Eagle Spear also returned to the front of his chest. Holding the spear with one hand, he pointed the weapon to Ba Fenghan, while his left hand went behind his back. His stance was rxed and beautiful to behold. Ba Fenghan took a step forward, the sword moved to his left hand, a stream of biting cold sword qi suddenly blew toward Tuli like a storm. Tuli threw his head back and let out a longugh. The Crouching Eagle Spear in his hand vibrated continuously, generating a Chi! Chi! noise of spear power, which shed against Ba Fenghans sword qi, deflecting it sideways in wild-flowing stream. The drizzling rain collided with the two streams of qi power, which turned it into gusts of mist spreading in all directions, enveloping the two men in the middle, creating a marvelous spectacle. Ba Fenghans sword returned to his right hand. Taking the initiative, heunched the first attack. It was only after Kou Zhong, Yun Yuzhen, Bu Tianzhi and Song Jingang were seated in the hall that Kou Zhong had the opportunity to look closely at this great general serving under Liu Wuzhou. Although Song Jingangs physique was valiant and stalwart, his face was slender and delicate, so that sitting on top his broad shoulders, it lookedparatively small, yet at the same time it was enough to emphasis his extraordinary build. On his face were a pair of intelligent and alert, but slightly sullen, eyes and an affectionate and sentimental-looking mouth. Presently his expression looked rxed and wellposed, giving the impression that he was a man who guarded his mouth like a closed bottle, and would not easily divulge inside information, a schr that was both wise and courageous. Kou Zhong could not help having a favorable impression toward him. Song Jingang signaled with his hand, ordering his subordinates serving tea to immediately leave, so that no one remained, and left only the four of them in the hall, which had a temporary feel around it. The atmosphere turned solemn. Even the always-smiling and passionate Yun Yuzhen also refrained from smiling. After staring fixatedly on Kou Zhong for quite a while, Song Jingangughed aloud and said, Kou Xiong is worthy to be called a hero of the present age. With just a few tricks, the situation in the north suddenly changed. Now I know that the words of praise of Kou Xiong in Jianghu are not exaggeration. Smiling, Kou Zhong replied, I was just at the right ce at the right time. Does Song Xiong have an important matter youd like to discuss? Why dont you speak forthrightly? Revealing an amiable smile, Bu Tianzhi praised him, Kou Yes eloquence grows more and more formidable! Kou Zhong was emotionally moved, recalling Bu Tianzhi used to think that he and Xu Ziling were just two dumb kids that they could exploit, and now he kept calling him Kou Ye this and Kou Ye that [reminder: ye means master as in master-servant rtion], giving him a bit of surreal feeling. Song Jingang calmly said, Before discussing the important matter, please allow Zaixia to rify one thing: what rtion does Kou Xiong have with Wang Shichong? Please forgive Zaixia for speaking forthrightly. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, You are indeed very forting. I dont even know what kind of rtionship I have with Wang Shichong? Perhaps the correct answer would be mutual exploitation; nothing more than that. Yun Yuzhens jet-ck eyebrows slightly knitted; she said, Wang Shichong is an old fox. You, this little fox, must be careful, or else you will get eaten by him. Song Jingangughed and said, Talking with Kou Xiong is truly a delight. I do not wish to beat around the bush either. Speaking about the warlords vying for supremacy over the world today, in term of fame and power, the one triumph in every battle, Li Mi is the leader. Yet in term of strength, Dou Jiande and Du Fuwei are equally matched. I wonder if Kou Xiong agrees with my misconception. Yun Yuzhen was astonished. Li Mi had just scored big victory over Yuwen Huajis hundred-thousand elite troops, howe in term of strength he fall behind Dou Jiande and Du Fuwei? Casting a nce toward Kou Zhong, Song Jingang smiled and said, Looking at Kou Xiongs expression, I know that he is quite clear of this situation. Id better let Kou Xiong exin it! More and more Kou Zhong felt that Song Jingang was not a simple man, because he obviously had not been in Luoyang for long, yet he was able to urately grasp Li Mis military situation, and from this he was able to deduce other things. The reason is very simple, Kou Zhong replied indifferently, From the fact that Wang Shichong dared to establish his presence in Yanshi with only twenty-thousand troops, and deployed his force to nk Hos high altitude, we can infer that although Li Mi defeated Yuwen Huaji, it was a tragic victory where his strength is greatly weakened. But when he attacked Jingling, Old Du also suffered damaged troops and broken generals; how could youpare him with Dou Jiande on equal terms? Song Jingang replied, The difference between Li Mi and Du Fuwei is that one bought the peoples heart, while the other seeks victory by fair means or foul. Hence the former adopted mercenary system to recruit soldiers, while from the start thetter forced ordinary people to enlist in the army. As a result, Du Fuwei is always able to bring up his military force to full strength in a short period of time, as long as his supply of weaponry, grains, and horses can keep up with it. The disadvantage of this method is that his soldiers are mixed and not refined, their morale is undisciplined. However, under Du Fuweis harsh repression, under normal circumstances, nothing can go wrong. Every word he said prated deep into the bottom of Kou Zhongs heart. It was precisely because Du Fuweis men were forcing the inhabitants of a rural vige to enlist in their army that he came across Susu and Li Jing. Song Jingang then added, Although Du Fuweis momentum is flourishing, all I can see is that he is a man with no ambition. Hearing that, while Kou Zhongs heart was shivering in fear, Bu Tianzhi asked in astonishment, Why did General Song have such a view? With a cold snort, Song Jingang replied, If he was a man with ambition, howe his vision is so narrow and shallow, that he is solely preupied with present benefit? Yun Yuzhen joined in, In that case, Li Mi can be considered a man with ambition; just by looking at how he bought the heart of the people, we can tell one or two things about him. Song Jingangughed aloud and said, Li Mi is certainly a man with magnificent aspiration in his heart, its just that he is too narrow-minded: just one Zhai Rang, he could not tolerate; he issued the Duke of Pushan Decree to hunt and kill Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong. In the end, failing to capture the stealing chicken, he has his rice [grain] nibbled instead, his prestige suffered considerable damage, his biggest shoring is that he gained two formidable opponents instead. Kou Zhong promptly declined modestly; in his heart his appraisal of Song Jingangs exquisite insight and judgment grew even higher. He could not help asking casually, In that case, your honorable master, hey! Something Khan must be the man with the highest aspiration! But why did he take refuge in Tujue? How could that be a long-term solution? Song Jingang sighed and said, Even though Li Yuan upies Guanzhong, he still calls himself a vassal to Tujue, let alone have the Tujue as our neighbor. This is a quick fix. There is no other way. And then, changing the subject, he said, As far as I know, Li Shimins top strategy is the modification of Sui Dynastys old system. The new policy is a tax system to be known asnd tax reconciliation method; roughly two dan [dry volume, approx. 100 liters] for every ding ofnd, two ya of silk, three tael of cotton, twenty days of military service, for non-military service, three chi of silk for every day; simple and easy to be executed [Trantors note: not sure about this part], to get rid of the previous dynastys fraudulent government. This is called far-reaching aspiration, not having his eyes only at the present time. Kou Zhong was in high alert. Building the correct political system was his biggest weakness. It seemed like he needed to copy that Li kid in establishing some his mothers seat of government, setting up the politicalw, or at least give the people far-reaching aspiration impression. No wonder Shi Feixuan chose the Li kid. His resentment was that he was toote to start, and his knowledge and experience was somewhatcking. If Song Jingangs martial art skill was as brilliant as his insight, he must be a first ss martial art master. At the same time, he was puzzled as to why did Song Jingang use Yun Yuzhen to make contact with him? He could not help frowning as he asked, Song Xiong still has not exined why you are looking for me, Kou Zhong. What exactly is going on? Song Jingang calmly replied his question with a question, Does Kou Xiong wish to regain Jingling? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Of course I want it so badly. But on one hand, there are several other more pressing things to do, plus the situation does not permit me to do so. I have no choice but to wait for some other his mothers day to think about it. Song Jingang spoke heavily, Military battles demand immediate action; how could you wait for long? Right now the situation is clear, Li Mi and Wang Shichongs decisive battle is imminent, no matter who win who lose, inevitably it will ruin their strength. In this case, if Du Fuwei defeated Li Zitong and acquired Jiangdu, he would be able to follow Yuwen Huajis old route of going up north along the canal. The only difference is that since Du Fuwei has the entire Jianghuai as his backup, he need not worry about the provision would not reach him. At that time, who in the world will be strong enough to contend against Jianghuais elite troops? Stunned, Kou Zhong said, You seem to be divulging the affair between the Li Family of Guanzhong and the King of Xia Dou Jiande! As if he was holding the pearl of wisdom in his hand, Song Jingang calmly said, Last time the New Qins Overlord Xue Ju was defeated by Li Shimin, he was seriously considering to rebel, and secretly struck the gong and beat the drums in preparation of arge scale counterattack, but Li Yuan had no time to care about him, he did not even have time to care about whats going on outside the pass, so he had no other choice but to sit and watch Du Fuwei showing off his military strength. As for Dou Jiande, one day he cannot defeat Yuwen Huaji and Xu Yuang, one more day he does not dare to recklessly go down south, so he would not lead his troops to attack the Eastern Capital any time soon. Hearing Yuwen Huajis name, Kou Zhongs eyes shed with deep, cold murderous intent. Snorted coldly, he said, If Xue Ju attacked Changan, what would Song Xiong do? Song Jingangs eyes shed with mysterious light; he smiled and said, Naturally we are going to storm Li Yuans old nest, to break him at his foundation. Taiyuan! Yun Yuzhen and Bu Tianzhi blurted out at the same time. Kou Zhong was shaken inwardly; hepletely understood Song Jingangs strategy, and gained even more understanding on Song Jingangs out-of-the-ordinary tactics. This time that Li kid would be in trouble. The sword and the spear collided, Qiang! a sharp and clear noise rang out; the two men suddenly separated. The rain did not show any sign that it would stop; fine droplets of water floated down continuously above the bamboo forest reaching high to the sky. Although it appeared that Ba Fenghan was making an all-out effort, the fact was that it was purely to test the water. Both men were secretly shocked. Originally, Tuli had confidence that he would be able to beat this rival in love easily, simply because previously he was a notch above Ba Fenghan, plus in recent years he had received quite a bit of pointers from both Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan, and time and again he made some breakthrough, while he himself never cked off in his training, so much so that he was even disinterested in women. But when they shed just now, unexpectedly he was unable tounch a follow-up attack; in just one move, he knew that Ba Fenghan had alreadypletely overtaken him. Ba Fenghan was also shivering inwardly. He thought that without the help of the Jade Annulus of He n, today he could in no way achieve the desired oue. However, right now victory or defeat was still unknown. Facing the wind, the Beheading Mystery Sword quivered. A strong confidence to press forward welled up in Ba Fenghans heart; immediately a swift and fierce sword qi pervaded the air of the forest within ten zhang of him. But the tip of Tulis Crouching Eagle Spear swayed, indistinctly sealing off all of his attack route, so that momentarily he did not dare to cross Tulis defense line even for half a step. Tuli was a rare martial art talent within the Tujue imperial family. He learned the Crouching Eagle Spear Technique after he had mastered the military strategy and tactics, where he developed some kind of extraordinary concept of yin and yang, what is true and what is false, real and imaginary, as well as the mixing and blending of nature and reason. During the battle in the desert in the past, because Ba Fenghan failed to grasp his spear path, he was stabbed by his spear three times and fell into a blood-soaked and hard-fought-struggle situation. Tuli showed a faint smile brimming with disdain and mockingly said, Are you scared yet? Ba Fenghan was unable to conceal his imposing manner as he sneered and said, You, Tuli, havee across then thousand crags and torrents toe to this ce, is it just to brandish your spear and y your stick from a distance like that? Its so hrious that you might kill people fromughing. Naturally Tuli would not impetuously attack just because of this kind of talk. Heughed coldly and said, Ba Fenghan, you are not an amateur, yet you spoke such an amateurish talk; now whod being hrious? The drizzle floated on their faces and their hands, soaking them cold. Ba Fenghan put away his fear and forced himself to step forward; his feet created splotching noise, carrying a strong momentum pressing down toward Tuli. Tuli roused his qi and slightly moved to the left half a step, the Crouching Eagle Spear in his hands turned into a stream of bright light; fast as lightning he stabbed at an angle. The angle was so ingenious that his stab was one step ahead of Ba Fenghans attack path. The Crouching Eagle Spear carried a roll of raindrops, increasing his momentum several folds. Even with Ba Fenghans ability, he was stull unable to anticipate the changes in Tulis move, where he attacked precisely at the moment where he was supposed to defend, and his counterattack was this swift and severe, the spears momentum resembled the nature itself. Ba Fenghan was forced to adopt a defensive position; he sidestepped and swung his sword to hack on the spears head. ng! Tuli let out a longughter, while unleashing his spears momentum. In the blink of an eye his spear struck three times in rapid session, each spear strike was in response to Ba Fenghans attack as well as the changes of his attack path; it was violent without equal. Ba Fenghan did not yield even for a single step. Qiang! Qiang! Qiang! he sessively took the spear strikes head-on, and then the Beheading Mystery Sword turned into a of light, taking advantage of the precise moment when Tulis hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earth violent attack had just passed by. For a moment the sword light and spear shadow shrouded the twobatants. The falling rain was aroused by the qi power that water droplets sshed everywhere like a fountain. Dang! The tip of the spear struck the de of the sword. Both men were unable to continue with their next move; they suddenly separated. Suddenly there was a pping. The two were still staring at the opponent; they did not dare to be distracted. A man appeared in the pavilion, sitting on the pavilions railing. With a free and leisureugh he said, Khans breaking-sword spear technique is indeed outstanding, victory is definitely within your grasp. However, in order to save time, why not let me, Li Shentong, join the party? After taking care of this little thief, we can drink together. Wouldnt it be more fun? Ba Fenghan shivered inwardly. Li Shentong was Li Yuans younger brother, but in Jianghu, his prestige surpassed that of his elder brother. He was an expert in using the three-pronged halberd, with its myriad of hook, peck, chop, and stab, changes; his name shook the north. If he ignored Jianghu rules and joined hands with Tuli, Ba Fenghans only way out was to break the siege and run away. Tuli threw his head backwards and let out a longugh, To drink together, its not that easy; not today! Ba Fenghan and Li Shentong were both stunned. Book 15 - 7 – Looking At The Present Book 15 Chapter 7 C Looking At The Present Fixing his gaze at Kou Zhong, Song Jingang said, Does Kou Xiong know that you are trapped in dangerous situation? Kou Zhong inwardly thought that this question was extremely unnecessary, but on the surface he appeared modest and ready to receive instruction, Song Xiong, please advise, he said. Song Jingang spoke heavily, Without Zaixia saying it clearly, Kou Xiong ought to know that we have close rtionship with the Tujues, hence we can also obtain valuable information from them. More and more Kou Zhong felt Song Jingangs persuasive charm. In fact, until now, Song Jingang was still skirting around without speaking to the point. But by adding all these leaves and branches, he already generated powerful sense of pressure so that Kou Zhong would feel the need to get close to and cooperate with him. Obviously the opposite party could see through his intention to contend for hegemony over the world, hence each sentence was able to hit the bulls eye, so that Kou Zhong could not help being moved. Frowning, he said, Theres one thing Ive always wondered; I heard that the rtionship between the Li n and the Tujues has always been good, supposing you and the Li n fought each other, which side do you think the Tujues will help? Song Jingang calmly replied, The weak side will receive the help. Does Kou Xiong understand? The two looked at each others eyes, and both burst out in a knowingughter. Holding back his smile, Song Jingang solemnly said, For the sake of the Jade Annulus of He n, Kou Xiong has offended Li Shimin. Based on his decisive, steadfast character, he definitely will not let this matter off so easily. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, What makes him think that the Jade Annulus of He n is in my hand? You should know that even the person implicated, Shi Feixuan herself does not dare to ascertain. That is really strange, Song Jingang said, But Li Shimin indicated to Tuli that he is certain that the Jade Annulus of He n is in your hands. And he is extremely wary toward you, Kou Xiong; he stated explicitly that if he could not employ you, two brothers, he had no choice but to cut off feelings of gratitude and loyalty, and have you destroyed. Others may not know the power he holds in his hands, but definitely he cannot conceal it from me. Therefore, I know that Kou Xiong is currently at an extremely dangerous situation. Kou Zhong was well aware that Song Jingang was telling the truth, because he could not possibly weave this kind of tale. He thought Li Jing must have really betrayed them; otherwise, how could Li Shimin dare to allege that the Jade Annulus of He n was in their hands? Kou Zhongs eyes suddenly shone with murderous intent as he spoke heavily, Do you think the number of people who want to take the head above my, Kou Zhongs neck iscking? There is no harm in adding him, one person, to that number. Song Jingang spoke indifferently, I have no doubt that Kou Xiong is a talented man, but how much do you really know about this person, Li Shimin? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I was just about to ask Song Xiong for guidance. Admiring look appeared Yun Yuzhen and Bu Tianzhis faces; to be willing to modestly ask for advice was definitely a big advantage for this kid. Song Jingang said, I have never met Li Shimin, but I have spent some time in making some inquiries and doing some research on hising and going since he raised in rebellion at Taiyuan; my conclusion is that this man is decisive and progressive, his determination is far-reaching, and because of his extremely unswerving determination and his expertise in deploying his troops, he is able to use his weakness to eliminate the strong, to seek victory in the midst of danger. He is indeed a rare talent in military affairs. And then, after looking deep into Kou Zhongs eyes, he said, He never made mistakes; his opinion toward Kou Xiong this time cant be an exception. His countenance changed, Bu Tianzhi said, Li Shimin came to Luoyang this time, hows his strength? Kou Zhong cast Bu Tianzhi a surprised look; it appeared that his concern about Kou Zhong was not a fake. Song Jingang said, As for how many attendants Li Shimin brought to Luoyang, I am not clear. But with him establishing the Heavenly Policy Government, the number of valiant military leaders he obtained is like a cloud; it could be said that his strategic experts are as thick as rain. Clearly this man has a very persuasive charm, he can make the heart of the people turn to him. After a short pause, he went on, In term of literary aspect, Id say he has the most influential person under his employment, which is Fang Xuanling[1]. This man does not know martial art, but has outstanding knowledge and experience. When Li Shimin was leading his troops to enter Guanzhong, Fang Xuanling happened to go north of Wei River to visit his son, hence he was invited to join the army by Li Shimin. All memorials to the Emperor, military orders, and so on, are being taken care by him single-handedly. Moreover, this man is most adept in drafting a policy, nning military operations, equipment, as well as military provision and weaponry financing; everything are clear and in good order. Although he cannot attack the enemy and achieve victory in the battlefield, he ys a crucial role for either sess or failure. If I were to start a war against Li Shimin, I would make a n to assassinate this man first. Kou Zhong mused that if another day he was going to go to war against Song Jingang, he must protect Xu Xingzhi; otherwise, if Xu Xingzhi was assassinated by Song Jingang, he would suffer a great loss. Although until now Song Jingang did not exin why he wanted to see Kou Zhong, but Kou Zhong had more or less guessed the reason. Song Jingang wanted to exploit Kou Zhongs intimate knowledge of Du Fuweis real situation to help Li Zitong in dealing with Du Fuwei, and so he would easily swing his troops to Taiyuan and advance to Guanzhong. Naturally Song Jingang also knew that Kou Zhong was not someone who would be easily manipted by anybody; otherwise he would not waste so much energy in persuading him. Bu Tianzhi asked, How about the military aspect? Smiling bitterly, Song Jingang replied, Even if I used up all the fingers on my hands and the toes on my feet, I wont be able to list them all. Within the Li n themselves, Li Shentong and Li Shimin, three brothers are the most brilliant. But their real strength actuallyes from martial art masters from all sides who attach themselves to the Li Family. Among those, more than a dozen, who, no matter how you look at them, are first ss masters, who are known in Jianghu as the Policy Government Upper-ss Generals. The leader of these upper-ss-general level people is, unexpectedly, a woman. Nobody knows her name. But because her weapon is a red brush, she is known as the Red Brush Lady, without any name. Kou Zhong was astonished, Is she more formidable than Yang Xuyan? he asked, Howe she upy the leadership position? Clearly Song Jingang did not know that Yang Xuyan was Li Shimins man; emotionally moved, he asked, How did Kou Xiong know that Yang Xuyan has entered Guanzhong Army? Kou Zhong mused, Turns out you are not omniscient at all. After exining briefly, he said, I was wondering if Song Xiong would agree to meetter for further deliberation of this important matter. Right now I must immediately go to the Pce to see Wang Shichong; otherwise he might grow suspicious. Song Jingang knew he had hooked Kou Zhongs interest; no longer insisted on persuading him, he let him go after they made an appointment to meet at ater date. Ba Fenghan leaped high into the air, and lightlynded on Xu Zilings small boat. Sitting at the bow, he said indifferently, Its time to return the boat to its owner. A bit embarrassed, Xu Ziling asked, How did you know I was following behind you? Clearly you have never looked back. Ba Fenghan opened up his hand; turned out he had a small round mirror in his palm. Only then did Xu Ziling understand. Ba Fenghan asked, Did you hear everything? Xu Zilings handsome face blushed slightly; while his hand was busy rowing, he replied, I thought you were going to converse in your nativenguage, who would have thought that you were speaking Chinese. Hey! I am sorry! Ba Fenghan nodded, I was speaking Chinese for your sake, he replied, Sometimes womens hatred caused by love is more terrifying than severe floods and fierce beasts; the biggest problem is that no matter what, you wont have the heart to deal with her ruthlessly. I originally thought that she was so young, so she ought not to take everything so seriously. Now I know I was terribly wrong. Oh! Watch out! Xu Ziling already heard the sound of a boat cutting the waves; hastily he rowed the small boat to the side. A boat rapidly sailed past; the man handling the boat did not look significantly different from any local Luoyang man. The two mens eyes lit up at the same time. Did you smell it? Ba Fenghan asked. Xu Ziling replied confidently, Herbal medicines smell. Both men remembered Shangguan Long immediately. Xu Ziling put the oar into the water, while in his heart he apologized to the original boat owner, because he needed to borrow the boat a bit longer. [1] Fang Xuanling (579-648), Tang Dynasty historian,piler of History of Jin Dynasty. Kou Zhong and Yun Yuzhen were back inside the carriage, Bu Tianzhi was still responsible for driving it; they were heading back toward the Imperial City. Yun Yuzhen spoke in low voice, What do you think of this man, Song Jingang? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, You were the one who introduced us, yet you are asking me? Yun Yuzhen crossly said, I was only following Xiao Dangjias order! Kou Zhongughed and said, Beautiful Shifu needs not take it seriously; in my opinion, in the future this Song Jingang will be a formidable opponent to Li Shimin. This game of contending over the world is bing more and more interesting. Humph! Liu Wuzhou certainly has too muchmitment toward the Tujues, otherwise they would not have abandoned the Li kid and help them instead. Yun Yuzhen said, This is perhaps the faraway rtive resulted in distant rtion logic. Liu Wuzhou and the others are sustaining the militia north of Xinjiang; they all received nobility title from the Tujue, and have be their vassals. Li Yuan, on the other hand, has always been a bit far from them, hence the Tujues do not trust him too much. Pondering deeply, Kou Zhong said, Why didnt Song Jingang mention Liang Shi at all? He is Liu Wuzhous martial brother; both are martial art masters and leading figures of Ying Yang Pai. ording to reason, they should share the same interests and advance or retreat together. Sneering, Yun Yuzhen said, Even brothers can turned against each other and be enemies. Werent Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyou at each other throat? And now they are still suspicious and jealous of each other. I hear Li Shimin and the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng are also estranged brothers. Anything involving the imperial throne, all proper human rtionships are not worth a penny. Kou Zhong reminisced about the time Du Fuwei wanted to make him his son, yet he did not mention Fu Gongyou at all. It appeared that he did not have any regard of him. Recalling that Yun Yuzhen was widely known as intelligence expert, he smiled and said, If in the future I stage an uprising, would Beautiful Shifu be willing to throw your full support at me? Casting him a sidelong nce, Yun Yuzhen sighed and said, How about we talk when the timees? You dont know how much troubles are in my heart nowadays! Intuitively Kou Zhong knew that she was troubled over a man-woman rtionship, hence he did not dare to continue asking. Without thinking, he said, There are several martial art masters from the Dugu Family who have not made their appearance at all. For example, that Dugu Ba seems to disappear without any trace. I wonder if you knew where they are? Dispirited and downcast, Yun Yuzhen replied, How do I know? Were here! Get off the carriage! The boat carrying Xu and Ba, two men, was moored under a small bridged. Shrouded by the misty rain, unless someone was on a boat passing through under the bridge, or perhaps was intentionally looking, no one would find them there. If this were a principal waterway like the Luo River, their small boat would definitely be an eyesore. But they were currently at a small tributary leading to the Luo Canal, located along the Pleasant Lane at the southwestern part of the city. The boat they saw earlier was moored at a small pier behind a courtyard right at the edge of the stream. On the pier, there were three other canopied fast boats. In Luoyang, waterways connected the entire city; traveling by water was more convenient, not to mention faster, than traveling by carts and horses or walking onnd. Ba Fenghan peered at the back door of the courtyard, which, at this time, was tightly closed. He said in heavy voice, I have confidence that I will be able to kill Tuli. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, How can you say that? Based on what Ive seen just now, at best you two are evenly matched, both men share the limelight. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Thats how it appeared. Didnt you feel that when you were facing Shi Feixuanst night, you gave out far beyond your usual level of performance? Shaken, Xu Ziling said, I have never really thought about it. But now that you mention it, it seemed to be the case. Ba Fenghans eyes were shing with spirited light. His voice brimming with yearning, he said, This is precisely the wonderful usage of the Jade Annulus of He n; it enables us to break through and beyond the limitation of our former physical capability. Now all we need is a challenge and an opportunity to temper ourselves, and then we will be able to start bringing out our hidden capability, and turn it into reality. Right now Luoyang is teeming with crouching tigers, hidden dragons, plus we are surrounded by the enemies on all sides; is there any ce under the heavens better than here to train our martial art skill? Xu Ziling looked down at the raindrops falling into the river and became part of the river itself. Nodding his head, he said, We are like an open river; each time we fought, it was like a blowing storm that made the river water even richer. Thinking about it, my heart is moved. Someones out! Ba Fenghan said. Actually, Xu Ziling was already alerted; hastily he hid his body while keeping his eyes on the rear wall of the courtyard. Two figured leaped over the wall andnded on one of the fast boats, quickly untied the rope, and sped away in the other direction. It was Xu Zilings careful thinking; he moored the small boat at the other end of the stream leading toward the Luo River, otherwise this moment they would have been found by the enemy. The possibility that the enemy would go to the city center was, of course, the highest. Following the boat sailing far away with his eyes, Ba Fenghanughed cheerfully, This time we are lucky that without even trying we found Qu Aos temporary hideout. No wonder the smell of snow lotus herb was very strong; it is the Tiele peoples panacea of treating any injury. Xu Ziling also recognized the man and woman just now as Qu Aos second disciple Hua Lingzi and third disciple Genggehuer; he also thought that it was such a coincidence. I wonder which of them was injured? he asked in surprise. They can always buy the medicine without anybody sustaining any injury! Ba Fenghan replied, This is called before it rains, bind around with silk [idiom from Book of Songs]; one must make adequate preparation. Seeing Ba Fenghans eyes were shing with spirited light, Xu Ziling asked, Is Fenghan Xiong thinking of charging inside and making a big kill? Smiling, Ba Fenghan said, Ziling really know how to read my mind. Just think: who are the people inside, actually? Hows their strength? We have no idea at all. This kind of charging inside the dragon pool or tiger den is extremely stimting; it is sending my excitement to the roof! Whether we can be martial art master of Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan, Fu Cailin, or the likes, we only have to look at the present! The two suddenly had warning signs in their hearts, so they turned around to look at the stream leading toward the Luo River. Amidst the drizzling rain, a fast boat was rapidly approaching; other than one person sitting at the stern steering the boat, a man with his long hair draped over his shoulders, was standing on the bow. His face and eyes looked sinister; he had broad shoulders, slim waist, and long legs. His outward appearance was powerful and ferocious, bordering to terrifying. Xu Ziling quickly withdrew his internal energy to dim his eyes. Although they were nearly thirty zhang away, he was afraid his eyes might arouse the other partys alertness. Lowering his voice, he said, Its Dugu Ba; Dugu ns first-ss master, Dugu Fengs younger brother. Astonished, Ba Fenghan said, Isnt the Dugu n in cahoots with Li Mi? How could they collude with Tiele people in secret? Lets go! Xu Ziling was thinking about the time when they were leaving Xingyang, Dugu Ba was taking advantage when Shen Luoyans mind was in turmoil by hiding inside a pile of snow andunching a sneak attack, which seeded, and then he sexually assaulted Shen Luoyan, until finally Xu Ziling alsounched a sneak attack and seeded in injuring him. Hearing Ba Fenghan, he was awakened from his reverie, What? he asked. Ba Fenghan already struck his palm against the surface of the river, creating a ssh of water, which sprayed everywhere. Like an arrow the small boat cut through the water surface, slipped out from under the bridge, and sped forward to meet Dugu Bas fast boat. Kou Zhong jumped off the carriage. When he looked back and waved to take his leave from Bu Tianzhi, thetter flicked a crumpled ball of paper toward him. Kou Zhong continued on in astonishment, while the carriage turned around and left. While walking toward the middle gate of the Imperial City, he examined the paper Bu Tianzhi gave him. Other than the ce and time of their secret meeting, there was nothing else. He could not help feeling apprehensive. Bu Tianzhi clearly wanted to conceal the fact that he had secretmunication with him from Yun Yuzhen. What exactly was going on? But deep in his heart he knew that Bu Tianzhi did not mean him any harm. Upon entering the Imperial City, the Captain of the Guards took him to the Shangshu Mansion. He had to wait a long time before someone brought him to the main hall. As soon as he stepped inside, he was stunned. He saw Wang Shichong was sitting at the host position on an elevated tform at the southern end of the hall, while about a dozen seats, which were distributed equally on both sides, were full. [Trantors note: the character I tranted as seat could also mean banquet table; therefore, it is possible that these people were sitting on separate tables, one person per banquet table.] Among the six people sitting on the right side, Kou Zhong recognized the Beautiful Barbarian Lady Ling Longjiao, (Taoist) Priest Ke Feng, the Iron Hook Chen Changlin, and the one sitting on the head seat of Wang Shichongs right hand side was Ouyang Xiyi, while Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu were sitting at the end seats. The six people sitting on the other side, it was the first time that Kou Zhong saw them. The two men sitting at the end seats resembled Wang Shichong; so his guess was that the two were his sons. While Kou Zhong was momentarily stupefied from suddenly encountering this kind of formation, Wang Shichong rose up to his full height andughed aloud, Kou Zhong, you arrived just in time; we are discussing the grand n. Come! Sit down and have some hot tea, and then well talk. One after another the people raised their cupped fist to salute him. Only that as-cold-as-ice-and-frost Beautiful Barbarian Lady Ling Longjiao looked cold and indifferent toward him; she only nodded slightly as a greeting to him. Ouyang Xiyi appeared to have an especially favorable impression toward Kou Zhong; beckoning him toe over, he said, No need to add a seat [or table, see note above],e sit withofu [old man] here! The attendant quickly added an imperial-tutor chair [̫ʦ] next to this senior martial art masters table and asked Kou Zhong to sit down, and served fragrant tea. After themotion died down, Wang Shichong introduced two men in high-ranking military officer attire sitting on the first two seats to his left to Kou Zhong. One was called Zhang Zhenzhou, the other was Yang Gongqing, both were great generals Wang Shichong heavily relied on like his left and right arms; their status was higher than Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu. They have been stationed outside, to defend against militias who rise up against Wang Shichong. Kou Zhong knew that these two were the real yers in Wang Shichongs team; hence he paid particr attention as he scrutinized the two men. Zhang Zhenzhou was tall and slim, his slender face appeared to be shrewd and full of self-confidence, his demeanor was calm andposed, rarely smiling, his forehead was high and slightly bulging, giving the impression that it contained inexhaustible intelligence. His age appeared to be between thirty-five, thirty-six, and appeared to be a meticulous [orig. not one thread loose] man. Yang Gongqing was slightly older, medium build, a gentle smile seemed to be eternally etched on his face. His thin eyes gave Kou Zhong impression that he was a shrewd and an extremely deep man. His voice was sharp, and he spoke unhurriedly, yet people felt as if his words sounded continuous and intermittent at the same time. The two men sitting at the end seats were Wang Xuanying and Wang Xuanshu, they were Wang Shichongs first and second son, respectively. The former had a scar on his face, his bearing and the way he spoke showed that he was a boorish and reckless man; his eyes carried some kind of vicious overtone, so that others were not too impressed. His body build was rather short and stocky, leaning toward slightly fat, making Kou Zhong to guess that he was a man who indulged himself in wine and women; otherwise, given his age, which was still around mid-twenty, he would not have this kind of appearance. It appeared that even if he received Wang Shichongs personal instruction, he would still be like that. On the other hand, his younger brother had solid build, his face glowing, full of heroic spirit. Although he was not as tall as Kou Zhong, he could still be considered tall like a standing jade. Its just that his childish nature still remained; he needed some more experience before he was able to assume personal responsibility. The other two persons were Wang Honglie and Wang Xingben; both were Wang Shichongs close rtives. Their outward appearance did not show anything extraordinary. Therefore, among the people seated, eight were core figures of Wang Shichongs army. Half of those standing were rted in one way or another with Wang Shichong. With the exception of Wang Xuanshu, the rest were not people of talent. With nepotism like this, certainly there would be impact, to a certain degree, on the troops morale. After tea, Wang Shichong turned to Kou Zhong and said with augh, To be able to see Xiao Xiongdi returned safe and sound, all of us are overjoyed. Kou Zhong cursed inwardly; not a word was mentioned about the curfewst night. Heughed and said, What actually happened that it rmed Shangshu Daren anddies and gentlemen here to have a discussion of the grand n? Wang Shichong said, Huang Gongcuo has just arrived. We are preparing a preemptive attack to inflict total defeat of the Nanhai Pai, so that they would never recover. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, Absolutely not! Everybody, including Wang Shichong, was stunned. Book 15 - 8 – Lover of Flowers Book 15 Chapter 8 C Lover of Flowers When Xu Ziling was about to apply his power to row the boat, Ba Fenghan spoke in heavy voice, As much as possible, we must not arouse his attention. This is an assassination operation, not a decisive battle following Jianghus rules. Xu Ziling hung his head low to prevent Dugu Ba from seeing his appearance. His oar paddled the water slowly, seemingly without a lot of strength, giving the impression of rxed, easy andfortable rowing. Like an arrow Dugu Bas gaze shot at the two men. Because Ba Fenghan, who was sitting on the bow, had his back against him, plus the continuous drizzle floating in the air, he was unable to see his particrly magnificent build. Xu Zilings face was obscured by the wide bamboo rain hat, plus he was stooping his back, hence he looked like an ordinary boatman. Dugu Ba only shot one look, and then his mind turned to many other things. If the two mens boat wereing from behind, his vignce would have been raised considerably; moreover, he had juste across Hua Lingzi, two martial sister and brother, naturally he did not have any concern even more. If even Ba and Xu, two men, had never thought that by strange coincidence [lit. the gods pull, the ghosts push] they would run into Dugu Ba, much less Dugu Ba himself. This moment Dugu Bas fast boat was only about twenty zhang away from the small pier, while Xu and Ba, two mens small boat was approaching from the opposite direction approximately thirty zhang away. With regard to Luoyangs busy waterways, it was a totallymon scenario. Ba Fenghan had already put the Beheading Mystery Sword, still in its sheath, on the bottom of the boat near his feet, so that Dugu Ba did not have the slightest suspicion. Dugu Bas small boat reached the pier first. Evidently this man was impetuous and ruthless; even the patience to wait until the boat was moored properly onto the pier wascking. His feet kicked lightly, he leaped over the two zhang of water andnded on the pier. Without waiting for Ba Fenghans order, Xu Ziling suddenly applied his power, propelling the small boat three zhang forward, bringing it to only about five zhang away from the dock. The man rowing Dugu Bas boat looked at them in shock, and shouted, Ba Ye, be careful! Ba Fenghan already hooked the Beheading Mystery Sword with his foot, and somersaulted backward. Dugu Ba turned around abruptly. The pair of thin, grim and ferocious-looking eyes on his long and narrow face revealed a startled, strange look. Qiang! The Beheading Mystery Sword left its sheath. Dugu Bas reactions speed was also first-ss; while Ba Fenghan was still two zhang away in the air above the water, he twisted his waist and lowered his body, taking a horse stance, sending out a punch over the empty air, so it would be difficult for the opponent to get close to him. At the same time, Xu Ziling pulled the oar from the water, and tossed it away, while shouting, Watch this! The oar was one step ahead of Ba Fenghans feet. Ba Fenghan has been through fire and water several times with Xu Ziling; he knew exactly his intention. One foot pushed on the oar, he soared again. Not only to avoid the opponents heart-destroying, lung-splitting fist power, it was also to cover the rest of the distance, bringing him flying above Dugu Bas head. After throwing the oar, without wasting any time, Xu Ziling flew behind Ba Fenghan toward the dock. Dugu Bas boatman also shouted, pulled the saber hanging on his waist, and leaped toward the dock. As soon as his punch missed, Dugu Ba knew he was in a bad situation. Worse yet, the oar was originally used to help Ba Fenghan alter the momentum of his movement, but due to the push from Ba Fenghans toes, not only did it chang direction, it was shooting straight toward Dugu Ba, plus Ba Fenghan added his own power to Xu Zilings original throwing force, so that the speed increased rapidly, just like a lightning striking Dugu Ba. If Dugu Ba blocked the iing oar, he would not be able to block Ba Fenghans sword chopping down on his head; but if he sidestepped, he would lose the momentum of his initiative earlier. After considering the pros and cons, he chose thetter. Fast as lightning he moved sideways. Letting out a coldugh, Ba Fenghan turned his Beheading Mystery Sword into sword qi and sword shadow filling the air, as if he already knew which direction Dugu Ba would move, and thus shrouded the areapletely. As his feet touched the ground, his left palm, urately and at the precise moment, tapped on the oar, brilliantly executing two of the consummate skills from his unique school. This moment Xu Zilingnded at the edge of the dock. Remembering this mans misdeeds, he decided not to be lenient. From the other side, he charged toward Dugu Bas back, andunched both fists in session. Dugu Bas attendant was still in the air. The oar, which flew faster and stronger, was shooting toward his chest. Ignorant of the fierceness of this oar, he used his saber to chop down. Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang! A series of clear ringing noise of metals shing against each other rang out from the direction of Ba Fenghan and Dugu Ba. Turned out Dugu Ba was wearing a pair of arm guards under his sleeves, which he used to strenuously block Ba Fenghans sword strike upon sword strike, which strength grew with each strike, a terrifying sword technique that attacked like surging tide or breaking waves. The most difficult thing to grasp was Ba Fenghans mysterious footwork, which changed the angle of his sword attack indeterminately, almost to the point of strange beyond humanprehension. The swift and fierce wind from Xu Zilings fists came from behind. Pow! Although the attendants saber hit the oar, it was like a dragonfly trying to move a stone pir; the oar was not swayed the least bit. He could only look helplessly as the top of the oar struck the pit of his stomach, sending him flying backward. By the time he entered the river, he already perished with broken sternum. Under the pincher attack from two major martial art masters, Dugu Ba reached the critical moment between life and death. In this most dangerous moment, this Dugu ns martial art master, whose prestige in Jianghu was second only to You Chuhong and Dugu Feng [peak, not phoenix], showed his real strength and his survival ability, which he honed over the vicissitudes if life [lit. a thousand hammer and a hundred refinement (as in smelting metals)]. Just before he was pressed from front and back in a narrow space, his body swiftly, beyond human understanding, swayed to the left and right several times. His right hand rose up at an oblique angle to block Ba Fenghans killer sword strike toward his chest, while his left hand picked the arm guard from his nk and shot it toward Xu Ziling. Dang! Ba Fenghan changed his sword from stabbing to chopping, but it was still blocked by the arm guard on Dugu Bas right arm, although Dugu Ba was jolted by the impact that he staggered two steps sideways. Xu Ziling swiveled around; the arm guard missed him by a hairsbreadth. His right palm swept toward Dugu Bas left arm, which was losing his footing. The sound of shattering arm bones against the palm was heard. Dugu Ba staggered. Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword came again. Xu Ziling was jolted by Dugu Bas true qi protecting his body that he recoiled half a step back. Dugu Ba had no choice but to throw his remaining arm guard toward Ba Fenghan, while at the same time he soared toward the small boat, which by this time was still drifting three zhang away from the dock, sshing away the fine droplets of the rain. The two men did not expect he would be this formidable, under this kind of disadvantageous condition he was still able to break through the siege andnded on the boat to run for his life. Qiang! Ba Fenghan struck the shooting arm guard down. He was just about to pursue and attack, Dugu Bas scream was heard from the water surface. The two turned to look, and could not believe their eyes. Why not? Wang Shichong asked in surprise. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The only thing we need to do now is to show our weakness to the enemy; the more Li Mi underestimate us, the more he look down upon us, the better it will be for us. Ouyang Xiyi, who was sitting at the same table with him, was puzzled. Battlefield is battlefield, he said, By dealing with Huang Gongcuo, we determine victory in the contention for supremacy in Jianghu; otherwise, if we let him and Dugu n join hands and wait for an opportunity to assassinate Shichong Xiong, this problem will make us nervous and keep us on edge all day long. If that happens, wont we have time to do other things? Most people in the hall nodded their heads in agreement. Only Priest Ke Feng raised the whisk in his hand and said with a smile, Kou Xiongdi must have special insight; why not tell us? Kou Zhong calmly said, First, I want to know hows Li Mis situation? Zhenzhou! Wang Shichong singled him out, Li Mis situation, I want you to exin! Zhang Zhenzhou said, As soon as we began constructing the bridge and building the granary in Yanshi, Li Mi immediately amassed army provisions and troops and horses; he also ordered his big general Bing Yuanzhen to lead the troops to establish their presence at the mouth of River Luo, Cheng Zhijie to enter and garrison Jinyong city, Shan Xiongxin to guard Heyang. At first nce it appeared that they were going to march to Yanshi, but it is also possible that Li Mi is thinking to use the Yellow River in the south as a barrier, to guard Taixing in the north, to join Liyang in the east, and thus taking the stance of defense as a means to offense, hence we do not dare to send troops to advance. Just by listening to his exnation, Kou Zhong knew he was military strategist who was full of resourcefulness and insight, and thought that Wang Shichong was able to upy Luoyang, the center of the Central ins, was not by fluke at all. Seeing everybodys eyes were focused on him, Kou Zhong cleared his throat and said, I have heard about Wang Bodang and Pei Renji, or perhaps Shen Luoyan, Xu Shiji, Zu Junyan; but I have never heard about his mothers Shan Xiongxin, Bing Yuanzhen, and Cheng Zhijie. Within Li Mis army, what kind of characters are these people? Hearing vulgarnguage in the midst of his talk, everybody could not help smiling. Only Ling Longjiao showed look of disdain; she snorted coldly, expressing her displeasure. Yang Gongqing said, There are certainly a horde of talents under Li Mismand, Kou Xiongdi only mentioned five of them just now, because they areparatively well-known in Jianghu, hence their names are widely known. But among the other civil and military officers, there is nock of figures with decent name. Cheng Zhijie, Shan Xiongxin and Bing Yuanzhen are all famous generals; among them, Cheng Zhijie is the bravest and fiercest and the most outstanding. This mans original name was Cheng Yaojin[1]; after establishing his reputation, because he did not like his name, he asked Li Mis chief imperial strategic adviser Wei Zheng[2] for a new name and thus changed his name to this elegant one. Wang Shichongs eldest son, whose appearance was not impressive, Wang Xuanying, joined in, Li Mi also have two other valiant military leaders, Luo Shixin and Qin Shubao; both mens martial art skill is out of the ordinary, experts in the art of war. When we meet them, we must not inattentive. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Thank you for the pointers. What I want to know is, among this group of generals, which one used to be Zhai Rangs subordinate? Everyone was startled; they were all emotionally moved. Those who originally showed contempt toward him were also forced to restrain their despising heart. Wang Shichong stared at Kou Zhong for half a day, before finally exhaling and said, Shan Xiongxin and Bing Yuanzhen are veteran generals who followed Zhai Rang battling thend under heaven before Li Mi rose abruptly to this towering position. All along they do not have too harmonious rtionship with Li Mis bunch of other trusted aides. But if you are thinking of inciting them to betray Li Mi, it wont be an easy thing. Kou Zhong spoke leisurely, Shangshu Daren, please forgive me for being blunt. Nowadays outstanding heroes are rising all over the world and joining volunteer armies of all sides, their motivation is either to achieve glory, riches and honor, or to the benefit of thousands of people. Previously, the reason why there are so many people willing to attach themselves to Li Mi, was perhaps after Zhai Rang was assassinated, they had no choice but to throw their lot with this fellow; if nothing else, they wanted to openly follow this supposedly future Son of Heaven, ordained by Heaven. Therefore, as long as we can show these people that the Son of Heaven, ordained by Heaven, is not Li Mi, their seemingly solid, unbreakable Wagang kingdoms power will be all split up and pieces, simply because of these ws will create insecurity in peoples heart. And then, continuing word by word, he spoke powerful and resonating words [lit. if thrown on the floor, it will make a sound], Currently the situation can be clearly distinguished: whoever make his move first will have to suffer defeat. But supposing the confrontation continued, by the time Li Mi recovered his strength, Shangshu Daren will be in danger. There was silence in the hall, even the sound of breathing seemed to be stopped. Chen Changlin, whose body looked like a puma, said, Listening to Kou Xiong, it appears that you have determined to force Li Mi to make his move first; why dont you exin to us and let us discuss it at length? All eyes were fixed on Kou Zhong; even Ling Longjiao, who appeared to hold Kou Zhong in contempt, was not an exception. Kou Zhong was very pleased with himself; he knew that he had established his position among this group of Wang Shichongs military advisors. Laughing calmly, he said, Therefore, not only we must not deal with Nanhai Pais people, we must use them to our advantage. The moment Dugu Ba was about tond on the fast boat, it was as if the boat was moved by invisible hands under the boat; it suddenly moved sideways three chi. It was precisely these three chi difference that decided this vicious mans fate. A golden light shot out from the water. After suffering a heavy injury, and his feetnded on empty air, Dugu Ba was totally at a loss, his face showed a horror stricken expression. The assassin, who was hiding under water, also knew that it was the perfect time to strike, the moment where Dugu Bas throat was hit with piercing blow was precisely when more than half of his body has already entered the water. He died without even able to cry out, and then his body disappeared under water. It was only then did the two men see clearly that what killed him was a golden needle in a beautiful, lily-white hand. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling had never expected this change; they stared nkly at the river water, which, under the floating droplets of rain, was returning to its tranquil state. Shen Luoyans beautiful face appeared from under the water; smiling sweetly at the two, she said, Thank you very much for two gentlemens assistance, otherwise it would be difficult to wipe away this disgrace and hatred. But you must never tell anybody that it was my doing. Qu Ao is not here; he is in one of Yin Gui Pais secret nests. If you agree to promise me to keep this secret, I will tell you where it is. Just consider it as a reward. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong slyly said, If Shangshu Daren can pretend that you are suffering injuries from assassination attempt, I guarantee that Li Mi would immediatelyunch arge scale attack; then our chance wille. Wang Shichong revealed a pained look on his face. Right now we are on guard as if there is fear all around. If we intentionally give opportunity to others, it would be bad; suffering a major loss would be counter-productive [orig. to try to be clever and end up with egg on ones face]. It was unclear whether Zhang Zhenzhou was afraid of Li Mi, but he said, Li Mi always triumph in every battle; even during the battle of Mount Tong he suffered heavy loss, his strength remains. How could Kou Xiongdi be sure that we can defeat Li Mi? Kou Zhong knew that if he did not strengthen these peoples confidence first, Wang Shichong, this everything-for-self-and-selfish-profit man, would never take this big risk. With resounding words full of assurance andposure, he said, In the scheme of troop deployment, even in Sun Tzus the Art of War, there is also a point about knowing your enemy. Gentlemen Daren ought to understand thoroughly that I have the inside information. I have been in contact with Zhai Rangs daughter; through herwork, Li Mi spurting a sneer will not escape my attention. As long as Li Mi fell into the trap and sent out his troops, we will lure him andunch sneak attack, using ambush tactic to burst the myth that he triumphs in every battle. After a short pause, he continued, I am also in contact with King of Xia Dou Jiandes chief general Liu Heita, asking him to bluff in our aid. Therefore, as long as Shangshu Daren is willing to brave this danger, it would be strange indeed if Li Mi does not fall into the trap. Everybody was emotionally moved. Wang Shichongs spirit greatly aroused, he asked, May I meet Zhai Jiaos men? pping his chest, Kou Zhong said, Even meeting Zhai Jiao is not a problem. How about today? This time, any doubt that Wang Shichong had vanished. But Yang Gongqing said, But the assassination ruse has to be meticulously nned, to ensure that it is absolutely safe. After meeting Miss Zhai, we will take our time making the decision. Shangshu Daren, what do you think? pping the table, Wang Shichong said, Lets do it. Inwardly, Kou Zhong was very pleased, thinking that if this time you, Li Mi, is able to escape this cmity, I, will write my personal name, Kou Zhong, which shakes the Jianghu, backward. At the same time, he also recalled his mask, which he buried in a secret ce outside the city; that thing should be very useful. Without Ba Fenghan and Xu Zilings help, he would never dare to let Wang Shichong brave the danger of fake assassination. Because the opponent was really too tough. [1] Cheng Yaojin (589-665), real historical character, a general of the Tang Dynasty. [2] Wei Zheng (580-643), also real historical character, Tang politician and historian, notorious as a critic, editor of History of the Sui Dynasty. Book 15 - 9 – Charging Into The Tiger’s Den Book 15 Chapter 9 C Charging Into The Tigers Den Under the fine droplets of the drizzle, the small boat glided slowly on the surface of the water. With serene expression Xu Ziling steered the boat using the oar that he took from the other boat. His scimitar-shaped eyebrows were deeply knitted. Sitting on the bow, wearing bamboo hat and woven rush raincoat, Ba Fenghan swept his gaze across the residential buildings lining up the stream on both sides, and then he said, Whats on your mind? Are you wondering why Shen Luoyan wanted to kill Dugu Ba? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Shen Luoyan has always regarded Li Mis business more important than her own; therefore, she should not have harmed Dugu ns man when Li Mis just about to join hands with the Dugu n. But this is just one among other things that I dont understand. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Ba Fenghan said, If we could figure out clearly how Shen Luoyan followed Dugu Ba to this ce, or perhaps how she gathered intelligence beforehand that shey an ambush here, so that her revenge happened easily, then we can make a rough guess of whats going on. Without even thinking, Xu Ziling replied, Without a doubt she must be lying in ambush earlier; otherwise, how did she know that Qu Ao is not inside? Ba Fenghan said, Shen Luoyan must have monitored that house for some time; its possible that she saw Qu Ao leaving, and perhaps she even followed him to the address she gave us, moreover, she even knew for certain that that is Yin Gui Pais secret nest, hence she was able to offer us this information. But how could she have such a bad intention that she wanted to borrow our hands to deal with Qu Ao? After a short pause, he went on, She took advantage of the situation to kill Dugu Ba, probably it was for two reasons: business and private. Just for the fact that Dugu Ba was secretlying to meet with the Tieles, it is obvious that the Dugu n has a deep apprehension toward Li Mi, so their cooperation with Li Mi to deal with Wang Shichong is just temporary expedient. Ideally, they ought to kill Wang Shichong and his cronies, then they could take over the power over the military. Otherwise, if they let Li Mi acquire the Eastern Capital, their Dugu n wont have good days to pass. Xu Ziling asked, Since Qu Ao was out, whom did Dugu Ba want to see? Ba Fenghan replied, Maybe he did not know Qu Ao was out. Or perhaps Chang Shumou or other important figures are inside, waiting for him. But my guess is that currently the house is empty, at most there are only people with low-level martial art skill staying behind to take care of things. Even thest two people with superior martial art skill, Hua Lingzi and Genggehuer had just left. Otherwise the sound of our fighting would have alerted the martial art masters inside the house. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Things are reallyplicated, making people unable to figure out why Shen Luoyan was following Qu Ao and why he did not detect it. Ah! I understand now; it must be the Two Malevolent of Changbai brothers. Their martial art skill is high, and they are experts in tracking. The two mens four eyes met each other. What do you think? Ba Fenghan said, Qu Ao is having a secret meeting with Zhu Yuyan. We have two choices: one is waiting for Qu Ao to leave and we have a fierce battle with him, the other choice is quietly ascertain the strength and foundation of Yin Gui Pais secret nest, and then think of a way to find out news about your Yu Yi. Xu Ziling suddenly asked, What kind of rtionship is there between you and Shen Luoyan? Slightly startled, Ba Fenghan said, What does it have to do with our current situation? Nonchntly, Xu Ziling said, I am just considering whether this is another trap Shen Luoyan isying before us. Fully alert, Ba Fenghan looked carefully at the medium sized cargo boat sailing ahead of them; he replied, One time she invited me to join Li Mi, to be secret assassin for them, naturally with generous rewards. But I tly refused. Afterwards we still spent a whole day traveling together. I cant deny that she is indeed a quite attractive woman. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, But her loyalty to Li Mi certainly prevails over other things, which is why I do not trust her at all. Li Mis Duke of Pushan Decree to hunt and kill Zhong Shao and me is definitely not a joke. Now we have be a thorn by Li Mis side. What you said is not without a reason, Ba Fenghan said, Therefore, we have to split up; you go to rendezvous with Kou Zhong, I will step onto the te to see if it really is a trap. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Arent you taking too much risk? Provoking Zhu Yuyan and perhaps Wanwan, plus Tiele people, I am afraid even Ning Daoqi would find it hard to escape. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I am going to adopt the watching-the-fires-burning-across-the-river style to watch from a distance; I wont foolishly charge in to throw away my life. As long as Shen Luoyan is not deceiving us, I am sure I will find clues [orig. spiders thread and horse track]. And then,ughing, he said, Lets go ashore! Kou Zhong rushed toward the Luo River dike opposite the Tianjian Bridge. By the time he arrived, Xu Ziling had been waiting for about half a sichen. As soon as he jumped onto the boat, Xu Ziling immediately pulled the oar. Looking around, Kou Zhong said, Ive done everything to throw off anybody who wanted to follow me. Uh! Where did you steal this boat from? Xu Zilingughed and said, Originally it was stolen, butter on it will turn into an ingot of gold business profit. With our title of Double Dragons, and this boat as our means of transportation, anybody could forget about following us. Receiving the bamboo rain hat and woven rush raincoat Xu Ziling handed him, Kou Zhong spoke happily, You are well prepared! Where did Old Ba go? Ay! Dong Shuni, that poniang [reminder: b!tch, derogatory term for woman], is really lying to me. He was about to exin, someone flew from the riverbank toward their boat. The two boys jumped in fright; whod dare to be this reckless, using only two fists to deal with the two boys four? Even Zhu Yuyan, she would think again and again before attacking them on such a wide river and on a small boat like this. Upon closer look, they saw that the iing was unexpectedly Song Shidao, who, ording to Song Yuzhi, has returned to the south. Only because he was wearing bamboo rain hat that they did not immediately recognize him. Carrying the wind and the rain with him, this passionate young masternded in the middle of the boat, and said happily, Its so difficult to find you, plus I was afraid somebody might see me making contact with you, so I followed Xiao Zhong from the Imperial City all the way here, and only then did I dare to meet with you. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Your tracking skill is indeed not bad. Astounded, Xu Ziling asked, Didnt Er Gongzi return to the south? Song Shidao replied indifferently, Junchuos Shimei is in trouble, how could I keep my hands inside my sleeve and do nothing? Swinging the oar, Xu Ziling turned the boat to the left and sped up along the road. Song Shidao went on, About Junyu, I have a bit of clue. The two boys were amazed; they conducted open inquiries and secret search, yet still failed to find the least bit of information. Song Shidao only found out about this matterst night, how could he seed so quickly? Song Shidao was an astute man; seeing the two boys incredulous expression, he exined, Our Song n has already had close rtionship with severalparably smaller gangs and societies around here. One of them has a fire-and-water rtionship with Luoyang Bang; hence they watch closely Shangguan Longs activities all the time. It was precisely because they followed Shangguan Longs trail that I was able to gain this precious information. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings spirit was greatly aroused. Song Shidao exhaled slowly, as if he was sorting out the information in his brain. After half a day, he slowly said, Five days ago, Shangguan Long rode out of town, unapanied. It was already dark when he was spotted going back into the city. Behind him was a dust-strewn carriage with its curtain down. Among the four riders apanying the carriage, two were women, both with gauzed cloth covering their faces; looks like they were traveling furtively. The carriage finally stopped inside a courtyard at Yong Tong Lane by the Yi River in the southeast corner of the city. Shangguan Long stayed there overnight and only left the following morning. Moving the oar to steer the boat, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, We must find Ba Fenghan immediately. I am so sure that inside the house that Shen Luoyan pointed out, the one waiting is not Qu Ao, but that fellow Nanhai Xian Weng [immortal elderly man of the South Sea, first mention was Book 12 Chapter 10] Huang Gongcuo. It was the first time that Kou Zhong heard about this. He was confused, but he understood that Song Shidao has indirectly uncovered another plot of Shen Luoyans. Stepping out of an alley into the main street, Ba Fenghan pulled his hat lower and walked swiftly with his head hung low. Although there was nock of pedestrians on the street, due to the increasing intensity of the rain, everybody was hurrying along; rarely would anybody pay any attention to another passer-by. The address Shen Luoyan gave them was Cheng Fu Lane, north of Xinzhong Bridge, but he deliberately made a long detour to see if anybody was trailing him. Trailing other people in this kind of weather was not easy at all, but the difficulty in detecting whether some people were trailing him also increased significantly. Although his innate character was proud and conceited, he actually held Xu Zilings ability and wisdom in very high regard. If Xu Ziling said that Shen Luoyan was having a bad intention, he must have a very strong reason. Although Ba Fenghan knew that it might be a trap, he did not have the slightest fear in his heart. After the group of horse thieves with whom he trained to maturity was wiped out, he became a lone wolf, with foes all over the ce; hence he was used to deal with all sorts of crafty plots and machinations. Right this moment, he suddenly stopped. The pitter-patter of the rain falling continuously on his bamboo hat was crisp, resounding, and rhythmic. Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing, in mens clothing, stepped down from a carriage, and, holding an umbre in her hand, she coldly looked at him from about twenty paces ahead. Ba Fenghan nearly turned around and walked away, but after a moments hesitation, he walked toward this beauty. Very soon he was standing face-to-face with her. The familiar scent emanated from her body brought forth myriads of memories in him. Shan Wanjing sighed gently, her frosty jade-countenance thawed, reced by extremely bitter expression, as she spoke softly, Would you apany Wanjing walking for a couple of steps? Ba Fenghan nodded slightly; he took the lead by stepping out first, and said, Did youe across me here by chance? Or did you hear the news ande here? Who has the ability to follow you and does not get detected by you? Shan Wanjing replied, Its just a coincidence! I was going to no longer care about your affair, but Laotianye [Heaven/God] loves to y jokes on people, and had me here toe across you. Ba Fenghan cast a sideways nce toward Shan Wanjing, who was walking on his right, and then quickly turned his eyes forward. Raindrops were sliding down her umbre, dripping onto his bamboo rain hat and his already-drenched broad shoulder, making him feel that there was some kind of strange but subtle rtionship between the two of them. Shan Wanjing spoke in low voice, Ive just seen Shimin. He wanted to have a nice talk with you, looking at the possibility of peaceful settlement of the problem between you and him. [Trantors note: so far, the you Shan Wanjing was referring to was plural.] Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I, Ba Fenghan, have never conducted myself by looking at somebody elses face. If he wants to talk, we will have to see whether Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are interested to talk! Shan Wanjing sighed and said, I dont want to argue with you; once is enough. But I want to remind you one thing: Shimin has martial art masters under hismand like a cloud, its just he always maintains a low-profile, he cant possibly let others find out his real strength for no reason! Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, I have just met Li Shentong; can he be considered one of those masters? Shan Wanjing said, What do you think about Zhangsun Wuji[1] and Yuchi Jingde? You should have heard their names? Ba Fenghan shivered slightly in his heart; these two were of the new generation of martial art masters, they had outstanding reputation in the north. Although they could not bepared to him, who was the focus of ten-thousand peoples attention, yet they could be considered powerful young martial art masters. Unexpectedly they realigned their allegiance to Li Shimin. Shan Wanjing went on, And then there is a man named Pang Yu; perhaps you have never heard of him. But this man, whether in terms of ability and wisdom or martial art skill, cans be inferior to you guys. Ba Fenghan knew that she had just seen this man, thats why the impression was especially profound. With Shan Wanjings insight, she could not possibly misjudge this person. Judging from her character, she was not someone who would intimidate others with empty words. Laughing involuntarily, he said, Looks like its getting more and more interesting. Have you met Li Jing, then? Shan Wanjing was astonished, Whos Li Jing? she asked. Now it was Ba Fenghan who was shocked; Shan Wanjing apparently did not know the full extent of Li Shimins forces that he brought along to Luoyang, yet she was already worried for them. Changing the subject, Ba Fenghan asked, Do you have any news about Yin Gui Pai? Shan Wanjing replied, ording to the information I received, Yin Gui Pai already considers the three of you their biggest enemy after Shi Feixuan; as soon as they finish the business at hand, their next move will be to crush you. Ay! Fenghan, dont you think youd better leave the Central ins? Why would you wade through the muddy water with those two kids who do not know the immensity of heaven and earth? You make enemies on all sides, and now even Niang and I feel it is difficult either to intervene or to mediate on your behalf. Ba Fenghan happily said, With what Wanjing has just said, it is enough! There is one thing I want you to be clear: Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are my, Ba Fenghans true friends [orig. liver and gall dder]; I have gone through fire and water for many days with them, and I will never forget that. After Junyus affair ispletely resolved, without anybody pushing me, I will return to the prairie. That is the ce where I was born, and that will be the ce where I die. Her tender body slightly trembled, Shan Wanjing leaned a bit closer, so that their shoulders nearly touched. She spoke softly, Yin Gui Pai still has several more senior martial art masters; they will respond to the call for reinforcement. Not only Zhu Yuyan wanted to destroy Shi Feixuan, she would also kill anybody who stands the way. The reason she was willing to offend Fu Cailin by dealing with Fu Junyu is because she believe she also knew the secret of Duke Yang Treasure. Ba Fenghan was listening in silence. He was able to sense the deep concern in the beauty by his sides voice. Quite possibly their walk in the rain this time would be theirst meeting. When are you going to return to Ryukyu? he asked in heavy voice. Shan Wanjing was silent for quite a while before answering, Should be today. Afterwards, we will try to minimize our visit to the Central ins. Ba Fenghan suddenly stopped. Shan Wanjing continued walking three more steps before she also stopped and turned around. She held the in yellow umbre in her hand with the pole resting against her shoulder, and thus exposing herke-water-green rain cloak; her jade bones and icy flesh stood erect, in a beautiful posture that was kind of endearing and moving, which made it impossible to think that she has always been stubborn and strong-willed. Composing himself, Ba Fenghan scrutinized her rarely seen posture and facial expression. After exhaling a mouthful of air, he said, Have a pleasant journey! Hardening his heart, he turned around and walked away. He had only been walking for five steps when Shan Wanjing called tenderly from behind, Fenghan. Ba Fenghan did neither stop nor turn back; only raising his hand, he said, Please dont! And he continued walking away. It was with great difficulty that Ba Fenghan was finally able to find the entrance to Cheng Fu Lane. A horse-drawn carriage wasing directly at him, the driver was a man who looked unfamiliar, yet he called out to him, Ba Ye, pleasee aboard! While Ba Fenghan was greatly surprised, Kou Zhongs big head appeared from the carriages window and winked at him, Ba kid, where do you think you are going? Still not getting in? Ba Fenghan immediately cast the sadness of parting away from his heart;ughing aloud, he got into the carriage, and only then did he find out that aside from Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, there was also Song Shidao. No wonder they had the carriage, the driver, and everything else readily avable. After briefly exining the whole sequence of events, Kou Zhong said, And now we are on our way there to make a kill, but we must study clearly theyout of the courtyard first, and then using the before-the-thunderbolt-reaches-the-ear method we burst through the door and break the window to get inside. As long as Wanwan or perhaps Zhu Yuyan is not there, and Yu Yi is hidden there, we will have a much greater chance of sess. Song Shidao quickly added, But we must make sure that this is going to be foolproof. Therefore, we must move only after a wellid n; once the opportunity lost, well never get it back. Ba Fenghan snorted coldly and said, Shen Luoyan is too crafty; she had the impertinence to harm me. Were it not for I do not like to kill women, I would have her try my sword and have her as a sacrificial offering. Kou Zhong said, In the struggle against Li Mi, we cant simply sit from dawn to dusk; slight dy would mean she will gain the upper hand. By this time Song Shidao was already clear on the whole story; he suggested, Why not broadcasting Dugu Bas assassination by Shen Luoyan? This way well destroy the rtionship between Dugu Feng and Li Mi. At least well make Shen Luoyan spend quite a bit of lips and tongue to exin herself. Kou Zhong said with augh, We must never do that! Otherwise my magic trick wont work. Right now my move is called to exploit the other mans ambition to the fullest, while reducing our own power and prestige. Even toward that Huang Gongcuo, we must carefully respect him, the Senior, and not to disturb even half a strand of his hair. Knowing his tricks and crafty schemes, Ba Fenghan did not want to waste his time to mind him; turning his attention to Song Shidao, he asked, Er Gongzi, is there a way to find out whether Qu Ao is hiding in there? Nodding his head, Song Shidao said, Thats easy. Our driver is a local Qing She Bang [green snake gang] man. I have shown favor and a bit of kindness toward their Bangzhu [gang leader] in the past. As soon as I say the words, they would do everything in their power to aplish it, and would not shirk without dishonor. Everything that is happening in Luoyang will not easily escape these local snakes attention. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, They are Luoyang Bangs arch-rival; by toppling Shangguan Long, we have put Luoyang Bang in the whole-bunch-of-uglies-without-the-head situation, so that they are falling apart. And thus we have indirectly done them a huge favor. I dont know how grateful they are toward us. Xu Ziling took a nce out of the window. The rain stops! he said. The driver called out, Four Daye, we have arrived! [1] Zhangsun Wuji (c. 594-659), politician and historian of early Tang. Book 15 - 10 – Clues Book 15 Chapter 10 C Clues[1] The four men got off the carriage outside the gate of a building. After looking around to make sure the ce was secure, they flipped over the front of the roof, and after scurrying past several buildings, soon afterwards their target, the courtyard, appeared in front of them, across a small alley ahead. As soon as they saw it, they knew the situation was not good. Although there was a horse-drawn carriage at the open space in front of the house, there was no horse to pull it. Theplex consisted of three sections, with two courtyards connecting them, but the doors and windows were tightly shut. It looked like there was not a single soul living in it. Oh no! Kou Zhong said dejectedly, All the witches, warlocks and female demons [yao fu, yao gong, yao nu] are scared of us and ran away. Song Shidao was surprisingly quiet; he spoke in low voice, Lets go in and take a look, maybe well find something. Ba Fenghan said with a sigh, I say its just a waste of energy; Yin Gui Pai has always been known for their secrecy, they cant possibly leave any clues to be found, otherwise other people would have caught up with their old nest. [Trantors note: here, and in subsequent paragraphs, the word they was feminine.] Shaking his head, Song Shidao said, This time its different. I am almost certain that it was only after Shangguan Longs identity was uncoveredst night that they moved out in a hurry, for fear that others might find their whereabouts. Granted that they must be very careful and took necessary safety measures, but anything can be easily overlooked. With this thinking, it was hard to avoid an oversight. This is what we are looking for. All three men were emotionally moved. Suddenly they had a whole new level of respect toward Song Shidao, this Second Young Master. With a Come on! Song Shidao took the lead by jumping down into the courtyard. The hall was exquisitely arranged, there were even paintings and calligraphy hanging on the walls, but just as Ba Fenghan anticipated, everything was neat and clean; other than ordinary household utensils, nothing was left behind. Yet Song Shidao was unwilling to neglect even one cun square. When the other three lost interest, he picked up pieces of tealeaves from the floor and brought it to his nose. Taking a sniff, he said, If I am not mistaken, this ought to be yellow sprout leaf, the shape is straight, in terms of color and luster, there is green within yellow, as delicate as a brush, simr in shape and appearance as duck tongue; it is a gourmet tea. Listening to that, the three were dumbfounded, thinking that only children and disciples ofrge and influential family like him would be able to tell that much from a single tealeaf. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Even if we know what kind of tea this is, what can we do about it? Kou Zhong joined in, In my opinion, Yin Gui Pais female demon cant possibly carry these tealeaves around, it must be Shangguan Long who prepared the tea to show filial respect to them. Song Shidao happily said, That possibility is very high. The Heavenly Street has several tea stores, three of those carry yellow sprout tea, but only Shan Jing Ju [House of Mountain Scenery] sells first-ss yellow sprout tealeaves from Jin Gang Tai [lit. diamond teau]. I have been hanging around their boss quite often these days, it would be very easy to find out if Shangguan Long is addicted to this kind of tea. If that is the case, we have one more trail to pursue. Listening to him, the three were sincerely convinced and ready to concede. Tea can be addictive as well; when one is used to drink some kind of tea, although asionally they can substitute their personal preference, but in the end it would be difficult topletely change their taste in such a short period of time. This time, Shangguan Long must be recuperating; if he happened to send someone to buy tea, then they would have a chance to find him. Song Shidao went another round, but did not find any new discovery, so he walked toward the inner hall. Since the three already regarded his investigation ability like a deity, they hurriedly followed behind him. Song Shidao entered one of the bedrooms. The gauze bed screen was down, inside, the bedding was in disarray, which corresponded with their expectation: not only the people left in a hurry, they left in the middle of the night. If it were during the day, the bedding would be tidied up. Copying Song Shidao earlier, the three examined everything carefully. But Song Shidao lifted up the screen and sat on the bed. Picking up the pillow, he sniffed at it with full concentration. The three followed him blindly; they waited patiently for him to speak. Seeing the three were staring at him nkly, Song Shidao put the pillow down and said with a smile, Actually, theres nothing serious about it. Its just that I always pay particr attention about families livelihood, and as luck has it, in this aspect, Yin Gui Pai people are also rather particr, hence I am able to pick up some things out of it. Emotionally moved, Ba Fenghan said, What Er Gongzi said is extremely useful. All along Jianghu people always thought that Yin Gui Pai is hiding deep in the mountains or some remote valley. But now it looks like their old nest might be in the heart of bustling downtown area of the Big Capital, which is outside other peoples expectation. Otherwise, they would not pay particr attention to these kinds of thing. Kou Zhong also humbly asked, What exactly are they paying particr attention to? Song Shidao replied, This bed screen and the beddings are scented with certain perfume, but the pillow smells of different fragrance, and that must be the perfume this particr woman like to use. In that case, Ba Fenghan said, The woman sleeping here cant be Junyu, because she has never used perfume. Song Shidao said, The scent from the bed curtain is taken from the Masson pine rosin [Pinus massoniana, Chinese red pine, horsetail pine]. Dont think that this is merely for pleasure, in fact, the rosin added moisture proof, rot proof, and bug-repent characteristic to the fabric. He added, As for the pillow, the perfume is derived from the extract of best quality orange osmanthus flower; ordinary people cannot afford it. Although there are more than a dozen perfume stores in Luoyang, only Ping Fu Lao Dian [lit. peaceful happiness old store] sells this kind of expensive goods. Ba Fenghan asked in surprise, Er Gongzi really knows Luoyang businesses like the back of your hand. Smiling, Song Shidao said, I have been to Luoyang five times. Whenever I have time to spare, I always stroll along the street, while also helping Luoyangs economic development; you know what I mean? Xu Ziling said, Now that we have tealeaf and perfume, these two clues, what do we do next? Song Shidao said, Lets look around everywhere else first, then well talk! But Ba Xiong was right, anything that can be carried, they cant possibly leave it behind. The carriage moved out speedily toward the Heavenly Street. In this pursuit of Fu Junyu, Song Shidao has changed shape in a single shake, and has be their de facto leader. I still dont understand, Kou Zhong wondered aloud, Howe several times we fought against Wanwan, she has never used Yu Yi to threaten us? Song Shidao said, That is indeed a proof that Junyu has really fallen into their hands; they are afraid others might know about it. Even if Zhu Yuyan is without the slightest scruple, she still inevitably has misgivings toward Fu Cailin. Unless she is really forced into a corner, she would never use Junyu to bargain with you to get the Secret to Duke Yangs Treasure. The afternoon sun prated the clouds. After raining for more than half of the day, people felt the outdoor was bright, fresh and clean. Song Shidao took this opportunity to close his eyes to restore his spirit. The three did not dare to disturb him; they simply sat quietly, while taking a peek at the scenery along the way. Arriving at the Heavenly Street, Song Shidao slipped off the carriage, while the driver pulled the carriage to wait in a side street. Ba Fenghan took the opportunity to ask the driver for a favor to find the lodging of the Tiele people. The driver proudly said, Ba Ye, rest assured. This kind of trivial thing, Xiaoren [the lowly one] will definitely handle it properly for you. Finished speaking, he jumped down the carriage and left. The three stayed at the carriage to wait. Recalling the unfinished conversation with Kou Zhong earlier, Xu Ziling asked, You said Dong Shuni was deceiving you, whats going on? Kou Zhong hatefully replied, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly. And then he exined the full story around Wang Shichongs fake assassination scheme. When he was done, he said, In order to maintain and reinforce Wang Shichongs confidence, I brought Zhai Jiao and Tu Shufang to see him. This old fox was immediately full of smile, and discussed with me the assassination plot. Humph! His mother! Do you know what he proposed? Naturally the two could only scratch their heads to indicate that they had no idea. Imitating the tone of Wang Shichongs voice, Kou Zhong said, The day after tomorrow Rong Fengxiang is going to have his birthday party at his mansion. Anybody in Luoyang who has head and face would join the fun. Originally I was thinking of not going, but now I simply have to go, otherwise that old man Huang wont have the opportunity to assassinate me. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan looked at each other. Thetter said, Whats going on? Didnt Rong Fengxiang have his birthday partyst night? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Thats why I said thatss was deceiving me. But I really dont know why she harbored evil intentions toward me. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, She wasying out a trap to kill you, but this matter has nothing to do with Wang Shichong. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, But why does she want to kill me? It could be that she is merely trying to get away from here, but by doing this, what good would it bring her? Wont she be afraid Wang Shichong would be angry at her? Ba Fenghanughed in spite of himself; he said, Other than Dong Shuni herself, I am afraid only Laotianye would be able to answer your questions. What kind of utterly heartless thing did you, this kid, do to other familys Miss? Kou Zhong cried out to Heaven for the wrong he received; he said, Whats that supposed to mean? Besides, it was she who took the initiative. Dont look at her young age, she has more experience than the three of usbined. Seeing the two mens burning gaze at him, Kou Zhong spread out his hands and said, What? I am a man! Taking advantage of an opportunity is just a human nature; right? Xu Ziling said, Based on Dong Shunis character, this matter must have something to do with man-woman rtionship. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Its possible that you came across a jealous husband. Dong Shuni happened to be carrying out her natural instincts, which is always regarding romantic love as a game, and believe it or not, you came. Kou Zhong was about to speak, when Song Shidao returned with excitement on his face. We finally see the light! he said. [1] Clues C orig. Spiders thread and horse track. The small boat sailed speedily toward the confluence of the Luo River and the Yun Canal. To their west was the pontoon bridge, one of the three big bridges crossing the Luo River. Several dozen docks, big and small, lined both sides of the river, where approximately three hundreds ships and boats of all shapes and sizes were moored, while on the river itself ships and boats wereing and going. It was a very busy waterway traffic. The small boat stopped between two cargo ships. Due to limited space, plus the waterway had to remain open for the traffic, the ships and boats were moored very close to the dock; therefore, their movement would not attract unduly attention. Looking at the bustling scene of cargo ships loading and unloading activities, Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Just by looking at the bustling scene before our eyes, who would have thought that there are people proiming themselves king everywhere, and there is unending fire of war? Song Shidao said, This kind of trade can bring the locals huge revenues, while meeting the bnce between supply and demand; therefore, everybody try to facilitate it as much as they can. Supposing someone is not tactful and block the waterway, or perhaps confiscate the goods, the traveling merchants will simply go elsewhere to do their business. In the end they themselves would be the one suffering the loss. Ba Fenghan slowly swept his gaze across the multitude of boats; feeling a big headache, he said, Which boat is it? Just now, he inquired Ren En, the Gang Leader of the Qingshe Bang, about the tea store and fragrance store. As expected, early morning the previous day, someone was cing an order for certain perfume and tealeaves. Song Shidaos guess that the tea and fragrance were yellow sprout tea and orange osmanthus perfume was right on. The best thing was that because Ping Fu Lao Dian did not have enough orange osmanthus perfume in stock, they had to get it from their warehouse at the eastern part of the city. The man cing the order asked them to have the goods delivered to a certain dock, to be brought to its final destination by boat, hence the reason they followed the trail to this ce. Kou Zhong spoke up, Although they might receive the goods on this dock, they could transfer it to any boat on this vast river area. Ay, this is indeed a stratagem to trap us by using the boats. Yin Gui Pai really know how to pick a good ce. But Song Shidao has already anticipated this situation; he said, My family has always been in waterborne transportation business, we are most familiar with this kind of situation. The boats here can be categorized as merchant ships, passenger ships, and fishing boats, three types. Due to the fear of enemy infiltration, inspection of people and goods in and out of the boats is very strict, it is well documented. I have already asked favor to the authority to check which boat, in term of scale, is rather big, which has been mooring here for at least two days, but without any loading/unloading activity. This way, although we might not hit bulls eye, it wont be too far. Kou Zhong conceded willingly. No wonder beforeing here Shi Feixuan looked for Er Gongzi, he said, This is the first time that I ever met a man whose thought is as thorough and precise like you. Smiling wryly, Song Shidao said, I, Song Shidao, cant be considered anything. I cant even protect my beloved. Afraid that under grief Song Shidao might mess up their mission, Xu Ziling hurriedly said, I have a thought: this boat, just like ours, must be moored at the outermost dock, so it will be ready to sail any moment. Ba Fenghans tiger body slightly shook, his eyes quickly turned toward the three-mast ship that attracted his attention earlier. He said, That boat is particrly suspicious; it seems to be moored in the middle of two big ships, but not even half a shadow of people is seen on all three ships. It ispletely different from the busy situation of the other ships. The other three followed his gaze. On one of the docks on the opposite bank, there were three ships moored side-by-side. The one in the middle looked twice as big as the other two. It had two-tiered deck. And as Ba Fenghan noted, they did not see any activity on all three ships. Song Shidao said, Looks like we dont need to waste time. I am going to ask Ren En to check these three ships immediately; I am sure we will get something soon. The four men sat on the second floor of a multi-story building by the river. From the window they were able to watch the loading/unloading activities on the docks below, not far to their left were the three suspicious ships. Downstairs was the store specializing in salt business, own by the Qingshe Bang. In fact, all gangs and societies throughout Luoyang ran big waterborne transportation business. All along, each gang or society had their own specialized business, monopoly and profit center; each one had their own sphere of influence. The reason Luoyang Bang was provoking outrage among the gangs and societies was precisely because it often stepped into other gangs business, relying on their power to demand other gangs and societies to respectfully offer presents to them every month, and thus destroying the rules which say that these organizations would have nothing to do with each other. Ren Ens business was salt; naturally he was linked in countless ways with the Song n. Kou Zhong suddenly asked, If Zhu Yuyan and Wanwan are on the ship, what are we going to do? Well scuttle their ship first, Xu Ziling replied, And then, in the ensuing chaos, we grab her. Ba Fenghan said, In that case, we must draft a good escape n: how and which route to take; otherwise, if any of us is left alone and overtaken by the enemy, things would be bad, not only wed fail to rescue Junyu, perhaps wed lose our little lives as well. Based on Ba Fenghans haughty and conceited character, unexpectedly he expressed some concerns, evidently his confidence in meeting Zhu Yuyan and Wanwan and still being able to escape alive was quitecking. Song Shidao smiled and said, Under this kind of situation, it can be said that you are in confusion because of the concern in your heart. Assuming Zhu Yuyan and Wanwan are the upper ss thoroughbred, we are at most only middle-ss thoroughbred. Using middle-ss thoroughbred against first-ss thoroughbred, defeat is guaranteed[1]. Kou Zhong said, Its not that I did not think of this issue, but we practically do not know whether those two women are on the ship, and we do not dare to investigate recklessly. Therefore, we have no choice but to use the strategy of using middle-ss thoroughbred to deal with first-ss thoroughbred. Remaining tranquil and calm, Song Shidao said, That was the reason I said that you are in confusion because of the concern in your heart. At Man Qing Yuan tonight, Qu Ao and Fu Qian are going to continue their unfinished battle. Even if Zhu Yuyan and the others do not support any side, they cant possibly miss this kind of rare opportunity to see what Fu Qian was made of. That will be our opportunity! Nodding, Kou Zhong said, This is the only feasible way. Ay! I have no choice but to miss my appointment! Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Appointment with whom? Kou Zhong replied, Just by listening to his name, we know that this person has some ambitions. He is called Song Jingang. Will you concede to him? [Trantors note: JinGang literally means diamond, also Vajra, a thunderbolt or mythical weapon/guardian deity (in Buddhist iconography).] Song Shidao and Ba Fenghan were emotionally moved. The former said, Not only this man is a rare martial art master of the northern Wulin, he is also both intelligent and brave. He is the first rate fierce general under Liu Wuzhou. Ba Fenghan said, I have heard his name as well. In the north, he and Liu Heita are on par; both are famous generals whose name shakes their respective region, and both have never tasted defeat. After a short pause, he continued contemtively, He must being here with Tu Li. What did he look for you for? Kou Zhong said with augh, He did not mention anything good. Although he did not say it out loud, I can assume that he is going to ask me to assassinate Du Fuwei; you think he was going to ask me to lead the troops to war? Although the four of them were talking, they were all sitting facing the window; never for one moment had their eyes left the suspicious ship. Song Shidao said, How could Song Jingang use a talented person like you in an insignificant position? Besides, if Du Fuwei is that easy to be assassinated, he would have died a hundred times over; even Yang Xuyan also returned without any achievement. In my opinion, he must have some other meticulous n; he would definitely not let a figure like you go to waste. Ba Fenghans heart was moved; he asked, Did Er Gongzi know that Yang Xuyan is Li Shimins man? He is alsoing here with him, and we have had some exchange with him. Song Shidao was stunned. I did not know that he is rted to Li Shimin, he said, I only know that he is infatuated with the big personage of local casino Rong Fenxiangs daughter, Rong Jiaojiao. This information is highly ssified; we have spent considerable effort just to obtain it. Kou Zhong was shaken; he said, Dong Shuni did mention that Rong Jiaojiao is her bosom friend. Could it be ... hey ... Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Based on Dong Shunis wantonness, two women serving one man is hardly unusual. The Eastern Capital has always been the ce where the old Sui imperial family resides, and Yang Xuyan is one of those; hooking up with those two women is an easy matter that only require a lifting of his finger. pping his thigh, Xu Ziling said, Only after seeing that you did not fall into the trap did that fellow Yang Xuyane to look for you to fight. Listening to this, Song Shidao was baffled, What are you guys talking about? he asked. Fortunately, this moment Ren En, with happy expression on his face, walked in. He sat down and said, Fortunately I did not disgrace your trust; I guarantee weve found the correct ship! Song Shidao was delighted; he said, Ren Xiong is that confident; it must be quite a finding. Ren En looked to be around forty, short in stature, his outward appearance was like real businessman, but he looked fully capable to be the leader of a gang. Showing a sincere smile, he nodded and said, Indeed it was. Because there have been people who witness women, wearing gauzed face covering, came down from the ship, and it only happenedst night. Although they had seen it only once, but due to the young women have extremely fine figure, it has left a very deep impression. Ba Fenghan said, But I can be sure that they are not Zhu Yuyan or Wanwan. With their skill, how could they easily let others see them? Song Shidao spoke calmly, Ren Xiong, please arrange some vegetables and meat dishes for us, but please skip the wine; we are going topete against Yin Gui Pais witch and female demon [yaofu, yaonu] in patience! After acknowledging the request, Ren En turned to Ba Fenghan and said, I also have information on Tiele people: the ce Qu Ao is staying is a house at Xing Yi Lane at the northeast part of the city. The ce belongs to Du Ganmu of Lliang Pai. And Du Ganmu is King Dong of Yues subordinate. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Thank you for your honorable Gangs trouble! But right now I cannot be in two ces at once. I hope Qu Ao can defeat Fu Qian, otherwise, I have no interest to pick a fight with the defeated army in the future. Ren Ens eyes showed deep veneration; he withdrew downstairs. All along the four mens eyes have never left those three ships. [1] I might misunderstand the text, but I think Song Shidao was referring to the story of Sun Bin helping Tian Ji in a horse race against the King of Qi. In Divine Eagle Gant Knight (aka Return of Condor Heroes) Huang Rong rted this story to Guo Jing in Chapter 12 (The Heroes Feast). The story can also be found here: http://chinese-story-collection.blog...ji-sai-ma.html Book 15 - 11 – Beating the Enemy at Their Own Game Book 15 Chapter 11 C Beating the Enemy at Their Own Game The sunsst twilight disappeared on the western horizon. The city of Luoyang was aze with light. The ships and boats moored along the river looked like a coiling dragon of lights stretching continuously along the banks. Perhaps it was because of the rain earlier, but the night sky was especially clear that the light appeared particrly bright, and the air was fresh and clean. Although there were still people unloading cargo under thentern light, most of the waterfront area was nketed in tranquility that came after the busyness of the day. The sound of hoof beats broke the quietness of the night. Several horses and one carriage were speeding along the river. Arriving at one of the piers, the riders reined their horses. One of them pursed his lips to let out a whistle; obviously he was calling the friends on the boat moored at that dock. Kou Zhong, who was closely watching this particr area, spoke cheerfully, Xiao Ling, our old friend is here! Unexpectedly in time like this we still bump into acquaintances. Xu Ziling took a nce, and was stunned, Isnt that Dugu Ce? he asked. Song Shidao said, The man on his left is known as the Mad Schr of Henan, Zheng Shiru, who has quite a reputation. The rest are descendants and disciples of local famous schools and influential families. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck. Turns out its him, he said, I knew his voice well, but this is the first time I see his appearance. That day he was hiding inside the painting cab, eavesdropping the discussion between Li Mi and his men, and Qian Duguan, who was reaching out to him [see Book 12 Chapter 1]; unexpectedly today he was finally able to see his real Mount Lus face and eyes. This martial art master, who was known for both his madness and wisdom, wore a rather out-of-ce attire; outside his schr attire, he wore a set of warrior overallsplete with a cape. His age seemed to be around thirty, with square-ish, bulky and wild appearance. On the looks department, he was not bad. Except for his goatee, the hair on his head was unkempt, exuding some kind of dont-care-about-appearance charm. Why would he hang around Dugu Ce? Ba Fenghan wondered. Xu Zilingmented, Looking at Dugu Ces expression, he does not seem to know that his uncle was murdered. While the four men, from their higher vantage point, were discussing and pointing at the people below, like a spiraling wisp of smoke an outstanding beauty [orig. national grace, divine fragrance] appeared from the ships cabin; merely her looks and gait were enough to move and weakened the mens heart. Two pretty maids followed behind her walking off the ship. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling looked at each other, and then both men blurted out together, Bai Qinger! [ibid.] Surprisingly it was Qian Duguans beloved concubine Bai Qinger. Earlier, from her disposition, which was simr to Wanwans, Ba Fenghan made a deduction that she was a Yin Gui Pais female demon. As soon as Bai Qinger entered the carriage, Dugu Ce, Zheng Shiru, and the others immediately thronged around the carriage, and then with a mighty roar they left. Seeing the maids returning to the ship, Ba Fenghan was shaken, What a close call! We nearly made the mistake of jumping into the wrong vehicle. Kou Zhong and Song Shidao looked at him in bewilderment. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This ship is the real thing [orig. the Son of Heaven receiving truemand; but I dont think in this context it refers to the Emperor]. Bai Qingers ship was several hundred paces apart from the three suspicious ships, with more than a dozen ships and boats moored in between. Supposing Bai Qinger was indeed Yin Gui Pais female demon, this arrangement could not possibly be coincidental. Ba Fenghan briefly exined, As a matter of fact, all along my heart has been uneasy, because those three ships moored together like that is indeed too conspicuous, so unlike Yin Gui Pais usual style. Now I am certain that those three ships are empty. They must be Yin Gui Pais carefullyid out trap, to see whether someone would actually fall into it. Or perhaps the trap is set up for us. Song Shidaos heart was moved; he said, We might as well try to beat them at their own game; perhaps it will be wonderfully effective instead. Ba Fenghanughed and said, If Yin Gui Pai found out that we can infer so many things from Bai Qinger, they would surely be very upset. Brothers! Its action time! Maybe well even have enough time to catch a good show as well. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling sat on a fast boat that was nimbly weaving across the water in between the boats; they seemed to know exactly where they were going. These days, in order to push Wang Shichong to act against Li Mi, Kou Zhong was so busy that he did not have time to spare. The remaining two would need to act as circumstances dictate; so now only two men went into action, which would not provoke the enemys vignce. Moreover, without Kou Zhong, their strength weakened, which would make it easier to lure the enemy into making their move at them. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, Yin Gui Pai people are surely as cunning as a fox; they have avoided the river, and still ying this kind of trick? If we were not lucky, we would definitely fall into their trap. Are we going to charge aboard? Xu Ziling asked, All three ships are without any light. Simply this fact is enough to make it so noticeable. At least it will attract thieves; now is not the time of peace and prosperity. Ba Fenghanughed and said, If we charged randomly anywhere in Luoyang, there is a possibility we mighte across a martial art master. The tactful people are all lying low until the fuss dies down, nobody dares to make any move at this time. Uh, we are here! Just straight ahead. Lets proceed, while acting cautious and solemn! Suddenly lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, Someone is watching us over there. Pressing down the urge to move toward Bai Qingers luxurious ship, Ba Fenghan said delightedly, That is the best! Lets go up and smash around the ship a bit, see if they react. If no Yin Gui Pai people make appearance, that would mean they do not have enough strength in their ship to fight against us. As long as Junyu is really on board, we will rescue her immediately. Finished speaking, he rose up to his full height. The three-mast ship ahead was loomingrger andrger. Pulling the oar, Xu Ziling also stood up. Ba Fenghan gave the signal. Both men soared up at the same time, leaving the small boat behind, and as light as floating feather theynded on the deck on the bow, in front of the cabin. The two pretended to act quickly; they broke the door and entered in, and then rushed into one of the cabins, just in time to look at Ba Qingers big ship through the window. They saw shadows shing on the ship; about seven or eight people soared and leaped from ship to ship,ing swiftly in their direction. As the shadows wereing nearer, from their shape it appeared that the majority of them were women. The two men smirked inwardly, since their tactic of luring the tigers out of their mountain seemed to be working. From the iing people, Xu Ziling recognized one of them as the Yin Fa Yan Mei Silver-haired Amorous Demon Dan Mei [in Book 9 Chapter 1, it was Yin Fa Mo Nu (Silver-haired Demoness)]. He spoke heavily, Although there is no Zhu Yuyan or Wanwan, even Bian Bufu is not one of them, they are stilling with torrential momentum as if they are determined to destroy us. There must be two or three senior-level martial art masters from Yin Gui Pai, who arrived here just recently. Murderous aura was shing continuously in Ba Fenghans eyes; he spoke calmly, We are absolutely not going to be lenient. One less Yin Gui Pai demon on the earth means less people will be harmed by them. Lets have them taste the hidden capability of the Jade Annulus of He n! Six women and two men, with ghost-like shenfa [motion in martial art],nded on the deck. One of the women was particrly tall; her long, luscious hair was draped loosely on her back, its length reached her butt, jet-ck and shiny, extremely captivating. Her beauty was not far behind Wanwan, her skin was fairer than the snow, her eyebrows deep ck, her eyes bluish-green, her cheeks like a pair of peaches in the springtime. No matter how you look at her, she could not be more than twenty-five years old. The pupils of her eye were like rippling water full of unbounded affection, her gaze hooked the spirit and absorbed the soul, with a hundred charms and a thousand enchantments. Among the iing people, this womans rank was obviously the highest, because as soon as she signaled with her hand, the other five women, including Dan Mei, spread out immediately. Some leaped onto the cabins roof, while others moved toward the stern, to guard all strategic points. The two men remained standing behind the woman, one on her left the other on her right; both looked dignified and handsome, their age could not be more than thirty. Both had a long saber hanging on their backs; they looked quite imposing. From inside the pitch-ck cabin, Ba Fenghan stepped out, upright and unafraid. With his hands behind his back, he spoke coldly, Wheres Zhu Yuyan? Why did she only send some minions to throw away their lives? A look of surprise, which quickly went away, flitted across the womans face. Evidently her intelligence was extraordinary; from Ba Fenghans cold and calm appearance, she knew the situation was not at all ordinary. Also, even though Ba Fenghan was looking down at her, she was not angry; instead, she smiled sweetly. After showing off her seductive appearance, from her slightly opened vermillion lips her soft voice came out, When I made my debut in Jianghu, I am afraid you were still learning how to talk. Therefore, you not knowing that I am Wen Caiting would make more sense. Ba Fenghan smiled slightly, his eyes swept the two men standing behind her; he saw the jealous expression on their faces. His heart moved, he said, Since you have your gigolos following you to serve you left and right, your position in Yin Gui Pai must not be low. Therefore, before we fight, there is favor Ol Ba wants to ask you; would you, Senior, please tell it to Zhu Zongzhu [head of a n]? Although Wen Caiting was a crafty, hundred-scheme, person, she was caught off guard by his switch of demeanor from arrogance to deference; she was even at a loss of trying to guess what he wanted to say. The Mo Gong [devil skill] cultivation path she took was different from Zhu Yuyan and Wanwan; she was specializing in mei gong huan shu [lit. charming skill fantasy method]. Usually, when men looked at her, they would be enchanted by her that they would forget everything, and than she would seize that opportunity to ruthlessly take the opponents life. It has never failed. But Ba Fenghans will was as strong and solid as a rock; he was not in the least bit falling under the influence of her charm. Wen Caiting lightly hook her hair; the movement was subtle, but her posture was very pleasing to the eye, making people felt that her charm was increasing infinitely, so that they could not refrain themselves from pulling her into their embrace, and showing her their unrestraint affection. Very faintly she let out a sigh, and then said, Why cant we just sit down together and talk about it? The tone of her voice revealed some kind of pure, seemingly evolved from heartfelt, sincere feeling; it was so gentle and considerate to others need. Her demeanor was so suave and pleasant. Unless the opposite party was a man with the heart of stone, how could he not be moved by her? The two men behind her already showed signs that their jealousy has grown beyond their control. Ba Fenghan was stillpletely unmoved by her; he spoke word-byword, Please tell Zhu Zongzhu, we already rescued Fu Junyu; you have fallen into the trap! Even with her level of cultivation, Wen Caiting still could not stop her countenance from changing. Qiang! Right the moment her mind differed from its usual state, Ba Fenghan pulled his sword from its sheath, turning it into a long rainbowshing toward this senior-level Mei Gong [charming skill/power] martial art master of Yin Gui Pai. Actually, from the moment Ba Fenghan stepped out of the cabin door, the two have formally started the battle. It could be said that Ba Fenghan grew up in the battlefield; in terms of insight and experience, he was iparably rich. Just in one nce he was able to tell that this seemingly young woman with jade appearance was actually the Devil School senior figure martial art master of Zhu Yuyans generation; her Mo Gong [devil skill/power] was very deep. Fighting under normal circumstances, victory and defeat would be difficult to guess. Whats more, the opponent still had seven martial art masters apanying her; although their martial art skill was under Wen Caitings level, they should not be underestimated. Especially under Wen Caiting, this kind of cunning, sinister and deceitful female demon heads leadership, it would be difficult for him plus Xu Ziling to get the desired oue. Therefore, he must inflict serious damage to Wen Caiting first using the ten-thousand-catty-thunderbolt momentum, so that the many-men-with-great-force enemies could not unleash their true power. From the two mens jealous look, he was able to infer that Wen Caiting has not fought with anybody for quite a long time; if they frequently saw it, they would not be irritated and displeased in seeing Wen Caiting was unleashing her Mei Gong against him. Hence the reason he resorted to everything he could think of to make her showing off her unfathomable interest, and then mentioned Fu Junyu to disturb her mind, before making the first move. The two men roared in anger, drew their sabers and charged forward to meet Ba Fenghans attack head-on. But they were a fraction of a second toote. It was the first time that Wen Caiting came across a man without the slightest amount of tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex, who was able to act in such a vicious manner to attack her. The worst part was that it suddenly dawned on her that she has changed from being the hunter to be the prey. This kind of sudden change, plus the feeling of uselessness, made her heart even more scattered and her mind ckened, it made it more difficult to her to unleash her usual level of power. Ba Fenghans hacking sword appeared deceptively simple, but it has, actually, reached the highly-skillful-appeared-to-be-clumsy realm; it haspletely sealed her counterattack, as well as her retreat, paths. The changes hidden within it has made her unable to see and understood its head or tail. However, on the surface she was still smiling coyly, without revealing the horror in her heart the least bit. Her delicate hand slightly waved, she revealed a dagger, resplendent in golden light. Her body floated, the golden de appeared to be attacking, yet it was not really attacking, making the opponentpletely unable to fathom whether she was going to strike hard at the opponent with the sharp tip of her de, or she was going sh back to evade. Bang! At the same time, crashed through the ceiling of the cabin roof, and flew above the four women guarding the top of the cabin. In an instant his palms struck four times, separately attacked the four enemies. On two different fronts, the two battles have begun. Ding! Wen Caitings golden dagger poked the edge of Ba Fenghans sword. Her tender body was severely shaken; she pulled back abruptly. This move has already been anticipated by Ba Fenghan. He had seen through Wen Caiting, this kind of female devil head; her natural disposition was everything for self and selfish profit, she would dly sacrifice others for her own sess. But she was more brilliant than he thought. Just now, her amazing lower body shenfa has already reached perfection; even he felt it hard to pin down, so that although he had gained the upper hand, it was difficult to carry out the momentum, hence he lost the good fortune of making her suffer losses. Two streaks of de separately came from his left and right, blocking the path of his attack toward Wen Caiting. On the cabins roof, the four women were all Yin Gui Pais new generation of martial art masters; each one was beautiful and captivating. They were just about to go down to besiege Ba Fenghan, when suddenly they were stuck inside Xu Zilings powerfully dense cold, iparably bizarre, spiraling palm wind. They could not even take care of themselves, so they could forget about paying attention to the battle situation on the deck. This moment Dan Mei was rushing forward from the stern. Enemies met, it was beyond furious; without saying a word she simply joined the melee, attacking Xu Ziling with killer move. On the deck below, Ba Fenghan suddenly withdrew. By the time the two mens saber qi rose up dramatically, Ba Fenghan suddenly dashed forward, charging toward the gap between the two des. This kind of change, aside from magical footwork, it also required the perfect match of the true qi and the changes of the de path; it absolutely defiedmon sense. Before obtaining the extraordinary capability of the Jade Annulus of He n, perhaps by exerting himself Ba Fenghan would be able to aplish. But there was no way he could do it in such a natural and rapid way like he did just now. The two men were immediately caught in dangerous situation. When martial art masters exchanged blows, they put emphasis on judgment. The two sabers hit empty air. Letting out a cold snort, Ba Fenghan moved his Beheading Mystery Sword at lightning speed, chopping down on the devil man on the right, while his shoulder crashed onto the man on the lefts chest and nk. In the eyes of outsiders, his body only moved a little, but his shenfa was fast and nimble beyond believe. The devil man on the left screamed; bumped by his shoulder he fell headlong about a zhang forward, dropped out of the deck and down into the river below. The other man screamed. Under the sh of the sword, he dropped down tragically and was no longer able to budge. Ba Fenghan seemed like he never stopped; the Beheading Mystery Sword in his hand turned into a ball of sword shadow, following his mysterious, strange and profound footwork, pursuing and attacking Wen Caiting. Wen Caiting had never expected that her two men could not even block one move from Ba Fenghan, while the opponent still had enough power to seize the victory, and it kept increasing without letup. Even from a distance of ten paces, his astonishing sword qi assaulted her that she felt as if she was inside an icehouse, so cold that it felt as if her blood was freezing. She was well aware that in the qi and momentum contest, she already failed and was wiped over the floor; hence she did not dare to show off. Letting out a shrill whistle, she met Ba Fenghan three feigned stabs, before floating backward and in graceful posture shended on the deck of the neighboring ship. Their shout, as well as the sound of battle, had already rmed the people on the adjacent ships, but everybody was only peeking out their cabins window, some even managed to extinguish theirntern, for fear of getting implicated [orig. bringing disaster to the fish in the moat]. Ba Fenghan brandished his sword to block the three sword qi being shot by her. Inwardly he was quite astonished. Letting out a longugh, he said, Please forgive Wanbei [junior, younger generation] for not sending you off! Wen Caiting let out a tender humph, her eyes shot iparably venomous sharp look; without a word she turned around and shed away toward Bai Qingers ship. Returning the sword into its sheath, Ba Fenghan turned his gaze toward the cabins roof. With his hands folded in front of his chest, Xu Ziling smiled and said, Hows the battle this time? When Dan Mei and the bunch of female demons heard Wen Caitings sharp whistle, they immediately dispersed and ran away. In his cheerful mood, Xu Ziling did not wish to give them trouble. The fact was that, with multitude enemies, few friends [this is actually an idiom from Mencius], Xu Ziling did not stand too much of a chance. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan replied, Not delightful enough. I hope Qu Ao will not let me down! Book 15 - 12 – Righteousness Reaches the Clouds and the Sky Book 15 Chapter 12 C Righteousness Reaches the Clouds and the Sky Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling intentionally took a long detour to ascertain that nobody followed behind them, before finally heading toward the appointed ce where they were going to rendezvous with Kou Zhong and Song Shidao. It was a house near the citys south gate: the secret nest of Qingshe Bang. The two leaped over the wall and entered in. When they reached the front hall, they saw Kou Zhong and Song Shidao were sitting opposite of each other across the table with worried frown on their faces. They could not help feeling shocked. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Dont misunderstand, Yu Yi has been rescued. Xu Ziling sat down by his side. Frowning, he said, Was it because she saw that the one rescuing her was you, this kid, she got mad and walked away? Song Shidao sighed and said, If she could use her own two legs to walk away, we would not need to sit here sighing and groaning. Aghast, Ba Fenghan asked, Yin Gui Pai had the impertinence to treat her ruthlessly? Grieved, Kou Zhong replied, Definitely extremely ruthlessly. But not like you think, by maiming her arms or breaking her legs, that kind of ruthlessness. Just go inside the room and youll understand. Fu Junyus flowery countenance was just like before, but it was the kind of immortal beauty as if she had been asleep for many years. Her pretty eyes were tightly closed; her hands were folded across her breast. The most horrifying thing was that the breathing from her mouth and nose was cutoff; there did not seem to be any true qi flowing along the meridians inside her body. Under this condition, average person would have been dead for a long time. But her body was still soft, her skin was smooth, its luster was like a living person; there was not any smell of death the least bit in her. Song Shidao sighed and said, Yin Gui Pais demons are really formidable; I dont know what kind of ck magic they are using that they can make her sleep like a hibernating animal without waking up. Grieving incessantly, Kou Zhong said, Er Gongzi and I have tried everything we can, but we failed to get the slightest reaction from her. The worst part is that I dont know how long she can remain like this. Maybe there is a lime limit. Once that limit is exceeded, Yu Yi would be gone forever. If that happens, we have no choice but to send her back to the tigers den. Xu Ziling, who was reaching out and pressing his hand on her tianling acupoint [the crown of the head], spoke low-spiritedly, The life force within her system has vanished, so that we have no ess on where to start. Demonic Schools method is indeed an unfathomable mystery. Compared to the other day when Wanwan remained unconscious, this one is more beyond our capability to fathom. Song Shidao spoke up resolutely, If there is anybody in this world able to save her, Shi Qingxuan is the only one. Her acupuncture and moxibustion technique is without equal under the heavens. Perhaps she has a way to break this ck magic. Kou Zhong was stunned, Turns out Shi Qingxuan is not only a master in ying the flute, but a master physician who can save the world as well. Where does she live? Is it near? With tender expression Song Shidao scrutinized Fu Junyus flowery jade countenance; he spoke slowly, Shi Qingxuans home is a big secret in Jianghu, but due to my humble father and her mother Bi Xiuxin [not sure if this is a name or a title; bi C bluish green (jade color), xiu C pretty/elegant, xin C heart] at one time had a profound rtionship, so I know that she has been living in seclusion in a ce called You Lin Qing Gu [lit. remote forest, clear/quiet valley]; a ce like the Peach Spring beyond this world [meaning an unexpectedly fantastic ce off the beaten path, usually an unspoiled wilderness of great beauty], somewhere in Sichuan. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that Bi Xiuxin must be a deeply passionate and an extremely attractive beauty; otherwise, there wouldnt be that many illustrious, outstanding seniors, renowned experts and martial art masters, whose names shook their respective region, prostrate themselves under her pomegranate skirt. Although Song Shidao was speaking in a reserved manner, it was tantamount to acknowledge that the Heavenly Saber Song Que, whose saber technique was at the apex of the world, whose martial art skill was at the very front of various ns leaders, was also like Ouyang Xiyi and Wang Tong, who have had fruitless obsession toward Bi Xiuxin. Removing his hand away from Fu Junyus skull, Xu Ziling asked, Is her medical expertise came from the handed-down teachings from her mother? Song Shidao replied, Her medical skill came from her father Shi Zhixuan: it was her flute ying skill that was handed down personally by her mother. Taken by surprise, Kou Zhong said, Turns out Bi Xiuxin is an officially married woman; why do so many men still have unfinished feeling toward her? Hey! I am just referring to old man Ouyang and Wang Tong; I have no other meaning. Song Shidao did not mind at all; he said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly; Ill tell you when we have timeter! Right now I need to bring Junyu to Sichuan immediately. Ay! Her personality traits are just as distinct and touching as Junchuos. It was only this moment that Ba Fenghan withdrew his hand from feeling her pulse; his countenance alternated between brightening and darkening, as if there was a bitter struggle in his heart. Since Song Shidao was unable to take his eyes away from Fu Junyus beautiful face, only Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sensed Ba Fenghans abnormal behavior. Old Ba, Kou Zhong wondered, Why havent you said anything? Heaving a deep sigh, Ba Fenghan smiled ruefully and said, Because I know what has happened to her, so theres contradiction in my heart. The three mens spirit was greatly aroused, but they were baffled at the same time. Song Shidaos deep worry finally found its way to the surface; he said anxiously, Why havent you spoken up? Kou Zhong said in surprise, Why is there contradiction? Ba Fenghans gaze fell on Fu Junyu; his countenance returned to its usual grave and stern expression, as he spoke in heavy voice, Her condition right now is not Yin Gui Pai peoples doing. The three were stunned. Ba Fenghan continued, This is simr to female demon Wanwans skill in closing up her meridians and stopping her breathing, but it is a totally different technique. This is the marvelous skill Fu Cailin derived from the Indian Senior Monk, called Gui Xi Tai Fa [lit. Tortoise Breathing Fetus Technique]. Are you sure about that? Xu Ziling asked. I am at least 90% sure, Ba Fenghan replied, Because one time Junyu personally told me about this marvelous technique. She said that it could keep someone in deep sleep without dying for a long time. Because it does not require any energy, even without a drop of water it shouldnt be any problem. Song Shidao delightedly said, Did she mention any solution? Pondering deeply, Kou Zhong said, It must be because Yu Yi was captured by the enemy, but she was unwilling to be humiliated, she did not wish to be forced to tell the secret in her heart, she was using this passive way of resistance. Niangs Shimei is definitely not an ordinary person. Dont change the subject, Xu Ziling scolded him, The most important thing right now is how to wake Yu Yi up. Ba Fenghan said, At that time I asked her whether she could wake up on her own. She said that in the world, other than that Indian Senior Monk, only Fu Cailin has a way to wake her up. Fiercely clenching his teeth, Xu Ziling spoke with determination, After helping Kou Zhong acquiring the Duke Yangs treasure, I am going to take her back to Gaoli [Korea], and have Fu Cailin Dashi [great master] to wake Yu Yi up. Fenghan Xiong need not worry. Ba Fenghan revealed a grateful look; he knew Xu Ziling understood his heart. All along, Ba Fenghans pursuit was to forget everything and focus only on the martial art way, returning to Tujue to challenge the Wu Zun [martial art supreme] outside the Wall, Bi Xuan. But morally, he could not simply tuck his hands inside his sleeve and ignore the matter at hand, which was to rescue Fu Junyu; hence his heart was pained due to this contradiction. Revealing another bitter smile, Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, The problem is that no one has ever tested this strange hibernating skill, nobody knows how long will she be able tost. Also, after certain time, even if Fu Cailing knew how to reverse the rotation of the sky, will he be able to save her and wake her up. Xu Ziling was about to speak, Song Shidao suddenly cut him off, You guys need not worry, let me, Ol Song, take care of this matter. Tonight I am going to take her back to Gaoli; as for other matters, lets just leave it on Laotianyes will. The three were shaken, and turned their gaze toward him. Song Shidao deeply fixed his eyes on Fu Junyu; there was an advance-courageously, determined expression on his face. The three were moved. It should be noted that Song Shidao was the most important figure among the Song ns new generation people; he was Song Ques appointed heir. To him, power, wealth, and beautiful women, were definitely as easy as a piece of cake. From here to Korea, he had to cross ten thousand crags and torrents; perhaps even several months of travel would not necessarily take him there. Much less he had to bring a long a sleeping beauty. The arduous journey needs not be exined. Furthermore, this was the first time that he met Fu Junyu. Strictly speaking, the two were not rted at all. Smiling slightly, Song Shidao said, You may not believe it. But ever since I heard about Junchuos demise, I have never been ted and excited like this moment, feeling once again that the heaven and the earth is full of opportunity to live and full of joy, that live unexpectedly could be lovely and moving like this. After staring at him for half a day, Ba Fenghan said with a sigh, You give up everything and walk away like this, what would your family think? Song Shidaos pair of eyes lit up; exhaling slowly, he said, To be quite honest, as early as many years ago, I have already felt that that kind of heavily-bounded-by-rules-and-regtion way of life is dreary; I extremely loathe it. Although my humble home is outstanding and well known in the south, but from the beginning the struggle over the world has always been centered in Luoyang, as the heart of the Yellow River Basin, battlefield. This is the ce where my familys power cannot reach. And then, turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Our Song Family have no ambition for the throne. As long as Xiao Zhong can convince my humble father that after the world has been united our Song Family can still maintain our ce in the south, when that timees we can give San Mei [third sister] to you. But you must give us your promise that you will treat her well, or I, Song Shidao, will be the first to refuse to let you off. Kou Zhongs old face blushed slightly; lowering his voice, he said, Er Gongzi, rest assured! How could I, Kou Zhong, be a man who start randomly and finish by throwing everything away? Ba Fenghan said, Er Gongzi, rest assured, Ziling and I will keep our eyes on him. Song Shidao admonished Kou Zhong some more, and then with the help of the three, he very carefully wrapped Fu Junyu in the quilt, and heaved her up his shoulder. He said, Ill find a way to leave the city first, and then once we are out of town, Ill find a carriage where I cany her down, and go up north immediately. You dont have to worry about Junyu anymore, I will definitely be able to get her to Gaoli without dy. Ba Fenghan raised his cupped fist and said solemnly, This is the first time in my life that the Ol Ba salute another person in cheerful submission. Song Gongzi, please take care of yourself. We are going to escort Gongzi out of town to ensure that no mishap would happen. Absolutely not, Song Shidao replied, The four of us traveling together will be too conspicuous; just Zilinging with me will be enough. Dont worry! We, the Song Family, have some influence around here, plus there will be Ren En helping me. Ba Xiong, arent you going to look for Qu Ao to test your sword? I wish you outstanding military sess, your name will be renowned throughout the world. Laughing aloud, he left leisurely with Xu Ziling following closely. After bidding Song Shidao farewell, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong returned to the hall and sat down; they were both ovee with heavy feeling that they wanted to talk, but no words came out. After a long while, Ba Fenghan slowly shook his head and said with a sigh, Only someone with deep feeling like Song Shidao worthy to have women all over the world fall in love with him; you and I are not worthy. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Song Er Gongzi makes me feel small and ashamed. Ay! In your frame of mind right now, how could you challenge Qu Ao into battle? Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan replied, Thats why I came back here and shut myself up. Oh yeah, did you encounter any martial art experts on the demon ship? All martial art masters in the whole nest came out, Kou Zhong said, After they left to y with you, the remaining several maids and servants did not even dare toe out to look at us. We also saw Shangguan Long, and nearly finish him up as well. In deep contemtion, Ba Fenghan said, Yin Gui Pais martial art masters are truly countless; we came across Wen Caiting, which is by all means not inferior to Bian Bufu. If we cannot annihte Yin Gui Pai demons, I am returning to Tujue and might be forgotten, but you wont be able to sleep soundly. Its easy for you to say, Kou Zhong said, Currently female demon Zhu, female demon Wan, and the others do note to bother us, we can thank the gods for their kindness; how could we dare to provoke them? A man must not be that unambitious, this is called drifting and living without purpose, Ba Fenghan said, Right now the most important thing for us is to confront the powerful enemy with any fear, and unceasingly trying to find breakthrough from realbat experience. If we dodge to the left and run to the right, in the end we cannot be martial art masters like Ning Daoqi. Kou Zhong was aghast. Are you suggesting that right now we swagger into the street and let others make us their target? he asked. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, You really know what I have in mind. Just think that we are doing this for Junyu. Only this way will we be able to attract Yin Gui Pai people, so that Song Er Gongzi will be able to safely carry the beauty out of here. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day. Eventually he understood what Ba Fenghan meant. Yin Gui Pai has always intimidated Jianghu with their shock-and-awe style; therefore, no matter how powerful any school or sect, they would not dare to provoke them for no particr reason. And now they were openly stroking Yin Gui Pais tiger whiskers by snatching Fu Junyu away from the palm of their hands. If this matter spread out in Jianghu, it would mean a big blow to Yin Gui Pais reputation, it might even be an extremely serious hit for them. It could be imagined that when Zhu Yuyan received the news that Junyu was rescued out of their hands, she might toss any misgivings she had and make hunting and killing them as their top priority. Under this situation, whether Song Shidao would be able to safely take Fu Junyu out, would be a really big question mark. Without giving any regard to his own safety, Ba Fenghan wanted to contain Yin Gui Pais main force within the city. Kou Zhong suddenly rose up, tapped the Moon in the Well on his back, and shouted loudly, Theres no time to lose, lets go! But we must let them know first. Song Shidao and Xu Ziling hid in one of the boats moored on the dock by the Tianjin Bridge, quietly waiting for news from Ren En. On the bedy the sleeping-deeply Korean swordswoman Fu Junyu. Song Shidao smiled and said, For thest few years, today is the first time that my mind moved youre your Niang to somebody else; I feel my whole body is full of energy. Having the goal to reach and the direction to take, I am brimming with vitality. Xu Ziling nodded to indicate he understood, but he didnt know what to say. And then Song Shidao asked about what happened to Fu Junchuo. Listening to Xu Ziling narrating how the boys got to know Fu Junchuo, he showed great interest and seemed to be listening with pleasure. Along the way, he asked a lot of questions, forcing Xu Ziling to remember many details that he had already forgotten. The more he listened, the more Song Shidao was excited; but the more Xu Ziling talked, the more his soul was broken, his heart ached. This moment Ren En came back to report, Currently the situation is very tense; from time to time there are unfamiliar looking women appeared in the market, as well as the banks of River Luo. In one nce we can readily tell that they are Yin Gui Pais female demons. Has the ess hatch on the city wall been opened? Song Shidao asked. Ren En revealed a pained look on his face, That is not the problem, he said, The problem is how to go out of the city unnoticed [orig. gods did not know, ghosts did not detect]? Maybe wed better wait for the morning; as soon as the river gate is opened, well take a fishing boat sailing out of the city. This way I guarantee will be absolutely safe. Shaking his head, Song Shidao said, Saving people is like putting out fire; how could we waste time? Ren En said, Song Ye, is it possible for you to wait a bit longer? Ba Ye has just informed us that he and Kou Ye are trying to pin down Yin Gui Pais main force, so that we will have a chance to leave. Immediately Xu Ziling and Song Shidaos countenance changed. Upright and unafraid, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong walked along the sparse street. It was the beginning of hai hour [9-11 pm], but the decoratednterns everywhere were still lighted up, another sign of bustling metropolis. Ba Fenghan asked, Whens your appointment with Song Jingang? Kou Zhong replied, Fu Qian and Qu Aos showdown will be held at zi hour [11pm C 1am] tonight; he said that by hai hour he was going to the top floor of the western courtyard of Man Qing Yuans Ting Liu Pavilion; when the timees, we can find them there! Looks like we are not going to make it! Ba Fenghan raised his arm and stretched out his muscles and bones; he said with augh, Oftentimes the things of the world are not what we expect. Before the hai houres, you dont know whats going to happen. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, I am not afraid at all; its just that the present situation is different. Shi Feixuan is retreating to a quiet ce to heal, Yin Gui Pai does not have any misgivings anymore. If this time they are willing to let us off, that means the sun will rise from beyond the western hills. Ba Fenghan knew he was speaking the truth; smiling, he said, That is precisely the joy of life. If you knew that you could beat the opponent easily, wheres the excitement? Only by going through various deaths anding out alive, achieving victory under impossible situations, would it leave a rich aftertaste. Kou Zhong delightedly said, That is the aspect Xiao Ling and I most appreciate and admire of you. Perhaps because we were so ustomed to run for our lives that every time we encountered difficult situation, the first thing that came to our mind was how to escape. After you came along, this mindset gradually changed. And then, changing the subject, he said, Which one do you think is more beautiful, Wanwan or Shi Feixuan? Ba Fenghan sneered and said, Unexpectedly you still have time to think things like that. After a short pause, he muttered irresolutely, I have never met beautiful women more touching than they. But Shi Feixuan definitely has a bit more immortal aura in her, like an unattainable celestial goddess, plus in term of gracefulness Wanwan cannotpare to her. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This is called great minds think alike [orig. heroes usually of the same mind]. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, But you must never have any feeling toward either one of them. Their mind cant possibly be on feeling of love or desire between men and women. Falling in love with them will end up in despair. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Who do you think I, Kou Zhong, am? Men born in troubled times, affairs of the nation and peoples welfare should prevail; other matters cant be considered anything. Ba Fenghan stared at him ferociously. Remember what you promised to Er Gongzi, he reminded him, It would be best if he is noting to you to settle the ount. Kou Zhong could not help thinking about Susu; he said dejectedly, My natural character is that I would never be heartless toward women. Haisha Bang has a woman called the Mermaid You Qiuyan [first mention was Book 2 Chapter 7, her name was changed to You Qiuyan in Book 6 Chapter 10]. Time and again she was trying to harm me, but I let her go, so you can see how I treat the others. With meaningful and heartfelt words Ba Fenghan said, Some people, no matter how you treat them, not only they wont be grateful, they would forget your kindness and relentlessly bully and humiliate you, so much so that they would make false charges against you. And then he frowned and said, I seem to remember Dong Ming Princess mentioned this woman, You Qiuyan. After the Dragon King Han Gaitian was injured by you [Book 7 Chapter 1], he was unable to manage the Gang, so this woman took the responsibility of managing the Haisha Bang. If you go back to the south, youd better be careful. When a woman hates a man, it is more difficult to deal withpared to dealing with a man. Kou Zhong recalled what Song Jingang told him; he wondered when Du Fuwei and Shen Faxing join hands to deal with Li Zitong, whether Haisha Bang would take part in this matter. This moment the two men were turning into the Heavenly Street. A thousand or so more steps, they would reach the Tianjin Bridge spanning across the Luo River. Suddenly there are a lot more pedestrians, vehicles and horses. Most of them were heroic looking Wulin characters; none of them did not steal a nce or two toward the duo. Along the street, restaurants and pleasure houses stood in great numbers, music and song filled the air, vehicles and horses came and went, hangingnterns shone their glorious light, painting the long street white. Kou Zhongughed and said, Yin Gui Pai has always been unwilling to see the light. And now that we appear on the main street in the most prosperous marketce area; I wonder what they are going to do? [Again, the they here is feminine.] Keeping his eyes looking forward, Ba Fenghan slyly said, I still cannot forget the moving scenest night where Shi Feixuan appeared silently on the bridge; only an immortal descending into the mundane world can bepared to it. Will we have another fortuitous meeting tonight? Kou Zhongughed and said, Throughout history, guarding a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits only happened once. Huh? My Niang! The two looked at the Tianjin Bridge simultaneously, where the peerless beauty Wanwan stood gracefully like a specter. Even among the tide of people she looked so out-of-the-world; although she was physically standing there, it looked as if she hase from another dimension. The passers-by were intimidated by her exotic beauty and overturning-the-kingdom kind of mor; everybody kept stealing nces at her. Her bare feet, which had no single speck of dust, were even more bewildering. Her deep, serene gaze, were locked onto the two men, who wereing toward her. Ba Fenghan stepped away from Kou Zhong a little; throwing his head back, he let out a longughter and said, People, get lost for me, Ba Fenghan. I want to fight Yin Gui Pais female demon to the death. His majestic voice rang far and wide; it resonated loud and clear along both sides of the Bridge. Turning to Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan said, Let me have a go first! Qiang! The Beheading Mystery Sword left its sheath. Ba Fenghan stepped onto the Bridge inrge strides, pressing on toward Wanwan. Passers-by scattered in all direction. Momentarily murderous aura filled the whole sky. The battle could happen at any moment. END OF BOOK 15 Book 16 - 1 – On The Tianjin Bridge Book 16 Chapter 1 C On The Tianjin Bridge Wanwan looked like something that appear in a dream or in fantasy; her pair of beautiful eyes, which rippled like the most fragrant, the richest wine, seemed to bepletely oblivious of the men, women, young and old, who were falling over each other in all direction to seek refuge from the terrifying atmosphere. Her gaze was fixed at Ba Fenghan, who had just stepped onto the Bridge, at least a hundred paces away from her. Her jade countenance was as calm as still water. Kou Zhong was falling about ten steps behind Ba Fenghan. He had his eyes on the passers-by, who were running on both sides of the Tianjin Bridge, either toward or away from them. By the time Ba Fenghan, with his fantastic footwork, stopped about twenty paces away from where Wanwan was standing, aside from these two man and woman standing opposite of each other, there was only one person remained on the Tianjin Bridge, Kou Zhong, whom Ba Fenghan asked to hold his troops. Wanwan nodded slightly at Ba Fenghan. Seemingly with infinite regret, she sighed tenderly and said, Ba Xiong actually has a chance to advance into the rank of the worlds top grand masters of martial art. Its a pity you show no understanding of the times, by making a vain attempt of a praying mantis raising its arm to block a horse-drawn carriage, which will result in your demise. You have only yourself to me, it is not anybody elses fault. Before Ba Fenghan could answer, Kou Zhong, who was sitting leisurely on the bridges railing, burst outughing, What a joke. From among our many encounters, which one Wan Daxiaojie [big miss/Miss High and Mighty] did not act like you were about to swallow us whole, yet which one you did not toss your armor and abandon your troops to run away to the wilderness? Shame on you for audaciously tooting your horn; isnt that the biggest joke in the world? Wanwans jet-ck eyebrows were slightly knitted; turning to Kou Zhong, she said, The most important thing is to know oneself. Maybe Kou Xiong will refuse to believe, but every time nujia made my move against you in the past, I always left some leeway for you. The reason nujia refrained from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases is, quite naturally, for the Duke Yang Treasure. But now, even if I kill both of you, there is still Xu Ziling who knows the secret, hence I dont have to show mercy; I will let you experience the consummate skill of Tian Mo Mi [demonic/devil secret]. Both Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan cried inwardly, This female demon is formidable. Kou Zhongs remark was absolutely not a shooting-without-aiming ridicule; he just wanted to remind Wanwan about a number of times she retreated in defeat, with the hope that her confidence would suffer a huge setback. Who would have thought that in just a few words, the verbal attack vanished, and instead, she made the two men feel that previously she really did not use her full capability, and this time it would be entirely different. Wanwan continued by smiling sweetly and said, If you think that just with the two of you, you can pin us, Yin Gui Pai, down in here, to let Xu Ziling transport someone out of town, now that is the biggest joke in the world. She was smiling coyly and spoke in a very soft voice, but in the two mens ears, it was like a thunder from a clear sky. Ba Fenghan suddenly felt Wanwans momentum grew; hastily he took a deep breath to calm his mind, before speaking in heavy voice, Isnt Yin Gui Pai being too excessive here? Right now Junyus life or death is hard to tell, but youre still unwilling to let her go. Do you really want her dead before you are satisfied? Inwardly, Wanwan was greatly astounded. Ba Fenghan has always been arrogant and strong-willed; he had never said this kind of words, which sounded a bit like he was pleading for leniency. Right this moment, Ba Fenghans murderous aura surged. Like a sh of lightning the Beheading Mystery Sword dashed forward, followed by his body, in rapid movement, careened sideways while the sword sliced across horizontally. Originally, Kou Zhong was slightly confused as well, but now that he saw the dramatic increase in Ba Fenghans power, plus how he took the initiative to attack, he suddenly understood. Ba Fenghan grew up among the horse thieves; in all his life he has been challenging all kinds of authority, and Yin Gui Pai was the supreme authority among the heretical sects and demonic schools. Ba Fenghans arguments were to arouse his fighting spirit against Wanwans intolerable bullying, also to stir up the righteous indignation in his heart and awaken his aspiration to protect the small and the weak; hence the rainbow-like momentum of his attack carried some hatred in it. Two streams of white ribbon flew out from inside Wanwan wide sleeves, left and right, while simultaneously the big toe of her right foot pushed the ground, acting as the pin on which her entire tender body spun like a gyroscope. In fantastic, graceful and amazing movements her pair of slender lily-white hands waved the ribbons, back and forth and crossing each other, weaving a magical, indeterminately changing, brimming with waves of beauty, perfectly round, white, with her in the center, which has turned into a blur of white shadow, like a marvelous demonic dance. Such a demonic skill, certainly it was unheard of, and certainly it has never been seen before. At first Ba Fenghan still had the intention to advance courageously and risk his life, but in this frightening instant he suddenly had dejected feeling of not knowing where to start. It should be noted that when martial art masters were fighting each other, advancing to attack or retreating to defend must be done in lightning-fast, flying-sparks moment of the gap in the opponents movement, in order to hit the opposite sites vital part, or perhaps to force the opponent to withdraw the cutting edge of his attack. But now the circr characteristic Wanwan was disying has already reached great heights, she was weaving an even and uniform protecting her body, which practically did not have any gap or weak spot to be exploited, making him felt at a loss as for where to attack. If he attacked presumptuously, he would only drive himself to failure. Even with Ba Fenghans dauntless character, unexpectedly he was forced to jump back to evade. Kou Zhong could only stare nkly as well. The ribbon suddenly disappeared back into Wanwans gauzed sleeves. Having fought with Wanwan several times before, even until this moment they still could not grasp Wanwans foundation, so much so that they still could not understand which weapon she was an expert in. They only knew that sometimes she was using her delicate hands to resist the enemy, or perhaps brandishing a pair of short des Tian Mo Shuang Zhan [lit. demonic double-beheading], or maybe a single ribbon or double ribbons, or floating fragrant gauzed sleeves; more and more emerged, the variation was limitless, the changes were profoundly orthodox mixed with fantastically demonic, rendering the opponent incapable of drafting a counterstrategy in advance. In short, anything she conveniently used would be amazing, unconstraint killer move. This moment, as soon as she wanted to stop, she stopped; the contrast between static and dynamic already made Ba Fenghan, who was standing in the vicinity, as well as Kou Zhong, who was sitting as a spectator, felt the chill creeping in their hearts. The strangest thing was that all passers-by on the Heavenly Street, extending to the north and to the south, on both ends of the Tianjin Bridge, werepletely gone; no one had the courage to stay to watch the action. And there were two big ships, separately moored along the dikes by the Bridge on both sides of River Luo; this moment there was nontern, no firelight. Both ships were pitch-ck, without a single human shadow on them, so that the ships appeared mysterious; definitely not a good sign. This kind of unusual and bizarre situation could only happen not by coincidence. Wanwan definitely did note alone. Someone must have acted on her behalf to clear the surrounding area, as well as to setup a around them, with the sole purpose of killing the two men. Even the waterway traffic from both sides was cut off. The situation was clearly very disadvantageous for the duo! With her chilling confidence, Wanwan fixed her gaze on Ba Fenghan, who had retreated from where he originally stood; sighing grimly, she said, Didnt you guys always pose as people with outstanding intelligence? How could you not know that no matter what, we will never allow Fu Junyu to return to Gaoli? Her remark has confirmed their suspicion. It was for the Duke Yang Treasure that Yin Gui Pai captured Fu Junyu, and used thousand ways, a hundred ns to keep it a secret; precisely the same as they stole the Jade Annulus of He n, and categorically denied that they did it, because the consequences would be too serious. Although Yin Gui Pai ran amuck all over the world without any scruple, they still feel deeply afraid of Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin, one of the three top martial art masters of the world. They did not wish to provoke him for inconsequential reason, and thus incurred endless troubleter on. Now that Kou Zhong and the others plucked Fu Junyu from danger, it was tantamount to someone else had reaped their stolen goods. Under this circumstance, naturally Yin Gui Pai would spare no effort in killing them to shut their mouth, so that Fu Cailin would never know about it. It was also the reason Wanwan did not allow anybody else to be in the vicinity to sit and listen; they were taking all kinds of measure to prevent the news from leaking. Were it not for Shi Feixuan was injured and was returning to Jing Nian Chanyuan to recover, Yin Gui Pai would not dare to run wild like right now. Only this moment did Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan realize their dire situation. Its bad! Song Shidao blurted out. Xu Ziling was frowning deeply, while silently mulling over the contradiction in his heart; it was a difficult decision to make. Song Shidao said to Ren En, Would Ren Bangzhu please instruct all members and officers under yourmand to immediatelyy down the g and still the drum, and cease all operations? Also, it is not advisable for Ren Bangzhu toe and see us anymore;ter on, depending on the situation, we wille to you. Ren En was stunned, Surely it is not that serious, is it? he asked. Sighing, Song Shidao replied, It is far more serious than you think! By doing that, Xiao Zhong and Ba Xiong practically tell the enemy that we are going to leave the city immediately; the other side will definitely do everything they can to stop us. And Ren Bangzhu must never let the opponent know that you have a part in this affair. Ren En was moved, Er Gongzi is a true friend indeed, he said, I will quietly wait for the good news, waiting for further instruction from Er Gongzi. After Ren En left, Xu Ziling asked, How will Yin Gui Pai react? Analyzing the situation, Song Shidao said, Yin Gui Pai is a number one big Sect with nearly a thousand-year history, but the problem they are facing presently is hard for them to swallow. The fact is, they cannot allow anybody, especially Fu Cailin, to know that they have captured Junyu; therefore, unleashing the thousand-catty-thunderbolt momentum, they will try to annihte Xiao Zhong and Fenghan, two men, while at the same time they will do everything they can to intercept us. Since they already have their main force in Luoyang to deal with Shi Feixuan, dealing with us should be like handling a butchers cleaver with ease. Pondering deeply, Xu Ziling said, We still have at least one advantage, which is the opponent still did not know that we have Er Gongzi here helping us. Therefore, if I appear right now, they must have thought that I had hidden Yu Yi somewhere save first beforeing out to stake my life against them. Hence Er Gongzis chance to escape will greatly increase. Sighing, Song Shidao said, Perhaps it is going to be just a bit better. Ay! I might as well go with you, and we fight hand-in-hand together with those two! I can hand Junyu over to Lu Shu [uncle]; he will have a way to bring her back to Gaoli. Xu Ziling was about to speak when suddenly the rm went off in his heart. Song Shidao also felt it somewhat. A sweet-sounding female voice rang out from outside the cabin, Xu Ziling! I have something to tell you. The tip of Ba Fenghans sword was pointing down, but his eyes shot iparably sharp bright light, as he stared at Wanwan and said, I wonder if there is more to Miss Wans pair of flying ribbons than meets the eye. The ribbons were only about one cun wide [about an inch], but they seemed to be able to extend and retract like an stic material. The length could be up to three zhang, and were extremely difficult to guard against. With pained expression in her beautiful eyes Wanwan gazed deeply into Ba Fenghans eyes; she spoke softly, At first nce, nujias ribbon appeared to be a pair, but it is actually only one strip; it is called Bai Yun Piao [floating white cloud]. When Ba Xiong arrive at the Yellow Springs [i.e.herworld], you must not forget. Ba Fenghan appeared unconcerned; he casually asked, I wonder what material was it made of? Wanwan smiled and said, Some things are better to be kept in mystery; why dont Ba Xiong try to guess? Sitting on the side, Kou Zhong felt strange; in this kind of swords-drawn-and-bows-bent, arrows-on-strung-bows-ready-to-be-shot moment, why would Ba Fenghan, who has always been straightforward and decisive, haggle over every ounce of what material the opponents weapon was made of? Naturally Kou Zhong knew that based on Ba Fenghans character, he could not possibly shoot without aiming. Wanwan sighed faintly. It did not matter which expression Wanwan was showing, each one was able to show her thrilling innermost feeling. Combined with her magnificent beauty and alluring charm, which was unmatched in her generation, she was disying ten thousand kind of flirtatious expressions, which dazzled and intoxicated men. Even though Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were standing in hostility against her, and they were perfectly clear that she was vicious and merciless, able to murder without blinking an eye, they still could not help having some kind of warms-the-heart-and-delight-the-eye feeling. Her vermillion lips opened slightly as she said, Perhaps you wont believe me, but nujia really have a bit of reluctance in destroying you. After youre gone, Wanwan will be lost and lonely, yet I cannot but making my move against you, hence my heart is extremely contradictory. Ay! En Garde! The bluish green sleeves rose up, exposing a pair of flickering short des, the Demonic Double-Beheading. Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword still had a chance to attack, Wanwan already dashed to within eight chi in front of his body. Like two demonic vipers tongues the Double-Beheading darted forward, in a style that the opponent was unable to guess it drew a fantastic, mysterious arc in the air, striking toward Ba Fenghan. Wanwan beautiful hair, which was originally draped over her fragrant shoulders, suddenly fluttered in the air; it was both very moving and iparably weird. The air surrounding her seemed to be suddenly sucked out, so that it was as if the space about two zhang in diameter around them turned into a bottomless hole. It was the first time that Ba Fenghan felt the terrifying power of Wanwans full-strength attack. She did not lie. The previous several times she was definitely leaving some leeway. In this life and death crisis, Ba Fenghans heart was extraordinarily calm instead; there was not a shred of fear of the opponents overbearing prowess. In the blink of an eye, the meridians and true qi inside his body, which was transformed by the Jade Annulus of He n, rapidly climbed up to its limit. His eyes lit up; he clearly grasped every subtle movement of the Demonic Double-Beheading, which in most peoples eyes was just like phantom shadow. In that moment of life and death duel, a strange feeling rose up in his heart. He felt that the true qi within Wanwans system was changing continuously, it was shifting around incessantly; sometimes it was concentrated on the Demonic Double-Beheading in her right hand, but suddenly it shifted toward her delicate foot, demonstrating her ability to alter her style and killer move of her attack in lightning-speed, sparks-fly speed. This kind of demonic skill was certainly terrifying to the extreme. Ba Fenghan suddenly retreating half a zhang backward, before dashing forward to counterattack. The suffocating swift and fierce sword qi like a bolt of lightning breaking through the dark, dense cloud met the ferocious killer attacking at him, unleashed by the most outstanding sessor among Yin Gui Pais new generations disciples, head on. Xu Ziling stepped out of the cabin. In the dim light from the flickeringnterns on the ships and boats moored in the darkness along River Luos both banks, a beautiful and graceful figure was standing on the bow, with her back against Xu Ziling. She was wearing tight warrior outfit, with an ancient, ornamented sword hanging on her back. Xu Ziling was stunned, Turns out it is really the Princess honoring me with your fragrant selfs presence. Dong Ming Princess spoke indifferently, You did not recognize my voice? Xu Ziling walked over toward her and stopped when he was about half a zhang away from her. With his hands behind his back, he said, How could I not recognize your voice? I just could not believe my ears! May I ask how did Princess know that Zaixia is in here? Shan Wanjing answered the question with a question, Xu Ziling, do you trust me? Xu Ziling stared nkly for half a day. This simple question was actually very hard to answer. Its not that he did not trust her reason, but he could not put his absolute trust on her either. After all, the rtionship between them has not been too harmonious. Displeased, Shan Wanjing said, A hero and a real man, unexpectedly his mind is this narrow? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, Princess, please calm down. I just did not understand what you really mean by that question! Nothing more. His smile was free and at ease, and very pleasant. With that kind of smile on his handsome face with slightly mncholy expression, he exuded some kind of extraordinarily touching charm that no one could ever surpass. Shan Wanjings fragrant heart trembled; unexpectedly she was unable to say anything. Xu Zilings eyes emitted an intelligent and clear light. Fixing his gaze at her, he spoke tenderly, I have never thought that Princess would harm me; would that be enough to prove that I trust you? Shan Wanjing was somewhat afraid that his sharp eyes would be able to see the chaos in her fragrant heart; she weakly hung her cicada head down and said softly, In that case, can you tell me why Yin Gui Pai people are doing everything they can to find you? Xu Ziling replied, Because we seeded in rescuing Yu Yi back from their hands. And then he exined the impossible situation they were facing at the moment. Finished listening, Shan Wanjing said, Turns out you have the Song Familys Er Gongzi helping you in secret. No wonder you managed to aplish such an impossible thing. After pondering silently for half a day, she sighed and said, Now I am afraid only us will be able to send her out of the city. The reasoning behind this is difficult to exin in a few words; in short, my Niang is one of a few people Zhu Yuyan is afraid of, plus she has deep knowledge of their methods. After casting a faint nce at him, she went on, Originally I wanted you to hand over the Jade Annulus of He n in return. But if I took advantage of your precarious position, I knew you would hate me even more. All right! Leave her to me! Quickly go to Tianjin Bridge to fight alongside your two brothers! They are intercepted by Yin Gui Pai and are about to be killed! Shocked, Xu Ziling stared nkly at her for half a day. Song Shidaos voice came out from the cabin, Ziling, just go! Xu Ziling raised his cupped fist to salute Shan Wanjing, and then leaped ashore and flew away. Book 16 - 2 – Vulnerable Position Book 16 Chapter 2 C Vulnerable Position On the side, Kou Zhong, who was holding off his troops, watched Wanwan, using wless defensive style, forcing Ba Fenghan to withdraw from his upper hand position, as well as turning from active to passive. Groaning inwardly, Kou Zhong knew that in term of craftiness, he was definitely not female demon Wanwans match. Right now Wanwan seemed to give them a fair chance to fight, yet the actual fact was that it was not as fair as it appeared. Up to now, Kou Zhong and the others, three men, had always been ying hit and run, they were not really ustomed to cooperate with each other, they merely developed some kind of inadequateplementary tactic. However, in present situation, based on Ba Fenghans stubborn and haughty temperament, even though he knew that death was inevitable, he would never run away. And Kou Zhong must not interfere, or elseter on they would not have the face to see other people. All Ba Fenghan could rely on was himself. In Ba Fenghans heart, who had just blocked three hard strikes from Wanwans Demonic Double-Beheading, welled up an iparably powerful fighting spirit. As early as the moment he drew his sword, he had already seen through Wanwans mind, yet he also knew that he had no other choice. If he failed to pass this moment, he had no concern over him being killed, but Kou Zhong could forget about leaving this ce alive as well. Ba Fenghans eyes shone with bright shes; in this instant, the true qi inside the meridians and acupoints on his body has risen to its peak condition. All the hair on his body stood up on its root. Following Wanwans erratic [orig. drifting without a resting ce] yet fantastic and mysterious shenfa, the two gleaming short daggers, which were held lightly in her hands, flickered continuously. In her delicate hands, which were better than snow and superior to frost, the daggers turned into two round blurry light and shadow, rendering the opponent unable to guess the attack route. It was continuously changing, and continuously advancing. There seemed to be indistinct shrill whistle all around, sometimes they seemed to hear it, another time it was unclear whether the sound actually happened in their head, as if it was actually the sound of a ghost wailing. Yet in the area within three zhang radius, although there was not a single puff of wind, Ba Fenghan felt an enormous pressure so that he had difficulty breathing, and his body was aching so bad that he felt he was about to burst. Such demonic skill was indeed frightening. With Wanwan going all-out, before they even shed with each other, Ba Fenghan already had a bogged down feeling [orig. although he had a cun, he could not move]. Demonic Double-Beheading alternated between fast and slow indeterminately; sometimes advancing, sometime retreating, yet were able tounch deadly attack at any moment. It was only then did Kou Zhong, who was sitting on the bridge railing behind Ba Fenghan, witness Wanwans real strength; no wonder when Shi Feixuans mind was distracted she had to suffer loss from her sneak attack. At the same time he made up his mind that if necessary, he would disregard everything and make his move to join the fight. Ba Fenghan let out a loud shout and retreated three steps back. Kou Zhong was so shocked that he nearly fell back into the river. At the moment when the des were shing against each other, how could he retreat? Especially against Wanwan, the most prominent Devil Schools martial art master after Zhu Yuyan. After absorbing the Jade Annulus of He ns energy, the most significant improvement in Ba Fenghan, three men, was that the sharpness of their senses was multiplied many times over. Even so, facing Wanwan moves, which were like fantastic demonic dance, it was still difficult for him to fathom. All his life Ba Fenghan has fought all over the world, from outside the Wall to the Central ins; he had brilliant insight, which was superior to Kou and Xu, two boys. But Wanwan was like a wisp of smoke, drifting, floating and shing, making him feel that although he had the power, he could not unleash it, and thus forcing him to shoot without aim, which in turn gave birth to the feeling of frustration and helplessness. If he lost the upper hand, Wanwan would kill him in a short time, like a strong wind wiping the cloud away. In this situation, where he knew for sure that he was going to die, Ba Fenghan pushed his ability and wisdom to its limit; he used such move, which even Kou Zhong did not understand why he did what he did. Sure enough, his retreating momentum was sessful. With this subtle withdrawal of the qi during a fight between martial art masters, naturally Wanwan wanted to respond; the Demonic Double-Beheading became two streaks of lightning, with the speed of thunderbolt-splitting-the-ear, one in front of another, shooting toward Ba Fenghan. But like magic Ba Fenghan stopped in the air, and then changed his retreat into advancing movement. The Beheading Mystery Sword carried a sharp piercing noise of the sword qi splitting the air. It sliced from bottom going up, swiftly stabbing toward the pouncing-over Wanwans silky breast. The situation changed immediately. It was as if Wanwan was delivering herself toward his sword. Wanwan was already aware that Ba Fenghan was not a coward who would shrink back; his retreating must have a follow-up move. But she had never expected that after obtaining the extraordinary power of the Jade Annulus of He n, which transformed the opponents meridians, he would be able to move in the air with astonishing shing-lightning, flying sparks speed, and was able to movepletely from retreating to advancing in half a blink of an eye. Not only his power did not diminish the slightest bit, but because he was deliberately storing up his power beforehand, his qi increased without letup instead. Dang! Dang! One after another the Demonic Double-Beheading poked the Beheading Mystery Sword. Ba Fenghan could be considered the first person ever who was able to change his move from offensive to defensive just before Wanwans strike arrived. When Wanwans daggers touched his Beheading Mystery Sword, Ba Fenghans majestic-like-a-mountain tigers body was bounced twice like a feather, while Wanwan floated back. Watching this, Kou Zhong was dumbstruck that he even forgot to apud or cheer. Wanwans tenderugh came like a lightly blowing wind. The air was flowing on the Bridge once again; the breeze was blowing from the Luo River, Without blinking Ba Fenghans eyes stared at Wanwan flying backward. He held the Beheading Mystery Sword with the tip pointing at the opponent. Had Wanwan been pressing on to attack him, it guaranteed that within less than ten moves, he would have been dead. Wanwan only used the tip of the big toes on her pair of bare feet to support her entire tender, soft, delicate and beautiful body, so she appeared like a beautiful apparition whose feet did not touch the ground, as she was flying back from about five zhang distance. Her posture was graceful, elegant, without any fixed pattern. Suddenly she made three consecutive rapid spins, her sleeves red out, and suddenly she was only about a zhang away from Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan, who was standing near the apex of the Bridge, was waiting in full concentration. Following her spinning posture, with another wonderful posture that was so tender and beautiful that it resembled nature itself, Wanwan shot the Floating White Cloud from her two sleeves, which interweaved into a wave-like line, just like a pair of living, breathing serpent spirits wrapping themselves around each other, fleeing along a meandering and circuitous path, coiling around toward Ba Fenghan. A chilling wind blew Ba Fenghans clothes that it fluttered backward, creating rustling noise. Ba Fenghans expression became cold and stiff like a mountain rock; no worry, no delight, but his eyes shot terrifyingly bright light. Although Wanwans offensive was formidable, he was having a sense of relief, knowing that he still had the strength for an all-out, disregarding-everything battle. From the moment he, when his momentum was at its highest and concentrated, charged forward but was forced back by Wanwan, using the most bizarre defensive style, he had always been in absolute disadvantageous situation; even his mind and senses were under the opponents demonic skills control. It was an extremely terrifying feeling, as if his entire being was kept isted in a ce outside of the human world. He could not even feel the blowing wind and the flowing water. But the instant he was able to break Wanwans Demonic Double-Beheading, everything was suddenly back to normal. The moon and the stars regained their brightness, the sound of the River Luo flowing, and the smell of it, which he was very familiar with, has also returned to his senses. Kou Zhong, who was at the bridges railings about three zhang behind him, had just wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Although he did not know Ba Fenghans feeling in such situation, but seeing how Wanwan must withdraw her Demonic Double-Beheading and changed into using-softness-to-conquer-strength ribbon, he knew that it was not that Ba Fenghan did not pose any threat to Wanwan. Ba Fenghan let out an ear-splitting longugh, filled with unspeakable heroic passion and powerful aura, as using a fantastic footwork he met Wanwans attack head-on, with his sword lunged forward. This sword strike was the swift and fierce counterattack stemming from Ba Fenghans restored confidence. It looked simple, but actually with the essence, qi and spirit umted to its peak condition, reaching the realm of transforming theplicated into simplicity, the realm of grand master level, in using the clumsiness to ovee skill. The sea of true qi within his system was like the torrential current of the flood of the Great River, flowing along his meridians toward the tip of his Beheading Mystery Sword, turning into a chi, chi! sword qi splitting the air as it struck toward Wanwan; its momentum was astonishing to the extreme. On the surface Wanwans beautiful eyes still appeared pained and hazy, and with hidden bitterness, secret grudge in her jade countenance, but actually the astonishment in her heart grew without restraint. Even with her intelligence and insight, she found it difficult to understand why in terms of tactics, momentum, and inner power, how could Ba Fenghan be this formidable. She had already drafted a n: whening face to face with the Beheading Mystery Sword, she would use her consummate skill delicate hands controlling the dragon, with which she promptly put Shang Peng and Shang He, two martial art masters, senior figures of the Flying Horse Ranch, under control, by using the ribbon in her right hand to entangle the Beheading Mystery Sword, and then firmly sucking the opponent into her Demonic Power. At that time, even if Kou Zhong wanted to intervene, it would be toote. Who would have thought that with his sword, Ba Fenghan kept pressing forward with the repelling-three-armies-easily momentum. Moreover, the sword qi splitting the air arrived first. Other than blocking it head-on, without any way out, without any other choice, she had to respond by withdrawing the Demonic Ribbon back into her bluish-green gauzed sleeve, and using the other sleeve to brush against the de of the opponents sword. This was the second time Ba Fenghan managed to force Wanwan to change move. He was well aware in his heart that it was not that he was able to really overwhelm the opponent, but that he was able to see through Wanwans biggest weakness; which was that in order to kill him, she was unwilling to receive internal injury that would be difficult to heal in a short period of time. Wanwans secondbat could happen any time, and Wanwan, who had snatched early victory, naturally refused to let go of such a golden opportunity. Ba Fenghan was able to see this exact point. Therefore, with each sword strike, he showed no mercy. Using the life-for-life move, he forced Wanwan into a situation where she was unable to unleash the full power of the Demonic Skill. Bang! The sleeve shed with the sword. As if jolted by a lightning bolt, Ba Fenghan was brushed away by Wanwan that he had to withdraw five steps back and nearly vomited blood. His blood and qi surged, his ears ringing. Fortunately Wanwan was also pushed back by the reaction force that she floated backward; otherwise, if she continued with chain-attack, it would be difficult for him to even have a narrow escape. Finally Kou Zhong could not hold himself back anymore; springing up from the railings, he dashed toward Ba Fenghans side, and said with a loudugh, Beauty, you have seen how formidable he is! In order to save time, why dont you call all your helpers toe out? Let everybodye out to settle this matter once and for all. Wont it be better than you flying back and forth on the bridge, tiring you to half death? Ha! Wanwan stopped about a zhang away; inwardly she hated Kou Zhong for wrecking her big n of seizing this opportunity tounch a killer move to finish Ba Fenghan. However, on the surface she giggled tenderly and said, Shame on you for speaking like that. You inly broke Jianghus rules of one-on-one battle by interfering by force, yet you still speak pompously. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Wan Beauty, you are absolutely right. Presently Jianghu is in chaos that nobody wants to follow the rule, and I simply love to go with the tide. Anyway, back to the topic: right now you have not proven your ability to put this Ba boy under control. Therefore, even if you called some more people to join the excitement, we make no guarantee that we are not going to slip away. Even with her confidence and cold nature, Wanwan could not stop her pretty countenance from changing slightly. It should be noted that Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan had reached the level of even a mob besieging them would not be able to hold them off. If the two of them fighting to the death and did not run away, or perhaps they were fighting on a in or simr terrain where it would be difficult to run away, it would still be possible to keep them from escaping. But on the Tianjin Bridge, or on simr terrain overlooking a long river, a ce essible from all sides, considering the two men were not amateurs in term of escaping, if she wanted to intercept them and kill them off, only by having her Shifu Zhu Yuyans assistance, plus with the help of other martial art experts from their Sect, would she have the confidence of pulling this off. Too bad that in order to heal Shangguan Longs injury, her Shifu true, primary energy suffered wear and tear, so that she was forced to retreat to a quiet ce to recover, and was unable to be on the scene. Hence the reason she had to do it herself. Who would have thought that Ba Fenghan was able to withstand her all-out effort to kill him? Hence she was now put in the situation where there was no room to advance or to retreat. Fortunately she had made other arrangement; otherwise it would be even more difficult for her to step down. Smiling slightly, Ba Fenghan asked, Where is your honorable masters immortal tracks? Wanwan let out a silver-bell like tenderughter; her dreamy and hazy beautiful eyes stared deeply into the two mens eyes as she spoke tenderly, How about we make a bet? If you can break through the Demonic Formation of our Sects four elders, I will let you take away Fu Junyu, and will not interfere in any way. Kou Zhong roared inughter; he said, In the end, you are still afraid of our escaping technique, which is second to none under the heavens. Now that we are already clear about your foundation, why would we be afraid of you? Your Shaoye is not interested in whatever proposal you have. Just be frank and straightforward, release your troops, let us enjoy some excitement. Wanwan sighed; smiling wryly, she said, Your greatest skill is that you do not know yourself. I have wasted a lot of time in speaking nonsense, the purpose is to build a siege, and now it isplete! How about you try slipping away with your tail tucked between your legs and let Wanwan see it? All along Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan have been secretly watching the surrounding area. The Heavenly Street near both ends of the Tianjin Bridge was still dark and deserted, without any sign of human; nothing looked the slightest bit unusual. Several hundred steps away from either side of the Bridges head, they faintly saw armed men stopping the pedestrians to get close. But these men only y minor role, they should not pose any threat. Besides, they did not look like Yin Gui Pais mening to build a siege. It was indeed quite baffling. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Wan Beauty, please dont scare me, everybody knew I am timid. Wanwan smiled and said, Who wanted to scare you? And then, she tenderly shouted, Release the arrows! The two men were shocked. This moment Xu Zilings small boat had just pulled under the shade of a tree on the River Luos dike west of Tianjian Bridge; he stopped and turned his gaze into the distance at the bridge. Anybody willing to think a little bit would immediately know that the situation around the Tianjin Bridge was abnormal. Because Luoyang was bustling, but only on this segment of the long street and on the Bridge there were no pedestrians. Moreover, all the shops nearby were closed. Xu Ziling was greatly astounded. It should be noted that Tianjin Bridge spanned the River Luo; it was one of the three major bridges connecting the market ces on the north and south of the city. Even more, it connected the most flourishing street, the Heavenly Street, which was the traffic hub of Luoyang. It would be strange indeed if the closure of this Bridge did not provoke chaos. To say the least, there should be a long queue of pedestrians, vehicles and horses forming on either side of the Bridge. But now from what he saw, none of this sort of thing was happening. Evidently some people were directing the traffic to use other streets and other bridges. And to make this happen, there must be arge number of well-trained and well-organized warriors in this operation. And they must have received Luoyangs residents cooperation. In Luoyang, only two groups of troops had this kind of ability. Naturally, Wang Shichongs army was one of them. The other group represented the Emperor Taizhu, Yang Dong, which was secretly coborating with, and receiving assistance from, the Dugu ns power. In that instant, Xu Ziling understood what has been happening, while at the same time he also figured out the mystery of why Dugu Ba was going to visit the Tiele people that day. The Dugu n was ying the strike the water right and left game. On one side they coborate with Li Mi, on the other side, they colluded with the Tiele people and Yin Gui Pai; and thus they need not fall under any sides control. This time the Dugu n closed the Tianjin Bridge to let Tiele people and Yin Gui Pai to have a free hand in dealing with Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, two men; quite possibly it was part of their pulling a snake from its hole plot. As soon as Wang Shichong lost his patience and hastily left the Imperial City to get involved in this matter, the Dugu ns five thousand strong elite troops would join hands with the Tieles and Yin Gui Pai, relying on the advantage of their adequate preparation and meticulous nning, to fix the rivers and mountains [i.e. country] and seize control over Luoyang in one battle. The situation was extremely dangerous. And Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were caught unaware and had fallen into the center of this dangerous web of power struggle. By opening up one li, they would clear their way for a hundred li. As soon as Xu Ziling figured out this link, he suddenly realized why Dugu Ce mingled with Qian Duguans beloved concubine Bai Qinger. Qian Duguan was perhaps not a Yin Gui Pai man, but the possibility that the Mad Schr of Henan Zheng Shiru was one was probably very high. Through these two people, Xiangyang City was practically under Yin Gui Pais control. No wonder Qian Duguan was not too friendly toward them. But under current circumstances, what could he do? Book 16 - 3 – Inescapable Net Book 16 Chapter 3 C Inescapable Net Whoosh! The sound of bowstring. At first it sounded like the whistle of just one powerful bow, but it was actually four bows shooting together. Because they were shooting simultaneously, it sounded as if it was only one bow. From the top of four multistory buildings towering on both sides of the bridgeheads, like shes of lightning four powerful arrows shot down at an angle over a distance of more than a hundred zhang, the moment Wanwans tender shout was still lingering in their ears, toward the two mens backs and chests, so that they were practically surrounded by the arrows. Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang! Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan brandished their saber waving their sword, while standing back-to-back, knocking down the four flying arrows attacking them from the front and behind. The saber and sword shed with the arrows, creating sharp ringing noise reverberating along the more than a hundred thirty steps long Tianjin Bridge spanning across the Luo River. The four arrows ricocheted and flew down into River Luo. Kou Zhong felt the palm of his hand went numb; in shock, he said to Ba Fenghan, whose back was sticking to his back, Who are these people? Howe their archery skill is this formidable? And there are four of them. With grave expression Ba Fenghan kept his gaze fixed on Wanwans face, whose jade countenance hid a delighted expression; he replied in low voice, If I am not mistaken, they ought to be the Iron Arrow Guardian under Tiele King, considered top martial art masters of Tiele. I never thought that they woulde to the Central ins. Kou Zhong shivered in fear inwardly. The two blocked the arrows while standing on the ground, and it was already very hard; wouldnt it be a lot more dangerous if they were shot while soaring high in the air? If the opponent only had one person, they could evade the arrow by rapidly taking a breath in the air, the skill bestowed by the Jade Annulus of He n. But under four arrows shot together, and the opponents were top-level experts, whether they could block all four, was certainly a big question mark. Laughing tenderly, Wanwan said, These four arrows were just a greeting, a gift to you for your first meeting. The real show ising. A longughter came from some distance away, from the other side of the bridgehead where Wanwan was standing. Kou Zhong turned his head to look at that direction, and saw one man and one woman shed by from across the bridgehead. The first one had flying hook hanging on his waist, a bit entric; he was Bi Xuans direct disciple Tuoba Yu. Standing by his side was the pretty Chunyu Wei; on her waist hung a slightly curved saber, which Tujue people love to use, most suitable to attack the enemy from horseback. The expression on her face looked like she was angry, yet she was not exactly angry, it was more like a helpless look, as she gazed faintly at Kou Zhong. Tuoba Yu bowed respectfully with sped hands toward Kou Zhong first; he smiled and said, This time we join hands with others in dealing with Kou Xiong, it is really because we have no alternative. Last time in Xiangyang Xiaodi was trying to persuade kindly: do not go with this thief Ba Fenghan; too bad Kou Xiong turned a deaf ear. But Xiaodi still think fondly of our friendship, and to this day I have not interfered. If Kou Xiong leaves immediately now, Xiaodi and Shimei are definitely not going to stop you. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Although this Tuoba Yus appearance was weird, he was definitely not a scoundrel [orig. bad egg]; on the contrary, he was quite charming. Now that they had no choice but to face each other in life or death battle, thinking about it made his heart ached. Dejectedly he said, Tuoba Xiong joins hands with Yin Gui Pai, whose evil reputation spread far and wide, arent you afraid of harming your revered masters name? Chunyu Weis pretty eyebrows knitted tightly; displeased, she reproached him, How could you swallow ancient learning without digesting it? We came to the Central ins, our main purpose is to capture this Ba thief and bring him back to Tujue; whether we want to do anything else, it depends on our mood. Ba thief is most repulsive, each time we intercept him, he desperately escaped, nearly infuriate me to death! What else could Kou Zhong say? With him and Xu Ziling aspanions, Tuoba Yus party basically could not anything to Ba Fenghan. The only way was to join hands with powerful sect like Yin Gui Pai, only then would they have the chance to aplish their mission. Standing behind Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan softly said, I was mistaken! The archers on top of the four multistory buildings are not Tieles Iron Arrow Guardian, but Tujue martial art masters who have received Bi Xuans personal instruction. Immediately Kou Zhongs countenance changed. How many are they? he asked in heavy voice. This time, apanying Tuoba Yu, martial brother and sister to the Central ins were the Eighteen White Horse Riders, who were trained personally by Bi Xuan, specializing in group-war siege technique; every one of them was dauntless beyond humanprehension. Therefore, even with his overbearing character, each time Ba Fenghan came across them, there was only one method he could use: flee to the wilderness. But after repeated battle, Ba Fenghan managed to kill and injure some of the Eighteen White Horse Riders, hence Kou Zhongs question. Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan replied, Should be twelve master archers, rather than four. Kou Zhongs tiger body shook. Now he understood why Wanwan was confident that they could not slip away. If the other archers were as formidable as the four that just shot the arrows, as soon as they flew to the air, they would be the fat goose, the target of these hunters arrow. He could not help regretting running up to the Tianjin Bridge. This was definitely a carefullyid trap. From their angle of view looking up, they could not see the situation on top of the buildings, while they were inly visible to the enemies. The advantages and the disadvantages of their situation need not be mentioned. Moreover, they also saw two big ships moored along the embankments on the left and right of the Bridge, and these ships did not seem to have any good intention. Ba Fenghan continued, Why do they seem to stall for time? Kou Zhongs countenance changed again. He had a faint feeling in his heart that the situation at hand was not as simple as it appeared on the surface; i.e. the enemy did not simply want to kill them for some kind of revenge. On both sides of the Bridge, thenterns were suddenly lighted; the originally dark ships suddenly had more than a dozennterns on their bows lighted at the same time. As the two men nced down, they could not help sucking in a mouthful of cold air. They knew that this time, unless the gods and spirits were looking down on them, or perhaps Ning Daoqi, Shi Feixuan and the others appeared together to help them, they could forget about leaving this ce alive. Both ships started to leave the bank, moving toward the middle of the River. These ships, along with Tuoba Yu, martial brother and sister, and Wanwan, separately standing on the north and south bridgeheads, plus the twelve White Horse Riders on top of the four multistory buildings around the Bridge, formed an inescapable with the two men right in the middle. By this time Xu Ziling was hiding near River Luo dike west of Tianjin Bridge, watching a dozen or so strong men on the shore pulling ships mooring rope to bring the ship to the middle of the river. As an outsider, he was able to see the situation more clearly than Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan. Looking at the enemys arrangement, he knew that their main purpose was to prevent the two from escaping by way of the river. But it was also the only escape route. Thinking to this point, without hesitation he quietly slipped into the river. On the lookout deck of both ships there were more than a dozen people, either standing or sitting, all their eyes were staring coldly at Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, who were fully illuminated by thenterns on the ships, just like they were watching a monkey show. On the bow, other than men raising high thenterns in their hands, there were also more than a dozen strong men with bows and arrows, adopting a stance that showed that they would never let the two men escape. Under simr situation, even with the addition of Tujue master archers on top of the buildings, perhaps they still could not do much to Ba and Kou, two men. But since there were other martial art masters like Wanwan on the side, if they wanted to break the siege and escape, these archers on top of four buildings all around plus the ones on the ships on either side of the Bridge would pose a deadly threat to them. No matter which way they choose, the only barely avable escape route was either the north or south bridgehead. Thud! From the lookout deck of the big ship on the west came the dull thud of a staff striking down the floor; everybodys ears were immediately buzzing. You Chuhong, who was acimed as the number one martial art master of the Dugu n, was sitting on an imperial tutor chair on the deck. The bright rays of light from her eyes shot across the approximately six zhang of river toward the two men standing on the Bridge. Knocking the jasper staff in her right hand on the floor, she let out a shrill, filled with thick gutturalugh like a screeching owl, first, let out a dry cough, and finally spoke in her hoarse, cold voice, Wheres Xiao Ba [i.e. Dugu Ba]? Did you two y a trick on him? Behind her stood more than a dozen people, men and women, tall and short; the most eye-catching was the beautiful Dugu Feng [phoenix]. The only other one that Kou Zhong knew was Dugu Ce. They were all smartly dressed; apparently these were the top martial art masters of the Dugu n. Merely these people would be more than enough to deal with the two. On the other ship opposite the Dugu ns ship were Tujue people under the leadership of Tuli. Their number was no more than ten. But every single one of them had eyes like lightning. Evidently they were all martial art masters. But not a single one was woman. Naturally Ba Daier was not among them. Ever since Tuoba Yu and Chunyu Wei made their appearance, the two already guessed that the Tornado Tuli could not be too far behind. Among the men with him, there were two that Kou Zhong recognized: the Twin Spears General Yan Lihui and the Dauntless Lion Mu Tiexiong. In the past these two conspired with Li Mi and Zu Junyan by kidnapping Zhai Jiao, and then in an abandoned vige they plotted against Zhai Rang, which resulted in Zhai Rang suffering disaster, which eventually killed him. [See Book 3 Chapter 2] This moment, Tulis eyes were shining with delight;ughing aloud, he said, Lao Furen [old madam], theres no need to be worried; as soon as we capture these two kids, having them kowtow to you and cry out to their Niang can be aplished in just one word. Standing on the Bridge, Kou Zhong drew a mouthful of cold air; he whispered to Ba Fenghan, who was standing behind him, Looks like this is the Tiele conspiracy that kid Fu Qian was talking about. Before he finished speaking, from Wanwans side came the sound of rustling sleeves; four people swiftly came over, the leader was surprisingly the Eagle Qu Ao, behind him were his three disciples, Changshu Mou, Hua Lingzi and Genggehuer. The four of them stopped and stood behind Wanwan; cold and silent, acting as if they would definitely gobble the two men. Now, in the air, on the ground, on the river, all escape routes have been sealed tight, a heavenly trap earthly that even if they grew wings they still could not escape. Only then did the two realized that the enemies actually represented four powerful factions, who had joined hands made secret agreement earlier to deal with the three of them. Fu Junyus rescue was simply the trigger that led to the current situation. Since leaving Ren Ens nest earlier, their movements have already fallen under the enemys watch. As soon as the enemy knew that they were heading toward the Tianjin Bridge, they mobilized men and horses from all sides, determined to intercept them at this transportation hub with roads open in all directions. And now finally they managed to force the two into a corner. Other than fighting with all their might to the death, there was no other possibility. This was beyond their imagination. Wanwans pained and hazy beautiful eyes shotplicated expression; she sighed faintly and said, Nujia no longer has any business here,dies and gentlemen, brilliant Seniors, please do as you see fit! Nujia has something important I have to deal with. Tuli saluted and said, Miss Wan, please do as you wish. When we have the opportunityter, I hope to know Miss Wan better. Just by looking at his expression, they knew that he was deeply moved by Wanwans beauty. As a matter of fact, all the men present, none did not look bewitched by her. Wanwan gazed deeply at Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, and then sighed again and said, Ba Xiong, Kou Xiong, please take a good care of yourselves! She disappeared in a sh. Although the two knew that she was going to hunt and attack Xu Ziling, they were powerless to even defend themselves, hence they could only stare nkly as she left. Qu Ao took three steps forward, and stopped where Wanwan was standing a moment ago. Pulling up the hem of his robe, he tied it with his belt, and then throwing his head back in heartyughter, he said, For every grievance someone is responsible, for every debt there is a debtor. Today let me, Qu Ao, clear and purify the hatred of you killing my son. Kou Zhong, letofu [old man] see, other than running away, what skill do you have? Kou Zhong turned around from behind Ba Fenghans back. Patting the Moon in the Well on his back, heughed aloud and said, Old man Qu surely has guts. I only want to know, if fighting one-on-one you are not my match, will otherse out to bail you out? Tuli on his right burst outughing and said, What an ignorant fellow indeed. Death is near at hand, yet still dare to speak conceited nonsense. Qu Dashi [great master], please make your move immediately, let me see if his de is really as hard as his mouth. By only these few words it could be seen that Tuli was extremely shrewd. Because if he let Qu Ao answer himself, based on his rank, how could he let others to intervene? And if that happened, it would certainly be bad. As long as Kou Zhong was able to fight until both sides suffer, it would be a problem for anyone else to intervene or to help. Yet Tulis remark also took Qu Aos face into consideration, while blocking Kou Zhongs further remark at the same time. It was just a perfect diversion. Standing behind Qu Ao, Changshu Mouughedcently and said, I dont know if Kou Xiong is really muddleheaded or pretend to be muddleheaded. How could this time be an ordinary duel in ordance with outmoded Jianghu conventions? Two renxiong are crafty viins who deserve punishment to the death from everybody here; there is no need to use any etiquette and rules toward you. Although he was speaking with a hint of smile on his face, anybody could hear the deep resentment he had toward the two, so deep that all the water from three rivers and fivekes would not be able to wash it clean. Kou Zhongughed calmly. First, he cast a nce toward Ba Fenghan, whose expression was cold and stiff like a rock, and then he swept his gaze around the numerous powerful enemies surrounding them in siege so tight that even water could not leak through, and finally his eyesnded on Qu Ao. He said in astonishment, Didnt Qu Dashi have a duel appointment with that kid with dragon beard at zi hour? What time is it now? You must not be dyed due to injury or maybe even death, otherwise uninformed people might think that Qu Dashi is afraid of the duel! Everybody, including You Chuhong, secretly admired Kou Zhongs guts. If it were other people, under this kind of circumstance, where he had be the target of a multitude of arrows, fully aware that it would be difficult to escape disaster, who could be like him, not only remaining calm andposed, his mouth was still very sharp, and acted as if he was immensely proud of himself? Qu Ao was, after all, a grand master of a reputable school; at this critical moment before the battle, facing the opponents frigid irony and scorching satire, he did not get angry. Leisurely pressing forward, he smiled and said, To take care of you, do I need half a sichen? Make your move! Relentless momentum immediately burst out from his body. Kou Zhongs spine bent slightly, his eyes aze with strange light; it was focused on Qu Ao, just like a leopard watching its prey approaching. In the sky the moon and the starspete with each other in showing off their splendor. The River Luo under the Bridge continued to flow. In this originally beautiful, bright and clear night, thick cloud of battle was looming over the Tianjin Bridge, spanning across the River Luo, connecting the north and south parts of the Eastern Capital. The battle could happen any moment. Xu Ziling stayed close to the riverbed right underneath the big ship of the Dugu n; he hesitated. With martial art masters of You Chuhong and Dugu Fengs caliber on board, as soon as he pressed his hand on the hull of the ship and exerted his power, he might provoke the opponents alertness, much less boring a hole on the bottom of the ship. But he had no other choice. He held out both palms and pressed them on the bottom of the ship; his ocean of qi continuously amassing true qi. At the bottom of his heart, he was a bit nervous. Although true qi and palm power were oftentimes described as sharper than saber de, whether it could be really used to cut just like using saber, especially when the object to be cut was as solid as the hull of a ship, still remained to be seen. After all these years of studying meticulously,bined with training painstakingly, he had reached the level where he could send out and retract his true qi at will; strong or weak, fast or slow, even the way of sending out his power, spiraling or turning to certain direction, he could control it freely ording to his hearts wish. But he had never thought about controlling his true qi so that as it was being sent out, it would have a firm, yet supple and sharp, character. During a battle with the enemy, he could rely on the changes of his fingertips, fists, and palms, to implement the true qi ording to circumstances, but still had not tried sending out his true power in different form. With his current level of cultivation, it was not a difficult thing to forcibly shock the hull of the ship to create a big hole, or perhaps using the tip of his palm to bore through the bottom of the ship. But by doing this, he would definitely not able to conceal his presence from the top martial art masters on board the ship. And if that happened, his magic trick would not be effective anymore. By this time his body was already full with explosive energy. Xu Ziling fiercely clenched his teeth, and let out a spiraling energy. Originally his qi power flowed out of his palms rapidly and was yang and hard in nature, but now he changed it to unhurried, yin and soft. The force covered an area about six chi radius on the hull, with his palms at its center. Unexpectedly the center responded to his palm; the hull sank, without creating disintegrating-wood sound. Even Xu Ziling did not expect this to happen. Subconsciously his fingers stretched out toward the depressed part and jabbed into the hull. His fingers went straight into the wood, as if it was soft cookie dough. Xu Ziling himself jumped in fright; he did not expect his internal energy to be this formidable. He pulled his fingers out, leaving deep holes in the shape of his fingers. But since the hull was quite thick, it has not been prated yet. He was just about to add a bit more power, when he suddenly discovered that on the depressed part, the wood was dissolvingyer byyer. While he was cheering inwardly, suddenly the rm went off in his heart. Ripples of waves came; obviously there was some kind of human activity under water. Xu Ziling shivered inwardly. He was being very careful; could it be that his presence has been detected by the enemy? Although Kou Zhong was putting on a carefree, fearless act, without moving his lips too much, he asked Ba Fenghan, who was standing behind him to the left, leaning against the railing, Which direction? Naturally Ba Fenghan understood what he meant, but he could only respond with a wry smile. The enemys power was really too strong. The only way out was to break the siege and escape. But choosing which direction they were going to run away was the most difficult decision they had to make. On the surface, Tuoba Yu, martial brother and sister, who were guarding the southern bridgehead, were the weakest. But quite possibly it was a trap. Ba Fenghan cast his gaze toward one of the multistory buildings; he saw a shadow shing backward. River Luo! he answered in heavy voice. Kou Zhong nodded to indicate he understood. Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard, and dashed toward Qu Ao, standing about three zhang away. This moment, Ba Fenghan also shouted coldly, Qu Ao, since when did you be Tujue peoples running dog [orig. hawk and hound]? Even with his experience, Qu Ao was still startled by this extremely sarcastic remark; his momentum was immediately weakened by twenty percent. It should be noted that the Tujues were powerful, while the Tieles were weak; hence Tiele people acknowledged allegiance to the Tujues; it was a reasonable and fair matter. Yet because Ba Fenghan brought up Qu Aos association with the Tujues, his momentum appeared to be diminished. Without waiting for anybody to respond, Ba Fenghan (although he startedter, he arrived first) darted past Kou Zhong. The Beheading Mystery Sword, with the ten-thousand-catty thunderbolt momentum, hacked down on Qu Ao. Angry shouts rose up all around. The enemies rushed over one after another trying to help. Ba Fenghan was only ying a trick, yet the entire situation was changed. The more chaotic it was, the greater their chances of survival. Looking at the situation unfolding before his eyes, Xu Zilings scalp went numb, while inwardly he cried, Lucky! As it turned out, the enemy was setting up tworge full with barbs inside the river on the left and right under the Tianjin Bridge, floating about half a chi below the surface. If Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan jumped into the river, it would be strange indeed if they were not captured alive. Realizing there was no time to lose, from the bottom of the river Xu Ziling swam past the hidden covering the water. Book 16 - 4 – Three Persons One Heart Book 16 Chapter 4 C Three Persons One Heart Qu Ao has fought with Ba Fenghan several times before; thinking that he knew Ba Fenghans foundation very well, naturally he was not afraid of him. With a cold snort he spread out both arms to separately grab Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong. As soon as he made his move, he was using his outstanding skill, the Thirteen-Style Eagle Transformation, with the intention of taking the enemys life. His pair of ws, along with rapid footwork, sealed all the enemys possible attack routes. It was also good at seizing the enemys weapon; indeed a very formidable skill. When his thirteen-style was unleashed to its full potential, his hands seemed to move in and out between nothingness and reality, alternating between appearing and hidden, as if empty but appeared to be fantasy, so that it was impossible to defend effectively. Last time Ba Fenghan nearly lost his life precisely under this w, hence the reason before making his move, he deliberately sought to weaken Qu Aos momentum. Next, he wanted to rely on the breakthrough he obtained from the Jade Annulus of He n to sap Qu Aos confidence. However, for a figure of grand master level like Qu Ao, regardless of any setback he suffered, it would be hard to shake the deep roots he gained through hard work and numerous trials and tribtions. To defeat him was easier said than done, and to kill him was nearly impossible. Therefore, if Ba Fenghans objective was to frustrate him, he must use a startling the heavens trick that exceed all expectations. Not only in term of skill, but also involved xinfa, knowledge and scheming, and strategy; all aspects working together in well-coordinated attack. As Ba Fenghan was charging forward, Kou Zhong was withdrawing to evade Qu Aos w wind instead, and leaping on top of the bridges railings. Immediately arrows whizzed by. The fifteen master archers on Dugu ns ship shot a of arrows. Supposing he wanted to jump down the river to escape, he must think of a way not to be a porcupine first. But Kou Zhongs move was purely to test the water. Upon self-examination, he knew that although he had confidence of blocking the arrows shot from the ship, he would not be able to evade the cold arrows being shot from the top of the tall buildings while covering the distance from the bridge to the river. The most dangerous moment was the time just before entering the water; due to the drag force induced by the water, his speed would slow down, which would make him an easier target for the arrows. Let alone on the enemys ship there were still martial art masters like You Chuhong, Dugu Feng, and the others, who were ring at him like a tiger watching its prey. As soon as they released secret projectiles, or perhaps palm wind or long-distance palm power, his little life would be in great danger. After crying out to his Niang inwardly, Kou Zhong somersaulted back to the middle of the Bridge. This moment Ba Fenghan and Qu Ao have just shed briefly. Seeing Kou Zhong withdrew to the middle of the Bridge, Tuoba Yu, martial brother and sister, and Changshu Mou, three people, who were originally standing at either end of the Bridge, swarmed forward and stopped at about five zhang distance from him, forming a siege and watching him closely. But Dugu Feng and the Twin Spears General Yan Lihui and another Tujues martial art master, who leaped up from the Dugu ns and Tulis ships, respectively, from the left and right of the Bridge, did not stop right away. From their responses, the difference in these peoples skill could be clearly seen; in fact, it was quite ring. When Dugu Feng saw that Kou Zhong did not cooperate with Ba Fenghan for a joint attack toward Qu Ao, satisfied that everything was still ording to n, unexpectedly she took a breath in the air, and somersaulted back onto the ship. Her posture was elegant and pleasing to the eye, just like moving clouds and flowing water, totally at ease, without the slightest bit of awkwardness. Yan Lihui and hispanion, on the other hand, did not have this kind of ability. Plus by nature Tujue people were dauntless and they are fierce fighters. Taking advantage of their momentum as they were leaping from the sky, they pounced on Kou Zhong with twin spears and a single saber, like howling wind and torrential rain storming on Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong seemed to turn a blind eye toward the enemys wolf or tiger-like offensive. Standing proudly in the middle of the Bridge, heughed aloud and said, We two of us can make you,dies and gentlemen, spending so much painstaking effort; this is indeed a glorious! As he spoke thest glorious word, suddenly he shed sideways, evading Yan Lihuis twin spears, while the Moon in the Well solidly blocked the other Tujue martial art masters saber hacking down from the air. On the other side, it appeared that Qu Aos w was about to grab Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword; who would have thought that as his fingertips nearly touched the swords de, like magic Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword suddenly dropped three cun down. And then within the narrow space of less than half a chi it suddenly moved again to attack the palm of Qu Aos right hand, which was shaped like the eagles talon. Even a seasoned fighter like Qu Ao could not help shivering in fear for the shock. His seemingly simple w was in fact the culmination of his sixty years ofbat experience, the result of his insight and judgment. The position he was stepping into was the dead corner on Ba Fenghans left nk, where the Beheading Mystery Swords threat was the weakest. First of all, it would force the opponent to change move if he wanted to meet the attack. Secondly, his w has reached the changing-something-rotten-into-something-magical, the abandoning-the-nimble-embracing-the-clumsiness, expert level, by using simple rule to estimate of the opponents angle of attack and speed to seize victory. But he never expected that not only the opponent neither dodged nor shed away, his power was increasing greatly as well; how could his heart not be horror-stricken? The Beheading Mystery Sword suddenly poked upward toward the artery on his wrist. Qu Ao was shocked beyond shocked. He retracted his right hand, kept his shoulders stay still, his right foot kicked forward; his target was Ba Fenghans left ankle. It was an extremely sinister attack. Ba Fenghan let out a slight smile of disdain; with a strange footstep, his sword moved to his left hand, the sword momentum suddenly red out, enveloping Qu Ao, whose acute spirit and confidence had taken a big hit, and dazzling him in the shadow of the swords brilliant rays of light. Dang! Without any fancy move or changes, the two sabers collided with each other. Spiraling energy shot out. His meridians strengthened, Kou Zhongs capacity, as well as the speed, in sending out his true qi has enjoyed tremendous boost; it truly had the easily-repelling-a-thousand-army potential. The Tujue martial art master had just leaped over the distance of nearly six zhang, his power and momentum had been nearly used up; as soon as the two brute forces met, he suffered major losses. Wah! That man, along with his saber, was struck by Kou Zhong that he flew out of the Bridge like a blown leaf or floating cotton, while spurting a mouthful of blood, and fell down into the Luo River between the bridge and the ship. Letting out a longughter, Kou Zhong said, Is that it? Ha! Just so-so! With extreme ease the Moon in the Well parried every single one of Yan Lihuis twin spears attack that came down randomly like rain on him, producing sharp and clear ringing noise like the sound of rain on banana leaf, which was quite pleasing to hear. This moment Tuli leaped from his ship to catch his injured man before he fell into the water. From his side, four men leaped out to help cleaning up the hatred of their associate being struck by the saber. You Chuhongs hands have been itching by now; she was eager to give it a try, but she had to take her status into consideration, hence seeing this, she had no choice but to let the Tujues send out their troops first. It was as if Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan had received the Heavens help; their martial art skill was really beyond their imagination. Ba Fenghan vs Qu Aos duel was even more shocking. Pow! Qu Ao already carried out more than ten different styles and only after suffering untold hardships he was finally able to sweep Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword with the tip of his palm. In fact, after the duel has been going on thus far, it was the first time that the twobatants had actual contact; hence the cunning, fantastical and dangerous nature of the duel could be easily imagined. Ba Fenghan felt that the sword in his hand was like being hit by a hammer nine times in a row; the shock made his wrist went numb. Formidable! he inwardly cried. When the Beheading Mystery Sword was returning to his right hand, Qu Ao immediately seized this opportunity to soar into the air to unleash the full potential of the Thirteen-Style Eagle Transformation. But he did not know that it was precisely what Ba Fenghan has been waiting for. Letting out a longugh, he said, Qu Ao, your grand days have passed, otherwise, how could you fall into my trap? Lightning fast his sword stabbed straight upward. Immediately bright light red out, followed by faint rumbling like far-away thunder, which came very naturally; each sword strike carried earth-shattering power, which he seemed to hide all along, and released everything at once only now, hoping to end the battle in the shortest time possible. On the other side, the Twin Spears General Yan Lihui let out a miserable groan as his shoulder was hit by the saber. Like a kite with cut string he flew about a zhang away, andnded in front of Tuoba Yu, martial brother and sister. One spear was thrown off of his hand, rendering him unable to continue the battle. Kou Zhong stood proudly with the saber across his chest, quietly waiting for the four Tujue martial art masters rapidly arriving overhead. In his busyness, he still had the time to leisurely sweeping his gaze around the battle arena. He saw the coldugh hidden on Tulis face. Not only did he not seem to care about his two men suffering injuries one after another, he even looked like he still had a card up his sleeve, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos. The Dugu n ship on the other side, the hard-headed and explosive old woman You was still sitting quietly on her imperial tutor chair, while the younger generations of her n respectfully surrounded her like stars surrounding the moon. She was speaking in low voice with the morous Dugu Feng in calm demeanor, as if she did not have any concern that the two men were gaining the upper hand. From behind Tuoba Yu, two men rushed forward to quickly move the seriously injured Yan Lihui, who was lying on the ground, away. While Changshu Mou and the others, three persons appeared to have their full attention watching their master dealing with Ba Fenghan, they did not show any sign ofing forward to join the battle. Kou Zhong was an extremely astute person; for the first time that night he felt that something was wrong, but the enemies have arrived, he did not have the leisure to ponder over this matter. Quickly he raised his saber to parry. Meanwhile, Xu Ziling, under the bridge, has sessfully cut arge hole on the hook-riddled covering the river using a dagger, totally unnoticed. He held on to the cut, to prevent it from being flushed away by the current and thus exposing his presence. But the anxiety in his heart was hard to describe. At the same time he regretted the trick he did to the bottom of the ship. The hull of the ship might dissolve any moment and opened up a hole, then the water would pour into the ship hold and it would be difficult to hide it from You Chuhong and Dugu Feng upstairs. As soon as they figured out that somebody was hiding under water, his trick would not be effective anymore. The other problem he was thinking about was coordination. The enemy setup this in the river, their objective was certainly to catch Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong alive; so they must create some situation where the two would be pressured to think that the Luo River was their only way to escape. So Xu Ziling did not worry that the two would not take the river as their escape path, but he was concerned that they could not run away before the hull of the ship ruptured. Right this moment, from under the shade of the ship he looked up and happened to see Qu Ao leaping into the air. He nearly cheered in loud voice. His hesitation gone, he immediately took action. nk! The spear from Yan Lihuis right hand fell to the ground. In the blink of an eye, the w and the sword shed rapidly seven times in session. Both sides moved at lightning speed, both unleashed the entire power within their bodies. Although it was only a few moves, the intensity surpassed ordinary martial art masters exchanging hundreds or thousands moves in hard battle, generating some kind of magnificent-army-with-thousands-of-men-and-horses-in-a-face-off-on-the-battlefield, a desperate-battle-in-close-quarter-that-the-sun-and-the-moon-lose-their-luster tragic atmosphere, which affected everybody around the battle arena. In fact, up to that moment, speaking purely in terms of power and moves, Ba Fenghan was still a notch below Qu Ao. But he was able to add diligence to his ability and wisdom, so he was able to use all kinds of tricks to frustrate this overbearing opponents vigor and confidence. Also, because the opponent has been underestimating him, he was able to catch the opponent off-guard and thus gained a bit of advantage instead, so while the sharpness of his de seemed diminishing, it was actually increasing without letup. From this, it could be seen that Ba Fenghans innate talent was better than this grandmaster-level character, whose name shook the heavens inside and outside the Great Wall. While having his eyes on the advantage before his eyes, he must take the most important step, which was paving the way for his escape; otherwise, he would not have any chance to escape at all. Ba Fenghan let out a long, ear-splitting whistle as he shot out at an angle; like a rainbow his sword went straight toward Qu Ao, who was still about a zhang and a half in the air. Of the other side, Kou Zhong was well aware that Ba Fenghan was telling him that the time to escape hase. Quickly, with the fierce-lion-seizing-the-rabbit speed, and powerful-and-elegant, all-out power, Qiang! he hacked down the steel spearing at him from the left, and then using a fake movement of his body he repeated the previous attack, and when the three remaining enemies withdrew in shock, he suddenly turned around and darted toward Ba and Qu, two mens duel. Shouting and yelling rose up from all around. Not only did Tuoba Yu and Changshu Mou, and the others, rush from both ends of the bridge, even Tuli also leaped from his ship and flew toward the two men. On the Dugu ns side, other than You Chuhong, who was still sitting motionless in her chair, everybody, Dugu Feng included, drew their weapons, the archers strung their bows; the situation was extremely tense. The master archers on the two tall buildings west of the Bridge no longer cared to conceal their presence; they appeared with arrows on their bows, waiting in tight formation. The sword strike Ba Fenghan sent toward Qu Ao was a skill from the bottom of his chest. Not only was it the culmination of his life-long power, it was also imbued with the determination to perish together with the enemy. Furthermore, because he was leaping at an angle, his sword momentum enveloped the air over the bridges railings. With Kou Zhong also charging from the middle of the bridge, unless Qu Ao was willing to stake everything he had until they both suffered, his only way out was to retreat to the air west of the Bridge. It was the only way to stop the Tujue master archers on top of the buildings from firing their arrows if they did not want to hit Qu Ao, and thus eliminating one worry. If they had to block only the arrows from about a dozen archers on Dugu ns ship, their confidence was naturally a lot higher. Of course Qu Ao did not want to exchange his life for Ba Fenghans. Extremely cooperative, even with a faint smile on his face, he changed his w into a fist, and heavily punched the de of Ba Fenghans sword, and then, borrowing the reaction force, he soared into the air above the Luo River west of the Bridge. This moment, Kou Zhong happened to catch up with them. Staying close to the bridges railings, the two immediately jumped over to the water below. By the time You Chuhong let out a burst of extremely unpleasant screeching-owl likeughter, a dozen or so powerful arrows already left the bows. Swish! Swish! the arrows flew toward the two men, covering a considerablyrge area. Unless the two blocked the arrows head-on, there was no way they could evade them. Ssh! the water sshed. Arge riddled with hooks, about two zhang long and two zhang wide, suddenly rose up from the water; like a wall it blocked all the powerful arrows, and it still had enough momentum to fly toward You Chuhong and the others. The power was astonishing, plus it happened unexpectedly, so that the enemy was at a loss of how to deal with it. Tuli and the others already rushed toward the bridges railings; they still were not sure what had happened when more than a dozen streams of water, joined together like a string of pearls, shot out from the River to attack everybody on the bridge. Even Qu Ao was no exception. With their ability, faced with this kind of spiraling, full-strength, with urate timing and position, with no gap to be found, streams of water used as weapon, even Tuli and Qu Ao were caught off-guard and were thrown into confusion. Actually, even Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan themselves, as they were entering the water, were unclear of what happened. By the time the River was back to normal, the water calmed down enough so that once again it reflected the starlight and moonlight in the sky above and thenterns in the human world below, the three mens shadow had been long gone; they managed to escape without any trace. Dugu ns ship was starting to sink into the river. Dripping wet, Kou and Ba, two men, climbed onto the small boat Xu Ziling hid earlier under the shade of willow trees by the bank of River Luo; they both had the feeling that they had juste back from the death. Kou Zhong cast his gaze into the distance, looking at Dugu ns big ship by the Bridge, which, by this time, was starting to lean sideways as it was sinking. It would be best if we can anger the old granny till her asthma res out! he said with delight. Ba Fenghan was circting his inner power to evaporate the water from his body; he said coldly, We have been making noise here that the Luo River is flipped over, while Man Qing Yuan is only about a dozen blocks away, yet there was not half a maning to say hello. This is a perfect example of human rtionship is changing daily with the temperature. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Who did not wish of us fighting desperately with the enemy until we are defeated and all of us injured? They didnte to stick their foot and deal with us, that was already very polite of them. How about Yu Yi? Kou Zhong asked anxiously, Howe you, Xiao Ling, suddenly came? But luckily you came, otherwise Ol Ba and me would be the fish inside the with hook injuries all over our bodies. After briefly exining everything, Xu Ziling said to Ba Fenghan, All in all, Princess still have some feeling toward you! With a pained smile on his face, Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, At one time or another, both I and Li Shimin might have really moved her heart, but in the deepest part of her heart, the one really close to her heart is you, Xu Ziling. That is the truth. Afraid that Xu Ziling would be embarrassed, Kou Zhong changed the subject, But does she really have the ability to take Yu Yi out of the city without the gods knowing the ghosts detecting it? Shouldnt we try to protect her? Ba Fenghan tly replied, Dong Ming Pai must have a very subtle rtionship with Yin Gui Pai, or they would not know that we have rescued Junyu. Not only that, Madame Dong Ming is a first ss martial art master; even Zhu Yuyan does not dare to easily provoke her, not to mention Zhu Yuyan is currently not in Luoyang. Therefore, they have more confidence in sending her out than we do. If we intervene, we would arouse Wanwans suspicion instead. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong nodded their head in agreement. Right now, their biggest advantage was that Yin Gui Pai had no idea that Fu Junyu was inside Dong Ming Pais huge ship, and that Song Shidao was involved in this matter. In terms of talent, knowledge and martial art skill, this man was a superior specimen. Only now did Kou Zhong copy Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling in circting his internal energy to evaporate the water from his body. His eyes flickering, he said, If we dont avenge this hatred, we are not real men. What should we do? Ba Fenghans face shone with murderous aura; a cold smile, as cold as ice and snow, appeared on the corner of his lips, but his voice was unusually gentle and soft, as he spoke lightly, as if he did not have any care in the world, Soon it will be the zi hour. Zhong Shao, dont you have an appointment to see Song Jingang? Book 16 - 5 – Tiger Wind Dragon Cloud Book 16 Chapter 5 C Tiger Wind Dragon Cloud Perhaps because the battle just now had scared themon people, but along the Heavenly Street, all residences, all stores and shops big and small, closed their doors and windows, and did not light theirnterns. Only Man Qing Yuan was brightly lit, illuminating the area around it as bright as day. It was still a quarter before the zi hour; most of the people who were supposed to be there have arrived at the Ting Liu Pavilion. Not even half a human shadow was seen on the street, even the city guards who were supposed to be on patrol have hidden in who knows where. The struggle between Yang Dong, Dugu n and Wang Shichong, the Luoyang City appeared to be in a power vacuum state. But the public security was even better instead, simply because the local gangs and societies were curbing their people as much as possible not to create trouble in this kind of situation. Outsiders did not dare to make trouble even more, for fear of bing the target of a multitude of arrows. The three walked down the street toward Man Qing Yuan. Kou Zhong suddenly heaved a deep sigh. Ba Fenghan asked in surprise, Even under such a vile circumstance just now you were able to get away without damaging half a strand of your hair; why still sighing long and short? Kou Zhong reached out to wrap his arm around Ba Fenghans shoulder. I am thinking that you,oxiong, are going to go far away; in my heart I really hate to part with you, he spoke with heartfelt sincerity. Ba Fenghans tough face melted a little; casting a nce toward the silently-walking-by-his-side Xu Ziling, he smiled and said, This is called there is no banquet in the world that does not end. This time Ol Ba came to the Central ins and was able to encounter two Xiongtai, already this trip has not been made in vain. Much less in term of martial art cultivation I came across iparably fortuitous meeting, and obtained a breakthrough that even in my dream I have never thought about. At this point in life, what more do I want? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, When would Fenghan Xiong start your journey? Ba Fenghan replied in heavy voice, After getting rid of Qu Ao, I will immediately depart. Perhaps even tonight. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned. The former frowned and said, Why are you especially insolent toward Qu Ao? A deep, cold murderous intent shed in Ba Fenghans eyes. He replied coldly, This is the oath I swore when I was beaten by Qu Ao and threw myself into the river in serious injury to escape. Whoever wanted to take my life, Ol Ba must pay him back. And then he smiled slightly and said, Therefore, you two and I are special kindred spirits; plus there is another bitter experience in which we are simr. Kou Zhong, whose eyes were on the empty, deste street ahead, was stunned, What bitter experience? he asked. Ba Fenghan cheerfully replied, In that our martial art skill was forced to advance by the people who were chasing and hunting us, that not a day of our lives was not fugitive days. Since you acquired the Secret to Long Life, didnt you also have this kind of bitter experience? Xu Ziling suddenly said, How confident you are in killing Qu Ao? Originally, not even 50%, Ba Fenghan replied, But now I have full confidence. Pulling away his arm on Ba Fenghans shoulder, Kou Zhong asked in great astonishment, How could there be such a drastic change? Ba Fenghan calmly replied, Because there is still a very big w in his mental self-cultivation, which fluctuate with his state of mind. Just now during the battle on the Tianjin Bridge, he already lost his confidence in defeating me. Therefore, if tonight I can erge this gap of his, I have no doubt that I will win. Finally he added one sentence, If I can kill Qu Ao, even if I dont look for Bi Xuan, he might personallye to look for me; a match that is hard to find. It would be toote for Bi Xuan to guard against me! The two boys had a sudden inspiration. Kou Zhong said, I wonder if Old Man Qu and Fu Kids duel has already started? Meanwhile Man Qing Yuans front gate was only five zhang away; the gatekeepers were craning their necks to look at these threeters. I am afraid he might miss the appointment, Ba Fenghan said. The three have not even reached the gate, the dozen or so guards already weed them respectfully, greeting them Ye this and Ye [master, as in master/servant rtionship] that; a totally different experience fromst time they came. Has Qu Ao arrived? Ba Fenghan asked. Someone replied, Qu Ye has just sent someone to notify us that he will be here by chou hour [1-3am]. The three exchanged nces; they all revealed a knowing smile. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, Is Man Qing Yuan still under Luoyang Bangs control? Another man replied, Naturally. This is still considered our Luoyang Bangs business. Three Daye exposed that traitor, Shangguan Longs identity, our Gang, from top to bottom, are deeply grateful to three Daye! Kou Zhong wondered inwardly if that was true; he then casually asked a question, So whos in charge of Luoyang Bang now? The first man replied solemnly, To prevent our Gang from falling into disunity, Fu Bangzhu [vice gang leader] and various Tangzhu [hall master] asked Big Boss Rong Fengxiang to be our Bangzhu. With him on the helm, who dares not toply? The three thought unexpectedly there was such a coincidence. From this they could tell that Rong Fengxiang was a figure who yed a critical role in Luoyang. All their questions answered, the three, with the throng of guards in front and behind them, proceeded toward the Tingliu Pavilion. Tingliu Pavilion was livelier than two evenings ago; it was practically a banquet with no empty seats. Fortunately somehow Rong Fengxiang has personally ordered to have the chamber on the top floor of the north building, the same one they usedst time, reserved from them, hence they did not need to crowd with other people. After the beautiful servants served them food and drink, one called Cuier, who appeared to be the lead-waitress, with amorous expression and enchanting smile addressed the three, Rong Laopan [boss] especially ordered us to serve three gentlemen well. Our Man Qing Yuans three flowers: Lianer, Juer and Pinger [lotus, chrysanthemum and duckweed, respectively] the other night witnessed the three gentlemen exhibiting your divine prowess, so they quite adore you. Do three Daye want them toe to sing a couple of Xiaodiao [Chinese folk song] for you? Kou Zhong asked in surprise, With so many distinguished guests tonight, how could they have spare time to serve us? Cuier threw him a coquettish nce and said, Its useless for others to beg me, but three Daye are different! Cuier made things difficult for others, its all to make proper arrangements for you. Right now it is still more than half a sichen before the chou hour; with theming to dispel Dayes boredom, I guarantee that time will sh like a white steed flits past a crack. Ba Fenghan casually stuffed half an ingot of glistening yellow gold into Cuiers hand and spoke indifferently, So this time it is not Zhi Shi Lang Wang Bo [see Book 1 Chapter 10] who gives the party? Looks like the expense is not a few? Cuier took the gold, her smile was even brighter; with half her body leaning on Ba Fenghans, she spoke intimately, This time its Rong Laoban who is giving the party; he has two simultaneous happy events in the family! He is ascending the Bangzhu throne, and celebrating his big birthday. Afterwards, his source of revenue will spread far and wide; how could he have time to bother about trivial expenditure? Very well! Just leave everything to nujia, I will have the three flowerse here in no time! Xu Ziling said with a frown, We still have some important matters to discuss, it would be better ... Cuier cut him off, In that case, nujia will arrange for them toe a bitter! With a peal of tenderughter she flew away like a butterfly. Kou Zhongughed toward Ba Fenghan, You are so liberal with money; looks like your purse is fully loaded with gold. Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, These past few years I earned a bit of money. In this chaotic world, everybody is striving to mint coins and make money, but only gold is most reliable, it can be used inside and outside the Central ins. When I leave, I am going to leave you some so that you can use it. Knock! Knock! Although Kou Zhong did not hear any footsteps, he has already sensed that someone was outside the door. Who is it? he asked in low voice. Outside, Xing Mofeis familiar voice replied, Xiaodi received Wangzis [King] order to invite three gentlemen to the main lobby downstairs for a chat; we will enjoy wine together. [Trantors note: in Book 13 Chapter 10, it was Xing Yifei.] The three had a rather good opinion toward this man, plus they really wanted to see what he looked like. Xing Xiong, pleasee in! Kou Zhong pursued. Hearing that, Xing Mofei pushed the door and entered, and cupped his fist in salute. The three were sure that this man was not among the men standing by Fu Qian the previous night, or else their eyes had deceived them. This Tuyuhun martial art master was around twenty-five, twenty-six, tall and slim, had thick hair and eyebrows, and calm demeanor. He wore casual riding and shooting warrior attireplete with boots. His entire being was as sharp as an arrow leaving the bow; his eyes gleaming with spirited light, but he also gave up the impression that he was a very passionate person. Although he could not be considered handsome, his facial features [orig. five senses] had strong character; hence he could be considered someone well worth a second look, and that the more one looked at him, the more one would feel that he was an interesting character. The three immediately stood up to return the salute. After they sat down, Ba Fenghan asked, Who else is in the hall downstairs? Meanwhile the sound of finger-guessing game, drinking game, warm music from string and woodwind instruments, came from the direction of the balcony. Xing Mofeiughed leisurely and said, Naturally we cant miss Wang Bo and Rong Da Laoban, two gentlemen. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Listening to the tone of Xing Xiongs voice, looks like you dont have any regards to even Wang Bo. Xing Mofei slyly said, Speaking about whip technique, theres no one inside or outside the Central ins can match him. But speaking about person, one must not consider his martial art only. Only by having a fitting character would one make others convinced. True heroes like three gentlemen here are the kind of people that my humble Master admires and wishes to be associated with. Hearing that, the three looked at each other; because ording to the rumor, didnt Wang Bo have a very tight rtionship with Fu Qian? Moreover, if Wang Bo was a man falling from virtue, how could a very able person who was outside the system like Liao Kong consider him an intimate friend? Astounded, Kou Zhong asked these questions. Xing Mofei replied with a smile, It would be better for my humble Master, when he has timeter, to personally answer these questions properly. But three gentlemen only need to look at the outstanding heroes of today. If Du Fuwei, Li Zitong, and the likes have thrown their support to be Wang Bos subordinates, but thenter on they rebelled and left him, it is obvious that this man has no capacity to hold others. Otherwise there is no way his prestige would fall under any other militias. And then he asked, Are three gentlemen surprised thatst night Wang Bo did not show himself? Amazed, the three nodded their head. Xing Mofeiughed and said, The logic is very simple. Because in this matter he wants to take all the credits to himself; he wants to curry favor with Shi Feixuan, but he is not a person who appreciate kindness. Toward this man, three gentlemen must be a bit more careful. As for other matters, please forgive Xiaodi because it is rather inconvenient to disclose. Nodding, Kou Zhong said, Although we have just met, Xing Xiong is indeed a true friend. This was the first time that we heard this information; it is extremely useful. Ba Fenghan said, But by doing that, what good would it be for Wang Bo himself? Furthermore, isnt he stating publicly that he no longer in the race for the throne [orig. hunting deer in Central in C please see Jin Yongs Deer and Cauldron tranted by yours truly on this idiom]? Xing Mofei sighed and said, Those with ambitions are always unwilling to give up their dreams. Because Xiaodi has deep respect toward the three gentlemen, I came with special purpose to reveal information that you need to know: after Yuwen Huaji returning to the north, he restructured his forces once again. By relying on his Yuwen ns profound foundation, he struck the gongs and beat the drums, preparing to spread out his hands and feet again. It is highly possible that he is going to form an alliance with Wang Bo, hence the reason he raised such a ruckus in the Jade Annulus of He ns affair. The three were suddenly enlightened. Smiling bitterly, Xing Mofei continued, Looking at three gentlemens expression, it is clear to me that you are not going downstairs to see my humble Master. The four men looked at each other. Suddenly they all burst outughing. Theirughter was filled with pride from understanding each others heart. Finishedughing, Xu Ziling said, Please forgive Zaixia for brazenly asking an imperceptive question: what is the purpose of Fu Wangzis [king] visit this time? Lowering his voice, Xing Mofei replied, This time my humble Master came to the Central ins, there are two principal objectives: one is to see what kind of outstanding, remarkable figures there are in the Central ins, the other objective is to look for someone to settle an ount. Kou Zhongs eyes shone with sharp light; he said, The first objective is too broad that it is difficult to grasp the real meaning behind it, but since Xing Xiong is unwilling to borate, lets not talk about it! As for looking for someone, who is that person? Who has such a face [i.e. honor]? Delighted, Xing Mofei said, Talking with you is really enjoyable; it saves me a lot of crap. The one we want to look for is Pei Ju. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong asked, Who is Pei Ju? Howe Ive never heard his name? Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, Zhong Shao, this time you ought to be ashamed of yourself! Even at our ce, no one does not know Pei Ju, this mans name. It could even be said that this name stinks to high heaven; there is no one who would disagree with that. Xing Mofei spoke coldly, Pei Ju was Yang Guangs chancellor who was in charge of trade andmerce, as well as public affairs of the Western Region and Old Suis frontiers. He wrote a three-volume work entitled the Maps and Notes on the Western Regions, as well as an ount on the general profile of the forty-four states of the Western Region. At the end of the preface, he wrote: Therefore, Magnificent Emperor ought to send envoy, without deploying troops and chariots, various foreign powers, from Hun and so on will faint and be exterminated. The United Xia will thus be here! It should be noted to some extent that our might has never transformed this far. It was precisely because of the sentence from Hun and so on will faint and be exterminated that our Tuyuhun became rivers of blood, dead bodiesy everywhere on the fields. If we do not avenge this hatred, how could we face our dead nsmen? Listening to this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were left speechless, while at the same time thinking that Fu Qians purpose in visiting the Central ins this time was more or less the same as Tulis, which was to exact revenge. The Central ins would be a lot messier. Ba Fenghan spoke nonchntly, Pei Ju has not died yet? This man is adept in driving wedges between allies; our Western Tujue was split into two factions, which attack each other endlessly. Taking advantage while we are powerless to care about anything outside, Pei Ju secretly incited the Tieles to send troops to attack Tuyuhun. This scheme is certainly vicious to the extreme, killing someone with borrowed knife, while he himself did not need to spend half a soldier. Xing Mofei showed grief and indignation; he said hatefully, Even after suffering defeat from the surprise attack, our Emperor Fu Yun did not know that it was his friend, Pei the traitor who incited it in the dark; he even sent words to Pei traitor, asking for help, yet he sent two contingents of troops and horses to pursue and attack, to throw stones at someone who fell down a well. After repeatedly being under attack, finally our Emperor brought the remaining a thousand or so injured riders to escape by breaking the siege. This hatred, not one of Tuyuhun people can forget. Only then did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understand the gratitude and grudges between the Tieles, Pei Ju, and Tuyuhuns. No wonder Fu Qian went south to the Central ins, the first thing he did was to seek Tieles number one martial art master Qu Ao for a life and death duel. As if he waspletely unconcerned, Ba Fenghan said, Oh! Ol Ba nearly forget, tonight Qu Ao is mine. Just now I have had a sh with him, you cant possibly do not know about this matter? Xing Mofei sighed and said, This matter is out of my hands. If Qu Ao knew that he is such in great demand, he might regret his conduct. And then, rising to his full height, he cupped his fist and said, Xiaodi has other orders I need to take care of, I cant stay for long. Ba Xiongs esteemed opinion, Xiaodi will pass on to my humble Master. As for how we are going to settle it, it will be decided by my humble Master. After Xing Mofei left, Kou Zhongughed and said, It would be better for us to go out and keep watch. As soon as we see Qu Ao, well kill him with a vengeance. Once the main problem is solved, wont all troubles be solved? Nodding, Ba Fenghan said, I was thinking the same thing. But it wont be as excited as if we have several hundred people watching on the side shouting and cheering for me. Kou Zhong rose up and said, Almost forget my appointment with Song Jingang. I will be back before the chou hour. Remember to wait for me before going into action. Otherwise I wont let you get away with it. Xu Zilingughed and cursed, Theres not enough time, why havent you taken a hike? Immensely pleased with himself, Kou Zhong said, When the girlseter, remember to keep an extra for me. This is called blessing, we enjoy together. While talking, he pushed the door, and was immediately stunned by what he saw outside. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling also felt the rm went off in their hearts; they immediately turned their heads to look at the door. But Kou Zhongs tall and sturdy figure obstructed their line of sight. All they were able to see was in yellow gauzed skirt with lots of creases on it, and a pair of green embroidered shoes, with phoenix ornament sewed to the toes, peeking out from under the skirt. Just from the fact that this woman was able to stand outside the door without arousing the rm in the three mens heart, they knew that she was not someone to be trifled with. But Kou Zhongs eyes actually shone. The woman suddenly appeared outside their door looked to be about twenty-three, twenty-four years old. Unlike Shang Xiuxun or perhaps Shen Luoyan, who, in just one look, people could tell that they were extremely beautiful, this woman had some kind of unique hidden appeal and personality, which would stir up deep attraction within your heart. Her demeanor was calm and sophisticated, gentle, refined and dignified; but the remarkable feature of her face was her determined look, which gave up the impression that not only was she beautiful and touching, she would not tolerate mens brazenness, that she was fearless, and full of confidence in herself, as if she firmly believed that everything she did was correct and proper. Her shiny jet-ck beautiful hair, her fair and tender skin, her slim and well-proportioned figure, her beautiful, curved eyebrows, and the deep, slender phoenix eyes under the eyebrows,bined with the faint natural delicate fragrance emitted from her body, formed a picture of beautiful woman that men would topple over it. But the one thing attracted Kou Zhongs attention the most was the whisk, which appeared to be made of red silk, hanging diagonally across her back, slightly visible over her left shoulder. Immediately Kou Zhong was able to grasp her identity. Surprisingly, she was the one acimed to be the most outstanding female martial art master, considered top of the list among the generals within Li Shimins Tian Ce Fu [heavenly policy government], Li Jings tender wife, the Red Brush Lady. Her cold and detached, yet sharp gaze was focused on Kou Zhongs face; without any emotion at all she spoke indifferently, You are Kou Zhong? Kou Zhong stepped aside to let Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghans sharp eyes to have good visibility on her, and then he replied in heavy voice, It is Xiaodi. Shall I address Miss by Mrs. Li, or Li Saozi [sister-inw]? Hong Funus [i.e. Red Brush Lady] grim gaze fearlessly turned toward Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan. The moment she heard Kou Zhongs question, there seemed to be a mocking expression shing through her eyes; she replied coldly, That depends on how you ce yourselves. The three were stunned; deep in their hearts they felt something was very wrong, or she would not have used such a blunt tone. Finally Hong Funus eyesnded on Xu Ziling. Her phoenix eyes shed with intelligent, sharp rays, but her voice turned soft as she said, King of Qin has something very important to discuss with two gentlemen, hence he especially sent qie [I, your servant; deprecatory self-reference for women] to invite your honored selves. This matter is of grave importance, two gentlemen must not refuse. Turning his eyes away from her, Ba Fenghan simply raised his cup and drained the wine in one gulp. Kou Zhongs face showed a rather furious andplicated expression; he spoke coldly, If it is pertaining to the Jade Annulus of He n, there is nothing to say. A fierce and sharp look flitted through Hong Funus beautiful eyes as she stared at Kou Zhong. But before she had time to speak, Ba Fenghan already cut her off, Why dont you go to see what he has to say? Sooner orter this matter must be resolved on way or another. Xu Ziling calmly said, Zhong Shao, just go! It is up to you to decide. Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Finally he nodded his agreement. Hong Funu pushed the door open and said with a light sigh, Get in! I wish by the time you get out, you will still be Jing Langs [in this case, ng is the term a wife uses to refer to her husband] good Xiongdi, and not his irreconcble enemy. Kou Zhong cast her an indifferent look before stepping into the room, and casually closed the door. This room was thest side room on the third floor of the east wing of the north building; it was nearly double the size of their room. Li Shimin was standing in front of the window with his back facing him, staring at the fish pond in the garden down below. Hearing Kou Zhongs voice, Li Shimin sighed and said, Do we still have any leeway in this matter? Walking over to the round table in the middle of the room, Kou Zhong fixed his gaze on Li Shimins majestic, tall and straight back. Which matter was Shimin Xiong referring to? he spoke heavily. Li Shimin slowly turned around. Looking deep into Kou Zhongs eyes, he said, How many years has it been since we saw each other? Zhong Shao, you are more formidable than what I thought. Every movement you make carries the air of a martial art master of this generation. No wonder although you have enemies everywhere, nobody is able to deal with you the slightest bit; on the contrary, you were able to y with them in the palm of your hand. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Compared to His Royal Highness King of Qin, what is one little Kou Zhong? Since Qin Wang [King] raised your army at Taiyuan, you sessively defeated old dynastys fierce general Songosheng [old man, but a bit more respectful] and Qu Tutong, used the few to defeat the many, and took Guanzhong by ruse; hence you are enabling your honorable n to upy an advance-can-attack, retreat-can-defend, powerful base of operations. Then you went west to Zheng Long You in order to consolidate Guanzhong, and drove Xue Ju, father and sons main forces that invaded your territory back to their old nest. And now, whod dare to underestimate your Li Family? This kind of achievement, who can match? Sneering, Li Shimin said, For generations our Li Family frequently became generals, our foundation profound; as long as we have sufficient reason to send troops, with proper tactics, triumph over the opponent is as expected as a matter of course. How could we bepared to you, Zhong Shao, whos all alone in the world, yet is able to create clouds by flipping your hand, and create rain by overturning your palm, changing the situation of the world? Ha! We havent seen each other for so long, how about sitting down and drinking a cup of wine? Neither for nor against it, Kou Zhong sat down. Li Shimin raised the wine pot, poured some wine for Kou Zhong, and said with a smile, I prefer you call me Shimin; our friendship surpasses casual acquaintances. That year, were it not for your, two brothers help, I am afraid our Li Family would not have the respectable position of today. And then he sat down and raised his cup with both hands in a toast; he said, This cup is to thank Zhong Shao in your assistance to uphold justice at the Flying Horse Ranch, to prevent Xiuning from falling into Li Tianfans trap and Shen Luoyans scheming. Scorching heat attacked his heart. Kou Zhong grabbed his throat and called out, Good wine! Its not poisonous, is it? Book 16 - 6 – Fractured Relationship Book 16 Chapter 6 C Fractured Rtionship Ba Fenghan turned his gaze from the building on the other side of the garden, he spoke contemtively, In this kind of breaking-a-new-ground decisive battle, it is obvious that Fu Qian wants to establish his might in one fight. I dont understand why he has such a high confidence. Qu Ao has made his name for decades, how could he be an easy target? Xu Ziling nodded and said, If we could make Fu Qian understand that he may not necessarily triumph over Qu Ao, there is a probability that he would let Qu Aoe out for you. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, That is easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice. Id better challenge Qu Ao directly. As long as he nodded, Fu Qian could only be a spectator on the wall. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Arent you going to intercept Qu Ao outside the door? Ba Fenghan said, Supposing Qu Ao ising with Tuli, he could simply brush his sleeve and ignore me, then I will be humiliated, what can I do to him? Xu Ziling sighed and said, In my opinion, just let those two have their duel first! Just like your analysis, this matter can happen because both of them nodded their heads. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, In that case, I can only change ording to the situation. There was a knock on the door. Who is it? Ba Fenghan shouted. A young womans voice replied, Daye! Maid is here to tidy up. The two felt strange, because they had already told Cuier that unless it was an emergency, they did not want to be disturbed, why did this little maid deliberately disobey the order? They have not yet answered, the door was pushed open, a young maid came in, and lightning fast put a letter, which had been folded into a small square, on the table, and said in a low voice, Ren Bangzhu sent me here. Finished speaking, lightning fast she left. Ba Fenghan unfolded the letter and read; heaving a sigh of relief he said, Princess is really resourceful, she has been brought out. Hearing that, Li Shiminughed aloud and said, Zhong Shao still trifles without respect, as usual. With your current skill, no poisonous wine will be able to harm you, plus I, Li Shimin, am not the kind of person who would use such trick. Kou Zhong coughed dryly and said, Turns out good wine is just like poisonous wine. It choked me that my seven apertures [of the human head: eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth] are shooting mes. Li Shimin happily said, I brought this from Guanzhong, it is called hou zui lie jiu [intoxicating throat strong wine]. Seeing him pouring another cup for him, Kou Zhong, still with lingering fears, said, What are we drinking for this time? Li Shimin smiled and said, This second cup is for Wang Shichong. If he did not have you to help him, perhaps he would be a lone army painstakingly defending Yanshi, but now he had a great chance of defeating Li Mi instead. Presently Zhong Shao has be a person with great influence and ys a critical role left and right. Kou Zhong said, Actually, saying that we drain our cups for Li Shimin is more fitting. Li Shimin spoke seriously, If you want to toast, you should toast my Die. Ay! Sometimes I really dont know my rtionship with you. If you are willing to change your mind and exert yourselves for our Li Family, I, Li Shimin, am willing to guarantee with my head that we cant possibly treat the two of you meagerly. Kou Zhongs eyes shone with divine light; he slowly said, By saying that, Shimin Xiong has decided not to ept inferior status. Li Shimins eyes also lit up; he spoke in heavy voice, This matter is too early to tell. Right now the world situation is getting more and more divided, as clear as the strive for Guanxi and Guandong. In my capacity as a friend, may I ask you a question? How much chances do you have against Li Mi? Calmly, Kou Zhong replied, Ill tell you the answer the day after tomorrow. Li Shimin appeared to be pondering over something, but he did not press on. He said, Li Mis fierce generals are certainly as numerous as clouds, but among them, there is one you must not neglect. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Are you referring to Wang Bodang or Pei Renji? Li Shimin slowly shook his head; he said, Although these two mens reputation is resounding, they cant match Xu Shiji. This man entered Wagang Army when he was seventeen, and currently holding the post of Right Wuhou Great General; very resourceful and decisive, predicts enemys movement like a deity, each attack subdues the enemy. Moreover, he is modest and sincere, strict with self but lenient with others, hence he can make officers and soldiers follow orders. A truly rare talented fieldmander. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Turns out he is like that; fortunately you reminded me. That year, because at Xingyang he was unable to do anything to us, plus he is Shen Luoyans lover, all along I did not take him seriously. What a close call! After staring at him with mysterious expression on his eyes for a moment, Li Shimin heaved a deep sigh and said, People who are willing to ept others advice like Zhong Shao, I, Li Shimin, have to admit that Ick that quality; I must learn from you well. For the first time that night Kou Zhong revealed a sad look on his face; smiling ruefully, he said, Arent you also able to absorb good things from others? When people who cant listen to others admonishment became the Emperor, they would be like Yang Guang, just another muddleheaded ruler. Ay! If it were peacetime, you and I will surely be close friends; at least we cant be enemies. Li Shimin stared nkly at the clear liquor in his cup; he said in low voice, That being said, you are determined to take the Duke Yangs Treasure out! Kou Zhong did not answer, but asked a question instead, This time we meet, is Li Jing aware of it? Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling asked, How did she do it? While still reading the letter, Ba Fenghan replied, Dong Ming gship was ready to sail tonight anyway, hence they already cleared the security at the gate, and thus did not arouse other peoples suspicion. Finished reading, he handed the letter to Xu Ziling. The letter only had very few characters, it was written in code words of the ck way, and there was no signature. Even if it fell into other peoples hand, they would be unable to make any sense of it. Having the weight off his mind, Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief, and then applying his power he kneaded the letter and turned it into powder. Sitting backfortably into his chair, he sighed and said, This time we beat the odd. Yin Gui Pai might fly into a rage out of humiliation, they will take drastic measures. Laughing coldly, Ba Fenghan said, I dont care if its Yin Gui Pai or Dugu n, both harbor sinister design in their hearts. Cooperation like the one just now, may be done once and once only. After a short pause, he went on, Only Tuli and Qu Aos cooperation is unusually rare. Tujue and Tieles rtionship has never been a harmonious one. Xu Ziling said, If you leave Luoyang alone, arent you afraid Tuli and Tuoba Yu might team up to chase and kill you? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Ba Fenghan said, I really hope they would do that. Only under this kind of circumstance would I be able to progress continuously. If I can lure them away, it would also be beneficial for the two of you. And then, looking up, he eximed in low voice, Someones up there! He had not even finished speaking, a shadow shed. Someone somersaulted toward the balcony, and then sneakily entered the room. Li Shimins pair of tiger-eyes was shing brightly, but the tone of his voice remained t; he said, Whether Li Jings aware or not, what does it have to do with us? Kou Zhongughed calmly. He said, I just want to ask Shimin Xiong one thing:st night when Wang Shichong issued the curfew, did the ideae from Shimin Xiong? Li Shimins shoulders and back straightened up slightly, immediately he emitted a powerful, overbearing, yet invisible aura. Laughing aloud, he said, Well guessed. If Xiaodi denied, it would be too uninteresting. Kou Zhongughed involuntarily; shaking his head, he said, Qin Wang is really a good friend. Under the circumstances, we could not escape even if we wanted to. Li Shimin spoke indifferently, How could Kou Zhong be a coward? Since you have the guts to stroke the tigers whiskers, naturally you are not afraid of the tiger! And then he spoke heavily, Why was Ziling Xiong unwilling toe with you to see me? Staring at him coldly, Kou Zhong said, Based on Qin Wangs ability and wisdom, you ought to be able to guess the reason. Li Shimin was silent for half a day. His eyes revealed a hurting look; he sighed and said, Was it because he is unwilling to witness you and I negotiate the breaking of our rtionship and bing enemies instead? Kou Zhongs expression became iparably grim, his eyes shone brightly. Staring hard at Li Shimin, he said, The moment I step out of the door, Qin Wang need not consider us with old affection. The fact is, you have already dealt with us. In this chaotic world, not only friends can be enemies, father and son, older and younger brothers, will inevitably be a foe. Qin Wang ought to have particr experience in this regard. Li Shimin raised his cup and let out a longugh; he said, You have aspiration! Let this king toast Kou Xiong one cup. The moment you step out the door, I will deal with you with all my strength, in no way will I be lenient to you, because you and Ziling Xiong are the persons I, Li Shimin, think most highly of. Kou Zhong raised his cup to return the toast, I wonder if Qin Wang has several hundred of saber and axe masters waiting outside the door to kill me! Li Shimin nearly sprayed his wine out;ughing in spite of himself, he said, You trust me enough toe and see me, how could I treat you with injustice? Ding! The two cups clinked against each other. These two outstanding figures who were destined to dominate the world in spite of the wind and the clouds [i.e. unstable situation], finally separated. Regaining theirposure, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan turned to look. Turned out it was the schrly and distinguished Passionate Prince Hou Xibai. This handsome master shook his Beautiful Women Fan [I have a hard time finding a good English term that will sound elegant, but concise and convey the original Chinese meaning. Any ideas?], with an immensely pleased-with-himself expression on his face. It was in as day that he leaped onto the roof and vaulted over the wall rather than going through the proper way, yet he acted as if he was an honored guest who entered the room via the main door. Eh? Where did Kou Xiong go? Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, Hou Xiong came here this time, I wonder for what purpose? Hou Xibai calmly sat down, looked at the two men, and smiled. These two nights Xiaodi unceasingly tracked the Yin Gui Pai female demon, and have had some good results, he said, I wonder if two gentlemen are interested to know? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Hou Xiong, please speak up. Hou Xibai said, Frankly speaking, I obtained a bit of sess by ident. After Feixuan retreated to Jing Chanyuan [sic], Ive been lingering outside the Dhyana Hall, and identally saw a Yin Gui Pai female demon came to poke her nose around; thereupon I trailed her secretly. Can you guess where she finally went? Ba Fenghan crossly said, And how do you think we should guess? Hou Xibaiughed calmly and said, It is difficult to guess. She went to Rong Fengxiangs mansion house. She came into the inner courtyard and has note out since then. Xu Ziling said, How could Hou Xiong be so sure that she is a Yin Gui Pai female demon? Hou Xibai replied, If she was not Yin Gui Pai people, why would she check Feixuans condition? Moreover, her qinggong is extremely sophisticated; I was nearly unable to keep up with her. What did she look like? Ba Fenghan asked. Hou Xibai replied, Her hood was covering her face, but looking at her figure, I know that not only she is young, she is also a first-ss beauty. Ba Fenghan mused, This man Rong Fengxiang is indeed not simple. He is closely rted to Yang Xuyan, and her daughter Rong Jiaojiao is one of the Luoyang beauties, and now he is sitting on Luoyang Bangs Da Longtou [big boss] throne. He is in the limelight, and for the time being has no equal. Hou Xibai sighed and said, If I met her, I would be able to recognize her in just one nce. Too bad even after waiting outside the Rong Mansion all day, I did note across her at all. Xu Ziling said, Thats easy. The day after tomorrow is Rong Fengxiangs big birthday celebration. At that time, you coulde to the Rong Mansion with the pretext of offering a birthday congrattions [to an elderly person], and try to recognize her. Question is: after you recognize her, and then what? Hou Xibai said, Then we can try to abduct her to extort confession from her mouth. With her skill, her position within Yin Gui Pai cant be low. As long as we know where Wanwan is hiding, we can inflict her some heavy damage, and get rid of this great evil on behalf of Feixuan. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Even if you really have the heart to ruthlessly destroy a flower, it would work only if Wanwan did not have any intention to run away and risking her life to fight with all her might. Or else, even though the four of us join hands to surround her, we still do not have any confidence to hold her down. Moreover, Yin Gui Pai people are secretive; somebody like Wanwan, who is obviously a leader within the Sect, how could she let her subordinate to know where she is? Xu Ziling said, Actually, there is one readily avable female demon, and capturing her is very easy. She is Xiangyang Chengzhu [city master] Qian Duguans beloved concubine Bai Qinger. But we must not touch her, so as to avoid beating the grass to scare the snake, and thus breaking out the trail. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, Looks like you are not too enthusiastic toward Yin Gui Pai! Ba Fenghanughed and said, Yin Gui Pais foundation is very deep, their strength is hard to fathom. Under present circumstances, we can only counter every move. Hou Xiong investigated Yin Gui Pai all over the ce like this, you yourself must be a bit more careful. Zip! Hou Xibai folded up his Beautiful Women Fan, andughed proudly, I really wish they [feminine] woulde to me, he said. And then he added, I have another information that seemingly has nothing to do with this matter; would two gentlemen be interested in knowing? Ba Fenghan said, Hou Xiong, please speak up. Hou Xibai hesitated for half a day before finally saying, I saw Luoyan secretly meeting Wang Bo. Both men were stunned. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Actually, no matter who Luoyan is seeing, I did not n on saying anything. But Wang Bo had announced publicly that he did not want to be drawn into the struggle among the warlords vying for supremacy, yet he had a private meeting with Luoyan for the entire sichen [i.e. 2 hours]. The outside appearance differs from the inner reality, making me really suspicious. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, This information is very useful. How did you find out about it? Hou Xibai said, When I was waiting outside the Rong Mansion, I saw a carriage leaving. Although I could not see whos inside, but from the scent I picked, I knew it was Luoyan. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Your skill in recognizing the scent of a woman is indeed number one under the heavens. Hou Xibai was unwilling to pass on his responsibilities to others; he said, I am afraid it has to be included in the list of amazing skill and consummate art. Anyway, at that time my heart was uneasy; Luoyan saw me, yet why didnt she greet me? Thereupon I tailed her along, and found out about this matter. Wang Bo appeared to be trying to win over Jing Nian Chanyuan, but in my opinion he is harboring unfathomable motives; perhaps it will bring harm to Feixuan? It was only then did the two realize why he was willing to betray her close female friend Shen Luoyans secret. Hou Xibai suddenly stood up and said, I still need to say hello to someone else. Excuse me! The two looked at each other in bewilderment. This handsome man came in a peculiar way, and he left in even more peculiar way. As Kou Zhong was stepping down the stairs, someone called from behind in low voice, Xiao Zhong! Kou Zhong swiftly turned around and looked up, his eyes flickered with cold light, he spoke heavily, You still have the face to see me! Book 16 - 7 – The Heart of a Beauty Book 16 Chapter 7 C The Heart of a Beauty Stunned, Li Jing said, What did I, Li Jing do, that after so many years not seeing each other, and now we barely meet, you already said such thing? Kou Zhong replied in anger, Whatever you do, Sire ought to be well aware. In vain we regarded you as a brother, but in order to curry favor with your Master you betrayed us. Li Jing went two steps down the stairs, and stood face to face with Kou Zhong. His countenance changed, he said, Who do you think I, Li Jing, am? How could I betray brothers and friends for fame and fortune? Tell me clearly. Kou Zhong took two steps back toward the intersection between the stairs and the corridor in order to avoid blocking the way. Turning around to face Li Jing, who was following behind him, he said, Unless you revealed to Li kid about Xiao Ling has a mask, how could Li kid be so certain that we stole the Jade Annulus of He n? Li Jing was slightly startled. He was frowning for half a day; and then he sighed, and said with a wry smile, Just consider that I did mention it! But I really dont understand, what good would stealing the Jade Annulus of He n do to you? Kou Zhong spouted fire, What do you mean just consider that you mentioned it? In Su Jies affair, it was very difficult for us to argue with you, at most we can only say that you did not remember kindness, coveting the new forgetting the old ... Shut up! Li Jing angrily thundered, The more you talk the more excessive you are. Two pretty maids, who happened to walk by, were scared that they promptly quickened their steps, for fear that if the two men fought, it would bring disaster to the fish in the moat. Fortunately the entire Tingliu Pavilion was morous with all kinds of noises shaking the heavens, so that even if the two were shouting and screaming, it would not be particrly noticeable. Li Jing suddenly sighed, his voice turned gentle, It doesnt matter how the two of you misunderstood me, from beginning to end I always regard you and Xiao Ling as my good Xiongdi, all of us have been through life and death friendship. Besides, do you even know the consequences of offending Qin Wang? Kou Zhong also returned to his calm demeanor. Heughed coldly and said, Youd better stop regarding us as Xiongdi, otherwise when your Master want you to deal with us, how are you going to answer him? The time that we are in, there are only friends and enemies. Ay! I seldom got this angry, because all along I have trusted you, but you have made me so disappointed. Li Jing was upset; he said, Can you not being hopelessly muddled in this matter? Right now this matter has reached its most dangerous phase. One wrong step, bloodshed will happen, and it would be very difficult to redeem. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, This matter has begun to be difficult to redeem; are you still so na?ve as to think that youd be able to have us hand over the Jade Annulus of He n to you, and bow before Li kid? You underestimate me, Kou Zhong, too much. Li Jings eyes flickered with cold rays, showing off his dauntless power, as he spoke in heavy voice, I am very clear of Qin Wangs conduct, how he handles affairs decisively. Once he determines that you are his enemy, he will spare no effort in dealing with you. Kou Zhongughed calmly; he said, Apparently I know better about Li kids mind that you do: he is afraid of Li Mi far more than he is afraid of me, Kou Zhong; therefore, one day Li Mi did not copse, he has no interest in dealing with me. Li Jing shook his head, You are wrong, he said, You and Xiao Ling are two figures who are able to make him fear and admire at the same time. Moreover, the way you stole the Jade Annulus of He n exposed your sharp point too much, and thus deepening his misgivings even more, to say nothing of your involvement in the Duke Yang Treasure. Ay! If you are willing to trust me this onest time, leave Luoyang immediately, go back to the south. Perhaps you might enjoy bright sunny days for a few more days. Kou Zhong waited for a group of servants passing by, before speaking in displeasure, What wind and waves I, Kou Zhong, have never been through, that I would need you to remind me? Right now, who doesnt want to take our lives, yet we are still getting by in rxed and happy manners? Li Jing earnestly gave him a well-meaning advice again, Its just because you have not formally fought hand-to-hand against him. Presently Ning Daoqi and Shi Feixuan, these top martial art masters from the orthodox way, have vaguely be his supporters. On top of that, based on the sharpness of his strength, there has been hardly anybody in the world who could oppose him. Furthermore, your own wings have not grown yet. Opposing him openly is no different than throwing your lives away. Why dont you go quicker? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I am going! But I am going back to my room. Sharpen your sword! Next time we meet, we are not Xiongdi anymore. Raising his head high, he walked away. A sweet sounding female voice was heard outside the door, Is Kou Zhong here? Xu and Ba, two men, recognized the voice as belonging to Song Yuzhi. Xu Ziling responded, Kou Zhongs not here, but hell be back soon. San Xiaojie [third miss], pleasee in and have a seat. Because of the questionable way Kou Zhong was using emotion to gain loyalty, Xu Ziling was very scared to face Song Yuzhi. However, in terms of sensibility and courtesy, he simply had to invite her in to sit down. Ba Fenghan rose up to his full height and said, Why dont you and San Xiaojie have a chat? I need to go down to the street to get fresh air. Xu Ziling trembled inwardly, knowing that after careful reflection, Ba Fenghan still determined to intercept Qu Ao on the street. Ba Fenghan pulled open the door, and smiled at Song Yuzhi, who was standing erect outside the door, and nodded to beckon her in. After she gracefully stepped inside, he mumbled his farewell and went away. Responding to Xu Zilings urging, she sat down and spoke awkwardly, Am I disturbing you guys? Xu Ziling sat down across the table from her. After pouring her a cup of fragrant tea he smiled and said, How can that be? We came in toote to wee you. Ba Xiong just have some other important matter, hence he seized the opportunity to slip out! Looking pensive, Song Yuzhi said, Its really surprising that you and Ba Fenghan could be friends, considering he is the kind of person who is extraordinarily cold and detached toward others. And then, after staring at him deeply for quite a while, she said in astonishment, Your changes are more formidable than Kou Zhongs! Xu Ziling was stunned, What changes? he asked. Song Yuzhi said, Its some kind of changes that are hard to describe, not only in outward appearance, there is also personality traits, a kind of ethereal, pure and limpid feeling. The Secret to Long Life is indeed out of the ordinary. Xu Ziling inwardly thought that it ought to be the Secret to Long Life plus the Jade Annulus of He n; but he did not wish to discuss this matter further, thereupon he changed the subject by asking, San Xiaojie seems to be concerned about Kou Zhong? As soon as he said that, he regretted it already. Smiling wryly, Song Yuzhi said, If I denied, I would have said it without meaning it. But please dont misunderstand. To me, you and Kou Zhong do not differ much; perhaps because we have worked together and have spent some time together in the past, or perhaps because I admire your style in doing things, hence I always feel that the two of you are Yuzhis friends, and thus worry about you. Xu Ziling scrutinized her flowery jade countenance. He said, San Xiaojie appears thinner. Song Yuzhis pretty face blushed slightly, but quickly revealed a fleeing sad [orig. hidden bitterness, secret grudge] expression, as she hung her cicada head down and said softly, You ought to know, there is no way I can marry Kou Zhong. This intention has never changed. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, I thought you regarded Kou Zhong with different, unusual perception! Song Yuzhi raised her head to meet his gaze, her pretty eyes shot prating, clear and bright rays, her pretty eyebrows slightly knitted as she said, We have not seen each other for a long time, why do you have such thought? Xu Ziling could not resist replying, After seeing youst night, Kou Zhong returned with spring breeze on his face, hence the reason I had this misconception. Song Yuzhi gazed deeply at him for half a day; finally she shook her head resolutely and said, Not only I have not changed my perception on him, I have not changed my treatment toward him, and I even hate him more than I did. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, You hate him more? Song Yuzhi nodded and said, A woman can be sincere toward a man, or she can be critical and sensitive. Although Kou Zhong is adept in using sweet speech and honeyed words, but from his conduct and action, it is very easy to detect that his mouth does not agree with his heart. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was confused, but he had to admit that he neither understood norprehended the load in a womans heart; therefore, he humbly asked for advice, From which action of his did San Xiaojie find something was not right? Song Yuzhi solemnly replied, I can tell you that, but you must promise not to tell Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling sighed. Very well! he said, I promise. Song Yuzhi took her eyes away from him, she looked pass his shoulder toward empty space outside the balcony, which was surrounded by four multi-story buildings that were as bright as daytime. She spoke emotionlessly, He has never taken the initiative to look for me, even never asked how to find me. If just as he said, he really considered me important, why he had never considered my wish and desires? Just from this point, I know he does not have me in his heart. Xu Ziling was dumbstruck and was unable to reply. But in his heart he was thinking: if from time to time he thought about certain woman, would he want to see her again? The first one floating in his mind was Susus jade countenance, and then Sister-inw Zhen [Book 1 Chapter 2], whose fragrant footprint was unknown. But these memories had nothing to do with the rtionship between a man and a woman. And then their images blurred away, reced by an image that appeared in theke of his heart, Shi Feixuans out-of-the-mundane-world, free-from-vulgarity jade countenance. He could not help being shocked. Could it be that he had fallen in love with her? But then he felt that it was not the case. It was simply because she had given him the most profound, unforgettable impression. Nothing more. Smiling bitterly, Song Yuzhi said, But Yuzhi has to admit that when I am with you guys, I always have exciting and moving feeling. Ay! Time slips by so quickly. Didnt youe here for Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling asked. Song Yuzhis attention returned to his face; slightly angry, she said, Of course not. This time I received Lu Shus [uncle] order; he would like to meet up with you to chat about old affection. I wonder if you are free tomorrow? Xu Ziling remembered the Silver Dragon Song Lu, also remembered his heroic passion and chivalrous style in the past as he refused Yuwen Huajis demand to hand over the three of them, mother and sons. At the same tome he also remembered his flirtatious-to-the-bone, the coquettish and charming young concubine Liu Jing. Could not help feeling delighted, he said, I was thinking of paying my respect to him, the Senior. Its just that because of a lot of things recently, I could not find the time to do so. Also, I dont know whether hed like to see us, hence we did not dare to disturb him! Song Yuzhi said, In that case, how about tomorrow at wu hour [11am-1pm, or simply noon] at House of Dong Restaurant? Well make arrangement for a banquet in one of the VIP rooms. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, As long as we are still alive, we wont miss the appointment. Pfft! Song Yuzhi broke into a giggle; she said, I really dont understand why you guys made enemies everywhere. I hope you wont be like Yang Guang, whom everybody willingly dealt with. This beauty rarely chatted andughed with anybody, her sweet and splendid smiling expression made his eyes light up. Seeing Xu Ziling was staring at her, Song Yuzhis pretty face blushed slightly. She hung her head and said, Perhaps because you are definitely not ordinary people? Every time everybody was so sure that you could not escape cmity, you are always able to lightly and easily weathered the crisis safely. And now even Lu Shu has a whole new level of respect toward you, and has to reevaluate his assessment on you. Seeing her sessively revealed her rarely seen charming attitude, the particrly touching and attractiveness that appeared on this exquisite and energetic beautys body, Xu Ziling could not help feeling tenderness toward her. Do you want me to advise Kou Zhong to dispel his idea of using the Duke Yang Treasure as the betrothal give? he asked in tender voice. Song Yuzhis tender body slightly shook. After pondering quietly for half a day, she spoke in mosquito-like small voice, I dont know. I really dont know. Right now, all Yuzhis mind and strength are on this matter. If I dont, I will feel lonely and lost. Astounded, Xu Ziling said, Does San Xiaojie know that right now you are falling deeper and deeper into the pitfall and its getting more difficult to extricate yourself? Song Yuzhi reverted to her calm demeanor; she shook her head and spoke with determination, I dont think so. But there wille a day I am going to let Kou Zhong know that I, Song Yuzhi, am not going to give in. And I will hate him more and more. He is really too repulsive. Quickly her expression turned bitter, as if she was trapped and angry. She said, Outsiders dont understand the many rules in our family. Based on Dies feeling and character, there is no way he would lightly give Yuzhi away in marriage to a man not of his own choosing. Kou Zhong thought he could use the Duke Yang Treasure to impress him, he is just being carried away by his own wishful thinking! Once again Xu Ziling had to admit to himself that he did not understand women at all; he was left speechless. Song Yuzhi rose up gracefully and said with a smile, You must be thinking that Yuzhi is self-contradictory, but this is the truth. Ay! You and Kou Zhong are so different; do you have a woman you are admiring? Xu Ziling promptly got up from his seat. With the pretense of sending her off, he pulled the door open for her, and only then did he haltingly say, My feeling about man-woman passion is very gging; very seldom have I ever thought about this matter. Song Yuzhi cast him a sidelong nce and said, If Xu Ziling stays single and not married, I am afraid a lot of women will be disappointed! Amidst a burst of fragrant breeze, she walked away. Xu Ziling thought for a moment, and then immediately followed her lead by walking out the door. Ba Fenghan stood in the middle of the imperial road of the main street. A powerful, matchless confidence and heroic emotion, strong aura welled up in his heart. All doubts had been cast away outside his mind. After years of hard training, forging ahead vigorously and striving for advancement, he has matured from among the horse thieves, a no-name minion, into outstanding swordsman who turned up his nose to the present age. If he could defeat Qu Ao, he would be able to achieve his dream, to be the worthy opponent to Bi Xuan, which he seek but fail to get. Perhaps nobody understood the reason these past dozen of years Qu Ao nearly abandoned himself to despair, and engrossed himself in the influence of beauty. Only he had the full grasp of the shift in Qu Aos mind. Because one howling-wind-and-torrential-rain night about ten years ago, in a secret decisive battle against Bi Xuan, Qu Ao failed and was wiped over the floor. Since then his confidence stumbled and he was unable to rise. From that moment on, Qu Ao no longer without ws. It was Ba Daier who told him that. Qu Aos defeat has also driven him to change his n and turn his attention to the Central ins. He even sent his son to infiltrate the Han soil, taking advantage of the corrupt Sui government, and taking alias to masquerade as a Han. With the help of Yin Gui Pai, he established the Tieqi Hui, which ran amuck in the south [see Book 7 Chapter 3]. This scheme, which originally appeared to be a perfect alien [lit. different tribe] invasion, was destroyed by Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. It also caught Yin Gui Pai in chaotic situation where they had no room to advance or to retreat. Hence Qu Ao inevitably suffered setback and shocks. To kill Qu Ao, this was one in a thousand-year chance. Ba Fenghan had a deep hatred toward the Tiele people. His people and his homnd were massacred and burned by the invading Tiele main forces until practically nothing left. It has also reduced him to be a horse thief, which was eventually hunted down for a thousand li, encircled, and annihted by the Tujue military force under Tulis leadership, until only he, one person, managed to kill his way out of the siege by relying on his overbearing skill. At that time he was already very famous among the Tujues, and has be a thorn in the flesh of those in power in Tujue. Even Bi Xuan also sent his chief disciple to deal with him, which ended up getting killed, and thus tying an unresolvable vendetta. He has never sumbed to the brutal authority. And he always regarded Bi Xuan and Qu Ao, who killed people like scything x, to be the highest authority representing Tujue and Tiele, two major tribes military forces. The sound of hoof beats rumbled over. Like a whirlwind a dozen or so riders appeared from a street corner and galloped toward his back. The chou hour has arrived! Turning a blind eye toward every beautiful courtesan and pretty maid who came across him, Kou Zhong walked straight down the stairs, intending to inform Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan at the earliest opportunity about his ruptured rtionship with Li Shimin. Suddenly he came face to face with someone. The other partyughed aloud and said, I was just looking for Kou Xiong, by lucky coincidence I bump into you here. Surprisingly it was the heroic, grand and imposing Song Jingang. Kou Zhong was ashamed inwardly, recalling that he was supposed to look for him, but he hadpletely forgotten about it. Laughing embarrassedly, he said, Im really sorry, due to other things upying my mind right now, can we arrange another time to have detailed discussion? Song Jingang smiled and said, I was having the same thought. Did Kou Xiongs meeting with Qin Wang just now did not end in a happy note? Taken aback, Kou Zhong said, You really have eyes that seem to see everything; it looks like you are always hanging behind my back. Kou Xiong please do not misunderstand, Song Jingang said, Its just that my subordinate saw Kou Xiong and Hong Funu walking together toward Qin Wangs wing. And now I see Kou Xiong walking down in rage, so I brazenly made spection. Kou Xiong please do not take offense. Kou Zhong was relieved. Just after taking his leave after making another appointment on the time and ce to meetter, he came across Xu Ziling. Surprised, he said, Did Cuier send all Three Flowers of Man Qing swarming into the room at once that you, Xiao Ling, could not endure it and thus slip out of the room? Xu Ziling kept walking in a hurry, Stop talking nonsense, he said, Ol Ba may have already fought with old man Qu! Kou Zhong sucked a mouthful of cold air, and quickly followed behind Xu Ziling, leaving the moring Tingliu Pavilion, hurrying toward the main gate. Book 16 - 8 – The Battle of Imperial Road Book 16 Chapter 8 C The Battle of Imperial Road Like a whirlwind Ba Fenghan turned around; his back straightened, his shoulders squared, immediately he exuded a powerful momentum of one man standing in the middle of the road, ten-thousand army cannot breakthrough, directed toward the enemy riders in the distance. The dozen or so riders, who were now galloping straight toward him, immediately pulled their reins. Although Tiele people were experts in fighting on horseback, but in front of a martial art master like Ba Fenghan, who had been waiting with stored momentum, nobody dared to fright with him from the horseback. As one after another they spread out, Ba Fenghans imposing manner soared even higher. With a low shout he strode forward. The iing riders were a group of Tiele elite fighters headed by Qu Ao, including his three disciples: Changshu Mou, Hua Lingzi and Genggehuer. Ba Fenghan blocking their way was totally beyond their expectation. In fact, Ba Fenghans narrow escape in a situation where escaping was more difficult than ascending the heavens just now has dealt a severe blow to Qu Aos confidence; hence the reason he had to find a quiet ce to meditate for a moment before he had the courage to meet his appointment with Fu Qian. Yet Ba Fenghan unexpectedly chose this moment to intercept him, alone. Anybody would be amazed and baffled,pletely failed to understand, Ba Fenghans self-confidence and valiant action. Merely in term of imposing manner alone Ba Fenghan had already seized the initiative. One after another the horses withdrew about a hundred paces or so, while the riders dismounted, filling the street with their whinnying sound. Qu Ao really wish he could look around to see any trace of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, to guard against these two boysunching sneak attack from the side, but he really could not take his eyes off of the enemy pressing down on him, for fear that any distraction would result in total defeat. Whether he was willing to admit or not, Ba Fenghan has be an adversary that was on par with him. Qu Ao flew down from his mount, and shouted in low voice, Take the horse away! Hold your troops! Changshu Mou, who was standing behind him, asked in consternation, Why would Shizun [venerable master] pay attention to him? Just let us take care of him! This moment Ba Fenghan was only about fifty paces away, his momentum was increasing without letup, his burning eyes were fixed on Qu Ao. Qu Ao sighed inwardly. Although Changshu Mou has received his authentic teaching and had risen to the rank of first ss martial art masters, but all along he could not match Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, these young martial art masters with overflowing talent; hence he failed to see the subtleties of this matter. If Qu Ao refused to fight, an impossible-to-get-rid-of shadow would appear in his heart, thus would hamper his confidence in the uing duel against Fu Qian. The most difficult to endure was that the opponent was blocking his way alone. This kind overbearing, domineering prowess would even bring about an indelible impression in his heart. The next time they met, psychologically he has already lost one step. Especially worrisome was that as his mind was churning back and forth, if he retreated and the other party advanced, Changshu Mou and the others may not necessarily be able to stop him, and if he decided to make his move then, he would already be in passive position. There was also a deeper level of concern, i.e. if he retreated without a fight, he would appear too cowardice and would lose his poise. It would show clearly that only under the circumstances like on the Tianjin Bridge just now, where he clearly held the superiority, would he dare to fight against him. After considering this matter over and over in his mind, Qu Ao was well aware that he had been forced by Ba Fenghan into a dangerous position where his only option was to take up the challenge. But he was a figure of grand master level, who has encountered any conceivable situation; thereupon he shouted coldly, No need to talk too much! Just watch me ughter this kid. Finished speaking, he threw away all distracting thoughts, focused his attention, and marched toward the enemy. Changshu Mou and the others exchanged nces; they were all able to see the frustration in the others heart. Ba Fenghan was definitely a terrifying character able to strike fear and admiration in the opponents heart. When the two martial art masters were about twenty paces apart from each other, they both stopped and stood still. Ba Fenghans countenance became extremely cold. Throwing his head back, he let out a longugh and said, Qu Ao, you are not worthy to be recognized as the Tiele peoples great master of martial art, since you can only deal with us under the-many-oppressing-the-few situation. With this kind of conduct and scheming, arent you afraid the people all over the world would sneer at you? Qu Aos expression also turned as cold as ice; heughed coldly and said, That day I was alone when I chased to kill the three of you, kids, so whos many and whos a few? It was just to prevent you three kids from escaping to the wilderness, like you usually do, that we had to make a bit of arrangement! Kid, if you cant see that, it would be best if you donte out at all, lest you would be a disgrace to yourself. Ba Fenghan sneered and said, It was because previously you have not figured out our real strength. Did Ol Ba say something wrong? The twobatants conducted a verbal battle simply because in the momentums stalemate, they both realized that the opponent had no w that they could exploit, hence they used words to attack each other, trying to strike down the opponents momentum and confidence. Qu Ao spoke with disdain, Why so much nonsense? Since you have made up your mind to throw away your life, let me grant you your wish. A smile full of confidence appeared on Ba Fenghans face; calmly and indifferently he said, Qu Ao, you dont have enough qualification to be Ol Bas real rival; you can only be a stepping stone for me to challenge Bi Xuan. Go ahead! This remark was even more formidable than any sharp sword; not only did it incite scolding and cursing from Changshu Mou and the others, who were standing some distance away, even Qu Ao was unable to stop his countenance from slightly changing. If Qu Ao had never been defeated by Bi Xuan, he could simply treat this remark as rubbish talk that he need not mind. Too bad the actual fact happened to be the exact opposite; immediately it stirred up the extraordinary shame and humiliation that Qu Ao could never forget as long as he lived. His originally unassable confidence immediately revealed a hairbreadth gap. Qiang! The Beheading Mystery Sword left its sheath. Ba Fenghan had no distraction in his heart; his mind was empty. To his left and back was the Tingliu Pavilion, from where the faint mor could still be heard, behind Qu Ao, Changshu Mou and the others were shouting and swearing, but it was as if he did not hear anything, between the heaven and the earth, there was only he and the formidable opponent in front of his eyes. After his meridians were transformed by the Jade Annulus of He n, his true qi soared;pared to before, its speed and the rate of change was several times faster, giving him an inexhaustible fighting strength and confidence. In Qu Aos eyes, Ba Fenghan seemed to suddenly became tall and mighty. Immediately he was shocked; realizing that it was because of his own confidence faltered, while the opponents momentum increased rapidly that he had this illusion. When two martial art masters were in stalemate, due to their mind and spirit was locked by each other, their senses could also be adversely affected. The sound of the sword being withdrawn was like the echoing beating of the battle drum, reverberating inside his eardrums. Qu Ao knew his situation was bad, quickly he focused his attention, nine changes of coagting truths, in an instant his mind reached its peak condition. His lifelong cultivation could be summed up in three words, seven, eight, and nine, separately representing the three stages of his aplishment. Seven and eight referred to his so-called seven cycles of wild waves and the eight segments of violent tides, two types of innate-generated amazing skill. Ordinary martial art practitioners who were able to apply qi and send out power at able-to-receive-and-send-as-his-heart-desire level could already be considered martial art master. But if they wanted to surpass other people, they must look for the variation within in order to subdue the enemy and gain victory. Yet the way to these changes lies in the cultivation of the acupoints activity in the meridians hub within the body, which cannot be likened to ordinary qi cultivation. When one is able to use the acupoints to control the transmission of true qi from its source, one would begin to reach the first-ss martial art master level. Qu Ao was a talent in martial art study. By the age of twenty-three he already mastered seven acupoints, which prompted him to create the seven cycles of wild waves, but it was ten yearster that he managed to master one more acupoint, i.e. the eight segments of violent tides. Hence the difficulty could be easily imagined. By the age of forty-one, he was able to control all acupoints at will, so he called it nine changes of coagting truth. The nine was not referring to nine acupoints at all, rather, it was because nine was the top number in counting, and it had endless meaning. Only then did his martial art skill reach great sess, which gave birth to his intention to challenge Bi Xuan in a duel. [My apology, all the above is beyond me, I tranted it as best as I can.] Boom! Boom! Boom! Ba Fenghan forged ahead three steps in session. Each step down created a heavy, powerful sound; even the earth seemed to be shaken. If this battle happened before his defeat at the hands of Bi Xuan, Qu Ao would have allowed the opponent to take the initiative to attack, and then when the opponents stored up momentum was at its fullest, the moment his confidence reached the highest peak, with the power of ten-thousand-catty thunder he would make one move to strike the enemy; the opponent would suffer irreparable damage, and forever would not be able to ovee the disheartened feeling to the defeat, and then taking care of the enemy would be as easy as turning his hand. But this moment was unlike the past. Qu Ao no longer had this kind of heroic spirit and confidence. Leaping at an angle, he withdrew a dozen of steps away to evade the sword-brandishing, with sweeping-a-thousand-army appearance, young opponents attack. He wanted to use the nine changes of coagting truth and unleashed it to its greatest potential, coupled with wless Thirteen-Style Eagle Transformation, so that before the opponents momentum climbed into a new peak, he could strike at full power. But the instant Qu Aos feet left the ground to leap, Ba Fenghan suddenly stopped. Already in the air, Qu Aos countenance changed again. Because unexpectedly Ba Fenghan was able to urately predict the moment he would leap, and see through his intention and strategy. It seemed like an impossible thing to do, yet Ba Fenghan was able to aplish. It was only this moment that Qu Ao finally understood why at Tianjin Bridge a moment ago, although Wanwan was giving it everything she had, for the given period of time she was unable to do anything to Ba Fenghan. He also realized that he was making a fatal mistake: underestimating the enemy. The arrow was already on the bow, it had to be released. If he changed move or retreated, he would be caught in a situation where there was no hope of reprieve. Qu Ao flew over Ba Fenghans head. Transformingplexity into simplicity, his right hand wed toward Ba Fenghans head. There seemed to be nothing extraordinary about this w, but the momentum path was concentrated, strong, swift and severe, creating a feeling in his opponents heart that it must not be touched. The most frightening thing was that this one w embodied five different true powers that the fingers could produce: sucking, stabbing, parrying, sealing, and cutting. So unpredictable that it was very difficult to guard against. Ba Fenghans eyes were shing spiritedly. With a longugh the Beheading Mystery Sword followed his footwork sideways, and then shed diagonally up. Five explosions echoed one after another as the sword met the w. With the speed that naked eyes could not see, Qu Aos five fingers sessively pressed down, knocked against, swept, stabbed, and hacked down, in exquisite-and-mysterious-beyond-belief technique, attacking the Beheading Mystery Sword. Be Fenghan let out a stifled grunt and staggered two steps sideways, while Qu Ao borrowed the reaction force to soar two more zhang upwards. Like an eagle he spiraled in the air, in preparation of the second round of attack. On the side, seeing how Ba Fenghans acute spirit was thwarted and he even fell into disadvantageous position, Changshu Mou and the others immediately burst into cheers. Only Qu Ao knew the hardship he was in. He actually started to fear Ba Fenghans brilliant eyesight and the unpredictable [orig. gods and demons could not fathom] changes in his strategy. He was intentionally going all-out, hoping to injure the enemy in one fell swoop, so that the remaining question would be: how much longer can the enemy take the beating? Who would have thought that Ba Fenghans true qi unexpectedly produced five different changes one after another? He did not yield even for one step against Qu Aos nine changes of coagting truth, and before Qu Aos w made contact with the swords de, he was one step ahead in exploiting the retreating momentum to get away, so that Qu Aos follow-up move could not beunched, forcing him to soar halfway into the air, and could not take the advantage of his favorable situation to continue the assault. This w was actually the culmination of Qu Aos lifelong skill and knowledge. Since he failed to injure Ba Fenghan, the blow to his confidence was difficult to estimate. He really could not understand why in just a few days time, Ba Fenghans internal energy and his swordsmanship would advance by leaps and bounds like this. Underneath, Ba Fenghan stood motionless, while immediately circting his true qi, which had been improved dramatically by the Jade Annulus of He n, to neutralize Qu Aos true power invading his body, and quietly waiting for his second round of attacks. Qu Ao suddenly elerated; using the male-eagle-seizing-the-rabbit momentum, he glided down from a height of three zhang in the air. His hands turned into thousands of w shadows, qi power shot out wildly, enveloping an area of about three zhang in diameter on the ground with Ba Fenghan in the middle. None of the spectators did not know that he was using this iparably bold and powerful, formidable move to force the opponent into a position where evading was not an option and he could only meet the attack head on. Although just a moment ago, due to his qigong was boiling Ba Fenghan nearly vomited blood, but because he controlled and transformed it, by this time he had regained his foundation, the true qi within his body climbed into its peak condition again. Thereupon, although he was under the enemys waves of attack, his fighting will was not shaken the least bit. During the Battle of Tianjin Bridge earlier, he was well aware that in term of power, he was still a notch below Qu Ao. Moreover, because the forte of Qu Aos Thirteen-Style Eagle Transformation was in its move changes, his own sword style could not gain too much advantage. Hence the reason he was using clever verbal attack to weaken the opponents momentum and confidence, and raised trepidation in the opponents heart. And now was an extremely good ce to start. If it were someone else, when his bravery diminished a little, he would definitely adopt a defensive position. But Ba Fenghan was not an ordinary person at all. With a cold shout, his feet stepped in profound-mystery footwork, each step was difficult for the opponent to fathom his sword momentum, the Beheading Mystery Sword moved in unimaginable angle, altering between fast and slow indeterminately, he met the w shadow descending upon him from the sky. The sound of the w shing against the sword sounded like the pitter-patter of the rain, sometimes high in intensity, sometimes scattered. In the midst of word shes ring out, cold light bursting out like lightning, Qu Ao, like a agile, unfathomable eagle, disyed all kinds of posture in the air; sometimes like a spiraling eagle pouncing down, sometimes flying at an angle, as if he was absolutely weightless. Watching this, Changshu Mou and the others frowned, because they were well aware that Qu Ao has already given everything he had, he even used up the skill he usually kept at the bottom of his chest. However, Ba Fenghan was still as formidable as a deity. Unexpectedly he sealed and blocked every move, using the internal energy which strength waspletely outside everybodys expectation, without yielding a single cun against Qu Aos swift and severe offensive, which came down like torrential rain or a gale spraying down from the sky. Everybody knew that although Ba Fenghan was caught in passive position, he was not defeated at all; instead, he was waiting for an opportunity to strike back. And if he did, it would be the moment Qu Ao was defeated or even perished. Changshu Mou signaled Genggehuer and Hua Lingzi with his eyes, and took the lead to approach the twobatants engaged in endless bitter fighting. Meanwhile Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had just rushed out the gate; they saw the guards at the door were flocking outside to watch the battle from afar. Eager to try Changshu Mou, who was mobilizing his troops nearby, Xu Ziling signaled Kou Zhong with his eyes. Thetter understood his intention, and cried out in loud voice, Ba Fenghan and Qu Ao are here in decisive battle, dont miss this treat for the eyes! His voice traveled far away; not only it echoed along the street, it also reverberated around the Tingliu Pavilion. Bang! Qu Ao gave everything he had, eventually he broke through Ba Fenghans tight sword, looked like he was about to p the opponents face and end the fierce battle. But Ba Fenghan parried the attack with full-powered left hand palm strike. Ba Fenghans body, from head to toe, shook. The gstone under his feet shattered. And he spurted a bit of blood. Qu Ao was also jolted by the impact that he rose up halfway into the air. Although his attack managed to injure the opponent, in his heart he did not have the slightest bit ofcency. Ba Fenghans most terrifying strength was his seemingly inexhaustible potential. The longer they fought, the more dauntless he was, while a prolonged battle would only bring harm to him without any benefit. Ba Fenghans internal qi cycled on, his internal injury has healed for the most part, and he immediatelyunched a counterattack. But Qu Ao was worthy to be regarded as the number one grand master of martial art study among the Tiele people. Under Qu Aos seemingly endless fierce offensive, it was only now did Ba Fenghan finally find the opportunity to strike back. Sword rays suddenly vanished. Following his sword, Ba Fenghans body suddenly turned into a strike of lightning, shooting toward Qu Ao, who was still soaring in the air. The sound of fluttering sleeves came from the direction of Man Qing Yuan; some were rushing out of the main gate, some were leaping over the wall. The first dozen or so to arrive happened to see Ba Fenghans sword strike, which could be rated as seizing-the-heaven-and-the-earth natural skill. Qu Ao has never imagined that after receiving injury, Ba Fenghan was still able to carry out this rming-the-heaven-moving-the-earth formidable sword move. Knowing that the turn of events was far from good, he had no choice but to abruptly raise a mouthful of true power, pressing down his surging-endlessly blood and qi, and pounce down with all his strength. Bang! The sound of qi power shing resounded far and near. Like a kite with cut string, Ba Fenghan flew at an angle andnded on the ground, staggered a bit, and then stood steadily like a mountain. Qu Ao circled in the air, flew toward his own troops, and slowlynded on the ground. Ring! The Beheading Mystery Sword returned to its sheath. Hearing the sound, Qu Aos body shook. His eyes emitted vicious and stern expression as he stared at Ba Fenghan, who was standing five zhang away from him. The two men looked at each other with defiant expression on their faces. By this time most people have reached the street. The crow and peacock made no sound, quietly waiting for the oue. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling dashed toward Ba Fenghans left and right. Qu Aos body suddenly shook violently again, the color of blood receded from his face. Like a ripple of the wave, the spectators gasped in surprise. Now everybody knew that Qu Ao has lost, but nobody knew which part of his body was wounded. But the answer came instantly, because fresh blood started to seep out of Qu Aos left nk. Qu Ao did not seal his acupoint to stop the bleeding. After casting a nce toward his three disciples and his men, whose faces have be deathly grey, he looked up to heaven and sighed. Young and strong rising hero, Ol Qu admires you very much. Now I will immediately return to Tiele, for the rest of my life I will not set foot on Central ins anymore. This oath was tantamount to announce publicly that he personally withdrew from all the dispute in the Central ins. It was a genius maneuver that came out of Qu Aos superior experience. This way, those who had deep hatred toward Tiele people like Fu Qian and the others would also be hindered by Jianghu rules; they must not openly pursue and attack them. Finished speaking, Qu Ao leaped onto his horse, and leading his men, they were gone like a whirlwind. Ba Fenghan, three men, were about to leave when from among the spectators, someone let out a longugh and said, How could Ba Xiong avoid problem by walking away from it like this without the slightest bit of exnation? Book 16 - 9 – Unfinished Aftermath Book 16 Chapter 9 C Unfinished Aftermath The tree turned their gaze toward the direction of the voice, and saw Fu Qian walked like a dragon stepped like a tiger out of the crowd, toward the middle of the imperial road, looking at the three with a smile on his face, carrying with him a whiff of not anger, but prowess, and the momentum pressing down on other people. There were several hundred people crowding along the pedestrianne, all their eyes were focused on him. Nobody was unaware that he was the real actor on the duel with Qu Ao that was supposed to happen tonight, but now Ba Fenghan had stuck his head into his business and crossed his path, and taken the first taste of the broth. This was hard for anybody to swallow; therefore, everybody was guessing that a good drama has yet toe. Kou Zhong took a quick nce, and saw Tuli mingling among the crowd watching the battle. Laughing aloud, he said, Fu Xiong must not get angry over this matter. Its all because earlier old man Qu joined hands with others on the Tianjin Bridge to surround and attack us; hence we came to return a big propriety to him. Tuli Khan can be our witness in this, because he also took part in the afore-mentioned battle. After a short pause, he went on, Much less we have already asked your honorable subordinate Xing Xiong to inform you on our behalf. Its just as time is pressing, we did not have time to wait for Fu Xiongs reply! These remarks were enough to give Fu Qian some face, giving him enough reason to step out of an awkward situation. Kou Zhong was certainly an expert in eloquence, and he seized that opportunity to deride Tuli. Tulis eyes glittered like frost and snow, and yet he felt a bit not to know whether tough or cry. Taking two steps forward, with heroism reaching to the clouds, he tapped the Crouching Eagle Spear on his back, and said with a coldugh, As soon as Kou Xiong brought up the former matter, immediately it jogged up my memory. Its a pity that at that time before I had time to fight hand to hand with Kou Xiong, Kou Xiong has already slipped away. And now the bright moon is up in the sky, this is an auspicious time, how could I miss it? It would be best if I am asking advice of Kou Xiongs marvelous beyond measure saber technique! All of a sudden Tuli took the matter upon himself, taking up the initiative to issue the challenge. The road circled about, the peak revolved, immediately he stirred up a burst of murmur among the crowd. Most spectators did not know who he was; one after another they asked somebody next to them, so that momentarily the noise and the excitement filled the air. Wait a moment! Fu Qian shouted. He did not shout loudly, but his voice rose above the mor of several hundred people talking together, shaking them severely that their eardrums were buzzing. Immediately the street became as if crow and peacock made no sound. Tuli turned his gaze toward Fu Qian in displeasure; frowning, he said, Wangzi [king/prince] has an advice? Fu Qian let out a peal ofughter, his eyes shed spirited light; ignoring Tuli, he cupped his fist toward Kou Zhong, three men, and said, Three gentlemen misunderstood. Just now Ol Fu just want to invite gentlemen back to Man Qing Yuan for a drink to congratte you on your victory. I have no other intention. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; they did not expect him to be this friendly, hence they felt a bit lost instead. Ba Fenghan was still standing quietly like a mountain, secretly circting his breathing. Just now his victory carried grave danger, the internal injury he suffered was not light either. Therefore, he had to seize every moment to strive for healing. Xu Ziling whispered to Kou Zhong, I do not see Li Shimin and his men. Kou Zhong was very surprised inwardly, because ording to reason, Li Shimin should miss this battle. Unless the moment Qu Ao swallowed his hatred and retreated, he also quietly withdrew. Since at that time everybodys attention was focused on Ba Fenghan and Qu Ao, nobody took notice if there was anybody else leaving the arena. By doing this, Li Shimin must have his reasons. If it happened before their fallout, Kou Zhong would not be this worried. But now he simply had to advance gradually and entrench himself at every step. Plus Li Jings warning was still ringing in his ears; he cannot be careless. On the other side, Tuli noticed that after Xu Ziling whispered in his ear, Kou Zhong appeared to be deep in thought, while his eyes scanned the crowd. Obviously what they were talking about had nothing to do with him. Facing such contempt, naturally he could not help feeling enraged, while in his heart he shivered in fear. If it were someone else being singled out and challenged by him like that, if that person was not scared to death, he would definitely be in full alert; how could there be people like these two, who still gave attention to other things? It was thus clear that both their guts and their capability were not something that ordinary martial art masters could match. But this moment he already rode a tiger and could not get off. Thereupon he passed through the trees separating the imperial road and the pedestrianne, toward the middle of the imperial road to face the three and issue his challenge again, Whatever Fu Xiongs original intention was, it has nothing to do with me. Kou Zhong, if you are willing to kowtow and admit defeat, Ill let you go with Fu Xiong to drink and chat. How about that? Kou Zhong acted as if he had just realized what Tuli was talking about. Beaming into big smile, he said, Turns out you, Khan, love to crack jokes so much. You are willing to drop by, this is something that I seek but fail to get. Even if you immediately kneel down to admit your error and beg for forgiveness, I will never let you off. Finished speaking, he stepped forward inrge strides, pressing on toward Tuli. He has not even made his move, a burst of biting cold murderous spirit already rushed forth toward Tuli, so that even with his ferocious, heroic and superior character, he had no choice but to immediately draw his Crouching Eagle Spear and strike a waiting posture. Hundreds of people crowding the pedestrianne craned their necks in anticipation; the mor died down. Kou Zhongs feature that left the deepest impression in other peoples mind was his heroic and bravery, which appeared to be natural, his spontaneity and unconcerned character, which already brought about some kind of insufferably-arrogant momentum. Tuli, who issued the challenge, appeared to be passive instead. Tulis challenge was exactly what Kou Zhong has been looking for. Under different circumstances, because Tuli had arge number of Tujue martial art masters apanying him, killing him would be easier said than done. But now, as required by Jianghu rules about impartial duel, if Tuli wanted to save his life, he could only look at how much weight he carried in his own hands. Ba Fenghans departure was at hand. If Kou Zhong was able to exterminate this person, it would be greatly advantageous to this old friends future. Under the eyes of several hundred spectators, about three zhang away from Tuli, Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well, his strong wrist shook, immediately yellow glow red out and shot toward the enemy. Cold and powerful saber qi pervaded the air of the imperial road. Although Tuli has seen with his own eyes how Kou Zhong killed and injured his men, and he had quite an idea of the foundation of his strength, he did not expect Kou Zhong would start the offensive while he was still three zhang away. His thought was actually in ordance with theory. When martial art masters were in a face-off, oftentimes they were able to differentiate the opponents depth from this kind of crucial point, thereby they could decide the best way to deal with it. Tulis original estimation was that if Kou Zhong wanted to maintain the initiative and continuation of the flow of his power, he should pull the saber from two-zhang distance and start the offensive. This way his momentum would not weaken midway, while at the same time he would be able to unleash the strongest attack potential. This assessment was based on the opponents speed, steps, and momentum. For a martial art master of Tulis caliber, as soon as the opponent took the first few steps, he ought to be able to grasp how the opponent wouldunch the offensive first, precisely, with no error in judgment. But this time he was clearly wrong. Tuli cried inwardly, Not good! while took a step forward simultaneously, to regain the lost initiative momentum due to his incorrect estimation. Kou Zhongs long saber streaked across the empty air, with sweeping-a-thousand-army astonishing aggressiveness, with no fancy move at all, hacking down on Tuli, brimming with fluidity that came from his total-control and that resembled nature itself. His pair of big eagle or falcon-like eyes was fixed on the opponent, not missing the tiniest movement of the opponent. He even knew the movement of the opponents muscle under his clothes as it transmitted power like the back of his hand. He was looking for the escaping one that Lu Miaozi was talking about, which was the key trick he needed to control the enemy and score a victory. Since obtaining the extraordinary power of the Jade Annulus of He n, he knew that his power had advanced by leaps and bounds, but he did not know to which stage he would be able to push the boundary. Now the fact wasid out in front of him. Qu Aos defeat at Ba Fenghans hands has boosted Kou Zhongs morale; it was indeed no small matter. While wishing to find someone to test his saber skill, unexpectedly Tuli was surrendering himself voluntarily. In such state of mind and given circumstances, both Kou Zhongs confidence and momentum had climbed to the highest height. In an instant the two had closed the short distance where their short weapons coulde into contact with each other. Tuli met the saber qiing with the pouncing opponent head-on, brandishing his spear in sweeping motion. His grasp of the moment was exquisite and urate. If Kou Zhong did not change his move, he would be swept by the spear. Unless both sides power differed substantially, the Moon in the Well would be knocked over by the spear; Kou Zhong was revealing too much of empty gate tactic. Unexpectedly, Kou Zhong did not change his move. Just as the short spear, which was only four chi long, which handle was cast in the shape of a bald eagle, was about a cun away from sweeping the treasured saber, the Moon in the Well suddenly changed. Not only it did not continue hacking down, it poked slightly upwards, just enough to evade the Crouching Eagle Spears sweep. Simultaneously Kou Zhong altered his movement from charging forward to traversing across. This movement was fundamentally impossible. It represented the transformation of true qi within Kou Zhongs body, which must be identical to the changes and speed of his saber technique and momentum of his step. Tulis Crouching Eagle Spear technique was created based on the natural way of yin and yang, what is true and what is false. Under this nasty situation, it exhibited its real strength. Although startled, he did not get confused. The tip of the Crouching Eagle Spear swept about three cun below the saber, and then just before Kou Zhong retracted his saber and chopped down again from a different angle, he suddenly retreated swiftly. This retreat was a test of his skill. The tip of the spear produced Chi! Chi! noise, fantastically it turned into countless spear shadow, which was difficult to differentiate what is true and what is false, so that it was very difficult for the opponent to pursue and attack. Although there was nock of martial art masters among the crowd, none did not gasp in amazement. Even more at Kou Zhong, who was able to exploit a tiny change to force the opponent to withdraw in surprise. Kou Zhongs eyebrows rose up, amidst the longughter and momentum like a rainbow he swung his saber so fast that no one could see it clearly. Dang! Ear-splitting sh. As if it was a divine object able to get rid of any illusion, the Moon in the Well hacked into the spear shadow, and instantly Tulis Crouching Eagle Spear materialized back into a tangible object, forcing him to meet the saber head-on. It was only this moment that Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, who were watching the battle from behind Kou Zhong, felt relieved, knowing that after undergoing repeated fierce battle these past few days, Kou Zhongs saber technique has finally achieved great sess and reached the following-his-hearts-desires level. Otherwise, he could not possibly unleash this kind of saber technique. From among the crowd, some were secretly apprehensive for Kou Zhongs enemy, while having new regard toward him. Seeing Kou Zhongs saber technique, which was as if he was receiving Gods help, Song Yuzhi, who was standing quietly among the Song Familys martial art masters, under the leadership of Song Lu, could not help feeling dazzled and stunned as well, which she found it difficult to admit to herself. Although Tuli felt his arm went numb from Kou Zhongs chop with spiraling powerful qi, he was, by nature, valiant. On the contrary, he was excited to give it everything he had. Laughing aloud, he said, Good saber! Spear momentum suddenly rose up in violent counterattack, the Crouching Eagle Spear moved like huge waves of the angry sea, as it stormed toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong heard the whizzing of the spear in his ears, while his skin felt each one of the cyclones, which felt like cutting his body and inducing pain, brought by the Crouching Eagle Spear, and his eyes saw spear shadow everywhere. In his heart he was delighted. While he was about to press on to go all-out and try to take care the opponent as quickly as possible, the spear shadow in front of him suddenly vanished, but the tip of the Crouching Eagle Spear remained in the shape of a dot of cold light, shooting swiftly toward his throat. Such an exquisite beyondpare spear technique, from void became solid, it was the first time that Kou Zhong had ever seen. Ding! Without thinking, actually, he did not have time to think, Kou Zhong chopped his saber onto the tip of the spear. Powerful qi as sharp as arrow followed the spear. Kou Zhong swiftly moved back. Tuli did not seem to have the intention to continue; he pulled his spear back. On one side a cold saber was held across, on the other side a spear pointed to the opponent at a distance, they both stood still facing each other. Ba Fenghan whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Tulis heart grew timid. In his usual style, unless theres some other purpose, he would not concede and hold his hands like this. The entire street was so quiet that a falling needle would be heard, even the sound of breathing was temporarily quieted down. Although for the time the twobatants were separated, but there was still tension in the air, they were both poised for battle, four eyes stared at each other in grave atmosphere, enough to fill the hearts of the people with chill and trepidation. Tulis left hand left the body of the spear and went to his back. Laughing, he said, Thanks for the experience. Central ins indeed have upper-ss martial art masters, and you, Kou Zhong, definitely have your name on the list. Although he was praising the opponent, but naturally he also held up his own dignity and status; besides, based on his capability and exquisite spear technique, he managed to end the duel in a draw, hence no one would think that he was a coward. Only Ba Fenghan, who was very familiar with his style, could see through his heart. Naturally Kou Zhong also knew that he wanted to stop and step down the stage, but he really did not have any misgivings. Whether he would be able to kill Tuli, it remained unclear. Even if he could aplish it, he would at least be wounded as well. And Ba Fenghans situation now was like Li Mis victory over Yuwen Huaji, i.e. it was a costly victory. Therefore, he must preserve his own strength; it was a matter of paramount importance. What he was afraid of right now was to lose sight of Li Shimin. Qiang! Kou Zhong returned the saber to its scabbard; cupping his fist, he said, Khan is indeed an outstanding hero; Kou Zhong admires you. When you have time some day, we can drink wine and learn from one another. By saying that, it could be said that he was giving Tuli a lot of face; it also showed Kou Zhongs mind and his elegance. Tuli could not help having a favorable impression toward him. Actually, he never had any desire to have Kou Zhong as his enemy; it was only because of Ba Fenghans affair that he had to take the stand as his opponent. Returning the spear onto his back, he saluted and said, If theres opportunity, I certainly will take Kou Xiongs offer! Turning to his men, he said, Lets get out of here! Fu Qian followed Tuli and his men with his eyes until they were far away, and then he spoke in a loud and clear voice, Let tonights matter stop at this point, thank you very much friends of all roads for giving us the face for this meeting. Finished speaking, he stepped into the imperial road and came over toward Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan. Just now Xiaodi was really ignorance; I forgot that Ba Xiong needs to have a good rest. Xiaodi takes my leave now! Without waiting for an answer, he smiled and walked away. Confronted with this enigmatic figure, the three could not stop the chill from creeping into their heart. The three walked slowly along a side street, waiting for theing of the dawn. Kou Zhong was concerned over Ba Fenghans condition, How are you feeling? he asked. Ba Fenghan smiled, Much better! he replied, But this kind of injury cannot be healed in such a short time. Changing the subject, he said, Your Yu Yi has been brought safely out of town; Princess may take them all the way to the ocean, and then make arrangement for an ocean-going ship to take them north to Gaoli. This way, not only will it lessen the hardship of the trip, it will also greatly shorten the traveling time. Delighted, Kou Zhong let out a whistle. But then he frowned and said, Are you going to wait until you are fully recovered before leaving? Ba Fenghan shook his head resolutely and said, If I dont leave now, what am I waiting for? If I stay, I would be a burden to you. I am slipping alone will be most convenient. Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt that they had nothing to say. Even for people like Tuli or Tuoba Yu, for them to overtake the deliberately-escaping-far-away Ba Fenghan would be easier said than done. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, As soon as the gate opens in the morning, well apany you out of town wearing the masks. Well give you two of those. This way I guarantee you can safely return to outside the Great Wall. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan cried out, Wonderful! at the same time. The former even acted as if he was relieved from a burden, Now I really feel relieved! Ay! But I really hate to let you, this old kid, go away. Ba Fenghanughed calmly and said, Separated in life and death, joys and sorrows, life is just like this. Besides, there might be a day we can see each other again. When that dayes, we will have a special feeling. Dejectedly Kou Zhong said, Its easy for you to say; right now you are gone, a littleter it will be Xiao Lings turn. Friends withered and fallen, there is no meaning in life anymore. Knowing his character, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were nearly howling inughter. Kou Zhong himself burst inughter; heroically and passionately, yet nonchntly, he said, I havent officially told you: Li kid and I finally have a falling out! Xu Ziling sighed and said, Without you telling me, I already guessed this would be the inevitable oue. His eyes shing, Kou Zhong said, One more thing: Li Jing has personally admitted that he betrayed us. Xu Zilings handsome face fell, but he did not make any sound. The three mens footsteps echoed faintly on the moonlit street. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, Although I saw him only twice, but I feel that he is not that kind of person. Kou Zhong hatefully said, Appearance is often unreliable. Take you, Ol Ba, for example. You look callous; who would have thought that you are actually a very passionate man? Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, Starting tomorrow, I am going to throw away all emotion from the secr world that can influence my mind, and will focus on the way of the sword. I am going to go back to my true identity. Stifling hisughter, Kou Zhong said, Be careful, if Ba Daier overtook you, you might go back from a heartless warrior to your true character, and then youll make the two of usugh off our teeth. Ba Fenghanughed calmly; instead of replying, he said, You must be careful of Li Shimin. Other than he himself possesses superior martial art skill, none of Yang Xuyan, Hong Funu, Li Jing, Li Shentong, Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, and the others, are not a martial art master who can assume personal responsibility. Their strength is not inferior to Yin Gui Pai. The three turned left toward the main street leading to the south city gate. I am not afraid of them, Kou Zhong said, I am more afraid of after Shi Feixuan is recovered from her injury, how is she going to deal with us? One-on-one, none of us is her match. The most frightening thing is that even though she is just one person, we really dont want to join hands to deal with a beauty like her, a Bodhisattva descending into the mortal world. Tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, She will only be looking for me to settle the ount; just let me deal with her. Kou Zhong dramatically rushed ahead of Xu Ziling, and then while walking backward to face him, he said, Ha! Xiao Ling finally found someone he admires wholeheartedly! Otherwise, how could he take care of this matter all by himself and not others get involved in it? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Why are you always thinking about everything from women and love affair aspect? The fact is that in this matter, you and Fenghan Xiong are very simr; its just that you have different goals! It was only after having a good talk with Song Yuzhi that he wanted to tell him that. Kou Zhong immediately stopped. Luckily, by this time they already reached the Yi Rivers north bank. The moon hanging low on the western horizon shed its light on the buildings along the riverbank, casting their shadow onto the slow moving water of the river, creating another parallel world of shadows, so beautiful like an unreal dream world. An arch bridge spanned across the Yi River. Under the bridge more than a dozen small boats were moored along the bank. The stream softlypped the boats hull and the foot of the bridge, producing gentle and clear rustling noise. Wed better sit on the bridge, Kou Zhong proposed, When the morninges, well send Ol Ba off, then our friendships will not be in vain. Ba Fenghan looked up to the sky, breathing out a long sigh, he said, We ought to have more than half a sichen yet! Book 16 - 10 – Reluctant Parting Book 16 Chapter 10 C Reluctant Parting The three stood side by side on the bridge, looking towards the east, the winding river extended as far as their eyes could see. The bright night sky, under the moon and the stars, illuminated row after row of buildings on both sides of the river, brimming with richyers of serene beauty, as picturesque as a dream. Not wishing to disturb the residents of the nearby buildings, who were still in deep slumber, Ba Fenghan spoke in low voice, Kou Zhong, arent you underestimating the enemy too much? Howe you dont seem to take Li Shimin seriously? In my opinion, among the warlords vying for supremacy, both in terms of personality and the strength they possess, he is second only to Li Mi before his battle against Yuwen Huaji; perhaps he is even better than that. Xu Ziling nodded, I had never heard Li Shimin suffers defeat, he said. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, The so-called sending down the troops, dispatching bravery, based on my currently weak strength, I would be a fool to shake him openly. Ba Fenghan and Xu Zilling immediately burst intoughter. Cursing and swearing, the former said, Go to your Niang! Sending down the troops, dispatching bravery. Others are sending up the troops, dispatching a scheme, you insist on turning it upside down, so that it bes out of ce. If the troops are not brave, they would be defeated without any battle. Kou Zhongughed together with the other two. Half a dayter, he said in low voice, Li kid basically does not have time to deal with me. How could you say that? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong replied, The self-proimed Hegemon of Western Qin Xue Ju and his superb martial art master son Xue Renguo are secretly striking their gongs and beating their drums in preparation to attack to the east toward ChangAn; and Liu Wuzhou might take this opportunity to attack Taiyuan, to rattle his Li Familys foundation. Under these circumstances, how could that Li kid still have time to worry about me? Emotionally moved, Ba Fenghan said, These troops and horses from two different roads are difficult to ward off. I hear among Xue Jus subordinates there is one great general by the name of Zong Luohou, with unmatched heroism and bravery, expert in using Guan saber [I believe it refers to Guan Yu from the Three Kingdoms]; very formidable. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Zhong Shao can y his abacus any way he wants, but unfortunately nobody knew when it would happen. That guy Li Shimin still has plenty of time to try to kill us first. With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, You can try to guess: when that Li kid slipped away just now, where do you think he was going? The two were stumped by him; they were unable to respond. High-spirited, Kou Zhong said, He went to see Wang Shichong. The two nodded in agreement, and could not help admiring him for his outstanding ability and wisdom. Kou Zhong exined, Good or bad, currently I can be considered a man from Wang Shichongs camp. Li kid wanted to remove me, he simply has to call out to Wang Shichong, to sound out what he thinks about it. Last time Wang Shichong agreed to put the city under curfew, simply because he did not expect he would be drawn into the dispute involving the Jade Annulus of He n; he wanted to dere his innocence, but also because he did not believe that in the Jade Annulus of He ns matter, before the water recedes, the rocks appear, Shi Feixuan would kill me. Ba Fenghan said, Since Wang Shichong is an old fox, he might already see through your wild ambition. Maybe he is using Li Shimin to eliminate you. Smiling, Kou Zhong said, If you had spoken those words yesterday, I really did not dare to contradict you. But after giving it a lot of thoughts, I know that Wang Shichong already weighed the pros and cons, and he wont dare to touch me before Li Mi is defeated. Right now he still needs to protect me! Puzzled, Ba Fenghan asked, How could you have such confidence? Pleased, Kou Zhong replied, First of all, because of Zhai Jiao. Currently I am the middleman, only through me would Wang Shichong obtain valuable intelligence on Li Mis main force, from Zhai Rangs old unit who are still loyal to him. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, This is enough reason for Wang Shichong to treat you like pearl or jewel, which he has to protect with great care. And whats the other reason? Kou Zhong replied, The day after tomorrow is Rong Fengxiangs birthday feast. Wang Shichong will attend. This will give Shen Luoyan an opportunity to assassinate him. Since Wang Shichong is a man who cherishes his life, without me, the chief imperial strategic adviser and ultimate martial art master, by his side giving him direction, he would not dare to tread into this pulling-a-snake-from-its-hole dangerous scheme. Sighing in admiration, Be Fenghan said, It is indeed dispatching bravery and dispatching a scheme. Whoever underestimate you, Kou Zhong, will one day regret it. Remaining tranquil and calm, Kou Zhong said, In my opinion, Wang Shichong may readily agree to join hands with Li kid to deal with me, but they must wait for Li Mis defeat beforemencing the operation. At that time, he and I mighty our cards on the table. If I am willing to be used by him, there wont be any problem. Otherwise, he might set a trap to eliminate me when I do not guard against him. This is called the birds are over, the bow is put away, a famous lesson throughout all ages that Bai Lao Fuzi [old master/teacher, see Book 1 Chapter 1] taught us. Xu Ziling joined in, But with Li Shimins ability and wisdom, he ought to be able to see that Wang Shichong is helpless against you; perhaps he had another operation in ce. Supposing right now you are found dead on the street, even if Zhuge Liang came back to life, he wouldnt be able to guess which party did it. Kou Zhong giggled and said, As long as Li kid does not dare to assemble the crowd to besiege me openly, why would I be afraid? If I, Kou Zhong, am that easy to kill, God knows how many times I would have died! It was indeed an inalienable fact. Muttering to himself, Ba Fenghan said, Although currently you are able to secretly influence so many things controlling the situation of the Central ins, I still dont understand why you have so much confidence in vying over the world? Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, The key is the Duke Yang Treasure. If I cant find it, I will have no choice but to kill this vying-over-the-world desire, go to the great desert to pass happy days with you galloping over the prairie, or perhaps do business in illegal salt trading, leading a befuddled existence [orig. as if drunk] of the second half of my life. Ba Fenghan did not understand, Even if you have treasure and weapons, you dont have territory, you evenck troops and horses; how could you challenge those with deep and solid foundation like the Li n? Kou Zhongs eyes shed with cold light; he spoke heavily, It all goes back to the problem of dispatching bravery and dispatching a scheme. If Li Mi is defeated, the Li n will be target of a multitude of arrows. As long as I can scheme to frustrate Du Fuwei, I will have a chance to use the Flying Horse Ranch and Jingling as the center, establish my power, then at the same time expand to the north and south. To the south make alliance with Xiao Xian and the Song n, to the north win over Dou Jiande and Liu Wuzhou. If Wang Shichong is still able to hold the Li n to the west, there wille a day thisnd under the heavens will be inside my, Kou Zhongs bag. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Such a difficult andplex matter, only you, Zhong Shaoye [young master] can feel that it is easily achievable. Just thinking about it is giving me headache. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I also have only 50% confidence. But if Xiao Ling is willing to help me, I will have 100% confidence. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, What you have already said, you must not renege. Otherwise, how can you win the worlds trust? Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, Xu Ye, please calm down. I was only expressing my feeling, and spoke without thinking the matter through. Xu Ye agreed to apany me on the treasure hunt, I already shed tears of gratitude! Xu Ziling changed the subject, Although currently I am extremely resentful toward Li Jing, but from the beginning I never thought of him as someone whod betray friend to seek glory. Let alone we must remember one other thing that might divulge our secret: perhaps Li kid found out from Li Xiuning that we have the ability to disguise ourselves and change our appearance. When the Four Big Bandits attacked the Flying Horse Ranch in the past, Shen Luoyan and Li Tianfan were plotting against Li Xiuning, Kou Zhong intervened to help her. At that time he was wearing Lu Miaozis masks to conceal his true identity [see first few chapters of Book 10]. How could I forget? Kou Zhong said, Hence I deliberately asked Li Jing, and he admitted with his own mouth. What did he say, exactly? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong pondered for half a day, and then replied, That time his answer was very strange; something like just consider that I did mention it. But at that time I was already burning with anger that I could not think straight, so I hatefully scolded him some more. Never mind! Why do we care if he did it or not? He has be Li Shimins hunting dog anyway; there wille a day I might meet head-on with him. All those brotherhood and friendship wont worth a penny. Ba Fenghan felt another headacheing; he said, There are a lot of things that it would be better if we do not think about it too much. The greatest worry in life is that we have too much to think. Deeply concerned, Xu Ziling asked, Hows your injury? While its not dawn yet, wed better take advantage of this time to work together to heal your injury! Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, By all means, no! This moment powerful enemies are lurking everywhere, any one of us lose any power could possibly bring unforeseen disaster. Sighing, Xu Ziling said, I still feel that you are afraid that if you arepletely recovered, you wont have any reason to leave immediately. Having a brainwave, Kou Zhong said, I get it! You want to steer clear of that Tujue beauty. Ba Fenghan opened his right palm; surprisingly, there was that shiny hairpin that Ba Daier returned to him. He raised his right arm, and then, under the nk stare of the two boys, he threw the hairpin into the river. It sank and disappeared without stirring up half a ripple. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, Almost dawn! The three galloped out of town at top speed. After passing through a sparse forest northwest of the city, they climbed a dirt slope, and reined their horses to stop. Surrounded by hills all around, there was a quiet smallkey on the grasnd ahead. The bluish green waves and the crystal-clear water rippled in front of the forest, the dawn mist was still floating above the green and lush surface of the water. The three felt their spirit aroused. Pointing to the poetic and picturesque scenery ahead with his whip, Kou Zhong let out a longughter and said, If we did not insist on sending you off for a while, we would not know there is such a good ce nearby. Ba Fenghan jumped down the horse, taking out a heavy-looking money purse, he tied it onto Kou Zhongs saddle and said with a smile, There are at least fifty ingots of gold weighing one tael each in this purse. This is called before the three armies [i.e. upper, middle and lower army, or right, center and left] move, the army provisions precede. Just consider it my, Ba Fenghans, small contribution to Kou Huangs [emperor] finance. Kou Zhong did not decline; delighted, he said, Between us, brothers, there is no need to mention a lot of rubbish; in short, I, Kou Zhong, appreciate your kindness! Youd better put on your mask, so that to the people pursuing you, Ba Fenghan has disappeared. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Changing my face is not enough. When I get to the nearest town, Ill change clothes, put my weapon away, and disguise myself as an ordinary traveling merchant. This way I will fool peoples eyes and ears better. Xu Ziling said, If it werent for Ba Daier, who could make you, Ba Fenghan, hiding your true colors with thousand ways, a hundred ns? Ba Fenghan flew back onto his horse. After turning his head around to scan the area, he sighed and said, From this moment onwards, I will no longer think of her, and I do not wish to see her again. After staring deeply into the two boys eyes, he fixed his gaze forward, and spoke in heavy tone, Well part here. I dont know whether we will see each other again. Two brothers, please take good care of yourselves! He squeezed the horses belly with his legs, the steed neighed and moved its four legs, galloping down the slope, and disappearing behind a cloud of dust. The two boys followed him with their eyes. Without even looking back he galloped through the forest and the prairie, sometimes hidden from their sight, until finally he turned into a small dot, and vanished in a dense wood in the distance. Only then did Kou Zhong breathe a sigh of relief. Nobodys following him! he said. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. The two urged their horses to turn around, and then rode back slowly down the slope. Kou Zhong repeatedly exhaled to clear his heavy heart filled with the sadness of separation. Separated in life and death, unexpectedly could be this depressing, he spoke in agony, Niang is dead, Ba Fenghan is gone, this is all very difficult, yet nothing we could do about it. Were it not for that poniang [reminder: woman, in derogatory way] Ba Daier, perhaps Ol Ba would still be with us for a while longer. Noticing Xu Zilings pensive look, as if he did not hear what he said, Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Whats on your mind? Are you surprised that no one is following us? Actually, this is to be expected. Just think, who would want to provoke us now without thinking three times over first? Xu Ziling shook his head, I suddenly remember Su Jie, he said, My heart is not happy. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, Dont scare me! he said. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Perhaps it was because I saw Li Jing again! After killing Yuwen Huaji, I am going to look for Su Jie, I want to see how Xiang Yushan is treating her. Humph! Kou Zhong was deep in thought for half a day. Finally he said, I think its time for you to see Wang Shichong! Showing disdain on his face, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Today I do not wish to see that kind of person. You go back first! I want to ride for a while. Somehow I feel a bit depressed. Kou Zhong was stunned, Its not fire-deviation sign, is it? he asked. Xu Zilingughed and scolded him, Fire-deviation your @$$! You go your road through Yangguan [fig. wide open road/bright future], I go my single-log bridge [fig. difficult path]. Dont forget at noon Song Lu is waiting for us for a feast at the House of Dong. Now get lost; go see your Wang Shichong and Dong Shuni Mei! Finished speaking he urged his horse to gallop away. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day. Finally he smiled wryly, shook his head, and then returned to the city. Chapter 10 - Part 2 Jing Nian Chanyuan stood tall on the mountain; the ambience was dense and solemn. Xu Ziling dismounted; wrapping one arm around the horses neck, he spoke in gentle voice as if he was coaxing a child, and then left the horse grazing on its own, while he dashed toward the main entrance of the monastery. After passing the memorial arch engraved with the characters Jing Nian Chanyuan, he climbed the long and precipitous stone steps extended to the hilltop, giving the feeling of he was ascending into the heaven to the other shore [i.e. paramita in Buddhism]. Subconsciously Xu Ziling stroked the mask hidden in his pocket, as well as the scrolls pertaining to construction, astronomy, et cetera, which Lu Miaozi gave to him; he sighed inwardly. After stealing the Jade Annulus of He n, they buried these things in a secret ce, and only retrieved them just now. Regaining hisposure, Xu Ziling went up the stairs step by step. Dang! Dang! Dang! The melodious sound of the bell from up the mountain floated down. Xu Zilings mind was calm; he lifted up his eyes to enjoy the amazing and elegant ridges and peaks, the dense forest and the beautiful mountain scenery all around him. He mused that this temple was built on top of this mountain, there must be a reason behind it. Looking up into the distance, he could see the pagoda and bell tower appearing among the forest tree. Because he had read Lu Miaozis insight, he had a very good foundation in architecture, and was able to enjoy the beauty of the buildings from a pedestrians eye view. The pagoda was built of mostlyrge dark green granite blocks, the structure wasplex, with nineyers of octagonal floor, opened doors on all sides, the carvings on the body of the tower was exceptionally magnificent, all around the roll up doors there were dragons, tigers, Buddha, Bodhisattva, warriors, craft music [? Not sure, ], flying Apsara, and other religious objects; all were glowing with health and vigor, vivid and lifelike. Nevertheless, the tacha [from the dictionary: Buddhist ornamentation decorating the upper story of a pagoda] was made of iron, with eight separate chains securing it to the eight corners of the top of the pagoda. The stairs connecting the lower five floors were inside the structure, but starting from the fifth floor, the stairs were spiraling along the outer ledges, all the way to the top floor. This kind of configuration was rarely seen in pagoda architecture, particrly that tall and gorgeous iron tacha. It was elegant, tall and straight, protruding above the mountain forest, as if it was piercing the blue sky. The reason Xu Ziling paid so much attention to Jing Nian Chanyuans construction was simply because he wanted to verify the earlier impression he had on this monastery, because in all aspects, this temple did notply withmon practice; hidden within it was a unique imposing style. The most amazing thing for him was that in the extremely ornate architecture, there was a sense of austere simplicity; just like a richly attired beautiful woman, although her dress was magnificent her clothes beautiful, but because she was not wearing any makeup, she was able to maintain her innate beauty and natural charm. Reaching the end of the stone steps, Xu Ziling arrived at the second main gate of the monastery. The inscribed tablet above the door had four characters carved on it, ru zhe you yuan [those who enter are brought together by fate]; on both sides of the doorway a rhyming couplet was engraved, Evening drum and morning bell arouse the human world from pursuing fame and fortune; the sound of scripture and many names of Buddha call the charmed back from the dream of sea of bitterness. A rueful smile appeared on the corner of Xu Zilings lips, thinking that if Kou Zhong was pursuing fame and fortune, then he was charmed by the dream. Both were struggling and drifting along in the sea of bitterness of this human world, without the freedom to act independently. After heaving another sigh, he entered in. On the za behind the towering gate of the first of the seven big halls, two old monks were sweeping the dead leaves. They were not in the least concerned over this guest who gate-crash into their temple. Xu Ziling was acting strangely as well; he simply walked along the path, which acted as the central axis of the main part of this buildingplex, with his hands behind his back, as if he belonged there. Fragrant smoke from the incense drifted out of the temple halls; from the three-legged incense burner in front of the three enshrined and worshipped Buddha images at the southern end, the smoke rose up in spirals. He did not know much about Buddhism; he only knew the one in the middle, wearing golden crown, with benevolent and dignified expression, was Vairocana Buddha [¬Ƿ]; as for the other two Buddha on either side, he was not so sure. Even more attractive to him was along the inner wall of the Hall there were dozens of revered Luohan statues, in different poses and with different expressions, no two were alike. The eight columns of pir and the foundation of the Hall were finely engraved, which matched very well with the brightly painted, grand and majestic interlocking beams that spanned well toward the eaves. The horn-shaped corners of the eaves were rising high, in harmony with the profound and longsting, solemn and respectful atmosphere of templeplex, brimming with religious inspiration. A voice calling one of the many names of Buddha came from behind, followed by a question, Xu Shizhu [lit. benefactor (term used by a monk to address ayperson)] honors us with your presence, I wonder for what reason? Xu Ziling recognized the voice; without even looking back, he said, Bu Chen Dashi, may I ask the Buddha on the left and right, which one are they? Bu Chen, who was the leader of the Four Great Protectors replied, On the left is Medicine Buddha, on the right is Amitabha Buddha [see also Book 14 Chapter 1]. Since Xu Shizhu does not know Buddha, entering the Temple without worshiping is reasonable. Confident and at ease, Xu Ziling turned around and smiled toward Bu Chen, whose eyes were hung low, whose palms sped together holding Buddhist beads; he said, Although Zaixia does not know much about Buddhism, but I know that all [Buddhist]ws are in the heart. Kneeling to worship is but outward appearance, which cannot be used to judge ones sincerity toward Buddha! Bu Chen opened his eyes to look at him; an amazed expression shed through his eyes. Various inner thoughts have outer appearances. Buddha also have images of Buddha. What Shizhu said, perhaps only applicable to Shizhu! Shizhu must ask your own heart. Although he did not speak it out, the meaning behind his words was obvious, which referred to Xu Zilings mouth was not in line with his heart, that he was using words to quibble, including, of course, the matter involving the Jade Annulus of He n. Xu Ziling was open-minded; he was not concerned about it. Telling the reason of his visit, he said, This time Zaixia pays a visit, the purpose is to see Miss Shi, there are some things Id like to resolve. Bu Chen sharply sized him up for half a day; finally he said, Shizhu, please! and took the lead toward the Halls gate. Thinking that it would go smoothly, Xu Ziling quickly followed him. Kou Zhong rode straight toward the Imperial City. It was not until he reached the Shangshu Mansion that he jumped down the horse, but before he reached the steps, Dong Shuni, wearing warrior outfit, rushed out of the Mansions door, amidst a burst of fragrant wind. Her apricot eyes were wide open as she scolded tenderly, Gutless ghost! Come with me! Noticing that all the warriors guarding the door were staring at them, Kou Zhong felt extremely awkward; helplessly he followed her into the Mansion. Dong Shuni entered the western hall, drove all the maids and servants out, and then pointing to the chair by the window, she furiously said, Sit over there! Kou Zhong was inwardly angry as well. Am I your ve? he spoke crossly, Whatever it is, say it quickly, your Shaoye is very busy today. How could Dong Shuni ever think that Kou Zhong would dare to challenge her? Seething with anger, her eyes bulging, she pointed her finger like a halberd and cursed, You, a man without conscience, you have the impertinence to use that kind of tone speaking with me? Frankly speaking, even though she looked like a tigress that had lost her mind, she was still so cute, charming and gorgeous; her posture alluring, exuding a different vor of prettiness. Especially with her erect silky breasts and two lily-white hands on her small waist, she looked extremely attractive even more. Seeing her eyes turned red from anger, with glistening beads of tear on them, the anger in Kou Zhongs heart disappeared for the most part. Plus he inwardly thought that as a grand, manly man, it was not worthwhile for him to bicker with her. Thereupon heughed aloud and said, You want me to sit then Ill sit! Whats the big deal? Sitting down, he patted hisp and said, Would Miss Dong like to sit on the mostfortable chair in the world? Dong Shuni glowered at him for half a day. Finally she stomped her feet in fury and said, Ill settle an old score with you first: where the hell were you that night? Spreading out his hands, Kou Zhong said, I hear Rong Fengxiangs big birthday feast is tomorrow night. Since I thought that in your hurry Miss must have mentioned the wrong day, plus I had a bit of business to attend, hee ... you know how it is! He did not wish to argue with her much longer, so he hinted that he already saw through her wicked scheme, with the hope that she would sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat. Like a whirlwind Dong Shuni stormed forward until her jade legs were almost hitting his knees before stopping before ring out in tigress style, You, Kou Zhong, the big-headed ghost, his big birthday feast is set for seven days; otherwise, how can we call it big birthday feast? Kou Zhong was nearly tongue-tied; luckily as he knitted his brows, an idea came to his mind. Recalling how deceitful she was, he smiled wryly and said, Xiao Nini, please dont mess with me! Xuyan Xiong and I had no discord, no concord [orig. dont fight, wont make friends], but now we became very friendly. He had alreadyid out everything on the te. Ha! When we go to Rong Mansionter, Id like to look for him; do you want toe with me? It was as if Dong Shuni was struck by thunder; she retreated three steps back, her pretty face turned white, and she stammered in disbelief, He ... he really ... Inwardly Kou Zhongughed; no matter how crafty you are, all along you are still inexperienced, all of a sudden you revealed the foxs tail and thus confirmed this purely spective guess. Patting his clothes, he rose up to his full height and said, Well make outter! And then he walked away with a chuckle, feeling immensely proud of himself. Book 16 - 11 – Greedy For Life, Afraid Of Death Book 16 Chapter 11 C Greedy For Life, Afraid Of Death Xu Ziling followed behind Bu Chen, deep into the Templeplex, toward the rear courtyard. From time to time along the way he saw some monks, but everybody acted as if they did not see him, as if they were deeply immersed in the purified of defiling illusion and religious life of letting things take their own course Buddhist doctrine. After passing the Copper Hall, which glittered brilliantly under the sun, Bu Chen turned left toward a quaint gstone path, lined with bamboo trees on both sides. Hidden behind the bamboo trees on both sides of the path, he could see the buildings that were the monks residences; in and simple. Compared to the magnificent temple halls, the buildings exuded apletely different impression. But behind the pinewood frame and white ster, there was some kind of raw, unpolished natural beauty. While Xu Ziling was enjoying the deep, serene and faraway, the peaceful and quiet atmosphere of the monastery, the scenery changed. Houses were getting sparse, reced by evergreen pine and cypress, and rugged stratified rocks. Walking along the stone path, he could see a stonewall ahead, engraved with two characters, Fo Dao [the way of the Buddha]. The stone cliffs on either side of the path grew higher and higher, while the path itself was getting narrower. There were images of Buddha carved on the stonewall on either side, which leaned against the low cliff, all with carefree demeanor, and were very vivid and lifelike. While Xu Ziling was amazed at the scenery, the Fo Dao suddenly ended, the path suddenly opened up to a wide panorama. At the western extremity of this monastery, arge hall, which sizeparable to the seven main halls, engraved with the characters Fangzhang Yuan [abbot courtyard], was resting along the precipice, among the nine towering ridges of the mountain. It was strategically situated and easy to defend, the terrain was extremely dangerous. Feeling something was amiss, Xu Ziling asked, This ought to be the Zhuchi [person in charge/president/manager/director] of your honorable monastery Liao Kong Dashis residence, isnt it? Bu Chen nonchntly replied, Shizhu wishes to see Miss Shi, naturally our Fangzhang ought to make the decision; why are you surprised? [Trantors note: this is the only time the word Fangzhang (abbot) is being used, the rest are Zhuchi (see above) but for simplicity sake, I am going to use Abbot for both. (Besides, I feel weird calling Liaokong a manager or president of the Temple.] Xu Ziling knew it would not be this easy to see Shi Feixuan. He could only sigh inwardly as he followed Bu Chen climbing the stairs to enter the courtyard. The Abbot Courtyard was divided into three sections: front, center and rear. Entering the door, he was weed by a spacious but empty reception room. There was no furniture, only several portraits were hanging on two walls; apparently they were the portraits of the monasterys abbots throughout generations. Bu Chen asked Xu Ziling to wait here, while he proceeded into the inner room. Having nothing to do, Xu Ziling browsed the portraits on the wall. Although the portraits were all different, some were fat, some were thin, but the painting was meticulous and very detailed; the expressions were solemn, with an aura around the head of Buddha illuminating everything, the faces were kind, showing the appearance of greatpassion and great sorrow of those who helped people from suffering and cmity. Next to each portrait was the caption, listing the name, the dates of taking the oath as a monk and entering the silence, and other pertinent information. The portraits were obviously arranged ording to their date of service. When looking at thest portrait on the left wall, Xu Zilings heart was shaken; he walked closer to examine the portrait carefully. He saw an old monk whose beard and eyebrows were entirely white, with deep wrinkles crisscrossing his face. He appeared to be at least 70-something. The reason Xu Ziling jumped in fright was because the portrait had at least 80, 90% resemnce to the current Abbot, Liao Kong; it would be the portrait of Liao Kong when he grew old. While he was pondering whether the portrait was Liao Kongs father, which meant Liao Kong was inheriting his fathers cassock and alms bowl [usually passed on by a Buddhist master to his favorite disciple], he was shocked to find that the inscription next to the portrait only listed the date of taking the oath, without the date of death. He could not help sucking in a mouthful of cold air. Could it be that the old Liao Kong turned back into a child? From the old man in the portrait back to a man that looked to be in his forties? This fact was really extremely shocking. Bu Chens voice came from behind, That is the portrait of our humble temples Abbot fifteen years ago; at that time he had just entered the gate of Dhyana cultivation, hence he had someone paint the portrait. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Its really hard to believe that there is indeed divine skill and secret method to recover ones youthful vigor in the world. Bu Chen called one of the many names of Buddha with sped palms and said, Dharma has no boundary; turn around and reach the shore. Our humble temples Abbot is waiting respectfully for Xu Shizhu in the center courtyard. Please! Xu Ziling turned around and saw that Bu Chen did not show any intention to lead him in. Thereupon he had no choice but to cup his fist in salute to express his gratitude, and walk toward the center courtyard alone. Bang! The wooden door closed behind him. It was a ten-zhang deep and wide, three-zhang high empty room, with nk walls on all four sides. Liao Kong was sitting cross-legged facing the wall, with his back against Xu Ziling. There was a closed door on either side of this able-to-recover-his-youth, powerful-to-reverse-the-rotation-of-the-sky senior monk, exuding some kind of profound-mystery atmosphere. With a wry smile on the corner of his lips, Xu Ziling spoke deferentially, Dashi, please bestow your decree. From the side hall Kou Zhong returned to the front reception hall; he was about to enter the main hall when he bumped into the graceful, cool and elegant Beautiful Barbarian Lady Linglong Jiao, who was always showing him dismissive attitude. Both sides did not expect to meet face to face on a narrow path like this. Having just received a bitter lesson from Dong Shuni, Kou Zhong struggled hard to control himself, and was only nodding as a courtesy to greet her. Against his expectation, this barbarian beauty revealed a rarely seen smile toward him, and then walking side by side with him, she said, Your battle at the Tianjin Bridgest night was really brilliant. Kou Zhong was stunned, Miss Jiao is really formidable; unexpectedly you are able to fool so many peoples eyes and ears by hiding nearby. Linglong Jiao returned to her cool and detached expression and she spoke indifferently, Without this little bit of ability, how could I gather intelligence for Shangshu Daren? This woman was willing to converse with him; it was indeed a radical change of attitude. Kou Zhong was thinking about finding other topic when from the inner hall Xu Xingzhi was walking out in a hurry. Seeing Kou Zhong, he signaled him with his eyes not to say anything, and the he saluted and said, Daren is waiting for Kou Ye in the study room. Finished speaking he turned around and left. Halting her steps, Linglong Jiao said, Shangshu Daren must have something to discuss with you alone. Ill see youter. Half a dayter Kou Zhong came to the study room. Wang Shichong waited until he closed the door and sat down in an imperial tutor chair by his left before saying, Fortunatelyst night you did not get beaten by the enemy. I had wanted to send people to help you, but we would only fall into their hands, it will be hard to keep up with them. Finally I could only hold back my troops without moving. And then he went on with a cold humph, Yang Dong and Dugu Feng are too despicable. Kou Zhong pretended to praise him, saying, Shangshu Daren, that was a brilliant move. Right now we need to show the enemy our weakness, in keeping with the School of the Militarys[1] main point of sending up the troops, dispatching a scheme. In term of strength, even with their tie to foreigner, the Dugu n still cannot do anything to us. Therefore, they can only rely on crafty plots and machinations to carry out their cold arrow stratagem. As long as we are a bit more careful, Dugu Feng can never prevail. Frowning, Wang Shichong said, Because Qu Ao was routed, Tiele people may be disregarded. But supposing Yin Gui Pai, Tuli and Yang Gong join hands, do we want to maintain our passive situation? One thing goes wrong, we might lose the Eastern Capital. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, Tuli can also be disregarded, simply because my friend Ba Fenghan had just left Luoyang; no matter what, Tuli and Bixuans two disciples must pursue him to join the excitement. Yin Gui Pai, because they have to deal with Shi Feixuan, their number one enemy, will not dare to be overtly involved in this conflict. Besides, to some extent, they wish you could put Li Mi in order. At that time, after Du Fuwei acquire Jiangdu, he will go up north along the Canal. Astonished, Wang Shichong asked, How do you know Du Fuwei is going to attack Jiangdu? Naturally Kou Zhong did not wish to expose Song Jingang; he said, I have a bit of friendly rtions with the Song Family,ter on today I will meet with Song Lu at the House of Dong restaurant. Relieved, Wang Shichong said, This matter definitely gives me headache. The rtionship between Du Fuwei and Shen Faxing has never been good, and now suddenly they be allies; it can clearly be seen how anxious they are about going up north. Nodding, Kou Zhong said, The current situation is obviously the struggle for Yellow River and the Canal; whoever can obtain Guanzhong and Luoyang, two big strategic cities at the same time, will be akin to half of the country falling into his bag. We must first take Ho, Xingyang, and then move the troops straight to the west. At that time when you, Shengshang [Your Majesty], givemand to the world, who will dare not to obey? Wang Shichong twirled his moustache and smiled, his eyes were gleaming full of hope and excitement. If I, Wang Shichong, be the lord of the new dynasty, you, Kou Zhong, will be the new dynastys prime minister. Are you ready? he said solemnly. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that only a fool would believe you. But on the surface he put on a dreamy look as he said in delight, Shangshu Daren holds this kid in such a high regard, I naturally am ten-thousand times grateful. But I want to set up a merit by defeating Li Mi first. At that time, when Shangshu Daren put me in important position, other people will have nothing to say. Wang Shichong chuckled loudly; and then putting on a mysterious expression he said, Whether we can lure Li Mi into sending out his troops, it depends on tomorrow nights arrangement. Let me have you meet my body double first. [1] School of the Military, one of the Hundred Schools of Thought of the Warring States Period (475-220 BC). Liao Kong was wearing grey monk robe, with dark brown outer robe hanging on his shoulders. The empty spacious hall was quiet and noiseless. Xu Ziling stood with his hands behind his back, as if he had turned into another revered stone statue, aloof and detached from the mundane world, without the slightest hint of impatience. Quite a whileter, Liao Kongs gentle voice spoke softly, Luoyangs temple, monastery and grotto, three famous scenic destinations, I wonder if Xu Shizhu has visited them? Xu Ziling was astonished inwardly. If Liao Kong had been speaking about anything else, even Buddhist terms and Buddhist allegory, he would not have been surprised. But he was referring to Luoyangs famous ces, which has nothing to do with the current affairs wind, horse or ox. It really stumped him that he did not know how to respond. Forck of better option, he modestly asked, Would Dashi bestow meprehensive revtion, please? Liao Kong glibly said, Temple is the White Horse Temple, the first Buddhist temple in the Central ins, built during the Eastern Han [25-220 AD] Yongpings tenth year. In those days, when the two senior monks She Moteng and Zhu Fn were returning back from India, Buddhist scripture and Buddhist images were brought back on white horses, hence the name White Horse. This became the start of Buddhism in the Central Earth; therefore, the Temple has the reputation as the root of Buddhism and the ancestor hall. For Buddha believer who does not visit this temple, it would be a matter of lifelong regret. Thank you very much for Dashis enlightenment, Xu Ziling said, But I do not know where the White Horse Temple is located. Liao Kong replied indifferently, If Xu Shizhu is a person with aspirations, you will find out. Without waiting for Xu Ziling to respond, he continued, Monastery is the Laojun Monastery [Laozi or Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), founder of Taoism], located on the apex of the Cui Yun [lit. bluish-green cloud] Peak on Mount Mang, several li north of the city. Legend has it that it is the sacred ce where Laozi Li Er perfected his pellet [(?) not sure about this]. Unfortunately presently it is under the witches and demons control; the sacred ce bes demonic cave. Greatly surprised, Xu Ziling asked, How did that happen? Liao Kong calmly replied, There are a lot of things, which are inconvenient for Lao Na [lit. old cassock, a term used by old Buddhist monk to call himself] to tell you in details. Its just that seeing that Xu Shizhus learning came from the Taoist Schools [one of the schools mentioned in footnote 1] founder Guangcheng Zi, I mentioned it in passing. Every word that he said was shrouded in profound theory, which was so deep that it was difficult to understand. Liao Kong went on, As for the Grotto, it is the Longmen Grottoes, located south of our Temple about ten li away by the shore of Yi River. Due to the two mountains standing opposite to each other, which overlook it like imperial city watchtower, it is also known as the Yi Watchtower. On the cliffs along the shores on both sides of the river there are shrines and rock caves, big and small, extending continuously for several li. The scenery is stunning. And then he spoke in astonishment, Ah yes! What is the purpose of Xu Shizhus visit this time? Lao Na already forgot. Taken aback by his question, Xu Ziling said, I have forgotten as well. Thank you Dashi for giving me directions. Finished speaking he floated away from the Hall. A man, who, in terms of appearance and build, looked seventy, eighty-percent simr to Wang Shichong, entered the study room and prostrated himself to pay his respects, followed by Ouyang Xiyi, Linglong Jiao, Priest Ke Feng, Chen Changlin, the group of martial art masters, and then Wang Shichongs two sons, Wang Xuanying and Wang Xuanshu, as well as the great generals Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing. Just by looking at this ensemble of people, Kou Zhong knew that they had something important to discuss. After everybody was seated, with Kou Zhong upying the head seat on the left, opposite to Ouyang Xiyi, who sat on the head seat on the right, and the lower seats started with Zhang Zhenzhou, and so on, Wang Shichong helped his body double standing up and proudly said to Kou Zhong, What do you think? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Definitely can pass off fish eyes for pearls [idiom: pass off fake products as genuine]. But under tomorrow nights circumstances, hey! Wang Shichong knew he wanted to speak his mind, hence he ordered his body double to leave first before speaking in delight, Now everybody is our own people, whatever you want to say, you may speak freely! Wang Shichongs eldest son, Wang Xuanying, whose appearance looked like he indulged too much in wine and women, proudly said, This is called train an army for a thousand days to use it for an hour [idiom; fig. extensive preparation eventually pays off]. Year beforest Xuanying looked for and found this man from Guanzhou, and I personally trained and coached him. I guarantee no one will be able to see through. Just by looking at his expression, which showed that he was afraid others might not know his merit, people knew that this son cannot be a very capable person. Frowning, Ouyang Xiyi said, This man does not know martial art. Any expert who observes his every movement or watching him taking a couple of steps would immediately know that he is not Shichong Xiong himself. nned in advance, Wang Shichong said, If anyone wanted to assassinate me, the best time would be on the way to the meeting, or perhaps on the way back. So having him sitting on the carriage will be enough. At this point everybody knew that Wang Shichong was definitely unwilling risk this danger. Priest Ke Feng frowned and said, This time we want the enemys assassination attempt to be sessful, and that Shichong Xiong pretends to sustain injuries, only then will Li Mi be tempted to send his troops immediately. As soon as the so-called expert make his move, he would know the man has nothing in him. If he could be easily ughtered, anybody would be suspicious instead; how could this scheme be sessful? Wang Shichong happily said, That the is key point; behind the fake hides the real. I am going to hide inside the carriagepartment. If the enemy is too powerful that he can break into the carriage to kill, I will make a sudden appearance. It would be best if the iing is Huang Gongcuo or perhaps You Chuhong of someone their caliber, so that after I injure them, I could pretend to fight desperately and sustain injuries. This way we can convince the enemy even more. Naturally I will need all of you to work together with me. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Kou Xiaoxiong, do you have anything else to say? Kou Zhong asked, Why wouldnt the enemy make their move during the banquet? Wang Xuanying replied on behalf of his father, The reason is very simple. This time Rong Fengxiang invited all celebrities from all parts of the country, who are currently in Luoyang, to the feast. At that time martial art masters will be as numerous as the cloud, and among them there is nock of masters who have good rtionship with us. Under this kind of circumstance, issuing public challenge will not be a problem, but assassination attempt? There will be too many variables; maybe they would fall until their head and face filthy with grime, and would have to bag the food before they could finish it. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. I have nothing more to say, he spoke dejectedly. He originally had a lot of brilliant schemes, but seeing Wang Shichong obviously refused to risk himself to brave the danger, he had nothing to say. Stepping out of the main entrance of the Abbots room, Xu Ziling took a deep breath of fresh and clear air. A drizzle had just started falling from the sky, looking around, near and far, he did not see anybody. Everywhere in Jing Nian Chanyuan, he could feel the hidden Buddhism subtleties and Buddhist spirit. Take himself, for example, he was originally their enemy, but he did not sense the slightest degree of hostility. As if nothing has ever happened between them. He felt that his failure to meet Shi Feixuan was just proper and to be expected as a matter of course. If he was able to see Shi Feixuan, that woulde as a surprise indeed. But in order to find peace in his heart, he must still pursue this matter to the end! What he wanted was to meet face to face with Shi Feixuan to resolve the problem of Jade Annulus of He n. Until this moment, he still believed that stealing the treasure was neither a bad thing nor a wrong thing. It was merely a strategy rted to the power struggle to obtain the world. For a divine object like the Jade Annulus of He n, it was merely fulfilling its destiny. He slowly walked down the steps, and was just about to walk in the direction of the Fo Dao when he sensed a premonition in his heart. Just like something was waiting for him. Scanning the area around with his eyes, he noticed a bamboo forest on the left end of the Abbot Courtyard. After thinking for a moment, Xu Ziling decided to walk toward the forest. When he came near, he saw another stone path winding among the bamboo, which seemed to be snaking into a secluded distant ce. Under the continuous drizzle, it looked particrly enchanting. Xu Ziling followed the path, turned around a corner, and was greeted by a wide-open space in front of him. Turned out the end of the path was the edge of a cliff. Not only it overlooked the mountain and wilderness, as well as cultivated fields far and near, it also offered a panoramic view of the City of Luoyang at the end of the eastern in. Under the fine rain filling the sky, in this poetic and picturesque beautiful scenery, Shi Feixuan, wearing mens schr attire, was standing gracefully overlooking the cliff, which extended as far as the end of the earth, her thoughts wandering far away. Xu Ziling respectfully saluted toward her jade back, and spoke sincerely, Miss is willing to make an exception by seeing me, Xu Ziling cant thank you enough. Shi Feixuan sighed gently. Stretching out her delicate and beautiful jade finger, she pointed at the City of Luoyang in the distance, and with a sadness of the country being wounded, she said, Since the time of Wei, Jin, and North-South dynasties, Luoyang has repeatedly be the battleground of various military forces; many times it was destroyed and copsed, implicatingmon people and forced them into exile. The Central ins situation is bleak; there is no smoke for a thousand li, hunger and cold flowing to perish, only to fill bottomless gorge. Other than that, does Xu Xiong know what else we lost? Although Xu Ziling had enough intelligence and wisdom, this moment he could only stare nkly and shook his head. As if she had eyes behind her head, Shi Feixuan seemed to see him shaking his head; she spoke indifferently, Luoyangs name came from a document from the Warring States period [475-221 BC], Strategies of the Warring States. Inside there is a reference of Su Qin going over Luoyang. Since then it was repeatedly chosen as the rulers city, and became our countrys cultural and economic center. During Northern Wei Dynasty, just Buddhist temples alone numbered 1367. Speechless, Xu Ziling asked, There are that many? Shi Feixuan continued, Luoyang tends to be our countrys cultural melting pot, just the library collection itself reaches seven thousand volumes. Moreover, it is a ce derives reflected glory from an illustrious son [orig. illustrious hero, spirit of the ce], renowned experts from sessive generationse forth inrge numbers. Cai Lun[1] produced his prototype Cai Hou Paper here; Zhang Heng created Armiry Sphere, Wind Observatory Instrument, and Seismograph; Ma Jun invented Mechanical Compass; Wang Chong wrote Measurement Theory; Ban Gu brother and sister wrote History of the Former Han Dynasty; Chen Shoupiled History of the Three Kingdoms. Chronicles of Luoyang Gn and Straddling Water Commentary were published here. Indeed the City of Luoyangs contribution to our country, no other ce can match. Listening to her, Xu Ziling felt deep veneration. If he had not browsed through the short sketches Lu Miaozi handed down to him, listening to her this time, his mind would have been at a loss. This moment, although he still could notpletelyprehend what she said, but at least he knew that Shi Feixuan was definitely an educated celestial being, conversant with things past and present. To him and Kou Zhong, no matter how many times they looked at Luoyang City, they would not have emotional stirring and make an associative connection like Shi Feixuan. She was grieved over Luoyangs more than a hundred years history. Shi Feixuans thoughts wandering far away as she said, Have Xu Xiong been to the Xin Tan [lit. new pool] at the northern market [or city]? Xu Ziling mused inwardly thating and going, all he ever visited were the Luo River, the Heavenly Street, and Tianjin Bridge; perhaps for one thing or another he also went to the streets andnes at the southern part of the city, but he had never been to the northern market area. Smiling wryly, he replied, I havent! Shi Feixuan said, In that case, Xu Xiong must see this ce, which is known to be thergest collection of ships and boats in the world. At its peak, there were up to ten thousand ships and boats,rge and small. And then she lowered her voice, The rise and fall of everything then and now, we only need to look at Luoyang City. Listening to the tone of her voice, which sounded like nature itself, like heavenly sound, telling him about the rise and fall, flourish and decline of Luoyang, a picture of Luoyang appeared in Xu Zilings mind, as if Luoyangs thousand-year history suddenly shed through his mind. This feeling was both tragic and touching. The gentle and soft raindrops were falling gracefully on them. It was only the first time that Xu Ziling encounter this kind of person, who bemoaned the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind like Shi Feixuan, an outstanding figure who had Bodhisattvas greatpassion and great sorrow. All of a sudden he thoroughly understood Shi Feixuan looking for the Son of Heaven ordained by heaven, it was due to her greatpassion to save mankind from the abyss of suffering [orig. deep water and scorching fire]. [1] Cai Lun (-121), inventor of the papermaking process. Zhang Heng (78-139), great Han dynasty astronomer and mathematician. Wang Chong (27-97), rationalist and critical philosopher. Ban Gu (32-92), Eastern Han dynasty historian. Chen Shoupiled 24 Dynastic Histories in 289 during Jin Dynasty, 65 scrolls. Book 16 - 12 – Everything In The World Has Its Own Purpose Book 16 Chapter 12 C Everything In The World Has Its Own Purpose Ouyang Xiyi, Priest Ke Feng, and Kou Zhong left the study room together. Priest Ke Feng asked Kou Zhong, Looking at Kou Xiao Xiongs expression, you dont seem too impressed at Shangshu Darens arrangement concerning his body double. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, This proves that my cultivation is still shallow; a bit of worry and I cannot conceal it. Priest Ke Feng smiled and said, When we were young, who were not like that? Xiyi Xiong and I have been there. Ouyang Xiyiughed and said, When I was Xiao Xiongdis age, I did not have that kind of ability. Priest Ke Feng said, Now its my turn to be on duty; Xiyi Xiong better use this time to cultivate your spirit. In these few days, hard fighting will be hard to avoid. Finished speaking, he stopped and saluted. Ouyang Xiyi and Kou Zhong continued side by side toward the main gate. He said, Shichong Xiong has really big face, unexpectedly he was able to invite Ke Feng, this kind of martial art master, toe and help him. Apparently his rtionship with Laojun [Laozi/Lao-tze] Temple is not shallow at all. Kou Zhong casually asked, What kind of school is Laojun Temple? Howe it has such a strange name? Ouyang Xiyi asked in surprise, The impression you are giving out is that you possess great magical power, but unexpectedly you dont know the Laojun Temple on the summit of Cuiyun Peak on Mount Mang north of Luoyang. This is really hard to believe. Kou Zhong stopped in front of the doorstep. Looking at the fine droplets of rain floating in the air outside the door, he said calmly, Therefore, it is very critical that Qianbei [older generation] gives more pointers to the kid; sometimes I am very muddleheaded. Ouyang Xiyi spoke in low voice, When I saw you for the first time, I was happy, and felt that you and I have a very close predestined affinity. Butst night when I received news that you were besieged at the Tianjin Bridge, it was actually Laofu [old man, referring to self] who advocated strongly not to rush indiscriminately into action. On one hand its because I believed that you have a way to escape. The other reason was that this was obviously a trap. [Trantors note: you here are plural.] This kid had no idea, Kou Zhong said. Ouyang Xiyi said, If I did not tell you, you would never know. But I especially mention this matter, because the one who advocated strongly to help you was Ke Feng. It can clearly be seen that he is quite fond on you. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Based on his intelligence, how could he not know that it was a carefullyid plot? Ouyang Xiyi replied, At that time everybody was feeling something was amiss; just to deal with you, why did the Dugu n dispatch close to a thousand Imperial Bodyguards to blockade the streets and alleys? But we had no time to think it through. Fortunately there is an aid-cum-advisor under Shichong Xiongsmand by the name of Xu Xingzhi who privately reminded Laofu. Otherwise I am afraid we would fall into the enemys evil n. Kou Zhong smirked inwardly. Xu Xingzhi was indeed a talent; only a short time and he had already gained Ouyang Xiyis trust. Ouyang Xiyi patted his shoulder and said, Now Laofu is going back to my room to sit in meditation to cultivate my spirit. When youe back tonight, you may look for Laofu to have a drink and chat. Do you know how to y chess? I just watched other people y, Kou Zhong replied. Ouyang Xiyiughed aloud and said, Affairs of life are just like the game of chess. If I were an expert in the arena of chess, you are a master chess yer ying outside the chessboard. Be careful. People who want the head above your neck will be bashing sideways and colliding straight on to run into you! Finished speaking, he returned inside the Mansion happily. Inwardly, Kou Zhong was amused as well. Which move he ought to take now? As soon as he stepped over the doorstep, the guards on both sides immediately stood to salute him; none without expression full of respect. Kou Zhong knew that he has established fame for his fighting prowess in Luoyang. Did Miss take a carriage or ride a horse? he asked one of the guards. Miss rode away, the man blurted without thinking. Kou Zhong thought fast. He imagined the exquisite scene that would ensue as soon as Dong Shuni inquired Yang Xuyan, and this couple engaged in an illicit love affair found out that they had fallen into a trap. What kind of man Yang Xuyan was anyway? He did not appear to be someone who would be willing to ept an inferior status. Supposing Wang Shichongs deal with Li Shimin became reality, Dong Shuni thus became Li Yuans imperial concubine; wouldnt Yang Xuyan then be the man who had the first taste of Dong Wangfeis [princess] soup? How would this ount be settled? Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong suddenly felt another headacheing. Xu Ziling looked at Shi Feixuans moving back, which could make people all over the world, men and women, prostrate themselves in wholehearted admiration. That night at the Tianjin Bridge, Miss basically did not sustain injury at all? he asked in heavy voice. Finally Shi Feixuan turned her tender body around. Her lucid-and-elegant-without-equal jade countenance showed astonishment for the first time; after carefully sizing him up for half a day, she spoke softly, Was it just Xu Xiongs wild guess, or your eyesight is so brilliant that you are able to see through my condition? Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling replied, It was purely a kind of intuition. Shi Feixuan sighed and said, In that case Xu Xiong is indeed a man with intelligent and wisdom. But I really received a bit of internal injury, only it was not as heavy as I let on. By the time I step off of the Tianjin Bridge, I have fully recovered. After a short pause, she revealed a sweet smile, with a hint of innocence in it, her pretty eyes full of meaning, as she said, Does Xu Xiong know why Feixuan yed such a deceptive trick? Confronted with such an expression, which rarely appeared on her face, Xu Zilings heartstrings received an intense shock; but in the blink of an eyeter he regained hisposure, and replied with a smile, Did Miss want to fool Wanwan? With her pair of eyes, which were more limpid than a vast and deep autumn pool, she revealed another sweet, extremely moving, smile. Seeing how under her constant stares Xu Ziling was able to remain elegant, confident and at ease, his demeanor and movements remain natural, Shi Feixuans fragrant heart was even more astonished. If it were other men that she encountered, other than Hou Xibai, under this circumstance, they would either be at a loss to know what to do, or would be flustered. None would be like this person, who waspletely unaffected by her intimidating gaze. Shi Feixuans elegant, clear and captivating jade countenance revealed a deep, thoughtful but charming smile, as she spoke slowly, Nobody can deceive me, but the one I wanted to deceive was you, Xu Ziling. Otherwise, Feixuan would not have any excuse to retreat. Xu Ziling finally broke down; his handsome face slightly blushed, he said, Miss remark is indeed beyond my expectation. Miss could not possibly think that I am rted to the Jade Annulus of He ns theft? Shi Feixuan spoke gently, Exactly the opposite. I knew from the start that it was you who stole the Jade Annulus of He n. At a loss, Xu Ziling said, Zaixia is even more confused now. Why did Miss deliberately let me off? Shi Feixuan cheerfully replied, Finally you are willing to admit that you are the thief who stole the treasure! Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, That is precisely the reason I came to pay a formal visit to Miss. You can put any debt on my ount. But I will definitely not wait helplessly for death, although I will never harm anybody in the Temple either. A look of pity appeared on Shi Feixuans face; she sighed and said, Although the Secret to Long Life can make you step up into the rank of top martial art experts, but it also made you nearly suffer fire-deviation. In here, other than Feixuan, Liao Kong Dashi also has the ability to put you to death. Xu Xiong, is it possible for you to tell me, you were fully aware that you were going to throw your life away, yet you still came here? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, The main reason is that because you are doing your utmost for the people, but in itself you people are not seeking after personal gain, making me feel that deceiving you is some kind of a sin. Shi Feixuan moved closer step-by-step; she said, Isnt stealing the treasure a sin? Why did Xu Xiong deliberatelymit a crime? Xu Zilingughed hoarsely and said, I want to ask Miss a question first. If his opponent was a virtuous and benevolent ruler, would Li Shimin abandon his desire to strive for the world? Not only Shi Feixuan was not offended, she found it very interesting instead. I did not expect Xu Xiong to be an eloquent schr, she said, But returning to the original topic, where exactly is the Jade Annulus of He n? Xu Ziling dejectedly replied, To be honest with you, if the Jade Annulus of He n is in my hands, perhaps I would really return it to you. Unfortunately the Jade Annulus of He n is finished! Shi Feixuans jade countenance did not show the least bit of emotion; she quietly looked at him for half a day. Finally she sighed tenderly and said, Unexpectedly, two secrets, which for thousands of years have passed through countless venerable forebears, sages and schrs exhausting their thoughts to prate without any result, the first being the Secret to Long Life, and the second being the Jade Annulus of He n, had both been uncovered by you. If this is not fate, I dont know what it is. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling said, So just like that, and you understand what I am saying? Shi Feixuan spoke tenderly, As early as when we met for the first time at the bridgehead, I have already sensed it, nevertheless it was hard to believe, and only now I can verify; what else can I say? Even if I kill you, this matter cannot be mended. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Is it just my imagination? Miss does not seem to care about the Jade Annulus of He ns existence or demise. Shi Feixuan replied indifferently, Everything in the world has its own purpose. The Jade Annulus of He n was this kind of rare, strange object that had its destiny to transmit qi, it would not havee around with the slightest amount of effort. Xu Xiong, please leave! She was willing to let him go, Xu Ziling should have wiped his forehead and hasten to leave, yet this moment it looked like he would rather receive a beating or a hard lesson from her. With a rueful smile he saluted and turned around. But after walking in the rain for five, six steps, he could not help stopping and asked, Could Miss reveal in details: why did you fake an injury that night and let us off? Shi Feixuans tranquil and elegant voice came from behind, Because Feixuan started to feelpassion on you. Is this answer forting enough? Xu Zilingughed involuntarily; he continued walking leisurely. Shi Feixuan looked intently at his proud-and-aloof, above-the-crowd, back, all the way until he disappeared in the depth of the forest before she regained her gaze. Kou Zhong urged his horse to gallop out of the Imperial City; another thorn seemed to grow in his heart, giving him a gloomy mood, and it was hard to divert himself from loneliness. What troubled him most was Wang Shichongs timidity [orig. afraid of the head, terrified of the tail]. The originally wless ns have be neither soup nor water, so that he did not know whether tough or to cry. Wang Shichong himself was a top-ranking martial art master. With him in full alert, plus Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling by his side to protect him, feigning injury under assassins attack ought to be an easy matter. Although based on his current insight Kou Zhong did not think too highly of Shen Luoyans martial art skill, but he was quite wary toward her cunning and resourcefulness. Were it not for a freakbination of many factors, plus fate and happenstance, perhaps they, two brothers, would have been killed under her hands long ago. Therefore, troops disposition must be freely and effortlessly [orig. as the arm moves the finger]; otherwise, even if Sun Wu[1] were reborn, Wu Hou[2] resurrected, there would be nothing that they could do. While thinking to this point, he already turned toward the Heavenly Street. The House of Dong Restaurant towered by the bridgehead, together with the other three multistory building, they set each other off nicely. Pedestrians and carriages flowed in an endless stream along the Heavenly Street. On the River ships and boats alsoing and going continuously. The drizzle added some kind of hard-to-describe endless-entanglement atmosphere and charm. It was still half a sichen away from the wu hour [noon]. Would Xiao Ling be able to rush back in time to join him for the meeting? While thinking about it, he already passed the Tianjin Bridge and galloped toward the south gate. At a stretch Kou Zhong passed three mule carts and two horse-drawn carriages. He was having so much fun. Galloping along downtown area like this, when he was still in Yangzhou in the past, all he could do was watching other people with envy; who would have thought that now he also had the opportunity to enjoy the same experience. This moment he saw on the pedestrianne to his left a group of beautiful non-Han women wearing beautiful damask silk clothing of all kinds of color and style, walking toward him, greeting him with their eyes, and even throwing amorous nces toward him. Kou Zhong immediately disyed his snow-white and neat teeth, and shed his brilliant smile in return, inciting their pretty eyes to shine as they burst into tenderughter. Kou Zhong was greatly amused; he showed off by spurring his horse to full speed. But as he passed two riders, fast as lightning, an rm suddenly went off in his heart. A barely visible dark shadow shot out from the pedestrianne to his right, diagonally cutting through the gap between a galloping horse-drawn carriage and a walking mule cart,ing straight toward him with astonishing speed and uracy. By the time Kou Zhong perceived the dark shadow to be a long, shiny hair, it already entered the horses right nostril. The most brilliant aspect of this sneak attack was that it utilized the two vehicles as a cover. By the time the target was aware of the attack, it was already toote to react. If the hairs target was Kou Zhongs person, he would definitely be able to dodge the attack in timely manner; however, this time it was his horse that was hit by the sneak attack. The horse neighed in pain, reared on its hind legs, and fell down to the right. Following the horse, Kou Zhong was thrown forward that his head and face were covered in dirt. Springing up, he leaped over the carriages, dashing toward the direction of the secret projectile, his heart flew into rage. Traffic on the street was immediately thrown into confusion, everybody scrambled away as they cast sidelong nces toward him. After struggling for a moment, the horse crawled back up. Obviously, this strand of hair was meant to y a trick, without any real intention to harm the horse. But Kou Zhong was in high spirit when it happened, so he was angry of losing face. His toes pushed on the top of a carriage, which happened to travel along the carriagene across the street from his side of the pedestrianne, and borrowing the reaction force, he shot up just in time to catch a glimpse of a graceful womans back side, which disappeared into a sidene. This woman was wearing red warrior outfit, so it was a highly-visible target. Kou Zhong abruptly raised a mouthful of true qi. Unable to deal with the shock, he leaped overhead the passers-by toward the roof of a general store to pursue the enemy. These days, it was the first time he had to suffer such a loss of face in public; no matter what, he could not swallow this resentment. In the distance, the alluring red shadow shing and disappearing over the roof, as if it was enticing him to pursue her. By now Kou Zhong was both very skillful and very daring; knowing well that it might be a trap, he remained calm without any fear, as he pursued at full speed. In one breath, they passed over a dozen buildings. When he dropped down to the ground to cross a side street, the woman suddenly appeared ahead of him. Shaken, Kou Zhong abruptly halted his step and said in astonishment, Its you! Surprisingly, it was Hong Funu [red brushdy], who snatched Li Jing away from Susus hands. Perhaps Hong Funu liked the color red very much, because not only the whisk in her hand was blood red like it was on fire, which vying to be the most morous against her red clothing, she was wearing an alternating red and white flowers hairpin on her jet-ck and shiny hair. Combined with her icy flesh and jade bones, not only she did not look tacky at all, she appeared extraordinarily cool, elegant and graceful instead. For some unknown reason, the fire in Kou Zhongs heart disappeared for the most part. While he was musing inwardly on which woman, if she was wearing red clothes, would look better than she, Hong Funu let out a coldugh and said, This time I yed a trick to lure you here, purely because of personal gratitude and grudges; it has nothing to do with Qin Wang, so you dont have to worry that anybody else will be involved. Kou Zhong took a step forward, and asked with a frown, What gratitude and grudges is there between you and me? Hong Funus beautiful eyes shot fierce and harsh look, but the tone of her voice was extraordinarily calm. She replied slowly, Were it not for you, two guys, deliberately distorting the truth [orig. inverting ck and white] and did not distinguish right from wrong, my Fujun [lit. husband lord] would not have sighed long and short, and being miserable and depressed all day. Considering the current virtuous cause, if you can get back on the right path, it is not toote. Otherwise, dont me me for being ruthless. Kou Zhong felt a big headacheing. Just by looking at her skill in using her beautiful hair as a secret projectile a moment ago, he knew that her name was not in vain. In terms of internal strength, technique, and eyesight, she has reached the realm of top-notch martial art master. Upon self-inspection, Kou Zhong had to admit that he could not do it, while she seeded in just one strike. He was not really afraid of her, simply because he had never had a chance to face concealed weapon before. The biggest problem was that no matter how he loathed Li Jing, he would never have the heart to kill this beautiful and alluring, tender wife of his, who came to deal with him. With the exception of Wanwan, it was usually very easy for him to be softhearted toward women. In this kind of situation, the opponent was going all out to attack him, while he was having misgivings in his heart; naturally he would be greatly disadvantaged. Hong Funu thought that he was contemting her advice seriously, hence she waited patiently; she would never imagine that whats going on in his mind was apletely different thing. It was quite half a dayter that Kou Zhong sighed and asked, How did Madame meet Li Jing? Hong Funu crossly said, You answer my question first. Kou Zhong dispiritedly replied, I dont want to fight with you. Hong Funus jade countenance turned cold; she spoke heavily, In that case you are obstinately clinging to your course, obstinately persisting in going about things the wrong way. Sneering, Kou Zhong retorted, This is not obstinately persisting in going about things the wrong way, but everybody has his own aspiration. I would like to ask: who does not think that what he is doing is the most proper thing? Murderous aura shed through Hong Funus eyes. She spoke slowly, word-by-word, If not for considering that you were once my Fujuns brothers, I would have made my move early on to kill you. Right or wrong, we can always argue about it. But merely the fact that you stole the Jade Annulus of He n is already a capital offense that is difficult to forgive. Under her as-sharp-as-double-edged-sword gaze, Kou Zhong did not yield the slightest bit; he spoke heavily, This time you are looking for me, is Li Jing aware of it? Hong Funus eyes revealed a pained look; raising her whisk, she shouted tenderly, En garde! Kou Zhongughed aloud while floating back. He only withdrew for half a zhang back when he suddenly realized that because he did not have the heart to fight, he had made a very serious mistake. Tian Ce Fus [Heavenly Policy Mansion] number one martial art master was really not equal to any ordinary person. The city gate in sight, Xu Ziling spurred the horse to full speed so that he would not bete for the appointment. Toward the chivalrous and passionate hero Song Lu, he has always had high esteem, and after all, he was the uncle of Song Shidao. He had never imagined that Song Shidao was a man with deep passion and heavy righteousness. Because of his own humble background, he had never had any favorable impression toward the children and disciples of prominent school andrge and influential family. But Song Lu and Song Shidao changed his mind. Song Yuzhi was also a good woman, unfortunately ... While he was thinking about these things, a dozen or so ridersing straight ahead side by side with each other, forming a horizontal line, practically blocking the road. Xu Ziling promptly reined his horse. Turned out they were Tuoba Yu, martial brother and sister, plus a group of Tujue martial art masters. Every one of them looked grave, with thick murderous intent on their faces. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. This moment it was already toote for him to evade. Without any better option he urged his horse to forge ahead. END OF BOOK 16 [1] Sun Wu, also known as Sun Tzu (c. 500 BC, dates of birth and death uncertain), general, strategist and philosopher of the Spring and Autumn Period (700-475 BC), believed to be the author of the Art of War, one of the seven Military ssics of ancient China. [2] Wu Hou [Marquis of ZhongWu], aka Zhuge Liang (181 C 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a chancellor (or prime minister) of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is recognized as the most aplished strategist of his era,parable to Sun Tzu. Book 17 - 1 – Surrounded by Distinguished Friends Book 17 Chapter 1 C Surrounded by Distinguished Friends Hong Funus speed was high, her shenfa beautiful; she was everything Kou Zhong expected her to be. The one giving him most headache was her red whisk. Together with her amazing shenfa, they formed seamless heavenly clothes [i.e. wless], making Kou Zhong practically unable to dodge, which forced him to retreat, and thus giving the opponent the free rein to unleash her swift and fierce offensive, which surged like the waves of Yangtze River. Momentarily the whisk shadow red out, like a whirlwind it rolled Kou Zhong inside the violent gale of raging sea of powerful offensive. And by this time, it was already toote for Kou Zhong, who was not in the mood to zealously continue fighting, to draw his Moon in the Well, so he could only rely on his bare hands to cope with this red-clothed beauty storming him with relentless hard attack from the air. Worse yet, her whisk could be stiff and could be flexible; it could circle and rotate as she wished, the thread brush, which reached three chi in length, was able to move freely as if it had eyes of its own, like a viper that bore through every gap in the opponents line of defense. Even the handle of the whisk could be used to pierce acupoint and stab arteries and veins, totally overbearing, extremely fierce. From the beginning she hasunched speed-against-speed type of desperatebat, so that the opponent did not even have time to take a breather. Kou Zhong has fallen into apletely passive, defensive position; he could only meet a move by a move, waiting painstakingly for an opportunity to strike back. Whoosh! The thread brush swiped Kou Zhongs left arm, shattering his sleeve, and creating more than a dozen bloody stripes on his flesh. This was Kou Zhongs conscious decision. Just before the opponents ruthless whisk stab the pit of his stomach, relying on his speed he spun around while traversing sideways, so that he was able to evade the hit on his vital acupoint. In order to withstand the opponents attack,bined with her swift and severe footwork, which was like sudden and violent attack of ambushing troops, he simply had to watch for any opportunity in the midst of Hong Funus flowing-mercury like whisk style he could exploit. More than a dozen scorching qi power burst into his body. Kou Zhong knew that if he let this situation to continue, he would end up as a dead body lying on this side street. Hastily he raised up a mouthful of true qi, not only to neutralize the opponents invading qi power, but also to focus the power in his entire body intounching a palm chop. In this critical moment, Kou Zhong unleashed the power from the Secret to Long Life and the Jade Annulus of He n to the fullest. Although Hong Funu gained the upper hand, Kou Zhongs seemingly in, nothing-special move made her feel as if she had no way to block or to defuse. Kou Zhongs palm strike was actually made of a session of moves strung together. It was only through countless confusing-the-enemy changes that he achieved the ultimate position that rendered herpletely unable to grasp the sudden outburst of the palm momentum. Plus all the moves were wonderful as if made by heaven, fused together into one indivisible entity. Furthermore, it synched well with his body, giving the impression that all his power and his entire body and mind have synthesized into this one palm strike. The most frightening aspect was that she originally thought to follow up the victory by revolving her whisk to sweep his face, but since Kou Zhongs palm cut through the gap, he practically sealed her attack pathpletely. Left with no choice, she had to meet the enemys attack head on. Lowering her wrist to stab downward, she used fantastic changes of technique to blur her movements so that what is true and what is false was difficult to tell. The whisk appeared to be attacking the qi acupoint on his lower abdomen, but in reality, the brush was flicking upward to strike the artery on the opponents right wrist. Kou Zhongughed aloud, his palms momentum did not change, only it suddenly turned direction as it moved sideways and up at an angle, the tip of his palm shot toward the beautys sleek and graceful neck. The qi power created swishing noise. Hong Funu had never imagined that Kou Zhong would have this kind of amazing move where he was able to flip his defensive position into offensive. Although she did not want to admit it, but deep down she knew that the opponent has already seen through her whisk technique. Letting out a tender shout she pulled her whisk back, while her legs moved lightning fast to kick five times in a row. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong found the chance to strike back. With a longugh he made a somersault over Hong Funus head, both palms pressed down, without the slightest trace he evaded this younger womans kicking technique, which had made him ashamed of being inferior, by dodging the strong to attack the weak. Like a tornado the violent spiraling energy enveloped Hong Funu. Hong Funu snorted coldly. The whisk rose up, itshed toward the hollow of Kou Zhongs palm pressing down on her. Bang! Qi power collided. While Hong Funus tender body was severely shaken, Kou Zhong soared high into the air; amidst hisughter, he called out, Saozi [sister-inw] is indeed formidable. Xiaodi is ashamed of being inferior, hence I can only run for my life. He continued high into the air, and disappeared without any trace. Hong Funu stomped her feet in anger, but knew that she would never be able to pursue him. However, being called sister-inw by him, plus recalling that he had never pulled his saber, she could not stop the ill will toward him in her heart from somewhat diminishing. Now she understood why her husband Li Jing valued his brotherhood with those two. Tuoba Yu spurred his horse to move forward, and stopped next to Xu Zilings horse. Smiling wryly, he said, Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong are figures that Zaixia, after my arrival at the Central ins, has the highest regards. Being forting and holding upradeship, my real intention is to wholeheartedly make friends with you, who would have thought that the situation deteriorated to such degree, which made me feel that it is a great pity. Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief inwardly. He originally thought that the opposite party wanted to fight, but listening to the tone of his voice, it did not appear to be so. Nodding his head, he said, In life, it is difficult to have everything exactly like what we are hoping for. But even though we do not share the same viewpoint, I, Xu Ziling, still consider Tuoba Xiong as a friend, and what we have promised, we will never renege. Naturally Tuoba Yu knew that he was referring to the Secret to Long Life. Delighted, he said, I never thought Xu Xiong would go back on your word either, because you are basically not that kind of person. And then, lowering his voice, he said, You might not believe it, but Tuli Khan actually has a very high regard toward the two of you. Its just that due to that kid Ba Fenghan between us, it was hard to talk about making friends. But now that Ba Fenghan is gone, we ought to be able to sit together and talk. At first Xu Ziling was stunned, but then he recalled that Tujue peoples desire was the more chaotic the Central ins, the better it would be for them. And Kou Zhong was certainly a master in creating chaos and destroying the bnce of power. Immediately he understood the reason behind Tuli wanted to express goodwill toward them. Changing the topic, he said, Tuoba Xiongs news is indeed fast and abundant; we have just sent Fenghan Xiong off, you already tucked your tail and pursue him. Tuoba Yu snorted coldly and said, If such trivial ability we did not have, how could we go back and report to our Shizun [venerable master]? And then he sighed and said, The most unbelievable thing was that every time we came across this kid, his power seemed to be progressing oneyer. And now even Qu Ao was defeated under his hands. I only want to ask one thing: does he also suffer serious internal injury from the battle against Qu Ao? Ay! I really shouldnt ask you this question. Xu Ziling had quite a good impression toward this mystifying Tujue young martial art master. Smiling wryly, he replied, How should I answer your question? Tuoba Yus spirit rose. You already tell me the answer, he said, Honestly speaking, if he was not injured, even if we could catch up with him, theres not much we could do. But now it seems like we still have a chance to try our best. Before Xu Ziling had a chance to respond, from the other side Chunyu Wei impatiently waved her horsewhip and called out tenderly, Hey Shixiong! Is it my turn to talk yet? From the roof, Kou Zhong jumped down onto a sidene, and made a turn toward the Heavenly Street. Although his left arm, which was hit by the whisk, was no longer bleeding, but the whole arm was still throbbing with pain; the wound felt scorching hot. He still had lingering fear toward Hong Funus whisk technique, which had reached perfection. What saved his life was actually Fu Junyus Yijian Technique, which came from his ownprehension. In all honesty, under Hong Funus whisk technique, which dazzled his eyes, even a simple block already entailed extremely strenuous effort on his part, much less trying to predict her attack route and think about a move to counter it. However, the moment he was hit by the whisk, her whisk technique revealed a tiny gap, which enabled him to rouse his spirit so that he was able to somewhat seize the initiative. It was just a fleeing moment, yet one that he was able to urately grasp, and subsequently exhausting his power in that one palm strike. Not only it turned the situation around, but also because his palm regained the initiative, he was able to execute the Yijian Technique wlessly. It was just like a game of chess; heunched an amazing move that made the opponent had no choice but to respond, thereby he was able to grasp where the opponents chess piece would move to. And so his understanding of Yijian Technique was anotheryer deeper. This moment he walked among the crowd toward the Tianjin Bridge, and reached the House of Dong Restaurants main gate. As he was about to enter, someone called out from behind, Kou Xiong, please wait! Slightly blushing, Chunyu Wei said, Startingst night, I kind of like you. Xu Ziling, sitting on the horseback, listening with rapt attention, jumped in fright. What? he blurted out. Fortunately, Tuoba Yu has returned among the Tujue warriors, about five zhang away; otherwise, if he heard it, Xu Ziling would be embarrassed. This girl made a show of being very much in earnest to talk to him, but he had never imagined that she would say such thing. Evidently Chunyu Wei was not too happy with his reaction; pouting her small mouth, she said, Whats so strange about it? The men I like the most are those who are spirited and forthright, not like stupid bird who get deceived and swindled left and right. It was just because you are unlike Kou Zhong, who are always showing off his crafty and sly nature, that I did not notice you. Thats all. And then, Hee ... she giggled, exposing her snow white and neat, adorable pearly white teeth, while her eyes showed a dreamy look, and she said tenderly, Who would have thought that your craftiness is hidden well inside your belly, so that we could only watch helplessly as you guys slipped away easily. Xu Ziling did not know whether tough or cry, but he also felt big headache. Smiling wryly, he said, I merely trying to find a way to escape in order to stay alive! How could you use the word crafty to describe me? And didnt you say you like Kou Zhong? Chunyu Wei cast him a sidelong nce and said, I like both of you! Ay! I have to go. Arent you going to say a few affectionate words for me? Will youe to Tujue to look for me? Xu Ziling awkwardly said, In my opinion, you picked the wrong target of affection. If I was really crafty, I would have known how to coax you right now. Unfortunately, I cant even hold my own. Is there anything you want me to pass on to Kou Zhong? Pursuing people is like putting off fire, Miss must not lose the opportunity for the sake of a stupid bird like me. Not only Chunyu Wei did not pout yfully, she appeared to be in high spirit instead, almost to the point of euphoria, I like what you said so much. Capable men are not afraid the women they love would look down on them. If I amte, Ille back to look for you two. Ay Actually, Ba kid is also not bad; if he did not kill Da Shixiong [first martial brother], that would be much better! Xu Zilings opinion on her rose up significantly. The most adorable aspect of this na?ve, passionate young girl was her honesty and forting, her hot pursuit of the bright side of life. Chunyu Wei smiled sweetly, and lowering her voice even more, she said, Tell Kou Zhong to be careful of Tuli; he is a crafty and cunning schemer. Shizun has never liked him. Yu Wei has to go now! Hee ... Its very rare that good-looking men like you and Kou Zhong also have heroic and lofty quality. Xu Ziling was anxious of beingte. Hearing herst remark, he felt as if he had just received the Emperors amnesty. After mumbling some kind of farewell, he spurred his horse to gallop away. Kou Zhong turned around to look; surprisingly it was Tuli and a group of Tujue martial art masters. They were jumping down their horses. Tuli let one of his subordinate to take care of his horse, while as if he was an old friend he came over to Kou Zhong and said with a smile, If Kou Xiong is alone, how about eating lunch together? I have an appointment with Shimin Xiong to meet here. Kou Zhong walked side by side with him toward the restaurants front steps. Pretending to be pleased, he said, Khans good intention is highly appreciated. But not only I do have an appointment myself,st night I had a falling out with Shimin Xiong; if we eat at the same table, perhaps it will affect his appetite. Ha! We will always have another opportunity in the future. In his heart he was secretly wondering, Tuli and he could neither be considered friends nor foes, why suddenly be this amiable to him? Tuli was proud and arrogant, but with his status as the king of Tujue nation, he was willing to lower his voice and downy his air; it may be assumed that he had some scheme to y. Tuli halted his steps, and asked in low voice, Has Ba Fenghan left? Following his example, Kou Zhong also stopped, and said in astonishment, Khan has been in Luoyang for not too many days, yet your eyes and ears are this fast and abundant? Tulis group of Tujue martial art masters formed a ring around them, adopting a stance of stopping anybody from walking too close to these two men, so that the guests entering the restaurant had to walk a few paces farther around them; they looked rather overbearing. Tuliughed and said, To be quite honest, in a world-ss strategic city like Luoyang, how could we not have eyes and ears? Much less Kou Xiong, three men, unted your prowess by openly riding out the gate. If we were still at a loss, do we even need to mingle in the Central ins? Kou Zhong smiled and replied, Since Khan is able to see through our deliberate ostentatious disy, you must also know that Ba Xiong has some other clever method that he is not afraid of being tracked! A murderous aura flitted through Tulis eyes, but it vanished as quickly. He calmly said, Ba Fenghan may be able to evade other people, but definitely he wont be able to avoid Ba Daier. One, because she is well acquainted with all Ba Fenghans tactics. Two, because her Enshi [benevolent master] Zhao Deyan Guoshi [teacher of the state, Athena tranted it as Imperial High Priest (as in Jinlun Guoshi, her note on 3rd Edition of Return of the Condor Heroes)] has passed on to her the matchless-under-the-heavens pursuing-and-tracking skill. So Ba Fenghans counting his chickens before they are hatched n will certainly fail. Kou Zhongughed and said, Even if you can overtake him, what can you do to him? Tuliughed calmly and said, If we continued talking like this, we will end up opposing each other with equal harshness again. Frankly speaking, I really admire Kou Xiongs style in handling matters, and really wish that we could convert an enemy into a friend. If we can look for possibilities for cooperation, it will be greatly beneficial, without bringing any harm, to both sides. Kou Zhong replied indifferently, Khan thinks so highly of Xiaodi, it really makes me overwhelmed by favor [from superior]. Someday when we have a chance to raise our wine cup and chat in details, we will think about some mutually profitable grand projects. Delighted, Tuli said, Kou Xiong is indeed a man who has a clear view of things as well as knowing your surrounding; you will have great prospects for the future. When the time is ripe, I will pay special visit to you. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to take his leave and continue climbing up the stairs. But in his heart he was still pondering and specting on what did Tuli mean by his remark, when the time is ripe. Trailing a group of seven or eight riders, Xu Ziling entered the spacious outer courtyard of the House of Dong Restaurant. Only after entering the door did he notice that one of those men was surprisingly Li Shimin. But he did not see either Li Jing or Hong Funu. Already toote to avoid him, he could only hope that Li Shimin would not see him. Who would have thought that everybody in Li Shimins group seemed to be alerted at the same time; they all looked at him. Bracing himself, Xu Ziling said, What a coincidence, Shimin Xiong also came here. Li Shimin revealed a slightly pleasantly surprised smile; hastening over to him, he said, I was just looking for Ziling Xiong for a chat, who would have thought I bump into you in here. All his escorts were smiling amiably; there was not the least bit of swords-drawn-bows-bent sentiment on them. But Xu Ziling still felt that their eyes were looking for any w or weakness in him; nothing seemed to escape their gaze. Li Shimin cheerfully said, Let Xiaodi introduce Ziling Xiong. This one here is Yuchi Jingde Xiong. Not only is he proficient in the art of war, he is also an expert in usingnce and mace. His name shakes the Jianghuai. Yuchi Jingde, who looked to be about twenty-five, twenty-six years old, took a step forward, and cupped his fist to salute. At first nce this mans physique did not look either big or tall, hence he did not particrly attract attention. Yet he was able to make Xu Ziling had a deep, unforgettable impression on him, because he was standing erect with stable-as-a-mountain air, and carried a stream of murderous-looking momentum around him; a clear disy of out-of-the-ordinary power and charisma, with the confidence of a fierce general who treated the enemys magnificent army with thousands of men and horses as nothing. His face had some kind of in and simple, inelegant, and boorish vor, but his eyes were flickering with spirited light, so that others knew that he was not someone who could be easily bullied. While Xu Ziling was sizing him up, he still fixed his attention respectfully. I believe very soon I will be able to ask Xu Xiong for advice on the outstanding consummate skill you got from the Secret to Long Life! he said with a smile. Naturally Xu Ziling understood the meaning behind his remark; he only smiled but did not say anything. Another man took a step forward and introduced himself, Zaixia Pang Yu. I have seen Xu Xiong before. Xu Zilings eyes lit up suddenly. This man was tall and handsome; rarer still, his build was well proportioned, and there was nothing he could pick about. Moreover, he appeared svelte and forthright, giving the impression of a refined, educated gentleman, an expert in diplomacy, yet without being too wordy. These two were key persons within Li Shimins Heavenly Policy Mansion, and formidable opponents to Kou Zhong and he. Standing behind Pang Yu slightly to the side was a seemingly gentle schr in schrly attire, on his fair andely face there seemed to hang a perpetual smile of someone who always nned in advance, someone who speak unhurriedly, and was always calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos. By the time Li Shimin introduced this man was Zhangsun Wuji, Xu Ziling immediately recalled that this man and Yuchi Jingde were the two men Kou Zhong particrly mentioned; Xu Ziling could not help shivering inwardly. Yuchi Jingde exuded domineering prowess without appearing angry. Together with Pang Yus heroic suave manners, and Zhangsun Wujis unfathomable depths, have stirred up the vignce in Xu Zilings heart. As for the remaining three men, they were Luo Shixin, Shi Wanbao, and Liu Dewei; all were martial art masters with refined and amassed qi within their bodies. Just from these six men, one could have a glimpse of Li Shimins astonishing strength. After the introduction, Li Shimin warmly pulled Xu Zilings elbow to have him walking side-by-side with him, and said in a low voice, Last night Xiaodi had a detailed chat with Mr. Li Jing ... Hearing the name Li Jing, Xu Ziling immediately stopped his steps and cut him off, Everybody has his own aspiration, and nobody can force it on anybody else. Shimin Xiong must not consider Kou Zhongs normally frivolous manners. The fact is that he really has his own strong views; his determination will not be easily swayed by others. Li Shimin let go of Xu Zilings elbow;ughing calmly, he said, In that case Xiaodi can save a lot of talking. In the future, if I evermit an offense, Ziling Xiong must not take it personally. Xiaodi is also forced to act against my will. After staring deep at Xu Ziling with eyes brimming with emotion, he waved his hand with determination, and then with a smile on his face he led the Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art masters continued on up the stairs into the restaurant. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing that he had just missed thest opportunity make amend with Li Shimin. From now on, Li Shimin would be their most dreadful archenemy. Book 17 - 2 – House of Dong Restaurant Book 17 Chapter 2 C House of Dong Restaurant The long, beautifully bearded Silver Dragon Song Lu looked as suave as before, but the inseparable Liu Jing has grown more attractive, like juicy peach, which could drip its intoxicating juice at any time. Song Lu has reserved a wing room at the southern end of the top floor of the House of Dong Restaurant, separated from the other rooms on the wing by a small reception hall; a clear disy of the Song ns prestige and status in Luoyang. The path toward the room was guarded by five, six young martial art masters of the Song n. As soon as they saw Kou Zhong, their manners became very respectful, but it was also clear that deep down in their hearts they also submitted cheerfully to him. The fact that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling rose up from an insignificant soldier and made a name for themselves, bing figures that were numbered among the heroes of the world, has already set up the target for the younger generations of Wulin that they were inspired to achieve. Compared to those children and disciples of the rich and powerful families who were born sucking silver spoons in their mouths, the two boys made people felt even more remarkable. Kou Zhong did not put an air at all, he courteously and amiably greeted the martial art masters of the Song family who were on guard duty, and then led by them, he entered the room. This southern wings actual capacity was ten banquet tables, but currently there was only one table facing the window. Outside the window was the Luo River, dividing Luoyang into north and south sections, where boats and ships came and went in unceasing stream. If someone was to sit on the chair by the window, by just craning his neck he would be able to see the most famous bridge in Luoyang, the Tianjin Bridge. As soon as Kou Zhong stepped over the doorstep, he saw a fifty-something man, chubby, his entire body covered in pearl-light and jewel-aura, looked like a big merchant, was standing right beside Song Lus seat, chatting with him in low voice. While on the other side, the cute and helpless-looking Liu Jing [orig. like a little bird relying on people] was half leaning on Song Lus body, listening attentively to the two mens conversation. Once in a while her silver bell like tenderughter rang out. Song Yuzhi was sitting with her back to the door, her beautiful hair was neatlybed, and was tied into a pce-style bun on the top of her head, exuding some kind of grandeur, beautiful, and touching charm. As Liu Jing caught sight of Kou Zhong, her beautiful eyes lit up, as sheughed tenderly and called out, Xiao Zhong,e here! You have grown so tall. Song Lus eyes fell upon Kou Zhong; he stood up, chuckled and said, Schrs separated for three days, a whole new level of respect is grown. I never thought that I, Song Lu, who have always had outstanding vision, would make an error of judgment toward two gentlemen. The tacky-dressed chubby man, with brows raised in delight, eyesughing, saluted and said, Kou Ye is willing to honor us with your presence, this is to our House of Dong Restaurants glory. And thus Kou Zhong found out that this man was the big boss of the House of Dong Restaurant. Song Yuzhi remained absolutely still, she neither turn around to look at him nor call to greet him. Song Lu left his seat to meet Kou Zhong; he reached out to grab both his hands, his eyes were shing brightly, while revealing the emotion deep in his heart. He sighed and said, After we parted that year, I immediately heard the news of Junchuos passing. Life is impermanent; this is difficult to dispel. Fortunately the two of you live up to Junchuos expectation. Her soul in heaven will beforted. His grief evoked by Song Lu, Kou Zhong felt as if he was back on the ship that day, when he was still an insensible kid; his pair of tiger-eyes turned red. He only knew how to grab Song Lus warm and soft hands, but did not know what to say. Liu Jing, who was still sitting, scolded him, Today we are allowed to speak about happy things only. Xiao Zhong, quickly punish your Lu Shu [uncle] one cup of wine. Boss Dong walked away from his position next to Song Lus seat; he said with augh, How about Kou Ye take a seat first and drink a cup of hot tea before we talk further? Isnt Xu Yeing with you? Remembering that he has not introduced the two, he pulled Kou Zhongs shoulders and took him over toward the seats, saying, Dong Fang is the big boss of the House of Dong Restaurant, no one in Luoyang does not know him; he is also my old friend for more than thirty years. We are all family, no need to stand on ceremony. Kou Zhong promptly saluted and said, Xiao Ling ising in a little bit. After they were seated, Liu Jing said with augh, Is Old Dong training zhan gong [standing skill]? Why not sit down? It was obvious that the two knew each other intimately; Boss Dongughed and said, In order to earn two meals to scrape a meager living, I was born to a hard life. I dont know what wind has been blowing today that all three reception-halls are reserved by honored guests that I cannot note out to greet. Ay! Madame ought to know that if I sit down, I wont want to get up. Hearing his interesting talk of making fun of himself, everybody burst outughing. Even the taut-faced, pretty Song Yuzhi also cracked a smile, although she was still unwilling to meet Kou Zhongs burning gaze toward her. Kou Zhong said with augh, Dong Laoban is indeed witty. I wonder which reception hall did that kid Li Shimin reserve? Obviously Song Lu was well aware of Kou Zhong rtionship with Li Shimin went bad. Did youe across him? he spoke heavily. Tranquil and calm, Kou Zhong replied, The one I came across was Tuli. Li kid is having a lunch appointment with him here. Slightly awkward, Dong Fang said, Qin Wang had wanted to reserve this reception hall, because of the beautiful scenery overlooking the Tianjin Bridge region, but I have already reserved this for Lu Xiong, naturally I could not give him this hall. Liu Jing put on a flirtatious demeanor, as she pretended to guess, Then he ought to have the western hall. From that ce we can also see the beautiful scenery: part of the Tianjin Bridge and the Luo River flowing toward the western park. Dong Fang sighed and said, Someone was one-step-ahead of him to reserve the western hall; therefore, Qin Wang could only take the eastern hall. Fortunately, although from that hall we cannot see Tianjin Bridge, we can still enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Luo Rivers eastern section. Song Lu chuckled and said, Who has such a face to do that? As far as I know, because Dong Laoban is afraid that he would not be able to amodate honored guestsing from all over the country who are trying to reserve the top floor at thest moment, he would rather keep it unupied than to let just anybody to reserve it. This time, even Song Yuzhi appeared to be interested. Kou Zhong turned his head around to look outside the window; the magnificentndscape on both sides of the Luo River took in the whole scene at once. His ears heard Dong Fangs voice replying, Lu Xiong is the just like a worm inside Xiaodis belly. I always have high regards toward the heroes and towering figures of the world, so I do not wish to offend any party. Liu Jings silver bell likeughter rang out, In that case, it does not matter who would be the Emperor, our Dong Laoban will always be able to do a good business. While Dong Fang and Song Lu roared inughter, Song Yuzhi crossly said, Dong Shu has not exined who reserved the western hall! Dong Fang replied, The hall is reserved by our Luoyangs richest man, Big Boss Rong Fengxiang; he wanted to entertain his guests Zhi Shng, Wang Bo, and the Tuyuhun Wangzi [prince] Fu Qian. Tell me, do you think I would dare to change their reservation? Hearing these words, Kou Zhong turned his head around in shock and said, This time well get to see a good show. Led by an eagerly attentive waiter, Xu Ziling went up the stairs. The waiter gave him a runningmentary, The southern hall that Song Ye reserved can be considered number one among the top floors four halls, twelve rooms; it is well known all over the city. Xu Ziling was about to perfunctorily ask a couple of questions, suddenly someone calling his name from behind. Stunned, he turned around, and surprisingly it was Beautiful Shifu Yun Yuzhen, whom he had not seen for a long time. Xu Ziling hurriedly sent the waiter away; when the smiling coyly Yun Yuzhen came to his side, heughed cheerfully and said, How could there be such a coincidence? Yun Yuzhen reached out with her lily-white hand to pull his elbow. The older you get, the more handsome you are, she said warmly, But the older he gets, the worse Kou Zhong is. It would be best if the two of you could swap a bit with each other! Did Kou Zhong tell you that he met his Master? Meanwhile they had reached the top floor. Yun Yuzhen took him to a room at the western hall, and stopped by the door. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, Shifu has an important information for you: Wang Bo already formed a secret alliance with Yuwen Huaji; right now they are actively wooing Fu Qian, hoping to gain this emerging power from Tuyuhun to help them in conquering the world. Originally, because Yun Yuzhens excessive passion, with her scimitar-shaped eyebrows tightly knitted, and particrly her breath that smelled like orchid as she whispered into her ear, Xu Ziling was extremely tantalized and unbearably itchy. But hearing thest sentence, he immediately forgot everything. His tiger-eyes shed spiritedly, he asked, Is there such thing? Intentionally or not, as if she was unable to restrain her excitement, Yun Yuzhens fragrant lips brushed against his earlobe. Tender and soft as water she said, Even if Shifu can deceive anybody, I do not have the heart to deceive you, Ziling. But this man, Fu Qian, is extremely shrewd. This time he came to the Central ins, his main purpose was to understand the situation, so he cant possibly recklessly allying himself to any faction. Xu Ziling could not help moving his head a little. His face was less than three cun away from Yun Yuzhens pretty face, he said, Shifu, didnt you just arrive in Luoyang? How did you know so much ssified information? Yun Yuzhen was about to answer, when a gentle, sweet-sounding male voice came from the inside through the closed door, Yuzhen! Whom are you talking to? Hurry up here! Xu Ziling immediately recognized the Passionate Prince Hou Xibais voice. Yun Yuzhens pretty face blushed; awkwardly she replied, Iming! And then, quickly she pecked Xu Zilings cheek, catching him off-guard, and said, Ill find youter. Finished speaking she pushed the door open and entered in. Xu Ziling stared nkly for half a day, before walking toward the southern hall. When Dong Fang left the southern hall to greet other honored guests, there were only four people remained in the hall. Kou Zhong said, How much does Lu Shu know about this man, Rong Fengxiang? Song Yuzhi finally turned around to face Kou Zhong; she spoke calmly, yet icily, In himself, Rong Fengxiangs origin is a mystery; although no one has ever seen him fighting, but no one does not think that his martial art skill is outstanding. On top of that, he is slick and sly, and is getting on well with people of both ck and white ways. Why do you care about him? Casting a sidelong nce toward Kou Zhong, Liu Jing scolded him tenderly, Xiao Zhong, what exactly did you do to offend Zhizhi, so that all of us have to suffer her sarcasticments? Jing Yi [auntie]! Song Yuzhi cried out crossly. Song Lu chuckled and said, Girls love to throw temper tantrum to have fun, this is normal. Right! Whether Rong Fengxiang will have a good show for us to watch today, what does it have to do with us? Kou Zhong turned toward the pouting, puffing-her-fragrant-cheeks Song Yuzhi first and bowed to apologize while giggling; and only after seeing that she still did not want to look at him did he turn toward Song Lu and Liu Jing, who had been trying to help him so much. This fellow Rong Fengxiang ought to be somewhat rted to Li Shimin, he said, This time they are entertaining Fu Qian and Wang Bo in this ce, I am sure it is not as simple as it appears. Just by looking at how Li kid was trying to reserve the hall right after Rong Fengxiang did, it is not difficult to see that Li Shimin and Tuli, two kids, are scrambling to get Fu Qian and Wang Bo to their side. Pfft! Liu Jing giggled tenderly and said, Xiao Zhong has not grown out of your childish nature; what big fellow, little kid? Isnt that hrious? Song Lu nodded and said, In that case, Li Shimin and Tulis target must be Fu Qian. This man has not established his foundation in the Central ins yet; therefore, if they can somehow disgrace him, he would end up retreating in grief. This moment Xu Ziling came in. Song Lu happily weed him and directed him to his seat, which was between Song Yuzhi and Liu Jing, across the table from Kou Zhong. Liu Jing could not take her eyes off Xu Ziling; sizing him up, her fawning manner grew without restraint as she said, Xiao Lings appearance is more awesome than Xiao Zhong; inside the delicate and pretty shell, there is an outstanding, above-the-crowd heroic air. Which girl would not fall in love with you? Her coquettish, charming to the bones manner stirred up a warm, intimate and familiar feeling in Xu Zilings heart, while also evoking the painful memory of Fu Junchuos death, which felt like a distant dream. Recalling the transformations of the world [orig. the blue sea turned into mulberry fields], the human affairs that are constantly changing, how that year they met on board a huge ship on the Yangtze River; everything felt as if it was just happening yesterday. He could not help reciprocating, Jing Yi is also getting more beautiful and alluring than ever. ttered by him, Liu Jings eyebrows blossomed, her eyesughed. Song Lu cheerfully said, Surprisingly this kind of pleasant-to-hear and amusing words came from Xiao Lings mouth; its really hard to believe. But it is clear that he spoke out of what he feels. Song Yuzhi shot a nce toward Kou Zhong, as if indicating that if it was Kou Zhong who said it, then it should not be believed. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong met Song Yuzhi eyes with the same expression she was showing him. Turning to Xu Ziling, he asked, Where did you go? How dare you arrivedte! Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and nonchntly replied, Nowhere in particr; I just made a detour to Jing Nian Chanyuan, to talk with Shi Feixuan a little bit. Ha! Why are you staring at me like that? In fact, as they were listening to him, the other three peoples eyes were growing bigger and bigger, while their faces showed a disbelieving expression. Did youy everything out in the open? Kou Zhong blurted. Calmly Xu Ziling spread his arms and said, Even an ugly woman will have to meet her father and mother-inw sooner orter. Dragging this matter over just between you and I, what good would it bring? Kou Zhong was at a loss. Carefully looking at him up and down, he said, Although on the surface you look all right, but you are suffering a serious internal injury and may fall dead any moment? Song Lu and Liu Jing booed and roared inughter. Song Yuzhis jade countenance also thawed; she even hung her head down andughed in her sleeve, revealing her amused tender and na?ve demeanor, which, on this stubborn and arrogant noble woman of heroic familys face, appeared extremely touching. Liu Jingughed and swore, Get out of here! How can you say such an ominous words? When theughter stopped, Xu Ziling angrily said, Thats why I often said that you have the heart of a Xiaoren [lowly one/person of low social status], but taking other peoples noble belly, seeing outsiders readily spoke about fighting and shout about killing. The truth is that Wang Bo is hatching a plot; just now I bumped into Yun Bangzhu, who confirmed that Wang Bo is really drawing close to our archenemy Yuwen Huaji, so ... Kou Zhong did not show the least bit of interest toward Wang Bo; he cut him off, What did Shi Feixuan say? Did she threaten you? Xu Zilingughed in spite of himself; he said, When will you ever get rid of your Xiaoren habit? She is cultivating Dhyana [i.e. Zen] Buddhist teaching, which pays particr attention to karma and destiny; how could she be like us,mon people, who always seek revenge for any hatred we have? Ay! I really wish we can immediately cut Yuwen Huajis stinky head and have it to apany our wine. Song Lu said, Whats wrong with differentiating gratitude and grudges? Buddhism also has methods to get rid of demons and subdue devils. If someone like Yuwen Huaji ascends the throne to be the emperor, the damage hed do will be no less than Yang Guang. Right! How could Liao Kong let you see Shi Feixuan that easily? Xu Ziling said, I also thought I would not be able to see Shi Feixuan, so I was ready to leave, who would have thought that Shi Feixuan personally appeared? Astounded, Liu Jing said, Perhaps she took a fancy to you? pping the table, Kou Zhong said, I was going to say the same thing. Xu Zuling smiled ruefully and said, This way of thinking can be said showering affection on an uninterested party. Shi Feixuan is an out-of-this-world spiritual person, her only concern is the well-being of the people. Song Yuzhi did not understand, But she still has no reason to let you get away? she said, Did you return the Jade Annulus of He n to her? Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to look at her and said, The Jade Annulus of He n is gone, just like the food we ate. Where could we find a treasure to be returned to her? Finally Song Yuzhi was looking at him. Four eyes met, and she snapped, Not one decent word. I wasnt talking to you. Kou Zhong cried out injustice!; he said, If I, Kou Zhong, say just one empty word, let me be punished by not obtaining San Xiaojies good graces for the rest of my life. If you dont believe me, just ask Ling kid, who you think is honest and reliable. Immediately red clouds burned Song Yuzhis jade cheeks; she was so angry that she nearly bestowed Kou Zhong a big p on the face. Song Lu tried to diffuse the situation, Xiao Ling, theres no harm in telling us what this is all about. Xu Ziling briefly exined everything. In the meantime, the food and drink arrived; everybody stopped talking. After the waiter left, Song Lu sighed and said, Unusual treasure is indeed an unusual treasure; unexpectedly such thing happened, which is hard for people to imagine. You two lucky kids, Liu Jing said with envy. Kou Zhong politely refilled everybodys cups. When he got to Song Yuzhi, the beauty put her hand on the cup and coldly said, I dont drink wine today. With this put-down, Kou Zhong set down the wine pot and wanted to pour tea for her, but Song Yuzhis other hand reached out toward the tea pot, and then with a rather strained smile she said, I can pour it myself, no need to trouble your honorable hand. Kou Zhong knew that she was merely looked impressive but is worthless; greatly delighted, he returned to his seat, barely able to hide his smile; he even pretended to sit back and rx, and even stretched his limbs as if relieved from a burden. Song Yuzhi could only returned to her previous condition and no longer pay attention to him. Analyzing the situation, Song Lu said, Since the Jade Annulus of He n, which was well known throughout the ages, has already vanished, and you have be big enemy of Yin Gui Pai, Shi Feixuan letting you go was a sensible act. Hows the current situation of the south? Kou Zhong asked. Knitting her jet-ck eyebrows, Liu Jing said, You still dare to ask us? After turning the sky and the earth upside down in the south, the two of you just walked away and leave a terrible mess for us to tidy up. Song Lu interjected, Fortunately this terrible mess brought us advantages without any harm. However, the fly in the ointment is that due to Lin Shihong is weakening considerably, Shen Faxing and Du Fuwei pose direct threat to the alliance of our Song Family of Lingnan with Baling Bang. Kou Zhongs interest was greatly piqued, Hows Old Xiaos current situation? he asked. Song Lu smiled wryly and replied, That is the other headache. After Tieqi Hui [first mention Book 7 Chapter 3, Qu Aos son] vanished like smoke in thin air, he went all-out in controlling the south, his territory expanded substantially, his military strength reaches forty-thousand men. Although currently they are still polite toward us, but nobody knows if hed change his mind tomorrow. Snorting coldly, Kou Zhong said, Vying over thend under the heavens, from the beginning it has always been whether one can control thend outside the Pass. Hows my xiongdi [brothers] of the Zhuhua Bang [bamboo flower gang, see Book 6 Chapter 4]? Song Lu thought for a moment before answering, Zhizhi knows more about this. Song Yuzhi glowered at him first before saying, Do you really concern about your xiongdi, or are you afraid Zhuhua Bang might fly away from the palm of your hands? Kou Zhong giggled and said, If it were still our Yangzhou days, where Xiao Ling and I yed with rocks and mud, of course I would concern over my friends. But now we are all grown up, naturally my concern is for my own undertaking and my own future, where friends actually y a major part. Am I frank enough? Song Yuzhi stared deep into his eyes for a moment; a bit grudgingly, she said, Your childhood ymate Gui Xiliang has be the new Bangzhu of Zhuhua Bang, and soon will be Shao Lingzhous son-inw. So you have the power in your palms. Are you satisfied? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; they were both stunned. Liu Jing said with augh, Why havent you thanked Zhizhi? In this matter, she spent a lot of effort on your behalf! Before Kou Zhong had any chance to respond, there was a loud rumbling noise from somewhere on the top floor, followed by Fu Jians longughter. He said, With this kind of skill, you dare to disy your meager skill before me? Extremely ridiculous! Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, The good show finally starts. Do we want to stay here and eat, or go out to join the fun? Before he even finished, Liu Jing was the first to leave her chair and spoke crossly, Do you even have to think about it? Book 17 - 3 – Unstable Situation at the Famous Restaurant Book 17 Chapter 3 C Unstable Situation at the Famous Restaurant The House of Dong Restaurant had staircases on the southeast and northwest corners of the building connecting the three lower floors, but the staircase leading to the top floor was located in the middle. One must walked through the corridor of the third floor before one could climb onto this fourth floor. The stairwell was enclosed in wooden railing with decorative carved pattern, surrounded by open space up to three zhang wide, which also served as the hub where corridors leading to the individual rooms converged. It gave the impression of grandeur, as well as wide-open atmosphere. By the time Kou Zhong and the others rushed out of the corridor leading to the southern hall to the stairwell area, all four corridors were already packed with people. Li Shimin, Tuli, and the group of men under theirmand, were standing in a row outside the north corridor. Every one was ring like a tiger watching its prey toward Fu Jian, who was standing by the railing, with his hands behind his back, looking down the stairwell toward the lower floor. Xing Mofei, Wang Bo, and a group of Tuyuhun martial art masters spread out behind Fu Qian, about a zhang away, showing coldugh on their faces. It was a tense situation [orig, with swords drawn and bows bent]; their opponent was obviously Li Shimin and Tulis side. Among the crowd watching the excitement on the eastern corridor, Kou Zhong and the others recognized the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai and Yun Yuzhen; the others ought to be restaurant patrons who happened to be there just at the right time. Following Fu Qians eyes, Kou Zhong and the others also cast their gaze downstairs. They saw a man lying face down on the stairs between two floors, unmoving; it was unclear whether he was dead or alive. Looking at his hat and attire, he must be a Tujue martial art master who came with Tuli. Kou Zhong leaned over to Song Yuzhis small ear and whispered, Good Zhizhi, is that Rong Fengxiang? Song Yuzhis pretty eyebrows were slightly knitted; she appeared a bit ufortable at his deliberate show of affection, yet she did not move away, simply because Liu Jing was standing on her other side, thereupon she nodded slightly as a response. Kou Zhong was referring to a middle age man, who looked to be in good shape; his face thin, tall andnky, a bit like Wang Bo, but his expression serious, a face that seldom smiled, but giving out the impression that he was a cool-headed andposed man. His eyes sharp, his nose high and straight; in proportion to the rest of his face, his mouth looked a bit too big, his temples high and bulging, yet he also carried a big boss air on him. This moment, all eyes were on Fu Qian, yet this gentleman, without the slightest degree of uneasiness, with a despising look on the corner of his mouth, which was barely discernible, spoke coldly, Tuli, if you want to fight, why should you send your subordinate to throw away his life first? Li Shimin took a step forward and spoke indifferently, Victory or defeat ismonce in any military operation. May I ask how does Fu Xiong view Mu Tiexiongs life or death? Other matter can be discussedter. Surprised, Fu Qian turned his gaze toward Li Shimin; an amazed and alert expression flitted across his eyes. Frowning, he said, Who are you, Sire? Why do you speak for Tuli? Letting out a cold snort, Tuli said, Fu Qian, you have eyes but fail to see Mt. Tai, even Qin Wang Li Shimin, formidable renown gives him authority over the whole country, you did not know, yet you still came to the Central ins and got into this muddy water. Xiaodi really need to wipe your cold sweat for you. Although the crowd was still unclear on why Fu Qian and Dauntless Lion Mu Tiexiong fought, but they could more or less guess that Tuli deliberately sent out Mu Tiexiong to incite trouble, but he received a lesson instead. As for why Tuli was so unwise like that, apart from the person involved, the rest were at a loss. Fu Qian let out a longugh and said, I have long heard Qin Wangs name, and today I finally am able to see him. Indeed he is a dragon among men. Fu Qian pays his respect. Whether he was talking orughing, there was some kind of heroic charisma that look disdainfully on the whole world, which was extremely terrifying. The most amazing thing was the dragon [young dragon with horns] beard on his face, which stuck outright, yet could make people feel that he was a thoughtful, refined man, without the shoring of an uncouth, reckless man of the wild. With a hint of smile on his face, Li Shimin returned the propriety. Grandly, yet modestly he replied, Fu Xiong ttered me, Shimins really ashamed and dare not ept the honor. If Fu Xiong has no objection, Shimin would like to send someone to look at General Mus condition. Fu Qian sneered and said, No need to do more than is required. Just let Mu Xiongy down for a moment and then he would be able to get up by himself. Shimin Xiong please do not me Xiaodi for showing no mercy for this lowly man; if it werent so, it would be difficult to bring everybody out here. And then he swept his gaze around. When his eyesnded on Kou Zhong and the others, unexpectedly he smiled and nodded his head in greeting. His manner was calm, and extremely elegant. This moment Wang Bo interjected, Please let Ol Wang give my impartial judgment: General Mu blocking our way, it was already rude, yet he also publicly insult Wangzis nsman. Wangzi made his move, it could be considered reasonable. Tuli nodded and said, The victor is the king, the loser is the bandit; this can be called reasonable. So be it. But Old Wang ought to know the Central ins current situation; it could be said that nothing is reasonable. Since Fu Wangzi dared to lead his troops to the east, naturally he knew that this is not the good time to go on a scenic tour. This moment, Dong Fang suddenly appeared from nobody knows where; he said, Gentlemen, if you have anything against each other, lets talk. Please give this old man a little bit of face! He had not yet finished, Rong Fengxiang already cut him off, Dong Laoban obviously knows that this matter is not an ordinary Jianghu dispute at all, any damage your honorable building suffer, let ol Rong take the responsibility. This man spoke with arrogance, without giving the other party the slightest opportunity to argue. Dong Fang was an extremely slick and sly man; he did not dare to speak too much, but was appealing for help by casting a nce toward Song Lu, while with his mouth said, Rong Laobans verbal confirmation is enough. Even if my humble building is torn down, I, Dong Fang will be able to build another one. The tone of his voice was harsh and defiant; apparently he was disgruntled over Rong Fengxiangs big-rock-crushing-down-the-crab haughtiness. Song Lu made his way out of the crowd; naturally Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Song Yuzhi and Liu Jing followed closely behind him, immediately creating a burst of chaos. When Song Lu reached the outermost row of people crowding the south corridor, this martial art master, senior figure of the Song n let out an ear-splitting longughter, imbued by his strong internal energy, so that everybodys eyes were drawn toward him. It was only then did Song Lu cupped his fist and said, Zaixia, Song Lu of Lingnan, would like of offer my humble opinion, wishing everybody to let me speak it out. Forget about he demonstrating his profound internal power by hisughter, or perhaps his reputation as the Silver Dragon Song Lu; merely the fact that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, these two shooting-star upstarts of Wulin world, were standing on his side as his attendants, was enough to give his words some substance [orig. if thrown on the floor, it will make a sound], so that people would not dare to ignore him. Fu Qians gaze swept them; when his eyesnded on Song Yuzhi, they lit up with distinct expression of iparable admiration. Finally they returned to Song Lu and he said in delight, Old Songs reputation filled thend under the heavens, a genuine chivalrous hero; of course ol Fu will listen. When his eyes were fixed on Song Yuzhis flowery jade countenance, Kou Zhong, who was standing by her side, was able to sense that although on the surface she acted as if nothing happened, but her heartbeat and her pulses responded by speeding up; he could not help feeling bitter and his heart ached, knowing that toward this martial art master of Tuyuhun royalty, Song Yuzhi was unable to ignorepletely. Song Lus eyes shed brightly, as he swept his gaze across Li Shimin, Tuli, and their men, before finally rested on Rong Fengxiang. He smiled and said, Rong Laoban, please dont take offense, we are people who are used to roam the Jianghu, we love our freedom and hold debt of gratitude and grudges in high regards, only seeking the delight of our hearts. But Dong Laoban has poured his hearts blood into this building; if we fight in here and in the end there are cooked crane or burned qin [zither], it will be a blot on thendscape. Why not we move the troops to the za downstairs, and continue our dispute there? By listening to his remark, it was obvious that he did not betray Rong Fengxiangs face, but at the same time he made the opposite party difficult to refute. Quite surprisingly, Rong Fengxiang was not angry; he only spoke indifferently, Song Xiongs advice is proper; how could Xiaodi have any objection? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, however, shivered inwardly. This man could either bow and submit, or stand tall [idiom from I Ching, Book of Changes]; his speech was in good taste and fitting. He was definitely an extraordinary figure. Fu Qianughed happily and said, Fighting anywhere shouldnt be a problem. Even in here, ol Fu can guarantee that not a single tile or a piece of wood will be damaged. Whether the opponent can do the same, this is something that is out of my control. The crowd was in uproar; Fu Qian was so confident that he had full control of his movement. A longughter came from Li Shimins camp. The heroic, tall and straight Pang Yu walked out inrge strides. He smiled and said, Fu Wangzis remark has stirred up Pang Yus heart that it is unbearably itchy; I cant help asking for your brilliant advice. But wed better set up the rule first: whoever identally damage anything will be considered lost; how about that? If Pang Yu were from Tulis party, nobody would be the slightest bit surprised. All because in recent years the Tujues fame and power was more flourishing by the day. In their implementation of aggressive expansion policy toward their nearest neighbors on all sides, they have tied deep enmity with the Tuyuhuns. But the speaker was unexpectedly a top martial art master from Li Shimins Heavenly Policy Mansion; hence everybody knew that this was not as simple as an ordinary quarrel between two men, but involved the great undertaking of vying over the world. The martial art masters from Tuyuhun side were eager to give it a try; they all wanted to fight in Fu Qians ce. But Fu Qian stretched his arm to block. His copper-bell like eyes glimmer with a smile, he spoke toward Li Shimin, If for some reason Pang Xiong lose control and defeated by Zaixia, would Qin Wang personallye down the arena? The uproar immediately stopped; the ce became crow and peacock made no sound, everybody wanted to know how Li Shimin would answer this challenge. Li Shimins eyes flickered with cold light. With a sharp-as-a-de expression he stared at Fu Qian unyieldingly so that peoples heartstrings were pulled tight. Half a dayter heughed involuntarily and said, Wangzi is indeed heroic and overbearing. Since that is the case, there is no harm in Wangzi and I y a round first, lest someone says that I, Li Shimin, am using a tag-team tactic. Even Kou Zhong had no choice but to admire greatly Li Shimins guts and poise. This was a real hero. It should be noted that no one had ever seen Fu Qian fighting, but just from the fact that he dared to challenge Qu Ao, and the Dauntless Lion Mu Tiexiong was still lying on the stairs, people knew that this man was not someone to be trifled with. Li Shimin dared to personally take the risk to fight hand to hand with this enigmatic Fu Qian, he was definitely not a coward. The crowd began to apuse; obviously they also admired Li Shimin from the heart. Tuli, who was an expert in ying with words, did not interrupt; he vaguely adopted the sitting on the mountain and watch the tigers fight stance. From Li Shimins side, Yuchi Jingde and the others did not show the slightest hint of uneasiness; apparently they all had full confidence in Li Shimins skill. Fu Qian nodded his head approvingly. With his hands behind his back, he spoke calmly, Qin Wang need not have any misgivings. I created the Fu Yang Qigong[1], a special technique to bring out the hidden-beneath-the-surface breathing potential. One person or ten, there wont be much difference. If by luck I win a round against Pang Xiong, it would give me the chance to warm up. The one taking unfair advantage is Xiaodi, not Shimin Xiong at all. As soon as he said that, the crowd was in uproar again. On the surface he was extremely modest, but beneath the surface there was an air of arrogance and insulting insinuation, hidden inside the heroic spirit that consider himself unexcelled in the world. Pang Yuughed aloud, and took three steps forward, so that he was only about a zhang away from Fu Qian. Cupping his fist in salute, he said, Since Wangzi already uttered such a heroic words, please forgive Pang Yu for his brazen offense. Wangzi, please bestow your enlightenment. This martial art master of the Heavenly Policy Mansion looked like a jade tree standing against the wind; his sharp aura radiated all around, giving the crowd a good impression. Li Shiminughed and said, Since that is the case, Shimin can only stand on the side happily enjoying the show! And so it was decided that the fight of Fu Qian versus Pang Yu was inevitable. This moment Tuli suddenly let out a longugh and said, If there is indeed the opportunity, for the next round, would Qin Wang let me experience this Wangzi, whom I have admired for a long time? This move was Tulis attempt to redeem his face from his subordinate suffering disgrace under Fu Qians hands. Nobody had ever imagined that the House of Dong Restaurant stairwell area would suddenly be the arena were leaders of all parties contending for hegemony of the world to score victory. If either Fu Qian or Tulis side was defeated, their momentum would suffer great damage, it might even be difficult for them to escape unscathed. The moment Li Shimin and Fu Qian have yet to respond, Kou Zhong suddenlyughed aloud and said, Really interesting. Things havee to this, would either Wangzi or Qin Wang give Xiaodi the opportunity to have a round as well? Inwardly Xu Ziling was severely shaken, realizing that Kou Zhong has made up his mind not to let Li Shimin leave this ce alive. And it was difficult for Li Shimin to decline Kou Zhongs challenge. On Li Shimins side, all the martial art masters had their countenance slightly changed. All their eyes were turned toward Kou Zhong, evidently they were quite apprehensive toward him. Song Yuzhis fragrant heart was shaken as well. It was precisely Kou Zhongs heroic spirit, which fear nothing in Heaven or Earth that made her love and hate him at the same time; she was quite out of her wits. Ever since the assassination of Green Dragon Ren Shaoming, up to the stealing of the Jade Annulus of He n from the tigers head, he had always disyed this kind of fearless spirit. Huh? A womans surprised exim came from below, followed by her voice, Who sealed General Mus six meridians using innate qi power that he lies down in here? Actually, the lower floor was also packed with spectators, its just that nobody dared to approach the stairs. And this woman took this precise moment to walk over toward Mu Tiexiong, and cut off whatever response Li Shimin was going to give to Kou Zhong. Everything was in direct agreement with the Art of War: not only she acted as the buffer between Kou Zhongs challenge and Li Shimin, but Kou Zhongs momentum was weakened as well. The crowd could not help pressing forward a few steps, wanting to look down. They saw a beautiful woman with unique personality traits, lightly kicking Mu Tiexiong, who was lying face down on the stairs. Mu Tiexiongs legs shook, he moaned lightly, and sat up with nk expression on his face. Fu Qians eyes flickered with strange shes; he could not hide the astonished expression on his face. Miss is able to see through Zaixias technique, it is indeed out of the ordinary; is it possible for you to reveal your fragrant name? he asked. The beauty raised her pretty face to look up, while her right palm, rapid-wiyhout-equal, pped Mu Tiexiongs back a dozen times in session. Thetters eyes immediately regained their liveliness; he quickly closed his eyes and circted his inner power. The crowd was amazed. Only now did they realize that with her kick the woman did notpletely unseal Mu Tiexiongs acupoints; she could only free half of his body and make him sit up, yet she already achieved the effect of gaining the upper hand by a show of strength. Considering now she was looking up, but her right palm, as if it had an eye of its own, urately struck the acupoints on Mu Tiexiongs back, merely this skill was enough to bowl the crowd over. The beauty unyieldingly met Fu Qians gaze face-to-face, aloof and remote, while replying coldly, but calmly, Qies [I, your servant; deprecatory self-reference used by women] former self has already died, and became a person without name and surname. Wangzi may address Qie as either Hong Funu [reminder: red brushdy], or Mrs. Li; either way let it be ording to your esteemed opinion. Without waiting for Fu Qian to respond, she immediately scolded tenderly, Kou Zhong, the battle between you and I just now has not yet reached final conclusion, you dare to challenge Qin Wang based on what? Kou Zhong looked at Li Shimin and said with a wry smile, Xiaodi concedes; I take back the remark I made just now. Saozi [sister-inw], please let Xiaodi off. The tone of his words seemed like a sign of weakness, but nobody had the impression that he was afraid of Hong Funu. Even those who did not know the background story could guess that for some reason he did not wish to fight with this beauty. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Only he knew best Kou Zhongs sentiment. Despite the fact that they had reason to hate Li Jing, when all is said and done, their brotherhood could not be erased that easily, so how could they harm her by being ruthless to her? Besides, against such martial art master like Hong Funu, being lenient was not much different thanmitting suicide. Fu Qian shook his head and said with a sigh, A true hero among women, worthy of my admiration. Mrs. Li, pleasee up! Her countenance as calm as still water, Hong Funu walked slowly up the flight of steps. By the time she reached the circle of Li Shimins people, Fu Qian already took off his outer robe, revealing an intimidatingly magnificent upper body. Letting out a longughter, he said, I wonder what kind of weapon Pang Xiong is going to use. Pang Yu replied indifferently, Weapons are inauspicious objects, not suitable to be used in here; why not let us y with our fist and feet? Wangzi, what do you think? This man was worthy to be the figure whose name shook Guanzhong; his words concealed a de, he seized the key moment and grasped the initiative. Fu Qian smiled and said, Auspicious or not, it is only in ones mind. Since Pang Xiong already has this refined and elegant attitude of the mind, ol Fu has another proposal. Everybody only felt strangelypelled to focus their attention and listen respectfully. Kou Zhong whispered in Song Yuzhis ear, Above, the battle is over the heart; below, the battle is over power. Good Zhizhi, are you moved by this man because of this? Ah! Song Yuzhis elbow heavily struck Kou Zhongs nk, but she did not pay attention to him. Because of the noise, Fu Qians eyes momentarily shed toward the two; there was a glimmer ofughter on his gaze. In return, Kou Zhong shed him a bitter smile. On the contrary, Pang Yus eyes had never left Fu Qian; he said in heavy voice, Wangzi, please bestow your advice. Everybody quickly bent their ears to listen respectfully. [1] Fu Yang Qigong. This is kind of difficult to trante concisely. Fu C lie low/crouching or ovee/subdue, but also the same character of Fu Qians surname. Yang C raise or bring up (children or animals) or support. Qigong C a system of deep breathing exercise. Book 17 - 4 – Flaunting Power with One Fist Book 17 Chapter 4 C unting Power with One Fist Under the ten-thousand expectant eyes, Fu Qian remained calm andposed; he said, Why dont we fight on top of the railings? Whoever forced down the railings will be considered defeated. The crowd broke into uproar, which quickly subsided. Everybody held their breath to see how Pang Yu would respond. Pang Yu wasughing inwardly. Although he was good at using the sword, he has had hard work invested in his punching and kicking skill, and created the Taixu Cuo Shou [great emptiness interlocking hand], which he fused within his sword moves, so there was not much difference with using sword; hence his earlier suggestion. The wooden railings, which was shaped like the letter U [orig. character (ao C sunken/concave)], was made of highest quality Chinese cedar wood. The overall length was approximately five zhang, the width was about half a chi. Although the wood was carved with floral pattern, it was actually very sturdy. Even people who did not know martial art, as long as their hands and feet were nimble enough, would be able to move freely on top of the railings. For martial art masters who were skillful in bnce like them, it would not be much different from fighting on a level ground. The only limitation would be their range of movement, so that bothbatants must be able to urately grasp the opponents footwork. Pang Yus Taixu Cuo Shou movement was precise. If he could predict the opponents change, its power would increase, would be even more astonishing; therefore, he could not wee Fu Qians proposal even more, so how could he refuse it? This man was highly intelligence, and was fully aware that there could never be too much deception in war, yet on the surface the intentionally put on a hesitating expression, before frowning and said, This method indeed can guarantee that we wont identally cause damage to anything. Zaixia has no choice but to risk my life to apany a nobleman. Fu Qian revealed a hint of apathetic smile; he said, Pang Xiong, after you! Before his words ended the two men have already soared at the same time, andnded steadily on the railings. A lot of the spectators apuded, because their shenfa was lightning fast, and more amazingly, they did not look like they need to raise their qi before making their move. Even more astonishing was that they did not jump over the railings andnded down, but they went straight from the floor to the railings at an angle, and then simply stuck on the railings like a nail, without creating the slightest amount of vibration. Just this ability to control their power ording to their hearts desire, the shenfa that enabled them to stop as soon as they wanted to stop, was not something that ordinary Jianghu martial artist could hope to reach. Kou Zhong already estimated that Fu Qian possessed ultimate skill, so he was not surprised at all; but Pang Yu was this formidable, he had never anticipated it. He could not help recalling Li Jings warning. And then Pang Yu stood on the railing with one leg, the tip of his left leg on the back of his right leg, assuming the golden rooster standing on one leg stance, but he looked a lot sturdier than other people standing on both legs. Especially since he was standing on one side of the end of the railings, so there appeared to be danger in the midst of steadiness, exuding some kind of extraordinarily special momentum. Fu Qian was standing like a towering Mount Tai in the middle of the railings, his two feet were a fraction of a cun apart. Due to the railing height, which was about five chi off the ground, and inside the stairwell was a deep empty space, he was like standing on the summit of a mountain. His magnificent build gave the crowd a fantastic impression that they were looking up a high mountain. Facing Pang Yu, heughed in rxed manner and said, Since Xiaodi came to the Central ins, this is the first time I officially fight with others; however, I dont want to make it a precedent, hence Pang Xiong must not be overly courteous just because I am the visitor. Pang Xiong, please! Although his words and demeanor were modest and polite, there was an overbearing character, a suffocating feeling, which made him appeared even more enigmatic, provoking fear in the heart of the crowd. Pang Yuughed inwardly. It should be noted that a fight between martial art masters was simr to a game of chess; initiative was extremely important. If thebatants skill was on par with each other, whoever seized the initiative oftentimes became the factor that determined the oue. If they were fighting on a level ground, even if one side lost the initiative, he could always withdraw to dodge and thenunch a counterattack. But if their movements were confined to this curved railing, which length was no more than five zhang, which width was no more than half a chi, and they must not touch the ground, then whoever lost the initiative would almost guaranteed defeat without any chance of victory. The crowd went abuzz; they quietly criticized Fu Qian for being unwise. Again Kou Zhong whispered into Song Yuzhis sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade small ear, If vying over the world only involves taking turn fighting on wooden railings, Xiao Ling would definitely sit on the Emperors throne. Song Yuzhi agreed wholeheartedly; speaking about hand-to-handbat in narrow, confined space, there were really not many people who could match Xu Zilings hands and feet. But she moved away a little, and then glowering at Kou Zhong, she said, Did you intentionally blow into my ear? Kou Zhongs old face was blushing slightly; luckily this moment Pang Yu cried out, Forgive my offense! Immediately qi power red out. Song Yuzhi no longer paid him any attention, and thus the kid escaped the embarrassment. It was as if there were wheels on the sole of Pang Yus feet. Using the flowing out a thousand li style, he slid for about a zhang along the wooden railing, straight toward Fu Qians left side. The fingers on both hands put together in the shape of a sword, his left hand sliced down while his right hand stabbed forward, both attacking Fu Qian. Immediately qi power rushed forth violently with frightening momentum. The arena was instantly filled with a grim, cold and raw atmosphere. Although Pang Yu was using his bare hands, unexpectedly he was able to produce a stabbing sword feeling. Xu Ziling took this opportunity to secretly observe Xing Mofei and the others, the group of Tuyuhuns martial art masters. He noticed that they were watching the fight with full attention, but nobody showed nervous or worried expression, as if they had full confidence on their masters ability. He could not help shivering inwardly. Based on the skill Pang Yu currently disyed, if he were in Fu Qians ce, he would have to be dealing with it quite strenuously. Right this moment, the battle situation changed. Unexpectedly Pang Yu leaped up and swooped down from the air like a hawk, his two hands still had the fingers together in the shape of a sword like before, only he attacked Fu Qians face instead. Now, even the blinds would know that Pang Yu wanted to finish the fight in the shortest time possible, by forcing Fu Qian, within these several moves, to leave the railings. Fu Qianughed aloud. He waited until the enemy nearly arrived before bending his body backward, looking up, as if he was turning into a bow, and then his right fist shot forward like a powerful arrow toward Pang Yu, who wasing down at him at an angle. The crowd was suddenly overwhelmed with burning hot tension and terrifying feeling; more astonishing yet, they did not feel the slightest bit of the wind generated by the fists qi power, as if everybody suddenly became deaf and their skin even lost its feeling, or as if they were in a nightmare, where they suddenly saw a sh of lightning, but did not hear the thunder. Fu Qians silent punch, even more than any punch power and palm wind, made everybody felt the chill in the air. No one who watched the battle was not stunned, because it was simply beyond their imagination. Li Shimin, Tuli, and the others also showed an amazed look on their faces. Pang Yu, who was right in the middle of the battle, was even more unspeakably miserable. If they were on a t ground, he could evade by retreating some distance away. But this moment he could only withdraw to a spot on the railing. When the so-called expert making a move, he would immediately know the real from the fake. But Fu Qians ability to restraint the wind from his punch, Pang Yu had never even thought about. It was not that the wind from the punch did not exist, but it was concentrated into a column, which went straight toward him. He felt as if he was in the middle of a storm, which other people could not feel, and was going down against the wind. It was extremely unbearable. Only this moment did he know that he had fallen into a trap. Obviously Fu Qians highly concentrated power discharge was some kind of innate true qi, which no momentum could resist. One after another the palm winds collided with Fu Qians right punch. In the eyes of the spectators, it appeared that Pang Yu deliberately changed his move to seal and pierce the opponents earth-shattering punch. Only Pang Yu and martial art masters of Xu Ziling, Li Shimin, Hong Funus caliber were able to see that Fu Qians simple punch was surprisingly able to seal any changes of Pang Yus sword palms offensive. Pang Yu felt as if he was in the middle of a ten-thousand catties force of exploding big rocks between the two hands. His body felt like he was struck by a thunder, and was nearly thrown straight up; if he crashed through the roof, perhaps nobody could decide whether the breaking things use of their agreement would be the responsibility of Pang Yu, or would it be returned to Fu Qian. In this critical moment, Pang Yu did not panic. Abruptly raising a mouthful of true qi, he reversed the direction of the soaring momentum back down. This moment Fu Qians fist suddenly broadened its scope and went straight toward Pang Yus face. What happened was his powerful body acted like a spring, from the bending position it straightened, adding momentum to his fist, from blocking it turned into counterattacking. Pang Yu cried Bad! inwardly; hastily he crossed his hands into a pair of scissors, and met the opponents iron fist head-on. Bang! The sound of qi power colliding against each other reverberated across the entire hall, shaking the eardrums of everyone, so that even Mu Tiexiong, who was circting his qi to recover his breathing, could not help opening up his eyes and looked up from the staircase below. Pang Yus entire body was blown like a leaf in the gale, until his toes tapped on the beam overhead that he shot back toward Fu Qian, who was still standing as stable as the mountain on the railing. Although Fu Qians condition was that either one of them must not touch the ground, but he never said they could not touch the beam, the pir, or the roof, yet everybody thought that Pang Yu has already lost. Book 17 Chapter 4 - Part 2 Jaya, Xiaohu, spy, Ysabel, you are wee. You guys are still on holiday, I suppose? Not here. Nothing going on where I live. I have time, extra post this morning, end of Chapter 4; hopefully I can post the next installment Monday, regr time. However, nobody dared to belittle Pang Yu. The power of Fu Qians punch has awed the crowd, it was an astonishing disy of strength, which was enough to challenge martial art master of Ning Daoqis caliber. Pang Yu was able to block his punch without the slightest bit of injury, it was also difficult to deny. Stop! Li Shimin shouted. Fu Qianughed aloud and said, Much obliged! Unexpectedly he opened his fist into a palm in a weing gesture. The scorching screen and stifling murderous aura immediately disappeared without a trace, everybody recovered their rxed feeling. Pang Yu also rxed his heroic air and immediately changed the offensive into the propriety, meeting Fu Qians handshake, which enabled him to float down to the floor. Li Shimin sighed and said, My utmost admiration. This round our side lost. Would Wangzi still be interested in ying the next round with Zaixia? Although everybody knew this King of Qins divine bravery was matchless, going in and out of battle and unrivalled in troops disposition, they had never seen him exchange blows in his capacity as a Wulin figure. This moment he had just seen Fu Qian disying his deep and immeasurable amazing skill, yet still dared to challenge him to battle. Instantly they all saw him in a new light. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other; both thinking that if they were Li Shimin, perhaps they would hesitate whether they ought to fight or not. Fu Qian released Pang Yus hand, and let him return to his own side. He was about to speak when Tuli strode forward, his eyes shot spirited light straight toward Fu Qian. He spoke solemnly, No wonder in recent years Wangzis reputation soared to prominence, so much so that it excelled your fathers; indeed it was not by luck. Shimin Xiong, how about giving this round to Xiongdi? The arena was so quiet that a falling pin would be heard, everybody quietly waited for which one Fu Qian would choose. This Tuyuhun martial art master with outstanding heroism threw his head back and let out a longugh, Delighted! Delighted! Over the years I, Fu Qian, found that opponents are difficult toe by, which led to my regret. And now suddenly I came across so many good opponents. This is indeed hard toe by. Yet what you dont want done to you, dont do to others [an idiom from Confucian analects]; this ce is really not suitable for free hand wrestling. Do two gentlemen have any other suggestion? These words were spoken with consider oneself unexcelled in the world air, but since it came out of his mouth, no one had a feeling that he relied on his prowess to insult others, or perhaps a lofty arrogance; on the contrary, it felt like it was as it should be by rights, a feeling of frank and sincerity. Wang Bo cleared his throat, and then when all attention were on him, he smiled and said, The future is long, it would be better for us to go back and have a drink first, we can always fight a bitter; how about that? Speaking about seniority in Jianghu, even Du Fuwei, Li Zitong, and the others were still considered below Wang Bo, and at this moment in this ce, no one could match him. Since he had made the suggestion, everybody must give him a bit of face, otherwise it might be possible that they would have to deal with his whip technique first, which was acimed to be matchless under the heavens. Echoing Wang Bo, Rong Fengxiang said, Tomorrow evening is Laofus birthday banquet; how about talking about having a contest then? Li Shimin cheerfully said, Two Qianbeis words, who dare not to obey? His appearance suave, his manner elegant, always appropriate to the asion, making people admiring from the heart. Just as everybody started to think that this matter hase to an end, someone spoke in soft voice, Wanbei [junior/younger generation] is also using whip, and this is such a rare opportunity, I hope Old Wang could give me one or two pointers. Everybody looked toward the voice, turned out it was a martial art master from Li Shimins Heavenly Policy Mansion, Yuchi Jingde. Although he spoke politely, everybody knew it was no different from a formal challenge for a duel. Among the martial art masters of the Heavenly Policy Mansion, in term of reputation, Yuchi Jingde was above Pang Yu, and was on par with Zhangsun Wuji. If Yuchi Jingde was better than Pang Yu, then nobody dared to doubt his qualification in challenging the Whip King. A murderous aura flitted across Wang Bos eyes, but it quickly vanished, reced by a smile as he said, The rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before. Ol Wang and Yuchi Xiaodi will have the opportunity to meet againter. With a loudugh he brushed away his sleeve and returned to his room. Fu Qian also saluted hurriedly and asked to be excuse. His men followed behind him. From Fu Qians broad back, Li Shimins eyes moved to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. After nodding his head and smiling, he asked for leave from Song Lu and the others, before returning to his room, apanied by Tuli and his men. When Kou Zhongs eyes were meeting Li Shimins, Song Yuzhi felt a pair of eyes, which were able to make her heart beating differently, was staring at her with burning gaze. She turned to look, and could not stop her fragrant heart from shivering slightly. She mused that unexpectedly there was such elegant, confident and at ease man in the world, whose out-of-the-dust elegance was not inferior in any respect to Xu Zilings. And then she noticed Yun Yuzhen standing by his side. She hurriedly smiled to greet her. Hou Xibai thought that Song Yuzhi was giving him a positive response, hence he immediately smiled in return. This moment Song Lu was turning around and starting to move. Song Yuzhi knew the other side misunderstood, but in this kind of situation, how could she exin and correct him? Without any choice, while in her nervous fragrant heart she did not know whether tough or cry, she followed behind her uncle. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, one lying down the other sitting up on the grassy dike under the tree shade by the bank of River Luo, were enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of thezy afternoon. This ce was not only the ce where they agreed upon to rendezvous, but it was a very good ce to think deeply, and to chat. Although behind them people were passing-by, but since it was separated by a row of weeping willow from the main street, it was just like a different world altogether. In front of them the River Luo was heavy with boats and ships traffic, far away to their right was the Tianjin Bridge spanning the River, where endless stream of vehicles and horses, as well as pedestrian, was passing-by; yet it also had a peaceful feeling of river water does not interfere with well water. The sun was shining in the sky, on the opposite bank, rows of gable roofs [orig. ˡ (ren C human/people) character shape] dazzling under the bright sunlight, bringing about the glittering texture of thebination of artificial and natural structure. While the sitting-cross-legged Xu Ziling thought that Kou Zhong was asleep, this kid suddenly sighed and said, Ol Ba left too soon! If he had seen the dragon-bearded kids fist, I guarantee he would scramble ahead of Li and Tu, two kids, to challenge him. Unexpectedly there is such martial art in the world. Perhaps Female demon Wan and female immortal Shi would not win so easily against him. Xu Ziling was amused, What female immortal Shi? he said with a smile, You made it like she is seventy or eighty years old granny. Ha! Kou Zhongughed and said, You are so quick to speak for her. It is obvious that you, this kid, have a deep-rooted feeling toward her and it is hard for you to extricate yourself. Woe is me! Ha! Xu Ziling was crossed, but he did not respond to him. Seeing his old trick did not work, it failed to arouse Xu Zilings reaction, Kou Zhong had no choice but to change the subject, Why dont you lie down and catch some sleep? Our sleep for thest several nights put together is less than four sichen. Life is really hard. However, Xu Ziling fished out the astronomy book given by Lu Miaozi, and flipping through it with keen interest, while mumbling to himself, It was because you, this kid, have hit a nail in Song San Xiaojie that your heart is filled with grievance hence you cant sleep, so you came to disturb my peace and quiet. If you speak more babbling nonsense, you can walk your road through Yangguan [fig. wide open road] and Ill walk my single-log bridge [fig. difficult path]. Each cultivates his own way. Kou Zhong promptly surrendered. But a momentter he could not help saying, What are you reading? Can you read it out loud for me? Xu Ziling asked in surprise, I am reading about the method to determine the length of a year; you still want to listen? Kou Zhong asked in amazement, Can you determine that? Are you scaring me? Xu Ziling sighed and said, This is called the gem our predecessors left behind. If I have to think about it myself, I am afraid even for ten thousand years I would not be able to figure it out. But now I only have to read three pages, and it is already very clear for me. Kou Zhong hastily sat up; his spirit greatly aroused, he said, Lesson learned well. From now on I will have to be a bit more diligent. How do you determine it, anyway? With full resignation, Xu Ziling said, Its just by using an upright pole stuck in the ground, called tu gui [lit. earth/dirt jade tablet (a ceremonial badge of rank)]. When the midday sun cast its light onto this pole, our ancestors were able to make the measurement. Kou Zhong stared nkly and said, Whats so strange about that? Xu Ziling exined passionately, The main principle is simple and easy. The more ordinary something is, there is something more unordinary in it; its just that because we are so used to it, we tend to overlook it. Turn out there is not one day that the position of the sun at noon is identical. When the sun is at its northernmost and highest position, the shadow of the pole is the shortest. This is the xiazhi [summer solstice, 10th of the 24 sr terms]. When the sun moves to the southernmost and lowest point, the shadow of the pole is the longest. This is the dongzhi [winter solstice, 22nd of the 24 sr terms]. From the cycle of the variation of the length of the poles shadow, our predecessors measured that one year is three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter days. Do you understand? Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Wow! People from ancient times are really formidable, Bai Lao Fuzi [see Book 1 Chapter 1] must step aside. Lying back on the dike slope, he took out Lu Miaozis manuscript and read it with full concentration. Xu Ziling put down the book, and fixed his gaze on a boat sailing across speedily, the image of Song Shidao apanying the sleeping beauty Fu Junyu setting sail to the north returning to Korea yed in his mind. He sighed and said, Have you made up your mind to be the Song ns son-inw? Kou Zhong covered his face with the book and said with a bitter smile, Zhizhi made it so that I feel so guilty, as well as my interesting to an end. Without you telling me, I am already thinking of giving up. Much less even if I didnt have the Song ns support right now, I am still confident that I will be able to break through the world. The only prerequisite is we must take the treasure first. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Hereafter youd better not provoke Yuzhi anymore; I really cannot bear to see her grieving because of you. Whatever you say, how can I dare not to listen? Kou Zhong said, Its just that unlike what you think, I am notpletely without any feeling or sincerity toward her. Sometimes I really wish I could take her in my arms and cherish her with all my heart, but she is always unwilling to cooperate! Xu Zilingughed in spite of himself, Dont kill me with your jokes! Which beauty you did not wish to take into your arms and get intimate with her? Kou Zhong sat up again and said, Can you not talk about this kind of distressing thing? Tell me, Fu Qian came to the Central ins, what is he actually looking for? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Cant you guess? Kou Zhong asked earnestly, In this kind of things, you are still better than me. There are a lot of things that you can think of, but it had not even urred to me. Xu Ziling appeared to be thinking deeply. Finally he spoke heavily, He came to the Central ins to survey the situation, to see who are avable for his use, and to see what he should do for him to achieve his goal. Kou Zhong pped his thigh and said with a sigh, This is called what heroes see must be the same thing. This kid has enormous ambition; as soon as he sees that he has an opportunity with us, Han people, that he can exploit, he would go on arge-scale invasion to erge his territory. And if there were no opportunity he cannot exploit, he would establish friendly rtions with the future Son of Heaven ordained by heaven, he would climb connections of higher status, and use it to deal with the Tujue and the Tiele peoples. This is indeed not-a-trivial outstanding figure. The two boys sat in silence for half a day. Finally Kou Zhong said, I have an appointment to see Song Jingang; do you want toe with me to meet him face-to-face? This time it was Xu Ziling whoy down on the dike slope and closed his eyes, I want to sleep! he said, Wake me up when you are back! Kou Zhong was unable to do anything to him; without any choice he went alone. Book 17 - 5 – Numerous Crafty and Fantastical Changes Book 17 Chapter 5 C Numerous Crafty and Fantastical Changes Kou Zhong untied his horse from the nearby tree and rode speedily toward the appointed meeting ce with Song Jingang. The situation on the street did not change, but he felt his interest was slightly waning. In the end Wang Shichong could not be a very capable man, all he could be was a local hegemon, unlike Li Mi, Li Shimin, and the likes, men who had qualifications to vie for the world. Evenpared to Du Fuwei, he was still far behind. Although he could be considered a man full of scheming, but due to his stupid and cowardly attitude, it would be difficult for him to unleash his aspiration. Currently Li Mi had hundreds, if not thousands, reasons to attack Luoyang, but with his amazing self-restraint, as long as he knew Wang Shichong was still in control of Luoyangs general situation, he would not be willing to risk the danger. Otherwise, even if he prevailed, Li Shimins main force woulde from Guanxi in surprise attack, and it would be the moment Li Mi sounded the mourning bell. Li Mi would rather let Wang Shichong enjoy his power for a while longer, and used him to block Li Shimin, while giving his troops and generals the time to recuperate as much as possible, while also recruit new soldiers and recover their strength. Could it be that the n to deal with Li Mi would fail throughck of a final effort? This kind of losing what one has just obtained feeling was like knowing that the card in hand would definitely win, but the opponent suddenly threw his cards away indicating all bets are off; an extremely disappointing feeling. Current situation in Luoyang might change any moment, and nobody knew what would happen the next time such fantastical change urred. Tiele people retreated, Dugu Ba was killed; would the Dugu n bring about new deployment? In that instant, a divine light shed in Kou Zhongs mind; suddenly he understood everything clearly. Based on Shen Luoyans loyalty and devotion to Li Mi, she could not possibly kill Dugu Ba for personal vendetta. Just from the fact that Dugu Ba personally came to Tiele peoples hideout, it was clear that within the Dugu n, Dugu Ba was not the one with close rtionship with the Tieles. At most he was only in charge of threading a needle [fig. acting as a go-between]. Shen Luoyan killed him, it was precisely to disrupt the rtionship between the Dugu n and the Tieles. Ba Fenghan forced Qu Ao to leave, actually he was doing Li Mi a big favor. Supposing he could tell the Dugu n who the real culprit that killed Dugu Ba was, what might happen? Thinking to this point, he was dejected, because he knew the Dugu n would never believe him. This moment his horse already reached the highest point on the Tianjian Bridge, and was starting to stroll down. Although the street was full of pedestrians, vehicles and horses, yet Kou Zhong felt iparable loneliness, as if he and the rest of the people lived in two separate worlds. His train of thought shifted to Li Shimin. Contrary to Kou Zhongs expectation, Li Shimins power was indeed very strong. None of the martial art masters of the Heavenly Strategies Mansion was not intelligent and brave; any one of them could make people bag their food before they finished eating and leave. And now Ba Fenghan was gone, the two boys strength was greatly diminished. Although their problem with Shi Feixuan was resolved, it was offset by simrly headache-inducing fallout with Li Shimin, so that he had a feeling that his life was hanging by the thread at all time. In this kind of situation, he considered whether he should withdraw immediately, taking advantage while Li Shimin had not returned to Guanzhong, to get the Duke Yang Treasure. Ever since his arrival in Luoyang, this was the very first time that he had a strong desire to withdraw. Thinking to this point, he fiercely clenched his teeth, and turned his horse around. He made up his mind to go to the Imperial City first to find Xu Xingzhi. The appointment with Song Jingang was thrown to the back of his mind. Xu Ziling! Xu Ziling closed the book up and put it inside his pocket. Without even looking back he spoke coldly, How are you going to harm us this time? Shen Luoyan came to his side and gracefully sat down. She sighed and said, How can Heaven y such trick on us, fitting you and I on hostile position against each other? She was wearing in white clothes, and has be so thin that within her lucid and elegant jade countenance, there was a hint of hard to describe lovely and touching charm. Xu Zilings anger suddenly vanished away. She was right; at the time where the whole country was in rebellion, people of different parties fought desperately with all their wits and with all their strength,mitting all manner of crimes, just like people on the gambling table, each one desperately want to win all the other peoples money into his own pocket. There really was nothing surprising about it. Lets go! Shen Luoyan spoke indifferently, Wang Shichongs days are numbered; if you wait too long, you might not be able to leave at all. Xu Ziling was still pondering the new astronomy knowledge he had just obtained from Lu Miaozis legacy just now; his mind was peaceful, his thinking clear and bright. He spoke calmly, Tell me, how can I tell whether your suggestion is malicious ore from your kindness? Shen Luoyan faintly said, Let me tell you something: Dugu Bas body has been discovered. From the bruises on his body, they were able to ascertain that it was you and Ba Fenghan who did this. Xu Ziling was slightly stunned, but immediately came to see the truth. Smiling ruefully, he said, What an excellent n to shift the me onto someone else! Seeing he did not suddenly re up in fury, Shen Luoyan was greatly surprised. It was quite half a dayter that she hung her head down and spoke in low voice, Each time I am harming you, the pain in my heart is really something that I do not need to tell others. Do you understand? You had better go! Xu Ziling sensed something was really wrong, but did not know where the problem was. If Shen Luoyan were not confident that in the battle over the Eastern Capital they would surely win, she would not have spoken to him in such tone and demeanor. Intuitively he felt that she has been going through an internal struggle beforeing to urge him to leave; in no way would she let him know about their conspiracy. If the Dugu n would recklessly avenge Dugu Bas death, while the two boys werepletely unprepared, Kou Zhong and his little lives would certainly be as precarious as a pile of eggs. Shen Luoyan raised her face and gazed deeply into his eyes; she said, I have said what I wanted to say! I even said what I wasnt supposed to say, a leader can submit or can stand tall as required. Ziling, take care of yourself! Thest sentence was spoken with a voice as soft as mosquito; finished speaking, Shen Luoyan left as if she wanted to escape with her life. Xu Ziling stood up suddenly and took a deep breath. The only thing he had to do right now was to find Kou Zhong to see how they were going to deal with the Dugu ns raging temper. Kou Zhong was still thinking about how to find Xu Xingzhi without attracting undue attention when Song Mengqiu called him from behind, Kou Xiongdi, Shangshu Daren is looking for you. Kou Zhong stopped in front of the flight of steps in front of Shangshu Mansions main gate. Turning around and saluted, he said, General Song must be very busy these past couple of days, otherwise how can I have a feeling that I havent seen General Song for a long time? Song Mengqiu came to his side and pulled his hand inside; it was only after they passed the main entrance that he halted his steps and said, These days we dont even have time to sleep, therefore, even Shangshu Daren needs to find something to help him rx. Even from the beginning Kou Zhong did not have too good of an impression on this man; he always felt that he was slick and sly, a hypocrite whose mouth did not agree with his heart. However, in order to find Xu Xingzhi, he thought that ever since he started, there has never been a better way than to ask Wang Shichong directly; therefore, without any choice he said perfunctorily, I really cant imagine what can make us, these bunch of men without any good nights sleep, to forget our worry and not to think over our anxiety. Acting mysterious, Song Mengqiu leaned over and whispered in his ear, Women, of course. Not only that, this is the most attractive beauty. Her voice, appearance, all kind of arts, and her beauty could make a man forget his old mans surname. Kou Zhong nearly forgot Xu Xingzhi; greatly amazed, he asked, Whose familys beauty has this kind of charm and power? Song Mengqiu replied with glee, Naturally its the number one courtesan under the heavens, Shang Xiufang. Other than she, who else is worthy to be reputed as the number one voice, appearance, and all kind of arts? Turns out it is she, Kou Zhong mused inwardly. The first time Fu Qian challenged Qu Ao for a duel at Man Qing Yuan, Wang Bo was inviting her to perform her art in public, but he, along with Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, messed it up. Also, because they were taking Shangguan Long away, they did not have the good luck of seeing her; they werent even sure whether she did perform or not. Thinking about it, he was amused. Song Mengqiu proudly said, Wang Daren knew that after performing on stage for Rong Fengxiang tomorrow evening, she is going to enter Guanzhong. Therefore, with thousand ways, a hundred ns he is inviting her. He even prepared two banquet tables, hence he urged us to find you to join the fun. Stroking his tummy, Kou Zhong said, What time is it now? I have just had my fill of food and wine; I would be powerless to stuff my tummy with more than half steamed bun. Naturally Song Mengqiu did not know that he was thinking of taking advantage while Wang Shichong was too busy for him to look for Xu Xingzhi. Laughing involuntarily, he said, Kou Xiongdi must be joking. How could a wine lover thinking about the food [to apany the wine]? Shang Beauty loves to take a nap is well-known, hence if we want to invite her, we can do so only after wei hour [1-3 pm]. Come! Kou Zhong only followed him for two steps before stopping; he said, I want to go to the toilet first. Otherwise, after taking a seat and looking at the exquisite choices, if I wanted to leave, it would be very difficult to leave. It would be extremely awkward. Ha! Song Mengqiu had no choice but to nod and said, Ill see youter then! Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Heaven helps me! and went away quickly. Xu Ziling walked over to his horse; while stroking the horses neck tenderly, he pondered on how to find Kou Zhong. If he wanted to look for Kou Zhong, first of all, he had to find out where Song Jingang was staying in Luoyang. To do this, his only choice was to contact Green Snake Gangs Ren En. In Luoyang, he had a better chance than Xu Ziling. While he was about to leap onto the horses back, someone wasing rapidly toward him. Xu Ziling turned his head to look, and saw a skinny young man wearing servants attire,ing directly at him from a distance; his delicate features were somewhat familiar-looking, but momentarily he could not remember where he had seen this person. The young man revealed a friendly smile, but did not say anything until he was right by Xu Zilings side, Xu Ye dont remember Tongtong? The other day when Xu Ye met with Commander Liu, I was the one pouring tea for you! Now Xu Ziling remembered that after meeting Liu Heita again, in the house where Liu Heita was staying he saw a delicate and pretty woman Tongtong [see Book 13 Chapter 1]. Its just that now she was wearing mens attire, hence momentarily he could not remember. Otherwise, with his highly retentive memory, how could he forget? Speaking about beauty, naturally she could not surpass Shen Luoyan, Song Yuzhi, that kind of beauty who can overturn a country, but in term of simple beauty, she was cheerful and pleasant, giving others the impression that she was candid and friendly. She had different and distinct personality traits. Smiling, Xu Ziling said, Your disguise skill, was it taught by Zhuge Dewei Xiong personally? There is no woman-dressed-as-a-man w at all. I still remember Liu Dage praised your exceptional flying de skill. Tongtongs pair of clear and pretty, beautiful eyes lit up. She said delightedly, Its hard to imagine Xu Ye to be this unassuming. When I saw you the first time, I was a bit afraid of you! Taken aback, Xu Ziling asked, Whats so scary about me? Tongtong excitedly replied, Not really scared, just felt that Xu Ye was that kind of men who dont like to talk, an aloof man who always keep a distance from other people, that kind of man. You know! Xu Yes fame is so great! Her naivete evoked Xu Zilings childish heart; heughed and said, That was because I was pretending to be a tiger to scare the little girl. And then he frowned and said, Didnt youe with Liu Dage back to the north? Leaving you here is too dangerous. Only this moment Tongtong seemed to remember what she wanted to do. She said, This ce is too exposed, could Xu Yee with Tongtong to speak elsewhere? First of all, Xu Ziling did not have the heart to refuse this delicate and pretty beauty; secondly, he thought that maybe he could find out Song Jingangs ce from her. Thereupon he nodded and said, No problem. But I do have an important matter I have to take care, so I cant waste too much time. Tongtong was excited, It will take but a moment, she said, You can leave the horse here, we have someone to look after it for you. Hearing herst sentence, Xu Ziling immediately knew that she did not remain in Luoyang alone; hence he dly came with her. Kou Zhong arrived at the door of the room where the feast was being held inside the Shangshu Mansion; he sighed inwardly first before stepping inside. The guards saluted solemnly. He had spent some time crashing to the east and breaking through the west and asked nearly everybody he met along the way until he finally learned from the mouth of a young pretty maids mouth that Xu Xingzhi was participating in thete afternoon luncheon. If it were before, he would be happy for the benefit of Xu Xingzhi receiving Wang Shichongs favor; but now that in his heart he was already thinking of sounding the retreating drums after the initial sess, this situation could only increase his worries. Even if he found a way tomunicate his decision to Xu Xingzhi, the two of them leaving the banquet together, or even one after another, would be very inappropriate. The hall was indeed setup with two banquet tables, arranged side by side at the southern end of the hall, and this moment all seats were nearly taken. On the east side of this gorgeous hall, about a dozen men and women that looked like musicians were sitting solemnly, waiting respectfully. Obviously this was the ensemble to apany Shang Xiufangter. Including the servants and maids, there were nearly fifty people in the hall, but most of them were quiet. Several people around the banquet table were chatting and joking, but they also kept their voices down. The ambience was that of a formal governmental dinner party. Kou Zhongs arrival immediately attracted everyones attention. Wang Shichong, sitting on the head of the table,ughed aloud and said, Mr. Kou, pleasee over here! It seemed to be the very first time that Kou Zhong was addressed as a Mister. Immediately he had goose bumps all over, from head to toes. While exchanging greetings and saying hello to everyone, he stole a quick nce toward the other table and signaled with his eyes to Xu Xingzhi C it was unclear whether the message was understood or not C before walking over to Wang Shichongs seat. Eight out of ten people sitting around the main banquet table were old acquaintances, there were only two men that he did not recognize, but he did not see either Shang Xiufang or Dong Shuni. Wang Shichong ordered the servant to pull a seat separated by one empty chair from his own while quipping, I thought you were going to miss out on this distinguished meeting. Seeing you so destined, Ill bestow you this dragon seat next to the phoenix seat, a pavilion near the water [fig. using ones proximity to the powerful to obtain favor]; whates next will have to rely on your luck! Other than Linglong Jiao, everybody, especially the men, around the table let out an uncertainughter, even Ouyang Xiyi. Wang Shichongs move could be considered giving Kou Zhong enough face. But since Kou Zhong repeatedly rendered outstanding service, plus his capacity as an honored guest, plus considering his soaring prestige in Luoyang recently, nobody thought Wang Shichongs arrangement to be inappropriate. As soon as he took his seat, Kou Zhong pretended to grumble, Apparently Wanggong is not such a true friend; if Wanggong had been willing to tell me early this morning that we are going to see Miss Shang, even if Dugu Feng [peak] had his entire family, young and old, blocking the entrance of the Imperial City, I would have fought my way in! His remark immediately provoked hoots ofughter, breaking the previously solemn atmosphere. Perhaps Wang Shichongs mood was extremely good that day; he sighed dramatically and said, Xiao Zhong, you did not know this, but it was only about one sichen ago that Miss Xiufang notified me that she is willing to attend the banquet. Tell me, if you wanted me to inform you early this morning, what do you want me to say? Amidst the agreeingughter, Wang Xuanying, who sat opposite to Kou Zhong, spoke cheerfully, Dies face right now is brighter than the sky; originally Miss Xiufang came to the Eastern Capital this time, she was only willing to perform twice, so everybody else was rejected. But this time she made an exception. I am so sure that we will incur a lot of peoples envy! It was only then did Kou Zhong know that Shang Xiufang put on such air; he could not help feeling curious and wanted to have a glimpse of her fragrant countenance. Hearing his son ttering his old man, Wang Shichong was greatlyforted; he said, Speaking of which, I nearly forget to draw Mr. Kous attention. And so he introduced the two men, which were the Xianzhous Zongguan [lit. chief manager] Tian Zan and Guanzhous Zongguan Yang Qing, two of Wang Shichongs right hand men who were stationed at the townships outside Luoyang. Naturally these two did note here to listen to the performance. Clearly Wang Shichong was constantly summoning his subordinates and deploying his troops everywhere. Other people around the banquet table consisted of Wang Xuanshu, Wang Honglie, Wang Xingben, Linglong Jiao, Yang Gongqing, and Lang Feng. With Shang Xiufang, who has not arrived yet, altogether there were exactly 12 people. [I think Huang Yi miscounted; I counted 13.] But he did not see [Taoist] Priest Ke Feng and Zhang Zhenzhou. The former probably was unwilling to attend such a sensual event, and thetter probably has already left the Eastern Capital, leading some military operation elsewhere. The other banquet table was for second rate officials and aids and advisors to top officials such as Xu Xingzhi and the likes. Kou Zhong knew several, hence he nodded and greeted them. Seeing Wang Shichong was speaking in low voice with Yang Gongqing, who sat next to him, Ouyang Xiyi, who sat next to Kou Zhong, leaned over slightly and said, How would Zhong Xiao Xiong thank me? Taken aback, Kou Zhong asked, What good thing did Qianbei do for this kid? Ouyang Xiyiughed and said, It was Laofu [old man] who made arrangement of your seat. Tell me, shouldnt you thank me? A warm feeling burst forth in Kou Zhongs heart; this senior martial art master has always taken a good care of him as much as he could, promptly he expressed his gratitude. The ensemble suddenly yed their string and wind instruments; melodious music reverberated around the banquet hall. Shang Xiufang finally arrived. Xu Ziling and Tongtong went through the store and back to the house where he and Liu Heita had their meeting the other day. After being seated, Tongtong served him fragrant tea, and sat next to him. About Dugu Ba, did Xu Ye do it? Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, I originally wanted to take care of him, but the one actually doing it was someone else. But now it does not matter anymore. Tongtong nonchntly said, Dugu Bas stinky reputation spread far and wide, the news of his death is actually to the satisfaction of everyone. But the strangest thing about this matter is that for some reason Dugu Feng [peak] seems make notable move, so that I be even more anxious for Xu Ye. The something-was-amiss feeling in Xu Zilings heart was getting more intense. What exactly was the reason that the hot-tempered You Chuhong was driven to seize control over this matter? If he could not see through the enemys move, he and Kou Zhong might suffer a crushing defeat. When did they find Dugu Bas body? he asked in heavy voice. Ought to be around the third watch of the night [11pm C 1am]st night, Tongtong replied, His body was discovered by the patrolling troops, it was hanging from the Tianjin Bridge. Xu Ziling was shocked. Shen Luoyans method of shifting the me onto someone else was indeed very sinister. Anybody would think that they deliberately hung the corpse like this as a retaliation of getting besieged on the Bridge the previous night. Tongtong added, They also said that if you dont die, then I perish. It would be best if Xu Ye and Kou Ye gain the initiative by striking first, otherwise you will get the worst of it. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, I was going to look for Kou Zhong to discuss this exact matter. Do you happen to know where Song Jingang stays? Tongtong nodded, and promptly told him the address. Amazed, Xu Ziling said, You really have a fast and abundant newswork. Utterly delighted, Tongtong said, This is precisely our mission in staying in this ce. Theres another important information Xu Ye needs to know: we are suspecting that someone of Wang Shichongs camp is a mole who work for Dugu Feng. Xu Ziling was stunned, There is such thing? he asked. Tongtong solemnly replied, The spection came from a few spiders thread and horse track that we gathered so far. Honestly, we also have an informer inside the Pce City. For example, Yang Dongs chancellor Yuan Wendu has always been greedy for life, afraid of death. But concerning Wang Shichongs massive military force in the Imperial City, he still acts like romance is in the air [orig. wind, flower, snow and moon (trite poetry subject)]; not only in his talks he does not appear to be afraid at all, he also said that he knew Wang Shichongs entire n. After a short pause, she went on, Just by looking at how Dugu Feng unscrupulously deal with Kou Ye, we know that Dugu Feng is clear about Kou Ye devising battle n in a tent [idiom] on behalf of Wang Shichong! Atst Xu Zilings countenance changed. If that was the case, not only he and Kou Zhong were in grave danger, even Zhai Jiao and her men might face fatal disaster at any moment, so much so that they might implicate Song Lu, Song Yuzhi and the others. Xu Ziling suddenly stood up and resolutely said, I must find Kou Zhong immediately. Book 17 - 6 – Peerless Courtesan Book 17 Chapter 6 C Peerless Courtesan By the time Shang Xiu Fang, like an immortal from the dreands deep hidden valleying to the secr world, appeared in front of everybodys eyes, the entire hall, both men and women, could not tear their eyes off of this turning-all-living-things-upside-down famous courtesan. She made Kou Zhong think about Shi Feixuan and Wanwan. Shang Xiufang reminded him of the former natural beauty with her immortal elegance; but at the same time she also possessed thetters dreamy and enchanting mysterious beauty. The end result was another kind of exceptional charm, which was not inferior in any respect to the two women. The most stunning thing about her, other than her slim, shapely figure, was her multifarious bearing and expression; even more touching was her pair of lucid, rippling eyes, which could hook peoples soul and absorb peoples spirit, full of tender feelings,bined with the somewhat bashful sparkling smile, which appeared on the corner of her mouth; certainly no man could withstand. Looking at her, Kou Zhong almost could not remember the purpose of his visit. This moment, the music suddenly changed. Contrary to everybodys expectation, Shang Xiufang, wearing in yellow gauzed dress with light green cape, started to sing and dance. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong were able to see clearly that her jade countenance was devoid of any cosmetics, but her facial appearance was as bright as day; she looked a thousand times better than any women who applied makeup conspicuously. It was not clear whether she had just emerged from a public bath, but there was no hairpin or any other jewelry hanging on her beautiful hair, yet there seemed to be traces of glistening water, pure, beautiful and clean, which charmed everybody. She sang, Beads of tears streaming down beautiful silk dress, young Gongzi bears much favor. At that time elder and younger sisters were traveling distinct roads, none treated him with sincerity. After careful consideration, theres a faint feeling of good resolution. Her singing carried some kind of aloof andid-back, but also pratingly dark, dismal, and grim feeling. Yet there was also a beautiful and elegant vor that no one can match. Her voice and vocal skill did not leave any w for the critics to criticize. Combined with her touching expression, nobody was not emotionally moved. The deep bridal room was empty and quiet, the void embraced the body and mind, producing solitude. Waiting for the arrival, waiting with a prayer, cease the longing for wild flower youth. Mild and even adornment, less socializing, just for the sake of five hills in distant and indistinct ces. The snowfall in the breast, from the gentlemans bite, afraid to offend theughter bought with thousand catty of gold. Her singing seemed to absorb the listeners into a fantastic realm of music, her mellow seductive voice, through variety of vocal tones, disying some kind of rich and varied stances, with a deeply growing enigmatic vor, going down and circled back to wound the emotion and feel the sentiments, irresolute like the surging tide covering the listeners spirit, flooding their earth so that no peak was left uncovered. But the one thing that made Kou Zhong lose himself was her zily painted crescent brows [fig. beautiful woman], dying the self-adornment and making herself presentable, yet inadvertently revealing her natural beauty. The song ended. The music faded. It was half a dayter that the hall erupted in thunderous apuse, followed by the mor of the sound of praise and des. Eximing in admiration, Wang Shichong said, This song ought to being from the heaven, which circled back to the earth to be heard. Miss, I wonder who wrote this song? Shang Xiufang gently hung her small cicada head down, revealing her swan-like elegant and slender milky the back of her neck; she replied in soft voice, Shangshu Daren, please do not mock; this tune was created by qie [I, your servant] herself. Delighted, Wang Shichong said, I have already guessed so, its just that I wanted Miss to confirm it with your own mouth! Indeed your name is not in vain. Miss Shang, please take a seat. Except Linglong Jiao and Ouyang Xiyi, all men slightly left their banquet seat, waiting for this natural beauty with peerless talent, the stunning youngdy to be seated, before they dared to take their seat again to show their respect. With her sitting within his hand-reach, Kou Zhong could not stop his heart from beating faster. At this point all eyes were focused on her, but no one dared to show any leering look. On one hand, they were intimidated by her noble personality traits, but they were even more afraid she would look down upon them, and then they would forever lose the chance to please her. Wang Shichong introduced her to everybody first, but when it was Kou Zhongs turn, Shang Xiufangs beautiful eyes swept his face across several times, and then she spoke with tenderughter, Shangshu Daren need not introduce him! That evening Xiufang was worried for Kou Gongzi for a long time. Luckily in the end he disyed his divine prowess by capturing the treacherous viin alive and took him away. Not only was she an eloquent and fluent speaker, she had deep understanding of the way to make people happy, by wrapping the praise around cordial words so that it was unobtrusive; she was worthy to be called the famous courtesan who traveled everywhere north and south sides of the Yangtze River. Looking at her from such a close proximity, Kou Zhong felt even more that she was like a blooming flower, whose delicate fragrance assaulted others nostrils. And the most touching was her graceful bearing. Whether it was her sweet voice, her tone modtion, to delicate expression from the tip of her brows and the corners of her eyes, everything carried some kind of intoxicating charm, which confused peoples mind and enchanted their spirit. Ouyang Xiyi, who was sitting on the other side, suddenly let out a sigh so soft that only Kou Zhong was able to hear. Immediately Kou Zhong came to his senses and remembered the purpose of his visit. He replied without thinking, If I had known that Miss singing voice is better than the sounds of nature, that night I would have waited until Miss immortal song was finished before making my move. Ha! Noticing the pensive look in Kou Zhongs eyes, inwardly Shang Xiufang was greatly astounded. Although she only turned twenty-one this year, but since she finished her apprenticeship and came out to sell her art at the age of thirteen, what kind of men she had never seen? Especially men of Kou Zhongs age, rarely have they seen her without having their spirit and soul turned upside down. This moment, in order to show off his knowledge and experience, Wang Xuanying was trying to engage Shang Xiufang in a discussion about the Swallow Song, which was very popr at that time. Kou Zhong took this opportunity to lean over toward Ouyang Xiyi and asked quietly, What matter made Qianbei sigh? An emotional expression shed across Ouyang Xiyis eyes; he replied in low voice, Too much alike! Too much alike! By the time Xu Ziling reached his destination C he was rushing on foot instead of on the horseback, a big burly man happened to push the door and walk out of the house where Song Jingang stayed. The two men looked at each other, and both eximed in delight. This gentleman was, surprisingly, Yun Yuzhens lieutenant Bu Tianzhi. Xu Ziling hastily greeted, Turns out it is Bu Fu Bangzhu [vice gang leader]. Is Kou Zhong inside? Frowning, Bu Tianzhi replied, Kou Ye did note at the appointed time, I was going out to look for him. Xu Zilings heart sank, he wondered inwardly whether something bad happened to Kou Zhong? Bu Tianzhi continued in low voice, Xu Ye, could we go somece quiet to talk? Noticing his serious expression, although he was anxious of Kou Zhongs safety, Xu Ziling had no choice but to nod his head and said, Bu Xiong, just call me Ziling, you must not call me Xu Ye or whatever. Bu Tianzhi cheerfully said, Although Ziling is already world famous, but your emotion, character and attitude arepletely the same as before. Merely this point, not many people can match. Xu Ziling temporarily cast his concern over Kou Zhong aside, thinking that he had the ability to deal with danger. Together with Bu Tianzhi they walked side by side toward the end of thene. He spoke indifferently, Fame is just false reputation, nothing to rely on. Isnt Bu Xiong with Yun Bangzhu? Bu Tianzhi was silent for half a day. In the end he shook his head and said, Bangzhu is with her lover, how could she spare time for other things? She only ordered me to wait for Kou Ye at Song Jingangs ce, to see what the oue is. Stunned, Xu Ziling cast him a sidelong nce, and said, Listening to the tone of Bu Xiongs voice, it appears that you are dissatisfied with Yun Bangzhu. Bu Tianzhi replied heavily, Ziling and Kou Ye are men whom I, Bu Tianzhi, admire and trust from the bottom of my heart, hence I do not wish to conceal anything from you. My dissatisfaction toward Yun Yuzhen did not start just today. And within our Gang, I am by no means the only one with this thought. Xu Ziling was stunned speechless. Bu Tianzhi pointed to a small wine shop across the street and said, Wed better go inside and sit down before continuing this talk. Shang Xiufang casually responded to Wang Yingxuan, The so-called trend is using new in ce of beauty, using marvel in ce of finery. Hu music[1] in itself not necessarily excels over our Central Earths source is distant and the flow is long [fig. something that goes back to the dim and distant past] music, but we could always use it as a reference. All India, Qiuci, Shule, Anguo, Gaoli, Gaochang and Kangguos[2] music, each one has its own unique characteristic and different vor, particrly Qiuci music, which has reached the highest realm. Imported during the Northern Dynasties Qi and Zhou, there appeared not a few masterpieces adapted and changed from Hu music with strong foreign vor. With her status as a wanderer she spoke an expert remark, immediately it provoked a burst of heartfelt praise. Linglong Jiao was a Qiuci; hearing Shang Xiufangs very high evaluation of her countrys music, her good impression rose up tremendously. [1] Hu music: central Asian music as appreciated by Tang literati. Hu is basically any non-Han tribe in China. [2] India, orig. Tianzhu, Indian subcontinent in Tang or Buddhist context. Qiuci, ancient Central Asia city-state, flourished during first millennium AD, in modern Aksu, Xinjiang. Shule, ancient name for modern Kashgar, west Xinjiang. Gaoli, Korea (esp. in context of art and culture), Anguo [lit. An State], Gaochang, Kangguo [Kang State], I have no idea. But I am sure very soon one of you, knowledgeable people, will enlighten the rest of us. But Shang Xiufangs mind was secretly tied to Kou Zhong; he and Ouyang Xiyi were the only two around the banquet table who did not look at her with heart and soul. Ouyang Xiyi was a man who has passed through great changes, an old man who was approaching a hundred years old; that he was not moved by her at all, she was not surprised. But Kou Zhong, who looked like a romantic guy, turned a blind eye to her, even if she did not want to admit it, her interest in him was piqued. This moment Kou Zhong was sensing Ouyang Xiyis strong unresolvable sorrow, and was pondering over this venerable senior martial art master, who was filled with sad memories of the past, induced by Shang Xiufangs striking resemnce to an old affections characteristic and appearance. At the same time, he was also remembering Shi Qingxuans touching flute song, which was taught by her own mother Bi Xiuxin, which was not inferior in any respect to Shang Xiufangs musical talent. Right this moment, he heard Shang Xiufangs sweet-sounding voice asking him, What does Kou Gongzi think of Hu music? If this question were directed to Xu Ziling, he would honestly confess his ignorance. But Kou Zhong was used to invent crazy nonsense, hence he blurted out his answer, Of course it is very good! Seeing Shang Xiufang took the initiative to cajole Kou Zhong to talk, Wang Xuanying was very jealous; he pressed on, Which aspect do you think it is good? Kou Zhong was immediately at a loss for words; from the corner of his eyes he saw Shang Xiufang was looking at him expectantly, he groaned inwardly. He had no choice but to continue his crap; he said, Music and dancing are both the outward expression of the feeling inside the heart. Just think about the vast grasnd outside the bordend, the desert and the snowy mountain, where cattle and sheep, deer and horses roam around everywhere, the bold atmosphere where the tribes beyond the Great Wall gallop their horses, we know that the music and the dance grew out from this kind of different environment, naturally it would be extremely exquisite and refined. And then, afraid that Wang Xuanying would continue to badger him, he hastily turned toward Linglong Jiao, whose lovely charming almond eyes, with extraordinary splendor, was looking at him. He giggled and said, Miss Jiao is from there; in my opinion, Miss Jiao must be a first-ss master in music and dancing. With his earlier remark, he was thinking about the supporting self with naked de, killing people in the world of mortals, the wandering knight, promoter of martial spirit, Ba Fenghan, and his description of the life beyond the Great Wall; inadvertently his voice was slightly imbued with the emotion of parting. But listening to him, Shang Xiufangs fragrant heart slightly trembled; she nodded and said, Kou Gongzisment is very insightful, this is the first time that Xiufang hear someone appraising the Hu Music from such a broad perspective. Wang Xuanying was nearly angered to death; he could not stop hate and envy toward Kou Zhong from growing in his heart. Wang Shichongughed and said, Mr. Kou is always able to amaze people. Let me ask everybody here: who would have thought that his understanding of Hu music is this deep? While Kou Zhong groaned inwardly for the shame, Linglong Jiao softly said, Nujia is a Qiuci, but in music and dancing, I am just an ordinary novice [orig. low hand of nine schools of thought]. Hereafter you must not talk nonsense! Although on the surface she appeared to chide him, the fact was that her attitude toward Kou Zhong had changed in a big way; at least she was willing to admit that she was from that certain nation. Shang Xiufangughed tenderly and said, Turns out Miss Jiao is from Qiuci; I would never have thought! Fortunately Xiufang has not disyed my slight skill before an expert, otherwise I would only incite Jiejies loudughter. Ouyang Xiyi struggled out of the deeply painful memory; he joined in by addressing Linglong Jiao, I hear your esteemed country has a wind instrument called Bili[3], made of wood or bamboo, with nine holes, which to be covered with the fingers, and reed inserted on the mouth of the pipe, the timbre loud and clear, but mournful and mellow. yed on the prairie, it sounded as if it was weeping andining, the tones rising and falling, round and round unceasingly. I wonder if Miss Jiao know how to y it? Kou Zhong mused inwardly that this man really knew the Hu music. Linglong Jiao appeared to recall something that burdened her heart; she was about to answer, but then shook her head and said, Wanbei [junior] cant. Yang Gongqing was an old veteran of the Jianghu; just by looking at Linglong Jiaos expression, he knew that there must be different reason, and not that she did not know how to y at all. He changed the subject by asking Shang Xiufang, For thest approximately a hundred years, there have been many musical instruments being imported from outside the Wall, one cannot tell how many; other than the one Old Yi mentioned just now, the widely spread instruments include Pipa[4], Wuxian[5], Sheng Hou[6], Di [transverse flute], Hujia [no idea what it is], Jue [lit. horn], Jiegu [double ended skin drum with narrow waist], and so on. ording to Xiufang and everybody, whats the difference between those instruments with our Qin [guqin/zither], Se [standing harp], Sheng [same character as above], Zhong [bell], Fangxiang [no idea], Paiban [pper-board, percussion instrument]? Kou Zhong thought that luckily the question was directed to Shang Xiufang; if he were to answer that, he would be humiliated on the spot. Shang Xiufang modestly replied, How could Xiufang ept everybodys des? Great General Yang is too polite. Generally speaking, certain musical instrument came into being, to a certain degree it is a reflection of the peoples livelihood and custom, as well as their characteristic. Most of the ethnic groups in the Western Region live nomadic life in pursuit of, and live by, a habitat with water source and grass. As a result, it affects the design of the musical instrument. First of all, it has to be portable, hence the form and structure areparably small. Second, because it is often yed in the open space of the wilderness, it has to be loud and clear, as well as melodious, so that the sound can be transmitted far. Compared to our countrys big and inconvenient to carry, as well as changing less, musical instruments, they appeared to be especially novel and lively, as well as coarse and wild. Everybody, including Kou Zhong, were amazed and emotionally moved. This womans excellent knowledge and experience was not something that ordinary courtesan would be able to match. This moment Kou Zhong was racking his brains trying to find a brilliant scheme so that he could leave with Xu Xingzhi without arousing Wang Shichongs suspicions. Noticing that everybody was giving their own view on the musical instruments, Shang Xiufang tried to find an opening in the midst of the disorderly discussion to lean over to Kou Zhong and whispered, I was wondering if Kou Gongzis heart belongs to someone and that your mind is constantly on this woman? This remark, which could be considered a bit of flirting, was nothing strange to Shang Xiufang, a famous courtesan who was ustomed to dealing with all kinds of men in various social interaction; but in Kou Zhongs ears, it was highly provocative. Truth be told, Kou Zhong had never encountered anything like Shang Xiufangs ten-thousand kinds of flirtatious expressions, it actually had a very strong attractive force to him. But because this moment his mind was focused on how to leave Luoyang as soon as possible, plus she was stirring up memories of Li Xiuning in his mind C the two women happened to share the same middle name, Xiu [refined/graceful/elegant/pretty ... you get the idea] C his heart, which was set ame earlier, was cooling down again. He replied, I am actually thinking of you, Miss! Greatly interested, Shang Xiufang said, Whats so good in qie [I, your servant] to think about? While in her fragrant heart, she was sniggering, thinking that turned out you are no different from other lustful men. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Arent people really strange? Before Miss arrived here, we did not know each other, but now we have be friends who can talk to each other, and can get to know each other. Ha! I really dont know what to say. Shang Xiufang was silent; evidently his words have stirred up her thoughts and feeling. Suddenly, under thousands of staring eyes, Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in her ear, I am leaving! But Miss musical talent, voice and appearance, I, Kou Zhong, will never forget for the rest of my life. And then he rose up to his full height and saluted to take his leave. Astounded, Wang Shichong asked, What gargantuan important urgent matter does Mr. Kou have? Shang Xiufang hung her head low; she was vaguely able to grasp the reason Kou Zhong leaving the banquet was not a simple one. Unexpectedly a mncholy feeling, which rarely caused by a man, floated up in her heart. Kou Zhong sent out an ambiguous signal with his eyes toward Wang Shichong; he said, Wangzi, have you forgotten? I have appointment with someone! Wang Shichong had no choice but to pretend to understand. Kou Zhong perfunctorily took his leave from everybody. When he moved to the other banquet table, he seized the opportunity to slip behind Xu Xingzhi, and in friendly manner put his hand on his shoulder, while secretly crooked his finger to write a go character on his back. Xu Xingzhi understood immediately; he stood up and said, Let Zaixia sends Mr. Kou off on behalf of my master! After some chitchat, Bu Tianzhi put down his cup of wine and spoke in low voice, For the past few years, most of the Xiongdi in our Gang have a lot of resentment toward Yun Bangzhu, one of those being our Gang bes the hunting dog of Baling Bang. Xu Ziling did not understand, Isnt your esteemed Gang always relying on selling intelligence to make a profit? But Baling Bang itself has the most extensive intelligencework in the world; why would they need you? he asked. Bu Tianzhi said, They look up on our fleet, which is growing day by day, plus we have operation base in all coastal cities and towns along the Great River. While Haisha Bang is declining, Dajiang Hui [great river society] and Shuilong Bangs [water dragon gang] fame and power is falling, our sphere of influence is expanding quietly; how could Xiao Xian dare to look down on us? Xu Ziling still did not understand; he asked further, Right now all gangs and societies in the world, big and small, none does not attach itself to a local power. Currently, Xiao Xians Liang Guo [kingdom of Liang] has be the number one major power in the south, his prestige is even above the Song ns; why does Bu Xiong dislike them so much? Bu Tianzhiughed coldly and said, I dont believe Xiao Xian can be a very capable person. If we are speaking about resorting to conspiracy, not many people can match this hypocrite. I dont need to say anything, just look at him, because he is afraid of Du Fuwei, he does not dare to go up north. From this, I know that it will be difficult for his great undertaking to seed. And then he sighed and said, And that is not main reason. Xu Ziling promptly inquired in details. His main concern was, naturally, Susu. Bu Tianzhi dejectedly said, Who would want to wallow in the mire with those human traffickers? Xu Zilings countenance changed, They ate still doing shady business in trafficking women? he asked. Letting out a cold humph, Bu Tianzhi said, Certainly not out in the open right now, but since this business has brought them countless benefit, with Xiao Xian being a really snobbish person, why would he want to give up easily? After a short pause, he went on, At the beginning, Yun Yuzhen guaranteed to us that the cooperation with Baling Bang is just a n of convenience; who would have thought that after she and Xiang Yuzhan are having an affair ... What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Bu Tianzhi hastily exined, That was before Xiang Yushan married Miss Susu! Afterwards, whether they are still in contact with each other, I am not really clear. Xu Zilings unsightly countenance turned even uglier. He really wished he could grow a pair of wings, with which he would fly back to the south to see Susu. With gloomy countenance Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, I dont know why Bangzhu resigned herself to that kid Dugu Ce, and she is getting worse since. If we did not consider her great merit to our Gang, we would have deposed her early on. And now she is hanging around all kinds of men all day long, her martial art skill is declining, she is even toozy to mind our Gangs affairs. If this continued, we cant survive. This is called every family goes through its problem [Chinese idiom]; since Xu Zilings heart distracted, his thoughts in turmoil [another idiom] due to Susu, he was out of his wits and was unable to offer any help. Smiling wryly, he said, So whats your n? Bu Tianzhi said, In chaotic time like this, everybody wants to charge forward to do great things. Our Xiongdi have discussed this matter over and over again, and we all believe that Kou Ye and Ziling, are the people we are willing to submit cheerfully the most. Therefore, we want to ask you to lead us. Xu Ziling jumped in fright; he said, If thats the case, wouldnt Yun Bangzhu hate us to the bones? Has Bu Xiong discussed this matter with Kou Zhong? Bu Tianzhi solemnly said, This is all Xiongdis intention, she has no influence whatsoever. I have already asked for an appointment to see Kou Ye, but am afraid he, the Senior, forget due to his busy schedule, hence the reason I specifically waited for him at Song Jingangs ce. This Song Jingang is both wise and brave, his name shook northern Xinjiang. But even he holds Kou Ye and you, Ziling, in very high regard, which boosted our confidence even more. Two gentlemen, must not decline. With a bitterugh Xu Ziling said, I think Bu Xiong had better have a long discussion with Kou Zhong over this matter. We have always had friendship with your esteemed Gang, and I have always been disinterested in the struggle for fame and profit. Kou Zhong is the person of choice you want to ask. Bu Tianzhiughed and said, How could we not know Zilings temperament? But in any case, you are going to stand by Kou Ye, am I right? Xu Ziling smiled ruefully, but did not answer. Bu Tianzhi spoke in heavy voice, You dont need to worry about Yun Yuzhen. Were it not for her and Xiao Huan, the two of them inciting Xiang Yushan, he might not necessarily woo your esteemed sister. What? Xu Ziling suddenly roared. The only waiter around, who was nodding in the corner, woke up in a start. Fortunately at this moment the shop did not have any other patrons, otherwise they would have raised their eyebrows. Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, At that time we really could not stand idly and watch. Even if we wanted to win over two gentlemen, we must not use this kind of method, in which we are harming other familys youngdys lifetime happiness! Xu Zilings eyes shed with unprecedented, deep and cold, murderous aura. He spoke slowly, word-by-word, If Xiang Yushan treated Su Jie with slightest bit of unkindness, I am going to make him die without a burial site. [3] Bili or Guan, Chinese double reed wind instrument. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guan_(instrument) [4] Pipa, Chinese lute. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pipa [5] Wuxian, Five Strings Lute. http://baike.baidu/view/185794.htm (this one in Chinese, cant find the English version) [6] Sheng (instrument), Chinese mouth-blown free reed instrument. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheng_(instrument) Book 17 - 7 – Long Dhyana Discussion on the Bridge Book 17 Chapter 7 C Long Dhyana Discussion on the Bridge The two have not even stepped out of the Mansions gate, Kou Zhong had briefly exined the reasons they must leave Luoyang immediately. Xu Xingzhi pulled him into an empty side room and calmly said, Kou Ye must not leave right now, otherwise you wont have any hope to strive for the world. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, How could I be the man who shrink back as the time for battle approaches? Its just that I am fully aware that if I do something that must not be done, I will only deliver our three little lives in vain. Xu Xingzhi pondered for a moment; he spoke heavily, Right now the situation is indeed very strange, on the surface it appears that we are holding the upper hand. But looking at the enemys movement, they seem to be calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, as if they have a card up their sleeve. What do Dugu Feng and Yang Dong have that they still appear secure, as if they have a strong backing, in facing our superior military power? Kou Zhong was shaken. You are right, he said, If what they are thinking is assassination, sess or failure is still unknown; could it be that Li Mis main force has already arrived and are lying down in ambush, in preparation tounch coordinated attack into the city from inside and outside? Xu Xingzhiughed and said, If thats the case, Yang Dong and Dugu Feng are big idiots; while driving tiger at the front door, they allow the wolf to enter from the back door. Kou Zhong thought hard, So what kind of game are they ying? he mused. Xu Xingzhis eyes were gleaming with intelligent light; he spoke in low voice, This is called pushing self to reach others. The reason we have fear in our heart is all because we cannot see through the enemys unusual situation. On the other hand, the reason the enemy appears as if they have something to rely on, it ought to be because they are holding the pearl of wisdom concerning our real situation; they know us like the back of their hand, hence they are not afraid of us. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, Are you suggesting that there is a spy amongst us? Have you warned Wang Shichong? Xu Xingzhi shook his head and said, This is purely spection. Considering I am a newer, and that there are many people who are jealous of me, how could I recklessly speak it out without strong evidence? Slightly out of his depth, Kou Zhong asked, So what do we do now? Xu Xingzhi did not answer, but asked him instead, Huang Gongcuo has arrived for many days; howe there is no sound of activity at all? Frowning, Kou Zhong replied, He must be waiting for fortunate timing. Xu Xingzhi shook his head and said, Cannot seize the initiative, how could wise person like Shen Luoyan exist? This has confirmed my suspicions, which is the enemy is clearly aware of our n to lure them into the trap tomorrow night, hence they are prepared to beat us at our game, and seize the opportunity to attack and kill Wang Shichong, and then we will be finished for real. Kou Zhong sucked a deep breath and said, I get it! Supposing by tomorrow night we still cannot identify the spy, we must cancel Wang Shichongs attending the party. And then we are going full strength to attack the Imperial Pce, and recover the previous standoff against Li Mi; only then will be leave the city. What will happenter, let Wang Shichong rely on his good luck. And then he shook and said, Oh, no! Wouldnt that mean the spy is aware about Zhai Jiao? Kou Ye, dont worry, Xu Xingzhi calmly said, Shen Luoyan will not beat the grass to scare the snake before the sessful assassination of Wang Shichong. Therefore, as long as Kou Ye makes proper arrangement by tomorrow night, I guarantee nothing bad will happen. Kou Zhong spoke with determination, I am going to look for some help from the Qingshe Bang [green snake gang], and notify Zhai Jiao. You go back inside, or else people might be suspicious. Kou Ye, please be careful, Xu Xingzhi whispered. Finished speaking he rushed back into the hall, while Kou Zhong urged his horse to gallop out of town. Xu Xingzhi turned into the Heavenly Street. Looking for Kou Zhong in the midst the vast crowd, he had a slightly depressed feeling. The matter between Susu and Xiang Yushan was a terrible mistake, they even had a child together; no how formidable he and Kou Zhong were, they did not have the strength to reverse the rotation of the sky. He has never had good impression toward Yun Yuzhen, and now he detested her even more, and was feeling very low. A fickle woman will always be fickle, she will never change. Kou Zhong and he had never wronged her, but time and again, using the most despicable means, she plotted against them, and even implicated the innocent Susu. At the bottom of it all, it all started from Li Jing having a change of heart. Without realizing it, he had reached the top of the Tianjin Bridge. Leaning against the railings, Xu Ziling peered down into the Luo River, in total disregard of the bustling atmosphere behind him, with vehicle, horses and pedestrians moving in steady stream. He was debating whether he should go back to Baling immediately to check on Susu, but deep in his heart he was rather scared of going back. With contradicting thoughts in his mind, he really wanted to look up to the sky and cry his heart out, to wash away the depression and grief. Why are there so many people in the world who bite the one that feeds them? Whether it was Xiang Yushan or Yun Yuzhen, they have both received favor from them without any enmity. This is called I dont offend people, but people offend me. Actually, Kou Zhongs desire to take the initiative to strike first to contend over the world was not entirely unfounded. Presently it was clear that power was everything; there was practically no room for virtue and reason. At this time, suddenly someone appeared next to him, and together they looked down into the Luo River. This person spoke in gentle voice, Why does Xu Xiong worry about things that are hard to solve, so that your countenance is filled with grief and indignation? Just from the fragrant scent emanating from her immortal body, Xu Ziling knew that she was the simple and elegant as an immortal Shi Feixuan. This peerless beauty was still dressed in mens clothing; no words can be used to describe her schrly elegance. Without turning his head and look at her, Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, I now understand why people leave their home [to be Buddhist monk/nun]. Because all living things suffer, once we are drawn into this world, it is impossible to unravel, the only way out is death. Only by cutting off the worldly affairs would we see that the four elements are vanity [idiom: this world is an illusion]. But currently Xiaodis feet are deep in the mire; I wanted to stop, but I cant. Shi Feixuans jade countenance did not show the slightest bit of emotion; she spoke indifferently, Would Xu Xiong be willing to listen to Feixuans story? Xu Ziling remained silent. Shi Feixuan smoothly said, Cold mountain because of white cloud, silence by no means because of dust of the earth. There was a house on a grassy mountain, a lonentern bright as the full moon. Stone bed overlooking green jade pond, deer and tiger live side by side. Envious of serene and happy residence, forever be a person outside of this world. Her voice gentle and beautiful like the sound of nature, her intonation melodious like the sound of music, softly recited in this busy downtown, the poem carried an iparable inspiration. Poetry and literature constantly stirred up Xu Zilings mental association, for instance cold mountain and white cloud, lonentern and bright moon; just because they came from her fragrant lips, they seemed to carry new meanings, some kind of imagery that came out of this secr world and into a realm that transcended the secr world. It was such a breathtakingly beautiful perception. Although the two peoples gaze have not met, but because they were both focused on the endlessly flowing river underneath, there was a subtle connection between them. Meanwhile the sun was sinking down, bathing the empty sky west of the city red with its twilight. Xu Ziling muttered, That does not sound like a story! A faint smile escaped from the corner of Shi Feixuans lips; she spoke indifferently, It was only the prelude of the story, meant to set Xu Xiongs state of mind to listen to the story. Otherwise, it would be like ying the lute to a cow, wasting my words. Xu Ziling suddenly changed the subject, Is there really such thing as afterlife retribution? Shi Feixuan replied, Since Xu Xiong is not someone who cares about material things, why do you care about such matter like secr people? Xu Ziling was jolted and turned his gaze to her. You seem to know me very well! he spoke in amazement. Shi Feixuan did not respond, neither did she meet his gaze; she kept her beautiful eyes on the flowing water down below. The outline of her face viewed from the side was breathtakingly beautiful, ethereal like the essence of the heaven and the earthing true, and everything came together in the perfect line of the profile of her face. Although there were hundred knots of worry in Xu Zilings intestines, he could not help feeling deeply attracted to her, as if in the midst of miserable world where the fire of war filled the whole sky, he was trying to find the Peach Blossom Spring, a hiddennd of peace and prosperity to escape this mortal world. Shi Feixuan did not seem to be bothered by his admiring stare less than two chi away; her jade countenance was as calm as still water. She spoke softly, Someone was asking a monk, Heshang [Buddhist monk] cultivate the way, is it hard? The monk replied, Its hard. The man asked again, In what way? The monk replied, Hunger came, eat, weary came, sleep. Thereupon the asking man was surprised, Since that is the case, then it is the same as not hard? he asked. The monk replied, Of course not the same. When its time to eat, they are unwilling to eat, but think of a hundred thoughts, plot a thousand schemes. Therefore, it is not the same. And then her limpid, bright and deep eyes looked up to meet his gaze. Is this story interesting? she asked softly. Xu Ziling looked deep into her eyes. Sensing her untainted-by-even-a-speck-of-dust tranquil frame of mind, he nodded and said, Miss story contains a very deep meaning, but the primary condition is that one must extricate oneselfpletely from the miserable world of other people; only then will one attain this kind of no-desire, no-demand realm, and will be able to probe the question of human existence. This will be the extreme state of liberation and freedom, simr to Zhuang Zhou [same as Zhuangzi (369-286 BC), Daoist author] and Laozis [Lao-tze (c. 500 BC), Chinese philosopher, the founder of Taoism] natural Daoist doctrine of inaction, the original pursuit of nothingness. But unless one can sever worldly affair like Miss, how can one reach the no-emotion state? A look of astonishment shed across Shi Feixuans pretty eyes, but she quickly reverted to her serenity, as she spoke gently, Xu Xiong is indeed a man with great wisdom and knowledge, no wonder you are able to grasp the Secret to Long Lifes key principle, and prate the Jade Annulus of He ns secret, which had been buried throughout all ages. Xu Xiongs question just now not only recognized the true knowledge of reality, it is also enough to reach the way. Would Xu Xiong like to hear another story? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Right now I am practically not in the mood to listen to any story, but Miss story is too pleasant to listen to, so its hard for me to extricate myself, hence my body have no choice but to follow its master to listen with respectful attention. Shi Feixuan turned her gaze away, back toward the flowing water below. She looked at a small boat carrying a family of men, women, young and old, gradually sailing away under the red clouds glowing in the setting sun. Xu Ziling followed her gaze. His fluctuating mood gradually calmed down. The high-volume traffic behind them was slowly thinning down, the noise was also diminishing somewhat. The Tianjin Bridge was a must-see attraction for visitors to Luoyang City, so two people standing side by side leaning on the railings weremonly seen; it would not attract attention at all. It was only this moment that Xu Ziling remembered that Shi Feixuan saw him today, and suddenly made her immortal track known, there must be a reason that he himself did not understand yet. Shi Feixuans voice entered his ears, There is an immortal elder from the Taoist family starting up a furnace to perfect his dan [red/pellet/powder/cinnabar; no idea what it is]. Everything was prepared; the only thing missing was a Daotong [Taoist servant boy] to keep watch the furnace. Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, I thought Miss is going to tell another Buddhist story. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Buddhism, Taoism, whats the difference? Just like you and I, we are both human beings! Xu Ziling was puzzled, Everybody is different, or else why would you be Shi Feixuan and I am called Xu Ziling? Shi Feixuan calmly replied, Since mind is Buddha, then without mind there is no Buddha. Since if it is not mind then it is not Buddha, then it is also a non-entity. Human is human, self is merely the screen that hinders, so that eating does not feel like eating! [Sorry, its beyond me.] It was only today that Xu Ziling came in contact with a Dhyana [Zen] Master. Both Liao Kong and Shi Feixuan, on the surface their words were simple and easy to understand, but hidden deep inside was always profound mystery that was difficult to understand. Without any choice he said humbly, I will have to think about it. Miss, please continue your story, I wont interrupt anymore! After entrusting his horse to the care of the House of Dong Restaurants stable, Kou Zhong continued his journey on foot toward the Qingshe Bangs headquarter located at the pier. Because he was afraid of being followed and thus his rtionship with Ren En was discovered, he left the main street and unleashed his footwork by suddenly dashed toward a side ally, and suddenly darted through houses and passed the buildings, and employed all kinds of anti-tracking method to make sure that nobody was tailing him, before finally flying toward the destination at full speed. Under the dimming light of the setting sun, the continuous interaction of the buildings and the trees and greeneries, as well as the ubiquitous towering roof of the temples and pagodas, painted a wonderful silhouette against the sky. Too bad Kou Zhong was turning a blind eye to everything; in his mind right now was how to have Zhai Jiao and the others to evade a fatal disaster. Kou Zhong avoided the main gate and opted to somersault down from the roof. He had not touched the ground when his countenance underwent a great change. Neither fast nor slow, Shi Feixuan spoke evenly, Finally someone came to apply for the job as the Daotong who would keep watch of the furnace. The Daozhang [Taoist priest] said, If you can try not to speak from now on, then you can be may Daotong. Are you willing to try? The man resolutely nodded. And then the sky spun, the earth went around, he fell into countless lifetimes and reincarnated over and over again. But whether in riches and honor, or poor and lowly, being a king, marquis, general minister, or being a peddler and carrier, he was able to persevere not to talk. Each time from the time he was born till the time he died, he became a mute who did not speak a single word. Listening to her, there was a deep frown on Xu Zilings eyebrows. This story had an immortal way, mysterious, strange, even weird, vor; but he was unclear whether it had something to do with the topic of their discussion just now. Shi Feixuan went on, Finally, in a certain lifetime he became a woman, got married and bore a child. Who would have thought that after her child was born, before he was even a month old, a thief came? Xu Zilings curiosity was piqued, What did she do? he asked in astonishment. Shi Feixuan said, The thief killed her husband before her eyes, and humiliated her, but she still persevered not to make any noise, until finally the thief was going to throw the infant to the ground, she atst forgot her recurring distant purpose, and cried out wildly to stop the thief. Xu Zilings tiger-body shook severely. He understood. Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, Thereupon he woke up from the recurring distant past, and found out that he was still standing in the Dan room; nothing has changed, except for the hot tears on his face. The immortal elder sighed and said, Forget it! You still cannot sever the love between mother and child. And then she spoke softly, Kou Zhong is here! Feixuan takes my leave. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat on the slope of River Luos dike, approximately on the same spot they sat this morning, but their mood was totally different. Kou Zhong was surprisingly calm and collected; he spoke in low voice, I am positive the perpetrator is only one person, but within the Qingshe Bang headquarter, twenty-five people, not a single one escaped. It is clear that the movement was fast, ruthless, and urate; at least Wanwans caliber. But certainly notmitted by Yin Gui Pai people. Xu Zilings heart was swelling with zing thought of revenge for Qingshe Bangs Gang Leader Ren En and his men, but his voice was very calm and even as he spoke indifferently, How could you be so sure? Kou Zhong hatefully said, Because from the bodies and the condition of their injury, it does not look like it was caused by Tianmo Gong. On the surface, Ren En and the others did not have the slightest bit of scar or bruises, but their five viscera [i.e. heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys] were crushed. Evidently it was some kind of softness within the hardness; an extremely overbearing splitting-the-air fist or palm. Sucking a mouthful of cold air, Xu Ziling said, Although Ren En and the others martial art skill could not be considered superior, but if I wanted to kill all of them without letting anyone escaping out of the headquarter building, I am afraid its not possible. Hence this persons martial art skill must be above ours. In Jianghu, this kind martial art masters can be counted on ones fingers. Who could it be? At this time, the curtain of night was just beginning to descend on them; the lights andnterns were starting to be lit. Compared with their grey, dark and dull frame of mind, this kind of prosperity and flourishing atmosphere seemed to carry a thick, callous mocking. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Honestly, at that time I really wanted to cry loudly, to wash away the grief and pain in my heart. But I knew I absolutely couldnt do that; instead, I must even more determine to strike back. Right now all I can think of is the tragic scene of their bodies scattered around the headquarters; can you analyze it for me? Naturally Xu Zilings mood could not be better than his; quite probably it was even worse. After taking a deep breath, he said, First of all, how did the other party know our rtionship with Qingshe Bang? What benefit would it give him by destroying the Qingshe Bang? Why must this person acted alone? If we can figure out one of these points, we could make spection as which party did this. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The highest in our suspect list ought to be Yin Gui Pai, but always felt it was not their handiwork. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I agree, it shouldnt be Yin Gui Pai. If the perpetrator is connected to one of the local gangs or societies in Luoyang, it should be very easy to discover that thesest couple of days Qingshe Bang was running around on our behalf. Yet after losing Luoyang Bang, Yin Gui Pai is like losing their intelligencework. Therefore, the highest in our list should be the Dugu n. Bute to think about it, something is not quite right. And then he narrated how Shen Luoyan was implicating them on the death of Dugu Ba. Although Kou Zhong was full of hatred that his teeth itched, he shook his head emphatically and said, Dugu n has already had a card up their sleeve, they cant possibly risk great scheme for not able to tolerate small matter. Because after tomorrow night, they will be able to do whatever they want; could it be that they cannot wait for a day and a half? So he told Xu Ziling about their suspicion that there was a mole within Wang Shichongs party. Xu Ziling also told him the intelligence supplied by Tongtong, but for the time being he concealed the fact that YunYuzhen betrayed Susu, because he did not want to overplicate Kou Zhong; he also did not mention that Shi Feixuan wasing to speak to him. The two boys racked their brains for half a day, but everything was still hazy without the least bit of clue. Distressed, Kou Zhong said, What should we do? I was originally thinking of asking Ren En to send a letter to Zhai Jiao, telling her to watch for Li Mi. But now, who could help me? Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, I just thought about someone who might do this evil scheme. Dumbstruck, Kou Zhong said, What does it have to do with sending a letter to Zhai Jiao? Xu Zilings eyes were shing with intense murderous aura; he spoke in heavy voice, Tell me, besides you, who would know where Zhai Jiao is? Kou Zhong replied, Such an important matter, how could I easily tell anybody? All right! Xu Ziling said, Tell me then, supposing you did not know about the mole, when you see Ren En and more than twenty of his men were tragically massacred, what would be your reaction now? Kou Zhong started to understand; gnashing his teeth in hatred he said, This plot is indeed too vicious. I would definitely remind everybody who helped me, overtly or covertly, to raise their vignce. If this person really know the secret rtionship between us and Ren En like the back of his hand, then I am afraid Zhai Jiao would not escape disaster either. Xu Ziling pped his thigh and said, That is indeed the crucial point of this matter, plus it is logical. You have probably asked Wang Shichong to get in touch with Zhai Jiao for you, and that would leak out her hiding ce. Tell me, who would plot actively to kill Zhai Jiao like this? Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day; finally he cursed and said, Shen Luoyan, that poniang, is really worse than a dog or a pig; otherwise, how could she just happened toe here to warn you, while there were dead people on that side? The executioner must be Huang Gongcuo, that kind of thousand-de dead old demon. After getting rid of Zhai Jiao, this cmity within his bosom, her boss would hereafter be able to sleep peacefully. And then he frowned and said, But your spection is at most only 90% urate. If I simply go down to inform Zhai Jiao wouldnt Shen Luoyan only be beating the grass to scare the snake? Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Dont deceive yourself! We care about Zhai Jiaos safety too much, so we would try everything to warn her. Shen Luoyan understands us really well. And then he coldly added, If we can beat someone at his own game, we could definitely lure the main culprit out of his hiding ce. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Wang Shichong is the real number one target of Shen Luoyan. But I can make a diversion so that she wouldpletely miss Zhai Jiaos real hiding ce. Xu Ziling nodded and said, You can employ the repair the nk road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River at Chenchang stratagem [refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang in 206 BC against Xiang Yu of Chu]. Overtly you go through Wang Shichong, covertly well ask Bu Tianzhi to prepare everything. Ipletely forgot my appointment with Bu Tianzhi, Kou Zhong blurted out, Hey! Howe you suddenly mentioned his name and not Yun Yuzhen? From the beginning I did not trust this woman. Xu Ziling pulled him up and said, Well talk as we walk! Right now you go back to Wang Shichong, ask him to make funeral arrangement for Ren Bangzhu and his men; I will contact Bu Tianzhi. Now without you persuading me, I am going to make every effort to deal with Li Mi. Kou Zhong said in low voice, If we cannot fine the mole, even if you are willing to help me, we will lose this battle for sure. Xu Ziling was quiet for half a day. Finally he said, In that case you and I go together to see Bu Tianzhi, and then go see Wang Shichongter! Book 17 - 8 – Beating Someone at His Own Game Book 17 Chapter 8 C Beating Someone at His Own Game After the two boys finished discussing and making proper arrangement with Bu Tianzhi, Bu Tianzhi left first, while the two boys stayed at the wine shop. In the shop, only three tables were upied, but because the patrons were ying finger-guessing or other drinking games, and the losers were still shouting and yelling, or even singing at the top of their lungs; the mor was enough to shook the rafter beams. This kind of noisy environment provided a perfect screen for the boys to talk about secret matters. Kou Zhong muttered to himself, Bu Tianzhi and a bunch of Jukun Bang [giant leviathan gang, first mention Book 2 Chapter 7] Xiongdi think very highly of Xiaodi, and want to follow me, Kou Zhong, to conquer the world. This is actually something I seek but failed to get, but in my heart I have a feeling that I am letting Beautiful Shifu down. Xu Ziling let out a cold snort and said, You are only afraid that I might oppose it! Dont worry, I wont stop you this time. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Whats going on? This does not look like your, Ling Shaos style. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Earlier Bu Tianzhi told me a lot of things, including Su Jies marriage. It was indeed fixed up by Xiang Yushan, Xiao Huan and Yun Yuzhen with their deep ns and distant thoughts; they are aiming at our Duke of Yangs Treasure. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, We were really too na?ve to believe others easily. And now the damage is done, we are forfeiting Su Jies lifetime happiness in a crafty and evil mans hands. Kou Zhong stood up abruptly and bolted out the door. Shocked, Xu Ziling tossed some money down and chased out at full speed. Kou Zhong stood by the roadside, with his back to him, staring nkly into the distance. Although the street was full of peopleing and going, his magnificent figure appeared iparably lonely. Xu Ziling caught up with him, and was surprised to find Kou Zhongs face was wet with tears, which flowed down from his tiger-eyes, but he remained silent. Xu Ziling was extremely grieved as well, but remembering Shi Feixuans story about the elderly immortal concocting pills of immortality, he held back his tears and said, Dont cry! Heroes dont cry easily, just because they havent felt deeply hurt! After Fu Junchuos death [orig. fragrance disappeared, jade perished], Susu has be their only family. To a certain degree, she was taking Fu Junchuos ce. No matter how much they have be influential figure [orig. the man of the moment] who scold the world, in Susus eyes, they were always big boys without scheming heart. There was a heartfelt sincerity between them that outsiders could hardly understand. Kou Zhong wiped the tears with his sleeve and spoke heavily, I am going to kill Yun Yuzhen; nobody can stop me. Xu Ziling felt a stabbing pain at the pit of his stomach; he shook his head violently and said, This is not what a sage would do. Right now its like we have a hostage in Xiang Yushans hands; we must refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases. We will act only after careful nning; or else Su Jies experience will be even more unbearable. Kou Zhongs eyes alternated between clear and dark; it was quite a while before he said meekly, Xiao Ling! Tell me what to do! Right now not only I hate them, I also hate myself. If it werent for us cooperating with that little traitor Xiang Yushan because we wanted to deal with Yuwen Huaji, Su Jie would not be harmed like this. Right now we need to deal with the problem at hand, Xu Ziling said, And then well go get the Duke of Yangs Treasure, and after everything is settled, I am going back to Baling, to get Su Jie, mother and son, out of there. In the meantime, you can focus on your aspiration, the great undertaking of vying over the world. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, How could I not worry? Xiao Xian is an old fox, Xiang Yushan is a little fox; considering their sphere of influence, I ... Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Even if you lead magnificent army without thousands of men and horses to find them, what good would it bring? I already have a n, and I am confident I will be able to pull it properly and satisfactorily. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, This moment I feel so helpless [orig. every hope turned to dust]; I really want to give up everything, and then ... Dont let your imagination run wild! Xu Ziling cut him off, First of all, Ren Bangzhus enmity, we cannot but avenge it. Secondly, Zhai Jiao is waiting for your good news. And then a group of our Shuanglong Bang [twin-dragon gang, see Book 6 Chapter 12] Xiongdi is waiting for you at Guanzhong to get the Duke Yang Treasure out. Am I missing anybody? This kind of matter, once you started, you cant stop even if you wanted to. The only thing you need to do right now is to raise your own spirit and be brave to meet the enemy. There is no other way. Kou Zhong hyperventted; it was quite half a dayter that he gradually calmed down. Do we need to see Wang Shichong now? he asked. Xu Ziling pulled his elbow and took him walking down the street; he said in low voice, If you tell Wang Shichong about the mole, what would his reaction be? Kou Zhong came to his senses; emotionally moved, he said, It may be assumed that there wont be any benefit at all. First of all, he is unwilling to use his own self to brave danger, and then he is already suspicious of everybody around him. It will be just like exposing our own trail to the enemy for no reason. Who else knows about Zhai Jiao? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong said, Those who are able to participate in Wang Shichongs secret meetings, besides his sons and two emperor rtives [idiom: person with powerful connections], there are his trusted aides Zhang Zhenzhou, Yang Gongqing, Lang Feng, and Song Mengqiu, four people. Other than that, there are several renowned martial art masters who act as his personal bodyguards. In my opinion, Song Mengqiu is the most unreliable. Xu Ziling said, Its one thing if you dont like him personally, but whether he can betray Wang Shichong or not, its another matter altogether. Putting future development aside, currently Wang Shichong isparatively strong. If Song Mengqiu colluded with outsiders, it means he is smashing his own rice bowl [fig. livelihood]; what good would it be for him? Would Dugu Feng and Yang Dong be able to put a traitor general in an important position? Kou Zhong was silenced immediately; embarrassed, he said, This moment my heart is like a knocked-out deer, I am out of my wits; you are more clear-headed. Xu Ziling revealed a mixture hard-to-distinguishughing and crying expression on his face; he cursed, Its lucky that in this kind of situation you still want to make me happy. Heart like a knocked-out deer generally describes a woman having her heart moved by a man; how could it be applied to you? Tell me, who are those martial art masters? Kou Zhong said, Naturally there are a bunch of them who are there just to eat, but those who are privy to the secrets include Ouyang Xiyi, Ke Feng Daoren [Taoist priest], one who is called the Iron Hook, that kid Chen Changlin, and the beauty Linglong Jiao, who came from Qiuci, world famous for their music and dancing skills. This woman has always been not very friendly to me, so I dont think she is the spy. Ouyang Xiyi dont have any problem even more, and Ke Feng Daoren takes a very good care of me. Hey! The two boys four eyes met immediately. Because ording to Kou Zhongs reasoning, those who are especially friendly to him have a greater chance to be the mole. But Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Arent we looking for a hidden ghost here? This man appears to have immortal style and Tao [the way] bones, a man outside secr world, who regards fame and wealth as dirt; how could he be a traitor? On the contrary that Chen Changlin is young and vigorous; if either Shen Luoyan or Dugu Feng [phoenix] lured him with sex, he would crawl in front of the beautys bed and perhaps wont even care if his ancestors are being sold! Xu Ziling sneered and said, In term of having immortal style and Tao bones, wont Ke Feng match Pi Chen [see Book 14 Chapter 11]? Kou Zhong was shaken. He said, Of course he is still a notch below. I dont know what kind of demonic skill Pi Chen trained; so demonic that he appears like immortal descending into the mortal world. Xu Ziling said, If Lang Feng, or perhaps Song Mengqiu, surrendered to the enemy, perhaps Wang Shichong would not be able to even enter the city gate; therefore, I am sure they are not the problem. On the contrary, Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing have been stationed outside for a long time; perhaps when they saw Li Mis increasing power, it is very reasonable to guess that they threw their lot with him. Kou Zhong suddenly pulled Xu Ziling into a sidene; he spoke in a low voice, I think it is quite possible that Ke Feng is the spy. Last night, when we were besieged on the Tianjin Bridge, he strongly advocated to send the troops to help us, unlike the absolutely-not-the-spy Ouyang Xiyi who was strongly opposing it. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Problem is that we cannot prove it based on that matter alone. What kind of fellow is he? Why did Wang Shichong trust him so much? Kou Zhong said, He seems to be from a Taoist sect near Luoyang somewhere. Ouyang Xiyi even said that the people from this Taoist sect rarely interfere with Jiangju matters, so this time Wang Shichong gained a considerable face. That was the reason I said he cant be the spy. I think wed better focus our attention on that kid Chen Changlin; lets see if he is going out to have a tryst with Shen Luoyan. Suddenly Xu Ziling was jolted; he said, Did hee from the Laojun Guan [Taoist monastery] on the summit of Cuiyun Peak of Mount Mang [See Book 16 Chapter 11]? Kou Zhong was dumbstruck. How did you know that? he asked. Xu Ziling spoke decisively, We must see Wang Shichong immediately. I am positive the spy is demon Taoist Ke Feng. There is not much time, Ill exin it to you on the way. Inside the secret chamber. Finished listening, Wang Shichongs countenance changed; he said, Is there such thing? Laojun Temples Zhuchi [manager, see my earlier note, Book 16 Chapter 11] Bi Chen Xianzhang [I tranted this as immortal elder earlier, must be a term of respect to address Taoist Priest] is a friend of mine for many years; how could Ke Feng harm me? This time it was Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings turn to have their countenance changed. Pi Chen? they blurted out. Wang Shichong was surprised, Whats wrong? he asked. Kou Zhong said, Bi Chens real name is Pi Chen, the Jiaozhu [Cult Leader] of the other demonic sect outside Yin Gui Pai; as for what kind of demonic method they are using, I, myself, am not too clear. But Liao Kong has personally told Xiao Ling that Liaojun Temple has fallen under some crafty scoundrels control, and we do know Pi Chens background. Ke Feng is the spy, I no longer have any doubt. Dont forget thatst night he was the one who suggested we go to war. Evidently Wang Shichongs mind was in chaos; he asked, How could Liao Kong reveal this information to Ziling for no reason? So Xu Ziling told him about his visit to see Shi Feixuan that morning. Naturally he did not say anything about the Jade Annulus of He n being stolen by them. Finally Wang Shichong was convinced. What do we do now? he asked. Kou Zhong excitedly said, Right now only you, me and Xiao Ling know about this matter. Later on we will use a scheme within a scheme, I guarantee Shen Luoyan will fail miserably [orig. capsize in the ditch], and will suffer a great loss. When the two boys stepped out of the Shangshu Mansion, their mood was greatly different; at least their objective was clear before their eyes, so that they had the direction on what they were fighting for. The guards brought their horses out. The two were just about to mount their horses, when Ke Fengs voice rang out from behind, Two Xiao Xiong, please wait for me. Kou Zhong turned around and saluted, Does Daozhang [Taoist Priest] have any urgent matter to discuss? I am in a hurry to send my humble friend out of the city. Ke Feng caught up with them and said with a smile, This must be Kou Xiao Xiongs good partner Ziling Xiao Xiong. Pindao [impoverished Taoist] just want to say hello! And then he casually asked, Where is Xu Xiao Xiong going? Pretending to be not in the mood to chitchat, Xu Ziling replied without thinking, To Huaiyang. Kou Zhongs countenance immediately became very unnatural; pretending to be very much in earnestness, he lowered his voice and said, Even Wanggong only has partial information [orig. to know the first, but not know the second; Daozhang, please do us a big favor, you must not breathe a word. Ke Feng solemnly said, What is it? Why is it so serious that Xu Xiao Xiong must leave town immediately? Is there anything Pindao can do to help? Xu Ziling put on an awkward expression as if he had just said something that he should not say; he stammered, Because this matter involves the safety of some friends, we would appreciate it very much if Daozhang could keep it strictly confidential. Frowning, Ke Feng asked, Does that mean Xu Xiao Xiong is not going to participate in our operation tomorrow? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong replied, It came up very suddenly, Xiao Ling has no choice but to rush to that ce. Ke Feng nodded and said, In that case, Pindao is not going to waste Xu Xiao Xiongs time anymore. As long as you are careful in everything, your esteemed friend will be able to turn misfortune into blessing. The two urged their horses to gallop out of the Imperial City via the eastern gate. When they reached the city gate, they handed over themand tablet issued by Wang Shichong himself, plus the captain of the guards recognized Kou Zhong, so they were able to leave the city without any trouble. Outside the city, the two made an act of galloping over the mountains and fields for about ten li before stopping on a hilltop to rest and let the horses have a breather. After gazing into the distance from the top of the hill for half a day, Kou Zhong said, There shouldnt be anybody dare to tail us, right? Facing the cool night breeze, Xu Ziling took a deep breath. Not in a good mood, he said, The enemy surely can send information via flying pigeon or something like that to notify their cronies in Huaiyang, and spread out the to wait for me. When I meet with Zhai Jiao, with a momentum of ten-thousand-catty thunderbolt they would swoop us in one go to get rid of any problemter on. Why would they spend so much energy to trail me? Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, My brain is still not quite working yet. Ay! Thinking about Su Jie, I just want to cry. Xu Ziling coldly said, Go ahead and cry. Afterwards, dont cry anymore. The only thing we must do right now is to be strong enough to face all the unfortunate things that already happened, and then do our best to deal with the crisis before our eyes. I think Ke Feng has been fooled. Now its Shen Luoyans turn, andter on, Li Mi. Its almost time! Youd better go back to town to avoid any suspicion. Please be careful! Kou Zhong said. Xu Ziling nodded, So must you! he said. The door opened. The Song ns martial art master guarding the door was stunned. Turns out its Kou Ye. May I ask if you are looking for Qi Shu [seventh uncle], or San Xiaojie [third miss]? Stepping over the courtyard gate, Kou Zhong replied, If San Xiaojie had not gone to bed, Id like to ask her a couple of questions. The man led him toward the main residential building, while another man took his horse away. Naturally there ought to be another man flying toward the inner courtyard to notify Song Yuzhi. Nobody did not act deferential and proud to have the honor to serve him. When they reached the main hall and Kou Zhong sat down, the young man taking him inside, whose name was Song Jie, personally served him fragrant tea and apologetically said, All the maids have retreated to the rear courtyard to rest; who would have thought that Kou Ye would suddenly arrive to grace us with your presence? Kou Zhong thought that the Song n was worthy to be counted as the number one big n in the south; any random captain of the gatekeepers, not only his martial art skill was not bad, his speech and demeanor were decent and appropriate to the asion. Smiling, he said, I dont dare! Theres no need for Song Xiong to be overly courteous. Taking the offered tea, he took a sip and said, Why dont Song Xiong sit down and talk? Song Jie smiled and said, Its against the rules, Kou Ye please fell free to ask. Fortunately the one Kou Ye wanted to see is San Xiaojie, because Qi Shu still attended a banquet and has not returned. Kou Zhong took another sip of the hot tea; emotionally moved, he said, What kind of tea is this? Its so fragrant! Song Yuzhis voice responded, That is West Lakes Longjing Tea. If it were brewed using local Hupau [lit. tiger paw] spring water, it would give out even more sweet smelling and clear taste, mouthwatering and thirst quenching; it is known as double-ultimates. Kou Zhong turned his head to look at her; his eyes immediately brightened. She was wearing silk woven pure white dress, with the cor, breast, sleeves, skirt, and other ces adorned with perfectly matched plum colored embroidery. The flowers shape lucid and elegant, the color and luster pleasing to the eye, what is true and what is false in stark contrast, the gradation distinct. Plus the upper outer garment soft and elegant, light and smooth. Worn by this beauty, it was so touching, so moving. Song Jie quickly asked to be excused. Without the slightest bit of emotion on her face, Song Yuzhi sat down on a chair by the window opposite him, so the two of them were separated by the entire hall, which was nearly two and a half zhang wide. Kou Zhong sighed and said, To be quite honest, when I saw San Xiaojie just now, I nearly wanted to flee absent-mindedly. Because looking at San Xiaojies brilliant splendor, which is like the bright moon in the sky, I was suddenly overwhelmed with an intense feeling of shame of my own inferiority. Song Yuzhi crossly said, You are the best in coaxing a child, the best at talking insincere words. Do you know what time is it now? Giggling, Kou Zhong said, That was exactly what I wanted to ask: what time is it now? Howe San Xiaojie is not in bed yet? Evidently Song Yuzhi was helpless dealing with him; she angrily said, I dont want to ther with you; if you are not going to tell me the reason of your visit thiste at night, I am going to ignore you. In deadly earnest, Kou Zhong said, I was hoping I could spend the night here. Song Yuzhis almond eyes grew big. What? she blurted. Kou Zhong crossed his legs, assuming a rogue, rascally demeanor, and then calmly and nonchntly said, Tonight Xiaodi remains to be the one who is cut off from others [idiom: one who has chosen to follow a solitary path], no more me and Xiao Ling take turns on night vigil while sleeping on the street. I want to get a good night sleep, so I came to implore San Xiaojie to offer shelter. Ay! Tender vige is the heros burial mound; to the other end of the world, where is my home? Listening to hisst two sentences, which were incongruous nonsense, although fully aware that this kid was casually making fun of her, Song Yuzhi was still unable to refrain from smiling; she had to struggle not tough as she said, Get lost! Go to Wang Shichong and ask him to offer shelter to you, the tramp! Kou Zhong stood up to his full height, stretched his limbs, and said, Where is San Xiaojies boudoir? If I have no ce to stay, I will have to borrow San Xiaojies fragrant room, ha! San Xiaojies fragrant room must be particrly savory. Just like that, and he walked toward the inner hall. Song Yuzhi jumped out of her skin; angered and annoyed, she ran after him, stretching out her finger to seal the vital acupoint on his back. This finger attack carried hatred in it, naturally it was quite different from an ordinary move. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong took the attack and copsed. Song Yuzhi had never imagined that Kou Zhong did not even dodge or run; quickly she dashed forward to hold him up. Paralyzed, Kou Zhong seemed to be falling into her fragrant bosom, while producing a loud snoring noise. It was only then did Song Yuzhi realize that she had fallen into a crafty scoundrels trap. Book 17 - 9 – Overbearing Saber Yue Shan Book 17 Chapter 9 C Overbearing Saber Yue Shan The sky was overcast. The city gate has just been opened. Xu Ziling wore his mask and changed into blue robes, immediately turned into the man who stole the Jade Annulus of He n. Using an official pass, he leisurely stepped into the city. He did not intentionally stoop his back, but stood erect instead. With his slightly disheveled greying hair,bined with clear,manding and awe-inspiring countenance, his image as an elderly man was quite eye-catching. He had a long saber hanging on his waist, giving him an air of an old Jianghu veteran who had been through the vicissitudes of life. The appointed time that he and Kou Zhong agreed upon before they parted was still two sichen away. He strolled leisurely in the city, and subconsciously his feet brought him to the familiar Tianjin Bridge. As always, the Bridge was full of pedestrians and carriages. Recalling the scene where Shi Feixuan told him a storyst night, a hard-to-describe emotion mixed with slight mncholy welled up in his heart. Why did she suddenly leave the quiet cultivation of the Chanyuan [Buddhist Hall] ande looking for him here? Maybe she was on different errand and coincidentally run into him. Oftentimes the way she handled matters was beyond expectations anyway, bordering to mystery, so that nobody was able to predict. His feet stepped on the Tianjian Bridge, his heart turned toward Ba Fenghan. This outstanding Tujue swordsman, who has undergone life and death together with him, was really not as heartless as the image he projected outside; to say the least, there was remorse in his heart concerning Ba Daier, and was using thousand ways, a hundred ns to avoid seeing her. Just then, he saw two acquaintances. Dark clouds raced in the sky, rainstorm wasing. Raindrops were falling onto the roof and the windowsills. Sparse at first, but quickly became heavy. In the blink of an eye, the world outside the room was filled with the patter of rain, beautiful like natures hands were ying music with the most graceful movement. Kou Zhong, lying down on dragon-head couch, hugging the fragrant and clean quilt, remembered Xu Ziling, who was sleeping in the wilderness, first. And then his mind wandered to Shang Xiufangs moving singing voice, which worth listening a hundred times over, and finally recalled the enthralling feeling of leaning in Song Yuzhis tender bosom, which was able to melt him. His nostrils were still smelling the orchid scenting out of her body. Surprisingly, this beauty, who had a love-hate rtionship with him, did not throw him to the ground when they were outside earlier. Unexpectedly she carried him and tossed him to the bench, before ordering her men to take him to the guest room. Kou Zhong really felt overwhelmed by the favor shown by her. If he said that he did not have good impression or feeling of love toward her, then he deceived himself. At least when she was near, he never felt lonely, time seemed to slip away a lot faster. Ever since the defeat of Jingling, he had never experienced such a sweet and sound sleep. The sound of rain outside was enhancing the safety andfort inside the room even more. Suddenly Li Xiunings image in his mind turned blurry, reced by Song Yuzhis touching charm, which carried a mixture of delight and anger. Sound of footsteps approached. Bang! the door opened. Followed by the sound of window being closed. Without even looking Kou Zhong already smelled Song Yuzhis scent; inwardly he was astounded. A maid or a servant ought toe to wait on him rinsing his mouth and washing his face, why would she inconvenience the Third Miss pair of delicate lily-white hands? This thought was still hovering in his mind when Song Yuzhi came over and stopped in front of the bed curtain. Do you have enough sleep? she shouted tenderly, Why havent you gotten lost? Kou Zhong stretched and put his hand out of the curtain and said, Could San Xiaojie help me up? p! Song Yuzhi ruthlessly bestowed a heavy p on his outstretched palm and said angrily, If you act willfully and make a scene again, I am going to throw you out of the door. Stroking his painful hand, Kou Zhong sat up and grumbled, Cant you hit a bit lighter? Song Yuzhi turned her tender body around in rage, Scoundrel! she angrily said. Kou Zhong pushed both legs out of the curtain, got out of bed and just stood behind her silky back. Giggling, he said, San Xiaojies great kindness and great virtue in upholding justice and offering shelterst night, I, Kou Zhong will almost never forget. Song Yuzhi stared nkly, Why almost? she asked. Kou Zhong leaned over her fragrant shoulder toward her small ear and spoke tenderly, If San Xiaojie was willing to receive me in your own fragrant room, then I would really never forget. Song Yuzhi took a step forward, turned around and pped. Pow! Five streaks of red blood finger lines immediately appeared on Kou Zhongs face, but disappeared in the blink of an eye. Song Yuzhi was stunned, Why didnt you evade? Wiping the saliva from his mouth Kou Zhong said with a smile, I made San Xiaojie so angry, ought to be punished. Aplicated emotion shed through Song Yuzhis eyes; she sighed and said, Kou Zhong, who are the real you? Kou Zhong sat down on the bed, Susus matter welled up in his heart; with a painful look on his eyes, he spoke in low voice, Unless San Xiaojie is willing to marry me, I will never force you. Song Yuzhis jade countenance calmed down; she slowly walked over toward the window overlooking the garden, and softly said, That being the case, it would be best if you never appear in front of Yuzhi anymore. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, If that is San Xiaojies wish, I, Kou Zhong, will definitely obey. Ay! I had never thought that I would suffer an unrequited love. Its really amusing! Like a whirlwind Song Yuzhi turned around and hatefully stared at him, saying, You practically dont have me in your heart, and you still said unrequited love. If you say it one more time, I am going to kill you. Kou Zhong was stunned, How can I not have you in my heart? he said, Last night I dreamt about being with San Xiaojie in San Xiaojies fragrant room. Hey! It was a beautiful dream that Xiaodi will remember the rest of my life. Song Yuzhis pretty face blushed; she nearly wanted to pull the sword hanging on her waist. Losing her temper, she stomped her feet and said furiously, Big scoundrels dog mouth will never grow ivory; is it not enough that you took advantage of me? In all earnestness Kou Zhong nodded and said, Indeedst night I took quite an advantage of San Xiaojie, but that was the most fragrant and sweetest sleep in the world. Song Yuzhi was at loss; she angrily sat down on a chair next to the window. Momentarily she did not know what to say. Barefooted, Kou Zhong came over to chair, got down on one knee, and held the arm of the chair with both hands. Looking up at this beauty with puffed up fragrant cheeks, he spoke tenderly, I dare to swear by the Heaven, there is definitely Song Yuzhi in Kou Zhongs heart. Song Yuzhi met his gaze and said with a sneer, Of course you do! Because I am one of the stepping stones you use to conquer the world. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, At the beginning I did have the idea of using you. But it was onlyst night that I became aware that its difficult for me not to think about you, Yuzhi. When he returned to the cityst night, because of Ren En and the others tragic death and hearing Susus misfortune, his heartache was difficult to endure; for some reason he really wanted to see Song Yuzhi, hence the reason he came looking for her. Song Yuzhis countenance was eerily as calm as the still water; she spoke slowly, Kou Zhong, you must have remembered that a real mans words are like mountain. Just now you promised that you wonte bothering Yuzhi anymore, but now you want to go back on your words? I dont care whether you are sincere or hypocritical, in short, my heart cannot tolerate you anymore. Our discussion is over, please leave! Kou Zhong felt as if his heart had just received a ten-thousand-catty big-iron-hammers blow; the pain nearly threw him back on the floor. Suddenly he gained clear understanding that due to his bad attitude from the start, he had deeply angered Song Yuzhi, so that she was incapable of epting him. He was certain that she had deep love toward him, Kou Zhong, but the bitterness in her heart was just as deep. And now the hatred has reached the point of no return. Other than his face turned deathly pale, on the surface there was no sign of his inner feelings. Rising to his full height, he gazed deeply into her eyes, and said dejectedly, Yuzhi, please take good care of yourself! And then, still barefooted, he walked to the wind and the rain outdoors. Opening the umbre he just bought, Xu Ziling walked quietly behind Zheng Shuming and Bai Qinger, two women. Zheng Shuming was the female chief [dangjia] of the Yangtze River Alliance. Because her husband died under Ba Fenghans hands, outside Jingling she led the Qingjiang Pai, Cangwu Pai, Jiangnan Hui, Mingyang Bang, Tiandong Pai, and others under the Alliance Banner to besiege Ba Fenghan, but luckily he and Kou Zhong happened toe by and disrupt their n [see Book 11 Chapter 7]. Later on, harboring grudges, Zheng Shuming joined hands with Qian Duguan, Evil Monk, Amorous Nun, and the others, ambushed them inside the city. After the two boys escaped from the siege, they managed to cast away Zheng Shuming. Surprisingly she now came to Luoyang. This new widow was as refined, beautiful and alluring as ever. She walked together with Bai Qinger under one umbre, quietly talking andughing, loitering anding in and out of the cosmetic and perfume shops along the Heavenly Street, seemingly forgetting the sorrow of her husbands demise. Since Xu Ziling had nothing to do anyway, plus he wanted to find a clue about Yin Gui Pai from Bai Qinger, he followed them as they entered another street. Under cover of the heavy rain, it was so easy to conceal his presence as he followed their tracks. Just then, someone came closer and said in a low voice, Laozhang [Sir (formal)], can I have a word with you? Xu Ziling was sure that he had never heard this mans voice before; without even looking at him, heughed coldly and spoke in hoarse voice, Laofu [old man] is not interested in talking with anybody. Get out of here. The man snorted angrily and said, This is called a toast you refuse to drink, forfeit wine you want to drink. Let Ol Zheng see how much skill you have. The sound of finger wind arrived. Xu Ziling unleashed his shifting-shape, exchanging-position skill; just with a sh he was already at different position, separated from the attacker by two groups of people, seven or eight in total, who were standing under the eaves to take shelter from the rain. Huh? the man eximed in surprise; evidently because Xu Zilings brilliance was far beyond his expectation. Xu Ziling guessed that the other party must be the Henan Mad Schr Zheng Shiru, aware that his trailing the two women had been found out, so he closed his umbre and quickly dashed into a small alley. By this time rain water was amassed in puddles on ground, while raindrop did not stop falling, sshing on the roof and on the ground, each ssh created amazing pattern, different from each other, painting this great city in a wonderful rain scenery. Zheng Shiru ran after him from behind. Stop! he bellowed. Xu Ziling stood still with his hand on the hilt of his saber; he spoke coldly, Laofu has not moved my saber to kill for several decades, youd better not force Laofu to vite my oath. Zheng Shiru spoke heavily, Laozhang, may I ask your esteemed surname and great given name? Xu Ziling sneered in disdain and said, You are well aware that Laofu will not tell you my name and surname, yet still open your mouth to ask; wouldnt it be extremely superfluous? Wearing this mask with different hairstyle, Xu Ziling seemed to adopt different persona, turning into an extremely overbearing and grim old man. Zheng Shiruughed aloud and said, Without you telling me, I, Zheng Shiru, can guess your identity, the Ba Dao [overbearing saber] Yue Shan, whose name shook Shanbei [northern Shaanxi province, including Yulin and Yanan] forty years ago. Since when did you be this faceless [orig. to hide the head and show the tail]? Xu Ziling was secretly amused, while thinking that when he had timeter, he would like to investigate what kind of man this Overbearing Saber Yue Shan was. Letting out a stifled grunt, he continued walking forward. Unexpectedly Zheng Shiru did not dare to pursue; he only shouted, Yue Laoshi [teacher] going down the mountain this time, you must have wanted to wash away the previous disgrace, but now the times are changing, with your own personal power, its hard to spread out your aspiration. Yue Laoshi please think three times, Shiru will pay you a visitter on. Without looking back Xu Ziling continued walking this segment of the street, and after making sure nobody was following him, he darted into a corner and put on the Scarface Hero mask. He thought that this Overbearing Saber Yue Shan must be a martial art master whose might shook a region at one time, and then because of some setbackter, he returned to his native ce and lived in seclusion for several decades. Just by looking at how martial art masters like Zheng Shiru was still harboring fear and respect toward him, and doing their utmost to recruit him, Xu Ziling knew that Yue Shans martial art skill must be not small matter. But this moment he did not have time to think too much; he must hurry to go back to Kou Zhong. When the dripping wet Kou Zhong stepped over the screen door to prevent water froming in of the Fucheng Satin Emporium, and set his foot in the vast main hall of this most famous store in Louyang, the big boss of the emporium, Li Fucheng, was showing his goods to Zheng Shuming and Bai Qinger. He said, This is an authentic Lu [Shandong Province] brocade; unique in that it was dyed in advance before being weaved into fabric, so that the color and luster is so much brighter, with tens of thousands pattern variations. From the selection of the cotton, to the twisted core of the cloth, the spinning, the dyeing and the starching, the threading, the warping [i.e. vertical thread in weaving], the bore through warp forming, the machine weaving, finishing, up to the final rigorous quality control, not one thread was loose [i.e. strictly ording to the rules]. And what I have here is known as the Heartthrob [orig. bewildering ten thousand people], like ... huh? It was only this moment that he discovered Bai Qinger and Zheng Shumings two pairs of beautiful eyes were looking elsewhere. In fact, inside the shop, all five shop-attendants and the other three customers had their eyes on Kou Zhong and the dripping water forming puddle of water on the floor. Kou Zhong appeared to bepletely oblivious that he had be the target of a multitude of arrows. Were it not for his heroic physique and the long saber hanging on his back, he would have been kicked out of the door early on. While taking out the carefully wrapped in waterproof thin, tough silk fabric, bundle containing the treasured books, his purse and other things from his pocket, he called out, I dont want the Heartthrob that the women wear, just a set of ready-made mens clothes, plus a pair of riding boots. If you dont have it here, get it for me elsewhere, I will pay double the price. Ay! So unbearable! Zheng Shumings beautiful eyes shot a deep, cold murderous aura, her voice was like ice and snow as she spit it out from between her rows of jade teeth, Kou Zhong, its you! As soon as the two characters Kou Zhong came out, Li Fucheng and the shop attendants immediately showed reverence on their faces. Li Fucheng readily cast the Lu brocade, which he praised as there-is-no-other-under-the-heavens, aside, and bowed and said, Turns out its Kou Ye; forgive me for failing to salute. Shangshu Daren is an old friend of Fucheng, pleasee in to enjoy a cup of hot tea first, everything will be taken care of to Kou Yes satisfaction. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that not only Luoyang was the transportation hub and the melting pot of people from all over the world, it was also a metropolitan where news travelled really fast. Delighted, he said, In that case I will definitely say a few words to the old friend on your behalf. Laoban [boss], do you need to measure me? Xiaodi prefers a slightly loose fitting clothes. Ha! Li Fucheng seemed to have forgotten the twodies, he promptly took the measuring tape handed over by one of the shop attendants, and despite the dripping wet Kou Zhong, he started to get busy in front of him. Kou Zhong winked at the standing-in-front-of-him-and-was-glowering-at-him Zheng Shuming, and said with augh, Xiaodi is not Ba Fenghan at all, why are you staring at me like that? A wise and virtuous woman is of the same standing as a man of noble character; therefore, when the gentleman uses his mouth to speak, thedy must not use her hand to fight. A bitter I will book a banquet to apologize to Nu Dangjia [female chief], is that all right? Pfft! Bai Qinger giggled tenderly, pulled Zheng Shumings elbow and said, Jiejie dont pay attention to him, lets go elsewhere to have fun; what the eye doesnt see, the heart doesnt grieve over. How could Kou Zhong miss the opportunity to get to her? He smiled and said, No better or worse than each other. Dont forget to notify Female Demon Wan, sooner orter I will definitely settle old hatred and new enmity with her. Bai Qinger pouted her bright red beautiful small mouth; as if nothing had happened she said, I have no idea what you are talking about. Lets go. But Zheng Shuming was puzzled, What Female Demon Wan? she asked. Before she finished speaking, Bai Qinger already pulled her out to the street. Kou Zhong called out, Other than Yin Gui Pai female demon, is there any other female demon? Ha! Ay! Remembering Song Yuzhi, his happy mood disappeared immediately. The Scarface Hero Xu Ziling strolled slowly along the street under his umbre. Taking off his robe, he only wore tight warrior outfit, and shed the previously Overbearing Saber Yue Shans image. Even without his encounter with Zheng Shiru happening, he was already prepared to change his appearance, so the elderly man entering the city earlier disappearedpletely, without leaving any traces for other people to follow. The irrigation ditch between the pedestrian path and the vehicle and horses street have be two streams of small river, plus the continuous rain pouring down from the roofs on either side of the street became curtains of water, giving the impression of powerful armies unceasingly charging down onto the street, carrying with them strong rushing momentum. Fortunately Luoyangs drainage system was doing its job; otherwise the city would be a flood in. There were sshes of water [orig. rain flower] everywhere, far and near the vision blurred, street traffic was sparse, Xu Ziling could not help feeling that between the heaven and the earth, there was only me, alone; it was such a strange feeling. If Shi Feixuan was with him, walking together in the rain, and he was listening to her fascinating and moving stories, smelling the fragranceing from her body, what kind of feeling would that be? He recalled the side profile of this simple and elegant, immortal-like beauty, as she fixed her eyes on the Luo River down below from the bridge railing; her expression seemed so focused on that ce, so that she waspletely oblivious to his stare, that she was only immersed in some magical space of thinking, and she and he seemed to live in two different worlds. The meeting with Shi Feixuan, which exceeded all expectations, not only stayed forever in his mind, it also made him to think it over endlessly. He had never personally experienced the shock and the feeling Shi Feixuan was giving him, which was simr to a strand of nameless force pulling him into a ce he had never set foot on, but until this moment he still found it hard to believe that it was dreamlike realm that actually happened. This stunning beauty, what exactly was in the deepest part of her heart? Supposing Xu Ziling strong-armed her and held her in his bosom, how would her pair of pure beauty, otherworldly [orig. not eating the food ofmon mortals], hidden-in-depth, pretty eyes, change? A rueful smile seemed to float out of the corner of Xu Zilings mouth. Ever since he mastered the Secret to Long Life, he grew increasingly indifferent toward the love between men and women. In the past, he had never had this kind of desire. Perhaps it was thin sudden heavy rain that caused a dim, depressing high-speed thought to appear in his mind. After all, she was a person outside of this world, plus her cultivation was really deep, her pursuit was of sublime ideal, and not the desire between man and woman at all. In the end any wishful thinking toward her would turn to be simply an illusion [orig. flowers in the mirror and the moon reflected in theke], leaving an empty and ruined resentment. Xu Ziling took a deep breath; myriads of thought shing through his mind, one thought turned into no thought at all. All disturbing thoughts immediately became empty; tranquil and even-tempered, he walked toward his destination. Book 17 - 10 – Join Forces in the Central Plains Book 17 Chapter 10 C Join Forces in the Central ins Song Jingang weed Kou Zhong into the inner hall; heughed and said, Kou Xiong is willing toe, that means you are a trustworthy man, why should anything else need to be exined? Kou Zhong sat down and epted the fragrant tea offered by Song Jingangs subordinate. Looking out the window, he said pensively, The rain stopped! Song Jingang leaned back in his chair; together with Kou Zhong he cast his eyes out the window and said, Usually, you can see this kind of heavy rain in Luoyang during summer months. This was early! Kou Zhong put the cup on the small table between the two; looking extremely vignt, he fixed his eyes at Song Jingang and asked, Song Xiong, which side do you think Xiaodi should work with? But Song Jingang looked unconcerned; he said, I think you should help Li Zitong. Only after finishing his remark did he turn to see the opposite side. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, You really didnt want me to assassinate Du Fuwei? Inwardly he thought that if the answer was yes, he would tly refuse. If he really wanted to assassinate Du Fuwei, it must be in the midst of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, with open saber and open spear, not with some plotting and scheming in the dark. Toward Du Fuwei, he did not have the slightest bit of ill will, on the contrary, he really had a bit of admiration and respect of a son toward his father. Song Jingangughed calmly and said, That is just a lowly strategy, plus it is difficult to aplish. I was only thinking of inviting Kou Xiong to defend and stabilize Jiangdu on Li Zitongs behalf, while the other two factions attack Jingling, to force Du Fuwei to retreat, then it will be difficult for Shen Faxing to act. At the same time, Xiao Xian will be able to act as if he was going to cross over the Great River, so that Du Fuwei will not dare to rush indiscriminately into action. Now Kou Zhong understood why Yun Yuzhen was willing to be Song Jingangs go-between. Song Jingang was certainly a person with great skill and strategy; in the middle of nning an attack to the Li n, he did not overlook military situation all over the world at all. If Li Mi and Wang Shichong fought until both sides suffered, Du Fuwei was defeated as he attacked to the north, and Song Jingang was able to attack Taiyuan, then Liu Wuzhous power could be easily extended to the key areas north and south of the Yellow River, and would be the most powerful overlord. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, But whats in it for me? Song Jingang replied, Only by protecting Li Zitong would Du Fuwei only be able to hold back and would not dare to attack the Flying Horse Ranch and the two big cities under its protection. At that time, when Kou Xiong attacks Jingling and Xiangyang, we will join forces at Luoyang. When that happens, friend of foe, or diving the world evenly, will be the matter of only two powers, then we can take our time in making the decision. Kou Zhongughed involuntarily; he said, After a long time talking it over whether one is friend or foe, this is the first time that Xiaodi heard something like this. And it seems that Song Xiong is overestimating Xiaodi too much! Li Zitong may not necessarily be willing to listen to what I have to say. Indifferent, Song Jingang said, Since Kou Xiong is able to persuade Wang Shichong, that old fox, what is a trivial Li Zitong to you? Besides, all along my masters rtionship with Li Zitong hasnt been too bad. Based only on your brilliant record of being able to defend Jingling for ten days with what can be considered only a remnant of the main army, while Li Zitong himself stood at an impasse, that will easily give him something to consider. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Quite possibly Song Xiong is the best lobbyist after Su Qin and Zhang Yi[1]. However, in this kind of troublesome matter, I must discuss it with my Xiongdi before I can make a decision. Can you wait a few days? Song Jingang said, I am going to leave immediately, but I might leave behind a contact person. As soon as Kou Xiong gives us a nod, we will arrange everything for you. Kou Zhong and Song Jingang discussed the means ofmunication between them, as well as talking about the current situation rted to Jiangdu. Only then did he take his leave. Inside apact second-floor apartment built along the Tianjin Canal on Xuanfeng Lane at the west side of the city Xu Ziling sat alone in the inner hall, waiting for Kou Zhong. It was a safe house provided by Wang Shichong for them to use, so that they could avoid peoples eyes and ears. This moment Kou Zhong arrived; he dejectedly slumped down in the chair to Xu Zilings left. Quite out of character, he did not bber like a torrent as his usual self. What happened? Xu Ziling asked indifferently. Depressed, Kou Zhong replied, I officially broke up with Yuzhi, with no hope of restoration. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, How could that happen? With your, Zhong Shaos silver tongue, white can turn to ck, deer can turn into horse, what cant possibly be redeemed? Kou Zhong sighed and said, You still call yourself Xiongdi? Right now I am so miserable, you are still teasing me? Ay! My problem is that this moment I really grew to love her, hence I am in no favorable position to use my silver tongue skill. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, So you are not joking. Joking? Kou Zhong blurted out. And then his expression turned bitter as with a rueful smile he looked at the pair of new boots he had just purchased, After giving her my word that I wont appear before her again, in anguish I walked barefooted in the wind and the rain. At that time my entire being was empty and devoid of any strength, my breathing impeded, my vision indistinct, my heart was pounding inside me as if the pounding of the cksmiths sledgehammer on the anvil, getting heavier and heavier, my brains was swelling like the rumbling of the rolling thunder, I nearly fire deviated. Incredulously Xu Ziling stared dumbly for quite a while before asking, Have you forgotten Li Xiuning? In distressed, Kou Zhong said, When I woke up this morning, I have really forgotten her, there was only Song Yuzhi in my heart. Ay! This time is more miserable than thest time I lost my love, my entire being felt like being drowned into the abyss of the sea, the pain at the pit of my stomach was so great from the pressure. Do you want me to go talk to San Xiaojie? Xu Ziling asked. Absolutely not! Kou Zhong resolutely replied, We, brothers, must let it pass. I, Kou Zhong, want to obtain the world, why must I rely on my inws? Humph! I wish Yuzhi will still find happiness without me. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Dont ever think that she wont be happy without you. This is all right, otherwise, how could we justify ourselves in front of Song Shidao? Kou Zhong flew into rage, You still dont believe that my feeling toward San Xiaojie is real? he asked. Xu Ziling reached out to grab his shoulders and shook him twice; he sighed and said, If you could forget Li Xiuning, then you can also forget Song Yuzhi. Just leave a little bit of your mind for other things! Kou Zhong was silent for a moment. He did feel Xu Zilings trying tofort and care for him; nodding his head, he said, I have an important matter to discuss with you. Finished listening, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Xiao Xian is finally going up north! Kou Zhong was shaken. Good point! he said, Not only that, this is a one-stone, three-bird stratagem. Xiao Xian and Xiang Yushan worthy to be called conspiracy masters. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Fancy that they thought about it. It can clearly be seen that the one Liu Wuzhou wanted to join forces with is not you, the kid without any qualifications; rather, it is Xiao Xian. By the time they join forces outside the Pass, they can capture Luoyang first, and then attack Guanzhong. Two old kids, one goes southerly, the other northerly. Only by joining forces like this will they have the opportunity to divide the world evenly. Actually, Kou Zhong has already been considering this issue. It should be noted that currently Kou Zhong had no officers, no troops; the Flying Horse Ranch was not his underlings. How could Liu Wuzhou, this kind of powerful and overbearing hegemon, who had the Tujues as his supporting force, have any regard on him? At best, in his eyes Kou Zhong was a very useful chess piece. Because Xiao Xian and the others had aparably deep understanding of him, this carefully conceived evil n must being from Xiao Xian and the others. If he fell into the trap, he would use his influence on the Flying Horse Ranch and his former subordinates at Jingling city to help him on an all-out effort to attack Jingling. When that happened, Xiao Xian would be able to enter by exploiting a weak spot, by attacking the Flying Horse Ranch and the two big cities nearby. The most formidable part of this n was that even if Shang Xiuxun and the others were fully aware that the Baling troops were crossing the River anding to the north, they would still mistakenly believe that it was only part of the joint military operations. By the time they became helpless, isted troops, there would be no other choices but to surrender. At that time Xiao Xian would acquire a wide expanse of territory north of the Great River, while Du Fuwei was deep in mire at Jiangdu, he could only sit and watch Xiao Xian nibbling away his territory in the west. This moment Xiao Xian might be brandishing his troops going up north to Luoyang, to meet with Liu Wuzhou and together they would aplish this beautiful dream. Xiao Ling, Kou Zhong said, Tell me, what should I do? Xu Ziling resolutely said, Because Su Jie is in Xiao Xians hands, right now we refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases. Plus any military operation must have a definite target. But we cant have a fall out with Xiao Xian openly, and yet we must preserve the Flying Horse Ranch, plus we cant let Old Die prevail. There are so many contradictory and hard-to-reconcile-together situations tangled together, and you ask me to tell you what to do? Kou Zhongs eyes lit up; he said, We must soldier on. As long as we can defend Jiangdu, and not causing the Old Die too much damage, and Shang beauty can put an act, pretending to attack Jingling, we can secretly deal with Xiao Xian, and resolve the immediate crisis at the same time. But then he turned dejected again and said, But how can we preserve Jiangdu without causing Old Die too much damage? This is simply not possible. Well find a way, Xu Ziling said, But we must go to Jiangdu to have a good grasp of the situation first, only then will we be able to change ording to the situation. And now, wed better think about tonight first. Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Finally he looked at Xu Zilings scarred face, and said with augh, The carriage has been waiting for a long time, may I ask Scarface General if we could set out now? When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, along with Wang Shichong and the others, arrived at the Rong Mansions main gate, they were greatly surprised at the lively atmosphere. Rong Fengxiangs, the richest individual in Luoyang, mansion was built atop a knoll at the northeast side of the city, upying a vastnd; the scale was really grand. At the first nce, the buildings were scattered about the forest like stars in the sky; a spectacr scene. Right in the middle of the square outside the main gate, there was a huge mythological sea turtle mountain [ɽ]. The high fence was festooned wonderful, skillfully-crafted, colorednterns C their estimate was that there were no less than ten thousandnterns, glorious and dazzling, illuminating the surrounding area, inside and outside, as bright as daylight. There was a steady stream of well-wishers carriages and horses; everywhere they looked, the area was packed withdies in silk embroidered dress. With the continuous ear-splitting firecrackers, their smoke filled the air, the hubbub of peoplesughing and jesting, the atmosphere surpassed New Years celebration. Inside, the Mansion was decorated withnterns and colored banners, maids and servants moving everywhere, greeting and ushering the guests. Wang Shichongs group was at its peak condition as well, with close to a hundred carefully chosen bodyguards, protecting eight horse-drawn carriage, slowly entering the Rong Mansion. Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong and Ouyang Xiyi shared a carriage. Seeing the two boys curiously looking at the crowd outside, thetter smiled and said, When Laofu was young, I was just like you, loved to join in the fun. But now I avoid crowded ces like an ominous ce. Xu Ziling had changed into another mask, he was now an ordinary-looking man, nothing out of the ordinary. Hearing Ouyang Xiyi, his heart was moved; he asked, Has Qianbei [senior] ever heard of the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan? Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Just by hearing his name, I get the impression that this man is extremely overbearing; where did you meet him? Ouyang Xiyi was the only one, outside Wang Shichong, who was privy of Xu Zilings real identity, in order to conceal his presence as much as possible. Hearing the question, a nervous expression appeared on his face; he said, Did Xu Xiaodi really meet him? [1] Su Qin (340-284 BC) and Zhang Yi (-309 BC) are both political strategists of the School of Diplomacy during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC). Xu Ziling replied, Wanbei [junior] only heard someone mentioning his name, so I was very curious! Ouyang Xiyi breathed an obvious sigh of relief, So thats what happened, he said, Yue Shan was a heretical sects martial art master of our generation who ran amuck for some time in the past; vicious and merciless, he killed people like scything x. At that time his reputation was even above Zhu Yuyans. Later on he was defeated by the Heavenly Saber Song Que, and then he disappeared. At that time Song Que was only in his twenties. This was the battle that actually established his reputation as the number one saber master in the world. Meanwhile the carriage stopped. Obviously Ouyang Xiyi did not want to talk about this man much longer; he urged the two boys to get off the carriage. Kou Zhong had just stepped off the carriage, a whiff of fragrance assaulted his nostrils immediately, followed by Cuier, dressed like the lovely scene of blossoming flower swaying in the breeze, stepping forward to greet him, Wee, wee. Kou Gongzi honors us by your presence; this is indeed to the Rong Mansions glory. Kou Zhong was stunned, So Man Qing Yuan is not doing any business today? he asked, Howe you, Cuier, are here as a greeter? Cuier affectionately came closer to pull his arm away; with an enchanting smile she said, Rong Da Laobans [big boss] order; cant we take a day off? Besides, all guests areing here, we, Man Qing Yuansdies have no choice but toe here as well! Such a simple logic, yet the intelligent Kou Gongzi still has to ask nujia? While his hand was busy touching and squeezing her silky breasts, Kou Zhongs eyes were scanning the surrounding area for any movement. The parking of the carriage has obviously been arranged beforehand, because he did not see any other carriage. One after another Wang Shichong and the others got off their carriages, and were greeted personally by Rong Fengxiang. As soon as Ouyang Xiyi and Xu Ziling were out of their carriage, they positioned themselves close to Wang Shichong, along with the other martial art masters, including the mole Ke Feng, and the officers and soldiers responsible to protect their master. Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu and Yang Gongqing, three men, did not attend this event. The first two were responsible for city defense and keeping a close watch over Yang Dongs camps movement, while Yang Gongqing was in charge of the main force stationed within the Imperial City. As for Dong Shuni, because of her rtionship with Rong Jiaojiao, had been inside the Rong Mansion since before noon to join in the fun. This moment, as Rong Fengxiang and Wang Shichong were exchanging greetings, wishing each other peace and good fortune, Cuier leaned toward Kou Zhongs ear and pouted, Gongzi made nujia miserable! How are you going topensate me? Several guests identally walked this way, but Wang Shichongs bodyguards kindly and courteously asked them to turn around and take another way. Kou Zhong saw Ke Feng was walking over to Xu Ziling; apparently he wanted to get a feel for this strangers, who had appeared suddenly, foundation. He responded without thinking, What did I do to make Cuier so miserable? Cuier was practically nibbling on his ear; she said, Last night you clearly promised to have Qing Ju, Qing Lian and Qing Ping to apany you, but you slipped away without telling us; they med to nujia to the death. Cuiers soft, nagging voice, firecrackers and morous noise all around, splendid and dazzlingnterns, Wang Shichong and Rong Fengxiangs chitchat, Ke Fengs inquiry on Xu Ziling, the bodyguards who acted like they were about to fight their archenemy, which reminded him that they were in the face of the imminent assassination attempt, all these things were flowing like myriads of small streams converging into a big river into Kou Zhongs consciousness, giving him an extremely strange feeling. It was like he was in the middle of a dream, from which he would forever never awake, the noise dissolved into the background so that he could see all the movement, but did not hear any sound. Perhaps because he had been anticipating this moment for several days that everything before his eyes seemed to be a very strange experience, which made all the hair on his body stood on its end. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. By the time he saw Ke Feng was near Xu Ziling, while he, consistent with his amiable, elderly attitude, opened his mouth to talk, Kou Zhong seemed to know exactly the moment the lips started to move, the buzz of the voice seemed to cause a subtle change to the muscle on his body. And then he saw Ouyang Xiyi came over to rescue Xu Ziling from the trouble, followed by Wang Shichong and Rong Fengxiang, under the throng of maids, servants and bodyguards escort, walked side by side toward the main gate, while the other guests had to move aside to make way for them. Cuiers voice seemed toe from far away ce through ten thousand crags and torrents, and lingered on inside his ears. Tell me! How are you going topensate me? The Qiuci beauty Linglong Jiao, who was walking by his side, shot him a fierce look; she was rebuking him with her eyes. Kou Zhong suddenly came to his senses; he gave her a cursory response, In two days Xiaodi will set aside some time toe to the Man Qing Yuan topensate you well. But inwardly he was quite shaken. After going through hard battles for many days in session, he finally made a breakthrough in the martial art study, stepping into the realm one step higher. And then he gently freed himself away from Cuiers passionate, fiery entanglement, and caught up with Wang Xuanying and Wang Xuanshu, following behind the two men into the main lobby, where the sound of drums and joyous music shook the heavens. Rong Fengxiang was worthy to be the richest man in Luoyang; the luxurious three-section main residential building clearly disyed the level of his riches and honor. The front hall was not only spacious with high ceiling, the decoration was gorgeous; in term of grandeur, it surpassed the halls of the Imperial Pce. In the middle there were six main pirs decorated with carved golden dragons towering toward the roof, the ceiling was engraved with magnificent pattern, with the ceiling of the center atrium decorated with three-dimensional relief sculpture of two dragons fighting over a pearl. The other furnishing, the hanging ornaments, everything was extremely exquisite. This moment approximately twenty banquet tables were set up in the main hall, with more than a hundred guests congregating around them, but it did not feel crowded at all. Only eight people followed Wang Shichong inside, the rest stayed outside. Even so, with Kou Zhong and the others, this party still showed massive strength. One was the politician who wields power in Luoyang; the other was the richest man in Luoyang who was celebrating his birthday, naturally there would be unending sound of people congratting them. With Wang Shichong and Rong Fengxiang leading the way, they did not remain in the front hall; instead, they went through the hall onto the corridor, and straight toward the inner hall where the most distinguished guests were usually received. The hall was nearly as spacious as the front hall, but there were only ten banquet tables, with four tables in the middle, and the remaining six were spread evenly on both sides, highlighting the four most respectable tables in the hall. The guests who could enter this inner hall must be either Luoyangs most distinguished figures, or outside visitors with distinguished status like Li Shimin, Tuli, and the others. Those with not enough weigh could only sit in the other two banquet halls. Kou Zhong scanned the room with his eyes. The first one catching his eyes was the magician-eyed Dong Shuni, dressed like a bright-colored small bird, who was sitting together with another beautiful young girl, whose good look was hard to distinguished with Dong Shunis, yet having a distinctive style, in a group of seven or eight exquisitely dressed young masters, who were crowded around them, talking andughing in a very joyful setting. This woman was, of course, Rong Jiaojiao, who shared the title Luoyang Twin Beauties with Dong Shuni. Indeed she possessed natural beauty; good-looking and captivating. Her bright eyes seemed to be always on the move, seizing the soul and hooking the spirit, yet also affectionate and full of passion, while appeared bashful. Her demeanor was even more tender, straightforward and sharp-witted, with multifarious subtlety. Compared to Dong Shuni, she was slightly taller, more slender and elegant, with icy flesh and snowy skin, nobody would be able to stop his spirit from being snatched away. Dong Shuni shot them a nce, and immediately puckered her lips in disdain, and no longer looked their direction. It was as if because of Kou Zhong, she was also angry at Wang Shichong. On the contrary, Rong Jiaojiaos eyes lingered on Kou Zhong for a few moments, before she pursed her lips and giggled tenderly, while hanging her small cicada head down. Looking at her touching appearance, Kou Zhongs heart beat a little faster. To the left of the main entrance, there was a group of eighteen courtesans, their hair wasbed low in a spiral bun, their upper outer garment had narrow sleeves, their skirt tight on the waist, with shawl, and was standing in three rows, ying their instruments. From konghou [Chinese harp], pipa [Chinese lute], transverse flute, waist drum, wooden block, and other musical instruments, delivering joyous, melodious tune, which reverberated over the entire hall. More than a dozen clusters of people congregated among the tables. Kou Zhong recognized some of them, for example Tuli, Li Shimin, Wang Bo, Fu Qian, and the others, along with their trusted aides. Song Lu was also there, chatting andughing with Wang Bo and seven, eight other guests. But he did not see Song Yuzhi. Perhaps it was because she wanted to avoid Kou Zhong that she did note to join the banquet. As soon as they entered the Hall, the bodyguards spread out to the left and right, leaving only Ouyang Xiyi, Ke Feng, Chen Changlin and Xu Ziling staying by Wang Shichongs side. Led by Rong Fengxiang, they greeted the other guests one by one. It was unclear whether it was intentional, but Kou Zhong noticed that Wang Xuanying, two brothers, immediately headed toward the noisy group around Dong Shuni and Rong Jiaojiao, leaving Kou Zhong alone with Linglong Jiao. Linglong Jiaos eyes were fixed on Xu Zilings natural and unrestrained back; she spoke heavily, This man is a first-ss martial art master, I wonder from where did Yi Gong [referring to Ouyang Xiyi] invite him toe? Howe I have never heard him mentioning anything? In order to put up with her tender, skillful and nimble figure, Kou Zhong stooped down and whispered in her ear, He is my Xiongdi Xu Ziling in disguise; he is our formidable chess piece;ter on Miss will understand. Perhaps it was because Kou Zhongs forting and did not conceal anything to her that surprisingly Linglong Jiao did not move away; on the contrary, she met his eyes and asked, Such an important matter, why hide it from us? While fully enjoying her beauty in close range, Kou Zhong said, Because we suspected that among the people close to Shangshu Daren, one is a spy; Miss understand? Linglong Jiao looked shaken; and then she looked down and spoke softly, You are convinced I am not the spy? Kou Zhong replied tenderly, Of course. Miss is good-looking and intelligent, broad-minded and bold; the type of person who would nevermit contemptible shady business. Linglong Jiaos pretty face blushed slightly, with a mosquito-like whisper she said, I am starting to like you a little! If you could go to Man Qing Yuan less often, I would have an even better opinion on you. Finished speaking, she cast him a sidelong nce, before walking over toward Wang Shichong. Book 17 - 11 – Birthday Party at the Rong Mansion Book 17 Chapter 11 C Birthday Party at the Rong Mansion Following Chen Changlin, Xu Ziling stood some ways away, always mindful of any changes around Wang Shichong. Although he was unable to change his height, he meticulously tied a red warrior band on his head, and the warrior clothing he wore also made him appeared swollen. Unless it was one was deliberately scrutinizing him, there was no w at all, particrly because everybody thought he had left the city early on. However, it was not until after Li Shimin and Tuli came over and exchanged greetings with Wang Shichong that he was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief, because even Li Jing, who was always by Li Shimins side, only cast him a nce and then no longer paid any attention to him. He did not pay attention to what everybody was talking about; he also did not worry that Shen Luoyan might attack at this time. Lang Feng was in charge of setting up checkpoints and sentry stations along the way toward the Rong Mansion; only if the enemyunched arge-scale attack would they meet them head-on. Due to Ke Fengs intelligence, Shen Luoyan would definitely take this opportunity to beat them at their own game, and would carry out the assassination when Wang Shichong was on his way back to the Imperial City. Therefore, this banquet hall was the safest ce instead. Soon after they started chatting, this group of politicians, military experts, and millionaires, who held the life and death of millions of people, immediately talked shop about mary problems. It is thus clear that this was the most important matter concerning the economics and people all over the worlds livelihood. Someone was saying, Currently everybody is minting new money to rece the old dynastys Five-Zhu currency [1 zhu = 1/24 of a tael]. But the new coins are inferior; one by one the price of rice, cloth, and other daily necessities is rising, making one feel to have ones hands bound and is unable to do anything about it. Wang Shichong said, If the money came from official minting, there is no problem quality-wise; the problem is on money from private minting. On these inferior coins, even the inscribing is indistinct; practically it looks like just a silhouette. Zhangsun Wuji, by Li Shimins side, sighed and said, Money from official mint creates another problem: since the Han dynasty, gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, mercury, and other minerals are gradually returned to the government to manage. But in order to ensure that there is sufficient Zhu money circted in the market, while maintaining the quality, the old dynasty must mine these minerals inrge quantity. At one time Yang Guang opened up more than twenty gold mines at Wuling and the others, twelve counties, with forcedbor reaching six hundred thousands; the dead and the injured were countless, but they only produced fifty something tael of gold, while wasting hundreds of li ofnd. The mining officials became thieves who killed the people. Before any benefit was seen, the damage has already been realized. Listening to this, Xu Ziling had a deep frown on his face; he was certain that Kou Zhong had never thought about this aspect. Only people like Wang Shichong, Li Shimin, and the others, long-term politicians, would think about this problem. This Zhangsun Wuji was worthy to be called an intellectual schr; his words were indeed thought provoking. At the same time he also noticed that Tuli was listening very attentively; his mind was churning, suddenly he realized why Tuli people wanted to carry out their invasion via the Central Earth people under his control, because to govern such a vast territory was simply not something that nomadic people was qualified to do. Therefore, while on one hand the Tujue people plundered the Central ins property and sons and daughters, on the other hand they also supported militias. Li Shimin joined in, The so-called new currency now is nothing more than the old dynastys Five-Zhu money smelted into new ones. And the peoples inferior money is just the Five-Zhu coins plus other iron and various bits and bobs, hence one wen could be several wen. Since it is so profitable, the process continues. The only solution is if the world goes back to be unified; by means of one powerful central authorities, this custom can be put to an end. Under current situation, there is nothing we can do. Listening to him, Xu Zilings heart was full of admiration; if Kou Zhong were not his brother, and he had to select one person, perhaps he would also choose Li Shimin to be the future monarch to govern all the people. This thought made him feel so ufortable. Between Li and Kou, regardless of who won and who lost, the other side would have only one destiny left: to be killed. What would be the best solution to this matter? Kou Zhong still wanted to tease this Qiuci beauty, who usually was as cold as ice and frost toward him, a bit longer, who would have thought that she quickly flew away? Fu Qian, Xing Mofei and two Tuyuhun beauties were heading his direction; it was unclear whether Linglong Jiaos abrupt departure was to avoid them. Under Fu Qians introduction, he learned that the taller beautys fragrant name was Li An, the other was called Hua Na [Leanne and Hannah?]. Both were brimming with exotic gracefulness, with wild and daring characters, which were rarely found on Central Earth beauties. When they were looking at Kou Zhong, their gaze was more absolutely unrestrained than his. Especially Hua Na; her beautiful wavy maroon hair hung naturally across her shoulders, her pink fragrant lips, her beautiful brown eyes, the corners of her eyes slightly nting upward, matching beautifully with her high and grand cheekbones, her thin, silky eyebrows, her warm and soft, as well as richly stic skin, plus the attractive bearing of her forehead, the more he looked at her, the more he felt she had real character. Indeed she was not inferior to Shen Luoyan, Song Yuzhi, that kind of beauty. Unsure of the rtionship between Fu Qian and the two beauties, he avoided the two womens provocative gaze, and turned toward Fu Qian and said with augh, It does not seem appropriate to fight tonight! Fu Qian swept the hall with his gaze; finally he fixed his gaze on Li Shimin, Tuli, Wang Shichong, and Rong Fengxiangs group. He responded casually, Fighting can be done anytime, anywhere; I am sure Rong Laoban wont mind. But this is the first time I am attending your Han peoples feast; I dont want to ruin the lively and peaceful atmosphere here. Kou Zhong felt that his casual remark seemed to suggest something, some mysterious intention. Heughed and replied, Therefore, if it were in the ring [orig. leitai C elevated stage on which martialpetitions or duels were held] or on the battleground, Wangzi would unleash your expertise. Is that right? Fu Qian smiled and changed the subject, So whos that man by Li Shimin who keeps looking at you? Kou Zhong looked; he smiled wryly and said, He is Li Jing, Hong Funus husband. Fu Qian nodded and said, This man is indeed remarkable; no wonder he was able to catch Hong Funus eyes. I wonder why Hong Funu is not here tonight? Hua Naughed tenderly and said, Why dont Wangzi ask the question directly to him? Nujia guesses that hesing this way! Her ent was not pure; she pronounced bu [not/dont] as bo and jie [answer] as ze; but it did not sound soical. [As you can guess, its difficult to trante word for word, so I altered the sentence as above. In case you are curious, the original is like this: Wangzi why bo straight ze ask him?] Sure enough, Li Jing was slowly walking toward them. His gait was stable and powerful, carrying some kind of intimidating momentum. Fu Qian praised, This man is indeed a general or a minister material. Kou Zhong was stunned, Wangzi can tell just by looking at him? What do you think of Li Shimin? Fu Qian replied indifferently, I am an expert in the profound method of looking at people. He saw that we were talking about him, not only he did not show the slightest bit of uneasiness, he took the initiative toe instead. Plus his steps are full of confidence; evidently he is a courageous and promising schr, definitely not an ordinary man. Xing Mofei joined in, The man that Li Shimin is willing to employ cant be an inferior one. This moment Li Jing arrived in front of the five; he saluted and said, Li Jing pays his respect to Fu Qian Wangzi. And then, turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Is it possible for you to step aside to talk a little bit? Fu Qianughed aloud and said, Is it possible for Li Xiong to answer a question of mine first? Without any sideways nce Li Jing met Fu Jians sharp-as-an-arrow gaze, and calmly replied, Wangzi, please ask the question. Fu Qian threw his head back in loudughter, which immediately attracted the attention of everybody in the hall, and only then did he speak in loud and clear voice, If your esteemed master is fortunate to obtain the world, would he, like Yang Guang, strive to achieve extraordinary things by unting his military prowess to the Western Region to expand his territory? The hall immediately grew quiet; even the maids and servants waiting on the guests stopped whatever they were doing, only the sound of music lingered on. Apparently this question had a subduing, intimidating power. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Formidable!. Even Tuli and Wang Shichong also listened respectfully, they wanted to hear how Li Jing would answer this question. This question ought to be answered personally by Li Shimin. The problem was that Li Shimin was not the crown prince at all. If he rushed to answer, it would be clear that he waspeting against his elder brother Li Jiancheng in the session right to the throne. Furthermore, it involved Li Shimins aspiration, so whether Li Jing answered it or not, it would be equally inappropriate. If he responded with evasive words, Fu Qian would only look down on him. Fu Qian finally made his move to probe. Li Jingughed calmly and said, It doesnt matter who obtain the world, he must understand the Han-Hu [Han and non-Han] differences in territory, culture, natural conditions and local social customs. These differences are real. Dwelling primarily on these differences will only make us sufferck of virtue and beneficence; there is no need to be suspicious. Concealing virtue and beneficence, these four tribes can be likened to a family, where suspicions and jealousy abound, blood rtion would inevitably be animosity. Wont Fu Wangzi think so? This answer skirted the issue but struck at the heart of the matter; listening to this, everybody uttered sincere praises. Fu Qian let out another longugh; he even cried out Good! three times, before lowering his voice to cheerfully address Li and Kou, two men, Gentlemen, feel free to do as you please! Kou Zhong and Li Jing walked around the banquet area to get out of the hall via a side door, toward a corridor winding along the Halls wall, lined with stone fence. Although this mornings heavy rain has stopped, the weather has not improved, the moon and the stars did not show their light. Beyond the fence was a fishpond dotted with rockeries. Rows of tree peonies were nted along the edge of the pond, but due to the heavy rain, not much flowers left; petals floated on the surface of the pond, drifting away following the flow of the water. Li Jing spoke heavily, Xiao Ling left townst night; where did he go? Kou Zhong was dying to mock him by asking whether he posted sentries to monitor the city gate twelve sichen a day, but recalling their brotherhood in the past, he held his temper and replied, He has a pressing business to find a friend. Li Jing sighed and said, Ay! Why did things deteriorate to this hard-to-fix stage? Kou Zhong had his gazed on the fish swimming in the pond. Well said! he replied indifferently, Yesterday I tasted Saozis [sister-inw] red whisk that even my little life was nearly gone. Shaken, Li Jing turned his eyes toward Kou Zhong. What? he blurted. Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders, It was nothing, he replied, I cant me her; isnt it called loving husband unconditionally? Li Jing was quiet for a long time. Finally he spoke with strained voice, When are you going back to the south? Kou Zhong revealed a pained and miserable expression. Every time he remembered his unfortunate sister Su, he felt that all his achievements became empty and unreal, with nothing to show. Filled with helplessness with nowhere-toin feeling, he said, Please dont mind Su Jies matter, all right? Right now we dont even have any strength left to put the me on you. His countenance changed, Li Jing said, What actually happened? Tonight you look somewhat downcast and dispirited. Thinking about past cause and future effect, Kou Zhong nearly wanted to cry aloud, but he clenched his teeth, waved his hand and walked away. Li Jing reached out to grab his arm, What actually happened? he shouted. Kou Zhong whimpered, The biggest mistake Su Jie evermitted in all her life was knowing the three of us. Is that enough? Flinging Li Jings hand, he staggered back into the Hall. Kou Zhong was rushing in when he bumped into someoneing out of the Hall. This other person pulled his arm and said, I was just looking for you! Naturally Kou Zhong was not in the mood to chat with anybody, Hou Xiong, what noble errands brought you here? he spoke crossly. Surprisingly it was the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai. Seeing him talking with someone else, Li Jing, who was running after him, sighed and walked away, disappointed and frustrated. The other guests started to take their seat, while Li Shimin, Wang Shichong, and their men, several groups of people, remained standing,ughing, joking and making small talk. Rong Fengxiang and Fu Qian were exchanging conventional greetings. In short, it was a lively and jubnt atmosphere. Yun Yuzhen also came. She visited with Song Lu and Liu Jing, the three of them chatted in low voice; nobody knew what they were talking about. Other new arrivals included Bai Qinger, Zheng Shuming, and Zheng Shiru. The ensemble stopped ying. Outside the firecrackers continued loudly, the sound of people urging each other to drink, the banters, young men and women having fun, shouting and calling each other, continuouslying from the two front halls and the rear courtyard. Comparatively speaking, the inner halls atmosphere was a lot more subdued. Hou Xibai pulled Kou Zhong to a corner and said in low voice, Where is Ziling Xiong? Why didnt hee to join the fun? I saw Feixuan yesterday, she said that the dispute concerning the Jade of Annulus has been resolved. Xiao Ling has to do something; he cante, Kou Zhong replied, What do you want? Hou Xibais handsome eyes lingered on Dong Shuni and Rong Jiaojiao, who were sitting side by side, for a moment. Their banquet table was one of four tables in the middle, and it was quite full. Including Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, two brothers, they were all of younger generation, and everybody was scrambling to fawn upon the twodies. But from time to time the twodies eyes were floating toward Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai; clearly they were very interested in the two men. Hou Xibai said, Did Fenghan Xiong and Ziling Xiong mentioned that I was tracking a Yin Gui Pai female demon? It was only then did Kou Zhong remember that Xu Ziling indeed told him about this matter. Forcing himself to rouse his spirit, he asked, How was it? Who was she? Hou Xibai leaned closer and replied, Its precisely the peerless beauty wearing Yunnan batik [color printing on cloth using wax]. Among everybody here, she is the only one wearing that kind of clothes; obviously she loves to be in the limelight very much. Kou Zhong has never paid much attention to what kind of clothes a girl was wearing, he was only interested in finding out if she was good-looking or not. Frowning, he said, You are the expert in girls, while I dont know anything about their clothes. Cant you not talk such profound mystery? Hou Xibaiughed involuntarily and said, Its inconvenient for me to point at her, because all women in this room are ring at us like a tiger watching its prey. Batiks distinguishing feature is the dyeing process, where the dye permeates the cloth through the crack of wax previously applied, creating thousands of lines and tens of thousands of patterns like exploding ice. The changes are natural, not fixed in the least, the hue simple yet elegant, the variations are limitless. It was only then that Kou Zhong realized Dong Shunis clothes looked like his description. Shaken, he said, You dont mean that crafty and unruly girl wearing alternating blue and red colors clothes, do you? Delighted, Hou Xibai said, Kou Xiong indeed understood with just a bit of clue. Precisely that woman, I am 100% sure. Who is she? Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air, then said, Really not Rong Jiaojiao but she? This is really unexpected. But her lightness skill is indeed extremely good, I just did not know if she is also well versed in martial arts. Who is she? Hou Xibai pressed on. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and replied, She is Wang Shichongs niece [sisters daughter], but I dont think she is a Yin Gui Pai female demon. Inwardly he added that I have had fiery, passionate rtionship with her. This girls brilliance was in her exceptional qinggong, but her wugong [martial art skill] was ordinary. And they had never doubted her, because she really had no reason to lie. Hou Xibai was stunned, Are you sure? he asked. Kou Zhong replied, If she is really a Yin Gui Pai female demon, Xiao Ling and I would have been finished by now! How could I speak with you here? Rong Fengxiangsughter interrupted everybodys conversation, and then he politely asked everybody to take their seat. Book 17 - 12 – The Whip Way to Contend for Supremacy Book 17 Chapter 12 C The Whip Way to Contend for Supremacy In his current role, Xu Ziling had no choice but to sit on one of the three tables on the east; fortunately he did not share the table with Li Jing, otherwise it would be very easy to reveal the cloven foot [i.e. to unmask ones true nature]. He and Chen Changlin sat to the left and right of Linglong Jiao, opposite Xing Mofei and the two Tuyuhun beauties, whose eyes seemed to be able to talk. After self-introduction to each other, they found out that the rest of the people sitting around them were either sons and daughters or trusted aides of the people sitting on the main tables. Those able to share table with Rong Fengxiang were, naturally, people with enough weight, such as Li Shimin, Tuli, Wang Shichong, Song Lu, Liu Jing, Fu Qian, Ouyang Xiyi, Priest Ke Feng, and three others, Luoyangs celebrities with enough face, but Madam Rong Fengxiang was nowhere to be seen. Kou Zhong was seated with Yun Yuzhen and Hou Xibai. Fortunately he and Yun Yuzhen was separated by Zheng Shiru, so it was inconvenient to talk to her; otherwise he might not be able to hide his anger and might bicker with her at the banquet table. Bai Qinger and Zheng Shuming sat across the table from him. It was a case of enemies meeting face to face; they should have been infuriated with each other. But surprisingly Zheng Shuming acted as if he did not exist; she merely chatting and joking with Bai Qinger in low voices. By the time all guests have been seated, Kou Zhong found out that the seat on his right was empty. He asked the maid serving him, and the maid simply said that she was just following the Housekeepers order, while other people did not have any idea either, so that he was unable to make any sense of it. After Zheng Shiru greeted him perfunctorily, he then talked to Hou Xibai and Yun Yuzhen, no longer paying attention to Kou Zhong, and Kou Zhong was only too happy to have his ears pure and peaceful, and took this opportunity to look around. This moment Rong Fengxiang stood up straight and toasted everybody with delight, saying, Today Ol Rong has passed fifty lowly years, it is rare that all distinguished guests honored me with your presence, including good friends who havee from thousands of li, making Ol Rong fully experiencing being honored and pampered. I sincerely offer this cup of wine water as a small token of respect and gratitude for everybodys kind intention. Everybody rose up to return the propriety, the atmosphere warmed up immediately, the sound of praise and wine cup clinking against each other lingered on. It was quite a whileter that everybody returned to their seats. Smiling mysteriously, Rong Fengxiang said, Before the vegetable and meat dishes are served on the table, Ol Rong wants to give honored guests a little nice surprise. Please wee Miss Shang Xiufang. Amidst the roar of the guests cheering and pping, the ensemble yed an upbeat music, bringing a joyful atmosphere to the Hall. Hou Xibais eyes gleamed with a strange light, as he attentively waiting for this famous courtesan to appear on stage and offer up her art. Shang Xiufang had just appeared on the stage, immediately Dong Shuni, Rong Jiaojiao, Yun Yuzhen, and the other beauties lose some color. In term of the brightness of the countenance and the mor of appearance, each one of these beauties had her unique distinguishing feature; it was difficult to differentiate their rtive superiority. But Shang Xiufangs charm and bearing had some kind of distinctive style, which made the otherdies appeared inferior inparison. Apparently she was quite good at sorrowful, touching Xiaodiao [Chinese folk song genre]; therefore, this time she sang a joyful, congrattory song to wish the host a happy birthday, although it was still exceptionally good, Kou Zhong had a feeling that her performance this time was slightly inferior to the previous days performance at the Shangshu Mansion. However, as soon as she began singing, nearly everybody in the hall listened as if they were intoxicated. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were the only two exceptions. Currently, the two boys mood was opposite to the joyful tune. Xu Ziling took this opportunity to calmly observing the reaction of everybody on the four main tables. The one with most engrossed expression was Hou Xibai; he looked as if as soon as he heard the music, he wanted to dance. Although Li Shimin and Fu Qian were listening attentively, their manner appeared calm and collected. Others reaction varied, but in general they all looked captivated by Shang Xiufangs musical skill, which sounded like celestial sound of the immortals, and the elegance and beauty of her dances posture and movements. Tulis eyes looked even stranger; he looked as if he wanted to swallow this morous and delicious popr artist alive in one gulp. Shang Xiufangs pair of hooking-the-spirit, absorbing-the-soul limpid-water eyes,bined with her posture and her expression, while she was spinning around and around on the stage, continuously sweeping the banquet tables, so that the younger generations withparatively weak self-control had their spirit and soul turned upside down. As soon as the song ended, the apuse was thunderous and ear splitting. Even before the apuse ended, Rong Fengxiang already left his seat to personally meet her and brought Shang Xiufang to the empty seat right next to Kou Zhong. While all the men stood up to wee her, Rong Fengxiang vaguely winked at Kou Zhong; he said with augh, Kou Xiongdi, please take a good care of Miss Fang for Laofu. And so everybody knew that Shang Xiufang sitting by Kou Zhongs side was not his own arrangement. After the introduction, Shang Xiufang sat down, and only then did Rong Fengxiang leave the table. Before he even sat down, Zheng Shiru already showered Shang Xiufang with endless praise, as if Kou Zhong was not there at all. Although Hou Xibai was looking at Shang Xiufang with a hint of smile on his face, he did not look anxious to strike a conversation at all; he was extremely poised. It was unclear whether it was deliberate arrangement, but on this banquet table, more than half were women; only Kou Zhong, Zheng Shiru, Hou Xibai and two pampered young masters of Luoyang influential families had the honor to apany thedies. Meanwhile the vegetable and meat dishes were being served. There was also an unending stream of guests from the front and middle, two halls,ing in to toast the host, pushing the banquet atmosphere to its peak. Rong Fengxiangs alcohol capacity was quite excellent; he never refuse anybody. Once in a while he would ask various guests around his table to drink on his behalf. The one took the most toasts was, quite naturally, Wang Shichong, who sat by his side. All these things did not escape Xu Zilings eyes; he wondered whether Rong Fengxiang was intentional or not, but it appeared that he wanted to make Wang Shichong drunk. However, Wang Shichongs inner power was quite profound, plus he was a Jianghu veteran, so he knew how much he was able to take. While he was thinking deeply, Linglong Jiao leaned over and asked, Why did you look indifferent toward Shang Xiufangs singing just now? Is it because she did not sing well, or because you dont like the music? Xu Ziling was taken aback; only then did he realize that she had been paying him attention. A bit embarrassed, he said, I just love to hearparably sad songs. In his heart he could not help remembering Shi Qingxuans flute, which touched him deeply. Looking pensive, Linglong Jiao said, As the moon is about to sink south of the Kunlun Mountain range, shepherds y sad song on their Hujia. Hujia is Qiang flute; they produce the most mournful sound. When Gongzi has the opportunity, you should listen to them. Over there, Shang Xiufang finally found the opportunity to talk to Kou Zhong; she spoke in low voice, Qie [I, your servant] stays at Man Qing Yuan, if you have time tomorrow, could you find an opportunity to see qie? The day after tomorrow Xiufang is leaving for Guanzhong! Kou Zhong has never thought that she would have such a high opinion on him; he nodded slightly to say that he promised. And then he found that Zheng Shuming, Bai Qinger and Yun Yuzhen were staring at the two of them. He could only hope that because of the mor, the three women did not hear Shang Xiufangs invitation to him. Even he himself did not understand this kind of fear; a fear of people knowing whats in his heart. Right this moment, the herald at the door announced loudly, Imperial Bodyguard Commander, Right Wuhou [martial/military marquis] Great General Dugu Feng has arrived! Everybody was taken by surprise. Dugu Feng, wearing full government official attire, under escort of four internal ministers, pompously entered the hall, and loudly said, Dugu Feng, under Huang Taizus imperial order, came with specific purpose of congratting Rong Laoban on his birthday, and to act on Huang Taizus behalf to bestow this jade tree. He acted as if he did not see Wang Shichong; his eyes seemed to focus on Rong Fengxiang, one person. In such an award-given time, following the custom, Li Shimin and the other outsiders stepped aside, while all Yang Dongs subjects, including Rong Fengxiang, had to kneel to receive the gift that Yang Dong bestowed. There remained only Wang Shichong and his men, who werent sure of what to do. It should be noted that technically, Wang Shichong was still epting orders from Yang Dong as his master; even when mobilizing his troops to pressurized the Imperial Pce, their im was to capture two treacherous court officials Yuan Wendu and Lu Da, rather than tant rebellion. This was the critical, life and death, time where they had to confront Li Mi, if he made his real position public, in which his power was illegitimately conferred, he might lose, albeit partially, Luoyangs civil and military support, and that would bring more harm without any benefit. If he wanted to depose Yang Dong, he must make prior arrangement to deploy his troops, which would be implemented only when the time is ripe; but as it stands right now, no matter which scheme he used, he would be subject to humiliation. Thinking of this, Wang Shichong rose to his full height, and then knelt beside Rong Fengxiang. Wang Xuanying and Wang Xuanshu had no choice but to follow suit. Kou Zhong and the others were technically Wang Shichongs guests, so if they merely stepped away from the banquet table, nobody would raise their eyebrows. Dugu Feng was very proud of himself; he said loudly, You may rise! Wang Shichong stood up full of anger in his belly. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Formidable!. They knew that it was because Shen Luoyan could see through their showing weakness in front of the enemy stratagem that she used this strategy to frustrate their morale and acute spirit. Dugu Feng took a small brocade box from the hand of one of his chambeins, and put it in the kneeling Rong Fengxiangs open palms, and thus the ceremony is over. Rong Fengxiang, with the brocade case in his hands,ughed and said, Dugu Daren must stay and drink a cup of wine. With an air ofcency, Dugu Fengughed aloud and said, Xiaodi is under His Majestys order, its not suitable for me to stay for a long time. Everybody, please! Without giving Wang Shichong time to react, he haughtily turned around and walked away. Rong Fengxiang hastily sent him off. After everybody was seated once again, Wang Bo suddenly burst intoughter and spoke to Li Shimin, Didnt your esteemed subordinate Yuchi Renxiong [my dear friend] want to y with Laofu a moment or two? Why not take this opportunity to let Laofu experience his skill? Suddenly the hall grew quiet. Nobody expected that Wang Bo would take the initiative to issue a challenge; apparently he was extremely offended by Yuchi Jingdes disrespect earlier. Before Li Shimin could respond, Yuchi Jingde, sitting on one of the side tables stood up suddenly, cupped his fist and said, I hope Wanggong will be generous in giving pointers to junior [here the word is houxue, junior schr]! Finished speaking, he strode toward the spacious floor in front of the main banquet tables; his appearance was very bold and powerful. Everybody felt deep veneration toward his boldness; they knew Wang Bos resounding reputation, which even surpassed Li Mi, Du Fuwei, and the likes. The Ding Shi Whip[1] in his hand was praised as the number one whip under the heavens. Merely the fact that Yuchi Jingde was not afraid of the opponent, his guts was no ordinary. Wang Bo smiled; he calmly left his seat and walked over to where Yuchi Jingde was standing, and spoke in delight, Today is Xiongs happy day, so ourpetition this time is just to liven things up, well stop upon contact. Yuchi Renxiong, what do you think? He spoke those words leisurely, which brought out his air as an expert and increased his exalted status even more. Yuchi Jingde saluted and said, Qianbei, please be lenient. His response was even more appropriate. Everybody knew that it was merely words of politeness, and not really fear of being injured by the opponent. But it could bring a great deal of pressure to Wang Bo, because it was tantamount to say that if you win, that should be expected, but if you lose, your reputation would be swept to the floor. Kou Zhong paid special attention to Li Shimins expression. Noticing that Li Shimin remained calm, without the slightest bit of nervousness, he could not help shivering inwardly. Yuchi Jingde had the audacity to incite the battle first, naturally he must have received Li Shimins nod; as for the reason he targeted Wang Bo, there must be a profound meaning behind it. Yuchi Jingdes tiger-eyes were zing like a torch as he fixed his gaze on Wang Bo, who was standing approximately ten paces way. Forgive my offense! he shouted. Groping to his left waist, the whip suddenly appeared in his hand. Wang Bos eyes fell on his whip; he spoke indifferently, Does this whip have a name? Yuchi Jingde raised the coiled whip in his right hand up in the air, like magic the whip suddenly turned straight as a ramrod, hovering at an angle above Wang Bos head. He spoke in a loud and clear voice, This whip is called Gui Zang [return to its storehouse (fig. Buddhist or Taoist scripture)], two zhang and three chi long. Qianbei please be generous in bestowing instruction. He did not shake back the whip at all; it was being loosely held just like he was holding a more than two zhang long dark-colored iron stick. It was just hard to believe that that was a long whip. Merely this internal strength, capable of holding the whip in such a way, was enough to make the spectators, where there was nock of grandmaster-level martial art experts, have a whole new level of respect for him. Under the illumination of thenterns, the body of the whip appeared to be full of tiny suction pads, which reflected the light as tiny dots; it was weird beyond words. Wang Boughed aloud, Good whip! he said. Then suddenly he made a swift move, like a flowing water or floating cloud, toward the opponent. Flicking his right-hand middle finger, he attacked the center of Yuchi Jingdes face. Surprisingly he did not draw the Ding Shi Whip, the weapon with which he made his name. Sudden change urred. The originally-nting-midair Gui Zang Whip suddenly coiled above Yuchi Jingdes head. It made a few circles, and then moved in front of his chest; circle by circle it met Wang Bos middle finger attack. It was brilliant to the extreme point. Everybody had already guessed that his whip skill must be superior, otherwise he would not have dared to challenge Wang Bo; but still, no one expected that his whip technique has reached perfection. Practically it was already at the expert level where the whip could move as his heart desired. Kou Zhong could not help exchange nces with Xu Ziling, who, at this moment, was also looking at him. They both were able to tell the amazement in each others heart. No wonder Li Jing advised them to leave. Wang Bos expression looked grave. What happened was that when the wind generated by his finger attack met the first circle of Yuchi Jingdes whip, unexpectedly the qi power generated by the whip coil was able to cut it down nearly half; by the time the fourth circle arrived, the finger wind already disappeared without any trace. Even with his deep experience, he could not help being terribly surprised, because he discovered that the opponents foundation was extremely deep; it has already reached the level where it was able to contend against his own power. Although it still could not match his, but the difference was not too far. It was entirely outside his expectation. Wang Bo let out a loud shout. With a strange footwork, he suddenly shed to the opponents right side. His right hand pulled back, at the same time a piece of white shadow flew out of his sleeve. With strange wave-like trajectory it stabbed the right side of Yuchi Jingdes neck; fast like a serpent, and looked like it could change direction at any time, full of sly, ruthless fantastical none-can-resist, overbearing prowess. Momentarily qi power was pressing in, creating a nip in the air. This Whip King, who has been famous for decades, finally revealed the Ding Shi Whip, the weapon with which he made his name. The hall exploded with thunderous apuse. This move certainly came as a surprise; even with Yuchi Jingdes capability, because of this senior martial art masters footwork, technique and astonishing innate qi power,bined together into a swift and severe counterattack, he was momentarily unable to find a good way of blocking this attack. Promptly he shed sideways, the tip of Gui Zang Whip, as if it had eyes, dove down first, and then as soon as it touched the ground, itshed at angle upward, aiming at Wang Bos lower abdomen. Indeed it was a fierce, ruthless attack to counter another attack. The twobatants have only been exchanging two moved, but everybody already watched with bated breath. Wang Bo let out a coldugh. Like a serpent the Ding Shi Whip returned to his sleeve, while his left hand, with fingers held together like a de, fiercely and urately, fast beyondprehension, chopped down on the tip of the opponents whiping toward him. The explosion of the qi power collided sounded like a muffled thunder. Yuchi Jingdes entire body shook; he was forced to take half a step back, his eyes shone with power, his long whip turned into millions whip shadows, like a rainstorm shrouding Wang Bo. It appeared that he wanted tounch offensive at all cost, bold and powerful without equal; even though his strength was slightly affected, it did not dampened his attack. Kou Zhong and the others had to nod their approval. Only this kind of offensive would be able to restrain Wang Bos appear-and-disappear-unpredictably [orig. gods disappear and devils vanish], impossible-to-defend-effectively whip technique. Wang Boughed aloud. Like beads of pearl on a jade tray, using moving-clouds-and-flowing-water shenfa, he moved amidst the opponents crisscrossing, fluttering whip momentum; with an exquisite, profound-mystery finger move, his right hand middle finger continuously jabbing six, seven times, each jab urately, without missing a bit, hit the opponents whip, each finger jab was stronger than the previous one. Indeed he was a warrior who lived up to his name, not a nobody with undeserved reputation. But Yuchi Jingde was able to force Wang Bo to go all out, this would be enough for his name to shake the world. Yuchi Jingde roared again, his whip momentum also changed again. His right hand simultaneously held the whip handle and the whip tip tightly, while his inner power pierced through the whip body. On top of that, controlled by his left hand, the whip looked like dancing flexible iron stick of about one zhang long, attacking the opponent using a set of fantastic stick technique, which could be either stiff or flexible. Inwardly Wang Bo was astonished and baffled. He was an expert in whip technique; no matter how cunning or changing unfathomably the opponents whip moves were, almost instantly he would be able to see through the changes in the opponents follow up move. After fighting to this point, he already knew his chance of victory; who would have thought that the opponent suddenly moved the whip as if it was a stick? This change was notmon in whip technique, so that he had to grope about once more, and his dream of easy victory was dashed. This moment he gained even clearer understanding that his young opponents wisdom and understanding were out of the ordinary; he was absolutely not an easy prey. Wang Bo was also forced to adapt himself to these changes. Both his hands moved out, alternating between chopping and palm strike, the strong wind that ensued was ear splitting. Using a powerful and unique palm technique, for the time being he was able to deal with the opponents toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas offensive. In the meantime, Rong Fengxian has returned to the inner hall; he stood at the entrance with his hands behind his back, watching the battle; he did not look the slightest bit surprised, on the contrary, he seemed to have anticipated this battle to happen. Pow! Wang Bos palm hacked down on the whip stick, his true power passed through the stick and entered in, shockingly the entire whip stick bent, and Yuchi Jingde tumbled backward. While everybody was worried about him, Wang Bos Ding Shi Whip unexpectedly flew out of his left sleeve, aiming toward the opponents throat. A single dot shed, cry of rm rose up. The tip of Yuchi Jingdes whip shot out of his right hand. A dot pierced the iing tip of the opponents whip. Ever since the battle started, this was the first time the two whips collided with each other. [1] Ding Shi Whip: again, this is hard to trante sinctly, basically it means the whip that determine/decide the era; reminder: Wang Bos title was Zhi Shi Lang - the minister/official/youth who understood the world/lifetime/era. See Book 1 Chapter 10. Book 18 - 1 – A Remark Startling Four Tables Book 18 Chapter 1 C A Remark Startling Four Tables The tip of the whips collided, producing a sharp and clear noise. In the midst of Wang Bos longughter, his left sleeve shot a section of long whip, about a zhang or so, which seemed to have been knocked out by the opponents reaction force that it turned into a nine-bend, ten-section long snake, but the fluctuation amplitude defiedmon sense; because based on the power he demonstrated just now, he ought to be able to defeat Yuchi Jingde quitefortably. But what happened was that this young martial art masters Gui Zang Whip appeared to generate rainbow-like vitality; it coiled back like a vicious dragon biting the opponent. Another sudden change. Wang Bo swiftly traversed sideways. Delicate like a human finger the Ding Shi Whip moved forward in high speed, which was difficult to see with naked eye, in spiraling motion; like a spark from a flint it wrapped itself around the Gui Zang Whip, and swiftly pulled back. Not only he evaded the attack of the tip of the whip, he was able to pull the opponents whip taut. Simultaneously, another piece of Ding Xing [sic] Whip [not sure if this is a typo, or the left and right whips had different names. Ding Xing means determining the nature (of something negative, e.g. error or crime)] bored out of his sleeve, slipped down to the floor first, and then slid toward the opponent, and when it was about five chi away from the enemys feet, like a viper rising its head with tongue sticking out, fast as lightning it jabbed Yuchi Jingdes lower abdomen. This kind of finesse, where he was able to control the thin and flexible long whip, as if it were alive, following his hearts desire, indeed made people gasp in amazement. This time even Li Shimin had his countenance changed slightly. Wang Bos skill was really high, his strength powerful, indeed his name was not in vain. But Yuchi Jingde remained calm without any fear; lightning fast he slid sideways and backwards, taking advantage of the tension of the whips entangled each other, he made a half circle with Wang Bo as the center of rotation, and then, to everybodys surprise, he charged swiftly toward Wang Bo. Due to the whish, the two entangled whips immediately moved in a wave-like motion with an ever-increasing amplitude. Wang Bo let out a cold humph. He had transmitted his inner power via the whip to attack the enemy for more than dozen times, to jolt the enemy so his blood and qi would surge over. But Yuchi Jingdes level of strength exceeded his expectation, so that a murderous intent rose up in his heart. Over time, there woulde a day where Yuchi Jingde would surpass him to be the Whip King of the new generation. The right hand Ding Xing Whip retracted into his sleeve. Wang Bo lowered his waist in a horse stance. The Ding Shi Whip trembled again, the qi traveled to the tip of the whip, which Yuchi Jingde immediately pushed back. By the time Wang Bo rushed his power to make a kill, Yuchi Jingdes Gui Zang Whip followed his backward momentum, suddenly it separated from Wang Bos whip, coiled back into a more than a dozen loops, which he held tight in his hand, while he himself happened to withdraw to Rong Fengxiangs side. Cupping his fist in salute, he said, Wanggongs whip technique is indeed unrivalled in Jianghu, there is nothing better under the heavens. Jingde reaped not a shallow benefit tonight; his future sess is really bestowed by Wanggong. Inwardly Wang Bo cried, What a pity! but on the surface he assumed a magnanimous, generous in spirit, appearance. Pulling the whip back into his sleeve, he chuckled and said, The rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before; Ol Wang is getting on in year! Amidst the thunderous apuse, Rong Fengxiang assumed his status as the host, politely he ushered the two back toward their banquet tables. Meanwhile, Hou Xibai took this moment to go to the garden outside. Rong Jiaojiao, Dong Shuni, and the other younger generations crowded Rong Fengxiangs table to offer their toast on the elderly gentleman whose birthday was being celebrated today. The jubnt and warm atmosphere reced the earlier whip wind and palm shadow scene. After a round of toasts, Rong Fengxiang, surrounded by the younger generations, walked over to the front two halls to socialize with the other guests. Zheng Shiru, still separated by Kou Zhong, was showing off his talent and passion to Shang Xiufang. But he was indeed an erudite and multi-talented man. From talking about singing, literature, such as bianwen[1], scriptures, ssical Chinese poems, poetry, books, poetic essays, to music and dancing, all kinds of theatrical arts, wine-drinking game, craft and art, to musical lyrics creation, the rising of chuanqi [fiction short stories of the Tang and Song dynasties], narrative poems growth, he was able to discuss without extra trouble, to exin in vivid details and insight. Although Kou Zhong harbored enmity toward him, for instance, due to his close rtionship with Yin Gui Pai, he could not but admit that in terms of knowledge and experience, he was more established than Bai Lao Fuzi [see Book 1 Chapter 1], which was, to Kou Zhong, of the grand professor level. Much to his surprise, Shang Xiufangs repartee was not inferior in any sense to the opposite party; evidently her knowledge in all aspects was no less than this Henan Mad Schr Zheng Shiru, who whether intentionally or otherwise, threw the questions out in the open, and thus letting all thedies around the table to participate in the discussion. The atmosphere was getting even more zing. Yet Kou Zhong was unable to express himself even for half a sentence. He paid particr attention to Bai Qingers response, and found out that not only she was not jealous of Zheng Shiru eagerly fawning on Shang Xiufang, from time to time she even lent a helping hand, so that Kou Zhong was even more baffled at the rtionship between these two people. Zheng Shuming and Yun Yuzhen did not speak much, they just asionally threw their pretty gaze onto Kou Zhong, making him feel quite ufortable. This moment, a young master called Ling Wei, who was sitting on Shang Xiufangs other side, was eloquently discussing the qi luo ren wu hua [painting of a character in beautiful silk dress], which was starting to be popr at that time. This was Ling Mous, the president of the rice business association at the northern district of the city, son. His old man sat in the same table as Rong Fengxiang; from this, it could be seen that this man had quite a status and identify. The nature of his business was agriculture, and development ofmercial products. Many of the people of the same industry formed agencies or associations, such as brotherhood of the vige, trade association, and so on; spontaneous organizations of civil society, with the purpose of expanding their influence, while at the same time setting a uniform price to avoid viciouspetition. For importantmodities such as rice, juan [thin, tough silk fabric], silk, and salt, the organization was even tighter; joining the association required certain qualifications, and going through examination and approval procedure, and once one was admitted into the association, often times they could not easily withdraw, so much so that sometimes there was a provision that when the father died, the son must continue the membership. To be able to be the president of such association, other than excellence inside and outside their own business, one must also be getting on well with both ways, ck and white, and had vast enoughwork of friends and acquaintances. Without the support of such business associations, any political power could hardly stand firm. Take Rong Fengxiang, for example, he was the president of gambling industry of the north side of the city; even Luoyang Bang had to seek him out to be the big boss in ce of Shangguan Long. It is thus clear that the expectationid on him was paramount. Ling Wei was saying, In previous generations, paintings of beautiful women are mostly of a woman who dies fighting for her honor or follows her husband in death, or perhaps women who show filial piety, implying that there were certain religiousmandments or prohibitions to follow. Nowadays paintings of beautiful women do not stick to one pattern: spring outing, actively training, quietly looking at her reflection, leaning against the railing, ying chess, even getting out of the bath; everything can be painted. Xiaodi admires the name Western Sichuans Chuan Yang Meiren [Sichuan Style Beauty], so I personally collect the paintings. I have three as my favorites, every single one of those the strokes are fine and skillful; they were drawn using the qin si miao [zither string tracing] technique, with fine but powerful lines, warm, soft and touching, so that the beauty in the paintings seem ready to appear at the call [i.e. vividly portrayed]. If Miss Xiufang has time tomorrow, you cane to Zaixias humble home to appreciate, Zaixia will definitely wee with open arms. Kou Zhongughed inwardly; apparently Zheng Shiru has met another suitor. This son of the prominent figure in rice industrys appearance was quite handsome and grand, poised and smart, his style of conversation was quite refined. Although he could not bepared to Hou Xibai, he was the type of man who would easily win womens favor. Perhaps because she had already made appointment with Kou Zhong, but Shang Xiufang was not tempted by his invitation at all. Her jet-ck eyebrows slightly knitted, she said, Aiyo! Ling Gongzi is really giving me the whole courtesy and honor, but it has to wait until my next trip to Luoyang! Before Ling Wei had the opportunity to unleash his grinding downstream skill, Zheng Shiruughed and said, I wonder what wise opinion does Kou Xiong have toward the qi luo ren wu paintings? Everybodys eyes were focused on Kou Zhong, simply because since this discussion on literature and art started, it was like he suddenly turned into a mute, did not make half a noise. Kou Zhong cursed Zheng Shirus eighteen generations ancestors in his heart; this moment the only thing came to his mind was the beauties painted on Hou Xibais fan. Yet appearing calm andposed, he smiled and said, In term of painting and calligraphy, I am ayman; how could I have any wise opinion or outstanding view? I only know that putting a brush on paper to make paintings is just like using saber; one must make every effort to be urate, not a bit more, not half a hair less. As the brush is going down, it will draw the lines down to the smallest detail. This is my limited understanding, please forgive a novice making a fool of himself! Shang Xiufang was emotionally touched; she said, Kou Gongzis remark has revealed such a profound sentiment, and it was a distinct opinion. How could you say it was aymansment? Kou Zhong did not have time to becent, because Bai Qinger already pursed her lips andughed, and tenderly and coyly said, Turns out Kou Gongzi is a connoisseur in paintings appreciation. I wonder if Kou Gongzi has any wise opinion on color usage? Kou Zhong was well aware that she was lending Zheng Shiru a helping hand, with the purpose of humiliating him in front of Shang Xiufang. Moreover, he had no idea what coloring material or what role it yed in paintings. The worst thing was that he only knew about paintings of beauty that came from Hou Xibais highly skilled hands, which was produced entirely using ground-ink, without the slightest bit of coloring. Hence he had nothing to evaluate, he had nothing to say. Fortunately, speaking about emergency response, he was a first-ss expert. Since he could not block the attack, he had to use diversion tactics. With serious expression, he said, Just by listening to Madame Qingers remark, I know that Madame is an expert in paintings. I wonder if Xiaodi has guessed incorrectly? [1] Bianwen - a popr form of narrative literature flourishing in the Tang Dynasty (618-907) with alternate prose and rhymed parts for recitation and singing (often on Buddhist themes) Chapter 1 - Part 2 Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, Chowbeng, you are wee. Lao Qianbei, hence I appreciate you guys who always let me know that you are following the story. thank you. Kowloon, you are right, I think it was on the boat somewhere, but I dont think he pursued that skill though. Xiaohu, at least (so far) Huang Yi did not randomly drop any character only to make it disappear soon afterwards, like Gu Long ... Hungry, agree. Although sometimes it feels like a filler, I think some of it (not all, naturally) are quite interesting. Chua, He was a politician, was he not? Kowloon, soon, soon ... DongBin, and so little time ... Ba Qinger was slightly stunned. Naturally she had never imagined that Kou Zhong has been to her studio [i.e. artist studio], he had even hid inside therge cab among her rolls of paper. She was quite at a loss for a long time before finally found her voice back, Qie has indeed studied painting, but definitely not an expert. How did Kou Gongzi guess? Kou Zhong noticed that even Zheng Shuming was staring at him with her ck, rippling eyes; inwardly he was amused. First, he turned to Shang Xiufang and Yun Yuzhen to give eachdy a sh of his brilliant smile, and then staying calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, The idea is so simple. Just like people who love swordsmanship, they would be interested in how to use the sword and the key secret in using the sword. Frankly speaking, I am no more than an admirer of his mother, oh! Not of his mother, just of paintings. In my humble opinion, only paintings without using any color yet is able to produce all the colors in profusion effect can be called the highest artistic conception. If you dont believe me, just ask Hou Xiong to open his folding fan, and youll see what I mean. Ha! Speaking about Caocao, Caocao thus appear [see Book 8 Chapter 11]! Everybody followed his gaze, and sure enough, Hou Xibais confident and at ease figure came into view. Linglong Jiao returned to her seat, leaned close to Xu Ziling, and whispered, Wanggongs order: when Rong Laoban is back from toasting the guests, we will leave immediately. Xu Ziling nodded in acknowledgement, and then he passed on this message to Chen Changlin sitting on the other side. Xing Mofei, who was sitting across the table, had been watching him attentively. This moment he smiled and said, Howe Xiaodi has a feeling that Qin Xiong looks a bit familiar? Have we met somewhere before? Currently Xu Ziling was using the name Qin Jieyuan as his alias; although he picked that name at random, but he took Shi Feixuans alias, Qin Chuans surname. Only afterwards, when he thought about it, did he feel somewhat strange. The two Tuyuhun beauties, Li An and Hua Nas two pairs of big eyes were also constantly looking at him; it appears to be his one-in-a-hundred heroic, grand physique. Although hecked a handsome face, he seemed to attract this pair of beauties from different tribes interest. Xu Ziling applied his power to change his voice first before smiling and responding, Maybe I dide across Xing Xiong on the street somewhere, but at that time we did not know each other yet, so now we have a sense of dj vu. Xing Mofeiughed aloud and said, Qin Xiongs statement contained deep meaning; it is clear that you are not an ordinary person, yet Xiaodi clearly has never heard Qin Xiongs great name. This is strange. Linglong Jiao coldly said, There are so many great people in the Central ins, and this is the first time Xing Xiong steps foot on the Central ins, so whats so strange about you having never heard Qin Xiongdis name? Xing Mofei did not look displeased although she was clearly opposing him with harshness; he calmly said, Before Xiaodi came here, I have painstakingly done quiteprehensive research on Central Earths each sect and famous schools martial art masters, therefore, I was curious about Qin Xiong. I wonder if Qin Xiong is a martial art master belonging to a certain sect? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Please forgive Xiaodi for not betraying my confidence. This is Shangshu Darens order, Xing Xiong please do not me me. Xing Mofei nodded and smile; he no longer questioned closely. Zip! Hou Xibai opened up his fan a little bit, exposing a vivid image of a beauty on the fan, along with a clear scent of sweet perfumes [lit. orchids and musk], sleek skin and luxuriant jade flesh. Although it was only painted using ck ink, but just as Kou Zhong said: without the slightest bit of color yet producing all the colors in profusion. Rarer still, the beautys light body, snowy curve, gauzed, thin, transparent cosmetics astonishing beautiful appearance was disyed with such extreme saturation. Everything was just perfect. Ah! Shang Xiufang eximed in astonishment, When did Hou Gongzi paint qie on your fan? I am afraid Xiufangsmon cattail and willow appearance might defile Gongzis treasured fan. [Trantors note: again, I am not a fan of Huang Yis using flowerynguage in describing women, so I trante it perhaps too literally. My apology.] Anybody could see from Shang Xiufangs expression that she was deeply moved by Hou Xibais painting skill. In fact, everybody around the banquet table, men and women alike, none was not emotionally moved by Hou Xibais wonderful, unparalleled-in-the-world, painting brush. Yun Yuzhens pretty eyes shot out a look of envy, but there was obviously nothing she could do about it. From the beginning she was quite clear about Hou Xibais romantic character, which he showed everywhere, and which all women, including Zheng Shuming and Bai Qinger, found it hard to endure. Only Kou Zhong had a sense of relief. Distant past, it was Li Xiuning, recent past, it was Song Yuzhi; twice in a row, in different time and space, his feeling has taken a big hit. On top of that, there were Yun Yuzhen and Dong Shuni, who have had physical rtionship with him, but secretly plotted to harm him, so that toward the so-called romantic love, his heart was extremely dead. And now although the national grace, divine fragrance Shang Xiufang seemed to show him extreme favor, he had no interest whatsoever; instead, he felt that it was an unnecessary burden. Supposing Shang Xiufang swicthed her target onto Hou Xibai, Kou Zhong would be happy instead of jealous of losing her. Because such a strong opponent suddenly appeared and cut his offensive, momentarily Zheng Shiru panicked and was unable to ward it off. Hou Xibai folded his fan back and lightly spoke, as if he was reciting a poem, White bosom and embroidered feeling, whose family is thisdy? Fragrant stars in spring sky tell the story. Miss Fang has a beauty capable of causing the downfall of a nation, a skill that turns all living things upside down, Xibai falls on his knees in admiration. In term of literary talent, this man was distinguished and aplished, in term of speech, he was graceful; which woman would not be moved by him? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Xiaodis understanding of qi luo hua came from the fragrant beauties in living color on Hou Xiongs fan. Now that Hou Xiong is here,dies and gentlemen do not need to listen to Xiaodis random talk! Shang Xiufang glowered at him. But inwardly she was wondering if this man has reached the vastly broad-minded state that he waspletely without any jealousy? She has roamed the world, north and south of the Great River, and was ustomed to deal with all kinds of men. Men who had enough qualifications to pursue her like Kou Zhong, have always made every effort to show off in front of her, always attempted to overwhelm the otherpetitors, like a peacock spreading its tail to win her approval. Only a special person like Kou Zhong would act against the norm; he enthusiastically praised other man instead. Thinking to this point, since Hou Xibai has given her a shock, she could not help mellowing a little bit. In the meantime, Song Lu graced their table with his presence. After greeting everybody, he said to Kou Zhong, Come! I want to talk to you. After apologizing to his tablemates, Kou Zhong followed him though the side door to the half corridor outside. Bursts of noiseing from the two front halls. Song Lu leaned on the parapet, gazing at the fishpond. Did you offend Zhizhi? he spoke heavily. Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and asked, Is she gone? Song Lu nodded and said, She didnt even want to listen to me; she just left. Kou Zhong took a deep sigh, but was unable to speak. It is finished! Song Yuzhi and he werepletely finished; no hope of restoration. But he could not me anybody else; he could only me himself. Song Lu suddenly asked, What are you going to do? Dejectedly Kou Zhong said, Lu Shu [uncle] is referring to which aspect? Song Lu sighed and said, Im a bit unclear myself; I guess any aspect will do. I just want to know what are you thinking of doing next? During the banquet just now, on the surface everybody was polite, but actually the air was filled with hostility, there are more than just the apparent meaning. And then he moved his gaze to Kou Zhongs face, and spoke in heavy voice, You have to be careful with Wang Bo. Just now he repeatedly suggested to Wang Shichong that you are a man of great ambition; he is using a despicable method. Kou Zhong smiled bitterly without saying anything. As soon as he entered the powerful current of this contending-over-the-world affair, thousand-kind and ten-thousand-way of danger and trouble woulde his way; it was basically something that he could not guard against. Song Lu continued in low voice, How much confidence do you have that you would be able to get the Duke Yang Treasure out? In my opinion, in this particr business, Li Shimin is watching you like a tiger watching its prey; he wont let you seed, to avoid damaging the current situation, which is to his favor. Kou Zhong could only say, I dont have the exact number yet. Ay! When Yuzhi left, did she say anything? Song Lu replied, You ought to know her temperament very well, she will hide everything in her heart. But dont worry about her right now, perhaps when she cools downter, she would change her mind. And then he patted Kou Zhongs shoulder and said, Do what you need to do! I will speak good words on your behalf. Fortunately, you are a southerner, we are a bit closer to each other. Kou Zhong was stunned; he said, Lu Shu is saying ... Song Lus eyes moved to a cluster of tree peony by the fishpond. Letting out a cold snort, he said, Northern barbarian families, various tribes, have always been trying to destroy our southern blood rtionship and pure aristocratic culture. Those like Yang Jian, although they strived to practice our southern style, with the intention to restore the orthodoxy of our Han peoples dynasty; beneath the surface, arent they still barbarians? If you can use southern people to govern the north, our Song Family will give you full support. Do you understand me? Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused. I understand! he replied. The noise from the hall was getting louder. Rong Fengxiang has returned from his round of toasting the guests. Book 18 - 2 – Initial Expectation Hard to Achieve Book 18 Chapter 2 C Initial Expectation Hard to Achieve The fleet of carriages left the main gate. Kou Zhong, along with the group of martial art masters, were riding in horses instead of taking carriages. Together with the more than a hundred imperial bodyguards, they rode in neat formation to protect Wang Shichongs carriage. When they left, the Rong Mansion was still lively with the loud party. When they entered another major street, Xu Ziling, who was driving Wang Shichongs carriage, suddenly reined the horses to stop. While everybody was wondering, the curtain rose up, Wang Shichong stuck out his head and called out, Xiyi Xiong, Daozhang [priest], Kou Xiaodi, pleasee in to talk. Other than Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ouyang Xiyi, three men who were aware of actual situation, the rest of the people were baffled. Linglong Jiao, Chen Changlin, and a dozen or so martial art masters quickly jumped to the roof of the buildings on both sides of the street, to guard against the enemy seizing this opportunity to ambush. Inside the carriage, the real and the fake Wang Shichong were sitting side-by-side. After Kou Zhong, three men, settled down on their seats, Wang Shichong spoke in low voice, I want to change course. Priest Ke Feng was stunned, Wont that mean a lot of our arrangements cannot be used anymore? he asked. Wang Shichong said, I suddenly remember in the past Zhang Liang and Bo Langsha dispatching their strong men to throw huge rocks to the Emperors carriage. If the enemy uses this tactic again, and the people throwing the boulders are Huang Gongcuo, You Chuhong, Dugu Feng, Wang Bodang, and the like, and I am hiding inside the secretpartment, it will be really dangerous. Kou Zhong pretended to blurt out, In that case, wont our tactic of showing-the-enemy-our-weakness go down the drain? Ke Feng also said, If the enemy uses iron hammer, heavy rocks, and the like to attack us, we must anticipate our way back to the Imperial City first. But Ouyang Xiyi said, Spy among us is difficult to guard against, what Shichong Xiong said makes sense; if anything bad should happen to Shichong Xiong, it wont be showing-the-enemy-our-weakness, but it would give the enemy an opportunity to exploit. Wang Shichong smiled and said, Our objective is clear; if the enemy wants to assassinate, they will find a way. We ought to take the Heavenly Streets Imperial Road to go back to the Imperial City. Because of the trees separating the road, the enemy can only carry out their assassination using close range method. This is my decision! And then he called Xu Ziling, who was sitting on the driver seat, Jieyuan,e inside, I have something to tell you. Kou Zhong, three men, left the carriage. Ouyang Xiyi deliberately pulled Ke Feng aside to talk to him, while blocking his line of sight so that he did not see Wang Shichong taking off his outer robe, exposing an attire simr to Xu Zilings, donning on the mask to turn himself to Qin Jieyuan, and climbing onto the driver seat. The cavalcade moved again. The originally quiet street was suddenly filled with hoof beats and the sound of wheels grinding the pavement. It brought up some kind of pressure-before-the-storm feeling, making everybody breath heavily. Dark clouds hang low on the sky, another storm was brewing. By this time Xu Ziling has already applied the disguising technique he learned from Zhuge Dewei. With the help of the fake Wang Shichong, he was able to achieve fo, 60% resemnce with the real Wang Shichong; its just that without the hair and the beard, plus with the aid of the darkness of the night, perhaps anybody would be able to see the w in just one nce. The original fake Wang Shichong whispered in trembling voice, I dont want to die, Daye ... Xu Ziling patted his shoulder and said, Dont worry! I will do my best to protect you. Sighing inwardly, he hid inside the secretpartment. The leading riders, a toon of about twenty men, finally turned onto the Heavenly Street, and slowly entered the Imperial Highway. Linglong Jiao urged her horse to catch up with Kou Zhong. Riding alongside him, she spoke in low voice, Is this a wise choice? The assassins can easily hide among the trees. Inwardly, Kou Zhong was surprised; this woman seemed to undergo a huge change in her attitude these past couple of days, taking initiative to talk to him like this, it would have been unimaginable in the past. Heughed cheerfully and said, I am most afraid that they wonte! After a short pause, he asked, Where is Qiuci anyway? Linglong Jiao lightly replied, Why do you want to know? A ce derives reflected glory from an illustrious son, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Qiuci is able to produce matchless music and dance in the world, and beautiful women like Miss; certainly it is a beautifulnd, hence the reason I, Kou Zhong, am tempted to inquire. He cleverly ttered Qiuci State and Linglong Jiao, and mentioned music and dancing and the people in the same breath; therefore, although it carried a hint of teasing, it was neither tant nor condescending, so that this as-cold-as-ice-and-frost beauty would have to take it as face value and would not be able to reprimand him. Linglong Jiaos pretty face blushed slightly; under the illumination of thenterns ahead and behind them, she looked even more beautiful and alluring. After being quiet for half a day, she spoke in low voice, Do you really think so? A tinge of regret grew in Kou Zhongs heart; considering non-Han women were different from Central ins women C they were more forting and direct, if she misunderstood that he was falling in love with her, it might bring unintended consequences. But this moment he was riding a tiger, how could he exin that it was just a random talk and that he was just teasing her? Without much choices he hardened his heart and replied, Of course I do. Linglong Jiao shot him a coquettish nce. Do you know where eastern Tujue is? she asked. Kou Zhong nodded, Isnt that north of the Great Wall? Linglong Jiao became like a little girl, she excitedly said, Go figure! West of Eastern Tujue is precisely Western Tujue, Gaochang and Qiuci. From Luoyang, you must pass through Wuwei, Zhangye, Dunhuang, Shanshan. From there you still have to travel for two months to the northwest, across the Great Desert, and that is the grasnd where my people live. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck, Its that far, he said. Suddenly they heard a horse neighing ahead; the cavalcade stopped immediately. In the darkness, about twenty -zhang ahead, they could vaguely see a tall figure standing in the middle of the road. Momentarily everybody was stunned; how could the assassin be this brazen? It should be noted that nearly all of the entire force of martial art masters under Wang Shichongsmand were concentrated here, not to mention more than a hundred elite guards. Unless the enemy had stronger force, perhaps before they were able to even touch Wang Shichongs carriage, they would have to retreat with broken troops and damaged generals. Without waiting for this side to shout the question, the man already let out an earsplitting longughter and said, Wang Shichong! You are going to die today! Surprisingly, it was the Dugu ns leader, Dugu Fengs voice. Before anybody had time to respond, Dugu Feng roared and spun around several times with the speed that was difficult to see with naked eyes; and then he threw arge object that was spinning in the air. Like a ck could it flew across the more than twenty zhang distance, cutting toward the vanguard troops. A whistling noise, the sound of metal splitting the air, screamed along the Imperial Road. Under the illumination of thenterns and the torches, they could see that the object thrown by Dugu Feng was actually arge piece of iron disk, about five chi in diameter; its edge was full of sharp teeth. Thrown using his special technique, it created a beautiful arc in the air, as like a spinning top it flew with astonishing speed toward its target. Dugu Feng was the leader of a major n, he has made his name in Jianghu for more than forty years. Being thrown with all his strength, plus the angr momentum amassed by spinning in ce,bined with the circr discs rotational property, plus the sharp teeth along its edge, really carried an unbreakable and impossible-to-withstand momentum, which, even if Ning Daoqi personally came, perhaps he would not dare to meet the disc head on. After throwing the circr disc, Dugu Feng immediately flew back, simply because he had used up all his strength in this one throw, and his true power suffered a very huge loss. Ahead,nterns were falling to the ground, because the guards jumped down of their horses and scattered away to evade. Panic spread out like a ripple. The rest of the people also jumped down from their horses and scattered in all direction. The light was suddenly swallowed by the darkness. A dreadful feeling, worse than the danger of battlefield, descended upon the people. Kou Zhong, Ouyang Xiyi, and the others had never thought that the enemy would gain the upper hand in just one move like this. Momentarily they could only watch in disbelief as the round disc from afar flying near, as it was going to cut the carriage in two. By the time the spinning disc was about three zhang away from the horses, the troops were either jumping down to the ground or riding their horses away to evade, while they were utterly defeated, a dark shadow fell down from the sky. With astonishing speed and shocking uracy itnded on the flying, spinning disc, the tip of the shadows toes was right at the axis of rotation, so that the shadow looked like an immortal soaring across the clouds, riding on the fog, as it flew along the spinning disc; an astonishing scene to behold. Assassin! Ke Feng shouted. Ouyang Xiyi already soared into the air, hoping to be one step ahead of the enemy to intercept him. Kou Zhong was more anxious for Xu Ziling, this assassins martial art skill was really high, it was definitely above Xu Zilings and his. Because he did not know what the enemy was going to do next, and was fully aware that nobody would be able to stop the assassin before he reached the carriage, in his quick-thinking he threw himself down underneath the carriage and shouted, Go down! Wang Shichong, sitting on the driver seat, became the main target. Wide-eyed he stared at the enemy approaching fast, riding on the disc, nearly flying over the horses head, while his subordinates while scrambling in all kinds of postures to evade. Looking at the curve of the flight path, he knew that the fast-spinning disc carrying the enemy was about to cut across his face. If the enemy wasing at him in straight line, relying on his skill, he could leap into the air to intercept the enemy, without paying attention to the flying disc. But the curving attack path was the most difficult to grasp, plus the iing enemy was Huang Gongcuo, one of the people with enough qualifications to be Ning Daoqis match. Therefore, at thest second he decided to give up the idea, sprang off the seat, and rolled down on the ground in an extremely sorry condition. Bang! Under everybodys nk stare, the spinning disc razed through the carriage as if it was made of dried, rotten wood, about half a chi below the roof. The disc carried the roof of the carriage along and dropped it to the ground, leaving the carriage looked like an ugly-shaped, a vicious-looking open cart. The four horses pulling the carriage reared on their hind legs first, and then their necks broke and they fell down, died on the spot. The assassin sprang up, made a flip in the air, and then with head below and feet above, he dove down into the carriage like a cannonball. Without casting even half a nce toward the trembling fake Wang Shichong curling on the floor at the aft of the carriage, both his palms struck toward the secretpartment. When Xu Ziling, who was hiding inside the secretpartment in ce of Wang Shichong, suddenly heard the horses neighing, he knew something was wrong. He was just about to push the board open and get out when Kou Zhongs warning shout rang in his ears. If it were other people, he would have hesitated but for a moment. But he and Kou Zhong have been together since they were little, they lived and died together, so there was a fabulous tacit understanding between them; it could even be said that it was unparalleled in the world. Kou Zhongs shout was still ringing in his ears, he immediately used his power to shatter the bottom of the carriage, dropped to the stone b pavement below, and rolled away from the carriage. Boom! The entire floor of the vehicle shattered into small pieces, the fake Wang Shichong and the seats dropped down to the ground, but the wall of thepartment remained intact. Xu Ziling cried Lucky! inwardly. If he was a split secondte, it would be strange indeed if he did not die like a minced meat with all the bones in his body split in pieces. Before he had time to spring up, the dreadful assassin, who clearly knew that he had slipped away from the bottom of the carriage, simply crashed through the wall in Xu Zilings direction, and fiercely attacked him. In the meantime, even after cutting the carriage in two, the spinning disc has not lost its momentum; it flew across the neck of two startling horses. Immediately their blood sshed, two poor innocent warhorses toppled down tragically, bringing the guards on their back along to the ground. Other than scattering in all direction, Wang Shichongs men behind the carriage were helpless against the disc, forget about dealing with the enemy. Chapter 2 - Part 2 Lao Qianbei, Xiaohu, that was a bit more than half of the chapter. You guys have way too much imagination. Ysabel, Jaya, chua, HPC, Hungry, you are wee. Xu Xiong, if someone was riding on it, it cant be drone, can it? DongBin, nope, Wang Shichong is here to stay. On the direction where Xu Ziling was rolling away, there were Chen Changlin and six, seven other martial art masters. They did not know that Wang Shichong had been substituted by Xu Ziling; they thought it was Wang Shichong who was rolling away from the bottom of the carriage. Seeing the assassin breaking the wall to pursue and attack, they leaped off their horses and charged forward to meet the enemy. Who would have thought that when the man was charging forward, he intentionally diffuse the wood fragments and sshed the pieces over at them like a shower, each piece carried powerful qi, no different than shooting secret projectiles. Because thenterns were extinguished, and the night sky was dark without the stars, all the could see was that the enemy was a man wearing ck tight-fitting warrior outfit; as for what he looked like, no one could see it clearly, hence increasing his mysterious, unfathomable and terrifying impression. Meanwhile Kou Zhong, Ouyang Xiyi, Linglong Jiao, Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, and the other martial art masters were soaring near, but they were still a bit behind. By the time Chen Changlin and the others were blocking the raining wood fragments, the assassin already flew toward the rolling-around-on-the-ground Xu Ziling, with both palms striking down. Violent qi power, like a storm, pressed down on Xu Ziling. He felt as if a wall was falling down on him. The momentum was extremely shocking. In the blink of an eye, Xu Ziling, who was under heavy attack, was able to detect from the enemys speed, attacking power, and other aspects that he was still at least a level below the opponent. Right now, the only counteroffensive he could think of was to face danger with danger, using strange method to control the enemy. With a cold shout he flipped half of his body, relying on high-speed true qi rotation, and reversing the direction of his falling down momentum, while fast as lightning both his palms struck out, to meet the enemys palms head on. He was finally able to see the opponents appearance and body shape. This ck assassin was tall and sturdy, bordering to fat; his belly slightly bulging, his head bald, his chin thick, his palms and fingers appeared thicker and more solid than ordinary men. But his supposedly murderous-looking fierce and harsh eyes were weakened by his snow-white, beautiful beard, and his long, grizzled eyebrows drooping down to the corners of his eyes. Were it not for his icy-cold eyes, which were so narrow that they looked like the de of a knife, this man could be mistaken as an elderly immortal descending to the mortal world. Bang! Qi power collided. Xu Ziling did not use his spiraling qi. He appeared to be using all the natural qi power from the Secret to Long Life and the Jade Annulus of He n; however, he actually retained half of his strength in dealing with this senior martial art master of grand master level, whose name shook the southern seas. Wah! Xu Ziling spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood; he was jolted so hard that the back of his head bumped against the bluestone under his body. Huang Gongcuo was also jarred by his reaction force, and was thrown backward. For the first time his face showed an amazed expression. But his hands did not stay idle; his left hand repeatedly sent out long distance chops, so that Chen Changlin and the others, who wereing to help, were forced to step back; two of them were even hit and fell down, unable to crawl back up. He indeed possessed an insufferably arrogant attitude due to his overbearing prowess. This moment Kou Zhong, Ouyang Xiyi, Ke Feng, Linglong Jiao, Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, and the group of other martial art masters were leaping above the destroyed carriage. But when they were pouncing down, whistling noise was heard overhead, followed by hundreds of leaves, like sharp des filling the air, shooting down at them, so that all they could do was evading with sigh. Faintly they saw four, five dark shadows followed the raining leaves, dropping down from the sky. Those withparably weaker skill had no choice but to form saber and sword shield to block the attack with everything they had. Only Kou Zhong, Ouyang Xiyi, Ke Feng and Linglong Jiao, four people were able to use their true qi to protect their bodies, while increasing their speed to charge toward Huang Gongcuo, well before he had a chance to use his killer hands to intercept them. Bang! The blue stone shattered. Xu Zilings backnded on the ground, and spurted another mouthful of blood. Most of his injuries were fake. Although Huang Gongcuos palm power was fierce and severe, Xu Ziling was not a weakling at all. When the opponents qi power invaded his meridians and burst in, he used his own true qi to carry the opponents qi power from his elbow, and transmitted it into the bluestone crashing against his back. Not only he neutralized the capable-of-severing-the-meridians, destroying-the-spirit palm power, he also used it to prop his weight so that he would not suffer the cmity of crashing against the stone. It was an ingenious, as well as a profound mystery, technique, guaranteed that even Huang Gongcuo would find it hard to understand. Only he and Kou Zhong, who knew the Secret to Long Life had this marvelous skill. Huang Gongcuo suddenly floated toward Xu Ziling again. The battle urred in the dark. Under this kind of circumstance, they could not rely on their eyes very well, and was forced to rely on their senses, which, in their status as martial art masters, were keener than those of ordinary people; the level of danger need not be mentioned. Only this moment did Wang Shichong, who was dressed as Qin Jieyuan, start to flee while keeping his body close to the ground, as he quietly tiptoed toward the back of Huang Gongcuo. It was only then did he remember his original intention ining here. Dang! The flying disc, which had been the main controller of this whole situation, finally fell to the ground. Ding! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well block a sword stabbing down from above; immediately he groaned inwardly, because the enemys power application was extremely ingenious, there was a twisting and pulling force hidden within the stab, so that he was pulled sideways, but it appeared that he wanted to change direction on his own ord, and thus missed the opportunity to intercept Huang Gongcuo. This kind of sword technique was simply too sensational. And then he heard loud sword wind; unexpectedly the enemy was able to change momentum high in the air and used the remainder to pursue him. Dugu Fengs [phoenix] tender voice rang in his ears, Pay back my Er Shus [second uncle] life! Kou Zhong thundered, Dugu Bas killer is Shen Luoyan. Watch the saber! Without even looking back, the Moon in the Well struck backhandedly, to hit the back of Dugu Fengs sword stabbing at him. Dang! The impact shook Dugu Feng, sent her floating backward, while he borrowed the same reaction force to elerate his speed as he shot toward the Imperial Road. Xu Ziling had already aplished his goal in taking Wang Shichongs ce to receive the injury. Right now his only target was to protect his own life, in order to prevent the pretense from turning into reality. The enemys assassination n was very thorough. Huang Gongcuo was extremely formidable; although it was not totally unexpected, it has caused them to fall into passive situation and could only react to the enemys movement, even though they had already giving everything had. And now, as long as Kou Zhong was able to hold Huang Gongcuo for a moment, to give their side the opportunity to regroup, it could be said that their mission was aplished. Thinking about it, Kou Zhong swung his arm to throw the Moon in the Well that it flew like a streak of lightning toward Huang Gongcuo. The moment Dugu Feng [phoenix] intercepted Kou Zhong, Wang Bodangs double-pointed flexible spear and You Chuhongs jasper staff separately intercepted Linglong Jiao and Ouyang Xiyiing down from the air. Everybody knew that if they could kill Xu Ziling, who was impersonating Wang Shichong, then they could put a stop to this melee. The Twin-Malevolent of Changbai, Fu Zhen and Fu Yan, two brothers, were charging toward Chen Changlin, so that Huang Gongcuo could focus all his attention to kill Xu Ziling, whom they believed to be Wang Shichong. For a period of time, the sound of weapons shing and battle cry shook the Imperial Road. As soon as the guards recovered from shock, one after another they charged courageously with no thought of personal safety in the direction of Huang Gongcuo and Xu Ziling. Thud! With a muffled explosion-like sound, Ouyang Xiyi, who was always a level below You Chuhong, was swept by her staff and fell backward. And then this number one martial art master of the Dugu n shed around like a ghost or a demon, charging toward the front of the carriage like a shooting star, and each time her jasper staff swept by, one bodyguard had his flesh and blood flying. There was a continuous stream of people flying or falling down. Linglong Jiao was unable to withstand Wang Bodangs double-pointed flexible spear, which he moved in perfection; relying on her outstanding qinggong, she turned around and fled far away, giving Wang Bodang the opportunity to leisurely deal with the bodyguards charging at him from the rear of the carriage. Ke Feng was the only one with no one giving him any trouble; he easily went over to Xu Ziling, who had just sprung up from the ground. In this kind of darkness and chaotic situation, even he could not see clearly that this Wang Shichong was a fake. Huang Gongcuo was pressing in to within ten paces from Xu Ziling; his white beard perked up, both his hands turned into palm shadows filling the air, like howling wind and torrential rain attacking Xu Ziling. Ding! Huang Gongcuo shed; it was unclear what technique he was using, but the lightning fast Moon in the Well shooting at him not only changed direction, it continued shooting toward the real Wang Shichongs chest, who was trying to ambush him from behind. There was no reduction in the momentum; he was worthy to be acimed as one of the top grandmasters of martial art in the world. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. Although currently his side had more men and the enemy had just a few, but he could only fight alone, since no one would be able to help him. To his side was the carriage with the destroyed top, to his other side were the big trees separating the horse path with the Imperial Road, while in front and behind him were enemies blocking his escape route, so that for the time being it was difficult for people from his side toe to his aid. Huang Gongcuos violent and powerful palm wind, as cold as ice and snow, waspletely enveloping him, practically rendering him unable to evade, thus the only way out was to fight with everything he had. If the enemy was only Huang Gongcuo, one person, he would be able to hold his ground for some time; but the worst part was that Ke Feng was waiting on the side. Even if he had enough power, Xu Ziling simply could not strike first and gain the upper hand, because by doing so, he would ruin the enterprise for the sake of one Basketful. Even if his wisdom was higher than the sky, all he could do right now was sighing in frustration. But Ke Feng suddenly shed behind him and shouted loudly, Shichong Xiong, back off! Instead of surprised, Xu Ziling was delighted. He swiftly backed off. Book 18 - 3 – One Move Behind in the Game Book 18 Chapter 3 C One Move Behind in the Game Wang Shichong was about tounch sneak attack from behind. Who would have thought that Huang Gongcuo shed away, and Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well was shooting at lightning speed toward him? Not enough time to evade, he let out a cold snort, and raised his sword to block. Dang! Wang Shichongs entire body was jolted by the heavy, powerful-internal-energy infused Moon in the Well that he staggered three steps back; not only his n to attack sneakily became an empty dream, he also suffered a sharp pain on his palm. Only then did he understand that not only Huang Gongcuo did not neutralize Kou Zhongs original power, he even added his own true qi into the saber, so that it became like the two men were working together to attack Wang Shichong, rendering him unable to attack the enemy. Pow! Ke Fengs palm struck Xu Zilings back; he even spoke grimly, Shichong Xiong, you fell into the trap! Xu Ziling, like a kite with cut string, immediately staggered toward Huang Gongcuo. In term of using the true qi within his body, Xu Ziling has be an expert. Knowing perfectly well that Ke Feng might use this one-in-a-thousand opportunity to plot against him, of course he would note to him willingly. His only concern was that the opponent might use sharp weapon. By the time Ke Fengs destroying-heart, splitting-the-lung palm power entered his back, Xu Ziling already had his true qi condensed onto his back, spiraling continuously. The instant the enemys qi invaded his body, without releasing the least bit of opposing force, he used his true qi to contain the enemys power, and sent it toward his yongquan acupoint, and discharged it to the ground. The bluestone bricks paving the road became the silent victims; in the wake of his steps, the stone continuously cracked and shattered to pieces. Luckily under cover of darkness, the two major enemies attention was focused on this fake Wang Shichongs body, so that even Huang Gongcuo did not realize that he was fooling them. Xu Ziling suddenly jumped. Huang Gongcuo had never imagined that after suffering repeated blows, the opponent still had this kind of strength left. Retracting his left hand, and changed his right hand from palm to fist, he lowered his waist to assume the horse stance, and sent out a punch over the empty air. Bang! Xu Ziling met the punch head-on; he was thrown up, and this time spurted a mouthful of fresh blood for real, his five viscera turned upside down, his meridian felt like it was going to split. As if he suddenly appeared from the dark, Kou Zhong flew over to catch Xu Ziling and held him tight, and then bringing him to the roadside, his toes tapped a big tree, before Huang Gongcuo, who was leaping toward them, arrived, he already flew in the opposite direction. Huang Gongcuo thundered, Sess! All the assassins, including Ke Feng, immediately withdrew. The entire assassination process only took several blinks of an eye; fast like a sudden p of thunder, swift like the storm blowing dry leaves. Thenterns were lit up, the dead and injured, men and horses, scattered everywhere on the ground; it was a field after disaster. Holding Xu Ziling in his arms, Kou Zhongnded by the destroyed carriage. Wang Shichong, Ouyang Xiyi, Linglong Jiao, Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Chen Changlin, and the others came over and crowded around them. Xu Ziling was still in Kou Zhongs arms, quietly treating his injury. Kou Zhong shouted, Summon help immediately, rescuing people is urgent! Emergency fire arrow soared to the sky, and exploded in the air into blood red flower of fire. The wind blew and rocked the leaves, heavy rain was imminent, thenterns swaying, the shadows dancing. Squatting by Xu Ziling, Ouyang Xiyi asked in consternation, Hows your injury? It was only this moment that Chen Changlin and the others found out that this Wang Shichong was a fake; their confidence returned. The other fake Wang Shichong was being helped by two bodyguards from a pile of carriage seats; his legs did not stop shaking. Still having lingering fears, Xu Ziling said, Huang Gongcuo is indeed formidable; he nearly took my little life. The real Wang Shichong spoke in delight, This is a sess! Well go back to the Imperial City immediately. Mission aplished, Kou Zhong stooped down to pick up Xu Ziling; he said, Wanggongs injury is serious, we must go back to the Imperial City immediately, leave the dead and injured here for the time being, other ... oh ... Everybody else also felt the rm, but it was already toote to react. One of the wounded people, who was originally lying face down on the ground, unexpectedly sprang up and then with a ghost or demon speed shenfa, shed toward Wang Shichong, who was still wearing a mask, andunched a violent punch on his back. Definitely this persons skill could not be inferior to Huang Gongcuo. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong blurted out together, Li Mi! Wang Shichong did not even have time to evade; all he could do was to gather his internal energy onto his back. Bang! Wang Shichong violently spurted fresh blood. By the time his body stumbled forward, Li Mi already let out an ear-splitting wildughter and soared into the air. With his deep and resounding, yet gentle voice, he said, Shichong Xiong, take a good care of yourself. Because this matter happened so suddenly, a fast-change-of-scene-growing-without-restraint kind of thing, plus it was a case of pretense that turned into reality, a change of mood from delight to grief, which was difficult to ept, everybody could only watch Li Mis long hair fluttered in the breeze, his god-like stalwart build entered the dark sky where thentern light could not reach, as if they were nailed down to the ground, in a nightmare from which they would never wake up. Xu Ziling was the first to spring up from Kou Zhongs arms, to grab Wang Shichongs body, which was falling down to the ground, while ignoring the fresh blood spurted out wildly from Wang Shichongs mouth sshing onto his head and face. Using the sacred-healing qi from the Secret to Long Life, first he protected his own heart and meridians, and then transmitted the qi from its source into Wang Shichongs channels, who, by this time, did not have the least bit of color on his face. Kou Zhong also reached out to press his hand on Wang Shichongs back; shaken, he said, Ren En and the others were murdered by Li Mi. Only Xu Ziling understood what Kou Zhong was saying; from Wang Shichongs current injury from Li Mis punch, he recognized that the fatal injury Ren En and the others suffered came from the hand of the same person. Wang Xuanying and Wang Xuanshu were bound with father-son love with Wang Shichong; they threw themselves on him and wailed with a calling-out-to-heaven-and-scrambling-toward-the-earth cry, Die! Ouyang Xiyi tried to stop the two, while he himself called out, Shichong Xiong! With the two transmitting their true qi into his system, Wang Shichong opened his eyes slightly and spoke with difficulty, I am not dead yet! Kou Zhong spoke heavily, We must flee to the Imperial City immediately, and then well go all out to attack the Imperial Pce. Dugu Feng [peak] wont be able to move a single step. Crash! The heavy rain, which had stopped for a half of the day, started to descend to the mortal world again. Wang Xuanying spoke in trembling voice, Die is heavily injured, wed better leave town immediately. Lets flee to Yanshi for some time until Die ... Wang Shichong coughed violently, while spitting out blood constantly. It was quite some timeter that he said, Go back to the Imperial City. Listen to Kou Zhongs order. Finished speaking, he closed his eyes and no longer said anything. Everybody felt as if they had just fallen into an icehouse; their heart sank, they did not eve feel the rain falling down on their bodies. Suddenly they heard the sound of hoof beats. Like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, everybody jumped in fright, before finding out that it was Yang Gongqing and his troops. Carrying Wang Shichong in his arms, he barked at the fake Wang Shichong, Still havent mounted your horse? This time you are really Shangshu Daren! With Wang Shichong in his arms, he leaped onto a horse nearby and led the cavalcade galloping toward the Imperial City. Nobody has ever imagined that this beating-somebody-at-their-own-game tactic backfired; it failed throughck of a final effort, and fell into a pretense-that-turns-into-reality sad end. Battle cry around the Imperial City and Imperial Pce shook the heavens. The beating of the drums and the whistling of arrows continued all through the night. Wang Shichongs troops braved the rain and gave serious opposition. The battle continued till dawn, with both sides suffered heavy casualties. However, since Wang Shichongs side had the strength advantage, plus they already had sufficient preparation in facing siege tactics, it could be said that Wang Shichongs side still came out better. Their body weary, their strength depleted, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Yang Gongqing, three men, returned to the tightly-guarded Shangshu Mansion. Ouyang Xiyi, Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Linglong Jiao, Wang Honglie, Wang Xingben, Chen Changlin, and the others congregated in the main hall; everybody appeared dispirited, with worried frown on their faces. Chapter 3 - Part 2 Ysabel, Jaya, HPC, Lao Qianbei, you are wee. Xiaohu, Sky, yes. I am at CDG (Paris), waiting for my flight back home. So, after this, hopefully posting schedule will be back to normal. Ouyang Xiyi was the most cool-headed; rising to his full height, he asked, Hows the situation? Letting out a cold snort, Yang Gongqing said, I guarantee that within ten days we will be able to break through the Imperial Pce; well kill Yang Dong until not a single chicken and dog remains. And then he asked in low voice, Hows Darens condition? Wang Xuanshu replied in low voice, Die is still unconscious, but his life is not in danger. Wang Xuanying asked nervously, Why did we stop attacking the city? Yang Gongqing shot a nce toward Kou Zhong before responding, This is Kou Xiongdis idea. This moment we need to show our weakness to the enemy, or Li Mi wont fall into the trap by raising his army to attack Luoyang. Immediately Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Wang Honglie, and Wang Xingbens countenance changed. Aghast, Wang Xuanying spoke hoarsely, Do we still need to show our weakness to the enemy right now? And then he pointed his finger like a halberd to Kou Zhong and said, Die has gotten into this situation, everything is of your doings. Now we must break through the Imperial Pce immediately and take control over the whole city; otherwise we all will die without burial ground. Frowning, Ouyang Xiyi said, Ying Xianzhi [virtuous nephew], calm down a little bit. Victory or defeat ismon in military operations. As long as Shichong Xiong is alive, we cant be considered failed and wiped over the floor. Wang Xuanshu also told his older brother, Die told us to listen to Kou Dage! Yang Gongqing came over to Wang Xuanying and put his arm around his shoulders; he consoled him, Kou Xiongdis tactic is actually in ordance with the Art of Wars strategy of emptiness within solid, and solid within emptiness. The only way we can turn defeat into victory right now is to stabilize the troops morale with that counterfeit goods, while at the same time following our original n of luring Li Mi to attack; otherwise, there is no other strategy to turn the tide. Wang Xuanying was still breathing hard, but he no longer said anything. Kou Zhong spoke seriously, Well hand over Luoyang City to Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu, two generals control. Xuanying Xiong and the others stay behind to take care of the Imperial City. As for Wanggongs safety, I will have to trouble Xiyi Gong and Changlin Xiong. Stunned, Wang Honglie asked, Where are you, two gentlemen, going? Yang Gongqing solemnly said, Tonight well secretly take the impersonator out of town to Yanshi. In the show-down against Li Mi, if we are defeated, you must take Shangshu Daren that far! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling slipped away into an empty hall and sat down dejectedly. Kou Zhong appeared to be both mentally and physically exhausted. Smiling wryly, he said, We are still one move behind in this game; we lost under Li Mi, that crafty ghosts hands. Actually there is already a precedent to this matter; when Li Mi plotted against Zhai Rang in the past, he disguised himself as a corpse. This time he simply repeated this trick! Xu Ziling sighed and said, Our thorough thought was not precise enough; such an important matter, how could Li Mi not make his move personally? Besides, even if we knew that Li Mi would be personally involved, it doesnt mean that we were going to find his trace. When Shen Luoyan assassinated Dugu Ba that day, I am sure there was another martial art master nearby, ready to provide assistance. And this person must be so superior that Ol Ba and me did not even detect his presence. Perhaps it was Li Mi himself. Kou Zhong hatefully punched his chair and med himself, Li Mi personally massacred Qingshe Bang people, he actually already exposed a w, and we were still stupid enough to think that only Huang Gongcuo would do it. Let me ask you: how could Shen Luoyan be able to move Huang Gongcuo to do this kind of killing-chicken-using-butcher-knife-to-ughter-a-cow matter? It was because Li Mi hated us to the bones that he troubled himself to be the assassin. Xu Ziling coldly said, Ren En Bangzhu and his brothers debt of blood, I will definitely have Li Mi pay for it. Kou Zhong sat his tiger-body straight; he nodded and said, Other than Yuwen Huaji, Li Mi has be the crafty scoundrel we, the two brothers, want to eliminate the most. Humph! Although Li Mi could be considered full of schemes, he still underestimated that our sacred healing qi from the Secret to Long Lifebined with the Jade Annulus of He n unexpectedly could save Wang Shichongs life. As long as he is not dead, but Li Mi believed him to be dead, we still have a chance to turn defeat into victory. Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, Right now I am afraid the rumors are flying everywhere; if the troops morale is shaken, without even fighting, we will lose this battle in a very bad way. Kou Zhong said, Present situation is a bit simr to the battle of Jingling that day, the difference is that Wang Shichong is still alive. Fortunately I still have Zhai Jiao, this strong card up my sleeve. Wang Shichong and his group of great generals know that they must rely on me to gain victory. They heard the sound of footsteps; the two boys stopped talking. Xu Xingzhi pushed the door and entered in. He sat down by Kou Zhongs side and spoke in a low voice, Just now, Wang Xuanying quarreled with Yang Gongqing, Lang Feng and Ouyang Xiyi, three men; he said that Kou Yes revealing-weakness-to-the-enemy tactic already caused his Die to sustain serious injury; therefore, they must not let you act at will. His proponents were Lang Feng, Wang Honglie and Wang Xingben. Opposing him was Wang Xuanshu, who said that Wang Shichong has personally instructed them to obey Kou Yes order. Kou Zhong revealed an I knew it! expression; he said, A fool will always be a fool, they will never change. This matter is not hard to resolve. As soon as Wang Shichong wakes up, this old fox is formidable in considering pros and cons, he will definitely choose the most advantageous choice. Xu Xingzhi said, But currently we have a serious crisis that is difficult to resolve. The two boys jumped in fright, What crisis? they spoke in chorus. Xu Xingzhi appeared to be deep in thought; he said, If I were Dugu Feng, I would spread the news far and wide that Wang Shichong was ambushed and died, while at the same time secretly instructed Luoyangs industry andmerce leaders with connection to them pay their respect ande to inquire Wang Shichongs condition. When that happens, they cant refuse them, but they cant ept them even more; how would they deal with it? The two boys had never considered this aspect; both showed deep wrinkled on their foreheads. Currently, their best advantage was hoping that Li Mi thought Wang Shichong was dead, and it was his body double that came out to keep up appearances, and led the troops to the west, hence Li Mi would make his move to attack Luoyang City. If upon receiving the news, the leaders from all walks of life in Luoyang came over, in less than three sentences, the opponent would have discovered the w in this poor-quality counterfeit goods, and then they would be convinced that Wang Shichong had really died. Once the news spread, Wang Shichongs main army and his generals would copse without a fight; worse yet, they might shift their support to Yang Dong and Dugu Fengs side. Once the Eastern Capital was lost, they would lose their supporting force as well, and would sink deeper into inferior condition where they would have to face the enemy on both fronts. It would be a world-ss fantasy indeed if they did not get wiped outpletely. If they pleaded illness, the consequences would be the same. Dugu Feng would most probably make a big deal about pointing out that the strolling-around Wang Shichong was an impostor. To those with discerning eyes, naturally it would be very easy to tell genuine or fake. This was definitely a knotty problem. How could they get the best of both worlds, i.e. stabilize the troops morale, but also showed weakness to the enemy? The two boys were already weary; this extra problem only increased their headache. Xu Xingzhi spoke heavily, If we can aplish one thing, Xingzhi can think of one-stone-three-birds way. The two boys spirit was greatly aroused; one-stone-two-birds was already ideal, much less three birds? What do you want us to do? Xu Ziling asked. Xu Xingzhi said, If we can make Wang Shichong sit up straight for more than a quarter of an hour, my stratagem will work. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in disappointment. The former smiled bitterly and said, If I can transfer an endless stream of true qi into his body, I guarantee that he will look like he ispletely fine, simply because his eight extraordinary channels will be unimpeded. But I cant press my palm on his back all the time he is receiving guests; it will only be trying to be clever but end up with an egg on our face. Greatly delighted, Xu Xingzhi said, That will work; leave it to me. We will divide the guests into three batches. The first batch will be his subordinates of aids and advisors to top official level and above; let them know that this is simply a tactic to lure the enemy, although he is injured, but it was nothing serious. The second batch will be important figures of the City of Luoyang who areing to pay their respect; let them continue to take a wait-and-see stance. Receiving these two batches should not take more than a quarter of an hour; it would not easily reveal the cloven foot. As for the third batch, he went on, This would be other idle people. Let the fake goods pretend injury by receiving the guests simply by waving his hand, nodding, saying something like thank you for your concern. That would be enough. The two boys were still baffled, but since they knew that Xu Xingzhis wisdom surpassed ordinary men, they were quite hopeful. Xu Ziling said, At most we can only obtain two objectives: stabilizing the troops and the citizens morale. What is the third? Full of confidence, Xu Xingzhi said, The so-called empty is solid, solid is empty; Shichong is not hiding in a quiet room recuperating from the injury, but forcing himself to get out and receive the visitors instead, surely he knew returning-the-soul-recovering-the-weary method; hence forcing himself to see the guests will y its role in stabilizing the peoples heart. Furthermore, receiving visitors for a long period of time like this may add injury to injury. It would be strange indeed if Li Mi does not immediately lead his troops to the west. The two boys pped the table and shouted with praise. By the time Xu Xingzhi finished exining the details of this operation clearly, Kou Zhong exerted himself to stand up; he said, We are saved! Even if Wuhou [Marquis of Wu, i.e. Zhuge Liang] came back to life, perhaps he could onlye up with simr n. Book 18 - 4 – Harm Born of Grace Book 18 Chapter 4 C Harm Born of Grace A dash of color started to appear on Wang Shichongs face, and then he slowly opened his eyes, and swept his gaze around at Xu Ziling, Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Ouyang Xiyi, Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu, Yang Gongqing, Linglong Jiao, and the others. Sighing, he said, I am not dead yet. Sitting up on the bed, he leaned his body slightly back, and asked Kou Zhong, whose palm was pressed against his back, Hows the situation now? The situation is really good! Kou Zhong replied in low voice. Wang Xuanying blurted out, Die is seriously hurt like this, and you said the situation is really good? This time, even Ouyang Xiyi thought that Kou Zhongs remark was excessively ironic. Who would have thought that after letting out dry cough twice, Wang Shichong nodded and said, Fortunately we have your Long-Life qi that reverses the inauspicious to luck. As long as I have half a month, I will bepletely recovered. Ha! If with my injury we can obtain Li Mis realm, this is worth it. Hearing Wang Shichongsment, even Wang Xuanyings unsightly countenance eased up considerably. Wang Shichong suddenly asked, Is the n in ce? Kou Zhong replied indifferently, As soon as we have the hole in the wall, Wanggong can start receiving the visitors! Other than his good brother, everybody looked at each other in astonishment. Chen Changlin came over to Xu Ziling and whispered, Its done! The rear hall became a restricted area; not only all doors and windows were closed, they were also guarded by Wang Shichongs trusted aides. Xu Ziling already regted his mind and spirit. He sat cross-legged on a high stool facing the wall, his right hand extended through a small hole, which was barely big enough for his arm to go through, on the wall, and again through a small hole on the back of a chair, and pressed his palm on Wang Shichongs back, who was sitting in the chair leaning against the wall, and slowly transferring his true qi, acting as the bridge to help this most powerful man in Luoyang connecting his meridians, which were blocked out due to his injury, to enable him to have enough strength to deal with the imminent crisis. Chen Changlin and Linglong Jiao stood guard outside the screen enclosing Xu Ziling, acting as his protectors. This was part of Xu Xingzhis meticulous brilliant scheme to cross the sea by a trick [idiom: to achieve ones aim by underhanded means]. In the front hall, Wang Shichongs breathing started to be low and sharp, but slowly he straightened his back, and his thin and weak breathing became long and even. A short momentter the sound of footsteps approaching, more than thirty people appeared in the front lobby; these were all high-ranking military officers under Wang Shichongsmand, who were stationed in the Eastern Capital. The sound of people kneeling and paying their respect continued. Lang Fengs loud and clear voice was heard next, Gentlemen, please rise! Amidst the rustling noise, one after another they all rose. Wang Shichong cleared his throat and said, Today this officer summoned gentlemen toe here, there is indeed a very good news to report: victory is in sight. As for the details of the situation, Great General Yang will exin it to you. Immediately Yang Gongqings voice rose, The scheme to lure the enemy was highly sessful. Currently Li Mi believes Shangshu Daren was ambushed and is suffering serious injury, and that his life is in danger. The fact is that the injured one was someone else. Tonight Shangshu Daren is going to go to Yanshi to oversee the situation and take up the challenge, so that Li Mi may be able toe, but he wont be able to leave. Wang Shichongughed aloud and said, General Lang Feng will be in charge here, with General Song Mengqiu, Wang Xuanying and Wang Xuanshu, three men as his deputies. All of you must maintain strict military order, dont ck off. When in the future this officer return in triumph, after putting down the rebellion and punishing the traitors, I will evaluate everybodys merit and bestow rewards ordingly. All the generals roared in agreement; they were all in high spirit. By this time Xu Ziling could not keep up already, fortunately after Song Mengqiu ordered the generals to keep Wang Shichongs condition of injury a secret, the generals withdrew immediately. Xu Ziling quickly withdraw his right hand, and Kou Zhong, who was standing by Wang Shichongs side, took his ce in transmitting his qi to help maintaining Wang Shichongs spirit. He heard Ouyang Xiyis voice, Shichong Xiong, how do you feel? After seeing the next group of people, Shichong Xiong may retreat to the rear hall to rest! This moment sound of footsteps was heard again. Xu Ziling took a deep breath, and then stretched out his arm through the hole on the wall, through the hole on the chair, and pressed his palm on Wang Shichongs back again. Inside a side room, Xu Ziling sat cross-legged on the bed, breathing in and out deeply. Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered, his face looked extremely tired. Disregarding everything, he just sprawled on the floor, stretching out his limbs and moaned, Do you know what is the most difficult thing to deal with in the world? Its people, always fighting and scheming against each other, all the time, everywhere; harming others for their personal benefit. Whenever there are people, bad things will happen. Xu Ziling did not respond. A short whileter Kou Zhong was fast asleep. The heavy rain has stopped half a sichen ago, but dark clouds were still racing in the sky, giving the impression that the rain might show off its power and wreak havoc again any moment. By the time Xu Xingzhi and Ouyang Xiyi came to look for them, Kou Zhong just woke up, sitting up and staring nkly. Why did you sleep on the floor? Ouyang Xiyi asked in surprise. Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs and said, This is called absorbing the earths qi. He sprang up and asked, Hows the situation outside? Ouyang Xiyi sat down and said, Yang Dongunched two counterattacks in session to test our troops morale. Both ended in damaged-troops, broken-generals, and had to retreat. In my opinion, unless they have outside help, their situation is hopeless and could only sit and wait for death. Kou Zhong and Xu Xingzhi sat down on his left and right, respectively. The formerughed and said, This is called being enmeshed in a trap of ones own devising [orig. spinning a cocoon around oneself]. Even if Wanggong left, the only one who woulde will be Li Mi. I really dont understand what is Dugu Feng thinking? Xu Ziling opened his eyes. He greeted Ouyang Xiyi first, and then said, It should be called unexpected instead. Originally they wanted to draw support from Li Mis forces, taking advantage while Wanggong is at Yanshi, they seize control over Luoyang. Would have expected that the confidential matter is not so confidential anymore, plus Wanggong returned promptly, hence their troop disposition is thrown into chaos, and Li Mi entered by exploiting a weak spot. Xu Xingzhi joined in, Shen Luoyan, Huang Gongcuo and the others left Luoyang early this morning. In my opinion the Wagang Army is like an arrow that has already left the bow; their momentum must be released. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, Oh, Li Mi! I dont care if you are as crafty as a ghost, you will have to drink the water that I, Kou Zhong, use to wash my feet. And then, with lingering fears he said, Butst night was extremely dangerous; a bit more, we would never be able to free ourselves. Ouyang Xiyi hatefully said, Knowing someones mouth and face is not the same as knowing his heart; I never thought that Ke Feng was that kind of despicable lowly man. Xu Xingzhi mused, I wonder if Laojun Guan [Taoist Monastery] is coborating with Li Mi, or with Dugu Feng? This is an extremely important point to consider. Kou Zhong analyzed, They ought to be rted to Li Mi. Laojun Guans Zhuchi [abbot, see my previous note] is the old Taoist demon Pi Chen. Perhaps just like Zhu Yuyan, he pledged allegiance to Li Mi. If Li Mi became the Emperor one day, Pi Chens heretical branch of Taoism sect can be the state religion, then they are going to suppress orthodox Buddhism school like Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Jing Nian Chanyuan. Humph! Pi Chen really counted his chicken before they are hatched. But I am going to make him steal the chicken but cannot see a single grain of rice to nibble. Ouyang Xiyi sighed in downheartedness, I have never thought that Li Ers [i.e. Lao Zi/Lao Tzu] disciple could be this kind of treacherous viin who bring harm to the world. I really wish we can immediately attack Cui Yun Peak to execute justice on behalf of the Heaven. This moment a subordinate came to report that Song Lu came to see Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong was thinking of asking favor from Song Lu. Hearing that, he dly went. Song Lu and Kou Zhong sat down in a side hall; after the maid withdrew, the former spoke in low voice, Is Wang Shichong really in imminent peril? Kou Zhong leaned over and said, Not that serious. But to recover, I am afraid he will need at least ten days. Frowning, Song Lu said, How did such an oversight happen? Kou Zhong did not dare to conceal it from him; briefly he narrated the entire course of events, and then he said, Li Mis power can destroy the heart, split the meridians; it was extremely overbearing. Fortunately that time Xiao Ling promptly intercepted him. Combined with Wang Shichongs own true qi protecting his body, the punch power was neutralized seventy, eighty percent; otherwise I am afraid Wang Shichong would have breathed hisst. Song Lu said, Li Mis di sha quan [earth terminator fist] is quite famous in Jianghu; therefore, he is very confident of his own martial art skill. In his kind of mindset, he would never have thought that the true qi you guys trained from the Secret to Long Life unexpectedly has the power to reverse the rotation of the sky. No wonder Shen Luoyan and the others did not have any interest in staying over to watch if there was any change; they took advantage while the people were in panic andrge number of citizens from the city rushed out of town to take refuge this morning, they also left the city by boat. Kou Zhongughed and said, If I had not let them go, they wouldnt be able to leave even if they wanted to. Tonight I will have to rush to Yanshi; whats Lu Shus n? Song Lu said, Right now the north is still dealing with wars one after another, there is no use for us to stay here. A bitter I am going down south viand route. Do you have any message you want me to pass on? Although what he said was an understatement, he obviously wanted Kou Zhong to know clearly the Song ns position. Chapter 4 - Part 2 Hungry, Song n supported Kou Zhong. akw, I have no idea whatp cheungp stand cheung is. DongBin, Lao Qianbei, Jaya, HPC, you are wee. Xiaohu, I hope this is not too disappointing. Xu Xiong, are you kidding? I am sick ... Song Yuzhi came to his mind, Kou Zhong felt a sense of loss. It was quite some timeter that he said, Whether I, Kou Zhong, can have the qualifications to fight over the world, it depends entirely on whether I can retrieve the hidden treasure; if I could not, even if I start, I could only be a lowly thief leader. Right now it seems to be just an empty promise, its too early to say anything. Song Lu stroked his beard and said with a smile, If everybody is like you, they must find the hidden treasure first before rising in rebellion, Yang Guang would still be sitting on his emperor seat peacefully! Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, This is called present days are different than the former days. At that time themon peoplesin reached the heavens, as soon as someone stepped forward to raise his arm, he would be able to muster the crowd and rise up; or perhaps if I were a great general with power from the Sui household, I could have troops whenever I needed troops, I could have money whenever I wanted money. But now fragmentation of power has be reality, if you want someone to throw his life for you, you must have a special characteristic that attracts people. Isnt there a rumor in Jianghu that whoever can acquire the Duke Yang Treasure can obtain the world? This is exactly what the thing that I, a poor ghost, must do the most. Song Lu nodded and said, Just by listening to you, I know that you, Xiao Zhong, understand the heart of the people. This is the most important qualification to strive for the world. Rest assured! As long as you are capable to make achievement, our Song Family will give your our full support. Humph! If we let barbarians[1] obtain the world, will we, Han people, have a ce we call our home? Kou Zhong knew that he was referring to the Li n, whose fame and power was rising these days. The Li Family was Guanlong aristocrat; they have been actively rted by marriage to the nobility of the Xianbei and other tribes, during their invasion of the Northern and Southern Dynasties [420-589 AD], to expand their political and military strength; while southernnd-owning ss like Song Family, have always married among themselves, without any regards to the royal crown, to preserve their heritage and cultural purity. Thereupon it was inevitable that the north and the south did not trust each other. The intermarriage of Han and Hu [see footnote] in the north was a verymon thing. People with northern barbarian surnames such as Yuan, Zhangsun, Yuwen, and the others were actively holding power in political and military affairs. Yang Dongs minister Yuan Wendu, whom Wang Shichong wanted to denounce, and one of the upper-rank generals in Li Shimins Heavenly Policy Mansion, Zhangsun Wuji, were not Han men at all. Naturally the Song n had misgivings and wanted to repel them. Were it not for this kind of delicate situation, Song Que would not have made the promise that if Li Mi could overtake Luoyang, he would give Song Yuzhi away to marry Li Tainfan, and seal their alliance agreement, simply because Wang Shichong was also a barbarian. However, Kou Zhong, this new rising star, was clearly a southerner, sopared to Li Mi, he fitted more to the Song ns ideal. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This kid has one thing I need support on; I am afraid only Lu Shu will be able to aplish it properly. Song Lu replied happily, Dont hold your hope up to high on me! Looking at you, how you have risen from a lowly, nameless kid to ater generation martial art master whom the Wulin world think highly of; it was like watching my own child grew up to be an adult. Whatever help you need, just tell me. Kou Zhong was really touched; it was half a dayter that he said, This kid wants Lu Shu to deliver an important message to the Flying Horse Ranch Changzhu [ranch master] Shang Xiuxun. And then he exined in details Liu Wuzhou and Xiao Xians evil scheme. He spoke heavily, Lu Shu needs to be very clear in exining the situation to Shang Changzhu. If you send someone else, if she has doubt, she might hold things up. Song Lu nodded and said, I understand! Leave this matter to me. Kou Zhong said, If we are lucky and able to defeat Li Mi, Xiao Ling and I might go to Jiangdu to see how we can deal with Du Fuwei and Shen Faxings coalition forces. Lu Shu may tell Shang Changzhu that I will be sending someone called Xu Xingzhi to report to her on the situation. She knew this man. Song Lu muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, and then letting out a cold humph, he said, This fellow Xiao Xian is really despicable; while we were curbing Lin Shihong, he took the opportunity to plunder the strategic cities north of the Great River. But could Zhu Can let him expanding to the north? Kou Zhong recalled the self-proimed Garuda King Zhu Can [first mention Book 8 Chapter 7], whose daughter, the Venomous Spider Zhu Mei, whose martial art skill was superior to Kou Zhong, had exchanged blows with him by mistake at the second carriage on the dock outside the city of Baling. Without thinking he blurted out, Hows Zhu Cans current situation? Song Lu said, This man is so brutal, he did not have popr support at all. But his subordinates and ministers reach a hundred thousand strong, so he cannot be taken lightly. Recently they were involved in fiery battle with the Three Big Bandits; although they gained the upper hand, but were unable to expand their power. If you can make the troops and generals under hismand to surrender, and govern his territory with benevolence,bined with Flying Horse Ranchs elite troops and the remnants of Jingling troops, you can aplish much. Listening to that, Kou Zhongs eyes lit up. He nodded and said, Lu Shu is absolutely right. Ginger is indeed the older the spicier. Song Lu burst outughing and said, This matter is easier said than done, but if you can eliminate Zhu Can, this big evil, in itself it will be a gargantuan good thing, it will make your reputation spread out far and wide, win the heart of the people. At that time you may seize the opportunity to sweep away the Three Big Bandits, who bring intense disaster to the peace of thend. Combined with our Song Familys Lingnan Army, at least one quarter of the world will already be in your bag. Kou Zhong excitedly said, As long as I can get the Duke Yang Treasure, everything wont be too difficult to achieve. At that time Lu Shu must lead your troops to help me. This moment, a bodyguard came in and reported that a guest hase to seek audience. Kou Zhong was in high spirit, how could he be interested in seeing anybody? I dont have time now! he said impatiently, Ay! Who is he? He called himself Qin Chuan, the bodyguard replied, He said Kou Ye would definitely want to see him. Its her! Kou Zhong blurted out. Kou Zhong entered the small hall; Shi Feixuan, disguised as a Confucian schr, sat silently in the corner, her countenance was peaceful, her clear, limpid eyes watched as Kou Zhong walked in, as if she did not want to miss even the most subtle of his movement. Her immortal self appeared to have some kind of strange power that could transform the ordinary ce into a sacred fairnd, the ordinary small hall seemed to be infected by her presence that the atmosphere became surpassing-the-dirt, free-from-vulgarity. Kou Zhong came over and sat down in the seat by her right, the two of them was separated by a small table; smiling, he said, Did Shi Xianzi [fairy] confuse Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling? Perhaps you were looking for Xiao Ling, but you misspeak by mentioning Xiaodis lowly name instead? A strange feeling welled up in Shi Feixuans fragrant heart. Ever since she left her schools gate and set foot on this mundane world, this was the first time someone dared to tease and crack jokes with her. In front of her exceptional immortal appearance, anybody would be terrified with her out of the ordinary presence, afraid that they might lose their manner and incite her contempt. Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, Kou Xiong must be a person whose natural character loves to joke and trifle without respect. Feixuans purpose this visit is to ask for guidance in a few matters. And Feixuan is definitely not some kind of Xianzi. Kou Zhong rxed and slumped back into his chair, leisurely and glibly he said, If you want answer to your question, Shi Xianzi better go look for that kid Li Shimin; Xiaodi might disappoint Feixuan. Shi Feixuans jet-ck eyebrows slightly knitted, she asked in surprise, Feixuan has not even stated my question, why do you already tighten your troops and have your heart filled with hostility? Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, Because I am afraid you, Xianzi, would give Xiaodi an opportunity that on the surface appears impartial, but actually not impartial at all, to see if I, Kou Zhong, am a talent to govern the world like that Li kid. Once your confirm your opinion, if in the future you help Li kid with all your strength to deal with me, you would do so with clear conscience. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Kou Xiongs imaginative power is quite quick, indeed something that Feixuan seldom see in all my life, no wonder you are able to hoot at the wind and the cloud [i.e. unstable situation] while the world is in chaos like this. But please forgive Feixuan for being dull-witted, how did Kou Xiong decide that in my heart I already have a preconceived idea, and think that Kou Xiong is inferior to Li Shimin? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This is basically not preconceived idea, but a fact. Right now Xiaodi has just begun; I still dont have any idea how to cure the nation, if you asked me, I would be dumbstruck and unable to reply. In the end I will be embarrassed. Therefore, Id prefer not to answer, leaving a bit of mystery for you, Xianzi, to think about it. If you have spare time you may ... hee hee ... you may think why Xiaodi is so brassy like this. Displeased, Shi Feixuan said, You do know yourself; not many people can be like you. But that being the case, why dont Kou Xiong select a brilliant master in your heart, help him unify the world, and alleviate the peoples suffering? Kou Zhong let out a cold humph and said, How can I, Kou Zhong, be willing to be someone elses attendant? Contending for supremacy in the chaotic world is one thing, governing the world after it is unified is another thing. If you want to ask, why dont you ask how am I going to obtain the world? Talking about other things is still too early. Very interested, Shi Feixuan said, It does not matter to me whether Kou Xiong believe me or not, but Feixuans visit this time is not to talk about how to rule a country. Now that Kou Xiong already took the initiative to raise this issue, Feixuan cant help but curious, and wants to ask for your guidance: based on your current situation, how would you, in the midst of outstanding heroes already sessful in setting up their independent regimes, distinguish yourself? Remaining confident and at ease, Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said, I am looking at it step by step. If I fail, then Ill return to Yangzhou to open a small restaurant. Hey! Mine and Xiao Lings culinary talent came from an expert. If Xianzi happens to pass by my humble establishment, we will make two small vegetarian dishes for you to try. Ha! I am practically a man who is at home wherever I am. Later on Xianzi will not need to take trouble for Xiaodi. Its all right with me if you want to help that Li kid! [1] Barbarians, Hu Ren [hu people] refers to any ethnic groups that are not Han.Chapter 4 - Part 3 HPC, Lao Qianbei, DongBin, you are wee. Xiaohu, yes, please. But only if you can transmit true qi to me, not the false qi. pengembara, wee to the forum, hope you like it. akw, so you were simply repeating the text in Cantonese? Kowloon, thanks. Hungry, I thought those two are minor characters. Xu Xiong, thanks. Pfft! Shi Feixuan burst into a tender giggle. While the dumbstruck Kou Zhong was staring at her lovely appearance and beautiful disposition, she spoke glibly, Jiang Taigong[2] obtained the Emperor by using the Yin Fu [yin C negative/feminine (of yinyang), fu C talisman/mark/seal] scheme, developing the Six Secret Strategic Teachings, assisting the Wu King to exterminate Shang Dynasty and founded a country. Su Qins[3] crafty millet technique used the Vertical Alliance System to lobby the feudal vassals and obtained six states seals. The Great Hans Zhang Liang[4] studied intensively the Su Shu [lit. in book], San Lue [Three Strategies (of Huang Shigong)], to help Liu Bang pacify the world. Currently Kou Xiong has acquired the Secret to Long Life. Although it is a treasure of the Taoist School, it can help Kou Xiong joins the ranks of the worlds top martial arts masters,pletely unrted to contending-over-the-world, governing-the-world affairs. That being the case, why not retire early, be the great swordsman of Jianghu[5], gain famous reputation forever; wouldnt it be better than being drawn into politics and a never-ending power struggle? Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, No wonder you appreciate that fellow Xu Ziling, because youst few sentences were the best portrayal of him. Otherwise, if he is willing to help me with all his strength, I definitely will not end up opening a small restaurant. Even with Shi Feixuans indifferent-to-fame-or-gain, no-self-no-action self-cultivation, she could not stop her jet-ck eyebrows from slightly knitted as she spoke in distress, If you keep mentioning him left and right, Feixuan will have no choice but to take my leave, and will no longer regard you as a friend with whom I can have open discussion. Kou Zhong hastily said, Xianzi please calm down; the fact is that I always extremely admire you. Its just that I know in my heart that there wille a day when you and I will have to face each other in the battlefield; so I am struggling to suppress the feeling in my heart. Now Xiaodi understands I am in the wrong, would Xianzi please ask me anything, Xiaodi will not hide anything I know, I wont stop before I have said it through. Since making her debut, it was the first time for Shi Feixuan that a young man dered his love openly, yet she was keenly aware that this public deration of love was spoken without thinking, not based on truth at all. She ought to be displeased, yet for some reason she found it very difficult to be angry or to me him. And this was precisely Kou Zhongs trait that no one could match; even his enemy found it hard to hate him. Ever since Kou Zhong stepped into this small hall, the two of them have been opposing each other with equal harshness. And Kou Zhongs most brilliant feature was that he basically did not give the opponent any opportunity to grasp his vulnerability and w. Even with Shi Feixuans intelligence, she could not help feeling that she was unsure where to start. The fact was that Kou Zhong himself had his own difficulties. In terms of knowledge, experience, and eloquent, he was positive that he could not match this lucid-and-elegant-like-fairy-descending-to-the-world peerless, tender, beauty. And she obviously wanted to persuade him to support the bright master [i.e. rightful emperor]; one, by withdrawing from the power struggle, and two, by selecting one of the candidates. Supposing under faulty argument and poor rhetoric he harshly refused her kind intention, plus his previous convictions in the Jade Annulus of He n affair, he would only make himself a formidable opponent in this no-one-unwilling-to-provoke beauty. Therefore, he decided to take the heretical school of opinion route by employing marketce method,bined with blunt and straightforward manner, so that even if she might lose her temper and protest coquettishly, she could not be his real enemy. It was a subtle advantage, and certainly it would be hard to refute. After staring hard at Kou Zhong with her beautiful eyes for half a day, a hint of barely discernible smile escaped from the corner of Shi Feixuans mouth, as she spoke indifferently, All right! Principle, Virtue, Benevolence, Righteousness, and Propriety, these five aspects, could Kou Xiong exin them all one by one? Hearing the question, Kou Zhong was stunned, while inwardly cried, Formidable! He originally wanted to make her go away in anger; who would have thought that not only she did not lose her temper, she even presented a vague and abstract subject to test him. Her purpose was obviously to make him expose his own folly. With this kind of move, she was forcing him into a corner, while trying to find a hole in his response, and thus swaying his confidence in vying over the world. If he decided to proceed with his original n, he would only incite disdain in her heart. Thereupon he smiled wryly again and said, That sounds very much like a subject from the imperial examination. Xianzi, is it possible to ask questions that are rted to reality? For example, how to be a good emperor? How to quell the outstanding heroes of the world? How to makemon peoples live happy, and so on? Xiaodi was born in the marketce; upon searching my own soul, I know that I have better understanding to answer thest questionspared to pampered sons of honorable schools and big ns. But if you want me to try imperial examination, I guarantee that you wont find my name even at the bottom of the list of sessful examinees. Shi Feixuan was startled and emotionally moved. She was an expert at the profound art of observing people; listening to this remark, she knew it came from the bottom of Kou Zhongs heart. She understood even more that he cleverlypared himself to Li Shimin, making her feel that if she chose Li Shimin based on this kind of test, fundamentally she was not being fair. Just like people who passed imperial examination brilliantly, it did not mean that they would make a government official who love and respect the people. Naturally she would not make final conclusion carelessly based on other peoples answer at all; rather, she would make her judgment based on long-term observation. Just as this out-of-the-ordinary, free-from-vulgarity beauty thought that Kou Zhong would not be able to answer her question, Kou Zhong spoke up with serious expression, Xianzi actually puts forward Principle, Virtue, Benevolence, Righteousness, and Propriety, these five aspects into one entity. Hee! Did Xiaodi say it incorrectly? Heaven has the Heavens principle, human beings also have human beings principle, so all living things between the heaven and the earth actually abide by certainw: Virtue can only be aplished after the Principle is established, able to persevere in the right way [in Chinese, the same word dao can mean way or principle] is virtue. Therefore principle and virtue will always be together. Benevolence and righteousness evolve from the conduct of the innermost being; it came frompassion and kindness of the heart. As for propriety? This is actually the foundation of the four previous aspects, from which grew the norm that all mortals must follow, in order to safeguard the ethics, morality, benevolence and righteousness in interpersonal rtionship. This remark was actually dered at the outset of the preface of the first chapter of Lu Miaozis Art of War, indicating that to govern the troops, one must first understand the way [or principle] of Man and Heaven. It was written, The way of Man and Heaven may not necessarily be used to each other, thus said all the ancient sages. Yao was venerated like the clear sky, Shun simultaneously held seven governments, Yu narrated nine arable fields, King of Wen used Bagua [divinatory trigrams] exining the heavenlyw, Duke of Zhou determined the four seasons to the greatest extend of yin and yang. Confucius wished for nothing, Lao Dan [Lao Tzu] established the perpetual non-entity. Military principle so far involves variation of the supernatural beings, in all cases it does not escape from technique of self, much less from the method of military expedition to contend for supremacy. The principle of observing the heavens is by grasping the heaven to proceed, by carrying on to the end. Releasing the Heaven means benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and confidence, five virtues. Observing these means prosperity, abandoning these means defeat. Kou Zhong was exceptionally intelligent; from these ideas, he developed his own theory. Shi Feixuan was emotionally moved again; she said, Kou Xiongs profoundment and righteous remark left Feixuan with no choice but to have a whole new level of respect for you. I just want to ask Kou Xiong one more question: Kou Xiong spoke those words, was it for personal gain, or did ite from your holding-on-to-peoples-plea heart? Completely at ease, Kou Zhongughed and said, If I denied that it was for personal gain, then I would be viting principle and virtue; but if I only do it for myself and not for the people, I wouldck benevolence and righteousness. Therefore, all Principle, Virtue, Benevolence, Righteousness, and Propriety, are basically one entity! For the first time Shi Feixuan felt that she was truly a nobody who could not do anything, because his answer was like saying that it was for the happiness of the people that he vie for the world. Hereby she could begin to persuade him to act in the interest of the people, and do the thing that he must do the most. Kou Zhong went on, As for who should be the first, and who should be thest, I am afraid even Li kid cannot tell? Otherwise, he would abandon his personal gain ande to help me, Kou Zhong, to unify the world. Isnt that right? Frowning, Shi Feixuan said, Kou Xiongs words is not without a little truth, but it actually is far from reality, and it has made even more difficult for Feixuan to ept. And this is where the problem lies: based on Kou Xiongs current strength, merits and achievements, how would you convince the masses? It would only make the world more chaotic, and thus it would bring Kou Xiong and the people more harm than good. Even Kou Zhong himself had to admit that Shi Feixuan was an extremely charming lobbyist [or political adviser]. But in the end she still did not believe that he, Kou Zhong, was capable of doing anything. She was just afraid that he would produce the legendary Duke Yang Treasure and bring to the world more unknown variables! Beyond Kou Zhongs expectation, Shi Feixuan stood up gracefully, fixed her beautiful eyes on him, and said, The Heaven emitting murderous aura, the stars are moved, the constetion shifted. The Earth emitting murderous aura, dragons and snakes rise to thend. Mankind emitting murderous aura, heaven and earth are turned upside down. Fire conquers wood, disaster arises must be subdued. Traitor conquers the nation, time in movement must be dispersed. For the living, death is the root; for the dead, living is the root. Grace born from harm, harm born from grace. The words of Feixuan are ended. If fate so dictates, I will see Kou Xiong face to face again! Finished speaking, she floated away. [2] Jiang Taigong/Jiang Ziya - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiang_Ziya, Jiang Ziya (c. 1100 BC, dates of birth and death unknown), partly mythical sage advisor to King Wen of Zhou and purported author of Six Secret Strategic Teachings one of the Seven Military ssics of ancient China. [3] Su Qin - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su_Qin, Su Qin (340-284 BC), political strategist of the School of Diplomacy during the Warring States Period (475-220 BC). [4] Zhang Liang - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Liang_(Western_Han); Su Shu - http://.gushiwen.org/guwen/sushu.aspx (this is in Chinese) [5] Orig. Xiao Ao Jianghu, but different Xiao from Jin Yongs Xiao Ao Jianghu (Smiling, Proud Wanderer). Xiao C hiss/whistle, while Jing Yongs xiao wasugh/smile. Book 18 - 5 – Military Intelligence is The Number One Priority Chapter 5 C Military Intelligence is The Number One Priority Wang Shichong sat on the bed, apparently his spirit was a bit better than earlier this morning, but his expression was still depressed. After looking at everybody standing in front of his bed, he said, This time going into battle, it will really affect our sess or failure. Laofu cannot participate personally, this will be the biggest regret of my life. Daren please dont worry, Yang Gongping hastily said, Chenxia [minister/official, referring to self] obtains Xuanshu Gongzi and Kou Xiongdi as my left and right lieutenants, we will definitely not let Daren down, while at the same time we will inflict Li Mi a crushing defeat, so that he will never recover. After Daren is recovered, you will again lead Chenxia to war on all sides, to unify the world. Wang Shichong mused, Although we and Li Yuan, one in Guanxi, the other in Guandong, but our situations are simr. We are being impeded by Li Mi that we are unable to advance to the west; he has to constantly dealing with Xue Ju, father and son, of Longyou. Therefore, right now both sides must race against time, whoever can be one step ahead in consolidating his power and pacify the misfortune at hand, will have the opportunity to aplish the great undertaking. It was the first time that Kou Zhong heard Wang Shichong discussing his own situation. He knew in his heart that this moment Wang Shichong could not afford not to rely on him, hence the reason he let Kou Zhong listening to this kind of secret matter. This moment, standing by the couch, other than him there were Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Yang Gongqing, Lang Feng, and Song Mengqiu, five men; therefore, it was clear that this was not an ordinary meeting. Wang Shichong sighed and said, This man Xue Ju was born of a family with riches and honor; he always love making friends, and squander money like dirt. This kind of (exaggerated dressing) [not sure, ¿] disciples, other than always following the wind and going with the flow, if they encountered any setback, it would be hard for them to press on. Once they surrendered, Li Yuans strength might increase considerably. Therefore, we must press forward to attack Guanzhong before this happens. Thus in the battle against Li Mi, we must employ a blitzkrieg strategy; otherwise, even if we won, it would be the same as if we lost. Kou Zhong could not help having a whole new level of respect for Wang Shichong, because just from this analysis, it was clear that he was very proficient in the art of war, he was a man who stand tall and see far. Wang Xuanying said, But Xue Jus son Xue Ren is brave and good at fighting; he does not look like someone who will surrender easily. Wang Shichongs breathing became rapid and heavy. After Kou Zhong transferred some true qi into his body, his spirit revived and he spoke in heavy voice, Too bad is opponent is Li Shimin, who is both brave and intelligent. Unless Li Shimin died, they, father and son, eventually cannot escape from the misfortune of defeat and will have to surrender. Yang Gongqing nodded and said, Xue Ju was able to raise his troops, he was merely at the right ce and the right time, a case of where water flows, a canal is formed [idiom, when conditions are right, sess will follow naturally]. Unlike Daren or Li Yuan, who are originally great generals; before the uprising, you have already fought in one ce after another all over the world. Or perhaps like Li Mi, Du Fuwei, Dou Jiande, and the others, who won their territory by fighting for it. In the past, due to his familys wealth, he hired petty officers at Jincheng to be his military generals. After thirteen years of great undertaking, Longyous bandits rose up, from Jincheng he ordered Hao Yuan to recruit several thousand soldiers, which he put under hismand to suppress the rebellion. Who would have thought that from this event his army started to grow, he opened the granary on ount of poor people, and proimed himself a King? On top of that, his territory is at the western border, there is no rival nearby. If the ce he rose up was either Guandong or Guanxi, I am afraid he would have been annexed by other people early on. Therefore, Daren was absolutely right. Wang Shichong said, To night you are heading east to Yanshi, by all means you must not make ostentatious disy out of it. Gongqing, you are in charge. You have full power and will carry the tiger tally [a two-piece object made in the shape of a tiger, used in ancient China as proof of authority. One half of a tally could be issued to a military officer and this would be matched with the other half when verification was required] as the Commander-in-Chief of the entire army, with Xuanshu as your Fushi [deputy] and Xiao Zhong as your Junshi [military advisor]. The three of you must work together honestly. By exploiting Li Mis contemptuous heart toward us, deliver a frontal assault on him; if you can achieve victory, you must pursue the retreating enemy. If you could obtain Luokou and Ho, two towns, Li Mi will lose his momentum, the remainder will only have to ways to take: either die in the battlefield or surrender, and then the world will be in my, Wang Shichongs bag. The more he spoke, the more excited he was; in the end he coughed incessantly. Lang Feng urged him, Darens instructions, we will definitely carry out earnestly. It would be best if Daren take a rest before talking further! Wang Shichong spoke strenuously, The matter of Shuni marrying into Guanxi, you may proceed ording to original n. Xiao Zhong, do you have any objection? Noticing that everybody was looking at him, Kou Zhong was greatly embarrassed; he hastily said, Let everything be as Wanggong instructed. Kou Zhong returned to the main hall. Xu Ziling and Chen Changlin were chatting. Seeing Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling cheerfully said, I just found out that Chen Xiong is actually from Nanhai Jun [South Sea County]; his family has always been in maritime trade. Listening to him is better than taking a journey of ten thousand li, there are a lot of local strange and exotic customs, which I guarantee you have never heard of. Kou Zhong felt ashamed inwardly; his conversation with Chen Changlin put together was perhaps less than ten sentences. He quickly made a joke to cover his embarrassment, Chen Xiong must be rted to Old Huang, you are both Nanhai people! Apparently Chen Changlin was not a casual talker and joker; he replied, Kou Xiong misunderstood! Nanhai refers to the ocean south of our country, the coastal area has more than a dozen counties. Our Nanhai Jun and the Zhuya Jun where Hainan Pai is located are separated by more than twenty days of sea journey. Kou Zhong sat down on Chen Changlins other side; he said, So whats beyond the ocean? When we were in Yangzhou, we often saw foreign merchant shipsing along; those peoples appearance and clothing are very strange. Chen Changlin said, My family is in food business with the Persians. Kou Zhong could not help asking, Why didnt Chen Xiong stay at Nanhai Jun to make money with the foreigners, but crossing ten thousand crags and torrents toe here instead? Chen Changlins eyes emitted mes of hatred as he spoke heavily, Were it not for having no alternative, who wants to leave his vige and depart from his well? This matter is hard to exin in a few words, Kou Xiong please forgive me. Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he said, Does it have something to do with Shen Faxing? Chen Changlin was visibly shaken; he said, Kou Xiong is indeed formidable; one guess and you nailed it. Although not directly rted, but Shen Lun is his son; he really cannot escape the me. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged nces. Lowering his voice, he said, What outrageous act [orig. offending Heaven and reason] did Shen Lun do to Chen Xiong? Chen Changlin heaved a deep sigh and said, Shen Lun harmed me that my family bankrupt and the people dead; if I dont avenge this enmity, how could I discharge the hatred in my heart? Kou Zhong was about to speak, the bodyguard came to report, Everything is ready; two Daye may start. Twelve warships left the City of Louyang in single file, sailing along the Luo River toward Yanshi, following the current due east, hence they were sailing very fast, in just a short while they had already covered several li. On the river course from Luoyang to Yanshi, there were outposts built at high elevation on both sides of the river to supervise the river traffic, hence in term of security, there shouldnt be any problem. Besides Yang Gongqing and Wang Xuanshu, traveling with them was Linglong Jiao; her main task was to gather intelligence about the enemy. As soon as this Qiuci beauty came on board the ship, she immediately escaped into her cabin; even her dinner had to be delivered to her room. Xu Ziling was not in the mood to socialize with Yang Gongqing either; hence he retreated into his cabin to meditate quietly. After dinner, Yang Gongqing spoke in consternation, Li Mi is an expert in using deception and decoys; oftentimes it was after the battle started that we realized we have fallen into his trap. Does Kou Xiong have any brilliant scheme on how to deal with him? Kou Zhong smiled and said, This time well have to see whose deception is a bit more brilliant. Right now the first order of business is to find the exact location Li Mis main force is stationed, only then will we be able to easily make a n. I have already arranged to meet Zhai Jiaos man at Yanshi. By that time we will have a clear grasp of Li Mis actual situation. Li Mis demise will actually be in Zhai Rangs daughters hands. Wang Xuanshu was puzzled, Since demon priest Ke Feng already knew about Zhai Jiao, naturally he would call this matter to Li Mis attention. Once things dont look good, we might fall into his evil scheme instead, he said. Yang Gongqing nodded his agreement. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, The problem is that even Laozi [old man, referring to self] does not even know who among the old generals of the Wagang Army under Li Mismand live in Cao camp but have their hearts in Han camp [idiom from Three Kingdoms]. It would be best if Li Mi is suspicious of every old general and thus put everybody in danger. If thats the case, then once Li Mi suffers defeat, I guarantee that the troops morale will immediately drop. Once the Wagang Army is all split up and in pieces, Li Mi wont have enough capital to regroup ande back even stronger [orig. to return in a swirl of dust]. After a short pause, he continued resolutely, word by word, Therefore, we only need to win one battle, then Li Mi would never have any chance to recover. With an almost worshipful adoration expression in his eyes, Wang Xuanshu said, Kou Dage always have a brilliant way of looking at anything. But Yang Gongqing was notpletely convinced yet; he said, Our strength is only twenty thousand men in total; although all of them are elite troops from the old Sui dynasty and have undergone long battle exposure,pared to Li Mis main force of several hundred thousand, regardless of how much damage and brokenness from the battle against Yuwen Huaji at Tong Hill they suffered, when all is said and done, they are still much stronger than we are. Perhaps he cannot afford to lose this battle, butpared to him, we cant afford to lose this battle even more. Therefore, we must make him unable to use deceit; only by fighting fair and square would we have a chance of sess. Remaining calm in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, On this, Great General can be absolutely rest assured. Under Zhai Jiaosmand, there is someone called Xuan Yong; this man is proficient in the art of war, plus since he had been with Zhai Rang for a long time, he still has contact with Wagang Armys generals who are still loyal to Zhai Rang, and he knows Wagang Armys activity like the back of his hands. I guarantee no matter how Li Mi is swaying his butts, moving left or moving right, he cant hide it from us. Hee! These past couple of days we have been terribly busy; wed better return to our room and rest earlier tonight. I am afraid by the time we get to Yanshi, there wont be any time to sleep! Chapter 5 - Part 2 Ysabel, Jaya, Lao Qianbei, you are wee. Chua, not yet. Xiaohu, youll have to wait and see ... Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered. Dejectedly hey down on the bed, supporting himself with one arm, and his feet were still touching the ground, next to Xu Ziling, who was sitting in meditation, breathing out a sigh, and said, Didnt you always lie down to cultivate your power? Why do you sit cross-legged like other people now? Is it morefortable than lying down? Xu Ziling opened his eyes a slit and said, Has someone wronged you? Why do you look like you are storing a bellyful of grievances? Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, Grievances, that I dont have, just a lot of worry! It was only now that I know that although in the battle of Tong Hill Li Mi suffered substantial damage, his strength is still well above ours. Its possible that this battle would be a repeat of the battle of Jingling against the Ol Die! Yet I have to think of every possible way to maintain highly optimistic attitude that we are going to win, tofort others; being Junshi is not easy. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Didnt the military strategy book mention that honorable troops are refined, but dishonorable are many? After the fierce battle, a lot of valiant generals and acute soldiers under Li Mismand died and injured, their spirit must be low. Yet our army is staking all in one throw, our aspiration is to fight to the death. Their spirit is disappearing ours is growing; as long as we employ proper tactics, avoiding the heavy and striking the light, victory will be in our grasp. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, That is precisely the thing that I am most worried about. Last time, when dealing with the assassins, I was so confident of sess; who would have thought that in the end we were still one move behind, and Li Mi was able to exploit it? The tactic of showing our weakness to the enemy has be we are weak against the enemy. Were it not for Xu Xingzhis brilliant scheme, we would not even have to fight this battle. Xu Ziling suddenly opened his eyes wide; his eyes gleaming brightly with strange light, he spoke heavily, We are going to win this battle. Because Li Mi thinks Wang Shichongs injury is heavy and it is difficult to recover, our troops morale is in chaos, our warriors are without the will to fight, hence his heart will be contemptuous. Under current circumstances, Du Fuwei and Shen Faxings coalition army may attack Jiangdu any moment, along Yuwen Huagus old route going up north, while Dou Jiandes intention is to go south. In the meantime, the Li n has to deal with Xue Ju, father and sons main forces from the west. Whether Li Mi can capture Luoyang in time or not, it will be the crucial point in the fight over the world. Therefore, Li Mis anxiety to obtain Luoyang is more unbearable than that of the ants on the cauldron. This is the Escaping One; do you understand? Kou Zhong sat up suddenly, and spoke with a huff, Well said! But supposing Li Mi cut off our return route to the Eastern Capital, while at the same time sending his elite troops moving west along the river to pressure the Eastern Capital, what should we do? Tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, How could Li Mi have such patience? If that happens, we only need to defend Yanshi steadily, while holding on to Li Mis hind leg and cut his supply line,bined with the fact that Luoyang is a strong city, well-known throughout the world as easily guarded, hard to attack, under prolonged battle, his tragic victory will only force his army to lose their zeal to continue fighting. Hence the reason I am quite certain that unless he did note, this battle will establish our prowess and raise our spirit, and then well seize the opportunity to capture the Eastern Capital in one fell swoop. Insightful! Kou Zhong eximed while pping the bed. Sitting up straight, he mused, I hope Zhai Jiao will not disappoint me; let Li Mis wonder troops[1] be ordinary troops, and then we can avoid the important and dwell on the trivial, and beat the triumphing-in-every-battle Wagang Army. Vigorously patting Xu Zilings broad shoulders, he praised, Xiongdi! You are quite all right! Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, You just did not have free time, hence you missed the obvious. Kou Zhong was staring nkly for half a day; finally he nodded and said, Your statement is a stern warning. Do you remember at the top of the Jingling city wall the other day, when we were facing Ol Dies main forces besieging the city, I gained an understanding of a xinfa [I still have not found a good English equivalent on this; any idea?] that was transcending life and death, sess or failure, and simply regarded the entire battlefield as a chessboard? If a chess yer wanted to win, he must n first and moveter, leading the opponent by the nose. Right now Li Mi appears to have the first move, but the situation is actually under our control; we only need to see how he is going to enter the ying field. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Shen Luoyan is an expert in snooping military intelligence. Dont forget we stole that roster book from her house; she has eyes and ears everywhere. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, What do we do then? he asked. Word by word Xu Ziling replied slowly, If you want to use your wonder troops to deal with Li Mis wonder troops, you must not use even one lowly soldier from Wang Shichongs troops. Only Zhai Jiao and the talents under hermand can be wonder troops. Kou Zhong was severely shaken, Good kid! You are just amazing! he eximed, But listening to the tone of Zhai Jiaos voice, the only ones willing to follow her right now are just Xuan Yong and his several hundred men; what can we do against Li Mis main forces? Xu Zilingughed and said, You, this kid, are using all kinds of weird tricks to coax me to speak; I dont believe you dont know what to do. Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, You ought to know that I love listening to your analysis the most. In military strategy, the most critical thing is bluffing; on the battlefield, people panic, they might be too nervous to remember even their Die and Niangs names. If it were direct confrontation, several hundred people probably cant pull even half a hair of the opponent, but to burn their supply at the back of their camp, we may have plenty of capability. Right now everything is ready, all we need is an east wind. Oh Zhai Jiao! Whether you will be able to avenge your father this time, it depends whether you are determined enough not to fall short! The next day the warships arrived at the dock outside the City of Yanshi. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the two boys donned their mask to disguise themselves as ordinary soldiers, and mingled among the crowd sneaking into the city. Once they were inside, they took off their military uniform, exposing the ordinary traveling merchant attire underneath. Immediately they tried to find any marking left by Zhai Jiaos men. Half a sichenter, they met with Xuan Yong at a private house on the east side of the city. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, I didnt expect Xuan Xiong would meet us personally. Hows the situation here? Xuan Yong weed them inside. After they were seated, he said, Li Mi seems to constantly amassing military power at Jinyong; it appears that he might advance to Yanshi any moment. Kou Yes luring-the-enemy tactic seems to be working. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, This time I want to make sure this old kid cane but cannot leave. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Dont be delighted too soon. Xuan Yong nodded and said, Xu Ye is absolutely right. Li Mi is obviously aware that Miss is lying in wait for an opportunity nearby, because not only the citys security is very tight, they dont allow just anybody to enter the city, and set up numerous posts outside the city to prevent spies from lurking around, making themunication between us and our contact inside the city difficult. This is quite a headache. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, Hows Li Mis present situation? Xuan Yong replied, After defeating Yuwen Huaji, Li Mi lost a lot of strong soldiers and good horses; his troops are weary and sick, in their heart they loathe to go to war. Therefore, he has to transfer far inferior soldiers from all ces. As a result, although there are still around a hundred thousand men, the fact is that good and bad people intermingled; they are strong in appearance but weak in reality. Kou Zhong was pleased, That being the case, he said, If we can take advantage while his tired army is moving south, while his track is not hidden yet, we take them by storm, and use our wonder troops to raid their rear, so that there will be enemies on Li Mis belly and back. In this way Li Mi will inevitably copse in crushing defeat. Xuan Yong sighed and said, The problem is that Li Mi is an expert in deceit and decoys. Without definite knowledge of his route, we might miss the main force and mistakenly take his secondary chariot. We might step into the trap heid, and then it will be our turn to suffer a cmity. Xu Ziling said, It seems that after prying the enemys intelligence, Xuan Xiong has not uncovered any definite answer yet! Xuan Yong said, After Li Mi found out about Miss, he started to suspect all high-ranking military officers who had close rtionship with Da Longtou [big boss, i.e. Zhai Rang], and did not allow them to take part in this military operation; he even transferred them to guard other ces instead. Currently, Li Mi can trust only Shen Luoyan, Xu Shiji, Wei Zheng, Pei Renji, Wang Bodang, Shan Xiongzin, Cheng Zhijie, Chen Zhilue, Fan Wenzhao, those kind of people; making us not knowing where to start. Kou Zhong swore hatefully, I really want to immediately kill that demon Taoist Ke Feng. Is Xuan Xiong saying you dont have any idea at all? Xu Ziling asked. Xuan Yong smiled and said, He has Zhang Liangs scheme, I have thedder to cross over the wall. Li Mi can only guard against several great generals inmand of the troops who were rted to Da Longtou, but its difficult for him to deal with all Da Longtous former subordinates within the military. Although they dont have any qualifications to participate in Li Mis secret military conference, they are still able to see subtle movement from troop dispatch, and are able to supply us valuable intelligence. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Didnt just now Xuan Xiong say that it is difficult tomunicate with the city? Absolutely correct, Huan Yong replied, We used to use carrier pigeon or hide the letter inside a bottle which we floated along the canal out of the city, but ever since Xu Shiji dispatched his men to closely monitor the traffic, we no longer dare to use the oldmunication method. But since there are always people going out of town, we can hide the letter in specified location, which we will then retrieve. Otherwise, we wouldnt be able to support two Masters. Kou Zhong praised, Xuan Xiong must have spent a lot of mind and energy in this regard. Xuan Yong revealed an it was nothing free and easy expression; he said, In the first ce, we know that Li Mis main force is divided into four divisions; three are stationed outside the city in three wooden forts, each division consists of roughly twenty thousand men, mostly new army recruit without enough training and elderly and weak people. Only the forty-thousand-man division inside the city is the elite troops who has been with Li Mi fighting all over the world; this division also includes Cheng Zhijie, Xu Shiji and Pei Renjisbined army. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings spirit was greatly aroused. The formers eyes lit up with strange light as he said, Ha! Li Mi wants to repeat his former strategy! Those three divisions of sixty thousand men can only be a shop sign [fig. pretense], the real powerhouse to attack Yanshi is that division with forty thousand men. Xuan Yong nodded and said, At the moment, the key to obtain victory is whether we can keep track of these forty thousand mens movement. In the past, each time Li Mi went into war, he always relied on urate intelligence, andunched surprise attack while the enemy least expected it. Or perhaps using the luring-the-enemy tactic; feigning defeat and retreating somece else, and then his hidden troops strike back suddenly, while the pretending-to-be-defeated troops also turn around and attack. Zhang Xutuo was devoured by him like that. Kou Zhong solemnly said, I must entrust this matter to Miss and Xuan Xiong, but you must by all means be careful, that poniang Shen Luoyan is deceitful in many ways, and must not be trifled with. Xuan Yong nodded his agreement. And then he spoke with a wry smile, The other problem is Shen Luoyan seems to know your every move like the back of her hands, making it difficult for the two of you to use deceit. Once direct confrontation happens, the entire victory or defeat situation will be difficult to guess. Kou Zhong made eye contact with Xu Ziling; lowering his voice, he said, In this, we will have to rely on Miss and Xuan Xiong; only by your men and horses support will we be able to face Li Mis hard-to-grasp wonder troops movement. If we can make Li Mis side mistakenly think that it was Wang Shichongs other troops providing support in secret, we can shake the enemys confidence and will hasten their downfall. Staring nkly, Xuan Yong said, But we are just a crowd of two hundred people. Oh! I understand! Two Masters are really men with guts reaching up to the heavens; Xuan Yong submit in admiration. Summing up, Kou Zhong said, Right now the only way to win is by securing urate military intelligence. We are going to quietly wait Xuan Xiongs good news. Xuan Yong said, Can Kou Ye give me the pass [i.e. special authorization through checkpoints]? This way I can go out ande in a bit more conveniently. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and said, Not only I am going to give you the pass, I will also take you to see the general in charge of city defense. If necessary, you cane to see me directly, so as not to dy any military intelligence. [1] Wonder troops, this is a literal trantion of (qi bing). The correct definition is troops appearing suddenly (in a raid or ambush), but in this case I want to show the contrast between wonder troops and ordinary troops. Book 18 - 6 – Military Camp Learning Book 18 Chapter 6 C Military Camp Learning Yang Gongqing spread out the map on the table, showing the Luo River cutting across the middle. Above it, near the top of the map area, was the Yellow River, which flows parallel to the Luo River. The Eastern Capital Luoyang was represented by a ck square dot, located at the western extremity of the Luo River. To the east of it were, subsequently, Yanshi, Luokou, Ho, and Yingyang. Thetter two were built by the Fan River and Suo River, respectively, where the Yellow River met with Luo, Fan and Suo, three rivers. Standing around the table Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Wang Xuanshu, and Linglong Jiao, four people, were studying the map carefully. Pressed for time, with the enemys troops might arrive any moment, no one dared to lower their guard. Kou Zhong pointed to the fine marking that represented a city a bit north between the Eastern Capital and Yanshi, saying, Li Mis army is concentrated here. Li Mi is certainly a wily old fox, because dispatching troops from Jinyong, either attacking the Eastern Capital or Yanshi, there is not much difference in term of route, so that it would be hard to pin down which target he is going to attack, or maybe he is going to split his troops to attack two targets at the same time. Wang Xuanshu said, That was precisely the reason Die set up massive military force at Yanshi. If Li Mi has the impertinence to force his troops into the Eastern Capital, our force in Yanshi can then put him in the predicament of facing enemies in front and behind him, while at the same time we can threaten Ho, Luokous safety in the east. Yang Gongqing said, Therefore, if Yanshi fell, the Eastern Capital would also lose its stronghold on the east, and then Li Mi would not have any misgivings protecting his rear or any supply problem, he could focus all his strength in attacking the Eastern Capital. Therefore, whether we can defend Yanshi or not, it really is the crucial point of sess or failure. Linglong Jiao raised the same concern as Kou Zhongs spection, If he split his troops into two,bined with Dugu ns forces from the inside, with Luoyang being the main target and besieging Yanshi as secondary target, how do we cope? Yang Gongqing asserted, If Xuan Yongs intelligence is correct, Li Mi has absolutely no ability tounch military offensive of this scale. Moreover, if the Dugu n and Yang Dong can defend the Imperial Pce for more than two days, it could already be considered not bad; if they wanted to coordinate outside and inside offensives, that would be having the heart, not the strength. Let alone all they are hoping for is Shangshu Daren and Li Mi would fight until both sides suffer; how could they be stupid enough to lead the wolf into the house? Therefore, I am not worried about the Eastern Capital at all. Pointing to a mountain range extending about a hundred li across north of Jinyong city, Xu Ziling asked, What mountain is this? That is Mount Mang, Yang Gongqing replied, Ke Fengs Laojun Guan is located on one of the summits called Cui Yun Peak. Kou Zhong said, Li Mi is indeed cunning; Jinyong Citys back is leaning against Mount Mang, so he has no fears of trouble in the rear. If we march to Jinyong, he could hide ambushing troops in the mountain, which would be able to kill us before we even have time to think. Yang Gongqing said, Not only that, if he must give up Jinyong, he could pass through Mount Mang, cross over to the great river, retreat and defend Hebeis strategic town Heyang, which is also Li Mis front line force and supporting forces supply lines logistic base. Strategically, this arrangement is invulnerable. Therefore, supposing Li Mi does not take the initiative to attack, we practically have no way of getting to him. If we presumptuously attack Luokou, he could send troops from Jinyong to break through Yanshi, our expeditionary force will only end up in total defeat. This moment Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already had thorough understanding of both sides, theirs and the enemys, situation; they started to understand how geography and surroundings yed a decisive role in the war. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, That was the reason I was in full support of Kou Xiongdis tactic of showing weakness to the enemy; otherwise, if we let Li Mi pushing toward the Eastern Capital along the west of the river, drawing our forces away from Yanshi, and then he immediately turn back to Jinyong, we could only return to Yanshi. And if this happens several times, we would be led by him by the nose, tired of constantly running for our lives, and it would be a marvel indeed if we dont get beaten. Kou Zhong had known that Li Mi already nned this clever tactic, hence he came up with the ruse of showing weakness to the enemy. But even after considering a thousand times, ten thousand times, he had never considered that Wang Shichong nearly lose his life for real. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, If we desperately defend Yanshi, with Li Mis current strength, will he have any way of breaking through the city? Yang Gongqing unyieldingly said, How much would Li Mis injured and weary troops be able to aplish? As long as we have enough rations and fodder inside the city, I can guarantee that we will be able to hold on and will not let a bunch of Wagang thieves to prevail. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Great Generals remark has immediately inspire Xiaodi toe up with a n, which is the wonderful move of burning their grains. Wang Xuanshu had a sh of understanding, That is superior to the tactic of luring the enemy. We could have fake army provisions transported to the army camp by the pontoon bridge on the southern bank, acting as if we are about to march toward Luokou soon. If the enemy believes that they are sessful in burning our rations and fodder, they might immediately send their troops to the south. Is that what you think? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Er Gongzi is still missing something; we want them to burn the real army provisions. As long as we have provisions remaining for ten days, that should be enough. Other than Xu Ziling, the three people were looking at each other in astonishment. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Only by letting them burn the real army provisions would we be able to deceive Li Mi and Shen Luoyan. This is the sinking the boat by a hatchet, fighting the city from its back tactic, let the lower-ranked people lose their hearts, only then will we obtain the rivers and mountains in one battle. Yang Gongqing sucked in a deep breath of air, Isnt it too risky? he asked. Full of heroic air, Kou Zhong puffed out his breast and said, Without the risky move, how are we going to defeat the Duke of Pushan Li Mi, who always emerge victorious from every battle? It is precisely because no one would guess that we are so audacious that they will fall into our trap. As long as we can defeat Li Mis main force going down south, Shan Xiongxins bunch of old and weak, remnant soldiers, what can they possibly achieve? At that time we will split our force into two, one taking Jinyong, the other pressing on to Luokou, the army provision can be sent from its source at the Eastern Capital, without any worry that someone would cut our supply line! Yang Gongqings countenance alternated between bright and dark; it was obvious that he was hesitating and could not make up his mind. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Right now the Eastern Capital is too busy to look after itself; if Li Mi employs cutting-off tactic, we will be left alone; sooner orter, because our provisions will be finished, we will fall. Since that is the case, why not trying to lure Li Mi intoing into battle sooner? Then we will at least have a chance to win. All blood drained from his face, Wang Xuanshu reminded everybody, But its just a chance. Yang Gongqing raised his eyes to look at the beam of the building; it was quite a whileter that he opened his mouth, During the old dynasty, every time Shangshu Daren engaged in battle against Li Mi, he lost not because of military power at all, but because of strategy. This time our military power cannot match the opponents, the only way to victory is to rely on strategy. Very well! Ill bet my money on Kou Zhong against Li Mi, lets see Laotian [lit. old heaven, God] actually stands on which side. Wang Xuanshu took a couple of rapid breathing to calm his nervous mind; he asked Kou Zhong, Xuanshu is in charge of protecting the provision and the storehouse; how exactly am I supposed to proceed in this matter? An intentional publicity will be ... Kou Zhongughed and said, When singing, one must sing the entire song, when dancing, one must perform the entire dance; only then will the audience you are not taking unfair advantage of them. Right? Thest sentence was addressed to Linglong Jiao, who was staring at him, watching him talking; thetters pretty face blushed slightly, and she hung her head down. Ever since expressing her feeling that she liked Kou Zhong a little bit, it was suddenly so easy for her to have red clouds appeared on her jade cheeks because of Kou Zhong. Wang Xuanshu nodded and said, Xuanshu understood. Ay! If this scheme did note from Junshis mouth, Xuanshu would definitely oppose it strongly. Xu Ziling said, Not only this matter has to be kept in strict confidence, it also has to be carried out in strict confidence; military order for city defense must be strictly enforced inside the city, no one will be allowed to get in and out of the city gate. Unless with the Great Generals approval, all officers and soldiers must stay inside the camp, waiting for orders; night time must be especially strict. Yang Gongqing nodded and said, That should be so. After the foodstuff is removed out of the storehouse, it has to be promptly reced by counterfeit goods to make up the number. I will redeploy twenty-thousand troops in rotation to the wooden stronghold in Henan, to make it appear that we are going to attack Luokou. Kou Zhong added, Well also have to station archers on the city walls on sentry duty; any carrier pigeon or other birds that look like they are going to fly out of the city must be shot down. Also, we must guard the irrigation ditch leading out of the city to prevent anybody sending out information. Only by doing this will we make people believe. Yang Gongqingughed and said, You are not afraid the real information will be cut off? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, I am afraid that even our surplus grain will be burned by Li Mi; that would be exceedingly bad! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling removed their masks back to their original appearance. They urged their horses out of the city, and then slowly rode along the Luo River in the direction of the pontoon bridge. The sun was setting in the west, on the camp on the opposite bank dots of lights started to appear, smoke from the stoves sprang up everywhere. Although on the surface it looked like a picture of peace and tranquility, in the inside it was actually full of imprable, depressing feeling like the stuffy atmosphere on the mountain just before the rain came down. Talking andughing, Kou Zhong said, Yin Gui Pai seems to be suddenly disappear from the surface of the earth; I wonder if they are sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight? Xu Ziling took a deep breath, sucking in the fresh and clean smell of the river water, while lifting up his eyes to look at theyer uponyer of verdant and luxuriant forest beyond the opposite bank, extending as far as the eye could see into bluish-green lofty mountain range and hills. The section of Luo River after Yanshi was winding and twisting downstream, in between rolling green hills, with deep forests filled with blossoming wild flowers adorning both sides of the river. The more than thirty warships moored along the bank looked like decorative objects in andscape painting. Kou Zhong spoke again, I havent heard any news about Qin Shubao for a long time [see Book 3 Chapter 2]; I wonder if he is still working for Li Mi. I dont want to kill him by mistake. Finally Xu Ziling produced a response, Shen Luoyan is very clear what kind of man Qin Shubao is, and she is well aware of his rtionship with us; therefore, she will never let him participate in this battle. Zhong Shao, you may set your heart at ease. Reaching the pontoon bridge, the two boys reined their horses to stop, to let a team of about fifty mule carts crossed over the bridge. Chapter 6 - Part 2 Jaya, Xiaohu, Lao Qianbei, you are wee. Chua, some days I have more time, some days I have less, but so far I manage to even it up for regr updates. Sky, speak for yourself ... there are a lot of people who think my speed is not fast enough. Hungry, not yet ... Due to the load capacity on the pontoon bridge, only one mule cart was able to cross at one time. Watchtowers, reaching ten zhang in height, were built on either side of the bridge, with archers serving on sentry duty, to guard and monitor the crossing. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, If Li Mi holds back his troops without moving, and does not send his men to burn our granary, we might as well retain only five thousand men at Yanshi, and send out the rest viand water, two routes, to attack Luokou, taking advantage while Luokous military force is weak, using the before-the-thunderbolt-reaches-the-ears method we seize the city; and then calmly return to Yanshi, holding Li Mis hind legs. If Li Mi retreated, we then strongly defend our position at Luokou. This was precisely the method with which Li Mi defeated Yuwen Huagust time. At that time Yuwen Huaji, using military supply wagon, slipped away again from Huatai, leading his troops north to attack Liyang. Xu Shiji gave up Liyang and went west to defend Cangcheng [lit. storehouse city], while Li Mis twenty thousand strong cavalry was stationed at Qingqi. After upying Liyang, Yuwen Huaji sent part of his troops to besiege Cangcheng. Xu Shiji and Li Mimunicated over the distance, and agreed to build deep ditch and high rampart, but did not go out to battle. However, if Yuwen Huaji attacked Cangcheng, Li Mi would send his troops from Qingqi to attack his rear, so that Yuwen Huaji would face the battle in two fronts. Lasting until Yuwen Huaji was out of provisions, employing a feigned-attack-first-and-then-strike-from-behind strategy, they defeated Yuwen Huaji at Tong Hill. Kou Zhongs strategy would not work the same way; it would require two things to be aplished: first of all was to wipe out Yang Dongs imperial guards, so that the Eastern Capital would be stabilized, and then he must cut off the supply line between Jinyong and Heyang. From these two, thetter was more difficult to aplish; at best they would be engaged in open confrontation. But if they waited until Li Mi recovered his strength, the situation would be considerably worse. How could Xu Ziling not understand Kou Zhongs frame of mind, which was loaded with gains and losses? Dont worry! he said resolutely, Li Mi wille. And a lot quicker than you expected. Because he thinks he really inflicted serious damage on Wang Shichong, and that the Eastern Capital is in such a great mess. If he did note now, then when? Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, No one knows my mind better than you. Our military service at Jingling was merely due to us were there at the right time; during the battle we practically did not have time to think. But this time we make ns first and actter, moving the vehicles and dispatching generals on the battleground to face off against our adversary. If we lose, even if we are lucky enough to keep our little lives, our confidence will suffer big blow, then in the future we dont have to bother ouring out again. Victory or defeat ismonce in military operations is just pleasant to hear, but for most armies, once defeated, it would be very difficult to rebound, so this time we really cannot afford to lose. If Li Mi won, the world will be the battlefield of two Lis; other people could only stand on the sideline and watch. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Worrying is just as useful as his mothers fart. Originally we have nothing, at worst we will be beaten back to our original shape. Just like the Old Yang said, nning is with man, aplishing with heaven [idiom: man proposes, God disposes]. For example, if there was a sudden thunderstorm, perhaps it wouldplete change the terrain. There are too many factors on the battlefields that are beyond humans control. Kou Zhong was silent for a moment. Seeing the mule train has safely crossed the river, together with Xu Ziling they urged their mounts to climb onto the bridge. What do you think of that beauty Shang Xiufang? he suddenly asked. Xu Ziling was stunned, In time like this you still have time to think about women? he asked. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is called finding bnce. Actually, during the banquet she asked me privately toe see her; who would have thought that Wang Shichong was wounded in the assassination attempt that I was so busy that during the dark sky and ck earth [idiom: troubled times] unexpectedly I forgot about her. Xu Ziling appeared as if he wanted to express his feelings; he said, It would be best to just forget about her. The moment she boarded the boat and started to leave Luoyang, she ought to cast all people and matters that happened in Luoyang to the back of her mind, and became very remote and obscure things. During the time when the battle is imminent, I dare not even think of Su Jie. Ay! How are we going to resolve this problem anyway? Reaching the end of the pontoon bridge, the two boys galloped toward the main gate of the wooden stronghold; both sides of the road were jam-packed with soldiers, vehicles and horses. However, under the heavy pressure of the war, not only there was no mor of people chatting andughing, they rarely saw smiling face either. Kou Zhong asked softly, Even Shi Feixuan is cast away to the back of your mind? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Shi Feixuan is indeed an amazing woman that is hard to forget; however, other than trying to forget her, what else can I do? Kou Zhong was astonished, Ling Ye rarely spoke so forthrightly. I nearly forget to tell you, she called on me yesterday, advising me to withdraw from the power struggle, and then when my mind was in chaos, she simply left. Ay! She is indeed capable to bewitch any man to his death, but is also an unattainable beauty, making Xiaodi also suffer from the same lonesomeness. This is called misfortune we bear together! Xu Ziling burst outughing, Go to your Niang! he swore. Kou Zhong blurted out, Isnt my Niang the same as yours? In the meantime, two boys have entered the fort. The security at the gate was very tight, vehicles were not allowed to enter without thorough inspection. When the guards saw the two, they all showed deferential manners, a clear proof of their lofty status in the eyes of these soldiers. In the camp, they were met by Yang Gongqing and Wang Xuanshu, since Linglong Jiao was out on intelligence gathering assignment. During dinner, Kou Zhong took the opportunity to quiz Yang Gongqing about all kinds of military issues. Out of curiosity, Xu Ziling asked, When we were in the south, we witnessed Du Fuwei recruited vige peasants into his army by force; it was extremely inhuman. How did the Eastern Capital armye about? Sipping his hot tea, Yang Gongqing said, Since the beginning of Qin dynasty [221-207BC] up to the Northern and Southern dynasties [420-589AD], conscription has been the main method of army recruitment, with mercenary system as secondary. The so-called conscription means all adult males were required to enlist; when nothing happened, they were to serve for a number of years, but during the war, they stayed for the duration of the war. However, since the beginning of Western Wei [535-557AD], the government implemented military system in which in peacetime, when home manufacturing and farming were not busy, citizens went into military training. They have to serve one month of every year, either in the capital or bordend garrison. In wartime, they went to the battlefield; the war ended, they returned home. Weapons, equipment, and provision would have to be self-provided. Wang Xuanshu sighed and said, Yang Guang sent out military expeditions over many years, making the soldiers stayed at faraway garrisons over a long period of time, which was hard to endure, so either they deserted and became fugitive, or rising in rebellion against him. Therefore, Die adopted the mercenary system. Under current situation, as long as we have adequate army provisions, those with courage and strength can throw their lives in for us. It is far superior to the conscription system. Especially the bodyguard unit; they must regard this as a lifelong career, and willing to live as professional military personnel with high sry, generous remuneration. Otherwise we would be thrown into a many-generals-with-no-aplishment or rge-tail-obstructing-action [i.e. rendered ineffective by subordinates] situation. Kou Zhong was puzzled, With Eastern Capitals financial resources, why is the number of army recruits less than Li Mis many men, great force? If we recruit talents that Yang Guang left behind, shouldnt we be able to summon arge number of men and horses? Yang Gongqingughed and said, Havent you heard all troops engaged in fine matters are not engaged in many matters? Li Mis several hundred thousand main forces full of crafty plots and machinations, plus Yuwen Huajisck of food supplies, still ended up in tragic victory. From this you know the importance of elite troops. Ancient sage once said, the higher the number of troops, the weaker the army is; the higher the soldiers pay, the poorer the country is. Shangshu Daren is well aware of this principle, if he did not stop the recruitment process, it will only result in superfluous soldiers in crowded situation, which only bring out waste and dire poverty. After a short pause, he continued, Too many men are useless, it will depend on whether the equipment and army provisions can match it. The recruits must undergo strict selection process, to eliminate redundancies and increase quality. The reason Li Shimin prevails in every battle lies in the team of thousand-plus elite troops through rigorous selection and training to form the ck Armor cavalry, waiting for an opportunity and attacking suddenly, which repeatedly rendering amazing meritorious service, but also receiving extravagant reward. Although the number is small, they do not fear the enemys magnificent army with thousands of men and horses; as soon as the enemys disposition is thrown into chaos, his main force would immediately seize the opportunity tounch violent attack, inside and outside working together, the enemy could only nurse a grievance on the battlefield. Listening to him, Kou Zhong was radiant with delight; only then did he realize the importance of the Duke Yang Treasure. No wonder Wang Shichongs twenty thousand men small army was able to make Li Mi so afraid. This was definitely the case of listening to the words of a wise man can be superior to studying ten years of books [Chinese proverb]. Noticing that Yang Gongqings excitement, he asked about the organization within the military. Although Lu Miaozis book on military strategy contained exquisite principles, itcked Yang Gongqings personal hands-on, practical experience in managing the army. Twisting his moustache, Yang Gongqing smiled and said, How can an army of numerous men and horses, at least several tens of thousands, at most several hundreds of thousands, be formed into elite squads that can be used in battle? There is only one rule: managing the many just like managing a few. Namely, use a squad of five soldiers [orig. wu]. Two squads be fireteam [orig. huo, ssifier for military units (old)], five fireteams be a squad [orig. dui] , two squad are Guan [toon?], two Guans are Qu [regiment?], two Qus are Bu [division], two Bus be Xiao [brigade?], two Xiaos be Pi [corps?], and two Pis are the army [jun]. Whether it is ten, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, each unit must have control, one line ofmunication, and one way to string these units together, as if millions and millions of silk be one thread, crooked strands are pulled together into straight line, none does as he wants, there is no single stray strand. This is a whole and cohesive army, with the great general giving the guiding principle, attaining an effective control and simplifying theplex. In the entire army, from the generals to the soldiers, each person must understand his own responsibility and his rtionship with superior, subordinate, and peers, left and right. The formtion is not random. Only then there will be managing the many just like managing a few result. Kou Zhong praised, No wonder just now there were so many people on the road, but there was no chaotic situation at all. Yang Gongqing said, Whether it is a wu, a huo, a dui, a guan, a qu, a bu, a jiao, a pi, a jun, or perhaps wu, dui, qi [lit. banner], shao [sentry], si [department], ying [camp/battalion], shi [army division] are only different names, but all use either ten or five as the base, as its principle. Othermissions include heralds, drummers, g bearers, physicians, groomsmen, signalmen, carpenters, cksmiths, and other choice of persons, each department with its own duty, constituting a sophisticatedbat system, which is qualified to decide superiority on the battlefield against the enemy. Kou Zhong was about to speak, suddenly there was shouting outside. While everybodys countenance was changing, a bodyguard burst into the tent; flustered and exasperated he said, Reporting to Commander Yang, things look bad. The four men were shocked; could it be that Li Mis wonder troops have arrived at Yanshi? Book 18 - 7 – Secretly Crossing the Wei River at Chenchang Book 18 Chapter 7 C Secretly Crossing the Wei River at Chenchang[1] Dumbstruck, Yang Gongqing, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Wang Xuanshu, along with a group of high-ranking military officers, looked at the big granary, which already turned into coke. Nobody had anything to say. Lined up on the ground were a dozen or so barn dogs and more than a dozen guards, which had been burned until their bodies were difficult to recognize. This storehouse was one of the sixteen granaries inside the city, but the amount of grains being stored here was equal to the other fifteen storehouses added together. The fire spread too fast, and generated more than a dozen mes at the same time. Were it not for the high wall separating the storehouse from the other residences, plus the overcast, thick and wet clouds of the month between spring and summer, it was quite possible that the disastrous situation did not stop as it did right now. The deputy general in charge of guarding the storehouse was kneeling on the ground, trembling continuously, looking extremely pitiful. Yang Gongqing angrily said, This is impossible; I have already reinforced the guards, how could you not able to grasp even the enemys shadow, yet they were able tomit arson till it looks like this? At the very least, there ought to be some effort in putting out the fire. The deputy general spoke in trembling voice, The fire well has been plugged with sand and stoned by the enemy. Stunned, Yang Gongqing said, How did the spy transport the sand and the stones here? Kou Zhong spoke with confidence, As soon as we send people to search, I am sure we will find a tunnel or something like that. This must be the evil scheme that the enemy has plotted actively. Wed better send people to inspect the other storehouses in the city. Promptly an officer epted the order and left. Wang Xuanshu pulled the other three aside and spoke in low voice, This is called a mistake of mistake. I have just had the real provisions transported to the camp outside the city. The burned grains in here are all fake stuffs. Because my personal bodyguards were responsible for the transport, nobody knew that the new shipment was fake goods. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Er Gongzis efficient work is indeed amazing; was the stuff carried by the fifty mule-train the real grains? Wang Xuanshu was pleasantly surprised; he nodded and said, It was indeed. So what do we do now? Yang Gongqings spirit greatly aroused, he said, This is called mistakenly hit the secondary vehicle; also known as Heaven helps me. Right now we must do everything we can to search for the spy. All outsiders not registered locally must be locked up for questioning, while heavily reward citizen who report suspicious characters. On the other hand, we must strengthen the storehouses guards, while trying to find a way to open a secret granary to store our grains. Realizing that he had inadvertently set up great merit, which would definitely gain his fathers praises, Wang Xuanshu dly left to make the arrangement. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Looks like we should go back to the Commanders mansion to drink wine to celebrate; we are going to wee Li Mis army soon! It was not even dawn yet, someone came to wake Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling up and had them go to the Commanders Mansion, where they saw by Yang Gongqing at the main hall. Wang Xuanshu was yawning. But Linglong Jiao, with windblown-dust face, was sitting by Yang Gongqings side, talking and pointing to the strategy terrain chart lying on the table. As the two stepped into the main hall, Yang Gongqing looked up and saw them;ughing aloud, he said, Wagang troops areing! Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, crowded over in great delight. Linglong Jiao spoke excitedly, I have made contact with our informers all over the ce, even seeing it with my own eyes, Li Mis vanguard unit is pressing on toward Yanshi. If they did not stop over anywhere, we should be able to see Wagang troops banner from the top of the city wall. I already dispatched more than a dozen martial art masters with fine qinggong to closely watch their movement. They will send the information via carrier pigeon. Kou Zhong asked, Which troops are moving? How many? Linglong Jiao replied, Its the new army recruits from outside the city, under Shan Xiongsin, Chen Zhilue and Fan Wenchao, three mensmand. The main force inside the city has not made any movement. Yang Gongqing anxiously said, Li Mi is going to use decoy. Xu Ziling asked, Did Miss Jiao sneak inside the city to see whats going on? Linglong Jiao proudly said, No city defense can stump me, Linglong Jiao, but the private residences housing the troops are tightly guarded, I was afraid to beat the grass and scare the snake, so I could only look from a distance. The city was quite and peaceful, evidently Li Mi considers victory is within his grasp, he ispletely confident. Wang Xuanshu asked, Are those new recruits really as bad as what Xuan Yong said? Linglong Jiao replied, The vanguard regiment under Shan Xiongxin numbered approximately three thousand; they set out in the evening. Because the forest obstructed my line of sight, I could only estimate the number based on the dust raised by the troops; they are all infantry, and they dont march in squad formation, so I know they are not properly trained regr troops. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Miss Jiao unexpectedly can tell a lot of things from the dust kicked by the troops; you must be an expert in observation and detective work on the military intelligence. Obtaining his praise, Linglong Jiao delightedly cast him a sideway nce and said, If you want to learn, I can be your Shifu. If the dust is rising high, it is the cavalry; infantry would create a low, wide and rolling dust. Shan Xiongxins new army recruits raised low, scattering, untidy dust, precisely because of insufficient training and their formation was not in good order. For well-trained elite army, the dust may rise in columns, clear and not random. When the troops stop the dust stop, this is the marching of the troops under powerful general. The dust scattered left and right, front and back, this is not marching in formation. Listening to her, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling submitted with all their hearts; now they knew that observing the enemy was also a scientific knowledge. This moment a bodyguard came in to report that they had just received information from the front line via the carrier pigeon. Yang Gongqing received it, took a quick look, and handed it over to Linglong Jiao, saying, Li Mis out-of-town forces are striking up two separate camps on their way toward us, but the main force inside the city still has not made any move. It appears that he is trying to lure us out to attack. Our army provisions were really burned by him, we would have wanted to have decisive battle as early as possible, before our grains run out, rather than painstakingly defending a city under siege. Wang Xuanshu nodded and added, At that time his main force mayunch surprise attack on us, killing us while we are caught unprepared. Noticing both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had deep frown on their faces, Yang Gongqing asked in surprise, Li Mi appears to have fallen into our trap, why do you look troubled instead? Xu Ziling said, I have a feeling that something is not right. Li Mi has Ke Feng as his spy, he ought to know that our side has Miss Jiao, a first-ss expert in scouting the enemys movement, ring like a tiger watching its prey, monitoring his troops situation. If that is the case, how would he use the decoy? Kou Zhong added, In Miss Jiaos opinion, did the tight security at the guarded entrance to the private residences housing the troops defy reason? Linglong Jiaos tender body shook slightly; revealing a thinking-deeply expression, she nodded and said, That is so. The patrolling troops were not ordinary soldiers, but martial art masters within Li Mis troops, hence the reason I shrank back. Bang! Kou Zhong pped the table and said with a sigh, What a cunning Li Mi! If I guess correctly, he must be using a tunnel or some kind of covering to transfer his main force in batches to a secret camp outside the city. And then when we mistakenly assume that his main force has not left the city, and presumptuously meet Shan Xiongxins new army recruits attack, he would use the same ruse he defeated Zhang Xutuo in the past, by pretending to be defeated and luring us out of Yanshi, and then from somewhere his troops appear to ambush ours. If that happens, it would be strange indeed if we are not going to be wiped out. His countenance changed, Yang Gongqing said, Does that mean we already lost the decisive opportunity? Not necessarily, Kou Zhong replied, Moving out forty thousand men via a secret tunnel only under cover of darkness is something that cannot be aplished in just a night or a half. Just by looking at when Shan Xiongxins troops will arrive, well know how much time is needed, because no matter what, Shan Xiongxins new troops will have to wait until Li Mis main force is ready before they dare to setup formation outside the city to wait respectfully. Wang Xuanshu anxiously said, If we cannot grasp where Li Mis main force is going to move to, we would only be able to send our men into the city to wait painstakingly, our previous n cannot be carried out anymore. Before Kou Zhong could answer, a guard came to report that Xuan Yong was seeking audience. Xuan Yong only greeted Yang Gongqing and the others briefly before solemnly reported, Li Mis worthy to be called the most outstanding schemer of the present age; unexpectedly he already dug three underground tunnels in advance, and transferred his main forces in batches north to Mount Mang. Were it not for Xiaoren grew suspicious, I would never be able to guess his trick. Yang Gongqing asked nervously, Do you know the exact location of their camp? Xuan Yong dejectedly said, Shen Luoyan is using her reconnaissance bird circling in the sky, so I did not dare to rush indiscriminately into action, plus she is setting up strategically located outposts along the mountain roads so that there is no way to trail them. ording to my estimate, based on the current rate, Li Mi would need at least one night to transfer all of his main forces north to Mount Mang. Everybody was back around the table to look at the map. They saw that at the upper left corner of Jinyong city, Mount Mang was nting down straight toward Yanshis northeast corner, in unbroken mountain range of about a hundred li, covering a vast area. If they could not grasp the whereabouts of those forty thousand men, when the battle started, the ambushing troops mighte out suddenly from anywhere north of the city, which would be confusing and strike fear in their hearts. Xuan Yong said, Right now our side does not dare to act blindly without thinking, plus the opponent has martial art masters as numerous as the cloud; as soon as they appear, we wouldnt be able to escape even if we tried. Kou Zhongs left palm chopped horizontally across, he spoke ferociously, First of all we must kill that t-haired beast! Ay, but this will only alert that Shen poniang. Leave this to me, Linglong Jiao said, I can enter Mount Mang from the other side, without following the mountain road. As long as they make fire to cook, or perhaps cutting down the forest to open up a path, there are always traces to be found. [1] Chapter title: an idiom, referring to s stratagem used by Liu Bang in 206BC against Xiang Yu of Chu. Figuratively means to feign one thing while doing another. Chapter 7 - Part 2 Jaya, you are wee. Xiaohu, here it is. <-- I think this is the shortestment Ive ever written. Xu Ziling said, Wed better think carefully first, this time Li Mi marches his troops in secret, he must have given it a lot of considerations; it will not be that easy for us to see through it. Yang Gongqing agreed; he said, The tunnels could have been excavated in advance, other things would have been arranged properly beforehand, Mount Mang stretches out for several hundred li, to find carefully hidden troops in such a short time is easier said than done. While the war is imminent [orig. pressing in on ones eyshes], wed better decide if we want to turn our back to the city, or to defend Yanshi to the death. Kou Zhong shook his head emphatically; he said, We will proceed ording to n. Only if we cannot locate his main force will we change n to hold fast to the city. At least we still have one day and one night to exhaust all possibilities. Yang Gongqing pondered silently for half a day; finally he asked Xuan Yong, Hows the situation on Wagang Armys side? Xuan Yong replied, Remaining in Jinyong are Wang Bodangs force. Li Mis another great general Bing Yuanzhen is guarding Luokou. The two cities military force is less than ten thousand men. Commanding the new army recruits pretending to attack Yanshi is Shan Xiongxin. This man has a very deep rift with Wang Bodang over a courtesan, but he himself is a talented fieldmander. Hows Bing Yuanzhen? Kou Zhong asked. Xuan Yong replied disdainfully, This mans skill in military strategy and tactics is not bad, he is adept at defending a city, but hecks guts, definitely not a talent in charging and breaking through enemys lines. And then, with a cold humph he said, Shan Xiongxin, Bing Yuanzhen, and the others are Wagang Armys old generals; they dont have too good of a rtionship with Pei Renji, Xu Shiji, Shen Luoyan, Wang Bodang, and their group, new upstarts that Wang Shichong dotes on and trusts. Therefore, if we can break through Li Mis troops, I guarantee Wagang Army will be split up and in pieces, eachmander will defend their own unit, and when the timees, if we use reconciliatory technique, each unit of Li Mis army will fall without a fight. Question is how can we break Li Mis ambushing troop hidden on Mount Mang. Yang Gongqing sighed helplessly and said, In that case I will quietly wait in here for your good news. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Linglong Jiao, and Xuan Yong, four people stood on one of Mount Mangs peaks, looking around as far as their eyes could see. The mountain stretched out endlessly in all direction, the cliff was as red as cinnabar, strange-looking peaks everywhere. Under the rain and the fog, the dense forest looked like a hazy emptiness. Thendscape seemed to be changing indeterminately, creating a strange, yet serene, scenery. The deep valley at the back of the mountain looked even denser with ancient trees and thick vegetation, standing upright on the sloping hills, like an imperial canopy covering the heaven. The mountains topography was strategic and easy to defend; pine and cypress, mountain elm, resplendent and beautiful, grew along the bluish-green stream at the valley floor, and took roots on the steep, dangerous cliffs. Mount Mang was definitely wonderful and beautiful; no wonder Laojun Temple was built on the Cui Yun Peak of this mountain. But to find a group of forty-thousand soldier on this boundless big mountain, like Yang Gongqing said, they could only rely on their luck. Which direction is the Laojun Guan? Kou Zhong asked. Linglong Jiao pointed to the direction of Jinyong city and said, Its on the northeasterly direction from Jinyong city toward Mount Mang, about only half a day or horse ride from Yanshi city, not including the part of the road leading up the mountain. Kou Zhong nodded and said, In any case, in order to meet Shan Xiongxins force, Li Mi cant possibly pick a ce too far from Yanshi to set up his ambush. Forty thousand is not a small number. As long as we check everywhere on Mount Mang region north of Yanshi, we are bound to find a bit of sign. Theres not much time; while right now it is hard to tell drizzle and fog apart, the low visibility is going to provide cover for us. Lets go! The drizzling rain was getting heavier, entering the deep mountain was like entering a blurry realm out of the mortal world, even recognizing the mountain path was difficult, forget about looking for the enemys track. Given the circumstances, even Linglong Jiao was at her wits end. After dark, the search process would be even more difficult. How about we meet Da Xiaojie first? Xuan Yong made a suggestion, With more manpower, the chance of sess will increase. Kou Zhong shook his head, If the enemy found us out, they might ambush our ambushing troops, then our n will fizzle out. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, How about going to Laojun Guan to try our luck? In order to be able to march quickly across the mountain, Li Mi must have had the horses and army provisions shipped in advance somewhere on the mountain. And there is no better ce than the Laojun Guan, since the demon Taoists over there are in collusion with Li Mi. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, That is a reasonable spection, but Laojun Guan is located on Cui Yun Peak, going up the mountain is not too convenient! Severely shaken, Xuan Yong said, Kou Ye, I guess you dont know, under the Cui Yun Peak, there is Cui Yun Valley, and in this valley, they built more than a dozen exquisite buildings dedicated to house visiting worshippers who wants to stay over a short period of time, or perhaps pursue short-term meditation. Furthermore, there is also a wide expanse of forest in that valley. Pitching camp in that forest will definitely be hidden from view. Kou Zhong was pleasantly surprised, From Cui Yun Valley to Yanshi across Mount Mang, how long will it take? he asked. Xuan Yong said, There is a mountain path from there, at most one sichen they could be out of the mountain. And then several dozen li of open grasnd. If they are all cavalry, and they ride fast, perhaps they could reach Yanshi in less than two sichen. Kou Zhong pped his forehead and said with augh, Now we are talking. Li Mi and Shen poniang! You owe me; this time we will wipe the te clean! Laojun Guan was located on the summit of the majestically towering Cui Yun Peak, amidst the dense forest, surrounded by bluish-green hills and a precipitous cliff on one side, with deep ravine extending several zhang down from the top of the mountain to the valley below. If one could climb to the summit, one would be able to see the Yellow River to the north, and Luo River to the south. This moment, in the dark, misty emptiness, where it was hard to distinguish the rain from the fog, the ce looked like an eminent and unapproachable legendary abode of the immortals; who would have thought that the head of this monastery was a top figure of the heretical sect? Cui Yun Valley was located at the foot of the Cui Yun Peak; the valley was wide open and t, with a cluster of more than a dozen buildings with whitewashed wall and dark colored roof situated at the fringe of the forest on the north side of the valley, crisscrossed by small paths, adorned by thickets of wild flower and luxuriant fragrant grass. In the distance, under the rich bluish-green color of the mountain, lined byyer uponyer of mountain range, there were distinct yellow, alternating with green, rice fields. The scenery looked like a painting; certainly it looked like a sacred ground of the garden of peach blossom spring, making it more difficult to think about the demon Taoists and the waiting for dawn, with head resting on a spear soldiers [idiom: fully prepared and biding their time before the battle]. The mouth of the valley at the southern end was arge area of cypress and elm forest. In this kind of weather, if there were indeed army camp hidden within the forest, even looking down from an elevation, it would still be difficult to see. Right outside the valleys entrance, the mountain path was sloping down, through the gorge, and continued winding down. But because of the mountain terrain, they could not see the ins south of the valley. Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he said, If Li Mis troops are hiding in the forest, howe we cant even hear one neighing horse? This moment, Linglong Jiao, who was out on reconnaissance duty, returned with happy expression, Just as expected, she spoke excitedly, Inside the valley, in the middle of the forest, there are tents everywhere, full of Wagang army; but I did not see warhorse, mules or other beasts. Looks like there is another storehouse hidden elsewhere, so that they would not have to climb in hardship. Everybody was greatly delighted. Kou Zhong said, Xiao Ling and I will stay here to continue keeping a close watch on them, you two go back separately to notify Da Xiaojie and Da Jiangjun [great general]; everything may proceed ording to n. After a short deliberation, they agreed on how to contact each other, where to meet, and other particrs. And then Xuan Yong and Linglong Jiao left happily. By dusk, the rain stopped, the sky was clear. The situation in the valley was inly visible. From their vantage point atop a dangerous cliff, they could faintly see the tents hidden within the forest. Also from time to time they saw soldiers going back and forth from the camp to the buildings. Kou Zhong was crouching among the grass and the trees. It was quite a long time before he spoke, Xiao Ling! I have a nagging feeling that something is not right. Xu Ziling, lying on his back by Kou Zhongs side, said, Is it because you cannot see Shen Luoyans t-haired bird, or perhaps because you see a camp without any horse? Kou Zhong did not answer, but asked him a question instead, We have been harmed by Shen poniang many times, and every time we nearly fell into her evil scheme. If our intelligence and wisdom is so useless, where do you think her formidability lies? Xu Ziling pondered quietly for a moment, and then he replied in agreement, You did not exaggerate. Speaking about plotting and tricks, employing stratagem while chatting andughing, we seem to always fall into disadvantageous position; from Zhai Rang got killed to Wang Shichong badly injured, not a single time we won against her. Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, Do you remember when we first met her, we made a bet that we would surrender if we were captured three times? Sheid out the Old Man of the ins Mo Cheng trap, as if she could predict without being a irvoyant she let us board the pirate ship on our own, and yet capsized his own boat on the torrent among the rocks on purpose, taking advantage of our kindness in trying to rescue him, the senior, to get us under her control [see Book 3 Chapter 4]. Each time she demonstrated her ability to fathom the opponents psyche, which varies from person to person. That being the case, how could she not guess that we mighte to Laojun Guan to take a look? Dont you think its stupid for us to hide in here? Xu Ziling suddenly crawled up and joined him looking down into the valley below. Severely shaken, he said, You are right. The army camp down below must be one of Shen Luoyans schemes. Out of ten tents, I bet you that nine are empty. As long as they have several thousand soldiers in here as the decoy, they could make us mistakenly believe that Wagangs wonder troops are hiding in here, while the real wonder troops are elsewhere. This is bad! How are we going to find them after dark? We can only do our best, Kou Zhong said, No matter what, the real ambushing troops cant be too far away from Yanshi. Therefore, they must be somewhere on the mountain, in some simr environment, so that they dont have to worry the sound of neighing horses might spread far and wide. Come! Lets get down and investigate clearly whether we use Shen poniang wrongly before deciding what to do. Book 18 - 8 – Pincher Attack From Front and Rear Book 18 Chapter 8 C Pincher Attack From Front and Rear The two boys sat down dejectedly on a hilltop outside Mount Mang. In the sky,yers of clouds covered the moon. On the in down below was a faint circle of light, which was the city of Yanshi north of Luo River. For the full two sichen the two had been groping blindly in the mountains, straight from the city of Jinyong on the other side, yet they still did not see the least bit of the enemys track, so their strength was gone, their body weary, and it was all for nothing. Kou Zhong cursed ferociously, Must be because of the rain earlier today, washing away the ground that not only the traces, even the smell is gone. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, It was just a drizzle; the traces ought to remain. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Of course there are traces, but all led to Laojun Temple. Hey! What is it? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong thought aloud, Didnt Xuan Yong said that at the quickest rate, Li Mis main force would still need one night to travel the tunnel north toward Mount Mang? Why was it that outside Jinyong just now, the water was still, without the slightest bit of different condition? The two boys shook at the same time; they came to their senses. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Good Shen poniang! She is really formidable; this must be stealth dragon turns into a phoenix tactic, using the new army recruits to substitute the elite troops, while the elite troops borrow the new army recruits as a cover, secretly heading to a ce that would be advantageous tounch a sudden attack. This ruse is indeed very formidable; we nearly fall for it. Xu Ziling spoke in distress, Its less than two sichen to daybreak, where will we find the ambushing troops? Kou Zhong said, Li Mis elite troops departed Jinyong the day before yesterday, resting during the day, and walking at night; perhaps right now they are still on the way toward their camp. Such a grandiose forty thousand cavalry, if they want to avoid other peoples eyes and ears, they could only hide somewhere before reaching Mount Mang. That means they still had to go around a circle to get to this side; either they are still pressing on toward the destination, or they are going to arrive soon. Lets go quickly! Dont be anxious, Xu Ziling said, If we guessed wrong this time, well lose the one-in-a-thousand-year opportunity to defeat Li Mi. Under the circumstances, either Shan Xiongxins new army or Li Mis wonder troops [Trantors note: again, here I want to contrast ± (xin bing), new army recruits, with (qi bing), troops appearing suddenly (in a raid or ambush). See my previous note in Chapter 5.], the only feasible strategy is to have their troop disposition with Mount Mang on their back; that way they can avoid trouble from the rear. Therefore, we can safely assume that Shan Xiongxins new army recruits would pitch their camp north of Yanshi, with Mount Mang on their back. They are going to lure Yanshis army to attack, while Li Mis main force is hiding somewhere on the mountaintop in the vicinity of Mount Mang; this way it would be more convenient for a light cavalry to attack. If that is the case, the ce where Li Mis forces are hiding is ready to appear at the call! Kou Zhong stuck his ear on the ground. It was quite a whileter that he sat up and said with a wry smile, Shen poniang must have her troops wrap their horses hooves; Xiaodi cannot hear the slightest bit of noise. Xu Ziling sprang up and said, In that case, we must use our feet to walk, and use our eyes to look! The two boys withdrew into an underbrush; Shen Luoyans strange bird circled twice in the air before flying far away. The two boys crossed over the underbrush toward the opposite hillside, and looked down toward the forest below. They saw army tents extending forever into the distance, everything was clear and in good order, separated from the grasnd between Mount Mang and the city of Yanshi only by a hill. If the cavalry rode fast over the hill, they would be able to touch Yanshis city wall in just one sichen; it was definitely very convenient, while also extremely hidden. From here to Cui Yun Valley was about fifty li. This ce was northeast of the city of Yanshi. Beyond, there were vast grasnd and sparse forest and shrubbery. If Shan Xiongxin pitched camp due north of Yanshi, leaning against Mount Mang, then this ce became the horn from which the attacking momentum was the greatest; it was indeed following the art of war to the letter. Kou Zhong leaned over to Xu Ziling and whispered in his ear, Now we split up. You go to Yanshi and tell Yang Gongqing to send troops immediately, taking advantage while Li Mis legs are still unsteady, the people weary their horses tired, to brandish our troops and dominate the weak with the strong. I go to Zhai Jiao; while Li Mis storehouse is busy serving the battle, we will set fire and attack the camp from the rear, so that he will face the enemy from front and rear. After we capture Shen poniang, I will send her to you to be your convenience-wife for a night. Ha! Xu Ziling crossly said, Remember the firework signal; you must not miss this striking opportunity. Dont let Shen Luoyans strange bird find you first. Ay! Itsing again! The strange bird returned. This time it flew straight toward their hiding ce; it seemed to have found them. Xu Ziling gathered his power and waited with full concentration. Who would have thought that the strange bird circled one time, and then flew up high into the sky, let out a cry and went away? Kou Zhong said, Luckily that t-haired beast cannot talk; otherwise we will be in trouble. Why havent you left? Bang! Yang Gongqing pped the table and rose up;ughing aloud, he said, Li Mi is indeed a grandmaster in using odd strategy, but this time hees across a tiger; he is using odd tactic to invite disaster. I am going to have him able toe but will not able to leave. The crowd of high-ranking military officers stood up with a loud rumble, everybody was in high spirit, the morale was very high. Wang Xuanshu was so excited that his eyes shone, his handsome face brightened. Although Xu Zilings natural disposition was subdued and usually let things take their own course [Taoist doctrine of inaction], yet infected by the atmosphere of the army camp, he also had his blood racing. Thinking about Li Mis treachery and his ruthlessness, killing people like discarding weeds, also thinking about the innocent maids, servants and children of Zhai Rang Mansion, Ren En and his brothers demise, he really wished he could chop off Li Mis head. Yang Gongqing spoke with a huff, The army is ready and waiting, everything has been properly prepared. And then he shouted to the more than twenty generals standing on either side, We are going out of the city via the eastern gate, follow the river going east first, and then after winding around the forest we will change course to the north, straight toward Li Mis wonder troops hiding ce. The generals epted the order and left first. Yang Gongqing turned to Xu Ziling and said, I know Xu Xiongdi has never liked to brandish saber or using staff, but battlefield is not the same as Jianghu, weapon in hand is always a bit more convenient, what kind of weapon would Xu Xiongdi like to use? Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said, In that case, Id like to trouble Yang Da Jiangjun to give me ance! Kou Zhong, Zhai Jiao, and Tu Shufang, three people crouched low behind a huge boulder, looking into the distance through tall grass at the edge of the forest, to observe the activity in Li Mis camp. Even in the darkness before dawn, which usually made people negligent and tired, Kou Zhong could still feel the zing hatred spewing out of Zhai Jiaos eyes; inwardly he decided that during the attack to the campter, he must not leave her side even for a moment. Otherwise, if any unexpected misfortune came to this fiery-tempered, ugly yet proud and arrogant Big Miss, he would not be able to answer his sister Su. Zhai Jiaos voice, which sounded like it erupted suddenly from the gap between her teeth, spoke with hatred, Li Mi, you have never thought that this day wille. You picked a campsite to emphasis your strength; presently there is no danger around the wide-open camp, the stream under the sloping hill, with forest on both sides, and there is no strategic pass to defend. Whether sneak attack or setting fire, both will make you bag your food and leave before you finish eating. A strange feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. After going through the tragedy of having her household scattered and the people perished, although her temperament did not change, her knowledge and experience, as well as her attitude in facing problems, were totally different; she was not like the pampered, arrogant and willful thousand-catty gold Miss of her previous life. Tu Shufang said, Li Mi did not make mistakes, because the main purpose of his military operation this time is to subdue the enemy using the ambushing troops. With his back toward the dangerous mountain, he tends to be unassuming. By choosing this ce, which is easy to defend and easy tounch attack, if the troops from Yanshi arrive, he could ride up the hill, and regroup on the mountaintop. The only thing he left out by mistake is precisely our troops, which will attack from his back! This moment Xuan Yong came back from his hiding ce, The enemy has just eaten their dry rations, men and horses are trying to get some rest, even the soldiers on sentry duty are dozing off; this the best time to attack the camp. If after daybreak the construction battalion managed to dig trenches toy out a defense all around the camp, the difference in the degree of difficulty in attacking the camp would be like heaven and earth, clouds and mud. Zhai Jiao impatiently said, Xiao Zhong, what did you do? Howe we have not seen Yanshi cavalry yet? Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, Dont worry! Xiao Ling is handling it; dont you trust him? Right this moment, from the sky came the sound of pping wings. Shen Luoyans strange bird, which was able tomunicate with the spirits, flew in from the south, and danced a few circles over the camp with anxious movements. The camp immediately rose up in a roar, which rippled through entire camp in a short period of time. Breathing out a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong said, Theyre here! Prepare to attack. Book 18 Chapter 8 - Part 2 Xiaohu, yes, the battle is here. Ysabel, Jaya, Lao Qianbei, you are wee. Hungry, Sky, unfortunately, those two are still alive. Chowbeng, I did not mean to force anybody to leavement, you are right, sometimes we have nothing to say. DongBin, so much time to prepare, the battle itself is short. Chua, all in a good time ... Xu Xiong, I have NO idea what you are talking about, but thanks for sharing. By the time Yanshis approximately twenty thousand strong light cavalry of elite troops turned out in full strength, first traveling eastward along the northern bank of Luo River for three li, and then changed course to the north straight toward Wagangs main force camp, which was about twenty li from Yanshi, Shan Xiongxins new army recruits were very busy for they had just started to set up camp on several hilltops, backed by Mount Mang. The difference between victory and defeat may very well be decided in just one move. If Li Mi has had one more day, his officers and soldiers would have enough rest, and had enough chance to stabilize his troop-dispositions legs, then the situation would be something else. Yanshis forces took three separate routes; Wang Xuanshu and another general led a group of five thousand men, acting as the vanguard battalion, from left and right pressing on toward the enemy ranks. Yang Gongqing, Xu Ziling and Linglong Jiaos center division was divided into forward, middle, and rear, three groups, directly charging into Li Mis hidden army camp. The dawn has arrived, the birds lodging for the night soared into the sky. The ins, the forest, the mountain and the fields were shrouded in thick fog, the heaven and the earth looked hazy and boundless. The left and right, two-pronged vanguard battalion, was the first to arrive at the edge of the forest region. Outside the forest was a vast grasnd, stretching out to about two li deep and ten li wide. Wang Xuanshu followed his order to lie low, quietly waiting for the main army to arrive. The enemys banner and cavalry, disordered and in a mess, swarmed out of the mountain top; apparently they were in panic and terrified, at a loss to know what to do due to their sudden arrival. By this time the forward team of the main army galloped out of the forest, divided themselves into three groups, and spread over the in, in a fluid formation, as if they were a single organic life form. Seeing the opponents frantic troop disposition on the mountaintop, everybody was in high spirit and was eager to charge forward. Before the Wagang Armys archers and troops wielding the shield had any chance to form their battle array, Yang Gongqing already arrived. Upon seeing this, he let out a loud and longugh and said, Wagang kids, if Ol Yang cannot beat you and wipe you out this time,ter on Ol Yang will write my name backward. Seeing this, Xu Ziling nodded his approval. The main forces of his side have been honing their strength for the big push, their morale was like the rainbow; if they waited much longer, it would only weaken their own momentum. Therefore, while the enemy has not had any chance to steady their footing, they had to take them by the storm, which, again, was in deep agreement with the art of war. Tens of thousands hoof beats, the rumble shook the heavens; loud battle cry permeated the intense atmosphere of the entire battlefield. The three groups, of two thousand men each, constituting the main force sprinted directly uphill toward the enemys position. The first few rows of cavalrymen were holding shield and long spear on either hand to block the enemys arrows and darts, while the soldiers behind them were holding bow and arrow, ready to shoot as soon as theirrades at the front break into the enemy ranks. Yang Gongqing and Xu Zilings four thousand men followed tightly behind them, advancing slowly, providing support to the sharp riders at the front storming the enemy. The rumbling of sixteen big drums struck together enhanced the advancing prowess of the Wang Army. Xu Ziling was secretly paying close attention to Yang Gongqing as he continuously issued his orders. The g carrier following closely behind him also continuously waved the banner with different hand movements to send all kinds of signal. The wing battalions lying low on both sides also responded with their own g signals. Xu Ziling began to understand that a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses also had countless changes within them, not at all as simple as when the g was waved to the left they would move to the left, the g waved to the right they shifted to the right, when the drums were sounded they would advance, when the gongs were beaten they would retreat, and so on. Ahead suddenly battle cry shook the heavens, arrows screeching by; the long awaited decisive battle finally reached the stage where the two opposing forces came into contact. From the east and the west the sound of hoof beats rang out, the wing battalions left the forest to charge toward the enemy position on the hill slope. The big battle was finally in full swing. Kou Zhong, Zhai Jiao, Xuan Yong, Tu Shufang, along with approximately two-hundred and twenty-five soldiers that Zhai Rang left behind, were guiding their horses by the reins along a dense forest behind the Wagang Armys camp, watching with bated breath as the fric enemy rushing to the east and dashing to the west in the camp; some of them mounted their horses, some were running on foot, but all were rushing to the mountain top. The people shouting and the horse neighing, the upheaval was like the doomsday wasing. Everybody was holding a bow in one hand, and an arrow, which tip was wrapped with cloth or other mmable material, which had been soaked in kerosene, waiting for the optimum moment to strike the enemys rear. Xuan Yong whispered, Those thirty some tents on this side of the stream are all provisions tents. We are going to burn the provision tents first, and then attack the others. Zhai Jiao spoke in heavy voice, Li Mi is mine, I want to chop his stinky head with my own hands. Kou Zhong inwardly cry what a pity!; if Wang Bodang was around, Kou Zhong could im that his head belonged to him as well. Were it not for Wang Bodang, most probably Susu would not abandon herself to despair and randomly find a man to marry. And lo and behold, she chose this harboring-evil-intentions Xiang kid. This moment, from the other side of the mountain came the sound of weapons shing against each other and the battle cry, like the rumbling of thunder filling the whole sky. Zhai Jiao, brandishing her big Guan saber [I believe Guan here refers to Guan Gong/Guan Yu from the Three Kingdoms], which matched her build like seamless heavenly clothes, shouted loudly, All Xiongdi, the moment to avenge Da Longtou has arrived! Finished shouting, she took the lead by swiftly rushing out. Kou Zhong and the others, more than 200 men, also shouted together, lighted up their fiery arrows, and rushed out behind her. The fiery arrows streaked through the sky like more than 200 beautiful, brilliant fireworks of the Lantern Festival [night of the 15th of the first lunar month], painting the sky red as they flew across the dozen or so zhang distance toward the rear tents of the Wagang Army camp. One after another the tents caught fire; the fiery arrows missing their targetnded on the leaves and clusters of vegetation, creating the crackling noise of burning bushes. This kind of kerosene was highly mmable, the humidity in the air increased the fire intensity instead, the thick spring air did not affect it at all. By the time Zhai Jiao and the others attacked their way into the camp, they have already released three, four volleys for a total of nearly one thousand fiery arrows. More than half of the tents on both sides of the stream were aze, with thick smoke rose up to the sky. The enemy had never imagined the ambushing troops would attack from the rear; on top of that, the attack from the front was already more than they could attend to. In their panic, they practically failed see that the troops attacking from the rear were only a bit more than two hundred men. The weary troops staying behind at the camp to take care of things were immediately thrown into chaos, and were utterly defeated. When Zhai Jiaos big Guan saber de met a soldier, it chopped the soldier; when it saw an officer, it hacked the officer. Moreover, Kou Zhong, Xuan Yong, and Tu Shufang protected her from left, right and back, three directions, so that she was like a tiger that has grown wings, like a hot knife through butter swept through the enemy camp, charging through the Wagang Army troops blocking their attack that they were scattered and smashed. Taking advantage while the enemy was scattering in all directions, their men also killed and burned everywhere, turning the battlefield into a ughterhouse. The situation was chaotic and bitter to the extreme. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well was even more invincible; each saber strike, without the de even made contact, the saber qi was enough to injure the enemy and throw them to the ground. Xuan Yongs Bird Beak Strike [Book 14 Chapter 9] also disyed its astonishing prowess as it crisscrossed unhindered among the magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, killing the enemy that the opponent suffered a crushing defeat and scattered in all directions. Only a dozen of xiter [Ϣ must be a unit of time, but I could not find its definition], this group of troops filled with deep hatred already broke their way into the center of the enemy camp; only about a thousand paces or so, they would have passed through and reached the mountain slope. The general situation was decided, the only thing remained was to see whether their de could reach Li Mi, this powerful military general with an impressive record as never been defeated in battle. Book 18 - 9 – Defeat Like Collapsing Mountain Book 18 Chapter 9 C Defeat Like Copsing Mountain With morale like a rainbow, plus considering the troop disposition on the enemys side has not had stable footing, like three long snakes, the main force, consisting of three groups of two thousand men each, shot like swift arrows, fast like lightning, violent like the storm, charged up the mountain slope, breaking into the enemy ranks. Li Mi and his group of generals went up to the top of the hill; before themanders banner was even erected, he directed his subordinates to dash down the hill to intercept the enemy, hoping to break the first round of the enemys assault, trying to give his troops the chance to regroup, and then with his superior military strength, he would meet the enemy head on. The arrows were raining down from the sky. The cavalry from both sides met in the middle of the slope, which covered several li of grassy hillside, engaging each other in a close hand-to-handbat. Momentarily the sky turned hazy the earth darkened, the sun and the moon lost their light. The four thousand elite cavalry under Yang Gongqings leadership were slowly, but steadily pressing forward. For Xu Ziling, riding on Yang Gongqings left, this was the first time that he officially participated in a bloody battle between two armies; not only that, it was a pure cavalry battle, where victory or defeat was decided very fast. He could not help being terrified by bitter atmosphere. Deep down in his heart he realized that under this kind of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, it did not matter how brilliant his skill was, the only thing he could depend on was really the power of cooperation with his teammates. Yang Gongqings eyes were gleaming brightly as he looked at Li Mi, sitting on horseback on top of the hill under hismanders banner; turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Cavalry is also known as engaged-disengaged troops, because it can disengage but can engage as well. Quick to disperse and quick to gather, whether its a hundred or a thousand li, going out anding in with no gap between them, rapid, swift, nimble, and rushing; therefore, this is the troop to determine victory. This time, if our side did not rely entirely on the intercepting, rushing, hastening cavalry, Li Mis children would not have been in such a difficult situation. Xu Ziling noticed that although Li Mis cavalry engaging the enemy continuously falling down, but because of their superior number, there were others continuously taking their ce, they were able to hold down his sides cavalry that it was difficult to gain a cun advantage, and was forced to engage in a chaotic warfare. While he was worrying about it, his sides two wing-cavalries were already charging at the enemy from both sides, immediately the Wagang Army found that it was more than they could attend to, and the entire array was thrown into a chaos. At this point, his mind already went back to its original calm, quiet-like-still-water state. He saw the beautiful, flower-like Shen Luoyan by Li Mis side was ferociously staring at him. Right this moment, thick smoke rose to the sky behind Li Mi, followed by the battle cry shaking the heavens. Yang Gongqingughed aloud and said, Little boy Li Mi has fallen into the trap! Whoever can chop the head from his neck will be rewarded with a hundred tael of gold. These words were spoken with his qi, so that his voice shook the battlefield. Battle drums echoed wildly, Yang Gongqings most elite cavalry finally entered the battle, pulling apart the overall battle situation. Recalling the blood debt of the people of Zhai Rang Mansion, from top to bottom, and of Ren En and his men, Xu Ziling urged his horse to charge forward, to rush up the hill slope. Wagang troops, which were weary from rushing all night, seeing the ze soaring to the sky from the rear of their camp, lost their zeal to continue fighting; they scattered in all directions, and were no longer able to stop the-longer-the-battle-the-braver-they-were, their-momentum-like-a-rainbow Yanshis elite cavalry. Li Mi and his nearly ten-thousand-strong personal guards finally started to move, charging down toward Yang Gongqings main force, hoping they could draw the violently swelling water from copsing the dam. Unfortunately, since ancient times, there was no ce on earth more realistic and more callous than the battlefield. With the defeat imminent, even if Sun Wu [Sun Tzu] reborn, Kong Ming [Zhuge Liang] reincarnated, theycked the strength to reverse the rotation of the sky. Leading a group of more than five hundred warriors, Xu Ziling went straight up the hill toward Li Mi like a hot knife through butter. Each strike of his spear, either poking or stabbing, sweeping or blocking, his spiraling energy like mountain sh flood crashing against the enemy trying to resist him, killing and throwing them off their horses, not a single one lucky enough to escape albeit narrowly; especially the enemy charging down from up the hill, who happened to be in his way, could ever block thisnce, a long-reaching weapon that could attack solidly from a distance, which Xu Ziling was able to move with extreme dexterity. In this kind of moment, where the point of the spear shed against the saber de, if you did not die, then I perish. There was practically no ce for benevolence. Dang! A long sword, which appeared like a divine sword dropping from the sky, parried his spear, which he thought was going to make a kill. Focusing his attention, Xu Ziling realized that the sword wielder was unexpectedly one of the Wagang Twin Tiger Generals [or valiant generals], whose fame was on par with Wang Bodang, Pei Renji. Ahead, densely crowded together, were Wagang troops. The pressure on him was immediately multiplied many times over; to his left and right, the fighters from both sides were falling down one after another, yet in the blink of an eye, the ces they vacated were taken by theirrades from behind. Xu Ziling let out a long whistle, the blood debt of his allies, who had fought side by side with him, but have met a violent death, welled up in his breast. Thence in his hand turned into a phantom shadow of thousands of spears; his qi whistling sharply, like a gale blowing huge waves he stormed toward Pei Renji. Kou Zhong and the others, with the courage of male lion, under Zhai Jiaos leadership, more than two hundred men, scattered and gathered together again, like a razor sweeping through the enemys rear. This moment the rear of the enemys camp has been engulfed in raging mes and thick smoke, there was no way to retreat anymore, plus from time to time the morning breeze rolled the smoke up, making people wanted to keep away from it as quickly as possible. As they fought desperately over the endless hill slope, the enemy could not figure out what was true and what was false, they merely fought desperately trying to escape from either side of the hill, which greatly increased the attackers power and influence. The two people were of the same heart, their sharpness could cut through gold. These more than two hundred men were all the younger generation of Zhai Rangs personal guards, throughout Wagang Armys uprising, they had always followed Zhai Rang. They had been waiting for this opportunity for revenge with craned neck; and were very well aware that if they could not join the army ahead, death would be their only way out, hence they fought even more desperately. One side was a flustered, weary army; the other side was an armed force driven by vengeance and had made up their mind to die. The difference in their mindset indeed could not be measured with reasons. Wagang Army has entered the panic-stricken state as if they were trying to evade a spreading gue, naturally it was difficult to organize an effective resistance. After Kou Zhong and the others sessfully charged through and broke up a cavalry regiment Li Mi sent to intercept them, they finally reached the hilltop. As far as their eyes could see, there were enemy troops scattering in all directions trying to escape with their lives, while intense battle was still raging on in the middle of the hill slope and on either side of the hill. They also saw Yanshi troops who had been able to break through the enemys line of defense, charging to the left and dashing to the right among the utterly-defeated enemy ranks, crisscrossing the hill to attack the enemy. The hill slope was densely covered with the dead and the injured, fully disying the ruthlessness of war. The blood dyed the underbrush that the slope became a vast red blood area, shocking the eye, astonishing the heart. With a quick nce Zhai Jiao already saw Li Mismander banner; she shouted, Today Zhai Rangs daughter hase to demand your life! pping the horses butt, she galloped down the hill toward the crowd of Li Mis personal guards. Zhai Jiaos group had red cloth tied to their heads for identification. As Yanshi troops saw them, they immediately made way for them. Moreover, from among Li Mis choicest elite troops, more than half actually Zhai Rangs former subordinates. Recognizing the neer as their Big Miss Zhai Jiao, psychologically, they did not dare to block, plus they realized that they had been defeated, hence seeing the group of ready-to-die warriors under her leadership, their courage was shaken immediately, and all they wanted to do was to hastily flee for their lives. Wagang troopsst shred of what little will to fight remaining in their heart finally fell apart. When everyone was unsure, feeling as if they had entered a no-man realm, as they charged toward the rear of Li Mis personal guards, about a hundred men charged up the hill to meet them. They recognized the leaders as Xu Shiji and the Two-Malevolent of Changbai, Fu Zhen and Fu Yan, two brothers. The former had a long halberd in his hands, while thetter two were still using their usual weapons, long-handled ax and hook-sword. All threes battle attire was dyed red with blood; their expression sinister, but they looked tired. Kou Zhong let out a shaking-the-heaven longughter, leaped up from his saddle, and pounced down on the three men, while calling out loudly, Kou Zhongsing! By this time Kou Zhongs name was quite well known throughout the world. When they heard it, immediately there were a number of men among Li Mis personal guards who lost their courage; leaving their post, they fled for their lives. Dang! Dang! Dang! Kou Zhong repeatedly shot up and pounced down again, while the Moon in the Well in his hand hacked down as fast as lightning, to block the three mens attack. Zhai Jiao and her men also arrived and attacked, immediately this squad of counterattacking troops was shattered in all directions. Fu Zhen, Fu Yans courage was gone, they couldnt even release half of their usual power; as soon as they saw this, they were the first to run to the side and disappeared. Being left alone, Xu Shiji could not cope; he somersaulted backward from his mount, and was barely able to evade Kou Zhongs dangerous move. Zhai Jiao bent down from her horse and brandished her Guan saber, sweeping it across Xu Shijis chest. Xu Shiji was also exceptional; in this kind of situation, he was still able to drop his long halberd, pulled the sword hanging on his waist, and met her Guan saber head-on. Dang! Xu Shiji, his body and his sword, was thrown down the hill, but it has also saved his life. These past several years, Zhai Jiao trained painstakingly day and night, just for this moment; naturally she did not have time to care about other people, with violent roar she pounced directly at Li Mi. Xuan Yong, Tu Shufang, and a group of her man ran after her in great flurry, while the brave and unstoppable Kou Zhongnded on the empty saddle of Xu Shijis horse; tapped his toes on the saddle, and soared toward Xu Ziling, who was in melee against Li Mi, Pei Renji, Shen Luoyan, Zu Junyan, and the others, like celestial soldier descending to the world. In simr cases, by soaring in the sky like this, his body waspletely exposed against the enemys arrows, darts, swords and spears; it was really no different frommitting suicide. However, this moment every one of the enemies really had no time to take care of himself, for fear that it was toote for them to escape, hence nobody had any time to attack him. After injuring Pei Renji, Xu Ziling finally had a face-off against Li Mi. Book 18 Chapter 9 - Part 2 Kowloon, Hungry, I knew you guys were only waiting for the actions. Ysabel, Jaya, Sky, you are wee. Xu Xiong, why? I cant wait for them to get out of Luoyang. Its been too long. Xiaohu, if your inte connection is slow, it would take a long time to download the contents. I didnt have any problem earlier. Since their meeting at the abandoned vige, this was the first-time Xu Ziling stood face to face with this overlord whose name shook the world. Li Mis build was tall and sturdy, singr and majestic. His countenance looked old and inelegant, his long hair draped over his broad shoulders on both sides, his torso was lined with flickering, shiny armor. When he brandished the heavy steel spear in his hand, it felt light, as if floating. His eyes were gleaming with cold light, yet there was some kind of insufferably-arrogant, ambitious-and-ruthless-character aura around him. However, his body already had multiple injuries. He shed with his spear more than a dozen times in session, all were strenuously blocked by Xu Ziling; the two were immediately locked in hard battle. Each time Xu Ziling blocked Li Mis spear, he felt as if he was being pounded by a thousand-catty boulder, shaking him severely that his qi and blood were churning. Fortunately, his true qi, which came from the Secret to Long Life and the Jade Annulus of He n did not circte the same path as regr qi, so that not only it was able to neutralize the opponents qi, it generated new energy as well, so that he was able to meet spear strike by spear strike. Its just that obviously his riding skill was inferior to the opponents, so that he was only on the defensive position, and could only take the beating from Li Mi. Kou Zhong pouncing down from the sky immediately reverse the whole situation. Although all around him Li Mi only had less than two thousand personal guards remaining, but all along his military power was at least double the enemys, plus he had the advantage of upying higher-up-on-the-hill position. Were it not for Kou Zhongs ambushing troops suddenly appeared from the rear, reasonably speaking he ought to be able to hold on much longer, or at least would be able to retreat in orderly manner, unlike now, where his troops were scattering in all directions, and was difficult to maintain their formation. Still, from beginning to end, Yanshi forces were unable to consolidate their power to annihte Wagang troops; they were merely able to hold the upper hand, while trying to stop the escaping enemies, which continuously erging the battlefield, so that the fighting spread to long grasnd on the hill slope, down to the sparse forest region at the bottom of the hill. If they did not leave now, what were they waiting for? Li Mi sighed inwardly. If it were regr Jianghus fight-to-the-death instead of battlefield where the enemy was determined to die, even if he had to face strong enemy like Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong fighting together, he could still give it all and strive for victory. However, under present circumstances, he had be a target of multitude arrows, where wave after wave, in thousands and in hundreds, the enemies wereing to kill him. At any given time he had to deal with a variety of weapons, not only he could not unleash any exquisite move, oftentimes he had to decide whether he should dodge a saber strike or to meet the tip of a spear, while trying to evade the really deadly attack. Naturally he did not dare to go all out either, because he wanted to avoid huge loss of his true strength, to such an extent that he did not have enough strength to continue. What he used were simple, direct, and effective moves. All those usual tricks of luring the enemy or confusing the enemy were quite useless this time. He knew that if he let Kou Zhong flew overhead, while Xu Ziling, another first-ss martial art master, entangling him, even if he continued staking everything he had, he would only end up dead. While Li Mi was about to shout,manding his troops to retreat, Shen Luoyan already cut in between he and Xu Ziling, and shouted tenderly, Mi Gong, go! Li Mi knew that before his eyes was the only chance to escape; in the end he roared the sentence that ever since his debut to contend for hegemony over the world has never spoken out of his mouth, Everybody, go! Leaping off his horse, the steel spear in his hand swiftly shot toward Kou Zhong. Dang! Both men were thrown backwards at the same time. Whoosh! Zhai Jiaos Guan saber left her hand and flew across the three zhang distance over the battlefield toward Li Mi. Pei Renji and the others cried out in fear simultaneously, Mi Gong, be careful! Qiang! Li Mi swung his spear backward to block the Guan saber. Borrowing the impact force, he flew out, kicked an enemy off the saddle, and rode the horse to the east to escape. Xu Ziling parried Shen Luoyans sword more than a dozen times in session, but did not counterattack even half a spear strike. He said with a bitterugh, Beautiful Junshi, please! Deeply moved, Shen Luoyan cried and called out, Xu Ziling, how are you? Reining in her horse, she turned around after her sides warriors, who were retreating in defeat, and galloped away wildly. Zhai Jiao roared her order for her troops to pursue the enemys remnants relentlessly. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were fully aware that cornered enemy must not be pursued; afraid that she might failed, they hastily galloped after her. The bugle horn ordering the retreat was finally sounded, indication the direction that the runaway defeated soldiers ought to take. The melee has turned into a chase, with Yanshi forces pursued the enemy for more than ten li. It was only because Yang Gongqing had some misgivings about Shan Xiongxins troops that he beat the gong to recall the troops. Ever since Wang Shichongs army started to a war against the Wagang Army, this was the very first time that they scored a victory. This battle resulted in Li Mis defeated army running away to Luokou; from 40,000 cavalry, only a bit more than ten thousand men remained, the casualties were extremely disastrous. On the other hand, Yanshi army only lost about two-thousand something men; the victory was effortless and brilliant. Bare-chested, Kou Zhong sat on a rock by the Luo River, as if he was sitting on the throne, while an army doctor was tending the wound on his left arm, right waist, and chest. Yang Gongqing has already led the main force back to Yanshi, to guard against Shan Xiongxin taking advantage of attacking while the city defense was quite weak, because he had left only one thousand soldiers in the city. He wanted to stop Li Mi, in case he turned back to mount sneak attack, or perhaps joined forces with Shan Xiongxin to restore his military strength. Xu Zilings wounds had already been dressed properly, plus his injury was lighter than Kou Zhongs, simply because from the start his troops had upied superior position, unlike Kou Zhongs meager military strength prating deep into the enemys camp. The sun was about to sink behind the western hills, the soldiers were resting in clusters on the several hills nearby, overlooking the ins on both sides of the river downstream toward Luokou. Four battle ships were moored on the shore, delivering army provisions, medicine, and the cleanup crew. The remains of the soldiers from their side would be brought back to Yanshi for proper burial, while those from the enemys side would be buried in a mass grave on site, in order to avoid gue and unpleasant ailment. Zhai Jiao, Xuan Yong, and their men were still searching for enemys track nearby; they have not returned yet. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, On the battlefield, it doesnt matter if your martial art skill is unrivalled, its impossible not to be injured. Question is how to avoid mortal hit. Right now on Xiaodis body, from head to foot, the muscles are sore, the bones aching. Even a fierce battle against Zhu Yuyan would not be this strenuous. Xu Ziling was watching four cleanup crews struggling to push a cart loaded with dead bodies up the gangnk into the ship; momentarily he was unable to speak. This moment, Linglong Jiao, leading about a dozen riders, who have been out to scout the movement of Li Mis defeated army, returned. She flew off the horse, and then, walking heroically yet elegantly toward the two boys, and reported, This time Li Mis had failed miserably. Along the sides of the road there was a continuous chain of men who were unable to hold on and fell from their horses; even hismander banner was thrown away. I am afraid when he rose his army, he had never dreamed of having such a tragic military campaign. Kou Zhong scrutinized all the exquisite [Linglong] curves on her tender [Jiao] body up and down several times, before smiling and said, Only someone like Jiaojiao, whos able to control the overall situation of a bloody battle from a distance, can escape without the slightest injury. Ha! Linglong Jiaos pretty face blushed as she said, If you are mocking me for not exerting myself on the battlefield, I will never let you off. But since you are calling me such a pleasant name like Jiaojiao, plus considering that you are injured that your face is green your lips are white, I forgive you for the time being. Kou Zhong said with augh, Seeing your tender body is unharmed, my heart is gratified; thats all! Did Li Mi take a hike to his old native ce Luokou? That old kid slipped away so quickly. Zhai Jiao was back as well; with excited look on her face she leaped off the horse and called out, We are going to attack Luokou immediately. Hearing that, deep frown immediately appeared on Xuan Yong and Tu Shufangs faces; they even signaled Kou Zhong with their eyes. However, going against everybodys expectation, Kou Zhong said, Indeed heroes usually agree; lets go aboard the ship and return to Yanshi immediately, we will discuss the great n to attack Luokou with Yang Da Jiangjun. Everybody was taken by surprise. It should be noted that Shan Xiongxin still had nearly 60,000 troops stationed by Mount Mang, north of Yanshi city. It did not matter how useless this batch of new army recruits were, if they hastily attack Luokou, this useless army would still be a threat to their rear. However, by this time no one did not submit cheerfully toward Kou Zhongs strange ns and amazing schemes. It was as if he must have had a card up his sleeve before he could say that remark. Kou Zhong grabbed the Moon in the Well, which had been lying by his side, and cast his eyes in the direction of Luokou, as he spoke indifferently, Li Mi would never ept that he was running to Luokou just like that; he would definitely try to join forces with Shan Xiongxin with the hope of turning defeat into victory. Therefore, as long as we can stop them from joining up, and can make Shan Xiongxin not daring to act hastily, those troops guarding Luokou under Bing Yuanzhen would only have one way out: surrender. Wang Bodang is even more powerless to defend Jinyong. Following up a victory and pressing home the attack is one way to maximize the oue of the war, does Da Xiaojie believe so? For the first time Zhai Jiao sincerely listened to Kou Zhong; delighted, she said, Xiao Zhong, you are indeed a talented fieldmander which hard toe by in the present age; if in those days Die had encountered you instead of that traitor Li Mi, the world would have be our Wagang Armys! Book 18 - 10 – Great Reward to Family Member Book 18 Chapter 10 C Great Reward to Family Member Standing on the bow of the ship, Xu Ziling was staring nkly into the distance. River breeze came directly at his face, his clothes were fluttering in the wind, yet it was unable to blow away the horrific memory of the wretched and severe war! He understood the inevitability and unavoidability of war, just like the never-ending struggle and feud of Jianghu. Even for someone as detached from the world as Shi Feixuan, it would still be difficult to ignore the suffering of themon people, that she realized that she must use wu [martial/military] to ovee wu, and that unification of the world was a must. Kou Zhong came to his side; looking into the distance at the sinking red sun ahead, he said leisurely, Only after a fierce battle will one realize that the ordinary things in ordinary everyday life are actually precious. One might well ask, the moment we were fighting hand-to-hand, deciding life or death, on the battlefield, who would have time to pay attention to the touching beautiful scenery of sunrise and sunset? Revealing a pained look on his face, Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, Zhong Shao seems to enjoy the pleasant lingering effect of the aftermath of the battle a bit too much. Kou Zhong replied, As long as we did not die, everybody would feel the indescribable happiness. Especially after a big victory. Much less the victory was so close! After a short pause, he mused, I must form an invincible cavalry of my own personal guards; otherwise, when I encounter Li Shimin in the future, how could I resist his ck Armor Elite Cavalry? Xuan Yongs voice came from behind, Kou Yes way of thinking is extremely insightful, I wonder if you ever heard about the ten advantages of using the cavalry? Delighted, Kou Zhong said, Id like to hear the details. Xuan Yong came to Kou Zhongs side, and said seriously, One: facing the enemy right from the start. Two: taking advantage of weakness to defeat the enemy. Three: chasing scattered enemy, striking disordered enemy. Four: attacking the enemy striking the rear, making the enemy run. Five: protecting the provisions, securing the armys path. Six: defeating the enemys closed or separated-by-water path, while developing the connection between two areas. Seven: catching the enemy off guard, striking the soldiers before they rouse their brigade. Eight: attacking the ck when it is the least expected. Nine: burning its umtion, emptying its city. Ten: sweeping its opennd, capturing its children. With these ten principles, the advantage of cavalry will be maximized. This time Kou Ye was able to deal a big blow on Li Mi, all because you were able to disy the advantage of cavalry battle to the fullest, hence you could use the few to defeat the many, and use the rapid to subdue the weary. Xu Ziling said, Problem is that everybody knows the advantage of the cavalry, but why is it that only Li Shimin could have invincible cavalry, plus their number is limited to only a thousand? Xuan Yong replied, This kind of matter is always easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice. Who wouldnt want to think that his own cavalrys prestige surpasses others, but has to suffer the limitation of talented military officers, horsemanship, warriors quality, warhorse, and equipment? Purely from cavalry standpoint, nobody in the world could surpass Flying Horse Ranchs expertise in breeding and trading horses, so that even though they number in merely several tens of thousand, they are able to resist Du Fuwei in the east, ward off Zhu Can in the west, blocking Wang Shichong in the north, and pressing down Xiao Xian, Lin Shihong, in the south, even making it difficult for the Three Big Bandits to gain a cun advancement, while disying their prowess in equestrian archery at the same time. Coming in like fire, leaving like the wind, so that it is impossible to defend effectively. Kou Zhongs eyes immediately lit up. Yanshi appeared ahead, their g was flying on the city wall. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief and said, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! As long as Yanshi, you, Senior, is still safe and sound, this time Li Mi will really be done for! Finished listening, Yang Gongqing swept Kou Zhong, Zhai Jiao, Xuan Yong, Wang Xuanshu, Tu Shufeng, Linglong Jiao, six people sitting around the table with his eyes one time all the way through; only then did he nod and say, We have nothing to fear of Li Mi and Bing Yuanzhen, but Shan Xiongxins new army is currently constructing a rampart to strongly defend their position. If they can hold off against us for then days, half a month, when Li Mi finishes restructuring his army and stabilizing his footings, the situation might bepletely different. Zhai Jiao looked at Kou Zhong; apparently, since he single-handedly engineered this close-to-impossible miraculous feat of defeating Li, her impression on him was greatly changed, and now she would follow him blindly. Xu Ziling was not present at this most important military meeting after the big battle; he withdrew into a quiet room. Kou Zhong slyly said, Because Li Mi thought that we are short of provisions, he decided on blitzkrieg strategy, to avoid us replenishing our supply from the Eastern Capital; therefore, ining south this time, he did not bring too much provisions. As a result, as long as we can upy Wang Bodang at Jinyong so that he is incapable of supporting Shan Xiongxin, even if Shan Xiongxin has millions of main forces, he would surrender as it will be the only way to go. Zhai Jiao nodded and said, Wang Bodangs force defending Jinyong is only several thousands strong, plus they can be considered new army recruits, definitely powerless to defend Jinyong. Xuan Yong said, We have our people within the Jinyong city; as long as Da Jiangjun makes a bluffing move of attacking Jinyong, when the peoples heart grew timid, we could seize the opportunity to burn their granaries. Inside and outside coborate, Wang Bodang will have no choice but to abandon the city and cross the river to go back to Heyang. Emotionally moved, Yang Gongqing said, That is certainly a feasible n. Frowning, Wang Xuanshu said, Supposing when we are marching to Jinyong, Shan Xiongxin divided his troops into two, one proceeded to assist Jinyong, the other to attack Yanshi, and then Li Mi also seized this opportunity toe to the east, wont we be caught is perilous situation? Yang Gongqingughed and said, Er Gongzi need not worry. Lets talk about Jinyong first. We only need to send five thousand cavalry, to advance and station outside the city of Jinyong, by the time Shan Xiongxin received the news, we would already gain a stable footing, then we could use light cavalry on surprise attack to make his new army tired of constantly running for their life. And when their heart is in the state of panic like that, Shan Xiongxins new army practically wont have the morale and strength to face an attack and meet it. Tu Shufang leisurely sucked in the tobo pipe in his hand; puffing out a hazy smoke, he said with a smile, As long as we can force Wang Bodang to give up defending Jinyong, leave it to Ol Tu to deal with Shan Xiongxin. I will inflict pain that he had never knew before, to see if he is a sensible soldier with a clear view of things. However, before I see him, it would be best if we could make Bing Yuanzhen surrender without fighting, so that Li Mi would lose his momentum, exhaust his strength, and forever will not have any hope of making aeback [orig. return to office after living as a hermit on Mount Dong (must be an idiom with historical background, but I cant find it yet. Sun Quan of Three Kingdoms period?)]. Linglong Jiao also spoke up, Shan Xiongxin has at least a ten days time, before he could cut lumber to build cart and makedders, and make preparation to attack Yanshi; now he ought not dare to act blindly without thinking. Yang Gongqing said, Capturing Jinyong city is a trivial matter. Even if we cant burn Wang Bodangs provisions, as long as bluff by pretending to attack the city, I guarantee Wang Bodang would be on the lookout to make his escape. Jinyong really is not a strong fortified city; it is far inferior to Yanshi. It did not fell before, simply because Li Mis main force was holding us up! A slight pauseter, he went on, But if we want Bing Yuanzhen to surrender, we must lure Li Mi out of Luokou; otherwise, based on his former prestige, he might make apprehension to grow in Bing Yuzhens heart. Having a card up his sleeve, Xuan Yong said, Whether its Bing Yuanzhen or Shan Xiongxin, both were Zhai Yes former subordinates, they are dissatisfied that Li Mi murdered Zhai Ye, only they are angry, but not daring to speak out. For the past few years Li Mi continuously supports only his trusted aides, which increases their resentment; therefore, as long as we could create a situation where they feel deeply threatened, I can guarantee that they are going to surrender and return their allegiance to us, and will not throw their life in for Li Mi, whose prestige is falling fast. Looking at Kou Zhong, Yang Gongqing said, Kou Junshi, whats your view on this matter? Kou Zhongughed and said, This n is called dividing the troops into two directions, bluffing the enemy. On one hand, we dispatch fast riders to force Jinyong, on the other hand we send the army to cross the river, acting as if we are going to besiege the hard-to-shake Luokous defense. Of these two, the former must be aplished first; only if we can force Wang Bodang to move will we make the river crossing. Wang Xuanshu said, If we want to transport the siege equipment across to the camp on the opposite bank, due to the limited load capacity of the pontoon bridge, it will take a long time. If Shan Xiongxin and Li Mi receive the information ande to attack, wont we be in a very bad situation? Kou Zhong smiled and replied, Hence the reason we must force Wang Bodang to leave first to break Shan Xiongxins retreating route and persuade him to surrender before we can proceed with this n. By that time, if Li Mi heard and came to attack, he would find that Shan Xiongxin is holding the troops in self-defense, while Bing Yuanzhen has offered up Luokou as sacrifice to Heaven; other than running away, what else can he do? Yang Gongqingughed aloud and said, Kou Junshi has certainly given this n thorough consideration. There is no time to lose, tonight well take a good rest, bestow all three armies, boost their morale. Tomorrow we take advantage of the dark before dawn to start moving the troops. Well send five-thousand-cavalry toward Jinyong to bluff. As long as Wang Bodang abandon the city and flee, the other ns can be executed one by one, to make that boy Li Mi suffer a setback that will lead to total copse, and something that he will regret the rest of his life. Book 18 Chapter 10 - Part 2 Xu Xiong, I thought so too, not the terror list , but somehow he is blocked, or perhaps hiswork provider blocks it. BTW, thanks for the article in English. Hungry, thanks for checking for Xiaohu. Jaya, Ysabel, Spy, you are wee. Xiaohu, if youd contacted me, I would be happy to send you my original MS-Word document. Sky, we should have known ... Whiteskwirl, thanks for sharing the news. Rest in peace Huang Yi. Chua, thanks for sharing your favorites. I dont have any ... Ren, long time no see, I didnt even know you are still around. Akw, thanks for sharing. Chowbeng, Lao Qianbei, Liem, thanks for dropping by. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling escorted Zhai Jiao as they stood to her left and right on lookout tower of the northern city wall, looking into the distance where the enemy camp stretched more than one li north of the city, with their back against Mount Mang. Zhai Jiao has changed a lot. Although she still had fiery temper, impatient, rude and impetuous, clearly she was much better in speaking reasons and willing to listen to others,pared to previously, when she was still the thousand-catty of gold [(honorific) daughter] Big Miss. Because of her rtionship with Susu, the two boys were especially respectful to her, even cherished her. Zhai Jiao suddenly sighed and said, If my Dies spirit in heaven knew that the Wagang Army, which he founded single-handedly, was unexpectedly destroyed by his own daughter, I wonder if his feeling would be hurt and it would be hard for him to take. Understanding the contradiction in her heart, in which she worried about personal gains and losses, Kou Zhong tactfully exined, Supposing Buddhists concept of reincarnation is true, right now Da Longtou might be a little white and plump, adorable baby; of course he would forget everything from his previous life, be happy and forget all worries. But then again, supposing death is like extinguishedntern, it would be like eternal sleep without waking up again, the four elements are vanity [idiom: this world is an illusion], then nothing to be worried anymore. Therefore, Da Xiaojie does not need to be anxious on Da Longtous spirit in heavens behalf. Right now the only thing you must think about is the deep pleasure after you put that thief Li Mi to the de! Zhai Jiaos pair of huge eyes lit up; she spoke with conviction, If Die is allowed to be reincarnated as a healthy little treasure, and if I could find that little treasure, wouldnt it mean that I will be together with Die? You, two kids, must find a way for me to do that! Hearing that, the two boys were grieving inside. Up to this moment, Zhai Jiao still could not ept the brutal truth that when Zhai Rang died, he would nevere back, hence she made that kind of opening-the-heaven request. Under repeated urges from her, Kou Zhong grabbed his head and said, The only way if we could find a medium who is able tomunicate with spirits to inquire, to see if Da Longtou can personally furnish information for us. Pow! Zhai Jiaos huge palm pped heavily on the back of Kou Zhongs shoulder; the pain made his teeth ached and his mouth split. She spoke in great delight, This kid really know how to use your brains; in Jianghu, those who are experts inmunicating with spirits, none can surpass one from a sect in Sichuan province, the Tong Tianzhen Mu [lit. old woman whomunicate with deities], Xia Miaoying. After killing Li Mi, you guys will apany me to look for her. Kou Zhong blurted out, What kind of heretical sect is that? Zhai Jiao angrily said, As long as we can find Die, why do you care whether she is from heretical or orthodox sect? Are you going to apany me or not? Xu Ziling feebly said, However, we want to look for Su Jie first. Zhai Jiao was severely shaken, Susu is still alive? Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Who said Su Jie ... hey! Hot tears were starting to form on Zhai Jiaos eyes; her voice trembled as she said, Where is Susu? To this Big Miss, the two people closest to her in this world were Zhai Rang, and next in line was the beloved maid who grew up with her. This moment, hearing that Susu was still alive, she was overwhelmed with emotion. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt a stab of pain in their heart at the same time; they were overwhelmed with intense remorse that they felt they had no face to see Zhai Jiao. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Su Jie is in Baling right now, she ... ay! She is married and bore a son. Zhai Jiao suddenly reached out to grab Xu Zilings arm; she shouted, After killing Li Mi, we will look for Susu first, and then well go to Sichuan. What kind of guy did Susu marry? Kou Zhong felt so helpless that he replied with a voice so low that it was barely audible, That guy is called Xiang Yushan, a great general under the self-proimed Emperor Liang, Xiao Xian. Ay! This guy ... With teardrops hanging on her face, Zhai Jiao revealed a sincere smile; she was not even aware that there were more to what the two boys were saying. Letting go of Xu Zilings arm, she said in happiness, Susu did not die, thats good enough! In fear and trepidation, Kou Zhong tried to feel her out, We still need to get one or two things ready before we could look for Su Jie. Contrary to the two boys expectation, Zhai Jiao nodded and said, I also have something else I need to do; lets see if we could agree on a time and a ce, then well go together to Baling! Naturally the two boys did not dare to refuse; they could only groaned inwardly, sad and dejected. The joy of victory waspletely reced by deep guilt. After escorting Zhai Jiao back to her quarter at the Commander Mansion, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling went to the rear circr pavilion and sat down face to face, with worried look on their faces. Kou Zhong sighed and said, It would be best if after Da Xiaojie sees that Su Jie did not marry the right person, in her anger she would kill us, and then we can be reincarnated, all worries of the previous life would be forgotten, once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Sitting dejectedly on the stone bench, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, That is a cowards way of thinking. After we get to Baling, we must get Su Jie, mother and son, out of there, no matter what. Anybody dares to oppose us, we kill them. Kou Zhong bitterly said, If it was Su Jie who wanted to oppose us, are you saying you would kill her too? Besides, even if we tell her that Xiang Yushan is a hundred percent crook, with Li Jing already hurt her heart deeply, how could she take another big blow? Burying his face in his hands, Xu Ziling groaned, Oh Laotianye! Please tell us what to do. Frowning deeply, Kou Zhong mused, Perhaps Bu Tianzhi will be able to help us in this matter. At least he could go back to Baling and sound Su Jie out, and then based on his information, we can work something out. Xu Ziling looked up and said, That is in no way the only thing we can do in this matter. It would be best if we could grab Xiang Yushans biggest weakness, and then force him to voluntarily let go. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder; lowering his voice, he said, After our business in Jiangdu is finished, you and I will go back to Baling together; momentarily we are going to set aside all those Duke Yang Treasure or what have you, what could be more important than Su Jie? Stunned, Xu Ziling said, That wont work! Unless you dont want to contend for the world anymore. This is a matter where every moment counts. Kou Zhong sat down and with rueful smile he said, Su Jie is now our only family in the world; if she has any mishap, Ill never be happy, and then why would I even want to contend over the world? Xu Ziling nodded and said, From Jiangdu taking the boat to Baling in the west will only take us ten days. I am only afraid that Xiao Xian will not let us take Su Jie away; this must be considered in details. Itste! Lets go back and have some rest! The next day the city of Yanshi was still buzzing with the after-the-big-victory excitement; the army officers went around on horseback to encourage the soldiers, in preparation for the next major battle. The siege equipment was already on the main street leading to the southern gate, ready to be transported out of the city and toward the opposite bank any moment, giving out the impression that they were going to attack Luokou. Because the waterway was sealed by the enemys fortification, thend route to attack Luokou was the only feasible alternative. By wu hour [11am C 1pm] two warships from the Eastern Capital began to dock, another great general, Zhang Zhenzhou, received Wang Shichongs order toe, bringing rewards for the three armies on the big victory, as well as bringing one thousand reinforcements. Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing had a closed meeting in a private room. It was a full sichenter that they finally summoned Kou Zhong in, whilepletely disregarded Wang Xuanshu. The two generals expression looked strangely grave. After sitting down, Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, What could possibly happen? Could it be that Yang Dong and Dugu Feng have gained the upper hand? Zhang Zhenzhou let out a cold humph and said, After Dugu Feng learned about Li Mis big defeat, he immediately fled the Eastern Capital. We forced our way into the Imperial Pce, and had Yuan Wendu and Lu Da executed on the spot. Concerning Yang Dong, the Eastern Capital haspletely fallen into our hands. Kou Zhong was at a loss, Then why is the two Great Generals countenance so unsightly? he asked. Yang Gongqing spoke in heavy voice, Right now Shangshu Daren is just about to force Yang Dong to abdicate, ready to proim himself the Emperor. Zhang Zhenzhou joined in, Zheng Guogong [Duke of State] wanted to use Zheng as the official dynastic name, and bestowed his family and rtives big titles; as far as I know: he is going to set up Xuanying as the crown prince, Xuanshu as Han Wang [king], Wang Honglie as Wei Wang, Wang Xingben as Jing Wang, Wang Taizhen as Song Wang, Wang Shiyun as Qi Wang, Wang Daoxun as Lu Wang. And then the two of us plus Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu will be Four Subduing Generals, to be stationed in four principal big cities outside the Eastern Capital. Kou Zhong suddenly saw the light. Wang Shichong was not a capable person who could get things done; once in power, he impatiently bestowed big titles to his family and rtives. By doing this, how could he make the high-ranking military officers who have gone through fire and water with him ept wholeheartedly? This kind of nepotism was precisely the fatal cause of Wang Shichongs future defeat. Zhang Zhenzhou spoke ferociously, This matter has yet been carried out, but if this be reality, it will really dull other peoples heart. As a matter of fact, the reason we were able to deal a big blow on Li Mi this time, achieving splendid military sess, no one rendered bigger merit than Kou Junshi, yet Daren did not utter a word about this, on the contrary, he ordered me to secretly spy on Junshi. Kou Zhong gratefully said, It is rare that two Great Generals have absolute confidence in me [orig. to give ones bare heart into somebody else keeping], but presently the most critical thing is the total eradication of Wagang Army; other matters can be set aside to be dealt with in the future. Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing also realized that they should not be distracted by power and position arrangement in current emergency situation. Therefore, after further deliberation, they went their separate ways to handle their job. Kou Zhong returned to the rear courtyard to look for Xu Ziling. He was talking with Tu Shufang in the pavilion. Seeing Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling said, I already told Fang Shu [Uncle] about Su Jie, hoping that he could persuade Da Xiaojie to wait until we rescue Su Jie, mother and son, before she meet with Su Jie. Tu Shufang sighed and said, When Susu meet people who are not warm and virtuous, she always make us feel distressed about her. I now have more or less understood the situation. Ill take care of Xiaojie for you. Even if I told you, you would not believe me, but in order to raise funds for troops and provision, these past few years Xiaojie has been buying and selling sheepskin clothing, and the business is very good. Kou Zhong sat down and said, With Fang Shu and Xuan Xiong helping her, naturally her business will grow more and more! Thats why I said you wouldnt believe me, Tu Shufang said, This business is run entirely by her [orig. one hand, one foot]. Although she was using the funds left by Zhai Ye as her capital, and she employed our own people, but if not for her urately see when the buy and when to sell, she would not be able to make big money like now. The two boys were greatly amazed; they would never have thought that Zhai Jiao had a knack for running a business. Tu Shufang went on, Apart from her desire to avenge Zhai Ye, her mind and spirit are all on the business. Other than having the brains to do business, we also need to see if her fists are hard enough. Therefore, Xiaojie watches her business very tightly; as long as I advise her a little bit, she will definitely agree to patiently wait for Susu toe so that they can meet. It was only then did they understand what Zhai Jiao meant when she said she had something to do. Tu Shufang said, Xuan Yong is a hard-toe-by military talent, plus he is highly intelligent. If Xiao Zhong wants to conquer the world, he could be your left and right arms to help you. Embarrassed, Kou Zhong med Xu Ziling, You even told him that? Displeased, Tu Shufang said, Why would you want to conceal it from me? A real man sets up his conduct, he must stop at nothing, dont be afraid of what other people would say. Xiao Zhong has this ambition, Fang Shu cant be happier for you! After a short pause, his countenance turned serious as he said, Since Li Mis big tree has fallen, Wagang Army surely will be falling apart. Based on your rtionship with Xiaojie, plus by means of your, Kou Zhongs current prestige in Jianghu, Xiao Yong and I can be on the go to campaign for you, to recruit a team of Wagang Armys elite troops. If we focus on younger generations and run a vigorous selection process, you will have a lot of power to support your great undertaking in the future. As for money for soldiers pay, you wont have any problem. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Thank you for Fang Shus support. With a slight sigh Tu Shufang said, That day, when together with Xiaojie we fled in panic, the thought of revenge was without prospects, but in a sh time for Li Mi to be executed is near at hand; nothing is impossible in this world. Fang Shu has very high expectations on you. Thereupon Kou Zhong asked him, Werent you used to serve under Gu Yingtai of Li Ping Countys banner? What happened to this person? Tu Shufang shook his head and said, That man appears to be in close rtionship with Dou Jiande, even though he and Li Mi cannot exist together. It will be very difficult to persuade him to throw himself into your side. Just ignore him. The sound of footsteps came. The three turned to look, and saw the lucid and elegantly moving young maid Chuchu, shyly walking toward the three. While stealing a nce toward Kou Zhong, her beautiful eyes could not conceal the blissful expression. Pleasantly surprised, Kou Zhong said, Chuchu, when did you arrive? Howe I did not know it? Chuchu greeted them with ten thousand good fortunes and said, Chuchu arrived here this morning to wait on Xiaojie. Kou Ye, you are very busy, how would you know it? And then she told Tu Shufang that Zhai Jiao wanted to see him. Knowing the fact about Kou Zhong and Chuchu, Xu Ziling tactfully left with Tu Shufang, to give the two an opportunity to be alone for some time. Momentarily, this pair of a man and a woman felt as if what happened to them was a lifetime ago; there were thousand words, ten thousand speeches, but neither knew where to start. Book 18 - 11 – Waiting for Dawn with Head Resting on a Spear Ysabel, Sky, Jaya, Spy, you are wee. Xiaohu, the only exnation I have is that at the time you were essing it, yourwork and/or spswork were/was slow. As I mentioned before, unabridged has long text in each post. Sometimes I experienced the same thing, but the problem usually went away the next time I tried it. Xu Xiong, Chua, Hungry, honestly, that kind of pictures ruined the image I have in my mind ... Call me old-fashioned if you will, but my image of wuxia is totally unlike the pictures you are showing here. My guess is that those pictures are actually from the manga version (manhua?). Can you really imagine that people from the Tang dynasty would wear an outfit like that? Heres Chapter 11 in its entirety, a rather short chapter. Book 18 Chapter 11 C Waiting for Dawn with Head Resting on a Spear[1] Kou Zhong smiled and said, Would you sit down, please? Immediately red clouds flew across Chuchus jade cheeks; shaking her head, she said, Its inappropriate [orig. not conforming to established standard/customs]. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What customs? Biting her lip, Chuchu quietly said, Its the difference between master and ve! Kou Zhong did not understand, I am only your friend; we knew each other throwing snowballs in those days, since when did we be master and ve? he asked. Chuchu revealed a sweet, sweet smile on her face; apparently she was recalling the touching scene when they were ying and throwing snowballs at each other in Da Longtou Mansion that day. Delighted, she said, But that was different! Then you and Xu Ye were Su Jies yidi [foster (younger) brother]. But now you are people with status and position; even Xiaojie must respect you. Naturally I have to maintain etiquette! Seeing that she still maintained the adorable expression that made his heart beat faster that year, a hard to describe feeling welled up in his heart. Originally he wanted very much to tell her that he was still wearing the ne she gave him as a present, but another thought made him give up this idea. He sighed and said, Go to hell with etiquette, I, Kou Zhong, am still the same guy who throw snowballs at you. Ay! If life can be started all over again, Susu would not have married Xiang Yushan. Chuchu spoke in low voice, If Kou Ye has no instruction for me, Chuchu must return to see if Xiaojie needs anything! By dusk that day, Zhang Zhenzhou led five thousand light cavalry toward Jinyong. Yang Gongqing, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, leading twenty light cavalry, sent them off. Only after making sure that Shan Xiongxins new army did not make any unusual move that they turned back to Yanshi. This moment, Linglong Jiao, who had been out to scout the enemy, was already back. Everybody gathered at the main hall of the Commander Mansion to listen to her report. Zhai Jiao, Tu Shufang, and Xuan Yong participated in the meeting, while Wang Xuanshu was out to inspect the army camp on the southern bank of River Luo, to strengthen their defense. Linglong Jiao said, Just as Kou Junshi expected, Li Mi led the defeated army to return to Luokou, and immediately consolidated his forces. He stayed for one night only before leading seven thousand cavalry out of town heading to the west. It appears that he wants to link up with Shan Xiongxins main force. Her pair of eye spewing me of hatred, Zhai Jiaoughed coldly and said, This time well make hime alive, but go back dead. Tu Shufang spoke heavily, Li Mi is arrogant and conceited; he can win but he cannot lose. This time his troops morale is low yet he wanted to lead his troops to counterattack; this is only courting disaster. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Although he takes defeat with bad grace, and is anxious to redeem his face, but in no way will he foolishly link up with Shan Xiongxins almost-out-of-provision lone army. This matter must not be lightly ignored, otherwise we willmit the grave mistake of underestimating the enemy. Yang Gongqing nodded and said, He is luring us to attack Luokou. Zhai Jiao was puzzled; she asked, Luokou basically has no risk to us, if we were to attack, Bing Yuanzhen, whos on the lookout, will immediately break down; why would Li Mi want to go there? Xuan Yong said, Li Mi will surely not cup his hands and offer Luokou to be taken. My guess is that he is hoping we would mistakenly think that he is going to join forces with Shan Xiongxin, hence we would seize the opportunity to attack Luokou and cut his return path to the east. And then, by the time we took our military supply wagon to cross the Luo River, he would start storming our crossing-the-river troops, while Shan Xiongxin go all-out to besiege the city. This scheme is very sinister, yet Kou Ye has already seen through it. Kou Zhong breathed out a long sigh and said, Li Mis fatal weakness is that he still thinks weck food supplies, hence we had no choice but to urgently capture Luokou and plunder Luokous abundant provisions and equipment. Therefore, this is a luring-the-enemy scheme. Luokou was one of the five major granaries of the former Sui dynasty; altogether it had two thousandrge cers, each one stored eight thousand dan [approximately 100 liters] of grains. Although Li Mi had already opened the storehouse to provide relief for the people, but these past several years he continuously replenishes Luokous cers to supply the needs of the Wagang Army. Zhai Jiao said, In that case, why dont we pretend to cross the river to lure him to attack us? Right now he is anxious, but we are not, Kou Zhong replied, Lets wait for Zhang Da Jiangjun [great general] to attack Jinyong first. When we have the advantage of Shan Xiongxin surrendering, we can concentrate our force to deal with Li Mi. And then he asked Linglong Jiao about the situation of the army camp up Mount Mang. Linglong Jiao replied, Those supporting troops are all old, weak, and injured soldiers; this morning they started to withdraw to the north. Looking at the situation, they seem to cross the river toward Heyang. She added, The heart of Shan Xiongxins troops is unstable, there is a continuous stream of men abandoning their weapon and running out of the army camp, so that although their number is quite a lot, there is no fighting spirit, as well as the ability to fight. Kou Zhong was emotionally moved, Do you know how many have escaped? he asked. Linglong Jiao replied, They are crawling over the wooden fence to escape. Eight out of ten watchtowers set up outside the camp have no one to man, but since the escape attempts were all in the evening, the exact number is difficult to estimate. I caught several deserters to interrogate, and all said that in the camp, rumors are flying around everywhere; some even say that Li Mi had been killed by us. Therefore, everybody had no heart to continue fighting zealously. Shan Xiongxin even stopped building the siege equipment; he is acting like they are going to withdraw. Bang! Yang Gongqing pped the table; his spirit greatly aroused, he said, Li Mis biggest mistake in life is using this kind of mob to attack us. Linglong Jiao said, Nearly all of Shan Xiongxins troops are infantry, warhorses are less than five hundred. Now they already started limit the ration per person, each day they only allocate half of normal ration, I am afraid they wontst too long. After casting a nce toward Xu Ziling, who had been silent throughout, Kou Zhong said with delight, That will do! Basically we do not need to wait for Jinyong to fall to start crossing the river and carryout the luring-the-enemy scheme. I can guarantee that Shan Xiongxin will ignore Li Mis order to attack us, instead, he will hold his troops in defensive position, waiting for us to move to Luokou, and then he would escape without a trace. At that time he can bargain with us and talk about the terms of surrender. Everybody nodded in agreement. If it were Shen Luoyan or Xu Shiji instead of Shan Xiongxin, naturally the situation would be substantially different. Because Shan Xiongxin has always been an important high-ranking general under Duke of Pushans camp, who felt deep resentment on Li Mi, plus by rationing his troops, he could not bear to have a mob within his camp; how could he take a risk by throwing his life for Li Mi? Yang Gongqing concluded the meeting by saying, We will pretend to cross the river tomorrow, while arranging two supporting hidden troops at the same time: one to monitor Shan Xiongxins activity, the other will be in charge of dealing with Li Mi. If Li Mi is defeated again this time, he will lose his momentum and will no longer able to use the troops. Knock! Knock! Knock! From the footsteps, Xu Ziling already recognized Kou Zhong; he said, Come in! Why this time you are following etiquette, unexpectedly you know how to knock? Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered; he smiled wryly and said, Out of ten times, there were at least five times I knocked the door. Ling Shao seems to be full of anger tonight! Xu Ziling waited until Kou Zhong took his seat at the other side of the small table before saying, Since seeing Da Xiaojie, I am thinking of Su Jie more; how could I possibly have a good mood? Kou Zhong said, Worrying over Su Jie is not going to help, plus we must not act blindly without thinking, otherwise we are going to fall into Old Thief Xiao and Little Thief Xiangs scheme. And then he told Xu Ziling about Wang Shichong bestowing high-ranking titles to his family and rtives, and thus provoking Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqings discontentment. Detest and loathsome burst in Xu Zilings heart; he changed he subject, If tomorrow Li Mi does not fall into the trap, or perhaps he slipped away, do we continue pressing down there, and thus helping someone like Wang Shichong conquer the world for nothing? Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, The problem is not on us, its on Da Xiaojie, the Senior. Xu Ziling mused, As long as we tell Da Xiaojie that we want to pick Su Jie, she ought to ept it! His spirit greatly aroused, Kou Zhong said, This can still be considered feasible measure; if Li Mi flees back to either Ho or Yingyang, we will be able to get rid of him in ten days to half a month. Frankly, I am worried that Ol Die and Shen Faxing would attack Jiangdu, in which case Flying Horse Ranch will be in danger. How can they deal with Zhu Can, that homicidal maniac devil, and deal with Ol Die and Xiao Xian at the same time? Xu Ziling agreed, After seeing how formidable a cavalry is, now I understand why that many people are eyeing the Flying Horse Ranch like a tiger watching its prey. Only warhorses bred and trained by them would be able to deal with Heavenly Policy Mansions ck Armor Cavalry. Therefore, if I were Ol Die, I would also view capturing Flying Horse Ranch as my top priority. Kou Zhong happily said, Its rare that Ling Shao and Xiaodi have this kind ofmon understanding. Although Su Jies matter is important, it is not as urgent as Flying Horse Ranchs matter, which demand immediate action. Whether we can kill Li Mi or not tomorrow, we must immediately rush back to Luoyang, and after seeing Bu Tianzhi, we must slip away with Xu Xingzhi immediately. As for other matters, let them be Wang Shichongs headache. And then, he heaved a sigh and said, Only today did I finally understand why Liu Dage inly fell in love with Su Jie, but he did not dare to reveal his love. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, What did you understand? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Liu Dage really likes Su Jie. Xu Ziling was bewildered, What is it that you are trying to say? he asked. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, We have finally experienced how treacherous the battlefield is. Even Li Mi, that kind of talent, once he caught in disadvantageous situation, at the slightest pretext he must suffer the lost on the battlefield. Therefore, every trip to the battlefield, our little life is in Laotianyes hands, it is no longer ours to decide. Under this kind of circumstance, where being alive in the morning does not guarantee staying alive in the evening, how could we dare to hurt the frail heart of the woman we love? Xu Ziling was silent for a moment, before speaking slowly, Why do you suddenly have this feeling? Kou Zhong dejectedly said, When we were at the Da Longtou Mansion, without thinking I simply pulled Chuchu into my arms to show my affection to her, but today, although I am fully aware that she is a thousand times, ten thousand times willing, I did not dare to touch her even for half a finger; how could I not have any feeling in my heart? Xu Ziling wanted to say something, but in the end he remained silent. Early the next morning, the city gates have just opened, a train of military supply wagons and mule carts streamed out of the city toward the pontoon bridge, ready to cross the river. By this moment, five thousand strong elite cavalry under Yang Gongqing and Kou Zhong has alsoin low inside a forest north of the pontoon bridge, where lookout posts were set on all high points around, to keep a close watch over any movement far and near. Like a flurry of snowkes intelligence news were pouring in. Zhai Jiao was surprisingly quiet, making people felt her determination in killing Li Mi. Xu Ziling was acting as her personal bodyguard, afraid that if something happened, she would disregard any danger to such an extent that the enemy might be able to exploit her. Wang Xuanshus supply troops began crossing the river. This moment new intelligence arrived: Wang Bodangs troops stationed inside Jinyong had heard the news and were trying to escape to Heyang, while the citizens of the city opened the gate wide to wee Zhang Zhenzhous main forces. Without costing a single troop a single soldier the city of Jinyong has fallen into Zhang Zhenzhous hands. In the meantime, just as expected, Shan Xiongxin did not make any movement. Linglong Jiao rushed over on horseback to report, Li Mis cavalry ising at full speed; evidently they found out that we are crossing the river. Greatly delighted, Yang Gongqing hurriedly ordered all generals to be ready for battle. Kou Zhong could not help praising, Were it not for Miss Jiaos expertise in spying the enemys situation, and provide us with urate intelligence, we would only be doing twice the effort for half the result. Definitely we wouldnt have the amazing efficiency of guessing the enemy like a deity like right now. Smiling sweetly, Linglong Jiao said, You are most adept at coaxing people. Kou Zhong humbly asked, Is there any key point in enemy reconnaissance? Linglong Jiao replied, The important part in moving the troops is intelligence. If you dont know the enemy, it would be like fighting the enemy blindfolded; it would be strange indeed if you dont get defeated. Therefore, before the three armies [referring to upper, middle, and lower, or right, center, and left armies] even moved, the scouting riders move in advance. Even ordinary provincial military unit must have a group of experts in reconnaissance, in order to know the enemys target. Considering own future, plus in this moment he flirted with this Qiuci beauty that she was staring at him, waiting in expectation, Kou Zhong pursued further, How do you train reconnaissance experts then? Linglong Jiao replied, First, you must select the people; they have to be adept in moving around and must be quick-witted. Only this kind of people will be able to take the mission upon himself. Second, they must be familiar with geography, environment, and local dialect of various regions, easy to blend in and make inquiries; it would be best if they have disguising skill, which will enable them to reach everywhere. If you could bribe a local or even buy the enemys man, that would be even more surefire. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Turns out its soplicated. Lowering her voice, Linglong Jiao said, Why do you seem to be very interested in this kind of business, which is considered minor arts in the military? Kou Zhong did not answer, he asked her a question instead, May I ask you a question that probably shouldnt be asked? Linglong Jiao fixed her eyes on him for half a day before finally nodded and said, Ask away! Kou Zhong leaned forward slightly and said, What rtionship does Miss Jiao have with Wang Gong? Why did you make light of traveling a thousand li from Qiuci to here to help him conquering the world? Hanging her head down, Linglong Jiao said, Why do you ask? Pretending nothing had happened, Kou Zhong said, Just curious! Linglong Jiao shook her head and said, If you just ask casually, I wont tell you. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Is it a secret? Linglong Jiao has not had time to answer, Kou Zhong suddenly looked up to the sky, and blurted out, The time hase! [1] Chapter title: idiom, meaning fully prepared and biding ones time before the battle. Book 18 - 12 – Bearing The Price to Pay Book 18 Chapter 12 C Bearing The Price to Pay When everybody heard Kou Zhongs cry of rm, they all looked at him first, before copying him looking at the sky. They saw Shen Luoyans scouting bird continuously circling in the air, following a strange flight path. Immediately Yang Gongqing, Linglong Jiao, Xu Ziling, Zhai Jiao, and the others, who knew whats going on, countenance changed. This birds strange flight path was telling its master that there were hidden troops inside the forest. In order to hide from the eyes and ears of enemy spies, they have spent a lot of effort toy the ambush. First, there was another team of cavalry attracting the enemys attention, to act as if they were guarding against Shan Xiongxins troops from attacking while the military supply wagons were crossing the river. And then there were lookout posts on higher elevation to watch for any activity before the cavalry left in the dark of the night by leading their horses along through the woods, before lying in wait at the present location. Naturally they wrapped their horses hooves with cloth and silk to avoid creating unnecessary noise. But after a thousand nning ten thousand calcting, they still did not expect this psychic strange bird to make its appearance. Quack! Quack! Quack! The strange bird flew in the northeast direction, which was the direction from which Li Mis cavalry wasing. This moment they already heard the faint noise of horses neighing and their hooves. Left and Right Wings move first! Yang Gongqing barked his order. The bugle horn was sounded. The ambushing troops two wings left and right vanguard, each one three thousand riders strong, rushed out of the jungle first, along a curvaceous path, toward the enemys nk. And then the center army swarmed out of the forest, galloping in neat formation along the grassy in, straight toward the enemies galloping out of the sparse forest area ahead. Horsewhip went down, the warhorses let out long neigh, brimming with urgency and desperate circumstances. Warriors on fine steeds like a tide of violent waves drowned the prairie. Morning light reflected by the battle helmets, body armor, and soldiers weapon created brilliant, dazzling flickers of light. Mother earth quickly fell back. In just a few tens of xi the center armys eight thousand cavalry already entered the sparse forest region, forcing them to reduce their speed as they meet the enemy. Because the enemy was estimated at eight thousand, they did not have any misgivings about taking advantage of their superior number, and simply charged at the opponent. Now their only hope was to fight speed with speed; it would be best if the enemy did not have any time to retreat, or perhaps consolidate their battle array, so that they would be able to cut the enemys tail and kill Li Mi until he was utterly defeated. Kou Zhong, Linglong Jiao, Zhai Jiao, Xu Ziling, and the others were the first to gallop up a hill. They saw on the forest about half a li ahead dust was rolling up to the sky, along with rapid hoof beats, but the hoof beats were fading away. Zhai Jiao shouted, Chase after them! Kou Zhong shouted even louder, Dont chase! Zhai Jiao was furious, Why not? Li Mi is running away! This moment Yang Gongqing arrived and rode alongside Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong asked Linglong Jiao, Can that rolling dust be considered rising in columns, or scattered in disorderly manner? Linglong Jiao reined her horse that it snorted a st of air from its nostrils; she called out, Wagang enemy troops are still in strict formation, not scattering randomly. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Just as I suspected. Shen Luoyan already guessed the ambushing troops, hence she deployed the strange bird to tell us to run after it. I dare say that they are setting up an ambush in the forest ahead. When we enter the trap, Li Mi would turn his troops around and attack. Good point! Yang Gongqing shouted. Immediately he ordered the bugle horn to be sounded to halt the advance, instructing the two wings vanguard team to stop where they were. Finally Zhai Jiao saw the light and clear-headed, but her mood was still surging up and down, her eyes were full of resentment. Xu Ziling paid close attention to Kou Zhong; he saw his eyes were as calm as still water, while exuding his intelligence and callousness. It was the first time that he saw this kind of expression in Kou Zhongs eyes, and could not help shivering inwardly, recalling what Kou Zhong said on the wall of Jingling city, when they were standing face to face against Du Fuweis magnificent army with thousands of men and horses besieging the city. He was disregarding the life and death, and simply regarded the entire battlefield as a chessboard, while both sides were the chess pieces striving for victory on the chessboard. After undergoing this battlefield experience, Kou Zhong has grown from a kid who had no idea how to do battle to an outstanding strategist, amander who was able to anticipate the enemys movement like a deity. Yang Gongqing open-mindedly asked for guidance, What do we do now? Kou Zhong resolutely said, We only have to leave several thousand men toy out a defense in here, so that Li Mi cannot make a cun of progress. The train of military supply wagons must continue crossing the river. Furthermore, we must send separate rapid cavalry force to go straight to Luokou; attack the city so that he wont have time to deal with it. Xuan Yong said, If Li Mi turns his force around to defend Luokou, do we still want to attack? Kou Zhong said, Li Mi would not withdraw willingly; he still has hope in Shan Xiongxin. When Shan Xiongxin take the opportunity to withdraw as we are advancing to Luokou, even when he realizes his mistake, it would be difficult for him to turn back; his only way out is fleeing toward Ho. In the forest ahead, the dust subsided; obviously Li Mi also halted his troops, realizing that his scheme did not work. This action has increased Kou Zhongs persuasive power and his reputation a lot more than any lengthy discourse. Kou Zhong went on, Rapid cavalry effectiveness is that they will be able to reach Luokou one step ahead, to guard against Li Mi crossing the river and returning to the city. As a result Luokous Bing Yuanzhen will only have two choices: either abandon the city or surrender. Yang Gongqing let out a longugh and said, Lets do it! After seven days, Li Mis, an ambitious and ruthless character of this age, fate was decided. Bing Yuanzhen, who was defending Luokou, surrendered to Yang Gongqings soldiers at the city wall. During this critical moment, Li Mis other great general Shan Xiongxin mustered his troops to defend the city, but Tu Shufang persuaded him to surrender. Li Mi knew his big momentum has passed; he had no choice but to lead his men escape to Ho, while Wang Bodang retreated to Heyang. Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing consolidated their men and horses, ready to follow up the victory and press home the attack, and then captured Ho. Who would have thought that Li Mi fled at hearing the news, and escaped to Heyang to join forces with Wang Bodang? He originally wanted use the Yellow River as a barrier, while defending Taihang in the north, linking with Liyang on the east, in an attempt to rehabilitate from losing the battle. However, after the major defeat, the morale of his troops ckened. Furthermore, there was the factor of Wagang Army split into different factions due to Zhai Rangs early demise. One after another old generals refused to follow order, so that although Li Mi had the power, he could not exercise it, he had the military force but no territory. Also, because Wang Shichongs army had just acquired many cities and wide expanse of territory, he must rest to reorganize his forces; momentarily he was unable to cross the river to attack Heyang. Therefore, his strength was used up to pacify the Henan region, and temporarily the situation became standing opposite each other with the river as the barrier. That evening, in a side hall at Hos temporary government buildings rear court, Tu Shufang invited Zhai Jiao to talk to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. He said, I have already revealed everything concerning the situation in the south, as well as Susus affair, to Xiaojie, because I think being forthright is better. Zhai Jiao stared viciously at the two boys and said, Such an important matter you dared to conceal it from me; see if I am not going to kill you two along with that Xiang Yushan. The two boys mumbled meekly; they did not dare to talk back. Zhai Jiao said, How could I be an unreasonable person? This time Li Mi has suffered enough trouble, without any hope of ever recover. Although I have not been able to put my de on that treacherous bandit, at least I am finally able to vent Dies anger. I dont want to continue exerting myself for somebody like Wang Shichong either; what do you have in mind? Kou Zhong replied, Wed like to go back to Luoyang first, and then immediately go down south, helping the Flying Horse Ranch to fight against adversity and ensure their safety, and then see how we can take Su Jie, mother and son, away, and thene to join Xiaojie. Zhai Jiao resolutely said, I am going with you! Kou Zhong was shocked, Xiaojie definitely must note with us, he hastily said. Why not? Zhai Jiao angrily said. Tu Shufang reached out to show his loyalty, What Xiao Zhong mean is that he is hoping Xiaojie would stay in the north, to help him contacting Wagang Armys talents that he could use, so that in the future we can start great undertaking together. Xu Ziling also said, If Xiaojie stays in the north, you can monitor Li Mi tightly, so that you might be able to take his dog life at any time. This remark was more effective than anything to move Zhai Jiaos heart. After pondering silently for half a day, she nodded and said, Very well! I will stay in the north. But I dont want to hang around that man, Wang Shichong. When are you going to leave? This matter should not be dyed, Kou Zhong replied, We are going to leave tomorrow morning. After expressing his desire to go back to Luoyang to Yang Gongqing, before Kou Zhong even exined the reason, Yang Gongqing already spoke heavily, Does Zhong Xiao Xiong wish to clear out at this point? Kou Zhong awkwardly replied, Da Jiangjun is really astute. Yang Gongqing reached out and put his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder; his eyes flickering brightly, he said, Among the talentedmanders that Ol Yang met in all my life, you are the one with most talent. If you gain more experience over time, it will be difficult to find your match in the world. Whats in your mind? Kou Zhong replied in low voice, Can I not have any n for the time being? I just feel that Wang Gong is not someone that I can work together with, hence I want to temporarily retire, so that everybody can stay as friends. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, I understand what you feel. Speaking about merit and bestowing reward, how can your share be ignored? Tomorrow Ill have one of the warships to take you back to Luoyang, with the pretext that you are going to personally report the military situation to Daren, also to discuss whether we should immediately cross the Great River to attack Heyang. However, since you already have aspiration, it is not advisable to stay in Luoyang for too long; you know what I mean? Touched, Kou Zhong said, I will never forget the beautiful time fighting side by side with Da Jiangjun. Yang Gongqing removed his hand from Kou Zhongs shoulder,ughed aloud, and said, No better or worse than each other! I hope there will be other opportunities to gallop together on the battlefield, to attack the enemy and prevail over our opponents. Kou Zhong returned to the rear court. Someone called him from behind a corridor pir, Kou Ye! Kou Zhong turned to look, turned out it was the moving pretty maid Chuchu. The beauty pulled him by the sleeve of his clothes toward a bamboo grove in the middle of the courtyard. She spoke gloomily, I heard Xiaojie mentioned that tomorrow we are going to part ways with you! Is that right? Kou Zhong heart ached; he could not help reaching out to caress the cheek of her heart-shaped face, and spoke softly, Its the southern thing. I will definitelye back to look for you, plus you can also see Su Jie and her white and plump baby! Thats great! Chuchu replied in delight. But then she hung her head in grief as she said, But this maid will have to spend many days without waiting upon Kou Ye. Kou Zhong could not help fishing out the pendant hanging on his neck, and said with augh, Look! Arent you always waiting upon me personally? Chuchus tender body shook severely, while her face shot a look of surprise, before throwing herself into his bosom; disregarding everything she hugged him tight, while crying tears of joy. Kou Zhongs heart was filled with soft jade, warm fragrance, as he smelled her seemingly unfamiliar, yet iparably familiar, scent of her body; his mind was flooded with the intoxicating scene of the past, where death was at hand in the Big Boss Mansion. With both arms he embraced her tightly and said, Dont cry. As long as we can survive this chaotic time, there wille a day when we will be happy and no longer have to separate. This moment, either Song Yuzhi or Li Xiuning have be an out-of-reach distant memory in his heart. Chuchu suddenly left his embrace; with faint breathing she said, Chuchu forgot my manners! Unable to restrain his emotions, Kou Zhong pulled her into his bosom again; feeling her unreserved deep love for him, he said, Just remember! I, Kou Zhong, have never regarded you as having lower status, and I never will. Chuchus entire body, from head to toe, trembled; she said, Kou Ye, please take a good care of yourself. Finished speaking, she left with tears in her eyes. Kou Zhong sighed. For the sake of his great undertaking, must he make so much sacrifice? If he were a simple kid without any aspiration, this moment he could pledge his undying love for her, and then they could rest and fly together [idiom: inseparable], like a pair of mandarin ducks, together, wing to wing, passing through the night. But he has reached the where he could not extricate himself, his Shuanglong Bang [double dragons gang] men were waiting for hising. Flying Horse Ranch was caught in a dangerous position. Susu was in urgent need of his rescue. Plus he and Xu Ziling had foes everywhere, there was danger at every step. This was the price that he had to pay. The warship sailed west against the stream. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood side by side at the bow, facing the river breeze, and the vast, unfathomable destiny waiting for them. Kou Zhong said, We will leave as soon as we can find Xu Xingzhi; even if we have to fight our way out, I still want to go. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Wang Shichong will not dare to oppose you openly like that; otherwise, how could he convince the masses? Besides, even if Li Mi died, he has not turned stiff yet; he would not be so dumb as to rattle the troops morale. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Make sense! I was thinking the same thing. Xu Ziling quieted down. Kou Zhong sighed and said, It was just like a dream; until now I still cannot believe that Li Mi, whose formidable renown gives him authority over the whole country, could be defeated by us. Xu Ziling sighed slightly and said, Inevitably there will be one day that you might realize that life is just a big dream, and bing the emperor, toiling to be master of the universe is not at all real. Having said that, he could not refrain from thinking about Shi Feixuan, whose elegance was like an immortal. However, Kou Zhong was thinking about Chuchu, who was hiding in his bosom, weeping with grief. A gust of wind came, brushing the two boys clothes that they were rustling in the wind. The Eastern Capital Luoyang appeared ahead; majestic, towering in the distance. A spectacr scene. Would one day this grand city also fall to the enemy? END OF BOOK 18 Book 19 - 1 – Get Stuck in Critical Situation Together Book 19 Chapter 1 C Get Stuck in Critical Situation Together The sun was setting in the west. The warship sailed speedily into the City of Luoyang, following the Luo River toward the Imperial City. On the city wall and the high points of all the watchtowers along the riverbank gs were flying, a festive scene of triumphant return after the victory. Ships and boats went back and forth on the river, pedestrians, horses and carts crowded the street; indeed it was a city bustling with prosperity. Seeing a warship entering the city, all passersby on both sides of the river waved and cheered, creating an enthusiastic atmosphere. However, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not affected by this atmosphere at all. After scrutinizing the sign on the g, Kou Zhong spoke in shock, Yang Dong was finally forced to abdicate! Although it was inevitable, yet still a bit too hasty. It could clearly be seen that Wang Shichongs desire to proim himself the emperor was urgent. From now on the Central ins would have one more self-proimed emperor. Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, I do not wish to see Wang Shichong. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement, Seeing him does not have any significance anyway, he said, See if you could find Bu Tianzhi; Xu Xingzhi and I will look for you, and then under cover of darkness, we will leave the city. Ay! All of a sudden I have a little heart-rmed, body-leaping ominous feeling. If I experience some mishap, kill Wang Shichong to avenge me. Xu Zilingughed and said, How could Ouyang Xiyi let Wang Shichong to kill you? Based on his position in Jianghu, no matter what Wang Shichong must give him a little bit of face. Unless he has help from martial art masters of Ouyang Xiyi or Chen Changlins caliber, Wang Shichong is incapable to make a move against you. As long as you act ording to circumstances, there should be no problem. Nevertheless, the two still agreed on ways to meet all kinds of contingencies. Only after they were done that Xu Ziling jumped into the river, swam toward the thicket by Luo River dike, and disappeared without any trace. The warship cast anchor at the dock outside the Imperial City. Wang Xuanying, Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu and the others led their men to meet him, and apany Kou Zhong galloping toward the city gate. Kou Zhong pulled the rein to slow down, while casually asked about Wang Shichongs condition. Wang Xuanying sighed and said, Li Mis punch was no trivial matter at all, to this day Die has not been able to leave the bed, but he is in good spirits; all day long he is asking when he can see Kou Junshi again. Wang Xuanying was surprisingly polite and deferential, but listening to him, Kou Zhongs hair stood up on its end, and his heart was shivering in fear. Reasonably speaking, if Wang Shichong could not even get out of bed, he should not be this anxious to proim himself the Emperor. But why would Wang Xuanying lie to him? Kou Zhong inwardly wiped the proverbial cold sweat from his brows; he asked, How are Old Yi and Changlin Xiong? Song Mengqiu on his other side put on a fake smile and said, They are waiting by Shengshangs [ministers form of address for the current emperor] side, ready to meet Kou Junshis honorable self. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs heart sank even lower. Ouyang Xiyi has always extremely cherished him and Xu Ziling; hearing about their return, it was quite reasonable to expect him toe and meet them personally, but this time the situation was different, all government officials in the entire Eastern Capital have fallen under Wang Shichongs control, there was no need for Ouyang Xiyi to stay twelve sichen a day by Wang Shichongs side to protect him; at least Xu Xingzhi ought toe to meet him. Suddenly, Kou Zhong had a feeling that he was trapped in a tigers den. Xu Ziling arrived at the ce where Bu Tianzhi was staying in Luoyang, and found that the people were gone, the ce was empty; moreover, the inside of the house was a mess. It appeared that they were leaving in extreme haste. The strangest thing was that there were no marking or secret sign as agreed, which was extremely unusual. Xu Ziling sat down dejectedly in a corner of the main hall. He was wondering inwardly whether Bu Tianzhis departure was rted to Wang Shichong. If it was, then Kou Zhong was in danger. But he was still not too worried. Wang Shichong wanted to harm Kou Zhong, it was definitely not an easy matter. While he was musing, suddenly he heard footsteps approaching. Even with Xu Zilings usual coolposure, he could not stop his countenance from changing greatly. Because from the footsteps, he already recognized who the person was. At the same time, he knew that Kou Zhong was indeed in a grave danger. Who was the person Wang Shichong dreaded the most right now? Before, it was obviously Li Mi. But after Li Mi suffered crushing defeat, in this Central Earth central zone of the Yellow River basin, the Tang upied Guanxi, Zheng upied Henan, Xia upied Hebei; they had be the three powers that stood like the three legs of a tripod [i.e. tripartite of bnce of forces]. But for Wang Shichong, the Zheng Emperor, contention for hegemony over the world was still a distant matter. The most pressing business he had to attend to was to stabilize the interior, to consolidate the oue of the war. If Wang Shichong was able to personally orchestrated the military operation at Mount Mang, which resulted in Li Mis defeat, then the glory and prestige of the victory would belong to him, so that he did not need to have any misgivings to anybody. But the fact was not like this at all. Currently, Kou Zhong had, albeit inadvertently, established a sublime prestige within Wang Shichongs army, as well as developed a close rtionship with generals under Wang Shichongsmand. It would be strange indeed if he did not invoke Wang Shichongs suspicion and jealousy. Just by looking at how Wang Shichong bestowing high titles to his family and rtives, it was clear that he was a selfish and narrowminded person. And then there was precedence in Zhai Rangs case. Naturally Wang Shichong did not wish for Kou Zhong to be another Li Mi. On top of that, there was undoubtedly close rtionship between Kou Zhong and Zhai Jiao. Anybody would be able to guess that Kou Zhong could potentially absorb Li Mis surrendering troops and defeated generals under his own banner. In which case, Wang Shichong would be in danger like he was raising a tiger. One by one these thoughts crossed Kou Zhongs mind. The more the thought, the more fearful he became. The cavalcade galloped into the Imperial City, heading toward the Shangshu Mansion. Why didnt they go to the Imperial Pce? Even if Wang Shichong could not get out of bed, he could be carried to the Imperial Pce. Wang Xuanyings voice rang in his ears, Why dont Ziling Xionge with Junshi to pay his respect to Fu Huang [father emperor]? His thoughts wandering far away, Kou Zhong replied perfunctorily, He is like the floating clouds in the sky, with no interest to pay attention to earthly matters; even I cannot control him. Ay! Thest sigh was for the developing situation that he had to face. Under this kind nasty situation, how could he contact Xu Xingzhi? Shangshu Mansion appeared ahead. Its brightly illuminated main gate was like a beast opening its mouth, waiting for him, a tasty morsel, to enter and satisfy its hunger. Kou Zhong was absolutely certain that once he stepped over the threshold, he would never be able to get out relying on his own power. Kou Zhong reined his horse to stop, and was the first to dismount. Myriads of thought shed through his mind. The final conclusion was the thirty-sixth stratagem: if everything else fails, retreat. Currently, he and Xu Ziling were recognized as world-ss martial art masters. Wang Shichong, who was fully aware of what was true and what was false concerning them, knew that if he wanted to take the little life of either one of them, other than he had to have enough power, it also had to be under specific situation and special arrangement before he even had any chance of sess. And the main hall of this Shangshu Mansion happened to provide such a favorable ce. Wang Xuanying leaped down andnded on his left side, and spoke cheerfully, Kou Junshi, please! Kou Zhong took a deep breath, and finally made the decision that was pivotal in nature to his destiny. After breaking through the wall anding out, before Xu Ziling had the chance to spring up from the ground, his left ankle tightened, because Yuchi Jingdes Gui Zang [see Book 17 Chapter 12] Whip, which slid closed to the ground, so that it was very difficult to guard against, wrapped itself around his ankle tightly. The tiny suction cups along the body of the whip wound around tightly on his skin and flesh. If Xu Ziling had not seen Yuchi Jingde and Wang Bos battle, this moment he would have been trying with thousand ways, a hundred ns to shake off the loathsome entanglement of the Gui Zang Whip. But now, he was fully aware of the strange whip technique of this Heavenly Policy Mansion martial art master, with the changes that were impossible to guard against. He quietly thought that if he wanted topete with the opponent in changes, he could forget about having his left foot intact. Thereupon Xu Ziling let out a cold snort, his left foot nted firmly on the ground, like an iron panel his entire body changed from lying supine to be standing erect with both feet on the ground. Crash! The Gui Zang Whip went taut like a ramrod, but Xu Ziling stayed perfectly still. The other end of the whip was held about three zhang away, in Yuchi Jingdes hand, whose build was extremely bold and powerful, who lowered his waist in a horse stance. But thetter was actually shivering inwardly. The technique heunched just now was meant to drag Xu Ziling down to the ground first, and then he wanted to exploit the pulling force of the suction pads on the body of the whip to break his ankle. But unexpectedly Xu Zilings internal energy, ingeniously unleashed, sucked the body of the whip firmly, and thus his ankle locked the whip so that it could not be moved instead. This kind of strange move waspletely beyond his expectation. Sound of the wind sprang up everywhere. Five shadows separately flew in from the roof and walls of the front and rear courtyards, Surrounding Xu Ziling in the middle. Pang Yu, holding a four-chi long greenish-ck awl stood on top of the wall. His sleeves fluttered in the night breeze, he looked extremely confident and at ease, but his eyes were sharper than a hawk, as from his high vantage point he ferociously stared at Xu Ziling, who seemed to be turning a blind eye to the besiege. Zhangsun Wuji, who dressed in dark green Confucian schr attire, with fair skin and delicate facial features, stood with his hands behind his back at approximately the same distance on the opposite side of Yuchi Jingde, with Xu Ziling right in the middle. There was a jade Xiao [vertically blown flute] stuck on his lower waist. He was carrying a down-to-earth demeanor, without the slightest bit of swords-drawn-and-bows-bent attitude, free and easy as he was visiting a fellow schr. But Xu Ziling did not underestimate him at all, because from his deep-pool, pavilion-and-high-mountain-peak bearing, he knew that his martial art skill could not be inferior to Yuchi Jingde. The other three were the saber-wielding Luo Shixin, the spear-wielding Shi Wanbao, and the truncheon-wielding Liu Dewei, who spread in all direction, and thus sealing all escape paths Xu Ziling might take. Xu Ziling fixed his gaze at the hole in the wall he created, and the debris of the mahogany chair scattered on the floor; he shouted in heavy voice, May I venture to ask Shimin Xiong, assisting Wang Shichong to deal with Kou Zhong, besides Yang Xuyan, who are the others? Applying his internal energy, Kou Zhong let out an earth-shattering shout, If Wang Gong is still giving a little consideration to the host and guest rtionship, pleasee out to answer me! Wang Xuanying, Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu and the group of personal guards standing by his side were stunned; more than half immediately pressed their hands onto the hilt of their weapons as they backed off slightly and red at him. His voice travelled far and wide, resonated throughout the Imperial City. The crow and peacock made no sound. Song Mengqiu cleared his throat and signaled the others with his eyes that they would not rush indiscriminately into action. Kou Junshi misunderstood! he said to Kou Zhong, Shengshang is still lying on the dragon bed to recuperate from his injury, hey ... Sneering, Kou Zhong said, Didnt General Song tell me that Old Yi and Changlin Xiong are inside the Mansion? Howe they did not utter a single word? Immediately Song Mengqiu was at a loss for words. Kou Zhong exerted his authority without sparing anybody; letting out a longugh, he said, There is an old saying, the birds are over, the bow it put away. Humph! Clink! nk! there were repeated sound of metal shing against metal. Wang Xuanying and the others did not wait for him to finish speaking, they already exposed the foxs tail; one after another they drew their weapons. With another longugh Kou Zhong soared to the sky, prompting Song Mengqiu, Lang Feng and Wang Xuanying, three men to also soar in pursuit. Countless archers showed themselves from the roof of the buildings nearby; immediately murderous aura filled the air, while battle cry shook the heavens. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong only rose for two zhang, unexpectedly he changed breath mid-air, changed direction diagonally, and flew toward the steps of the Shangshu Mansion? This move was a big, big surprise to everybody, and who among the pursuers had the ability to change his breathing midair like him? They all went to far and rose two more zhang up into the air, so that the several hundred archers hiding on the roof refrained from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases, nobody dared to release the arrow. Before evennded on the ground, Kou Zhong already pulled the Moon in the Well. Over a dozen Wang Shichongs personal guards, like wolves and tigers, charged toward him; it looked like very soon Kou Zhong would be caught in chaotic warfare. Kou Zhong knew that if he was held up by these personal guards even for a while, he would fall into siege by hundreds, even thousands Wang Armys troops. And if that happened, even Ning Daoqi would be hard pressed to escape the misfortune of fighting to the death. With a loud roar, his body following his saber, he charged into the enemys formation. The Moon in the Well turned into cold ray protecting his body. The two personal guards at the front blocking his way were immediately thrown sideways and fell to the ground. Dang! Another man, along with his sword, was hacked that he flew backward and fell. After consecutively knocking two more personal guards, he rolled down the steps. By this moment, from the bottom of the steps, amidst the shouting and yelling, the saber shes and sword shadows, the enemy was swarming up the steps like a tidal wave. Momentarily he could not see clearly just how many the enemies were. Kou Zhong did not dare to jump high; suddenly he flew sideways, avoiding more than a dozen enemy charging at him, rushing along the Shangshu Mansion toward the east, to the closest Xuanren Gate, while murderous intent filled his breast. One after another the enemy came to intercept him. Kou Zhong was well aware than Xuanren Gate must be swarming with massive military force and martial art masters, so heading that way was actually his ruse to confuse the enemy. Actually, if all the gates of the entire Luoyang, a capital city consisted of the Imperial Pce and the Imperial City, were closed, and the city walls, which were several zhang high, were covered with archers, even if he grew wings like a bird, it would still be difficult to cross over; the security was that right. Fortunately, inside the city, there were high buildings everywhere. Although the upper floors were surrounded by high walls on all sides, but all the walls always had a portal, with the balconies usually linked together, so that it would be a very good ce to y hide-and-seek. Wang Shichong was a man who loved to put on a good face, so he did not want Kou Zhong assassination, this kind of scandal, to be spread outside; therefore, he wanted to lure Kou Zhong into the Shangshu Mansion to be killed there, to prevent Kou Zhongs blood from staining his Pce City. Kou Zhong estimated that as long as he was able to escape out of the Shangshu Mansion limit, Wang Shichongs ambushing power would be weakened considerably, hence Kou Zhong would have a hope of escaping alive. Kou Zhong changed direction again; he went around toward the back of the Shangshu Mansion, and darted toward the stable [orig. Taipusi, court of imperial stud; office originally charged with horse breeding] and the workers quarters. Crossing over these two magnificent structures, he came across a row of Dalisi [judicial officers office], Zongzhengsi [directorate of the imperial n], Waterworks Supervisor office, and the Commandant of Guards office [thesest two were part of Nine Ministers of the Imperial China], which stood side-by-side, and connected to the Hanjia Gate and the Deyou Gate, which was the Imperial Citys north exit. On both sides were high city wall reaching more than ten zhang. This moment, amidst the sound of bugle horn, a team of more than a hundred armored soldiers charged out of the back of Shangshu Mansion straight toward him. While above the wall there were shadows of enemy soldiers everywhere. To break his way over the wall was practically out of question. If there were no enemies on the wall, relying on his skill of taking a breath midair, he might be able to do, albeit with difficulty. But under the enemies mercilessnce, spear, arrow and dart, jumping up would be tantamount of throwing his life away. His only choice was through the other five exits leading out of the city. First was through either Xuanren Gate or Dong Taiyang [East Sun] Gate, which were connected to the east-west major road in front of the Shangshu Mansion. The Xuanren Gate was the east exit out of the Imperial City. Just now he already tried and this road ought to be closed, so he could forget about it. The Dong Taiyang Gate was the road leading into the Pce City. Chengfu Gate was the south Imperial City exit of the Shangshu Mansion. Unless he was willing to turn around and throw himself into the embrace of Shangshu Mansions main force, he would not need to spend any effort to break through it. The remaining choice was the Hanjia Gate and Deyou Gate, these twoyers of gate at the front. Between the two gates, there were the Hanjia Granary, Zhuanchu Rice Grain storehouse, and other things. Kou Zhong has been involved in the hostilities against the Pce City in the past, so he knew the Capital City situation like the back of his hand. Its just that he never expected that in the end he would use this knowledge to run for his life! Saber shes flickered continuously, two sabers hacked down on him from left and right, the power was adequate; obviously these two were the best and brightest among the personal guards within the Wang Army. As soon as he saw the saber momentum, he knew that if he charged forward to meet the attack head on, the enemy troops would arrive, and then he would be besieged in the middle again. The biggest advantage he was able to maintain until now was denying the enemies any opportunity to entangle him, instead, he took the enemy going around in circle, to make use of the Imperial Citys terrain to run this way and that, in order to confuse the enemy. Once he lost this advantage, it would be the end of Kou Zhong. The Moon in the Well parried left and right in session, while at the same time he retreated swiftly. As soon as the two attackers sabers met Kou Zhongs, they screamed because they were hit by the spiraling energy, like a windmill they spun away; not only their mouth spurting fresh blood, theirpanions behind them did not have time to dodge that they all were hit and fell to the ground while groaning in pain. It was as if they were hit directly by Kou Zhongs spiraling energy. The more than a dozen enemies intercepting him with torrential momentum were immediately utterly defeated. Kou Zhong was also ovee with lost of strength. Although the two saber strikes ingeniously sent out the spiraling energy to pierce through the opponents body, it also cost him considerable true energy that he was unable to follow up the victory by pressing home the attack, and was unable to force his way into the enemy ranks toward the Hanjia and Deyou, twoyers of gates on the city wall ahead. But he was already extremely satisfied. Suddenly traversing seven zhang, he evaded the violent-tidal-wave-like more than a hundred enemies streaming out of the Shangshu Mansion behind him. He decided to abandon his n to charge ahead. Because in order to reach the twoyer outside gate, he still needed to pass through the Taipusi, the worker supervisor office, and others, six buildings in total. Since Wang Shichong already nning the scheme to kill him, it was only natural that he would prepare ambushing troops in those buildings, waiting for him to walk right into the trap. The only way out with his life was to enter the Imperial Pce, where he then could exploit all kinds of situation to open up opportunities for him to escape. Letting out a long whistle, Kou Zhong soared in an angle toward the city wall separating the Imperial City with the inner Imperial Pce. Darts and arrows split the air. Kou Zhong changed the direction of his true qi from nting up to nting down, so that the several dozen powerful arrows flitted across overhead, while he threw himself to the bottom of the city wall, and then, staying close to the wall he bolted in the direction of the Shangshu Mansion. Like a bolt of cloth the enemy rolled down on him. Hundreds of torches andnterns shining down their light from the top of the wall and all around the Shangshu Mansion. Sabers, swords, spears, halberds and body armors and shields flickered brightly under the light. The Imperial City suddenly turned into Asura [malevolent spirit in Indian mythology] hell of bloody battle. Kou Zhong sped up constantly. Staying close to the wall he shot toward the Dong Taiyang Gate, the only gate leading into the Imperial Pce. He did not care anymore how many people he would have to kill, but he had to kill his way toward the Dong Taiyang Gate. Even if Ning Daoqi came in person, he would not be able to stop Kou Zhong. Book 19 - 2 – Blood-soaked Capital City Book 19 Chapter 2 C Blood-soaked Capital City With his hands behind his back, Li Shimin leisurely walked out of the hole; he smiled and said, As long as Ziling Xiong is able to remain here for one sichen, Li Shimin guarantees that Ziling Xiong will be able to leave unscathed. Xu Ziling cast a sidelong nce toward Yuchi Jingde, who was continuously applying his internal strength to pull the whip as hard as he could. Remaining tranquil and indifferent, he said, Shimin Xiong must not lie to me. If not for you guaranteeing Wang Shichong that you are going to take care of Xiaodi, how could Wang Shichong dare to deal with Kou Zhong? Isnt he afraid that in the future he would not be able to sleep peacefully? None among Zhangsun Wuji and the others did not show astonished expression, they all felt the necessity to reevaluate Xu Zilings ability and wisdom. Xu Zilings conjecture demonstrated his deep understanding and cognition of human nature. Presently everybody in the world knew that Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings life and death were connected to each other; if they got rid of one of them, it would be strange indeed if the other one would not seek revenge. And if they gained this kind of dreadful enemy, anybody would have a hard time finding a good nights sleep afterwards. In his heart, Yuchi Jingde was having another strange feeling. The nce that Xu Ziling shot at him, as clear as a deitys, seemed to prate him inside and out that nothing was left out, knowing what is true and what is false in him, making him feeling so ufortable that he nearly spurted out blood, and the strength of his hands immediately diminished to some degree. With a wry smile Li Shimin said, Ziling Xiong understands Wang Shichong too well! But I, Li Shimin, have other ways to deal with my business; I will never let anybody else influence me. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, If Shimin Xiong is unwilling to answer my question just now, Xiaodi is going to charge to break the siege. Li Shimins eyes shot an emotional expression as he shook his head and said, In addition to Xuyan Xiong, theres also Xiaodis Er Shu [second uncle]. Ziling Xiong ought to know that Kou Zhong has no chance of returning alive. It would be better to stop at this point, I can then arrange to let you have Kou Xiongs remains. Li Shimins second uncle was Li Shentong, an outstanding martial art master within the Li n. Xu Ziling looked up to the sky, and fixed his attention to the half moon, which has just appeared on the eastern horizon; the tone of his voice was calm as if it did not contain the slightest bit of human world feeling, as he spoke heavily, I am going to make my move! A burst of hot tears welled up in Li Shimins pair of tiger-eyes; he turned around and walked away, while calling out sadly, Ziling Xiong, please forgive my offense! This sentence was the same as he was issuing an order to execute Xu Ziling. Immediately the atmosphere was filled with thick fire of war. Swift like a gale Kou Zhong slid close to the wall, both to evade the attack from the right side, also to make the archers at the top of the wall not have any ess to take aim at him. The one thing that gave the interceptors the most headache was that when he encountered a powerful enemy, he would slid to the wall like a swimming fish, and avoided the enemy right on time. But when the enemy was weak, he would go all-out to make a kill. Over the short distance of about ten zhang, he had received more injuries, but the number of enemies ughtered by him was also in the dozen. The battlefield was intense, but chaotic. He had just hacked two enemies blocking his way, sending them flying away, when from his rear left came a sharp and swift attack. Kou Zhong did not have time to look, using his left foot as the axis, his spun his tiger-body around, lightning fast the Moon in the Well chopped, he parried the attackingnce. As soon as he looked, he recognized the attacker as one of Wang Shichongs personal guards, a Pianjiang [deputy general] who also led the troops; he had chatted with him several times, and had even fought side-by-side with him. This moment the opponent showed a wry smile with a hint of helplessness as he drew thence back. Kou Zhong originally wanted to follow-up with rapid session of his treasure saber strikes, but he could not help forcing himself to pull back. While these thoughts were fleeting in his mind, three spears swiftly stabbed him. Kou Zhong easily somersaulted to evade. He saw that the Dong Taiyang Gate was no more than ten zhang away, but the gate was full of enemies, and all were wielding weapons that were beneficial to attack from a distance likences, spears, halberds, and the others, which were most disadvantageous to him since he wanted to have a close rangebat. And to the left there was a group of approximately a hundred men with fresh power, which wasing over to besiege him, with shields on their left hands and swords on their right hands; their formation was orderly. If he was intercepted, it definitely would be a dead end for him. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly. The enemy has obviously recovered after the confusion, and reorganized their offensive. Plus they obviously knew that he wanted to break through the Dong Taiyang Gate; therefore, they concentrated their main force there, so that even if he grew wings, it would still be difficult for him to fly. Four spears, like four streaks of lightning, were shooting at him. With his right foot pushing the wall, Kou Zhong changed direction, and charged toward a group of enemies. Saber and man united, more and more enemies fell face up as he stormed out of the siege. Although it has taken the enemy by surprise, but because there were enemy soldiers everywhere, he could only charge out of one siege into another, but the distance to the Dong Taiyang Gate was only six zhang now. A man, with a shield on his left hand to protect his body, hacked down on him with the sword in his right hand; full of momentum, carrying a gust of wind assaulting Kou Zhongs face. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, General Song, how are you? The attacker was indeed Song Mengqiu. The enemies all around matched Song Mengqius offensive; like tidal wave they surged over. Song Mengqiu thundered, If you immediately throw your saber away and surrender, I guarantee that Kou Xiong will die with intact corpse. Laughing coldly, Kou Zhong said, General Song is showing this much consideration to Xiaodi? Dang! Kou Zhong rapidly shed away to evade the opponents sword momentum; with his shoulder he bumped an enemy to his left on the pit of his stomach. The man broke his bones and spurted blood, but by the time he fell down, Kou Zhong already flicked his wrist and the saber hacked down on Song Mengqius refined steel shield, creating a loud crashing sound that shook the entire battlefield. A spear tip pierced his shoulder de from behind. Kou Zhong shed, the spear was shaken that it slipped, only leaving a trace of blood. But Song Mengqiu bore the brunt. Kou Zhongs saber strike carried his full strength, with spiraling energy contained within it; so sudden like a thunderbolt, with an extremely powerful force, so that even with Song Mengqius skill, he was still hacked down by the saber momentum and was thrown nearly a zhang away, knocked his own men that they fell facedown to the left and tumbled down to the right, as if he was intentionally trying to open up a path for Kou Zhong. Song Mengqius entire left arm and half of his body went numb, but before he had time to hasten the cirction of his blood and qi, Kou Zhong, like his own shadow, followed closely. The murderous aura of the Moon in the Well, like a surging tide or angry wave, rolled in. While Song Mengqiu cried out, Not good!, Kou Zhongs saber, ingenious to the extreme, only gave him one option: he had to hastily raise his sword to block. The spiraling energy like a huge wave surging into him; Song Mengqiu groaned in pain, and then like a puppet in Kou Zhongs hand he staggered toward the Dong Taiyang Gate for a dozen steps or so, opening up a path for Kou Zhong again. Although the hundred something sword and shield wielders behind Kou Zhong desperately ran after him, all along they were always a few steps behind. Four, five spears stabbed from Song Mengqius left and right, hoping to stop Kou Zhong from using Song Mengqiu as his main target of attack. Kou Zhong knew that in this critical moment, if he could hack Song Mengqiu that he fell back a dozen steps or so, he could fight over toward the gateway, which was about eight zhang deep. Throwing his head back, Kou Zhong let out a long whistle, and used his remaining strength to circte his true qi to all his four limbs and hundreds of bones in his body, and continued on into his saber. The Moon in the Well immediately exuded a deep, cold, fierce and severe murderous aura. The men blocking his way felt a deep, cold saber qi assaulted their faces; they felt as if their body had entered an icehouse, and had difficulty breathing. The saber wind screamed; powerful, severe and ear piercing. Song Mengqiu seized this opportunity to scamper away. After a number of heavy, dull crashes, none of the several spear-wielders blocking Kou Zhongs way was lucky not to have his spear broken and stagger left and right, with one wound or another. Because his true energy was at the point of exhaustion, Kou Zhong steeled his will to make a somersault to evade the massive military offensiveing from four sides, eight directions, toward the Dong Taiyang Gate. More than a dozen injuries on his body immediately sprayed blood; it was a scene shocking the eye, astonishing the heart. Xu Ziling discharged Kou Zhongs safety, as well as his own life or death, entirely out of his brain ocean and heartke. His lingtai [at the top of the head] was empty, clear, still, and bright, without the slightest bit of distracting thoughts. He did not reveal the slightest sign that he had clearly grasped the path, the angle and the order of the enemys attack. These six Heavenly Policy Mansion martial art masters of upper-ranked generals level were indeed worthy to be called old Jianghu veterans with realbat experience. Without even moving they were already able to seal tight all escape routes. When they moved, it would surely be like a seamless heavenly clothes [idiom: wless]. The most formidable was Luo Shixins saber, Shi Wanbaos spear and Liu Deweis truncheon, which separately attack from three sides: front, rear and side, and the moment of their arrival did not differ. Even if he moved both hands at the same time, he could only block the opponents two weapons. Worst yet, his left ankle was still wrapped tight by Yuchi Jingdes long whip, so that he was unable to make significant shift or sidestep the attack. More frightening was Zhangsun Wujis jade flute, which arrived a hairter than the three mens attack, to make him know that even if he was able to parry or evade the three mens all-out first wave of offensive, he would still have to deal with Zhangsun Wujis all-out strike. Pang Yu, who was standing about two zhang behind him with naked de in his hand, also presented enormous threat to him, making Xu Ziling feel deep apprehension, and forcing him to set aside spare energy to deal with his sneak attack. Fighting one-on-one against any one of these six martial art masters would be enough to force Xu Ziling to go all-out;bined together, their killing power increased exponentially. Under normal circumstances, any one of them would be able to inflict heavy injury to him, without giving him the opportunity to strike back. Where could he find the hole in the enemys joining hands, the escaping one? Such offensive was really difficult to dismantle; his situation was really dangerous. Suddenly Xu Ziling roared; sending the strength in his whole body to his left ankle, he attacked Yuchi Jingde along the body of the whip. Yuchi Jingde felt an enormous, matchless spiraling strange energy bursting into his hand; in his shock he quickly focused his entire strength to resist. Who would have thought that the opponents spiraling energy suddenly changed direction? From attacking force, it turned into a pulling force. But Yuchi Jingde was outstanding as well; lowering his waist in a horse stance, he pulled the Gui Zang Whip. This moment Luo Shixins saber, Shi Wanbaos spear and Liu Weides truncheon struck at the same time. Xu Zilingughed aloud. Like a cotton wadding blown by a gale, with a speed that could not be discerned by naked eye, he broke away from the enemys siege. Swift like the wind and fire he ran into Yuchi Jingde. The enemys whips pulling force has be the helping hand for him to dodge the attack instead. Only Shi Wanbaos spear drew a wound on his left shoulder so deep that it split his flesh. Yuchi Jingde suddenly lost the pulling force, his own strength recoiled, even with his profound internal strength he could not help feeling unbearable difort that he nearly vomited blood. He staggered back, and his Gui Zang Whip, which followed an unceasingly growing in amplitude sine wave pattern, nearly fell to the ground. Pang Yu and Zhangsun Wuji, who were waiting for an opportunity on the side, could see everything clearly; they were both horror stricken. To aplish such an impossible feat like Xu Ziling just did, one must be able to switch the direction of the true qi within ones body many times in the blink of an eye. It was only this moment they realized the formidability of the internal power from the Secret to Long Life. The two shouted at the same time, sword and flute moved together. More astonishing thing happened. Qiang! Kou Zhongs saber hacked a long halberd stabbing toward him; borrowing the reaction force, he flew at an angle, straight toward the upper floor of the Dong Taiyang Gate. The enemies had never expected that he would choose difficulty and abandon easy, and they were overwhelmed with caught-unprepared feeling. More than a dozen long special spears, extending as long as three zhang, which were used specially to besiege a city, were swung toward him. Kou Zhong made a decision in his heart. Most of the power he used to soar just now was borrowed from the reaction force, so he still had some energy remained. Quickly he exchanged his true qi to generate new power, and somersaulted midair to evade the attack, while crossing more than two zhang of the city wall, and then going at an angle toward the city gate tower at the edge of the city wall standing against the Imperial Pce. From this angle looking northwest, he could see the inner city wall of the Imperial Pce, as well as the three gates, Yongtai, Taihe and Xingjiao, located at the southeast corner of the Pce City. Indeed as he expected, the three gates did not seem to have any special guards reinforcement. Therefore, as long as he could manage a slightly faster speed, he would be able to enter the Imperial Pce before the enemies had time to intercept him, and then he would attempt to escape. The top of the wall was in a great mess. Kou Zhong threw his person and his saber together at the enemy ranks with their raisednces and standing spears, while thundering, Death to those who block me! The Moon in the Well created arge circle of saber light overhead and pressing down, covering arge area. His power and qi was strong; indeed it was the strongest since his debut. In this fight for his life, he disyed his skill to the greatest extend. While the enemies were rushing to the east and turning over to the west, he set foot on the top of the wall. At this time he was only about two zhang away from the edge of the wall facing west. Sess in sight, his will to fight rose up. Not daring to be negligence, while the enemys formation was still in chaos, the Moon in the Well charged toward the walls edge like rolling wind, rushing thunder; immediately blood sshed everywhere. Two men blocking his way were immediately hit by the saber on their chest, straight into their heart, and they fell one after another. Kou Zhong stepped on the enemies dead bodies, and then he moved around with slippery shenfa like a swimming fish, each strike of the saber resulted in one enemy fell down, and those who were hit by the saber died on the spot; there were only deaths, no injuries. His internal qi circted continuously; as the old power was diminishing, the new one was being generated. Seeing he was this powerful, all around him the enemies heart and guts turned cold, and withdrew in profusion. Kou Zhong gained a few more injuries, but his murderous intent grew. His Moon in the Well disyed its capability to extreme saturation, as he, with all his heart and soul, rushing and moving around unhindered, with an insufferably arrogant air. Suddenly there was nobody in front of him but an empty air; turned out he had reached the edge of the city gate tower. Kou Zhong turned around, the Moon in the Well swept in a circle, seven, eight spears andnces shed with the saber and broke. Everyone retreated in horror. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Laozi [I, your father] is leaving! With a back flip he jumped. Right this instant, two streams of qi power, thick and concentrated, strong and violent without equal, sharp like a de, shot at him separately from underneath. Inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly startled, knowing that finally he encountered martial art masters who could send him to his doom; not only one, but two. Meanwhile, sound of weapons splitting the air was heard from behind, as six, seven spears were thrown at him from the top of the wall. Unexpectedly the Gui Zang Whip was pulled back taut. A wave of violent, abrupt pulling force, despite Yuchi Jingdes stable horse stance, has pulled him that he staggered two steps forward before he was able to steady his posture. Pang Yus sword and Zhangsun Wujis flute also hit empty air. It was impossible! It was clear as day that Xu Ziling was rushing toward Yuchi Jingde, appearing to attack him with all his might; who would have thought that when he was about half a zhang away from the opponent, unexpectedly Xu Ziling halted, and retreated to the opposite direction, pulling the whip along with him? This kind of sudden change in true qi could turn any martial art masters Eight Extraordinary Channels into a great mess, and even drive him into fire deviation; yet Xu Ziling did it casually, as if nothing had happened. The section of Gui Zang Whip wrapped around Xu Zilings ankle disintegrated into cun--size pieces. Laughing aloud, he said, Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art masters are indeed out of the ordinary; I, Xu Ziling, have the honor to experience it! They only saw him soaring into the sky, rising above the wall, and disappeared in the distant darkness. Everybody could only stare nkly on the spot, and looked at each other in disbelief. No one had ever thought that the whip, which on the surface seemed to put him in extremely disadvantageous situation, had be the one thing that he relied on to escape. Such an amazing magic trick was indeed beyond everybodys ability to y. Although they had such a high regard on Xu Zilings ability, it was not before they were engaged in a real fight that they understood the level of his attainments. Book 19 - 3 – Reaping the Result of the Battle Book 19 Chapter 3 C Reaping the Result of the Battle Kou Zhong took a nce, and further affirmed the idea that it would be difficult for him to ovee the enemy with force. The two men soaring from this city gate to intercept him were wearing personal guard military uniform, but they wore helmet that covered the upper half of their faces. Obviously they did not want him to recognize their real appearance. The man on the lower left had a sword in his hand, which he turned into countless sharp points dazzling the eyes, reflecting the rays of light of the torches and windnterns far and near, making it difficult to see his figure, but Kou Zhong was clear, without any doubt that he was the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan, whom he had personally fought before. This man was indeed an amazing talent in using the sword; in terms of proficiency and power usage, he has reached the grand master level, plus his sword technique was exquisite. Just against him alone, Kou Zhong did not have any confidence of victory. The other man wielded a strange-looking weapon. It looked like a spear but not exactly a spear, like a halberd but not exactly a halberd; perhaps like an illegitimate son of the union between a spear and a halberd, but its offensive power was overbearing, his martial art skill was definitely on par with Yang Xuyans. While Kou Zhong was calling for his Niang inwardly, seven more spears were thrown from the top of the wall toward his back. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Xuyan Xiong, I trust you have been well since west met! His body swayed left and right rapidly several times in the air, five spears flew pass closely left, right and above him, but unexpectedly he caught two in his armpits, the violent force helped him changing the direction of his fall, so that he flew over empty air forward, straight in the direction of the Yongtai Gate of the Imperial Pce. Even with Yang Xuyan and Li Shentongs ability, they could only pounce on empty air. When martial art masters fought against each other, they were actually fighting over this split second difference. By the time the two, applying their qi,nded back on the ground, Kou Zhong has already entered the Imperial Pce. For a moment arge number of pursuing soldiers swarmed into the Yongtai Gate, so that the situation became chaotic. As a result, the two were unable to move freely instead, and thus they could only sit and waste a good opportunity. Xu Ziling changed into another set of clothes, bought a steel saber, and put on a mask, turning his appearance to that which the Henan Mad Schr Zheng Shiru mistakenly thought as the vicious, heretical Overbearing Saber Yue Shan of the previous generation. And then unhurriedly he strolled to the wine shop where he agreed that he would wait for Kou Zhong. He was confident that Kou Zhong could survive and escape to see him here. If Kou Zhong was dead, then Xu Ziling would stop at nothing to assassinate Wang Shichong and Li Shimin to avenge him, and then he would go down south to pick up Susu, mother and son, entrust them to Zhai Jiao, and then alone, he would go find Yuwen Huaji to settle the debt. Since they wanted to contend over the world, it was either you kill me or I kill you; nobody would have anything toin. Suddenly Xu Zilings mind opened up, nothing upying his heart. He was born, and he would die, there was nothing to worry about. Anything that ought to happen would happen. This moment, a couple of Jianghu characters stepped into the wine shop. As they caught a nce at Xu Ziling, sitting alone on a table in the corner, first they looked stunned, and then their countenance changed greatly, they hurriedly backed out. Noticing all these with the corner of his eye, Xu Ziling was baffled. It should be noted that Yue Shan had not stepped foot in Jianghu for several decades; unless it was old martial art master of the same generation, there should be no one able to recognize him. Why would two men, about no more than thirty years old, who randomly rushed in, recognize him in just one nce? Upon further contemtion however, he understood immediately. The news of Yue Shans arrival in Luoyang must have spread from Zheng Shirus mouth, or perhaps he informed a certain personage of from a powerful local gang or society, and that person ordered his subordinated to pay attention to such particr figure, and thus such thing urred. But now that even Xu Ziling has be archenemy of Wang Shichong and Li Shimin, why would he care about other people? He just wanted to drink. If Kou Zhong was really harmed, what kind of blow would that be for Xu Ziling? When someone died, would he vanish like smoke in thin air, without leaving any trace, or would he be reincarnated as someone else? Kou Zhongs familiar footsteps were approaching. Xu Ziling looked up, but what entered into his vision was a personal guard in civilian clothes. Kou Zhongs gait was unsteady, as he sat down dejectedly on the chair next to him. Hidden by the mask, Xu Ziling was unable to see his face, but naturally he knew that Kou Zhong has received serious injury. After drinking a cup of wine, Kou Zhong hatefully said, Wang Shichong, the guy who should have been dead that day, unexpectedly joined hands with Li kid to deal with me, nearly took my old life away. Luckily I have an amazing skill of altering head and exchanging body, otherwise you wouldnt be able to see me anymore, unless you are willing to go to the underworld to look for me. Xu Ziling reached out from under the table to grab Kou Zhongs hand, and quietly transmitted his true qi, while speaking indifferently, Just now some people recognized me as the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, so this ce is not suitable to tarry long. We also have to find a way to shake anybody trying to pursue us. Taken aback, Kou Zhong said, Yue Shan? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling replied, Whats so strange about that? And then, frowning, he said, Your injury is so heavy, dont even think that youll recover in one night, but that is only the internal injury; I am afraid the external will take two more days. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, The only reason I was able to get away was I exploited Yang Xuyans assumption that my energy waspletely exhausted, plus I led Wang Shichongs men from the Imperial City on a tour to the Pce City, running around for several li. The funniest thing was when I broke into Hougong [lit. rear pce, chambers of imperial concubines] and shouted that Wang Shichong was going to kill Yang Dong, the entire Imperial Pce was immediately thrown into chaos, so I seized the opportunity to exchange clothes with a friendly and kind-hearted imperial guard, and slipped out of there. Ha! Aiyo! Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Dont be happy too soon! What about Mr. Xu? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Lets go! If this hatred is not avenged, I am not a gentleman; the man of the mountain has excellent n. The city of Luoyang was strangely quiet that night. Wang Shichong did not send his men to search for them. Anybody knew there was nothing to gain in this matter anyway. The two boys were hiding on the bell tower overlooking Tianjin Bridge. While transmitting his qi to help Kou Zhong recuperate, Xu Ziling told him about the siege Li Shiminid out for him and how he escaped. Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air and said, Li kid is so vicious; I wonder ... Li kid did not send Li Jing, this makes sense, but why didnt he send Hong Funu to take part? Sneering, Xu Ziling said, You should not let this kind of thing harming your spirit! Now think about how to rescue Xu Xingzhi? The worst thing is that we dont even know if he is dead or alive, hows his situation? I just want to get the hell out of here. Kou Zhong closed his eyes. He silently received the true qi Xu Ziling transmitted into his body. It was quite a whileter that he opened his eyes and said, What Wang Shichong needs the most right now is a Junshi [military counsellor] and an expert in strategy like Xiaodi, and Xu Xingzhi happens to meet that need. Although Xu Xingzhis martial art skill is nothing to brag about, in terms of ability and wisdom he is definitely not inferior to us. He must have a way to convince Wang Shichong that there isnt any close rtion between him and us, and the fact is there is none. Therefore, he must be safe and sound. And then he sighed and said, If my enemy is only Wang Shichong, I dont have to worry so much, but with Li kid added into the equation, it is another matter altogether. Didnt you say you have another excellent n? Xu Ziling reminded him. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Tomorrow Ill go to see if Xu Xingzhi has left any message for us, and then Ill try to get in touch with the man Song Jingang left in Luoyang, to get a better understanding of the situation in Luoyang. Ay! Suddenly looking ahead and looking back, I see no one familiar; it makes me feel so ufortable. Xu Zilings heart was moved; he quietly thought that he ought to also look for the delicate and pretty, the beautiful Qiu Tongtong, whom Liu Heita left here, to try to scout for the news. Kou Zhong thought hard, Now the situation of all parties is so urgent, why does Li kid deliberately waste his time so many days in the Eastern Capital? There must be a reason that we cannot see through yet. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Save your energy! Other things can be figured out after daybreak! The next morning the two went their separate ways to do their job. In Luoyang, everything looked normal; it even looked more prosperous than before. Xu Ziling put on a mask that he had never worn before; he disguised himself as a poor, grieving schr, as he treaded the familiar path on his way to look for Tongtong. It was only when he reached the shop that he shed his disguise to show his real identity and entered the shop, and a short momentter he met with Tongtong in a room at the rear courtyard of the shop. Thetter was packing up; obviously they were about to leave. Seeing his visit, Tongtong spoke in great delight, I was so worried about two Daye, but seeing Xu Ye safe and sound, I will have good news to report to Liu Ye. After being seated, Xu Ziling asked, Is Miss Tongtong leaving? Tongtong nodded, Now the situation is critical, she replied, Xia Wang [King of Xia] already formted ns for attacking Xu Yuang. Next turn will be Yuwen Huaji. Otherwise, once the Li Army is out of Guanxi, it will be toote for us to regret. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. In the School of Military, to seize victory, every moment counts. Now that Li Mi was defeated, the whole situation changed. Among the three major forces in the Central ins, inside and outside the Pass, each faction had their own challenges and urgent matters they had to deal with. Li Yuan still had Xue Ju, father and son, this fear of trouble in the rear, also the ring-like-tiger-watching-its-prey, waiting-for-an-opportunity-to-move Liu Wuzhou. Wang Shichong still had to consolidate the result of the war, receiving Li Mis defeated army and his territory, and to eradicate Li Mi once for all, to pull him up by the roots. For these reasons, Dou Jiande must seize this golden opportunity to clear up the enemies that would block his move to the south. Xu Yuang being the first, and then Xu Zilings own personal enemy Yuwen Huaji next. For the time being, Wang Shichong had be the center of the battle instead. Whoever captured Luoyang would be able to control the river transportation hub to the north. And when that happened, nobody would be able to stop his advancement to the south. With grave expression, Tongtong said, ording to the secret information I obtained, three days ago, Li Shimins subordinates, Li Jing and his wife set out toward Heyang; it does not look like a good thing. Xu Ziling was severely shocked inwardly; his countenance changed, he said, Li Shimin wants to take Li Mis defeated army into his, he wants to recruit the surrendering soldiers. Frowning, Tongtong said, How could Li Mi be content to be someone elses subordinate? Recalling Kou Zhongs analysis on Li Shimin, Xu Ziling replied heavily, Enduring it is a small matter, but a big scheme in this upheaval. Right now although the world is big, Li Mi has no ce he could hide, no road he could flee to. If Li Shimin could offer him shelter, to keep away from the way the wind blows and the intensity of the fire, it sure is better than ending up failing and wiped over the floor. Tongtong still did not understand, If the rumors are true, Li Shimin is said to be both wise and courageous. He should know that recruiting Li Mi is just a case of nurturing a tiger inviting cmity. Xu Ziling nodded, Yourment is not without reason. But let me go ayer deeper: Li Shimins trick is mainly done for others to see. He wants to show clearly that even an ambitious and ruthless hegemon of a region like Li Mi, he would wee with open arms and breadth of mind, that following him would mean prosperity. This is probably the reason why he had to fight less on so many battles. Tongtongs tender body trembled slightly, her beautiful eyes shot reverent and admiring look as she spoke in low voice, Tongtong surrenders! Xu Yes deep knowledge of Li Shimin is just like you are able to see through him clearly. That must be it, and that is the only reasonable exnation. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Most probably Li Shimin is the one person in the world, in the present age, who knows how to use that kind of strategy the most; a capable person acting as an incapable person, conducting himself as if he is a nobody. And now I am worried for Kou Zhong! He painstakingly defeated Li Mi, yet without a single thank you the Li kid took over his biggest achievement. Tongtong said, The situation is getting tense now. After Wang Shichong consolidated his troops, he started to force other parties men and horses to withdraw from the Eastern Capital. This is the other reason why we want to withdraw. I wonder if Fu Qian, Tuli, Wang Bo, and the others are still in Luoyang? Xu Ziling asked. Fu Qians situation, I am not too clear myself, Tongtong replied, But one after another Tuli and Wangbo have left the city, presently their destination unknown. Ay! The Mount Mang Military Expedition has turned the entire situation upside down, and now nobody knows what will happen next. Only one thing is for sure, Kou Ye and Xu Yes prestige in Jianghu has exploded many times over; nobody dares to take you lightly. How could Xu Ziling care whether his reputation was better than before? He asked further, Do you have any information on either Huang Gongcuo or Yin Gui Pai? Tongtong replied, I heard Huang Gongcuo is returning to the south. As for Yin Gui Pai, they have always been secretive, nobody knows what they are doing. Xu Ziling felt something was really wrong. With Yin Gui Pais reputation of debt must be repaid, enmity must be avenged, how could they be willing to let them off? But Tongtong clearly knew she should stop right here. Thereupon Xu Ziling took his leave. This delicate and pretty, pleasant beauty revealed a sad expression as they were about to part. Sending him off to the door, she said in low voice, Xu Ye, please be careful, right now there is an extremely high price for the heads above your necks! Xu Ziling met Kou Zhong at a noodle shop. Thetter looked really angry as he said, The situation is quite bad, Xu Xingzhi did not leave any secret mark. My guess is that Wang Shichong already saw through our rtionship, thereupon he held him up as a hostage, so that we came to rescue him. After a short pause, he lowered his voice and said, Actually, rescuing him ought to be thest resort. As long as we can capture a hostage with personal rtionship to him, say Wang Xuanying, we wont have to worry that Wang Shichong will not agree to the exchange. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I am afraid you must go to the Imperial City or Imperial Pce to find Wang Xuanying. In that case, you might as well make your move against Wang Shichong himself; its even more straightforward. Kou Zhongughed and said, I was just using him as an example. The fact is, I already have someone in mind; I am not afraid Wang Shichong will not give in. Dong Shuni? Xu Ziling spoke heavily. Precisely that woman, Kou Zhong excitedly replied, We can harm Yang Xuyan and Li kid at the same time. Can you guess whether Li Shimin is aware that Yang Xuyan has already gambled his head over this loose woman? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, How would we make our move? We cant wait in vain outside the Imperial City, plus we do not know from which gate she is going to leave, and then we wont know which carriage she is going to hide in. Kou Zhong looked around at the other diners of the noodle shop first, before leaning over whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Officially Dong Shuni has be Li Yuans imperial concubine. Logically she ought not leave her boudoir even for half a step, especially to see another man. Luckily both you and I know what she is made of; it would be strange indeed if she does not steal out to have a tryst with Yang Xuyan. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You speak as if it is as simple as eating a bowl of noodle until you are full. Forget about your injury has not been healed properly, apart from Yang Xuyan, I dont know how many more vicious men are in the Rong Mansion. We go in blindly to look for her, itd be a wonder if we are not making a mess. Kou Zhong said, Without entering the tigers den, how could we get a tiger cub? As long as we can rescue Xu Xingzhi, Song Jingangs men can make arrangement for us to go to Jiangdu. Time is running out, well make our move tonight. And then he added, Do you know whos looking for Yue Shan? His interest piqued, Xu Ziling asked, Who? Kou Zhong mysteriously said, How can you not guess? Its Shang Xiufang. What? Xu Ziling blurted out, She is still in Luoyang? Kou Zhong said, This misunderstanding has grown out of proportion! You are impersonating Yue Shan has not only detained her here, she even offers ten taels of gold for any information on your, this fake goods, whereabouts. I really wanted to look for her and ask why she is so anxious to see this Yue Shan? Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Didnt you say that she has a very good opinion on you? Plus she already invited you for a private meeting. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, It was then, now its different. I hear every night Li kid went to Man Qing Yuan to hear her ying qin and singing. The two carry on intimately with each other, how could I have a share? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Li Shimin is absolutely not the kind of man to indulge in wine and women. What he is doing is simply creating diversion, to confuse Wang Shichong and his mens eyes and ears. The fact is that he is secretly trying to recruit Li Mi to be his general; if he is sessful, it would be like winning a lot of battles without any blood on the mens swords at one go. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he asked, Where did you get that information from? After Xu Ziling told him in details, Kou Zhong pped the table and praised, Good kid, you are indeed all right. But I dont believe he will seed. Ay! I shouldnt be that confident. Noticing everybodys raised eyebrows at them, Xu Ziling reprimanded him, Keep it down a bit, will you? Only now did Kou Zhong look down and start eating his noodles. He mumbled, What I am worried the most right now is Female Demon Wan; she suddenly went into hiding, so that we cannot guard against her. Even if we could rescue Xu Xingzhi, the road to Jiangdu will not be good for us. Dont forget that all along Yin Gui Pai always has close working rtionship with Ol Die. This will be the thorn on our back, it might carry great misfortune for us. Xu Ziling sighed and said, But now, other than taking it one step at a time, what else can we do? Kou Zhong silently finished his noodle before shaking his head and said, We must go from passive to active, to kill first before seeking for life; only then will we be able to ruthlessly give lessons to Li kid and Wang Shichong, that old fox who forget favors and vite justice. Kidnapping Dong Shuni is the first step. As for the second step, hey! Do you have ideas? Displeased, Xu Ziling said, You must be a verybative person. What makes you think that you can fight Li kid? Even fighting one-on-one, we may not necessarily able to beat Li kid. Kou Zhong giggled and said, We are fighting in wits, not in forces. Youd better put on your Yue Shan disguise and go see Shang Xiufang, see if there is any advantage we can exploit. His heart moved, Xu Ziling said, If I became Yue Shan, it would be better not to see Shang Cainu [talented woman], but Wan Yaonu [female demon] instead! Can you find out where Zheng Shiru is staying? Kou Zhong threw up his arms and said, Currently I have neither generals nor soldiers, how am I supposed to find out? And then, shaken, he said, Why not try Bai Qingers ship? There is no harm in exposing your track a little bit before making yourself scarce again. I will keep watch for you nearby. While we still have more than half a day until night time, it might be good for us to look for a bit more fun thing to do. Xu Ziling hesitated, What if we bump into Zhu Yuyan? She might be an old friend of Yue Shan; wont she then see through my disguise and might provoke a problem for us? he asked. Kou Zhong said, Sooner orter we are going to deal with Zhu Yuyan anyway, why would you be scared of her? Besides, the chance to bump into her is minuscule, perhaps this is the only way we can scout out Yin Gui Pai. After deep contemtion for half a day, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Very well! Well do just like you said. Might as well try our luck. Book 19 - 4 – Gratitude and Grudges, Passion and Enmity Book 19 Chapter 4 C Gratitude and Grudges, Passion and Enmity Xu Ziling intentionally wore bamboo hat with muslin veil to shade his face, revealing only the lower part of his face; his mouth and lower jaw. From head to foot he exuded a strange, indescribable charisma, as he boldly walked over toward Bai Qingers ship still anchored at the dock. The pier was busy with peopleing and going, loading and unloading the goods; the river traffic was even busier, with endless stream of ships and boats going on either direction. Xu Ziling was thinking on how to proceed when from Bai Qingers ship several men came out and walked down the nk. He took a look, and cheered inwardly, because one of them was precisely the Henan Mad Warrior Zheng Shiru. From the other three, he recognized two as old acquaintances; the Gold and Silver Spears Ling Feng and the Fat Demon Jin Bo, both could be considered the enemy. The other man was about twenty-three, twenty-four, wearing expensive-looking clothes, carrying the air of the son or disciple of a prominent family. He looked somewhat familiar, perhaps it was a guy with whom Xu Ziling had predestined affinity that he caught a glimpse of him during Rong Fengxiangs birthday party. With his hand pressed against the sabers hilt, Xu Ziling quickly moved forward, blocking their path. Four pair of fierce and sharp eyes immediately fell upon him. Both parties stopped with only about two zhang distance between them. With his hand still on the hilt, Xu Ziling pressed forward. Four men immediately felt his deep cold and grave powerful momentum; one after another they fanned out and drew their weapons. Ling Feng was still wielding gold and silver short spears in his left and right hands. Jin Bos signature weapon was a long iron stick. The young man and Zheng Shiru had swords in their hands. When the people around saw men baring sabers and drawing swords, they promptly scattered away in all direction. Xu Ziling shouted sternly, Zheng Shirue here to meet your death. Others who have nothing to do with him get lost for Laofu, otherwise dont me Laofus de for being merciless. Actually, even until this moment, he still did not know how bringing trouble to Zheng Shiru would benefit them; so it could be said that it was an idea within having no idea at all, because Zheng Shiru and Bai Qinger have be their only clue to find Yin Gui Pai. If Zheng Shiru received Yin Gui Pais order to recruit him, then he would have an opportunity he could exploit. Zheng Shiru was able to recognize his hoarse voice immediately; he hastily said, Its a misunderstanding; can we talk? I wonder how did Wanbei [junior] offend Yue Qianbei [senior]? Hearing the three words Yue Qianbei, Ling Feng and the others, three mens countenance changed immediately. Obviously they knew whats going on. Letting a cold snort, Xu Ziling said, What misunderstanding? Were it not for you revealing Laofus whereabouts, who would know that Laofu is here? Merely this point, I cannot spare you for your mortal crime. It was apparent that Zheng Shiru was extremely wary toward this Overbearing Saber Yue Shan; exercising self-restraint, he said, Qianbei please calm down and listen to Wanbeis exnation. There is a reason behind it, why dont we put down our des and sit down to talk? Laughing coldly, Xu Ziling said, Laozi dont have time for that kind of idle talk, killing one or two people is not a big deal. En garde! Without revealing real skill, how could one express his true worth? Xu Ziling shed his shoulders, like moving clouds and flowing water he suddenly slid two zhang forward, drawing out his saber and chopping down ferociously. Imposing and powerful saber momentum immediately rolled the four opponents into the battlefield. Among various weapons, because Xu Ziling had learned Li Jings Bloody Battle Ten-Style, he was quite adept at using saber. Plus these days he had gained considerable experience to disy his mastery of the saber. It was both shrewd and ruthless, yet ferocious, but still carrying the imposing manner of overbearing saber over the world. One side was storing up energy and waiting, the other side was still in doubt; plus Xu Zilings movement was flowing smoothly, fast like lightning or spark of fire, and the saber wind was iparably swift and fierce. Zheng Shiru, Ling Feng and Jin Bo, three men felt it was difficult to block using force, so they staggered out, opening wide the battlefront between the four people. Only that young master was like a new-born calf that has no fear of the tiger, or perhaps he did not know whats going on, unexpectedly he did not back down the least bit, but drew his de to meet the saber head-on. Dang! The young master, his person and his sword, was hacked by Xu Ziling that he was thrown sideways and nearly rolled over on the ground. Greatly shocked, Zheng Shiru shed forward and brandished his sword to counterattack. Ling Feng and Jin Bo hurriedly helped from the side, to stop Xu Ziling from continuing his killer move. The formers sword move was bold and powerful, fast, experienced and careful;pared to thetter two, it was obvious that he was several notches superior. Each move was desperate move, brute force against brute force, creating an unending ear-splitting ringing noise of gold against iron. Xu Ziling praised inwardly. This Henan Mad Warrior had brilliant eyesight; knowing that if all of them fought desperately with all their strength, they would be hardly spared, thereupon he held back his offensive and concentrated only on defensive, giving Ling Feng and Jin Bo, two men the opportunity to strike back. It was the correct strategy. Xu Ziling let out a longugh, the long saber conveniently sending out a stream of continuous counterattacks, hidden within the opening and closing his defense line were exquisite, profound mystery changes in his technique, sucking the three men inside the saber shadow and the ray of the de. Without revealing his strength, how could he get the other sides attention? From the ship came a chirping, singsong like voice, Old Yue, is it possible for you to give regard to qies status and momentarily hold your hand? Xu Zilings saber momentum suddenly red out; after forcing the three men to withdraw, he put the saber back into its scabbard, and immediately assumed a steady-as-a-profound-peak air, giving the impression that he could not be toppled down. Looking up, he saw Bai Qinger standing charmingly on the bow. Surprisingly, apanying her on her left and right were the Evil Monk Fa Nan and Amorous Nun Chang Zhen, whom he had not seen for a long time. The two acted exceptionally deferential. From this it was clear that the Overbearing Saber Yue Shans fame for his fighting prowess was quite resounding. Xu Ziling suddenly soared over the three mens heads andnded on the deck. Bai Qingers demeanor did not change, but Evil Monk and Amorous Nun looked alert. Looking through the muslin veil, Xu Ziling fixed his gaze on Bai Qinger as if nobody else present; he said, If Laofus discerning eyes did not fail me, little girl must be an old acquaintance. On the street the other day, in just one nce Laofu already knew your status. This remark fitted very well with his status as an older senior generation, while at the same time exining the reason he red at her like a tiger watching its prey that day. This moment Zheng Shiru leaped onto the ship, and spoke in low voice, Naturally we do not dare to conceal from Old Yue. Since Old Yue already know the whole story, you ought to know there are many ears listening right now; why dont we invite your honorable self to go into the cabin and discuss this matter in details? Xu Ziling looked back at the dock, and saw Ling Feng and Jin Bo were leaving with that young master. Immediately he understood that Ling Feng and Jin Bo were also Yin Gui Pai men. In that case, if Qian Duguan did not belong to Yin Gui Pai, he must have a very close rtionship with Yin Gui Pai. This Yue Shan identity was very effective; without much difficulty he was able to obtain a lot of valuable intelligence. Letting out a cold snort, Xu Ziling took the lead entering the cabin. Zheng Shiru rushed forward to show the way. Before stepping foot into the cabin, Xu Ziling suddenly halted his step at the threshold. Not only he cried for his Niang inwardly, he was so shocked that cold sweats started to cover his whole body, and he nearly turned around and bolted away. Because he saw Zhu Yuyan, with her face covered in thick muslin veil, was sitting quietly in an imperial chair near the south cabin wall, in a calm, leisurely manner of the leader of a sect. It does not matter if he guessed a thousand times or thought ten thousand times, he would never imagine that he woulde across the Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan in here. This time, he was literally amb in a tigers den. Kou Zhong, disguised as a porter, mingled among the crowd watching the show, saw everything. In the blink of an eye the dock came back to its previous condition, as if nothing has been happening. Naturally Kou Zhong did not have to worry about Xu Ziling. Even if Wanwan was onboard the ship, Xu Ziling had the ability to escape via the water. It was also their agreed method of dealing with emergency. This moment there was a street peddler selling tea setting up his business at the next dock. Kou Zhong was about to take this opportunity to blend into the crowd when suddenly a horse-drawn carriage wasing near. The two big men sitting on the driver seat looked valiant, unlike ordinary carriage drivers. When the carriage stopped, another young man pushed the door open and got off of the carriage. Kou Zhongs spirit rose up immediately. That man was unexpectedly one of the martial art masters of Li Shimins Heavenly Policy Mansion, Pang Yu. Three other men opened the tailgate of the carriage and took out a rectangr box with several breathing holes on it, and carried it aboard a huge ship waiting on the dock. This kind of loading/unloading activity was somon that it did not attract anybody elses attention at all. After hesitating for half a day, in the end Kou Zhong could not ovee his curiosity; he decided to sneak up the ship to see what was going on. Xu Ziling strode into the cabin, casually threw his hat away, and making his voice strange, he let out a longugh and said, Yuyan, I trust you have been well since west met! He had made up his mind that since he was certain of defeat, he would expose his identity himself, and then tried to break siege by force. Lu Miaozis mask could deceive those who did not know Yue Shan personally, but to a grandmaster level martial art master like Zhu Yuyan, as long as she saw him once, she would not forget, not to mention it was more than likely that the two of them knew each other on personal level. The reason he entered the cabin was that it from there, it was more convenient to jump into the river to escape, because the corridor behind him was blocked by Bai Qinger, Chang Zhen and Fa Nan, three people. If necessary, he could sneak-attack Zheng Shiru and use him as a shield. As long as he could block or slow Zhu Yuyan for a short period of time, he would have the opportunity to escape through the window or by breaking through the wall. Zhu Yuyan was as still as the water in the well with no ripple, coldly, through the veil in from of her face, fixed her deep gaze on him. Although he could not see her eyes, he could directly feel her gaze. Xu Ziling pressed his hand on the saber hilt; immediately cold aura permeated the cabin, filling it with severe, frosty murderous air. For some unknown reason, Zhu Yuyan did not immediately expose him, this counterfeit; beyond everybodys expectation, she let out a faint sigh and slowly said, Everybody else get out! Xu Ziling said in his heart, This is where she is going to take care of me personally. While he was still contemting whether he should make his move immediately, he sensed that Zhu Yuyan did not have any intention to fight. While he was vaciting, Zheng Shiru and the others already withdrew from the cabin and closed the door. Zhu Yuyan rose up to her full height, her posture was graceful. Xu Ziling spoke in his heart, Here wee! and he was on full alert. Zhu Yuyan shook her head and said, You have finally mastered the Huan Ri Da Fa [Great Method of Exchanging/Substituting Days]; no wonder not only you dare to reappear in Jianghu, you also have the guts to challenge Yuyan. Its been forty years; you still cannot water down your resentment toward me? Inwardly, Xu Ziling was severely shaken. My Niang, could it be that she really did not know I am a fake goods? In a sh, hundreds and thousands of thought flitted in his head. The only exnation was that this mask was created meticulously based on Yue Shans real face, and that his own build closely resembled Yue Shans. Naturally his personality traits, voice, and poise differed vastly from Yue Shans, but because in her heart Zhu Yuyan was already convinced that Yue Shan was hiding to train some Huan Ri Da Fa, which, as the name implied, it was some kind of skill to shed ones mortal body and exchange ones bones, she thought that the changes in his appearance was because he has mastered said skill; unexpectedly she really mistook the Ma Liang galloping into the capital [I could not find reference on this idiom], and was duped to believe that Xu Ziling was really Yue Shan. But if he spoke a few more words, he guaranteed that Zhu Yuyan would see through him. But he could not stay silent. That day he and Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, three men joined hands fighting Zhu Yuyan, they still ended up barely get away with their lives. Although presently his skill has improved significantly,pared to Zhu Yuyan, there was still some distance. Of course, it would be best if he could wriggle out his way without having to fight at all. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day, before letting out a cold humph and striding forward toward the cabin window on Zhu Yuyans right side. And then, making his voice deep and hoarse, he said, You still cannot forget him for forty years, you still cannot forget him! Perhaps because what he said struck the load on Zhu Yuyans mind, unexpectedly she did not reply. Xu Zilings remark definitely contained boundless wisdom. Concerning the gratitude and grudges of the people of Zhu Yuyans generation, he only knew bits and pieces from what little things Lu Miaozi told him. ording to Lu Miaozi, because of his infatuation with Zhu Yuyan, he nearly lost his life, luckily he used a mask to escape. And it was quite possible that the mask he was using was this exact mask that turned him into the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan. There were two reasons to support this theory. First of all, Lu Miaozis build was tall and imposing like Xu Ziling. Naturally it was very close in size with Yue Shans build, otherwise now Xu Ziling could not deceive Zhu Yuyan. The second reason was that with Zhu Yuyans eyesight, even if Lu Miaozi was wearing a mask, in just a nce Zhu Yuyan would be able to through him from his physique, his movement and his demeanor. In this case, he could only disguise himself as someone whom she knew, and had to look alike without any w if he wanted to have any hope of deceiving her. Following this rationale, there must be a subtle and intimate rtionship among the three, Yue Shan, Lu Miaozi and Zhu Yuyan. What Xu Ziling was saying was actually very vague, and could be interpreted many other ways. In short, in human life in the human world, gratitude and grudges, passion and enmity are inevitable, no matter how much one tries not to go there. At this time, although he could escape to the river any moment, he really did not wish to leave that quickly! The cabin fell into an awkward silence, only the voices of the porters loading and unloading the goods on the dock and the sound of the riverpping against the hull of the ship came through the window. The tone of Zhu Yuyans voice turned cold as she softly said, Look! Xu Ziling turned around to look. Zhu Yuyan raised her hands to lift the muslin toward either side, exposing her face, which had always been hidden deep behind the veil. Kou Zhong observed for quite a while, still he had not found a good way to sneak into the enemys ship, not only because the opposite party had people standing guard on the deck, but also because they had their people on the dock watching for any suspicious people in the vicinity. In broad daylight, even someone with better qinggong would be unable to find a solution. Li kid having a ship in here was naturally reasonable, but that box was definitely questionable. If he did not guess incorrectly, the content of the box must be a person; otherwise, it would not need any venttion holes. Who could it be? Kou Zhong pondered for half a day. Finally he made up his mind and walked toward the ship inrge strides. Xu Ziling took a look; immediately his stare turned nk. Time did not leave any trace on her face; looking at her left to right, top to bottom, she was still radiant with youth, looked only a few years older than Wanwan. With the veil still covering half of her face, he could only able to see most of it, but the exposed part was charming, brimming with intoxicating grace. Her pair of pretty eyebrows nted up toward her temples, her pair of ck-as-a-dot-ofcquer eyes was extremely full of spirit; her gaze was enough to bewitch any man falling upside-down. Combined with her tender and soft white skin, which looked like it was sculpted out of faultless white jade, no one would not be overwhelmed by breathtaking feeling. In term of beauty, she was really not inferior to the peerless beauty Wanwan; moreover, in term of appearance, there was even a striking resemnce between the two, making him think that there must be a mother-daughter rtionship between them. In term of personality traits, she was delicate and pretty beyondprehension, definitely would not make people associate her with the sinister, heretical Yin Gui Pai. In that moment, Xu Ziling was so surprised that his mind went nk; he was unable to think. It was beyond his expectation. The veil went down again. Zhu Yuyan spoke indifferently, If in my heart Yuyan still cannot forget men, how could I master the Tian Mo Da Fa [demonic great method]? The passion, joy, love and desire that bewilder that turnmon people upside down are just the barrier on the road. Xiao Shan, if you still cannot break through this point, there is no way you can wipe away the disgrace of Song Ques saber. Listening to her, Xu Ziling felt the chill creeping up in his heart. Although the tone of her voice was t, there was a hint of sincerity that grew from her heart, demonstrating her deep conviction of this matter, prating the as-it-should-be-by-rights, callous feeling. It should be noted that human has seven emotional states [in traditional Chinese medical theory and therapy, namely: joy, anger, anxiety, thought, grief, fear, fright] and six desires. Even extremely vicious, exceedingly evil person would still have love in his heart. But Zhu Yuyan did not have this problem. ording to her logic, there was fundamentally no virtue and evil, good and bad, hence she did not have any psychological barrier, everything she did thus became necessity, by fair means or foul. Xu Ziling was afraid she might be able to see through his expression, hence he turned around to look out the window, and spoke in heavy voice, Hows my old friend doing? Zhu Yuyan sat back into the chair; she spoke gently, You still envy him? Immediately Xu Ziling felt his scalp went numb; it was only this moment that he knew the rtionship between Zhu Yuyan and Song Que was really not simple. Zhu Yuyan went on, Were it not for your jealous heart that day, how could he exploited that feeling, breaking your saber and making you run away to the northern desert, the illustrious name of your entire life went down the drain? Xu Ziling calmly said, Yuyan, you are skilled in the technique of observing the heart distinguishing the thought; could it be that you cannot sense that I already have sky-and-earth-turning-upside-down changes, yet you still say such an irritating remark? The fact was that he did not know what to say, so he might as well take a risk out of desperation, trying to probe her outlook on him, this counterfeit Yue Shan. Zhu Yuyan spoke gloomily, You have be so formidable, like you have changed into a different man. Did Song Ques saber injure your qi passage so bad that your voice be so hoarse and unpleasant to hear? Xu Ziling thought that it would be best if you think so; thereupon he coldly said, We have nothing more to say, I wont mind your business anymore; I am leaving! He was about to go through the window, when Zhu Yuyan gently said, Dont you want to see your own daughter? Xu Ziling was severely shaken, What? he blurted out. His shock was genuine, because he thought he had revealed the cloven foot. Kou Zhong walked over toward the gangnk. Two men appeared on the deck and shouted, Whos friend? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Tell Pang Yu to roll out and see me! The two mens countenance changed slightly; this man hase to cause trouble. Kou Zhong raised his qi and unleashed his qinggong, with one leap hended on the deck. Wheres Pang Yu? he shouted. He thought that if he killed one of the fierce general of Li kids Heavenly Policy Mansion, he would weaken Li kids power by a notch too, hence it would be worthwhile. More than a dozen enemies swarmed out of the cabin door and fanned out to besiege him, and only then did Pang Yu step out leisurely. Stopping about a zhang away in front of him, he spoke arrogantly, You have the impertinence to mention me by name and create a disturbance, friend must not be a nameless man; report your name to me. Kou Zhong applied his internal power to change his voice; giggling, he said, Pang Xiong just made a wrong guess. Xiaodi is indeed a nameless man. En garde! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard and swift like the wind and thunder it hacked down on Pang Yus face with a violent qi power, rolling toward the enemy. Pang Yu had never imagined that this in and ordinary-looking man would attack as soon as he said he would; hastily he pulled his sword and swept it across to block. Dang! Sparks flew. Pang Yu felt that not only this saber was as heavy as the mountain, it also a strange force sucking his breath. While he was overwhelmed with shock, Kou Zhong already flipped overhead and slipped into the cabin door. Book 19 - 5 – Acting Before Thinking Book 19 Chapter 5 C Acting Before Thinking With a tranquil tone that would frighten people, Zhu Yuyan said, Speaking about talent, knowledge and experience, you are inferior to Lu Miaozi. Speaking about breadth of mind and imposing attitude, you cant be mentioned on equal terms with Song Que. But why was I willing to have a daughter with you? But quickly she sighed and said, But there is no sense in bringing this matter up now. Actually, Yuyan already decided not to let you leave this ship alive, but thinking that even though you have mastered the Huan Ri Da Fa it will still be difficult for you escape death from under Song Ques saber, I am willing to let you go to fulfill that cherished desire! Xu Ziling has never seen such a frightening woman, whose emotion appeared to be as deep as the ocean, but in essence she was actually cold-hearted that she would not let even the biological father of her daughter off. Although he could not help feeling angry, he spoke indifferently, If you dont kill me, there wille a day you will regret it. Finished speaking such a heartfelt remark, Xu Ziling leaped out the window andnded on the dock. Kou Zhong swept his saber backhandedly, hacking on a man who ran after him and sending him flying backward, while with his right foot he kicked open a cabin door on his left, and stuck his head inside to look for that wooden chest. Seven, eight men raising sabers and holding axes charged with vengeance from the other end of the corridor, so that Kou Zhong was surrounded by the enemy from both sides. This moment Pang Yu shouted in anger and rushed behind him, and stabbed his sword straight toward Kou Zhongs back. The sword wind screamed; powerful, harsh, and ear piercing. Obviously he attacked in extreme anger. Knowing that Pang Yu was formidable, like a swimming fish Kou Zhong slid about a zhang away, his body swayed several times, not only to evade the attack of the swarming enemies from the other side, but also to kick one of the enemies toward Pang Yu, while he himself slipped into the enemy formation. After several deep muffled thuds, unleashed his serious technique by deliberately meeting and shaking the enemys weapons, filling it with spiraling energy, breaking the enemys palm [orig. hukou, tigers den, i.e. the web between the thumb and forefinger], so that their weapons dropped. Bang! Bang! Two more doors were kicked open. The corridor was in a great mess. All along Pang Yu was always a step behind. Boom! Kou Zhong forcibly crushed the wall on his right and entered into the cabin. Pang Yu shouted, Good saber technique! and then he also broke the door and entered, while shaking his wrist to brandish his sword, swiftly chopping down on Kou Zhong. His men on the corridor cheered for him. Kou Zhong basically intentionally lured him in, so that he could go all out to kill. As a result, his murderous intent red out, but theke of his heart was as still as the moon in the well, without the least bit negligence or contempt. After all, Pang Yu was also a first ss strong hand among the martial art masters of the younger generation, absolutely not an easy target. This moment he let out a cold humph while ignoring Pang Yus sword chopping the side of his neck. First, he whirled to the right, so that he now stood face-to-face with Pang Yu, and then fast as lightning he pulled back and moved forward, while at the same time the treasured saber in his hand rose up perfectly straight and chopped down on the opponents forehead; as violent as a thunderbolt, with full power. Pang Yu has gone through disposition of troops in battle, but he had never encountered such a hard-to-defeat, formidable opponent. Perhaps dauntless people like Kou Zhong were not a few, but not many people had the courage like him, viewing death as a return home, with the impertinence to meet an attack with an attack, forcing the opponent topete in speed and guts. Even if dauntless people with this kind of guts did exist, they stillcked his brilliant judgment, insight and skill. In this lightning-speed, flying-spark instant, Pang Yu must make a choice between life and death, whether he ought to keep his sword momentum unchanging, continuing chopping down, to see who would be hit first, or he ought to pull his sword to block. Dang! Pang Yu thought hard, but in the end he pulled his sword to block. One already stored up momentum and unleashed it, the other changed move in the face of death, the oue really could not be gauged ording to reason. Letting out a miserable groan, Pang Yu, his person and his sword, was sent flying away by Kou Zhongs violent saber power, and mming against the cabin wall behind him, breaking it, and fell on the floor of the adjacent cabin. But Kou Zhong was groaning inwardly instead, because Pang Yu only needed to jump back two, three steps, which was clearly what he was doing now, by entering the adjacent cabin to recover from this setback, and thus Kou Zhong missed a golden opportunity to kill him. Five, six enemies surged in like a tide. Kou Zhong cried What a pity! inwardly, and crashed into the wall behind him toward the next cabin. The rectangr box was lying on the floor. Sending his power to his foot, he kicked and the chest split open, revealing a man inside. Xu Zilingnded on the pier, and swept his gaze around, everything was as before; he did not see Kou Zhong, whom he expected to see. This moment he just wanted to find Kou Zhong as quickly as possible, and then slip away with him as far as possible; the farther away from Zhu Yuyan the better. Moving on their own, his feet brought him away from the waterfront, but he could not stop Zhu Yuyans ten thousand kinds of graceful countenance from reappearing again and again in his mind, and mused that no wonder she could make Lu Miaozi infatuated with her all his life, and only at the deaths door was he able to free himself from her charm, recognizing which woman really deserve to receive his love. Suddenly sound of hoof beats came from behind, more than a dozen riders wereing fast from behind. Letting out a cold humph, Xu Ziling leaped at an angle; like a big bird he soared andnded on the roof of a residential building on his left, and quickly disappeared. Fu Bangzhu! [vice gang leader] Kou Zhong blurted out. The man held prisoner inside the chest was surprisingly an old friend, Bu Tianzhi. This moment his eyes were closed; apparently his acupoint was sealed. Brandishing his saber, Kou Zhong charged into the enemy, sending them flipping over to the east and falling down to the west, routing thempletely. At the same time he used his foot to lift Bu Tianzhi up, and held him under his arm. Stooping down, he shot out, and Bang! he broke through the ceiling, onto the observation deck above. Saving people was more important. Kou Zhong abandoned his idea of killing Pang Yu, and left in a hurry. This moment many of his old wounds burst open, so it was inadvisable to be engaged in a prolonged battle. By dusk, from the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, Xu Ziling changed into the Scarface Hero identity, and sat inside a restaurant across the street from Rong Fengxiangs magnificent residence. He ordered some food and drink while waiting quietly for Kou Zhong. He had lost contact with Kou Zhong for no less than three sichen, and finally, without any better option, had toe here to wait. A carriage entered the Rong Mansion, with more than a dozen warriors in in clothes in front and behind it. Xu Ziling was quite familiar with carriages and their drivers from Wang Shichongs side. In just one nce he recognized that this group of warriors in in clothes were actually martial art masters among Wang Shichongs personal guards. Most likely inside the carriage was Dong Shuni, the kidnapping target Kou Zhong and he were eager to get. Up until now he still could not figure out Rong Fengxiang actually belong to which group, and what was his position? What was the rtionship between Rong Fengxiang and Yang Xuyan? The more he delved into this matter, the more it was impossible to unravel. The main gate of the Rong Mansion suddenly opened wide, more than a dozen riders came out and entering the main street, they turned south. It seemed that they were Luoyang Bang men. This moment Kou Zhong came and sat uninvited on the seat next to Xu Ziling; picking up the cup of fine wine that Xu Ziling had not had the chance to moisten his lips with, he drank it in one gulp, licked his lips and said, Not bad! Ha! Its so good to find you here! Xu Ziling beckoned the waiter to add another set of bowl and chopsticks, and then he asked, Where in the hell were you? Picking up his chopsticks, Kou Zhong gorged himself; as if nothing had happened, he said, I have just sent Bu Tianzhi off, naturally I must eat a little bit! Xu Ziling was stunned, Bu Tianzhi? he asked. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong narrated what had happened; and then he said, This is very strange, Yun Yuzhen and the others had just left, Li kids men already seized him away, but not killing him. It looks like they were going to transport him somece else. There must be crafty plots and machinations in here somewhere. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Is it possible that Yun Yuzhen, that poniang knew Bu Tianzhi is secretly in contact with us? I am afraid this is a killing two birds with one stone scheme; not only to take care of her own disloyal subordinate, but also to betray us, hoping that Li kid would be able to get rid the two of us too? Kou Zhong hatefully said, This poniang is very fierce and malicious! Merely because of Su Jies affair, I will not spare her. Anyway, what did you find? Finished listening to Xu Ziling recounting what happened, Kou Zhong stared nkly at him. Grabbing his head, he said, There is such thing? Logically, you wouldnt be able to fool her, would you? Xu Ziling sneered and said, No matter how formidable Zhu Yuyan is, she is still a woman. Just think, how could she ever think that Lu Miaozi would create a mask in the likeness of Yue Shan? Much less she believes that Yue Shan has mastered some his mothers Huan Ri Da Fa. Kou Zhong nodded and said, You have to preserve this identity well; if you can fool Zhu Yuyan, who knows your real identity, then you can fool anybody. Perhaps you can even make female demon Wan to call you Die! Xu Zilingughed and cursed him, Screw you! Its you who have rtionship with the Zhu witch. Ay! I am really tired of Luoyang. Just now it looked like Dong Da Xiaojie [big miss], riding on a carriage, has arrived at Rong Mansion. Are we going to inside to capture her, or wait here for an opportunity to seize her on her way out? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, This matter should not be dyed; of course we must go in and grope our way. Otherwise, if that loose young woman stay for the night, must we stay all night without sleeping? It would be best if while we are at it, we can kill that kid Yang Xuyan as well, to save us a lot of future trouble. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and stepped out, saying, In that case, let us spread our wings by doing something that will turn his mothers sky and earth upside down! Under cover of darkness, the two boys climbed over the courtyard wall; but before they were able to see the situation clearly, they heard strange sound, something like a dog walking around. Quickly they apply their internal power to close up the pores on their entire body, so that no scent would leak out, while at the same time soar high andnded on the slope of the roof or the nearest building. Sure enough, there were two huge vicious dogs rushing over. Although they did not find anything, they still sniffed to the east and sniffed to the west for quite a while before walking away. The boys swept their gaze around, and discovered that inside the high wall, there were more than a hundred building, big and small, linked together by corridors andndscape gardens and courtyards. Other than three towering master buildings at the front courtyard, the rest of the buildings were like a maze that would make people dazzled and stunned, so that the boys had a feeling of not knowing where to start. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, How do we look for her? Xu Ziling replied, If we can find Rong Jiaojiaos fragrant chamber, then we can find our little dissolute girl. You ought to remember Chen Laomous teaching, right? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, This ce has at least several hundred courtyards and buildings, with courtyard within courtyard, building within building. Chen Laomous teaching is a simple thing; it ispletely useless here. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Actually, although the Rong Mansion covers a vast area with many buildings, it is not difficult to distinguish the master-ve rtionship. It is only because there is ack of clear central axis that you are confused and disoriented! Kou Zhong nodded and said, Now that you mentioned it, I can see this point. It could be that I was overwhelmed with the trees and lights in this residence that I felt there are dots of light everywhere. In your opinion, which courtyard might Rong Jiaojiao live? This moment the bright moon at the horizon revealed its immortal beauty, sprinkling its light onto the courtyards and pavilions of the Rong Mansion, creating some kind of indescribable yet extraordinarily gentle beautiful scenery. Xu Ziling took the lead to climb onto the top of the roof ridge; he spoke in low voice, This ce is arranged ording to the natural Bagua [trigrams] direction; therefore, if we can grasp this portal, it would be easy to find out the general direction of where Rong Jiaojiaos fragrant chamber might be. Kou Zhong was amazed, Since when did you understand Bagua? he asked, And how do you know this is natural (or innate) Bagua and not acquired Bagua? [Trantors note: this is difficult to carry over to English. Xiantian means inborn/innate/natural (lit. before the day. Houtian means day after tomorrow/post-natal/acquired, not innate (lit. after the day).] Xu Ziling smiled and said, This is called diligent aplishment! If I was aszy as you, tonight we wouldnt be able to embrace the beauty and must return. Tell me, this residence is facing which direction? It should be from south to north? Kou Zhong replied. Xu Ziling said, Lu Fuzi [master/teacher] said, in natural Bagua, a building seated on the north facing south followed the Xun [symbolizing wood and wind, ancient Chinesepass point 135 (southeast)] position of the southeast gate. A building seated on the south facing north followed the Qian [symbolizing heaven,pass point 315 (northwest)] position of the northwest gate. And now the main gate is in qian position; therefore, the Rong Mansion is built ording to the natural Bagua. Gua has its own Gua qi, nowadays what works is the Three Green Jade Application [not sure about this; ], even the most ipetent ground expert ought to know that the main residence ought to be located on the east! Kou Zhong happily said, Xu Lao Fuzi indeed have a little bit of skill; why dont you lead the way? The two boys soared from house to house, passing through corridors stepping across gardens, running fast toward the target area as if they were entering an uninhabitednd. They escted their senses to the peak, so sensitive that the walking ants and moving bugs within several dozen zhang radius around them could not escape their eyes and ears. Therefore, every single one of their movements, whether it was leaping high or crouching low, shing to the left or darted t the right, would just avoid anybody in the Rong Mansion. Sometimes they evaded detection by just one step, but this one step was precisely the reason they did not leave any traces. Therefore, both covert and undercover guards keeping watch could not stop them. A momentter, with no surprise, no danger, they reached the courtyard of their target building. After climbing over the separating wall, in just one nce the two boys knew that they have arrived at the right ce. Compared to other courtyards, whether in terms of foundation, construction, railings, doors and windows, wall and fence,ndscape garden, rockery, stone structure, or pond, this residence was a lot more exquisite. The entire courtyard consisted of five structures clustered together, interlinked with passageways, promenades, winding corridors, and open garden areas, establishing the connection among the five buildings, so that different reception halls, main halls, rooms, study rooms, offices, upper floors, balconies, pavilions, boudoirs, rotundas, all kinds of diverse structures, blended together into one entity. Pointing to an especially grand in scale multi-level building located in the center, Kou Zhong said, I seem to hear Rong Fengxiang is talking inside. Focusing his power into his ears, Xu Ziling indeed heard faint voices inside. Laughing and cursing, he said, Your ears are better than mine, unexpectedly you know whose voice it is that you hear. So whats he saying? For some reason, Kou Zhong was in a very good mood. Patting Xu Zilings shoulder, he said, Kid, just follow your Master! Increasing their alertness, the two boys cautiously crept toward the building, which ought to be the building where the main hall was located. When they got close, they found out that the building was surrounded byrge open area. Under the bright illumination, anyone wanted to go to the inner hall would not have any covering. In term of building n, it was simr to the Copper Hall of the Jing Nian Chanyuan. The two boys crouched in the underbrush surrounding the building. After a group of maids and servants from the side corridor passed by, Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Rong Fengxiang must have used this building for secret meetings quite often; otherwise why would he design it with so much empty space like this? Perhaps Dong Shuni is also inside, I just heard womens voices talking. Surveying the surroundings, Xu Ziling said, The height of this building is a bit not proportional. I think there is anotheryer at the top, intended for people to watch all around without raising outsiders suspicion. That must be it, Kou Zhong spoke with conviction, But what do we do now? Pointing to a two-story building on the left, Xu Ziling said, That small building is only half a zhang shorter than this inner hall. If we can jump fifteen zhang from there, and then traversing the thirty-zhang distance, we could avoid watching eyes. Even if they hear the gust of wind, they would only think it is a big bird flying over. Do you want to give it his mothers a try? Kou Zhong cried out involuntarily, You are not kidding! If jumping up from the ground, at most I can cover ten zhang distance, not even half a chi farther. Xu Ziling said, Alone, it wont work, but working together, the two of us could do it! Kou Zhong was puzzled, Even if we pull each other, halfway in the air exerting our strength to throw the other, at most we will only add a few zhang; arent you overestimating our skill a bit? Xu Zilingughed and said, Thats why people say the most critical thing is using your brains. Remember Dugu Feng attacking Wang Shichong using arge iron disc? That old fellow Huang Gongcuo flying over by riding on the disc like soaring over the cloud, riding on the fog? I am surprised that you cant even think of such primitive method. Men are creatures who know how to utilize tools; do you understand? Kou Zhong grabbed his head and said, Where is the tool? Xu Ye? Xu Ziling reached out and pulled Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well; he spoke heavily, Come on! Whether we eat porridge or rice, it will depend on this one. Book 19 - 6 – Hostage Exchange Book 19 Chapter 6 C Hostage Exchange Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong crouched on the roof of the multi-story building. After pricking up their ears and listening carefully to make sure that there was nobody inside the building, they craned their neck to look at the target building about thirty zhang away from the roof ridge. The two buildings were separated by a pond, a brook,plete with a small bridge across it, and a pathway paved with bluestone bs. On the semi-corridor circling the main hall, there were octagonal pcenterns hanging every ten steps or so, illuminating the outside wall of the main hall, giving it the illusion that the wall was translucent. Worst yet, there were light towers on all four corners of the building, which,bined with thenterns on the semi-corridor, provided bright illumination on the surrounding area. After analyzing the situation, Kou Zhong said, We have to jump at least ten zhang above the top of the building to avoid the light tower casting its light on us and creating shadow on the wall. Are you still that confident? Before Xu Ziling could answer, voices and footsteps were heard. The two boys prompt ducked down, while looking at the source of the noise. They saw a group of people walking along the corridor on the other side of the building toward the main hall. The two at the front were surprisingly Rong Fengxiang and Lang Feng. The rest were important people of Luoyang [orig. with head, with face], whom they have met during the birthday celebration. The two were greatly disappointed. Could it be that the one riding the carriage earlier was Lang Feng? Although he usually rode a horse, if he wanted to avoid peoples eyes and ears, riding a carriage was not out of question at all. They looked on helplessly as one after another the other side entered the main hall; dejected as if they already failed. With rueful smile Kou Zhong said, What should we do? I am afraid grabbing Lang Feng wont have much of an effect. Nobody knows Wang Shichong better than I do. Dont you want to listen to them? Xu Ziling asked in heavy voice. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I doubt there is anything good to listen to. It will be nothing more than government officials colluding with businessmen, dividing up the profits, while the ones suffering hardship will always be themon people. Huh? Sound of people talking andughing floated by from behind. The two turned their heads to look, another group of people, with fourntern-bearing warriors leading the way, was walking leisurely along the gravel path cutting through the yard toward the building the two boys were hiding. The most eye-catching was naturally the lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze, Rong Jiaojiao; but the one attracting their attention the most, even more, the one making the two boys pleased beyond their expectation, was Wang Xuanying, who was walking intimately by her side. Indeed it was the best alternative countless times better than Dong Shuni. The group of warriors, who were escorting the carriage earlier, weregging several steps behind; everybody looked perfectly rxed, obviously no one would expect the enemy to hide in the Rong Mansion, waiting for them. The two boys exchanged nces; with tacit understanding they both knew what to do. Pulling down their masks, they exposed their true identity. The target was getting closer. They heard Wang Xuanying said, Presently one after another Li Mis men are surrendering to Fu Huang [father emperor], making him even more losing momentum,cking strength. If we take over Heyang, Li Mi wont even have a ce to escape anymore, ha! The two boys silently gathered their energy, ready to strike. Since Wang Shichong selected this group of warriors to protect his treasured son, they must have real skill. Once they struck and failed, they would be in very big trouble. Kou Zhong signaled with his hand, telling Xu Ziling that he would capture Wang Xuanying, while Xu Ziling would deal with the rest of them. Down below, Rong Jiaojiaos warbling voice twittered coyly, This time you dealt big blow on Li Mi, puncturing his triumph-in-every-battle legend, smashing his formidable renown that gave him authority over the whole country. Jiaojiao does not know how to express my happiness for you! So pleased as he seemed to lose his sense of measure, Wang Xuanyingughed aloud and said, It was entirely due to Fu Huangs faking-injury-to-lure-the-enemy tactic, which was executed properly! Listening to him, Kou Zhong was burning with rage. This moment Wang Xuanying was about four zhang away from the main entrance of the building, the exact position most beneficial to their surprise attack. Two palms pressed against the surface of the roof, his entire body slid down the back of inverted V-shaped roof, and shot like an arrow toward Wang Xuanying. He applied his internal strength to control the fluttering of his clothes, so that like a vicious fish attacking its prey in the deep sea, without creating any noise, he dove on his target down below. Xu Ziling made his move simultaneously; soaring to the sky, he made three somersaults consecutively close behind Kou Zhong to pounce on the enemy. While Kou Zhong was about two zhang above, and at an angle from, Wang Xuanying, the first to react to the two boys unexpected attack was surprisingly not Wang Xuanying, or any one of the martial art masters protecting him, but Rong Jiaojiao. She raised her pretty face up, and as soon as she saw Kou Zhong, her pair of beautiful eyes lit up with strange light, while like magic, a sword appeared in her hand and created a sh of sword light to meet Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well head on. Her reaction was fast, her sword move was ruthless and well-trained. Even with his level of skill, Kou Zhong was still at a loss of what to do, since her action has upset the overall situation. It was only then did Wang Xuanying and the group of martial art masters of the imperial bodyguards realize that there were assassins dropping down from the sky. Not only that, the assassins were two top masters of the new generation. Shocked, they hastily drew their weapons while whistling a warning, urgently summoning martial art masters of the Rong Mansion toe to their aid. Facing Rong Jiaojiaos bright sh of sword qi dashing up to the sky, Kou Zhong was so mad that he felt like killing himself. It should be noted that the window of opportunity to kidnap Wang Xuanying was extremely narrow; if Rong Jiaojiao managed to hold him, even for only the blink of an eye, the entire situation would be reversed. They might end up fleeing for the lives in panic, or else they would regret ofing to this ce, this moment. Forget about provoking martial art masters like Yang Xuyan, if Rong Fengxiang and Lang Feng in the other building rushed out, they would not get the desired oue. But Rong Jiaojiaos astonishing uracy, timing and speed as she intercepted him midair was enough to make him unable to change his move, so he could only meet it head on. This was a fact that was difficult to change. Wang Xuanying has already started to run to the side, while the expert personal guards were closing in to protect him. For a short while sabers light and swords shadow shed, battle cry filled the sky. The moment it seemed like their enterprise would be ruined for the sake of a basketful, Xu Ziling, who startedter but arrived sooner, shed past Kou Zhong. His head down his feet up, both palms pressed on the ground, he charged into Rong Jiaojiaos sword. As he and Kou Zhong brushed past each other, Xu Ziling backhandedly pushed Kou Zhong. Originally Kou Zhong could not alter his momentum, but with Xu Zilings push, he somersaulted, the Moon in the Well hacked down on Wang Xuanyings head and face, who, by this time, was running away. Cold, swift and severe spiraling saber powerpletely enshrouded Wang Xuanying, forcing him to stop dead on his track, while brandishing his sword to block. Bang! Rong Jiaojiao cried out tenderly, as Xu Zilings left and right palm mmed onto the de of her sword in session, and violent spiraling energy entered the left part of her body before circling to the right, jolting her that her meridians were nearly thrown into disorder. Shocked, she flew sideways to evade, and thus lost the opportunity to rescue Wang Xuanying. Xu Ziling was shocked as well. Until today, anybody who met his spiraling energy for the first time had never been able to produce qi power of their own; everybody would suffer a little bit. Moreover, he was using left and right hand in sequence to ingeniously reverse the flow of his true qi. Based on his calction, she would have to dispose her weapon. Who would have thought that not only it did not happen as he expected, she was also able to exploit the reaction force to evade sideways? From this, it was obvious how brilliant her martial art skill was. If the daughter was like this, the father must also be like this. Rong Fengxiang was indeed not a simple character. Thud! Wang Xuanying struck the Moon in the Well with all his strength, but instead of clear ring of metal striking against each other, the sound was as dull as if he was striking leather; without producing reaction force at all. Immediately Wang Xuanyings soul flew away and scattered. No matter how he looked at it, Kou Zhongs saber was full of strength; who would have thought that it looked impressive but actually worthless? The chop was floating and fluttering without any strength at all. This feeling of using the wrong force was as ufortable as exerting ones strength trying to lift a heavy-looking object, only to find that it was as light as a feather. Wang Xuanying groaned miserably as he forcefully held his sword back, and nearly threw up blood. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Xuanying Xiong has fallen into the trap! The Moon in the Well immediately changed from being powerless to be powerful, as it violently struck Wang Xuanyings sword on its way of being withdrawn. Finally Wang Xuanying could not stop spraying out a mouthful of fresh blood, his long sword flew out of his hand, and he dropped down on the ground with a loud thump. Kou Zhong quickly pressed his palm on the top of Wang Xuanyings head, and shouted, Everybody back off! Overwhelmed with shock, the guards halted. Xu Zilingnded by Kou Zhongs side. Kou Zhong could hear fluttering noise suddenly rang out from the direction of the main hall; he knew that Rong Fengxiang and the others were heading this way at full speed. Quickly he picked up Wang Xuanying, whose acupoint has been sealed, in his arms and together with Xu Ziling he soared into the air while shouting, Tonight, third watch of the night, tell Wang Shichong to bring Xu Xingzi to the Tianjian Bridge for an exchange! You dare to pursue me, Ill kill his treasured son. Ha! Amidst hisughter, Kou Zhong, with Wang Xuanying in his arms, and Xu Ziling disappeared into the distance. On top of the bell tower. Kou Zhong pped Wang Xuanyings acupoint, and said cheerfully, Xuanying Gongzi, how are you? It was half a dayter that Wang Xuanying regained hisposure. What do you want? he said hatefully. Kou Zhong responded indifferently, If Gongzi does not wish to suffer, it would be best if you answer my questions. Ay! I am a highly suspicious person; if I catch slight hesitation in your answer, I will consider you are babbling nonsense, perhaps for every nonsense I will take away one emperor offsprings finger? After ten lies, Gongzi will only able to caress a woman with your toes! After twenty times, even your toes will be gone. His countenance changed, Wang Xuanying said, How could you do that? Die will never let you off. This kind of showing-strength-while-weak-inside nonsense only put his mediocre and cowardly character in full disy. Even Xu Ziling, who was sitting with his back against the wall on the other side, showed disdain. Inwardly he cursed, How could there be such a useless character?. Kou Zhong spoke with astonishment, Who do you think your Die is? If I was scared of him, you, this kid would not have to sit here with face alternating between blue and white. Enough chitchat. Remember, there must be an answer for every question. One slow answer, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Have you ever heard of me being a man who go back on my word like your Die? Just kill me! Wang Xuanying dejectedly said. Kou Zhong drew his dagger. Pressing the tip against Wang Xuanyings chin, he said, You want to say anything else? Wang Xuanyings entire body trembled; in the end he broke down and surrender, Ask away! he hurriedly said. Xu Ziling did not want to watch; he moved over to the other side of the bell tower. The moon and the stars disyed their splendor in the sky, the night breeze was gently blowing. Luoyang was calm, most people were already sleeping peacefully, only sparse dots ofnterns remained. It was quite a whileter that Kou Zhong came to his side and, copying Xu Ziling, also sat with his back against the wall. He said, Both father and son are worthless nobodies, only Wang Xuanshu is a decent individual. Did you learn anything about Mr. Xu? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong nodded and said, He is really locked up by his dad. Li kid guessed that we would return to Luoyang for Xu Xingzhi, hence he deduced his importance to us. Xu Xingzhi made the mistake of revealing his intelligence, we made the mistake of failing to guess that Wang Shichong would act so quickly. What else did you get from him? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong said, After his mission aplished Yi Lao [i.e. Ouyang Xiyi] retired and returned to the south. Chen Changlin was transferred to the city of Jinyong. His mother! I really want to kill this kid with a stab of my knife. Xu Ziling mused, Later on leave this matter to me. Even if they want to y tricks on me, I am not afraid. Kou Zhong understood that Xu Ziling was worried that his injury might recur; heughed and said, How could I let you do that? If Li kid and Wang Shichong captured you and forced me to exchange, wouldnt I have to submit obediently? As long as we have Wang Xuanying, this kid in our hands, I am not afraid Wang Shichong will not surrender. We are going together! I really wish I could see Wang Shichongs expression right now. Without any choice Xu Ziling had to agree. The two boys sat on a stolen boat. With Wang Xuanying in custody, they sped toward the Tianjin Bridge. Wang Xuanying was lying on his back at the bottom of the boat, unconscious. Xu Ziling sat at the stern, single-handedly sculling the boat. The water of the river responded with gentle rustling sound. Both banks of the river were pitch ck without a single speck of fire. Not a single boat was moored on the usually full of boats, big and small, river dikes. But the Tianjin Bridge was brightly lit, with shadows of people going back and forth. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Power takes its toll; we must take advantage of it. Ay! We are not used to be a thief; otherwise, after capturing people, how could we forget to extort some ransom? Or perhaps took the opportunity to strike Wang Shichong a big blow, let him suffer a little bit. If we raised the issue only now, it will make us appearcking in poise too much. Ay! Xu Zilingughed and said, This is the same as destitute heart has not been exhausted, greedy heart already arises. If we could leave this ce safely with Mr. Xu, we ought to thank the Heaven and thank the Earth, yet you are still delusional. Looking at the Tianjin Bridge in the distance, Kou Zhong looked pensive; he said, When I interrogated that kid Wang Xuanying, his eyes would roll two or three times with each answer; dont you agree that something is not right? But I cant find any ws. If I had to torture him cruelly for no reason, Xiaodi simply cannot do that. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I dont care if he is telling the truth or if he is lying, well exchange a man for a man. If something is not right, well kill him and escape. If we are separated then we need to agree on where to meet. But where would be a good ce to meet? Kou Zhong proposed, If inside the city, well meet at the fishpond of Tingliu Pavilion. If outside the city, well meet at the small hill where the Jade Annulus of He n was done for! The two no longer spoke, they gathered their energy and circted their qi. The boat suddenly elerated, it rapidly approached the Tianjin Bridge. Book 19 - 7 – Confused by The Enemy Book 19 Chapter 7 C Confused by The Enemy The small boat slid across under the bridge, and reached the east end of the Tianjin Bridge on Luo River before it slowly stopped. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and shouted, Wheres Wang Shichong? Dressed in civilian clothes, Wang Shichong appeared on the bridge. With him were Rong Fengxiang, Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu and six or seven that the boys knew as martial art masters among the personal guards; but they did not see anybody from Li Shimins side. Kou Zhong dramatically smiled and said, Wanggong is finally able to stand and walk on your own dog legs, it is worthy of celebration. Wang Shichong did not get angry at all; he spoke heavily, Kou Zhong, this is not the first day you are roaming the Jianghu; you should understand the logic of talking bullshit less. The man is here, how do you want to swap? Kou Zhongughed and said, Well said! Since Wanggong is so sensible, naturally you already have a way that will satisfy rival demands, both to guarantee we can leave safely, and to exchange the hostage. Why dont youy it out and we see if it is feasible? Isnt it so simple? Wang Shichong said, We swap people on the bridge, afterwards I guarantee to let the three of you leave the city, absolutely wont stop you. Rong Gong [honorable gentleman] can vouch for me. Narrowing his eyes, Kou Zhong looked at Wang Shichong, who stood on the arch of the bridge; shaking his head, he said with augh, Wanggong is joking, right? Your guarantee is not worth half a penny. How can Rong Laoban [boss] act as your guarantor? Rong Fengxiang spoke heavily, Cut the crap, tell us what you want. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Its extremely simple. You hand the man to me, after I verify his identity, you open the water gate, let us leave the city, and then after we are out of town, well let your man go. Wang Shichong angrily said, Contrary to my expectation, you are actually counting your chicken before they are hatched. Absolutely not! Who could guarantee that after you leave the city you are still going to deliver the goods? Calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, When did I, Kou Zhong, ever go back on my word? Besides, you have no choice in this matter. As soon as something is out of question, I will kill your treasured son. I would rather see how many more people well have to kill in order to escape than letting you have your son back, and then having you order your men to deal with us. Rong Fengxiang interjected, Can Kou Xiongdi listen to Laofu? The problem now is that the swapping urs inside the city. If it were outside the city, Kou Xiongdi will have nothing to worry about! Kou Zhong turned toward Xu Ziling, who was sitting by his side. After exchanging nces, he shook his head and said, Rong Laoban does not seem to know that there is such thing as chasing and intercepting in the art of war. If we do it your way, our whereabouts and where we are going will be entirely under your control. If by that time we started to regret, wouldnt it be toote? No need to be wordy; you want to swap, you have to do it my way, I wont take no as an answer. A murderous intent shed through Rong Fengxiangs eyes, but quickly died down. He pulled Wang Shichong aside to the part of the bridge where Kou Zhong could not see them, supposedly for some discussion. Kou Zhong leaned over to Xu Ziling and whispered, Any movement in the water? Xu Ziling shook his head, No! he said, But I always feel something is not right, although I cannot pinpoint where the problem is. Kou Zhong mused, Is it because we cannot see Li kid and his men? Xu Ziling nodded, That is perhaps one of the reasons, he said, But more importantly is that if Wang Shichong sincerely wanted to swap hostages, he shouldnt involve Rong Fengxiang. Kou Zhong shook, Make sense! he said. This moment, Wang Shichong, Rong Fengxiang and the others reappeared on the arch of the bridge. Kou Zhong let out a coldugh and said, Laozi is getting impatient! Wang Shichong calmly said, For the time being we believe you. But you must publicly swear an oath, guaranteeing that you will fulfill your obligation. If you dont agree, I, Wang Shichong, have no choice but to make every effort to avenge my son. Xu Xingzhi will have to suffer all kinds of abuse; he cannot seek life, and wont be able to find death. You will also pray to the Heaven that you will not fall into my hands. Full of disdain, Kou Zhong said, You, Wang Shichong, how much weight do you carry? You are the one who forgets favor and repays kindness with evil. What else do you want to say? Bring him up! Wang Shichong shouted. Xu Ziling looked up; Xu Xingzhis upper body appeared over the bridge railings; his hair disheveled, his face covered in bloodstain and bruises, his body was tightly tied with thick hemp rope, his eyes were closed, he appeared to be unconscious. Xu Ziling could only vaguely recognize his silhouette. Kou Zhong grew very suspicious; he shouted, Wake him up and have him say something! Wang Shichong coldly shouted, Ill hand him over to you, you check him out yourself and then well talk! Toss him down! Two warriors lifted Xu Xingzhi up and threw him over toward the small boat. With his upper body securely tied, Xu Xingzhi was spinning continuously in the air; looking at his momentum, it seemed like he needed about a zhang or so tond on the boar. Xu Ziling raised the oar to meet him. Kou Zhong focused his full attention on the situation all around. Whoop! Xu Xingzhi bounced back upward. Now it appeared that he would roll toward the boat. Right this moment, strange change happened. The thick rope on Xu Xingzhis body suddenly disintegrated into pieces. Both of his hands raised, bursts of powerful finger wind swiftly attacked the two boys. At the same time, the boat shook with a loud rumble and turned into wooden chips. The two boys had already waited in tight formation, but they still did not expect the enemy might paint by holding two brushes at the same time [i.e. to attack one problem from two angles at the same time], andpletely reversed the situation. All of a sudden they no longer stood on the small boat, but were sinking into the river. All around there were sharp whistling as from both banks of the river more than a dozen powerful arrows were shooting at them, while countless enemies flew down from the bridge, pouncing on them. While dodging the enemies finger wind and arrows, the two boys knew in their hearts that the only way to reverse their losing battle was to keep Wang Xuanying under their control. The two suddenly increased their speed diving into the water, but immediately their whole body broke out in cold sweats. They saw some unrecognizable thing wrapped itself around Wang Xuanyings body, and lifted it up at an angle. By the time they remembered Yuchi Jingdes Gui Zang Whip, it was already toote. The two boys were so upset that they felt like crying in the water to vent the resentment and remorse in their heart. But this moment there was no time to think; from both sides appeared countless enemies in wetsuits, wielding crossbow, closing in on them. They knew that trying to evade these exceptionally strong and long-ranged assault weapon under water would be a vain attempt. By this time firelight started to appear on both banks, casting their light into the river. The two boys continued sinking straight toward the pitch-ck bottom of the river; if the enemy archers ever caught their shadow under water, they could forget about escaping alive. This kind of helplessness and uselessness feeling was as unbearable as a huge rock pressing against the pit of their stomachs. If they did not choose River Luo to carry out the transaction, even if they grew wings, it would still be difficult for them to fly away. Xu Ziling was the first to reach the bottom of the river. As soon as he touched the mud on the riverbed, his heart was moved; quickly he applied his spiraling energy onto both palms, which he then repeated pushed out all around. The spiraling force raised up the mud and spun it around. A short momentter the river water became unbearably muddy. Kou Zhong cheered inwardly and followed Xu Zilings example. Sticking close to the bottom of the river, they moved forward together and quickly left the area. The two boys crawl up the bank under a bridge on the Yi River at the south side of the city; they could only look at each other with bitter smile. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The enemy is really crafty. That fake Xu Xingzhi made me feel like a rotten pig head; with his disheveled hair, his body trussed up like that [orig. upper body bound with arms tied behind the back and rope looped around the neck], made me temporarily unable to identify him, otherwise we would not be underwater with the enemy taking advantage of us. Pulling himself to the foot of the bridge, Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, The one disguising himself as Xu Xingzhi must be Zhangsun Wuji. As soon as he made his move, I recognized his shenfa and his body shape. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, In my opinion, Xu Xingzhi must be either harmed by them, or he already knew what happened and escaped first. Otherwise, Wang Shichong cant possibly let his son risk the danger of being killed. Because the n is not without ws. If at that time I was cruel enough and was willing to receive a bit of injury, there was still enough time to take Wang Xuanyings little life. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement and said, Thats what I thought too. Should we try to leave town after daybreak then? Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong said, I cant swallow this hatred. But with multitude of enemies and few friends, using brute force will only lead us to our own disgrace. Do you have any good ideas? For a nobleman to take revenge, ten years is not too long, Xu Ziling said, We really have to temporarily endure this hatred. Dont forget that there is still Zhu Yuyan ring like a tiger watching its prey on the side. She may be more frightening than Wang Shichong and Li Shiminbined. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Must we simply slip away like this? Xu Ziling said, One day we didnt day, Wang Shichong would not have a day of peaceful sleep. Lets find out clearly about Mr. Xu, and then well talk! Thinking out loud, Kou Zhong said, If Xu Xingzhi already knew the scheme and slipped away, he ought to try to find us. Wed better go back across the weir to find out. Xu Ziling said, Didnt you say you were going to get in touch with Song Jingangs men to have them making arrangement for us to go to Jiangdu? Kou Zhong replied, Right now, other than you, I trust no one else. What if it is another trap waiting for us to fall into? Now I want to change ns: well go on our own to Jiangdu, see Li Zitong, and then well change ording to the situation, to see the opportunity and act ordingly. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and said, While it is not dawn yet, wed better steal two sets of clean clothes, so that when we escapeter, we could do so in awe-inspiring style. Kou Zhongughed and said, Let Xiaodi show the way! Me and the boss of Luoyangs biggest silk and satin dealer are old friends! Thick clouds hanging overhead. It seemed like heavy rain maye down any moment. Xu Ziling was squatting by a steamed bun street vendor in the market, eating his breakfast. Thinking about Sister-inw Zhen, whose whereabouts was unknown, although all around him people wereing and going, the mor shook the heavens, he was overwhelmed with feeling of loneliness. Life changes constantly, nobody is able to control it. A few days ago they were the honored guests whom Wang Shichong relied on to help him, but now they have be his personal enemies. Li Shimin was originally a good friend, but presently they became archenemy like water and fire do not mix together. This moment Kou Zhong came; heughed and said, Scarface Xiong, how are you? Hows the steamed buns herepared to Yangzhous? Xu Ziling stuffed a meat and vegetable bun into his mouth and replied with a sigh, When you dont have money to buy steamed buns, that kind of buns is the most delicious. Did you find Song Jingangs men? Kou Zhong also stuffed a meat and vegetable bun into his mouth before mumbling his answer, Change of n. I already persuaded Song Jingangs men to loan us a small cargo boat for us, including all the necessary passes to get out of town plus four boatmen. Sailing on a boat is better than walking on foot, right? Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said, Whatever you say! In deadly earnest, Kou Zhong said, Are you serious? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, What kind of ghost idea are you thinking this time? Kou Zhong reached out to hold Xu Ziling shoulder; he said, We are leaving tomorrow morning. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, You just wouldnt give up. Making a show of being very much in earnest, Kou Zhong said, This time I really didnt want to show of my bravado, but there has been new development. Skeptical, Xu Ziling asked, What new development? Kou Zhong said, I was walking along the Luo River just now, and saw a warship sailing toward the Imperial City. I dare to bet that it came from Yanshi, because when we came back here by another ship, that ship was still anchored on the dock outside Yanshi. Isnt that a normal thing? Xu Ziling asked. Proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, This ship is definitely not normal. Not only the ship itself is heavily-guarded, before and after it were convoy of more than a dozen speedboats; in addition, there was also a team of cavalry speeding along the bank. Tell me, why would there be so much fuss? Naturally they were afraid someone might hijack the ship. And naturally the ones they are afraid of are us, two heroes of Yangzhous Twin Dragons. Xu Ziling was shaken, Xu Xingzhi indeed escaped to Yanshi to look for us, but they recaptured him and brought him back. Kou Zhong resolutely said, I dont care if there is magnificent army with thousands of men and horses in the Imperial Pce, tonight we are going into the Pce to save him. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, No need to wait for tonight! We are going into the Pce to save him now. Didnt you say there are still a lot of Yang Dongs men in the Pce? As long as we can slip into the Pce, we can act as circumstances dictate, trying to get him out of there. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, In broad daylight, two heroes climbing over the wall jumping over the rampart, isnt that a bit too conspicuous? From the city gate onward, I am afraid some people might not wee us with open arms. Xu Ziling looked up at the sky and said, This time it really is nning is with man, aplishing with heaven [(idiom) Man proposes but God disposes]. As long as it does rain, we will have a chance to enter the Pce and rescue him. But now we must make some preparations, and then well see whether Laotianye is willing to help us. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were hiding under a small bridge on the northern side of the city where Daoguang Lane converged with the city canal, overlooking the Imperial Citys eastern wall in the distance. The clouds in the sky were getting thicker and darker, however, although it brought hope to them, the rain never really came. It was only half a sichen to midday. Thinking out loud, Xu Ziling said, In his book about the waterways, Lu Miaozi said that allrge-scale constructions of Imperial Pce ss must have a system of water ways underneath it; other than to drain sewage, it is also used to supply water to the courtyard and gardens, for theundry, irrigation, and so on. I wonder if this city canal is connected to the water ways under the Imperial Pce? If that so, we are going to rely on the most favorable method. His brows knitted tightly, Kou Zhong looked up to the sky; he nodded and said, Lu Miaozi is definitely not wrong, but if we can think about it, other people also can. That day when I had discussion with Yang Gongqing and the others on how to force our entrance into the Imperial Pce, Yang Gongqing pointed out that all passages to the main canal are equipped with heavy steel gates; unless you turn into a small fish or shrimp, you may forget about passing through. Ay! Wed better pray that Laotianye would send us heavy rain. Suddenly there was a rumble of hoof beats, more than a thousand-men cavalry wereing near, and they were galloping toward the bridge. Kou Zhong craned his neck to take a look, and then shrank back under the bridge and said in a low voice, Its the patrolling imperial guards. Do you want to borrow two sets of uniforms for our use? Xu Ziling was displeased, That will only beat the grass to scare the snake, he said, If by wearing military uniform we can enter the Pce, then anybody would be able toe and go freely. Dejected, Kou Zhong remained silent. The hoof beats thundered over the bridge, but suddenly they stopped. The two boys scalp went numb; they thought that they have been discovered. One of the imperial guard above sighed and said, We are really out of luck today, being sent out on duty. It would be much better if we could stay inside the Pce! Another manughed and said, Who do you think you are? So what if you stayed in the Pce? Are you saying you have the qualification to hear Shang Xiufang singing? The other men burst out in mockingughter. The hoof beats started again, gradually going away. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each others eyes, two pairs of tiger-eyes lit up at the same time. Kou Zhong stood up abruptly and said, As a rule, Shang Xiufang only willing to attend any banquet in the afternoon, Ill say we need to borrow two sets of military uniforms! Book 19 - 8 – Immortals Crossing The Sea Book 19 Chapter 8 C Immortals Crossing The Sea After changing into imperial guard uniforms, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling galloped their horses to Man Qing Yuans main gate and shouted, Has Miss Xiufangs carriage left? The guards at the door promptly open the gate and replied, Two Guan Ye [master officers], Miss Xiufang is still making herself presentable, but the carriage is ready, it can leave any moment. Putting on his official air, Kou Zhong said, Show me the way! And then the two jumped off the horse, and followed the guard leading the way into the inner courtyard. Along the way Kou Zhong indirectly made inquiries, and very quickly he found out the procedure Shang Xiufang took whenever she went out to a party, including the number attendants that usually came with her, so he made a n in his heart. The sky was still dark with the clouds, but no rain. The suffocating atmosphere was so depressing, even the flowers and nts and the trees in the courtyard seemed to lose their color. By the time they arrived at the small courtyard where Shang Xiufang was staying, her more than a dozen attendants were busy wiping the carriage and the horses in preparation to set off. After sending the guard away, Kou Zhong pulled the leader of the attendants, a man called Bai Sheng, to the side and said, Xuanying Taizi [crown prince] specially sent us here to protect Miss Xiufang. Bai Xiong ought to know about incidents that happened frequently in the Eastern Capital! Bai Sheng looked at the two men up and down for a moment before saying, Two officers faces look very unfamiliar. Pretending to be very mysterious, Kou Zhong lowered his voice and said, These days we were with Xuanshu Gongzi in Yanshi on business, thats why we rarely meet each other. Butst time Miss Xiufang went to Shangshu Mansion, didnt I see Bai Xiong? Its just that I was on guard duty inside the Mansion. I still remember Miss Xiufangs first song, young Gongzi bears much favor something like that. Hey! I only remember that one line, I forgot the rest! He was telling the truth, Ba Shengs misgivings vanishedpletely. But he was still frowning when he said, I also heard about the Eastern Capital not being too safe. Xuanying Taizi is indeed considerate, but Miss usually does not like ostentatious disy. If two officers are escorting on either side, I am afraid Miss will be displeased. Standing on the side, Xu Ziling was amused inwardly, thinking that with more than a dozen attendants escorting at the front and rear, wouldnt it be ostentatious disy? But this Bai Sheng was obviously only making excuses. Or perhaps Miss Shang Xiufang wanted to give the impression that she was ordinary people, hence was unwilling to be openly associated with government officials. This was precisely what Kou Zhong wanted. Patting Bai Shengs shoulder, he said, Thats easy, well take off our uniforms, and we can follow the party from a distance! Bai Sheng had nothing more to say, he had to agree. This moment, Shang Xiufang, in splendid attire, helped by two pretty maids, came out. Hastily Kou Zhong tactfully pulled Xu Ziling aside. He spoke in heavy voice, Now, if we could pass the Imperial Citys main entrance, we would be like the immortals crossing the sea! Shang Xiufangs entourage went out of Man Qing Yuan, heading toward the Imperial City. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong brought up the rear, putting on an act of looking forward and back cautiously. Everybody constantly looking up to the sky, afraid that the umted moisture in the air would turn into heavy rain at any moment, hence subconsciously they increased their speed. They have not gone far when from the rear came the sound of hoof beats. Being on guard, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked back, and immediately they groaned inwardly. Because the ones running after them were unexpectedly Li Shimin, Pang Yu, Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde, four men. The only thing they could do at this moment was to pray to Heaven, hoping that Li Shimin did not know every single one of Shang Xiufangs attendants; otherwise their identity would be unmasked. Li Shimin and the others were not like Bai Sheng at all; how could they be easily deceived? The two promptly separated to the front and the rear, while also applying their internal strength to restraint the essence of their qi, and hunching their back a little, so that they would not arouse Li Shimin and the others alertness. Inwardly they were d that if they were not riding on the horse, merely their tall and straight physiques would easily attract the enemys attention. Taking the lead Li Shimin was the first to pass them, but it seemed like his mind was on other important matters, he did not cast a single nce toward the two boys. One after another Bai Sheng and the others saluted, but Li Shimin only nodded and smiled in return. Pang Yu and the others followed Li Shimin closely, they did not pay any attention to the two boys either. As he reached the carriage, Li Shimin slowed down to match the vehicles speed; he said, Miss Xiufang, how are you? Shimin iste! The two cheered inwardly. Turned out Li Shimin has agreed toe with Shang Xiufang to the Pce. After returning the greeting from behind the hanging curtain of the carriage, Shang Xiufang spoke in astonishment, Qin Wang has always been punctual, why did you unexpectedly arrivete today? Siufang has no intention to me at all, just curious! Li Shimin looked up at the pitch-ck sky, he rode silently by the carriages side for quite a while before sighing and said, Miss Xiufang, do you happen to remember Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling? Riding at the back, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling pricked up their ear and listened carefully. Hearing Li Shimin mentioning their names to Shang Xiufang, they were greatly interested. On one hand, they were wondering what Li Shiminingte had to do with them; on the other hand, they also wished to know how this beauty and skillful-in-art beauty would respond. Shang Xiufang suddenly went silent. It was quite a whileter that she started to speak gently, About Kou Zhong! Twice has Xiufang had the destiny to sit with him on the same banquet table. He made quite an impression on me, I always feel that his personality traits are different from other people. As for Xu Ziling! I only caught a glimpse of him from a distance at the Tingliu Pavilion; I havent had any opportunity to know him. Could it be that Qin Wang isingte because of them? Her voice was suave, pleasant to listen to, and straightforward. The most attractive aspect was that within her intonation, there was some kind of seeing-through-the-worldly-affairs free-and-easy andnguid feeling. This moment, since no one could see her but could only listen to her singing voice, that feeling was even more intense. Through the cadence and rhythm of her intonation, the listeners could also make associative connection to, as well as reflect on, her touching singing voice. In the mncholy of sorrow and sighing swaying gently across the deste desert and lowly ins, there was a trace of joy that all things are looking forward to, creating an extremely unique charm. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, Does Miss Xiufang know that Shimin and they were originally good friends, but now we have be mortal enemy that must fight between life and death? Ah! Shang Xiufang cried out tenderly. It was quite a whileter that she spoke in low voice, In that case, was it because of this matter that in recent days Qin Wangs body and mind are always upied? Li Shimin did not give her straight answer; changing the subject, he said, Just now I was rushing about for them, turns out it was just a misunderstanding. Surprised, Shang Xiufang asked, Isnt Kou Zhong working for Wanggong? Li Shimin sighed and said, That was something in the past. Miss Xiufang should not let the you-hoodwink-me-and-I-cheat-you of the mundane world contaminating your ears. Appearing to be probing further, Shang Xiufang said, Although those two have outstanding martial art skill, and both are exceptional heroes, but if they wanted set themselves against Qin Wang, arent they overestimating their capabilities too much? The sound of hoof beats changed as the carriage and horses entered the main street along the river leading toward the Imperial City. Boats and shipsing and going along the Luo River, vehicles and horses streaming continuously along the street; water andnd traffic set each other off nicely. Because of her touching voice, everybody seemed to forget the darkened sky. Li Shimin breathed out a sigh and said, These two men cannot be described simply by their outstanding martial art skill. They may be the most talented, peerless martial art masters since the beginning of history. Rarer still, they are both intelligent and brave. Therefore, until today, nobody is able to do anything to them. Even Li Mi, who wanted them dead, finally fell head first under their hands. From this, you can infer the rest of the story. The tone of his voice was brimming with high level of frustration and injury, giving the impression that he valued and treasured these two formidable opponents very much. From the way he esteemed his adversary, one could see his broad vision and positive outlook, as someone who would not deliberately disparage his opponents. A peculiar feeling emerged in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hearts; they never expected Li Shimin to think this highly of them. No wonder by hook or by crook, Li Shimin coborated with Wang Shichong to annihte them. Shang Xiufang asked in low voice, Are they still in the Eastern Capital nowadays? That is very hard to tell, Li Shimin replied, When those two are conspiring in the dark, everybody feels that it is difficult to guard against and n countermeasure! This moment the entourage has reached the Chengfu Gate. The guards at the gate all raised their spears in salute, letting the entourage sped through the gate. Finally Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were able to put down their high-strung heart. Li Shimin and Shang Xiufang stopped talking. Under escort of the imperial bodyguards, they passed by Taichang [Minister of Ceremonies] Ministry and the Sinong [agriculture] Ministry, and turned left in front of the Shangshu Mansion, entering the Dong Taiyang Gate, following the horse path along the inside wall of the Pce City, straight toward the Heavenly Gate, the main gate of the inner pce, and entered the imposing and grand Pce City. Inside the Pce City, the halls were interlinked with each other, balconies stood in great numbers. All pce halls had high walls on all sides, with portals between the walls, so that the halls were like interconnected chain. This was the first time Xu Ziling set his foot inside the Pce City. Althoughst time Kou Zhong was escaping into the Pce City, he was like viewing flowers from horseback, plus he was not in the mood to enjoy the scenery, hence they both felt that this was an eye-opener asion. Just by looking at this Heavenly Gate, they could see how much manpower and physical resources the Emperor Yang of Sui threw away to build this city. To the left and right of this gate were imperial city watchtowers, which reached twelve zhang high, supplemented by battlement storied-building. The gateway was more than ten zhang deep, with eaves and corners sticking out. The walls and the imperial city watchtowers reflected each other, and thus bringing out the towering and magnificent main part of the Pce. Upon entering the gate, they arrived at an intersection; on the central axis there were altogether three gates and two pce halls. The gates were Yongtai Gate, Qianyang Gate, and Daye Gate. The pce halls were Qianyang, and Daye. Qianyang Pce Hall was the main hall of the Pce City, where ceremonies and reception of foreign diplomats were being held. A multi-storied building was built above the Qianyang Gate, with tall pavilion and the corridor all around it, extending to the east and west, circling the wide-open space outside the main hall. This moment there were already several groups of vehicles and horses parked outside the pce halls gate; evidently an event was being held inside the pce hall. Qianyang Hall was worthy to be called the chief among various pce halls. The foundation itself reached several zhang high, from the ground to the owl-tail shaped of the top of the pce hall was nearly twenty zhang. The tall pavilion corridors all around were full of imperial bodyguards; the security was very tight. There wererge wells left and right of the front courtyard of the pce hall to supply water for the sacrificial offering of the imperial pce. The southeast corner of the front courtyard, there was a multi-storied building facing south, where a bell and a drum were hung. Downstairs was a water clock, which at some point would toll the bell and beat the drum to indicate the correct time. In itself, the style and structure of the Pce Hall was even grander; there were thirteenteral spaces between two pairs of pirs, twenty nine frames, three-step pavilion with a view, twentyrge pirs on all sides, finely carved door sills, snow-white crossbeams and elegant pirs, hanging down ceiling in the shape of a lotus, bright color like flowing flying rainbow, dazzling to the eye. [Trantors note: all these are beyond my ability to trante properly. Those of you with better understanding of the text, please feel free to offer your help.] Kou Zhong followed at the back of the line, riding side-by-side with Xu Ziling. They no longer had to worry about Li Shimin, but they worried about Bai Sheng. Now Li Shimin believed that they were part of Shang Xiufangs entourage, but Bai Sheng believed that they were Wang Shichongs men. Therefore, as soon as Wang Shichongs imperial bodyguards showed any sign that the boys were not one of their own, Bai Sheng would immediately know that they were impostors. This oue appeared to be inevitable. If Li Shimin did not travel together with them, it might still be possible for them to attempt to make their move first to control Bai Sheng, but now naturally they could not do that. While they were having this headache, the cavalcade slowly stopped. From the pce halls steps Song Mengqiu went down to meet them. Li Shimin jumped down from his horse to personally open the carriage door for Shang Xiufang. All around them were imperial bodyguards. They would not be able to slip away quietly even if they wanted to. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only exchange helpless look, as they braced themselves and dismounted from the horse. The imperial guards came over to take their horses away. Boom! A sudden p of thunder shook the Pce City. Strong wind blew, sting everybodys clothes that they fluttered in the wind. The horses were startled; they reared and neighed. And then bean-size raindrops started to pour down, sparse at first, but quickly became dense. Song Mengqiu appeared to be prepared. Hastily he opened the umbre he was carrying, to protect the gracefully-stepping-out-of-the-carriage remarkably beautiful woman from the rain. Others had no choice but to scurry around like drowned rats. The earthed darkened the sky turned faint. While Shang Xiufang and Li Shimin and the others hurriedly climbing the steps into the pce hall, the rain was getting heavier, like it was pouring out of a tray. The happiest were, naturally, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. They took advantage while everybody else was busy taking shelter from the rain, to unleash their shenfa and while the gods was not aware, the ghosts did not perceive, they slipped away toward the bell tower at the southeast corner. While gazing toward the elegant and grand roof of the Qianyang Hall, the two boys had a singr feeling of history repeating itself, so much so that they shuddered involuntarily. From the bell tower where they were to the roof of Qianyang Hall, the distance was about thirty zhang, which was more or less equal to the situation at the Rong Mansion the previous night. Furthermore, the torrential rain has also turned the daytime into the dark of the night. The corridor surrounding the main hall was full of imperial guards taking shelter from the rain. The only way they could enter the pce hall was from the roof going down, via the window close to the top of the pce hall, andunched a surprise attack into their target inside the pce hall. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, Do you have any idea how to cross such a distance? Can we repeat the technique you proposed earlier here? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Of course we can. It is even easier now, because we have the long rope that we were going to use to scale the city wall. Come! Kou Zhong took off his knapsack to get the rope, which was about ten zhang long, out, and handed it over to Xu Ziling. This time we are going to rely on your ability! he said. nning in advance, Xu Ziling took the rope and tied both ends around his and Kou Zhongs waist; he said, If this method cannot bring us to the roof of Qianyang Hall, we can use it to escape! while pulling Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well in passing. Kou Zhong protested, At least you ought to tell me what to do! Very simple, Xu Ziling replied, I send you to the air, you apply your inner power to glide, and then Xiaodi toss the Moon in the Well, you copy Huang Gongcuo stepping on the flying disc, relying on the sabers momentum to fly to the destination. Remember, the most critical thing is to apply your energy to suck the saber. If it creates any noise, Ding! as it pierces the roof of the hall, both of us can be dered finished. Immediately Kou Zhongs eyes shone, You are really quite something! he said. Go! Xu Ziling shouted in low voice. Kou Zhong leaped off the bell tower. Xu Ziling stretched out both palms, t, while applying his power to the soles of his feet, immediately he rose at an angle about ten zhang into the air, at the same time as the thunderstorm. Normally, it would be strange indeed if nobody noticed people flying in the air like that, under this kind of strong wind and heavy rain circumstances, even if someone was to look up to the sky, perhaps they could not see anything. A bolt of lightning shed in the empty air above Kou Zhongs head. When his momentum was used up, Kou Zhong made a somersault, like a flipping fish he slid in the direction of the pce halls roof. This moment Xu Ziling was alsoing at an angle to catch up with Kou Zhong. Under the rainstorm and the crash of the thunder, Kou Zhong swam ten more zhang, which brought him nearly fifteen zhang from his target. Xu Ziling applied his power to throw the Moon in the Well, which arrived right on time under Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong reached out to grab the sabers hilt, while at the same time raising his qi to lighten his body. Deng! the rope between the two boys was pulled perfectly straight. By the time Kou Zhong was brought to the edge of the pce halls roof, Xu Ziling was also pulled by the rope. He made a somersault, andnded by Kou Zhongs side. Time for action. Hooking their feet on the roof of the pce hall, the two boys leaned out the eaves to look down. They looked inside through the venttion window close to the roof the hall. The vast main hall was brightly lit. More than a dozen banquet tables were set up, divided into two rows, facing the main banquet table. In the midst of the rumbling noise of the rain beating the roof, the melodious sound of music, intermingled with the sound of people talking andughing, seemed to being from another world. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Li kid openly participates in a distinguished meeting held by Wang Shichong in the Pce, isnt that the same as acknowledging Wang Shichongs imperial throne? Xu Ziling was examining the situation; he saw that to left side of Wang Shichongs main banquet table, the first seat was upied by Wang Xuanying, followed by Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu, Rong Fengxiang, and the others. To the right, the head seat was upied by Shang Xiufang. Next in line was Li Shimin, followed by officials, members of the gentry, and celebrities of the City of Luoyang. Hearing the question, he crossly said, You still have time to think about such thing? Li kid is willing to participate in this lunch banquet, naturally he has his own reasons! When he was talking, the rain flowed from the back of his neck to his face and mouth, filling him with some kind of joyous, carefree, and he-could-throw-caution-to-the-wind-at-any-moment feeling. The heaven and earth were overflowing with rolls of thunder, shes of lightning, and the loud noise of the rain. Compared to the warmth of the lights inside the pce hall, the outside world appeared particrly violent, ice-cold, and merciless. The rain poured down from the tiles of the roof like an unstoppable waterfall onto the flight of steps by the corridor of the pce hall. All the guards were crowding toward the wall of the hall. It seemed like in the whole imperial pce, only the two of them were hanging from the eaves of the pce hall, letting themselves swept by the wind and battered by the rain. Water was dripping from every single strand of hair on their bodies. Wang Shichongs hateful voice was vaguely heard inside the pce hall, Tonight Miss Xiufangs honorable self will depart by boat, so let us offer her a toast, wishing her to have a pleasant journey. It was only then did the two boys understand why the banquet was being held at midday, and why Li Shimin was willing to attend. Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered, I am going to pretend to assassinate Wang Shichong, you are in charge of catching that little Xuanying; what do you think? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Leave Wang Shichong to me, you deal with Li kid, put Yuchi Jingde, those three fellows under control. Kou Zhong was stunned, Then whos going to do the kidnapping? he asked. Taking off his mask, Xu Ziling said, Naturally, that will be Xiaodi. When Wang Xuanying sees that his Laoye [lord/master] is under attack, he will certainly rush over to help, and that will be the moment he is going to be captured. Following his example, Kou Zhong also removed his mask. Be careful of Rong Fengxiang, he said, If he is a bit more formidable than Rong Jiaojiao, it is enough to give you headache. Hey! Do you think I might identally kill Li kid? Xu Ziling replied in heavy voice, Our target is to rescue Mr. Xu. If you are greedy to render merit and seek victory, you might be captured by the enemy instead, and then we will lose everything. If that happened, the hostage to be swapped would not be Mr. Xu, but you, this stupid fellow. Do you understand? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, In front of you, howe I am always the stupid one? Xu Ziling refused to bicker with him much longer, When do we move? he asked. What do you think? Kou Zhong muttered irresolutely. Xu Ziling wiped the rain from his eyes, revealed a smile on his face, and spoke softly, Naturally the moment the enemys alertness is at the lowest point! Tell me, when should we make our move? Revealing his brilliant smile, Kou Zhong replied, This is called heroes usually agree. The moment our great expert Xiufang starts to open her golden mouth will be the moment we make our move. Book 19 - 9 – Capturing Xuanying Again Book 19 Chapter 9 C Capturing Xuanying Again tform of sorrow in the lofty fortified wall, cooking gold preparing jade waiting for the toll of the bell, in the small hall silk curtain covering three thousand households, on the main street the twelve-story pleasure house ... It was unclear whether the load on their mind was suddenly evoked, or perhaps the emotion on the verge of parting, or even because the ps of thunder and the torrential rain outside the pce hall have aroused their deep feelings, every note, every word was clearly spelled out from her fragrant mouth, but everybody, including Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were drenched in rain outside, was overwhelmed in a singr feeling as if her singing voice has directly brought out the innermost emotion of their hearts. Although she was performing her art in living color in the middle of the Pce Hall, yet all the audience seemed to feel like she was already packed, and was just dithering at the dock, and might at any moment climb the boat, raise the anchor and sail away. Although her singing voice was moving up and down following the thunder rolls and the rumbling of the rain, charming and touching, the most touching thing was that after her extremely reserved singing, suddenly a feeling of the wind and frost [i.e. hardships] and a sense of loss of a wounded emotion burst open carelessly. In terms of singing skill, facial expression and gracefulness, she had reached the great heights of achievement; even more so than her previous performances. Listening to her, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were staring nkly; they nearly missed the best opportunity to make their move. Suddenly the crowd burst into thunderous apuse, jerking the two boys awake from their stupor; they immediately made their move. Bang! Bang! While everybody inside the Pce Hall was still intoxicated by Shang Xiufangs lingering voice rising up in spirals to the beam, wood shavings fluttered down from the ceiling, two sshes of water filled the whole sky, a few suspected the rainstorm has shifted position and was wreaking havoc in the Pce Hall. At the same time an ear-splitting p of thunder was crashing outside the Hall, the echo reverberated across the hall, so that the crowd felt as if they were standing by the edge of a dangerous cliff, shaking them to the core. While everyone was overwhelmed with shock, two shadows separately attacked Wang Shichong and Li Shimin. Biting cold qi power and fierce and severe sound of cutting wind immediately crushed the tears, as well as the sorrowful atmosphere across ten-thousand emptiness that were awakened by Shang Xiufang earlier. This moment, Shang Xiufang was still in the middle of the Hall; she has not returned to her seat yet. Seeing the assassin suddenly dropping in from the sky, she was so shocked that she could only stared nkly on the spot, with her white hands pressed against her heart. Although she lost her usual charm, she still looked surprisingly graceful and lovely. The first to suffer the attack was Li Shimin. As soon as he broke into the Hall, Kou Zhong immediately made a somersault; with his head down and feet up, he pounced vertically down, the Moon in the Well turned into yellow rays dazzling the eyes, like the most frightening nightmare hacking down on the top of Li Shimins head. Sitting behind Li Shimin, about half a zhang away, although Pang Yu, Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde wanted to help, because everything happened so suddenly, plus Kou Zhongs speed was unbelievable, they were still one step toote. But the fastest to react was Li Shimin. Because he did not have enough time either to draw his sword to block or to evade, he sent all his strength into both arms, and lifted the mahogany table in front of him above his head to meet Kou Zhongs earth-shattering saber strike. The wine cup, wine pot, everything on the table toppled down and fall to the ground. Boom! The mahogany table split in two. Taking advantage of this buffer, Li Shimin rolled backward. Kou Zhong made another somersault, the Moon in the Well turned into millions of saber rays, like shadows following shadows, sweeping toward Li Shimin, who was still rolling on the ground, without the least bit of mercy. This moment Xu Ziling also leaped at an angle, traversing the more than three -zhang of empty space above the Pce Halls floor, like a male eagle swooping a rabbit, toward Wang Shichong, and sent out a punch onto Wang Shichongs face, who was still ovee by shock. Although the imperial guards standing nearby quickly rushed over, they were toote to block the attack. Most of the guests in the Hall either did not know martial art, or their martial art skill was mediocre; they all could only stare nkly, not knowing what to do. One after another Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu, Wang Xuanying, and the others leaped from their seats, but still, distant water cannot put out a nearby fire. The fastest to act was Rong Fengxiang, who was sitting on the next banquet table from Wang Xuanying. His left hand lightly pressed the table, like a clump of cloud he shot up to the air, across a zhang or so distance, and sent out a chain of palm strikes over empty air, attacking Xu Zilings left nk, who, by this time, was still in the air, revealing his exceptional skill, which was beyond expectation. Wang Shichong was, after all, a first-ss martial art master as well; as soon as his shock vanished, knowing that this was a life and death crisis, he abruptly regained hisposure and pushed out both palms, level with his chest, to meet Xu Zilings overbearing punch head on. Bang! Due to his old wound has not properly healed, new injury already invaded his body, although with all his strength he managed to block Xu Zilings capable-of-cutting-into-the-mountain, splitting-the-rock punch, his throat refused to follow his order, he spurted a mouthful of fresh blood. Xu Ziling was also jolted by Wang Shichongs thick and profound reaction force that his body froze for a moment, as Rong Fengxiangs toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas, forceful palm wind arrived. In a sh-of-lightning or a spark-of-fire moment, Xu Ziling already knew that Rong Fengxiangs real power was above his. Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to roll on the ground, and then threw himself forward; not only to evade Rong Fengxiangs palm splitting the air, but before his chest made contact with the ground, like an artillery shell he shot toward Wang Xuanying, who was rushing over toward him. The change of his move was so fast that people sighed in admiration since they had never seen anything like this before. Ding! Under the near-impossible circumstances, not only Li Shimin suddenly stopped rolling, he also shot up, pulled his sword, and swept it across to meet Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well. Like the tide of Yangtze River Kou Zhongs stored up spiraling energy surged into Li Shimins meridians. As if he was struck by lightning Li Shimins staggered back into Pang Yu and the others, three men, but this has also saved his life. Kou Zhong dropped to the ground, while brandishing his Moon in the Well around, carrying the remnants of the attacking momentum, holding up Pang Yu and the others that they could not advance even for a single cun. Only then did he sweep back, hoping to join Xu Ziling. Meanwhile Xu Ziling had just reached Wang Xuanying. Rong Fengxiang, who was pursuing closely behind him, was the biggest factor determining his sess or failure. Because of Rong Jiaojiaos superior skill, he and Kou Zhong already had high opinion of Rong Fengxiang, but he still did not expect that Rong Fengxiang was this kind of terrifying martial art master. If Xu Ziling was unable to capture Wang Xuanying in this high-speed, face-to-face meeting, he would not have the second chance; because no matter how ipetent Wang Xuanying was, he could not be so inept that he waspletely useless. Able to think fast in an emergency, Xu Zilings eyes emitted fierce and severed mysterious light as he looked straight into Wang Xuanyings eyes, who was brandishing his sword to attack Xu Ziling. Thetter was intimidated by his imposing manner, plus remembering that he had suffered defeat under Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hands, sure enough, as Xu Ziling expected, Wang Xuanying was scared and started to turn around, hoping that others would help him. While Rong Fengxiang was groaning inwardly, Xu Ziling swiftly pounced forward, his two palms turned intoyer uponyer palm shadows, as he pped the de of Wang Xuanyings sword more than ten times in session. Wang Xuanying staggered continuously, blood waspletely drained from his face. Suddenly his calf bumped onto a long table, plus being under wave after wave of Xu Zilings qi attack, he was unable to hold on. His long sword fell off, his body also stumbled onto the table, cups and pots overturned and fell to the ground. From left and right more than a dozen imperial bodyguards rushed over, but it was toote to save their young lord. Bang! Xu Ziling sent out a backhand palm strike to meet Rong Fengxiangs severe blow, while at the same time he was borrowing the impact force to propel him forward. While soaring up to the air, he grabbed Wang Xuanying, sealed his acupoint, and carried him along like carrying a little chick. Letting out a sharp whistle, Rong Fengxiang changed direction to meet Kou Zhong. By this time Kou Zhong had just reached Shang Xiufang, who was still standing in the middle of the Hall. Miss sang really well! he spoke in low voice, while at the same time the Moon in the Well emitted a fantastical yellow ray, swiftly hacking down on Rong Fengxiang, who was charging toward him. Bang! The two collided and kept moving forward. While Kou Zhong was crying inwardly, Formidable! Xu Ziling, carrying Wang Xuanying, escaped to the corner of the hall, and shouted sternly, Everybody stop! While the entire Hall was taken by surprise, Kou Zhong, like a deity,nded by Xu Zilings side and pressed his saber on Wang Xuanyings throat, who, by this time, was hanging his head dispiritedly. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Baby Shichong, Shimin kid, this time you have to admit defeat! With the imperial bodyguards crowded around to protect him, although his face had not turned pale due to the loss of blood and his injury, Wang Shichongs countenance was extremely unsightly. He was so angry that momentarily he was unable to say anything. Up until now, nobody knew how the two boys were able to enter the Imperial Pce without anybody noticing it, and unleashed the surprise attack. Boom! The nearly forgotten thunder reminded everybody in the Hall that the outside world was still under the control of the forces of nature. Li Shimin took a step forward. Still as elegant as before, he smiled and said, Zhong Xiong and Ziling Xiongs ghost-and-deity-cannot-measure method indeed makes people have no choice but to submit. And then, turning to Shang Xiufang, he spoke with tenderness, Miss Shang is frightened, please return to your seat to calm down. Shang Xiufang acted as if she did not hear him; her eyes were fixed at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. It was quite some timeter that she walked over to Li Shimins side. Rong Fengxiang appeared to be unable to curb his raging temper toward the two boys. Murderous intent shing repeatedly in his eyes, he let out a cold snort and said, How did you get in? The rest of the people were absolutely silent, plus it was not their turn to speak anyway. Astounded, Kou Zhong said, Why speak so much nonsense? And then, turning to Wang Shichong he said, I dont need to tell Shengshang [your holiness/your majesty], you ought to know what to do! Xiaodi has always been an impatient man! Wang Shichong was so angry that he nearly vomited blood. Get Xu Xingzhi in here! he growled. The imperial guards acknowledge the order and left. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Give Xiaodi a rather presentable fast boat. When we arrive at Yanshi, I will release him. No other conditions will be epted. Understand? What could Wang Shichong say? They sailed away from the Eastern Capital, downstream toward Yanshi. It was dusk. The sky cleared after the rain. The scenery was enchanting. Wang Xuanying had his acupoint sealed, hey unconscious in the cabin. The three chatted leisurely about everything that happened after they parted, there was the joy of meeting again after a cmity. Xu Xingzhi said, When Wang Shichong bestowed grand titles to his rtives and subordinates, he left out Zhong Ye, so I knew that he intended to use evil scheme to harm two masters. Thereupon, while going on an official trip to Jinyong, I took the opportunity to slip away to Yanshi to look for you. Who would have thought that I could not escape his various linking arms? Xu Ziling was at the helm. Hearing what was said, he spoke up, In my opinion, Wang Shichong still want to put Mr. Xu in an important position; otherwise, with his jackal and wolf [i.e. evil person] character, he would have you executed on the spot. Kou Zhong let out a cold snort and said, In that case, his treasured crown prince will be done for as well. Xu Xingzhi looked back, a warship was tailing them. Taking a deep breath, he said, Toward this kind of harsh and merciless man, I would rather die than working for him. Unlike Kou Ye and Xu Ye, whose righteousness reaches the clouds and the sky, heroes and towering figures who disregarded your own safety and danger for other peoples sake. Even if I, Xu Xingzhi, have to deliver my little life, I would do so most willingly. Kou Zhong still had lingering fear; he said, This time it was just a bit too dangerous. Not only Rong Fengxiangs martial art skill is so bizarrely high, it also has a weird heretical, secret feeling; definitely not of orthodox method. We nearly ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful because of him. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, I thought it was only my own perception; I did not know you had the same feeling. On the surface his technique was straightforward and open, but hidden within it was crafty, heretical move. I also felt that he was somewhat reserved, as if he was trying to hide something. There must be a dirty little secret somewhere. Kou Zhong appeared to be deep in thought, as if he was recalling a distant memory. It was quite a whileter that he said, When I fought with him, although only twice, I had a feeling that I have seen the expression showing in his eyes somewhere before. This is really strange; when I saw him before, why didnt I have that kind of feeling? That must be because normally he deliberately hid the radiance of his eyes, Xu Xingzhi said, Only when fighting did he apply his true qi, hence he was unable to conceal it. If that is the case, then Zhong Ye must have met him before, only he was not showing this face. Xu Ziling nodded, Mr. Xus exnation makes a lot of sense, he said, Rong Fengxiang himself is a man without any position, whichever side has great power, he then attaches himself to that side; he must be harboring unfathomable motives. Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong said, If thats the case, Rong Fengxiangs real identity should not be difficult to guess; who has close rtionship with Zhu Yuyan or someone of simr position, and have fought with me? Oh! His entire body shook, he looked at Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling returned his gaze with a nk. Who is it? he asked. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, I remember! Oh, my Niang! Must be Pi Chen, that demon Taoist; really formidable. Xu Ziling was stunned, How could it be him? he asked, But it also makes sense. Wang Shichong is in deep trouble this time. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Boy, oh boy! In this case, I am afraid Rong Jiaojiao is not his daughter at all. And Yang Xuyans origin is even more dubious, so much so that Dong Shuni is also not simple at all. Li kid might be falling into a trap without he realizing it. Xu Xingzhi was puzzled, Who is Pi Chen? he asked. After exining it to him, Kou Zhong said, Yin Gui Pai wants to contend over the world; Pi Chen, that demon Taoists something or other Pai [Sect] also wants to fish in troubled water. Although his method is different, his intention is the same. If Pi Chen knew that as soon as he fought we were able to see through it, he would have regretted it deeply. Xu Xingzhi cast his gaze on the bright moon that has just risen from behind the mountain in the distance; he said, After reaching Yanshi, I am going to go ashore and rush toward the Flying Horse Ranch. Two masters must be very careful; that man Li Zitong does not look like a good man. The men under hismand, Bai Xin, Qin Wenchao and Zuo Xiaoyou, three men are all famous valiant military leaders. Recalling that they were about to deal with Du Fuwei and Shen Faxings coalition army, a nearly impossible task, the two boys could only look at each other dejectedly. Xu Xingzhi mused, Du Fuwei and Shen Faxings coboration is only for mutual interests, there must be heavy conflicting views in it. If two masters could ingeniously exploit this, perhaps you would be able to break their coalition as easy as blowing off dust. His spirit greatly aroused, Kou Zhong said, Misters proposal has a lot of merits; I will certainly keep it in mind. When the timees, I will strive to carry it out. The sailboat rounded a sharp curve, and entered a wide, smooth section of the river course, where it was able to sail downstream at full speed. About ten miles pass Yanshi, the boat slowly pulled toward the shore. Because there were only a few of them, plus the boat was light, the warship trailing them from the Eastern Capital has been left far behind early on. The sound of hoof beats rumbled along the shore. Their old friend Yang Gongqing, leading about a dozen riders, arrived; and then he went on board, alone. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Great General Yang indeed has guts and has knowledge; you have the impertinence to climb aboard alone. Yang Gongqing walked over toward Kou Zhong. After casting a nce at Wang Xuanying, who was still lying on the deck, unconscious, he greeted Xu Ziling and Xu Xingzhi, who were standing on the bridge, and then said with a sigh, This time Shangshu Daren is at fault for courting disaster. I, Yang Gongqing, have nothing to say. Kou Zhong said, While I am here, I might as well tell Dajiangjun [great general] two things. If Dajiangjun is happy, you may pass it on to that baby Wang Shichong. Yang Gongqing was puzzled, What things? he asked. Thereupon Kou Zhong calmly told him about Li Shimin, who might be recruiting Li Mis former generals, and about Rong Fengxiang, who might be Pi Chen in disguise. And then heughed and said, If I dont make them very scared and on edge, and make it difficult for them to have peaceful days, how could I vent this grudges? Yang Gongqings countenance changed; he said, These two things are no small matter; I must immediately send the letter via flying pigeon to report to Wang Shichong. Just by hearing him calling Wang Shichong by name directly, Kou Zhong knew that his resentment toward Wang Shichong has reached the level that it was revealed in his speech. Kou Zhong leaned over and spoke in low voice, Dajiangjun may bring the hostage back, but you have to remember how Wang Shichong is treating me. Another day he may use the same method to treat Dajiangjun. Serving a tiger and wolf master cannot bring about good oue. Smiling ruefully, Yang Gongqing replied, I already knew it! Three gentlemen, take care! Picking up Wang Xuanying, he turned around and left. Book 19 - 10 – Endless Entanglement Book 19 Chapter 10 C Endless Entanglement After sending off Xu Xingzhi ashore, the two boys continued their journey. It was not until they entered the Yellow River that the two boys heaved a sigh of relief, because on this wide river, fleeing or hiding would be much easier. Kou Zhong sighed and said, When we started off from the south, it seemed like the world was under our feet; who would have thought that with many twists and turns, Zhifu and the others, three men died a tragic death, and Yuchengs whereabouts is unknown. We are now forced by circumstances; we want to turn back to the south, doors are being closed in front of us. Thinking about it, I am depressed of our failures. Xu Ziling said, Zhifu and the others, three mens hatred, we must avenge. Real men distinguish clearly between gratitude and grudges. Yin Gui Pais method is indeed cruel and repulsive. There wille a day when we will pull it by the roots so that they [feminine] will never harm anybody anymore. Murderous aura red out in Kou Zhongs eyes. He nodded and said, Other than Yuwen Huaji, currently our deepest hatred is toward Yin Gui Pai; blood debt must be paid by blood. Besides, even if we are willing to suffer in silence, Wan yaonu and Zhu yaofu will not be willing to let us off. [Trantors note: since these terms appear quite often, I am thinking of keeping them as is. yao means demon, nu and fu both mean woman, but fu usually denotes older woman. Simrly, yao dao, which I usually trante as demon Taoist. (In short, everything connected to Yin Gui Pai are yao ...)] Xu Ziling said, That is also the reason I am willing toe with you to Jiangdu. Otherwise I would have rushed to Baling to pick up Su Jie, mother and son. Until now I still dont understand why Ol Die is willing to take part in skinning-tiger scheme, coborating with Yin Gui Pai to conquer the world. There must be a reason that we are not able to see through yet. Why do you care his mother so much? Kou Zhong said, Tomorrow, after entering Tongji Canal, we are going to travel day and night toward Jiangdu. But we need to replenish our food and water, because we will need at least three days and nights to reach Jiangdu. I always have some sense of foreboding, Xu Ziling muttered irresolutely, This trip may not necessarily go smoothly. Patting the Moon in the Well on his back, Kou Zhong said, When did we ever have a day of peace and safety? Whoever is not afraid of death, he can release his horse ande over! Ha! There is never enough time to learn, I want to open Lu Dayes precious library and work hard to study it. Xu Ziling pulled him over and said, Excuse me, the one who has been working hard is Xiaodi. Now its your turn, Zhong Dage, to man the boat. The two boys passed a peaceful night. By noon the next day, the boat reached Liangdu, a big city by Tongji Canal, west of Pengcheng. They had yet to decide who was going to guard the boat and who was going to buy provision, when the local dark road [i.e. underworld/mafia] figures already graced them with their presence. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling grew up among the thugs of the dark road. Wanting to preserve appeasing mood, they were ready to pay the illegal toll per Jianghu custom, in order to avoid new branch growing out of a knot. Kou Zhong put down his Moon in the Well, and stepped onto the dock to negotiate with the mening to visit them. Noticing Kou Zhongs build, which was as formidable as a deity, and his calm andposed demeanor, the leader of this small gang, who himself a much-travelled person, well acquainted with the ways of the Jianghu, busily cupped his fist to salute and said, Xiaodi is Peng Liang Huis [Peng Liang society] Zhi Tang [Hall of Wisdom] Xiangzhu [lit. fragrant master] Chen Jiafeng. May I ask gentlemen heroes honorable surname and great given name, and which vige, which county were youing from? Kou Zhong immediately recalled the San Dangjia [Third Chief] of Peng Liang Society, the Yan Niangzi [amorous/romanticdy], Ren Meimei [see Book 3, Chapter 7, but it was Sao Niang (coquettishdy)], and realized that this area fell under Peng Liang Societys sphere of influence. However, he did not want Ren Meimei to find out his whereabouts for obvious reason; therefore, he hurriedly said, Xiaodi is Fu Ren, has just returned from the Eastern Capital for some business, and is now hurrying back to Jiangdu. Ha! Parking terminal naturally has parking terminal rules; Xiaodi is prepared to pay your honorable Society. Chen Xiangzhu, please indicate how much we owe you. Seeing he was so humble, Chen Jiafeng immediately had good impression; smiling, he said, Looking at Fu Xiongs high-spirited demeanor, you must have gained enough profit. Fu Xiongs boat is also of the highest quality, the strangest thing is, Fu Xiong seems to have only one helper on board. Naturally Kou Zhong understood this tactic. When dark road characters encountered strangers, they would always follow the golden rule of peaceful measures before using force. In simple terms, they would feel the opposite partys foundation clearly first, before deciding how they were going to ughter them, in order to reap maximum benefit. Supposing Kou Zhong did not show a bit of skill himself, they might win an inch, want a foot, so much so that they might want to seize the boat. The seven, eight men following Chen Jiafeng were big and armed; just by looking at their appearance, he knew that these were local evil tyrants who were used to go on the rampage. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Chen Xiong is right. Since Xiaodi and my brother dare to sail to the north and rush back to the south on a fine quality boat, naturally we have something we can rely on. However, remembering that we all are of the same Jianghu way, plus we have high respect to Gui Zhua [ghost w] Nie Jing, the Senior, plus we have a little bit of friendly rtionship with your honorable Societys San Dangjia, the Yan Niangzi Ren Meimei, we will resolve this matter ording to the rules. Chen Xiong ought to understand what Xiaodi means! Chen Jiafeng was stunned, May I ask which line does Fu Xiong belong to? he asked. Displeased, Kou Zhong took out half an ingot of gold and stuffed it into his hand, saying, The sage presents as an ordinary person, he who shows his true colors is not a sage. If Chen Xiong is willing to value friendship, then you should not examine the root investigate the bottom. Just consider you have never seen Xiaodi. No longer paying attention to him, Kou Zhong turned around and returned to the boat. Xu Ziling was pulling down the sail alone. While helping him, Kou Zhong said, Peng Liang Hui seems to be controlling this waterway. Just dont know to which side they are realigning their allegiance this day. Xu Ziling had a sudden inspiration, Turns out Ren Meimeis men. Logically they would ce themselves into the hands of either Xu Yuang or Li Zitong. Hey! It shouldnt be Yuwen Huaji, should it? After fixing the sail, Kou Zhong said, Ill go into town to buy provisions, dont let anybody seize the boat! Xu Zilingughed and said, If Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, or somebody their caliber ising here, dont me me. Kou Zhong roared inughter and left. With nothing to do, Xu Ziling leaned on the railing and looked around. The traffic on Tongji Canal was surprisingly low, especially on the section leading toward Jiangdu; there were only a few fishing boatsing and going. It could be that due to the war, passenger and cargo ships were afraid to go through here. From the pier to the city gate, the distance was only about a thousand paces. Anchored around him were about thirty, forty boats, big and small. Compared to the prosperity of any pier at the Eastern Capital, it paled into insignificance [orig. minor magician in the presence of a great one]. Along the way leading to the city gate, there were several food and tea stalls, but there were only a few patrons visiting these stalls that it felt a bit deserted. Chen Jiafeng and his men have disappeared to who knows where. Logically, if they could not ascertain the two boys foundation, they would not easily make their move. Right this moment, he suddenly had a peculiar feeling. Turning around to look, he happened to see the beautiful back of a woman, as she was entering the cabin. Even with Xu Zilings calm and collected nature, he could not help breaking out in cold sweats. As he was stepping into the city gate, Kou Zhong still did not know which power had control over this city. In other cities, unless that particr city happened to be located at the line of attack and defense between forces, there would be merchants and ordinary travelersing and going, both to provide tax revenue to the city, and to maintain localmercial trade. But this strategic town along the Tongji Canal unexpectedly looked like a city without any defense; not only there was no banner of whoever held authority over it, even the guards at the city gate were half gone. Even in time like this, where the fire of war reached the heavens, this kind of situation was extremely rare. As soon as he was inside the city, Kou Zhong could only stare nkly. The main streets intersect right in the middle of the city, connecting the four city gates; the construction was of wide bs of gstone. The alleys were like a mesh crisscrossing the main streets. Most of the residential buildings were constructed of brick and wood; in and simple, but neat. It should be a cozy and peaceful living environment. But this moment, nine out of ten buildings were empty, most of the shops closed their doors, as if disaster was about to strike. Some stores even looked as if they had been vandalized or robbed. There were only a few pedestrians along the streets; everybody was walking in a hurry. It was indeed a picture of a ghost town. Footsteps approaching from behind. Kou Zhong simply stopped. He stood in the middle of the road just like that. Chen Jiafeng came to his side and heaved a sigh. Wars really cause a lot of trouble. One nice bustling city has turned into this. Kou Zhong deeply shared his sentiment, What is really happening? he asked. Chen Jiafeng spoke in heavy voice, Its hard to exin in a few words. If you arrived just a few days earlier, you would have seen millions of people jammed the streets that not one drop can trickle through, the sound of wailing shook the heavens; it was a horrible scene of people trying to escape in all direction. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Which power does this city belong to? Who attacked it? he asked. Chen Jiafeng replied, This city has gone through several hands, thest belonged to Xu Yuang. Too bad the beautiful scenery did notst. Most recently Dou Jiandes army crossed the river and attacked the city where Xu Yuang setup his base of operations. Thereupon Xu Yuang hastily transferred his troops, along with the provisions, out of Liangdu to help, leaving Liangdus defense weak. Finally even the several hundred troops defending the city also fled, leaving Liangdu a city that nobody wants to care, nobody wants to pay attention to. Kou Zhong was astounded. Is Dou Jiande that terrifying? he asked. Of course Dou Jiande is not terrifying, Chen Jiafeng replied, In term of reputation, he is much better than Xu Yuang, but the bandit troops Yuwen Huajisckeys are more terrifying than Emperor Yans [Yama, king of the underworld] soul-hooking ghost messenger. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up immediately. Chen Jiafeng continued, That day Yuwen Huaji and his army returned to the north from Jiangdu, wherever they went, they robbed and looted, ughteringmon people, raping women; therefore, when the rumors arrived, everybody scrambled over to hide and take refuge in the nearby towns and viges. Ay! Nowadays it is not easy to leave; there are wars everywhere you go. Did Yuwen Huajie here personally? Kou Zhong asked in heavy voice. Chen Jiafeng replied, Nobody knows. We only live day by day here. As soon as the situation is not right, well steal away immediately. If Fu Xiong dont mind, would you uphold righteousness by taking us to Jiangdu? Kou Zhong was stunned, If you want to go to Jiangdu, wouldnt it be easy? Chen Jiafeng stared at him for quite some time before his countenance sank and he said, Turns out you are not familiar with the situation in Jiangdu; unexpectedly you didnt know that Li Zitong has closed all rivers and canals. Unless the vessel is somehow rted to them, no others are allowed to sail to Jiangdu; otherwise, I would not have asked you. Kou Zhongughed and said, I certainly did not know the situation at Jiangdu, because I havent returned for a long time. But I am notpletely unrted to Li Zitong. Chen Xiong, you may set your heart at ease. Half believing half doubting, Chen Jiafeng asked, What rtion does Fu Xiong have with Li Zitong? Instead of answering, Kou Zhong asked, Your Peng Liang Hui was able to rank within the Eight Gangs Ten Societies; you shouldnt be without any power [orig. economize on the oilmp]. Why dont you seize this opportunity to take Liangdu back, instead of taking the position of someone who can only receive the beatings without any strength to fight back? Chen Jiafeng sighed and said, If not for seeing that Fu Xiong is definitely not an ordinary person, Xiaodi does not feel like telling you that much. These days are different from the former days. The year that muddle-headed ruler was assassinated, under Nie Bangzhus leadership, we captured more than forty towns and viges in the vicinity of Pengcheng and Liangdu in one go. We thought we would be able to proim ourselves hegemon over these areas, and would have a promising future. Who would have thought that one after another we were defeated by Yuwen Huaji and Xu Yuang? Recently, even Pengcheng was taken by barbarian thieves. Our Peng Liang Hui remains in name only, but the reality is gone. Even the Societys Masters whereabouts is unclear. Kou Zhong was taken aback, What kind of barbarian thieves? he asked. Xu Ziling darted toward the cabin door, and moved toward the four-door cabin. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door to the room on his left. Under the sunlight illuminating the room via the window, the breathtakingly beautiful Wanwan was sitting peacefully in the chair by the window, looking down with rapt attention at her pair of impable, wless, not-contaminated-by-the-least-bit-of-vulgar-dirt bare feet. Her expression appeared to be a little bit shy, but it also appeared confident, which was consistent with her demonic and peculiar character. She did not immediately look at Xu Ziling; she only said, In the end you and I must have decisive resolution between us, isnt that right? Not only her intonation was gentle and soft as though she was murmuring secrets while lying on the pillow; slowly as if each word, each sentence was ced gently in space, so that people felt some kind of extraordinary peace and harmony. Remaining confident and at ease, Xu Ziling was leaning on the doorframe. Displeased, he said, If you want to fight, then fight! Why bother speaking so much rubbish? Finally Wanwan looked up at him, while gently shaking her ck, shiny hair, which length reached her abdomen. Her white-jade face, jet-ck eyebrows, bluish-green, beautiful eyes that seemed to ripple with longing, even Xu Ziling, who was indifferent of womens loveliness, had no choice but to admit that she really was extremely captivating. He heard her cherry lips gently spoke, Why didnt you ask Wanwan the reason I am able to catch up with you here and now? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Whats so strange about that? Pi Chen failed to defeat us, you have no choice but to personally make your move; isnt that right? Wanwan straightforwardly said, We always underestimated you, two boys. Fortunately,ter on we will never repeat this mistake. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, You are thering again. I am going out to find Kou Zhong! Wanwans pretty eyes were knitted in displeasure, she said, Dont rush me! I am trying hard to find a reason not to kill you. Xu Ziling burst outughing, Why worry so much? he said, I am asking for trouble, and I want to see if you really have such means of doing it. So, bring it on! Suddenly his countenance changed. He broke through the cabins roof and soared above the boat. The rope mooring the boat was snapped, the boat was leaving the shore, and was floating with the current. Wanwans Tianmo-power attack wasing from below. Chen Jiafeng indignantly said, The barbarians are those heaven-like Khitan people. They took advantage while the Central ins is in the chaos of war, to collude with the scum ofmunity within our Han people, and form the East [China] Sea Alliance, specializing in looting the cities and towns along the coastal area, robbing our wealth and stealing our women, to be brought back to Pinglu. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, The Khitans are that formidable? Where is Pinglu? Chen Jiafeng replied, Their equestrian archery skill is extremely brilliant. The current Mengzhu [alliance master/leader] of the East China Sea Alliance is called Ku Ge, who is the Khitan tribal chief Mo Huis eldest son, an expert in using a pair of hatchets, his martial art skill is overbearing. Our Er Dangjia [second chief] lost his life under his hands. As for where Pinglu is, I am not clear myself. I heard it seems to be close to Korea, which is the Khitan peoples ce. And then he sighed and said, Although their number is not that many, but theye and go like the wind; in an instant they already fled to the sea. So far nobody is able to do anything to them. Footsteps approaching. The two turned to look, and saw one of Chen Jiafengs men, flustered and exasperated, rushed over and said, Not good! Someone stole the boat! Xu Ziling knew in his heart that if he could not flee for his life one step ahead of her, he would be entangled by Wanwan, then he would end up more dead than alive. If he had guessed correctly, Yin Gui Pai determined to eliminate them because they no longer provide any value they could exploit, also because they were afraid the boys would return to the south and mess up their business with Du Fuwei. But getting rid of them was not as easy as before, especially when the two of them joined hands, thebined power would be even more enormous than the sum of the two separate capabilities. Therefore, Wanwan followed them directly here, and waited until the two separated to deal with Xu Ziling, alone. Bian Bufu, whom he had not seen for a long time, also appeared from the other cabin door and came at an angle toward him. Apparently he misjudged the direction Xu Ziling would take, especially since instead ofing out of the door, Xu Ziling broke through the cabins roof to escape. It was as if Xu Ziling had snatched his little life back from Emperor Yans hands. Otherwise, if he came across Wanwan and Bian Bufu on the corridor, the two people could attack him from the front and rear, then he would lose his life for sure. The moment before Wanwans Tianmo--power reached his body, Xu Ziling quickly exchanged a mouthful of true qi to generate new power, unexpectedly he was able to flip over in the air, and flew toward the top of the sail mast. Laughing aloud, he said, Excuse me, I must leave! Wanwan changed direction to pursue him, like a big bird Xu Ziling soared to the sky, traversing the nearly ten zhang distance over the water, and cast himself to the shore. Wanwans true qi has been used up; she had no choice but to fall back toward the top of the mast. Her beautiful face turned deathly pale, she watched Xu Ziling escaping without any trace. This moment, like a meteor Kou Zhong shot out of the city gate to the dock. He roared, Wan yaonu, if you have guts,e ashore and fight with me, Kou Zhong, for three hundred rounds. I will cut you off into two or three pieces. The sailboat continued floating downstream. Bian Bufu said with a coldugh, Well let you two live a few days longer! Wanwan suddenly revealed a sweet smile. The two boys just sat dejectedly down on the shore. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, I had never imagined that what you said earlier was a prophecy. The treasured boat is indeed snatched away by them. But I dont have the qualification to me you either, because I could not find any provision to be brought back to you. This moment Chen Jiafeng and his men rushed over, everybody showed deep admiration and respect. Irately Kou Zhong swept them with his eyes, he said, The boat is gone! You have to figure out how you are going to Jiangdu! Chen Jiafeng awkwardly said, We really have eyes but fail to recognize Mt. Tai; unexpectedly we did not know two gentlemen are Kou Ye and Xu Ye whose names shook the whole world. Xu Ziling sighed and said, What name shook the whole world? We dont even have a boat. Chen Jiafeng asked in low voice, Just now, arent those two yaonu and yaoren [demon] of Yin Gui Pai? Kou Zhong nodded in affirmative. Chen Jiafeng showed admiration until he felt like prostrating himself in front of the two boys; he said, In all the world, only you, two Daye are not afraid of them. Xu Zilingughed in spite of himself; he said, Praising people should have its sense of propriety; at least Ci Hang Jing Zhai people are also not afraid of Yin Gui Pai; we are not the only ones. A big man behind Chen Jiafeng raised his thumb and said, Xu Ye is a real hero; you dont brag, you dont exaggerate. Kou Zhong said, You guys can say anything you want, but it cant cure my empty stomach. Is there any way to get some food and wine? After eating, we all can go our separate ways. Chen Jiafeng happily said, This is but an exertion of lifting ones hand. Two Daye, please! The two boys were not bashful; they followed them back into the city. Book 19 - 11 – Heroic Feeling Covering The Sky Book 19 Chapter 11 C Heroic Feeling Covering The Sky Chen Jiafeng ordered his men to open a boarded up restaurant; bowing, he said, Kou Ye, Xu Ye, please feel free to sit on any table you want, we will immediately light up the kitchen stove and prepare some authentic specialty dishes. I already had someone to take care of the wine, it will be delivered here promptly. The two boys found it all amusing. They picked arge round table in the middle and sat down. Because the shop owner left just a few days ago, the tables and chairs still had not collected dust. Kou Zhong looked out the open wide main door at the quiet and cold main street under the illumination of the setting sun; sighing, he said, A nice prosperous town, where the people lived in peace and worked happily, in the blink of an eye it suffered cmity. Its too bad! Xu Ziling has not found out what had happened, What cmity? he asked. This moment a Peng Liang Hui gang member, happy and excited, came in with an earthen jar of wine, and then busied himself trying to find bowls and cups for the two boys. Kou Zhong watched as the wine was poured into cups; he spoke indifferently, I heard Yuwen Huagu came here! Shaken, Xu Ziling shouted, What? Kou Zhong hastily said, I was exaggerating a little bit. I meant to say that Yuwen Huagus men mighte here, but I dont know whether Yuwen Huagu is willing to give us the convenience by dropping by to receive his death. The same gang member was lighting thentern for them. Hearing Kou Zhong, with great admiration he said, Kou Ye and Xu Ye are really amazing; practically you dont regard that Yuwen Hua ... Yuwen Huaji seriously. Kou Zhongughed and cursed, You have the cheek to eavesdrop our secret conversation; quickly get lost far away. The gang member readily epted the order; he spoke deferentially, Xiaoren is Xie Jue, I will immediately get lost far away! He left in high spirit, as if receiving Kou Zhongs scolding was an iparable honor and glory. The murderous intent in Xu Zilings eyes red out brightly; he spoke in heavy voice, As long as there is a chance, we have to endure it for a little while, and wait until hees. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Raising his wine cup, he said, This toast is for Niangs soul and spirit in Heaven. Ding! The two clinked their cups and drained it in one gulp. Kou Zhongughed hoarsely and said, Howe we dont seem to care if female demon Wan came back. Xu Ziling leaned backfortably in his chair, heaved a deep sigh, and said glibly, Now that we know for sure that only Wan yaonu and Bian Bufu, two people came, we dont give them a damn. Ay! I am tired of hiding to the east and fleeing to the west; if they have enough guts, let them release their horses ande! Bang! Kou Zhong struck the table and shouted, Well said! The two smelled the aroma of the cooking from the kitchen at the back, while looking at the gradually dimming light of the dusk on the main street outside; they both enjoyed thefortable andzy atmosphere as if they were unwilling to lift even half a finger. It seemed like this very moment, all the people they met, as well as everything that happened to them in the past, had nothing to do with them; all those things felt so far away as if they had never happened at all. Kou Zhong untied the Moon in the Well, and put it on the table. He stretched, and even put his feet on the table, as he sighedfortably and said, Ling Shao! Whats your feeling on this entire town? Suddenly they heard rapid hoof beatsing from the city gate, which continued for quite a while before the sound stopped. But the two boys acted as if even though they heard, they did not care; they both remained unmoved. Looking pensive, Xu Ziling said, You seem to forget Song Yuzhi; am I right? Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day, before finally nodded and said, Right! I havent thought about her for a long time. Apart from you, my expectation and demand toward other people are getting less and less. Song Yuzhi is a genuinely wise and virtuous woman, who was born and raised in an honorable family and great n. Between she and the two of us, there is one fundamental difference: she always ys by the rules, while I, Kou Zhong, am merely a destroyer who rebels against orthodoxy. But only this one difference is enough to doom us not to be together. Tell me, everything I did, all my conduct and deeds, which one would be pleasing in her eye? Xu Ziling pondered for a moment, and then he slowly said, But have you ever thought that this difference is precisely what attract her to you? Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, To her, this is only some kind of uncultured character and indulgence that she detests bitterly, hence she is hurt, and I feel very tired. You and I are people who dont understand etiquette andpass and set square; we speak vulgarnguage leisurely, without any scruple. But she is of different kind of people; therefore, in the end, we are all screwed. The reasoning she gave on the surface is just her excuse. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Although deep down I have a feeling that the actual situation may not necessarily be as you put it, but your analysis on her is no doubt very thorough. I have never thought that you would have that kind of profound notion. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I have chosen the free and long road of no return; everything else will have to be thrown away, once and for all. Sometimes I really envy that kid Hou Xibai. If he were happy when he came across this beautiful girl or that lovely bubbling doll, he would leisurely moved his brush once or twice to paint his mother on his fan, while he could y as a solitary minstrel and wander around as a knight-errant, neither slowly nor rushing around roaming around the Jianghu unrestrained, watching the fires burning across the river [fig. to dy entering the fray until all others have been exhausted by fighting amongst themselves]. Ha! Xu Ziling smiled, Whats so funny? he asked. pping his forehead, Kou Zhong said, I just feel sorry for him. Were it not for you, Ling Shao, made your appearance, maybe Shi Feixuan would look upon him with favor! Displeased, Xu Ziling said, You want to drag me into the water? You, this kid, harbor evil intentions. This moment, Chen Jiafeng came to the table and spoke with grave expression, Just received a report, there is a group of approximately five or six hundred ridersing here from the direction of Pengcheng, looks like they might be able to reach this ce in about two sichen. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged a look of disappointment; the iing riders could not possibly be Yuwen Huajis men. Chen Jiafeng continued, The iing must be Khitan barbarians from the East Sea Alliance. Our Peng Liang Hui has a blood debt as deep as the ocean with them. If two Daye are willing to take the initiative, we wish to follow you. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Arent you thinking of slipping away? he asked, Why suddenly you are eager to give it a try? Chen Jiafeng sat down and said, Frankly speaking, although we cant wait to eat their flesh and drink their blood, we are aware of how many catty we weigh. [My text has some gibberish characters after this; or maybe that I am not good enough to understand what it is. Anybody has better source or can help?] Kou Zhong poured a cup of wine for him and said with augh, You must not have such a high hope on us. Charging and breaking through the enemy lines on the battlefield is entirely different from decisive battle in Jianghu. Against a five, six hundred-man strong enemy, even Ning Daoqi wont be able to kill that many. Xu Ziling waited until he raised his cup and drank the wine before asking in heavy voice, How many people do you have? Chen Jiafeng wiped the wine from the corner of his mouth and replied, Only fifty-three men. We have talked it over, as long as Kou Ye and Xu Ye are willing to give us a nod, we will fight to the death against those Khitan thieves. How many people are currently in the city? Kou Zhong asked. Chen Jiafeng replied, Those who are able to leave have already left, those who remain are either old or unwary people; perhaps there are several hundred people. Turning to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong asked, What do you think? Under Chen Jiafengs hopeful look, Xu Ziling pondered quietly for half a day. Finally he smiled and said, We have no chance of victory at all, but can only take them by ruse. Fighting them head on will only result in defeat. Kou Zhong let out a longugh and said, Very well! Let us kill those Khitan thieves until they are utterly defeated. Let Ku Ge know that our Central ins is not without any hero or towering figure who can subdue him! And then, pping the table, he said, And now, lets not worry about anything. We are going to eat this meal on the street. After we eat our fill and drink till we get drunk, perhaps Ku Ge will arrive to provide excitement for us! Liangdus city gate was wide open, the suspension bridge was down. Starting from the city gate, torches were stuck at the interval of ten paces, like a pair of fiery dragons stretching along the main street, all the way to the round table set up in the middle of the street. The table was full of food and wine. Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were sitting facing the city gate, eating and drinking and chatting merrily. Apart from these two, not even half a shadow of other people was seen in the city. Although the street from the city gate to the ce where the two boys were sitting was lit by the torches that it was as bright as daytime, elsewhere in the city was pitch-ck, so that the contrast was strange and extraordinary. Kou Zhong took a sip of the wine and said with a wry smile, Its all your fault; for no reason at all you mentioned Song Yuzhi, evoking the grief in my heart. Xu Ziling was apologetic, I have no choice but to apologize to you, he said, What are you thinking now? Kou Zhong reached out to grab Xu Zilings shoulder, he said, One lifetime, two brothers; no need to apologize. Just now I suddenly thought that even if I reached the stage of pledging undying love with the Song Familys San Xiaojie, her happiness cannot start yet, because the chaos and the war all over the world is not over yet. Every day I am involved in life and death struggle against others, I dont know how heavy the burden I have to carry on my back. Thinking about this, Yuzhi leaving me is actually a good thing. Xu Ziling was emotionally moved, Up to this point, I did not really believe that your heart was moved by Song Yuzhi. Because this is the first time that you show consideration for Song Yuzhi, and not just consider her for your benefit. Kou Zhongs throat was choked with ming emotion that his breathing became rapid. It was quite a whileter that he sighed and said, If I did not have any consideration for her, how could I be willing to let her go? Much less I know how defensive she is toward me, just like how weak Liangdu currently is. Xu Ziling also felt that way; he said, We and Song Yuzhi, an honorable woman who came from honorable family and great n, differ so much. If you insist on living together, it would lead to many problems. Kou Zhongughed and said, Are you thinking of Shi Feixuan? That kind of person who has left her home to live a life of cultivating the way, as far as Im concerned, she is like living in a serious and fantasy world that is not real at all; with heavy stocks and chains, without the least bit of freedom, giving up all the beautiful things in the world for no reason whatsoever. Isnt that also an addiction? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Talking about Zen with a vulgar man like you is like ying the lute to a cow, or perhaps like talking to the deaf, or discussing color with the blind. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Therefore, Shi Feixuan never gives Xiaodi any consideration, while she thinks very highly of you. Because you and she are simr! Ha! Ling Dashi [great/grand master, usually used to address a Buddhist monk], please enjoy the vegetarian dish. And then he picked a pile of green vegetables and crammed it onto Xu Zilings rice bowl. Xu Ziling did not know whether tough or cry; he said, What evil intention are you harboring? Why are you always trying to pull me and Shi Feixuan together? A gust of wind blew from the direction of the city gate, blowing the hundred or so torches that their mes were jumping high and low, seemingly reminding them that the Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits could arrive at any moment. Xu Ziling changed the topic, I almost forget to ask you, hows Li kids achievement these days? Kou Zhong replied, Under that kind of circumstances, we still cannot harm him, which mean that he cant be too far below us. After contemting for a moment, Kou Zhong continued in a low voice, I was wondering if we are doing a really stupid thing right now? We dont have any idea of Khitan peoples real strength; all we know is that Peng Liang Hui has been decimated by them. Xu Ziling spoke resolutely, People sometimes do really stupid things. Only by doing things that you think is so brilliant butter on proved to be folly will your heart be relieved. Kou Zhongughed heartily. Raising his wine cup, he said, Well said! Let Xiaodi toast Ling Shao a cup. Xu Ziling had just raised his cup, when an omen appeared in his heart. Together with Kou Zhong they turned to look toward the city gate, and immediately they both groaned inwardly. The beautiful-as-a-fairy Wanwan, riding along with the wind, her feet did not touch the ground, was floating through the open city gate toward them. In this battle, where they knew themselves, but did not know the enemy, victory or defeat was already difficult to guess. Now in this crucial moment, where the enemy might arrive at any moment, if Wanwan, this uncertain factor, was added to the equation, if she decided to pull them back, perhaps even if they wanted to flee to the wilderness, they would not be able to. Wanwan, wearing in clothes, barefooted, with a face carrying a hint of sparkling smile, in an iparably graceful attitude, sat down in an empty chair across the table from the two boys. As if agreeing by chance, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings eyes immediately lit up with sharp rays; murderous intent red up. If they could use a thunderbolt before-the-sound-of-thunder-reached-the-ear method to strike the female demon, who hade alone, in front of them either dead or injured, then it would be ideal. This idea certainly has not gone through careful thought. Despite saying that they would fight them head-on, they knew in their hearts that they did not have the ability to take care of her. However, if the two boys, whose martial art skill advanced by leaps and bounds every day, could join hands in dealing with her, and Wanwan did not have the intention to flee, perhaps even Wanwan herself did not dare to ascertain that she had the ability to deal with them. With her deep and low, pliable and tough like a cotton padding, seductive voice Wanwan said, A gentleman uses his mouth and not his fist. If you are unwilling to be the gentlemen, the first to suffer will be those newfound friends of yours, the Peng Liang Hui brothers. The two boys looked at each other in astonishment. In just a few simple words, Wanwan already revealed her grasp of the overall situation, including their fatal weak point. The reason they agreed to undertake this task in upholding justice toward Chen Jiafeng and the others really was not to help a gang or a society to take revenge and wipe out a grudge against another gangs powerful members, but because of three reasons. The principal reason was that they did not wish to see such a beautiful and tranquil ancient city being destroyed in one day. The second reason was the righteous indignation med by anger against amon enemy, due to a different tribe ravaging the Central ins. Thest reason was hoping that the rabbit, Yuwen Huaji, would drop in at their gate. Trying to kill him in here was certainly a lot easier than trying to do it in his own territory. But now that Wanwan came to look for trouble, how could they divide their heart to deal with her? Kou Zhong busily pushed the smile back onto his face; giggling, he said, Wan Da Xiaojie, please calm down. Ha! Drink a cup of wine before we talk. Are you hungry? I guarantee the vegetarian dish has no poison in it! Smiling gracefully, Wanwan watched as Kou Zhong politely poured a cup of wine for her. Now this is nice! she spoke softly, Even enemies sometimes sit down together to drink wine and have a heart-to-heart chat! Ever since they officially set themselves against each other as enemies, Xu Ziling has never had the opportunity to examine this devil cults female demon in such a close distance and intimate and peaceful atmosphere like this. But no matter how he looked at her, it was difficult to see the least bit of demonic or unusual thing from her personality traits, yet he had witnessed with his own eyes her cruelty and ruthless methods. Her peerless countenance could be considered on par, rather than inferior to, Shi Feixuans. The difference was that thetter gave the impression of spirited rain on an empty mountain, while Wanwan made people think about barren and deserted ins. Before picking up her cup, Wanwans eyes floated toward Xu Ziling; her cherry lips opened lightly and said, Can Ziling throw out old grievances right now so that we all can have peaceful discussion? Xu Ziling replied with astonishment, You take advantage of our precarious position like this, and yet still talk about exchanging views? With a hint of sarcasm Wanwan replied, And whos taking advantage of others precarious position now? Who doesnt want to take advantage of others precarious position? This is not the first day that Ziling entered the Jianghu, why would you still utter suchment? Knowing Xu Zilings temperament, Kou Zhong was afraid they would reach deadlock; he hastily said, Lets have a good discussion. Hey! Over the years, I have a question that lingers in my heart; now that we have a chance for a heart-to-heart talk, I was wondering if Wan Da Xiaojie would answer me? Wanwan knew that Kou Zhong wanted to change the subject, she was happy to oblige. She said cheerfully, In half a sichen Ku Ges horse-mounted bandits will reach the city gate; if it doesnt take too much time, Wanwan certainly happy to answer your question. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is just a simple little question: why is Yin Gui Pai willing to be drawn into the dispute of bing the master of the world? Shrugging her shoulders, Wanwan replied, Who doesnt want to be the master of the world? Isnt this question a bit superfluous? Kou Zhong spoke in bewilderment, For Li Mi, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Li Shimin, and the others, this is certainly a stupid question. Among life achievements, nothing can surpass establishing a dynasty setting up an era, toiling to be master of the universe that willst for thousands generations. But for your virtuous master Zhu Yuyan, or perhaps Wan Xiaojie yourself, the real pursuit is perhaps not the wealth or power of the secr world! Wanwan smiled and said, I never expected that you had such an understanding about us. Perhaps it can be exined this way: the master of the world is like the extension and continuation of our struggle against Ci Hang Jing Zhai. Also because of this reason I am willing to sit down and have a peaceful talk with you. Otherwise, if we do all we can to deal with you, how long do you think you willst? Sneering, Kou Zhong said, Dont threaten us! Havent you tried to deal with us will all your strength before? But without sess! Wanwan revealed a sad expression as if she took pity of his ignorance; she sighed and said, At the Eastern Capital, we indeed had the intention to kill you; to be precise, we intended to kill one of you. But in the end we refrained from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vase. Even my humble master, due to all kinds of apprehensions, did not dare to carelessly make her move. As for the reasons behind it, you think about it yourselves! After a short pause, she let out a faint sigh and said, The reason we wanted to deal with you, other than for the Duke Yangs Treasure, we are afraid that you might stand on Ci Hang Jing Zhais side. But now that worry has, of course, be redundant. Xu Ziling let out a cold snort, Nonsense! he said, Didnt you want to kill me earlier? Without concealing anything Wanwan replied forthrightly, I indeed wanted to eliminate you. But the reason is not what you think. Ziling, do you want to hear it? Afraid that Xu Ziling and Wanwan might quarrel and thus spoil their big endeavor, Kou Zhong answered on his behalf, Of course we are dying to hear it! Xu Ziling had no choice but to shut up and refrain from expressing any opinion. Wanwans eyes emitted an iparably tender expression, brimming with emotion like the continuous wave pping against the riverbank; she spoke gently, First of all is because you, Ziling, has established a delicate rtionship with Shi Feixuan, which, to us, creates a big problem. Secondly, Wanwan is a bit afraid I cannot restrain my emotions and fall in love with you. What? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling blurted out together. Looking at Xu Zilings handsome face blushing and his extremely awkward expression, Pft! Wanwan burst out in tender giggle and said, That is the truth, believe it or not, its up to you. The sound of hoof beats was getting nearer and nearer. Ku Ge has finally arrived. But Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling no longer had the confidence and assurance they had before. Wanwans smile was getting sweeter and even more beautiful. Book 19 - 12 – Bloody Battle Outside The City Gate Book 19 Chapter 12 C Bloody Battle Outside The City Gate Maintaining her usual calm and cold confidence, her jade countenance did not reveal the slightest change due to the gradually resounding, growing faster and more intensive hoof beats, Wanwan spoke indifferently, As long as you agree to let us take something from the Duke Yangs Treasure first, we can temporarily negotiate peace and cease the battle. After exchanging nce with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong said with a frown, What exactly is so important? Can you exin clearly, so that we can consider it carefully? Revealing a flirtatious and captivating expression, Wanwan hunched her shoulders and narrowed her eyes as she looked at Kou Zhong and said, It could be a box, or a small chest, but definitely has nothing to do with wealth or weaponry. As for whats inside, please forgive nujia for not disclosing it. In any case, it will bepletely useless for you. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Please dont use that kind of gaze and expression to tease Xiaodi, all right? If you provoked Xiaodis misunderstanding, that would not be good, because Xiaodi have always liked to imagine that my love is reciprocated. The hoof beats suddenly stopped outside the city gate. The sudden silence was as depressing as the heavy atmosphere before the rain fell on the mountain. Kou Zhong spoke to Xu Ziling, This business deal doesnt seem to bring us any harm. Even though we still have deep hatred and great enmity, we could always haggle over it after the Duke Yangs Treasure is obtained. He secretly kicked Xu Zilings leg under the table. Naturally Xu Ziling understood what he meant. With each passing day, their confidence is resisting Yin Gui Pai also increased by a notch. But if at the moment they disagreed and broke into a fight, they could only end up failing and being wiped over the floor. Sighing, Xu Ziling spoke in a heavy voice, Lets do whatever you think is best! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Its a deal! But if you eat your own words and rush indiscriminately into a fight, this deal is void. The hoof beats rose up again. When the horses galloped across the suspension bridge over the moat, the sound was like the rumbling of thunder. Several dozen of riders appeared from the city gate. They all rode slowly, in cautious and solemn manner. As if she waspletely unaware of Khitan horse-mounted bandits entering the city, Wanwan stretched out her delicate hand, showing her bent little finger, and spoke in gentle, charming voice, In that case, let us hook our fingers to make an oath, whoever go back on this deal, let him not have a good death. Kou Zhong craned his neck to scrutinize her lily-white hand, which was fairer than the snow; full of suspicion, he said, No crafty plots and machinations, right? The enemying into the city was only about a hundred or so. The vanguard quickly spread out on both sides of the long main street, they looked quizzically at the three people, men and woman, sitting around the table full of food and wine, set in the middle of the street, chatting andughing. It was obvious from their expression that even in their dream, they had never expected to see such a scene inside the city. Wanwan angrily said, Gutless ghost! In vain I regarded you as a man whom I might fall in love with. Giggling, Kou Zhong also stretched out his little finger and hooked it with hers. The sound of hoof beats arose again, like an arrow more than a dozen riders rushed into the city straight toward the three people, and reined their horses toplete stop at about ten zhang away from the table, and arranged themselves in a row. The warhorses skipped over and neighed wildly. More than a dozen pair of vicious and harsh eyes were trained on the three people, none did not show bewildered and uncertain expression. Hooking her finger with Kou Zhong, Wanwan pulled it three times, and then said with a tenderughter, Oh Kou Lang [young man]! Dont you dare going back on this deal! Otherwise nujia will never let you off! When her words fell on these unsuspecting strangers ears, they certainly thought that these people were pledging their unchanging love to each other. The bandits leader was a ferocious looking big man with a full-bearded face, a pair of hatchets hanging on his back, his clothes were animal skin and ck leather, his imposing manner was oppressive. To his left was a Han man, about fifty years of age, with grave and stern countenance, his eyes shot spirited light; it was evident at a nce that he must be a martial art master with strong internal power. The other men had fierce and malicious countenance, big and sturdy, robust Khitan men. Their bare arms either had arm protector, or iron hoops on their wrists, enhancing the imposing and ferocious air around them. Pulling back his little finger, Kou Zhongs gaze, which were shining with sharp rays, fell onto the big Khitan man with a pair of hatchets on his back, who was riding high on his horse; he shouted, You, the tall guy, are you Ku Ge of Khitan? Qiang! Qiang! There was an unending ringing as the bandits, except the old Han man and Ku Ge, more than a hundred men drew all kinds of weapons at the same time, striking a posture that they were about to attack, ready to pounce. The old man leaned close to Ku Ge and spoke a few words. Ku Ge then signaled with his hand, stopping his men from rushing indiscriminately into action. Only after everyone calmed down did he shout, Since you know my name, Ku Ge, yet still dare to sit here whispering sweet nothings to one another, speaking about wind, flower, snow and moon [i.e. trite poetry subject], you must be tired of living. His Han speech was dry and heavy, and stiff, yet he loved to bite words and chew characters [i.e. meticulous in his choice of words], it was quiteughable. Kou Zhong leaned backfortably into his chair while shot him a sideways nce and said, Laoxiong, you are right. Since we know what kind of character you are, yet still dare to sit here having a drinking party, waiting respectfully for your honorable selfs arrival, naturally it is not because we are tired of living! Seeing him making an eye with her as he spoke, Pft! Wanwan burst into tender giggle and stood gracefully. Turning around her tender body, she faced the bunch of bandits, who were dumbstruck to suddenlye face-to-face with her beauty. And then with a sweet smile she said, I am just a guest who was passing through. You want to fight, whether death or alive, it has nothing to do with me. Nujia is leaving! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew she was going to make a kill; they werent sure if they should be happy or ought to be resentful. Severely shaken, Ku Ge asked, May I ask where is Beauty going? Momentarily caught off guard by the peerless beauty, he waspletely in awe and unexpectedly spoke such refined and courteous sentence, which was totally incongruous with his previous style. Wanwan moved behind Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, making the two boys so scared and on edge, before she regained her smiling expression and returned to her usual ice-cold demeanor. Her eyes shot at the old man, as she spoke gently, This Qianbei [Senior] must be Mi Fang, Mi Laoshi [teacher], whose appetion is the Wolf King, who ran amuck in the northeast region? Lately you vanished from the Central ins, who could have thought that unexpectedly you take refuge among the Khitans. Mi Fangs countenance changed; he said, Which Sects disciple are you, unexpectedly you know Ol Mis background. Letting out a longugh, Kou Zhong said, Old man Mi, sit tight, this Da Xiaojies venerable master is ... hey! Pardon me! Wanwan withdrew the Tianmo--power poised to attack him, and then she unhurriedly said, Now thats an obedient child! Ku Ge and the others looked at each other; even after racking their brains, they could not figure out the rtionship among these three people. Xu Ziling impatiently said, Miss, arent you going to leave? Wanwan suddenly moved to the front, as if she was about to pass through between Ku Ge and Mi Fangs horses, floating toward the city gate. Kou Zhong blurted out, Would you please close the city gate on your way out? Ku Ge let out a longughter and said, Beauty wants to leave? Its not that easy! But Mi Fang showed a grave expression; without blinking he stared at Wanwans bare feet. The two riders on his left and right suddenly rushed out and closed in to intercept her. These Khitan men grew up on horseback; every one of them had consummate skill in equestrianism. Capturing people from horseback was a cheap trick for them. Only Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were familiar with Wanwans ruthlessness; they could not bear to watch. Naturally they would not stop her either. Every one of these horse-mounted bandits hasmitted multifarious evil, even death cannot wipe out their crimes, not a single one. Meanwhile four riders were getting closer and closer; the crowd of bandits cheered in chorus to boost the morale of their brothers. Their shouts shook the long street. From the city gate several dozen riders came pouring in; they were curious and came inside to watch the show. Suddenly the two riders on the left and right closest to Wanwan reined their horses. The warhorses immediately reared; high in the air, their front legs were kicking randomly this way and that. The other two riders sped up and joined the fray; their horsemanship was exquisite, their coordination was amazing, making others sigh in admiration. Wanwan appeared to bepletely unable to resist, as the two horses came together in a pincer attack. By the time the other two horses legsnded back on the ground, suddenly the riders screamed the horses neighed. Pressed from both sides, the two steeds were thrown outside like a copsing mountain, falling pirs. The riders, who were iparably dauntless Khitan warriors, werepletely helpless to resist; as if their bodies were devoid of any bones, they both, together with their horses, fell to the side. Even with Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings brilliant eyesight, they still could not see clearly what technique Wanwan was using. Bang! The horsesnded on the ground, the dust rose up. Without moving further, they all died on the spot. Wanwan has effortlessly lifted up the two men, casually tossed them so that they heavily knocked against the head of the other two riders horses. The crowd of bandits was dumbstruck with this sudden change. While they were at a loss of what to do, as if they were struck by lightning, the two warriors on the horseback fell down, with all seven orifices spurting blood. On the contrary, the horses werepletely uninjured. The two warriors that were thrown also fell to the ground; fresh blood flowed from their eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Such an overbearing skill, even Ku Ge and Mi Fangs countenance changed greatly. Ku Ge was the first to regain hisposure. Kill them! he thundered angrily. The crowd of bandits urged their horses to charge forward. Looking back at the two boys, Wanwanughed and said, Ill see you again in Guanzhong! Two streams of ribbons flew out of her sleeves like butterflies, intercepting the charging cavalry that the bandits were thrown backward and their formation was crushed; unexpectedly no one was able to stop her even for a short period of time. Watching Wanwan charging into the enemy formation, opening a bloody path toward the city gate, Kou Zhong said in shock, How did she know the Duke Yangs Treasure is in Guanzhong? Xu Ziling pushed the edge of the table with both palms. The entire tabletop left its legs and flew up, spinning toward the dozen or so bandits on horseback attacking them; he shouted, I am not the worm inside her belly; how would I know? The tabletop was spinning faster and faster, but the food and drink, bowls and tes, were like stuck to the surface that they spun together with the tabletop, not even half a cup spilled out. Just a split second before the tabletop spun, Kou Zhong casually picked up a bottle of wine. This moment, while biting the cork off the bottle, he mumbled, The time to repay our fellow citizens blood debt has arrived! Two miserable screams. The tabletop knocked two bandits off their horses and threw them away and down to the ground. The warhorses were startled and charged sideways, so that the bandits were thrown into confusion. Whoosh! Applying his internal power Kou Zhong spat the cork in his mouth. It flew and struck the face of a bandit charging toward him. The bandit fell backward from his horse. Kou Zhong kicked a table leg, and another bandit was knocked over. He was still sittingfortably on his chair; lifting the wine bottle in his left hand, he drank his fill. With his other hand he pulled the Moon in the Well, and then carelessly, without even looking, swept it across. Dang! A Khitan overbearing fiend, who was stooping down to pierce him with a spear, was swept over; both the man and the spear were thrown to the ground, his head split and his blood flowed without being able to even groan. Losing its rider, the horse continued galloping toward the empty and wide long street on Kou Zhongs right rear side. Bang! The tabletop lost its momentum and fell down. Two charging bandits were struck by Xu Zilings splitting-the-air palm strike that they spurted blood and fell off their horses. One of the horses was still running toward Xu Ziling. He diverted his force and pped the horses head with the back of his palm. By lucky coincidence the horse changed direction and galloped pass two enemies charging toward him. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, It is fun! It is fun! The battle was in full swing. In the meantime, Wanwan was attacking the enemy outside the gate, and thus drawing the enemys main force. Kou Zhong let out a long whistle. Chen Jiafeng and his men, who were waiting in ambush on top of the city gate, released arrows using crossbows through the battlements on the city wall. From their higher elevation, they had clear shot toward the enemy; they also threw down lighted firecrackers, so that momentarily there was continuous Crash! Bang! noise that scared the warhorses, sending them fleeing in all direction. In this total chaos, naturally the bandits could not tell that there were only fifty people acting behind the scenes, driving them to insanity; they thought that they had fallen into an ambush, and hence their heart was in great confusion. Kou Zhong bent his body at the waist and pounced forward. His left hand unleashed the Cutting-Meridian Technique taught by Tu Shufang, to grab a piercing spear. Applying his power, he sent out a spiraling qi, jolting the enemy off his horse. Whoosh! His right hand swept the saber across the enemys rank. And then using the listening to the wind to differentiate the sound skill, he shed forward to evade an arrow shooting from behind. His movement flowed so smoothly that he himself was extremely pleased. He was not new to the battlefield; on the contrary, he was an old hand, having a deep understanding that in a melee like this, the thing he had to avoid the most was fancy move and empty style, while the most important thing was speed and uracy, by all means, he had to try to kill the enemy in one move. Suddenly a strong gust of wind came from his left side, Kou Zhong recognized it as Ku Ges pair of hatchets. Laughing aloud, he said, Ge Laoxiong, has your beauty slipped away? Has the scabies toad failed to eat the swans flesh? Such a profound sentence, I wonder if youd understand? Do you want me to exin it in simple terms for you? Although his mouth was spewing his forte, frigid irony and scorching satire, to the greatest extent, his hands were not idle; he met the enemys double hatchets attacking from the horseback. Amidst continuous ringing his saber hacked with full strength, shaking Ku Ges wrists that they went numb, forcing him to have no choice but to pull his horse back to evade. Bang! Kou Zhongs right leg flew up, kicking the foot of another bandit on the stirrup. The violent and ferocious force unexpectedly sent that man up into the air. Kou Zhong added a long-distance punch to it, and the unfortunate man was like being struck by lightning; blood sshed as he was thrown about a zhang away. Such formidable power scared the several other enemies attacking him that they scattered everywhere trying to escape. Xu Ziling also unleashed his divine prowess. His palms opening up and closing in, sending gusts of wind from his palms and fists,bined with exquisite and profound technique that he developed right then and there, just like the opponents sabers, spears, swords and halberds as nothing. When thence attacked, he broke thence, the spear attacked, he broke the spear, as if everything was swept by a gale. Because the hundred or so enemies inside the city gate were being held up by the two boys, while Chen Jiafeng and his men were also sessful in following the battle n by holding up the enemies on the suspension bridge, the enemies were cut into two groups. The group outside could not go in to provide assistance, the group inside could not get out without facing the arrows. The Wolf King Mi Fangs weapon was a wolf-teeth mace, which was the origin of his nickname. He first realized that riding on a horse actually limited his flexibility, hence he made a somersault and flew overhead Xu Ziling, attacking him with a killer move. Like the wind or a thunder bursting forth, the wolf-teeth mace swept down on Xu Zilings head. Xu Ziling stretched out his finger to touch the wolf-teeth mace, sending out a violent spiraling energy. Mi Fang let out a muffled grunt as he was jolted into another somersault, and unexpectedly flew five more zhang upwards. Zhong Shao! Xu Ziling called loudly, This old fellow is yours! Kou Zhong shouted his acknowledgement, while forcing five bandits surrounding him to back off. The Moon in the Well turned into yellow rainbow, and shed at an angle; like an arrow it shot toward Mi Fang, who was still flying in the air. By this time, separating the city gate from the spot where the two boys were being besieged was only a several-dozen-paces-long section of the long street, which was already strewn with seventy, eighty dead and wounded enemies. At least half of those casualties were the handiwork of Wanwans delicate hands, who had already disappeared without a trace. The rest were either hit by the arrows, or were killed by Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. From this, the intensity of the battle could clearly be seen. Under the illumination of the raging me, the long street seemed to be the underworld of the Asura [malevolent spirits in Indian mythology]. Seeing the far-from-good situation of his side, Ku Ge called out loudly, Mi Gong, be careful! He was about to leap high to intercept, Xu Ziling already darted from an angle and delivered a punch. Ku Ges mind was thrown into great disorder. For the first time he had a feeling that in this jumbled battle, his side has been defeated into a total mess. Book 19 - 13 – A Heavy Load And a Long Road Book 19 Chapter 13 C A Heavy Load And a Long Road[1] Qiang! A clear ring shook the entire battleground. Kou Zhong and his saber became one entity, which interlocked with Mi Fang, who was struggling to defend himself while flying in the air. Like a kite with cut string thetter flew sideways, and Bang! it crashed into the boarded up wooden door of a nearby shop, and fell inside the shop, but his feet were dangling outside the hole, giving the impression that most probably he was no longer alive. Peng! At the exact same moment, Ku Ges hatchets collided with Xu Zilings punch, jolting him off the horses back. Xu Ziling somersaulted onto the horseback. Reaching backhandedly at a spear stabbing his back, he snatched the spear and turned it into millions of spear shadows, attacking Ku Ge, who was just springing up from the ground. Under Xu Zilings attack, sweats were flowing down Ku Ges back. He rolled away to evade. Using the remaining power after killing Mi Fang, Kou Zhong leaped onto a rider-less horse and moved his horse charging to the left and dashing to the right, chopping anybody who happened to be on his way. By this time, the remaining seventy or so bandits in the city already lost their fighting spirit, they flocked toward the city gate, trying to escape. On the other hand, Chen Jiafeng and his mens morale was greatly aroused; releasing rain of arrows, they killed a dozen more enemies. Ku Ge knew he had lost. Hopping onto the back of one of his men, he mingled into the crowd of riders fleeing out of town. By killing as many as two hundred Khitan horse-mounted bandits, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings fame for fighting prowess spread to the four winds, shaking thend under the heavens. The next morning, Chen Jiafeng and the others were holding them in the same regard as they would a deity; they waited upon the two boys with full attention. When the two were eating their breakfast at the same restaurant they ate the previous day, Chen Jiafeng came toward the two boys table and spoke respectfully, Subordinate already spread the word, calling all Xiongdi of our gang from all over the ce toe here to return to their duty. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, You are not my subordinate, why would you do that? Chen Jiafeng smiled apologetically and said, We have had internal discussion! Hereafter we are going to follow two Daye in charging into the world. As for summoning our brothers toe here, it is for dealing with Yuwen Huaji. He is not the same as the horse-mounted bandits ofst night; he wont be that easy to deal with. Not knowing whether tough or cry, Kou Zhong said, It does not matter how many people you are summoning, we will still be defeated without any chance of victory. Dealing with Yuwen Huaji is our job. If you want to express your gratitude to us, just monitor closely for any activity on Yuwen Huajis side, and when you have any news, report to us immediately. Chen Jiafeng had no choice but to leave with his countenance sinking. Kou Zhong sighed. Are we going to really wait in here doing nothing? he asked, Jiangdus situation is certainly very urgent, otherwise, there is no reason for Li Zitong not to grab a strategic city like Liangdu. Suddenly he noticed that Xu Ziling was staring nkly at the street outside the door. Quickly turning around, Kou Zhong saw several mule carts and horse-drawn carriages, carrying loads and loads of men, women, young and old, were passing through. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb. My Niang! he eximed, What are they doing back here? Dusk, the next day. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were standing on the city wall, above the city gate, watching, with nk expression, the endless stream of carts and horses, along with trailing men and women, the town residents flocking back into the city along the main street. At the dock, the number of boats has also increased, from about a dozen, to more than a hundred. In just two short days, the city of Liangdu, which had be a ghost town, has returned to life. Chen Jiafengs brothers have also increased, from about fifty men to more than five hundred. On their own initiative, they took the responsibility of maintaining order in the city. His head spun, Xu Ziling said, Chengshou Daren [officer guarding the city], what do we do now? Kou Zhong sighed and replied, You asked me, whom should I ask? You ought to tell me how to be a proper Chengzhu [lit. master of the city]. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Dont you always want to contend for hegemony over the world? Just consider this as a practice. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, I still have lingering fears from the battle of Jingling that day. At that time at least we had a group of well-trained troops guarding the city. But now we have nothing but the mob from Peng Liang Hui. Killing a group of horse-mounted bandits is still possible, but guarding the city? It would be no different than sending them to their death. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, In that case, why dont we try how to train the troops? These past couple of days, didnt you diligently studying Mr. Lus military strategy and tactics book? This ought to be the moment to apply what you are studying. You are kidding, right? Kou Zhong cried out involuntarily. Xu Ziling pointed to several boys riding on a mule cart entering the city; he said, Look at their little faces! Although they are unbearably tired from the journey, their faces are brimming with longing and anticipation. Who would want to leave the city they are used to and the homnd they had put down their roots? As long as there is a sliver of hope, they would immediately rush back. We have acted before thinking, and happened to give them that sliver of hope. Do you have the heart to force them to leave again? Aghast, Kou Zhong said, It was just a misunderstanding; I dont know which lunatic spread the rumor everywhere that they all came back. Xu Ziling reached out to grab Kou Zhongs shoulder; he said, Nothing is a big deal anymore. Even Li Mi is not your match; just consider Yuwen Huagu a bit more experienced. You have aspiration to unify the world anyway, why not starting from Liangdu? With pained expression, Kou Zhong said, Liang Du is just a lone city. Itcks food supplies and short of water; in fact everything is deficient. It would be hard to defend even for half a day, the best move is still to flee for our lives. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Dont exaggerate; this is called you shrink back as the time for battle approaches. Have you forgotten Pengcheng? With Peng Liang Hui people helping you, governing these two cities is as easy as a hands turn. How many men can Yuwen Huagu bring to attack us? Pull yourself together! You and I have be the entire city of Liangdus only hope. How can Twin-dragon of Yangzhou let Yuwen Huague here wantonly? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Now it looks like the one who wants to contend over the world is you instead of me, ay! Ill apany you be the hero this time! I just hope we wont be buried with this city. Horses hooves stepped onto the suspension bridge that has just lowered down, creating a rumbling noise like thunder rolls. More than a dozen riders, under Kou Zhongs leadership, were galloping into the city, leaving a cloud of dust, which rose to half of the sky, on the road outside the city. Xu Ziling met the dusty Kou Zhong at the city gate, and then rode side-by-side with him toward the Zongguan [chief manager] Mansion at the heart of the city. With grave expression Kou Zhong said, Yuwen Huagu is indeed leading his troops personally heading this way. ording to our spy, he is already aware that the two of us are in charge of the general situation over here. He is boasting to his subordinates that he is going to pull our dead bodies into pieces with five horses as a sacrifice to his banner. Xu Zilings eyes shot fiery hatred;ughing coldly, he asked, How many troops and horses does he have? Kou Zhong nonchntly replied, Ought to be fifteen to twenty thousands, with Yuwen Zhiji and Yuwen Wudi as deputymanders. Using the observing-the-dust technique taught by Linglong Jiao, only Yuwen Huagus five thousand personal troops are trained elite troops, the rest are new troops who were recruited not too long ago. And then he asked in low voice, Is there any new development these past couple of days? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, There is an old friend waiting for you at the Zongguan Mansion. With her here, the situation is a bit clearer. As Kou Zhong was stepping into the main hall of the Zongguan Mansion, the Peng Liang Huis Third Chief The Amorous Lady Ren Meimei, who was as graceful as ever, met him with smile on her face. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Its great that San Dangjia have arrived! This residence can be handed over back to you. Displeased, Ren Meimei said, How could it be that easy? Were it not for the two of you in charge here, this Miss had no interesting here. Standing on the side, Chen Jiafeng smiled apologetically and said, Lets sit down first! Lets sit down first! After they were seated, Xu Ziling said, San Dangjia had just arrived this morning, and she brought several hundreds Xiongdi with her, so now our force is three thousand men strong. Ren Meimei shook her head and said, Please dont call me San Dangjia. Peng Liang Hui is no more; now we are looking up to you! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in surprise. The former said, Where did your honorable Societys Mr. Nie go? Ren Meimeis countenance turned dark, she said, At the battle of Liangdu, Da Dangjia [first chief] was injured by Yuwen Huaji, and have not recovered when recently the battle with Ku Ge broke. New injury and old misfortune intersect, his wound red out, about ten days ago he passed away despite having received medical help. Therefore, Peng Liang Hui is already finished. There is still you, San Dangjia! Kou Zhong said. Smiling ruefully, Ren Meimei said, You know how much weight I carry; I am not even able to take revenge and wipe out a grudge for our Xiongdi who had lost their lives. Right now who does not know Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings great names? Hows the situation at Pengcheng? Kou Zhong asked. Ren Meimei replied, Pengcheng was defeated by Khitan evil thieves that the wall crumbled the roof failed; without a few years of effort, dont even think it would recover its strength. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, This is bad! I was thinking of repeating Li Mis strategy in defeating Yuwen Huagu: by dividing our military power evenly between the two cities. Whichever city he attacked, the other city would drag his rear leg. But if Pengcheng has be a destroyed city, this strategy wont work. Ren Meimei said, Didnt you have glorious military sess by painstakingly defending Jingling for more than ten days? Although currently Liangdu is weak, the morale is high. With tens of thousands of people all of one mind, considering Yuwen Huajis strength is far below Du Fuweis strength that time, plus their morale is low, we are not without any chance of victory at all. Dejected, Kou Zhong said, When Xu Yuangs men left, they took along all rations and fodder in the storage and granary. If our supply line is cut off, our provision can only support us for three days. On that, I have the solution, Ren Meimei said, Between Pengcheng and Liangdu, our Peng Liang Hui has several towns and viges where we stockpile enormous amount of provisions. If we transport them all into the city, we can make itst at least a month, maybe more. The two boys spirit was greatly aroused. Chen Jiafeng joined in, Please excuse your subordinate to speak: on the subject of the terrain of the nearby mountains and rivers, no one is more familiar than we. I was wondering if we could select several strategic locations to ambush the enemys forces invading our territory. If we could burn Yuwen Huajis army provision, our chance of victory will be greatly increased. Kou Zhong said, Yuwen Huagu is a battle veteran, he has full knowledge of the art of war; it cant be that easy for us to ambush him and burn his provision. We have to think of something else to deal with him. Smiling, Xu Ziling said, We might have our knight in shining armor [orig. saving star]. Stunned, the other three looked at him. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, The reason Yuwen Huagu is dying to capture Liangdu is naturally because he knew Dou Jiande is not to be trifled with. Therefore, he took advantage of the golden opportunity bestowed by heaven, while Dou Jiande and Xu Yuang are fighting with each other, he wanted to take Liangdu at a stroke, and then going downstream along the Canal to attack Jiangdu. Therefore, the person most concerned with Liangdus safety ought to be Li Zitong. If we bend our finger to call him here, I guarantee he will deploy his men to provide support for us. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, Wonderful n! Li Zitong cant be afraid of us. With Liangdu in our hands, it will only bring benefit to him without any harm. So then we can paint by holding two brushes [fig. to work on two tasks at the same time]: while strengthening city defense, transporting provisions and drill the troops, we can also send someone to Jiangdu, to persuade Li Zitong to send troops here. But whom should we send? Ren Meimei said, The two of you cannot leave Liangdu, whereas our Peng Liang Hui has always had somewhat friendly rtionship with Li Zitong, so let me be the lobbyist! Kou Zhong pped Xu Zilings shoulder hard, and said, Your brain is indeed very quick. His mother! Finally we are going to have a showdown against Yuwen Huagu, so that he coulde but he could never leave. An unprecedented thick and deep murderous intent shed through Xu Zilings eyes, while a sliver of as-cold-as-ice-and-frost smile escaped from the corner of his lips. The time has finallye to settle the blood debt. [1] Chapter title C from the dictionary: fig. to bear heavy responsibilities through a long struggle (cf Confucian Analects, 8.7) Book 20 - 1 – Besieging A City Is A Must In War Book 20 Chapter 1 C Besieging A City Is A Must In War All Liangdu residents, men, women, young and old, were mobilized in their struggle to defend their hometown. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were now world famous heroes; not only they had glorious military sesses, they were also invincible, and because they came from the marketce, they won the heart of the people, even more so than those Sui dynastys old minister or veteran generals who came from honorable school or big ns, or ambitious and ruthless characters who started out by relying on the dark road. Therefore, one after another wulin characters and ambitious able-bodied men from the surrounding area came to realign their allegiance to the two boys. Albeit unintentionally, in his road to contend for hegemony, this was the first time that Kou Zhong publicly amassed volunteers for the uprising, just like it suddenly happened in this ce. In any other cases, Xu Ziling could not possibly be drawn directly into Kou Zhongs private business to conquer the world. But this time, because of his benevolence in bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of the citizens of this city, plus it was for the sake of dealing with Yuwen Huaji, unexpectedly he had spun a cocoon around himself [idiom: enmeshed in a trap of his own devising]; in the end he had no choice but to take the heavy responsibility of training and organizing the troops into squads of five soldiers upon himself. On one hand, Kou Zhongs skill was derived from the heavenly book passed down from Lu Miaozi. On the other hand, he imitated the administrative structure of Liangdus entire governance; he tried to stretch the limited resources avable to him as far as possible, to make the best possible use of whatever he currently had. Yuwen Huajis force from the south was about twenty thousand men strong, but it was moving so slowly, because along the way they had to loot army provisions and recruited able-bodied men by force; it was just like a gue of locusts turning cities into disaster areas, forcing the people along their route to flee toward Liangdu, making Kou Zhongs burden more than a hundred catties heavier. This day, after much difficulty, the two boys were finally able to meet at a side hall of Fusheng Restaurant, located on the north and south main street connecting the north and south city gates, well into the afternoon, to discuss attack and defense military matters. The other guests of the restaurant were all used to see these two boys, since they both were amiable and approachable, they did not like to hide inside the Zongguan Mansion, but loved to enjoy big bowl of wine and big piece of meat together with the locals, sprinkling their speech with one or two vulgarnguage such as his mother and the like. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Currently fourteen cities and towns, more than two hundred viges in the vicinity of Liangdu have all surrendered to us, and it has enabled us to obtain some extra rations and fodder, and rx the hardship ofck of food supplies somewhat. Knitted his brows, Xu Ziling said, Previously, where did Liangdus provisionse from? Kou Zhong replied, It was from these township and viges. Its just that those hateful Khitan dog thieves killed and burned everywhere, driving the farnds to be abandoned, and could not supply provisions as they always did. Do you want to buy provisions? Upstream Wang Shichong is waging war against Li Mi, downstream Ol Die, inpany with Shen Faxing, is staking it all in fiery confrontation against Li Zitong; water transportation is cut off. Ay! My Ling Shao, who would have thought that we will be in the situation we are in today, unexpectedly we have to worry about firewood and rice for the entire city of nearly a hundred thousand people! Previously you advised me not to contend over the world, you indeed have the foresight. Xu Ziling did not have the mood to evenugh; he asked, So with the current provision level, how many days are we able tost? Kou Zhong said, ording to that fellow, Chen Jiafengs estimate, if that lowly creature Yuwen Huagu is traveling at his current speed, in three days they will arrive to besiege the city and sever all water andnd transport. Even if we tighten our belts, we could onlyst for less than ten days. Xu Zilings countenance changed, he said, Wouldnt it be terrible? With his jackal and wolf nature, Yuwen Huagu will definitely seize the opportunity to loot everywhere he goes, so that he wont have to worry aboutck of food supplies, while we are trapped in a besieged city, starving to death. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Currently we seem to have several thousands of people, but those who can really be sent out to deal with others are no more than twenty, those able to provide their own leather-armor, horse and weapons are only about a thousand; the number of warhorses is even more pathetic, even including old, weary, thin and weak, the total is only about a hundred. People say that elite troops are honored but the dishonorable are many, yet I am afraid those that can be really called elite troops only remain you and I, these two big idiots. This time its not only bad, this is thoroughly bad. Xu Ziling said with determination in his voice, Defending the city is a road that leads to dead end, we might as well make a gamble by ambushing Yuwen Huagu on his way here; its certainly better than waiting for death here. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, The reason Yuwen Huagu is marching this slow, and also abandoning the fast water route but embracing thend route, is precisely to guard against us ambushing him along the way. Therefore, this n is absolutely wont work. Tell me, if you have several thousand men marching to battle in grandiose, do you think we can conceal it from Yuwen ns martial art masters who are acting as intelligence gatherers? Right now all we can do is to see what Li Zitong will do. This moment, Xie Jue, who had the honor of being promoted to be the captain of Kou Zhongs personal guards, came to report, A gentleman who says his name is Xuan Yong is asking to have an audience with two Daye. The two boys were greatly delighted; they quickly asked Xie Jue to show him in. A momentter Xuan Yong, who was covered in windblown dust from head to toe, came in. The three of them met, naturally they chatted freely about what had happened after they parted. Your arrival is so timely, Kou Zhong said. Xuan Yong cheerfully said, You guys using a ghost town and several troubled troops inflicting defeat on Khitans group of horse-mounted bandits, this news has spread widely over several cities in the north. Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, It was only seven, eight days ago; how could the news spread so quickly? Xuan Yong said, Anything that happens in the neighboring area north and south of the waterway will be particrly easy to spread, due to the flourishing water traffic. As soon as I heard that Yuwen Huaji is sending his troops toward Liangdu, I knew the situation cant be good; hence I immediately traveled at double speed to here. Kou Zhong suddenly rose up to his full height, cupped his fist toward all the restaurant guests and said, Gentlemen, fellow countrymen, brothers, Xiaodi has an important matter to discuss; I was wondering if everyone, Dage Dashu [big brothers, big uncles] can finish eating a bit faster and leave? Hearing this, everybody willingly and dly left. By the time Kou Zhong sat down, only the three of them remained in the restaurant, even the proprietor and the waiters all made themselves scarce by going to the kitchen. Xu Ziling asked, Does Xuan Xiong know how bad our situation is? Xuan Yong calmly said, One:ck of food supplies, two: no troops to be used, three: isted and without help. Did I say it wrong? Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, Looking at your appearance, it seems that you can resolve these three problems for us. Come on, dont tease me. Xuan Yong said, Foodstuff is in short supply everywhere, nobody can do anything about it. But these three problems are all because Yuwen Huaji ising. If we can make him rushing back to his old home, all problems can be easily solved [orig. bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge]. Kou Zhongughed and said, Xuan Zongguans remark is very insightful, it makes me immediately think that ultimately, Yuwen Huagu is the only problem. Xuan Yong was stunned, What Xuan Zongguan? [Reminder: zongguan literally means chief manager] he asked. Xu Ziling burst outughing. Kou Zhong said, Naturally the Liangdu, Pengcheng, two cities Da Zongguan. Even if we get rid of Yuwen Huagu, an organization this scale needs someone like Xuan Da Zongguan, with experience to unify the army and defending a city, a figure overflowing with talent, to govern it. Taking advantage while Li Zitong is powerless to go up north, Lin Shihong, Li Mi and the others are too busy to care, I am relying on you to establish a strong, unbreakable garrison here, to sever the north to south route of Central ins strategic pass. Ha! This is an arrangement bestowed by heaven. Xuan Yong stared nkly for half a day. Finally he said, We must ask Miss instructions on this matter. Kou Zhong patted his chest and said, Leave it to me to deal with Da Xiaojies side. Why didnt shee here? Xuan Yong said, We have already received a group of Wagangs officers and soldiers back, their number is over two thousand men. But weck a ce to settle. Miss heard that you took over Liangdu, hence she ordered me to lead them here to take shelter. Presently they are stationed in a forest thirty li north of the city. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, This time we are really saved. While Yuwen Huajis main force continued their approach, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were busy to no end, making good preparation to defend the city. This day, first thing in the morning, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, only the two of them, urged their horses out of town, patrolling the fortification built outside the city, and went up the top of a hill overlooking the in to the north. On their left, Tongji Canal was surging on, but there was no boat in sight. Kou Zhong spoke as if he was reciting, besieging a city is a must in war, because not only a city concerns the overall situation or perhaps being a strategic point of any region, plus it exercise control over the transportation and economic function of a wide expanse of a region. It is the supporting point and the lifeline of the entire war; it is really ... hey ... wait a moment. Xu Ziling looked at him in surprise, only to see Kou Zhong, with lightning speed technique took out Lu Miaozis heavenly book from his pocket, turned to a specific page, and continued reciting, Hey! A city is thus a ce that must be fought over in the School of the Military. A strategic town like Liangdu, anybody who gains control over it will also gain control over the Tongji Canal. Ha! Do I have the style to make a speech like that? Xu Zilingughed involuntarily, You dont need to convince me, I will definitely making an all-out effort to fight Yuwen Huagu to the end. In all seriousness, Kou Zhong said, I was using you for practice; to win over people, you must first substantiate yourself. Reading this section of Lu Miaozis Besieging A City Is A Must In War, for some reason I am always thinking of another city, which might very well be the crucial point whether I will be able to establish stable footing for my troops. Can you guess which city I am thinking about? Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the sun rising on the eastern horizon; he spoke indifferently, Is it Xiangyang? Kou Zhong was visibly shaken, How did you guess? he asked. Whats so difficult to guess? Xu Ziling replied, If you want to advance toward Luoyang and Guanzhong, on the east there are Jiangdu, Liangdu, on the west there are Jingling, Xiangyang. Of thetter two, Xiangyang has the more strategic importance; otherwise Li Mi would not have to personally take the trouble to go see Qian Duguan. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Well said. There is a chapter in Lu Miaozis Terrain Study dealing specifically with the ces that will have to be conquered by the School of Military of the world; Xiangyang is high on the list. What did Mr. Lu say? Xu Ziling asked. As if he was very familiar with the subject [orig. as if enumerating his family valuables], Kou Zhong recited, Xiangyang connects to Bashu [old name for Sichuan] to the west, controls Xiangchu [old name for Hunan and Hubei] to the south, cherishes River Luo to the north; hence every war would inevitably raised their fire beacon, banner and rampart toward this city. During the Three Kingdoms period [220-280 AD], Wei, Shu and Wu, all three sides were working hard for this city, even Guan Yu was injured and died in this ce. After that, the Western Jin [265-316 AD] cut down Wu, the Eastern Jins [317-420 AD] Huan Wen [312-373 AD] went on northern military campaign; all of these used Xiangyang as their base of operations. Therefore, Mr. Lus conclusion was the reason Six Dynasties [220-589 AD] were able to defend the left of the River was that they really depended on strong soldiers, powerful garrisons between Huainan and Jingxiang. Xu Ziling could not help thinking Zhu Yuyans praise on Lu Miaozi, his talent able to move unhindered. His treatise on Xiangyang was definitely outstanding and insightful. Xiangyang, although not a big city like Luoyang or any capital cities, but because it was located in the middle stretches of the Han River, which was the road hub connecting Hubei, Henan, Sichuan and Shaanxi, four provinces. If one is thinking of going down south from the Central ins, or perhaps from Guanzhong entering the Jianghan ins, one cannot but take Xiangyang first. Kou Zhongs ambition to get Xiangyang was actually his deepest intention to pursue the deer [fig. to vie for supremacy] in the decisive battle against Li Shimin in the future. Even if Li Shimin wanted to attack Luoyang, he still had to pass through this crucial point, Xiangyang. Both Xiangyang and Liangdu were not a political or economic center, but it concerned the sess or failure of the overall strategy. Xu Ziling said, If you want to obtain Xiangyang, you must snatch Jingling first, and it may not be easy. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, The most interesting aspect of this game is its high degree of difficulty. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly you regard killing people, filling the ins with dead bodies, miserable and ruthless battle in attacking and defending cities as a game? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Dont talk to me with stiff face and righteous words like that. Just consider me begging you! As far as Im concerned, life is nothing more than a game. My responsibility is to attempt to make this game more meaningful and fun. This is purely from a detached point of view. Just like Shi Feixuan thinks that everything in the world is illusory and without any eternal significance. After a short pause, he continued excitedly, Ling Shao, just think: on our Central ins vast territory, there are countless cities,rge and small. With different geographical situation, they all have different importance and meaning, not unlike the checked pattern on the chessboard, with each person, each army as a chess piece. If you look at it like this, dont you think battlefield is just like a game? All military campaigns therefore center on, and start in, breaking a city and defending a city. Xu Ziling pondered quietly for half a day; finally he nodded and said, Your view of vying over the world is really much deeper than before. Kou Zhong turned his head to look at Liangdu at the distance; exhaling slowly, he said, I have lost Jingling, I cant afford to lose Liangdu as well! If our provision is adequate, we could fortify defenses and raze the fields, trying to hold up the enemy outside the city as long as possible, until their provision ran out and they had to withdraw the troops, and then wipe them out at a stroke. But now, of course, we cannot use this tactic; hence we can only employ a stratagem, use unusual tactic, by exploiting Yuwen Huagus weak point of not daring to prolong the battle, and ruthlessly frustrating him. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Right now everybody knew about food shortage in Liangdu. Yuwen Huagu deliberately marching slowly, his objective is to drive the citizens of the area along his route toward Liangdu, to drive us into a deeper frustration ofck of food supplies. He does not even have an eight-day, ten-day patience. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, You are right! Therefore, the first tactic is to use deceive. Not only we want to deceive Yuwen Huagu, we also need to deceive the troops and citizens of the entire city. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, Since we are going to use deceive anyway, we might as well pretend that not only Li Zitong is willing to loan provisions, he is also willing to loan his troops, and both will arrive in several days. If the news reached Yuwen Huagus ears, I guarantee he will speed up his advancing troops, and will do everything he can to besiege the city with the fiercest way possible, and then we will be able take advantage of this scheme. mping his legs on his horses belly, he whipped the horse and said, We must send someone to intercept Ren Meimei, who could be back from the north any moment; if we want to tell lies, she must be in it too! By dusk that day, Ren Meimeis boat docked at Liangdu; with the boat she brought along more than a dozen carts of army provisions. Reportedly, it was the first batch of foodstuff Li Zitong ever loaned after he formed the alliance. Along the way to the storehouse at the Zongguan Mansion, one of the carts identally overturned, spilling out its cargo of rice and wheat. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys, personally met them at the city gate, and then riding left and right, they escorted this minister who has given outstanding service entering the city. The citizens of the city lined the street to cheer, so much so that some even knelt down and burned incense to worship, while calling out long live! [orig. wanshui, ten thousand years]. Passing the high all of the Zongguan Mansion, Ren Meimeis flowery smiling face immediately became wooden and cold; gnashing her teeth in anger she cursed, That dog Li Zitong really deserves to be wiped out by Du Fuwei. Not only he refused to lend a helping hand, he also threw stones at people who fell down a well. He cut off the lower reaches of the waterway; his speech was even more unbearable. He is really infuriating! Kou Zhongughed and said, Ren Dajie [big/elder sister], there is no need to bicker with this kind of lowly man. Just wait until were done taking care of Yuwen Huaji, well take a good look at him. Turning to Xu Ziling, he asked, Did the show with the transporting provisions just now look real enough? Fully satisfied, Xu Ziling said, Were it not for I knew the inside story, I would have been deceived. The three sat down in the main hall. Ren Meimeis anger has not dissipated, she cursed, That dog not only showed excessive arrogance, he forced me to wait for three days for nothing, and in the end he only sent a court eunuch to tell me that he did not have time to see me, unless I waited ten more days. Tell me, how irritating is that? Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Didnt Ren Dajie say that his speech was unbearable? If you didnt even see him, how could you hear what he said? Puffing out her sweet cheeks, Ren Meimei said, Although I did not see him, but the eunuch passed his message to me, telling me that if I wanted to rest a little bit, he might summon me within five days into the pce to apany him. Murderous aura shed through Kou Zhongs eyes, but his expression was surprisingly calm; he nodded and spoke slowly, Li Zitong is deliberately humiliating us. Very well! Since he wants to throw stones at ones who fell down a well, dont me me for not showing any mercy to him. Xu Ziling was silent. And then Ren Meimei reported Jiangdus situation, Currently Du Fuwei is stationing his troops east of Danyang, only about twenty li from Jiangdu, in ord with Shen Faxings son, Shen Luns main force, which is stationed north of the adjoining hill. They haveunched three ferocious attacks in session against Jiangdu city walls, both sides suffered heavy casualties, with Li Zitongs side slightly losing. The adjoining hill originally belonged to Li Zitong, and was taken by Shen Lun only in thest month or so, so that Li Zitong lost control over all counties south of Jiangdu. Kou Zhong asked, So what bargaining chip is left for Li Zitong? How could he dare to look down on us like that? Ren Meimei replied, Nothing more than a dozen or so county towns due north of Jiangdu. Among these, the most important are Donghai County overlooking the East China Sea on the northeast, and Zhongli County on the Huai River. The former is that dogs native ce and rear defense base, thetter is the pivot point of his route ind. Any one of these two fell, it would be a fatal blow to him. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I thought he had no loophole we could exploit, impervious to sword and spear? Turns out there are so many ws and weak points; a bitter, I will look for him to settle the ount. This time I have troubled Ren Dajie! Please go inside and take a good rest. After Ren Meimei left, with a deep frown of his brows, Kou Zhong said, Isnt it a bit strange? I thought because of our rtionship with Song Jingang, plus we are helping him to deal with Yuwen Huaji, that fellow Li Zitong would weep grateful tears, who would have thought that he could treat our envoy like that? Xu Ziling said, What else would give him more benefit than Yuwen Huagu and us fight each other until both sides suffer? If that happens, he would only need to send several thousand officers and soldiers, and Liangdu will fall into his hands. Kou Zhong appeared to be deep in thought. It was quite a whileter that he said, In my opinion, the situation is not that simple. Right now his most pressing business is to break Jiangdus siege; therefore, any military operation will have that military objective. Just think, supposing after a hard battle Yuwen Huagu finally win over Liangdu, what would be the benefit for him? Xu Ziling was visibly moved; he said, I get it. He wanted to move the troops that are originally stationed in various cities north of Jiangdu to Jiangdu, and use them to deal with Ol Die and Shen Luns coalition forces; but because of Dou Jiande and Yuwen Huagus threat, he is practically powerless to expand his territory. At that time, as long as he could beat back Ol Die and Shen Luns army, he then could go up north along the River, and snatch Liangdu from Yuwen Huagus hands. Revealing a smile, Kou Zhong nodded and said, Must be so; hence he is hoping that Yuwen Huagu and us will fight until both sides suffer; the worse our condition the better it is for him! Isnt this called poor but with great ambitions? Or perhaps before the poor heart is exhausted, the greedy heart arises? Xu Zilingughed and said, Are you not like that? Kou Zhong suddenly stood up; upright and unafraid, he said, How could I be like that? Victory hase into my hands. Right now what I need is to sharpen the Moon in the Well, to chop Yuwen Huagus dog head, and offer it as a sacrifice in front of Niangs grave. All these years, arent we waiting for precisely this day? Book 20 - 2 – Chatting and Joking About Troop Deployment Book 20 Chapter 2 C Chatting and Joking About Troop Deployment Sure enough, just like the two boys expected, as soon as the fake news about alliance with Li Zitong and the borrowed provisions spread out, Yuwen Huajis twenty-thousand-man main force immediately advanced at full speed toward Liangdus northern city gate, so that its vanguard arrived within two days, and immediately built rampart, dug moat, setup camp, and constructed outposts at the front line. From the peak of a tall tree, about three zhang high, on top of a hill some distance away, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked down at the inly visible enemy situation. Kou Zhong said, Stopping is to build a camp, moving is to form troop disposition. This army camp has water source, which is also a risk to defend, to attain good grip over the enemy and selfs solid objective. It can clearly be seen that our opponent this time are big and small officers under Yuwen Huagusmand with enough battle experience; absolutely must not be underestimated. Hearing that, Xu Ziling nodded his head in praise. On the surface, Kou Zhong seemed to be a careless person [orig. thick stems and broad leaves], giving out the impression as one who was easily pleased that he loses his sense of measure. However, he was actually cool-headed, prudent and cautious; he would not make the mistake of offending his superior or underestimating the enemy. To pitch a camp, the most important thing is the location. Currently the enemy setup their fort on a high ce, on the slope of a hill, facing a tnd neighboring a forest. In term of defense, this camp was strictly ording to the rules, which was another proof that they were not a mob. Kou Zhong did not dare to take this issue lightly, which was precisely the fundamental prerequisite to be an outstandingmander. What does Mr. Lus secret book say about this situation? Xu Ziling casually asked. Kou Zhong replied, The important thing in setting up a stronghold is peaceful camp, restful men and beasts, cautious defense, strict camp gate, facility to treat ill soldiers, device to check the army, adequate fire rm, preparation against disturbance and cmity, clearmunication of duties, cherishing the water source and grass, dusk to dawn bugle calls, lighting arrangement, protection against rain and darkness, night security, checking the visitors, avoid water attack, and so on. Is that enough? Listening to him casually reciting so many important aspects in setting up the camp, Xu Ziling said in surprise, You have quite an understanding of what you read. Proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, This is called achievement of diligence, also called cramming too hard just before the battle. But if you look at it, dont you feel that in term of location, although this camp is solid, but it is far. If they are going to transport besieging equipment from here to the city wall, before they even arrive, they would have tire the mules and the horses half dead; it is not practical at all. While making a careful observation around, Xu Zilingughed and said, You, this kid, are starting to acquire a little skill! Yuwen n deployed their men and generals, they setup their camp like this must be for his mothers reason; is it possible that its principal usage is for storing provisions and treating injured soldiers? In addition, this is more their rear area, with the main purpose is to provide support to the frontlinebat camp. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, Great minds think alike. It could be said that this provision station is the foundation of Yuwen Huagus main forces going south this time. But since it is far behind the frontline, they wont have to worry that we might get out of the city to attack it. Therefore, the defense will inevitably rather weak. If we coordinate with Xuan Yongs ambushing troops to attack his mother that they are caught unprepared, we would already have half of the victory in our bag. Ha! This battle does not seem to be that difficult. Focusing his power to his eyes, Xu Ziling looked at the situation of the enemys camp, and spoke heavily, You seem to think too easily. This camp has the mountain behind it as the natural defense, outside there are moats all around, inside there are barriers. If they also had some pits with sharp bamboo, caltrops, and the likes as defensive measures, plus the rampart has earthen wall, equipped with strong crossbow, and then they also arrange sentries all around, widespread rm system, plus Yuwen Guans numerous martial art masters, do you think that as soon as you say you are going to attack you will be able to attack? Kou Zhongughed and said, You seem to forget that what Mr. Lu, the Senior, was most formidable in was not the art of war, but in the design and manufacture of exquisite equipment. In his book he listed in details more than a dozen kinds of different method to break a stronghold, saying that breaking a fort is just like breaking a city. Breaking a city needs clouddders, battering rams, and crashing vehicles. Breaking a stronghold also needs vehicles. As long as we can open one or two gaps, and the enemy troops are not too strong, then breaking a fort should be as easy as a hands turn. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, And where can we get the vehicles from? Kou Zhong replied, From refitting the existing vehicles. Xuan Yong is in charge of this. Xiaodi has mastered Lu Miaozis handed-down techniques; at least its like half of Sun Wu [Sun Tzu] came back to life. Yuwen Huagu is dropping by like this, if I didnt lead away a goat in passing [to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain] by stealing his provisions, stealing his horses, angering him until he vomits blood, how could I live for Niang? Dont worry! I understand your filial piety! Hearing that, Xu Ziling did not know whether he shouldugh or cry, while at the same time he was secretly anxious for Kou Zhongs enemies. Kou Zhong was a genius in military tactics and strategies; during the various battles earlier, he had used unusual methods, and now he even understood battle machines, designed by Lu Miaozi, that can be used to deal with all kinds of situation, inside out [orig. ripe as a melon that rolls from its vine]. Once he managed to assemble a group of well-trained elite warriors, who in the world would be able to resist this military power? Perhaps even Li Shimin would have to suffer defeat. Currently, what hecked was precisely this group of elite force, and the Duke Yangs Treasure. But the top priority right now, Kou Zhong continued, is not to break the stronghold, but to steal arrows. You ought to know that our supply of arrows in the city willst less than half a sichen. And when that happens, we could only rely on boiling oil, boiling water, and rocks; which would notst too long either. Xu Ziling was stunned, How do we steal arrows? he asked. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Not stealing, but re-enacting Kong Mings [Zhuge Liang] borrowing arrows skill. We send them fake arrows, they shoot us real arrows. Wont it be so profitable? Pointing to the Tongji Canal flowing on his left, he said, Our spies reported back that Yuwen Huagus main force will arrive tonight. I already sent men to hide more than a hundred fast boats full of dummies tied onto them in the forest on the opposite bank. By the time his troops arrive, wellunch the fast boats into the river, and sail downstream. Each boat will only have three men in it; one man to steer the boat, two men to release bamboo arrows, while at the same time well dispatch troops to feign an attack. In his distress, Yuwen Huagu will have no choice but to send some arrows for us to use. Just consider it the appetizer before the main course is served. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Now even I am a bit confident that you might win this battle. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys, on their horseback, stood side-by-side on top of a small slope, gazing into the distance, at the spectacr scene of millions of dots of torches snaking their way along the prairie right next to Tongji Canal. Kou Zhongughed quietly and said, I was right in saying that in order to reduce the possibility of being attacked, Yuwen Huagu would travel along the river; who would have thought that he is doing exactly what I was thinking? Xu Ziling looked up at the moonless and starless night sky; he said, Your fake alliance and fake provisions tactic has worked, otherwise Yuwen Huaji cant possibly urge his troops to travel even at night, which is giving us the opportunity that we can exploit. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, Its time! Finished speaking, he raised his hand to the sky. A rocket immediately soared and exploded into zing fireworks high in the sky, brightening the murky, cloud-covered night sky. Instantly battle cry rose up from the direction of Liangdu, followed by dots of torches casting their light on the enemy. It appeared to be an awe-inspiring disy of military prowess. But the fact was that each person was holding two torches, without holding any weapon or wearing any armor, plus a whole bunch of ordinary citizens holding short bows and fake arrowsing out to put up a show. At first nce, it appeared that nearly ten thousand men came out of the nearby hill and forest north of Lingdu tounch a surprise attack toward the enemies invading their territory. Riding behind Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were nearly two hundred riders, consisted of Peng Liang Hui men whose horsemanship and martial art skill were the best, exhausting all the horses within the city of Liangdu, forming the only cavalry they had. Far away ahead, the enemys torches near the tail of the line were starting to turn chaotic, but the front and the middle of the line were still in order. Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and said with augh, This move was not taught by Linglong Jiao; it is called observing the torches method. Evidently this second batch of Yuwen Armys 5,000 men consisted of new and old troops, good and bad intermingled; the tail must be new recruits. Well give them a sudden and violent attack to clip their tail first; I guarantee well upy the advantageous position. The long fiery dragon of the torches separated and stopped; apparently the enemy was putting up battle array to deal with the enemy. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling mped their horses belly, and led the 237 riders along the predetermined route through the jungle, across the prairie, charging toward the enemys rear. Bang! Another rocket burst open in the sky with a loud noise. Battle cry sprang up everywhere from the direction of the river and canal, more than a hundred light boats and speedboats filled with dummies rushed downstream, several hundred fiery arrows, made of bamboo with cloth dipped in oil wrapped around its tip, streaked across the empty air of the river bank, toward the enemy marching in the direction of Liangdu. All the real fighters on the boats were hiding behind wooden board to block the arrows, letting the dummies dressed in soldier uniform to take the arrows. The long grass of the forest and prairie along the bank started to catch fire, so that the enemy believed they were caught between two fires; immediately they were thrown into confusion. Especially the rear of the line. Kou Zhong shouted his order; pulling a shield with his left hand, he urged his horse to charge at full speed toward the enemys rear. The two boys switched to using long spears, long-reaching weapons which were beneficial to be used in battle on horseback, fighting at the head of the troops, passing through the sparse forest, blocking a dozen or so arrows that were asionally shot toward them, breaking into the enemy ranks. The riverbank was full of individual torches running away for their lives, while the water was full of light boats, continuously increasing the intensity of the light; certainly it appeared as a terrifying momentum. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings two spears were like a pair of dragonsing out of the sea, stabbing, shing, sweeping and striking; everywhere they went, one after another the enemies fell to the ground. This particr unit of Yuwen Huajis army was exclusively made of infantry; their responsibility was to transport army provisions and other supplies using covered military wagons. They had been shocked and scared by the false bravado of the earlier pincer attack from front and rear, and now that they saw the enemys cavalry charging in with imposing manner like a rainbow, and they had guessed correctly that the leaders were Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, whose names shook the heavens, momentarily their soul flew away, and could never think that the enemy was only a little more than two hundred men. Unexpectedly they dispersed with a fight, and fled to all directions. Everybody was greatly delighted. Under Kou Zhongs direction, some pursued the enemy, while others burned the carts. Amidst the thundering hoof beats, several hundred enemy riders were charging along the riverbank. With his sharp eyes, Kou Zhong saw that the leader was their old acquaintance, Yuwen Wudi [see Book 4, Chapter 5]. Laughing aloud, he said, Wudi Xiong, I trust you have been well since west met; Xiongdi [I, your brother] has to leave! Leading his men, he hurriedly galloped back into Liangdu. This battle not only let them borrow several tens of thousands of arrows, they also managed to burn arge quantities of the enemys siege equipment and army provisions. The most important result was that it greatly aroused the morale of troops and citizens of the city, and greatly increasing their confidence in the two boys. The loss to their side was minimal, while the enemy suffered heavy casualties. Even the two boys did not expect such a splendid military victory. When they entered the city, Ren Meimei-led soldiers and civilians were lining the street, their cheer shook the entire city, as they made a pledge to go through honor and disgrace, and life and death, together with the two boys. As for the Yuwen Army, who was returning back to the north that very same day, killing and looting along the way, nobody did not gnash their teeth in anger. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood on top of the northern city wall, looking into the distance at the Yuwen Armys camp being built about a li outside the city. Xu Ziling said indifferently, Yuwen Huagu will need at least two more days to set up camp on four sides of the city andplete their besieging potential. These two days are enough for us to aplish a lot of things. Kou Zhong smiled and said, The most important thing is still robbing their army provisions. Last night we burned arge amount of Yuwen Wudis vanguard armys provisions, he must replenish his supply from the rear camp. This will be the good opportunity for our light cavalry tounch a surprise attack to snatch their provisions. And then he sighed and said, If I had a team of elite troops like Li kids ck-Armored Elite Cavalry, that would be 100% ideal. Xu Zilings spirit was moved, he said, Do you remember in the early days in Yangzhou we saw Sui Dynastys cavalry in full battle attire and heavy armor? Even their horses appeared imprable by des and arrows. What a formidable air! But howe they were unmasked, beaten and fled at the mere sight of the enemy, were utterly defeated by poorly equipped militiascking of armor, weaponry and warhorses? Kou Zhong mumbled his response, That must be because they lost the peoples support, their morale went down the hill! Xu Ziling said, That was indeed the main reason; but it also proves that full-armored and heavily-equipped cavalry is outdated long ago. For example, if the troops under yourmand were such a heavy cavalry, how could you rush in time toward the rear of the enemys line and cut off their supply? Now is the rise ofrge number of field infantry,bined with cavalry donning light armor for sudden and violent attack. This kind of tactic is the most flexible, and Li kid is the expert in using this kind of equipment andbat style. Kou Zhong said, I dont know if this has something to do with my character, but I always love thebat style where we rely mainly on light cavalry; because cavalry can turn into infantry at any time, whereas infantry cannot turn into cavalry. In term of agility, it is also a tad more superior. Xu Zilingughed and said, You cannot forget the sweet taste of victory at the battle of Yanshi! But what you said is not without any reason. Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs and said, Can you guess, after I put Yuwen Huagu in order, what is it that I am eager to do? Xu Ziling shook his head, indicating he had no idea. Kou Zhongs pair of tiger eyes shot expectant expression; he said, I will think of a way to gather a group of cksmith and artisans, day and night incessantly manufacture the siege equipment that Lu Miaozi designed, and use them to recapture Jingling. With Jingling in my hands, Xiangyang will be within my grasp. Before Xu Ziling had time to respond, Ren Meimei, taking a thirty-something man, slim, covered in dust from head to toe, came to the two boys presence and said, This is our Ren Halls Xiangzhu, Luo Qifei, known as the Devils Shadow. He has been following the trail of Yuwen Huajis main forces, spying on the enemys real situation along the way, so it is only now that he arrived here. The two boys looked over. Although this man had nothing special to look at C he looked like a typical local peasant, but his hands and feet were especially long, his eyes full of spirit; evidently he was a man whose brains and skill were extremely nimble and quick. Kou Zhong asked, Has Yuwen Armys main force arrive? Luo Qifei saluted respectfully, and then replied, They should be arriving around nightfall. The entire army numbers thirteen thousand men, under Yuwen Huaji and Yuwen Zhiji, two mensmand, divided into center army, left and right Yu and Hou, and rear army, four units in total. Among those, three thousand are archers, both regr bows and crossbows, one thousand men are cavalry, and the rest are infantry. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both emotionally moved, not because of the size of Yuwen Army, but because of this mans confidence in the way he talked, and the meticulous, down to the smallest detail, intelligence. Luo Qifei continued, Apparently due to the disastrous defeat against Li Mi, the cavalry of Yuwen Army are using long bow, instead of bow decorated with animal horns [orig. corner bow (ǹ)], so they can be easily identified. The two boys looked at each other with nk expression on their faces. Ren Meimei said, Qifei used to be Sui general, his specific duty in the army was equipment management, hence he is very knowledgeable in this area. Luo Qifei exined, Long bows are intended to be used by the infantry; most are made of mulberry tree branches. Cavalry ought to useposite bow made from horn, wood, and sinewminated together [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_bow],paratively smaller than longbow, very convenient to be used on horseback. Therefore, the Yuwen Army cavalry using longbows must be because they have no choice due to the corner bows shortage. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Such a knowledgeable intelligence gatherer like Luo Xiong must be very rare. Ren Meimeiughed and said, Qifei not only has superior qinggong, he is also a master in the art of disguise. A man like him being a spy, naturally he is more outstanding than anybody. Luo Qifei said, Two Daye must not address Xiaoren as Luo Xiong, you may call me by my name. Later on Qifei will disregard life and death in obeying two Dayes order. Whatever instruction you have for me, just let me know. Xu Ziling asked, In Qifeis opinion, what is Yuwen Armys real strength? Luo Qifei replied, Except for the four-thousand-man Center Army, the rest are inadequately trained new army recruits. If I am guessing correctly, they will start attacking before dawn tomorrow. Kou Zhong was stunned, That quick? he asked. Luo Qifei replied, Because starting fromst night, every time they pitch camp to rest, the corps of engineering took turn to spruce up their siege equipment. If they were not going to besiege the city immediately, why would they not let the soldiers rest? When they arrive at the city and settle down properly, starting to fight wont be toote! Ren Meimei asked, Are their siege equipment ready? Luo Qifei replied, Can be considered ready. There are twenty clouddder vehicles, more than a hundred trebuchets, ten crossbow vehicles, more than seventy blocking-arrows vehicles, and four siege tower vehicles. More than enough to besiege a city. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, If Yuwen Huagu is going to attack the city before dawn, Yuwen Wudi might pretend to attack tonight, to shake our troops morale, and to engage us so that our strength exhausted, our muscle weary. Humph! Xu Ziling asked, Could you go into more details about his siege equipment? As if enumerating his own familys valuables, Luo Qifei said, Clouddder vehicles are double-lengthdders fixed on a bed with six wheels, there is a well pulley at the end of thedder so that it can be extended to climb the enemys city wall. Trebuchets are mechanism on wheels to fling rocks, by using poles to throw the huge rocks to destroy the wall. Crossbow vehicles are thus strong crossbow with winch to open it, capable of shooting eight iron-feathered giant arrows at once; its range can reach up to 1000 paces, extremely formidable. Blocking-arrow vehicles are four-wheeled cart, its upper part are covered withyers of thick raw cowhide, with the soldiers hiding behind it. And when the cart advances, it can block arrows and rocks, so that it is able to press close under the city wall. Siege tower vehicles are eight-wheeled cart with tall tower on it. It can be used to spy the enemy, as well as to shoot arrows into the city. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up, he said, Can we pour out kerosene and set fire to his mothers cowhide rawhide, crossbow vehicles, clouddder vehicles, to burn them all? Luo Qifei shook his head and said, These past couple of days, Yuwen Huaji precisely had his men applied fire-retardant chemical coating on all siege engines. This kind of chemical will lose its effectiveness if scorched and drenched by sun and rain; therefore, it must be used as quickly as possible after the application, hence the reason I am guessing he would attack the city as soon as he arrives. It was only then did the two have sudden understanding. But they were also greatly puzzled and had headache. The enemys siege equipment was that formidable, yet their defensive tool was so simple and crude that the difference was too far. If they sent their troops out of the city on desperate battle, it would be no different than sending them to their death. Right this moment, from the far away mountaintop suddenly came three shes of light. Kou Zhong knew that it was their own spies using mirror to send signal back to the city. Momentarily setting aside their worry, heughed aloud and said, Thank you for all Qifeis trouble! Ren Dajie, take Qifei and help him to settle down. We are going to rob some provisions, and then well continue this talk. Book 20 - 3 – War Games Book 20 Chapter 3 C War Games Leading two hundred light cavalry, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling left the city from the eastern gate, went around a big circle, and galloped into a forest east of an enemys outpost camp, when suddenly Xu Ziling called a halt. Stunned, Kou Zhong reined his horse, and waved their men to stop. What is it? he asked. With grave expression Xu Ziling replied, I feel something is very wrong. When we rounded the in northeast of the city, I developed a sense that someone was watching us; I am afraid we have fallen into the enemys evil schemes, that they are transporting provisions this time is actually a trap. The two boys urged their horses to advance about ten paces toward the edge of the jungle, and peered outside. Under the bright sun in the sky, outside of the forest was a long strip of grasnd; on the left there was a hill with a graveyard on it, on the right the sloping hill extended forever into the distance, about half a li ahead was another sparse forest. Beyond that forest ought to be the route where the enemy was transporting their grains. They have already nted spies at the enemys rear armys camp. As soon as the enemys provision wagons left the camp, they would intercept it midway, and rob the army provisions. Your senses have always been right, Kou Zhong said, Shall we withdraw the troops immediately? Xu Ziling calmlyughed and said, Imagine that you are Yuwen Wudi; how would youy out this trap? Kou Zhong pointed his horsewhip to the sparse forest ahead and said, Naturally by setting up a trap like horse-tripping ropes or something like that in the forest. But unless his Lao Ge [ol elder brother] was a born immortal, how would he know from which direction would wee from to intercept their grains? Well said, Xu Ziling said, Yuwen Wudi may be a valiant military leader, but he is definitely not an expert in ying with schemes and conspiracy. This transporting-grain trap must being from the strategic adviser under hismand. My guess is that he would prepare archers on the higher elevation like a hill slope to ambush us, while his cavalry is hiding in the forest. We might as well lure the tiger out of the jungle; the target is to take Yuwen Wudis dog head. What do you think? Kou Zhong was excited, Cut down his dog head, and hung it high outside the city, he said, That way we wont have to worry that Yuwen Huagu would not immediately attack the city that very night. Xu Ziling was surprised, It seems like you are very eager to have Yuwen Huagu immediately besiege the city tonight; I wonder what n do you have. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Mountain man has an excellent n. Tonight you will find out. Ha! This game is getting more and more interesting! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling led their men galloping into the prairie, spurring their horse to full speed, toward the sparsely wooded area between two sloping hills. At first nce nobody would notice that they left twenty men in the forest to set up a trap. Reaching the middle section of the prairie, Kou Zhong signaled his men to halt; everybody reined in their horses at once. Putting on an act, Kou Zhong shouted, Ill go first to scout our path; watch for my signal to proceed. I aming with you! Xu Ziling responded. The two boys urged their horses to continue, and in the blink of an eye they reached the edge of the sparsely wooded area. Suddenly Kou Zhong roared, Theres an ambush! Before he finished speaking, someone was shouting ahead, Release the arrows! From the top of the hill on both sides arrows poured down on them like rain, while like a storm they already turned around and galloped away like mad. Because the two were prepared, while the enemies were caught off guard and shot the arrows in haste, one after another the arrows fell on empty air. Just as the two boys rushed back to where they wereing from, several hundred enemy riders swarmed out of the sparse forest, led by their old friend Yuwen Wudi. Kou Zhongs men pretended to be like a mob who did not know what to do; they acted chaotic, without distinguishing east from west they charged to the left and dashed to the right, until finally they had nowhere else to go but to return to the jungle. Upon seeing this, Yuwen Wudi advanced courageously and pursued closely behind them. More than five hundred riders charging along, the sound, like rolling thunder, shook the prairie sky. One after another Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling rushed into the forest, leaped up, and hid among the dense shade of the trees. In just a little over ten breathster, like a tornado Yuwen Wudis cavalry stormed into the forest, and galloped underneath the two boys. And then there was a series of sound of the warhorses stumbling and neighing miserably; the enemies were either falling into the trap, or were tripped by the ropes that they flipped over and threw their riders off, or were hit by the arrows. This time it was the enemys turn to be in chaos; they scattered in all directions. Like the celestial soldiers or heavenly generals Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling dropped from the sky, and wherever they went, they carried out killer move, without showing any mercy at all. The two boys men also appeared from everywhere and all directions and attacked. The enemies, whose imposing manner was originally like a rainbow, were immediately thrown into utter defeat. Although their number was a lot higher, but they had lost their fighting spirit, and only wanted to flee for their lives. Realizing their situation was far from good, Yuwen Wudi shouted his order to retreat. While leading a dozen or so his personal guards forcing their way out of the forest, suddenly ahead of him his men were thrown away, their horses flipped over. His response could be considered quick as well; immediately he abandoned his horse and soared onto the top of a tree nearby. But when he was about to leap to another tree, Kou Zhong suddenly appeared on a horizontal branch of a tree ahead of him. Holding the saber across his chest, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Outside the Wagang City, Yuwen Xiong killed our beloved horses, Huier and Baier [see Book 4 Chapter 5]; it was such a tragic scene that broke our hearts, a deeply unforgettable event that seemed to happen only yesterday. And now we finally have the opportunity to face one another to settle this ount. A sinister expression appeared on Yuwen Wudis copper-like face; the wart on his forehead trembled slightly, heughed coldly and said, I was just killing two livestock! Not raping and murdering your Niang. If you cant forget it, me it on your stupidity, dont me anybody else. A deep, cold murderous aura shed through Kou Zhongs eyes; thinking about he and Xu Ziling owned real gold and white silver for the first time, and used the money to buy two nice horses, and also thinking about Fu Junchuo, he nodded firmly and said, All right! I was actually thinking of capturing you alive and exchange you for something else. But now I decided not to show you any mercy; I want to chop your stinking head off. Yuwen Wudi roared wildly, thence in his hand fantastically turned into countless spear shadows, as he leaped horizontally across the empty air between the two trees to attack Kou Zhong. If Kou Zhong evaded even for a little, he would have a chance to escape out of the forest, and joined his infantry, who were rushing over to provide help. Kou Zhong calmly, like a stone statue, watched Yuwen Bodys huge body as it rushed over straight toward him, while quietly focusing his power. The whole world seemed to suddenly changed; his senses seemed to be many times more sensitive. Not only he was able to urately calcte and grasp every single detail of Yuwen Wudis movements, he was also very clear about Xu Ziling unleashing his divine prowess under the tree, cutting down every enemy who wanted to escape out of the forest, while snatching their valuable warhorses. Two mens eyes met. In that instant, he saw the fear deep in Yuwen Wudis heart. The opponent has been intimidated by his coldposure. Whoosh! The Moon in the Well swept an amazing, almost magical as if it was made by heaven, curve in the air, prating Yuwen Wudis millions of spear shadows. Dang! No word could describe the shock in Yuwen Wudis heart. He has had confrontation with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling before, therefore, although he has heard that their martial art skill was constantly advancing at a terrifying rate, inwardly he was not too convinced, and thought that the rumors were greatly exaggerated. But after exhausting his skill by unleashing countless changes yet Kou Zhong, using saber moves that appeared to be clumsy and rudimentary, was still able to neutralize all his feigned moves, he now knew Kou Zhongs real power. He was a veteran of a hundred battles, and had wanted to take advantage while Kou Zhongs mastery has not reached the same maturity as his own, to send the ck [or Mysterious] Ice Energy, a unique skill handed down in his family, toward the tip of his spear, hoping that he could borrow the reaction force to fly away to escape; a move that was not aimed to achieve the best possible result, but rather trying to avoid making mistakes. Who would have thought that although the tip of his spear was able to block the chopping saber, but the pit of his stomach felt like it was crushed by ten-thousand-catty sledge hammer, his ck Ice Energy dispersed into the wind like a thin smoke, while the enemys violent, iparably powerful spiraling strange energy, swift like an arrow, prating his heart and meridians. Ah! Yuwen Wudisnce fell off his hand and dropped down the tree. Shaken by the impact, Kou Zhong also staggered back a little, and had to vomit half a mouthful of blood. Without showing any care, Kou Zhong returned his saber into its scabbard, and used his other hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips. Sess! he shouted, Lets go! Kou Zhong looked into the distance, at the ins outside the city wall, where millions of torches were flickering incessantly like fireflies. Sighing, he said, It was really fun! I had never thought that a chop of my saber could be that fun, victory and defeat was decided in the blink of an eye. It was not a fluke either, all of a sudden I have avenged our Huier and Baier. Under the star-studded night sky, Liangdu was actually in a ckout; nontern, no fire, the soldiers and civilians on top of the city walls were waiting for the enemys approaching in the dark. The watchmans pper sounded, denoting the first watch of the night [7 C 9pm]. The enemys blocking-arrows vehicles made their advance toward the city wall, and stopped about a hundred paces outside the wall, to regroup and fix their formation. Since dusk, the battle drums had been beaten incessantly. Didnt you say you wanted to hang Yuwen Wudis head high on the city wall to publicly expose him? Xu Ziling asked, Howe at thest moment you even abandoned his dead body and paid it no more attention? I was just saying, Kou Zhong replied heavily. This moment Chen Jiafeng came over and reported, ording to Kou Yes instruction, dried branches and dried grass have been removed everywhere from under the city walls. Hey! Kou Yes calction is certainly exquisite beyondpare. The most formidable thing is that you guessed the enemys movement like a deity; you already predicted that the enemy would attack the city this very night. Lets talk about it after our victory! Kou Zhong said, Tell you men to guard their posts tightly, wait for my further instructions. Chen Jiafeng left cheerfully. Kou Zhong said, Today we managed to snatch nearly two hundred warhorses from the enemy, so the odds of our victory are great increased. Oh, Yuwen Huagu! Perhaps even in your dream you would never think that you would nurse a grievance over Liangdu! The drums suddenly increased in intensity. The enemies shouted loudly, close to a hundred trebuchets rolled in, followed by blocking-arrows vehicles and crossbow vehicles. The wheels rumbled, battle cries shook the heavens, filling the sky outside the city wall; it was an extremely rming momentum. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were totally unfazed; they continued looking coldly at the enemys vanguard approaching the city wall. The infantry holding shields were divided into three groups; each group, consisted of a thousand soldiers, was equipped with two clouddders. One after another these three groups arrived. Yuwen Huajis cavalry arranged themselves on a distant hill, ready for deployment, in preparation to provide support to the forces besieging the city. Like a gue of locust boulders and fiery arrows flew toward the wall, their mes lit the night sky. One after another the soldiers and civilians on the top of the wall hid behind the city wall or defensive wooden boards. Like a rolling thunder the boulders hit the city wall. Momentarily fragments of rocks sshed everywhere, shaking everybody to the core. Deal with firewood! Kou Zhong thundered. The entire soldiers and civilians responsible for the city defense, numbered about five thousand men, on the top of the wall shouted at the same time. About one thousand of them were archers, who immediately returned the salvo. The rest of them were in charge of throwing sticks, as well as rocks, down the city wall. Battle cry shook the heavens. Near the wall the wood started to pile up. In the dark night, the enemy could not see clearly what was going on; they thought that the citycked arrows and rocks, so they threw down thick branches to make up the number. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, What a close call! inwardly. If Kou Zhong did note up with this n, with such power disparity between theirs and the enemys, perhaps in just one night the enemy would be able to breach the city defense. Finally the enemies were charging under the city wall. One by one they setup the clouddders to scale the wall. Seeing the urgency of the situation, Kou Zhong roared, Release the fire! Instead of throwing down sticks, each and every one of them threw fire balls at the same time. While the intense battle on top of the city wall between the attackers and defenders started to unfold, the sticks and dry grass piling up at the foot of the city walls caught fire, which then spread rapidly. On top of the wall, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling leaped back and forth, saber and spear moved together, they killed the enemies climbing the wall until flesh and blood flew everywhere, and fell down the city wall. Seeing theirmanders dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety, as well as the fire zing under the wall, engulfing the enemy troops, as well as the trebuchets, the crossbow vehicles, and everything else in the sea of fire, the soldiers and civilians on the top of the wall knew that their chance of victory was within grasp; millions of people all of one mind, they summoned up courage and determination to repel the enemies. Yuwen Huaji knew the situation was far from good. But by the time he ordered the bugle horn to sound the retreat call, he was already unable to reverse the rotation of the sky. The area about seven hundred paces from the city wall has already turned into an ocean of fire, burning the enemies that their blood-curdling screech reached the sky, turning them into balls of fire rolling around and screaming in the midst of the raging inferno. In the blink of an eye, there were no longer any enemies on the city wall. Those who were fortunate enough not to be burned by the fire retreated like a tidal wave. Kou Zhong leaped down from the wall and said to Ren Meimei, I leave the situation here to you! Ren Meimei was stunned, Where are you going? she asked. Kou Zhong smiled and said, To catch an enemy off guard with a surprise attack [an idiom from Sun Tzus The Art of War]. Do you understand? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, leading four hundred cavalrymen, rendezvous with Xuan Yongs thousand plus horsemen at the appointed ce, on top of a sloping hill northeast of the battlefield. Everyone was in high fighting spirit, and was full of energy. Xuan Yong admired wholeheartedly, Watching Kou Ye and Xu Ye using brilliant scheme burned down Yuwen ns besieging vanguard troops and their equipment, killing them that they ran away abandoning their spears and armors, none of all my Xiongdi here and me are not won over, and could only gasp in amazement. We were nearly unable to hold back from moving our troops to attack the enemy ranks directly. With extraordinary modesty Kou Zhong replied, It was just a small victory! But we did inflict enormous blow to the enemys acute spirit. However, if the enemies return tomorrow in a swirl of dust [idiom: to regroup ande back even stronger], they will definitely be more cautious and solemn, and will not be reckless. If that happens, we will be in trouble. Xu Ziling joined in, Even if we could defend the city, the casualties will be inevitably disastrous. Therefore, we must seize this opportunity to strike the enemy in one go, tonight; we are going to kill Yuwen Huaji. Although Xuan Yong was a fierce general who was both courageous and intelligent, and was known to be daring and unafraid of death, hearing that, he could not help but was stunned for half a day. Finally he said in astonishment, I thought we were just going to attack the enemys rear position, just to disturb the enemys morale and to improve the oue of the war! The sound of hoof beats wasing near; Luo Qifei, who was an expert in spying the enemys situation, galloped up the hill toward the three men and reported, Just like Kou Yes expectation, after suffering devastating setback, the Yuwen Armyy out heavy defense outside their camps, afraid that we might follow up our victory by attacking their camps. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I know Yuwen Huagu; he is looking down on us as tired soldierscking food supplies. Frowning, Xuan Yong said, If thats the case, how are we going tounch our surprise attack? With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong replied, Isnt there a stratagem called besieging Wei and rescuing Zhao [idiom: to relieve a besieged ally by attacking the home base of the besiegers]? Let us split our troops into two groups; you are in charge of attacking the rear of the army camp, use battering wagon to break the camps wall, use fire arrow to burn their tents, make the chaos as big as possible. The rear camp is Yuwen Huagus lifeline; he cannot but trying to save it. When he is leading his troops toe to help, I will ambush him along the way. I guarantee we can kill his mother until their blood flows like a river, and they will be utterly defeated. Xuan Yong gasped in admiration, and no longer had any objection. It should be noted that the most formidable aspect of Kou Zhongs stratagem was that while the Yuwen Army was busy in dealing with Xuan Yongs raid, they had no idea that there was another ambushing troop nearby. Therefore, if they saw that the rear camp was being attacked, they would not let Kou Zhong seize their army provision. Furthermore, after the recent defeat, they knew that Kou Zhongs strength was inadequate to instill fear on them; therefore, in order to turn defeat into victory, they would definitely muster their troops to rescue the camp, and thus they would fall into Kou Zhongs trap. Kou Zhong said, Sess or failure, we will see it from this operation! Finished speaking, the two groups of army went their separate ways. Book 20 - 4 – Ambushing Troops to Achieve Victory Book 20 Chapter 4 C Ambushing Troops to Achieve Victory Apanied by four hundred cavalrymen, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilingy low in a forest located between the enemys forward and rear camps, quietly waiting for the enemy to walk right into the trap. In their calction, the enemiesing to help must be the cavalry only, which strength was around one thousand riders, so it should not be difficult to deal with. They had scouts on all mountaintops nearby, as long as Yuwen Huajis main force, which was located three li to their left, made any move, they would know it like the back of their hand. Suddenly on their right, about a li or so, from the enemys rear camp the sound of battle cry shook the heavens, followed by raging fire soaring to the sky, and the sound of hoof beats continuously growing in intensity. Kou Zhong said, It would be best if Yuwen Huagu thought that our whole nest came out. On one hand he would send fast riders toe to help, on the other hand reissued themand for the second round of besieging the city. Nothing could be better than that. Boom! The was a loud crashing noise from the rear camp; it looked like Xuan Yongs tactic of using the battering vehicle has shown some results. This moment, Luo Qifei rushed over as if he was flying; greatly delighted, he reported, This time two Daye predicted the enemy like a deity again. Yuwen Huaji already exhausted his cavalry toe here to help; they will arrive in the blink of an eye. Boom! Boom! Boom! At the same time, the enemy sounded the drums signaling the start of the attack toward the city. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Yuwen Huagu is also resorting to the besieging Wei to rescue Zhao stratagem. If we can be a bit quicker, perhaps we canunch pincer attack from front and rear before the siege starts. Before he even finished, there was a sudden sound of hoof beats. The enemy riders appeared on the ins outside the forest, they were galloping in single file, rushing wildly toward the rear camp. Kou Zhong waited until the head of the procession reached the sloping hill and the entire cavalry was exposed under attack before he shouted and took the lead to charge. Each one of them already had a bow and an arrow in hands. As soon as the horses carrying the enemy entered their shooting range, the sound of arrows split the air rang out, the enemies were hit and fell in confusion. Immediately their formation was thrown into disarray, because their middle section was being attacked, and the head and the tail of the procession were unable to help each other. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, each one leading their own team, separately attacked the front and the rear, so that the enemies were like being swept by the wind. One side was the recently defeated troops, beaten and exhausted; the other side had enjoyed victory in session, their morale was like a rainbow, both officers and soldiers followed their leaders willingly, indeed there was noparison between the two sides. Almost at the point of contact, the Yuwen Army only wanted to run away and scatter, no one dared to face and meet the attack. After a short chase, some of the enemies turned back to Yuwen Huajis main force position, while some others fell into Kou Zhong and Xuan Yongs two-prong heavy siege; being cornered, they struggled obstinately to resist the enemy. The men in the surrounding area held their torches high, illuminating the entire arena. In the dark night, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well emitted bright yellow ray. Wherever the saber went, an enemy was chopped; no one was able to block. Dang! Suddenly the Moon in the Well was blocked. The twobatants looked at each others face, Kou Zhong roared inughter, Turns out its Chengdu Xiong [see Book 5 Chapter 10]; what a coincidence we came across each other in here! While the two men were glowering at each other, Yuwen Chengdus barely a dozen remaining men were chopped like melon or cut like vegetables and fell down their horses; he was the only one left sitting on his horse. Being surrounded at the center of the siege, Yuwen Chengdus countenance alternated between red and white; his eyes revealed a terrified look. Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes shone with sharp shes;ughing coldly, he said, That day when, using a despicable means, you plotted against Cui Dong, you ought to remember that a day like this might arrive. Suddenly he leaped off the horseback and soared overhead Yuwen Chengdu; like a gale the Moon in the Well rained down. In his great shock Yuwen Chengdu did everything he could to send his strength to his sword to parry, but Kou Zhongs wild and ferocious saber, which was unleashed with hatred in his heart, forced him to swing the sword to the left and block to the right in panic, while he himself was drenched in cold sweat. The crowd all around them was growing by the minute. Watching Kou Zhongs divine valor, they all cheered at the top of their lungs to boost Kou Zhongs morale. Their voices prated the starry sky. Dang! While the echo was still lingering in the air, Kou Zhong already returned the saber into its scabbard, and with a graceful flip he somersaulted back onto his horseback. All along, his feet had never touched the ground. Yuwen Chengdus face revealed a hard-to-believe expression. And then his sword dropped, a blood trace, about a cun long, appeared between his eyebrows. Bang! he fell to the ground, raising a cloud of dust. The crowd raised their weapons to salute, and broke into a thunderous cheer. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling, who had just rushed over; thetters handsome face showed mixed emotion. Evidently the avenging of Cui Dongs blood debt has raised memories of the past. When Yuwen Chengdu broke into Dong Ming gship to steal the ount Book in the past [see Book 4 Chapter 1], how could Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong ever think that they would be able to kill him with a chop of a saber on the battlefield? Rushing over, Xuan Yong said, The enemy camp has been broken, their army provisions have fallen entirely under our control; will the next step be storming the enemys base camp directly? Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, The situation has changed. Now the one to worry about food is the enemy, not us at all. Let alone his cavalry has been broken by us in total disorder. We are going to exercise a bit more patience, let him taste again the bitter oue of defeat under Li Mis hands due to food shortage. The crowd agreed with loud shout, and marched back to the city. The enemy withdrew! The troops moved back! The soldiers and civilians on the top of the Liangdu city wall cheered in chorus, their voices reached the heavens. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Xuan Yong, three men, rushed to the top of the wall, and looked at the enemy ranks. They saw that although the camp remained, the enemies have moved to the bank of Tongji Canal, and using several dozen rafts tied together with thick ropes, they built crude pontoon bridges, with which they crossed to the other side as quickly as they could. More than half of their ten thousand soldiers had sessfully crossed over. Although this move was really beyond anybodys expectation, but it should note as a surprise. These past three days Yuwen Huaji had suffered blow after blow that their losses were disastrous. Not only he lost Yuwen Wudi and Yuwen Chengdu, two great fierce generals and brothers, nearly half of his siege equipment were burned, most of his cavalry was annihted, injured and deceased soldiers and generals nearly seven thousand, on top of that, his army provisions were robbed; insisting on holding on would be tantamount to suicide. Kou Zhong had guessed that Yuwen Huaji would retreat, so he alreadyid out a n to pursue quickly; but he did not expect the enemy would retreat that very same night, and had grabbed the initiative of crossing to the opposite shore first, and thus had secured their safety with the river as a barrier. While Kou Zhongs countenance was alternating between cloudy and clear, Xu Zilings hand reached over and grabbed his shoulder tightly. Although his voice carried a little bit of despair, he spoke with determination, We cannot, because of personal grudges, bring the whole city to take a risk. Avenging Niang cannot be fought in one day or half a day. There wille a day Yuwen Huagu will pay this blood debt with his own blood. Like a deted ball, Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and nodded helplessly. The enemy retreated without chaos, plus there was Tongji Canal as the barrier, and their military strength was several times greater than their own; if they pursued hastily, even if they might achieve the final victory, they would have to pay a heavy loss. Just consider Yuwen Huagu still had a bit of luck remaining! By dusk that day, a drizzle was falling from the sky. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hid in a wine shop, drowning their sorrows in wine. As for dealing with the aftermath of the battle, they let Xuan Yong and Ren Meimei and their people to deal with it. Speaking about contending for hegemony over the world, Kou Zhongs great undertaking has already seen the dawn, but as for when they would be able to kill Yuwen Huaji, it was still so far away that it felt like forever. When sess was in sight, the time to avenge their hatred was at hand, suddenly they found out that they failed throughck of a final effort, which was the most disappointing and frustrating kind of failure. After drowning two bowls of wine, Kou Zhong cast a sidelong nce toward Xu Ziling and said, Before, you did not like to drink too much, why is it that after reaching Luoyang, every time I urge you to drink, you never refuse? Xu Ziling was staring nkly for half a day, recalling the nasty mood when he met Li Jing again after long separation. Smiling wryly, he said, One of the benefits of wine is to make people forget the cold, callous reality, and send us to the dreand of drunkenness. Too bad that no matter how much wine I drink, I still cannot forget Su Jies misfortune. Just now I asked Ren Dajie in passing about Xiang Yushan; it would be best if I dont repeat her answer. Kou Zhong picked up the wine pot, Glug! Glug! he drank more than ten mouthfuls at one go, letting the wine sttered and wet thepel of his robe. And then, breathing heavily, he said, I made up my mind to toss everything else aside. I am going to rush to Baling to rescue Su Jie. Anybody trying to stop me will have to deal with my saber! Xu Ziling shook his head and said, That would be ourst resort; didnt you often say that you wanted to raise troops? The best thing we can do in the circumstances is I will go alone to pick up Su Jie, while you are pretending to have sincere coboration with Xiao Xian, so that he wouldnt dare not to be courteous to me, thinking that his evil schemes woulde to fruition soon. A gust of wind, carrying the rain, blew into the wine shop, making thenterns flickered, so that the more than a dozen empty tables also flickered between light and dark, multiplying the lonely, somber and cold feeling in their hearts. Although the streets were filled with gaiety and songs, the residents of the city celebrating their victory that day, it seemed like the streets and the wine shop were in two isted worlds. Kou Zhong was staring nkly for half a day; finally he mumbled as if he was talking to himself, What do I do now? Noticing Kou Zhong had his eyes fixed on the lively scene outside the door, yet his eyes were empty, Xu Ziling leaned over slightly and said heavily, The most important business you must attend right now is to evaluate merits and bestow rewards, stabilize and pacify the heart Liangdus citizens. Taking advantage while Li Zitong, Xu Yuang and the others are too busy to pay any attention to you, and Yuwen Huagu is returning north in defeat, you build a good foundation. As for how to resolve the danger facing the Flying Horse Ranch, without Xiaodi telling you, Kou Shuai [Commander Kou] ought to know what to do. Kou Zhong was shaken, but then his eyes recovered their spirited expression. Reaching out across the table to grab Xu Zilings hands, he spoke in heavy voice, You must promise me to bring Su Jie, mother and son, to the Flying Horse Ranch. We have already lost Niang, we cant lose Su Jie as well. Xu Ziling nodded with confidence and said, I will not disappoint you. When are you going to leave? Kou Zhong asked. As soon as I finish this cup of wine, Xu Ziling replied. Kou Zhong let go of his hands, and leaned back into his chair with his eyes emitting profound emotion. It was quite a whileter that he finally nodded his head and said, If Xiao Xian and Xiang Yushan dare to harm you and Su Jie, I swear I will raze his mothers Great Liang Empire or what have you to the ground, kill him so that not a single chicken or dog remains. If I vite this oath, may I never be reincarnated, and be a domesticated animal forever. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Dont worry! I, Xu Ziling, am not General Lu Meng of the Wu State of the past[1] at all; if they want to kill me, it wont be that easy. Kou Zhong looked out the door, and muttered to himself irresolutely, I am still a little worried about female demon Wan; in fact, I still dont understand why she is willing to cease hostility against us. Could it be that whatever it is in the Duke Yang Treasure that they wanted is really so important to them? I have pondered over that question as well, Xu Ziling replied, My guess is that their change of heart was because you have never suffered defeat under Li Mis hands, so they believe you are the only one worthy to be Li Shimins opponent. And since Li Shimin is the Son of Heaven ordained by heaven chosen by Shi Feixuan, female demon Wan wanted to support you. Kou Zhong was stunned, Supporting me? he asked, If thats the case, why did female demon Wan join hands with Bian Bufu to deal with you? Xu Ziling replied, The one she wants to deal with is precisely me and not you. I had this thought because supposing she was able to capture me alive, she would upy the upper hand, and would not have to worry that you are not going to agree to their demand and conditions. That night at Liangdu, although she was taking advantage of our precarious position, the condition she proposed was absolutely eptable. She was also very clear that by helping us, Ku Ges group of horse-mounted bandits would lose their guts. Therefore, ultimately Yin Gui Pai is holding you in high regard. Letting out a cold humph, Kou Zhong said, That is their own stupidity; sooner orter I will have their Sect wiped out and their people perish. After a short pause, he sighed and said, It doesnt matter what one is doing, in the end one must clearly distinguish ones objective and ideals. Evenmon people also pursue livelihood, to have enough food and warm clothes, to raise a family, to live in peace and work happily. Or perhaps pursuing wealth and power. Even kings and emperors pursue immortal exploits. But I never understand, what is that female demon Wan pursuing? It seems like they only wish for the whole world to be in chaos, always stirring up the wind and the rain. This is called one mountain cannot have two tigers, Xu Ziling replied, The feuds between Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Yin Gui Pai have been going on for nearly a thousand years. And now, because of Zhu Yuyan and female demon Wan, Yin Gui Pai appears to enjoy resurgence, so the time hase for the two Sects to distinguish victory or defeat. The struggle for the Emperors throne is just one of the many battlefields! And we are able to perceive it, because we have been drawn into this vortex. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, Your insight is very thorough. Xu Ziling replied, This is called the person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, If you are an onlooker, which one is the insider then? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Concerning Su Jies affair, Yuwen Huagus enmity, I am an insider. But in other matters, I am only an onlooker. Zhong Shao, do you understand? Finished speaking, he rose up to his full height. Kou Zhongughed aloud; picking up the wine cup, he said, Heres wishing Ling Shao a pleasant journey, the horse arrives, the work aplished. Xu Ziling dly picked up his wine cup. Ding! he clinked it against Kou Zhong, downed the wine, and floated away. Kou Zhong watched until he disappeared among the crowd on the street, in spite of the wind and the rain, before raising his wine cup and pouring the wine into his throat. Inside the West Hall, Zongguan Mansion, at the heart of the city of Liangdu, Kou Zhong held his first important meeting with important high-ranking military officers under hismand. The attendees included Xuan Yong, Ren Meimei, Luo Qifei, Chen Jiafeng, Xie Jue, and Wagang Armys old generals who came with Xuan Yong, Gao Ziming and Zhan Gongxian. In thest battle, thetter two have shown outstanding performance, hence they were bestowed the reward of being promoted to Left and Right Vanguard Generals under Xuan Yong, the new Liangdu Zongguan [lit. chief manager]. First of all, Kou Zhong tactfully declined the proposal, which had repeatedly been brought up in recent days, to have him dere himself king. He said, The reason we are able to establish Liangdu as our base of operations is purely fortuitous coincidence, because being able to survive in the narrow crack among big powers is simply a miracle; therefore, the more we dont attract attention the better. Presently the proposal to dere kingship will bring more harm than benefit. Ren Meimei spoke solemnly, But under current circumstances, no matter how low-key you are, Liangdu has always had a tight grip on the throat of the Tongji Canal; other people will never be willing to leave Liangdu alone. It would be better to stake it out, publicly proim ourselves hegemon. Relying on Kou Yes prestige, towering figures near and far wille to ce themselves into our hands, it will greatly strengthen our momentum. Kou Zhong calmlyughed and said, What Ren Dajie said is of course very reasonable, but it can only be implemented after further expansion of our power. The top priority right now is to take advantage while Xu Yuang, Yuwen Huagu and Dou Jiande in the north are in endless entanglement, Wang Shichong is busy with consolidating Li Mis territory, to turn toward Li Zitong, who is too busy to pay us any attention, to extract a little bit of profit from him, to consolidate and expand our territory. His eyes shining with excitement, Chen Jiafeng said, Are we going to single out Li Zitongs city as the point of attack? Noticing Xuan Yong has been smiling without saying anything, Kou Zhong asked, Does Xuan Zongguan have any good proposal? Xuan Yong calmly said, Defending a city is easy, besieging a city is difficult. Were it not for Li Zitong transferring his troops to Jiangdu, based on our current strength, practically we cant do anything. But now we have a bit chance of sess. And then he took a map and spread it out on the table. Presently we have three important matters that must be dealt with simultaneously, he went on, In the first ce is consolidating the city, establishing our foundation. Secondly, we must rebuild Pengcheng, and make Liangdu C Pengcheng, two cities as the centers, integrating the more than a dozen cities and towns and a hundred something viges within several hundred li of these two cities into our territory. Finally, we select one of the two big cities, Donghai and Zhongli, as our military target, and formte strategies to forge ahead. Luo Qifei said, Both Donghai and Zhongli are highly strategic cities. The former can enable us to gain control over the road leading to the sea, while giving us the opportunity to do business with the cities along the coastal area. Thetter is located right next to River Huai, which will provide us with a foothold to advance toward the southwest region. In terms of importance, each one has its own merits. However, under current circumstances, it is advisable to take Donghai first, because psychologically, it will deal the greatest blow to Li Zitong. After a short pause, he went on, But I am in favor of Ren Dajies proposal earlier for Kou Ye to dere yourself king. Its called words do not justify unfavorable name. Of the dozen or so cities nearby, most are under control of local power. The reason they are not willing to throw their lot to either Li Zitong or Xu Yuang is simply because these two are not capable person with great chance of sess. But with Kou Yes reputation, as soon as you raise your hand and issue a rousing call, the wind will definitely be blowing your way. Kou Ye must reconsider this proposal. Gao Ziming and Zhan Gongxian also echoed this proposal, pointing to Zhai Rang raising up the Wagang Militia Army as an example to illustrate the importance of dering oneself king. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I have an idea, letspromise: how about not dering myself king, butmander? That appetion is surely justified, while also giving a brand-new impression to those who want me to be the king. Not in such a way as to easily oppose various powers with equal harshness, in the two-cannot-exist-together kind of manner. It will also enable us to do things a hundred times more flexible. One after another the crowd expressed their approval. Xie Jue proposed, It would be better to call Longtou Da Shuai [lit. big boss greatmander]. This name is very awe-inspiring! Kou Zhong burst outughing and said, That name is not awe-inspiring, but too bossy, also carries a bit of underworld gang [orig. ck thief] boss impression. Just call me Shao Shuai [lit. young/juniormander]! You will be called Shao Shuai Army, so it will feel a bit more harmonious, easy and amiable. Noticing that he spoke about such a proper name so casually, they all knew that he had already had firm view about this, so they all voiced their praise. Kou Zhong said, Xuan Zongguans suggestion of those three urgent matters are very insightful. Lets leave the consolidation of the city to Ren Dajie. Within Peng and Liang area, who did not know Pengliang Huis beautiful and alluring Er Dangjia? Everybodyughed heartily. Ren Meimei cast him a sideways nce and said, Still loves to ther? Kou Zhongughed and said, I am the kind of person who will not change. As far as Im concerned, power, fame and position are just as fleeting as a reflection of the moon on sshing water. In this struggle for hegemony over the world, the only thing that I am concerned about is how to makemon people pass their days in peace, security and happiness. Toward the arduous process of the struggle itself, other than passing my days in ignorance, it does not make any sense to me. Listening to that, everybody felt deep veneration for him. Turning to Chen Jiafeng, Kou Zhong said, The task of rebuilding Pengcheng, Chen Jiafeng will be in charge, with Xie Jue as his deputy. If there is any problem, our Ren Dajie will allocate any resources as necessary. Xie Jue said, There is no candidate more suitable than Er Dangjia; previously, Ren Dangjia was our treasurer [orig. storehouse manager]. Ren Meimei said, Dont call me Er Dangjia anymore. Hereafter Pengliang Hui no longer exists, there is only Shao Shuai Army. Kou Zhong said, Between Donghai and Zhongli, two counties, we are going to take Donghai first. I appoint Xuan Yong as the Commander in Chief, with Qifei as his deputy. Ziming and Gongxian are in charge of recruiting and training the army. Build the siege equipment ording to the blueprint I gave you. You have three months to prepare everything. I appoint Xuan Yong to direct the overall situation. Xuan Yong was stunned, Shao Shuai, how about you? What are you doing? Tranquil and calm, Kou Zhong said, I am going to the Flying Horse Ranch to borrow men and horses, to establish an unequalled-throughout-the-world cavalry troops. The moment Ie back will be the moment we attack Donghai. [1] General L Meng () of the southern state of Wu, a model of self-improvement by diligent study (see also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%BC_Meng). Book 20 - 5 – The Difference Between Close and Distant Relatives Book 20 Chapter 5 C The Difference Between Close and Distant Rtives That very night Xu Ziling left Liangdu, riding on a light boat alone overnight along Tongji Canal going down south, and reached the confluence of Tongji Canal and the Huai River. From this point, he could follow the Canal going down south and reach Jiangdu in less than half a day, and if he headed west along the Huai River, in just several sichen he would have reached Zhongli. Originally, the journey would have been very convenient. Too bad Li Zitong stationed his warships here, andid out iron chains across the canal, to stop any boat or ship from passing through. Xu Ziling did not wish to let new branch growing out of a knot, hence he abandoned his boat here, came ashore and headed to the west bynd route. Unleashing his footwork, he passed Zhongli, but did not enter the city, but turned to the south. As soon as he reached the Yangtze River, he could try to find a boat going west, to save time and energy. Along the way when he was thirsty he drank mountain spring water, when he was hungry he picked a couple of wild fruits to eat his fill. When he took a rest, he would delve into the hand-written treasured books that Lu Miaozi bequeathed him. This way not only he did not feel lonely, he felt carefree, forgetting worry, without anxiety, and felt rxed instead. Now that he had made up his mind to rescue Susu, mother and son, he was able to throw out the load on his mind, and no longer wasting his time on an insignificant problem [orig. prate into the bulls horn] in this regard. Along his route, asionally he would encounter deserted viges, and fill his eyes with the destion in the aftermath of a disaster, which made him feel depressed! Therefore, he changed course and travel through wild, out-of-the-way uninhabited mountain and fields, passing over mountain ridges. Under his feet, traveling over destitute mountain and deste valley were as convenient as treading on the level ground. It was the height of the summer season, everywhere the flowers were blooming, the scenery was enchanting. Throughout the Henan region, the climate was moderate, rainfall was abundant, different kinds of trees made up the wide expanse of forest, covering the hillside grasnd. Sika deer, golden snub-nosed monkeys, and all kinds of birds inhabit the area, filling the wilderness with natural charm and liveliness, making him forget the dismal wind and wretched rain of the secr world. One day at noon, he crossed a high mountain and reached a fertile in on the northern bank of the Yangtze River. As far as his eyes could see, there were branches full of wild fruits, fresh flowers in full bloom; he was in great mood as he climbed to the hill top, and cast his eyes all around. In the not-so-distant southerly direction, there was a strange-looking mountain; the rocks were scarlet like cinnabar, with strange peaks and weird rock formation more and more emerged, extremely and wonderfully serene. About halfway up the mountain, there was a temple hidden among the rocks. Suddenly his interest was piqued and since it was on his way anyway, he was thinking of exploring it. Thereupon he dashed toward the strange mountain. In less than half a day, he already reached the foot of the mountain, where a mountain stream meandering through, and to his surprise, he found a bridge spanning it, connecting the secluded path going around and up the mountain. Xu Ziling was very curious; it had never urred to him that in such a wild, mountainous country where no man ever stepped his foot on, there was such a scenic spot. But then he got to think: people built a monastery here, surely it was because they wanted to escape the secr world. If he simply went up the mountain to go sightseeing, he might disturb their quiet meditation. He was just about to give up his original intention and turn around to leave, when suddenly a burst of clear and melodious flute [orig. xiao, vertically blown flute] sound was heard from the distant ce high up the mountain. Listening to that, Xu Ziling was emotionally moved. Inside the study room of the Zongguan Mansion, Kou Zhong and Xuan Yong were studying more than a dozen topography maps of Liangdu and the surrounding area. Xuan Yong said, With our current strength, by directly attacking Donghai we will definitely end up with our wings clipped and will have to return in defeat. But if we can exploit our currently favorable situation, perhaps we can capture Donghai without wasting a single soldier, a single man, and Shao Shuai will not have to take the long and difficult journey to the Flying Horse Ranch to seek help. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong replied, I am listening. Xuan Yong pointed to a bigke east of Pengcheng, separated by Mount Luliang and Mount Yi, This is Lake Luoma [lit. ma], he said, The confluence of the river course. Not only it has abundant fish, the area around thekeshore are fertile, vast agriculturalnd, the lifeline of many towns and viges nearby. If we can seize control of Xiapi, we can control thiske. At that time, without Shao Shuai even need to open your mouth, all the cities, counties, of the surrounding area will obediently throw their lot to you. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Is there such a convenient matter? Who currently has control over Xiapi? Xuan Yong replied, Currently Xiapi falls under control of a powerful gang called Luoma Bang [lit. ma gang]. The Bangzhu is called Du Ren, his men number nearly three thousand. Not only going fishing has to pay him fees, boats passing through or travelers touring theke must pay him illegal toll. From time to time he went all around the area, robbing and looting, so he has already incited the heavens anger and the peoples grievance. If we can remove and rece him, and implement benevolent government, with Shao Shuais current prestige, the heart of the people will definitely turn to you. By then, we can also acquire Huairen, Langya, Lanling, Liangcheng, four counties northwest of Donghai, Muyang, Lianshui, Huaiyang, three counties southwest, plus Xiapi itself, we canpletely severnd route toward Donghai; at that time Donghai is potentially already in our bag. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Yong is indeed an insightful person. This n is not only brilliant, it is within our ability, and will be greatly advantageous in our effort to rebuild Pengcheng. Seeing his proposal was epted, Xuan Yongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, In that case, subordinate will immediately send Luo Qifei to Xiapi to get a clear picture of Du Rens foundation, to see how we can eliminate him in one stroke. After Xuan Yong left, Kou Zhong was thinking of taking out Lu Miaozis secret book and spending some time to study it diligently, when his personal guard came in to report that Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong of Yangzhou came to ask for an audience. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong hurriedly went out to meet them. The flute sound slowly moved up and down in the magnificent, leisure atmosphere of the big natural world where the wind brushed the leaves into motion. The tone and the cohesion between the sound had no w. Although there was no intense change or climax that appeared suddenly, there was another feeling that lingered endlessly, an implicit charm in the sound that would not rest until death. Xu Ziling could not help stopping to listen carefully. The ethereal, prating wordless music seemed to urately describe the beautiful endlessly empty space in the abyss of a certain spirit; no sorrow, no joy, but was able to touch the listeners soul. The mood of the flute yer itself was like an empty mountain locked up in the clouds, seemingly visible yet desired to be hidden; so elusive and unfathomable. The tender and limpid beautiful sound was like someone inside the house, yet was doomed in predestination to have the cold and detached gaze of an outsider, making others also felt that the heavy life could also be interpreted with cold, indifferent attitude. The flute sound suddenly stopped. As if he was forced to wake up from a dream, Xu Ziling reluctantly came up to his senses and decided to climb up the mountain to take a look. He knew who the flute yer was. Only she could produce such a lucid and elegant, graceful, without the least bit of vulgarity, flute sound. Grabbing Gui Xiliang and Xing Rongs, his childhoodpanions, hands, Kou Zhong pulled them into the study room. After a bit of catching up, Gui Xiliang happily said, Its really good to see you, this kid. Ever since we heard the news you defeated Yuwen Huaji, we immediately rushed over at double speed, most afraid that you would suddenly disappear somece else. Almost with reverence, Xing Rong said, Nowadays not many people are as famous as you and Xiao Ling! Ay! If we had arrived two days earlier, we could have seen Xiao Ling too. Kou Zhong poured tea for the two; giggling, he said, Two Dages newswork is certainly fast and abundant. Xiaodi only kicked Yuwen Huagus butts a little bit, yet cant conceal it from you; this time what kind of support you can offer Xiaodi? Gui Xiliang stared at him nkly for half a day. Finally he sighed and said, People say wealth will bring the good out of you. You, this fellow, are already world famous, but at the deepest level, that shameless attitude seems to be the same as before, just like it will never change. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, Can you change fine natural character as soon as you say you are going to change? Take you, this muddled egg [i.e. scoundrel/bastard] for example, as soon as you climbed up thedder to be a Xiangzhu [lit. fragrant master, a leadership position in a gang], you went all over the ce acting like a big brother; am I not of amon origin with you, who previously loved to make a scene? The difference is that you are of an inferior fundamental character! Gui Xiliang was unable to hold his ground; displeased, heughed and said, We are all brothers, howe you are not willing to let me off? Xing Rong rolled withughter;pletely at ease, he said, I dont know when was thest time Iughed this happily! Kou Zhong raised his tea cup and said, Come! Let Xiaodi toast two Dage with a cup of tea. Finishedughing and joking, Gui Xiliang spoke grimly, This time we rushed over, there is indeed a critical matter wed like to discuss with you. Kou Zhongughed and said, With your current status, you cant possiblye to see me if it were a chicken feather, garlic skin [i.e. trivial] matter, right? Pretending to be angry, Gui Xiliang said, You tease me again and Ill beat you; I dont care how formidable you are now. Kou Zhong surrendered. Gui Dage, please calm down, he said, May I ask what instruction do you have for me? Xing Rong joined in, Ever since that year in Jiangyin City you and Xiao Ling beat the people of Clear, Rain and Dew, three Halls, until they were in a sorry state [see Book 7 starting on Chapter 3], we reorganized our gang under the leadership of Shao Junshi. Due to your connection with the Song n, Liang Ge was promoted to be the Tangzhu [hall master] of the Dew Bamboo Hall. Hey! Xiaodi was implicated to have fun as the Fu Tangzhu [vice/deputy]. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I also know that Xiliang obtained Big Miss Shao Lanfangs hand in marriage. Ay! Your, this kids luck with women is indeed not shallow. Gui Xiliangs old face turned beet red as he said, You are teasing me again? Afraid that the two would entangle each other endlessly, Xing Rong hastily cut them off, With the Song ns support, these past few years we are enjoying great progress, and once again establish a good foundation in Jiangdu. Otherwise, we would not learn that quickly that one after another you and Xiao Ling have defeated Li Mi and Yuwen Huaji. All Xiongdi of our gang are very proud of you. Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont tter blindly, at least that kid Mai Yunfei cant possibly be proud of us; am I right? In Jiangyin that day, perhaps because he was Gui Xiliangs rival in love, Mai Yunfei was very rude toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, resulting in him suffering a little loss, having his head and face filthy with grime, his countenance lost its luster. Letting out a cold humph, Gui Xiliang said, Forget that bird! With Shao Junshi in charge, he doesnt even have a turn to speak up. Therefore, Kou Zhong knew that Gui Xiliang and Mai Yunfei were still like fire and water. Xing Rong said, Shao Junshi ordered us toe here to ask you to be our Bangzhu! Kou Zhong was stunned. What? he said. With his hands behind his back, Xu Ziling stepped onto the path leading up the mountain. By unleashing his footwork, very soon he reached the middle of the mountain, where under the horizontal branch of a strange-looking pine tree, there was a small octagonal pavilion. On the side closer to the mountain, there was a stream of small spring, from where the clear water trickled down. On the other side was the edge of a cliff, from where he could see the boundless, empty and hazy sky under the setting sun, a multifarious beautiful scenery that changed irregrly. It was when Xu Ziling was stopping to watch the scenery that a shrill whistle came from the foot of the mountain, followed by another whistle responding. Thetter sounded so much closer to him than the previous whistle. Intuitively he felt that these two whistling voices were full of ruthless, murderous sense that made his heart ufortable. Xu Zilings heart was moved; he soared to hide among the thick branches of a nearby tree, crouching quietly, motionless. Gui Xiliang spoke excitedly, After you and Xiao Ling assassinated Ren Shaoming, our Zhuhua Bangs reputation is also flourishing greatly. Not only there is a constant stream of neers wanted to join our gang, there are local small gangs and societies who, by their own initiative, wanted to merge with us. Perhaps you wont believe me, but nowadays no one in the Yangtze River area does not give us a little bit of face. Even Li Zitong wanted to win us over. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck. Li Zitong? he asked. Xing Rong said, Shao Junshi has a very good rtionship with Li Zitong, but our request to have you be our Bangzhu has nothing to do with Li Zitong, rather, it was our Gangs brothers unanimous decision. Hold on! Kou Zhong hissed. The two were stunned. Whats the matter? they asked in chorus. Kou Zhongs eyes flickered with sharp shes; he swept the two man with his gaze several times. Seeing their heart was on edge, he resumed his usual full-of-mischievous-smile demeanor and spoke in heavy voice, Do you trust me, or do you trust Shao Lingzhou more? Gui Xiliang spoke awkwardly, This ... hey! Xing Rong responded with conviction, Of course we trust you, Kou Zhong, more. Ever since I was young, I knew you and Xiao Ling have the most yiqi [reminder: spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice]. Kou Zhongs gaze fell on Gui Xiliangs face; he spoke slowly, Whatever you say in here, will never leak out even half a word; what his mothers are you afraid of? Gui Xiliang helplessly said, He has shown kindness to me by promoting me, also gave his consent for his daughter to marry me. I ... ay! Of course I trust you a bit more than him. Joyfully satisfied, Kou Zhong said, Finally you two guys understand the difference between close and distant rtives. Now we can start the amusing game of question and answer; I ask the question, you give me the answer. If you conceal anything from me, thest loser will undoubtedly be you. The two men jumped in fright; they were also dubious, hence they had no choice but to wait for him to shoot the questions. The sound of sleeves fluttering in the wind had juste from the mountain road, the man already reached the pavilion. His breathing was still calm, even and drawn-out, a proof that he was a first-ss martial art master with deep cultivation in both inner and outer power. In this kind of wilderness of a deste mountain, seeing this kind of martial art master ought to be surprising for anybody, but Xu Ziling was already amazed at the emergence of the flute sound earlier that no other person or object could move his heart. He understood that the flute was deliberately telling the iing person that she was waiting somewhere nearby. Although the man in the pavilion had fast and nimble shenfa, he still could not hide from Xu Zilings sharp eyes. It was a big man wearing tight warrior outfit; there was an unusually big iron X on his back [Note: I have 3 different web sources, but all dont have this character]. His nose crooked, his eyes deep; there was some kind of hard-to-describe sinister aura around him. In just one nce, Xu Ziling knew this was not a good guy. The weirdest thing was that he was wearing Tongtian Crown [ͨ (http://m.wanhuajing/t495204) C in Chinese], a crown in the form of a horizontal board with all kinds of tassel hanging from it, like the one worn by an emperor. While he was still thinking about it, another shadow shed with extremely fast momentum and stopped outside the pavilion. The neer let out a cold snort and said, Ding Jiuzhong, you are finally willing to crawl out of your burrow? I hope in that thirty-six-move [the following two sentences several characters missing, I cant figure out what he was saying]. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that turned out these two were old enemies, hence as soon as they met, they both put on an act with swords drawn and bows bent, giving the impression that the fight might start any moment. Ding Jiuzhong inside the pavilionughed eerily and calmly replied, I havent seen Zhou Laotan Xiong for twenty years, who would have thought that your temper is still as bad, no wonder all along your Scarlet Hand Something [again, missing character] cannot reach the pinnacle of perfection. I heard that s1uts daughter has received the handed-down teachings from her mother, I hope you dont still harbor a grudge against Qi Yun Monastery! This Zhou Laotans appearance was even less ttering that that of Ding Jiuzhong. His face was as wide as a basin, his chin bulging and protruding outward, his thick lips stuck out like a birds beak, his two big eyes clear, like a pair of will-o-the-wisp. His build was short and stout, but his two arms are thick and solid like tree trunks. Although he was wearing monks cassock, there was not the slightest bit of impression that he was a man outside the secr world; on the contrary, he gave up the impression of a devil king who killed people like scything x. On his head he wore a string of blood red beads, which felt even more out of ce. From their exchange, Xu Ziling knew that they were full of hostility toward the flute yer, Shi Qingxuan. Standing outside, Zhou Laotan blew off his breath, emitting a frog-like croaking noise, his left foot stepped forward, his right hand shot out from inside his sleeve. Terrifying thing happened. His originally already thick and solid arm suddenly swelled nearly half, the skin color turned red; he sent a palm strike over empty air toward the pavilion. The surrounding air seemed to bepletely sucked in by his swelling, blood-red huge hand, and then turned into a hot wave of air, carrying a stench like stinky fish, which, with a toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas momentum, rolled in toward the pavilion. Xu Ziling already had high estimate on his ability, but he still did not expect his Scarlet Hand Something could be this demonical and overbearing; he could not help feeling anxious for Shi Qingxuan, thinking that no matter what, he must not sit and watch and remain indifferent. Bang! Ding Jiuzhong inside the pavilion let out a stifled groan, while Zhou Laotan only shook a little; obviously, in this palm exchange, Ding Jiuzhong suffered a slight loss. Zhou Laotan withdrew his scarlet hand, and let out a He! He! harsh-soundingugh, Funny! Its really hrious! The magnificent Gu Zhu [valley master] of Diwang Gu [Monarch Valley] Ding Jiuzhong, Ding Da Di [lit. the Great Emperor Ding], unexpectedly fell with just a light pressure from me, that even your egg was nearly squeezed out. Really funny! There was a strong gust of wind. Xu Ziling only saw a shadow shed, the person inside the pavilion rushed out, the giant iron X [and then there were some gibberish, I cant make any sense out of it], stormed straight toward the opponent. But in Xu Zilings eyes, this attack was not simple at all. Not only the technique was profound, the ever-changing, thick and broad X [and some gibberish] ... [Just to give you an idea, here is the original: x?סڶ??澢??ٶڵ??x?ѵ?ľ?硣Two of my sources are the same, the third one simply skip this part altogether and go straight to the following paragraph. Any help will be appreciated.] Although Zhou Laotan appeared rxed, his expression was extremely grave; his two swelling and blood-red arms struck out from inside his sleeves and turned into scarlet palm shadows like fire filling the sky, to meet the giant X head-on. Bang! Powerful qi collided; all around them the tree where shaken the flowers were snapped, the branches broke and the leaves fell. When Zhou Laotan was staggering to the left, Ding Jiuzhong retreated to the pavilion. Laughing nastily, he said, I, Ding Da Di had just broken through the thirty-seventh style of the Five Emperors XX, the King of Xiangs dream. How did it feel? It was only this moment that the exhausted Zhou Laotan managed to steady his footing. His face alternated between red and white, but it was unclear whether the changes were due to him circting his internal energy, or because he was ashamed. Xu Ziling was secretly rmed. Any one of these two men could go anywhere in Jianghu, and would be an overbearing figure who was able to go on the rampage unhindered, and now there were two of them; naturally he was quite amazed. Based on his current skill, dealing with one of them would entail strenuous effort on his part, forget about dealing with the two of them at the same time. Before Zhou Laotan had any chance to respond, a burst of tenderughter came from the mountain road, a tender and coy, like cotton and honey, female voice spoke up, My Da Di Gege, Laotan Xiaodi [big brother and little brother, respectively], its been twenty years! Yet you are still like before, as soon as you see each other you fight like dogs fighting over a bone; arent you afraid I, Jin Huanzhen, would twist your ears? Xu Ziling nearly called for his Niang in his heart! Where did these devil heads, who had been in hiding for thest twenty years,e from? They must have had oldplicated rtion like intertwined melon and vine nts with Shi Qingxuans mother Bi Xiuxin, and the enmity must be extremely deep. Would she be able to deal with them? Would he have the ability to help her cross this difficulty safely? Fortunately he was a free and easy person; he would not be troubled because of this matter, he could not possibly be bothered about sess and failure, gains and losses even more. He only made up his mind to strive for the charming beauty, who he had not met. A shadow shed; a thousand-tender a hundred-charm woman in splendid colorful attire appeared next to Zhou Laotan, and acted as if she was going toe closer to Zhou Laotan. It was as if Zhou Laotan was evading a snake; he darted off two zhang to the side and only after reaching the intersection to the road leading up the mountain did he stop and spoke in horror, You want to find someone to show your affection, just go to your Ding Da Di! Ding Jiuzhong gave out a hollowugh and said, Thank you for Laotan Xiongs nice introduction, but Id rather defer to you! Listening to that, Xu Ziling was confused; suddenly Zhou Laotan and Ding Jiuzhong became like old friends who were chatting and joking amiably, without the least bit sign of the fire of war. Jin Huanzhen was wearing pce-style brightly colored clothes, at first nce her age seemed to be in her twenties, but after careful examination, it was clear that the years she has lived were not a few; a faint trace of crows feet could be seen radiating from the tip of her brows and the corner of her eyes toward the hair on her temples, like a cobweb. But her eyebrows were like distant mountains, her eyes like the limpid autumn waters, the true measure of beauties; its just that her face was pale without the least bit sign of blood on it, making her looked like a beautiful apparition from the underworld. She stomped her feet and spoke angrily, Who do you think you are? You have the impertinence to push me, the Mei Niangzi [Charming Lady] Jin Huanzhen, away like that? One day I will make you kneel in front of me to lick Laoniangs [I, this old woman] toes. A longughter shaking the heavens came from the distance but approaching fast; a voice, which was originally strong and straightforward, deliberately spoke slowly in soft, gentle manner, If they dont dare to have you, let me, the Dao Xing Ni Shi [lit. going against the tide, a perverse way of doing things] You Niaojuan ept you without question! Even Xu Zilings countenance finally changed. Book 20 - 6 – Recruiting Soldiers and Buying Horses Book 20 Chapter 6 C Recruiting Soldiers and Buying Horses With Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong waiting in fear and trepidation, Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely, Xiliang, have you and Shao Lingzhous daughter officially knelt to heaven and earth to be wedded? A bit embarrassed, Gui Xiliang stammered, Just verbal agreement. Hey! You must not be oversensitive; Shao Junshi said that after I master the Taixu Jin [Great Emptiness (or Cosmic) Power] that he is going to impart to me, I will be married to Miss Lanfang, because female charms are the most taboo for this kind of internal martial art. Shao Junshi only has good intention toward me. Kou Zhong squinted at him; it was only after seeing him feeling ufortable from head to toes did he start tough hoarsely and said, You look like someone who had just stepped your foot into the Jianghu, who is easily fooled by others like an idiot, yet you are still immeasurably self-satisfied, thinking that this is all for your benefit. Cant you use your tiny brains to think? He intentionally gives his darling baby girl to marry you, why would he teach you this his mothers Taixu Gong, which will prevent you from going into the bridal chamber? Gui Xiliang was ashamed and angered at the same time. Dont talk nonsense! he said, Otherwise forget about us being brothers. Xing Rong also pulled his saber toe to his aid, Shao Junshi has been good to Xiliang this whole time, I need not mention it, but speaking about seniority, although Liang Ge [big brother] waste Bangzhus disciple, he is still at least half a rank before he is eligible to be the Tangzhu [hall master] of the Dew Bamboo Hall. Gui Xiliang also spoke up ruthlessly, You, this kid, always love to use lowly mans heart to gage other peoples gentlemans belly. If Shao Junshi were that kind of despicable lowly man, he would not be willing to let the Bangzhu position empty, he would have ascended to that position himself! Am I right? Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, If I was as na?ve as the two of you, I would have been swallowed and be the sacrificial offering in the Five Viscera [i.e. heart, liver, spleen, lungs and kidneys] Temple inside Li Mi, Wang Shichong, those wily old foxes belly. How could I sit here and talk to you then? Tell me, does Shao Lingzhou know that I have sent someone to Jiangdu, asking for help? Stunned, the two looked at each other. It was Gui Xiliang who responded, Maybe not? If he did, he would have told me. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, You are at most his prospective son-inw. If unexpected misfortune happens to you, the engagement will be automatically annulled. Ay! If I didnt guess incorrectly, Dew Bamboo Hall must be the Hall with weakest manpower, and that scoundrel Mai Yunfei must be either Clear Bamboo Hall or Rain Bamboo Halls Tangzhu. Shao Lingzhous gentlemans belly must be particrly small; he loves to appoint people for his personal gain. The two were dumbstruck and unable to reply. Evidently Kou Zhong has guessed correctly. It was quite a whileter that Xing Rong finally spoke dejectedly, Mai Yunfei is indeed the Clear Bamboo Halls Tangzhu. Kou Zhong spoke in disdain, That guys [note: original word jiahuo can also mean domestic animal, so it is more vulgar than just a guy] only strong point is that he is arrogant and conceited. Just think! If Mai Yunfei did not know that is just a temporary n of convenience, how could he be willing to let it go? Besides, Shao Lanfang has always been his girlfriend, how could she suddenly be willing to marry you? Girls love good-looking guys. Although you, Liang Ge, are not bad, but Mai Yunfei ought to be a bit more handsome than you are? Xing Rong could not help nodding; he said, Xiao Zhong is not without any sense! As a matter of fact, at that time I had a feeling that this is all too sudden; its just that seeing Liang Ge was so happy and was head over heels, I did not dare to speak up. Gui Xiliangs countenance turned from red to white and back to red again; shaking his head, he said, It cant be like that, why would Shao Lingzhou want to harm me? Even if he did not give his daughter to marry me, I cannot do anything that will be disadvantageous to him. Kou Zhong reached out to pat his shoulder and said, A real man can suffer to be without a wife. He is not trying to win over you, instead, he is trying to win over the Song n, and the next best thing, because I was the one asking the Song n to support you as the Bangzhu. Shao Lingzhou is afraid of the Heavenly Saber Song Que, next in line would be Xiaodi. But now he has Li Zitong as his backer, the situation is definitely different. After a short pause, he emphasized, Just think: why would he want to move the headquarter to Yangzhou? Its because he is in collusion with Li Zitong, so now they sent you here to get me back to Yangzhou to receive my death. One lifetime, how many brothers can we have? Even if you dont believe me, your little brother, there is nothing you can do. After staring nkly for a moment, Gui Xiliang hung his head like a defeated cock and said, You have made my heart so confused! Xing Rong said, But the more I think, the more I feel Xiao Zhongs words make a lot of sense. Just think: why didnt Shao Lanfange with her Die to Yangzhou, but wanted to stay at Jiangyin instead? Kou Zhong joined in, She disdains to show even a fake affection to you! Shut up! Gui Xiliang angrily said. Kou Zhong was stunned. After looking at him for half a day, he suddenly doubled inughter and said, Good kid, you finally figure it out! Smiling bitterly, Gui Xiliang said, You, this kid, are really cruel; you shattered my sweet dream. Ay! What can we do now? Kou Zhong asked Xing Rong, Wind Bamboo Halls Tangzhu is Shen Beichang, but who is in charge of the Rain Bamboo Hall? Xing Rong replied, Naturally the former Fu Tangzhu [vice/deputy hall master] of Wind Bamboo Hall, Luo Feng. No one is more qualified than him. Kou Zhong said, Those two are my old friends, I wonder if Shao Lingzhou has made up some preposterous excuse to have them transferred elsewhere, so that it would be more convenient to deal with me? Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong looked at each other. It was quite a whileter than the former said, This time I really surrender to you. At this time both of them are not in Yangzhou. His mother! Shao Lingzhou has the guts to harm me. This hatred cannot be left un-avenged. Kou Zhongughed and said, You want to take revenge and wipe out a grudge? Very easy! But you have to be a bit more patient. And then his eyes shone with sharp shes as he spoke heavily, I have the ability to make Li Mi never be able to free himself, naturally I have a way to support you as the Bangzhu. Just put old man Shao in the distance so that you can see him clearly! Xu Zilings shock was justified. It should be noted that when one was rushing at full speed, the blood and qi, the cirction of the true power within ones body, were all at their peak. If he raised his voice to speak at the same time, his words would be automatically rushed and hurried, because the outward expression matched the inner flow of the breathing. Those who had reached the first-ss master level had the ability to maintain the evenness of the tone. The way the neer talked and the speed at which he wasing werepletely opposite to each other. Not only he spoke slowly and calmly, it was also soft and gentle, a clear disy that he was able to defy the naturalw, and had reach the excellence of being able topletely control the qi power and the distribution of air as he spoke. This Dao Xing Ni Shi You Niaojuans martial art skill has definitely reached the grand master level. Looking down through the branches and the leaves, from Xu Zilings angle, this moment he could only see the Charming Lady Jin Huanzhen, standing at the edge of the cliff. By the time You Niaojuans voice came, at first her jade countenance changed slightly, and then she broke into an enchanting smile. Evidently, just like Xu Ziling, she came to the same conclusion and was shocked. Suddenly there was a sh of shadow, followed by the fierce noise of strong gust of wind. Someone appeared about five zhang high in the air, and then, like he was falling from the sky, he dropped straight down andnded by Jin Huanzhens side without making any noise, as if his body was lighter than a feather. Xu Ziling held his breath and stopped his qi; he did not make the slightest movement, and even applied his internal energy to close up his pores. If he was the slightest bit careless, he would rouse these peoples alertness. The Dao Xing Ni Shi You Niaojuans face was like yellow wax, scrawny, like someone with one foot in the grave. The tip of his brows and his forehead were full of miserable-looking deep wrinkles. But he was really tall;pared to Jin Huanzhens jade stature standing beside him, he was a full head taller. His nose was even higher and more crooked than Ding Jiuzhong, his lips were thicker than Zhou Laotans. His eyebrows were unusually thick and jet-ck; below the eyebrows, his bright and spirited eyes were in total contrast with his bleak, miserable countenance. The eyes were shining and limpid like those of a childs; however, in the depth of the eyes, there was faint coldness and hatred that could not possibly be in a childs eyes, so that those who looked at him shivered all over not from the cold. He wore an unusually big and loose ck robe, which looked extremely ill fitting on his emaciated body. On his back was a huge, glimmering copper mace in the shape of a one-legged man, it looked to be at least several hundred catties, but hanging in his back, it appeared as light as a feather, as if he did not feel the load at all. Jin Huanzhen unwittingly moved away a little in full alert. With his hands behind his back, You Niaojuan swept his gaze across, and then threw his head backward and burst into an owl-like screechingughter that sounded as unpleasant as a sharp awl scratching against a porcin dish. Narrowing his eyes, he spoke in his peculiar soft and gentle voice, Twenty years! It is rare that the direct disciples of Nixing Pai [lit. going the wrong way, Pai is usually tranted as Sect], Bawang Gu [lit. hegemon valley], Chishou Jiao [lit. scarlet hands, Jiao is usually tranted as Cult] and Meihuo Zong [lit. bewitching school], these four major demonic schools of heretical skill and strange technique meet together in one ce. The person is mine; as for the Xie Di Sheli [lit. ashes (after cremation) or relic of the demonic emperor], if youd like to strive for it until you are badly burned about the head [from trying to put out a fire], the three of you can do as you wish, Ol You will not interfere. Ding Jiuzhongs cold, trickling voice came out from inside the pavilion, You are certainly counting your chicken before they are hatched; you want to enjoy the person first, and then after we fight desperately for the Relic until several defeats and all are injured, youde to reap the benefit. How could there be such a convenient thing in the world? You Niaojuans eyes flickered with cruel, malicious strange shed, as he let out a weird-soundingugh and said, Ding Jiuzhong, it must be that you have not woken up from your dream of bing the demonic emperor. It looks like Ol You will have to personally wake you up. Zhou Laotan, who previously looked like he could not exist together with Ding Jiuzhong like water and fire, joined in, You Niaojuan, you happen to be wrong! Not only Ding Da Di is not still dreaming about bing the emperor, it is because he is very clear-headed that he can see it clearly that you are harboring unfathomable motives. Zhen Meizi [younger sister, term of endearment], what do you say? Jin Huanzhen replied with an enchanting smile, What Zhou Xiaodi said, of course Jiejie agrees! Suddenly, these tree people decided to form a united front to resist You Niaojuan, the strongest big devil head. You Niaojuan spoke nonchntly, Since the three of you like to think like that, I, Ol You, wont force you to think otherwise. Even if I did, it wonte to a good end. Let us smash the Relic first, and use the person as the gambling stake. After fighting, whatever you want to do with her, it will not be my concern. Aiyo! Jin Huanzhen eximed, as she cast him an iparably charming sidelong nce, saying, Since when did You Dage learn how to make meticulous nning and careful ounting like this? After you waste the person, will there be any profit we could dredge up? You Niaojuan threw his head back and roared inughter, he said, I cant go left, you dont want to go right. Could it be that after twenty years, the three of you still dont make any progress? Dont you understand the principle the weak is prey to the strong? Do you want me to break my oath against taking life before you can obediently follow mymand? Ding Jiuzhongughed grimly and said, Xiaodi, Meizi, You Dage is going to break his oath against taking life. What do you say? Zhou Laotan suddenly shed toward Jin Huanzhen, reached out to pull her small waist, and let out a weirdughter very close to her fragrant face he said, Whatever Meizi says, Gege will naturally advance hand-in-hand and retreat together with you, flying wing to wing in mutual respect [in marriage] with you! In his embrace, Jin Huanzhenughed like a trembling sprig of blossoming flower and said, Of course I will live together with you ... but not die together! You die first! When she spoke the words not die together, the tone of her voice turned hurried, as her elbow suddenly struck Zhou Laotans nk. With an earth-shattering miserable scream, Zhou Laotans entire body flew and rolled under some bushes. Xu Ziling peeking from the side never expected this change; watching all these, he was momentarily dumbfounded. A strong gust of wind blew at the same time, from inside the pavilion, Ding Jiuzhong swiftly escaped to the rear, while swift like an arrow, You Niaojuan chased after him. The two of them quickly disappeared into the forest against the steep cliff behind the pavilion. Leisurely, but very deliberately, Jin Huanzhen walked over to Zhou Laotan, who was lying face down on the ground, motionless, and said with a tender sigh, Zhou Xiaodi, you dont make a progress at all; its been a long twenty years, how could you still not know that a real husband cant surpass a lover [orig. male adulterer]? Remembering the husband and wife feeling of the past, Ill give you a foot! Zhou Laotan rolled around and did not stop until his body bumped against the trunk of the tree where Xu Ziling was hiding. Without looking back, Jin Huanzhen went up the mountain. Watching this, Xu Zilings scalp went numb. This was the first time that he saw such savage and crafty,pletelycking any sense of justice, men and woman. While he was unsure whether he should run after Jin Huanzhen at once, he suddenly felt something was not right. Zhou Laotan, who was supposed to be dead, suddenly sprang up from the ground, as if nothing had happened, and let out a strange-soundingughter, he said, The one not making any progress can only be him; this time he still does not fall into the trap. Finished speaking,ughed strangely again, very proud of himself, and walked away. Xu Ziling was so shocked that his entire body nearly went numb. Taking a deep breath, he put on the Yue Shan mask, and jumped down the tree and run up the mountain in the direction of where You Niaojuan and Ding Jiuzhong were disappearing. In the study room inside the Zongguan Mansion, Kou Zhong received Xuan Yong, Ren Meimei, and Chen Jiafeng, three people. He said, A good start is the key to future sess. Hence it must not be taken lightly. Every political power, when it is starting to rise, must have this kind of gratifying atmosphere. Just like a seed, it will start to germinate, blossom, and produce fruits. The three had no idea what he was trying to say; they had no choice but to bend their ear to listen carefully. Kou Zhong revealed a deep-in-thought look. The three thought he was still organizing his thought to continue his discourse, but actually he was contemting whether he should take out Lu Miaozis secret book on history, and turned to the chapter Political Prosperity and Decline, Gains and Losses. In the end, Kou Zhong decided not to reveal his trump cards; clearing up his throat, he leaned over the table, and then, deftly, with pragmatic assurance andposure, he said, But when supporting the declining spirit behind this kind of new political power, a decayed, dpidated circumstances might rise; therefore, we must frequently reflect upon ourselves, to see if we are corrupted by the power, for instance, collusion and nepotism, rejecting outsiders, unwilling to listen to the voices of opposition, and so on. Hey! The three had never expected Kou Zhong would have such argument; they were all taken by surprise. Kou Zhong went on, I was just speaking casually; actually, I only want you all to aplish this principle, nobility is exquisite, but there are more people who are not noble. Not only the political structure should be streamlined, the soldiers must increase in quality and not in quantity. If we can aplish these points, then it will be a good beginning, and will be the spirit with which our Shao Shuai Army will be able to rise. Xuan Yongs old face blushed, he said, Fortunately Shao Shuai said it clearly. Otherwise, subordinate would still think that Shao Shuai wanted to raise your banner and beat the drums to recruit as many soldiers as possible! Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Our top priority is to encourage production. If everybody goes to war, who will till the fields? Plus our army provision is not enough to deal with enormous expenditures. Our citizens wont care who you are, as long as you can guarantee that they live in peace and work happily, having ample food and clothing, they will willingly throw their lives for you; other things will be unnecessary. Emotionally moved, Ren Meimei said, I never thought Shao Shuai would have such an acute foresight [lit. stand tall and see far] in the great endeavor to rule a country. We will definitely work ording to what Shao Shuai has decreed. Kou Zhong smiled and said, These principles of mine, anybody who had read history book would understand, but implementing it is not easy at all. Furthermore, it is susceptible to the influence of objective situation. Therefore, I must formte an outline in the main direction we are going to follow. In the first ce is how to consolidate our foundation. This matter will be described in details by Xuan Zongguan. Thereupon Xuan Yong exined the n they already discussed about taking Xiapi and Luoma Lake first, and then the cities surrounding Dong Hai County. Listening to this, Ren Meimei and Chen Jiafengs spirit was greatly aroused. Kou Zhong said, Regarding the organization of the army, you guys are the experts, but on the organizing the structure of the government, do you have any ideal candidate in mind? The three you look at me, I gaze at you, no one had any idea who might be able to bear this heavy responsibility. With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, This is indeed a very heavy assignment; one small mistake, the line ofmand with crumble, power distribution will be uneven, and excess personnel andplications might ur. Fortunately I already have someone in mind. This man is called Xu Xingzhi, currently he is at the Flying Horse Ranch, and I already sent a messenger to summon him back. As long as he presides over the general situation, we need not be worried! Seeing he appeared to be holding the pearl of wisdom in everything, Xuan Yong, three people, had their confidence doubled. Kou Zhong continued, The second issue is how to promote the economy and trade situation. Even if in the future we acquire Donghai, this strategic town for overseasmercial trade, we still need infrastructure that can be considered our own, such as ocean-going fleet of ships with ample experience. Only then will we be able to develop Donghai County to its full potential. The three could only return a nk stare; naturally they had no idea how to obtain such a fleet of ships. Chen Jiafeng proposed, If we reduce the tax on the river coursemerce, perhaps we can encourage more boats toe to our territory to do business. Kou Zhong raised his thumb in praise and said, Thats an excellent idea! While our army is tiny our generals a few, while our expenditure is not high, not only we want to lower the toll [lit. money to buy the road], we also want to keep the people from paying exorbitant tax. These past few years, your Pengliang Hui must have scraped not a few profit, just use that to support the general situation! Ren Meimeis pretty face slightly blushed, she stared at him viciously and said, Without Shao Shuais reminder, we ought to know how to handle this matter. But rebuilding Pengcheng requires considerable expenditures, I am afraid that if the taxation is reduced, perhaps the money we umted would be used up in half a year time. Kou Zhongughed and said, Let me worry about that. If I can put the Duke Yangs Treasure to work, all the problems will be easily solved [lit. (bamboo) splits when it meets the knifes edge]. As for the fleet, I have a thorough n in mind, which I will share with you a bitter. Then, turning to Xuan Yong, he said, I want you to find me a way to send a letter to one of Wang Shichongs subordinates by the name of Chen Changlin. If we can have this man to manage Donghai County for us, we will be able to make that county as the most prosperous strategic city in term of foreign trade, which will be very beneficial to us, it might even be difficult to estimate. If not because of the vitality of foreign trade in Jiangdu, Li Zitong would have been finished early on. Xuan Yong nodded and said, I have heard about this man as well, but I didnt know he is proficient in maritime trade. Kou Zhong said, His ancestors were engaged in maritime trade for ages, plus they were skillful in shipbuilding. Nowadays, it is difficult to find even half a person with this talent; therefore, this matter is very important. In my estimate, he should be returning to the Eastern Capital, Da Xiaojie ought to be able to tell you his whereabouts. Ill take care of it, Xuan Yong replied. And then Kou Zhong asked about the whereabouts of Ku Ges defeated army. Ren Meimei replied, He has been seen running away toward the ocean, killing and looting along the way; they are probably on the sea by now. Kou Zhong nodded. He said, Military intelligence is number one priority, with Luo Qifei in charge of this, I am very relieved. Patting his chest, Chen Jiafeng said, In the Peng and Liang region, no one is more well-informed than us. Any wind blowing, grass moving, nothing can hide from us. Kou Zhong stretched out and said, In that case, we have nothing to do but to wait for Qifeis good news. Another good start for us will be to kill that fellow by the name of Du Ren from Luoma Bang! The three saluted loudly. Book 20 - 7 – Mutual Deception Book 20 Chapter 7 C Mutual Deception[1] Xu Ziling, disguised as Yue Shan, swaggered up the mountain road leading toward the temple, with his hands behind his back. The narrow road suddenly opened; under the glow of the setting sun, a winding creek, gurgling softly as it meandered into the tightly packed tall and straight, thick and solid forest of Chinese giant redwood. The most touching thing was that there were three wooden bridges, all different from each other in terms of shape and size, each one served as a lining to the other, each one started when the other ended, forming a triangr space in the middle of thebination of the small bridges, epassing the only passage among the trees leading toward the temple. By now Xu Ziling could be considered at least half an expert in architecture; his heart was full of praise, knowing that this design must havee from the hand of a master. His mind had already forgotten that he was about to face danger very soon, reced by afort and leisure feeling of seeking serenity exploring beautiful scenery, following the forest path and the small bridge, roaming among the trees. The mountain road curved, and surprisingly there was another small pavilion ahead, built on the edge of a dangerous cliff, overlooking the vast, endless empty space and the beautiful scenery of the majestic setting sun beyond the mountain, bringing his vision from the serene and hidden in the depth of the forest to the expansive universe that seemed to be running in parallel without any hindrance. This drastic change made Xu Ziling shook incessantly, so that he stood inside the pavilion, staring nkly at the distance, and it was quite a whileter that he was finally able to regain hisposure, and continued climbing the mountain. The mountain path was sloping steeper as he went deeper into the mountain. After passing through another forest, he came to a nearly a hundred stone steps, which led straight toward the gate of the temple. This no-name ancient temple was built on a teau leaning against the mountain, the stone steps were in disrepair, full of weeds and wild vine; apparently it has been abandoned for quite a long time. Under the fading light of the dusk, it looked even gloomier. Xu Ziling took a deep breath and started to climb step by step. The appearance of those vicious people of the four extremely demonic schools has truly made him understand the real meaning of the saying in the wider world, there are people more talented than himself. But it has also given him a feeling of pleasant change. Someday, if he could roam around the world to widen his experience, to meet warriors and schrs of extraordinary talent, that would definitely be very interesting, something that would make his life more colorful. Were it not for his decision to choose this remote wilderness, this time he could not possibly enjoy such a peculiar encounter. He was not too worried over Shi Qingxuan; since she had the courage to y her flute to provoke these four vicious people, naturally she would have at least a bit confidence that she would be able to deal with them. Otherwise, if she ever fell into the hands of any one of those four, it would be better if she died rather than alive. The stone steps under his feet have ended, ahead was the pitch-ck opening of the temple gate, emitting a stench of decay. Without the slightest hesitation Xu Ziling stepped over the threshold and entered the temple. There was a sudden sh of light. Xu Ziling focused his eyes to look, and saw a woman, her long hair hanging to her waist, was sitting with her back facing him, in front of a single oilmp on the sacrificial table in front of a Bodhisattva image. The Bodhisattva was dpidated, with its paint peeling off, covered in dust and cobwebs; a picture of bleak, cold and deste atmosphere. Xu Zilings eyes swept around; while he was feeling surprised to find not a single one of You Niaojuan and the others was to be seen, Shi Qingxuans clear and melodious, sweet voice rang softly in his ears, Excuse me, may I ask which martial art master the Senior is? Seeing she was still sitting with her back toward him, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, If Miss turn around to look, wont you immediately see who Laofu is? Shi Qingxuans soft voice said, Although Qianbei [Senior] possesses superior martial art skill, you are not the person I am waiting for. If you are just passing by incidentally, hearing the flute anding to see, then let Wanbei [junior] offer a bit of advice for Qianbei to leave immediately. Otherwise you might be drawn into apletely unnecessary Jianghus gratitude and grudges. Letting out a weird-soundingughter, Xu Ziling said, I dont believe in demon, so I want to see it with my own eyes. Miss needs not worry about Laofus life or death. Finished speaking, he walked over toward the corner near the door, and sat down against the wall. Shi Qingxuan was still sitting with her back facing the door, with her eyes fixed on the flickering me of thentern. Her silhouette seemed to be fused into the glow of the oilmp. Not only it emphasized her cloud-like beautiful hair lightly and softly hanging on her back, it also entuated her fragrant shoulders and her graceful, beautiful and wonderful outline, which looked as distinct as if she was carved with a knife. Simply her slender and elegant figure seen from behind was enough to make people feel that she was an enigma; an outstandingly exotic beauty that seemed to appear out of the dust. All along she did not turn around, she was only sighing faintly, as if she had no interest in Xu Zilings whereabouts. The afterglow of the sunset finally disappeared beyond the distant horizon outside the temple. The oilmp on the sacrificial table in front of the Bodhisattva became the only light in the dark world, reflecting Shi Qingxuans solitary high and outstanding, hard-to-measure personality. Cicadas were started to sing, the insects were starting to buzz, filling the air outside the temple with rich and ethereal noises. In the cacophony of noise, there was some kind of hard-to-describe rhythm, making the deathly still wilderness suddenly brimming with life. An unusual sound was suddenly heard outside the temple. At first it sounded like the cry of a baby, but then it turned into the miserable wailing of a woman. Even with Xu Zilings self-cultivation, and his knowledge that someone was ying ghost, he could not stop his hair from standing up, and involuntarily recalled Zhu Yuyans demonic skill of confusing the enemy using sound. Yet Shi Qingxuan seemed to turn a deaf ear to the noise; she maintained her elegant and serene attitude. At first Xu Ziling did not understand why although he could not see her facial expression, yet he was able to clearly, unmistakably sense her state of mind. Upon further reflection and self-introspection, he began to realize that he was able to grasp her innermost feeling from the subtle movements of her back. Including the movements and reaction of her flesh and blood vessels under her clothes that ordinary people would find it hard to detect. Regarding this kind of insight, Xu Ziling himself was shocked; this was indeed a progress that even in his dream he had never expected. The demonic sound outside rose again and changed; from the front suddenly it moved to the back, from the left it rose, suddenly it fell on the right, continuously moving, indeterminately, bing concentrated on the open area in front of the temple. It grew more and more hurried, loud and nasty; bing ghosts wailing and demons roar. If his inner strength was insufficient, it would be strange indeed if he did not cover his ears and tremble in fear. It felt as if you were suddenly thrown into the Asuras hell, where thousands and tens of thousands ghosts who died tragically all came to demand your life. Phantoms were flickering, the air was thick with gloomy murderous aura. Ziling! The mournful cries resonated in Xu Zilings eardrums. Inwardly, Xu Ziling shivered in fear, thinking that wasnt it Susus voice, calling for him? He was shocked; knowing that the demonic noise nearly entered his mind. Hastily he drove away ten thousand thoughts, and guard his heart. Shi Qingxuan sighed faintly again. Like magic, a bamboo flute appeared in her hand, which she put on her lips, but she did not blow it. It did not make any sound. While Xu Ziling was feeling something was strange, a single clear tone seemed to slowly appear from the distant in, and slowly continued from that far, unreachable ce, leaping and moving, brimming with vitality. No matter how the ghostly wail twisting terrifyingly, ear-piercing, harsh, covering the heaven, shrouding the earth, seemingly able to drown anybody in suffocating perilous situation, Shi Qingxuans note was like an unsinkable small boat. Although every now and then it seemed to be tossed around by gigantic waves, in the end it was always able to float safely. Xi Zilings heart was also tossed around by a thousandyers of giant waves, because this was the first time that he personally experienced the extraordinary feat sound breaking sound. The huge benefit he gained was surely hard to describe. He finally grasped the possibility to contend against Zhu Yuyans demonic sound. A possibility that would y a significant, as well as decisive, role in Kou Zhong and his struggle against Yin Gui Pai. Once again he waspletely intoxicated by Shi Qingxuans touching flute sound. [1] Chapter title: you hoodwink me, I cheat you [same as Book 2 Chapter 2]. From her music, he clearly felt that Shi Qingxuan was a genuine wise and virtuous woman. It sounded like an ordinary music, but it was iparably moving, without the slightest artificial tenderness of excavating and brushing away the suffering hidden deep in everybodys innermost being. It was not subjected by the limit of space and time, as well as the human emotion. Each note was like containing some kind of strange, touching power, which was difficult to resist, and it was even more difficult to be a casual observer over the wall. Xi Ziling haspletely forgotten her ying skill, until the note became a phrase, and until the powerful sounding out of the bamboo pipe shook and burst like a clear birds cry. It was an extraordinarily unprecedented feeling. The flute sound was growing faster and faster, as if in one breath it was able to carry you a crazy 108,000 li; the timbre changed irregrly tens of thousands of times in picturesque disorder. The music continuously widening and growing in intensity, brimming with unnamed persistence, inner strength, tension, and inspiration. [I am sure you guys know how much I enjoy Huang Yis flowerynguage, so I am also sure that you enjoy these sentences, which, to me, dont make any sense ...] The wailing ghost vanished gradually, until it came toplete silence. What remained was the gentle flute sound filling the heaven and earth, which made people unwilling to let go. But the flute suddenly stopped. Shi Qingxuan spoke indifferently, Since honored guests have arrived, why not enter the temple to meet? Shi Zhixuan and Bi Xiuzins daughter Shi Qingxuan has been waiting respectfully for four Qianbeis good selves appearance. Gusts of wind arrived swiftly. Light suddenly went out. In its ce was the strange, sharp shrill and the continuous ringing of qi power shing against each other, unending as if muffled thunder burst forth. Just as sudden, the sound ofbat also vanishedpletely. The light was shining again. Shi Qingxuan was still standing facing the Buddha, her beautiful eyes were fixed on the only dot of light in the entire spacious temple hall. Its hazy red light seemed to fuse with her being like inalienable entity. On the other side, near the door, was the Charming Lady Jin Huanzhen. Only this moment her hair disheveled, her face pale; evidently she suffered losses during the hand-to-handbat just now. Shi Qingxuan spoke in gentle voice, Just now Jin Zongzhu [school master] was injured by my flute sound, yet you still showed off by making your move; you are overestimating your capabilities too much. Please leave now! I am afraidter will be much worse. Astonished and unsure, Jin Huanzhen shot a nce at Xu Ziling, who was sitting quietly on the corner. Who is he? she asked harshly. How would I know? Shi Qingxuan replied indifferently. You Niaojuans voice, which anybody who had heard it would never forget as long as they live, the grating voice like a knife scraping porcin dish, which would make others ufortable from head to toe, spoke unhurriedly from outside the temple, I thought you, this girl, has received Bi Xiuxins handed-down teachings, and was highly intelligent; turns out you are just a stupid girl. Unexpectedly you didnt know the wise saying throughout all ages that one meritorious deed can be ten thousand dry bones. This s1ut was just vanguard troops being sent out to scout your real situation. Right now, how much weigh do you carry that you think any would have any regard to you? Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbfounded. He was not surprised that there was such person as You Niaojuan in the world, rather, did not understand why Jin Huanzhen was humiliated by him like this, yet she was still willing to bear it. One was willing to fight, the other was willing to endure. Other people had nothing to say. Shi Qingxuan still maintained her graceful bearing; calmly she said, I did not expect that Dao Xing Ni Shi You Niaojuan, one of the eight major martial art masters of the demonic school, who made his name twenty years ago, is actually a coward and a superficial disciple; a disciple that is quick to show off and talk around, but has no guts to attain a higher level [orig. from the main room, enter the inner chamber]. I wonder if this person is a Qianbei who is passing through at random? Xu Ziling was unsure whether Shi Qingxuan was making an excuse for him, or was trying to draw him into the whirlpool. Jin Huanzhen let out a silver-bell-like tenderughter and said, You Laoda, dont worry! This Lao Qianbei is definitely not the Heavenly Saber Song Que. But dont even think that I would feel him out for you. You Niaojuans voice arrived at the top of the temple; with stern hiss he said, Why not? Jin Huanzhen shrugged her shoulders and said, Laoniang is scared of him! If I provoked him and the two of them attacked me, alone, from both side, plus you are a man who sees death without helping, wouldnt I be following the path to my own doom? Laoniang has just made a mistake, and I dont want to do that for your sake. It was only then did Xu Ziling understand that the Heavenly Saber Song Que was involved in this matter; no wonder that You Niaojuan, such a formidable and terrifying demonic power, was still so afraid of the head, terrified of the tail. Boom! Arge hole appeared on the roof of the temple, followed by wood fragments and debris of the roof tiles, and You Niaojuan dropped down from the sky, andnded in between Jin Huanzhen and Shi Qingxuan. His sharp-like-a-hawks eyes looked directly at Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling thought, Show time!, and at the same instant as the opponents feet were touching the ground, he stood up and met You Niaojuans gaze with equal harshness. Laughing hoarsely, he said, Finally little demon You is willing toe to make an exhibition of himself? Obviously You Niaojuan did not know Yue Shan. After looking at him with full attention for half a day, he knitted his brows and said, Old mans tone is really big; report your name to me, lets see if you are qualified to call me little demon. Xu Ziling did not know whether he shouldugh or cry. Surely he rarely saw a martial art expert of grand master level like You Niaojuan, but at the same time he also saw his despicable, shameless character. But if You Niaojuan was able to learn the truth, based on his overbearing power, he would definitely treat Xu Ziling with unprecedented viciousness and merciless method. At the same, he was thinking about something that had nothing to do with the problem at hand. Who was Zhu Yuyan and Yue Shans daughter? Forty years ago, because he was defeated by Song Que, Yue Shan lost his prestige, and henceforth disappeared as he went into hiding. Therefore, You Niaojuan, who was of aparably younger generation, did not recognize Yue Shan. And so, if Zhu Yuyan bore Yue Shans daughter, it must be happening forty years ago. Based on this fact, Wanwan couldnt possibly be Zhu and Yue, two peoples daughter, because her age was not in agreement with this timeline. Therefore, the reason those two women looked so much alike was quite possibly because both of them cultivated the Tianmo Dafa, hence their personality traits were simr, and thus giving him a misconception. Based on his intuition, Wanwans age must be around twenty. So who was their daughter then? While pondering over this matter, he casually replied, When Laofu made my name, you were still drinking your Niangs milk. Less bullshit, today Laofu feel like eating a feast; I am going to ughter you to eat. Make your move! Quite possibly in this word no one has ever heard that anybody would dare to speak like this to You Niaojuan; momentarily he was stunned. Of course, were it not for his superior eyesight, he was able to sense Xu Zilings powerful confidence and so-strong-that-no-one-can-match imposing manner, which made him hesitate over what move to make, he would have carried out his killer move early on. An eerieugh came from some distant ce outside the door, Its funny! Really funny! Little birdie You [Note; niao in You Niaojuans name means bird] might as well change his nickname to Jing Gong Zhi Niao [a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow], because your little guts has been broken by Song Que twenty years ago. Otherwise, how can you be this shameless, someone call out for a fight, call out for a kill, yet you still withdraw you head into your turtle shell? Surprisingly, it was Ding Jiuzhongs full-of-derision voice. Jin Huanzhens countenance changed, she said, You Laoda, what is wrong with you today, an insignificant Ding Da Di, you are not able to take care? Without waiting for You Niaojuan to respond, Xu Zilingughed coldly and said, Xiaomei, [little sister], arent you also not making any progress at all? And then he shouted loudly, Zhou Laotan! Get out for Laofu, let your Xiao Meizi see. Jin Huanzhens tender body shook severely; she and You Niaojuan looked at each other. The more they felt that Xu Ziling was a profound mystery. Ay! Who are you, this old man, actually? Now, even I, Zhou Laotan, really want to know. His voice started from a distant, but quickly came near. Zhou Laotan, with both hands hanging by his side, strode into the temple, straight toward Jin Huanzhens side. Without any scruple he reached out to grab her small waist as if You Niaojuan was not even there. Looking up through the hole on the temples roof, he cast his gaze onto the night sky, and slyly said, Look! Tonights sky is like the starry sky of twenty years ago. Jin Huanzhen leaned into his bosom and spoke in a childish, coy way, It is even more beautiful than that night! And now it has be Xu Zilings turn to fell as if he had fallen into dense fog; he waspletely at a loss of what to do. You Niaojuan suddenly roared inughter and said, What a loose woman! Unexpectedly you conspired to deceive me. Formidable! My utmost admiration! Xu Ziling suddenly came to realize, no wonder Jin Huanzhen failed to kill Zhou Laotan, because these two were practically putting on an act for You Niaojuan and Ding Jiuzhong. Their purpose was, quite naturally, for You Niaojuan and Ding Jiuzhong to fight until both sides suffered. These demonic peoples you hoodwink me and I cheat you was certainly not something any ordinary people would be able to conceive. Shi Qingxuan was still standing with her back toward these people, without showing the slightest movement, as if everything that was happening behind her had nothing to do with her at all. Ding Jiuzhong, wearing an emperors crown on his head, appeared on the door. He stared at Xu Ziling without revealing any emotion at all, and spoke indifferently, Outside enemy presents, shouldnt we deal with this enemy first before settling the gratitude and grudges among our family? Hold on! Shi Qingxuan shouted lightly. Immediately everybodys attention was drawn toward her. This mysterious beauty was finally turning around slowly to face everybody. Will we see a beauty? Or a beast? Stay tuned ... Book 20 - 8 – Place of Charm and Beauty Book 20 Chapter 8 C ce of Charm and Beauty Knock! Knock! Knock! Holding the treasured book on mechanism in his hand, Kou Zhong said, Ren Dajie, pleasee in! Creak! The door to the study room was pushed open, like a puff of smoke the morous looking Ren Meimei entered in. She walked over with ir, and plopped herself down in a chair next to him. How did Shao Shuai know that it was me? she asked affectionately. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Anybodys footstep, as long as I memorize it firmly, I will never forget. Astonished, Ren Meimei asked, Has my footstep been unchanging? When I wasing in just now, I did my best to lighten my footsteps, with the intention to scare you off! Kou Zhong nodded and said, Peoples footsteps, other than fast and slow, light and heavy, can also change ording to his mood; however, no matter how much it changes, it always retains some unchanged rhyme and rhythm, just like everybodys gait in walking is different, only ordinary people normally dont pay attention to it. Therefore, when Xiao Ling and I changed our appearance and disguised ourselves as someone else, we must also alter our posture and gait in walking, sitting, lying, so that we wont reveal any w. It is easy to say, but it is very difficult and entails strenuous effort to do. Revealing an admiring look, Ren Meimei spoke with great interest, Aiyo! Who would think that this matter would involve so much learning? Where did you learn it from? Pointing to his own head, Kou Zhongughed and said, This guy learned it himself. This is called to eat off ones own strength [i.e. to stand on ones own feet]. Ren Meimei coyly shot him a sidelong nce and said, When we first met at the casino many years ago, the two of you were just kids with yellow hair, your hands were trembling your legs were shaking, and looked like one ovee with fear and trepidation. Who would know that in just a few years you changed shape in a single shake, and have be handsome young men with control over the wind and the clouds? Even Jiejie bes your pawn. At that time, who could have imagined? Kou Zhong casually asked, Does Baling Bang still have power in this region? Ren Meimei replied, Officially, everything they owned were plucked off by Xu Yuang; unofficially, they still owned three, four brothels. Just say the word, I wil pull them up by the roots for you. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, The time has note yet. Hee hee ...! Ren Dajie came to see Xiaodi, is there any special reason? Her seductive appearance in full force, this blooming-flower-like beauty cast him a ten-thousand-flirtatious nce and spoke coyly, Must I have a reason to see you? Kou Zhongughed aloud and reached out to caress her cheek; he said, I thought after going through such turmoil, Ren Dajie would have curbed your desire and engaged in spiritual cultivation; turns out you still retain your former romantic nature. Pouting yfully, Ren Meimei said, I like you! Plus you are just in the prime of your life. If you want women to wait upon you on the bed, you might as well let Jiejie serve you with great care. Gentlemans satisfaction guaranteed. Kou Zhongs hand moved toward the back of her neck; pulling her over, he kissed her on the lips, and said with a smile, I know Dajie will definitely make me very satisfied, but I am afraid I would be too satisfied and happy that I would forget toe back. Because my training came from the Taoists Secret to Long Life, it is inadvisable to indulge in debauchery. Furthermore, we are in the initial stage of our great undertaking, I must exercise restraint even more. Like a spoiled child Ren Meimei did not want to give up, Apanying you for one night shouldnt be a problem, should it? It was not that Kou Zhong did not want sex, or not that he was not tempted by Ren Meimei, but due to painful experience with Yun Yuzhen and Dong Shuni, he developed resistance and wariness toward licentious women; he did not want to cause mischief because of carnal desire and deeply engrossed in the pleasure of close intimacy between man and woman [orig. happiness of fish in the water]. Hearing Ren Meimei, he whispered softly in her ear, Dajie underestimate your attractive power toward me too much. If there is one night, there will be second night and third night. Id better kiss your sweet lips only! Ren Meimei said crossly, Are you trying to attract dead person? But even if you decline my offer, I am still very happy in my heart. Before, it was precisely because he indulged in women excessively that Da Dangjias [first chief] power was declining. Otherwise he wouldnt have died because he failed to recover from his internal injury. Therefore, although I hate you a little, in my heart I admire you very much. It is a really contradictory feeling. Kou Zhong lightly kissed her cheek and said, Dont hate me, just maintain the affectionate feeling between sister and brother; the joy is more longsting and touching than man-woman physical rtionship. Ren Meimei returned his kiss by nting a kiss on his mouth; gently nodding his head, he said, It was only now that Jiejie understood that those who are doing great things must be like that. No wonder you can rise that fast! All right! I wont disturb you anymore. Kou Zhong walked her off to the door. Ren Meimei threw herself into his bosom and spoke tenderly, Apanying you for the night does not necessarily mean we are having sex; I am sure sleeping in your arms will be veryfortable! Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, With a ball of fire in my arms, how can I sleep? Almost forget to tell you, when I sleep, I am training my inner power. Ren Meimei bit him hatefully on his shoulder that he yelped in pain before sheughed tenderly and walked away. Kou Zhong shut the door, sighed, and thought about several reasons to persuade himself. He was about to take out the treasured book and study diligently when he heard footsteps again. He was a thousand times sure and ten thousand times certain that it was Ren Meimeis footstep. But he felt something was very, very wrong. Because the sound was exactly the same as Ren Meimeis footsteps before. It was impossible. One was Ren Meimei thinking of throwing herself into his arms, the other was Ren Meimei who had just been rejected by him. How could two kinds of totally different mood produce the same light and quick steps? Knock! Knock! Knock! Kou Zhongs hand grabbed the Moon in the Well lying on the small table next to his chair. Come in! he spoke indifferently. Atst Shi Qingxuan turned her tender body around to face these people. After seeing her real Mount Lu appearance, everybody, including Xu Ziling, sighed inwardly, What a pity! This beauty, who ought to be wless, was ruthlessly destroyed by high and bulging, out-of-proportion, nasal bone and ugly nose, making people unbearably depressed to see it! If this ugly nose could be removed, her other features wereparable to beauties of Wanwan, Shi Feixuans caliber. Especially the glistening, bright like gemstone, pupil of her pair of eyes, which carried some kind of eternal mystery elegance that made people admiring it greatly. But all the perfection was maliciously wrecked by the repulsive nose. No wonder she was ashamed to show herself to others. After You Niaojuan, Ding Jiuzhong, Zhou Laotan, Jin Huanzhen, four people, cast their harsh nce toward her, from her face, their gaze moved toward the glittering, golden, small crystal ball resting on her slender, delicate and beautiful jade palm. The four of them were severely shaken. And then You Niaojuan, Ding Jiuzhong, Zhou Laotan, Jin Huanzhen rushed forward at the same time, trying to pounce on Shi Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuan waved her hand, the golden crystal ball shot out of her hand, through the hole on the roof, and up to the sky above the temples roof. The four soared and broke through the roof to pursue the crystal ball. The sound of palm wind and punches shing against each other rang incessantly like the sound of firecrackers during New Years celebration. Shi Qingxuan beckoned Xu Ziling with a faint smile on her face. And then she circled around toward the back of the Buddha image. Xu Ziling was taken aback by Shi Qingxuans friendly attitude. But this moment he had no time to think too much, hastily he followed behind her. Shi Qingxuan pushed open the revolving wall behind the Buddha image, while at the same time lighted up a windntern in her hand, illuminating a set of stone steps leading deep underground. Turning toward Xu Ziling, who, by this time, had caught up by her side, she said, Come with Qingxuan! But you must follow Qingxuan step by step, or else you might suffer fatal disaster. The study room door opened wide. Millions of sharp dots, followed by powerful and suffocating, fierce true qi arrived, blowing into the room like a sand storm, rolling Kou Zhong, who sitting steadily in his chair, like raging waves crashing against the shore. If it were someone else, facing this sudden startling-the-heaven-and-earth, sobbing-ghosts-and-deities, terrifying offensive, he would have tried to evade the sharp front with thousand ways, a hundred ns first, before attempting to steady his footing, while striving to reverse his disadvantageous situation. But clearly Kou Zhong knew that that would simply be a dead end. Because this was not the first time that he and this assassin fought hand to hand. He clearly knew that if he lost the key moment and gave the opponent a chance to unleash his sword momentum unrestrained, he could forget about gaining the opportunity to strike back. Qiang! The Moon in the Well separated from its scabbard; the scabbard in his right hand, the saber in his left. At the same time the true qi went straight toward his eyelids was losing its pressure, the sharp dots immediately disappeared without any trace. Wearing ck hood, ck nightwalker attire Yang Xuyan appeared; the tip of the sword in his hand turned into a dot of sharp ray, making a fantastic arc it traversed the zhang or so distance from the door to Kou Zhongs face. It shot right toward him with the speed that was indiscernible by naked eye. This was the first time that Kou Zhong saw such a fast and fierce sword technique. But he was still sitting steadily as if mounting on a great horse, wielding a golden saber, without moving at all. The scabbard in his right hand swiftly poked the tip of the opponents sword. Ding! It was like two streaks of raging inferno crashing against each other. Yang Xuyan was like being struck by lightning. All four chi of the greenish ck sword de changed into seven, eight streaks of sword rays, seemingly able to attack every single one of vital points on Kou Zhongs body. Crack! Crash! The solid mahogany chair disintegrated into cun-size wood fragments. Kou Zhongughed aloud, while struggling hard to resist the numbness on his right hand. Pulling back his scabbard, he fiercely braced his legs to stand up proudly, and then lowering his waist into a horse stand, the Moon in the Well swept the opponent. Dang! Like magic, Yang Xuyans seven, eight streaks of sword rays disappeared and changed back into a four-chi long greenish ck sword de, meeting Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well head on. Evidently Kou Zhongs power was slightly inferior; he was pushed half a step aside. Yang Xuyang did not say a single word, but his momentum was unforgiving either. Unleashing his swordsmanship, his skillful moves looked clumsy, like a shadow following a shadow his sword shed down. But Kou Zhong felt that the opponents seemingly ordinary, nothing-amazing sword move not only carried vicious momentum, it also felt like an enormous vacuum sucking him in, so that even if he wanted to evade, he was helpless to do so. Although fully aware that the opponent was forcing him to meet force with force, he had no choice but to raise his saber across his chest to block the sword. Qiang! Qiang! Qiang! Qiang! Qiang! Amidst five clear ringing, Yang Xuyan unexpectedly let out a stifled groan and retreated backward. Letting out a longugh, Kou Zhong said, Kid, you know when it is too formidable for you! Turned out in his raising the saber to block, he has hidden an extremely abstruse technique and an ingenious application of true qi. When the saber and sword met, with indeterminate changes, he consecutively blocked five sword strikes, forcing Yang Xuyan to exhaust his moves, unable to continue, and was forced to back off. One side was disappearing, the other side was still going strong, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well shot its yellow rays, like a storm or crashing waves it rolled Yang Xuyan inside its power. The fight and the shouting have rmed the people nearby; sound of men and footsteps came from all around. Fast like lightning Yang Xuyan withdrew from the room. Letting out a cold snort he said, Just consider yourself lucky today! By the time Kou Zhong pursued him out of the door, he had already soared, first to the top of the building opposite the study room, and then disappeared into the darkness. Kou Zhong just stood there, staring nkly for half a day, and then Wah! he spurted out a mouthful of blood. Shaking his head, he smiled ruefully and said, Good kid, you almost seeded this time. The windntern in Shi Qingxuans hand was like a fairy, brimming with life, in the dark tunnel, swiftly dashing, shing, leaping, ahead of Xu Ziling, turning to the left and rounding to the right, but continuously going down. More than a hundred stone steps passed under their feet in the blink of an eye. Shi Qingxuan stopped in a circr cave that evidently has been dug by human. Raising her windntern to illuminate Xu Ziling running after her, she said, Wee to Fu Mo Dong [Subduing Demon Cave]! Xu Ziling looked at the entrance to the cave. Under the flickering light of thentern, to his surprise he found characters carved into the stone on both sides of the cave mouth. On the left, it said, Spirited and Elegant As If Made By Heaven, on the right it said, Opened By Divine Skill Cave Dwelling. Unable to restrain his surprise, he asked, What is this? Shi Qingxuan smiled and said, Originally I was thinking of taking care those four vicious demons relying on my own strength. But now with you helping me, naturally I have more confidence. Are you Xu Ziling or Kou Zhong? What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Shrugging her shoulders, Shi Qingxuan said, If I had not guessed who you are by the Yue Shan mask you are wearing, I would not have taken you here. Hundreds of questions filling his mind, Xu Ziling asked, Even if you could see that this is Yue Shan mask, how did you guess that I am Xu Ziling? Remaining tranquil and calm, Shi Qingxuan replied, Very simple. Because I received the secret letter Mr. Lu sent to me before he became an immortal [fig. to die], so I know your rtionship with Mr. Lu. Moreover, I have witnessed Yue Shans death with my own eyes; therefore, I cant possibly believe that you are the real Yue Shan, and thus I know that if you are not Xu, then you must be Kou. Xu Ziling reached up to take off his mask and put it inside his pocket. Smiling wryly, he said, Turns out being unmasked by other people can make you feel so embarrassed and helpless. Without showing any emotion on her face, Shi Qingxuan scrutinized him for half a day, before nodding her head and said, Now I am totally relieved! The more Xu Ziling tried to understand her, the more he felt that she was unfathomable. Stunned, he said, You have never seen me before, why do you feel totally relieved just by looking at me a few nces. It is still possible that I am not Xu Ziling. Shi Qingxuan seemed to listen carefully to any movement at the entrance upstairs; she replied casually, I am an expert in reading peoples face, hence I know you are not a wicked or presumptuous man, you can be assured of that. Even if you are not Xu Ziling, you are absolutely not a bad person. Suddenly You Niaojuans loathsome voice came down from the entrance, Miss Shi, great aunt, little s1ut, if you donte out here but trouble me toe down for you, I will make you unable to seek life, and cannot beg for death. And then Zhou Laotans voice roared, Little s1ut has the impertinence to deceive us using fake Relic. Where is the real Relic? His roar reverberated throughout the cave, the momentum was terrifying. Shi Qingxuans soft voice replied, The real Demonic Emperor Relic is naturally with me here. If you have the ability,e and get it! I am leaving! Beckoning Xu Ziling, she floated into the more unfathomable empty space inside the cave. The crowd rushed toward Kou Zhong, who was standing quietly, regting his breathing in silence. Seeing himing out unscathed, Ren Meimei breathed a sigh of relief and asked, Who was it? It was quite a whileter, after taking deep breath three times in session, that Kou Zhong replied nonchntly, Its that kid Yang Xuyan! Everybody gasped in horror. Xuan Yong, who had been leading his men in wild goose chase, hurried back. After finding out the identity of the assassin, he said, We must reinforce the defense of the Zongguan Mansion. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, This man has endless assassination approach, plus he is able to carry out his mission anywhere. There is no need to waste our mind and manpower just for him, one man, alone. Chen Jiafeng anxiously asked, What should we do then? Kou Zhong smiled and replied, I am not scared of him at all; what I am afraid of is that after having a clear understanding of our foundation, he would shift the assassination target to you, in order to strike our morale and confidence, and to weaken our strength. Xuan Yong said, This is indeed a very tricky problem, the only way is to try to find him out, at least to drive him out of Liangdu. Otherwise, it will be difficult for everybody to get a good night sleep. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Although this is not an easy matter, it is not impossible to achieve; because of his special build, he is easy to recognize. Therefore, if we announce it to the army and citizens of the whole city, telling everybody to pay particr attention to such figure, it will be difficult for him to hide. Ren Meimei said, Could it be that he is still inside the Zongguan Mansion, waiting for the opportunity? Being reminded by her, Kou Zhong spoke in agreement, Lets spend a little bit of effort to search the Zongguan Mansion. After we are certain that he is not in here, well set up secret rm inside the Mansion, and formte an effective warning method. At least the enemy cannot go in and out as if this was an uninhabited ce. Lowering his voice, Xuan Yong said, Supposing he is indeed still in the Mansion, we ... Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he cut him off by saying, If that is the case, it is my turn to assassinate him! Ha! Everybody was stunned. Under the illumination of the windntern, Xu Ziling felt as if he had been transported into a fantastic world that looked like a beehive magnified ten million times. In front of this giant cave, there were seven cave mouths at random intervals. The main branch of each cave was linked together. In between, each cave extended deep down, bending to the left and turning to the right, winding in a bizarre way. There were caves within the caves, big caves enveloped smaller caves, the caves were interlinked, as if one was entering abyrinth. Following behind Shi Qingxuan, Xu Ziling entered a cave that was about a zhang wide. He was about to speak, but Shi Qingxuan whispered in his ear, Dont speak loudly, below live tens of millions bats. Once they are rmed, the scene might frighten people to their death. Hearing that, all the hair on Xu Zilings body stood up, thinking that since that was the case, why would she want to go down? This moment nearly half of Shi Qingxuans tender body was leaning into his bosom; as if she was able to see the load on his mind, she said, Do you know why the path we took just now did not have any bat in it? Xu Ziling shook his head with a nk stare, while his nose was full of the sweet, faint fragrant emanating from her body. With breath smelling like orchid, Shi Qingxuan whispered in his ear, Because there are some kind of strange rock that is the bane of the bats. Therefore, they do not dare to go there. Strange noises came from the direction of the entrance; apparently You Niaojuan and the others were groping their way down the cave, but they were walking very slowly, cautiously and solemnly. Shi Qingxuan suddenly turned around and pulled his neck down. Xu Ziling jumped in fright, thinking that this was not the fortunate timing for her to throw herself into his arms. Shi Qingxuan still maintained a cun or so distance between her body and his, her right hand groped his hair, and she spoke in low voice, I ground some of those rocks into powder and apply it onto your hair, so that the bats wont dare toe within three chi from you. It will be greatly advantageous when we fightter. Xu Ziling began to get a bit of understanding, while at the same time he was somewhat embarrassed for misunderstanding her. Shi Qingxuan continued, We are going to lure them into the cave where the bat concentration is the highest. That will be the time of their death. You are going to fight them, I am going to provoke the bats using the undtion of the flute sound. Do you understand? Regaining hisposure, Xu Ziling said, Everything will be done ording to your instruction. I am going to blow out the light! Shi Qingxuan said. Before she even finished speaking, the light was already out. At first Xu Zilings vision went ck, and then the ground in front of him gradually brightened; not only that, it was multi-colored too. The color white was dominant, followed by light yellow, pale brown, desert tan, rocky green, and much more variety of colors. Although the luster was murky, but when he focused his inner power into his eyes, he was able to see everything clearly, which made him feel relieved immediately. Shi Qingxuan led the way forward, toward the ce where the bats were indeed startled by their presence, but not even half a bat dared to fly near them. They went throughyer uponyer of caves, going deeper and deeper; the cave wall was full of milky-colored rock domes, stgmites and stctites, stone pirs, flower rocks. Some were hanging from the roof down, some grew up from the cave bed, some were leaning against the cave wall, in endless variation, thousands of shapes and sizes, glittering and shiny, glistening and dazzling. Xu Ziling felt as if he was entering the monstrous and multicolored, sumptuous mansion, imaginary Temple in Heaven, the world of mythology. The most amazing thing was that the cave did not feel especially stuffy; obviously there were venttion holes to the outside, this cave was not a sealed, dead cave. You Niaojuans strange cries was heard from above; Shi Qingxuan seemed to be acting presumptuously, she went deeper in. Because of the noise the bats were making as they flew about, they need not worry that the enemy would pursue in the wrong direction. The two stooped down to enter a small cave. They suddenly came to a wide clearing; an open space as spacious as the temple hall upstairs. The roof was dark and fuzzy, but upon closer look, it was actually full of bats hanging upside down. Seeing this, Xu Zilings scalp went numb. Everything in this cave was proportionately bigger than the other caves; the thick stone pirs, hundreds of bamboo shoots [?], stone curtain [?],posing a tangled andplicated terrain. The walls all around were densely covered in hundreds of different shapes and sizes texture, from needle-shaped to round, in bunches and clusters, randomly scattered along the stone walls, flowery like embroidered work, magnificent and multifarious. Shi Qingxuan leaned over and whispered in his ear, You may choose the location of the ambush yourself; those four people are treacherous viins whose death cannot wipe out their crimes. If you manage to kill one, the people around the world will be able to live a bit more peaceful and happy. When you fight, you must not show any mercy. If you are unfortunate and die in battle, I will activate the secret mechanism to seal all the exits, and die together with them to avenge you. Remember, I will try to create a chance for you tounch sneak attack. Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, and turned his eyes on her. Shi Qingxuans beautiful eyes twinkled with unusual rays, emitting divine light that made people feel deep veneration toward her. In that moment, Xu Ziling suddenlypletely forgot about her grotesque nose; he said in low voice, Miss is really beautiful, Zaixia will definitely not turn my back on what you are entrusting to me. Hearing these two sentences, which appeared unrted to each other, Shi Qingxuan showed a slightly startled look. After gazing deeply into his eyes, she turned around and floated toward another cave. Xu Ziling did not have time to ponder the rich meaning in her eyes; focusing his attention, he hid behind a giant stone pir growing up from the bed of the cave. The sound of bats pping their wings as they glided was heard from afar, but it wasing nearer and nearer, clearly indicating the path and the speed at which the enemy wasing. Xu Ziling took a deep breath, his true qi immediately circted through the meridians in his whole body. His spirit and mind became one. He quietly waited for the optimum opportunity to mount a sneak attack. Book 20 - 9 – Utterly Vicious Extremely Evil Book 20 Chapter 9 C Utterly Vicious Extremely Evil Wearing nightwalker outfit, Kou Zhong hid on the top of an ancient towering tree, watching for any activity at the Zongguan Mansion from a distance. From this point of view, if anybody was escaping from the Mansion, that person absolutely would not escape his sharp eyes. All the trees in the Mansion wereparably shorter than the tree he was on, they did not obstruct his line of sight at all. The search operation was still going on like wildfire, torches andnterns projected their light to the sky, making it as bright as day. And then silence descended, apparently their work was to no avail. Kou Zhong was greatly disappointed. The reason he was so confident that Yang Xuyan was still inside the Mansion was that Yang Xuyan must be aware that he had suffered internal injury, only he must not have guessed that Kou Zhong would be able to recover that quickly. Therefore, reasonably speaking, he would seize this golden opportunity to attempt the assassination for the second time. Another strong reason that after fighting hand-to-hand with Kou Zhong twice, Yang Xuyan must have had clear understanding that within this short period of time, Kou Zhongs power has advanced boldly. Even if he was an expert in using his weapon, it would still be difficult for him to seed easily. If it were someone else, he would definitely rush to ughter Kou Zhong before he would be incapable to subdue him; the earlier the better. Even harder toe by, Kou Zhong was protecting his people, hence he had no choice by to stay nicely inside the Mansion. But Kou Zhong was mistaken. The torches,nterns, in the Zongguan Mansion went off one by one, from busy it returned to quiet. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. He was about to leave, suddenly he heard a gust of wind from behind. He quickly looked back, and saw a dark shadow came at an incredible speed from the back of the roof ridge of a nearby building, darting toward his big tree. The sound of footsteps could be heard clearly, coupled with the startled bats pping their wings. All kinds of noise hit the cave wall and reverberated everywhere, making the atmosphere even graver. Xu Ziling could not help feeling strange, because the footsteps sounded sluggish and heavy. And then he had a sudden understanding. Just now these four were fighting over the fake Demonic Emperors Relic; the fighting must be intense, with nobody willing to yield to another, so much so that none of them did not suffer injury. He also thought that Shi Qingxuan was both wise and brave; nning first, executeter. First she used the fake Relic to weaken the four peoples strength, and then lured them into this cave to wipe them out. Worst case scenario, she would die while they perished. He was only wondering: was the mechanism in this cave designed and built by Lu Miaozi? Sudden gust of wind; the four people appeared in the cave, leaving only a two zhang distance between them and Xu Ziling. Every one of them looked suspicious; evidently they knew this was not a good ce. Xu Ziling quickly donned the Yue Shan mask again. Lowering his voice, Ding Jiuzhong said, I have a very ominous feeling, wed better withdraw first and think of another way. You Niaojuan, who was pricking his ears to listen carefully to the enemys whereabouts,ughed coldly and said, Dont y trick, you just want to deceive us to leave first, and then youll pounce back in to capture her! Humph! Ding Jiuzhong was too angry to retort. Jin Huazhen said, That little s1ut must be hiding nearby; lets spread out to find her. You Niaojuan hatefully said, Dont even think that I will believe you, this wh0r3; if you seeded, do you think you will wait for me? Zhou Laotan angrily said, You believe, fine, you dont believe, fine. There are danger lurking on every side in this cave, if we dont work with amon purpose, you will die and rot thoroughly without even knowing whats going on. Just look at these ghost bats; they say that they are nocturnal, and now it is night, howe they are still here? Something is really strange here. Ding Jiuzhong said, Fortunately we heard the noise they made because they were startled, otherwise the little s1ut would escape from the other exits and we are still in the dark. Before he even finished, a burst of pping bats wings rose up from the direction of the cave Shi Qingxuan entered just now. Instantly the four made their move; they bolted toward the cave entrance. Most of the bats hanging on the cave ceiling were startled and scattered in all directions, following their circling and gliding flight path, densely packed, flying wildly around the cave, yet not two of them shing against each other. Under the dim, strange colored light inside the cave, it was such an impressive sight, and those who saw it had their hair stood on its end. Lightning fast, Xu Ziling swept out. Under cover of the sound of the pping wings, he silentlyunched palm strike toward Ding Jiuzhong, who was walking at the rear. Everywhere he moved, the swarm of flying bats indeed avoided him. He curbed his palm strength and did not unleash it at once, and then when his right palm was only about three cun away from the opponents back, he started to violently release his true power. Bang! On the surface, his palm strike seemed to be so strong that even the Jade Emperor himself would breathe hisst. But Xu Ziling was well aware that it was not so. When his palm was only about a cun away from the middle of this Emperors back, the opponent reacted; he shed slightly to the left, evading the attack to the vital acupoint on his back, so that Xu Zilings strike fell on his right shoulder de. Based on Xu Zilings current skill, because the opponent received the strike first, no matter what, the shoulder de would have been shattered by the attack; who would have thought that the instant Xu Zilings palm touched his clothes, somehow, in a way that was hard to believe, Ding Jiuzhongs entire shoulder de, along with his arm, suddenly copsed into his thorax cavity, while at the same time he generated a powerful opposing force, which neutralized most of Xu Zilings palm power. Ding Jiuzhong let out a miserable grunt and staggered forward, but his leg flew backward toward Xu Zilings genitalia. The counterattack was fierce, violent, fast and nimble; it waspletely beyond Xu Zilings expectation. You Niaojuan and the others looked back and saw the two were already engaged in closebat. Unexpectedly Jin Huanzhenughed tenderly and said, Let Da Di deal with this man! Just like that, the three continued moving forward; they was not even interested in giving the two half a nce. Bang! After wiping his cold sweat, Xu Ziling bent his knees to meet Ding Jiuzhongs backward kick; with great delight he decided to meet force with force. Like a torrential sh flood his vortex of power attacked this demonic man, who had been abandoned by hispanions. It was only this moment that he realized why Shi Qingxuan had the intention of sacrificing herself to perish together with the enemies; because these four demonic people were indeed too formidable. Even under such a favorable situation, killing Ding Jiuzhong was still so difficult. Ah! Ding Jiuzhong fell facedown forward, while spurting a mouthful of fresh blood. Knowing his own fist and kick skill could not match the enemys reaching-perfection skill, Xu Ziling pursued closely; the edge of his palm chopped horizontally across to strike the Zhenyao acupoint on Ding Jiuzhongs back. [Trantors note: there are several missing/gibberish characters here, this part might not be tranted properly.] Ding Jiuzhong rolled on the ground, with the intention of turning around ... [again, missing/gibberish characters] This demonic man let out a howl, his face turned blood-red, and then opening his mouth, he spurted out a column of blood, straight toward the pit of Xu Zilings stomach. Unexpectedly, although he movedter, his attack arrived first. This was the first time that Xu Ziling encountered such a desperate consummate demonic skill. Xu Ziling realized that if he was unable to deal with this situation as quickly as possible, he would not be able to help Shi Qingxuan dealing with the other three vicious people, including You Niaojuan, whose skill was the strongest. And if he dodged the attack, he would give the opponent the opportunity to take a breather and pulled his weapon, and then Xu Ziling would have to waste a lot of time to take care of him. Therefore, he decided to take a risk. This moment he threw his entire body forward, and rolled to the right side in an unexpected move, and then using the tip of his toes to support his entire weight, he bent his body in bow shape. When the arrow of blood flew past, missing his chest by only a hairbreadth, he suddenly rolled back to return to his previous offensive stance to continue his attack, only his entire body suddenly twisted down. With continuous squeaks, dozens of bats were hit by the arrow of blood; all had their bones crushed and their wings broken, and fell like rain on the cave bed. Ding Jiuzhong had never expected that the enemy would have such an astonishing and strange move; not only he could generate power from his feet to firmly sucked the ground as he suddenly flipped over sideways that he was also able to evade the attack that Ding Jiuzhong was so sure would kill him, he was also able to return to his original stance and continue the attack, so that although Ding Jiuzhong had thousands and hundreds demonic skill and secret moves, he did not have time to unleash them. Pow! The edge of Xu Zilings palm, like a lightning, hacked his forehead, while Xu Ziling himself flew over him and went deep into the cave. The back of Ding Jiuzhongs head crashed heavily against the ground, and he died on the spot; the emperor crown fell off his hat and rolled to the side. There is indeed only a little difference between life and death. Although the nightwalker flying over toward him was wearing hood over his head, but even if he turned into ashes, Kou Zhong would still recognize him, the unstoppable Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan, who, everybody who heard his name would have their countenance change. This moment Kou Zhong did not have time to think whether he would be the first person ever who tried to assassinate Yang Xuyan. Hurriedly he restrained everything that could incite the opponents alertness: stopping his breathing from mouth and nose, and sealing his pores, and opening his eyes only a slit, as he watched through the gaps among the thick leaves and branches, to calcte where and when Yang Xuyan wouldnd his feet. Because this tree was about seventeen, eighteen zhang tall, no matter how brilliant Yang Xuyans qinggong was, if he soared from the rooftop of a building only two zhang tall, plus he had to traverse the nearly four zhang of distance, he would have tond on a horizontal branch somewhere in the middle of the tree, and then climbed to the treetop in order to be able to observe the situation inside the Zongguan Mansion. In that split second, countless ways tounch surprise attack shed through his mind, but in the end he decided to quietly wait for the opponent to climb up, and then he would attack with all his strength from his hiding ce, to kill him while he had no time to deal with it. Suddenly he heard strange noise, Yang Xuyans left hand produced an upside down sharp awl, which, fast as lightning, was shooting toward the sole of his feet. By the time Kou Zhong saw it and was shocked, the sharp awl was separated from his feet by only about five chi of tree trunk, with the rope at the tail of the awl, which was only a bit thicker than natural silk,pletely taut. Yang Xuyan changed direction; he soared at an angle toward Kou Zhongs feet. Without even thinking, the Moon in the Well, which has been at the ready by his side, swiftly chopped down; the de contacted the tail of the awl. Ding! As if he was struck by lightning, Yang Xuyan was hit by Kou Zhongs spiraling energy, transmitted via the rope, straight into the pit of his stomach that he spurted a mouthful of blood, and was thrown outward. The rope disintegrated into cun--long fragments. Seeing his sneak attack seeded, Kou Zhong was not willing to let this one-in-a-thousand golden opportunity off. Abruptly raising a mouthful of true qi, he glided down from the top of the tree like a swimming fish, to pursue Yang Xuyan, who was continuously rolling down in the air. But Yang Xuyan was indeed worthy to be called a martial art master whose name was feared all around the world. When he was still about two -zhang away from the dark pavement of the street, he already regained his bnce, and applied his qi to elerate his fall, hence he dodged Kou Zhongs saber, which ought to kill him, by only a hairbreadth. Bang! One after another the twonded on the quiet, deserted long street by the Zongguan Mansion, while the saber and the sword collided. Yang Xuyan raised his sleeve to wipe the blood from the corner of his lips, revealing a pair of shing eyes from behind the hood. Kou Xiongs move this time is really clever; unexpectedly this is the first time that Ol Yang sustain an injury in action. You can be very proud of yourself! he said hatefully. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Yang Xiong is the extraordinary one; receiving Xiaodis full-strength strike, you are still able to stand as steady as Mount Tai, with no gap to be exploited. But if you dont look for a secret ce that no one can find to heal your injury, quite possibly your power will be drastically reduced, and the next time you are doing your assassination job, it might not be as glorious. Yang Xuyanughed involuntarily and said, Thank you for Kou Xiongs concern, but Xiaodi thinks that Kou Xiong is only disying a shadow; how could you be willing to let this golden opportunity slip by? I have no choice but to apany Kou Xiong. En garde! Finished speaking, he pressed on three steps with raised sword; a thick and strong sword qi rushed forth violently. Kou Zhong did not expect that after receiving such injury, he would still be this dauntless. He wanted to gain the initiative by striking first, but inwardly he could not help praising him, knowing that this dreadful adversary was hoping to gain control of the situation before his injury red out. Naturally it would be ideal if he could do this in the shortest possible time, and then when necessary, getting away would be rtively easier. With raised eyebrows, Kou Zhong lifted the Moon in the Well, without even blinking his tiger-eyes stared at the opponent, and he said with a coldugh, If Yang Xiong forced yourself to attack and suffered defeat, next year tonight will be the anniversary of your death. Yang Xuyan replied indifferently, Kou Xiong overestimates yourself too much. With a low shout, his sword stabbed swiftly forward. Dang! Kou Zhong moved his saber to block, while mockingly said, Turns out Yang Xiongs injury is more serious than I thought; unexpectedly you failed to disy your signature shadow sword technique. Yang Xuyan parried the wave after wave of spiraling energying from the de of Kou Zhongs saber; smiling, he said, Not shadow sword technique, its Phantom Sword Technique. Look closely! Sweeping the sword across, he pushed the saber, jolting Kou Zhong three steps back. And then his sword momentum red out, turning into sword shadows and dots of sharp light filling the air, and suffocating energy and qi, carrying overbearing might with the power of thunder strike and lightning bolt, rolling wildly straight toward Kou Zhong. The instant he was shaken and was pushed back, Kou Zhong knew the situation was very bad; this man had a very strong foundation, he had indeed reached the beyond-belief stage, unexpectedly he was able to suppress his injury and still had enough power tounch a storming offensive. Once Kou Zhong made the slightest mistake, he might have his boat capsize in the sewer [fig. meet with unexpected failure], even losing his life. With no strategy left to try, Kou Zhong could only rely on his real skill to save his life; he mmed into the opponents sword rays, by meeting attack with attack, unleashing the desperate move of staking everything in that one attack, to trigger the opponents injury to re out and kill the enemy in one stroke, to engage the enemy and seal his escape route. Momentarily aura of death filled the atmosphere, saber rays and sword shadowspletely shrouded the twobatants, not a single move was not extremely ruthless, blood might ssh at every turn. The sound of saber and sword and power and qi shing against each other was like the sound of a string of firecrackers exploded continuously. The moment saber and sword shed, sparks flew. Each one dodging the enemy only by a hairsbreadth. Speed against speed. There was not the least bit of cheap trick. Noises started to rise from the Zongguan Mansion, evidently Kou Zhongs men had heard the sound of the hard fighting and were rushing over. From the nearby buildings came the continuous sound of windows being pushed open. The fighting has awakened the sleeping inhabitants. Dang! The situation suddenly changed. Even though he was going all out, Kou Zhong was still unable to evade Yang Xuyans divine strokes; he was forced to withdraw five steps back by his thunderbolt, lightning-shed sword. While inwardly crying, Bad! Yang Xuyan suddenly shed backward, let out a longugh, and said, Today Kou Xiong has shown favor; someday Xiaodi will definitely repay. Looking at the speed he was retreating, Kou Zhong knew he was unable to pursue, hence he returned the saber to its scabbard, cupped his fist, and said, Please send my greetings to Xiao Nini, toward her, Xiaodi has undying gratitude [orig. hard to forget even after ones teeth fall out. Yang Xuyan suddenly spurted another mouthful of blood, and disappeared into an alley crossing the big street. Xuan Yong and the others rushed over one after another. Kou Zhong raised his arms to stop them from running after Yang Xuyan. He spoke nonchntly, We have at least several months before we have to worry about that fellow! Flute sound rose up, sharp, shrill, extremely loud, and kept climbing higher and higher, echoing around all the caves, big and small. Millions of bats responded to the noise by pping their wings in confusion and flew swiftly, so that together, the noise grew even louder, like a rumbling thunder, like surging tide rushing forth from every cave, with terrifying momentum that startling the heaven and splitting the earth. Although Xu Ziling already knew that Shi Qingxuan could drive the bats using her flute, he still could not think that it would be this terrifying. Everywhere he saw, the caves were packed with shadows,ing straight toward his face. Hastily he ran out of the cave, and hid by the exit. Craning his head, he saw You Niaojuan, three people were running away for their lives, while waving their hands like crazy to smack the bats attacking them. These three demons power was overbearing, arge number of bats met their palms and fell down to the ground. They were mainly protecting their eyes, ears, mouth, nose and neck, the rather sensitive body parts. To the bats charging toward their bodies, they simply applied their inner power to shake their clothes and jolt the bats to their death. However, there were so many bats, almost endless, so that no matter how many they killed, the bats still continuously attacked them wildly, like clump after clump of ck clouds descending upon them, forcing the three to cover their head and sneak away like a rat, retreating back toward where they wereing from. This was the first time that Xu Ziling found out that bats could attack living persons, and that they could be this vicious; it was only now did he understand the effectiveness of the talcum powder Shi Qingxuan smeared on his head. From what he heard, bats are said to be nocturnal, and they suck blood, but their targets are usually other animal or domestic fowls; he never heard that they attacked people. Probably the bats inside this maze of caves were special species, or perhaps because of Shi Qingxuans flute, they deviated from their usual nature. Once the bats in the entire huge cave were provoked, like a powerful torrent they swarmed into the cave where the three were fleeing. Those who had not flown into that cave converged with the bats from the other caves, forming a great army of bats, flying around the huge cave, while emitting ear-splitting squeaking noise. Only no bats were flying within three chi of Xu Ziling. But no matter how they flew or circled in the jam-packed space of the cave, no matter how fast they moved, not two bats were colliding with each other. Watching their flight path, Xu Ziling could not help clicking his tongue in wonder, while also feeling dread in his heart. Powerful qi rushed out violently, arge number of bats, with their flesh and blood separated, were thrown out of the cave. Xu Zilings heart was moved; he took a step across the cave bed to hide by the cave entrance from which he originally came, to wait for the bats inside the huge cave, baring their fangs and brandishing their ws, to further consume the three peoples true strength. After letting out a series of strange shouts, You Niaojuan was finally able to cut a bloody path out of the battlefield; he rushed out of the cave. Like a swarm of honeybees seeing nectar the millions of bats inside the huge cave flocked out toward him; You Niaojuan was like being sucked into the cyclone of bats, and was unable to move a single cun. Hey! You Niaojuan was worthy to be called a martial art master of the ultra-demonic sect, ranked among the Eight Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Ways; the powerful qi in his entire body burst forth, none of the bats within several chi radius from him narrowly and luckily escaped, all were shocked by him that their body split and they fell to the ground. This moment Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen forced their way out of the cave; the formers pair of arms were already swelling several times bigger, thetter had her hair disheveled, she looked like a mad woman, and was in an extremely sorry state. The flute was still ying uninterruptedly, the tempo was getting faster and faster, the rumbling noise inside the cave was unable to drown the sound of the flute. Bang! Jin Huanzhen emitted a rending-the-heart, splitting-the-lungs tragic scream, but it was not because of the bats attack, but because You Niaojuan, who felt the pressure from the bats diminished and saw an opening, was sending a kick toward her lower abdomen. Her entire body was thrown sideways, blood sprayed violently from her mouth. Perhaps because the bats smelled the scent of blood, arge number of them abandoned the other two and swarmed toward Jin Huanzhen. Xu Ziling had never imagined that under this kind of situation You Niaojuan would still have the thought to deal with someone from his own side that viciously. Although he did not have the slightest bit of good impression toward Jin Huanzhen, he was grieving for her. Realizing that he was unable to retaliate against You Niaojian, Zhou Laotan let out a wild roar and fast as lightning he rushed out to escape. You Niaojuanughed aloud and said, Nothing in the world is better than this connecting caves to be the happynd in which you are going to be buried; Ill let the two of you to be a pair of mandarin ducks who share the same fate! With one hand caught a bat, with the other hand he sent out a long-distance palm strike, generating a gale-like attack toward Zhou Laotans thick back. His method was ruthless, taking the breath of those who saw it away. Zhou Laotan neither shed away nor dodged the attack. He arched his back upward to meet his palm head on, and borrowed the momentum to elerate forward, traversing the three zhang of empty air, to catch Jin Huanzhens body, which was full of bats, just before it reached the ground, while sending out his true power. As soon as the bats met his power, they fell from Jin Huanzhens body. It seemed like You Niaojuan was going to execute his evil scheme again. Letting out strange shout, Zhou Laotan, with Jin Huanzhen in his arms, dashed toward the other side, trying to find another way to escape from the cave, taking along with him arge number of bats. The other bats swarmed to attack You Niaojuan again. This utterly vicious, extremely evil disciple revealed a pitiful expression, and dashed in Xu Zilings direction, wanting to escape back to above ground. Naturally Xu Ziling was unwilling to let him off; he sent out a punch. You Niaojuan let out a heartyugh and said, I am already prepared for you! The one-legged steel man hanging on his back moved to his hand, and then moved to meet Xu Zilings bold-and-powerful-without-equal punch. Bang! Xu Ziling was jolted by the power of his counterattack that his blood and qi were surging within his chest and he staggered backward several steps. But the opponent was also shaken by his all-out strike that he tumbled backward and again fell into the bats battle formation. After exchanging blows with him, Xu Ziling was inwardly overwhelmed with shock, thinking that if the opponents true power had not been depleted by extreme wear and tear, plus he had suffered internal injury, Xu Ziling might not be able to block him just now. This moment You Niaojuan wildly brandished and randomly struck the one-legged copper man, weighed about a hundred catty, in his hand, so that none of the bats did not have their bones shattered and they fell to the ground. Thick umtion of dead bats rapidly grew on the cave bed; it was such a bizarre and bitter scene. The cave was dim to begin with, with the illumination came mostly from the stctite, but now the bats havepletely blocked his vision, providing the best cover for Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling shed to another position; one finger jabbed, the finger wind prated theyer of bats, and stabbed the vital acupoint on You Niaojuans back. You Niaojuans entire body shook severely, he spurted a mouthful ofrge blood spray. Letting out a wild roar, which rumbled through the entire cave, he followed Zhou Laotans lead by fleeing toward another cave. Xu Zilings energy waspletely exhausted; just now, that one punch and one finger jab had consumed a great amount of his true power, yet he still failed to knock this vicious man down, hence the depth of his internal power could be clearly imagined. The flute suddenly stopped. Shi Qingxuan rushed out of one of the caves, her face pale from the excessive loss of true power, but the ugly nose still maintained its original color and luster, it did not emte theplexion of the rest of her face. We are leaving! Astonished, Xu Ziling said, The crafty scoundrels have not received their just punishment, are we going to let them off? Shi Qingxuan shouted hoarsely, I am going to seal off the cave; do you want to stay? Shocked, Xu Ziling hastily ran after her, going out of the cave. Book 20 - 10 – Demonic Emperor Shady Empress Book 20 Chapter 10 C Demonic Emperor Shady[1] Empress Following close behind Shi Qingxuan, Xu Zilings heart was full of questions. Earlier he clearly heard she said that by sealing the exits, they would be buried with the dead, which clearly implied that the mechanism to control the gate must be located inside the cave. Once it was set in movement, even she herself would not have time to escape out, hence she would end up apanying them in death. But now Shi Qingxuan seemed to say that the switch was outside the gate, that closing the gate would be effortless and easy, which she would conveniently do as they were leaving. The two statements were contradictory. This moment Shi Qingxuan was crossing the entrance to the big cave where there was no bat in it; suddenly she looked back and signaled him with her eyes. Xu Ziling was extremely smart; he understood immediately. It was all a ruse to lure the enemy. He could not help feeling admiration. By ying down the situation, she wanted to lure the enemies intending to escape from the other exit toe back. Whether they would seed, however, remained to be seen. Because in the din of the cave, although You Niaojuan had keen eyes and ears, he might not necessarily hear her. The idea has not passed from his mind, he heard a swift gust of wind from behind. Without even thinking, Xu Ziling twisted his body around and sent out a punch. Bang! By the time he felt something was not right, he discovered that his punch has hit You Niaojuans outer robe. A sh of copper, You Niaojuan appeared on his left, the one-legged copper man swept toward him. It was extremely vicious, fierce, and overbearing. Xu Ziling had nothing he could use, his only course of action was to sidestep, while crying Not good! inwardly. Ding! Shi Qingxuan floated like a breeze, her bamboo flute poked, struck, hacked and swept, her technique was exquisite, mysterious, obscure and amazing; she was able to hold You Niaojuan for a moment, so that Xu Ziling had the opportunity to strike back. Knowing this was the critical moment, You Niaojuan unleashed the skill he had at the bottom of his chest; he threw the one-legged copper man toward Shi Qingxuan, while he took that opportunity to dash out of the cave. When Shi Qingxuan dodged the steel man [Trantors note: perhaps it was a typo, but sometime it was copper, another time it was steel], Xu Ziling already approached You Niaojuans back, and sent out a long-distance palm strike. You Niaojuan suddenly sped up. Without even looking he sent out a backhanded palm strike to meet Xu Zilings palm, which was imbued with spiraling fierce energy. Ah! You Niaojuan spurted another mouthful of blood. Injury on top of injury, yet he disappeared on the stone steps. Boom! Only this moment did the one-legged copper man hit the wall, smashing the stone, creating a rain of crushed rocks. From this, it was clear the astonishing speed at which these fighting has been going on. Kou Zhong woke up; still lying in bed, he opened his eyes, but in his heart he missed Xu Ziling. He was really not used to spend his days without that guy; he missed someone with whom he could talk vulgarnguage, or just pour out his hearts troubles. What on earth was he doing? Did he hasten on with his journey without stopping to sleep? Because of his ambition in vying over the world, would in the end Xu Ziling distance himself from Kou Zhong, and travel far outside the country to pursue the way of life that he loved? It does not matter whether one was the emperor, general, prime minister, a hero or a towering figure, life would always sh past like a snap of the fingers. Several years will pass just like a dream, fast and easy. Life is just the consequences of countless choices and experience. Kou Zhong just hated that he and his best Xiongdi had chosen different path, so that one day they would have to go their separate way. There was a knock on the door. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly and sprang up from the bed. Xuan Yong voice came from outside the door, Sorry to disturb Shao Shuai, Qifei is back, and he has an urgent matter to report. Kou Zhong immediately pushed everything out of his mind; he promptly shouted, Come in quickly! The morning sun rose to the top of a small hill on the eastern mountain. Xu Zilings palm left Shi Qingxuans jade back. He rose up to his full height and walked out of the forest in which they were hiding, and came to a small creek at the edge of the forest. The water of the creek was exceptionally clear, the sunlight came at an angle to the water surface, reflecting his appearance. It was only then did he realize that he was still wearing Yue Shan mask. Hastily he took it off and stuffed it inside his pocket, before squatting down the by creek to scoop the water and drank several mouthfuls, while washing the dust and dirt from his face. A cool, delightful feeling entered his heart, washing away the exhaustion of repeated hard battle of the previous night. This moment he started to have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful scenery all around him. This small forest spanned between two small hills, on a in some distance away east of the strange mountain with the hidden cave full of bats. Surrounded by the clouds, the waist of the mountain appeared to be wearing a belt of cloud, or like a beautiful woman covering up half of her face. The small hills on both sides were full of flowers and fruit trees. While he was contemting whether he should pick a couple of fruits to eat his fill or wait for Shi Qingxuan to finish circting her breathing before making his move, another reflection appeared on the water next to his own. Xu Ziling smiled at the reflection on the water and said, Miss Shi recovered so fast, it is hard to believe. Shi Qingxuan came to his side and carelessly kicked her shoes, revealing a pair of sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade delicate feet, and casually soaked the feet inside the ice-cold creek water, while putting her bamboo flute on the grass by her side. Gazing at the surface of the water, she spoke softly, Last night, why did you say that I was beautiful? Can this be considered beautiful? Copying her, Xu Ziling gazed at his own reflection on the water; shrugging his shoulders, he spoke calmly, I have never thought about what is considered beautiful, what is considered not beautiful, its just that at that moment I saw Miss face had ayer of divine radiance on it, a beauty that cannot be produced locally, thereupon I expressed what I felt, blurted out words that were offensive to you. Miss Shi, please dont take offense. Shi Qingxuan was silent for half a day, before speaking gently, Am I still that beautiful now? Nodding his head, Xu Ziling said, The more I look, the more beautiful you are. This is a heartfelt word, not meant to fawn on you. With slight anger in her voice, Shi Qingxuan said, Dont lie; you just saw through that my nose is fixed, am I right? Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, I found out about thatter. Miss must no be overly sensitive, Zaixia do not have any improper thought toward Miss at all. Shi Qingxuan smiled slightly and said, I was thinking of letting you look at my appearance after I take off my fake nose, but since you say so, I am going to dispel this idea! Xu Ziling was still smiling bitterly, but he no longer spoke. Yet Shi Qingxuan was unwilling to let him off; turning her head around, she stared at him and said, Why are you smiling so ambiguously? Xu Ziling calmly replied, Because I have just missed the opportunity to see with my own eyes the remarkably beautiful woman of the human world. Miss has incited great curiosity in my heart. Forget about other things, merely Miss flute skill, which is unparalleled in the world, is enough for Xiaodi never to forget it for as long as I live, and made me feel that my life is not in vain. Shi Qingxuan spoke with delight, Your highest skill in coaxing a girl is what makes me never suspect your sincerity. Whats more strange is thatst night you encountered so many strange things, yet you did not open your mouth to ask Qingxuan even half a word of question. Ay! What kind of person are you? [1] Title chapter: shady, orig. Yin, as in Yin Gui Pai, Shady Empress (Yin Hou) being Zhu Yuyans title. Xu Ziling smiled bitterly again and said, Its not that I dont want to know, its just that with Miss nature that can see beyond the fa?ade, your clear and cold temperament that can drive people a thousand li away, I was so afraid of meeting with a rebuff, so I might as well maintain a little bit of self-esteem, and hence took the not to hear, not to question attitude. Ha! Do I sound ridiculous? Stunned, Shi Qingxuan was unable to helpughing; her eyes turned back to the reflection on the water, she nodded and said, That is indeed the best strategy to deal with me, to wear me out that I fall into the trap, and turn to you and ask you questions instead. How repulsive! Xu Ziling stretched his limbs andy down on his back, looking at the white clouds in the blue sky and spoke glibly, Miss fake nose, andst nights dpidated temple and the cavebyrinth, did all of thosee from Mr. Lus design? Shi Qingxuan cast a nce full of interest at him and said, Correct on all ounts. If not for that bat cave maze, Im afraid you and I would not be rxing in here, talking endlessly. Those four are Xie Dis [demonic emperor] direct disciple. If not for falling under the curse and making an oath so that these past twenty years he did not dare toe out to do evil, I dont know how many people in this world would die under their hands. Thinking about You Niaojuan, four peoples cruelty and viciousness, Xu Ziling shuddered from the lingering fear. Supposing those four people were willing to work together, Xu Ziling would have been dead by now, and at best Shi Qingxuan would have aplished her objective of perishing together with them. What kind of thing is Xie Di anyway? Shi Qingxuans attitude toward him was greatly improved, Pfft! she giggled and said, Xie Di is not a thing at all, but an outstanding figure of a demonic sect. Several decades ago he shared the same fame as Yin Hou Zhu Yuyan, on par with San Ren Ning Daoqi; the only difference is righteous versus evil. Xu Ziling suddenly sat up and said in horror, Howe I have never heard anybody mentioning him? After sitting properly inside the room, Luo Qifei respectfully said, We have obtained definite information: Du Ren of Luoma Bang has formed alliance with Ku Ge, ready tounch counterattack against us. Frowning, Xuan Yong said, This is quite a tricky problem. If we fight face to face, I am afraid we are not their match. Luo Qifei said, We already dispatch people to infiltrate Xiapi, to spy on Luoma Bangs activity. After hesitating for a moment, Kou Zhong asked, In your opinion, would they be foolish enough to attack Liangdu openly? Shaking his head, Luo Qifei said, Du Ren is not a fool; if even Yuwen Huaji was beaten and had to retreat under your hands, how could he act blindly without thinking? This time, the reason he is willing to ally himself with Ku Ge is more about protecting himself rather than other reasons. Kou Zhong heaved a sigh and said, That is troublesome. Ay! Isnt Ku Ges Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits detested by the gods and loathed by the ghosts? How could there be anybody willing to form an alliance with him? Luo Qifei said, Inside Luoma Bang itself, there are many people opposing this move, but Du Ren obstinately clings to his course, others cant do anything about it. Immediately Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes lit up; heughed aloud and said, We are saved then. Let Xiaodi be Yang Xuyan this one time! Shi Qingxuan spoke indifferently, Other than people from demonic sects, very few people knew about Xie Di. Those who have seen him are even more rare. The reason is very simple: thirty years ago he went into hiding to train the demonic schools most secret, unfathomable skill, that nobody else dared to train. Since then he has not stepped outside the temples gate even for half a step. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Is it that broken temple ofst night? Shi Qingxuan nodded and said, It was built by Lu Dashis [great master] skillful hands for him. The mysterious mechanism hidden inside, the bat cave, are part of it. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was confused even more. How is it possible? he muttered to himself. Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, If I did not consider your rtionship with Lu Dashi, Qingxuan would never reveal the whole sequence of the events in this matter to you. Lu Dashi had a very high opinion of you and Kou Zhong; he believed in the future this world will be your, two mens world. And now, since the ghosts shove and the gods push you into this matter, naturally Qingxuan will candidly tell you everything. It would be best if I can transfer this heavy burden that I cannot pratepletely to your shoulders. For the third time Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said sarcastically, What a noble idea! Shi Qingxuanughed to her hearts content and said, No wonder in his letter to Qingxuan, Lu Dashi indicated that the two of you are not like ordinary schr who, on the surface, strictly hold righteousness, assume themon people in the whole world as his personal responsibility, and defend traditional values. At that time I did not understand it, but now naturally I am very clear about it! Xu Zilingughed and said, Kou Zhong and I are just two lucky little rascals. At first, our ambition was just how to stand out among our peers, to obtain part-time work as government officials, taking advantage while the world is in chaos to win schrly honor, riches and glory. Afterwards we mastered the amazing skill of the Secret to Long Life, only then did our thinking begin to change. Although from time to time our mouth said that we want to be chivalrous, the fact is that we think about ourselves the most. Miss Shi must not misunderstand us as any hero or warrior. Staring at him, Shi Qingxuan said, Since thats the case, why did you disregard your own safety to help mest night? I am neither a rtive nor a friend of yours, plus there was no loveliness that you can covet. At that time you shouldnt be able to see that my nose is fake? Xu Ziling awkwardly replied, I wasnt thinking of any reason to do that? It was because those four crafty and evil people are unpleasant to the eye. Isnt that still doing something for myself? With a smile on her face, Shi Qingxuan said, In a fair duel, how much confidence do you have that you will be able to take care of You Niaojuan? Not even ten percent, Xu Ziling replied calmly, Most likely I will suffer a defeat. That man is indeed too formidable. Shi Qingxuan said, Fully aware that you are going to be defeated without any chance of victory, you are still willing to take the risk to be drawn into this matter, would you call that doing it for yourself? Unless you are determined to die? Xu Ziling was speechless. Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, Dont push to the left and shove to the right! You are going to carry this burden. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Miss, please bestow your instruction! Shi Qingxuan was silent for a moment, and then she spoke heavily, Not only this matter is exceptionally mysterious, it also involves tangled andplicated gratitude and grudges, passion and enmity of people of several generations. Right now Qingxuan can only give you brief, general exnation, as for the details, well have to wait for a good opportunity to talk about it. Xu Ziling was eager to hasten to Baling, he nodded his head in agreement. Shi Qingxuan took her pretty feet off the water, shifted her tender body around to sit facing him while hugging her knees; her posture was rxed and carefree. Her beautiful eyes looked deep into his, she said, Concerning Xie Di Xiang Yutian going back to his native ce and live in seclusion to train the demonic schools most secret skill called the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa [lit. great demonic cultivation method of the heart of the way], it is a true story, but no one knows. They only knew that although since ancient times within the demonic school talented peoplee forth inrge number, there has never been one person capable to master it, in the end they suffered fire deviation and the miserable fate of having their body burned. Aghast, Xu Ziling said, Such a terrifying skill, who created it? If even the person creating this great method was unable to master it, yet other people still wanted to train, wont it be extremely ridiculous? Knitting her brows, Shi Qingxuan said, Its a bit like your Secret to Long Life; nobody knows how it came to be, and nobody was able to master it, until you two. Whats so ridiculous about that? Xu Zilings handsome face slightly blushed, he said, Absolutely nothing is ridiculous about that, its just that I am ustomed to talk like that with Kou Zhong. Miss, please forgive me. Shi Qingxuans eyes turned gentle; she spoke softly, Its Qingxuan who took it too seriously! Getting back to the main point, Xie Di Xiang Yutian had four disciples; they are You Niaojuan, Ding Jiuzhong, Zhou Laotan, and Jin Huanzhen. Xu Ziling was stunned, Its really hard to conceive, he said, Since they have the brotherhood of the same school, why so much disagreement like fire and water, as soon as there is opportunity they tried to harm each other? Shi Qingxuan sighed slightly and said, Main reason has something to do with the past and future [or innate versus acquired]; the dispute was aroused over one yellow crystal ball called the Demonic Emperor Relic. Ay! This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly. Curious, Xu Ziling asked, Is this thing still in Miss hands? Shaking her head, Shi Qingxuan replied, Ive never seen that thing. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Shi Qingxuan went on, After the Demonic Emperor Relic fell into Lu Dashis hands, no one has ever seen it since. It was also because of this thing that Lu Dashi broke off rtionship with Zhu Yuyan, and had to flee to the Flying Horse Ranch. Thinking deeply, Xu Ziling said, In Mr. Lus residence at the Flying Horse Ranch, I did not see anything like that, perhaps it apanied him buried deep at the bottom of the abyss. Shi Qingxuan shook her head and said, Demonic Emperor Relic is not with him at all; as for where it is hidden, currently I am afraid only a genius would know. Come! Let me take you some ce. Its very close! Book 20 - 11 – Traveling With A Beauty Book 20 Chapter 11 C Traveling With A Beauty Shi Qingxuan pushed open the wooden door of a stone house; turning her pretty face around, she smiled and said, Xu Xiong, pleasee in! Xu Ziling stared nkly for half a day before stepping over the threshold into the house. The room inside was separated into front and rear sections by a bamboo wall. Although the house itself was small, it contained a gamut of furniture, various bits and bobs; everything necessary in a household, with clear window and clean table, quiet and secluded, and pleasant. Shi Qingxuan spoke indifferently, This is Qingxuans humble abode [orig. snails home]. Surprised, Xu Ziling asked, Dont Miss Shi live in Bashu? Shi Qingxuan invited him to sit on the chair by the window, while she herself stepped into the inner section behind the bamboo wall, and said, This cottage was not built by Qingxuan at all. The original owner passed away five years ago, thereupon Qingxuan borrow it to stay for a time. I like it since it is only half a sichen away by foot from the Demonic Emperor Temple. Looking through the bamboo wall, Xu Ziling could vaguely see this unique beauty sat down in front of a small table by the bed inside the inner section, with her back toward him, facing a round copper mirror hanging on the wall. Under the hazy illumination in the room, everything was purified by the bamboo wall, emphasizing her graceful figure and posture even more. Xu Ziling sighed in admiration, This is indeed a good ce to shun the world. If Miss did not take Zaixia here, I am afraid I would never find it even if I searched for it ten thousand years. This small stone house was built inside a small canyon located about ten li southeast of the bat cave maze, with its back to a tall waterfall pouring down into a smallke. In front of the house fruit trees were swaying, the scenery was extremely beautiful. Shi Qingxuan picked up theb and started to brush her jet-ck, shiny and long beautiful hair gently. Her movement and posture were extremely attractive. Why dont you ask who the original owner was? she spoke indifferently, Arent you curious? A warm andfortable feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, as if he was in a small nest together with his lovely wife, chatting about domestic trivia over a bamboo wall. It was an extremely novel sensation. Smiling, he said, Perhaps my character makes it so! I rarely have the urge to absolutely want to know certain things. But since Miss particrly raised this issue, it is obvious that the original owner of this house must be a person of great history. Now Zaixia is highly curious. Laughing softly, Shi Qingxuan said, I was wondering, may Qingxuan ask Xu Xiong a rather rude question? While listening to the sound of the boisterous tweets of the birds chasing each other and ying outside passing through the window, he casually replied, Miss, please enlighten! Shi Qingxuan said, May I venture to ask Xu Xiong, in the past few years you are roaming to the south wandering to the north, have you hurt the heart of many girls who poured out their feeling, who are fondly attached to you? Xu Ziling was stunned, I have never thought about that, he said, But I dont think there is such thing? Shi Qingxuan cheerfully said, Finally you, this guy, are not being honest. But for the time being, I am not going to settle this ount with you. Let Qingxuan put this question on the other side: how many famous beauties have Xu Xiong seen in Jianghu? Which one can make you admire her wholeheartedly? Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, Miss question is more difficult to parry, to ward off than any strange-skill, ultimate-art. Can Xiaodi simply surrender and be done with it? Shi Qingxuan put down theb, Pfft! she giggled tenderly and said, A useless fellow! Real man should dare to love, dare to hate. Turns out the Xu Ziling, whose name shook the world, is so useless in this regard. Full of confidence, Xu Ziling calmly shrugged his shoulders and said, Xiaodi have an extremely light and indifferent view toward the feeling between men and women, neither do I have any particr expectation or hope. In everything, I am at home wherever I am. If you ask me, my wish is to lead a life of free and easy, to roam the world and enjoy immortal scenery, without any burden of this life. Shi Qingxuan was silent for half a day, before slowly said, Your way of thinking is extremely simr to Qingxuans; the difference is one is moving, the other still. In Qingxuans heart, the ideal way of life is to live in secluded mountain or forest, studying meticulously the art and knowledge that I like, and use it to amuse myself, passing through this life in peace and quiet. Therefore, I am a little anxious to pass on this responsibility to Xu Xiong. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Xiaodi finally understand Miss intention. Say it then! As long as it is within my power, I will definitely aplish Miss cherished desire. Shi Qingxuan sighed and said, Ay! You are such a good person, you make Qingxuan feel ashamed and guilty to inconvenience you. Xu Xiong, could you temporarily close your eyes, I want to change clothes! Xu Ziling jumped in fright, and hastily shut his eyes. The rustling noise of clothes being changed continuously came from behind the bamboo wall. Shi Qingxuans unhurried, calm voice said, Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa is definitely the demonic schools supreme skill; it is a level higher than Yin Gui Pais Tian Mo Da Fa. The strangest thing is that in the process of training, the practitioners character and temperament will change, from demonic to enter the Way. ording to Lu Dashi, although in training this skill Xie Di Xiang Yutian ruined the enterprise for the sake of one basketful, he did notplete the whole skill, and ended up suffering fire deviation and the disaster of having his body burned, but before his tragic death, he suddenly came to see the truth of his evil deeds in the past in devastating all living things, hence he tried hard to remedy it. Xu Ziling almost opened his eyes. Astounded, he said, Turns out there is such skill in the world, it is really surprising. Although the Secret to Long Life was able to change his and Kou Zhongs temperament, it still followed their own natural character and natural development, absolutely unlike the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa that couldpletely change someones deep-rooted character. Shi Qingxuan seemed to finish changing her clothes; she opened the bamboo wall and walked over to the outer hall, but she did not tell Xu Ziling to open his eyes. She spoke gently, At that time, the only concern he had was You Niaojuan, those four evil disciples. No one understood their evil nature more than he did, thereupon he wanted to exploit their weak point of desiring to be the next generation Xie Di, using the Demonic Emperor Relic as a bait, forcing them to make an oath under the demonic schools supreme and binding blood curse, that only after obtaining the Demonic Emperor Relic that they could inherit the Xie Di position, and only then would they be allowed to establish the Sect. On the other hand, he secretly informed Zhu Yuyan that the Demonic Emperor Relic has already been passed on to these four inferior disciples, so that they would carry the me. Xu Ziling still had his eyes shut tight, so he could not see her expression while she was speaking. It was like he was in the middle of the fog;pletely at a loss. Why is Demonic Emperor Relic so important? he asked. Shi Qingxuans sweet-sounding voice replied, That is the mystery within a mystery in the Xie Ji Zong [lit. extremely demonic school], the strange technique and secret method that has been handed down from generation to generation since the establishment of the Xie Ji Zong, and has be the symbol of authority of the Zongzhu [head of a n, school master]. It also represents some kind of terrifying skill. In itself, the Demonic Emperor Relic is a finely polished rare yellow crystal stone. Since the first generation Xie Di, when the sessive Xie Di knew that he wasing to his allocated lifespan, using a secret method, he condensed the power he umted his entire life to be a qi essence, and injected it into the crystal stone, hoping that the person inheriting the demonic stone would be able to use the primary essence, so that from generation to generation, the Xie Ji Zong would grow stronger and stronger, unrivalled in Wulin. Oh! You may open your eyes now! Xu Ziling suddenly opened his tiger-eyes. Shi Qingxuan had her beautiful hair rolled up in a bun, capped with a hat, while wearingplete menswear; the attire one would wear on a long journey. Her ugly nose disappeared without a trace, but her skin became rough and swarthy. Even so, her beauty still made people hold their breath. It was unclear whether because he paid particr attention and the difference in their rtionship now, but he felt that her straight backbone made her tender nose looked perfect, so that she appeared more noble and elegant beyondprehension, wless. Her beauty was cold and detached, and mysterious. Perhaps this was due to her innate purity and pride, so that others did not dare to get close to her, yet they would thirst for her favor. Adding his previous impression of her to that, Xu Ziling dared to affirm her distinct style, her bold beauty was in no way inferior to Shi Feixuan, Wanwan, or other peerless beauty of their caliber. Shi Qingxuan smiled and said, Why are you staring at me, unable to take your eyes off me? Do you think Qingxuan has changed too much? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Miss really knows how to read my heart. Hey! If what you have said is true, that Xie Ji Zong ought to far surpass Yin Gui Pai by now, but why is the fact not so? Shi Qingxuan sighed and said, The real situation isplicated. Tell me first, where are you heading? After Xu Ziling exined everything to her, Shi Qingxuan dly said, We will be able to travel together for two, three days. After reaching the Great River, you go down to Jiangnan, while Ill take the boat to the west. Well talk it over during the journey, all right? Xu Ziling has never imagined that he would gain a femalepanion. But every moment he spent with this beauty would be a beautiful experience that he would never forget as long as he lived. Thereupon he nodded and smiled, If Miss dont mind, we ought to hasten on with our journey. Luoma Lake was located southeast of the biggestke in Shandong, the Weishan Lake, the two are connected by River Si. Luoma Lakes water under the wide open sky extended as far as the eye can see, the bluish green waves rippled, the water was rich with fish: carp, Crucian carp, ck carp, shrimp and crabs; as for the flora, there was water caltrop, fresh lotus root, cattail, mouth grass, and so on. Every time the weather was favorable, fishing boats roamed about the mist covered water, the oars braved the waves, heron glided and gulls soared; the scenery was enchanting. Luoma Bangs base, the City of Xiapi, was located about ten li northwest of Luoma Lake. It was a fortress at the confluence of three major river courses, Si River, Yi River, and Bian River. From here, in just a little more than half a day of voyage, one could reach Pengcheng, located at the upper reaches of Bian River. The convenience of transportation has made Xiapi the transit center between Luoma Lake and Weishan Lake, with a tight grip on the waterways in the entire region. As a result, Xiapi brought a lot ofmercial trade, which, in turn, gave Luoma Bang full belly and fat intestines, their fame and power grew. The alliance with Khitans group of horse-mounted bandits offered Luoma Bang the opportunity to expand their influence and fuel their wild ambition. Kou Zhong, Luo Qifei, and ten of their men disguised themselves as traveling merchants, who came to this vige, rich in fish and rice, in the Luoma Lake region, to buy provisions, and safely entered Xiapi. Assisting them in gaining ess and establishing contact was the local huge grain and oil merchant, Shen Renfu. He has always had close rtionship with Pengliang Bang. Although on the surface he also maintained friendly rtions with Luoma Bang, inwardly he was extremely resentful toward Du Rens excessive, not-knowing-his-limit taxation, his surly and unreasoning way of doing business. Luo Qifeis information wasing from him. Shen Renfu was a proficient and calcting businessman; originally he was unwilling to be drawn into the dispute. But Du Ren and Ku Ges alliance was more than he could bear, simply because his younger brothers family, men, women, young and old, all lost their lives in Ku Ges hands, hence his hatred was deeper than the sea. But the most important thing was his admiration and confidence in Kou Zhong, thereupon once the agreement was made, he was determined to help Kou Zhong to deal with Du Ren and Ku Ge. As soon as Kou Zhong and Luo Qifei reached the Shen Mansion, the three immediately held a meeting inside the secret chamber. Shen Renfu was a tall, sturdy and rugged looking man, his hair was iron grey, he appeared to be confident and easy-going. On his bright and broad face was a pair of shiny eyes, he wore a long and thick beard, his age around forty, the impression he was giving out was that of an astute, decisive, and stop-at-nothing man. After some polite exchange, Shen Renfu presented the situation, After obtaining Ku Ges support, Du Rens major task is recruiting soldiers and buying horse, in preparation to disy his fist and feet, putting all towns and viges in the vicinity in danger, afraid that he and Ku Ge would join forces and go to all directions, killing and burning, besieging cities and robbingnds. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Ku Ges group only consists of an insignificant number of several hundred horse-mounted bandits, why does Du Ren seem to acquire big backers? Shen Renfu sighed and said, In Zhong Yes eyes, its only natural that Ku Ge is a totally insignificant nobody; but in the surrounding area, who did not hear the name Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits and their countenance change? If we add the thieves Ku Ge left at the coastal area, the number may reaches more than a thousand. Every one of these Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits has outstanding martial art skill, very aggressive and ruthless. Their horsemanship is a level above everybody else, plus theye and go like the wind. Except for the big defeat under your, Zhong Yes hands, they have always been undefeated. And now that they acquired Du Rens intelligence and base of operations, they are indeed like a tiger that has grown wings, putting all of us in danger. We are hoping that Zhong Ye cane out to preside over justice, and take revenge and wipe out the grudges of the people massacred by them. Kou Zhong calmly said, Shen Laoban [boss], please set your heart at ease. Merely for your esteemed younger brothers family being harmed by them, I already am unable to sit still. I must make this bunch of evil thieves unable to return to their hometown forever. I wonder where Ku Ge is staying now. Du Ren will never dare to lead the wolf into the house, to sleep under the same roof with Ku Ge! Seeing how much Kou Zhong was giving him face, Shen Renfu was so grateful that he was almost in tears. After kneeling down to express his gratitude, he said, Ku Ge and his men are hiding on the prairie at the foot of Mount Ze, about a dozen li west of Xiapi, ready to respond and rendezvous with the other group of horse-mounted bandits. As for the details of his conspiracy with Du Ren, Xiaoren [the lowly one, referring to self] has not explored that information yet. Stretching his limbs, Kou Zhong said, I wonder if Shen Laoban knows: within the Luoma Bang itself, who opposed this alliance most intensely? Without even thinking, Shen Renfu replied, Of course its the Er Dangjia [second chief] Xiao Lu Bu [little Lu Bu (-198), a general and warlord] Jiao Hongjin. This man is an exceptional hero, he received the love and respect of ten thousand of his men, but also received Du Rens jealousy the most. This alliance, at least half of Du Rens reason was directed at him. Since his fight against the alliance failed, every night Jiao Hongjin lingers at the pleasure house, drowning his sorrow in wine. In my opinion, he is at the initial stage of dying, otherwise Du Ren might have him killed. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Lu Bu did not love the rivers and mountains, but loved beauties instead. Hopefully Little Lu Bu is a bit better. We will start with him. Who knows, perhaps without spending a single man, a single troop, the entire Luoma Bang will join us. At that time, I can guarantee that the Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits will die without a burial ce, plus we will gain a batch of well-trained warhorses. Dont you think this is a very sound scheme? Shen Renfu happily said, Xiaoren has quite a bit of friendship with Jiao Hongjin; let Xiaoren make the arrangement. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Its not advisable for Shen Laoban to appear personally. It is hard to fathom a persons mind; nobody knows how Jiao Hongjin would react. Qifei, do you have any suggestion?" Luo Qifei, who has been listening on the side without saying anything, agreed; he said, It would be best indeed if Shen Laoban does not appear personally, but how are we going to make contact with Jiao Hongjin secretly? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Then I will have to act ording to circumstances. What is his favorite ce? I am going to meet him there. If he is unwilling to help me, I might as well kill him with a de, and then it will be Du Rens turn. Although he talked big, Shen Renfu and Luo Qifei merely thought that it was proper and to be expected as a matter of course. Compared to Ren Shaoming and Li Mi, Du Ren could be considered nothing. After thinking for a moment, Kou Zhong said to the two, Since nobody knows what Du Ren and Ku Ge are going to do next, we might as well do them a big favor: spread a bit of rumor, so that the people of neighboring towns will panic. Once we get rid of Du Ren, everybody will be doubly grateful, so in a few words we can buy the hearts of the people back. Ha! Is there anything more cost-effective than this? The two nodded their heads in praise. Both inwardly thought that indeed there is no empty schr under famous reputation; he was able to think about such tactic. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, The rumor must be reasonable and fair, otherwise its not worth spreading. Ah! Shen Laoban, you are more familiar about this: what are the people nearby most afraid of? Shen Renfu respectfully replied, Du Ren has always intended to capture Liu County and Pei County by the Weishan Lake, so that he can obtain a foothold at Weishan Lake, from which he can then attack bigger towns around Weishan Lake. Can the rumor be something about this matter? To the north, Weishan Lake is connected to Zhaoyang, Dushan, and Nanyang, threekes, which are joined head to tail, as if they are one singleke. If it fell into Du Rens hands, the entire Shandongs economic lifeline would fall under Du Rens control. Luo Qifei said, To capture Weishan Lake, they must first seize Pengcheng. Therefore, as long as we falsely spread the news that Du Ren is about to attack Pengcheng, others will imagine and specte about his wild ambition and hisrge scale n. Roaring inughter, Kou Zhong said, The more we talk about this matter, the more it bes the truth, even I believe it a little! We might as well add some salt and put on some vinegar, saying that Ku Ge is going to take the lead, to wash the disgrace of defeat under my hands; therefore, they would kill anybody they see. Hows that? The two cheered together. Kou Zhongughed and said, Ol Du and Ol Ku, two big brothers! Lets see how many more days you are going to enjoy the wind and the sunshine. With excited expression, Shen Renfu said, Working for Zhong Ye is such a delight, Xiaoren will immediately do it ording to n. Hold on! Kou Zhong said, It would be best if the rumor starts outside and spreads inside, then even if Du Ren wanted to investigate it, he cant. You can dispatch men to nearby cities and towns immediately ... Ah! Wed better change it to using the traveling merchants whoe and go along the waterways; that way the news will travel faster and spread wider. Shen Renfu epted the order and left. Kou Zhong stretched again, and then said to Luo Qifei, Go and investigate which pleasure house our Little Lu Bu might go tonight, I am going to take a nap, and when I wake up, Ill go find him to feel the bottom of the wine cup and discuss this business with him. Yawning again, he eximed, I am exhausted! Book 20 - 12 – Lucky Chance Book 20 Chapter 12 C Lucky Chance Dusk. Xu Ziling, disguised as Yue Shan, and Shi Qingxuan, traveled as father and son, arrived in Hefei, another big city northwest of Liyang. Yangtze River was still two days away, that is, assuming the two would travel as fast as their feet could carry them. This city was inside Jianghuai Armys territory, but the g flying overhead was Fu Gongyous banner, and not Du Fuweis. Outside Hefei, the countryside was unbroken fields stretching into the distant; seedlings were everywhere, fresh yellow and light and dark green as far as the eyes could see, making their mind felt fresh and cool. After paying the tax to enter the city, the fascinating scenery of the patchwork of waterways of the Yangtze River basin warmed their hearts and delighted their eyes. The streets were paved with either bluestone or built byying bricks, giving the impression of abundant antiquity. The buildings werepact and elegant, with whitewashed wall and ck roof tiles, wooden doors and stone steps, simple, nothing fancy. In this continuous fire of war, the time where ruinsy for a thousand li, outsiders looking at it would feel peace and harmony in their heart. Passing through a narrow but long alley, both sides densely packed with the rear walls of peoples houses, Shi Qingxuan, who along the way has never uttered even half a word, suddenlyughed and said, I was thinking of leaving the city immediately afterte night supper, so that tomorrow well be able to reach the Great River, but somehow after entering the city, I suddenly feel tired andzy, and now I only want to rest. Before nightfall I want to go out to enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city. Xu Xiong, what do you think? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Even if we are in a hurry, one night or half evening will not matter much. Besides, we really must have a good night sleep. Therefore, I have no objection. Thereupon the two found a clean, simple yet elegant inn in the vicinity, ordered two adjacent rooms, and separately went to the bathroom to freshen up, before meeting again and together went to the city center to enjoy the liveliness. Sitting down at the corner of a restaurant, Shi Qingxuan ordered two vegetarian dishes, and then the topic of their conversation went back to Xie Ji Zong. Shi Qingxuan did not wish for the guests at the adjacent table to listen to their conversation, hence she sat by Xu Zilings side, with her back against other people, and affectionately leaned close to Xu Zilings ear, and said, The problem is that so far, no one has ever reaped any benefit from the Relic, but it has be a tradition of the Xie Ji Zong from generation to generation that when the Zongzhu is approaching his end, he would transmit his qi essence into the Relic. Other than Xiang Yutian, who was not able to fulfill this obligation due to the unexpected death, there are altogether eleven Zongzhu who sacrifice their primal essence into this Relic. A chill crept up in Xu Zilings heart, thinking that the conduct of demonic sects people was indeed strange and unfathomable. Shi Qingxuan went on, It was only during Xiang Yutians time that they took a turn for the better. Xiang Yutian was the first person to understand how to use the Relic to train the demonic skill, so that he ranked above Zhu Yuyan among the demonic sects grand masters. Its a pity that he neverpleted the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa. Just before his death, he separately taught the secret on how to use the Relic to train the demonic skill to four inferior disciples, who harbored the intention to murder their master, and to Yin Gui Pais Zhu Yuyan. In addition, he instructed Lu Dashi to hide the Demonic Emperor Relic in some secret ce. The best part was that he deliberately mystifying this matter, so that You Niaojuan and the others mistakenly thought that the Demonic Emperor Relic has been handed over to Zhu Yuyan, while Zhu Yuyan is convinced that it has fallen into the four peoples hands. The consequences can be easily imagined. Naturally they battled each other as irreconcble adversaries [orig. you die, I live], which ended up You Niaojuan and the others suffered a crushing defeat, and no longer dared to show their face. This ruse was certainly evil and extremely vicious, a clear sign that even though Xiang Yutians character underwent huge changes, he did not have the heart of Bodhisattva at all, while implying punishment to his evil disciples at the same time. Shi Qingxuan continued, In the end, paper can never contain fire. By the time both sides realized that the Demonic Emperor Relic was in Lu Dashis hands, both parties have already tied deep enmity with each other. Xu Ziling was puzzled, How did this matter implicate Miss? he asked. Shi Qingxuan sighed; she replied, Can I hold on to the climax for the time being by temporarily not tell you this? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Since Miss has a hidden trouble that is hard to mention, its all right not to tell me that. But we are going our separate way tomorrow; is there any other instruction Miss would like to tell me? Shi Qingxuan shook her head and said, We are not going to part tomorrow. We are going to part tonight. Xu Ziling was stunned. Kou Zhong slept untilte afternoon; alone, he went to the busiest street in Xiapi, to look around with great interest. In order to fool people, he did not carry the Moon in the Well, which normally has never left him, he also dressed as a distinguished and aplished young master of a wealthy family, with silk clothes and everything else. Along the street, he saw group after group of men wearing blue tight warrior outfit, walking in domineering manner; they must be Luoma Bang men, but they did not create any trouble at all. In this time of war,mon people were the source of manpower. Du Ren must have restrained his men to follow a strict code of conduct; otherwise, if the people ran away, the city would be ruins. Thenterns were started to illuminate the street. Pedestrians and vehicles fought against each other for the right of way. Except for its scale, which wasparably smaller, the liveliness was not inferior to the Heavenly Street in Luoyang. After sleeping for more than three sichen, Kou Zhongs physical strength, as well as his spirit and mind, werepletely recovered. He felt full of energy, and really wished he could find some bad people to beat up. Inwardly he also wished for Xu Ziling to be here, so that they could chat and joke, and spoke some vulgarnguage. Certainly the evening would be even more enjoyable. After walking for two blocks, he stopped in front of a pleasure house, which signage said Xiao Chun Guang [lit. little scenes of springtime]. After taking a deep breath, he swaggered through the pedestrian entrance leading into the courtyard. Seeing the arrival of a fat sheep, the bouncer at the gate busily took him to the reception lobby, and called theobao [female brothel keeper] for him. Kou Zhong showed off that he brought enough money, so that the other party would think that he was a big customer from outside the country who came to do business here. He gave generous tip, before casually mentioning the most popr girl by name, Miss Qiu Yue [lit. autumn moon]. Theobao, who insisted to be called Auntie Qing, showed off an awkward expression while saying, Daye [big master] is really unfortunate this time! Tonight Qiu Yue is already booked by another Daye. How about I have Qiu Rong [lit. autumn lotus] to apany Daye? In terms of voice, beauty and artistry, she cant be inferior to Qiu Yue. Kou Zhong tossed half an ingot of gold to her, telling Auntie Qing to have Qiu Ronge and apany him, but no matter what, he still wanted Qiu Yue toe and have a cup of wine with him, while putting the other half of the gold ingot on the table. [This paragraph has a lot of missing characters, as well as gibberish, so I interpreted it as best as I can from whats left.] Such a generous and forthright honored guest was rarely seen in the world, hence Auntie Qings greedy eyes lit up immediately, but she was still hesitant and could not make decision. Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in her ear, I have an idea; how about this! You arrange for me to have a room next to the room she is entertaining her guest. As long as I hear her singing voice over the wall, you can consider me getting my cherished desire, and that half gold ingot is yours! Auntie Qing mused that unexpectedly there was such an idiot in the world who willingly spend money like this. She dly took him upstairs. A smile broke out of Shi Qingxuans dark jade countenance, like a sliver of sun bursting out of the ck clouds; she spoke gently, Dont be overly sensitive. I only change my mind, I want to go back to Shichuan viand route. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Very well! Well part after dinner. It would be perfect if I can reach Baling sooner. After staring at him quietly for half a day, Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, Your build certainly bears striking resemnce to Old Yue, but youck his aggressiveness and overbearing saber. Do you want to appear a bit more like him? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, It doesnt matter how much I look like him on the outside, once I fight, there is no way I can cover my traces; therefore, there is no need to do more than is required. Pursing her lips, Shi Qingxuanughed and said, I said to appear a bit more like him, naturally that includes his saber technique and his overbearing saber. Do you forget that when he died I was at his bedside? Thinking about it, Xu Ziling felt more headache, No matter how hard I tried, its difficult for me to imagine that you and Yue Shan could hang out together. From this angle, he could see Shi Qingxuans profile from the side, as clear and distinct as if it was carved by a knife, the lines were as beautiful as if it came from the ghosts hatchet with divine skill, astonishing to see, especially since the make up to disguise her original appearance covered up her icy flesh and bone, so that Xu Ziling was able to focus his attention on her refined lines. Shi Qingxuans beautiful eyes showed a far-away, recalling-fond-memories, look, her jade lips spoke gently, Forty years ago, Old Yue suffered a crushing defeat under the hands of Heavenly Saber Song Que. Heavily injured, he traveled a thousand li to see my Niang, his original intention was that just before dying, he could see Niang for onest time. But Niang disregarded the wear and tear of her own true power, and saved his life using her acupuncture skill to stimte his acupoints, so that he was able to live thirty more years, but he was unable to save his martial art skill. And then, casting a nce at Xu Ziling, she spoke indifferently, Why are you staring at me? Xu Ziling hastily averted his gaze and said in embarrassment, Listening to you, I was enthralled, and involuntarily staring at you. If you dont like it, I wont look at you. Shi Qingxuan showed a cute, na?ve expression like a little girl, pursed her lips and said with augh, I was teasing you. You are different from other men; no matter how ugly my disguise is, you are always able to find something touching about me. And now Qingxuans skin is dark and rough, what do you say? Xu Ziling nearly grabbed his head and cried out for the pain; distressed, he said, You seem to be afraid others might admire your appearance, but that is a fact that cannot be changed. Shi Qingxuan smiled and said, That is because I have my Niang as an example. Ever since I was old enough to understand, I have never seen Niang smiling. Dont change the subject, where were we? Xu Ziling thought that it was you who changed the subject, yet you madeozi [me] the criminal ringleader, the main offender. But naturally he would not argue with her over this; he replied, You were telling me that Yue Shan managed to keep his life, but not his martial art skill ... Shi Qingxuan pped her pretty forehead, and eximed softly, Right! The details are not important, but as far as I understand, afterwards Old Yue built his house outside the secluded forest of the small valley where we lived. From time to time I visited him there, listening to him telling the stories of Jianghu, hence I was very clear about his affairs. In his spare time, he wrote his saber technique, which he called seventy two seasons [orig. hou C a period of five days] into a book. If I pass on this book to you, you could even pretend that you know his martial art! Xu Zilings heart was moved; he asked, Do you know that Yue Shan and Zhu Yuyan have a daughter together? Shi Qingxuan replied, That was the biggest regret Old Yue had in all his life. At first he thought that Zhu Yuyan was viewing him in a new light, that his feeling was reciprocated; who would have thought that Zhu Yuyan ... ay! I dont want to talk about it. Is this your habit? Xu Ziling protested, You always stir up other peoples curiosity, but then you dont want to continue. Shi Qingxuan smiled teasingly; she said, Finally you are willing to speak honestly. What I hate the most about you is your repulsive attitude of dont-care-about-everything, nothing-is-urgent. Ill let you off this time! After a short pause, she continued, Often time Demonic Cult peoples conduct vites social rtionships and heavensw. For instance: bearing and raising children, which are proper human rtionships and follow heavenlyw, they would see it as impediment. The reason Zhu Yuyan chose Yue Shan to be husband and wife for one night was simply because she loathed Yue Shan. Therefore, although they had man-woman rtionship, she did not have to worry about falling in love with him, and would have difficulty extricate herself from it. Tell me, dont you think that was a perversion of heavensw? Listening to that, Xu Ziling was stupefied, and was unable to answer. Shi Qingxuan was silent for a moment, and then she spoke softly, You kill You Niaojuan and Zhou Laotan for me, and Ill invite you to my little valley, and will y a tune for you wholeheartedly, with my true appearance. Dont you think this condition is satisfactory? Indeed Qiu Rong, who came to apany Kou Zhong drinking, did not look bad at all; she was glowing with youthfulness, not in the least looked like a broken flower, withered willow [fig. fallen woman]. Seeing Kou Zhongs back of a tiger and waist of a bear [fig. tough and sturdy build], her smart countenance immediately rippled with amorous feeling; she clung to him like honey, doing everything she could to curry his favor. Although on the surface Kou Zhong appeared to be engrossed in her ministration, his ears were focused on the next-door room, where the Little Lu Bu Jiao Hongjin and Qiu Yue were having conversation. This moment Qiu Yue won the finger-guessing game, so Jiao Hongjin had to drink as a punishment. Kou Zhong was thinking that this might be the best time. But as he was about to pay Jiao Hongjin a visit, suddenly he heard rapid footstepsing near, with awe-inspiring momentum. More than a dozen footsteps walked pass his door, and stopped in front of the next-door room. Bang! Someone kicked the door open, followed by Jiao Hongjins surprised voice called out, Da Dangjia [first chief]! Kou Zhongs heart was shaken, knowing that Du Ren wasing, only he did not know what made him so angry that he did not give Jiao Hongjin any face at all. A deep and low, hoarse and heavy guttural male voice shouted, Other people get lost! Jiao Hongjin remained silent. Qiu Yues footsteps left the room. The sound of her footsteps alternating between heavy and light; obviously she was terrified that her footsteps were unsteady. The door closed. Bang! Du Ren pped the table and shouted, Tell me, who leaked out our n to attack Pengcheng? Listening to that, Kou Zhong was dumbfounded; he thought how could there be such a coincidence? At the same time he praised Shen Renfu inwardly, for the high efficiency with which he spread the rumors. Displeased, Jiao Hongjin replied, I dont understand what Da Dangjia is talking about. Du Ren cursed furiously and said, If you dont understand, then who does? The attack to Pengcheng, you know it, I know it, Ku Ge knows it, but no one else. But now rumors are springing everywhere outside, even our coalition forces strategy, which one will attack Pengcheng first, which er, are inly in the open. If your mouth did not speak it out, do you think it was either me or Ku Ge? Tell me! Jiao Hongjin spoke in heavy voice, I, Jiao Hongjin, have been with Da Dangjia for many years, when did I ever speak half a word of lie? I said I did not, that means I did not. Da Dangjia dont believe me, there is nothing that I can do. After an unbearable silence, Du Ren suddenly stood up, and after saying Good! three times in session, he left just like he came: like the wind. Several times Kou Zhong was thinking of making his move, but in the end he decided not to do it, because if he assassinated Du Ren just like that, it would be difficult to admit Luoma Bang people peacefullyter. He stood up suddenly. Qiu Rong, who had just recovered from the shock, jumped in fright. Pulling his sleeve, she said, Honored guest, where are you going? Kou Zhong caressed her face [and some gibberish], and said, Listen, I want you to wait nicely here, dont go stealing other man. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I can only promise you that Ill do my best. Just think! That night, in the bat cavebyrinth, under such favorable situation, they still managed to escape; clearly these two are so formidable. Later on, Miss must also be more careful. Shi Qingxuans eyes were rippling with unusual luster. After looking at him for quite a while, she smiled, exposing two rows of snow white teeth, and said, You are not able to aplish something today does not mean that you are not going to aplish it tomorrow. As long as you are willing to promise, that is enough. This moment the vegetarian dishes arrived. Raising up her chopsticks, Shi Qingxuan picked up some vegetarian dishes and put it in Xu Zilings bowl; she said, Consider this meal as a farewell dinner for you, its Xiaomeis [little sister] treat. Oh! I am very happy. Ever since Niang became an immortal [fig. die], Qingxuan has never had such a goodugh. Xu Ziling had no choice but to force a smile to reciprocate. As if she had just remembered something, Shi Qingxuan said, I almost forget to tell you how to find me in the middle of Sichuan, otherwise youll look for ten thousand years and still wont find me. Hee ...! I dont know why, but I find myself love to tease you, to see your embarrassed and awkward expression. Xu Ziling did not know what to say. The two you pick a chopsticks, I pick a chopsticks, very soon the vegetarian dishes on the table were wiped clean. Looking at the empty dishes and bowls, they both were amused. After Si Qingxuan scrambled to pay the bill, they went out to the street, she said, Do you have anything you left at the inn? Xu Zilng shook his head to say negative. Shi Qingxuan said, Itste, the city gate should be closed by now, our only way out is to climb over the wall. Do you really want to send me off a while? Xu Zilingughed and said, That is affirmative! Shi Qingxuan blissfully said, In that case, follow me! Turning around, she headed toward the western part of the city. Xu Ziling ran after her, and said, You have said a lot of things in half; shouldnt you finish everything clearly before we partpany? Shi Qingxuan shook her head and said, Those are all troublesome matters, once I start, I wont be able to finish it. How aboutter on when youe to see me? You are the first guest I have ever invited. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, I am afraid it will be a long time before I can spare some time to go! Unconcerned, Shi Qingxuan slightly shrugged her fragrant shoulders and said, Naturally youlle when you have time. Xu Ziling was about to talk, suddenly he heard a horse neighing wildly, on the street, a carriage stopped abruptly. Bang! The carriage roof broke open, a sh of shadow shot out of the carriage, andnded behind the two; his momentum was astonishing to the extreme point. Xu Ziling and Shi Qingxuan exchanged a nce; neither one knew what was going on. Ba Dao [overbearing saber] Yue Shan, it is you! Hearing that, Xu Zilings scalp went numb, while inwardly he cried injustice. Shi Qingxuans voice came into his ear, Dont be afraid, its your old friend Zuo Youxian. I speak a sentence, you speak a sentence; understand? Finished speaking, she quickly walked aside. Xu Ziling slowly turned around; following Shi Qingxuans instruction, he spoke indifferently, Since we parted at Changbai, in the blink of an eye more than forty years have passed. Youxian Xiong is as svelte as before; it is indeed worthy of celebration. Kou Zhong pushed the door open and entered. Jiao Hongjins fierce gaze looked at him like lightning shes, but his voice was extraordinarily tranquil. Who are you? he spoke indifferently. This man was worthy to be called Little Lu Bu; his appearance was heroic, grand, and handsome, big and tall, well proportioned. Every movement exuded his full self-confidence. Kou Zhong smiled indifferently, and sat down across the table from him. He said, Xiaodi Kou Zhong. Jiao Xiong, how are you? Jiao Hongjins tiger-body shook severely; his hand quickly reached out to grab the hilt of the broadsword still in its scabbard on the table. Hold on! Kou Zhong shouted in low voice. Jiao Hongjins hand held the hilt tightly, but he did not pull it out. Are you here just to apany me drinking and ying finger-guessing game? he spoke in low voice. Kou Zhong spread out his hands, indicating that he did not have any intention to attack. Sneering, he said, If I wanted to kill, your Da Dangjia just now would not leave this ce alive. Am I right? Jiao Hongjin calmed down. Carefully sizing up the opposite party, he nodded and and said, Why didnt you make your move? Kou Zhong replied, Because I wanted to give Jiao Xiong some face. While Jiao Hongjin was stumped for words, footsteps suddenly rose up from afar, but quickly came near. At least there were several dozen men,ing from either side of the corridor outside the room. Kou Zhong unhurriedly said, Du Ren wants to kill you! Book 21 - 1 – Swords Flowing Out of The Big Dipper Handle Book 21 Chapter 1 C Swords Flowing Out of The Big Dipper Handle Jiao Hongjin turned around and pulled his broadsword; he sprang out of his chair, and shot toward the wooden tripod cauldron window looking out toward the rear courtyard from the side room. Before gaining steady footings, however, he roared in anger, and bent his body backward. Chi! Chi! Chi! repeated swishing sound of seven, eight powerful arrows flitted across only a few cun above his face like lightning shes, and stuck themselves onto the walls and beams of the side room. The tail of the arrows were still swaying, the footsteps outside the door cam to a sudden stop. Bang! The door was heavily kicked open, big men with weapons in their hands, like wolves and tigers, rushed into the room without saying anything. Kou Zhong let out a longugh. Copying Jiao Hongjin, he sprang out of his chair, but his hands grabbed the back of the chair tightly, lightning fast both of his legs flew backward, and hit two men, who were chopping down their weapons, on the pit of their stomach. The sound of sternums breaking was shaking to the core. Both men spurted blood from their seven orifices [i.e. 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth], the weapons dropped from their hands, their body flew backward like a kite with cut string, knocking the other men, who were rushing behind them, that they fell in a pitiful state, suffering from broken bones or split flesh. Six or seven men went down, not even half was able to crawl back up. Screams were heard from adjacent rooms. Kou Zhongs feetnded on the floor, he said to the angry Jiao Hongjin, Let us lure the enemy outside, so that they wont identally hurt the innocents. He soared up, broke the ceiling, and flew out of roof. Hearing him, Jiao Hongjin stared nkly for a moment, and then followed his example breaking out of the hole on the roof. By this time Kou Zhong already attacked several archers lying on ambush on the roof that they run like wolves, scurried like rats, and rolled down from the eaves on both sides of the roof. The entire second story, as well as the space between the building and the courtyard wall, was full of torches. The sound of people shouting and attacking filled the heavens, but no one could directly threaten them. Jiao Hongjin moved to Kou Zhongs left side, and he spoke resolutely, From now on Jiao Hongjins life belongs to Kou Ye. Kou Zhong pulled him down to evade more than a dozen powerful arrows shot from the ground upward toward them. While scanning the surrounding area, he said with augh, Why suddenly misce your kindness to me like this? Jiao Hongjin willingly said, Under this kind of circumstances, you can still taking the innocents into consideration, if Hongjin do not follow Kou Ye, whom should I follow? Kou Zhongughed aloud. Reaching out, he grabbed Jiao Hongjins shoulders tightly for a moment, and then letting go his arms, he said, Good Xiongdi! Come! Like an arrow, he shot low along the back of the roof, down the eaves, and slipped down like a swimming fish toward the lower floor. He moved in such a high speed that was indiscernible by naked eyes, plus this happened so suddenly that the enemys arrows all hit empty space. He was like a tiger entering the flock of sheep; first he moved at lightning speed to seize ance, and then poking to the left and stabbing to the right, he attacked anybody on his way, so that the more than thirty enemies guarding that position were utterly defeated, and scattered in all direction. As soon as Jiao Hongjinnded on the ground, Kou Zhong bellowed, Come! Well kill Du Ren on our way. Enemys reinforcement forces came from both sides, their battle cry mixed with the screams of the girls upstairs; the situation was extremely chaotic. Kou Zhong and Jiao Hongjin, one in front of the other, attacked their way toward the front gate, where vehicles and horses were parked at the za. Due to the space restrictions of the establishment, it was very difficult for the enemy to form heavy siege, hence it was very advantageous to the side with fewer number. With Kou Zhong taking the lead, they charged their way along the corridors. Thence in Kou Zhongs hand turned into millions rays of light like shing lightning. None of those who blocked their way narrowly escaped; if not being swept and thrown out of railings along the corridor, they were poked and thrown back by thence, crashing against the men of their own side. Indeed it was awe-inspiring on all eight sides, those who tried to block them were swept by the wind. Jiao Hongjins martial art skill was equivalently brilliant; his broadsword went up and down, turned over and flew, he cut down many pursuing enemies. Pow! Like a streak of lightning Kou Zhongsnce swept at a shield, jolting both the shield and its bearer, sending him tumbling down backwards. Kou Zhong repeatedly swept thence across, sending two stabbing spears aside, but in his heart he did not have the slightest delight, yet cried out for the turn of events was not too encouraging. This moment, he was only about a dozen steps away before he could turn into the small square at the main gate; who would have thought that from the corner suddenly appeared countless men wielding saber and shield, and spear and shield, blocking their way out so tight that there was no gap between them, while the mob, who was originally blocking their way, fanned out toward the railings, to let the fresh troops to deal with the two. Every single one of this group of spear and shield wielders had good martial art skill. The most formidable thing was that these men were highly trained, with first-rate capability both to attack and defend effectively. Kou Zhongs previously splitting-bamboo like momentum immediately went up in smoke, and turned into cun by cun, fen by fen hard struggle. [1 cun is approximately an inch, 1 fen is approximately 1/3 cm or 1/8 inch.] Jiao Hongjin behind him immediately felt the increased pressure; the more they fought, the deeper they sank into the heavy siege, the blood-soaked and hard-fought struggle. Jiao Hongjin spoke harshly, Du Ren wants to kill me with his heart and soul. This is this personal guards, the Spear and Shield Regiment. Their number reaches five hundred men. Kou Ye, quickly leave! Dont mind me, if you dyed, it will be toote. Kou Zhong suddenly backed off, dodging three spears swiftly shing down on him, and pressed his back against Jiao Hongjins, while calling out, If we die, we die together. His keen eyes scanned the surroundings, and saw that other than the shield wielders and spear wielders swarming in from outside the railings of the corridor, there was a group of more than a dozen archers with crossbow in their hands. While crying inwardly, Not good! he shouted loudly, Follow me! Boom! Kou Zhong simply crashed into the wall, and rolled into the pleasure houses reception lobby. Zuo Youxians build was tall and slender, his head was almost bald, but two tufts of long hair still remained on his temples, like a childs hair, reaching down to his wide shoulders, the shape was exceptionally good. He looked at least sixty years old, but his skin was as fair as a babys. His eyes were like a goats eyes, his sparse beard was long and drooping down, his nose bent and pointy, giving the impression that he was an extreme demonic and ruthless man. The clothes he was wearing was in grey Taoist robe. His hands behind his back, he stood as steady as a mountain, the hilt of a sword was visible over his left shoulder, his imposing manner was suffocating. His eyes emitted deep and sharp gaze, as he sized the disguised-as-Yue-Shan Xu Ziling from top to bottom, and spoke coldly, Of course not as good as Yue Xiong, who was able to hide and live in ease andfort. Yue Xiong has be very formidable, even the saber, which was usually inseparable from you, is nowhere to be seen. Your voice has also changed, as well as your eyes. Although Xiaodi sympathize with you, old debt cannot be forgotten. If you are willing to break your own right hand, Xiaodi will let you go. To more than a dozen Jianghuai Army troops, who were escorting the carriage, leaped off their horses and spread out to circle them, he shouted, Get away to give me some space. Better yet, get lost far away! As a matter of fact, the pedestrians on the street have already scattered away to avoid trouble; they went to hide in the stores and into the alleys. Xu Ziling did not know where Shi Qingxuan went, but her instruction was still ringing in his ears. Hastily he let out a hoarseughter, while his eyes shot sharp rays like lightning shes as he stared at Zuo Youxian, who was standing more than two zhang away, and spoke indifferently, Zuo Xiong has Fu Gongyou supporting you, no wonder you put on a lot more air in the way you speak. If I had notpleted the Huan Ri Da Fa, based on this sentence alone, I would make your blood ssh within ten paces. Zuo Xiong, do you believe me? Zuo Youzians countenance changed slightly, a half-believing, half-doubting look flitted across his eyes; he spoke heavily, Xiaodi has just trained the Zi Wu Gang [lit. zi Cpass point 0o (north), wu Cpass point 180o (south), gang C stars of the Big Dippers handle] to the eighteenth level, and just suffered from no-rivals. This time meeting Yue Xiong on the road by chance, clearly my Taoist ancestors are showing favor, by giving Xiaodi this golden opportunity to test my skill. Although behind the Yue Shans mask the muscle on Xu Zilings face was showing a strange smile, he was actually trying to stall for time. He spoke indifferently, Zi Wu Gang is one of the two amazing supreme skills handed-down techniques of your honored sect, the Dao Zhu [lit. Taoist ancestors] Sect. It stands side by side with the Ren Bing Jianfa [lit. ren Cpass point 345o, bing Cpass point 165o, jianfa - sword technique], as the subduing sects secret skills. But since your honored ancestor Chang Mei Lao Dao [lit. old Taoist with long eyebrows] founded the Sect, nobody has been able to execute Zi Wu Gang to perfection and harmonize it to be a sword technique that can really be used. Zuo Xiong must be careful not to paint a tiger as a dog. If I am able to see any one small w in your coordination, Zuo Xiongs trial will be martyrdom. Please dont me Ol Yue for not giving you a forewarning. Obviously Zuo Youxian had no doubt in seeing him as the real Yue Shan. Laughing coldly, he said, I did not expect Yue Xiong has deep knowledge of my humble handed-down little skill. As for whether Xiaodis Jian Gang Tong Liu [Swords Flowing Out of The Big Dipper Handle, chapter title] still has any w, I was about to ask for Yue Xiongs guidance. Qiang! Zuo Youxians treasured sword left its sheath. Immediately a burst of no-stronghold-one-cannot-ovee biting cold gang [see above] qi emitted out of the de of the sword, pointing at Xu Ziling from a distance. It was fierce and overbearing, as well as demonic, strange, and eerie. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. From Shi Qingxuans instruction, which sounded like a thin string of noise piercing his eardrums, he learned that Zuo Youxian was one of the eight martial art masters of the demonic sects. In the past, he ranked above You Niaojuan. If he fought a hand-to-handbat against him, Xu Ziling would have to give it all he had to stay alive. At that time, it would be strange indeed if the whole truth was not revealed. Fortunately, Shi Qingxuans concentrated voice came just in time. Finished listening, he quickly gathered his strength to meet the intense Jian Gang of this senior figure, a martial art master of the demonic school, with equal harshness. Looking up to the sky, he calmly said, Right now the you pass point 270o] and shu [no idea, perhaps a typo?] are intersecting. Zuo Xiongs Zi Wu Gang must be intersecting the qi from your heart and your kidney. Watch for the finger! When he spoke about intersecting the qi from the heart and the kidney, Zuo Youxians countenance immediately changed slightly; the Gang qi weakened by thirty-percent. Pow! The two men shook at the same time. Book 21 - 2 – Reversed Fortune Book 21 Chapter 2 C Reversed Fortune Xu Ziling and Shi Qingxuan stood on top of a small hill. Far behind them was the faint flicker of Hefei city lights. Shi Qingxuan smiled and said, I already guessed that that yao dao [demon Taoist] would not dare to fight, because he only trained to the separating spirit level, and not the fusion and flow of the spirit level; hence there was no chance that he could beat your false bravado of Huan Ri Da Fa. Whats more, unexpectedly you were able to tell where his spirit was stored, and where would his qi return to. How did you know that? Xu Ziling calmly shrugged his shoulders and said, That was purely some kind of reaction after the qi contacted the mind, when I explored his mental and physical efforts concentrated at his heart and kidney, his gang qi surged endlessly at his Du meridians, waiting for action after having umted power; it was exceptionally mysterious. If not for my body generated the perception, I would not believe that there exists such an amazing skill. Its just that it still slightlycks the maturity to reach the highest state. Shi Qingxuans face showed a reminiscing expression, as if she was recalling some fond memories of the past, her beautiful eyes looked deep onto the edge of the night sky covering the whole earth. Her thoughts wandering far away, she said, Fortunately Qing Xuan could never forget Niangs words, otherwise I would not be able to help you cross this crisis. Zuo yaodao ranked number seven among the Eight Great Masters of the Demonic Sects; his martial art skill surpasses You Niaojuan, who is at the bottom of the list. Although your martial art skill is superior, if you fight him fair and square, to whom the deer falls [fig. the one to emerge victor (usually in context of seizing the throne)] is yet to be seen. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, Turns out it was your Niang who told you that. She must not be an ordinary person. Revealing an intensely proud expression, Shi Qingxuan said softly, Of course Niang is out of the ordinary, otherwise, You Niaojuan and the others would not wait until they heard the news of Niang passing before they dared to seize the Demonic Emperor Relic. Xu Ziling really wished he could ask about her father, but because it pertained the others personal affairs, he had no choice but to suppress his curiosity and change the subject by asking, Are you saying that Zhu Yuyan also did not dare to provoke your Niang? Of course, Shi Qingxuan proudly replied, Niang is one of the people that Zhu Yuyan has deep apprehension, otherwise, Lu Dashi would not have handed the Demonic Emperor Relic to her! Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, In this world, other than people from Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Ning Daoqi, unexpectedly there is still someone who can make Zhu Yuyan afraid. It is indeed previously unimaginable. No wonder when I heard you breaking Jin Huanzhens demonic sound with your flute, I had a faint feeling that it would be one way to restrain Zhu Yuyans Tianmo Yin [demonic/devil sound]. Shi Qingxuan cast an amazed nce at him, nodding her head she said, Lu Dashis words were certainly spot on; Xu Xiongs perception is above average, it is really amazing. And then she smiled slightly and said, Niang is not quietly someone outside Jing Zhai and Ning Daoqi, rather, she came from the Jing Zhai; she was actually the incumbent Zhaizhus [master of the monastery] Shijie [martial (older) sister]. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was stunned; he could only stare at her. Shi Qingxuan made a rarely-seen-naughty-little-girls-cute-and-charming face at him, and as usual, she stopped at a cliffhanger, Ive told you too much. Oh! Its time for us to partpany! Before we break up, let Qingxuan tell you how to find the secluded forest in the small valley. Dont forget it! When Jiao Hongjin thought that Kou Zhong was about to repeat the same trick, he shook the round table and broke the wooden legs, then he flung the tabletop to injure the enemy. Kou Zhong then grabbed one of the legs, and using one hand he lifted the marble tabletop, which weighed about three, four hundred catty, at an angle in the air. Due to the angle at which he lifted the marble tabletop happened to ce the center of gravity directly above him, he was able to bnce it without too much strength, so that the heavy tabletop appeared to be light. At the same time he shouted loudly, Da Dangjia please listen to Xiaodi; the fact is that I was just speaking nonsense. Du Bangzhu is indeed wise and has divine martial power. While speaking, he was heading toward the corner, which could not be seen from the main entrance. Jiao Hongjin had no choice but to follow closely behind him. Du Rens impatient voice came through, I dont have time to bicker with you! Kou Zhong suddenly roared, Toote! This shout was imbued with his internal power, like a different version of the Tianmo Yin. Although it could not produce hallucination in the enemys mind like Zhu Yuyan, it could shock and hurt the enemies eardrums. The effect was first, to intimidate the enemies, and second, to drown Du Rens order to release the fire arrows. While the several hundred Luoma Bang men, who had been waiting outside the door, poised for attack, heard the roar and were thrown into panic, Kou Zhong hurled the marble tabletop out of the main entrance while he himself dashed over the threshold behind it. Jiao Hongjin ferociously clenched his teeth, and risking his life, he maintained the apanying-the-gentleman frame of mind, he pursued behind Kou Zhong. Hundreds of fiery arrows were shot from the snipers on top of the courtyard wall and the archers fanning out at the square. Kou Zhongughed aloud. The tabletopnded on the ground, and he used it as a shield in front that not a single drop of water could enter. And then, releasing both hands, he shouted to Jiao Hongjin, You go left, I go right! Chi! Chi! Pop! Pop! The sound lingered on faintly. More than 90% of the fiery arrows either hit the empty space, or hit the tabletop. The rest were struck down by the two men shooting out from both sides, either by the saber or bare hand, and fell down to the ground. After blocking the first round of arrows, Kou Zhong did not dare to be negligence, he lifted up the marble tabletop and whirled it in the air to charge toward the enemy ranks. The enemies did not have time to reload their bows, and already they were caught in chaotic warfare. Du Ren, with more than a dozen of martial art masters, his personal guards, stood outside the courtyard gate to conduct the overall situation. Upon seeing this, his countenance changed, he roared, Kill them without mercy! The dozen or so martial art masters standing to his left and right immediately rushed out to join the siege to intercept the two. The more he brandished the tabletop, the more Kou Zhong was able to move it with what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes ease. At the beginning, he thought that he could only hold on for the time needed to burn half of incense stick, before he would be out of strength and had to abandon the tabletop. But when he really applied his strength, he discovered that as long as he could take advantage of the tabletops own weight and hold it in equilibrium, he could use it to attack the enemy, with the effect of four tael to push a thousand catty. And after every attack, he could take advantage while the tabletop was reaching the next point of equilibrium to take a breather and restore his qi. The tabletop turned everywhere; it was extremely fun. The shields split, the spears broke, sabers and swords left the hands and dropped to the ground. The enemies hit by the edge of the tabletop only stained it with their blood; none did not suffer broken bones and split flesh as they were thrown and tumbled away to the ground, absolutely no one was able to stand. Jiao Hongjins confidence rose up, his broadsword moved with the might of a tiger, acting as a shield to protect Kou Zhongs rear. This moment the enemys martial art masters arrived; one man soared high and pounced down, another man took advantage while Jiao Hongjin was blocking two spears attacking Kou Zhongs right nk to enter from Kou Zhongs left, and brandished the pair of hatchets in his hands to chop on the side of Kou Zhongs back, while yet another man hacked down on the back of Kou Zhongs neck. Kou Zhongs killer instinct was on the rise; he stayed calm without showing any fear. First, the tabletop spun like a windmill smashing the enemies. The fist of the man pouncing from above sneakily attacked his face. The punch had not arrived, a gust of wind arrived first. Aghast, the man wanted to withdraw, but Kou Zhongs leg flew from underneath, the toes of his boot hit the mans lower abdomen. The two martial art masters, one above the other below, screamed at the same time. The one striking from the top was swept by the tabletop, his bones broken his flesh split he fell some ways away. The one wielding a pair of hatchets spurted blood and fell face up, knocking down three enemies behind him. The tabletop swept again, forcing more than a dozen saber-shield wielders swarming toward him to scatter. But Kou Zhongs true qi has also bottomed out; he only had one more chance to stake everything on one throw. Twisting his waist, Kou Zhong pulled the tabletop toward the right rear, and then with a wild roar he rolled the tabletop with all his might toward the exit. By this time the two men have killed their way less than twenty paces from the main gate of the courtyard. The tabletop rolled everywhere. Overwhelmed with shock, the enemies scattered in all directions to evade. Those who were slower were smashed and fell face up in such a sorry state. Kou Zhong and Jiao Hongjin knew this was their only chance to escape. Fast as lightning the two ran after the swiftly rolling tabletop, rushing toward the gate of the outer courtyard. Seeing the unfavorable turn of events, Du Ren and the others rushed over to intercept, but their own men avoiding the disaster swarmed at them like a tidal wave, forcing them to move aside, and thus wasted this good opportunity. Boom! The tabletop mmed onto the closed outer courtyard main gate. Both the tabletop and the gate shattered. Although Kou Zhongs true qi, which came from the Secret to Long Life, was able to cycle endlessly, to grow and multiply continuously, but due to excessive loss, each he exerted his strength he was going all out, he did not have time to recover. This moment he was like antern which oil has dried out. He could only raise thest mouthful of true qi to rush out the door. Jiao Hongjin threw himself behind him. Seeing his footsteps were without strength, he was shocked. Hastily he rushed over to Kou Zhongs side and reached out to support him. Right in this desperate situation, where life and death was only separated by a line, countless archers appeared on the roof of the building across the street. While both men cried inwardly my life ends right here, continuous chi, chi noise rang out across the deserted street, arrows were flying above, and to the left and right of them. But the target was the pursuing troops swarming out of the courtyard gate and the enemy archers squatting high on the wall. About a dozen men wielding shields pounced onto the street to surround the two men, protecting them. One of them called out, Er Dangjia, we are here! Jiao Hongjin heaved a sigh of relief. He turned to Kou Zhong and said, They are my men. The most annoying thing for Du Ren was not the alliance with Ku Ge, or his desire to put Jiao Hongjin to death, but because of Kou Zhongs intervention, he missed the opportunity to kill Jiao Hongjin. Within the Luoma Bang, Jiao Hongjin was a figure receiving more love and respect form their people than Du Ren. Du Rens alliance with Ku Ge further drove him from the heart of his people. In fact, Luoma Bang was on the verge of splitting up; hence the reason Du Ren decided to gain the initiative by striking first. Kou Zhong spreading the true rumors was like igniting fire to dry, withered leaves and firewood sticks. Luoma Bang was one of the secret societies that rose abruptly due to the situation surrounding the copse of the old dynasty. Most of its members came from the lower strata of local people, hence it had a very strong local vor. They would never allow themselves to connive with outsiders to harm their fellow citizens of their hometown. Du Ren wanted to form an alliance with Ku Ge, he had his own difficulties. No matter how conceited and foolish [Orig. Yng thinks too highly of himself[1]] Du Ren was, he was well aware that he was not Kou Zhongs match. The only way was to take advantage while Kou Zhong has not had steady footings, to exploit Ku Ges desire for revenge, to expand his power without restraint by capturing Liangdu, so that Kou Zhongs up-anding power would be pulled up by the roots. In the end, it was just a wishful thinking, because he had never imagined that Kou Zhong woulde to shake his foundation. The first person to find out that Du Ren was going to take care Jiao Hongjin was the Ghost Shadow Luo Qifei, who received Kou Zhongs order to spy on the side. This man was quite intelligent and insightful; he immediately notified Shen Renfu, who then contacted other Luoma Bang leaderships who had close rtionship with Jiao Hongjin, which immediately incited surging emotion among the Luoma Bang crowd, driving them to rush over toward the pleasure house and surround it, so that Du Ren and his troop of personal guards were trapped inside. This moment the situation was reversed; Kou Zhong and Jiao Hongjin, escorted by their men, went across the street, under the deafening cheers of their supporters, calling out Jiao Hongjins name. Jiao Hongjin did not know what to do, so Kou Zhong whispered in his ear, Enumerate the charges against him first! Grabbing his head, Jiao Hongjin said, What charges? This moment Du Ren appeared at the main entrance, about to rush out to the street. Kou Zhong hastily shouted, Release the arrows! Their men were eager to make their move, only theycked the leadership to give them themand, plus they were still a bit afraid of Du Rens influence. But as soon as they heard the order, immediately a thousand arrows were shot, sending Du Ren and his cronies to cover their heads and sneak away like a rat, back into the courtyard. Another burst of cheers shook the heavens as they vented their dissatisfaction toward Du Ren. Du Rens frightened voice came out from inside, Jiao Hongjinmits treason against our Gang, you ... Shut up! Kou Zhong shouted, Little kid Du Ren, you clearly knew you havemitted three major crimes, you are no longer worthy to be our Gangs Bangzhu. Who the hell are you? Du Ren angrily shouted, You dare to infiltrate our Gang to stir up trouble [orig. fan and light up the fire]. Kou Zhong secretly kicked Jiao Hongjin, who was standing by his side; thetter busily shouted, Du Ren, dont try to change the subject. Your first major crime is colluding with Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits, harming ourpatriots. More than a thousand Luoma Bang men present immediately shouted and cursed; Du Ren could not even refute the usation. The mood of the crowd was extremely intense; Jiao Hongjin could not think of anything else to say, Kou Zhong hurriedly prompted him. Jiao Hongjins spirit was greatly aroused; his imposing manner rose up like a rainbow, he shouted, The second major crime is your inability to discern ck and white, you conspired to murder our Gangs Xiongdi. The crowd broke into another shaking-the-heavens shout,pletely drowning Du Rens feeble shout. Jiao Hongjin whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, What is the third major crime? This time it was Kou Zhongs turn to grab his head; he was simply blurting out about the three major crimes, just because the number three sounded appropriate, but he had not thought about which three. All around them, it was as if the Gang member took the urgency of the two men upon themselves, as if it had happened to themselves, but the more the level of anxiety grew, the more Kou Zhong was unable to think. Until the shouting gradually subsided, suddenly Shen Renfus head appeared from among the crowd, and said, The third major crime is damaging the reputation of our Gang! How about that? While Jiao Hongjin was thinking that this did not sound to be a serious crime, an idea shed in Kou Zhongs mind; he thundered, The third major crime is carrying out a scheme for personal gain, unexpectedly he wanted to set fire to Xiao Chuan Guang and burn thedies and the guests to death. This is irrefutable evidence; would the victims please raise your voices, otherwise, we are ... Hey! Never mind! He was going to say, Otherwise, we are not going to save you; fortunately he reined in the horse at the edge of the precipice, and did not turn into a vile creature who saw death but refuse to help. The victims on Xiao Chun Guang main building immediately shouted their usations on Du Ren. Seeing the time was ripe, Kou Zhoung shouted loudly, Brothers! From today onwards, Jiao Hongjin is our Bangzhu. Long live [orig. ten thousand years] Jiao Bangzhu! Immediately the cry Long live Jiao Bangzhu! resonated the skies. Kou Zhong shouted again, Men in the courtyard, listen! If you abandon your weapons and surrender, Jiao Bangzhu is not going to investigate, we are all still good brothers! As soon as he stopped, the courtyard and the street immediately quieted down, leaving only the crackling noise of the torches and the sound of the breathing. No one knew who started throwing their weapons, but then there was unending noise of Ding! Ding! Dang! Dang!, so everybody knew Du Rens influence was gone, his position would be difficult to protect. Letting out a longughter, Kou Zhong said, Du Ren kid! Get out here and receive your death! Du Ren roared wildly and rushed out with a spear in his hands, straight toward where Jiao Hongjin was standing. Unending Chi! Chi! noise was heard, as hundreds of arrows rained down on him. No one knew how many arrows hit Du Ren. He slumped down in the middle of the street, and died on the spot. [1] ording to the story the king of Yng (c. 120 BC), convinced that his kingdom was the greatest in all the world, inquired rhetorically of the Han emperors envoy, Which is greater, Yng or Han? This gave rise to the Chinese idiom, Yng thinks too highly of itself (ҹԴ). Other sources suggest that Yngs king was simply copying an earlier statement by a ruler of the adjacent Kingdom of Dian. (Source: Wikipedia.) Book 21 - 3 – Right Place, Right Time Book 21 Chapter 3 C Right ce, Right Time After hastening on his journey for two days and nights, Xu Ziling finally reached the Great River. On the vast surface of the river, surprisingly there was not even half a sail of boat, but the water was surging, from west to east, the torrent flowed endlessly. Although the Yangtze River was like this, it did not pose any problem to Xu Ziling at all. Its just that he was in no hurry to cross the river; therefore, he simply followed the river upstream, hoping to find a narrower section of the river, so that he could save a bit of energy. When the sun set over the western hills, the twilight glow made the river resplendent with bright, multicolored light, bringing about some kind of mncholy, yet colorful and beautiful feeling. After turning a bend, four, five li upstream, surprisingly he saw a crossing, and nine medium-sized boats moored along the coast. The banner fluttering in the air indicated that they belonged to the Chang Jiang Lian [Yangtze River Alliance]. Xu Zilings curiosity was piqued, thinking that didnt Yangtze River Alliance under the leadership of Zheng Shuming? It consisted of Qingjiang, Cangwu, and Tiandong, three Pai [Sects], plus Jiangnan Hui, Mingyang Bang, and the others as the backbone of the Alliance. Why were they gathered here today? His mind churned at the speed of light, he ran two more li, through a sparse forest and an open prairie dotted with trees, climbed to the top of a small hill, and down below he had a panoramic view of the Yangtze River Alliance around the dock and on the surface of the river. The earth gradually sank into darkness. The nine sailboats did not have any light, so that they appeared ghostly and mysterious. Suddenly a big ship appeared from the bend upstream,ing down at full speed. Xu Ziling focused his attention to look, suddenly his heart jumped, because this ship was not unfamiliar to him at all, he and Kou Zhong even spent some time aboard this ship: the Jukun Bangs gship, where the Bangzhu herself, Yun Yuzhen rode on. In his heart he felt that something was really out of ce. Kou Zhong sat straight on the horseback. From his high vantage point, he cast his gaze onto the barren ins and woonds, undting hills, under the night sky studded with stars and the moon. Xuan Yong and Jiao Hongjin were standing on his left and right, respectively. Behind them were a dozen high-ranking military officers under theirmand, more than half were Luoma Bang men. As soon as the news about the Xiao Chun Guang incident and Du Rens death reached Ku Ge, he promptly ran away in the direction of the ocean, hoping that relying on their fast horse, he would be able to reach the sea before Kou Zhong could catch up with him. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong already nned in advance? He assigned Luo Qifei, an expert in spying and reconnaissance, to keep watch along the way, and urately ascertain the route of his withdrawal, letting him to escape for two days and two night, and then concentrating the military power, poised to wait at the road where the lone troops must follow. Amidst the sound of hoof beats, Luo Qifei urged his horse passing through the sparse forest at the foot of the hill, came to Kou Zhongs presence, and reported, The enemy finally cant endure anymore, they stopped to take a rest at the small hill about ten li from here, to let their warhorses to rest and have water and grass. Kou Zhongs eyes shone with cold, sharp lightning shes, he spoke in heavy voice, In Qifeis estimate, does this bunch of Khitan dog thieves still have any strength left for battle? Luo Qifei replied, Although the Khitan dog thieves have be a bird that startled by mere twang of a bow, they have always been able to subdue pain and resist hardship. Even if they are fleeing in fright and panic, they are scattering but not in confusion, their battle array is still intact, plus they selected the wilderness of the ins as their escape route, so that in case they are intercepted, they can still rely on their horses to break away from the siege. Kou Zhong nodded his head in praise, Qifei is absolutely right. Although this time we are more familiar with the terrain, we are holding advantage both in terms of morale and the number of people, and thus victory is within our grasp, we must figure out how to maximize the oue of the war while minimizing our casualties. Using his horsewhip, Jiao Hongjin pointed at the continuous high mountain about ten li behind them, saying, Flying Eagle Gorge lies within the route they have to take if they are heading toward the ocean. If we setup an ambush over there, Ku Gesplete wipeout is guaranteed. Kou Zhongughed and said, Although Ku Ge cannot be considered intelligent, but he is definitely not stupid either, plus he is experienced in marching the troops, naturally he knew where the dangers are. Luo Qifei nodded and said, As Shao Shuai noted it clearly, Ku Ge and his troops have more than enough strength to travel more than ten li, yet they decided to stop in the middle to rest; clearly they wanted to explore the terrain before deciding whether they ought to enter the gorge, or take a detour via different route. Frowning, Xuan Yong said, If they take a detour, due to their fast horses, they can easily leave us far behind. If that happened, the towns and viges around the coastal region would suffer a cmity. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, They wont take the detour, because if they could travel faster, they cant possibly waste time. We are going to take a two-pronged approach [orig. to paint holding two brushes]; we are not going to ce a single man, a single troop at the Flying Eagle Gorge, but we will bluff from the rear, creating the illusion that we are pursuing to kill them, so that they wont have enough time for a full rest, and will have to escape in poor condition. Stunned, Jiao Hongjin asked, Where are we going to intercept them then? Kou Zhong replied resolutely, Outside the mouth of the gorge. At that time, Ku Ge would start to feel rxed, his men and horses are also full of energy, we are going to deliver a frontal assault, as well as left and right pincer attack. If we manage to drive them into the gorge, that will be considered a total victory. And then he smiled and said, If I cannot capture Ku Ge alive, how could I disy my, Kou Zhongs, ability? The Jukun gship extinguished theirnterns as they slowly approached the coast. When Yun Yuzhens ship pressed close to one of the Yangtze River Alliances warships, and the distance between the two ships was only about three zhang, more than a dozen men soared from the warship andnded on Yun Yuzhens ship. By this time, Xu Ziling had just had his head out of the water; he reached out to grab the hull, his five fingers firmly embedded into the solid wooden wall, and thus he attached himself there. The Jukun gship moved away from the riverbank and turned around, one after another the other warships followed. The deck was heavily guarded. Even with Xu Zilings skill, he had no confidence that he would be able to sneak into the ships hold without their eyes and ears detecting it, so he did not want to take the risk. Pasting his ear to the ships wall, he focused his power into the ear, and his sense of hearing immediately multiplied several times over; he was able to hear footsteps and voices inside the ship, even the rough and heavy breathing of the people inside, amidst the different noise of the ship breaking the waves, like the sound of a battle. Not a trace of noise escaped his ear. Xu Ziling closed his eyes; in this world that was purelyposed of sounds, his heart and mind search for the target. When he heard Zheng Shuming and Yun Yuzhens familiar voices, automatically all other noises were filtered out. Just like when the eyes are focused on certain objects, other things will automatically be indistinct. They must be inside the cabin. Due to Xu Zilings familiarity with theyout of the ship, he had no difficulty in visualizing in his mind that in the cabin, the two were sitting as the host and the guest, and Yun Yuzhens trusted aide, the pretty maid Yun Zhi, was serving the guest a cup of fragrant tea. In his mind he saw everything so clearly, as if he was witnessing it with his own eyes. After some pleasantries, Yun Yuzhen went straight into business, This time your honorable Alliance and our Great Liang be allies, join hands to work together, the time that Zhu Can and Zhu Mei, father and daughter, meet their ends will not be far. Xu Ziling suddenly understood. Relying on their power, Zhu Can, who was calling himself the Garuda King, and his daughter, the Venomous Spider Zhu Mei, have always run amuck, without shrinking from any crime. Inevitably they posed a threat to the existence of the Yangtze River Alliance; therefore, they had no choice but to rely on help and attach themselves to Xiao Xian, whose influence gradually expanding from the south of Yangtze River to the north of the river, to resist Zhu Can, father and daughters Garuda Nation. And Yun Yuzhen was the go-between person. Perhaps they even started talking in Luoyang. Xu Ziling thought that listening to this matter would not do him any good, but as he was thinking of leaving, Zheng Shuming suddenly said, Yun Bangzhu said that you wanted to borrow out humble alliances power to clear away the traitor within your Gang. Naturally this matter is very serious. I was wondering if you could give us clear instruction, to enable us to efficiently dispatch our dogs and horses to deal with this matter. Inwardly Xu Ziling was severely shaken. Immediately he understood that in his struggle against Yun Yuzhen, Bu Tianzhi had fallen into disadvantageous position and was in a very dangerous ce. The sound of hoof beats rumbled over the canyon, growing louder and louder by the minute, making the already tense atmosphere even graver. However, Kou Zhong, hiding in the forest along the hillside, was unusually calm, because the entire battlefield was in his grasp. Everything would proceed and happen just like he nned; no exception. Although he has had discussion with Xu Ziling about battlefield as a game with assurance andposure, it was not until tonight he experienced exactly the fantastic perception of that kind of game. From the appointment of the Commander-in-Chief, to the conscripting of a troop to be in a squad of five soldiers, to the selection and structuring the squads, the training, the banner and drum assignment, reconnaissance,munications, equipment, battle array, marching, setting up camp, defending a city, besieging a city, tactics and implementation, everything has given him the real feeling of game against others. The goal was to be the ultimate victor. Standing on his side, Luo Qifei called out in low voice, They are here! Kou Zhong gazed coldly as the Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits appeared at the mouth of the gorge, fast as lightning galloping toward the ancient road outside the mouth of the gorge. Just like Kou Zhong expected, after rushing through the nearly ten li distance anxiously like stray dogs, and then passing through the strategically situated and easily defended canyon, the enemy was already like an arrow at the end of its flight; their acute spirit wasted away, their speed obviously slowed down. Ku Ges tactics have always been the four-character mantra,i qu ru feng e and go like the wind]. If he was unable to defeat the enemy, he would leave, so that others could not touch his tail. Furthermore, his ability to crisscross Shandong unhindered could be attributed to his important rtionship with the Wolf King Mi Fang, who was familiar with the local geography, natural conditions and social customs. Entering thispletely unfamiliar territory, Ku Ge and the others were like the blinds, and Mi Fang was like the bamboo stick guiding the blind. Mi Fangs death has forced Ku Ge to only follow the old, familiar road to retreat; without any other way, he simply entered Kou Zhongs inescapable. By this moment, most of the horse-mounted bandits were already out of the canyon. Suddenly one after another a dozen or so riders in front lost their hooves, and tumbled down to the ground. The Luoma Bang men, who had just recently joined the Shao Shuai Army, ambushing on both sides shouted together, and then, amidst the sound of the drums shaking the heavens, from the forest on the left and right the archers shot their arrows at the same time, to take down the men, but not the horses. One after another the Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits fell down in a great mess. Next, the spear andnce wielders, rushed out in neat formation from either side and attacked systematically in groups. Each group consisted of five hundred men, all at once dashed against the enemies that they were scattered and smashed, broken down into several pieces, the head and the tail could not help each other. The archers ambushing by the mouth of the gorge also rained down their arrows to the mouth of the gorge, so that a small part of the enemy troops who had not yet exited the gorge were forced to flee back into the gorge. Knowing the time hase, Kou Zhoung shouted, leading two hundred elite cavalry charging out of the forest, and immediatelyunched frontal attack against the enemies. It didnt matter how valiant the Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits were, how brilliant their horsemanship was, having suffered defeat two days in a row, their morale had reached the lowest point. Under attack from all sides like this, they finally lost their ability to fight back, hence they scattered in all directions in utter defeat. Xu Ziling pricked up his ear and listened carefully. Yun Yuzhen let out a cold snort and said, To be a Gang and establish a Sect, one must uphold benevolence, righteousness, and sincerity. Right now Bu Tianzhi is having secret ties with outside enemies, conspiring to betray the Gang, disregarding trust and justice, adamantly holding on to his crime without any regret. In vain did I take extremely good care of him these many years, promoting him to be the deputy only one position below me; I could even say that he gets whatever he wants. But he let me down like this, it could be said that all those things are not enough for him. A deep and low male voice said, Yun Bangzhu, there is no need to grieve over this kind of crafty viin. Bu Tianzhis death is near at hand, we are going to follow Yun Bangzhus direction, using arge business as a bait, luring him toe to Caizi Lake to make the deal. At that time we are going to use warships and speedboats to put him under heavy siege. I guarantee that he will want to sink to the bottom of the river as conveniently as the fish in the water. Zheng Shuming spoke in low voice, Does Bu Tianzhi know that Yun Bangzhu is suspicious toward him? Yun Yuzhen replied indifferently, Of course I wont let him find out. I am going to entrust him a heavy responsibility on purpose, so that he still think that I trust him as before. This time I intentionally did not involve the trusted aides under mymand, and hand over the task to deal with him to your honorable Alliance, so that he wont suspect anything. After the critical step is aplished perfectly, with no mouth left alive, I will take advantage while Bu Tianzhis cronies is still in the dark, to get rid of them one by one, and thus eliminate endless trouble in the future. Zheng Shuming said, Yun Bangzhu, set your heart at ease, this is a trivial matter not even worth mentioning. As long as we can swindle him into getting on board, Bu Tianzhi and his men can forget about even half a chance to escape our. Listening to this, Xu Ziling secretly broke into cold sweats, while also cried out lucky! If not for himing across this matter at the right ce at the right time, Bu Tianzhis little life would be gone without he knowing it. The fleet suddenly slowed down, and turned to a tributary on the right, and then continued upstream to the north. Naturally the destination was Caizi Lake, where Yun Yuzhen wanted Bu Tianzhi to meet his death. Under escort of Xuan Yong, Jiao Hongjin, Luo Qifei, and other high-ranking military officers, Kou Zhong inspected the after-the-battle situation of those who had just acknowledged allegiance to his military power. This Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits, who had wreaked havoc for many years, was finally destroyed. Among the spoils of war, other than nearly eight hundred pedigree Khitan warhorses, there were countless bows and arrows, and other weapons, plus close to three thousand taels of gold. Merely these riches were enough to rebuild half of Pengcheng. Kou Zhong was pleasantly surprised of this unexpected gain. Although it was not the first time that he witness the scene of dead bodies lying around everywhere on the prairie, this time he single-handedly took charge of the entire battle. His reaction right now was purely some kind of direct reaction upon seeing a scene that recalled past memories, the emotionally stirring scene of seeing dead bodies all round him. Kou Zhong reined in his horse to stop, his gaze was captivated by the extremely unnatural postures of the Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits ice-cold and stiff body, twisted this way and that on the ground, and not too far there was also a horse. One of those bodies apparently hit by the arrow on his back, and was thrown down from the horseback. His head was immersed in a pool of blood, which had coagted into a dark-colored bloodstain. Under the morning light, the originally full of live skin appeared to be nauseating indigo color. Seeing him staring nkly at the bodies on the ground, Xuan Yong and the others had no choice but to wait patiently nearby. Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, Dont you think its strange? Just now I had never thought or perhaps never regarded them as people. But now, looking at them lying face down in the wilderness, I suddenly recall that they were people just like me; they had their family, their rtives, that perhaps day and night are looking forward to theming back to Khitan, people who care about their wives, sons and daughters. Xuan Yong spoke heavily, Very soon Shao Shuai will get used to all this. On the battlefield, it is either you die or I perish, you cant be softhearted even for a bit! Kou Zhong sighed and said, I am not softhearted at all. Even if we had to go through this all over again, I would still be ruthlessly kill these extremely vicious, utterly evil disciples that not even half would remain. Its just that people are not grass or trees, we are bound to have feelings. Thats all. This moment, a subordinate came to report that they could not find Ku Ges body. Kou Zhong snorted coldly and said, Just consider him lucky! After tidying up, we will immediately return to Xiapi. The next target ought to be Li Zitongs old nest, the Dong Hai Army! The generals chorused their acknowledgement. Kou Zhong urged his horse to move. Suddenly, he just wanted to leave this bodies-lying-around-everywhere battlefield as far as possible! Caizi Lake was far inferior to the Chaohu Lake area not far in the east, and its shape was very irregr, but the scenery was beautiful, which was not what Xu Ziling was expecting. By this time he had moved from Yun Yuzhens Jukun gship to Zheng Shumings ship, and was hiding underneath one of the skiffs hanging from the hull, enjoying theke scenery of clear water and white foamy waves, reflecting the bluish green surface of theke. Jukun gship and Yangtze River Alliance warships separately sailed toward the appointed point where the ships would be hidden before they would hem in to intercept the target. Only Zheng Shumingsmand ship, which was full of martial art masters in hiding, was going to meet their appointment with Bu Tianzhi. The sails shadow danced lightly on theke, as if it was gliding on the mirror. On the shore, the shiny, green jade mountains seemed to blend with the limpidke water, so that it was unclear whether theke was dyed green by the mountain, or the mountain appeared to be green due to the water of theke. On top of that, the undting surface of theke was hazy with light mist, so that it was even more difficult to tell which was real and which was fantasy, as if by mistake they had burst into the world of the immortals where normally there would be no way they could enter. Half a sichenter, the speed of the ship was gradually reduced. Xu Ziling took a deep breath. His internal energy traveled via the body of the skiff, and into the sling. The sling disintegrated into cun-size fragments. By the time the skiff was falling onto theke, Xu Ziling already flipped over into the skiff. Bang! The skiffnded onto theke; it sank a chi or so, and then with Xu Zilings skillful kick, he restored its bnce. The enemies aboard the ship shouted and yelled, but it was toote. The oar was raised and hit the water, like an arrow the skiff darted pass the mother ship and continued forward. About a li ahead, Bu Tianzhis warship wasing slowly. Xu Ziling stood upright facing the wind. While steering the boat, he looked around as far as his eyes could see. The tranquilke was undisturbed, the mountain and theke reflected each other, the bluish green water covered in mist, the cool breeze gently blew, making him feel his heart and breast open wide, his ears and eyes fresh and clean, his mind and spirit free and invigorated. Zheng Shumings rmed cry came from the deck of the warship, which he had left about twenty zhang behind; she shouted tenderly, Xu Ziling! Without looking back, Xu Ziling responded, Zheng Dangjia, just leave! Is the killing in Jianghu not enough? Tying an unresolvable hatred, being drawn into other peoples Gangs internal struggle, what benefit would it bring to Yangtze River Alliance? No longer paying attention to her, he sped up to meet Bu Tianzhis sailboat. He was fully confident that in the end Zheng Shuming would beat the return drum. Even if the Yangtze River Alliance had the ability to kill him, Xu Ziling, they would have to pay a very heavy price. Plus, to tie an enmity against Kou Zhong, the enemy that almost no one dared to provoke, was not something that the insignificant Yangtze River Alliance could afford. Besides, Xu Zilings sudden appearance might giver her a reason to justify her decision; it was not that she abruptly go back on the deal. After losing Yangtze River Alliances support, other than fleeing away to the wilderness, Yun Yuzhen had no way to deal with him. And thus a crisis was averted, albeit a bit reluctantly. But the struggle against Xiao Xian and Xiang Yushan has just begun. Book 21 - 4 Book 21 Chapter 4 C Fortune Makes The Man Upon returning to Xiapi, before even sittingfortably, Kou Zhong already began receiving important figures [orig. people with head and face] of the neighboring towns and counties who came to attach themselves to him. Among them, there was nock of generals of Li Zitongs inner circle. One of them was a man called Li Xingyuan, aged about thirty, tall and mighty, but he did note from Li Zitongs hometown, but another big city Muyang, located between Xiapi and Donghai. He was willing to surrender Muyang, which was tantamount to half of Donghai County has fallen into Kou Zhongs bag. Kou Zhong was greatly surprised and asked the reason, Li Xingyuan snorted coldly and said, Li Zitong is harsh and merciless, he employs only close and distant rtives, and not based on talent or ability, his insight narrow and shallow, absolutely not a man with high aspiration. Frankly speaking, originally Xingyuan hesitated and could not make decision, but the various generals under mymand, as well as business and agricultural leaders, from the most senior to the youngest, all unanimously agree to seek shelter under Shao Shuai. Only then did Xingyuan understand the meaning of ten thousand people convert their allegiance. Kou Zhong could not helpughing; he said, Xingyuan is honest enough, I like this kind of straightforward man. I wonder hows Donghai situation currently? Li Xingyuan replied, Donghai County is currently under the leadership of Li Zitongs younger brother Li Ziyun, so they will never surrender to Shao Shuai. Moreover, they have adequate rations and fodder; a year or a half shouldnt be any problem. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, What kind of person is Li Ziyun? Li Xingyuan replied in disdain, Other than bullying and humiliating the small and weak, taking the fat and wealth of the people, what else does he know? Precisely because Li Zitong knew that he is bold but not very astute that he appointed rotten ghost schr Tong Shuwen to be his Junshi [military counselor]. This man is extremely shrewd, unlike Li Ziyun, whos just a straw bag [i.e. idiot]. Highly interested, Kou Zhong pursued further, Why did Xingyuan call him rotten ghost schr? Gnashing his teeth in anger, Li Xingyuan replied, Tong Shuwen loves to call himself a noble and virtuous man the most, always ims that he is well-read in the book of the Sages, that his learning was the Way of the Emperor, benevolence and righteousness hang onto his mouth all day long; yet beneath the surface he is greedy of flowers, he has ruined the reputation and integrity of I dont know how many women. Even his subordinates wives, concubines, and daughters did not escape his clutch. Were it not for his superior martial art skill, plus he is under Li Zitong, two brothers protection, someone would have cut him into ten thousand pieces. Kou Zhong deduced that this must be Li Xingyuans most important reason; he could not help being grateful that he was not a womanizer at all. Nodding, he said, To capture Donghai, this man is the key. If we can remove him, no matter how vicious Li Ziyun is, he will only be a toothless tiger. Does Xingyuan have any good proposal? Li Xingyuan showed a difficult expression; he said, In Donghai, there is no one more afraid of assassin than Tong Shuwen; therefore, not only he is very careful, his action is secretive, even going to bed at night, he never sleeps in the same room two nights in a row. To assassinate Li Ziyun is a bit easier. Kou Zhong mused, Xingyuan came to see me, did Li Ziyun know? Li Xingyuan replied, Although Tong Shuwen has his spies among my men, he cant conceal it from me. This time I am especially careful; they shouldnt be aware. Kou Zhong happily said, In that case it will work! Xingyuan should return to Muyang immediately, keep it under the lid, wait for me to draft aprehensive n, and then I will coordinate with you for further action. Li Xingyuan nodded his acknowledgement. His eyes revealed a fervent expectation, he said, Xingyuan has a presumptuous request, I really hope Shao Shuai would grant it. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, We are now brothers, whatever load you have in your mind, please speak out boldly! Li Xingyuan spoke in low voice, I wish for Shao Shuai to start off leniently, dont let disaster befall themon people of Donghai County. Taken aback, Kou Zhongughed and said, That is not presumptuous request! That ispassion, plus it is in ordance with the Heavensw. Xingyuan, set your heart at ease. If the only way to capture Donghai is by murdering the entire city, I, Kou Zhong, will definitely refuse to do it. If I break this oath, may I, Kou Zhong, die a horrible death. Severely shaken, Li Xingyuan prostrated himself; he was so moved that he could not say anything. Kou Zhong hastily helped him up. After discussing the method on how they would contact each other, Li Xingyuan hurriedly left. His hind leg had just left, Chen Changlins front leg already stepped over the Mansions gate. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong went out to meet him. Right now, what he craved the most was talent. Under the setting sun, a fishing boat was slowly docking on the pier outside the city of Baling. Bu Tianzhi, disguised as a fisherman, leaned over on Xu Ziling, who was gazing at the city gate, and whispered in his ear, Ziling must be very careful. In recent years Xiao Xians prestige is flourishing greatly, plus he has ample financial resources, and has attracted countless martial art masters from both the south and the north of the river. Xiang Yushan is his favored minister, plus he has been Yang Xuyans target of assassination; therefore, he always have martial art masters around to protect him. Wearing the Scarface Hero mask, Xu Ziling was dejected, but his zing eyes did not change the least bit; remaining tranquil and calm, he said, Based on what Zhi Shu [uncle] knows, is there any formidable character that I have to pay special attention to? Bu Tianzhi replied, There are five who can be considered first ss martial art masters. First, there is Da Li Shen [lit. deity with great strength, Hercules, Titan] Bao Rang. This mans Heng Lian Gang[1] is extremely well-known in the Great River Basin area; he trains hard skill from lower quality external school like to Tie Bu Shan [lit. iron cloth garment], but his current mastery is no different than Bi Xijings first-ss internal true qi, that he has be a wonder whom the southern Wulin people discuss enthusiastically. This man is ruthless; he has enemies everywhere. This time he is willing to take refuge in Xiao Xian, the main reason must be to avoid misfortune. Xu Ziling quietly memorized the name Bao Rang, but he did not say anything. Bu Tianzhi continued, The second one is E quan [Vicious Dog] Qu Wuju [his given name means no fear]. This man originally belonged to a group of horse-mounted bandits that wreaked havoc in Ao Dong, but since he provoked a martial art master of Song n, who hunted him for a thousand li, he ran away alone. Somehow he ended up as Xiao Xians dog. His vicious name is a close runner-up to the Da Li Shen Bao Rang. His expertise is in a pair of big iron hammers called the Mysterious Thunder; extremely difficult to deal with. Ay! If you can avoid him, better not fight against him. Xu Ziling coldly said, Anybody who tries to stop me from taking back Su Jie and her child will die! The tone of his voice carried his no-return determination. Bu Tianzhi knew that persuasion would not do any good, thereupon he simply went on, As for the other three, although they cannot surpass these two, but their names are quite well known in the south. They are Wang Ming Tu [lit. exiled disciple] Su Chao, a saw tooth saber user; Su Yi Rusheng [lit. in-clothed Confucian schr] Xie Fengge, an expert in 38-move Yan Yue Jianfa lit. covering-the-moon sword technique], known as the best swordsman among the younger generation of the south, and finally Niu Lang [lit. cowherd] Zhu Zhong. His weapon is qimei [lit. eyebrow] truncheons; he is the creator of Nings 108 truncheons, variation is countless, definitely must not be taken lightly. The fishing boat touched the dock. Without saying anything, Xu Ziling went ashore and entered the city. Chen Changlin strode inside; reaching out to grab Kou Zhongs shoulders, his eyes shone with warm expression as he happily said, When I heard the news that Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong were nearly killed by Wang Shichong, that old thief who forget favors and vite justice that day, I immediately rushed back to the Eastern Capital to question that old thief, how can he bite the hand that feeds him? I had big quarrel with him, which, of course, did not do any good. Without any better option, I left in fury. Fortunately, soon after I heard that you gained small victory at Liangdu, relying on ragtag troops to inflict defeat on Yuwen Huajis elite and powerful troops. Thereupon I traveled at double speed toe over; as luck has it, Kou Xiong has just left the city, and only today do I have the chance to see Kou Xiong. Where is Ziling? Kou Zhong was tongue-tied; he said, Turns out you were also looking for me. I went all over the ce, beating the gongs to find you. Changlin Xiong is so bold; you have the guts to contradict that old ghost Shichong. It was only now did he start to understand that Chen Changlin was a good man who was cold at the outside but warm in the inside. Usually he was honest and unaffected but not talkative, but as soon as he saw something that he could not put up with any longer, he absolutely would pursue justice with no second thoughts. Even more unexpected, he considered Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling as good friends. Chen Changlin let go of his hands and said with a cold snort, Wang Shichong still does not dare to kill me, because it was Old Yi who rmended me. One more day he has not really be the emperor, he does not have the guts to offend the entire white way Wulin. Where is Ziling Xiong? Wrapping his arm around Chen Changlins shoulder, Kou Zhong pulled him toward the main hall. Along the way, he said, Xiao Ling went to Baling for a small errand. Changlin Xiong hase at the right time. We are going to spend some energy for themon people of the world [orig. (area where) vegetation grows], while Changlin Xiong will also be able to get rid of Shen Lun, to avenge that animal for destroying your family. Chen Changlins eyes lit up immediately. Xu Ziling walked along the street, neither fast nor slow, toward Xiang Yushans big house. Baling looked just like he remembered it, except there were more people around. His mind was exceptionally calm. Ever since he walked into the city gate, he already cast all worries about Susu, as well as his eagerness to see her again, aside, because he had now arrived at the destination. The only thing left to think about was how to aplish his goal, as clearly and as infallible as possible. He did not have to waste his thought on other things. To get Susu, mother and son, out of Baling was not difficult at all. The problem was how to convince Susu, for which he would need to expose the cruel truth to her. The ancient long street; the buildings everywhere. Inside the city, along the main street connecting the northern and southern parts of Baling, Xu Ziling walked passyer uponyer of memorial arches and two-story buildings spanning the street. Along the way he recalled the old affair of Yang Xuyans failed assassination attempt on Xiang Yushan, until he finally arrived outside Xiang Mansions main gate. [1] Heng Lian Gang: heng C horizontal/across, lian C refined (as in refining metal), gang C handle of the Big Dipper (constetion). Not sure if this is a typo, the text seems to have a lot of gang recently. Book 21 Chapter 4 - Part 2 Ysabel, Xiaohu, Spy, HPC, DongBin, Chua, Jaya, you are wee. Tail, have you found the answer, or are you still wondering? Sky, taking a break from flowery Huang Yi to simple, straightforward Gu Long is good for me. Akw, thanks, with your permission, Id like to include that in the text. Xu Xiong, I am an amateur, and do it for fun, not to be bothered with strictnguage rules (whatever that is). Paona, Ill let himment himself. Inside the study room, after Kou Zhong finished telling Chen Changlin his story, Chen Changlin put the cup of tea he has been holding in his hands on the small table by the chair, nodding his head, and said, Maritime business is not difficult at all. As long as it is profitable, merchants wille like ants. The difficult thing is that we must guarantee that the sea and the river course are safe. That means we will have to have superior navy, and put the waterways in our territory under control. Kou Zhong agreed, I have thought about that as well, he said, Bu Tianzhi of Jukun Bang already agreed to pledge the fleet of ships under hismand to Xiaodi. ording to what he said, they have five huge warships, which is five too many; all came from the old Sui dynasty, which they seized as the spoils of war. Otherparatively smaller warships, they have over twenty. As for cargo ships, they have hundreds. Chen Changlins spirit greatly aroused, he said, Its entirely different story! The most difficult thing to obtain is to raise arge number of experienced and careful mariners who are not afraid of the wind and the waves. As long as we can train for sea battle, refurbish old warship, build new warship to adapt to the local waterways, there wille a day where we will dominate the seas and the rivers, to unify the word. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, You seem to have more confidence than Xiaodi. Chen Changlin smiled and said, Thats because I have confidence in Kou Xiong! Our top priority this moment is to recruit a batch of fine shipbuilders; first, to work on the refurbishing of the old ships. And then, when the preparation ispleted, we can seal off Donghai Countys sea traffic, breaking the sea link between Donghai County and Jiangdu. At that time, Donghai can only receive its fate of being beaten, with absolutely no strength to fight back. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Where can we find such a group of shipbuilders? Patting his chest, Chen Changlin said, Naturally in Xiaodis hometown, Nanhai County. [Reminder: Donghai C east sea, Nanhai C south sea.] Our Chen family is the biggest n in Nanhai County. Our nsmen are either sailors on the old dynastys navy, or ustomed to maritime trade. Furthermore, most of them cannot coexist with Shen Faxing, father and son. If I can sneak back over there, I will definitely be able to bring back arge number of talents in this regard, to establish an unequalled-under-the-heavens navy for Kou Xiong. At that time, Shen Faxing, father and sons days can be counted on ones fingers. Kou Zhong pped the table and sighed, Obtaining Changlin Xiongs words, half of the world has already fallen into Xiaodis bag! Xu Ziling walked pass the door, but he did not enter. Circling toward the back of the house, he had a very bad feeling in his heart. Relying on his near-psychic sense of hearing, he had a clear grasp of the situation inside and outside the Xiang Mansion. On the buildings around the Xiang Mansion, he detected sentries secretly monitoring any movement in the Mansion, but inside the Mansion itself was lifeless, as if everybody inside has already moved elsewhere. There were only a fewnterns. Xu Ziling could not help but was puzzled, because the setup before his eyes was clearly a trap, and it seemed to be directed at him. Logically, the rtionship between he and Xiang Yushan has not reached the nasty stage, so that even if he had received Yun Yuzhens letter via pigeon post, he would not have prepared this trap as if he was expecting a big enemy. Suddeny a heard a series of violent cough from behind the wall. Xu Zilings tiger-body shook severely. This moment he had found a way to evade the sentries eyes and ears; creeping close to the wall, he entered a small alley, and arrived at the bottom of the Xiang Mansions rear courtyard wall, and then he climbed the wall and was soon inside the Mansion. Sure enough, he heard Susus weak voice from the second floor of a small building nearby, Carry Lingzhong out! Hurry up! How could Xu Ziling be able to restrain himself? Immediately he tore off his mask and soared toward the building, and entered through the window. Susu was sitting on the bed, stooping forward, and was having a coughing fit [orig. coughing until the sky dark and the earth ck]. With each cough, a shocking-the-eye, astonishing-the-heart drop of blood appeared on the towel in her hands. Her wan and sallow sickly countenance did not have any trace of blood, her originally ck and shiny eyes had lost their former shine and splendor. Xu Ziling pounced toward the bed, pressed his palm onto his back, and transmitted his true qi into Susus body. Eyes brimming with tears, choking with sobs, he said, Su Jie! Susus tender body shook. Miraculously she stopped coughing, for an instant her eyes recovered their shine and splendor, as she looked at him in disbelief and cried out, Xiao Ling! This is not real, is it? Xu Ziling struggled hard to keep his tears from falling; shaking his head, he said, All of these should not be real. We shouldnt have let Su Jie leave our side. Strange rays shot out from Susus eyes; she reached out to lovingly stroke his handsome-without-equal face. As if she suddenly fully recovered, she spoke calmly and gently, I have always hoped that youde back! Where is Xiao Zhong? Even if he did note, Su Jie is perfectly satisfied that you are here. Xu Zilings heart sank into the bleak, bottomless abyss of despair. It was over. From transmitting his true qi into Susus body, he detected Susus lifeforce was gone; the moment he took his hand away from her back, that would be the moment her jade perished, her fragrance disappeared. All fervent longing and anticipation werepletely shattered by the cruel and uneptable fate in front of his eyes, everything was turning into mere illusion. Susu turned her tender body around. With infinite tenderness she wiped the tears from his eyes, and said, Good Didi [younger brother], dont cry. Jiejie has been waiting for you toe, and now you are here! Do you know the obedient darlings name? Xu Ziling noticed the smiling expression, brimming with maternal radiance, floating out of the corner of her mouth, but he felt as if his heart was stabbed violently by ruthlessly sharp awl, again and again. Struggling hard topose himself, he softly said, Is it Lingzhong? Susu happily said, That is a great change, isnt it? Every time I call him, I will remember you, a pair of well-behaved Didi. In the future he will surely be as well-behaved as you two. Xu Ziling almost wanted to look up to the sky and cry out his grief; hot tears flowed down uncontrobly from the corners of his eyes. How did this happen? he said mournfully, Where is Xiang Yushan? Susus jade countenance sank; gently hanging her small cicada head down, she spoke in low, but determined voice, Jiejie actually could not take it anymore, but in order to wait for you, I tried to hold on until this moment. Let bygones be bygones. After Jiejie is gone, Xiao Ling, I want you to take Lingzhong away, nurture him that he will grow up to be outstanding hero like you. Jiejies surname is Fang, so his name will be Fang Lingzhong! Xu Zilings eyes shed with frightening, extremely intense murderous intention, as he asked in heavy voice, What did Xiang Yushan do to you? Susu stare was fixed on the towel in her hand; she spoke indifferently, Dont me him. If you want to me someone, me Jiejie for not believing your opinion on him, for not understanding people. Xu Ziling took a deep breath; he did his utmost to maintain the most cool-headed demeanor and calm tone as he said, Where is he? Susu looked at him, shook her head, and said with a sigh, He wanted Jiejie to write you a letter. When Jiejie refused, his attitude toward Jiejie turned cold. Ay! Its best if we dont talk about it. Burying her face in his bosom, Susu spoke softly, Even if I tell you, what good will it bring? Jiejie was able to meet you, I already feel that my life is not in vain. In the end we will all die, sooner orter, it does not make much difference. Now Jiejie is very happy, even if I die, I dont have any regret. Xiao Ling! Can you ring that copper bell for me? It was only then did Xu Ziling notice that there was a copper bell on the small table by the bed, and next to the bell was a small copper stick to beat the bell. Xu Ziling produced a stream of finger wind. Dang! A clear noise of metal-to-metal striking against each other reverberated over the Mansion. Help me to sit up! Susu spoke weakly. Xu Ziling knew that she has reached thentern-that-its-oil-has-been-dried-up stage, the moment of -final-radiance-of-the-setting-sun. Fighting the irresistible grief in his heart, he helped her up, while not daring to lift his palm from her fragrant back even for a moment. He heard footsteps walking slowly up a flight of steps. Turning toward the door, Susu strived to speak, Xiao Zhi, no need to panic, my good Didi is here to visit me! After crying out in rm, with much fear and trepidation the young maid, carrying Fang Lingzhong in her arms, appeared at the door, and looked at Xu Ziling with horror. Xu Ziling held out his hand and said, Hand Lingzhong to me, and then go back downstairs, but dont leave the building. Understand? Being at the receiving end of his fierce gaze, immediately the young maid trembled from head to toes, naturally she did not dare to refuse. Hastily handing over the baby to Xu Ziling, she walked out with unsteady steps. Xu Ziling put the sleeping-soundly chubby little Lingzhong in Susus bosom, his heart was filled with myriads of unnamable deep emotions, as if he did not know that this mother was about to leave him, and that the baby and his flesh and blood have already been linked. Susus beautiful eyes were fixed at the child in her bosom, a pure and holy radiance emerged on her pretty face, showing boundless tenderness, she said, You have two Die [father], one is called Kou Zhong, the other is Xu Ziling. Niang had thought to marry them, in all the world, only they deserve to be your Die. Xu Ziling suddenly remembered the congrattory gift Liu Heita was asking him to give to her; he quickly took it out and helped her to put it on her wrist. With a sour and pained heart, he spoke in low voice, Liu Dage entrusted this to me to give to Jiejie. Ay! Susus beautiful eyes lit up. Hugging little Lingzhong, she happily said, Ah! So its a gift from Li Dage? Xu Ziling knew she misheard Liu as Li, he wanted to correct her, but nothing came out. Susus breathing became rapid. Gasping for breath, she said, Tell Li Dage, Susu has never med him. Finished speaking, her tender body went limp, she breathed herst with a smile on her face. Surprisingly, Xu Ziling did not show any emotion. Gently hey Susus body on the bed, held up the little Lingzhong, who was deep in his dream,pletely oblivious of the tragedy of the humankind that his flesh and blood has just been separated from him C in his arm, tore the cloth to make a sling, and put him in his bosom. He was very deliberate in his action, giving all his attention to every movement, making every effort not to think about Susus death. Outside, the building was very quiet; Susus passing away was so serene and imperceptible. Outside the window, the vast expanse of the sky was embedded with stars, as if this human world was totally separate from the dark, satin-like of night sky. He had received devastating blow and his heart was shattered. Outside Susus orphan and her demise, there was no other thing. Picking up the quilt, he wrapped Susus body in it. Originally he wanted to send out an earth-shattering cry of grief, to wash away the despair, painful, mournful mindpletely onto the night sky. However, afraid that he might startle and wake little Lingzhong from his beautiful dream, he could only sigh mournfully in silence, and scamper out of the window. The moment he put Susu and little Lingzhong safely at Bu Tianzhis ce would be the moment hede back. Xiang Yushan must pay this debt with his death. Startling firework signal burst out high in the sky behind him, but it was no more than a missed opportunity. The ought-to-be seamless-heavenly-clothes trap has failed simply because they failed to see through Xu Zilings true identity, and because with intelligence and quick-wit Xu Ziling was able to sneak into the house unknown to the gods and undetected by the ghosts, so that Xiang Yuzhans despicable scheme ended up one step behind. Otherwise, if Xu Ziling were burdened by Susu, mother and child when he fell into the heavy siege of numerous martial art masters, it would be very difficult indeed for him to escape. Book 21 - 5 – Easy As A Pie Chapter 5 C Easy As A Pie Kou Zhong was suddenly gripped with fear and trepidation. After sending off Chen Changlin on his way, feeling restless, he returned to the big residence that he named Shao Shuai Mansion. Summoning Luo Qifei, he asked, Do you have any news about Xu Ye? Noticing his unusual expression, Luo Qifei shook his head and said, Where exactly did Xu Ye go? Subordinate can send our people to make inquiry. Kou Zhong stood up and paced back and forth inside the study room. It was quite some timeter that he stopped, sighed and said, He went to Baling. Do you know Xiao Xian, that kids situation? Luo Qifei replied, Presently, in the Great River area, in term of strength, other than Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyou, he is one to be reckoned. After proiming himself the emperor, Xiao Xian sessively seized Yulin, Cangwu, Panyu, and other area, plus he unceasingly recruit soldiers and buy horses. His military power increases to about more than four hundred thousand strong; his might expanded so much that in the south, the twokes [i.e. Hunan and Hubei] area, nobody dared to move their de against him. Seeing Kou Zhong frowning without saying anything, he could not help feeling concerned; he asked, Is Shao Shuai worried about Xu Ye? His heart distracted, his thoughts in turmoil, Kou Zhong said, I dont know what Im worried about; maybe Xu Ye, maybe something else. Ay! What new movement is there in the north? As if enumerating his family valuables [fig. very familiar with the matter], Luo Qifei replied, Currently the most notable is of course the war between Dou Jiande and Xu Yuang. I just received the news that Xu Yuangs main army is no match for Liu Heita, the casualties among his troops and generals are innumerable. Apparently his days are numbered. If Dou Jiande seized Xu Yuangs territory, and Du Fuwei and Shen Faxings allied forces took Jiangdu, we will be trapped into unfavorable situation with enemies on both sides. Closing his tiger-eyes, Kou Zhongposed his mind. A good whileter, sketching in light shades [fig. downy] he said, Call Xuan Yong and Jiao Hongjin for me, I want to attack Donghai within ten days; otherwise, our Shao Shuai Army will have to be disbanded. It was as if Xu Zilings entire body has gone numb; his face expressionless, he asked Chen Laomou, Is there a way to preserve Su Jies body, so that it will not rot before arriving at Liangdu? Bu Tianzhi took the little Lingzhong, who was just awake, from Xu Ziling, and handed it over to the wet nurse and the young maid, who were originally meant to serve Susu, mother and child, along the way. He wanted to speak, but nothing came out. Chen Laomou reached out to grab Xu Zilings shoulders, and spoke with grief, Xiao Ling, you must restrain your grief, ept your fate. Leave this matter to me, even for a year or a half, it shouldnt be a problem. I will immediately have someone buy copious amount of required medicine and spices. We will only leave after I am done. Xu Ziling personallyy Susus body on the carriage, and then taking Bu Tianzhi and Chen Laomou aside, he said, When you finish taking care of Su Jie in here, dont wait for me, you may immediately set off to Liangdu as nned. If I dont die, I will catch up with you. Chen Laomou and Bu Tianzhi were seasoned Jianghu figures, just by listening to the tone of Xu Zilings voice, they knew that any advice would be useless; therefore, they had no choice but nodding their head in agreement. Xu Ziling resisted his desire to look at little Lingzhong again. Returning to the fishing boat, he sailed away. Jiao Hongjin said, Presently, various cities in Donghai vicinity, Huairen, Langya, Liangcheng, Lanling, Muyang, have all surrendered to us. Donghaisnd route ispletely severed. If it were other city, they would have abandoned their weapons and surrendered to us as well. But Donghai County has always been relying mainly on maritime transportation, hence essentially the effect is quite low. Kou Zhong turned to Xuan Yong, who has been frowning the whole time, and said, How many troops can we use? With grave expression, Xuan Yong replied, Supposing we are reallyunching blitzkrieg strategy, we can mobilize up to 8,000 men, of which 2,000 is cavalry. Its just that although our morale is sky-high, in terms of training and support, we are still less than perfect. So ... hey! Jiao Hongjin interjected, Li Ziyun is brave, Tong Shuwen is crafty, plus Donghai is Li Zitongs base of operations. In thest several years he continuously reinforces the city defense. With our current strength, we wont be able to capture Donghai in a short period of time. But long-term battle is not something that we can afford either. Our top priority ought to be consolidating the result of war, and concentrating our resources to recruit and train the new troops. Kou Zhong said, The best training is the training on the battlefield; my skill was precisely trained during fighting and killing. You can rest assured that I wont be so stupid as to siege the city. Our biggest shoring right now is our weak troops, our foundation is not stable yet, our expansion is too fast. But these are our strong points as well. Li Ziyun is an egotistical man who rejoices in grandiose deeds, and Tong Shuwen is a conceited man who is too proud of his wisdom. These two men added together, they are exactly our ideal enemy. If we handle it wisely, victory is a great possibility. Xuan Yong sighed and said, Shao Shuai always capable of aplishing the impossible. Listening to Shao Shuais analysis, although the oue is still unknown, you already raised our confidence. Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, The key lies in Li Xingyuan of Muyang. If I guess correctly, he must be a spy sent by Tong Shuwen. Because logically speaking, he really ought to adopt a wait-and-see attitude first, to see whether we really have any prospect beforeing here to surrender. Remember that Muyang and Donghai are interdependent. If Li Zitong cannot trust him, how could he let him hold control over Muyang? At least Li Xingyuans close family ought to be in Donghai, so that if he defected, Li Ziyun could kill his entire family without leaving half a soul. Therefore, this must be a deceit. Astonished, Jiao Hongjin said, I thought Shao Shuai trusted Li Xingyuanpletely; turns out Shao Shuai already has n in your heart, yet on the surface it did not show the least bit. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, His biggest w is that he came to see me in person. From Muyang to here, back and forth ought to require at least three days? In time like this, where war could happen at any moment, how could he walk away as he wishes? How is he going to exin to Li Ziyun? Ha! How dare he treat me, Kou Zhong, as a fool? Greatly delighted, Luo Qifei said, Since thats the case, how are we going to handle this? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Of course by beating them at their own game: we lure the tiger out of itsir. Inwardly, he could not restrain Susus pure and beautiful, good and honest jade countenance from emerging in his heart. Xu Ziling was crouching in the darkness on the back of the roof, his eyes were fixed on the cavalcade just entering the city. Yun Yuzhens gship has just returned, and now it was very likely that she was going to see Xiang Yushan, hence by following her Xu Ziling could find that despicable disciple who forgot favor and vited justice. It was the third watch of the night, the street was deserted with no one in sight, there was only the sound on the wheels grinding against the pavement, mixing with the clip-cloping sound of the hooves, breaking the quietness of thete night in this big city along the Great River. Xu Ziling closed his eyes, while focusing all his attention to the sound of the wheels of two carriages on the street. Very soon he was able to distinguish that the one in the rear had passengers on it, while the other was empty. Although the difference of the sound was very subtle, it could not escape his, top quality martial art masters ears. The reason he was suspicious was because he knew and understood very well how Xiang Yushan conducted himself, his obtaining Susus fragrant heart was entirely for his grand n. But if he could find Xiang Yushan easily by following these trails, it would not make much sense. Bu Tianzhis defection should make Xiang Yushan and Yun Yuzhen know that their crafty scheme has fallen through and stood exposed. Now that he and Kou Zhong was not like General Lu Meng of Wu[1] of the former days, anybody who tied deep enmity with them would find it difficult to sleep peacefully at night; how could Xiang Yushan be an exception? But Xiang Yushan could be considered formidable as well. Knowing that Xu and Kou, two boys would disregard everything in trying to find him and get Susu back from him, he setup an inescapable, and deliberately left Susu, mother and child, inside the as bait, so that all of a sudden he went fishing for Xu Ziling. Its just that in this game, he was one step behind, because he never imagined that Xu Ziling knew disguising skill, moreover, he already knew his despicable trick. One trick failed, another trick was setup. The new bait was Yun Yuzhen. Xu Ziling knew for sure that the one sitting in the carriage was Yun Yuzhens pretty maid Yun Zhi, and Yun Yuzhen herself never board the carriage. Escorted by dozens of Baling Army troops, the convoy gradually went far. Xu Ziling took a deep breath, but stayed crouching, motionless. By the time the sound of hoof beats and the wheels almost disappearedpletely, suddenly there were gusts of wind from both sides of the street. Xu Zilings heart shivered, he focused his attention to look. Two people appeared in the middle of the street, their shenfa was so swift that they looked like ghosts. The tall one carried a long sword at his back; his waist and back were as straight as a ramrod, approximately thirty years old, with delicate features, dressed in Confucian schrs attire, grew a moustache, his countenance ice-cold. Even without introduction Xu Ziling knew this must be the new martial art master Xiao Xian invited to join his ranks, the in-clothed Confucian Schr Xie Fengge, an expert in Covering the Moon sword technique, whose might shook the southern part of the country. The short one held long truncheon; this must be the Cowherd Zhu Zhong. His body type wasplete opposite of Xie Fengge; he was a person of short stature, broad forehead and big ears, garlic-shaped nose, dense eyebrows and swarthyplexion, and narrow eyes, giving the impression of a farmer. But upon further inspection, his gaze was sharp and fierce, exuding aggressiveness from head to toes, definitely not someone to be provoked. In that instant, from the opposite sides subtle movements, Xu Ziling has already had urate grasp the two mens weight [fig. importance/capacity]. This moment, the Cowherd Zhu Zhong let out a cold snort and said, This time Yushan Yes calction seems to be wrong; I told you that that fellow will not dare toe here to disy shockingly bad behavior. Xie Fengge smiled and said, As soon as he heard that our Zhu Dage is here, wouldnt he run with his tail between his legs as far away as possible? Zhu Zhong burst outughing and said, Licking my bottom wont do you any good; you might want to save a bit of energy to wait upon that consider-himself-unexcelled-in-the-world Bao Rang! Xie Fengge disdainfully said, Does he deserve it? Lets go back! Zhu Zhong nodded and said, If we dont go back, do you want to stay here and continue drinking the northwest wind? That kid really makes us miserable; these couple of nights I did not have a good night sleep, and now I must find a beautiful girl to warm my bed. With waves ofughter, the two men unleashed their footwork and swiftly went far away. [1] General Lu Meng of the southern state of Wu was the model of self-improvement by diligent study. After Xuan Yong and Luo Qifei left, Jiao Hongjin stayed alone. He came with Kou Zhong to the garden. While this Shao Shuai was looking up to gaze at the brilliantly star-studded night sky, Jiao Hongjian could not help asking, Turns out from the beginning Shao Shuai has already seen through Li Xingyuans deceit. But at that time we really did not have the slightest idea; we thought Shao Shuai gave your bare heart into his keeping, you just wanted to see if he could bepletely trusted. With wooden expression, Kou Zhong said, If I could not deceive you, how could I deceive him? Ay! I am just tooting my horn; at that time I believed him at least 90%. This Li Xingyuan must be a first-ss liar; his words sincere, voice and features were well prepared. His mothers! Only then did Jiao Hongjin realize that he had overestimated him; stunned, he asked, Then what makes Shao Shuai suddenly think that he has a problem? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Tonight, for some reason I had ominous feeling with my heart rmed, my body leaping; I was sure there was a problem somewhere. Thereupon he thought over everything that had happened these past couple of days, and only then did I realize the problem lies in this guy. If we fell into his evil n, we would not be spared. Full of admiration, Jiao Hongjin said, Shao Shuai is indeed not an ordinary person, hence you have this extraordinary ability. Changing the topic, Kou Zhong asked, Are you still seeing that beauty, Qiu Yue? She has a pretty good voice. Jiao Hongjin said with disdain, Why would I want to see a woman who cannot go through trials and tribtions together with me? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Well said! A man who clings to womens charm cannot found a nation and establish great endeavor. Itste! Go back to sleep! Tomorrow will be a very busy day. After Donghai is fallen, Li Zitongs stronghold in the north will fall into our hands. At that time, whatever we say, he will have no choice but to listen obediently. Without making any noise, Xu Ziling leaped down at an angle from the eaves, and then like an arrow he shot toward the big house Xie Fengge and Zhu Zhong were about to enter. Because a number of big men guarding the door to the residence were looking at Xu Zilings direction, they were the first to detect his presence. But Xu Zilings speed was really too fast; while their faces were showing astonishment and they were about to open their mouth to cry out, before any sound came out, Xu Ziling was already about a zhang behind Xie and Zhu, two men, and had started to attack. Xie Fengge and Zhu Zhongs reaction waspletely within Xu Zilings anticipation. As soon as they felt the pressure of the wind on their bodies, they fled to the left and right to strive for the space and time to strike back. It was only natural that the men guarding the door were martial art masters of the Baling Bang; one after another they drew their weapon and scrambled to intercept. With a cold snort Xu Ziling shed away to evade the sword shing toward his chest to stab at his heart. Ding! Flicking his finger, he knocked another saber. As if he was electrocuted, the man wielding the saber was jolted back. Like a tiger entering a flock of sheep Xu Ziling stormed into the enemy ranks. Just before another sword shed down at his shoulder, his leg flew and hit the sword wielders lower abdomen, shaking the man and thrown him far away. In an instant, relying on his fast and erratic footwork, he shed to the left and swept to the right. Among all seven men guarding the door, none narrowly escaped; they either received a punch of met with a flying kick, and fell down to the ground in serious injury. Although he was spurred by hatred, his attacks were still carefully measured; his opponents were only injured, and none of them died. The inner courtyard was dim, the entire za was illuminated only by a hugentern hanging over the main gate above the flight of steps in front of the main building. Were it not for Xie Fengge and Zhu Zhong leading the way, just by looking at the surface, he would never have thought that Xiang Yushan would hide in such an ordinary house consisting of only three medium-sized buildings. From the buildings to the right and left of this residence, a dozen or so men rushed out to charge toward him. This could be considered the optimum chance to kill Xiang Yushan, because the most formidable figures of Baling Bang were either guarding the trap where Yun Yuzhen was used as the bait, or they were guarding the more important figure, Xiao Xian. If Xu Ziling were able to dispose Xie and Zhu, two men, who were chasing into the gate from behind, then he would have the chance to deal with Xiang Yushan. Xu Ziling let out a cry of grief; not advancing, he retreated instead. In an instant, he was in the space between Xie Fengge and Zhu Zhong. Immediately Xie and Zhu, two men, had their soul flown away and scattered. As soon as they regained their footings and chased into the gate, they already thought several possibilities on how to face the enemy, but they had never thought that he would change from advancing to retreating. It was not that they were stupid that they did not think about this, but because they were too confident about their own eyesight and judgment. Anybody who was rushing with that kind of speed wanted to reverse direction must go through a three-stage process: take a breath, reduce speed, and stop first. Even a first-ss martial art master, who would be able to go through these steps in the blink of an eye, would still reveal signs that others would be able to see, in which case Xie and Zhu would be able to adapt to changes. But they did not know that Xu Zilings true qi, which originated from the Secret to Long Life and the Jade Annulus of He n, totally did not follow conventional reasoning; it could go along, or go against, ording to his wishes. As soon as he wanted to reverse direction, he would be able to do so. The two mens reaction was also first ss. The Covering-the-Moon Sword and the Eyebrows Truncheon attacked together, hoping that by working together, Xu Ziling would be forced out of the sword-truncheon circle, and then the two would have the opportunity to regroup andunch their attack. Xu Zilings back seemed to grow eyes. With just a hairsbreadth difference, his body swayed to dodge Zhu Zhongs Eyebrows Truncheon, and then when the truncheon was at its end of travel, his back bumped into the body of the truncheon, sending spiraling energy along the truncheon, jolting Zhu Zhong that he let out a miserable groan, and tumbled two steps away, opening up enough space that Xu Ziling was able to sh away from the Covering-the-Moon Sword, and upy the blind side between the two. It seemed to be such a simple and easy action, but it embodied brilliant strategy, intelligence, calction, and profound ultimate skill, which also decided the fate of Xie Fengge and Zhu Zhong, two men. Bang! Boom! Before Xie Fengge shed away in horror, Xu Ziling bent his body slightly, his left elbow heavily struck Xie Fengges nk. Xie Fengges Covering-the-Moon Sword left his hand and flew away, his ribcage fractured, like a kite with cut string he flew sideways, and fell to the ground, heavily injured. Fast as lightning, Xu Zilings other hand reached out to grab Zhu Zhongs truncheon. In his attempt to lessen the pressure on Xie Fengge, Zhu Zhong hurriedly swept his truncheon, which resulted in not enough power in his truncheon. Xu Ziling twisted his body and his leg flew, while Zhu Zhong was pulled and losing his bnce, Xu Zilings left foot hit his lower abdomen. When Xu Ziling, using ingenious beyondpare technique, grabbed the body of his truncheon, Zhu Zhong already knew his situation was not good. While he was about to abandon his truncheon and flee, Xu Zilings spiraling energy, like a demonic hand along the truncheon, sucked his hand tightly. In his shock, he felt like his soul already left him. The very same instant his lower abdomen felt like it was hit by ten-thousand-catty hammer. The meridians in his entire body felt like splitting. His blood was spurting out from his mouth, light as a feather his feet left the ground, he flew out of the courtyard gate, andnded on the ground without being able to climb back up. Inwardly, Xu Ziling cried Lucky! because he had been using his full strength, but the two were only injured and did not die. From this, he knew the depth of their foundation. The reason for his remarkable sess was simply because he already had in-depth observation on those two, plus he was willing to trade life for life. Otherwise, if the tangled battle continued, victory or defeat would still be unknown. With a long whistle, Xu Ziling once again charged forward, attacking the more than twenty men, sending them falling face down to the left and tumbling down to the right, unexpectedly not a single one was able to resist. Although he was enraged, when he was fighting, Xu Zilings mind and spirit automatically entered the moon in the well stage. He floated, shed, advanced and retreated among the saber rays and sword shadows, the enemys weapon always missed him by a hairsbreadth, without being able to touch him the least bit, so that it was like he was entering a no mansnd. Bang! Bang! Two enemies received his punches and flew out, andnded on the steps. By this time he already killed his way toward the steps. Four men wearing tight warrior outfit, who were originally guarding the steps outside the door, charged toward him. Saber, sword, hatchet and spear, four different weapons with torrential momentum attacked over. Bang! The night sky over the residence and the courtyard exploded with fireworks and fiery arrows; obviously Xiang Yushan knew the situation was desperate, hence he sent signal to ask for help. These four mens martial art skill was quite superior, far above the other guards, plus they were proficient in techniques of fighting as a group. If they managed to hold him outside the gate, then not only he would not be able to kill Xiang Yushan, even escaping alive would probably be a problem. Dealing with group warfare, Xu Ziling had ample experience. With a wild roar, unexpectedly he soared to the sky. The four mens weapons hit empty air. Before they even ascertained Xu Zilings position above them, Pop! thentern hanging above the main gate, the only light source at that courtyard, suddenly went out. In that instant where darkness fell, it was as if the four men suddenly went blind, while Xu Zilingnded behind them. Repeated screams were heard, as one after another the four men copsed on the steps. Boom! The main gate shattered,ntern light burst through. Guarding behind the door were eight of Xiang Yushans personal guards with the strongest martial art skill. They were about to charge out, when, using a heavy technique, Xu Ziling lifted one of the unconscious guard and hurled him inside, immediately they were hit and rolled into a heap, utterly defeated. Like a whirlwind Xu Ziling stormed into the main hall. After striking two men and sent them flying, he shouted, Where is Xiang Yushan? Bang! Bang! Two intrepid, unafraid of death, big men burst in from the door to pursue Xu Ziling, and were met with swift and severe, unmatched punch across empty air. They were jolted and were sent spinning and flying out, andnded on the steps outside the door. By this time, everywhere inside and outside the door were the dead and the injured. Xu Ziling stood tall like a mountain, with a real consider-oneself-unexcelled-in-the-world lofty quality. Xiang Yushan, with countenance as pale as a dead person, retreated toward the door to the rear courtyard, shielded by more than a dozen of his men standing in front of him. Everybodys countenance showed fear. No one dared to charge forward to fight. Xu Zilings eyes shone with dense murderous intent, as he fixed his gaze at Xiang Yushan at a distance behind the human wall, who was trying to get away step by step. Bang! Without even looking, Xu Zilings leg flew backward to hit the tip of a spear that was thrown toward him. Like a streak of lightning the spear flew back and pierced the heart, the fatal point of the man mounting the sneak attack. Violent and ferocious momentum brought that man flew face up backward, knocking over another enemy, who was rushing inside, sending both man rolling down the steps. The situation was desperate to the extreme point. Xiang Yushan could not restrain the fear in his heart anymore; screaming in terror, he turned around and ran away. Boom! Xu Ziling soared vertically up, broke through the roof tiles, made a somersault in the air, and fast as lightningnded on the courtyard between the two sections of the building. Bang! Bang! Xu Zilingunched a series of palm strikes over empty air, knocking down the bodyguards left and right of Xiang Yushan. And then hended by Xiang Yushans side and let out a longugh, Xiang Yushan, have you ever thought that this day woulde? he said. Book 21 - 6 – Revenge of a Sword Chapter 6 C Revenge of a Sword Extremely shocked, Xiang Yushan moved aside, the dagger in his hand stabbed as fast as lightning, ruthlessly and maliciously. Xu Ziling spun around abruptly, his sleeve flew out, generating a bust of powerful vortex of qi, to force the other people to stagger and tumble down. Only then did he calmly stretch out his finger to meet the de of the dagger. All his anger and resentment were vented in this one finger attack. Xiang Yushans dagger was jolted off his hand, while he himself was thrown away, his back mmed onto the courtyards west wall, blood seeped out of his eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Like a shadow attached to Xiang Yushan, Xu Zilings hand moved at lightning speed to grab the clothes at the pit of his stomach, and lifted him up so that Xiang Yushan was floating a few cun above the ground, while his back was pressed against the wall. Seeing their master was under the enemys control, his men did not dare to attack. Ziling, dont! Yun Yuzhens scream came from behind. Xu Ziling looked like a deity; the might in his eyes radiated all around, but he fixed his gaze into Xiang Yushans eyes. Without looking back, he shouted, Shut up! The meridians in Xiang Yushans entire body was under Xu Zilings control, luckily he was still able to talk. Hastily he said, Xu Dage, please listen to Xiaodi, this is simply ... Xu Zilings internal energy prated his body, Xiang Yushan immediately lost the strength to talk, his face turned deathly grey. Xu Zilings pair of tiger-eyes shone with deep hatred. He spoke slowly, word by word, In vain we regarded you as a brother, turns out you harbor evil intentions from the start. If you want to deal with us, give me all you got! Why did you use despicable trick to harm the innocent, kindhearted Su Jie? Standing about a zhang behind him, Yun Yuzhen spoke with trembling voice, Susu contracted a foul disease on her own, it has nothing to do with Yushan. Xu Ziling let out aughter brimming with sorrow, and then he said coldly, How did Su Jie contract the disease? Dont worry! I am going to take only half a revenge today; Ill take half of his life, and leave the remaining half for Kou Zhong. Yun Bangzhud better hide far away, because Kou Zhong is not going to let anybody who harmed Su Jie away. Finished speaking, he soared to the sky. Xiang Yushans body, from head to toes, shook violently and slid down along the wall, and slumped on the ground. Shouts sprang up everywhere; the martial art masters of Baling Army, including Xiao Xian, who had just heard the news, rushed over and tried to pursue him, but they were one step toote. Xu Ziling took a breath in the air and flew sideways toward an empty spot, and disappeared in the darkness. Yun Yuzhen rushed toward Xiang Yushan, who was still trembling incessantly. How do you feel? she asked anxiously. Distressed, Xiang Yushan replied, He is very ruthless! I was beaten back to my original condition, the vile injury I suffered before the two of them healed me. Yun Yuzhen immediately felt her scalp turned numb. This was the first time she realized Xu Zilings true power. This technique was many times more difficult than when the two boys treated and healed Xiang Yushans injury in the past. After three days of discussing the n to attack Donghai, the Shao Shuai Army already gathered at Xiapi secretly prepared the gongs and tightened their drums, in preparation for going into war. This morning, Kou Zhong, apanied by Xuan Yong and Jiao Hongjin, inspected their weak navy, which only consisted of fiveparatively big warships. Climbing aboard one of the ships, Kou Zhong pointed to the sail and said, Naval battle rely mainly on fire, but fiery arrows are too powerful; when shot against the sail, they would pass through the fabricpletely, oftentimes they failed to burn it. But if on the arrows body we add a cross-shaped stick, the arrows can then stay attached on the sail, and will burn it without leaving anything. Everybody agreed that was a good idea. Jiao Hongjin submitted cheerfully; he said, Such a simple method, yet we never thought about it. Shao Shuais brains indeed surpass ordinary men. Kou Zhong inwardly replied that it was Lu Miaozis brain that surpassed ordinary men! But naturally he would not reveal it;ughing cheerfully, he said, There are more formidable gadgets, more formidable that fiery arrows; its some kind of secret projectile to light a fire, but it relies on the strength of the hand throwing it. Its called Fire Flyer and Catcher! Being ayman in naval warfare, Xuan Yong asked in astonishment, What is that? Kou Zhong said, Its like a big wooden firecracker, shaped like a wooden club [used to beat clothes in washing], using a knife, make a hole from the top, and fill it with firecracker, fireworks gunpowder, carve seven or eight holes all around so the fire can go out, and then add some nails so that it will stick onto any hard surface; wrap the outside with oilpaper to make it waterproof. When facing the enemy, ignite the fuse, throw it by hand, either high onto the sail, or low onto the deck; guaranteed the enemy will be burn that they will only know how to shout for help. Xuan Yong and Jiao Hongjin were emotionally moved. This moment the three climbed up the steps onto the lookout station. Kou Zhong cast his gaze to the east, took a deep breath, and said, Donghai County is a big county on the waterfront, the defenders must be adept in naval warfare, and their size must be more than we can handle. Therefore, if we appear to be stupid enough tounch an all-out naval invasion, Li Ziyun and Tong Shuwen would have their whole neste out to fight us. At that time, these tricks of ours can be out to good use! Xuan Yong and Jiao Hongjin suddenly saw the light; now they understood why Kou Zhong wanted to inspect their deficient naval fleet. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Our navy ships are going to be used as sacrifice. Ha! It ought to be the time to look for that fellow Li Xingyuan. After catching up with Bu Tianzhi, Chen Laomou, and the others, Xu Ziling did not speak even half a word, all day long he sat in the hearse to apany Susu, who was soaked in chemical to preserve her body, only asionally he looked at the other carriage where little Lingzhong was being taken care of by a maid and a wet nurse. Every time he saw the child, who has lost his mother, his heart was bleeding. Susus tragic ending, he and Kou Zhong must take full responsibility. Feeling of sadness, despair, guilt, and remorse, like surging tides violently eroded away the reef of the cliff of his heart, making him extremely miserable. Extreme loss and anguish made him really want to drown his sorrows in wine, but he knew that he must pull himself together to deal with any danger in the future. The dead cannot be brought back to life; it didnt matter how grieved and indignant he was, he would never be able to change the irond reality. It was not until they reached the Huai River and boarded the three Jukun Bang warships waiting for them there that his heart started to calm down. After setting sail, it was only the following evening that he leave the cabin C where Susus remains was kept, for the first time, and headed toward the aft, where he stood against the wind to think silently. Thick and dark clouds were hanging low in the sky, several hanya birds [Eurasian jackdaw] were circling above the forest by the riverbank, emitting their mournful cry, adding to his sorrow. Bu Tianzhi emboldened himself toe behind him. Deeply concerned, he said, Nobody can escape death! The most crucial thing for Ziling to do is to restrain your grief, and ept fate; dont be excessively sad that it will harm your body. The bad influence will be difficult to fix. Forcing himself, Xu Ziling spoke hoarsely, I really wish I could leave this ce far, far away, where nobody knows me, where I dont need to think about anything, and can forget everything that has happened. Bu Tianzhi sorrowfully said, I understand Zilings mood, but running away is not the solution. Nobody exempts from grim, painful experience. Perhaps after a long time it will be forgotten, but to some extent, there will always be some traces that cannot be obliteratedpletely. Life is always like this! Xu Ziling recalled Shi Feixuans story about the alchemist who concocted pills of immortality. Smiling ruefully, he said, I am not running away, I just want to pursue my dream. Once, Ba Fenghan told me: in the western region, there is an endless grasnd and great desert, with extreme hot and cold weather, mountains and creeks that are frozen all the year around, boundless sparkling sea of sand, so that when you set foot on those strangest ces in the world, alone, you will feel that there is nothing outside of you. The nature will make you forget everything, including yourself. After a short pause, he continued with a sigh, Mans heaviest burden is himself, that one thing, me! A chilling wet wind blew from the direction of the bow, brushing the two mens clothes, creating fluttering noise. Naturally Bu Tianzhi had no idea that Xu Ziling was recalling the story of the servant of the man concocting pills of immortality. His way of thinking was far below Xu Zilings deep and prating mind. Momentarily he did not know what to say. Fortunately, Xu Ziling changed the subject by asking, Is Fu Bangzhu [deputy gang leader] ready to formally break your rtion with Yun Yuzhen? Letting out a cold humph, Bu Tianzhi said, A person who disregards benevolence and righteousness like that is not qualified to be our Bangzhu. Hereafter we are going to follow Kou Ye to conquer the world, to do some big thing. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, All along I feel that Yun Yuzhens innate character is not as unbearable as this. Hence, although I clearly had the opportunity to kill her that day, in the end I could not be that ruthless. However, I can see that Kou Zhong is not going to spare her. Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, These past couple of years, she suddenly became very difficult to endure; otherwise we would not have any intention of leaving. Puzzled, Xu Ziling said, Could it be that she is influenced by Xiang Yushan? Bu Tianzhis eyes shone with strange expression; instead of answering, he asked, Ziling, what do you think of this Passionate Prince Hou Xibai? Taken aback, Xu Ziling asked back, Do you think the problem lies in him? Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, This is just my suspicion, I cannot prove it. Its just that after a chance encounter with him, Yun Yuzhen seems to be beside herself, her temperament underwent huge changes. In Jianghu, people who roll about in the thicket of flower and moon, who idle about like Hou Xibai can be found everywhere. But someone who keeps himself pure like him, who consider himself emissary to protect the flowers, whose martial art skill has reached that kind of brilliant stage, whose origin and history remains a mystery, he is the only one. Do you think I shouldnt doubt him? Xu Ziling shivered inwardly. He was well aware that his greatest weakness was that in everything, he was always thinking about the benefit; unlike Hou Xibai. Bu Tianzhi mused, To be able to train first-ss martial art skill to that stage, one must have aspiration and unswerving determination, to keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks, and ideally is one with ambition. Hou Xibai is able to have todays achievement, the conduct and character he currently disys is not something that can be pursued. Outside appearance and inner reality differ, he is extremely secretive and dangerous. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Zhi Shus insight is very original, I will remember it. Ba Fenghan has also had his suspicion; he asked him about the material used to make his Fan of Beauty. Its just that at that time I did not think about it too much. But now, thinking back, I do feel there is a problem somewhere. Bu Tianzhi said, One time Chen Gong [honorable gentleman] guessed that the one he wanted to deal with is Shi Feixuan, but upon further consideration, it does not seem so. Because he is showing his passion everywhere, any woman would think that this kind of man is difficult to grow old together with. The Chen Gong he was talking about was Chen Laomou. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, When Zhi Shu said dealing with, are you referring to capturing Shi Feixuans fragrant heart? Is that unlikely? Bu Tianzhi spoke heavily, This man is extremely heretical, we must in no way recklessly ignore him. Besides, until today, Hou Xibai is the only young man obtaining the honor of roaming the world together with Shi Feixuan. Supposing Hou Xibai indeed turns out to be what we fear, he must havee from a demonic school, an outstanding martial art master of the new generation of the demonic school. Distressed, Xu Ziling said, I really dont understand why there are people in the world who specialize in doing bad things. Even those extremely vicious and utterly evil big bandits must have various reasons to justify their conducts; they cant possibly do bad things because they are bad. Bu Tianzhi said, I think people from demonic school did not think that what they are doing is offending Heaven and reason. Most likely it has to do with how they cultivate their skill, or perhaps it is rted to their belief and creed, so that differences like Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Yin Gui Pai exist. Xu Zilings eyes flickered brightly; he nodded and said, Whether Hou Xibai is righteous or evil, I still have to warn Shi Feixuan to be careful. A gust of strong wind blew, followed by raindrops. Huai River turned into boundless haze. After heaving a sigh, Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Why dont Zhi Shu go back and have some rest? I still want to stay here a bit longer. Seven warships departed from Xiapi, sailing along the Mu River toward Muyang. Kou Zhong was standing on the bridge of themand ship. He exuded the aura of the king of the world. Although the Little Lu Bu Jiao Hongjin standing by his side was also tall and mighty, with valiant build, in side-by-sideparison, he could only assume the tree peonys green leaf role [i.e. supporting actor]. It was not solely due to Kou Zhongs particr body build and personality traits, but because he was standing as stable as the mountain, deep-pavilion, highest-peak posture and the lightning-like and perpetuity of his prating gaze, as well as the strong confidence he conveyed. In the eyes of the generals and soldiers under hismand, he was not only the Commander-in-Chief who triumph in every battle, but also an invincible, matchless-under-the-heavens saber expert. These two views added together, this Shao Shuai became like a deity who received respect and adoration from his men. At a nce, the ships seemed to be full of troops. The fact was that every ship only carried about a hundred men, for a total of less than a thousand. Since Luo Qifei made contact with Li Xingyuan three days ago to inform him about the n to advance toward Donghai, the Shao Shuai troops stationed at Xiapi were subjected to fake mobilization to deceive the eyes and ears of the enemy. The realbat force was actually the one thousand strong light cavalry under Xuan Yongsmand, plus Luo Qifeis squad of intelligence gatherers. The rest of the force, Kou Zhong included, was only putting on an act of attacking on this unable-to-withstand-a-single-blow navy fleet. The morning sun ahead was slowly rising, the earth was brimming with vigor and vitality. On both sides of the river, there were cultivated fields everywhere, and rippling green open space as far as the eye can see. Kou Zhongs mind seemed to be flying over the scene in front of his eyes, to an unknown distant ce. Suddenly he asked, Do you think Tong Shuwen is going to fall into the trap? Jiao Hongjin thought for a moment before replying, In term of military power, Donghai County has a navy fleet of thirty big battleships, their total strength is several thousand more men than ours, plus we are out of our base, in a military expedition, hence we do not have the advantage of familiarity with local terrain. It all depends on Li Xingyuan, this unreliable bamboo guide for the blind. If I were Tong Shuwen, even if I knew that this is a feign attack, I would be happy to deliver a frontal assault. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Well said! Therefore, our chance of victory this time is entirely in seeking victory in the midst of danger. Other than perfect coordination between our ambushing troops and the scouting troops, the most important aspect is the selection of the ambushing position, and when the timees, the usage of secret weapons to face the enemy. As long as we can break the Donghai Countys navy fleet, we will be able to paralyze the agility of the Li Army of Donghai County. Not only they would not be able to provide assistance to Muyang speedily via the waterway, their coastal defense will also crumble, which will enable us to seal off Donghai city from both the water and thend routes. Ha! At that time, Li Ziyun and Tong Shuwen can only kneel to beg for mercy. Jiao Hongjin secretly heaved a sigh of relief, d that he was not Kou Zhongs enemy. Any superiormander, even Li Mi, Li Shimin, Du Fuwei, Dou Jiandes caliber, would have battle style that was always traceable. For example: Li Mi loved to use deceit and decoy; Li Shimin used both carrot and stick, and was an expert in grasping the situation, in using defense for offense. Du Fuweis Jianghuais Armye and go like the wind, using battle to support battle. But Kou Zhongs battle style waspletely without any set method; irresolute like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies [fig. unconstrained in style (calligraphy)], leaving the enemypletely without any way to assess, conventional and subtle, and extremely daring, so that others could only be amazed and admit his ingenuity. Such an opponent, who did not feel intimidated? Kou Zhong shook his head and said with augh, If my guess is correct, the enemy ought to wait for us around the river section after Muyang, but before we go out to sea. At that time Li Xingyuan would break our troops retreat route, and then we would end in total annihtion. However, I also think that it would be best if Li and Dongs entire neste out and setup massive military force on both sides of the river, then not only we can easily detect the correct position of their interception, we could also destroy the enemys main force at a stroke. That would be ideal! Jiao Hongjin nodded his head in agreement. On the surface, their n was to advance toward Donghai from both thend and the sea, with Muyang as the support. After the navy went out to sea, they would coordinate with the Shao Shuai Army traveling onnd, plus Li Xingyuans Muyang Army, to put Donghai under heavy siege. But beneath the surface, it was a different matter altogether. Revealing a smile brimming with confidence, Kou Zhong reached out to grab Jiao Hongjins shoulder. He sighed and said, Perhaps by the evening of the day after tomorrow, we can drink victory wine inside Donghai City! Book 21 - 7 – Fierce Battle in River and Lake[1] Chapter 7 C Fierce Battle in River and Lake[1] Little Lingzhong was ying on the velvety cotton-padded mattress setup in the living area of his cabin, under the care of the young maid and the wet nurse, continuously squealing in delight. Sitting in the corner, Xu Ziling watched with a smile on his face, but his heart was actually wringing in pain, his breathing was ragged. Fortunately, Bu Tianzhi arrived this moment. The two men climbed the spiral staircase toward the bridge. Bu Tianzhi said, We received thetest intelligence: Zhong Ye has assumed a title for himself Shao Shuai, the generals and soldiers under hismand is called Shao Shuai Army, more than ten days ago they captured Xiapi, and also destroyed Ku Ges Khitan group of horse-mounted bandits. The cities and viges formerly attached to Xu Yuang or Li Zitong have pledged allegiance to him. Now in Shandong, other than Donghai, everything else has be Shao Shuai Armys territory. Zhong Ye indeed did not disappoint our expectation. Xu Ziling inwardly thought that Kou Zhong has finally spread out his might. It seemed like in the world, other than Li Shimin, Du Fuwei, Dou Jiande, Liu Wuzhou, and Xiao Xian, these several particrly outstanding military leaders and hegemons, the rest would find it difficult to be his opponent. Is he still in Xiapi now? he asked. That is a big possibility, Bu Tianzhi replied, Therefore, we are thinking of changing course, to follow the Huai River going east, after passing Hongze Lake [in Jiangsu] and Chengzi Lake, we turn north to Si River, and then after Huaiyang we can reach Luoma Lake. Xiapi is located northwest of Luoma Lake. If he has returned to Liangdu, we can make sharp turn to the west. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, This way our journey will be two days farther, plus we have to break through that section, Zhongli City. Are you sure? Bu Tianzhi smiled and said, Li Zitongs navy has always been weak, time and again they are thwarted by Du Fuwei, so we need not be afraid. Plus we have always had business deal with him, he ought to give us a bit of face. Hows Xiao Xians rtionship with him? Xu Ziling asked. Bu Tianzhi replied, Xiao Xian has been secretly supporting Li Zitong, his objective is to drag Du Fuweis hind legs. But Ziling need not worry that Li Zitong would be Xiao Xians hunting dog, because at most Li Zitong is only a dog who does not have time to take care of himself, and not a verypetent one. Although our strength is a trivial three warships, our performance exceeds his, plus we have our martial art masters at the helm. Zhonglis navy may roar like a tiger, enough to scare merchant ships or fishing boats, but they cannot stop us. Under normal circumstances, Xu Ziling did not need to consider his own safety, but for the sake of little Lingzhongs safety, also to avoid Susus remains to be disturbed, he had no choice but to be cautious. After asking Bu Tianzhi further about all kinds of contingency ns, he finally set his heart at ease and nodded his agreement. By dusk that day, the ships arrived at Zhongli. Contrary to Xu Zilings expectation, Zhonglis navy did not give them any trouble at all; they simply let them swagger away. Trouble came when they reached Hongze Lake. The fleet of ships slowly turned a bend and enter a straight section, where the river suddenly narrowed, and the stream became rapid. Kou Zhongsmand ship was at the front; he and Jiao Hongjin were standing on the bridge, fixing their eyes on the river ahead. Following the setting sun, the earth gradually grew dim. Half a sichen ago, they sailed pass Muyang, and entered what Kou Zhong thought to be the most dangerous section of the river. Three more sichen, and then they would reach the ocean. Sailing to the north along the coastal area for another sichen or so, they would arrive at Donghai City. At Muyang, the fleet made a short stop, where Li Xingyuan came aboard the ship to discuss the grand n to attack Donghai City. After a bit of mutual deception, the fleet continued their journey at double speed. Jiao Hongjin spoke in low voice, This river is unreasonably quiet, not even a single fishing boat is in sight. This is the time when the fishermen are rushing home from their day catching fish on the sea. On their left they sawntern light blinking at certain pattern, a certain sign that the enemys navy in some kind of deployment, but they did note forward to issue any challenge like originally expected. Jiao Hongjin and Kou Zhong looked at each other. They both felt that something was not right. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around; he asked, What kind of ce is ahead? Jiao Hongjin replied in heavy voice, About four li ahead is Du Long Xia [poisonous dragon gorge]; both side of the gorge are steep mountains, the cliff along the river is full of reefs, the river bes a rapid. But General Luo has already dispatched his men to lie in wait over there. If the enemy has any arrangement, they cant possibly deceive our eyes and ears. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, The situation is very bad; we must have underestimated that fellow, Tong Shuwen. Frowning, Jiao Hongjin said, Since they are not going to ambush us ahead, and their navy dide out to challenge us into battle, how are they going to deal with us? With a grave expression Kou Zhong said, It is precisely because we cannot see through their arrangement that we feel something is very wrong. He issued an order, the ship cast its anchor. Jiao Hongjin spoke in low voice, Could it be that we wronged Li Xingyuan? Perhaps he really wanted to take refuge in us. Kou Zhong resolutely said, I definitely did not misjudge this person. Hey! Following his example, Jiao Hongjin turned his head around to look; in the dim twilight, the other six navy ships were slowing down, following themand ship, ready to cast their anchor. The river looked calm and peaceful. Kou Zhong suddenlyughed and said, Oh my God! This time our navy ships are done for! Battleships covered the Hongze Lake like the cloud; tense atmosphere permeated the air. Under cover of the starry sky, this fourthrgest freshwaterke in the Central ins appeared to be extending forever into the distance. More than a dozen hostile warships appeared on the surface of theke in fan-shaped formation, so they have the potential to close in and surround them. The biggest distinguishing feature of Hongze Lake was that there were reeds everywhere, practically covering the entireke, so lush and flourishing that it was difficult for boats to sail on it. Furthermore, the bottom of theke was shallow and t, with muds sloping up and down. The maximum depth was no more than two zhang, average depth was only within 10 chi; therefore, even if one dived into the water to flee for his life, it would still be difficult evade the enemys powerful arrows. The enemys move was obviously a deliberate, well-nned operation. It was at this point they finally understood why the Zhongli Citys Li Army easily let them pass, because once they reached this ce, they could only be involved in a chaotic warfare on the vast, boundless tke. Furthermore, with multitude enemies, few friends, if they could not hold their ground, they would not be able to leave the water, go to the shore and escape onnd. This was a carefullyid trap targeting Xu Ziling, a top quality martial art master. Shaken, Bu Tianzhi said, Unexpectedly they are Da Jiang Hui [great river society] ships [See Book 7 Chapter 1]. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Are they under the Da Jiang Huis Dragon Lord Pei Yue and the Tiger Lord Pei Yans leadership, and not under Zheng Shuming-led Changjiang Lians [Yangtze River Alliance]? In the past, he and Kou Zhong left Shuang Long Bangs [twin-dragon gang] thief nest hauling salt into the Yangtze River, when Pei Yan, inpany with Wang Bos son, the Thunder Saber Wang Kuijie, clipped their tail and pursued them. It was entirely by relying on thick, ck smoke that they were able to get away. Unexpectedly they met again today. This moment Chen Laomou came to Xu Zilings other side and answered his question, They are precisely the Snake and Dog Two Lords who wont shrink from any crime; I never thought they would be foolish enough to take shelter under Li Zitong, who is on his way downhill. It is really hard to believe. Bu Tianzhi shook his head and said, These two lowly men are snobbish; the one they are relying on is Xiao Xian. Humph! Lets give them a tough battle. Xu Ziling asked, Can we release ck smoke to confuse the enemy and then wait for the opportunity to escape? Chen Laomou shook is head and said, The wind is too strong, plus on theke, releasing smoke screen is just a waste of energy and manpower. And then, waving his hand, he shouted loudly, Brothers! Prepare for battle! Immediately battle drums shook the heavens, the sound reverberated far and wide. Kou Zhong whispered in Jiao Hongjins ear, Look at the hull of our ship where it contacts the water. And then he shouted loudly, Continue to sail, the slower the better! Jiao Hongjin focused his attention to look; severely shaken, he said, Oh my god! Someone y a trick on our ship. He saw that the hull immersed in the water was daubed with kerosene; without even asking, he knew that it must have happened near Muyang somewhere, some people dumped kerosene on the river, so that when the ships passed through, they would be stained with kerosene. Jiao Hongjin said, If this is Sichuans kerosene, it will burn even after entering the water, and it cannot be extinguished by pouring water on it. This is indeed a very formidable trick. Kou Zhongs entire body rxed; heughed and said, The most formidable aspect is that after we fell into the trap, we still foolishly unaware, let alone a fleet of Donghai navy must be hiding in a tributary near Muyang, ready to pursue and catch our tail. Our n must go different direction. Ha! Prepare to abandon the ship! [1] The term Jianghu (river andke) has always been used to describe martial art world; more specifically the wanderers, itinerant entertainers, swindlers, etc. But in this case the battle did happen on a river and ake, hence I opted to trante it the way it is. All three Jukun Bang warships extinguished their lights, but their speed was continuously rising, as they sailed speedily toward the west side of theke in triangr formation. Bu Tianzhis wrinkled, slender face was calm as usual; he spoke indifferently, The water flowing into Hongze Lake is concentrated from the western part of theke; the main source is from Huai River, where we came from, the others are Sui River, Bian River, and An River. The water ising out of theke via three different waterways, the main river course is separately discharging into the Yangtze River and the ocean. The enemy is blocking our way to the east, so we are going to y cat and mouse with them; well see who is more familiar with Hongze Lake, see whose night navigation skill is more superior. Chen Laomou added, The entire Hongze Lake is shaped like a swan spreading its wings with its head high. ording to ancient books, the origin of theke was a low-lying ground where the water could not flow freely. After it became aketer on, due to the shallow water with a lot of mud, it is one of the bodies of water where water battle is to be avoided at all cost. Xu Ziling looked back at the pursuing enemy ship from the rear; he asked, And those ships are going to avoid water battle at all cost? As if enumerating his family valuables, Bu Tianzhi said, Big is better than small, solid subdues fragile, tail wind surpasses headwind, going with the flow beats going against the stream, watch for shallow water, guard against fire, protect from the wind, guard against chisel, guard against iron lock; these are nine cardinals of water battle. If you vite just one of them, you would end up in ship-capsize, people-perish disaster. Xu Ziling had a sudden understanding, No wonder Zhi Shu wanted to go against the stream first toward the west, rushing to into the waterway west of theke, and then turn around to enter theke to meet the enemy head-on. This way it will be going with the flow beats going against the stream. Chen Laomou smiled and said, Ziling is indeed a child that can be taught. The so-called acting in ordance with upstream to cate the power of the water, making it difficult to battle facing the stream, just likend battles living high and looking down [i.e. upying the high ground], clearly taking up the superior position. However, we have never tried facing the Da Jiang Huis Pei ns brother in hand-to-handbat; they are not easy to deal with, Tianzhi must be careful. He had not finished speaking, from the west of theke appeared seven dots of ships. Shockingly, they were the Yangtze River Alliances warships. Suddenly the situation was reversed; the enemy ahead upied the upstream position, while there was no escape route behind them, so that they had fallen into the enemies-in-front-and-behind, the-enemy-strong-we-are-weak inferior position. More than thirty warships quickly appeared like galloping horses from behind, sailing downstream toward Kou Zhongs Shao Shuai Navy fleet. Looking at their speed, it appeared that they would be able to overtake Kou Zhong right about Du Long Gorge. Because the hull of Shao Shuai Navys ships were already contaminated with kerosene, if the enemy attacked using fiery arrows, it could be guaranteed that the Shao Shuai Navy, which was weary after a long voyage, would bepletely wiped out. The calction was urate, the method was ruthless. Even if the long-range attack failed, because the enemy was sailing with the current and had the advantage of tail wind, plus Donghais navy ships were big and sturdy, they would easily ovee the smaller and more fragile navy vessels of Kou Zhongs side. By riding the wind plus the momentum of going with the current, it would be like a cart crushing a praying mantis, a battle between the ships and not between the soldiers; grasp it, and victory is assured. It was clear that Donghai Navy was waiting for the Shao Shuai Navy to pass Muyang before they took advantage of the current to chase after them; indeed it was a disy of deepprehension of naval battle strategy, the crucial point where victory was within grasp. This moment, Li Ziyun, Tong Shuwen and Li Xingyuan were standing on the bridge of themand ship, looking at the seven enemy ships that were forced to close in. All seven ships were in total ckout, leaving only one windntern on the bow to illuminate the river in front of them. The banners on the ships were as dense as a forest, so that the enemy was not able to clearly see the situation on the ships. Li Ziyun looked to be around thirty years of age, big, tall, and mighty. Pointing his finger ahead, heughed and said, People say Kou Zhong is so formidable, but I say he is just a fool, not someone who knows how to operate the boat, but wholeheartedly making things easier for us to annihte them by crowding together like that. Brothers, be ready! Battle drums were beaten. The men on the foremost three warships lighted their arrows and bent their bows, ready to shoot. But Li Xingyuan leaned over and whispered in Tong Shuwens ear, It seems like something is wrong! Tong Shuwen, who at first nce appeared to be dignified, elegant like an immortal, but upon closer look was spoiled by triangr shaped eyes,ughed coldly and said, So what if something is wrong? Even if they setup an ambush on the shore, our ships are equipped with cowhide and iron panels, enough to deal with their arrows. Much less both sides of Du Long Gorge are steep cliffs; setting up an ambush is just a wishful thinking. Therefore, this time we are definitely upying the invincible position. The question is whether we will be able to kill Kou Zhong, and thus eradicate this threat once for all! After careful thought, Li Xingyuan also felt that he was overly suspicious; therefore, he had no choice but to obediently shut his mouth up. By this time, Kou Zhongs Shao Shuai Navy was sailing fast toward the mouth of the gorge, the current turned nasty, both sides ships, one side pursuing the other, were moving with a thousand-li momentum. The moment victory was in sight, the most impossible thing to happen suddenly happened. The seven Shao Shuai Navy ships suddenly stopped in the middle of the swiftly flowing river and positioned themselves in a row, so that the entire surface of the Mu River was like blocked by the ships. Not only ship and ship was locked together, they even had chains locking the ships to the big trees on both sides of the river, sealing the entire mouth of the gorge. While Li Ziyun, Tong Shuwen, and the others were looking at this scene, bbergasted, the seven enemy ships suddenly caught fire at the same time; the zing me soared to the sky. Although fully aware that they were entering the sea of fire, the seven or eight ships at the front were unable to hold their own momentum; as their cry of rm reached the heavens, their ships simply rammed against the burning ships. The rest of the Donghai Navy ships at the back hastily steered their boats toward both banks. But while they were thinking that they had just avoided the danger zone, suddenly from both banks battle cry shook the heavens, followed by the number one great master/artisan of the present age, Lu Miaozis creation, the Fire Flyer and Catcher and the Cross-shaped Fiery Arrows, raining down from the cliff on both sides toward the enemy ships dropping by their door. Sparks and mes flew everywhere, brightening the night sky on the river; the continuous rumbling noise adding to the liveliness, creating magnificent sight. However, for the Donghai and Muyang coalition forces, it was the spell of doom. Li Ziyun finally realized who the real fool was. The three Jukun Bang warships changed course toward the north, in their attempt to escape through the gap before the enemys ships closing in to form the siege. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Isnt tail wind surpasses headwind? Why do we turn north toward the wind and not to the south to obtain tail wind? While carefully observing the enemy warship closing in from both sides, Bu Tianzhi calmly said, Since previously the enemy was already able to guess that we were going to seize the advantageous upstream position, they would also be able to guess that we might flee with the tail wind. Therefore, we are going against the norm so that their carefullyyout n would not be effective anymore. Chen Laomou shouted loudly, Raise the panel and lower the sail! The drums were sounded, the order was transmitted. While Xu Ziling was slightly startled, hundreds of iron tes to shield against the arrows were erected on the cabin walls on both sides, top and bottom decks, greatly enhancing their defense against darts, rocks, and fiery arrows. By the time the sail was down, windows appeared on the gigantic hull of the ship; eighteen long oars came out from each side, which were swiftly dropped down to the water and started to paddle in strong rhythm. The strength and dynamic was really pleasant to the eyes. Without the drag from the sail, the three warships easily glided against the wind; they advanced swiftly and in a short time were able to escape from the enemys siege via the gap. It was only this point that Xu Ziling understood that naval battle actually involved deep knowledge, so much so that even unfavorable situation could be turned into a favorable one; it was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface. Now that the sail, which was the most obvious target of the enemys fire, they no longer had to fear the enemy releasing fiery arrows. The enemy sounded the drums. They released more than fifty fast boats onto the water to pursue relentlessly. The oars rose and fell, their speed was several times faster than the huge ships, plus they had the advantage of agility, so that they were not afraid that Jukun Bangs warships might try to ram into them. It was an ingenious strategy. Bu Tianzhi issued an order; the three ships changed formation from triangr into a line, as if they did not have any n on dealing with this contingency. Chen Laomou suddenly shouted, Scatter the ashes! Throw the stone! Release the arrows! Battle drums echoed throughout theke under cover of the starry night. First, the three warships released big lumps of lime from their stern, which was the darkest part of the ship, which, due to the breeze above the water, quickly became a wall of dust rolling toward the enemys boats. At the same time, the arrows and rocks were released, violently attacking the pursuing enemies within ten zhang distance. Continuous screams and groans of pain ensued; caught off guard, more than half the enemies had the dust of lime assaulted their eyes, while the rest turned their heads around while covering their eyes. Right this moment the rocks and arrows arrived like rain. The fleet of fast boats, which originally pursued with torrential momentum, was beaten until everything was broken and in disorder, and was routedpletely. While the sailors were cheering, the three warships finally escaped the siege, and ran away to the north. Raise the sail! Bu Tianzhi shouted. This moment Xu Ziling really prostrated himself in admiration to Bu Tianzhi and Chen Laomous skill in naval battle, while inwardly thinking that no wonder Jukun Bang was able to be a prominent member of the Eight Gangs, Ten Societies. And now, are we going to change course to sail downwind? he asked respectfully. Bu Tianzhi nodded and said, If we dont sail downwind to the south, how can we go to Xiapi? But if we dont y a little trick, the enemy might overtake us. Finished speaking, he issued a string of orders. The three warships, which had easily broken out of siege, sailed eastward around the bend, and went straight toward the east shore, where the concentration of the reeds was the highest. Under Chen Laomous direction, all three warships produced a pair of floating boards, which looked like wings, from both sides of the hull, and thus greatly increased their buoyancy, so that the huge hulls were able to cope with the shallow bottom of theke. Heaving a sigh of relief, Bu Tianzhi said, That will do! The sails were suddenly opened to their full width to catch the tail wind, and they glided speedily along the coast in the southeasterly direction. Everywhere the bow divided the water, the reeds broke in pieces; it looked like the three ships were gliding on green ripples of the water. Very soon they already left the enemies far behind, and entered the junction out of theke, where the ripples appeared to be glittering under the starlight. Book 21 - 8 – Inconsolable Grief Chapter 8 C Inconsble Grief In the battle of Du Long Gorge, the Donghai and Muyang allied forces werepletely routed, Li Ziyun, Li Xingyuan and Tong Shuwen all died on the spot. Shao Shuai Armys momentum grew like a rainbow. They marched into Muyang, where the citizens opened their doors to wee them. Donghain Countys defeated forces also knew that their momentum had gone, they took the ships and fled to Jiangdu, so that this strategic town in foreign trade simply cupped their hands in obeisance to submit to Kou Zhong. It was only this point that Kou Zhong truly established the foundation of his kingdom. To the east, his territory reached the ocean; to the west, it reached Liangdu; to the south it reached Xiapi, and to the north, he gained control over fertile farnd area in the vicinity of Wei Mountain, Luoma Lake and various smallerkes. After handing over the Donghai and Muyang be administered under Jiao Hongjins jurisdiction, Kou Zhong, along with Xuan Yong and Luo Qifei, immediately rushed back to Liangdu, ready to cope with Li Zitongs wrath. It was only when the ship docked at Liangdu that he found out that Xu Xingzhi has responded to the call and came. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong immediately pulled him into the study room of the Zongguan mansion for some discussion. Finished listening to Kou Zhong detailing the development in the past few days, Xu Xingzhi had a big frown on his face. Shao Shuais expansion is too fast too hurried; very likely it will be problematic, he said. Kou Zhong was shocked, What should I do then? he asked. Xu Xingzhi said, Fortunately Shao Shuai did not attack and seize Zhongli. Otherwise youd definitely incite Jiang Huai Army to attack. The only thing you can do right now is to establish friendly rtions with Li Zitong, help him repel Du Fuwei and Shen Faxings coalition army, and then use him to defend our south side. At that time, even if Wang Shichong or Dou Jiande deploy their troops to attack, we wont have to face the enemy from both sides. Ay! Presently, although our Shao Shuai Armys awe-inspiring authority spread to eight directions, the fact is that we are still unable to withstand a single blow; practically we do not have enough power either to defend or to attack. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I have just killed Li Ziyun; how could Li Zitong be willing to establish friendly rtions with me? Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Even if you were his personal enemy who killed his father, under the circumstances, he has no choice but to establish friendly rtions and discuss ns together. Kou Zhong nodded and said, The number of soldiers we can use is around fifteen thousand, but they cant be considered elite troops, we still need some time to train. In Xingzhis opinion, should we stop expanding our territory and try to consolidate ournds defense first? Xu Xingzhi shook his head and said, Currently we are like rowing a boat upstream; if we stop moving, well fall back. Since we cannot grow either to the north or south, we must expand our influence sideways. The obvious target is Jingling; while secretly, the one we are nning to capture is Xiangyang. We are going to use former Jingling elite troops who retreated to the Flying Horse Ranch. Then we wont have to be afraid to go out to defend the weak while leaving an empty nest. Kou Zhong pped the table and eximed, Wonderful! Hows the situation at the Flying Horse Ranch and Shang Changzhu over there? he casually asked. Xu Xingzhi replied, The situation over there is unusuallyplex. To put things simply, its the Three Big Bandits and Zhu Can and the Flying Horse Ranch in power struggle, plus Xiao Xian watching from the side like crouching tiger, and the pressure of Du Fuwei mighte to attack any moment. But for us, this situation only bring benefit without any harm, perhaps we even have the opportunity to pull the Flying Horse Ranch, which has always been neutral so far, into our camp. That will create another situation altogether. Hey! The people of Flying Horse Ranch, from top to bottom, have very good impression toward Shao Shuai and Xu Ye, they all think that you are the real heroes. This time Kou Zhong had a big frown on his face, I am bit confused now, he said, Can Xingzhi advise what are we going to do? Please give me detailed description and the sequence in which we must do it. Xu Xingzhi pondered quietly for half a day; finally he spoke with determination, I am thinking that these two aspects, solidify the internal and resist outside aggression must be carries out at the same time. Solidify the internal means establishing improved governance and defensive system in both the new and old territories, with the ultimate goal to havemon people living in peace and working happily, to have the government decree flows down seamlessly. Resist outside aggression means to avoid the strong and acquire the weak, do everything we can to avert direct confrontation against Li Zitong, Du Fuwei, Dou Jiande, or perhaps Wang Shichong, and the others, while solely train our eyes on Xiangyang with the best of our ability. If we can establish stronghold south of the Eastern Capital, we will have the opportunity to contend for hegemony to the north, no need to retreat and defend to a corner. Kou Zhong was about to speak when there was a knock on the door. Xuan Yongs slightly trembling voice came through the door, Xu Ye is back. Like a leopard Kou Zhong sprang out from the imperial tutor chair to open the door; seeing Xuan Yongs pale countenance, his own face changed, as he asked, What happened? Is Ziling injured? Tearfully Xuan Yong shook his head and choked with emotion he said, Not him, its Susu. Kou Zhong suddenly reached out to grab his shoulder; shaken, he said, Its Su Jie? Ah! And then the bolted through Xuan Yong toward the main hall. Behind him, while weeping with grief, Xuan Yong said, Susu has be an immortal! It was as if Kou Zhong was struck by lightning; with disbelief in his eyes, his knees went weak, he dropped down on the floor right there at the corridor. After Susu was cremated, early morning the next day, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, with no emotion showing on their faces, sat in the main hall. Zhai Jiao, with icy-cold expression, sat opposite the two. After deep contemtion for half a day, she sighed bitterly and said, I never thought that after I, Zhai Jiao, harbor the hatred of losing my father, I still have to endure the pain of losing my younger sister. The Heaven really treats me with injustice! Immediately Kou Zhongs eyes were brimming with tears; hanging his head, he spoke in hoarse voice, One day I will muster my troops to cross the river and wash Baling with blood, as a payback of Su Jies debt of blood. Zhai Jiao coldly said, Revenge is revenge, but you must not let your emotion clouds your judgment. For the time being, let me take care of Susus ashes. As for Little Lingzhong, I can take him back to the north, and treat him as my own. You may set your heart at ease. Xu Ziling looked at her. He wanted to speak, but nothing came out. Rising to her full height, Zhai Jiao said, Xuan Yong alreadyid out for me the route back to the north, to avoid peoples eyes and ears. You need not send me off. After I find a ce for Little Lingzhong, I will send someone to notify you. The two boys rose up hurriedly. Zhai Jiao finally lost it. Tears streaming down her face as she threw herself to hug the two boys tightly, and then, still in incontroble tears, she hurriedly left. Dejectedly the two boys slumped back into their chair. Nobody knew how long, but finally Kou Zhong let out a bitter smile and said, Humans feeling of life and death is really strange. Originally it feels like it would never happen, but all of a sudden it turned into an irreversible fact, something that is difficult to alter even for a hairsbreadth. Although I cannot expect that all the good things in the world will be dumped into ourps, but why did Laotian take Niang first, and now he took away Su Jie? A piece of yellow sandy soil has buried all our expectation and hope. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I already thought until my brains did not feel like it belonged to me anymore. Therefore, I will also advise you to restrain your grief, ept your fate. Presently your attempt to the throne and the business of hegemony has just set in motion; many things are waiting to be done. The most crucial thing is to pull yourself together, dont be ovee with deject and misery. Kou Zhong suddenly stood up, pulled Xu Ziling outside, and walked swiftly while saying, Well said! Lets find a ce we can drink a cup offort wine; lets drink until the sky faints and the earth darkens, forget the affairs of life. Afterwards we are going to pull ourselves together, take the Duke Yang Treasure out, and storm straight into Baling. Bang! The wine cup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces. Aghast, Xu Ziling stared at Kou Zhong, only to see his face had no trace of blood. This time its really bad! he cried out involuntarily. By this time of the day, the restaurant they have frequented has yet to open their door for business, so it was perfect for the two to have their private business here. Putting down his cup, Xu Ziling frowned and asked, Whats the fuss? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Even the wisest can have a momentarypse in judgment, and that certainly applies to you too. Try to think about it: Lu Miaozi, the Demonic Emperor Relic, Zhu Yuyan, and Duke Yangs Treasure. Synthesized these four aspects together, then youlle to only one conclusion. We have certainly fallen into the yaonus [female demon] evil scheme. All these great troubles are to provide dowry for the crafty scoundrel. This time it was Xu Zilings turn to have his countenance changed, You are right, he said, Must be because of Su Jies matter that my brain was clouded. The fact is, no one has ever been able to find the Demonic Emperor Relic, simply because Mr. Lu put it inside the Duke Yang Treasure. But how did Zhu Yuyan know? I am afraid its just a blind guess! Kou Zhong took another cup of wine. After pouring some and drinking it, he muttered to himself irresolutely, It doesnt matter if she guessed it right or she guessed it wrong, supposing his mothers Demonic Emperor Relic is indeed in the treasure-trove, will we have to fulfill our promise? Xu Ziling raised his cup and drown it in one gulp; he calmly said, What do you think? Bang! Kou Zhong threw another cup to the floor; letting out a longughter, he said, What kind of men are we, brothers? Once we give our promise, of course we wont go back. I dont care if after obtaining the Demonic Emperor Relic that yaonu can escape to the earth or fly to the sky, I am not afraid. Raising his thumb, Xu Ziling said, Now thats my good brother. Kou Zhong picked up another cup and held it against his lips, letting the wine dripped and wet thepel of his clothes. Distressed, he said, Too bad Su Jie is gone. Otherwise, if she were here to apany us drinking, it would have been ultimate delight! Xu Ziling dejectedly said, Eventually one day you and I will step on her trailing dust [fig. somebodys footsteps]. If death is the end of everything, then it will also end all our troubles. However, if there is something after death, wont we still have time to meet again? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The problem is that destiny is not repeatable. For instance, if there really is reincarnation, when we die, Su Jie has already reborn, and is already experiencing another life. This is precisely the real meaning of an ident arising from many causes. And then he spoke softly, To be honest with you, I really am grateful to you for leaving half of Xiang Yushans life for my pleasure to wipe out the enmity of a loved one, so that my grief wont be without any ce to wash it out. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Until now I am still unclear as how Su Jie could contract such a foul illness. We must investigate this matter. With tears in his eyes, Kou Zhong said, Ever since we said goodbye to Su Jie in Xingyang, she had never had one day where she was really happy, and then she met thatpletelycking-any-feeling-or-sense-of-justice man. Pouring another cup of wine for Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling said, Now is the time to drinkfort wine, wailing for the dead was yesterdays matter. Kou Zhong wiped the tears with one hand, while with the other hand he drank his wine. Xu Ziling said, There is some questionable things about that man, Hou Xibai. And then he narrated his and Bu Tianzhis suspicions. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Since the beginning I did not like him too much. At first I thought that I was narrow-minded and was jealous of him, but now I know that I actually had foresight. Shi Qingxuan mentioned those Eight Great Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way; besides Zhu Yuyan, You Niaojuan, Zuo Youxian, who are the others? Xu Ziling replied in distress, I dont know whether she was deliberately messing up with me, but she only told me half of everything. One of those things was the confirmation that Rong Fengxiang is the personification of Pi Chen. As for the other four, I am afraid you must find Shi Feixuan and ask her yourself! Kou Zhong downed another cup; he asked in surprise, Why is the more I drink, the more spirited I am, and not the least bit his mothers drunk? Hows Shi Qingxuanpared to Shi Feixuan? [Reminder: Shi Qingxuan (ʯ) vs. Shi Feixuan (ʦ), different Shi, different Xuan] Was her Niang really Shi Feixuans Shibo [martial (older) uncle]? Xu Ziling replied helplessly, Even her true appearance, she only let me look at half of it. She is fairly discernible, hard to fathom [fig. elusive]. But my days with her was not unbearable. If it were before, Kou Zhong would have immediately teased him as falling in love with her, but right now he did not have that kind of mood. After being quiet for half a day, he said, Now, our Shao Shuai Armys only way out is to attack Jingling and Xiangyang, two strategic towns. Along the way, we could look for Zhu Can and the Three Big Bandits to take their heads off. But to aplish such a difficult goal, we must have Duke Yang Treasure to seed. What do you think I should do? Just say it frankly! Xu Ziling said, The promise I made to you, I wont ever renege. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and said, I am just waiting for Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, those two kids news. After Shao Lingzhou is taken care of, that will be the time Li Zitong and I talk about the conditions. That very same evening, sure enough, Zhuhua Bangs [bamboo flower gang] representative arrived. But it was neither Gui Xiliang nor Xing Rong, but it was the Deputy Hall Master who rose up to be the Hall Master, Luo Feng. Kou Zhong busily received him at the main hall. After sitting down, Luo Feng, with a face full of dust, spoke with grave expression, Jiangdu is in critical condition, it might fall any moment. Du Fuwei and Shen Lun join hands to attack Jiangdu; they take turn to besiege the city. It looks like Li Zitong wont be able to hold on for long. Kou Zhong shivered in fear and said, Hows Old Du and Little Shens military strength? Luo Feng replied, Du Fuwei stations his troops at Qingliu, his strength reaches seventy thousand men. Shen Lun has his garrison at Yangzi, his strength is about fifty thousand men. Li Zitong mobilized troops and horses from all sides, and his strength numbers around forty thousand. Were it not for Jiangdus city wall tall and the rampart solid, it would have been fallen early on. Kou Zhong pondered quietly on how he was going to fight this battle; even if he poured out all his strength to help, he would only suffer loss for nothing. Du Fuwei was an old fox, veteran of a hundred battles, definitely not someone easy to deal with. But if Li Zitong was done for, his Shuai Shao Army would be next. Raising his thick eyebrows, Luo Feng said, This time Lao Ge [old older brother, referring to self] received Shao Junshis secret order to negotiate with Shao Shuai, to see whether we can draw support from Shao Shuais forces to solve the crisis in Jiangdu. Kou Zhong nodded and said, We are on the same side, there is no need to stand on ceremony. I just want to know if Li Zitong has anything to do with this. That is only natural, Luo Feng replied, Otherwise, I would not have be the mediator. Recalling Xu Xingzhis remark, Kou Zhongughed hoarsely and said, For the sake of his own survival, Li Zitong indeed disregarded his siblings enmity. However, in this matter, he still harbors ill intention; he wanted to borrow Du and Shens coalition forces to weaken my strength. Luo Dage, what do you think? Luo Feng nodded and said, Lao Ge has had discussion with Ol Shen and Xiliang; we all knew that this is lending a knife to kill, but once Jiangdu fall, Im afraid Shao Shuai will also find it difficult to preserve your hard earned rivers and mountains. This is indeed a big headache. [See Book 7 Chapter 3 for more on these characters.] Kou Zhong mused, I really have to protect Jiangdu, otherwise my territory will be gobbled up by Old Du, then innocent civilians will suffer the disaster of being trampled by the soldiers. Emotionally moved, Luo Feng said, Shao Shuai is indeed a real hero, a brave knight, who disregard gain and losses, and personal benefit for the sake ofmon people. Susus departed soul came to mind, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Sess and failure, gains and losses, are as fleeting as life itself, it will pass in a snap of the fingers. As long as I can do things that will give my heart peace, then I will have no regrets. Luo Feng hesitated for half a day. Finally he spoke in fierce determination, Actually, both Ol Shen and I opposed to Shao Junshi and Li Zitong having too close of a rtion. Li Zitong is a fickle person, not someone you want to work with for a long time, but he simply refused to listen or even to see us! Kou Zhong seized that opportunity to ask, What does Luo Dage think of Mai Yunfei? Does he have the qualifications to be a Tangzhu [Hall Master]? Smiling wryly, Luo Feng said, Without me telling you, Shao Shuai ought to know what kind of material Mai Yunfei is. At least Xiliang has a better rtionship with other people, plus he is the direct disciple of our former Bangzhu, and has the full support of Madame Yuling. Mai Yunfei only rely on Shao Junshi, one persons support. For this reason, Ol Shen has had intense dispute with Shao Junshi. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that turned out Gui Xiliang also had a little bit of reputation and status; he spoke indifferently, Knowing Ol Shen and Luo Dages intention is enough! Presently our Gangs Bangzhu position is still vacant, and Xiaodi is not suitable to sit on this position. I wonder if Luo Dage has a good proposal? Luo Feng said, Presently, the person most qualified to sit on the Bangzhu position is not Shao Junshi, but Ol Shen. As for Xiliang, in terms of talent, ability, virtue, and prospect, it will still be difficult for him to convince the masses. It is only due to the Song ns inclination that the Bangzhu position is still hanging in the air. But it led to Shao Junshi leaning on Li Zitong, which led our Gang to be in the brink of splitting up. This whole thing is extremelyplicated and very difficult to handle. Kou Zhong said, If Shen Beichang, the Senior, sits on the Bangzhu position, and Xiliang takes up a post as the Fu Bangzhu [deputy], would Luo Dage think it will work? Stunned, Luo Feng said, How could Shao Lingzhou agree to that arrangement? Kou Zhongs eyes gleamed with cold and sharp shes; he said, In the matter of life and death, how could he not agree? What Xiliangcks right now is illustrious merit. If I let him break Du and Shens siege, his fame for fighting prowess will thus greatly rise, hence it will be proper and to be expected as a matter of course that he will take the Fu Bangzhu position; whod dare to object? Luo Feng cast him a hard-to-believe look; he was speechless. Naturally Kou Zhong knew that Luo Feng thought he was simply blowing his spiral conch. Smiling, he said, Can Luo Dage answer a question from me? Luo Feng nodded. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Supposing Jiangdu is captured, will it be Du Fuweis Jiang Huai Army following up the victory by going up north, or will it be Shen Faxings Jiangnan Army advancing to the north? Luo Feng was dumbstruck and unable to reply. The reason Du Fuwei and Shen Faxing were willing to join hands in dealing with Li Zitong was simply because Li Zitong upied Jiangsu, the most important strategic city on the intersection between the north and the south. Both sides were hoping to get rid of this big stumbling stone and a thorn in their side. Once they seeded in capturing Jiangdu, it would be both sides turn to have face-to-face confrontation due to theirmon interest. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, That is the key to our victory. May I bother Luo Dage to go back and tell Li Zitong and Shao Lingzhou frankly about this proposal? As soon as they give us a nod, send Xiliang here immediately to discuss our big n. If we say that only Xiliang can resolve the Jiangdu situation, just like Luo Dage, they wont believe, thats why they will definitely agree. Ha! This way, the impossible will be possible. Its going to be fun! Luo Feng could only return a nk stare. Book 21 - 9 – Timely Execution of a Brilliant Scheme Chapter 9 C Timely Execution of a Brilliant Scheme After sending off Luo Feng, Kou Zhong returned to the Zongguan Mansion; turned out Chen Changlin had juste back, and was having a chat about the old times with Xu Ziling at the main hall. Changlin Xiong came back just in time, he said in great delight, This time your revenge seems promising. Chen Changlins spirit greatly aroused, he promptly asked for more details. After Kou Zhong finished exining the situation, Chen Changlin dejectedly said, Right now Li Zitong is powerless to defend himself, while our strength is not enough to deal with either Du Fuwei or Shen Lun, how could I take revenge? Kou Zhong called a guard to summon Xu Xingzhi, while in passing he asked about Chen Changlins effort to recruit his nsmen back home. Noticing his having a card up his sleeve, also knowing that Kou Zhong was full of stratagems, plus he had schemes that ghosts and deities cannot measure, Chen Changlins confidence was back; he excitedly replied, My trip was very good, much better than what I thought, especially after getting the wind that Shao Shuai captured Donghai, one after another my nsmen embarked on the journey north. My estimate is at least two thousand strong, young men are going to join Shao Shuais army. In addition, no less than five hundred skilled mariners and skilled shipbuilders from my n are also going to ce themselves into your hands. I am just one step ahead of them to report the news to Shao Shuai. Very soon I will have to travel through the night to Donghai to provide support for them. Kou Zhong happily asked, Have those two thousand young men served in the military? Chen Changlin replied, Most of them have joined the army of the old dynasty; those who currently serve in the Shen Army are not the minority either. That will do! Kou Zhong delightedly said, Changlin Xiong ought have theme to Liangdu, the sooner the better. This moment Xu Xingzhi arrived. Finished listening, he stroked his beard and said with a smile, Shao Shuais n is wonderful; use Jiangnan men to beat Du Fuwei, and when Du Fuwei mistakenly believes that Shen Lun is stabbing him in the back and retaliate, well seize the opportunity to attack Shen Lun. Jiangdu siege will automatically break. Am I right? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Mr. Xu is indeed Zhuge Wuhou [i.e. Marquis of Wu, Zhuge Liang] reborn. Just a quick nce, you already see through Xiaodis heart. Xu Ziling also nodded to express his admiration. Chen Changlins eyes lit up; standing up suddenly, he said, I am hastening to Donghai right now. When we attack Shen Lun, Changlin wishes to be the vanguard. Kou Zhong pulled his sleeve and said, Hold on! Changlin Xiong needs to give directions to our tailor first on how to make Shen Army uniforms. Xu Xingzhiughed and said, If Shen Lun really wanted to attack Du Fuwei sneakily, how could he let his soldiers and sergeants openly wear Shen Armys uniform and insignia? As long as they are Jiangnan people, that is enough. Du Fuwei will believe it even more. [Trantors note: In general, Jiangnan is the area south of Yangtze River.] pping his forehead, Kou Zhong said, I am muddleheaded, ha! This time even the cost of clothing can be saved back. Chen Changlin left with excited look on his face. The third day after Chen Changlin left, Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, covered in dust, rushed over. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling arranged a banquet to wash the dust from their feet. Joining them were Xu Xingzhi, Chen Jiafeng, Xie Jue, and Ren Meimei, who had just returned from Pengcheng to give report of the situation. After three rounds of wine, Kou Zhong said, Around the banquet table are all our own people, you may speak without any misgivings. Gui Xiliangs countenance immediately sank, as he said, In that case, I wont stand on ceremony either. You doggedly want to put me on the stage, saying that I would be able to resolve Jiangdu siege or what have you, implicating me so that all day long I suffered frigid irony and scorching satire from Shao Lingzhous men; my days are unbearable to the extreme. Okay, now Shao Lingzhou has formally announced that if I manage to pull this practically impossible task, then I, Gui Xiliang, will not only rise to the Fu Bangzhu position, I would even reach the top by upying the Bangzhu position. My granny! Tell me, how the hell am I supposed to step down the stage this time? Xing Rong also expressed his displeasure, Shao Lingzhous move this time is clearly aimed at humiliating Dage; although he did not say that it cant be done, but everybody knows that if Jiangdu fell, resignation would be Gui Ges only way out. Kou Zhong smiled and said, This practically impossible task, did Shao Lingzhou put it in writing in his formal announcement, or did you, Xiliang Lao Ge make it up yourself? Gui Xiliang crossly said, I made it up. Whats wrong with that? Ren Meimei and the others smiled in amusement; they all knew that these two knew each other since they were little, hence they were able to have candid dialog. Remaining calm in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, Supposing in the past I told you that I could get rid of Ren Shaoming, inflict heavy damage to Li Mi, and drive away Yuwen Huagu, wouldnt you also use the same words to describe it? Gui Xiliangs face turned beet red; with blue veins protruding on his forehead, he angrily said, How can you discuss that matter with this current situation together? Ay! We are brothers, why dont you tell me how am I going to solve Jiangdus siege situation? Looking at Xu Ziling, who was trying hard not tough, Kou Zhongughed and said, Why dont I let Xiao Ling tell you? You trusted him a lot more than you trust me! Assuming a dont-drag-me-into-this-mess attitude, Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said, It wasnt me who put Liang Ge on the stage. The one who untied the bell must be the one to tie it back. Shao Shuai, please! Finally Ren Meimei could not hold it any longer. Pfft! she burst into a tender giggle; her seductive appearance was very attractive. Gui Xiliang, who saw her voluptuousness for the first time, was somewhat better than Xing Rong, who stared nkly at her for half a day. Ren Meimei was a veteran in seducing men; immediately she cast another coquettish nce, which, although he wanted to refuse, yet he could not help weing it. Kou Zhongughed and cursed Xu Ziling a bit, Kid, you are messing with me! Afterwards, he leaned over and whispered in Gui Xiliangs ear for a quarter of an hour. It was not until Gui Xiliangs countenance rxed and he repeatedly nodded his head that Kou Zhong straightened up, picked up a cup of wine with his left hand, and heavily pped Gui Xiliangs shoulder with his right hand,ughed aloud, and said, Gentlemen, governors and generals, heroes of Jianghu, fellow countrymen and elders, brothers and sisters, let us drink his mothers toast for the future Zhuhua Bangs Gui Bangzhu. Everybody promptly raised their cups and mored noisily to congratte him. Xu Ziling also raised his cup, but he did not say anything. He inwardly mused that whether it was the sorrow of their Niang passing, or the pain of Su Jies death, Kou Zhong was always able to recover from the blow better than he was. This was perhaps one of the must-have prerequisites of bing an overlord of the world. The next day Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong took a boat to return to Jiangdu in high spirits, a night-and-day difference from when they arrived, where they were hanging their heads in dispirit. Apanying them was Xu Ziling, disguised as the Scarface Hero, and Luo Qifei. One would be acting as guardian of this future Bamboo Flower Gangs Gang Leader twelve sichen a day, the other one was tasked to organize reconnaissance team, consisted of Zhuhua Bangs men, who were familiar with local situation, and who would be the backbone of the team, reinforced by more than a dozen reconnaissance experts from Shao Shuai Army, with the main task to gather intelligence on Du and Shens two armies. Later that day, Xu Ziling slipped out to the stern, alone, to watch the beautiful scenery of the canal under the starry night. Thinking about Susus misfortune, grief welled up in his heart, he sighed deeply. Susus death was a deeper and heavier blow to him than Fu Junchuos. Thetters death was moving and tragic, as well as explosive and intense; it happened so suddenly that before he understood clearly, it already passed. But toward Susu, he was always brimming with hope and expectation, but suddenly all strives and wishes went up in smoke. It was that kind of loss that made him feel so helpless and full of regret, it felt like a viper is boring into his inner organs and gnaw and bite his spirit. He did not know when he would recover like Kou Zhong. People say time can heal everything. But he also knew that Susu would always leave indelible scars in his heart. Every time he remembered her voice and features when she spoke to him before her death, his heart would go into a spasm! It would exhaust the strength in his entire body before he could fight the tremendous, iparable pain and depression. He was already too numb to hate anyone, including Li Jing and Xiang Yushan. But would not stop Kou Zhong from extracting the harshest revenge from Xiang Yushan. And he knew that absolutely no one in the world could stop Kou Zhong from demanding repayment on behalf of Susu. Most probably the cause of Susus illness was from prolonged exposure to pent-up frustration, which give rise to physical illness; indirectly it was from Li Jing, but the immediate cause was definitely from Xiang Yushan. It was something that he and Kou Zhong were already aware of, but Susu did not raise this matter; even more, she was not willing to talk about it. In the past few days, they did not dare to mention Susu at all. It was too saddening! This moment Gui Xiliang came to his side, cleared his throat and said, Hey! I have something Id like to discuss with you. With great difficulty Xu Zilingposed himself; nodding, he said, We are brothers! Go ahead! Gui Xiliang looked a bit embarrassed; after muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, he said, Why do you think Xiao Zhong want me to support me to be Bangzhu? To be honest, I am very aware of my own capacity. Bing a Hall Master is already quite remarkable; but Bangzhu? Ay! Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, In your heart, do you want to be Bangzhu? Smiling wryly, Gui Xiliang replied, People always look to high ces, water will flow to lower ces; if you ask whether I want to or not, of course I do! But if name and reality dont match, it would be the same as doing arduous and thankless job. Xu Ziling said, If you want it, then you can do it. What youck right now is confidence. With Kou Zhong supporting you wholeheartedly, what are you afraid of? He cant possibly harm you. You ought to know how he conducts himself. When we were little and fought with others, he never tried to sneak away first, he always stayed to the very end. Distressed, Gui Xiliang said, I be Bangzhu, what benefit will it be to him? Even if I be Bangzhu, there is no way I would be able to order old men like Shao Lingzhou and Shen Beichang around. Mai Yunfei will definitely set himself against me. Something that has a name but no reality like this, why would I want to be Bangzhu? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Then why didnt you tell Xiao Zhong frankly like you told me just now? If you did, you wouldnt have to be distressed over this matter! Gui Xiliang sighed and said, Xiao Zhong thinks so highly of me like this, how could I disappoint him? Not to mention Shao Lingzhou already cut off my way back; I dont have any choice but to continue in spite of adversity. Ay! Am I contradicting myself? Xu Ziling spoke softly, Achieving and preserving power and position has never been an easy thing. Xiao Zhong now is no longer Xiao Zhong of the past. He has a way to help you be Zhuhua Bangs Bangzhu whose name and reality match, so much so that he can put several capable people inside the Gang to help you; in turn, you support him in his great undertaking to contend for supremacy over the world. Just think! Arent even old fox like Li Zitong and Shao Lingzhou like toys that he ys with in the palm of his hand? You may listen to Xiao Rongs opinion more; his cool-headedness and wisdom is enough to make up for your deficiency. And then he pulled his shoulders in an embrace and said, Itste! Take an early rest, after reaching Jiangdu tomorrow, we might encounter a lot of unexpectedly things, which will require a lot of effort on our part to deal with it. Kou Zhong hurriedly came to the main gate to wee Liu Heita; heughed and said, I did not know how I was going to get in touch with Liu Dage, unexpectedly honored guest already graced us by your presence. Liu Heitaughed aloud, he pulled Kou Zhongs arm as they stepped into the main hall, and amiably said, Its not that you are looking for me, but I am looking for you. Currently, who in the world did not hear Kou Zhongs name and be filled with admiration? After being sat properly and had everybody else leave the hall, Liu Heita said, Xia Wang [King of Xia] originally wanted to send someone else as an envoy to you, but I insisted on personally take this trip to avoid bing estranged with my good brother. If we meet in the battlefieldter on, it will be bad thing indeed! Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Liu Dage need not worry, brother is brother, how could we exchange good wine and good food with soldiers and sabers to treat each other? Come! Lets drink a cup first, to wish our brotherly love to endure forever. After the toast, Kou Zhong asked, Hows the war situation in the north? Has Li Mi surrendered to Li Shimin? His countenance changed, Liu Heita asked, Is there such matter? After Kou Zhong gave his analysis, Liu Heitas countenance turned grave; he mused, Li Shimin is indeed a man with far-reaching foresight. Under Li Mismand, battle-hardened generals are like the cloud, strategic experts as thick as rain. Just this group of talents is enough to give current Li ns power a dramatic increase, so that they will be even more difficult to deal with. Kou Zhong said, Perhaps Li Mi would rather die than surrender. Ay! But Li Mi did indeed have rendered exceptional merit, perhaps he really could not bear it anymore and surrender to Li Shimin, to avoid being destroyed altogether. This possibility is not small. Liu Heita remained silent. Kou Zhong went on, I hear Xu Yuang was beaten by you, Liu Dage, that everything was broken and in disorder. I wonder when are you going to prate hisir in Rencheng? How could it be that simple? Liu Heita calmly said, Xu Yuang is fighting hard to recover his lost territory. The most hateful thing is that he asks for help from Gao Kaidao and Yuwen Huaji. Yuwen Huaji was defeated by Li Mi and then you, one after another; presently he is powerless to defend himself, so he might ignore this request. But Gao Kaidao has the Tujue people backing him up; himself was iparably brave, his great general Zhang Jinshu is an expert in using cavalry, they are not to be underestimated. Kou Zhong repeatedly recited the names Gao Kaidao and Zhang Jinshu, in his heart, tomit them into his memory. Suddenly he asked, There is one thing I really dont understand: why did you guys pick this time to cross sword with Xu Yuang? Liu Heita shrugged his shoulders and said, The reason is very simple: because Xu Yuang has always been attaching himself to Li Mi. Now that his supporter is down, we do not have misgivings anymore. I almost forget to thank you for this. Come! Let Liu Dage toast you a cup. Ding! Wine cups clinked against each other, the fine wine was drowned into their belly. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Now I understand the meaning of pulling one hair and the whole body moves. Much less Li Mi is certainly more than just a strand of hair. Liu Heita said, This Xu Yuang is the most spineless man. On one hand, he is asking for help from Gao Kaidao and Yuwen Huaji, on the other hand he is surreptitiously exchanging flirting nces with Wang Shichong; hence the situation is not entirely beneficial to us. Is there something that Xiaodi can do to help? Kou Zhong muttered irresolutely. Liu Heita cheerfully said, As long as you are willing to do business, then it will be all right. As for the other matters, without me telling you, you might make an attempt to have a firm grasp on Wang Shichong or Du Fuwei. This will bring us great benefit. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Liu Dage is very straightforward. In the end, you and your Xia Wang basically do not need to fear that my Shao Shuai Army, which, alone, does not have much power, would y any trick on you. Liu Heita calmly said, Although currently you are one of the few people that I think highly of, but under present circumstances, it is still difficult for you to aplish anything. Right now I do not have any doubt that it will be very difficult for me to persuade you to realign your allegiance to Dou Ye, but you must never be a hardheaded hero. Once the city of Jiangdu fell, or perhaps Wang Shichong ising to the east, in your most critical moment, you must never forget that I, Liu Heita, am your brother, who have been through trials and tribtions, life and death situation together with you. You only need to send me a letter, I will definitely help you with all my strength. At that time we will crisscross the world side by side; wont that be delightful? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Thinking about it is indeed delightful. Liu Dage is certainly a political adviser with extraordinary charm. But I do not know whether I ought to look forward to theing of that kind of days. Anyway, back to the topic, what business brought Liu Dage here to see me? Liu Heita did not mince his word, We give you warhorses and weapons, you supply us with produce and rice grain; benefiting both sides without bringing any harm. Kou Zhongughed involuntarily and said, After all, your Dou Daye wishes that I can hold on for a few more days, right? Such a good offer, how can I, Kou Zhong, refuse? Liu Heita stretched out his big hand to shake Kou Zhongs. He said in low voice, Be careful! Remember the saying: as long as the green mountain remains, no need to worry there wont be any firewood. I am off! I will send someone to contact youter. Kou Zhong was stunned, You are not going to spend the night to chat with me? he asked. Liu Heita helplessly replied, I am actually in the situation where I could not spare myself to meet this appointment. Howe I did not see Xiao Ling? Kou Zhong walked with him to the main gate, he said, He went south. Come! Let me send you off outside the city. Liu Heitas countenance went dark; he said, Did he go to Baling to look for your virtuous sister? Kou Zhong felt as if his heart was pierced by an awl or steel needle; after hesitating for half a day, he nodded and simply replied, Yes! Book 21 - 10 – Back in Yangzhou Chapter 10 C Back in Yangzhou The ship arrived at Yangzhou. From his vantage point at the port side of the ship, Xu Ziling surveyed the bigmercial port overlooking the sea in the mist of the dawn; his heart was filled with myriads of emotion. It was as if a prodigal son who left his vige, after going through ten thousand crags and torrents, and disaster after disaster, finally returned to his starting point. The strange thing was that when thest time he was in Yangzhou to see the muddleheaded ruler, Emperor Yang, he did not have the same feeling. It was the wounding-the-spirit, breaking-the-soul feeling of sea voyage, when they let Susu made the choice that would affect the rest of her life. Xu Ziling felt a stab of pain in his heart. Standing beside him, Xing Rong sighed and said, Sowing one, reaping two. Speaking aboutmercial trade of the whole nation, our Yangzhou has always been at the top of the list, otherwise our Zhuhua Bang would not be the other big gang besides Baling Bang. Therefore, after moving around everywhere, our zongduo [lit. helms, i.e. the headquarter] has always moved back here. Shao Lingzhou put himself under debt from Li Zitong, this will have its own cause and effects. The world sowing [yang] referred to Yangzhou, the word reaping [or benefitting, yi] referred to Yizhou, namely, the Shu County in Sichuan. Yangzhou, Jiangdu, and the likes were like the Luoyang of the Central ins, which was the hub of the water andnd transport connecting all parts of the country, especially the waterway aspect, since it was at the intersection of the Canal and the Yangtze River, as well as at the coast of Yangtze River leading to the sea, hence its geographical superiority could be inferred. As for thend route, from Yangzhou to the east was Shandong, to the west Sichuan, to the south extended to Huguangs [i.e. Hubei and Hunan provinces] ry stations along the major route. All these factorsbined, Yangzhou became the strategic hub of sea,nd, and river transports, the center of distribution connecting the water andnd routes of the north and the south. Since the Sui Dynasty,rge number of rice, salt, cloth and silk passed by this area on their way north to supply the Central ins, as well as Ji Shan regions [Hebei and Shaanxi]. Yangzhou was also reckoned to be first or second best metropolitan in the nation. The principalmodity were precious stones, salt distribution, wood, brocade, copperware, and so on. When Emperor Yang was murdered by the rebel army headed by Yuwen Huaji, Du Fuweis Jiang Huai Army was one step toote, so he could only watch when Li Zitong took this most important big city in the south. It was like one move difference in the game of chess. Such arge river like Yangtze River, which was the convergence of the waterways in the world, no one had the capability topletely seal it off for a long period of time. To heavily besiege Yangzhou was definitely not an easy matter. The reason Du Fuwei was willing to cooperate with Shen Faxing was simply because he wanted to draw support from Shen Faxings navy fleet with its rich naval battle experience, plus the backbone of Shen Faxings navy was Hai Sha Bangs huge fleet of warships. Hai Sha Bangs Gang Leader was originally the Dragon King Han Gaitian. But when they mounted a sneak attack to the newly established Shuang Long Bangs base camp in Changshu, he was heavily injured by Xu Ziling, and his internal injury could not recoverpletely, until finally he had to give way to the Beautiful Mermaid You Qiuyan, with the Fat Assassin You Gui and the Roaming General Ling Zhigao as the Left and Right Deputy Gang Leader, respectively. They reorganized the Gang, and recovered the Gangs power somewhat. Jiangdu Yangzhou was governmental city, with twoyers of city walls forming the entire city, linked up by undting hills. Governmental city was the seat of the imperial pce, also the seat of the Zongguan Mansion and other governmental offices, concentrated in one location, much like the Imperial City of Luoyang, which was located on elevated ground; easily guarded, hard to attack. In those days, were it not for Yuwen Huaji revolted from within the nest, he might not necessarily be able to murder Emperor Yang, who was under the full protection of the Dugu n. Under the governmental city, themercial and residential area extended outside the second wall built around the main city wall. This rectangr city was inhabited by close to two hundred thousand people, with most residents live in the southern crown of the city. The main street was lined with willow trees every a thousand paces, the red clouds were reflected on the twoyers of city wall. The inner city spanned eleven li from north to south, and seven li from east to west, the perimeter was about forty li. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs struggling and challenging, but precious childhood years were spent in the approximately 80-li perimeter outer city. Reminiscing about the past, all kinds of memory flooded back into his mind; how could he not be ovee by emotions? Noticing that Xu Zilings eyes were gleaming with odd expression, Gui Xiliang, standing on his other side, thought that Xu Ziling felt strange because he did not see the troops and horses besieging the city; thereupon he exined, This past year or so the war has been stop-and-go; three sides of Jiangdu face river and ocean, the harbor is deep and wide, besieging the city is easier said than done. Plus in the other big city Zhongli, Li Zitong has massive military force, which from time to time raided the besieging enemy via the waterway. Therefore, each time Du Fuwei and Shen Lun finished their turn in besieging the city, they must retreat and regroup to restore their strength; otherwise, how could Li Zitong hold on until today? Inwardly Xu Ziling admired Kou Zhong: the reason Du and Shen, two armies were unwilling to siege the city together was because they were suspicious of each other, and Kou Zhong was able to grasp this critical conflict between the two, thereupon he would be able to calmly set up a driving-a-wedge-between-them stratagem. But Xu Ziling did not know that it was Xu Xingzhi who first thought about this crucial point, and not Kou Zhong at all. Although the pier outside the city could not bepared to its former glory where thousands of ships were docking side by side, their sails and masts covering the sky, but there were at least a hundred ships, big and small, moored along the coast. It appeared that they were taking advantage of this brief period of peace to do business. Their ship slowly docked. The weingmittee consisted of Luo Feng and about a dozen Gang members, as well as a small group of troops and sergeants of Li Zitongs army. Just by looking at this kind of wee, it was thus clear that Li Zitong and Shao Lingzhou hardly attached any importance to Gui Xiliang. Xu Ziling stepped back so that he would not be too conspicuous. Luo Qifei moved over to his side and said, Looks like we have a little bit of trouble. Xu Ziling nodded and said, We have to change ording to the situation. The ship finally cast its anchor, Luo Feng was the first toe aboard, with a slightly helpless intonation he said to Gui Xiliang, Da Wangs [The King] order, all ships arriving at Jiangdu must be inspected, both the passengers and the goods. After everything is verified properly, you may enter the city. Gui Xiliangs countenance changed, he said, Even we, Zhuhua Bang men are not exempt? On this trip I was on mission for Da Wang himself! Luo Feng reached out to grab his shoulder and said, Be patient a bit! We all know what is going on inside. His gaze fell on Xu Ziling, disguised as the Scarface Hero, and the others, seventeen people in all; he asked, Are these honored guests brothers from Shao Shuai Army? Xu Ziling cupped his fist and replied in hoarse voice, Xiaodi is the Feng Dao [wind saber] Ling Feng of Shandong. I came here to see Luo Tangzhu [hall master/leader], indeed under Shao Shuais order to wait on Gui Tangzhu. Naturally Luo Feng has never heard that in the Wulin world of Shandong there existed such figure; inwardly he was apprehensive, but on the surface he put on a your-name-has-been-known-to-me-for-a-long-time appearance, and said, The inspection process should ne reasonable and fair, it is not to deliberately make things difficult for you, I hope Ling Xiong will show understanding, otherwise how could we cooperate with Shao Shuai? Turning his head around, he signaled the Li Army troops waiting on the shore toe aboard to inspect the ship. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing that the trouble has just begun. Returning to Yangzhou was like returning to a far away, yet forever unforgettable dream. Whether it was inside or outside the city, everywhere he looked, there were traces of the shocking-the-eye, astonishing-the-heart fire of war, copsed and damaged city walls, charred and abandoned siege equipment in all kinds of shape and sizes, sunken warships, and bloodstain on the streets, which had turned ck, the ruins of houses after the fire, crumbling walls and scattered roof tiles everywhere. But the people were ustomed to this kind of sight; except for the migrant workers who were working on mending the walls, for others, life went on as usual. Due tock of warhorses, everybody entering the city must rely on their legs; they walked slowly while carefully observing the destion of the trauma of war. The Zhuhua Bangs headquarters was back on its former site, at the foot of a hillock right next to the inner city wall, but the building was of new construction, the scale was more magnificent than the previous one, theplex wasposed of sevenpounds, each has its own separate wall, connected to each other by gateways and passageways; four of those buildings housed the Wind, Clear, Rain, and Dew, four Halls. Before reaching the headquarters, Luo Feng and Gui Xiliang moved to the front of the line, while constantly conversing with each other in low voices. Xu Ziling and Xing Rong brought up the rear. When they were passing the most famous red-light district in Yangzhou, the Willow Lane, Xing Rong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Madame Yuling reopened the House of Heavenly Fragrance, and nowadays it has be Yangzhous most famous pleasure house, and the Two Principals of Heavenly Fragrance are the most famous talenteddies of the south; it wont be easy for anybody to see them, so let me take you out tonight. West of the Willow Lane was the Jiucheng [lit. old city] River that cut across the road going north and south of the city, spanning across the river were two big bridges, Ruyi [as one wishes] and Xiao Hong [little rainbow]; the scenery on both banks was charming and gentle, with long dike and willow branches drooping down, lined with luxuriant fragrant grass. Further away was the otherrge river, the Wen River, bncing the Jiucheng River. Along the Wen River going east was the Great South Gate Street, the busiest and most prosperous street in Yangzhou; most shops were concentrated here. This moment Xu Ziling was overwhelmed with memories, how could he have any interest in visiting a pleasure house? But he was also having a peculiar feeling, recalling that in the past, he could only steal a peek to admire thedies of the House of Heavenly Fragrance, but now he would be able to enter from the main room, into the inner chamber, as a rich big master. Obviously the past and the present werepletely different; they had grown up to be adults. For the young Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the city of Yangzhou was a very good ce to y hide-and-seek, or perhaps a good ce where they could go everywhere to flee for their lives. Before Emperor Yang developed Yangzhou to be Jiangdu, in the city district, most of the houses were self-developed, which resulted in irregr shapes andyout, with oblique street corners and cluttered intersections; except for several main streets, the rest were mostly nine-crooked, thirteen-bent, streets and alleys crisscrossing each other haphazardly, which also became the special characteristic of Yangzhou. In the past, the two boys favorite ce to hang out was the Great South Gate Street, and also the Satin Silk Street, which intersected the Great South Gate Street. This street got its name not only from the brocade, satin, juan [thin, tough silk fabric], and chou [light silk] shops lining the street, but also the shops offering jewelry and arts and crafts, hence many wealthy spenders [orig. with ten thousand strings of cash in money belt] spent their time here. For the young Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling at that time, this was the ce where the fat sheep congregated. Noticing Xu Ziling did not say anything, Xing Rong thought he agreed to stroll into the pleasure house tonight; thereupon he turned to another topic, Luo Tangzhu can be considered the best in his treatment toward us! He is the only one willing to speak up on our behalf. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, How about Shen Beichang? Lowering his voice, Xing Rong said, Shen Laotou [old man, usually in disrespectful way] is very grouchy, nobody knows what he really thinks. Ill say Shao Lingzhou has deep misgivings toward him. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Does Madame Yuling have any influence on our Zhuhua Bang? Of course she has! Xing Rong replied, She is very supportive of us, but she never intervenes in the Gangs affair; she does not have any real power within our Gang, therefore, her influence is only from our Gang brothers who show her respects, but in major things, it is difficult to rely on her support. This moment the group of more than fifty people have just entered the courtyard gate. Shao Lingzhou and Shen Beichang went out to meet them, to intercept Luo Feng and Gui Xiliang. The four men stood around to talk, but actually Gui Xiliang could only stood respectfully and answer whenever someone else asked him question, the real dialogue was between Shao Lingzhou and Luo Feng. Responding to Luo Fengs beckoning him, Xu Ziling stepped forward from the rear of the line. He was introduced to Shao Lingzhou and Shen Beichang first, and then Shao Lingzhou, with a slight condescending look in his eye, sized him up and down, before asking, Does Ling Xiong have the authority to represent Shao Shuai? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Naturally I do! Otherwise Shao Shuai could not possibly send me toe with Gui Tangzhu. Revealing a skeptical look, Shao Lingzhou was silent for half a day before finally nodding his head and said, Very well! In that case, would Ling Xiong immediately follow Ol Shao to the Zongguan Mansion to see Da Wang? He wants to talk with someone who can represent Kou Shao Shuai. And then, turning to Gui Xiliang and Luo Feng, he said, Two gentlemen Tangzhu need not join us, only Laofu [old man, referring to self] and Old Shen will do! Apanied by Xu Xingzhi, this old friend, Chen Changlin entered the study room to see Kou Zhong. This Shao Shuai was diligently studying Lu Miaozis treasured book of Mechanical Equipment; he looked so enraptured by the book. He was greatly surprised to see Chen Changlin, Unexpectedly Changlin Xiong is back so soon? he said. After the two sat down, Chen Changlin said, Taking light boat going downstream, it took less than half a day to reach Donghai. On the return trip, we got tail wind, so it took us only one night plus a few sichen. Fortunately Changlin did not fail my assignment; fifteen hundred children and disciples of Jiangnan Army will reach Liangdu tonight, and they are using their own weapons. Xu Xingzhi added, And all of them were forged by Jiangnans iron and steel industry; often imitated, never duplicated. Kou Zhong put down the treasured book and cheerfully said, Thats even better. This time we only want to drive a wedge between the enemy, not to really attack Old Dus Jianghuai Army. What can we do that we wont damage our own people, but can raise Old Dus suspicion and his anger? Xu Xingzhi spoke leisurely, As for the details, we must wait for Luo Qifeis intelligence before making definite n, but it would be best if we could take advantage of a particr situation to assassinate an important trusted lieutenant under Du Fuweis banner; whether sessful or not, we wont have to worry, they will definitely be suspicious and then will be hostile with each other. What particr situation? puzzled, Chen Changlin asked. Xu Xingzhi exined, Presently the Du and Shen, two armies, are taking turns to attack Jiangdu Yangzhou. It can be easily imagined that whoever is doing the siege will make an all-out effort in doing so, hoping to enter the city first to drink that oral soup, the agreement that the two sides made. ording to the information we received from Jiangdu,st time happened to be Shen Armys turn to besiege the city. Both the besieging and the defending armies suffered considerable damage. By the time Jiang Huai Army besieging the city again, their chance of breaking the city will be very high. What we want is precisely this kind of situation. pping the table and shouting with praise, Kou Zhong said, This scheme is absolutely wonderful. It is enough to provide the motive for Shen Lun to wreck the coboration, which is he is afraid that Jiang Huai Army would enter the city first and grab the benefit of the victory. And then he called one the guards to summon Bu Tianzhi. Xu Xingzhi said, Now the only problem we need to resolve is how to avoid Du and Shen, two armies, so much so Li Zitongs eyes and ears, because this kind of grandiose military operation involving a thousand men will be difficult to keep a secret. Kou Zhongughed and said, The originally mission impossible has now be highly possible. Ha! Our savior is here! Bu Tianzhi hurriedly came, and after understanding their mission clearly, he patted his chest and said, Leave this thing to me, I have more or less friendly rtionship with the longtou dage [big brother big boss] of various wharfs across the nation. As long as Changlins men disguise themselves as my men, I can transport them in batches to our secretir in Jiangdus vicinity, where they can wait for the opportunity to go into action. Xu Xingzhi said in delight, In that case all things are ready; we onlyck intelligence from the east wind. Kou Zhong said, Wed batter change the assassination target to Old Du himself; wouldnt it be one needle pricking the flesh? In any case, basically we are not looking for sess; as long as we could spread a bit of empty prowess, leave behind some Jiangnan trademarked arrows, darts and weaponry, shout with some Jiangnan ent, the mission can be considered sessfully aplished. The other three nodded; they all agreed that it was a good n. Chen Changlin was concerned about another problem; he asked, Supposing Du Fuwei really fell into the trap and strike back at Shen Lun, how would we exploit this situation? Xu Xingzhi said, Du Fuweis strength far surpasses Shen Luns; he will be able to deal heavy blow on Shen Luns soldiers and sergeants. At that time Shen Lun could only retreat back to Piling along the Jiangnan canal. We can intercept Shen Lun on the canal, catching him off guard, attacking him without he knowing how to deal with it. Kou Zhong looked at Bu Tianzhi; he asked, Is this feasible? Bu Tianzhi cheerfully said, We know diverse Jiangnan waterways like the back of our hand, so I can guarantee that when our warships suddenly appear in the canal, Jiangnan army will be as if they had just awakened from a dream. As long as we can seize Shen Lunsmand ship, Changlin Xiong will be able to personally put Shen Lun under his de. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This matter should not be dyed. We will immediately prepare the mission. When the timees, I will personally apany Changlin Xiong to get on board to pay an official visit to that kid Shen Lun, to see if Laotianye is willing to preside over justice. Severely shaken, Chen Changlin said, From this day onward, my life belongs to Shao Shuai! Book 21 - 11 – Sinister Design Hidden In The Heart Chapter 11 C Sinister Design Hidden In The Heart Arriving at the reception lobby of the Zongguan Mansion, the captain of the guards on duty asked the three to wait, saying, Da Wang is seeing another guest; would three gentlemen please wait a moment. After sitting down, with nothing to do, Xu Ziling focused his energy into his ears to listen to the voices in the main hall on the other side of the door. He happened to catch a familiar sounding mans voice with foreign ent, The warhorses can be transported to Jiangdu within ten days time, so that Da Wang will have time to restructure the cavalry. All I want is the head above Kou Zhongs neck. Although the voice was faint and barely audible, Xu Ziling was able to hear without missing a word. And he jumped in fright, because he recognized the voice as belonging to Ku Ge. Li Zitong let out a couple of hollowugh, before speakingcently, Khitan warhorses are world-renowned. Wangzi [prince, son of a king] may set your heart at ease, these five hundred good horses of excellent quality, I will definitely not receive them in vain. As long as Kou Zhong agrees to lead his troopsing south, when the situation is appropriate, Guaren [I, a first person pronoun used by royalty or nobility] will ask Wangzi to personally lead your ambushing troops,bined with our elite squad, we will ruthlessly give this little thief a heavy blow, so that he will never be reincarnated forever. Another harsh-sounding, like-a-broken-gong, voice said, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have shown their awe-inspiring authority way too long! They managed to tie enmity everywhere; just yesterday Liang Wang [king of Liang] notify us, brothers, he already dispatch the Da Li Shen [Titan] Bao Rang, E Quan [Vicious Dog] Qu Wuju, and Wang Ming Tu [Exiled Disciple] Su Chao [see Book 21 Chapter 4], his three main martial art masters to provide assistance in handling these two men. At that time, working together with numerous martial art masters serving under Wu Wangs banner, even if those two have three heads and six arms, it will still be difficult for them to escape this ambush. Li Zitongughed and said, As long as I have the Da Jiang Hui lending a hand to uphold justice, I wont worry this important matter will not seed. It was only now did Xu Ziling realize the harsh-sounding voice belonged to none other than the Dragon Lord Pei Yue, the older brother of the Tiger Lord Pei Yan. He could not help feeling amused, because if Li Zitong knew that Xu Ziling had efficacious ears to eavesdrop, he would definitely have deep regret. Li Zitong continued, Now the man sent by Kou Zhong is waiting outside the door. Let me ascertain Kou Zhongs foundation first, and then Ill discuss it with gentlemen. That little thief rejoices in grandiose deeds, always thinks that he is omnipotent, and has no regard to anybody else. I will exploit this point of his, let him taste a little sweetness, and lure him to bite the bait. And then there was the noise of Ku Ge and the others leaving the hall from the back. Xu Ziling thought the moment hase for him to perform on the stage. Kou Zhong pulled Chen Changlin to take a stroll at the Zongguan Mansions garden; he spoke sincerely, Changlin Xiongs life is your own, you dont have to give it to me; not to anybody else even more. We all walk together, the most important thing is to have identical ideal and interest, then I will die for you, and you can perish for me, but separately we are still doing it for ourselves. In case there is disagreement, we can go our separate way. Ha! Wont that be ideal? Smiling bitterly, Chen Changlin said, Shao Shuai and Wang Shichong are absolutely two different kinds of people; what he wants is blind loyalty. Individual interest ispletely set aside, only his interest must take precedence. Kou Zhongughed and said, That is what the emperors throughout history required of his courtiers; how could I be the same? To Xiaodi, the superior/subordinate rtion is simply a difference of convenience; it would be best if everybody can forge ahead for a certain lofty goal as brothers withmon interest, doing good deeds for the suffering people, challenging all kinds of evil forces oppressing the people. Chen Changlin said, Shao Shuais way of thinking is extraordinarily grand and unusual; it is emotionally touching. Kou Zhong suddenly halted his steps; with his hands behind his back, he carefully observed a vegetation bush by the small alley. After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, he said, Currently our Shao Shuai Army is already taking shape, the squad training is conducted by Xuan Yong and Jiao Hongjin, the governmental operation is under Xu Xingzhis supervision, in reconnaissance and intelligence we have Luo Qifei, financial affairs and army provisions are under Ren Meimei, naval warfare we have Bu Tianzhi. If I can also have Changlin Xiong in charge of the river and oceanmercial trade and in building fine warships and cargo ships, our Shao Shuai Army will be like a tiger that has grown wings. Submitting cheerfully, Chen Changlin said, Shao Shuai is indeed a standing-tall-and-seeing-far person, unlike Shen Faxing or the like, who, after gaining authority, was solely preupied with consolidating his power, fleecing the blood and sweat of the people, plundering wealth and army provisions; those ignorant who arecking foresight. Shao Shuai may rest your heart at ease, Changlin will not fail to live up to your expectations. Kou Zhong said, With Changlin Xiong, naturally I have nothing to worry about! But our biggest problem is that we dont have much time. Once Li kid pacified Guanxis other militias, he will immediately send troops to the east; therefore, we must seize the opportunity before that day came, to establish a huge supporting fleet of navy, while using cavalry as the main force. Only by doing this will we have hope in the decisive battle against the Guanzhong Army. About constructing the ships, I wonder if Changlin Xiong has any good proposal. Chen Changlin nodded and said, The most important equipment in naval warfare is precisely the ship itself. It is like thebination of an open city, an army camp, and vehicles and horses. A good warship is dauntless in battle, and solid in defense, fast in pursuit, and powerful in charging forward. Only by attaining dauntlessness, solidity, speed and power, will a warship be called a good warship. But in naval battle, a warship is extremely easy to break and damage; therefore, not only the quantity must be high, also a variety of equipment installed on it must ready to function, to cope with the ever-changing battle. Kou Zhong turned around, and said in delight, Changlin Xiong indeed has deep understanding of naval warfare. I have never thought of those problems before. When I was young, I heard storytellers narrated the tale about Azure Dragons remaining hundreds of ships, Yellow Dragon enumerating thousands of ships, I thought they were exaggerating. Chen Changlinughed and said, Talking with Shao Shuai is both rxing and fun; perhaps chatting and joking about military is just like this. But thousands of ships in naval warfare is true; for example during the Eastern Han dynasty Ma Yuan dispatched an expedition against Jiaozhi[1] [modern day northern Vietnam], he used two thousand multi-decked ships. When the Liang Dynasty [502-557AD] fought Northern Qi [550-557], in the battle of Hefei they put three thousands of Qis ships on fire. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Isnt that Liang Dynasty the ancestor of Xiao Xians Liang Dynasty? Chen Changlin nodded his head confirming Kou Zhongs guess. Obtaining sudden understanding, Kou Zhong said, No wonder Xiao Xian made such a big deal out of Bu Tianzhis betrayal, because in everything he imitate his ancestors, and has a deeper understanding of the importance of the navy. Humph! Therefore, in order to defeat Baling Bang, other than closing Xiang kids brothels to break the source of their intelligencework, we must also break their navy. These two aspects are indispensable. Cheng Changlin had no choice but to listen respectfully; he felt deeply that Kou Zhongs insight was like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies; it was hard to measure. Kou Zhong pondered a moment and asked, Based on our current manpower and resources, how long will it take to build a navy fleet of five hundred ships? Chen Changlin readily replied, If everything starts from scratch, it will take at least fifteen years. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, How can it be? Having a card up his sleeve, Chen Changlin said, Shao Shuai, dont worry, the fact is that there is not much difference in the hull structure of most warships and cargo ships for civilian use; whether the oar, the paddle, the pole [for punting boats], the scull, the sail, the seat, the rope, or the sinking stone, they are the same thing. Any cargo ship for civilian use can be rigged with defensive equipment and weaponry, and they can be used for military application. Fit them with high-ranking military officers and soldiers skillful in naval battle, they will be able to fulfill the requirement of navy fleet. In less than a year I will be able to provide Shao Shuai with a navy fleet of sufficient scale. Pleased beyond his expectation, Kou Zhong said, I am d there is such convenience. Can Changlin Xiong make them so that in normal times people cannot see them as warships, and then at the time of battle they will reveal their true color? That will make them more like ambushing troops on water. I can think of ways, Chen Changlin replied. Kou Zhong hugged his shoulders and pulled him in the direction of the main hall; lowering his voice, he said, In this matter we must weigh our abilities and act ordingly, we must not disturbmon people. After obtaining the Duke Yang Treasure, we will haverge amount of gold and silver to acquire civilian ships. For now, there is no harm in putting up a bit with retrofitting Pengliang Hui and Luoma Bangs old ships, then we will truly have a hundred more or even two hundred ships. With the Jukun Bangs defecting several dozen of ships, big and small, it will be a sight to behold! [1] For more information on Ma Yuan, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Yuan_(Han_dynasty) Li Zitong sat high on the dragon seat. Squinting, he looked askance at Xu Ziling stepping into the main hall, apanied by Shao Lingzhou and Shen Beichang, as if he wanted to see him through. In the main hall, there were altogether eighteen imperial tutor chairs arranged in a row left and right in front of the throne. This moment, the three main seats on the left were upied by Li Zitongs trusted aides. Behind the chairs stood two rows of imperial bodyguards wielding halberds in their hands, wearing shiny armors; they were quite awe-inspiring. This kind of imposing manner would be appropriate in the Imperial Pce, but in Zongguan Mansions main hall, it gave the impression of false bravado. However, Li Zitong was under pressure and had no choice; by abandoning the Imperial Pce, which was devastated by the raging fire, and took the Zongguan Mansion instead, he wanted to show that he was different than the muddleheaded ruler. He did not even dare to stay at the other temporary imperial residences that the previous emperor built to enjoy life. After the herald at the door announcing their arrival, Shao Lingzhou and Shen Beichang followed Jianghu protocol in asking to have an audience with respected figure. Xu Ziling followed their example to save a lot of trouble. After granting them their seats, Li Zitong coldly asked, I wonder which position Mr. Ling holds in Shao Shuai Army, whether you have any symbol of authority with which you can represent Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling in this talk? The three high-ranking generals sitting below him all stared fixedly at Xu Ziling with cold eyes to see how he would respond. Li Zitongs appearance was obviously more haggard than thest time they met, the hair on his temples was graying; it was clear that that was the price he had to pay in contending over the world. Xu Ziling responded indifferently, Since our Army was hastily established, we have had continuous military campaigns; a lot of things we still do not have time to take into consideration, symbol of authority and documentation, none has been prepared, I am asking Wu Wangs forgiveness. A big frown appeared on his face, Li Zitong said, Then how is Mr. Ling going to prove that you can speak on those two mens behalf? Shao Lingzhou interjected, Da Wang, please understand, our humble Gangs Gui Xiliang has personally confirmed to Laofu that General Ling is indeed Kou Shao Shuais ambassador. Oh, Li Zitong mumbled, and pointed to the imperial tutor chairs, he leisurely introduced the three high-ranking generals to Xu Ziling; they were, sessively, Zuo Xiaoyou, Bai Xin, and Qin Wenchao. A bizarre feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart; as early as when he was a still a little rascal roaming Yangzhous street, he and Kou Zhong had already heard these threes names, and already admired them. Especially Zuo Xiaoyou, who was the leader of one of the militias. In the great undertaking ten or so years ago at the uprising of the Dun Gou Shan [squatting dog hill], his might rose up for many days. It was some timeter that he surrendered to Li Zitong, who rose abruptly one yearter than he did. Among the three, he was also the oldest; in his forties, he was tall, thin, with clear eyes that nced fearfully, his face was full of wind and frost [fig. hardships]. Bai Xin and Qin Wenchao were youthful, bold and powerful, with typical build of Shandong men, taller than average. Their attitude toward Xu Ziling implied hostility; they simply nodded slightly as a form of greeting, cold and rude. Bang! Li Zitong pped the armrest and shouted, Since you can speak on their behalf, General Ling ought to be able to tell me: why did you attack Donghai and kill my younger brother, and rattle my, Ol Lis foundation? Unyielding, Xu Ziling met his harsh and fierce gaze, and replied indifferently, Wu Wang ought to understand people. In time where men are contending for hegemony over the world, there is neither friend nor foe. Plus our humble army had used peaceful measured before using force; we did send Pengliang Huis Ren Er Dangjia to Jiangdu to pay a visit to Da Wang, to discuss our alliance, but Da Wangrefused. Hence from friend we became foe; how could the me be on our side? Moreover, it hase to our attention that Muyangs Li Xingyuan came to us in feigned surrender; left with no choice, we have to beat you at your game, to gain the initiative by striking first. He has not finished, Li Zitong suddenly stood up, pointed his finger at Xu Ziling and shouted sternly, Outrageous! Guards! Get him out and chop his head! The imperial bodyguards jumped from Li Zitongs left and right. Xu Ziling pressed his hand on the hilt of his saber. But while Shao Lingzhou and Shen Beichang were at a loss to know what to do, Zuo Xiaoyou sprang up and shouted, Hold on! The imperial guards swiftly halted their steps. Zuo Xiaoyou turned to Li Zitong and said, Working together both sides benefit, separated both sides perish. Da Wang please calm down. Panting with rage, Li Zitong stared hatefully at Xu Ziling for a good while before sitting back down in the dragon throne at the top of the steps. The imperial guards returned to his left and right. Zuo Xiaoyou sat down and spoke to Xu Ziling, This time Shao Shuai sent General Ling here, what good proposal do you bring? Because Xu Ziling had overheard Li Zitongs secret talk with Ku Ge earlier, he was well aware the opposite party was using both hard and soft techniques to create pressure, so that in the ensuing negotiation, they would be able to reap greater advantage. Feeling amused inwardly, Xu Ziling maintained that calm-and-unruffled-in-the-midst-of-chaos attitude; he said, General Zuo is right, working together both sides benefit, separated both sides perish. Du Fuwei could form an alliance with Shen Faxing, our Shao Shuai Army naturally can also form an alliance with your honorable side. If Da Wang thinks that this suggestion is satisfactory, we can continue our discussion, otherwise I have no choice but to leave immediately to report to my supervisor. Li Zitongughed coldly and said, Kou Zhong bragged that he can break our Jiangdus siege; did he really make that remark? Everybodys eyes were fixed on Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling smiled calmly and said, Indeed he made that remark! Letting out longughter, Qin Wenchao said, When Du Fuwei proimed himself hegemon in Jianghuai, and our humble master was preeminent at Shandong, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were just little rascals in Yangzhou. Within Zhuhua Bang, theycked the qualification to have even one leaf. And now, although they won a little bit of power, what made him think that he would be able to repel the allied forces of Jianghuai and Jiangnan? Xu Zilingughed involuntarily and said, Compared to Li Mi, who was able to move unhindered in the Central ins, can Du Fuwei be considered superior? Problem is whether Da Wang can be like Wang Shichong, who was at least able to defeat Li Mi. Even if we worked together earnestly, can Da Wang do it? Li Zitongs countenance changed greatly; because Xu Ziling was implying that since Kou Zhong was able to defeat Li Mi, naturally he did not have any regards on Du Fuwei and Li Zitong. Moreover, since the cooperation with Li Zitong was limited to the breaking of the Jiangdu siege, afterwards both sides will meet face to face to decide victory or defeat. Bai Xin was afraid Li Zitong could not restrain his anger, he interrupted, But how do we know that your superior is going to cooperate in good faith? Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, My humble superior Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are known to be one-word-worth-nine-sacred-tripods men [fig. words of enormous weight]; have you ever heard they broke faith and abandoned right [i.e.mit treachery]? There was a tight silence in the hall. Li Zitong tapped the armrest with his fingers; he spoke in heavy voice, Empty promises, what good will they bring? What kind of brilliant scheme does Kou Zhong have that he can solve the crisis in Jiangdu? Xu Ziling smiled and said, As long as Da Wang agrees to lift the blockade at the canal, send army provisions from Zhongli for our use, and provide urate intelligence about the enemy to us, we will immediately dispatch our troops to mount sneak attack to the enemys rear stronghold and army camps, so that their head and tail cannot attend to each other, while facing the enemy from the front and back. In the past, Li Mi was using precisely this tactic, so that Yuwen Huajis hundred thousand elite troops were tired of constantly running for their lives, much less Du Fuweis insignificant several tens of thousands Jianghuai Army? Zuo Xiaoyou said, At that time Li Mis fighting generals were like clouds, his armed forces strong and solid. Now Shao Shuai Army has just taken shape, how could you match them? Xu Ziling replied, This is just as Jianghuai Army cannot bepared to Yuwen Huajis elite troops in the past. Besides, we heard that Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyou do not bite the strings [? Must be an idiom, but I have no idea what it means]. Is that true, or false? This moment the crowd was beginning to be enraptured by the eloquence of this lobbyist; momentarily nobody was able to say anything. Skirting the issue, Li Zitong said, How many men and horses can Kou Zhong spare to help me? Xu Ziling confidently replied, How about twenty thousand cavalry? Li Zitong immediately said, Tell Guaren first; how do you intend to dispose of our Li nsmen from Donghai? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Da Wang indeed understands people; you ought to know that if we do not have any problem in working together, Da Wangs nsmen should not have any problem if they wish to leave. Li Zitongughed aloud and said, Very well! It is decided then. Xu Ziling already knew that this was going to be the final oue. By giving Li Zitong a hundred-benefits-without-a-single-harm proposal like this, how could the other party refuse? Book 21 - 12 – Flywheel Battleship Chapter 12 C Flywheel Battleship Xu Ziling returned to the Dew Bamboo Hall; Xing Rong came out to meet him and said, Luo Tangzhu and Xiliang Ge are talking inside, you ... Xu Ziling patted his shoulder and spoke in low voice, I want to talk to Qifei first, Ill talk to themter. Xing Rong promptly led the way. Only after talking to Luo Qifei did Xu Ziling go to the inner hall to see Luo Feng and Gui Xiliang. Before he was even seated, Luo Feng cheerfully said, Turns out its you, Ziling. I am relieved now. Xu Ziling was stunned, but he was embarrassed as well; he did not understand why Gui Xiliang trusted Luo Feng this much. Gui Xiliang exined, Feng Shu [uncle] has always taking a good care of me and Xiao Rong; we can keep secret from anybody, but we cant keep secret from him. Luo Feng asked, What did Li Zitong say? Composing himself, Xu Ziling smiled and said, Naturally he said pompous and moving words: both sides agree to form an alliance, together repelling big enemy. But we are prepared to work together with him, so we are together from the first beat. Frowning, Luo Feng said, Li Zitong is not someone who speak and keep his promise; Ziling, you have to be more careful. Xing Rong said, That is like scheming with the tiger to get the fur. Xu Ziling did not dare to reveal too much; he spoke in low voice, We are also prepared for this. Dont worry about it. Frowning deeply, Luo Feng said, Ziling, tell me, why did Kou Zhong brag that Xiliang can break Du and Shens allied armies? Now Shao Lingzhou is making a big fuss about it. How could Xiliang step down? Xu Ziling was slightly relieved, knowing that Gui Xiliang did not reveal the overall scheme. Nodding his head, he said, Hence the reason I came to find out the situation; perhaps I will need big help from Feng Shu. Luo Feng stared nkly for half a day. Finally he sighed and said, Now the dispute within our Gang has turned into a struggle whether we are going to rely help from Li Zitong or from Kou Zhong. This time Shao Lingzhou made big blunder. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Does he want to be the Bangzhu? With a cold snort Xing Rong replied, There is no question about it. The problem is that Xiao Zhong and you have established quite a lofty prestige within our Gang, plus there is the Song n supporting you, hence he does not dare to act blindly without thinking, afraid that you and the Song n would strike back. But now, with Li Zitong, this big backing behind him, he started to show off his prestige. Xu Ziling asked, How about Shen Tangzhu? Which side does he stand for? Luo Feng revealed a strange expression; he said slowly, Without him giving me a nod, how could I sit here listening to you, and worried about you? Hearing that, the three were stunned; they looked at each other. Luo Feng sighed and said, The fact is: this is the struggle between the young and vigorous group with new ideas versus the senior figure factions; originally the young faction was no match, but because of Kou Zhong and your, Zilings support, the whole situation is reversed. Except for Shao Lingzhous direct disciples, the rest of the younger generation arepletely behind Xiliang and Xiao Rong, because you guys represent some kind of newly-developing, forging-ahead power, as well as the far-reaching objective. Old Shen and I have been able to see this, plus we are afraid that Zhuhua Bang would all split up and in pieces; thereupon we act separately, trying hard to quiet down this internal conflict. Ay! Who would have thought that Shao Lingzhou would throw his lot onto Li Zitong, making things worsening to the point of hard to redeem? What are we going to do next? I am afraid nobody know the answer. After a short pause, he went on, Shao Lingzhous biggest mistake was promoting the arrogant, egotistical Mai Yunfei as a Tangzhu, making Old Shen and me feel that not only he practices nepotism, but also shortsighted, and did not understand the heart of the people. Spreading out his hands, he said, Do you understand now? Gui Xiliangs breathing turned heavy; he said, So thats how it is. Xu Ziling nodded, Things have indeed deteriorated until it is hard to redeem, he said, Presently Shao Lingzhou ispletely standing on Li Zitongs side, all we can do is just continue to deal with each other until the other side copse. Luo Feng said, I should not linger here too long. If there is any new development, you must notify me immediately. After Luo Feng left, the three you look at me, I gaze at you; nobody knew for which problem they ought to sigh with sorrow. Finally Xing Rong rose up to his full height and said, The more I think about it, the more I feel upset. How about reliving our childhood dream and go outside to stroll the night arm-in-arm, and wont go home until we are drunk? Nightfall, the decoratednterns were starting to lit up, the Great South Gate Street was bright and colorful with thenterns reflecting each other. The day market was closed, the night market was starting, giving the impression that the market opened 24 hours continuously. Moreover, the famous Satin Silk Street and the othernes and alleys crisscrossing the street, restaurants and pleasure quarters densely popted the area. It was indeed worthy to be called world-famous fireworks scenic spot [i.e. prostitution]; the unbroken string of war did not seem to have the least bit of influence. Along the well-lit long street, people were flowing like a tide, rubbing shoulders and following in each others footsteps, the shops disyed their specialties, curios and othermodities, the list was exhaustive, so that there was no way the people could take it all. The three felt as if they were back as little hooligans roaming the streets of Yangzhou; you pushed me, I shoved at you, they were striving to be the first and fearing to best along the stream of people, going all over the ce. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling said, It seems to be more prosperous than before! Xing Rongughed and said, The muddleheaded ruler died, naturally this ce is thriving. Gui Xiliang squeezed himself between the two, wrapped his arms around their shoulders, and spoke in great delight, This is called while we have time. Each time Jianghuai troops or Jiangnan troops retreated, traveling merchants from all parts of the country are flocking to Jiangdu like a tidal wave, to do their business. Every day there are hundreds of shipsing from all over the ce, otherwise, it wont be this lively. Along the street, not only shops stood in great numbers, there were also tightly packed vendors stalls, buying and selling all kinds of merchandise; everything that should be there was there, from daily necessities, ornamentation, down to fortune tellers, divinatory diagram, writing brush and ink stone, calligraphy and painting, as well as hawkers buying and selling second-hand articles. Some were using peddlers carts, some others were using shoulder poles, some were even using trays that they carried on their head. Everybody was giving it their all, loudly shouting their wares, trying to attract the customers. They all offered refreshments, toys, papercutting [a form of Chinese folk art], multi-colored string flower; in short, all kinds of snacks and knick-knacks. This kind of bustling atmosphere was buzzing to the ears and dazzling to the eyes. The market where Sister-inw Zhen used to sell steamed buns was another scene altogether. To the east were vendor stalls, while to the west people were setting up arenas for storytelling, people dressing up as god, ying the devil [fig. to mystify, scam], puppet show, even martial art demonstration, attracting thousands of strolling, roaming audience. The atmosphere was zing, brimming with fantasy [orig. as if drunk or entranced], a happy feeling of enjoying-the-present-in-the-midst-of-war. The three men jesting and joking with each other; while talking andughing, they reached the Willow Alley, which liveliness was not inferior to the Great South Gate Street. Although it was called an alley, the width was only somewhat narrower than the Great South Gate Street. It was also filled with endless stream of horse and carriages, and unending stream of fragrant-seeking guests like a swarm of bees. The Willow Alleys biggest distinguishing feature was the string of red cotton yarnnterns spread out along both sides of the alley; the natural sign in front of the pleasure houses front door, luring all kinds of men to enter through the door, from which the sound of music and song from the string and bamboo musical instruments leaked out and resonated in the night sky, mixed with the boisterous mor of people talking andughing, filling the long street. Even more, there were the female brothel keepers, twittering away with charming eyes and cheerful talk in front of the door to solicit customers, in this intenselypetitive, yet thriving and prosperous business, adding unbounded colors of spring to this red-light district. Although Xu Ziling did not like to visit a brothel, but because he was revisiting old haunts, he was greatly excited as well. While pointing this way and that, without realizing it they had reached the front door of the House of Heavenly Fragrance. As the doorkeepers saw the three, they respectfully said, Gui Daye and Xing Daye, please! Wait! Xu Ziling shouted loudly, and pulled the two men two steps back. Smiling wryly, he said, We can have a drink anywhere, there is no need to go inside! Xing Rong and Gui Xiliang were very happy to y with him; sandwiching him from left and right, they pulled him along straight into the courtyard. Someone immediately led them up the stairs, and took the three to the wooden cauldron window overlooking the night scenery of the Old City River and both of its banks; it was a luxurious side room where the view was extremely good. A pretty maid set the table with bowls and chopsticks, and served refreshments to apany the wine. And then at Gui Xiliangs request she withdrew out of the room. Laughing, Xing Rong poured wine for the other two; he sighed and said, To think that in the past we could only gaze at the ocean andment our inadequacy [fig. feel powerless and ipetent] looking at the House of Heavenly Fragrances front door, envying anybody who had qualification to step over the threshold, but now we are able to sit inside the most magnificent room in the building, drinking our fill. Heaven really did not treat us too meagerly. Gui Xiliang raised his cup and urged the others to do the same;ughing heartily, he said, Floating life is just like a dream, how much is ones time on earth? Acting recklessly, knowing the nature of the wine, one time of drunkenness solves a thousand worries. Tonight we, three brothers, must drink to our hearts content. His floating life is just like a dream, how much is ones time on earth? evoked the grief of losing Susu in Xu Zilings heart; in his sorrow, he drained the cup in one gulp. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong overturned the table, pped their hands and shriek in glee. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, You, two boys, must be hanging around here every night! Pretending to be mysterious, Xing Rong leaned over and whispered in his ear, The twodies Jing Man and You Xing are known as the Double Tops of the Heavenly Fragrance; their beauty shrouding Jiangdu, one cannot be considered visiting Yangzhou before listening to their strumming a qin and singing a song. Luckily you, two brothers, can be considered having a bit of face, especially if Madame Yuling arranged for them to take the time to sing a couple of his mothers folk song; I guarantee your eyes and ears will be equally blessed. Gui Xiliang on the other side also lowered his voice, The worst part is that you must disguise yourself as the Scarface Hero; otherwise, with our Xu Gongzis original little white handsome face [i.e. pretty boy], you might be able to move some youngdies fragrant heart, and then together with Xu Gongzi climb the Mount Wu, together passing through the spring night! Ha! While the two roared in wildughter, the ring knocker sounded. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rongs spirit was aroused, they called out in chorus, Come in! After patrolling the waterway along the entire length of the canal, Kou Zhong and Chen Changlin rushed back to the city, and went to a restaurant to have their dinner. After a few small talks, the topic returned to naval warfare. Kou Zhong asked, Is there any way to seal off the waterway? Frowning, Chen Changlin replied, We can always set up all kinds of obstruction in the water, to block ships from passing through; for example, build wooden fence at the bottom of the river, using sharpened logs or metal things to block the river. But things like this can be effective only for a short period of time; it is a passive defense, once the opponents scout find out about it, they can design countermeasure to break it. Hence the reason nobody has ever really been able to seal off the river. Kou Zhong recalled when he was traveling to Jingling in the past, Jianghuai Army put up iron chain across the river, which he chopped off using his saber; he said cheerfully, Thats good enough. What I fear the most is that Li Zitong would seal off our retreat route, so that our navy could not go back to the north. Chen Changlin said, But locking up the river like that, if the coordination is proper, it will be amazingly effective; we must not lightly ignore it. Kou Zhong could not helpmenting, I never thought that other than maritimemercial trade, Changlin Xiong is also an expert in naval warfare. Chen Changlin smiled and said, To domercial trade, we must first guard against pirates, even against the old Sui dynastys navy, which was not much different from pirates. If we were not knowledgeable over such matter, how could we seed? Traveling over the ocean, merchant ships are also warships. Strictly speaking, water battle on the river course is not my specialty at all, I am more adept in sea battle. Thinking about sea battle, Kou Zhong still had lingering fear; he said, Sea battle is indeed very different from river battle. Chen Changlin nodded and said, Battle on the sea ispletely reliant on the wind power. With adverse wind momentum, a distance of several dozen li is the same as several thousand li; it cannot be reached in a short period of time. Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely, If we could control the coast, not only we can transfer the troops rapidly, we can also intercept the enemys navy. Chen Changlin shook his head and said, That is not possible! Finding the enemy on the ocean is literally tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. Moreover, if the fleet is out to sea all day long, in case a storm came, they will bepletely wiped out. Therefore, naval battle emphasizes weather conditions; dont fight if there is no wind, dont fight if there is strong wind. When hurricane is about to arrive, when the sandy road is unfamiliar, when the thieves are many we are a few, when there is no anchoringnd ahead, in all cases: dont fight. And if we do fight, courage and strength have no ce; instead, relypletely on arrows and rocks to attack from a distance. Ay! Rocking the hull around to strike the enemys ship would be a hundred times more difficult than on the river. Moreover, we pursue on the tail wind, the thieves also run away on the tail wind. Since there is no ambush can be setup, no danger can be guard against. Being able to break one or two ships can already be considered ten thousand good fortune. To dominate the vast ocean is easier said than done. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up with spirited sharp light; he said, Changlin Xiong indeed have deep understanding of naval battle, hey! If we arending from the sea to attack the enemy, wont they have any way to intercept us? Full of confidence, Chen Changlin said, If following the route that I design, I guarantee that the enemy wont even be able to touch our shadow. If when we disembark we can also urately grasp the wind momentum and the rise and retreat of the tide, we can imitate the effectiveness of ambushing troops. Chuckling softly, Kou Zhong said, That will work! All along I was worried on how to transport Changlin Xiongs more than a thousand younger generation troops secretly to Jiangdu. Although Zhi Shu looked to be very confident, I know Old Dus formidability very well; one thing goes wrong, the entire brilliant scheme will fall apart. But now there is Changlin Xiongs move of ambushing troops from the sea, it will solve all the problems. Chen Changlin stood up suddenly and said, And now I need to immediately discuss this matter with Zhi Shu; tonight well rush to intercept the fleeting to Liangdu. This n is certainly foolproof. Kou Zhong pulled his back and said, On our return trip, is it possible to snatch Shen Faxings batch of merchant ships and warships in passing? You are so familiar with his navy; as soon as the ship goes out to the sea, there is nothing that the opponent could do, it might save us a lot of energy. Chen Changlin said, If we can catch them off guard, it could be done. But at most we will only be able to steal seven, eight ships, albeit at an extremely high risk. It seems like its not worth the effort. Kou Zhong said, In that case, I dont have any choice but to abandon this greed, the idea of getting some readily avable things conveniently. Changlin Xiong, please sit down first, let Xiaodi show you something. Chen Changlin sat down again. He took the treasured book on mechanism that Kou Zhong handed over to him. Please turn to page 101, Kou Zhong said in low voice. Following the direction, Chen Changlin turned to page 101, and was astonished, What ship is this? he asked. Pointing to the drawing in the treasured book, Kou Zhong proudly said, This is called the Flywheel Battleship. It utilizes the reaction force of the water as the ship is being propelled forward; it is more effective and uses less energy than using oars. Even if there is no wind, it can travel a hundred li in a day. Basically it is a ship with some kind of wheel installed on it, on the left and right below the chord to paddle the water. It glides over the wind and the swelling wave, swift like using sails. Easy to manufacture, and it is quite durable. And then, pointing to the text below the drawing, he said, Just read these words, Flywheel Battleship depends on these four wheels, each wheel has eight paddles, and required four men to operate it, and can travel a thousand li in a day. A thousand li is definitely an exaggeration, so I discounted it some. Able to travel a hundred li in a day should be pretty good. Emotionally moved, Chen Changlin said, Who thought about this? Kou Zhong read further down, With the wheel paddling the water, put people in front and behind, step on the car to move forward or back, top, middle and bottom, three flows, rotate as in flying, the enemy can only be startled in astonishment. [Sorry, I cant make any sense of this paragraph.] Kou Zhong softly said, It was Lu Miaozi, Lu Dashi [great master]. Have you heard about him? Chen Changlin heaved a deep sigh and said, Of course I have. Xiaozi [little kid, referring to self] submits. I will immediately have my men retrofit the ships per the drawing, and hide it in the belly of the ship. With such wheel-operated warships, wont the waterways in the world be a ce where we can go on the rampage? The two looked at each other, and both broke in longughter, together. END OF BOOK 21 Book 22 - 1 – Shock at Every Step Chapter 1 C Shock at Every Step Xu Ziling barely stepped out of his room when he immediately wanted to step back inside. It was not because he suddenly changed his mind, or perhaps he suddenly curbed his murderous intention, but because he suddenly sensed that he was facing an extreme danger. In that split second, he knew that his secret identity has been prated, and that the enemy wasying out wless ultimate troop disposition, to let him fall into the trap by himself. The seven, eight zhang-long corridor was empty. By the time the door behind him was closing, all around him was closed doors, leaving only the decorated window on the east end of the corridor on his left, and the stairs leading down to the lower level at the west end of the corridor on his right. The evening breeze was blowing gently into the corridor from the east window, so that the three pcenterns hanging along the corridor were swaying. The sound of string and woodwind instruments, theughter and voices of people chatting and moring faintly prated the doors of the other five rooms on their wing. Even from the room at the western end of their wing, where the enemy was, came the extremely graceful sound of Zheng [guzheng, long zither, with 13 to 16 strings]. On the surface, everything was so happy and moving, charming, gentle and romantic. But the Secret to Long Life has triggered spirit of consciousness in Xu Ziling, enabling him to urately grasp theyer uponyer of murderous intent set up with him as the target. He put his saber on his back and slowed his movement down, while his mind was churning at lightning speed. The biggest problem in front of him was that he must not avoid the problem by walking away from it. Apart from protecting Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, he also had to protect Madame Yuling, who did not know martial art. The first thing that came to his mind was how did his identity get exposed. Lu Miaozis mask could be said to bepletely wless, it could be absolutely passed off as genuine; otherwise, how could he deceive Zhu Yuyan? Slowly he reached the middle of the corridor. Taking a deep breath, his gaze fell on thest room at the western end of the corridor. Even if Li Zitong, Shao Lingzhou, and the others got suspicious because of his surreptitious conducts, they could not be 100% sure that he was Xu Ziling in disguise. Even if they had a sliver of suspicion, they would not dare to take risks by killing him in such an unusual time. Because supposing they killed the wrong person, they would suffer Kou Zhong and the real Xu Zilings revenge. Upon further contemtion, as far as Li Zitong was concerned, protecting Jiangdu was his top priority. Even if he knew for sure that he was Xu Ziling, he would not lightly and presumptuously use force, to avoid saving a little only to lose a lot, and to invert root and branch [i.e. to put the cart before the horse]. Ruling out Li Zitong, only Xiao Xians side remained. Immediately Yun Yuzhens lovely countenance appeared in his mind. Many things, which were previously vague, immediately became clear. When he stepped out of the door just now, he sensed five enemies were waiting in the dark, ready to deliver him a fatal blow. Two men were lying in ambush behind the door on either side of the western wing room. The other two were separately hiding behind the door of two empty rooms. But the most threatening enemy was hiding outside the decorative window on the eastern end of the corridor. This persons martial art skill was high; it should not be inferior in any aspects to Xu Zilings. He was certain that this person was the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai. This was really not because he made associative connection with Yun Yuzhens arrival, but it was purely his feeling; some kind of hard-to-exin feeling, a feeling he started to sense that Hou Xibai was lurking like a ring tiger watching its prey somewhere outside the east window, just like outside Luoyang, when he closed his eyes, he could see in his mind that Hou Xibai and Ba Fenghan were facing off against each other. As for the other four enemies, it was due to the fact that their bodies emitted invisible, yet real, true qi, which aroused his alertness. He could even detect the strength and weakness of each individual enemy; he was even ablepletely grasp the subtle changes in their intention. As all these thoughts and perceptions were shing through his mind at the speed of lightning, Xu Ziling had already taken steps toward the west wing. The enemys killing momentum immediately elevated and condensed one step further. Except for one person, they were all highly controlled and filled with subtle calction, waiting for him to step into the deathly gate of the siege, at which point their power would just reach the peak, so that they would be able to deliver the most severe attack, and put him in thend of perdition. The exception was, quite naturally, Mai Yunfei. Not only his skill had heaven-and-earth, cloud-and-mud difference with Hou Xibai, he was also far inferior to the Da Li Shen [Titan] Bao Rang, the Vicious Dog Qu Wuju and the Exiled Disciple Su Chuo, three men. He practically put his internal strength to its limit immediately, and was unable to remain in that state, so that he was revealing the fluctuation in his energy level. Up to this point, Xu Ziling had not even seen the enemys shadow, yet he was able topletely grasp the actualyout of the enemies, so much so that he could deduce that by the time he advanced five or six steps forward, the enemies would go all-out in attacking him. And he was even more clear, knowing beyond the shadow of doubt, that he had no ability to deal with five enemies, where Hou Xibai was one of them. Even if it were a face-to-face confrontation with Bao Rang, Qu Wuju and Su Chuo, he waspletely without any odds of sess either. The only sliver of hope was to exploit Hou Xibais must not be exposed secret identity. Unless Hou Xibai was 100% confident that he could kill people to shut his mouth, he would never show himself to Xu Ziling as an enemy. Of course this was only is estimate. If he guessed wrong, Xu Ziling would have put his life to an end. Chi! Chi! Chi! Xu Ziling took three steps in session, passing the first enemy hidden in the side room on the left. From the emitted overbearing, well-trained true qi, he was positive that behind the door was the overbearing, well-trained Da Li Shen Bao Rang. Although the other party deliberately restrained his qi to hide, there was no way he would be able to evade Xu Zilings close to magical induction and efficacious senses. It should be noted that when martial art masters were having a face off, other than the substance of the physical exchange, the greater key was the invisible battle between the essence, qi and spirit, three aspects. To martial art master like Xu Ziling, whose senses were unusually supernatural, there was practically no such thing as sneak attack. As soon as the murderous intent arose in the opponents heart, it would immediately generate reaction. Even Yang Xuyan, an expert in concealing his presence, was unable to hide from him. Much less Bao Rang and the others, who were not really experts, but temporary asassins. This moment Xu Ziling was taking his fifth step, and wasing to the door where an enemy was hiding behind the door to his right. The enemys qi momentum immediately sped up and thickened, hence he knew exactly that based on his current speed, within two more steps he would reached the death point, where the enemy would attack in full force. Xu Ziling sensed that behind this door ought to be the Exiled Discipe Su Chuo, because his sawtooth sabers de was exuding a cold qi. Quickly he focused his attention, and entered the no person no self state, the realm where his spirit reached the extremely quiet boundary, before taking the next step forward. Life or death, victory or defeat, would be decided within these two steps. The sail boat turned around to return to Liangdu at full speed. Kou Zhong and Lup Fang were standing on the bow, discussing important matters. [Trantors note: the original did not have separator here. Luo Fang said, Xiao Xian appointed top rank great general under hismand, Dong Jingzhen, and the Commander-in-Chief. He deployed nearly thirty thousand elite troops to enter Yiling. Also using civilian ships, they might cross the river to the north any moment. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Then howe he has not crossed the river yet? Is it because he is afraid he might convenience Li Zitong? Evidently Luo Fang was unable to reply to his question. Shaking his head, he said, I am not too clear about that. But other than having misgivings toward Du Fuwei, Xiao Xian still have to deal with Dong Tings Lin Shihong. The longer he cant pacify the south, the longer he cant go up north with all his strength. Pondering deeply, Kou Zhong said, What exactly is the rtionship between Xiao Xian, Zhu Can and the Three Bandits? Could it be that Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong did not know that if they let Xiao Xian gains stronghold north of the River,ter on they need note down to the arena? Luo Fang was much more familiar with this aspect; like an unceasing torrent he replied, Currently the situation south and north of the River is unprecedentedlyplex. After Du Fuwei taken over Jingling, he holds back his troops without moving. In turn, he joined Shen Faxing to attack Jiangdu violently. Those with discerning eyes can see that he wants to divide east and west, two routes of going north. Therefore, in case Jiangdu fell, by using Jingling as his base of operations, he ought to move his troops toward our Ranch and Zhu Can, Cao Yinglong, and the others, to stop Xiao Xian from crossing the River. Under this kind of circumstances, if Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong are willing to cooperate with Xiao Xian, it would not be surprising at all. Kou Zhong said, But everybody knows that the Ranch does not have any ambition to fight over the world. Those you have ambition to have the Ranch should be because they wanted to obtain your warhorses; therefore, if they really attacked the Ranch, who will reap the benefit? Scratching his head, Luo Fang said, This is not too clear; they must have some agreement. Kou Zhong shook his head, There cant be any agreement, he said, After obtaining tens of thousands warhorses, who would be willing to hand it over? Therefore, I still say that Xiao Xian, Cao Yinglong, and Zhu Can still harbor ulterior motive, each one carries out all kind of strategies, and this is precisely the crucial point; it is also the key for us to gain victory. We may be able to deal with Shen Faxings same old stuff, and shift our attention to deal with Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong, to ensure they all have grey hair on top of their head. His spirit greatly aroused, Luo Fang asked, How? Kou Zhong reached out and put his hand on his shoulder; smiling, he said, Lets talk some more when we get back to Liangdu! If we can make the arrangement tonight, tomorrow we will go to the Ranch at full speed. At that time we can carefully investigate this matter! Shang Xiuxuns absolute beauty jade countenance suddenly emerged in his mind, while a strange fleeing floated in his heart. While Xu Ziling appeared to be taking a step forward, with his right hand tightly gripped the saber behind his back, he twisted his wrist outward, so that he held the saber backhandedly across his back, the de facing the door behind which the enemy was hiding. His stored up true qi, which had reached its peak level, erupted from the palm of his hand, enormous, without-equal force shot from his wrist out, the saber turned into a streak of lightning, striking and the door and burst in. At the same time, without the slightest hesitation Xu Ziling changed direction from moving forward slowly to flying backward, like a ghost, with the speed that was indiscernible by naked eyes, returning to the door where the Da Li Shen Bao Rang was hiding. Twisting his body around, he sent out a full-force punch at the enemy, separated by the door. All these consecutive andplex movements were done in the blink of an eye, and everything waspleted before the enemy even began to be alerted. The first to react was Hou Xibai, who was hiding outside the window at the eastern end of the corridor. His murderous aura immediately rose up to its peak, his true qi shot out, but he was still one step toote. Whoosh! As if going through a thin sheet of paper, the steel saber effortlessly prated the door and went all the way in, up to the handle. Almost at the same instant, Xu Zilings seemingly powerless, light-as-a-feather fist, struck the wooden door right at the face of the standing Da Li Shen Bao Rang. Craack! A crack in the shape of the core of a spider web appeared on the wooden door where the fist hit, followed by cun-size fragments raining down on Bao Rangs iron-like thick and solid stature, as well as his horrified beyond-belief face. Ah! Miserable hiss came from behind the door where the saber was breaking into, followed by the sharp crack of another door being shattered; the scream quickly went away. Bang! Xu Zilings punch exploded on Bao Rangs arms, which he crossed in panic to block the strike. Gentle and soft spiraling energy was condensing into a beam of straight power, which turned from slow to fast, like a hammer shattering the well-trained qigong shielding his body, with which Bao Rang went on the rampage around the south, and straight into his meridians. Bao Rang let out a muffled groan as he met the fist and staggered back. Suddenly he spurted a mouthful of blood, his back crashed heavily against the window some distance away opposite the door, and fell down to the lower level. All across the second floor, the voices of people and the sound of music suddenly stopped. Bang! Only this moment did Mai Yunfei and the Vicious Dog Qu Wuju charge through the door. Xu Ziling moved to the middle of the corridor. Although he was facing Mai Yunfei and Qu Wuju, who had a big hammer in each hand, Xu Zilings mind was focused on Hou Xibai behind him. Compared to before, Mai Yunfeis martial art has progressed tremendously. His footwork and sword technique matched seamlessly. Although the shing sword did not look magnificent, it carried a kind of advancing-courageously momentum. Qu Wuju was much more cunning. This man was tall and thin, with long horse face that made people less than impressed. His two eyes were so narrow that they looked like slits. His nose and mouth were separated quite far on his long face, so that if one would suddenly catch sight of him, he would think that he just came across the Diaosigui [ghost of a person who died by hanging] who had just escape stealthily from theherworld. He deliberately fell behind a little; obviously he wanted to let Mai Yunfei be the vanguard to bear the full brunt of Xu Zilings attack, while he would reap the benefit from the side. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried thanking the heaven and thanking the earth. If the two men worked as one in fighting desperately against him, forcing him to focus all his attention to deal with them, then Hou Xibai, who was watching from behind, would have the opportunity he could exploit. But with Qu Wuju being a smart aleck like this, Hou Xibai lost this rare opportunity. Xu Ziling suddenly shed away; not only he evaded Mai Yunfeis sword stabbing at his chest, he even shed into the gap between the two opponents. While Mai Yunfei and Qu Wuju were startled, Xu Ziling already moved his palms, so that the palm shadows filled the air, separately pping the sword and a pair of iron hammersing at him with different moves. The two enemies staggered and fell back. Mai Yunfeis skill was far inferior; he spun around and fell into the room where Bao Rang was hiding. The palm of his hand cracked from the shock, the sword fell from his hand. Qu Wuju was worthy to be called a martial art master; although his two hammers were hit as if they were struck by lightning, he was still able to hold on to them, albeit with difficulty. While retreating toward the stairs at the western end of the corridor, he simultaneously createdyers of hammer shadow to guard against Xu Ziling pursuing to follow up the victory. Actually, even if Xu Ziling did his best to fight, Qu Wuju would have been able to hold his ground for ten moves, eight styles. The problem was that he had seen Su Chuo and Bao Rang, whose martial art skill was more outstanding and superior to his, were wounded and had to flee far away, so in his heart he already grew timid. And then with magical shenfa Xu Ziling shed near him, he was unable to unfold and unleash the formidable power of his iron hammer. His courage fell, he then decided to run away. Xu Ziling did not pursue at all, he simply stood still in the middle of the corridor, while at the same time he knew for sure that Hou Xibai has already left Hence the battle of the House of Heavenly Fragrance ended without clear conclusion. Evening of the next day, Luo Qifei, who had been out to scout the enemy situation, returned to report to Xu Ziling, Just received Shao Shuais secret order; there is a change of n. Xu Ziling jumped in fright, and quickly asked for details. After exining the current situation, Luo Qifei said, Shao Shuai is asking whether you, Xu Ye is able to get away ande with him to the Flying Horse Ranch. The situation over there is unusually critical. Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong separately attacked Yuanan and Dangyang, two cities, making it difficult for the Flying Horse Ranch to deal with both at the same time. If their entire force came out at once, we are afraid the enemy might enter by exploiting a weak spot. Recalling Shang Xiuxun, Fu Dajie, Xiao Juan, Luo Fang, Liu Zongdao, Xu Laotou [old man Xu] and other good friends, a strong emotion welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Ever since Susu passed away, he especially treasured the friendship that came along his life on earth, because it was so heartbreakingly fragile! Luo Xiong, what do you think? he asked indifferently. Luo Qifei said, In here, we have the battle of wits, not the battle of strength; you can leave everything to me. In the Ranch over there, it is a hard and continual battle that extremely in need of Xu Yes assistance. The only problem is to find a good excuse to tell Li Zitong, to avoid unnecessaryplication. Inwardly Xu Ziling was happy for Kou Zhong, because by seeing that Luo Qifei dared to shoulder such a heavy responsibility, he knew that Luo Qifei had guts. This kind of talent was indeed something that can be encountered, but cannot be sought. Currently, there were not a few capable people serving under Kou Zhong; Xu Xingzhi, Xuan Yong, Jiao Hongjin, Luo Qifei, Bu Tianzhi, Chen Laomou, Chen Changlin, Ren Meimei, were among the prominent ones, each with his or her own strength. These were originally recalcitrant people, yet they were all willing to throw their lives in for Kou Zhong. Naturally it was because of Kou Zhongs outstanding charisma and hismunicate-with-the-heavens ability. But more importantly, it was because Kou Zhong sincerely treated them well, absolutely unlike Wang Shichong, who exploited people in everything-for-self-and-selfish-profit way. After pondering for a moment, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Thats easy. I came here merely to pass on the letter and to get in touch with Li Zitong. Now that the mission is aplished, naturally I can leave. After a short pause, he asked, Do you have any problem in cooperating with the Zhuhua Bang people? Smiling wryly, Luo Qifei said, I certainly trust Gui Ye and Xing Ye, but I dare not guarantee that other people are not the spy that Shao Lingzhou nted. Therefore, I intend to, together with the other brothers, leave together with Xu Ye, and then secretly heading toward the rendezvous point with Bu Fu Bangzhu. Otherwise, if their spy keep a close watch over us at every step, the whole set of great ideas will go down the drain. Xu Ziling nodded his agreement, thinking that he ought to find time to talk with Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, two kids. Book 22 - 2 – The Truth In The Rain Chapter 2 C The Truth In The Rain Under the hazy moonlight, Xu Ziling unleashed his footwork, hurrying along the southern bank of the Huai River, heading west, toward the ce he and Kou Zhong were going to rendezvous. After taking his leave from Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, he officially notified Li Zitong, before going on board the ship, together with Luo Qifei and the others, and left. Naturally in the end only an empty ship returned to Liangdu, since one after another Xu Ziling, Luo Qifei, and the others left the ship along the way, everybody hastening onto his separate destination. Xu Ziling left the ship at the intersection between the Hang Gully and River Huai, and travelled at full speed for nearly six sichen, through the night and day before finally reaching the jungle region at the foot of Jia Mountain at the southeast of Zhongli County. He lit a fire and made a signal. Immediately there was a response from the mountaintop half a li away. First it was a spark of light, followed by two other shes of light, indicating Kou Zhongs hiding ce. Warmth flowed through Xu Zilings heart; Susus misfortune, Ba Fenghans leaving far away, had strengthened his feeling that he and Kou Zhong were mutually dependent for survival. At the same time, he was not without an emotional stirring; in a mere few months, Kou Zhong had sessfully established his own power. The people gathered by his side were not a random group of mob, but a group of organized and highly efficient powerful masters. It was not only obvious from the urate signal transmission just now, but also in his ability to deploy his troops across the river in such a short period of time, in one breath hastening over nearly a hundred li toe to this ce. Merely the speed of the marching army was enough to make people clicking their tongue. In the blink of an eye he rushed into the sparse forest area at the edge of the jungle, where the Shaoshuai Army was resting against the tree, under cover of the dark, dense jungle. Everybody was holding their breath and calming their qi, while the horses were eating the grass quietly. Led by a squad leader, Xu Ziling ran up a small hill, where Kou Zhong, awe-inspiringly, stood under the bright moon, with Xuan Yong and more than a dozen generals by his side. Looking at Kou Zhongs profound, standing-tall-high-mountain-peak majestic silhouette, a peculiar feeling appeared in Xu Zilings heart. Kou Zhong now was not the Kou Zhong of the past, naturally he was not the Kou Zhong who stood on top of Jingling city wall facing the Jianghuai Forces magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, whose heart continuously wanted to beat the retreating drum. Kou Zhong has now be themander-in-chief, who viewed war as a game of chess, who moved his troops whileughing and joking, who, in the future, would be more than a formidable opponent to the warlords contending for hegemony over the world. Kou Zhong suddenly looked back, shed his snow white teeth to Xu Ziling, andughed heartily, With Ling Shao by my side, he said, We have enough power to resist their ten thousand strong powerful army. This time, if we dont chop the Three Big Bandits head, I swear I wont take my troops back! The group of generals thundered their response; their voices resonated over the mountaintop, making Xu Ziling felt Kou Zhongs innate charisma and charm, which surpassed others, in his blood vessels. Coming to Kou Zhongs side, Xu Ziling halted unhurriedly and with tranquil and calm voice he asked, How many people in total? Apanying Xu Ziling overlooking the mountain forest and the in below under the moonlight, Kou Zhongs eyes were shing brightly as he spoke in heavy voice, Altogether we have 1500 men, distinctly one-style cavalry, most of the warhorses are Khitans top quality fine colts, with light adornment and simple equipment. Humph! Li kid has his mothers ck-armored Elite Cavalry, I, Kou Zhong, have Shaoshuai Wonder Troops. Inevitably there will be a day we will have apetition to see which one is more formidable. Xu Ziling asked, How do you organize it into squads? Kou Zhong smiled and said, I am using the Plum Blossom Formation taught by Lu Dashi, dividing the one thousand five hundred men into ten units. The main force of the Shaoshuai Army consists of six hundred men. From the rest, every hundred-man team is under themand of a Pianjiang [deputy general]. Ling Shao, do you have any suggestion? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Speaking about troop formation, you ought to be more adept than me. Where is Luo Fang? Kou Zhong replied, He must rush back to the Ranch first, to notify beautiful Changzhu to cooperate with us, to put on a joint performance at the border. The stage will be the two big cities by the River Er, Dangyang and YuanAn. And then, heaving a long sigh of relief, he said, Laotianyes n is really ingenious; while everybody is thinking that I must be looking after immediate gains and losses, by fully supporting Li Zitong dealing with Ol Die, I secretly travel a thousand li to the west, to attack the enemy in an ambush. This will be such a moving heroic undertaking. Realizing he had no choice but to throw himself into Kou Zhongs state of mind, Xu Ziling changed the subject by asking, Has the route been fixed? Kou Zhong said, We are going to pass through ins between Zhongli and Qingliu. Although along the way we cant possibly greet Ol Dies troops stationed at Qingliu; child will have to ask forgiveness for being unfilial. Ha! After that well sessively cross the Fei and Jue, two rivers, before trekking the most arduous part of the journey by passing through Dabie Mountain Range, and then circumvent the Dahong Mountain, and finally cross the Han River between Xiangyang and Jingling. From there, three sichen on fast horse we will be able to raise our wine cup and reminisce in happiness with our beautiful Shang Xiuxun at the Ranch! Standing on the other side, Xuan Yong joined in, If all goes well, we can reach our destination within ten days. Xu Ziling said, Why havent we hastened on your journey then? Arent we supposed to rest during the day and travel at night to maintain secrecy? I very seldom see Ling Shao to be this anxious, Kou Zhongmented, Must be because you want to hurry to be the knight in shining armor. Hee! Ling Shao please dont be angry. Because we need to pass through Qingliu, we must send scouts to investigate the right course of action, so that we can execute the secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang [fig. to feign one thing while doing another] tactic. We, two brothers, have not seen each other for so many days, I want to take the opportunity to talk about everything since we parted. And then he issued an order; the group of generals mounted their horses and dispersed, back to the unit under theirmand, leaving only Xuan Yong, one person. Mountain breeze was blowing gently. The magnificent starry sky made everybody felt even more tiny, while also seemed to be even more grand, some kind of an intoxicating feeling that they were part of the joining of heaven and earth as they ran their course. Xu Ziling took a deep breath and said, Hou Xibai nearly made his move on me. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, My God! Finally he is showing his original treacherous face. Under what kind of situation did you meet him? By this moment Xuan Yong has left to inspect the troops as well. Xu Ziling narrated what happened. When he was done, Kou Zhong breathed out a mouthful of cold air, and said, Luckily you were able to remain calm. If it were me, I would definitely stake out everything to force Hou Xibai, that kid toe out. That would have been bad! But immediately his sword-eyebrows furrowed as he said, Not right! My guess is that even Bao Rang and the others were not aware that Hou Xibai was waiting outside the window ready to help; so much so that Yun Yuzhen herself did not know that he was secretly lying in wait on the side. Somehow this fellow must have learned about this matter from Yun Yuzhen, so that he wanted to reap the benefit quietly. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Arent you just making baseless conjecture? Kou Zhong shook his head; his face showed a faraway look, as he spoke slowly, Do you remember at the deserted vige that day, we were harmed by Wan yaonu that we nearly lose our lives, and then that kid Hou Xibai came charging in and inadvertently saved us? That kid still put on an act moving his brush to paint, and was quite convincing in doing so; clearly even Wan yaonu did not know his identity. Hou Xibai is able to maintain his secrecy so well, even when there was nobody around he still did such a good job; how could Yun Yuzhen be able to see any w in him? I am pretty sure Yun Yuzhen is still thinking that that Hou kid is a good person. Xu Zilings eyes were shing with murderous intent. But one negligence in a hundred secrets, he finally exposed the foxs tail, he spoke heavily. Kou Zhong looked deep into his eyes, Are you thinking of Shi Feixuan? he asked. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Thats right! It is clear that Hou Xibai was groomed in a certain demonic sect and was sent out especially to deal with Shi Feixuan, supposedly the most outstanding martial art master, scheming by using the most despicable means to influence Shi Feixuan, so that Wan yaonu woulde out the winner. Smiling, Kou Zhong said, Do you think we should send someone to that bald Liao Kongs ce, asking him to forward our message to Shi Feixuan? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, That will look a bit like something that a lowly person would do. Are you saying that I ought to tell Shi Feixuan that Hou Xibai was hiding outside the window waiting for an opportunity tounch a sneak attack on me? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, So whats the problem? Shi Feixuan is not an ordinary gal at all, she has appropriate attitude toward ck and white, plus we are doing this for our own peace of mine, why do we care what her Niang is thinking? Even if in the future Shi Feixuan is going to help Li kid, I still do not want to see her being harmed by crafty scoundrels. Xu Ziling burst outughing and said, Your words sound so dignified, yet beneath the surface you are only afraid I might lose the opportunity to cultivate friendly rtionship with Shi Feixuan. I guarantee that if Hou Xibai wanted to unleash his masculine charm on Shi feixuan, he will definitely bump his nose and retreat in discouragement without any meritorious deed. Wed better think about our own problem first! Kou Zhong grudgingly said, Whats not good about Shi Feixuan? You, this kid, seem not to care at all. Xu Ziling cut him off, While rushing here, I have had a chance to think about this matter all the way through, my conclusion is vastly different to your previous statement; would Shao Shuai care to listen? Remaining tranquil and calm, Kou Zhongughed and said, Ling Shao has something to say, this Commander naturally has to wash his ears and listen respectfully. Contemting, Xu Ziling said, I think Xiao Xian is using the painting by holding two brushes evil scheme; while sending people to get rid of me in Jiangdu, he is also attempting to lure you toward the Flying Horse Ranch, nning on setting up an ambush to kill you. Yun Yuzhen knows our character like the back of her hand, she clearly knew that we would definitely respond to the Flying Horse Ranchs call for help. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, I have also thought about that; therefore, I used fast to control the slow, with the hope that the enemy would not be able to estimate our speed, while we secretly march the army a thousand li, before Xiao Xian cross the river from Yiling, strike and defeat the Three Big Bandits and Zhu Can in one move, and then you and I quietly go to Guanzhong to try our luck. Is it possible to do it the other way around? Xu Ziling said, We strike and defeat Xiao Xians main army crossing the River, and then turn our operation toward Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong. Kou Zhong stared nkly for a moment, and then broke into a big grin and said, Man, oh man, why didnt I think about that before? All right! While even in his dream Xiao Xian would never think that we dare to make our move against him first, we take him down to y the music. Just consider it repayment for Su Jies blood debt. At the mention of Susus name, the eyes of the two boys were zing with fire of hatred. The light in the distance suddenly flickered. Lead the horse! Kou Zhong barked, Its time to leave! Early morning the next day, Shaoshuai Army was passing through the ins north of Qingliu City without any trouble, and reached the north bank of River Chu, and take a rest in the forest by the river. Too bad the weather did not cooperate; heavy rain poured down suddenly. Other than those in guard duty, the rest had no choice but to hide inside their tents. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong went to a pile of rocks by the river, letting the heavy rain soak their bodies. Kou Zhong plopped his butts on one of the big rock and said with augh, Its really fun! Only in the rain will human beings feel a little bit of rtionship with Laotianye, and only when our clothes arepletely soaked like this will we feel closely rted to Him. Xu Ziling remained standing with his hands behind his back, looking at the long river, where three fishing boats were braving the wind and the rain, sailing toward the west. He spoke indifferently, The moment we felt really close rtionship was the days after Niang had just died, when we trained the Secret to Long Life in that small valley. At that time I really felt that my entire being seemed to be one entity with the heaven and the earth; no separation, no self. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day; finally he nodded and said, Those were indeed unforgettable times. We really must find time to go back there to see; but Niang once said that we must not observe religious rites for her. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Your current situation is just like you are racing against time. Li Mi has copsed; no one can stop Li Shimin out of the mountain pass. Therefore, you, Shao Shuai, must establish enough strength to contend against him before the Li Family sweeps the world; otherwise, regret wille toote. How could you find enough time to sneak away? Kou Zhong pondered for a moment, and then spoke heavily, Although it would be difficult for Wang Shichong to reachpetence, but theres still Dou Jiande, Liu Heita in the northeast, Liu Wuzhou, Song Jingang in the north, Xue Ju, father and son, in the west, who have not copsed yet. The Li Family has their internal worries, if Li kid wants to be well-regarded, I am afraid he will still have to wait for a period of time. Xu Ziling felt the rain hitting his face was cold; he spoke softly, Supposing Wang Shichong really forced Li Mi that he has nowhere to go except for surrendering to Li Shimin, then what happen? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Do you think that would be a good thing or a bad thing for Li kid? Xu Ziling looked down and fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong for quite half a day, and then he spoke heavily, If it were somebody else, it would be like showing the wolf into the house. But the Li n has a very deep foundation, and Li Shimin is a natural talent with all around expertise in martial art study and military strategy and tactics, so formidable that even Li Jing and the others pledge their allegiance to him, Shi Feixuan also thinks very highly of him, so he could put an air of the Son of Heaven ordained by the Heaven itself. Li Mi naturally is unwilling to resign himself under someone else, but would others think differently than Li Mi? Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, You are right; even I, at one time, wanted to run errands for him, and that time he has not be like this yet. If Li kid, for no reason, is able to make a group of strategic experts and powerful generals like Wei Hui, Xu Shiji, Shen Luoyan, and their peers vowed loyalty and devotion wholeheartedly to him, to surpass him would be difficult above difficult. Ay! Tell me, what should I do? Xu Ziling remained silent. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height, came over to Xu Ziling, reached out to grasp his broad shoulders firmly, hung his head, and said, Say it! One lifetime two brothers; why do you keep it stuffed inside your heart? Xu Ziling replied slowly, Could it be that Su Jies death still cannot make your heart dead to war and vendetta killing? Kou Zhong contemted for a moment, and then spoke in low voice, Are you willing to let Xiang Yushan and Yuwen Huaji off? Xu Ziling said, Naturally we cant let Yuwen Huaji get away. But Xiang Yushan is, after all, little Lingzhongs birth father, and now he has already suffer the retribution, plus Xiao Xian is really not Li kids match; how about if we let them off? Kou Zhong continued, Yin Gui Pai murdered Bao Zhifu, Shi Jie, Ma Gui, three men; how are we going to settle this debt? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, This matter and what I am advising you to do are two unrted matters, how could you confuse one thing with another? This world is chaotic enough, and now you add more confusion by creating the Shaoshuai Army. Ay! Kou Zhong apanied him in smiling ruefully; he said, Are you telling me to tell my men that I dont want to do it anymore? Of course you cannot be that irresponsible, Xu Ziling said, But your problem right now is just a matter of face; if you are willing to turn around and throw your support to Li kid, I guarantee he would be able to unify the world in a short period of time, and then themon people will be able to enjoy a bit more peace and happiness. Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Are you telling me to work together under one master with Li Jing, who are responsible, at least half, for Su Jies death? Xu Ziling sighed and said, I did not advise you to be Li Shimins subordinate, you only need to hand over the power in your hands as a present to Li kid, and then you and I can go to take Yuwen Huajis head, and return to the small valley to offer sacrifice to Niang. Afterwards the heaven and the earth can be ours to roam freely, we can strike Yin Gui Pai in delight until they are in a sorry state, to rid the earth of cmity. And when Little Lingzhong is a bit older, we can take him out of the Pass to look for Ol Ba; wont we be carefree? Kou Zhong took his hands away from Xu Zilings shoulders; stepping toward the shore, he looked at the rain sttering on the river, creating small sshed on the surface of the water. He spoke heavily, You have not talked with me about this matter for a very long time; why pouring out whats on your mind today? Xu Ziling walked over to his side, and put his hands on Kou Zhongs shoulders. With grief in his voice, he said, Su Jie is gone, I dont want to lose you, this good brother of mine. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, You really believe that I am going to lose? Xu Ziling replied dejectedly, Our problem is that we are too exposed; even more, we are involved in the Duke Yang Treasure secret. Before, we can y hide-and-seek game with the enemy, but now the target is too obvious; we have be the target of multitude arrows. It does not matter if Xiao Xian seeded in crossing the river, or who win who lose between Ol Die and Li Zitong, or perhaps whether Li kids army is moving out of Guanzhong, or Dou Jiande, Liu Wuzhou deployed their armies to the south, the first thing they all want to do is to pull you, this Shao Shuai, down. Kou Zhong could feel the heartfelt concern Xu Ziling had for him; nodding, he said, Its not that I have not thought about that problem, otherwise I would not be afraid to proim myself king or take the title Shuai [Commander], but to modestly and honestly calling myself his mothers Shao Shuai [reminder: juniormander] instead; it sounds awe-inspiring, while the fact is it is worthless. Of course, the most ideal is that after digging the Duke Yangs treasure, I will see whether I want to be a rich merchant supplying world-ss jewels and arms, or to be the emperor? But you also ought to know how this Shao Shuai came to be. It could be said that the situation is forced, but can also be described as if you ride a tiger, its hard to get off. Xiao Ling! Man only lives for several decades, it will be over in a snap of the fingers. You mind what you love to do, no need to care about my life or death. Right now in my situation I have no way to retreat. Ha! A real man is to be buried in a horses hide [idiom: to give ones life on the battlefield], it is also a joy! Someday I will die in battle, you dont need to avenge me. Su Jies death has made me unable to enjoy the pleasures of life. Do you understand my mind? Xu Ziling grabbed Kou Zhongs shoulders forcefully, and said with a wry smile, Of course I do. What you are doing is called beat the snake following the stick [see Book 3 Chapter 3], using retreat to advance. Ay! As your brother, I have already exhausted all mental and physical efforts. Originally I was thinking that only after the Duke Yang Treasures whereabouts is decided, I will really consider whether I ought to go out and contend for supremacy over the world. Who would have thought that the ghosts open the way the gods pushing forward, you have be his mothers Shao Shuai? Things happened too fast! It was not until Su Jie died that I was awakened from the dream, and thinking about these things. Your current glory is just short-lived [orig. the night blooming cactus shows only once], it is difficult to maintain for a long time. In less than a year your Shaoshuai Army is expanding and consolidating, yet it is still difficult to be a fierce army division. In short, your current situation still needs the arrival of luck; otherwise, dont even think that you will surpass Li kid. The question is: do you have time to wait? Kou Zhong said, I am afraid Lu Miaozi had the same way of thinking as you, otherwise he would have told me directly where the Duke Yang Treasure is. I have a feeling that you are also certain that I will not be able to find the Duke Yang Treasure, hence the reason you are willing to apany me ying this treasure hunt game. How about this: give me three months. If the treasure has not appeared yet, I will do as you said: I will hand over the troops and generals under mymand to pass on as a present to your sweetheart, let her decide to whom she should give it to. But if Laotianye shows me favor and let me find the treasure for real, I will have to fight him, no matter what; I wont regret it even if I died. But I have one condition. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What condition? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Even though Ling Shao will help me in the treasure hunt with your heart and soul, you must not deceive me. Am I that kind of person? Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice. The sound of footsteps approaching, braving the rain, Xuan Yong rushed over and spoke in low voice, We caught a spy! The two boys were stunned. Book 22 - 3 – The Dragon Roams Everywhere Chapter 3 C The Dragon Roams Everywhere Several zhang outside the depth of the forest, the spy had his hands tied around a thick tree trunk on his back, his clothes were dyed with blood, his countenance pale, his age was about twenty, his facial features were ordinary. Xuan Yong whispered, We did ording to what Shao Shuai ordered: setting up sentries all around the camp. This man came sneaking in, and I captured him with my own hands. This kids martial art skill is quite solid, his technique is from Jiangnan school. What did he say? Kou Zhong asked. Xuan Yong replied firmly, Naturally he imed that he was just passing by. Humph! This ce is the wilderness of a deste mountain, even if he went hunting, he should have a reason toe here. From his ent, he sounds like a Zhejiang native, how did hee here alone? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Even if he is a spy, he should have some aplice; did you find any other men? Xuan Yong shook his head and said, I already send my men to search everywhere in the mountain and forest nearby, yet we have not found anybody else. Looks like we must resort to torture, Kou Zhong said, Are you an expert? Leave it to me, Xuan Yong replied. He was about to step forward, Xu Ziling pulled him aside. He could not bear to torture the prisoner. Before we ascertain his identity, using torture does not seem to be too good, he said. Stunned, Xuan Yong said, Since he is unwilling to speak out, how could we ascertain his identity without torture? Kou Zhong smiled and said, The invisible pressure to the mind is the highest technique of torture. This is called using torture to cut down a scheme. Come! The three walked over to the young, robust man. Waving to the guard to dismiss him, Kou Zhong noticed that the man was closing his eyes. Heughed and said, He is unwilling to open his eyes, naturally he is unwilling to answer questions; we have no choice but to use torture to force confession. Take your time in torturing him, let this hero have the opportunity to consider his own situation, and then choose to make a smart choice. Pei! The man flung open his eyes and spat out a thick saliva with traces of blood in it, shooting toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong effortlessly turned his head sideways and thus the spittle hit an empty space. The man revealed a surprised look; evidently he had never expected that Kou Zhong was capable of evading his attack. But then he quickly closed his eyes again. Angered, Xuan Yong pulled his dagger and shouted, Let me cut his flesh slice by slice. Seeing the disdain look on the mans face, Kou Zhong praised him inwardly; turning to Xuan Yong, heughed and said, How can a dagger be better than a pair of pliers? Guard! Get me a pair of pliers! Immediately someone acknowledging the order from a distance. Xuan Yong and Xu Ziling looked at Kou Zhong in bewilderment. But Kou Zhong walked around to the back of the tree, to look at the mans tied hands. Heughed and said, This Lao Ges fingers are long, delicate and smooth. Ha! Walking to the front again, he called out, Guard! Take off his boots. The man opened his eyes and spoke angrily, You want to kill, you want to cut my flesh, go ahead and do it, why do you want to take off my boots? Kou Zhong raised his hand to stop his man who was about to take off his boots; he smiled and said, Because I want to pull out your toe nails one by one, and I am going to do it slowly. People say that the pain on ten fingers goes through to the heart; I wonder where would the pain on the toes go to? I have no choice but to test it on Lao Xiong. Dont underestimate toenails. Without those, it is tantamount to crippling your martial art skill, and dont even think you can use your legs to report your findings here; we dont even need to kill you. The mans face changed several times; finally he spoke in distress, I practically do not know who you guys are, I took a shortcut this way because I wanted to hurry on toward Hefei [capital of Anhui Province] to participate in professional societies general assembly called together by Rong Fengxiang. Hearing that, the three were emotionally moved. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged eye signals, they both recalled that since Zuo Youxian also showed up at Hefei, presumably those two were ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Sects, perhaps they even had a friendly rtionship between them, and now it was quite possible that the professional societies general assembly was arranged by Zuo Youxian. Kou Zhong chuckled and roared into aughter, Turns out its a misunderstanding, he said, Guards! Release this Renxiong. The rain is getting heavier! Let us take shelter in the tent and change into dry clothes, and drink his mothers two cups of wine. This time Xuan Yong and that man looked at each other in confusion; they did not understand why with just one sentence the man was rewarded with being released on the spot. While Xu Ziling was untying the rope, Xuan Yong whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, Shao Shuai has forgotten that you issued the strict order not to drink in this mission; we basically did not bring any wine. Kou Zhong cleared his throat and said, Then well drink a cup of water! The man shook his hands, which were numbed from being bound with ox-tendon rope. You are really willing to let me go? he asked in suspicion. Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said, We are not utterly-vicious-extremely-evil people; since knowing that this is just a misunderstanding, other than offering an apology, what else can we do? The mans spirit greatly aroused, he asked, Friends honorable surname and great given name? Smiling, Kou Zhong pointed to Xuan Yong and said, He is called Xuan Yong. Before he had any chance to introduce Xu Ziling, the man said in shock, In that case you must be Shao Shuai Kou Zhong, and the other gentleman must be Xu Ziling! Xuan Yong nodded and said, Your guess is spot on. Whats friends honorable name and surname? The man was a lot friendlier; he replied readily, I am the son of Longyou Bangs [lit. roaming dragon (the title of this chapter) gang] Bangzhu Ze Tianwen, Ze Yue. Hearing that, Kou Zhong, three men looked at each other, simply because they had never heard the name Longyou Bang; they could not even utter conventional greeting such as Ive long looked forward to meeting you or something like that. Trying to smooth things over, Kou Zhong said, Lets get out of this rain and talk further in the tent. Fortunately Ze Xiong only suffers minor injuries, otherwise we will feel even more guilty. Ze Yueughed aloud and said, Being able to make three Xiongtais acquaintance, a little bit of injury is not worth mentioning. Turned out the reason Longyou Bang was not known in Jianghu was simply because it was a business oriented organization, with Longyou County in Dongyang Region [in Zhejiang Province] as the center of professional society. The organization was quite tight, they had buying-low, selling-high operations in all parts of the country, therefore, they enjoyed the good reputation as The Dragon Roams Everywhere. After introducing the Longyou Bang, Ze Yue cheerfully said, The region bordering our hometown has more mountains but less farnds. The flow of most neededmodity to sustain live for the mountain people is only by carrying it on shoulder pole. Sailing boats and driving carts, engaging in buying and selling have be a way to seek livelihood. My Die started his business by trading wood, and now, using our Gangs good reputation, we have at least ten thousand people doing business for us in all parts of the country. But the number of men who are really under our Longyou Bangs banner is only a few hundred. They are the real backbone of our Gang. And then he took out a bronze medal [i.e. bronze que bearing a business name or logo, etc.]. One side was cast in dragon pattern, the other side had four characters Long You Bian Di [The Dragon Roams Everywhere]. Outside the rain was getting heavier, crisp and clear breeze was rolling in from the tents opening. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong asked, What is your main business? Ze Yue replied, It is called not familiar, not doing. We mainly trade local specialty of the mountain area for local necessities. Bamboo, wood, paper, tea, bamboo shoot, oil, herbal medicine; the seven main industries. And we buy things that the mountain area iscking; for instance, rice grain, cooking salt, silk cloth, cotton sloth, et cetera, forming a circtionwork. All the professional societies in various regions, big and small, always give us a bit of face. And then he happily said, To be able to know two gentlemen is indeed the blessing of three lifetimes. That day when you routed Li Mi, I was hurrying from Guanzhong toward Luoyang. Among a number of heroes today, who can surpass Shao Shuai and Xu Ye? A little bit embarrassed, Xu Ziling changed the subject, Right now fire beacon is everywhere [i.e. rm signal over long distance], does it have any adverse effect to your business? Ze Yueughed and said, Peacetime has peacetime way of doing things, wartime also has a set of ways of doing things. Like just now, I was treated as a spy, definitely it was not umon. But usually as long as I sh the Longyou Bangs token of authority, everybody would give me a bit of face. Kou Zhong awkwardly said, Ze Xiong is ustomed to do business, your eloquence is indeed outstanding. Oh, right! Didnt you say that Rong Fengxiang is holding some his mothers professional societies general assembly at Hefei? What exactly is that? Ze Yues countenance sank; he sighed and said, That is actually a very troubling thing. Recently Rong Fengxiang ascended the Luoyang Bangs Longtou [big boss] throne, it already has great impact. And now he also assumes the position of Elder of the most-powerful-in-the-north Bai Ye She [Hundred Professional Societies], he is like a tiger that has grown wings. This time he came to Hefei, his objective is precisely to call on the professional societies and trade organizations north of the River to join Bai Ye She. On the surface he is calling all businessmunities to unite, but in my opinion, he must have another ambition. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, What exactly is Bai Ye She? Ze Yue exined, It is just an alliance of business and professionalmunities from various parts of the country north of the River. Elders have no governing authority over the professional societies under their jurisdiction, but they can represent each businessmunity and trade power from various regions during the Hundred Industries General Assembly, to determine a variety of prices, and to mediate business disputes. Their influence could be big, could be small, depending on who the Elder is. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged nces; both felt that this could not be a good thing. Rong Fengxiang was the personification of the demonic sects martial art master Pi Chen; if he was to be the big boss, the chief of professional societies and trade organizations of the world, what good would that do? Isnt that a good thing? Xu Ziling tried to probe, Why is Ze Xiong troubled? Smiling bitterly, Ze Yue said, How could I not be troubled? In doing business, the most important thing is flexibility and freedom, that we do not have any constrain; but now Rong Fengxiang is putting on an air of the big taking an unfair advantage of the small, by using the power and influence of the northern Bai Ye She, he is coercing us to join his Bai Ye She ... If you dont join the association, Kou Zhong cut him off, What will the consequence be? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Ze Yue said, For the time being, it is still unclear. It depends on how well he can control the professional societies in the north; but since we want to do business in the north, naturally it will have some impact. Is your honorable gang ready to join, or already decided not to do so? Xu Ziling asked. Ze Yue replied, The reason I wanted to go to Hefei a bit earlier this time is to consult with the experts from various regions to get a good understanding of what they are thinking. If everybody is eager to join, our situation will be very difficult, we might have to follow the crowd and give in. Surprised, Kou Zhong said, How could Ze Xiong be that kind of person? Smiling wryly, Ze Yue replied, When all is said and done, I am just a businessman; whether I stay or I move, I have to consider the pros and cons first. Oh! I have not yet consulted two gentlemen, you take the trouble to move the troops in such a military expedition, who are you dealing with? Kou Zhong replied, Who else but Cao Yinglong and Zhu Can, those two big bastards? Feeling deep veneration, Ze Yue said, Turns out those two who kill people like scything x, the demons who dont speak the rules of Jianghu. If there is anything that requires Ze Yues help, as long as it is within my power, I will certainly do it at all costs. Kou Zhong said, Youd better keep your mind on your business first! But about Rong Fengxiang, we, two brothers, cannot ignore it, because he is another big bastard; he is even more terrifying than Cao Yinglong and Zhu Can. Therefore, we must take the time to go on a trip with Ze Xiong to Hefei; luckily it is on our way. What? Ze Yue cried out involuntarily. Kou Zhong put on the mask he wore while battling Li Tianfan and Shen Luoyan at the Flying Horse Ranch, transforming him back into the middle-aged, wild man with eagle beak nose and a face full of beard. Naturally Xu Ziling did not dare to disguise himself as either Yue Shan or the Scarface Hero; hence he took out a mask that he had not worn yet. Changing shape in a single shake, he became a yellow-faced man with a rather tacky appearance, older than Kou Zhongs disguise. The two boys you look at me, I look at you, both were amused. Braving the rain, the three hastened on with their journey. In only two sichen traveling on foot, they arrived at Hefei in the afternoon. Sure enough, people of professional societies and trade organizations from all over came to attend the assembly. People and carriages came and went in an incessant stream. As soon as the three entered the city, they were met by Longyou Bangs people, who already arrived one step ahead. Obviously, Ze Yue, the son of the Gang Leader, had a very high position, although he did not introduce his twopanions, his subordinates did not dare to ask. In Hefei, Longyou Bang opened a teashop at the main street connecting the north and the south gates of the city. The three were going to stay at the rear courtyard of this shop. While Ze Yue was listening to his mens report, since the two boys felt tired, after changing into dry clothes, they retired to their room to rest. Kou Zhong kicked off his boots, and sprawled his limbs on the bed [orig. in (big) character shape]. He spoke to Xu Ziling, who was slumping on the chair, staring out the window, watching the rain, I really dont understand Lu Miaozi, why is it that every mask he made does not look ttering? Couldnt he make something a bit more attractive and pleasing to the eye? Xu Ziling muttered, Tell me, what do you think of Mr. Lus appearance? Kou Zhong replied, When he was young, he must be very handsome. Didnt you see he was still a good-looking fellow when he was already old? But what does it have to do with the mask? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, I dont know; there must be a little bit of rtionship! When people are born, they are already destined to be handsome, ugly, horrid, or pretty. Under normal circumstances, this will not change, so we can only ept the reality. If I were Mr. Lu and I had the power to change the weather, naturally I would want to change into an entirely different face, to experience another, distinct identity, a different perception. Kou Zhong nodded and said, If you put it that way, it does have a bit of truth in it. All right! Back to the topic: should we join hands to ughter Rong Fengxiang? The rain stops! Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong sat up from the bed; looking out the window, he said, This matter must be decided, we only have two days and one night to destroy Rong Fengxiangs scheme. Ay! I really dont understand why Wang Shichong did not deal with this demon. Yang Gongqing should have told him that Rong Fengxiang is Bi Chen, and Bi Chen is Pi Chen. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Too much self-confidence is not a good thing. Even if Pi Chen is stupid enough to identally be alone to give us the opportunity to make our move, we may not necessarily be able to kill him. Much less he has Zuo Youxian watching his back, plus this is Fu Gongyous territory; there is no ce for us to show off. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Its not that I have too much self-confidence at all; its just that we dont have much time. Xu Zilingughed and said, If we cannot ovee the enemy by force, we must outsmart them. Isnt your belly full of crafty schemes? How about selecting one and telling me, so that I can increase my knowledge? Kou Zhong happily said, Listening to the tone of your voice, it seems that you already have a card up your sleeve. Tell me quickly. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, We must first understand the situation! Tearing down a house is always easier than building a house. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, That makes sense. By randomly swinging our hand, we can smash the cup, but to manufacture a cup, we must go through multiyered process, such as kneading the y to form the cup, and then put it into the kiln to burn. It can be said that Rong Fengxiang could reach the top position in Bai Ye She as an Elder also falls under this category. First he had to be big businessman with the help of his money and power [orig. long sleeves help one dance beautifully], then became the president of a business society, but still, it was because he gained the advantage of bing the big boss of the biggest gang in the north that he seized the position as the Elder of Bai Ye She. Now he even wants to expand his influence north of the River,ter on his evil clutches will reach the south; the process is really not easy. But as long as we can expose his identity, we can shatter his beautiful dream just like casting a cup to the ground. Xu Ziling said, Rong Fengxiang can take Shangguan Longs ce as the Luoyang Bangs Laoda [number one, chief], its definitely not as simple as it appears on the surface. I dare say that there must be remnants of Yin Gui Paipeople within the Gang who could speak up on his behalf, plus Rong Fengxiang himself is in collusion with Yin Gui Pai in the dark ... Shaken, Kou Zhong said, You are right. It is quite possible that in order to gain big advantage in their struggle to conquer the world, most of those his mothers Demonic Sects Eight Big Martial Art Masters are willing to stand on the same front, to get hold of the wind, to get hold of the rain, all over the ce to gain benefit at others expense. Without Zuo Youxian giving him a nod, how could he hold Bai Ye She general assembly in Hefei? And then he added, Youd better disguise yourself as Yue Shan, call on your old friend Youxian Yaodao to fish for some information. Xu Zilingughed and cursed, I guarantee that before we finish drinking a cup of hot Xu Ziling tea, I would have revealed the cloven foot [idiom: to unmask ones true nature]. You, this kid, clearly want to harm me. This moment Ze Yue entered the room with grave expression; he said, I am going to see someone; if he is willing to support the refusal to join Bai Ye She, there will be a lot of people responding. Sitting at the edge of the bed, Kou Zhong asked, Who is this person? Ze Yue walked over to the chair next to Xu Ziling to sit down, he said, His name is An Long. This man is known as the Sichuan Fat Merchant, the biggest wine dealer in the southwest, but he also runs other businesses. He is the chief of multiple business associations. Kou Zhong nodded and said, In this world, everybody drinks, and he is the biggest wine seller in the southwest, certainly he has a bit of influence. Does he know martial art? His martial art skill is mediocre, Ze Yue replied, But his sworn brother is Sichuans powerful hegemon, the Wulin Panguan [Wulin (Martial Art World) Magistrate], Xie Hui. Xie Huis son Xie Wenlong married Song Ques daughter Song Yuhua. With such a strong backing, whod dare to provoke him? Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, I heard that Xie Huis dominance and his standing is the most prominent outside the Four Major Family ns, and Xie Huis martial art isparable to the Heavenly Saber Song Que. Oh! I must see this man. Hows the Bai Ye Shes the situation? Xu Ziling asked. Ze Yue replied, Rong Fengxiang and his beautiful daughter have arrived in Hefei three days ago. They are now moving about all over the ce, lobbying business leaders who areing here from all over the ce. Bai Ye She general assembly will be held in the Zongguan Mansion tomorrow morning. We dont have much time. Kou Zhong sprang up and said, Theres no time to lose. Lets go see An Long first, and well talkter. Steam was rising in the public bath. In the VIP bathroom at the west hall, the two-zhang square bath was monopolized by An Long alone. More than a dozen bodyguards and personal attendants were spread out around the bath and all entrance and exits, each one had bulging taiyang acupoints [temples], evidently they were not ordinary martial art practitioners; it was a clear sign of An Longs wealth and influence. An Long was a big, fat man. It was unclear whether it was because he had too much excess fat that his hands, which appeared particrly short, seemed to grow directly from his big belly. His t-top, melon-shaped head, seemed to being out straight from his fat shoulders; plus with his two thick fat lips, it was evident at a nce that he was a man who paid particr attention to eating, drinking and being merry. The water in the bath was overflowing to the rocky bs of the edge of the pool, making people wondered whether the water level was like this because of him. This moment he was perched in the corner of the pool, while a subordinate squatting by the pool was preparing some shredded tobo in water pipes to produce the smoke. He held the pipe next to An Longs lips, so that with glug, glug noise he swallowed clouds and blew out fog, giving the impressionfort and decadent, twisted feeling. When Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong and Ze Yue, three men arrived inside the bathroom, before they even had a chance to speak, An Long alreadyughed aloud and said, Tianwen Xiong cannote, virtuous nephew can; its the same. Come quickly, apany me enjoying this pleasure. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs heart skipped a beat. If they revealed the age and skin behind the masks, their youthful bodies woulde out, then they would reveal the cloven foot immediately. Ze Yue, however, showed his talent in facing a stressful situation; heughed and said, How could little nephew dare to disobey An Laobans [boss] order? And then he quickly took off his clothes and shoved it into the twos hands, and said, You two wait for me outside the door. With only this kind of affectation and order, he established the two boys status as his attendants in front of An Long and his men, but of course they were still able to head the conversation inside the public bath from outside the door. Outside was a small hall where the attendants of the VIP guests could take a rest. It only had two sets of table and chairs; An Longs men upied one of them. After exchanging propriety and greetings, the two sat on the other table and chairs, enjoying the fragrant tea and pastries that the bathhouse servants were serving. This moment An Long was inquiring from Ze Yue the wellbeing of his father, the Gang Leader of Longyou Bang, so they had not talked about the main issue. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, What do you feel about this fatty? Xu Ziling responded softly, He must be a hidden-deep martial art master; his outward appearance is just a scam. Kou Zhongs expression turned grave; he nodded and said, I also feel that deeply; as soon as I entered the bathroom, I sensed some kind of hard-to-describe demonic qi, my heart was trembling, just like when I confronted Wanwan. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, That is really bad! This dead fatty is the sage presents as an ordinary person like this, he must be Rong Fengxiangs caliber; even worse, he might be one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, so this time, no matter what Ze Yue say, he would only waste his lips and tongue. Kou Zhongs expression was only very difficult to describe; he said, Lets hear what he has to say before making our judgment. Ze Yues voice came over, This time I am going out, Die warned a thousand times, instructed ten thousand times, that in everything little nephew must consult An Shishu [noble uncle, younger than ones father], so I wont make any mistake. Outside, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Its finished! inwardly. If Ze Yue really listened to An Longs instruction, wouldnt he immediately change his standing and join Bai Ye She? An Long let out a burst ofughter, which sounded like a pigs cry, and said, Your Old Die think so highly of me, An Long; Ol An will immediately send him a jar of Hei Zhen Tian [lit. ck treasure sweet] wine. Its the best among the wines; the color is sparkling and translucent, clear and prating, shiny and dazzling, mellow and rich, sweet and beautiful, the taste is sweet and sour. After drinking it, the saliva and spirit will be in harmony, the stomach warm, the kidney restored, nourishing and strengthening the body. All those empty perspiration, night sweats, grieved spirit, shady exhaustion, and illness will disappear with the wines arrival. If I had not gotten a batch of ck pearl rice from Tianzhu [modern day India], I would have not been able to brew this kind of wine, hence it can only be gifted, but not sold. And of course the recipient of the gift is limited to old friends with whom I have fate for friendship like Tianwen Xiong. Listening to this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were bbergasted. Merely speaking about eloquence, this man had definitely reached the pinnacle; his mouth like a torrent, nothing was difficult. Moreover, each word was powerful and resonating [orig. if thrown on the floor, it will make a sound], there was a very high degree of persuasiveness. Upon self-inspection, after listening to him, the two really wished to find one such jar to have a taste, to see if he was exaggerating. Letting out a hollowugh, Ze Yue said, My Die thanks An Shishus profound affection. Hey! This time Rong Laoban calls for our associates north of the River to join the Bai Ye Association, I wonder what Shishus view is. An Long pondered for a moment before responding in low voice, This is really an important matter. Although we have always been doing things each in his own way, but we get along harmoniously, just like xiang xue [fragrant snow] wine mixed with jia fan [lit. added to food] wine; the existing strong fragrance of xiang xue and the sweetness of jia fan will disy thick, pure aroma, which gives lingering aftertaste. Rong Fengxiang ising north unting his power, clearly because he wanted to expand Bai Ye Shes influence. This matter must be carefully weighed. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling put down the load that has been weighing their heart for half a day, thinking that they have been overly suspicious, and have misjudged An Long, or perhaps even though An Long was of demonic sect, he was standing in opposition to Rong Fengxiang, hence he secretly pulled his hind legs. Delighted, Ze Yue said, In that case, Shishu is saying that we are to join together and refuse to join Bai Ye Association. Lowering his voice, An Long said, If we do that, we are big idiots. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other; they werepletely lost. Inside the bathroom, evidently Ze Yuesprehension was not much better than theirs. He spoke haltingly, Shishus meaning is ... p! It was unclear whether An Long forcefully pped Ze Yue, or he pped his own fatty meat to liven things up, but all they heard was An Longughing and saying, Yue Shizhi [noble nephew] has always been a bit soft. If it were your Ol Die who came over, he and I would have the same way of thinking. Business is business; the most important thing is to make money. Joining Bai Ye She would only bring benefit to business, without any harm; what do you have against it? Ze Yue asked the question Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong most dying to ask, But Shishu just said, hey! There is something wrong with Rong Fengxiang. An Long replied, Whether there is something wrong with Rong Fengxiang is not important at all, the most important thing is that after we join Bai Ye She, we ought to decide who would be the Elders, who would have the right to speak. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong suddenly realized, they finally understood that they had notpletely misjudged An Long; their only mistake was thinking that he was Rong Fengxiangs ally. Clearly he coveted the Bai Ye She Elder position, and wanted to snatch it away. Ze Yue was too stunned to say anything. An Long continued with assurance andposure, Although Rong Fengxiang is the big boss of Luoyang Bang, I have the support of Sichuans dominant power and the Song Family of south of the five ranges. If your honorable Gang also issues a call for action, then he will be well taken-care of. When the general assembly starts tomorrow, we will simply coerce him to elect new Elder. Ha! I want him to steal the chicken but cannot nibble away at the rice. Listening to this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a big headache; who would have thought that the situation was thisplicated? Momentarily their mind was in chaos. Book 22 - 4 – Starting Rumors and Creating Trouble Chapter 4 C Starting Rumors and Creating Trouble In the restaurant, Ze Yue spoke in low voice, helplessly, Tell me what should I say? Should I say that I do not support him? Curious, Kou Zhong asked, Did your Ol Die really tell you to listen to his instruction? Smiling bitterly, Ze Yue replied, He only told me to look for An Long and consult him, simply because Die thought that he would not willingly sumb under Rong Fengxiang. This time I am spinning a cocoon around myself [idiom: enmeshed in a trap of ones own devising]. If I told him that earlier I was just being polite, wont it be a big joke? Xu Ziling said, This man An Long is really not simple; why did you say that his martial art skill is ordinary? Stunned, Ze Yue replied, But everybody says so. Xu Ziling said, With regards to identifying martial art masters, our school have a unique way, purely based on qi induction; it is very difficult toe up with any evidence. Ze Yues countenance changed, he said, If it is true, than that is indeed a possibility. Do you think he is a Yin Gui Pai man? His heart moved, Xu Ziling said, Within the demonic schools, apart from Yin Gui Pai, there are still a lot tributaries; for example, Zuo Youxian is from a sect called Dao Zu Zhenchuan [lit. Dao/Tao ancestors handed-down teachings]. However, if they are lumped together as Yin Gui Pai, perhaps it wont be totally wrong either. Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes lit up; heughed softly and said, Kid, you are messing up with those wicked people again! Naturally Ze Yue did not have interlinked-mind like they did; staring nkly at them, he asked, What are you guys talking about? Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, Ze Xiong need not mind what we are talking about. Tonight you must go to bed early, so that your spirit will be refreshed to deal with the Bai Ye general assembly tomorrow. Kou Zhong interrupted, But there is one very important thing: is Ze Xiong really unwilling to join the Bai Ye She? Smiling bitterly, Ze Yue said, All along I am just a businessman, everything depends on whats at stake. If even An Long join the association, there will be nock of people responding to his move, then we might be isted. That would be very bad. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Ze Xiong is so forting, you have enabled us to grasp the current situation so clearly. While we are at it, what is Ze Xiongs impression on Yin Gui Pai? Ze Yue pondered for a moment before answering, We are legitimate businessmen; what we are most afraid of is naturally swindlers and those who extort others. All Yin Gui Pai people seem to be full of hatred and have deep enmity toward everybody else,pletelyckingradeship, ready to harm others at the slightest pretext; nobody wants to provoke them. Kou Zhong rxed; he said cheerfully, As long as most people participating in the Bai Ye general assembly tomorrow are of the same opinion as Ze Xiong, it will work! Lightly trembling, Ze Yue said, Two gentlemen are not going to expose Rong Fengxiang and An Longs identity on the spot, are you? Thats not funny, especially ... ay! Xu Ziling smiled and said, Ze Xiong, dont worry, we cant possibly put your honorable Bang in difficult situation. Ze Yue was skeptical, What good n do the gentlemen have? he asked. Kou Zhong patted Ze Yues shoulder, and said with augh, The less Ze Xiong know, the better. Dont go around lobbying those of the same opinion either, to avoid Rong Fengxiang and An Long find out that you are not willing to join the association. Turning toward Xu Ziling, he said, Xu Junshi, please point out the next step. In the small alley, the two boys sat side-by-side on a street corner, just like during their little-hoodlums day back in Yangzhou. Puzzled, Kou Zhong said, The sun has already gone down! What exactly are we going to do? Xu Ziling said, First of all, I want to see if An Long has seen through us. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Do you have a feeling that we are being followed? Xu Ziling replied, When we just left the bathhouse, I had that feeling, but it disappeared very quickly. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Your unique ability has never been wrong; who might have the skill of following us without you discovering his track? Xu Ziling said, Definitely martial art masters of Wanwans caliber or near that level; cant say for sure, but it might be Wanwan herself. Kou Zhong let out a heavy sigh and said, That possibility is too great! We can hide from anybody else, but we can never hide from this yaonu. Xu Ziling said, Even if Wan yaonu could see it through, before the general assembly tomorrow morning, she wont make any move against Longyou Bang, we can take advantage of tonight to stir up Rong Fengxiang and An Longs nests. pping his thigh, Kou Zhongughed and said, These words fit with what I have in mind. How are we going to proceed? Would Ling Shao give direction? Xu Ziling said, The first move is called starting a rumor. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, We have only one night; are you saying that we ought to go everywhere and all directions to tell people? Xu Zilingughed in spite of himself, At the restaurant just now, didnt you put an act like youpletely understood? Turns out it was indeed just an act. Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, I thought you were going to assert that Rong Fengxiang was Yin Gui Pai man! Xu Ziling nodded and said, You did not guess wrong. Right now lets see if we could get a dozen or so jars of paint. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, All the general stores are already closed; where could we buy some paint? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Ziling replied, I said get, not buy. If we buy, people will be able to trace it back to us, but if we get it, the paint might just disappear with no reason. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up, Good boy, he eximed, You are surely an expert in starting a rumor. Xu Ziling elbowed Kou Zhongs nk, sprang up, and said, Lets go! The two boys, carrying a pail of red paint in their left hand, a big paintbrush in their right hand, stopped in front of the outside wall facing the street of a house at the southern part of the city. It was already past the third watch [between 11pm C 1 am], they saw no other pedestrian on the street; there was only the sound of dogs barking inside the houses. Due to the bad weather, the dark clouds were hanging low; after nightfall, the city of Hefei fell into deste darkness. Putting down the pail of paint, Kou Zhong gesticted in front of the wall, which was about a zhang and a half tall, and said, With characters about a chi high, it should be enough to write Rong Fengxiang is Pi Chen, yaodao [demon Taoist] of Yin Gui Pai in disguise, fourteen characters [trust me, the original Chinese has 14 characters]. Xu Ziling nearlyughed until his belly hurt, but he knew that he must notugh aloud because he might disturb people from their clear dream, so he struggled hard to refrain fromughing. Chuckling softly, he said, Why be superfluous? Rong Fengxiang is Yin Gui Pai yaodao is enough. Who cares about his original name? No need to draw legs on a snake even more by adding in disguise at the end, two redundant words. Fortunately, Kou Zhong was wearing his mask, so that his blushing face was not visible. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat and recited, Rong Fengxiang is Yin Gui Pai yaodao, ha! Uh, it is a bit inappropriate. Yin Gui Pai is well-known as a Sect that produces yaonu [female demon], and not yaodao. Since this is a rumor anyway, why not give him a position? For example, Rong Fengxiang is Yin Gui Pais secret Protector of the Law, or something like that. Xu Zilingughed so hard that he had to put his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder for support. Gasping for breath, he said, Since there is secretw protector, there should also be secret sect leader. So whats the difference between these secretw protector and secret sect leader with the ordinaryw protector or ordinary Bangzhu? Distressed, Kou Zhong said, Turns out starting a rumor is a special skill. You say it then! What his mothers thing should we write on this snow-white virgin wall? Biting his lower lip, Xu Ziling pondered, We must consider the words carefully; Bai Laofuzi [see Book 1 Chapter 1] only knew how to teach fourmon characters of ssical Chinese, he never taught us how to start a rumor. A tender, gentle and sweet-sounding female voice suddenly rang out from behind the two boys, Whatever you write is not a problem, as long as at the end you add there is a Taichi [the Absolute or Supreme Ultimate, the source of all things ording to some interpretations of Chinese mythology, the same Taichi of Zhang Sanfeng (Wudang)] mark on his chest as a sign, that will do. The two boys soul nearly flew away and scattered. It should be noted that with the two boys acute senses, even though because they wereughing and joking their mind was distracted, they should not have let someoneing behind them quietly without they knowing it. Turning around in shock, they saw the light-and-pure-as-a-fairy, wearing-mens-clothing Shi Feixuan, standing gracefully behind them, with the indescribably touching beautiful appearance, in her simplicity and elegance, as well as distinguished and aplished posture. The two boys stared at her with nk expression on their faces, too stunned for words. Shi Feixuans jade countenance was as tranquil as the surface of the water without any ripple. With a light movement and jade steps, she leisurely walked over to Kou Zhongs other side. With a hidden smile on her face, she said, Its lucky that two gentlemen came up with a brilliant scheme of fighting poison with poison. Although Feixuan painstakingly thought about it, I still cant do anything to him. Sniffing the sweet scenting out of her body, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Turns out Xianzi [goddess/fairy] already knew he is Pi Chen yaodao; therefore, you have been trying not to let him prevail. Am I right? Shi Feixuan calmly replied, Although I felt that this man Rong Fengxiang is not simple at all, I did not know that he is Pi Chen in disguise, until I heard your discussion just now. And now I am starting to understand. Hearing her immortal-music like voice, Xu Ziling calmed down. Everywhere he looked, the dark and lone long street was immediately transformed into a wonderful ce thick with immortal aura; everything ordinary,monce, unremarkable, has be not ordinary. Even the wall in front of his eyes became brimming with some kind of hard to describe significance, as if it contained endless possibilities. While Xu Ziling was experiencing the change of mood, Kou Zhong elbowed his nk, and said proudly, Did you hear that? Just now, if I did not say clearly in disguise, two words, how could Shi Xianzi know that Rong Fengxiang is Pi Chen in disguise? Anybody would know that Kou Zhong was cracking a joke. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, All right, you get all the credit. But there is one thing I want to rify: I am not a Xianzi, you may call me Shi Xiaojie [Miss], Shi Guniang [also Miss], but please stop calling me Shi Xianzi! Beating the snake following the stick Kou Zhong said, In that case, can we call you Feixuan? Now, at least for the time being, we all can be considered partners, naturally we must not consider the other too much of a stranger. Shi Feixuan declined toment; changing the subject, she said, Arent you going to write on the walls all over the city? Why havent you started? Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, My calligraphy skill is too shameful, it would be better for you, Feixuan, to hold the brush, your persuasiveness will improve the sentence a thousand times, ten-thousand times. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, I can only be a little aplice, to be on the lookout for the two gentlemen. Floating backward, in the blink of an eye she disappeared into the darkness of the small alley. The two boys looked at each other. Their spirit was greatly aroused, with the new information there is a Taichi mark on his chest as a sign, the only thing Rong Fengxiang would be able to argue was whether he belonged to the good way or the demonic way. Moreover, this kind of demonic sects symbol must have a very special purpose that it was imprinted on him. Naturally people with knowledge and experience would grow suspicious; even if he argue, it would not have too much of an impact. Leaning toward Xu Zilings ear, Kou Zhong said, You are too happy that you acted like a fool; meeting your sweetheart you did not say anything. Xu Ziling was at a loss dealing with him. Picking up the red paint, which had been set aside, he straightforwardly and neatly painted on the wall: Rong Fengxiang is Yin Gui Pai yaoren [demon/sorcerer], if you dont believe, just look at the Taichi demon mark on his chest, in two lines, twenty-one words, in blood-redrge characters, which were shocking the eye, astonishing the heart. By the time Xu Ziling returned to Kou Zhongs side, Kou Zhong was looking at the writing on the wall with rapt attention, How long has it been since you wrote thest time? he asked in astonishment. Xu Ziling replied, After leaving Yangzhou, I deal with saber, spear, sword and staff a lot, but never touched the shaft of a writing brush. Pointing to the two lines of characters on the wall, Kou Zhong said, The first few characters are barely recognizable as your handwriting, which was previously nothing to be ashamed of, but the calligraphic style is continuously changing. By thest few characters, they look like someone elses calligraphic style. No! I should say that it looks more like you now: graceful, proud and aloof. It really has a ing-out-of-the-dust feeling. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This is indeed very strange. When I moved the brush to write, unconsciously I was putting my martial art principle into it. I felt that the brush sweeping under my hands control received and transmit my hearts intention; whatever style I wanted, that was the style being projected. It was extremely delightful. Kou Zhong lifted up the paint bucket. Eager to try, he said, Xiongdi! The next one is my turn! The two boys stood in front of another wall and looked at another set of two lines of characters, critically examining their handiwork. How about that? Kou Zhong asked in low voice. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Indeed, the more you write, the more it looks different; brimming with swords-drawn-and-bows-bent, showing-off-your-full-ability feeling. Evidently, when you said you cannot find the treasure trove and curbing your spiritual cultivation, giving up and not doing it, everything was just to deceive people. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, You are teasing me again! As a brother, cant you not do that? Xu Zilingughed and said, We dont have much time, might as well practice our calligraphy skill. Thest one will be the Zongguan Mansion perimeter wall. By daybreak, even if Jianghuai Army found out about it, they would not be able to scrub that many walls. Happy and excited, the two boys went around. Whenever they heard Shi Feixuans warning them in their ears, they quickly hid into an alley, held their breath and waited. This moment it was only a bit more than half a sichen before dawn, they had put their calligraphic masterpiece on approximately a hundred walls along the big streets everywhere; it was such a glorious aplishment. Firelight from afar came near, a squad of twelve city guards was patrolling this area, thentern faintly illuminated the red characters on the wall, but the soldiers did not seem to see anything unusual, they simply walked pass the wall. Like two little children, the two boys squealed in low voice, showing they were very pleased with themselves. After joking around for half a day, Kou Zhong said, Should be enough! It would be ideal if we could write on both sides of the Zongguan Mansions main gate like a pair of antithetical couplets, so that our two brothers calligraphy work will reflect each other. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Arent we getting too greedy? We now have enough rumors to damage Rong Fengxiangs reputation. Although the Zongguan Mansions gate is closed, there would be troops keeping watch over it both covert and undercover; if they discovered it was our handiwork, they might rush before daybreak to cover several most prominent walls, our hard work so far would be wasted. Kou Zhongs heart was still unbearably itchy; he said, If we dont deface the Zongguan Mansion, I would feel that we have not fully expressed ourselves. How about if we wait until just a moment before daybreak before making our move? By the time the enemy found out, it would be toote to blot out our beautiful calligraphy. Xu Zilings childish nature was aroused; he apanied Kou Zhong jumping onto the roof of a nearby building, and then jumped from roof to roof toward the house across the street from the Zongguan Mansion. They were both extremely daring men to begin with, and now that they had Shi Feixuan watching their back, they had no fear even more. A short momentter they reached a magnificent residential building. Crouching behind the roof ridge craning their neck, they were able to see the Zongguan Mansion towering ahead, dark, without any sign of light, and they did not detect any movement either. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, This meal seems to be very easy to eat. Shi Feixuan noiselessly came over andnded on Kou Zhongs other side. So whats your n? she spoke softly. Kou Zhongughed and said, We are just waiting for daybreak; as soon as the Zongguan Mansions wall has be the media on which we spread the rumor, then we can stop satisfactorily. Shi Feixuan said, I still have an important matter to attend to, I cant apany you till daybreak. Disappointed, Kou Zhong said, We have some things wed like to consult you, but you are in such a hurry to leave. Helpless, Shi Feixuan said, I was also hoping to speak in details with two gentlemen, but I have to deal with important matters first; a bitter Feixuan wille to see you, all right? Her gaze flitted over Kou Zhong, and floated to Xu Ziling, Ill see youter! she spoke gently. Xu Ziling turned his head; with a bit of dejected gaze, he cast a deep nce at Shi Feixuan, and then hurriedly said, The Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, other than Zhu Yuyan, Pi Chen, You Wujuan and Zuo Youxian, who are the others? Slightly startled, Shi Feixuan said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly, well talk when we meet again! Just like that, she floated away. Book 22 - 5 – The Lotus Ring at The Center of The Sky Book 22 Chapter 5 C The Lotus Ring at The Center of The Sky Kou Zhong leaned over to Xu Zilings ear and whispered, Shi Feixuan falls in love with you. Because she fell in love with you, both times she avoided you bying to Xiaodis side. Xu Ziling sighed and said, On the contrary, that was the way she hinted that there is a formless, yet impassable chasm between the two of us. When she took her leave, she made a point of saying goodbye to me, hence her feeling is even more self-evident. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck. After being left speechless for half a day, suddenly wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder and hugged him fiercely, while speaking in distress, We, two brothers, both have broken heart within our bosom! If not separation in life, then it is parted by death. But one more day we did not die, we can still find something to do. My choice is the ever onward, no return; the path of the contending for hegemony over the world. These past couple of days I have thought about a lot of things, finally I realized that only by facing difficulties and challenges one by one, and setting my eyes on the great undertaking of unifying the world will my spirit have somewhat of a hope. Xiongdi, whether we can find the Duke Yang Treasure or not, I will let you leave, and I will be d that you leave. If one day I die in battle, you will take a good care of Little Lingzhong for me. Xu Ziling suddenly felt like crying; all kinds of emotion bubbled up in his heart. They were both orphans; they were mutually dependent for their survival since they were little. Growing up in the you-hoodwink-me-and-I-cheat-you, power-is-everything kind of environment, other thanplete trust toward each other, they had always had skeptical attitude toward other people. Fu Junchuo was the first person who won their genuine affection, next to her was Susu. But both of them died one after another, so the cruel blow toward the two boys was hard to ept. On the road of love, the two boys experiencedyer uponyer of twists and turns. Kou Zhong suffered heartache from Li Xiuning and Song Yuzhi in session, which made him focusing all his energy on the great undertaking of contending over the world. If this goal were to be taken away from him, he would have nothing at all. At least, at this stage, this was the situation he was facing. Due to heartless hint from Shi Feixuan just now, Xu Ziling was emotionally hurt as well. In that instant, he suddenly understandpletely Kou Zhongsplicated frame of mind. If he said that he did not have the slightest admiration toward Shi Feixuan, this fresh and elegant, exquisite peerless beauty, he would only deceive others and deceive himself. He remembered Shi Feixuans tale of the boy who watches the concoction of pills of immortality, thinking that by telling this story, not only Shi Feixuan was straightening him out, the fact was that she was appearing to be praising others while actually praising herself, expressing that she would never let herself falling into any kind of emotion in this world, which was only illusory. Kou Zhong suddenly pulled his mask and stuffed it into his bosom, but his mouth said, Ay! I forgot to mention to Shi Feixuan that that Hou Xibai might be a big muddled egg [i.e. a jerk/scoundrel]. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Why must you reveal your face? Kou Zhong pulled his hand from around Xu Zilings shoulder; exposing his white, shiny teeth, heughed and said, Because my heart is suddenly very painful, hence I want to go all out, to find several people to test my saber; it would be best if we can find Rong Fengxiang himself. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, You are not afraid of revealing our trace, and let the enemy knows? Kou Zhongs eyes were shing with murderous intent; he spoke in heavy voice, If others really find out about it, perhaps there will be strange effect instead. In the case of Du Fuwei, if he learned that I am here, he would not suspect that Chen Changlin and his men might catch him off guard and mount a sneak attack against him. If the Three Big Bandits and Zhu Can knew that I came here, they might setup a trap, tighten their troop formation to wait for me. Who would ever have thought that I am actually going to deal with Xiao Xian? Xu Ziling remained silent. Kou Zhong pushed him away, and looked intently at him; he said, I have spoken so reasonably, why havent you taken off your mask? Xu Ziling gazed at him, he met Kou Zhongs stare, his eyes carried a deep, strong feeling, as he spoke gently, Is it because I am encountering and feeling pain in my heart? Kou Zhongs entire body, from head to toe, shook. Burying his face on the roof tile, he spoke in distress, Quite possibly Shi Feixuan is the only woman in the world who can move your heart, yet unexpectedly she treated you like this. The heaven above is really unfair. Whenever I think that I am going to go through fire and water in the battlefield, and you will travel alone along the lonely journey, I just want to cry, to vent the resentment in my heart. Ay! It is actually better that Su Jie died. Xu Ziling slowly took off his mask, and spoke heavily, Go! You might as well kill Rong Fengxiang, once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved [or, death ends all ones troubles]. Dont forget to bring the paint and the brush. The two boys leaped over the high wall. Very soon they reached the flower garden of the rear courtyard. The security at Hefeis Zongguan Mansion was very sloppy; as soon as they passed the sentry guarding the multi-story buildings on the outer ring, it was as if they were entering a no-mansnd. Of course, they would not treat it lightly. Out of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic School, at least two were here, and the two boys were fully aware how formidable Rong Fengxiang was. Merely Rong Fengxiangs craftiness would not be easy to deal with. But now all they needed to do was to makemotion and expose their whereabouts. Giggling, Kou Zhong was looking for a wall facing the garden, and painted red characters Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were here. Whispering in Xu Zilings ear, he said, What do you think of these two lines? Really strange, Xu Ziling answered, That kind of power is a lot more understated, but I feel more tension instead. I like these few characters. Kou Zhong was so happy that he felt like roaring inughter; he said, This is called progress. People are constantly changing; calligraphy must also constantly be changing. If calligraphy never change, then it stands for stagnation. After a short pause, he said, All right, that should do it. Now, where are we going to find Pi Chen, that yaodao? Xu Ziling was about to answer, suddenly an rm went off in his heart. Quickly he pulled Kou Zhong to hide under a small bridge across the small stream from the garden rockery. A man, as fat as a wine barrel, jumped down from the eaves, lithe like a cat; the tip of his toes slightly tapped the grass, in the blink of an eye he already flew into the pavilion, which was connected to the small bridge, only separated by approximately a ten-step long gravel path. The garden covered an area with perimeter of more than twenty zhang, the trees, flowers and nts were tastefully chosen. But since Kou Zhongs calligraphic masterpiece was on the wall behind a row of bamboo grove, it was not visible from the pavilion. Kou Zhong pulled his craning neck back, and said with astonishment, Its An Long. We really did not make any error of judgment. Xu Ziling signaled him not to make any noise. There was a sound of fluttering sleeve, followed by a majestic voice said, What is it? What is so urgent that it cannot wait till tomorrow? Kou Zhong thought it was Zuo Youxian, but then he noticed Xu Zilings bewildered expression, hence he knew Xu Ziling did not recognize the voice. And then the man shouted, Its none of your business in here, get lost far away for me. Without my order, donte into the garden. Seven, eight men acknowledged the order and withdrew out of the garden. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; they had a vague guess as who the speaker was. An Long sat down on the stone bench inside the pavilion; he sighed and said, You and I are, after all, martial brothers; how could you not cherish old affection the slightest bit? The man sneered coldly and said, The one who did not remember old affection is you, not me, Fu Gongyou. Fifteen years ago I broke away from Tian Lian Zong [lit. heavenly lotus school/sect], that moment I was already not your Shidi, let alone now; you and I have nothing to do with each other. I do whatever I want to do, its none of your business to interfere. As expected, he was Du Fuweis sworn brother, the Jiang Huai Armys second inmand, Fu Gongyou. What was unexpected was that he came from a demonic school, and was An Longs younger martial brother. Bang! The stone table was smashed and crumpled to the ground. How dare you! An Long angrily said, After entering our Tian Lian Men, how could as soon as you say you want to withdraw and you withdraw just like that? In the past, I put up with you just because I remembered the old affection between martial brothers, plus I saw that your aplishment did note easy. And now you are colluding with Laojun Temple and their direct disciples to deal with me, openly treating me as your enemy. You must be tired of living! Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried how lucky they were. An Longs palm strike was yin and soft in nature; merely by listening to the sound, they knew that it seemed to be light, floating, without any strength; yet it was able to crush a solid stone table into powder. Just this kind of skill, not many in Jianghu would be able to aplish. If they had not arrived at the garden one step earlier, or they had not hidden in time, there was no way they would be able to hide from this demonic school martial art master. Fu Gongyou was a preeminent hegemon over certain territory, just from the fact that he shouted his men to withdraw, and came without any attendants, it was clear that he was not afraid of An Long, so this time he was not intimidated by him at all. They heard himughing coldly and said, In all my life I have had bad temper, I am never willing to owe anybody any debt, but if anybody ever owes me anything, it must be repaid. For thest fifteen years, I have not chased after you to ask for Shizuns [revered master] debt of blood, but now the time hase. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a sudden understanding; they just realized that Fu Gongyou was using this Bai Ye General Assembly to force An Long out of his hiding. An Long did not get angry, heughed instead. Gasping for breath, he said, Such a good joke. Shizuns death was due to him practicing the Tian Xin Lian Huan [Lotus Ring in the Center of the Sky] and suffered fire deviation, so much so that the blood passage in his entire body burst and he died. Just because his bones did not survive, what does it have to do with me, An Long? And now that I sit on the Lian Zhu [lit. lotus master/lord] position, you are harboring hard feelings, sucking in blood and spewing people? Humph! I, An Long, in my capacity as the Tian Lian Zongs Lianzhu, am going to clean up the school on behalf of the Heavens way. A gloomy, mournful voice came from the other end of the small bridge, Now that is really a joke. Even if you mastered the Tian Xin Huan, this time dont even think of leaving this ce alive, much less raving about cleaning up your school. Xu Ziling did not have Shi Qingxuans skill of focusing voice into a thread and sending it into Kou Zhongs ear, therefore, he had to resort to manually writing the character Zuo on Kou Zhongs back, so that thetter immediately knew that it was Zuo Youxian. Surprisingly, An Long did not get angry, he acted surprised instead, and said, If I am not mistaken, the two of you are passionate rivals, like fire and water; one time you even fought until the heaven falls and the earth rends; howe today you two seem to be venting your anger from the same nostril? What happened? Did the world really reverse its rotation? Fu Gongyou coldly said, Other than fabricating crafty plots and machinations, offending Heaven and reason, you only know how to fart. Get lost! Killing you like this, it will be too convenient for you. I want to see you slowly wither and rot. Just by listening to the hatred in his voice, it was clear that even the entire water of the Great River would not be enough to wash away the enmity between he and An Long. An Long let out a burst of ear-splitting longughter, which sounded a little like a pig being ughtered; extremely ufortable to hear, as if hisughter was creating waves and rising a storm that went straight into the listeners bones and marrows. When theughter stopped, An Long spoke indifferently, Do you think by sticking yourself to Du Fuwei you would be able to call the wind and summon the rain? Jiang Huai Armys good situation is just an illusion; it has reached the-sunset, the-end-of-the-road moment. If you dont believe me, lets just wait and see. With disdain in his voice, Zuo Youxian said, Do you think we dont know that you are secretly wooing Xiao Xian, Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong to deal with us? It was clear that An Long was stunned; momentarily he was dumbstruck. Fu Gongyou let out a longugh and said, You have enjoyed good days for more than ten years, now you ought to have different taste. If you are not leaving, then you dont need to leave. An Long resolutely spoke the word Good! three times, and then his sleeves fluttered, he quickly went far away. Immediately Rong Fengxiangs voice rang out, Such a good opportunity, why let him go? It was only then did the two boys realize that Rong Fengxiang has been snooping on the side all long; they groaned inwardly. By this time, dawn was not too far away; if their presence was detected, and the three major martial art masters of the demonic school intercepted and besieged them, escaping would not be easy at all. Fu Gongyou spoke heavily, He has mastered the Tian Xin Lian Huan. If we forced him to break our siege with hard fighting, it will bring us more harm than good. After Bai Ye General Assembly, even if he wanted to slip away, it will be very difficult. Zuo Youxian nodded and said, If we kill him at this critical moment, the overall situation will be adversely affected. Rong Jiaojiaos voice was heard, Jiaojiao has a brazen thought: this time An Long came here to attend the meeting, he must have adequate preparation, so practically he is not afraid of us. Fu Gongyou said, What you said is very reasonable; lets go inside and talk about it. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling thanked the Heaven and thanked the Earth; after making sure that the four have left, they hurriedly left. The sky has just turned pale; the two boys swaggered along the street. They looked to the east and gazed to the west; seeing the shocking, eye-catchingrge red letters written on the walls, a very strange feeling crept up in their hearts. moring noise started toe from a distance; turned out one of the restaurants has started to cater to the busy morning market. Kou Zhongughed and said, How about drinking a bowl of soy milk and stuffing our tummy with a couple of steam buns first? Xu Ziling nodded his agreement. The restaurant actually has not started serving food yet, the two boys sat down in the corner, enjoying the hot soymilk. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I had never imagined that this his mothers Bai Ye General Assembly actually involves struggle, gratitude and grudges of various demonic schools. Xu Ziling was frowning. There was something that he did not understand, There are so many people doing business, thepetition among themselves is intense, you profit much means I profit less, those in the same line of business are like enemy countries, I dont understand why Rong Fengxiang wants to fight over the Bai Ye She Elder position. After obtaining it, what can he do? Would the business organizations, all the way down to traveling merchants and peddlers listen to his order like they were his subordinates? Kou Zhong raised hisrge bowl, drank a mouthful, shook his head and said, Thats impossible. In my opinion, there are two most important things: setting the price and controlling the supply of goods. As long as an elder gains the majority support, he can then setup the so-called business policy. For example, anybody who wants to buy wood from Longyou Bang, there will be different price for Bai Ye She members and outsiders, so much so that they would be allowed only to sell to Bai Ye She members. And then that Bai Ye She bes a big conglomeration that enjoys market dominance of all trades ad businesses. Of course right now it is impossible, but in time, and add to it martial art force, what kind of situation it will be in the future, it is still very difficult to say. After a short pause, he continued, But in the short term, the Elder position of Bai Ye She bes the target that big forces want to rope in; the position rises rapidly, there will be endless benefit to be gained. Its just that we are not businessmen at all, hence we do not understand it! Xu Ziling still did not understand, but just as he was about to speak, his heart was moved, he turned his gaze toward the entrance; unexpectedly it was Wanwaning trippingly. Sitting in the chair opposite the two boys, she smiled and said, You guys forgot to wear that knickknack on your face! While rearranging the bowl and chopsticks, Koi Zhongughed and said, When did Miss Wan arrive in Hefei? Why didnt you look for us earlier, so that we could have a good and leisurely talk about what happened after we parted, andfort the pain of the yearning heart? There was a hint of mocking smile on Wanwans tender and beautiful, flowery jade countenance, as she spoke indifferently, Why would I want to look for you for no reason at all? Kou Zhong swept a fierce nce over at several restaurant attendants, who stopped what they were doing, intimidated by Wanwans radiant countenance, and were only staring at Wanwan. Immediately they came to their senses as if a bucket of cold water was poured down on their head; embarrassed, they continued their work. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Why are you looking for us now? Wanwan cast a sidelong nce at him and said, Naturally its to deliver punishment to you. It is said that honest people do not do secretive things; you wanted to start a rumor or not, I dont have time to mind you. But why did you drag our Yin Gui Pai along? Kou Zhongughed and said, This is called the implication of famous reputation, when gossip cease, it wont be mentioned anymore. Since Miss Wan has graced us with your presence, I wonder if youd allow me to ask a couple of questions. Even with Wanwans level of cultivation, dealing with him, she did not know whether she shouldugh or cry. Slightly angry, she said, If what I am saying is gossip, then what you are saying isplete rubbish. If you dont give me a good confession, dont even think that I would answer you even for half a word. Knowing how to read appearance, distinguish countenance, the two boys knew that Wanwan was not really angry; so pushing the matter further, they knew that Wanwan was not on Rong Fengxiangs side. It was rather strange, because so far, Yin Gui Pai and Jiang Huai Army had a cooperative rtionship. The only exnation was that Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyou, this pair of sworn brothers, were not as united as the outsiders thought. By this time, the number of pedestrians outside was growing; from time to time there were people spreading the news. Apparently the rumor walls have produced expected result: creating uproar in the city. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Shangguan Long was your Yin Gui Pais man; everybody in the world knows that. What is it to your honorable Sect if you have one person more or one person less? Sometimes you do me a favor, another time I do you a favor; this is a verymon thing. At most I owe you an apology, Miss Wan, please calm down. Pfft! Wanwan broke into a giggle and said, Thats not too bad! The two boys looked at each other; they both could see the helplessness in the opposite partys heart. Toward Wanwan, they really had deep enmity and big hatred. In order to control the current situation, they had no choice but to feign civility; otherwise, they might wreck the big n of rescuing the Flying Horse Ranch, then they would save a little only to lose a lot. Kou Zhong leaned back into his chair, to leisurely enjoy the scene on the street. He said, Your Demonic Schools Eight Major Martial Art Masters, besides You Niaojuan, Pi Chen yaodao, Zuo Youxian, An Long and your honorable Master, who are the other three? Wanwans expression slightly moved, she said, You are well-informed. What makes you think that I would tell you? Spreading his hands, Kou Zhong said, This cant be considered any extraordinary secret, someone bound to find out sooner orter, why not sell us a favor? Wanwans eyes turned to Xu Zilings face, and then she sighed faintly, dropped her gaze down, and said, You two are always able to soften my heart. Very well! I might as well tell you in details. Have you heard about ... Oh! Suddenly she left her seat and disappeared from the rear door. The two boys turned their heads toward where Wanwan was looking just now, and saw Ze Yue sticking his head inside and making a ruckus, Finally I found two gentlemen! Right now everybody is frightened, they are all scrambling away out of the city. Bai Ye General Assembly is finished! Book 22 - 6 – Coincidental Karma Book 22 Chapter 6 C Coincidental Karma Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling put on their mask. Mingling among the Longyou Bang people, they safely left the city. The streets were crowded to bursting point with people who came to participate in the Bai Ye General Assembly, but were now rushing out to flee. Just by looking at the scene of panic, they knew how powerful the rumor was. Ze Yueughed and said in low voice, Two gentlemen are really formidable; without spending a soldier or a pawn, you broke Rong Fengxiangs wishful thinking. With a bit of unbelief, Kou Zhong said, This is really unexpected. Ze Yue said, The issue here is that all the veterans of various regions north of the River feel that Bai Ye She is coercing the north, taking advantage of the south. Two gentlemens fabricated rumor is not entirely unfounded; to say the least, Luoyang Bangs former Bangzhu Shangguan Long was a thousand-true, ten-thousand-certain, Yin Gui Pai demon. As business people, nobody dares to have any dealings with that kind of people from evil cult, peculiar sect, who disregard reasons and kill people indiscriminately; thereupon we seize the opportunity to disperse in confusion. Nobody could me anybody. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a weird sensation, feeling that all these were absurd andughable. At this time the crowd was hurrying up the hill. Ze Yue cheerfully said, To be able to make friends with two gentlemen is really a rare karma. Now I want to immediately return to Longyou Bang to report to Die; when I have time another day, I will definitely call on two gentlemen. The two parties bade farewell in delight. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling spurred their horses to rush toward the ce where they were going to rendezvous with Xuan Yong; in one breath they covered more than a dozen li, when heavy rain suddenly poured down, covering the heaven and earth in a vast expanse of whiteness. The two boys took shelter on the edge of the forest, while giving their horses a bit of rest. Kou Zhong leaped down from the horse, and squatted down on the ground, just like when they were little, while staring nkly at the heavy rain outside the forest. Light rain still prated down through the thick leaves above, sprinkling droplets of water on their bodies. The heavy rain stopped most travelers. Only those who, for a variety of reasons, were anxious to leave Hefei as far away as possible did not avoid the hardship by braving the rain to hasten on with their journey. Naturally Xu Ziling squatted by his side, and casually asked, What are you thinking? Kou Zhong replied, Yin Gui Pais demonic power is boundless, only by the mention of their name people are scared and running away like there was a demon-personifying pestilence. Xu Ziling wiped the rainwater umted on his eyes, but did not say anything. Kou Zhong sighed and said, But what I was just thinking was not this matter; I was just feeling that something was not right. Thest sentence attracted Xu Zilings attention; astounded, he asked about it. Kou Zhong spoke in heavy voice, It was a feeling of uneasiness. Do you remember Fu Gongyou said that Xiao Xian, Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong are working together with An Long threading the needle [fig. acting as a go-between]? But An Longs sworn brother Xie Hui is the Song Familys Miss Yuhuas father-inw. Wouldnt it mean that the Song Family is, more or less, also implicated? Xu Ziling said, It is also possible that theypletely have nothing to do with it. As I see it, An Longs identity is very much a secret, at least to the outsiders he presents himself as a man with mediocre martial art skill. The only thing that worries me is the cooperation between Xiao, Zhu and Cao, three men, which is not as simple as what we thought. We might have fallen into their scheme, and that would be absolutely terrible. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, You are right. Meeting this drenching rain head-on is like being awakened from a big dream. Just like we are leading more than a thousand troops going to the west, but the enemy is waiting for us with heart and soul. One thing went wrong, they would discover our track; the two of us might be able to escape, but the others would certainly meet their end. That would be greatly terrible. On the road outside the forest, a caravan of more than thirty carts slowly passed by. The road has been turning into mud, men and horses were unbearably weary. Xu Ziling said, I have an idea, which is moving our troops along the route that the enemy would never expect, but we must have someone who is familiar with the route leading us, otherwise, if we get lost, the result will be even worse. Kou Zhong shook his head, No! he said, We must get there in the quickest possible way. Ay! It seems like the only way is to hide during the day and travel during the night as was originally nned, and take his mothers a gamble. Suddenly the sound of hoof beats arose. The two boys jumped in fright. Just by listening to the hoof beats, they knew that there was arge group of ridersing this direction, braving the rain. They waited in silence. Not too long afterwards, hundreds Jiang Huai troops swept past, galloping to a certain destination in full speed. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Did you see it? Nodding, Xu Ziling replied, Of course I did. I even recognized Rong Fengxiang, Zuo Youxian, among them. This time An Long is facing imminent catastrophe! Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he sprang up and said, Since we are heading that direction anyway, how could we miss this excitement? The sound of des shing against each other was getting closer and closer, by the time the two boys rushed over a small hill, the grasnd shrouded by the heavy rain below was already covered in dead bodies. Under the leadership of Fu Gongyou, the Jiang Huai Army, which was reinforced by Rong Fengxiang and Zuo Youxian, two martial art masters, already gained overwhelming superiority. They were pursuing and attacking the enemy scattering in all directions. Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there are so many people. Raising his hand to his forehead to shelter his eyes from the rain, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Jiang Huai Army numbers at least two thousands, the enemy is between seven, eight hundred men. Looks like Fu Gongyou already setup an ambush here, and thenunched a pincer attack from the front and rear, in one move they crushed the enemys resistance. Looking at the way they are deploying the troops, surely it was a carefully thought strategy. No wonder Jiang Huai Army is able to move unhindered without suffering any defeat. The two boys galloped down to the in to examine the dead and wounded, one of which had not breathed hisst. Kou Zhong jumped down his horse and propped him up, What happened? he asked, Who are you? Who wanted to kill you? The man coughed up blood, looked like he would not make it. Kou Zhong transmitted his internal qi, the mans spirit was suddenly shaken, Its Fu Gongyou, he said in panic, We have fallen into their trap. Isnt your master An Long? Kou Zhong hastily asked. Shaking his head, the man replied, No! We are under General Bais leadership ... Ah ... Which side are you on? Kou Zhong called out, then he slowly put the man down on the ground, wiped his eyes, and then he stood up and raised his arms in a helpless gesture, and said, Which general is surnamed Bai? Xu Ziling knew he was not really asking for an answer. Casting his gaze around to inspect the situation on this side, he said, These men are dressed as traveling merchants. Obviously they wanted to conceal their original identity, so they were in some kind of conspiracy. If you chase them up to take a look, wont it be clear? Kou Zhong flew up to mount his horse and rode away. Xu Ziling caught up with him. Riding side by side, he said, Currently, to Fu Gongyou, nothing is more important than killing An Long. Therefore, although these men were not An Longs subordinates, they must have a little bit of rtionship with An Long. We still have important matter at hand, do you really want to meddle in other peoples business? You are right! Kou Zhong agreed, Lets go. Reining in their horses, they turned around, bypassing the in where the battle was still going on, passing through the forest and climbing over the slope, and then rushing along a ten-li stretch of road running parallel to a stream, before the two boys stopped. Even with their power, after enduring constant activities without sleeping day and night for several days, the two boys were finally unable to bear it anymore; they stopped on a hillside to rest. The horses ate the grass, the boys ate their dry rations. After the rain, the air on the open country was particrly fresh and clean. In this verdant and moist world, the mountain forestpeted to be the most green-jade, the wild flowers strived for the most colorful. Sunlight prated the ck cloud, sprinkling a piece of its light on the east, and a column of ray on the west. Looking at the marvel of an enormous, irregr shadow cast by a clump of clouds rapidly traversing the ins, Kou Zhong was overwhelmed with emotion. He said, Wind and cloud! The wind blows the clouds move! Perhaps the wind and the cloud mean precisely what we see before our eyes; no matter how awe-inspiring, in the blink of an eye it will pass, without leaving the least bit of trace. Xu Ziling took a deep breath and said, But the embodiment of wind, cloud, man, and object [feng yun ren wu, together mean man/woman of the moment (an influential figure)] actually has a deeperyer of meaning, which is no matter how harsh you rebuke the Heaven and the Earth [orig. rebuke angrily the wind and the cloud], one day you will return to the yellow sandy soil. To be born, and to die! What is the purpose of this? Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Buddhist has Buddhist saying, Taoist also has Taoist saying. It is best to ask this question to Shi Feixuan. I am sure Wanwan also have different set of sayings. As for whos right whos wrong, I am afraid we can only toss the dice to decide. Ha! Finally I found a way to settle the dispute. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, You call that a way to settle the dispute? Immensely pleased with himself, Kou Zhong said, This is called a way in the midst of no way. Xu Ziling suddenly appeared as if he was listening attentively. Did you hear that? he whispered. Kou Zhong hastily bent his head and pricked his ears; nodding, he said, It sounds like hoof beats; should be only one horse. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Thats right! And a wounded man crouching on it. Speechless, Kou Zhong said, How could your ears be so formidable? Unexpectedly you can listen to such a small detail, as if you are witnessing it yourself. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, I practically use my eyes to see. Kou Zhong suddenly looked up, and saw far away on the prairie, a horse, carrying a man on its back, was running toward them. Xu Ziling sprang up and said, Lets see if we can help. Kou Zhong intercepted the horse, Xu Ziling took the man down and helped him sit on the ground. The man has sank into a halfatose condition; his face was full of blood, many ces on his body had stab wounds, the most deadly was a punch on his back, leaving a patch of scarlet fist print. The two transmitted their internal qi, and beginning to feel the mans deep foundation; he entirely depended on a mouthful of true qi to protect his heart and meridians, while fleeing to this ce. Wah! The man suddenly vomited a mouthful of clotted blood, and regained his consciousness. Realizing these two must be helping him healing his injury, he hastily circting his own internal power ording to his own cultivating method. After thirty-six cycles, the mans injury immediately saw a big improvement, not only his wound, big and small, stopped bleeding, he was also able to apply his own qi to heal his internal injury. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling was tired on top of their original weariness; standing up and walking some distance away, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Do you feel that this kid has a fairly good face? I feel like Ive seen him somewhere before. Xu Ziling said, I also feel like I have seen him before. If we wash his face, well know who he is! Kou Zhong patted his shoulder and said, Ill go fetch our horses, you look at him, dont let him and his horse run away. Xu Ziling mumbled his agreement. After Kou Zhong left, he returned to the man and helped him circting his blood, transferring his qi. The man took long, withdrawn breathing, and spoke hoarsely, Big kindness unspeakable gratitude! Two Engong [benefactor] honorable surname and great given name? Xu Ziling did not answer, but asked a question instead, Sires power is quite good, how did you get into such plight? The man replied heavily, I was harmed by a poisonous woman. I can only me myself for having eyes without the eyeball, and was unwilling to listen to other peoples advice. Ay! Xu Ziling was stunned; he originally guessed that this man was a general of the defeated army being ambushed by the Jianghuai Army, who would have thought that his condition was rted to some poisonous woman? This moment Kou Zhong came leading their horses. Seeing the man was awake, he happily said, Yourplexion looks good; friend, how should we address you? The man replied, Zaixia Bai Wenyuan of Jingjian Zong [lit. clean sword school]. Kou Zhong stopped abruptly; he and Xu Ziling looked at each other. No wonder the face was quite familiar. A few years ago outside the city of Baling, Bai Wenyuan came with Zhu Cans daughter, the Poisonous Spider Zhu Mei, to plot against them, but they managed to beat him that he dropped into the river and ran away. Because it has been too long, their memory of this matter was very vague; were it not for meeting Bai Wenyuan again, they nearly forgot about it. [See Book 8 Chapter 8] The two boys were still wearing their mask, naturally Bai Wenyuan did not recognize them. Seeing the two boys weird expression, he asked in astonishment, Have two gentlemen heard Zaixias name? Xu Ziling stood up, and spoke indifferently, Just now Bai Xiong mentioned being harmed by poisonous woman; were you referring to Poisonous Spider Zhu Mei? Severely shaken, Bai Wenyuan asked, How could Engong know? Kou Zhong tore off his mask and said, Bai Xiong, how are you? Do you remember me, Kou Zhong? Immediately Bai Wenyuans countenance changed. After staring nkly for half a day, he smiled wryly and said, No wonder you can heal my injury that quickly. In any case, two gentlemen snatched my life back for me; you want to kill, you want to cut my flesh, you may do as you wish. Xu Ziling also took off his mask, walked over toward Kou Zhong, and said with a sneer, We are not like Zhu Can, who kills whoever he wishes. Bai Xiong, youd better leave this dangerous ce quickly; if you arete, I am afraid disaster might befall you. The two flew up their horses, and were about to leave, Bai Wenyuan struggled hard to stand up and called out, Wait! Its a trap, by all means, do not go to the Flying Horse Ranch. The two boys could not stop the chill from flitting across their hearts. After speeding along for more than twenty li, the three men dismounted to get some rest. It was only then did they have the opportunity to listen to Bai Wenyuans story. Bai Wenyuan was still very weak; along the way, the two boys helped him healing his blood cirction. He sighed in distress and said, Nobody did not say that after Zhu Mei, the poisonous woman, became fed up with a man, she would devour him and put him to death, lest other women would take possession of him. But in my overconfidence, I felt that I am handsome, my martial art is not inferior to hers, plus I was infatuated by her physique and her flirtatious expressions, unexpectedly I was foolish enough to take a chance, believing that I would be the only exception. In the end I suffered retribution; it serves me right. Seeing his heroic aura was cut short, he was full of remorse and was in wretched state, the two boys felt sorry for him. But on the other hand, they also felt that he only had himself to me, simply because both boys were not the kind of men who would give up everything for a beauty. The fact was that they still could not figure out how did Bai Wenyuan get seriously injured? Bai Wenyuan continued, This time Zhu Mei and I led a thousand men, originally to provide support to An Long; who would have thought that Zhu Mei betrayed us, and managed to deal us total defeat? I really let down my brothers, who had followed me through fire and water for the past many years. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Turns out the side who was attacked by Fu Gongyou was your men. Where did Zhu Mei go? By doing this, what would be the benefit for her father? A strong resentment shed through Bai Wenyuans eyes; he said hatefully, The poisonous woman already left one step ahead, iming that after providing support to An Long, she woulde back to me, and had me going a certain hill to regroup. By the time I found out that she slipped away with An Long along another trail, we already fell into Jianghuai Armys pincer attack from front and rear. Puzzled, Xu Ziling said, Arent your men Zhu Can, father and daughters Garuda Army? By wasting away their team of elite troops, it would bring more harm than good to Zhu Mei. Bai Wenyuan spoke heavily, This time the men were entirely my personal troops; the majority of them were my nsmen and brothers from the same school. Over the years, I have established countless heroic contribution [orig. riding aboring horse to great deeds] for them, father and daughter. Within the Garuda Army, I was dubbed the Fuma Jiangjun [emperors son-inw general]; my power and influence grew more flourishing by the day, I was more popr than they, father and daughter, so they had already grown jealous of me early on, and now they finally found the opportunity to kill me. Ay! I was really stupid and muddleheaded. But how can you be sure that it was Zhu Mei who harmed you? Kou Zhong asked. Bai Wenyuans eyes were spouting me of hatred; he said, First, she grew a lot colder toward me; how could this kind of feeling between a man and a women deceive me? Moreover, I knew that she had been in contact with An Long [Trantors note: the text indicates more personal contact]. The two boys could only return a nk stare. It cant be! Kou Zhong doubtfully said, An Long is fatter than a pig, while Zhu Mei is the type of woman who has voracious desire of good looks ... hey! How could Zhu Mei look him in the eye? Full of disdain, Bai Wenyuan said, This poisonous woman, nobody can measure her usingmon sense; any fresh stimtion will do. I heard that on the bed, An Long has another set of powerful skill, able to make women infatuated with him. This kind of situation, that pair of dog man and woman [a couple engaged in an illicit love affair] ought to know. Xu Ziling asked, Just now you advised us not to go to the Flying Horse Ranch; what exactly happened? Bai Wenyuan replied, I ought to start with An Long. He has always been in close rtionship with Cao Yinglong, and has always been enemies with us, no friendly rtionship at all. But after Li Mi was defeated by you, the situation on the north changed very fast. Li Yuan might go out the Pass any moment, Liu Wuzhou and Dou Jiande also began to get restless. On the other hand, Wang Shichongs power greatly flourished. In case he obtained Li Mis territory, there is great possibility he might expand to the south. In such an urgent situation like this, An Long took the opportunity to represent Cao Yinglong to establish friendly rtions with us, to form an alliance, to prepare to take Sichuan first, and then to attack the Flying Horse Ranch. Later on it will be Jingling and Xiangyang. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Isnt An Long the sworn brother of Sichuans Duzun Bao [lit. fort/stronghold holding supremacy; not sure if it is a name] Xie Hui? Bai Wenyuan snorted coldly and said, Early in the year An Long has already broken his rtionship with Xie Hui over some unknown matters; potentially they are like fire and water now. I really dont understand whats going on in An Longs head; such a strong backer, yet he broke the rtionship. Xu Ziling said, Did Bai Xiong know that An Long is a martial art master with quite a ranking among the demonic schools? Bai Wenyuans mouth was agape, Xu Xiong is not joking? he asked in astonishment. Kou Zhong gave him a simple exnation; pressing on, he asked, How did you hook up with Xiao Xian? Bai Wenyuan replied, How did Xiao Xian hook up with us is more correct. Now the situation is clear; one more day Zhu Can, father and daughter, refuses to give him the nod, one more day Xiao Xian cannot cross north of the river. Xu Ziling said, Since thats the case, how are you going to cooperate in the future? Bai Wenyuan replied, The issue here is that Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong knew their own weight. Several times they attacked Jingling, they were beaten back by Fu Gongyou that they had to retreat. And then theresck of food supplies; rather than being decimated by Fong Gongyou, they chose to expand to Sichuan. Other than obtainingrge quantities of rations and fodder from Xiao Xian, they could also let Xiao Xian and Fu Gongyou, Du Fuwei, to kill each other. So Xiao Xian put forward the conditions of the cooperation; the first one being eliminating two gentlemen, whom Cao Yinglong and Zhu Can, father and daughter, hate to the bones. Hence the reason they were together from the first beat [idiom: to hit it off, to click together]. Flying Horse Ranch is just the bait. Kou Zhongughed and said, Cao Yinglong, that fellow, finally realized that it was us who spoiled his good deeds that night! With grave expression Bai Wenyuan said, Now all three parties have selected their elite troops, forming a ten-thousand men powerful army division, with Xiao Xians Great General Dong Jingzhen as the Commander-in-Chief. They assembled in a hidden, secluded ce near the Flying Horse Ranch, ready to deliver a frontal assault to your weary expeditionary force. No matter which route you are going to take to the Flying Horse Ranch, its impossible to evade their eyes and ears. This army division also consists of another squad of more than fifty Wulins martial art masters, with specific task to deal with the two gentlemen. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If we did not meet Bai Xiong, wed surely be in disastrous position [orig. everything bodes ill, no positive signs]; but now since we know ourselves and know our enemies, the situation is diametrically different. Let me ask you first, does Bai Xiong wish to kill that poisonous woman? Bai Wenyuan showed a thirst and longing expression; he nodded his head with determination. Kou Zhong patted his shoulder vigorously, and bared his white teeth thoroughly. Letting out a longugh, he said, In that case, we must catch up with An Long first, kill his mother until he is in a sorry state, so that Bai Xiong can vent your goddam anger. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Wouldnt it be beating the grass to scare the snake? Kou Zhong replied indifferently, We certainly will take our time in making the decision; but if we can capture An Long and Zhu Mei, then it wont be beating the grass to scare the snake. Book 22 - 7 – Ambushing Troops’ Secret Crossing Book 22 Chapter 7 C Ambushing Troops Secret Crossing Bai Wenyuan took a map, drawn on silk cloth, and spread it out on a makeshift crude wooden table setup by themand tent. As if by prior agreement, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Xuan Yong immediately stooped down to examine it carefully. Pointing to a big mountain range spanning diagonally across the map, Xuan Yong said, This must be Dahong Mountain. Even the mountain roads are listed clearly. This is the first time that I see such a meticulous map. Kou Zhongs sharp eyes caught a line of small characters on the corner of the map; he read, Respectfully made by Bai Wenyuan. Ha! Turns out Bai Xiong is an expert in drawing map. Apologies for failing to venerate. Bai Wenyuan modestly declined, Its just a minor art handed down in my family, it cant be considered anything. Sighing with admiration, Xu Ziling said, The writing brush Bai Xiong used must be stiffer than ordinary writing brush tip, otherwise, how could you draw such fine lines? Plus there are many kinds of color, it is nice-looking and pleasing to the eye. pping the table in praise, Kou Zhong said, The most awesome thing is that it wont discolor; the ink must be very special. Seeing that his hand-painted map received so much appreciation, Bai Wenyuans mood was somewhat better; he cheerfully said, All Zaixias ancestors were geography masters; we studied Fengshui and Five-Element meticulously, therefore, since childhood I followed my humble father going everywhere to survey mountain and river terrain, and drew it for the record. Only Ive never thought that in the future it would find itself for military use. Xuan Yong said, From here to Flying Horse Ranch, there are at least a hundred different routes, plus we have Bai Xiong, who is familiar with the mountain and river terrain, leading the way. What are we afraid of? Smiling ruefully, Bai Wenyuan said, Because of the Dahong Mountain and several big rivers separating east and west, in reality there are only five routes in the interior of the mountain, plus two routes north and south of Dahong Mountain. The worst part is that the setup of the sentry locations was all designed by Zaixia, no matter how we try to conceal our track, it will be difficult to escape the opponents eyes and ears. Ay! Its all my fault! Proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, If we do not go to the Flying Horse Ranch, but go straight to Yiling instead, what do you think? Bai Wenyuan dejectedly said, That is worse. Xiao Xian already ordered Dong Jingzhen, he knew from the war two gentlemen waged against Li Mi that gentlemen can effectively use ambushing troops, therefore, there is a great possibility that you mightunch surprise attack to Yiling, hence they are already prepared to guard against this. Furthermore, the only route to Yiling from here is by way of Chang Jiang [Yangzte River]; it will be more easily exposed. Xu Ziling asked, Does Bai Xiong know the route An Long and Zhu Mei took to return to Hans interior? Bai Wenyuans pair of eyes shed coldly, he also replied coldly, Naturally via Chang Jiang; this way they wont have to be afraid that Fu Gongyou might overtake them. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he asked, How many ships do they have? Bai Wenyuan replied, Their fleet consists of ten wine-transporting ships; we came here disguised as cargo ships transporting wine. The fleet should still remain on the crossing dock west side of Tongan, pretending to wait for the shipment of the raw material to make wine, while actually we are waiting for An Long. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This is called the Heaven is helping me. Now we must immediately hasten to hit the road; before An Long and that poisonous womans arrival, well take possession on those ten wine-transporting ships, and then well execute the secretly crossing the Wei Riber at Chencang stratagem [idiom: refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang against Xiang Yu], using them to advance to our destination. Xuan Yong epted the order and hurried out to notify the other generals. Emotionally moved, Bai Wenyuan said, Shao Shuai, please uphold justice for Wenyuan. Wrapping his arm around Bai Wenyuans shoulder, Kou Zhong said, Bai Xiong, dont worry. What I am afraid of is that at that time, you will still find it difficult to abandon old feeling. Pei! Bai Wenyuan spat, and spoke with a cold snort, Even if that poisonous woman cut me up into ten thousand pieces, I will not knit half my brow. Xu Ziling said, Killing Zhu Mei is easy, but An Longs martial art skill is no small matter; if he slips out of our, he might spoil our n big time. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Hence we must really n it well before making any move; we will setup arge and tight so that An Long will not have any door from which he could escape. Bai Wenyuan was silent for half a day; finally he shook his head and said, My bad; there is no reason for you to risk your lives for me, it is also not worth it for me to take this risk for the sake of this cheap s1ut. As soon as we get the ships, we will head west immediately. A gentleman wants to take revenge, ten years is not toote. Let An Long and that cheap s1ut fall into emptiness, with Fu Gongyous pursuing troops behind them. That can already make me extremely happy. Kou Zhongughed and said, Very well! In short, I, Kou Zhong, guarantee that I will wipe Bai Xiongs deep enmity clean. Hows Bai Xiongs spirit? We are still relying on you to lead the way! This moment their men arrived leading their horses. Bai Wenyuan flew up the horseback and said with augh, As soon as I remember that cheap s1ut, my vitality rose up a hundredfold; two gentlemen please be at ease. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Xuan Yong and Bai Wenyuan jumped down their horses, and flew up to the top of a hill. Under the moon and the starlight, about half a li down below they saw the rippling waves of the Yangtze River. Moored on the crossing-dock were seven medium-sized sailing boats, with no light at all. Thank Heaven and thank the Earth, Kou Zhong said, Bai Xiong is indeed a geographical expert, so we can catch up ahead of that pair of dog man and woman. But why seven ships instead of ten? Bai Wenyuan shook his head and said, I am not sure. Perhaps the other three are on another mission! Whos guarding the boats? Xu Ziling asked. All of them are An Longs men, Bai Wenyuan replied, We must kill them all, lest they leak the news. Noticing Xu Zilings eyebrows were immediately furrowed, Kou Zhong hastily said, That is too cruel and heartless; as long as we can capture them all alive, we can set them free in some deserted riverbank. Even if they wanted to, it would be difficult for them to transmit the news, only homing pigeons will be faster than we are. Stunned, Bai Wenyuan said, Shao Shuais style of work is certainly entirely different from Zhu Can, father and daughter. Ay! Trying to console him, Xuan Yong said, Our people are ready, the most urgent thing is to survey whats ahead of us. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, At the Yellow River, several times has subordinate led my men to attack enemy ships moored on the riverbank. Shao Shuai only need to set the time of the attack, I guarantee that everything will be executed properly. This matter should not be dyed, Kou Zhong said, We seize the ships and capture the men immediately, using fast to defeat slow, using well-prepared to beat ill-prepared. Pure and simple: it will be a delight! Like a ghost or a demon Xu Ziling floated back; he gave report to Kou Zhong and his men, who had been hiding behind a pile of rocks by the shore, The ships defense is sloppy and ordinary; each ship has about a dozen sailors. If we move fast enough, I guarantee that we will be able to capture everybody in one. Kou Zhong signaled Xuan Yong, who had been waiting by his side, to move. Thetter immediately let out an owl cry, the seven groups consisted of seven hundred men in total, who had been crouching low on the ground, responded by going into the water, and then without making any noise they swam toward the seven ships. Xuan Yong sent out another signal, Bai Wenyuan, leading more than four hundred men cavalry, responded. From the mountain road, with battle formation at its peak, they galloped down toward the crossing dock. The dense sound of hoof beat broke the serenity of thete-night riverbank,pletely drowning the rustling sound of the flowing water. Lights immediately appeared on the moored ships. Shadows flickered and shed, all attention was at Bai Wenyuan and the men who dressed as his subordinates. Bai Wenyuan galloped out of the formation and shouted, Summon everybody immediately, prepare to set sail! Someone on the ship responded, Everybody is already waiting onboard! What about Da Laoban [big boss]? Bai Wenyuan cried out, Da Laoban is here, but Jiang Huai Armys pursuing troops are behind him. Quickly let us aboard! Hearing the pursuing troops, the men on board immediately panicked. They set down the nk, raised the sail, and set sail in confusion. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Sess! Its our turn now. Creak! Creak! Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered; he said to Xu Ziling, who was sitting up from the bed, Wake up! Did you have to make so much noise to wake me up? Xu Ziling said in displeasure. Kou Zhong sat on the edge of the bed, stretching out in exaggerated movement, and said, I also fell asleep and was out cold. Look! The sun is at least four-pole high! Xu Ziling deeply felt the same way, Now I understand what is called toiling the army in military expedition is not what a wise man would do. The two of us already made our names, butst night when I went to bed, I still feel like all the bones in my body were falling apart. Kou Zhong looked out the window at the mother earth bathed in bright and beautiful sunshine. He said, This time we can be considered a bit lucky, running into Bai Wenyuan. If not, it would not be different than walking right into the trap. Now we are disguising ourselves as An Longs fleet transporting raw material to make wine, plus we have Bai Wenyuan, this genuine-goods-at-fair-prices Garuda Army general stepping in to direct the operation. Do you think there is still any w? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, When An Long and Zhu Mei arrived at the crossing dock and found out that the seven ships have gone missing, what would they think? Kou Zhongughed and said, Naturally they would indulge in flights of fancy; but they would never find half a hoof print on the ground, because we swept it away. Therefore, they would never think to associate Bai Wenyuan with us; they might think that Jianghuai Navy arrived and captured their men and ships, or perhaps they had scared his men off that his wine boat slipped away. Where did the other three ships go? Xu Ziling wondered. Its nothing, Kou Zhong replied, They just received An Longs order to sail to Jiangdu to do business. Turns out An Longs wine-transporting ships have always been doing business with those Snake and Dog, Two Fools, Pei Yue and Pei Yan. The Dragon and Tiger, Two Lords became Snake and Dog, Two Fools in Kou Zhong mouth. Xu Ziling left the bed and walked over to the window. He stretched his limbs, while looking at the fascinating forest and open country beyond the bank of the river, resplendent in the bright sunlight. Where is our next stop? he asked. Kou Zhong said, We are going to reach Xiao Xians Jiujiang [lit. nine rivers] county tonight. If we can pass this ce, our ambushing troops will prate deep into the enemys territory. Currently I change my mind; I want to deal a crushing blow to the coalition army under Dong Jingzhen leadership in one go. Ling Shao, do you have any thought? Xu Ziling agreed, It ought to be so, he said, Shall we notify Beautiful Changzhu [Ranch Master] to coordinate with her? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, ording to Bai Wenyuan, although they failed to take Changyang and Yuanan, but they put these two cities under siege that not one drop can trickle through. Flying Horse Ranch is also under close surveince, so we must not beat the grass to scare the snake at all. And then, rising up to his full height, he came over behind Xu Ziling and said, Do you think Shi Feixuan came to Hefei has something to do with Wan yaonu? Of course, Xu Ziling replied, Their struggle has turned from a battle of force and de into apetition of control over the world. Shi Feixuan is fighting for the happiness of the people, while Yin Gui Pai wants to expand its influence. If the future emperor is under Yin Gui Pais control, Ci Hang Jingzhai will not have any ce to set their feet. That will be more beneficial than defeating Shi Feixuan. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Your conjecture is very rational. In that case, among the warlords vying for supremacy, there must be one Yin Gui Pais man. Could that person be Ol Die? Xu Ziling pondered, Ol Die does not look like Yin Gui Pais man at all, Xiao Xian is more like it. But if Xiao Xian is indeed a Yin Gui Pai demon, he would have not helped us assassinating Ren Shaoming. And thus, Lin Shihong is the biggest suspect. Kou Zhong satfortably in the chair by the cabin window; he said cheerfully, If it is really Lin Shihong, then its the same as if Yin Gui Pai is eating a damaged walking stick. Currently, no matter how you think about it, you wont remember Lin Shihong. Unless in a short period of time he can acquire Xiao Xian and the Song Familys support; if not, he can only wait to be destroyed by the other faction. Do not underestimate anybody, Xu Ziling said, Although, contrary to expectation, Lin Shihong stays in the south, but he upies Poyang Lake, which give him distinct advantage. Presently, the Song Family and Xiao Xian are helpless to do anything to him, hence the reason Yin Gui Pai is keeping the hostility under control, conniving at our high wind and high rain, the more we make chaos the better. When Xiao Xian is crossing to the north, Lin Shihong can expand in a big way. This aspect must not be lightly ignored. pping the table in praise, Kou Zhong eximed, Makes sense! Or perhaps Lin Shihong has nothing to do with Yin Gui Pai at all; the real demon can be Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu, Dou Jiande, even Li Zitong, Zhu Can, or Cao Yinglong. Ha! This guessing game is really interesting. Xu Ziling sat down in the other chair; smiling, he said, As long as we are sessful in one thing, it doesnt matter which one is the Yin Gui Pai demon, we will deal a heavy blow on Yin Gui Pais grand scheme of world domination. Kou Zhongs spirit was shaken, What one thing? he asked. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Taking over Xiangyang, driving out Qian Duguan and Bai Qinger. Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes lit up; nodding, he said, Well said! That is Yin Gui Pais heaviest xľݵ㣡 [I have no idea what it is, the first character seems to be missing, I checked all my three sources] in the Central ins. The day I conquer Jingling will be the harbinger of Qian Duguans downfall; the King of Heaven or Lao-tze wont be able to stop me, Kou Zhong. In the dark of the night, the seven ships were sailing slowly into the waters of Jiujiang. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling put on their mask, and stood behind Bai Wenyuan, ready to deal with any sudden change. In their hearts, the two boys had some kind of peculiar feeling. It was in this big city on the southern bank of Yangtze River that they went through the nine-deaths-and-were-still-alive realms, seeded in killing Ren Shaoming, destroyed the conspiracy between the Tiele people and Yin Gui Pai, reversed the situation in the south, which also made their names shook the heavens. Jiujiang has changed hands several times, before finally fell into Xiao Xians hands, forcing Lin Shihong to stay in Poyang. A small boat of Baling Army sailed speedily toward them. Bai Wenyuan talked with the captain, who had climbed aboard to their ship, naturally there was no problem. But when they started to rx, a warship left the dock and head straight toward them. Astounded, Bai Wenyuan asked, What is it? The captain returned a nk, Its General Chen Wus ship, he replied, I dont know what it is either; perhaps he just wanted to speak with General Bai! Everybody cried, Bad! inwardly, but they had no choice but to wait with nk expression on their faces. If they were discovered, their previous achievement would all go to waste, killing a few people would not help. While their scalp went numb, the enemy ship slowly approached. A general, leading four or five attendants, leaped over to their ship,ughed aloud, and said, Bai Jiangjun, how are you? Howe I did not see Mei Gongzhu [princess]? Everybody, without exception, breathed a sigh of relief. Bai Wenyuan stepped forward and raised his cupped fist in salute, Chen Jiangjun, please do not me Xiao Jiang [lowly general] for passing through the door but not entering; it is because we have an urgent matter, and must return immediately. Mei Gongzhu has something to attend to and has to stay in Hefei; she will be two dayste. Chen Wu nodded and said, That is as it should be. This time I came aboard to pay a visit, there is actually a favor Id like to ask. Bai Wenyuanughed aloud and said, Chen Jiangjun need not stand on ceremony; as long as it is within Xiao Jiangs power to do so, it will definitely be done properly. Chen Wu said, To Bai Jiangjun, this is merely the exertion of lifting ones hand. Three days ago, we intercepted Flying Horse Ranchs ship on the River, killed more than a dozen people on the spot, but one kid managed to escape, only this evening we were able to catch him back. We were just about to torture him for questioning when we heard Jiangjun is here. I was wondering if you could do us a favor by taking this man to Dong Shuai [Commander]? This mans martial art skill is quite good, he must have a bit of position in the Flying Horse Ranch, plus he had been seen with Kou and Xu, those two thieves, he might be of a great use to Dong Shuai. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both sad and happy at the same time. Sad naturally because Flying Horse Ranch brothers were killed. Happy because with no blood on the mens swords [idiom: effortless victory], they could rescue back this kid, who, very likely, was Luo Fang. Naturally Bai Wenyuan did not stop agreeing. Bring him here! Chen Wu shouted. The ship left Jiujiang. His spirit took a beating, Luo Fang, with bare upper body, while letting someone clean and rece the bandage of his many wounds, drank a cup of hot tea, and spoke in disbelief, I thought everything was over, who would have thought that unexpectedly I came across you guys; its just like in a dream. Kou Zhong hatefully said, It was practically a trap. They intentionally let you go to us for help, but on the way back they made their move against you. Fortunately Laotianye has eyes, we ran into you. Xuan Yong said, Now victory and defeat will be decided by who can move a bit faster. We have no other choice, we can only go ashore at the most advantageous location, and then go full speed to attack Dong Jingzhen so that he will be caught unprepared, and then rendezvous with the Ranchs main forces, while the enemy is flustered, weunch arge-scale counterattack, resolving it in the shortest time possible. Everybodys eyes turned toward Bai Wenyuan. Full of confidence, Bai Wenyuan said, In three days, we will turn into River Ju, and disembark at Chunfeng Du [lit. spring breeze crossing], about ten li south of Dangyang. I am confident that we will be able to keep all gateways in the dark, and hide from Dong Jingzhens hidden army at the Chunfeng Hill. I will then make a map, and have everybody study it, to determine how we are going to make Dong Jingzhen suffer a big defeat. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, We will to use these three days time to preserve and nurture our spirit, so that when the timees, we are not a weary force, but a lively-dragon, animated-tiger-in-military-expedition ambushing force! The crowd responded with thunderous roar. Their morale was elevated to its highest point. Book 22 - 8 – Strange Tactic To Subdue The Enemy Book 22 Chapter 8 C Strange Tactic To Subdue The Enemy At noon, everybody abandoned the ships and disembarked at the eastern bank of Ju River. They hid the seven ships in a tributary of the River, and took their horses to hide into a dense woods near the riverbank. While the horses were resting and eating grass, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Luo Fang, Bai Wenyuan, and Xuan Yong, five men left first to scout the enemy situation. Dong Jingzhens ten-thousand-man elite troops were stationed only five li upstream from the ce they disembarked. Severalnding docks were built along the Ju River, and moored on these docks were more than a dozen battleships. Close to shore were three main wooden strongholds, for Xiao Xian, Zhu Can, and Cao Yinglong, respectively, the three factions troops. The positioning of their garrisons was indeed very strategic and impable; it was close to both the water andnd major routes, not only it would enable them to rapidly provide assistance to the attacking troops toward Yuanan and Dangyang, they would also be able to intercept Kou Zhongs Shaoshuai Army, either by water ornd. The five men felt a very big headache. Disappointed, Bai Wenyuan said, Although I was clear about the situation in here, I didnt know they would be divided into three strongholds on separate hills. Watchtowers standing in great numbers are not the problem, but they also ttened the nearby trees, so that in attacking one factions stronghold, no sound can be hidden, no risk can be avoided. Frowning, Xuan Yong said, These three wooden strongholds are extraordinarily sturdy, the defense inside and outside the fort are adequate; just by releasing arrows from the battlement holes, they can smash our attack. If we had more time, we could use battle equipment to attack the fort, but now we are unable to do anything. Distressed, Kou Zhong said, If we cannot break the enemy tonight, tomorrow we cannot hide from the enemys spies. The biggest headache is that our military strength is already inadequate to attack one stronghold, forget about attacking the three forts at the same time. Looks like we can only use deceit. Xu Ziling patted Luo Fangs shoulder and said with a smile, Xiongdi, I am afraid we will have to wrong you! A sailboat appeared from the tributary, braving the darkness going upstream in the direction of the enemys stronghold. Everybody was standing on the observation deck, looking into the distance at the terrain on both banks. This evening the moon was casting its light directly onto their faces, shrouding the mountain forest near and far in its golden light. Even without anyntern, everything could be clearly seen. Naturally Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had their masks on to hide their real identity. The former sighed and said, Next time we are using ambushing troops to attack the enemy, we must n it not to happen on the full moon. Like right now, there is not much difference to mounting a sneak attack during the daytime. Xu Ziling asked Bai Wenyuan, In Bai Xiongs knowledge, is it possible that Chen Wu of Jiujiang would use a homing pigeon or something like that to notify Dong Jingzhen one step ahead that we are going to take a prisoner for him? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Bai Wenyuan replied, That possibility is surely quite high; while naturally homing pigeons do not know how to fly here, but they could fly to Yiling, and then the information can be sent here using fast horse. Kou Zhong said, Well find out really soon. Come! Calm and unhurried, Bai Wenyuan personally operated the signalntern to notify the two skiffsing to meet them. After the three boats met, the two skiffs turned around and piloted them toward the ce where they should dock. Before they even cast their anchor, a high-ranking military officer from Baling Army jumped aboard, saluted to Bai Wenyuan, and said, Bai Jiangjun, how are you? Xiao Jiang Lei Youshi. Dong Shuai already knew you areing, but did not know it would be this soon. [Trantors note: interesting fact, Lei Youshi means thunder is starting.] Laying down the load on his mind, Bai Wenyuanughed and said, Such an urgent matter, naturally wed do everything in our power toe quickly to deliver the prisoner. Any news about those two small thieves? That Baling Armys Deputy General called Lei Youshi replied, We received news today that by using some tricks, those two small thieves turned Rong Fengxiangs Bai Ye General Assembly upside down and inplete shambles. Um, didnt Bai Jiangjune from there? You ought to have clearer knowledge about this. Bai Wenyuan cheerfully said, This matter is unusuallyplicated, well talk in details after I make my appearance. How about Lei Xionge to our sides fort to chat after we hand over the prisoner to DongShuai? Smiling bitterly, Lei Youshi said, I am on duty tonight; how about tomorrow night? Those two small thieves have always appeared and disappeared unpredictably [orig. gods appear and devils vanish]; even Li Mi, Yuwen Huaji, Li Zitong, and the others are not their match, it wont do if I dont have twelve awake-spirits. A bizarre feeling rose up in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hearts. It was not polite words, but it came from the enemys mouth, heartfelt words full of wariness; it could clearly be seen that their names had intimidated the world, no wonder Xiao Xian, Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong were so active in plotting against them, and attached more importance to them rather than the Flying Horse Ranch. The hull shuddered slightly, the shipped was docked. Bring the prisoner out! Bai Wenyuan shouted. Immediately someone pushed Luo Fang out and handed him over to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who took their positions on his left and right, as they walked down the ship. On the surface Luo Fang looked like he had been beaten pretty bad; not only his clothes were tattered, there were streaks of dried blood and some bruising on his face as well. The others remained on board the ship. Leading the way, Lei Youshi casuallymented, Your ship seems to be riding low on the water, it must be filled with goods. Walking behind, Kou, Xu and Lou, three men were secretly startled, but Bai Wenyuan nonchntlyughed and said, Lei Xiongs eyesight is indeed formidable; the entire hold is full of rice grain, it would be strange indeed if it werent low. If not for the tail wind, we would not have arrived here this quickly. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they both could see the brilliance of this answer. With these few sentences, Bai Wenyuan sessively resolved several issues; not only he was praising Lei Youshi, he also addressed the heavy load of the ship, and most importantly he exined the tail wind, which enabled them to arrive swiftly, and thus dismissed the other partys misgivings. Arriving on shore, a group of more than twenty Baling Armys troops escorted them, in front and behind, as they walked toward the Baling Armys stronghold. Lei Youshi looked back at the hanging-his-head-dispiritedly Luo Fang, and spoke in a low voice, This kid seemed to have received some sufferings from Bai Jiangjun; whats his name? And what kind of useful information did he bring? Bai Wenyuan was waiting precisely for these questions; delighted, he replied, This kid is called Luo Fang, an important figure of Fu Zhishi [deputy manager, see Book 9 Chapter 4] level within the Flying Horse Ranch. He was on his way to see those two small thieves to ask for help, but was returning alone earlier to inform Shang Xiuxun about the grand n concerning the counteroffensive against us. Tell me, do you think this is a useful information? Emotionally moved, Lei Youshi said, That is indeed an extremely important information; Bai Jiangjun is really resourceful. Bai Wenyuan responded gloomily, It was none other than that set of old tricks, nobodys mouth is stronger than those malicious torture. Lei Youshi shouted to a Baling Army soldier in front of him, Run to notify Dong Shuai: Bai Jiangjun has an extremely important information to be reported immediately. epting the order the soldier ran away. Lei Youshi suddenly smiled evilly, The day before yesterday we caught a group of vige girls in the neighboring viges, among them there are two whose appearance is fairly beautiful, is Bai Jiangjun interested? Murderous intent immediately shed through Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings eyes. Bai Wenyuanughed and said, Lets set them aside for Lei Xiongs enjoyment! I just came back from Hefei. Ha! Lei Xiong ought to know what I am talking about! Greatly delighted, Lei Youshi said, Understand! Understand! Ay! Living in wild, mountainous country is indeed too dry and maddening. This moment the entourage turned uphill along the sloping path leading toward the mountain stronghold; they saw on both sides of the road threeyers of trenches to trap horses, full of sharp thorns in the inside. Seeing this, Kou Zhong and the others cried lucky! inwardly. Were it not for this brilliant scheme of entering by deceit, with less than a force of two thousand men attacking three separate wooden forts with tens of thousands men inside, it would be like a moth throwing itself into a me, or like using a praying mantis arm to block a chariot. Themander tent was brightly lit. Dong Jingzhen was sitting in themander chair, on his left and right stood four high-ranking military officers, all were unable to take their eyes off Luo Fang, who was being dragged into the tent. Dong Jingzhen looked to be around forty years old, tall and thin, with square face and big ears, and distinct lines on his face, his chin was protruding, his eyebrows and hair thick, his overall appearance was bold and powerful. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling shouted at the same time, Kneel! Luo Fang shook for a moment, as if his legs suddenly went weak, he dropped on his knees, with head hung low; his acting was so good that even Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Bai Wenyuan could not see any w. Apart from Lei Youshi, the other guards did not follow inside the tent. Dong Jingzhenughed aloud and said, Bai Jiangjun could extract such an important military intelligence from this kids mouth, you have rendered great merit to the coalition forces, it is worthy of celebration. Bai Wenyuan turned toward Kou and Xu, two men, and ordered, You wait outside the tent. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling loudly acknowledge the order, turned around and out of the tent. Thismand tent was located in the center of the wooden stronghold, surrounded byrge empty space, with all the other tents located fifty paces away. There were eight guards standing around the tent. The twenty some soldiers who came with Lei Youshi were standing on the path, ready to get out of the fort and return to the crossing dock. The two boys ran after them, and walked toward the strongholds gate. All the officers and soldiers within the camp were already in their tents to rest and sleep, only those who were on guard duty remained outside to patrol the fort. Except for the windnterns illuminating the main paths connecting all four stronghold gates, the camp was dark. Under the bright moon, the tents looked like mounds of steamed buns growing out of the ground. There were more than ten soldiers standing on guard at the gate, four of whom were serving on sentry duty on the watchtowers rising approximately two zhang high on either side of the fort gate. But because nobody could have imagined that the enemy has arrived, the alert level was very low, the vignce was cking. As the guards saw the group of soldiers, they hastily opened one side of the gate to let them pass. Xuan Yong and the others came following the ship; five hundred elite troops were crowding in the hold of the ship. They have already taken care of the Baling Army soldiers at the crossing dock. They also secured the area for the arrival of the men and horses from their side. Xuan Yong personally led more than a dozen men with superior qinggong to hide at the foot of the hill nearest the trenches of horse trap. This moment, seeing the forts gate opened, they quickly pounced out. The guards on the watchtowers were the first to find out, but as they were about to shout, Kou Zhong soared up, while releasing a series of flying des. Four guards grunted miserably, and turned into muddleheaded ghosts. Xu Ziling moved at the same time; like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, he brandished his fists, one after another the guards at the gate fell to the ground, without even had any chance to utter any word. Kou Zhong took a breath midair and somersaulted toward the gate. Together with Xuan Yong and his men rushing over, with the speed of lightning they took care of the Baling Army, who were about to rush out of the fort to help theirrades. In a few blinks of the eye, the secure-as-a-city-protected-by-a-wall-of-metal-and-a-moat-of-boiling-water stronghold gate has already fallen into their control. After meeting up with Xuan Yong and his men, Kou Zhong gave his order, Clean up the patrol and guards on the watchtowers first, lest they send out an rm. Responding to his order, the men spread out. The rest of Shaoshuai Army rushed over from the crossing dock. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling reached out to grab each others hand to congratte each other, they both felt lucky. Although there were more than four thousand Baling troops inside the stronghold, all they could do was to wait for the ughter. After making adequate preparation and ensuring good coordination, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took twenty Shaoshuai troops, who had changed into Baling Army uniform, to return to themand tent. As the guards around themand tent saw them left but came back, especially with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling on the lead, they were surprised. Taking advantage while their attention was focused on Kou Zhong and his men, Xuan Yong and his men rushed out from their hiding, swift as lightning they subdued the guards. They heard Dong Jingzhensughter from inside the tent, Luo Xiongdi certainly know how to be tactful. Since you are willing to rely on our sides help, I can guarantee you futures riches and honor, glory and splendor, and boundless good fortune for your offspring. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling lifted up the tents curtain and stepped in. While Dong Jingzhen and the others turned their eyes toward them in shock, Bai Wenyuan and Luo Fang suddenly made their move to attack the men closest to them. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well left its scabbard and turned into a streak of yellow light, hacking onto Dong Jingzhen, whose weapon was still lying on the side. Xu Ziling sent out double punches across empty air, attacking the two high-ranking military officers at Dong Jingzhens left and right. For a period of time saber ray and sword shadow pervaded the air in the tent. Dong Jingzhen was an outstanding figure as well; even in shock and facing death, he did not panic. Throwing himself backward, the tumbled and rolled out of the tent. Although he managed to evade Kou Zhongs shocking-the-heaven-moving-the-earth saber strike, he could not dodge Xuan Yongs Bird Beak Strike and more than a dozen sabers and swordsing right up on him. Immediately blood rushed out from the many wounds on his body. Were it not for his profound and powerful true qi protecting his body, plus he immediately soared up to the sky to get away, he would have died on the spot. The Moon in the Well was like a shadow attached to his figure; it chopped down on him head-on. Dong Jingzhen roared; his right palm swept across the Moon in the Wells de, with exquisite-beyondpare move to save his life. Vortex of energy burst into his body via his palm. One was seizing the opportunity to strike with all his strength, the other was facing an attack in a hurry after he was injured in the battle; the difference was like heaven and earth, cloud and mud. Dong Jingzhens entire body shook; curling into a ball, he rolled unnaturally backward, blood did not stop spurting out of his mouth, until finally hey spread-eagled on the ground, and could only gasp for breath. Xu Ziling pounced out of the tent, and said with augh, All clear! Sweeping his gaze around, Kou Zhong saw that the men in the tents nearby have been awakened by the sound of the fighting. Tearing off his mask, he shouted, Drop down to the ground; those who resist will be killed without mercy! Everybody followed the order. Kou Zhong shot a nce at Dong Jingzhen, whose hands and feet were being tied by his men using cowhide rope; he turned toward Xu Ziling and said with a sigh, Ling Shao ought to know that I have no other choice; on the battlefield, it is either you kill me or I kill you. Dont forget that they have already done too big of a damage to such a small ce. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, I did not me you, no need to say it with that many words. Come! And he took off ahead of Kou Zhong. It couldnt really be considered a battle at all. Because Dong Jingzhen and a lot of high-ranking military officers were captured first, the Baling Army, who had just been awakened from sleep, was like a dragon without a head. One after another they surrendered, saving Kou Zhong from the sin of having to kill a lot of people. By the second watch of the night [between 21:00 C 23:00 (i.e. 9-11pm)], the entire wooden stronghold has fallen into Kou Zhongs hands, so that they were able to proceed to the second phase of their n. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Bai Wenyuan, holding the crestfallen Dong Jingzhen in custody, along with more than forty of their men disguised as Dong Jingzhens personal guards, galloped their horses toward the other wooden stockade, under themand of Zhu Cans other great general, Wen Liang, followed by Xuan Yongs thousand-man Shaoshuai Army. Luo Fang and the other several hundred men stayed behind to guard the wooden fort. The group rode at full speed, and reached the Garuda Armys wooden stockade, which was only half a li away. Reaching the gate, they shouted at the guards, Dong Jingzhen Da Shuai [greatmander] has urgent matter to discuss with Wen Shuai [Commander Wen], we have information on Shaoshuai Armys whereabouts. Bai Wenyuan also shouted, Its me! Open the gate and let us in. Naturally the guards did not know it was a ruse, since they saw Dong Jingzhen, and the high-ranking military officer from their own side, Bai Wenyuan, they opened the gate while sending someone to run to notify Wen Liang, who was asleep in his tent. The gate was barely opened when the group swarmed in, and immediately killed everybody within their sight. For a short while battle cry shook the heavens, rousing the officers and soldiers inside the camp from their beautiful dream. Like a tidal wave Xuan Yong and his men came pouring into the stronghold, setting fire everywhere, and destroying everything in their path. Very soon the entire wooden stronghold has been engulfed in the raging inferno. The confused Garuda Army could only run toward the other gates and flee into the wilderness. Cao Yinglongs bandit army came to provide assistance, but they were caught by the ambushing Shaoshuai Army and were beaten to a sorry state; they also fled the stronghold in disorder. By daybreak, the coalition forces of three sides elite troops had ceased to exist. Book 22 - 9 – Making Threats and Promises Book 22 Chapter 9 C Making Threats and Promises Dong Jingzhen was brought inside the tent. Kou Zhong rose up to meet him, Quickly untie Dong Shuai [Commander]! The guard who brought him in was dumbstruck. It was only after Kou Zhong repeated his order that he drew his dagger and cut the ox-tendon rope binding Dong Jingzhen. After ordering his men to leave the tent, Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Dong Da Jiangjun [great general], please sit down. Dong Jingzhen swept his gaze across themand tent, which originally was his own. Sighing dejectedly, he said, Just kill me. I, Dong Jingzhen, will never bow to a kid like you, whose smell of your mothers milk not yet dried. Kou Zhong did not take offense at all; still smiling amiably, he said, I know that Dong Da Jiangjun cannot ept your defeat. But since its the fact, I am helpless to change it. Dont Dong Da Jiangjun agree with me? Dong Jingzhen still repeat the same sentence, Just kill me! Were it not for his internal injury was rather heavy, he would have attempted to seize the opportunity to break the siege. Kou Zhong remained indifferent and at ease; he said, I do not intend for you to surrender to our side at all. Your entire family, father and mother, wife and children, are all in Baling; if I forced you to surrender, or even made a im that you have surrendered to us, and thus helped us to break the other two strongholds, wouldnt I bring your entire family to their death? This is not the kind of thing that I, Kou Zhong, do. Hearing thest few sentences, Dong Jingzhens face immediately lost its color, because he knew that it was not an empty threat at all. This move was more sinister than threatening to kill him. Dejected, he said, You are so cruel! Speak up then! Kou Zhongs eyes shed with cold rays, he said, I want to make a deal with you. As long as you agree, you can take approximately two thousand of your men who fell into our hands to immediately take the boat to return to Yiling, to the right via Ye Lu. I am sure Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong will not let you off, because they believed it was you who attacked them. Dong Jingzhen appeared to have aged several years; dejectedly he slumped back into is chair. It was only then did Kou Zhong sit into Dong Jingzhensmander chair. He said, I want to know the actual troops deployment that Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong are going to use to attack Yuanan and Dangyang. Frowning, Dong Jingzhen said, How could they be willing to let me know that kind of military intelligence? Arent you just forcing me into a corner? Why dont you simply kill me? Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes shone with terrifying strange light enveloping Dong Jingzhen. Slowly he pulled the Moon in the Well, andy it down on the small table by his side. He spoke heavily, I treated Da Jiangjun in good faith, but Da Jiangjun treats me, Kou Zhong, like an idiot. Perhaps I would really behead Da Jiangjuns head, and then behead all Da Jiangjuns men. Dont me me for not giving you a very clear warning. Dong Jingzhens countenance changed. He said, A warrior can be killed, but cannot be disgraced. You want to kill me, you want to cut my flesh, Ol Dong will not knit half my brow. But you cant insult me ... Kou Zhong sighed loudly to cut him off; shaking his head, he said, Da Jiangjun better not finish whatever it is you wanted to say. What kind of man Xiao Xian is, you and I are very clear about it. After sweeping away the Flying Horse Ranch and us, he is going to deal with Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong. Now that you have such a chance of cooperation, how could Dong Da Jiangjun not seize the opportunity to spy their two armies actual situation without too much extra effort? Dong Jingzhen averted his gaze; hanging his head low, he said, This is simply gauging the heart of a gentlemen with ones own mean measure! Kou Zhong knew that he had struck Dong Jingzhens vital point, and he knew that this man was not like the rather-die-than-submit fa?ade he was putting on, otherwisest night he would not have surrendered under the sword de, to go with them to deceive the gate and break the stronghold. Rising to his full height, Kou Zhong said, Since thats the case, there is no point in us continuing to talk. I wonder if Dong Da Jiangjun has any interest in watching your brethrens heads fall to the ground one by one? Grieved, Dong Jingzhen said, You win! Upright and unafraid, Kou Zhong walked out of the tent, toward Xu Ziling, Luo Fang, Xuan Yong and Bai Wenyuan, who were waiting for his good news, and made a sign of victory. Xuan Yong gestured with his chin toward themand tent, asking for instructions on how to handle Dong Jingzhen. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Naturally we treat him with due respect; how could I, Kou Zhong, be a cruel murderer? We will release all prisoners immediately, let them depart by boat, but they are not allowed to bring any weapon or horses. Give them enough provision for two days. Xuan Yong epted the order and left. While walking toward the strongholds gate, Kou Zhong, who was apanied by Xu Ziling, Luo Fang, and Bai Wenyuan, said, Now Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong must be thinking that Xiao Xian is conspiring to murder them. How do you think they will react? Skeptical, Luo Fang said, Do you think Dong Jingzhen might lie? Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, We have Bai Xiong here, who has deep knowledge of Zhu Cans actual situation, as well as certain understanding of Cao Yinglongs, so he simply cannot speak out crazy and unfounded ravings. He is just a fellow who is greedy for life, afraid of death. In order to keep his life, he might even sell out his old Die, much less Zhu Can, who are the enemy and not friends at all, and Cao Yinglong, that leader of the thieves? Thinking deeply, Xu Ziling said, The question is whether Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong really believe that Xiao Xian betrayed their alliance, and that because of Zhu Meis pitfall Bai Xiong has realigned his allegiance to Xiao Xian. Bai Wenyuan resolutely said, Cao Yinglong, I do not dare to guarantee, but Zhu Can has a violent temper; in his distress over the disastrous casualties of his elite troops, his trusted lieutenant Wen Liang died in battle, he will definitely vent all his resentments on Xiao Xian, and will lose all reasons. Proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, The most brilliant is that Zhu Can will never guess that I maye from the Great River, and thus sh at least three days of travel. This is the ck pot Dong Jingzhen has to carry on his back. The four men stepped out of the stronghold. Under the bright sunlight, the green mountain and grassy hill extended in front of them, their spirit was greatly aroused. Xu Ziling took a deep breath, sighed and said, That will do. If Zhu and Cao are convinced that Xiao Xian turns his back on the alliance, Xiao Xians next step must be crossing the river to the north, taking advantage while the two main armies are stuck in the siege of Dangyang and Yuanan, to seize control over their army camps. In this case, the two could only retreat immediately. If the situation progresses to this stage, Shao Shuai ought to be able to take advantage of that! Bai Wenyuan nodded and said, Not only Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong will have misgivings toward Xiao Xian, under this kind of wind sighing and crane calling [i.e. panic at the slightest move], every tree or bush an enemy soldier [i.e. seeing everyone as an enemy] situation, they could even be suspicious and jealous of each other, so it will be difficult for them to cooperate. We will have the opportunity. Remaining tranquil and calm, Kou Zhong said, Based on our current strength, that is, including the Flying Horse Ranch and Jinlings Duba Viges former soldiers and generals, we could only attack one of those armies. Which unfortunate man Bai Xiong thinks we should pick? Grateful, Bai Wenyuan said, Just by Shao Shuais words, Wenyuan is willing to serve you. Frankly speaking, naturally I wanted to pick Zhu Can to avenge my big hatred and deep enmity. But strategy-wise, this is not a prudent choice. This case can be divided into three aspects. Astonished, Luo Fang said, I only thought that Zhu Cans military power is strong, while Cao Yinglongs is weak, but I never thought that there are two other reasons. Smiling, Bai Wenyuan said, Its simply because for the time being, Luo Xiongdi has not thought about it! Xu Ziling said, I can only guess one more reason: if we strike and defeat Zhu Can, Xiao Xian might immediately deploy his troops crossing the River to seize control over the two raging allies territories. Cao Yinglong is, after all, a roving bandit; he knows how to attack but not to defend. As for blocking Xiao Xian crossing to the north, no matter what, he cannot bepared to Zhu Can. Kou Zhongughed and said, The third reason may be to take the lid off the goblet! Bai Wenyuan cheerfully said, Actually, Xu Xiong said it well. Although Cao Yinglongs military power reaches forty thousand men, all along they are just roving bandit on horseback; an army division that is brought together by chance. When winning, their momentum is like the rainbow, but as soon as they see their side defeated, they would beat a hasty retreat, their hearts will be in panic, and they will lose their will to fight. They are not like Zhu Cans men at all, who have family and rtives in their homnd to protect. Most of them are single men, all alone in the world; when they say they want to go, they just go. As long as we can urately predict the method, as well as the route, they are going to retreat, we will be able to thoroughly take them out in one fell swoop. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Bai Xiongs view is subtle and unique; Zhu Can, father and daughters desire to put you to death was very unwise. Smiling bitterly, Bai Wenyuan said, It was precisely my strong opposition against alliance with Cao Yinglong that aroused Zhu Cans murderous intent. Zhu Mei was already fed up with me for some time, fortunately two gentlemen came to my rescue. In the past few days I have had the opportunity to fight alongside all of you, it was indeed an unprecedented joy for me. Kou Zhong patted his back vigorously; letting out a longugh he said, In the future we will all be family. In his excitement, Luo Fangs face turned deep red; he sighed and said, Cao Yinglong strung through and filled with evil [idiom: guilty of monstrous crimes], we will kill him until not a single armor remains. Kou Zhong said, In Bai Xiongdis opinion, where would Cao Yinglong withdraw to? Bai Wenyuan took out rolls of map from his pocket; selecting one of them, he spread it out on the ground. The other three men followed him squatting down, listening to his exnation, Before the alliance, Cao Yinglong has suffered defeat under me, he retreated toward a vige west of the Xi River south of Jingling; he captured more than a hundred small viges, so he is hated there and has no ce to pick, and can only go to the east, returning to his old nest. He must first cross River Ju, across Mount Jingshan, and pass through River Zhang. If we could prepare an ambush on River Zhang, taking advantage while he is crossing the river tounch pincer attack from both sides, I guarantee they will never return to their old nest. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This n is a seamless heavenly clothes [i.e. wless]. Reaching out to Luo Fangs shoulder, heughed and said, Xiao Fang ought to know what to do! Luo Fang puffed his breast and said, I will hurry back to the Ranch immediately to notify Changzhu [Ranch Master]. The entire Shaoshuai Army advanced toward the jungle on the east bank of River Zhang, set up their camp and prepared their food. Men and horses must try hard to have good rest, to eradicate the exhaustion over three days, day and night, continuous journey of rushing into this ce. Without stopping to rest, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Bai Wenyuan and Xuan Yong, four men, galloped upstream along the east bank of the river. When they reached an especially narrow gorge in the river, Bai Wenyuan pointed with his horsewhip straight ahead and said, If we have enough time, we could build wooden structure here, and fill it with bags of sand and stones to stop the river. When Cao Yinglong cross the river, we could destroy the dam, and let the rolling waves flush away Cao Yinglongs thieves crossing the river, so that their head and tail will be separated into two sections. At that time we could seize the opportunity to make a surprise attack. It will be as easy as blowing off dust. Xuan Yong regretfully said, First, we do not even have bags, second, to build such wooden fence we will need at least ten days or more, not to mention exhausting the army, wearying the crowd. In term of time, we really cannot cope. Xu Ziling asked, Bai Xiong has fought many times against Cao Yinglong; is there anything about him that we must pay particr attention to? Bai Wenyuan muttered to himself irresolutely, There are three reasons why Cao Yinglong is able to move unhindered across Hubei: first, they are able to march really fast; they move swiftly and unpredictably. As soon as they encountered a dangerous and difficult path, they would immediately withdraw far away. This is the roving bandits inherent quality, yet it is really able to help him repeatedly going through numerous crises. After a short pause, he went on, The second reason is that they use war to raise war. No matter how bad they suffer setback and crushing blow, as long as they were able to escape alive, they would go everywhere, looting and recruiting mobs to expand and rapidly grow. Finished ransacking one ce, they would simply go to another ce,pletely without any fear of trouble from the rear. Kou Zhongmented, But the disadvantage is that everybody joins in for individual interest, there is no identical ideal to be spoken about. As long as we can get rid of Cao Yinglong, Fang Jianding, and Xiang Baxian, these three head thieves, those loose sand will be dispersed and will never get together again. Xu Ziling recalled the former Sui dynastys troops, who, after defeat, went everywhere to burn and loot, to rape and kill; he spoke resolutely, We must wipe out this kind of disciples who kill people like scything xpletely; otherwise, the neighboring viges will be facing imminent catastrophe. Xuan Yong nodded and said, To destroy thempletely will not be easy, but we are notpletely without any way to do that. Kou Zhong asked Bai Wenyuan, What other exclusive trick does Cao Yinglong have? Bai Wenyuan replied, He is adept at night battle; whether marching or fighting, they especially choose to do it at night. Only then are they able to appear and disappear unpredictably [orig. gods appear and devils vanish]. Whether attacking or retreating, they will always upy the advantageous position. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, How can we force them to cross the river in the full light of day then? Xu Ziling thought aloud, If we can create certain situation that would make them aware that the Ranchs main forces are following close at their heels, then they would not be able to choose either day or night. Kou Zhong said, It would be best if Cao Yinglong cannot guess that we would arrive one step ahead of him, preserving and nurturing our spirit at the far riverbank, waiting for his arrival. Also, he would think that if they could cross the river, they would be able to throw away the pursuing troops, and return safely to the fertile countryside. Squeezing his horses belly, Bai Wenyuan said, Follow me. Turning the horses head, he galloped away downstream. After repeatedly stopping and going for about ten li, Bai Wenyuan rushed back upstream. Only after four, five li, he flew off his horse, to let his horse, which was foaming on its mouth, to rest and eat grass. Bai Wenyuan carefully examined the area around the riverbank. Finally he stood behind an underbrush andughed aloud, The Emperor of Heaven does not turn his back on the believing man. I finally found the ce where that Cao thief crossed the riverst time. Kou Zhong, three men, were greatly delighted. They rushed over to him; from the underbrush that was pushed open by him, surprisingly they found four wooden stakes, as thick as a human body, which were driven deep into the ground. The stakes had groove on them to tie the rope. Everybody dispersed to look, and found eight such stakes. Bai Wenyuan said with delight, Although the river here is ten zhang wide, the water is slow and t, more suitable to river crossing than any other sections. Xuan Yong cast his gaze faraway toward the opposite bank; heughed and said, I am positive that in that jungle by the bank we will find hundreds of floating buckets. If they strung the thick ropes on the water, and put wooden nks on them, they can make pontoon bridge. In less than one sichen, they can build eight such bridges. Kou Zhong said, The answer is in front of us. If only we know it as soon as we see it. Xu Ziling said, We must force the thieves to cross the river in haste; otherwise, if we let them arrange battle formation on the shore first, and give them the opportunity to setup lookouts on high ces, it would be difficult for us to mount a surprise attack. Kou Zhong said with a sigh, It all depends on whether the beautiful Changzhu will obediently listen to us! Turning toward Xuan Yong, he said, We will move the troops here tonight, and make all necessary preparations. Now we are going to cross the river to take a look. After making sure that the equipment for the pontoon bridge are hidden on the opposite bank, Wenyuan and I will meet the Ranchs main forces. You and Ling Shao stay on this side. And then heughed and said, Persisting in evil brings about self-destruction. Oh evil thieves! This time Laotianye is putting you away, I am simply helping Laotianye aplishing it! Book 22 - 10 – Taking Advantage of Defeat to Pursue Book 22 Chapter 10 C Taking Advantage of Defeat to Pursue Kou Zhong, following the lead of the old horse who knew the way home [idiom: in difficulty, trust an experience colleague] Bai Wenyuan, encountered Cao Yinglongs troop of thieves withdrawing toward the River Zhang. The two were halfway up the mountain, looking down at the enemy. It was not until this moment that he really breathed a sigh of relief, having confirmed that Cao Yinglong was indeed acting as they expected: as soon as he heard about Xiao Xian turning his back on the alliance, he immediately abandoned the siege, made a turnaround and retreated to fertile viges. The Ranchs main forces should not be too far away. ording to their agreement, if Cao Yinglong retreated, the Ranchs main forces would go all-out to pursue closely. Under the moonlight, the procession of the thieves on horseback looked like a long snake slithering across the grasnd. Bai Wenyuan said, The Three Bandits forces consist mostly of infantry; their cavalry should not be more than seven thousand. If they encountered any mishaps, the cavalry would seize the way first and leave the infantrymen far behind. Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes brightened up, as he spoke in heavy voice, To move the troops, one must observe the enemy first; this is called knowing the other side. The so-called taking advantage of doubt to sow discontent, taking advantage of exhaustion to attack, taking advantage of hunger to trap, taking advantage of separation to scheme, taking advantage of weakness to sweep, taking advantage of chaos to exploit, taking advantage while the enemy has not arrived to thwart their movement, taking advantage while the enemy has not sent out any troop disposition to gain control, taking advantage while the enemy is victorious to seize by force, taking advantage while the enemy is defeated to pursue. We have used the taking advantage of doubt to sow discontent move to break down their three-side alliance, forcing Cao Yinglongs forty-thousand strong main forces to be like rats scurrying off into the wilderness. This time we are going to use the taking advantage while the enemy is defeated to pursue to kill them all that not a single armor remains. Full of admiration, Bai Wenyuan said, What you said resonates deeply with the Art of War; Shao Shuai is indeed an erudite schr. How could Kou Zhong have the nerve to tell him that he learned everything from Lu Miaozis secret book? Without any better option, he resisted from answering. Praising without ceasing, Bai Wenyuan continued, Shao Shuais most formidable move was to make threats and promises; scaring Dong Jingzhen that he took his more than two thousand men hurriedly fleeing back to Yiling. Furthermore, they had not a cun of steel [idiom: unarmed and defenseless], not enough provision, so that even if they did not want to return to Yiling, they simply could not. This matter cannot be concealed from Zhu Can, so that he is more convinced than ever that Dong Jingzhen was indeed the main culprit. Who would believe that someone would be foolish enough to let the tiger return to its mountain? Even if Xiao Xian utters a hundred statements, no one would argue with him. Zhu Can pulled his troops, Cao Yinglong has no choice but to follow his lead and withdraw. Kou Zhongughed and said, Psychologically speaking, since Dong Jingzhen believed he had leaked military intelligence concerning Zhu Can and Cao Yinglongs movements to me, he is ashamed and has guilty conscience, hence he would not dare to exin everything clearly to his allies. And then, looking down at the enemy, he spoke heavily, Just by looking at the opponents formation in disorder, their provision carts are falling far behind the main column, we know that their body and soul are weary, their thoughts in a whirl. If we rob their provision carts, so that we are adding hunger on top of exhaustion, they will be put in chaos and will scatter away; their only way out is fleeing toward River Zhang, hoping to cross the river as quickly as they could, hence we will have the opportunity we can exploit. Squeezing his horses belly, he said, Lets go! Xu Ziling and Xuan Yong were patrolling their camp. Seeing more than a hundred of their men were making straw dummies, Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, Whats that for? This is called creating diversion, Xuan Yong replied, Because we are a few in number, it will be difficult for us to block tens of thousands of thieves fleeing into the wilderness. We will put small number of soldiers mixed with straw dummies in several strategic locations, giving up the impression of huge momentum, forcing the enemy to only dare to escape toward the ce where, on the surface, seems to have fewest men, but the empty is actually real, and thus they are falling straight into our trap. Good n! Xu Ziling praised. Reaching the shore, he saw about a thousand of soldiers digging trenches, also setting up sharp stakes hidden at the bottom to trap horses, and covered the trenches with mud and grass. Xuan Yong exined, This is targeted at the enemies who cross the river in haste; they would never expect us to set ambush on this side, hence they will definitely flee in cmity. Xu Ziling halted his steps. Looking into the distance at the opposite shore, he spoke heavily, War is imminent, I wonder what Xuan Xiongs reflections are? Xuan Yong stood side-by-side with him. Sighing contemtively, he said, Since Da Longtous [reminder: big boss, referring to Zhai Rang] death, I thought that I would have nothing to look forward to in military campaign, in the battlefield! Who would have thought that I received Shao Shuais promotion? Not only to avenge Da Longtous deep enmity, but also to disy what I am good at. The longer I associate with Shao Shuai, the more I admire him. I am referring to not only his knowledge, strategy, and martial art skill, but also his insight. The best trait that makes people willing to submit cheerfully is his conduct; you would never doubt that he might be suspicious and jealous of you. And any impossible task, in his hands it will be possible, as if where the water flows, a canal is formed. To be in contact with him is really exciting and interesting. Xu Ziling pondered quietly that that was precisely Kou Zhongs charm, as well as his biggest asset in the contention for hegemony over the world. The sound of hoof beats shook the heavens; under the afternoon sun, the Ranchs ten-thousand strong elite cavalry appeared from the surface of the earth like a tidal wave. Kou Zhong and Bai Wenyuan galloped down the hill to meet them. Amidst the bugle horn, the two-thousand strong vanguard units under the leadership of the Ranchs two Managers [orig. zhishi], Liu Zongdao and Luo Fang gradually stopped. Liu Zongdaos single eye emitted sharp yet warm expression; even from afar heughed and said, Zhong Xiongdi, how are you? In just a short one year you have be the Shao Shuai whose name shakes the world. Kou Zhong urged his horse toe near him; leaning over, he embraced him, and said with augh, Just a ripple of false reputation, not worth Liu Shu [uncle] mentioning. Is Changzhu with the main force behind you? Liu Zongdao smiled and said, Changzhu is here! The vanguard army suddenly separated into two sides, creating a pathway in the middle of the men and horses, while at the same time they drew their swords and shouted, Long live Changzhu! The morale was boiling to its extreme point. From the middle of this human path, Shang Xiuxun, wearing full body armor, in awe-inspiring heroic spirit, urged her snow-white, without a single colored-hair, divine-spirited, top-quality warhorse, forward, galloping over as fast as lightning. With the silver white body armor and helmet, and the bright yellow cape fluttering in the wind behind her, she looked like the goddess of war descending into the world of the mortals. Evidently her mount was very fast. Behind her, the Da Guanjia [big housekeeper/manager of the household] Shang Zhen, leading a group of high-ranking officers, was struggling extremely hard to keep up with her. Stunned by her heavenly beauty and stately appearance, Kou Zhong was dumbstruck. Shang Xiuxuns equestrian skill was superb; with her men saluting and cheering on both sides, she galloped faster and faster. In the blink of an eye, like a tornado she already reached Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong, she shouted tenderly, Is your horse a Khitan steed? Lets have a race. Before Kou Zhong even had any time to respond, like a gust of wind Shang Xiuxun already flew in-between Kou Zhong and Liu Zongdao. All right, Kou Zhong called out, turned his horse around and galloped away in a wild chase. Liu Zongdao, Bai Wenyuan, Luo Fang, and the others waited until Shang Zhen and his men caught up before they led the troops to pursue behind the two, who, by this time, have be two small dots in the distance. In one breath Shang Xiuxun rode for more than fifty li, before she finally stopped on the top of a hill. Kou Zhong fell behind about half a li or so, and by the time he came to her side, the Ranchs main forces were still about ten li behind. The sun was setting behind the western mountains, the glow dyed the sky on the horizon red. Sitting on horseback, Shang Xiuxuns eyes looked straight ahead, as she spoke, calm andposed, Go figure! Deliberately gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, Changzhus horse is really fast. Looking at him, with a hint of smile in her beautiful eyes, Shang Xiuxun said, I was not talking about that at all. Comparing horses, even Khitan steed cantpare to my enhanced breed. While greedily drank on her beauty, which he had not seen for a long time, Kou Zhongughed and said, What was Changzhu talking about then? Shang Xiuxuns beautiful eyes looked deep into his eyes, she said, Figuring you knew I was in difficulty, and immediately rushed over in disregard of everything else, and executed a brilliant scheme in timely manner, breaking Zhu Chan, Xiao Xian, and Cao Yinglongs conspiracy, yet when you see me, you did not out on an air of someone who had rendered a great merit. Do you understand? Looking grieved for being wronged, Kou Zhong said, Beautiful Changzhu, what kind of man do you think Kou Zhong is? My respect and admiration toward Changzhu knows no bound; how could I dare to put on airs? Pfft, Shang Xiuxun giggled tenderly, just like a fresh flower suddenly blooms. Her eyes returned to looking ahead, she spoke tenderly and with naivet, Its been a long time since I heard this call, unexpectedly there is a bit of freshness in it. Oh! How about this: after we destroy Cao Yinglongs group of horse-mounted bandits, Ill give you ten thousand highest quality warhorses, with which you can crisscross the world and unify the rivers and mountains. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, This does not conform to the Ranchs rules, plus it might generate other peoples misperception, thinking that Changzhu is being sucked into this vortex of power struggle. Wed better wait for me to obtain the Duke Yang Treasure, and then using real gold, white silver I will buy horses from Changzhu. This way nobody would dare to speak even half a word of gossip about Changzhu. Shang Xiuxun slightly shrugged her almond shoulders; with sweet and charming demeanor she said, You want to y brave, Xiuxun will be happy to y along. Turning her head around, her beautiful eyes rippling with odd expression as she looked at him and said, I havent seen you for a year, you, this kid, appear to have more heroic spirit than before. This name Shao Shuai is very good; it is most suitable for you. A peculiar feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, so much so that he had a strong urge to pull her into his embrace. Since Li Xiuning and Song Yuzhi, he had never felt this way toward any woman. The Ranchs main forces arrived at the foot of the hill, a group of high-ranking officers left the troops and galloped up the hill to meet up with them, however, Jinglings Duba Viges former generals like Feng Ge, Feng Han, and the others had to stay behind at Yuanan and Dangyang, hence they did note. Kou Zhong saw Fu Dajie [big sister], Xu Yang, Liang Qian, Wu Zhaoru, and the others; everybody was extremely happy and excited. The First Manager Liang Zhi was in charge of watching over the Ranch, so he did note either. Shang Xiuxun was respectful toward Bai Wenyuan, this official who had rendered great merit. After saluting him and exchanging some pleasantries, she turned to Kou Zhong and said, Itste, wed better pitch camp and take a rest. During dinner we can discuss how to pursue and attack Cao Yinglongs troops of thieves? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Fortunate timing is fleeting. Cao Yinglongs brilliance is precisely waiting and regrouping during the daytime. Supposing that we overtake them, they will take advantage of our troops being weary, our horses tired, to strike back using their dominant military strength. When we are resting in the night, he will be marching at full speed. With this reversed day and night scheme, they would upy the invincible position. Therefore, if we want to defeat him, we must march in the night, snatch their provisions first, disturb their hearts and rob their will, and drive their formation into disarray, so that they flee in confusion toward the Zhang River. Only then will we have the chance of annihting them at one stroke. The Ranch people all nodded in agreement, but their faces showed difficult expression as well. Shang Xiuxun said, We have been rushing on the road for three days, men and horses are dead tired. Even if the men supported the idea, the horses wont be able to endure. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, As long as the men are willing to endure, it will work. I have already made preparation, along the way we seized thousands of high quality warhorses from the enemy, which we can use like ry stations, as convenience as simply exchanging the horses. Bai Wenyuan added, It appears that we are now only one horse-ride day away from the enemy. If we could exchange horses on the way smoothly, then we could overtake the enemy by tomorrow night, and thus we could carry out our surprise attack. Everybodys spirit was greatly aroused; their admiration of Kou Zhongs deep ns and distant thoughts was growing. Shang Xiuxun cast a sidelong nce with her thousand-tenderness and hundred-charm eyes toward Kou Zhong, and said with augh, You, this kid, is so full of tricks. And so she solemnly issued a decree, ordering Shang Zhen to personally pick a thousand martial art experts who were most adept in night travel, plus having the most exquisite equestrianism, to be on standby to set off. Everybody immediately took advantage of this short break to let their horses drink water and eat grass. While Bai Wenyuan, along with Luo Fang, Liu Zongdao, and the others, who were familiar with the surrounding terrain, were studying the route, Kou Zhong and Shang Xiuxun walked to the side to talk. This beautiful Ranch Master suddenly asked about Xu Ziling. Kou Zhongughed and replied, From time to time he and I both also miss Changzhu. Shang Xiuxun responded in displeasure, Your love-to-speak-out-of-line character still has not changed. As soon as you left, you were like the yellow crane, I could only learn about your recent developments from people returning to the Ranch. Ay! Why did you heave a sigh? Kou Zhong wondered. Shang Xiuxun fixed her beautiful eyes on the gradually darkening night sky, as she spoke softly, You have put Shang Xiuxun in a very difficult situation. The Li n has a very good rtionship with us, Li Xiuning is even a dear dy/girl] friend whom I knew since we were little. They came up with a n for dealing with Liu Wuzhou purchasing warhorses from the Tujue, hoping that I can breed and train new good horses, which I could supply to them on regr basis. Tell me, what should I do? Feeling tenderness toward her, Kou Zhong said, How could I let Changzhu be in difficult situation? If Changzhu has a hundred horses, you could sell fifty each to Li Xiuning and me, then Li Xiuning would not be able to me you. Astonished, Shang Xiuxun turned her eyes toward him; her jet-ck eyebrows slightly knitted, she said, Kou Zhong, what kind of person you really are? Are you really doing it for me? Or is there another ruse? I really cant see through you. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Sometimes I am a cunning fox, other times I am a stupid pig; I really am not clear myself. But one thing I am certain: no matter what, I will not do anything to harm the affairs of the people I care about. In the big contention for hegemony of the world, which covers practically the entire Central Earth, I only have a 10% chance of winning, while the Li kid, Shimin, has at least 60% of the remaining 90% chance, with the remaining 30% belongs to Dou Jiande, standing at 20%, and together, Du Fuwei and Xiao Xian ounted for 10%. Therefore, if Changzhu is not able to help me, the consequences will be dire. Emotionally moved, Shang Xiuxun said, Only real hero and outstanding character can say such words. Since you know the chance of losing is greater than the chance of winning, why dont you realign your allegiance to the Li family? Stunned, Kou Zhong said, If I, Kou Zhong, am willing to be under other people as their hunting dog and ve, would I still be Kou Zhong? Shang Xiuxun apologetically said, I am only passing on the words that someone else entrusted to me. I knew early on that you would never listen. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Li Xiuning? Shang Xiuxun nodded slightly. She has a letter that she entrusted me to give to you, at this moment I have it with me, she spoke softly. Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Finally he spoke indifferently, Just tear it for me! Xu Ziling was standing at the riverbank; suddenly remembering Susus untimely death, which caught him unprepared, he could not help feeling the pain as if an awl bored through his heart. Thest streak of sunset was disappearing under the grassynd of the opposite bank. If Fu Junchuos death made him grow up from a child to an adult, then Susus death has changed his view of life. Men only live for several decades of summer and winter; what is actually the purpose of that? This moment Xuan Yong came from behind and reported, The fire beacon signal indicated that Cao Yinglong is indeed withdrawing in this direction, and they will arrive the night after tomorrow. Xu Ziling was awakened from his deep thought, to return to the ruthless reality. Muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, If for any reason the Ranchs main forces cannote in time for pincer attack, and the enemy is crossing the river under carefullyid out defense, will we still be able tounch surprise attack? Xuan Yong replied, Then we only have fifty-fifty chance, sess or failure is hard to forecast. It will purely depend on how Cao Yinglong would counterattack. When that timees, we will need Xu Ye to make the decision. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that Kou Zhong certainly made good rmendation by putting him in such important position that he must make decision that would affect the life or death of thousands of people. Smiling ruefully, he said, You are more qualified than I am to make that decision. Full of confidence, Xuan Yong said, Xu Ye, set your heart at ease, Shao Shuai will definitely have a way to force Cao Yinglong to cross the river in a flurry. Xu Ziling again mused inwardly that the reason Xuan Yong had such confidence was because he had never seen Kou Zhong, when facing defeat, fought like desperate rooster. In fact, before dealing big blow on Li Mi, they did not have too many sesses; Susus death was precisely a continuation, as well as the aftermath, of such failure. If that day they did note across Xiang Yushan on the street and asked him the way to the brothel, Susu would not have to die of pent-up frustration. Going deeper into his thought, if they did not encounter Li Jing, would their lives be happier? Unfortunately, life does not have any what-if. It was as if Laotianye had a pair of invisible, unreachable, formless hands that was pulling individuals together to stimte gratitude and grudges, and entangle those people together in an intricate fate. Life is full of ups and downs, floating and sinking, without the freedom to act independently. Book 22 - 11 – Demonic Sect Hua Jian Book 22 Chapter 11 C Demonic Sect Hua Jian After daybreak, under Bai Wenyuans guidance, Kou Zhong and Shang Xiuxun, leading the Ranchs elite troops, finally arrived at the small valley where they would exchange their horses. The warhorses were under the care of more than a dozen Shaoshuai Army soldiers. None of horses was not in its optimum condition, which posed an extreme contrast to their strength-exhausted, muscle-weary warhorses that came with them. After calcting the distance and time, Kou Zhong and Bai Wenyuan decided to rest for half a sichen. The warriors felt as if they had just been granted an amnesty from the Emperor. The hardship of the all-night travel really need not be mentioned. In a split second they were already sprawled over the entire valley, creating an impressive sight. To let their horses rest morefortably, they all unloaded the saddle. The officers and soldiers took off their armor, and either sitting or sleeping, they made themselves asfortable as possible in light garment and simple adornment. Kou Zhong went to the small brook in the valley to wash his face with the ice-cold water. Scooping up the water, he drank more than a dozen mouthful in one go; he felt extreme delight, free and easy, and satisfaction. Shang Xiuxuns graceful, clear and melodious voice suddenly rang out behind him. Are you or are you not willing to ept the letter, and thus absolving me from this responsibility? there was a slight anger in her voice. Kou Zhong simply dipped his head into the water. Shang Xiuxun walked over; grabbing the back of his cor with one hand, she stuffed the letter into his neck with the other. Aiyo! Kou Zhong cried out, stood up and blurted out, Kong Laofuzi [i.e. Confucius] had said, indecent assault includes touching; some people also said that men and women should touch hands when they give or receive things [this one is actually a citation from Mencius]. Beautiful Changzhu, you disregard all these rules and regtions. Looks like in the future, I, Kou Zhong, will not need to abide by the rules toward you. Shang Xiuxun retreated three steps back. With a smile yet not a smile, with anger yet not really angry, she fixed her gaze on him, who was trying to fish the in yellow letter from the back of his neck in panic, while his head was still dripping wet. Pouting her cute lips, she spoke with disdain, Since when did a man like you ever abide by the rules? But if you dare not to behave toward me, I will punish you ording to the house rules. Kou Zhongs eyes fell onto the letter in his hand; he saw written on the letter was Addressed to Mr. Kou Zhong for your perusal, six polite, yet maintaining the distance, characters [Kou Zhong xian sheng guan yue], in beautiful calligraphic style. His heart ached, but pretending to be happy, he said, Turns out Beautiful Changzhu is seeing me as belonging to your family, I just do not know you regard me in which capacity? Plus Changzhu must implement the discipline personally; contrary to what you might expect, this is something that I seek but fail to get. Just now your jade-hands groped my neck, this moving feeling will not be forgotten as long as I live. Shang Xiuxuns pretty face blushed slightly, she spoke fiercely, If you are babbling nonsense to me again, I will immediately take my men back to the Ranch, and will not pay any more attention you. Kou Zhong pondered deeply for half a day, before putting it together with Lu Miaozis treasured book inside his oilcloth bundle, which he hid well inside his pocket. Dejectedly he sat on a big boulder by the creek, wiped the traces of water from his face, and pointed to another big rock opposite him, he said, Why dont you sit down and have a chat with me? As Shang Xiuxun was cheerfully sitting down, Kou Zhong handed a dried ration to her and said with augh, Changzhu, please do me the honor. Your demeanor when eating is the most beautiful sight in the world. Shang Xiuxun tore the dried ration he handed her, but her face did not show the slightest bit of displeasure; on the contrary, she asked blissfully, What do you mean beautiful? Only you can say such thing. Kou Zhong already had good understanding of her temperament; although she loved to act aloof and remote, her fragrant heart was actually extremely lonely, dry and withered. After pondering quietly, he replied softly, When I eat something, I swallow it in one gulp; when my tummy is full, thats all there is to it. But when Changzhu eats, your expression is extremely adorable; it is brimming with curiosity and seeking-the-hidden-away, exploring-the-mystery look, but there is also the resistance of the desire to gobble up the food quickly. If the delicious food was a culinary delicacy and heavy, your eating posture was even more graceful beyondprehension, as well as carrying the pure innocence of a little girl. Ay! Are you, or are you not, going to let me watch you eat? Do you want me to feed you? If I can obtain this superior task, it will bring me greater honor than unifying the world. It would be better if youd just marry me! That way I can prepare some good food that I can serve to you every day. Shang Xiuxunughed like a flower trembling on its stem; she scolded him in anger, If I have nothing to do, looking for you to relieve boredom will be really good, you are able to talk about anything, and it will appear like a deluge of heavenly flowers [idiom: extravagant embellishments], and will sound really fascinating. What do you mean resistance of the desire to gobble up the food quickly? At most its just like before the battle we must scout the real situation first, before deciding on the advancing or retreating path. There is no such thing as the woman marrying the man; who do you think I am? Dong Ming Princess? Seeing herughing and joking without restraint, plus noticing her absolutely-dont-care charming attitude, Kou Zhong was greatly delighted; he said, You have not even left yourdys chamber for three steps, yet you knew about Dong Ming Pais social custom of the woman marrying the man into her family; it could be said that you possess great magical power. Clearly Shang Xiuxun was in a high spirit to chat; looking immensely proud of herself, she glowered at him and said, Dont you forget that Lu Miaozi favorite pastime was to y chess and chat with my Niang. And Niang loved to recount all kinds of strange things to me the most. Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he said, In that case, have you ever heard about the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Sects? Straightening up her waist, Shang Xiuxun said, Of course I have. Kou Zhong happily said, I am just gathering information about that; tell me quickly. Full of smile, Shang Xiuxun leaned her hazel tree head [I swear, this time it is not cicada; maybe a typo? ] sideways, appearing to be pondering over past memories, before saying smoothly, The conduct of the people from the demonic way is secretive and unfathomable; therefore, only a handful people have any knowledge about this. Even martial art masters who came from the Two Sects and Six Ways of demonic schools would try in thousand ways, a hundred ns, to conceal their origin, lest they provoke those people who consider themselves of the orthodox ways to besiege and attack them. Astounded, Kou Zhong asked, What are the Two Sects and Six Ways? Shang Xiuxun replied, The two sects are Yin Gui Pai and Hua Jian Pai [lit. among the flowers, the title of this chapter] ... Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Hua Jian Pai, this name is fairly pleasant to hear, but I have never heard anybody mentioning it. Shang Xiuxun said, Between the two sects, Yin Gui Pai is always the leader, not because Hua Jian is inferior to Yin Gui, but because in each generation, Hua Jian only has one disciple; therefore, the identity is highly secretive, even people of demonic schools do not know who the descendant of the Hua Jian Pai is. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Supposing this descendant, because his training goes wrong and he pass away, or perhaps he suddenly die in battle, wouldnt their teaching be cut short? Although this situation is very rare, but over many years, it is bound to happen. Shang Xiuxun crossly said, You always love to call out ironic remark of ws and loopholes; others naturally have a way to guard against that happening! They have the so-called Hu Pai Zunzhe [Protector of the Sect, zunzhe simply means honored sir], with the specific responsibility of preserving the notes, references and manuals that each generations disciple writes down based on what he has learned through experience and study, to ensure that Hua Jian Pais teaching will not be cut short. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Wouldnt that mean that there is more than one disciple per generation? At least there are two. Yet you med me for making ironic remark. That is because you just dont understand the details! Shang Xiuxun said, These Hu Pai Zunzhe are not Hua Jian Pais disciples at all; they are just custodians of Hua Jian Pais library. To put it more strictly, they only have to know where those books and records are hidden; moreover, they must be women. It is because Hua Jian Pais martial arts are only suitable for men, and not women. If a woman forcibly trained it, there will be unexpected cmity. Kou Zhong was listening with eyes open wide and mouth agape. This Hua Jian Pai is really strange, he said, The practitioner must be a lonely, secretive, and peculiarly entric person. Oh! Changzhu, you are so beautiful! The morning sun was rising behind Shang Xiuxun, framing her in its brilliant light. The effect was like raising her purity to a higher level, showing off her tenderness and beauty that was out of this world, causing Kou Zhong to blurt out in praise. Shang Xiuxuns jet-ck eyebrows knitted slightly, she said, Dont change the subject. Its not that Hua Jian Pais descendants are lonely by nature, rather, they are in pursuit of loneliness, because Hua Jian Pai has a belief, that is, the rtionship between people is superfluous and meaningless, which is actually one step further, and has more profound and longsting implication than Lao-tze Li Ers thought of being old and dead, and do not have dealings with each other. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong asked, Such an extreme thought, yet they took such a romantic name. I wonder if Changzhu know who the disciple of this generation Hua Jian Pai is; could he be one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way? Shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head, Shang Xiuxun replied, I already said that even demonic schools people do not know for sure, forget about people who are not from demonic school trying to find out who it is. As for the previous generations Hua Jian Pai disciple, Lu Miaozi had a guess that it was Shi Zhixuan, whose heart was moved by Bi Xiuxin of Ci Hang Jingzhai, so that he was reluctant to leave this world. None the disciples of the Hua Jian Pai are not elegant, fine gongzi [young master], smart, distinguished and aplished. Only this way will they soar among the flowers. They use heartless to confront passion, to break the heart of women all over the world. Hey, why does your countenance be this unsightly? Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, I know who the Hua Jian Pais disciple of this generation is. Xu Ziling and Xuan Yong spurred their horses to inspect the arrangement on the eastern bank of the Zhang River. For the most part, everything was at its final stage, hoping to obtain some time to take a breather before the enemy arrived. The two galloped up a high hill, and looked around as far as the eye can see. Xuan Yong suddenly asked, Xu Ye is just at the prime of your life, right at the time when a man would have aspiration to travel far and make his mark in the world; why do you always have the heart to retired? With you helping Shao Shuai, who among the heroes of the world will be able topete against you two? Xu Ziling was enjoying the colorful reflection of the distant mountain on the Zhang River, with dense green forest providing dark shades on both sides of the river. The river looked like an embroidered belt, which a fairy from heaven tossed down onto the earth, meandering north and south, adding unbounded tenderness and affection to the whole wide earth. He sighed and said, Everybody has different ideals and pursuits. Supposing the warlords contending for hegemony over the world are only Cao Yinglong, Zhu Can, Xiao Xian, Wang Shichong, and those like them, I would definitely fight side-by-side with Kou Zhong to the end. But among the warlords now, there are Liu Heita, Li Shimin, and the others, all are chivalrous heroes. I really do not have the heart to regard them as the enemy. Only because Kou Zhong is my Xiongdi did I let myself to get sucked into the whirlpool of the contention over the world. Xuan Yong nodded and said, Xu Yes breadth of mind is indeed different from ordinary men. Liu Heita is certainly a special figure, but Li Shimin is basically not the crown prince. Even if he managed to snatch the crown prince position, he is, after all, a man born of honorable school, big n; during the struggle over the world, he would salute those who help him to the extreme. But after obtaining the world, wouldnt he y the-birds-are-over, the-bow-is-put-away game? Being from powerful and wealthy family, how could he understand the plight of the people below him? Xu Ziling was silent for half a day. This kind of thing varies from person to person, he spoke slowly, It was not my intention to speak good words on behalf of Li Shimin, I just wanted to be fair. Take Han Gaozu[1] for example; he was an insignificant Tingzhang [ancient official title] from Sishui [county, Jining, Shandong]. After obtaining the world, winning sess and recognition, didnt he bestow the title Wang [king/prince] to the younger generation of the same surname? But he was vicious and merciless toward the kings and marquis of different surname who helped him during the conflict; even Han Xin[2] was not spared from death. Evidently it has nothing to do with ss origin. And then he smiled and said, But there is one thing that Xuan Xiong has seen urately: Kou Zhong is absolutely not the kind of person Liu Bang was. Xuan Yong said, During the Qin and Han era, there was no honorable school, big n yet. I have been oppressed by the descendants of the rich and powerful. My humble father also suffered false usations from powerful ns people that he died. Were it not for Da Longtou taking me in, and passing on to me some martial art, I, Xuan Yong, would never have seen a day like today. Xu Ziling agreed, Powerful school and influential n are indeed going on the rampage for a period of time, harming and bringing suffering to many people. Xuan Xiong has the aspiration to help Kou Zhong breaking through the world, it is a wonderful thing. A man born in troubled time, he should go out to create an undertaking. Xuan Yong spoke clearly and boldly, To be buried in a horse hide [i.e. to give ones life on the battlefield] ought to be considered a glory for a real man. If in my conduct I shrink my head in fear, I would rather be blown up in battle. To be able to follow Shao Shuai, it is indeed the most delightful matter in my life. The sun was slowly creeping to its zenith, bathing the whole earth, including the river, mountain and fields, in its glorious light. Kou Zhong was precisely the morning sun that has just appeared. There would be a day where he would rise to the zenith. From the back, Shang Xiuxun caught up with Kou Zhong and Bai Wenyuan, who were at the head of the procession; she asked, ording to the hoof print and footprint, the thieves shouldnt be heading this direction. Kou Zhong fell back a little to ride side-by-side with her; he exined, Because thief Cao might pitch camp during the day to rest, currently we are only less than half a day away from him. Just the sound of hoof beat will be enough to alert him. Therefore, we are taking the long route to be in front of him. By the time they are marching tonight, we will ambush him and burn his provisions. Satisfied, Shang Xiuxun said, Just consider your answer reasonable enough. Kou Zhong was dying to ask bout the Two Sects and Six Ways further, but they must hasten at full speed, thereupon he had no choice but to temporarily shut this matter tightly in his heart. By that evening, they already rounded arge circle, from the mountain road back to the ins, hurrying to be ahead of the Three Bandits army. Were it not for Bai Wenyuan, this old horse who knew the way home, they could forget about obtaining, as well as executing, such a marvelous n. Because the slightest mistake or losing their way would mean that they lost the good opportunity. Kou Zhong made a prompt decision to choose a hill, where the ambushing troops would be hidden behind the hillside on which was the road the enemy must follow. When he and Shang Xiuxun went to the top of the hill to inspect the area, he seized the opportunity to ask more about Hua Jian Pai. He said, Supposing Shi Zhixuan was the Hua Jian Pai previous generations disciple, and Bi Xiuxin fell for him, wouldnt it mean Ci Hang Jingzhai had suffered a big blow? [Trantors note: the original text was kind of gibberish here, so thest sentence was only my interpretation (me Paonakata for this).] Shang Xiuxun pondered deeply; she said, This matter appears to be far moreplicated than you think. Niang has repeatedly discussed this with Lu Miaozi, but even Lu Miaozi was not too clear about the particrs. He only knew that Shi Zhixuan might be a rare outstanding martial art master of Hua Jian Pai, which was not inferior in any respect to Zhu Yuyan and the Xie Di Xiang Yutian. Do you know what kind of man Xiang Yutian was? Kou Zhong replied, I just found out about that; I happen to know that there exists some strange thing called Demonic Emperor Relics. Shang Xiuxun was greatly astonished, How did you know that? she asked, This is the top secret of the demonic schools, even their own people are strictly forbidden to mention it to each other. The reason I am asking about this matter, Kou Zhong replied, Its because Liang Shao had a chance encounter with Bi Xiuxin and Shi Zhixuans daughter Shi Qingxuan [different xuans]; otherwise, I wouldnt even be aware of the existence of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Ways. A strange feeling welled up in Shang Xiuxuns heart, a feeling that she herself did not understand. It seemed like she did not like to hear Xu Ziling and Shi Qingxuans names being mentioned together in one sentence; she could not help falling silent. The sky gradually turned dark, with asional dim starlight appearing on the cloudy night sky. The moon has not shown its face. Yet full of spirit, Kou Zhong kept talking, I got it. Didnt you say earlier that Hua Jian Pai people treated the passion of the secr world with heartlessness? Bi Xiuxin must have had her heart moved by this Hua Jian Pai martial art master with a heart of stone, but that is also as if she has broken his demonic power. The problem is Bi Xiuxins real enemy must be Zhu Yuyan; therefore, she was using this method to win Shi Zhixuan may not necessarily be useful. All along she might lose under Zhu Yuyans hands. Shang Xiuxun cast her irritation out of theke of her heart; she spoke indifferently, Bi Xiuxin was indeed defeated so that her calm power [jing from Ci Hang Jingzhai] was greatly decreased. But her Yin Gui Pai opponent had suffered equally. Delighted, Kou Zhong asked, What did Zhu Yuyan suffer? It wasnt Zhu Yuyan, Shang Xiuxun snapped, It was Zhu Yuyans daughter. On the night before her decisive battle against Bi Xiuxin, she slipped away overseas, angering Zhu Yuyan that she nearly suffered fire deviation. That was twenty years ago! Kou Zhong was severely shaken; he cast his gaze to the sky, trying to jog his memory. Closing his eyes, he muttered, I have a good guess on who Zhu Yuyans daughter is! Ay! I should have guessed it early on. No wonder Bian Bufu can be his father. Dissatisfied, Shang Xiuxun said, Earlier you said that you know the current generation disciple of Hua Jian Pai, and now based on the several sentences I said, you are able to guess the identity of Zhu Yuyans daughter; who is she? Tell me quickly. Kou Zhong took a deep breath; recovering from the shock, he said, Although I cannot say with 100% confidence who the current Hua Jian Pai disciple is, it is extremely possible that he is the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai. I wonder if Shi Zhixuan is already dead? If he is not, where is he now? Shang Xiuxun wrinkled her elegant-beyondprehension straight nose; with a little displeasure in her voice, she said, Why not tell Xu Ziling to personally ask Shi Qingxuan? How would I know her family matters? For the first time Kou Zhong felt that she was jealous because Xu Ziling was with Shi Qingxuan. After staring at her absolute-beauty countenance with astonishment, heughed involuntarily and said, Ziling and Shi Qingxuan are just strangersing together by chance; in a lot of things, it is inappropriate for him to inquire of her directly. Blushing with shame, Shang Xiuxun cast him a sidelong nce, hang her head low and said, How would I know the rtionship between them? Tell me, who is Zhu Yuyans daughter then? Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, I am quite sure it is Madame Dong Ming. Only I dont know why unexpectedly she married Bian Bufu, who is her older generation, plus whose stinky name spread far and wide, no! It should be whose stinky name spread secretly. However, Bian Bufu also have wild schemes toward Wan yaonu, so clearly the people of demonic schools never pay attention to proper human rtionships and difference between generations. In their eyes, things that do not conform to reason are actually quite reasonable. Hearing the name of Wanwan, Shang Xiuxuns eyes spouted mes of hatred; she spoke heavily, You must help me kill that female demon, to avenge He Bo and Peng Bos [uncle, older than ones father, referring to Shang He and Shang Peng] ocean-deep blood debt. A feeling of empathy welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; nodding, he said, Absolutely. As long as I am still breathing, I will never let anybody from Yin Gui Pai get away. But right now it is not the time yet, we must still endure it a bit longer. Shang Xiuxun thought that Kou Zhong was referring to his martial art skill was still not enough to subdue Wanwan; with glistening tears in her eyes, she nodded in agreement. Kou Zhong had to fight the strong urge in his heart. It was the first time that this staunch, remarkably beautiful woman showed this kind of lovely, pitiful appearance. Evidently deep in her heart, not only she was relying on him more and more, but she also trusted him fully. In this extremely tender-affection inducing moment, he nearly pulled her into his arms, when suddenly he remembered how just now she was jealous because of Xu Ziling. Hastily he pressed down his desire and spoke tenderly, The road of life is never smooth and t. Inevitably there will be a lot of matters that do not go ording to our wish and about which we cannot do anything. Separated in life and death, partings and reunions in joys and sorrows, these eight characters [sheng li si bie, bei huan li he] sum it all. Shang Xiuxun quickly recovered; a little embarrassed, she said, I have never been this weak. I dont know why in front of you I became this fragile. Ay! I was telling you something; where was I? Suddenly there was an urgent sound of hoof beats. The two turned their eyes in the direction of the sound, and saw Luo Fang urged his horse like flying,ing near from afar, while making signal with his hand that the enemy wasing this way. [1] Han Gaozu, posthumous name of the first Han emperor, Liu Bang (256 or 247-195 BC), reigned 202-195 BC. [2] Han Xin (-196 BC), famous general of first Han emperor, Liu Bang. Book 22 - 12 – The Battle of River Zhang Book 22 Chapter 12 C The Battle of River Zhang The first to pass was the vanguard cavalry of the thief army. Only in three days, four nights, the Three Big Bandits thief army tight formation has deteriorated into disorder. For a time the ins were full of scattered light of the torches. Perhaps because it was only two days away from River Zhang, everybody was as anxious as stray dogs, thinking that after crossing River Zhang, they would be able to sleep without any worry. Yet actually it was not surprising that they were having that idea. To Kou Zhongs ambushing troops, this situation was actually an easy drive on a familiar path; the key was to use focus to generate chaos, to use order to create dispersion. Shang Xiuxun whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, Currently, although we managed to obtain a thousand men, to defeat them, we still do not have any assurance. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, This time we dont want to only obtain one victory, but we want to put an end to these bandits who harm the world of the living thoroughly. We also want to lower the casualties on our side to the lowest point. Only this way will we show off our real ability. Suddenly recalling an old affair, he asked in passing, How could Tao Shusheng be bought by these roving bandits that he agreed to betray the Ranch? Shang Xiuxuns pretty eyes shed with sharp rays; she coldly said, How could Cao Yinglong buy him and entice his heart? It was Li Mi! Finally Kou Zhong found the answer to this mystery. On the other side, Bai Wenyuan was peeking through the gap on the trees on the enemy troops winding around the horse ry station; he spoke in low voice, The vanguard cavalry and the carts carrying provisions at the back of the line are separated by about three li distance. If we move fast enough, we might be able to strike before the enemy riders turn around toe to their aid. And then our whole division will retreat promptly. Get on your horses! Kou Zhong shouted. Shang Xiuxun hurriedly issued her order, which was then rapidly transmitted down the line. One after another one thousand Ranchs warriors mounted their horses. Among them, several hundreds held torches in their hands, prepared to burn the provision carts. Approximately a hundred carts carrying provisions finally appeared before their eyes, protected by around two thousand thieves, mostly infantry; their cavalry was less than five hundred. Kou Zhong waited for the fortunate timing. Suddenly he roared wildly, and charged out of the jungle on the slope of the hill, taking the lead to attack the convoy of the enemys provision carts. The Moon in the Well was raised high in the air. Shang Xiuxun, Bai Wenyuan, Luo Fang, Xu Yang, and the others followed closely behind, trailed by one thousand elite Ranch riders in fan-shaped formation closing in to trap the enemy in the middle. The torches were lighted up, the fire illuminated the night sky, increasing the tidal-wave like surging momentum of the thousand riders. The enemy formation was immediately thrown into chaos. Those with fast reaction were going to pull their bows and arrows, but several hundreds powerful arrows were raining down on them. Momentarily the men fell face up, the horses overturned, in utter defeat. Like surging waves the chaos rippled from the back of the line toward the middle, and then continued on to the vanguard units. The bandits, who have wantonly plundered the area north of the river, which Cao Yinglong relied on, were immediately trampling each other. Kou Zhong was the first to charge into the enemy ranks. The Moon in the Well appeared as a streak of continuously shing yellow light hacked down the four enemy riders who galloped to meet him, so hard that the men and their weapons were thrown off of the horseback. Gaining the upper hand by this show of strength, he charged deep into the enemy formation. Those who tried to intercept were swept away by the wind. The most formidable thing was that he did not even need the Moon in the Well to touch the enemys body; merely the saber qi was enough to make the enemys seven apertures to bleed and sending them to their death. The Ranchs elite cavalry, as if they were descending from heavens, crushed into the enemy formation that the entire convoy of provision carts was separated from the middle army and the vanguard unit, and was put into apletely passive situation. Two of the provision carts caught fire first, the mes and smoke soared to the sky. Shang Xiuxun was using a long spear. Because she had a group of high-ranking military officers protecting her from left and right, her momentum was like a rainbow; the scream of the enemies thrust by her spear reached the sky. In less than half a day, the entire convoy of provision carts was paralyzed, as well as broken into several sections, the thieves were scattering in all directions, fleeing for their lives; even the drivers of the carts jumped down and abandoned their vehicles. One after another the overturned carts were set on fire, so that the entire area became a sea of fire. Kou Zhongs murderous intent red up; leading about a hundred warriors, he charged toward the thieves, who were trying toe to the aid of their retreatingpanions. It was only after he saw the opponents vanguard riders, under the leadership of Cao Yinglong, rushing over from both sides ahead that he shouted retreat. The surprise attack was finally over, sessfully. Xu Ziling chopped down a sturdy and solid pomegranate tree trunk, and spent half a day using his dagger to pare the small branches away to make it into a zhang and a half long stick. Its weight, as well as the feel of it in his hands, was very close to the ideal in his mind. Battlefield could be different from desperate fight against martial art masters in general, long weapons were always more advantageous. While making this pomegranate wooden stick, his mind was calm, his spirit was highly focused that he noticed every subtle detail on the tree trunk; which side needed more cut, at what angle he had to make the cut, everything was ording to a certain amazing reason that even he himself found it difficult to exin clearly, but he knew that he must not make the slightest mistake. After the long stick was finished, he had a feeling that this pomegranate stick was as if it was his own flesh and blood. Looking at each chop and cut, which were like the work of the gods, he felt as if it was a very valuable lesson for himself. At least, after Susus death, his spirit has never felt so satisfied like this. When the sun was moving away from the middle of the sky and leaning away to the west, Xuan Yong came to report that he had found the enemys track. Xu Ziling quickly stood up from the big rock where he had been sitting for about half a day; one hand putting the stick behind him, he said in delight, Kou Zhong seeded; otherwise, Cao Yinglong would not have traveled in haste during the day. Xuan Yong nodded and said, ording to the scouts, the enemy formation is in disorder, they arepletely like scampering wolves or scurrying frightened rats, running away to the wilderness. This time Cao Yinglong ought to be in the-path-exhausted, the-road-ended situation. And then his eyes fell onto the pomegranate stick sticking out from Xu Zilings right shoulder. Xu Ziling handed the long stick over for him to see. The murderous intent in his eyes red out strongly, yet the tone of his voice was extremely calm as he said, Tonight I will use this stick to take away Cao Yinglongs dog life. Like a wave of fiery cloud, the Ranchs main forces, led by Shang Zhen, swept through the enemy ranks, to rendezvous with Kou Zhong and Shang Xiuxuns special forces. Without stopping to rest they rushed in the direction of Zhang River. Hearing that they have been sessfully burned Cao Armys provision carts, their morale soared like a rainbow, their battle spirit was uplifted. They changed formation; the vanguard unit was divided into two teams, each team had two thousand men, under Kou Zhong and Liu Zongdaosmand, respectively, with Luo Fang and Bai Wenyuan as their deputies. Shang Xiuxun was inmand of the middle army, with Shang Zhen brought up the rear. They absolutely did not wish to overtake the Cao Army before they crossed the river, because it might force the enemy to fight hard like a trapped beast. By dusk, Kou Zhong and Luo Fangs vanguard units were the first to reach the mountaintop from which they were able to look at the Zhang River in the distance. They saw the eastern bank of River Zhang was full of enemy troops in battle array, ready to fight with their back to the river. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Cao Yinglong indeed have a real skill. But he is making two big blunders. Astonished, Luo Fang said, But I think the strategy he is using now is very brilliant. If we attack rashly, the casualties will definitely be disastrous. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, He is just bluffing [orig. looks impressive but is worthless]. First of all, he lost all his provisions. How long can he fight on empty stomach? If we set up an iron-d trap in here, he will only end up in total defeat. This is his first blunder. After a short pause, he went on, The second blunder is that he thought I didnt know that he is waiting for the dark to set up the pontoon bridge, and then cross the river sneakily. This strategy is actually extremely brilliant, too bad he did not know there is another ambushing troops on the other side, just waiting for his thieving self to arrive. Listening to this, the spirit of the men of his left and right was greatly aroused; toward this Cao Army, who had murdered their friends and rtives, no one did not gnash their teeth in anger, they all wanted to annihte the enemy as quickly as possible. The moment of vengeance has finallye. Puffing his chest, Luo Fang asked, When should we attack? Kou Zhong shouted, This will be decided by Xu Ziling. The moment they release fireworks on the opposite bank will be the moment thief Cao will repay all debts with his blood. ng! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well. Pointed it at an angle toward the horizon, with ten-thousand-fathom heroic spirit he shouted, Light the torches, set them up on every hilltop, while digging trenches at the same time. I want to setup a that not a single enemy will be able to escape. Ranch troops will prevail, thief troops will fail! The moment his murderous intent was ring, the bitter battle, where he had to defend Jingling in the past, reappeared in his mind. The difference was that this time, attacking and defending roles had been easily reversed. His troops responded in thunderous roar. When darkness fell, Xu Ziling put the pomegranate wooden stick on his horseback. Standing in the dense forest, he and Xuan Yong kept a close watch over each and every move that the enemy made. On the opposite bank, the Cao Army lighted more than a hundred torches in tight battle formation, while covertly building the pontoon bridges. A bit worried, Xuan Yong said, If Cao Yinglong relies on this confusion to have his men crossing the river and setup formation on this side of the river, based on our current military strength, I am afraid we are helpless to do anything to him. By this time, five out of eight pontoon bridges have already beenpleted, the cavalry was the first to take their horses crossing the river. The situation was more urgent. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Under normal circumstances, we are indeed helpless to do anything to him. But look closely at them; they all show hungry, exhausted and beleaguered look on their faces. As long as your eight trebuchets are doing their job to create confusion, for instance, destroying one of the pontoons, I guarantee that the enemy will break down and lose their will to fight, any formation they are creating will be useless. His confidence restored, Xuan Yong nodded and said, I was indeed a bit worried about personal gains and losses. We are honing our strength for the big push, as well as trying to catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sun Tzus The Art of War]. I know that the other side does not know about us, so we are really in an invincible position. Hey! How could Xu Ye, in such an urgent situation where war could happen any moment, still look so calm andposed? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, As long as you are able to put life and death, sess and failure,pletely out of your mind, and able to have free spirit andfortable thought, you will be able topletely bring out your full potential. Revealing a deference expression on his face, Xuan Yong spoke in low voice, Xuan Yong receives benefit from your advice. Finally the eight pontoon bridges werepleted, from beginning to end it took less than half a sichen. The number of men crossing the river increased dramatically; waves after waves of men were heading to the grasnd on the western bank of River Zhang. Most men and horses were at the end of the limit of their strength; as soon as they crossed the river, they sat on the ground, no need to mention any will to fight. When should we attack? Xuan Yong asked. Xu Zilings pair of tiger-eyes suddenly lit up; he said, Cao Yinglong and Fang Jianding already crossed the river! Xiang Baxian [sic. It was Xiang Batian in Book 9 Chapter 7] will make Kou Zhongs job a bit easier! And then he turned his head and shouted, Light the torches! Behind him, the sound of battle drums and bugle horns immediately shook the heavens. From the eastern bank, loud battle cry and the whooshing noise of big rocks splitting the air also shook the heavens. From the Ranch warriors point of view, everywhere on the mountaintops on the opposite bank were bright with several thousand torches, painting the riverbank, as well as the sky, blood red, so that the pontoon bridges, which were originally hidden in the dark, werepletely exposed. The torchlight also revealed what seemed to be the flickering shadows of ten thousand horses and thousands of men. Shang Xiuxun was greatly surprised, Howe there are so many men? Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Good kid! Unexpectedly he knew how to bluff; even I am intimidated by him. Boom! One big rock urately hit a pontoon bridge, the more than a hundred men and horses on it were immediately overturned and fell into the water in such a sorry state. At the same time, from both upstream and downstream, not far from the crossing, several hundred archers appeared, and mercilessly shot those who were falling to the water and were trying to swim to their direction. The thieves on both sides of the river, as well as those who were still on the pontoon bridges, were thrown into confusion, and were trying to flee for their lives, yet they were trapped into apletely desperate strait. Bang! The fireworks released from the opposite bank burst into greenish-white sparks high in the sky. Charge! Kou Zhong shouted. The Ranch Cavalry of five thousand men were divided into five units of one thousand men each, like five tornadoes sweeping through the enemy lines. From about a dozen or so mountaintop jungles torchlight lighted the sky, raging mes spread wildly, so that the moon and the stars in the sky lost their splendor. In the river and on the shores, dead bodies were everywhere. Out of eight pontoon bridges, five have been destroyed. The killing was just the beginning. All Shaoshuai Army and Ranch warriors wore yellow headbands; those without the yellow band were killed without mercy. Xu Ziling and Xuan Yong, each leading five hundred men, rushed out of their respective hiding ce and charged toward the enemy. The remaining several hundred men were spread out with the straw dummies, increasing the momentum of their attack. They also released powerful arrows to intercept any thief who happened to flee in their direction. The thieves abandoned their horses and fled on foot to be able to run more easily. Xu Ziling fought at the head of his troops. His state of mind has entered the out-of-the-ordinary non-self boundary. His zhang-and-a-half long pomegranate stick disyed its matchless swift-and-fierce killing power to the fullest extent. It poked, swept, hacked, or struck, ao that the enemy, along with his weapon, would be thrown out and died on the spot, no one was able to prolong his remaining breath. The thieves have turned into a sheet of loose sand; those who were able to run have run, those who were unable to escape could not even form any battle array; only small groups of three or four men were fighting desperately with their backs against each other for support. Its just that the thieves were indeed too numerous; over the years, they were ustomed to pass their days licking the blood from their de, ustomed to see the wind and the waves, so that although they were hungry and trapped in difficulties, in this life-and-death crisis, they were still unyieldingly brave and were fighting desperately with everything they had. At first Xu Ziling was able to identify Cao Yinglong and Fang Jianding, and was rushing over to kill them, who would have thought that thousands of enemies swarmed toward him from the shore? Before his eyes were dense shadows of people with flickering des, naturally he could not see Cao Yinglong and Fang Jiandings whereabouts. Crack! A thief with exceptionally outstanding martial art skill met his stick with a spear. But after three exchanges, Xu Ziling flicked his wrist, the pomegranate stick pushed and pulled to create a gap, which he immediately exploited. With a thrust the thiefs chest shattered and he died. However, with this slight dy, the soldiers to his left and right immediately bore the brunt of the enemys desperate offensive. Immediately seven or eight Shaoshuai soldiers fell to the ground. Clearly the battle was very intense. Xu Ziling had no time to grieve for the dead and the wounded, all he knew was that he must vent his resentment to the enemies on four sides, eight directions. Once again the pomegranate stick unted its prowess; it rolled toward the enemy like the waves of the great river Yangtze, killing the enemy that they scattered in all directions. As soon as anybody was within his pomegranate stick range, blood sshed and body flew, not a single one narrowly and luckily escaped. Depending entirely on this powerful masters leadership, the remaining four hundred or so Shaoshuai Army soldiers were able to break the enemy line into two sections, creating the most favorable situation for the other Shaoshuai Army unit under Xuan Yongs leadership. Arrows were still shot constantly from Shaoshuai Armys entrenchment position toward the fleeing bandits, so that dead bodies continued to umte along the shore in total disorder. One side was focused, while the other was in disunity. Although the Cao Army was numerous, because the troops heart was in disorder, they quickly lost their number advantage. Cao Yinglong was unable to pull the wildly swelling water into a stream. The thieves sessfully crossed the river numbered approximately ten thousand men. When the ambush began, close to a thousand men plunged into the river, attempting to escape, but the Shaoshuai Army ambushing on both upstream and downstream mercilessly shot them with arrows. It felt like the fierce fighting would never end. Wherever they went, Xu Ziling and his men were like breaking dried twigs and pulling rotten weeds, so that the enemy left behind a mess dead bodies, everywhere they touched, it was frighteningly severed limb and blood; yet there were still countless enemies all around, so that Xu Ziling felt as if he was in an endless killing spree, as if he had fallen into an ant hole. As soon as his hand slowed down slightly, an enemy appeared in front of him, going all out, disregarding his own life, to counterattack. It was a fierce battle where either you die or I perish. Suddenly the pressure was lightening up; turned out he had reached the riverbank. He saw the raging battle on the opposite bank was not less intense from the battle on this side. Xu Ziling saw the enemy fleeing everywhere like a tide. His heart moved, he stuck the pomegranate stick into the ground, and then borrowing the power from the stick, he flew midair, while his tiger-eyes scanned the crowd. He saw that the Shaoshuai Army under his leadership only had more than three hundred men left, while on the other side, Xuan Yongs team was not much better. But they seeded in defeating the opponent, so that no one dared to fight with them, and all he saw was fleeing enemies scattering in all directions. A group of about a hundred enemies was running away, the leaders happened to be Cao Yinglong and Fang Jianding. Letting out a wild roar, Xu Zilingnded back to the ground, and led his men in full speed pursuit. Book 22 - 13 – Conditions of Forgiveness Book 22 Chapter 13 C Conditions of Forgiveness Under cover of the arrows, the five units of cavalry on Kou Zhongs side swept through the enemies, who failed to cross the river, like five fiery dragons, sparking an intense battle on this side of the river. Naturally Kou Zhong and his horse were always at the front. The Moon in the Wells cold ray shed, the de never missed, there was always someone screaming miserably and fell to the ground. The killing was so intense that the sky dimmed and the earth darkened, the sun and the moon lost their light. In a short while the enemies, who had lost their will to fight zealously, were smashed that they also lost their will to care of each other, and were utterly defeated. Under the huge pressure, one after another the enemies jumped into the river, hoping to escape the purgatory of the human world, to cross the border of massacre. He had just hacked an enemy and sent him flying, when Luo Fang by his side cried out, Xiang Baxian! Kou Zhong halted his hand to look at the direction Luo Fang was pointing. He saw several hundred thieves with a fat and short man on horseback wielding two steel-toothed rings on the lead, opening up a path to break the siege and escape toward the lower reaches of the river. Kou Zhong ordered Luo Fang to lead their troops for him, and then letting out a long whistle, he soared from the horseback and thundered, Xiang Baxian, where do you think you are going? Kou Zhong is here! These words carried powerful inner strength, unexpectedly itpletely drowned the shouts and cries on the battlefield, just like a crashing thunder on the ins. When the soldiers of his side heard this, none did not have his fighting spirit redoubled. When the enemy soldiers heard this, they were scared out of their wits, and fell apart even faster. Traversing nearly eight -zhang of empty air, Kou Zhong suddenly took a breath, and flew five more zhang horizontally. In the blink of an eye he arrived in front of Xiang Baxian. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he whirled around, while brandishing his saber. One after another six enemies had their weapons broken, their blood sshed, and their bodies flew out. With this one saber strike he seeded in intimidating the enemy around him, so that everybody ran away in all directions, away from this demon personifying pestilence, as if they agreed to grant him rarely-appeared empty space on the battlefield. It was only this moment did Xiang Baxian realize that he was standing face-to-face against Kou Zhong, with nothing in between; hastily he reined his horse to stop. He was going to order his underlings to charge forward to dampen the opponents acute spirit, but then he realized that the men following behind him have scattered away that not a single one remained. Kou Zhong revealed a brilliant smile, but his tiger-eyes shot a shocking divine light, as if he was able to see the opponent through. Injustice master has always been injustice master! he shouted loudly, Normally it is hidden, but when facing death, it can be seen clearly. Xiang Baxian, since you can make not even a de of grass grows [his nickname, see Book 9 Chapter 7], have you ever thought that a day like today woulde? Xiang Baxian swept his gaze around; he knew at once that his big momentum has gone, but contrary to expectation, he decided to give it all. He made a flip off his horse, struck his rings to each other, creating a clear ringing sound, and said with a nastyugh, Others are afraid of you, this kid Kou Zhong, but I, Xiang Baxian, see you as just a little pig-dog. Ill get rid of you first, and then Ill find the others to settle the debt. While speaking, his eyes opened big and round, and with odd footwork he swiftly approached Kou Zhong, his pair of ringsunched a lightning strike. With a roar Kou Zhong took the strike head-on, his saber moved at lightning speed, itpletely blocked the two steel rings, which cut down from the most crafty angle like two clumps of cold cloud. The moment the saber collided with the rings, the sound lingered incessantly in the ear. A dozen or so ring-strikester, Xiang Baxian already lost his will to continue; swiftly he traversed sideways. In this the other diminish, I increase situation, Kou Zhongs saber momentum suddenly red up, while at the same time he followed the opponent traversing to the left. The Moon in the Well entered the opponents line of defense through the gap between the two rings. It was actually an ordinary move, but because his footwork could change something rotten into something magical [idiom], it became extremely overbearing. Xiang Baxian had never imagined Kou Zhong would have such a strange move; his beautiful dream of slipping sideways to regroup and thenunching a counterstrike was immediately shattered. Abruptly his double rings closed in, hoping to clip the opponents long saber, afterwards he would jump into the river to escape. Who would have thought that at thest moment Kou Zhong took a breath, the Moon in the Well momentarily stopped in the air? This stop was the beauty of the move, which sealed Xiang Baxians fate. Dang! The two rings struck each other. The Moon in the Well moved powerfully again, like an urgent thunder violent lightning hacking down on the contact point of the two rings. Violent power burst in. At first Xiang Baxian felt like he was struck by lightning, the pair of rings was jolted by the enemys saber, as well as was shaken toward him. But when he wanted to retreat, a bloodstain appeared on his chest. Pulling his saber back, Kou Zhong shouted, Xiang Baxian is strung through and filled with evil, he is executed as a lesson to others. Like a crash of thunder, his shout reverberated into every nook and corner of the battlefield. Dang! Dang! One after another the pair of rings fell off his hands. With disbelief on his face, Xiang Baxian looked at the blood spreading rapidly on his chest. He screamed, and then fell on his back to the ground. Xu Ziling straddled the horse that his man took to him, and then with another group of a hundred or so men, all wielding sabers, pursued in the direction Cao Yinglong and his men were escaping. The big earth swiftly moved on the opposite direction to his left and right. On the ins, Cao Yinglong had only around fifty men remaining, they ran desperately away toward the mountain area southeast of the river. Because both in terms of power and shenfa Cao Yinglong and Fang Jianding were far more superior than the other men, they were more than ten -zhang ahead of everybody else, hence were very easy to recognize. When the thieves saw that Xu Ziling was leading his men to pursue, they knew that his interest was on the thieves chiefs, Cao and Fang, two men, hence they took the chance to run away in all directions, hoping to preserve their own little life, putting their thief nature on full disy. There was no loyalty and righteousness to be said. Naturally Xu Ziling could not possibly pay attention to these insignificant soldiers; seeing they were still more than ten li away from the mountain area, he deliberately slowed down his horse, maintaining a distance of three, four zhang behind the two, as if he was driving a flock of sheep, looking at their difficult situation, while also exacerbating their wear and tear even more. From time to time his men shot arrows from the horseback, forcing the two to dodge to the left and evade to the right, so that they were battered and exhausted even more. After seven, eight more li, Cao Yinglong finally realized Xu Zilings trick. Roaring in anger, he stood with his spear held horizontally across his chest and shouted, Jianding! We fight him to the death. Who would have thought that Fang Jianding regarded his words as the wind past his ear? He ran away even faster. Xu Ziling filled the pomegranate stick full of his true qi, its power broke out suddenly, as if it was a living creature, unexpectedly the pomegranate stick rapidly spun away from his grasp, without making any noise it flew pass over Cao Yinglongs head, and continued toward Fang Jianding as if it was able to recognize him. If it were under different circumstances, although the pomegranate stick was flying, propelled by its own spinning power, and thus did not create any gust of wind, but with Fang Jiandings skill as an established martial art master, he would definitely be able to sense the sticks presence. However, currently he was like a stray dog; forget about several days of exertion, merely the escape in panic just now has already consumedrge amount of his true power, so his reaction was far less sensitive than usual. Also, if Cao Yinglong had warned him, he ought to be able to avoid the deadly disaster in time. But Cao Yinglong hated him to the bones because he ran away; how could he be willing to help him? While everybody was staring nkly, like a powerful arrow the pomegranate stick continued flying, rapidly closing in on Fang Jianding. It broke through the true qi protecting his body, and pierced through his back. With a violent scream Fang Jianding fell forward, the pomegranate stick stood on his back like a pir pointing to the sky; it continued spinning for several revolutions before it started to slow down and finally stopped. The scene was bizarre to the extreme point. The torches were burning brightly. The Shaoshuai Army fanned out, everybody has a bow and an arrow in his hands, aimed at the sole target. Xu Ziling flew off his horse; fixing his gaze on Cao Yinglong, he said with a coldugh, if you swear not to run away, I am going to give you a chance to have a fair duel; otherwise these arrows will fly, and I will add finger wind and fist power to it. This chief of bandits of this generation had his face underwent a number of changes, from gloomy to clear, indeterminately. It was quite some timeter that he let down his hands and spoke in distressed, I admit defeat. If you are willing to let me go, I wish to deliver to you the entire sum of riches gathered over many years. Plus I swear I will never set foot on Jianghu anymore. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, That kind of ill-gotten wealth is stained with the blood of God knows how many innocent peoples blood. Even if you sent it to me unconditionally, I would not want it. Cao Yinglong angrily said, How could you, this person, be so stubborn and old-fashioned? This wealth can make thousands upon thousands of people live in peace and work happily, and to restructure their homes. Even if you dont want it, it can always be used for charity. Xu Xiong, please think thrice. Letting out a longugh, Xu Ziling said, Well said! Why dont I capture you alive and bring you back? Lets see if you, this greedy-for-life, afraid-of-death disciple, can endure the taste of torture. Perhaps, other than your wealth, youd also draw a map telling us how to find your hidden treasure as well? Cao Yinglong spoke heavily, Greedy for life and afraid of death is human nature. But if I knew that I would be humiliated in vain, I would definitely not let you capturing me alive. How about this? On top of the wealth, I can also give you another secret information. If after you hear it you think the information is valuable, you will let me go. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Cao Yinglong, if you are thinking of using this to stall for time, to restore your true energy, you are definitely wasting your scheming. You must not misunderstand, Cao Yinglong anxiously said, The first information is pertaining Yang Xuyans past history and origin. If you refuse to heed my warning, Shi Qingxuan will be caught in a bad situation with no hope of reprieve. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, How do you know I knew Shi Qingxuan? So you know I am not spouting nonsense, Cao Yinglong said, What do you think? Would you agree to this business deal? Xu Zilings eyes shone with sharp light. Cao Yinglong repeated, Only after you hear it and you think the information is valuable will you let me go, so basically there is no need to be afraid I would lie to you. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. In that moment he really did not know whether he should listen to Cao Yinglong and let this disciple, who havemitted ten thousand evils, to struggle on whilst at deaths door. One after another Kou Zhong and Shang Xiuxun crossed the only remaining pontoon bridge to rendezvous with Xuan Yong. This time, although they achieved total victory with only a few thousand bandits managed to escape, the casualties on their side was quite heavy. The Ranch lost nearly one thousand warriors, Shaoshuai Armys casualties also reached five hundred men, not including those who are wounded. This was the price of war. After sweeping her gaze around, Shang Xiuxun asked Xuan Yong, Where is Xu Ziling? Xuan Yong respectfully replied, Xu Ye led his men to pursue and kill Cao Yinglong and Fang Jianding. What direction did he take? Shang Xiuxun anxiously asked. Xuan Yong pointed to the southeast. Under the morning light, the grasnd stretched out as far as the eye could see. Shang Xiuxun spurred her horse and galloped away, while calling out tenderly, We must go quickly to help. Kou Zhong stared nkly for a moment, and then he pursued closely behind her horse; a bittersweet feeling of equal proportion welled up in his heart. Book 23 - 1 – Startling-the-Heaven Secret Book 23 Chapter 1 C Startling-the-Heaven Secret Xu Ziling silently stared at Cao Yinglong. It was quite half a dayter that he said, Cao Yinglong, you have always been vicious and merciless; dauntless and unafraid of death you intimidated Hubei, why do you suddenly be this greedy for life, afraid of death? Clearly there is deceit here. I wont be fooled. Cao Yinglong revealed a hint of pained expression of someone whose ambitious and ruthless character had been cut short. Its not surprising that Xu Xiong has that notion. Even if someone had told me earlier that I, Cao Yinglong, would seek survival by negotiating with someone else, I would be the first one not to believe. Ay! Xu Xiong, is it possible for you to temporarily dismiss your men so that we could talk a little bit? Xu Ziling hesitated for a moment, but in the end he ordered his men to disperse some distance away, but still maintained the siege to guard against Cao Yinglong escaping. Then he jumped down his horse and walked over toward Cao Yinglong. With his efficacious acute perception, Xu Ziling did not sense the opponent raising his qi and circting his energy to restore his dramatic loss in true power. This once-going-on-the-rampage bandit chief suddenly looked like he aged more than ten years in just a short period of time, exposing his mentally-and-physically-exhausted, weary state. With a wry smile, he said, Just now when I saw Xu Xiong pierced Jiandings back with a long stick, I had a feeling that Xu Xiong is the kind of person that will never be able to knock down the enemys dispirited heart. In that instant, myriads of thoughts flitted in my mind, just like I was suddenly awakened from a nightmare, feeling that my hands are reeking of blood, my sins grievous. Afterwards I feel like every hope is turning into dust, being alive is not as good as dead. Letting out a cold sneer, Xu Ziling said, If being alive is really not as good as dead, you would not have negotiated your survival with Ol Xu! Cao Yinglong nodded and said, I am not surprised that I am provoking Xu Xiongs ridicule. The truth is that under that kind of circumstance, in my heart suddenly welled up an urge and longing, which I have tried to suppress for more than twenty years; I wish I could aplish this desire, hence I am asking Xu Xiong to put me on a horse. If Xu Xiong is afraid of being cheated, I can disperse 90% of my own power first, retaining only a little bit for protection and self-defense. This way Xu Xiong wont have fears of trouble in the rear, and will be able to save Shi Qingxuan in time. If Xu Xiong still think that this is not feasible, please immediately take my life, I absolutely will not fight back. It was as if Cao Yinglong had be another person altogether; there was some kind of sincerity in his voice that evolved from the depth of his heart. This, plus the substance of his speech, made others unable to doubt his sincerity. Yet the contradiction in Xu Zilings heart was exasperating. Speaking about conduct, even if Cao Yinglong died ten thousand times, it would still be not enough to redeem his sins. Plus Xu Ziling had made up his mind early on; he swore that he would get rid of this big bandit chief. But for Shi Qingxuans sake, should he make the deal? Cao Yinglong calmly said, If after listening to me Xu Xiong thinks its not worth it, or perhaps you sense that my words are notpletely honest, you may make your move at any time to take my life. I will neither resist nor resent it. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Cao Dangjia is really not afraid that whether I think you tell the truth or a lie I still take your life? Smiling bitterly, Cao Yinglong said, If thats the case, I can only me myself for at the deaths door, I misjudge you, hence I will die with noin. Shi Qingxuans image floated in theke of Xu Zilings heart. Whether it was a fantasy or a reality, he could not tell, as if he would never be able to pry into theplete picture of her jade countenance. An unspeakable feeling welling up in his heart, he nodded and said, Very well! Ol Xu will listen with respectful attention. Cao Yinglong muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment. It was quite some timeter that he spoke in lowered voice, If I dont tell the rise and fall of the terrain [idiom: the whole sequence of events] in details, it would be difficult to enter Xu Xiongs confidence. Fortunately it is still a couple of sichen before dawn, we have enough time. Have Xu Xiong ever heard about Two Sects and Six Ways? Xu Ziling understood his meaning; if Cao Yinglong really destroyed 90% of his martial art skill, then he must flee far away from the danger zone before daybreak, and then concealing his identity to avoid all his enemies who had hatred and desire for revenge and might pursue and search for him. To say the least, Flying Horse Ranch people definitely would not let him go, and it would be difficult for Xu Ziling to stop them. Xu Ziling replied, I have only heard about the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Ways, but I have never heard about Two Sects and Six Ways. Yin Gui Pai ought to be one of the two sects, am I right? Cao Yinglong nodded and said, Yin Gui Pai is indeed being regarded as the chief among the demonic schools, simply because they possess the demonic schools treasured book Tian Mo Mi [demonic/devils secret], which, together with Ci Hang Jian Dian [Sword Canon of Ci Hang (Jingzhai)], are the two supreme ssics of the demonic and upright, two ways. The former grew into the Two Sects and Six Ways, thetter are Ci Hang Jingzhai and Jing Nian Chanyuan. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Is Cao Dangjia a demonic schools man? Smiling ruefully, Cao Yinglong replied, If I was not a demonic schools man, how could I have any rtionship with Yang Xuyan? Seeing a peculiar look shed through Xu Zilings face, he hastily said, Although my body belongs to the demonic school, in my heart I hate my school to the bones. Simply because after I grew up, purely by ident I discovered that when my revered master received me as his disciple in the past, unexpectedly he mercilessly murdered my father and mother, brothers and sisters, in the name of severing karma with the secr world, so that my heart was brimming with hatred, yet I was clearly helpless to rebel, so I could only vent my hatred and desire for revenge somece else. Only today I am awakened; the past is like a nightmare. For the first time Xu Ziling felt a little bit of sympathy on him; he asked, Who is your honorable master? Cao Yinglongs eyes spouted mes of hatred; he spoke heavily, He is the Xie Wang [demonic king] Shi Zhixuan, whom even Ci Hang Jingzhai is somewhat wary of! Shi Zhixuan! Xu Ziling blurted, Isnt he Shi Qingxuans biological father? Cao Yinglong looked up to the sky; for the sake of time, he changed the subject by saying, In the past hundred years, the whole country is in rebellion, the demonic schools have emerged to meet a historic destiny by producing several outstanding characters. The most prominent would be Yin Hou [empress yin] Zhu Yuyan, Xie Di [demonic emperor] Xiang Yutian, and Xie Wang Shi Zhixuan. In term of reputation, Zhu Yuyan is the most famous, but in term of strength, the other two are definitely not inferior to her. Xu Ziling blew out a mouthful of cold air; he said, At the deaths door, Xiang Yutian recovered his innate sense of right and wrong. Since Shi Zhixuan already had union with Bi Xiuxin, logically he should have mended his ways. Cao Yinglong revealed dread, mixed with despicable, condescending expression on his face. Pei! he spat, and said, Shi Zhixuans innate character is evil. The fall of the Sui dynasty, and the world turned from being unified back to numerous and disorderly, he is the person who bore the greatest responsibility. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly there is such thing. What ability did Shi Zhixuan have that he managed to topple the Great Sui? Gnashing his teeth, Cao Yinglong said, Shi Zhixuans other identity was Yang Guangs most doted on and trusted minister Pei Ju, who was in charge of domestic and foreignmercial trade. Yang Guang sent out military expedition to Gaoli was precisely due to his instigation. Xu Zilings heart was severely shaken. That day at Man Qing Yuan Xing Mofei mentioned this name to them [see Book 16 Chapter 5], saying that he wrote the Maps and Notes on the Western Regions in three volumes, and an ount on the profile of the forty-four states of the Western Region, which, at the end of the preface he wrote, from Hun and so on will faint and be exterminated, which led to Yang Guang sending arge military expedition abroad. Fu Qians visit to the east this time was precisely to find him to settle the ount. This man was an expert in espionage and conspiracy. In the Western Region he stirred the wind and stirred the rain, implicating the Tujue that they split up and attack each other, filling the ins with the dead and injured. It was also because Yang Guang sent out three military expeditions to Gaoli that led the rebellions springing up everywhere, which ended up in the demise of the empire. Cao Yinglong hatefully said, Yang Guangs heartless and brutal regime, although it was rted to his natural character, but were it not for Shi Zhixuan pushing the wave and adding to the billows, Yang Jians [first Sui emperor] strong and solid familial property would not have failed that quickly. Xu Zilings scalp went numb; he said, By doing this, what good would that bring him? Cao Yinglong sighed and said, The problem is that whether it was Emperor Wen or Emperor Yang, they all vigorously advocated Buddhism. Establishing Buddhist temples across the whole nation, transcribing Buddhist scriptures, proiming the Buddhist doctrine, and so on, are like preaching the entire nations power, which to the demonic schools belief system, acted in a way that defeats its purpose. How could Shi Zhixuan tolerate them messing up with their demonic ways? In the final analysis, the battle between Ci Hang Jingzhai and the demonic schools is the battle over tradition. Listening to that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. Puzzled, he asked, If they are really targeting Ci hang Jingzhai and Jing Nian Chanyuan, why not the sects of demonic school put their strength together, and wipe them out in one move? Why would they draw all the people into deep water and scorching fire? If they attracted foreign tribes to invade, wouldnt it be the gains do not make up for the losses? Sneering, Cao Yinglong replied, Demonic schools emphasize without regard for others feelings, without regard for characters. Those practicing the highest technique could even be without regard for sons, without regard for grandsons. Just like the Buddhists, they also look at life as a fleeting moment, illusory without ultimate meaning. Its just that they are adopting bewildering method, not for the salvation of the people; rather, they see morality and etiquette as simply trifling matter, something that they can use to achieve their purpose, by hook or by crook, unfettered by any constraint. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Cao Xiongs former conduct and deeds indeed deeply represented the demonic schools objective. Cao Yinglong dejectedly said, Because I was adept in the demonic schools influence, I only felt as if everything was as it should be by rights. Since Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty banned many schools of thought, and revered Confucianism as sole orthodoxy, the battle over tradition began, and the world started to have distinction between the righteous and the heretic. By the time demonic teaching Han Yi Hu Shu [lit. Han (ethnic group) interpretation of Hu (barbarians/non-Han people) books] came from the east, things got moreplicated so fast. For you, the strife for the world is a political battle; for us, this is a battle over tradition. While the other flourishes and grows, we sink and cannot rise. Even though right now my feeling is not the same as yesterday, toward those so-called Buddhism from the outside, I still feel deep pain and loathing. Humph! Buddhism is nothing more than evolution of demonic book, a facy of the demonicw, a cheat on the teaching of the ignorance. All those past sins, future karma, doctrine of Dana [Buddhist practice of giving], while hoping for ten thousand times the reward, holding a day of fasting, while hoping for a hundred days of grains, and thus the confused and the fools will have presumptuous demands of achievements and virtue. If they really want to achieve emptiness in ten thousand ways, why are they using greed and deceit even until now? It was the first time that Xu Ziling heard someone repelled Buddhism. Apparently this argument was hanging on the demonic school peoples mouth quite often, hence Cao Yinglong was able to spit it out like surging tide, or like the flowing water of the Yangtze River. Cao Yinglong continued, As for the desire to wipe out Ci Hang Jingzhai, it is easier said than done. Yin Gui Pai has always been butting head with Jingzhai, but all along has always been in the disadvantageous position. Moreover, Jingzhai has already surpassed ordinary religion, and has be the supreme holynd of the two houses, Buddhist and Taoist. Whoever attacks them openly might provoke intervention from martial art masters like the Taoist Schools Ning Daoqi, or perhaps the Buddhist Schools Four Sects [here the word is zong C school/sect/ancestor/n] holy monks, who, so far, have always disregarded the affairs of the human world. Listening to this, Xu Zilings hair stood up on its end. Emotionally moved, he asked, Who are the Four Sects of the Buddhist School? Although he was dying to ask directly about Shi Qingxuan, he could not help being attracted to Cao Yinglongs explosive narrative of the demonic schools internal affairs. It was only then did he understand why Cao Yinglong was so confident that he would consider this intelligence to be valuable to some extent, so much so that it would be enough to trade for his life. Without they realizing it, it was only about half a sichen before daybreak. Xu Zilings mind has been fully absorbed in this Jianghu politics, which exceeded his expectation, but which was also closely rted to the current struggle. Cao Yinglong looked at the sky again, and then hurriedly replied, The Four Sects are Tiantai Zong [lit. heavens tform, school of Buddhism], Sanlun Zong [Three Treatise], Huayan Zong [from dictionary: Chinese Buddhist school founded on the Buddhavatamsaka-mahavaipulya Sutra (Gand sutra)], and Chan Zong [Zen Buddhism]. The Abbotts [orig. Zhuchi, manager] are all senior [or holy] monks whose martial art skill has transcended beyond the mundane, arhat-like, and possess deep, rich cultivation through religious practice, who have never been drawn into any dispute in Wulin, as well as the vulgar world [Buddhist concept]. It is only natural that no one dares to provoke them. The only exception is Shi Zhixuan. He had paid respect [i.e. take discipleship] to Sanlun Zongs Jiaxiang [county, in Jining, Shandong] Dashi, Ji Zang, and Chan Zong Four Ancestors Daoxin Dashi [not sure about this], one after another, stealing their skills. In the demonic schools, he also held two posts simultaneously as the Chief of two schools. Were it not for Jingzhai producing Bi Xiuxin, I am afraid that even if Ning Daoqi personally make his move, he might not be able to subdue him. Seeing Cao Yinglong was so cooperative, not hiding anything he knows, not stopping before he has said it through, Xu Ziling began to believe his sincerity that he has washed his heart and renewed his face, and so he started to be a bit anxious about his safety as well. Although his belly was full of questions, he did not dare to stray from the subject too far; hence he asked hastily, So what does Yang Xuyan have to do with Shi Qingxuan? Why does he want to harm Shi Zhixuans daughter? Cao Yinglong replied, Strictly speaking, Yang Xuyan cannot be considered a demonic school man at all. His only rtionship with the demonic school came from Shi Zhixuan. He paused a moment, as if he suddenly made up his mind, and then said, Yang Xuyan is Yang Jians grandchild, the son of Yang Yong, the nephew of Yang Guang. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, So thats how it is! Until now, they had never been able to unravel the mystery of Yang Xuyans identity, since he seemed to take orders from Yang Guang, yet he also seemed to help outsiders in dealing with Yang Guang. But if he was indeed Yang Yongs son, then Yang Guang, who was guilty of murdering his elder brother, the Crown Prince Yang Yong, and set himself up on the throne, was his personal, father-murderer, enemy. Cao Yinglong continued, Shi Zhixuan secretly rescued Yang Xuyan, by using another childs dead body as his substitute. Originally it was out of bad intention; he intended to disrupt the Sui politics by restoring Yang Xuyan to the throne. Who would have thought that things kind of got out of hand? Unexpectedly he discovered that whether in terms of character and aptitude, Yang Xuyan actually has the qualifications to inherit his ultimate skill; hence he epted him as his disciple, and taught him martial art. This matter, other than me, no one in the world knows; therefore, I shamelessly use this as my bargaining chip to Xu Xiong. And then he closed his eyes, his countenance turned white, the joints within his body produced faint crackling noises. This was the first time that Xu Ziling witnessed the secret technique of the demonic school to disperse ones power; inwardly he was sorrowful, but he knew he should not stop it from happening. Cao Yinglong slowly said, When Shi Zhixuan realized that the chaos in the world has escaped from his control, also for some other reason that neither Yang Xuyan nor myself understood, he suddenly vanished without any trace. Originally I was unwilling to join hands with Zhu Can and Xiao Xian, but Yang Xuyan personally came to see me, persuading me toy a trap against you, he also divulged the fact that Shi Qingxuan has joined hands with you to deal with You Niaojuan and the others. If we did not immediately take care of you, perhaps Shi Zhixuan might hide Shi Qingxuan in secret, and implicate that she had handed over the demonic schools manuals to you. Therefore, we must resolve this matter in the shortest time possible, using the two-pronged approach: I would deal with you, and he would go to Sichuan to cheat the manuals from her hands. As for the details, even I am not too clear about it. All I know is that Yang Xuyan, this mans innate tendency is evil just like Shi Zhixuan, and he firmly believed that only by getting rid of Shi Qingxuan will Shi Zhixuan recover his natural instinct toe out and help him obtain the world. While speaking thest sentence, all trace of blood has disappeared from his face, and he was gasping for breath constantly. Xu Ziling was overwhelmed with grief; he reached out to pull this once tyrannizing, killing people like scything x, extremely vicious mans hands. On one hand, he was checking whether the dispersing-power process was real, on the other hand, he wanted to stop the process from continuing. Aghast, he said, Yang Xuyan informed you about this crafty scheme many days ago, how could I still have time to stop him? Having obtained Xu Zilings true qi, Cao Yinglongs face recovered its color. Sighing, he said, Shi Zhixuans only favor to me was that he imparted to me his demonic power. Now I have returned his power back to him, I do not owe him anything. Only after gasping for another breath did he address the question that Xu Ziling was dying to know, For some reason, that kid has unexpectedly suffered internal injury, and has to hide for some time to recover before he could go to Sichuan to find Shi Qingxuan. Therefore, if Xu Xiong leave immediately, there is a very good chance that you might be ahead of him and help Shi Qingxuan neutralizing this problem. By this time any suspicion in Xu Zilings heart has vanished; letting go of his hands, he said, Cao Xiong, what exactly is your unfulfilled wish? Smiling bitterly, Cao Yinglong replied, Xu Xiong is indeed very smart, knowing that after dispersing my power, I can barely live for only about a year. But this wish, I can only rely on myself to fulfill it. Ay! This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly. The short version is that I have secretly betrayed my school by having a rtionship with a woman and have a daughter with her. This time I am throwing everything away, I want to go back and see them, mother and daughter, for one more time, to tell them that I had other difficulties, and did not have any intention to abandon them. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. If previously someone had told him that Cao Yinglong, whomitted murder without batting an eye, unexpectedly harbored this kind of profound love toward his wife and daughter, he would not have believed it even if he was to be killed. Xu Ziling knew there was not much time; pursing his lips, he whistled to call his mount, while asking, What actually are Two Sects and Six Ways? Whats their rtionship? Shi Zhixuan held the chief positions of which two sects? Cao Yinglong gratefully took the horsewhip; he replied, There are altogether six volumes of Tianmo Mi [The Demons Secret], which spread out and grew into Two Sects and Six Ways. Each Sect has a style of their own, of which the Tianmo Shu [demonic method/technique] is the most formidable, and Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa [demonic big method cultivated from the way of the heart] is the most weird. But after Shi Zhixuan fused the highest xinfa of Hua Jian Pai and Bu Tian Ge [lit. mending-the-heaven pavilion] and founded the amazing power of Bu Si Yin [lit. not dead (immortal) print/seal/mark], he raised his banner among the demonic schools that even Zhu Yuyan and Xiang Yutian must gasp with admiration. And then he added, The Two Sects are Yin Gui Pai and Hua Jian Pai, the Six Ways are Xie Ji [extreme evil], Mie Qing [wiping-out feeling], Zhen Chuan [authentic tradition], Bu Tian [mending the heaven], Tian Lian [heavenly lotus], and Mo Xiang [devil appearance]. Among which, Zhen Chuan split out into two, which are Zu Zhen Chuan [authentic tradition of the ancestors] and Laojun Guan [Lao-tze (Taoist) Monastery]. Cao Yinglong flipped over to mount the horse, and called out, We part here; if we do not have time to meet again, Xu Xiong must, by all means, be careful of Yang Xuyan. In the future, he might be another Shi Zhixuan. And then he leaned over and took a bamboo tube from his bosom, which he stuffed into Xu Zilings hand, before mping the horse and left. The Shaoshuai Army separated to let him out of the encirclement. Led by Kou Zhong and Shang Xiuxun, nearly a thousand Ranchs warriors swarmed in like a clump of swift cloud, just as they caught sight of Cao Yinglong, who appeared to be a small dot on the prairie under the light of the beginning of dawn. Shang Xiuxun looked suspiciously at the lone rider in the distance. When she got to Xu Zilings side, she asked, Isnt that Cao Yinglong? It is indeed him! Xu Ziling calmly replied. What? Shang Xiuxun blurted out. By this time Kou Zhong had urged his horse to ride by Xu Zilings other side. Reining the horse, his gaze moved from Cao Yinglong to the dead body on the ground, Fang Jianding, who still had the pomegranate stick sticking out of his back, but he did not say anything. Shang Xiuxuns countenance sank; she stared at Xu Ziling hatefully and said, Why did you let him go? Xu Ziling looked down at the bamboo tube in his hand, he spoke indifferently, He used secret pertaining to Yang Xuyan in exchange for half a year of his life, so that he can fulfill the wish of the past many years. Shang Xiuxuns countenance changed, she said, What kind of thing Yang Xuyan is, that unexpectedly in Xu Yes eyes he is more important than the blood debt of thousands of our Ranch warriors? Kou Zhong hastily tried to smooth things over, he said, Changzhu, please calm down. Ziling must have his own reasons. Shang Xiuxuns face turned as cold as ice as she said, Of course you are helping him! I am not mad, I just need a satisfactory exnation. By this time the sky gradually brightened. Although more than a thousand warriors gathered on the grasnd, everybody was quiet out of fear, holding their breath and calming their qi. Xu Zilings eyes met the round, open-wide apricot-eyes of Shang Xiuxun, whose face was deathly white. Smiling ruefully, he said, I originally determined not to let Cao Yinglong leave this ce alive, but because he exchanged information involving Xiaodis friends life or death, I just had to ... What friend? Shang Xiuxun cut him off. Xu Ziling answered honestly, Its Shi Qingxuan. Have Changzhu ever heard her name? Shang Xiuxun was stunned; she stared nkly for a moment, and then the color started to disappear from her pretty face. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Bad!, but while he was at a loss of what to say, this beautiful Ranch Master screamed, Turns out it is Shi Qingxuan. No wonder Xu Ziling, you unexpectedly disregard our Ranchs blood debt, and let this evil thief, who deserves to be cut a thousand times, to enter the ocean, to return to the mountain, and let him continue ughtering ten thousand people. Just consider me misjudging you. And then she turned to Kou Zhong and fiercely said, I am going after Cao Yinglong now, are youing or not? Kou Zhong responded with difficulty, Just now Ling Shao said that fellow Cao Yinglong only have half of his life, and that he wontst more than half a year, hey! Shang Xiuxun spoke word-by-word, I only asked you, are youing or not? Kou Zhong dejectedly replied, Whatever Ling Shao said is the same as what I, Kou kid, would say. Changzhu, please forgive me. Shang Xiuxun rushed her horse forward for a dozen or so paces, but then she turned back, swept her gaze around, her phoenix eyes contained aplicated expression as she nodded and said, Good! three times, before calling out tenderly, All gratitude and grudges between me and you, two boys, are hereby broken into two segments with a single cut. Hereafter we have nothing to do with each other. Brothers! Follow me, lets go! Unexpectedly she no longer going after Cao Yinglong, instead, her horse flew back the way she came. All Ranch warriors had no choice but to follow behind her; they came like a tornado, they left like a tornado. In the blink of an eye they disappeared, leaving Xu and Kou, two boys, and more than a hundred Shaoshuai Army, who looked at each other without being able to say anything. Kou Zhong leaped down from his horse, smiled wryly, and shook his head, Jealous woman, he said. Xu Ziling helplessly said, Im sorry! Wrapping his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders, Kou Zhong said, One lifetime, two brothers; why say such thing? We dont have Flying Horse Ranch, then we dont have Flying Horse Ranch. Its not the end of the world. A warm feeling burst inside Xu Zilings heard. Stuffing the bamboo tube into Kou Zhongs hand, he said in low voice, Inside ought to be the map to the stolen goods that that thief has hidden; he was going to give it to Yang Xuyan. If you have time, you ought to take a look! Book 23 - 2 – Separate Mission Book 23 Chapter 2 C Separate Mission While Shaoshuai Army was cleaning up the battlefield, the two boys sat on a pile of rocks by the River Zhang, discussing the valuable information that Cao Yinglong provided. Kou Zhong picked up a broken arrow lying down by his feet. While ying with it, he said, Cao Yinglong should be telling the truth, or else he is a genius in fabricating stories and tooting his horn. At least the part where Yang Xuyan is injured cant be a lie. Furthermore, if youpare it to Shang Xiuxuns story, it was like seamless heavenly clothes. Ay! This Beautiful Changzhu is so hot-tempered. Whoever marries her will have a very big bad luck. Oh, my Niang! Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, This is called different ss origins. We paid obeisance to Yan Laoda as our master [Book 1 Chapter 1], at least we are ustomed to amodate other people. She is set up on high; although she is surrounded by people, she is a lone flower admiring itself, hiding inside that little world of hers that is isted from the crowd; perhaps her life is cheerless and lonesome. Therefore, although she does not know how to conduct herself, how to put herself in someone elses shoes, or how to give thought to others, we cant me her. I just hope that when she calms down, she might change her mind! Otherwise, your great undertaking of regaining Jingling will potentially die in the womb. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I did not me her at all. We cannot expect everything in life will happen ording to our wishes, or else Niang and Su Jie did not need to die. But if I were you, I might also let Old Cao go to fulfill his wish before he dies. If my guess is correct, Shi Qingxuan is the custodian of Hua Jian Pais library, and while she is at it, she might even be the caretaker of Bu Tian Jiaos [jiao C cult, as if in Ming Cult of Yi Tian Tu Long Ji] scriptures. And Yang Xuyan is pretending to be the disciple of Hua Jian Pai, he is going to Sichuan to deceive her and harm her. What are you nning to do? Grabbing his head, Xu Ziling said, Do I have any choice? Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont act like you are in pain. In my opinion, you have the excuse you need to see Miss Shi, your heart must be really happy. Just put your butts in order, I dont care if in thetrine youd stand or sit. Xu Ziling looked at him in astonishment. Unexpectedly you still have the mood to make such a dirty joke, he said in surprise. Grieved, Kou Zhong said, Although this time we seized total victory, we lost nearly half of our brothers. They have been through fire and water with me, yet I cannot bring them home to be reunited with their family and share riches and honor together. If I dont make some vulgar jokes, how could I divert myself from the sorrow cramming down my heart? Amazed, Xu Ziling said, Your way of mourning is indeed extraordinarily weird. Kou Zhong sized him up carefully; he said, You have always been morepassionate than me [orig. bemoaning the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind], why do you seem like a bit unconcerned? Xu Ziling contemted for a moment; sighing lightly, he said, Its not that I am unconcerned, but I am a bit numbed toward life and death. After Su Jies death, I often ponder the question of life and death. What happens after death? One is existence, the other is nothingness. If all is nothing, then once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved [or death ends all ones troubles]. Suffering, broken-heart, despair, depression, are all the facts of life. But if all exist, then it is really interesting; whether its reincarnation or going to the Temple of Heaven or theher world, in short, going to another world. In this way of thinking, death is no longer frightening. We weep for the death, but its just because we cannot see through. I even expect death a little bit. In this regard, Laotianye is just; whether you are of noble birth or aristocracy, or perhaps merely ordinary,mon people, everybody has to experience it once. Listening to this, Kou Zhong was so surprised and confused that he was unsure how to respond. It was quite a whileter that he slowly exhaled and said, Despite your expectation, you must notmit suicide; at least not before we find the Duke Yang Treasure. Xu Ziling was cross, Go to your grandma! he cursed, I must now go to Sichuan; how about you? Distressed, Kou Zhong said, The most ideal situation is of course I aming with you to visit your little Qingxuan. Unfortunately, I have to rush back to see Chen Changlin and his nsmen, the Jiangnan troops. I have no choice but to agree on a ce where we can meetter and go together to Guanzhong to try our luck. Ay! You must be a bit more careful! Xu Ziling responded indifferently, Are you afraid I might die beforeing with you to find the treasure? Sneering, Kou Zhong replied, Compared to my good brother, can the Duke Yang Treasure be considered anything? Rising to his full height, Xu Ziling said, I was just joking. Both of us must be a bit more careful. Not only we are being sucked into the maelstrom of the contention over the world, we are also progressively being drawn into the mysterious power struggle between the upright and the demonic. One slip, and we will be caught in a situation without any hope of reprieve. Kou Zhong suddenly stood up; turning his gaze toward the sinking sun on the western horizon, he spoke slowly, word-by-word, The fact is, the moment we obtained the Secret to Long Life, we are already falling into this unknown struggle, from which we cannot escape, even if we wanted to. This is our destiny. Xu Ziling hastened on his journey for four days and three nights straight. By the time he reached a county town east of the Great Bashan [Mount Ba], he could no longer endure it, and had to throw himself into an inn to rest. Since ancient times, the road into Bashu [Sichuan] has been widely known as hard to pass, because it was surrounded by a range of hills, range upon range of mountains, high mountains and deep valleys. In between was the Yangtze River snaking through it like a belt. Converging streams and joining flows, both grand and majestic, as well as dangerous and difficult. To enter Sichuan bynd, one must go through the nk walkway going around the mountain between the Great Mount Lou and the Great Mount Ba. As for the waterway, there was the Three Gorges natural stronghold. Therefore, no matter how chaotic the outside world was, as long as one could upy Sichuan and dere himself king, by relying on the dense river channels within its borders, plus the Dujiangyan gravitational irrigation system [more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dujiangyan], one could develop the agriculture, with which one could hold his ground for a long period of time. Hence it enjoyed the good reputation as thend of abundance. Although the inhabitants of Shu [short for Sichuan] region were mostly Han, there were more than forty other ethnic groups, such as Qiang, Yi, et cetera, hence it was very rich in local customs. The county town Xu Ziling was stopping over was Shangyong City, north of River Du, Fang Ling County, Hubei, one of the major stations on the main route toward Shu region. From here, he would only need half a day of travel to enter the mountainous area of the Great Mount Ba. The city was officially under Zhu Cans control, but in reality it was under control of thebination of a former Sui official and the local gangs and societies; therefore, it was fortunate not to be ravaged by Zhu Cans Garuda Army, except for limited exploitation as the Army was passing through. ording to Bai Wenyuan, all the gangs and societies in Sichuan and its surrounding area epted order from Chuan Bang [Sichuan Gang] as the leader. This Chuan Bang was already one of the biggest powers outside Duzun Bao [Supreme Fort]. Its Gang Leader, the Spear King Fan Zhuo had outstanding martial art skill, an expert in wielding the spear, and was on an equal footing with the Wulin Magistrate, Xie Hui [see Book 22 Chapter 3], a veteran and an esteemed character in Wulin. After having a good soak in the bathhouse, Xu Ziling returned to his room and slept for half a day. It was only when the dusk fell that he went to a restaurant along the main street to have a big meal. Suddenly he felt like he was a brand-new person. The non-stop journey of the past few days has consumed a lot of his physical strength and true power, while also made him too busy to think about anything, hence all troubles were thrown to the back of his mind. After dinner he asked for a pot of wine. But before he even had the chance to take the first sip, an rm went off in his heart. Instinctively he turned his head toward the entrance, and saw a beautiful young [married] woman under escort of four big men, boldly lifted the hanging curtain and entered in. Surprisingly, it was the female chief of the Chang Jiang Alliance, Zheng Shuming. It was obvious that Zheng Shuming was looking for him; she went straight to him, without any trace of politeness sat down on the chair across the table from him. Her phoenix eyes shone with power as she hissed, It is indeed you! The four big men spread out toward the four corners. The other guests immediately felt the peculiar atmosphere, one after another they paid their bill and left. Even the waiters disappeared to who-knows-where. Xu Ziling raised his cup to toast her and drained it in one gulp. He smiled and said, Zheng Dangjia, what advice do you have for me? Bu Tianzhi and Chen Changlin weed the covered-in-dust Kou Zhong into one of Jukun Bangs secret hideouts located in the southwest of Jiangdu. After taking their seat, Chen Changlin cheerfully said, Fortunately we did not bring disgrace in following the order. Five hundred twenty-eight good-quality horses from Khitan and Korea already fell into our possession. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Two gentlemen are indeed very skillful, just with the hands behind your back you managed topletely take over so many good horses. How did you do it? Twirling his mustache, Bu Tianzhi smiled and said, Of course by outsmarting the enemy. After putting our men together in Donghai, we set sail toward the ocean, and then going at full speed toward the mouth of the Yangtze River, we set an ambush at Hudou Ind [orig. zhou, ind in a river]. When the three seagoing ships transporting the horses arrived, we raised Li Zitongs g, posing as naval escort to meet them, and falsely notified them that the river ahead was blocked by the Du Army, so they must disembark at Ninghai, in the vicinity of Jiangdu. As for other details, we can tell you if you wish to know. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This is equal to crippling Li Zitong and Ku Ges dog legs [i.e.ckey/henchmen]. Hows the situation of Du and Shen, two armies? Chen Changlin said, Luo Xiong is monitoring their activity day and night. Because Jianghuai Army is still holed up at Qingliu, its hard for us to attack. We have no choice but to watch helplessly and wait for the fortunate timing when they march into Jiangdu. With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, If Im guessing correctly, within these two days Du Fuwei might send his army to attack Jiangdu. Because the news of Zhu Can and Xiao Xian withdrawing their troops and Cao Yinglong suffering total defeat of his army must have reached Old Dus ears, he will seize the opportunity before I am back at Liangdu to invade Jiangdu. Currently Xuan Yong is leading the troops returning to the east. I traveled day and night toe here like this, it is precisely to enjoy this excitement. Bu Tianzhi and Chen Changlin were emotionally moved; they had never expected that Kou Zhong would have such brilliant and incredible achievements. While Kou Zhong was still talking over some details, Luo Qifeis messenger came to report that Jianghuai Armys vanguard and pathfinder unit has already left Qingliu to set out toward Jiangdu. Everybody immediately felt the opening clouds to see the moon moment. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Its time for that kid Xiliang to make his move! Zheng Shumings beautiful eyes lit up; it appeared that she had no malice as she took a good, long look at Xu Ziling before speaking softly, Perhaps Xu Xiong would find it hard to believe, this time nujia came to pay a visit without any wish to recklessly brandish weapons. Being at the receiving end of this pair of beautiful eyes, which seemed to hide a lot of things that were hard to understand, Xu Ziling was nonplussed. Clearing his throat, he said, That would be best; otherwise it wont be good for anyone. Zheng Shuming calmly said, The fact is, we do not have enough power here to deal with you. Plus we do not wish to tie an unraveled enmity with your Shaoshuai Army, since it wont bring the slightest benefit to our Yangtze River Alliance. Xu Ziling did not understand, Arent you in alliance with Yun Yuzhen and Xiao Xian? With Xiao Xian as your backer, you shouldnt have any misgivings in dealing with us. Zheng Shuming smiled and said, This is called the situation has changed. Previously our number one public enemy was the roving bandits headed by Cao Yinglong, which was the reason for the establishment of the Yangtze River Alliance. But now that Cao Yinglong has been destroyed by you, we decided to ce ourselves outside the struggle between you and Xiao Xian. Ay! Were it not for beingpelled by circumstances, whod dare to set himself against the two of you? Xu Ziling mused inwardly, So thats what happened. A bit embarrassed, he said, Are we that dreadful? Zheng Shuming suddenly shouted tenderly, Bring me wine! Receiving the order, the men brought some wine and poured her a cup. They also refilled Xu Zilings empty cup to the brim. Zheng Shuming raised her cup to toast him, Unexpectedly Xu Xiong is just like nujia, we are fond of the contents of the cup. Lets drink for the total annihtion of Cao Yinglong. After exchanging a toast with her, Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, It was only recently that I discovered the benefit of good wine; previously, I only drink when I could not decline anymore. A blush suddenly exploded on each of Zheng Shumings cheeks, the kind of flirtatious expression of a mature young woman who was unable to hold her alcohol, making her appeared more tender and beautiful, more alluring. With a smile on her face, she said, It was only after myte husband passed away that Shuming started to copy others, drinking wine to relieve boredom. I wonder what made Xu Xiong started to drink? Xu Zilings countenance darkened. Watching Zheng Shuming as she poured another cup full of wine, he shook his head and said, Nothing! Zheng Shuming knew how to read expressions; she knew that he was unwilling to confide in her. Thereupon she put down the wine pot and ordered her men to wait outside. Lowering her voice, she said, I hear that after killing Fang Jianding, Xu Xiong let Cao Yinglong go; I wonder if what I heard was true? Xu Ziling shivered inwardly. If Yang Xuyan heard about this, he might be able to specte that Cao Yinglong had used the secret as an exchange for his life, which would be very bad. However, his mouth responded, Zheng Dangjia is really well-informed. Zheng Shuming sighed and said, So it did happen. I believe Xu Xiong must have a very good reason to spare his life. But Shuming is a bit grateful to you instead. If Xu Xiong had not let him go, Shuming would not have the opportunity to kill the enemy who murdered my husband with my own hands. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Wasnt your husband killed by Ba ... hey ... Zheng Shuming replied mournfully, Myte husband died in the duel against Ba Fenghan only because his old injury rpsed, but the main culprit responsible for his injury was Cao Yinglong. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that such a muddled ounting, perhaps nobody knew how to settle it. What made Ba Fenghan fight with Jiang Dangjia? he casually asked. Smiling wryly, Zheng Shuming replied, He came to settle an old score on the behalf of Dong Ming Pai; but if he wasnt so overbearing, it would not have developed into such plight. Ay! Can we not talk about such things? Inadvertently Xu Ziling gained further understanding of the hard-to-fathom rtionship between Shan Wanjing and Ba Fenghan. He nodded without saying anything. Zheng Shuming toasted him with another cup of wine, saying, This cup is to offer best wishes on the capture and killing of Cao Yinglong, also to console the million ghosts who died unjustly under his hands. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, Zheng Dangjia this time ... Zheng Shuming cheerfully said, The reason I am hastening to Chengdu this time is precisely to hunt and kill Cao Yinglong. Over the past few years, in order to deal with this evil thief, we have painstakingly gathered all information pertaining to him. We knew that he had never stayed in one ce for more than a month; only in Chengdu he lingered for more than three months. Afterwards, he had been making multiple trips to Chengdu. Once he even went shopping at a cosmetic shop. Thus it is clear that he must have a woman somewhere in that ce. Since he is at the end of his rope, I am quite certain that he might be hiding in Chengdu. Listening to that, Xu Ziling immediately felt a big headache. While he was hesitating whether he should tell her that Cao Yinglong only had half a year to live, and asked her whether she could be magnanimous, Zheng Shuming went on, This deep enmity of killing my husband is absolutely irreconcble, I will not let this evil thief off, no matter what. Xu Ziling had no choice but to swallow the words that were hanging by his lips. Zheng Shuming noticed that he wanted to say something but then hesitated. Did Xu Xiong want to say something? she asked in astonishment, May nujia be so bold to ask why Xu Xiong simply must let him go? Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling replied, It would be best if Zheng Dangjia dont know. Otherwise you might be drawn into an unnecessary, but could easily bring disaster to you, gargantuan trouble, but with absolutely no benefit to Chang Jiang Lian. Her countenance changed, Zheng Shuming said, Unexpectedly it is that serious? In that case, does Xu Xiong have any advice for me on pursuing and killing Cao Yinglong? Inwardly Xu Ziling praised her intelligence and quick-witted, as well as her thoughtfulness and cautious mind. He took this opportunity to say with augh, Cao Yinglong already reached the path exhausted, the end of the road state, he wont live for much longer. Whether Zheng Dangjia can find him or not, it wont make much difference. If you could, dont get involved in this matter, that will be a sensible act. Zheng Shuming knitted her pair of crescent-moon-shaped pretty eyebrows as she stared at him for half a day. Her cherry lips opened lightly as she said, To hunt and kill Cao Yinglong has been the unanimous decision of our Chang Jiang Lian, from top to bottom. Ever since we received the flying pigeon news, we have put all manpower and thrown all resources into this matter, otherwise we would not have found Xu Xiong this quickly. I am afraid we cannot change this matter. I wonder if Xu Xiong could be a bit clearer: does he really suffer serious internal injury? Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Smiling wryly, he said, Zheng Dangjia, please forgive me, what I can tell you Ive already told you. Zheng Shuming softly said, I am afraid Xu Xiong still does not trust nujia! Xu Zilings heart moved, he asked, Why did Zheng Dangjia walk together with Bai Qinger? Zheng Shuming replied in low voice, That is another reason qie wanted to see you. Why did Kou Zhong call Bai Qinger a yaonu? He also mentioned to her the name of Wanwan, who made Jingling the city destroyed, the people perished. Xu Zilings tiger-eyes shed coldly; he spoke indifferently, Good question! Zheng Dangjia still dont understand? Zheng Shumings countenance changed again; aghast, she said, Is Bai Qinger really a Yin Gui Pai people? Xu Ziling replied frankly, Bai Qinger is a Yin Gui Pai female demon. Zheng Shiru is Yin Gui Pai demon. I am afraid even Qian Duguan cannot get off of this rtionship. Zheng Dangjia must be very careful. Zheng Shiru? Zheng Shuming blurted out, Does Xu Xiong have any proof? As far as I know, this man has always been acting alone and independent, arrogant and has high opinion about himself, unlike any Yin Gui Pai demon. Naturally Xu Ziling could not tell her that he disguised himself as Yue Shan and saw through Zheng Shirus real face and real purpose. Without any better option, he said, If we did not uncover it, who would have known that Luoyang Bangs big boss Shangguan Long is Yin Gui Pai people? This matter is absolutely true. Zheng Dangjia should not lightly ignore it. Zheng Shumings pretty face turned deathly pale, she bit her lower lip, but did not say anything. Intuitively Xu Ziling felt that she did not believe him, plus this matter involved the emotion between a man and a woman; otherwise, her reaction would not be that strange. Sighing, Xu Ziling poured another cup of wine for the two of them, saying, This cup is for Zaixia paying my respect to Zheng Dangjia, hoping Zheng Dangjia would attach most importance to the general situation. I also offer this toast to say good-bye. Please! He had not finished speaking, someone entered the restaurant in big strides. Surprisingly, it was the Mad Schr of Henan Zheng Shiru. Without making any noise at all Kou Zhong leaped down the city wall. After hiding the rope with the hook well, in the blink of an eye he already set foot on the red-light district, where he spent countless childhood days in Yangzhou. He put on the mask that turned him into the full-bearded man with eagle-beak nose. His destination was Tian Xiang Lou to find Madame Yuling. Only through her would he be able to get in touch with Gui Xiliang while evading other peoples eyes and ears. Perhaps because the news of Du Fuweis main forces invading their territory has not spread around, the atmosphere at the red-light district was still peaceful and lively, making people wonder perhaps the situation inside Yangzhou did not have the slightest rtionship with the fire of war outside the city. Along the sides of the street, red sleeves floated and disappeared, thenterns illuminating the road, the sound of music and song were everywhere. Kou Zhong could not help feeling that he had fallen back into his youth when he could only peek from the outside, leaning against Cui Nong Hong, while other people were staking a thousand pieces of gold on one throw [idiom: extravagant]; a hard-to-describe emotion welled up in his heart. In that instant, past happenings filled his mindpletely, as if he was back as his old little rascal self, roaming the streets of Yangzhou, living a life where hardship and happiness were difficult to tell from each other, but where his heart was filled with longing and expectation of the future. At the same time, another train of thought rose in his heart, making him feeling dazed and lost. The fact is, he could never go back to the past. It is also impossible to recall the past years by his thought, he could not change the choices and mistakes that he made in the past either. Whats lost is lost. Time is like powerful current that will never turn back. He had already lost a lot of precious things. In every case, people constantly make mistakes, make inappropriate choices, while regrets alwayseter. This is a recurring phenomenon. This realization seemed to make him dazed and at a loss as to which path to follow. All previous efforts and achievements did not seem to carry anysting importance; it could not even scratch the itch in his heart. If only he could walk hand-in-hand with Song Yuzhi, strolling along this bustling scenic spot of Yangzhou, it would be such a beautiful thing, touching and satisfying the heart. Suddenly the sound of hoof beats urgently pulled his thought back to the grim reality, and then he realized he had just walked past Tian Xiang Lous main gate. A horse-drawn carriage was just hurrying out of the gate. Suddenly an ominous feeling rose up in Kou Zhongs heart; he ran after the fragrant carriage, which ought to carry Madame Yulings honorable self. Book 23 - 3 – The Battle Between Orthodox and Heretic Book 23 Chapter 3 C The Battle Between Orthodox and Heretic Letting out a longugh, Zheng Shiru said, Knowing someone by their reputation cantpare to meeting them in person. This time I am able to pay an official visit to Xu Xiong, it is indeed a joy of life. Zaixia Zheng Shiru of Henan. Xu Ziling and Zheng Shuming exchanged a nce; they were both a bit embarrassed and were at a loss of what to do. Moreover, from her eyes, Xu Ziling caught a request. Zheng Shuming seemed to be unwilling for Xu Ziling to expose Zheng Shirus identity on the spot. But Xu Ziling did not have the intention to do so. Originally, Yangtze River Alliance wanted to hunt and kill Cao Yinglong out of hatred; in and simple. But now that Zheng Shiru appeared, this matter immediately becameplicated. For the first time Xu Ziling had a feeling that this mans identity was vague, it was difficult to ascertain, so much so that he seemed to be shrouded by profound mystery. He helped Yangtze River Alliance to hunt and kill Cao Yinglong; was it at Zhu Yuyans behest? They should have been aware of Cao Yinglongs real identity early on. To them, what value could Cao Yinglong possibly have? As this series of questions flitted through Xu Zilings mind, a bit demonstratively Zheng Shiru sat down by Zheng Shumings side; he even moved his chair a little closer to her, as if to say that this woman was mine. However, speaking about talent and appearance, he did have the qualifications to make women toppling over him. Xu Ziling smiled slightly and said, Zheng Xiong, how are you? I wonder if your trip to the west this time is rted to Cao Yinglong. Hearing Cao Yinglongs name, his eyes lit up with a bit of sharp light, so that Xu Ziling was even more convinced that he did not err in his guess. Zheng Shiru nodded and said, Shumings business is my business. Thief Cao harmed countless people, everybody has the right to punish him. Therefore, Shiru really does not understand why Xu Xiong could let the tiger returned to its mountain? Zaixia does not wish to me Xu Xiong at all, just wishes to know how did that thief Cao persuade Xu Xiong to spare his dog life? Zheng Shumings expression looked unnatural; apparently because her rtionship with Zheng Shiru was not shallow. Moreover, she had just heard from Xu Zilings mouth that Zheng Shiru was a Yin Gui Pai demon. Her mind was churning, her emotion was extremelyplex. Xu Ziling felt that Zheng Shiru was not really seeking answers; he just wanted to destroy his rtionship with Zheng Shuming. Thereupon he replied indifferently, Please forgive Xiaodi for not able to exin the details, all I can reveal to you is: Cao Yinglong has a very deep affinity with a certain secret demonic school. He is not as simple as merely being the head of once rampant roving bandits. He suddenly changed his mind and intentionally leaked a little secret. On one hand he wanted to let Zheng Shiru know without a doubt that he had seen through his real identity; on the other hand, it was necessary to remind Zheng Shuming that the Zheng Shirus motivation in helping her dealing with Cao Yinglong was not as simple as what she thought. Stunned, Zheng Shuming said, This matter is that serious? Finished speaking, she could not help casting a nce toward Zheng Shiru. Xu Ziling indifferently shrugged his shoulders; his movement was free and at ease, and was very pleasing to the eye. Zheng Shiru spoke in heavy voice, Since Xu Xiong said so, we will surely be more careful. Please allow Zaixia to ask a question, which is, Xu Xiong made an appearance in here, is it in preparation to enter Sichuan? Zheng Shumings attention was immediately drawn to this issue, because it was the question she had been asking, but yet to receive any answer. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, My trip this time is to visit a friend. It has nothing to do with Cao Yinglong. Excuse me! Finished speaking, he floated away. Kou Zhong ran after the carriage, while looking for a good opportunity. Focusing his power to his eyes, instantly he was able to see through the window curtain; he saw Madame Yuling sitting alone inside the carriage, she seemed to be preupied. An ominous feeling rose up in his heart. The carriage was speeding in the direction of Zhu Hua Bang headquarters. This moment, as it came to a crowded intersection, the carriage slowed down. Unleashing his footwork, Kou Zhong appeared to be walking slow, but actually he moved fast and reached the intersection point one step ahead of the carriage. Seizing the opportunity while the carriage was turning, fast as lightning he pulled the carriage door open, pulled off the mask, closed the door, and sat next to Madame Yuling. All movements were like moving clouds and flowing water; everything waspleted in the blink of an eye. Although the street was crowded with pedestriansing and going, no one could clearly see his move. They only felt like a shadow shing in front of their eyes, so they thought it was due to their own blurry eyes. Madame Yuling gasped in surprise. But when she looked clearly and recognized him, she appeared to be pleasantly surprised. Hearing the gasp, the driver asked, Madame! Im all right! Madame Yuling scolded gently, No need to go to the headquarters, just take me around town for a while. And then turning to Kou Zhong she said, Xiliang and Xiao Rong had an ident! Kou Zhong was shocked, ident? he blurted out. Madame Yuling nodded angrily and said, I just receive the news; Li Zitong have them sent to the Zongguan Mansion. I was going to see Shao Lingzhou to discuss this matter. Kou Zhong pondered for a moment. Suddenly he smiled and said, This is called flying into a rage out of humiliation. Let me go to Li Zitong to have a word with him! What did you say? Madame Yuling cried out. Xu Ziling left the city that very night. Traveling by the moonlight he headed toward the Great Mount Ba, but his heart was in turmoil. Should he care about Cao Yinglongs affair? Looking at it from any position and with any point of view, Cao Yinglongs death should not be pitied. The problem was that when Xu Ziling gained more in-depth understanding of this person, he discovered that inside his violent and tyrannical shell, Cao Yinglong was no more than a pathetic snake without the freedom to act independently. Furthermore, knowing that he would not have long to live, letting him aplishing his cherished desire before he died seemed to be reasonable and fair. Under normal circumstances, he should not interfere in this kind of affair, but when Yin Gui Pai was involved, everything becameplicated and not normal. Supposing Cao Yinglong had no value, Zheng Shiru would not have put so much effort. But what else did he have that of any value? Did Cao Yinglong still keep something from him? It was already toote to talk about it. By the time he was thinking to this point, he has been running on foot for nearly ten li non-stop. Ahead was a row of unbroken rolling mountains extended on both direction, like a giant dragon lying down in the vast ins. Right this moment, he heard a faint ringing of silver bell like tenderughtering from the jungle to the southwest, followed by a series of ringing noise of weapons striking against each other. Even with his level of self-cultivation, Xu Zilings heart was severely shaken. Because he recognized theughter. Striding forward with head high, Kou Zhong came to the Zongguan Mansion where Li Zitong resided. Shouting loudly, he said, I am Kou Zhong. Tell Li Zitong toe out to meet me. None of the guards at the gate was not shocked; furthermore, no one dared to be negligence. Immediately one of them rushed inside to report. Noticing that all the guards were staring at him as if they were having a face-off with a big enemy, Kou Zhong smiled and said, If I came here to fight, behind me there should be magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, right? What he said was reasonable, but the guards were already intimidated by his presence, how could they feel at ease? With the sound of clothes fluttering in the wind, a big and tall man in military uniform appeared at the gate. The guards busily saluted him and stepped out of his way. With zing eyes the man sized Kou Zhong up and down before speaking coldly, This general is Qin Wenchao, serving under Wu Wang [the King of Wu]. I received Wu Wangs special order to wee you. Shao Shuai, please! Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. If Li Zitong had personallye out to greet him, then there would be implicit intention to exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk [idiom: to turn hostility into friendship], and to work together. But now that he sent someone to meet him, clearly he was scrambling to gather his manpower, with the intention to draw Kou Zhong into the shell without being able to leave alive. However, Kou Zhong had already anticipated that such thing might happen; therefore, he spoke heartfeltly said Jiu Yang [honorific: Ive long looked forward to meeting you/Its an honor to meet you atst.] twice, before stepping over the gate. Together with this ultimate martial art master, whom he once admired when he was a kid, they walked toward the main mansion. Xu Ziling soared and flew toward the sound at full speed. However, not only the sound of fighting disappeared, he did not even hear anything else. If it was someone else, by this time he would have been in predicament and would not know where to look. But Xu Ziling was different from ordinary people. Without stopping at all, he flew through the jungle where the sound wasing from, and then crossed over a brook. Relying on his outstandingly sharp intuition, as swift as a flying bird he traversed a grasnd between two small hills. When he ran across another hilltop, he saw the most emotionally moving fierce battle after the duel between Fu Junchuo and Yuwen Huaji, and the big battle between Ba Fenghan and Qu Ao. Seeing Kou Zhong was walking inrge strides - upright and unafraid, by his side, without saying anything, Qin Wenchao could not help asking, Shao Shuai has honored us by your presence. I wonder whats the purpose of your visit? Kou Zhong replied indifferently, I havemitted great sin and should not be allowed to live. Therefore, I specifically drop by to give your honorable superior the opportunity to kill me, because I have lent Old Du a helping hand in breaking the city. Ha! Being ridiculed by him, Qin Wenchao was dumbstruck and went silent, as if he was pondering over the meaning of his words. The two men passed through the corridor with guards standing on both sides, respectfully saluting them, and then crossed over the doorstep of the entrance into the main hall of the Zongguan Mansion. In the brightly lit hall, sitting high on the throne at the southern extremity of the hall, Li Zitong stood up andughed heartily, Kou Shao Shuai is certainly highly skillful and audacious; after capturing my Donghai and killing my younger brother, you still dare toe alone. Are you trying to take advantage of my, Li Zitongs tent being without anyone in it? Kou Zhong leisurely stepped into the main hall. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw dozens of high-ranking military officers standing on both sides, including Shao Lingzhou. Everybody was glowering at him, seemingly eager to pound on him. He could not help blurting outughing and said, Wu Wang praises me too much! I am neither highly skillful nor audacious; I just miscalcted Wu Wangs hospitality. May I ask whether Wu Wang wants to dye the hall with blood, or do you want to render big blow on Du and Shens coalition forces? Either way, it only needs one word from Wu Wang to decide. Li Zitong was slightly startled; his eyes emitted a fierce and harsh light. Staring hatefully at this young, formidable opponent, who did not show the slightest flustered demeanor, he shook his head and sighed, Kou Shao Shuai did not misjudge my hospitality, rather, you underestimated my, Li Zitongs ability and wisdom, while overestimating your own ability. Right now this main hall has been heavily surrounded, even if you grew wings on your back, you will not be able to escape the arrows shot down from the sky by the archers. Qin Wenchao left Kou Zhong standing in the middle of the hall to take his ce after Zuo Xiaoyou, who was the first in line on Li Zitongs right-hand side. He said, Da Wang [Great King], please consider, why dont we listen to Kou Shao Shuais proposal first? All the high-ranking military officers, including Zuo Xiaoyou and Bai Xin, nodded their head in agreement. But Shao Lingzhou coldly said, Da Wang must not listen to his graceful words, flowery speech. This kid is most adept in using crafty plots and machinations. Once we are not careful, we might fall into his trap. Merely by these few sentences, Kou Zhong knew that Shao Lingzhou has had an acrimonious falling-out with the people on Gui Xiliangs side, hence he did not have any scruples in dealing with this situation. Kou Zhong chuckled and said, Shao Junshi overpraised me! But I do have a bit of unconventional way of doing things. However, let me say this again: if you know that you cannot ovee Old Du, what would you use if you dont use crafty plots and machinations? If Jiangdu fell, Shao Junshi could simply swat your butts and get as far away as possible, but I feel sorry for those other people. No wonder Shao Junshi can speak in such a beautiful, confident-and-at-ease manner. Shao Lingzhous countenance changed slightly; heughed coldly and said, I just said that you are an expert in crafty plots and machinations, and now you are already sowing dissension, keeping the blood in your mouth while spouting people. If I, Shao Lingzhou, really have that intention, let me not die a good death. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, How about you just consider I was ming Shao Junshi wrongly? However, I have one thing Id like to ask for Shao Junshis guidance: if Shao Junshi is concerned over Jiangdus safety like Qin Jiangjun, just like Qin Jiangjun, you would at least be interested in what Xiaodie here to propose. Why did Shao Junshi have theck of interest to even hear it? Is it because you see that your personal gratitude and grudges within the Gang is more important than the Great Wus rise and fall? These words were spoken with passion, and were quite logical; it was even more fierce and harshpared to curses and critics. Even if Shao Lingzhou was craftier, momentarily he was at a loss for word. Without waiting for him to reorganize his gs and drums, Kou Zhong turned his attention to Li Zitong on the tform; he said, Whether you want war or cooperation, Wu Wang, please bestow your instruction! Li Zitong had his gaze fixed on Kou Zhong, his countenance slightly changed several times. Finally he took a deep breath and said, This king is listening with respectful attention. Right this moment, from the entrance to the left of Li Zitongs throne came a womans voice, Hold on! Hearing that voice, Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. Ding! Ding! In an instant Wanwans Tian Mo Shuang Zhan [Celestial Devil (or Demonic) Twin yers, see Book 11 Chapter 2] repeatedly tapped Shi Feixuans Se Kong Jian [Color Empty Sword, see Book 15 Chapter 2], and thus she escaped danger by a hairsbreadth, by sweeping away the sharp weapon, which, if she was half a cunte, would pierce the pit of her stomach. And then like moving clouds and flowing water she retreated to one side, while her gauzed sleeve swiftly shot the Tian Mo Dai [Devils Belt/Ribbon], creating a meticulous belt so that Shi Feixuan was unable to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. A fantastic ring of indigo light appeared on the pupil of this outstanding Yin Gui Pai direct disciples beautiful eyes, which was the unique phenomenon of the Tian Mo Gong when it was trained to the peak. It was only this moment that Xu Ziling realized that when Wanwan repeatedly said that she had not dealt with the two boys will all her strength, it was not an empty threat to intimidate them. Just by looking at the way she blocked and the way she retreated was enough to give Xu Ziling a big shock. The one thing that left the deepest impression in his heart was Wanwans ability to use the Tian Mo Shuang Zhan in such a quick and violent-like-lightning way to block and to strike, and then in the blink of an eye changed it into the Devils Ribbon that lingered continuously like it was being wrapped around her finger, the kind of amazing move that resembled nature itself, with no gap to exploit; it has indeed reached the realm of the grand masters level. Rarer still, she was able to put her hearts intention and the state of her mind into the move, and showed it in full light. Therefore, although there were a number of strokes in between, the movements and sound were simple, as if it was written as a book that others could understand clearly. Basically, if he had not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would not have understood. That day, when Ba Fenghan chopped his de three times, there was still a gap between one strike and the other, thus Dugu Feng was able to exploit this opportunity and broke his saber technique. With Wanwan, however, not only the changes of her move were without any w, the most formidable part was that the changes between hard to soft and vice versa was like the nature itself. If Shi Feixuan continued to pursue and attack using the same sword move, she would definitely suffer losses. Therefore, although on the surface Wanwan appeared to be at the disadvantageous position, the fact is that she would be able to grab her dominance at any time. Beyond Xu Zilings expectation however, Qiang! suddenly Shi Feixuan returned her sword to its sheath, while with her left hand she lightly brushed some stray hair that was blown by the wind. So calm andposed as if she had never fought an intense battle just now, she smiled and said, Lets just drop this battle now; Wanwan Jie [older sister], what do you think? Like a pair of snakes the two ribbons slipped back into her gauzed sleeves. Wanwans face showed a mixture of anger andughter at the same time. She cast a nce toward Xu Ziling, who was standing behind Shi Feixuan, first, and thenughing helplessly she said, With an uninvited guesting to disturb our interest, even if we dont want to drop it, it cannot continue anyway. Suddenly she shed a sweet smile toward Xu Ziling before flying backward, and then disappeared into the forest. Shi Feixuan sighed faintly. Feeling awkward, Xu Ziling said, I came at a bad time! Shi Feixuan slowly turned her tender body around, and then shook her head and said, No! You came in time, otherwise the ending would be both sides suffer. Walking out gracefully from the rear hall was precisely the Beautiful Shifu Yun Yuzhen, with whom Kou Zhong had gratitude and grudges that were difficult to separate. Only by looking at her smiling expression, Kou Zhong knew that she had confidence that she would be able to persuade Li Zitong to go all-out in dealing with him. Plus she had Xiao Xian behind her. So no matter what, Li Zitong would want to be on her good side, unlike Shao Lingzhou, who was merely a guest with the same ranking as his own officers. This was indeed a variable that was beyond Kou Zhongs expectation. Li Zitong sat back into his dragon chair. The tone of his voice became gentle, as he spoke tenderly, Yun Bangzhu, please advise. Inwardly Kou Zhong was shocked. He finally understood that Gui Xiliang and Xing Rongs arrest was due to Yun Yuzhen ying tricks. This woman was very aware of his character; she knew that if the two were in trouble, he woulde to their rescue. Thereupon she set up a trap and waited for him to fall into it. Her only problem was that she had never expected that Kou Zhong would openly drop in and thoroughly disy his formidability. Another headache for Kou Zhong was that from Li Zitong and Yun Yuzhens current eyes and eyebrowse and go demeanor [idiom: exchange flirting nces with each other], Kou Zhong knew that this man and woman have hooked up, or even engaged in heated love affair, so that if Kou Zhong attacked Yun Yuzhens personality, he would not obtain the desired oue. If he fought, he would only end up spilling his blood in Jiangdu. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that such defeat under this s1uts hands was not worth it. However, things had progressed to this point, he had no choice but to block the soldiers as theye; and if he was unable to block, it would fall into Xu Zilings hands to avenge him in the future! While Kou Zhong was thinking to this point, Yun Yuzhen was taking light jade steps toward Li Zitongs dragon throne. Bending down, she spoke in low voice in Li Zitongs ear, her fragrant lips slightly opened as she was talking for a moment. Inwardly Kou Zhong praised her, Formidable!; this kind of pillow-talk-like malicious words are most effective to be used on lecherous men. Taking this opportunity, Kou Zhong took notice of the high-ranking military officers in the hall, all of them were knitting their brows. From their outward appearance, it was obvious that Qin Wenchao and Zuo Xiaoyou had been whispering to one anothers ear; clearly they were not happy about Yun Yuzhen bewitching Li Zitong. Suddenly a glimmer of hope grew in Kou Zhongs heart; his spirit was greatly aroused. This moment Li Zitongs voice entered his ears, If Shao Shuai really want to work together in good faith, why dont you return Donghai and those five hundred Khitan warhorses that you robbed to their rightful owner? Of course, Shao Shuai has to stay here for a few days. After everything has been transferred properly, we will discuss matters of vital importance. Throwing his head back, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Wu Wang, you really know how to crack jokes. Too bad Du Fuwei and Shen Lun dont like to listen to jokes. Otherwise, maybe you could make them withdraw based on this. Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard, provoking the imperial bodyguards on both sides of Li Zitong, and the various generals on his left and right, to draw their weapons as well. Kou Zhong held the saber horizontally across his chest, his posture was like a deity. In a loud and clear voice he said, That day when Yuwen Huajis troops besieged Liangdu, I, Kou Zhong, sent someone to you, asking for help. Wu Wang, you ignored itpletely. It was you who did not want to cooperate, and wasnt me, Kou Zhong, at all. Under current circumstances, the victor will be king, and no one can argue. How can Donghai be given to you just because you said it? As for the five hundred Khitan warhorses, they represent the conspiracy between you, Wu Wang, and Ku Ge, to bring harm to me. Disregarding old enmity, I, Kou Zhong,e to help you to resolve the distress Jiangdu is experiencing, yet not only you dont know how to be grateful, you even want to put me to death, all because of a woman whom Xiao Xian sent to instigate you and to y you in the palm of her hands. This is an impossibly stupid thing. Lets not talk superfluous words; lets just see if you are more capable than Li Mi or Wang Shichong to be able to keep me in Jiangdu forever. But, Wu Wang, dont you forget that I still have countless brothers and friends. Its just that maybe, under grief and indignation filling their breast, they will join the Jianghuai Army, believing that they might wipe out my blood debt. Listening to him, Li Zitongs face alternated between red and white; in the end he flew into rage and said, How dare you! Death is near at hand, you are still this presumptuous. Off with his head! The imperial bodyguards received the order with a roar. An iparablyplex expression flitted across Yun Yuzhens pretty eyes as she lowered her head. Book 23 - 4 – Gathering the Little Life Back Book 23 Chapter 4 C Gathering the Little Life Back Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan stood side-by-side on a small hill; ahead was the Great Ba Mountain Range, whichy horizontally on the mother earth, extended all the way across the ins. Under the night sky, with stars scattered about like chess pieces on the board, the mountain range appeared like a huge barrier. But if he took the sky bridge from the Great Ba, he would be able to reach Sichuan, which was acimed as thend of plenty. Intoxicating fragrance from Shi Feixuans body assaulted Xu Zilings nostrils. This was the second time that he had the opportunity to stand at such a close proximity with this beautiful woman, who was as simple and elegant as a fairy. But he did not dare to indulge himself in wild and fanciful thought, because her heartless hint at Hefei was still deeply engraved in his heart. By nature, Xu Ziling was a free and easy man who loved to live a simple life; it was very easy for him to take an indifferent view on this kind of man-woman affair. However, he could not deny that every word, every smile of this outstandingly stunning beauty could make him feel like he was bathing in the spring breeze, as if he was enveloped by the attractive, infatuating natural scenery of spirited rain that came out of the empty sky. Shi Feixuan turned her pretty face, smiled, and said, Since we parted at Hefei, Wanwan and I had many battles, one after another; she always employed gueri tactics, fight and run, so that it seems like she is trying to ascertain Feixuans weight before the final battle. Although she did not appear to seed, but even until just now, she still had plenty of strength left, but was unwilling to determine victory and defeat in an all-out battle. Xu Ziling looked up to meet her limpid, bottomless exquisite eyes; he spoke indifferently, Perhaps she is waiting for the Xie Di Sheli to make its appearance! Slightly stunned, Shi Feixuan said, Unexpectedly Ziling Xiong also knows about the sacred relics? Xu Ziling rarely saw this human-being-character side of her, inwardly he was rather proud. Nodding his head, he said, I just heard about it by random chance. Why did Miss Shi call it Sheng Sheli [sacred relics] and not Xie Di Sheli [demonic emperor relics]? Is there any difference between the two? Smiling, Shi Feixuan replied, The correct name should be Sacred Relics, because it is the emblem of the identity of the Sheng Ji Zong Sheng Di [Sheng Ji - Most Holy, Zong, maybe ancestor, school, or maybe a name, Sheng Di C holy emperor. So it could mean Holy Emperor of the Most Holy School]. Its just that outsiders want to change Sheng Ji Zong and Sheng Di into Xie Ji [extreme evil] Zong and Xie Di; hence Sheng Sheli became Xie Sheli or Xie Di Sheli! Just think, who would be willing to call themselves Xie Pai [demonic sect]? Xu Ziling was amused as well; shrugging, he said, Make sense; I was so na?ve! Shi Feixuan looked at him deeply, as if she wanted to ingrain his appearance at this moment in her mind. Quite a whileter she diverted her gaze toward the starry sky above the Great Mount Ba, and asked in a soft voice, May I venture to ask Ziling Xiong, this is not a well-known secret at all; where did you hear it from? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Im not sure if I should say it. Miss Shi, please dont take offense. Astounded, Shi Feixuan said, If Ziling Xiong does not wish to say it, then dont. May I ask where is Ziling Xiong heading right now? Instead of answering, Xu Ziling asked, Is it possible for Zaixia to ask a rude question first? How does Miss Shi view Hou Xibai? Shi Feixuan showed a touching demeanor of being deep in thought, and then she looked at him and spoke softly, How does Ziling Xiong view this man? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, I have a little suspicion that he is this generations disciple of Hua Jian Pai, but Miss Shi must not ask me toe up with any solid evidence. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Feixuan would never ask you for that. Because your guess is 100% urate. From the first day I came upon him, I knew his identity and origin, and he had never concealed it from me. Xu Ziling was greatly shocked. Hold on! Zuo Xiaoyou stepped out inrge strides to block the personal guards, martial art masters who were pouncing out from Li Zitongs left and right. Li Zitong simply had to give a bit of face to his top rank general, who has brought arge number of his men to realign their allegiance to him; hastily he shouted his order to stop. After begging for forgiveness, Zuo Xiaoyou turned toward Kou Zhong, who was standing proudly in the middle of the hall, inside the siege. Laughing coldly, he said, Shao Shuai has less than ten thousand men under yourmand, and your foundation is not stable yet; to achieve that is already not easy, how do you think you are going to solve our Jiangdu crisis? None of the generals did not nod. This was precisely the question in everybodys heart. Du Fuwei only need to take a part of his troops to build rampart and defend it strongly, and it would be enough to wear down Shaoshuai Armying down south to help Jiangdu by cutting their food supply. Seeing his objective has been reached, Kou Zhong put the saber back into its scabbard; he said, How do I address this general? Zuo Xiaoyou replied indifferently, I am Zuo Xiaoyou. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I already guessed its Zuo Da Jiangjun, I just need Da Jiangjun to confirm it with your own mouth! Li Zitong had just been listening to Yun Yuzhen whispering something else in his ear; he scoffed and said with a sneer, Lets talk less superfluous words; why dont this king take a guess. Did Shao Shuai lead your troops west toward the Ranch, along the way you suffered an ambush which resulted in total defeat of your army, leaving Shao Shuai escaping alone, and now youe to swindle this king? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I already told Da Wang not to listen to womens nderous report; the fact is just the opposite. Yun Bangzhus master, Zhu Can, and Cao Yinglongs coalition armies has been utterly defeated, each one has returned to their base camp. Cao Army has been totally wiped out by me by the bank of River Zhang. This news should reach this ce very soon, only Yun Bangzhu has not received it! Ha! That isughable indeed! None was not emotionally moved. Yun Yuzhen scolded angrily, Nonsense! With your trivial a thousand plus troops and horses, not to mention being exhausted from marching to remote regions, how could you defeat our allied armies? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, Yun Bangzhu is absolutely correct; however, superior army attacks using scheme. Also, there is a saying about battle of wits and not battle of brute force. Your allied armies and Du and Shens coalition armies have been guilty of the same sin, which is each army has selfish motives. I simply exploited this fact and they crumbled. Yun Bangzhu might want to send your men to gather intelligence; for example, by inquiring from the traveling merchants who have been there and back, to see whether I am simply babbling nonsense. Another high-ranking military officer spoke up, This general is Bai Xin. May I venture to ask Shao Shuai to speak a bit more clearly? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The situation is exceptionallyplicated, but I can exin how we are going to solve the crisis in Jiangdu; after hearing it, gentlemen will know whether it is feasible. Li Zitong inwardly mused that after you exin it, killing you then would not be toote. Thereupon he nodded and said, Speak up! This king will listen with respectful attention. Just by listening to the tone of his voice, everybody knew that he practically did not believe that Kou Zhong really had a way to lift the siege. But Zuo Xiaoyous expression showed that he was deep in thought; he interrupted, Is it possible that Shao Shuai is thinking of exploiting the conflicting views between Du Fuwei and Shen Lun, using the driving-a-wedge-between-partners strategy? We have also thought about that, but because the two armies are separated by several dozen li, also because they are taking turn in besieging the city, we do not have a good n on how to execute it. Shao Lingzhouughed coldly and said, If Shao Shuai can only think about the same thing, it would be best if you dont speak up to show your disgrace. Kou Zhong stared at him. With displeasure in his voice, he said, Shao Lingzhou, you are increasingly moving backward. Even Da Wang, under the instigation of a woman, still understand that he has to at least listen to me to see if I really have the ability I can show you; at most, only after listening to me he would make his move to kill me. Yet you advised me not to speak up. I wonder if you are a spy sent here by Du Fuwei? Otherwise, how could you not give the least bit of thought toward the Great Wu? While Shao Lingzhou was about to blow off his anger, Li Zitong already rebuked angrily, If you dare to speak frigid irony and scorching satire to me, I will have you ughtered first; I dont want to hear half a sentence of your nonsense. Kou Zhong calmly said, I, Kou Zhong, am not your subordinate, and am noting here to kneel and beg forgiveness from you. If you are courteously willing to cooperate, then I might have a bit of interest; otherwise, why would I give you an advantage for nothing? The murderous intent in Li Zitongs eyes red out immediately. Qin Wenchao hastily said, Da Wang, please calm down. Lets see if Shao Shuai has any good proposal first. Li Zitong struggled hard to put his anger under control; nodding, he said, Very well! Just consider I was wrong, Shao Shuai, please speak! Unless he was an idiot, everybody present knew that Li Zitong only wanted to wait for Kou Zhong to finish speaking before he would make his move. Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, To use the driving-a-wedge-between-partners strategy, there must be two favorable conditions. Right now the first favorable condition had just appeared, which is Jianghuai Armys vanguard had just left Qingliu to march toward Jiangdu; they might appear outside the city any moment. As long as we are able to know well the situation of their march, we could set up an appropriate ambush or attack their camp along the way. The men on Li Zitongs side immediately broke into amotion. They started to believe that he was not babbling nonsense at all, because they had just received the news about Du Armys movement only half a sichen ago. Evidently Kou Zhong had setup a vast intelligencework in the area. With a smile on her face, Yun Yuzhen said, Du Fuwei crisscross the left of the river, if they copsed because of your ambush, he need note out to mingle in the world. Suddenly a shing light appeared Kou Zhongs eyes; fixing his gaze on Yun Yuzhen, who was sitting on the tform to Li Zitongs left, he sneered and said, You caused Su Jies death, and thus has be the mortal enemy that Xu Ziling and I, two boys, will never forgive, yet you can stillugh? When did I say that I would ambush and defeat Old Dus main forces? But if the one mounting a sneak attack on Old Du is surprisingly Shen Luns men, what would the consequences be? Being at the receiving end of his stare, Yun Yuzhens heart trembled, so that this usually smart-tooth-and-sharp-dental woman became speechless. However, everybody else showed skeptical expression on their faces. For the first time Li Zitong showed that he was emotionally moved, as if he had just been awakened from animosity and womens charm. Is Shao Shuai thinking of posing as Shen Luns men and mounting a sneak attack on Jianghuai Army? he spoke heavily, This tactic is easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice. As soon as both sides meet and exchange information, they would know that we are the one ying ghost. Kou Zhong inwardly mused that Li Zitong was indeed something; in this kind of critical moment, he was not careless at all. In the hall, the crow and peacock made no sound, everybody was quietly waiting for Kou Zhongs response. Kou Zhong calmly said, If it were your men, lets not mention that you wont escape the eyes and ears of Jianghuai Armys spies, even if you are dressed in Jiangnan military uniform and insignia, but you still use the swords, spears, sabers and halberds forged by Tie Ji in Jiangdu, and the bows and arrows manufactured by Chang Huilong, you would only end up as aughingstock. Hence the reason Da Wang has an easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice impression. Tie Jie and Chang Huilong were Jiangdus most famous weapon manufacturingpanies; this was the fact no one did not know. Seeing Kou Zhongs card-up-his-sleeve attitude, Zuo Xiaoyou slowly said, Listening to Shao Shuai, you must have prepared an army wlessly disguised as Jiangnan Army; am I right? Before Kou Zhong answered, Yun Yuzhen already interrupted, How would I know that you, Kou Zhong, are not just making empty promises? To find such army is not something that can be done in a mere ten days time. Not only they have to speak in Jiangnan ent, they must also use weapons produced by Jiangnan weapon manufacturer. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Yun Bangzhu has been to Luoyang and drank Rong Fengxiangs birthday wine; I wonder if you know someone by the name of Chen Changlin? Her countenance changed slightly, Yun Yuzhen said, Never heard of it! Another general spoke up, Da Wang, please understand, Chen Changlin is my fellow countryman. For many generations his nsmen are seagoing ship builders, and they have business rtions with various tribes in Nanyang [Southeast Asia/South seas]. Just by listening to his ent, others immediately knew that he was a recement guaranteed if not genuine [idiom: authentic] Jiangnan man. Qin Wenchao asked in surprised, How could Yun Bangzhu not know this man? Even I, who stayed in Jiangdu, have heard that he was an important guest who came by Wang Shichongs personal invitation. Li Zitong stared nkly for a moment before letting out a stifled grunt, and then staring angrily at Yun Yuzhen, he said, Shao Shuai, please continue. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, The fact is, I have nothing important to say. Because Changlin Xiong was not pleased with Wang Shichongs conduct, he came to throw his lot with me, plus he recruited arge number of brothers from Nanhai region, naturally already equipped with their own weapons, arrows and darts. Hey! Im sorry to say, but it was they who robbed Old Kus five hundred Khitan steeds; Da Wang, please be aware. Bai Xin joined in, Da Wang, please understand, currently Shaoshuai Army and our Great Wu are as close as lips and teeth. If Jiangdu is broken today, tomorrow it will be Liangdus turn. Therefore, we must not suspect Shao Shuais sincerity. Letting out a cold snort, Shao Lingzhou said, Kou Zhongs conduct has always exceeded all expectations, it is difficult to fathom; perhaps because he is eager to rescue certain people, he is using false words to defraud us. Da Wang, please think thrice. Kou Zhongughed aloud; he met Li Zitong fierce and harsh gaze, which was like two sharp arrows shooting at him. With assurance andposure, he said, No matter what, Da Wang will have to fight this battle. Otherwise, if Jiangdu fell, youd have expended a great deal of effort to kill me, Kou Zhong, in vain, and still dont have anything at all, except a group of enemies to hunt and kill Da Wang, including Chen Changlins several thousand brothers who are experts in naval battle. Apparently you have not considered it. Finally Li Zitongs countenance changed slightly. Thesest few sentences were extremely heavy with threatening power, because he did have the intention that in case he was defeated, he would run away overseas. This moment, all eyes were fixed on Li Zitong, waiting for him to make his decision. While Yun Yuzhen and Shao Lingzhou were crying Not good! inwardly, Li Zitong did indeed take a deep sigh, as if he was venting his anger away, and then said, Get Gui Xiongdi, two men, out for me. I wonder if Shao Shuai still have interest to stay and drink a cup of wine water? Kou Zhong inwardly wiped his cold sweats. He knew that he had finally gathered his little life, which was already halfway into Yan Wangs [Yama] hands, back. Xu Zilings eyes were looking at Shi Feixuan, who was sitting cross-legged on the top of a hillock, his ears were listening to her sweet-sounding voice, which sounded like the voice of an immortal, while the enchanting night sky above was full of stars. A hard-to-describe feeling welled up in his heart. Whether in the future they would be friends or foes, he was certain that he would never forget this moment as long as he lived. He heard her gentle and soft voice speaking, Hua Jian Pai has never produced any extremely vicious, exceedingly evil men. What they pursue is the art, entering into the martial way, and they see the martial way as some kind of the highest art directly rted to human beings. Therefore, all disciples are multi-talented, focusing on the artistic conception of grace in the art; therefore, they are able to raise their banner among many schools and sects, and their famous reputation was not weakening for a very long time. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, If thats the case, howe Hua Jian Pai is ssified as demonic schools Two Sects and Six Ways? Furthermore, it is on an equal footing with Yin Gui Pai? Shi Feixuan looked up at the starry sky, her pretty eyes emitted a touching multi-colored light, as if she was able to see the real righteousness through the outward appearance of the beautiful universe; she spoke smoothly, The separation of the whole Dao [Tao, the way] is really due to the difference of ideology. During the Spring and Autumn [770-476 BC] and the Warring States [475-221 BC] periods, hundreds schools of thought vied to be the best, only then there was division of the school of thought. Since Han Wu rejected many schools of thought and revered Confucianism as the sole orthodoxy, everybody believed in Confucianism as the righteous way. Only afterwards did the division between Righteous and Demonic exist; this is purely man-made. As for where the demonic schools came from, it is difficult to pursue the source one by one. All we know is that they oppose Confucianisms set of believe in benevolence and righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trust, and they are ming the ignorant masses for learning the hypocrisy. After passing through long-term development, they are increasingly rebellious against orthodoxy. At the end of Han, the Yellow Turbans Peasant Uprising thieves and the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice Taoist Movement were among those. Any thought that goes to the extreme could be considered leaving the Way and entering the heretic. Listening to this, it was as if the murky darkness suddenly opened in Xu Zilings heart. Previously, it has always been very difficult for Kou Zhong and he to understand Yin Gui Pais conduct and deeds. Because since they were little, the only teaching they received was from Bai Laofuzis set of ideology, which was a mixture of Buddhism and Confucianism. Shi Feixuan turned her pretty face around, and spoke indifferently, Confucianism speaks about impartiality, about the doctrine of the Middle Way. Hua Jian Pai is definitely an extremist sect, believing that humans true nature and feeling is above all morality. Mixed with art, they developed a set of ideology that the orthodox sects find hard to ept; hence people ssified them as demonic sect. The fact is, Hua Jian Pai and Yin Gui Pai are inherently different. Looking at her absolutely beautiful silhouette, with its curves like spirited sky and deep valley, Xu Ziling asked in low voice, So what do you think of Shi Zhixuan? Shi Feixuan cast her gaze back toward the distant mountain range and the wilderness, as if she was getting in touch with the load on her mind. It was a long timeter that she sighed lightly and said, Im afraid Shi Zhixuan is one of so many different kind of demonic schools; he was holding two positions at the same time, as the head of two schools Hua Jian Pai and Bu Tian Ge. And these two sects martial art xinfa and the direction they are heading are fundamentally different. Until today, nobody understand how he could fuse the two sects martial art into one, creating unrivalled demonic skill that everybody is terrified of. In the end Xu Ziling was unable to bear it anymore; he asked, Shi Zhixuan is both demonic and evil, that ... that ... Shi Feixuan had an orchid character and intelligent mind, naturally she could guess the reason he wanted to speak up but then hesitated. She spoke softly, Did Ziling Xiong want to ask, since Shi Zhixuan was this kind of man, how did our humble schools Bi Xiuxin be his woman? And you worry that Feixuan might follow the track of an overturned cart [fig. repeating a disastrous policy]; am I right? Xu Zilings handsome face blushed; embarrassed, he said, I was thinking about the former question, but have not thought about thetter one. Shi Feixuan turned her head back to look at him; she seemed to enjoy looking at his embarrassment. A hint of smile escaped from her fragrant lips as she spoke softly, Were it not for Xiuxin Shibo [martial (older) uncle] cherishing the worthy-of-the-greatest-admiration moral character of if I dont enter the hell, who would enter the hell by using herself to test the devil, this world would have been turned upside down by Shi Zhixuan, and the demonic would grow, while the Way would vanish. Taken aback, Xu Ziling asked, Since thats the case, why do Miss so admire and trust Shi Zhixuans disciple? An unprecedentedly sweet smile burst forth on Shi Feixuans face, with tender, innocent manner she sneered and said, In the end there is still this question, yet you say over and over again that you have not thought about it? Xu Zilings handsome face blushed again. Even he did not understand why in front of her clear eyes he was so out of control. Shi Feixuan rose up to her full height, her jade countenance recovered its still-water-without-any-ripple expression. Changing the subject, she spoke indifferently, Where is Ziling Xiong going? Xu Ziling understood that she was saying goodbye, he could not control the strong feeling of discontent suddenly welling up in his heart. Fighting to put his emotion under control, he stood up and said, If Miss Shi has an important matter to do, please do as you wish! Shi Feixuan fell silent. Her eyes stared into the distance. Mountain breeze blew, her dark green schr attire fluttered in the wind, creating a rustling noise,posing a breathtakingly stunning picture. Book 23 - 5 – Four Holy Monks Book 23 Chapter 5 C Four Holy Monks Kou Zhong took Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong with him, while Li Zitong, Zuo Xiaoyou and the others personally were sending them off the Zongguan Mansion. Compared to the treatment when he came, it was like heaven and earth. At the Mansions gate, Shen Beichang, Luo Feng and Madame Yuling were waiting for them; everybody showed disbelief expression on their faces. Shen Beichang said, This ce is not suitable to talk; follow me. Half a dayter, they reached a shop, which had connection with their Gang, nearby. More than a dozen Zhu Hua Bang leaders of Xiangzhu [fragrant master] level were already waiting inside, most were younger than thirty, but everybody had grave expression on their faces Finished listening to Kou Zhongs narrative, Madame Yuling let out a tender snort and said, Whatever problem we have within the Gang, we ought to resolve it internally. Shao Lingzhou is borrowing outside force to deal with our Gang brothers, he is already viting the Gangs rules; what a despicable, shameless man. Evidently Madame Yuling still had strong influence within the Gang. Listening to her, nobody present did not show indignation. Only Shen Beichang remained expressionless; nodding his head slightly, he said, However, this is not a good time for internal strife. It was only because Li Zitong needs Shao Shuais support that he agreed to release Gui Tangzhu [hall master] and Xing Fu Tangzhu [deputy], two men. Once the siege is relieved, this lowly man might turn his face around, so much so that he might deploy his troops to intercept Shao Shuai; therefore, we must think thrice before making our move. Luo Feng agreed. He said, The only way right now is to leave the city immediately. We will settle the ount with Shao Lingzhouter. Shao Shuai, what do you think? Kou Zhong nodded and said, I cannot think of a better idea. Taking advantage while Li Zitong does not dare to give us any difficulty, we must leave as soon as possible. Youd better pretend that you are going to help me dealing with Du Fuwei. Although Li Zitong is well aware of whats going on, it will make it easier for him to step down the stage [fig. to disentangle himself]. Shen Beichang made the decision, So be it! Everybody chorused their agreement. Shi Feixuan turned her tender body around to face Xu Ziling. Her jet-ck eyebrows knitted lightly, she said, Listening to the tone of Ziling Xiongs voice, you seems to be somewhat resentful toward Feixuan? Laughing calmly, Xu Ziling said, Miss Shi does not touch the dust of the world; you cane and go freely without anything or anybody controlling you. But I, Xu Ziling, am only a mortal, I still have questions Id like to ask about, but it seems to me that Miss wont answer my question! Smiling, Shi Feixuan replied, The misunderstanding is too big. Just now Feixuan was asking Ziling Xiong, where you are heading, yet you evaded the question and did not answer. Not only Feixuan is an ordinary person, I am also a woman who loves a tooth for a tooth, hence I am forced to have some reservations, yet you dared to me me? Hearing this kind of little-girlish talking from the mouth of a woman, who, although she could not be considered sanctimonious yet, but she had at least the solemn demeanor of the immortals, Xu Ziling could only return a nk stare; he felt even more unsure. This kind of formidable verbal attack has caused his heart to be in turmoil. Shi Feixuan tried not tough; opening her eyes wide, she said, What? Suddenly you became a mute? From here, you can only go to Sichuan. Whats so important that you are abandoning your Shao Shuai brother and rushing for thousands of li to go to Bashu? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, If Miss Shi wants to know, why cant you just ask me directly? Why did you use a roundabout way to tease me? Shi Feixuan returned to her usual calm andposed manner; she spoke gently, Because until this moment, Feixuan still cannot grasp what kind of person you are; therefore, I am using all kinds of indirect approach to feel you out. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Am I that difficult to understand? Nodding her head, Shi Feixuan replied, If I may say so, Feixuan is good at judging a persons character, yet I find it difficult to understand you and Kou Zhong, two persons. Because Kou Zhong has some pursuits, he isparatively easier to fathom. But you are like a well that is difficult to tell whether its deep or shallow. On the surface you look simple, but I cannot get to the bottom, hence I am curious; I want to know where have you learned so much about the secret of the demonic schools Two Sects and Six Ways. This time you are entering Sichuan, what noble errand brings you here? Xu Ziling calmly replied, Actually, I do not have any intention to conceal anything. I am going to Sichuan this time is to look for Shi Qingxuan, concerning something of a huge importance to Miss Shi. Shi Feixuans jade countenance slightly moved, she asked, What is it? Kou Zhong followed Shen Beichang, Luo Feng, Gui Xiliang, Xing Rong, and the others, various Zhu Hua Bang brothers, with his eyes as they were leaving viand route, before he himself rushed toward the dock outside the city, where he climbed on board a fishing boat that came to his rescue, and then quickly went far away. The boat was manned by Chen Changlin. To his pleasant surprise, other than him, Bu Tianzhi and Luo Qifei were alsoing. Meeting again after a long period of separation, they were very happy. Kou Zhong used the simplest way to present the situation at Li Zitongs side. He said, Li Zitong was willing to lower his voice and suppress his anger, to look the other way while letting me, his big personal enemy, walking away, clearly he is well aware that he is powerless to resist Old Dus new round of attack. Therefore, we must win and must not lose. If we let Old Du to capture Jiangdu, we will have no choice but to pack and quit and go somece else. Jianghuai Army is not aughing matter. Luo Qifei said, That is precisely the reason Shao Shuai is seeing Qifei here this time. Three times have I sneaked into Qingliu in disguise, eventually I discovered a young general under Du Fuweismand by the name of Chen Sheng; this man is bold and powerful, an expert in battle, and Du Fuwei relied heavily on him. If we could pose as Shen Luns men and kill this man, in his grief and indignation, Du Fuwei might disregard everything to attack Shen Lun. Bu Tianzhi joined in, Based on Qifeis observation, Chen Shengs five-thousand-strong troops ought to leave Liuhe tomorrow night to provide support to thend-based vanguard troopsing to Jiangdu. What kind of ce is Liuhe? Kou Zhong asked. Luo Qifei replied, Liuhe is a county town linking Yangtze River waterways, located by the Chu River east of Qingliu. From there, with tailwind and clear passage, they could reach Jiangdu in only one day. Chen Sheng is in charge of Jianghuai Navy stationed in Liuhe, his fleet consists of more than seventy ships, big and small. His countenance changed, Kou Zhong said, Such a short water travel, mounting a sneak attack will be more difficult than ascending the heavens. Chen Changlin shook his head and said, Actually we must not mount sneak attack either. The route from Liuhe to Jiangdu is entirely under Du Fuweis tight control. We can only use thunderbolt-reaching-the-ear method to hit Chen Shengsmand ship, and then board the boat to kill him. Because a man who is adept in naval warfare poses greater threat toward Shen Faxing, Du Fuwei will believe firmly without any doubt that it was Shen Luns men who did this. Luo Qifei nodded and said, Under Shen Lunsmand, there is a martial art master adept in using spear called the Chang Qiang Lang [lit. long spear youth] Gu Jun. He has imposing stature, somewhat simr to Shao Shuai. If instead of using saber Shao Shuai uses a spear and assassinates Chen Sheng, even if Shen Lun jumped into the Yangtze River, he would not be able wash the suspicion clean. Bu Tianzhi added excitedly, I have transferred seven fast ships most suitable for this kind of ambushing attack to the nearby waterway especially for this mission, and I also have them disguised as Haisha Bang warships. When the timees, well use Haisha Bangs usual military strategy to carry out the surprise attack. I guarantee no one can see the w. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Gentlemen, uncles and brothers, whatever instruction you have, just let Xiaodi knows, and Ill do it! Hearing that, the crowd roared intoughter. Kou Zhong suddenly sighed. Turning his eyes on the night sky brightened by Jiangdu city light, he shook his head and said, If I can spare some time for a separate task, Yun Yuzhen can forget about slipping back to Baling alive. Emotionally moved, Shi Feixuan said, Yang Xuyan is Shi Zhixuans disciple! Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Not only he is Shi Zhixuans disciple, he is also the son of the former Sui dynastys deposed crown prince Yang Yong. Because Shi Zhixuans other identity was Pei Ju, the author of Maps and Notes on the Western Regions, can Miss Shi make an associative connection on this matter? Shi Feixuan appeared to be pondering deeply. It was quite a whileter that she nodded and said, Thank you very much Ziling Xiong, your remark has brought many suspense surrounding Shi Zhixuan to light. This is indeed a matter of great importance; I wonder where did you get it from? After recounting his encounter with Cao Yinglong, Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhong and I guessed that Shi Qingxuan did not know who the Hua Jian Pai disciple of this generation is. Therefore, Yang Xuyan will, using some deceit, attempt to gain Shi Qingxuans trust, in order to get the manuals that Shi Zhixuan handed over to his daughter for safekeeping. Shi Feixuan said, Actually, Shi Qingxuan is not the custodian of the Hua Jian Pais ancient books and records. If I am guessing correctly, Yang Xuyan is looking for the Bu Si Yin Juan [lit. not dead (immortal) printed scroll] hidden in the small valley of the hidden forest. If this printed scroll fell into anybody elses hands, it would be absolutely useless; only in the hands of Yang Xuyan or Hou Xibei, these two direct disciples of Shi Zhixuan, will it bring huge benefit. The more Xu Ziling listened, the more confused he was, Shi Zhixuan and Immortal Printed Scroll, what is it? Showing a pained smile on her face, Shi Feixuan said, For thest hundred years or so, both to us and to the demonic schools, Shi Zhixuan is the bad person who brought the most headache. Just by looking at how this man can use one hand, single fist, with no blood on the mens sword, to cause the fall of the Great Sui, and make the world all split up and in pieces, we can infer his formidability. Were it not for Xiuxin Shibo moving his true feeling, leading him to fuse the orthodox and heretic schools, as well as to develop and create the Immortal Printed Scroll that appears to have no w, the world may not be in the situation its currently in. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling said, What kind of terrifying demonic skill Immortal Printed Scroll actually is? Is it because when trained to perfection, the practitioner will not die? How is itpared to Tian Mo Da Fa [demonic great method] and Dao Xin Zhong Mo [the heart of Dao (the Way) kind of devil]? Shi Feixuan calmly replied, In this world, there is no such thing as skill and technique that can make people live forever and wont die; keeping this mortal flesh forever is not a sensible act at all. Has Ziling Xiong heard about the Four Holy Monks of Buddhism? Xu Ziling did not understand why she suddenly changed direction; he nodded and said, I heard Cao Yinglong mentioning this. I think they are Tiantai, Sanlun, Huayan, and Chan Zong. Shi Zhixuan stealthily studied Sanlun Zongs Jiaxiang Dashi and Chan Zong Four Ancestors secret arts [see Chapter 1]. Muttering to herself irresolutely, Shi Feixuan said, It seems that Cao Yinglong really had a change of heart; what he said was not a wild babble at all, because this is the secret that the Four Ancestors have never revealed to outsiders. Shi Zhixuan is an exceptional genius in martial art study. As soon as any strange skill or secret manual fell into his hands, he could always fuse and link them up together, and then produce another pivotal skill out of it, which is of an even higher level than the original. In Wulin history, I am afraid only you and Kou Zhong are qualified to be mentioned on equal terms with him. First, Xu Ziling was stunned; he really never expected that Shi Feixuan had such a high evaluation on Kou Zhong and him. And then, his old face blushed. Embarrassed, he said, Miss Shi praised me too much! Shi Feixuan smiled and said, No need to stand on ceremony. You and Kou Zhong are the marvels of the Wulin world that people still find it difficult to believe even until now. How formidable Immortal Printed Scroll really is, lets not talk about it yet. Just know that the Four Holy Monks had joined forces to hunt and kill Shi Zhixuan, wanting to take his martial art skill away. Three times they surrounded him, yet he still managed to escape albeit being wounded. From this you can infer how terrifying Shi Zhixuan is. Noticing Xu Zilings expression, Shi Feixuan sighed and said, If Ziling Xiong assumes that the Four Holy Monks martial art skill is just so-so, then you are gravely mistaken. The reason their name does not appear in Jianghu was simply because they are really men who are outside this world; they had never been involved in Jianghus ordinary affairs, unlike Ning Daoqi, whose name shakes the heavens. In the past, Jiaxiang and Four Ancestors joined forces with Tiantai Zongs Zhihui [lit. wisdom/intelligence] Dashi, and Huayan Zhongs Dixin [lit. emperors heart] Zunzhe [lit. honored sir], to hunt down Shi Zhixuan. Even Yin Gui Pai kept quiet out of fear; nobody dared to interfere or to attract troubles. From this you can infer how formidable the Four Holy Monks are. Speaking about power, you would find it difficult topare any one of the Four Holy Monks with Ning Daoqi. Sucking a mouthful of cold air, Xu Ziling said, In that case, wouldnt Shi Zhixuan be more formidable than Zhu Yuyan and Xiang Yutian? You cantpare them like that either, Shi Feixuan replied, I can only say that they are figures of equal rank. As for who is superior and who is inferior, it would be difficult to tell unless they are having a show-down. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Just now Miss mentioned that to the demonic schools, Shi Zhixuan is also a big bad person; what do you mean by that? Shi Feixuan replied, Because Shi Zhixuan has the intention of unifying the demonic schools, he is definitely a threat to the leaders of various demonic schools. Zhu Yuyan is extremely afraid of the consequences if this is really happening. Were it not for Xiuxin Shibo breaking his Immortal Printed Scroll, Im afraid Zhu Yuyan would have lost her most-revered-within-the-demonic-schools status early on. Xu Ziling could only stare nkly in silence. In Luoyang that day, Zhu Yuyan snatched Shangguan Long back from him, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, as easily as blowing off an air from her mouth. Remembering this, he still had a lingering fear. From this, he could imagine to what extent Shi Zhixuans martial art prowess was. Cast her eyes to the night sky, which would be dawn very soon, Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Now, the only w in Shi Zhixuans Immortal Printed Scroll is his daughter, whose resemnce to Xiuxin Shibo is striking. She is also the only person who can make Shi Zhixuan cannot be unmoved. Cao Yinglong has a very deep understanding of this aspect of Shi Zhixuans. If Shi Qingxuan suffered any mishap, Shi Zhixuan might revert to his Xie Wang [demonic king] innate character without any worries. Therefore, we must do everything we can to stop Yang Xuyans evil scheme to prevail. Otherwise, an unknown variable would appear in this world, which is chaotic enough as it is. Looking at the first streak of dawn across ins on the eastern horizon, Xu Ziling asked, Would Miss Shi like to hasten toward the small valley in the hidden forest with Zaixia? Shi Feixuan apologetically said, Feixuan is ustomed toing and going alone. If Ziling Xiong check in at the Yue Lai [lit. pleased toe] Inn at the south market of Chengdus Shaocheng district, Feixun will look for you there. Lets just wait and see, Xu Ziling replied indifferently. Inwardly he thought that you roamed the Three Gorges together with Hou Xibai, yet now that we are clearly having the same destination, you want to travel separately into Sichuan. From this, his position and importance in her heart could clearly be seen. That being the case, it would be better if he travelled alone, unrestrained and leisurely trying to find Shi Qingxuan without any care; he would be more free and unfettered instead. Naturally Shi Feixuan was able to hear the tone of his voice, but she did not offer any exnation. After bidding farewell with each other, they went their separate ways. In fact, they were going to enter Sichuan from opposite directions. Xu Ziling put his feeling under control, threw all the troubles to the back of his mind, and ran toward the Great Mount Ba at full speed. The fishing boat reached the shore. Wheres our warship? Kou Zhong asked in great astonishment. Bu Tianzhi smiled and said, To deceive Jianghuai Army spies, naturally we must use a little trick. We used winch and long wooden logs to tow the seven warships ashore, and then covered them with trees and branches to make sure that we dont reveal any w. By this time Kou Zhong was following the crowd into the jungle by the shore; after passing through more than a dozen thick bushes, a wide panorama suddenly opened up before his eyes, where the seven boats wereid out in a row, securely nestled on the frame nting down toward the river. All these were beyond his expectation. Chen Laomou was directing his men to paint Haisha Bangs insignia on the hull of the boats using redcquer; he was busy, yet was full of joy. Seeing Kou Zhongs appearance, the warriors morale was greatly boosted. This lot of boats did not have big hull. Just by looking at its shape, one would be able to feel its lightweight and agile characteristics. Kou Zhong sighed with deep admiration; this tactic of hiding boats inside the forest, he would never have thought about it, not even in his dream. Offering his expertise, Chen Changlin exined, These are the smaller size warships that Haisha Bang is most adept in using; they are good for assault and breaking the enemys defense. If theres wind, the sail will be fully opened, if theres no wind, they will use the oars. Both sides of the ship are reinforced with crented parapet walls, which protect half of the body against powerful bows and strong arrows. There are holes below the walls for the oars to go through, while the sailors operating the oars will bepletely hidden inside the ship. Noticing small holes along the crented parapet walls, Kou Zhong praised, These holes must be for shooting arrows; wouldnt it be better if the holes are slightly bigger? Chen Laomou came over and said, These are called crossbow window or simply tooth gaps, used especially to shoot arrows from crossbows. Therefore, they dont need to be too big to take aim and shoot. How much longer? Bu Tianzhi asked. Wiping the sweats off his brow, Chen Laomou proudly said, We only need to cover the hull with raw cowhide to protect against fire. This is the trick that Haisha Bang usually use, its known as the Meng Chong Doujian [lit. dashing-against-covering fighting ship]. It could be said that in framing them up this time, we spare no effort. Luo Qifei said, Our operation this time has been through repeated scrutiny and careful thought. We do not dare to keep the warships in the open, precisely because we dont want Jianghuai Army to grow suspicions. These seven warships came separately from elsewhere, winding around in big circles, hence Du Fuwei would believe firmly without any doubt even more. Kou Zhong eximed in admiration, If I were Ol Die, I would also fall into the trap. Ha! And now the only thing I ought to do is just to have a good nap? Chen Laomouughed aloud and said, Shao Shuai, go ahead and sleep in peace! It would be best if you sleep on the boat. When the timees, Laofu [old man] will wake you up. Ill also disguise you. Otherwise, how could the Chang Qiang Lang Gu Jun brave the Great River to put Chen Sheng to death? Book 23 - 6 – Contending for Supremacy on the Sky Bridge Book 23 Chapter 6 C Contending for Supremacy on the Sky Bridge Xu Ziling finally set foot on the Great Mount Ba, which was overflowing with danger, famous for its nk walkway all the way since ancient time thru today. This kind of dangerous man-made pathway, constructed around the mountain in a roundabout route, was mainly built by cutting holes on the sheer cliffs and precipitous rock faces and then inserting beams into the holes, which served as the skeleton for the wooden nksid out on top of them. As people were walking on it, on one side was the uneven surface of the rock cliff, while the other side was thousand-ren [unit of length, my dictionary did not have the definition, baike.baidu only says 8 or 7 feet] steep cliff. When the mountain breeze was blowing, the feeling was that the entire walkway was swaying, the foothold was unsteady. Those who are bold would still feel fright at every step, while those who are timid would be unable to move a single step. At first Xu Ziling was overwhelmed with marvel, but suddenly his mind opened and cleared up. The unpleasant mood stirred up by Shi Feixuan was washed away clean. Along the way more and more marvelous scenery emerged; it was extremely pleasing to the eyes. Maintaining a touring-the-mountain, visiting-scenic-spots frame of mind, he thoroughly enjoyed the covered-by-trees-and-underbrush deep mountains, high ridges, marvelous peaks and amazing rocks. Cloud fir [spruce], cold fir, red fir, iron fir [tsuga chinensis], all kinds of fir [Cunninghamiancete] trees, mixed together with ginkgo tree, fragrant fruit tree, paulownia tree, formed the ever-changing natural ecology. It was not only a paradise for birds, but golden sub-nosed monkeys [Rhinopithecus Roxena], macaque, wildebeests, and hairy crowned deer were roaming around freely, so full of life. When he rounded a bend, the scenery changed again. The first to catch his eyes was the roaring of the waterfall, while the walkway was continuously widening. Burst of water droplets hit him on the face, while the mist pervaded the air on the opposite mountain. A waterfall appeared like a jiao dragon [legendary (horned) dragon with ability to control rain and floods]ing out of a hole in the mountain, cascading down along the cliff, straight to the bottom of the cliff into a boiling torrent, and then rushing out following the terrain with strong momentum. Seeing all these, Xu Zilings mind was intoxicated. He stopped to enjoy the view with his hands behind his back, feeling the essence, qi, and spirit in his entire body soared without any bound, and ten thousand changes converged into one. In this moment of rity, there was no distinction between internal and external. The man was the nature, and the nature was the man. Before this natural wonder, all struggles, enmity and killing have be irrelevant. Right this moment, suddenly a familiar voice entered his ears, saying, We must be especially bound together by fate; unexpectedly Ie across Xu Xiong here. Xu Ziling was still staring fixedly on the mountain flow down below, formed by the water flying out of the cliff above. It converged first into more than a dozen ofyer uponyer of pools, big and small, then flowed around the colorful rocks filling the bottom of the waterfall. Under the bright sun the rippling waves sparkled magnificently. Smiling, he said, Naturally we are especially bound together by fate. But I wonder if Hou Xiong is leaving Sichuan, or is entering Sichuan? Hou Xibai walked slowly along the walkway toward Xu Ziling, while waving the Fan of Beauty in his hand lightly, in such an unspeakably elegant and graceful demeanor, confident and at ease above the crowd. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; if they fought in this ce, both sides would have no way out. This matter could only be resolved by one of them defeated and perished. At the same time, he was also ming himself for being careless. Ever since leaving Yangzhou, he has been neglecting this young martial art master of Hua Jian Pai, while Hou Xibai has been lurking on the side, waiting for an opportunity like the present. Was it because Shi Feixuan knew that he was nearby that she was unwilling to enter Sichuan together with Xu Ziling? Listening to the tone of Shi Feixuans voice, she only had good impression toward Hou Xibai, without any bad feeling at all. Hou Xibai stopped when he was about a zhang or so from him; he spoke smoothly, During the reign of Xian Wang of the Zhou dynasty, Qinhui Wang wanted to destroy Shu [i.e. Sichuan], but no matter how hard he tried, he could not force entrance into it; thereupon he issued an order to make a stone ox with five heads, and daubed the ox tail with gold dust, iming that the ox could produce gold excrement, and have the ox delivered to King of Shu. Greatly delighted, King of Su ordered his men to construct the nk walkway to wee the golden ox. Eventually the Qin army forced entrance into Su along the Golden Ox Walkway and wiped out the Su State. Wont you say that things like this are actually the main cause of disaster for the people of Sichuan? Looking back at the nk walkway that he had just walked through, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Later on, Zhuge Liangs Six Campaigns from Mount Qi, Jiang Weis Nine Campaigns on the Central ins [both are from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms], were also transporting troops along this path. Therefore, the fault is not on this Golden Ox Walkway, but on the people; dont Hou Xiong think so? Swish! Hou Xibai opened his fan fully, and then waved it back and forth; the speed was irregr, but it seemed to follow some kind ofw-within-now rhythm, like it was very easy to fathom, yet was impossible to grasp. It was such an extremely weird feeling. I never thought Xu Xiong would be this familiar with the history of Sichuan, he spoke in astonishment, Evidently the walkway we are standing on has been through many different reconstructions. The most ancient Golden Ox Walkway started in Mei County of Shaanxi, passing through the Xie valley, winding around the Bao Valley, and into Hanzhong. To the west it goes out to Mian County, through Yang Ping mountain pass, and into Sichuan, passing through Qingchuan, JianGe, Zitong, Mianyang, and arrives at Chengdu. Currently the Hanzhong to Sichuan section has changed into Ningqiang, surpassing seven mountain passes. This is precisely the section that Xu Xiong stopped to admire, as if you wanted to be an immortal and go directly into danger. Hou Xibai took a step forward, closing the distance between the two men to approximately eight chi, while the Fan of Beauty continued to wave, one after another, producing Swish! Swish! noise. The side of the fan facing Xu Ziling had only one painting of Wanwans amazing image, putting her faintly discernible, unfathomable innate character, touching portrait in full disy. One corner also had the ten-thousand-kinds-of-grace, another implicit-charm-in-rhyme, image of the famous courtesan Shang Xiufang. Xu Ziling was still standing with his hands behind his back; noticing Hou Xibai did not respond, he went on, It seems that Hou Xiong did not wish to answer. Xiaodi suddenly has a weird thought; supposing one of us suddenly ascend the heavens to be an immortal, I guarantee that no one in Jianghu would find out. Blurting outughing, Hou Xibai said, Xu Xiongs idea is very interesting. Regrettably, the world of the immortals has no doors, so nobody could open it as he wishes. Perhaps Xu Xiong wants to turn a good dream into nothingness! A sliver of without-any-care-in-the-world smile escaped from the corner of Xu Zilings mouth; remaining tranquil and calm, he said, Whether the world of the immortals has a door or has no door, so much so that whether there is the world of the immortals or afterlife, Xiaodi practically has never had any imagination nor any desire to look forward to, hence I have no good dream to be turned into nothingness. Even toward life and death, Ol Xu has a very indifferent view. I wonder if Hou Xiong would be interested in giving it a try? Finally Hou Xibais countenance changed. His eyes shone with sharp, peculiar light, the rhythm of his fan became more erratic, but it was not in confusion at all. If the listener was not Xu Ziling but another first-ss martial art master, perhaps he could not stop rushing out and making his move. Kou Zhongy on his back on the bed, but was unable to sleep. With eyes opened wide he stared at the ceiling of the cabin, with myriads thought surging in his mind. He was thinking of his rtionship with Du Fuwei. It could be said that Du Fuwei was the first person ever to show respect on him, to consider Kou Zhong to be qualified to inherit his burning incense stick and his undertaking. Yet due to all kinds of reason, Kou Zhong declined his good intention. In the past he was willing to let Kou Zhong left Liyang, demonstrating his breath of mind and positive outlook, which surpass others, and revealing his sincere affection, which was inconsistent with his style. But in return, Kou Zhong bitterly defended Jingling for ten days and ten nights, so that Du Fuwei could only gain tragic victory. Today he was going to destroy Du Fuweis grand n of attacking Jiangdu. Thinking about this, he felt depressed and helpless. That trusted lieutenant of his called Chen Sheng was a total stranger to Kou Zhong. There was no grievance in the past, there was no animosity in the present, yet tonight, using thousand ways and hundred ns, Kou Zhong was going to make him meet his death, just to incite Du Fuweis anger, all in the name of contention over the world. Therefore, he had to proceed by hook or by crook, not stopping at anything. Contention over the world is just like that. Ay! Yet if he could go back to the past, he would still decline Du Fuweis good intention and proposal. The real reason was that Du Fuwei did not enjoy popr support too much. Plus Kou Zhong did not wish to get things done by relying on others. Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong jumped out of bed and ordered his men serving outside the door to summon Chen Changlin, Bu Tianzhi, and so on for a discussion. Finally Xu Ziling reacted; suddenly he turned his tiger-body around, so that he was directly facing Hou Xibai, who was standing at an oblique angle about eight chi away on the walkway. Two pair of eyes met, both men stared unyieldingly toward each other. Hou Xibai stopped waving his fan and put it away on his back. Nodding his head, he said, Xu Xiongs brilliance is indeed beyond Zaixias expectation. Xu Ziling smiled and replied, We are no better or worse than each other! The two men were not simply uttering polite words. In fact, ever since Hou Xibai raised his voice to speak, the two have been on a head-on confrontation. Xu Ziling was bit lucky, because as he was enjoying the beautiful scenery of the waterfall on the opposite mountain, his state of mind converged seamlessly with the ten-thousand changes outside, entering the no-man, no-me [non-self, anatta], forgetting inside, forgetting outside, state, in deep union with the purpose of the Secret to Long Life. Although he had not raised his qi or applied his power, all the orifices within his body were full of life; naturally the innate true qi circted freely, from head to toe, there was not the slightest w. The reason Hou Xibai chose this ce to make his appearance was originally to borrow the waterfalls surging momentum and its loud rumbling noise to conceal the vibration, as well as any noise, generated on the walkway as he was stepping on it, while actively calcting how tounch one strike, with a ten-thousand-catty-thunder momentum, to sessfully getting rid of this formidable opponent, who, in so many aspects, was able to rival him. From his footwork of standing at an oblique angle, pressing down on the nk walkway going around the mountain, to the rhythm of his opening and waving his fan, not one did not imply the profound-mysteryw and logic. As soon as Xu Ziling was somewhat influence by it or was a bit distracted, he would make his move with all his strength. Staking everything, disregarding injury or death, he simply must strike to kill this opponent, in such a no-retreat, no-escape battlefield. Who would have thought that not only Xu Ziling was not influenced by him the slightest bit, he remained in the profound mystery state, which Hou Xibai found to be amazing and inexplicable, which Xu Ziling suggested earlier that he had no regard of life and death. Consequently, Hou Xibai felt that if he forcefully made his move, both of them would only end up perishing together. And that was the reason he praised Xu Ziling wholeheartedly. From Xu Zilings point of view, Hou Xibai did not give him the slightest gap that he could exploit, hence the reason he did not dare to turn around earlier, afraid that his concentration would fail him. The rhythm of Hou Xibais fan was some kind of gongfa [skill/powerw/method; this is another one of those that I dont know how to trante sinctly (the other being shenfa and xinfa)] analogous to the Tian Mo Yin [demonic sound] that Zhu Yuyan employed. One slight mistake, he wound incite the opponents terrifying attack. He waited until Hou Xibais heart appeared to be shaken. He chose the exact time when the opponent was in the middle of two shakes of his fan to turn around; the exact moment when the Fan of Beauty was at its limit of movement. This kind of subtlety urately grasped the rhythm of the opponents fan, which appeared like random, without any order, movements; in a way, it was tantamount to thoroughly break the brilliant skill of waving the fan. From this, it could be said that Hou Xibai has been hiding his real strength all along, hence the no better or worse than each otherment. Xu Ziling still had his hands behind his back, while standing upright and unafraid. His eyes stared fixedly on the opponent, his stored-up imposing manner expanding unceasingly, assuming the unyielding attitude of going-all-out, staking-everything, fight-might-happen-any-moment. Hou Xibai was still maintaining his confident and at ease, unconstrained appearance, but the fact was that he was standing straight like a mountain, exuding a biting cold vortex of qi, restraining the opponent from a distance, abundant with sweeping-away-the-world spirit. A glimmer of smile escaped from the corner of Xu Zilings mouth as he spoke indifferently, Did Hou Xiong identally run into me entering Sichuan, or did you already know that I am entering Sichuan? While continuously looking for any gap in the opponents line of defense, Hou Xibai replied, This matter is unusuallyplicated, but it is closely rted to Qingxuan. Xu Xiong, what do you think? Inwardly, Xu Ziling cried, Formidable! It should be noted that fighting on the nk walkway, any shenfa or footwork would not be effective. The only way was to fight force against force. Even though there was indeed rtive superiority between the two mens martial art skill level, but the difference was not far. Therefore, they must resort to various means to weaken the opponents fighting spirit, to divide his attention, in order to seed in one strike. Hou Xibais choice of words was precisely to achieve that objective. If Xu Ziling was distracted by the two words unusuallyplicated and pondered upon it deeply, also by Hou Xibai intimately calling her by her first name Qingxuan, which would make Xu Ziling think that his rtionship with Shi Qingxuan was quiteplex, then Xu Ziling would fall into the trap. Fortunately, Xu Ziling was quite indifferent toward sess or failure in men/women rtionship; hence he was not too affected by it. Smiling instead, he said, Hou Xiong clearly knew that before entering Sichuan, Xiaodi had an all night long chat with Miss Shi. This is called ying someone at their own game; moreover, he was hinting that Shi Feixuan was nearby. ording to Xu Zilings analysis, the reason Hou Xibai was able to select this ce to intercept him was that he obtained the information from the Yangtze River Alliance, simply because Yun Yuzhen and Yangtze River Alliances Zheng Shuming had secret connection. Furthermore, Hou Xibais skill with women definitely raised this possibility. Sure enough, Hou Xibai was slightly startled. Naturally Xu Ziling was unwilling to let this built-up-through-painstaking-efforts golden opportunity pass; stepping forward, he sent out a heavy punch. Hou Xibai did not take out his fan at all; he simply put his fingers together and used the palm chop with his left hand. Bang! Qi power collided. Both of them tumbled backward as if they were struck by lightning, opening the distance between them a zhang or so. Hou Xibais revealed an extremely grave expression. Why not spiraling qi power? he shouted. Xu Ziling was struggling to suppress his boiling blood and qi, while inwardly he was very shocked. If the opponent had not mistakenly thought that he was going to use spiraling qi power, he would have suffered quite a bit of loss in this exchange. He had managed to create all sorts of favorable situations, yet still ended up both parties shared the limelight. Evidently Hou Xibais true power was at least a notch above his. Not to mention Hou Xibai has not used his fan yet. Smiling slightly, he said, Howe Hou Xiong did not use the amazing skill of Immortal Printed Scroll? Hou Xibais eyes emitted an unprecedentedly fierce expression. Was it Feixuan who told you? he spoke in heavy voice. While resisting his rapidly increasing fierce qi momentum, Xu Ziling sneered and said, From this, it is clear that Hou Xiong has not had any chance to meet Shi Qingxuan, otherwise you might mistakenly guessed that it was she who told me. Recovering his calm manner, Hou Xibai blurted outughing and said, But it is also possible that I have just visited her fragrant residence, right? Letting out a longughter, Xu Ziling said, Absolutely correct! Both palms struck out at the same time, immediately a violent force rolled straight toward Hou Xibai. While the warriors were working hard, the cabin was serene under thezy afternoon sun. After sweeping Bu Tianzhi, Chen Laomou, Luo Qifei, and Chen Changlin, four men, with his eyes, Kou Zhong pondered deeply for half a day before finally speaking slowly, I have two things that Id like gentlemen to consider carefully. Everybody knew he still had more to say, hence they just waited silently. Appearing to be very deep in thought, Kou Zhong said, Tonight we only need to hurt Chen Sheng, but there is no need to kill him. I want to borrow Chen Shengs own mouth to tell Du Fuwei who had wounded him. There shouldnt be any problem, Bu Tianzhi said, As long as we manage to burn a few more of his boats, it will be enough to provoke Du Fuweis wrath. Chen Changlin said, Chen Sheng ought to know Gu Jun. If there is any w, in the future, our achievement will bepletely wasted. Chen Laomou joined in, Outside appearance is not a problem. In confusion, it woud be enough to have fifty, sixty-percent resemnce. Could Changlin describe his general appearance that I can use as my reference? Chen Changlin nodded to give his consent, but he said, Gu Juns spear technique is very particr; if Chen Sheng sees it, he will definitely be able to tell it apart. Have you seen it? Bu Tianzhi asked. Chen Changlins eyes emitted deep hatred. Letting out a cold humph, he said, Not only seen it, I have tasted it. Listening to this, everybody knew that he had fought Gu Jun in the past, perhaps he even suffered some losses. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, That will do! Imitating ten or twenty-percent will work; Chen Sheng would think that Gu Jun was deliberately concealing his martial art. After a short pause, he continued, The other thing is that in order to avenge Changlin Xiong, we must, by all means, kill Shen Lun. But we also must make Shen Faxing thinks that it is Du Fuwei who kill him. This way, the enmity between them will never be resolved, forever. Luo Qifei said, Changlin and I have repeatedly considered this over; we both think that as long as Du Fuwei believed that Shen Lun attacked him, the moment Shen Lun withdraw his troops, we will ambush him from the side. This way, all ounts will be credited to Du Fuwei. The only difficulty is to determine the suitable time and ce. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Supposing when Chen Sheng is injured Du Fuwei did not advance but retreat instead by withdrawing to Qingliu to regroup, then it would be really bad for us. Therefore, we must have a contingency n. It would be best if we can force Old Du so that he wont dare to dy. Frowning, Bu Tianzhi said, Is there a way to make Du Fuwei thinks that Shen Lun has sold him to Li Zitong? That way, Old Du would try to smash one of the two in the shortest time possible, or else he would fall into the situation where he is caught up in between. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong praised, This is merely the exertion of lifting ones hand [fig. requiring a very light effort]. Have somebody deliver a letter to Li Zitong at once; have this fellow immediately spread a rumor, saying that Shen Faxing has already made peace with him. If this rumor can enter Old Dus ears one step ahead of Chen Sheng being attacked, he would be even more convinced. And then he rose to his full height, stretched his limbs, and said, This time I really can sleep a good sleep! Book 23 - 7 – Shifting the Blame Onto Eastern Wu Book 23 Chapter 7 C Shifting the me Onto Eastern Wu Hou Xibai shifted sideways to retrieve the folded fan on his back; in a confident-and-at ease, natural, brimming-with-a-sense-of-beauty posture, the tip of the fans skeleton, rapid-beyondprehension, pointed at Xu Zilings double palmsing down at him, and then the fan opened, using the side full of portraits of beautiful women he blocked Xu Zilings real killer move, while sending out a kick toward his lower abdomen. Xu Ziling rapidly whirled around, both palms created hundreds of palm shadows like an illusion, while his leg seemed to move, but was not actually moving. Even with Hou Xibais ability, he could not advance prematurely, while also did not dare to withdraw backward, afraid that the opponent might snatch the key moment, and then he would suffer troops in defeat like andslide [idiom], and lost his life on this no-escape, no-retreat nk walkway. Hou Xibai resorted to a set of exquisite and abstruse fan technique. His fan opened and closed without showing any gap, as he parried Xu Zilings rainstorm-like fingers, palms, and fists attack. The sound of strong wind collided against each other lingered on. Pow! hundreds and thousands fan shadows covered everything. The middle finger of Xu Zilings left hand made contact with the tip of the fan. A vortex of qi, which Hou Xibai had been expected all along, burst in via the Fan of Beauty, slow at first, but quickly became faster. This inner power attack was like fighting at close range with short weapon, there was no room to change move at all. The twobatants staggered backwards at the same time. At this moment, the two men began to know the real ability of his opponent. Hou Xibai only staggered back five steps before he managed to regain his footings; his handsome face alternated between red and green. Only after several rounds of these changes did he recover his usual fair countenance. Xu Ziling nearly stepped out of the nk walkway. Turned out Hou Xibais Fan of Beauty was able to execute four taels to push aside a thousand catty technique, simply because it was able to use some extremely weird technique of borrowing force to strike force called You Shan Xie [lit. outstanding expertise to unload/to remove], by shifting the opponents inner power. And Hou Xibais level of mastery has reached perfection, a as the arm moves the finger, free, unconstrained state. Nearly every strike, a punch or finger thrust, had a miss-the-target feeling, just like trying to catch a loach with empty hand, like clearly it was caught in hand, but he was unable to hold on to it steadily. It was precisely the prescribing the right medicine for an illness best method to deal with the spiraling energy. However, although he gained the upper hand, it actually entailed strenuous effort. Fortunately, at thest moment he gained the initiative by utilizing the amazing move of Using the man to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy [see Book 11 Chapter 8] of the Yijian Technique. Furthermore, he exploited the unique environment of the nk walkway to force Hou Xibai to go full strength by disregarding everything in meeting the attack head-on, so that he avoided the final fate of defeat and perishing. The skill difference had been decided. Xu Ziling struggled hard to recover from his own momentum that sent him to the edge of the walkway. And then, using the innate true qi from thebination of Secret to Long Life and Jade Annulus of He n, he neutralized most of Hou Xibais strange energy invading his body. But he still needed two more steps before he could stand firm. He nearly vomited blood. Luckily when his meridians were about to burst, his five viscera felt like shattering, he exerted himself to raise the true qi within his body. The internal injury immediately recovered more than half in such a miraculous way. It was as if the true qi in his body could faintly control the opponents gongfa. Hou Xibais most formidable aspect was that when Xu Zilings spiraling energy burst in, slow at first and then turned fast, Hou Xibais internal power became suddenly hard and suddenly soft, using both gentle methods and force, breaking open his spiraling energy, and diverted it to both sides, enabling him to force entrance into the true qi in the opponents body, so that at most he could only retain fifty or sixty-percent of his original level, and thus greatly diminished the killing power. Such a demonic power was indeed never seen; no wonder Hua Jian Pai was able to stand side by side with Yin Gui Pai on the demonic way. From this, it could also be inferred the extent of Shi Zhixuans formidability. Swish! Hou Xibai opened up his fan and lightly brushed it sideways. With confidentugh he said, Much obliged for the experience! Xu Xiong is certainly brilliant, but if this is the extent of your skill, Xu Xiong may forget about leaving this golden-ox way alive today. Hearing that, Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief instead. If the opponent seized this opportunity to pursue and attack, he would be doomed to death for sure. But now that he spoke to stall for time, it was clear that although his martial art skill was stronger than Xu Zilings, and his moves were a notch better than his, plus his injury was slightly lighter than his, yet his speed of recovery must be somewhat slower than Xu Zilings. Taking another mouthful of breath, Xu Ziling let out a longugh and said, No better or worse than each other! Hou Xiong, please receive another one of Xiaodis punches. Right foot stepped forward, left fist sent out a punch. Obviously Hou Xibai was stunned and was greatly puzzled, and then his expression turned serious, his clothes, from head to foot, fluttered. Xu Zilings punch was extremely slow, but his internal energy was continuously umting, so that when his fist was nearly in position, the wind generated by the punch already reached Hou Xibais body. The most magical thing was that from nothing at the beginning, the punch power gradually coalesced until finally it became an iparably forceful qi power following the moving fist, like a formless but natural iron pir being thrust toward the chest. Hou Xibai started to regret his decision to intercept Xu Ziling on this nk walkway. If it were an empty and widend, breaking Xu Zilings move would be like handling a butchers cleaver with ease [idiom: skillfully and easily]. But on this unique environment, being forced by Xu Zilings gradually condensing qi power was like having a thousand kinds of ultimate art, yet was unable to find a solution. The only way out was to meet the attack head-on. Hou Xibai roared; pulling his Fan of Beauty back, he used his left palm to swiftly chop down to strike the middle of the column of qi. Spiraling energy red out. Xu Ziling has learned from experience that his spiraling energy was focused and did not disperse, like a sharp awl breaking into the opponents exploding energy. Bang! Both men tumbled backward and spurted blood at the same time. It was injury on top of injury. This time Hou Xibai could only neutralized twenty-percent of Xu Zilings qi power, hence he suffered quite a loss. If it were on a tnd, he had seventy, eighty-percent confidence to put Xu Ziling to death. But on this nk walkway, Xu Ziling was able to bring out the fantastic qi power he obtained from the Secret to Long Life, and unleashed its greatest might. Both sides withdrew five steps back. Hou Xibai wiped the bloodstain on the corner of his mouth with his sleeve; smiling bitterly, he said, Please let Zaixia retract my arrogant words. The fact is, this time I was itching: seeing an opportunity that was difficult toe by, I wanted to force Xu Xiong to swap pointers, not really wanted to hurt Xu Xiong. Xu Xiong is honorable and magnanimous, please pardon this offense. Not knowing whether tough or cry, Xu Ziling said, Hou Xiong is so straightforward, Xiaodi admires you extremely. Since thats the case, is Hou Xiong going to enter Sichuan, or leave Sichuan? Hou Xibaiughed aloud and said, Xu Xiong has quick movements and quick mouth. Naturally Zaixia is moving forwards. Xu Xiong, please do as you wish. Xu Ziling smiled slightly, while forcefully pressing down another mouthful of blood that was welling up in his throat, and then leisurely and confidently he walked past Hou Xibai. Actually, the severity of his injury was far heavier than Hou Xibai thought. Basically he did not even have any strength left to lift up his fist; therefore, he must leave this dangerous ce as far away as possible at once. Hou Xibai hesitated for a moment, and then stepped aside to let Xu Ziling pass. He even bade him farewell earnestly, with a reluctant-to-part expression. Xu Ziling traveled for more than ten li in one breath. After making sure that Hou Xibai did not follow, he violently vomited a mouthful of blood and dejectedly sat down on the ground. Seven warships slowly sailed out of a hidden tributary, heading for the Great River. All warships were in total ckout, they only rely on the moon and the stars to guide them toward their target. Chen Shengs Jianghuai Navy had left Liuhe at dusk, sailing speedily toward Jiangdu. ording to the report, their fleet consisted of a total of more than one hundred and twenty ships, big and small; thirty of which were warships, the rest were cargo ships carrying supply wagons and army provisions. If this fleet met with a mishap, not only Du Fuweis vanguard unit would lose support, their n of besieging the city might be dyed as well. Under this nothing else to do situation, Du Fuwei, whose rage soared to the heavens, would have to find someone to vent his anger, and the only way for him to vent his anger would be Shen Lun, who would definitely try to redeem himself. In war, the objective ought to be striving for victory, whether by fair means or foul. Using spies was a normal practice in military strategy, ever since the ancient times. Kou Zhong, who looked somewhat like the Long Spear Lad Gu Jun, a fierce general under Shen Lunsmand, was standing on the deck. To his left and right were Chen Changlin and Bu Tianzhi, respectively. The atmosphere was a bit tense, everybody was holding his breath, quieting their qi, ready to deal with the imminent raid. The key to their victory was to catch an enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sunzis The Art of War]; using fast to defeat the slow, while the enemy was caught off guard, to break the formation of their fleet, to use every means to put the enemy into chaos. And then when the enemy was unclear of what was going on, they could use the few to defeat the many. The seven ships stopped at the dense forest at the mouth of the river, right next to the riverbank. The rolling Great River ahead was flowing to the east. Sailing for two more sichen from here, one would reach Jiangdu. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and looked up to the sky. His heart was full of emotional stirring. In his heart, he still had nothing but good opinion and respect toward Du Fuwei, but for the sake of even more far-reaching goal, he had to do this to Du Fuwei. Thinking about this, his heart was saddened. They should be here by now! Bu Tianzhi whispered in his ear, Our timing is very urate. Kou Zhong regained his senses. Casting his eyes toward the confluence of the tributary and the main river, his spirit entered the calm state. Chen Changlin spoke quietly, Tonight the southeast wind is blowing. If we follow the enemys tail tightly, we can attack by following the current and the wind at our tail. Its going to be absolutely sure. Problem is, it might turn into a full-scale battle, and then its going to be more difficult to defeat Chen Shengsmand ship first. Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, Too bad we do not have any information on Chen Shengs natural disposition; otherwise, we could n our attack focusing on his character. Right now we can only take a risk. Kou Zhong nodded and said, The most dangerous situation would be if hismand ship is at the head of the procession, because then we must take the risk of attacking first, and face the danger of the rest of the warships counterattacking by following the current. Bu Tianzhi spoke heavily, If we stay close to the Great Rivers northern bank, we could release smoke and scatter ashes. Kou Zhong resolutely said, We might as well take a two-pronged approach; while we raid the opponentsmand ship, the other six warships will separate so that the enemy cannot see our real strength. While confusing the enemy with smoke, we use cross-shaped [orig. ten character] arrows to burn the enemys sail, use trebuchet to smash the opponents hull, to create damage as much as possible. Once its done, we can abandon the ship and flee into the water. And then he added one sentence, As long as Chen Sheng is wounded, we have sessfully aplished this mission. They are here! Chen Changlin cried out in low voice. Two lightweight battle ships of Jianghuai Army were passing by ahead. After waiting for half a day, fourparativelyrger warships and a dozen or so cargo ships appeared. And then three multi-deck huge battleships followed. Bu Tianzhi was delighted, The Heaven is helping us; that ship in the middle is themand ship. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused; his true qi flowing through the meridians in his entire body, he shouted, Sess or failure will be decided by this battle. Brothers, follow me, attack! The order issued, the Meng Chong Doujian [see Chapter 5] left its hiding ce, the oars came out; following the current, it flew toward the enemy ship at full speed. By the time Xu Ziling opened his eyes, the sky was full or stars, the night sky on the high mountain felt even more enchanting. He circted his true qi for two more cycles before standing up to his full height. But his head still felt light and dull, so he could not help but was horrified. Since practicing the xinfa of the Secret to Long Life, no matter how serious the injury, he was always able to recover quickly. He had never tried treating his injury close to five sichen like this, yet his meridians still did not flow freely, and the qi cirction was still difficult. From this, it could clearly be seen how formidable Hou Xibais Hua Jian Pai demonic skill really was. If he had to fight right now, at most he could only use forty or fifty-percent of his usual skill. Naturally he could not control his true qi like ying with magic like he usually did. He was well aware that Hou Xibai would not let him off. The moment he found out that his internal injury was much lighter than Xu Zilings would be the moment he would look for him. Even if he recovered one-hundred-percent of his power, perhaps he would still be not Hou Xibais match. Therefore, the only thing Xu Ziling could not right now was to get as far away as possible, so that Hou Xibai would not be able to find him. He was about to leave when he heard the sound of wind from the nk walkway leading toward Sichuan. While Xu Ziling was crying Bad! inwardly, a man, with face like beeswax, emaciated, his forehead and cheeks full of lines of hardship, rapidly flew over toward him. Evidently the man had never thought he would meet a passerby in the dark of the night, on this dangerous path deep in the mountains and deste valley; he halted his steps in shock. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. Surprisingly, it was the utterly vicious, extremely evil, Going Against The Tide You Niaojuan, the Sheng Ji Mens renegade disciple, the one who rankedst in the list of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. It was indeed enemies on a narrow road [idiom]. Kou Zhongs boat was very fast. In the blink of an eye it already rushed out of the tributary and swiftly entered the flowing stream of the Great River. They saw ahead of them, behind, left and right were the enemys battleships and cargo ships; it was quite frightening. Bu Tianzhi was at the helm. He steered the battleship toward the northern bank of the Great River. Fiery arrows were shot, lime were scattered, while at the same time the stern produced heavy smoke, which, because of the tail wind, rapidly enveloping themand ship. Battle drums were like rolling thunder. The enemys fleet was in chaos. The boat was rapidly pressing toward themand ship. Momentarily the battle drums and the battle cry resounded across the Great River. The four light battleships trailing themand ship were immediately dispersing to strike back ferociously toward Kou Zhongs ship. Arrows and rocks rained down on them, the momentum was extremely astonishing. Although Bu Tianzhi did everything he could to take the circuitous route, the opponents rocks still managed to hit them. The crented wall was shattered, holes and cracks were constantly appearing on the hull, wood splinters were flying everywhere. Fortunately, by this time their own warships appeared from the tributary in continuous stream, cutting the enemys fleet into several sections, so that their head and tail were separated from each other. Boom! The other multi-deck ship turned around and rammed their ship. This is called the tough wins against the fragile, the big wins against the small. The bow shattered immediately. It spun around twice on the Great River, and finally capsized. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Boys [orig. erng men]! Board! Carrying his long spear, he soared into the sky. Whether they seeded or not this time, it would be up to him. Book 23 - 8 – Initial Estimate Difficult to Accomplish Book 23 Chapter 8 C Initial Estimate Difficult to Aplish You Niaojuan swept his gaze around, and then with a loudughter he walked over toward Xu Ziling; bizarre expression shed through his eyes as he spoke softly, This renxiong looks quite handsome! Hearing that, the hair on Xu Zilings entire body stood on its end; You Niaojuans manner and intonation was brimming with some kind of excitement, cruelty, and perversion, as if he was hinting that since Ie across you C this interesting ything, here, why cant I gorge myself, and do whatever I please? Fortunately, Xu Ziling knew how to distinguish condition from hearing voices, so he knew that You Niaojuans serious injury was only recovered sixty or seventy-percent; otherwise, Xu Ziling would have no chance at all, even if he staked everything he had. But presently he had at least some chance to attempt escape or even tomit suicide, to avoid falling into this great evils hands, in which case living was not better than dying. Turning around, Xu Zilings eyes shot a fierce and stern expression. Not showing any fear at all, he met the opponents gaze, blurted outughing, and said, Lao Xiong [ol bro], whats your honorable surname and great given name? Since you dare to travel alone on this dangerous path, you must not be any ordinary person, but I wonder a friend of which way are you? You Niaojuans eyes showed a skeptical look; sizing Xu Ziling up and down, he noticed that Xu Ziling was not well. Immensely proud of himself, he said, Xiao Xiongdi [lil bro] talks like a seasoned veteran; you seem to understand Jianghu way, your martial art skill must be not bad. How about this: if you can guess my name and my origin, I will make an exception and let you off. Pretending to be surprised, Xu Ziling said, You and I have no past grudge, and currently have no enmity, how could you not let me off? But to guess who you are is not difficult at all. Its just that I see you are not the kind of a man who speak and keep your promise. Even if I guess correctly, you would still want to fight to dispose of me; why should I rack my brain to guess it? Astonished, You Niaojuan looked at him for half a day; finally he shook his head and said with augh, You are indeed a kid who dont know the immensity of heaven and earth. Just by looking at your eyes, I knew that you have limited weight [i.e. importance]. How about this: you guess who I am, and you block three moves from me. If you could do any one of those two, I guarantee that I will let you off. Ha! Fascinating handsome boy. Unexpectedly he put an air of a wicked cat ying with a mouse. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, How much does your guarantee worth per catty? Unless you are willing to make a vow ording to your schools incantation, I will not believe you. You Niaojuans entire body, from head to foot, shook. Taking a step backward, his eyes shone with ominous glint, he spoke sternly, Who are you? His heart moved, Xu Ziling said, Who am I, its not your concern; if you want to fight, lets fight. This Shaoye [young master] dont have time to bicker with you endlessly, not to mention I dont have the mood to do so. You Niaojuanughed grimly; hisughter started soft, but was getting louder, until atst he was howling withughter. Aughter that was full of insanity and frightening insinuation. Moreover, the wrinkles on his face rippled back and forth, so that he looked extremely ugly. Suddenly Xu Ziling sent out a palm chop, slicing the air between the two. You Niaojuansughter vanished; he took a step backward in shock, and stared nkly at Xu Ziling with disbelief in his eyes. Originally he was about to make his move, but Xu Ziling seemed to have the ability to predict the future; his palm chop happened to be one step ahead in cutting off the path of his intended move, naturally he was gob smacked in amazement. But Xu Ziling felt his qi and blood were churning inside his body, he nearly vomited blood. He started to realize that his internal injury was more serious than he thought; raising his qi to walk away was not a problem, but if he had to fight You Niaojuan, this vicious demon of the present age, perhaps he would have copsed in less than three moves. You Niaojuan was a veteran, immediately he saw the signs. Stunned, he said, Turns out you are suffering from internal injury. No wonder your move is so brilliant, but your eyes are dim and lifeless; even I failed to see it previously. Struggling hard to keep his boiling blood and qi under control, Xu Ziling sneered and said, No better or worse than each other; just by listening to your voice, I know that you, Lao Xiong, are also suffering from internal injuries. Let us stake everything together until our internal injuries burst forth; lets see whod die first. You Niaojuan was about to make his move, unexpectedly Xu Zilingughed aloud, and took half a step sideways toward the edge of the nk walkway. You Niaojuan could not stop the amazement in his heart. Greatly puzzled, as well as astonished, he said, What martial art is this? Xu Ziling knew that You Niaojuan was starting to be alerted and was having misgivings. This one step move was the limit of what he currently could do. This changing position, plus the temporary upper hand he gained, coupled with one move he previously showed, were all different tunes yed with equal skill, so that the opponent would not dare to take the risk by advancing prematurely. In somewhat disdainful tone he said, You Niaojuan, can you still be considered our demonic school man? You have not even seen Immortal Printed Method? For the first time that night You Niaojuans eyes showed fear; he stared without blinking at Xu Ziling, and spoke heavily, Who is Shi Zhixuan to you? Kou Zhong soared to about four zhang above the water, while taking the whole scene of the battle on this section of the Great River at once. His seven warships have all entered the river, cutting off Chen Shengs fleet into a dozen or so separate sections, of which at least twenty cargo ships were burning, although with different degree of severity of the disaster. These burning ships provided a very thick smoke, which was blowing downstream following the direction of the wind. Other than his own mand ship, which was hit and sunk by the enemys multi-deck ship, one other ship was also knocked by the enemys warship that it was overturned. The rest of his ships, under cover of darkness and the thick smoke, weaved left and right while wantonly attacking the enemys cargo ships. About a dozen of Chen Shengs warships, including themand ship, which were already ahead, turned around urgently and sailed against the wind and against the current to counterattack, but they were trapped in the smoke in an instant. By this time Kou Zhong was out of breath; abruptly taking another breath, he traversed sideways about a zhang in the air, andnded on the deck of the huge ship that smashed his ship over. Immediately sabers, spears, hatchets, swords, and so on, more than a dozen weapons weed him. Kou Zhong pulled back into the air, and leaped toward the deck of the second level. Using the spear technique, with at least twenty-percent resemnce of Gu Juns spear moves, he blocked the swarming enemies so that they fell forward and flipped backward, in full disy of his prowess. There was a sudden gust of wind. Turned out Chen Changlin also followed him on board. With his authentic thick Jiangnan ent, he called loudly, Gu Jiangjun, over here! Shouting his response, Kou Zhong soared and made several somersaults in the air andnded on the bow of the ship. Sweeping his long spear across, an explosive force followed, five or six enemies besieging Chen Changlin suddenly felt the palm of their hands were shaken and split. Immediately their weapons fell off, and they scattered in all directions. Chen Changlin had just hacked down three enemy soldiers; while signaling Kou Zhong with his eyes, he soared away. Kou Zhong looked back, and happened to see Chen Shengsmand ship was only about three zhang to his left. Cheering inwardly, he quickly gave chase. This could be his only chance to ambush Chen Sheng. Letting out a cold snort, Xu Ziling said, You dont have to worry about that. The ominous glint in You Niaojuans eyes subsided; acting calm and collected, he said, Even if you are Shi Zhixuans direct disciple, Ol You hasnt stepped foot in Jianghu for twenty years, my appearance has changed a lot; how did you guess it was me? Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, thinking that these martial art masters of the demonic way, indeed not a single one was easy to deal with. Yet on the surface he adopted an apathetic and unmoving manner, as he spoke indifferently, I dont need to exin that even more. I just want to know, do you still want to fight? You Niaojuanughed aloud and said, Since you are Xie Wang Shi Zhixuans disciple, how could Ol You dare to offend? Xiao Xiongdi, please. With exaggerated movement he step aside as if asking a nobleman to take the lead. Inwardly Xu Ziling felt something was really wrong; it looked like You Niaojuan could see through that he was a counterfeit article. Immediatelying to his senses, he examined himself and straightaway saw where he made the mistake. If he were a real Hua Jian Pai disciple, like Hou Xibai, for instance, how could he easily expose his own identity? If he could think of the reason, naturally he could also find the solution. Thereupon Xu Ziling deliberately knitted his eyebrows and said, You shouldnt unt friendship for Shi Zhixuans sake, because he and I dont have any rtionship at all. You Niaojuan was stunned and confused at the same time. He had intended to stake everything, even at the risk of aggravating his internal injury, to kill this strange young man who knew his identity. As long as nobody found out, he did not care if his Shifu was the King of Heaven himself. Xu Ziling tried to urge his internal qi again. Unexpectedly he felt a burst of difort and irritation. In his shock he was terrified and came to realize that in his eagerness to save himself, he had vited the big taboo of no-action of the Secret to Long Life by doing action, the big taboo of ten thousand thoughts are silent realm of the Taoist school of thought, hence he started to experience the first stage of fire-deviation. Focusing his attention at once, he looked up to the night sky. You Niaojuans voice entered his ears, If what you used just now was really Immortal Print xinfa, yet you said that you have no rtionship whatsoever with Shi Zhixuan, then this is really strange. I wonder if Xiao Xiongdi could exin it a bit. The sky was densely popted with dots of stars. On this dangerous path on the mountain, the night sky appeared even more clear and prating. Xu Ziling spoke in great surprise, Why does You Zongzhu [head of a n/school] suddenly be so polite? I have always been receptive to softness and do not respond well to harshness, so I have no problem in revealing a little for you. But this is a matter of great importance; you must make an oath ording to your schools incantation to ensure that you wont revealed it to the third party. You Niaojuan threw his head back in longughter. Gasping for breath, he said, What makes you, this kid whose smell of your mothers milk has not yet dried, think that you can repeatedly ask me to make an oath? I only need to capture you, and then if I want to, you will call me Die [daddy]. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, What a joke. You think you can catch me as soon as you wish to do so? On your guard! Suddenly he moved forward, both hands opened horizontally, the two thumbs were pressing toward You Niaojuans eyes, while the other fingers moved up and down like a wave. The technique was strange beyondprehension. Immediately You Niaojuans countenance changed. Although Xu Zilings strange move was beyond his depth, it was not the move that shocked him. The reason his countenance changed was because Xu Zilings appearance right now practically did not look like someone who suffered internal injury. The only exnation that he could think of was that Xu Ziling was putting on an act; after You Niaojuan lost his guard, Xu Ziling made his move at full strength to deal with him. This thought led him to guess further that the opponent was deliberately waiting here to block his path and to challenge him, taking advantage while You Niaojuan has not recovered from his internal injury to take care of him. Otherwise, how did he know that he was You Niaojuan? Despite what he said, the other party must have some kind of rtionship with Shi Zhixuan. These thoughts flitted across You Niaojuans mind like a flint spark, which also led him to select the most proper course of action. Letting out a strange cry, You Niaojuan flew backward like a ghost, and in an instant disappeared behind the bend on the nk walkway. Xu Ziling could not hold it anymore; he spurted a small amount of blood, and slumped down to sit cross-legged. A moment when he looked at the night sky, his mind was just like yesterday, when he was watching the waterfall, where ten-thousand changes joined together without any gap between them, so that he managed to blend together a little bit of true qi, which unexpectedly has scared off You Niaojuan, who had be like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow. He was really extremely lucky. He had not sat steadily, a pair of delicate lily-white hands was pressing on his broad shoulders, followed by Wanwans tender-and-soft-as-water voice speaking by his ear, With me protecting you on the side, why must you urge your true qi? One after another Chen Changlin and Kou Zhongnded on the deck of Chen Shengsmand ship, and were immediately trapped into a blood soaked and hard-fought struggle. Chen Changlin was the first to reach the targetmand ship; he was like a demon falling down from the smoke and killing the archers standing on the bow looking for their target so that they fell to the east and tumbled to the west. He was just thinking of charging toward the bridge deck above when suddenly more than a dozen warriors in light armor surrounded him. Every one of them had unusually outstanding martial art skill. Although Chen Changlin himself was a Jianghu expert, immediately he found himself unable to move a single cun. Fortunately Kou Zhong rushed over in time. Together they brandished their sword and spear, and only then did they snatch back the initiative. Not that they were forced back into the river, but their original n to quickly look for Chen Sheng as soon as theynded on the ship became just a wishful thinking that came to nothing. More aggravating was that the fire on the burning enemys ships upstream was growing in intensity, wall after wall of thick smoke were blowing over following the tail wind; not only it was difficult to breathe, it was also difficult to see anything. Looking for one person among the disorderly army was easier said than done. Kou Zhong no longer hid his strength; unleashing his prowess, he consecutively struck down four enemies. Yet the enemy was still increasing without letup; although the two of them gave it their all, they were still surrounded at the bow of the ship in endlessly hard battle. Not too long afterwards many cuts and wounds already appeared on the two mens bodies. They could only disregard everything in dealing with the perilous situation before their eyes, while at the same time feeling something was really wrong; how could Chen Sheng have this many superior martial art masters under hismand? At this time the number of enemies losing their lives under their sword and spear has reached to at least a dozen, but there were stillyer uponyer of martial art masters around them, so that they were stuck in a hard battle. Suddenly a familiar voice came from the direction of the upper deck of the ship, saying, Boys, let me take a look who has such guts! While Kou Zhong was greatly shaken with horror, the enemies surrounding them followed the order by withdrawing to both sides. Chen Changlin still thought the neer was Chen Sheng; he seized the opportunity by rushing out of the opening. While Kou Zhong was crying out Bad!, a fast shadow like a ghost swept over to meet Chen Changlin. At the same time, a thick smoke happened to roll by, swallowing Chen Changlin inside it. Realizing their situation has turned from bad to worse, Kou Zhong charged through the enemies, who were pouncing back at him from left and right, using the absolute maximum speed he could muster, to fly toward Chen Changlin inside the thick smoke. Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! A series of continuous ringing was heard, followed by Chen Changlins miserable groan. Kou Zhong ran into the staggering-backward Chen Changlin. Kou Zhong realized that whether they could survive or not would depend purely on this moment. Moving quickly, he threw himself to crouch on the deck, his long spear shot up from under Chen Changlins crotch, and flew at an angle; like a streak of lightning it flew through the thick smoke to meet the terrifying enemy pursuing over, not worrying whether the opponent would be able to see him or not. If the opponent could see him, he certainly could recognize Kou Zhong immediately, because the neer was the Universe in His Sleeve Du Fuwei, whose name shook the world. Who would have thought that he would be on board this ship? This moment Kou Zhong did not have time to consider any grand n, and could only think about how to escape with their lives intact. Even with Du Fuweis brilliance, in this kind of thick smoke, he could only rely on his instinct to sense the spear leaving Kou Zhongs hand in sneak attack; his sleeve swept, Dang! he struck down the spear. Although what Kou Zhong had used was not spiraling energy, the momentum was powerful. When striking down the spear, Du Fuwei felt his entire body shook, and he was forced to sway slightly backward. But this split second dy was enough to give Kou Zhong the golden opportunity to escape. As soon as the spear left his hand, Kou Zhong grabbed Chen Changlins waist, and then, borrowing the momentum as he rolled around, he turned backward, just before the enemies were closing in, to cross over the approximately two-zhang distance. Midway through he soared into the air to evade the enemys interception, and then threw themselves into the river. By the time they fell into the ice-cold water, even Kou Zhong himself was unable to tell whether the operation this time was a sess or a failure; he could only surrender everything in Laotianyes hands. With a rueful smile Xu Ziling said, How could there be such a coincidence? Wanwans entire tender body was leaning against his back, her arms snaked around his waist and abdomen like a tight hoop, as she was half kneeling behind him. She spoke softly, I was chasing after You Niaojuan, and Feixuan is chasing after me. Whom are you chasing after? As early as when Wanwan touched his shoulders, Xu Ziling has been opening up his mind. Putting what little true qi he managed to amass on his dantian, he prepared himself for the worst, trying to see if he could break his own heart meridian to kill himself. As soon as he made up his mind, his heart was free of any obstruction instead. With peaceful heart and tranquil qi he said, Whomever I chase after is none of your business. Are you willing to let me off? Wanwans pair of burning hot lily-white hands pressing on his lower abdomen emitted two streams offortably warm true qi, squeezing into the ocean of qi under his dantian, giving him a feeling of unspeakablefort and drowsiness that made him wanting to sleep. He heard her gentle and soft voice replying, Of course I am not willing to let you off. Oh, Ziling! Do you know that in this world, you are the only man who can move my heart? Do you know what attracts me the most? Let Wanwan tell you, all right? I love to see your expression of contempt and disdain when you look at me; there has never been any man who looked at me with that kind of expression. Ay! Unexpectedly there is such an icily arrogant man like Xu Lang [term of endearment to address a husband or boyfriend] in the world. Your forehead is high and grand, as if there is infinite wisdom inside. Even when walking on main street and rubbing shoulders with a crowd of people, you are still standoffish, carrying that kind of mncholy and cold and detach nature like you are walking alone in the wilderness. But when you smile, you look so sincere. With this kind of special characters blended together, which woman will be able to resist you? When he heard that, on one hand Xu Ziling was dumbstruck, on the other hand he felt her true qi prating his lower abdomen was stirring up in him some kind of masculine desire. Suddenly, his nostrils were assaulted by Wanwans captivating body scent; furthermore, he seemed to feel her every fiber, her curvaceous and wonderful, well-developed body, brimming with boundless seductive power, stirring up in him the strange feeling that was hidden deep within. The worst was that what little true qi he had also disappeared without any trace, so that he became like a piece of meat on the chopping block, for her to manipte however she wished. When ites to crafty plots and machinations, as well as using trick in a struggle, naturally he was not this Yin Gui Pais most outstanding direct disciple after Zhu Yuyans match. Even if he still had all his strength, perhaps he would still fall head first under her hands, let alone he waspletely without any power to resist just like right now. Knitting his sword-shaped eyebrows, Xu Ziling said, If you, Wanwan, stir up my lust using despicable method, I will look down upon you. Wanwan pressed her pretty face on his bloodless cheek; while nibbling his earlobe lightly, she spoke slowly, Xu Lang must not misunderstood. Taoist school emphasizes training the essence and transforming the qi. I just want to examine the secret of your Secret to Long Life, hence I simply must explore your lower part. Cant you just endure it for a bit longer? Because his qi was bounded, Xu Ziling was unable to do anything about it, hence he had to shut up. At the same time, in his heart he was thinking about demonic schools people, who had no regard for others feeling and abandoned righteousness, who, with thousand ways, a hundred ns, prevented themselves to be aroused to passion toward anybody. Even when they wanted to bear and raise children, they would select the man they loathed the most to have intercourse; Zhu Yuyan choosing Yue Shan was one example. Earlier Wanwan confessed to have fallen in love with him, therefore, she wanted to kill him. Currently Wanwan has progressed frompletely fake to be somewhat real, so much so that she poured out her deep feeling toward him, without any misgivings at all; therefore, there was a very high possibility that this was a prelude to her killing him. Wanwans true qi continued to make strange things happen within his body. She said, After resolving this matter with Xu Lang, Wanwan will run after You Niaojuan, taking advantage of his injury to kill him, and take him back as a sacrifice for Xu Langs soul and spirit [of the deceased]! While Xu Ziling was crying Im done for! inwardly, Wanwan suddenly eximed, Huh?, and withdrew her lily-white hands, while hiding behind him. Stunned, Xu Ziling looked up. To his surprise, You Niaojuan came back. Book 23 - 9 – There’s A Way To Reverse The Rotation Of The Sky Book 23 Chapter 9 C Theres A Way To Reverse The Rotation Of The Sky The burnt vessels were sinking one by one, leaving only a small amount of smoke slowly rising to the sky. Under the starlight, the hundred or so Jianghui Navy fleet of warships and cargo ships were berthing on both sides of the river. It was impossible to guess what their next move would be. The Shaoshuai Army,posed of Jiangnan younger generation troops, have been evacuated safely, only they had to swim away, because all seven warships have been wiped outpletely, and have to be written off as lost assets to them. Kou Zhong and Luo Qifei stayed behind in a nearby forest, to watch Jianghuai Armys movement from a distance. Chen Changlin originally wanted to stay to watch the oue, but because he suffered loss due to Du Fuweis wrath, Kou Zhong had Bu Tianzhi send him off so that he could recover in time. Luo Qifei whispered in his ear, Altogether we destroyed twenty-three of their cargo ships, and damaged three warships and seven light boats. This battles oue is not bad at all. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Too bad this kind of battles oue is not enough to stop Old Du from attacking Jiangdu. I just hope that Old Du would examine Gu Juns spear; otherwise, this time we are ruining the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Suddenly Luo Qifei shook; he said, The ships are starting to move! Focusing his attention, Kou Zhong looked up. He saw Du Fuweismand ship was sailing downstream, but then made a sharp turn; unexpectedly they returned to where they wereing from. One after another the other ships followed suit. The two looked at each other. They both saw the excitement in each others eyes. Finally Du Fuwei was duped. Precisely because he suspected that the man attacking him was Shen Lun that he canceled his trip to Jiangdu. Without first removing this threat, Shen Lun, how could he dare to attack Jiangdu at the risk of facing danger from both sides? You Niaojuan stopped about two zhang away. His eyes fell onto the bloodstain in front of Xu Zilings knees;ughing demonically, he said, I have indeed guessed correctly that, you, this stinky kid is really an arrow at the end of its flight, it was practically a false bravado. Ol You only need to pocket you, you are nearly crawling on the ground. Inwardly Xu Ziling thought that You Niaojuan, you havee just in time, thereupon he deliberately provoked him to make his move. Having this brutal life [not sure, ], he spoke in displeasure, Old You, you have fallen into the trap again! I spat this blood to deceive you. If you dont believe me, just pull the single-legged copper man from your back and pound it on Laozi to give it a try. Ha! You are a stupid, pathetic mother thief. You Niaojuan noticed that Xu Zilings expression looked spiritless and haggard, yet his mouth was still hard and aggressive like that; he could not help feeling stunned. And then an evil grin appearing on the corners of his mouth, he wrinkled his face until every single line was prominent, and with a howl ofughter he said, Good kid, you are really quite something! In this kind of plight you still refuse to die. I just want to see what are you going to do? You have the cheek to speak conceited nonsense. With a loud roar and lightning speed he sent a punch over empty space. Xu Ziling was amused inwardly; You Niaojuan sending a punch from a zhang away, clearly he was testing the water, which showed his paranoid innate character. However, although he was internally injured, this punch was not a small matter. A biting cold qi power that toppled the mountains and overturned the seas surged over, with a pulling force hidden within. Evidently, although on the surface this punch carried torrential momentum, the goal was still to capture Xu Ziling alive. Xu Ziling felt Wanwans delicate jade palms pressing on his back; a stream of swiftly moving, unfathomable, seemingly empty yet solid, yin and soft in nature, yet abundant and unstoppable, fantastic true qi like a tidal wave burst into his meridians. Immediately Xu Ziling felt his entire body was full of energy, he felt as if this uncontainable stream of astonishing demonic true qi was leaking out of his body, his five viscera and six bowels could not be protected, he could not help extending his fingers toward You Niaojuan to poke remotely. Chi! Like a tidal torrent a surge of qi power flowed along the Yangming meridian and Taiyin meridian on the outside and inside of his right hand and burst forth, passing through Quchi, Hegu, Sanjian, Erjian, Yunmen, Shaoshang, various acupoints, so that all of them became intolerably yin and cold, until finally it shot out from the Shangyang acupoint of the second finger, piercing toward the enemy. In that instant, he grasped the principle of the Tian Mo Da Fas true qi flow and its passage through the acupoints and arteries and veins, which was indeed very different from the Secret to Long Life. Other than Ren and Du, two main meridians, the meridians that the Demonic Qi was using did not differ much from the Secret to Long Life. However, the main emphasis was on the twelve auxiliary straight passages, which were Taiyin lung passage, hands Yangmingrge intestine passage, foots Taiyin spleen passage, hands Shaoyin heart passage, hands Taiyang small intestine passage, foots Taiyang urinary dder passage, foots Shaoyin kidney passage, hands Jueyin pericardium passage, hands Shaoyang three truncal cavities passage, foots Shaoyang gall dder passage, foots Jueyin liver passage, and foots Yangming stomach passage. Starting from the Taiyin, ending on the Jueyin, relying mainly on the Ren and Du, two main meridians, it flowed in a cycle, like a circle with no beginning and no end. Although the direction of the flow could vary, it could still be searched through the arteries and veins, following the hands three yin, from the viscera to the hand; or from the hands three yang, which was from the hand to the head. From the foots three yang, from head go down to foot; from the foots three yin, from foot going to the abdomen. Ten thousand changes not departed from this cardinal rule. It was as if Wanwan leaked a bit of Tian Mo Zhen Qi to Xu Ziling. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he suddenly thought of one possibility to avoid his predestined fate this time. Wham! The finger wind violently pierced the fist power. The strangest thing happened. Wanwans jade palm pressed on his back suddenly became as cold as ice and snow, while at the same time it generated a sucking force a lot more brilliant and mysterious than You Niaojuans pulling force, so that unexpectedly most of You Niaojuans power was pulled over, but was suddenly pushed out just before it entered Xu Zilings meridians. Xu Ziling was aware of the peculiarity of the Tian Mo Da Fa, he was waiting for precisely this moment. By way of Tian Mo Da Fas totally different way of circting qi along the meridians, the moment it cycled back, he seized the opportunity to borrow part of Wanwans true qi. Because Wanwan wanted to control the true qi within his body, while she had to deal with You Niaojuan, whose demonic skill was outstanding, unexpectedly he managed to conceal it from her. You Niaojuans countenance changed immediately. His punch turned into a palm, with which he drew a circle, while flying backward at the same time in an extremely sorry situation. Positioned between the two, Xu Ziling had to admire You Niaojuan, not only for his profound demonic power, but also for his fast and brilliant ability in meeting a contingency; unexpectedly as soon as he knew the situation was bad, he changed his move instantly, by withdrawing his qi power, changing from disregarding everything in head-on confrontation to dispersing the power and fleeing away. It was such an extremely ingenious move. Otherwise it would be difficult for him to escape unscathed. The upper part of You Niaojuans body swayed before he was able to steady his footing. His face became extremely ugly, his eyes shone with ominous glint, as he spoke sternly, Kid, who are you? Whats your rtionship with Zhu Yaofu [(older) female demon/witch]? Wanwans palm left Xu Zilings back; she withdrew all her true qi, but she did not know that a stream still remained in Xu Zilings body, silently battering his blocked meridians. He was hiding the true qi in his yongquan acupoint on the sole of his foot, and then released it a strand by a strand to heal the injured acupoints and channels. This moment there was nothing he liked better than talking nonsense to stall for time; therefore, he sighed and with calm smile said, If I tell you that Zhu Yuyan, Zhu Yaofu is my archenemy, I wonder if you, Old You, would believe me? Stunned, You Niaojuan asked, Didnt you just use Tian Mo Da Fa? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Ziling replied, At its highest level, demonic schools big method [Da Fa] are all singing different tune but using the same skill, able to control the true qi as one wishes, with countless changes, more and more emerge. Immortal Print method is not inferior in any respect to Tian Mo Da Fa; no wonder you, Old You, could misunderstand. Wanwans delicate hand was pressing on his back again, while Tian Mo Qi gushing into his body. You Niaojuan was a little discouraged; half believing half doubting, he asked, Then who are you? Xu Ziling smiled and said, You want to know? Its easy. Just before reaching theher world, I will tell you. Laughing evilly, You Niaojuan said, All right! Let me see if you really have that kind of weigh. The single-legged copper man appeared in his hand. Xu Ziling pushed out both palms. Greatly astonished, You Niaojuan said, Is your martial art can only be put to use sitting down on the ground? While speaking, the single-legged copper man in his hand made two rapid rotations, and the moment it gained enough momentum, and was about half a zhang away from Xu Ziling, it struck down at full force. The objective of this strike was to kill the enemy in one shot; the momentum was greatly different to his previous attack just a moment ago. The single-legged copper man produced whistling noise like a violent storm scraping against the canyon walls; it also seemed like piercing through the sky above and the earth below. Although it was released in such a short distance, in terms of speed and angle, the copper man still carried subtle changes, so that it was difficult to know when it would hit, and where it would strike; it was a clear that this vicious man, who was listed among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, did not carry his title in vain. If he had not suffered internal injury, perhaps even Wanwan would not dare to meet his full-strength strike head-on. But Wanwan also disyed her reaching-universally-shocking-level skill. Her Tian Mo Qi burst into Xu Zilings Yangming and Taiyin, two passages, and then like the Great River separated into its tributaries, it went straight toward his ten fingers. Without him being able to control it, Xu Zilings both hands wed the empty air in front of him to remotely control the opponents copper man pounding toward him. You Niaojuan suddenly fluttered lightly, as if he had no strength and was feeling unwell. On the contrary, his copper man has be heavier than a thousand catty, yet it was difficult to advance a single cun. However, this was purely his feeling; for a spectator on the sideline, there was no difference at all, his copper man was still striking down like a gale onto Xu Ziling, who was still sitting cross-legged on the ground. Xu Ziling, who was as the center of the twobatants pitted themselves against each other in demonic power, felt his breathing became rugged, his entire body felt aching all over, his skin and flesh felt about to burst, his eardrums hurt so much. Other than the noise produced by the copper man, which sounded like ten million ghosts of those who died unjustly wailing and screaming in their strange howling sound, he could not hear anything else. Xu Ziling closed his eyes to relieve the unbearably tremendous force pressing down on his eyelids. Tian Mo Zhen Qi was suddenly withdrawn, and then was released again. One suck and one spit, in just the blink of an eye, it made sharp difference in the oue of the battle. You Niaojuan felt as if he was trying to push a ten-thousand-catty heavy boulder with all his strength, but suddenly the boulder became as light as a feather. The pain and difort of such a wrong usage of strength could be easily imagined. You Niaojuan almost tumbled forward; aghast, he quickly reduced thirty-percent of his strength. In this frightening moment, the Tian Mo real power rolled back to meet his copper man. Boom! Xu Ziling changed his w into palm, heavily pping the copper mans yellow shiny bald head. A spectator who was not involved the battle would not know the subtlety and mystery of these various changes. Qi power was raging. You Niaojuan only took a step back, the copper man was changing again; it struck five times in a row with increasing strength, swift and severe to the extreme point, showing that he had the qualification to be Zhu Yuyans match. Xu Ziling suddenly opened his tiger-mouth andughed aloud, With Immortal Print technique, you cant kill me, no matter what. Dont you get it? Putting his finger together into a palm chop, he sliced left and right. No matter from which angle You Niaojuans copper man was striking, he was always one step ahead in chopping it with his palm, producing a series of extremely irritating Bang! Bang! noise. While You Niaojuan was admittedly amazed and greatly puzzled, Wanwans fragrant heart was in turmoil as well. Since the battle began, Xu Ziling has always been under her control; if she wanted him to punch, he would punch, if she wanted him to raise his hand, he would raise his hand. But these several palm chops were Xu Zilings own moves, which, after absorbing the Tian Mo Qi from her, he transmitted it via meridians and acupoints that she could not understand, from yin and soft to yang and hard. To a veryrge extent, it could be said that under the circumstances, she and Xu Ziling were life and death partners who shared both the honor and the disgrace; if she presumptuously retracted her true qi, while Xu Ziling would definitely die under You Niaojuans copper man, she would be affected as well; her feet was already too deep in the mud, she could not stop even if she wanted to. Plus this should not have happened. Basically, she was borrowing force to counter the force; she was a great expert and was extremely skillful in ying with the Tian Mo Qi to follow her hearts desires. Yet even after self-examination, she had to admit that she never encountered something like this, where after receiving her true qi, the other person was able to use it for his own benefit, and in a sh was able to transform it into his own. It was indeed such a marvelous skill. It wasnt clear whether Xu Zilings He Shi Bi Shen Gong [divine skill/power from Jade Annulus of He n] has been trained to such level, simply by adding a slight alteration, he was able to treat You Niaojuan like the evil qi of the Jade Annulus of He n that could destroy the heart and split the lungs, and Wanwan was like Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan in the past. Relying on the true qi he borrowed earlier, Xu Ziling pulled Wanwans innate true qi, but did not flow it through the twelve straight passages but diverted it through his Secret to Long Life passages, and changed it naturally to be his own true qi, which could subdue the enemy, while also healing his internal injury; one move, two gains. The delight in his heart was difficult to describe. Being hacked down by his palm, You Niaojuan let out strange cry repeatedly. The most irritating thing was that no matter how he changed his move, the opponent was always able to move one step ahead by cutting it. And the palm chop was always heavier than the previous one, the moves were increasingly more exquisite, every strike was like the divine stroke of a pen in a miraculous hand. With a sudden long whistle, Xu Ziling stooped down and shot out off the ground. His eyes shot strange light, with a twist of his waist he attacked You Niaojuan in one move, executing an extremely fierce counterattack. Finally You Niaojuan caught a glimpse of Wanwan behind him; his countenance changed dramatically and he screamed wildly, Its so infuriating! Swinging the single-legged copper man, he parried Xu Zilings fist, and then flew backward and disappeared behind a bend on the nk walkway, but his voice was still heard from far away, The time my injury is healed will be the time of your, this pair of Yin Gui dog man and woman, death. Xu Ziling turned around to face the beautiful Wanwan, who was standing within his reach. Shrugging his shoulders in such an elegant manner, he said, You failed to kill me again! Would Miss like to keep trying? Two clumps of red cloud, which made her look even more tender and beautiful beyondprehension, flew across Wanwans sparkling and translucent, prating jade cheeks. Stomping her foot, she said, You, this dead little thief wicked scoundrel, tricked me into pouring so much of my hearts content. You mustpensate me. Stunned, Xu Ziling stared nkly at her. Smiling sweetly, Wanwan said, You, this kid, really have some ability; just now you were mentioning Immortal Print technique, was it Shi Feixuan who told you that? Xu Ziling came to his senses; the touching image of Wanwan revealing her hearts content just now was still fluttering in his mind, so that he had to constantly remind himself that she was callous and ruthless. Sneering, he said, You should know that between you and me, there is nothing to say. Helpless, Wanwan smiled indifferently and said, Almost forget that you are a stubborn kid. All right! You dont want me to ask, then I wont ask. Where are you heading now? If you refuse to tell me, I will follow closely behind you like a diao xue gui [lit. hanging-boots ghost]. I want to see if you have appointment to see Shi Feixuan, I will be jealous. Xu Ziling felt a big headache; frankly speaking, if Wanwan did not look for him to fight, it could be considered his good fortune. On this kind of high mountain, big mountain ridge, where the nk walkway was the only way to go, practically there was no way he could cast her away. And if that happened, perhaps he would not even be able to sleep. Smiling wryly, he said, If I told you, would you leave me alone and we go our separate ways? Wanwan moved forward a little. Three more cun, and she would be in his bosom. Only then did she stand charmingly; looking up at his heroic, outstanding face, she spoke softly, How could I do anything that will make you unhappy? Just by listening to your exchange with You Niaojuan a moment ago, I know what you are going to do in Sichuan! Turning her tender body around, Wanwan gracefully started to walk leisurely in the direction of Sichuan. The only thing she left behind was her intoxicating fragrance. Book 23 - 10 – Lantern Festival in Chengdu Book 23 Chapter 10 C Lantern Festival in Chengdu One year became a city, two years became a capital, [Orig. Chengyi and Chengdu, respectively. Not sure if Chengyi is a ces name, Google did not give me good information.] hence the origin of the name Chengdu [capital of Sichuan, lit. bes capital]. During the Warring States period [475-221 BC], in the autumn of the ninth year of his reign, King Huiwen of Qin [reigned 338-311 BC] dispatched senior official Zhang Yi [political strategist, born before 329 C 309 BC] and Sima Cuo to leadrge army to attack Shu [short name for Sichuan], annexing it and called it Shu Jun [county], with Chengdu as the junzhi [seat of the principal county magistrate]. The following year King of Qin epted Zhang Yis proposal to build Chengdu county seat. Based onprehensive survey of the sessive dynasties in the establishment of the city, whether in term of the rugged mountain, or the possession of water conservation system, only Chengdu had no danger threatening its existence, but there was no benefit of the waterway either. Furthermore, the town site was on the low-lying areas of the ins; it was wet and rainy, and there were a lot of marshes nearby, which requires manpower to improve it. In order to build the city, the people of Shu have been digging around a lot. The areas where the dirt was removed becamerge ponds. The well-known ones included Liu Chi [lit. willow pond] at the west side of the city, the Tianjing Chi [lit. sky well (courtyard) pond] at the northwest side of the city, the Ximo Chi [lit. washing the ink stick], Wansui Chi [lit. ten-thousand years (i.e. long live)] at the north side of the city, and the Qiansui Chi [lit. thousand years] at the east side of the city. These ponds could irrigate the good agriculturalnd, to raise fish and produce grains, but could also serve as natural barrier in the east, west, and north, three sides, during wartime. On top of that, during King Zhao of Qin, the defender of Shu, Li Bing [c. 230 BC, historical hydraulic engineer] built Dujiangyan, forming a unique water conservation system, which solved flood disaster, irrigation, and water transport, three major problems of the Chengdu ins. Chengdus city wall had twelve li perimeter, seven zhang high walls, and was divided into two sections: Tai Cheng and Shao Cheng [major and minor city, respectively]. Tai Cheng was on the east, about seven li wide, Shao Cheng on the west, not even five li wide. At the beginning of Sui dynasty, Chengdu was the seat of Yizhou [name of old state in modern Sichuan] Zongguan Mansion [its a generic name for governmental office buildings], which then reverted back to its former name, Shu Jun. Tai Cheng was the seat of government agencies and residential areas; it was the center of politics. Shao Cheng was mainly business district, the most famous was Nan Shi [south market], where skillful artisans of a hundred arts, rich merchants and huge traders, as well as peddlers and carriers engaged in business, do their work and live peacefully. Before setting off in his journey, Xu Ziling has inquired from Bai Wenyuan about Chengdus current situation. As it turned out, when the Sui government copsed, the leaders of the three major powers of Sichuan, Duzun Baos [see Book 22 Chapter 6] Xie Hui, Chuan Bangs [lit. Sichuan Gang] Fan Zhuo, who was known as Spear Hegemon or Spear King, and Ba Mengs [East Sichuan Alliance] Monkey King Feng Zhen, held a meeting to decide the fate of the Shu people. They decided to retain the original former Sui dynastys officials and governmental structure, and changed the name of Shu Jun to Yizhou [see above]. In order to show the difference between the old and the new, the new policy was backed by the three major powers; neither one dered himself king, nor proimed himself hegemon, they decided to wait for the advent of the Bright Ruler. It was said that all of these were facilitated by the Wulin PanGuan Xie Hui [magistrate/judge of Wulin, Book 22 Chapter 3]. Thus, it was clear that this man had an outstanding insight, he knew that Sichuan received protection from the mountain and the water, plus the people were simple and honest, they ardently loved the self-sufficient life, and wished to hold a small part of the territory; therefore, they had no ce in the power struggle. After hastening in his journey for three days straight, Xu Ziling paid the tax to enter the city just before nightfall. He wanted to take a rest for one night, and continued on to Huanglong [lit. yellow dragon] in the morning to look for Shi Qingxuans secluded forest in the small valley. The fact was that his internal injury has not beenpletely healed; he still needed a good nights rest to preserve and nurture his spirit in order to deal with any danger that might happen suddenly. As soon as he entered the gate, Xu Ziling felt Shu peoples rtive ignorance of the chaos of war in the Central ins; the rising and peaceful prosperity, the extravagant of the rich and powerful, have made them stand aloof from worldly affairs. The first thing that caught his eyes was countless colorednterns; some were hanging outside the door of the businesses and residential buildings, some were brought by the pedestrians. Children were flocking together, frolicking with portablenterns in their hands, in all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes, strange, skillfully made, glorious and dazzling. Girls were dressed in lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze [or simply: gorgeously]; Qiang [ethnic group] girls magnificent clothes and beautiful dresses were brimming with exotic romance. Charmingughs and yful noises rose and fell in session, overflowing shops stood in great numbers along the main street leading to the city gate. On the crowded street [orig. not one drop can trickle through], firecrackers noise was unending, green smoke rose up everywhere; the city was full of holiday atmosphere. Xu Ziling counted the day, and suddenly realized that it was the Mid-Autumn Festival [15th day of the 8th month, lunar calendar]; he could not help looking up at the full moon, which light was somewhat hidden by the smoke and the fire. A familiar feeling welled up in his heart, but there was also a little bit of out-of-ce feeling with the warm atmosphere around him. After leaving Yangzhou, he and Kou Zhong had lost the mood to celebrate any holiday; this was perhaps the price of contention over the world! Peace and prosperity ought to look like the scene before his eyes. His heart could not help being touched. If Susu were still alive, she would be very happy to join him in the fun. Suddenly, he was sucked into the city market, which was brimming with life of passion,ntern shadows and candlelight, as he rubbed shoulders with the tide of people slowly moving along the street. Multistoried buildings and pavilions stood on both sides of the street, none was not decorated withnterns and colored banners; all were opening their door to let the people enjoy the gaiety. Richer households invited musicians and performing artists to liven things up; ted, extravagant, and delightful. There was the surreal feeling of morning-exhausted-for-an-extreme-evening, falling-forward-in-bewilderment and losing-consciousness-because-of-the-wine. For a time, Xu Ziling did not know where to go. In the bustling and fiery festive atmosphere, suddenly there was something thrown at him from who-knows-where. Xu Ziling easily caught it. Turned out it was an embroidered ball. Stunned, he looked up to see, and in the depths of the lights, he saw a woman standing on the opposite street among a group of children burning firecrackers, staring at him through the gauzed veil covering her face. Even in the night when the girls dressed like butterflies contending to be the most beautiful, she did not reveal her pretty face, jade countenance. Yet her graceful and amazingly handsome figure still made her stand out like a crane among a flock of chicken. It was that kind of familiarity. In just this one nce, he already recognized Shi Qingxuan. More than a dozen Qiang maidens walked by hand-in-hand whileughing tenderly between he and she. Seeing Xu Zilings elegant appearance and tall, well-built stature, their pretty eyes lit up while sending him repetitious amorous nces. While Xu Ziling was hindered that he was unable to move a single step, Shi Qingxuan lifted her delicate hand to slowly remove the gauzed veil covering her face, exposing the lower part of her nose. Suddenly, the cacophony of yfulughter around him seemed to be rapidly fading; although the crowded thoroughfare and overflowing alleys in the surrounding area were filled with hundreds and thousands of tourists taking advantage of the festival, he felt that between the Heaven and the Earth, there was no third person apart from him and Shi Qingxuan. Although the two were separated by a four-zhang wide street filled with people and passing carriages, yet in his eyes, there was no barrier at all. It was an indescribable feeling. Although he was still unable to get a full view of her, yet this slight revtion of her could make him feel even more familiar andfortable. It was as if by her action, she was telling him, Here you go! I am showing you some! in a touching manner. Compared to her deliberately putting on an ugly nose or disguising herself in rough, swarthyplexion, the beautiful scenery before his eyes was indeed an extremely pleasant surprise. The first thing that impressed him the most was her slender, delicate and clean, smooth-like-satin-brocade neck, which extended out like a swans neck of her in yellow gown, which made her appeared even more delicate and pretty beyond humanprehension. It was a totally different kind of beauty; it was some kind of extraordinary beauty. It was precisely because the top half of her face was hidden behind the veil that he paid particr attention to the previously overlooked part. In fact, he never tried to look at her from a males perspective. By the time his gaze shifted from her exquisitely charming chin to her two fragrant lips, which appeared to store abundant feelings inside C except that she had never been willing to reveal the feelings, but merely appeared a little bit happy and a little bit angry, it looked like her lips were moving. Although there was no audible sound, from the way the mouth was moving, Xu Ziling could read her loud and clear, You finally came. Xu Ziling was about to squeeze his way through the crowd, Shi Qingxuan suddenly put down her veil, while his line of sight was also blocked by a big and tall man. Xu Xiong, how are you? Startled, Xu Ziling looked up. Turned out it was the Mad Schr of Henan Zheng Shiru. And then, when he tried to look over his shoulders across the street, Shi Qingxuan had disappeared in the crowd without a shadow, just as sudden as her appearance. Astonished, Zheng Shiru looked back following his gaze, and asked in surprise, Did Xu Xiong see your acquaintance? Having an extremely close miss, Xu Ziling nearly wanted to give Zheng Shiru a good beating, but naturally he must not let him know about Shi Qingxuan. Frowning, he said, Nothing! I was just looking around! Acting friendly, Zheng Shiru pulled his arm; without asking whether Xu Ziling wanted to go or not, he spoke like an old friend, as they were walking together, Why did Xu Xiong arrive sote? This morning I sent someone to meet you at the gate. Not in a good mood, Xu Ziling said, When I left, Zheng Xiong was still in Shangyong, how did you arrive here earlier than Xiaodi? Zheng Shiru let go of his arm and said with augh, Xu Xiong left too hastily! Zaixia and Zheng Dangjia actually wanted to invite you to take the boat ande here via the waterway. While saving our legs, we can also feast our eyes on the beautiful scenery of the Three Gorges, the magnificently steep Qutang Gorge, the serenely beautiful Wuxia Gorge, and the rapids on the shore of Xiling Gorge. Each one has its distinguishing feature; there is no road beyond the rocks, no sky when the clouds open, they could be considered the wonders of the Great River. He spoke powerful, resounding words, to the point of with embellishing power,bined with the haughty air that arbitrarily emerged from beneath the surface; although Xu Ziling was sure that he was a Yin Gui Pai demon, or at least had a close rtionship with Zhu Yuyan, Xu Ziling still found it difficult to think of malicious thing about him. Xu Ziling was still thinking about how to get away from Zheng Shiru so that he could look for Shi Qingxuan, when Zheng Shiru suddenly produced a pot of wine seemingly out of nowhere, took a couple of mouthful first, and then stuffed it into Xu Zilings hands. This moment, because the mention of the Three Gorges brought to his mind Shi Feixuan and Hou Xibai traveling together, plus he smelled the wine aroma permeating the whole ce, he reckoned that Zheng Shiru would not y a trick in poisoning him; besides, poison could not harm him anyway, thereupon he resolutely took a big mouthful. When returning the wine pot to Zheng Shiru, the fragrant, thick and burning liquor passed through his throat and went straight to his intestines and viscera. Good wine! he could not help praising. Zheng Shiru raised the wine pot again and drank another mouthful; letting out a loud burb, he put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder and sang, Returning veryte at night heavily intoxicated, needing help to enter the chamber as if not yet awake, helplessly drunk, brewing musk-deer-mixed-with-orchid-scent wine. Frightened to sleep, chuckling gently. How long can the road of life be? Tipsy feeling burst forth, when this kind of decadent song lyric that for generations came spontaneously out of the wine C one time drunk solved a thousand anxieties, entered his ears, Xu Ziling modestly felt that within his singing voice, there was a faint deste, solemn and stirring feeling. He could not help feeling his ill will toward this man was reduced by thirty-percent. With heroic, fervent air, Zheng Shiru said, I dont know why, but when I see Xu Xiong, I feel like we are kindred spirits. Tonight, we wont go home before we are drunk. Let us go up to the San Hua Lou, the most famous in Chuan Shu, equally famous with Shanglin Yuan of ChangAn, Guanzhong, to the top floor where we can gaze afar, apanied by beauties, to enjoy the bright moon of the Mid-Autumn. Recalling that he and Kou Zhong were doomed to have bad luck whenever they visited a brothel, Xu Ziling was startled, Zheng Xiong is too polite! he said, Please forgive Xiaodi for not able to apany you. Pulling him to the side of the road to avoid a group of children running around withnterns in their hands, Zheng Shiru asked in astonishment, Does Xu Xiong have an important matter to attend to? Feeling a bit guilty, Xu Ziling did not want to lie to him, thereupon he replied honestly, Tomorrow I do, but the road is long and hard, so I want to rest a bit early today. When I have the opportunity some other day, I will apany Zheng Xiong. Zheng Shiru smiled and said, If Xu Xiong wants to have a good rest, you ought to let Zaixia take care of it even more. I can guarantee that everywhere you go in the city, you wont find an inn or a hotel where you can sleep tonight. Xu Ziling only need to look at the people constantly bumping arms and knocking shoulders with them, and he already believed him 90%. Without any better option, he said, Zheng Xiong, please dont worry, someone already reserved a room for me in advance. Therefore, tonights lodging shouldnt be a problem. By now he was bent on leaving Zheng Shiru so that he could go look for beautiful Shi; thereupon he had to casually invent some crazy nonsense. Zheng Shiruughed aloud and said, Exactly which inn is that? Xu Ziling cursed him inwardly. Having no other choice, he mentioned the name that Shi Feixuan gave him, the Yui Inn in the south side of the city, because that was the only hotel he knew by name in Chengdu. Zheng Shiru was slightly startled. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, Since thats the case, let Zaixia take Xu Xiong there. If there is any problem, this humble brother can make other arrangement. Xu Ziling was quite surprised, as well as puzzled, by his cordiality. Thinking that a bitter he might have to suffer embarrassment when his lie was uncovered, he smiled wryly and said, Zheng Xiong is indeed a true friend. Zheng Shiru led him in the direction of the south market. Pointing to a tall building towering under the bright moonlight in the southwesterly direction, he said, That is Zhangyi Lou [reminder: lou C multistory building], built tomemorate Zhang Yi building the city in the past. From the top floor we can see the permanently snow-capped Yulei Mountain about a hundred li away, as well as the Neijiang and Waijiang [inner and outer rivers, respectively] flowing out of the Dujiangyan and winding around the city. The scenery is extremely beautiful. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Zheng Xiong is very familiar with Chengdu. Zheng Shiru suddenly sighed and said, I was wondering if Xu Xiong is extremely wary toward me, Zheng Shiru? Xu Ziling has never expected that from introducing Chengdus scenic spot, he would suddenly change subject to such a sensitive question. Why would Zheng Xiong say such thing? he asked indifferently. To tell you the truth, Zheng Shiru began, This time Shiru came here specifically to find Xu Xiong, because I want to have a good chat with Xu Xiong, to rify some unnecessary misunderstanding; would Xu Xiong be willing to listen to me? Xu Ziling sneered inwardly; when he was impersonating Yue Shan, he had personally seen that Zheng Shiru and Zhu Yuyan had some kind of rtionship. If right now, with graceful words, flowery speech he denied that he belonged to Yin Gui Pai, then Xu Ziling might as well shed all pretense of cordiality by scolding him directly and driving him away, so that he would not follow him and be a hindrance. Xu Ziling was already tired of being hopelessly muddled with Zheng Shiru like this; he just hated to punch a smiling person like that in anger! Cold and indifferent, he replied, Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention. Zheng Shiru lowered his head. While continued walking, he appeared to be deep in thought. Finally, half a dayter he shook his head and said with a wry smile, I am the kind of person who, one, have a bad name, two, do not seek favor. But for my love of wine and beauty, some people jokingly call me mad schr of wine and women. Although it has derogatory meaning, to me, it is as sweet as syrup [idiom, from Book of Songs: to endure hardship dly]. The two turned into a side alley. Obviously there were a lot less pedestrians, but there was a group of foreign girlsing over, singing and dancing, wearing buttoned Chinese jacket without cor and short-sleeved gown on the top, plus several items of covering garments. The hem of their skirt was semi-circr, with streamer girthed their waist, while the back of their waist was folded into a pair of triangr floating ribbon hanging behind their back, in embroidered silk with decorative design, beautiful and dazzling to the eyes, linked to the pleated skirt on the lower part of their body, red like morning glory flower, which emphasized their prominent and well-developed figure when they were walking. The pleated skirt swayed as if the lower garment was treading on clouds; what is true and what is falseplimented each other. There was an extremely implicit charm, enhanced by the dazzling headdress, earrings, and breast ornaments. Xu Zilings eyes could not take it all in; he found it mesmerizing and amusing. Zheng Shiru said, They are Yi girls. The skirts they are wearing could not be considered wide. The skirts of Nakhi and Pumi girls in Bashus Lugu Lake region are wider than you ever thought. Dont imagine that you could make it without several zhang of fabric folded together. Xu Ziling pulled his eyes away from the girls full of dynamic alluring back, and asked in bewilderment, Such a wide skirt, how are they wearing it? Putting on an air of the expert, Zheng Shiru said, Wrapping it several times around their body is amon thing, the rest of it will be tucked behind their waist, so that it will look like they are carrying something behind their back, very distinctive. Ha! Xu Xiong is so handsome, tall and straight, when you pass through the road where Yi people live, you must be careful. Yi women are beautiful; even more so, they are bold and passionate. Once they entangle you, they will never let you go, its not something that you can solve by walking away. Inwardly Xu Ziling blew out a mouthful of cold air; thinking that fortunately when that group of Yi girls was throwing flirtatious nces at him, he did not respond by smiling. Otherwise, he might not be able to get away, just like Zheng Shirus current wretched state. Zheng Shiru silently led him turning to the left and branching to the right along the streets where people wereing and going, until they reached a more secluded side street. He spoke in heavy voice, Please forgive Zaixia for one thing Id like to ask about: why did Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong arbitrarily assert that Qian Duguans favorite concubine Bai Qinger is a Yin Gui Pai person? Xu Ziling thought the time hase; halting his steps, he spoke indifferently, Have we read wrong? From a house somewhere came the sound of drums and happy music, while a group of children parading along the street withnterns in their hands wasing straight toward them, full of festive pomp. Contrary to Xu Zilings expectation, Zheng Shiru said, Not only she is Yin Gui Pai person, she is also Wanwans Shimei, her position is very high. Her husband-concubine rtionship is just a pretense, but this is a top secret. However, Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong seem to be able to see it through quite effortlessly. Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at him. Straight to the point [orig. to open the door and see the mountain] he asked, In that case, which position and what responsibility does Zheng Xiong have within the Yin Gui Pai? He has finally reached the limit of his patience, and did not wish to beat around the bush any longer. Kou Zhong unleashed three saber strikes in a row, hacking his subordinates that they were falling to the east and tumbling to the west. This moment, Chen Changlin, Luo Qifei, Chen Laomou, and Bu Tianzhi, four men, wereing to see him. Hurriedly he shouted his order, You guys continue to practice. He came into the hall with the four and sat down. Are you here to invite me to enjoy the Mid-Autumn moon? he said with augh. Chen Laomou looked out the window at the saber and swording and going outside. Kou Zhong had personally picked ten young men from the Jiangnan Army to be trained as his personal bodyguards. He said, Shao Shuai indeed have a skill in training the army. Looking at the inner courtyard sprinkled with the moonlight, Kou Zhong recalled four of his men who came with him transporting salt to the north, where three of them met with a violent death under Yin Gui Pais hands, and ones whereabouts was unknown; his heart turned intensely cold and aching, he only nodded slightly in response. Luo Qifei, who had hastened back recently, spoke heavily, After returning to Qingliu, Du Fuwei sent people to summon Shen Lun to see him. Shen Lun is aware that Du Fuwei suddenly withdrew therge-scale operation of besieging Jiangdu; hence he was overly suspicious. Not daring to personally see Du Fuwei, he only sent his man to inquire. After chatting with Shen Luns emissary for a while, Du Fuwei drove him away. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, Shen Lun, this kid, really helps us seeding. And then he asked in astonishment, Qifei, how did you know what happened in Old Dus Command Mansion so clearly? Luo Qifeiughed and said, With money, even the ghosts will be worn down. I have someone from my hometown working for Du Fuwei; a few words in exchange for a bag of gold, who can refuse? What should we do next? Chen Changlin asked. Leaning back in his chair, Kou Zhong slyly said, We dont need to pay attention to how Du Fuwei will gain the initiative by striking first to take care of Shen Lun; we only need to mobilize our entire forces to keep watch along Shen Luns retreating path. The time he is fleeing back to Jiangnan will be the time we will ambush him, so that Changlin Xiong can take revenge and erase humiliation. We will retreat as soon as we seed, and let Li Zitong clear the mess. Tonight, we wont care about anything except admiring the full moon and drinking some wine. Tomorrow morning, we will immediately set out on our journey. I am very clear of Old Dus temperament; he will definitely resolve this matter in the shortest time possible. The crowd agreed in unison. Chen Changlins eyes lit up; he seemed to already see the desperate situation where Shen Lun was being ambushed and killed. Book 23 - 11 – Appointment with A Beauty Book 23 Chapter 11 C Appointment with A Beauty Smiling wryly, Zheng Shiru said, I knew you would have this kind of understanding. The fact is that although I do have a close rtionship with Yin Gui Pai, I am not a Yin Gui Pai man. Its just that in all his life, my humble father managed Yin Gui Pais business affairs and traveled all over the country to acquire all kinds of supplies for them, so I have been in contact with Yin Gui Pai people since I was little, and thus have be someone that they trust. Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. For a long time now he has always thought that Yin Gui Pai stood outside of the real world like Ci Hang Jingzhai, that they were detached from Jianghu and society, that they were another kind of people who did not eat the food ofmon mortals. Yet, listening to Zheng Shiru now, he realized that they still need to earn money and make a living, just like everybody else. [Trantors note: all they referring to Yin Gui Pai are feminine.] He said, What Zheng Xiong revealed just now could be considered Yin Gui Pais big secret. Zheng Xiong is not afraid Zhu Yuyan wont be happy? Zheng Shiru replied, My humble father has passed away many years ago. Yin Gui Pai already has someone else to take my fathers ce. I myself no longer have a direct rtionship with them. Only because of my rtionship with Bai Qinger that I was helping Qian Duguan to manage Xiangyang. But now that my business with Bai Qinger hase to a close, I dont want to care about Yin Gui Pais affairs anymore. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Since thats the case, Zheng Xiong do not need to exin everything to Xiaodi either; this will not bring you any benefit. But it wont bring any harm to me either, Zheng Shiru replied with rueful smile, For Xu Xiong, what I was just telling you cant be considered a secret at all. The reason I exined the situation was that I really dont want to stand as Xu Xiongs enemy; even more, I dont want Shuming to misunderstand me, thinking that I am a Yin Gui Pai man. Xu Ziling suddenly saw the light. But naturally he must not believe Zheng Shirus words that easily. Because if Zheng Shiru really gained control over the Yangtze River Alliance via Zheng Shuming, and Lin Shihong was really a Yin Gui Pai demon, then it would be catastrophic to their major undertaking. Its just that for the time being, it was difficult to find a way to verify whether what Zheng Shiru said was the truth or a lie. This extremely charming man was absolutely not simple. Sighing, he said, Time will tell whether Zheng Xiong is telling me the truth. Itste! Zheng Xiong, please go back! Zheng Shiru smiled and said, Xu Xiong must be extremely annoyed by my bothering you. Yui Inn is just around the corner ahead, how could Zaixia abandon you midway? Come! After three rounds of wine, Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he asked Chen Changlin about the Song Family of Lingnan, Where exactly is Lingnan? Is Changlin Xiong familiar with the Song Family over there? The five were sitting in a circle in the small garden at the rear courtyard; this house was one of Bu Tianzhis secret nests, it was not far from the Great River and was hidden deep in a small valley, a very good ce to escape from the world. The bright moon was hanging high in the sky, stirring up in Kou Zhong his wounded feeling of round moon does not mean the person is round [not sure, ԲδԲ], so that he was suddenly dying to know more about Song Yuzhi, who, by this time, had been returning to Lingnan. Chen Laomou, showing off his seniority, answered instead, Lingnan actually refers to Yuecheng, Dupang, Mengzhu, Qitian, and Dayu, these five ranges [separating Hunan and Jiangxi from south China, mainly Guangdong and Guangxi] epassing a vast area in the south. My, Chen Laomous own mother was an outstanding beauty from the Zhuang ethnic group in Lingnan. Ha! At least my Die often bragged about her, ha! Everybody just smiled. Chen Changlin said, Lingnan is the Song Familys territory. The Song Family operates beast of burden, jadeite, pearl and precious stones, rhinoceros and elephant, and other businesses involving local products. They started at Xiongqu and then grew into local political power. Because the mountain is high, the emperor is far, for thest five dynasties, no matter who the emperor is, he has to give the Song Family enough face. By the time the Heavenly Saber Song Que took leadership, the Song Family reputation has already grown a hundredfold, and they enjoy majestic position in Jianghu. Within the Wulin world south of the Great River, no one dares to doubt his qualification as the number one saber expert in the world. What about that Huang Gongcuo? Kou Zhong asked, What kind of thing is he? With a cold snort Chen Laomou said, Huang Gongcuo is not a thing, but a big [orig. confused ball]. His natural disposition is that he always shields his shorings, and is very temperamental. Although his martial art skill is quite high, no one in southern Wulin likes him. Potentially, he and the Song Family are like water and fire. However, after Song Que defeated Yue Shan, Nanhai Pai [South China Sea Sect] became silent even until today. Chen Changlin continued, During the eighth year of Emperor Wen of Sui, the Sui Army captured Jiankang [old name for Nanjing], but the Song Family was unwilling to realign their allegiance to the new Emperor. Yang Jian then sent his great general Wei Xian to lead the troops to the foot of the mountain range, but he did not dare to enter Lingnan even for half a step. Later on, Sing Que observed the situation and formed a judgment; realizing that resisting the Sui would bring more harm than good, he changed his mind and went out of the mountain range to meet him, and epted the title Qiao Guo Gong [lit. duke of the Qiao State] the Sui dynasty conferring to him. Yang Jian personally granted him the right to form his own government, to set up his own government officials of Zhangshi [chief official historian] level and below. He gave him his seal, a right to develop his own military forces, and so on, just short of proiming him a king. It could be considered a very generous treatment. Bu Tianzhi said, Ever since Yang Jian ascended the throne, all along Song Que was unwilling to enter the imperial court to present himself [to a superior], Yang Jian was helpless to deal with his steadfastness in resisting the enemy relying on inessible territory, and with his autonomy. What a courageous spirit, Kou Zhong praised. Chen Laomou sneered and spoke sharp and unkind words, Using pleasant words, we call him steadfast, but using unpleasant words, we call him stubborn. Song Ques appearance is very handsome; in the past he enchanted countless beautiful women, yet evidently he had a heart of stone. At first, he wanted to remain single and did not want to get married, afterwards, due to the family pressure, he had no choice but to marry, but unexpectedly he picked an ugly woman to be his wife, so that the woman who loved him the most more or less nearly killed herself to give vent to the grievance in her heart. Ha! This mans action is really unpredictable. Kou Zhong jumped in fright, thinking that fortunately Song Yuzhi took after her father, otherwise it would be terrible. Luo Qifei was amused, Mou Gong is really funny, he said with augh. Kou Zhong pondered, I understand how Song Ques prestige could rise over the southern sky. The reason he married an ugly woman as his wife must be so that he could devote his aspiration to the way of the saber. Otherwise, if he indulged himself in the delight of thedys chamber, it could naturally weaken his will to fight. Bu Tianzhi nodded and said, Shao Shuais conjecture ought to be pretty close; very insightful. Chen Laomouughed and said, Song Que must be thinking that going to bed [orig. з - a euphemism for sexual intercourse] must be a hard work, without even half a bit of pleasure. Kou Zhong asked, Anybody know the rtionship between Song Que and Zhu Yuyan? Everybody shook his head in bewilderment. Looking up at the bright moon in the sky, Kou Zhong was thinking of seeing Song Que first, and then he thought about Song Yuzhi, and his heart was boiling. If right now he were to go to Lingnan immediately, would Song Yuzhi change her mind? He hated it that at the moment he could not spare time for a separate task, therefore, he would never know the answer to that question. But was he really unable to spare some time? The inn was extremely quiet; there was only one old shopkeeper dozing off by the door. The sound of the two men pushing the door and stepping inside was still not enough to wake him up. Perhaps the receptionist and the other workers of the inn were slipping away into the street like a swarm of bees to enjoy the excitement of the Lantern Festival. Zheng Shiru cleared his throat. Only then did the old shopkeeper opened his eyes; with blurry vision he looked at the two men up and down. Zheng Shiru greeted him and said, My friend here is surnamed Xu; has anybody booked a room for him here? Xu Zilings handsome face was burning with embarrassment. Although Zheng Shiru could only be counted as half of an enemy, but having his lie uncovered in front of his face was hard to take. The old shopkeeper nodded his head incessantly, Right! he said, There was a Qin Gongzi booked a room for Xu Gongzi; he already paid for three nights of amodation. While undoubtedly it was quite surprising for Zheng Shiru, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck as well. How did Shi Feixuan make such an appropriate arrangement? Apologizing, Zheng Shiru said, Turns out I really misunderstood Xu Xiong, so Zaixia will not dare to garrulously disturb you anymore. After leaving the address where he could be contacted, he left without saying anything. Being left alone, Xu Ziling was feeling rxed andfortable. He went to the public bathroom first to soak himself, and then, after stuffing his belly with a couple of wild fruits that he picked along the way, he sat cross-legged on the bed to meditate. Recalling the encounter on the nk walkway, he felt lucky of having a new lease of life. Originally he thought about going out to the street to find Shi Qingxuans fragrant footprints, however, remembering the street was so crowded that he was unable to move a single step, he had no choice but to dispel this idea. Besides, since she was not in the secluded forest of the small valley, Yang Xuyan would be pouncing an empty space. Therefore, she ought to be safe for the time being. This beautys flute art was matchless under the heavens, her style was even more faintly indiscernible and hard to fathom, so that others would find it difficult to tell whether it was real or merely a fantasy. He also thought about how earlier he already made up his mind not toe to this inn where Shi Feixuan wanted to meet him. Who would have thought that somehow Zheng Shiru steered his steps and confused his direction, and then the ghosts shoved the gods pushed, he ended up in this inn anyway. Evidently fate has a way to render him helpless to act independently. After letting his thoughts ran wild for quite a moment, his mind gradually entered the the-thousand-thought-vanished realm of the Way [Dao/Tao]. The true qi within his body flowed naturally, the empty space inside expanded infinitely, the barely-there remaining internal injury quickly faded away. After nobody knows how much time has passed, suddenly his heart was moved, and he regained his senses. Then there was a soft knock on his door. Shi Feixuans sweet, clear and melodious voice spoke tenderly outside the door, Xu Xiong! Is it convenient for Feixuan toe in? Xu Ziling was greatly surprised. It had never urred to him that Shi Feixuan would be willing toe into a mans room, even if there was not the slightest bit of man-woman intimate contact. Hurriedly he jumped out of bed and pulled the door open. Shi Feixuan, still wearing mens clothing, was standing charmingly outside the door. Her deep and imprable beautiful eyes were shing with strange light. Xu Ziling retreated to the side and said, Pleasee in. With light lotus steps, carrying the fresh and clean fragrance that was uniquely hers, Shi Feixuan came into the room. Sweeping the room with her eyes, she said with a smile, This room is quite spacious, I hope it is to Xu Xiongs satisfaction? Standing behind her, Xu Ziling said, For someone who has slept in the wild, mountainous country for the past few months, this is like a luxurious mansion! Shi Feixuan let out an indifferent, Oh? and then, under Xu Zilings polite bidding she sat down on a chair by the table. Waiting for Xu Ziling to sit down properly opposite her, Shi Feixuan smiled sweetly and said, When I booked this room for Ziling Xiong, I did not think that Ziling Xiong would reallye. Who would have thought that Ziling Xiong is really willing to do me the honor? This is really beyond Feixuans expectation. Xu Ziling had to smile wryly in return and said, Why would Miss think that I would note? Shi Feixuan lightly shrugged her fragrant shoulders and said, Thats just a subtle reaction that I sensed when a person came in contact with another person. Ziling Xiong made Feixuan feel that you are the kind of person who can cast anything that causeplications away and simply ignore them. I wonder if Feixuan has misjudged you? Laughing calmly, Xu Ziling said, Miss praises me too much! I am far inferior to that servant boy who concocted pills of immortality; how could I have such ability? Shi Feixuan stared deep in his eyes with her beautiful gaze; she said, Perhaps Xu Xiong dont realize it yourself, butpared to thest time I saw Xu Xiong, your personality traits have changed; evidently you have had fortuitous meeting on the mountain. Neither confirming nor denying, Xu Ziling replied, You can say theres a little bit of that! No longer pursuing this matter, Shi Feixuan asked, Has Ziling Xiong decided when you are going to set off toward the secluded forest of the small valley? Xu Ziling sat backfortably in his chair and shook his head, I am not going! he replied. Shi Feixuan was stunned, Wasnt it the purpose of Ziling Xiongs trip this time? she asked. Being able to surprise Shi Feixuan, Xu Ziling felt wicked satisfaction in his heart, but then he was amused by his own childish thought. Meeting the opposite partys shining-luminously spirited eyes, he responded indifferently, Something came up, I need to change n. May I ask how long will Miss Shi be here? Frowning, Shi Feixuan stared at him for quite a while. Suddenly she let out a bitter smile and said, Turns out Ziling Xiong is still ming Feixuan. Actually, Feixuan really have another important matter so that I was forced to partpany with Ziling Xiong while rushing toward Chengdu. Originally I did not intend to exin, but now I will have to exin! A strange feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, but he could not tell what kind of feeling it was. Averting her gaze, Shi Feixuan slightly raised her cicada head to look at the full moon hanging high in the night sky outside the window. She spoke smoothly, Dont think that Feixuan did not care about anything. Feixuan made an exception by booking this room for Ziling Xiong, it was for the sole purpose of expressing my regret. Feixuan often see myself like a solid rock in the stream. Although every moment every instant the water flows over the rock, it will only make the rock smoother, without leaving any traces at all. But people are not rocks, Feixuan also has feeling. Xu Zilings heart was shaken, he was speechless. Shi Feixuan turned her gaze back to him, her countenance also returned to its usual tranquil, calm andposed expression. She said, What I just said has already surpassed what Feixuan is ustomed to speak. This time Feixuan going down the mountain, setting my foot on the world of the living, naturally it was because I received a mission from my master. But there is also a hidden intention of entering the world for spiritual cultivation. The highest xinfa in the Jingzhai is that one must enter the world before one could cultivate virtue, not by building a cart behind closed doors at all. After staring nkly at her for half a day, Xu Ziling asked, What xinfa is that? Arent both Buddhists and Taoists speak about the four elements are vanity [idiom: this world is an illusion], purification of defiling illusion, and letting things take their own course [Daoist doctrine of inaction]? Why do you have to mingle among the secr world and be bothered by trivial things to seed? Shi Feixuan serenely replied, Confucian school differentiates between single-benevolence for the body, double-benevolence for the world. Buddhism school also differentiates between Hinayana and Mahayana. If I dont go to hell, who will? is precisely the act of sacrifice. My humble Zhais [i.e. Ci Hang Jingzhai] Ci Hang Sword Canon has a principle of broken and then standing, crumbling and then rising up. Evidently those who cant stand the test and being sharpened on grindstone cannot be very capable person. My humble Zhais highest xinfa is known as Jian Xin Tongming [the heart of the sword is brightly lit]. Among my worthy predecessors of sessive generations, there has never been anyone who could cultivate virtue by closing the door and defending oneself. So much so that even on the second highest xinfa Xin You Lingxi [mutual sensitivity of the heart], it was rare that anybody could master it; precisely because it is easy to break, but difficult to stand. Xiuxin Shibo actually had the highest prospect of climbing into the Jian Xin Tongming level, but because of her rtionship with Shi Zhixuan, she could only stop at the Xin You Lingxi level. Yet she was an exception rather than the norm. Embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, Does Miss imply that Xiaodi is one of the obstacles in Misss virtue cultivation? In that case I have the reason to be very proud. Shi Feixuan has never anticipated that Xu Ziling might blurt out this sentence. Giggling tenderly, she said, Now you are a bit like Kou Zhong! No wonder the two of you could be brothers in hardship. Feixuan did not intentionally make that implication. By willing to stop at the inn to meet you to repay you, I just want to tell you that I am not as heartless as you thought. Xu Ziling did not dare to reveal the truth even more, but his mood was considerably better. He said, I must have shown indignation that is hard to quell that Miss ispelled to waste your time to exin everything. Shi Feixuan nodded and said, It should have a bit of influence. First, I asked you what happened on the way here, you responded evasively. And then, I asked you when you are going to the secluded forest of the small valley, you responded indifferently. The reason of your indignation must be me! Xu Zilings old face turned red; he said, It was because I am afraid to be a vain lowly person that I feel some things are inconvenient to mention. It was not because I wanted to deliberately conceal it from you. Would Miss please forgive me? Emotionally moved, Shi Feixuan said, Is it possible for you to tell me? Feixuan would never regard Ziling Xiong as a lowly person who sow discord between people. After slight hesitation, Xu Ziling said, I was attacked by Hou Xibai on the nk walkway of the Great Mount Ba and nearly lost my life. What does Miss think of this? Shi Feixuans jet-ck eyebrows were knitted together as she asked, Did he really want to kill you? Recalling what happened at that time, Xu Ziling replied slowly, I do have that feeling. Butter on he acted like an old friend, saying that he must pretend like he simply had to kill me to force me to fight him for real. But when we fought, it was definitely a desperate fight, unlike a friendly contest to amuse ourselves. Smiling, Shi Feixuan said, You are the kind of person that ordinarily stand aloof; only when chatting like this you are revealing your true temperament. The fact is, I am not the least bit surprised of him challenging you. Earlier he confided in me that he wanted to experience the ultimate art that you and Kou Zhong learned from the Secret to Long Life. Surprised, Xu Ziling said, You still trust him that much. Shi Feixuan replied indifferently, I can only say what I observed. If Hua Jian Pai can travel on the right track because of him, wont it be an enormously good thing? How could Xu Ziling say anything after that? Originally, he wanted to tell her about Hou Xibai nning on ambushing him in Yangzhou, but now he had no choice but to swallow it back into his belly, and felt his interest dwindling very quickly. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Toward him and toward Ziling Xiong, I do have a bit of different feeling; I am still wary toward him. Does Ziling Xiong understand? Xu Zilings heart was still cooling down, fast. He spoke slowly, I might as well tell you this: just now I caught a graceful glimpse of Miss Shi in the city, but I did not have any chance to talk to her. Thats the reason I do not intend on going to the secluded forest of the small valley. Revealing a surprised look, Shi Feixuan was deep in thought for half a day. Suddenly she said, Would Ziling Xiong be interested in going out with Feixuan to the city to see the Lantern Festival tonight? Book 23 - 12 – The World’s Situation Book 23 Chapter 12 C The Worlds Situation Tipsy and merry, Luo Qifei said, From the Jianghuai Army, I obtained another information, which is, after inflicting defeat to the Tang Army, Xue Ju suddenly became ill to the point of death. As a result, his son Xue RenGao ascended the throne and became the new Qin Emperor, stationing his troops at Zheshu. Everybody was emotionally moved. Chen Laomou asked in disbelief, Xue Ju had a very deep power; unless he suffered fire deviation, how could he suddenly fall ill and die? Kou Zhong was concerned over another problem, What do you mean by the Tang Army was defeated? Luo Qifei responded, His death is still a rumor. I think Id better start from the beginning. Two months ago, Xue Ju personally led his main forces to attack Jingzhou. Along the way, his troops robbed, took prisoners, and killed, all the way to the vicinity of Binchuan and Qizhou, shaking Guanzhong. Thereupon Li Yuan sent Qin Wang Li Shimin as the Marshall of the Military Expedition to the West, with Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaishan as his deputies, leading his troops to meet the enemy at Gaoshu. Strange thing happened; Li Shimin suddenly fell ill, leaving only Liu and Yin, two men, to lead their main forces. Xue Jus elite cavalry came from behind, outnking them in surprise attack. The fought fiercely from Binzhous Qianshuiyuan [lit. shallow water spring, not sure if this is a ces name], resulting in the Tang Army lost nearly half of their troops and generals, as well as Gaoshu. Li Shimin was forced to return to Changan. Since raising his army, this was the first time Li Shimin lost a battle. Greatly astonished, Bu Tianzhi said, That is surely a fantastic story. How did Li Shimin suddenly get sick at this time? Kou Zhong said, If I am guessing correctly, Yin Gui Pai definitely has a part in this matter, and most probably the one undertaking the task was Wan Yaonu. Li Shimin could be considered outstanding as well, unexpectedly he did not die. Ha! I get it! Shi Feixuan chasing this yaonu all the way to Hefei, maybe it was because of this matter as well. Listening to that, everybody else waspletely at a loss. Thereupon Kou Zhong briefly exined his thought, and then asked Luo Qifei, What other rumor there is concerning Xue Jus death? Luo Qifei replied, Some say that Xue Ju was assassinated, because several sichen before his death, he was still patrolling the army camp at the front line like energetic dragon and ferocious tiger. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, Must be that kid Yang Xuyan. Only he has the ability to take the enemy generals severed head in the middle of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses like feeling in his pocket and taking it out. Good kid! But didnt Yang Xuyan suffered big loss under Shao Shuais hands? Luo Qifei asked. Chen Changlin said, Xue Jus son, Xue RenGaos martial art skill is outstanding; it even surpasses his fathers. Moreover, his great general Zong Luohou is both intelligent and brave. Although Xue Ju is dead, I am afraid the Tang Army still cannot gain any benefit. Luo Qifei shook hid head in disagreement, Xue Jus prestige is nothing that Xue RenGao could achieve. Xue RenGaos greatest shoring is precisely his arrogance; he does not get along well with various generals. Xue Jus death most likely will be the pivotal point where the Western Qin Army would turn from prosperity to decline. With grave expression, Kou Zhong said, Do you have any news from Liu Wuzhous side? Shaking his head, Luo Qifei replied, There seems to be no activity. Kou Zhong mused, Must be because the Tujue people are still unwilling to have an acrimonious falling-out with Li Yuan. Without the Tujues support, Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang would never dare to move south rashly. Ay! This is called to sit and waste a good opportunity. Luo Qifei said, But I heard that the reason Xue Ju was so bold and powerful and unstoppable in his advance to Guanzhong in the east is because the Tujue are supplying equipment and warhorses in secret. Chen Laomou said, Is it possible that Liu and Song, two men, are afraid that if they led their troops to the south, they might benefit Xue Ju, father and son? Because they would never have anticipated that Xue Ju would suddenly meet a violent death; they only thought that Xue Ju, father and son, could greatly weaken the Li ns strength, therefore, it would be best to let them fighting each other until both sides suffer. At that time, it would not be toote for them to swagger down to the south. Chen Changlin shook his head and said, If they had that thought, then they did not understand the art of war. If I had to guess, Id say that the reason Liu Wuzhou still did not dare to rashly go south must be because Dou Jiande is restricting his movement. This man would never showoff his debt toward the Tujue, not at all like Guo Zihe, Liang Shidu, and the others, who have to look at the Tujues countenance to conduct themselves. Because Chen Changlin had served under Wang Shichong, naturally he was familiar with the situation in the north. Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong said, Behind his back, Xue RenGao still has Li Gui. If the entire Western Qin Army came out of their nest and invaded the east, and Xue Ju lost his life along the way, what could Li Gui do? Luo Qifei said, All along Li Gui covets the Qins Longyou [short name for Gansu] territory upied by the Xue n, father and son. But as for what he is going to do, we dont have any news yet. Our so-calledtest intelligence is, at best, already two months old. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Just like Xiaodi, Li kid is lucky. Based on the bits and pieces that I gathered, this kid Xue RenGao is adept at employing blitzkrieg strategy, which is matched equally by his brave generals and valiant soldiers. The praise of soldiers and weapons acute and magnificent is definitely well deserved. Unfortunately, his adversary is Li Shimin. The Li kids greatest strength is stable defense, two words [wen shou], which is precisely Xue Ren Gaos bane. My spection is that Xue RenGao would enjoy small victories first but suffer crushing defeatter. Once Li kid captured Longyou territory, Li Gui will have no choice but to surrender, and then it will be the various hegemons outside the pass turn. Ay! We should have deployed our forces a bit sooner. Shaking his head, Chen Changlin said, If the Li Family, father and son, really pulled their troops out of Guanzhong, they would potentially be the target of a multitude of arrows of the whole world. While admittedly Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande would definitely not allow them to seed, various hegemons of the north and south might also seize the opportunity to go up north and go down south. Apparently, the situation is not that simple. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I was hoping it was so. The problem is that not only Li Shimin understands heavenly strategy, he is adept in buying the peoples heart, and the worst thing is that this kid has Shi Feixuans support behind his back, who is spreading benevolence and righteousness image on his behalf. Therefore, many times, without trying too hard, he is able to receive the enemys surrendering soldiers. He must not be underestimated. And then he asked, I have not had the opportunity to ask Changlin Xiong about the struggle between Wang Shichong and Li Mi! Chen Changlin replied, When I left the Eastern Capital, Wang Shichong was still upying the upper hand position; he is unceasingly expanding his territory, as well as recruiting arge number of Li Mis high-ranking military officers and soldiers. However, Wang Shichong practices nepotism, he is also narrow-minded; as a result, he is causing severe internal conflicts, with various factions fighting and scheming against each other. Plus he is highly unpopr; especially after the news that he wanted to kill Shao Shuai was spreading, even more generals are bitterly disappointed at him. All along, it would be difficult for him to seed in the great undertaking. Bu Tianzhi asked, From Li Mis side, which fierce generals throw their lot to Wang Shichong? Chen Changlin replied, The most famous are, primarily, Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, and Luo Shixin, three men. But in my opinion, it would be very difficult for Wang Shichong to retain their service. At longst Kou Zhong heard the news about Qin Shubao. Emotionally moved, he said, Turns out Qin Shubao attaches himself to Wang Shichong. This man is definitely a fierce general that even Shen Luoyan was nearly defeated in his hands, only too bad for him Ling Shao and I messed up his situation. Bu Tianzhi said, I hear Cheng Zhijie is also known as Cheng Yaojin [589-665, a famous general of the Tang dynasty]. In Wulin, he has quite a reputation. He is also a valiant general that cant be ignored. Kou Zhongughed and said, The name Cheng Yaojin is a bit easier to remember. Cheng Zhijie is too bookish and sounds old! [Yaojin C biting gold/metal, Zhijie C understanding festival/holiday] Hows Li Mi, that kids current situation? Chen Changlin replied, ording to the intelligence that Wang Shichong received, Li Shimins top general Li Jing made contact with Li Mis chief imperial strategic adviser Wei Zheng [(580-643), Tang politician and historian, notorious as a critic, editor of History of the Sui Dynasty]. This Wei Zheng then persuaded Li Mi to surrender to the Li n. If this affair is aplished, perhaps without even spending one soldier one troop, the Li n would obtain arge tract ofnd, which extended to the ocean on the east, to the River on the south, reaching Ruzhou to the west, and Kongwei County to the north, which currently under Wagang Armys control. But I heard that Xu Shiji and Shen Luoyan are strongly opposing the proposal, assuming the heroic attitude of better be a broken jade than surviving as a roof tile. These two have great influence on Li Mi, hence Wang Shichong is still very at ease over this matter. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Li kid is really formidable that he even thought about this. At least he only sent one person to speak a few words, Li Mis army is immediately split into two factions: those who want to surrender and those who want to fight. Very cost effective. We should study it well. Bu Tianzhi said, While admittedly Wang Shichong, Liu Wuzhou and Dou Jiande are Li Yuan, father and sons most formidable opponents, Xiao Xian and Du Fuwei are not adversaries without substantial threat either. They only need to remove some obstacles, and then they could move north at any moment. If I were Li Yuan, under these circumstance, I would definitely not move my troops to attack Luoyang. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Can Xiao Xian join hands with Du Fuwei? Under the same circumstances, this certainly cannot happen. But if Li Yuan, father and son, really take their troops out of Guanzhong, what is impossible will be possible. Chen Laomou said, If the Li Family wanted to deal with either Xiao Xian or Du Fuwei first, they could only take the Jinchuan via the Bashu [Sichuan] route. Then most probably they would go down along the river, take Jiangling first, and then following the river, go east to attack Du Fuwei. However, this route is tiring to the troops, definitely not something that a wise man would do. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he eximed, My Niang! Now I know why Shi Feixuan is going to the southwest! After staring nkly at Shi Feixuan for half a day, Xu Ziling showed a hint of bitter smile and said, There is indeed a small misunderstanding between Miss Shi and I; frankly speaking, I originally decided not toe to Yui Inn to stay for the night, who would have thought that I met someone whom I did not want to meet? In order to get rid of his entanglement, I had to pretend that I had a friend who reserved a room for me here; as a result, I was forced toe here. To make the best after a mistake, I thought about staying here for one night, and then leaving tomorrow morning; who would have thought that Miss found me here? Hey! I am really sorry. Shi Feixuan was listening to him in keen interest, and then, with a smile on her face, she said, This is called a destiny! Why did Ziling Xiong suddenly have the urge to pour out whats in your mind? Recovering his free and at ease attitude, Xu Ziling replied calmly, Before answering this question, can Xiaodi ask a question fist? Shi Feixuan replied indifferently, Ziling Xiong, please go ahead. Xu Ziling said, My understanding is that all the inns and hotels in Chengdu have already booked solid. Miss arrived here cant be much earlier than I did, but how could you easily book a room for me? And why was the mister old shopkeeper outside was so respectful and so polite to me? Shi Feixuan replied nonchntly, Its simply because I did it through someone else, and in Chengdu, this person is very resourceful. Now, can you answer Feixuans question? It was only this moment that Xu Ziling started to understand that Shi Feixuans trip to Chengdu was not as simple as it appeared on the surface, because with her character, she would never visit anybody, especially a man, this casually. After slight hesitation, he said, The answer is very simple: simply because I did not wish to ept Miss invitation. Shi Feixuan did not think it was rude at all; on the contrary, she smiled even more cheerfully and said, Naturally Feixuan has already guessed so, but I just wanted to hear Ziling Xiongs exnation one step further. As Im sure Ziling Xiong already know, Feixuans invitation absolutely does not involve any feeling between a man and a woman; rather, it was for different purpose. Xu Zilings heart grew even colder. But he quickly dispelled this vexing thought and said, All Misss actions and speeches are enshrouded in profound mystery, how could we, mere mortals, understand it? Besides, right now I just want to get a good nights sleep. Everything else can be considered tomorrow morning. Miss, please do notugh at me. Who wouldugh at you? Shi Feixuan spoke in displeasure, I can only me your mouth for not following your heart. The truth is that you are expecting Shi Qingxuan toe here looking for you. You also resent Feixuans view on Hou Xibai. Am I right? Stunned, Xu Ziling said, I really did not think that Shi Qingxuan woulde to look for me. From the tone of your voice, it seems that Miss does not have a peaceful rtionship with Shi Qingxuan. As for Misss other guess, are you suggesting that I, Xu Ziling, am jealous? Just like her own description about the water flowing over the solid rock without leaving any trace, like a quiet water without any ripple Shi Feixuan said, Just consider Feixuan misunderstood you! I was just trying to figure out what kind of man Xu Ziling really is. Not many people can arouse my curiosity like Ziling Xiong, and that is the truth. Will Ziling Xiong believe me? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Other than the heavy responsibility you received from your master, what else can Miss possibly care about? This time I am going to Shu [Sichuan], I just want to warn Shi Qingxuan, to tell her to be careful of Yang Xuyan. Once I am done, I will immediately leave. Other things I dont want to care, not to mention it is out of my control anyway. Shi Feixuan nodded and said, Feixuan understands. If there were no Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling would be free clouds and wild crane, without any concern over the affairs of life. I respect Ziling Xiongs decision; moreover, I hope that Ziling Xiong would be willing to do the same. Feixuan will take my leave now! Everybody looked at Kou Zhong in astonishment. Kou Zhong took a sip of his wine and said heavily, Shi Feixuan must be going to Sichuan to pave the road for Li kid. This will mean that if Xue RenGao didnt fall into disadvantageous position, then he will be blown back to his roots by the Li kid. Everybody was speechless. Ci Hang Jingzhai was the holynd that the Wulin world was looking up to. If they clearly showed their support to the Guanzhongs Li Family, father and son, their prestige would potentially increase many times over. If Shi Feixuan personally take this matter into her hands by going to Bashu to speak on Li Shimins behalf, unless it was a stubborn man or someone with a hidden agenda of his own, it would be very difficult for anybody to say no to Ci Hang Jingzhais request. Moreover, if Xue RenGao were routed, the Li ns fame and power would rise even more like the sun in the middle of the sky. To neutral regional powers, early attachment to the future ruler was naturally much more valued than an oath of allegiance when the time came. Bu Tianzhi said, Duzun Baos Xie Hui [see Book 22 Chapter 6] ys a critical role in Bashu. Without him giving the nod, no one would dare to act on his own initiative. He and the Song Family of Lingnan have inws rtion, surely he wont easily surrender to the Li Family, father and son? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Zhi Shu has this view because you have not seen Shi Feixuan. Not only she is more beautiful than an immortal, her words, insight, knowledge and experience are as formidable as her sword. If she is willing to forgo her honor and surrender her nobility by taking the role of Li kids government official like Su Qin or Zhang Yi, I guarantee that she will be able to impress many people. And then, as if he had just remembered something, he turned to Chen Changlin and asked, After the Dugu n was defeated and they ran out of Luoyang, where did they go? Chen Changlin replied, The safest ce will be Guanzhongs Changan. Besides, they are rtives. Puzzled, Bu Tianzhi asked, What rtionship there is between the Dugu n and the Li n? Chen Changlin said, Li Yuans father and Yang Jian each took Dugu ns older and younger sisters as their wives, thus the rtionship was established. My understanding is that there is Yang Xuyan thrown in the mix as the go-between, so Li Jiancheng ignored Li Shimins strong opposition and convinced Li Yuan. Therefore, although the Dugu n is lodging under another persons roof [idiom: to live relying on someone elses charity], they are extremely well-off. Kou Zhong felt big headache; thinking that he was about to go to Changan for a treasure hunt, yet his enemies were gathered there. This would make things doubly difficult for him. After heaving a sigh, Kou Zhong blurted out without thinking, After taking care of Shen Lun, I am thinking of going to Lingnan to pay my respect to Song Que. Everybody was caught in surprise that after the mountain road twists around each new peak [idiom: things have taken a new turn] he suddenly blurted that remark; they were all greatly astonished. It was as if Kou Zhong was just awakened from a dream; seeing everybody was staring at him, he said, What did I just say? Chen Laomou replied, You said you wanted to see Song Que. Ah! Kou Zhong eximed; his old face slightly blushed, he nodded and said, Right! I should pay an official call to him, the Senior. From here to Lingnan by boat, how many days will it take? Knitting his brows, Chen Changlin replied, A few days will do. But this man, Song Ques character is proud and aloof; he is very difficult to get along with. Shao Shuai hastilying to his door, I dont know how he will react. Chen Laomou spoke heavily, Perhaps he would try Shao Shuais saber technique. Luo Qifei said, The Song Family has never really participated in the power struggle after the Sui perished. Ill say they might repeat the stratagem of obtaining the world from Yang Jian. Based on their superior geographical location, whoever bes the emperor would have to cate them generously. Chen Changlin added, Therefore, the Song Family cant possibly be drawn directly into the power struggle of the present day. If Shao Shuai wanted to persuade them, you would only waste your time. Slightly embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, I just want to say hello. But since gentlemen say so, let me give it some more thought! Yet the beautiful image of Song Yuzhi emerged in his heart; moreover, it quickly grew even more vivid and intense. Book 23 - 13 – Soft Talk in Beseeching Each Other Book 23 Chapter 13 C Soft Talk in Beseeching Each Other Xu Ziling sat in his chair, staring nkly, while myriads of thought were surging in his mind. Naturally he could not possibly mistakenly think that the only reason Shi Feixuan inviting him to enjoy the Lantern Festival was because she was thinking highly of him; just like she admitted herself, there must be another profound intention. This immortal-like beautys action was hard to fathom. If she did not reveal it herself, perhaps he would never have guessed it for the rest of his life. Thinking to this point, his heart became restless. This rare emotion made him difficult to sit quietly again, hence he sprang up and went out of the inn. When he reached the street, he suddenly came to realization that he really did not know where to go to find Shi Qingxuan. After warning her, he wanted to leave Sichuan immediately, he did not wish to stay even a moment longer. If anything, he was hurt by Shi Feixuan always defending Hou Xibai, so now he just wanted to drive herpletely out of his mind, and did not want to be bothered by her. It was not jealousy at all; rather, he was frustrated because even after he was trying to be a lowly person, he still failed. On top of that, thick or thin, his status never changed, which made him feel even worse. When all is said and done, Shi Feixuan really did upy a ce in his heart. Recalling Kou Zhong, who was also not pleased with himself in the area of man-woman rtionship, he could not help feeling a bit bitter, but a bit amused as well, and felt that all of these were ridiculous. How surprisingly simr were the two boys bitter experiences. He really wanted tough aloud, but he could notugh. He suddenly felt uncertain about the future; he could not make up his mind. After finding, or failing to find, the Duke Yangs Treasure, what was he going to do? Most probably he would look for Yuwen Huaji to settle the score! But what about after that? He could not remain in the Central ins, because as soon as he found out that Kou Zhong was in difficulty, he would not be able to stop himself from trying to help him. Only if he went somewhere where nobody knew him would he not have to guess who would fight with him next. He was already weary of licking the blood from the saber de livelihood. A continuous breeze was blowing cold air on the street, blowing thenterns hanging outside every door every gate, while the me was flickering inside the swayingnterns, creating spectacr scenery. A horse-drawn carriage suddenly stopped in front of him. Zheng Shumings pretty face appeared on the window and said with a smile, I was just looking for Xu Xiong. How abouting on board? Qie has something Id like to ask for your guidance. A bit tipsy, Kou Zhong returned to his room. Without taking off his boots, hey on the bed, with only one thing in his mind: presently he was still far inferior to Li Shimin. And for the first time he understood the rationale behind Du Fuwei willing to offer him the throne. Since his arrival to Luoyang, everything has happened too quickly, too fast, plus one thing was connected to the other, so that he felt as if he did not even have time to breathe, and was simply too busy to give real consideration to his own situation. Only just now did he have the opportunity to sit down, to drink and to chat, so that he could not help thinking about the problem facing each yer in this game of power struggle. Others might not be aware of it, but he clearly knew that attacking Jiangdu could be said as Du Fuweisst effort in this strive for the world, yet this effort was destroyed by Kou Zhongs own hand. Under this kind of circumstance, it was extremely likely that Du Fuwei would fall from Shi Feixuan, the beautiful lobbyists consideration. In which case, wouldnt it mean that Kou Zhong inadvertently doing Li Shimin a big favor? The strive over the world was not a duel between two people, but a long-term desperate struggle involving strategy, political willpower, as well as mental and physical efforts. Li Shimins expansion was faster than his expectation, so that he was overwhelmed with disheartened and frustrated feeling. Ay! If he failed to retrieve the Duke Yangs Treasure, he might as welle with Ling Shao going sightseeing. If Song Yuzhi was willing to change her mind and not ming him, then he might as well marry her! He was tossing and turning restlessly, half drunk and half awake, while remembering people and the things of the past, the wrong marriage between Susu and Xiang Yushan, the intertwining of love and hate between he and Song Yuzhi, his falling-out with Li Jing, Shang Xiuxuns sulking and leaving. All kinds of emotions filling his heart; shame, remorse, regret over one thing after another, kept attacking his mind until eventually he felt extremely lonely. This was perhaps the price he had to pay in striving for the world! Aboard the carriage, Xu Ziling was taken aback. Not because there was another young upper-ss woman in the carriage, but because this young [married] woman had at least sixty-, seventy-percent resemnce with Song Yuzhi, so that in just one nce he was able to recognize the woman as Song Yuhua, Song Shidao and Song Yuzhis [older] sister who married Xie Huis son, Xie Wenlong. After exchanging some pleasantries, Xu Ziling sat down on the seat opposite to the two women. Apologetic for inconveniencing him, Song Yuhua said, Yuhua was originally nning to ask Mr. Zheng to invite Gongzi to my humble home to chat, so that Yuhua could temporarily act as the host. However, unknowing to me, Gongzis noble self is very busy and has no time to spare time for a separate task. Left with no choice, I presumptuously came to pay a visit, hoping that Gongzi would not take offense. Xu Ziling had a sudden understanding, now he realized why Zheng Shiru insisted on walking him toward the inn; it was simply because someone asked him to do so. However, he was wondering what kind of urgent matter Song Yuhua was dealing with, so that although the holiday wasing right into her face, she still found the time to see him. Zheng Shuming spoke amiably, We came at an opportune time, otherwise we would miss Xu Xiong again; we really did not expect that Chuan Bang [Sichuan Gang] people might book a room in advance for Xu Xiong. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that turned out Shi Feixuan booked the room for him via Chuan Bang people, naturally he could never have guessed it. Song Yuhuas jet-ck eyebrows were slightly furrowed, her demeanor was warm, gentle and beautiful, in total contrast to Song Yuzhis brash, unyielding manner. Yet she was carrying a different kind of charm, which stirred up other peoples tender affection, making them unable to refuse whatever she was asking. He heard her cherry lips speaking softly, A couple of months ago Lu Shu [Uncle Lu] came to Chengdu and stayed for a short time; it was only then did I know that Xu Gongzi and Kou Gongzi are actually closely rted to Yuhua. Therefore, since we all are of the same side, I was not afraid of being rude and came to see Gongzi. Xu Ziling was unclear whether it was because of love me, love my dog [orig. love the house and its crow] or perhaps because of her lovely and touching manner, but he started to have a favorable impression on her. He spoke confidently, Madame Xie must not have any misgivings; whatever it is, no need to hide anything, just tell me. Zheng Shuming spoke in low voice, Id better ... Song Yuhua pulled her sleeve and said, Ming Jie no need to leave. Then she turned toward Xu Ziling and said, Evidently Gongzi is already aware that the Qin State has already been defeated and perished. The Li npletely upies Longyou territory, so that their Li Familys fame and power is like the sun in the middle of the sky, all outstanding heroes are in danger. Inwardly, Xu Ziling was severely shaken. He began to understand why Song Yuhua wanted to talk to him. Zheng Shuming added, The Western Qin Army inflicted defeat on the Tang Army, killing Li Shimins troops that he abandoned the spears and dragged the armors while escaping back to Changan. But with Xue Ju fell ill and suddenly died, followed by his son RenGao seeding to the throne, the entire situation has beenpletely reversed. Slightly displeased, Song Yuhua said, Ming Jie should have spoken a bit clearer. Li Shimin is not the Xue Family, father and sons enemy at all. It was because his internal injury was rpsing that he was unable to lead the troops. As a result, Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaishan heldmand over the army, and only then did they suffer the big defeat that they had never experienced before. Astonished, Zheng Shuming asked, Didnt Li Shimin recover from his illness already? Song Yuhua exined patiently, Li Shimin was not sick, and Xue Ju did not die of illness at all. This was the news that was announced to the outside world, the fact is that when Li Shimin was leaving Luoyang to return to Guanzhong, along the way he fell into the ambush of martial art masters of unknown origin led by Song JinGang, and received heavy injury. All along he has not recovered yet. Leading the troops to the west to resist the Qin Army had triggered his injury, and so they were defeated. Listening to all of these, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. Earlier he had heard from Kou Zhongs mouth about Xue Ju, who proimed himself Xi Qin Wang [King of Western Qin], moving his troops east to Guanzhong. Only at that time he did not know that there were so many twists and turns in this story, so much so that even Li Shimin had to pay bitterly. Emotionally moved, Zheng Shuming said, In that case, who assassinated Xue Ju? Those capable of ughtering him cannot be simple people! Song Yuhua replied, Other than Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan, who would have this ability? Hearing Yang Xuyans name, Xu Zilings eyes shone with terrifying strange light. How did Xue RenGao fall from power? he asked. Song Yuhua gave him a clear-cut answer, The Li n reached out to Li Gui first; they sent a special envoy to Liangzhou to negotiate surrender, Li Gui dly agreed. He was conferred the title Liang Wang [King of Liang], with territory partially belonged to the Western Qin State. After solving this fears of trouble in the rear, once again Li Shimin led his army into battle. This moment RenGao was still upying superior position, they defeated Tang Armys Qinzhous Zongguan Dou Gui first, and then besieged the strategic town Jingzhou. Time and again he beat Tang Armys generals; until they met Li Shimins main forces. Xue RenGaos great general Zong Luohou met the enemy head-on; who would have thought Li Shimin hid the supplies from the enemy? After battling each other for several dozen days, Xue RenGaos army provisions were depleted, one after another his subordinates, who all along could not ept his leadership, surrendered to the Tang. Li Shimin has been spying the opponents army and knew their hearts had been swayed, he carried out the strategy of enticing Zong Luohou into a decisive battle at Qianshuiyuan, resulting in big defeat for Zong Luohou, killing several thousands of the enemy. This kind of bitter battlefield situation being told by a pair of cherry lips of such a delicate beauty, naturally the feeling was different. Yet just by listening to how clear she was narrating the battle of Qianshuiyuan, it was obvious that she was worthy to be the Heavenly Saber Song Ques daughter. The two knew that she has not finished yet, hence they did not interrupt. Song Yuhua continued, And then Li Shimin personally led a two-thousand strong elite cavalry to rush toward Zheshu city, where Xue RenGao was holding his troops. Later on the Tang Army units also rushed over via various routes to surround Zheshu city so that not one drop can trickle through. At nightfall, under cover of the dark, the soldiers defending the city scrambled down the city wall to surrender. Xue RenGao was trapped beyond any hope of rescue, he had no choice but to take his troops out to surrender, so that Li Shimin gained ten thousand elite troops. Other than Xue RenGao, who was beheaded, the rest were pardoned. Zheng Shuming turned to Xu Ziling and said, It was after Qie received this news that I made up my mind; I no longer wish to be drawn and swept into the struggle over the world. Song Yuhua said, Now that Guanzhong is stable, Li Gui is just like a little clown jumping over the beam. Even if he breaks the agreement, it will definitely not cause any disaster. Plus there is Ci Hang Jingzhai supporting the Li Family, the world is watching at the scenery as one after another the regional powers, from Zhanglong in Pingliang [prefecture, Gansu], Xiaozhao in Henei, as well as Fufeng [county, Shaanxi] and Hayang [county, Hubei], are attaching themselves to the Li Family. As for our Bashus position, it is going to be decided within the next few days. Miss Feixuans immortal self already came in person, nobody dares to disregard her. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Li Shimins prestige is rising would mean Kou Zhongs prestige is falling. Li Shimin finally proved by using the facts that he was able to strike and defeat another ambitious and ruthless character. Combined with Shi Feixuans support, it was fair and reasonable to say that he had the power and influence as the ruler overlooking the world, while Kou Zhong was still struggling just to survive. The difference between them did not stop at a hundred or perhaps a thousand li. Under this kind of circumstances, Kou Zhong was caught in the low tide of nasty juncture, which made it even harder for Xu Ziling to abandon Kou Zhong and leave. How would they end up in the future? The Yui Inn was located in aparatively secluded street. Because the crowds were concentrated on the main streets, all around them was extremely quiet. The carriage was parked by the side of the street, it neither blocked the passageway nor attracted any attention. Under Song Yuhuas clear and bright, limpid eyes, which carried a beseeching tone, Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, What is it that Madame Xie wanted to say to Zaixia? Acting as if it was hard for her to say it, Song Yuhua hung her cicada head down and spoke softly, Yuhua is very scared. This time, even Zheng Shuming could not help asking, Hua Mei, what are you afraid of? Up to this moment, Xu Ziling was still unclear about the rtionship between the two women, but since they were calling each other Jie and Mei [older and younger sister, respectively], they must have had a very close rtionship. Suddenly he also thought about An Long, and was wondering if he had returned to Chengdu. But he was not sure if inquiring about this matter to Song Yuhua at this moment would be appropriate. Distressed, Song Yuhua replied, I am scared of Dies situation; he has never liked barbarians, but he dislikes Li Yuan even more. Its just that we in the south do not have enough aspiration to improve the situation, our Song Family resides in the secluded Lingnan, it is hard to go up north to strive; otherwise he might already be drawn into this power struggle. Xu Ziling helplessly said, Is this the reason Madame is looking for Zaixia? Recovering her calm andposed manner, Song Yuhua nodded and said, Currently, no matter how you count it, the number of people in the world who can resist Li Shimin is very few, and Xu Gongzi and Kou Gongxi are two of those few, plus you have close rtionship with our Song Family, Kou Zhong is even in love with San Mei [third (younger) sister]. Ay! What should Yuhua do? Zheng Shuming sighed and said, Kou Zhong is the kind of person who would keep on fighting in spite of all setbacks, a heroic character with unsurpassed unswerving determination. No matter how nasty the situation is, he can still turn defeat into victory. If Hua Mei wanted to beseech Xu Xiong to persuade Kou Zhong to cup his hands in obeisance and acknowledge his allegiance to the Song Family, you would save a lot of trouble of speaking to him yourself. Song Yuhuas pleading eyes looked deep into Xu Zilings eyes; she shook her head and said, I know that based on Yuhua, a married womans words, it will be difficult to persuade such an extraordinary character like Kou Gongzi, but I do have a tiny request that I hope Xu Gongzi would be able to uphold justice and lend a hand; Yuhua will be extremely grateful. With Song Yuhuas gentle, beseeching words, Xu Ziling felt he was almost melting. He was about to answer when they suddenly heard hoof beats, from afar at first, but quicklying near. Zheng Shuming stuck her head out to look; immediately a happy expression appeared on her face. Turning toward the two, she said, Please continue your chat! Shuming must excuse myself for a moment. Xu Ziling politely pushed the door open and got off. After Zheng Shuming got down to meet the iing rider, he climbed back into the carriage and sat down again. Song Yuhua appeared to be in difficulty again; hanging her cicada head low and biting her lower lip, it looked like she was about to say something, but hesitated. Xu Zilings heart was moved; focusing his power onto his ears, right away he was able to hear the exchange between Zheng Shuming and her two men. He heard Zheng Shuming angrily said, You sure that is really Cao Yinglong? Her subordinate replied, We are about eighty-, ny-percent sure. Although he is wearing a mask, we recognized his build and his particr walking gait. Even if he turned into ashes I would still recognize him. The other man said, This fellow is really crafty; unexpectedly he took advantage of Mid-Autumn Festival to enter the city and mingle among the crowd. At first we were deceived by him as well; fortunately he went to the house next to Chenji Teashop at Dadong Street and stayed there for a while, hence he did not escape our eyes and ears. This moment Song Yuhua seemed to suddenly make up her mind; raising her head to look at Xu Ziling, she spoke with determination, Yuhua only ask Xu Gongzi to do me a favor: you must not, by all means, let Kou Zhong see my humble father. Immediately Xu Zilings mind was divided. No longer able to hear Zheng Shuming and her subordinates conversation, he blurted out, What? Song Yuhua spoke slowly, Because if you let Die see Kou Zhong, they will be like bees seeing honey; we wont be able to separate them. And only you can do it for Yuhua. Ay! Yuhua also understand that this request is too excessive, Xu Gongzi must not take offense. Zheng Shumings voice was heard from outside the carriage; she spoke apologetically, Shuming has something important that I must leave immediately, Xu Gongzi and Hua Mei, please forgive me. Finished speaking, she hurriedly left without any exnation. Xu Ziling was distraught with anxiety [orig. heart distracted, thoughts in turmoil]; while admittedly even death cannot wipe out Cao Yinglongs crimes, on one hand, his life would end soon, and on the other hand, this trip was tofort his soon to be orphan and widow. Not to let him aplish hisst wish would be extremely cruel. What should he do? Noticing that he was muttering to himself irresolutely without saying anything, Song Yuhua anxiously said, Does Xu Gongzi think that Yuhuas request is too unreasonable? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, I can only promise that I will do my best. Its just that more often than not, things of the world do not happen as we expected, it is nothing that we can control. Delighted, Song Yuhua said, I know that Xu Gongzis promise worth one thousand catties of gold; Yuhua is relieved. Xu Zilings heart was already flying somece else. Hurriedly taking his leave, he got off the carriage and rushed toward the main street. After asking for direction to the Dadong Street, he leaped onto the roof, and then flying from roof to roof, leaping high and fleeing low, he rushed toward the target. Chengdus main streets were as bright as daytime; the milling crowds, the unending sound of firecrackers, the fireworks illuminating the horizon, the entire city was boiling with the zing atmosphere under the full moon above. But he felt like he was living in another world, a lonely world, separate from thend of the living. This time he was trying to save an utterly vicious, extremely evil, big thief chief who, because for a period of time he was on the rampage, killing people like scything x, everybody wanted to hunt and put him to death. Come to think about it, all these things seemed to be really strange. Right this moment, he saw shadows shing in front of him, heading straight toward him. Xu Ziling hastily dodged into a side alley, right in time to see something that looked like a big ball flitted across overhead like a shooting star. Surprisingly, it was one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, An Long, carrying someone under his armpit. Behind him, more than a dozen shadows were running after him, one of them being Zheng Shuming. Recovering from shock, Xu Ziling hastily ran after them. Book 23 - 12 – Being a Divine Doctor Is Hard Chapter 12 C Being a Divine Doctor Is Hard Since Xu Ziling was familiar with the surroundings, he did not take thest nights route, instead, he got out of the West Market Gate and walked toward the Vermillion Bird Boulevard; he only need to cut across Wang Xian, Qi Yu, and An Shang, four north-south streets, and then he would reach the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. He barely left Xing Chang Longs head office, Xu Ziling already felt someone was tailing him from a distance. Naturally whoever it was did not have good intention. Therefore, he deliberately slowed down his steps and pretended to look around. In the market, most of the shops had just opened for business. The shoppers thronged into the market from four sides, eight market gates; the noise gradually grew, brimming with early-morning, start-of-a-new-day vigorous vitality. The market gate was in sight. Three men were mingling among the crowd streaming into the market,ing right toward him. At the same moment, Xu Ziling sensed two more men were rushing toward him from behind. Knowing something was not right, although on the surface he pretended to be unconcerned, inwardly he already prepared a strategy to deal with this matter. Two groups of men, from front and back, rapidly approached. The three men in front were chatting and joking, but Xu Ziling clearly grasped that the enemy was storing up momentum in waiting, preparing to attack. Xu Ziling sniggered inwardly; he suddenly stopped dead on his track. The situation has changed. Originally the enemy has made urate calction. Based on the current pace of the two groups, from front and back, by the time Xu Ziling and the group in front were brushing past each other, the enemy from behind would reach the position where they could attack from a close distance, and thus sealing Xu Zilings retreat pathpletely by forming an encirclement around him. Xu Ziling suddenly halting his steps had made the two enemies from behind a tad too fast. While the three enemies at the front were stunned and looked at Xu Ziling, Xu Ziling rapidly moved backward, and rushed into the space between the two men at the back. The change was so sudden that the two enemies at the back automatically pulled the short dagger that was hidden inside their brocaded gown, a weapon that was convenient to be used in assassination operation C and stabbed it toward Xu Ziling, who was rapidly moving back. The three men at the front were unable to conceal their intention any longer; one after another they pulled their hidden dagger and rushed forward in triangr formation to attack Xu Ziling. All these happened in a sh-of-lightning, spark-of-a-flint moment; before the other pedestrians around them found out what actually happened, sess of failure have already been decided. Swift beyond humanprehension Xu Ziling shed twice; the de of the two enemies from behind hit empty air, while Xu Ziling was right in between the two men. Striking to the left and right, both elbows hit the weak point on the two mens torso. The two screamed in pain. Their bones broke their flesh split; they were thrown sideways and were turned into a pair of rolling gourds. If Xu Ziling was not being lenient, this strike would be guaranteed to take their little lives. Fast as lightning Xu Ziling swayed forward; unleashing his secret consummate skill in close hand-to-handbat, he brushed past the three enemiesing from the front. With miserable scream the three spun around and fell. The terrified pedestrians ran like flying chicken and scurrying dogs; the situation turned into chaos. Xu Zilingughed aloud. Without even looking back, he resumed his previously leisure pace, calmly leaving the East Market [sic], musing inwardly that very quickly he had be a celebrity in Changan. As for whether what has just happened was an ominous or auspicious matter, he had no time to ponder; who would have time to care his mothers? The Old Master Sha Tiannan was sitting straight at the edge of his bed, taking a deep, slow breath, and opening his clear eyes. Deeply concerned, the Old Madame asked, Laoye, how are you feeling? Sha Zhijing, the Third Madame Cheng Bisu, Sha Fu, and Baoer, Xiao Feng, the two maids, were all waiting expectantly for his answer. This was Kou Zhongs third treatment on Sha Tiannans illness. It could be said that this time he exhausted everything he had, using his outstanding talent and the method that he obtained after pouring out his heart and mind, spending one full sichen to drive away the cold air from Sha Tiannans body and to open his blocked meridians. Furthermore, he was using his originally cultivated energy to make Sha Tiannans qi meridian flow freely. If he still could not cure his illness, he had no choice but to roll up his tent and retire, to abandon his dream about bing the number one divine doctor in Changan. Sha Tiannan reached up to touch his cheeks with both hands, his gaze fell on Kou Zhong, who was standing on the side. He said, Mo Xiansheng has be the benefactor who saved Laofus life. My feeling right now is like I have never been sick at all. Unexpectedly there is indeed such miraculous medical skill in the world. Everybody burst into a cheer. Immediately Kou Zhong C from head to foot C rxed, as if he had just put down the thousand-catty heavy burden from his mind. He mused inwardly that the chance of the doctor curing you or the doctor killing you was actually fifty-fifty. Old Madames eyes brimming with tears of excitement, she eximed, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! Laoye is really well! Sha Zhijing tedly called out, Niang! You ought to thank Mo Xiansheng first! The Old Madame bbered, Thats right! Ah! But I should thank Heaven and Earth first for letting using across Mo Shen Yi [divine doctor]. Kou Zhong felt his cheeks were burning. Clearing his throat, he said, Laoye, please rest for a little bit; excuse me, I must leave! After going through a lot of trouble, he finally knew that he was Mo Yixin; thinking about it, even he himself thought that it was ridiculous. Sha Zhijing and Cheng Bisu respectfully sent him, this Divine Doctor, out of the room. The former offered the copper case containing the nine moxibustion needles with both hands, with a smile on her face she said, This is a gift of doing obeisance to you as my master; Shifu, you must not decline. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. Should he teach her how to train the Secret to Long Lifes inner power? Embarrassed, heughed and said, Wu Xiaojie is joking; I just cured your esteemed fathers illness by chance! While his mouth said those words, he epted the copper case without any trace of politeness. These nine moxibustion needles would be the tool he would use to earn a living when he pretended to be a divine doctor in Changan in the future. Naturally it was something that he sought but failed to get. Rolling her eyes at him, Sha Zhijing said, Are you saying thatst night you cured Er Sao [second sister-inw] also by coincidence? Cheng Bisu cheerfully said, Mo Xiansheng is just like his Shushu, they are both modest persons of noble character who never want to take credit for their achievement, great doctors whoe to be of help to the people in the world. Obviously she was extremely grateful to Xu Ziling for snatching back her sons life from the brink of death, so that when she mentioned him, her words came from the depth of her heart, without concealing anything. Kou Zhong could not refute anymore, he mumbled some vague response and hurriedly slipped away into the corridor, and happened toe across Chen Laiman. Thetter raised his thumb and praised, Mo Xianshengs insight is indeed urate. That ship was only passing through; they just passed us on their way to Guanzhong, the people on the ship even greeted us. Kou Zhong inwardly said, Of course they are; could it be that Shan Wanjing changed profession to be river pirate? However, his mouth modestly said, It was just a lucky guess! Chen Laiman put a hand on his shoulder and said with augh, Come! We are going to the hall to have some drink. Mao Laoshi is waiting! As soon as the First Young Master, the Second Young Master, along with their concubines, heard the news, they hurriedly came to see Sha Tiannan, so when the two stepped into the hall, the situation was quite chaotic. Mao Shichang and two warriors who had quite a position within their ranks were sitting around the table, chatting. Seeing the Divine Doctor gracing them with his presence, they all stood up to greet him. In the midst of everybody congratting him and praising him, Kou Zhong tedly sat down. The attendant immediately poured wine for him. The ship suddenly slowed down. Having the weight off his mind, Mao Shichang raised his cup to offer a toast, Cheers! We finally arrive in Guanzhong! After going through the river guards checkpoint, in one or two sichen we can continue our drink in Changan! Brothers! Lets drink for victory! Kou Zhong downed the fine wine in his hand in one gulp, while secretly thinking that not even in his dream he would imagine that he could drink peacefully while secretly entering the Pass. Things of the world are so bizarre; oftentimes it exceeds all expectations. Two cups of tea clinked together. Lei Jiuzhiughed quietly and said, This is of me, your LaoGe congratting you for arriving in Changan safely. In this corner of a restaurant attached to the Dong Lai Inn, the two men were in a very good mood, they were very happy to see each other; their only regret was that they had not seen Kou Zhong yet. Xu Ziling quickly recounted everything that happened before and after they entered the Pass, and then he asked about the situation on Lei Jiuzhis side. Lei Jiuzhi shook his head, sighed and said, I am not afraid to tell you, LaoDi [ol younger brother], I did suffer a great loss under Ming Tang Wos Da Xian Hu Fos hands. Speaking about gambling skill, he and I are like the oldest and the middle brothers, but he had the home-field advantage, plus his gambling capital is strong and solid, hence I fell short and ran away in defeat. This time I am doing it all over again, other than to lure Xiang Gui, father and son C out of their hiding ce, it is also to wipe out the former disgrace from Hu Fo. Xu Ziling asked, Is Lei DaGe intending to have another showdown against Da Xian Hu Fo? Smiling wryly, Lei Jiuzhi said, On the gambling table, my confidence and acute spirit against him had already gone. This psychological shadow will make it difficult for me to conduct myself freely. Therefore, my only hope of revenge is to entrust it on you, this green-came-out-of-blue brilliant student. No matter what, you must vent this bird anger for me. Aghast, Xu Ziling said, How could I do that? Lei LaoGe must be joking! Lei Jiuzhi spoke with straight face, Why would I joke about it? Just treat it like you are going into the exam room to take imperial examination. If you can defeat the number one expert in Guanzhong gambling world, the Da Xian Hu Fo, your fame will soar immediately. And then if you coerce Xiang Gui, father and son C who are struggling with their remaining prestige to survive, to appear at the Six-Happiness Casino, another casino which is equally famous with Ming Tang Wo, Xiang Gui will have no choice but to show himself to meet you. Since he wont be able to defeat you, he will resort to huge sum of money to bribe you to be his man. At that time, you could infiltrate hisir. With a deep frown on his face, Xu Ziling said, How can I do that? I hate to say that I am not a gambling material. Lei Jiuzhi leaned forward and said with a smile, I have never met anybody like you, who, on the gambling table, can still maintain ice-and-snow-like cool-headedness. In term of flexibility to change and the ability to adapt to situation, nobody canpete with you. On top of that, with the skill that I imparted on you plus a bit more field experience, I guarantee that you will win Ming Tang Wo back. Now everything is ready, we onlyck gambling capital. But if you could unearth Duke Yangs Treasure, would you still be afraid about not having gambling capital? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Your counting-your-chicken-before-they-are-hatched may not necessarily work. In my opinion, the chance of finding the buried treasure is next to nothing. Lets wait for Kou Zhong before talking about this further. Seeing Xu Ziling no longer refuse, Lei Jiuzhis mood improved considerably; heughed and said, In my opinion, your countenance is very fine; when the timee, your luck will be here, there is nothing that you cannot do. It would be better for us to go to Ming Tang Wo first tonight to test the water. Changans high officials and noble persons, sons of nobility and rich guys, which one does not go there to enjoy the excitement? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I cant go tonight! Id like to see Li Yuan first. What? Lei Jiuzhi blurted out. Xu Ziling exined the rtionship between Yue Shan and Li Yuan. Distressed, he said, How in the world will I be able to see the Emperor inside the inner courtyard of the Imperial Pce? Dropping by at the door asking to see him definitely wont work. It will only provide an opening to Li Jiancheng, Huang Gongcuo, and the others to kill me. Lei Jiuzhi pondered hard for half a day. Finally he gave up and said, I really dont know how to help you in this matter. Inside the Imperial Pce, the security is very heavy; sneaking in is practically an impossibility. Even if you have the ability to sneak in, in such a huge pce, where can you go to find Li Yuan? Xu Ziling was about to reply, Xiao Xiuming came in a hurry. Seeing Xu Ziling, he said in great delight, I am lucky that Mo Xiong is indeed in here drinking tea; otherwise I dont know where to find you. After introducing Lei Jiuzhi to him, Xu Ziling asked, Whats the urgency? Xiao Xiuming said, Feng Daren wants to see you! Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi looked at each other; they both thought that was it possible that Feng Deyi had seen through his real identity? Otherwise, he was such an important minister within the House of Tang, how could he have any interest in seeing him, a mere Jianghu wanderer? Chang He and Madame came out personally to meet the border guards and took them to see his father-inw Sha Tiannan. With him appearing personally, the border guard officer only sent his men to make a cursory round over the ship and dered the inspectionpleted, and thus it greatly convenienced Kou Zhong, someone with ambiguous identity. The two ships started again, sailing in the direction of Changan City. Soon afterwards Sha Fu came to see him, saying that the Old Master requested the pleasure of seeing him. Stepping out into the corridor, Sha Fu talked in low voice, The one wanting to see you is actually Si Guye [fourth son-inw (used by wifes family)]. When he heard that Mo Xianshengs medical expertise is like a deity, he immediately wanted to invite you to meet face-to-face. Kou Zhong secretly exhaled a mouthful of cold air, hoping that Chang He really wanted to see his medical expertise, and not because he grew suspicious. Otherwise, all his efforts would be wasted; the secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang stratagem became the beating the grass to scare the snake. The hall was filled with a full-of-joy, happy atmosphere. When the entire Sha Family saw Kou Zhong, this ugly Divine Doctor C stepping into the hall, everybody warmly greeted him and came to meet him with smile on their faces. Fortunately Chang He, husband and wife, were no exception, so that Kou Zhong immediately felt relieved. Three banquet tables were already set up in the hall. Sha Tiannan, spiritedly yet cautiously, stood up and said, Come! Lets sit down properly and discuss it in detail. He also introduced Kou Zhong to Chang He, husband and wife. Chang Hes wife was the Fourth Miss of the Sha Family, Zhichang. Her appearance was dignified and pretty, carrying the air of a girl from a wealthy family; in term of beauty, she was only half a notch inferior to the Fifth Miss Zhijing. Chang He himself looked young, handsome and grand, carrying the air of a promising man rousing to vigorous action. Perhaps it was because everything was going smoothly for him [usually referring to political career], he appeared to be glowing with health and vigor, but toward Kou Zhong he was respectful and polite, not at all like his appearance suggested; there was not the slightest amount of contempt. Kou Zhong was assigned the seat between Chang He and the First Young Master Chengjiu, naturally at the main table where Sha Tiannan as the respected senior sat. Other than Old Madame, the rest of the womenfolk were spread over the other two banquet tables. Chen Laiman, Mao Shichang, and Sha Fu also joined him at the main banquet table. After three rounds of wine and some chitchat, Sha Tiannan cheerfully said to Kou Zhong, After obtaining Shaoxus [young son-inw] information, my guess is that this time Mo Xianshenging to Changan, you will be able to spread out your aspiration in medical practice to help the people. It will definitely happen this way, Chang He joined in, Huangshangs [the Emperor] doted imperial concubine Zhang Niangniang [queen/empress/imperial concubine] suddenly contracted strange illness; this past month or so she had no thought for tea or rice [idiom: no appetite], so day by day she is wasting away. The doctors are unable to do anything about it. Even Guanzhongs Divine Doctor, who is called Living Hua Tuo[1] Wei Zhengxing also failed to wipe out her pain, which makes Huangshang frowning in anxiety all day long. Fortunately Mo Shen Yi is here. As long as you could cure Zhang Niangniangs illness, not only you will bring glory to everybody in our Sha Family, Mo Xiansheng will also enjoy endless riches and honor, glory and splendor. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, because he never thought that treating illnesses, he would have to visit the patient in the Imperial Pce. This was not aughing matter! In that instant he made up his mind; as soon as he entered the city, he would slip away; otherwise, if he entered the Imperial Pce, it would be strange indeed if he did not reveal the cloven foot. However, naturally on the surface he pretended to be grateful by saying, Thank you very much Chang Ye for giving Biren this great opportunity today. Biren will certainly make an all-out effort to cure Zhang Niangniangs illness so that I wont fail this matter, which Chang Ye entrusted to me. The First Young Master Sha Chengjiu raised his cup and said, This is to wish Mo Shen Yis magical hands that bring the dying back to life to cure Niangniangs illness. Everybody responded loudly as they downed their cups. The atmosphere was very warm. Only Kou Zhong nearly weeping bitter tears. He was weeping with grief for the medical enterprise that he himself established via hard work. [1] Hua Tuo (c. 140-208), ancient Chinese physician from the Eastern Han period. Book 23 - 13 – Having an Audience with the Tang Emperor Chapter 13 C Having an Audience with the Tang Emperor Following Xiao Xiuming, Xu Ziling came out to the street. Snowkes were floating down from the sky. A gorgeous horse-drawn carriage, under escort of eight cavalrymen, was waiting respectfully by the roadside. The white snow swirling in the air united the neat and tidy Vermillion Bird Boulevard with the purifying-heaven-and-earths whiteness, making everything appeared blurry. Xu Ziling felt as if he was reliving the old dream of that morning in Luoyang, where he bravely battled the Four Great Holy Monks. Xiao Xiuming rushed forward to pull the carriage door open and said, Mo Xiong, please climb into the carriage, Xiaodi will be waiting for you at the head office. Hardening his heart, Xu Ziling climbed into the carriage. Feng Deyi, wearing full government official regalia, was staring at him without blinking at all; he spoke indifferently, Mo Xiong, please sit by my side. Following his order, Xu Ziling sat down. The carriage slowly started. Feng Deyi looked out the window at the number one street in Changan under the swirling snow. He smiled and said, Changan has three treasures; I wonder if Mo Xiong has heard of it? Xu Ziling nkly shook his head. Feng Deyi slowly said, They are silk weaving, tri-color zed pottery, and copper mirror. And then, lowering his voice, he spoke like reciting poetry, Using copper as a mirror, one can properly put on hat and clothes. Using ancient history as a mirror, one can clearly see the rise and fall of mankind. Using people as a mirror, one can understand gains and losses. Conducting himself as an official in feudal court, one must be like a clear mirror. Does Mo Xiong understand what I mean? Xu Ziling actually did not understand why he spoke those words, but referring to oneself as a mirror contained a deep truth, while also implying clean personal integrity, unlike one who resorted to fawning on the superior, resorted to bragging and ttering. Feeling deep veneration in his heart, he said, Only by being like that would one be called doing his responsibility as an official to the utmost, to avoid disaster from reaching all the people. Xiaoren submit with admiration. Feng Deyi pulled back his gaze from looking outside the window; looking at Xu Ziling approvingly he said, Able to make Mo Xiong deeply having simr impression, I knew that Mo Xiong is also a loyal and righteous warrior with high aspiration in your bosom. I wonder if Mo Xiong know why this officer is looking for you this early in the morning? Xu Ziling shook his head with nk expression on his face. Revealing a faraway look on his eyes, he said, Mo Xiongs disy of martial artst night had some kind of heavenly-steed-soaring-across-the-skies, brandishing-unconstraint, brimming-with-creativity feeling. This kind of out-of-the-ordinary, bing-an-arhat swordsmanship is something Ol Feng seldom see in all my life. I cant help having sympathy-toward-talent thought; I cant bear seeing you die by violence in Changan just like that, so that such a good sword technique would be in vain. Xu Ziling suddenly saw the light; he smiled and said, Thank you very much for Feng Darens concern. Life and death are ruled by fate; if Xiaoren take life or death to heart,st night I might resign myself to adversity [idiom: submit meekly to humiliation] and would not have set myself in direct confrontation against Er Wenhuan and the others. Astonishment appeared on Feng Deyis face; he spoke cheerfully, Turns out Mo Xiong truly is not the kind of people who unt courage and strength, but dont put life and death in the eyes. My utmost admiration. Xu Ziling was afraid Feng Deyi wanted to recruit him as his subordinate, which would mean he could not go anywhere, and lose the freedom that he currently wanted the most. Gaining the initiative by striking first, he said, Xiaoren has always been indifferent to worldly rewards, to life or death. The reason I threw myself into the Bu Family was just because the Bu Family is well known for their charity, unlike profiteering merchants in general. When the world is set in order, the four oceans return to one, Xiaoren is going to go back to my hometown to pass my days cultivating the soil and growing vegetables, enjoying the truly interesting livelihood within the ordinary life. Feng Deyi smiled and said, Unexpectedly Mo Xiong has some other cherished desire, this official admires that very much. But one has topromise in this world [orig. when one in Jianghu, ones body does not belong to him]; does Mo Xiong know what kind of people have you offended? This moment the carriage was entering the Guang Ming Avenue; if they continued forward, they would go straight into the Imperial Citys main entrance, the Vermillion Bird Gate. Feng Deyi shouted out, To Dong Da Si [lit. eastern big temple]! The drivershed his whip to urge the horses on; they turned to the right toward the east. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Changans situation today is as rivers Jing and Wei are clearly separated [idiom: to be entirely different]. Under Huangshang, if one is not attached to the Crown Prince, then he is attached to Qin Wang. Xiaoren understands his own situation. Feng Deyi said, If Mo Xiong were Qin Wang Mansions man, I would not have to worry for you. The problem is that Mo Xiong has just arrived; although you are working for Xing Chang Long, you are still considered an outsider. If some mishaps happen, it would be very difficult for Qin Wang to stick out his head for you. Just for this fact, your enemy might, without the slightest scruple, try to kill you, by fair means or foul, within this short period of time, to establish their prestige. Therefore, this official wanted to waste my time exining, to persuade Mo Xiong to seek a way of self-preservation. Xu Ziling calmly said, This morning they already tried once; theyunched surprise attack on Xiaoren at the West Gate of the East Market. Fortunately Xiaorens luck is not bad that I was able to avoid this cmity. After Feng Deyi asked for more details and Xu Ziling told him everything, Feng Deyi muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, before he suddenly asked, Where in Bashu is Mo Xiongs home? Xu Ziling was afraid he would ask in details about his hometown situation and then he would be dumbstruck and unable to reply; therefore, he had to say the ce where he was most familiar with. Xiaorens home is at Shizi Qiao [Lion Bridge] Street in Chengdu. Feng Deyi delightedly said, That will do! Recently there was a major event in Chengdu that created an uproar within the Wulin world; did Mo Xiong hear about it? Xu Ziling had absolutely no idea what he meant when he said, That will do!, but noticing his brimming-with-expectation manner, he could not make an excuse that he did not know. He had to respond, Is Daren referring to the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan struck and killed the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying affair? pping the handle of his chair, Feng Deyi delightedly said, Precisely that affair. I wonder if Mo Xiong know enough details about that? Inwardly Xu Ziling started to have a little bit of understanding. He replied, At that time by coincidence Xiaoren was back home to visit Jiafu, I happened to be at the right ce on the right time, and witnessed the entire course of events. His spirit greatly aroused, Feng Deyi asked him over and over about the course of events that he witnessed with his own eyes. Naturally Xu Ziling was able to reply quickly and fluently. By the time Feng Deyi waspletely satisfied, this high-ranking minister, Li Yuans trusted aide, nodded his head and said, This officer already thought of a wonderful way to get Mo Xiong out of misfortune. Xu Ziling was already well aware of what he was going to say, but of course he had to pretend that he did not know anything and had to ask him for guidance. Feng Deyi said, Later on Huangshang is going to the Dong Da Si to burn incense on behalf of Guifei [imperial consort] Zhang Jieyu, who is suffering from a strange illness. This officer might be able to arrange to have Mo Xiong see Huangshang. As long as this matter enters the ears of Chang Lin men, I guarantee that henceforth Mo Xiong will be as steady as Mount Tai; nobody will dare to touch even half a strand of your hair. Inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly delighted, but he pretended to be astonished and blurted out, Paying my respect to Huangshang? But how could Xiaoren have that qualifications? Feng Deyiughed and said, Originally you did not. But Huangshang is anxious to know any information about Ba Dao Yue Shan, and Mo Xiong happened to be the only one in Changan witnessing the two mens dragon-war, tiger-battle. So you do have the qualifications. Out of the sincere gratitude in his heart, Xu Ziling said, Feng Daren is so concerned about Xiaorens disaster and happiness, even if Xiaoren repay your kind acts until the next life, it will not be enough. Feng Deyi said, Guanzhong Jian Pais Qiu Wensheng and I have more than ten years of friendship; with you, I even have particr kindred spirits. How could I see you die by violence without doing anything? But Mo Xiongdi must keep in mind that when you see Huangshang, whatever he is asking, you must reply, but must never mention anything about what happened with Er Wenhuan and the others; understand? Xu Ziling gave him his most solemn promise. This moment the carriage happened to gallop into the grand, magnificent Dong Da Si. Xu Ziling already set a n in his mind; he knew how to get Yue Shan to see Li Yuan, but he still needed to wait for Kou Zhongs arrival in Changan before he could put this n into action. The Sha Familys two sailboats, under escort of two House of Tangs warships, sailed into the City of Changan via the Guang Tong [wide thoroughfare] Canal linking the Yellow River with the Tangs capital, Changan. At the pier, firecrackers were lit, the Imperial Bodyguards stood respectfully to salute in such a grand troop-formation; it waspletely beyond Kou Zhong, this fake Divine Doctors C expectation. When he focused his attention to look, Kou Zhong nearly wanted to jump into the river to flee for his life, because among those weing them at the dock, the ones he recognized included Dugu Feng [peak], Dugu Ce, Dugu Feng [phoenix], and the other Dugu ns leaders. Those that he did not recognize were even more. It looked like they must be the influential officials and rich merchants in Changan. It was only then did he realize that when Sha Chenggong told him that the Sha Family was the richest family in Luoyang, he was not bragging at all. The one attracted his attention the most was a man wearing Crown Prince attire; his appearance resembled Li Shimins. Needless to say, this must be the Great Tangs Crown Prince Li Jiancheng. His build was on par with Li Shimins, only his face wasparatively longer and narrower; he alsocked Li Shimins awe-inspiring righteous charisma, but the expression in his eyes was threatening. He was absolutely not an ordinary character. Sure enough, Chang He, standing in front of him, whispered in Sha Tiannans ear, I didnt expect Taizi Dianxia [His Highness the Crown Prince] might personallye to wee us; he is indeed giving us a lot of face. Sha Tiannan was smiling so wide that he could not close his mouth. Kou Zhong withdrew into the crowd consisting of Chen Laiman, Mao Shichang, and the others. When thingse to a head, he recovered his cool-headedness and calm demeanor instead. Inwardly he revived the habit he cultivated this past few days in walking, moving, sitting, and lying, as well as the voice and intonation when he spoke, hoping that he could mingle among the crowd to enter the city, and then seize the opportunity to slip away. Fortunately the weing partys attention was entirely focused on the people of the Sha Family, they did not have any interest to cast even half a nce toward Kou Zhong. When the crowd moved, he also moved; when the crowd stopped, he also stopped. When Sha Tiannan went ashore to meet Li Jiancheng, who weed him, Kou Zhong and the others were still remaining on the deck, waiting for further arrangement. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried Thank Heaven and thank the Earth!, as he watched various members of the Sha Family climbed into the weing carriages one by one, and then under escort of Li Jiancheng and his Imperial Bodyguards, they left the pier. Dugu Familys people also left that not even half remaining. Only this time did he, as if relieved from a burden, follow the crowd of family bodyguards and the maids and servants to go ashore. More than a hundred people from other government offices received them. Boarded another fleet of horse-drawn carriages, under the snow swirling in the air, they traveled speedily toward the Sha Familys new residence in Changan. Sharing the same carriage with Kou Zhong, Chen Laiman happily said, Taizi Dianxia Jiancheng is so courteous toward Laoye, our Sha Family will definitely start another enterprise in Changan. Kou Zhong was plotting on how to slip away undetected; hearing him, he blurted out asking, What kind of business does our Sha Family do, actually? Surprised, Mao Shichang said, Unexpectedly Mo Xiansheng did not know. Our Sha Family started out by mining business. Our five metals [gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin] industrial arts are famous throughout the world. In just the weaponry, which is a separate division, we have more than a hundred factories throughout the whole nation; in Guanzhong itself we have more than a dozen foundries. Kou Zhong quietly mused that no wonder Li Jiancheng had such a high regard toward Sha Tiannan; turned out he was a big businessman having control over the military lifeline. Losing this person, Wang Shichong might suffer a significant blow. Lowering his voice, Chen Laiman said, Do you know that Luoyangs most powerful city defender, the Divine Crossbow, was personally designed and its fabrication supervised by Laoye himself? Inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, since now he knew that Li Jiancheng had the intention of personally lead the army to attack Luoyang. While he was still deep in thought, there was the sound of hoof beatsing directly from ahead. Chang He and another high-ranking military officer were rushing over to stop the cavalcade. While in his heart Kou Zhong was like a deer caught in the headlights, Chang He and the general urged their horses toe to Kou Zhongs carriage; they called, Mo Xiansheng! Hardening up his scalp, Kou Zhong stuck his head out and responded, Biren is here. I wonder what advice does Chang Ye have for me? The other general courteously said, Mo Jiang [lit. end-of-the-line (i.e. lowest grade) general] Feng Liben, paying my respect to Mo Xiansheng. Chang He introduced him by saying with augh, Feng Jiangjun [general] is Taizi Dianxias Commander of the Eastern Pce; we are all good friends. Kou Zhong knew things have gone bad for him. Sure enough, Feng Liben said, Dianxia did not know that Mo Xiansheng is honoring us by your presence, and thus he failed to show respect. Therefore, he specifically sent Mo Jiang to wee Xianshengs honorable self, asking Xiansheng to immediately go to meet him in the Pce. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried out for his Niang; definitely without any good excuse to decline, he had no choice but to untie the Moon in the Well, get off the carriage and change into riding a horse, and follow the two men galloping toward the Imperial Pce. Feng Deyi made arrangement in advance for Xu Ziling so that when they arrived at the Dong Da Si, he was to wait in the reception room. The Great Tang Emperor Li Yuans holy-self had not arrived, but arge number of Imperial Bodyguards have already setup security so that the entire templeplex was closed to public, nobody could go any farther. Apanying Xu Ziling was Feng Deyis assistant general Guan Xiaoran, who, with nothing else to do, tried to strike conversation with Xu Ziling, who was watching the snowscape outside the window, Feng Daye certainly views Mo Xiong in a new light. After personally watching Mo Xiongs swordsmanshipst night, he asked us for our opinion. Xu Ziling quickly declined modestly. Guan Xiaoran said, The rarest thing was that Mo Xiong has an extremely calm, deep and clear C bearing; your every movement was so wless, so that it will forever be engraved in my heart. Inwardly Xu Ziling shivered severely, realizing that if he encountered someone who was familiar with him, like Li Shimin for example, he might grow suspicious based of this aspect. On the contrary, disguising himself as Yue Shan might not be a problem, simply because Yue Shan himself was that kind of martial art master. He casually asked, In the world, nobody does not know that Changans Wulin is the ce of crouching tiger, hidden dragon. Which figure is particrly remarkable? Guan Xiaoran replied, Speaking about real masters, perhaps ten fingers will not be enough to count them. But to count the most powerful in public opinion, the one regarded as the foremost is the young martial art master Ke Dazhi from Eastern Tujue. This mans saber technique has reached the realm of perfection. Time and again he defeated martial art masters of Qin Wangs Heavenly Policy Mansion, so that the Taizi Dianxias Eastern Pces prestige is greatly flourishing. I hear that in the martial artpetition during the feast in the Pce the night beforest, even Zhangsun Wuji suffered losses. At that time there was also the number one famous courtesan in the world, Shang Xiufang, present. The loss of face that Qin Wang suffered was indeed too great! Xu Ziling repeated the name Ke Dazhi in his heart, he did not even take note of Shang Xiufangs name. This moment someone wasing to report: Xu Ziling was to go to the VIP lounge at the back of the monastery to have an audience with the Tang Emperor. Xu Ziling calmed his mind. With Guan Xiaoran showing him the way, he went to see Li Yuan. Book 24 - 1 – The Nightmare Began Book 24 Chapter 1 C The Nightmare Began The distance between the two groups was very close. Xu Ziling had two options: one, running behind the dozen or so martial art masters of Yangtze River Alliance under Zheng Shumings leadership, or two, relying on his outstanding sense of hearing and perception, he could follow An Long quietly from the side. The former approach would guarantee that he would not lose them, but he would only follow the Yangtze River Alliance people. As one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, even if An Long was carrying two Cao Yinglong, he would definitely have a way to escape, otherwise his name would not be on the list. Among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, Xu Ziling had fought Pi Chen, who was disguised as Rong Fengxiang, Zuo Youxian, and You Niaojuan, three persons, one after another. Except for You Niaojuan, the former two were only limited to one contact and before stopping, yet he already felt their deep and immeasurable demonic power. An Long was the Tian Lian Zongzhu [headmaster of Heavenly Lotus (School)], and he had mastered the Tian Xin Lian Huan [Lotus Ring in the Center of the Sky, see Book 22 Chapter 5] that Fu Gongyou was deeply afraid of. Despite his huge build, plus he was carrying a load, these people should not be able to follow him this close; he must have been ying trick. Xu Ziling quickly raised a mouthful of true qi, and then as fast as a shooting star he ran along the narrow alley; listening to the noises to distinguish direction, he follow An Longs trail from the ground. Fortunately An Long was running toward the area where there was no crowd, otherwise he might bump into people. But now, even if they came across people wandering around to have fun that night, as soon as they saw a blur in front of their eyes, he would already be far away. By this time, Xu Ziling had gained deeper understanding of the Two Sects Six Ways of the demonic schools. Moreover, among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, he already knew Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan, Demonic King Shi Zhixuan, Fat Merchant of Sichuan An Long, Demonic Taoist Pi Chen, Ziwu Sword Zuo Youxian [see Book 21 Chapter 1], and Dao Xing Ni Shi [going against the tide, see Book 20 Chapter 5] You Niaojuan. There were still two persons that he did not know. Just by looking how strong You Niaojuan, who ranked at the bottom of the list, was, it was not difficult to deduce that An Long was not to be provoked. In Hefei the other day, even with Fu Gongyou, Zuo Youxian and Pi Chen joined hands, they still did not dare to force him into a trapped-beast kind of fight. This was another proof of his strength. Therefore, in dealing with him, Xu Ziling could only try to outsmart him, and not trying to engage him in a desperate fight. Otherwise, not only he would not be able to rescue Cao Yinglong, perhaps he would even pay it with his own life. Right this moment, there was a slight change in the wind generated by An Longs flight, signaling that he had jumped from the roof andnded on the ground. The wind was getting stronger again; it looked like he leaped at an angle toward another roof, and then rapidly ran far away. He heard the rustling sound of Yangtze River Alliance peoples sleeves as they chased after him in hot pursuit. Xu Ziling suddenly stopped. Lucky! he cried inwardly. Were it not for himpletely relying on hearing ability to follow the trail, he would have fallen into An Longs grafting flowers onto a tree tactic. Turned out from the subtle change in the sound of the wind, he was able to urately verify that An Long and Cao Yinglong were being substituted by another pair of men, and that the person posing as Cao Yinglong did not have his acupoint sealed. Although his body was limp, he was still awake; naturally he was regting his qi to make his body light to yield to hispanions leading. But the weight difference immediately exposed the w that Xu Ziling was able to detect. It could be imagined that as these two subordinates of An Long suddenly appeared and ran somece else, the pursuing troops were at a loss to know what to do, hence they quickly lost their targets. After all, Chengdu was An Longs territory; shaking off outsiders following their trail should not be hard. After his two helpers and their pursuing troops had gone far, An Long, still carrying Cao Yinglong in his arm, walked out leisurely. He passed through the left and turned to the right into the side streets and narrow alleys, and soon afterwards he arrived at a residential area and entered a house. Very carefully Xu Ziling followed behind him. If it were Kou Zhong or Ba Fenghan, even if their martial art skill was higher than his, perhaps they could not do what he did: following a trail mostly by his senses, so that even a superior martial art master like An Long did not realize that he was exposing his trails. He was about to sh out of the side alley when the rm went off in Xu Zilings heart; hence he promptly halted his steps. He saw a shadow, so blurry that it appeared real, yet appeared imaginary at the same time, appeared on top of the wall of the target house, rapidly scurrying along the wall, until finally it leaped onto the roof and swiftly went around the house several times, before disappearing altogether. Even with his bravery, Xu Ziling still needed to suck in a mouthful of cold air, because he recognized the shadow, which was that of a man wearing ck clothes and ck cape C as the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan. If he had hastily leaped onto the wall, it would definitely be difficult to escape Yang Xuyans eyes and ears. And if he and An Long joint hands in pincer attack, it would be difficult for Xu Ziling to escape with his life intact. After crying inwardly, What a close call! Xu Ziling checked the surrounding area and waited for the fortunate timing. And then without the slightest hesitation, staying close to the wall, he flitted toward the rear courtyard of the house. Creeping closer to the house, he focused his power into his ears, and happened to catch An Longs voice. This high-ranking-martial-art-master-among-the-pce-hall-of-the-demonic-way spoke in heavy voice, Obviously this traitor has dispersed most of his power voluntarily, hence after meeting with him face-to-face only twice, I was able to stretch a hand and grab it. Otherwise, I would have to waste my strength, and then if we fell into the Yangtze River Alliances hands, it would be far from good. Yang Xuyan seemed to be examining Cao Yinglongs condition; he spoke softly, Long Shu [uncle, Cao Yinglong] waited upon Shizun [revered master] since he was young, and has always been loyal and devoted, but now suddenly he is like bing another person. We must understand what happened clearly. If you, Old Long [An Long C different Long], have no objection, Xuyan will wake him up. Just by listening to this exchange, it was clear that An Long and Yang Xuyan had a close rtionship, and that Cao Yinglong was Shi Zhixuans attendant, and that in the past he was also loyal to Yang Xuyan. Hold on! An Long said, If Yinglong refuses to cooperate, should we treat him ruthlessly to force his confession? Yang Xuyan replied indifferently, Since he has no heart, I wont hold on to loyalty; he has no one to me but himself. Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart turned cold. Using torture to force confession was extremelymon; it was a daily urrence, especially in time of war like this. But Yang Xuyan spoke about it without any emotion at all, especially when the target was a fellow disciple with whom he had had a long time rtionship. From this, it can clearly be seen that this man had a heart of stone and no humanity at all. No wonder he could be the most outstanding assassin of the present age. An Longughed aloud and said, You are worthy to be Shi Dages proud disciple. Come! And then there was a sound of pping palm, followed by the sound of Cao Yinglongs groan. Xu Ziling also groaned inwardly; if these two big devil heads, one old the other young, were starting to torture Cao Yinglong, would he be able to stay eavesdropping on the side without doing anything? Yang Xuyans voice rang out, What had happened? How did Long Shu fall into such plight? Groaning, Cao Yinglong said, I lost! Troops in defeat like andslide, everythings finished! An Long spoke with a coldugh, I hear Xu Ziling let you go. Because of this, he had a fall out with that Shang beauty of the Flying Horse Ranch; Yinglong really have such a big face. Cao Yinglong replied with a bitterugh, Long Ye [master, as in master/ve rtionship] please be lenient to me! I snatched this little life of mine back using the treasure I plundered for many years and by crippling my own martial art skill; it has nothing to do whatsoever with whether I have a big or a small face. Yang Xuyan spoke heavily, So much wealth, you simply offered it with both hands to someone else? Cao Yinglong replied, Shaozhu [young master (master as in owner/superior)] had me drew the location of the six treasure storages in a roll of map. At that time I was carrying the map with me. If I was killed in battle, they could always get the map from my dead body anyway. This is as simple as a case of greedy for life, afraid of death, which is a human nature. Shaozhu should empathize with my wretched state and situation. An Long spoke indifferently, Since you believe that you are greedy for life, afraid of death disciple, we have nothing to me you with. I just dont understand why Xu Ziling would immediately rush to Sichuan? And just now when you see Ol An, you immediately resisted me; isnt it because you havemitted some shameful deed? Cao Yinglong replied, I do have something that I need to apologize to Shaozhu, which is: I left a batch of money and valuables in Chengdu to be used when I retire. As for Xu Ziling entering Sichuan, Yinglongpletely have no idea what he is doing. Beyond Xu Zilings expectation, Yang Xuyanughed and said, Turns out it is just a misunderstanding. Since thats the case, we cannot bear to argue with Long Shu. You may go! Cao Yinglong was stunned for half a day. My whereabouts is already out in the open, he spoke in distressed, If I go like this, ay! Shaozhu, please dont fool around with me! Shaozhu must not let me fall into outsiders hand, you might as well do to Xiaoren as you pleased! Ah! A muffled groan, but it was quickly cut short. Obviously Cao Yinglong was knocked unconscious again. And then An Long said, His story does not have any w that I can see; do you believe him? Yang Xuyanughed coldly and said, Based on Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings style of conduct, how could they have a fallout with the Flying Horse Ranch for the sake of money and valuables? This traitor must have sold our secret in exchange for his life. This is very serious, fortunately as soon as I heard the rumor, I invited Qingxuan to Chengdu to talk. Even if Xu Ziling went to the secluded forest of the small valley, he would only be pouncing on an empty space. Listening from the outside, Xu Zilings heart shivered. Now he knew that Shi Qingxuan appearing in Chengdu was to meet her appointment with Yang Xuyan. Fortunately he overheard it quite by ident. The strange thing was that this ce was An Longs territory, how could he not know that Xu Ziling has arrived in Chengdu? But then he rxed, because except for Yang Xuyan, An Long and his men did not know what Xu Ziling looked like. But how did Yang and An, two men, know that Xu Ziling was going to Sichuan? They must have a spy among the Yangtze River Alliances men; hence also the reason they were able to promptly capture Cao Yinglong back. Lowering his voice, An Long said, How much confidence does Xuyan have that Shi Qingxuan would be fooled? Undisturbed, Yang Xuyan replied, One-hundred-percent confidence. Because since she understood the ways of the world [dictionary also says that it is an euphemism for sexuality], she only saw Shizuns face; that was when she was no more than ten years old. Xu Zilings heart was greatly shaken. He understood what kind of trick Yang Xuyan was going to y against Shi Qingxuan. Although she was exceptionally intelligent, she might still fall into Yang Xuyans evil scheme. An Long sighed and said, If at that time Shi Dage hardened his heart and struck his palm to finish her off, he would have reached the untouched emotion realm, Immortal Print method would then be mastered to perfection; who would have thought that one move could make such a difference? Ay! Yang Xuyan coldly said, Shizhang [teacher] has something on his mind, the disciple will toil for him. But Shizun must never know about this matter. Therefore, we must find out from this traitors mouth first how much secret he revealed to Xu Ziling. If necessary, we have to change our n, or perhaps kill Xu Ziling first; otherwise, you and I can forget about living. Xu Zilings whole body rxed. Although, if the two of them acted separately to deal with Shi Qingxuan and Cao Yinglong, how would he separate himself? Anyway, presently Shi Qingxuans situation was not too urgent; if he managed to rescue Cao Yinglong, while the two already had some misgivings, maybe they would not dare to act blindly without thinking to do anything to Shi Qingxuan. At the same time, he had a feeling that Yang Xuyan and An Long were afraid of Shi Zhixuan, thus he could surmise that Shi Zhixuans natural character was demonic and terrifying. However, Shi Zhixuan obviously could not obliterate the father-daughter sentiment toward Shi Qingxuan. Dont worry! An Long said nonchntly, Based on his current level, as long as I use the li hun gong fa [lit. departing soul skill method], I guarantee that he wont be able to hide even half a bit of secret. Lets meet in half a sichen at my old shop at the southern market. Thats settled then, Yang Xuyan agreed, Let Xiaozhi [little nephew] open up a path for Old Long. Hiding outside, Xu Ziling knew Yang Xuyan was about to go out, hence he hurriedly fled far away. Kou Zhong woke up suddenly; he had a splitting headache, his throat was parched, his body was drenched in cold sweats. He had just had a terrifying nightmare. In his dream, he came into a huge hall, where the light was unusually glorious, as bright as day, while a band of musicians were ying like demons staking their lives, yet there was not the slightest sound of music. They looked like males, yet not quite males, females, yet not quite females. But when he got a closer look, he found out that their faces were full of deep wrinkles, as if they already had one foot in the grave. The hall looked like the pce hall where Emperor Yang of Sui was murdered, it could hold several hundred people, and it was full of guests gathered in clumps, chatting andughing in loud mor. When he looked closer, in his astonishment he saw Li Shimin, Tuli, Fu Qian, Wang Shichong, Li Mi, Xiao Xian, Xiang Yushan, and the others. He knew them all, yet they did not seem to see him; they just continued drinking and being merry. Suddenly someone spoke withugh by his ear, You finally came! Kou Zhong turned his head around to look; unexpectedly it was Li Xiuning. He wanted to talk, but nothing came out. And then Li Xiuning suddenly morphed into Song Yuzhi, who was staring closely at him with resentment in her eyes. He wanted to throw himself at her, but the scenery changed. The magnificent hall became a battlefield with thousands of men and tens of thousand horses, where everybody was fighting hand-to-hand in desperate battle. He and hisrade-in-arms were in disadvantageous position, and were trying to get away. The people around him seemed to be Xuan Yong, Chen Changlin, Xu Ziling, and the others. One by one their blood sshed and they fell from their horses. He wanted to pull his Moon in the Well, but there was only half the Moon in the Well remained. And then he woke up with a start and was breathing hard. The moon sprinkled its light onto the windowsill and the entire courtyard, the autumn cicadas cry was flourishing and still in the ascendant; he also heard the faint gurgling noise of the creek in the middle of the forest not far outside the courtyard wall. His headache gradually diminished, Kou Zhong sat up on the bed, only to find out that he was still holding the unopened letter written by Li Xiuning, which she passed on to him via Shang Xiuxun. He could not help shaking his head while smiling ruefully, and put the letter back into the bundle of waterproof cloth in which he kept the stuff Lu Miaozi left behind for him, and hid it well inside his clothes. He was about to get up when Luo Qifei hurriedly came over and said, Just received the news: Du Fuweis light cavalry has just crossed the Yangtze River, and are advancing toward Shen Luns camp; we must set out immediately. Would Shao Shuai please make your decision? Recalling his nightmare, Kou Zhong pulled the treasured and heavy Moon in the Well from under his pillow. Nodding, he said, We will set out immediately. After waiting for half a day, Xu Ziling knew that something was amiss, because contrary to his expectation, Yang Xuyan did note out to look around. Xu Ziling soared at an angle; with two jumps, up and down, he was back to the ce where he was eavesdropping just now. As expected, inside the house, not a soul was in sight. Xu Ziling leaped onto the roof, and looked around as far as his eyes could see. If the opposite party left via some secret way, the exit ought to be in one of the dozen or so houses nearby; it could not be in a very distant ce. And the house where the exit was must have a carriage and a horse prepared in it, in order to facilitate transporting Cao Yinglong away from the danger zone, so that An Long could fully use his demonic method on him in peace. He has just had this thought, when a horse-drawn carriage was starting out of the gate of the courtyard house several hundred paces to the south. The horse was clip-clopping its way to the street, and then turned and continued to the east. Xu Ziling crouched down hurriedly and focused his attention to watch. Two figures leaped up from the courtyard at the same time; it was An Long and Yang Xuyan, two men, they were as fast as a ghost, and separatelynded on the roof of the houses to the left and right, and then disappeared into the shadow. If someone were following the carriage, he would not have escaped their eyes and ears. Xu Zilingughed coldly inwardly. He memorized what the carriage looked like, and then he jumped back down to the ground. Taking a roundabout route, he chased after the carriage to intercept it. Kou Zhong was standing on the stern; his clothes were fluttering in the river breeze, yet he himself was absolutely still like a stone statue. If Li Shimin was allowed to capture Bashu, his potential would be like another Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng [260-210 BC, first emperor of China], and the situation would be like the Great Qin reappearing before the Warring States period. With Guanzhongs territory epassing rugged terrain, the troops and horses of the northwest, Guanzhongs riches and Bashus copper and iron, who in the world could strive against them? This would make the Duke Yangs treasure be more important. Kou Zhong was indeed too careless; unexpectedly he had not thought about the strategic significance of Bashu. Ay! But even if he had known earlier, what could he do? His only hope was that the Wulin PanGuan Xie Hui would be an ambitious man that he would not be willing to submit himself under the Li n, or perhaps the Song Familys influence could persuade him to remain neutral, or at least to take a wait-and-see stance. However, if Shi Feixuan personally made her move, the Li ns chance of sess was really extraordinarily big. He began to understand a little bit why he was having such a terrifying nightmare just now. The carriage was getting closer. There was no other way to do it. Xu Ziling was ready to go all-out to break the carriage and rescue the person inside. He dared to be certain that An Long and Yang Xuyan were noting. As long as these two, one old one young, were not here, he had full confidence that he would be able to snatch Cao Yinglong back. The driver was a big man. Although the Taiyang acupoints on his temples were high and protruding, he could only be considered as an ordinary martial art master of Jianghu, if he could block three strikes from Xu Zilings hands, it would be greatly surprising indeed. The risky thing was the person inside the carriage. No matter how he applied his power to listen, he could not hear any other unusual noise except for Cao Yinglongs irregr breathing. But he was so sure that there was someone else inside, because the big man, the driver, repeatedly turned his head around to make reports toward the person inside the carriage. Since An Long had enough confidence to have this person escorting the prisoner, this person definitely had enough capability to aplish it. He had not had much chance to think; if he did not take the opportunity to make his move while An Long was not here, he might not have any opportunity at all. At first he was a little curious as to why An Long did not simply do his trick where they were, but then he rxed after thinking that people of the demonic way were always suspicious of each other, plus by doing it An Long might have to consume considerable power, hence he did not want Yang Xuyan to be by his side; moreover, he would definitely not want to fight with anybody before his strength was recovered. Hence it was necessary that he found some other secret ce to do it. The carriage was about three zhang away from the street it was heading to. On the roof, Xu Ziling was ready to make his move. Suddenly a shadow shed. Someone suddenly appeared from nowhere and blocked in front of the carriage. Shocked, the driver promptly pulled the rein. The person looked to be twenty-four, twenty-five years old, with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear [i.e. tough and stocky], extremely bold and powerful. Although he could not be considered handsome, his facial features were quite proportional, his slightly upturned lower lip showed his conceited and extremely strong personality. He stood with strong presence, leaving deep impressions on others. The big man driving the carriage was about to rain curses on him, but as soon as he stopped to look, his face showed recognition. Immediately swallowing the foulnguage back into his belly, he called out in surprise, Xie Shaoye [young master]! Inside the carriage, Cao Yinglongs uneven breathing suddenly stopped, followed by someone pulling the carriage curtain open, and then she spoke tenderly and softly toward the man who was blocking the carriage, who, by this time, was walking toward the side of the carriage, Qie is Ruhua [lit. like flower], young concubine of An Ye. Gentleman ought to be Xie Wenlong, Xie Shaoye. I wonder why did you stop Qies carriage? Xu Zilings scalp immediately went numb; he knew that he had been fooled. Book 24 - 2 – Rescuing People Like Putting Out Fire Book 24 Chapter 2 C Rescuing People Like Putting Out Fire Xu Ziling went to the south market, which was brimming with holiday atmosphere. The streets were so crowded that not one drop could trickle through. Amidst the deafening sound of firecrackers, the Kongming Lanterns were rising to the sky one after another, inpetition with the bright moon in the sky in term of splendor. For the first time in his life Xu Ziling saw such amazingnterns with his own eyes, but he did not have time to conduct an in-depth investigation as to why thenterns could float high into the sky like that. Right now he just wanted to find the old shop where An Long and Yang Xuyan agreed to meet after half a sichen, as soon as possible. He had asked more than a dozen people; although no one did not know An Long, yet nobody could tell him among the three shops An Long owned at the south market, which one was his old shop, and this has caused him so much headache. All he could do was to try his luck. Turning into another big street, this one was more lively than thest, the sound of gongs and drums warmed the world; along the carriages and horsesne of the street, people brandished theirnterns in thentern dragon festival dance, while the pedestrian path was crowded to bursting point with onlookers. The atmosphere was very warm. Focusing his attention, Xu Ziling saw that all the dragon dancers had quite extraordinary skill; they flew high and leaped low, disying all kinds of difficult movements. They all wore the same uniform, hence they must be from the same local gang or society. This moment they all mingled together with the crowd enjoying the festivities. The dragon dance was certainly brilliant, but Xu Zilings heart was not here. With great difficulty he escaped the crowd and turned into a side alley. While he was thinking of leaving, someone blocked his way and said with augh, Ziling Xiong, I trust you have been well since west met? Surprisingly, it was the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai; his hand was still holding a fan, his handsome face still had a smile on it, he looked like he was immensely pleased with himself. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, Bad! but on the surface he acted as if nothing had happened. Leaving Sichuan, entering Sichuan, Hou Xiongs tendency is really impossible to unravel, he spoke indifferently. Hou Xibai smiled and said, Because Xiaodi is concerned over Xu Xiong, I could not help turning back to Sichuan. I just arrived in Chengdu, and I hear Xu Xiong is going all over the ce to look for An Longs old shop, I couldnt bear not to show myself up to see if I could help a little; Xu Xiong please do not me me. Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, thinking that the reason Hou Xibai was dealing with him must not be that simple. Perhaps he was fighting against Yang Xuyan, his martial brother of the same master but of different schools C for the Immortal Print Scroll in Shi Qingxuans hands. His mind churning at the speed of light, he decided to harden his heart and said, How could I dare to me Hou Xiong? If Hou Xiong is willing to tell me frankly, why are you in Chengdu this time? Perhaps the two of us could sincerely cooperate with each other, each takes what he needs. Otherwise, would Hou Xiong please get out of my way, and do not hinder Xiaodi from doing a very important thing. Hou Xibais eyes were shing with sharp light, but he quickly held it back. Nodding his head, he spoke in low voice, Wed better talk while we walk. Xu Ziling agreed, and then he followed him to the other end of the small alley, just as a group of seven or eight young girls wereing straight toward them. Noticing the two mens outstanding appearances, their eyes lit up brightly. But the two were preupied, each one with the load in his mind, so that they turned a blind eye toward the coquettish nces and the smiling expressions being thrown at them. Leaning a bit closer, Hou Xibai said, To tell you the truth, Xiaodi has juste across Feixuan, so I started to understand that Xu Xiong came to Sichuan for the sake of Qingxuan, hence I was anxious to find Xu Xiong; I would never let Qingxuan receives any harm. A bitter and astringent feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, thinking that Shi Feixuan indeed gave her bare heart into Hou Xibais keeping. But as he heard thest sentence, suspicions grew in his heart; he could not help asking, Does Hou Xiong really have the intention to protect Miss Shi? I wonder if it was because of her rtionship with your honorable master, or was it because of some other reason? Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, If Shizun finds out that Xiaodi is meddling in his, the Seniors family matters, Xiaodi will have to bag my food leave before I finish eating. But Xiaodi was born to protect beautiful things. Something like Qingxuans beauty and her iparable-under-the-heavens flute art, which are both the gems of the human world, must have an intimate friend to treasure and protect them. Xu Ziling was confused; the way Hou Xibai spoke those things carried some kind of a sincere sentiment, which evolved from the bottom of his heart. Immediately he felt at a loss in trying to figure out what kind of gentleman this man really was? But saving people was urgent; hence he asked, Where is Hou Xiong taking Xiaodi now? I wonder if we are going to An Longs old shop? Hou Xibai nodded, But of course, he said, Just now Ziling Xiong only told me half of the story; I wonder if you could continue now? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, I said each takes what he needs; I was referring to I am saving someone, while your objective is to prevent your honorable masters Immortal Print Scroll from falling into Yang Xuyans hands. However, Hou Xiong has not told me why did you appear in this ce? Severely shaken, Hou Xibai halted his steps. Stunned, he said, Yang Xuyan? Immortal Print Scroll What are you talking about? Xu Ziling cried Bad! inwardly; looking at Hou Xibais appearance, it did not look like he was pretending. He started to realize that Shi Feixuan still had some reservations toward Hou Xibai, and yet he inadvertently divulged the secret to him. His scalp went numb, he said, Turns out Hou Xiong did not know that Yang Xuyan is the other disciple of your honorable master. As for the Immortal Print Scroll, I am notpletely clear either; I only know that Yang Xuyan and An Long are joining hands in cooperation to obtain the Immortal Print Scroll from Shi Qingxuan. Hey! We dont have much time. Hou Xiong While listening, Hou Xibais countenance did not stop changing; finally his pair of eyes shot sharp light as he cut him off, I understand! Tell me whats most important now, is it to find An Long? Xu Ziling had no idea which one he understood. But thinking about Cao Yinglong, he had no time to delve into it. Nodding his head, he said, We must find Cao Yinglong first. At a loss, Hou Xibai asked, Isnt Cao Yinglong the big leader of the Four Big Roving Bandits? Has he alsoe to Chengdu? Xu Ziling briefed him using the simplest exnation. Finished listening, Hou Xibai exhaled a mouthful of cold air and said, Fortunately Xu Xiong told me clearly, otherwise you will never find Cao Yinglong. Follow me quickly. Soaring up, hended on the roof of the building to the left. Xu Ziling followed closely behind him from house to house, until finally they came to arge residence at the west side of the city, where they crouched behind the roof ridge. Noticing that Hou Xibai was looking into the distance at a monastery across the street, he could not help asking in astonishment, What ce is that? What does it have to do with An Long? Hou Xibai replied in low voice, This is one of Chengdus scenic spots called Qingyang Si [qingyang is a district in Chengdu, si could simply mean shop]. It is rumored that in the past, Laojun [Lao-tze, founder of Taoism] agreed to meet with someone in here, hence Qingyang Si became famous near and far, and has been a well-known Taoist scenic spot ever since. Just now, when I was looking for Xu Xiong, I came across the two generals under An Long, the Tall and Short Generals, who were sneakilying into this ce, carrying someone. Since I had no n of provoking An Long, I let them go and did not meddle in their business. But now, naturally it is a different matter. Xu Ziling could not help asking, Chengdus streets are curving to the left and bending to the right; extremely confusing, yet like an old horse that knows the way home, Hou Xiong is able to look for people, to find a ce without the least bit of difficulty? Hou Xibai sighed and replied, Xu Xiongs curiosity is really big; I am certainly an old horse that knows the way home, just like your knowledge of Yangzhou. Chengdus streets are well known to be confusing. In addition to the main streets from each gate of the Imperial City to the ten gates of the second wall built around the city wall, there are the east-west passage and the north-south passage. And then other local streets that are nting and winding, tangled andplicated, built that way due to their potential. All right! Are we going to take the risk and knock on his door? He had not finished speaking, a shadow flitted by from a distant southeasterly direction. In one nce, they could see from his build that it was An Long himself. It was because An Long was not in Qingyang Si that Hou Xibai proposed to take the risk by charging inside, but now that An Long has arrived, albeitter than they thought, they were greatly surprised. Hou Xibai made a prompt decision. He quickly said, You go save him, while decisively flying out of their hiding ce to meet this senior figure, a martial art master of demonic way, who had mastered the Tianxin Lian Huan [Lotus Ring At The Center Of The Sky], the highest gongfa of the Tian Lian Zong [Heavenly Lotus School, see Book 22 Chapter 5]. Inwardly Xu Ziling had to admit that Hou Xibai was certainly decisive and daring. If he had told Xu Ziling to intercept An Long, while he himself rescued the person, due to Xu Ziling already doubted his intention, he might sit and waste a good opportunity since he would be hesitant. But now that he took it upon himself to deal with the most difficult part, he was disying his sincere intention of cooperation. Naturally it could also be interpreted as his determination to obtain the Immortal Print Scroll, but at least he was proving that their cooperation would not end here. Naturally Xu Ziling did not dare to be negligence; from the other direction he flew down the roof ridge andnded on the side alley, before sneaking away toward Qingyang Si. An Long was able to stop as soon as he wished to stop. He stood on the roof ridge like a mountain, yet unexpectedly he was able to give out the impression that he was agile and quick-witted, thus it was clear that his demonic skill has reached the pinnacle. This moment he had his eyes fixed, without blinking at all, at Hou Xibai soaring high in the sky from his left. He waited until Hou Xibainded about a zhang away in front of him and stood steadily on the roof edge beforeughing eerily and said, I wonder if Xianzhi [worthy/virtuous nephew] ising to have a drink with me, An Long. But Ill say that it would be best if you go find Wei Hong, Yi Cui of Taohua Yuan [lit. cuddling red, leaning on bluish-green, of Peach Blossom Spring (i.e. utopia)], so that you wont fail to live up the expectation of the first round of the full moon. Swish! Hou Xibai opened up his Fan of Beauty, which he waved slowly in his hand. Laughing suavely, he said, Long Shu [uncle] always has admirable suggestion. Last time you introduced Gucheng Da Qu [lit. Big Yeast of the Ancient City], sparkling and translucent, clear, rich and mellow, fragrant and pure, silky like fat; I wonder what ingredients you were using? An Longs countenance slightly changed, but in the blink of an eye it became nonchnt, as he spoke indifferently, The ingredients are no more than mainly corn and sorghum, and then a little bit of wheat, qingke barley, peas, and fermented in clear spring water. But the process mustply with the six main key tricks to brew the wine, which are the water must be good and clean, the ingredients must be good and genuine, the work must be good and refined, the utensils must be good and clean, the yeast must be good and fresh, and the cer must be good and moist; otherwise, you can only obtain the look but lose the essence. Ha! Xianzhi stopped me and blocked my way, was it just so you could learn a couple of wine making skill from your Long Shu? Hou Xibaiughed aloud and said, Xiaozhi [little/young nephew] only asked casually about the subject that Long Shu understand and enjoy the most. Such an auspicious time of the holiday, you didnt hide in the public bath soaking yourself in the warm spring water, but rushing to the left and running around to the right on the rooftop, tiring yourself for an unknown reason, I wonder if Xiaozhi can share your tribtions? An Longs eyes were shing with murderous intent, but he put it under control. His voice turned heavy, showing the displeasure deep in his heart, as he said, I, An Long, will do whatever I please, no need for Xianzhi to share my tribtions; dont Xianzhi think so? Hou Xibais eyes also shot sharp look; fixing his gaze on An Long, he spoke softly, Long Shu should be aware that Xiaozhi has never liked to meddle in other peoples business. But if it has something to do with Shi Qingxuan, it is a totally different matter. Long Shu ought to understand this. Finally An Longs countenance changed, What are you talking about? he said angrily. The rhythm of Hou Xibais fan slowed down, but the shine in his eyes grew without letup, a clear sign that he was umting his power, although the tone of his voice was still as calm as before. Whether Xiaozhi is talking rubbish, Long Shu should be well aware of it, he spoke slowly, Before asking for advice in Long Shus Tianxin Lian Huan, Xiaozhi wants to ask for your guidance in one more matter: how did Long Shuis guts suddenly be so big that unexpectedly you are not afraid that Shi Shi [master] may find out that you have the intention of harming his daughter? Instead of getting angry, An Longughed; but his countenance sank down, he even uttered, Good! twice, before speaking coldly, Its your guts that is big enough; you have the cheek to disregard your elder and offend your superior. Where did you get such ridiculous thing from? Hou Xibai knew that An Longs murderous intent has been provoked, but he was not the slightest bit afraid. Other than Yang Xuyan, who else? he responded with a smile, An Long, you have fallen into the trap! While An Long was shaken from what he heard, Hou Xibais folded fan, like a sharp knife, shed toward his throat, in a movement as pleasant to look at as one picking up the brush to write or to draw. Flipping over the rear wall Xu Ziling entered the Qingyang Si. This famous Taoist site did not upy arge tract ofnd, other than the main building, there were only several cottages at the rear courtyard, supposedly being used as sheds where they stored some junks. This kind of ndestine operation was like an easy drive on a familiar path to Xu Ziling. With several leaps, up and down, he already crossed over the rear court, and noiselessly sneaked into the rear section of the Qingyang Si, which did not have the least bit of light in it. At the same time, the sound of Cao Yinglongs familiar but feeble breathing entered his eardrums, followed by the sound of rustling clothes. Borrowing the golden moonlight from the outside, coupled with focusing his power into his ears, via his elevated audio-visual senses, he was able to instantly grasp theyout of this ce, even if he entered it only for the first time. Qingyang Si was divided into two sections, front and rear, linked together by an open-air atrium in between. The rear section was furnished with simple and crude beds; evidently people were using to section to go to sleep and stay for a while, as well as to store misceneous items such as joss stick and candle, tree-legged incense burning stove, Taoist idol, and other religious articles. The most eye-catching were more than a dozenrge wooden chests. He imagined that stored inside the chests must be the robes and sacrificial vessels that the Taoist priests were using in their rituals. At this time, there was not even half a person in the spacious rear section, yet the sound of rustling clothes clearly showed that there was someone walking toward the rear section from the Taoist Hall at the front section; furthermore, it did not sound like it was only one person. He had no time to ponder about the rtionship between An Long and the manager of this Qingyang Si. Were it not for hearing Cao Yinglongs breathing, which came from some secret underground room under his feet, he would have already made his move with all his strength, trying to rescue Cao Yinglong using the thunderbolt-failed-to-reach-the-ears method. But now he had no choice but to find a ce to hide, and then made his move only after ascertaining the situation. His heart was moved, he slid toward one of therge wooden chests leaning against the wall in the corner, which was also the only one that was not locked. Raising the lid, to his surprise he discovered a flight of stone steps at the bottom of the chest, and the sound of Cao Yinglongs breathing was getting clearer. Time did not allow him to make another choice; like a wisp of smoke he disappeared into the chest, leaving only a crack between the lid and the chest. Right this moment three men and one woman stepped in. The woman was as beautiful as a flower but was as poisonous as a viper or a scorpion C Zhu Cans daughter, the Venomous Spider Zhu Mei. Out of the other three, two were wearing nightwalker clothes; one tall, the other short. Naturally they were the two martial art masters under An Long, the Tall and Short Generals. Both were around forty years old, and in just one nce he knew that these men were not of the benevolent-type. Thest one was an old Taoist priest. Just by looking at his floating footsteps, he knew that this man did not know martial art. However, since the other three were first-ss martial art masters, if he had a direct confrontation against them, while Xu Ziling had full confidence that he would be able to defend himself, if he had to look after Cao Yinglong at the same time, it would be a case of everything bodes ill, no positive signs [i.e. everything points to disaster]. Therefore, he could only try to outsmart them. At present, his only hope was that Hou Xibai could drag An Long as far away as possible, so that he would have enough time to rescue Cao Yinglong. There was a sudden burst of light as the old Taoist priest lighted thempstand by the door, and spoke in low voice, Will there be trouble? The Tall Generalughed aloud and said, Chunyi Daozhang [lit. pure/simple one Taoist priest], please set your heart at ease. Who in Chengdu would not give An Ye a little bit of face? Its just that this is an urgent matter, we have to borrow Daozhangs ce here. Zhu Mei signaled the Short General with her eyes. Thetter said, It would be better if Daozhang go back to the front hall and sit down there. If anybody ask, just say that you know nothing. Chunyi Daozhang hesitated for half a day before returning to the front hall. Xu Ziling understood in his heart that due to the sudden development of this matter, An Long was forced to personally make his move, and thus exposing his whereabouts, attracting the attention of Duzun Bao, the biggest power in Chengdu. The dust was stirred, the horses trotted over the field, he had no choice but to borrow Qingyang Sis underground room to carryout his n. As for why Qingyang Si had such a sneaky cer hidden underground, it was indeed hard to understand. Knitting her brows, Zhu Mei said, This ce does not appear to be too secure. Originally Xu Ziling wanted to go down to check on Cao Yinglongs condition, but then he had another thought: finding Cao Yinglong was easy, but leaving this ce would be difficult. It would be better for him to look at the situation in here first before deciding on the next action to take. Hearing Zhu Mei saying so, he guessed that she had just arrived at the Qingyang Si. The Tall General sighed and said, At first An Ye did not know that Xie Hui is involved in this matter. But by the time he found out, it was already toote. Right now he went out to deal with Xie Hui. Although this ce is not ideal, its much better than our ce. If we wait for another half a sichen, we will find out from Cao Yinglongs mouth where he is hoarding his wealth. The Short General respectfully asked, Would Miss like to go down to inspect the goods? Xu Ziling was shocked; fortunately Zhu Mei plopped her butts on a chair nearby, and spoke in heavy voice, Whats the use of looking? We dont have much time; when will An Ye be back? Xu Ziling cried, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! inwardly, and then very carefully put the lid down before slipping away downstairs. Book 24 - 3 – Eight Moves to Break The Lotus Book 24 Chapter 3 C Eight Moves to Break The Lotus An Long waited until the edge of the Fan of Beauty, following a graceful angle, sweeping over approximately two cun away from his fat neck before as swift as a leopard cat heunched his extraordinary footwork, like a ghost or a demon he stepped into the blind spot on Hou Xibais left side, as if he was about to fall, but then suddenly standing erect again like a mountain. A smile appeared across his face as if he was amused with this child y, and said, I wonder what kind of mischief is Xianzhis folding fan capable of doing? Shi Dage has never used this kind of feminine thing, perhaps Xianzhi could be considered green surpassing the blue. Hou Xibai knew that An Long has always been like a dagger hidden within a smile; the more brilliant his smile, the more flourishing his murderous intent. He folded his fan and opened it up again to create a gust of strong wind, and then he withdrew it toward his chest. Lightly shing away, from attacking he changed his move into defending, and then standing on the roof ridge, he smiled and said, This is the Fan of Beauty, the fan is made of weaved ice natural silk, unafraid of saber and sword; the skeleton is made of forged refined steel, and put together with glue made of the sap of a thousand years oak, paying particr attention to beauty, timely, light, elegance. Under Shi Shis order I created She Hua Bai Shi [hundred styles to break flower], so it cannot be considered green surpassing the blue. However, to ovee Long Shus move, I hope it is more than enough. The smile on An Longs face was getting bigger, but inwardly he was not without any vignce. It should be noted that to ovee the limitation of his body type, he paid particr attention to painstakingly trained his footwork, so that he could rely on marvelous footwork, by exploiting the subtle changes of his fat body, by pretending to be falling face up and transforming weak point to his advantage, absolutely unafraid of the opponent using speed to ovee speed. If Hou Xibai was trying to use swift shenfa and rapid fan moves in continuous wild attack, An Long was confident that he would be able to grasp the opponents changes within ten moves; then he would used the so-called Lotus Step fantastic footwork, which he had trained to extreme saturation and had reached the pinnacle. Combined with his Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky, he was confident he could send Hou Xibai to the Western Paradise within several moves. Who would have thought that unexpectedly Hou Xibai suddenly understand clearly the key moment of changing offense into defense? The most formidable part seemed to be his fanning-the-me-to-cool-it-down technique, with mysterious principle hidden within, in which he continuously amassing qi power, containing defense in the midst of offense. If An Long rushed to attack this moment, he would lose the profound principle of the Lotus Step, which put emphasis on getting things done relying on others. The subtlety within was difficult to describe. Of course, its not that An Long was falling into the disadvantageous position, its just that he did not gain any advantage. Inwardly he thought that he had to either give up, or go through to the end. If he failed to kill this kid tonight, all his ns would be like a fetus dying in the womb. Because even if he had gargantuan guts, he did not dare to let Shi Zhixuan find out from Hou Xibais mouth that An Long has be his personal enemy who killed his daughter, which would not be aughing matter at all. Blurting outughing, he said, Whatever name you use to call those fancy moves, they are no more than a few strokes of beauty looking at herself in the mirror, of jade maiden bending at the waist;e, let Long Shu have a taste of it. The fact was that it was because Hou Xibai was unable to grasp his Lotus Step that he changed from offense to defense, but his murderous intent toward An Long also grew, so that his fellow disciple from the same master but different school, Yang Xuyan, would lose this strong backer. Although Shi Zhixuan was his enshi [benevolent master], he never really understood Shi Zhixuan, and his conduct was really difficult to measure. If the Immortal Print Scroll fell into anybodys hands, it would be just a scroll of scrap paper. But if either he or Yang Xuyan obtained it, it would be like a Buddhist be a Buddha on the spot, it would enable them to make a martial art break through that they yearned for in their dreams. Hence this time he abandoned everything and cooperated sincerely with Xu Ziling. However, killing An Long was certainly easier said than done. But he had no choice but to try. At least An Long would not be able to intervene tonight, so that he and Xu Ziling could work together to get rid of the fated big enemy Yang Xuyan. Although on the surface An Long looked unconcerned, andpletely without any vignce, the fact was that he did not show the slightest w, to the point of invulnerable, reaching the grand master realm of no-changes-in-response-to-ten-thousand-changes. Hou Xibaiughed calmly and said, Lotus Step in harmony with Lotus Ring, the Heavens origin without the heart, the lotus is without a ring either. Long Shus Tian Lian Zongs xinfa created something out of nothing. Our Hua Jian Pai actually pursues nothing in the midst of something, brilliant moves paired with creative concept. How about Long Shu try it and take a look? No one saw him move, but suddenly he was only about three chi away on An Longs right side, on the roof slope lower than An Longs position, where the open fan happened to sweep across An Longs fat waist. It was originally an ordinary, nothing-special move, yet executed by Hou Xibais highly skilled hands, it became another thing altogether. Others lifted something heavy as if it was light, but he lifted something light as if it was heavy, as if the Fan of Beauty weighed a thousand catties, slowly and steadily sweeping toward An Long. For the first time An Long held his smile back; he was unable to take his eyes off the opponents fan attack, which was difficult to tell whether it was light or heavy. It was not until the fan was about to arrive when the strong wind blew his clothes against his body that he finally swung his fist out. Swish! the fan closed; from heavy it turned light, floating as if it was weightless it lightly touched An Longs iron fist, which carried a toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas momentum. With a stifled grunt An Long changed his fist into a w, rapid beyond humanprehension it grabbed the Fan of Beauty, trying to snatch it away. Hou Xibaiughed leisurely; his folding fan closed and then opened again. If An Long did not change his style, he would only scratch the surface of the fan. But An Long was indeed outstanding; unexpectedly, in that lightning-struck, flint-sparked instant, he changed his w into a palm and struck the surface of the fan heavily. Bang! Qi power collided. An Long swayed, but Hou Xibai was jolted so that he flew out toward the edge of the roof slope. It appeared that An Long had gained the upper hand, but his face still did not show the slightest bit of smile. His eyes showed shocked expression, he spoke heavily, Xianzhi, what kind of trick was that move? Remaining calm andposed, Hou Xibai replied indifferently, Long Shu is willing to be this open-minded to ask, naturally Xiaozhi cannot but to answer it. This was the move Qing Zhong Zhao [light and heavy move] from the Po Lian Ba Zhao [Eight Moves to Break The Lotus], created by Shi Shi; it lifts something heavy as if it was light, and lifts something light as if it was heavy, especially used to break Long Shus Lotus Step. Has Xuyan Shixiong never mentioned it to Long Shu? An Long was so angry that he nearly vomited blood, thinking that his power was clearly more than a notch higher than Hou Xibais. But because the opponent was using some strange move to control An Longs martial art, although he had the power, he had no way of using it. This anger was so hard to swallow. Looking at martial art masters of the world, very few would be able to instill fear in An Longs heart. Among those few, only Shi Zhixuan, this demonic schools out-of-this-world, crisscrossing-the-heaven talent, could make him feel deeply afraid. This moment he was even more regretful of being directly drawn into Hou Xibai and Yang Xuyans struggle over the Immortal Print Scroll, but it was already toote for regret. Taking a deep breath, once again his face broke into a smile. Nodding his head, he said, Good! Since Shi Dage created it, how could An Long not experience it? He stumbled forward like a drunk, pressing toward Hou Xibai until he was about four chi away from him, before finally took the initiative to attack. At the end of the stone steps there was arge stone cer about two zhang square, with about a zhang and a half high ceiling. All four walls were full of Long Life Memorial Tablets, which was quite an ordinary ce in a Taoist temple. What was unusual was the passage leading into the room. Although the air inside the cer could be considered clean, it also felt damp. But the tablets lining up the wall created a ghostly environment, gloomy atmosphere, which brought a chill to the heart. On one of the corners was a redntern, bathing the entire room in darkish red color. A long, rectangr table was ced in the middle of the room, covered in ck tablecloth that reached all the way to the floor, with the unconscious Cao Yinglongy, safe and secured, on the table, but his chest was continuously heaving up and down. If it were someone else, he would have snatched Cao Yinglong away and brought him upstairs first before thinking about any further n. But Xu Ziling felt something was really wrong. He had a faint feeling that there was someone else in the room. But the only ce that this someone could hide was under the table, inside the ck tablecloth. This moment he suddenly understood why the two Tall and Short Generals did not have one of them guarding the entrance to the cer, because there was already someone in the cer. Moreover, this person must be a martial art master with enough ability to guard Cao Yinglong. It was also extremely possible that this person was the one able to deal with Cao Yinglong. Otherwise, how could An Long still have spare time to pay a visit to Xie Hui? In this way, An Long and Yang Xuyan were actually ying the you hoodwink me and I cheat you game, each one with sinister design in his bosom. Who could this person be? All these thought shed through Xu Zilings mind in the blink of an eye, but to the hidden enemy, Xu Ziling seemed to be thinking about taking a deep breath, raising a mouthful of qi, before snatching Cao Yinglong and taking him away. The Fat Merchant An Long was moving around Hou Xibai, leaning to the left and tumbling to the right, sometimes rapid and sudden, sometimes heavy and slow. But whether his steps were as fast as the wind, or perhaps unhurried lotus pace, he was always shing toward the blind side, which was difficult for Hou Xibais attack to reach. Therefore, although Hou Xibai was able to use his Fan of Beauty to perfection, opening and closing indeterminately, creating screaming wind, but he was always a tad short of catching up with this Tian Lian Zongs Zongzhu, so that he could not force him to fight hard even for one move. But Hou Xibai was still putting up his usual confident and at ease, unconstrained appearance. He would suddenly press in and fight in close quarter, and then suddenly send a long distance attack, yet always appear like he was roaming around the edge of the de with room to spare. However, An Long was so certain that he was a strong crossbow; because he was a martial art master from Hua Jian Pai, he must never show weakness of appearing to be in difficult situation, even if he was about to be killed. By this time, the two have fought for more than fifty moves. After thinking it over, he believed he already gained control over the overall situation, hence heughed aloud and suddenly made his killer move. An Long swiftly moved right in front of Hou Xibai; spinning around like a top, he drew his hands together like a lotus, qi power exploded into the air, shocking the eardrums, like the formless lotus flowers were blooming one by one, pressing toward Hou Xibai, mysterious principles hidden within, capturing peoples heart and soul, strange to the extreme point. Such a weird martial art was indeed horrifying. It could be imagined that if this martial art was used in a group war, it did not matter how many martial art masters were on the opposite side, they would be forced to deal with his offensive alone. No wonder that that day, although Fu Gongyou, who possessed deep knowledge of his formidability, had Rong Fengxiang and Zuo Youxian helping him, he was still willing to let him go. Hou Xibai suddenly withdrew three chi back until he reached the end of the roof slope, where he stood upright and unafraid, spirited light burst forth from his eyes, as he moved with all his strength. Since the fight started, he has been waiting for precisely this moment. The air all around him became iparably scorching, as the qi power of initial lotus flower of the Lotus Ring At The Center Of The Sky flew around his body and pressed on his back. In general, upper-ss internal energy cultivation underwent many superficial changes but would not departure from the original stand, which was the method of cultivating the true qi within the body, the selection of how the power would break out, and meridians and acupoints through which it flowed, as well as how to subdue the enemy and generate victory. The Tian Lian Zongs Lotus Ring At The Center Of The Sky was really a variant of innate true qi cultivation; the key secret was in the usage of the heart and the main meridians, feeling the heart is like governing monarch, where the deities appear, also the heart is like pointed circle, the shape is like lotus pistil, with unusual orifice in the middle, only known by those with superior wisdom. The name Lotus Ring At The Center Of The Sky came from this. Coupled with iparablyplicated move, shake, advance, retreat, twist, coil, flick, twirl, follow, cover, shoot, press, w, slice, more than a dozen types of finger method, passing through the Taiyin, Yangming, Shaoyang, Taiyang, Jueyin, and various acupoints on both hands, releasing such a searing true qi in the shape of lotus pistil, able to burn, hurt, damage, and scorch the opponents channels, extremely insidious, the one and only within the demonic schools, there was no other. However, although the potential was ferocious and overbearing, it consumed extremelyrge amount of true energy, the wear and tear would be difficult to sustain for an extended period of time. Therefore, even for someone of An Longs caliber, unless he was forced into a situation where it was absolutely necessary, he would be unwilling to use the demonic-skill-big-method Lotus Ring At The Center Of The Sky, and it had to be under the circumstance where he had full confidence of sess that he would use it to kill the enemy in one move. To be able to force An Long to use the demonic schools martial art that he stored at the bottom of his chest, Hou Xibai had enough reason to be proud of himself. As long as one of the Rings worked, An Long would immediately follow up the victory and press home the attack, by using some other killer move to deal with and injure the enemys channels. In a sh, An Longs pair of fat hands, which were cupped together like a lotus, sent out five bursts of lotus power, separately aimed at the top of Hou Xibais head, his back, the pit of his stomach, and his left and right nks, five vital points. Hou Xibai still maintained his confident and at ease, in-total-control manner. Suddenly he exerted his power to his feet, the roof tiles under his feet immediately shattered into small pieces, and his entire body dropped down. Although still could not evade An Longs Five Lotus Rings, he managed to gain a split second buffer on the lotus flower pressing down on his head, while dodging all the other attacks threatening his vital points. His folding fan opened, he used it to shield his chest, while uttering a long chant, Eight Methods to Break The Lotus use solid in ce of empty. While saying that, the folding fan in his hand adopted a graceful, rxed posture, while pushing aside the cool air from his fan toward his own body; immediately his entire clothes red up, whooshing and floating lightly. When Xu Ziling was about five chi away from the long table, he suddenly pushed with both hands. Cao Yinglongs palms, while he was still lying on the table, left the tabletop and flew horizontally up. Evidently this move was totally outside the person hiding under the tables expectation, but it was toote to prevent it. Xu Ziling made his move after deciding on the n, while at the same time soaring above the long table, and tapped the tabletop with the tip of his toes. The long table disintegrated like sand. To his surprise, under the table was empty, but this moment he had no time to think. While he was about to rush over to catch the falling Cao Yinglong, a strange, inexplicable thing happened; Cao Yinglong shot up like a zombie, his eyes were half-open, half-closed, his feet did not touch the ground, both hands stretched out horizontally in front of his body, he soared to the air and pounced toward Xu Ziling. Inside the underground room, under the red light, it looked so eerie and terrifying. Xu Ziling was greatly shocked. He was well aware that at least in term of shenfa, this enemy, who has not shown himself up, was definitely not inferior to either Wanwan or Yang Xuyan; martial art masters, experts in lightness skill, and his reaction was so fast and nimble that it has reached the extremely-shocking stage. Unexpectedly, the moment Xu Ziling moved Cao Yinglong off the table, he was able to move his body at the same time. And apparently Cao Yinglong has fallen under some kind of spiritual sorcery under his hands, so that he could manipte Cao Yinglongs body. This moment, Xu Ziling could not evade, but not dodging was not an option either. Even with his quick thinking, momentarily he was at a loss. Fiercely clenching his teeth, Xu Ziling made a somersault, the tip of his two feet separately tapped the hollow of Cao Yinglongs palms, and then, borrowing the reaction force, he soared to the top of the cer, intending to have a glimpse of the enemys true identity. Who would have thought that from pouncing forward, Cao Yinglong suddenly flew face up backward, and like a marite his fist shot forward, sending out a punch across empty air toward Xu Ziling. The man was now hidden underneath Cao Yinglong so that Xu Ziling was still not fated to see his face. The wind from the punch surged over. If he took the brunt of it, even if he did not die, he most certainly would be seriously hurt. The most aggravating thing was that the person manipting Cao Yinglong practically was not afraid that Xu Ziling would strike back. Therefore, every single move was an advancing, attacking move without any reservation to retreat. If he ever fell into disadvantageous position, the enemy would simply throw Cao Yinglong to the wall, or use some other simrly despicable method, so that when Xu Ziling was forced to save Cao Yinglong, he would seize the opportunity to make his killer move. Moreover, under current circumstances, it was practically impossible for Xu Ziling to change the development of this situation too much. The only redeeming thing for Xu Ziling was that the opponent did not understand the ingenious usage of the true qi from the Secret to Long Life. Just now, when one after another the tip of his feet tapped the hollow of Cao Yinglongs palms, while he neutralized the enemys mostly yin and soft true qi, he seized the opportunity to inject his true qi into Cao Yinglongs meridians like a pair of long and narrow probing and sampling utensils. Using a splitting-the-mountain-and-striking-the-ox method he probed what is true and what is false from the enemy via Cao Yinglong. It was an amazing method that in the present age, other than Kou Zhong, there was no third person who understood it. First of all, he knew that the enemy did not have any connection to the orthodox and heretic schools and sects of the Central Earths Wulin. It should be noted that whether it was Wanwan, or even Shi Feixuan, down to all martial art masters of various schools and sects who had fought with Xu Ziling, including Tujues masters like Ba Fenghan or Tieles masters like Qu Ao, whatever method they were using, everybody was still using the Eight Extraordinary Channels as the backbone. But the method of this invisible enemys internal power was another thing altogether; it did not flow through these main channels at all. Just like in calligraphy, the center stroke and the nting stroke are distinguishable; hence the martial art was even more treacherous, weird and dangerous, so that it was hard to pin down. The most shocking thing was that the ears, the eardrums, yuzhen, meichong, tianling, tianchong, fengchi, chengjiang, and various major acupoints on Cao Yinglongs head werepletely enveloped by this kind of yin and soft, as if they were sealed by this existing, yet non-existent, qi. If he forced his own true qi to open up Cao Yinglongs blocked acupoints, when the two qi fought against each other, it might make Cao Yinglongs brain suffer damage, and then he would be a useless person with no hope of ever recovering forever. Such a terrifying gongfa that was able to seal cranial nerves like this, he had not even thought about before. Who was this opponent? In the wake of the punch, in Xu Zilings eyes, Cao Yinglongs body seemed to continuously grow bigger and bigger. Turned out the opponent was propping Cao Yinglongs body from underneath and pushing it toward Xu Ziling, so that the space in which he would be able to evade was continuously getting narrower and narrower; it was extremely vicious. This was the first time that Xu Ziling encountered such a cunning, hundred-changes, profound-mystery enemy. In desperate situation people became quick witted; arching his back upward to stick close to the ceiling, he breathed in a stream of energy, his middle finger swiftly jabbed down to hit Cao Yinglongs fist. It was the case of utilizing object to send out energy all along, the powerful yin force from the fist was neutralized by the finger wind. If the spiraling energy Xu Ziling put into Cao Yinlongs body shed against the enemys true qi, regardless of the oue, the first to suffer damage would be Cao Yinglong. Therefore, as soon as the qi power reached the fist, Xu Ziling stopped and dispersed it horizontally. Immediately, Cao Yinglongs body responded to the finger and flew sideways like a clump of clouds. Xu Ziling could easily see that the turn of events was far from good. Sure enough, when Cao Yinglongs head crashed against one of the walls, which was full of tablets and altars honoring great benefactors, a leg flew out from under his body; in a sudden thrust that caught the opponent off guard, it shot swiftly toward where Xu Zilings wrist was going to be. urate beyond humanprehension, the angle and timing were perfect, exactly the moment when Xu Zilings old force has just disappeared, but before the new force was generated. Pow! Even with Xu Zilings fast reaction, he was still unable to evade the kick; he had no choice but to hurriedly raise his energy and take the opponents attack head on. First, he felt sharp pain on the wrist being kicked, and then a surge of hard to describe qi power, fast as lightning, invaded his body; the pain and numbness spread into the meridians in his entire body. It was an unbearable feeling,parable only to the dreadful state of having his entire body bitten by poisonous ants. Xu Ziling still failed to see the enemyunching a sneak attack from behind Cao Yinglongs body flying to the wall; he could only let out a miserable groan and fell down from the ceiling. He did not know whether the enemy still had follow-up move, but from the small-sized boot and the slim foot kicking him, he knew that the enemy was a woman. Bang! Xu Ziling fell heavily on the ground. Book 24 - 4 – Persian Maiden Book 24 Chapter 4 C Persian Maiden After four consecutive sonic booms, Hou Xibais outer robe disintegrated. Bang! his raised hand blocking above his head met thest lotus power pressing down on him head-on. Exposing his inner blue-green tight-fitting warrior outfit, Hou Xibai followed the shattered roof tiles to fall down into the houses rear courtyard. Were it not for the upants inside the house were all outside on the street enjoying the Lantern Festival in the city, the noise and the disturbance would definitely wake them up from their beautiful dreams. From An Longs perspective, however, not even in his dream did he ever imagine that this kid from the younger generation could borrow the roof tiles disintegrating and the robes infused full of true qi to break his must-kill Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky. Only now did he understand that using solid in ce of empty mean putting back the secretly amassed true qi inside the fan into the body, to make the robe swelling full of qi power, and use it to ingeniously block An Longs ultimate move. But regret at this moment was already toote; after executing five rings in session he was very much nearing his limit. If he failed again, he would have to find a ce to hide and would not dare toe out to see people until he was fully recovered. Upon self-examination, under present circumstances, would he dare to take the risk? One somersault, An Longs fat body, in an ingenious, rxed posture, which would make people stare in dumbstruck,nded on the grassy area in the courtyard. Both of his hands moved, sometimes in a punch, sometimes in a chop, suddenly changed into a w, suddenly became palm strike, he unfolded a set of ingenious and exquisite technique to attack Hou Xibai, who, uponnding on the ground, was staggering slightly C like a gale sweeping the dead leaves off the ground,bined with his fat body staggering and tumbling indeterminately C sometimes heavy, another time light, in ever-changing movements. Just for this set of skill, he deserved to be ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. This time, he wanted to kill Hou Xibai with his heart and soul; each move was an attack,pletely opposite to his previously defensive strategy. Immediately showing off the other side of his prowess, he heavily enveloped Hou Xibai inside the wind generated by his fist and palm, while also continuously narrowing the limit of Hou Xibais movements. The moment Hou Xibai found it difficult to move would be the moment he killed the enemy. Hou Xibai was beginning to sweat profusely in dealing with An Longs killer attacks, simply because it was the first time he ran into this kind of set of techniques. Flustered, he was unable to use the Eight Moves to Break The Lotus to its fullest potential; inwardly he knew that An Long developed this set of techniques in recent years as his secret skill, hence even Shi Zhixuan was unaware of it. In critical time, he used his life-saving move, the zhe hua bai shi [a hundred styles of snapping flower]. Folding the fan and withdrawing it, he took a defensive position, while actually hiding a killer move within. An Longs murderous intent red up;ughing aloud, he said, Although Xianzhi can block Long Shus Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky, inevitably your meridians will sustain injuries. If Long Shu is willing to let you regte your breathing for a little while, it will not be this bad. Both his hands had the fingers put together like a saber chop; while breathing and speaking, fast as lightning, he continuously stabbed forward six times, fierce to the extreme point. Qi power filled the atmosphere, not a single one was not a sinister move meant to take the opponents life. Although Hou Xibai was caught in apletely passive position where he simply had to take the beating and painstakingly defend himself, yet the Fan of Beauty, whether it was closed or open, whether it was blocking up or intercepting down C was always able to perfectly parried An Longs toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas palm chop, each one attacking from unexpected angle. However, each time he blocked, he had to take half a step back. By the time the sixth strike arrived, his back was already against the houses external wall. The Fan of Beauty suddenly slowed down. Seeing this opportunity, An Long simply had to take it. Both palms pushing out, qi power rolled over toward the enemy, while from below his leg flew out, ferociously kicking Hou Xibais genital area. Hou Xibaiughed aloud and said, Long Shu has fallen into a trap! The folding fan opened, it cut down on An Longs kicking fat leg, while his left hand, filled to the brim with stored up energy, punched out. Boom! Qi power collided. As An Longs two palms met Hou Xibais left fist, he only felt empty sweep without any strength behind it; while he was crying Not good! inwardly, the wall behind Hou Xibai cracked open. Just as An Long was thinking about retreating, Hou Xibais fist turned solid. Letting out a miserable grunt, An Long flew about a zhang or so backwards, his fat face alternated between red and white indeterminately, obviously his qi was in extreme suffering. Hou Xibai was feeling ufortable as well; while panting continuously, he thought that unless he could obtain the Immortal Print Scroll, he could forget about killing An Long, ever. An Long suddenly broke into a big smile; raising his thumb up, he praised, Xianzhi is indeed outstanding. Shi Dage painstaking effort in training you was not in vain; you have really mastered the Hua Jian Pais secret skill of xushi xiangsheng [what is true and what is false engender one another]. If we stopped at this point tonight, I wonder where would Xianzhi go to admire the full moon? Hou Xibai groaned inwardly, all because Xu Ziling has not shown any movement yet; it appeared that the situation was rather bad. The instant before the pit of Xu Zilings stomach touched the ground, Cao Yinglong, who was about to m onto the wall, suddenly changed direction; he suddenly dropped down to the ground, but from under his body, fast like a sh of light, lithe like cotton wadding, a young woman flew out swiftly; the tip of her feet tapped the ground, she made a somersault, and flew across the empty air above Xu Zilings back. It all happened in one fluid motion, in some kind of seamless, moving clouds and flowing waters grandeur, very pleasing to the eye. At longst Xu Ziling was able to catch a glimpse of the opponents looks. The most dazzling to the eyes was her chestnut-colored beautiful hair and brown eyes, which, as soon as one met her face-to-face, one would be able to tell that she was not a Central Earth woman at all. Her skin-tight nightwalker outfit caressed her beautiful body in such a way that the lines werepletely exposed, full of vitality and liveliness, giving out the impression that the blood flowing inside this bewitching flesh must be wild in nature, that she would never yield easily to any man. The lines on the womans face were even more prominent. Deeply embedded under a pair of beautifully curved eyebrows was a pair of bright eyes, like two deep pools of fragrant, cold and raw liquor, brimming with astonishing sex appeal, attracting wild and fanciful thoughts. Under her tender, perfectly crafted, bridge of her nose was a pair of warm, soft, and brimming with character, red cherry lips, adding a little mischief on her, like a decoration to something that was already perfect [orig. adding flowers to brocade]. But looking at her left and right, top and bottom, she did not look like a vicious and merciless evil person who would take life on a whim; its just that the finger currently jabbing toward his back was indeed ruthless. She finally made a mistake. As early as before he was falling, relying on the fantastic true qi he obtained from the Secret to Long Life and the Jade Annulus of He n, Xu Ziling already drove away the strange energy invading his body, and thus he already recovered his strength; falling down was just a tactic to lure the enemy. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly; when the exotic beautys jade finger was only about three cun away from his back, suddenly, like a leopard cat twisting its waist, his back bent, the four limbs of his body, as well as his head folded inward, by using his spine he took the initiative to meet the opponents fingertip. Not only the finger attack missed the vital acupoint on his back, a sharp, fine-tipped vortex of qi shot out and into the opponents finger with equal harshness, in a swift and severe counterattack. The beautys tender body was jolted like she was being struck by lightning; however, while Xu Ziling thought that she was going to be thrown toward the ceiling, she simply made a somersault in the air and escaped in the direction of the exit, while letting out a tender moan, which would move any mans heart. Although her ability to meet a contingency was beyond Xu Zilings expectation, his reaction was of a first-ss, one-of-a-kind, speed. His two hands pushed the ground, his bent body shot up, perfectly straight, off the ground, and spun midair using both hands as the axis, his bear [animal] waist swung, his two legs swept across the air, and just before she flew outside his range of attack, he swiftly swept the side of herpletely-springy-like-cookie-dough buttocks. The spiraling energy moved from slow to fast, like a swarm of bees it bored into her touching body. Although his choice of target was a bit indecent, in this moment of life and death battle, anybody would find it difficult to argue too much. The beautys moan has not finished, a miserable grunt followed. Although she was outstandingly tough, it was still difficult to withstand a session of offensive; her escaping n was frustrated, her leg, being hit, changed direction, she was thrown horizontally across toward a corner. This time around Xu Ziling sprang up, like a shadow following the body, he pursued closely. This womans martial art was strange; her internal energy was of a different approach even more. No one would dare to guarantee that she would not be able to recover as fast as Xu Ziling did; and if that did happen, who would emerge the victor would be difficult to guess. Bang! The beautys back crashed heavily against the wall, immediately crushing three or four memorial tablets. Xu Ziling suddenly halted his steps and spoke in horror, What are you doing? The woman held a sharp, gleaming short dagger with both hands, the tip of the dagger was pointed at her own throat. She stared fiercely at Xu Ziling, her erect and delicate breasts were heaving up and down continuously, with her seductive voice she spoke Chinese, yet with foreign ent, You take one step further, nujia will immediately kill myself, your friend will never recover. Looking at this, Xu Zilings scalp went numb. Just by seeing the strange move of how this woman, while she was thrown against the wall, was able to promptly pull the dagger, he knew that she was crafty and brutish, and was not easy to provoke. For most people, this threat of suicide might not worth a sneer, but toward Xu Ziling, it was very effective. He could only smile wryly in response; going down on one knee, he shook his head and said, Miss and I have no grievance in the past, no enmity in the present, why must we fight each other strenuously? How about we make a deal? You let me save my friend, after Miss take us out, you may recover your freedom. He was fully aware that she would recover her strength soon, yet he was still at a loss on how to capture her. The beautys long eyshes followed her eyes, staring and flickering as she scrutinized him for a moment; suddenly she revealed a smile, seemingly very pleased with herself, her manner was lovely and moving. Turns out you are a good man, she said, Fortunately you did not force nujia to kill myself, otherwise Die and Gandie [adoptive father (traditional adoption, i.e. without legal ramifications)] will never let you off. Although your martial art is not bad, you will surely die. Xu Ziling did not know whether he should be happy or amused. Feeling a big headache, he said, Does Miss have any thought on my proposal? The beautys eyebrows were knitted deep; as if nothing had happened, she put the dagger back into its sheath, which was tied on the side of her thigh. Sitting cross-legged, she asked in amazement, Am I not beautiful? Why do you seem to urgently want to drive me away? Whats your name? Han people seldom look like you, tall and handsome. Xu Ziling knew she had recovered, and cried Not good! inwardly, and was afraid even more that someone mighte down, and then he would be the turtle in a jar that they could catch quite easily. He wanted to make his move, but did not have ample confidence that he would be able to subdue her. Besides, she reminded him of the beautiful Tujue maiden Chunyu Wei. His heart softened, he said, I am called Xu Ziling. Miss, whats your rtionship with An Long? The beauty rolled her eyes; giggling blissfully, she spoke with naivet, Turns out you are one of the people Id like to see the most in the Central ins; how about your good friend Kou Zhong? Where is he? Her demeanor has awakened the memory of his first encounter with Dong Shuni, but this woman greatly differed from both Chunyu Wei and Dong Shuni, its just that momentarily he could not tell what the difference was. Apparently, the moment she rolled her eyes, he caught a glimpse of her innocent and unaffected, unrestrained and carefree heart and mind behind her external beauty. Take herst few sentences for instance, not only she skirted his question, she inquired Kou Zhongs whereabouts instead. Xu Ziling grew up on the streets, since childhood he had mingled with seventy-two heretical schools of opinion outside the orthodox way; he hade into contact with thieves and swindlers. For thest several years, he even dealt with countless old foxes and extremely sly people. This moment his heart was already set, he would not easily reveal the cards in his hands. ying it down, he said, Naturally he is outside providing support for me. Miss has not answered my question. Creak! the chest lid at the entrance of the cer opened, a high-pitched voice called out, Rou Gongzhu [princess], is it convenient toe down? Mei Gongzhu is here! The beautys stare meeting Xu Zilings gaze became deeply bright and sharp; without blinking she responded, Mei Jie, please wait for me upstairs, I aming up immediately! Bang! the lid of the chest was dropped down. By now Xu Ziling was seventy-, eighty-percent sure that this young woman called Princess Rou was the kind of person who would do anything, by hook or by crook, to aplish her goals. The key was in the four words, I aming up immediately [li ji biani]. If she had the intention to make up with him, she would have said a few words to stall for time, and then saved Cao Yinglong by waking him up. But she was so eager to seize the opportunity to leave from the only exit, even without any exnation, Xu Ziling knew that she was harboring unfathomable motives. He would be trapped inside this danger spot; unless someone came to rescue him, he could forget about escaping with his life intact. However, whatever thought flitted across his mind, it did not show on the outside at all. His pair of tiger-eyes instantly radiated sharp light all around, as he spoke heavily, I dont know what Miss is thinking, but Ol Xu already made up my mind; if Zaixia cannot take the awake Cao Yinglong out of this ce, I will not let Miss leave safely. Princess Rou revealed an astonished look; she asked quizzically, What are you doing? Why suddenly became so harsh? I though we are talking amiably with each other? Intentionally or otherwise, her demeanor, the tone of her voice, revealed tenderness and naivet that made other peoples heart beating faster and their spirit galloping away, that made other people really want to believe her. But Xu Ziling remained unmoved; not the slightest bit. He spoke coldly, Miss, please tell me how to wake Cao Yinglong up. Princess Rous eyes shed with murderous intent, but the tone of her voice was exceptionally calm; she said, Do you really have the confidence that you can make me stay here? I only have to make some noise, the people outside wille down immediately. When that happens, Cao Yinglong will be your biggest burden. You just missed the golden opportunity, and now you can only follow my arrangement. Ay! How can I make Xu Xiong believe that I have no enmity toward you? You are wasting your time on this issue, people upstairs will be suspicious. She was speaking using both gentle methods and force, it was hard to distinguish between whats true and whats false; it was indeed not easy to parry. Xu Ziling calmlyughed; as if he was scrutinizing every cun of her fair, young skin, which was different from Central ins women, he spoke indifferently, I am not afraid you are calling people down at all; since our side has the capability to intercept An Long, we also have the capability to storm in when the situation warrants it. Miss must not forget, a trapped beast will fight the hardest; Ol Xu might do everything in my power to prevent Miss from leaving this ce alive. The one wasting your time is Miss. Princess Ruo gave him a hard stare; suddenly she stood up. It appeared that Xu Ziling already knew that she was going to stand up; his tiger-body straightened up, he stood right in front of her, the distance between them was no more than three chi, and Princess Rous back was against the stone wall, so that if they fought, Xu Ziling was already upying the favorable position, he could force the opponent into a desperate fight as the only way to escape. Princess Rou stomped her feet and angrily said, I was going to wake Cao Yinglong! Are you or are you not going to make way for me? I have already answered your question, even if you want to give Cao Yinglong to me, I am not interested. Our Western Tujue people have no interest in bing your and Kou Zhongs mortal enemy even more. Let An Long takes care of An Longs problem, we take care of our own problem; dont you understand? Inwardly Xu Ziling was shaken. He finally remembered which sides figure Princess Rou was. That day he listened to Ba Fenghans ount on Tujue people, Tujue was a political powerposed of nomadic peoples, with the strongest among them became the king. Because economically they were scattered over many regions, plus they kept moving around and did not stay in one particr area, power struggle among them never stopped. During the Sui dynasty era, they were divided into two major khanates, east and west. East Tujues current Khan was Xieli, with his trusted junshi [military counselor] a Han man by the name of Zhao Deyan [see Book 12 Chapter 4]. The Cyclone Tuli Khan was his nephew. One of the worlds three major martial art masters, the Wuzun Bi Xuan belonged to the East Tujue people. The Sui dynasty declined, militias sprang up everywhere, among them were Liang Shidu, Liu Wuzhou, and so on who go up north to align with the Tujue, the Tujue in question was precisely the Eastern Tujue. Comparatively speaking, the West Tujue was more low-key. This might be due to their geographical proximity. But now their devil palm has finally reached the Central ins. The Western Tujue Khan was called Tong Xie Hu [lit. unifying, harmonizing protector]. Under assistance of a Persian called Yun Shuai [lit. cloudmander], their prestige was pressing straight toward the Eastern Tujue. Yun Shuais daughter was called Lian Rou [lit. lotus soft/supple], regarded as his own daughter by Tong Xie Hu, and he extremely doted on her. She ought to be the woman in front of Xu Ziling now. Recalling that she was a beauty from the distant country, Xu Ziling could not stop strange feeling from appearing in his heart; no wonder her martial art was so unfathomably strange. Noticing him staring nkly at her, even Princess Rou herself did not understand why her pretty face was burning hot; sticking out her silky breasts out, she said, Are you going to let me pass or not? Xu Zilings mind was racing at the speed of light; he asked himself, if she did not personally help him, would he have the confidence that he could wake Cao Yinglong up? This time, he would not eveny a bet. Fiercely clenching his teeth, he swiftly backed off toward the stone stairs, taking a please save him attitude. Lian Rou revealed a charming smile of victory. Nobody saw how she moved, but she was suddenly standing by Cao Yinglong, who was crouching on the ground, and starting to kick randomly, but the targets were various fatal acupoints on Cao Yinglongs head like baihui, fengfu, guanhui, shenting, and so on. Watching this, Xu Zilings heart was rmed, his body leaping, which made him did not understand even more, why would he care about a big thief head whose entire body was covered in crime? Cao Yinglong moaned and regained his consciousness. Fuming with rage, Lian Rou cast Xu Ziling a sidelong nce; her expression clearly showed that she was still angry and resented that she was wronged by him. And then she stepped aside and said, I have saved him! You are not going to let me out? Xu Ziling was a bit embarrassed as well. Abruptly raising a mouthful of true qi, he readied himself to rescue Cao Yinglong out of there. Right this moment, he heard a barely perceptible abnormal noise from the direction of the chest lid, which was the sound of the true qi flowing in the meridians when someone was amassing his power. Were it not for his own qi was coursing through his own body, plus the empty cer was acting as an audio amplifier, he would not be able to hear it. In that instant Xu Ziling suddenly understood everything; he knew that the three people outside already knew what was going on inside the cer, so he could not help scolding himself for being too careless. A while ago he was able to hear the sound of Cao Yinglongs breathing from above; obviously there was a venttion hole from the cer to the rear hall of Qingyang Si, therefore, the fighting noise and the speaking voices from downstairs had already alerted the people upstairs. Looking at Lian Rous pure expression, graceful, clean and honest outward appearance, Xu Ziling was bitterly disappointed. Cao Yinglong let out another groan. Pretending that nothing had happened, Xu Ziling said, I am Xu Ziling. Cao Xiong, can you hear me? Just to slightly nod his head, Cao Yinglong seemed to be struggling. Sitting up, he looked around with nk expression on his face. His gaze swept past the Persian beauty Lian Rou,pletely ignoring her, but as it reached Xu Ziling, his eyes began to focus. His face showed a pleasantly surprised expression, he seemed to remember his own situation. Lian Rou suddenly turned her tender body around to face the wall, appearing to show off her innocence and her unwillingness to intervene in Xu Zilings effort to rescue Cao Yinglong. Were it not for the fact that Xu Ziling already knew something was amiss, he might really fall into the trap and believe her. But now, since she was trying to hide it, she made it more conspicuous instead, hence Xu Ziling was already in a full-alert mode. What other trick might she have in her sleeves? Book 24 - 5 – Friend And Foe Difficult To Tell Book 24 Chapter 5 C Friend And Foe Difficult To Tell If he was cooperating with Kou Zhong, Hou Xibai might suspect that after rescuing Cao Yinglong, Kou Zhong might abandon his partner and left on his own. But Hou Xibai believed from the bottom of his heart that Xu Ziling was not that kind of person. Yet this kind of faith practically did not have any reason behind it; it was purely a feeling when someone met someone else, although oftentimes it was not too reliable. Therefore, Hou Xibai was sure that Xu Ziling must have met some trouble. Secretly raising a mouthful of true qi, he inserted the Fan of Beauty into his belt, and said with a smile, Going by Long Shus suspicious character, since you knew that there exist the Eight Moves To Break The Lotus, unexpectedly you are unwilling to obtain clear understanding but want to leave immediately instead. I wonder what could be more pressing than this? An Long crossly said, Xianzhi is acting as if you dont know how to write the word dead. But everything that has been happening tonight is very strange; everything is beyond my expectation. If Xianzhi is willing to tell me where you got the information, perhaps we could strive to have real cooperation. Hou Xibai was greatly astonished; from what Xu Ziling told him, An Long should not have this much time, he should be rushing back to perform his sorcery on Cao Yinglong. How could he leisurely waste his time by chatting with him now? On the surface, however, he remained calm andposed. Surely Long Shu is joking? he said, In vain Xiaozhi always showed utmost respect to you. You have secret ties with Yang Xuyan, and are trying in vain to scheme against Shi Shis beloved daughter, yet now you say you want to cooperate with me; it is indeed the greatest absurdity in the world. An Long shed his trademark fake smile across his face, while secretly gathering up his power. He said, Xianzhi, you surely dont know how to differentiate good from bad; who said I was going to harm Shi Dages beautiful daughter? Whom did you hear it from? Hou Xibai was about to speak to taunt him, to stall for time, when suddenly rm went off in his heart; turning his head to the left, he saw hidden among the trees in the dark, at the part of the garden where the moonlight did not shine, a big and tall man. An Long was actually a step ahead of him in term of reaction; when he saw the man, his face revealed a shocked expression. Evidently he recognized the man. The man walked out of the shadow. He had an overbearing, looking-down-on-the-world C demeanor around him, his expression cold and detached, his forehead high, his nose straight, with a mixture of healthy, robust lines on his rectangr face, giving up the impression that he was a man with extraordinary unswerving determination, as well as subjectively obstinate; an awe-inspiring man. From hisparatively darkerplexion from the average men and his exceptionally good shape, Hou Xibai knew right away that he must be the master of Duzun Bao Xie Hui, whose might shook Bashu. This martial art master, who shared the same fame as the Heavenly Saber Song Que, only cast a nce toward Hou Xibai, his burning gaze fell on his sworn brother An Long, as he spoke indifferently, Where is Cao Yinglong? Even Hou Xibai could not imagine that Xie Hui would be this blunt and get right to the point [orig. to open the door and see the mountain], without leaving anything. An Longughed aloud and said, Did I not exin clearly just now that Cao Yinglongs affair has nothing to do with me, An Long, at all? The murderous aura in Xie Huis eyes was burning brighter; staring hard at An Long, he said, If I did not remember the brotherly love between us, I would have made my move before you even finished speaking half a sentence. After the wear and tear and your current loss of power, I guarantee that you wontst long. And now, let me ask you again, remembering our extraordinarily old friendship; An Long, you dont want to force me. Hou Xibai had never thought that Xie Hui would be this overbearing and tyrannical; he inwardly thought that if he were An Long, he would be at a loss to know what to do as well. Who would have thought that An Long heaved a deep sigh, nodded his head dejectedly, and said, I know that Er Dis [second (younger) brother] kindness to Ol An does not need to be mentioned, but this matter is rted to San Di [third (younger) brother]. Moreover, it has direct rtionship with the Xie Wang [demonic king] Shi Zhixuan. If Er Di is drawn into this matter because of an outsider, it is really not worth it. Xie Huis face showed that he was slightly moved; turning his head around, he looked at Hou Xibai. Inwardly Hou Xibai thanked the Heaven and thanked the Earth; raising his cupped fist, he spoke respectfully, Two gentlemen, Qianbei, have important matter to discuss, Wanbei certainly does not dare to remain here to disturb you. Please! With that, he slipped away. Cao Yinglong slowly rose; he finally discovered the Persian Beauty Lian Rou, who was standing against the wall, with a pondering-deeply expression on her face. Xu Zilings true qi within his body has circted to its peak; as fast as lightning he swept Cao Yinglong away. The standing-against-the-wall Lian Rou spun around, raised her right hand, and shot a streak of white light toward Cao Yinglong, while rushing toward the exit at the same time. Her movements were fluid, as fast as lightning. If Xu Ziling did not guard against her at all, this moment he would have been caught off guard, and when rescuing Cao Yinglong, he would have been forced to move away from the exit. However, the attack was exactly what he wanted. Utilizing his ability to take a breath while sweeping high in the air, he produced a possibility amidst this impossible situation, by changing direction from going straight ahead to moving sideway, while sending out a finger energy at the same time to strike the white light. The most mischievous thing was that while he was soaring out and his right palm was blocking Lian Rous escape path, his mouth was crying out, Dont go! How could Lian Rou know that he had such ability to take a breath midair and change direction? Relying on her superior qinggong, she was also able to change direction midair, but definitely not like Xu Ziling, who was able not to reveal the slightest sign in his shenfa, who could change just as soon as he wanted to change. In her shock, she could only retreat in a sh. Ding! The white light was hit by the finger wind and was knocked against the wall. Turned out it was the dagger that Lian Rou used just now when she threatened to kill herself. While she was facing the wall, she stealthily pulled it out of its sheath on her thigh, and hid it in her hand. Cao Yinglong was a Jianghu veteran; as soon as he regained his consciousness, he swept over toward Xu Ziling. Sess or failure would be decided in the blink of an eye. Creak! The lid opened, ready to wee the escaping Lian Rou. The tip of Xu Zilings toes tapped the ground, he moved toward Cao Yinglong, stretched out one arm to grab his thick waist, and sent out a spiraling energy. The two men spun swiftly like a cyclone, and then taking the opportunity while the enemy had not grasped the situation inside the cer, they flew toward the exit, and suddenly shot out of the wooden chest. Under Zhu Mei and the Tall and Short, two Generals nk stare, and before they found their voices to shout, they already broke through the roof and disappeared. The bright moon was hanging high in the sky. From somewhere in the distance, Hou Xibai flew over and called out, Follow me! Inside an ordinary house at the east side of the city, only after finished listening to Xu Zilings exnation did Cao Yinglong realize what happened to him. Naturally he shed tears of gratitude, and was even more remorseful of what he had done in the past. Hou Xibai flew in through the window and said, There shouldnt be anybody following us. And then he turned toward Cao Yinglong and asked, Cao Dangjia is all right? Evidently Cao Yinglong was still quite wary of him, he hung his head down. While blushing with shame to conceal the contradicting reaction in his heart, he sighed and said, I am now an ordinary man, Hou Gongzi should not call me that. Xu Ziling caught everything with his eyes, his heart was moved, recalling that because Cao Yinglong was very familiar with Shi Zhixuans conduct, he was unable to trust the person Shi Zhixuan selected as his disciple either, so inwardly Xu Ziling was on guard as well. However, without drawing support from Hou Xibais power, he could forget about rescuing Cao Yinglong this time. Signaling Xu Ziling with his eyes, Hou Xibai said, I am going outside to be on the lookout; if we want to slip away, it would be best to do it tonight. Finished speaking, he flew out the window. Although Xu Ziling did not trust Hou Xibai, he could not help feeling heartfelt appreciation toward his elegant demeanor and consideration toward other people. Cao Yinglong started, This time ... Xu Ziling cut him off, The most important thing right now is how Cao Xiong could avoid the enemies and go back to see your wife and daughter for thest time. Cao Xiong, whats your n? Cao Yinglong dejectedly said, I have lost confidence; I no longer dare to have such a presumptuous wish. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Xu Ziling took out a mask that he had never used before from his bosom, and handed over to Cao Yinglong. He said, If you could shed your mortal body and exchange your bones to be another man, get rid of your usual walking gait and mannerism, perhaps you can still aplish your wish. Taking the mask in his hands, Cao Yinglong examined it carefully. His body shook severely, while a ray of hope returned to his eyes. With amazement in his voice, he said, Unexpectedly there is such a fine work of art in the world. I guarantee that after putting it on, even the subtle changes of the muscles on my face will be seen through, so that nobody will doubt it. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, This is Lu Miaozis refined work. From the masks he received from Lu Miaozi, he gave one to Ba Fenghan, and now, for righteousness sake, he gave another one to Cao Yinglong, hence he only had three masks remained: the Yue Shan, the scar face hero, and the dry, yellow-faced one. Cao Yinglong revealed a turns-out-it-was-from-Lu-Miaozis-hand, no-wonder-it-is-so-ghostly-crafted-divine-work sudden change in his demeanor; stuffing the mask into his bosom, he said in low voice, I am saved! But we must never let Hou Xibai know. Dont look at him now assuming an air ofplete indifference toward me, I dare to bet my head that after this is over, he wille looking for me, and will use sinister means to get everything out of me. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Its always better to be a bit more careful. After discussing how they were going to get away, Cao Yinglong spoke in low voice, Not only by nature Shi Zhixuan is sinister, he also has enormous ambition. For example, he painstakingly groomed two disciples to aplish his two greatest dreams: to unify Jianghu and to unify the demonic way. Therefore, this man Hou Xibai is not simple at all, you must never trust him. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Since thats the case, why would Shi Zhixuan pit these two disciples against each other? They might massacre one another, furthermore, they might hinder each other. Cao Yinglong said, Shi Zhixuan is someone who is difficult to measure, not many people can really understand him. Just by looking at how he deliberately leave the Immortal Print Scroll in the secluded forest of the small valley instead of giving it directly to his two disciples, we know how unfathomable he is. In my opinion, it may be that he found it difficult to decide whom he should give it to. Thereupon he let them fight until you die, I live, to see who will be eliminated. In their conduct, the people of the demonic schools have never taken human emotions and morality into considerations. Listening to that, Xu Zilings heart grew cold. Seizing this opportunity, he asked, The Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, aside from Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan, An Long, Pi Chen, Zuo Youxian and You Niaojuan, six persons, who are the other two? Cao Yinglong replied, Theres one that I know, which is the Eastern Tujue Xieli Khans Junshi Zhao Deyan. Within the demonic schools, this man has lofty status; he is revered as the Mo Shuai [Demonic Commander]. His demonic skill is extremely outstanding, barely second only to Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan. As for thest person, his identity is very mysterious. One time Shi Zhixuan inadvertently leaked out that this person was cultivating some kind of formidable gongfa in secret, but he did not say who. Finally Xu Ziling was able to ascertain the real identity of Zhao Deyan, whose martial art skill could properly approach Bi Xuans level. Inwardly he thought that no wonder he was able to make the wind and create the rain, to stir up the peoples from the outside toe into the Central ins to create havoc. With a light gust of the wind, Hou Xibai returned through the window. We dont have much time, he urged, We still need to go to An Longs old shop to take advantage of the festivities. And then his countenance changed slightly, I wonder if gentlemen smell a whiff, which seems to be here but seems to be far away C of fragrance? This is the first time that I caught this kind of fragrance. I already smelled it a while back, but I thought it was Lian Rous scent that was rubbed onto Cao Xiong. But this one does not disperse even after a while, obviously something is not right, I am afraid it might divulge our whereabouts. Cao Yinglong raised his left sleeve and sniffed, and his right sleeve and sniffed, but due to the great loss of his power, he couldnt smell any odor. But Xu Ziling was showing dread; he said, Luckily Hou Xiong is perceptive, otherwise we would fall victim of the yaonus trick. The scent ought to being from the hair. I wonder if Hou Xiong has any good suggestions. Hou Xibai said, At least until just now, the enemy has not followed the scent to this ce. Actually, Rou yaonu does not need to hurry, she could not have imagined that coincidentally there was someone like me who has great experience with all kinds of fragrance nearby, hence she would carryout her scheme leisurely. There are many ways to get rid of the scent, however, since time is pressing, we could y some tricks on Cao Xiongs hair, I guarantee we will be able to cover the fragrance that the yaonu put in there. Xu Ziling quietly exchanged a nce with Cao Yinglong, and said, frank and straightforward, Hou Xiong, please do your trick. At the same time, he was crying, Formidable inwardly. It should be noted that with the current scent, Xu Ziling had to concentrate his mind before he was able to barely catch a little. To follow a trail relying on such a faint scent in the bustling evening brimming with all kinds of flowery fragrance, the smoke and the fire, was certainly easier said than done. Yet Hou Xibai was able to, justifiably, find a way to put some scent on Cao Yinglong, so that wherever Cao Yinglong went, Hou Xibai could easily follow his trails and catch up with him. At that time, no matter with what kind of method he was going to deal with Cao Yinglong, Xu Ziling would be forever in the dark. This moment, both Xu Ziling and Cao Yinglong were unclear whether the scent on Cao Yinglongs hair was put there by Lian Rou, or whether it was Hou Xibai himself doing his trick. From his bosom, Hou Xibai took out a small box. When he opened it, they saw a white powdery fragrant thing, which smelled like some kind of jasmine, with much stronger scent than the previous one, but there was also an indistinct hard-to-describe unusual scent in it. If he had used this strange fragrance straight from the start, Xu Ziling would definitely be suspicious. Hou Xibai muttered softly, If Cao Xiong has a hat, I could put a bit of this onto the hat, then the other scent will bepletely covered. As long as you are traveling like this, the enemy would lose the means they are depending on to follow your trail. Xu Ziling and Cao Yinglong were stunned; they both wondered inwardly whether they were using Xiaoren [little/lowly person] mentality in measuring Hou Xibais noble belly? Reaching into his bosom, Cao Yinglong took out a hat, which he then put on his head. Hou Xibai casually took a pinch of the powdery stuff and sprinkled it on his hat. He said with a smile, I know Cao Xiong has a doubting heart toward Xiaodi, but I swear that I am absolutely not a despicable Xiaoren who take advantage of someone elses precarious situation. For Xiaodi right now, the most important thing is not to let the Immortal Print Scroll fall into Yang Xuyans hands. Otherwise, the first one to lose his life would be Xiaodi. Xu Ziling praised him inwardly; it was people like Hou Xibai, who know how to bnce the pros and cons and consider the advantages and disadvantages, who could sessfully aplish great undertakings. He was doing his utmost to save Cao Yinglong, it would only be proper for Xu Ziling to do his utmost to help him in return. He was just hoping that Shi Feixuan did not misjudge him. In terms of speech and demeanor, Hou Xibai was talented, outstanding, distinguished and aplished, confident and at ease, and schrly. Even if he had to fight him in a life and death battle, it would still be difficult to loathe him. Xu Ziling was about to speak, suddenly he heard an unusual noise. Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling were alerted at the same time. It was when Cao Yinglong noticed their expression did he begin to understand that something was amiss. It was not a man-made noise, but some cat-like animal that was good at soaring and leaping; when itnded on the roof, it created a very subtle noise, brimming with a lithe and springy feeling. Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling had a sudden understanding at the same time; the enemy was relying on this animal with acute sense of smell to follow their trail to this ce. The exotic animal swiftly circled around the roof overhead before leaping out of the courtyard. Hou Xibais heart was moved, he said, It loses the trail. Looking at the hat on Cao Yinglongs head, Xu Ziling said, We still have a chance to slip away. Laughing calmly, Hou Xibai said, We dont need to slip away. Come with me. The ce they were staying was actually Hou Xibais study room. Hou Xibai moved one of the bookshelves away to reveal the entrance to yet another room. Unexpectedly it was a hidden sunroom where scrolls of painting were spread everywhere, but it was dry and clean and tidy. Hou Xibai had just returned the bookcase back to its original ce to seal the entrance when there was a sound of rustling sleeves overhead. From the noise, it sounded like C if there were not ten enemies, then there were at least seven or eight enemies. The three held their breath and quieted their qi, while inwardly were a bit tense. It was a case of he whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille. The enemy was aware that there were martial art masters such as Xu and Hou, two men, around, yet they still dared to pursue to this ce, hence they must have enough confidence that they would be able to deal with them. Moreover, because Cao Yinglong was involved, the two could not simply break the siege and escape, therefore, if they were discovered, the situation would be difficult to imagine. Hou Xibais move was definitely an extremely brilliant one; he was ying a mind game against the opponent. Anybody who was following the trail to track down a target, if the trail was suddenly cut off, there were only two possibilities. One was that the target was not hiding in the ce they ought to hide; two was that the target has gotten rid of the clues being pursued. So now the enemy might search the house inside and outside, and because the scent inside the house has been concealed, the enemy might think that they were only passing through this ce, or perhaps they already left. Hou Xibai and Xu Zilingpletely focused their attention to listen attentively, ready to gain the initiative by striking first at any moment, killing the opponent as they were caught unprepared. A tender, soft, and sweet-sounding female voice on the roof said, This time Princess Rous Persian roon dog might have lost the trail. Stunned, Hou Xibai whispered, Thats really strange! Unexpectedly its Meiji Sina, one of the Four Big Chiefs of Ba Meng [Sichuan Alliance]. Xu Zilings heart was moved; he immediately realized why Hou Xibai felt strange. The three major powers of Sichuan were Duzun Bao, Chuan Bang, and Ba Meng. Ba Meng was the alliance of local ethnic minorities, which was formed to counter the Han power, with the Qiang, Yao, Miao and Yi, four major ethnic groups as the core. The Four Big Chiefs were the Qiangs Hou Wang [monkey king] Feng Zhen, the Yaos Meiji [lit. beautiful woman/concubine] Sina, the Miaos Da Lao [lit. big old] Jue Luofeng, and the Yis Feng Jiang [wind general] Chuan Mouxun. It was not surprising for the Eastern Tujue to have rtionship with the Sichuan Alliance, because in Sichuan Bashu, everybody wanted to get fat, and the Eastern Tujues Tong Xie Hu would not be an exception. The strange thing was, with the Meiji Sinas status, why would she personally track down Cao Yinglong? Where did his value lie? Another gloomy, old and decrepit male voice said, As long as Xu Ziling is still in Bashu, he wont escape our five-finger enclosure. Mengzhu [alliance master/leader] has promised that dead or alive, he will be sent to Guanzhong. The three looked at each other in astonishment; turned out they did not after Cao Yinglong, but Xu Ziling. From the tone of this mans voice, they could guess that evidently Ba Meng was leaning toward the Li n of Guanzhong, so much so that even the Western Tujue also had the intention of repairing their rtionship with the Li n. Otherwise, they could not possibly notify the Ba Meng immediately to capture Xu Ziling as soon as they discovered him. There was no eternal enemy in politics. In the wake of the Li ns continuously growing and changing power, it was difficult for the Li n and the Eastern Tujue to rekindle their former good rtion. The Eastern Tujue has always been superior to the Western Tujue. In order to remedy this disadvantageous position, the Western Tujue could only draw support from the most powerful military group in the neighboring area, and the Li n was their only choice. In just these few words, Xu Ziling immediately grasped the tangled andplicated situation of Bashu today; he also knew that he was in a danger zone, and could lose his life any moment. Laughing tenderly, Lian Rou said, Da Gong [lit. big duke, or simply honorable gentleman] must be a bit more careful; Xu Ziling is well-known for his craftiness. Da Gong spoke with such confidence, if he is still able to slip away, others mightugh up their sleeve. Hou Xibai closed his eyes and muttered, Hearing the voice is just like seeing the person. The Persian beauty is indeed distinct. Just by looking at his enchanted-like expression, one would know that he was painting a picture of the Persian beauty with the roon dog in her arms as he imagined it in his mind. From what Lian Rou said, Xu Ziling knew that the one boasting shamelessly was the Miaos Da Lao Jue Luofeng; he thought that since there were Lian Rou, Sina and Jue Luofeng, three persons, the two of them could forget about taking Cao Yinglong breaking out through the window. Sina said, Strange! Howe Xiao Li [little roon dog] chased to this ce and suddenly could not continue chasing? Whose house is this? Must be a schr or some elegant people. Were it not for neighboring people are out to enjoy the excitement of the Lantern Festival, we would not be able to get a clear picture in seeking our target. Lian Rou sighed and said, Just consider that kid lucky. Its no fun staying here, lets go. The sound of rustling sleeves went away. The three persons heaved a sigh of relief at the same time. Hou Xibai asked Cao Yinglong, Cao Xiong, where do you want us to take you? Cao Yinglong replied, As long as we can reach the Muxing Street at the north side of the city, I have confidence that I will be able to escape. Blowing out a mouthful of air, Hou Xibai delightedly said, Currently, the most difficult thing is leaving the city. If only inside the city, I guarantee we can do it. Turning toward Xu Ziling, he asked, After that, should we go to An Longs old shop at the south side of the city to try our luck? Xu Ziling smiled, Of course, he replied. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Ziling is indeed a true friend. Answering the call, Bu Tianzhi came into Kou Zhongs cabin. This man of wind and cloud [idiom: influential figure] whose prestige rose abruptly like a shooting star was staring nkly by the window, silently looking up at the full moon hanging high in the middle of the sky. It appeared that he had a load on his mind, or perhaps the beautiful scenery touched his heart deeply. His magnificent back, showing his broad shoulder and narrow waist, carried the as-steady-as-the-mountain imposing manner, creating fear and reverence in Bu Tianzhis heart, so that momentarily he did not dare to speak to disturb the peace, afraid that he might disrupt his train of thought. After a good while, Kou Zhong murmured quietly, as if he was speaking to himself, I want to take a trip to the Song Family of LingNan. Zhi Shu, please make the arrangement for me. After eliminating Shen Lun, I will immediately set out on my journey, while the rest may return to Peng Liang. Bu Tianzhi could feel the determination in his voice, he knew that it would be difficult for him to persuade Kou Zhong otherwise, hence he had no choice but to say, Let Zhi Shu apany you then. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, I have another important matter I need to entrust to Zhi Shu. Slowly turning around, he handed the bamboo tube containing the treasure map that Cao Yinglong handed over to Xu Ziling, and then Xu Ziling passed on to him C to Bu Tianzhis hands. After exining everything clearly, he said, Zhi Shu must retrieve everything as quickly as possible, and then keep it in a secret yet convenient ce so that it can be used any time. This can be considered an ill-gotten wealth, I do not want to use it to finance our military, I only hope to use it to rebuild the peoples homes. Full of appreciation, Bu Tianzhi said, Shao Shuais decision touched me very much. And then he could not help asking, Why does Shao Shuai appear to have a heavy load on your mind tonight? Kou Zhong looked up at the bright moon in the sky, and slyly said, My mood is much better now. Having Li Shimin as my adversary, what regret do I have in my life? Book 24 - 6 – Simply Must Go Book 24 Chapter 6 C Simply Must Go The two sat in a noodle shop at the south market, cattycorner from An Longs old shop Long He Xing, specializing in wine. The noodle shop was not on business; it merely opened its middle door, while providing cakes spread over the table, free of charge for the crowd enjoying the Lantern Festival. At this time, the Lantern Festival was in full swing. Arge group of Yi people, more than a hundred men and women, wearing full traditional ethnic apparel, were performing their singing and dancing on the street. The sound of drums and happy music warmed the air, attracting the people who were originally taking a rest inside the shop to go out to watch, cramming the wide street so that not one drop could trickle through, and thus making it more convenient for Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, these two men, to sneak in from the courtyard through the back door. In passing, Hou Xibai picked up a piece of mooncake, which he bit and chewed a mouthful, and said, Tonights Lantern Festival is jointly hosted by Duzun Bao, Chuan Bang, and Ba Meng, three parties. On the surface it is for everybody to have fun together, but it is actually a show of their unity to the outsiders! This is a yun tui [lit. cloud leg] mooncake, very authentic; would Ziling Xiong like to try it? Xu Ziling picked a piece to sample it; sure enough, as it entered his mouth, it was crisp and crumbly, sweet and salty, the taste of ham was prominent, moist, but not greasy, it could be rated as best quality product. After nodding his head approvingly, he casually asked, But internally, are they really united? Staring at the crowd on the street, Hou Xibai replied, I am afraid only Feixuan would be able to tell for sure. But at the very least, the alliance of three powers benefits the people of Chengdu, thew and order here is the best in the Central ins. Like tonight, nine out of ten houses are empty, yet there are no scoundrelsmitting a crime, because they knew that they will lose their lives afterwards for sure. More and more Xu Ziling felt that this man Hou Xibai was an enigma. He was dying to ask him why he wanted to kill Xu Ziling, yet although the words have arrived at his throat, in the end he could not spit it out, and had to stuff it back into his belly. Hou Xibais eyes seemed to be able to prate the heavy wall of people, straight into An Xing Long [sic, it was Long He Xing above]; spirited light shone from his eyes, he said, Tonight I was lucky toe across Ziling Xiong, otherwise I, Hou Xibai, lose my life in other peoples hands without knowing whats going on. Xu Ziling did not understand, How did it happen? he asked, Does your honorable master particrly care about and dote on Yang Xuyan? Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, I wish I knew. Ziling Xiong, please do not me Xiaodi for attempting to take your life twice in session, simply because masters order is difficult to disobey. But now I started to guess that it must be Yang Xuyan using our schools token to falsely passing on Shi Shis order, and using the same method he tricked Qingxuan intoing to Chengdu, scheming to snatch the scroll and to murder. However, this matter has been leaked, so that even if he had gargantuan guts, he would not dare to touch Qingxuan. Although Xu Ziling still could not believe himpletely, but since Hou Xibai was willing to exin, plus he admitted frankly that he did indeed try to kill him twice in a row, he felt a bit morefortable; nodding his head, he said, Hou Xiong nearly took my life. Shaken, Hou Xibai said, That time at Yangzhou, turns out you really sensed I was hiding in ambush. This is really unbelievable. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Hou Xiong is indeed brilliant; you guessed this fact based on my response. But we dont have much time! How are we going to do this? Hou Xibai replied, The agreed time to leave is still about half an hour away, Xiaodi is thinking of affirming one thing first, does Ziling really have the intention of killing Yang Xuyan? Murderous intent shed through Xu Zilings eyes, I cant find any reason not to kill him, he replied. Delighted, Hou Xibai said, Thats great. But it still depends on our luck, whether he is fated to lose his life or not. Toward Yang Xuyan, I knew nothing at all. But toward An Long, I have deep knowledge of his temperament. If he wanted to see you at certain time, you could only show up at that time, neither early norte. Therefore, as long as we lie in wait for them in time, taking advantage the moment before Yang Xuyane in to enter the shop, we might be able to kill him. Casting his nce outside the door, Xu Ziling saw the crowd cheering and apuding, the sound surging inside like tidal waves, yet in his heart he only saw Shi Qingxuans bright-moon-like jade countenance. He said, That will depend whether he is one of the crowd enjoying the bustling scenery. They could only wait in ambush for Yang Xuyan on the roof of the old shop. If Yang Xuyan entered the shop from the street, they might be waiting in vain. Shaken, Hou Xibai said, Thats not right! There are so many good ces to meet, why would he pick a ce bustling with noise and excitement where people are piling up? There must be a reason. Pondering deeply, Xu Ziling said, Could it be that that is the ce where Yang Xuyan is going to meet Miss Shi? Hou Xibai stood up abruptly and said, Lets step outside to test the water, and then well decide on the countermeasure for dealing with this situation. Xu Ziling came to the threshold to peer outside. Hou Xibai came to a halt next to him and said in a low voice, A bitter we will probably meet Ba Meng people, Ziling Xiong may pretend to be someone named Chang Fei. This lord calls himself Da Ba Shan Ren [a man of great Mount Ba]. He has always beening and going alone, but is actually well-known to be a handsome man, and just like Ziling, he does not like to use weapon. You are posing as him, it should be like a seamless heavenly clothes. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Than you for Hou Xiongs reminder. But I actually feel safer to disguise myself as a scar faced mountain man [or hermit]. Otherwise, when we meet Lian Rou, it will be a joke. Finished speaking, he turned his back, with an easy-drive-on-a-familiar-part he changed-shape-in-a-single-shake to be the scar faced hero. Watching this, Hou Xibai was dumbstruck. Turns out Ziling have this face-changing ability. I wonder how should I dress Ziling Xiong now? he asked. Xu Ziling responded indifferently, How about I follow your respected opinion? Hou Xibai cheerfully said, This mask has no w at all; it could be rated as best quality product of the present age, even the scar on your face looks amazingly real, it makes me remember a certain figure who had once gone on the rampage in the Yun Gui region [i.e. Yunnan and Guangxi]. In Jianghu, he was known as the Daoba Ke [lit. scar (from a knife would) guest/visitor], a character with resounding name about a dozen of years ago. He would not let off anybody who had a debt on him. Afterwards he seemed to be angering local schools and sects, and henceforth went into hiding and disappeared. How about Ziling Xiong be him, returning to Jianghu after a period of inactivity? The more he came in contact with Hou Xibai, the more Xu Ziling felt his outstanding charisma as he was talking cheerfully and wittily. Xu Ziling also could not stop his interest from being aroused. Astonished, he said, Hou Xiong seems to have extensive knowledge; I am full of admiration. I wonder what is this Daoba Xiongs surname and given name, and what kind of weapon he is good at? Hou Xibai said, Our Hua Jian Pai puts emphasis on roaming across the four seas, we go to a lot of ces, hear a lot of hearsay andeback stories. This is in answer to the aforementioned praise of having extensive knowledge. As for Daoba Kes name, it is very strange; he is called Gong Chenchun. Reportedly, he is adept in using more than a dozen different weapons with distinct characteristics. As for the actual fact, unless we encounter him in person and fight with him, there is no way we can verify it for sure. Xu Ziling mused that among Lu Miaozis wonderfully made masks, one was definitely made based on Yue Shans real appearance; who could say for sure that the others were not made based on actual person? Therefore, he said cheerfully, In that case, let Xiaodi temporarily be Gong Chenchun then. Ha! We should take advantage of this festive time! Chen Changlin entered the cabin. After he was seated properly, Kou Zhong asked, I want to know more about the Song ns situation in Lingnan. Chen Changlin had just learned from Bu Tianzhi, who was just on his way out of the cabin, that Kou Zhong has made up his mind to visit the Song Family. Originally he wanted to persuade him to dispel the idea, but as he saw Kou Zhongs expression this moment, he knew that Kou Zhongs mind has been made up. He had no choice but to ask, Which aspect does Shao Shuai want to know? Leaning back into his chair, Kou Zhong stretched his limbs and said with a sigh, Since sleep seems to elude me, Changlin Xiong might as well tell me whatever you want to tell me, if something interests me, I may just inquire further. Chen Changlin sorted out the information he had in his head. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he began, I believe Shao Shuai wants to know the Song Familys standing in local politics and their position in Wulin? Kou Zhongughed and said, Their position in Wulin ought to be clearly and easy to see. Southern martial art master whose name shakes the whole nation, other than the Heavenly Saber Song Que, who else will there be? Although Huang Gongcuo is brilliant, he had suffered defeat under Ning Daoqis hands. But until today, Song Que has not met his match. Tell me something else! Inwardly, naturally he was thinking the Ba Dao [overbearing saber] Yue Shan, who lost his lifetime fame for fighting prowess under Song Ques hands. And from Yue Shan his mind went to Xu Ziling. His days without Ling Shao by his side have been particrly difficult to bear; whenever he had a load in his mind, there was no one to confide to. Chen Changlin nodded his agreement; he said, To understand the situation at Lingnan, we must first understand that it is the ce where the Li [ethnic group] and the Han mingle together. The Li people are further divided into Wu Wu [two different characters] Liao, Xi Yuan Man, and Huang Dong Man, and other different ethnic groups, which, in the end, are known as Li Liao. Kou Zhong was confused; he mumbled, Trying to remember these names gives me headache, its easier to just call them Nan Man [lit. southern barbarians]. Chen Changlin smiled and said, Whether we call them Li Liao or Nan Man, both names carry a derogatory tone. In fact, since the Qin and Han dynasties, Nan Man has been increasingly Sinicized, but they live in remote ces, their dwellings are still some kind of the so-called pole and fence houses, made of bamboo and wood construction, the roof is made of reeds and paddy straws. It has twoyers; the top is for people, the bottom for livestock. It can avoid mria, as well as wild animals. Just from this, we could infer their way of life. Kou Zhong thought that if he could pass the night with Song Yuzhi in his arms in such a house where the people were on top and the livestock on the bottom, it would be a distinctive vor. Chen Changlin continued, After the Sui wiped out the Chen [of Southern dynasties, 777-589], with the Song ns approval, one after another the Li Liao from various regions of Lingnan realigned their allegiance to the Sui dynasty. Thereupon Yang Jian sessively set up Nan Hai, Yi An, Zhu An, Jiao Zhi, and so on, twenty three counties, locally. He also agreed with Song Ques proposal to appoint Li Liao tribal chief andmander to govern the ethnic groups internal affairs; therefore, various tribal chiefs andmanders of Lingnan are grateful to Song Que. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, Yang Jian had no choice; if he did not use this governing-by-restrain method, I am afraid the Li Liao would have been rebelling early on. And then, furrowing his brows, he said, It does not matter how formidable Song Ques saber technique is, how enormous the Song Familys influence is, there will always be conflict of interest among the various Li Liao ethnic groups; how does the Song Family hold them up together? Chen Changling raised his thumb and said with augh, Many superficial changes, but no departure from the original stand. Precisely how Mencius advised the Liangs Hui Wang [king of Hui], King! There is no need to take advantage of the day, on the contrary, take advantage of the movement. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong said, Changlin Xiong, please dont leave Xiaodi hanging! Tell me quickly what is it? Chen Changlinughed and said, The Song Familys two most powerful magic weapons are that they are in control of shipping business of the south and themercial trading system linking the entire country. Not only that, Song Que is a man whose words worth a thousand gold; he purchases openly, he sells openly, paying particr attention about fair dealing. So when all Li tribal chiefs obtain benefit and be rich, nobody would not follow Song Que blindly. Therefore, no matter how Lin Shihong or Shen Faxing expanded their influence, they would never dare to even have half an idea of provoking the Song Family of Lingnan. Recalling the Silver Dragon Song Lus standing when dealing with various issues in Luoyang, Kou Zhong saw a lot of simrities in him. He asked, Arent they mainly in salt business? After muttering to himself irresolutely, Chen Changlin said, Salt is just one of them. The Song Family has been distributing all kinds of local products of Lingnans Li Liao to all parts of the Central ins in a steady flow, while also transporting local necessities back into Lingnan. That is where they make their profit from. Some people believe that quite possibly Song Que is the richest man under the heavens. Although this opinion might not be urate, it is not far from the truth either. pping the armrest, Kou Zhong said, Turns out the Song Family is the genuine Longyou Bang [roaming dragon gang, see Book 22 Chapter 3]; no wonder just from the tea leaves shape and vor Song Shidao is able to write a book. Listening to that, Chen Changlin was bewildered, What kind of gang is Longyou Bang? he wondered aloud. After exining it to him briefly, Kou Zhongs eyes shone as he asked, Lingnan has valuable products? Obviously Chen Changlin had a remarkable understanding ofmercial trade of various ces around the country. As if enumerating his family valuables, he said, For our Nanhai Jun, we have tortoiseshells, pearls, ivory, and Chinese eaglewood. Huang Gongcuos Zhuya [historic name for Hainan Ind] produces spices, kapok, five-colored rattan, and all kinds of precious medicinal herbs. Lingnans ironware foundry is fairly developed. All are in the big business of making money. Kou Zhong happily said, I finally found a reason that I simply must go to Lingnan! We are in need of a reliable business partner like Song Que. Smiling wryly, Chen Changlin said, I thought that after Shao Shuai listened to me, you might dispel your intention to go! By the time Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, the two difficult-to-distinguish-between-friend-and-foe partners, stepped into the crowd on the street, the song and dance just happened to end. Amidst the warm and lively shaking-the-heavens shouts and cheers, everybody was moring toward the public square, where the market was normally held, to watch thentern decoration and spotlights. Everybody was in high spirit; in the twinkle of an eye the stream of people dispersed more than half off the street. Xu Ziling, in his guise as the scar-faced hero, cried inwardly, Heaven helps me! Leaning closer to Hou Xibai, he said, Although I have never seen Yang Xuyans real face, but this mans body shape and bearing are exceptional; as soon as Hou Xiong see him, you will know. Human life is beyond value, Hou Xibai said, Xiaodi will only make my move after you verify it. You are responsible for watching for Yang Xuyan, I am responsible for paying attention to the people from An Longs side. The two weaved right and left among the crowd as they crossed the vehicles and horsesne. Children holdingntern in their hands were running around on the street, adding a considerable vitality and liveliness to the Lantern Festival atmosphere. Seeing the street was filled with all kinds of people from all kinds of ethnicity enjoying the festival together, Xu Zilings heart grew warm; more and more he felt that peace and prosperity was a precious thing. At the same time, Hou Xibais remark about human life is beyond value made him think that if Hou Xibai was not a good and honest man by nature, then he must be an extremely evil man. Until now, he still believed Cao Yinglongs view that the disciple that Shi Zhixuan trained could not possibly be a good man, since it would bepletely against the demonic schools code of conduct. This thought came into his mind, he asked, Hou Xiong values human life like that, I wonder what would your esteemed masters reaction be if he heard it? By this time they have reached the street where An Xing Long was located. An Longs old shop, just like any other shop, was opening its main gate, with cakes and culinary delicacy for the people to enjoy. Hanging inside was a row of more than a dozen of giant carouselmps ntern with carousel of paper horses, rotating under convection, used at Lantern Festival], affording a magnificent view, attracting not a few of the people to stop by to enjoy it. Because they also provided good wine to entertain the guests, the spacious shop was crowded with an unending stream of visitors, so that the outside of the shop was bustling with noise and excitement. Upon stepping across the threshold of the door, Hou Xibai withdrew his prating gaze with which he scanned the shop interior. He said, That is just Xu Xiongs misunderstanding of our humble Sect. Perhaps I can give you an analogy: Hua Jian Pai is Jianghus Zonghengjia[1], the emphasis is zongheng method [or method to move unhindered; see footnote], not relying on numbers, because in each generation it has only one disciple. The most important thing is to study and cultivate by knowledge and experience, by traveling around everywhere, and by being able to make nations and countries perish with no blood on the mens swords. It suddenly dawned on Xu Ziling that Shi Zhixuan assuming Pei Jus identity was precisely this not wasting/costing one soldier one pawn principle, bringing the Great Sui to its demise from the inside. If he were relying on military force alone, how long would it take him to aplish this matter? He asked, Since thats the case, what kind of person is your esteemed master, actually? Hou Xibai halted his steps and looked around; he spoke in heavy voice, Sometimes I suspect that Shi Shi is a person with dual personalities, all because Hua Jian Pai and Bu Tian Ge, two sects martial art xinfa are pr opposite, each one goes to the extreme. For Bu Tian, capturing the heaven is not enough; hence they act on behalf of the heaven, by specializing in assassination and murder, the more chaotic the world the better, fetching the generals seizing themanders, to regard the magnificent army with thousands of men and horses as nothing. Early on I already suspected that Yang Xuyan is Bu Tian Ge disciple, but I just received the confirmation from Xu Xiongs mouth! Bu Tian Ge pays no attention toradeship; everything is just a tool for them, a vast difference from our Hua Jian Pais embracing the scriptures and the ways of the world, losing oneself in the white cloud. Ay! Its bad! Xu Zilings heart shivered; following Hou Xibais gaze, he saw a group of six, seven beautiful girls, with handsome and wonderful posture, beating a small drum tied onto their waist, walking toward them. They were wearing colorful attire of their specific ethnic group, matching their gorgeous appearances. The most eye-catching was that the two sleeves of the small-cored ntingpel of their clothes were made of red, yellow, green, purple, and blue, five different color cloth put together. The hem of their skirts was embedded with precious stone, and the outside their long gown was covered with purple and red and deep blue C iid with flowers C sleeveless jacket. Long ribbon was tied on their waist; both ends of the ribbon had embroidery thread coiled together into flower and ck decorative motif. Magnificent with many postures, as if the clouds tinged with sunset hues in the sky above became human, in the form of bright and beautiful, touching, pretty women C and appeared in the mortal world. Their waist drums were even more carefully picked; the casing were made of mulberry wood, iid with precious stone and a variety of jade, the cover was made of python skin. Both hands were beating the drum alternately, the right hand struck the center of the drum, producing dong, strong tone; the left hand struck the edge of the drum, producing wu, weak tone. Sometimes both hands pped the center of the drum or the edge of the drum together, producing drum roll, so there were dong ka dong wu, or perhaps dong dong dong dong, ka ka wu wu; many variations on the drumming method, evolving into unbelievably splendid and pleasant-to-listen-to drum music and wonderful rhythm. While Xu Ziling was still wondering why Hou Xibai groaned Its bad!, seven beautiful drummer girls already surrounded the two. They seemed to be cautious, yet happily beating their drums and dancing, attracting everybodys attention. Xu Ziling began to understand; if they were being entangled by this group of girls, how were they going to proceed with their operation to assassinate Yang Xuyan? One of the girls was slightly taller, her legs were particrly long, her smile was even more pleasant; for some reason she was able to make a deep, romantic, pushing-down-all-beauties impression in peoples heart. But there was hidden bitterness, secret grudges in her eyes, as she stuck close to Hou Xibais body. Obviously the two of them knew each other. Hou Xibai helplessly smiled wryly toward Xu Ziling. This moment, unless they soared into the air, there was no other way to free themselves from these girls. In this annoying moment, Xu Ziling suddenly saw Shi Qingxuan. [1] School of Diplomacy of the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), zongheng itself means vertically and horizontally/length and breadth/crisscross/able to move unhindered. Book 24 - 7 – Meeting The Beauty Again Book 24 Chapter 7 C Meeting The Beauty Again Xu Ziling heard Shi Qingxuans voice first. Following the direction of her voice, he happened to see a sh of her powdery back, which quickly vanished. He did not know why Shi Qingxuan was so sure that the scar-faced hero was he, but she spoke by focusing her voice into a thread and transmitted it into his ear, making him feel greatly awkward, because what she said was, After casting Hou Xibai away, go immediately to the Da Shi Si [great stone temple] outside the city to see me! It was that split second when he was hesitating that her trail was swiftly moving, like a fantasy which appeared real C this beauty [orig. jade person], whose flute skill was famous throughout the world, already disappeared into the stream of people. It was a situation where both sides inner feelings were in sincere cooperation. For Xu Ziling, abandoning Hou Xibai just like that was a difficult problem involving morality and justice. Not to mention Yang Xuyan and An Longs side had tremendous power, so losing Hou Xibai as powerful helper was really not a wise thing to do. The most annoying thing was that if Da Shi Si was inside the city, he still needed to ask people for direction; if it was outside the city, he did not want to waste time. Either way, he still needed Hou Xibais, this old horse who knows the way home C help. Dong dong ka ka, the sound of the drums pulled his mind back from Shi Qingxuan. Hastily he leaned over and spoke in Hou Xibais ear, I made contact with Shi Qingxuan; quickly slip away! Slightly startled, Hou Xibai turned toward one of the beauties, cupped his fist and sighed in admiration, Drummer beauties are even more marvelous; regretfully Zaixia is burdened with an urgent matter. Would it be possible for Fan Da Xiaojie to allow Zaixia toe to your esteemed Gangs Zongtan [lit. head altar, i.e. headquarter] to apologize and pay my respect? Not only his movement was confident and at ease, pleasing to the eye, it also carried some kind of restoring-harmony feeling; immediately he excited the crowd of girls that theyughed like a stem of flower trembling randomly. The remaining six girls were still beating their drums and dancing, while the outstanding beauty stopped. Her right hand on the drum skin, her left hand gently rested on her small curvy waist, as she appeared to be staring longingly, appeared to be happy, while standing charmingly in front of the two men. Her beautiful eyes swept the scar-faced guest, Xu Ziling, first, and then, disinterested, she turned her gaze toward the elegant, graceful gentleman, Hou Xibai. Lightly stomping her tiny boot, she spoke tenderly, You, this man, are really hateful, I dont know where to look for you. And this time you still want to find an excuse to slip away? Her voice was tender, soft, and sweet sounding, carrying some kind of attractive maism. Even though Xu Ziling was preupied, he still wanted to listen more of what she had to say. On top of that, her unrestrained, without suspicion, and bold style was able to make any mans heart unbearably itchy. Perhaps, in all his life of showing passion to the fragrant and cherishing the flower, this was the first time that Hou Xibai felt regret; smiling wryly, he said, Fan Da Xiaojie, please dont misunderstand! How could I, Hou Xibai, go back on my words? Whats more, I am making an appointment with a beauty. Its just that this Xiongdis father is critically ill; hence Zaixia must apany him home. His Die is just like half a Die for Zaixia, Da Xiaojie, please be magnanimous. The beautys pair of wonderful eyes immediately turned toward Xu Zilings face; skeptically she let out a tender humph and said, If you want to lie to me, you ought to find a bit more pleasant-to-listen-to story. Your so-called Xiongdi does not look the least bit anxious or mournful; just now the two of you seemed to be strolling along thentern market. Who would believe you? Xu Ziling had no choice but to press down the glum in his heart, and lie for Hou Xibai, who was actually the best in cating a beauty in a roundabout way; he spoke heavily, Xiaodi has just received Hou Xiongs news, and only then did I understand about my humble fathers life-threatening illness. Ay! Ones time on earth is merely several dozen winters and summers; Xiaodi has always regarded life and death lightly, but to be able let him, the Senior, to have his son pay hisst respects, is indeed our duty as sons and daughters to repay our parents kindness. Ay! Lying to this point, Xu Ziling was no longer able to continue; hence he had no choice but to sigh again. The beauty rolled her wonderful eyes, and shouted in low voice, Stop beating the drums! Listening to it makes my heart distracted, my thoughts in turmoil. The group of girls evidently regarded her as their leader; hence they stopped immediately. From disbelief, the beauty became half-believing, half-doubting. Her jet-ck eyebrows frowning lightly, she said, Are you from Chengdu? Where do you live? Like a quick sword cutting through tangled hemp, Hou Xibai decisively pulled Xu Zilings arm and said, No time to lose, we, two brothers must leave immediately. Excuse us! The beauty stuck out her pert, elegant silky breasts, while viciously said, If I dont see you tomorrow, I, Fan Caiqi will cut your untrustworthy tongue for a snack to apany the wine. Finished speaking, she grudgingly stepped aside to make way. Knock! Knock! Chen Laomous voice responded from inside the room, Come in! Kou Zhong pushed the door and came in. Seeing Chen Laomou got up from his bed and scooted to sit at the edge of the bed, he apologetically said, Sorry for waking Mou Gong up! But if you just take a look at this, I guarantee you wont me me. He handed over the book written by Lu Miaozi on mechanism and smart device to Chen Laomou. Chen Laomou did not immediately look at the treasured rare book being stuffed in his hand; he stared at Kou Zhong, as if he was in daze, for half a day before he nodded his head and said, Laofu is quite old, and I have seen with my own eyes I dont know how many persons who have changed. Take Yun Yuzhen, for example, she became so formidable that in the end Xiao Bu and me were forced to leave her. Although you, these two kids, are getting more and more formidable, you still maintain that kind of innate character; Xiao Ling is at home wherever he is, you are still cynical. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, If you, Mou Gong, tell your evaluation on us to Li Mi, Xiao Xian, and the others, no one will agree with you. Chen Laomouughed aloud and said, You are well aware of what I, Chen Laomou, said. Contending for hegemony over the world is also some kind cynicism. It means you are unwilling to bow under both the existing and conventional powers, to surrender your personal goal. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, What is my goal? Frankly speaking, I dont think that bing the emperor is an interesting matter. Therefore, even if I obtain the final victory, most probably I will ask someone else to sit on that scalding-butt seat. Chen Laomou shook his head and said, Your goal is absolutely not to be the emperor; rather, you want to be able to move unhindered over the world, to change impossible things to be possible. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day. He sighed and said, No one knows me like Mou Gong; how did you figure it out? Proud of himself, Chen Laomou said, This is called the profound skill of observing people. Those who want to be the emperor must have enormous appetite for power, putting emphasis on the distinction between superior/subordinate. Take Xiao Xian for example; although he put up the appearance of a proper, virtuous person, the fact is that his words and actions, his bearings are brimming with royalty, feudal-aristocrats style. Not wearing the dragon robe is just one kind of trick. How can he bepared to you, who are casual in everything? Were it not for your subordinates, who are organizational and managerial experts, like Xuan Yong, Ren Meimei, Xu Xingzhi, and the others, your Shaoshuai Army would just be like a sheet of loose sand. Kou Zhong delightedly patted his old shoulder and said with a smile, You know what material I am made of, and I also know what material you are made of; why not flip over the thing in your hand to take a look? Chen Laomou looked down and saw the cover of the book had five characters written on it, Study of Mechanism and Smart Device; a slight scorning smile appeared on his face. Opening the first page, he read the preface, which contained a disimer, The study of mechanism is a study attacking the heart of the underlying principles. A heart has the hearts character; an object has the objects character. In short, it is a study about the intrinsic order of the heaven and earths nature, nothing is excluded, nothing is not contained. Knowing the first, not knowing the second, it is merely a small path, a small technique. Chen Laomou was an expert in the study of smart device; he was emotionally moved immediately. Who wrote this? he asked. Kou Zhong reached out to turn to the next page for him, at the end of the preface, there awe-inspiringly appeared Lu Miaozis signature, three eye-catching characters. Shaken, Chen Laomou eximed, My Niang! And then he turned back to the first page to continue reading. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, I have read this ghost thing more than a dozen times, still I only know one and understand half [idiom: a smattering of knowledge]. Mou Gong, you ... Realizing Chen Laomou seemed to hear but not react to his words, Kou Zhong quietly left and lightly closed the door behind him. The water of the river gentlypped the hull of the boat sailing in the night. The moon was hanging low on the horizon. Kou Zhong suddenly felt iparably rxed. Once again life was brimming with fascinating meaning. Life was a constant struggle. Concerning him, would the end be a pain or happiness? Hou Xibai climbed over a small hill and pointed ahead, That is the Da Shi Temple. Following his finger, Xu Ziling looked ahead, and saw among the ancient cypress covering the sky like bamboo cage to cultivate green onion, bathed by the bright light of the moon, surrounded by red walls, with the pagoda inside high up in the sky C was the majestic, towering multi-story temple. Hou Xibai suddenly heaved a deep sigh and said, Does Ziling Xiong also feel that Yang Xuyans choice of this temple as the ce where he, pretending to be Shi Shi, meet Qingxuan, is very strange? Astounded, Xu Ziling said, Perhaps he anticipated that Miss Shi would meet me first, so he selected this location. Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, I dare say that there must be a reason behind this, but I am not sure if I ought to tell you? At a loss, Xu Ziling said in bewilderment, If Hou Xiong have secret trouble, there is no need to tell me. Hou Xibai appeared to make up his mind. Telling Ziling Xiong is a bit more appropriate, he spoke resolutely, The reason of my hesitancy was because this matter involves Shi Shis secret. Since childhood, I was an orphan, rarely did I tell others about the load on my mind; especially anything concerning Shi Shi and Hua Jian Pai, I never revealed it to anybody else. Xu Ziling was silent, pondering inwardly whether this orphan was like Cao Yinglong, whom Shi Zhixuan skillfully trained into a master. Book 24 Chapter 7 - Part 2 Jaya, Ysabel, you are wee. Hou Xibai looked up at the moon in the night sky, and then looked down in contemtion. He spoke slowly, Although Shi Shi only taught me the xinfa of Hua Jian Pais martial art, but from time to time he made references about Bu Tian Ges martial art. The so-called Bu Tian [repairing (or filling the void of) the heaven] is filling in the inadequacy of the heaven, which, when developed to the pinnacle, will be considered by the self-proimed orthodox school as outside the heretical, demonic way, the filling-in-the-inadequacy-of-the-heaven as a conduct in defiance of the natural order. Ay! Who would have thought that following that principle is actually low, while going against it is actually noble? Listening to that, Xu Zilings heart shivered slightly. Hou Xibai would always be the disciple cultivated by the present day demonic person Shi Zhixuan. When speaking about any theory concerning demonic schools, the tone of his voice was extremely cynical and indignant,pletely different from his usual warm, schrlynguage. Hou Xibai suddenly spoke in embarrassment, Ziling Xiong must not take any offense. When speaking about this issue, I dont know whether because it is constantly repeating in my mind, subconsciously I always emte the tone of Shi Shis voice when he was talking about this. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling wondered aloud, Howe Da Shi Temple ispletely without lights? Even if all the monks have gone to bed, shouldnt there be some kind of Buddhantern, incense stick and candle, or something like that? Hou Xibai said, I was about to tell Ziling Xiong, because Da Shi Temples Zhuchi offended a certain extremely-hard-to-deal-with figure from the demonic school, all the monks of the Temple are temporary taking shelter at the neighboring temples and monasteries to avoid disaster. As long as the dispute has not been settled, they absolutely do not dare toe back. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Who is so overbearing like this? Unexpectedly Bashus Wulin of the same way only sit and watch, but remain indifferent? Hou Xibai was about to answer, a dot of light appeared inside the temple. Xu Ziling shouted in low voice, Hou Xiong, please stay here, Xiaodi ising in. Swiftly, but carefully, Xu Ziling turned over the courtyard wall. This moment thentern light suddenly disappeared again. He had no choice but to rely on his memory on where thest time he saw the light, while taking off his mask in passing. The scale of this famous temple was really not small. From the Shanmen [monastery main gate] Hall, there were the Tianwang [lit. heavens king] Hall, Qifo [lit. seven Buddhas] Hall, Daxiong Baodian [Hall of Great Strength, the main hall of a Buddhist temple containing the main image of veneration], Zangjiang Lou [library tower], and so on; there wereyer uponyer of temple halls. Although it was not asplicated as the structure of Jing Nian Chanyuan, the design was elegant, as well as imposing and majestic. Next to theplex of temple halls, which looked like a disposition of troops, a tall tower rose up from among the millions of bamboo trees, the exterior was imposing. At this time Xu Ziling could not help but a bit regretful that he did not ask Hou Xibai clearly who the formidable demonic school figure was, unexpectedly this person was able to make the monks here emptying the temple to avoid disaster. It should be noted that generally, all famous and ancient Buddhist temples would have outstanding martial art masters in-house to take up the responsibility of guarding the temple, plus all the monks in the temple ought to, more or less, know martial art, not too mention Wulin masters of the same principle in the area usually had some kind of rtionship with the Temple; they could not possibly just sit and watch without doing anything. Therefore, the situation before his eyes right now could be considered highly unusual. Listening to the tone of Hou Xibais voice, this person could not possibly be An Long; he must be someone that Xu Ziling did not know. So much so that it might the person ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way that even Cao Yinglong did not know. He had never tried wandering randomly in a temple where there was no one in it; the feeling was extraordinarily novel. In the study of architecture, the Xu Ziling of today was already unlike the General Lu Meng of the southern state of Wu [model of self-improvement by diligent study]. Following his steps, he took a casual observation, and was able to grasp the architecture of this famous ancient Buddhist monastery. He could feel even more the graceful, pondering, doing-the-utmost zeal and spirit of the religious men conscripted in establishing the temple. Whether it was the gate, the window, the eaves, and the arch, everything was carved with plumage, flowers and nts, and all kinds of decorative motif. The ridge of the temple was decorated with y model of strange birds and exotic beasts; vivid and lifelike. The temple buildings were connected to each other by long corridors, withrge obelisks standing inrge numbers, symmetrical left and right. A momentter, he reached Luohan [Arhat] Hall, where the light previously appeared. Momentarily his breathing stopped. Before his eyes there was a forest of statues, filling the mail hall with marvelously shocking scene. The statues spread across the main hall, and were divided into two groups. On the center were several dozen of revered Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, positioned in such a way that they brought the focus of attention to the thousand-arm Guanyin right in the middle of the hall. Not only the precious likeness was stately, the shape of each hand and the object it was holding was different from each other, producing the impression of it possessed great magical power and exuded unbounded strength. The five hundred Luohan were spread all around, facing the statue at the center, forming north-south and east-west pathways in the middle. It was as if Xu Ziling was transported into a different-from-reality world of gods and Buddhas. Under the moonlight prating into the hall, the statues near him looked to be meticulously and borately crafted. Whether it was standing, leaning, sitting, or lying down, all poses were different from each other, they looked like real person, their expression was lively; it was hard to tell whether they were just statues or real persons. By the time he reached the front of the thousand-arm Guanyin, surrounded by theyer uponyer, row upon row of Luohan statues all around him, he felt as if he had fallen into a maze of statues formation; it was such a strange feeling that no word could describe even one out of ten thousand. There was a small candleholder under the thousand-arm Guanyin seat. In just one nce Xu Ziling was able to recognize that the candleholders style was identical to the one being used by Shi Beauty at the Fu Dong Migong [good fortune cavebyrinth]. Shi Qingxuans moving voice rang out from behind, Would Xu Gongzi please light thentern? her voice was gentle. Pressing down the urge to turn around, Xu Ziling fetched the flint stone by the candleholder and lit the candle. A dot of light leaped to be a flicker of fireworks, lighting up the center of the Luohan Hall, increasing the strangeness of the already bizarre atmosphere. Shi Qingxuans voice came from his right, We might as well y hide-and-seek here! Xu Ziling was standing nailed to the ground. Like a child who was scared of being scolded by his mother he confessed, Miss, please do not take offense; I still have Hou Xibaiing with me, Xiaodi did not cast him away ording to Miss instruction, but there is a reason behind it. Shi Qingxuan maintained her silence, and then she showed herself from behind the thousand-arm Guanyin, her face was covered in heavy gauze, she spoke indifferently, Things of the world, there is none that does not fall between the two universes of principal and secondary causes [Buddhist doctrine of karma]; he wants toe, let hime! Its not a big deal. The most important thing is that you, this good person, havee! In the presence of this jade person, although Xu Ziling had thousands of words to say, he did not know where to start. After going through hard-pressed danger one after another, fooling around with his fate everywhere, unexpectedly she suddenly appeared within his reach, without wasting any time. A burst of emotion consisting of a hundred different feelings, which he could not exin one by one, like a torrential flood broke out from deep within his heart, overwhelming him with the urge, which he experienced only the first time in his life C to draw this woman into his embrace. Naturally he could only keep this impulse in his heart. The feeling Shi Qingxuan was giving him was hot and cold, varying indeterminably, as if she wanted to keep a certain distance with you; it was hard to pin down. Although it did not reach the state where she wanted to keep people a thousand li away, at the very least there was the impression that she was not easy to get close to. After sucking in a mouthful of deep breath, Xu Ziling spoke calmly, This time Miss came to Chengdu, was it because you received your esteemed fathers message? Unconcerned, Shi Qingxuan replied, Qingxuan only have Niang and never have Die. Are you trying to warn me that it was just a sinister plot concocted by An Long and Yang Xuyan? Humph! Those two muddled eggs have the impertinence to slight Bi Xiuxins daughter. I will definitely make them leave and pack their food before they finish eating. But you indeed have some ability, having just arrived in Chengdu, yet is able to find so many things. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was bbergasted; he was speechless, knowing that he himself had been slighted by Shi Qingxuan. In vain had he been worried for nearly ten days. Shi Qingxuan smiled and said, An Long originally wanted me to meet him at his old shop. Luckily I came across you outside the door, thereupon I asked them toe here to settle everything at the same time. I assume you have not forgotten that you told me that you are willing to carry all the burden and responsibility for me. A real mans word worth one thousand in gold, you cant say that it does not count. Hearing that, Xu Zilings scalp went numb. What burden Miss wanted to hand over to me to carry? He resigned himself, realizing that he would never know how to deal with the particr style with which this beauty worked. As if she was recounting some trivial thing, Shi Qingxuan spoke leisurely, First of all, I want you to deal with Shi Zhixuans ghost scroll for me. Whether Xu Gongzi wants to rip it up and throw it away, or perhaps wants to give it to someone else, I dont really care. While Xu Ziling was still in shock, Shi Qingxuan already handed over a roll of sheepskin scroll. Unusual changes followed. Book 24 - 8 – Battle for the Print Scroll Book 24 Chapter 8 C Battle for the Print Scroll The moment Xu Ziling was about to take the collected works of demonic ways two sects great aplishment, recording the pinnacle skill of the present age, the Immortal Print Scroll, from Shi Qingxuans hand, a beam of yin, iparably cold, brimming with sinister, damaging yin vor C qi energy was striking down on the vital part of his back like an iron rod. If he evaded it by moving to the side, Shi Qingxuan would bear the brunt. Left with no choice, Xu Ziling was forced to hunch his back, ready to receive the strike. At the same time, from behind the statue of Buddha on the left, arge beam of glittering light rolled up; it poured down like a shower on the two, in concert with the sneak attack on Xu Zilings back, like a seamless heavenly clothes. If not for unusual situation where Xu Zilings mind was enraptured by the idols inside the temple, no matter how brilliant the enemies were, he would not be this distracted that he only sensed the attack when it nearly arrived. The other reason was that he was relying on Hou Xibai to be on guard outside, hence his vignce was naturally reduced. However, this moment it was already toote to be sorry, hence he could only give it his all to receive the arriving tidal wave. In this moment of life and death, divine light suddenly shed in Xu Zilings mind; a Luohan statue that left a particrly deep impression on him appeared in his mind. That Luohan, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, was stretching out his muscles and bones, in a wonderful pose of lowering and raising his head, and bending and stretching to the greatest extent; at that time he was wondering if it was some kind of a stance in the martial art training. This moment, where life and death was hanging on a thread, he suddenly had a sh of understanding. Laughing aloud, he continued stooping over, but the instant the enemys qi was about to reach his body, he suddenly flung everything aside, and stretched out his limbs just like the pose of that statue. Wonderful thing happened. The true qi invading his body could no longer seek certain vital acupoint to be attacked, but dispersed throughout his entire body instead, and then it was distributed into the four limbs of his body. Just like the flood, although it was intense, but because there are enough river courses to clear the way, it will not overrun. Of course, if the opponents punch exploded solidly on the back, naturally it would be difficult to avoid injury. But now the opponent was simply sending a punch power across empty air, plus the fist was at least two zhang away, with the intention of catching Xu Ziling off guard. Unexpectedly, the amazing move that heprehended at thest moment was more than enough to deal with it. The entire course of events happened in just the blink of an eye. By this time Yang Xuyans signature Phantom Sword has started to rain down on him. From behind came An Longs surprise cry; obviously he never expected that Xu Ziling did not flee, did not evade, but received his attack head on, so that he was at a loss. If Xu Ziling dodged the attack by moving sideways, then Shi Qingxuan would at least receive a little bit of injury, giving Yang Xuyan the opportunity to snatch the Immortal Print Scroll away. Just with a slight difference like that, the two mens counting-their-chickens-before-they-are-hatched plot has fallen apart. But Xu Ziling and Shi Qingxuan have not escaped danger yet. Although using skillful hands of extraordinary stroke the former managed to withstand An Longs fierce attack, yet in order to neutralize the opponents true qi invading his body, momentarily his entire body was paralyzed, his meridians felt like bursting, and he was powerless to help Shi Qingxuan countering Yang Xuyans terrifying sword strike. But Shi Qingxuan appeared to have already anticipated that Yang Xuyan woulde out like that. The instant the sword light reached her body, she spun around and using the scroll as a flute, she thrust it up to meet the sharp light of the sword, which appeared like an exploding fireworks, head on. Xu Ziling abruptly raised a mouthful of true qi, and instantaneously the qi power was restored. At this time, An Long alreadyunched the lotus steps. Scrambling to the blind spot on his right side, he used two fingers like a fork to pierce his eyes, while down below, his right leg silently kicked to attack his groin; it was sinister to the extreme point. It was the first time that Xu Ziling encountered such a crafty and mysterious footwork. The originally ordinary attack, feign on the top and real on the bottom, immediately shed its mortal body and exchanged its bones to be difficult to ward off. If it were Kou Zhong in Xu Zilings ce, quite possibly when his saber technique could not be unleashed, he would dodge the attack first, and then An Long could leisurely help Yang Xuyan to deal with Shi Qingxuan. Luckily Xu Ziling was quite adept in close, hand-to-handbat, so that although he was fully aware that the opponents skill was above his, he still clenched his teeth and executed his marvelous footwork; first, he staggered a little, and then he blocked the top and sealed the bottom. The fantastical sword dispersed, Yang Xuyan recoiled awkwardly, revealing his back-of-a-tiger-and-waist-of-a-bear, the white-horse-heroic body tightly wrapped inside ck cloak, ck clothes. If he did not pull back, it could be guaranteed that the sheepskin scroll, along with Shi Qingxuans jade hand, would be twisted and broken at the same time. If that happened, not only he could not get the Immortal Print Scroll, in the future it would be difficult for him to escape Shi Zhixuans revenge. Although he was the unequalled assassin that everybody in the world was scared of, he had some kind of innate and heartfelt reverence toward Shi Zhixuan. Since he knew that Cao Yinglong was rescued, even if he had gargantuan guts, he would not dare to touch even half a strand of Shi Qingxuans hair. Only by obtaining the Immortal Print Scroll would he have the hope of breaking away from Shi Zhixuans clutch. Bang! An Long withdrew his right hand attacking the enemys two eyes, but down below his kick solidly hit the edge of Xu Zilings sealing-the-bottom palm. His heart filled with murderous intent, this kick wasunched in full strength; nearly sixty-year cultivated demonic power, without the slightest bit of reservation, was sent out with the intention of killing the enemy once and for all. Suddenly he felt as if the sole of his foot was heavily stabbed by a sharp awl, followed by a vortex of strange, strong and swift energy rushing in, digging into his vigorous demonic power directly, so that at the point of contact with the edge of the opponents palm, it sshed and discharged to all directions, and the true qi C able to invade the enemys system, was severely diminished by half. It was only now did he know that the marvelous power from the Secret to Long Life did not be a legend in vain. An Long grunted in pain; unexpectedly he could not even borrow a fraction of strength to continue executing the lotus steps. Without being able to continue, he had no choice but to evade sideways. Seeing Xu Ziling was jolted so that he flew backward, he could only sigh for the lost opportunity. This moment Yang Xuyan was about to reorganize his offensive; while rushing to grab the Immortal Print Scroll, the sound of cutting fan came from behind, hence he knew that his martial brother of the same master but different school has arrived to attack. Anger welling up in his heart, heunched the Phantom Sword Technique with all his strength to meet the enemy behind him. Shi Qingxuan pulled the jade flute with her left hand, producing the illusion of a puff by a puff, appearing there but not really there, what is true and what is false is difficult to distinguish C dark green shadows, rolling toward An Long, whose footings were still slightly chaotic. At the same time, she threw the Immortal Print Scroll in her right hand to the air, toward the sessfully somersaulting Xu Ziling, while shouting tenderly, Catch! Quickly go! Bang! An Long crash hard onto the sitting down Buddha image with benevolent look, concentrated eyes, which immediately exploded into powder. But the collision enabled him to borrow a little bit of reaction force to sidestep Shi Qingxuans flute shadows entangling him. Curling his body into a ball, he shot out, swift like shooting star C toward Xu Ziling, who was still flying about two zhang off the ground, and was trying to snatch the Immortal Print Scroll. If he could shoot his internal energy out of his five fingers to chase after the scroll across the empty air, it would really be not much different than if he snatched it using his hand. From his high elevation looking down, Xu Ziling was able to see everything clearly. He saw the Immortal Print Scroll being thrown toward him was slowing down suddenly, as if it was being pulled back by an invisible thread. Finally he focused his attention to the air, and cried inwardly, Bad! Being able to think fast in an emergency, he turned his hand over to push upward, his qi power knocked against the beam, and he dropped down fast. But he was still a hair toote. An Longs demonic skill was really brilliant, indeed it greatly exceeded his expectation; he was really worthy to be ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. An Long pulled back his five fingers, the Immortal Print Scroll flew toward him, closing in rapidly toward his fat body, which was flying up to meet it. He could not help but was greatly delighted. While sess was within his grasp, suddenly the flute made a sound. It was not that Shi Qingxuans refined and elegant attitude of mind suddenly opened up and she yed a tune; rather, she sent her true qi through the pipe that it resonated and produced a tone. The jade flutes true energy stabbed from below and went straight up, ferociously knocking the Immortal Print Scroll over. And thus, with such a fraction of hairbreadths difference, the Immortal Print Scroll was knocked sideways, and was thrown into the middle of the surrounding Luohan troops disposition. Xu Ziling used his unique schools ability of taking a breath in the air to the fullest; he changed direction from dropping vertically down to moving horizontally sideways, to chase after the Immortal Print Scroll. Letting out an angry snort, An Long made a somersault, but the very moment he was about to chase after with all his strength, he was already rolled into the phoenix-dancing-in-the-sky, the elegant-and-amazing-without-equal dense flute shadows from Shi Qingxuans hand. This moment, Yang Xuyan was barely able to withstand Hou Xibais main assault, which came with Yangtze Rivers momentum, whose folding fans offensive came round after round like the unceasing torrent of the Great River, while he still could not find any loophole or any gap that he could exploit. The Phantom Sword Styles most formidable aspect was in fusing the true and the false together, a technique relying on deceiving the eyes of the opponent, forcing the enemy to reveal the gap; hence victory could be determined in every moment. Who would have thought that Hou Xibais folding fan was opening and closing swiftly in myriad changes? Moreover, the way he exerted his strength was very peculiar; whether it was pushing, sweeping, tapping, or striking, the timing and the angle of attack were as urate and as precise as plucking the guzheng [long zither], while umting countless strange-move, wonderful-stance in secret C at the same time, so that even with Yang Xuyans skill level, he was put into the situation where he lost the initiative and could only counter every move. Momentarily it was difficult for him to counterattack. Hou Xibais Fan of Beauty has already reached the transforming-the-rotten-into-magical realm. It was brimming with creativity overtone of changes born of his hearts desire, like-a-heavenly-steed, soaring-across-the-skies [i.e. unconstrained style], while also carrying some kind of confident and at ease style, which differed greatly from his own ruthless, strict sword move. Even though Yang Xuyan really wished to decide this opponents fate by the de of his sword, inwardly he could not help apuding and admiring Hou Xibais skill. He thought that under different circumstances, this battle would definitely be a delightful asion. Tchak! Yang Xuyanunched the skill that was usually hidden at the bottom of his trunk; his sword fantastically shook, producing three sword-flowers in triangr formation [orig. Ʒ character], forcing Hou Xibai to raise his fan horizontally to block. Book 24 Chapter 8 - Part 2 Spy, Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, you are wee. Xiaohu, heres a bit more. Shirak, you seem to know the story already. I have no idea. Sky, Lance, LOL. Since the battle began, the two have been attacking each other fast and violent, with fantastical, exquisite, and profound-mystery techniques; so tight that there was no gap to take a breather. Strange moves and wonderful stances more and more emerged; in essence, you advance I retreat, I attack you dodge C all the way until the Print Scroll was knocked to a distant ce by the force of Shi Qingxuans flute. Only after seeing the deteriorating situation did Yang Xuyan march the troops to dangerous situation by using returning-to-the-western-paradise [i.e. die] together and exhausting-everything technique to force Hou Xibai to also stake everything and fight hard. Qiang! The sword and the fan collided. Hou Xibai cried out Bad! because he realized that Yang Xuyan took advantage of the reaction of the impact to pull back and flew at an angle. Like an arrow he shot toward Xu Ziing. Hou Xibai was mentally prepared that the bottom of the hand of this world famous assassin must be extremely stiff, but only after fighting with him for real did he begin to know how overbearing he really was. He thought that if he obtained the Print Scroll, it would be really dreadful. However, although he had such thought, his body still had to stagger back to neutralize the sword power before he was able to pursue closely. In the end, he was still one step slower. This moment An Longnded back on the ground, while Shi Qingxuan was like a goddess descending to the mortal world; she seemed to be performing heavenly music and wonderful dance around him. Even with his level of experience and knowledge, it was still the first time that he came across such a fantastic martial art. Through the jade flute, Shi Qingxuans true qi could exit alternately via any hole on the flute; it could attack from any angle, swiftly moving like a non-directional wind, yet each attack was sending out a stream of powerful qi. Correspondingly the flute pipe was producing high and low, strong and weak, all different notes, as if she was blowing into it, disturbing the heart and mind to the extreme point, making An long could not help thinking that if these notes could be strung together into a melody, it would be the moment his life would enter hell. Even more frightening was that Shi Qingxuan ought to have deep knowledge of his Tian Lian Zongs unique martial art, because all of her techniques, hands and feet, were targeted against his weak points. Therefore, although upon self-introspection he knew that in all aspects he surpassed Shi Qingxuan, this less-experienced younger generation, momentarily he was entangled by her that he was at a loss to know what to do, and found it difficult to free himself. Meanwhile, Xu Ziling in the air saw the Print Scroll fell into the bosom of a Vajra statue with closed eyes in deep meditation with folded arms. Behind him there was the sound of rustling sleeves; to his horror he found out that Yang Xuyan soared into the air with overbearing sword qi, in a pursue-and-attack move that although he startedter, he arrived sooner. In an instant he calcted that the moment he would pick up the Print Scroll would coincide with the dangerous moment the fantastical sword would arrive. At that time he would fall into apletely passive situation, and perhaps he might even turn into a corpse under Yang Xuyans sword. Yet he was still unable to find the opportunity to counterattack. Hastily he applied his qi to drop vertically down, while his right hand created a strong wind at the same time, sweeping the Print Scroll, which has justnded onto the statues bosom so that it was thrown toward the dark floor on the right. At the same time, he let out a longugh to cover the sound of the Print Scrollnding on the ground, while crying inwardly, Sorry for the offense! as he tapped the head of a revered Luohan statue in stooping down posture like a dragon goblet with the tip of his left foot, to reverse the direction of his leap back to the left. As expected, Yang Xuyan was duped; kicking another ring-angrily Luohan statue with his right foot, he changed direction horizontally to chase after him. Hou Xibai flitted across the arena where An Long was battling Shi Qingxuan, while striking An Long with his fan in passing, angering An Long that he roared an angry shriek. He was about to catch up with Yang Xuyan, with the intention of joining hands with Xu Ziling to take care of him, when a strong wind blew across from behind the Guanyin with many hands, as a beautiful and alluring, tender and charming maiden came out to attack him. Although he wanted to see the graceful bearing of this Persian beauty, Lian Rou, he really did not wish that it would happen under this kind of circumstances. Without any choice he made a sharp turn, while his folding fanunched a full-strength attack. It was such a ruthless move to destroy the flower; but for the sake of Immortal Print Scroll, he could not change much. From his higher position looking down, Yang Xuyan watched as Xu Ziling, who had been defeated under his hand, safelynded between two revered Luohan statues, taking a posture that appeared slow but looked fast, so that even with his usual grim and deeply ruthless character, he could not help being greatly startled and was confused of what was actually going on. Both statues on Xu Zilings left and right were about six chi tall, their body was entirely cast of metal, as majestic as the real Luohan; but their stances werepletely different. The one on the left was slim with long neck, beaming with smile from ear to ear; one hand on his knee, his body leaning forward, while the other hand was scratching his back, in a rxed, careless posture. It was naturally very fitting. The other Vajra had his eyes bulging out angrily, the muscles on his right arm were bulging as he stretched out his fist forward; very exquisite and lively, a very vivid disy of his prowess. Xu Ziling was standing between the two revered idols. First he mimicked the leisurely andfortable posture of the idol on his left, and then he changed to the glowering Vajra on his right; both postures preserved the resemnce, preserved the wonder of the statues. Under the golden beam of light from the moon outside the hall, plus the weak light of thenterns at the edge of the hall, there was little doubt that Xu Ziling has transformed himself into a Luohan, a protector of Buddhism. Even more, it appeared that one of the revered Luohan hase alive. This kind of feeling was certainly weird beyond humanprehension. The sound of whistling wind suddenly arrived. While Yang Xuyan still could not figure out how to deal with the situation before his eyes, a fierce and severe finger wind shot out of Xu Zilings index finger, piercing the body of his sword, ad well as the of sword qi he formed around his body. Spiraling qi energy broke through the, with a great deal of piercing-the-universe overbearing momentum. Letting out a stifled groan, Yang Xuyan applied his qi to move sideways, while brandishing his sword to block the danger. Dang! Originally the sword shadows filled the air with ferocious torrential momentum, but now it was like dispersing cloud, scattering smoke. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, Much obliged for the experience. Yang Xiong, watch this move. The fist he held above his head suddenly moved backward. It bent behind him, while he lunged forward just like the posture of the glowering Vajra by his side. But his other hand was drawing seemingly meaningless circles in front of his body. Yang Xuyan was still about a cun away from setting foot on the solid ground when the fist wind arrived. He was an expert in assassination; before touching the ground, he urged his sword qi to pierce upward across the empty air toward Xu Ziling. Who would have thought that unexpectedly it was like Xu Ziling had a prophetic ability that by relying on his left hand drawing circles he created qi power that was able to meet the sword qi head on, immediately dispersing it. It was toote for him to make another attack; hence he was forced to flee behind another revered Luohan in an extremely awkward position. The most aggravating thing was that he knew for sure that his martial art skill was above Xu Zilings, yet under the pressure of endlessly appearing strange moves, he was at his wits end; he had the power but did not have any way of using it. On the other hand, Xu Ziling was extremely delighted. At the beginning, he was only thinking of borrowing the Luohans prowess to confuse the enemys heart, to seize away his fighting spirit. This was the way of scheming of the Art of War, a superior design in martial art study. Who would have thought that as he simted a certain Luohans stance, unexpectedly the true qi within his body was surging in ordance with the posture as if it happened naturally, just as wonderfully effective as when he neutralized An Longs sneak attack previously. How could he not suddenly realize it? He understood now that these five hundred Luohans various styles and amazing postures were most likelying from certain expert of an empty gate school [i.e. Buddhism] of the present ages design. Intentionally or otherwise, the mysterious schools gongfa came out of the Luohans thousand poses and hundred postures. Inadvertently he obtained it. This could be considered a strange and rare urrence. By this time he had already forgotten about the Immortal Print Scrollpletely. An opponent as strong as Yang Xuyan was hard toe by. In the blink of an eye he flitted across the more than a dozen Luohan statues standing side by side on his left and right whileunching a chain of punches, taking advantage while Yang Xuyan was falling into a disadvantageous position C to unleash a staking-it-all technique. In his heart, Yang Xuyan knew the situation was bad, and promptly counterattacked. In his heart and mind, Xu Ziling has turned into an alive revered Luohan, constantly mimicking the posture of the statues all around him perfectly. However, whether it was a fist punch, a finger slice, a palm push, or a foot kick, all carried the devastating-the-mountain-shaking-the-peak vigorous imposing attitude. In the weaving sword qi right and left, the whistling fist wind, the statues shattered and turned into dust. And so both sides were meeting attack with attack, as desperate as the life and death, hand-to-handbat of the battlefield among the magnificent army with thousands of men and horses. The longer he fought, the braver Xu Ziling became, the more his hand aplished what his heart wished. Yang Xuyan already lost the decisive opportunity, his qi and his will to fight were hard-pressed. In this situation, where one side was vanishing while the other flourishing, although it had note to the difficult situation of momentum-exhausted, power-distressed, the fact was that he was forced to retreat step by step; in all his life, this was the most painful predicament where he felt so useless. Shi Qingxuans tender shout suddenly rang out, Xu Ziling, be careful! Xu Ziling came to his senses; sending out a double punches, he forced Yang Xuyan to go back three more steps, and said with augh, Thanks for letting me win! And then he flew back before turning around and rushing forward. Battling Lian Rou, Hou Xibai has already gained the upper hand. Were it not for this beautys body was nimble and flexible like a snake, each time she was in desperate situation she was able to save her own life relying on bizarre shenfa, he would have sent her to the Western Paradise early on. This moment he saw An Long was unleashing his special ability C the Lotus Ring in the Center of the Sky, to force Shi Qingxuan to retreat. Promptly he got away from her to intercept An Long, angering him so that he nearly vomited blood. Upon seeing this, inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly delighted. Although Yang Xuyan was rushing over like mad, this moment he was still more than four zhang away, so he could not be considered a threat. With Shi Qingxuan keeping a close watch over Lian Rou, she could only stand on the side, not daring to act blindly without thinking. The Immortal Print Scroll appeared to be already in his bag. What in the world was he going to do with this ghost thing? He saw the Immortal Print Scroll was about a zhang away next to a lying-on-the-ground Luohan statue. Suddenly there was a tenderughter, followed by a stream of ribbon shooting out from the dark, and wrapped itself around the Print Scroll lying on the ground. And then Wanwans sweet-sounding voice said, Turns out it is in here. Thanks a lot Ziling, after looking at it, Xiaomei [little/younger sister] will return it to you. Immediately Xu Ziling broke out in cold sweats. If the Print Scroll fell into Wanwans hands, perhaps even if all six people, both the enemy and his side, joined hands, it would still be difficult to get it back. Book 24 - 9 – Bizarre Changes Occurring A Hundred Times Book 24 Chapter 9 C Bizarre Changes urring A Hundred Times The snipe and the m fight each other, the fisherman reaps the benefit [Chinese idiom based on a fable[1] (Baike Baidu, in Chinese)]. Nobody could imagine that Wanwan would appear in this critical moment. And as soon as she made her move, she seized the Immortal Print Scroll. Moreover, Xu Ziling secretly med himself for being careless. Nobody knew better than he that Wanwan has arrived in Chengdu, so how could she possibly miss the Immortal Print Scroll, a treasury of the demonic school? Shi Zhixuan wanted to both unify the world and unify the demonic ways under his control; even if this huge ambition would never happen again, it definitely has not happened before. Since he created the Immortal Print Scroll, even Zhu Yuyan could not do anything to him. If there was a chance to know anything about secret of the Immortal Print Scroll xinfa, it would only bring benefit without any harm. And the Immortal Print Scroll in Shi Qingxuans hands offered precisely this unique and unmatched golden opportunity. But this moment it was already toote to be sorry. Like a spirit snake Wanwans Tianmo Piaodai [demonic floating ribbon] rolled the Print Scroll, and whoosh! like a serpents tongue it shrank back into her in white sleeve and disappeared without any trace. Xu Ziling had just flown over toward her, with both palms pressing down. This time he went all-out, like a tornado a vortex of energy rolled toward Wanwan. Wanwan still had the time to cast an emotional nce at him, with hidden bitterness, secret grudge, and with affection in her eyes, as if she wanted to engrave his appearance in her mind. Her left sleeve brushed away carelessly, Bang! it met Xu Zilings palm power head on. Once again Xu Ziling was ovee with the terrifying feeling of being trapped inside the four walls of Tianmo energy. Bad! he cried inwardly, knowing that he was acting out of his anger, and had lost his cool-headedness in that he was stupid enough to meet force with force. Hurriedly he withdrew most of his power and used his ability to take a breath at high speed while soaring in the air, to fly sideways to evade. If Wanwan seized this opportunity to pursue and attack, it would be guaranteed that he could not escape alive. Fortunately Yang Xuyan chose this moment to rush over, while producing fantastical dots of sword light filling the air, to attack Wanwan. Although Wanwan appeared to remain calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, her pretty eyes showed that she was paying close attention to the attack. Her delicate feet moved rapidly within several chi radius on the ground, as if she was testing Yang Xuyans ability to deal with a contingency. At the same time she fixed her eyes on the strange spectacle of his fierce and severe sword qi passing through the Luohan statues standing in great number on both sides C forming a passageway, swiftlying at her. An Long and Hou Xibai rushed over from different parts of the hall as if in agreement, forming a pincer attack momentum. On the back there was still Lian Rou, but Shi Qingxuan was nowhere to be seen. Xu Ziling was standing on the head of one of the revered Luohan statue, flexing his muscles and bones to neutralize Wanwans Tianmo energy. His vision epassed the entire hall, so that he was able to grasp the whole situation immediately. ording to reason, after Wanwan obtained the treasure, she ought to slip away immediately, yet she did not. Xu Ziling understood the reason was because she saw that in his raging temper he became irrational and disregarded life and death to violently attack her. As a result, her murderous desire red up, even if she could not kill the enemy in one move, she would at least inflict him a heavy internal injury from which he would never recover; therefore, she was willing to meet his attack head on and thus lost a golden opportunity to get away. However, Wanwan also made mistake in that she miscalcted Xu Zilings ability; she thought that after a hard battle against Yang Xuyan, his power would certainly suffer substantial wear and tear, so that even if she failed to injure the enemy, it would still be easy for her to escape. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling had just gained understanding from the five hundred Luohan postures the wide-ranging and profound secret study of the Buddhism, and that his spirit, qi and essence had just reached its peak? On top of that, because of his unique ability to rapidly take a breather,bined with the hua jin da fa [big method of transforming power] that he obtained from the Secret to Long Life mixed with the Jade Annulus of He n, contrary to her expectation, he did not suffer the slightest degree of injury. However, she was also shocked by Xu Zilings reaction that the true qi within her body was surging. By the time she finished circting her qi to suppress it, the sword qi from Yang Xuyans Phantom Sword has already enveloped her, so that she lost the opportunity to take the treasure away. If Yang Xuyan managed to entangle her, the other martial art masters in the hall would have one, at least half, a chance to take part in the battle, and then Wanwan would not be so sure if she could deal with them. In that instant Wanwan raised her Tianmo Gong to the limit, while at the same time she coldly said, An Long, it would be best if you do not meddle in this matter; otherwise, you will be our Yin Gui Pais mortal enemy. While still speaking, the Tianmo Piaodai from the gauze sleeve of her left hand, like a streak of lightning, ripped through the empty space along the Luohan alley, straight toward the tip of Yang Xuyans sword. Its uracy was hard to believe. Xu Ziling and the others gasped in amazement. The floating ribbon split the sword encirclement that it sshed to all directions, several weak Luohan statues, out of a dozen or so, facing the alley immediately suffered the consequences; their hands broke their noses shattered, golden paint peeled and flew off. Yang Xuyans sword movement was actually hard to tell between the real and the fake, but now it was as if the demonic technique of the Phantom Sword immediately changed back into its original form of regr de from the mortal world, just before the floating ribbon struck the de; it slightly returned to be ordinary de that began to spit out a real stab. Crack! The two energies collided, producing a crisp explosion. Yang Xuyan was sent spinning backward, Thump! Thump! Thump! only after three consecutive steps did he manage to steady his footing. As Wanwans floating ribbon hit the tip of the de, immediately it was shaken into a wave-like pattern, strange to the extreme. Her tender body was also violently shaken backward, a shadow of red blush flitted across her pretty face. The floating ribbon shrank back into the gauzed sleeve. An Long and Hou Xibai separately came in front and rear of Wanwans left side. The former spoke with evilugh, Xiao Yatou [little girl/servant girl (used deprecatingly, but sometimes also as a term of endearment), showing that he had neither respect nor fear toward Wanwan], why did you speak so seriously? Looking at your esteemed masters face, so what if Ol An only be a spectator? Lian Rou moved far away behind Wanwan, and disappeared behind a Luohan statue. Xu Ziling still did not see Shi Qingxuans fragrant trace. This womans conduct has always been hard to fathom; although he was a bit worried, but he was not anxious at all. Qiang! Yang Xuyans Phantom Sword returned to its sheath. He swept his gaze around first, and then coldly said, This scroll ispletely useless for Da Xiaojie; if you are willing to return it to Zaixia, perhaps Zaixia can help Xiaojie aplishing your hearts desire. Hou Xibai blurted outughing and said, I never thought that unexpectedly my Yang Shixiong [senior martial brother] is a despicable person. He himself is unable to deal with Xu Xiong, he wants to borrow someone elses hand, yet saying that he wanted to aplish the beautys hearts desire, while also wanted to have the secret scroll returned to him. One stone, three birds. Fancy that you can think of it. Inside his hood, Yang Xuyans eyes were shing like lightning. Heughed aloud and said, Xu Xiong must not be mistaken, thinking that the Passionate Prince is really passionate. He is only thinking of his own need, not at all concerned about your safety. Wanwan disdainfully said, Wanwan has never discussed business transaction with someone who hide the head and show the tail, who do not dare to reveal his true appearance. Unless you, Yang Xuyan, throw away the hood covering your face, dont even think that I will be interested in any proposal you are making. Yang Xuyan was greatly astonished; he cast a nce at An Long, not understanding why in such situation where there were enemies all around her, Wanwan did not hesitate to offend him at all? An Long was actually sweeping his gaze around, looking for any traces of Shi Qingxuan. This womans martial art was handed-down personally by her mother; she was definitely not so simple. Wanwan suddenly let out a faint sigh. First she cast a nce at Xu Ziling, who was still standing on a Luohan statues head, and then her eyes moved to An Long, who was standing on her left front side. Shaking her head slightly, she said, I really dont understand what ghost trick are you, An Long, ying, unexpectedly you did not hesitate to offend us, just for the sake of such a secret scroll containing xinfa that has no usefulness whatsoever for you; presumably you do not dare to set yourself against Shi Zhixuan on the basis of the Print Scroll? Speaking about conduct as human beings, you cant possibly be stupid enough to seek amusement for no reason at all or for some empty matter. One small mistake, you will invite the disaster of provoking other people toe and kill you. [1] A m was sitting out in the sun when suddenly a snipe flew down to peck at the m. Suddenly the m mmed the shell shut, gripping the snipes beak in between. The snipe said, "If it doesnt rain today, and it doesnt rain tomorrow, I shall see a dead m on the beach." The m said, "If I dont open today, and I dont open up tomorrow, I shall see a dead snipe on the beach." While they were still grappling with each other, a fisherman passed by andted them both. (Source: Wikipedia) Book 24 Chapter 9 - Part 2 Ysabel, Jaya, Xiaohu, you are wee. Shirak, I never would havee up with that kind of analysis. Akw, I thought the boys have reached AP due to their miraculous encounters? (j/k; for those of you not familiar with American high school, AP stands for Advanced cement). Sky, I knew it! It was not a polite remark at all, but An Long was still grinning evilly, and said without much concern, Didnt Ol An say that I will be the spectator on the wall? However, remembering friendship with your esteemed master, I cannot help offering a bit of advice: Yang Xuyan plus Hou Xibai equal to more than half of Shi Zhixuan; even if your esteemed master personally came, she would not have much advantage. It would be better for Xian Zhinu [worthy/virtuous niece] to hand over the Print Scroll. This is called wise and virtuous woman wont suffer the loss in front of her eyes; am I right? Wanwan smiled and said, No wonder Shizun [revered master] often said that it is difficult for An Long to be a great man, and can only fit to be stinky-copper unscrupulous businessman. Now you, two opposing sides, are equally matched in term of strength. If I helped one side, the other side would only end up nursing a grievance. An Long, tonight you have fully used the Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky twice, and thus you have be a strong crossbow; this is the right time to kill you. Perhaps Zhinu [niece] might be harsh and unreasonable by throwing the Print Scroll away, and then going all-out to take care of you. That will also be the joy of life. Finally An Longs countenance changed; he was unable to say anything. Wanwan cast her nce once again toward Xu Ziling, who was perching on high. Raising her sleeve to cover her mouth, sheughed tenderly and said, Hey you, why are you standing up there eating the northwest wind? Why did your great beauty ignore you? Two sides, four men, you look at me, I look at you, but all were at a loss against her. Even though she was trapped in a difficult situation, this remarkably beautiful direct disciple of Yin Gui Pai was still able to exploit the tangled andplicated rtionship among them, and still had full control of the situation in her hands. Yang Xuyans eyes shone with deep and cold murderous aura; his hand gripping the sword hilt, he said, In the end, you just want to carry the scroll and run away. Gentlemen, we might as well have apetition, lets see who can wrestle the Print Scroll back from her fragrant gauzed sleeve; what do you think? This remark was tantamount to asking Xu Ziling and Hou Xibais opinion, whether all four of them ought to momentarilyy down the hostility between them to first eliminate Wanwan, and then relying of their strength to decide to whom the Print Scroll should belong to. Xu Ziling hesitated in his heart. Although he and Wanwan were archenemies with irreconcble enmity, but to join hands with An Long, Yang Xuyan, these demonic people, to deal with her, would be less than glorious. However, forck of better option, presently this was the only way. If not, if she managed to escape, nobody would be able to hold her down. Among An Long and the others, not one was not a martial art master with enough power to contend against Wanwan one-on-one. Although nobody stated his position yet, but everybodys spirit and mind were tightly locked onto Wanwan. As soon as she made a slightly different move, they might suddenly attack, because when martial art masters were standing in opposition to each other they would react to subtle changes of qi and intention. Therefore, this moment Wanwan was just like a ferocious beast trapped in a dead-end alley. Unless she was able to withstand the joint offensive of four men working together, she would never dare to act blindly without thinking. Hou Xibai revealed a hint of bitter smile; casting a nce toward Xu Ziling, he sighed and said, Ziling Xiong, what do you think? This seems to be the only way. Although what Hou Xibai hates the most is ruthlessly destroying the flower, I cant think of any other feasible way. Xu Zilings tiger-eyes shone with sharp light; fixing his gaze on Wanwan, he said indifferently, Right now I dont know where Miss Shi is hiding. Supposing after we did a blood soaked and hard-fought struggle, we found that whats written in the sheepskin scroll is only something like Thousand Character ssic [6th century poem used as a traditional reading primer] that the children learn, will it be worthwhile? Wanwan sighed softly and said, Xu Ziling is the only true hero in here. Let me ask gentlemen, is it all right for Xiao Nuzi [little/young girl] to open the sheepskin scroll first and take a look? After confirming its authenticity, we will decide what to do next. Hey, hey, An Longughed, True hero is just another appetion that is more pleasant to hear than an idiot. I dare to guarantee with my head that this is the Immortal Print Scroll that Shi Dage left behind at the secluded forest of the small valley. As for the reason behind it, please forgive Ol An since it is not convenient for me to disclose it. Wanwans pretty eyebrows lightly furrowed, she asked in surprise, Your guarantee does not worth half a penny. It seems to me that your target is not the Print Scroll, but my life. This is indeed very strange, what benefit would it bring to Tian Lian Zong? The topic changed, everybodys attention turned from the issue of joining hands to besiege Wanwan to whether the Print Scroll was real or fake. Swish! Hou Xibai suddenly shed his folding fan and lightly fanned himself. He smiled and said, Since Long Shu has decided to watch with folded arms, and Princess Rou has hidden far away, Miss Wan may examine the scroll in peace, let Zaixia take the responsibility of protecting the flower. Ziling Xiong, what do you think? Xu Ziling calmly replied, If An Long Laoshi [teacher] and Princess Rou do not make any move, Xiaodi will not make any move either. Wanwan shook her head and said, Unless you, Ziling, give me your personal guarantee that you are going to protect Wanwan, I cannot possibly take this risk. Letting out a longugh, Yang Xuyan said, Why speak so much nonsense, wouldnt it be better if Zaixia is asking to experience Yin Gui Pais Tianmos secret art? As for whether the three gentlemen want to take part, please do as you wish. While speaking, a burst of dense, severe, and icy-cold sword qi burst forth like tidal wave out of his body. Although he has not move the slightest bit, he has actually strived for the initiative. As soon as Wanwan, in her momentum to withstand it, showed a bit of leeway, he would immediately brandish his sword to attack. He has gone all-out, yet Wanwan must focus all her attention to guard against An Long and Hou Xibai, two men, which, to Wanwan, was greatly disadvantageous. Hold on! Hou Xibai shouted. Everybody was taken aback, because if Yang Xuyan staked everything against Wanwan, it ought to give him a hundred benefits without a single harm. Hou Xibai turned to An Long and said, This matter is of great importance. Why arent Long Shu unwilling to exin clearly the reason you believe firmly that the sheepskin scroll inside Miss Wans sleeve really contain the Immortal Print Method? An Longs eyes shed with strange light; he spoke slowly, If I confirm that this scroll is not a fake article, does Xianzhi [virtuous nephew] intend to make your move together with Yan Zhi [nephew]? Hou Xibai calmly replied, Indeed there is this possibility. Of course, it depends on how much truth there is in Long Shus words. An Long let out a burst of long, shaking-the-hall,ugh and said, This kind of sheepskin is definitely not an ordinary sheepskin; I tanned and manufactured it with my own hands, hence the color and luster are unusual, it will always look new even after a long time. I made it based on Shi Dages order; I, An Long, dare to swear by the incantation of Tian Lian Zongs various ancestors that if I made even half a word of lies, let me never be reincarnated forever. Letting out a burst of tenderugh, Wanwan continued, Now, even nujia is a bit convinced that this scroll thingy is the real article. Would you be interested in hearing my proposal of two ways to resolve the stalemate before your eyes? This remark was of wonderfully highest level and outstanding; even Hou Xibai, who was eager to give it a try C had to rein his horse and pulled the bridle back, and postponed his move. Lian Rous voice came from the exit, Please excuse Lian Rou from being drawn into the struggle within the demonic schools; nujia is taking my leave. If there is anything in the future, you must never count it on nujias ount. The sound of the rustling sleeve went away in an instant. Listening to this, Xu Zilings head swelled up, he still could not figure out her rtionship with An Long and the others. But this woman was as cunning as a fox; no one should take what she said too lightly. However, it was also possible that it was because she did not want to be Yin Gui Pais enemy, hence she shrank back as the time for battle approached. Wanwan cheerfully said, This is called a wise man looks after his own hide; in the end, she is smarter than you, An Long. Displeased, An Long said, Didnt you say that you have two ways to resolve the current stalemate? Wanwan raised up her demonic power to tightly suppress Yang Xuyans suffocating sword qiing from about a zhang away. Calm andposed, she spoke softly, The first solution is Wanwan turn the sheepskin scroll inside my sleeve into powder. This is called once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Nobody has any reason to fight anymore. Yang Xuyans sword qi was immediately reduced by half. If the sheepskin scroll was destroyed, the biggest loser was certainly not Wanwan, but one of either Hou Xibai or Yang Xuyan. At most Wanwan only lost the opportunity to understand the Immortal Print method, while the two would lose the possibility to advance to be another Shi Zhixuan. An Long sneered coldly and said, If you were willing to do so, you would have destroyed the Print Scroll early on; there is no need to mention it only now. All along he has been fanning the me to stir up trouble. And now no one doubted that he harbored evil intentions of destroying Wanwan. Wanwan cast him a ce with disdain. Her jade countenance suddenly calmed down, returning to her usual nearly pure, faultless calm and unhurried expression. But once again the air all around her was suddenly infused with a terrifying feeling as if it might sink any moment. Although there was no wind, the white clothes on her body suddenly fluttered, her jet-ck long hair was flying and dancing in the air as if it was blown by a gale. The scene was weird to the extreme. Everybody was shivering in rm; they were all amassing their energy, yet no one dared to make the first move. Xu Ziling shouted coldly, And what is the second solution? Wanwans face showed a hint of surreptitious smile that appeared to be there, but then appeared to be not there, as she spoke calmly, The second solution is to give the Print Scroll to you. While speaking thest sentence, her gauzed sleeve rose up, the sheepskin scroll shot out of the sleeve, fast as lightning it flew toward Xu Ziling, who was standing on a Luohans head. Qiang! Book 24 - 10 – The Victor Book 24 Chapter 10 C The Victor[1] Yang Xuyan, Hou Xibai and An Long all had a terrifying feeling of tripping forward. Based on their skill, naturally they could not possibly trip and fall down for real because Wanwan was scaring them using the Tianmo Jing Chang [demonic powerful field]; but they had to apply their power to resist it, to withdraw backward. Both Yang Xuyan and An Long were shrewd men; they had already thought about all kinds of method Wanwan might use to break the stalemate, including the possibility of she giving the Print Scroll to one of them, and thereby executing the shifting the misfortune to the Eastern Wu stratagem. Wanwan then would turn from bing the target of a multitude of arrows to gaining control over the overall situation from the side. Now it had be clear that Yang Xuyan and An Long were on one side, while Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were on the other side. Although in term of power An Long and Yang Xuyan were one line ahead, but because previously An Long had fully used the Tianxin Lianhuan and wasted a lot of energy, the strength between them has more or less bnced out. Under this kind of circumstances, Wanwan could help either side to defeat the others rapidly. Therefore, just now An Long and Yang Xuyan secretly agreed to C by all means C attack and kill Wanwan first, before dealing with Xu and Hou, two men. Who would have thought that Wanwans intelligence far surpassed their expectation, that surprisingly she was able to see through their conspiracy, and in this critical junctureunched the Tianmo Da Fa will all her strength, to form a vacuum force field that could absorb and borrow any true qi, so that even if they wanted to attack, there was simply no opening they could exploit. It was more formidable that any method of using the true qi to protect ones body. Only Xu Ziling saw it as it should be by rights, simply because he had already suffered many times under Wanwans Tianmo Da Fa. Qiang! While pulling himself backward, Yang Xuyan drew the Phantom Sword; instantly its cold rays radiated all around. Abandoning Wanwan, he attacked Xu Ziling, turning the sword rays into a soaring long rainbow, turning the usually-hard-to-fathom-between-the-true-and-the-false phantom sword move into a thousand-catties-thunderbolt, jolting-the-mountain-shaking-the-peak powerful strike, using the-sword-is-the-man, the-man-is-the-sword stance to take the formidable opponent standing on top of the Luohan statue. This moment Xu Ziling had just caught the Print Scroll. Seeing Yang Xuyans all-out sword strike, he groaned inwardly, realizing that this time Wanwan was cruel beyond humanprehension, because when catching the scroll, his mind would immediately be distracted, hence it would be difficult to maintain its optimum state. If he was either killed or seriously injured by Yang Xuyans sword, it would be an extreme injustice. He was a great expert in martial art study. In just one nce he knew that Yang Xuyans sword strike this time truly revealed his strength, unlike his namesake as the number one assassin in the world. In a snap of the fingers, the power of the entire body was unleashed in its finest detail, a sword strike that C as soon it was executed C was earth shattering. Before the sword arrived, the murderous aura had already enveloped himpletely. Even if he evaded it, he could only dy the moment of death. The opponents sword strike made him feel like he fell into the mud, his feet went deep into difficult situation; from this, Yang Xuyans formidability could be clearly seen. If Yang Xuyans Phantom Sword before was like a fine carving or delicate cut [on gems] of a small pattern of an insect head, the swordy this moment was likerge river Chang Jiang [Yangtze]; it flowed out swiftly with a thousand li might, joyous like stirring cursive [calligraphy] so that others could not grasp where the brush would move next. In his quick wit, Xu Ziling tossed the Print Scroll in his hand toward Yang Xuyan; soaring in the air, while roaring inughter, he said, How about if I give it to you instead? Simultaneously he transferred his strength to his feet, while crying inwardly, Sorry for the offense, the Luohan statue under his feet disintegrated into cun-sized fragments, so that his entire body sank down to the ground. This moment Hou Xibai was rushing over as well. Seeing Xu Ziling throwing the Print Scroll away, he called out loudly, Good throw! Folding his fan, his handsome eyes radiated powerful beam all around, he rapidly cut across toward Yang Xuyan, who, afraid of damaging the Print Scroll, had his hands and feet flustered. The moment Yang Xuyan drew his sword, An Long also retreated backward to break away out of the Tianmo Powers range, and his retreating speed was even higher and more urgent than Hou and Yang, two mens, because he felt that Wanwans concentrated force was aimed at him alone. On top of that, Wanwan previously threatened and warned him by saying that if he did not show fear, that meant he was bluffing. Even if he were at his peak condition, he did not have the confidence of defeating Wanwan, much less after fighting two hard battles one after another. A white shadow shed. Wanwans floating ribbon flew into the air, producing a sharp noise like a ghost wailing or a god calling, piercing through An Longs eardrums. If just now An Long could be considered shocked, right now it could be said that his soul flew away and scattered. He was a senior veteran of the demonic schools; naturally he knew what it was. Naturally floating ribbons could not wail or call; the whistling noise came from the floating ribbon slicing the air and in a bizarre way it vibrated the air around it into sonic wave. It became Tianmo noise simply because his own heart and guts had been scared and his mind was under control of the fear, which caused the demon to grow from his heart. His natural disposition was everything for self and selfish profit, so he only knew how to harm others for his own personal benefit. This moment, he no longer cared, nor was he interested in C Yang Xuyans life or death. Ferociously raising a mouthful of true qi, he summoned back his shaken will to fight simultaneously, while swiftly backing off. Taking advantage of his weight, which surpassed others, his own momentum made him flying backward even faster; leaning left and tumbling right, Bang! Bang! one by one the Luohan statues were knocked over and shattered, meeting with cmity. All along, Wanwans floating ribbon was no more than a cun and a few fen away from brushing his fatty flesh. Wanwan suddenly stood still charmingly, her eyes moved toward Yang Xuyan, three men. Although she did not lookpletely satisfied, her heart was cheerful. Among the four men, the one giving her the most headache was An Long. His Tianxin Lian Huan was truly a pinnacle among the demonic schools skills. Whenunched at full strength, even her Tianmo Da Fa could not do much against him. If fighting one on one, she might be able to wait until his momentum exhausted his strength depleted to strike back. But under current circumstances, she might fall into critical situation where it was difficult for her to get out. Therefore, she had used up all kinds of trick and psychological tactics and was finally sessful in nting the seed of doubt that he would certainly be defeated, which then led him to be frightened. She was also trying to make An Long believe that she might abandon the Print Scroll and take his life instead, while the fact was that she still wanted to obtain the Print Scroll. This moment, with An Long being scared back, she felt that victory was within her grasp. She was so sure that by giving the scalding-the-hand, heating-up-the-mountain Print Scroll to Xu Ziling, she would lure Yang Xuyan to try to snatch the Scroll with all his strength. Naturally the most ideal situation would be if he were able to inflict heavy damage to Xu Ziling. At that time Hou Xibai would join the fray, and then he would fight a desperate battle with Yang Xuyan until you die, I live. At this time she could take advantage of the one-in-a-thousand-year golden opportunity of An Long running away in difficult situation to execute her scheme; not only to single-handedly obtain the Print Scroll, but perhaps she could even strike the four men one by one, eliminating these bunch of formidable opponents. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling unexpectedly passed on the Print Scroll to others, and thus forcing her to change the n? With a tender shout Wanwan moved forward at lightning speed. Her floating ribbon shot out, startingter but arriving sooner, it urately threatened the major acupoint on Hou Xibais back. On the other side, Yang Xuyan inly saw that the Print Scroll was flying straight toward his sword, but he did not dare to receive it, because in front of him was Xu Ziling, staying close to the ground to attack, while on his left was Hou Xibai,ing from the air to kill him. Under these two major martial art masters pincer attack, if he withdrew the sword momentum and stretched out his hand to fetch the scroll, he would only end up dying violently on the spot. Although Xu Ziling seemed to be tossing the scroll casually, the fact was that he was using an extremely crafty trick; he imbued the Print Scroll full of his true energy, which was a lot stronger than Yang Xuyans sword momentum. With no other choice, Yang Xuyan ferociously clenched his teeth; the sword turned at will, it changed direction from attacking upward to pouncing downward, without changing the original style C to stab Xu Ziling, letting the Print Scroll whizzed past overhead. His only wish right now was that Hou Xibai would chase after the Print Scroll and ignore him. Hou Xibai was able to see very clearly the two mens intense, no-one-wants-to-yield battle; inwardly he was greatly shocked, because as the Print Scroll was filled with Xu Zilings power, any object it would fall onto would be smashed up into pulp. Yang Xuyan deliberately avoiding the scroll was to force Hou Xibai to care more about the Print Scroll remaining intact, and thus would be too busy to join Xu Ziling in pincer attack against him. While he was groaning inwardly, a qi power attacked his back. Hou Xibai sighed inwardly. Without even looking, he swung the Fan of Beauty backhandedly to block the brushing away floating ribbon. Borrowing the reaction force of the collision, he changed direction from the battlefield between Yang and Xu, two men, to the Print Scroll shooting toward the western wall. [1] Chapter title, The Victor C orig. to whom the deer falls, usually refers to who seizes the empire. See Jin Yongs Deer and Cauldron, tranted by yours truly, for more info on this idiom. Book 24 Chapter 10 - Part 2 Xiaohu, sorry, super busy in real life. DongBin, Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, you are wee. Sky, Shirak, you think? From the moment Wanwan threw the Print Scroll toward Xu Ziling, the changes had been treacherous beyond humanprehension; everybody has been carrying out strange scheme, which was beyond everybody elses expectation. Seeing Yang Xuyans brave action of abandoning the Print Scroll and pouncing down with all his strength to attack him, Xu Ziling could not help admiring his urate judgment. But no matter what, the opponents concentration was slightly distracted; the originally powerful momentum was thus slightly weakened by the change of stroke, no longer imposing irresistible momentum like before. Thereupon Xu Ziling promptly seized this opportunity by gathering the fingers of his left hand into a palm chop, while forming his right hand into a fist. With wonderful footwork, he swiftly stepped forward and sent out a punch across the empty space. Spiraling qi power ferociously shook the sharp de of the opponents sword qi, followed by his palm choping down, while his foot stepped aside to enter the small gap to the left of the sword momentum. Strange, abstruse, quick-witted, leaving Yang Xuyan with no choice but to change stroke again to block. In the end, all four killer sword strikes returned without any achievement. From this, it could also be clearly seen how formidable Yang Xuyans sword strikes were; even after the formidable power was weakened, Xu Ziling still had to give everything he had and exhausted his strength to neutralize it, not daring to meet the sharp de head on. Presently, the person Yang Xuyan wanted to kill the most has shifted from Hou Xibai to Xu Ziling. Come to think about it, there was a very big difference between the Xu Ziling that he met at Shen Luoyans fragrant residence in Xingyang City in the past and the Xu Ziling before his eyes right now. Come to think about it, the difference was enough to make the heart of any person C who stood as his enemy C shivered in fear. Every change of Xu Zilings move, none was not brimming with like-a-heavenly-steed-soaring-across-the-sky, wonderful-to-the-highest-peak creativity. During the fierce battle just now, his moves in confronting the enemy were in harmony with the postures of the Luohan in the hall; continuous like a chain, the method changed just like the birds in the sky, the fish in the water, without leaving any trace, enabling him to use the weak to subdue the strong, to seize the strategic high ground. Nobody did not have their heart rmed and their countenance moved. Left without any choice, Yang Xuyan sank his qi down and turned his sword around to sweep and hack, blocking and diverting Xu Zilings piercing palm chop full of true power. Unexpectedly it produced a loud Bang! as the sharp of the de was jolted by the qi power and thus it was unable to harm the edge of Xu Zilings palm the slightest bit. The thing that gave Yang Xuyan more headache was the spiraling qi power, which was sometimes slow, sometimes fast C invading his body via the edge of the sword. A dense, cold and raw murderous intent welled up in Yang Xuyans heart. Retreating to the space between two Luohan and after neutralizing Xu Zilings vortex of energy, he met Xu Zilings not-yielding-a-single-cun chasing-to-kill attack head on with irresistible counterattack. His sword hacked down three times in a row; one strike was more violent than the other. Using fantastic, swiftly moving technique Xu Ziling countered every move with all he had, while shouting loudly at the same time, Hou Xiong, get the treasure and dont worry about Xiaodi, just leave! This remark was even more formidable than any moves; Yang Xuyan pulled his sword back in panic and shed backward. At this time Hou Xibai was not having a good time either. He saw that the Print Scroll was about to crash onto the wall and shatter to pieces, plus Wanwan was ferociously pursuing close behind his back like a maggot sticking to the bones, as if he had suddenly be her mortal enemy with enmity as deep as the ocean. ording to reason, Wanwan ought to have the same thought he did, i.e. she would not want the Print Scroll to turn into scraps of paper. Thinking to this point, Hou Xibai suddenly had a sh of understanding. He knew that Wanwan was forcing him to take the right to save the scroll from her, based on the fact that the Print Scrolls importance to Hou Xibai far surpassed its usefulness for her. If the Print Scroll was destroyed, at most Wanwan would lose the opportunity to understand the Immortal Print method, but Hou Xibai might never have the opportunity to climb to the highest level. The difference might be more than a thousand li away. The contradiction in Hou Xibais heart was aggravating. When martial art masters fought against each other, the difference between victory and defeat was only a thread away. If he wanted to save the scroll, he might lose his life. But avoiding the Print Scroll meant he would fall into Wanwans hand, and he still had to give her advantages as much as possible, to avoid affecting her action to save the Scroll. He had always loved the flowers, cherished the flowers, and was most forgiving toward the beautys shorings. But now, he hated this stunning woman C whose beauty could bepared to Shi Feixuan C to the point of gnashing his teeth in anger, and thus was feeling helpless. Upon considering the severity of this case, Hou Xibais foot tapped the tip of the nose of the Luohan by his side and changed direction sideways. With a silver-bell-like tenderughter, Wanwan said, Now, thats a good boy! The floating ribbon turned into a hundred white rainbows, rolling toward the Print Scroll, which was about six, seven chi away from crashing against the wall. Whoosh! A jade hand, surpassing-the-snow, taking-unfair-advantage-of-the-frost C reached out from behind one of a row of Luohan statues leaning against the wall, and snatched the Print Scroll one step ahead before the floating ribbon wrapped itself around the Print Scroll. And then the missing-her-fragrant-trace Shi Qingxuan, like a specter C floated over, and spoke with cold humph, This time it ought to be my turn to be the fisherman who reaps the benefit! Wanwan pulled the floating ribbon back and shed over in increased speed, and said with tenderugh, Could it be that Xuan Mei [younger sister] has not heard to whom the deer falls, and has not known about it? Remaining tranquil and calm, Shi Qingxuan replied, Of course I have! The jade flute in her right hand sprinkled a wide expanse of dark green light protecting various vital acupoints on her chest, while the Print Scroll in her hand shot out toward the turning-around Hou Xibai. It was this moment that Xu Ziling shouted loudly to tell Hou Xibai to get the scroll and get out; it could be said that the call was extremely timely. Wanwan did not have time to mind Shi Qingxuan, much less Shi Qingxuan received her training directly from Bi Xiuxin; taking care of her was absolutely not something that can be aplished in just a few strokes. With a tender shout she changed direction to attack Hou Xibai. The distance between Hou Xibai and the thrown Print Scroll was continuously decreasing. Having lost it and then regained it, he was very excited, so much so that his spirit rose to its highest peak. He even considered how to deal with Wanwans howling-wind-and-torrential-rain-like attacks after receiving the scroll. At this critical moment, a revered Luohan statue, which was standing against the wall, unexpectedly moved suddenly, as if it was alive. It sprang up high into the air and pounced down toward him. If he continued shing forward to take the scroll at the current speed, he would collide against the Luohan head-on. This change was unexpected, even for Wanwan. Hou Xibai knew that although the Print Scroll was important, but if he lost his life, any Print Scroll would not have any use for him. The statue weighed more than a hundred catties, with the momentum of its movement on top of that, the total force he had to withstand was not aughing matter. He suddenly halted his steps. The Luohan brushed past and mmed against another revered Luohan on the opposite side, creating a loud explosion that reverberated across the entire hall, as both statues exploded into smithereens and sshed in all directions. An Longs huge obese body shed past between Hou Xibai and Wanwan, while the Print Scroll also disappeared without any trace. Howling withughter, An Long said, After all, the older the ginger, the spicier it is; Wan yatou [girl/servant girl], you fall into the trap! Boom! The entire hall shook. An Long broke through the wall and fled out of the hall. This moment both Xu Ziling and Yang Xuyan were rushing over, and both were stunned at this unexpected change. Other than Wanwan herself, no one understood what kind of trap he was referring to when he said that Wanwan has fallen into his trap. Only Wanwan secretly med herself for underestimating this Zongzhu [head of a school] that could rank among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way along with Zhu Yuyan. Previously she had used all kinds of tricks to instill fear in An Longs heart; she was even able to force him into difficult situation, so that he fled in disorder C using her floating ribbon. At that time she managed to enter by exploiting a weak spot, by relying on the floating ribbon to produce Tianmo sound to control his mind, expecting him not to be able to recover in such a short period of time, thereupon she feltfortable enough to fight over the Print Scroll. Plus she still heard the sound of An Long smashing the Luohan on the other side of the hall, hence she felt even morefortable. Now, of course, it turned out An Long was able to recover quicker than she had expected, and that he continuously smashed the statues to create a false impression that he was running away. But this moment it was already toote for regret, and even if she wanted to chase after him, it would be too difficult to catch up with him. Right this moment, suddenly An Long shrieked and flew back inside from the hole on the wall. Everybody in the hall looked at each other in astonishment; they were even more stunnedpared to when An Long sessfully snatched the Print Scroll away. Book 24 - 11 – Dividing the Color of Spring Evenly Book 24 Chapter 11 C Dividing the Color of Spring Evenly Under everybodys nk stare, An Long covered his chest with his left hand, while his right hand that was holding the Print Scroll was trembling slightly; his face was devoid of any blood, his eyes stared fixedly on the mother earth C resplendent under the bright moonlight C outside the hole, his face showed a hard-to-believe expression with a hint of deep fear in it. Who could make this martial art master who ranked among the demonic ways hall of fame to lose his normal state in such a big way? Shi Qingxuan, who was leaning against the wall, suddenly had her tender body shaking. Without a word she floated out of the hall via the hole on the wall, and disappeared without any trace. With this sudden change, it was toote for Xu Ziling to stop her. After exchanging an eye signal, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai made their move at the same time to pounce toward An Long. No matter who was forcing An Long back, they simply had to snatch the Print Scroll back from him before doing anything else. Upon seeing this rapid and pressing change, Yang Xuyans mind was bewildered and was at a loss of what to do; he shouted loudly, An Shu [uncle], be careful! Hearing the shout, An Long looked like he had just woken up from a nightmare; he haphazardly tossed the Print Scroll upward and roared, Its none of my business! And then he fled in the opposite direction of the hole on the wall and smashed another big hole on the wall and ran away. Hou Xibai and Yang Xuyan had no interest in paying him any attention; they both soared up to chase after the Print Scroll, which very soon would reach the roof of the hall. Xu Ziling was afraid Wanwan might mount sneak attack, he did not move from where he was standing to keep watch over Wanwans movement with full attention. He noticed that the beauty did not move from where she was standing either, as if she already lost interest toward Hou and Yang, two mens fight over the scroll. Turning a blind eye and turning a deaf ear, she appeared to be deep in thought, while staring fixedly at the hole from which An Long wasing back. Xu Zilings heart was moved; he kind of had an idea who was outside the hole that An Long was forced toe back. In fact, it was not difficult to guess. Under the heavens, the person who could make An Long so panic and losing his mind, other than Ning Daoqi, Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan, and the likes, there were very few people. And among those people, the only one directly rted to this matter was Shi Zhixuan; so most likely it was he. Thinking about this Xie Wang [demonic king] Shi Zhixuan, he could not help feeling the chill in the air. A continuous ringing of the fan and the sword shing against each other was heard from the roof of the hall, followed by Hou Xibai and Yang Xuyan separatelynded on Xu Zilings left and right sides, looking at each other with ring eyes; unexpectedly each man had half of the Print Scroll in their hands. Xu Ziling could not help but was dumbfounded. Wanwan let out a faint sigh and spoke glibly, This is perhaps the best solution. Nujia wont apany you anymore! Suddenly flying backward, she floated out of the hall via the main entrance. Qiang! Yang Xuyan returned the sword into its scabbard; his eyes shone with shes of lightning. After looking back and forth between Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai several times, he let out a cold humph and flew toward the hole on the wall and disappeared. The main hall returned to its previously tranquil condition, with only the broken debris of the shattered statues remained on the floor. Xu Ziling looked at Hou Xibai. Thetter withdrew his stare from the remaining half of the scroll; smiling wryly, he said, Xiaodi agree with Miss Wan a little bit; this is perhaps the only way to resolve this matter, everybody loses. Xu Ziling asked, The one who forced An Long toe back, was it your esteemed Master? Shaking his head, Hou Xibai replied, It does not seem so. Although Shi Shi rarely makes his move, but once he does, somebody will lose his life. I think Yang Xuyan did not believe that it was Shi Shi either. As for who that actually was, if there is someone who knows everything under the heavens, Xiaodi also wish that that person could answer me. Xu Ziling could not help asking, How long has Hou Xiong not seen your esteemed Master? ying it down, Hou Xibai replied, I am afraid seven or eight years! It seemed to Xu Ziling that he did not want to talk about anything rted to Shi Zhixuan; changing the subject, he said, I am so d I am able to make friends with an affectionate and true friend like Ziling tonight. Just now Xiaodi exerted my strength in desperate fight and received a bit of injury, I must find a ce to recuperate. If in the next few days Ziling is going to stay in Chengdu, Xiaodi might look for you to drink wine and have a long talk. Raising half of the scroll in his hand high, he smiled and said, I am really grateful. Please! Finished speaking, he went out through the hole, in a confident and at ease manner. The little bit of candlelight has just stopped burning, but soon afterwards the main hall was brightening up, because it was already dawn. Thinking aboutst nights perilous experience has given him the feeling that the ability to see morning light was actually very precious. By the time Xu Ziling stepped out of the wall, the sky was already bright. Suddenly there was a crisp Ding Dong! sound from the pagoda in the distance. Looking toward that direction, he vaguely saw a copper bell hanging from a corner of the pagodas eaves. When the mountain breeze was blowing, the bell created a clear, beautiful sound, which chased away the anxiety of the earth from the peoples heart. There was a narrow street lined with walls next to the Luohan Hall, where flowers and trees were well-spaced, providing profound and unfathomable, dense shade; it was extremely enticing. Thinking that since he had nothing to do anyway, he might as well pay a casual visit before leaving Sichuan and rushing over to meet with Kou Zhong, and then together they would go to Guanzhong on a treasure hunt. After heaving a sigh, he slowly walked toward the pagoda. After passing through a bamboo grove, he saw the nearly fifteen zhang tall, separated into thirteen floors Cpagoda towering majestically over a clearing in the forest, lofty and steep, high and standing out above the trees. Under the splendor of the morning sun, the top of the pagoda, which was engraved with flying geese made of gold and copper C appeared even more brilliant and glorious, dazzling the far and near. Each floor of the pagoda had its four sides embedded with twelve stone carving of Buddhist images; grand and magnificent, rich in texture. Xu Xiong seems to have a particr feeling toward this pagoda? Xu Ziling looked up at the pagoda with his hands behind his back; without even turning his head, he said indifferently, Did Miss Shi arrivest night, or did you just get here? Shi Feixuan came behind him and said glibly, What difference does it make? You just wanted to ask who forced An Long toe back into the Luohan Hall, am I right? This man is so repulsive; he desecrated a Buddhists sacred ce. Feixuan scared him so that after this, he wont be able to sleep, as well as to pass his days C peacefully. Doesnt Xu Xiong agree? Xu Ziling turned around to face this lucid and elegant, simple and graceful Shi Feixuan; smiling wryly, he said, I stepped on one statue and destroyed it; how will Miss punish Xiaodi? Shi Feixuan smiled and said, I did not see it, I did not know; Xu Xiong does not need to ask me. Xu Ziling pped his forehead andughed charmingly and said, Last night was like a dream; pretty much everything was so puzzling, so unclear. For instance, how in the world did Miss Shi startle An Long so that he came back, scaring him so that he even abandoned the Immortal Print Scroll, so much so that it was like he just saw a ghost that he covered his head and sneaked away like a rat? Shi Feixuan spoke gently, Last time I went to Sichuan, it was under my Masters order to go to the secluded forest in the small valley to review the Immortal Print Scroll all the way through. Although its unlikely that I will be able to master the Immortal Print method, but to imitate to twenty, thirty-percent likeness would not be difficult at all. And plus being a thief, An Long already had a guilty conscience, so that a chance encounter like that was very effective. Did it exin one of the mysteries in Xu Xiongs heart? Xu Ziling understood, but a new question arose in his heart, Miss Shi might as well bring the Print Scroll back to Jingzhai to be kept there, and then the disputest night would not have happened, he said in astonishment. Shi Feixuan calmly and indifferently said, It was a legacy that Xiuxin Shibo passed on to Miss Qingxuan; moreover, it is the auspicious article that Shi Zhixuan wanted to use to kill people with borrowed de. Without Miss Qingxuans consent, nobody has the right to take it out of the secluded forest in the small valley. The most difficult thing to understand this time was that how did Yang Xuyan suddenly be aware of the scrolls existence? Xu Ziling was stunned, Killing people with borrowed de? he said, If Shi Zhixuan wanted to kill people, I dont understand why he did not make the move himself. A hint of grief smeared Shi Feixuans pretty eyebrows; she spoke in low voice, Can we walk and talk? Xu Ziling did not dare to walk side by side with her; he fell about two steps behind her, as together they walked along the small alley winding through the bamboo forest. Shi Feixuan suddenly stopped. Naturally Xu Ziling also stopped immediately. With a slight displeasure in her voice, the former said, I dont know what is your, this persons brains made of? Why dont you dare to walk side by side with Feixuan? There is no distinction of senior and junior between us; there is no distinction between master-servants even more. Do you want Feixuan to storm off in a huff and no longer pay you any attention? Book 24 Chapter 11 - Part 2 Jaya, Ysabel, DongBin, you are wee. Shirak, I am still impressed with your guess based on strong arguments. (BTW, whats FIL?) Sky, I dont think thats what Xu Ziling thought ... Xiaohu, why did you assume first and second parts? What if the scroll was torn right in the middle? Lance, correct. At least thats my understanding too. A hard to describe feeling appeared in Xu Zilings heart; perhaps it was because the rtionship between them has grown closer that there was a big change in Shi Feixuans attitude toward himpared to when they first met. Previously, she had never tried this kind of half tender-beyond-reach stare, half rebuking attitude and voice, in talking with him, which was kind of touching, so that Xu Ziling was pleasantly surprised. Laughing aloud, Xu Ziling stepped forward to take his position on her left. With a bit of losing-his-footwork feeling, he said, It was just a misunderstanding. Xiaodi thought that because of Miss Shis special status, you must be strictly maintaining the distance between men and women; therefore ... hey! I was just trying to show respect from a distance. Oh! That came out wrong! I was just respecting Miss outstanding, proper identity. Ay! You ought to understand what I am trying to say. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, What does walking side by side have to do with maintaining the distance between men and women? On the contrary, by intentionally falling back, how did you show respect from a distance? Even more, it proves that you are appraising the harmonious limp and the swing of my hips. Finished speaking, she continued walking forward, her jade countenance returned to her still-water-without-any-ripple serene expression. This time Xu Ziling leisurely, taking-it-easy, walked by her side, quietly waiting for her to continue. After a good while, Shi Feixuan spoke seriously, Shi Zhixuan left a copy of Immortal Print Method, his intention was for Xiuxin Shibo to look at it. It was rted to the struggle between the demonic schools and Jingzhai, which details can be easily imagined. Were it not for studying the scroll attentively, Xiuxin Shibo could not possibly be giving up and departing this mortal life at the prime of her life. A chill crept up in Xu Zilings heart. He said, Shi Zhixuan aplished his intention by doing such thing, no wonder Miss Shi is unwilling to recognize him as her father. And then he anxiously said, Didnt Miss Shi just say that you examined the Immortal Print Scroll carefully? Are you not just repeating your esteemed Shibos disastrous policy? You can say that, Shi Feixuan nonchntly replied, Plus this is exactly Shi Zhixuans intention inpleting the writing of the scroll. To Jingzhai, it was a tant drowning battle. One day Feixuan might suddenly walk away from this, but in every case, I cannot simply pay no heed to it. Listening to that, Xu Ziling did not know how to respond; worse yet, he did not know how to share her burden. It was quite half a dayter that he finally said, Why did An Long want to obtain the Print Scroll? What benefit would that bring him? By this time they had reached the end of the forest, where there was a clearing next to the Luohan Hall. Shi Feixuan slowly turned around to face Xu Ziling. Her voice was tranquil as she said, Toward Shi Zhixuan, An Long has some kind of near-crazy adoration, which has not changed for thest several decades. All along he wishes that Shi Zhixuan would unify the demonic schools. To him, the former obstacle was Xiuxin Shibo, and now the obstacle is Miss Qingxuan. As for between Yang Xuyan and Hou Xibai, he chose the former, because he believes that Yang Xuyan might be another Shi Zhixuan. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Yang Xuyan is that kind of person, why does Li Shimin still want to put him in such an important position? Shi Feixuan replied, Actually, it could be considered that Yang Xuyan is connected to the crown prince Li Jianchengs men and horses. Even more, it was because Yang Xuyan and Li Yuans close rtionship that he receives Li Yuans special favor. Plus recently Yang Xuyan yed a critical role in Dong Shuni bing Li Yuans concubine that his status is even more consolidated. Unless Li Shimin wants to break off his rtions with his father and elder brother, what can he do to this officer [orig. chen, state official/subject in dynastic China] who, time and again, establishes marvelous merits, the most recent being assassinating Xue Ju? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Previously, Miss Shi has always been unwilling to talk about the demonic schools, but now suddenly you want to talk to no end; is there any particr reason behind it? Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Since we parted on the Great Ba Mountain, Feixuan had rushed to the secluded forest in the small valley by waterway to notify Miss Qingxuan about this matter. It was only then did I find out that just before his death, Lu Miaozi had sent a letter via pigeon post to Miss Qingxuan. In his letter he wrote about many things, he had an extremely high esteem toward you and Kou Zhong; one of things he mentioned was that you might be the only one in the world, the unusual talent who precisely must learn the Hua Jian, or perhaps Bu Tians demonic skills, who could also understand the Immortal Print Scroll. Hence the reason she decided to hand over the Print Scroll to you. If you are unable to rush over in time, then she would destroy the Print Scroll in front of An Long and Yang Xuyan, so that once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Xu Ziling could not stop a burst of disappointment from bubbling up in his heart. Turned out the reason Shi Feixuan treated him so favorably now was not because of her impression on him had changed, but because of Lu Miaozis letter, or perhaps because Shi Qingxuan trusted him. He could not help feeling disappointed inwardly, the kind of feeling that was very unpleasant. From this, he realized that quite possibly he had fallen in love with this simple-and-elegant-like-a-fairy beauty; otherwise, how could he be so dispirited? Thinking to this point, Xu Ziling suppressed all disturbing mood in his heart; acting as if nothing had happened, he said, So thats how it is. If I had known earlier, Xiaodi did not need to rush over a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers toe here. Astounded, Shi Feixuan said, Not being able to take a peek at the Print Scroll, you dont feel that it was a pity? Xu Ziling emotionally said, Gains and losses, sess and failure, how can we mind it too much? Otherwise, wont life be so excruciating? Besides, it is very likely that Mr. Lu was wrong, or perhaps he overestimated me, Xu Ziling. Suffering fire deviation is really not worth it. If you want to study martial art, the five hundred revered statues in the Luohan Hall, none did not imply profound mystery principles. The flying bird and sinking fish in nature, none cannot be my master; who would have time to cote and examine critically the book created by demonic school, heretical people? Shi Feixuans beautiful eyes were deeply fixed on him, her pretty eyeballs were flickering with brilliant lights; she sighed and said, Only now do Feixuan understand why Lu Dashi admired you, Xu Ziling, so much! Evidently Xu Xiong knew that all of this temples Luohan are crafted personally by Senior Monk Kumarajiva [c. 334-413, Buddhist monk and trantor of Zen texts] of the Later Qin [of the Sixteen Kingdoms, 384-417]. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Who is Kumarajiva? Howe his name is so strange? Shi Feixuan solemnly replied, Kumarajiva was a Senior Monk from Tianzhu [India, esp. in Tang or Buddhist context] with great virtue and great wisdom, who passed on Buddhist doctrines to the Central Earth, who had extensive study of Mahayana Dharma and especially proficient in Prajna and the essence of emptiness. His martial art skill was even more out of the ordinary, bordering the arhat realm, yet he never taught martial art; he was only talking about Dharma. After arriving in the Central Earth, he immediately started the work on tranting the Buddhist scripture at the Xiaoyao [lit. free and unfettered] Garden in Changan. I am afraid even he himself had never thought that unexpectedly someone is able to see the profound mystery from the statue he designed; not only that, this person is not a Buddhist disciple at all. It is indeed unusual. And then she cast him a sidelong nce and said, Fancy that you, this person, still think that Lu Miaozi was wrong in his judgment on you; are you afraid of bearing the responsibility yourself? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, After listening to you, I nearly wanted toe into the hall to take a couple more thorough look. Ay! Now this ce no longer has any need of an idle person like me, Sichuan Alliance people are looking for me everywhere for Li Shimins sake. It is really not suitable for Xiaodi to tarry much longer; Miss Shi, please! Forgive Xiaodi for failing to apany you. Even with Shi Feixuans indifferent-to-fame-or-gain, seeking-nothing character, she could not help knitting her pretty eyebrows and spoke in displeasure, Why do you want to slip away so quickly? Could it be that you cannot see the suffering of the people everywhere? Even Bashu [Sichuan] C that can avoid the fire of war in the Central ins and the changes in political circumstances outside C is also affected by the rising winds, scudding clouds [idiom: turbulent times]. Since Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan came into beings, all along we have been in the situation where the Way is diminishing while the Demonic is rising; otherwise the world would not have turned chaotic like this. Those with ambition ought to work a bit for the people. Xu Zilings rueful smile went deeper; sighing, he said, The one with ambition is Kou Zhong and not Xu Ziling at all. I wonder if Miss Shis expectation on me is not too high? Shi Feixuan returned to her usual calm andposed manner; she said, Does Xu Xiong know why I wanted to impersonate Shi Zhixuan to scare An Long away? Thinking deeply, Xu Ziling said, Was it to see whether Shi Zhixuan is implicated in this matter? If An Long has received Shi Zhixuans instruction, naturally he would not have been that scared. Glowering at him, Shi Feixuan said, And you want to leave without blurting it out to make everybody knows? Embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, Turns out Miss Shi also know how to tease people. Shi Feixuan let out a light sigh, and spoke gently, You, this person, are so difficult to wait upon. If Xu Xiong does not mind, would you allow Feixuan to be a small host, to invite you to try Chengdus famous authentic vegetarian dishes? Miss Qingxuan still has something shed like to entrust to you! Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Miss Shi [Feixuan] does not need to waste your precious time for me; you only need to tell me where I can see Miss Shi [Qingxuan], Xiaodi can always go on my own to find her. It was as if Shi Feixuan was able to see through him. A barely discernible smile escaped from the corner of her cherry lips; without any care at all, she spoke glibly, Here we go again! Once we part here, I dont know when we are going to see each other; cant you stay a bit longer to keep Feixuanpany? This was the first time that Shi Feixuan spoke gently to him to implore him. Thinking about how he destroyed her Jade Annulus of He n and she did not even take that into ount and did not dispute it, his heart softened and he had no choice but to nod his head in agreement. Book 24 - 12 – Free Talk About The World Book 24 Chapter 12 C Free Talk About The World Several plumes of thick smoke were rising from the distant mountaintop beside the riverbank, straight into the sky. Sincest night, before dawn, the Jianghuai Army, who had been marching urgently for nearly thirty li under Du Fuweis personalmand, hasunched an onught against Shen Luns army camp. But unfortunately at the same time his dozen or so warships that were moored on the Great River by the army camp were burned down by fiery arrows. Kou Zhongsrge-scale n of ambushing Shen Luns retreating army on the river immediately came to nothing. From his vantage point on elevated ground, he looked into the distance and saw that Shen Luns main stronghold has not yet fallen; the destroyed area were just the sentry camps on its perimeter. The blowing wind brought the battle cry into everybodys ears. Chen Changlins pair of eyes was shing with fierce and sharp lights; obviously he was very pleased that Shen Lun was being attacked. Leaning over, Bu Tianzhi whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, In my opinion, Shen Lun still have the ability to guard against Du Fuwei. Therefore, although on the surface Du Fuwei seems to be gaining the upper hand, even though Shen Lun suffers some damage, his foundation has not been injured at all, so momentarily he does not need to retreat in panic. Ay! Even if he is leaving, he must leave bynd route, because if he wanted to leave by the waterway, there is no boat that he could use. Although he did not say it explicitly, he was pointing out that to ambush Shen Lun C under current circumstances and current changes C was practically not feasible. Kou Zhong was feeling discouraged as well; without any better option he consoled him, Shen Lun is Old Dus well-matched adversary; quite possibly he will crumble soon. Chen Changlin on his other side could not take his eyes from the development on the battlefield. Shaking his head, he said, Shen Lun is resourceful and brave. In terms of positive outlook and experience, although he cantpare to Du Fuwei, his military strength is even farther behind, but he is upying the stronghold, which is favorable for defense without the advantage of offense, plus he has the opportunity to preserve and nurture his spirit. Although in the beginning he was under attack with no time to deal with it, but very soon he was able to turn the table around and stand his ground. My guess is that Shen Lun will suffer a rather heavy loss, but Du Fuwei will not reap much benefit either. Suddenly the retreating bugle horn was sounded. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Changlin Xiong is indeed able to prophesy with supernatural uracy. Old Du is going to retreat! Chen Changlin heaved a sigh, and said with a wry smile, Supposing Shen Lun is dispatching his troops to pursue and attack Du Fuweis retreating army, then our ambushing operation this time will have to be cancelled. But if Shen Lun cant even press on his advantage by pursuing and attacking, then we will still have a chance. Kou Zhong praised him inwardly. Not only Chen Changlin was a strong and courageous man with deep passion and heavyradeship, he also knew how to separate public and private interest clearly. There was no way he would have everybody else take risks with him for his personal gratitude and grudges. Comparing himself to Chen Changlin, Kou Zhong realized that he tend to act impetuously more than him. Half a sichenter, Luo Qifei rushed back to give report on thetest situation on the battlefield. Shen Lun indeed sent his troops to pursue and attack the retreating Jiang Huai Army, but he was beaten back by the troops protecting the rear under Du Fuweis personalmand. Contrary to everybodys expectation, Chen Changlin was not disappointed at all. He smiled and said, Nobleman taking revenge, ten years is not toote. Shen Lun always gets whatever he wants, he has always ruled as a despot since he was young, his hometown always has fish and meat, he had never suffered any setback. This time we made him falling until his head and face filthy with grime, he had to return with his troops decrease his generals suffer loss. In the future he will still have to deal with Li Zitongs reprisal; I am very happy. Why would I have to be afraid that I wont have any more chance against them, father and son, in the future? Kou Zhong rose up to his full height from the underbrush where he had been hiding; he said, Changlin Xiong is a hero with open-mind nature. While right now Shen Lun, Du Fuwei and Li Zitong, three sides are all too busy for anything else, this is best time to go all the way. When I get back from Lingnan, I will meet with Ling Shao, and together we are going to Guanzhong. As for our headquarters in Peng Liang and other ces, I will have to trouble gentlemen! The crowd responded in chorus; they were such in a high spirit, as if they had just defeated Shen Lun. Chengdus great streets and small alleys were full of the vestiges ofst nights festival. Fragments of paper from the firecrackers and remains of colorednterns could be seen everywhere. The pedestrians on the streets were sparse;pared to the vast crowd ofst night, it was like a different world altogether. It could be imagined that after having fun all night long, everybody was dragging their weary bodies home and climbing onto their beds like one that has achieved the Way [idiom: the emperor]. Along the street, nine out of ten shops did not open their door to do business. While Xu Ziling doubted in his heart whether the vegetarian emporium where Shi Feixuan was going to take him to dinner would be open for business, the beauty, who was dressed as a schr, took him to the vegetarian shop on Orchard Lane at the west side of the city, which, beyond expectation, was just opening their main door to wee the patrons. It was obvious that this was not the first time Shi Feixuan visited the shop, since the shop owner personally came out to greet them, saying Qin Gongzi this and Qin Gongzi that, in a very respectful manner. After Xu Ziling admitted that he was not a connoisseur of vegetarian dishes, Shi Feixuan promptly ordered several appetizers and personally poured him fragrant tea, making him feel overwhelmed [by favor from superior], because he had never expected that he would have the honor of sharing a table for lunch with her. Such a big vegetarian shop, and they were the only patrons; it was quiet andfortable. No matter what the circumstances, Shi Feixuan was still the not-eating-the-food-ofmon-mortals, indifferent-to-fame-or-gain C touching character. After a bit of small talks, Shi Feixuan gratefully said, Fortunately Xu Xiong informed me of Shi Zhixuans other identity, otherwise even now we are still unaware that Pei Ju, who singlehandedly toppled the Great Sui, is actually Shi Zhixuan, and only he can go so deep undercover, so that others arepletely unable to find spiders thread and horse track [i.e. tiny hints of a secret]. Xu Ziling was still puzzled, How could he, one person, have so much destructive power? he asked. Shi Feixuan replied, The problem is that he obtained Yang Guangs deep favor and trust, he was the person within the Sui family n who was the most familiar with the political affairs of the Western Region; other ministers simplycked the qualifications to offer any suggestion. After a short pause, she continued, For example, in the seventh month of the tenth year of the great undertaking, Pei Ju, in his capacity as the You Guang Lu Daifu [Right Glorious Grand Master; honorific title during Tang to Qing times] at that time, was appointed the Hu Bei Fan Junshi [lit. proliferating military counselor protector of the north]. He immediately put forward a suggestion to Yang Guang, pointing out that Tujues Shibi Khans power is increasing by the day, so a n to weaken them must be devised. He further proposed to give the Sui dynastys imperial ns women to be married to Shibis younger brother Chijimei, and grant him the title Nanmian Khan [lit. south side], and use him to split apart Tujues nsman who held power. In the end, Chijimei did not dare to receive either the marriage or the title; on the contrary, he revealed everything [orig. to put everything out including the tray] to Shibi. After Shibi found out, he put the me to Yang Chenming. This was precisely the beginning of Tujue and Sui bing enemies. Listening to her, Xu Zilings scalp went numb; he said, Speaking about scheming, I am afraid not many people are Shi Zhixuans match. The most formidable thing was that he still appeared to be loyal to Yang Guang, and always appeared to have consideration for the Great Sui everywhere he went. Shi Feixuan sighed and said, One scheme failed, he put forth another scheme. Pei Ju again strongly advised Yang Guang to incite the easiest Tujue man to drive a wedge between the two nations. Now the alienating the court was not concerning marriage or granting a title; rather, it was a man from the west called Shishuhuxi. If he could entice Yang Guang to behead this man, Tujue coulde back to embrace the Sui pce courtyard. While he was unclear of the fact, Yang Guang agreed to his proposal. Thereupon Pei Ju used the highly profitablemercial trade as the bait, swindling Shishuhuxi to Mayi [lit. horse city/vige, not sure if this is a name] to be murdered. Afterwards, he let Shibi find out. Henceforth the Tujue no longer present tribute to the Sui court. Again she sighed before continuing, Yang Guangs sessive generations emperors are the emperors who lost their familial property the fastest. Although the Great Qin also ended their reign after only two emperors, but in the beginning of their reign, the world were already seething discontent, unlike Yang Guang, who, when he seeded the throne, was still in the flourishing period. Now it could be assumed that it was all because Pei Ju correctly analyzed Yang Guang as a man rejoicing in grandiose deeds, desiring to propagate his power abroad, having the mentality of subduing the four non-Han peoples to align their allegiance to him. After he was enticed to kill Shishuhuxi, Yang Guang still wanted to subdue the Tujue, patrolling the frontier fortress of the north. After receiving the secret information, Shibi personally led several tens of thousands elite cavalry to go down south tounch surprise attack on Yang Guangs troops, forcing Yang Guang to flee into the Yanmen [wild goose gate] to take refuge. Shibi captured thirty-nine out of Yanmen Countys forty-one cities, Yang Guang nearly lost his life. After this war, Tujue people no longer willing to acknowledge allegiance to the Sui; furthermore, they even had the intention to advance to the east. The main cause of this disaster is none other than Shi Zhixuan. Xu Ziling said, Perhaps it was Shi Zhixuan who sent someone in secret to notify Shibi, telling him to lead his troops to invade the south. Ay! I really dont understand, by doing that with the Tujue, he was showing the wolf into the house, what benefit would it bring Shi Zhixuan? Shi Feixuan gently said, This is precisely the bane of ideological struggle. It makes people put the national righteousness above everything else, while turning a blind eye toward the suffering of themon people. The root of this disaster came from the demonic schools supreme secret canon, the ten-volume Tianmo Ce [demonic manifesto]. The manifesto not only contains Tianmo Mi [demonic secret], Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa [the heart of the Way demonic great method] and many different kinds of deep and immeasurable pinnacle studies, it also records detailed theory on the mysterious rtionship between the universe and the life, believing that human nature is inherently evil, and that the destruction and darkness is the most powerful force in the universe. At the beginning it was only one kind of theory, until Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty banned many schools or thought and revered Confucianism as sole orthodoxy. Whether it was on the political arena or martial arts social circles [Wulin], all the orthodox sects seized the opportunity to pursue relentlessly and strike the demonic schools. Thereupon the outstanding disciples of demonic schools separately brought the scrolls while they were fleeing the disaster, evolving into the Two Sects Six Ways of today. Shi Zhixuans desire to unify the demonic way is precisely to bring Tianmo Ce back together again. Hatred was cultivated like that, and now, its difficult to change. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, But that still did not exin why Shi Zhixuan wanted to lure the Tujue to enter the Central ins? Shi Feixuan exined, The demonic schools have already been established for a long time, all along they have gone through many changes. By the time of Emperor Wu of Han, several of the banned houses merged first; by the time Zhang Qian [c. 114 BC, Han dynasty explorer] went through the Western Regions, they also received foreign culture and religions influence, emphasizing the use of military force to eliminate dissidents. By the time of Wei [220-265 AD] and Jin [265-420 AD] dynasties, the demonic schools people were actively growing their base to the west. Both Shi Zhixuan and Zhu Yuyan have blood rtionship with Hu people [barbarians]. Therefore, our national righteousness has no effect whatsoever on them. Xu Ziling blew out a mouthful of air, long and slow, and then said, So thats what it is. If Miss Shi did not actively tell me, I am afraid for all my life I would never understand what crafty way the demonic school people are going to do next. This moment the vegetarian dish arrived; steaming hot, emitting an aroma that was permeating the whole ce, it was put on the table, smelling and looking like it would taste great. Xu Ziling noticed that after sampling a couple of chopsticks, she put the chopsticks down, while he himself unreservedly gobbling the food with gusto. Feeling embarrassed, he asked, Is my table manners too unsightly that you lose your appetite? Book 24 Chapter 12 - Part 2 Xiaohu, you are too easy. Ysabel, HPC, Jaya, you are wee. Shirak, naughty, naughty ... So far I managed to keep my words: ignore, but looks like you guys just cant help it. All kidding aside, I feel that the word gentleman does not mean the same anymore. We can still call a criminal a gentleman, but a man of noble character is different; i.e. noble and criminal are mutually exclusive. Patudo, exactly! I am d I am not alone. Lance, I disagree, I always think that XZL is stronger. Just as Akw repeatedly mentioned: KZs pursuit is not martial arts. BTW, I hope when you said muting, you were not driving, were you? Where I live, typing while driving has be illegal. Shi Feixuan smiled and shook her head, These vegetarian dishes have been going through manyyers of refinement, the vor is too strong, not as good as the natural taste of cucumber and Chinese cabbage; it has nothing to do with you. Just now I am taking two mouthfuls is already an exception. Furthermore, your table manners and your personality are like that, you are merely acting naturally; how could it be unsightly? Xu Zilings old face turned slightly red; embarrassed, he said, You really know how to speak, ha! Acting naturally, isnt that an elegant way of saying wolfing down ones food? Slightly shrugging her shoulders, Shi Feixuan helplessly said, If you are so paranoid, Feixuan cant do anything about it. Two persons four eyes met, a wonderful feeling grew in their hearts, as if this meal of vegetarian dish has pulled the two closer, unlike previously where there was an impassable distance, or a dividing chasm C between them. Naturally Xu Ziling did not have any improper thought, although in his heart he warned himself not to have such an idea. He reminded himself that it was because they had amon big enemy that their rtionship grew a bit closer. Whether it was intentional or not, Shi Feixuan averted his prating gaze; she looked at the street resplendent in the bright sunshine. There were more people around, but still far from the usual hustle and bustle of the city. Remembering something, Xu Ziling asked, What is the actual reason that the Da Shi Temples monks slipped away that not a single one remains? Shi Feixuan broke into a giggle and said, They are not slipping away; they are just staying temporarily at the neighboring monastery. That big pile of broken mud and shattered stones ofst night, some people might have alreadye and swept them away even today. Xu Ziling could only stare nkly at her rare disy of charming demeanor. Tongue-tied, he said, In that case, they must be utterly broken-hearted because the Luohan statues were destroyed. As if nothing had happened, Shi Feixuan said, All mortal matters have the beginning and the end, those who entered the gate of emptiness ought to have prating view on this. If they cannot see death from life, see rebirth from destruction, then they do not have the qualifications to speak about Buddhism; why should we worry about it? Revealing a thoughtful look, Xu Zilings tiger-eyes shed with deep, unfathomable brilliant rays of wisdom. Nodding his head, he said, Miss remark provides food for thought. Last night Hou Xiong told Xiaodi that the monks of the temple flee their monastery to avoid a formidable figure of the demonic school. I wonder a divine character of which side would this person be? Shi Feixuan replied, It was only after entering Sichuan that I learned from Chuan Bangs Bangzhu Fan Zhuo about this matter. This person ranks among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, has always been extraordinarily low-key, his conducts secretive, and is the mortal enemy of the previous generation Zhuchi Da De shengseng [senior/holy monk Great Virtue]. Recently, it was unclear whether it was because he enjoyed great sess in his demonic skill, he rushed back from the Western Region to challenge Da De; who would have thought that Da De had just passed away ten days earlier and had been cremated? Unexpectedly he vented his resentment on the disciples who do not know martial art, saying that if anybody stays in the temple, he will kill all living persons within ten li radius. In order to avoid cmity to the innocent vigers in the vicinity, the monks had no choice but to abandon the temple. Furious, Xu Ziling said, This man is too insolent and overbearing! How could Bashus Wulin sit and watch, but remain indifferent? Shi Feixuan sighed and said, Its not that they are indifferent, but its difficult to interfere. Nobody is able to find and eliminate him, hence nobody can do anything about it. Oh! Perhaps Xu Xiong could lend me a hand. It was only then did Xu Ziling realize that he had walked straight into her trap. Previously he had just stated that he was not any hero who would save the world and be of help ofmon people. And now that he had righteous indignation filling his breast, it appeared that he was swearing that he would uphold righteousness. The contradiction in his heart was maddening. Smiling bitterly, he said, You seem to be unwilling to let me off. If Miss Shi is willing to personally make your move, you would be able to catch any vicious, demonic people. A bit skeptical, Shi Feixuan said, Since this person can be ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, how could it be that easy to take care of him? Were it not for him suffering defeat under the Heavenly Saber Song Ques hands and thus fleeing to the Western Regions, I dont know how many more people in the Central ins would be mutted by him. This time he dared to return in a swirl of dust [idiom: to make aeback], naturally he has enough confidence that he would surpass Song Que. Xu Ziling asked in heavy voice, Is this person the Mo Shi [demonic master] Zhao Deyan? Slightly startled, Shi Feixuan said, You also knew that Zhao Deyan is a martial art master of the demonic school. But this person is not Zhao Deyan at all; rather, he is the Tian Jun [heavenly lord] Xi Ying. It was because of this character Tian [sky/heaven] that he vited Song Ques taboo, and thus was chased by him for a thousand li, and nearly lost his life. It was probably a case of an evil man grinding an evil man! Xu Ziling blurted outughing. Looking at it this way, Song Que ought to be more overbearing than Xi Ying, he said. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Song Que is the older generations most famous handsome man in Wulin; he has always been arrogant, proud, considered everyone else beneath him, but he had never presumptuously killed the innocents. He is seductive in outward appearance, but burning hot in the inside. Moreover, he has enormous intimidating power toward the demonic schools; even Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan, and the likes would not easily provoke him. Were it not for his not-so-good predestined affinity, his reputation could not be below Ning Daoqis. Since his debut, Song Que has never been utterly defeated. Just by looking at how in thest twenty years no one dared to challenge him, we could infer his weight in Jianghu. Xu Ziling nodded and said, No wonder you think so highly of Song Shidao; turned out his background is that strong. He was eating and talking at the same time, like a rolling wind destroying the clouds he single-handedly swept away all the vegetarian dishes on the table. Shi Feixuan happily topped off his teacup; she said, Feixuan still have something Id like to ask you, but its a bit difficult to say. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Do you want me to persuade Kou Zhong to wash his hands over the golden tray, and from now on retreat to the mountain? Stifling herughter, Shi Feixuan said, That ought to be the biggest barrier between us. But what I would like to say is not directly rted to that; rather, Id like to offer an advice. If you heed this advice, you wont miss anything. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly, Here we go again, but remaining indifferent, he said, Right now, even if Xiaodi tell Miss that I do not wish to listen, Miss would still speak bluntly; am I right? Shi Feixuan sighed and said, Cant you not be so defensive? Feixuan only wish that the two of you would dispel your idea of entering Guanzhong to fetch the treasure. I dont know how, but for some reason Li Shimin received the intelligence that very soon you are going to enter the pass. That is his territory. The Heavenly Policy Mansion has martial art masters as numerous as the clouds. If they ever discover your whereabouts, you can forget about leaving with your life intact. And it would be very difficult for Feixuan to intervene. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Thank you very much for Miss concerns. But toward life and death, Kou Zhong and I have never cared too much. Shi Feixuan calmly said, Since thats the case, Feixuan wont say anything anymore. The originally harmonious atmosphere immediately vanished like scattering clouds, dispersing smoke. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Miss Qingxuan currently stays at the Duzun Bao; would you let Feixuan keep youpany for a while? How could Xu Ziling have the heart to firmly decline her softly spoken request? He had no choice but to agree. Inwardly he thought that after seeing Shi Qingxuan, he would leave Sichuan immediately, and would not linger any longer. The first month [of the lunar year] Lichun [the Beginning of Spring, 1st of the 24 sr terms] Yushui [Rain Water, 2nd sr term] festival, the second month Jingzhe [Insects Awake, 3rd sr term] Chunfen [Spring Equinox, 4th sr term] first; the third month Qingming [Pure Brightness, Tomb Sweeping Day, 5th sr term] Guyu [Grain Rain, 6th sr term] arrives, the fourth month Lixia [Start of Summer, 7th sr term] and Xiaoman [Lesser Full Grain, 8th sr term]. The eleventh month Daxue [Great Snow, 21st sr term] and Dongzhi [Winter Solstice, 22nd sr term] Festival, the twelfth month Xiaohan [Lesser Cold, 23rd sr term] and Dahan [Great Cold, 24th sr term]; to the twelfth month the singing ends, thest year gone, the New Yeares. The melodious singing voice came from a fishing boat flitting pass; listening to it Kou Zhong was radiant with delight. Turning to Bu Tianzhi standing next to him, he said, No wonder people always say that we need to snatch a moment of leisure in the midst of busyness. In the past few days, even though I heard someone singing, I rarely paid attention to the lyrics of the song, but now I listened without missing a word. It can clearly be seen that the heart could select and filter what the person hears and sees to fulfill his desire. It was originally a battleship, which, by removing all the battle equipment it carried, was transformed in a single shake to be a merchant ship traveling along the Great River. Bu Tianzhi spoke in low voice, Could it be that Shao Shuai still cannot forget your love toward the Song Familysdy? Kou Zhong had never expected that he would ask such a direct question like that; his old face turning red, he cleared his throat and replied, That is more or less one of the motivations behind this trip, but it is definitely not the only reason. Ha! Did you see those seabirds flying in such a neat formation? Hey! Is it near the ocean already? Bu Tianzhi took a deep breath and said, I do smell the ocean. If we have tail wind, the day after tomorrow we ought to go ashore, and then after rushing for one more day, we could reach the Song Family. Kou Zhong said, After going ashore, I might continue the journey alone, Zhi Shu need not wait for me. With Zhi Shu in Liangdou taking care of our headquarters, I will feel a bit more at ease. Bu Tianzhi knew he could not defy him, without any better option he simply agreed. Kou Zhong asked, Other than the Song Family, is there any local power in Lingnan? Bu Tianzhi replied, Locally, other than the Song Family, there are three influential people, which are Panyu Countys Wang Zhongxuan, Longshui Countys Chen Zhifu, and Shian Countys Ouyang Qian. They are not chief of any gang or society, just the head ofrge and influential family for generations. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Ouyang Qian is a woman? Bu Tianzhiughed and said, She is a young and pretty, beautiful woman; a daughter who undertakes her fathers line of business. Within the Lingnan Wulin, her colorful name is rather outstanding, her hands really have real skill, I hear that she is not one to be trifled with. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Our country indeed upies a vast territory; if I did not travel so far down to the southern border, I am afraid for the rest of my life I would not know that there is such woman not to be trifled with. To govern the whole country is really not easy. Bu Tianzhi said, If Song Que is willing to stand on Shao Shuais side, as long as he is willing to nod his head, I guarantee that all southern imperial leaders would surrender and pay their allegiance to Shao Shuai. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, That is the reason I wanted to pay a visit to Song Que. Smiling wryly, Bu Tianzhi said, The problem is that Song Que is a man who loves martial art above everything else. As luck would have it, Shao Shuai, your reputation as saber expert is also spread all over the world. You are dropping in just like this, the situation is highly unoptimistic. Shocked, Kou Zhong said, I am not dropping in to challenge him; he, the Senior, cant possibly use this style to receive me as his guest! Besides, I always have a good rtionship with the Song Family. Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, In Jianghu, Song Que is well-known as one who is not amenable to reason, someone who is difficult to get along with; moreover, he is not someone who would buy anybody elses ount. We are reaching the ocean! Would Shao Shuai like to go to the left, or do you want to go to the right? To the left was turning back into the East China Sea. To the right was the direction to Lingnan. In the end Bu Tianzhi could not help speaking out the burden in his heart, hoping that Kou Zhong would be willing to change his mind. The Great River continuously widening up. A flock of water birds flew in V-formation over the ships bow. The wind and the waves clearly grew in intensity. Kou Zhong had his gaze fixed on the junction between the ocean and the river ahead. Suddenly he reached out to grab Bu Tianzhis shoulder, and said with a wry smile, Nobody knew me better than Zhi Shu. If I do not go to Lingnan, even if I die in battle in the future, I will not close my eyes contentedly. What else could Bu Tianzhi say? Without any better option, he issued his order, instructing the ship, under full sail, to turn to the south, to sail speedily into the vast, boundless ocean. Book 24 - 13 – Ancient Castle Duzun Book 24 Chapter 13 - Part 1 Ysabel, Jaya, you are wee. Xiaohu, but I thought you were asking for it? Lance, if you dont mind me asking, where are you? Commuting on trains? Does not sound toomon on my side of the world. Shirak, just so you know, I am not tranting the text word for word, plus this is a fictional story, not a historical text. Speaking about trantion, a while back, during the Condor Trilogy project, someone pointed out that Yi Deng ought to be Duke Duan, not Emperor Duan. His argument was that there was already an emperor in China, so technically he could not be an emperor. However, everybody in the story called him huang ye (emperor). So, should we call him Duke Duan instead? Are we, as trantors of fiction, at fault for interpreting the text? John Minford came to mind. He is definitely a schr, a professional trantor; yet he took a lot of liberty with the original text. I have not read Graham Shaw and Olivia Mok, or the new trantion of Eagle Shooting Hero that is supposed to be published around now. I dont know what you guys think about their work? How about TV adaptation like Lance mentioned? They are certainly different than the original. Anyway, nuff said. We are here to enjoy the story, not to bicker about a certain word. Hungry, Akw, thanks for dropping in. Since you are a big Huang Yi fan, perhaps youll enjoy this part. You know, perhaps Ill copy his style, whenever I encounter a text that I am not sure, Id just say, its hard to describe ... Book 24 Chapter 13 C Ancient Castle Duzun Duzun Bao was located in the northern suburbs of Chengdu, on the southern bank of Wansui [lit. ten-thousand years, i.e. long live (the king, etc.)] Pond, lying from south to north, like a miniature Imperial City. The entire castle was made of stone bricks, giving the impression of a secured-city-protected-by-a-metal-wall-and-a-moat-of-boiling-water [idiom: well fortified]. When they reached the other end of the drawbridge spanning across the river protecting the castle, Shi Feixuan halted her steps and said, Feixuan alreadypleted my duty, Xu Xiong only needs to announce your name, someone will take Xu Xiong to see Miss Qingxuan. Taken aback, Xu Ziling asked, You are noting in with me? Acting a bit helpless, Shi Feixuan replied, I am afraid Miss Qingxuan would not be so happy to see me, but please do not ask for the reason. Xu Xiong, please take a good care of yourself. Finished speaking, sheughed, tranquil and calm, before floating away. Xu Ziling stared nkly at her for a moment before walking across the drawbridge. On the already open wide gate of the castle, someone was already waiting respectfully. A big man wearing gorgeous brocade clothes, around forty years old, respectful, solemn and courteous. After listening to the name and surname of the visitor, he introduced himself as the housekeeper [or butler] of Duzun Bao, Fang Yimin. He said, Xu Gongzi has honored us by your presence; this is indeed our Duzun Baos privilege. This way, please. Although Xu Ziling felt that this whole thing was rather strange, he knew that Shi Feixuan could not possibly deceive him; thereupon he followed Fang Yimin to enter the castle gate. Beyond the entrance was a stone screen wall [across the gate of a house (for privacy)]. Rounding the stone screen wall, there was a big and tall stone memorial arch, where there were fourrge characters, Zhong Xin Li Yi [loyal, trustworthy, propriety, righteousness] written on it C connecting the gate with a perfectly straight stone-b pathway. On both sides of the pathway were evergreen pine and cypress trees [symbolic: steadfast nobility]. The buildings were hidden among the trees; the ambience was that of serene and hidden in depth. Fang Yimin smiled and said, It was only this morning that our Baozhu [fort master] learned that Gongzi has honored Chengdu with your presence, while also heard that Ba Meng people have the heart to make things difficult for Gongzi; thereupon he immediately went to call on Ba Mengs Feng Zhen to have a talk. Xu Ziling came to his senses as if he was startled from his dream; he said, Xie Baozhus profound love and generous intention, Xu Ziling is very grateful. Fang Yimin took him across a stone bridge spanning over a clear stream winding from the northwest. Just ahead was a cluster of towering buildings right in the middle of Duzun Bao, with interlocking wooden brackets between the top of the columns and the crossbeams high in the air, full of paintings and carving. Most of all, there were a pair of giant stone squatting lions C mighty and vivid, under the stone steps of the main hall, about a zhang tall, increasing the strong mystery and dignity of the main hall. While walking, Fang Yimin said withugh, It should be us who are grateful. This way, please. Amazed, Xu Ziling followed by his side. Going around the main hall, they took the dirt pathway, along the winding road [orig. twisting and turning like a sheeps intestine] leading toward the side garden. Both sides of the pathway were full of exotic flowers and rare herbs, brilliant and dazzling to the eyes under the bright sun, while providing delightful shade. Why are you grateful to me? he could not help asking. Fang Yimin smiled mysteriously and spoke in low voice, Very soon Gongzi will find out. Please forgive Xiaoren for not daring to disclose it in advance. The pathway ended. Ahead, the willow trees made the shade, the flowers gave the light [idiom: light at the end of the tunnel], another clearing appeared. Under the flowers and trees cupping their hands in salute [i.e. forming an arch], a tranquil, unique small two-story building, was located at this serene and elegant corner. Raising his cupped hands in salute, Fang Yimin said, Gongzi, pleasee into the small building to see Miss Qingxuan. Xiaoren takes my leave here. Just like that, he bowed and retreated toward the pathway, and disappeared around a curve. Xu Ziling was dumbstruck; it was quite a whileter that he came to his senses and walked over toward the small building. Along the way, the most suspicious thing was that he never met anybody else of the castle. Were it not for Shi Feixuan personally taking him here, he would have suspected that Duzun Bao was setting up an ambush, or at least they harbored evil designs. Upon reaching the steps at the front door of the small building, Xu Ziling raised his voice, saying, Miss Shi, Xu Ziling is here to meet the appointment. Shi Qingxuans brimming-with-maic-force touching voice came from upstairs, Come up here! Xu Ziling finally put his keyed-up mind down. Frankly speaking, although he had 90% confidence that Shi Feixuan would not harm him, but due to past experience, especially with Shen Luoyan and Yun Yuzhen, two women, who bit the hand that fed them, inevitably he always felt a little uneasy. The major premise of the struggle over the world was that father and son, older and younger brothers, all could be enemies; much less just friends as strangersing together by chance. Secretly he was ashamed for harboring suspicion toward Shi Feixuan. This fairy-like beauty deserved to be treated as someone outside the dust of the earth, she could not possibly be someone who drift with the waves and go with the flow [idiom: following the crowd blindly]. He went up the steps one by one. The small reception hall downstairs was tidy, simple yet elegant, brimming with feminine, gentle and soft C atmosphere. The ce where Shi Qingxuan stayed momentarily, quite naturally, ought to be thedys chamber of someone with status within the castle. He saw a flight of stairs leading to the upper floor. For some reason, suddenly Xu Ziling felt a little tense; perhaps because of the unusual atmosphere, or perhaps because this meeting was arranged by Shi Feixuan as the go-between [orig. one who threaded the needle]. Thinking about when he first arrived at Chengdu the previous night, the breathtaking, enchanted feeling where, under thentern light illuminating the sky, Shi Qingxuan lifted half of the veil covering her face, he could not stop his heart from jumping a bit faster. Xu Ziling took the steps upstairs. When he reached the second floor, immediately his breathing stopped, his heart was violently shaken. Kou Zhong was standing alone by the ships railing on the port side, casting his gaze on the boundless expanse of the ocean. A long forgotten memory was shing through his mind at the speed of lightning or a spark of the flint. He remembered when together with Xu Ziling, which was hard to differentiate between elder and younger brother with him, were racking their brains on how to steal a boatload of salt under Hai Sha Bang, the evil tigers paws, and escape into the ocean. Afterwards they encountered the wind and the waves, and were forced to abandon the salt to save their lives. The scene was still vivid in his mind, as if it had just happened not long ago. Time is fleeting. His rtionship with Song Yuzhi was just like that; in the blink of an eye they separated in sadness. This time he went to the Song Family to look for her, how would this unyielding, proud,ing from the Souths most illustrious aristocratic family, beauty react? The most fascinating, as well as the most terrifying, aspect of ones destiny was the vast, with no clear boundary, unpredictable development. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival, his heart has never moved him to go across a thousand li to see Song Yuzhi. But now he was on his way to Lingnan. Who could have foreseen it beforehand? All the reasons for his trip to Lingnan were only excuses for his longing to see the ones intended [usually female]. Ay! Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Whether it was the pursuit of hegemony over the world, or the pursuit of love, he might just be someone who overestimated his own capabilities, like a moth throwing itself into the me, a self-destruction hidden behind the brilliance of the light. This moment Li Shimin was thrown far away at the back of his mind, yet there was no possibility for him to turn around. Before defeat in battle, before his death, he really wanted to see Song Yuzhi one more time. Currently, it was his only cherished desire. Shi Qingxuan was wearing doublepel rounded cor, blue flower print womens clothing; graceful, confident and at ease, sitting in front of the windowsill, fixing her eyes indifferently at him. Lucid and elegant beyondpare, her pretty face, without the least bit of cosmetics, exuded some kind of hard to describe sad, yet beautiful and tranquil, expression. Her natural good looks inviting in a sisterly way, lovely and touching. Her outline was so defined as if it was carved with a knife, brimming with a sense of beauty, whichplimented her icy flesh and jade skin. Speaking about her lucid-and-elegant-like-a-fairy appearance, any one tread, one hair [idiom: an iota] addition or subtraction would destroy this moon-appearance, flowery-countenance, which could onlye from the work of the gods in heaven. Compared to her previous appearance with fake nose or rough, swarthyplexion, it could be said that her appearance this time was of a very different world. Shi Qingxuan finally kept her promise to let Xu Ziling see her natural beauty in all its glory. The blue flower print clothing she was wearing was of soft cloth; although it was a monochromatic print, there was a strong blue-white contrast that gave the impression of multitude of changes within the monochromatic world, a perfect blend of the contrast, an unusually unique color scheme. Her admired-by-the-world jade flute was so casually resting on her knee. The brilliant sun prated the forest tree sprinkled its light into the window, turning into a halo, which enveloped her inside the shade of bright red clouds in heavenly heavy atmosphere, so moving that it made people holding their breath. A hard to describe feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Book 24 Chapter 13 - Part 2 Ysabel, Jaya, HPC, you are wee. Xiaohu, oh,e on ... a hard to describe feeling is not a cliffhanger? Lance, thanks for letting me know. Shirak, which is not much ... Akw, thanks for the analysis and the additional information. Both Shi Qingxuans beauty and Shi Feixuans beauty made people feel that they could only gaze from afar and that it must not be toyed with disrespectfully. However, other than attracting people to admire and be intoxicated, the formers beauty also carried unusual cordiality. Immediately Xu Ziling was overwhelmed with a sense of inferiority; blushing with shame, he said, Xu Ziling has failed the task that Miss entrusted to me, in the end I lost the Print Scroll. Shi Qingxuan looked out the window, whilefortably leaning against the window frame. Remaining tranquil and calm, she said, Qingxuan has never owned it, what loss are you talking about? Xu Xiong was willing to take the long and difficult trek to Sichuan, Qingxuan is already very happy. Xu Ziling was not a man who was awkward with words, but this moment he was so awed by her exceptional countenance and beautiful appearance, unexpectedly he was speechless. Her jet-ck beautiful hair was knotted into a simple bun on top of her head, fixed in ce by a jade hairpin. She casually pushed a stray clump of hair, giving out another kind of unique, carefree, implicit charm. Under the printed cloth gown peeked out a pair of white jade, unblemished bare feet, amplifying her feminine,nguid, alluring wind, field, and moon. Shi Qingxuan serenely said, Did you see that thing on the table? It was only now did Xu Ziling look at the desk in front of the window, where an unusually-styled thick-backed broadsword, with high and ancient grained [in wood] scabbard, along with a scroll of book, wasid. It was only now did he realize that all around him were bookcases, abundant with collection of books. Inwardly he was ashamed. His heart was moved, he asked, Is that the Overbearing Saber, the weapon with which Yue Shan made his name? Shi Qingxuan moved her gaze. Without a single blink she looked at the treasured saber on the table. Although her jade countenance did not show the least bit of emotion, her elegant eyeballs exuded a reminiscently sad expression. Letting out a gentle sigh, she said, Indeed this is the saber. Frowning deeply, Xu Ziling said, Miss good intention, I appreciate very much! But one, I do not like to brandish saber or y with sword; two, I am more afraid to carry such a heavy saber while being constantly on the move and trekking everywhere. Why does Miss still want tomemorate it? Shi Qingxuan softly said, Without it, how could you pose as Yue Shan? Xu Zilingughed and said, Wasnt I without it before? For a moment even Zhu Yuyan was nearly deceived. Shi Qingxuan shook her head and said, This time its different. Zhu Yuyan only had a one-night tryst with Yue Shan, plus since she always loathed Yue Shan, naturally she was bound to forget him. Xu Ziling was stunned, This time? he asked, What do you mean this time? Shi Qingxuan turned her eyes toward him and said, This time the person you are going to deceive is another mortal enemy, the Tian Jun [heavenly lord] Xi Ying. If you showed the least bit of w, he would immediately see through it. No matter what, you have to strive for perfection. Xu Ziling understood. Smiling wryly, he said, After seeing Miss, I will leave Sichuan immediately. I am afraid ... ay! What could Zaixia say? A hint of fresh-flower-blooming, sunshine-cut-through-the-ck-cloud smile appeared on Shi Qingxuans face, immediately driving away the grief-stricken thoughts, the mncholy of the face of the earth that put people in the extreme depth of sorrow. Tenderly, with naivet, she said, Look! Even I feel very sorry! You destroyed that many revered Luohan from those monks temple, plus you learned magical skill that no one has ever able to understand from them; how could you simply want to walk away? Arent you ashamed? Seeing her returning to her natural color, Xu Ziling could not help sitting dejectedly in front of the desk, staring nkly at the overbearing saber lying horizontally in front of his eyes, as if he was able to smell the reek of blood concealed within the de of the saber; momentarily he did not have any word with which he could respond to her. Shi Qingxuans gentle and soft voice entered his ears, Ziling, oh, Ziling! How could you be so blind to the sufferings of others? Only by disguising yourself as Yue Shan will you be able to lure Xi Ying out. Abandoning this, there is no other brilliant scheme. Xu Ziling began to understand why Shi Feixuan arranged for him to meet Shi Qingxuan. Smiling ruefully, he said, Is not Miss someone who is outside of the affairs of life? Howe this time you are being a zealous participant? Shi Qingxuan sighed lightly and said, This happens to be one of the burdens Qingxuan carries on her shoulders. Before his death, Old Yue has already dispelled his bitterness toward Song Que. Only Tian Jun Xi Ying, who harmed him that his family scattered and the people perished, even more, who had made him to be ruthless C that he constantly kept in his mind. If Ziling could kill this demon for Qingxuans, and all the people who have been harmed by him C sake, Qingxuan will be extremely grateful. It was only now did Xu Ziling notice that she called him Ziling. His heart burning, he sighed and said, Very well! Even I cannot find any excuse to refuse. But I do have an important matter to attend to; I can only stay in Chengdu for another seven days. After that, I will have to leave immediately. Miss, what do you think? Shi Qingxuan delightedly said, Seven days is definitely enough. First of all, you must follow my direction to make your Yue Shan disguise like a seamless heavenly clothes; the most important thing is that you give out the appearance of one who has mastered the Huan Ri Dafa [great method of changing the day]. And then, although there will still be differences with the real Yue Shan, other people would not doubt it, simply because those who knew Yue Shan knew him before his decisive battle against Song Que, before he was practicing the Huan Ri Dafa. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Was Huan Ri Dafa that formidable? If so, wont Xi Ying has no reason to drop by just to be target practice of Yue Shans saber? Dont worry, Shi Qingxuan said, This time Xi Ying dared toe back to the Central ins, simply because he has mastered his own schools supreme xinfa, and no longer has anybody else in his eyes. By publicly announcing that he wanted to destroy the Temple, my guess is that he wanted to lure Song Que toe here. How could he be afraid of the general who had been defeated under Song Ques hands? It ought to be that he is itching to have you showing up. Thinking about the rtionship between Wulin Magistrate Xie Hui and the Song Family, Xu Ziling was half-convinced, and cast his eyes toward the scroll lying next to the saber. Shi Qingxuan exined, This book was written in thest several decades of Yue Shans life after losing his martial art skill. In his spare time he recorded his understanding of the Overbearing Saber and Huan Ri Dafa, as well as some criticism pertaining to several human affairs. Hee ...! This is your assignment for today. What more could Xu Ziling say? Shi Qingxuan continued, No need to put up a pained expression; I will stay here to keep youpany, to tell all important events, big and small, in Yue Shans lifepletely to you, so that youll understand. I guarantee that your disguise will be like seamless heavenly clothes, without revealing any w. And then, slightly staring quizzically, she asked, You have not told me, do I look good now? Xu Zilings heart was swept away; he looked directly at her. Shi Qingxuan turned her pretty face away, to put her can-be-rated-as-the-stunning-beauty-in-human-world, beautiful, top-quality silhouette C on full disy, before slowly raising the jade flute toward her lips, and putting her delicate fingers on the holes of the flute. The beauty of her posture was not something that can be produced locally. Hundreds and thousands of indescribable feeling spread across Xu Zilings entire body. It was a feeling like he was sitting high in the clouds. In the past, when he was listening to her ying a tune on the roof of Wang Tongs big mansion, he had never thought that today he woulde face to face with the beauty [orig. jade person]. Even more, that he would be able to listen to her bestowing a heavenly song especially for him. All of a sudden all other human affairs were forgotten. This little building has be his own city, his own country, standing alone, sealed off from the rest of the world. Everything that was happening anywhere outside this realms boundary suddenly became unrted to him at all. Shi Qingxuan. Such a touching beauty. The flute was slowing down. Xu Ziling waspletely lost. Book 25 - 1 – Intimate Talks in Moonlit Night Book 25 Chapter 1 C Intimate Talks in Moonlit Night Even with all thenguage in the world, it is still not possible to describe even one of ten thousand feeling and imagination that the sound of Shi Qingxuans flute bestowed. This time the music she yed waspletely different from the one at Wang Tongs mansion or inside the bat cave. If the former ones could be said as extraordinary flute art out-of-this-world-nearing-bing-an-arhat level, then this time it was evolving-from-the-infinite-depth-of-the-heart-and-spirit level. Especially after Xu Ziling knew her lot in life, which was written out of without-choice-and-blood-hatred. Shi Qingxuans suave, dreary and fuzzy flute music waspletely unaffected by any known musicalposition or limited by any old clichs; rather, it was close to instinctively linked to the heavenly melody, wonderful sound that stemmed from the bottom of the heart of all whose heart was touched, the supernaturally fine craft that will draw you into the sorrowful, bewildering world of her music. It also allowed the listeners to set foot in the usually forbidden, or perhaps did not dare to set foot on, the restricted area of the heart. The fluctuating and rich flute sound came from the windowsill where she ced herself like a stem after stem of fresh flower blooming one by one,pletely shattering any barrier between the rooms, inside and outside, of the small building. Reverberating, uplifting, irresolute as if it was outside the Ninth Heaven, faintly came through; swirling low as if it was lurking under water of the abyss and the ocean, so deep that it was out of touch. The sound of the flute was like the destiny tightly wrapped around Xu Zilings mind. Each note seared deep into a certain ce of his innermost being. The notes were joined together as if made by the Heaven. There was absolutely no w. In contrast to the sound of her flute, allnguages have be vague and general,cking in strength. The sound of the music absorbing the soul, bringing out the hidden-deep emotion like a crop of bird responding to a call, which was hard to suppress. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling watched her ying her flute solo, just like she possessed all the touchingly beautiful sunset scenery outside the window; his heart was filled with unceasing tenderness and adoration toward her, he could not helpmenting his own confused and solitary life, soaring in a certain lost wastnd. On the boundless, wide earth, the mysterious and longwinded musical Pure Land [in Buddhism, usually refers to Amitabha Buddhas Western Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss (Sukhavati in Sanskrit)], Xu Zilings imagination was infinitely stretched out by eager expectation. For a moment it was as if he had just stepped across the boundary between life and death. For a moment it was as if he could never get away from thebyrinth of emotion. From the death of Fu Junchuo to the passing of Susu, life was like an endless nightmare. Scene after scene of memories emerged in his mind. His state of mind and the flute sound seemed like martial art masters exchanging blows in close quarters, each move matched the others, going forward side by side, bravely charging out of the unbounded depth of the spirit. The touching melody wasing out little by little, outstandingly pure and limpid like drop after drop of dew on the lotus leaf, followed by the heaven and the earth darkening down, until finally it wiped out thest streak of the setting sun from the t earth in distant ce outside the window, when the flute sound finally ended. Yet it also seemed like it could go on forever. Shi Qingxuan slowly put the jade flute back into her bosom. Her expression tranquil, as if the flute melody just now had absolutely nothing to do with her. The after-the-Mid-Autumn-night moonlight passing through the small cracks among the forest trees, sprinkling its light onto the windowsill, illuminating the side of her face, which was facing outward C that it shone brightly, while the side facing Xu Ziling remained in the dark, emphasizing her graceful silhouette and posture. The rectangr window frame created a strong contrast to her tender and soft, touching feminine figure, forming an absolutely beautiful picture of her portrait melting together with the gentle and soft moonlight. The sad, serene, and touching flute sound still lingering on in his mind, his heart was so full that he had to suppress the unceasingly singr sentiment; unable to restrain his emotions, he sighed in admiration and said, Qingxuans song, I will never forget it in all my life! In his heart he was thinking of her name, unconsciously he just blurted it out. Hanging down her small cicada head, Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, Lets just say that you still have a little bit of conscience! It was the first time that I, with my heart and soul C offer my skill to another person. Although the listeners are not limited to you alone, but in my heart I was ying for you alone. Xu Ziling was slightly startled; immediately he remembered that there must be other people in the castle, naturally they would also hear the flute sound wafting out of the small building, and this realization has given him another feeling. Shi Qingxuan looked at him. Without any concern she said, Xie Hui and his household have been asking me to y them a tune, but all along Qingxuan has been unwilling toply. Today, relying on the most favorable method, nujia has fulfilled my promise to you, as well as their cherished desire; wont that be one move, two virtues? I hope you dont mind? The tone of her voice was gentle, elegant, warm and pure. The breathing in between the words was irresolute like a ripple of wave brushing the shore; her sweet voice itself carried an intense musical nuance, to say nothing of that it was spoken under this kind of warm moonlit night. Of course Xu Ziling did not care whether he was not the only one enjoying the immortal song. Besides, he was not a narrow-minded person. Your singing voice must be equally pleasant to listen to, he blurted without thinking. Shi Qingxuanughed in spite of herself. Turns out Xu Ziling is so greedy, she said, After obtaining Long [short name for Gansu province] you still hope for Shu [short name for Sichuan]. Come! How about sitting in front of me? I want to look carefully what kind of man are you? Xu Ziling rose up to his full height; smiling calmly, he said, Are you thinking of a tooth for a tooth? After giving me a glimpse of the exceptional beauty, you want to take a look at me. But please dont look too carefully; I have shorings everywhere. As soon as you pay a bit more attention, you will be able to see everything. While saying that, he moved toward the windowsill. Shi Qingxuan raised her head. Her fragrant lips lightly pursed, she said, You are using the wrong words! It should be an eye for an eye. You are unable to take your eyes off me; staring at nujia like that, I have never felt so unnatural. You nearly made me jump down from the window sill, and then walk back straight to the secluded forest of the small valley. Xu Ziling stood by the windowsill; he only needed to move forward a little bit, and then he would be able to touch her fragrant body. Looking down, he saw her jade countenance, which seemed to blend the light and darkness perfectly C was even more lucid and elegant; something that was definitely out-of-this-world. Her bright eyes, under the slender, curved eyebrows, looked even more beautiful. When her cinnabar lips were opening and closing, two pleasant pear-shaped dimples naturally appeared at the side of her cheeks. Her long, elegant, clean and beautiful neck looked even more like a thread, which suddenly pulled people in. Her snow-white skin was exposed. Hearing her talking in such a close distance, it felt as if she was breathing and whispering directly into his ear, or like a burst of cool breeze from a distance, gently and softly brushing the light muslin clothe. For the first time in his life an urge to embrace a woman into his bosom and lightly kiss her lips was welling up in Xu Zilings heart. Unexpectedly he was momentarily lost. And then, when he least expected it, Shi Qingxuan suddenly stretched out her delicate hand to push his abdomen down, and spoke a bit impatiently, Quickly take off your shoes, you bird-head! Xu Zilings heart was shaken, he came to his senses, and clumsily took off his boots. And then, sitting cross-legged on the other side of the windowsill, he leaned his back against the window frame, and said with a sigh, I never thought it would be thisfortable. The bright moon was hanging in the vast, empty night sky, high above the tip of the trees; it was so big and round. The natural world was so mysterious and boundless; when did all these start? When would everything end? Perhaps it has no beginning and no end? Shi Qingxuans fairy-like gentle and soft, simple and neat voice entered his ears, saying, I like nights; I dont like going to sleep. I love to see the sadness of the twilight, when the day turns into night, and then it enters the constant deep stillness. It could be a brilliant starry sky, or it could be a dark night with bleak wind and icy rain, or perhaps its like tonight, the moon ising right into our face, drawing us to reflect on the beautiful scenery. That kind of feeling is so beautiful. Xu Ziling pulled his gaze away from the bright moon, and turned it toward her. He saw her staring fixedly at the night sky. The moon shed its light on her face. His heart severely shaken, he blurted out, You are really beautiful! Shi Qingxuan calmly met his eyes, gazed deeply at him, and sighed lightly while saying, This is the second time you are speaking frivolous talk toward me! Although she was saying frivolous, her intonation and expression did not carry the slightest implication of criticism or me; instead, it made Xu Ziling feel that when he blurted out his praise without thinking in the bat cave that day, she treasured it in the depth of her fragrant heart. Yet he did not know how to respond. Shi Qingxuan lowered her pretty face to stare at the jade flute lying across her knees. With a tiny, barely audible voice, she said, I am very scared! Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What are you afraid of? Shi Qingxuan raised her face and cast him a sidelong nce, slightly pouting, she said, Of course I am afraid of myself; could it be that I am scared of you? Idiot! Although Xu Ziling was unlike Hou Xibai, who was a veteran of a hundred battles in term of man-woman rtionship, he was a keen and sensitive young man; how could he not hear the abundant affection in Shi Qingxuans voice? His heart warmed up, he nearly wanted to exploit the opportunity to reach out and deeply kiss her on the mouth. But as soon as he remembered this beautys distinct style and her unpredictable action, if his feeling was unexpectedly just a misunderstanding, certainly he would feel embarrassed and aggravatingly ufortable! Hastily suppressing this strong attraction, his eyes burning, he asked, Why are you afraid of yourself? Shi Qingxuan smiled sweetly; the dimples on her jade cheeks were growing deeper and more enchanting. A bit yfully, she said, Please forgive Qingxuan for holding off the climax for a bit; let me ask Ziling Xiong a question first. If you are willing to own up to the facts, perhaps Qingxuan would also be willing to tell you a secret. Xu Ziling was enjoying her intoxicating flirtatious expressions, but at the same time he was wary inwardly. Shi Qingxuan was quick-witted and crafty; he has had first hand experience on it. However, on the surface he remained calm and collected, as he spoke indifferently, Miss Shi, please bestow your instruction! Shi Qingxuan stared at him for half a day before appearing to be casual as she said, Is your heart moved by Shi Feixuan? Caught off-guard, Xu Ziling blurted out, What? Shi Qingxuans eyes were shing with sharp light; her pretty eyebrows knitted lightly, she said, Just by looking at how you pretended not to hear clearly and stalling for time, Qingxuan already know the answer. Ziling Xiong does not need to answer! Xu Zilings old face blushed deep red. Smiling bitterly, he said, Miss Shi [Qingxuan] really should not raise this issue, because I really never associate Miss Shi [Feixuan] with the feeling between a man and a woman in the secr world; therefore, I lost my head when I heard the question. Hey! Why do you want to know? Shi Qingxuan replied indifferently, Shi Feixuan is just like my Niang in the past. The more she did not eating the food ofmon mortals [fig. cing oneself above themon popce], too high to reach, the more those who think too much of themselves greedily approached her; they thought that obtaining her favor is the paramount honor. Precisely because there was Niangs example that in this respect, Shi Feixuan is outwardly very careful. But that does not mean that she has more self-control than Niang. Xu Ziling took a deep breath and calmly said, If I say that my heart is not moved, I am being pretentious and lying. But that does not necessarily mean that it is rted to the feeling between a man and a woman. On the nk walkway on my way to Sichuan, I saw a waterfall pouring down in torrents from the opposite cliff, so I stopped to watch; my heart was bewitched, my spirit intoxicated. It was only an appreciation of beautiful things, without any presumptuous demands to own it. Just like the bright moon in the sky, it is impossible to possess it alone. Shi Qingxuan smiled and said, You spent so much effort in exining it, I wonder if you want to state your true feelings clearly to me, or do you want to know the secret on why I am afraid of myself? Facing her aggressive, sharp rhetoric, Xu Ziling was flustered; he tried to ward off by saying, Hey! I was just using analogy to exin it. Ay! Miss, how do you exactly want me to answer? Pfft! Shi Qingxuan broke into tender giggle and said, I was wondering if you have unrequited love toward Shi Feixuan. I practically dont care. Qingxuan has already made up my mind to spend myst years at the small valley, to apany Niang in her grave forever. Other things I will not seek. Xu Ziling felt as if a bucket of cold water had just been dumped onto his head. Coming to his senses, he smiled ruefully and said, Thank you Miss for warning me; I nearly forget. Shi Qingxuan hung down her head and said with a soft sigh, All living things suffer simply because of love; there is no cliff on the ocean of passion, the sea of bitterness knows no bound. Has Ziling Xiong thought about it? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, I dont know; I dont even want to know. Miss, please keep in mind that I will only stay in Sichuan for seven days. About luring the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying to kill him, shouldnt we start the preparation as early as possible? Kou Zhong came with Bu Tianzhi to the stern. Following his raised hand pointing out ahead, he already saw the shadow of a sail under the light of the dawn; knitting his brows, he asked, Whose ship is that? After sailing at top speed for one day and one night, one side of them was the desert mountain of the south, while on the other side was the boundless ocean. The ocean stretched out to east as far as the dark hue of color where the ocean meets the sky. Bu Tianzhi shook his head and said, One or two sichen since we left Chang Jiang and entered the sea, that boat has been on our tail. At that time there was a lot of traffic, so our brothers did not pay attention. But now of course it is an irksome presence. Kou Zhong said, Could it be that it is because we are adopting the same route? Bu Tianzhi replied, Originally I thought so too; thereupon I instructed the captain to steer away from the coast. Who would have thought that the other side not only also changed their course to follow, they even used some kind of peculiar sailing method, by exploiting the changing of direction to capture the wind and speed up; thereupon they are much closer now. Kou Zhong turned his eyes toward thend on their left; in the early morning fog he barely saw the vague silhouette. Nodding his head, he said, It appears that the boat is going straight toward us. Does Zhi Shu have any way to throw them off? Bu Tianzhi replied with heavy voice, If this ship is Jukun gship, I have a way to make the opposite side could only eat the wind. But currently our boat is just a medium sized sailboat that was designed to especially sail on the river. Compared to the opponents seagoing ship, we have great disadvantage; in terms of stability, capturing the wind and long distance navigation, we are a few notches under them. Moreover, the other side must have an expert in sea navigation on board in charge of their ship. With the current speed, they are going to catch up with us within five sichen. Racking his brains, Kou Zhong thought aloud, Who might they be? One boat against one boat, why are they so confident? It should be noted that Kou Zhong has be a world famous martial art master; if they did not have a bit of weight, they would not have dared toe to capture his tiger whisker. Conversely, with Kou Zhongs current strength, even if the other person has not seen him yet, he could more or less guess. This is what is called He whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille. The one dared toe must have done self-introspection to determine if he had enough strength to deal with Kou Zhong. Bu Tianzhi said, As I see it, that huge warship must be, more or less, rted to Li Zitong. Only his side would know that we have ships around the Chang Jiang, and only those who guard tightly the estuary of the Chang Jiang would have the greatest opportunity to intercept us. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Zhi Shu is absolutely correct. They originally wanted to ambush us on our way out to the sea. At that time there may be more than one warship; however, unexpectedly we did not go up north to return to the East [China] Sea, but sailed to the south instead, which disturbed their n greatly. Their wellid n ended up useless, only this huge ship with an expert in charge, albeit with difficulty, is able to follow and catch up with us. Oh! The ships style is a bit weird; it does not look like the ships we are ustomed to see in the Central Earth, it is also different from the Nanyang [Southeast Asia/southern seas] ships that moor outside Yangzhou. Could it be Khitans Ku Ge, that muddled egg ship? Amazed, Bu Tianzhi asked, Its still very far, unexpectedly Shao Shuai is able to see clearly? Kou Zhong was focusing his power on his eyes; nodding, he said, I have no problem seeing. The only problem I have is how to describe it to you. Can you start by describing the shape of the ship? Bu Tianzhi suggested. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that if he were able to see Ku Ge going back and forth on the ship, he would not have to waste too much time exining; too bad the people on the ship that he saw were only moving about a little bit. Without any better option, he tried his best to exin, This guys bottom is pointy and its top wide, its bow raised up and its tail towering. It has three-story deck, there are only three sail masts, proportionately, they ought to be twice as high as our masts. Smiling wryly, Bu Tianzhi said, Every other ships structure is more or less like Shao Shuais description just now; to brave the waves and ride a boat, they must be so. Ay! Is there any other distinctive feature? Kou Zhong suddenly shook; he said, I can see their g! The character on the top is definitely not a Han character; it looks a bit like the amulet that the Taoist priests write. Out of three characters, two have circles inside them; could it be Khitan text? Sneering, Bu Tianzhi said, How could Khitan people have such a giant seagoing ship? Oh, I know! Kou Zhong looked at him. Whose boat is it? he asked. Bu Tianzhis expression became grave; he stared at the ship without blinking, and said heavily, If I am guessing correctly, that must be Gaoli multi-decked flying warship. What? Kou Zhong cried out involuntarily. In the afternoon, Xu Ziling hurriedly left the city, and urgently traveled to the east for more than thirty li, to see Shi Feixuan on a small hill. Shi Feixuan happily said, Let Feixuan represents all the Dashi [big stone] Temples Dashi [great master] to express gratitude on Xu Xiongs willingness to undertake the task of upholding justice first. Did Miss Shi n this in advance? Xu Ziling asked. Shi Feixuan modestly replied, I only had a rough n, which still include a bit of risk; therefore, I must deliberate with Xu Ziling first. Miss, please exin, Xu Ziling respectfully replied. Astounded, Shi Feixuan said, Why is it that only after one day, Xu Xiongs attitude and expression toward Feixuan are like going out many times and repeatedly distant (or aloof) [not sure, perhaps a Chinese saying? ظĤ], so polite and regard me as an outsider, making me feel ufortable? Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. It could be said thatst night he had his true love moved by a woman whom he truly admired; who would have thought that he bumped his nose on the ash? There is amon saying, after seeing ghost, afraid of the dark. And now, facing another woman of unmatched beauty that was able to move his heart, how could he not advance gradually and entrench himself at every step, being prudent and cautious, to avoid stepping on the wrong path? He said apologetically, I am just afraid to offend Miss; please forgive me, Miss. After looking deep into his eyes, Shi Feixuan said, Right now, other than me and Miss Qingxuan, everybody, including Xie Hui, thought that you have left Chengdu and are rushing back to the east. Therefore, if you shake your body and be Yue Shan, nobody would suspect you. Xu Ziling said, The first step ought to be: let the people know that Yue Shans honorable self hase. This matter, if you say its difficult then its not, but if you say its easy, its not either. Among the younger generations, not many knew than Yue Shan existed. Not only that, I have just left, and then Yue Shan arrives; wont people suspect it is too much of a coincidence? Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Feixuan is starting to understand why you and Kou Zhong are able to move unhindered across the world! The fact is: that is precisely the first difficulty. Although in hister years Yue Shan crossed over the secluded forest of the small valley, but for thest several decades he never left the valley even for half a step. On top of that, after he became famous, he had never been to Chengdu. It could be said that nobody knew him. Fortunately, you, this fake Yue Shan, had once appeared in Luoyang. To some extent, the affair of that Shang Cainu [talented woman] trying to track you down is also heard in here; therefore, Feixuan might be able to do a little bit of work to make the Chengdu Wulin know that Yue Shans honorable self has honor them with his presence. Xu Ziling suddenly said, Will Miss trust me, Xu Ziling? Startled, Shi Feixuan replied, Of course! Does Xu Xiong have some other suggestion? Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling said, As a matter of fact, I do! After we partpany, I am asking Miss Shi not to do anything for me, in fact, dont even mind me. I have a way to lure Heavenly Lord Xi Ying out and have him eliminated. Shi Feixuans pretty eyes lit up with astonished bright light; she spoke softly, Xi Ying is absolutely not an easy man to deal with. If he had really mastered the Ziqi Tian Luo [lit. purple cloud (auspicious portent in astrology) heavenly gauze (sifter)] of the Mie Qing Dao [lit. the way to extinguish feeling/emotion/passion], his power could possibly be above An Longs. Will Xu Xiong still have the confidence? Calmly, Xu Zilingughed and said, If I die, I will have to trouble Miss to tell Kou Zhong. While you are doing that, please also tell him it would be best for him to return to his hometown and open a cake shop! This will be Xiaodisst words. Laughing aloud, he floated away. Shi Feixuan waited until his shadow disappeared in the forest on the slope before letting out a faint sigh and left in the opposite direction. Book 25 - 2 – The Great Method of Changing The Day Book 25 Chapter 2 C The Great Method of Changing The Day During the day, the wind blows constantly from thend to the sea, but in the evening, the wind change direction to blow from the ocean toward thend. But this moment, the wind direction was changing indeterminately. The multi-decked, huge Korean warship has caught up to about a li and a half, and was still closing in. With grave expression Bu Tianzhi said, If we can hold on to tonight, I have confidence we will be able to throw them off. Surprised, Kou Zhong said, By saying that, Zhi Shu must have another reason. I thought that these two nights the moonlight was so bright, the day and the night are not much different. Brimming with confidence, Bu Tianzhi said, Just by looking at the changes in the wind power, I dare say that the weather will turn nasty very soon. At that time, the ocean will change into a dark world with no moon and stars. In the surging and high waves, it would be very extraordinary if the ship is not sinking, let alone talking about trailing the enemy. Finding it hard to believe, Kou Zhong looked up at ten thousand li clear sky overhead, then he looked down at the surface of the sea, where the great waves silently passed through the seemingly serene you-chase-me-and-I-after-you situation, with only ayer of fine white foam on the crown of the waves. I hope Zhi Shus expectation is correct, he said, Hey! We are not going to capsize, are we? Recalling the trip with Xu Ziling that time, where their boat unexpectedly crashed against the rock, he still had lingering fear. Bu Tianzhi replied, When the wind power is increasing, the only thing we can do is to adjust the course and to keep the winding from the stern. If we let the wind to blow on either side of the ship, the sail will be blown and the ship will spin, so much so that it will capsize. At that time, ourparatively smaller ship will have the advantage of rotating around more nimbly, unlike now, where we are being chased without being able to take a breathe. Kou Zhong looked up at the sun, which had just crossed over its zenith and was slowly going down toward thend on the west. Laughing, he said, How much confidence does Zhi Shu have that the weather will turn nasty? Shaken, Bu Tianzhi replied, Not even fifty-percent. Stunned, Kou Zhong looked over. The top deck of the battleship appeared to being at them in straight line, but it was actually constantly turning, as if they wanted topletely capture all the sea breeze. Each subtle change of direction caused the ships speed to increase suddenly; it was a brilliant skill, something astonishing to see. The enemys warship finally entered the dangerous one li range, brimming with threat, while their own counterattack weaponry, such as crossbow and arrow machines, trebuchets, and so on, were still collecting dust at the bottom of the hold. Xu Ziling had the Overbearing Saber and the scroll Yue Shan left behind, all of it, buried in the hole he dug on the muddy soil and filled the hole with dirt. After making some marking that he could recognizeter, his entire body rxed. He had some kind of intense rejection and resistance toward these inauspicious articles, which were soaked full of the reek of blood. He was even more reluctant to follow through Shi Feixuan and Shi Qingxuans scheme like a puppet on the strings. He wanted to rely on his own style and method to exterminate the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, and then he would never have any reason to stay. Xu Ziling did not me Shi Qingxuan as being ruthless at all; he only med himself for overestimating his own capabilities and for being silly to think that this multi-talented beauty would look upon him with favor. She yed her flute for him showing her real face was no more than showing her appreciation for his willingness to pull his saber and render assistance [part of an idiom: to intervene when one sees an injustice]. In short, he just misunderstood her. Thinking about this, he felt ridiculous. However, whether it was when he arrived at Chengdu for the first time, orst night under the moonlight in the small building, he had felt an unprecedented emotion. The ocean of love has no shore, the sea of bitterness sees no bound! Even if the love between a man and a woman was a joy in life, but loving women like Shi Feixuan or even Shi Qingxuan would probably not bring any good result. Ouyang Xiyi, Wang Tong, and the others were good example. Xu Ziling inwardly determined that henceforth he would not have any wild fantasy toward Shi Feixuan and Shi Qingxuan. Thinking to this point, he felt more free [from worldly worries (Buddhist term)] instead; just like being pulled out from the mire where his feet were sinking deep, and was back to his usual confident and at ease, open-minded self. Once more his brains were working actively. Since bidding farewell to Shi Qingxuan the previous night and returning to his inn, with his sleep eluding him all night, he looked at the scroll Yue Shan left behind at least three times through, and just now he read it again one time through. Relying on his extraordinary memory, he remembered the content of the scroll as ripe as a melon that rolls from its vine [idiom: knowing something inside out]. Other than recording the particrly profound personal narrative in Yue Shans life, which consisted of mainly the reflection in hister years over the Overbearing Sabers saber technique and the repeated examination of the Huan Ri Da Fa that he has yet to master, it was full of helplessness and heartache, which made people who read it feel sad. Although the aspiration was a thousand li away, but time was not on my side; what to do about it? On a side note, the ruthless-beyond-humanprehension forty-nine-style Overbearing Saber waspletely not to Xu Zilings liking. But Huan Ri Da Fa had touched him deeply, untilter on it became the fantastic gongfa rolling around in the sea of his brain. ording to Yue Shan, this set of fantastic gongfa was the result of exchanging his Overbearing Sabers secret with an Indian ascetic practitioner monk. Originally it had an Indian name, which Yue Shan renamed into The Great Method of Changing The Day. If Yue Shan were able to master it, he would shed his mortal body and exchange his bones, wash his muscle and exchange his marrow C to be reborn. Not only his injury would be healed, he would also be able to, in a short period of time, recover his internal power. Unfortunately, until his body died, Yue Shan had not mastered even ten-percent of it. Speaking about harboring regret to the end! Through the scroll that Yue Shan left behind, Xu Ziling had the first contact with Shi Qingxuans mother, Bi Xiuxin. Every so often she would visit Yue Shan; oftentimes she even helped him studying the fantastic Huan Ri Da Fa, and Yue Shan dutifully recorded her view in his legacy scroll. In general, Huan Ri Da Fa could be divided into Six-Direction [north, south, east, west, up, down] Aplishment of Religious Practice [again, Buddhist term]. In sequence, step by step, it meant going through the [spiritual] cultivation of qi, mai [meridian], lun [wheel or disk/ring/rotation ... anything round; Sanskrit: Chakra], as well as disying the life potential, bing one with the heaven and earth, seizing the creation [or good luck] of the heaven and earth; an unfathomable mystery. One thing that attracted his attention the most was Yue Shans broken and then stand, defeated and then seed, two forms [or mnemonic chant]. Too bad that although he was broken and defeated, all along he did not obtain any gain. The mystery behind this, even Bi Xiuxin, whose intelligent surpassed others, remained puzzled even after pondering over it a hundred times. But when looking at it the first time, Xu Ziling has been able to faintly grasping its crucial point; simply because other than Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, there has never been anybody else undergoing the fantastic experience from the Jade Annulus of He n. He still had to ponder carefully. Thinking to this point, his heart was moved, and he walked away. With his sharp eyesight, Kou Zhong was able to see clearly the situation on board the enemys warship; even Ku Ges C who was standing on the bridge C expression brimming with hatred, did not escape his eyes. By Ku Ges side stood several wearing butterfly-like wide robe huge garment, and tall hat on top of their head C Korean warriors, one of them was a woman. But Bu Tianzhis attention was at the two trebuchets standing extremely menacingly at the bow. The only reason to be happy right now was that the weather was gradually getting worse. The originally tranquil surface of the sea has turnedpletely into foaming, surging and sshing billows. It was as if roaring huge waves were attacking from four directions eight sides, the men at the helm of both ships had a bit of their hands tied, their feet bound C feeling, and could only navigate the ship following the winds direction, no longer able to steer the ships toward their desired direction. Thend on the west has already disappeared inside the dense clouds, all around them they could only see ocean waves full of dark green seawater and boiling white foam, the wind also felt icy cold to the bone, the wet salty air was brimming with danger. Boom! The stone-throwing machine on the left side of the bow of the multi-decked huge warship, which was at least double their sailboats size, ejected a piece of boulder, weighed more than a hundred catty, shooting across the empty space between the two ships, continuously rolling toward them. As luck would have it, the moment the rock shot out of the trebuchet, a huge wave happened to surge, so that the hull was leaning to one side, so that the powerfully destructive rock immediately lost its bearing and shuddering, it fell three zhang away starboard of the sailboat, provoking the men on Kou Zhongs side that everybody broke in loud cheer. Bu Tianzhi and Kou Zhong, however, looked at each other, realizing that their boat was within the range of the enemys rock-throwing machine. If just one of the rocks hit its target, in this dangerous sea area, it could be guaranteed that their sailboat would immediately be wiped out without any chance of escaping. Boom! A huge rock from the other trebuchet soared into the sky. This time it only missed their stern by a zhang. And this time nobody felt like cheering. The worst thing was that they could not evade by going around a curve, simply because both ships relied on the tail wind to maintain their bnce, so that the pursuit had be a straight line. The question was when the opponents boulder would hit the hull of their ship. The sky gradually darkened. Can we release smoke? Kou Zhong called out loudly. Facing the wind, Bu Tianzhi replied, The smoke would dissipate as soon as it was released, plus we are downstream from the wind force. Whether we are scattering ashes or releasing the smoke, it would only be blown back on our face. While they were talking, the enemys warship was several zhang closer, so that the distance between them was no more that twenty zhang. All the warriors on the deck of the enemys ship had strung their bows with fiery arrows. As soon as they were a bit closer, and these hundred arrows were released at the same time following the tail wind, the consequences would be unbearable to imagine. The opposite partys archers were teams of two men each; needless to say, the man who did not hold the bow and arrow must be in charge of igniting the oil cloth wrapped around the arrowhead, and that made them even more worried. Drop the sail! Kou Zhong shouted loudly. Bu Tianzhi shook his head resolutely, The boat may capsize immediately, he said, We must think of some other ways. Kou Zhong suddenly pointed his finger like a halberd and shouted, Ku Ge boy! If you have enough guts,e a little closer and see me, Kou Zhong, cut your bird head off. Ku Ges loudughter came through, saying, Little thief Kou Zhong, arent you being superfluous? Dont tell me that unexpectedly you cannot see that we are about to be intimate with you? Another man with Korean ent unhurriedly said, Ive long heard Kou Xiongs saber technique is unrivalled, Jin Zhengzong [lit. Korean Jin (Kim C gold/metal) Orthodox School; probably his name (Kim Jongzong?)] of Gaoli wishes to ask for advice. Kou Zhong and Bu Tianzhis countenance changed at the same time. Neither one knew Jin Zhengzongs standing within Koreans Wulin, but just by hearing him speaking, although he did not yell and shout loudly like Ku Ge, his voice entered their ears by prating the wind and passing through the waves as if it was across calmnd C they immediately knew that this man has reached the great expert state of grand master level. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, May I ask, what weapon is Jin Xiong most adept at? The refined-in-manner, build-like-ancient-pine-reaching-high-to-the-sky, outstandingly-talented-above-the-crowd, middle age man standing by Ku Ge aboard the enemys ship smiled and replied, Any weapon does not make any difference; using saber is not a problem either. Kou Zhong could only turn to Bu Tianzhi, smile wryly and say, Turns out we really bump into stiff hands. I was thinking of charging onto the opponents ship and wreak havoc over there, but now it seems that this n will not seed. There is only one other n. Surprised, Bu Tianzhi asked, What n? Kou Zhong smiled and said, The small boat mine [as in weapon (or thunder)] taught by Lu Miaozi. Under the setting sun, Xu Ziling again went to the Luohan Hall of the Great Stone Temple. The hall still looked likest night, where rubble of gravel and fragments of wood were everywhere. The number of Luohan statues remained intact was no more than three hundred, but for Xu Ziling, this was already more than enough. After reading Yue Shans legacy scroll, he gained another more in-depth view of these Luohan, and he began to have a bit more understanding of the significance of the word Print in the Immortal Print Scroll. Led by Bi Xiuxin, Yu Shan understood the interpretation of the handprint in Buddhism. Bi Xiuxin pointed out that on the outside, the handprint goes through the universe; inside it pierces through the five viscera and six bowels, and the eight extraordinary channels. It was merely a three-sentence interpretation, but it has broadened Xu Zilings understanding of the opponents handprint indefinitely. In the past, when he was confronting the enemy, he would automatically bring out the true qi within his body andbine it with all kinds and sorts of handprint. At that time, he just knew that it was so, but he did not know why it was so. Now that he obtained Yue Shansprehensive review from the scroll he left behind, he began to know the so-called body, mouth, mind, three secrets in cultivation method. The handprint was precisely the most important link in the body print. The fingerprints, from the pinky finger to the thumb, are earth, water, fire, sky, and wind; the five greats. The right hand represents intelligence; the left hand represents decision. Passing through both hands ten fingers, together with qi, mai, lun, linked together inside and outside bing the jing [channel] that is cultivated and trained within the body, advancing as Six Achievements of the [Religious] Practice C was precisely the essence of The Great Method of Changing The Day. The Day here referred to Da Ri Ru Lai [the Great Day of the Tathagata; or Vairocana, Buddha of supreme enlightenment]. Changing the Day had the meaning of exchanging the Great Day of the Tathagata, implying the deep meaning that the body will be a Buddha [i.e. attaining enlightenment]. Naturally Xu Ziling did not have the intention of bing an immortal, of bing a Buddha. Its just that he was very interested in this secret method that came from Tianzhu [the Indian subcontinent]. The most wonderful thing was that it would match perfectly like seamless heavenly clothes with the path/channel of his own cultivation of martial way. Yue Shan was ustomed to the Overbearing Saber; learning the Hand Print was as difficult as splitting the mountain, observing the ox. Moreover, how could changing the usual practice of ones own internal energy method be easy? But in this aspect, for Xu Ziling it was like an easy drive on a familiar path, outstanding and very fitting. The qi, mai, lun of The Great Method of Changing The Day refer to five qi, three mai, seven lun, which was the Tianzhus internal energy cultivation system, which was of different-tune, same-skill, but was also vastly distinct from the Central in Wulins Eight Extraordinary Channels. The Five Qi were ming gen [lifeblood], shang xing [going up (against the current)], ping [t/level], bian xing [going on an angle], and xia xing [going down(stream)], the five qi, referring to the internal qi and external qi passing by the three-meridian seven-chakra channel. The Three Mai were middle, left, and right, three meridians. The middle meridian followed haidi [seabed] to the top of the head, by means of spinal cord link, simr to the Central Earths Du Meridian. The left and right, two meridians both started at the gaowan gong [testicle pce], running parallel with the middle meridian, linking up with the seven chakra. The Seven Lun were simr to the Central Earths acupoints; from the top going down were dinglun [sahasrara, the crown or fontanel chakra, residing at the top of the skull], meijianlun [ajna, the brow or third-eye chakra, residing on the forehead], houlun [visuddha, the throat chakra, residing in the neck], xinlun [anahata, the heart chakra, residing in the chest], qilun [manipura, the sr plexus chakra, residing in the upper abdomen], shengzhilun [svadhisthana, the navel or libido chakra, residing in the genitals], and haidilun [mdhara, the root or Saturn chakra, residing in the cyx (tailbone)]. Thest one, haidilun, was the Central Earths huiyin [perineum] acupoint. As soon as Xu Ziling saw thisplex and abstruse method of cultivation, he understood; the only remaining problem was how to put it into practice. Not only these statues inside the Luohan Hall were designed ording to the drawing scroll by the Indian Holy Monk Kumarajiva, they actually corresponded wonderfully with The Great Method of Changing The Day. With his hands behind his back, Xu Ziling slowly walked toward one of the revered Luohans side, which he carefully looked at. This statue had a total of six arms. Two arms were stretched left and right with the palms put together above its head, two arms made fists intersecting with each other in front of the pit of its stomach, and thest pair of arms was ced between its eyes in such a way that the thumbs were touching the space between its eyes. The face of the statue showed a deep contemtive expression. If it were in the past, Xu Ziling might have brushed it off as some kind of Buddhist images pose. But now naturally he knew that it passed through different handprints, linking up the meijianlun, the xinlun, and the dinglun, three qi. The most brilliant was that he clearly understood the rtionship between different handprints and different acupoints and chakras. Nearly three hundred revered Luohan, because among them there were more than a dozen multi-armed Luohan, there were up to four hundred different handprints, none of them were identical. To Xu Ziling, it was like someone who was poor most of his life suddenly had someone had him to carry a treasure. This kind of excitement really could not be exined clearly with words. Suddenly, The Great Method of Changing The Day was reduced to some kind of rudimentary skill that one has to learn as one entered a school; or perhaps like opening up the key to a certain Buddhist schools secret keyhole. These Luohan were the real treasure. Shi Qingxuans expressing her true feelings, Shi Feixuans appearing to have no affection at all, everything became insignificant and had no rted importance. Unconsciously he put his palms vertically together, the hollow of his palms slightly empty like blooming lotus flower. And then both palms faced upward to form a well, as if he was scooping up water. Suddenly the two palms were put together with the fingers intertwined with each other, changing into all kinds of different handprints. Ten thousand thoughts returning to one. While everything became illusory, his mind turning nk, fuzzy, deeply distant and indistinct, the division between the inside and outside thoroughly crumbling, extremely empty and seriously still, one by one the falun [Eternal Wheel of life in Buddhism] inside his body was turning. The Secret to Long Life, the Jade Annulus of He n, and the Great Method of Changing the Day, by means of different handprints, fused together, entering me, and I am inside, the man and the Heaven became one. The skiff from the ship, carrying Kou Zhong, was dropped into the waves-surging-forth, the angry sea. When it looked like it was about to flip sideways, Kou Zhong, standing on the stern, suddenly sent out his power. The bow immediately rose up and the skiff regained its bnce, from the trough of the wave it powerfully dashed to the peak of the wave, and then changed direction horizontally across and swept away, as if it was flying on top of the waves, gliding at an angle straight toward the enemys warship. The people of both sides were dumbstruck to watch this marvel. Actually, not even in his dream did Lu Miaozi ever think of this small boat mine scheme. It was purely Kou Zhongs invention, while no strategy left to try C to break away from being trapped in difficult situation. At first he did not have any confidence; he was only relying on his familiarity with the property of the sea waves when a huge wave was crashing against the beach, and obtaining a the-heaven-opened kind of marvelous method on how to counterstrike. This moment he discovered that he was able to really utilize the small skiff to glide over the waves, immediately his courage soared. The leg he put on the back applying the power, the bow immediately changed direction, slipping out from the gap outside the bottom of the wave, swift like a speeding horse it slid through the trough of the wave and dashed toward the crest,ing at an angle toward the multi-decked huge warship approaching fast due to the tail wind, rapidly gliding along the top of the waves toward the starboard of the warship like a shooting arrow. It was only then did Ku Gee to his senses; he understood Kou Zhongs bad intentions. If the skiff C filled to the brim with Kou Zhongs true power C borrowing the momentum of the waves crashing into their ship, it would be disastrous. Someone, it wasnt clear who, shouted some order that Kou Zhong was unable to make sense of C presumably it was in Korean, and the archers on the side facing Kou Zhong shouted in chorus and simultaneously shot the powerful arrows strung on their bows. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You must have forgotten that those are arrows wrapped in oilcloth! Unexpectedly he did neither dodge nor hide, just by relying on the true qi protecting his body he let the arrows hit the skiff and his body, without even wrinkling half of his eyebrows. On Bu Tianzhis side, everybody watching wiped the cold sweats from their brows on his behalf. Seeing him remaining calm without suffering any damage, they exploded into shaking-the-heavens cheer. When the skiff was two zhang away from ferociously crashing onto the port side of the bow of the enemys ship, from the enemys warship came a loud shout, which covered all the sound of the wind and the waves. That man Jin Zhengzong unexpectedly dropped from the sky like a deity, with a long spear in his hands, as if he wanted to attack Kou Zhong directly, but actually he was stretching out his right foot, with the intention of changing the direction of the shooting skiff before its bow collided with the warship. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, Toote! Adding power to his foot, the skiff suddenly sped up, while he himself sprang off the skiff to meet Jin Zhengzong, who was still flying in the air toward him C head on. Book 25 - 3 – The Battle Over Angry Sea Book 25 Chapter 3 C The Battle Over Angry Sea Dang! Sparks flew, producing the buzzing sound of gold and iron [or simply: metals] colliding against each other, which even the wind and the waves could not ovee. Even if Jin Zhengzong did not want to admit for ten thousand reasons, but whether in term of timing, or uracy of the angle, Kou Zhong had disyed some kind of resembling-nature-itself, unassable imposing manner. And it was dangerous to the extreme point, so that the long spear he carried waspletely useless; on the contrary, it rigidly pushed him back to the multi-decked ship. What caught Jin Zhengzong unprepared the most was the way Kou Zhong used the Moon in the Well; while the momentum rose up to its peak, unexpectedly he miraculously dropped three chi in the air. Not only his spear hit the empty air, he was forced to block the saber strike from a distant in panic, causing him to lose the key moment, while also failed to stop the opponents crashing skiff thunder. Borrowing his falling down momentum, Kou Zhong used the tip of his toes to tap the stern of the boat, but he already powerless to raise more energy, and only able to utilize the reaction force to propel himself cartwheeling sideways to evade, and then soaring across the surface of the sea toward the already thrown boat. Although Jin Zhengzong was confused by Kou Zhongs unique schools skill of changing direction in the blink of an eye, and thus was thrown into a difficult situation, his ability to counterattack in split-second changes was still not a small matter at all. In the narrow space, close distancebat, the tip of his spear moved suddenly to the left and to the right, so that it was quite strenuous for Kou Zhong to deal with it. Were it not that Kou Zhong already gained the initiative, also that it was a fight in the air, he would be done in only one move. If the fight continued, he might not have much of a chance. The hand with which he held the saber, beginning from the five fingers all the way to the jianjing position [on the shoulder], all the meridians and acupoints were unbearably aching and was numb. It was only when this foot tapped the stern of the skiff did he manage to apply his qi to neutralize the opponents spear power invading hid body. From this, it could be seen how profound and strong the opponents power really was. Boom! Propelled by the waves momentum, enhanced by Kou Zhongs spiraling energy, the skiff pitilessly crashed against the starboard side of the warship, about five, six chi from the bow. Wood splinters sshed everywhere. On the other side, Bu Tianzhi released a long rope, which extended perfectly straight for five zhang, reaching the middle between the two ships, just in time to meet Kou Zhong, who was flying back. Crash! Violent rain as sharp as the arrows fell down wildly from the brewing, umted ck cloud above. Immediately the sea turned dark and the sky hazy; the murky and boundless wind and rainpletely enveloped men and boats. Originally Kou Zhong was still afraid that the opponent would shoot fiery arrows, but now naturally he did not have to worry about it anymore. He was about to reach out and grab the rope shot by Bu Tianzhi when suddenly from behind him, in the midst of the wind and the rain, there was thousands and hundreds streaks of bright light filling the whole sky to attack him. In that instant Kou Zhong already knew that he could not evade. Promptly he somersaulted and stretched out his foot to tap the end of the rope, which originally could take him back to the safe ce C and changed direction to leap high into the air, to dodge the opponents swift-and-severe-without-equal strike. This moment, due to the light tap by the tip of his foot, the long rope changed shape from a line to a wave, so that Jin Zhengzong, who wasing to pursue and attack, hit an empty space. But he remained calm. The thousands and hundreds spear shadows converged into one, swiftly tapped the tip of the rope, which was withdrawn back like a spirit snake. Unexpectedly he was able to borrow the reaction force to soar at an angle and continued his attack toward Kou Zhong, who was still flying in the air. Watching this, everybody, from both sides, was stunned. The howling wind and torrential rain, the perilous situation that could make their boats capsized werepletely forgotten, but they all felt that this desperate battle on the crest of the waves was strange and dangerous that it made them felt as if they were out of breath. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Jin Xiong is really brave! While talking, the Moon in the Well in his hand hacked down and hit the spear, which was moving up to pierce his abdomen. The saber and spear shed; in the dark sea sparks of sharp light were clearly visible C as beautiful as fireworks, while also giving up the impression of intense, full-forced battle. Qiang! Bothbatants felt like they were struck by lightning. Kou Zhong shot up, Jin Zhengzong was unexpectedly able to borrow the reaction force to move sideways toward his own ship, while at the same time hurled his spear, which swiftly flew toward Kou Zhong, who was still ascending into the air. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, knowing that this spear has sealed his fate that he would not be able to return to Bu Tianzhis side. It should be noted that both ships were sailing at high speed in the storm. If he borrowed the impact force of spear and sabers collision to cast himself toward the rope that Bu Tianzhi shot for the second time, there was great possibility that he might be able to catch the end of the rope again. However, he simply could not but block the spear that Jin Zhengzong hurled at him. And this split second dy was enough to bring the ship farther away, so that there was absolutely no chance that he would be able to catch this life-saving rope. Making a prompt decision, Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Zhi Shu, you go first. Kou Zhong will catch up with youter. Like lightning shed, the saber mercilessly shot down the hateful spear into the billows below. At the same time, he borrowed the reaction force of the impact to shoot at an angle toward the multi-decked ship C full of the enemies Cing rapidly toward him. Jin Zhengzong was one step ahead of himnding on the deck. Arge amount of seawater was bursting into the hold from the crack opened by the skiff crashing against the hull. The skiff was still deeply embedded on the starboard bow, destroying the bnce of the hull, so that the ship was helplessly jolting and spinning between the waves. The first to meet Kou Zhong was Ku Ges double axe, but how could Kou Zhong be stupid enough to disregard everything and meet this attack head-on? Casually his saber hacked down on him, sending Ku Ge tumbling on the deck, while at the same time he borrowed the reaction force to shoot sideways, to evade more than a dozen Korean martial art masters, men and women. If any one, or maybe two, of these people had seventy-, eighty-percent of Jin Zhengzongs power, he definitely would notst long. As he was forced to visit this ship, he already made up his mind that after wantonly wreaking havoc for a little while, he would immediately jump down into the sea to flee for his life. Even if he had to swim for ten days and ten nights before he could reach thend, it would be better than having his corpse being chopped into pieces by the people on this ship. With his feet firmly nted on the solid deck, he rushed toward the viewing tform above the bridge. Four, five Korean warriors swarmed on him. Without even looking, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well shed, one after another the people C along with their weapon C were hacked down by him that they fell to the left and tumbled to the right in utter defeat. The hull started to tilt. When it looked like it was about to capsize, suddenly it regained its bnce. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to rush toward the observation deck. He crashed and broke the railings, and then from the other side he somersaulted toward the passageway on the deck next to the bridge to avoid the enemies from four sides, eight directions swarming toward him amidst the wind and the rain. At this time both the sea and the ship were enveloped in pitch-ck darkness; the heaven and the earth were filled with the shaking-the-ears-and-deafeningly-rumbling noise of the rolling waves. In the raging sea the enemys shout appeared to have the spirit but without the power, so that everybody could only wait helplessly for the next attack of the wave. Kou Zhong was about to jump into the sea when a of sword qi came down on him. Relying on his instinct, Kou Zhong knew that hid formidable opponent, Jin Zhengzong, has arrived. On the surface this man looked schrly and gentle, who would have thought that in fight, he was even more dauntless than anybody else? Promptly the person followed the de with two strikes in session, each strike with endless changes following it. ng! Qiang! It was only then did Kou Zhong manage to break away from the sword and staggered backward. Heughed aloud and said, Jin Xiong indeed did not brag; you are outstanding in using any weapon. Without saying a word, Jin Zhengzongs sword sprinkled several dozens sword flower; his feet moved suddenly to the left, suddenly to the right as he attacked violently. Kou Zhong was fighting and retreating at the same time. He found that Jin Zhengzongs sword move was substantially different from his spear technique; it was brimming with pliable and tough feeling. Inwardly he shivered slightly, knowing that the opponent was afraid he might escape into the sea, hence he intentionally entangled Kou Zhong to the death. At this point both sides could only rely on their night vision to see, albeit with difficulty, the opponents figure in the midst of the rainstorm; as for other changes, they could only guess purely by instinct. The multi-decked ships leaning was even more severe. From everywhere came the sound of objects being overturned and broken, mixed with rmed cries and screams of the people; the chaos was like the arrival of the end of the world. Other people have disappeared from view, only the two of them remained in the life and death battle. Bang! A giant wave crashed against the side of the ship; seawater assaulted both mens head and face with the tremendous power of ruthless nature. Even with both mens stable stance, they still failed to stand up, and were thrown against the wall of the cabin. Kou Zhong began to understand why Jin Zhengzong was the only oneing to him to give him bad luck. Taking advantage of the wall, he climbed onto the observation deck above the bridge. The scene entering his eyes made him could not help but was shocked. The sea waves have conquered both the ship and the people. Like solid walls the huge waves from four sides, eight directions were closing in with a toppling-the-mountain-and-overturning-the-seas momentum. Because water has entered the hold, the deck under the multi-decked ships observation deck was already under water, which was still pouring down in torrents. The people on the ship were lifted and thrown down, and tossed around sideways like small figurines. The waves rose up and down in countless changes, so much so that there were waves above the waves. In the dark no-moon-and-no-stars, amidst-the-howling-wind-and-torrential-rain C night, the originally firm and imposing multi-decked ship has been reduced to a wreck with cuts and bruises all over. After leaning his head sideways to dodge a cask, which flew from who knows where, once again Kou Zhong had to face Jin Zhengzong, with a sword in his hand C who wasing to attack. By this time Kou Zhong no longer had the desire to continue fighting zealously. Feigning a move, he shed toward the bow and leaped down onto the deck. Like a shadow attached to his body Jin Zhengzong ran after him, the tip of his sword was aimed at Kou Zhongs back, as if Kou Zhong has be the sworn enemy who killed his father. As soon as hended, Kou Zhong rolled over, simply because the ship was leaning to the left, plus there was a huge waveing, so that he was unable to stand. The entire multi-decked ship, which was as if it was soaring above the clouds and sailing in the mist C sank into the valley between two giant waves. And then, above, below, and all eight directions, were all seawater. While Kou Zhong was tossed around without him able to do anything, suddenly the seawater receded in all directions, and then the multi-decked ship emerged above the surface of the water. The torrential rain was still pouring down like it wasing from an overturned tray. This kind of confused-and-disoriented, could-not-tell-right-from-left feeling was really difficult to describe even one in ten thousand. Bang! Kou Zhong finally crashed onto the ships railings. By this time everybody was concerned over their own little life, no one had the time to care who was the enemy, and who was theirrade. In the dark, Jin Zhengzong leaped up near the ships upper deck; he finally gave up his continuous quest for Kou Zhong. Crash! Amidst the shouts and the screams, the mast, under continual beating of the gale C broke off, carrying the unbearably worn-out, suffering-mortal-wound sail with it, and fell in the direction of Jin Zhengzong. Kou Zhong jumped up and cried out, Watch out! Making a somersault, he plunged into the roaring angry sea, while crying out in his heart, Ladies and Gentlemen, please take a good care of yourself! Xu Ziling suddenly woke up. Actually, using the word wake up was not too appropriate, because he had not slept at all. It was some kind of an indescribable C different from when he trained the Secret to Long Life in the past C mental state, his body felt fuzzy, rxed and peaceful, where he saw motion within the stillness, where time seemed to stoppletely. The reason he woke up was because he heard the rustling noise of someone sweeping the floor outside the Luohan Hall. His heart shivered greatly. Who the hell was out there? If it was the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, he would not have such good intention. If it was a monk who came back to clean, howe he ignored the debris filling the whole hall, but only cared about sweeping the dead leaves outside the hall? Even if he was ignorant of the disastrous situation inside the Luohan Hall, the sweeping ought to start inside the door of the temple hall; he could not have been this finicky. All kinds of questions were shing through his clear, bright, and empty mind at the lightning C or sparks from the flint C speed. Slightly opening his eyes, Xu Ziling was immediately shocked. Turned out the sky has turnedpletely bright. That was to say that he had been sitting in the Luohan Hall for the entire night, yet it felt like just a short moment, which was hard for him to believe. Xu Ziling slowly rose up to his full height and walked over toward the hole on the wall that An Long crashed against the previous night. Looking out, he saw the sun has already risen to the top of the pagoda. Under the bright sun, a stooped-backed old monk wearing grey robe was engrossed in sweeping the flower garden. With a slight smile Xu Ziling said, Dashi, good morning! The old monks crooked back suddenly straightened up; he immediately became magnificently tall and straight, there was no longer any sign of decrepit old man. But he did not turn around. Neither warm nor fiery, he spoke leisurely, Its not early anymore! Shizhu [benefactor] must not meoxiu [(sic) lit. old sleeve; perhaps its a typo, usually it was old cassock] for disturbing you. Xu Ziling already knew that this was not an ordinary monk; very likely he was a very able person of Buddhist school who came here in response to Xi Ying. If it was so, then there was a great possibility that he was of the Four Great Holy Monks level; otherwise it would differ in no way from throwing away his life. Embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, Xiaozi [this kid] must be hindering Dashi from cleaning up the Luohan Hall; Im the one who should have asked Dashi not to me me. Hey! How about I take the responsibility of cleaning up inside? The grey-robed monk slowly turned around and said cheerfully, Its great that Shizhu has that intention! Sweeping the Buddha Hall isonas [old cassock] responsibility; how could I borrow someone elses hand? Staring intently at him, Xu Ziling saw that this old monks eyebrows had turnedpletely white. On his stately countenance, there was an air of auspiciousness and peace. The bridge of his nose was at least a cun higher than average person. His countenance looked strangely clear and unique. His eyes were half-open half-closed; the expression showing in his eyes was reserved, giving Xu Ziling the impression that the opposite party was a very able person with an extremely deep spiritual cultivation. Slightly shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling calmly said, Since Dashi insists, then I thank you for Dashis trouble. Xiaozi does not dare to disturb you much longer. When he turned around to leave, suddenly a boom resonated on his eardrums. Right this instant, his mind turned into a nk space. Other than this noise, there was nothing else. Stranger still, the Du Meridian on his entire spine seemed to vibrate as if it was of the same natural frequency with the sound; it was extremelyfortable, the feeling was weird beyond humanprehension. Shaken, Xu Ziling halted his steps and said with a sigh, Dashi, this move is very formidable, what kind of gongfa is that? I am afraid it is not inferior in any respect to Zhu Yuyans Tianmo Sound. The monk did not answer him directly; he spoke indifferently instead, This is the Buddhists incantation which power can subdue devil and ovee demon, the key is the great diamond [or Vajra] wheel seal bound in my hand, through special musical incantation that can excite the qi meridian in Shizhus body to vibrate correspondingly, and produce an unfathomably positive effect. Still had not turned around, Xu Ziling said, All of a sudden Dashi bestowed Xiaozi incantation blessing; whats the purpose of this? The monk kindly replied, Because Shizhu is a man of great knowledge, great intelligence. Xu Zilingughed unhurriedly and said, If Dashi is implying that Xiaozi and Buddha are brought together by fate, you are wrong! Although Xiaozi has respect in my heart toward Buddhism, I do not have any intention of either entering the door or practicing the religion [usually in Buddhism context]. The monk spoke softly, If the realization is pure, that is already practicing the religion; how could there be any difference between entering or exiting the door? Coming into contact with the world is the same as withdrawing from the world; entering the door is the same as exiting the door, ordinary heart is the same as Buddhas heart. Xu Ziling turned around in astonishment, How should I address Dashi? The monk put his palms together and said, Zhen Yan [lit. true statement, i.e. incantation in Buddhism]. Xu Ziling was emotionally moved, Turns out its Zhen Yan Dashi, he said, No wonder you are proficient in Zhen Yan Zhou Fa [lit. incantation and magic spell method]. Dashis words imply Buddhism subtleties; I wonder if you wish to enlighten me, this mischievous piece of rock? Zhen Yan Dashi smiled and said, Not only Shizhu is not a mischievous piece of rock, you are indeed brought together by fate with Buddha, brought together by fate with Zhen Yan. This morningoxiu [sic] came early to sweep, and saw Shizhu sitting in meditation with your eyes closed between the Luohan Buddha, your hands naturally producing all kinds of poses [or gestures[1]], finally returning to the Shi Wu Wei Yin [lit. carrying the no-fear print/image], producing understanding inonas heart. Laona has yet to thank Shizhu. Surprised, Xu Ziling said, If Dashi did not inform me, I really did not know that my hands made all those movements. What is Shi Wu Wei Yin? Reverend Zhen Yan slowly sat down, his face revealed a bemoaning-the-state-of-the-universe-and-pity-the-fate-of-mankind solemn Buddhas appearance. His left hand open, the palm facing up, the back of the hand resting on his knee. Xu Ziling could not help imitating him sitting cross-legged. Nodding his head, he said, Dashi is right. This was certainly the posture I adopted when I woke up; I just did not know that it has such a pleasant-to-hear name. Hey! Shi Wu Wei Yin. Zhen Yan Dashi smiled and said, Others use handprints to trigger the heart, but Shizhu triggered the handprints from the heart; if that is not the root of intelligence, I dont what it is. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that if Kou Zhong heard this, it would be terrible, because he would bite Xu Ziling to leave home and be a Buddhist monk. Smiling wryly, he said, I dont think it has anything to do with the root of intelligence; its analogous to think during the day, dream during the night. Simply because before entering the quietness, I was practicing many different kinds of Luohan Buddhas images, so that when I sat in meditation, unconsciously those poses came out! Laughing involuntarily, Reverend Zhen Yan said, Its all right if Shizhu is unwilling to admit it, but Shizhu cannot deny that you have interest in our Buddhism handprints. Buddhism has three secret sayings, I wonder if Shizhu is willing to listen? Puzzled, Xu Ziling said, Dashi is a very able person outside of the world; why do you seem to be very interested in me, a mereyman? Arent you afraid that I am a malefactor who break thew andmit crimes, so much so that I am the wicked person who destroyed the Buddha images inside the Hall? Instead of replying, Zhen Yan Dashi asked, What does Shizhu know about sitting in meditation? How to do Zen meditation? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Such a profound question, I am afraid I will have to trouble Dashi to give directions. Zhen Yan Dashi nodded in praise; with solemn expression he said, Sitting down without giving rise to a thought, meditating without seeing the natural instincts being in disorder; outside, no need to appear meditating, inside, no confusion to fix your mind. Meditating outside, fixing the mind inside, hence it is called fixed-mind meditation. Immediate sh of understanding, yet obtaining the original intention. Xu Ziling pondered for a moment, and then he suddenly understood, Was it because Dashi just now watched Xiaozi sitting in meditation with fixed mind that you thought Buddha and I are brought together by fate, thereupon you are enhancing the transformation? Ay! I really just want to master some kind of gongfa, so that I can lure Xi Ying out and kill him. I do not have any other intention. Zhen Yan Dashis eyes emitted abstruse, unfathomable, unusual rays brimming with wisdom. He said, Such a forting, sincere,pletely without greed, without care C person like Shizhu can be considered rare, even among the Gate of Emptiness. For thest a hundred years,ona has visited a total of 5,652 famous temples and ancient monasteries, both in the Central ins and aboard, finally I summed up all the prints produced inside the Jiu Zi Ming Yan Shou Yin [lit. nine-character dark/deep sayings handprints]. Today, seeing Shizhu and I are brought together by fate, unexpectedly I poured out the secr thought and dusty mind in my heart; indeed it could be considered unusual. With deep veneration, Xu Ziling said, Turns out Dashi has a hundred-year seniority. Oh! Xiaozi failed to venerate! This Jiu Zi Ming Yan Shou Yin of Dashi must be extremely important, why not passing it on to the people in Buddhist schools? Ay! Isnt Xiaozi meddling in other peoples business? With Dashi in town, how could the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying dare to run amok? Reverend Zhen Yan shook his head and said, Laoxius time in this dusty world is already limited, plus it is difficult to find someone who is fated to receive the Jiu Zi Ming Yan Shou Yin. This Jiu Zi Ming Yan Shou Yin, when it is being used in Buddhism, it is Buddhism; when it is being used martial art, it is martial art. Laona serves Buddha wholeheartedly; in all my life I have never exchanged blows with anybody. Does Shizhu understand? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Of course I do. As soon as Dashi spoke an incantation [zhen yan], even utterly vicious extremely evil disciples would have the ominous thought in his heartpletely disappear. Ha! Isnt that so? Zhen Yan revealed a hint of na?ve smiling expression; auspicious and peaceful, he said, Of course not. Whats more, if the target is of Xi Yings caliber, a martial art master with this kind of profound demonic power, and his will is as strong and solid like an unshakeable rock, any incantation would not be of any use; it will require Shizhu to protect the [Buddhist]w even more. Unconvinced, Xu Ziling said, Since the Jiu Zi Ming Yan Shou Yin can be used for religious practice, why do you have the problem of the recipient being worthy or unworthy? Zhen Yan Dashi said, Jiu Zi Ming Yan Shou Yin appears simple, but it is actuallyplicated. People who are unworthy, because once they started they are unwilling to let go and abandon their original pursuit C will find it difficult to master it throughout their life. Frankly speaking, before watching Shizhu performing the poses in fixed-mind meditation this morning, Laona has never thought that Jiu Zi Ming Yan Shou Yin can be used in martial art. But now my dusty heart is greatly moved. If Shizhu refuses,oci [old shrine] tonight give up and return to the west, and most likely the result would be ruining the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Dashi, please speak, Xiaozi is washing his ears to listen respectfully. [1] Original: ӡ (yin) From mdbg: to print/to mark/to engrave/a seal/a print/a stamp/a mark/a trace/image. Courtesy of Akw: A mudra: Sanskrit seal, mark, or gesture C is a symbolic or ritual gesture in Hinduism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. A mudra is a spiritual gesture and an energetic seal of authenticity employed in the iconography and spiritual practice of Indian religions. Trantors note: Although not the most urate trantion, I opted to keep Immortal Print (or perhaps change it to Immortal Image C not sure at this moment), simply because it sounds better than Immortal Gestures or Undead Aquatic Mammal. Book 25 - 4 – Nine-Character Incantation Book 25 Chapter 4 C Nine-Character Incantation His body weary, his strength exhausted, Kou Zhong climbed up the beach. Unable to take it anymore, he copsed on the sandy shore. Only after swimming in the angry sea all through the night did he survive to this ce. It did not matter how superior his breathing was, it could only help him at the beginning when he was trying to evade the billows most frantic attack deep underwater, but not to support him endlessly for sichen after sichen; otherwise he would have to turn into a freak who did not need to breathe using his mouth and nose. After swimming in the rtively calm seabed for more than ten li, he had reached his limit of internal breathing, which was also the limit of the true qi within his body. When, in panic, he swam out of the water, he just realized that his true power has approached the disadvantageous condition of antern which oil has been depleted, while the shore was still three, four li away. It was one of the most painful moments in Kou Zhongs life. Although the storm has subsided, the high waves remained. Kou Zhong could only struggle to swim among the billows relying only on his barely-there remaining physical strength toward the shore, and had to suffer being tossed and rolled in the sea wave with his body no longer able to follow its masters wishes. Were it not for his fortitude and his continuous determination, his corpse would have been sinking into the bottom of the ocean. When he came ashore, his first thought was actually reminding himself not to forget to warn Xu Ziling not to be overconfident in his skill to breathe internally and dive and swim underwater in the ocean. His whole body felt like it was bitten and devoured by poisonous ants; every single cun of his skin felt like cracking. This moment, if even an ordinary martial art master came to deal with him, he would be able to take Kou Zhongs life. The ck clouds have dispersed half a sichen ago. The autumn sun sprinkled its light from the clear, cloudless sky above onto his back, as well as onto his Moon in the Well, which he had almost abandoned in the sea. He felt that the mask, the treasured book, and the other stuffs wrapped in the waterproof oilcloth inside his pocket were still there, but he was pretty sure that the seawater must have prated the oilcloth so that the paper stuff would be soaked and destroyed. Too bad he had not read the love letter sent by Li Xiuning and delivered to him via Shang Xiuxun. If he said that he did not have the slightest remorse, he would only deceive himself. Ay! Although he remembered Old Bas warning that when his true power was depleted, the one thing that he must avoid the most was to let the exhaustion conquered him; yet right now, hecked the strength to even lift his finger, so he could forget about crawling up and training. While he was almost asleep, suddenly he heard the mor of gongs and drums, followed by battle cry from afaring near. Aghast, Kou Zhong raised his head to see, and under the brilliant sunshine, his dazzled eyes saw a group of people C carrying hatchets and iron hoes, wearing weird-looking clothes and ornaments, with torrential momentum, wasing with vengeance to kill him. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong buried his face in the sand. With precious, solemn appearance, Zhen Yan Dashis face radiated with saintly light, as he spoke unhurriedly, Buddhisms three secrets are body, mouth, and desire put into practice with equal importance together with the thought. Body is equal to the mouth, mouth is equal to the desire, and desire is equal to the body. Although in names they are three, in reality they are one. With sudden understanding, Xu Ziling said, Dashi is indeed a very able person of the Buddhist school; in just a few words you have already exined the deep meaning behind the five hundred revered Luohan images in the hall very clearly. Reverend Zhen Yanughed aloud three times. He happily said, Laoxiu traveled all over the world, only today do I find a destined person like Shizhu, who immediately understand with just a little bit of exnation. Shizhu needs to know that whenoxiu said that in the past there were other people who understood it, although the other party seemed to hear it clearly and logically, the reality was that they did not really understand, let alone using it in religious practice. More often than not, they obtained the body but lost the mouth, or got the desire but abandoned the body. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, How would Dashi know if I am just saying I understand with my mouth, yet in reality I am no different than those other people? Zhen Yan Dashis eyes fell onto his hands; smiling, he said, Just now whenoxiu spoke about the three secrets, Shizhus ten fingers seemed to shake slightly; evidently the secret words entered the ears, the desire was somewhat affected. If you still do not understand the mysterious meaning of the true statement, perhaps you might shout a few words foroxiu to listen to. Embarrassed, Xu Ziling exined, Sincest night, my hands are a bit like they dont obey mymands anymore. Ha! Reverend Zhen Yan said, Mans corporeal body is like a treasured raft passing through the river of life; within it hidden the secret of the heaven and the earth. My Nine-word Incantation Handprint precisely passes through the three secrets, passes through the human body and connects with the universe; reaching the border of oneness of heaven and humanity, understanding heart meeting the character, namely the body bes a Buddha. It has nothing to do whatsoever with whether someone has left home or still at home. Whether the body is inside a kasaya [a patchwork outer vestment worn by Buddhist monk] or not, a human is a human; he cannot change into another object. pping his thigh, Xu Ziling cried out in determination, Dashis remark has made Xiaozi obtaining a sudden sh of insight and all is clear [orig. murky darkness suddenly opens]. I wonder if whether my disposition is making it so, but toward the Gate of Emptinessyer uponyer of religious dogma, clearpass and rigid way of life, Xiaozi does not have the slightest bit of interest. I always thought that if Buddha wanted to convince his people to start obtaining proof to get the result, that Buddha must be too overbearing! Bursting outughing, Zhen Yan Dashi said, Shizhus way of thinking is unique; I should say that it was you who made me obtaining a sudden sh of insight and all is clear. The Jiu Zi Zhen Yan is precisely, hey! Its better to say, facing the troops for battle, all are arrayed at the front [lin bing dou zhe jie zhen lie zai qian C 9 characters]. This way it will beparably easier for Shizhu to memorize firmly. What? Xu Ziling blurted out, Unexpectedly only now did Dashi casually think out nine words as the Nine-character Incantation? Bang! It wasnt clear who had hit Kou Zhong in the head with a stick first; the strange thing was that although it was unbearably painful, the tianling acupoint on the top his head seemed to be recovering its life force. Breathing in a thread of external qi, which he did not know from where, it bored through his withered channels. Dang! The back of a hoe hit the Moon in the Wells scabbard, but the attackers palm was jolted and split, throwing him backward that he fell sitting down on the ground, carrying along with him three of hispanions that they fell to the east and toppled to the west. Everybody retreated in shock. Struggling hard, Kou Zhong managed to prop half of his body up. Sweeping his gaze around, he found out that the crowd heavily surrounding him actually consisted of men and women, and that the weapons in their hands were actually farming tools. The clothes on their bodies were brightly colored, made of cloth, hemp, and the like, with sheepskin vest on the outside. The women wore barrel-like long skirt, but the length was not uniform; some were so short that it reached only to their knees, some were so long that it was dragged along on the ground. However, whether it was trousers or skirts, they all wore leggings, both to stay warm, and to defend against poisonous insects and loathsome mosquitos. The womens heads were wrapped inplicated headscarf in bright color, adorned with a variety of tassel-like hanging-down ornaments; the color dazzled the eyes. Kou Zhong really did not understand why in this kind of nasty situation he still had free time to notice so many different inconsequential things, so he found this to be extremely amusing. Anybody speaks Hannguage? he shouted loudly. This bunch of local peasant obviously was not evil; seeing their stick and hoe failed to hurt him, they became timid. You look at me, I look at you; finally a shy young girl stepped out from among the crowd, and spoke stiffly, You are not a pirate? Kou Zhong was amused, thinking that even if he was a pirate, under this kind of situation, there was no way he would admit it. He hastily responded, Not only I am not a pirate, I am the pirates enemy. Look! It was because of fighting with the pirates that I look like this. Ha! The young girl returned to the group of tribal people; she jabbered a long string of words to the people crowding around her. Even Kou Zhong did not understand how she could take his simple couple of sentences and add oil and replenish vinegar into it and trante it into a long-winded story. Although the young girl could not be considered beautiful, she looked delicate and pretty like a sprite. Her sheepskin gown was quite unique even more; it did not have even half a button, there were only a pair of strapsing out of her back, which intersected on her chest and continued around her body back to her back and was tied tightly from the bottom of the sheepskin. Naturally the tip of the strap was hanging down just like a tail; so lively and cute. Kou Zhong was burying his face back into the sand when the girls voice, brimming with hope, rang out in his ears, Will you help us fight the pirates? Kou Zhong moaned, As long as you are willing to let me have a good sleep, even if you want me to beat the Tianhuang Laozi [lit. old man the emperor of heaven], Ill do it. Zhen Yan Dashi spoke nonchntly, Dont underestimate these nine words. They are actually ssical quotation from Baopuzi, the canonical text of Daoist School written by the Eastern Jins Ge Hong [283-363, Jin Dynasty Taoist and alchemist]. The original text says facing the troops for battle, all are arrayed at the front; often when considering this, nothing will not be opened up for development. Xu Ziling was bewildered even more; greatly startled, he asked, What I dont understand is not the origin and the source of this nine-character incantation; rather, I felt it strange that Dashi unexpectedly thought it out at thest moment. Plus Dashi is of Buddhist school, why did you borrow the idea from Taoist schools ancient record? After gazing at him for half a day, Zhen Yan Dashi spoke softly, Laona was going to use this as a pretext to illustrate to Shizhu the incantations heavy in spirit but not heavy in form, the key ideal ce the three secrets can be put to use. Besides, Buddhism and Taoism, in the end, arent they of the same family? Respect was gushing out of Xu Zilings heart; nodding his head, he said, Xiaozi benefits from the advice! Zhen Yan Dashi suddenly shouted the word lin [lit. facing; the first word of the nine above], while both hands were raised high above his head, sticking close to each other like a flower bud; the ring finger inclined at an angle, the tips of the fingers fit together. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling eximed, Formidable! Zhen Yan Dashi put his hands down and asked in delight, What do you perceive? Xu Ziling replied, Xiaozi felt that Dashi has turned into towering mountains and precipitous ridges, and nobody could sway Dashi the slightest bit. Zhen Yan Dashi said, This is precisely the fundamental motionless print. Although there are thousand of schools, ten-thousand kinds of handprint, motionless is one of the nine kinds of fundamental models; therefore, although todayona will only talk about nine different kinds of handprints, the fact is that it is tantamount to passing on all handprints at once to you. Watch. He suddenly rose up, but still maintaining the sitting-cross-legged-in-meditation posture, except his hands were making a series of images one after another, changing indeterminately, and suddenly shouted loudly, Bing [lit. troops, the second of nine words above]! to let Xu Ziling know that he had finished demonstrating the more than a hundred changes in the fundamental print motionless, and was demonstrating another fundamental handprint. Responding to the incantation, Xu Zilings tinglun [sahasrara, the crown chakra, on the top of the skull] heated up. But when he sprang up, Zhen Yan Dashi turned over andnded some distance away. This is the Da JinGang Lun Yin [Great Vajra Wheel/Chakra Print]; it can drive out devils and treat an illness. As for how to use it to subdue the devil and defend traditional values, it will depend on Shizhu yourself! Seeing how Zhen Yans hands continuously producing endless changes of handprints, Xu Ziling began to understand why until today Zhen Yan Dashi still could not find someone to whom he could pass on the [Buddhist]w. The fact is, the mystery within it could only be grasped intuitively, but could not be conveyed in words. If one said he understood, then he understood. If he said he did not understand, then any exnation would be useless. Then Zhen Yan Dashi demonstrated the rest of fundamental print methods one by one. They were, in order, the Wai Shizi Yin [outer lion print], Nei Shizi Yin [inner lion print], Wai Fu Yin [outer bound (tie) print], Nei Fu Yin [inner bound (tie) print], Zhi Quan Yin [wisdom/knowledge fist print], Ri Lun Yin [sun/day wheel print], and Baoping Yin [lit. treasured/precious bottle/vase, i.e. Aquarius constetion, print]. Each fundamental handprint had hundreds of distinct changes. While Xu Ziling was unable to take his eyes off C as if he was drunk and stupefied, Zhen Yan already demonstrated more than a thousand different handprints. Were it not for his earlier experience of gaining understanding inside the Luohan Hall, Xu Ziling would definitely be confused and disoriented, without knowing the reason. However, this moment he understood tacitly; unconsciously his hands were following the example by producing different print styles. Even when the sun has gone down in the west and the time has shifted, he waspletely oblivious. When Kou Zhong woke up, momentarily he was in dazed and did not know where he was. All around him he heard shouts boiling over, mixed with various sound of livestock mooing and bleating. He sat up suddenly, and realized that he had been sleeping above a simple and crude y bed, in a narrow and small thatched hut. Flickers of torchlight could be seen outside the window, where indistinct shadows of the peasants who brought him here were dragging the men and carrying the women. It seemed like they were running away from cmity to certain direction, rushing away, striving to be the first and fearing to be thest. Bang! The wooden door was pushed open, and the native girl rushed in. With frightened expression she said, Why havent you run? The pirates areing for real! Stunned, Kou Zhong looked at her nkly, thinking that wasnt he the big hero that was supposed to deal with the pirates? Why did she tell him to run away with them? By this time he had sobered up a bit, Dont be afraid, he said, I am on top of everything. Where is my saber? The girl pointed to the wall and said, You are not dead, are you? Quickly go! No longer paying attention to Kou Zhong, she slipped away and disappeared. Kou Zhong looked at the wall. Sure enough, the Moon in the Well was quietly hanging there. He inwardly praised the vigers simplicity and honesty. In this era, even an unremarkable and shabby saber like this could still be sold for a good price. The voices were gone. There was no sound outside. Stretching his limbs, Kou Zhong found out that not only his power hase back, it even surpassed his previous level. Feeling strange in his heart, he wondered inwardly whether after his true energy was exhausted, when it recovered, could it progress even more instead? If it were true, then he had gained another kind of training method. Thinking about the safety of the vigers, he jumped down the y bed, fetched the Moon in the Well, and walked outside. The vige, consisting of more than a hundred mud houses and thatched huts C was as quiet as a ghost domain. Evidently the vigers were well trained in evacuation procedures; even the chicken and the dogs did not remain. Suddenly feeling something unusual, he looked to the northeast, and saw several li away the me illuminating the heavens, the thick smoke covering the sun, while faint cries entering his ears. Inwardly, Kou Zhong was severely shaken; who would be so savage that unexpectedly they openly set another vige nearby on fire? Murderous intent red up in his heart immediately. Patting the Moon in the Well on his back, he rushed over at full speed. Xu Ziling, who incarnated as the scar-faced warrior, walked along the main street at the southern market of Chengdu, looking for the contact address Zheng Shiru left him. Although he had not really mastered the Huan Ri Da Fa of the scroll that Yue Shan left behind, he already had the shedding-his-mortal-body-and-exchange-his-bones feeling. It could be said that in the past few years his martial art skill was collected from the east and pieced together from the west, mixed together into the final product. And each time he was facing death, like a sh of realization he made another breakthrough, which, after the event, oftentimes he forgot most of it. The advantage was that it made him unpredictable; while the downside was that it could not be oneplete gongfa. The Jiu Zi Zhen Yan Shou Yin that Zhen Yan Dashi taught him was like an ocean where all streams, brooks, rivers, and creeks converged into one, allowing him to transform all his past understanding and experience into a consummate and endlessly creative system. Even he himself did not know this. But the moment he took his leave from Zhen Yan Dashi and stepped outside the gate of the Da Shi Temple, he already obtained both the Buddhist and Taoist Schools paramount xinfa, which established his status as a grand master of the Central ins, which, apart from Kou Zhong, no one couldpare. This moment Xu Zilings frame of mind was like everything was new again. His disappointment from Shi Qingxuan and Shi Feixuan has be an out-of-reach old affair, which could only upy a minuscule space in his current mind. There were a lot of differences between his and Kou Zhongs character, but both of them did not like to be under someone elses control. Moreover, neither one was willing to act under someone elses bidding. Therefore, even though he promised Shi Qingxuan and Shi Feixuan that he would lure Xi Ying out to exterminate him, he was only willing to aplish it his way, and did not want to receive any help either. To be honest, at that time he also had a bit of desire to destroy the subtle man-woman sentiment in his heart toward Shi Qingxuan and Shi Feixuan. But everything has be the thing of the past. Zhen Yan Dashi was another Lu Miaozi, which made him climb an even higher peak, and see things and realms that he had not seen before. Xu Ziling leisurely halted his steps across the street to survey the big mansion where Zheng Shiru stayed. On the surface it looked just like any other house of a rich or noble family. However, since the master of the house was able to host a martial art personage like Zheng Shiru, naturally it was, most likely, a gang or society household, or at least it had close contacts with Jianghu people. While he was trying to figure out how to secretly enter and investigate the situation inside, a group of five, six people walked out of the open wide main gate, and heading to the north along the street; surprisingly, one of them was Zheng Shiru. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly. He never believed that Zheng Shiru and Yin Gui Pais rtionship was just as he exined to Xu Ziling earlier, and now was a good opportunity to find out whether Zheng Shiru was telling the truth. Whatever the case, he believed that Zheng Shiru would be the best candidate to spread the news that Yue Shan has arrived in Chengdu. Just like Shi Feixuan predicted, Xi Ying openly bullying the monks of the Great Stone Temple could not be as simple as it looked on the outside; rather, he must have wanted to lure his arch-enemy, the Heavenly Saber Song Que C to leave his home and go down south, to be dealt with. But Xu Ziling had his own ideas. If Xi Ying really had the guts to openly issue a written war challenge to Song Que, then no matter how far away, Song Que muste to respond. Evidently Xi Ying did not dare to have a fair, decisive battle against Song Que. In other words, there must be crafty plots and machinations in this affair. Sichuan was Xie Huis territory, what gave Xi Ying such a confidence? One of the reasons would be that Xi Ying had Yin Gui Pai behind his back, supporting his waist; hence the reason why Zheng Shiru and Wanwan had toe from far away to this ce. Supposing his conjecture matched with the facts, perhaps he could meet Xi Ying even tonight. Xu Ziling shed into a sidene. By the time he reappeared from another small alley, from the scar-faced hero, he had be the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, striding toward the group of people, in which Zheng Shiru was one of them C who were walking in his direction. Book 25 - 5 – Pirates Conspiracy Book 25 Chapter 5 C Pirates Conspiracy Not only did Kou Zhong lose his sense of time, he did not even know where he was, neither did he know which tribe inhabited this area. All he knew was that it was night, and he was rushing at full speed in the direction of the zing fire emitting the thick smoke. At first he thought it was only a few li away, but after running across an expanse of prairie and a river, and climbing over a small hill, he began to know that the fire was at least still ten li away. Yet unexpectedly he was able to hear the cries. Evidently the feeling that his power was advancing was really not an illusion or his own wishful thinking. A burst of faint battle cry, carried by the wind C entered his eardrums. The tragic scene of defeated Sui Army retreating while killing and burning, raping and looting C floated on the sea of Kou Zhongs mind. The murderous intent in his heart red even higher. After sweeping down the slope and passing through a wide expanse of open field, he ran along a small trail by the winding creek that bore through the woods like a sheeps intestine. Suddenly he heard the miserable scream of women mixed with the evilugh from many men ahead, on the other side of the woods. Boom! Anger exploded inside Kou Zhong, straight to the tip of his hair, which made him drawing the Moon in the Well and sweeping into the woods. But his state of mind returned to its bright and clear state, not contaminated by even half a shred of distracting thought. Torchlight was visible from the other side of the woods; he could even see shadows of people. Before he was even out of the woods, two men, with torches in their hands, dressed in ck tight warrior outfit C were walking into the woods. One of them said with augh, These two Liao women are really not bad; I hope we can find a few more over there as good as them, enough to make our brothers happy! The other one had just responded with a Ha!, when Kou Zhong stormed through the space between the two like a tornado before they had time to react, without even stopping for a moment C out of the forest. The two men did not even have time to scream, their throat had been sliced open, and they slumped down to the ground, immediately died on the spot. Outside the woods was a wide expanse of prairie, with thickets growing everywhere. The northern end of the prairie was where the smoke and fire originated. Two naked female corpses were lying by a thicket, while more than twenty men in ck, carrying flickering long saber in their hands, having not fully expressed themselves, were taking turn in continuing their deeds. Kou Zhong thundered, Give your life to me! In an instant he charged into the crowd of men, who did not have time to defend themselves, brandishing his saber and hacking down ferociously. When the man who bore the brunt raised his saber to block, fast as lightning the Moon in the Well hacked down on the opposite partys face. The blocking saber immediately fell to the ground. The crowd was dumbstruck with great rm, while their vicious character was also aroused, so they swarmed to counterattack. Kou Zhong hissed in anger, while also giving vent to his indignation that he arrived toote to save the innocent women. The treasured saber in his hand showed no mercy; he shed forward toward two sharp desing to attack him. Swinging his saber backhandedly, he scored another victory. That man clearly felt that he sessfully blocked Kou Zhongs de, yet the de seemed to be able to slip through the gap, while he could only stare nkly as the terrifying enemys saber meandered upward through the crack and entered his chest, as if he was delighted to deliver the pit of his stomach to feed the saber. After killing four men in session, Kou Zhongs true qi passed through his saber, while his waist sank down in a horse stance, and then using his right foot as the axis, he swept his saber in a circle, striking the attacking four sabers and sending them flying away into the distance. Not only the besieging men felt the palms of their hands were cracked, they also spewed out fresh blood from their mouth, and were thrown backward. They were shaken to their death just by his power alone. Kou Zhongs murderous intent ring out, his saber momentum whirled around swiftly, like a demon he weaved in and out of the crowd of men. Everywhere he went, everybody responding to his attack had his saber fell, his blood sshed, and his body fell down; unexpectedly not a single one was able to withstand. When only one man remained alive, Kou Zhong hacked down the weapon in his hand. He reached out to grab the pit of the mans stomach, and lifted him entirely off the ground. Kou Zhongs qi power invaded his meridians, the man was so much in pain that his face twisted, bean-sized beads of sweat trickling down from his forehead. Kou Zhong shouted coldly, If you want to live, answer my questions. Otherwise, Ill pull your egg out. Understand? The man nodded in pain. Kou Zhongs eyes were flickering with divine light, he asked in heavy voice, Who are you? Which group do you belong? Let me tell you frankly, I am very clear of your ins and outs, I just want to test your honesty. The man groaned and said, Daye [big master], please spare my life, we are from Hai Sha Bang [sea sand gang, see Book 2 starting in Chapter 4]. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Obviously you dont want to keep your egg! Let me help you by taking your pants off first. I will only cut your egg, and definitely wont cut anywhere else. The man was aghast, Daye, spare my life, he said, I am indeed from Hai Sha Bang. Kou Zhong said with a sneer, Still want to deceive me? Do you know whoozi [I, your father] is? The Mermaid You Qiuyan is my old friend whose lips I have kissed, the Fat Assassin You Gui and Charging General Ling Zhigao have both had their buttocks kicked by me. The entire Hai Sha Bang, from top to bottom, all know me, you still dare to talk drivel? Last chance! Your Daye dont have time to waste on your eggs. The mans face was devoid of any color; he said with trembling voice, Xiaoren will talk! It was Lin Ye who sent us out. Which muddled egg [i.e. scoundrel/] is Lin Ye? Kou Zhong shouted. The man busily said, Its Lin Shihong Daye! Kou Zhongs heart was shaken. Now he understood whats going on with this pirates business. When Zheng Shiru saw Xu Ziling, who was disguised as Yue Shan, his countenance changed slightly and he halted his steps. When the others looked at him in amazement, Xu Ziling stopped in the middle of the street and spoke coldly, Zheng Shiru stays here, the rest take a hike for Laofu. Immediately those several people appeared to be angry. But when they were about to vent out their anger, Zheng Shiru promptly curbed it by saying, Gentlemen, please give Xiaodi a bit of face. Hey! This is Xiaodis senior. Please go first, in a moment Xiaodi will go to San Hua Lou [lit. dispersing flowers building (reminder: lou is a multi-story building)] to apologize to everybody. Those several young master were dressed like influential Wulin familys younger generations. Half believing half doubting, they sized Xu Ziling up and down several times before C under Zheng Shirus urging C leaving unhappily. Zheng Shiru saluted and said, I did not know Qianbei [Senior] has graced us with your presence; please forgive Shiru for being negligent. Xu Ziling snorted a stifled grunt from his nostrils. Come with me! he spoke heavily. Helplessly shrugging his shoulders, Zheng Shiru followed behind him into a deserted alley. Afraid that Zheng Shiru might recognize his back, Xu Ziling turned around and spoke indifferently, Xiaozi, what is your actual duty within Yin Gui Pai? Which color do you belong to? Zheng Shirus barely-there suspicion vanished immediately; he sighed and said, Not concealing anything from Qianbei; strictly speaking, Shiru really is not Yin Gui Pai disciple. Actually, Yin Gui Pai heavily observed the distinction between seniors and juniors. The Sect was divided into three levels: Heaven, Earth, and Man, and the martial art taught to these three levels were also entirely different. White Sky, ck Earth, Yellow Man, were the three colors: White, ck, and Yellow. Only disciples of White grade would have the opportunity to take a peek into the demonic secret manual. Within Yin Gui Pai, other than Zhu Yuyans personal disciples, only people like Bian Bufu, Wen Caiting, and the like, elder-level martial art masters, would have this distinction. The number could not exceed nine. Nine was precisely the highest level of Heaven. Figures like Amorous Nun, Evil Monk, and so on, who had quite a bit of head and face [i.e. some prestige/reputation] in Jianghu, were just in field agent level. He learned all these things from the scroll that Yue Shan left behind, hence when he talked, he looked like he knew what he was talking about. Xu Zilingughed coldly and said, Nonsense! If you are an outsider, how could Zhu Yuyan trust you? Zheng Shiru smiled bitterly and said, Itsplicated and not easy to express sinctly. But if Qianbei wanted me tomunicate a message, there is absolutely no problem. Nodding his head, Xu Ziling said, Xiaozi is quite astute, you knew that I wanted you tomunicate a message for me. Zheng Shiru calmly said, This time Qianbei is returning to the fray after a period of inactivity. Lets not say about Song Que and Xi Ying, two men, rushing in, this moment Qianbei suddenly appearing in Chengdu, you must have heard the rumor concerning Xi Ying. Is Wanbei [junior] wrong? Where is Xi Ying? Xu Ziling asked. Frowning, Zheng Shiru said, Qianbei should know Xi Yings character better than Wanbei; he cant possibly disclose his whereabouts to anybody. With a card up his sleeve, Xu Zilingughed and said, Perhaps Bian Bufu is the only exception? From Yue Shans legacy scroll, he knew that for a period of time, Xi Ying had a close contact with Bian Bufu, together, with all the majesty of an emperor [i.e. recklessly] they roamed the pleasure quarters and cluster of flowers [this is literal trantion, but I believe you guys understand what it means, right?]. Viins collude together, hence he made that remark. Stunned, Zheng Shiru replied, I am not too clear about that; Qianbei ought to know that I am Zheng Hantangs son. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; naturally Yue Shan could not possibly put all the names of the people he had had a dealing with in the scroll. But listening to the tone of Zheng Shirus voice, obviously histe father had some connection with the real Yue Shan. Without any choice he thickened his face and asked, Is Hantang still alive? Zheng Shiru sadly said, My humble father passed away ten years ago. Qianbei naturally understand why he, the Senior, could not have a good ending. Xu Ziling remembered Xiang Yushans father, Xiang Guis bitter experience, who, because he inadvertently heard some gossip about Yin Gui Pai from a certain Yin Gui Pai elder in an idle chat after drinking together C was nearly killed. His heart moved, he said, Must be because Hantang wanted to quit! Am I right? Zheng Shiru dejectedly said, Thats exactly right. Otherwise, how could Dies death be so shady? Not to conceal anything from Qianbei, right now Xiaozhi [little nephew] is merely feigning civility, quietly waiting for the opportunity. The thought in the bottom of my heart, this is the first time that Xiaozhi divulge it to anybody, simply because in the past Qianbei has done a great favor for Die. Xiaozhi really cannot bear to see Qianbei fall into the trap and nurse a grievance in Chengdu. I am asking Yue Laos [old Yue] understanding! Although Xu Ziling was finally able to verify Zheng Shirus real identity, but inwardly he was groaning. If Zheng Shiru persisted in not willing tomunicate a message for him, would he have to go everywhere to shout, Yue Shan is here!, or perhaps write these four-word mantra on the walls and street corners? Treading on the wild grass and using the trees as cover, from his hiding ce on the seaside Kou Zhong stealthily moved toward the Li Liao vige where the raging mes were soaring to the sky. There were two ships moored by the sea; by his estimation, each ship ought to carry more than a hundred of these Lin Shihongs men C who disguised themselves as pirates C to bring the total between three to four hundred men. Although Kou Zhong was quite confident in himself, he was not one who overestimated his own capabilities. In direct confrontation, plus the opposite side must be under some martial art masters leadership, although escaping alive should not be a problem, he definitely could not gain any advantage either. His best bet would be to carry out a gueri tactic [orig. using dark to confront bright], with hit-and-run style. Therefore, his action must be extremely careful. Obviously Lin Shihongs maneuver this time was to shift the me to the Eastern Wu [idiom from the Three Kingdom], a stratagem to kill two birds with one stone: both to loot the grains, cattle and sheep, and horses of the ethnic groups inhabiting the coastal area of the southern Yue [Canton (Guangdong)], and to destroy Shen Faxings rtionship with various Li Liao ethnic groups. Perhaps he could even provoke the Song n to have direct confrontation against Shen Faxing, because everybody in the world already knew that Hai Sha Bang was Shen Faxings pawn. In term of area, this Li Liao vige, which was facing imminent catastrophe, was at least twice as big as the vige where Kou Zhong slept. By this time, most of the several hundred houses in the entire vige have turned into ashes, and the fire was making its way toward the dense mountain forest surrounding the vige, producing loud crackling noise. Kou Zhong waspletely unable to understand the perpetrators mentality; how could they callouslymit such crime that made others hair stand up in anger like this? As soon as he entered the vige limit, he sensed the unusual situation. Hiding behind a building, which could be considered quite intact, he peeked out to see, and saw in the clearing at the heart of the vige there were two groups of a hundred to two hundred each C armed men facing each other in hostility. One side was Li Shihongs men disguised as pirates in ck tight warrior outfits, the leader was Cui Jixiu, Lin Shihongs Guoshi [teacher of the state] with whom he had met once during the assassination of the Green Dragon Ren Shaoming. Standing behind him, tall and short, were more than a dozen characters, which in just one nce, he knew to be martial art masters. The rest of his men were spread in fan formation on the northern end of the Liao vige. The dead bodies of the Li Liao vige victims were strewn on the ground; a spectacle too horrible to endure. Cui Jixiu and the others must havee so very suddenly that the poor innocent vigers did not have time to flee the misfortune. The other side had smaller number of people, there were only about a hundred of them, wearing the bright colorful clothes of Li Liao martial outfits. The most eye-catching was that the leader was unexpectedly a sweet, fair, and graceful, slim, with beautiful shoulder length hair C Liao beauty. Draped over her tender body was, impressively, tiger skin, so that amidst her delicate appearance, there was a hint of awe-inspiring heroic spirit. All Li Liao warriors revealed grief and indignation on their faces. The battle could happen at any moment. Kou Zhong suddenly rxed, thinking that visiting the mountain, Cui Jixiu has encountered the tiger; the Li Liao warriors have assembled and rushed over to fight back. At the same time, he felt something strange. No matter what, Cui Jixiu was Lin Shihongs Guoshi, how could he yact as twisted senior, subdued nobility, and came disguising himself as a lowly raping and piging pirate? He heard a longugh, followed by Cui Jixius unhurried voice saying, Unexpectedly it is the Hu Yi Hong Fen [lit. tiger-skinned rouge and powder (fig. the fairer sex)] Ouyang Qian Da Xiaojie who graces us with her fragrant presence. Kou Zhong thought that Ouyang Qians name sounded so familiar, but immediately remembered that either Chen Changlin or Bu Tianzhi had mentioned that she was one of the three major leaders of the Li Liao; the other two being Wang Zhongxuan and Chen Zhifei. Who would have thought that he would run into her here by chance? And she looked so pretty. Obviously Ouyang Qian had just arrived here. Her gaze slowly scanned the disaster area where the people were in a terrible situation; her beautiful eyes emitted grief and indignation. She spoke slowly, word-by-word, Report your name to me, with very articte pronunciation and vocalizing, totally unlike the Li Liao girl he met earlier. Putting his saber back into its scabbard, Kou Zhongughed aloud while leaving his hiding ce and walking over toward the crowd. He responded on behalf of Cui Jixiu, I am Cui Jixiu, the Guoshi under Lin Shihongsmand. This timeing here to kill and burn, other than because of my savage character, also to shift the me onto Shen Faxing. Ha! Cui Xiong! Was my answer on your behalf wrong? All several hundreds pair of eyes around the battlefield immediately fell on him. As soon as Cui Jixiu saw Kou Zhong, the blood was drained from his face, his eyes revealed a panic-stricken look. Xu Zilings mind was churning at the speed of light; he quickly pretended that he had nned in advance, saying, How could Xi Ying conceal his trick from Laofus [this old man] eyes? Since hearing the news about this dog-thief Xi Ying, Laofu knew there is something else in it; Xianzhi [worthy/virtuous nephew] needs not worry about Laofu. Does Xianzhi by any chance know where Xi Ying is staying? Still concerned, Zheng Shiru replied, Yue Lao must not take this lightly. They want to deal not only with Song Que, but also with you, Senior. Were it not for the fact that Zhu Yuyan was unwilling to personally kill her daughters father, how could Yue Lao escape so easily that day? After the fact, they scoured the entire Luoyang, only they failed to find Yue Lao! Xu Ziling mused inwardly that Yue Shan practically did not exist; naturally they could not find him. His eyes shing with sharp light, he spoke in heavy voice, When we first met that day, Xianzhis voice carried an inquiring overtone; what did you mean by that? After years of encountering cheating tricks in each color and each form, he has learned from experience. Zheng Shiru replied in low voice, Yue Lao appeared so suddenly; it was not until Zhu Yuyan confirmed Yue Laos identity that Xiaozhi was willing to believe. But by that time I could not find Yue Lao. Xu Ziling nonchntly said, Yin Gui Pai has never allowed outsiders to share their secrets, how did you know so many things? Zheng Shiru replied with a sigh, If I were in Yue Laos shoes, I would have the same doubt. Problem is, although I am absolutely not a Yin Gui Pai disciple, I am not an outsider at all. For thest ten years I did not show the slightest bit of suspicion on my humble fathers violent death, while deliberately pretending to be infatuated with Zhu Yuyans disciple Bai Qinger, plus they wanted to draw support from Xiaozhis talent in politics and economy to govern Xiangyang, this important fortified city, for them; therefore, Zhu Yuyan was willing to put me in an important position. Xu Ziling finally began to believe Zheng Shiru; muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Why did Xianzhie to Chengdu this time? Smiling wryly, Zheng Shiru replied, This matter is hard to exin in a few words. The simple exnation is that I finally met the love of my heart, also because I felt that avenging my fathers enmity is a hopeless case; therefore, I have the heart of withdrawing from Jianghu, and just happened to encountered Xi Yings affair. It would be best if Yue Lao immediately keep him at a distance, and try to find Xi Ying to settle the ount in the future. I might report Yue Laos appearance hereter, but naturally I would word it differently. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Xianzhi may set your heart at ease. If Laofu does not have any confidence, I would nevere here to take risks. Xianzhi needs not worry about anything, just tell them tonight at the third watch of the night [11pm to 1am], I will wait for Xi Ying at the Da Shi Temple. Shocked, Zheng Shiru said, Yue Lao must not do so. This moment the Four Great Elders of Yin Gui Pai are all in Chengdu. And then there is Wanwan, the proud disciple of Zhu Yuyan. It would be difficult for Yue Lao to get the desired oue. Xu Ziling felt a big headache. Whether it was spoken to Xu Ziling or Yue Shan, Zheng Shiru was giving a word of advice; its a pity that no matter how much danger he had to risk, he simply must lure Xi Ying out of his hiding ce. At best, when the time came, he could keep a close watch from a secret ce to see if he could follow Xi Ying back to his hiding ce, and then find a way to deal with him alone. Reaching out to grab Zheng Shirus shoulder, he leaned closer and spoke with determination, Laofu has a sense of propriety. Its crucial that Xianzhi pass on Laofus words as things really are to Bian Bufu; otherwise youll make a botch of things. Zheng Shirus eyes flitted over his palm; severely shaken, he said, Yue Lao has indeed mastered the Huan Ri Da Fa; no wonder you have such confidence. Following his gaze, Xu Ziling looked over, and was so frightened that his heart was shaken. His usually fair-skinned, slender hand looked as if it has shed its mortal body and exchanged its bones, like its muscle was scraped from the bones and its marrow was washed, to be sparkling and translucent, as glossy and bright as a jade, with some kind of transcending-the-world, shedding-the-dust-of-the-mortal-world luster. Zheng Shiru spoke in low voice, But Yue Lao must be careful. I hear that Xi Ying has been greatly sessful in amassing skill from various Western Regions schools, and created the so-called Zi Qi Tian Luo [lit. Purple Cloud (or qi) Heavenly Gauze], an overbearing demonic skill. After testing it, Zhu Yuyan did not stop praising him,mending it as the most brilliant self-created gongfa of the demonic school after Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image. Xu Ziling vigorously patted him on the shoulder and said, Go and act ording to n; you must not hold things up. Zheng Shiru wanted to talk, but in the end he held his peace. Seeing his resolute expression, which was beyond persuasion, he sighed helplessly before steeling himself to turn and continue on his way. Book 25 - 6 – Trying One’s Luck Book 25 Chapter 6 C Trying Ones Luck Seeing Kou Zhong, Cui Jixiu immediately knew that the situation has turned bad for him; thinking that he should strike first and gain the upper hand, he shouted, Brothers, charge! while at the same time waving his hand to release the fireworks, which exploded in the night sky, creating a burst of flower of light. And thus, with this sentence the imminent fierce battle was in full swing. The two sides facing each other shouted in unison; like a powerful current rolling over the earth, the battle was raging under cover of the thick smoke and the zing mes. Battle cries shook the heaven. The situation was desperate. Kou Zhongs target was Cui Jixiu. If he could capture this man alive, he would be able to gather most valuable intelligence concerning Lin Shihong. He and Xu Ziling had spected that Lin Shihong might be Yin Gui Pai man; perhaps he could find the answer from Cui Jixiu. Who could have thought that Cui Jixiu was iparably cunning? He ordered the martial art masters around him to go all-out in dealing with Kou Zhong, but he himself withdrew backward to evade. When fast as lightning Kou Zhong swept forward, more than a dozen of the strongest martial art masters of the enemys side intercepted him head-on. The first two had a very fast shenfa; the one on the left was using long spear, creating more than a dozen fantastical streaks of spear shadow, stabbing and shing, full and mighty, toward Kou Zhongs face. The other man was using a saber, swiftly hacking down, creating a screaming saber wind, cutting diagonally down on the side of Kou Zhongs neck. Not only his power was deep, his saber technique was vicious. At the same moment, from the enemys ships mooring on the shore came another shaking-the-heaven shout. Just by listening to the sound of the shouts, evidently Cui Jixius side still had a bunch of reinforcement troops lying in ambush. Seeing the rocket re they immediately charged into the vige. Ouyang Qians side was not weak either. Several hundred Li Liao warriors lying in ambush also appeared one after another from the other side of the vige to join the fierce battle. Drawing the Moon in the Well from his back, with thick and cold murderous aura bursting out of him, Kou Zhong seemed to be dodging the spear with ease. Dang! he blocked the enemys saber. Spinning his body around, he shed through between the two men with only a hairsbreadth of clearance, and then pulling his body up, he happened to see Cui Jixiu, who, under the protection of more than twenty of his men C was trying to get away from the battle. Surprisingly though, he did not retreat toward the coast. The enemies intercepting Kou Zhong was shocked at first, but then they were overjoyed at the turn of events. Shocked, because Kou Zhongs shenfa was exquisite beyondpare, unexpectedly it was so fast that in that instant they were unable to fathom; he was dodging so swiftly that he put them in the position where they had the power, but no way of unleashing it. Overjoyed, because Kou Zhong pulled back about a zhang away, which made him the easiest and most clear-cut target, and that when they stumbled down, they might still be alive. Immediately sabers and spears were raised; everybody was storing up their momentum to wait. The contradiction in Kou Zhongs heart was aggravating. When he pulled out, he still had power remaining. With his ability to take a breath rapidly to change direction, he was sure that he could overtake the slipping away Cui Jixiu. Yet if he did that, he would let these dozen or so most overbearing of the enemys martial art masters to deal with Ouyang Qians Li Liao warriors. If that happened, perhaps he could capture Cui Jixiu, but perhaps Ouyang Qian would lose this battle. It was certainly a case of the fish and the bears paw, you cant have both at the same time [idiom from Mencius]. Kou Zhong thundered while making his decision; he tossed aside the temptation to stop Cui Jixiu. Swish! One of the enemies facing him shook out his hand to release more than a dozen iron slingshot pellets, using the flower rain filling the sky technique to sprinkle the pellets on him; an extremely insidious trick. Naturally Kou Zhong was not worried at all. Exchanging the true qi within his body, he simply moved half a zhang across; not only to evade the secret projectiles, but also to make a somersault, his long saber chopped down on the head of one of the enemies blocking him. That man was outstanding as well. Although the attack happened so suddenly, in critical time he did not panic; he bent his waist backward, while raising the pair of hatchets in his left and right hands upwards to block. It was also a ferocious, exceptionally bold and powerful move. Kou Zhong roared inughter. Releasing his spiraling energy, he let out two saber strikes in session; with all his strength he heavily hacked down the opposite partys left and right big hatchets. In all his life, the man had never experienced the unique taste of spiraling energy. Not only the palm of his hands split, his meridians surged, he spurted blood on the spot, sshing blood everywhere until the sky spins, the earth goes round, and he dropped on hit butts on the ground. These two saber strikes immediately awed the other enemies that the originally rainbow-like momentum immediately went away like scattered clouds disappearing smoke. When hended on the ground, Kou Zhoung shouted, Cui Jixiu is running away! You guys are his scapegoat! This shout was imbued with his power; it spread widely all over the battlefield. The more than a dozen enemys martial art masters besieging Kou Zhong looked at each other with doubt on their faces; the attacking power immediately ceased. Seeing he had no time to lose, the Moon in the Well fantastically created a streak of saber light covering one of the enemies, while he shouted, Whoever can block my, Shao Shuai Kou Zhongs three saber strikes, I, Kou Zhong, will let him live. Suddenly hearing the name Kou Zhong, none of the enemies did not have his countenance changed. Worse yet, the enemy who blocked Kou Zhongs first de had his guts turned cold, he felt that under the saber qi his entire body was falling into an icehouse; his skin tingling, it felt as if it was about to split open, and it was difficult for him to keep his eyes open. The worst thing was that he could not either advance or retreat, and had nowhere to dodge, no way out, except to brandish his sword to block. Dang! The overbearing-beyond-humanprehension saber qi prated his sword and burst into his body. This man, along with his sword, was hacked down by Kou Zhong and was thrown to the side. Unexpectedly, while still alive, he was jolted that his seven apertures spurted blood, his breathing ceased and he met a violent death. Because of their atrocity, which made ones hair stand up in anger, Kou Zhong did not have the slightest regret; on the contrary, murderous intent filled his breast, his saber light was transformed into long rainbow, rolling over the enemies. At this time, due to Kou Zhongs psychological tactics, the battlefield has be a one-sided situation. When the Cui Army saw that Cui Jixiu was gone without any shadow, any trace, as well as heard Kou Zhongs name, they were scared out of their wits; nobody had the heart to zealously continue fighting, they all scattered in all directions to save their own little life. It was after killing two more enemies that Kou Zhong found that his torrential momentum has scattered the enemies that not a single one remained. Inwardly he thought what a close call! because if these dozen or so men cooperated with one heart, if they disregarded life and death and joined hands to stake their lives against him, even if he managed to score a victory, perhaps he would have to pay such a heavy price. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw that the situation has fallen under the Li Liao beauty, Ouyang Qians control. His heart moved, he soared away and flew in the direction where Cui Jixiu was slipping away. After changing his disguise from Yue Shan to the scar-faced hero, Xu Ziling followed far behind the Mad Schr of Henan Zheng Shiru, who was walking slowly along the main street of the south market, where there was no distinction between night and day. Although the number of pedestrians on the street was a far cry from the Mid-Autumn Festival night, it was still quite crowded. Probably most of these people wereing from elsewhere to enjoy the festivities, and still have not fully expressed themselves. Thereupon Xu Ziling had another plot brewing in his heart. As long as he knew to whom Zheng Shiru was going to report, if he treaded carefully and continued following him, perhaps even before the third watch of the night, he would be able to find the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, so then he would not have to fall into the inferior situation where there were multitude of enemies, few friends [idiom from Mencius]. If fighting one on one and he still could not subdue Xi Ying, then he would only have himself to me for his low skill, sluggish fortune. Otherwise, forget about running into Wanwan or perhaps those whatever elder-level martial art masters, with just an additional Bian Bufu, he would be forced to bag his food before finish eating. Other skills he did not dare to boast, but hiding and following trails, tracking in secret and ways to follow and peek, he had quite a confidence. At least toward a martial master of head of a school caliber like An Long, his technique was still effective. Thinking to this point, even his steps were bing light and quick. Ahead of him, Zheng Shiru suddenly disappeared. Xu Ziling quickly sped up his steps. San Hua Lou [see previous chapter], three characters impressively appeared on the horizontal que above the rectangr gate. Looking inside the gate, he saw brilliantntern lights hidden behind flowers and trees, and Zheng Shiru was politely greeted by the big man at the reception, and then he disappeared into the sumptuous hall, which tastefully chosen fa?ade enhanced the exquisiteness of the stone steps leading up into the hall. Immediately he recalled Zheng Shiru mentioning this most famous pleasure quarters in Chengdu, which, ording to him, was equally famous with the Shi Lin Yuan [lit. schr/warrior forest park] of ChangAn. All the robust looking men at the gate were looking at him up and down, making him feel even more ufortable. San Hua Lou was obviously a thriving and prosperous business. Gorgeous carriages came one after another, forcing Xu Ziling to get out of the way, while inwardly he was groaning incessantly. Every time they visited a pleasure house, they never had anything gooding out of it, while bad things more and more emerged. Even bigger problem was that even if he followed inside, Zheng Shiru could not possibly say that he was his friend. Even if he somehow managed to get in, he would not be so lucky as to have a room adjacent to Zheng Shirus. However, to give up halfway like this, his heart was unwilling. Since he did not have anywhere better to go, why not try his luck in this pleasure house? Thinking about Kou Zhong, he fiercely gnashed his teeth and stepped toward the gate. One of the big men guarding the door stretched out his arm to block, but his manner was still polite and courteous; he asked, May I ask if Daye have a reservation? Stunned, Xu Ziling replied, I cante in without a reservation? Another big man apologetically said, Daye, please forgive us; the days before and after the holiday are when we have the highest number of honored guests. For the past few days all the rooms here have been fully booked. Sir may try the Zui Xiang Wo [lit. intoxicated-by-the-fragrant nest] on the street west of here. Theirdies are quite good. Xu Ziling was greatly embarrassed, thinking that his luck in the pleasure house this time was even worse than thest time; he could not even get through the door. This moment the big man who received Zheng Shiru into the building happened toe back. Seeing Xu Ziling, unexpectedly a big smile broke across his face as if he had just seen an old friend, as he cordially blurted out, Isnt this Daye a friend of Hou Gongzi? On Mid-Autumn night Xiaoren had seen Daye and Hou Gongzi were surrounded by Miss Caiqis dancing and drumming troupe! Hou Xibai was, most probably, the VIP guest of any pleasure house. Thereupon the other two men immediately became very cordial. One of them even med him, saying, Daye should have mentioned that you are Hou Gongzis friend! Hou Gongzi has reserved a room for ten consecutive days, but until now we have not seen hime. Our delicate and prettydies are looking forward to see him with their hearts burning! The other man asked, Is Hou Gongziing soon? Xu Ziling did not know whether he shouldugh or cry. Without any better option he thickened his face and said, Certainly! He ising soon. The man receiving Zheng Shiru said, Xiaoren Yang Ji; may I ask Dayes honorable surname and great given name? Xu Ziling remembered Hou Xibai mentioned the Daoba Ke Gong Chenchun [see Book 24 Chapter 6]; hence he blurted out without thinking, Zaixia surnamed Gong, with a given name Chenchun. Even he himself felt that this name sounded very strange. Yet apparently Yang Ji did not share his feeling; he simply said cheerfully, Gong Ye, pleasee with Xiaoren. Since they havee, we should make themfortable [idiom: if you cant beat em, join em]; brothel luck could also be an apricot brought to the top of Mount Tai [Chinese saying from the Book of Changes, meaning when adversity reaches the extreme, it will transform into a good one]. After reassuring himself, Xu Ziling followed him inside. If Cui Jixiu was escaping alone, there would be very little chance of overtaking him. Fortunately, from the snapping branches and leaves, the footprints on the road, and other vestiges along the way, Kou Zhong could infer that there were at least fifteen to twenty men running away with him. In one breath Kou Zhong was trying to catch him for two li straight, but when he reached a small stream, all the traces he had been following suddenly disappeared. It made sense. At first Cui Jixiu and the others must have fled in panic and did not choose their route carefully, because they wanted to get away from danger as quickly as possible. But once they reached a safe ce, to avoid the enemys following their trails, they would have used their brains to eliminate any traces. Kou Zhong focused his power into his eyes and carefully scanned the area. The gurgling brook meandering over the sparse wood was flowing from south to north. Without even asking he knew that the enemies must be wading along the water; therefore, they did not leave any traces on the other side. Question is: were they going left on the creek, or right? This was like the first test of the tracking skill that he learned from Ba Fenghan; if he was sessful in pursuing Cui Jixiu, it could be considered that he finished his apprenticeship. Carefully examining the footprints before they entered the water, most of them appeared to be heading to the left. It was the instinctive reaction of human nature; if the leader turned to the left, the followers would naturally look to the left or even change their direction to the left, so that they would be right behind the one leading the way. Kou Zhongughed cheerfully; he was very proud of his deduction ability. He was just about to pursue to the left when suddenly he felt something was not right. Stopping and thinking deeply, his heart was shaken, and cried inwardly, What a close call! Upon further examination, he noticed that all the footprints on the shore were on the muddy ground by the water. Not only the footprints were very distinct, they also looked very heavy, as if they were afraid the enemy would not be able to see them. Kou Zhong tried taking two steps, but he could only leave much lighter footprints. Up until now he still did not know that this bad ghost schr Cui Jixiu was so cunning and was an expert in diversion tactics; therefore, he immediately changed direction to the right and pursued swiftly along the water. Yang Ji took Xu Ziling, the Daoba Ke Gong Chenchun, to the main lobby, where he handed him over to the usher. He even warned repeatedly that Xu Ziling was Hou Xibais good friend, so that in his embarrassment, Xu Ziling copied Kou Zhong by pretending to be fully loaded, and giving tips liberally. The middle-ageddy who acted as the usher, Wen Gu [lit. cultured (paternal) aunt] led Xu Ziling through a flower path before reaching the famous main building of the San Hua Lou, which was a three-story wooden structure, grand in scale, with carved beams and painted walls; it was extremely tasteful. Going up to the third floor, Xu Ziling pretended to ask casually, Hasnt Zheng Shiru Xiong just arrived? I wonder if Wen Gu took care of him? Wen Guughed tenderly and said, Turns out Gong Ye is also a friend of Mad Schr Zheng. Although it was not nujia who took him in, but the room Chen Gongzi and Bai Gongzi reserved is the east chamber armor room, which has the best scenery, separated from Hou Gongzis east pavilion by only one room. Does Gong Ye want to say hello first? When Hou Gongzi arrives, nujia wille again for Gong Ye. Inwardly Xu Ziling thought he had enough luck, somewhat feeling that this trip has not been made in vain, so he randomly thought of an excuse to decline Wen Gus good intention. Wen Guughed and said, No wonder Gong Ye can be Hou Gongzis good friend; Hou Gongzi has nevere in contact with the other pampered sons of wealthy family, but his kindness to thedies here need not be mentioned. He evenposed music and wrote poems for them. Whenever Hou Gongzis honorable self is here, nobody did not strive toe to see him and wait on him. These past three days they have been painstakingly waiting for him. Startled, Xu Ziling spoke in all seriousness, I dont know whether Hou Xiong will be able to meet the appointment or not; before he is here, you must not tell anybody else, or else Hou Xiongs closedy friends will be happy in vain. Wen Gu pushed the door open; a whiff of fragrant of flowers immediately hit him on the face, and he saw fragrant osmanthus flowers spread over the windowsill opposite the door. In the spacious room, leaning against the left and right walls were plum blossom enclosure and bamboottice full of Chinese wolfberry shrub, Chinese catalpa, and a set of wooden small table and imperial tutor chairs. Not only the engraving was exquisite and fine, theponents were joined together seamlessly, as though they were carved out of a single block of wood. The front side of the back of the chair was iid with marble, which lines were distinct, mellow and full, elegant and beautiful. No wonder it could share the same fame with Shi Lin Yuan; merely the furnishings proved that everything was carefully selected for quality. The corners of the wall were decorated with calligraphy and paintings; there was not the least bit of tackiness. Xu Ziling walked over toward the small table by the window, where there was a guzheng lying on it. Looking out the window, he saw under the moonlight and thenterns outside, the cityscape bathed in silvery light. He saw shrines and Buddhist temples, Taoist monasteries, gates, viges, alleys and the market, multi-story buildings, pce gate watchtowers, shops and houses, gardens, pavilions and ponds, crisscrossing outside the high building. A beautiful image floated in his heart, the scenery at the pleasure house, where a beautiful courtesan was singing and ying the zither by the window, a charming and gentle, touching, as if he was drunk or was entranced. Inside and outside the building, there was a faint sound of woodwind and string instruments; not only it did not sound noisy, it appeared to be enhancing San Hua Lous far-reaching harmonious serenity. Wen Gu came behind him and spoke in a low voice, Although Miss Qingxiu cannot spare time tonight, but since Hou Gongzis friend is here, nujia will find a way to have here here to sing a song for Gong Ye. Other time, Ill have Qiuhong to wait upon Gong Ye! Inwardly, Xu Ziling cried out for his Niang; hastily he said, Wen Gu need not go through all those troubles, zaixia will just wait for Hou Xiong here. Lets wait until he is here before making those other arrangements. Right now, it would be great if you could serve good wine and fresh fruits for zaixia. Wen Gu stared at him in amazement for a while before acknowledging the request and withdrew out of the room, closing the door for him on her way out. Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief, while at the same time focusing his power to his ears to listen to any sign of activity in Zheng Shirus room on the other side. Kou Zhong pursued along the brook for nearly a li before finding another trace of the enemy on the bank of the creek; not only it confirmed that his earlier spection was correct, it also increased his confidence in overtaking the enemy. Cui Jixiu going upstream this far to the north, his objective must be to deal with Kou Zhong. Even if Kou Zhong pursued in the right direction, but not finding any traces of the enemy on shore after such a long distance, naturally he would doubt whether he made the wrong choice. However, the enemies were running away wading in the water, naturally their speed could notpare to traveling on drynd. Therefore, Kou Zhong was even more confident that he would be able to catch up with the enemy. Under the moonlight, he could see the glittering droplets of water that Cui Jixiu and his men were leaving on the stones and leaves. Fortunately there was neither rain nor fog tonight, otherwise he would have lost this only tracking clue, simply because when the enemies were leaping onto the shore, they would not have left these longsting traces on the hard surface of the stones. After finding three more traces of broken twigs where the enemies were going through the woods, Kou Zhong reached an expanse of grasnd, where not far ahead the mountains were undting, the terrain deste. Focusing all his power and mind into his nose, he was immediately able to smell some kind of odor from the perspiration on the clothes remaining on the long grass, and was greatly delighted, inwardly thinking that when hunting dogs were pursuing their target, they would also do what he did just now. Whats more odd was that within the remaining scent, there was a hint of fragrance as well; he could not help thinking that Cui Jixiu looked a little bit effeminate, perhaps this bad ghost schr had a habit of putting some kind of sweet-smelling grass on his clothes. Cheering inwardly, without stopping at all his feet moved across the grasnd, toward the foot of a small hill. Unexpectedly there were two sets of barely discernible footprints appearing on the slope of the hill, extended to the opposite direction of each other. This ce had sandy soil, the earth was soft, and there was no hard stone that could be used as stepping stone. It looked like the enemy was carrying out splitting-to-escape tactic, so that Cui Jixius chance of getting captured by Kou Zhong was reduced by half. Inwardly, Kou Zhong was amused. Without the slightest hesitation he followed the direction where the fragrance was going. Bypassing the slope of the hill, he climbed another hill, and faintly saw a mountain road in the distance. Although the grass and weeds where growing and spreading due to few people trampling on it, the path could still be clearly distinguished. The scent entering Kou Zhongs nose was getting stronger; the enemy was obviously passing on this road not too long ago. Kou Zhong was rushing non-stop up the hill. By the time he saw the situation on the other side of the mountain, an abandoned vige with no man in sight appeared on the foot of the mountain far ahead, with more than a dozen dpidated houses hidden inside the forest. Right this moment, there was a hurried and brief miserable screaming from the abandoned vige; unexpectedly it broke the serenity of the moonlit night. Stunned, Kou Zhong rushed down at full speed. Book 25 - 7 – Mysterious Expert Book 25 Chapter 7 C Mysterious Expert Since the two rooms were separated by another room in between, which was also noisy and crowded to bursting point with loose guests, seeking for Zheng Shirus voice amidst a lot of finger-guessing games, drinking contest, warblers singing and swallow twittering, woodwind and string instruments C was definitely not an easy matter. But strangely enough, in this noisy world made ofplex and multiyered space filled with all kinds of sound, when Zheng Shiru spoke up, and Xu Ziling focused power was trained on searching for his voice, right away the other noise seemed to fade into the background, and this Mad Schrs voice suddenly became distinctive. It was a very unusual feeling. Zheng Shiru seemed to be responding to other peoples inquiry; he said, That Senior certainly came from far away. In a moment Zaixia might need to go out to ry a message; when Ie back, I will apany gentlemen drinking wine and listening to songs. Immediately there was a womans voice not letting him off easily, saying, Today is the first time that Zheng Gongzi ising to visit us; we will definitely not let you find any excuse to slip away. There was a ruckus of other men and womens voices; extremely noisy. Finally Zheng Shiru surrendered; he promised to listen to all thedies, each one singing a song C before leaving, and promised to return after his job was done. The door opened. Xu Ziling jumped in fright, realizing that because he was focused on what has been happing in the other room, he missed what was happening in this room; unexpectedly he did not hear the sound of someone approaching the room. Looking back, turned out it was a pretty maid delivering good wine and fresh fruits. By now Xu Ziling was already an expert in giving tips. After the pretty maid left, he sat down in the chair close to the window, lifted up the cup that the pretty maid poured for him, and lightly drank a mouthful, thinking that his visit to the pleasure house this time did not go wrong; perhaps it was because there was nody apanying him here? This thought was still hovering in his mind when he heard footsteps approaching. The footsteps stopped right in front of his door, and then there was a knock, followed by a dainty female voice rang out, Qingxiu is here with specific purpose in mind to visit and wish Gong Ye good health. Xu Ziling was shocked. He panicked; since he absolutely had no idea on how to deal with this kind of situation. Springing up, he went to open the door for her. Outside the door a pretty and moving young woman was standing charmingly, with ample air of haughtiness, without losing her romantic elegance. From her outline to the curves of her body, nothing did not exude gracefulness and enchantment. Under her thread-thin eyebrows was a pair of bright eyes, revealing a longing expression. But naturally this longing was not evoked by Xu Ziling, this Daoba Ke Gong Chenchun. Her head was wrapped in brightly-colored cloth hat, the clothes she was wearing was even more unique; her wide gauzed sleeves, through the rolled-up cuff reaching to her elbows, revealed the gentle and soft, but abundant in sticity, her small arms. It was a long gown but with short skirt. The upper outer garment was sleeveless, the inner garment was buttonless, exposing rich-in-texture chemise covering her breast, which was bright red. The hem of her skirt encasing her legs had multi-colored trim, the long belt on her girth was made of printed cloth, making her slender waistline appeared to be within ones hands grasp. On top of that, she wore sleeveless waistcoat, which enhanced her charm of many postures. She must be a beauty of one of many ethnic groups in the Sichuan region. When Xu Ziling opened the door, she revealed a slightly startled look, before carrying her fragrant wind inside the room. With at ease expression on her face, her delicate hand pulled the crook of Xu Zilings arm. She said with a tenderugh, Is this Gong Yes first visit to the pleasure house? Being pulled by her, Xu Ziling turned around and was led over to the imperial tutor chair on the left of the window. Smiling wryly, he said, It could be considered the first time indeed! How did Miss know? The delicate and pretty hands pressed him down into the chair, and then tenderly poured another cup of wine for him. Smiling, she said, Men who are ustomed to the pleasure house know that bying here they are going to be served well by us, but Gong Ye seems to want to turn around. Under his scar-faced mask, Xu Zilings handsome face was burning. Half of Qingxius fragrant body was half-leaning, half-sitting, on the side of his thigh. She brought the good wine to the edge of his lips, and despite his refusal she fed him a sip. Laughing tenderly, she said, Gong Ye must not me Wen Gu; nobody dares to conceal anything concerning Xibai from nujia. Xu Ziling felt that this flying-in-luck with women was so unbearable; smiling ruefully, he said, When Hou Xiong arrives and see us like this, wont it look not so good? Letting out silver-bell-like tenderughter, Qingxiu spoke with ten thousand kinds of flirtatious expressions, Nujia is not Xibais first wife; how could there be any misgivings? Oh! Gong Yes body is very young. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, How could you say that? Qingxiu leaned over to his ear and spoke softly, Men of different age have different scent. Gong Ye appears to be nearly forty, but your scent is like that of a youngster; healthy, sweet swelling and full of vitality, making nujia unwilling to leave you. Xu Zilings heart shivered slightly, thinking that if he pretended to be Yue Shan, wouldnt this w be more obvious? Just now when he was talking to Zheng Shiru in that small alley, he continuously circted his power to control his pores, otherwise Zheng Shiru, a Jianghu veteran, might see through his disguise. He replied randomly, Maybe its due to Ol Gong training martial art every day! Qingxiu looked at his countenance up and down, and then shook her head and said, It definitely has nothing to do with martial arts. Nujia is in contact with Jianghu people every day; among those people, not a few are Wulin masters, either from Bashu or other parts of the country. But there has never been one with body scent like Gong Ye. Its only natural that Gong Ye yourself did not perceive it, but nujia is able to smell it very clear. At first I thought Gong Ye was wearing some kind of sweet-smelling grass or perfume. Ah! Nujia knows! Its the scent of an infant! Although Xu Ziling did not know whether tough or to cry, he thought that most probably his body scent had something to do with the Secret to Long Life; both the Tao and Buddhist, two houses internal cultivation method, which could make people recover their youthful vigor, Liao Kong being the most readily avable example. Suddenly remembering Zheng Shiru, he hastily bent his ear to listen attentively. Qingxiu stood up slowly and walked over to the long table facing the window where the guzheng was lying, and sat down; raising up her delicate hands, she plucked the peach guzheng string, creating a series of crisp notes like the gentle gurgle of running water. Hanging her head down, she softly said, Is Xibaiing tonight? Rushing to the mouth of the vige, immediately Kou Zhongs scalp went numb. The first thing catching his eyes was a pair of feet hanging out of the window of one of the houses, while the other part of the body was hanging inside the house. Another person was lying on his back on the street; he died without closing his eyes, and his face revealed the panic he must have felt before his death. The strangest thing was that there were no visible bruises on his body, yet his mouth and nose oozed a little wisp of blood. A saber was still held firmly in his hand. From the tight ck warrior outfit that the two were wearing, it was obvious that they were Cui Jixius men. In front of the dead body, there was a set of footprints extending to the west, while on the side there was another set of scattered, chaotic footprints. Kou Zhong tried to reconstruct what had just happened in his mind. It must be that Cui Jixiu and his men, seven or eight of them, were overtaken by the enemy as they were entering the vige. Although Cui Jixiu and his men met the attack and fought, the iing enemy must have killed two men in one move. But then the enemy must have deliberately given Cui Jixiu and the rest of his men the opportunity to flee. The course of events was extremely strange. Kou Zhong rapidly moved forward; more than a dozen stepster he found another dead body, unexpectedly lying on his back on top of a thatch roof, with the upper part of his body nearly copsing inside the thatched house. The scene was weird and terrifying. Even such an extremely daring person like Kou Zhong felt the chill. He followed one set of footprints toward an abandoned wastnd next to the vige. He saw two more dead bodies lying face down on the ground; on the surface, neither had any bruises. But when Kou Zhong wanted to make a more detailed examination, from about half a li to the southeast, there was an intense buzzing of metals shing against each other. Kou Zhong no longer had time to examine how these people lose their lives; he rushed at full speed toward the sound. Temporarily Xu Ziling withdrew his attention from Zheng Shiru on the other side; he did not have the heart to deceive this bold, passionate beauty. To him, whether it was ady from a wealthy family or from a pleasure house, she deserved his respect. Thereupon he calmly said, In my opinion, Hou Xiong is noting tonight. Just by obtaining a half C whether it was the top or the bottom part C of the Immortal Image Scroll was enough to give Hou Xibai a headache; how could he have spare time toe here, looking for the wind and ying with the moon? Ding! Ding! Dong! Dong! Qingxiu plucked a series of guzheng notes in stato, each one was jumping fast, just like torches being lit up one by one in the deepest, darkest wastnd. In the strange, difficult-to-understand loneliness, there was a hint of gurgling, flowing vitality and hope. The guzheng stopped abruptly. Letting out a faint sigh, Qingxiu said, This was a guzheng piece that Xibaiposed; he has left Chengdu for so long! When he came back, he did not even see me. Tell him, Qingxiu has been waiting for him in pain! Finished speaking, she left sadly. Even after she closed the door, Xu Ziling still felt as if his heart was crushed by a heavy stone. Qingxius longing toward Hou Xibai would only turn into disappointment, but having dreams and pursuits was better than having none. Back in Yangzhou, everything was much simpler; it only involved how to break away from Yan Laodas evil clutches to pursue some kind of lifestyle where they could be their own master. Now, although on the surface they seemed to have obtained it, yet the burden on their shoulders has only increased and not diminished at all. The past itself has be the heaviest burden. Thinking about Shi Feixuan, and then thinking about Shi Qingxuan, both women had made him feel at a loss. He could not help raising his cup and draining it in one gulp. There was the sound of footsteps again. Bang! The door was pushed open, a clump of rosy clouds, carrying a whiff of fragrant wind, rolled into the room. A thousand-tender, a hundred-charm beauty appeared. As soon as Xu Ziling saw her, he immediately felt something has turned really bad. Starting from the feet, Kou Zhong looked at Cui Jixius without-the-least-bit-of-life-force face. A chill seeped along his spine. Cui Jixius long sword was broken into two, both pieces were lying on the grass, but the body was actually hanging from a tree branch. Just like his men, there was no bruises on his entire body. Although Kou Zhong was unclear about how brilliant Cui Jixius martial art skill was, but his shenfa was at least of a martial art master level; otherwise, he would not have been able to run away to this ce in such a short period of time, and at least he was able to block the opponents attack one strike longer. It was only after witnessing the fact before his eyes that Kou Zhong deeply understood the saying there is a heaven beyond the heaven, there is person outside the person [idiom: in the wider world there are people more talented than oneself]. The timing of this person making his move appeared to hide a profound meaning; that is, the moment Kou Zhong was about to overtake the enemy, he wiped out the scattering enemies one by one. It was ruthless and fast. Kou Zhong had to admit that he himself did not have that kind of ability. Cui Jixius sword was hacked and broken by this terrifying experts sharp weapon. Although the weapon would stop the body upon contact, but it was the invisible qi power that invaded the enemys body and shocked and broke Cui Jixius heart meridian. Such martial art skill was indeed horrifying. Kou Zhong shook his head, inwardly called formidable, and walked away. The neer was precisely the Da Dangjia of Chuan Bang [Sichuan Gang] Fan Zhuos beautiful daughter Fan Caiqi. The colorful tight outfit that she was wearing making her looked even more like a peacock spreading its tail. Her feet were covered in small boots; the drum hanging on her waist the other night was reced by a saber. She stormed in front of Xu Ziling, whose scalp went numb. With one hand on her waist, the youthfulness shone on her pretty face, she was smiling wholeheartedly; her beautiful eyes were flickering under her long, pointy eyshes, she said, Turns out its the fellow surnamed Gong who lost his father the other night, but tonight came to San Hua Lou to fool around. Where the hell is that cheater who goes back on his word, Hou Xibai? It was only then did Xu Ziling remember that in order to get away that night, Hou Xibai made a promise toe to the Chuan Bangs headquarter to pay her a visit. Needless to say, Old Hou missed his appointment. Having failed to obtain the other half of the Immortal Image Scroll, perhaps Hou Xibai would forget even his own name; how could he have leisure time to perfunctorily mind this crafty and unruly woman? It was only now did he gain heartfelt understanding of the worries of showing passion everywhere; perhaps for Hou Xibai it was as sweet as syrup [idiom from Book of Songs: to endure hardship dly], but now it was up to him to bear it. Without any better option he forced a smile and said, Xiaodi is also looking for him. Miss Fan, please forgive me. Letting out a tender snort, Fan Caiqi said, Did you not ask him toe here to be merry? Up to this point you are still lying? Xu Zilings heart was still hanging on Zheng Shiru on the other side; he was groaning that he could not do two things at once like Ba Fenghan. Sighing, he said, Last time Xiaodi was not lying; rather, I was being tactful. Fan Da Xiaojie, please note clearly. Unexpectedly Fan Caiqi blurted out giggling tenderly. Taking a few steps back away from him, she sat down on the chair opposite his. Her elbow on the armrest, with her hand supporting her fragrant cheek, she smiled gracefully, and said, Although you, this man, have scary outward appearance, your voice and speech are actually very pleasant to hear. Ill take you as my captive for the time being. Unless Hou kid showing himself here, or perhaps you hand him over to me, you are not allowed to go anywhere. Taking advantage while she was speaking, Xu Ziling focused his attention on Zheng Shirus situation over on the other side. A song happened to finish; it looked like Zheng Shiru would be leaving soon. Xu Ziling hastily rose up to his full height. But before he had any chance to open his mouth, Fan Caiqi pulled her curved cavalry saber and swiftly put it on his neck; the momentum was abundant, the movement was deft and ruthless. Having taken a look at the brilliance of her saber technique, while he was under the limitation that he must not injure her, Xu Ziling knew that in order to get rid of her, he would have to go through a lot of trouble. Plus he would not be able to do it while he had to follow Zheng Shirus trail. And right this moment, he could not make any fighting noise. Hastily raising his hand to express his surrender, he sat back into the chair. Fan Caiqi brandished her de about a cun away in front of the tip of his nose as a show of force, before retreating back into her chair and sitting down. Immensely proud of herself, she said, Turns out your hands and feet are so disappointing. Just sit down nicely for me. Otherwise Ill make another scar on your thick face. Nujia is not kidding. Listening to Zheng Shirus footsteps gradually moving away, Xu Ziling could only sigh for his bad luck. Previously he thought his pleasure house luck has turned around, but now he realized that his pleasure house misfortune has not changed. His n for today was to wait for Zheng Shiru to leave some distance away, and then he would think of a way to get out, before thinking of what his next step would be. But this moment he could only stare at her helplessly. Suddenly Fan Caiqi knitted her pretty eyebrows lightly; leaning forward, she said, Why are you staring at me? Did something grow on my face that you need to look at horizontally and vertically? Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and spoke glibly, Da Xiaojie, please forgive Ol Gong for not apanying you. Fan Caiqis big beautiful eyes grew wide; she was about to make her move, when someone on the outside shouted, Hou Gongzis letter has arrived. Hearing the name Hou Gongzi, immediately Fan Caiqipletely forgot about Xu Ziling. Excited, she asked, Where is the letter? Xu Ziling mused that if he did not leave right now, what was he waiting for? Thereupon brushed past Wen Gu, who was there to deliver the letter, and swaggered out. Kou Zhong went back to the burned-down-until-the-wall-crumbling-the-roof-copsing vige. The battle has ended, the three pirate ships moored on the shore have fled far away as well. Ouyang Qians Li Liao warriors were just clearing up the mess. To avoid social niceties, he made a detour to go back to his small vige, to return to the little thatched cottage, and climbed up to the y bed andy down. The Li ethnic vigers who were fleeing to avoid disaster have not returned, and he was happy to be alone and enjoy the peace and quiet, but myriads of thoughts were surging through his mind. Who exactly killed Cui Jixiu and his men? This martial art master, who had not shown his face, had a hand that was as hard as Zhu Yuyans. The most baffling thing was that he seemed to show off to Kou Zhong; he rushed to be one step ahead of Kou Zhong to wipe out Cui Jixiu and the others, yet he did not seem to show any hostility toward Kou Zhong. He really had never thought that he would encounter such a strange thing in such a deste ce. In the south, other than the Heavenly Saber Song Que, who else would be as superior as this? Thinking back and forth, Kou Zhong fell asleep. He had just stepped out of San Hua Lous outer courtyard, someone shed out from the small alley, pulled Xu Ziling aside and said with augh, Ziling Xiong, how are you? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, With Hou Xiongs blessing, not so good. Did you see Zheng Shiru? Hou Xibai apologetically said, He was walking in great hurry, as if he was afraid someone might follow him. Come! This ce is too unpleasant; if we get entangled by that crafty and unruly girl, it will get even worse. Following him, Xu Ziling turned to the south and entered a small alley. They leaped onto a roof and flew from house to house. A momentter they came to the roof ridge of a magnificent building. Under the bright moon casting its light at an angle, all the trees inside the courtyard, surrounded by walls, cast long shadows on the ground. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, This is not like regr folks home; there is nontern and the fire is dark. Revealing a strange smile, Hou Xibai spoke in low voice, I dont even know myself why I took Ziling Xiong to this ce. This is the Li Familys shrine. Since I was young, I love toe here at night to think, but Ive never brought anybody else here; perhaps its because I consider you as a member of my circle of friends! Xu Ziling has already cast Zheng Shirus affair out of his mind;ughing, he said, Dont you have to study that half of the Immortal Image Scroll? Why did youe to San Hua Lou? Hou Xibai sat down on the roof ridge, and beckoned Xu Ziling to sit down as well. Sweeping his gaze around at the dots of light outside the Li Family shrine extending in all directions all the way to the city wall, he smiled wryly and said, It was because my head nearly burst open that I went to San Hua Lou to sniff the girls fragrance, hoping to get some spirited ideas. Ay! Xiaodi right now has a terrible headache, all sentences are only the lower halves; I seem to understand yet do not really understand, it seems to be clear, but it is not really clear. I just know that it is definitely Shi Shis handwriting. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Looking at the remaining scroll, isnt your esteemed masters Immortal Image Method using Buddhisms supreme gongfa to unify Bu Tian and Hua Jian, two different kinds of supreme xinfa into one? Full of admiration, Hou Xibai said, Ziling Xiong is extremely brilliant; although your guess did not hit the target, it did not miss too far either. Supposing Bu Tian and Hua Jians xinfa are two wheels, the Buddhism xinfa is precisely the axle connecting the wheels together; in this way, the carriage will be able to move. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Didnt you say that Hua Jian and Bu Tian, two Sects martial art are heading to two extremes? Using wheel analogy does not seem to be too appropriate, because in terms of structure and function, wheels have no differences. Hou Xibai solemnly said, This is the analogy that Shi Shi wrote in the scroll. Inherently, wheels are the same, but because of different position, they can be diametrically opposite things. Just like life and death; although on the surface they seem to be opposite of each other, the fact is that bothe from living beings, only one signifies the beginning, the other signifies the end; only then do they be opposites. Hua Jian Pai focuses on talking about opportunity to live, Bu Tian Pai puts emphasis on death qi. But if life is concealed within the death, and death is contained within the life, the two Sects can be unified, and the crucial point is precisely the image method that Shi Shi coted and examined carefully from Buddhism. Listening to this, Xu Zilings head grew big. He started to understand a little bit why after looking at it, Bi Xiuxins life force was reduced. Pushing this problem aside, he said, Looks like Xiaodi cannot help you in this matter, Hou Xiong must not force yourself either; I still have something to do. Hou Xibai resolutely said, It must have something to do with Zheng Shiru; I cant simply dismiss responsibility. If Ziling Xiong wont let me help, my heart will feel very ufortable. Xu Ziling hastily said, Hou Xiongs kind intention is already enough! Hou Xiong still has ... Cutting him off, Hou Xibai spoke with a smile on his face, If Ziling Xiong declined, you dont consider me a friend. Xu Ziling can pursue justice with no second thoughts in helping Hou Xibai seizing the Image Scroll, could it be that seeing you have something on your mind, Hou Xibai simply watches with folded arms? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I want to eliminate the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying. Does Hou Xiong think it is possible? What? Hou Xibai blurted out. Book 25 - 8 – Discussing With The Tiger While Scheming To Peel Its Skin Book 25 Chapter 8 C Discussing With The Tiger While Scheming To Peel Its Skin[1] Xu Ziling continued, Its very likely that Yin Gui Pai people will participate in this matter, so I absolutely will not confront Xi Ying face to face. Hou Xiong may set your heart at ease. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, How can I set my heart at ease? Xi Ying has always been ranked above An Long. This time he returned to the Central ins, clearly he has made a breakthrough in his demonic skill and does not fear Song Que anymore. Chasing away the Da Shi Temple monks is the same as publicly provoking Song Que for battle. Ziling, although you are extraordinarily brilliant, but to be frank with you, you are still a notch or two below An Long; forget about directly dealing with the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Thank you for Hou Xiongs concern, I have my own discretion. It would be a big help to me if Hou Xiong could understand the Immortal Image Method quicker than Yang Xuyan. Hou Xibai acted as if he did not hear him at all; muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Xi Ying and Zhu Yuyans rtionship has always been extremely distant, why would Yin Gui Pai dare to take the risk of offending Song Que by standing on Xi Yings side? Maybe Ziling misunderstood? Xu Ziling has never thought about this aspect, he only thought that all demonic school people were naturally on the same side. But now that Hou Xibai brought it up to his attention, his heart was moved, he said, Lets make a hypothesis first: supposing Lin Shihong is a Yin Gui Pai man, under his current situation, what would Lin Shihongs most brilliant strategy be? Shaken, Hou Xibai said, Naturally he wants to pacify the south, to seize control the cities north and south sides of the Yangtze River. At that time, even if the north is unified by some other power, he could expect to stand in north-south confrontation, each side upying half of the country. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Now I dare say with ny-percent confidence that Lin Shihong is a Yin Gui Pai man. If he could kill Song Que via Xi Yings hands, Lin Shihong could extend his evil clutches toward Lingnan. After seizing control over Song Familys wealth and resources, he could rapidly expand, taking advantage while everybody is preupied in going north, he would consolidate his power in the south. This is precisely the reason Yin Gui Pai cooperates with Xi Ying. Otherwise, why would they want to trouble-the-troops-dispatch-the-crowd by sending the Four Great Elders toe here? Hou Xibai nodded and said, Zilings analysis is very convincing. If Bian Bufu is one of the Four Great Elders, we might call on An Long for help. An Long? Xu Ziling blurted out. Hou Xibai said, Due to an old grudge of many years ago, those two cannot exist together. Bian Bufu created the Mo Xin Lianhuan [Demonic Heart/Center Chain (lit. connecting rings)]. The name is precisely in response to An Longs Tian Xin Lian Huan [Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky (different Lian)]. If An Long did not have any misgivings toward Zhu Yuyan, he would have killed Bian Bufu early on. Therefore, as long as he is dealing with Bian Bufu, An Long would forget everything else. Ha! I am just speaking casually, Ziling must not take it seriously. Xu Ziling said, I dont want to look for any helper. Hou Xibai turned serious as he cut him off, Even if Xi Ying dropped in on his own ord, I am afraid Ziling still do not have enough capability to kill him; therefore, this time I am not to be shirked without dishonor. Ziling, please tell me, what kind of brilliant n are you going to resort to lure him out? Xu Ziling hesitated inwardly. Yue Shans identity was his secret; letting Hou Xibai find out about it did not seem to be too appropriate. But looking at his earnest enthusiasm, he had a bit of cannot-bear-to-refuse feeling. Without any better option, he said, Originally I wanted to find out Yin Gui Pais elders whereabouts from Zheng Shiru, but this is just one way out of no-way. How about well meet again tomorrow to exchange information, and then well decide what our next action be? Frowning, Hou Xibai asked, What is the rtionship between Zheng Shiru and Yin Gui Pai? Xu Ziling replied in low voice, There is a hopelessly muddled rtionship between Zheng Shiru and Yin Gui Pai, but as for the details, please forgive me since it is inconvenient for me to say. Hou Xibai revealed a hint of bitter smile, but he did not pursue. After agreeing on the time and ce to meet, he quizzically asked, Ziling looks like you are hurrying somece; do you have an appointment? Xu Ziling suddenly remembered something; instead of answering, he asked, Do you have any information about You Niaojuan? Hou Xibai said, Other than me, I am afraid nobody can answer your question. He entered the city earlier than you did by no more than two sichen. Originally I did not know it was him either, but because all along I was watching An Long, I was guessing that it was him, the Going Against The Tide You Niaojuan. Xu Ziling suddenly understood. No wonder Hou Xibai knew An Longs situation like the back of his hand; turned out he had been monitoring An Longs movement, so that they were fortunate enough to save Cao Yinglongs life. Where could You Niaojuan be? he asked; while thinking that were it not because You Niaojuans injury has not healed, he might stand on An Long and Yang Xuyans side, and then perhaps Hou Xibai might not necessarily be able to obtain half of the Immortal Image Scroll. Hou Xibai said, You Niaojuans hiding ce is so secret that even An Long himself does not know. But he and An Long definitely will meet again; Ziling might be able to find him from An Long. After a short pause, heughed and said, Do you need Xiaodi to guide you? Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, How could I dare to inconvenience Hou Xiong? As long as Hou Xiong tell me where I can find An Long, I am already extremely grateful. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, I really dont understand why you always refuse my help? This moment, An Long might hide in Bie Yuan [lit. other courtyard] at the Jin Ma [golden horse] Lane in the northern part of the city to recuperate. That is one of An Longs secret nests. It was because I was following Zhu Meis tracks that I found out about that ce. And then he exined in details how to find Bie Yuan, and only then did Xu Ziling leave. Xu Ziling put on long robe, wore the Yue Shan mask, and after making sure that there was no w, he jumped down from the roof and strode forward with head high toward An Longs courtyard house and struck the ring doorknocker. The long robe was authentic Yue Shans garment given to him by Shi Qingxuan. Other than it could hide the difference in body shape between Yue Shans and his, it was also Yue Shans signature attire, which made it easier for people like An Long, who knew Yue Shan C to be convinced. In the scroll that Yue Shan left behind, he recounted his association with the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. Apart from Zhu Yuyan and Xi Ying, who had particrly profound gratitude and grudges with him, the others were just people that he only met a few times, with whom he only exchanged no more than a few words. This situation was naturally very beneficial to Xu Ziling in impersonating Yue Shan. In fact, during his life, Yue Shan was a very lonely and quiet person who did not like to talk. Creak! The courtyard door opened a little; a senile, thin and short old man with grey head and squinty eyes asked in astonishment, Who is Daye looking for? Letting out a cold humph, Xu Ziling reached out and pushed his palm against the mans face. Immediately the old mans eyes opened wide. While he was stepping back in shock, Xu Ziling stepped over the threshold, while also closing the door in passing. Laofu Yue Shan, he growled, Where is An Long hiding? Hearing Yue Shans name, the short old mans countenance changed. But before he had the opportunity to speak, An Longs voice came from the direction of the eastern wing, It is indeed Old Yue. Pleasee in! The short old man stepped aside with his hands hanging by his side. Without even looking at him with the corner of his eyes, Xu Ziling walked over, upright and unafraid, toward the east wing inrge strides. He said with augh, Is An Pangzi [Fat An] wondering how Ol Yue could find you here? An Longs voice, neither warm nor fiery, replied from the east wing, Whats so strange about it? As long as you are not dead, I have no doubt that you woulde to Chengdu to enjoy the festivities; and once you are in Chengdu, how could you not look for me, An Pangzi? I also have your other old friend here. He had just told me that you helped Shi Qingxuan in dealing with him! Xu Ziling cried inwardly, What a close call! In the scroll he left behind, Yue Shan referred to An Long as Fat An, but Xu Ziling was not sure if in the olden days Yue Shan really called An Long with this name, but now he knew had hit the nail on its head. The east wing was pitch-ck. By the time Xu Ziling entered the wings living room, two pairs of prating gaze fell on his face at the same time. What a coincidence! Xu Ziling nonchntly said, Which wind blew You Xiong to this ce? In the dark hall, the other person besides An Long was surprisingly the Going Against The Tide You Niaojuan. You Niaojuanughed eerily and said, Why does Yue Dao Bas [saber overbearing] voice be so hoarse and unpleasant to hear like this? Was it because during Huan Ri Da Fa training you suffered a setback? And where did your Ba Dao [overbearing saber] go? The other day I did not believe it was you. Were it not for An Pangzi told me that all along you were secretly in love with Bi Xiuxin, I would not have understood. Remaining calm, Xu Ziling sat down without any care in the chair by the window, opposite the two men; he said coldly, Old You, are you still holding grudges because Ol Yue wounded you the other day? Looking at how you did not make much progress, Ill say Zhu Yaofu [witch] is superior to you. That day in Luoyang, with just one look she knew that I have already abandoned my saber because I have mastered the Huan Ri Da Fa. As for why the tone of my voice changes, it would be best if Song Que answer this question. [1] Chapter title: idiom, meaning harmful to each others immediate interests and is difficult to achieve the goal (Baike Baidu) Both An Long and You Niaojuan were stunned. The former frowned and said, Since you, Old Yue, confirmed it with your own mouth, I dare to believe the rumor; but how could Zhu Hou [Empress Zhu] be willing to let you off? Throwing his head back, Xu Ziling let out a longughter and said, She did not have any confidence that she would be able to kill me, naturally she had to let me go. Could it be that she had a sudden outburst of virtuous intentions? There wille a day when I will make her regret deeply. Xu Ziling cleverly borrowed Zhu Yuyan to confirm Yue Shans identity. If Zhu Yuyan thought that he was Yue Shan, how could outsiders have any suspicion? You Niaojuan was Yin Gui Pais archenemy, hearing that, his attitude rxed considerably; he nodded his head, but did not say anything. An Long said, For thest few days I have been waiting respectfully for your honorable selfs arrival. Since hearing that Yue Xiong is returning to Jianghu, I knew that because of Xi Ying, Yue Xiong may rush over to Bashu; hence early on I already left secret mark around the city gate, and now finally Yue Xiong appears! Again Xu Ziling cried inwardly, What a close call! Originally he was thinking that he would have to find some good pretext to exin how he could find this ce; fortunately he had not said it. From this, it appeared that the real Yue Shan had a rather close rtionship with An long. You Niaojuan spoke heavily, How would Yue Xiong deal with Xi Ying? Instead of replying, Xu Ziling asked, I wonder if you gentlemen, Laoxiong [old chap] knew whether Zhu Yaonu and Xi Ying have formed an alliance? An Long and You Niaojuan were shaken at the same time. You Niaojuan shook his head and said, Thats impossible. Xi Ying and Zhu Yaopo [demonic grandmother] are like water and fire; how could they mingle together? Letting out a coldugh, Xu Ziling said, That was the thing of the past. Currently they have amon goal, which gives rise to another situation. Dont forget that there is also Bian Bufu whos acting as a go-between. This time, the manner in which he spoke was modeled on the words that Yue Shan left behind. Although he did not have a hundred-percent confidence, he had at least seventy, eighty-percent confidence; unless it was someone who had deep rtionship with Yue Shan, others should get the impression that he was indeed Yue Shan. Taken aback, An Long asked, What is the goal? His eyes welled up with deep hatred on the mention of Bian Bufus name. Xu Ziling indifferently replied, Song Que, of course. Is there anyone else? An Long was dubious. Zhu Hou and Song Que have always been like river water does not interfere with well water. How could she and Xi Ying suddenly do something with grievous consequences like that? Xu Ziling noticed a hint of eerie smile appearing on the corner of You Niaojuans mouth, his heart was moved, he said, Old You, dont y dumb! Dont tell me that you dont know Lin Shihongs background. You Niaojuan spoke resolutely, Zhu Yaopos crafty scheme can deceive others, but she cant conceal it from me, You Niaojuan. And then he turned to An Long and said, If I am guessing correctly, Lin Shihong ought to be Yunyu Shuang Xiu [cloud and rain double cultivation] Pi Shouxuans proud disciple. I have exchanged blows with Lin Shihong before; I am confident that I cant possibly make an error of judgment. And now that I received Yue Xiongs pointer, I am even more certain of it. Xu Ziling was convinced even more that this trip was not in vain; at least Lin Shihongs identity was verified by the mouth of the people from demonic school. He also cried, Lucky! inwardly, because it was the first time that he heard that Yin Gui Pai had such figure in their organization. If he talked big randomly, no doubt he would reveal the cloven hoof [i.e. unmask his true nature]. Showing a shocked expression, An Long was silent for quite a while, before saying to Xu Ziling, Old Yue, you came to me, An Pangzi, whats in it for me? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Bian Bufu is yours, Xi Ying is mine. What do you think? You Niaojuan spoke heavily, Ba Dao [overbearing saber] Yue Shan has always been a loner, why do you need a helper this time? Xu Ziling spoke slowly, Joined hands, we are strong; divided, we are weak. An Pangzi is Shi Zhixuans good brother, naturally you are a thorn in Yin Yaofus eyes. And due to Shengdi Sheli [holy emperor relics], Old You has tied unsolvable deep enmity with Zhu Yaofu. However, even if you are unwilling to participate directly, Ol Yue will never me you. All you need to do is just to reveal Xi Yings hiding ce to Ol Yue. You Niaojuan sighed dejectedly and said, The problem is not on me, but on the new offense that An Longmitted against Shi Zhixuan. Since he will be too busy to attend to this matter, he wont be in leisurely mood to take care of other matters. Just by listening to the tone of his voice, Xu Ziling knew that You Niaojuan has alsoe to plead with An Long to help him dealing with Yin Gui Pai people, but he was refused. Naturally Xu Ziling could not tell An Long that the one making the move at the Da Shi Temple was Shi Feixuan, and not Shi Zhixuan at all; he even had to pretend to be surprised and asked for the details. Naturally An Long would not tell Xu Ziling what really happened to him; frowning, he said, Old You, dont exaggerate. Come to think about it, it must be a case of seeing a bow reflected in a cup as a snake [idiom: overly fearful]. However, the person attacking me in the dark surely had an extremely brilliant skill. The reason I do not wish to be drawn into this matter is simply because of my deteriorating rtionship with Xie Hui, and I cant afford to have the not-to-be-trifled-with Zhu Hou to personallye to deal with me. The leaving monks unable to leave the Temple, many years of hard work in doing business may go down the drain, and you ... You Niaojuan impatiently cut him off, How can you choose to shrinking your head and take the beating? Now that we have Yue Ba [overbearing] joining us, it will increase our chance of sess. Who does not know that Yue Shans one word worth nine sacred tripods, and he had never broken faith by abandoning his promise? Greatly moved, An Long muttered to himself irresolutely, Of course I trust Old Yue, but you, You Niaojuan, have never been known as one who keep promises and value loyalty; so how could I dare to trust you? You Niaojuan blurted outughing and said, So thats how it is. But it seems like I have never deceived you, An Daye. What if I swear by demonic schools curse and make an oath? Shaking his head, An Long said, Still not enough. Xu Ziling and You Niaojuan looked at each other in astonishment. An Longs eyes shone with sharp light; he met Xu Zilings eyes, and spoke slowly, word-by-word, Except you, Old Yue, can prove that your Great Method of Changing the Sun can surpass Xi Yings Purple Cloud Heavenly Mesh. Only then will we have something to discuss. Suddenly it dawned on Xu Ziling. The fact was that early on An Long had openly offended Wanwan, so his desperate battle against Yin Gui Pai was already like an arrow leaving the bow. The momentum must be released, yet he was putting up a pretense that he was the virtuous person here, only wanted You Niaojuan to guarantee that he would fight to the end together with him, creating the situation where the emperor was not anxious, but the anxiety was driving the eunuch crazy. And Xu Ziling, this fake Yue Shan who had just dropped in, was a good helper. That was the reason he left secret markings that only the real Yue Shan would recognize, hoping that Yue Shan would find him here. As a result, the dream became real, An Long naturally wanted to go one step further by verifying clearly how much value would Yue Shan, who was just returning to the fray after a period of inactivity C bring to the table? An Long was indeed an old, good, tremendously cunning man! Laughing coldly, Xu Ziling said, Ill just sit here, Ill take your, LaoGes two moves of Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky, and well see! Stunned, You Niaojuan said, Old Yue, you must be joking! Even Zhu Yaofu and Shi Zhixuan will not dare to take An Longs Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky sitting down. Xu Ziling knew that he had brought suffering to himself. Relying on his understanding of the Luohan hand image, plus the Nine-character Incantation Hand Image taught by Reverend Zhen Yan, he had at least seventy, eighty-percent confidence that he could receive An Longs Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky. But if it were real fight with proper style, Lotus Ringbined with Lotus Step, there was great possibility that he might reveal his true identity. Therefore, he simply must take this risk. His heart was scared, but his face showed an air of arrogance brimming with confidence. If I dont do that, he spoke calmly, How could I show that Ol Yues Huan Ri Da Fa is definitely not inferior to Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin or Zhu Yaofus Tianmo Gong? He was well aware that the previous night, due to the wear and tear in his true power, An Long would not want to risk his life in desperatebat; at most he would only send out one move to start and the second move of Lotus Ring at the Center of the Sky to stop. Relying on his wonderfully effective recovery of his true qi, even if he received injury, he could pretend that nothing had happened, and then quietly restored his qi speedily. An Long also showed a hard-to-believe look; half-believing, half-doubting, he asked, Yue Xiong is sure you are going to receive it sitting down? Throwing his head back and roared inughter, Xu Ziling said, Come! When did Ol Yue ever say anything that did not count? An Long sprang out from his chair and shouted, In that case, Yue Xiong, watch out! Carrying out strange footwork, his fat hands folded like a lotus, in an instant he sent out three clumps of Lotus power, separately attacking Xu Zilings left and right jianjing [shoulder well] acupoints and his face. Hot qi filled the air. Book 25 - 9 – Heavenly Lord Xi Ying Book 25 Chapter 9 C Heavenly Lord Xi Ying As these three clumps of Lotus power was released in session, the strangest thing was that the first to be released was slow, but the subsequent was fast. By the time the attack reached Xu Zilings three vital acupoints, there was no distinction between earlier orter, they all stamped his body at the exact same time. Such a sessive qi-inducing power also quickly flowed from the heart; indeed it has reached perfection, fully worthy of others admiration. The moment just before the Lotus power reached Xu Zilings body, the scalding hot, ruthless and fierce, condensed and refined C true qi already attacked, like an inescapable enveloping Xu Ziling inside it; swift and severe, far exceeded Xu Zilings estimation. If this kind of scorching and fully devastating qi power invaded his body, the damage could be easily inferred. Regret at this moment was already toote. In this juncture between life and death, the Great Method of Changing the Sun from the scroll Yue Shan left behind, the Nine-Character Incantation Hand Image from Reverend Zhen Yan, along with the Death Hidden Within Life, Life Contained Within Death from Immortal Image Method that Hou Xibai told him, these three different kinds, plus the Buddhist Schools No-Upper xinfa pertaining to the carved image,bined with the five hundred Luohan images from the previous generations holy monk Kumarajiva, shed through Xu Zilings mind at the speed of lighting or sparks from the flint, and were fused together into one. In between the breathing, Xu Zilings two hands produced as series of poses, beginning with the fundamental motionless pose, to the Great Vajra Chakra pose, inside and outside Leo pose, outer bound and inner bound pose, wisdom first, Sun Chakra, and Aquarius [lit. precious/treasured vase/bottle, see Chapter 4]. While performing the pose, inwardly he recited the incantation [true statement], the mindpletely focused on it, the heart and the breathing independent of each other, the intent and the spirit in bnce, the innate true qi in his body originating from the Secret to Long Life and Jade Annulus of He n followed the pose and flowed along the Eight Extraordinary Channels and concentrated in different styles ording to the Three Meridians, Seven Chakras, forming clump after clump of true qi like blooming fresh flowers. Thest one was Motionless Vajra pose, which was also the shedding-ones-mortal-body-and-exchange-ones-bones general pose, which was the convergence of the shifting-the-sun-exchanging-the-moon of the Huan Ri Da Fa. Ten thousand thoughts became empty. Inside the no-man-no-self spirited emptiness, Xu Ziling felt like he was a mere spectator in the unboundednd that extended to infinity. This moment the three clumps of Lotus power simultaneously stamped his left and right jianjing [shoulder well] and meijianlun [ajna, the third eye chakra]. An Long and You Niaojuan went pale in shock; how could there be anybody who was stupid enough to receive Lotus power without blocking, without parrying? Xu Ziling threw his head back; his left and right shoulders rapidly shook. First, a scorching heat assaulted his face, which prompted him to throw his head backward; and then the Lotus power strike on his meijianlun changed from three-dimensional to nar, which slipped like a wave along the qi covering his face before dissipating away. Bang! Bang! After most of the other two clumps of Lotus power were neutralized, the remaining scorching hot qi power was still invading his acupoints and entering his meridians. This kind of unbearably burning pain nearly made Xu Ziling screamed. However, naturally he could not act this stupid and cowardly. Without any better option, his mouth spat out incantation, word-by-word he quickly shouted, Huan Ri Da Fa! The Motionless Vajra Image suddenly turned into Inner Bound, Outer Bound, two poses. The true qi was waging war in the meridian channels inside his body, the previously already-waiting-in-tight-disposition true qi met the invading Lotus power in a frontal assault, and neutralized itpletely right before the Lotus power invaded his internal organs. But the jianjing positions on both sides were already burning and grew numb. Watching this, both An Long and You Niaojuan were dumbfounded. To neutralize the Lotus power, You Niaojuan thought that he would be able to do; but he had to rely on some kind of palm, or fist, or other type of power method [gongfa], which had to be put into practice before the Lotus power reached his body. Meeting the attack head-on by just using his face was indeed inconceivable. And the ability to meet the Lotus power head-on was an even more universally shocking cultivation. Because they did not know that Xu Zilings real face was hidden behind a fake one, they saw how his face did not change its appearance while receiving these three clumps of Lotus power, inwardly they were shocked, and were even more dumbstruck. Actually, Xu Ziling was in so much pain that his face turned green and his lips white. If An Long were to send another clump of Lotus power, it was almost certain that he would die on the spot. After An Long and You Niaojuan looked at each other for a moment, the former dejectedly retreated and sat down, back into his chair. Heaving a deep sigh, he said, Huan Ri Da Fa is indeed not amon chord [idiom: outstanding]. In the past, when Yue Xiong and I were discussing the difficulties in training the Da Fa, you mentioned that you were unable to understand the real purpose of the Tianzhu hand gestures, but now evidently you have obtained their true essence. Please ept Xiaodis heartfelt admiration. You Niaojuans eyes flickered with admiration and jealousy as well; he sighed and interjected, Yue Ba discards the saber, but your power now triumphs over your power in the past; no wonder even I had to suffer big loss. An Long, this time you have nothing to say, right? Smiling wryly, An Long said, What more can I say? His voice was brimming with bitterness. It was only this moment that Xu Ziling was able to speak. Without having to pretend, his voice was already hoarse and unpleasant to hear. Taking a deep breath, he struggled hard to gradually recover from the excruciating paining from the jianjing acupoints on both sides of his shoulders. Where is Xi Ying? he spoke slowly. The first watch of the night [7-9 pm]. An Long lifted up the curtain of the carriage, and pointed to the San Hua Lou, resplendent in brightnterns. He said to Xu Ziling and You Niaojuan, This is Chengdus San Hua Lou; before tonight, that fellow Bian Bufu hase here twice, both times asking for thedy of the Hua family by name. Tonight he reserves a wing; what do you say we drop in to say hello to him? Frowning, You Niaojuan said, Is Xi Ying with him? An Long replied, Both times the previous nights Bian Bufu came alone; he even stayed the night until daybreak. Although in the past Xi Ying loved to hang out with that thief Bian Bufu with all the majesty of an emperor, but this time, when Song Que might arrive in Bashu any moment, how could Xi Ying dare to be reckless? Shaking his head, You Niaojuan said, An Pangzi, you only know one but dont know two; Ziqi Tian Luo [purple cloud heavenly mesh] is overbearing to the extreme point. One thing went wrong, the dog mighte back to devour its master. The higher the gongfa, the greater its need to be reconciled. Just like after killing people, I have to go to casino to wind down. If you dont believe me, ask Old Yue; who knew the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying better than he did? Laughing evilly, An Long said, You mean looking for a little young gentleman [i.e. male prostitute] to y with? Hearing that, You Niaojuan onlyughed lewdly, but did not say anything. Hearing that, all the hair on Xu Zilings body stood on its end, while also realized that he had no choice but to act better, and naturally he was even more afraid to say the wrong thing and thus revealing the cloven foot. If we go in, wont everything be clear? he spoke heavily. Remaining tranquil and calm, An Long said, If there is only Bian Bufu, one person, Old Yue, what are you going to do? Xu Ziling cursed him inwardly. An Longs move was extremely sinister. If he were the real Yue Shan, and he openly helped An Long dealing with Bian Bufu, it would be tantamount as formally dering war against Yin Gui Pai. While whether he could get rid of Xi Ying was still unknown, toward the real Yue Shan it would only be harmful without any benefit, and would only sink his feet deeper into the mire, andter on he had no choice but to stand on An Longs side. However, to the fake Yue Shan Xu Ziling, this matter would only bring benefit without any harm. Naturally he must not respond in a frank and straightforward manner, because it was absolutely not the subtle and reserved style of the real Yue Shan. Thereupon he let out a cold snort and said, At that time, we will change ording to the situation. Under your, An Pangzis Tianxin Lian Huan, his Moxin Lianhuan [demonic heart chain] is only a joke. Me and You Niaoer [birdy You] will make sure that no one else will interfere. Displeased, You Niaojuan said, I hate it the most when people are calling me You Niaoer; only Zhu Yaofu calls me that. How would Xu Ziling know that when Yue Shan wrote about You Niaoer in his scroll, it was actually started by Zhu Yuyan? He had no choice but to shut his mouth. An Longs eyes were shing with cruel, vicious, and malicious evil light; sticking out his tongue to lick his lip, he acted as if he was enjoying the taste of Bian Bufus blood, as he slowly said, All right! Two LaoGe watch out for Xiaodi; more than twenty years worth of debt will be settled in full tonight. And then he shouted at the old servant driving the carriage, Go to San Hua Lou! An Long was the first to step down from the carriage. Wen Gu personally led two maids to wee him, and fawned on him in every possible way, calling him An Laoban [boss An] this and An Laoban that. After casually introducing his twopanions, An Long pulled Wen Gu to the side and whispered in her ear for a while. Wen Gu led the way. An Long fell back to the two mens side and said with a bitterugh, Xi Ying is really here! Immediately You Niaojuans countenance changed. His belly was full of evil tricks; especially concerning An Long. He just wanted to drag Yue Shan down to deal with Yin Gui Pai, he had never thought that he would be in a head-on conflict against Xi Ying for real. Within the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of Demonic Way, the ones regarded as the foremost were, quite naturally, Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan. Next in rank were Mo Shi [demonic master/teacher] Zhao Deyan and Tian Jun [heavenly lord] Xi Ying. All these demonic people were utterly vicious, extremely evil, and definitely not to be trifled with. And now, although You Niaojuan pointed out the possibility of Xi Ying might show himself here, it was purely to mislead Xu Ziling, the fake Yue Shan, to fall into the trap. Who would have thought that he made an error in judgment and had to run into Xi Ying for real? This moment he could not withdraw midway, and could only sigh inwardly for his bad luck. Xu Ziling also did not know whether he ought to be excited or afraid; however, looking at An Longs smiling expression and You Niaojuans cowardly appearance, he could tell the Heavenly Lord Xi Yings prowess. Besides, Xi Ying should be aware that currently Chengdus martial art masters have gathered here, yet he still openly fool around at the pleasure house with Bian Bufu; evidently he felt secure in the knowledge that he had strong backing, so that he disregarded even Xie Hui, Shi Feixuan, and the others. He was wondering whether he was like a moth throwing itself into the me, overestimating his own capabilities? Steeling himself, Xu Ziling asked, Which room is he in? An Long replied, West wing, second floor, the fourth room on the northern extremity. Ours is two rooms down, the second room on the same wing. The first room is the Chuan Bangs [Sichuan Gang] Fan Zhuo and Ba Mengs [Sichuan Alliance] Monkey King Feng Zhen. In the third room are several younger generations of the famous and influential families in Chengdu. It is really lively tonight. You Niaojuan spoke in low voice, Did Fan Zhuo and Feng Zhen know that Bian Bufu and Xi Ying are in the room down the hall? An Long sighed and said, You think I am the worm in their belly? But Xu Ziling cursed him inwardly; An Long practically had made up his mind to deal with Bian Bufu, hence he knew which room to book. Otherwise, even if Wen Gu wanted to curry his favor, she could not possibly coincidentally arrange a room just separated by another room from Bian Bufus. This moment the three men were following Wen Gu climbing the stairs toward the second floor. Hardening his heart, Xu Ziling said, Let Ol Yue say hello to the two old friends first. Both An Long and You Niaojuan were from demonic school; since they were young they were ustomed to licking the blood from the saber de. When thingse to a head, they would automatically throw all apprehensions. They figured that if by using the ten-thousand-catty-thunderbolt tactic they were able to kill the two men in one move, it would be extremely ideal. Nodding his head, An Long said, It would be best to lure them to fight in the garden. This way it would be very difficult for other people to intervene. We will watch your back for you. It should be noted that such a famous-throughout-the-country brothel like San Hua Lou, if it was not owned by great figures of Wulin like Qiang Ba [spear overbearing] Fan Zuo or Hou Wang [monkey king] Feng Zhen, then they must be doing business under their protection. Supposing Xu Ziling disregarded the safety of thedies apanying them in the room by fighting inside the room, Fan Zhuo, Feng Zhen, and so on, definitely could not watch with folded arms, and thus they would tie an enmity with them. After the event, naturally Xu Ziling and You Niaojuan could simply pat their butt and steal away, but An Long, who had painstakingly put down his roots in Bashu, would gain two additional formidable opponents, who separately held leadership position of the Chuan Bang and Ba Meng C for no reason at all. If Xie Hui was added to the equation, how could An Long make a living in Bashu? Being a Jianghu veteran, You Niaojuan leaned close to An Long and said, Why dont you go say hello to Feng Zhen and the others first? They cant possibly have too good of an opinion on Xi Ying and Bian Bufu? Smiling wryly, An Long said, Too bad they dont have too good of an opinion on me either. Wen Gu just opened the door. With a smile on her face she weed them, saying, Three Da Laoban, pleasee in. Xu Ziling took a deep breath, and strode past Wen Gu toward the north wing. While Wen Gu was stunned, An Long pulled her by the waist, and took her into the room in his embrace. Focusing his power in his ears, immediately Xu Ziling was able to hear everything in the four rooms of the west wing. Recognizing Bian Bufusughter, he would be lying if he said that he was not nervous. The previous night, when he refused Shi Feixuans offer for assistance, and resolutely decided to go with single spear and horse [idiom: single-handedly] to deal with Xi Ying, he was actually letting his emotions affecting his decisions a little bit. However, recalling Ba Fenghans heroic passion and powerful air in challenging Qu Ao for battle, his heart felt relieved. If he did not put himself in that kind of nine deaths and still alive [idiom: narrow escape] situation, how could he make a breakthrough in the martial way? Xu Ziling stopped and stood in front of the north rooms door. Before he knocked on the door, a gentle and sweet-sounding, deep and low, pleasant to listen to C male voice came from inside the room, Which friend hase here? Inside the room suddenly grew so quiet that even the sound of falling pin could be heard, but the neighboring room seemed to grow warmer and noisier. Xu Ziling shivered inwardly. While walking here, he was certain that he did not make any sound, yet this person, who ought to be Xi Ying C was still able to sense his presence. From this, he knew how superior Xi Yings martial art skill was. Just as he was about to push the door, the door opened automatically; greeting him was a pair of severely fierce eyes, shing with demonic light. Xi Ying was wearing schr-style ck clothes from head to toe. He was tall and thin, his face looked refined in manner, his bearing elegant. There was a smile hanging on his fair-skinned, lean face, without any sign of excitement of seeing Yue Shan suddenly appeared before his eyes. Uninformed people might regard him as a weak middle-aged schr; but if they looked clearly at the pair of distinct eyes under his thick eyebrows, they would see the sinister and cruel, fierce rays of light. The pupil of his eyes even emitted a ring of purple light, eerie and terrifying. Bian Bufu was sitting on the other side; each man had their arm around a woman sitting on theirp, teasing and having fun with each other. Xu Zilings eyes swept pass Bian Bufu before returning to Xi Ying. With his hands behind his back, heughed coldly and said, Xi Ying, you are not dead yet? At first the two women thought that Xi and Bian, two mens old friend hase to visit, so their faces were full of smile; but when they looked clearly, they saw Yue Shans serious countenance and gloomy and cold expression, and then listened to his remark, which was brimming with challenging overtone, they knew it was not a peaceful situation. They were so frightened that they suddenly went quiet; their flowery countenance lost its color. In the adjacent room, the warm, noisy atmosphere subsided. Evidently they became aware of the unusual situation happening over here. Naturally there was no sounding from An Longs room either. And then, even Feng Zhen and Fan Zhuo, two men also ceased their conversation, so that the entire west wing was immediately filled with an unusually quiet atmosphere. Xi Yingughed calmly and said, Old Yue, didnt you say you wanted to see Xiaodi at the third watch of the night [11pm-1am]? And now you came like this disrupting Xiaodis keen interest; arent you being impatient to live a couple of sichen longer? Xu Ziling casually stepped into the room and walked straight toward the big window on Xi Yings left, to face the evening breeze, brimming with the taste of autumn. Gazing at the spacious wooded garden full of flowers and nts below, he smiled and said, Ol Yue is not impatient at all, rather, I have been painfully thinking about you. Since we parted forty years ago at Longxi [county in Dingxi, Gansu], I have had no opportunity to reminisce with Xi Xiong. This time we meet again, I just hope that Xi Xiongs Ziqi Tian Luo will not disappoint Ol Yue. Otherwise, Ol Yues Huan Ri Da Fa would have been mastered in vain! Bian Bufu shook his head and said with augh, Even though you, Yue Laoer [lit. old kid] mastered Huan Ri Da Fa, your dead character still has not changed; you only love to brag. Anybody knows that Huan Ri Da Fa is just a small ything of Tianzhus dissenting religious sect. Perhaps it could heal your injury, but because you always take vastly different approach in your walk, it would make your power decline substantially. Were it not for Zhangmen Shijie [martial art (older) sister, head of a sect] saw through this point, how could she let you leave Luoyang alive? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xi Ying lightly pped the girl, who was sitting on hisp, on her plump buttocks, indicating he wanted her to leave, before stretching his muscle and bones and said with augh, Remembering your, Old Yues painstaking effort, let me send you off tonight, so that you can meet your wife and child soon. Xu Ziling looked up at the night sky; a righteous indignation was welling up in his heart, out of sympathy toward the real Yue Shan. The little bit of trepidation in his heart vanished without any shadow, without any trace. Speaking about age, Yue Shan ought to be more than ten years Xi Yings senior. When he made his name, Xi Ying had just made his debut. Because his school was having a little bit of grudge against Yue Shan, he paid Yue Shan a visit and challenged him to a battle, and was barely defeated by just one move. Harboring resentment in his heart, unexpectedly he took the opportunity while Yue Shan was away from home to kill his family with brutal means, thereupon sowing deep enmity between them. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling slowly said, Tonight, if you dont die, then I perish. Let Ol Yue see whether your purple eye and fiery eyeballs heavenly mesh demonic skill have been trained so that you can preserve your two little lives. Before Xi Ying and Bian Bufu had any chance to retort, from the southern end of the wing came a deep and heroic voice, saying, This is untalented [me (humble)] Chuan Bangs Fan Zhuo. May I ask whether speaking over there are Yue Bazhu [overlord/hegemon, or simply overbearing master] Yue Shan and the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying Xianxiong [virtuous brother]? Another voice continued, The other friend, if Feng Zhen did not guess incorrectly, ought to be Bian Bufu, Bian Xiong? We are honored by your presence in Chengdu, but why didnt you say hello to us? At least let us do the honors to act as the host. Fan Zhuo and Feng Zhen were both awe-inspiringly-resounding-across-eight-directions-around-Bashu-Wulin names; but to Xi Ying and Bian Bufu, demonic schools martial art masters whose name shook the world, other than Xie Hui, they did not care about anybody else in Bashu. They just looked at each other, and broke into a disdainfulugh. Xu Ziling responded, Two gentlemens guess is not incorrect; please forgive Yue Shan for being rude, tonight is about personal gratitude and grudges, two gentlemen please stay out of it, Ol Yue will be extremely grateful. Letting out a cold sneer, Xi Ying said, Yue Laotou, since when did you be this polite and courteous? Fan Zhuos voiceughed coldly and said, Yue Bazhu, please dont worry, Bashu Wulin still have a little bit of patience left. An Longs voice rang out, Xi Xiong, Bian Xiong, how are you? Xiaodi An Long sincerely paying my respects. His countenance did not change, Bian Bufuughed aloud and said, Turns out An Long Dage also came to enjoy the excitement; you want to see with your own eyes the tragic end of our generation saber overbearing [Dao Ba] Yue Laoer? I thought you were shrinking back into your fat shell, like a turtle shrinking its head without saying a word. You Niaojuan has been stalling for time, and now, with his trademark gloomy voice and delicate breathing he responded, It is Bian Xiongs dead character that has not changed. This time Yue Xiong reentered the Jianghu, how could he without the slightest bit of confidence? Which one is boasting shamelessly, well find out as soon as you fight. Ha! Not only Bian Xiong is pitiful, you are ridiculous as well. The purple light in Xi Yings pair of eyes red out, but for the first time that night Bian Bufu revealed a grave expression. Pushing the trembling-in-fear-from-head-to-toe prettydy in his embrace away, he signaled Xi Ying with his eyes. Xi Ying slightly nodded his head. Looking at the standing-across-one-table-and-one-chair Yue Shan, who was looking outside the window, he spoke indifferently, Where does Yue Xiong want to fight? Throwing his head back, Xu Ziling let out a longughter, and leaped out of the window, andnded on a piece of grassynd in the middle of San Hua Luos garden. Xi Xiong, please! he spoke unhurriedly. Book 25 - 10 – Revitalization of Prestige Book 25 Chapter 10 C Revitalization of Prestige It was when the Heavenly Lord Xi Yingnded on the grass that Xu Ziling realized that Xi Ying was very tall, more than a cun taller than he was, plus his imposing manner was intimidating; with his two legs supporting him on the ground, there was quite a mountain-top, highest-peak bold and powerful imposing disposition, the gentle and weak schr impression was gone. The mysterious appearance with which he was standing was very peculiar; even though he was standing as steady as a mountain, there was also a strange impression that he might drift to a certain position at any time. On the scroll that Yue Shan left behind, there was a detailed reference about Xi Yings demonic schools brilliant skill of Purple Cloud Heavenly Mesh; otherwise Xu Ziling would not have known that when this demonic power has been sessfully mastered, the practitioner would appear to have purple eyes and fiery eyeballs. Purple Cloud [orig. purple qi] did not refer to the color of the true qi at all; rather, it referred to the skin pigment when the power was activated, hence it was called purple qi. The most formidable aspect of the Purple Cloud Heavenly Mesh was that when the power was at its peak, the released power was able to formyer uponyer ofs of qi all around the enemy like woven cloth, constricting the opponent like the fish in the, so that it would be difficult to escape death. If Xi Ying had really been able to train to the highest level where he could spread the ording to his wishes, then he would be the first person who mastered the Ziqi Tian Luo in nearly three hundred years. Although in the scroll that he left behind Yue Shan theorized on all kinds of method to defeat the Purple Cloud Heavenly Mesh, yet even he himself did not have any confidence that it would work; let alone when he and Xi Ying fought, Xi Yings Ziqi Tian Luo has not been mastered yet. Xu Ziling was sizing Xi Ying up; Xi Ying was also examining him carefully, by walking and stopping around him, increasing the threat and the pressure indefinitely. Practically Xu Ziling was not afraid Xi Ying would attack from behind. Relying on his spirited and acute senses, he would immediately feel it ande up with counterattack. On all four rooms of the west wing, the windows were full of shadows; nobody wanted to miss this life and death decisive battle between the top martial art masters of Jianghu. After twoplete circles, Xi Ying stopped right in front of Yue Shan, with a hint of disdainful smile leisurely escaping from the corner of his mouth. The purple light on his eyes growing stronger, yet the tone of his voice was surprisingly calm. Shaking his head and sighing, he said, Since Ol Xi made a breakthrough in the Ziqi Tian Luo, the number of those who can stand as my opponent really can be counted on ones fingers. Yet even though Ol Xi knew that Yue Xiong is still in the world of the living, Yue Xiong does not have enough qualifications to be ranked among them. However, a figure like Yue Xiong dropping by to give Ol Xi an opportunity to test my moves, Ol Xi is still extremely grateful. From the purple qi emitted by his eyes, Xu Ziling was able to confirm that Xi Yings internal energy was of amon origin, yet different from Zhu Yuyans Tianmo Da Fa [demonic great method]. When Tianmo Da Fa was executed, it would create a vacuum-like phenomenon. But Xi Yings Ziqi Tian Luo was just the opposite; with Xi Ying at the center, the qi power was swelling in wave motion, as if space was unceasingly expanding. Actually, when Xi Ying was circling twice around Xu Ziling, it was extremely deliberate. On one hand, he was feeling out the opponents real situation and seeking for any gap to exploit; on the other hand, he was luring the opponent to make the first move. Who would have thought that although Xu Ziling did not make any hand pose, in essence, the true qi within his body was already forming the Great Vajra Chakra pose; as steady as Mount Tai. Although he did neither attack nor defend, the fact was that he did not reveal the slightest amount of gap. Hearing Xi Ying said that, heughed hoarsely and said, Xi Xiong, you are arrogant and conceited, and that still hasnt changed. You need to take this move first before expressing your gratitude! Under the eyes of everybody upstairs looking down, Xu Ziling slowly raised his hand. He started with his five fingers open, and then slowly closing the hand into a fist. In a split second he created a condensing qi that rose violently like a river and mountain peak. Such martial art, not only it was never seen, it was never even heard of. For the first time that night Xi Ying showed a grave expression. Only he could understand that the opponents every move was targeted at the marvelous move of his Ziqi Tian Luo. Just now, when he was bragging that Yue Shan did not have qualifications to be his opponent, he was not being arrogant and conceited at all; rather, he intentionally wanted to provoke the usually hot-tempered and ruthless Yue Shan to make his move, so that he would fall into his trap. Purple Cloud Heavenly Mesh could bepared to weaving spider web using qi; whenever a prey bump into the web, the more it struggled, the tighter it would be entangled inside the web; it was weird and sinister to the extreme point. If the opponent grabbed the initiative by attacking first, Xi Ying might lure the opponent to have a free hand in violent attack, and then he would spit out a thread of power, using soft to control hard, until the opponent had his hands and feet bound, having power but unable to unleash it, and only then would he kill the enemy in one move. How could he know that Yue Shan, who seemed to be another person altogether, appeared to be able to see through his mind, so that in this one move he seemed to be on the offensive yet not exactly attacking, he seemed to be in the defensive, yet not exactly defending; he appeared to not using the least bit of amazing stroke, yet he made Xi Yingpletely lose the initiative, and momentarily was at a loss of how he ought to cope with it. Without any better option, he had to stay unmoving, waiting for a change. A hint of smile escaped from the corner of Xu Zilings mouth; suddenly he shouted, En garde! The fist closed. Like running water the true qi flowed through the thousand streams, a hundred rivers of the meridian and acupoints within his body, converging into a powerful current. Although he did not strike a pose of sending out a punch, an enormous, swift and fierce qi power unexpectedly shot out of his fist, heavily striking the strongest point on Xi Yings invisible, yet real C Heavenly Mesh qi; so urate that Xi Ying was extremely shocked. Upstairs, no one who watched this scene unfolded was not dumbfounded. Nobody could even imagine that Xu Ziling would be able to apply his energy and send out his power like this. His entire body was like a ten-thousand-catty boulder C formed entirely by true qi C that wasunched by a trebuchet. Bang! Qi power collided. Xi Yings entire body shook severely; he was pushed one step sideways. Xu Zilings upper body only swayed slightly, not because of his power surpassed Xi Yings, but because his power was concentrated on his fist, while Xi Yings power was distributed over arger areas, hence he gained the upper hand. Finally Xi Yings countenance changed, knowing that if he let Xu Ziling continued to take the initiative, in the end he would only fall into a one-sided situation where he could only take a beating. Letting out a sharp whistle, Xi Yings legs moved with strange footwork, while the purple cloud was starting to appear on his face; he drifted indeterminately several steps backward to snatch the position to the left of Xu Ziling. His right hand swiftly chopped. It looked like an ordinary, nothing special move, but everybody upstairs felt that his palm strength was as powerful as three armies storming together, carrying a no-one-can-resist potential. It did not matter who was blocking it, he could only momentarily withdraw. The more shocking thing happened to Xu Ziling; they saw him unexpectedly closing his eyes, and taking the palm by moving sideway, as if he already knew what would happen. His two palmsing together, all ten fingers made an exquisite, mysterious-beyond-humanprehension C movement, like a blossoming flower without yielding at all he met Xi Yings world-shaking palm chop one step ahead. The instant the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying evaded the fist by moving across, Xu Ziling was able to clearly grasp the movements and the shift in the central core of Xi Yings entire Heavenly Mesh Qi Net; thereupon he might as well close his eyes so that he would not be confused by his footwork, and meet this fierce-without-equal move head on. Boom! Xi Ying let out a stifled grunt and flew back, as if he was afraid that Xu Ziling might seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. Xu Ziling still had his upper body swayed backward, before returning to his original posture, which was as steady as Mount Tai. At the same time, he made a big decision. Just now he was using the Inner Bound and Outer Bound, two poses from the Jiu Zi Zhen Yan Shou Yin [nine-character incantation handprints]; first, it was to take Xi Yings qi power as is, which he channeled via his fingers and disperse it out. And then he fiercely used someones spear to attack his shield [idiom: turning a weapon against its owner, attributed to Han Feizi (c. 280 C 233 BC, Chinese philosopher of the Warring States period Chinese Legalist school], by piercing Xi Yings Heavenly Mesh Qi Net, which wasing to envelop his body. Even with his brilliance, Xi Yings only way out was to withdraw immediately. After retreating for about a zhang, Xi Ying stopped. His eyes shing with ominous glint, he spoke coldly, What kind of ghost school way was that? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Ziqi Tian Luo is nothing more than this; if your, Xi Yings, skill is limited to this, than this date next year will be the anniversary of your death. With a loud shout, he sent out a punch across the empty air. Upstairs, the crow and peacock made no sound; simply because until this moment, nobody was able to tell clearly which side had the upper hand. Seeing Xu Ziling took the initiative by sending out a punch, instead of rmed, Xi Ying was delighted. Lifting both arms high like a giant roc spreading its wings, his ten fingers spread out and then rapidly closing together, he wrapped his arms around his own chest, while at the same time he took quick steps forward to meet the powerful wind of Xu Zilings no-stronghold-he-could-not-ovee fist momentum; this move was extremely weird. Letting out a longughter, Xu Ziling said, You fell into the trap! Abruptly he pulled his fist back; the fist turned into a palm, the palm turned into fearless image. The qi power, in spiraling manner, was pulled back into the hollow of his palm, forming a vacuum simr to the Tianmo Gong. He stole this technique from Wanwan. That night at the Da Shi Temple, relying on Tianmo power, Wanwan not only made Yang Xuyan not daring to press his attack, she also seized the opportunity to pursue and attack An Long, storming at him so that he escaped in panic. But were it not for on the nk walkway the other night this jiejie [older sister] transmitted her power via his channels to deal with You Niaojuan, he would not be able to grasp the profound mystery within it. I feel bad for not finishing the battle, so Ill try to post the rest of the chapter tomorrow. Now with the true energy force field formed by his spiraling power, althoughpared to demonic-and-weird, exquisite-and-amazing Tianmo Da Fa C with its countless changes C was still a few notches inferior, it was actually just right, like the right medicine prescribed for a certain illness; it was just right to control Xi Yings full-forced strike. Xi Ying was just unleashing the Ziqi Tian Luo by utilizing both hands to weave thousands of fine threads crisscrossing each other to form the Tian Luo of qi, which he drew out toward the opponent. This formless not only could withstand the fist wind and palm power from the opponent, it could also receive and send energy from his core, which could change shape at any time. As he gathered his power in his arms, the Heavenly Mesh was pulled together into big and small qi power like wheels, striking horizontally across at Xu Ziling, with the intention of cutting apart the power of his punch, and giving Xu Ziling a heavy blow. Suddenly the Heavenly Mesh qi power became a void without any strength. But the one thing that shocked him the most was that unexpectedly the wheels of qi were unable to maintain their original state, because they were sucked by the powerful vortex of energy generated by the opponents palm image, so that the round wheels were pulled into ovals, and then into strips, which, in turn, were pouring down in torrents into the hollow of the opponents palm. Xi Yings soul flew away and scattered; hurriedly he pulled his power back, and his retreat this time was even more awkward than thest time. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, What a close call! If Xi Ying had not misunderstood his using Tianmo Gong and still used the original style without changing anything to meet Xu Zilings palm strike head on, based on Xi Yings demonic power level, which, by this time was still at least one notch above Xu Zilings, as well as that Xu Ziling did not know how to suck energy and borrow energy as he wished like Wanwan, Xu Ziling would have suffered big loss to some degree. Fortunately, Xi Ying was very cooperative; instead of advancing, he retreated. How could Xu Ziling be willing to miss this golden opportunity? Letting out a longughter, like a shadow-following-a-shadow, he followed Xi Ying closely behind to press down the attack. None of the spectators was able to see clearly, but anyone could see that instead of attacking, Xi Ying was retreating, and hence lost the initiative. Bang! After all, Xi Ying was a grandmaster of the demonic school; after retreating for a zhang or so, he swept back to attack Xu Ziling from the side. Bothbatants were using exquisite, abstruse technique in a desperate exchange of moves. The two men suddenly separated, so that once again they were standing face-to-face. The spectators nervously watching the battle found it difficult to breathe, all because each flutter of the two mens clothes, each brush of their sleeves, carried full strength, devastating qi power, ready for the next earth-shattering offensive. Xi Ying shouted sternly, I am afraid what Yue Xiong used just now is not Huan Ri Da Fa? Xu Zilingughed slyly and said, Actually, whatever skill, whatever method, please forgive Ol Yue since it is not convenience to divulge. May I ask, currently, how much confidence does Xi Xiong have that you will win? Upstairs, An Longughed heartily and said, Old Xi, no need to make an exception by telling the truth! You Niaojuan also let out a mocking, weird-soundingugh. Such battle oue was indeed greatly beyond the two mens expectation. Xu Ziling cried, Lucky! inwardly. Were it not for him taking risk by imitating Tianmo force field and was sessful, the result would be different. Instead of being angry, Xi Yingughed. His palms fluttered like butterfly passing through the flower, fantastically filling the air with palm shadows, along with the footwork stepping forward,pletely enshrouding Xu Ziling with hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earth attack, with gossamer of qi nketing the space within two zhang radius. It was powerful and overbearing to the extreme point. The skin of all the parts of his body exposed outside his clothes was imbued with purple qi, giving people stronger impression of the weird and magical character of his Tian Luo demonic skill. Although he was in perilous situation due to the opponents full-strength attack, Xu Zilings, whose hands were performing the motionless JinGang [Vajra] image C mind was approaching the see-through and quick-witted realms like the moon in the well, not moved by the opponent the slightest bit. The instant several strands of gossamer of qi attacking his body, he swiftly slid across, whileunching three palm chops and one fist strike onto an empty air. No matter how rich Xi Yings imagination was, he had never imagined that Xu Ziling would deal with his Ziqi Tian Luo with this kind of technique. Ziqi Tian Luos most formidable aspect was that the gossamer of true qi could go round to attack the enemy from any angle. Xu Zilings three palm chops seemed to hack down on totally unrted empty spaces, but they actually cut off his three streams of gossamer of energy. Thest punch actually rendered a heavy blow onto the strongest point of his palm momentum, entirely sealing his retreat path. Xi Ying suddenly realized that he could no longer understand the depth of the attainments of this old friend standing in front of his eyes. Formerly, Yue Shan has never been this creative, with improvised moves like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies like this. Bang! Vortex of energy shot out. Slow at first, but quickly bing fast, urately drilling its way into Xi Yings meridians. This move was even more beyond Xi Yings expectation. Immediately, because his hastily released Heavenly Mesh qi power was prated by Xu Ziling, it was difficult to concentrate the power on his palm to protect himself, his five viscera immediately received serious injury. Under the spectators unblinking gaze, Xi Ying staggered and fell back, his awe-inspiring authority immediately vanished. Xu Ziling inwardly cried, What a close call! He had already taken out all the skills that he had kept at the bottom of his trunk and had been giving it his all to deal with Xi Ying. His only unfair advantage was that the opponent only knew Yue Shan and did not know anything about Xu Ziling. The first one was Zhen Yan Shou Yin [true statement (incantation) hand image], followed by an imitation of the Tianmo Da Fa, Yijian Technique, and thest one was looking-a-cun-out-of-the-doorway Secret to Long Life and Jade Annulus of He ns spiraling-wonder-energys one move to subdue the enemy. If Xi Ying were able to neutralize it just like he did a moment ago, it would be Xu Ziling who would be receiving the beating. Then naturally the end would be much different. His spirit was greatly aroused, Xu Ziling pressed on the attack from all sides. For a period of time his fist power and palm wind permeated the battleground. Xi Ying, who had already lost the key moment, immediately fell into disadvantageous defensive position, where not only he was unable to unleash Tian Luo of qi, he must use thousand ways, a hundred ns to protect his own little life. In such a close-quarterbat situation, he had to passively ward off Xu Zilings seemingly-clumsy-but-was-actually-ingenious, not-leaving-any-traces, brimming-with-foresight-aggressiveness violent attacks and fierce strikes. None of the spectator was not moved. The sound of qi power shing against each other rang out incessantly. Enhancing the sinister nature of this battle was that the two shadows were alternately advancing and retreating in endless violent battle. Everybody watching was ovee with a feeling that their breathing could not flow freely. In this close-quarter hand-to-handbat, the two men had to use speed to defeat speed, to counter every move. Under this kind of circumstances, Xi Ying suffered more disadvantages. The problem was that Xu Zilings moves were basically without any specific palm techniques; every single move was unleashed in passing, created just in response to the situation. Plus his true qi was changeable, so that under this kind of attack, Xi Ying could only disy less than fifty-percent of Ziqi Tian Luos formidable power, hence he was unable to turn the tide. Boom! Two mens four palms collided, both men retreated backward, but their fierce gaze was tightly locked at each other. Bian Bufu thought that Xi Ying was going to snatch the initiative back. Good! he shouted loudly. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, How does Huan Ri Da Fa taste like? The pit of Xi Yings stomach suddenly moved up and down violently; he ferociously said, You are not ... How could Xu Ziling let him finish saying, You are not Yue Shan? His hand made Great Sun Chakra image, astonishing qi power sliced the air, promptly cutting off the rest of the sentence already hanging at the tip of Xi Yings tongue. Xi Ying roared and risking his life by blocking it with all his might. Bang! The shadows suddenly separated. Xu Ziling was back to his original ce, standing as steady as a lofty mountain. [Trantors note: y of words here. Yue Shan literally means highest peak mountain.] As if he was drunk, Xi Yings face turnedpletely scarlet, as he tumbled back and spun around. Those with superior eyesight could see his fatal injury, which came from Xu Zilings heavy kick on his lower abdomen. Bang! Another crashing noise came from upstairs. Bian Bufu broke the window and flew out; and just like that he fled in the direction of the courtyards wall. How could An Long and You Niaojuan be willing to let him go? They also shot out of the window to run after him. Xu Zilings pair of tiger-eyes was still fixed on Xi Ying; he did not dare to rx at all. Immediately he transferred his qi to treat his own internal injury, which could not be called light either. This nearly impossible thing was C after suffering untold hardships C finally aplished. There was a sudden rustling noise as two figures leaped down onto the garden, andpletely sealed Xi Yings escape route. Obviously they were afraid he still had some strength left. Without turning around, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, What advice does Feng Mengzhu [alliance leader] have for me? Feng Zhen came to his side and said with a smile, Yue Lao is too polite! Xiaodi just want to know whether Yue Lao will stay over in Chengdu for a couple more days. If so, would you give Xiaodi and Fan Xiong the honor to act as the host? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Two gentlemens kindness, Ol Yue appreciate it wholeheartedly! Its just that this person has never been good in social niceties; besides, I have another important matter to attend to. Please forgive me for failing to apany you. Finished speaking, he leaped over the wall and left. Book 25 - 11 – Touring the Three Gorges Book 25 Chapter 11 C Touring the Three Gorges By daybreak, the vigers fleeing the disaster gradually returned. Seeing their vige was safe and sound, everybody was ted. The Li ethnic young girl peeked through the window and saw Kou Zhong was having a good dream; she did not disturb him and let him stay in the dreand. Kou Zhong was actually awake; he was happy to enjoy the peaceful and quiet thatched hut, pondering over who might the martial art master who killed Cui Jixiu and the others be? There was amotion outside. Kou Zhong was startled; he sprang up and rushed out with the saber in his hand, and saw that everybody was starting to flee in confusion. With a frightened expression on her face, the young girl was running along with the other vigers toward the mountain area, while shouting at him, The pirates are back! While Kou Zhong was still bewildered over what was happening, the vigers have left until not a single one remaining. Kou Zhong wondered if they were Cui Jixius reinforcementing to invade the area. But then he thought that Ouyang Qians Li Liao warriors were still in the neighboring vige; they could not possibly let Lin Shihongs thief army get away with it. Thereupon he decided to go to the beach to take a look. Passing through a forest, the ocean ahead extended as far as the eye could see, under the bright sunlight filling the whole sky. Sure enough, he saw a ship cruising along the coastal area. Focusing his attention to look, Kou Zhong let out a shriek, and threw himself toward the beach, while at the same time letting out a long whistle. Surprisingly, it was Bu Tianzhis modified warship. By the time Kou Zhong jumped onto the deck, Bu Tianzhi hugged him fiercely, while the rest of their men surrounded the two with thunderous cheers. Laughing heartily, Kou Zhong asked, Are you all right? Everybody replied in chorus, We are all right! Grabbing his shoulder, Bu Tianzhi chuckled and said, Although we know those Gaoli people could not do something to Shao Shuai, we were anxious for two days and two nights. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is called the Heaven helped me. Were it not for that storm, which came just in time, to whom the deer falls [i.e. the victor] was yet to be seen. But now that Jin Zhengzongs multi-decked ship has turned to, at least, half dead deer, they must have been praying that Haishen Yeye [grandfather Emperor of the Sea] would bless and protect them. Everybody howled inughter; the atmosphere was zing. Kou Zhong raised his arm and shouted loudly, Brothers! We immediately depart for Lingnan. The crowd erupted in thunderous cheer. When Xu Ziling awoke, the morning sun was already three poles high. After going through full four sichen of regting his breathing, the injury due to the battle against Xi Ying has disappeared without any trace. His heart was overwhelmed with emotion. Since leaving Yangzhou and living a life as fugitives to the other end of the world, from two noisy, nameless kids, he and Kou Zhong have joined forces to assassinate Ren Shaoming, revealing their outstanding talent in the process, to the present day, where, in one-on-one duel, he made one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying give up his soul while nursing a grievance. As for the bizarre twists and turns in this matter, perhaps ten days and ten nights would not be enough to tell everything, not to mention it was difficult to exin. Last night, under pressure from Xi Ying, he fused and linked up all gongfa, especially during the final hand-to-hand closebat, he started with the Bloody Battle Ten Styles taught by Li Jing, and alternately used Tu Shufangs Severing Meridian Technique and Zhen Yans Handprints, to create strange moves. By the time the battle reached its peak, all the moves melted into one; where his mind went, his hand followed. This kind of carefree, pleasing and beautiful feeling, was extremely touching. This iparably hard-to-defeat opponent has enabled him to make an important breakthrough in the cultivation of the martial way. Suddenly remembering his appointment with Hou Xibai, he hastily took off his Yue Shan mask, put on his long robe, and incarnated into the Scar Face Guest Gong Chenchun. Leaving the rear courtyard of someones house where he had been hiding, he went to the appointed meeting ce at a restaurant on the Lower Lotus Pond Street. Most of the traveling merchants and tourists who came to Chengdu for the Mid-Autumn Festival have not left town, hence the city was still unusually flourishing. If Luoyang was called the melting pot city and county where the Han and non-Han people coexist, then Chengdu was themerce center where the Han people deal with all different ethnic groups. It was brimming with variety of ethnic groups local conditions and customs and distinguishing features, which increased the brisk vitality and the atmosphere of Chengdu. Hidden behind the scar-faced mask, naturally Xu Zilings sex appeal was reduced substantially, but due to his proud, tall and straight elegant body shape, he still attracted a few coquettish nces. But Xu Zilings mind was only on the thought about his immediate departure; after meeting his appointment with Hou Xibai, he already made up his mind to leave Sichuan immediately, and then let the events of thesest few days grow into an increasingly distant past. Shi Qingxuans seemingly passionate yet heartless toward him has rendered a big blow on his heart. When he was under pressure and facing threats, he was able to cast her aside and not think about her. But like right now, when his heart was not upied with other matters, inevitably it drifted to the scenes that recalled past memories, so much so that he was afraid he could not hold back from looking for her again, miserably trying to see if there might be a turn for the better. Shi Qingxuan was unlike Shi Feixuan, who, from the very beginning has already raised her banner of not setting foot into the passion between a man and a woman. Presently, the most moving moment for him was the breathtaking sensation when he had just arrived at Chengdu, where he caught a glimpse of her graceful figure under thentern light, the scene that was still lingering on his mind until now. He did not wish to be bothered by man-woman feeling anymore, and the only way was to go far away as quickly as possible. In Chengdu, there were many streets named after rivers,kes and bridges, like the one he was currently walking along, the Lower Lotus Pond Street. And then there was the one he passed through just now, the Princely Dyke Street, Bluestone Bridge Street, Arching-Back Bridge Street, Kings Belt Bridge Street, and so on. Upon reaching the street, one would know that very soon one would cross over the bridge with the same name; it was a very fascinating feeling. When the destination was in sight, Hou Xibais voice calling out from a small alley, Gong Xiong, over here! Following the voice, Xu Ziling entered the alley, and saw Hou Xibai looking like he had spring breeze across his face. Astonished, he asked, Has Hou Xiong made a breakthrough in the Bu Si Yin Fa? Hou Xibai warmly pulled his elbow to take him to the other side of the alley, saying, You could say that. Last night Xiaodi saw Feixuan; we chatted for the whole sichen, I benefited a lot, naturally my mood could not go wrong. Xu Ziling thought, So thats what happened, it looked like Shi Feixuan was pretty good to him. Smiling, he said, In that case, I should congratte Hou Xiong. Arent we going into the building [orig. lou, multi-story building; perhaps he was referring to San Hua Lou]? Frowning deeply, Hou Xibai said, Xiaodi was entangled by that crafty and unruly woman Fan Caiqi until I nearly lose my life; I will absolutely not show my face in public ce. Did Ziling know that Xi Ying is dead? Putting on an act, Xu Ziling blurted out, What? Exhaling slowly, Hou Xibai said, This could be the most sensational affair in Wulin for the past few years. Last night, the returning-to-the-fray-after-a-period-of-inactivity Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, under escort of An Long and You Niaojuan, broke Xi Yings Ziqi Tian Luo, and killed Xi Ying on the spot. ording to eyewitness, Yue Shans Huan Ri Da Fa was extremely brilliant; without moving a de he managed to take care Xi Ying, who considered himself unexcelled in the world. Ziling no longer need to have a headache in dealing with Xi Ying! Even with his simple character, hearing that, inwardly he was proud of his achievement. However, naturally on the surface he still put an act and did not show his bursting breast; on the contrary, he repeatedly inquired on what happened, until finally he took the opportunity to say, Xiaodi has nothing else to do in Chengdu, I want to leave immediately. Someday, if we are brought together by fate, I will drink and chat with Hou Xiong again. Stunned, Hou Xibai asked, Why does Ziling look like you are so anxious to leave? Why not stay a day or half a day longer? Its rare that I dont have anything important to do, let Xiaodi act as a guide to take Ziling to tour the Cong Hua Xi [lit. gurgling flower creek] in the western suburbs, to leave a beautiful memory before you go. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I am anxious to leave because of my appointment with Kou Zhong. Cutting him off, Hou Xibaiughed freely and easily, Since Ziling insist on leaving, let Xiaodi send you off then. You were entering Sichuan via the nk walkway going around the mountain, why not leaving Sichuan via the Three Gorges [of Yangtze River: Qutang, Wuxia, and Xiling Gorges]? Xiaodi will arrange everything. Xu Zilings heart was moved; the beauty of nature attracted him more than any other things, naturally he nodded his agreement. At dusk, the sailboat caught a tail wind, their speed doubled as they cross the South China Sea. Coming to Kou Zhongs side, who was standing on the bow, Bu Tianzhi said, Thend on the far right is Hepu County; the big ind on the left is Zhuya County, which is also Nanhai Pais [South (China) Sea Sect] base camp. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, No wonder people say that reading ten thousand scrolls of book is not as good as traveling ten thousand li of road; they also say that seeing something for oneself is better than hearing about it from others. It does not matter how well you guys described the scenery of Lingnan, it was not as good as the scene before my eyes right now. Hey! That kind of five-zhang tall trees, what are they called? The shape is very strange. Bu Tianzhi replied, Those are coconut trees, Zhuyas regional specialty. Evergreen across the four seasons, and the whole tree is a treasure. The trunk can be used to build houses, the fruits have abundant meat and plenty of juice, the shells can be made into various kinds of household utensils, they can even be used to resist the sea breeze. Gazing into the distance, Kou Zhong could only see coconut trees densely lining up the ind shore, tree shadows swaying in the wind, an expanse of thick green scenery, producing rustling noise from the breeze, in cadence with the sound of the wavespping the shore. Under the twilight sun, a few would doubt that it was the celestial scenery in the human world, an out-of-the-world peach garden of immortality. Close to shore were more than a dozen fishing boats in full sail, returning to port. Just by looking at how deep the hull was in the water, one would know that they were returning from a rewarding journey. Beneath the rippling, clear seawater were thousand-beauty-ten-thousand-shape colorful coral reefs. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that if he was not in a hurry, he would love to dive down to explore, which certainly would bring him endless delight. Overwhelmed with emotion, he sighed lightly and said, Looks like Ling Shao is smarter than me. There are so many good ces on earth more than enough to travel all my life, why would I want to painstakingly struggle over the world? With the qualifications of one with much experience, Bu Tianzhiughed and said, Sometimes Zhi Shu is also like you, feeling burnout; but in a sh that feeling would vanish without any trace. People need to y around and rest; Shao Shuai is too tired! Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, I was just making a casual remark! From Nanhai Pai, I remember a certain Huang Gongcuo. I seem to remember that the Zhangmen [headmaster] is a young and promising man; what was his name again? Bu Tianzhi replied, Its Mei Xun. This year he ought to be around twenty-seven, twenty-eight years old; an expert in using golden spear, the most famous martial art master of Lingnans new generation, he ranks barely second to Song Shidao. But his martial art skill is definitely not under Song Shidao. Its just that Song Ques fame for fighting prowess is too flourishing that Song Shidao, who is rted to him, is also considered a tad higher. Curious, Kou Zhong asked, Why did Nanhai Pai and the Song Family be enemies? Bu Tianzhi replied, This is called one mountain cannot hide two tigers. Nanhai Pai still has a little bit of influence to the coastal counties and towns. A bit deeper ind is the Song Familys world. Tell me, how could Nanhai Pai be willing to ept that? Greatly interested, Kou Zhong said, Since Song Que considers himself unexcelled in the world, why didnt he go to Zhuya, beat old fellow Huang until he begs for forgiveness? Wont that settle the issue? Bu Tianzhiughed involuntarily and said, Shao Shuais remark sounds like a na?ve big kid. Perhaps defeating Huang Gongcuo is not difficult for Song Que, but then he would be the-two-cannot-exist-together mortal enemy with Nanhai Pai; there wont be any benefit to either party. Therefore, it is still better to get along peacefully with each other. Kou Zhong asked, Where am I going to go ashore tonight? Bu Tianzhi replied, In two sichen, we are going to proceed into Qin River. Shao Shuai may go ashore at Zunhua, then continue north toward Yu River. After crossing the river, you will reach Yulin County. The Song Familys mountain city is in the western suburb of Yulin City. I have prepared a detailed map, Shao Shuai shouldnt have any difficulty in finding Song San Xiaojie [third miss]. Kou Zhong blurted outughing, Even Zhi Shu is teasing me! While Xu Ziling was sitting alone in a corner of the inns dining hall enjoying tea and getting some rest, Hou Xibai came back freely and easily. He sat down and cheerfully said, Luckily I did not disappoint you. Recently, because of the tense situation downstream, passenger ships and traveling merchants are not willing to go. Fortunately Xiaodi still have a bit of face; I went to call on the most popr Wu Jiang Bang [ck river gang]. Currently, only the passenger ships that they operate are not affected by the political situation. After evening meal, Xiaodi will take Ziling to board the ship. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Is it because Xiao Xian and Zhu Jies battle is getting intense? Hou Xibai sighed and said, Probably so! You should know better than me. Three days ago the two sides fought a hard battle on the river next to Badong. Zhu Jies entire navy died, and the loss on Xiao Xians side was also quite heavy. Secretly Xu Ziling guessed that most probably the warship on Xiao Xians side was under Yun Yuzhensmand. Thinking about this woman, a burst of hatred and disgust welled up in his heart, while he had to admit that he waspletely unable to understand her. All that she did in the past, what benefit might those things bring for her? Hou Xibai continued, Both Zhu Jie and Xiao Xian have sent their men to Bashu as lobbyist, hoping to, at least, have Bashus three major powers to remain neutral. Its just that the Li ns current prestige is like the sun in the middle of the sky, so whatever they say, I am afraid in the end their work will be to no avail. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Zhu Jies lobbyist ought to be Zhu Mei. Compared to Shi Feixuan, she is like fireflypared to the sun; what kind of oue could she possibly achieve? After calling the attendant and ordered some good food and drink, Hou Xibai hesitated for a moment before saying, The current situation is obvious. Those that can contend against the Li n in the struggle over the world, in term of strength there is Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and Liu Wuzhou, three parties. In term of personality, there is only one. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Why did you say that? Hou Xibai replied, It wasnt me, rather, it was Shi Feixuans analysis. The reason why the Li n is able to obtain their currently favorable situation ispletely due to Li Shimin being in charge of the overall situation. He is like the bright moon in the sky, the outstanding heroes [or warlords vying for supremacy] under the heavens are just the dots of starlight in the background. Although Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and Liu Wuzhou, three sides have enough power to contend against him, but in the end, they cannotpare against Li Shimin in terms of political and military affairs, and will be defeated. Dou Jiande and Liu Wuzhou are a bit better. The former has Liu Heita, thetter has Song JinGang, both are valiant military leaders with all-around wisdom and bravery. Wang Shichong does have famous generals, but he does not know how to use them. He should be defeated the soonest, the fastest. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This, I understand; but in term of personality there is only one, who are you referring to? After staring at him for half a day, Hou Xibai spoke in heavy voice, The one Feixuan was referring to, other than your good brother Kou Zhong, who else could it be? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Dont you think Shi Feixuan thinks too highly of that kid? Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, Feixuan wont casuallypliment just anybody. Both politics and military affairs, two aspects, are Li Shimins strong points. He is open-minded, generous in spirit, and has deep understanding on how to utilize people; a rarity since ancient times. And the only person who can strive against him is Kou Zhong. Were it not for Ziling having no intention of vying over the world, but with all your might you are helping Kou Zhong, I am afraid Li Shimin will end up nursing a grievance. Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, Hou Xiong must not tter us too much; the two of us just happen to be present at the right time! Looking at the current situation, we practically cannot have any aplishment. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Frankly, at that time my response to Shi Feixuans high assessment toward Kou Zhong was simr to yours; she was only smiling, but did not say anything. Obviously she has strong conviction of her own opinion. Xu Ziling pondered for a moment, and then asked, Can I ask Hou Xiong a personal question? Hou Xibai calmly replied, Ziling, please speak forthrightly; I really consider you as a close friend. Meeting his gaze, Xu Ziling slowly said, In your capacity as the direct disciple and heir of Hua Jian Pai, what expectation does your esteemed master have over you? In any case, it couldnt be just for the intoxicating song and wonderful dance, and consideration fordys chamber and passion, a life of wine-jar first and flowers next, could it? Laughing in spite of himself, Hou Xibai said, Ziling must notugh at me, because I am extremely in admiration and am engrossed in this kind of lifestyle. However, my pursuit is not the outer beauty of things, rather, it is the charm, grace and personality traits. Only by this will the outside and inside be identical, and will bring out the best in each other. By making that remark, Ziling is hinting that you doubt Xiaodis motive. With my character, I usually did not see any need to exin, but Ziling is an exception. Ay! I dont know how to say it. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, If it is to embarrassing to mention, then you dont have to answer. Smiling ruefully, Hou Xibai said, Shi Shis only expectation on me ought to be the unification of Demonic Schools Two Sects Six Ways, to return the six volumes of the Tian Mo Ce [demonic policy] back into one. Tell me, under current circumstances, do you think its impossible? Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Both Hou Xiong and Cao Yinglong mentioned that there are only six volumes of Tian Mo Ce; but Shi Feixuan said that Tian Mo Ce has ten volumes in total; why is that? Hou Xibai replied, Tian Mo Ce originally had ten volumes, but what we inherit today are only six volumes. The food and wine arrived. The two toasted each other. Xu Ziling still did not understand, Since Hou Xiong is a demonic school disciple, how could there be so much difference with the other demonic school people? To say the least, you and Yang Xuyan are two different kind of people. Hou Xibai grabbed a mantou [steamed bun] and handed it over to Xu Ziling, saying, I am afraid it is a bit rted to nature and nurture. Although my character and my conduct are straightforward, but because I take pleasure in various arts, like painting, for example, I have no ambition toward power, riches and honor. In fact, this is also Hua Jian Pais tradition: the pursuit of self-improvement, not to drift with the waves and go with the flow. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, In that case, why was Hua Jian Pai considered to be heretical and demonic way? A hint of helpless smile escaped from the corner of Hou Xibais mouth; he answered calmly, First of all, Hua Jian Pais martial art originated from the Tian Mo Ce; this is an undeniable fact, nobody can say otherwise. Secondly, because Hua Jian Pais xinfa emphasizes entering passion before getting out of passion, only then one would surpass the true meaning of attitude of the heart and grasping the passion. To a lot of people, this is precisely one hundred percent heretical and strange behavior. Xu Ziling nodded and said, It is indeed very difficult for people to ept. If Hou Xiong appeared publicly as Wuqing Gongzi [pitiless C no passion, prince (reminder: Hou Xibais nickname was Duoqing Gongzi, which literally means young master with lots of passion)], others couldnt say anything instead. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Our Sects xinfa is extremely subtle; it is rare that once Ziling hear it, you understand immediately. The reason why Shi Shi, using a thousand ways, a hundred ns, created the Immortal Image method was precisely to make a breakthrough in Hua Jian Pais xinfa. Otherwise, because of Bi Xiuxin, he would never be able to advance and pry into the demonic school way, he could only obtain it partially, but not wholly. His heart was moved, Xu Ziling asked, Hou Xiong is unable to paint Shi Feixuan on your fan, was it also because of entering passion, but unable to get out of passion? Shaken, Hou Xibai said, Finally Ziling could see through it. Our humble Sect wants to wander about unhurriedly among the blossoms [reminder: Hua Jian literally means among the flowers], aiming to be free and at leisure, to be passionate as well as without passion. Once the passion is made known, it can be covered for the sake of passion, it can take advantage of the demonic way for the sake of the heart. Therefore, although I could obtain only half of the Immortal Image Scroll, it is of a great significance for me. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Time is running out! Let Xiaodi toast Hou Xiong with a cup. Book 25 - 12 – Fated Encounter Book 25 Chapter 12 C Fated Encounter By the time they reached the pier, there were already several dozens of men, women, young and old waiting to board the ship. Xu ZIling still maintained his Scar-faced Guest Gong Chenchun identity to avoid unnecessary trouble. Knowing that Xu Ziling did not like publicity, Hou Xibai said, Xiaodi will only send Ziling off thus far; Ziling only need to give your name to the Wu Jiang Bang people onboard, then you wont have to worry about anything else. Xiaodi already paid the fare, everything has been arranged properly. Xu Ziling asked in passing, How could Wu Jiang Bang have so much face? Hou Xibai replied, Wu Jiang Bangs Sha Laoda [big boss] has more than ten years history of doing business around the Three Gorges, transporting people and goods, his credibility is outstanding. Because of its long history with Baling Bang, also because they are in charge of buying provision and arranging payments, as well as transporting the goods for Xiao Xian, they are getting on well with each other. Ziling can rest assured. So thats how it is, Xu Ziling said, No wonder such a big ship only has twenty, thirty passengers. Transporting cargo ought to be their main business, and the passengers are only secondary business? Hou Xibaiughed and said, But the real money actuallyes from the passengers. Knowing that the situation may change at any moment, they only have fifteen cabins. If not a well-off passenger, it is impossible to get a bed. I went to talk directly to Sha Laoda, only then was I able to make this arrangement for Ziling. Patting Hou Xibais shoulder, Xu Ziling said, Thank you very much Hou Xiong for making this arrangement, Xiaodi is leaving! Reluctant to part, Hou Xibai said, Were it not for Xiaodi unexpectedly must train in secret C to delve into the xinfa on the Immortal Image Scroll, I would definitely apany Ziling touring the Three Gorges. Ziling, please take a good care of yourself. Xu Ziling shook hands with Hou Xibai to bid him farewell, and then walked over to the pier. The passengers have just started boarding the ship. Xu Ziling was at the end of the line. When he looked back, Hou Xibai has already disappeared without any trace. Since leaving Yangzhou, this was the first time he took long-distance passenger ship. It was a novel and fascinating feeling. What he did not understand the most was why must they sail at night? It carried some kind of fleeing from cmity impression. Under the flickering windntern, the river water appeared to be an expanse of darkness, all he could hear was the sound of the water beating against the hull andpping the shore. The dock and the city were separated by a wooded area, all he could see was faint dots of light on the other side of the forest; it looked as if it was another world altogether. Other than the Wu Jiang Bangs passenger and cargo ships, moored upstream of the river were several dozen sailboats, big and small. This moment those boats were dark without any light. On such a big dock, theirs was the only ship showing any activities, with several dozen of big men continuously taking goods from the covered shed and carrying it to the ship. The four big men in tight warrior outfits in charge of receiving the passengers were quite polite and courteous; they even helped carrying the passengers heavy luggage on board. In front of Xu Ziling was a small family of three. The man appeared to be a schr; the woman was beautiful and dignified. Both husband and wife seemed to be in their twenties, with the boy looked to be around four, five years old. Seeing Xu Zilings scarred face, apparently they were a bit wary, so much so that they forbade the boy to look back at him. Most of the other passengers were dressed like traveling merchants, in groups of three or four. Only about five or six people appeared to be Jianghu people. When Xu Ziling came on board and gave his name, the Wu Jiang Bang man was even more courteous; he even shouted, Chief! Gong Ye is here! The woman ahead of him could not resist her curiosity; she looked back to cast him a nce. Xu Ziling nodded at her and smiled. Unexpectedly it frightened her even more that she hung down her head in panic and hurriedly walked up the deck. Xu Ziling was ustomed to mingle around in Jianghu. He immediately thought that this family of three must be in trouble; otherwise, they would not be like a bird startled at the twang of a bow like this. He could not help secretly elevating his vignce. Arriving on the deck, a short and stout man greeted him, Gong Ye, how are you, Senior? Xiaoren Lin Lang, the Xiangzhu [fragrant master] of Wu Jiang Bangs Meihua Tang [plum blossom hall]. Sha Laoda already instructed us not to neglect hospitality toward Gong Ye. Pleasee this way. Xu Ziling really wanted to tell him not to be overly courteous toward him, but realized that it would not work. Toward such a celebrity martial art master whose name was known throughout the country like Hou Xibai, naturally local gangs and societies would do their best to curry favor from him, to win a big favor from him, so that when something happened in the future, Hou Xibai would stand up for them. The ship was sturdy and spacious; the hold was divided into three decks, unexpectedly Xu Ziling got a single-upancy cabin, which was beyond his expectation. After some chitchats and good wishes, Lin Lang left. Xu Ziling walked over toward the window to look out; the goods from the shed have beenpletely transferred to the ship. Myriads of thoughts burst in his heart. Bashu was certainly a very special ce for him, yet he just wanted to leave as soon as possible, so that everything that happened here could be forgotten. The main reason was Shi Qingxuan, a woman who, in certain instant C was able to move him into revealing his true feeling. In the end Xi Ying was killed singlehandedly by him; what would she, or perhaps Shi Feixuan, think? The hull shuddered, the anchor was raised and the ship started to sail. Suddenly there was a thunderous sound of hoof beats. More than dozen riders swept through the forest like a tornado, rushing toward the dock. The riders called out loudly to stop the boat. Obviously Wu Jiang Bang men did not know who these people were; they put the punting poles out and pushed the boat faster off the shore. They sailed downstream following the current. At first they could still see the group of riders giving chase along the shore, but in the blink of an eye the ship has left them far away behind. Xu Ziling has not had a good sleep for more than ten days. He went to the bed and copsed, and was immediately entering thend of dreams. In the morning light, all around them strange mountain peaks, with dangerous ridges and lofty peaks, as if they were pared by a hatchet C stood in great numbers. Layered rocks and piles of stones were heavy in bluish-green color; beautifulndscape appeared one after another. Although watching all these Kou Zhong was gasping in amazement, he knew that he had lost his way; he could not find his way toward Yulin County. Otherwise, after rushing about all through the night, it was impossible for him not to find even a shadow of a single official road. In thisyer uponyer of mountains and ovepping rivers, among the towering mountains and precipitous ridges, finding man-made road was not an easy thing to do. Originally he was heading west on the northern bank along the Yu River, who would have thought that mountains and streams were in the way? He thought about making a detour to continue, but after making a few turns he came to this ahead no vige was to be seen, behind there was no ce with any people on it ce. Exasperated, Kou Zhong thought he might as well climb one of the peaks. This peak towered above the range of hills. Climbing halfway, he was already enveloped by clouds and mist. There was a stream meandering among the strange-looking rocks and unusual trees. When he reached the peak, he looked to the west, and saw a fortified vige about ten li away, hidden among the mountain ranges covered by the trees. There was a longwinded stone path leading to the main gate of the stronghold. There were also terraced rice fields, where the water reflected the light like luster of gems. It was already the end of autumn, the beginning of winter. The forest leaves had turned golden yellow. Surrounded by the mountain and embraced by the river, there was an out-of-the-world, stand-alone, oblivious-of-human-world C feeling about the vige. Watching all these, Kou Zhongs thoughts wandered far away, thinking to himself that if he did not have important matter to attend to, it would be extremely enjoyable if he could stay here for ten days or half a month. But thinking about Song Yuzhi, his hesitation was gone; he quickly rushed toward the fortified vige. Sailing downstream following the current to the east, in just one night they already passed Meishan, Jianwei, and Luchuan, three counties. After eating breakfast provided by the ship, Xu Ziling went to the bow and stood facing the wind, enjoying the beautiful scenery along the river. On this section of the river, the water was deep, the current swift, and the tide was surging. Overhanging cliffs stood opposite of each other on both sides; arduous, high and steep. Following the torrential current, the sailboat carried a flowing-out-swiftly-for-thousand-li momentum. Seeing all these, Xu Zilings heart yearned, his spirit raced; he felt deeply that the trip has not been made in vain, so he was even more grateful to Hou Xibai for this good suggestion, thinking that if Kou Zhong were here, chatting and joking with him, it would be even more free and pleasing. He could not help thinking about Shi Feixuan apanying Hou Xibai touring the Three Gorges as well, momentarily a hundred different emotions running through his heart. While he was still deep in thought, Lin Lang came over and said, By noon today, we will pass through Ba County. From Ba County to Badong, the section of the river is even more strategic; if we get tailwind, by nightfall tomorrow we are going to reach Zheng County, where we are going to stop over for one night. Over there, they have numerous shrines; if Gong Ye is interested, you may want to go into the city to take a look around. Xu Ziling asked, When are we going to enter the Gorges? Lin Lang replied, After Baidi City, probably about a sichenter will be the mouth of the gorge. For us who are used to seeing it, its nothing, but if this is the first time Gong Ye tours the gorge, that kind of towering mountain peaks sping the river in between with steep terrain might make Gong Ye sigh pretty darn good. Xu Ziling was extremely interested; Chang Jiang [Yangtze] was like a jade belt of vast water forest, extending into the peaks of the mountain range. Nodding, he said, Before entering the gorge, the scenery is already this spectacr; after entering the gorge, naturally it will be even more worth seeing. Appearing to be casual, Lin Lang asked, Last night, those people who chased after us demanding to stop the boat, did Gong Ye recognize them? Xu Ziling was well aware that this was the real purpose of himing to speak to him; shaking his head, he said, It has nothing to do with me. Does Lin Xiangzhu know which side those people belong to? Doubtful, Lin Lang replied, Xiaoren is unclear of their identity, hence I came to inquire of Gong Ye. In that case, it may be rted to other guests on board. Gong Ye need not take it to heart. After some more pleasantries, Lin Lang took his leave to go back to his job. But the image of those young couple and the little boy floated in Xu Zilings heart. If those riders persevered by taking a boat to continue their relentless pursuit on their tail, then something might happen during their stop over at Zheng County tomorrow night. Thinking to this point, he heard the pitter-patter of footsteps from behind him. Xu Ziling looked back, and saw the little boy skipping over toward him. Hastily he reached out to catch him. Frowning, he said, Child, how could you rush around randomly on the boat? The child had red lips and white teeth, his features delicate; he was extremely refined and cute. Acting like a spoiled kid, he said, Bobo [uncle, older than ones dad] pick me up, Jieer wants to see. Sweeping his gaze around, Xu Ziling was surprised not to see the childs parents. Thinking about little Lingzhong, his heart was filled with infinite tenderness. Picking him up, he spoke softly, There, can you see now? Little Jies big eyes, which ck and white were distinct, without the least bit of contamination of grownups muddy aura C sparkled brightly as he looked around, full of curiosity. Xu Zilings emotion was stirred. Only a little child, with his inquisitive mind and his power of mental association C would be able to see things with purity and innocence like the heart of a newborn; full of passion, and full of desire. Although Xu Ziling could see with his spirit, but in his heart different thoughts were surging, his mind was full of the adult worlds matter, brimming with disturbing gains and losses, far inferior to Little Jies pure and unadulterated focus and intentions. Light footsteps entered his ears. Inwardly Xu Ziling shivered slightly. This was the sound of footsteps of a woman who knew martial art. Sure enough, the pretty young mother came behind him and chided, Jieer, how could you be so disobedient and bother this Dashu [big uncle (younger than ones dad)]! Xu Ziling put Little Jie, who did not want to let off easily, down on the deck, before turning around to meet the young mother face-to-face. Stooping down slightly, she picked Little Jie up, hung down her head to avert his gaze, and spoke in low voice, I am so sorry, Jieer has bothered Dashu! Xu Ziling smiled and said, Dont worry about it! Carried in his mothers bosom, as they walked away, Little Jie was still grinning while waving his little hand to him. Right this instant, Xu Ziling made a firm resolution that if Little Jie and his parents were in danger, he would definitely not watch with folded arms. The closer he was to the fortified vige, the more Kou Zhong felt this ces fascinating scenery, its strange beauty and serenity. A stream of river flowed from the northwest, winding its way through the middle of the fortified vige, and continued to the southeast. The stockade consisted of long buildings with shingle siding scattered around on both sides of the stream in clusters of four to six houses. The houses located at the edge of the water or on the slope had their foundation supported by wooden pirs, forming some kind of tform, so that it looked like the house had hanging feet; very distinctive. The smaller stockaded vige had more than a dozen households, the bigger ones had more than a hundred households; some were hidden among the trees, some were built on the cliff at higher elevation, with small path crisscrossing among the buildings. He had not entered the vige yet, the dogs were already barking. A group of about a dozen Li Liao women was sitting in a circle at the entrance to the vige, chatting idly while doing their embroidery work. Seeing a stranger came, they all showed alert expression. The bell rang. After his past experience, Kou Zhong did not dare to rashly enter the vige. He stopped and raised his voice to call out, Anybody speak Han? I just want to ask for directions! Greeting him was nearly a dozen of vicious dogs, big and small, rushing toward him, but stopped at approximately a zhang away from him, while continuing to bark furiously; fortunately the dogs did not pounce straight at him. Maybe the men of the vige were out hunting, but other than the women at the mouth of the vige, he only saw old men and young children. Everybody was looking and pointing at him, as if he was some kind of a freak; obviously no one understood his words. Thinking that entering the vige would not bring any result, but would provoke unnecessary misunderstanding instead, Kou Zhong felt that perhaps it would be better for him to rely on his own natural senses of geographical acuity to find his way. He was just turning around, ready to leave, when a pleasant female voice rang out behind him, Kou Zhong! What are you doing here? Shaken, Kou Zhong turned back. He could not believe his eyes for, standing at the vige entrance, wearing tight warrior outfit, facing the wind awe-inspiringly, was Song Yuzhi, the beauty he yearned for day and night these past few days. When Xu Ziling was returning to his cabin, Little Jies dad was talking with Lin Lang. Thetter did not stop shaking his head. Without thinking, Xu Ziling asked, Whats the matter? Little Jies dad shot a wary nce at him; evidently he did not like Xu Ziling being meddlesome and interrupted their discussion. Lin Lang said, Gong Ye, please help me speak reasons. When all is said and done, this ship is going to Jiujiang; which route to take, which harbor to dock, everything has been predetermined, how could we change it arbitrarily? This Mr. Han Zenan does not want to understand. Han Zenan spoke in distress, Its not that Zaixia did not understand, I am just asking Lin Dage for a favor to let us disembark at Bashao; thats all! Displeased, Lin Lang said, How many times do I have to tell you, Ba County is Chang Jiang Lians [Yangtze River Alliance] territory. We, Wu Jiang Bang recently have some disagreement with them. If we suddenly cast anchor on the shore, there will be trouble. Inwardly Xu Ziling was aware of whats going on, but he also knew what trick Lin Lang, this seasoned Jianghu man, was ying. In just one nce anybody would know that the ridersst night were not benevolence people at all. If they caught up with themter and knew that Wu Jiang Bang had let some people off midway, they might not be willing to let the matter drop. But if Han Zenan, husband and wife, left after they cast anchor at Badong County, then Lin Lang would be able to wash his hands clean. This was the established rule of Jianghu; no one could refute it. Xu Ziling said, Let me talk to Han Xiong. Lin Lang respectfully said, Gong Ye is indeed very understanding. Finished speaking, he simply left. Han Zenan was so disappointed that he seemed to be losing his mind. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Han Xiong, can we talk? Han Zenan red at him angrily, and spoke coldly, There is nothing to talk. Just like that, he returned to his cabin. Book 25 - 13 – Engraving Name on Whetstone Book 25 Chapter 13 C Engraving Name on Whetstone Kou Zhong followed behind Song Yuzhi toward a big rock by the stream. Coming to a halt, with her back facing Kou Zhong, Song Yuzhi asked again, What are you doing here? Suppressing the undting emotion in his heart, Kou Zhong spoke softly, Naturally for my Song San Xiaojie [third miss]. I came specifically to apologize. Song Yuzhi shook her head and said with a sigh, Kou Zhong, how could you be wading in mud and water like this, bing a hopelessly muddled person? That day in Luoyang both of us agreed to make a clean break, so we made a clean break; henceforth we have nothing to do with each other. Beware that Yuzhi might look down on you! With a bitterugh Kou Zhong said, By all means, Yuzhi must not misunderstand. This time I came here not to plead with you to renew old cordial rtions! Snorting disdainfully, Song Yuzhi said, Dont tter yourself [orig. stick gold on your face]! Who has had cordial rtion with you? What old friendship is there to renew? Kou Zhong showed his natural instincts;ughing, he said, That time in Rongyang, on that small alley outside Shen Luoyans residence, didnt we have cordial rtionship? Song Yuzhi was so angry that herrge, round eyes were opened wide. She spoke furiously, Lets see if you dare to say that again! Kou Zhong remembered his hooligan days in Yangzhou; when someone challenged him to repeat something, and he did really repeat it, that would be the beginning of a big fight. Thereupon he busily waved his hand and said, Zhizhi, please calm down; forgive me for babbling nonsense. Hey! Back to the main point, I just want to see you again; there is no other wishful thinking. Song Yuzhi stared at him without blinking at all, and without speaking. She appeared to be scrutinizing his sincerity. The more he looked at her, the more Kou Zhong loved her. Zhizhi is losing weight? he spoke softly. Displeased, Song Yuzhi said, What does that have anything to do with you, Shao Shuai Kou Zhong? Speak up honestly! Why did you spare no effort in rushing to Lingnan? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Cant we sit down and talk? Could it be that in this kind of Peach Garden Holy Land that canpletely wash away the dust and the vulgarity of the world we still cannot chat civilly? Even if you dont consider me as ... hey! Cant you just consider me as an acquaintance whom you once met? After staring nkly at him for half a day, Song Yuzhi nodded and said, All right! She walked over to the riverbank and sat down, her pair of legs covered in boots swaying gently above the water. Gently and cautiously Kou Zhong sat down side by side with her, separated by about a chi of safe distance. Thinking out loud, he said, Frankly speaking, I had never intended toe to Lingnan, simply because I am well aware that Zhizhis temperament has not changed. But for some reason, under the full moon of the Mid-Autumn [Festival], suddenly my heart was filled with a strong desire, that is, before the army is defeated and the body perishes, I want to see Zhizhi one more time. This is the truth,ing from the bottom of my heart. The tone of his voice revealed some kind of undisguised sincerity. Hearing that, Song Yuzhis fragrant heart trembled. Her jet-ck eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, Dont lie to me. You, Kou Shao Shuai had just recently spread out your divine power greatly; sessively thwarting Yuwen Huaji and Li Zitong, seizing control of Pengcheng, Liangdu, Donghai, and the others, more than twenty cities. Even more, you broke Cao Yinglong, Xiao Xian, and Zhu Jie, three sides coalition army. Unexpectedly, opening your mouth, closing your mouth, you speak like you might suffer defeat and die any moment. Are you trying to win my sympathy? Kou Zhong slowly said, My current slight achievement is just like a rainbow in the sky. Although it is beautiful, not only it isnt real, it will vanish in the blink of an eye. That Li kid has already upied Guanzhong; he also receives full support from Wulins white way [orthodox, the righteous] headed by Ci Hang Jingzhai, the heart of the people has turned toward him. My defeat is just a matter of time. If I dont see Zhizhi one more time, I, Kou Zhong, will not die with my eyes closed. Closing her beautiful eyes, Song Yuzhi spoke word-by-word, Since that is the case, why dont you withdraw from this whirlpool of the struggle over the world, like your good brother Xu Ziling, howling over the mountain and the forest? Wouldnt it also mean that you are not going to turn your back all your life? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong sighed and said, If I could do that, I would have washed my hands in the golden dish early on. A real man is to be buried in a horsehide [idiom: to give ones life on the battlefield], dying will also have to be that kind of death. You want me to bend my head and admit defeat to Li kid, that is not going to happen. Even if I have to battle until thest soldier thest man, I still want to contend with his Li Family until the end. Song Yuzhi pondered quietly for half a day; hanging her cicada head down, she spoke softly, Since thats the case, why do you want to see me? Severely shaken, Kou Zhong blurted out, Zhizhi! Song Yuzhi rose to her full height. Bending her head down to look at him, her eyes revealed aplicated, intense emotion, as she spoke softly, If, between the strive for the world and Yuzhi you can only choose one, what would Kou Shao Shuai pick? Dejected, Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, Zhizhi ought to know that I have my feet deep in the mire; how could Zhizhi have the heart to force me to make such a cruel decision? Song Yuzhi revealed a splendid, like a fresh flower in full bloom, but sad and emotional C smile, and spoke calmly, Its you who are cruel, not me. Yuzhi has fled back to the south, precisely in order to forget you. Why do you still want toe and see me for whateverst time you are talking about? Whats the reason behind this? I was wrong, Kou Zhong med himself, I thought that by doing this I could still win Zhizhis favor, to let Zhizi leave a beautiful memory in my heart. Only now do I know that Zhizhis love for me is that deep. Stunned, Song Yuzhi asked, Who has deep love toward you? Kou Zhong was confused; grabbing his head, he said, If Zhizhi does not love me, why did you flee to the south and make every effort to forget me? Song Yuzhi leaned her pretty face to the side and pondered deeply for half a day. Nodding, she said, I have thought about this matter, and finally came to a conclusion. Do you want to hear it? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Without you saying it, Xiaodi can already guess that it could not be anything that is pleasant to hear. All right! Speak up! Nothing sadder than a withered heart [idiom (attributed to Confucius by Zhuangzi): the worst sorrow is not as bad as an uncaring heart]. Song Yuzhi spoke with great fury, You are adept in using strategy; is in this move you are posing as a pitiful creature? Kou Zhong replied with a wry smile, Affairs of the heart is just like battlefield, some strategy must be used. But now it does not seem to be effective. How about speaking forthrightly? Song Yuzhi bent her knees to sit on the rock again; with smiling face, sheughed tenderly and said, You nearly angered me to death. Beating the snake following the stick, Kou Zhong said, Can I kiss Zhizhis left and right cheeks one time each? Immediately red clouds appeared on Song Yuzhis jade cheeks; really angry, she said, What kind of person do you think I, Song Yuzhi, am? In a flurry Kou Zhong changed the subject, Zhizhi has not exin your view of the love and hate intertwining rtionship between us! Hanging her head down, Song Yuzhi whispered the words love and hate intertwining rtionship twice, before speaking softly, My conclusion is that the reason I am hopelessly muddled with you is thirty percent pity, thirty percent friendship, and the remaining forty percent involve the feeling between a man and a woman. But within this forty percent, there is a lot of hate but very few love. Am I speaking forthrightly enough for you? pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said with augh, As long as theres ten percent of love between a man and a woman, I, Kou Zhong, am so happy that I feel like going crazy! Displeased, Song Yuzhi said, Typical you, speaking like that. With solemn expression Kou Zhong said, Zhizhi believes it, great; Zhizhi dont believe it, its also all right. This time I am sincerely paying a visit, it is indeed because I was unable to restrain my emotions; I really longed to see Zhizhi again. Why dont we throw everything out and start anew, carefree and without worries ying his mother ... hey! No! Lets just treat each other as an honored guest to get along well for three days, and then Ling Shao and me will have to hurry up to Guanzhong for a treasure hunt. As for what will happen next, when humans effort fails, we will listen to the mandate of heaven. Her countenance changed, Song Yuzhi said, Li Family is setting up an inescapable waiting for you in Guanzhong, the two of you still want to go there to throw your lives away? Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, And yet you said that you have a lot of hate but very few love? Turns out Zhizhi is so concerned about me. Song Yuzhis pretty face blushed slightly, she angrily said, I have never seen anybody with thicker face than yours. You and Xu Ziling are Yuzhis friends, could it be that seeing you go to die I would just watch in vain without groaning half a word? Returning to his distinctive character, Kou Zhong giggled and said, The more Li kid is adequately prepared, waiting with tight troops disposition, the trip to Guanzhong will be even more interesting. Since I was young, I, Kou Zhong, have always been one who is unwilling to be left out. That Li kid is willing to apany me ying, I should be grateful to him. With her beautiful eyes Song Yuzhi gazed deeply at him for a moment, and then hanging her head down, she said, No wonder Die said that by nature you are someone who cannot be tamed! Taken aback, Kou Zhong asked, Has your Die seen me? Song Yuzhi replied indifferently, Do you know why you coulde across me in this ce? Kou Zhong drew a nk; he shook his head quietly. Song Yuzhi slowly said, I was looking for nearby Li Liao brothers to ask for help, so that I could intercept you at the earliest possible time, so that you wont go to our mountain city home. Kou Zhong was baffled. If I go to your mountain city home, whats the problem? he asked. Revealing a hint of helpless wry smile, Song Yuzhi hung her head down and said, Die is going to kill you! What? Kou Zhong blurted out. By the time Xu Ziling entered the cabin hall, he saw seven, eight passengers upying one of the two round tables, talking loudly with each other, so that the hall was very noisy. Some wanted to greet Xu Ziling, but seeing his uncouth appearance and the dignified scarred face, they knew he was not a benevolent man; hence they busily swallowed their words back into their belly. Xu Ziling sat on the other table, facing the window, with his back against them. He heard that the topic of these peoples conversation was business and how to make money, hence he did not have any interest in listening. His mind turned back toward Han Zenans family of three. Supposing that the pursuing troops overtook them midway, it would actually be a lot easier to deal with them then. He could directly make his move by beating back the pursuing troops. But if they left the boat and fled after reaching Zheng County, it would be difficult for him to help; he could not trail them in secret for a long time; it was neither practical nor feasible. The only way was to reach out to Han Zenan to have a frank and good conversation before reaching Zheng County, to see whether he could be persuaded. He was absolutely not a meddlesome person, but little Jieer reminded him of little Lingzhong; how could he let innocent children be evil peoples fish or meat? Thinking to this point, he scolded himself for being stupid. If he wanted to learn about Han Zenans difficulty yet he could not investigate it openly, why not do it secretly? He was about to get up to return to his room, when suddenly someone came beside him, put down an earthen jar of wine on the table with heroic spirit, and said with augh, Fivekes and four oceans [i.e. all parts of the country] are brothers. LaoGe [ol elder brother], are you interested in apanying me drinking a cup of watery wine? Song Yuzhi spoke indifferently, Earlier Die left town and went out for ten days, and returned only the day before yesterday. Upon returning to town, he had Zhi Shu [uncle], Lu Shu, and me summoned into his Ge Dao Ting Yu Tang [lit. hall to ce the saber and listen to the rain], indicating that you mighte to the mountain city within three days. Kou Zhong blew a mouthful of cold air. Turns out he, the Senior, personally made his move to kill Cui Jixiu, he said, No wonder it was like a performance; sharp and clear, neat and tidy. Song Yuzhi was stunned, Have you seen Die? she asked. After giving her a brief exnation, Kou Zhong asked, Between your Die and I, there is no grievance today, and there was no enmity in the past; why would he want to make life difficult for me? Could it be that he did not know that if he het rid of me, his treasured daughter might not want to call him Die anymore in the future? A clump of tender and beautiful, replete with moisture C red cloud rose up on both sides of Song Yuzhis sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade powder cheeks; she spoke furiously, If Die ughter you, this kid, I would not know how to thank him. Pretending to be humble, Kou Zhong said, San Xiaojie, please enlighten Kou kid; since San Xiaojie is so happy to see Kou kid being ughtered, why would you want to warn Kou kid, telling me to escape? Song Yuzhi seemed to be stumped for words; and then even her ears were blushing. Hanging down her head, in weak and feeble voice she tried to get herself out of trouble by saying, You are my friend! Kou Zhong slowly reached out to stroke her cheek. Song Yuzhis tender body shook; moaning tenderly, she said, Ah, Kou Zhong! Dont ... Kou Zhongs big hand caressed her burning-so-hot-that-it-made-peoples-soul-melted face; the tip of his fingers lightly brushed her smooth and round earlobe. Leaning forward, he spoke with love as deep as the ocean, Can we not deceive ourselves and endure hardships any longer? Oh! Shaken, Song Yuzhi said, I was not joking with you; Die really engraved your name on the whetstone inside the Mo Jian Tang [lit. grinding sword hall]. That means you are his next opponent. Kou Zhong sprang up from the ground, Zhizhi is his precious daughter, but you dont understand his, the Seniors intention better that me, his future son-inw. He wants to see my good faith toward his daughter; even more, he wants to measure my, Kou Zhongs weight. Song Yuzhi had no time to argue about his considering himself future son-inw; she blurted out, You practically dont understand what kind of person Die is. Whoever has his name engraved on the whetstone, in the end he might be the wandering soul under his saber. This is not a joke. Ay! At most I can apany you for three days. But after three days, you must go as far away as possible, and you must nevere back. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong sighed and said, If I run away to the wilderness like that, I would forever lose my qualifications to obtain Zhizhi. Do you know why I understand your Die better than Zhizhi? Because we are the same kind of people. Song Yuzhi furiously said, You are reverting to your old ways again. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I am striving to surpass the three days. After obtaining ten percent of Zhizhis love, I suddenly regain my life force. I have full confidence for the day I am going to deal with Li kid. Life has never been this good. I wonder if Zhizhi would want to give me a little reward? Book 26 - 1 – Grandma Tong Tian Book 26 Chapter 1 C Grandma Tong Tian Turning his head around, Xu Ziling looked at the uninvited guest who disturbed his tide of thought. The man looked to be around thirty-five, thirty-six, tall and thin, with tapered face, and a piece of goatee at the end of his chin. It would appear that his face was like a hybrid between a horse and a goat. While walking up the road, he seemed to be trying hard to straighten his originally hunched back and stick out his chest and belly. Looking at his overall posture, he appeared even more like a Qin [dynasty] itinerant con man, who drifted around everywhere. The clothes on his body were bright and neat, whether in terms of material or the craftsmanship, it was obviously expensive, fine goods. However, Xu Ziling saw through at first nce that this frivolous-looking gentleman was definitely not as simple as his outside appearance suggested. His eyes were calm and collected, and nimble too, as if he was continuously looking for other peoples weak points. The skin exposed outside his clothes appeared to have some kind of peculiar sheen, which was the oue of a long-term true qi cultivation from internal school. His hands were slender and neat. Even within his exaggerated movements, there was a strong impression of his power and agility. The little finger of his left handcked itsst segment, as if someone cut it off. Without any trace of politeness he sat down beside Xu Ziling, and poured a cup of wine for him. Introducing himself, he said, Xiao [small/little; I am under the impression there is missing character here] surnamed Lei [thunder]; but everybody calls me Lei Jiuzhi [lit. nine fingers] for so long that I have forgotten the real name that my Die and Niang gave me! LaoGe, may I ask your honorable surname and great given name? The passengers sitting on the other table stopped talking; like people who loved to enjoy watching a bustling scene, they watched Xu Zilings reaction and listened attentively to the two mans conversation. Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, Who made you from having ten fingers to nine? Lei Jiuzhis pair of eyes shed with mysterious light, which quickly faded. Continuing his exaggerated gestures and expression, he said, That is the cost I have to pay for ying before my skill was refined. And then he leaned closer and spoke in low voice, LaoGe, are you interested in making arge fortune? Not interested! Xu Ziling coldly replied. Lei Jiuzhi revealed a I understand thoroughly expression; leaning back to his seat, he raised his cup and said, Good man! Let Lei Jiuzhi toast LaoGe with a cup! Inwardly Xu Ziling praised him as worthy toe out and mingle in Jianghu; he deeply understood the way to see the wind and sail speedily. Asking him to leave, Xu Ziling said, If Lei Xiong is here just to tell me this, you may go as you wish. Lei Jiuzhiughed aloud and said, Just let Xiaodi speak a few more words. And then he leaned over again and spoke in low voice, LaoGe must think that I make my living in Jianghu; am I right? Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Who are you, then? With serious expression Lei Jiuzhi replied, I gamble all over the ce north of the Great River, someone who researches all kinds of gambling technique. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, What difference does it have with Jianghu drifters? Putting his wine cup down, Lei Jiuzhi putting on an act, saying, Naturally there is a big difference. Please listen to Xiaodis detailed exnation. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly that he had been duped; but it was toote to regret now. Because the people on the other table could not hear their conversation clearly, they lost interest and continued their own previous endless chat [orig. discussing the heaven speaking about the earth]. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I have zero interest in gambling. Lei Xiong, just find somebody else to listen to you. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Even though it is a minor art, it certainly has considerable gain! LaoGe does not have any interest just because you dont understand it. The fact is, gambling can spread for all eternity. Not only there are a thousand schools ten thousand categories, they are wide-ranging and profound. You only need to understand one or two, then you can reap infinite benefit throughout your life. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, In the end, doesnt it boil down to two words, win or lose? If I have zero interest in getting rich, why would I want to learn it? Besides, you and I are total strangers, why did Lei Xiong suddenlye to me to give me small advantages? Lei Jiuzhis eyes shing, he said, LaoGe is indeed a sensible man. This ce has too many people and misceneous ears, can we find another ce to talk? Ever since he came to talked to him, Xu Ziling has not been able to figure out his school or which path he wasing from; this moment his heart was moved, he asked, Last night, those men who intercepted the ship before we sailed, what dispute or grudges do they have against Lei Xiong? Lei Jiuzhi looked at Xu Ziling in astonishment; evidently he wanted to reassess Xu Zilings expression. LaoGe is indeed brilliant; your associative power is even more extremely rich, he spoke in heavy voice, If I, Lei Jiuzhi, still cover up the left and conceal the right, LaoGe would definitely look down on Xiaodi. Thats right! Those bunch of menst night wereing for me. They are from Chuan Nan Du Fang [South Sichuan Casino]. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly. Unexpectedly, quite by ident he resolved the Han familys difficulty; the remaining problem was to let Han Zenan know that the bunch of men were not his enemy, it was just a misunderstanding. Rising to his full height, he said, Lets talk in my room! It was greatly beyond Lei Jiuzhis expectation; he had never thought that after he exposed his own identity, the opposite party would be friendly instead. Momentarily he was stunned speechless. Song Yuzhi threw a tender tantrum; she said, You speak this kind of frivolous word to me again, I will ignore you forever! Kou Zhongughed and said, Zhizhi fell into the trap! I just wanted to see your touching appearance like this, hence I deliberately spoke those frivolous words. Hey! Back to the main point, which direction is your mountain city home? Song Yuzhi was so angry that her apricot eyes grew even bigger; folding her arms on her chest, she shook her head and said, Dont even think that I am going to tell you. Kou Zhong stepped forward and spoke in low voice to calm her down, Everything ought to be considered in the big picture. Just think, if just because your Die engraved my name on the whetstone I got so scared that I run away to the wilderness while pissing in my pants, and another day I came to propose a marriage, since your Die is an outstanding hero, how could he want to have a good-for-nothing for a son-inw? Trust me! Your Die just wanted to see the color of my guts. I guarantee that when I climb up the mountain city, he, the Senior, would open the main gate wide to wee me. Song Yuzhi nearly wanted to cover up her ears; sighing, she said, Your boastful words are more unpleasant to hear than your frivolous words. Kou Zhong proudly said, This is precisely my, Kou Zhongs most valuable aspect to San Xiaojie; which is to enable San Xiaojie to touch things that you have never dreamed about before. Song Yuzhi nearly wanted to reach out and pinch and snap his throat. Stomping her feet, she said, Only ghosts would dream about those things. Whether you are a first ss saber expert or ninth ss lobbyist, I want you to get lost. I do not want to see you again. Kou Zhong hastily smiled apologetically and said, My bad! Zhizhis genuine kind intention, I understandpletely. Song Yuzhi was taken aback, What genuine kind intention? she asked. Kou Zhong leaned over to her ear and lowered his voice until it could not be lowered anymore. You are afraid that your Die is going to kill me, hence you pretend to be heartless and told me to get lost! Am I right? Pfft! Song Yuzhi could not help giggling. Smiling wryly, she said, I am really helpless against you. Your biggest shoring is that you dont have self-knowledge, and your skin is so thick; when you speak, I dont know what you are driving at. Ay! Just consider that I am afraid that you, Kou Shao Shuai, would really go up the mountain city to throw away your life! Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Is it not clear enough for you? If your Die really want to kill me, he could have made his move that night. This is just because you dont understand him! Song Yuzhi said, Dies conducts are always in and out of reason and outward appearance, difficult to specte. Theres no harm in telling you: Die one time asked me if I wanted to marry you, I expressed my determination, and then set up an oath in front of sessive generation ancestors that I will not marry you. Therefore, Die practically will not regard you as future son-inw. Kou Zhong felt as if someone punched him on the stomach. Falling three steps back, with the color draining out of his face, he cried out involuntarily, What? Xu Ziling took Lei Jiuzhi into his cabin. As they were passing Han Zenan, husband and wifes cabin, he intentionally raised his voice, How did Lei Xiong incur those Chuan Nan Casino mens hatred so thatst night they did not spare any effort in trying to stop the boat? Lei Jiuzhi cast him a nce, his eyes revealed a singr look, but he did not answer the question. Xu Ziling praised him inwardly, knowing that this man was worthy to make a living in Jianghu, he was able to obtain clues from the way Xu Ziling raising his voice. But since his goal has been achieved, he did not bother to pursue this matter further. At the same time, he focused his power into his ears, and was immediately able to hear the woman speaking to Han Zenan, XiangGong [an old form of address for ones husband]! Did you hear that? Han Zenan merely responded with an Oh! Xu Ziling pushed the door open and said, Lei Xiong, please sit down. Without any trace of politeness Lei Jiuzhi sat into one of the two chairs by the window, and put the small wine jar casually on the table. After Xu Ziling sat down in the other chair, he sat up straight, as if he became another person altogether, dignified, exuding his strong presence. The tone of his voice changed from exaggerated to calm and collected. He sighed and said, I really could not tell that LaoGe is actually a man whos willing to help others so much. A moment ago when I saw your interest in Han Family, husband and wifes affair, I thought you had another purpose, to the extent that I saw the color to determine the heart. But now I know that you are really good toward them. More and more Xu Ziling felt that this man was really not simple; he was definitely not an ordinary Jianghu drifter. He spoke indifferently, Since Lei Xiong knew that the Han Family, husband and wife mistakenly thought that Chuan Nan Casino men were their family enemys pursuing troops, why didnt you point it to them to let them know? Arent you harboring another evil intention? Lei Jiuzhi calmly said, If I hastily talked to them, would they believe me? Nodding his head, Xu Ziling said, Very well! We wont discuss that aspect anymore. But why does Lei Xiong look upon Ol Gong? Lei Jiuzhi turned his head around to look at him; he said, Turns out its Gong Xiong. Gong Xiong ought to be a greatly famous character in Jianghu, but Xiaodi has never heard about you. Only by looking at how Wu Jiang Bang people were particrly deferential and respectful toward Gong Xiong, I know that Gong Xiong is someone with a head and a face [i.e. someone important]. This is very strange. Displeased, Xu Ziling let out a cold snort and said, Evidently Lei Xiong has researched the roots and investigated the base of Jianghus big names. Lei Xiong, please be careful with your words and actions. Unexpectedly Lei Jiuzhis thin face revealed a delighted expression; he said, Gong Xiong must not take any offense. Just now I was just using words to sound you out. Gong Xiongs reaction has confirmed Xiaodis opinion. Gong Xiong, please forgive Xiaodi for my irreverent remark. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, What are you trying to sound out? With serious expression Lei Jiuzhi replied, I want to see if Gong Xiong is really a chivalrous man? If Gong Xiong is a figure from the heretical way, what I said just now would bring Xiaodi the disaster of getting myself killed. Based on Gong Xiongs martial art skill, taking care of me should just be the exertion of lifting your hand. Xu Ziing did not expect that this man was able to see through the depth of his martial art skill merely by observation; shivering inwardly, he spoke in heavy voice, Lei Xiong might as well speak up clearly your purpose ining, and please do as you wish, but do not waste Ol Gongs time. Smiling, Lei Jiuzhi said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly. First of all, let me ask Gong Xiong, would Gong Xiong be willing stand up for the heavenly way, while at the same time make a great fortune? Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, I am afraid Lei Xiong will have to find another candidate; simply because Ol Gong has an important matter I have to attend to, hence it will be difficult for me toe to your aid. And then he quizzically asked, If Lei Xiong wanted to evade the pursuing troops, you can jump into the river to escape, then you would break the clues pursuers were tracking. In this time, where the world is in chaos, who would have the ability to go all over the world to search for you? Avoiding the question, Lei Jiuzhi said, Since Gong Xiong have no intention to lend a hand, Xiaodi has no choice but to find another way. Excuse me, please! Song Yuzhi dejectedly said, Just forget Yuzhi! With your, Kou Zhongs qualification, who among the beautiful women around the world would not greatly admire you? If you are really good to Yuzhi, hereafter please do not enter Lingnan even for half a step. Finally Kou Zhong recovered hisposure. With mouth wide open he gasped for breath for a moment, before shaking his head and said with a sigh, Song Yuzhi, you are too heartless to me! Involuntarily he waved his hand to say goodbye, and then flew backward. In the blink of an eye he disappeared into the woods. Song Yuzhi tightly bit her cherry lip; her pretty face was deathly white. Suddenly her cherry lips opened up and she vomited a mouthful of blood before copsing backward. Unexpectedly a shadow shed across and caught her waist just before she fell to the ground, and then the shadow flew in the direction where Kou Zhong disappeared. In one breath Kou Zhong rushed for about twenty li in the wilderness; his heart was filled to the brim with resentment and sorrow. In thend of love, he had been utterly defeated. First it was Li Xiuning, and now it was Song Yuzhi. When he came, he was brimming with hope, but now all his vision for the future and fantasies have been smashed to pieces by a few words from Song Yuzhis mouth. Suddenly he became aware that he was traveling along an official road. There were other vehicles and horses, as well as pedestrians. At this moment he did not want to think about anything; he just wanted to find a wine shop and drink until he pass out. He would think about making other ns after he woke up. As far as Song Yuzhi was concerned, he had totally given up all hope. While still in daze, he entered the county town, and unexpectedly it was the Yulin County that he was looking for. After paying the tax to enter the city, he walked leisurely along the main street, looking for a wine shop. He entered in and bought wine to get himself drunk. This wine shop was very unique; it had two elongated rectangr-shaped sections, inside and outside, joined in the middle with an open-air courtyard. There was an oval shaped fishpond in the middle of the courtyard, while potted nts were spread all over the ce. If it were during the peacetime, Kou Zhong would definitely enjoy the atmosphere. This moment, however, he simply walked to the end of the shop, and sat down on the table in the corner. The waiter cordially greeted him, This Daye must be from out of town. Our Jian Long Zhais [lit. seeing dragon building] wine and dishes are second to none in Yulin; Daye really have good taste. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around, and noticed that the shop was quite sparse, with only six or seven tables had customers on them, how could he believe his bragging? He was not interested in chitchat even more. I dont want any dish, just wine, he said, And I want your strongest wine. Contrary to expectation, the waiter was quite astute; he left without saying anything. Thinking about Song Yuzhi being so heartless, a tearing-the-heart, splitting-the-lungs pain burst in Kou Zhongs heart, he had difficulty breathing, and he felt like bawling his heart out, yet not even half a teardrop wanted toe out of his eyes. He began to realize the depth of his love to Song Yuzhi, which greatly beyond his own expectation. But then he immediatelyforted himself. All these things would pass, just like that time he was dead drunk because of Li Xiuning. When he sobered up, he would strive his hardest to forget Song Yuzhi. This was also the only thing he could do. He really could not understand Song Yuzhi. And for the first time he realized it was impossible to fathom the real thought in her heart. It was obvious that this naturally proud woman, who came from prestigious school and big n C liked him; even if previously there was some gratitude and grudges between them, seeing him, Kou Zhong, as if he was making a pilgrimage, taking time out of his busy schedule, defying ten thousand rivers and a thousand mountains along distant road toe to seek her, she should have thrown all past disagreements ande to wee him! Who would have thought that the ending would be like this? The wine came. Kou Zhong suddenly felt something was not right. Looking up, he saw that the one bringing the wine to him was surprisingly the Silver Dragon Song Lu. Startled, he hurriedly rose up. Song Lu affectionately pressed down his shoulder and warmly said, Sit down first, well talkter. Knock! Knock! Knock! Xu Ziling was studying the newly learned Zhenyan Shou Yin when he heard knocks on his door. Come in! It was Lin Lang. He said nervously, They are here! Xu Ziing immediately knew that the Chuan Nan Casino men were renewing their pursuit, simply because only they had the ability to catch up with them in such a short period of time. What does Lin Xiangzhu intend to do? he asked. Lin Lang indignantly said, Everything must be handled ording to Jianghu rules. This is our Wu Jiang Bang ship; if the other party wants to cause difficulties on the ship, that is, not giving us Wu Jiang Bang any face, how would we stand in Jianghu in the future? After arriving in Jiujiang, naturally we will not meddle in other peoples business. Xu Ziling praised him inwardly. No wonder Hou Xibai said that Wu Jiang Bangs prestige was outstanding, while at the same time his impression on Lin Lang greatly increased. This was what was called he whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille [idiom]; since the other party dared to hold on to their tail and pursue them, naturally they had enough power and confidence that they would be able to eat Wu Jiang Bang men. Smiling, Xu Ziling said, Do you know who the other party is? Lin Lang shook his head. There is no identifying banner, he said, There seem to be more than a hundred men. This is really strange. Most of the gangs and societies of the same way [principle] doing business along the Chang Jiang have had drinks with me and have good rtionship with me; even if there is no good rtionship, at least we nod and greet when we are passing each other. But this group of people looks very unfamiliar. I wonder whats their background. Xu Ziling said, I just received the information; the pursuers are likely to be the men from Chuan Nan Casino. His countenance changed, Lin Lang asked, Where did the informatione from? I heard it from one of the passengers on this ship, Xu Ziling replied. Greatly worried, Lin Lang said, If they are indeed from Chuan Nan Casino, it will be extremely thorny. Among the gambling establishments in Chengdu, Chuan Nan Casino is thergest in term of scale. Even Xie Hui has to give them a bit of face. No wonder they are this overbearing and did not give any consideration to us. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Ziling asked, Who has such a big face? Lin Lang replied, The big boss of Chuan Nan Casino is the Golden Abacus Huo Qingqiao; he could be ranked among the martial art masters of Bashu. His reputation is barely second only to Xie Hui, Fan Zhuo, Feng Zhen, and other regional overlords. His son Huo Jitong is well known for being a bully; very daring and ruthless. Their Huo Family also runs pleasure house business. I really dont understand how that Han Zenan could provoke this kind of man? Probing him, Xu Ziling asked, Could it be that because the other party is Chuan Nan Casino that Lin Xiangzhu changed your attitude? Lin Lang sighed and said, That depends on whether they have any reason to stand. Our Wu Jiang Bang is not that easy to provoke either. Our Laoda and Xie Baozhu [fort master] have always had friendly rtions. Chuan Nan Casino men will have to followpass and set square in their reasoning. Xu Ziling smiled and said, What Lin Xiangzhu just said is enough for me! If the other party is using their strength to mistreat others, being insolent and irrational, I will take the whole thing as my responsibility. Stunned, Lin Lang said, Gong Ye must not do that! If something happened to Gong Ye, how could our Sha Laoda answer Hou Gongzi? Xu Ziling knew that Lin Langs trepidation was due to the opposite party was Chuan Nan Casino men; he was afraid that this matter would escte. Thereupon he said, Lin Xiangzhu need not worry. I, Gong Chenchun, have mingled in Jianghu for many years, what wicked men have I not seen? By the time I am done and leave, there wont be any pretext for the opponent to give you trouble. Seeing how reasonable and understanding he was, Lin Lang delightedly said, Gong Yes righteousness reaches up to the sky; indeed you are our Wu Jiang Bang friend. Rising up to his full height, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Let me see whether Chuan Nan Casino men have three heads and six arms! Book 26 - 2 – Inside Secret Book 26 Chapter 2 C Inside Secret Kou Zhong watched as Song Lu poured the wine into two cups, and said, How did Lu Shu know that I am here? Song Lu raised his cup. After both men drained their cup in one gulp, heughed and said, Yulin is our Song Family territory; any wind blowing the grass moving, nothing can be concealed from us; not to mention that I am in town specifically to wait for your honored self. Its just that you encountered Yuzhi first! The strong liquor entered Kou Zhongs throat and drilled into his anxiety [lit. worry intestine]; his emotional stirring breaking out everywhere, he said with a wry smile, Since Lu Shu has seen Yuzhi, naturally you knew why I came here to drink. Is this moment she is in town? Song Lu amiably reached out to pat Kou Zhongs wide shoulder; he spoke warmly, Xiao Zhong, you must not me her. It is because she has great difficulty that she had to harden her heart and refuse you. I started to learn about it only recently. Kou Zhong sighed and said, She told me that Song Fazhu [n leader/master] engraved my name on the whetstone. Ay! Is that true? Song Lu nodded and said, This is indeed true. I personally asked Da Xiong [eldest brother] but he only smiled without saying anything, hence I could not make head or tail about it. But the reason she rejected you has nothing to do with it. Dejected, Kou Zhong asked, So what is it? Song Lu poured another cup for him first, before speaking slowly, She does not want our Song Family to be directly drawn into the struggle over the world because of you. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. With serious expression Song Lu said, Within our Song Family, there are two views on the current world situation. One view believes that this is the best time to revive our Song Family. Those who hold this view can be called the pro-war faction, headed by Song Zhi. He advocated strongly that we use Lingnan as our base, and then expand to Chang Jiang, and establish an imperial court with the south as the main power. Worst case scenario, we can divide the colors of spring evenly with the northerners. Kou Zhong nodded and said, The other view is naturally the peace faction. As long as the Song Family is able to stabilize and defend Lingnan, due to the seas and oceans and high mountains providing natural barriers, it does not matter who obtained the world, they could only adopt cai ji mi policy [lit. gathering/harvesting ji millet/rice gruel; policies of the local officials used by the Chinese dynasties to manage ethnic minorities]. The mountain is high, the Emperor is far away; it will be like the Song Family is relying mainly on scratching the surface of the earth, but there will be people who would want to settle the ount with you. I wonder whos leading this faction? Precisely Shidao and Yuzhi, Song Lu replied, I personally think that both strategies are feasible. But Shidao and Yuzhi cannot bear to see the Li people, the only ethnic group who has been following us blindly, to wither and have their heads roll and their hot blood shed for the sake of our glory. Kou Zhong understood. But new question arose, How about Fazhu? Which faction is he, the Senior, leaning to? Song Lu replied, He never expressed his position. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, How could it be? Song Lu helplessly replied, Da Xiongs conduct has always been difficult to fathom. On one hand, he let Song Zhi recruiting troops, carrying out all kinds of training and spending efforts on preparation to war. On the other hand, he indicated that the fortunate timing has not yet arrived, so he ordered Song Zhi to hold back his troops without moving. Now you ought to understand why Zhi Xiong is so enthusiastic toward you and Yuzhis affair. And Yuzhis feeling to you is obviously as deep as the ocean, yet she has to put an act as if she is heartless toward you, so this is a hopelessly muddled affair. As if his entire being had just been freed from a malicious spell, Kou Zhongughed aloud, raised his wine cup, and said, Come! Let me toast Lu Shu a cup. Song Lu cheerfully drank with him. And then, Kou Zhong, whose vigor had just returned to his eyes, took the turn to refill the cup for Song Lu. Laughing aloud, he said, I am so happy that I feel like singing for the wine. Turns out in her heart Zhizhi loves me. This matter is not difficult to solve. If I can really obtain the world, I wille to escort the bride to the wedding ceremony. In case misfortune befell me that I lost the war and died, naturally this matter became void. I practically do not need a single soldier a single troop from you; I just need your supplies to support me. This matter is important, Song Lu said, It will need Da Xiongs nod to work. The problem is that he already engraved your name on the whetstone, which usually means you already be his target opponent. Letting you to see him could be good or bad, its difficult to guess. Therefore, Yuzhi must stop you from seeing him. Zhi Xiong is also worried about this matter. Where is Zhizhi now? Kou Zhong asked, I want to see her first. She has already returned to the mountain city, Song Lu replied, I just received news from the mountain city via pigeon post, hence the reason I knew you have met her. Kou Zhong raised his cup and drained it so that not a single drop remained. His tiger-eyes shing, he said, We need to go to the mountain city immediately; I do not want to wait a single moment! The sailboat was continuously getting closer and closer. On the bow stood more than a dozen people, tall and short. Xu Zilings vision far surpassed Lin Langs; he was able to see that two of those people were women. The older one was a granny whose hair had turnedpletely white, the younger one was a well-developed, charming woman, wearing multi-colored Miao attire. Because they were still about a li away, Xu Ziling could not see their face clearly. Puzzled, he said, Unexpectedly there is an old granny on board. I wonder who she is? Lin Langs countenance changed, he said, Gong Yes eyesight is really outstanding. This old granny, does she have white hair, and is holding a whisk in her hand? Focusing his power into his eyes, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Indeed she is holding something that looks like a whisk. Who is this Senior? Severely shaken, Lin Lang said, Tong Tian Lao [maternal grandmother] Xia Miaoying has never paid any attention to Jianghus affairs. Although Hou Jitong is her son, he could never be able to move her. Xu Ziling mused that the three-letter name Xia Miaoying sounded so familiar, and then she remembered Zhai Jiao mentioned her name once, saying that she had the divine ability tomunicate with the spirits, that she could have a dialog with the dead in theherworld. Zhai Jiao even said that she wanted to go to Sichuan to look for her, because she wanted to know Zhai Rangs condition after he died, to see if he has been reincarnated, and things like that. It had never urred to him that he would suddenly run into her here, and in such situation where it would be difficult for him to exin clearly. He asked again, Theres also a Miaody next to her; she looks quite pretty. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Lin Lang said, That must be Ba Mengs Mei Ji [lit. beautiful woman/concubine/courtesan] Sina. She is Xia Miaoyings proud disciple, as well as the heir of He Yi Pai [lit. the united (or unity) sects]. I hear that in the near future Xia Miaoying is going to hand over the Paizhu [sect leader/master] position to her. And then his face showed a pained expression as he said, Both He Yi Pai and Ba Meng [Sichuan Alliance] are big gang, big sect that we, Wu Jiang Bang cannot afford to offend. This time, I am afraid even our Sha Laoda will not be able to cover it. Xu Ziling was about to talk, Xia Miaoying already shouted, with voice full of qi, Indeed it is you, Gong Chenchun. I thought you are already dead! Just by listening to her voice, which, after traveling that far, yet every word was still very clear, it was evident that her inner power has reached the stove fire has turned bright green [(allusion to Daoist alchemy), idiom: brought to the point of perfection]. Xu Ziling felt his whole face was burning hot; especially under Lin Langs stunned luminous gaze, he felt even more embarrassed. He had put on the appearance of one who saw what was right and acted courageously [idiom from Analects]; who would have thought that this matter boomeranged and hit the Gong Chenchun? Fortunately he had Gong Chenchuns skin covering up his embarrassment; otherwise he really wished he could find a hole in which to hide himself. Without any choice he turned toward Lin Lang and said with a bitter smile, Lin Xiangzhu, please bring the ship near the shore; let me settle this dispute with them [female form] on shore! You need not pay attention to me. Astonished, Lin Lang said, Gong Ye obviously did not know Xia Miaoying, how could she act as if she and Gong Ye are old acquaintances? Xu Ziling knew that Lin Lang started to suspect something. He spoke helplessly, This matter is hard to exin in a few words. The situation is urgent, Lin Xiangzhu, please bring the ship close to the shore. Lin Lang spoke in low voice, How much confidence Gong Ye has that you will be able to deal with the opponent? Xu Ziling watched the closing-in enemies, which had been closing in to within fifty zhang away C with rapt attention. Shaking his head, he said, This is hard to say; if they attack together, victory or defeat is difficult to tell, but to escape should not be a problem. Shaken, Lin Lang said, Tong Tian Lao is the master of a sect, she will never join hands with others in group attack. Since Gong Ye has that kind of confidence, lets wait until theye over and see who would have the real skill. Please forgive us for not being able to interfere; Gong Ye please do not me us. Xu Ziling was grateful; he said, Lin Xiangzhu is a true friend indeed. Regardless of the development, I, Gong Chenchun, will definitely not get your honorable Gang involved. Right this moment, Lei Jiuzhis voice suddenly rang behind the two men, If Gong Xiong wont turn your back on me, Xiaodi wishes to advance or retreat together with Gong Xiong. Stunned, Xu Ziling and Lin Lang looked at each other; they werepletely at a loss as why Lei Jiuzhi would be stupid enough to wade in this muddy water. The Song Familys mountain city was located on the confluence of Yu Shui and He Liu. Three sides facing the water, and magnificent mountain and towering peak behind them. The stone city was built of rock piles from the waist of the mountain, following the curvaceous topography of the mountain, graceful like a dragonfly. The main buildingplex dominated a wide expanse of open area along the mountain ridge. The terrain was steep, with a lofty quality of a grand mountain pass. It overlooked the neighboring mountain and fields, standing face-to-face with Yulin County in the distance, symbolizing the ruling power protecting the safety of the entire Lingnan region. Several dozens of big warehouses, as well as hundreds of piers, big and small, were built along the Yu River. When Kou Zhong, riding on a boat with Song Lu, was crossing the river, the docks were full of boats, big and small, with more sailing in either direction along the river. This kind of prosperous, thriving atmosphere gave him a great sense of grandeur. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The mountain range lingers on, Yu River flows in circle, rugged, dangerous and difficult, even if I have several tens of thousand elite troops, I am afraid it will be difficult to find favorable position to be used for my advantage. Fiddling with his beard, Song Lu smiled and said, This mountain city consumed I dont know how much manpower and physical resources, and yet it still took three generations and more than a hundred years before it is built to its current scale. The long-term reserves inside the city include more than a year supply of grains, and a spring of water, clear, sweet and delicious, perfect for making tea. Kou Zhongs eyes fell onto the inclined road going around the mountain, which was wide enough for five horses galloping together side by side; heughed and said, In that case, I simply must drink two more mouthfuls! Song Lu said, The construction of the mountain city relied mainly on its strange and rugged terrain, difficult to climb down. But if there were no rich and fertile Yulin County, the only thing that the mountain city had was grand and strange exterior surface. But now the twoplement and enrich each other, plus the benefit ofnd and water transportation that can reach the whole country. The small boat was moored on the shore. There were already more than a dozen Song Family warriors in dark green tight warrior outfit waiting with horses. Everybody was in high spirit, not a single one was not an expert in powerful defense. Toward Kou Zhong, they all showed courtesy and were very respectful, while also revealing a look of utter admiration and reverence. The two men flew onto the horseback, and then, under escort of the Song Family martial art masters in front and behind them, they left the dock area to gallop up the mountain. Going up the mountain road, whenever there was a dangerous cliff, it looked like they were facing emptiness suspended in midair, while down below the river water was surging. There were endless strange and wonderful ces. Seeing all this, Kou Zhongs heart loosened up, his spirit rxed. Thinking that very soon he wouldfort a jade person [i.e. beautiful woman], he could not help letting out a long whistle, while pressing his legs on the horses belly to urge it to run faster. Everybody else responded to the whistle byshing their whips. More than a dozen riders flew along the mountain road like a whirlwind. The city gate was open wide; the drawbridge was down. The Earthly Sword Song Zhi, whom he had not met for a long time, was out to meet him, saying, Fazhus order: Shao Shuai in invited to immediately go to the Mo Dao Tang [grinding saber hall] to see him. Since the Wu Jiang Bang ship was slowing down, the enemy ship quickly closed the distance between them. Xu Ziling had no time to ask Lei Jiuzhi why he saw what is right and act courageously; he just warned him with heavy voice, Lei Xiong must not get involved. Ol Gong has a way to deal with them. With sudden gust of wind, shadows were shing one after another; a total of seven people soared from the enemys ship and flew toward them. The three men quickly retreated to open up an empty space at the bow. Seeing the speed with which the enemies ascended the ship, they could immediately tell their rtive superiority. The Tong Tian Lao Xia Miaoying was the most calm; she only leaped at an angle for about a zhang, and then suddenly changed direction to take the lead in traversing the more than two zhang empty space to be the first tond on the deck of the ships bow. If someone had tried to intercept her based on the angle and speed of her leap, because of her sudden change in direction, the estimate would have been wrong. As the master of a sect, she was indeed outstanding. She reminded Xu Ziling of Yin Gui Pais Yinfa Yan Mei [silver-haired amorous demon] Tan Hui. Both had white hair, but still preserved the elegant bearing of younger women. The difference was that Tan Hui still had her beauty, while Xia Miaoying was giving a withered, gloomy and cold impression. Her nose, her head, neck, hands, waist, feet, all were adorned with precious stone, fine jade, pearl, cowrie shells, and so on, all kinds of jewelry. When she was leaping in the air, these ornaments jingled. But all these bright pearl, jewel aura, and her peacock-like colorful clothes could not cover up the gloomy, malicious, and peculiar light shooting out of her eyes. On top of that, her sharp fingernails, which were so long that they curved C looked exactly like a female zombie that had been resurrected from inside the coffin, carrying with her all the paraphernalia of funerary objects. On the contrary, Mei Ji Sina was a beautiful, touching, young Miao woman; her hair was long, ck and shiny. Quite unusual however, she did not wear Miao hat or even had her hair tied in colorful ribbon. Even though like right now, for example, she was leaping over to fight and stake her life, she was still smiling prettily, as if her heart was filled with passion, and was enjoying life to the fullest every moment. Her cheekbones were quite high. Were it not for her equally high aquiline nose, which matched very well with her facial features, she would look extremely unsightly. As it was right now, it only made her look a hundred percent haughty, but with ten thousand kinds of flirtatious expressions. Both she and her master Xia Miaoying wore simr pleated skirts, but her skirt only reached to her knees, revealing curvaceous and extremely beautiful leggings and a pair of cowhide boots; her entire being exuded a peachy, teasing overtone. But the skill she disyed was slightly inferior to Xia Miaoying. Following closely behind her, as shended on the bow, the deck did not shake the least bit. From the sword sheathe protruding from behind her right shoulder, Xu Zilings eyes moved to the third person, a young man C arriving on the deck. This gentleman must be Chengdus young evil tyrant Huo Jitong. On top of his tight warrior outfit, he wore gorgeous brocade gown. There was a long saber hanging on his waist. His build was strong and muscr, his skin swarthy; although he could not be called handsome, he exuded a valiant masculine charm. His least pleasing aspect was his arrogant demeanor, as if his eyes can see nothing worthwhile all around [idiom]. Only after these three, headed by Xia Miaoying, stood on the bow in triangr formation, the other four men arrived one after another. Two of them were Miao, while the other two were Han, who ought to be Huo Jitongs cronies. Lin Lang was the first to cup his fist to salute; he greeted the three ording to Jianghu custom. After his opening remark, he said, Since Laos immortal self has arrived, I ... Xia Miaoying did not even look at him with the corner of her eye; she just stared ferociously at Xu Ziling. Waving her hand to cut him off, she said, Less idle talk. And then she grimly said, Gong Chenchun, your guts is indeed big; after shrinking your head for so many years, you have the cheek to swagger into San Hua Luo to have fun. Do you think that I, Xia Miaoying, am so old that I forget your past conducts and deeds and no longer want to bother about you? Seeing the bitter resentment and indignation in her eyes, Xu Ziling had a feeling that the enmity between her and Gong Chenchun could not possibly that simple; perhaps there was even entanglement of gratitude and grudges between a man and a woman. Inwardly he groaned for his bad luck. He also knew that as soon as he started speaking, he would immediately reveal the cloven foot, yet it was impossible for him not to speak. Without any choice he could only sigh and shook his head with a rueful smile. Mei Ji Sinas almond eyes grew big; scolded tenderly, she said, Because you randomly abandoned her, Da Shijie [oldest martial sister] died in grief, even if you, Gong Chenchun died ten thousand times, it is still not enough to redeem your guilt. Inwardly Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief, while was amused at the same time. At first he thought he and Xiao Miaoying had some love affairs; turned out it was with her first disciple. Smiling wryly, he said, This affair is exceptionallyplex, woulddies and gentlemen care to hear my exnation? Huo Jitongs eyes shed with ominous glint; he angrily shouted, Just by looking at how when you heard the news of her death you did not show the least bit of grief, I immediately know that you, Gong Chenchun, arepletelycking any feeling; you have the heart of a beast and the lungs of a dog. Behind Xu Ziling, Lei Jiuzhi let out a weird soundingughter and said, Huo Jitong, where do you think you are going? In Chengdu alone, the number of women who you raped and abandoned is too many to count. Ah Da [the first/oldest (son)] shouldnt tell Ah Er [the second (son)]! For the first time Xiao Miaoying and the others eyes moved away from Xu Ziling to Lei Jiuzhi, who had changed from a stoop-backed into a straight-backed man. Ah! Huo Jitong eximed. Pulling the saber on his waist, he stepped out from the crowd and shouted sternly, Who are you? Xu Ziling knew it would be difficult for this matter to end well. The only way was to make the opposite party sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat [idiom]. But his biggest problem was that he must not reveal any Yue Shan martial art with which he defeated Xi Ying. Swiftly moving forward, he let out a cold snort and said, If you can block my three moves, Ol Gong is willing to have my hands tied and waiting to be captured, and you can punish me however you wish. But if you cannot block, all of you must leave immediately, and have to promise never to bother me again. Huo Jitong, do you have the qualifications to make the decision? Rubbish! Huo Jitong shouted angrily, while simultaneously charging forward and brandishing his saber in swift chop. The saber created whooshing wind. Lin Lang hurriedly stepped back. On the ship, most of the Wu Jiang Bang men, except the man in charge of the helm, were gathered on the bridge to watch the excitement. The other passengers also swarmed out of their room and crowded inside and outside the cabins door to watch; Han Zenan being one of them. Xu Ziling calmlyughed, his forehead moved following the opponents saber momentum, his right hand reached out, looking like a w, but also like an open palm, but just before it made contact with the de of the opponents saber, the fingers suddenly gathered together to form a palm chop. Bang! The qi power took on the saber momentum head on. It was as if Huo Jitong was struck by lightning; his entire body, along with his saber, was hacked down by Xu Ziling that he staggered six, seven steps backward. None of the spectators was not emotionally moved. Actually, Xu Ziling was only using half of his power. If he had used his full power, perhaps Huo Jitong would have spurted blood on the spot. Xia Miaoying shouted loudly, Jitong, back off! Fast as lightning Mei Ji Sina moved forward to prevent Xu Ziling from following up the victory and press home the attack. Scolded tenderly, she said, If you could defeat me in three moves, we will immediately turn around and leave. Full of resentment Huo Jitong return to Xia Miaoyings side. Although he did not ept his defeat, but since the blood and qi in his entire body were surging, he did not have the strength to continue fighting. No matter how brilliant Xu Zilings power was, he was well aware that Sinas skill far surpassed Huo Jitongs; however, if he could make the enemy retreat by doing this, it would be extremely ideal. Steeling his heart, he said, One word and its settled [idiom: its a deal]. If within three moves Ol Gong cannot beat you, I will let my hands tied and waiting to be captured, and definitely will not eat my own words. Immediately sneers and jeers rang out from Xia Miaoyings side, they thought he was overestimating his own capabilities. Wu Jiang Bang and the other passengers were also buzzing. In their heart, they were all standing on their fellow passenger, Xu Zilings side; naturally they were worried and felt that his unwise decision was a great pity. It should be noted that Mei Ji Sina was one of the four great chiefs of Ba Meng, her name shook Bashu, defeating her was not easy, let alone trying to score a victory within three moves. If Xu Ziling were now Yue Shan instead of Gong Chenchun, it would be a different story altogether. Sinaughed tenderly and said, Gong Chenchun, you are indeed arrogant and brazen. Ring! the sword left its sheathe. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Hold on! Xia Miaoying shouted sternly, Are you trying to go back on your word? Book 26 - 3 – The Song Family’s Mountain City Book 26 Chapter 3 C The Song Familys Mountain City The outside appearance and the inside of the Song Familys mountain city would give people twopletely different feeling. If in the former there was a reminiscence of offensive and defensive, killing and attacking, thetter could only make people associate it with peaceful, leisurely ambience. Several hundred houses were scattered around within the city, connected to each other by more than a dozen neat and tidy bluestone-paved big streets. The most distinctive feature was that the houses were built inyers following the topography of the mountain. Eachyer was connected to the next by stone steps and ramp to provide convenient ess for the residents, as well as the vehicles and horses. Trees, flowers and shrubberies were nted on the sides of the road. There was also irrigation system by diverting streams from the mountain springs. Interspersed among the gardens and residences, the streams became small bridges and running water, with endless ponds and pavilions, creating beautiful scenery. The open space was spacious but cozy, a garden design very specific to Jiangnanndscape. Standing in it, one would feel like he was in a big garden on the mountain. The main buildingplex was situated on the very top, the ninthyer, on a t in about two li wide. The buildings were lofty and steep, the construction elegant, the main materials were wood and stone. From the ornamented eaves to the decorative windows, not a single one was not meticulously crafted. The design was brimming with some kind of vigorous, imposing style of southern cultural feel, giving other people the stronger feeling of the Song ns influential position in the south. Kou Zhong followed behind Song Lu and Song Zhi, two men, weaving around the pavilions and gazebos, and garden of flowers and trees, until they reached the courtyard gate of the Mo Dao Tang [grinding saber hall], at the end of the mountain city. Song Zhi stopped and said, Shall the two of us apany Shao Shuai to see Da Xiong? Song Lu heaved a sigh and said, Listening to the tone of your voice, Da Xiong ought to have instructed you that he wants to see Xiao Zhong alone. Song Zhi nodded with a wry smile. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Lu Shu and Zhi Shu are afraid that Fazhu would want to test his saber on me? Worried over Kou Zhongs safety, Song Zhi said, He will definitely test your saber technique; question is: will he kill you? Usually the person whose name he engraved on the whetstone ended up losing his life under his saber. Puzzled, Kou Zhong asked, Why would he suddenly want to kill me? What benefit would killing me bring to him, the Senior? Song Zhi replied, Da Xiong conducts are always difficult to measure. He secretly went out of the mountain city for a while, and when he returned, he engraved your name on the grindstone. I tried sounding him out many times, but he refused to disclose even the slightest hint. Therefore, in this matter we can only bet on your luck. If Shao Shuai decided to leave the city immediately, we will definitely not me you. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, How can I, Kou Zhong, be someone who shrink back as the time for battle approaches? I am even more confident that I am going to get out alive and will look for two gentlemen for a drink. Xu Zilingughed indifferently and said, Lao, please do not misunderstand; I just want to see if I could borrow a saber. Everybody was greatly astonished. To do a good job, an artisan needs the best tools [idiom]. Even sabers forged by the same cksmith would differ in weight, sharpness and speed. That was the reason why martial art practitioners attached great importance to the weapon they carried on them. Because without spending a long period of time to master the characteristics of the weapon, one might be encumbered by it and would not be able to unleash their moves and skill to the highest realm. Like Xu Ziling, for example; he wanted to defeat Mei Ji Sina in three strokes, but whether or not he could unleash the weapons characteristic would be the key influencing the oue. Moreover, he urgently borrowed a weapon that his hand had not had a chance to adjust at thest moment, the biggest possibility was that before he had grasped clearly the weapon characteristic, and the three strokes would already be over. Lin Lang untied the saber hanging on his waist and handed it over to Xu Ziling, saying, Gong Ye, please take a look if this can be used. Huo Jitong snorted coldly; apparently he was unhappy with Lin Langs action. Xu Ziling took the long saber, and slowly pulled it out of its scabbard. Holding the scabbard in his left hand and the saber in his right, his eyes shot fierce lightning light toward Huo Jitong, who was standing next to Xia Miaoying, as he spoke heavily, No matter how this matter will develop, the affair between me and you has absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with Wu Jiang Bang. If I, Gong Chenchun, suffer defeat and meet a misfortune of being captured, naturally I wont have any credibility to speak. But in the event that Ol Gong is lucky and score a victory, and in the future you, Huo Jitong are giving trouble to Wu Jiang Bang, I, Gong Chenchun hereby vow that no matter the size of the trouble, I will definitely take your life. The moment the saber left the scabbardpletely, a burst of burning hot saber qi immediately emanated from the core of the long saber, like it was secretly rushing forth to attack the enemy. Combined with his threatening heroic aura and the determination in his voice, it was indeed full of extremely intimidating power. Mei Ji Sina, who bore the brunt of this silent attack, has never even dreamed that unexpectedly there was someone who could exploit the momentum of a saber being pulled out so that it exuded such a formidable and fantastic qi power. Immediately, as if her body did not want to follow its masters will, she recoiled one step back, while brandishing her sword to block the opponents invisible, yet so real, enormous saber qi. Xia Miaoyings countenance was changed as well. Huo Jitong has early on felt the chill creeping in his heart just from his gaze. When the saber qi C surging like the tide C arrived, unexpectedly he could not withstand and had to take two steps back; momentarily he did not even dare to say anything to retort. The other people felt that Xu Zilings words were quite fair and reasonable, simply because if in her capacity as the heir of Sichuans He Yi Pai, plus her position as one of the four major chiefs of Ba Meng C she was defeated in just three moves, then in the entire Sichuan, quite possibly the Wulin Magistrate Xie Hui was the only person with the ability to protect Huo Jitongs little life; other people could simply forget about it. Besides, if Huo Jitong disregarded the rules of Jianghu like that and relied on his power to vent his anger on Wu Jiang Bangter on, with Xie Huis ordinarily impartial style, he would never interfere or even care about it. Knowing that he already intimidated Huo Jitong, Xu Ziling turned his gaze toward Mei Ji Sina, while pointing the de of his saber toward her. Strange thing happened. The surging, churning scorching saber qi suddenly vanished without any trace. In its ce was a yin in nature, an intensely cold, qi. Finally Xia Miaoying was overwhelmed with shock. Naer, back off! she shouted sternly, while stretching out her whisk. By this time, everybody knew the strength of Gong Chenchuns martial art skill was far beyond Xia Miaoyings imagination, which made herpletely lost confidence in Sinas ability to fight desperately in three moves. By nature, Sina was obstinate, naturally she was unwilling to admit defeat before even fighting for one move. Clenching her teeth, she called out, Shifu, dont worry! The sword in her hand createdyer uponyer of fantastic sword shadows; turning from passive to active [lit. the guest acts as host (idiom)], she suddenly attacked, her sword rained down on Xu Ziling as if it was hiding the sky and covering the earth, while carrying abundant power. Using the man to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy. Every action and every word of Xu Ziling were all inpliance with thew of the Yijian Technique, so finally Sina was forced to take the initiative by attacking first, which would save him not a few of effort. If she had been on the defensive, quite possibly he would be the loser in this limited-to-three-strokes battle. Actually, he had pulled a legitimate trick. When he was pulling the saber, he seized the opportunity to release the burning hot qi power from the Secret to Long Life, which he suddenly turned into a cold qi ording to Kou Zhongs technique from the Secret to Long Life. Therefore, although he did not move a single stroke, he had actually already made his move. If Sina suffered defeat in this momentum face-off, then he would go all-out and make his move by drawing on this opportunity of qi advantage and use just one saber strike to seize victory. Sina was already forced to take one step back by his saber qi. She has just steadied her footing and had never expected that the opponent was able to transform heat into cold. Immediately her mind was in great chaos. If she did not counterattack, her only way out was to retreat more; certainly it would be even more detrimental to her. In this momentum face-off, she had been utterly defeated. Inwardly she clearly knew that she was definitely not Xu Zilings match. Her only hope was that she could rely on her swordy to pass the three moves. When martial masters were vying against each other, if ones will was snatched away, ones confidence would suffer blow, ones power would naturally be greatly reduced. And Sina had definitely fallen into Xu Zilings carefullyid trap. Whether it was ability, wisdom, or martial art, the gap between the two was simply too far. Xia Miaoying raised her whisk up, while pursuing closely behind Sinas back, intending to enter the battle arena, but she was still one step toote. Xu Ziling took half a step back, the saber in his right hand drew a beautiful arc in the air, moving the heavy saber as if it was light, hacking down on the empty air. Sina felt as if her sword qi was being sucked dry that not even half a drop remained. Her sword move became empty, like it was only a stance without any substance at all. Furthermore, she felt as if she was drawn toward his saber to receive her death. Her soul flew away and scattered, she no longer cared about the three strokes, and withdrew her sword and retreated in panic. Xia Miaoying followed Sina advancing and retreating. Brushing past, her whisk, imbued with whistling true power C swept across toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling cried Lucky! inwardly. Using his borrowed saber, he emted the Tian Mo Da Fa [demonic great method] to thirty-, forty-percent resemnce, so that without blood on the mens swords [idiom: effortless victory] he managed to scare this brimming-with-ethnic-bearing Miao beauty that she retreated. This moment, seeing the arrival of the whisk, without even thinking Xu Ziling executed the Troops without Regr Power from Li Jings Bloody Battle Ten Styles, sweeping the strongest point of Xia Miaoyings escaping one. Pow! Xia Miaoyings whisk was met head-on by his seemingly random saber sweep. All the exquisite follow-up changes were immediately sealed, while a burst of abundant, unfathomable and irresistible saber qi prated her defense via the whisk. Letting out a stifled groan, although inwardly she really did not want to concede, she knew that she waspletely unable to parry the hack, let alone to push him back. Xu Zilings saber momentum changed from Troops without Regr Power to the tenth style, the Ruler Overlooking the World stance, where it embodied both offense and defense, and was able to control the opponent remotely. Even with Xia Miaoyings ability, she still felt that if she continued her attack in this disadvantageous position, she would only bring disgrace to herself. Unexpectedly, for a moment she was forced to retreat again, and thus she dispelled any idea of counterattack. The two sides resumed their initial position of standing face-to-face against each other. Naturally Xu Ziling was unwilling to push others too far; thereupon he cupped his fist and said, Both in terms of theory and practice, Ol Gong basically did not have any confidence to surpass Sina Dangjia in three moves; I was merely utilizing myprehension of the little ything of troops deployment to dangerous situation, which I had hidden for many years. Whether we still want to continue, Ill ask Lao to decide. This remark could be considered giving the other side some face. After exchanging a nce with Sina, Xia Miaoying abruptly stomped her foot and said, Defeat is defeat; theres no need for you to tter us. Were leaving. Behind the door was a long corridor zigzagging across the pond and flowerbed. He continued walking forward along the corridor, turning left and rounding right, while absorbing everything with his eyes. Green garden was everywhere; each step brought him to a different scenery, as well as unusual artistic concept. At the end of zigzagging corridor was a hexagonal stone pavilion, located just in the dead center of a pond, which was connected to the winding corridor of the surrounding courtyard by a stone bridge. The stone bridge was pointing at another entrance. Hidden from view was another open space, with an ancient tree towering to the sky, lush, big and sturdy, full of vitality. Kou Zhong walked pass the stone pavilion, over the bridge and across the corridor, through the secondyer of courtyard gate, where wide-open space suddenly appeared before his eyes. At the end was a magnificent five-bay wooden structure, with a locust tree, more than a dozen zhang tall, standing proudly in the middle of the courtyard, creating myriad of ambience, like a gauzed umbre hiding the structure and the courtyard in its shade. Under the bright sun, the tree shade seemed to blend with the main structure into one entity, mutually enhancing each others jagged silhouette to form a brimming-with-poetic-feeling still picture. Kou Zhong felt a great sense of freedom. He walked slowly around the locust tree to fully enjoy the scenery before slowly climbing the white stone steps of the building, underneath a horizontal board with three characters Mo Dao Tang [grinding saber hall] engraved on it. On the vast open space inside the Mo Dao Tang, a man was standing in the middle of the hall with his back facing the door. There was no visible weapon on him. His build was straight like a javelin, with dark green and blue long gown draped over his body, high and steep, majestic like a mountain. His jet-ck hair was tied into a bun on top of his head with a red ribbon. And he had his hands behind his back. Although Kou Zhong had not seen the outline of his five sense organs, he already felt the consider-oneself-unexcelled-in-the-world, the look-at-the-world-disdainfully-out-of-the-corner-of-his-eyes lofty spirit. On the walls on either side of him hung more than a dozen treasured sabers in all different shapes and sizes. On the far side wall opposite the door, there was a huge rock, about a persons height C that looked like a stgmite, dark and glossy, making the already peculiar atmosphere of the Mo Dao Tang even more hard to describe. Kou Zhong was a man who did not follow conventions and was extremely daring, yet when he was in the presence of this outstanding personality, who was hailed as the number one saber expert in the world, he could not help trembling a little with fear. He sincerely saluted toward his back, saying, Houbei [youngerter generation] Kou Zhong paying my respect to Fazhu! A gentle and pleasant to hear voice replied, You arete! Stunned, Kou Zhong echoed, I amte? Like a whirlwind Song Que turned around and coldly said, You are at least one yearte. Kou Zhong finally came face to face with the Heavenly Saber Song Que, whose name shook the heaven, who, since his debut, has never met his rival, the father of Kou Zhongs beloved. Lei Jiuzhi pursued behind him into the cabin. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Why are you following me? Lei Jiuzhi closed the door to cut off other peoples vision. Drawing close to Xu Zilings back, he said in low voice, Naturally I have an important matter I need to discuss with you. Letting out a cold snort, Xu Ziling said, You and I had no rtion before, and will never have any in the future. If you are sensible, you would get out of my way; otherwise, dont me Ol Gong for being rude to you. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Gong Xiong, please do not scare me. You, this person, are cold on the outside, but hot on the inside. Moreover, you are not one who uses your strength to mistreat people. As long as you are willing to listen to a few words of mine, I guarantee that you will revise your point of view toward Xiaodi. Xu Ziling turned around to face him. Nodding, he said, You answer me first; just now, why were you so eager to stick out your head like that? Lei Jiuzhis pair of eyes flickered with lively light, he spoke in heavy voice, Because you are wearing the mask that my Enshi [benevolent master] crafted with his own hands. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Lei Xiongs eyesight is surely brilliant, but I wonder whats the honorable surname and great given name of your so-called Enshi? Revealing a hint of pained smile, Lei Jiuzhi dejectedly replied, Although I regard Lu Miaozi Dashi [great master] as my Master, but he was never willing to acknowledge me as his disciple. Yet the reason of my, Lei Jiuzhi, aplishment today is all thanks to him. Xu Ziling was not moved emotionally at all; he calmly asked, When did you see through that I am wearing a mask? I was only guessing, Lei Jiuzhi replied, My pair of ears have received special training. Not only they can hear the subtle difference of the dice rolling around inside the bowl, they can even eavesdrop someone elses word from a distance. When I found out that unexpectedly you did not know that Xia Miaoying was rushing over for you, I then guessed that you are not the real Gong Chenchun. As a matter of fact, you are a hundred times more superior to Gong Chenchun. Therefore, I deliberately walked behind your back to scrutinize the difference in skin tone between your neck and your face. Only then was I certain that you are wearing a mask. Also, only masks that came from Lu Shis [master] miraculous hands could be without any w like this. Xu Ziling sat down on the chair by the window. He spoke indifferently, Since Mr. Lu had never acknowledged you as his disciple, what is your rtionship with Mr. Lu then? Lei Jiuzhi sat down on the other chair. His face revealed a reminiscing look, he spoke slowly, It happened more than thirty years ago. At that time I was only fifteen, I ran errands in one of the casinos in Guanzhong. One day Lu Miaozi came to gamble. Using an iparable gambling technique he ferociously won a sum of money. When he was leaving, I ran behind him and begged him to teach me his technique to win money. Ay! At that time I thought he was just a gambler whose skill was more superior to others. Xu Ziling could imagine Lu Miaozis reaction. Smiling, he asked, What did he say? Stroking his cheek, Lei Jiuzhi said, He bestowed me a p on my face, and then he roared inughter and said, Those who seek instant benefit, like cheating and scheming to be rich, will forever be Dulin masters [y of words: Wulin C martial art forest, Dulin C gambling forest]. Since I have pped you, let me pass on to you a two-word secret [of an art] method! By this time Xu Ziling already believed Lei Jiuzhi at least seventy-, eighty-percent, because it was precisely the arrogant Lu Miaozis style of speaking. Greatly interested, he asked, What two words? Lei Jiuzhi sighed and said, Precisely the quit greed, two words. Xu Ziling burst inughter. Mr. Lu is absolutely right, he said, What else can you tell me? Lei Jiuzhi said, At that time I was dumbstruck and unable to reply, but Lu Shi continued, Relying on my gambling technique, I could easily win over a casino like this. But I only won fifty taels and left; this is precisely quit greed. Only those who canpletely put their greed under control will have the qualifications to win other peoples money, so it was not a random talk at all. In his mind, Xu Ziling drew the picture of Lu Miaozis facial expression and his demeanor when he talked like that; thinking about the distant separation between Man and Heaven, a pang of pain appeared in his heart. When it happened, Lu Miaozis death did not bring him much grief; but afterwards, each time he recalled Lu Miaozis voice and features and his smiling face, his grief, admiration, as well as the feeling of missing him, grew with each passing day. On Susu, he did not even dare to think about her, because it was simply too heavy and painful! Lei Jiuzhis voice entered his ears, When I thought that Lu Shi was abandoning me and was leaving, suddenly he came back and stroked my head. Muttering to himself, he said, You, this kid, have a very good skull; your are quite spirited as well. Since I am looking for a helper, how about youe with me for a period of time? And thats how it started. Those were the happiest days of my life. He never taught me anything, but he never stopped me from watching and learning from the side. Too bad it was only for a short half-a-year period. Is he, the Senior, well? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Mr. Lu has be an immortal early on. Lei Jiuzhis entire body shook severely; tears flowed down his face. Book 26 - 4 – The Heavenly Saber Song Que Book 26 Chapter 4 C The Heavenly Saber Song Que The handsome face without the least bit of blemish, the dazzling-like-shiny-precious-stone and in-high-spirits eyes under a clear pair of thick eyebrows, the wide forehead that showed above average intelligent, the mncholy hidden within the gentle facial expression that could move anybodys heart, but could also make people feel that the affection was so deep that it was hard to pin down. Although frost had started to appear on Song Ques temples, there was not the slightest sign of aging. On the contrary, it actually increased his imposing manner as the lord of a prestigious school, a big n, his elegance as a Confucian schr, while also his intimidating power at the first nce, an unattainable impression. Combined with his well-proportioned elegant build and deep-pool-highest-mountain-peak posture, there was an intoxicating charisma of the finest martial art master, who considered himself unexcelled in the world. He was about a cun taller than Kou Zhong. With his gaze sweeping him, Kou Zhong was overwhelmed with uneasy feeling as if he could not hide anything from this man. Song Que raised his head to look at the beam of the building, while remaining tranquil and calm, he said, Since Jin dynastys Emperor Min was captured by Liu Yao the Huns [orig. Xiongnu], Western Jin dynasty fell, the world also fell into all-split-up-and-in-pieces situation. Since then Hu people [barbarians, non-Han people] wreaked havoc, until the Sui dynastys Emperor Wen in his ninth year of reign exterminated the Chen, and the world returned to its unified state. During the two hundred and seventy years in between, demonic people held power, putting our Han peoples orthodox way into chaos. Although the Sui dynasty reigned for barely thirty-eight years, and it ceased to exist by the time Yuwen Huaji murdered his superior Yang Guang in Yangzhou, such a short period of time opened up the golden opportunity for whoever is able to unify the world to aplish much. His gaze again fell on Kou Zhongs face, he let out a cold humph and said, Shao Shuai evidently know how Yang Jian was able to obtain the world? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Must be the time hase and his luck has arrived? Song Que threw his head back in longughter, Well said, he said, At the time the young emperor seeded to the throne, Yang Jian was in a position of power; since the ancient time, there has never been one like Yang Jian who obtained the world quite easily. From the time Yang Jian started the secondary government until he seized the throne and established the Sui dynasty, from head to tail there were merely ten months. His sess came fast, it has never been seen then and now. And then he smiled and said, Does Shao Shuai know why Yang Jian was able to aplish his great undertaking so fast? Inwardly Kou Zhong was d that he had read and reread Lu Miaozis legacy scroll until he was familiar with it. He replied, Ipetent opponents, Northern Zhous [Dynasty (557-581)] monarch had not established power, thereupon Yang Jian was able to seize the momentum and rose up. This is just Xiaozis [kid] view, Fazhu, please bestow directions. Song Que nodded and said, Shao Shuai is right, only you missed the most important point, which was the Han unification is on the rise again. Finished speaking, his face showed a deep-in-thought expression; still with his hands behind his back, he strolled on Kou Zhongs left side, and stopped and stood motionless when he was about five paces behind Kou Zhong. His eyes emitted profound emotion, as he gazed at the locust tree in the courtyard. He spoke glibly, The reason Northern Wei [(386-534), founded by the Tuoba branch of Xianbei] was able to unify the north was simply because the Xianbei [or Xianbi, group of northern nomadic people] barbarians were brave and adept at war, practically Han people were not their match. But since the barbarians wreaked havoc in our Central Earth, our Han people are strong-willed, in the matter of life and death, we knew that if we did not strive for self-improvement, it would be difficult to defend ourselves. We must turn the wind to the esteeming of military skills, and to wash away the crumbling Confucian and literary cultivation that have been revered since the Emperor Wu [of the Han dynasty (141-87BC)]. Before the Northern Zhou was even one year old, the high-ranking military officers as the backbone of the army were all Han people, and Yang Jian was precisely the great general who grasped military leadership for many generations. It is thus clear that the reason Yang Jian was able to ascend the emperors throne was indeed the inevitable oue of the restoration and rise of the Han peoples power. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Fazhus view is very thorough. I have never thought that deeply about this issue. No wonder presently Central Earths heroic and mighty mene forth inrge numbers, the situation is prosperous and bustling with excitement. Song Que spoke heavily, But only two are worthy to be considered in my eyes; one is Li Yuans second son Shimin, the other is you, Kou Zhong. Kou Zhongs old face blushed; a bit embarrassed, he said, Fazhu overpraised me! But his eyes could not help looking at the whetstone that looked like a spirit tablet enshrined and worshipped at the end of the hall. Searching through more than a dozen names engraved on the stone, surprisingly he found that his name was carved on the highest ce on the stone; he could not help feeling frightened. Song Ques voice turned gentle, he spoke softly, Since the Han dynasty was defeated and perished, the world continues to be put in the situation where the north and the south are standing opposite to each other, and the reason is simply because of the Chang Jiang acting as the natural barrier. Did Shao Shuai know that the Li Family of Guanzhong has already reached agreement with various hegemons in Bashu? If the Li Family is able to take Luoyang, then Bashu, under Xie Huis leadership, will align their allegiance to the Li Family. At that time, because Bashu will belong to the Li Family, and Chang Jiang will no longer be natural defense, the south will fall into the Li Familys hands. As long as they have enough warships, the Li Familys main forces can just go west along the river, and then who would have power to resist them? Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air; his greatest fear was finally happening. Shi Feixuan was indeed more formidable than magnificent army with thousands of men and horses; with no blood on the mens sword, she won half of the country for Li Shimin. Not many people knew better than he about Wang Shichongs real situation. Even a seemingly imprable city like Luoyang was still far away from being Li Shimins match. Song Que sighed and said, If a year ago you, Kou Zhong, could have momentum and prestige like todays, I, Song Que, would fully support you, I might even get through to Xie Hui to have Bashu stand on your side. Too bad the current situation has changed. Unless you make an oath in front of the whetstone that you will withdraw from the striving over the world, you can forget about leaving Mo Dao Tang alive today. Although Li Shimin has some barbarian lineage, by chasing the root and tracing the source, Song Que can still consider him a Han, so Ill let him tidy up this all-split-up-and-in-pieces terrible mess! However, were it not for the Li Family drew a clear dividing line with the Tujue, Ol Song would never had made this decision. Listening to this, Kou Zhongs scalp went numb. It was only now that he understood why his name was engraved on the whetstone, and why Song Yuzhi, using thousand ways, a hundred ns, was trying to stop him from seeing Song Que; it was definitely something that Kou Zhong had never expected. Some kind of preposterous feeling bubbled up in his mind, Kou Zhong threw his head back andughed heartily, saying, Since thats the case, Kou Zhong would be happy to ask for advice from Fazhus Heavenly Saber secret art. Please! Xu Ziling waited until Lei Jiuzhi regained hisposure, and then removing his mask, he said, I am Xu Ziling. It was not until Lei Xiong revealed your true feeling that I dare to believe Lei Xiongs words. Lei Jiuzhi focused his attention to look at him. Lowering his voice, he said, Carefully sailing the boat for ten-thousand years [a quotation from Zhuangzi (369-286 BC), a Daoist author (Baidu Zhidao, in Chinese)]. Xu Xiongdis attitude is correct. Ay! I should have guessed early on that you must be Xu Ziling. I wonder if Ziling has another Yue Shan mask? Xu ZIling nodded to affirm. After inquiring about Xu Zilings rtionship with Lu Miaozi, Lei Jiuzhi regretfully said, Based on Zilings astonishing strength, which is enough to kill the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, if you could help me, then where water flows, a canal is formed [idiom: when conditions are right, sess will follow naturally]. However, of course I understand that Ziling has an even more important matter to attend to. Without any better option, I will have to find a way to resolve my problem. Theres no harm in Lei Xiong giving me further exnation, Xu Ziling said. Lei Jiuzhi muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day before saying, I had a fight with Xiang Gui of Baling Bang. Also, although on the surface the Huo Family, father and son, have no rtionship with the Xiang Family, the fact is that they are actually Baling Bang people in charge of their brothel and casino business in Bashu. Xiang Gui was actually Xiang Yushans ol dad. Upon hearing this, Xu Ziling was greatly interested; he asked, No wonder when Lei Xiong saw Huo Jitonging to pursue us, you mistakenly thought that they areing to bring you trouble. Could you tell me a bit more details? Lei Jiuzhi said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly. There has always been rumored in Jianghu that not only Baling Bang has been going around both the Central Earth and abroad in search of beautiful women for that dead ghost Yang Guang, they are also secretly engaged in shameful shady business of trafficking those women. But so far nobody has been able to grasp any tangible evidence. It was quite by ident that I encountered this kind of activity at Yunnans Dali region. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Wasnt that a thing of the past? Snorting disdainfully, Lei Jiuzhi said, Such a lucrative business, how could their Xiang Family be willing to give up? In my opinion, even Xiao Xian himself is kept inside a drum, so it has be solely their Xiang Familys business. This way, even if in the future Xiao Xians army is defeated, their Xiang Family could still enjoy glory, splendor, wealth and rank to the fullest. Since ancient times, prostitution and gambling, these two industries have never declined. Inwardly Xu Ziling thought that whether it was formon good or personal reason, he and Kou Zhong absolutely must not let Xiang Yushan do this kind of devoid-of-conscience evil deeds and get away to enjoy endless riches, honor and peace. How could they keep this human trafficking business in secret this long? Xu Ziling asked. Lei Jiuzhi replied, They have two ways to do that: first, they wont let any outsiders know that those brothels and casinos are actually under their banner. Secondly, they specifically go to remote ces, by making threats and promises via lowly middlemen to buy young, oftentimes underage women, whom they trained and then supplied to brothels and depraved matchmakers in all parts of the country. Formerly there were corrupt bureaucrats of the Sui dynasty who covered up for them. But now that the whole country is in rebellion, nobody has the time to pay them any attention. Xu Ziling asked, What is Lei Xiongs n to deal with them? Revealing a smile full of confidence, Lei Jiuzhi said, I want to force Xiang Gui to get out and make a big bet against me. Song Que passed slowly by Kou Zhongs side again. He smiled and said, In terms of view, appearance and martial art, Shao Shuai is indeed qualified to be my, Song Ques opponent. However, there is one big w that will doom you to your death. Looking at Song Ques imposing, outstanding-like-pine-and-cypress-on-lofty-mountain back was he walked over toward the whetstone, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Fazhu is absolutely right; how could I, Kou Zhong, have any desire to kill my sweethearts father? Song Que suddenly stopped. In that case, he shouted sternly, You might as well kill yourself and be done with it! If you dont want to abandon your saber, there is no other choice. Even if you train saber technique for a hundred years, you still cannot reach the pinnacle of the saber technique. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, How could there be any pinnacle on earth? If there was limit, wouldnt it represent some kind of stagnation? Song Que turned around like a whirlwind. The unusual light on his eyes red out like the brightest star in the depth of the night, like a sharp arrows his gaze met Kou Zhongs, but his wlessplexion was still like a still water without any ripple, as he coldly said, That is just the words of the ignorant. Everybody, in a certain time, has his own limit. Like leaping high with all ones strength; no matter how one exerts oneself physically, one could only reach certain height. But if one is carrying heavy object, the height of what one can achieve might be reduced. The rest is just nonsense. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, I was talking about different thing, it was just a general reflection. But to Fazhu, perhaps it was also a nonsense. It was definitely a nonsense, Song Que spoke matter-of-factly, When the will is undivided, it will condense into spirit. When the spirit condenses, it starts to reach the intention. Only when the intention moves the hand will we be able to talk about method. When one who follows the method reaches the no-method realm, one would begin to understand how to use the saber. Appeared to be deep in thought, Kou Zhong muttered, Whats the difference between spirit and intention? Song Que stretched out an arm toward the wall and pushed. Ring! As if it was alive, one of the sabers created a noise, and unexpectedly it moved out of the scabbard, exactly like if it was pulled out by a hand. Watching this, a chill crept into Kou Zhongs heart. Song Que grabbed an empty air again, the thick-backed broadsword was like being pulled out by an invisible thread, and fell into the palm of his outstretched left hand. Strange change suddenly urred. The moment the thick-backed broadsword fell into Song Ques grasp, Kou Zhong felt that Song Que and his saber have be an indivisible merged-into-one entity. It was apletely intense and profound feeling, so subtle that it was hard to describe. At the same time Song Ques eyes shot lightning-like spirited ray, enveloping Kou Zhong so that he felt that his entire being, inside and outside, none can escape the gaze of this number one saber expert in the world; he was seen throughpletely, as if he was stark-naked and was being exposed to cold wind and icy snow. The instant the saber touched Song Ques palm, an imprable wall [orig. like copper wall, iron bastion], formless yet real C saber qi shot out from Song Ques core and pushed toward Kou Zhong, so that he was forced to apply his qi to resist; worse yet, he had to force himself to raise his will to fight. Otherwise, his courage would turn cold, and he would break down without fighting. Such martial art skill, if someone had told him, but he did not see with his own eyes and feel it with his own body, he would not have dared to believe that it was true. Song Ques expression was still calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos; casually he spoke without any emotion, Spirit is of the heart, intention is of the body. Every single saber strike, the whole body follows ordingly. The spirit and the intention be one, just like this one saber strike. Finished speaking, he took a step forward. An enormous momentum burst forth violently, as if it burst from the heaven above and the earth below, following his confident and vigorous step, carrying along a chilling-to-the-bone saber qi, rolling over toward Kou Zhong. Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well right on time when Song Ques thick-backed broadsword pressed the air in front of him, amazing in shape, brilliant and varied, changing continuously within two zhang radius of space, every change was so clear as if the intention was spelled out clearly using the saber. The worst thing was that with each change, all countermeasures that Kou Zhong had carefully nned were defeated, so that he was ovee with dejected feeling of all his previous achievements havee to waste. Song Ques use of the saber to this point has reached the realms of great heights, the acme of perfection. With the change of saber momentum, the footwork also changed ordingly. Kou Zhong was not even able to fathom from what angle hisst attack woulde from. Facing such a terrifying powerful enemy, Kou Zhongs fighting spirit soared instead. Unprecedented spirited light burst forth from his pair of tiger-eyes, as he watched the opponent attentively without blinking at all. Only when the enemys saber was only about three chi away from him, when the rushing forth saber qi violently arrived C did he let out a cold shout and rushed forward, with the Moon in the Well swiftly parried the attack, with abundant seed-or-die-trying, no-momentum-was-spared feeling. Dang! The two sabers shed. Kou Zhong let out a stifled grunt; both his body and his saber were swept by Song Ques thick-backed broadsword that he staggered three steps backward, but he was able to seal Song Ques follow-up change. Seeing Kou Zhongs face losing his ruddyplexion, Song Que pointed his saber toward this young opponent, but he did not seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. Throwing his head back in longughter, he said, Shao Shuai is indeed outstanding; unexpectedly your state of mind did not reveal any w at all, you were able to see through that only by meeting this saber strike head-on in braving-death, disregarding-everything block that you will have a chance to save your life. If it was an ordinary fighter, because he could not see through the many changes within the strike, he would certainly adopt defensive position or perhaps attempt to dodge, and that would result in an immediate downfall. Now you ought to know what the intention of the body means! His countenance returning to normal, Kou Zhong nodded and said, Practically I could not see through the changes in Fazhus saber momentum; but the moment I put myself in death, my hand unexpectedly seemed to know how to preserve my little life. This is probably the general idea of the intention of the body! Song Que smiled and said, The intention of the body is precisely the overall oue of all previous hard work, discipline training, and actualbat experience. What the heart and the spirit desire to do surpasses the thinking, but if you could do it only once in a while, you still cannot be considered an expert. Only if in each stroke each style the spirit and intention are blended together will the saber technique follow your hearts desire. Watch! This is the second saber strike. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Help! Until now, the blood and qi in his body were still surging, his unbearably painful and numb arm had barely recovered. He was well aware that whether in internal power or saber technique, he was inferior to the opponent by more than a notch. And from Song Ques saber push just now, he was able to determine that Song Que indeed had the intention to kill him, because there was no leniency in his move at all. So, if he was unable to block this saber strike, he would die. Even Song Que himself would be unable to change this inevitable oue. Fortunately Kou Zhong had a firm and persistent will, so he would definitely not lose his will to fight just because he knew he was not the opponents match. Letting out a cold snort, he took the initiative by attacking first. Song Que took a step forward, creating a pow! noise, and unexpectedly the entire Mo Dao Tang was shaking. Following his footwork, the saber cut across, without the least bit of fancy variation, yet it was able to push and break all changes in Kou Zhongs saber technique. Kou Zhong felt that Song Ques seemingly mediocre, nothing-special saber strike, was actually highly skillful but looked clumsy, it was able to change something rotten into something magical, eliminating all escape paths, so that he could not carryout anything else; the initiative was immediately reduced to passive. ng! Kou Zhong retreated three more steps from the hack. The de of Song Ques saber touched the ground, he glibly said, Can Shao Shuai see through the mystery of my saber strike? Kou Zhong regted his breathing quietly. Nodding, he said, Countless changes contained within one variation, the subtlety is not something that can be described. Song Que sighed and said, Child can indeed be taught. Its a pity that you will lose your life under Ol Songs saber. Kou Zhongughed aloud, the Moon in the Well hacked swiftly, immediately wind and thunder erupted simultaneously, the saber momentum was bold and powerful beyond humanprehension, yet there was agility and elegance hidden within it, giving the impression that he was able tobine these two extreme feelings into one. In itself, it was a marvel that was hard to believe. Good! Song Que thundered. His keen eyes lit up with unusual glint; however, his handsome-without-equal face did not reveal the slightest amount of emotion [orig. four types of human emotions: happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy], while the thick-backed saber in his hand swiftly hooked forward. It changed nine times before it hit the de of Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well. With his confidence in his own saber technique, Kou Zhong had to wholeheartedly concede that at his peak condition since he made his debut, Kou Zhong originally thought that in this saber strike he would be able to snatch a bit of decisive opportunity; who would have thought that Song Ques seemingly casual counterstrikepletely seized the initiative, just like the Yijian Technique, so that he could not carryout his remaining move even for half a cun. Song Que momentum was continuously expanding; as a result, the pressure on him was growing as well, as if his hands and feet were tied, and he was unable to use half his normal skill. Qiang! The two men suddenly separated but quickly came together again. In the blink of an eye the two sabers shed more than a dozen times. If someone was watching on the side, he would see that each saber strike from Song Que appeared to be simple, in, even clumsy. Yet Kou Zhong, who was in close proximity to him, knew that each rise and fall of the saber concealed a thousand changes ten thousand variations, so that no one would be able to understand the traces of his movements, and thus could only counter every move. Under this kind of circumstances, all those using the man to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy could not be used, let alone trying to find the opponents escaping one. After blocking Song Ques sometimes-light-sometimes-heavy, its-speed-followed-the-heart, and-could-attack-from-any-angle twenty-seventh strike, Kou Zhongs inner qi was nearing themp-which-oil-was-drying-out level and was in desperate straits where he did not have time to replenish it. Under Song Ques impossible-to-resist, startling-the-ghosts-and-immortal-on-heaven-and-earth saber technique, Kou Zhong felt like he was struggling to survive in the perilous situation of the ocean under torrential rain and gale; his only regret was that this moment he was already exhausted, and was facing the disaster of the crown of his head drowning. Taking advantage of while he still had a bit of strength left, Kou Zhong suddenly spun around, the Moon in the Well ferociously swept across the opponents long saber. Dang! It was extremely amazing; right the moment he spun around, Kou Zhong borrowed the spiraling force to miraculously escape from within the range of Song Ques enveloping saber wind and the sharp de, and then by throwing himself at the point where Song Ques saber momentum was the strongest, even with Song Ques ability, he was forced to block this saber strike head on. Going in and out, the saber technique was like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies, leaving no trace at all. It was the first time since the battle began that he managed to regain a little bit of initiative. Dang! Dang! Dang! Taking advantage of this split second opportunity, Kou Zhong sent out continuous, unbroken hacks at Song Que from three different angles, three different saber strikes without any ws in between. Since he spected that he was going to die anyway, these three saber strikes werepletely without reserved momentum. Immediately it generated powerful-without-equal violent force and fierce momentum, brimming with ever-onward-no-retreat spirit. Letting out a longugh, Song Que said, Delighted! Delighted! I have never had such a good time. Just like that the saber momentum turned over and flew, it sessively met Kou Zhongs three saber strikes. After three saber strikes, Kou Zhong lost his will to continue. This moment Song Ques saber swept across, sending the saber, as well as Kou Zhongs body, flying backward. Kou Zhong rolled out of the door, and fell on his butt on the ground in the courtyard. Wah! Finally Kou Zhong was unable to stop fresh blood from gushing out of his mouth and filling the air. While he was certain that he was about to die, he heard Song Ques voice, saying, By the time the sun is setting, we will continue this unfinished predestined meeting! Book 26 - 5 – Keep on Fighting Despite Continual Setbacks Book 26 Chapter 5 C Keep on Fighting Despite Continual Setbacks His eyes lit up, Lei Jiuzhi spoke in heavy voice, Not concealing anything from Ziling Xiong, for thest dozen of years or so, it could be said that LaoGe has been gambling in casinos all across the country, big and small. When people say Bei Lei Nan Xiang [lit. northern thunder southern fragrance], the northern thunder is referring to me, Lei Jiuzhi [reminder: his surname literally means thunder], and the southern fragrance is naturally Xiang Gui [his surname literally means, you guess it, fragrance]. Even without this human trafficking affair, I have always wanted to have a showdown on the gambling table against Xiang Gui. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Even if you could defeat him on the gambling table, what does it have to do with his human trafficking business? Lei Jiuzhi exined, Two years ago Xiang Gui publicly performed the washing hand in golden bowl ceremony [i.e. retiring]; he would no longer pay attention to the affairs in Jianghu. He also put on an act of closing many casinos and brothels, which everybody knew to be operating under his banner. But actually he was pulling wool over peoples eyes, so that those who intend to seek him would lose the trail. And now nobody knows where Xiang Gui lives. But if I could lure him out, perhaps we could find clues from him. With such a big business, there must be small-hill-like piles of ount books, roster, and so on, recording all settlements and transaction. As long as we can make it public, Xiang Guis evil empire will crumble immediately, and he will be a contempt of the world. Xu Ziling was still confused, Since he has washed his hand in golden bowl, how could he eat his own words ande out to have a showdown against Lei Xiong on the gambling table? Lei Jiuzhi said, His washing hand in golden bowl is merely a pretense; the fact is that within the Xiang Family, the one with most ambitions is his son, Xiang Yushan. I hear that recently he left Xiao Xian and turned his effort to expand the family business. As for the real reason, opinions differ. One of those opinions says that he had offended some opponent whom nobody dares to provoke, hence he needs to conceal his track. Ha! If even Xiao Xian is helpless to protect him, the disaster he invited upon himself must not be a small matter. Lets talk about thatter, Xu Ziling said, Could Lei Xiong tell me how you are going to lure Xiang Gui, father and son, out of their hiding? Lei Jiuzhi thought deeply for half a day before answering, Only by winning big over Xiang Gui until he loses his cool will he be willing toe out to bet against me. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, How would you know that the casino is operated by him? Lei Jiuzhi smiled and said, Every casino has its own many taboos,yout and tricks. As soon as I enter the casino and make a round, I will know which family or which Sect presided over the n, you can forget about deceiving me. Right now I already win big in Xiang Familys casinos one by one, and each time I appear in different disguise; I must have already provoked Xiang Guis attention, hence I mistakenly thought that Huo Jitong wasing to settle the score with me. I dont know if it was to deal with you, but in recent years he spends a lot of money to invite and hire martial art experts from various regions in order to increase his strength, but at the same time it also makes my situation very dangerous. Since thats the case, Xu Ziling said, how would your n work? Xiang Gui practically does not need to face Lei Xiong on the gambling table; he only needs to send his martial art masters to use force to deal with you. Perhaps he would even be able to recover all the money that you won from him earlier. With a card up his sleeve, Lei Jiuzhi said, Naturally it wont be that simple. Currently, I have stirred up the nest enough that the casinos under his banner are jittery [orig. wind sighing and crane calling] and anxious that they are unable to carry on even for a single day. It is critical for him to resolve this situation, and its not me who is anxious whether he woulde out to bet against me or not. I only need him to openly issue a challenge to me. Of course it has to be handled ording to Jianghu rules. But before it happens, I have to be exceptionally careful to preserve my life. Hence the reason I previously invited you to work with me. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Whether its for public or personal interests, both Kou Zhong and I are willing to deal with this matter. How about we wait till we see Kou Zhong before discussing the details? Greatly delighted, Lei Jiuzhi said, With Ziling and Shao Shuais help, the Xiang Family wont be able to escape this cmity. Let me exin in details the gambling techniques that I learned over the years to Ziling. Surprised, Xu Ziling said, It wont be me whos going to gamble, why would you want to teach me? Revealing a bit of sly smile, Lei Jiuzhi said, Since you are my assistant, how could you not understand a word of gambling technique [orig. does not even enter a single aperture of ones head]? When he woke up from his deep meditation, he was unable to see the sun anymore, since it has already dropped behind the courtyard wall. A flock of birds was frolicking and twittering noisily inside the dense shade of the locust tree leaves, producing unending zi zi cha cha racket. Nevertheless, his entire body felt rx and peaceful. After surviving the ocean, this was the second time that he exhausted his true qi, but this time he only needed a little more than two sichen [i.e. 4 hours] to fully recover, and his true qi was surging even faster, more refined and pure; proving that his previous inference was correct. If his true qi was exhausted, when it recovered, it would grow even more fantastic. To average people, this kind of situation rarely happened. What usually happened was that when the true qi could no longer continue, for example when ones strength was exhausted during fierce battle, one would end up dead. Only a few people could recover as fast as he did. Last time, when he was in the ocean, he exhausted his true qi because he was using inner breathing while diving under water. This time, it was due to Song Ques world-shaking, continuous saber technique that made his strength exhausted, his spirit weary, but it also made his true qi grew faster after being scattered and recovered. In the past, even when facing opponent as powerful as Wanwan, he still had gaps to recover his qi; but Song Ques heavenly saber was just like gigantic waves in the angry ocean, so that even a sliver of time to reconcile his breathing was difficult to seize. Encountering such an opponent, all he could do was to have desperate contest to see whose qi and meridians wouldst longer. Yet now, evidently he was far below Song Que. But this was not possible. He, Kou Zhong, has always been young and vigorous. What he trained was the Secret to Long Life plus the Jade Annulus of He n, two great mystery-within-a-mystery, wonder-on-top-of-wonder C innate true qi. Even if his maturity level could not surpass Song Ques, but it was inconceivable that when the opponent still had abundant, with plenty leftovers C true qi, he would fall down first. There must be some other crucial point. Thinking to this point, a divine light shed in his mind. Song Ques voice came through, Shao Shuai, pleasee in. This time, if you could block eighty saber strikes, Ol Song would let you think one more night. Kou Zhong cried out for his Niang inwardly. Just now the battle was just around thirty saber strikes, and he was hacked that he rolled out of the Mo Dao Tang. And now he will have to take eighty more saber strikes, chances are he would not even have the luck to roll out the hall. But things havee this far, what could he say? Springing up, upright and unafraid he entered the Mo Dao Tang, which looked like a whale opening up its mouth ready to swallow him. Inside the darkening big hall, Song Que was standing erect, his right hand was grabbing the scabbard, while his left hand slowly pull the long saber out of its sheath. Focusing his power into his eyes, Kou Zhong looked closer, and saw the saber de was thin like satin, soft and nimble like feather, while exuding some kind of bluish, gleaming luster. If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed that there was such man-made treasure in the world. Immediately half of Kou Zhongs heart turned cold. The ideas he thought earlier of dealing with Song Que was entirely based on how to cope with his thick-backed saber; who would have thought that unexpectedly Song Que exchanged his weapon with an entirely different treasured de? It was not difficult to infer that this weapon would use different kind of saber technique, so that the countermeasure he had thought up wouldpletelye to nothing, and definitely could not be used anymore. Song Que caressed the de of the saber with his eyes. He spoke softly, This saber is called Shuixian [lit. water immortal; legendary aquatic immortal]. Based on this sabers characteristic, I created Tian Dao Ba Jue [heavenly saber eight secrets (of an art)]. Each secret consists of ten strikes, for a total of eighty saber strikes. The saber is ruthless, Shao Shuai must be careful! Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well. Immediately yellow glow red out. With neither happiness nor anger showing off of his face, he spoke indifferently, I wonder if these eight secrets have any pleasant-to-hear names; would Fazhu let me know, so that my ears will be opened? Song Ques eyes moved away from the treasured de Shuixian to look at Kou Zhong, but heughed involuntarily and said, What do you mean your ears will be opened? But the way that you dont follow traditional conventions is precisely your strong point. Since my debut, I, the Heavenly Saber Song Que, have never had anybody dared to cross des with me, without yielding the least bit, able to meet more than thirty saber strikes head on, with the cost of just a mouthful of blood. It was the reason I made an exception by letting you rest before continuing the battle, not that I changed my mind by sparing your life. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Surprisingly Heavenly Saber Song Que can speak much superfluous words; when did I ever expect Fazhus saber to show any leniency? By saying that, could it be because your intention to kill me is not firm enough that you have to say it out loud to convince yourself? Song Que was slightly startled. And then he nodded and said, Yourment is not without any reason. If I say that Yuzhi has no influence in my determination to kill you, I would be lying to you. I wonder if Shao Shuai would be willing to reconsider Ol Songs advice to you about quitting this vying-for-the-world business? Laughing in spite of himself, Kou Zhong said, Fazhu still cannot figure out what kind of man I, Kou Zhong, am? After staring closely at him for half a day, Song Que spoke in astonishment, If you die in here, what world are you going to strive for? The so-called good death is not as good as ugly living. Even though you are not afraid of death, the fact is that such death ispletely meaningless. Shrugging his shoulders elegantly, Kou Zhong said, I can only me Fazhu for not being good. Since you made the agreement about eighty saber strikes, I am not afraid to tell you that Xiaozi [this kid] practically does not believe that Fazhu can ughter me within eighty saber strikes. With one more night of consideration, perhaps tomorrow I will be able to walk off without a second thought for those I leave behind! Song Que casually tossed the scabbard away, his left hand raised the saber high, he threw his head back inughter and said, Very well! Since ancient times, hero came from the youth. The first style of Tian Dao Ba Jue is called Tian Feng Huan Pei [heavenly wind ring/hoop girdle ornaments]. The artistic conception is a fairy going back and forth high in the clouds, riding the wind. Although we cannot see her, we can hear the clear heavenly music of her resounding hoop girdle ornaments. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Really worthy to be the first style the Heavenly Saber created. Just by hearing the name, I know it is a marvelous move like a divine dragon that we can see the head but not the tail. Fazhu, en garde! Having learned a lesson from his previous mistakes, he did not dare to let Song Que gain the initiative by striking first. Of course, facing such a terrifying enemy, he did not dare to advance rashly either. Presently he raised his saber and pressed forward, but his eyes were fixed on Song Que. An enormous saber qi immediately burst forth toward Song Que; cold qi permeated the hall. Astonished expression shed through Song Ques eyes. Nodding his head in praise, he said, No wonder Shao Shuai spoke conceited nonsense. Turns out not only your power has recoveredpletely, you even made outstanding progress. It is indeed extremely rare. Kou Zhong suddenly rushed forward and swept the saber across, turning it into yellow light, swiftly cutting into the pit of Song Ques stomach; fierce and powerful like lightning shes. Standing unmoving like a mountain, Song Que watched until the Moon in the Well was only about a chi away from his chest before swiftly moved backward, while the thin-ded Water Immortal in his hand turned into thousands of blue gleaming saber light enveloping Kou Zhong, along with his saber, inside. The saber technique was exquisite beyondpare, and was incredibly difficult to believe. Inwardly Kou Zhong knew that the turn of events was not too encouraging; he also knew that the fast, erratic saber technique was practically unfathomable, and was beyond his ability to understand it well. The saber wind screamed all around him. Kou Zhong fiercely gnashed his teeth. In this critical moment where his life was hanging on a thread, he was relying purely on his intuition to guess where Song Ques murderous aura was, where the murderous aura was the strongest, and then, turning theplicated into simplicity, his body following his saber, heunched one saber strike. Ding! After one clear ring, blue light and yellow light shed continuously. Kou Zhong blocked Song Ques no-trail-could-be-tracked like flying bird or swimming fish, nine consecutive saber strikes, which came one after another, attacking him until he was sweating profusely, and made him nearly abandon his saber and flee. The two men suddenly separated. Kou Zhong stood with his saber across his chest, while secretly regting his breathing, momentarily he was unable to speak. Song Que calmly stroke his saber and said with augh, Now, does Shao Shuai understand what saber intention is? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Even if I did not want to understand, I cant. Turns out feeling is so important. But if I am guessing correctly, Fazhu does not really want to kill me. Otherwise, once you unleash his mothers Tian Dao Ba Jue, I am afraid I could only try to understand saber intention or whatever on my way to theher world. Heaving a deep sigh, Song Que said, You are wrong to think so. Just because you dont know how lonely I am; its rare to have such a good opponent like you, hence I dont want you to quickly return to heaven [i.e. die] that easily. Finished regting his breathing, Kou Zhongs confidence increased substantially. Smiling, he said, Be careful; it will be increasingly difficult to kill me. So whats the second secret called? Song Que delightedly said, The more difficult to kill you the better. The second secret is called Xiaoxiang Shui Yun [lit. water and cloud of Xiangjiang (river, in Hunan province)]. Although it has ten saber strikes, it is like the red clouds and curling up fog, hiding within it the water light and the cloud shadow, which continuously on the move, with infinite bearing. En garde! Wait! Kou Zhong shouted hastily. Remaining tranquil and calm, Song Que said, If I find out that Shao Shuai is stalling for time, Shao Shuai will regret it very much. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, I, Kou Zhong, will never have regret over such thing; I am not interested in stalling for time even more. Its just that Fazhus one secret ten strikes reminded me of a set of fierce saber technique, the Ten-Style Bloody Battle. If Fazhu could defend without attacking, and allow me to fully use the saber technique, I guarantee you will be extremely delighted to enjoy its beauty. Song Queughed aloud and said, I thought you were going to say that you would cut your own throat to kill yourself. But the name of this Ten-Style Bloody Battle could move my heart, so lets see it. If the name does not correspond to reality, dont me me for not having the patience to continue watching until the end. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that the most important thing was that you are willing to wait. Letting out a hey, hey!ughter, he said, Fazhu better be careful! Immediately he raised his saber and struck a posture. Bending his waist and back, his upper torso slightly leaned forward, his Moon in the Well pointing at Song Que from a distance, his eyes shot fierce and sharp shes, he stared fixedly at the opponent without blinking at all, while his posture suggested that he was about to pounce forward. It was such an intimidating imposing manner; if it were some ordinary martial art master, perhaps he would immediately break down without fighting, abandon his weapon and flee for his life. However, Song Que only stood with his saber; nodding his head, he said, It indeed has a bit of facing-the-enemy-on-the-battlefield, in a blood-soaked-and-hard-fought-struggle impression. Kou Zhong shouted with a heavy voice, This style is called Two Armies Encamped Face-to-face. Before he even finished speaking, the Moon in the Well turned into a yellow light, and shot toward Song Que, who was standing about a zhang and a half away. Because he was not afraid that Song Que would use attack to respond to his attack, his momentum was fierce and severe, with a strong once-gone-no-turning-back feeling. Song Ques eyes emitted strange light. The most formidable point in Kou Zhongs saber strike was not the saber technique, but the saber intention. From his saber posture to the pouncing-forward violent attack, all the movements were blending together into indivisible entity. Although only the right hand was moving the saber, this saber strike embodied the power of his entire being, so that others would not dare to underestimate it. But one thing that made Song Que quite mad, while was amused at the same time C the most was that clearly Kou Zhong was able to see that his Water Immortal treasured de was most suitable in offense but not in defense; thereupon he deliberately use words to trap Song Que to be on defensive, but not in offensive. Song Que could only stare nkly while realizing he had been put into disadvantageous position. Dang! Song Que evaded sideways; the Water Immortal in his left hand scooped up at an angle to block the de of Kou Zhongs saber. The saber in Kou Zhongs hand glowed brighter; he shouted coldly, Showing off ones ability! Ten million dots of saber rays, like countless flowers among a wave of butterflies rained down on Song Que, with a momentum like the rainbow. Good! Song Que shouted, and then, holding the saber with one hand, Swish! Swish! Swish! he shed three steps in session, unexpectedly he was able to weave through the saber rays unhindered, until finally he moved the saber to cut diagonally, to hack on the Moon in the Well about three cun away from the de. Unexpectedly Kou Zhongs next move, the Light Cavalry Charging Ahead, could not continue, so he changed to the fourth style Feeling the Pocket and Taking Something Out, by swiftly poking into Song Ques waist and lower abdomen. Sneering, Song Que said, Shao Shuais skill is poor! Huh? He saw Kou Zhongs poking saber had the saber intention that was constantly changing, both in terms of speed and angle of attack; therefore, although on the surface it appeared to be simple and direct, but in the eyes of a saber expert like Song Que, it carried an unfathomable characteristic. If he was waiting passively, inevitably he would not be able to parry it. Even if he could block this move, albeit with difficulty, subsequent offensive could make a brilliant master like Song Que fall into disadvantageous position; after that, to level the score again would not be easy to do. In Kou Zhongs eyes, noticing Song Ques hesitating expression, he was well aware that finally Song Que has fallen into his trap. From thest sh to this moment, it did not matter how he fought with all his might, he could never seize the upper hand, or even snatch the initiative. It could be said that Song Que had always led him by the nose. In his desperation, he suddenly had an idea, which was to use the tangible Ten-Style Bloody Battle to lure Song Que to underestimate the opponent first, and then using the saber intention, which he stole from Song Que, in a using-someones-spear-to-attack-his-own-shield tactic to force Song Que to change from defense to offense, so that psychologically Song Que felt like he already lost, and thus the imposing manner of his state of mind would be somewhat reduced. Before his eyes, Song Que was hesitating just before the battle; and this was precisely the conclusive proof that Song Que has fallen into his trap. Song Que let out a coldugh; the Water Immortal in his left hand immediately turned into water-light, cloud-shadow-likeyer uponter of saber light meeting Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well head-on. Finally he abandoned the original n of only defending without attacking. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I told you it was impossible to defend without attacking at all! Suddenly traversing across, he brandished the saber to hack down on empty space. For the first time, he was finally able to understand Song Ques saber technique, and was able to fully use the Yijian Technique. By nature, Song Que was arrogant. Kou Zhongs remark was more difficult to bear than being hacked by his saber. Immediately his murderous intent red up. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong suddenly retreated to the position where his saber momentum was the weakest? The saber hacking down was even more like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies; it was marvelous to the highest limit. If he did not change his original style, it would be tantamount to letting his Water Immortal being chopped by Kou Zhongs saber. Not only that, Kou Zhongs shenfa had suddenly be strange and hard to fathom, just like the fish in the water; even though it was motionless, as soon as you stir the water nearby, he would rapidly run away. Dealing with that kind of intense-movement-hidden-within-the-stillness characteristic, even with his keen eyesight, which was able to see through any changes, he still felt big headache. In that instant, Song Que knew that his slight hesitation just now had given this genius kid traversing sideways the opportunity to seize the initiative and the upper hand. Unable to continue his Xiaoxiang Shui Yun, instead of getting angry, Song Queughed and said, Shi Shang Liu Quan [rock upstream of the spring]! Saber style that appeared like continuous water stream suddenly turned into a streak of bluish green luminous light, like the water from the spring came alive, boring through the rock and gargling over the stones. The Water Immortals de shed out a streak of blue light, following a certain graceful-surpassing-any-words-can-describe arc C to take on Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong evaded to the other side, while raising his saber horizontally to block. It appeared to be moving fast, but it actually contained speed within the slow, and turned skillfully into a twist. Bang! And then a string of clear noise of weapons shing against each other lingered on faintly. Although the momentum of Song Ques saber was continuously expanding, Kou Zhong has not been put in apletely inferior position where he could only take a beating and suffer humiliation either, or even a helpless, without-any-freedom-to-act-independently situation where if Song Que wanted him to move east than he moved east, or to the west and he moved west. Rather, he attacked and defended properly, and gave Song Que enough headaches bying up with strange strokes. The biggest benefit was that Kou Zhong was able to learn how, in the midst of Song Ques stormy-sea-like saber technique C to circte his qi, in corrtion to the degree of his confidence; defense concealed within the offense, offense contained within the defense. Each time he attacked or blocked with all his might, he would have a bit of strength left, with which he was able to regte the true qi within his body, the subtlety within it was not something that could be grasped just before the battle, while in the face of the enemy. It was a bit like going up the surface of the water to take a breath after diving underwater for a period of time, and not like desperately continuing underwater until the power exhausted, the qi depleted. Under enormous pressure from Song Que, Kou Zhong gave everything he had, without any reservation at all, unleashing all the saber technique he learned in the past to extreme saturation. He even put the new things he learned from Song Que into practice. The longer he fought, the more he was reaching toward the what-the-heart-wishes-the-hand-aplishes level; so he was extremely delighted. Song Ques saber technique suddenly changed, Wu Ye Wu Qiu Feng [Wutong tree leaves dancing in autumn breeze]! he shouted loudly. His entire body spun around, the Water Immortal seemed to be attacking randomly, there was no saber path that could be traced; on top of that, his shenfa was weird, so that the advantageous situation that Kou Zhong was able to maintain immediately melt like ice and broke like tiles. Dang! Although Kou Zhong was ten million times unwilling, he was still thrown into great confusion by Song Ques move, so that all he could do was to defend passively without any opportunity to recover his qi. The divinely skillful saber technique has pushed him to be at his wits end. By the tenth stroke, Song Ques hack pushed him, along with his saber, staggering back, until finally, thump! hended on his butts, just one step away from repeating his earlier defeat of rolling down the stone steps. Song Que pursued to the door. Staring down at Kou Zhong, his eyes shone with unusual light. Nobody knew since when the moon secretly climbed over the courtyard wall, but its light prated the dense locust tree and sprayed the courtyard with patches of golden light. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I did not have time to count how many saber strikes Fazhu actually used; I just hope it was not seventy-nine! Grim expression appeared on Song Ques face, the murderous intent in his eyes red out, he spoke in heavy voice, You are not afraid to die? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong replied, I would be lying if I said I am not scared. But I am also quite curious; what happen after death? I just have to trouble Fazhu to tell Zhizhi that I was sincere to her. A hint of smile appeared on the corner of Song Ques mouth; immediately the grim expression on his face, as well as the murderous intent in his eyes C dissolved. He spoke indifferently, Leave thosest words for tomorrow! Turning around, he went back into the Mo Dao Tang. Book 26 - 6 – Intentional and Unintentional Book 26 Chapter 6 C Intentional and Unintentional I wonder which gambling method Ling Ye is familiar with? Lei Jiuzhi asked. Xu Ziling said, Dont use Ye this and Ye that [master, as in master/servant] to call me, I am greatly unustomed to that. When I was little, I used to watch people ying dice, also some dominoes, but my share was just to watch. Ha! When I say watch, actually I watched people winning money from those fat sheep. Lei Jiuzhi asked, What kind of dice game is prevalent in Yangzhou? Is it big and small, betting on two gates, eighteen gates, or is it counting the dots on individual die? Xu Ziling replied, Its the former two methods mixed together; you could bet two gates or sixteen [sic] gates. Why do you ask those questions? Shrugging his shoulders, Lei Jiuzhi said, No reason. The real experts in ying dice may use Tian Jiu Pai [heavenly nine (ying) tiles, Tien Gow] style to bet against each other. Three dicebination can be all kinds of Tian Jiu Pai; winner and loser can be determined ording to Tian Jiu rules, it is a lot more interesting. Xu Ziling said, Yangzhou also has several famous gamblers, our Yan Laoda was one of those, but he was never willing to teach us. His favorite was using hollow dice; he poured mercury inside to cheat. Lei Jiuzhi spoke disdainfully, Dice that are rigged with mercury, lead, or ivory powder, are all called drugged dice. Those who are a bit smarter use iron fillings inside the dice, and then controlling the dice using ma from underneath the table. With some technique, you want single dot youll get single dot, you want double, youll get double. But these are all considered low hand. Real experts would use the technique of listening to the dice. Relying on the sound the dice falling into the bowl, from the subtle noise of dice colliding against each other and the friction of the dice against the bowl, one could tell the difference which surface, from one to six dots, facing down, and determine the points. In my case, I have up to eighty-percent confidence. Speechless, Xu Ziling said, No wonder you win every bet. Lei Jiuzhi said, Theres no such thing as a sure-win technique in the world; swindlers can be exposed. Watch this! Xu Ziling watched him spreading out his hand, which was more slender than average person; there were two ivory dice on the hollow of his palm. Frowning, he said, I have never been interested in predatory shady business. If it were Kou Zhong, you cant escape even if you dont want to teach him. Lei Jiuzhi smiled and said, Ziling only need to think that this is some kind of doing business on behalf of the Heaven, the money you win will be used entirely to buy food and for the relieve of the people, then gambling will not be predatory business at all! Xu Ziling only responded with a wry smile. Kou Zhong woke up from the deepest sleep he had ever had, and found out that he was still sitting cross-legged with his spine straight. Not only the true qi within his body had been fully recovered, he even progressed oneyer further. The perception of his five senses was more sensitive than before. Opening up his eyes to look around, he found out that the half moon had quietly moved from the courtyard hall to the top of his head. Outside the reach of the green bursting light of the moon, the deep ck night sky was embedded with dense twinkling stars; an extremely touching scene. Kou Zhong picked up the Moon in the Well resting on his knees, some kind of unprecedented sensation bubbled forth wildly in his heart, as if the treasured saber has be one entity with his flesh and blood body, the de was like obtaining new life, no longer a mere object and tool. Unable to restrain his emotions, he raised the saber and looked closely at it, while his other hand lovingly stroke the de. His entire being became ethereally transparent, not contaminated by a single speck of dust. ng! The Moon in the Well rose high above his head, and then swiftly hacked down, stopping level with his chest. The saber qi was like waves surging over to both sides, rolling up the dead leaves of the old Chinese schr tree standing in the yard into the air. Qiang! The Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard. That saber still looks good! Kou Zhong looked at Song Que, who had just appeared on the stone steps outside the door; he spoke indifferently, I thought Fazhu already went to bed! Song Que had his left hand behind his back, his right hand hanging lightly by his side, he walked down the steps smoothly and stopped about two zhang in front of Kou Zhong. His eyes gleaming bright, he smiled and said, Such a fine time, beautiful scenery like this, wouldnt it be a pity if we miss it? Shao Shuaisst saber strike, from following-thew [or technique] it entered into without-thew boundary, in your heart you did not have any worry about established rules, but you still one stripecking from reaching the genuine great expert level. Toward Song Ques saber technique, Kou Zhong prostrated himself in admiration. Hearing that, he modestly asked for instruction, saying, May I ask Fazhu, what exactly does Xiaodick? Song Que looked up to the sky, at the moon and the stars, his deep gaze shone with exquisite light, he slowly said, word-by-word, Following-thew is the earth level. Without-thew is the heaven level. Without-thew contains following-thew within it; following-thew is hidden inside without-thew C this is the highest level where the heaven, the earth and the man blend together to be one. Only a talented person can link heaven and earth together, so that without-thew is following-thew, and following-thew is without-thew. Kou Zhong pondered for half a day; finally he shook his head and said, I still dont understand. As far as Im concerned, the so-called following-thew is making the moves by following a predetermined style. Even though while facing the enemy it can change ording to the situation, it is still based on specificw or some derivation of it. Without-thew means it is not restricted to any established rules, the moves are made as one pleases, hence it could be unconventional. Song Que leisurely moved his left hand, which was hidden behind his back, to the front of his chest. Unexpectedly there was another treasured saber inside its scabbard in his hand; ancient looking, and looked to be exceptionally heavy. His hand then grabbed the hilt and slowly pulled the saber out of the scabbard, while his eyes followed the movement of his right hand. He spoke gently, The Heaven has the heavenlyw, an object has its own physical property. Its not that reason andw do not exist, but by the time you could master reason andw, it will be just like kitchen help chopping up a cow. Its not that the cow does not exist, but when it entered the kitchen, it already turned into pieces of beef. After obtaining the cow, you forget that the cow exists; after obtaining thew you forget about thew. Therefore, in using the saber, the most important thing is the saber intention. But if it is intentional, it will leave a trace; if it is unintentional, it will be squandered. The most desirable is between intentional and unintentional. This creative concept, if you understand it then you understand it, if you dont understand it then you dont understand it. Just like this saber. The saber left the scabbard and hacked down on Kou Zhong seemingly in a careless way. Kitchen help cutting up an ox was a fable by ancient sage Zhuang Zhou[1], speaking about a kitchen help that was adept at scraping the meat from the bones of an ox, using thin de that was able to enter the narrow slit between the bone and the meat, hence he was able to do it with ease. Kou Zhong was still thinking; he never expected that Song Que would hit as soon as he said he would hit, practically not giving Kou Zhong any time to ponder over it. Furthermore, this saber strike was like antelope antler; not only it had no beginning, it had no end either. Suddenly the saber was already chopping in front of his face, and the saber momentum had already sealed all escape paths; there was no way he would be able to evade it. The most formidable part was that he had no idea which part of his body this de was going to chop. In particr, this close to a hundred catty, in ck heavy saber, in Song Ques hand it appeared to be as heavy as a thousand jun [1 jun = 30 catties], but it also appeared to be as light as a feather, so that he was unable to grasp its path. Just by looking at it, it already made him unbearably dizzy. With no other choice, Kou Zhong hastily pulled the Moon in the Well and raised it up to block. Meeting Song Ques saber, naturally the Moon in the Well changed direction. Dang! The two sabers shed and stopped midair. An enormous-without-equal true qi prated the saber and burst into his body. Kou Zhong was forced to exert the qi from all the meridians in his entire body before he was able to barely withstand the opponents first round of qi power. Revealing a hint of smile, while continuously sending out true qi to attack Kou Zhong, Song Que spoke indifferently, Can Shao Shuai see the mystery of this saber strike? Kou Zhong was struggling hard to resist Song Ques invading qi power. He felt that Song Ques saber was getting increasingly heavier and heavier; it could crush both the saber and the person any moment. Hearing the question, he painstakingly said, Within its constant state, Fazhus saber strike contains countless changes; it appeared to be intentional, yet also seemed to be unintentional. But my block is not too bad either! Ha! It is between intentional and unintentional. Song Que suddenly shook his wrist, he forcefully pushed Kou Zhong that he staggered three steps back. The two separated. Kou Zhong cried, Thank Heaven thank the earth! inwardly. Three more steps, and his back nearly bumped into the locust tree before he was able to steady his footing, ready to deal with Song Ques second saber strike. With the scabbard in his left hand and the saber in his right, Song Que stood in the middle of the courtyard like a deity; there was no wind, but his clothes were fluttering. With delighted expression, he said, Only thest saber strike was Song Ques real skill; even if Ning Daoqi came in person, he would not dare to meet the strike head on, but you, unconstrained and with ease, have blocked it. If you want to listen topliments, I, Song Que, can let you hear it: if you train a bit more, your aplishment would surpass me, the Heavenly Saber Song Que, and you would be the Number One Saber Expert in the world. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Therefore, Fazhu has already determined to kill me. Otherwise, why would you be willing topliment me? Am I right? Song Que shook his head and said, You are wrong. From the beginning to the end I never wanted to kill you. But if I didnt do this, how could you make this big step? Although with his mouth he said so, his momentum was increasing without any letup, pressing Kou Zhong that he could not breathe. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, But Fazhu, when you make your move to attack me, definitely you were using moves to take my life; once you are not careful, I might lose my life, and even Fazhu cant control it. Throwing his head back inughter, Song Que said, If not so, how could I force your natural talent, which was hidden beneath the surface, toe out? If you lose your life under my saber, you do not deserve to receive my love and appreciation. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Since thats the case, why do you still act like you want me to die? Song Que spoke heavily, Do you know the name of this saber in Ol Songs hand? Startled, Kou Zhong said, This saber must have a pleasant-to-hear name. The shing light in Song Ques eyes grew brighter; he spoke word-by-word, This is the unequalled Heavenly Saber with which Ol Song wander and run amuck all over the world. The Moon in the Well suddenly turned into yellow light shooting toward Song Que. If he waited a bit longer, he might not be able to hold on. [1] Zhuang Zhou, same as Zhuangzi (369-286 BC). Ҷţ The metaphor means with repeated practice, one would be able to grasp the objective rhythm, and would be able to do it with ease. (Baike Baidu, in Chinese) Song Ques eyes revealed a smiling expression; he casually brandished the saber, calm and unrestrained. Combined with his unequalled handsome face and his tall and straight build like pine and cypress, he looked indescribably pleasing to the eye. Although it was a casual saber strike, Kou Zhong felt that no matter how he changed his saber momentum, how he altered the angle and timing, in the end he would have to meet the strike head on. He knew even more that it was impossible for him to retreat, because under the pulling force of the qi, Song Ques Heavenly Saber might be like flood bursting the dike and rushing forth from the gap, destroying everything blocking its way. Qiang! The Heavenly Saber created a huge attractive force, sucking in Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well solidly. The two sabers pressing each other, four eyes met. Song Que shook his head and said with a sigh, You still have the biggest weak point; which is you can send out but cannot restrain. If in your saber strike right now you left a spare force, you couldnt possibly be sucked by my inner power and unable to defend. This is too much for you. Xiaozi [kid], do you understand? Qiang! The saber qi surged like the tide. Kou Zhongs entire body was thrown away, almost like a rolling gourd. With the saber straight out, Song Que pressed on. Dense murderous aura burst out of the saber de, enveloping Kou Zhongpletely. Kou Zhong froze on the spot. The Heavenly Saber shed. Kou Zhong swiftly flicked his strong wrist, continuously making seven, eight changes, blocking and deflecting, while was also hacked by the opponent that he retreated three steps. Good! Song Que shouted. He sent out another saber sweep, bold, powerful and unyielding, while also nimble, marvelous and mysterious, no clear path, and no trace. Kou Zhong was well aware that every single one of Song Ques attack was sent out with all his strength; if he failed to block even one, he would end up with his head separated from his body, and no one could change that. Hastily he raised his own spirit to block. With a muffled grunt, he only retreated two steps this time. Song Que chuckled happily. His saber chopped down on Kou Zhongs head. The saber momentum was like the sun in the middle of the sky, dazzling the earth. Kou Zhongs murderous intent red out, the Moon in the Well swoop up. Ding! it hit the Heavenly Saber, and then he flew back. Song Que remained rooted on the spot, while holding the saber across his chest. Nodding his head, he said, Kou Zhong, you are definitely a natural talent. Probably nobody in this world could surpass you. These three saber strikes already contained send and restrain ording to your intention. Now, even if I really want to kill you, I will have to spend a lot of effort. Come! Take a stab at me. Lei Jiuzhi pressed the dice bowl down on the table. Staring at Xu Ziling, who was listening with rapt attention, he asked, How many dots? Ought to be one three dots and two five dots, Xu Ziling replied. Lei Jiuzhi uncover the bowl, and said with a sigh, You graduated! Turns out it is that easy, Xu Ziling said. Smiling wryly, Lei Jiuzhi said, My Ling Da Shao [big young master]. Dont you know that even the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying fell head first under your hands? Although the world is big, if you count the number of people who can be your match, I am afraid the number of fingers on one hand will be greater than that. With your martial art skill plus your natural talent, others might not be able to learn a skill in a lifetime, but youll learn it in two sichen. When the boat stops at Badong, you may go ashore for your first real life test. Win some money to be used as our capital for the next stop. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Dont you have a huge sum of money on you? Pointing to his own head, Lei Jiuzhi said, Lu Shis two words, quit greed are forever engraved in my head. Therefore, when the amount of silver in my bag already reached certain amount, I would distribute it to those in need, hence in my bag right now I only have about a dozen ingots of gold. In big casinos like the one in Jiujiang, this amount will not be enough. Are you nning on betting big as soon as we embark at Jiujiang? Xu Ziling asked. Lei Jiuzhi replied, Jiujiangs Yin Ru Ge [lit. just because pavilion] ranks number seven in the Top Ten Casinos in the world. They are the most famous casino in Chang Jiang region. The manager is a man called Du Gui [gambling ghost] Zha Hai, a character with resounding reputation in Dulin [reminder: gambling forest, as opposed to Wulin (martial art forest)], who is also one of the Four Major Generals under Xiang Guismand. If we can defeat him on the gambling table, even if Xiang Gui did not want to make personal appearance, he simply couldnt. Wheres the number one then? I wonder if it has any rtionship to the Xiang Family? Xu Ziling asked. Lei Jiuzhi replied, The worlds most famous casino is Ming Tang Wo [lit. bright hall nest] in Guanzhong, ChangAn, located next to the most famous pleasure house Shang Lin Yuan [lit. upper forest park]. The manager is the brilliant, famous Da Xian [great immortal] Hu Fo, the Zhangmenren [headmaster] of Hu Xian Pai [lit.ke immortal sect], the most revered old castaway in gambling schools. Old castaway was a Jianghu terminology, referring to people who cheated in gambling. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Isnt Hu Xian a fox? If Hu Fo is clearly a cheater, who would want to go to his casino? Lei Jiuzhi said, Being an old castaway was a matter of the past, when Hu Fo first made his debut. After making his fortune and establishing his reputation, twenty years ago Hu Fo publicly, using the whole pig and sheep, made offerings to the Lake Immortal, vowing that he would no longer cheat, and guaranteed that his casino would absolutely not tolerate any kind of cheating. Therefore, gambling in his Ming Tang Wo, you can feel reassured more than gambling in any other ces. In that case, Xu Ziling said, Hu Fo must not be Xiang Guis man! Lei Jiuzhi said, Not only there is no rtionship, they are actually enemies. One time Xiang Gui sent his oldest son to Guanzhong to open a casino, but Hu Fo beat him on the gambling table until he abandoned his armor and dragged his spear and fled; his loss was disastrous. Therefore, if Xiang Gui wants to have a face off with me, I will designate Hu Da Xians Ming Tang Wo of ChangAn as the meeting ce, I think well enjoy the scenery. Ha! Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You, LaoGe knew that when Kou Zhong and I get to ChangAn, our presence will be brought out into the open immediately, simply because when we see the light, we will be dead. Besides, some of Li Shimins men have already seen my current appearance; they might know that I, Xu Ziling, have arrived. Lei Jiuzhi said, Other than gambling technique and martial art skill, I still have disguising skill that I learned when I worked for Lu Shi. When the timees, I will do my magic. Right now, the most important thing is not to let anybody know my rtionship with the two of you. Itste! I wont stop Ling Shao from taking a rest anymore. Dang! Kou Zhong lost count on how many saber strikes he hadunched, but Song Que was still like high mountain lofty peak; although swept by the wind and battered by the rain, it was difficult to shake him even for a hairsbreadth. However, Kou Zhong was unprecedentedly happy. An opponent as tyrannical as Song Que, it was only here he could find one. Plus Song Que constantly giving him pointers, and eachment hit the target and did real damage [idiom]. In one night, he learned from Song Que as much as half a lifetime from other people. Kou Zhong suddenly pulled his saber and retreated. Full of respect he said, Thank you for Fazhus directions. My future sess is entirely bestowed by Fazhu tonight. Song Que also returned his saber into its scabbard and said with a smile, There is no need to speak nonsense between the two of us. It will be daybreak soon! Eat breakfast before you leave! Kou Zhong stared nkly for a moment before starting to follow Song Que leaving the Mo Dao Tang, a ce he would never forget for as long as he lived. Book 26 - 7 – After You Book 26 Chapter 7 C After You The Song Familys mountain city consisted of several hundred courtyards, big and small. The courtyards became an inseparably close system and linked to each other, with the ancestral hall, which contained the spirit tablets of the past generations of Song Family C at the center. Each courtyard was divided equally into straight courtyard and nted courtyard. None of the dividing structures was not constructed from choice material of superior quality, the workmanship was exquisite. Under the hazy light of the dawn, Kou Zhong and Song Que walked side-by-side to the Ming Yue Lou [bright moon building], which was located right next to the Mo Dao Tang. As they stepped into the flower garden, he saw an old man with white hair peppered with grey C pruning the flowers and nts. After casting a sidelong nce to the two men, he turned a blind eye to them and continued working. While Kou Zhong was greatly astonished, Song Queughed and said, Fang Shu [uncle] is the only person in the mountain city who is not afraid of me, because he has been serving me since childhood. Kou Zhong nodded his head, indicating that he understood. Passing through a long corridor, with flowers and trees supported on trellises on both sides C there was a stone beam bridge spanning across the pond. All around them the trees were quite dense; there was quite a seeking-serenity, exploring-beautiful-scenery ambience. The other side of the pond was precisely the main gate of a two-story wooden construction, above which door was hanging a wooden board, carved with three characters Ming Yue Lou in gold lettering. The wooden door and windows were fretwork with ornamental design. The interlocking wooden brackets between the top of the columns and crossbeams reached high into the eaves, embedded with stone carving; refined, colorful, brilliant and varied. Song Que stopped in the middle of the bridge. Leaning over the railing, he looked down and fixed his gaze on the fish swimmingzily in the serene pond. He asked, Your shenfa, did you develop it based on the swimming fish? Full of admiration, Kou Zhong said, Fazhu is indeed formidable; you could even see through this. Shaking his head, Song Que said, I never understood a real natural talent, until now. Hows Xu Zilingpared to you? Kou Zhong said, Ziling is the only person in the world that I really admire, so much so that I am afraid of him. Luckily he is my best Xiongdi. If he is willing to help me to obtain the world, it would be much easier for me. Song Que said, Everybody has his own aspiration, you cant force it. Come! Dont let them wait too long! Kou Zhong was stunned; who might be waiting for them? Xu Ziling was awakened by a childs cry, followed by the voice of Han Zenan, husband and wife,forting the child. After Little Jie went back to sleep, Han Zenan spoke in low voice, Xiaochang [lit. little skirt]! What kind of person do you think that Gong Chenchun is? Originally Xu Ziling did not have any intention to eavesdrop personal conversation between a man and his wife, but since his name was being mentioned, naturally he focused his power on his ear to see how Mrs. Han would respond. Lowering her voice, Mrs. Han, who was called Xiaochang, replied, Although his appearance is fierce and tough, his manner of speech and his bearing are like a very cultured man; he is also quite kind and cherishing Xiao Jie. Is Xianggong [husband] thinking of asking him for help? Ay! Its hard to fathom a persons mind, Xianggong needs to think three times before going. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Han Zenan said, Although his name did not spread far and wide in Jianghu, but looking at how effortlessly he forced He Yi Pai people to retreat, this mans martial art skill is strong enough to beparable with people of Xie Huis level. If he is willing to help, perhaps we would be able to break away from those people. Sighing, Xiaochang said, Why would he want to invite disaster on himself? Han Zenan said, Even if he declines, we have nothing to lose anyway. I have a strange feeling that he seems to really care about us. Xiaochang said, That is precisely what qie [I, your servant] is most afraid of; I am afraid he has some other evil intentions. Smiling ruefully, Han Zenan said, With his skill, while the world is in chaos like this, dealing with us, a family of three, is actually as easy as a hands turn, there is no need to plot and scheme. That Jianghu fellow surnamed Lei has been talking with him behind closed door for the whole day, I wonder what they are talking about. Xiaochang said, Lets talk about this when we get to Jiujiang! Perhaps we would be able to throw off the pursuing troops by then, and then the wide sea and the sky would let us soar into it! His sleeppletely abandoned him, Xu Ziling got out of bed, put on his clothes, and went out to the deck. Following behind Song Que, Kou Zhong entered the Ming Yue Tang, which, in term of scale, was as grand as the Mo Dao Tang. He saw several young warriors of the Song Family were setting up a sumptuous table of breakfast. Song Zhi, Song Lu, two men immediately rose up from their seats. Seeing how respectful they were toward Song Que, it was obvious that within the Song n, Song Que held supreme authority. After the host and guest sat down, Song Que waved his hand to dismiss the young warriors from the building, and then he asked Song Lu, Wheres Yuzhi? Song Lu replied, Just now she was getting ready; she should be here soon! Only this moment did Kou Zhong feel deeply the inscrutable style with which Song Que conduct himself. Just by looking at the steaming hot, borate and tastefully chosen vegetable and meat dishes of various kinds on the table, he knew that the chef must have started working in the middle of the night, while at that time he was still engaged in a life and death battle against Song Que. It was obvious that before then Song Que has already had urate judgment on him, hence he had the feast in front of them prepared in advance. Thinking about he was going to see Song Yuzhi soon, inwardly he was really happy but scared at the same time, simply because he was unsure on how hospitable Song Yuzhi would be toward him, furthermore, he was unsure on how Song Que would handle the two of them. Song Que was in high spirits; he poured wine for the other three cheerfully. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, This is Hangzhous specialty, the Osmanthus wine. Not only the vor mellow and rich, the taste smooth, it also has calming effect and nutritious, and can improve blood cirction; harmless to drink a bit more. Kou Zhong looked at the amber colored wine in his cup, transparent and clear, emitting the sweet fragrance of Osmanthus flower, which was quite intoxicating. Even without drinking it he could already taste the wonderful floating-in-the-air, high-in-the-clouds feeling. A single look at the table and he noticed the utensils, whether it was the cup, dish, bowl, te, goblet, oilmp, were all of meticulous craftsmanship, appealing and elegant. The most particr thing was that all the vessels were zed with dots like raindrops; the base color was ck, but it was covered with silvery-white tiny dots in radial pattern. The bigger dots were about the size of a pea, the small ones were about the size of a millet, like pleated silvery light. Only this kind of precious household utensils would fit Song ns position, which surpassed the other big ns. Noticing Kou Zhong was paying particr attention to the vessels containing exquisite wine and culinary delicacy on the table, Song Zhi said with augh, This type of raindrop ze is also known as Heavens Eye ze. From the chi-long pitcher to cun-size basin, all are considered out-of-the-world treasure; even the fragments can worth as much as gold and jade. We have only been able to collect this set after searching for a long time. This was the second time Kou Zhong sat down and talked with Song Zhi, already he felt the difference. From Song Zhis cordial tone, Kou Zhong clearly knew that he had already considered Kou Zhong as family. Surprisingly, it was Song Lu who proposed a toast. For more than ten years, he said with augh, This is the first time that I see Da Xiong with so much smile on his face. This toast is for Da Xiong; the next one is Xiao Zhongs turn. Laughing involuntarily, Song Que said, Lu Di [younger brother] must have kept that remark in your heart for close to ten years, and only today you can take others precarious position to reveal your feeling. Ha! Lets drink for victory. And then they took turn toasting each other. After several rounds, Song Que suddenly asked indifferently, Did Shidao fall in love with that Gaoli [Korean] woman? Kou Zhong was caught off-guard; a bit flustered replied, On that ...! Fazhu, please do not get angry; the truth is ... ay! I cannot escape the me, because ... Song Que cut him off, This affair, we already knew the details from the letter that he sent to us, so no need to repeat. I just want to know, based on Shao Shuais observation, whether Shidao is in love with that Gaoli woman, Fu Junyu. Kou Zhong did not dare to lie to him; smiling wryly, he said, Strictly speaking, Er Gongzi [second young master] ought to be in love with the house and its crow [idiom: love me, love my dog]. However, whether a feeling would develop gradually, this is very difficult to say. From the start, Song Zhi and Song Lu have been interrogated by Song Que about Song Shidao, so they did not dare to utter a word or half a sentence. It could be inferred that Song Que had exploded over this matter, hence nobody dared to butt in. Song Que was deep in thought for a moment. Suddenly he picked his chopsticks and got a dish for Kou Zhong, as if he already forgot about Song Shidao, and said with a smile, This is Ma Xiang [lit. sesame fragrant] chicken, eat it while its still hot and crispy. I heard you and Ziling used to be chefs at the Flying Horse Ranch, you must be more expert than we are. Kou Zhong took a bite; emotionally moved, he said, Compared to the expert who prepared this Ma Xiang chicken, Xiaodi is far too inferior! Song Que turned to Song Zhi and said, Is there any new development about the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying? Song Zhi replied, ording to thetest flying pigeon dispatch from the Du Zun Bao the day before yesterday, Xi Ying has not shown his face; but Yin Gui Pais Wanwan has made appearance in Chengdu. Kou Zhongs heart skipped a beat; he could not help feeling worried for Xu Ziling. Unable to hold himself, he asked, This Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, what kind of fellow is he? Song Luughed and said, Xi Ying is a demonic schools martial art master who is ranked number four within the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, barely below Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan, and Zhao Deyan. In the past, he has suffered crushing defeat under Da Xiongs hands, and ran away abroad for many years, but recently returned to the Central ins. He even openly show off his prowess toward Da Xiong; should be because his demonic skill has had great progress that he dares to abandon restraint. Letting out a cold snort, Song Zhi said, If he really has guts, he ought to climb over the mountain city to issue formal challenge, but now he hides in the distant Sichuan, baring his fangs and brandishing his ws; obviously he is harboring evil intent. Song Ques countenance became iparably grim; he spoke slowly, Even if Zhu Yuyan has the audacity to prop his waist, it will still be difficult for him to escape his fate to have his soul cutoff under my, Song Ques saber. Light footsteps were heard; Song Yuzhi arrived. This graceful beauty did not wear any cosmetics; her beautiful hair was rolled into a simple bun on top of her head, she wore blue flowers on white background dress, with jade belt around her waist, lucid and elegant like the lotus in the middle of the pond. Her pale countenance, minus her usual somewhat unyielding temperament, made her somewhat more lovely and touching; some kind of when I see you, I feelpassion toward you beautiful demeanor. Deliberately avoiding Kou Zhongs burning hot gaze, she sat on the other side of Song Que. Song Lu lovingly poured wine for her, but a little displeased, Song Que said, Zhier, whats dying you? Song Yuzhi lightly hung her head down and spoke in low voice, Just received flying pigeon letter from Xie Baozhu [fort master] in Chengdu. Last night the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying was killed bare-handedly by Yue Shan, who has returned to the fray after a long period of inactivity, at San Hua Lou. The witnesses include Chuan Bangs Fan Zhuo and Ba Mengs Feng Zhen. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Song Que and the others gaze were immediately turning toward him; even Song Yuzhi could not help looking at him. Nobody understood why his reaction was more urgent and intense than anybody else in the room. Rposing himself, Kou Zhong smiled an embarrassed smile, while taking the opportunity to meet Song Yuzhis limpid, profound gaze. Song Zhi moved his gaze toward Song Que, whose expression remained serene; he said, This is certainly no small matter; could it be that Xi Yings Ziqi Tian Luo still had not reached great height yet? Song Yuzhi said, Repeating Fan Zhuo and Feng Zhens words about the situation, Xi Yings Ziqi Tian Luo had astonishing prowess, its just that it was not a match for Yue Shans empty hand, empty fist using Huan Ri Da Fa. With this battle, once again Yue Shan has climbed over to the top martial art master position. Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Song Lu said, This man Yue Shan has always been narrow-minded; this time he has mastered Huan Ri Da Fa, he must being to Sichuan city to settle old debts. Song Que casually said, I am most afraid that he wouldnte. Suddenly throwing his head back in longughter, he said, Good Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, please forgive me, Song Que, for underestimating you. Turning toward Song Yuzhi, he instructed, Notify Chengdu immediately, I dont care how they do it, they must find Yue Shans whereabouts. Because I went out to deal with Cui Jixiu and his gang, I already missed Xi Ying. This time I dont want to lose another opportunity. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, This is desperately serious! Helpless, he forced a smile and said, Fazhu, I am afraid this time you will be disappointed again! Stunned, everybody turned their eyes to him. Steeling himself, Kou Zhong added, Because this Yue Shan is an impostor. His countenance did not change at all, Song Que said, Can you exin that? Kou Zhong leaned back into his chair; pping the table, he said with a sigh, The one killing Xi Ying was Xu Ziling, who was wearing Yue Shan mask personally made by Lu Miaozi. This kid is really good that he even managed to kill the fourth ranking man of the demonic ways martial art master list. Everybody, including Song Que, was emotionally moved. After giving brief exnation, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Ling must have had another breakthrough in the martial way, otherwise, he would not be formidable to such a degree. This time it was Song Ques turn to smile wryly and said, This is called all ones hopes and effortse to nothing. In the future, I am afraid the Central ins Wulin will belong to you and Xu Ziling. And then he calmly dered, On behalf of the Song Family, I have reached agreement with Shao Shuai; although our Song Family will not be directly involved in Shao Shuais struggle to obtain the world, but we will give him our full support in the background. If Shao Shuais army is defeated, this agreement will be voided. But if in the end he can unify the world, Yuzhi will be his empress. Ladies and gentlemen, is there any objection? Song Zhi and Song Lu did not say anything. Only Song Yuzhis pretty face suddenly blushed; the red clouds color went straight to the tip of her ears, as she hung her head low. Song Que rose up to his full height and walked over behind Kou Zhong. Reaching out to grab his shoulders firmly, he said, After breakfast, Yuzhi may send Shao Shuai off. As for the other details, you may discuss it carefullyter! Finished speaking, heughed aloud and floated away. Standing on the bow, Xu Ziling was enjoying the light of the river and the color of the mountain, while myriad of thoughts was surging in his mind. Han Zenan, husband and wifes martial art skill was definitely not ordinary. Mrs. Han, Xiaochang was even more superior, enough to ce her among famous martial masters of Jianghu. What kind of enemy would make them flustered and panic like this? Even with his Gong Chenchun prestige of beating He Yi Pai back, Xiaochang still described asking for his help as inviting disaster upon oneself; evidently their familys foe was tremendously powerful, at least it was on par with his perceived martial art skill, so that the good-hearted Xiaochang was afraid to incriminate him. While he was still in deep contemtion, Lin Lang came behind him and said reverently, Turns out Gong Ye is a sage presents as an ordinary person, no wonder Hou Gongzi, who is inordinately proud of his ability, was willing to rush about to make arrangement for Gong Ye. Xu Ziling was amused inwardly; he had never dered that his martial art skill was meager, so how could he be called a sage who presents himself as an ordinary person? But he has indeed not shown his true colors, simply because he was wearing a mask. Are we going to cast anchor today? he casually asked. Lin Lang nodded and said, The big city ahead is Badong County. We may stop over there for half a sichen to replenish our water and provision. Focusing his power to his eyes, Xu Ziling looked ahead, and was able to see the outline of city wall. On both sides of the river, the number of buildings among the forest was increasing dramatically, not scattered like before. At this time Lei Jiuzhi came, thereupon the two of them went to the hall to have breakfast. They were the first guests to arrive. As soon as they were seated properly, Wu Jiang Bang people were scrambling to serve them. Naturally Lei Jiuzhi received the benefit of Xu Zilings glory. After some small talks, not even one out of three sentences that Lei Jiuzhi spoke meandered from his profession; he was talking about gambling again. This time he was talking about Paijiu [pai gow]; fortunately he was quite expressive, like springtime grew out of the corner of his mouth, so that it was not too boring. He said, Casinos have a taboo, which is there is no number eleven, and nobody is allowed to say eleven. Because in Paijiu, theres abination of five and six, which make eleven, which almost always lose. Theres also a ten, because in Paijiu, number ten is the smallest. When someone swore limping ten, it came from this tilebination. Two-nk six is also a cuss word, because two-nk makes four, and four and sixbination makes ten. Ha! Xu Zilingughed and said, If you tell it like that, it might be easier for me to learn. Immensely proud of himself, Lei Jiuzhi bragged, The secret of Paijiu is in killing to thest one, this four-word saying [gan jin sha jue] is the most sentimental emotion. This moment the hull slightly shook, while the speed was gradually reduced, as the ship was touching the riverbank on their port side. Lei Jiuzhi praised, Wu Jiang Bangs skill in steering the boat is definitely topnotch. No wonder that although over the years shipwrecks and idents over the Three Gorges have been heard repeatedly, but none ever happened to their boat. The sailboat finally stopped at the dock. Xu Ziling was looking down, he was about to drink a bowl of thin rice porridge, when there was the sound of sleeves splitting the air. When the two men were looking at each other in surprise, a burst of weird-soundingughter came from the deck, followed by a voice saying, We have a business to attend to in here, anybody dares to meddle, dont me my staff for not showing any mercy. Another tender female voice called out, Hey Xiaochang! Jiejie [older sister] ising to give my respect and wish you a good health! Why havent you rolled out for me? Xu Zilings heart was shaken; he finally knew whom Han Zenan, husband and wife, were afraid of. And they definitely had reason to be afraid. Book 26 - 8 – Here We Part Book 26 Chapter 8 C Here We Part Song Yuzhi apanied Kou Zhong to the dock, where a small sailboat with its sail opened C was waiting respectfully. Along the way, Song Yuzhi did not even speak half a word. Knowing her temper, Kou Zhong did not dare to provoke her. He sighed and said, Here we part, I wonder if there will be days ahead I can see Zhizhi again. If I could not find the Duke Yangs Treasure in Guanzhong, I practically do not have any capital to strive for the world against that Li kid; then, per our agreement, you wont be allowed to marry me. Even if I really obtain the Duke Yangs Treasure,paring my strength to that of Li kids, I am still in the inferior position where there is more chance of defeat than victory. Because victory or defeat in the war is really not determined by the amount of wealth, otherwise, Yang Guang would have not lost the world. Remaining calm, Song Yuzhi said, You shouldnt havee. Things havee this far, what else can Yuzhi say? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Things havee this far, Zhizhi still cannot speak a couple of caring words to me? Song Yuzhi cast her gaze onto the surging river; shaking her head, she said, Die is fully aware that we must not do it for the sake of doing it. Hence the reason he is unwilling to dispatch troops directly to help you. The Li ns fame and power grows with each passing day, while you are still being a fool whos been dreaming about the Duke Yangs treasure. All right! Supposing you really find the treasure, how are you going to transport those things out of the Li ns territory? Ah, Shao Shuai! How about bing a bit more rational? Just consider me begging you! Kou Zhongs deep and low, but determined voice entered her ears; he spoke slowly, Dont look at my loving tough, hee hee ha ha, and my thin skin, rascally appearance, my love to Zhizhi will not change as long as I live. Zhizhi may me me that for the sake of striving over the world, I am abandoning you. While it is true that currently I have my feet deep in the mud and its difficult to withdraw, but the real reason is that a man must set a lofty goal for himself, and then he would never regret that he forge ahead toward this goal, taking no ount of sess and failure, the gains and losses. The difference between Ziling and I is only in the goal. Besides, just look at the people around you! Is there one who is happy and contented? The only thing that we can do is to find joy in sorrows! To find something really interesting during the peacetime has never my, Kou Zhongs fate. Only the great time of startling-the-heaven-and-the-swelling-sea strive and struggle, fearing-whether-the-next-moment-will-be-my-demise will make me feel my own value and existence. Now, in my own inferior circumstances, all I can do is do the best I can. Contending for supremacy among two or three people in Jianghu no longer move me, only striving for victory among magnificent army with thousands of men and horses on the battlefield can turn me upside down. I was originally a man not having anything at all, so I am not afraid to be a man not having anything at all again. But as long as I know that Zhizhis heart already turned towards me, Kou Zhong will not turn my back on this life. Finished revealing the words from the bottom of his heart, Kou Zhong soared and flew toward the boat. Finished listening to his seemingly heartless yet passionate words of love, looking at his lofty, considering-himself-unexcelled-in-the-world magnificent figure from behind, Song Yuzhis vision blurred up. But it was unclear whether it was because of glistening teardrops, or because of the reflection of the water. She wanted to call him back to her side, but when the voice reached her throat, it stuck in the throat. Parting this time, would there be a day that they see each other again? Xu Ziling rushed out of the hall. Han Zenan, husband and wife, were carrying their son rushing away from their cabin in panic along the corridor; he shouted hastily, Han Xiong, dont go out, leave everything to me. Stunned, the two looked back at him. Xu Ziling came to their side; reaching out, he lovingly patted Xiao Jies face. He said to Lei Jiuzhi, who was rushing over from behind, Lei Xiong must not show your face either. Han Zenan shook his head and said with a sigh, Gong Xiong must not, by all means, get involved in this matter. Gong Xiong probably wont look at these two persons in your eyes, but the school and sect they areing from is definitely not a small matter. After getting tangled with them, unless we fall dead, we can forget about passing our days in peace and happiness. Lei Jiuzhi caught up with everybody; he said, One is the Evil Monk Fa Nan, the other is the Amorous Nun Chang Zhen; nobody knew their background. This moment Fa Nan was shouting at them from outside the cabin, Hong Xiaochang, even if you grew wings this time, you cannot fly away. If you wonte with us obediently, we will open up the oath [Buddhist monastic discipline] against taking lives. Hong Xiaochang mournfully said, Nan Ge [older brother] please take good care of yourself, please look after Jieer, and then to Xu Ziling she said, No word can describe my gratitude for your great kindness. Gong Ye, please take them to a safe ce. Han Zenan clutched on Hong Xiaochang; his eyes brimming with tears, he said, If you want to die, well die together. We will never separate. Xiao Jie was staring nkly at his Die and Niang,pletely bewildered. Obviously he did not know what was going on. Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Han Xiong and madam sister-inw, please set your heart at ease. Fa Nan and Chang Zhen are Zhu Yuyans bandit hunting dogs; I am very clear about this. I know even more clearly what kind of trouble I am getting myself into. After taking care of them, Ille back to discuss with Han Xiong and madam sister-inw on what should we do next. While Han Zenan, husband and wife, were still staring at him in disbelief, Xu Ziling casually borrowed the long sword in his hand, crossed over the cabin door, and stepped onto the deck. He saw Lin Lang and more than a dozen of his men, all with weapons in their hands, were standing in confrontation with Chang Zhen and Fa Nan at the stern of the boat. Seeing Gong Chenchun came out to take charge of the general situation, Lin Lang heaved a sigh of relief and said, Gong Ye, please uphold justice on our Wu Jiang Bangs behalf. Immediately Xu Zilings good impression on Lin Lang and his entire Wu Jiang Bang grew; no wonder an arrogant man like Hou Xibai praised Wu Jiang Bangs outstanding reputation. If Fa Nan and Chang Zhen were following Jianghu rules, using peaceful measures before using force by exining the whole story to Lin Lang and indicating that they wanted to resolve gratitude and grudges with Han Zenan, husband and wife, in private, then Lin Lang would definitely have no right to stop them. After all, Han Zenan, husband and wife, were just their customer, they were neither rtives nor friends. But like what Fa Nan and Chang Zhen were doing right now, they were relying on force to charge onto the boat, regarding Wu Jiang Bang as nothing, and making so much noise about opening their oath against taking life; they had really vited Jianghus big taboo. Jianghu people spoke about face the most; even if they knew that they were no match for the enemy, Lin Lang and the others simply must go on. Fa Nan and Chang Zhens eyes immediately turned toward Xu Ziling; both looked alert. Xu Ziling spoke to Lin Lang in low voice, Leave this matter entirely to me, Lin Xiangzhu must never attract trouble on yourself, quickly tell your brothers to withdraw their weapons. Inwardly Lin Lang was very grateful. Evil Monk and Amorous Nuns stinky names have been spreading far and wide around the Chang Jiang region; they were well-known for being difficult to provoke. If there was any choice, nobody wanted to incur their hatred. Hearing Xu Ziling, Lin Lang shouted, Todays matter, our Wu Jiang Bang will not get involved. Put away your weapons. Obeying the order, his men withdrew and gathered behind Xu Ziling to be spectators. The Evil Monk Fa Nans huge, copper-bell-size eyes were flickering with ominous glint. He stared at Xu Ziling from head to toes, and then spoke with coldugh, Who are you? You want to take others ce in throwing away your life? The Amorous Nun Chang Zhen cranked up her seductive appearance to its highest level; sheughed tenderly and said, It must be because of that ugly scar that looks like a poisonous insect that women dont like him; therefore, he is tired of living! Xu Ziling took a step forward,ughed calmly, and said, Less nonsense. If you have guts, dont run away with your tail between your legs. Like a trembling stem of flower, Chang Zhenughed, while throwing coquettish nces toward Fa Nan, and said, Shixiong, did you hear that shameless boast? Finished speaking, she spun around. The xiaohun caiyi [lit. melting soul colorful clothes] draped over her body slowly rose like a clump of cloud, revealing her smooth, bare, cookie-dough white arms, putting her stirring-up-the-fire body, which was covered in tight warrior outfit, on full disy. Combined with her bald head, it actually increased her seductive, lust-attracting power. Everybody knew that from head to toe, her entire body was practically a venomous sting, which must not be aggravated. Fa Nan stomped the heavy steel staff in his hand on the deck, immediately wood fragments sshed, while a big crack appeared. On the other dozen or so cargo and passenger ships moored on the dock, everybody stopped their activities to watch the excitement from a safe distance. Han Zenan and the others have also moved toward the cabin door; naturally they all worried for Gong Chenchun. Compared with He Yi Pais Tong Tian Lao Xia Miaoying and Mei Ji Sina, although these two Evil Monk and Amorous Nun were more notorious, but there was still a considerable distance between them. Pow! Chang Zhen continued spinning her body, flinging her xiaohun caiyi, while her delicate hands separately grabbing the cor and the hem of her skirt, and raised it to cover her erect breasts, saying, Let Nujia apany you ying for two strokes first! When speaking thest word, she suddenly turned into a clump of rosy clouds, flying at an angle toward Xu Ziling; it was both a strange and nice-looking spectacle. Listening to her, everybody thought that she was going to deal with Xu Ziling alone; who would have thought that without saying anything further, Fa Nan sent out his staff to pound on the pit of Xu Zilings stomach, in full disy of his prowess. The most formidable thing was that the clothes were flexible, while the staff was rigid; one was light, the other heavy, the two working together like seamless heavenly clothes. Without even looking, the sword in Xu Zilings right hand swiftly swooped up, while his left palm hacked down. In the eyes of the beholders, this move appeared to be simple, mediocre, without anything special. But to Chang Zhen and Fa Nan who were inside the range of this attack, it felt as if the opponent has already known and urately grasped the angle and timing of their attack, and that even if they wanted to change their move, they could not deviate the slightest bit. These two persons have worked together for more than twenty years, and have dealt with countless powerful enemies. Immediately they cried, Wonderful! inwardly, while both concentrating the true power in their entire body, without leaving any spare power, trying to kill the enemy in just one move. They both thought that no matter how brilliant and strong this person was, he could not possibly match theirbined strike with the power with nearly sixty years maturity. Moreover, the two persons attack of one hard, one soft was most difficult to block. Who could have thought that Xu Ziling actually was luring them to think and do exactly that? If the two were not fighting together, either one of them was more or less of the same level with Mei Ji Sina. But working together, they were more formidable than Sina. And because more and more demonic skill was emerging, if the real hand-to-hand fight continued, there was a possibility that Xu Ziling might have to use the skill that he kept deep at the bottom of his trunk to score victory. But then, there would be great possibility that Fa Nan and Chang Zhen, who had fought with him twice, would sense that he was Xu Ziling, and that would be extremely worrisome. It could be said that Xu Zilings previous skill has been used out in fighting, and now he had to fight another fight. In order to conceal his Xu Ziling identity, he had to rack his brains to create new strokes, to use some kind of different style, so that others would not associate him with Xu Ziling. Inadvertently it had forced him to make another breakthrough and try to think from different angle. As for the use of true qi within his body, he had be a master of many arts and crafts, and was able to transform all kinds of unimaginable magic tricks. This time, naturally he must not use more than 50-percent of Tianmo Dafa; instead, he had to use the circting qi method that he drew from the Jade Annulus of He n. Swoosh! The sword swooped at the melting soul colored clothes first, and then the left palm hit the head of Fa Nans heavy steel staff. It was precisely this split-second difference that determined who won and who lost. In term of grasping the time, Xu Ziling was urate and did not miss a hairsbreadth; otherwise, the one suffering the lost would be him. Using soft to subdue soft, using hard to control hard. The moment Chang Zhens xiaohun caiyi was pricked by the long sword, unexpectedly her energy had nowhere to go; it was a terrifying feeling just like she was throwing a stone into the sea and saw it sank without any trace. Just as she was about to fly back, the long sword already turned into many sword flowers, like a violent storming to envelope her. Because practically there was no reaction force she could borrow, while her body was soaring high in the air, Chang Zhen violently clenched her teeth and unleashed the consummate skill of her school. The colored clothes rolled toward the enemys sword at full force. Xu Zilings left palm chopped heavily on the steel staff, while at the same time he secretly performed Great Vajra Chakra Print. Chang Zhen saw him dealing with Fa Nan with all his might, inwardly she was greatly delighted. Suddenly the sword flowers subsided. The enemys sword has been wrapped tight by her colored clothes; hastily she applied her power to pull, thinking that as soon as the opponent divided half of his strength to deal with her, then Fa Nans heavy staff strike would certainly inflict internal injury. Who would have thought that when the long sword met the clothes, unexpectedly it felt as light as a feather without the least bit of strength? Inwardly she knew that she had fallen into a trap, but it was just toote. Bang! Abundant, unfathomable innate true qi prated the staff and burst in, so that not only Fa Nans attacking qi power was repelled back into his body, it also carried an additional gift. Fa Nan let out a miserable grunt and staggered backward, and then he spurted two mouthfuls of blood. Thump! By the time he fell on his butt on the deck, his countenance was so pale that he looked like a dead person. Chang Zhen, who still had the long sword rolled inside her clothes, was still soaring in the air, but she felt unbearable difort that she nearly vomited blood. However, she was outstanding as well. Seeing Fa Nan met a disaster, her colored clothes brushing away, the long sword turned into a long rainbow, and shot back toward Xu Ziling, while she herself made a somersault midair andnded in front of Fa Nan. Watching this, all the spectators on the ship were dumbstruck; nobody would have guessed that Evil Monk and Amorous Nun, whose name shook the Chang Jiang river basin, who ran amuck unscrupulously, would suffer big defeat in just one meeting. Natural and unrestrained, Xu Ziling spun his body around, waiting for the long sword to flit near him, and grabbed the hilt of the sword with ease, before facing the two again and pointed his long sword toward them. Letting out a coldugh, he said, Get the hell out of here, as far away as possible. Otherwise, dont me me for opening up the oath against taking lives. Opening up the oath against taking lives was precisely the words that Fa Nan spoke just now, which Xu Ziling repeated verbatim. Secretly all the spectators were delighted. Chang Zhens eyes shot bitter resentment and hatred. Nodding her head, she said, Very well! You win today! But you already provoked gargantuan trouble. Very soon you will know what regret is. Wrapping her jade arm around Fa Nans left nk, she propped his huge body up, and then with a tender shout she flew toward the dock, and in the blink of an eye disappeared into the distance. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Yin Gui Pai was well known for the soul of a deceased has not yet dispersed [idiom: the influence still lingers on] and was extremely difficult to deal with. Although in this battle he gained the victory effortlessly and easily, but if he provoked the opponents elder-level martial art masters, while he had to protect Han Zenans family of three, the situation would not be so optimistic. Kou Zhong sat quietly by the window. The undting tide of thought moved from the cherished memory of Song Yuzhi toward the two nights of struggle where he staked everything against Song Que. ng! He drew the Moon in the Well out of its scabbard. Under the nting column of sunlight through the window, the de flickered brilliantly. All of a sudden he knew clearly that under Song Ques without-any-reservation, breaking-a-new-ground enlightenment, his cultivation in the saber way has taken an iparable step forward. The Kou Zhong who stepped into the Song Familys mountain city and the Kou Zhong who left the mountain city were as different as raw rock and precious jade. Although in term of size, outwardly these two arepletely identical, but the contents being held inside were vastly different. His essence, qi and spirit, and the precious de in his hand integrated into one, being fused into one entity, reaching the marvelous realm of intention approaches the saber, the saber approaches intention. Although there was no master/disciple rtionship between Song Que and him in name, there was master/disciple rtionship between them in reality. If Song Que had used the Heavenly Saber from the beginning, perhaps he would have been defeated and died violently early on. Song Que put Kou Zhong in the danger spot where he was sure to be defeated first, and then, using life and death threat and pressure, he systematically enlightened him to coax his potential and inspire his spirit and wisdom, so that from a stone, he shed his old body and became jade. This kind of hell-style training has made him fully improve his saber technique and his internal energy. Upon reaching Jiujiang, he would go ashore and continue north to Xiangyang, to rendezvous with Xu Ziling. Originally he was going to take the boat up north, along the Great River and turn into Han River and continue on to Xiangyang. But this route would expose him too much. Right now, it was most important for him to keep his whereabouts a secret. Taking advantage of these few days of peace and happiness on the boat, he would forge ahead vigorously to spur his advancement, to study the exceptional saber technique from Song Que, and fuse it thoroughly, to prepare himself well for the treasure hunt in Guanzhongter on. In this instant, hepletely forgot everything else. Apart from the Moon in the Well, there was nothing else in his mind. Only after listening to everybody singing his praises did Xu Ziling manage to extract himself with difficulty and return to the cabin with Lei Jiuzhi in tow. Who would have thought that Han Family husband and wifes room was already empty? Speechless, the two looked at each other. Lei Jiuzhi spread out his arms and said with a wry smile, They are good people; chances are they do not want to incriminate us, hence they just go away! Xu Ziling helplessly said, We are already implicated; I just hope that the Heaven will help the worthy. From behind, Lin Lang stuck his head in to take a nce, and said, Somebody saw them sneakily disembarked from the bow, and fled along the river. But that route is very unsafe. They are so stupid; there is Gong Ye here looking after them, what are they afraid of? Rolling his eyes, Lei Jiuzhi asked Lin Lang, Is there any decent casino in Badong? Lin Lang replied, If you want to gamble, naturally the best is Yin Ru Ge [just because pavilion, see Chapter 6] in Jiujiang. Lets not mention the gamblers north and south sides of the Great River who are flocking in as if they are greedy, even people who do not like to gamble must experience it once. Furthermore, this is the time where Yin Ru Ge is holding their annual gambling meet. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, We only have about a sichen here; how could there be enough time to gamble? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, I was just casually asking. If there is enough time, wherever we cast anchor, we might want to gamble there. Otherwise, you wont have enough opportunity to practice. Lin Langs heart was unbearably itchy, he said, If you want to gamble, that is very easy. We have all kinds of gambling equipment on the boat; how about we y a couple of hands? Lei Jiuzhi put his hand on Lin Langs shoulder and said with augh, How could we have the nerve to win Lin Xiangzhus hard-earned money? When we get to Zheng County, let the three of us form a partnership and gamble together until the sky faint and the earth dark. No matter how much we win, we will split it evenly three ways. I guarantee that when Lin Xiangzhu return to Wu Jiang [River Wu], you can bring a beautiful concubine into your big house. Skeptical, Lin Lang said, If it is that easy to win money, why do LaoGe still rush about painstakingly? Xu Ziling was not interested to listen to their groundless entanglement. He was about to return to his cabin when someone cut him off, saying, Gong Ye, could you spare a moment to talk? Xu Ziling recognized him as one of the passengers on the ship; about thirty years old, looking a bit schrly, handsome, educated and feeble, medium build, and wore traveling merchant attire. Nodding his head, he said, Lets get in and talk inside. The man followed him into the cabin, and then he introduced himself, Xiaorens [the lowly one] two-character surname is Gongliang, my lowly name is Ji, of Qinghua County. This time going to Jiujiang is to collect a sum of overdue debt. If Gong Ye is willing to help, I am willing to give half to Gong Ye. Ay! If I fail to collect this debt, I dont know what to do. Inwardly, Xu Ziling was smiling ruefully; but listening to his sincerity, and looking at his upright-eyes-and-straight-nose honest appearance, he did not have the heart to tly refuse. Without any choice, he asked, What exactly is going on? Would Gongliang Xiong please tell me the detail? But you must not hide anything from me. Gongliang Jie sighed and said, This is what happened: for generations, our Gongliang family has been engaged in medicinal ingredient business. Five months ago, someone called Jia Chong came to order arge quantity of famous and valuable medicinal ingredients, saying that he would pay in gold. Thereupon we went all over the ce to collect the goods. Once thats done, we delivered the goods, while receiving the gold. Who would have thought that although at that time it was clearly gold ingots, but when we got back, everything became rocks, so we knew we have been cheated. Jia Chong was actually jia chong [an impostor (y of words, different jia characters)]. In order to pay for our debts of the medicinal ingredients, I already lost my family fortune, and have nothing at all. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Since he is a swindler, how could he let you know that he lives in Jiujiang? With worries sshed all over his face, Gongliang Ji said, I am not sure whether it was good luck or bad lucking right into my face, but a Jianghu friend told me that this man is Jiujiangs famous con-artist [orig. cheating stick] nicknamed dian shi cheng jin [lit. touching stone and turn it into gold] Lai Chaogui. Gong Ye, please help Xiaoren administer justice. Xu Ziling was about to reply, Lei Jiuzhi pushed the door and entered, saying, Lai Chaogui is not just a big cheating stick, he is also a crook doing prostitution, gambling, drinking, bragging, and all kinds of immoral behaviors. When we get to Jiujiang, well fix him up! Book 26 - 9 – Meeting Again at Different Place Book 26 Chapter 9 C Meeting Again at Different ce This would be Kou Zhongs third visit to Jiujiang. The first time was the trip to assassinate Ren Shaoming, which propelled his and Xu Zilings fame of fighting prowess, which inspired awe throughout the empire. The second time was on their way to break the siege on the Flying Horse Ranch, where they had to pass through this city, and identally rescued back Luo Fang. Because this ce was within Xiao Xians sphere of influence, Kou Zhong had to be extra careful. Not only he put on the mask that transformed him into a full-bearded man with aquiline nose, he also wrapped a piece of cloth around the Moon in the Wells scabbard, which was amon practice at that time, hence it did not look so out of ce. Although the Song Family had good rtionship with Xiao Xian, but during this time, Kou Zhong did not dare to disembark at the dock; he instructed the Song Family disciples who took him there to go about a li downstream from Jiujiang before letting him off, and then he rushed along the coast toward Jiujiang. His n was that after reaching Jiujiang, he would look for a passenger ship going along the Chang Jiang to the north toward the Han River and continued on to Xiangyang. Not only it would save him energy, he was hoping, relying on his quick mouth, to get familiar with the other passengers on board, and then enter the city together, so that he would not attract any attention. Very soon he was already outside the city wall of Jiu Jiang. Jiujiang was an important city along the water way of Yangtze River; it was prosperous and bustling with activities. On the coastal area moored nearly a thousand ships and boats, big and small, connected by sampan [t-bottomed wooden boat]; their sail and banner filled the sky. On the shore, mule carts and horse carriages going back and forth in unending stream. Xiao Xians Great Liang Dynastys army were setting up checkpoints in strategic ces and intersections, the security was very tight, the situation was quite intimidating. Jiujiang City was the focal point of the struggle between Xiao Xians Liang Army and Lin Shihongs Chu Army. Whoever could control this highly strategic city would be equal to having the ability to choke the throat of the Great River and the waterway west of Lake Poyang. Currently it had fallen into the Liang Armys hands. Even if Lin Shihong could control Poyang and the waterways of the south, he could advance neither to the west nor the north; hence he was unable to move a single step. To the east there were Du Fuwei, Li Zitong, and Shen Faxing, which made it even more difficult for Lin Shihong to advance even for a cun. However, since Zhu Jiang [sic] and Xiao Xian became enemies, after many battles, both sides strength suffered considerable injury, hence the Chu Army, who, all along, had been under pressure from Xiao Xian that they could not breathe, was beginning to get restless. ording to the Song Familys intelligence, Lin Shihong was building up his navy in Lake Poyang, with the intention of invading Jiujiang. Kou Zhong carried a pass of safe conduct issued by the Song Family, so he entered Jiujiang without any difficulty at all. As he was going down the memoryne, unconsciously his thoughts and feelings were stirred. After seven days of cultivation in hiding, not only he was able to fuse and thread together the saber technique he learned from Song Que, taking advantage of the rarely-found leisure time among his busyness these days, he even went one step further by assimting it with the realbat experience he gained for the past few years, into aprehensive and systematic thought. By the time he left the boat, he feltpletely brand new, as if in the cultivation of the saber way, it was only this moment that he could consider to be great achievement. He was about to find an inn to stay for the night, when a horse-drawn carriage, which had just entered the city, passed by his side. He heard a faint female voice speaking inside the carriage, and Kou Zhongs heart shivered slightly. The voice sounded familiar, but momentarily he was unable to recall to whom the voice belonged to. Even more baffling was, why, on this noisy big street, crowded with people and vehicles to bursting point, he was able to distinctly hear the voice inside a carriage speeding past? In the past, this was practically an impossibility. His heart was moved, he decided to follow the carriage closely. From the north gate, the target carriage was traveling southbound along the main street, and then turned into another big street heading east. Focusing his power into his ears, Kou Zhong was able to hear two women talking inside the carriage. He heard that quite familiar female voice saying, We have investigated Gong Chenchuns background; he must be the martial art master who many years ago ran amuck for a period of time around YunGui region. Afterwards, for some unknown reason he offended many people, and disappeared without any trace. Unexpectedly this time he returned to Jianghu and has be that formidable. From the saber scar on his face, he earned the nickname Dao Ba Ke [saber scar guest]. Kou Zhongs heart was shaken; could it be that she was talking about Xu Zilings disguise of the Scar-faced Hero? Another female voice coldly said, Facing Fa Nan and Chang Zhen, he was able to inflict heavy injury on Fa Nan in just one move, so his martial art skill has reached the universally-shocking level. How could such person suddenly appear in Jianghu without any rhyme or reason? I wonder if he is Xu Ziling in disguise? Both he and Kou kid have the ability to change their appearance. Wonderful! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. Not only he was able to confirm that this Gong Chenchun was indeed Xu Ziling, but also because of the mention of Fa Nan and Chang Zhens names, he was able to guess that the woman must be Bai Qinger; and the other was a Yin Gui Pai elder, with whom he has had predestined affinity to battle in Luoyang, Wen Caiting. How could there be such a coincidence? Bai Qinger said, At first I also had the same suspicion, because the time and the ce were quite fitting. But ording to thetest intelligence, this Gong Chenchun is a hundred percent gambling ghost; wherever the boat stop, there he would go gambling, and his gambling method is quite ruthless. Do you think Xu Ziling could be this kind of man? In any case, when his ship arrives tonight, we can ascertain his foundation. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs confidence was immediately shaken. Nobody knew Xu Ziling better than he. Not only Xu Ziling was not good at gambling, he did not even understand gambling. Apparently Wen Caiting was also persuaded by Bai Qinger; she said, ording to what you said, he cant be Xu Ziling. But no matter who he is, capturing Xiaochang back is secondary; Zhangmen Shijie issued strict order to eliminate this man at all cost. Do you have any information on your Bian Shishu [martial uncle]? I havent seen him since we parted in Chengdu. Bai Qinger sighed and said, Under An Long and You Niaojuans joint attack, Bian Shishu received serious internal injury; fortunately Shijie came in time to rescue him and sent him to a secret ce to recuperate. Wen Shishu may set your heart at ease. This moment the carriage turned into a mansion. Kou Zhong did not dare to recklessly charge inside, so he quietly left. At the same time, he was inwardly happy. Yin Gui Pai assembled their manpower here to deal with this gambler called Gong Chenchun. This guy must be very formidable that he could alert Zhu Yuyan to send martial art master of elder level to deal with him. Could it be that he had three heads and six arms? By this time, just like Wen Caiting, he did not believe that Ba Lian Ke [scar-faced guest] was Xu Zilings ba lian daxia [Scar-faced Hero]. He figured that he would stay one night in Jiujiang. If this Gong Chenchun did note tonight, he might try to find Yin Gui Paisir and strike them [feminine] and put them in a sorry state. The most important thing was naturally to test the saber technique that Song Que imbued on him. Thinking to this point, his mood was improving tremendously. He had just entered the main street leading to the north gate when a group of riders galloped into the city. The leader was unexpectedly the Gang Leader of Jukun Bang, with whom he has had endless gratitude and grudges entanglement, Yun Yuzhen. Kou Zhong had thought of the possibility ofing across her here, but he never expected that he would see her as soon as he entered the city. New animosity and old hatred rushed forth in his heart, he quietly ran after them. Xu Ziling was still deep in thought while facing the beautiful scenery of the Three Gorges when Lei Jiuzhi pushed the door and entered in. Sitting down next to him, he said, Theres still one sichen before we arrive in Jiujiang. Lin Lang might make arrangement for us to stay in an inn that have some connection with them. Tonight we are going to kick the gambling ghost Zha Hais gathering ce. How do you feel about Gongliang Jis character? Xu Ziling asked. Gongliang Ji was the medicinal ingredient businessman who was cheated by the con-artist Lai Chaogui until he lost his family fortune. Lei Jiuzhi said, I asked Lin Lang, Gongliang Ji was telling the truth. Gongliang Family is big phnthropist, famous in Qinghua region; they give away medicine to poor people. Therefore, although their medicinal ingredient business is very big, their family property is not so much. Wu Jiang Bangs Sha Laoda [big boss] is sending him to Jiujiang without charging a single cent. Not only that, he also instructed Lin Lang to plead with people who have some face within the gangs and societies in Jiujiang to help, but naturally they wont be as good as our Gong Yes rough hand and strong fist. After hanging around each other for many days, the two men got along so well that they did not stand on ceremony anymore. Xu Ziling said, I want to take care of Gongliang Jis rotten ount first before going to the casino. Lei Jiuzhi said, This is called the money is in the bandits hand, once we go, there is no turning back. Killing him is not going to make any sense. It would be better if we could win Gongliang Jis money back on the gambling table. Arent you contradicting yourself? Xu Ziling crossly said, If he already squandered away the money he cheated from him, then whats the difference between using de or using gambling table? In the end we wont get the money back. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Lei Jiuzhi said, We shout and scream to force him to return the money, if he is willing to follow Jianghu rules and return fifty-percent, it could be considered pretty good. But on the gambling table, he cannot but follow casino rules. Whatever amount he loses, he must pay in full. Casinos attach most importance to trust; he wont dare to mess with it. Frowning deeply, Xu Ziling said, How are you going to lure Lai Chaogui to gamble big against us? With a card up his sleeve, Lei Jiuzhi replied, From Gongliang Ji and Lin Langs mouth, I already understood this persons style. Speaking about cheating in gambling, all those in order to capture, one must let loose, bluffing, engaging in fraudulent activities, he does not even have the qualification to be my disciple or grandson. As long as Ling Shao is willing to stay in Jiujiang for two more days, I guarantee he will be caught by my fishing hook. Xu Ziling seriously said, Ill give you two days. Otherwise, we will proceed ording to my distinguished method. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Lei Jiuzhi said, Its really strange, howe Yin Gui Pai does not shown any sign of acitivity? Xu Ziling analyzed, Yin Gui Pai, with Wanwan as the main force, deployed their martial art masters into Bashu. Because of her lofty position, Zhu Yuyan cant possibly undertake this task personally, while naturally moving an army and sending a general takes time. But Jiujiang is theirst chance. After this, finding us will not be so easy. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, He has a good n, I have adder to climb over the wall. As soon as you, this Gong Chenchun, suddenly vanish from the human world, even if Zhu Yuyan personally came, what can she possibly do? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I may be able to avoid her momentarily, but I cant avoid her for a lifetime. In the end, I will have to meet with Zhu Yuyan and the others, to take this opportunity to battle them. You, along with Gongliang Ji and Lin Lang, must not be seen together with me. We will contact each other using some secret method; wont it be more interesting and fun? Kou Zhong went to the inns public bath. After heartily washed himself clean, he went down the street. It was early evening, the time when thenterns were first lit. The street was bustling with noise. The people going back and forth on the streets were traveling merchants from all over the ce and all kinds of Jianghu characters. When he was following Yun Yuzhen before, it was not until she entered the governmental mansion Zhenjiang Lou [lit. town and river building, not sure if this is a name], representing Jiujiang political power, located at the city center, that he continued his quest for an inn to have a rest. Up to this point, he still did not know how to deal with her. If using secret assassination method, based on his current saber technique, skill and experience, after the mission was aplished, he would still be able to leave easily. But he was well aware that he would not be able to make his move. He has always had a soft heart toward women. He selected a restaurant from which he could watch the north gate as he dined. If that guy called Gong Chenchun wasing from Bashu by boat via the Three Gorges to Jiujiang, he ought to being from the dock outside the city. Jiujiang actually had a waterway that went directly inside the city, but it was restricted for the Liang Navy boats use only. All other ships and boats, without exception, must drop anchor outside the city. The two tables by the door were already upied, while from the rest of the room, one could not see the situation outside the shop. Unleashing his consummate skill money can get through the gods, Kou Zhong took out three taels of silver and came to one of the table, Bang! he pped the silver onto the table. He smiled and said, If you are willing to let me have this table, you can divide the silver among yourselves. Those three men were obviously friends; without second thought they took the silver, paid the bill and left, for fear that if they were even half a stepte, this ostentatious, ugly-looking foolish man would go back on this deal. Again, Kou Zhong heavily tipped the attendant, ignoring the gaze with raised eyebrows of the entire shop, and said, Give me full set of bowls and chopsticks, I am meeting friends. The waiter, as if he received imperial decree, followed the order and obeyed wholeheartedly, and waited on him in every possible way. Kou Zhong made a big show of sitting down and untied the Moon in the Well from his back and put it on the table. This way, unless someone ate leopard gall dder, nobody would dare to sit at his table. After ordering food and wine, Kou Zhong gazed at the main street leading into the city. There was still a steady stream of traveling merchants from out of town entering the city; it was a level of prosperity that was a bit out of ce. When the waiter returned to offer the good wine, Kou Zhong casually asked, I never thought that Jiujiang would be this lively. The waiterughed politely and said, Daye didnt know, but they all came to take advantage of the excitement of Yin Ru Ges annual gambling meet. And then, lowering his voice he went on, The extent of your luck not only limited to the chance of winning money, there will also be beautiful women keeping youpany all night. Daye, tell me, who would want to miss this opportunity? Kou Zhongs heart was moved, thinking that this casinos style was rather like Xiang Yushans casino, plus Jiujiang was currently Baling Bangs territory. Perhaps this Yin Ru Ge was under his Xiang Familys management as well. Thinking to this point, murderous intent red out in his heart. But on the surface he remained calm and collected as heughed aloud and said, Turns out there is such a fun ce like that. When ites to gambling, my luck has always been not bad. Which way to the Yin Ru Ge? After taking the time to give Kou Zhong a detailed direction, the waiter turned around to wait on other guests. While Kou Zhong was still deep in thought, a voice, reverent and respectful, rang out by his side, saying, Daye, please forgive Xiaorens offense by disturbing you. Kou Zhong looked up. The speaker was a man about forty years old, slightly-built, with the paleplexion of a man who had excessive wine and women. Although he was trying to show some kind frank and honest look, his narrow eyes revealed his sly character. His countenance was not bad, but experienced person would be able to see that he was the kind of Jianghu people who make a living by stealing and swindling. Kou Zhong knew that he would vite the wealth does not betray the eyes big taboo of the Jianghu by inciting this drooling drifter. But since he was bored, plus this kind of person was an ideal candidate if he wanted to go one step further by inquiring about everything pertaining to Yin Ru Ge, thereupon he said, Sit down and tell me! As if he was overwhelmed by favor from superior, the man sat down to Kou Zhongs left and spoke in ttering way, Xiaoren Liu An; Daye, may I ask your honorable surname and great given name? Kou Zhong was disgusted, but he forced himself to suppress his irritation toward this man. Whatever you want to say, just say it, dont talk nonsense, he replied impatiently. In fear and trepidation, Liu An said, Daye, please calm down. It is because Xiaoren noticed Dayes outstanding appearance, with marvelous shine across your face, and good luck imminent on your countenance C that I am thinking of a good proposal that I guarantee Daye will be pleased. Kou Zhong sniggered inwardly. His appearance right now was certainly extremely outstanding, but it was the unbearably-ugly kind of outstanding. However, on the surface he put on an act that he took thepliment at face value. Staring at Liu An, he said, If after you tell me and I am dissatisfied, I am going to chop you with this saber. Liu An hastily smiled apologetically and said, Daye really loves to joke. And then, leaning closer, he spoke in low voice, Isnt Daye interested to try your luck at the Yin Ru Ge? Not only Xiaoren can take you in, but I can also help Dayes skill to put everyone there under control; you can obtain both the money and the people. Displeased, Kou Zhong said, You think I am an idiot? If you really have such ability, why not use your skill to put everyone under control? Why would you want to give me the advantage? Get the hell out of here right now, or Ill kill you for real. Liu An hastily said, Daye, please listen to Xiaorens exnation. Heres the truth: the highlight of the gambling meet is the Tian Jiu [lit. heavenly nine, Tien Gow]petition, which will be held tomorrow night. Whoever can win the highest number of gaming chips will be dered the winner. But those who want to enter the contest must register three days ago, and have to be present for the draw to determine the table and the opponents. Look! Spreading out his right hand, he revealed a uniquely-shaped bronze token, engraved with a number and Yin Ru Ge logo; the lines were very fine. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Are you trying to sell me this bronze token? Humph! You really know how to do business. Liu An put away the bronze token; heughed and said, My problem is that Ick the gambling capital. Simply because the gambling meet provision stated that thepetitor must purchase gaming chips worth twenty taels of gold, those who lose everything will be immediately kicked out of the arena. This was the reason I was looking for Daye to work together. Kou Zhong was not interested to continue talking with him. Shaking his head, he said, Im sorry, in my pocket right now, scraping to the east and gathering from the west, I only have twelve taels of gold. Therefore, it does not matter how brilliant my gambling skill is, I stillck eight taels of gold before I can even qualify. Just get lost and go find your second fat sheep! While Kou Zhong thought that Liu An would sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat, Liu An rolled his rat-eyes, and without changing his expression at all heughed and said, No problem; as long as Daye is willing to cooperate, isnt winning eight taels of gold as easy as a hands turn? Tonight, Jiujiangs streets are crowded with sheep to the bursting point; as long as we have enough capital in hand, Xiaoren can work together with Daye to make a lot of money. This moment the dish arrived. Kou Zhong perfunctorily said, Let me think about it! Of course! Of course! Liu An replied, If Daye is interested in Xiaorens proposal, you can go to Yin Ru Ge to look for Xiaoren. Xiaoren is an expert in reading peoples aura; Daye is currently in the winning form. Otherwise, Xiaoren would not waste that much time exining. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, If we get enough money to be exchanged with gaming chips, who wouldpete? Will it be you, or me? Liu An said, Of course Daye can personally y. Afterwards, Xiaoren will be perfectly content to get ten percent. Kou Zhong nodded and said, All right! If Im interested, I will look for you at Yin Ru Ge tonight. Thinking that he had persuaded Kou Zhong; Liu An left in high spirits. Kou Zhong snickered inwardly. Lifting his chopsticks, he was about to pick the dish when Xu Zilings Scar-faced Hero swaggered into the city from the north city gate. Book 26 - 10 – Yin Ru Casino Book 26 Chapter 10 C Yin Ru Casino Having just disembarked from the ship, Xu Ziling had a feeling that he was being watched. And then he saw the official boat that Bai Qinger took. Evidently, at least on the surface, the rtionship between Xiangyangs Qian Duguan and Xiao Xian was quite good. Lin Lang has personally removed any obstruction he might encounter at the city gate by issuing a pass of safe conduct to him just before theynded, so that all he needed to do was to pay the tax and he could enter the city immediately. Walking along the main street, heavy with endless stream of horses and carriages, Xu Ziling had a feeling that he was returning to the mortal world. This Three Gorges trip would forever be engraved in his heart. In less than ten steps, Xu Ziling already sensed an unusual feeling, like a bucket of iced water was poured on his head and soaked his entire body. Instantly he reacted by looking at shop on his right. The first thing he saw was a powerful, as bright as lightning, abundant in divine light, fierce and severe without equal C pair of eyes. And then he saw Kou Zhong. In that instant, he knew that just like him, after they parted, Kou Zhong had made incredible breakthrough in his martial art skill; he was not the same as the former Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong was raising his cup to toast him, with a bright, ugly smile on his face. But this smile could not hide the profound, touchingly strong emotion exuding from his pair of tiger-eyes, brimming with delight, joy, and excitement of meeting again after a long period of separation. Xu Ziling signaled with his eyes from a distance; he suddenly walked faster and disappeared into a sidene. Inside the shop, Kou Zhong put down his cup and shouted loudly, Three taels of silver, I want the table closest to the back door. After throwing off the people who were following his tracks, Xu Ziling entered the shop via the back door. Kou Zhong already poured him a cup of good wine and waited respectfully for his honored-selfs arrival. One cup of wine gone, the two boys four eyes met, they looked at each other and thenughed. In this moment, being able to stay alive was indeed a rarity. Kou Zhong poured another cup of wine for him; lowering his voice, he said with a sigh, Kid, you are amazing; unexpectedly even the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying was ughtered under your hands. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Did you develop a pair of tail-wind ears [fig. a well-informed person]? Unexpectedly your information is so fast and abundant. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, It was Yuzhi who told me. Luckily I told Song Que that Yue Shan is your disguise; otherwise, you, this kid, will be killed by Song Que without knowing whats going on. If you dont see it with your own eyes, you wouldnt know to what extend the awesomeness of his Heavenly Saber; even my eggs were nearly cut off by him. He has been keeping his belly full of foulnguage in check, so now he needed to pour out everything. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly you sneaked away to Lingnan to meet the beauty; too bad I have promised Song Yuhua not to let you see her Die. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, I am not mountain spirit or demon, why would she talk to you about stopping me from seeing her Ol Dad? Although Xu Ziling had thousands of words, he did not know how to bring it up. Changing the subject, he said, How did you know to wait here for me to enter the city? Kou Zhong picked some food and put it in Xu Zilings bowl. Leaning closer, he said, When there is an effect, naturally there is a cause. Today, I met face to face on a narrow path with two groups of old friends. One is Yin Gui Pai yaonu yaofu [female demon and witch] who conspired to split your corpse five ways by pulling it with horses. The other group was led by Yun Yuzhen, that stinky poniang [reminder: woman (derogatory)]. Ay! Seeing you alive and well, there is no need for me to have a headache alone. And then he stared nkly at Xu Ziling, who had be fine-gem like jade, clean, beautiful and lustrous. Lifting his hand holding the chopsticks, he said, What actually happened? It made you appear like you shed your mortal body and exchanged your bones. While eating, Xu Ziling said, Itsplicated and not easy to express sinctly. Right now I must hurry to the casino. Ill tell you on the way! Yin Ru Ge was located in the heart of the most prosperous business district in Jiujiang, about seven, eight buildings away from Chun Zai Lou where they assassinated Ren Shaoming. The scale was grand. The main buildingplex consisted of five wooden structures on a central axis, connected to each other by corridors. On both sides of the corridors, there were ponds, mountain rocks, flowers and nts in pots. Outside the mainplex, there were more than a dozen smaller buildings, courtyards and residences, in all-the-stars-cup-themselves-around-the-moon configuration [idiom, from Analects: to group around a revered leader] with the five main halls as the core, surrounded all around by high walls. This moment the entireplex was as bright as white painting; the external wall facing the main street was resplendent with colorednterns. Outside the main gate vehicles and horses were forming a long queue, as they slowly entered in. The streets in the vicinity were crowded to bursting point with pedestrians; some were there just to enjoy watching the bustling scene, some others, because they did not have enough money to pay the admission fee for the gambling meet, were unable to get in. Everybody who had head and face in Jiujiang was there; hats and head coverings converged into one ce. It was indeed a magnificent and unprecedented event. Watching the bustling scene outside the main gate from a distance, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both speechless. Emotionally moved, the former said, Just like that time we went to Wang Tongs mansion to listen to Shi Qingxuans flute; history repeats itself, very quickly it has been several years! At that time we were on the run every day. But now, even if Zhu Yuyan and Ning Daoqi came to give us bad luck, we, two brothers, are not afraid of his mother. Having his bad memory of Shi Qingxuan mentioned, Xu Ziling hung his head and did not say anything. Kou Zhong thought Xu Ziling was recalling his lot in life, just like he just did, so he did not mind him; he went on, When we have timeter, I must try how formidable your Nine-word Incantation Handprint is. Putting his worry out of his mind, Xu Zilingughed and said, I knew you would not let me get away with it. Dont me me for not giving you a warning in advance; if somehow my hand slips and I injure you, I dont care how many faces you have, you will lose them all! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Kid, stop showing off, your words are too full of yourself. How can I, Kou Zhong, be like Xi Ying, unting off his demonic name without restraint, looking impressive but was actually worthless? The two have not teased each other for a very long time, so they both found it amusing. After looking at each other and roaring inughter, they walked toward Yin Ru Ges main entrance. From a side alley someone rushed out and blocked their way. He was wearing brocade clothes and gorgeous attire, but his face looked unfamiliar. Kou Zhong was about to bark and cuss, Xu Ziling just saw that this person was Lei Jiuzhi in disguise. Hes a friend, he hastily said, This is Lei Dage. Lei Jiuzhi did not know Kou Zhong. After the introduction, he was immediately pleased beyond his expectations to finally meet him. Due to their mutual rtionship with Lu Miaozi, naturally Kou Zhong and Lei Jiuzhi hit it off right away. The three stepped aside into an alley to discuss their grand n. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Didnt Lei Dage say you wanted to force Xiang Gui out using Lei Jiuzhis identity? Why are you dressed like this? Smiling, Lei Jiuzhi replied, This is Lei Jiuzhis real appearance; I am using false in ce of real. When I am not in Lei Jiuzhi disguise, I can make my nine fingers appear to be ten. Lu Shi was a great master precisely in this kind of trickery, I have a model to learn from! What are you going to y tonight? Kou Zhong asked, I hear that the Tian Jiupetition is not going to start until tomorrow night. Astonished, Lei Jiuzhi said, Shao Shuais news is indeed fast and abundant. The difference between tonight and tomorrow night is that the participants of tomorrow nights Tian Jiupetition are by invitation only; people who, if not giant businessmen, then must be leaders of gangs and societies, anybody who has name and surname within the Dulin [reminder: gambling forest] world. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Turns out that little con man used fake token to swindle me; but the fake article looked very exquisite. Lei Jiuzhi opened up his palm to reveal a round bronze token. Heughed and said, The real bronze token looks like this. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Thats the token, only the number is different. After listening to Kou Zhongs exnation one more time, Lei Jiuzhi said, I wonder if Shao Shuai remember the number? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Lei Dage asked the right person. Ling Shao can read ten lines at a nce, but once I see it, I wont forget it. It looked to be ... Ha! It looked to be forty-eight. No! Now that I think about it, it ought to be twenty-eight. Yes, I am sure it was twenty-eight. Lei Jiuzhi said, If it is indeed twenty-eight, then this is called heavens has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it [idiom, from Laozi]. Turning toward Xu Ziling, he said, The nicknamed dian shi cheng jin [Midas touch see Chapter 8] Lai Chaoguis number is precisely twenty-eight. Xu Ziling could not believe his ears; he said, You disembarked just a moment before I did; how could you be so quick that you even looked up Lai Chaoguis number? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Under heavy rewards, there must be brave men. The power of this saying is more effective toward gamblers than anything else. The people who came to participate in the gambling meet this time, a lot of them are my old friends. Looking up this kind of thing is just a matter of the exertion of lifting my hand! Kou Zhong drew a nk. Whos Lai Chaogui? he asked. Lei Jiuzhi said, Shao Shuai, please give us the description of that Liu Ans outward appearance and body shape. ording to reason, based on Lai Chaoguis status and prestige, he could not possibly do such a thing. Thereupon Kou Zhong described how he looked, as well as what happened then. Lei Jiuzhi sighed and said, Indeed this guys character does not change even if hes dead. This Liu An fellow is Lai Chaoguis agent [lit. middleman]. Before the Tian Jiu meet, he went everywhere looking for a fat sheep on sedan chair. First, they would let you win big, so that youd think that you are in collusion with him to swindle the other fat sheeps money, while actually you are the fat sheep. This kind of gambling cheat is called releasing the kite. First, they let you win small, afterwards, lose big. After the event, they would even push the me on you. Xu Ziling happily said, Lai Chaogui shouldnt have enough capital topete tomorrow night! The admission fee was actually a tax that has to be paid to the local government. During the time when money was desperately needed like right now, governments in all parts of the country administered all kinds of way, concocted various items to draw taxes. Yin Ru Ges admission tax was collected by a gambling officer dispatched by the local government, and was then transferred into the government coffers bypassing the casino. Starting in the Warring States period [475-221 BC], due to severe devastation caused by gambling, which oftentimes made one losing his family fortune, also because it attracted all kinds of damage to the societal order and corrupt practices in general, there was aw that prohibits gambling. Then Qin Shihuang unified the world, so Li Si [c. 280-208 BC, Legalist philosopher, calligrapher and Prime minister of Qin kingdom and Qin dynasty from 246 to 208 BC] drew up thew to prohibit gambling. Light punishment would be pricking the outline of a whale on the face [not sure: ̾], heavy punishment would be flogging on the thigh. The Han dynasty also continued this gambling prohibition. Until the Wei, Jin, and North-South dynasties, during the rise of thend-owning ss, the prohibition rxed. Although in name, the gambling prohibition provision remained, the reality was gone. During thest years of the Sui Dynasty, governments ckened and crippled, bureaucrats and businessmen in cahoots, gambling industry flourished, they joined hands to make big fortune. After the Sui Dynasty copsed, this style aggravated, all over the ce government authorities happily increased their revenue by coborating with businessmen to form joint venture like Yin Ru Ge. Kou Zhong handed over the admission tax and entered the casino. Yin Ru Ges reputation as the most famous casino along the Yangtze river basin was not in vain; the furnishings were gorgeous and tastefully chosen, the halls connected by the corridors were setup with various gambling equipment. There were also VIP rooms for people with special status to enjoy. This moment there were three, four hundred gamblers gathered in each hall, yet it did not feel crowded or stuffy at all. In the brightly lit halls, the overwhelming majority of the guests were men. Although there were only a small number of women guests, they all looked exceptionally beautiful,parable to Auntie Hong of Chun Zai Lou; some gambled even more ruthlessly than the men. Adding the beginning of spring [i.e. thoughts of love] feeling to the atmosphere were the female attendants going back and forth in the hall; none was not young, beautiful women with jade appearance. Their silky breasts were half-exposed, their jade arms brilliant and varied, sexy and captivating. Kou Zhong was not good at betting. After going around the hall once, he realized that the most familiar to him were domino solitaire, tou bao [lit. precious dice; Sic Bo], and fan tan [lit. repeated divisions; Fan-Tan], three types of gambling game. [Trantors note: in case you want to know more, Baike Baidu has all three entries (ƽ̯) in Chinese, Wikipedia only has thest two in English.] While he was considering whether he should try a couple of games, Liu An appeared from who-knows-where, enthusiastically pulled the sleeve of Kou Zhongs garment, and took him to a corner, where several mahogany chairs were provided for the guests to sit down, and said with augh, Daye really came! Xiaoke [(polite) my humble person] just saw four fat sheep, I could pick one for Daye, and then we could go to the VIP lounge to make big fortune. Yin Ru Ge may only draw 10%mission, so the money Daye win will stand for 70%, because Xiaoren will be perfectly satisfied with 20%. After we get our moneys worth, Xiaoren will hand the token to Daye to take part in thepetition. If Daye reaped total victory, you may share 20% to Xiaoren, otherwise, Xiaoren will not receive a single penny. What does Daye think? Kou Zhong pretended to act boorish; he waved his hand to tell the female attendant in front of him, who was going to serve him, to hurry up and leave, and then assuming a greedy look he said, Where are those four fat sheep? Why would they want to bet against us? Lowering his voice, Liu An replied, Naturally we must y a little bit of trick, which is we put on an act, let them think Daye is a fat sheep, naturally they will be happy to keep youpany. Daye, dont worry, at that time Xiaoren will arrange everything. Right now the first step is to select the sheep. All these four fat sheep show bankrupt aura on their faces, they will undoubtedly lose. Finished speaking, he took Kou Zhong to select the fat sheep. Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi entered the casino about half a sichenter than Kou Zhong. This time Lei Jiuzhi has turned into a rather rich and respectable-looking old and gray-haired elderly gentleman with ten fingers. But tomorrow night, he would appear with Lei Jiuzhi face. Xu Ziling was still the scar-faced man; following Lei Jiuzhi, they went into the second hall, where nearly a hundred people were surrounding a fan tan table. Presided over the game was a middle-aged, but still attractive woman, brimming with windblown dust impression; her technique was quite skillful. Fan-tan was also known as tanqian [lit. bearing part of the cost] or yanqian [covering up the money]. The rule of the game was that the casino personnel upy the home position. During the game, the home position grabbed short small bamboo tokens as the stall, which was covered quickly with a bowl, so that people could not see the number. After the people put their bet, the stall was open to see who win who lose. The method of calction was the stall was taken four at a time, the remaining number could be one, two, three, or four, four different gates. Those who bet on the winning gate waspensated three to one, which was called fan [urrence]. Betting on two gates but hit one of the gates would bepensated one to one; this is called jiao [corner]. When the two arrived, the fan-tan has been yed three times with two repetitions; the atmosphere was boiling, the warmth shook the heavens. Many of those people who were usually dignified, this moment were gnashing their teeth, making a fist or waving their palms, shouting loudly at the stall gate that they put their bets on, as if the louder they shouted, the more it would influence the number of the stall. Lei Jiuzhi leaned over to Xu Zilings ear and said with augh, This poniang is one of the four prominent figures within Jiujiangs Dulin world, the gambling ghost Zha Hais capable assistant; her technique is not bad. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, You mean theres trick in their skill? On the surface, it looks very difficult to cheat in this game! Lei Jiuzhi said, Nine out of ten gambling games can be cheated, anything can be cheated. The mostmon tricks in Fan-tan are zhu [leaving out tree trunk] and fei zi [flying pieces], two types of tricks. In zhu, the stall is rigged, so that if necessary, one can be divided into two. In fei zi, the stall can fly away using some trick. Either way, there are aplices nearby prying on the side, using tobo smoke or some other method to divert other peoples attention, so that the old castaway [see Chapter 6] presiding over the game can y his trick. Naturally big casino like Yin Ru Ge will not resort to such trick, but at the top of the streets and the bottom of the alleys [idiom: everywhere in the city], most of the temporary Fan-tan stalls use such deceptive tricks. [Disimer: I am not familiar with gambling world, so I just tranted it as is; might be grossly inurate. Apologies.] These days, Xu Ziling have learned not a few of on-the-job clever tricks rted to gambling from Lei Jiuzhi. Curious, he asked, In this kind of game, what technique would Lei Xiong use to ensure victory? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Unless we are cheating, there is no way we can ensure victory. But if in ten bets we win five, due to the high rate of thepensation, it is equal to certain victory. When the home spills the tokens on the table and cover them with the bowl, relying on the eyes and the ears, there will be 50% chance of sess. Speechless, Xu Ziling said, Lei Xiong is really formidable. This moment the bowl was lifted up, the tokens were spread out, unexpectedly it was the second stall. Everybody sighed in despair, shouting about dishonest practices. The two men moved toward the third hall; the main game in this hall was tou bao. The number of people in this hall was higher than the previous two halls. Every table was surrounded by so many people that it would be difficult to insert a needle; the atmosphere was zing. Lei Jiuzhi swept his gaze around; he still did not see Kou Zhongs shadow, thereupon he proceeded toward the fourth hall. The main game in this hall was card games; all those orange bulrush [], double-continent, leaf y, dominoes, Tian Jiu, Pai Jiu [pai gow], horse crane, and so on; everything that should be there was there. After many days hanging around the casinos, Xu Ziling was very clear about why gambling continued despite repeated prohibition. The casino world, where people were able to indulge themselves, was able to offer the excitement of getting lucky while taking the risk, which could not be obtained under normal day-to-day circumstances. Look! Lei Jiuzhi suddenly said. Following his gaze, Xu Ziling saw a particrly-bustling-with-noise-and-excitement Pai Jiu table, where sitting in one of the seats around the table was a young woman. This womans eyebrows were like crescent moon, her eyes looked like limpid autumn waters, her face, herplexion were extraordinarily beautiful, enough to match other beauties of Shen Luoyans caliber, and definitely would not be inferior in any respect. Especially alluring was the exquisite curves of her fully developed figure. The number of spectators continuously grew. It was an inevitable matter. Lei Jiuzhi spoke in low voice, This is Hu Xiaoxian [lit. little fairy], the Da Xian [great immortal Hu Fos only daughter. I did not expect her toe to join in the fun. The Tian Jiu Big Meet tomorrow night will be more interesting. It was only then did Xu Ziling recall that Hu Fo was the Hu Xian Pais zhangmen daxian [great immortal head of the sect], who opened Ming Tang Wo in Guanzhong, the most famous casino in the nation. Hu Xiaoxian was his beloved daughter, who had obtained the gambling skill that he personally passed on to her. Lei Jiuzhi suddenly give Xu Ziling a push in his back and said, Go on, y with her a few hands. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, I am not well-versed in Pai Jiu at all! Laughing, Lei Jiuzhi said, Without a novice, how could there be any skilled person? The rule here is that any gambler can take turn being the banker; the casino will only drawmission. Look, the house banker has been under pressure from her that his eyes nearly pop out. Ziling may take over the banker position to have some fun, the banker you protect will be extremely grateful to you. Xu Zilings scalp went numb; trying to decline in any possible way, he said, Arent we going to use the hard-earned silver we won for tomorrow nights Tian Jiupetition? If I lose it clean, what are we going to bet with in the Tian Jiupetition? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, This is precisely the most brilliant aspect of our n; in the past few days, you never worried about losing money, hence you were able to gamble with confidence and at ease,pletely without any pressure. Just consider this time a test and a challenge for you. If you can apply the gambling technique and tactics that your LaoGe taught you, and you are able to put it in real-life application of life and death battle on the gambling table against a worthy opponent, if you win, I could say that you graduate with honor! Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Dont we have an appointment with Kou Zhong to help him select the fat sheep? How could a new branch grow out of a knot [idiom: side issues keep arising]? Lei Jiuzhi burst outughing, saying, Dont push to the left and ward off to the right; just look at Hu Xiaoxian as someone like Evil Monk or Amorous Nun, then youll do just fine. While saying that, he pushed the pouch containing the gambling chips into Xu Zilings hand. Under repeated push from Lei Jiuzhi, Xu Ziling had no choice but to steel himself [lit. harden his scalp] to squeeze in by the bankers side and said, Let me be the banker for a few rounds. Everybody was stunned; they thought how could there be such a stupid person that went so far as to take over while the banker was in disadvantageous position? Hu Xiaoxian cast a disdain nce toward him, giggled tenderly and said, Why not? Zhuangjia DaGe [big brother the banker (in gambling)] is exactly what Ive been looking for! Everybody roared inughter in response to her remark. Xu Ziling felt his face was burning hot, but this moment if you ride a tiger, its hard to get off; without any choice he took the bankers, who was slipping away from his seat, position. Book 26 - 11 – Wind and Clouds in the Casino Book 26 Chapter 11 C Wind and Clouds[1] in the Casino At the corner of thest hall, Liu An said with augh to Kou Zhong, Xiaoren was right! These four fat sheep are all from out of town. I wonder which one is Dayes heart leaning to? Kou Zhong was greatly astonished. Just now Liu An pointed four men to him, one of them was definitely the Midas Touch Lai Chaogui who disguised himself as a fat sheep. But the other three were really out-of-town fat sheep; he could not help feeling at a loss. If he did not choose Lai Chaogui, wouldnt Liu Ans cheating scheme be difficult to seed? The hall he was entering only had one gambling style, which was Tian Jiu. Tian Jiu and Pai Jiu were both using the same dominoes, but they were yed differently. Tomorrows Tian Jiu big meet should be held in this thirty-table hall. This moment every table was surrounded by more than a hundred people, so it was very noisy. Liu An leaned close to Kou Zhongs ear again and said, Perhaps wed better divide these four men into four doors, in session. Daye can then take two doors. Kou Zhongs had an idea, he said, Lets take the two doors at the back! Lai Chaogui was not in one of those doors; he wanted to see how Liu An would react. Unexpectedly Liu An shouted an acmation before glibly said, Daye really has ability; you are able to see the two doors at the back are not as good as the sheep at the front two doors; certainly you have original insight. The fat sheep at the two front doors, the one wearing blue gown surnamed Jia, has the worst gambling appearance. Naturally it cannot escape Dayes discerning eye. Kou Zhong was angry but was amused at the same time. This kind of swindling skill, he also had enough to show off. On the surface it looked like you are the one making selection, while actually it was the other party using his glib tongue doing the selection for you. But the fisherman can be hooked as well. Kou Zhong pretended to be unsure, Of course, he said. By lucky coincidence, this moment he saw Lei Jiuzhi entering the hall, so he busily waving his hand to greet him. Lei Jiuzhi only nodded his head slightly, before squeezing himself into one of the gambling table to make a bet. Surprised, Liu An asked, Is that Dayes friend? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong replied, Speaking about fat sheep, that guy is really a big fat sheep. He owns more than dozen pottery factories in Jiangxi, as well as abundant family property. He may lose one, two thousand taels of silver, and his countenance wont change a bit. Liu Ans pair of mousy eyes immediately lit up. He said, Why not invite him to gamble together to your hearts content? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, There are a lot of choices to ce a bet in here, plus he knew that my gambling skill is brilliant, how could he be willing to bet against us? Liu An roused his tongue like a reed [idiom: glib tongue] and said, You are right, but right now the casino is too crowded, you can only ce a bet on other peoples cards; how can itpare to the excitement of betting on your own cards? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Didnt we already find our fat sheep? Liu An said, Two fat sheep are naturally better than one. Let us decide on some signals now, we can go separately to move this n forward! Xu Ziling lost three times in session; he lost more than half of his gambling chips. More and more people were gathered around the table, they all ced their bet on Hu Xiaoxians cards. Even the gamblers who were originally ying against her were now cing their bets on the face-off between Xu Ziling and Hu Xiaoxian. For Xu Ziling, whether it was a win or a loss, everything was extremely important; but for Hu Xiaoxian, at most she only lost a bet. Under the gaze of Hu Xiaoxians ck, fluid beautiful eyes, which were as calm as still water, Xu Ziling felt like he wanted to bore a hole on the ground and hide in it. Without any better option he pretended to look down to shuffle the cards, not daring to look at her. Inwardly he cursed Lei Jiuzhi, who had gone without any trace. Pai Jiu card game used the dots of two dice to make up thirty-two cards, twenty-one styles of cards, nine types of odd numbers, twelve kinds of even numbers. In general, the game could be yed by two to four people, using the roll of the dice to determine the number of dots, each draw was six cards, the banker drew an extra card and took the lead to y his cards, and then the other yers y their cards in session, whether to meet with and defeat or just to get rid of their cards. The cards in their hands could beposed of two suits plus one barbarian suit [not sure: (yi pai)], which could be pushed forward to triumph over the opponent. The winning bet was calcted ording to the suits ratio and the yi pais points. [Note: the cards here refer to domino tiles, not western ying cards.] Xu Ziling was about to roll the dice and deal the cards when a clear, sweet, gentle and beautiful voice rang out, Hold on! Stunned, everybody looked up. A thousand-tender, a hundred-charming beauty, using who-knows-what kind of shenfa already squeezed through the crowd and took position at the very front, in a graceful and touching posture sat down on the seat between Hu Xiaoxian and Xu Ziling. With a hint of smile on her face, she said, Nujia came to take advantage of the excitement. Everybody could only stare nkly at her, bedazzled by her beauty, momentarily they forgot to protest that with this interference, the game was dyed. Beauty like Hu Xiaoxian was already rare in the world, and yet this neer beauty was at least half a notch above her. Shockingly, she was Wan Yaonus Shimei, Bai Yaonu [female demon], Bai Qinger. In that instant, Xu Ziling suddenly calmed downpletely. His heart was as bright and clear as the moon in the well, not contaminated the slightest bit by distracting thoughts. Hu Xiaoxian was also curiously sizing up this beautiful and alluring addition to their game. Xu Ziling met Bai Qingers limpid and bright gaze. Laughing calmly, he said, Since thats the case, well start with new game. Bai Qinger performed the beautiful movement of shrugging her shoulders, indicating that she did not mind. Please do as you wish! she spoke indifferently. Xu Ziling reached out to shuffle the tiles. For some unknown reason, the crowd felt their heart suddenly tensed up; nobody made any noise, they all held their breath to watch with full attention. Bai Qingers eyes were fixed on Xu Zilings sparkling and translucent like jade slender palms without blinking at all, as if she was trying to pry into the depth of Xu Zilings foundation from the hands. Just like Hu Xiaoxian, she renounced the right to shuffle the tiles. After repeated Click! ck! noise, Xu Ziling piled up the tiles neatly. It was because now he had a powerful enemy nearby that he was finally able to control his mind and unleashed the stacking-tile skill that Lei Jiuzhi taught him. By using his schools unique skill of listening to tiles rubbing against tiles he was able to remember several cards. Naturally it would be ideal if he could remember all 32 cards, but it was simply impossible. Lei Jiuzhi was only able to remember six to eight cards, but five was Xu Zilings limit, yet it was extremely useful already. For the first time Hu Xiaoxian revealed a grave expression; obviously it was because of Xu Zilings technique and his listening to the tiles skill. Everybody started to ce their bets. This aspect was taken care of by the casino personnel, calction andpensation were generally taking care all by itself, so Xu Ziling did not have to worry about it. Xu Ziling smiled, handed the dice to Hu Xiaoxian, and said calmly and indifferently, How about Xiaojie [Miss] roll the dice for this round? Hu Xiaoxian was startled, but then she took the dice and threw them on the table. [1] Wind and clouds, fig. unstable situation. Xu Ziling looked at Bai Qinger; the divine light in his eyes suddenly red out. Bai Qinger was caught off-guard by his gaze, her fragrant heart shivered slightly. Xu Ziling sent out his true qi from the tip of his toes that flowed upward along the leg of the table and traveled toward the dice still rolling on the table. Not only this move was not something that Lei Jiuzhi could aplish, the fact is that not many people in the world could do this. Due to the subtle rtionship between Xu Ziling, Hu Xiaoxian and Bai Qinger, this corner of the hall was enveloped in extraordinary atmosphere; it was tense like the bow that has been pulled taut, full of umting potential energy. By the time Xu Ziling turned his gaze toward the dice, the dice have stopped rolling; all three of them showed three dots, for a total of nine points. Gasps of surprise rippled among the spectators. Hu Xiaoxian suddenly said, I have not asked for Sires honorable surname and great given name. I am Gong Chenchun, Xu Ziling casually replied. And then, turning toward the stall officer representing the casino, he said, Please deal the cards. It was only this moment that the stall officer realized that Xu Ziling was a master; he thought that previously Xu Ziling was just ying dumb; busily he dealt the tiles for the three. The crowd craned their necks, watching attentively in full concentration. Although all around them the noise shook the hall, in this corner the crow and peacock made no sound. Xu Zilings self-confidence andposure in the face of the enemy has been fully restored. When each of them has received two cards, he suddenly called for a halt and said, What do you say we bet on big or small, with the card as the tie-breaker? Hu Xiaoxian did not even cast a nce with the corner of her eye toward the cards on the table; her pretty eyebrows slightly knitted, she looked at Xu Ziling. For the first time that night she felt that she has fallen into a disadvantageous position. This kind of gambling method was not Xu Zilings new creation. Turned out Pai Jiu has many variants of gambling method, one of which being two cards be a group, after the roll of the dice, the number of dots indicate the points that one earned, which then extended with the spread-out tiles to determine the winner. This wasmonly referred to as Small Pai Jiu. But changing gambling method at thest moment like Xu Ziling did was very rare; however, it increased the excitement of the game, so that the crowd was greatly delighted. Hu Xiaoxian seemed to be no match for Xu Zilings gaze; turning toward Bai Qinger, she said, This Jiejie [older sister], what do you think? Bai Qinger met Xu Zilings sharp and grim gaze; she spoke slowly, Can I increase the bet? Xu Ziling sniggered inwardly, knowing that she did not realize that he was ying a trick. But he could not me her either, because no matter how brilliant she was, it would be difficult to see through the number one skilled artisan Lu Miaozis gambling art. Of course you can, Xu Ziling replied. Her countenance did not change, Bai Qinger said, In that case I am adding ten taels of gold, well decide win or lose byying our cards on the table ording to what you said! The crowd was in an uproar. Kou Zhong took Lei Jiuzhi to meet with Liu An at one corner of the casino. Lei Jiuzhi proudly said, The most delightful gambling is using real gold and white silver to ce a bet. If you want to see me, you have to have real silver; if you want credit, save yourself from asking. Smiling apologetically, Liu An said, That shouldnt be a problem. Laoban [boss], may I ask your honorable surname and great given name? I am surnamed Chen, Lei Jiuzhi replied. Turns out its Chen Laoban, Liu An said, I wonder how much Chen Laoban wants to bet, and which game you want to y? Lei Jiuzhi said, Naturally its Tian Jiu; just consider it a warmup before the big meet tomorrow. Each bet is one tael of gold, four cards break even, five cards win one bet, each tile loses four bets, binding tiles win five bets. For supreme, regardless of the oue, everybody bestows two bets; if the supreme produces another binding, each person bestows four bets. You get it? [Trantors note: sorry, I dont get it. I have no idea what he was talking about.] Liu An was greatly delighted, thinking that you, this fool, wanted to have such a grand gambling, it would be strange indeed if I cannot beat you until you lose your family fortune. It would be ideal if there is another fool joining in, then this game could be said to have only victory and no loss. He hurriedly said, Everything will be as Chen Laoban wishes. This way, please, Jia Laoban [boss Jia] is waiting respectfully for the two gentlemen in the side hall. Xu Ziling thought at most she would add a hundred taels of white silver, which was already a heavy bet enough to build a decent house for mostmon folks; who would have thought that it was ten taels of gold? Immediately he groaned inwardly. Bai Qinger put the glistening yellow gold on the table, and said with a tenderughter, If the banker loses this hand, would he have enough money to pay? All eyes were focused on Xu Zilings remaining gambling chips; no one did not shake his head. By this time everybody knew that Bai Qinger hade specifically to deal with Xu Ziling. Hu Xiaoxian smiled and said, Gong Xiong, would you like Nujia to lend you money to meet a contingency? This time, forget about the spectators, even Xu Ziling himself was taken aback. If he was showing his true identity, it could be said that Hu Xiaoxian took a fancy to him. But with his current scared face, even looking at himself in the mirror, he would be less than impressed; why would Hu Xiaoxian treat him well? Suddenly a female voice familiar to Xu Ziling rang out, This ten taels of gold, let me, Yun Yuzhen cover for him, Madame Qinger shouldnt have any objection. Wave after wave of strange things kept happening, everybody felt confused and disoriented, they could not tell east from west anymore. The crowd separated a bit. Escorted by a middle-aged man with grim expression and the skin of his face suffused with green-white color, Yun Yuzhen lithely came behind Xu Ziling. The man saluted toward Hu Xiaoxian and Bai Qinger, saying, Zha Hai of Jiujiang pays his respect to Miss Xiaoxian and Madame Qinger. Unexpectedly he was the big boss of Yin Ru Ge, the Gambling Ghost Zha Hai. Zha Hai went on, If Gong Xiong could win this hand, Xiaodi will give Gong Xiong the token to take part in thepetition to show my respect to you. But there is one condition. Xu Ziling guessed that Yun Yuzhen and Zha Hai have been standing behind him all this time, and thus have witnessed the entire course of events. Furthermore, Yun Yuzhen must have recognized him from looking at his back, as well as from his voice. Ay! How should he deal with this woman? Hu Xiaoxian did not even bother to pick her two tiles; she forcefully pped C creating a crisp, sharp noise that shook everybody to the core C and casually opening the cards up and spread them on the table. Those who put their bets on her exploded into cheers. The tiles showed a pair of four, which, in Pai Jiu, is man suit, which belonged to the big tiles of civil suit. Other than heaven and earth, nobination could beat hers, so the chance of winning was very high. Bai Qinger also flipped her tiles for everybody to see; it was the military suit of four and five, resulting in red nine. Although it could not beat Hu Xiaoxians man suit, the odd of winning could be considered extremely high as well. Showing no emotion on his face, Xu Ziling looked at the two sets of tiles, and spoke in heavy voice, May I venture to ask Zha Dangjia [manager] which condition are you going to raise? It was only then that everybody remembered that just now Zha Hai has not fully expressed himself. Zha Hai glibly said, I wonder if before the tiles are flipper over, Gong Xiong is able to tell whats at the bottom of the tiles? The crowd burst into an uproar. If under this kind of multitude-of-staring-eyes situation Xu Ziling was still able toe up with a trick, he was certainly extremely skillful. Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a sigh, Zha Dangjia is indeed formidable; then in this hand I can only hope to win over Madame Qingers ten taels of gold. As for the others, I wont fetch a single wen. People felt that it would be very difficult to me him, because he did not admit that he knew, nobody had any proof that he cheated. Zha Hai threw his head back in longughter, You have guts! he said. Hu Xiaoxian smiled and said, Gong Xiong, dont make a mistake by saying the wrong thing! Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, If Im wrong, then Im wrong! Whats the big deal? This is a pair ofoyao [lit. youngest], please open it up for Ol Gong. Zha Hai signaled the stall officer with his eyes; thetter received the order and open up the tiles. Indeed it was a pair ofoyao, earth suit, just enough to beat Hu Xiaoxians man suit. Those who stood in a circle and watched suddenly broke into thunderous uproar. Yet Xu Ziling was inwardly wiping his cold sweat. He could only remember four cards; the other was just lucky guess, hence he had toe up with all kinds of technique to score victory after every pair of cards was spread out on the table, so this win was an extremely close call. Bai Qinger pushed all the golden ingots to his direction; standing up daintily, she said, I hope Gong Xiongs skill and luck will always be this good! Finished speaking, she left without saying anything else. Yun Yuzhen said, Gong Xiong, can we step aside to talk? Outwardly, Lai Chaohui, who was using the name Jia Chong, not only did not look like a con man, his appearance was stately, like an intelligent man. His age was around forty, he dressed in a refined manner, carrying the air of a man with riches and honor. He spoke calmly, with a pleasing smile hanging eternally on the corner of his mouth. Kou Zhong and Lei Jiuzhi both thought inwardly that no wonder he was able to swindle Gongliang Ji until he lost his family fortune. The four men met in the VIP lounge, where a young, beautiful female banker officer called Ling Gu [or Auntie Ling] presided over the room. It was the casinos rule, which all gamblers using the VIP lounge had to follow. Putting on an air of arrogance, higher-than-anybody-else attitude, Lei Jiuzhi took out thirty taels of glistening yellow gold from his pouch, which he put on the table for everybody to see, and said, Whoever has ability may win these gold, and then tomorrow morning Ill take the boat to go back home. Lai Chaogui and Liu Ans four squinty eyes immediately lit up. Putting on an air of embarrassment, Kou Zhong took out all the eighteen taels of gold that he had in his possession, and said with a forcedugh, My gambling capital is less than that, I hope it is all right? Most of the gold were given to him by Ba Fenghan due to his righteousness reaches the clouds and the sky. If he really lost it, he would go back to his original shape of having only one wen to his name. Altogether the two mens capital amounted to forty-eight taels of gold. At that time, this amount was enough to buy three or four multi-decked ships. Therefore, even the banker officer Ling Gu could only stare nkly at the gold. Lei Jiuzhi fixed his gaze on Lai Chaogui and Liu An. Lai Chaoguiughed aloud and said, Chen Xiong and Zong Xiong are indeed grand gambler warrior, naturally Xiaodi will be honored to apany you. Its just that unlike two Laoxiong [old chap] whose purse contains that many gold, Xiaodi ... oh! Lei Jiuzhi brushed his sleeve away and said, Without gold, how could we have a delightful game? Reaching out, he put the gold back into his pouch. Lai Chaogui hastily said, Hold on! Could Chen Xiong give Xiaodi a quarter of sichen to get the gold? Lei Jiuzhi leaned back into his chair and said, I will wait for a quarter of sichen only. Dont waste my time. Book 26 - 12 – Ten Gambles Nine Cheats Book 26 Chapter 12 C Ten Gambles Nine Cheats Closing the door of the VIP lounge, Yun Yuzhen said, Nobody can hear us now; these walls are specially made, it can stop noise from leaking out, disturbing other people [Trantors note: the sentence stopped here. I checked all four of my sources, and they are all the same.] Xu Ziling sat down and asked, Does Zha Hai know who I am? Yun Yuzhen sat down on his left, and then said, Naturally I would never tell him you are Xu Ziling; I just told him that you and I knew each other, and that we have a little friendly rtion between us. I always have a wide circle of friends, so he will never be suspicious. Nobody has ever thought that Zilings gambling skill is this formidable. Heaving a deep sigh, Xu Ziling said with a wry smile, Is there anything good to say between us? Yun Yuzhen was silent for half a day. Finally she asked in soft voice, Is Kou Zhonging with you? Xu Ziling sensed that he could not trust her anymore; shaking his head, he said, I came with a friend, but not Kou Zhong. Yun Yuzhen stared at him; biting her lower lip, she said, That night at Baling, why did you not kill Xiang Yushan and me? The load in Xu Zilings mind was evoked, his tiger-eyes shot grieved expression; shaking his head, he said, I dont know! I really dont know! If I could not harden my heart toward Xiang Yushan, I could not make my move against you even more. Ay! Even until now, I still dont understand why you want to help Xiang Yushan to harm us? Yun Yuzhen hung her head low and spoke in distress, If you believe me, thats good, if you dont, thats all right too, but I never expected that things would go this far. Plus I, Yun Yuzhen, also suffer the retribution; I found myself utterly isted [lit. people rebelling and friends deserting (idiom)]. Jukun Bangs name remains, but the reality is gone; day in and day out I am living my life like a walking corpse, so much so that I hate myself. I am thinking that rather than passing the rest of my life in pain like this, death would be much better. I have beenpletely defeated. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, But on the surface you still appear to be well-off! Shaken, Yun Yuzhen said, To Xiang Yushan, I am just a ything which value lies in the usefulness that he could exploit. And now my usefulness has decreased substantially, and by his side there are beauties surrounding him like a cloud, and his riches can overturn a nation; why would he still want me, Yun Yuzhen? My only regret is that it was only today that realize it. Xiang Yushans martial art skill is nothing to be talked about, but speaking about crafty plots and machinations, he is an expert among the experts. Your firsthand experience on this regard ought to be more profound than mine. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that it was indeed too profound. He spoke heavily, Hows Xiang Yushans recent development? He was deliberately pretending that he knew nothing about Xiang Yushans situation, to see if Yun Yuzhen was still defending him. Yun Yuzhen replied, Since the Great Liangs armys grand n of advancing to the north has been crushed by you and Xiao Zhong, Xiang Yushan no longer thinks highly of Xiao Xian; he retired with the pretext of being sick. The fact is that he wanted to separate himself from Baling Bang, and wanted to establish his own business empire by relying on his Xiang Familys more than twenty years of hard work in operating their business. Because he is afraid of your revenge, even I do not know where he is. Xu Ziling mused that this was probably the real reason you woke up. He said, Xiao Xian is not ay practitioner of Buddhism [i.e. good person]; how could the Xiang Family, father and son, say they are going to leave and simply leave? Yun Yuzhen replied, This is a big puzzle for me. My guess is that there is some kind of mutually beneficial agreement between the two sides; in case the troops are defeated, Xiao Xian could still enjoy the Xiang Familys riches and honor without any harm. Ay! If you have never had a chance to pass your days in riches and honor and power, it is still all right, but after tasting riches and honor and power, it is hard to return to ordinary life! The feeling of losing what one has just obtained is the most difficult feeling to endure! Xu Ziling began to understand her current desperate mood and wretched state. Sighing lightly, he asked, So what are you going to do? With tears gushing out of her eyes, Yun Yuzhen hung her head low, shook it, and said, I dont know; I already do not have anything at all. I dont want to think, or even talk about it. Thinking about it seems to drain all the strength from my body. Ay! Please just kill me! Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, If I could do that, I would have done it long ago. Wiping her tears, Yun Yuzhen spoke in low voice, Are you and Xiao Zhong still nning on going to Guanzhong? Xu Ziling remained silent. Yun Yuzhen said, Xiang Yushan intentionally sent out his people to broadcast this information, so that nobody under the heavens does not know it. If you cannot cancel this trip, you must be extremely careful. Simply because you and Xiao Zhong have body type and bearing that are one in a million; very easy to recognize. Deep hatred toward Xiang Yushan welled up in Xu Zilings heart; he thought that even though he could not harden his heart toward Xiang Yushan, but if he could expose his Xiang Familys shady business in human trafficking and harm him until he lost his family fortune and destroy his casino, it might make him suffer, which was more unbearable than simply killing him. Ziling, could you make arrangement for me to see Xiao Zhong? Yun Yuzhen asked. It would be best if you dont see him, Xu Ziling replied, He definitely does not have any good thing to say to you. Yun Yuzhen forlornly said, I have nothing else to fear. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and said, Let me talk to him first! How do I find you? Lei Jiuzhi watched as Lai Chaogui put thirty taels of gold on the table; turning his eyes toward Liu An, he said, Wheres your gold? Liu An took out eight taels of gold from his pouch; he said, If Chen Ye can win my gold, Xiaoren will be immediately out of the game. Lei Jiuzhi shook his full-of-white-hair head; his excitement rose up, he shouted, We take turn rolling the dice and shuffling the tiles! Ling Gu pushed the deck to the middle of the table to let the four men shuffle the tiles. Immediately continuous clickety-ck was heard, the atmosphere was zing hot. Watching the two mens hand movement, Lai Chaogui knew that Kou Zhong was obviously a novice, while Lei Jiuzhi was not going anywhere either. Greatly delighted, he said, Chen Xiong, how do you want to y it? I have a good proposal, which will make gambling even more enjoyable. Knitting his brows, Lei Jiuzhi shook his head and said, Whatever the gambling format is, that is how we are going to y; how could we change it randomly? Lai Chaogui signaled Liu An; in turn, Liu An signaled Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong had to struggle not tough. He said to Lei Jiuzhi, Lets hear what Jia Xiong has to say first, and then Chen Lao [old Chen] can decide. Naturally we willply with your, the Seniors opinion. Lei Jiuzhi mumbled his response, indicating that there was no harm in listening. Lai Chaogui struggled hard to suppress the ecstasy in his heart; he said, This gambling method is extremely popr in Jiujiang. Everybody gets eight cards, which you could make into four pairs any way you want. First, do not let other people see it. And then four yers turn the cards over at the same time. Of course, big and small still follow card rule. In order to determine the biggest, count the points of the cards that do not form a pair. If it is more than ten, we only count the remainder. For example, regr five and regr six [orig. ma wu and ma liu, respectively, no idea what it is] make a total of eleven points, but it is only counted as one. If the sum of two cards is ten points, then it is a chang shi [lit. overcoat ten], a definite lost. This method is simple and easy to understand. Under Liu Ans signal, Kou Zhong hastily agreed; he said, Betting this way is definitely extremely delightful; it should be settled appropriately. Lei Jiuzhi watched attentively at Ling Gus skillful hands staking the tiles for everybody; albeit reluctantly, he said, All right! But if anybody can seize total victory with four sets of cards, the win will be doubled. If the banker seizes total victory, the other three yers will also pay double. We may even take turn to be the banker. Ling Guughed tenderly and said, Chen Laoban indeed has heroic spirit; this kind of gambling is very exciting! Lei Jiuzhi took out half an ingot of gold and stuffed it into Ling Gus hand, while stroking her cheek in passing. Chuckling, he said, Niangers [youngdy] mouth is really sweet. Lai Chaogui and Liu An noticed that he still had some gold in his pouch, which hevishly spent, in a throwing away a thousand gold without hesitation style; their hearts were burning like a zing coal. Ling Gus eyebrows blossomed, her eyesughed; she leaned close to Lei Jiuzhi and whispered in his ear expressing her thanks in tender voice oozing with flirtation, before rolling the dice on the table to determine who would be the banker first. The game finally started. Xu Ziling returned to the gambling hall. Lin Lang came to his side and said in low voice, Lai Chaogui is inside! Xu Ziling asked in low voice, Is there any ce we can hide? Right now we are too exposed. Lin Lang gave him an address, saying, It would be best if Gong Ye can leave one step earlier, Gongliang Ji is there, waiting for our good news. Xu Ziling nodded his agreement, and walked in the direction of the main door. Suddenly someone came toward him from the side, followed by a whiff of fragrance. By the time he saw clearly that it was the beautiful and alluring, tender and charming Hu Xiaoxian, this beauty, who was born of gambling influential family, was already on his left, walking alongside him. Sheughed and said, Gong Xiong has a startling-the-world skill, yet Nujia has never heard Gong Xiongs name; isnt that very strange? Where did usually Gong Xiong make your fortune? Its just insignificant talent plus a bit of luck mixed in it, how could it deserve to enter Miss Xiaoxians discerning eye? Xu Ziling modestly replied, Ol Gong has always been moving about Yun Gui region, and rarely came to the Central ins. Hu Xiaoxian lightly pulled his sleeve, steering him toward the corridor leading away from the first hall, toward a fishpond outside. She smiled and said, Xiaoxian has no hostility at all toward Gong Xiong, I am just curious! Gong Xiong must not take any offense. Seeing she was so courteous toward him, Xu Ziling started to have good impression on her; he asked, Does Miss Xiaoxian want to know which family, which sect I wasing from? Hu Xiaoxian shook her head and said, That is Gong Xiongs personal secret; even if Xiaoxian wanted to know, it is inconvenient for me to inquire. I just wanted to know if Gong Xiong is going to participate in the Tian Jiu gambling meet tomorrow, because Xiaoxian still could not ept my lost. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling replied, I havent made my mind on that yet; in fact, I have quit for many years, its just that these past few days my gambling desire suddenly red up, I could not hold my hands. Thats all. Disappointed, Hu Xiaoxian said, Thats very disappointing. I hope Gong Xiong will not flee. This time Xiaoxian came all the way to Jiujiang, my desire is to meet the so-called Du Xia [gambling hero] Lei Jiuzhi. This mans gambling skill has already reached perfection, it has entered the calling the wind and summoning the rain realm. Does Gong Xiong know him? Xu Ziling did not want to lie to her; smiling, he said, Can Zaixia not answer this question? Casting a sidelong nce at him, Hu Xiaoxian said, Gong Xiong always show profound mystery aura everywhere. If not for all your ten fingers are intact, I would think that you are him. That opponent of yours was very beautiful. Neither confirming nor denying, Xu Ziling slightly shrugged his shoulders, and spoke calmly, Thank you, Miss, for your praise. Because Zaixia has an important matter, I have to ask to be excused, I am asking for Misss forgiveness. Finished speaking, he left without waiting for an answer. Hu Xiaoxian called out, I hope to see Gong Xiong tomorrow night! Watching Xu Zilings back as she followed him getting farther and farther away with her eyes, some kind of hard-to-describe feeling bubbled up in Hu Xiaoxians heart. This man, who was several years her senior, his external form was boorish, tall and straight, although definitely he was not even borderline handsome, his domineering prowess was brimming with masculine charm. Furthermore, his voice was sweet sounding, his speech was cultured and refined, neither haughty nor humble. Not a single one of his movements was not touching, confident and at ease. Plus his gambling skill was outstanding, his conduct brimming with mystery. Even she, who has always looked for young, good-looking gentlemen as husband material, could not help having her heart moved. Would she see him tomorrow? The cards moving back and forth, four men had yed for more than a dozen rounds; each man has been the banker three times. Following ample instruction from Liu An, Kou Zhong deliberately lost in session to the two fat sheep, one fake and one real, by acting as if he wanted to recapture his earlier loss. Naturally he could only let the opponent win small, otherwise he would run out of gold really quick. To him, the real fat sheep was Lai Chaogui, the fake fat sheep was Lei Jiuzhi. But to Liu An and Lai Chaogui, the opposite was true, plus Kou Zhong was the other fat sheep. The situation wasplex and subtle. It was Lei Jiuzhis turn to be the banker. After dealing the cards, Lei Jiuzhis hand was, from right to left, regr three [(ma san) see my note above], three and three, five and six, and four and five. Other than four and five, which was of military suit, the rest were good, valuable card of the civil suit. Even the four and five was the red nine of military suit, the point was the highest. Ma San was even stronger. Three and three wasmonly referred to Twelve Mount Wu. Five and six was Chu-Han Contention [(206-202 BC), power struggle between Liu Bang of Han and Xiang Yu of Chu]. As the cards wereid out, unexpectedly it was the case of banker eats all. ording to the rules previously agreed, the other three yers had to pay double. Ling Gu uttered a sigh of admiration. While looking at the cards, half of her body was leaning against Lei Jiuzhis shoulder. But Lai Chaogui and Liu Ans faces did not change. Although until this moment they have not yed any trick, they only use their hand to feel the number of dots on the card and determine which card to y, but because Kou Zhong was willing to cooperate with them, there has been no problem and they had the situation under control. This time they actually let Lei Jiuzhi scored a big win, ying the throwing a brick to attract jade trick. Lei Jiuzhi reached out to stroke Ling Gus cheek again. Assuming an air of considering-himself-unexcelled-in-the-world, he sighed dramatically and said, The tailwind on my hand is just too strong! Three gentlemen still want to continue? Letting out a fakeughter Liu An said, Is Chen Laoban getting bored just sitting here? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, How can winning money be boring? I am just thinking of having a heart-to-heart chat with the beauty, seeking some pleasure! Ling Gu giggled tenderly; her attractiveness has just shot through the roof. Kou Zhong suddenly realized that Ling Gu must be someone from Lai Chaoguis side, because big casinos like Yin Ru Ge would never allow their staffs to flirt openly with the guests. Plus Lai Chaogui and Liu An might be afraid that in order to seek reward, Ling Gu might help Lei Jiuzhi. Lai Chaogui pushed his remaining twenty something taels of gold to the middle of the table and calmly said, Since Chen Xiong is anxious to seek pleasure, we might as well put big bet. Win or lose will be decided in one hand. Chen Xiong, what do you think? Lei Jiuzhiughed aloud and said, Even if Jia Xiong wins, you could only win half of the money in my hand. But if you lose, you will be immediately out of the game. Jia Xiong better think clearly. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Lai Chaogui took another ten taels of gold from his pouch, which he added to the pile of gold already on the table. Smiling, he said, How about this? Lei Jiuzhi and Kou Zhong pretended to be greedy; they stared without blinking on the small hill of gold on the table. After signaling Kou Zhong with his eyes, Liu An also pushed out his remaining six taels of gold, and cried out, I will also go all out in this hand! When the three mens eyes turned toward him, Kou Zhong showed an uncertain expression first, and then gnashing his teeth he said, I will join you. Lai Chaogui took out his smoking pipe, lit the tobo, took a deep pull and then said, Shuffle the cards! Book 26 - 13 – Crafty Retribution For Crafty People Book 26 Chapter 13 C Crafty Retribution For Crafty People Ling Gu leaned close to Lei Jiuzhi again, her fragrant lips brushed against his ear, she said, Where will Chen Laoban take me to seek pleasure? I wont be going home before the third watch of the night [midnight, between 23:00 C 01:00]! While shuffling the cards, Lei Jiuzhi acted as if he was a man of outstanding soul;ughing lewdly, he said, Lets not say about the third watch, even if a year or a half, I will still wait for you. Liu An was constantly sending signal to Kou Zhong. Suddenly Lai Chaogui blew a mouthful of thick smoke, so that the table was immediately clouded by the smoke. Right this instant, when everybodys sight was obstructed, Lai Chaogui unleashed his swift-beyondprehension trick; he piled up his tiles following a certainbination. The cleverest thing was that while Lai Chaogui was focusing his mind in piling up his tiles, Liu An was busy sending signals to Kou Zhong to distract his attention, while Ling Gu also unleashing her charm toward Lei Jiuzhi, but Lei Jiuzhi, using an exquisite technique, also swapped the dice. None of these things could escape Kou Zhongs sharp eyes. Only after stealing a kiss on Ling Gus fragrant cheek did Lei Jiuzhi use both hands to pile his tiles. Ling Gu sat her tender body down, and said with augh, Chen Laoban, please roll the dice. Lei Jiuzhi cupped the dice inside his hands, while his mouth mumbled something, and then, after blowing the dice in his hands, he tossed them onto the table. Lai Chaogui and Liu Ans countenance immediately changed. Lei Jiuzhiughed aloud and said, Seven points. Ling Gu, quickly deal the cards. His face turned ugly, Lai Chaogui shouted, Hold on! The dice are rigged. Kou Zhong reached out to pick one of the dice; slightly exerting his power, the ivory die immediately turned into powder. Knitting his brows, he said, What do you mean rigged? Is it because the iron fillings inside are gone so that the ma does not work anymore? Now, that would be rigged! Lai Chaogui, Liu An and Ling Gu were intimidated at the same time; their faces were as unsightly as dead people. It should be noted that ivory dice were durable and sturdy, even martial art experts must spend a bit of effort to crush it. Yet Kou Zhong was able to crush it and turn it into powder without any difficulty. Merely this skill, no one in Jiujiang would be able to imitate. Lei Jiuzhi spoke coldly, If you agree to bet you must ept to lose. Jia Chong, are you or are you not going to admit defeat? One word will suffice. Being called by his fake name Jia Chong, naturally Lai Chaogui knew that from doing the cheating, he was now being cheated. Beads of sweat forming on his forehead, he spoke heavily, Sire, who actually are you? Lei Jiuzhi stroked Ling Gus face, who kept quiet out of fear, before waving his hand to Kou Zhong, indicating that he ought to gather all the gold on the table into his pouch, and said proudly, I am Dian Shi Cheng Jin [touching stone and turning it to gold, Midas touch see Chapter 8] Lai Chaogui. Jia Chong Xiong must not forget. Lai Chaogui, three persons, were immediately shaken. They were beginning to realize that the other side have already seen through their ins and outs, and that they were the real target of this operation. Only too bad they found out about it toote. Kou Zhong heaved the heavy sack hanging on his waist and spoke indifferently, If Jia Chong Xiong can block ten saber strikes from me, this bag of gold will be all yours. But if you cannot block, I am afraid I will have to chop both of your hands. This is called proper behavior is based on reciprocity [idiom: to return politeness for politeness]. Would Jia Chong Xiong like to try your luck outside of gambling? Lei Jiuzhi brushed his sleeve as he rose to his full height. The dice with iron fillings hidden inside his sleeve shot out and embedded themselves inside the sturdy tabletop, until they were flush with the surface of the table; not a fen more, not half a hairsbreadth less, in full disy of his beautiful skill. Lai Chaogui pped his palm on the table heavily, leaped up, and shouted wildly, All right, tonight I, Lai Chaogui, ept misfortunes as decreed by fate! Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well from his back, and sprang out of his chair, sweeping his saber toward Lai Chaogui. Lai Chaogui did not even have the opportunity to shoot the more than a dozen iron pellets hidden inside his hand, his entire body was already enveloped by the swift and severe saber qi. He could only look on helplessly as the de shed his left hand, which was holding his secret projectiles C and was unable to evade at all. Ah! Letting out an rming-the-heaven-moving-the-earth miserable scream, Lai Chaogui fell backward. Bang! His back mmed against the wall by the door. His severed-at-the-wrist left hand, along with the iron pellets inside it, dropped to the floor, producing a series of clear and crisp Tink! Tink! Tink! noise. ng! Kou Zhong returned the saber into its scabbard. His eyes swept passed Liu An and Ling Gu, who did not dare to move even half of a finger of their hands C as if they were nothing. Smiling, he said, Lai Xiong indeed have guts; you dare to stake your life for gold. Too bad you overestimated your own capabilities too much, unexpectedly you cannot even block one move from Xiaodi. And then, turning to Liu An, he said, Next time you see fat sheep, dont forget to find me another Jia Chong to cooperate with me. Naturally Liu An did not dare to answer. Lei Jiuzhi left the table to walk to Kou Zhongs side; turning toward Lai Chaogui, who was so much in pain that his face was devoid of any blood, and was applying his power to seal his acupoint to stop the bleeding, heughed and said, I hope Lai Xiong is using your right hand in putting your Dian Shi Cheng Jin skill to use; otherwise I am afraid you may have to change your nickname in the future. The two men roared inughter together, before disdainfully pushed the door and left. Xu Ziling stepped out of the casino door and into the street where there was endless stream of horses and carriages, and walked in the direction of Chun Zai Lou. Prostitution and gambling are like a pair of loath-to-part, in-search-of-a-home C lovers. When you see one, chances are you will see the other nearby. Chun Zai Lous bustling atmosphere was not inferior in any respect to Yin Ru Ge. The warm sound of woodwind and string instrument, mixed with voices talking andughing, filled the air. Thinking about how in the past theyy in wait for the enemy in miserable condition, and assassinated the Green Dragon Ren Shaoming in nine-deaths-and-still-alive dangerous situation, time seemed to flow backwards to that moment. At that time, Susu already married Xiang Yushan; Yun Yuzhen, Bu Tianzhi, Xiang Yuzhan, and the others were working together as a team. But now the situation was entirely different. He no longer had any hatred toward Yun Yuzhen. In fact, perhaps even she herself could not exin why she treated the two boys the way she did. In life, myriad changes could happen in an instant. Momentarypse of judgement might lead to dire consequences, which could not be predicted beforehand. Under pressure of the situation, as well as influence from all sides, it would be difficult for those without resolute will to be their own master. Yun Yuzhen was definitely not someone with resolute will, even more so in rtionship between men and women. Her initial goal might be just to make Jukun Bang even more magnificent. But aftering across the crafty and eloquent Xiang Yushan, the development of the matter was no longer under her control. He also believed that Yun Yuzhen really did not have any intention to harm him and Kou Zhong; she just wanted to draw them to throw their lot into Xiao Xians side. But because they were unwilling to submit, the situation deteriorated to such a degree where there was this deep hatred, with enmity that could not be resolved C between the two parties. After all, Yun Yuzhen was just a pitiful creature who did not know what she was doing. After she was abandoned by Xiang Yushan, she suddenly andpletely realized her own stupidity of letting others exploited her. The criminal ringleader, the main offender was still Xiang Yushan. He entered a secluded side street and strode toward his destination, following Lin Langs directions. He felt some kind of tiredness and emptiness that came from the loss of excitement of gambling, and it was not a good feeling. After personally tasted gambling, the less he liked this kind of game. The only benefit for him was that it made him understand gamblers mentality. Probably there existed in everybodys heart some kind of hidden tendency to prevail over his opponent, the pursuit of some kind of pleasure in overpowering other human beings, which sprang up unbidden in the heart. Thebination of using the gambling table to nurture the lust for material possession and the intellectual thinking behind the skill C in opposition to each other with equal harshness, certainly provided iparable excitement. But this was precisely the most dangerous aspect of gambling. Once one was addicted to gambling, it was difficult to free oneself from its power. Furthermore, it fostered greed, cunning, and lucky mentality, so that one could no longer be normal person who was in control of ones life, and would bring about grave destruction not only to himself, but to his entire family as well. War was just another form of gambling. The stake was no loner money, but human life. Its destructive power was ten-million times more terrifying than gambling. But just like gambling, no one is able to really put a stop to it. While thinking about all these things, suddenly an rm went off in his heart. From the wing, the two men returned to the main hall, still in a very high spirit. Kou Zhongughed and said, Perhaps Lai Chaogui has never imagined, not even in his dream C that a day like today woulde. This is called cheating man is being cheated. LaoGe, you are really good. I clearly see that you did not look at the table even for half a nce, how did you know that they stacked the tiles in certain way and even throw the appropriate points on the dice, so that even Lai Chaoguis pants were lost to you? Lei Jiuzhi replied happily, Simply because LaoGe has a mirror hidden in my sleeve; dont think that by stroking Ling Gus cheek, I was taking advantage of her. The fact is that I was letting my sleeve slipped down so that I was able to spy on the enemy. While pulling him toward the exit, Kou Zhong, with great interest, asked, Did you have mercury inside your dice? How could you lightly and easily throw whatever points your heart desires? Enormously proud of his sess, Lei Jiuzhi put his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder, and whispered in his ear, First of all, you have to have a good grasp of the shape of the dice, and hold them between your fingers in a certain way. Next, you need to select the angle, to understand the property of the wood of the table. And then by using certain strength and technique, you want a ma you can throw a ma, you want a six you can throw a six. Zhong Xiaodi, if you are interested, LaoGe will definitely not conceal it from you. Ha! Your saber technique has reached the great experts perfection. You and Ziling walk together, I am afraid even Ning Daoqi will have to give way in the face of superior strength [orig. to retreat three days march]. [Trantors note: I have no idea what ma (ô) is, definitely a gambling term, but I could not find any reference in all the usual ces.] Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Its rare that someone like you, LaoGe, would be so generous and open-minded. I do want to learn this art so that I could make the treasure stick to my body, but unfortunately nobody gave me instruction! Lei Jiuzhi burst intoughter; he said, You want to learn this art to make the treasure stick to your body; you really know how to crack jokes. Midway along the corridor, Lin Lang came to meet them. Seeing the two mens returning-in-triumph, flushed-with-sess expression, Lin Lang spoke in great delight, Sess? Patting the bulging pouch hanging on his waist, Kou Zhong said, This time its touching-the-stone-and-fail-to-turn-it-to-gold Lai Chaoguis turn to lose his family fortune, with a bonus of losing his left hand as well. From now on, I am afraid he will have to add one hand two characters before his new nickname touching-the-stone-and-fail-to-turn-it-to-gold. Ha! Du Shou Dian Shi Bu Cheng Jin, such a queer,me and twisted nickname. Lei Jiuzhi and Lin Lang doubled up inughter. Punishing a cheater was definitely the most satisfying thing. Toward this kind of people, nothing you say would be able to change them. Striking them without leaving anything would still be the best policy. Lei Jiuzhi put his other hand on Lin Langs shoulder. Happy and excited, the three walked toward Yin Ru Ges exit. Turning toward Lin Lang, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Hows the wind in your hand? Lin Lang replied, Without you, Lei LaoGe on my side illuminating the way, how could I dare toy a bet? The money I won thesest few days is enough for me to livefortably for many years, therefore, I have decided not to bet a single penny anymore. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, I thought that after experiencing the sweet taste of victory, Lin Xiangzhu would be more addicted to gambling! Smiling ruefully, Lin Lang said, After witnessing Lei LaoGes gambling technique, if I still want to gamble, I definitely am an absolute idiot. This remark immediately provoked the two men that they howled withughter. Compared to the warm, shaking-the-heaven noise inside the casino, it was definitely more irritating. The three stepped over the threshold together, and down the stone steps into the za outside the gate, where vehicles and horses were parked. Strange changes urred suddenly. Dozens of armed men swarmed out from behind the vehicles and horses, surrounding the three men so tight that not even water could leak through. A hoarse humph came from the stone steps behind them, followed by a voice saying, I am Du Gui [gambling ghost] Zha Hai. Three Renxiong [dear friend (of the same level)] certainly have bigger guts than anybody else, unexpectedly you dare to swindle others money and injure them in Ol Zhas ce; do you think you can leave this ce easily? Lin Lang was the only one whose countenance changed. rmed, he said, This is really bad, Gong Ye has already returned. He did not know Kou Zhongs real identity, plus he had never seen him in action, naturally he did not have any confidence. Lei Jiuzhi whispered in his ear, Lin Xiangzhu, rx. Just wait and enjoy a good show! With a hint of smile on his face, Kou Zhong patted Lin Langs shoulder. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he turned around to face the Gambling Ghost Zha Hai, who was under escort of more than a dozen casinos martial art masters. He calmly said, What a joke. You condone small Jianghu character like that Lai Chaogui and I did not punish you, Zha Xiong ought to thank God for your good fortune. And now you have the impertinence to push the me on me? Seeing how under heavy siege like this he was still calm like nothing happened, Zha Hai was puzzled. Frowning, he said, May I ask Sires honorable surname and great given name? A friend from which path are you? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Walking, I dont change my name; sitting, I dont change my surname. It has always been Xiang Yushan. You dont even know me, yet you dare to open a casino in my Baling Bang territory. None of the men on Zha Hais side did not explode in rage. Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well and struck backhandedly, sweeping the weapons of two men pouncing on him from behind. The two men had their weapon broken at the same time and were sent stumbling backward, and then with faces devoid of any color they fell sitting down on the ground, but they did not suffer any injury. This move not only subdued and intimidated the opposite side, it also cated Lin Langs timid heart. Returning the saber to its scabbard, Kou Zhongughed and said, Ol Xiangs saber technique is not bad, is it? This was just a trial move, hence I only touched and left it there. If anyone dare to show off, dont me Ol Xiangs saber for not showing any mercy. Zha Hais countenance alternated between red and white, but it was hard for him to step down from the stage. In this unbearably awkward moment, suddenly a voice came from outside the courtyard gate, My son, I trust you have been well since west met, and your saber technique has enjoyed good progress, Laofu [old man] has nothing to regret. This time it was Kou Zhongs turn to have his countenance changed, but no one could see it. Three figures jumped down separately from the eaves, surrounding Xu Ziling in the middle. Just by looking at the fast-as-a-demon shenfa, the angle from which they came, and the position they chose, it was clear that the opponents were adept in joint battle. Sweeping his gaze around, Xu Ziling smiled and said, Since three Miss dare to intercept Ol Gong in the middle of the street, why do you cover your faces in heavy gauze and do not dare to show your real appearance to me? Are you afraid that if you fail to stop me, your true identity will be leaked out? These three women in splendid clothes all had charming figure. Although they did nor reveal their beautiful countenance, it was enough to make people feel that their appearance could not possibly becking. One of the women said, We practically never thought about our secret may leak out. Even if you saw our faces, you will not know who we are. Another woman scolded tenderly, Whats your rtionship with Hong Xiaochang? Why did you stick out your head for her? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Even if I tell you, you wont believe me. We are just strangersing together by chance. Its just that I could not stand to see Fa Nan and Chang Zhens arrogance that I made my move to teach them a lesson. May I ask what rtionship the three Miss have with Fa Nan and Chang Zhen? Thest womenughed and said, When you get to theher world, you can ask Yan Huang [King of Hell, Yama] yourself! One finger shot out. The other two womenunched their offensive at the same time. A huge pressure shrouded his entire body. Yin Gui Pai elders were certainly not run-of-the-mill characters. Although Xu Zilings power had advanced greatly and he was not the same person as his old self, upon self-examination he realized that it would be difficult for him to withstand the full-strength joint-attack of the three opponents. Especially worrisome was that female demon Bai Qinger has not showed herself. She was Wanwans martial younger sister. If she had even seventy- or eighty-percent of Wanwans formidability, and she waited on the side for the opportunity to mount a sneak attack, it would be guaranteed that he would nurse a grievance in Jiujiang. If all else fails, retreat has always been his and Kou Zhongs strategy. This time, why didnt he execute this brilliant scheme? Book 27 - 1 – Deep Love Between Father And Son Book 27 Chapter 1 C Deep Love Between Father And Son Stunned, everybody looked, and saw a man, with tall hat on his head, long robe draped over his body, extremely tall, with ancient, awkward, wooden expression on his face C was walking leisurely from the courtyard gate into the za. Inwardly the Gambling Ghost Zha Hai cried, Demonical! because earlier he ordered his men to lock the main gate, temporarily prohibiting anybody from entering in, and not opening it until this matter was resolved. But this man silently came, leisurely, without any noise of any attempt of anybody to stop him. Clearly this strange man was not simple. The man regarded all those casino martial art masters as nothing; he came straight toward Kou Zhong, carrying with him irresistibly imposing qi momentum. Because earlier with just one saber strike Kou Zhong had stricken the two men of their side until their weapon broke, their body copsed in front of the carriage, the men were already scared out their wits and their will to fight was seized away. Unexpectedly they involuntarily stepped aside to allow this strange man passed through as if he was entering a ce with nobody in it. Lei Jiuzhi and Lin Lang were greatly puzzled; they could not figure out what kind of rtionship could Kou Zhong possibly have with this strange man. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb. Looking at the strange man walking to his side, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Fuqin [father] Daren, hows the current situation? The strange man cast him a deep nce, revealing a wooden, emotionless smile, as if he had no rtion with Kou Zhong whatsoever, and spoke indifferently, I did not die of anger because of you, I thanked God for his kindness; there is nothing good or bad to tell you. Zha Hai seized this opportunity to disentangle himself; cupping his fist, he said, Gentleman, Senior, may I ask your honorable surname and great given name? He had been mingling in Jianghu for many years, his eyesight was brilliant, hence he was well aware that he did not have the power to withstand the opponent, so he could only resort to kind words. The strange man cast him a quick nce, shook his head, and said, If it was Xiao Xian personally opening his mouth to ask me, he is still good enough; but you fall far too short! Zha Hai flew into a rage. But he suddenly remembered someone. Immediately a chill crept into his heart, and he no longer dared to say anything. The strange man extended his arm toward Kou Zhong, and spoke in soft voice, We, father and son, have not seen each other for a long time; why dont we find a ce where we could drink wine and chat first? Without the slightest hesitation Kou Zhong let the strange man grabbed his hand tightly. He said to Lei Jiuzhi and Lin Lang, Two LaoGe may go back first, Ill catch up with youter. At the same time, he signaled them with his eyes, telling them to follow behind him. The strange man pulled Kou Zhong away, Lei Jiuzhi and Lin Lang followed closely behind; under Zha Hai and his mens nk stare, they swaggered off. In an instant Xu Ziling has hadplete grasp of the situation, while at the same time he knew that if he did not go all-out but still concealing his real skill left and right, it would be akin to borrow the enemys hands to kill himself. In other words, he could only choose between revealing his real identity or being killed. Without anybody telling him, he ought to know what to do. Out of the three martial art masters, elders of Yin Gui Pai, two were attacking from the front, left and right. The weapons they used were one long and one short. The long one was a piece of rope with an iron ring at the end. The short one was a pair of hooks, which could be concealed inside her sleeves. The long and short weapons worked together like seamless heavenly clothes. Even if Xu Ziling soared into the air, he could not escape the swift and severe attack of the flying ring. The one behind him attacking with an unusually narrow and long sharp sword. All three kinds of weapons werepletely of different characteristic, their attack paths were all ruthless, dangerous, and strange, filled with ample power. Momentarily, yin in nature, cold qi, red out, with strong wind shing the bones. Even with Xu Zilings overbearing skill, caught in this situation, he found it hard to breathe, difficult to maintain his movements, and the pressure was growing heavier and heavier. Xu Ziling quietly performed the Unmoving JinGang Chakra Image; immediately his heart was like still water, pure, limpid and exquisite. He pondered inwardly that even if Ning Daoqi himself was caught in this situation, perhaps he would not dare to meet the three persons joint attack head-on either. His mind churning at the speed of light, he dodged to the left. Hidden inside this dodging were countless mysterious principles, which was not easy to obtain. The enemys most formidable aspect was that what is true and what is false was hard to fathom. Although Xu Ziling had rich real battle experience and his eyesight was brilliant, but because the enemies were all top-ranking martial art masters of the demonic school, who, if fighting one-on-one with him would not be inferior much, hence, although they seemed to attack at the same time, the reality was that they might change any moment, so that Xu Ziling would misjudge the attack path, and if that happened, the enemies would be able to kill him within a few strokes. He absolutely must not make any mistakes; the cost of losing the initiative would be instant death on the spot. This dodging was precisely the crucial point in his strive for seizing the initiative. Purely relying on his intuition, he sensed that the first attack to arrive was not the flying ring, which was best to be used in long-range attack, neither would it be the pair of hooks crisscrossing each other, creating a fantastical image of countless-like lightsing down on his head, but it was the pointy sword de shing from behind. The attack from both sides in front of him was just a diversion to confuse his eyes and ears and mind, to assist Wen Caitings pointy sword de attack. Just as the sharp-tipped sword de was silently moving upward to stab his back, his body feigned a backward sway, pretending to withstand the enormous pressure from thebined attack of the ring and the hooks from the front. As expected, Wen Caiting fell into the trap. The sword de immediately whistled violently, as it moved faster and stronger in an all-out attack, so that it was rushing ahead of the flying ring and the double hooks. Xu Ziling precisely wanted to create this kind of situation. Just as the thousand-pounds-hang-by-a-thread moment as the tip of the de reached his back, he shed sideways. As if by prior agreement, all three women let out a huh! cry of surprise, as an expression of amazement at his brilliant judgment; however, their hands did not hesitate at all, their movements adapted themselves to changes. Whoosh! The flying ring, still hovering overhead, spiraled down at an angle, like a shadow following a shadow, it swiftly cut Xu Zilings, who was going to change position C path. If he continued shing to the left, it would be tantamount to letting himself being cut by the flying ring, while the other elder, both the hooks and the person, was crashing against him. If she managed to wind him around, he would fallpletely under their control. From behind, Wen Caiting changed her offense to defense, her sword created fantastic sword filling the air,pletely sealing his retreat path. This was the first time that Xu Ziling encountered such a formidable joint-attack tactics. Not only empty could turn into real, attack could change into defend, the worst thing was that their internal power was of the same origin and flowed in the same direction,ing together and converging into a seemingly heavenly mesh earthly [idiom: inescapable] force field. It felt as if his body was entering an icehouse, and the cold energy was increasingly getting stronger, so that surrounded by it, his power decreased greatly. Worse yet, the intensity of the force fluctuated countless times, so that it was really difficult to fathom. But instead of being afraid, Xu Ziling let out a longugh, and suddenly shed to the right, while spinning around at the same time. His long robe red and flew, sweeping toward the sword and hook shadow, his left hand pped toward the flying ring, while simultaneously his right hand secretly performed Lion Image, and shouted heavily, Duo! Seeing how he rose vigorously to fight them, the three women were inwardly very happy. They thought that under the momentum of the three of them joining hands, surely he would be seriously injured. Who would have thought that when the victory seemed to be imminent, Xu Zilings incantation pierced their ears? Immediately the bitter and dense murderous aura pervading the battleground subsided. This sound seemed like Buddhist chant and the ring of the bell from a Buddhist hall in the middle of the night. It seemed to being from afar, from the ends of the earth, yet it also seemed to be close by their ears. The feeling was mysterious and peculiar beyond humanprehension; it could shake the heart and move the spirit, fantastic to the extreme point. The three women were from demonic school, their innate tendency in subjected to this kind of Buddhist chant was to be subdued, plus it caught them off guard and was toote to guard against; hence their heart and mind were severely shaken. Not only their hands slowed down a hairsbreadth, as a result, their power was also drastically cut. With repeated Whoosh! Whoosh!, Xu Zilings rising robe separately swept the sword and the hooks, his left hand struck the flying ring. The three women were immediately jolted backward, and were no longer able to maintain their advantage of forming encirclement around the enemy. Xu Ziling cried out, You let me win! His right palm feigned a push down to the ground, he flew at an angle, and while still in the air, he unleashed his unique schools amazing ability to rapidly take a breath and changed direction to flee the three womens pursue and attack. Landing on a distant house, he swiftly disappeared without any trace. Looking at his speed, the three women knew it would be difficult to run after him. Discouraged, they stared nkly on the spot. Bai Qinger appeared from the direction Xu Ziling was fleeing; leaping down into the battleground, she spoke in amazement, Who is this person? Pulling the gauzed veil covering her face, Wen Caitings beautiful eyes gazed at the direction where Xu Ziling was disappearing, and spoke heavily, Were it not for this man has the ability to perform Buddhists marvelous skill of Lion Roar, I might guess that he is either Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling in disguise. But the fact is obviously not so. The other woman said, I dont care how superior this man called Gong Chenchun is, as soon as he appears again, it will be difficult for him to escape the disaster of losing his life. Back to our urgent business; Du Fuwei is our target this time. Lets go! Finished speaking, the four women swiftly floated away. In a tranquil corner of the wine shop, Du Fuwei, with grave expression, appeared to be deep in thought, as he stared at the good wine inside the cup, without speaking at all. Kou Zhong was waiting respectfully for him to talk, without showing the least bit of impatience. Along the way, until just now, after they finished threerge cups of wine, Du Fuwei did not utter more than half a sentence. Finally Du Fuwei let out a hint of smile brimming with mocking-himself overtone. Laughing involuntarily, he shook his head and said, If it were yesterday, I would have moved an army and sent a general, and disregarding everything to kill you, this pestering and unfilial son, to vent the resentment filling my heart. But now theres only the feeling of tender love, the affection between father and son. Tell me, isnt life strange? Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Lao Die [old dad], you are finally moved by Shi Feixuan! This time it was Du Fuweis turn to have powerful and violent shock. His eyes shone with peculiar light, he looked at Kou Zhong. With disbelief in his voice, he said, No wonder you, this little kid, are able to run amuck around the world. Unexpectedly you are able, from the sigh of sorrow evolving from the depth of my heart, to specte the fact beyond the spoken words. This is simply impossible. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Its absolutely not because Childs ability and wisdom is high, rather, on one hand, I know Shi Feixuan is lobbying the warlords vying for supremacy all over the world, on the other hand, I know that your old partner Fu Gongyou is a demonic school man. I am even clearer that you, Lao Die, happen to have optimist mentality; hence I was guessing that you, the Senior, had just secretly met with Shi Feixuan today. Ay! Li Shimin has just gained one more piece of the rivers and mountains [i.e. country]. Du Fuwei raised his cup and said with augh, This toast is for me, Lao Die, feeling relieved from a burden, my entire body feels light, rxed, and peaceful. Cheers! Kou Zhong happily clinked his cup to his and they both drained the cups in one gulp. In astonishment, Du Fuwei sized him up with unusual expression on his face, trying to judge whether Kou Zhongs pleasure was genuine. He asked in surprise, You seem to be genuinely happy for me. It doesnt make sense; you ought to be frustrated by Li Shimins power increasing by the day. Putting down his wine cup, Kou Zhong swept his gaze to look around at the other guests of the wine shop first before calmly said, I am an open-minded person. Even if there is anything I should be worried about, it can wait until I finish drinking wine with Die to be bothered by it. Right now I just want to apany Die drinking to your hearts content; I wont even ask about the particrs of Dies cooperation with Li kid, because I do not wish Die to feel distressed, angry, or awkward. Du Fuwei pped the table and said with a sigh, You are worthy to be the person I, Du Fuwei, think highly of. Only by this you can obtain mypliment as an outstanding hero. Lao Die also has a few words from the bottom of my heart, I wish Xiao Zhong would want to calmly think it over. Kou Zhong dejectedly slumped back into his chair, and said with a wry smile, If Die wants to persuade Child to follow Dies example, Die may save your breath and use it to drink wine. Du Fuwei smiled and said, Du Fuwei may surrender, but how could Kou Zhong do the same? This is called nobody understands ones son better than his father; I just want to remind you, I hope youll cancel your treasure-hunt trip to Guanzhong. Because, I dont know who broadcast the news, but nowadays nobody under the heavens does not know that you and Ziling are nning to go up north to Guanzhong. If you insist on going, it would be no different from walking right into the trap. Gnashing his teeth in anger, Kou Zhong said, Who else would be so meddlesome but Xiang Yushan and Yun Yuzhen? This must be their plot of borrowing someone elses knife to kill us. But whom should Ziling and I be afraid of? Du Fuwei sighed and said, So what if you have Duke Yangs Treasure? Since ancient time, there has never been anybody who strived for the world by relying on buried treasure. If you still want to doggedly charge into Guanzhong just to unt the bravery of ignorant men, it would be just like a moth flying into the fire, following the path to your own doom! Kou Zhong calmed down; his countenance became grim without revealing the least bit of emotion. He spoke slowly, My choice right now is either to kneel and beg forgiveness to Li kid, or to fight bravely to the end. And Die ought to know which option I will pick. And then he was back to his mischievous look, and spoke with a smile, My Niang! Child is already at the end of my rope. The only magic weapon is to see whether there is any treasure within the hidden treasure with which I can rise from the dead, for me to try my luck. Ha! The more difficult it is, the more Child is interested. Frowning, Du Fuwei said, Its not about whether it is difficult or not; it is practically impossible. Li Shimins Tian Ce Fu [Heavenly Policy Mansion] surely has martial art masters as numerous as the cloud. There are numerous capable people serving under the Li n. If you still think that that is not enough, there are the two schools, Buddhist and Taoist, and the entire Wulins white way [i.e. orthodox, righteous] who are affiliated with Buddhist and Taoist schools; how can the two of you stand? Taken aback, Kou Zhong said, Is Die hinting that Shi Feixuan might personally deal with us? Her rtionship with Ziling is really not bad! Du Fuwei spoke heavily, You just dont understand the style of Shi Feixuans conduct; she made clear distinction between public and personal interest. Plus in the past, it was mostly out of pity that she was very tolerant toward the two of you, hence she did not stop persuading you with kind words; it could be said that she already done above and beyond the ways of the world, what extravagant demands can you ask of her? Speechless, Kou Zhong just looked at him. Du Fuwei spoke indifferently, Can you guess how I knew that you are in Jiujiang? Instantly Kou Zhongs scalp went numb. After staring nkly for quite a moment he said, Are you saying that she told you? Smiling wryly, Du Fuwei said, One guess and you got it. She wanted me to give you the final word of advice: do not go to Guanzhong. Kou Zhong did not understand, How did she know Die and childs rtionship? he asked. Du Fuweis eyes emitted a rarely seen emotion brimming with affection; he spoke tenderly, Because I told her one of the conditions of my surrender to Li Shimin is that no matter under what circumstances, he must not fight directly with you or Ziling. This is probably what is called no matter how malicious a tiger is, it will never eat its own child! Shaken, Kou Zhong cried out, Die! Du Fuweiughed aloud and said, Only this call Die ising from your heart. Laofu is greatlyforted. And then his expression turned serious as he said, Your, two boys martial art skill has reached the great expert level. Even with Shi Feixuans ability, she does not have confidence that she will be able to deal with the two of you alone, plus she frankly admitted that she does not have the heart to deal ruthlessly with you, but she simply must stop you from entering Guanzhong to seek for the treasure. Can you guess what means she is going to use? Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Is she going to invite Ning Daoqi to make his move? Du Fuwei shook his head and said, Ning Daoqi is the number one figure of the Taoist School, his rank and status is no small matter. Shi Feixuan, being from the Buddhist School, unless she does not have any other choice, would not easily disturb him, the Senior. My understanding is that due to your martial arting from the Taoist treasury the Secret to Long Life, there are a lot of simrity with Ning Daoqis; therefore, he had personally requested Ci Hang Jing Zhai to capture you alive and imprison you. After the Li Family pacify the world, then you will be released. From this, it is clear that he does not wish to personally deal with you. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, My Niang! I would rather be killed than taken prisoner. Du Fuwei could not helpughing, This is the second time you are calling for Niang, he said, I really dont know why. Dejected, Kou Zhong said, The only thing I want to do now is to advise Xiao Ling to quit this treasure-hunting game. He loves to be free the most; this is my own crime, I shouldnt put anybody at fault. And then he asked, Who is Jing Zhais Zhaizhu [monastery master]? Is she going to lead arge number of Shigu Heshang [martial aunt (Buddhist) monk] to catch us? Du Fuwei shook his head and said, Jingzhais current Zhuchis [manager/president] identity is mysterious. But within the Buddhist Schools, her position is equal to Ning Daoqi in the Taoist School; she would not easily go down the mountain to do the battle herself. From what I heard, Shi Feixuan hinted that she might invite the Four Great Holy Monks, so your calling your Niang is actually very appropriate. If it were before, perhaps Kou Zhong would not even knit his brows, simply because he did not even know who the Four Great Holy Monks were. But just recently he heard from Xu Ziling that even Shi Zhixuan was beaten by the Four Great Holy Monks that he fled to the wilderness, and now he suddenly heard that the ones to capture Xu Ziling and him were precisely these four, it would be strange indeed if he was not shocked. The Four Great Holy Monks were Tiantai Schools Zhihui [lit. wisdom] Dashi [great master], Sanlun Schools Jiaxiang Dashi, Huayan Schools Dixin Zunzhe [honorable monk], and Chanzong Si Zus [lit. Zen Buddhism Four Ancestors] Daoxin Dashi. These four plus Shi Feixuan or even Liao Kong, how could the two boys even have any chance to hit back? Standing up suddenly, he said with a wry smile, Child has an urgent matter that I need to discuss with Xiao Ling; Die, please take care of yourself! I almost forget to tell Die that Yin Gui Pai is sending arge number of troops to Jiujiang. Die must be extra careful. Without saying a word Du Fuwei left some drinking money and apanied him walking out of the wine shop. It was a rtively quiet night, foot traffic was light, increasing the somber feeling in the two mens heart. The night breeze was blowing, Du Fuwei said, As your Die, I feel so useless; after talking so many words I am still unable to take away Zhongers intention of going north. Shi Feixuan chose this time have Die warning you, it was actually a painstaking effort, because I do not wish the two of you going to Guanzhong, and then have a direct confrontation with the Li Family, resulting in an unresolvable deep enmity. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If I got so scared that I piss in my pants in terror, withdrawing my head and refuse to go out, how would I pass the days of the rest of my life? Shaking his head, Du Fuwei said, You cant say that. In the past, Han Xin [(-196 BC), famous general of first Han emperor Liu Bang] was also forced to crawl between somebodys legs. This is called a leader can submit or can stand tall as required. As long as you get away, back to your headquarters in Pengliang, what can Shi Feixuan do to you? But if you do what you are doing now, sneaking into Guanzhong, you are only going to strike a stone with egg, or using praying mantis arms to stop a chariot. It is an action of overestimating your own capabilities! Strange light burst forth from Kou Zhongs eyes; he said, If I cant ovee the enemy by force, then Ill have to outsmart them. There will always be a way. While continued walking, Du Fuwei sneered and said, Just by looking at how Shi Feixuan knows your whereabouts like the back of her hand, I knew that you have absolutely fallen into the disadvantageous position; all you can do is waiting to be captured. Kou Zhong calmlyughed and said, Die ought to understand better than anybody else. Since our debut, we have always taken a beating, and until today, the situation has not improved, while the people dealing against us and getting more and more formidable! As long as I can reach Guanzhong safely, I am afraid even Ning Daoqi would regard me as having enough qualifications to be his opponent. Du Fuwei halted his steps. Throwing his head back in loudughter, he said, When all is said and done, Kou Zhong is still Kou Zhong. Let me give you one final advice: I am hoping that you can avoid the disgrace of being captured. Hereby we part. Kou Zhong saluted respectfully, and left with determination. But he had just walked a few strides, Du Fuweis voice came from behind, Theres one more thing that I forgot to tell my child, which is Li Mi formally acknowledge his allegiance to the Li Family, and had led his troops into the Pass [Guan]. This matter shook the world, and has increased the Li Familys prestige. Shaken, Kou Zhong halted his steps. Smiling wryly, he said, What other information is there? Du Fuweis heroic spirit suddenly arose. He pped his hands and sang, Singing to apany wine [fig. life is short, make merry while you can]; life is not much, just like morning dew, with passing days there are many miseries. Sighing with generous emotion, anxiety difficult to forget. Why worry? There is only Du Kang. Du Kang was the deity the inventor of wine; it is thus clear that Du Fuwei had no intention of vying and pursuing Jianghu, he was only thinking of retiring and going into seclusion. The singing voice disappeared into the distance. Kou Zhong did not look back. He could feel the destion in Du Fuweis song, his heart was filled with myriad emotions. Only an outstanding talent can recognize current trends. In this respect, he, Kou Zhong clearly fell short of his Old Dad Du Fuwei. But this was precisely lifes most interesting aspect. From the impossibility striving to find subtle possibility. Right now, the person he wanted to see the most was Xu Ziling. Book 27 - 2 – False Alarm Chapter 2 C False rm By the time Xu Ziling, following Lin Langs direction, reached the safehouse, Lei Jiuzhi, Lin Lang, and Gongliang Ji were already waiting anxiously for him and Kou Zhong. As soon as he finished listening to their story, Xu Ziling guessed that the strange man was Du Fuwei. Heughed and said, I am sure that man is his yifu [adoptive father]; gentlemen, please dont worry. At the same time, he was greatly puzzled; Du Fuwei was the big boss, the supreme leader of Jianghuai Army, why did hee alone into Xiao Xians territory? Not only that, he seemed to bepletely without malice toward Kou Zhong. While he was still pondering over this matter, Lin Lang asked in low voice, Was that strange man Jianghuai Armys Xiu Li Qiankun [universe in the sleeves] Du Fuwei? After the fact, due to Du Fuweis unique build, Lin Lang was able to guess that it was him. Xu Ziling met Lin Lang and Gongliang Jis two pairs of full-of-curiosity shining eyes, smiled and said, Because I regard you as my own Xiongdi, Ill tell you the truth. Correct, that man was precisely Du Fuwei, who run amuck north and south of the River, so it wont be difficult for two gentlemen to guess who we really are. Lin Lang was shaken, Gong Yes face is fake! he blurted out. Xu Ziling took off his mask to reveal his elegant-without-equal face; he spoke indifferently, Zaixia Xu Ziling, paying my respect to Lin Xiong and Gongliang Xiong. The two men were dumbstruck. It was quite a whileter that Lin Lang was starting to breathe again and said, In that case the other one must be Shao Shuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world. I really cant believe it. Hey! Gongliang Ji broke into tears; extremely moved, he sobbed, Its rare that Xu Ye would be this warmhearted, letting Xiaoren recover my lost familial property. Even if Xiaoren try to repay for the rest of my life, it wont be enough to repay one of Dayes ten thousand favors. Lei Jiuzhi reached out to grab Gongliang Jis shoulder and pulled him into his embrace;ughing aloud, he said, Why weeping endlessly? Strangersing together by chance can also be Xiongdi! Between Xiongdi, why do we need to thank this and thank that? Feeling embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, Gongliang Xiongs remark was too heavy. Just as Lei Xiong said, we all are brothers, why do we need to bicker? Theres no need to call Ye [master] this and Ye that like we are strangers. Emotionally moved, Lin Lang said, Very well! Xu Xiong said so, henceforth we are all brothers. Let Xiaodi fix some food and drink to celebrate the sess of destroying the Dian Shi Cheng Jin Lai Chaogui. Wiping his tears, happy and excited, Gongliang Ji said, I am the best in making hotpot. Lin Xiong, do you have good ingredients? Standing up, Lin Lang said, I already thought about the possibility of us lying low in here momentarily, hence I have made adequate preparation. If you want to know what we have, juste with Xiaodi to the kitchen and take a look yourself! After Gongliang Ji happily following Lin Lang, Lei Jiuzhi frowned and said, There is a saying meeting someone by chance, speak only three words. Why did you give your bare heart into their keeping [idiom: trustpletely]? Arent you afraid that something might go wrong? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, I am the kind of person who act based on my feeling. After interacting with them for many days, I knew that Lin Lang and Gongliang Ji are men who are worthy to have contact with. I really consider them as friends. Lei Jiuzhi praised him, Ziling indeed has no arrogance in dealing with others. Ive seen many so-called Jianghu celebrities who, if they do not repel others a thousand li away, then they conduct themselves with dignity, paying particr attention to their reputation and the status of their school or family, so that they are quite unpleasant to the eye. Xu Ziling smiled and said, You cant apply that to anybody in any situation! Take Li Shimin or Shi feixuan for example, why would they want to put on airs to show their position and status? And I did not unt my qualifications either, I was just lucky to mingle with a bit famous crowd. In fact, I have nothing at all except for an undeserved reputation. Lei Jiuzhi was about to speak, Kou Zhong, with tranquil expression, walked in. After exchanging some pleasantries, he pulled Xu Ziling to the small pavilion at the rear courtyard to talk. He asked about why Xu Ziling took off his mask first before passing on Du Fuweis warning. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling pondered for a moment before saying, Shi Feixuan must have learned about I am taking Wu Jiang Bangs ship to Jiujiang from Hou Xibai. Following the same trail, she found out that you were taking Song Familys boat toe here. Hou Xibai practically has never thought that there would be so many consequences; otherwise, he would have kept the secret for me. Kou Zhong said, How she found out is not important. But now I only have one request, which is you, Ziling, and I must immediately separate, in order to avoid you being implicated by me. After all, it was me who dragged you into this deep pool. Xu Zilingughed and said, One lifetime, two brothers. How could I abandon you at this critical moment? Let those Four Great Holy Monks be his mothers Four Great Holy Monks! Shi Zhixuan fled to the wilderness, the two of us are experts in fleeing for our lives, why are we afraid of his bird? Just like Ol Ba said, only under pressure and challenges will we be able to make the breakthrough that we yearn for even in our dreams! You want to deprive Xiaodi of this golden opportunity to temper myself? Dont even think about it. Kou Zhong understood very well Xu Zilings character, that he did not like to fight, especially since their opponents were the embodiment of justice like Shi Feixuan and the Four Great Holy Monks. His heart grew warm, he said, If I say more, I wont be worthy to be your Xiongdi anymore. But no matter how conceited we are, it is still difficult for us to be mentioned on equal terms with Shi Zhixuan. Not to mention since we are going to be in Guanzhong, we will leave trails that the enemy could find, unlike Shi Zhixuan in the past, where he could flee up to the sky or go down into the earth. Our situation will be even more unfavorable. Do you have any clever ideas? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, The fact is that we do not know much about Shi Feixuans method and conduct; we only know that she has the support of the entire white way Wulin behind her back, plus she knows the two of us like the back of her hand, including our skill of transforming our head, exchanging our face. Looks like we cannot avoid a few hard battles. Feeling a big headache, Kou Zhong pondered, Everybody has a weak point; Shi Feixuans weak point is perhaps her affection toward you. Xu Ziling crossly said, You still speak such words? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong spoke humbly, I was just discussing this matter based on the facts. If, instead of Shi Feixuan it was Wan Yaonu, we could seize the initiative by striking first, taking advantage before the four great baldheads came to attack his mother until she is in a sorry state. But this moment it is hard to ruthlessly destroy the flower. Much less Shi Feixuan indicated clearly that she wants to capture us alive. With such affection and righteousness, we wont have the heart to make our move against her. And then his eyes shed with strange light; he said, I wonder if we could seek help so that we could enter the Pass whether by hook or by crook? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Are you thinking about exploiting Yin Gui Pais power to counter Shi Feixuans? If we do it this way, even if we could enter Guanzhong safely, there is no glory in that. Just now I nearly lost my life under Yin Gui Pais three elder-level martial art masters joint-attack. Being able to escape can be considered grasping my glory back. Kou Zhong was shocked. Three elder-level martial art masters? he asked. Xu Ziling told him what happened. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, Not good! They cant possibly trouble their masters for the sake of an insignificant Gong Chenchun. We must notify Lao Die immediately. What should we do? Xu Zilings countenance changed as well. His mind moved at the speed of lightning, he said, Right now we get Lao Die to leave town immediately. Because Shi Feixuan is in town, Yin Gui Pai people might ambush him outside the city. We must hurry, otherwise I am afraid it will be toote. Without waiting for him to finish, Kou Zhong already sprang up and shot out. He had just flown over a building with tile roof when he suddenly crouched down. Following his lead, Xu Ziling craned his neck to look. He caught a glimpse of a womans graceful back, blending inside the shadow of the trees next to a cluster of buildings. The woman was wearing tight night walker attire. In terms of lightness skill, she could be considered first-ss master, plus she looked to be very familiar. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Who is this woman? Im sure I have seen her somewhere before. From here to the pier outside the city gate, ordinary people would only need about a quarter of an hours walk. Naturally assuming the city gate was wide open and one could walk freely. But going out of the city at this time would require a high level of skill. The city wall of Jiujiang reached up to ten zhang. Even with Kou and Xus current skill level, they still had to use tool to scale the wall, or perhaps borrowing each others power before they could jump over the wall and leave town. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This woman must be someone that we both know, because I also have a feeling that she looks very familiar. Ill say this building must be some kind of hotel or a tavern, because there are several rooms with thentern still on. I wonder if it has something to do with Lao Die? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, I was thinking the same thing. A woman with superior martial art skill appearing in Jiujiang at this time, most probably she is a Yin Gui Pai female demon. But I am sure she is not Bai Qinger. Her height is about simr to Wanwans, but shecks the gods-appear-and-devils-vanish of Wanwans specter-like appearance. Ay! Who is this female demon? Shaken, Xu Ziling said, I know who she is! No wonder I nearly could not remember her. Who is she? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling whispered in his ear, Its Rong Yaonu. Kou Zhong happily said, Indeed she has her charming figure. If thats the case, they must have lost Lao Dies tracks; otherwise, they wouldnt go back and forth like stray dogs. He had not finished speaking, Rong Jiaojiao shed out of the trees shadow in the direction of the city wall. Tearing off the mask from his face, Kou Zhongughed and said, Before being captured alive, how about we capture this female demon alive to y? Xu Ziling replied, I was thinking the same thing. He was pulled down by Kou Zhong. He saw Rong Jiaojiao was standing on the roof of a building about thirty zhang away from them, and someone else was rushing toward her from the roof of another house in the distance. Surprisingly it was one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, the Ziwu Sword Zuo Youxian. Seeing this, cold sweats started to appear on the two boys body. If they also had Rong Fengxiang and Fu Gongyou, plus Yin Gui Pais three elder-level martial art masters and Bai Qinger, even with the two boys help, there was no way Du Fuwei would be able to deal with them. It was clear that this time they were determined to deal with Du Fuwei. Du Fuwei came here alone to see Shi Feixuan, naturally it was to evade his partner, Fu Gongyous eyes and ears, yet unexpectedly the news leaked out. From this, it could be inferred that there was a spy among the men close to him. If they seeded in killing Du Fuwei, then the second-inmand Fu Gongyou would be able to legitimately ascend the Jianghuai Army Zongguan throne. And then they would link with Lin Shihong in the south, perhaps they would then have the hope of contending for hegemony over the world. Therefore, the sess or failure of this operation was certainly no small matter; but obviously there was a problem now. Rong Jiaojiaos voice was heard, Howe we cannot find him anywhere? Although she deliberately lowered her voice, plus distance was quite far, but because the two boys power has advanced greatly, they were still able to hear without missing a single word. Zuo Youxian came to Rong Jiaojiaos side. His eyes shing, he swept his gaze around, before speaking heavily, This is impossible. On one side people saw him exiting the city, while the men on the other sides eyes saw him turning back into the city, and just like that we lose track of him, while the men on both sides thought that the other side was trailing him. Leaning close to Xu Zilings ear, Kou Zhong said, Hes worthy to be called our Lao Die; this ability, we must humbly learn from him. Luckily I warned him that Yin Gui Pai people areing. Xu Ziling nodded his agreement. Needless to say, Du Fuwei must have utilized the city gate towers passageway to leave. This method was very simple, but directly effective. Were it not for his skill, it would be difficult to subdue the city guards and slipped away without making any noise. The two boys felt relieved as if they had just put down a big stone from their mind. Distressed, Rong Jiaojiao said, This time we missed out on a golden opportunity. By the time he returns to Liyang, killing him will not be easy. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Zuo Youxian was silent for half a day, and then said, Lets go! The two boys crouched in the jungle by the Yangtze River, looking into the distance at Bai Qinger official boat, where Zuo Youxian and Rong Jiaojiao had just disappeared into the dimly lit cabin. Do you have any good idea? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Zilingughed and said, I know your hands are itchy! But if we make our move, set the boat on fire for instance, we might reveal our track, and that will only add to our worries. Kou Zhong said, Do you remember that day in Luo River we managed to sink Dugu ns ship without making any noise? We could follow the same script [orig. a wooden word-by-word reading] to vent the resentment in our hearts, while eavesdropping their secret discussion in passing. Xu Zilings heart was greatly moved. He was about to start, Kou Zhong pulled him back and said, Dont think that we could stay underwater forever closing our breathing. This is an extremely true-power consuming activity. And then he told Xu Ziling about his dreadful experience of mortal-danger, escape-alive in the ocean. He also said, But after the true power is depleted, after it is recovered, it will grow fantastically. If this kind of situation continues forever without stopping, there wille a day where we be immortal who can fly. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, That is actually the key, the most important secret to the Huan Ri Da Fa; broken and then stand, defeated and then seed. But the first-time growth is the most formidable, after that, the efficacy is rapidly declining. It can be said that you have identally mastered the Great Method of Exchanging The Sun. Disappointed, Kou Zhong said, I thought that we could find a ce where I can try your marvelous skill of Nine-character Incantation; we both fight until our body weary, our strength exhausted, and then we wont even have to be afraid of the Four Great Baldheads. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, How could there be such an easy thing? Do you still want to bore and sink Bai Yaonus boat? They are waiting for us to eat hotpot. Kou Zhong said, Venting our anger is just momentary and quick. Speaking about our Shi Xianzi [fairy/immortal] and the Four Great Baldheads, I have a great idea. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What do you think? Pointing to the solitary Bai Qingers official boat, he proudly said, If we could find out the exact time Bai Qingers official boat is going to set sail to return to Xiangyang, maybe we could even save on the boat fare, while also guaranteeing that our Xianzi will suddenly lose our traces, plus getting rid of those yaofu and yaonu who are looking for you, Gong Daye, to give you bad luck. Xu Ziling agreed, That is an absolutely wonderful idea! Come then! While Lei Jiuzhi, three men, were waiting anxiously like ants on a hot rock, the two boys,pletely drenched from head to toe, but with expression that looked like they had just scored big victory, with their spirit rising to the sky C appeared. Those who needed to change clothes changed clothes, those who had to prepare the hotpot prepared the hotpot; shortly afterwards the five men were sitting around the glowing hotpot, loudly toasting each other. The atmosphere was very warm. Both Lin Lang and Gongliang Ji felt that being able to sit on the same table, eating and drinking with Xu and Kou, two men, was indeed a great pleasure and an iparable honor. But parting was imminent. Tomorrow morning Gongliang Ji woulde with Lin Lang back to Sichuan, hence they cherished this gathering very much. After several rounds of wine went down their belly, the five no longer felt any distance between them, all chopsticks were raised, they ate and drank as much as they liked. Under the red-hot light of the stove, Kou Zhongs face revealed a brilliant smile, as he asked Lei Jiuzhi, I just heard the news that Luoyangs Rong Fengxiang might participate in the Tian Jiu Big Meet tomorrow night. Have you ever heard about him? Stumped for words, Lei Jiuzhi put down his chopsticks and said, Of course I have. This mans gambling technique is very famous in Luoyang. I may not necessarily be able to beat him. Where did you hear this news from? Xu Ziling said, We had just eavesdropped it. Lei Xiong, is it possible to cancel ourpetition tomorrow? Kou Zhong added, Its because we want to go one step ahead. After Guanzhong, we will meet with you, LaoGe, again. Lei Jiuzhi revealed a disappointed look, but then heughed and said, Lets talk about this tomorrow. Tonight, we simply y finger-guessing game and drink. Come! Lets have a cup! After another round, Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Xiongdi! How about we go to the rear court to y a hand or two? I guarantee that my saber technique will be able to beat the crap out of you. Xu Zilingughed aloud, rose up to his full height, and said, No need to be too full of yourself; do you think I am afraid of you? Book 27 - 3 – Eight Methods of the Well Chapter 3 C Eight Methods of the Well Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well; holding the scabbard in his left hand and the saber in his right hand, he felt that he had 90% of the Heavenly Saber Song Ques bearing. Immensely proud of himself, heughed and said, Dont me me for not giving you a warning in advance; currently Xiaodis saber technique is so formidable that even I cannot control it myself. You really have to fight seriously. Lei Jiuzhi, one of the three men holding the wine cups with both hands inside the small pavilion watching the scene from across the courtyard, was a bit tipsy; pointed his finger out and shrieked inughter he said, If you cannot control it, how could you be considered a martial art master? Kou Zhong felt as if he returned to Yangzhou, as the rascal who loved to make a scene. Sticking out his tongue he made a bow and said, Naturally I usually can control it with ease. But right now I am going to perform the Drunken Saber, the other Heavenly Saber; therefore, the more I cannot control it, the more formidable it will be. Ha! Such a profound saber logic, how could ordinary low hand like you understand? So, do Laozi [I, your father] a favor: just shut up. Immediately Lin Lang and Gongliang Ji booed. They had seen Xu Zilings skill with their own eyes, so even if they were beaten to death, they would not believe that Kou Zhong could be more formidable than he was. Listening to Kou Zhong blubbering nonsense under the influence of alcohol, Xu Ziling, who was standing in the middle of the small t area in the spacious courtyard,ughed in displeasure and said, So much nonsense; perhaps in just three punches or three kicks I will be able to take care of you thoroughly, and then you will look really unsightly. Kou Zhong tossed his scabbard haphazardly. His gaze swept around, he found out that the courtyard was surrounded by trees all around. The house was located in the secluded area on the east side of the city. Even if they created ping, dong, dong noise, they did not have to worry about disturbing other peoples good dream. Greatly satisfied, he said, Come! Come! Let us see the real skill of our hands; I want to see if your pair of tender and lovely hands, which look like womens hands, is as stiff as your mouth! Lei Jiuzhi and the others pped and cheered again with wild excitement as if they were afraid the world was not chaotic enough, greatly increasing the warm atmosphere of the two boys sparring against each other. Xu Ziling was very excited as well. He inwardly carried out the bu jin gen ben yin [lit. no strength fundamental image]. The tipsy feeling immediately disappeared without trace. His eyes shone with divine light, a burst of iparably powerful, concentrated qi momentum red from his core out to all directions. Kou Zhongs body reacted adversely, which greatly shocked him. He saw under the illumination of the moon, Xu Zilings countenance did not show the slightest bit of emotion fluctuation, as if he was entering the holy monk meditative state, his treasured appearance looked dignified, but there was some kind of unspeakably outstanding confidence and at ease feeling. Combined with the charm of his unusual form, the result was an extremely intimidating bearing, leading to a strange feeling as if he knew Xu Ziling for the very first time. My Niang! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. Hastily he calmed down his mind, straightened his spine and squared his shoulders, before slightly leaning forward, meeting Xu Zilings seemingly able to prate the bottom of his hearts gaze, with the Moon in the Well pointing at the opponent from a distance. This time it was Xu Zilings turn to be emotionally moved. Greatly astonished, he said, Indeed you stole away from Song Que a bit of his way to do things, minus the previously outward aggressiveness, but in its ce is an enigmatic bearing like high mountain and deep sea. I am afraid Xiaodi will have to spend several moves before I can take care of Zhong Ye. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, If only now you find out about Shao Shuais formidability, it is already toote! What I am afraid of is you are unwilling to make your move to stop my itching. Youd better do your best so that after your defeat and bing muddled and copsingpletely, you wont refuse to admit defeat. While talking, the two boys unceasingly built up their momentum, so that immediately the courtyard was filled with the bitterly surging reaction to the icy-cold and burning-hot qi power shing against each other. Although there was no breeze, their clothes were fluttering; the scene was extremely strange. Lei Jiuzhi, three men subconsciously withdrew to the farthest corner of the pavilion; nobody made any noise anymore. In the eyes of these three, Xu Ziling was like a tall and straight, reaching high to the sky deep green pine or an ancient cypress tree, hidden within the delicate and threatening spirit was an arrogant, above-the-crowd free and at ease charisma. Kou Zhong was like towering into the clouds, immeasurably lofty mountain, extreme mountain ridge. Both made their guts trembled and their heart shook; even more, they felt that the two were evenly matched. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Seeing you still have a bit of trained skill, Ill let you make your saber strike first. Sneering, Kou Zhong replied, What a joke! Making saber strike first or making saber striketer has nothing to do with yielding to each other. But, seeing that in this face off nobody gains any advantage over the other in term of qi momentum, Xiaodi is willing to show my good intentions by breaking this stalemate situation. Watch the saber! Suddenly his left foot stepped forward, one saber strike swooped up toward Xu Ziling. Watching this, Lei Jiuzhi, three men were stunned. The two boys were clearly standing two to three zhang apart from each other, but Kou Zhong only took a step forward, which ought to carry him three, maybe four chi forward, yet the de of his saber, genuine goods at fair prices, was reaching Xu Zilings chest. It was so mystical that it looked like he was performing a magic trick. In Xu Zilings eyes, however, Kou Zhong seemed to be exploiting the pace of the stepping forward, propelling his entire body so that it appeared that he was only taking one step, but was actually shing forward more than two zhang, creating the illusion of the distance was shrinking into a cun. It was the first time that Xu Ziling saw such footwork. Kou Zhongs saber technique was even more swift and fierce. Although the saber de seemed to be attacking a certain point of Xu Zilings body, the saber qi was actually able to envelop his whole body, giving him the feeling of no matter where he moved or dodged, under the sucking qi, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well would be able to devour him like a hungry wolf sniffing the reeking of blood, hounding him up with ungging efforts. It was subtle to the extreme point. Naturally Xu Ziling would not admit defeat. Laughing aloud, he said, Indeed you have a bit of Song Ques way of doing things. Abruptly he twisted his tiger-body, his right hand half-closing into wisdom fist image, it moved upward to block, and hit the de right in the middle. Originally Lei Jiuzhi, three men, were going to cry out in rm, but immediately their cry turned into praise! What happened was that at the beginning, they clearly saw Xu Zilings right hand was still about half a chi away to be able to block Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well; who would have thought that precisely because of this difference that he was able to hit the sharp de of the Moon in the Well? Certainly it was marvelous to the extreme point. Kou Zhongs entire body was shaken; he pulled the saber back and withdrew. Standing still, he glibly sighed and said, Finally I am able to test your, this kids depth; even your inner power and xinfa have changed! The entire person has be one entity; no inner, no outer. What image are your hands making? Xu Zilings eyes narrowed to be two lines, but the refined light was flickering bright, while still hiding his inner spirit. Shaking his head, he said, Image or style is not important, the most important is the true power produced. Just now I was able to disperse your saber qi, making it difficult for you to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. Do you want to surrender? Kou Zhong passionately snorted in disdainful manner and said, Ling Shao, are you being na?ve or just being childish? Unexpectedly you could utter such a ridiculous remark. If you could disperse my saber powerpletely to the side, I would have made a fool of myself on the spot like a hungry dog scrambling to eat sh1t; but now I can still stand here spitting mocking remark at you, evidently Xiaodi still has enough power to roam with my saber. Nodding his head, Xu Ziling said, This Shao still does not have enough skill to push you to the left when I want you to the left, to move you to the right when I want you to the right. But definitely you dont have enough power to roam with your saber. Since you love to bicker so much, just answer my question. Kou Zhong slowly raised his saber to the top of his head. A burst of spiraling energy immediately rolled up with him at the center. The grass and leaves on the ground fluttered around him violently as if they were blown by a twister. He coldly shouted, Spit it out [orig. have fart, let it out]! Listening and watching all these, Lei Jiuzhi and the others were greatly delighted. The more there is no trace of politeness between the two boys, the more people felt that there was a steadfast sincerity on both sides, there was brotherly feeling,pletely without any misgivings. Changing the subject, Xu Zilingughed and said, It feels like we are back to the past in Yangzhou, where after learning martial art by stealing we fought each other. Ay! After all these years, speaking about vulgarnguage, you, this kid, still have the same tone; you did not make the least bit of progress. Kou Zhong howled with loudughter; the saber raised high in the air became a crutch he used to prop himself against the ground. The leaves flying around him also fell back down to the groundyer byyer. Nodding his head, he said with a sneer, Can you make a progress in vulgarnguage? Why dont Ling Shao speak several sentences of progressing vulgarnguage to open my ears? Lin Lang and the others also roared inughter. Xu Zilingughed hoarsely and said, Just consider I had misspoken. My question to you is: why was I able to block your Moon in the Well head-on using the Yijian Technique? If you cant answer this question, you lose this debate. Kou Zhong sat down on the grass, putting his saber across his knees. He mused, You have grasped my saber intention, havent you? Ill consider you pass this question, Xu Ziling said, Why cant you move from the lower-quality intentional to the upper-quality unintentional realm? And then it would entail a lot more strenuous effort on my part to deal with it, unlike now, where it was as easy as drinking wine and eating hotpot. Kou Zhong was emotionally moved, That is indeed an enlightening remark, he said, However, ording to my humble father-inw Old Song, whether it is intentional or unintentional, both have its own deviation and failure. The highest understanding is between intentional and unintentional. However, this matter is easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice. How can we advance into the intentional and unintentional level? Lei Jiuzhi shouted loudly, LaoGe can give you an example I learned from the gambling table that two LaoDi [old younger brother] can use as a reference. The biggest taboo in gambling is the eagerness to win, since then losing will be even more unavoidable. Only those who are not seeking victory will not be afraid of defeat. Those who look at victory and wealth as nothing will, on the contrary, be able to make a big kill on three sides, able to gamble for a long time without losing. This, of course, needs to be backed by superior gambling skill. Xu Ziling apuded and cheered, Well said! Shao Shuai, do you understand? Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a moment, and then he said with a sneer, Is it very difficult to understand? Come! Take a look at another saber strike. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, How could there be such a convenient thing? To be fair, it will be your turn to receive my move. Watch out! Ignoring the fact that Kou Zhong was still sitting on the ground, he soared into the air and pounced down on Kou Zhong from an angle. His hands turned from Inner Lion Image to Outer Lion Image, and then changed again to palm shadows filling the whole sky,ing down on Kou Zhong like a hiding the sky and covering the earth. Without even looking, Kou Zhong brandished his saber to chop swiftly. The palm shadows filling the sky immediately dispersed. Boom! The palm and the saber collided. Xu Ziling was jolted by the impact that he made two somersaults in the air and returned to his original spot. The three men watching from the side had an indescribable feeling. They felt that Xu Zilings attack was solidly marvelous without any boundary, making it very difficult to resist. But Kou Zhongs counterstrike was marvelous as if it was made by heaven, without any trace of hatchet or chisel [i.e. natural, not man-made]. Kou Zhong withdrew the saber level with his eyes. Stroking the de with the other hand, he sighed and said, Oh my good xiongdi! Tonights battle will bring great benefit for us, beyond our wildest imagination. En garde! Suddenly he sprang up, the saber turned into a streak of yellow arc, striking toward Xu Ziling. In an instant the two were engaged in fierce battle. Were it not for Lei Jiuzhi and the others knew what was actually going on, they might have thought that there was deep enmity, big hatred between the two, so that they both determined to put the other to death. The heated and dazzling, iparably intense battle continued for a period of time. The palm came, the saber went, the foot kicked, the fist punched. Sometimes they stood opposite to each other some distance away, in a battle of qi momentum. Some other times they exchanged moves in closebat. The moves were exquisite. asionally theyunched long-distance strikes; opened wide and closed in. In any case, the spectators were watching with bated breath. Dang! The two suddenly separated; they stood about a zhang apart, but were still calm andposed, as if they have not fought at all. Xu Zilings hands performed the Sun Chakra Image. Greatly astonished, he said, Due to repeated fortuitous meetings recently, I am able to use the Nine-Character Incantation Hand Image to grow and multiply my external power and internal qi without end,ing and going like naturalws endless cycle, substantially extending the endurance of the true qi. Therefore, just now I deliberately wanted to exhaust your true power before enlightening you, this kid. Who would have thought that unexpectedly you, this kid, look like you are able to breathe and recycle your qi between saber strikes? What kind of martial art is that? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Turns out you really use crafty plots and machinations in dealing with me. I learned this kind of secret technique from Old Song. Each saber strike must be released and withdrew with ease; it resists external force and reconciled inner power. Otherwise, I would have been beaten by you early on that my head and face filthy with grime. Hey! Didnt you use Yijian Technique just now? Nodding his head, Xu Ziling said, Your several dozens of saber strikes just now were brimming with creativity like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies. Although simr to the style of your previous saber technique, yet there is an additional hard-to-describe powerful principle, almost to the point of countless changes contained in a concealed form within the simple and the clumsy, onlycking in skill-maturity, otherwise, I would have been knocked down by you. But now you are just waiting to be ughtered by me. Hearing thest sentence, Kou Zhong blurted outughing and said, While admittedly your Nine-Character Incantation Hand Image is the bright ultimate skill since the dawn of time, but your tooting-your-horn skill is even more unparalleled under the heavens. Come! Let this Shao Shuai see how you are going to ughter me. Xu Ziling only smiled. Suddenly he sent out a punch. All four men, including Kou Zhong, were stunned; they did not understand why he did so. What happened was that this punch gave the impression that it was as light as cotton ball. In fact, it did not generate the least bit of fist wind, nor did it carry the least bit of force. While everybody was thinking so, suddenly Bang! a swift-and-severe-without-equal qi power violently rushed out from the seemingly still fist, striking straight toward Kou Zhong. Lei Jiuzhi and the others had not had any time to cry out in surprise, Kou Zhongs saber already chopped. Whoosh! Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling staggered half a step backward. Everything was back to the original state. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong asked, What kind of martial art was that? Xu Ziling was emotionally moved as well; he said, Your saber strike unexpectedly can hack my highly concentrated fist power into halves and disperse it in timely manner; it was certainly brilliant. I am afraid there are not many people in the world who can do that. The two boys looked at each other; suddenly they burst intoughter together. Their spirit unspeakably rxed, their mind free. Meeting together after long separation, both of them have made remarkable progress in martial art cultivation. The most gratifying thing was that from different characters and different likes and dislikes, they have developed martial art xinfa that fit their individual personality best. Kou Zhongughed and said, Fighting with you is almost more delightful than exchanging saber strikes back and forth against Song Que. On the boat from Lingnan to here, every day I diligently thought about saber method. With the aid of Lu Dashis scroll on the key tricks from the military strategy and tactics from sessive generations, I developed eight-style saber moves. Xiao Ling, do you want to try it? Xu Ziling dly said, With your current experience, these eight-style saber moves are definitely extremely interesting; how could I miss it? Kou Zhong said, These eight moves are a bit wonderful like the heaven opens, it still requires your help to think about it over and over before it is perfected. This moment we are surrounded by powerful enemies; I must perfect these eight moves tonight. Tomorrow we can surprise the enemies. Lei Jiuzhi called out, What do you call these eight moves? Kou Zhong solemnly replied, The first move is called No Attack. It is called with nothing to rely on, donte, relying on me, one must wait, with nothing to rely on, dont attack, relying on me, one does not attack. Hence the name is No Attack. [sorry, this is beyond me] When speaking thest sentence, the long saber suddenly trembled, his foot took a strange step, immediately a biting cold saber qi shot out, enveloping Xu Ziling from a distance. It appeared to be attacking, yet not exactly attacking; appeared to be defending, yet not exactly defending. Xu Zilings spirit was moved, he said, Really formidable. As soon as you carry out the No Attack move, I immediately feel that if I dont take the initiative to attack, I would be caught in disadvantageous position of taking a beating passively. You are able to use the spiraling saber power to such degree, it could be considered reaching perfection already. Kou Zhong slowly circled Xu Ziling, he said, However, this move is only suitable to be used in a one-on-onebat. If I want to gain the initiative by striking first, I must use the Striking Strange. It is called virtuous extraordinary moves are as boundless as the heaven and earth, as inexhaustible as the river [orig. Jiang He, could be interpreted as Yangtze (Chang Jiang) and Yellow River (Huang He)], the army camp and away from it,bined to form the strike. En garde! Suddenly the saber light and qi power filling the battlefield vanished. Kou Zhongs body following his saber, the saber power turned into long rainbow, it shot straight toward Xu Ziling. Even though everybody knew that he was about tounch a saber strike, nobody expected that it would be this ferocious, swift and severe. Qiang! Xu Zilings left palm chopped down, it hit the Moon in the Well right in the middle. The two suddenly closed in, but just as sudden they separated again, resuming their original position standing opposite to each other. Lei Jiuzhi and the others were intimidated by his sudden saber strike, which momentum was like mountain sh flood breaking out suddenly; unexpectedly they forgot to cheer. Xu Ziling took a deep breath to suppress his surging qi and blood; tongue-tied, he said, You nearly took my little life. The most formidable aspect of this saber strike is its xinfa; you have been most sessful in concentrating your entire power into one saber strike, it could immediately determine victory or defeat against the opponent. The disadvantage is that if the opponents are more than one, you might not have time to recover your qi and thus give the enemy the opportunity to strike back. Slightly gasping for breath, Kou Zhong appeared to have a bit difficulty as he nodded his head and said, So the next style is called Using Scheme. In the art of war, using scheme as the root is to clear away troop disposition, one must seek favorable location first; using scheme to defeat the enemy, one must seek self-assurance first. Too bad you cannot seize the opportunity to attack; otherwise I might let you try this move. Greatly interested, Xu Ziling asked, So whats the fourth move called? Kou Zhong replied, The fourth move is Feigning Troops Movement. In name this is one move, but in fact it contains eight empty-but-actually-real, and real-but-actually-empty moves; the there-can-never-be-too-much-deception-in-war move. Theres no saber technique that was not used before and that was not highly effective, and it has undergone improvement. However, it is very difficult to use against you, simply because I do not have the mind to deceive you. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Its not that you cannot deceive me. Dont be pretentious and put on an attitude! Kou Zhongs old face turned slightly red, he protested, Hows that the same? Xu Zilingughed and said, Just consider me too harsh on you. Dont be so ill-mannered; quicklyunch the fifth style for me to see! Kou Zhong suddenly shouted. His saber hacked down. But it was not chopping Xu Ziling at all, rather, it chopped the empty space. Although the qi power rolled up the sky, but it did not seem to pose any direct thread toward Xu Ziling. However, this was only in the eyes of Lei Jiuzhi and the others. To Xu Ziling, who was in close proximity to it, it was a different story altogether. Kou Zhong has indeed reached the great-expert, founder-of-a-sect level. This one saber strikepletely stirred the surrounding atmosphere, simr to Tianmo Dafa, transforming the air into a qi-power force field. The most formidable aspect was that because it did not attack directly, the opponent would not know how to deal with it, either attacking or defending would make the previously nned countermeasure to miss its mark; worse yet, it was difficult to anticipate what woulde next. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, This is the Yijian Technique being sustained in advance. The instant the Moon in the Well reached its momentum limit, he shed to the left and right. Kou Zhongughed aloud, the long saber shed across. Dang! The two mens saber and palm shed in head-on collision before they quickly separated. As an afterthought, Kou Zhong said, This move is called Chess Abundant [qi yi, the same yi character in Yijian]. Xiaodi simply dropped it to see how you would react; therefore, there was no fixed style; however, to be used on you, this kid who knew Yijian Technique, naturally it is not too brilliant. And then he added, The sixth method of my Jing Zhong Ba Fa [Eight Methods of The Well] is called Battle Decision. The namees from the saying not absolutely sure to get means it is not outstanding, not absolutely sure of total victory means do not sh with the troops, the predestined affinity is ten-thousand times acting, ten-thousand times blocking; one battle decide it all. Come! The following was a continuous, more than a hundred, saber strikes, which stunned Lei Jiuzhi and the others. Each saber strike attacked Xu Ziling from different angle, each saber strike was marvelous to the very top; it appeared to be intentional yet not exactly intentional, the form was overflowing with excitement, but was dangerous to the extreme point. Even with Xu Zilings ability, it was extremely strenuous for him to block the attacks! Kou Zhong pulled the saber back and withdrew. Gasping for breath, he said, Good kid, you are just amazing. I have no strength left to continue with the threest moves! How about if I tell you the names first? Xu Ziling was quite exhausted as well. Go ahead! he said. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I lied to you; I have not thought about these three moves well, hence the namecks the respect they deserve. I will tell you in two days! Book 27 - 4 – Vindicating The True Feeling Chapter 4 C Vindicating The True Feeling The battlest night had the inducingbor effect on the two boys. Even for Song Que, Ning Daoqi, and the likes, in the process of cultivating their skill, they were unable to find stalemate opponent like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who could violently attack the opponent to test their moves, while at the same time able to tell the other every faulty stroke and erroneous move, and could ept the others advice with sincerity. The battlest night was of iparably importance and far-reaching significance to them. When Xu Ziling arrived at the hall, Lin Lang and Gongliang Ji were ready with simple clothes and other items packed for traveling. They were sitting around the round table, enjoying breakfast in high spirit. Kou Zhong was bare-chested, enjoying Lei Jiuzhi applying some ointment to relieve the muscle pain. The strong scent mixed with the aroma of the food permeated the entire hall, creating an odor brimming with life. Seeing Xu Ziling appeared, Kou Zhong whined, Looking at you, this kid, so calm-mouthed, cultured and refined, butst night you beat me up like a mad man; indeed it was more miserable than the battlefield. Hearing his big words, a warm, familiar feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Sitting down next to him, he grabbed a mantou, put it inside his mouth, and then while chewing, he said, This is very strange. I also feel my entire body ache like it is going to split open. Before, it did not matter how intense the fighting was, as long as I did not really sustain injuries, after a good nights sleep, I would feel like nothing happened. But this time it ispletely a different thing. While enjoying Lei Jiuzhi massaging his broad shoulders, Kou Zhong nodded and said, I was just thinking about this. Could it be because our true qi are of the same origin, hence it cannot bring out the efficacy of its self-healing innate qualities? Xu Ziling went silent. He waited until Lei Jiuzhi finished waiting-on Kou Zhong, before suddenly he took out the oilcloth bundle containing the scroll that Lu Miaozi left behind from his bosom, and tossed it in front of Lei Jiuzhi, saying, If Lei Dage do not go topete in the Tian Jiu big meet tonight, the thing inside is yours. Kou Zhong could not help thinking about the simr bundle in his pocket containing Li Xiunings secret letter, which was delivered to him via Shang Xiuxun, which he had not torn open to read yet. From the time he was fleeing for his life in the ocean, he did dare to open the letter to go to the bottom of this matter; even he himself did not understand why he would have this attitude of the heart. Stunned, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Whats in it? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, You are a grandmaster in gambling, this bundle is just like the bowl covering the dice. The stake is clear, do you or dont you want to bet with me? Smiling wryly, Lei Jiuzhi said, This soon, and you already challenge your Shifu? Ay! You dont want me to go tonight! LaoGe naturally believes that you already gave thought to me. Kou Zhong pped the table so hard that Lin Lang and Gongliang Ji jumped in fright; heughed and said, You are worthy to be called elite gambler; you win! Inside is Shi Gongs [lit. master/teacher honorable gentleman] hand-written scrolls; I guarantee that once you see it, youre going to love it too much to part with it. Severely shaken, Lei Jiuzhi revealed a disbelief look, while rapidly untied the package, and then appearing to be emotionally moved, he gently caressed the legacy scrolls, unable to say anything. Xu Ziling said, The time to part and scattering the goods has arrived! Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, and Lei Jiuzhi sat inside a caf [orig. dish/food shack] by the pier, watching Lin Lang and Gongliang Jis boat departing. Xu and Kou, two boys have undergone transformation under Lei Jiuzhis hands, the disguise skill that he inherited from Lu Miaozi, and have be two rough-looking men. Mingling among the other men at the dock doing heavy manual work, this kind of men wasmonly seen, hence it would not be conspicuous at all. Actually, based on Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings current skill level, even if one could do it, to secretly follow them under the two boys increased vignce level would be more difficult than ascending to the heavens. Lei Jiuzhi was rather sad of the imminent parting; he drank his tea silently. Kou Zhong, on the other hand, was in a very good mood; he did not stop cracking jokes on Xu Ziling. With his legs on the chair next to his, Xu Ziling adopted a boorish manner, while his eyes swept over Bai Qingers official boat, which was moored not far from where they sat. He noticed more than a dozen men continuously loading crate after crate onto the ship. Can you guess whats in those boxes that they are bringing back to Xiangyang? he asked. Ought to be sea salt! Lei Jiuzhi immediately responded. Kou Zhong was astonished, How could you be so sure? If its sea salt, why do they have to be transported inside wooden crate? Wont put them in baskets be enough? Lei Jiuzhi slyly replied, Those wooden crates are made of the finest peach wood; using them to make boxes is like using a talented person in an insignificant position. It is thus clear that although they are transporting salt, the reality is that they are transporting the wood. Whether in besieging a city or defending a city, wood is a necessity. But if you do your best to do the trick, you could fool peoples eyes and ears. Xu Ziling nodded, That is a very insightful remark. But the boxes can still be packed with other things and not necessarily salt. Lei Jiuzhi smiled and said, I made that judgment based on two things: the first is the weight of the crate, the second is that this bunch of men are Hai Sha Bang people. Other than salt, what are they selling? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling focused their attention and sure enough, they saw the Hai Sha Bang insignia embroidered on everybodys cor; they could not help ming their own negligence, while feeling very strange inwardly. Li Zitong has always been in cahoots with Xiao Xian. ording to reason, Xiao Xian ought to be at odds with Shen Faxing; how could he allow Hai Sha Bang, Shen Faxings ws and teeth, to have free rein in his territory, buying and selling actively? Seeing the two boys did not answer him, Lei Jiuzhi said in low voice, LaoGe wants to go one step ahead of you; Ill see you again in Guanzhong! Laughing aloud, he simply left. Kou Zhong waited until Lei Jiuzhis shadow disappeared outside the tea shack before saying, Even I could not imagine that you would casually give away Lu Dashis secret scrolls. Although this fellow surnamed Lei has had some rtionship with Mr. Lu, we had just, after all, met him for the first time! Xu Ziling pondered for a moment; a bit emotional, he said, I already know these books inside out [orig. ripe as a melon that rolls from its vine], therefore, I do not wish to keep them with me. Ay! Perhaps basically I just want to be alone in the world and do not wish to be encumbered with anything else. Dont look at me like that; contrary to what you think, I do not wish to leave home to be a monk. Otherwise, when the Four Great Holy Monkse to capture me, that would be a good opportunity to put myself in the sandy gate [Sanskrit: Sramana, originally refers to north India) / Buddhist monk]. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You, this kid, always worry me. Whether you have suffered emotional setback or big blow,pared to before, you seem to have even more negative and pessimistic view of life. Xu Ziling looked nkly at the boats scattered along the river course; he spoke slowly, Perhaps on a lot of things, you and I are different from anybody else, yet in essence we cannot directly understand ourselves. Toward life, there is no way we know for sure whats going on. What is life anyway? What will be the oue of life? Everybody has to face reality of life, inside and outside. It doesnt matter how much you, Zhong Shao possess great magical power, you can only find spider thread and horses hoof from the outside to capture my inner situation. But after obtaining it, you may realize that it is only a distorted view of the real thing. In particr, you can only understand other peoples life based on your own point of view. Everybody is unique and unmatched. Therefore, we are doomed to misunderstand others. In a daze, Kou Zhong thought for a moment with nk expression on his face. He nodded and said, Theres indeed a profound truth in your remark. I really do not understand you; at least I never thought that you would have this kind of way of thinking. However, this kind of ability to see things through is a dangerous attribute of researching the height, which might push you into the abyss of loneliness, so that you wont have any interest in surpassing the rtionship between people. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Dont worry; this is just momentarily sentiment. Actually, your assessment of me is very urate. In Chengdu, Shi Qingxuans flute has evoked in me the feeling of adoration, and then she told me that she would spend herst years in solitary. That was like a bucket of cold water being poured down on my head, enough to be simr to that time when Song Yuzhi declined to be associated with you. I am telling this for your ears only. Ha! I feel a lot morefortable after telling you this. Feeling the warmth in his heart, Kou Zhong said, What women say out of her mouth may be different from the thought in her heart. As long as Ling Shao is willing to be a bit more active to win her over, I guarantee that Shi Qingxuan wont be able to resist to the end. That one character in the Nine-character Incantation could give rise to the thought of love in peoples heart. Xu Zilingughed. After cursing, Go to your Niang! he spoke in a tranquil and calm manner, Toward the feeling between a man and a woman, I am a very inactive person. Life is fleeting; death wille in the blink of an eye! In itself it is already so inadequate, to say nothing of the people and things in it. Karmaes and karma goes, in the end its only like this. Suddenly getting excited, Kou Zhong patted his shoulder and cheerfully said, Whatever the case, in the end there is a woman who could move your heart, then there is hope that you wont need to live as honorable virtuous hermit leaving the world behind to pass your days in those bird-fading-out days. You and I are just the opposite. I think life is long and difficult to pass. The most depressing thing is that every day is just a repeat of what happened yesterday. Therefore, we must try to find some fresh ything to relieve boredom. Xu Ziling suddenly asked, Last night you said that thest three methods of the Eight Methods of the Well have not been thought well; is that true? How can it be true? Kou Zhong replied, You ought to know that I am the kind of person who would say one and mean just that. But because on one hand, there were outsiders present, and on the other hand these three moves are emphasizing seeking victory in the midst of danger, it can only be carried out with determination to perish together with the enemy, how could I test it on you? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Last night, when you and I tried your moves, we both had reservations everywhere, but it was more formidablepared to Heavenly Lord Xi Ying. The meal that Song Que gave you was indeed very satisfying. I am really afraid that when you meet Shi Feixuan and the Four Monks you might identally injure them, and that would be really horrible. Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont worry! How could I be that bad mannered? Besides, this time we are going to fight a battle of wits and not battle of forces. Otherwise, we wouldnt be sitting here waiting for the boat to set sail. And then he frowned and said, Do you also have a feeling that something is not right here? Shi Feixuan wants to stop us froming up north, and wont leave us even for a moment, yet you did not feel her presence, and I did not feel anything unusual either, so whats going on here? Does she really know that we are here? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I was wondering about that myself. Last night she demonstrated her skill by telling Du Fuwei toe to the casino to look for you. In my opinion, she must be personally following our track, and I am sure that she keeps a close watch on us. She is a very able person from a mysterious school, the sharpness of her senses must be more superior to mine. On top of that, her martial art skill is of out-of-the-ordinary, reaching the bing-an-arhat level. And that is the reason why we look like idiots. Kou Zhong was distressed, That is terrible, he said, If we dive into the water, and not long afterward Bai Qingers official boat sets sail, anybody with a bit of brain would know that we must be hitching a ride on the boat. Xu Ziling calmlyughed and said, Although Shi Feixuan is an immortal within the human world, she is not a real immortal. As long as she is a human, she could always fall into a trap, otherwise Shi Zhixuan would be able to go on the rampage without anybody can control him. There are still a couple of sichen before the boat departs; if we also swagger to buy tickets for passenger ship, I want to see how she is going to deal with us. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, That matches with my intention! Lets go! Kou Zhong dejectedly returned to Xu Zilings side, and spoke in low voice, His mothers! Practically no one is willing to sail. I heard that muddled-egg Zhu Can is sealing off the waterway to the north. To the south, Lin Shihong does not want to pay anybody any debt. On the east is Ol Dies Jianghuai Army. Toward Sichuan there is only Lin Langs boat that has just left. Looks like well have to spend a huge amount of money to buy our own boat. We dont necessarily have to ride the boat, Xu Ziling pointed out, We have hands and feet, going on foot will work just fine. Wellpete our legs strength against Shi Feixuan. Halfway well secretly board Bai Yaonus boat. This way well escape peoples eyes and ears even more. Lets go! The two walked along the Yangzte River to the west. They covered more than thirty li at a stretch, and reached the highest peak of a hill. You look at me I gaze at you, inwardly they felt iparable shock, because they werepletely unable to see or sense Shi Feixuans presence. Kou Zhong swept his gaze all around as far as his eyes could see, as well as at the rolling water of the Great River to their right. He said, I dare say that Shi Feixuan has not followed our tracks. I wonder what kind of trick she is ying against us? Shi Feixuans jade countenance with her intimidating aura floated in Xu Zilings mind. Taking a deep breath, he said, At that time, before entering Shu [i.e. Sichuan], Shi Feixuan told me that in the past, the Four Great Holy Monks joined hands in pursuing Shi Zhixuan to kill him. They besieged him three times, they wounded him, but still he managed to flee. All along I have been thinking about that. Lets sit down and talk. The two boys sat cross-legged with their backs against each other, so that the entire mountain, the woods, the grass, the in, were inside their field of view. If anybody came near, he could forget about hiding from them. Kou Zhong said, I know what you are talking about. Shi Zhixuans whereabouts has always been hidden; like right now, nobody knows where he is hiding. But still the Four Great Baldheads besieged him three times. Evidently the Four Great Baldheads know some secret method of following someones tracks, so that even with his skill level, it was difficult for Shi Zhixuan to escape. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Although Buddhism has always been low-key, the fact is that they are actually the backbone of the white way Wulin. Think about the many monks temples and the nuns monasteries; if only one in ten thousand of the monks and nuns knew martial art, it is already extremely terrifying. Plus with the number of schools, sects, gangs and societies, and the believers that are rted to them, they could be an unparalleled intelligencework working for amon side. As soon as we show up in any big city or small vige, it will be very difficult to evade their eyes and ears. Presently on the surface we are hiding in the dark while the enemy is in the open, but the fact is that the enemy is in hiding while we are out in the open. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I really wish we could just have a ruthless and hard battle against them, but I know that you wont agree to it. Xu Ziling said, It seems that this battle cannot be avoided. But no matter how much I do not care, I definitely do not wish to be captured and imprisoned. The closer we get to Guanzhong, the more dangerous it will be for us, simply because there are still more to that Li kid. As far as Im concerned, Li kids might and talent is roughly more difficult to deal withpared to the power of Buddhist and Taoist, two schoolsbined. We are charging into Guanzhong like this, I wonder if it is a sensible act? Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Finally he spoke with resolution, You only need to say the word, I will immediately cancel our trip to Guanzhong. Xu Ziling smiled and said, I was just having a thought. All along, we are ustomed to doing things that to other people is utterly stupid; why not this one? Kou Zhong spoke in delight, This is called heroes usually agree. The thing that is most unbearable to me is being regarded as the Wulins Mount Tai, or perhaps someone who came from arge and influential family with power for tyrannical abuse. After these two sides power arebined to be the supreme authority, I will be even more unpleasant to the eye. So Id rather have us, two brothers challenge such authority. Current situation is created by ambitious and capable persons, only a maning from the people will understand the plight of the people. Li kid is like Qin Shihuang [the first emperor] or Xiang Yu [the Conqueror]; they both came from the imperial family and responsible home, but Xiaodi is a bit like Han Gaozu Liu Bang [first Han emperor], we both are a hundred percent ruffians, without any noble mannerism. Ha! This is not a bad analogy! Xu Ziling stared nkly for half a moment before smiling ruefully and said, You really have the interest to be the emperor? I am most afraid that after you be the emperor, you will be like Yang Guang, who did not feel contented with his position and went on to war on all sides, every day looking for new idea to be your weird ything, and then themon people will only suffer through and through. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Honestly, bing the emperor is certainly extremely boring. ording to Lu Miaozi, Qin Shihuang wanted to personally adjudicate all affairs of the state, no matter how big or small. Every day he went so far as to use stone paperweight to fixed the paperwork on his desk; he would not rest unless he finished reading through to evaluate everything. Within the twelve years he was on the imperial throne, five years were spent in making his round on imperial tour. Xu Ziling said, Its hard for me to imagine that you would be that hardworking. And the problem is that even though you are willing to work hard, you may not benefit from it. It is one thing to conquer the world, but another thing to govern it. You are perhaps an unparalleledmander-in-chief in the world, but not necessarily a lord to rule the country. Have you ever considered this? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You frequently reminded me, how could I forget? If I can really unify the world, I will give the throne to someone who is virtuous, talented and wise. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, This kind of thing is easy to say, but actually cannot be done. If that is indeed the case, you might as well wash your hands in the golden bowl early on, return to the vige and open up a restaurant! Kou Zhong sighed and said, In this matter, Ling Shao always love to cluck your tongue and force me to the corner; you always have thest words. All right! Let me be the emperor then. Everything else is out of the question, I still have two different ways of managing people. This kind of thing, you dont know what you are doing until you are actually doing it. Fortunately I am somewhat familiar with history and geography, so I can obtain the good and the bad from sessive generations prosperity and decline, to see whether another situation can be opened. Ay! Although this moment we have nothing to do and have to chat to relieve boredom, yet about entering the Pass [guan, referring to Guanzhong], sess or failure is remain to be seen, and now we are talking about bing the emperor; isnt that a bit premature? Xu Ziling said, Entering the Pass means no turning back. I really do not wish to see you in the future looking like its toote for regrets. Therefore, you must think through the consequences and the me in all these things. Do not, because of momentary emotion, let fate lead you by the nose. Otherwise, there wille a day where you realize you make a mistake but by that time it will be difficult go back. Kou Zhongs smiling expression disappeared; he appeared to be very deep in thought. He spoke slowly, word-by-word, The things in this world that can really move me, Kou Zhong, can be counted on ones fingers. Currently on the top of the list is how to overpower all the otherpetitors, to be the master of the world, because I am convinced that it will be beneficial to themon people, so that they will pass their days in happiness, peace and security. Perhaps I am not good material for ruling the country, plus I am careless. But this moment what the world really need is not a promising lord, rather, its the best method like our training of the Secret to Long Life, where the training urs while we sleep. Precisely like Old Ba said, the Sui dynasty hasid an iparably solid foundation for the new dynasty; letting things take their own course [orig. wuwei C the Daoist doctrine of inaction] is the best effective strategy to rule a country. As long as we could let the people recover, the country will grow strong. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Your remark is very insightful. I clearly understand your true intention. All right! Lets see if the Duke Yangs buried treasure can help you aplish your dream. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, and said in low voice, I owe you big time, ay! Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Bai Qingers official boat is here! The sun has just disappeared behind the mountain on the west. The two boys removed their outer clothing, revealing the waterproof clothing inside. Using the rocks of the cliff by the river as cover, they dove into the water to meet the boat Bai Qinger was riding. Following their original n, they took their position near the aft of the boat. They stuck their ears onto the hull to listen first, immediately all the sound on the boat entered their eardrums. It was a rich world full of and made ofyers of pure noise, so clear as if they were listening to it first-hand, so that the two boys jumped in fright, being well aware that the sparring exercisest night has given them considerable benefit, and has advanced their power into a deeperyer of maturity. For some unknown reason, the security on the ship this moment was very tight. Bai Qinger and the others were in a very high alert. They spected this based on the fact that nobody said even half a word. The two boys exchanged nces; they both felt very strange. Temporarily they abandoned their intention of hiding inside the hold of the ship. Relying on their skill and superhuman senses, they would be able to evade Bai Qinger, Wen Caiting, and other martial art masters their calibers detection toe and go on the boat unobstructed. But naturally this could be achieved only if the several dozen men on the boat were not in heightened level of vignce. Because Rong Fengxiang might participate in tonights big gambling meet in Jiujiang, and Zuo Youxian must help Fu Gongyou in dealing with Du Fuwei, it could be inferred that these two would not be on board. It was also possible that Wen Caiting and the other Yin Gui Pai elder-level martial art masters were out to look for Gong Chenchun to give him bad luck. Therefore, the men on board might be just ordinary hands; perhaps female demon Bai was the only one they had to deal with. If thats the case, then it would be extremely perfect. Xu Ziling saw Kou Zhong signaling him to rise up above the water; hastily he followed Kou Zhong climbing up along the cabin wall, and stuck their heads above the water. Unless someone was looking down and searching for them, nobody would be able to see them. Besides, they could always hide back into the water. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, To preserve our true qi, we must not hide underwater for a long period of time. Laughing in low voice, Xu Ziling said, That experience in the ocean must have scared you really bad, so that even now you look like you still have lingering fear. Kou Zhong said, It was definitely a case of after seeing ghost afraid of the dark. What I feel is really strange: why is Bai Yaonu so anxious to rush back to Xiangyang? If not, why would she sail at full speed at night? Its too dangerous! At this moment Bai Qingers voice was heard inside the cabin, the two immediately applied their power to eavesdrop. Bai Qinger was speaking in hushed voice as if she was afraid of being heard. From the muffled sound inside, the words that they were able to hear clearly seemed to be I saw it, and no problem. And then Wen Caitings voice said, If we can reach Anxia, there will be Pi Shishu providing support for us, then we shouldnt be afraid of anything. The sound was very low; it ought to be transmitted using some kind of binding sound into a thin line skill. Afterwards they could not even hear half a word. The two boys were stunned. Bai Qinger, Wen Caiting, and the other three elder-level martial art masters ought to be enough to deal with anybody; why were they in such fear and trepidation like this? What kind of shameful deed have they done? Book 27 - 5 – Strange Change Occurred Suddenly Chapter 5 C Strange Change urred Suddenly Aghast, Kou Zhong said, Who can be called Pi Shishu by Wen Caiting? Xu Ziling replied, Its an old fellow whose nickname is yunyu shuang xiu [cloud and rain dual-cultivation] called Pi Shouxuan. It was when I was disguised as Yue Shan that I heard it from You Niaojuan and An Long. Lin Shihong is his disciple. This man ought to have an important position within the demonic schools. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, Finally theres the affirmation that Lin Shihong is Yin Gui Pai man. His conduct and methods are extremely despicable. Later on I will have to find an opportunity to strike him ruthlessly. Lets n on thatter, Xu Ziling said, Right now, what are we going to do? Sticking ourselves to the hull of the boat like this is very straining. In less than a few sichen, we will be done for. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Now everybody is opening his eyes wide to look at me. I dont have any idea what to do either. Ha! Wed better open up one his mothers hole on the hull. After slipping in, well see what kind of insidious trick they are doing. There must be something that will shed a light on this, perhaps well even see somebody. Recalling those several dozen peach wood crate, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Your spection ought to be eighty-, ny-percent urate. Since we cannot climb up the ship anyway, we might as well make a hole to get in. You choose the ce. Kou Zhong had not had any chance to select the position where they were going to enter the ship, the ship suddenly slowed down. Stunned, the two boys looked up, and saw bright lights on the Great River ahead. There were at least four warships in a row across the River. Although they still could not seal off the vast Great River, they posed a very big threat to any ship trying to go through. And the water of the Great River was flowing swiftly. Although on this section the river was rtively calm, maintaining this kind of battle array on the surface of the river, plus doing it in the night, was absolutely not easy. From this, it was clear that the fleet of ships blocking the river was under the control of experts steering the boats, men who were not easy to deal with. This moment, because they were still more than half a li away, plus the bright light was dazzling their eyes, the two boys were unable to see the banner of these four ships. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, In her capacity as either Yin Gui Pai personnel or Qian Duguans beloved concubine, Bai yaonu is not someone who could be easily provoked, but who dares toe to provoke her? Xu Ziling was somewhat familiar with naval battle; he said, The opposite side has the advantage of going with the flow; furthermore, they have been storing up momentum in waiting. In desperate, stake-it-all battle, the one suffer losses will undoubtedly be Bai Yaonus side. Hey! How about we take advantage while the enemys attention is focused on the situation ahead to sneak in from the aft? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Its impossible to enter the middle cabin; entering into the aft shouldnt pose any problem for us. Come on! While doing that, well take a look whether those several dozen crates really contain sea salt. The two boys promptly went into action. Earlier that day, when they were at the dock, they saw Bai Qingers men loaded the wooden crates delivered by Hai Sha Bang into the aft; naturally it would be much easier to sneak in from the aftpared to the front or the middle cabins. From the stern, the two boys somersaulted onto the deck. All the men of the ship were gathered at the bow and the bridge. Even the men working on the deck also had their eyes on the ships blocking the river ahead. On top of that, the two boys skill was superior, so that the gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive, they lifted the hatch into the aft hold and disappeared inside like a wisp of smoke. By the time they just sat down on top of the stacked-high wooden crates, the official ship was slowlying to a halt. A gentle and deep male voice came from the distant enemys ship, saying, The Right Prime Minister under Garuda King Sun Huacheng pays his respect to Madam Qinger. Bai Qingers tenderughter rang out; she said, Turns out it is Sun Xiang [minister]. You arranged your boat in the middle of the river to pay your respect, this is the first time that I, Bai Qinger see. I wonder if Garuda King is starting a new trend on how to greet his guests? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; they both felt strange. Garuda King was the savage Zhu Can. Logically speaking, he should be at war with Xiao Xian, as well as having a deep enmity with the Flying Horse Ranch. As for his rtionship with the Jianghuai Army, it better not be mentioned. It could be said that he had enemies on all three sides. If he were a bit smarter, he should not offend Qian Duguan of the strategic city Xiangyang, who had good grip on the passage to the north. Therefore, blocking Bai Qingers official ship like this waspletely defying any logic. Although the aft hold was pitch-ck, it did not pose any problem for their sharp eyes. Just by relying on their hearing, they knew that there was definitely nobody inside the crate, otherwise they would have heard the sound of their breathing. Sun Huacheng replied indifferently, Madames reproach is indeed reasonable. The fact is, Huacheng has another difficulty. Simply because someone entrusted something to me, I have no choice but to ask Madame a question. Bai Qinger quizzically asked, I wonder what it is that Sun Xiang wanted to know? Sun Huacheng replied, I just want to ask Madame one question: is Princess Lian Rou on Madames boat? Kou Zhong sensed that Xu Zilings tiger-body was slightly shaken; he asked in astonishment, Do you have any idea who this Princess is? On the deck, Bai Qinger, who was standing near the bow, let out a silver-bell like tenderughter, before responding with a mocking tone, Thats really strange! I only know that your distinguished country has Mei Gongzhu [princess], but I have never heard about Lian Rou Gongzhu. Why would Sun Xiang look for her on nujias boat? I wonder who entrusted this matter to you? Since that is the case, Sun Huacheng replied, Madame, please forgive Huacheng for being rude. As for who entrusted this matter to us, please forgive Huacheng for it is inconvenient for me to disclose it. Madame, please do as you wish! Listening to this exchange, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong inside the aft hold looked at each other. They really did not understand, with momentum like torrential rush Sun Huacheng opened his mouth to demand a person, unexpectedly Bai Qinger only had to deny one time, and he obediently beat the return drum. This did not make any sense at all, even more so than their action of blocking the river. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Lain Rou is the only daughter of Yun Shuai [cloudmander], the Persian who is the Guoshi [teacher of the state] of the Western Tujue, Tong Xiehus adopted daughter. I have had the opportunity to fight her in Chengdu. Her martial art skill is outstanding, her qinggong is especially exceptional. At that time she was in cahoots with An Long and Zhu Mei; unexpectedly she was captured and being held prisoner by Yin Gui Pai. The official boat continued to sail, but the two boys felt the peculiar atmosphere; there were more than a hundred men on board, yet nobody talked, the mood was heavy and tense. Although they pricked up their ears, they were unable to hear Bai Qinger and Wen Caitings conversation. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, I dare say that this moment Lian Rou is in the main cabin. It was only because Sun Huacheng refrained from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases that he did not dare to move his warship in frontal attack and just using empty words to threaten. It would be best if Bai Qinger is trying to transport the prisoner bynd, so that they could intercept. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, If they want to snatch the prisoner away, it would be best if they do it on the river, the target is simple and clear-cut. The most formidable point of Sun Huachengs move is that it is unfathomably deep, even us, the two spectators, cannot grasp what his next step be. If the n was thought by him, then this mans ability and wisdom really cannot be despised. Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, A Persian beauty being captured in Chengdu, how did she appear on a boat from Jiujiang sailing toward Xiangyang? On the surface, these two do not seem to have anything to do with each other. How did Sun Huacheng obtain a very urate intelligence? Can you tell me the circumstances surrounding your encounter with Lian Rou? After listening to Xu Zilings brief exnation, Kou Zhong, as if he was jolted up from a dream, eximed, Yin Gui Pai must be colluding with the Eastern Tujue! At first Xu Ziling was startled, and then he thought that Kou Zhongs inference was very reasonable. Both the Eastern and Western Tujue had aggressive ambition to invade the Central Earth, but their real enemy was actually the other Tujue, and not any hegemon who proimed themselves king in the distant Central Earth. During the time when chaos reigned in the Central ins, Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidou, and the likes aligned themselves with the Tujue. Even those who were stronger like Li Yuan, Dou Jiande, Du Fuwei, and the others, also did not dare to openly butt-head with the Tujue; they all adopted showing respect from a distance strategy. Yin Gui Pai has always been carrying out a coboration with outsiders policy. In the past it was Tiele people, which ended when Qu Ao was defeated under Ba Fenghans hands. So if Yin Gui Pai now coborated with the Eastern Tujue, it was the most natural thing. Only under this kind of situation would Yin Gui Pai take the risk of offending Tong Xiehu and Yun Shuai, by capturing Lian Rou, who was sneaking into Bashu, and transporting her to Xiangyang, to be handed over to Tuli Khan of Eastern Tujue. By doing this, they pushed the me to An Long and Zhu Can, so that their rtionship with the Western Tujue would fall apart, hence the reason Sun Huacheng blocked the river to look for her. The sinister struggle was underway, because of An Longs involvement, who had deep knowledge of Yin Gui Pais secret, Yin Gui Pai was no longer able to maintain secrecy like before. Although Bai Qinger had the person in question, clearly they had the upper hand. If they want to snatch the prisoner back, they must use the ten-thousand jun [1 jun = 30 catties] thunderbolt momentum; although other than Bai Qinger there were still the three elder-level martial art masters on board, they would not be able to withstand. Therefore, they need Yunyu Shuang Xiu Pi Shouxuan to provide support along the way. Only they did not anticipate that Sun Huacheng might appear on the water in the territory under Xiao Xians control. Furthermore, they seemed to have Bai Qingers movement within the palm of their hands. Within that speed-of-lightning, spark-of-flint instant, these myriads of thought shed through the two boys mind, putting a lot of previously unclear matters into light. Xu Ziling said, This Yin Gui Pai and the Eastern Tujues alliance was most likely brokered by the Mo Shi [demon master] Zhao Deyan. Kou Zhong said, Why would they need Zhao Deyan? Remember that day in Luoyang, the lecherous look in Tulis eyes when he saw that yaonu? These dog man and woman [i.e. couple engaged in an illicit love affair] were together from the first beat. Xu Ziling said, Yin Gui Pai is able to transport Lian Rou here, it must have involved a lot of effort. Too bad in the end the enterprise is ruined for the sake of one basketful, by being intercepted in this ce. They must have not anticipated this. Although An Long is an old fox, Im afraid he does not have this kind of ability. Where exactly is the problem? Could it be that there is a spy within Yin Gui Pais ranks? Kou Zhongughed and said, We must be feeling nervous that we wasted so much energy thinking about all these things. Why not be the heroes who rescue the beauty, while trying to harm Qinger yaonu? Pondering deeply, Xu Ziling said, I wonder if we should just wait and see for any changes? I am so sure that Sun Huacheng will have his next move. We cannot have direct confrontation against Zhu Cans troops. The sound of footsteps rang overhead; obviously someone was walking toward the hatch in the cabin above. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, As soon as the hatch is open, well move together; well grab him first, talkter. Xu Ziling found this to be highly amusing. With theirbined force, if caught off guard, perhaps even Zhu Yuyan herself would have to pay dearly. The footsteps stopped overhead. Bai Qingers voice was heard, This batch of fireworks and firearms cost us a lot of money; it will be a great pity if they are destroyed. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shocked. If thats the case, then they were sitting inside a gunpowder storehouse. High in the sky, these things looked brilliant and pretty, but exploded inside a closed enclosure, it was not aughing matter at all. Even if they trained a hundred more years, they would not be able to withstand it. Jiangnans fireworks and rockets have been well known throughout the country, and Hai Sha Bang has always moved about in Jiangnan; therefore, to have them buy these fireworks and firearms, which the two boys did not know what they were going to do with it C for Bai Qinger was quite reasonable. But this matter still came as a surprise. No wonder Lei Jiuzhi guessed incorrectly. A muffled old womans voice was heard, These firearms have tremendous power, I think they are more important than Lian Rou. Now that our track has been exposed, we can only choose one between the two. These firearms would be my first choice. Ting Zhano [elder], what do you think? Another unfamiliar female voice responded, I agree with Xia Zhanos opinion. But based on our strength, maybe we can have both. As long as we could lead the enemy away, these firearms could be brought safely back to Xiangyang. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce. They both could see the astonishment in the others heart. Weapons like these firearms could be used only in certain circumstances to bring about its formidable destructive power, for example to burn the provision in the enemys camp. But in the case that the two armies are standing opposite each other, it had limited usefulness. But now Bai Qingers side viewed these firearms to be more important than Lian Rou as their hostage; naturally it did not make much sense. Wen Caitings voice was heard, Yun Zhanos view is the same as mine. Because of this batch of firearms, we should not fight in the river. The only way is we split into two groups. The three of us will take Lian Rou to go bynd route, luring the enemys main force away from you. And Madame Qinger takes the boat to rush back to Xiangyang. Perhaps both sides can be saved. They were still speaking using the focusing-sound-into-a-thread skill, but because the distance was close, Kou and Xu, two boys were still able to hear it without missing a single word. Bai Qinger said, If we lose the firearms, we could always buy them again, but if the hostage is lost, it would be very difficult to recover, if would also be very difficult for us to exchange prisoners, plus Shizun [venerable master] might me me. To make this tacticpletely foolproof, let Qingere with three Zhano to take the prisoner viand route. Perhaps this could be one move, two gains; well make the enemy not to pay attention to this boat anymore. No matter what, Zhu Can must give a bit of face to Duguan. Wen Caiting said, This could be considered a good n. Lets do it! The footsteps went far away. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, What should we do? Noticing Kou Zhongs eyes were gleaming with sharp light, Xu Ziling smiled and said, Are you thinking of bing little thief who steal the firearms? Kou Zhong excitedly replied, Its better thanpeting against other people to save a Persian beauty. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Added together, these firearms weigh more than ten thousand catties; how are we going to transport it? Kou Zhong replied, After this group of yaufu, yaonu leave, we seize control over everybody on board, blindfold their eyes and stuff their ears, and take the boat to a secluded location, move the goods ashore, and find a good ce to hide them well. Well go somece else, drive the men out of the boat, and then set sail to the north. Well go as far as we can, and then well decide what to do next. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Is it worth spending so much effort for this batch of firearms? I dont know, Kou Zhong replied, But looking at how much those yaufu, yaonu value the goods, there must be a very good reason. People always look for convenience, am I right? The hull suddenly shook, and the ship slowed down considerably. They must have reached the section of the river where the water was flowing rapidly. Suddenly there was a loud and miserable scream breaking the tranquil atmosphere, followed by a series of tender shouts and angry cries. The two boys looked at each other in shock. No longer worry about anything, they raised the hatch and stuck out their heads to look. They saw that the official ship has indeed reached the gorge where both sides were steep cliffs and rugged shoals; the water was surging forth, the terrain was dangerous. Under the illumination of thenterns, shadows were swaying back and forth on the deck, saber light and sword shadows in confusion, you chase me, I pursue you, momentarily they could not estimate how many enemies wereing. Kou Zhong took the lead by jumping out of the hold, and said, How about we go to the top of the mast to enjoy the excitement? Xu Ziling nodded his agreement. No longer said anything, they unleashed their shenfa, and a momentter they already reached the crows nest perched high on top of the main mast. They were shocked to discover that the dead body of the man on lookout duty was sprawling over the rope railing. The fatal wound was on his throat,ing from a sleeve arrow. Kou Zhong lifted his corpse and threw it into the Great River. Speechless, he said, Even if the arrow was released from the top of the cabin, the distance to here is at least five zhang, and the arrow he used was a short arrow that relypletely on the strength of the hand; he is indeed formidable. Xu Ziling was scanning the situation below with his eyes; unexpectedly he was unable to find the shadow of the invader. He only saw that everybody on the boat was swarming toward the hold. But he could not hear any noise of weapons shing against each other from the inside. It was indeed intriguing. Kou Zhong went on, This dead body is already cold, apparently he had been killed for a while. Hey ... Bang! A loud crash drew their attentionpletely away. Upon focusing their attention to look down, they saw a shadow flew out of the cabin by smashing the wall by the cabin door, and ran toward the long and narrow passageway on the port side of the ship, between the cabin wall and the edge of the boat, and then soared and somersaulted toward the bridge. The four men guarding that area were struck to the left and thrown to the right by heavy technique, as if they were sending themselves up for him to practice his punch and kick. Three shadows pursued him from the smashed wall. One of them was Bai Qinger. The other two women were wearing gauze veil covering their faces; they were Yin Gui Pai elder martial art masters, but it wasnt clear which two of Wen Caiting, Xia Zhano, or Yun Zhano were they. The two boys were even more shocked. Turned out the invader was only one person, yet he was able to kill or injure one of the elder martial art masters. Upon closer look, this man was tall and sturdy, exuding unlimited power. He wore golden-colored long cape, which glittered like a clump of golden cloud following him everywhere as he leaped and moved around. It was extremely pleasing to the eye. From their high vantage point looking down, they could not see his face, but they got the impression that his outline was outstanding, unlike people from the Central Earth. Two more screams, and two men fell down under his thunder-and-lightning-like swift and severe palm technique. The third man was kicked on his lower abdomen. The entire person shot several zhang up in the air just like a rock being shot by a trebuchet, before disappearing under the foaming white waves on the surface of the river. Kou and Xu, two boys, who were separated by up to eight-zhang distance from the bridge, could even faintly hear the sound of breaking bones and splitting flesh. Clearly this mans power was tyrannical. He seemed to be intentionally teasing Bai Qinger, three persons. Moving to the left and shing to the right, he was particrly looking for a ce where there was a crowd to make his move. And each time he made a move, someone would lose his life. He forced Bai Qinger, three women, to miss him by a fraction of a second. His brilliance was indeed very hard to believe. Kou Zhong stared nkly at him weaving in and out on the deck, from the bow killing his way to the stern, suddenly he broke into a cabin and disappeared, only to reappear an instantter from another smashed hole on the other side, while Bai Qinger and the others were still unable to touch the edge of his garment, and dead bodies were strewn everywhere on the ship. When he was heading toward a group of men huddled together because their courage was gone, suddenly, nobody knew who started it, everybody screamed and threw themselves into the river; unexpectedly nobody dared to face the attack head on. Letting out a tender shout, Bai Qinger soared into the air. The two elders alsounched pincer attack from left and right; apparently they have been moved to extreme anger. The man let out a longugh and soared into the air. Unexpectedly he was able to spin in the air and thus evaded Bai Qingers intercept, and flew toward another group of men. This group of men also immediately obediently threw themselves into the river to save their lives. Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, This mans qinggong is superior; it could be considered the top in the world. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I recognize his shenfa; it is simr to Lian Rous. This man must be the Western Tujues Guoshi, the Cloud Commander. Before Kou Zhong had any chance to respond, Boom! the official ship smashed into a rock formation by the bank. The mast immediately broke, bringing the two boys down onto the deck. All the lights went out. Book 27 - 6 – Pivotal Breakthrough Chapter 6 C Pivotal Breakthrough Because they were intimidated by Yun Shuais rming-the-heaven-moving-the-earth qinggong skill, the two boys werepletely unaware that after it lost control, the official ship was crashing to the shore. By the time they realized what happened, they were falling down following the mast, seemingly into the bottomless abyss, or straight down into theher world. Things had happened so suddenly that even with their current skill, they lost their bnce and rolled upside down on the deck and could only hold on to the railing ropes. The wind was screaming by their ears, suddenly they were high in the air, while underneath their feet was the surging, turbulent river. And then suddenly they found that the lower half of their body was already submerged in the water. The next moment the two boys were rising on the cloud, riding the fog, more than ten zhang in the air. It is thus clear how bad the hull was jolted left and right. Other than the sound of shattering hull against the rocks and the terrifying sound of the water wreaking havoc, they could not hear the battle between Yun Shuai and Bai Qinger and the others. All around was so dark that they could not even see the fingers in front of their face. Crack! With a loud, crisp snap, the mast finally broke away from the hull. The two boys fell into the water together. Naturally the two boys did not have time to worry about Yun Shuai and the others victory or defeat; they struggled with everything they had to swim toward the opposite bank. By the time they crawled up on a rock on the beach and looked across the river, they saw the silhouette of the broken ship stranded among the rocks, and could only look at each other with wry smile on their faces. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This time it could be said that our troop deployment is unfavorable. We wanted to take advantage of riding the boat, who would have thought that we caught a shipwreck? We wanted to steal something, yet the firearms caught water; its useless to fish it up the water. Xu Ziling said, Exactly because the firearms might catch water that they used material like peach wood to seal it up; moreover, they must have taken measure to waterproof it. Its just that Bai Qinger already lost the hostage, she wont be willing to give up this batch of firearms; snatching it away does not seem to be very prudent. Therefore, Ill say youd better forget your intention. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Whatever you say. Ay! If we could train qinggong skill like Yun Shuai, it would greatly benefit our trip to Guanzhong. What do you think about this idea? Xu Ziling stared fixedly at the opposite bank, where the dark shadow of the shipwreck blended with the dark clouds overhead. Knitting his pair of delicate and slender eyebrows, he pondered silently for a moment before saying, This matter, if we say its difficult, its not difficult at all; if we say its easy, its not easy at all. Problem is: after leaving the Xueyi Tan [lit. beach to learn a skill (or art), see Book 2 Chapter 9], we have never focused on how to improve our lightness skill method. What idea do you have inside your belly? Wiping a drop of water hanging on his eyebrow, Kou Zhong said, Just now when Bai Yaonu pounced on Yun Shuai, it looked as if Yun Shuai was also going to leap high to meet the enemy head-on; who would have thought that just like a bat, he spun around to evade, giving the impression of some man between the heaven and the earth principle. The fact is, when you throw a stone or shoot an arrow, it will fly toward the target following a certain natural curvature. Evidently this is thew of physics. Based on the shape of the object and the method of exerting the force, if we speak about the force application itself, naturally straight line is the quickest, but saber strike in an arc is the most difficult to guard, as well as the fiercest. Xu Ziling was shaken. He said, Your remark made me think about when Yun Shuai was spinning in the air, his outer garment swelled. This is simr to when you pick a t rock and toss it out following its shape, naturally it will acquire a certain trajectory. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Zilings skintight water armor, and then he looked at his own, and said with a wry smile, Your deduction is eighty-, ny-percent, not far from a hundred-percent C urate. Too bad we have no way of testing it immediately. However, we have grasped a little bit of trick. Combined with our ability to take a breath and change direction midair, it shouldnt be difficult to surpass Yun Shuai in term of spinning-while-flying technique. Its just that in term of vertical lift, it is still difficult topare with him. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Thats just because we did not meticulously pursue it! Based on our internal qi power. If we could make efforts in both force-exertion and raising qi to lighten the body, two aspects, we will definitely make a breakthrough. Did you feel that although that fellow Yun Shuai was being surrounded and attacked from all directions, he still maintained some kind of calm andposed feeling? In my opinion, it was because he was using some kind of strange way to breathe, hence he can run fast and jump high, while we are just the opposite. You also know that when we are being entangled in battle, our footsteps might be slow and heavy. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Good kid; indeed your power of observation surpass others. From this, it is clear that previously we did not understand how to properly utilize the treasured qi power within our body to the finest detail. If we can pass this crucial point, our martial art skill will be fully upgraded. As our meridians have been transformed by the Jade Annulus of He n, the intensity of our qi power has already surpassed a lot of people. Question is, how are we going to use and disy it to the fullest extent? Xu Ziling pondered for a moment. Suddenly he said with lowered voice, Do you remember Yun Yuzhens Niao Du Shu [Bird-Crossing Technique]? The secret is positive and negative forces [or inside and outside], but her positive and negative forces also refer to external force; obviously it belongs to lower Buddhist sect. Our true qi, which originated from Taoist school, emphasizes inner breathing, which can be turned into the positive and negative forces within the body. The reason Yun Shuais shenfa can surpass ours is precisely for this principle. Kou Zhong stood up suddenly and said excitedly, How aboutpeting in foot power? Xu Ziling followed him up. His eyes shooting mysterious lightning light, he said, Our understanding tonight is no small matter; how can we stop only at foot powerpetition? We have topete in martial art skill. Hows the condition of the qi power within your body? Patting his belly, Kou Zhong replied, It is circting around in the Dantians ocean of qi. The feeling is like a burst of motive power is going to move my body at any moment; it could be used to attack the enemy or raising the qi, totally different from before. Turns out devoting our thought is so important. Xu Ziling said, I agree that spirit and mind are the most important. The so-called uniting essence, qi, and spirit is precisely this kind of realm. When our qi is impure, we will fall, just because the true qi within our body does not continue. But as long as when unleashing our shenfa we could utilize the pulling and mutually striking positive and negative qi within our body, we would get unexpected result. But like what you are doing now, you concentrate the true qi into one ce where you have control over it,pared to before, the difference is not much. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, I understand! Its done, I now divide the qi into two; one circling to the left, the other turning to the right. It should be like what you said, positive and negative qi! Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly it is that easy? Kou Zhong theatrically replied, This is called qi turning as one wishes. If you dont believe me, try it yourself. Xu Ziling was silent for a moment, quietly circting his divine power. Suddenly, like dead leaves being blown by the wind, he floated away, and said with a longugh, Good kid! Come on! Kou Zhong shot out like a stone bullet; drawing the Moon in the Well from his back, he called out, Even if I have to chase after you to the end of the heavens, I will catch up with you. Before his feet touched the ground, Xu Ziling suddenly changed direction; he disappeared into the woods. Fast as lightning Kou Zhong flew to the shore and kneeled on the ground. Gasping for breath, he said, Nearly exhausted to death, but very happy; I have never been this happy before. Inserting his saber into the ground, he used it to prop himself up. Xu Ziling came to his side and plopped his butt onto the ground. From the cliff edge he looked down, and saw, under the light of the dawn C the ship that ran aground on the rocky beach still had its hull mostly intact, yet he did not see any trace of human. Displeased, he said, You, this kid, still wont give up on that batch of firearms; after making a long detour you brought me back to this ce. You want to transport those things as soon as possible? You will let peoplee back and see us looting a burning house, and that will be extremely embarrassing. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhongughed and said, That is precisely my only intention. The two boys rushed over for one day and one night before reaching Jiangxia, another big city by the Great River, west of Jiujiang. Taking the boat going north from here, they would reach Jingling in just one day. Before Jingling fell, this city already fell into Jianghuai Armys hands, and remained under their control until today. Upon entering the city, they looked for an inn to stay for the night. After settling down, they went to the restaurant next door to eat lunch. After their tummy was full, Kou Zhong muttered irresolutely, Until now we are still unclear whether Yun Shuai have rescued Lian Rou or not? Xu Ziling said, Of course he seeded in rescuing Lian Rou. Otherwise Yun Shuai would not dare to open monastic discipline against killing. This man is extremely skilled in scheming, using Sun Huacheng blocking the river and interrogating them, attracting Bai Yaonu and the others attention, he utilized his reaching-pinnacle lightness skill to infiltrate the ship; the-gods-did-not-know, the ghosts-did-not-perceive he rescued his daughter out. Kou Zhong continued his analysis, This fellow was even able to guess that the enemy might transport his daughter away bynd route, thereupon disguising himself as his daughter he seized the opportunity to mount a sneak attack. This time Yin Gui Pai certainly have given away the bride, but lost his army on top of it [idiom: suffering a double loss after trying to trick the enemy]. No wonder the Western Tujue could hold the Eastern Tujue in a stalemate, simply because Tong Xiehu has a capable person helping him. Xu Zilingughed and said, But the one obtaining the real advantage is us. Were it not for receiving Yun Shuais enlightenment, how could me make a breakthrough in the shenfa department? Kou Zhong patted his shoulder vigorously; nodding his head, he said, We are certainly the benefiting party. But back to the topic, our n of hitching a ride on the boat fizzled out, now that the world does not know our real face, we could just swagger into the city. Naturally we could also invite endless trouble. Perhaps even tonight Shi Xianzi [fairy] plus the Four Great Baldheads might besiege us. Tell me, what should our next step be? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Calling them Four Great Baldheads is too harsh! How about showing some respect to those men who had reached the holy monk status? Readily following good advice, Kou Zhong smiled and said, I forgot you have predestined affinity with Buddhist school; Ling Shao, please forgive me. Oh, nearly forget to tell you, your Luoyan Jiejie [elder sister] has arrived in Guanzhong. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, Li Mi has really surrendered to Li Shimin? Kou Zhong nodded in affirmative. He exined, It was Ol Die who told me. But how could Li Mi be someone who live out of someone elses resources? No matter how courteous the Li Family treated him, it is useless. But Li Mis skill is certainly no small matter, plus he hates us to the bones. To him, we are the enemy that he simply must guard against. Before, defeating him was just pure luck, not because our ability and wisdom could really surpass his or even Shen Luoyans. Amazed, Xu Ziling said, Its rare that you are so modest. From this, it is clear that in our trip to Guanzhong, you are not as confident as what you are showing on the outside. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Even though I am so brassy, I also know that the difference in power between the enemy and us is simply too far; if we revealed our track, I am positive that we will lose our lives in Changan. The worst thing is that until now, I still dont have a foolproof n to enter Changan. I could only think of like right now, take it one step at a time. Naturally I feel so useless. Xu Ziling agreed; he said, My usual practice is that if it is not good, then dont think too much. In the past, things were not as pessimistic as you said. As long as we could get inside the city, there will be Gao Liang and the others providing support. At that time, we make open enquiries and secret search, holding on to our disregard of gains and losses, esteeming the treasure. Well bet on your, LaoGes luck; I want to see if you will scrupulously abide by your promise of if we fail to find the treasure, you will obediently remove your armor and return to the farm. Gao Liang, Niu Fengyi, Xing Jie [sic. Previously, it was Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi and Zha Jie, Book 6 Chapter 11] and the others were Shuang Long Bang men. Following Kou Zhongs master n, they have already entered Changan for many years to make preparations, so that after the treasure was found, they could transport therge quantities of money and valuables, as well as weapons, out of Changan. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, dont worry. I can break promise to anybody in the world, but I will never dare to break my promise to you. As for Gao Liang and the others, unless we can really find the Duke Yang Treasure, I am not nning on making contact with them. Surprised, Xu Ziling asked, Why did you make that decision? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Whether I can find Duke Yang Treasure or not, I do not have the least bit confidence. If we cant find it, everything ceases; in which case, why not let them put down their roots in Changan, passing their days in peace and happiness. Otherwise, if they are being implicated because of us, they might nurse a grievance in Changan. Xu Ziling spoke in delight, Zhong Ye [master] is definitely not an everything for self and selfish profit fellow; otherwise, you wouldnt have consideration for other people first like this. Suddenly his eyes flickered brightly, Kou Zhong looked intently at Xu Ziling, and then said with a wry smile, The fact is that Ling Shao is proactively willing toe with me to the north on a treasure hunt, but you are hoping that I wont find anything, and thus put my desire to strive over the world to death. Isnt that right? Xu Ziling nodded and said, This might be thest time I am doing worldly affairs for you. From a brothers point of view, naturally I wish that you could aplish your grand n and beautiful dream of bing the emperor, your great undertaking. But from amon peoples point of view, I just hope that a promising person would quickly unify the world, bring peace and happiness back to us. I hope you can understand. Kou Zhong smiled and said, You obviously believe that Li kid is more suitable to be the emperor than me? Xu Ziling shook his head, This matter, who can be sure? he said, Even Shi Feixuan is no more than making some kind of choice. Besides, the factor influencing Shi Feixuans decision the most is Li Shimins military sesses, his political achievements and his prestige. Other than his broad-minded and open aspiration, which pleased Shi Feixuan the most, among the current warlords vying for supremacy, he has the greatest chance of pacifying the world. And you, Shao Shuai, because you started toote, you are falling too far behind. Its not that Shi Feixuan did not admire you, but she never did want to choose you. This logic should be clear and easy to see. The divine light in Kou Zhongs eyes burst forth, but the tone of his voice was surprisingly very calm. He spoke indifferently, I want to see clearly for myself that her view is wrong. Plus this is also the most entertaining aspect of the striving over the world game. I know you dont like me considering the striving over the world as a game. But to me, life itself is no more than a game; there has never been any question whether it is valuable or not. Only by considering it as a game would I be able y it with sound and color. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, I understand that. In short, if you cant find the treasure, you will obediently dissolve Shao Shuai Army, either you return to Lingnan to Yuzhi to escort the bride to the wedding ceremony, or youe with me outside the Pass to look for Old Ba to have a drink together. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I am really afraid you would deliberately not let me find the treasure. Xu Zilingughed and said, How could I be such a person? Plus I wont want you to me me for the rest of your life. Ha! Do you want to go somece else to drink? Surprised, Kou Zhong asked, Ling Shao has never taken the initiative to go for a drink; why suddenly have this kind of mood? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Im afraid anybody who has lost his love would fall in love with that thing! Kou Zhong roared inughter, attracting the other guests in the restaurants eyes. But upon seeing the two boys dignified, tall and straight figure, although Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well looked like a rusty, broken saber, still, nobody dared to say anything. A good whileter Kou Zhong was finally able to hold back hisughter. Gasping for breath, he said, Unexpectedly you, this kid, are teasing me. But as you told me before, your love life has never started; how could you lose your love? Ha! You made me die ofughing! Smiling yfully, Xu Ziling said, You answer my question first: is love life happy or painful? Stunned, Kou Zhong turned it over in his mind for half a moment before answering, Your question actually appears to be easy to answer; for example, sometimes it is happy, sometimes it is painful, or perhaps bittersweet. But using my own situation to think oneyer deeper, this thing is not so simple. Its the first time that you, this kid, are willing to talk to me about this matter. Obviously you have really been moved by Shi Qingxuan! Xu Ziling philosophically replied, That feeling is like the long wind blowing of the Great River, or like the long wind blowing and circling around, but leaving a scar in my heart. Did you say it is painful? Indeed it is deeply painful; yet in certain aspect it enriched my life, making me feel the meaning of life. Does it sound very contradictory? Yet it is some kind of strange feeling that is different than any feeling I had in the past. Kou Zhong sighed and said, True love is definitely painful, just like you removing the true qi protecting your body,pletely removing your defense, letting your frail heart to receive injury orfort, no longer prable by saber or spear. When you throw yourself into that profound feeling, the most wonderful thing is that whether it was injury orfort, both is irresistibly intense, prating straight into the deepest part of your heart, iparably moving, making you feel like even pain is as sweet as syrup [idiom from Book of Songs]. Ha! What do you think about my analysis? It did indeed prate fairly deeply, Xu Ziling said, At that time Shi Qingxuan hurt me really bad. You know that I always bury everything in the deepest part of my heart, but now unexpectedly I made exception by telling you, hence you ought to know how I really feel. But listening to yourment just now, I feel a lot better. One lifetime, two brothers, Kou Zhong said, What cant possibly be talked about between us? In my opinion, to grab Shi Qingxuans fragrant heart really is not a difficult matter. Its just that your natural disposition is proud, you disdain to do this. Pondering over it, Xu Ziling said, This matter has nothing to do with pride; I just feel that something that we have to entreat piteously before we could obtain it will not mean much. Moreover, everybody has his own ambition; if, because of my longing, she would have to lose her peaceful-and-quiet, seeking-nothing way of life, I would feel that I am sinning against her. Shi Qingxuan has be my past; this may be thest time that I am thinking of her. Kou Zhong took out some money to pay the bill; letting out a longugh, he said, Come, lets go drinking; we wont go back before were drunk. The two boys stepped out of the shops door. Pedestrians on the street were thinly spread, far below Jiujiangs prosperous and bustling atmosphere. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Ol Die is a first-ssmander-in-chief, yet he is only ninth on the list of potential emperors. Whenmon people hear himing, they have to tidy up their valuables and run away as far as possible. No wonder he toiled for half of his life in vain, and ends up disheartened. Xu Ziling remained silent without saying anything. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Why do you look like you suddenly lose any interest in talking? Xu Ziling looked up at the sky. Taking a deep breath, he said, Luoyang is finished! Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Although Wang Shichong fails to live up to expectations, but after his newest victory, he obtainedrge tracts ofnd. Although Ol Die surrendered to Li kid, Wang Shichong ought to be able to stay on top for a while! Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, The problem is still Li Shimin. Based on his current prestige, plus with Ci Hang Jing Zhai behind him, to split apart Wang Shichongs strength, who already lost the peoples heart, will be as easy as feeling in his pocket and take it out. And Xiangyang is precisely the key. You know what I mean? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Of course I do. Xiangyang is just like Luoyangs Yanshi on the east, or like Yingyangs Ho. But it is actually a hundred times stronger that these two ces. If Xiangyang is willing to support Luoyang, Li Shimin could forget about attacking Luoyang. But now Ol Die has surrendered to Li kid; as long as he stations massive military force in Jingling, Qian Duguans forces wont be able to move a single step. Ay! I finally understand what that batch of firearms is for; it is going to be used to deal with Li kid. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, If Luoyang fell, Bashu might realign their allegiance to Guanzhong. If they also acquire Xiangyang, half of the Rivers and Mountains will be falling into the Li Familys hands. At that time, based on Li kids talent, passion and military strength, it would be strange indeed if he would not pacify all warlords vying for supremacy, including you, like the wind scattering the clouds. Kou Zhongs eyes flickered brightly, he said, No matter what, I wont allow Li kid to capture Luoyang that easily. Do you remember what Xu Xingzhi said? As long as they have mutual interest, people can cooperate with even the enemies who kill his father. Contention over the world has always been by hook or by crook. Compared to a lot of people, I already have more principle and scrupulously abide by morality. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, What crafty idea are you thinking? Creak! A horse drawn carriage stopped in front of the two boys. The window curtain was lifted up, revealing a familiar, tender and pretty beyond humansprehension face; her cherry lips lightly opened, she scolded, You, these two kids, really dont know how to spell the word dead. Why havent you scramble up here? Feeling overwhelmed by favor from superior, the two boys took a nce toward the driver, and found out that it was actually their old friend Luo Fang. Greatly delighted, they quickly climbed into the carriage. The whip flew up to the sky, it tapped the horses buttocks, the carriage immediately galloped away. Book 27 - 7 – Battle Cloud Over Han River Chapter 7 C Battle Cloud Over Han River Shang Xiuxun crossly said, You two seem to bepletely oblivious of what Bai Ji is doing? Swaggering into Jiangxia like this, even I, who dont care about whats happening on the outside world, know about it. I reckon your enemies wont miss this golden opportunity even more. Tell me, are you going to rely on your two mens power to go straight from here to Guanzhong? Kou Zhong respectfully replied, Shang Changzhu [ranch master], arent you living in ease andfort at the ranch? How could you make appearance in Old Dus territory? Shang Xiuxun turned her head to cast a nce at Xu Ziling; noticing that he also revealed an iparably respectful attitude toward her, Pfft! she broke into a tender giggle and said, You dont have to be in such fear and trepidation like this. I am not a man-eating tiger; I was just throwing a temper! Kou Zhong withdrew his gaze from looking outside the window to the beauty next to him; astonished, he said, Why does Changzhus mood seem to be very good today? Not only you do not care about the old scores between us to settle, you seem to be giving us, two kids, enough face. Sitting behind the two, Xu Ziling took this opportunity to speak, Last time, without seeking Changzhus approval in advance Xiaodi let Cao Yinglong go for personal reason; that was indeed inappropriate. Kou Zhong interjected, Changzhu Daren, please be magnanimous; we are both ashamed and moved. Ha! Shang Xiuxun pouted her elegant cherry lips; pretending to be indifferent, she said, Let bygones be bygones. Could it be that I wanted to pan fry your skin and tear open your bones? I am here to see Li Xiuning. It was only this morning she left on a boat to Jingling. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; both were greatly amazed. Li Xiuning was like the Li Familys envoy. She came to Jiangxia, obviously it was rted to Du Fuwei surrendering to the Li Family, its just that time-wise, something did not add up; there must be something that they did not know. Most likely all along the Li Family has been sending their lobbyist to lobby Du Fuwei, but it was not until Shi Feixuan personally showed Du Fuwei that the white way Wulin was in favor of the Li Family that finally Du Fuwei was moved to be willing to bow his head to the Li Family. It could be said that all along Du Fuwei was the Flying Horse Ranchs biggest threat, and now unexpectedly the bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge [idiom: (of a problem) easily solved]; no wonder Shang Xiuxuns mood was this good. Suddenly hearing Li Xiunings name, Kou Zhong did not know what he should feel in his heart, a pained expression appeared on hi face, and he was temporarily speechless. Xu Ziling did not know what to say either; hence he changed the subject, How did Shang Changzhu know that we are here? Shang Xiuxun replied, The two of you are very easy to recognize, who do you think you can hide from? Its just because Du Fuwei issued his order not to give you any trouble that you were able to enter the city without obstacle, without anybody stopping you. As far as I know, your n of entering Guanzhong, everybody in the world knows. From here to Changan, all schools, sects, gangs, and societies, are aware of your whereabouts, and they report it to the Li n to receive credits. So I really dont understand what worthwhile result you are thinking of achieving? Striving to rouse his spirit, Kou Zhong asked, Where are we going now? Shang Xiuxun nonchntly replied, Naturally to take you out of town. The two boys looked at each other in astonishment. The carriage galloped out of the South Gate. Obviously the officers guarding the city gate were already notified, so they omitted the routine inspection. Shang Xiuxun suddenly asked Kou Zhong, So whats your rtionship with Shang Xiufang? In Kou Zhongs mind, actually this beauty, who was a double-pinnacle of look and art C had nearly been forgotten. Hearing the question, he was caught off guard. A bit embarrassed, he answered the question with a question, Why do you ask? While listening to their exchange, Xu Ziling has been watching the direction the carriage was taking; after leaving the city, they traveled east along the river. Continuing along this route, if they were not hindered by the mountain forest, in three days they would be back at Jiujiang. Therefore, the route they were taking was indeed the return route. With her big, beautiful eyes Shang Xiuxun scrutinized Kou Zhong for half a day, before she finally slightly shrugged her fragrant shoulders and said, Originally this matter has nothing to do with me, but Xiuning Gongzhu [princess] told me that Shang Xiufang frequently asked her about you. I thought you two were intimate friends! Embarrassed, and slightly putting on an act that he had just been used wrongly, Kou Zhong said, I only met her twice, three times, top! Added together, our conversation is less than ten sentences, plus it was always in public ce with numerous people, under the eyes of the crowd. In my opinion, Li kid is her old intimate friend. At the same time, he felt strange inwardly, because based on Li Xiunings character, she would not easily reveal Shang Xiufangs secret words to another woman. Blurted outughing, Shang Xiuxun said, You, this person, always have everything big! Turning her head around, her beautiful eyes gazed deeply onto Xu Ziling, she said, Do you really want to go to Guanzhong? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, It would be best if Kou Zhong answer that question. Revealing a deep-in-thought expression, again Kou Zhong answered the question with a question, When did Changzhu find out that Du Fuwei surrendered and paid allegiance to the Li n? The carriage slowly stopped. To their left was the torrential, continuously flowing Great River. Taking her eyes off Xu Ziling, Shang Xiuxun, I only found out about it when I saw Xiuning Gongzhu this morning. But since Xue Ju, father and sons defeat, Xiuning Gongzhu has been representing the Li Family as itinerant political adviser everywhere, advising all heroes and powerful figures of local gang and sects in all parts of the country to surrender and align themselves to the Li n. Du Fuwei was her biggest target. Many times she made contact with Du Fuweis men in Jingling, but from beginning to end Du Fuwei refused to see her in person. When she told me about it earlier this morning, I was also greatly amazed. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, What is Changzhu going to do? Shang Xiuxun sighed lightly. Revealing a pained expression, she spoke with a bit of helplessness in her voice, ording to my humble familys wishes from past generations, unless it is the case of self-preservation, our Flying Horse Ranch must never get involved in political or Jianghu strife. Ay! Xiuxun has never had close friend from the opposite sex. You two can be considered as my good friends, although barely. In your opinion, what should I do? Xu Ziling said, Changzhu does not need to be troubled; you are willing to trust us with this knowledge, it is already the greatest honor for us, how could we use Changzhu for any injustice, to such an extent as to go against your ancestors admonition? We understand Changzhus position. Kou Zhong seriously said, Under current situation, even if Changzhu is thinking of giving me full support, it will be very difficult to do. Therefore, it would be best if you maintain your neutral position. Based on Changzhus good rtion with the Li Family, you might be affected by the wind on the outside carrying the rain. And then, remembering something, he added, I will have to bother Changzhu to notify General Feng Ge, that he and his men need not follow me, Kou Zhong. The most important thing is that he let the men following him to live in peace and work happily. Other things he needs not care anymore. Feng Ge was Du Ba Viges veteran general. After Jingling fell, he led Jingling people to seek shelter at the Flying Horse Ranch, and they were settled in two neighboring big cities as their temporary residence. After several years of engaging in business, they started to set their roots there. Kou Zhong originally wanted to use them and the Flying Horse Ranchs forces to regain Jingling, and then to go north to take Xiangyang, so that he would have good foundation in his strive over the world against the Li Family. But with Du Fuwei surrendering, the entire situation reversed to the Li Familys advantage, hence this n would no longer work. For Kou Zhongs Shao Shuai Army, the current situation was indeed very bad, he had been put in hopeless situation where he could only passively take the beating. Inwardly, Xu Ziling was full of praise. Although Kou Zhong frequently have the four words by hook or by crook [bu ze shou duan] hanging at the corner of his mouth, but the fact constantly proved that he was absolutely not that kind of person. He and Kou Zhong were originally people who had nothing at all; furthermore, from their childhood they suffered enough humiliation and torture. But it actually trained them to have strong backbones, and had never had any need of other peoples sympathy. Shang Xiuxun turned her pretty face away to look at the sun slowly disappearing into the flowing river. Her beautiful eyes seemed to be veiled by ayer of dense fog, a hint of rueful smile escaped from the corner of her mouth, as she spoke calmly, How could it be that simple? This is precisely the reason Xiuning Gongzhu anxiously wanted to see me. Stunned, the two boys looked at each other; neither one of them could guess what she was going to say next. A bit feebly, Shang Xiuxun leaned back into the seat, while slowly turning her exceptional jade countenance to let Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling get a frontal view and the touching outline of her exceptionally touching jade countenance. Under the dimming illumination of the setting sun prating the window, this beautiful woman appeared to be even more out-of-the-world. Combined with her pained and bewildered expression, her beauty could make those who look at her enchanted and have their soul melted. They saw her lightly opening her cherry lips and spoke slowly, Several days ago there was an intense debate within the Great Tangs court. The crown prince Li Jiancheng and Qi Wang [king] Li Yuanji on one side vented their anger, together they used the Qin Wang Li Shimin of wrongdoing, believing that due to remembering old friendship, Li Shimin was unwilling to deal with the two of you harshly and kill you in Luoyang, and thus had given the two of you the opportunity to grow big. Perhaps Li Yuan himself was bewitched by his newly acquired Dong Fei [imperial concubine], unexpectedly he also stood on Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanjis side, so that Qin Wang had no way to argue. Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, I can assure you that Li kid has been doing his best to deal with us and kill us, its just that oftentimes things did not go ording to his expectations. Glowering at him Shang Xiuxun spoke in displeasure, Shame on you to say such thing. You clearly know that Li Jianchengs style of conduct ispletely different from Qin Wangs. Is Li Jiancheng going to take the dealing-with-us matter into his own hands? Xu Ziling asked. More or less so, Shang Xiuxun replied, But the one really in charge of the operation is Li Yuanji. Dont underestimate this man; reportedly his martial art skill surpasses his two elder brothers, he has never met a match in Guanzhong. Not only he is brave, he is an expert in scheming as well. In recent years he has attracted arge number of Jianghus desperate criminals to be his trusted aides, his methods are a hundred times more ruthless than Li Shimins. Kou Zhong was more concerned over something else; he asked, What did Li Xiuning think about this? Casting a sidelong nce at him, Shang Xiuxun said, Why would I want to tell you? You wont want to listen to me anyway. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, So what if Li Yuanji is capable of shutting the gate of Guanzhong and dering himself king? Within the Li Family of Guanzhong, only Li Shimin is worthy to be my adversary. If Li Yuanji took this matter into his hands, I will teach him a lesson so that it will be toote for him for regrets. Shang Xiuxun angrily said, You can say anything you want. You think we are bothered by it? Li Jiancheng wanted us, the Flying Horse Ranch, to draw a clear dividing line with your Shao Shuai Army. You, Kou Shao Shuai, tell me what we should do? Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling. Laughing coldly, he said, This kid is really tired of living! Shall we send Li kid Shimin another big present, to have this Great Tangs crown prince ughtered? Xu Ziling calmly replied, Do not underestimate the enemy too much. Within the powerful ns, the Li n upies the first ce; their men powerful, their horses strong, it need not be mentioned, but they also have Yang Xuyan supporting them from behind. To put him in order is easier said than done. Turning toward Shang Xiuxun, he asked, What is the clear dividing line referring to? Seething with anger, Shang Xiuxun glowered at Kou Zhong for quite a while. She angrily said, You, this person, only know how to speak hot-headed words; what does it have to do with the matter at hand? For your sake, I formally told Li Jiancheng that I will never realign my allegiance to them; moreover, I will never supply warhorses to them. Are you satisfied? Shaken, Kou Zhong called out, Changzhu! Smiling ruefully, Shang Xiuxun said, If Qin Wang were the master of the Li Family, he might understand my difficulties. As long as we do not officially send troops to help you, we would not be implicated. But Jiancheng, Yuanji are petty-minded persons, so if you could really get rid of them, I would be extremely grateful. However, under current circumstances, that is simply an impossibility. Tell me, how could I not have my heart distracted, my thoughts in turmoil, because of you? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were extremely touched. They never expected that this lone-flower-admiring-itself beauty who lived deep in the grazingnd could have such a deep feeling and heavy friendship toward them. Shang Xiuxuns gaze moved outside the window to catch thest ray of the sun disappearing behind the western mountain; she spoke gently, For the second half of the journey, there will be a small sailboat that can take you to the north, or bring you back to the east to Pengcheng; you decide. Xiuxun has nothing more to say, I hope in the future there will be a day we can see each other again! The small sailboat speedily entered the Han River, and continued upstream in the direction of Jingling. The pitch-ck sky was covered densely with stars; it was such a magnificent and enchanting scene. Kou Zhong came to Xu Zilings, who was operating the rudder, side, and said, Although beautiful Changzhu is a bit too temperamental, she is actually a true friend of ours. Xu Ziling nodded slightly, but did not say anything. To their left, there was a ferry crossing dock where more than a dozen fishing boats were moored along the river bend. On the shore, beyond the dense forest they saw flickers ofnterns; it ought to be the vige where the fishermen lived. It was a peaceful andid-back atmosphere. Taking his eyes back, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, In your opinion, about the Four Great Holy Monks trying to stop us from going up north to Guanzhong, do you think the Li n is aware of it? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Thats not Shi Feixuans style at all; she is absolutely not going to join hands with people outside the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools, to deal with us. Practically she does not need outsiders help at all. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, That is exactly the answer I wanted to hear. My other question is: if you were Li Yuanji, and you have arge number of martial art masters under yourmand, plus you want to show clearly to Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng that he is better than ErGe [second (older) brother] Li kid, and you have Yang Xuyan behind your back pushing the wave and adding to the billows, how would you deal with us? Without thinking the matter through Xu Ziling replied, He mighty out an inescapable, and try to kill us before we enter Guanzhong. Revealing a smile full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Beautiful Changzhu had said something that is very interesting to me; can you guess what she said? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Was it about going straight from here to Guanzhong? Ay! You, this fellow, really dont know how to spell the word dead, plus you are already aware that I do not wish to have frontal confrontation against Shi Feixuan. Pulling his shoulders into a hug, Kou Zhong said with augh, Naturally I am a hero with mouth and teeth [idiom: articte]; Ling Shao, dont worry. But in my opinion, no matter how we try to conceal our track, in the end we wont be able to escape Shi Feixuan and the Four Great Holy Monks. Therefore, we must make mental preparation. Now, wed better think about how to take advantage of this boat! Xu Ziling nodded and said, Now thats more like it. If we could hide from the boat that your unrequited-love sweetheart riding on, perhaps we could enter Guanzhong with no surprise, no danger. Acting a bit unnatural, Kou Zhong said, Unrequited love, these two words are so unpleasant to hear. Cant you see that she actually has considerable affection toward me? Otherwise, there is no need for her to ask beautiful Changzhu to warn me. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Xiang Wang [King Xiang] dreaming about the goddess who has no intention of meeting with him; this kind of thing happens every day in the human world, it is also a human nature, whats so pleasant or unpleasant to hear about it? If you are unwilling to give her up, how could you be worthy of Song Yuzhi? [Trantors note: I cant find good reference on this story, but based on what I found, it was a poem. I found this story King Xiang has a wife that mentioned this poem (in the footnote): https://dreamsofjianghu.ca/2017/02/06/%E5%85%AB%E5%AE%9D%E5%A6%86-eight-treasures-trousseau-chapter-019/%5D Blurting outughing, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly you are giving me a forewarning! Dont worry! Since this thing happened, practically there was no feeling between Li Xiuning and I; I dont want to rekindle old me at all. Besides, now that the enemy and us are clearly defined, theres no possibility for anything to happen. Currently I am single-mindedly going on a treasure hunt. If I cannot find it, I will return to my hometown to till the fields, or perhaps Ill go wandering with you to the ends of the earth. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said with a sigh, You, this bad kid, are scheming to move my heart again. Even if you did not say that, I would still do my best to help you finding the treasure, to see how Laotianye will decide your destiny. Huh? rm also went off in Kou Zhongs heart; looking ahead on the river, he saw more than a dozen li beyond the river bend there was a faint ze rising into the sky, like there was a burning ship there. Shocked, he said, Cant be Xiunings boat under attack, can it? Concern was evident in his voice. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, This is called concern makes you confused. Based on the timing, how could it be Li Xiunings ship? Kou Zhong felt a bit relieved. But whose ship is that? he wondered, If pirates robbing a merchant ship, as the representatives of chivalrous warrior of the great righteous way, naturally we cannot see without doing anything. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Why dont you say frankly that your hands are itching? Kou Zhongs eyes were shing with sharp light; calmly, almost ruthlessly, he said, Even if I say it, it would be meaningless. Right now our martial art skill already reaches the level that even we ourselves are unclear about it. If I had not already promised you, I really wish I could have a hard battle against Xianzi [fairy] and the Holy Monks to test it. Under Xu Zilings control, the sailboat swiftly glided around the corner to enter the section of the river where gorges were rising high on both sides and the stream was flowing rapidly. Carried by the wind, battle cry floated into their ears. They saw warships from both sides were engaged in fierce battle ahead. The sound of rocks being shot by stone thrower and the swishing noise of arrows were unending. One side had three warships, but two of them already caught fire, which ze illuminated the sky, as they were under close-range attack of the enemys five warships. The battle situation was intense. The warship that has fallen into the disadvantageous position was struggling hard to break through the heavy siege; they were running away downstream in the two boys direction, about three li away from them. The five enemy ships immediately abandoned the other two ships to pursue at the escaping ships tail relentlessly, while from a hundred or so arrow-shooting machines the fiery arrows rained down like locusts toward it. Watching this, the two boys were frowning deeply; they were wondering whether they should intervene or not. Bang! The escaping ships stern was finally hit by the arrow and caught fire. Book 27 - 8 – Concealed Murderous Intent Chapter 8 C Concealed Murderous Intent Two chunks of boulder hit the escaping ships stern at the same time, sending out burning debris exploding into the air. Strangely though, the ship leaned slightly to the left and swayed back to the right, but eventually it regained its bnce, and was doing its best to run away in their direction. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, This ships finished! Their only way out is to pull toward the shore and flee for their lives. They already lost that chance, Xu Ziling responded, Didnt you see two of the pursuing ships split to the left and right to overtake them from both sides? It is precisely to block them from pulling toward the shore. These people are so ruthless; it looks like they want to kill to thest one. There must be a deep enmity and big hatred between them. While they were talking, their small sailboat already advanced some distance forward, so that the escaping ship, which was sailing downstream, was less than a li away. The fire quickly spread to the mast, which was also the moment the escaping ship was sentenced to its death. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, What should we do? Such a face-to-face direct encounter, eight or nine out of ten it will bring disaster to the fish in the moat [idiom: being implicated]. Xu Ziling said with a sneer, Didnt you say that when we see injustice on the road, you would draw your saber to render assistance? Why shrink back as the time for battle approaches [idiom: getting cold feet]? Kou Zhong replied, Problem is: how do we know it is really injustice? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Therefore, we must hurry up to see if this is clearly a nned ambushing operation. The sun insignia on this ship belongs to certain person. Deploying the troops for the sake of one person, dont you feel it strange? Turning his gaze onto the approaching ship, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Very strange! Ay! This time its really finished. Boom! One big rock hit the mast squarely. The mast broke immediately, sending the sail toppling down on the deck. The escaping ship was leaning over to the side. One after another the people on the ship threw themselves into the river to save their lives. Xu Ziling said, I am in charge of steering the boat, you are in charge of rescuing people, understand? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Then whos in charge of dealing with the rocks and the arrows? Naturally also you, Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Watch out! With a twist of the rudder, the sailboat curved to the left to evade the capsizing ship, but it entered the space between the two pursuing ships. Startled, both sides looked at each other. Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt their scalp went numb. Under the illumination of thenterns, shockingly they saw Yun Shuai [the Cloud Commander] of the Western Tujue appeared on the bridge of one of the two ships. Fortunately the other side only thought that the two boys were just passing through, plus they were anxious to pursue and attack the enemies falling into the river, therefore, they only waved the two boys to leave immediately. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, What do you think we should do? Of course Xu Ziling knew that under this kind of circumstances, whether they would be able to save their own lives still remained to be seen, let alone saving other peoples life. Besides, as soon as someone appeared on the surface of the river, he would immediately be covered with arrows and sink back into the water; this matter did not involve any luck at all. Kou Zhong added, Perhaps it was Yin Gui Pai ship. When he said those words, both sides brushed past each other. It was not until the small sailboat left Yun Shuais sides fleet far behind that the two boys heaved a sigh of relief. They both cried inwardly, What a close call! Obviously the other party was Zhu Cans men, who were providing support to Yun Shuai to attack an important figure of a certain side. Fortunately nobody recognized the two boys; otherwise they would be able to easily getting rid of them. In this multitude-against-the-few, a wide-disparity situation [idiom from Mencius: heavily outnumbered], plus the enemy had Yun Shuai, a martial art master nearly of Bi Xuans level, all they could do was to join those people who went into the water to save their lives. Looking back, Kou Zhong was puzzled, What kind of person is Yun Shuai dealing with? This Persian guy is tall and handsome, his daughter shouldnt becking in that department either. Xu Ziling said with a sigh, This kids lusty heart is on the rise again! Upright and unafraid, Kou Zhong said, Lusty heart, everybody has one. Huh? With a sudden gust of wind, someone swiftly flipped into the boat from the stern, and said with a longugh, Two Renxiong [dear friend], I trust you have been well since west met. Xiaodi has simr sentiment with Shao Shuai, I wonder if Ziling Xiong also agree. Startled, the two boys looked over. Surprisingly it was Tuli Khan, who, although was drenched from head to toe, did not look the least bit in a sorry state. The Fu Ying Qiang [subduing-eagle spear], which name shook the area beyond the Wall, was hanging behind his back, with its tip protruding from his left shoulder. He was still carrying his majestic, calm demeanor. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Turns out it is Tuli Laoxiong [old chap]. This time, can I say that we have rescued you? Tuli came to Xu Zilings other side. He looked back first, before looking up to the night sky and said, I should say that the Heaven and you working together to rescue me. There is one thing Xiaodi would like to ask: within the Central ins Wulin, there shouldnt be anybody recognizing Yun Shuai; even Xiaodi has just begun to find out that he hase here, how could you recognize him in just one nce? Xu Ziling calmly replied, Naturally there is cause and effect in this matter. But please let Zaixia ask Khan a question first: did Khane here to pick up a certain Persian beauty and bring her back? Tuli was astonished, You certainly possess great magical power, he said, Xiaodi believed that this matter was extremely confidential; who would have thought that unexpectedly it seems like everybody in the world already know about it. Surely man proposes but God disposes. Kou Zhong said, How could we find out about it without any reason at all? We can talk about itter, but my guess is that we are not out of danger yet. When Yun Shuai fails to find Khan, he might turn around to give chase. Does Khan have any good ideas? Without even looking back, Xu Ziling said with a wry smile, No need to guess! Theyreing after us! His scalp went numb, Kou Zhong turned his head around to look, and saw far behind the silhouette of a ship underntern light. This guy is indeed formidable, he said, He must have seen Khan holding on to the aft; otherwise, how could he turn around and pursue us this quickly? Tuli Khan sighed and said, I am sorry for weighing two gentlemen down. Just let Xiaodi down, Ill lead them away onnd, gentlemen can continue your journey north. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Does Khan have enough confidence to defeat Yun Shuai? Tulis expression changed slightly. Although he had never fought hand to hand against Yun Shuai, he was well aware of his lightness skill, which was considered the pinnacle of the Western Region. Xu Ziling also knew not to meddle in the struggle between the Eastern and Western Tujue, but seeing Tuli was now like a tiger falling behind on a t in, all alone and in miserable plight, he was overwhelmed withpassion. Moreover, knowing that Yun Shuai was cooperating with the extremely evil Zhu Can, those people could not possibly be any better than Tuli. Making up his mind, he said, Lets go ashore together! Those who have a head start always have a bit more advantage. Tulis imposing body trembled slightly, his eyes emitted a deep,plicated feeling. The three men crouched on the edge of a mountain cliff, overlooking the wilderness extending as far as the eyes could see under the starry sky, watching for any sign of movement. Appearing to be unable to hold back anymore, Tuli asked, Just now the two of you ran all the way here, you have not exhausted your strength yet? Kou Zhongughed and said, Khan indeed have a bit of insight. Tuli blew out a mouthful of cold air and said, No wonder Li Shimin is so afraid of the two gentlemen. It was not too long ago that I saw you, but gentlemen have given Xiaodi the impression that you two are new persons. Formerly I thought I was able to see clearly how deep or how shallow two gentlemen are, but now I am starting to realize that it was just a misperception due to my own overconfidence. Xu Ziling suddenly said, The gratitude and grudges between Khan and Fenghan Xiong, we dont care, but Khan always make us think of Fenghan and the heroes on horseback on the desert beyond the Great Wall. Therefore, we dont understand why Khan cooperated with Yin Gui Pai to kidnap Lian Rou now; even more, we feel sorry for Khans reputation. Khan, please forgive me for speaking so bluntly. Kou Zhong also asked, The men with Khan on the boat, are they Qian Duguans men? Tuli was listening attentively. At first he showed displeasure, but then he revealed apletely helpless expression. He sighed, shook his head, and then said, If I told you that this was our Great Khan and Zhao Deyans idea, and that Xiaodi merely received the order to do it, two gentlemen must think that I am shirking responsibility. But the fact is, although on the surface I appear to have the authority, to have the power, it is precisely to deal with you, the highly risky Han people that a lot of things are beyond my control. Like me and Shimin Xiong are originally close friends who treat one another with absolute sincerity, but with current development, theres possibility that one day we will face one another on the battlefield, making me wring my hands and sigh. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Why do you have to meddle in Central ins affair? Throughout history, there has never been any outside tribe able to set their foot on the Central ins; at most they could only loot and afterwards meet the reprisals. If this vicious cycle continues, there will be no benefit to either side at all. Tuli was silent for half a day. Finally he spoke slowly, This is precisely the problem. Have Ziling Xiong put yourself in someone elses shoes and consider this matter from our perspective? Xu Ziling apologetically said, Because Zaixiacks knowledge of your distinguished country, it is very difficult to ponder over this matter from Khans perspective. Amazed, Tuli said, Frankly speaking, this is not the first time I am talking about this matter. But only Ziling Xiong is willing to admit that you do not have enough knowledge. Other people always acted like all knowledge and logic in the world are concentrated on him; it is indeed infuriating. Kou Zhongughed and said, Infuriating Khan is indeed not a joking matter. Tuli sighed and said, The problem actually lies on us. Whenever the Han is strong, that would be the moment our nightmare begin. Kou Zhongs pair of sharp eyes was constantly scanning the mountain, the forest and the in, far and near. He blurted out, In that case, why did you split into two countries, east and west? It is calledbine forces are strong, plus if the two of you are not like fire and water, right now we do not need to be chased away by Yun Shuai like stray dogs. Pondering over, Tuli said, On the surface, the reason lies in the gratitude and grudges, the conflicting views between the people. As long as there is more than one person, there will be gratitude and grudges involved; much less there are more than ten million people. But the deeper reason is the way we, Tujue people, live, which is also our fundamental difference with Han people. After a short pause, he continued, We are pastoral people who pursue habitat with water source and grass. We fully experience the impact of natural cmities and man-made disasters, we are forced to constantly on the move, scattered and unstable, our territory is big but poption is low. No matter how strong the political power is, governing such a vast area is still beyond its influence [orig. the whip cannot reach]. Therefore, because theres always disconnect inmon interest, division ismon practice, unity is not reasonable. It was such a coherent, objective and profound self-analysis, which forced Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to greatly revise their view on this Tujue king, who came from outside the Great Wall to the Central ins, stirring up the wind and creating the rain. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling said, Have we had enough rest? How about continuing our journey? Jingling City appeared on the in ahead, while the sun appeared on the in to their right. The great earth was vast and hazy, the red clouds filled the sky. It was quite a rare sight this time of the year, the transition from autumn to winter. After the three mens feet ran constantly for more than a hundred li, they all felt their muscle weary, their strength exhausted. This moment Jingling was in sight, they all felt great relief, as they stopped by a mountain spring to drink and rest. While Xu Ziling was freshening up in the spring, Kou Zhong and Tuli were sitting on a big rock by the spring, stretching out to their hearts content. Kou Zhong could not help asking, When I saw Khan in Luoyang the other day, Khan had arge number of martial art mastersing with you. Are they ...? Tuli cut him off, Does Shao Shuai want to ask whether I abandoned them in Han Riverst night? The answer is that I came here alone, the others are staying in Changan to maintain appearance. Simply because I do not want the Li Family to know that I am slipping out. Muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Yun Shuais intelligence and bravery have always been known throughout the Western Tujue; I thought that based on his outstanding qinggong, he would be able to catch up with us. But clearly he did not do so. It really gives me headache. Kou Zhong said, So what if he caught up? Zhu Can cant possibly lead his main forces to attack Jingling. The question now is how are we going to enter the city secretly? Tuli was puzzled, Entering the city will only reveal your whereabouts; what benefit will it bring you? he asked. Naturally Kou Zhong could not tell him that he wanted to enter the city to inquire the news about Li Xiuning. He said, When the belly is hungry, naturally we need to find a ce to cure it. Now Khan ought to be far from danger, I wonder if you have good suggestion? Tuli smiled and said, I do have a suggestion. Shao Shuai may want to consider. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention. His eyes emitting sharp light, Tuli spoke with serious expression, This proposal will bring benefit to both sides, without bringing any harm. In Xiaodis opinion, the urgent business before our eyes is to return to Guanzhong safely, and two gentlemen must go to Guanzhong to find the treasure. Therefore, our goals are not two different things. Greatly surprised, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly Khan still thinks that Yun Shuai might threaten your safety? Smiling wryly, Tuli replied, To be quite honest, if two gentlemen are unwilling to cooperate with me, I only have 50% chance of returning to Guanzhong alive. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling came to the two mens side, sat down, and said, Listening to Khan, it appears that this matter is not as simple as we think. A deep, cold murderous intent shed through Tulis pair of eyes. He nodded and said, As for whether I should disclose the fact to two gentlemen, to be honest, I hesitated for quite a while, until just now Shao Shuai expressed to me his desire to take different roads and urge the horse on [idiom: to part ways], then I made up my mind to talk candidly with you, to see if we can cooperate sincerely. Kou Zhong said, This sincere word is precisely the key, because both Ling Shao and I have to stay in the shadow and must not be exposed to the light, or we will be dead [orig. Ҋseeing the light and die (idiom), courtesy of Akw]. If we trusted Khan but turns out we trusted the wrong person, or Khan bites the hand that feeds you by deceiving us, its really not worth it. Simply because we do not even have enough capital to take a risk. Displeased, Tuli said, How could I, Tuli, be such a person? If Kou Xiong so distrusted me, lets just forget about it. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I was just sounding out Khan; nothing more. Xiao Ling, what do you say? Xu Ziling looked deep into Tulis eyes; he spoke heavily, What makes Khan so pessimistic about returning to Guanzhong? Tulis imposing body trembled slightly; he took a deep breath and said, Ziling Xiongs martial art skill has indeed reached the deep and immeasurable level. Just now your gaze seemed to have the substance. Of the people I encountered in all my life, only Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan, two men can bepared with you. It is indeed unbelievable. Xu Ziling was embarrassed of receiving such praise. Because just now he wanted to gauge whether Tuli was telling the truth or not, he secretly performed the Motionless Fundamental Hand Image [ӡatha Fundamental Mudra (courtesy of Akw)], and focused his power into his eyes to prate Tulis eyes. If Tuli was lying, he shouldnt be able to withstand Xu Zilings gaze. Kou Zhong giggled and said, This kid certainly has a bit of skill. Time is precious, Khan, please make the long story short. Resuming his dignified look, Tuli scrutinized Xu Ziling for half a day before saying, I have fallen into Xieli and Zhao Deyans trap. Startled by what they heard, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. An angry expression flitted across Tulis rough countenance; he spoke in low voice, The Great Khan position should be mine. Knowing that he had big speech to make, the two boys did not interrupt. A dense fog seemed to cover Tulis face. Sounding deste, he went on, When my father, Shibi Great Khan, was preparing to go down south to attack your distinguished country, he fell ill and died. At that time I was still young, so my uncle [younger than father] took the Great Khan position and became Chuluo Khan; I had nothing to say. After Chuluo inherit the title, he took the Sui dynastys Yicheng Gongzhu [princess] as his wife. She was the one who recruited Zhao Deyan to enter our [dynastic] government. Zhao Deyan proposed to wee the Yang Emperors Huang Xiaoshi and the Sui Dynastys Qi Wang [king] Yang Lais posthumous child Yang Zhengdao into the Khans court ofw. As for the purpose, two gentlemen ought to be able to guess it without I need to tell you. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Turns out it is thatplicated. Yang Zhengdaos purpose is naturally to act as the chess piece to disrupt our Central ins. But how could you let a Han randomly dictate the courts policy? Tuli sighed and said, Although Chuluo is infatuated with Yicheng Gongzhus charm, but toward Zhao Deyan, he was actually extremely wary. Its just that under Yicheng Gongzhus repeated instigation, he reluctantly appointed Zhao Deyan Guoshi [teacher of the state]. Afterwards Chuluo fell ill, he ate Zhao Deyans five-rock soup of cinnabar, realgar, Baiyan, Zengqing, and maite smelted together. Not only it did not show the desired effect, it actually poisoned him to have skin ulcer and died. Overnight Yicheng Gongzhu became the most powerful person. Xu Ziling was puzzled, How could your nsmen let the power fell into a Han womans hands? Smiling wryly, Tuli said, At that time our people was like a dragon without its head, the tribe was in total chaos. ording to reason, the most logical sessor to the throne should either be me or Chuluos son Aoshe. Who would have thought that Yicheng Gongzhu, Zhao Deyan, and Xieli colluded in secret? Using a blitzkrieg strategy they suppressed the opposition, and Xieli ascended to the throne. Not only that, he took Yicheng as his wife; he was extremely shameless. Kou Zhong was speechless. Khan, you are able to live until today, it is indeed a marvel, hemented. Tuli said with a sneer, Theres no luck involved in this matter. When my father was still alive, he was an outstanding hero, his prestige far surpassed Chuluo, plus Bixuan is protecting me in all respects, so making a move against me is not an easy thing. But to borrow Yun Shuais hands is another matter altogether. Xu Ziling asked, Before Xieli became the Great Khan, what was his status? Howe he went against the tide like that, yet unexpectedly no one is reckoning with him? Tuli replied, Chuluo and Xieli are both my fathers younger brothers. Speaking about strength Xieli was in no way inferior to Chuluo. In our tribe, whoever has enough power can proim himself king, theres no ce for argument. Kou Zhong said, Is Khan saying that this whole thing is basically a trap to deal with you? But from what we know, Yin Gui Pai was certainly helping you wholeheartedly to capture Lian Rou. Are you saying that even Zhu Yuyan was deceived by Zhao Deyan? Tuli said, To Zhao Deyan, everybody is just tools that he can exploit. He has always been able to achieve his objective by hook or by crook. Humph! Fortunately I was able to see through his wicked scheme; otherwise I could forget about returning alive to settle the ount with him and Xieli. Listening to him, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling still only knew one and understood half, but at least inwardly they believed most of what he said. Otherwise, how could Yun Shuai promptly rush over to the Central ins and was able to clearly understand the key moment by striking Bai Qinger and Tulis fleet one after another? Heaving a long sigh, Tuli slowly said, If my guess is correct, Zhao Deyan ought to be somewhere near waiting for me. At the same time, the two boys thought that An Long ought to be a key figure in this whole affair, so much so that even Shi Zhixuan might be one of the masterminds behind the scene. They could not help a chill from creeping up in their heart. Book 27 - 9 – Using Battle To Raise Battle Chapter 9 C Using Battle To Raise Battle The three slept soundly in a hidden ce outside the city waiting for the dusk before climbing over the wall to enter the city. They selected a restaurant at random to have a big dinner, while discussing about their n at the same time. Tuli said to Xu Ziling, who had be Gong Chenchun, and Kou Zhong, who had be the ugly man with yellow face, To verify what I told you earlier is not difficult at all. I can perform a test, and then well know whether Xieli and Zhao Deyan really betrayed me. The two boys found it very interesting; hurriedly they asked him what he had in mind. Tuli said, To ascertain the situation in the Central ins, we setup intelligencework in all major cities. Most of them use business as their cover. Jingling also has such person, a Han who is taking his order from Zhao Deyan. As long as I can find him and tell him to arrange my return to Guanzhong in secret, well see whether my whereabouts can be kept confidential. By this, well know whether Zhao Deyan really wanted to kill me or not. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. He said, This can be considered a good method, he noted. Xu Ziling asked, That day, how did Khan manage to slip away from Changan with the gods unaware, the ghosts did not perceive? Tuli smiled and said, Ziling Xiongs thinking is very thorough. I understand why you ask that question; you want to know whether there is a spy from Xieli and Zhao Deyans side among the men who came with me to the Central ins. Am I right? Slightly embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, I did not think it was appropriate to ask you directly! Tuli candidly said, Since we have agreed to cooperate sincerely, there is no need to stand on ceremony. Although I, Tuli, do not have deep knowledge of the two gentlemen, and in our first encounter we were standing on the opposite sides, but I already have the desire to be acquainted with you, confident that two gentlemen are heroes. Otherwise, I would never propose cooperation with you. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, In that case, I will be even more frank and blunt to you. About Khan leaving Guanzhong, how did you hide it from your old friend Li Shimin? Tuli replied, I did not intend to hide it from him for a long time. I only need to conceal the time of my departure from him. Among the men who came with me, there was a certain man named Kang Qiaoli [lit. sharp scabbard]; both in terms of resourcefulness and martial art skill, he the best in his ss[1], not inferior to Xiaodi at all [probably there is missing text here]. The entire operation was arranged by him. Were it not for him telling me that Lian Rous natural disposition is passionate and that I might win her fragrant heart, Xiaodi would not personallye and thus fell into the trap. It was only then did the two boys realize there were such twists and turns in this matter. Kou Zhong asked, How did youe in contact with Zhu Yuyan? Tuli replied, Naturally it was Zhao Deyan who acted as the go-between. With Yin Gui Pai, Ive only been in contact with Qian Duguan and Bian Bufu. Other things, Kang Qiaoli was the one responsible for it. He was Xielis trusted aide, but his rtionship with me was not bad either. Were it not for things like encountering Yun Shuai, I would never have doubted him. As for how he could get Yun Shuai to agree to collude with him, I still have not figured it out. Based on Yun Shuais style, he is not someone who can be exploited by others. Xu Ziling said, Have Khan heard about An Long, the fat assistant who stands side by side with Zhao Deyan among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Schools? Tuli slowly shook his head, his eyes expressed his desire to hear more. After brief exnation, Xu Ziling said, Not only An Long worked together with Lian Rou, he also has close rtionship with Zhu Can, father and daughter. If An Long and Kang Qiaoli exchanged information in secret, Khans every movement would be within Yun Shuais grasp. And Yun Shuai would think that An Pangzi [fat] possesses great magical power; he would never know that he had fallen into Xieli and Zhao Deyans malicious scheme of borrowing someones knife to kill somebody. Tuli was dumbfounded for half a day. He finally understood. Smiling wryly, he said, If Ziling Xiong did not tell me, perhaps even if I think until my brain split I would not be able to see through this crucial point. Kou Zhong, who had been deep in thought, suddenly acted like he had just awakened. I wonder if Khan knows your contact in here? he asked, How does he exchange information with Kang Qiaoli, who was far away in Guanzhong? Tuli replied, Using sparrow hawks that were bred in our humble country and underwent a long training; they can fly a number of li in a day, and can transmit information quickly. We are not afraid they would be killed by other predator birds, and they cant be shot down. Moreover, they can recognize people from high altitude. They are our best helper in the battlefield. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such formidable t-haired beast. Can it get lost along the way? Tuli seriously replied, Theres a special technique to train the sparrow hawks, nobody has more expertise than we do. If they cannot even identify mountains, ins, and rivers, how could they be worthy of the praise that they couldmunicate with us? Its a pity that we carry our ancestors admonition not to impart the secret of training the hawks to anybody else; otherwise, I could reveal one or two things to Shao Shuai. Kou Zhongs thoughts wandering far away, he said, Khan ought to consider whether you should go against your ancestors admonition. Tuliughed, but did not say anything. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Wasnt Shao Shuais original intention to study the hawks capability? Kou Zhong cleared his throat. Pointing to his noggin, he said, This natural cognitive ability is just too rich; it could very easily wander 108,000 li away. And then, putting on a deadly earnest expression, he said, Even if a sparrow hawk could fly a thousand li in a day, going back and forth, it will need at least two days and two nights! If Kang Qiaoli determined to kill Khan, this method is neither practical nor feasible. Because by the time An Long found out that Khan is in Jingling, Khan would have already been two days away. Am I right? Tuli nodded, It should be so, he said. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong analyzed, Didnt Khan say that Zhao Deyan might have sneaked into the Central ins? If their only target is to kill Khan, then there is a good chance that Khan might be the fisherman luring the fish out with bait, the guest acts as host, and have him killed. But to do this, there will be prerequisite, which is you have to solve the problem of Yun Shuai and Zhu Cans joint-army pursuing troops first, so that we wont fall into the inferior position where we have to face the enemy in two fronts. Knitting his brows, Tuli said, I absolutely agree with the first half of Shao Shuais analysis. Because in the event that Zhao Deyan and Kang Qiaoli are lurking somewhere nearby, they would want to make sure that I meet with cmity before they would feel at ease. We will have a very good chance of luring him out, for example by closely monitoring the spys activities, to see who he ismunicating with, et cetera, to track them down one by one, until we find them all. But why do you want a new branch growing out of a knot by provoking the men from Yun Shuais side? Kou Zhong smiled and said, The reason is very simple; nobody knows better than you do about Zhao Deyans style and strength. How much does Khan think our chance of killing Zhao Deyan is? Tuly smiled wryly and said, Not even half a percent. Even within our humble nations borders, Zhao Deyan always has four Han martial art masters by his side waiting on him. All four are his Shidi [martial (younger) brother] of the same school; they are inseparable as form and shadow. Although I, the Tornado, am conceited, but upon self-examination, I know that I wont be able to withstand any two of them joining hands. If we add Kang Qiaoli into the equation, we will be extremely lucky if we could engage them in desperate battle until both sides suffer, not to mention he ought to have other martial art masters apanying him. Furthermore, there is a fatal w in this n, which practically will not work. Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, Is it the problem with the hawks? Amazed, Tuli said, How did Ziling Xiong get it in only one guess? Xu Ziling said, Didnt Khan just say that sparrow hawks can recognize people from high altitude? If Zhao Deyan uses hawks in ce of dogs to guard the door, we will never be able to use assassination method to deal with Zhao Deyan. It was because Zhong Shao had thought about this point that he proposed to beat them at their own game: first we dispose of Yun Shuai, then turn around to stake it all against Zhao Deyan. A reverence expression rose up in Tulis eyes; he solemnly said, No wonder two Laoxiong are able to move unhindered across the world without falling down, absolutely with intelligence and capability, without the stupidity with which Tuli is capable of conceiving. But then he wondered aloud, Please forgive Xiaodi for speaking bluntly; two gentlemen are taking this odd risk for Xiaodis sake, but as long as Xiaodi can flee back to Guanzhong, there will be a way to save my life. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, If Khan reacted like this by shrinking your head back, the enemy would be more aggressive, so it is not going to be a long-term solution to your problem. In my opinion, you are fleeing back to Guanzhong is not a way out at all; instead, you must return to the support of your nsmen, and then Xieli will be unable to deal with you. Tuli sighed and said, I am not afraid of the head, terrified of the tail at all. Rather, I am fully aware that two gentlemens situation is a hundred, a thousand times more perilous than Tulis. If your track is exposed, you will attract heavy siege and interception from Guanzhongs martial art masters under Li Yuanjismand; how could Tuli go that easily? Have you ever heard the phrase see the light and die [see previous chapter]? This was greatly beyond Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings expectation; it had never urred to them that this Tujue royalty, who on the surface seemed to be utilitarian and unscrupulous, could be this affectionate and true, and had consideration for other people. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Actually, we have been thinking about all kinds of method to enter Guanzhong. Openly will not work, secretly also hard to pass. Therefore, we thought about a clever opening-the-heaven way, called using battle to raise battle. Surprised, Tuli asked, What is using battle to raise battle? But Kou Zhong pped the table and said with a sigh, Worthy to be my good xiongdi indeed; no need for me to say it out, you already see through whats in my mindpletely, plus creating a wonderful, ultimate trick in the art of war that the world chases after. Ha! Using battle to raise battle. Based on these four-character [yi zhan yang zhan] true statement, we will have a chance to sneak into Guanzhong. Although toward this using battle to raise battle, Tuli seemed to understand, yet not exactly understand, he deeply felt the tacit understanding and trust between the two, which, to him who grew up in the middle of power struggle and internal conflict environment, was extremely touching and shocking at the same time. Looking at Tuli, Xu Ziling said, Currently, the men and horses who want to deal with both Khan and us can be counted as four groups of people with enough weight. Khan already knows about Zhao Deyan, Yun Shuai, and Li Yuanji, three groups. Any one of them have enough power to wipe us out. But if they meet each other, due to these three sides do not get along with each other, so much so that they are suspicious and jealous of each other, we can create all kinds of subtle circumstances, exploit their contradictory views to create conflict. This is more or less the strategy behind using battle to raise battle, to use clever tactic to preserve our heart and soul. Kou Zhong reached out and put his hand on Tulis shoulder; acting mysterious, he leaned forward and said, The so-called the more the troops go into battle, the braver they will be is the fundamental spirit of using battle to raise battle, i.e. we are going to borrow theserge quantities of opponent dropping by our door to help us cultivating our skill in the martial art way. Nothing in the world is more convenient than this; am I right? Tuli could feel Kou Zhongs cordial support to him. The blood coursing through his body was originally that of the brave and fierce blood of the tribes beyond the Great Wall; hearing the arousing ten-thousand -zhang heroic sentiment in Kou Zhongs words, his spirit arose, he said, Very well! Only this moment I, Tuli, understand what is called outstanding hero. Even if I have to go through the mountain of sabers and a cauldron of oil with two gentlemen, I, Tuli, will be honored to apany you to the end. And then he asked Xu Ziling, Which group is the other one? Kou Zhong answered on his behalf, Its Shi Feixuan Xianzi [fairy] and the Four Baldheads representing the strongest of the strong within the Buddhist schools! Sorry! It ought to be the Four Great Holy Monks. Tuli blew out a mouthful of cold air, his heroic spirit immediately went down one notch. Emotionally moved, he said, Are they the Four Great Holy Monks, who, in the past, beat Shi Zhixuan that he ran away to the wilderness? Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Your news is surely fast and abundant. Tuli said, We always pay attention to the affairs of the Central ins, how could we miss such an important matter? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, In that case, I was wondering if Khan knew Shi Zhixuans other identity? Surprised, Tuli asked, What identity? Kou Zhong replied, He was the Sui Courts You Guang Lu Tai Fu [honorific title during Tang to Qing times, approx. Right Glorious Grand Master], Hu Bei Fan Junshi [Military Advisor Protector of the Foreign (non-Chinese) North] Pei Ju. What? Tuli cried out. The two boys sighed inwardly. The most formidable aspect of Shi Zhixuan was his skill to hide his secret identity. Not only this man was unrivalled in his demonic skill, his literary talent was also out of ordinary. Otherwise, how could he produce the three-volume Maps and Notes on the Western Regions? Were it not for Cao Yinglong betraying him, perhaps until today nobody would have guessed that Shi Zhixuan and Pei Ju were actually one person. Xu Ziling said, We are increasingly suspecting that Zhao Deyan and Shi Zhixuan are colluding in secret, because An Long has always been loyal and devoted to Shi Zhixuan, without Shi Zhixuans consent, how could An Pangzi be willing to obey Zhao Deyans order? His countenance changed, Tuli said, This is a very serious matter. Pei Ju is our mortal enemy. When I get back, I will definitely ask Wuzun [i.e. Bi Xuan], the Senior, to preside over justice for us. My father, Shibi Khansst words were to have Pei Jus head as a sacrificial offering for him. Kou Zhong excitedly said, If this time Shi Zhixuan ising to join the fun, it will be splendid beyondpare! Infected by the two boys fearing-nothing-in-Heaven-or-Earth spirit, plus he himself was a man with lofty spirit, with bravery to promote martial spirit, he immediately threw away what little hesitation remaining in his heart. Excitedly, but with a low voice, he asked, What do we do now? Kou Zhongughed and said, Good kid! Theres no need to be afraid of those Xianzi and Holy Monks, right? All over his body, Tulis blood was boiling; after cursing using Tujue peoples cuss words, he resolutely said, Such a delightful matter is hard toe by, difficult to encounter; if I still want to miss it, then I am an absolute idiot. Kou Zhong whispered something to his ear. After a moment, Tuli delightedly left. After Tuli was out of sight, the two boys you-look-at-me, I-gaze-at-you, they were overwhelmed with the excitement of at-ones-darkest-hour, a-glimmer-of-hope [lit. the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light], a ce of charm and beauty [idiom: apletely different world]. Kou Zhong poured Xu Ziling a cup of wine, and said with augh, Using battle to raise battle, its lucky that you came up with that. Our trip to Guanzhong this time has be one kind of enjoyment. And then he added, Do you think Tuli, this kid is reliable? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, He always reminds me of Old Ba. Tujue people are braver, more aggressive and ruthless than Han people, not easy to make friends, but once we could make heart-to-heart friendship with them, they ought to be more reliable than us, Han people. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. After pondering for a moment, he said, Just now when we walked pass the pier, I noticed that the ships casting anchor outside the city, not one flew the Li ns banner. If Li Xiuning is long gone, we miss a golden opportunity. Its really hard to say, Xu Ziling replied, If your beauty wanted to keep her movement a secret, naturally they cant possibly hang their banner to attract other peoples eyes. Honestly, after learning the lesson from their predecessor, even if we can catch up with her, we absolutely will not have any chance of hiding inside her ship. Naturally, by saying learning the lesson from their predecessor, he was referring to Li Mis attempt to kidnap Li Xiuning at the Flying Horse Ranchst time. Therefore, not only Li Xiuning would have to keep her itinerary confidential, she had to have arge number of martial art masters to escort and protect her. The precaution must be very heavy, so that she could do her lobbying work safely. Under this kind of situation, thinking about hitching a ride on her ship was like lunatic ravings. Kou Zhong lightly shrugged his shoulders, while assuming a dont-care attitude. His eyes swept the thinly spread customers in the restaurant, with a rather far-away expression on his face, he said, People are indeed highly mobile. I remember the time Jingling city was broken, this big city was like a ghost domain. Although the prosperity nowadays cannot surpass the past, but people areing and going, which is more like it. Xu Ziling said, Jingling is, after all, an important major city; it holds a dominant position in controlling the water andnd transportation, plus the natural resources are rich and fertile. To themon people, as long as they can find life here, they dont care who rule over it. Kou Zhong raised his cup and said with augh, Well said! Let Xiaodi toast Gong Ye a cup. Xu Ziling did not raise his cup. Looking down at the clear, pure wine inside the cup, he said, What worries me the most is still the men from Shi Feixuans side. She gives me the feeling that they are going to use some kind of deceit, which, in itself, is an immoral conduct. I certainly understand, Kou Zhong said, Otherwise, after stealing something that day, you did not need to bring a bramble and ask for punishment [idiom: to offer a humble apology] by showing yourself and apologize to her. But this time she ising to deal with us, we are merely unwilling to submit and acting in self-defense! Without any choice, Xu Ziling said, Right now we can only take one step at a time. But I have a feeling that before Li Yuanjis troops bump against the nail, Shi Feixuan cant possibly make her move rashly. Because the person she chose is not Li Jiancheng, but Li Shimin. She wanted to borrow our hands to frustrate Li Jianchengs prestige. To her, it would be the best thing she can do in the circumstances. Kou Zhong said, The fairy has her own fairy strategy, how could we, mere mortals, imagine it? The contradiction in her heart cant possibly less than ours, simply because the initiative is in her hands. Hey! Can I ask you a question? Wary, Xu Ziling said, If it has anything to do with feelings between two persons, wed better just drink our wine! And he raised his cup. Kou Zhongughed and said, Escape is definitely not a panacea. It shows that you dont dare to face yourself. Come! Lets dry this cup first. The cups were dried in one gulp by the two boys. By this time, most of the restaurant guests have had their stomach filled and have already left, intoxicated, leaving only the two and the guests around another table, so it was a bit of deste feeling. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Other than that doghouse in Yangzhou that gave us a bit of home feeling, we have never had a home. Surprised, Kou Zhong said, Are you thinking of getting married? Butpared to me, you dont seem to have that kind of desire. Xu Ziling replied, Its not that I long for a safe and happy nest with a tender wife and lovely children like everybody else, I just wish that when I am tired of wandering I have a safe and quiet ce where I can hide. His thoughts wandering far away, Kou Zhong said, A tender wife is not bad either. No matter how bad the torrential rain and the harsh wind on the outside, her warm, sweet-smelling and clean quilt will always be the best refuge. Ay! Noticing the gentle and soft expression in Kou Zhongs eyes, Xu Ziling asked in low voice, Are you thinking of your Miss Yuzhi? Kou Zhong woke up with a start. His eyes resumed his prating gaze, he asked in heavy voice, Supposing both Shi Qingxuan and Shi Feixuan are willing to live in harmony with you, Ling Shao, how are you going to choose? Trembling slightly, Xu Ziling said, Finally you still cannot help raising this question. Let me be frank with you! I will never want to make that choice. Kou Zhong nodded his understanding. Rising to his full height, he said, Lets go! Starting tomorrow, we will be very busy! [1] Best in ss, orig. ֮ѡ during that time, officers were listed as candidate by local government and appointed by the court; famous candidates were rank as high, middle, low, 3 types, and each type also have high, middle, low, 3 grades, so there was a total of nine grades. ֮ѡ means choice of high (grade) in high (type), or in modern term, AA. (Courtesy of Akw) Book 27 - 10 – The Guest Acts as the Host Chapter 10 C The Guest Acts as the Host That evening, about the second watch of the night (9-11pm), a small sailboat set off from Jingling, under the cold wind and hard rain, sailing along the Han River in the direction of Xiangyang. Steering the boat was Xu Ziling. He and Kou Zhong disguised themselves as Qian Duguans men. Naturally they could not let a royalty like Tuli Khan to do such a menial job as taking the helm of a small sailboat. Kou Zhong and Tuli were sitting on the bow, watching for any movement along the river course, as well as on both banks of the river. With the wind on their tail, they smoothly, without any surprise, any danger, sailing upstream for nearly thirty li, before they could heave a sigh of relief. Kou Zhong looked up to feel the taste of rain on his face. As if talking in his sleep, he said, Zhao Deyans spy clearly knew who Ziling and I are; otherwise, he could not possibly pretend not to recognize us, and would not avert his eyes as they met ours. Tuli, who was wearing bamboo rain hat, nodded and said, I also noticed that; this is called a thief having a guilty conscience. The most tant was when I ordered him not to contact anybody else, including Kang Qiaoli, unexpectedly he did not look the least bit surprised. Just now, before we set sail, I really wanted to grab a spear and get rid of him. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Did Khan notice that before we set sail, his hand was trembling? My guess is when he got home, the first thing he did was to thank God for His kindness. Thinking deeply, Tuli said, Do you think we canpletely leave the pursuers behind? Kou Zhong said, We set off thiste at night, hence we created the situation where they did not have enough time for careful consideration. However, because we are going against the current, we cant go faster than swift horses galloping along thend route. In my estimation, before reaching Xiangyang, one of the group of riders might sessfully be able to intercept us. And they must do so, because Xiangyang is the confluence of Xiao River and Han River, the road diverges to various directions, so that pursuing us will be a lot more difficult! Tuli nodded and said, They are most afraid that I will receive assistance from Qian Duguan. In this case, it seems that hard fighting will be difficult to avoid. Kou Zhong said, Qian Duguan is another unclear factor. Yin Gui Pai is the biggest Sect within the demonic schools in the Central ins. In term of strength, they are not inferior to Shi Feixuan and the Four Great Holy Monks troops. If this time they suffered big loss, based on their style, they would not be willing to let the matter drop. Therefore, good shows wille one after another. Tuli pondered silently. Kou Zhong asked, Does Khan mean the emperor? More or less, Tuli replied, But theres great and lesser distinction. Great Khan is the one considered real sovereign. Lesser Khan is like your Wangzi [prince, son of a king] or Taizi [crown prince]. If Xieli is done for, the one most qualified to ascend the Great Khan position is me, Tuli. Kou Zhong said, In that case, when he bestowed you the lesser Khan title in the past, it must be because he was constrained by circumstances and did not have any choice. Now that his imperial throne is stable, he wants to find a way to eliminate you. Therefore, this time Xieli must be going all-out against you, otherwise he will lose a golden opportunity and fail to gain victory. Ha! Very good! Smiling wryly, Tuli said, Whats good about it? Kou Zhong cheerfully said, When you are desperately seeking something, theres the possibility you will fail. Desperate people might make mistake or do stupid things; its difficult to escape from clever and knowledgeable person. Tuli stared at him for quite a while, before nodding his head and said, Only now I really understand why Li Shimin considers you as his only formidable opponent. Shao Shuai is that kind of natural born leader. Although I, Tuli, am conceited, I cannot but admit that when fighting a battle side by side with you, being subjected to yourplete confidence, influenced by your intelligence and a hundred-scheming charisma, not only I am ready to hear and obey your order, I will take pleasure in it. This is a trait that even Li Shimin iscking. Kou Zhongs old face turned red, he said, Khan overpraised me! Hey! When you return to your distinguished country, are you going to see Xieli? Tuli said, Mymand tent is located north of your Youzhou [ancient province in north Hebei and Liaoning], governing several dozens of khanates on the east side, just like another Khan court, with our own army. If he is not benevolent, I wont be friendly, why would I want to look up at his breath! pping his leg, Kou Zhong said, Thats even better. If Yun Shuai wont seed, Zhao Deyan will be forced to make his move, then we will have a chance to kill him. This is splendid! And then he asked, That kid Li Yuanji, hows his martial art skill? Have Khan ever yed a hand or two with him? Is he more formidable than Li Shentong? Tuli said, They are three brothers, the difference in martial art skill among them is not far. Although I have not pitted myself against him, I always feel that although Li Yuanji is outstanding, he cant surpass Li Shentong. At most theres only a sliver of difference. Kou Zhong has had experienced fighting against Li Shentong; hearing Tulis remark, he was emotionally moved and said, That can be considered not bad at all. This moment the sailing boat was rounding a sharp corner, the river course turned perfectly straight and narrow. Under the drizzle and the dark of the night, they saw brightnterns ahead, four warships were sailing speedily toward them. The three men were shocked; how could the enemy intercept them this quickly? Suddenly hundreds of torches brightened both sides of the river. A difficult-to-count number of archers appeared from their hiding ces under the bushes and in the forest, with arrow on the bow, ready to shoot. The three felt like they were plunging into a nightmare abyss. The sound of trebuchets and crossbow machines wereing from the warships ahead with ten-thousand-jun thunderbolt momentum, attacking them and catching them off-guard. Just before the rocks and arrows reached them, fast as lightning Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well, pounced forward and swept the saber across the boats only mast, while shouting loudly, Let theme! Qiang! Upon contact with the saber, the solid mast snapped like a fragile piece of paper. This saber strike carried the entire power stored up in Kou Zhongs body; it was certainly no small matter. Because the boat was sailing under tailwind, when the mast broke, naturally the sail fell swiftly forward to meet the arrows and rocks shooting toward them. In this critical moment, Tuli and Xu Ziling understood Kou Zhongs intention. They knew that even if they jumped off the boat to flee, it would still be difficult to avoid perishing under the arrows. The only way out was to seize the space and time between one breath and the next. Bang! Tuli swiftly pushed forward with both palms, striking the surface of the river, creating a ssh of water in front of the boat. Having lost its only sail, immediately the boat changed direction and swiftly floated backward. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly. Applying pressure with his foot, he pushed the boat so that it spun seven, eight times in session, and tilted and slipped backward about ten zhang. If not for they were traveling against the stream, it would be difficult to exploit the current to achieve such an ideal result. All the shooting rocks and arrows hit an empty space. The enemys ships pursued at top speed, but for the time being, they were already outside the range of the archers on both sides of the river. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Pull to the shore! Brothers! Pulling his body up, he flew toward the shore, which was no more than five zhang away from them. Xu Ziling and Tuli followed closely behind. In the blink of an eye they disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Boom! Two chunks of big rock hit their abandoned boat at the same time. The poor boat shattered on contact, unable to maintain its shape anymore. All these things happened within a period of ten breathings, but the danger involved was not inferior in any way to a life and death showdown between two martial art masters. If any one of these three reacted a bit slower or slightly inurately, they would turn into corpses going down into the bottom of the river; definitely no luck was involved here. Even with Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings ability, if they wanted go deep underwater, which was only about two zhang depth, hiding from the powerful arrows and shooting rocks was already beyond their reach. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have a strange feeling of history repeating itself, like that time they were hiding in Luoyang, while running away from Li Mi and Yin Gui Pai hunting them for a thousand li. Only this time Tuli took Ba Fenghans ce, and Shen Luoyans strange bird was reced by an even more formidable sparrow hawk. Kou Zhong flitted through the gaps among the branches and the leaves on top of the jungle, focusing his power into his eyes to look around. But under the drizzling rain and dark night, he could barely see a small ck dot, which was about a hundred zhang above the ground, circling overhead silently. Frowning, he said, I wonder if this t-feathered chap is Yun Shuais or Zhao Deyan? Khan, Laoxiong, can you tell? Tuli replied with a rueful smile, You make me feel more and more inferior. All I can see is an expanse of darkness; were it not for you telling me, Xiaodi basically did not know that we are being watched by a hawk. Yet even during daytime, it is not easy to recognize, unless it is willing to fly down. Xu Ziling said, Just now, ambushing us at the Han River must be Zhu Can and Yun Shuais coalition army. If it was Zhao Deyan, its less likely that hed have this kind of troop arrangement and momentum. We are a bit careless as well; we did not expect the enemy would guard a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits [idiom: to trust to chance rather than show initiative] by blocking off the river course, while sending out the hawk to monitor any activity around Jingling region from high altitude, and then convenientlyy out the ambush, nearly cutting off the opponents way. Therefore, the possibility that this hawk belongs to Yun Shuai is rather high. The three ran about a hundred li at a stretch. By this time they already felt tired, but they were still unable to throw off the hawk following their track from high in the sky. They would be lying if they say that they were not dispirited and anxious. Sighing, Kou Zhong said, Between that old thief Zhu Can and us, two brothers, there is an enmity as deep as the ocean; it would be strange indeed if this time he wont pour out his entire strength to take revenge on us. Presently, our only way out ought to be crashing into Xiangyang. Xu Ziling said, In any case, I would not rely on Yin Gui Pai for protection, so the road is not worth taking. Tuli spoke heavily, I agree with Ziling Xiongs decision. Besides, we dont know what trick Zhao Deyan might be ying. While Yin Gui Pai is unfathomably demonic and strange, going to Xiangyang will only add one moreplication. Kou Zhong did not care that his proposal was overruled; he made another one, No problem. Well pretend that we are going to Xiangyang, but actually going somece else. This is called the troops deployed to mislead the enemy strategy. Only inside the city will we be able to get rid of this high-altitude tracker. While Tuli was still thinking, Xu Ziling asked him, Can it see us? Tuli looked up to the sky and said, When a hawk is hunting for food, it can hover around thirty, forty zhang above the ground. Like now, it is about a hundred zhang in the air, it can only get a broader field of view. Therefore, no matter where we are in the forest, we cannot escape its sharp vision, which is far superior to ordinary people. Kou Zhong had a big headache; blowing out a mouthful of cool air, he said, Your flying sentinel is very formidable. Xu Zilings sword-shaped eyebrows knitted tightly, he spoke heavily, We must solve this beast problem first, otherwise we will lose the initiative. My guess is that it is Zhao Deyans eyes and was not sent by Yun Shuai, because along the way on the boat, I always paid attention to the sky, but I did not see it. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Ling Shaos remark made a lot of sense. If after we left the spy in Jingling notified Zhao Deyan, who was hiding somewhere nearby, he might immediately release the hawk; it should catch up with us just about this time. But then he said in astonishment, Could the hawk be this formidable? After all, this is not a ce it is familiar with. Could it be that Zhao Deyan simply told the old t-feathered beast, go seek along the river, if you see those three, follow them closely, and if you have the opportunity go back and tell me? Tulis countenance changed. Not good! he cried out, You are right! Zhao Deyans troops must be nearby, directed remotely using torches or some other things, its just that we cannot see them. Xu Ziling said, For the time being, we are still safe. In such a dense forest like this, a crowd will not be effective. If we could lure them into the jungle, we will be able to kill them to our hearts content. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Theres still a sichen or so before daybreak, at that time it will be their turn to enter the jungle to their hearts delight! Xu Ziling was the first to sit down by a tree. Only then did the other two realize the importance of taking a rest. Following his lead, they also sat down. Xu Ziling said, In the process of tracking and searching, under what circumstances would the hawk fly low? Tuli put the Subduing Eagle Spear across his stretched-out legs; muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Our hawks are trained to track the enemy, under no circumstances would they be lured to drop to the ground. Even if they have to fly low to observe, they cant possibly fly lower than thirty zhang. Furthermore, they are very astute; as soon as they hear slight bowstrings twang or palm wind, they would immediately soar high to evade. Killing them wont be easy at all. Kou Zhong resolutely said, Beasts are beasts; no matter how intelligent, they are still animal, how could they surpass the people who skillfully train them? There must be a way to beat them. What happen when the hawk is hungry? Xu Ziling asked. Tuli shook his head and said, When the hawks are carrying out their masters order, they only eat the culinary delicacy that their master reward them with. But during long distance assignment, it may hunt for its own food. Kou Zhong pped his thigh and said, That will do! We willbine its reconnaissance and hunting for food activities into one, turning it into brilliant scheme of snatching away its little life. Come! Although it is innocent, but I am sorry that I have to do it this time; I wish it wille as a good chick in the next life! The forest suddenly rang with the sound of chasing and fighting, followed by a blood-curdling screech, and smell of blood soaring into the sky. Naturally no one was really hurt; the blood wasing from an unfortunate wild fox wandering in the vicinity that Kou Zhong caught and chopped its head. Xu Ziling was hiding high on a tree, holding his breath and staying really still. Sure enough, the sparrow hawks sensitive ears heard the sound of hunting, immediately it spiraled down from about a hundred zhang high-altitude to about fifty zhang. Probably because of the smell of bloodbined with its natural instinct, it suddenly made a rapid circle and dived down swiftly. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly, while raising his arms and secretly performing an image, gathering all the strength in his body and storing up the momentum in waiting. Since the beginning of his self-cultivation, he had already fallen in love with observing the flight of birds in the sky, from which he learned not a few of the martial art principles. Unexpectedly the moment hase where he had to turn this knowledge around to deal with a bird; inwardly he felt a big sense of helplessness, yet there was no other choice. Under the fine drizzle, the sparrow hawk came to within ten-zhang distance from him. As soon as it entered the five-zhang distance, he was certain that he could send a strike over the empty space to shock it and turn the living bird into a dead one. While he was estimating the distance, suddenly the sparrow hawk shook; after going down another zhang, it suddenly pped its wings. The sharp sparrow hawk eyes shot lightning light toward Xu Ziling, who was hiding on a branch on top of the tree. Inwardly Xu Ziling knew the situation was bad; he did not expect the hawk would be this quick and acute. Immediately he released the power umted into his fist into a sudden punch. The sparrow hawk spread out its wing to swat the punch, as well as to stop its downward dive. A bit more, then the punch would hit its target. But it only brushed a few of the tip of the hawks wing. Screech! the hawk cried out in fear, while a few pieces of its feathers fell off. It flew back unnaturally into the air for a short period of time, before, having just recovered from the shock, flying to the south and disappeared from sight. Xu Ziling jumped back to the forest floor. Kou Zhong and Tuli felt a great sense of pity for his failure within sight of sess, but Xu Ziling shook his head and said, No! We seeded. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Did Ling Shao mean that the bird received internal injury, its heart and veins broken, and that after it is back, it would vomit blood and die? Tuli did not understand either, so he listened to his exnation. Xu Ziling asked Tuli, When the bird is frightened, will it return to its master? Tuli understood. He nodded his head in affirmative. But he was still puzzled, Even if Ziling Xiong is able to see the ce where the hawk is falling and specte the location where Zhao Deyans troops are hiding, but our knowledge of their strength is limited. If we simply grope around and fight, we will be at the very disadvantageous position. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Khan has forgotten that other than they, there is another group of people who are seeking our harm. If we could make Yun Shuai, Zhu Can, and the others think that Zhao Deyan is here to provide support for Khans troops, there will be a good show that we can watch. At first Tuli was stunned, but then he was greatly delighted. That is indeed a brilliant scheme, he said, But how are we going to proceed? Xu Ziling said, Do you, Eastern Tujue people, have special long-distancemunication method? Putting his hand into his pocket, Tuli took out a conch-shaped metal whistle and said, We can send different signals by blowing this in different lengths. When Yun Shuai hear it, he would know that it is the man from our side. Kou Zhong reached out to take the whistle; while looking at it, he said, Such a marvelous thing, why didnt you tell us earlier? Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Your brains have always been clearer than mine. Why dont you think of something this time? A mischievous smile appeared on Xu Zilings face; he said, Based on Zhao Deyans intelligence, if he heard the whistle, how would he react? Tuli said, If I were him, I would immediately withdraw, because Yun Shuai definitely does not have favorable impression toward him. Kou Zhong said, This time it is our turn to hunt and kill him! The three you looked at me, I looked at you, they all saw smiling expression growing in the others eyes, as well as in their faces. And then they all squealed at the same time, and like three little kids, under Xu Zilings leadership, they ran through the forest, heading toward the south. Book 27 - 11 – Sudden Change Chapter 11 C Sudden Change Xu Ziling stopped at the top of a hill at the edge of the forest. From behind a pile of rocks and underbrush he craned his neck to look at the grasnd and mountain and fields covered in sparse forest outside the jungle, under the fine drizzle. It was pitch-ck and he did not see anything unusual. Tuli and Kou Zhong looked to the left and right, respectively, and only after ascertaining that there was no enemy did theye to Xu Zilings sides. These three were outstanding Wulin masters inside and outside the Central ins, their eyes and ears were a hundred times sharper than ordinary men, plus they were very familiar with the way of the Jianghu, so the enemies could forget about hiding nearby without them detecting it. What do you think? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling replied, They must be nearby, but I cant ascertain their position. Kou Zhong said, If even you cannot ascertain, it is clear to me that they are quite far. Reaching out, he wrapped his arm around Tulis shoulders and pulled him toward himself, while saying with augh, The time hase to blow your conch! Tuli did not expect Kou Zhong would be this cordial and treated him like an old friend. He was a bit overwhelmed [by the favor from a superior], but was also a bit at a loss whether he ought tough or cry. Feeling uneasy, he said, If Yun Shuais side fail to live up to our expectations and practically did not hear the whistle, wouldnt we only expose our whereabouts? And then we will be forced to engage Zhao Deyans side in hard fighting, or else, we will be pursued until we are unable to breathe. Kou Zhong almost wanted to tell him that even Xi Ying was ughtered by Xu Ziling; hence Zhao Deyan, who ranked slightly lower than Xi Ying, would not be that terrifying anymore. Fortunately he managed to stop himself in time. Lowering his voice, he said, The ce you will blow the conch must be carefully researched. Khan, you go back about one li, and then blow the whistle. Ling Shao and I will be waiting around here to ambush the enemy. After giving them a good beating, we will rendezvous with you. Inwardly Tuli was full of admiration. If Kou Zhong were not this daring, the fate of the world would not change because of him. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, After Khan blows the whistle, there will be three possibilities. The first possibility is that there will be no movement at all; that is, Zhao Deyans side still holds back their troops without moving, and that Yun Shuai did not pursue nearby. Second possibility, Zhao Deyan is watching the fires burning across the river [idiom: to dy entering the fray until all others have been exhausted by fighting amongst themselves], and Yun Shuais men will blow their own whistle to attack Khan. The third possibility is the most ideal, which is the two sides men and horses blow their whistle at the same time to attack each other. We must first decide what action we should take under each circumstance. It is also advisable to decide on a number of whistle signals to be used tomunicate in case we lose touch with each other. Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, why dont you decide. Time is running out, after dawn, everything will not work anymore! So Xu Ziling brieflyid out the n. The other two nodded their heads indicating their approval. Finally, after they also agreed on the location to rendezvous in case they were separated, Tuli quietly slipped away. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, In my opinion, the two sides men and horses are waiting outside the forest for dawn. Since Zhao Deyan is aware that Yun Shuais men are nearby, he certainly wont act blindly without thinking. Wed better take the initiative to find them to y. After perfecting the Jing Zhong Ba Fa [Eight Methods of the Well], I have not had the opportunity to use it in real fight, makingozis [I, your father] hands unbearably itchy. Xu Ziling warned him, We basically do not have any capital to take risks. Once we are injured, or if our true power suffers too much wear and tear, it would be tantamount to abandoning our martial art and letting us get trampled on. You need to think about the consequences. Kou Zhong turned his gaze at the misty horizon and wilderness, in which the night rain blended into one entity. Changing the subject, he said, The situation I am most afraid of is like just now, when we were under attack at the Han River, sudden change that happened when youpletely did not expect to happen. It was as terrifying as a nightmare. How did Zhu Can suddenly be that formidable? Xu Ziling said, I have the same doubt as you do, which is to say his power could be considered of Ol Dies level. Zhu Can has had irreconcble adversaries against Xiao Xian, doing a favor to Yun Shuai shouldnt be any problem, but to move his army here, he has to have a very strong reason. The one thing that I am most suspicious of is that with Yun Shuais qinggong, it should not be that easy to cast him off that he loses our track. Judging from his guts when he was fighting female demon Bai and Yin Gui Pais three elders martial art masters, he shouldnt be following on our heels to try our weight [fig. importance]. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, If not Zhu Can and Yun Shuai, and not Zhao Deyan and Kang Qiaoli, then it must be Li Yuanji? My Niang! How did they arrive this quickly? Before Xu Ziling had any chance to respond, a mournful whistle like an owl cry rang out from about a li or so behind them, scaring them that their guts nearly jump out of their throat. But it was already toote to stop now, if it was wrong, then it was wrong. If there was no Yun Shuais men in the vicinity, then the whistle was akin to summoning the martial art masters from Li Yuanji and Zhao Deyan, two sides. Thetter even had the capability of pursuing the enemy from high in the sky using psychic sparrow hawks. This whistle was not much different to the call of death. The two looked at each other, their scalp went numb. Bang! Bang! There was a sound of something splitting the wind, followed by several fireworks exploding high in the air above the two boys head, turning into thousands of dots of light illuminating mountain forest with their golden yellow brilliant light. It was very pleasing to watch. The enemys reaction waspletely beyond the two boys expectation. They were unclear whether the enemy was using this firework to signal their own side to make their move, or just use the light to illuminate the area. Momentarily they were unsure whether they ought to turn around and rendezvous with Tuli, or proceed with their ambushing n. They had fallen into a dilemma where there was no room to advance or to retreat. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Lets go! Kou Zhong pulled him back, Absolutely not, he said, Chances are, nobody will be able to slip away. No matter how powerful the enemy is, the only way to escape alive from mortal danger is to obtain it from within the danger itself. Come! Xu Ziling stared at him. Although he had not seen the enemys track or shadow, his eardrums already caught the sound of fluttering sleeves as the enemies were flitting across swiftly from about half a li away. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, There are at least a hundred people. More than a hundred dots of light were lighted at the same time. Under the drizzle, the rays of light from the torches danced together with the water droplets, creating an extremely strange scene. About a dozen of torch lights formed a group, the groups scattered among various high points of the hills as far as the two boys eyes could see, forming a vast closing in on them. It could be inferred that there must be more enemy formations keeping a close watch over the in beyond their field of view, the number of men ought to be no less than a thousand. The light from the fireworks in the sky disappeared, the heaven and earth returned to its pitch-ck condition. At first the two boys were at a loss, because they thought that the sparrow hawk was released by Zhao Deyans side; therefore, up to a few moments ago, they still thought that the troopsing at them were the Eastern Tujue people. But this moment they knew that they had guessed wrong. Blowing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Zhao Deyan and Li Yuanji have formed a coalition army. My Niang! Xu Ziling pulled off his mask; his eyes flickered with bright light, he spoke heavily, There should be no more hesitation in this matter. We simply must go all-out and open wide the prohibition against taking lives, taking advantage of the darkness before dawn and the favorable terrain, trying to break the siege, to see what kind of ability they are relying on to intercept us. Following his example, Kou Zhong also pulled off his mask. This moment they could already see about a hundred enemies divided into seven or eight groups in fan-shaped formation, filling the mountain and swarming all over the wilderness to attack in their direction; the momentum was astonishing. Xu Ziling lightly elbowed Kou Zhong, looked up to the sky, and said, Look! The hawk is out! Kou Zhong also looked up, and happened to catch the small ck dot, which ought to be the hawk. Murderous intent shed through his tiger-eyes; calmly, almost without emotion, he said, Leave the killing to me. You are in charge of protecting Tuli kid. When this abominable sparrow hawk is locked on him, he will be the target of a multitude of arrows. We cant let him be killed; things will be even moreplicated than we thought. Xu Ziling understood what he meant, because logically speaking, Li Yuanji would not, under any circumstances, cooperate with Zhao Deyan, especially in anything involving the internal power struggle within the Eastern Tujue. Yet it was exactly what was happening currently; therefore, there must be something else. In the dark of about more than half a sichen before dawn, one of the three groups headed toward the peak, while the other two separated themselves to flit across the left and right slopes. The two boys held their breath as they hid inside a low thicket by the pile of rocks, watching the dozen or so enemies rushing up the slope at top speed from among the branches and leaves. This group of men were exclusively wearing nightwalker warrior outfit; their weapons ranged from saber, sword, to heavynce, spear, hatchets, and all kinds of other assault weapons. Their shenfa and speed were unusual. They must be the Han martial art masters under Li Yuanjismand. Anyone of them put in Jianghu would have enough qualification to be included in the circle of renowned masters. The dozen or so men swept past like a tornado only about a zhang away from the two boys. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling down. The two silently leaped out of their hiding ce to run after the enemys tail. By the time the enemy already passed the slope, Kou Zhong rose up, drew the Moon in the Well from his back, and let out a long whistle shaking the mountain and forest, far and near. The Moon in the Well turned into a yellow light, it hacked down on the two enemies bringing up the rear. The two men turned around in shock; their eyes were dazzled by the yellow light. The saber qi covering-the-heavening down on their face made the two men felt like their heart and gall dder were about to split. One side was the saber striking, brimming with stored-up, all-out momentum, the other side was blocking desperately at the deaths door; the difference between the two sides was simply too far, it was simply beyond reasoning. Dang! One of the mensnce was chopped by Kou Zhong, the remaining power was enough to jolt him that he violently spurted out a mouthful of blood and was sent rolling down the slope. After breaking thence, Kou Zhong continued by hacking down on the other mans head. This man could be considered out-of-the-ordinary master. Although he was barely able to block the Moon in the Well by relying on his heavy hatchet, he was unable to withstand Kou Zhongs surging-tide, violent-wave-like saber qi and irresistible true qi. His hatchet, along with his body, was hacked and thrown about a zhang sideways, into a pile of shrubberies by the slope. Even if he did not die on the spot, perhaps he would blow more air out than suck the air in. The reaction of the other eleven men at the front could be considered fast as well; just as Kou Zhong was letting out the long whistle, they already turned around to meet the attack. Momentarily saber light and sword shadow filled the air, the bloody battle has begun. Three of the men were about to surround Kou Zhong, Kou Zhong tapped the ground with the tip of his toes, and once again he soared at an angle, like a giant roc he flew over the three men, andnded in front of the enemy at the very front of the line. While the three mens attention was focused on Kou Zhongs soaring-with-astonishing-momentum, Xu Ziling unleashed the shenfa that they had just learned. Fast as lightning he entered into the gap between the three and brandished his fists to strike the enemys weapons as easy as if he was entering a no mansnd. In just one breath one after another all three men were struck by his heavy technique. The enemy did not have a chance tounch even half a move, they fell to the left and tumbled to the right like dried branches, heavily injured and were unable to get up. This was the easiest part of the assault. The next part would be the most difficult since they had to deal with the few enemies in a group battle. Although the situation was greatly chaotic, from the remaining eight Li n martial art masters, five separated themselves to deal with Kou Zhong, while the other three continued their attack on Xu Ziling. The enemies from the two nks also shouted repeatedly while rushing over to help theirrades. The bugle horn sounded. Kou Zhong adopted killing-the-enemy-one-by-one strategy. Beforending on the ground, he unleashed his rapid shadow-shifting and taking-a-breath skill; suddenly changing position, all the enemys weapons hit an empty space. As soon as he touched the ground, he spun around and traversed the empty space C about a zhang wide C on the slope. His saber light shed, it swept the enemys spear and swording to attack him. The man was originally brandishing his sword in a stabbing motion, but Kou Zhongs saber strike carried inescapably swift and fierce saber qi, which changed indeterminately. His shenfa was also so fast that he was unable to grasp its direction, so that he felt that Kou Zhongs murderous intent was focused on him alone. Although he had manypanions all around him, he still felt frightened and lost his guts. Helplessly he pulled his sword back, trying to save his life and no longer dared to show off. Dang! The palm of that mans hand cracked, his sword fell off. Kou Zhong, freely and easily, kicked his lower abdomen, sending the man flying backward, knocking one of hispanions so that the two became one rolling gourd, falling down the slope, both suffered heavy injury. If Kou Zhong were not being lenient with his kick, it would be very difficult for the man to save his life. Two out of five were gone, Kou Zhongs divine might was in full disy, the Moon in the Well sprinkled several dozen yellow light, rolling the already timid enemiespletely inside the saber shadow. For a period of time the sound of shing weapons lingered on faintly. On the other side, naturally Xu Ziling understood Kou Zhongs intention; he knew that Kou Zhong wanted to take advantage of favorable situation of the surprise attack to rout this group of martial art masters using thunderbolt-fall-short-of-reaching-the-ears technique, and then before the enemys reinforcement or perhaps martial art masters of Li Yuanjis caliber arrived, they would escape into the depths of the jungle. This gueri tactic was the only advantageous strategy to fight the enemy. While still thinking, he swayed to the left to dodge the enemys spearing to attack with ample momentum, while at the same time unleashing his skill, fast as lightning he grabbed the opponents long spear, slightly and skillfully exerting his strength, the long spear immediately snapped off. Xu Ziling carried out his marvelous footwork; his left hand broke the spear and swiftly swept, he struck a broadsword hacking down toward his head near the hilt. His right hand formed a palm chop, it cut another mans heavy iron truncheon sweeping across his waist. In that instant, all three men fought a desperate fight against Xu Ziling, and were struck by his spiraling energy so that they could not maintain their previous battle formation where they were able to help each other. This moment the enemies from two nks swarmed in like a tide. Ahead, there was a scream, the three men who were fighting Kou Zhong were struck by his unfathomably crafty, full of qi power and absolutely powerful saber technique; they were thrown outside in an extremely desperate situation. By the time Kou Zhong pulled back, the three men fighting Xu Ziling were unable to hold on any longer; they were hit in a close rangebat by his swift and fierce technique that they fell down the slope in heavy injury. Xu Ziling suddenly moved three zhang sideways toward the top of the hill, before soaring like a big bird toward the depths of the forest, evading the enemys reinforcement, which was fast closing in. Starting from this moment, he and Kou Zhong had to fight separate battles. Xu Ziling put his whole head into the ice-cold stream; his spirit was greatly aroused. More than a dozen wounds on his body have stopped bleeding, but he felt like antern that was running out of oil, making him think that if he could just lie down and rest well, that would be Laotianyes greatest gift for him. Even in the middle of fierce fighting, he remained lenient; those who were beaten by him were injured, but did not die. Only they could not expect to recover in a short period of time. After fighting fiercely for the entire sichen, theing of dawn brought them the extremely disadvantageous sunlight. Be able to slip through the gaps and came to this stand-aloof-from-worldly-affair, quietly trickling streamlet in the forest to enjoy for a moment was an extremely precious thing. At this moment, he was again thinking about the battle and the enemies out to kill them, which was precisely what has been happening around him. Mouthful by mouthful of fresh water entered his belly. His strength also seemed to be greatly restored. An iparably lonely feeling welled up from deep within his breast. The enemy was strong, a lot more powerful than he expected. When he was thinking of rushing over to meet Tuli, it was a group of about thirty Tujue martial art masters that was waiting for him. He was forced to fight them for close to ten li, and struck and injured nearly half of them before he seeded in breaking away from them and came to this ce to recover his strength somewhat. He forced himself to think about Kou Zhong and Tulis fate; he even thought about his own fate in the future. Right this moment, from about three li away to his left came the shrill sound of a whistle; it was the secret signal they agreed on when Tuli was ready to meet with them. Xu Ziling abruptly lifted his head from the water. Drops of water dripped down like a broken string of pearls from his hair and face, drenching the upper part of hispel. He knew that Tuli had fallen into a heavy siege; otherwise, he would never tell the enemy his position like this. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling pulled himself up and swiftly ran through the jungle. After rushing over for two li or so, the sound of shing weapons could be clearly heard from the grasnd outside the forest. Unleashing the power of his feet, suddenly a zing rage welled up in his heart; it was some kind of righteous indignation that was evoked by seeing others using their strength to bully the weak. Very quickly he approached the scene of the battle. He saw on the grasnd outside the forest, on the wilderness by a smallke C Tuli, blood-soaked from head to foot, was fighting bravely, alone, dealing with four Tujue martial art masters attacking him from all sides. Dead bodies were scattered on the ground, as a clear sign of how desperate the battle was. More than twenty men were spread around the battlefield, forming a siege. Evidently they were still very much afraid of Tuli, and were taking turn in wheel battle strategy to exhaust his strength. What attracted Xu Zilings attention the most were seven, eight Tujue men, standing on the side with their hands inside their sleeves. One of them was thin and hard like an iron stick, his face green, his body was straight like a spear. In his right hand was a sharp cavalry sword that the Tujue loved to use; in his left hand was a shield. He had quite a special-grade martial art master bearing like a crane in a flock of chicken. As soon as Xu Ziling was rushing out of the forest, the mans lightning-like gaze turned toward him, while at the same time he issued some orders using Tujuenguage. Immediately the seven, eight Tujue martial art masters turned around to meet him like wolves and tigers, full of murderous intent. Ah! One of the men who had been in fight against Tuli was hit on his lower abdomen, and was immediately thrown away and died on the spot, but another saber cut also appeared on Tulis body. The thin-and-hard-like-iron-stick Tujue man issued another order, and three more men entered the battlefield, with he himself leading the assault against Tuli. Obviously he wanted to seize the opportunity before Xu Ziling caught up to finish up Tuli first. Xu Ziling let out a long whistle and leaped at an angle. The group of martial art masters intercepting him seemed to already guess that he was going to do this. Three of them also leaped into the air to intercept, while the other four split up to four directions. As soon as Xu Zilingnded on the ground, he would fall into the heavy siege. Their reaction was indeed remarkable, a clear indicator that they possessed richbat experience. Dang! The tall and thin Tujue man suddenly threw himself into the battle. Using the shield on his left hand he blocked Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear. While the other men were pinning Tuli down, the cavalry sword in his right hand attacked Tuli like a howling wind and torrential rain. Immediately the battle situation was reversed. Under attack, Tuli was battered and exhausted; he shouted angrily, Kang Qiaoli, today, its either you die or I perish. He spoke these words using Han Chinese, evidently he wanted to tell Xu Ziling who killed him. By this time even he was not too optimistic about Xu Zilings help. Xu Ziling let out another long whistle, while unleashing his consummate skill of shifting-shadow and taking-a-breath in the air; unexpectedly from leaping at an angle he soared vertically up, and then, like a big bird he flew toward Tuli in the middle of the siege. The Tujue men who tried to intercept him could only block an empty space. Kang Qiaoli took the time to cast him a nce; his expression turned ugly as he barked another order. All the remaining dozen or so Tujue martial art masters standing around them immediately made their move to pounce on Xu Ziling. After going through the violent battle just now, Xu Ziling already figured out their vicious, disregarding-their-own-life battle style. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he let out a roar, Duo! As soon he released this incantation, none of the more than a dozen men on the battlefield did not have his eardrums shaken. Their hands immediately felt sluggish. Fast as lightning Xu Ziling shed forward; seizing this golden opportunity, heshed out a left palm strike and a right punch to two of the enemies stepping out of the battlefield to attack him. The fist wind and palm shadow suddenly grew, faster than lightning and spark of the flint. Those two mens fighting-will had already been snatched away by the incantation, plus they were weary from the prolonged battle against Tuli, immediately they were hit and thrown down. This time it was difficult for Xu Ziling to be lenient; the two men already breathed theirst even before their bodies touched the ground. Watching this, Tulis spirit was greatly aroused, plus the pressure on him was easing up; therefore, he roused whatever left of his courage, and made thousands of fantastical spear shadows dancing around like a cyclone, forcing everybody, including Kang Qiaoli, to step back. But the two mens situation was still not too optimistic; as soon as the enemies closed in, they would fall into a bitter fight. Using shenfa that was as fast as a ghost, Xu Ziling shed into the battlefield. Kang Qiaoli was about to press the attack on Tuli, but standing in front of him was no longer Tuli, but Xu Ziling. Bang! Xu Zilings leg flew in a sideways kick, throwing the enemy, mounting a sneak attack from the side, flying, while spurting out a mouthful of blood, followed by an explosive punch hitting Kang Qiaolis shield. Originally the cavalry sword in Kang Qiaolis right hand was about to release a swift and fierce saber technique, who would have thought that a burning-hot true qi, violent-and-powerful-like-angry-billows burst through his shield, so that even with his ability, he still felt that it was greatly unbearable? The cavalry sword could not even make half a move. Swish! Swish! Swish! He was forced to take three steps back; his heart was extremely shaken. He has had high estimate on Xu Zilings power, but he had never expected that he would be this formidable. Xu Ziling came to Tulis side. Applying his power to his palm he released more than a dozen palm strikes. Momentarily qi power filled the air. The pouncing enemies let out miserable grunts and retreated in desperation, one of them even got hit and fell to the ground. But Xu Ziling knew the difficult situation they were in. Continuous palm strikes like this would consume a lot of true power, it was very difficult to maintain for a long period of time. Fortunately his attack has opened up a sh of escape opportunity. Grabbing Tulis arm with his right hand, he shouted, Come on! The two, one in front the other at the back, ran in the direction of the smallke. They gave it everything they had, so that momentarily no one was able to block them. In a few breaths they already reached theke bank. It appeared that they were about to throw themselves into theke, but suddenly they changed direction and ran along theke into the wilderness. Kang Qiaoli and his men pursued relentlessly, but they were one step toote. Book 27 - 12 – Blood Stained Wasteland Chapter 12 C Blood Stained Wastnd Kou Zhong sped along the prairie. The drizzle had just stopped. All around him were sword shadows and saber lights, with voices boiling over, while more and more torches appeared to illuminate the dark, just-before-dawn sky. He seeded in routing and destroying several groups of Li Familys warriors sneak attacks, ambushes, and circuitous fighting style, and he was ruthless and showed no mercy, killing and injuring arge number of the opponents fighters. His clothes and his treasured saber were soaked with the enemies, as well as his own, blood. The worst thing was a spear that pierced him from behind on his right shoulder. Were it not at thest moment he applied his power to withstand it, the spear might have pierced through to his chest cavity. But even though he was able to dodge in time, the spear managed to enter about three cun into his body, injuring his muscle, so that he was forced to use his left hand to brandish the saber. By this time he had already circted his power to stop the bleeding, but it still gave him dull pain, hence the reason he decided that he had to run away to save his life. However, looking at the current situation, he knew that it was no more than a wishful thinking. He could not help but reassess Li Yuanjis ability and wisdom. Supposing the current movement of the Li Cans warriors was under Li Yuanjismand, then this mans capability absolutely cannot be underestimated. Without Kou Zhong anticipating it, he hadid out heavenly mesh, earthly [i.e. inescapable], nning on putting Xu Ziling and him to death at all cost. For this reason, Kou Zhongs murderous intent red out greatly, but his mind was as cool as usual, as he was constantly trying to save his strength, ready to dash out the siege to escape. Until now, he was still able to utilize the shenfa he had just mastered, repeatedly making the enemy unable to get a good grasp on how to surround him. The moment he fell into the siege would be the moment of his death. Suddenly there was a gust of wind ahead, a group of more than a dozen Li Family warriors shed out from behind the tall grass, which was taller than ordinary people C and came face to face with him. Without making any sound Kou Zhongunched the Striking Strange move first. His saber turned into a long rainbow, the person moved together with the saber. Qiang! It brushed past the man at the head of the opponents line. The man did not even have any chance to block. He only felt the saber light shed and disappeared in an instant like a lightning, his vision turned ck and he breathed hisst, without even knowing where the saber has hit him. This sliver of difference in term of reaction has decided the fate of this group of Li ns martial art masters. By the time they strived to fight back, Kou Zhong, relying on the ingenious movement of positive and negative qi power within his body, using unfathomable shenfa, already shed through their formation. Each step carried him into a gap in their formation, with fantasticyer uponyer of saber strike waves, which rendered them unable to neither defend nor attack. Each time they were going to attack, Kou Zhong already changed position, so that they attacked their ownrades instead. Qiang! A man, along with his ax, was hacked by Kou Zhong; he was lifted from the ground and was thrown nearly a zhang away. By the time hended face down on the ground, he had turned into a dead body. But this had affected the wound on Kou Zhongs right shoulder. Feeling a sharp pain, Kou Zhong could not help slowing down. And this slight fault cost him another saber cut on his left thigh. From this, it was clear how intense the battle was. Kou Zhongs murderous intent red out even higher. Taking a deep breath, the saber light increased sharply, immediately two men were hit; their weapons fell, they dropped to the ground, heavily injured and were unable to rise, greatly reducing the pressure on Kou Zhong. Seeing how in the blink of an eye Kou Zhong killed four men in session, so easily like snapping dried branch or pulling rotten stump, none of the enemies did not lose their courage. Three of them even separated themselves to evade his sharp de, while releasing fireworks, hoping to summon help. Inwardly Kou Zhong was well aware that he was just like an empty crossbow. On the surface he appeared to be upying the advantageous position, but the fact was that he was unable to annihte the remaining eleven men. Therefore, after sweeping his saber to chop on another man, he swiftly ran away. Several shes and turnster, he left the pursuers far behind. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw all four directions were full of torchlights, a clear sign that he had fallen deep inside the enemys. The worst thing was that he did not know which direction would give him the most advantage. If the morning light came, he would be without luck even more. All of a sudden, from not too far ahead, more than a dozen torches were lit at the same time, so that his whereabouts was fully exposed. Kou Zhong was shocked. Squinting his eyes, he looked toward the dazzling torchlight, and saw that the surrounding tall grass, covering as much as approximately twenty zhang area, was cut down, so that it became an open space with unobstructed view of the wilderness. The ce where the torches were raised high was actually the top of a small hill, which was full of shadows. The leader was wearing silver-colored warrior outfit. Standing among the Li Family warriors crowding around him, he looked especially prominent and eye-catching. Kou Zhong noticed that there was a thirty-, forty-percent resemnce between his face and Li Shimin; therefore, without needing to guess, he knew that the other party was Li Yuanji. Compared to Li Shimin, his build was even more ferocious and tall and sturdy. But on his face, there was a sinister, frightening, malicious aura, which Li Shimin did not have. Therefore, although he could be considered heroic and mighty, in the end, he incurred other peoples dislike. He stood with a grave bearing, without-any-w-to-attack, holding his spear across his chest, with the elegance of a genuine martial art master. As Kou Zhong was staring at him, his lightning-like gaze was also looking at Kou Zhong across the twenty--zhang open space. Laughing aloud, he said, Kou Xiong is indeed out of the ordinary; Yuanji admires you very much. Watch for the arrows! As soon as thest sentence was out of his mouth, the more-than-a-hundred archers waiting in ambush inside the underbrush on Kou Zhongs left and right swarmed out, the crossbows in their hands released the arrows at the same time. Swish! Swish! Momentarily the sound of arrows piercing the air filled the heaven and the earth. Kou Zhong unleashed his rapid shadow-shifting and breath-taking skill to the fullest. Suddenly he traversed nearly a zhang sideways to dodge the arrows. The crossbows sounded again. There was another group of nearly a hundred archers hiding in the direction Kou Zhong was shing to, who immediately shot their arrows toward him. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried for his Niang, knowing that if he dodged again, he would sink into the gradually tightening enemys heavy siege. But no matter how outstanding his martial art skill was, how formidable his saber technique was, it would be very difficult to block hundreds of powerful arrows being shot from the crossbows. In pressing danger, a man could be quick witted. First, he dropped to the ground, but about a cun before he touched the ground, he braced himself using both feet, and then staying close to the ground like that he flew forward, shooting like a cannonball toward the crowd of archers. The arrows flitted above him like flying locusts; it was extremely terrifying. The bugle horn sounded. The crowd of archers responded with a shout. After releasing the first round of arrows, they immediately scattered backward. From the tall grass behind them, more than twenty Li Family warriors swarmed out. With torrential momentum they met Kou Zhong head-on. Suddenly on all four sides, eight directions were Li Yuanjis family warriors and martial art masters; from the small hill and their hiding ces they all closed in on Kou Zhong, while Li Yuanji himself remained calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, as he adopted the watching-the-fires-burning-across-the-river attitude. By this time Kou Zhong already flew nearly five zhang away. Just before the group of more than twenty warriors, fully armed for hand-to-handbat, swarming in, he pressed the ground with his hand and shot out. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw that there were at least thirty, forty martial art masters heading toward him. The momentum disparity between he and the enemy was simply too wide; no matter how strong his fighting-will, he knew that he could not lightly test his skill with this battle. Now was the only time to escape. If he got entangled, he would only end up dead. The question was: where should he run? His heart was moved, he pulled up his body, and unexpectedly he pounced toward the hill where Li Yuanji was standing. The enemies were caught by surprise; they were all shouting and cursing repeatedly. Li Yuanjis countenance changed as well; shouting his order, more than a dozen warriors on his left and right moved together to attack downhill. This has not only demonstrated Kou Zhongs outstanding guts, it also showed his astonishing facing-death-did-not-get-confused intelligence. Just because nobody, Li Yuanji included, would expect that he had the guts to attack themander-in-chief position, which also happened to be the weakest point of the hemming him in. The strongest point is also the weakest point. It deeply corresponds with the Yijian Technique. As long as he could pass through Li Yuanji, he would be able to escape from the gap on the. In the chaotic battle, the enemies originally the most threatening archers becamepletely useless. Qiang! As soon as Kou Zhongs two feet touched the ground, he crashed his way through the gap between two enemys martial art masters. The enemies two men immediately spun around, their blood sshed, they fell to the ground. His Moon in the Well turned into yellow light again, it urately pierced the space between another mans eyebrows. By the time that man took hisst breath and fell, Kou Zhong did his utmost to reach out with his right hand and grabbed the pit of the mans stomach, and hurled him up. The already-burning wound on the right side of his back immediately burst open, his blood gushed out. But Kou Zhong did not have time to worry about it. Pulling up his body, he flew past the enemies weapons. Although he startedter, he caught up with the enemy that he threw earlier, which was flying about five zhang in the air. Quick as lightning he grabbed the enemys ankle to use him as a stepping-stone and used this moment to raise his qi to give him power to change direction. Traversing the more-than-ten-zhang distance, he flew about four zhang above the ground over the heads of more than a dozen martial art masters pouncing down the hill, straight toward Li Yuanji, who was standing on top of the hill. Li Yuanji let out a wild roar. The long spear in his hand turned into millions of shadows as he attacked with all his might. Lucky! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. If Li Yuanji disregarded his own safety and leaped up into the air to meet the attack head-on, he would be in the position of amassing-momentum-while-waiting, while Kou Zhong would be in the position of weary-after-the-prolonged-battle. The several feats he performed just now had nearly exhausted his true power, without having the opportunity to take a breather to restore his strength. The oue of the battle would inevitably be he would be forced to fall back into the enemys heavy siege, and then he would be dered finished. But Li Yuanji, although his spear technique was swift and fierce, showing his astonishing power C was evidently unwilling to take this risk. Actually, it would be very difficult to me him, because under normal circumstances, by staying on the ground in stable defensive position like this, he should have enough power to seal Kou Zhongs way out. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong possessed the unique ability to rapidly shifting-shadow and taking-a-breath? Kou Zhong abruptly took a breath, stretched out both hands to shock the air. While Li Yuanji could only stare nkly, Kou Zhong, like a big bat, appearing to be flying straight but was actually making a turn, flew around Li Yuanji, toward the slope behind him. Tuli stumbled and fell; he rolled on the ground and was no longer able to crawl up. Xu Ziling carried him out of the sparse forest to a more secluded part and helped him sit up properly. He then pressed his palm onto Tulis back and transferred whatever little true qi he had remaining in his body to help Tuli treating his injury. After his qi had recovered somewhat, Tuli sighed and said, Ziling, just go away! Xu Ziling pulled his palm back and spoke resolutely, Dont say such words. Tuli looked up to the sky. Just below the sun, there was a ck dot circling in the air in such a peculiar way. Smiling ruefully, he said, We have absolutely no way to break away from the enemys hawk following our trail from high altitude. In the end it will be difficult for us to escape and well both die; it would be better if I lure the hawk away, in the future Ziling can still avenge me. Xu Ziling could feel that Tulis heroic spirit was broken and he was desperate. Shaking his head, he said with a smile, Its not that we have no way to deal with that thing, its just that the fortunate timing has not arrived yet. In fact, we already seeded in leaving the enemy behind. Our top priority at present should be going into Xiangyang City and meet with Kou Zhong, theres no point in talking about anything else. Tuli said, In my current state, I dont think we can reach Xiangyang in less than a day and half the night. The enemy will certainly catch up with us before then. Ay! Why dont you just leave me here? Xu Ziling suddenly changed the subject, Why would Kang Qiaoli join hands with Li Yuanji? Tuli was silent for a moment before replying, This must be Xieli and Zhao Deyans malicious scheme to deal with the Li Family. Xu Ziling was taken aback. Tuli went on, Seeing the Li ns power is gradually increasing, Xieli is worried, hence Zhao Deyan offered the tactic to split the Li Family apart; he changed his support to the Li Familys crown prince Li Jiancheng, by helping him to resist Li Shimin. If they can remove Li Shimin, who is the Li Familys most formidable and whose prestige is the grandest, the Li ns power will crumble, the chaos in the Central Earth will continue, and then we will receive the fishermans benefit. Xu Ziling suddenly understood. But then, frowning, he said, But it still does not exin why Li Yuanji dares to confront you openly. Smiling wryly, Tuli said, Because I am the only opponent of this malicious scheme. I have deep friendship with Shimin Xiong, how could I turn my spear around to deal with him? Plus I am hoping that Shimin Xiong would win, so that he could help me contending against Xielis oppression. Inevitably Li Yuanji sees me as a thorn on his side. Xu Ziling actually only wanted to divert Tulis attention; who would have thought that he would hear such matter with far-reaching influence? It was quite half a dayter that he said, Come! We must be on our way. Tuli asked him instead, Didnt Ziling Xiong say that you have a way to deal with that beast in the sky? But did you say that the fortunate timing has not arrived yet? Xu Ziling whispered something in his ear. Immediately Tulis spirit was greatly aroused. Rising to his full height, he said, If I can not die, why would I want to die? The enemies are still pursuing relentlessly anyway. I have an idea, perhaps we could even rendezvous with Kou Zhong earlier. At that time we can try Ziling Xiongs ingenious n. Kou Zhong was hiding in the mountain forest. Pushing the ten-thousand thoughts out of his mind, he strived to regte his breathing as much as possible to recover his strength. After escaping the enemys siege, he ran close to a hundred li nonstop, his legs were rushing intensely for two continuous sichen, in his deliberate attempt to deplete his true power until nothing was left. It was a calcted risk. He estimated that if Li Yuanjis men wanted to find him, who was an expert in running for his life, they would never be able to aplish it in a short period of time; they might even lose track of him. Broken and then standing, defeated and then seeded. The Secret to Long Lifebined with the Jade Annulus of He n have given him a fantastic innate true qi, precisely with this kind of astonishing characteristic. He remembered the mortal-danger, escape-alive situation in the ocean, and then the hard battle against Song Que. In each urrence, his power recovered faster than the previous time, which made him more determined to take this risk. After sitting down for less than half a sichen, he already knew which correct method to use. A stream of true qi rapidly coalesced. At first it was just a barely discernible gossamer, but it quickly converged into a flow, osciting and agitating within his meridians, which made him pleasantly surprise at this new recovery. And now, after nearly two sichen of regting his breathing, he quickly found that the result was satisfactory. All the wounds on his body, big and small, were healing. Only his shoulder injury was too heavy, so it still gave him dull pain. The sun already hovered above the western hills, and the temperature was gradually cooling down. One more night of traveling, and tomorrow morning he would reach Xiangyang. But hey! How about those two kids? Hows their luck? Right this moment, he heard Tulis whistleing from somewhere about seven, eight li to his left. Book 27 - 13 – The Beauty and the Psychic Hawk Chapter 13 C The Beauty and the Psychic Hawk More than a dozen columns of thick smoke were rising straight up to the sky, covering an area more than ten li wide, obstructing the starlight and the moonlight, while also covering the trail the hawk was following. The three men looked up to the sky. Kou Zhong said, This move is indeed extremely wonderful. Birds are most afraid of smoke and fire; if we carried out this movest night, we did not need to have our eggs nearly beaten by those people. Tuli said, Its not that Ziling did not think about this, butst night it was drizzling continuously, there was no way we could light anything. But today everything was exposed to the scorching sun all day, hence we are able to make this fire. Xu Ziling said, What are we going to do now? Are we going to fight or escape? Revealing a weird-looking smile, Kou Zhong asked, What do you think? Xu Ziling said, If we go either to Xiangyang or to the north, sooner orter there will be a repeat ofst night; we will be intercepted by Li Yuanji and Kang Qiaolis allied armies pursuing us ruthlessly. Those Tujue men are all great experts in following the trail. I can see their movement clearly from here. Do you see the hawk? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling replied, The hawk is resting on Kang Qiaolis shoulder, its head is covered in a hood, it looks weird. Kou Zhongughed and said, Probably the fire and smoke hurt the hawks eyes, ha! Its indeed too wonderful for words. Hows Khans injury? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong replied, His internal injury and external wounds are rather serious. Luckily my power has been restoredpletely, so that I can help him with all my strength to circte his qi to treat his injury. This moment is the critical juncture in his qi cirction. If he could get another night, tomorrow morning he ought to return to his lively dragon and animated tiger condition. Heaving a deep sigh, Xu Ziling said, Who would have thought that we would go through trials and tribtions with Fenghan Xiongs personal enemy? This time it could be said that our troop deployment was quite unfavorable; we had just left Jingling, someone already followed our track, and all three of us are injured. Kou Zhong responded indifferently, As long as we are not dead, I still say it is a sess. Now, more and more I am unable to endure other people bullying and humiliating us. Li Yuanji joined hands with the Tujue, relying on their strength to deal with us, I can never let this resentment drop. I am not joking. I dont care if he has many men and great force, as long as we can stay in the dark while the enemy is in the open, I will teach him a good lesson. Xu Ziling said, Currently, what you want is to get your hands on the hidden treasure, not to have a grudge against other people. This time, were it not for the Tujue sidecked Mo Shi [Demonic Master], Zhao Deyan, and the Li Family sides Li Shentong did note, I am afraid we would have been finished early on. Actually, you ought to be grateful to Li Yuanji. If he did not take Li Shimins ce, you would have suffered more. Kou Zhong said, How could Zhao Deyan note? To him, killing Tuli is his top priority. Otherwise, if he lets Tuli go back, perhaps the Eastern Tujue would split up into, hey! It ought to be East Eastern Tujue or perhaps East Western Tujue! Its just so confusing to say it. Remembering something, Xu Ziling said, Last night, although the momentum of the enemys approach was fierce, but because theycked genuine top-ranking martial art masters, except for the barely-counted Li Yuanji and Kang Qiaoli, two men, although they had many men, great force, with our newly-found qinggong and our familiarity with the terrain, we seeded in slipping away. However, after this battle, Li Yuanji and Kang Qiaoli will surely realize their own deficiency. The next time we meet on the battleground, they would not be this easy to deal with. I know that, Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Sometimes I am exaggerating a bit, but I will never be stupid enough to despise the enemy. Furthermore, looking at Li Yuanjis entire operationst night, from blocking the river to delivering a frontal assault, to the battle in the jungle, everything was clear and logical, every time he nearly put us in order. Too bad there is only a fine line between sess and failure. Ay! I nearly forget about Yun Shuai. Where in the world has this Persian guy disappeared to? Xu Ziling said, The higher ones qinggong is, the more skillful he will be in tracking and following. If Yun Shuai knew that Xieli wanted to kill Tuli, perhaps he might try to protect Tulis life instead. When the internal power struggle within the East Tujue grows, it will be orchestrated not by Yun Shuai, but by his beloved daughter, Lian Rou, which will be greatly surprising. [Trantors note: this part does not make sense to me. I have a feeling that some text are missing, but I searched several different sources, and they all are the same.] Before he had any chance to speak, Kou Zhong already said flirtatiously, Turns out its Lian Rou Gongzhu herself honoring us with your presence. Gongzhu is indeed outstanding; unexpectedly you have a way to find us here. Knitting her brows, Lian Rou sized Kou Zhong up and down for half a day, before saying with a slightly annoyed tone, What do you think you are doing? I wont answer you if you speak like a savage. If it were Ziling who asked me, I might answer him. Xu Ziling felt a big headacheing. As early as when they were inside the dungeon of Qing Yang Si in Chengdu, he already experienced her seemingly na?ve, but actually as sly as a fox C temperament and tricks. And now, listening to the tone of her voice, he knew she was ying some stunt. On the contrary, Kou Zhong was relieved, because obviously Lian Rou has not found out about Tuli yet, or else she would not waste her time bying up the cliff. Thereupon he signaled Xu Ziling with his hand, telling him to talk to Lian Rou. Although Xu Ziling felt he was put on the spot, but because he had to refrain from shooting the rat for fear of breaking the vases, he had no choice but to humble himself and ask for Lian Rous guidance. Lian Rou showed a pleased-with-herself expression. Suddenly she pursed her lips to let out a shrill whistle. Immediately the sound of pping wings came down from the sky. The two boys suddenly realized and inwardly med themselves for being careless. They only paid attention to Kang Qiaolis sparrow hawk, but forgot that the Cloud Commander was a Western Tujue man, hence he was also ustomed to use sparrow hawk as intelligence gatherer. Swooping down from the sky, carrying with it a gust of wind, the sparrow hawk suddenly appeared out of nowhere and perched itself on Lian Rous fragrant shoulder. A pair of abstruse and acute hawk eyes flickered brightly as it looked at the two boys up and down. Kou Zhong said in amazement, This hawk is a bit smaller than Kang Qiaolis, the color is also a bit deeper; is it of different species? He intentionally mentioned Kang Qiaoli to test Lian Rous reaction. Lian Rou reached out to stroke the hawk with tender expression in her eyes. The beauty and the psychic hawk, stood on the high cliff beneath the starry night sky, the sleeves of her clothes fluttered lightly in the breeze; it was such an unspeakably moving scene. But Xu Ziling felt extremely uneasy. To them, Lian Rou was neither a friend nor a foe; there was no reason for her to summon the hawk down, and thus giving them the golden opportunity to kill the hawk. This womans intelligence and craftiness was rather high, it was not too much inferior from Wanwans. There must be a profound reason behind why she did what she did. Only momentarily Xu Ziling was unable to figure it out. Lian Rou appeared to be stalling for time. It was quite a whileter before she replied, This is a falcon that is unique to the Western Tujue, naturally it is different from the hawks that the Eastern Tujue people raise. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he spoke heavily, May I venture to ask Lian Rou Gongzhu, is your esteemed father going to be here soon? Stunned, Lian Rou said, Esteemed father? What do you mean esteemed father? My Hannguage is not too bright! Ziling, you must have a tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex [idiom], you ought to amodate me as much as possible. Kou Zhong suddenly realized what was happening. Qiang! Pulling the Moon in the Well, heughed aloud and said, Good girl, unexpectedly you are fooling us; by summoning the falcon like this, clearly you are telling your Ol Die our position. Since this is not going to be the first time that you are being captured, there is no harm in you getting captured one more time! Like a surging tide a powerful saber qi burst toward Lian Rou. Lian Rou showed a disdainful look. While letting the falcon fly off to the sky, her hand reached into her waist to pull the flexible sword wrapped around her waist. With a shake of her hand, the sword turned perfectly straight. She pointed it out toward Kou Zhong to contend against his terrifying saber qi. Xu Ziling followed the soaring falcon with his eyes. Not only it circled swiftly in the air, it was also screeching constantly. Kou Zhong was greatly amused at Lian Rous flexible sword; he said with augh, That thing can be used to fight? While speaking, Whoosh! his saber hacked, faster than lightning, and hit Lian Rous sword squarely. Dang! Contrary to Kou Zhongs expectation, the flexible sword, which was so flexible that it could be wrapped around the waist, met his Moon in the Well head-on, without any fancy move at all. When the saber and sword collided, sparks flew everywhere. Lian Rou floated backward and disappeared behind the cliff. When the two boys rushed over to look, they saw Lian Rou standing charmingly on a huge rock at the top of the cliff. Sheughed tenderly and said, Other martial art I may not be able to match you, but my qinggong is definitely not inferior to two gentlemens. Do you want to try it by ying hide-and-seek with me? By now the two boys were certain that Lian Rou came here alone, and that she has not discovered Tulis hiding ce. But this good situation would notst long. By the time Yun Shuai and Zhu Cans men arrived, it would mean that their doomsday wasing closer. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, No matter how hard, we must capture her before Yun Shuai rushes over here. This will be our only way out. Before Xu Ziling had time to answer, a cold humph was heard from the waist of the mountain. When the two boys cried inwardly, Bad!, another cold humph rang out again. The neer quickly reached the cliff. Obviously his shenfa was astonishingly fast. Book 28 - 1 – Unrivaled Lightness Skill Chapter 1 C Unrivaled Lightness Skill Making a prompt decision, Kou Zhong shouted, Ling Shao, catch her one more time. While saying that, he rose up and shot nearly seven zhang into the air. Immediately he was able to catch the entire cliff, as well as the surrounding mountain ridge filled with various trees and bushes, in his vision. He caught a glimpse of a quick-like-a-light-smoke shadow shed out of the hillside, sweeping toward Lian Rou. Letting out a longugh, Kou Zhong unleashed the Strike Strange of the Eight Methods of the Well. The Moon in the Well turned into a streak of yellow light illuminating thete night sky, striking toward the neer. The tacit understanding between Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong could be considered unparalleled under the heavens. Before the words were even out of Kou Zhongs mouth, he already swam toward Lian Rou. Since he already had experience dealing with Lian Rou, he took this heavy responsibility upon himself. If he was able to put Lian Rou under his control, then they would be able to negotiate with Yun Shuai and therge number of martial art masters under Zhu Cansmand who would eventually follow him here. Even if the n did not work, they could at least buy some more time to give Tuli the opportunity to recover. At that time, if they had to meet force with force they would have a bit more capital. This womans qinggong was superior; he has had a taste of it. Even inside the secret room, where it was difficult to unleash the full capability of her skill, she still made him rack his brains. He must take advantage of the fact that she has not seen through his foundation and take a risk and rely on his luck to achieve sess. But currently she was deliberately dodging, while waiting for her fathers esteemed presence, so that the degree of difficulty this time was totally different. One thing that he and Kou Zhong were extremely close to each other was that they were not afraid of difficulty and challenge. When facing a nearly impossible matter, his spirit would rise to its peak. Only unexpectedly this time he was doing it for the Tujues Tuli Khan. If a few days ago someone predicted this would happen, he would definitely scoff at it. Lian Rous eyes shot bright light as she watched attentively at the style with which Xu Ziling wasing at her. Her jet-ck eyebrows were tightly knitted; it appeared that she was at a lost. She saw Xu Ziling was shing to the left and right; he seemed to be moving in a straight line, but with twists and turns, as well as curves, hidden within it, which were more ingenious than a simple turn. If this kind of movement appeared on the attack path of a weapon, it could be considered reaching great expert level already. But appearing on a shenfa [reminder: pose/movement in martial art], it shocked and horrified Lian Rou, who herself knew exceptional qinggong handed down in her family, so that momentarily she did not know where to evade. Xu Zilings appearing to be slow, but seemed to be fast C movement made her feel that no matter which direction she was dodging, she might fall into the opponents calction. The only way out was perhaps to move back at top speed and flip over to the hillside, and then engage him in desperate battle of leg power and shenfa. But if Xu Ziling did not press on but joined hands with Kou Zhong to deal with Yun Shuai, the turn of events would be extremely bad. Although she had full confidence in her fathers ability, she was fully aware that no one in the world was able to withstand Kou Zhong and Xu Zilingsbined power. The greater temptation for her was that if they, father and daughter, were able to hold off the two boys for half a day to wait for their reinforcements arrival, then they could either capture or kill the three men on this dangerous cliff and mountain range [I thought she was unaware of Tulis presence, but the text says three], and then they could do whatever they please. Therefore, no pen and ink could describe the contradiction and anxiety in her fragrant heart at this moment. Xu Ziling was precisely observing this situation. He wanted to force Lian Rou to make her move and fight hard, which, to a certain degree, would open up some kind of situation simr to the secret chamber. In an instant he slid into Lian Rous left side, to another big rock separated from her only by about a zhang distance. Both of his hands repeatedly performed the Inner Bound and Outer Bound, two images. Astonishing qi power formed a burst of wild, violent-without-equal force field, the full-forced true qi blowing her clothes fluttering, attacking Lian Rou, who was like a goddess standing against the wind. At the same time, on the hilltop about ten zhang away on the other side, Kou Zhongs saber qi was closing in on Yun Shuai, who was rushing up the hill. He had witnessed Yun Shuais unrivalled-under-the-heavens shenfa, he knew thatpared to Yun Shuais qinggong, his was just a joke. The only way was by relying on the subtle qi to draw him into a hard battle that he had a free hand from the start, so that he could not escape. Perhaps his speed could not match Yun Shuais, but he was certain that his saber qi could keep up with whatever change of shenfa he made. Moreover, if Yun Shuai were not so keen to rescue his daughter, Kou Zhong would be unable to create this kind of favorable situation. Yun Shuai suddenly stood still, as still as a deep pool or high mountain. It should be noted that he was flying up as fast as a shooting star from the hillside toward the edge of the mountain range, and was able to stop as soon as he wanted to stop. Although if he rapidly took a breath Kou Zhong would barely able to do the same, it would be extremely difficult to copy his lifting-heavy-as-if-light, natural-and-unrestrained style. Just from this point, it was clear that in term of qinggong, he was at least a notch above Kou Zhong, even with the breakthrough he has just obtained. Yun Shuai waved his right hand, an exotic weapon, shaped like crescent moon, glittering gold, looked like a saber but not exactly a saber, looked like a sword but not exactly a sword C appeared in it. Looking up, he stared at Kou Zhong. The two men stood face-to-face in the wind. Yun Shuai was the kind of person who, once youve seen him, he would be hard to forget. His build was not tall and sturdy at all, rather, he was tall, straight, confident and at ease. From head to foot, he exuded extraordinary power and grand personality traits. His outward appearance looked like he was Lian Rous brother, only a few years older than she was. But his most attractive feature was his pair of deep, gentle and soft, slightly exuding blue color, eyes. Hisparatively erect aquiline nose made a clear-cut contrast with his firm and persistent corners of his mouth, giving the impression of he had both the iron-blooded means and the passionate heart inside. Kou Zhongs saber struck down. Ding! Yun Shuais crescent moon saber changed into a streak of lightning-fast golden ray, hacking at an angle on the Moon in the Well. Saber qi dissipated immediately. Immediately Yun Shuai was severely shaken; he swayed backward. Kou Zhong was also jolted by the reaction force; he flew backward. The oue of this battle was really beyond both sides expectation. For Kou Zhong, it did not matter how formidable Yun Shuai was, at most he could only neutralize his saber move. And he was going to use the more than a hundred saber strikes of the Battle Decision in session, which would guarantee that he would be able to entangle the opponent to his hearts content, so that he would not be able to get away. Who would have thought that Yun Shuais saber move appeared to meet the attack head-on, but it was actually an extremely brilliant move to deflect the attack? It could borrow strength to counter strength, and could send Kou Zhong toward the back of the hillside. Frightened, Kou Zhong promptly took a breath and shifted his shadow, and simply raised his qi to pull back; but because of this, all the follow-up moves he nned went down the drain. Yun Shuai also suffered big loss on what he had already nned. He already had a very high assessment of Kou Zhongs skill, but he thought that no matter how brilliant Kou Zhongs martial art was, it would be difficult to block the umtion of nearly sixty years of his power. Who would have thought that when they met force against force, unexpectedly he did not obtain the slightest bit of advantage? Without any need of exnation, the shock in his heart could be clearly imagined. Within a period of two breaths, he was eventually able to neutralize Kou Zhongs qi power invading his body. By this time Kou Zhong also somersaulted onto a horizontal branch of an old pine tree, standing with a stance ready for the next round, making him losing the opportunity to rescue his beloved daughter. Yun Shuai soared at an angle and made his move with all his strength. Xu Ziling and Lian Rous fight also entered the climax [orig. white-hot (referring to fire)]. If Xu Ziling, with heart and soul, wanted to kill Lian Rou, this moment this Persian beauty would either be dead or gravely injured. During the fight in the secret room that day, Xu Ziling could defeat her easily. After learning the Buddhist schools unfathomable-mystery Incantation Hand Image and defeating the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, the distance between the two has significantly grown apart. But capturing Lian Rou alive was another matter altogether. Moreover, amazing skills and strange moves wereing out from her one after another, in perfect harmony with the qinggong that Yun Shuai personally taught her, resulting in Xu Ziling could not help feeling big headache. After evading her howling-wind-and-torrential-rain, never-came-from-the-same-angle-and-position attack, could-be-hard-could-be-soft, flexible swords eighteen moves in session, Xu Ziling was finally able to open-the-cloud-to-see-the-moon, to see the method she had inside her brains, hence by unleashing the using the man to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy move, his palm swept across. Dang! In the middle of Lian Rous tender shout, the flexible sword was squarely hit; it flew off her hand and fell into the rock crevice. Letting out a longugh, Xu Ziling lunged forward at lightning speed, and stretched out his finger to jab her left Jianjing acupoint, which was a vital acupoint. Lian Rou was worthy to receive Yun Shuais handed-down teachings. Although the qi and blood in half of her body could not flow freely, so that it was unbearably aching and numb, her tender body could still bend backward with her face up, to evade the finger wind dangerously closely, and then she flew at an angle, passing through the gap between two horizontal branches of an old pine tree behind her, and straight toward the cliff. Her posture was beautiful to the extreme. But Xu Ziling did not have the mood to admire it. Soaring at an angle, he flitted across from the tip of the old pine tree, pursuing closely, only about a zhang behind the turning-over-without-resting Lian Rou. If he could grab the position she was going to make her move, then he was confident that he could catch her hand within several moves. In the air, Kou Zhong and Yun Shuai, using fast-beyond-humanprehension techniques, exchanged three moves, before falling onto a piece of huge rock on the cliff, and continuing their close-rangedbat. Even with Kou Zhongs skill level, he was still sweating profusely dealing with Yun Shuais demon-like, hard-to-fathom shenfa and moves. If Kou Zhong did not obtain the Heavenly Saber Song Ques enlightenment, which was given with great care, perhaps he would have been defeated and perished early on. Not only Yun Shuais power was deep, the most difficult to deal with was his enigmatic shenfa,bined with his crescent-moon, strange saber, which could produce unexpected changes, so that it was extremely strenuous for him. The crescent moon saber was like clump after clump of soul-snatching golden clouds, producing rain and gale, which moved left and right, front and back, indeterminately, shaking and attacking Kou Zhong violently, without giving him the slightest bit of opportunity to take a breather. But Yun Shuai was even more shocked. Although he upied the upper hand, yet each time, with a hairsbreadth difference, using abstruse, bizarre shenfa, Kou Zhong was able to escape through the cracks between his finger, which he was originally full of confidence that he would seed. His eyesight was superior; he judged correctly that Kou Zhong was taking advantage of the ingenious true qi cirction and transformation within his body to create positive and negative, two streams of power, which enabled him to shift shadow and change position at will. However, his knowledge remained only a knowledge; he waspletely at a loss on how to deal with it. Hence it would be strange indeed if he was not amazed. It should be noted that he was a Persian martial art grand master. After entering the Western Tujue, he also developed new martial art skill based on select Tujue martial art, so his skill was not a small matter at all. Who would have thought that upon encountering Kou Zhong, this young kid, even after going all-out, he was still unable to put him under control? Supposing this situationsted for a long period of time, it would be a disgrace to him. Thinking of this, his murderous intent red out. Dang! After bending his body backward to dodge his cutting-horizontally saber strike, Kou Zhong suddenly bent his waist and shot out, while sending out a fierce hack onto his head. Yun Shuai pulled his saber back to block, only to feel Kou Zhongs power was bursting violently like a breaking out mountain sh flood. Letting out a stifled grunt, he let his saber swing backward to unload the impact force, while spinning his body around at the same time. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I knew you have this move. Yun Shuai only felt that Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well suddenly changed from full-of-qi-power-coursing-through-it, heavier-than-ten-thousand-catties, to be empty and fluttering. Not only there was no force to unload, it also forced him apply his own force incorrectly. Very shocked inwardly, he moved backward abruptly to evade Kou Zhongs saber strikes, which came one after another. The crescent moon saber in his hand turned into ten thousand rolls of golden light, in mercury-flows-out-swiftly, no-crack-not-entered aggressive violent attack toward Kou Zhong in another round of intense offensive moves. This set of saber technique was the skill that Yun Shuai stored at the bottom of his chest; it was called Yan Yang Ren Fa [colorful yang (or sun) de technique], which referred to the saber technique like the sunshine, like the colorful sun in the sky shining its noble light onto the big earth, the sunlight bathing all things under the heavens with its brilliant radiance, nothing can either resist or avoid it. The entire set of de technique was made up of 1003 styles. Each time he used one move, there would be distinct xinfa, shenfa, and footwork apanying it. Ever since he created and mastered this technique at the age of forty, he had never met any match. The most outstanding part was that each time he raised a mouthful of qi, he couldunch ten saber strikes in session before taking another breath. Therefore, the saber technique was swift and winding like the sunshine. Even though the opponents power was more profound than his, the opponent would be defeated for sure because his speed could notpare to his speed. Kou Zhong was able to force him in such a way that he did not hesitate to waste his true power, to use this set of Yan Yang Ren Fa in full confidence. But Kou Zhong had no time to becent either; the little bit of advantage that he struggled to regain immediately melted like ice and broke like tiles. Momentarily golden light was everywhere, saber qi assaulted his face. Forget about being able to see clearly the opponents moves and technique, even distinguishing between which one was empty and which one was real was already a big problem for him. It was like Yun Shuai has turned into a wisp of weightless smoke, floating and swaying along the blowing mountain breeze, each time continuously changing position, each time attacking the gaps and targeting his weak points from unexpected angle. Kou Zhong no longer relied on his eyes; he could only rely on his intuition, unleashing everything with all he had, resisting the hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earth attack of his strange de, and the huge, unmatched, gradually increasing qi power pressing down on his head. The sound of shing des lingered on faintly. Kou Zhong was like a nail defending a chi-square ground [1 chi is approx. 1 ft or 1/3 m]; he would neither withdraw nor dodge to the death. Deep in his heart he knew that if hepeted in shenfa with this dreadful opponent, he would only hasten the moment of his defeat. The moment Yun Shuai took the fifth mouthful of qi tounch the forty-first style, he suddenly heard his beloved daughter Lian Rous tender cry. Yun Shuai had no choice but to fiercely hack down, before abandoning Kou Zhong and soaring into the air, while crying inwardly, What a pity! However, even if he were able to kill Kou Zhong, but his daughters little life could not be preserved, it would not be worthwhile. All along, he has been able to rely on his brilliant eyesight to quickly see through what was true and what was false on the opponent, and then use strange move to defeat the enemy. Yet up to this moment, it was like Kou Zhong was a deep pool which bottom could not be fathomed; oftentimes he was so sure that his saber move would make a kill, but in the end he still failed to harm even half a strand of the opponents hair. To a conceited man like Yun Shuai, this kind of helpless feeling was really unbearable. He was upying the active position; as soon as he wanted to withdraw he simply withdrew, Kou Zhong practically had no way of stopping him. Xu Ziling had just pursued to the top of the cliff and struck down from high up in the air; who would have thought that realizing she was no match for the opponent, unexpectedly Lian Rou withdrew to the edge of the cliff and cried out tenderly, Donte closer, otherwise nujia will jump down to die for you to see. Xu Zilingnded about a zhang in front of her, but before he even had a chance to open his mouth, Lian Rou unexpectedly flew with both palms extended in all-out counterattack. At the same time, there was a de qi pressing down from the sky onto his back, followed by Kou Zhongs shout from a distance, Ling Shao, watch out, Ol Yun ising! In an instant, from upying the upper hand, he sank into the inferior position where his abdomen and back was threatened by the enemy. If it were ordinary martial art master, he might sh sideways to evade this desperately serious [orig. burning ones eyebrows] situation first. But if he did that, father and daughter might seize the opportunity to join hands to attack him, and that would be extremely difficult to block. Quite possibly before Kou Zhong even arrived to help, he might have breathed hisst first. Furthermore, he was very clear that if he met their, father and daughters seamless heavenly clothes pincer attack, Kou Zhong would be able to catch up in time. Therefore, Xu Ziling let out a cold humph and turned around to meet Lian Rou, who was attacking from the cliff edge, with his back, as if he was deliberately sending himself up as a target for her to practice her palm power. Even with her crafty, loved-to-bluff nature, Lian Rou could not help but was stunned; how could there be such a suicidal style in the world? Xu Zilings pair of tiger-eyes was immediately filled by Yun Shuais crescent moon des golden light. This strange golden des movement was following a trajectory, which could bring out the optimum performance of its unique structure. From the top going down, it drew a breaking-the-mountain wind, with the enormous pressure that could destroy and burst the opponents meridians, which assaulted him even before Yun Shuai himself arrived. Xu Ziling could not help crying Lucky! inwardly. If he had divided half of his spirit and qi power to deal with this fast-and-abstruse,unched-at-full-strength, saber strike, he would definitely end up dead or at least injured. Lian Rous pair of delicate palms was only about three chi away from his back. If her palms really struck his back, it would be guaranteed that any true qi protecting his body would not work. Duo! Suddenly he let out an incantation. It sounded like it came from the Ninth Heaven, but it also sounded like the explosion of a thunder on the ins. Both Yun Shuai and Lian Rou did not have time to guard against it; their eardrums were buzzing, their mind was shaken. Clearly Lian Rou was affected more significantly than Yun Shuai; her tender body was severely shaken, her shenfa slowed down, her original speed was reduced a fraction of a second before her palms imprinted Xu Zilings back. Xu Ziling unleashed his old skill; first, he copied the Luohan extending all four limbs of his body, distributing more than half of the true qi invading his body out via the fingertips of his four limbs, and then he spun around and like magic he was suddenly behind Lian Rous silky back. Immediately Lian Rous soul flew away and scattered. Just now, as the sound was still shaking her ears, both of her palms struck Xu Zilings broad back at the same time, and the most difficult thing for her to understand happened. In the blink of an eye, it looked like Xu Zilings outer robe lightly shook three times, but Lian Rous sensitive hands clearly felt that this delicate-and-pretty, handsome-and-mighty, intimidating Han young martial art masters robe actually continuously inted and deted more than three times. Each time it shook her palm power and dissipated some of it, so that by the time both of her palms struck his back, the power remaining on her palms was unexpectedly less than fifty-percent of her original power. In particr, it was a feeling of having enough strength, but fail to produce any result, like trying to grab a loach falling into the mud. The more force is exerted, the faster the loach would slip away from the grasp. Toote to change her move, she turned her face around, no longer facing Xu Zilings back, but her fathers crescent moon saber hacking down on her face like the sun in the sky. Xu Ziling cried Lucky! inwardly. If he did not copy the Great JinGang Chakra image method, as well as borrowed the fantastic true qi within his body to circte the Great JinGang Chakra three times, there was no way he would be able to neutralize Lian Rous swift and severe palm power. Taking advantage of the brief pause while Lian Rou was staggering backward, he rapidly circte the true qi in his body and turned it into the qi power invading Lian Rous body. And then by the time he withdrew about five chi away from Lian Rous tender body, his true qi already recoveredpletely. Naturally he did not want to miss this one-in-a-thousand-years golden opportunity to capture the enemy. Swiftlying to a stand, he spun around, his right hand reached out, he spread out his fingers into a w across the empty air toward Lian Rou, who was meeting her fathers saber. All five fingers generated sucking force. As long as Lian Rou reacted instinctively by evading her fathers de light, he would be able to make his momentum to work by pulling her hand into his w, and thus aplishing this extremely possible wonderful thing in this near impossible situation. Reversing defense to be an offense. Kou Zhong and his saber became one entity. From three zhang high in the air he flew down like a shooting star. Yun Shuai fell into the difficult situation where he had no time to deal with it; he had never expected that Xu Ziling, who had fallen into a desperate situation, would be able to suddenly turn thepletely disadvantageous situation around. But he was a grand master of martial art study; as he caught a glimpse of Xu Zilings attempt to capture his beloved daughter, in the face of danger he remained calm, his outer robe suddenly swelled, unexpectedly at thest moment he changed direction, from flying straight he flew slightly around to avoid his beloved daughter, but the original style was unchanged, as he attacked the young opponent behind his beloved daughters back. Golden light red out, it rolled straight toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling has considered everything carefully, even more because earlier he had seen his consummate skill as he was flying high up in the sky; hence in his heart he already took precautions against it. Making prompt decision, he changed his w into a palm strike, while secretly performing the Treasured Bottle [i.e. Aquarius] Image secret art, his qi power suddenly changed, from sucking and pulling in to pushing and crashing out. The Treasured Bottle qi power burst out from his palm, pushing Lian Rou, who was staggering since her footsteps did not follow hermand C to rush forward. Letting out another shout, Duo! both hands turned into millions of palm print shadows, finally he exerted the Inner and Outer Lion Image alternately, to meet Yun Shuais golden de head-on. Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang! In split second Xu Ziling blocked Yun Shuais ten saber chops; he resisted this Persian martial art grand master with unrivalled lightness skill without moving a single cun. Lian Rous tender cry was heard. Borrowing the reaction force of the impact, Yun Shuai shot up into the air, but by the time hended down, Lian Rou already fell into Kou Zhongs grasp. Repeated gusts of wind were heard. More than a dozen shadows appeared from among the trees and the rocks behind the cliff. But they wereing one step toote. Book 28 - 2 – Garuda King Chapter 2 C Garuda King Kou Zhong pulled the tender, soft, and limp Lian Rou leaning against his body and moved her toward the edge of the cliff. Yun Shuai could only stare nkly at him, his eyes revealed murderous intent; obviously he was really angry. If not for Xu Ziling watching him on the side like a tiger ready to pounce on its prey, he might give it a try, by relying on his exceptional qinggong. By the time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came together, from the more than a dozen neers, three persons rose up andnded by Yun Shuais side. Two of them were familiar: the Sichuan Fat Merchant An Long and the Venomous Spider Zhu Mei. At first nce, the other person did not look exceptional; he was about average height, medium build, did not grow any beard. But Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong felt that this man was a highly dangerous character. Not only because his eyes emitted demonical light, but also because both his shenfa and his bearing were not inferior to An Long at all. It should be noted that An Long was a figure who ranked in the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. Just from this assessment, it was clear that this person was not easy to deal with. Yet Yun Shuai did not seem to pay any attention to these people at all. His flickering-brightly eyes were fixed on Kou Zhong, he shouted coldly, Let her go! I will give you the chance to a fair stake-it-all fight; otherwise, you will bear all the consequences. It could be said that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling grew up under other peoples threat and intimidation, how could they take his threatening words seriously? They looked at each other andughed. The formerughed aloud and said, You are a teacher of the country [Guoshi], how could such a ridiculous thinge out of your revered mouth? Since we, relying on our true skill, captured your darling girl alive, do you think wed let her go that easily? Please show some real skill to Laozi [I, your father]. An Longs eyes looking at them were burning fiercely, obviously Kou Zhongs remark invoked old hatred, deep animosity in his heart, but he did not say anything, clearly it was because he respected Yun Shuais decision. Zhu Meis eyes also contain bitter resentment; she spoke ferociously, The two of you could be considered men with head and face; seizing a woman [nuliu, a derogatory way to call a woman] like this, what kind of heroes are you? Kou Zhongs true qi finally seeded in overpowering the resisting qi power within Lian Rous body, so that she was unable to even open her eyes, let alone to move or speak; she waspletely dependent on his grasp on her jade arm not to limply fall to the ground. Hearing Zhu Mei, Kou Zhong remained calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos; he said, Mei Gongzhus remark is really puzzling. First of all, Ling Shao and I are just little ruffians making our living in Jianghu, we have never been considered to be heroes or what have you. Secondly, there are so many types of nuliu. For example, if you could seize Zhu Yuyan, I am afraid everybody would praise you as outstandingly formidable. Have Mei Gongzhu thought about that? Immediately Zhu Mei was stumped. She still wanted to retort to argue strenuously, but the middle-age man next to her patted her lightly, Zhu Mei immediately obediently swallowed back the spittle already on the edge of her lips; she only stared angrily at Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were greatly puzzled, which divine being was this man? Why did Zhu Mei obey him like that? The rest of the martial art masters behind these four persons had already fanned out to the four directions, surrounding the cliff so that not one drop could trickle through. Unless the two boys jumped into the cliff to escape, they could forget about leaving. Still, fortunately the opponents did not know that Tuli was in a secret ce behind the cliff to heal his injury, otherwise the two boys would have big headache. This was precisely the reason why Kou Zhong prevented Lian Rou from speaking. Yun Shuai suddenly turned toward the middle-age man. The man smiled and said, Yun Guoshi may make your decision, Ol Zhu will abide by it. Inwardly, the two boys were severely shaken; they guessed that this man must be Zhu Meis father, who proimed himself to be the Garuda King Zhu Can. Just by looking at how while having heavy responsibilities with the affairs of his state, his troops were in unfavorable situation in a fierce war, he still took the time to deal with them, it could clearly be seen that he had deep hatred toward the two boys, so deep that even all the water in the streams and rivers in the world would still be difficult to wash it off. Yun Shuais gaze returning to Kou Zhong, he spoke heavily, Speak up your condition of her release. Dont be too excessive. Dont forget that you, Han people, have a saying, which is, you would rather be broken jade than a whole roof tile. Kou Zhong smiled and said, That is indeed seeking truth from the facts. The condition is very simple, that is, before dusk tomorrow, the troops from your honorable side must note to give us trouble; you must not send either men or sparrow hawk to spy on us. Ay! Originally I wanted to have you kill the hawk, but this request will be too cruel to the adorable hawk. I have no choice but to put up with it a bit more and forget about it. Everybody in Zhu Cans side, Yun Shuai included, was greatly amazed; not because the condition was too harsh, on the contrary, because the condition was too good and too difficult to refuse. Xu Ziling was the only one who understood Kou Zhongs intention in ying this card on them. This was to get their Using Battle to Support Battle and Taking Advantage of Check and Bnce of Power strategy underway. But this strategy was not much different than ying with fire. One thing went wrong, it would only bring disaster on themselves. Yun Shuai nodded and said, If you agree to immediately release Rourou, as the Western Tujue Guoshi I can guarantee that we will do as you wish. Kou Zhongughed and said, Whats so difficult about that? One word and its settled. Wrapping his arm around Lian Rous waist, he gently tossed the Persian beauty toward Yun Shuai. Flying in the air, Lian Rou was rolling continuously, her touching body was full of infinite wonder. It was not until she safely fell into the crook of Yun Shuais arm that all the men present regained their heart and spirit. An Long and Zhu Can still maintained their wooden expression; they did not reveal their inner feelings the slightest bit. Zhu Meis pair of beautiful eyes lit up; she repeatedly signaled An Long with her eyes, obviously she wanted to break the agreement and make her move to take care of these two boys in one go. As soon as Yun Shuai examined his daughter, he knew that she only had her meridians under control; after circting her qi and blood, she would recover. The sharp ray in his eyes ring out, he looked at the two boys, nodded his head, and said, Two gentlemen should cherish this avable time from midnight tonight through the end of the day tomorrow. I will definitely wipe away this hatred. Finished speaking, he turned around and left, carrying his daughter in his arms. Like a gust of wind, he disappeared beyond the hillside. Immediately the situation became extremely delicate; because Yun Shuai did not call the others to leave with him, it appeared that whether they ought to make their move to deal with the two boys was left in Zhu Cans hand to decide. The atmosphere quickly tensed up. Zhu Meis eyeballs rolled wildly; she was eager to give it a try. But as she was about to encourage her father to make their move, unexpectedly An Long pulled her back. This big fat man raised his thumb and praised, Young heroes are born, two Xiao Xiongdi are indeed exceptional. Ol An admires you very much. Too bad it will be difficult for you to escape the disaster of dying an untimely death. Im taking my leave here. Pulling the reluctant Zhu Mei, he turned around and left. Zhu Can also retreated away. With a longugh he said, The matter between us can only be resolved with one side sshing blood and the corpse exposed to the sun. Gentlemen, please take a good care of yourselves! In the blink of an eye, the enemies left until no one remained, the cliff was back to its tranquil state under the starry sky. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Did I make a mistake? Putting his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder, Xu Ziling pulled him away from the cliff edge, and said cheerfully, You certainly did not make any mistake. As I see it, you already won Yun Shuais respect. Stunned, Kou Zhong halted his step and asked in bewilderment, Respect? Are you teasing me? Didnt you hear that when he left he kept saying that he will definitely wipe away this hatred? Xu Ziling exined, Yun Shuai only dealt with us for Zhu Can, father and daughter, and An Longs sake. His real target ought to be Tuli; with us, he did not have real unsolvable enmity. Just now you showed your frank and straightforward, as well as magnanimous character, which make Zhu Can and An Longs conduct appears to be even more despicable and lowly, hence the reason he intentionally disregarded everything and left without leaving half a word, to see whether Zhu Can, An Long, and the others would honor hismitment or not. And then he continued his analysis, Furthermore, we have never really dealt with his darling girl using ruthless hands. Old Yun is a chicken eating the worm in the open; he is well aware of whats going on! Kou Zhong was convinced; he said, After listening to Ling Shaos analysis, I am having simr impression. But as I see it, this Persian guy, Old Yun is haughty, he will never ept setback and defeat. Therefore, he might still pursue and attack us with all his might, and this will cause no end of trouble. Ha! That Persian woman is certainly moving. I hate to give her back; when I had her in my bosom, you dont know how nice it felt. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Youd better save your mind to think about how to deal with her fathers fast saber. Fighting one-on-one, we are still one notch below Old Yun. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up, he nodded and said, Fighting with Old Yun, we can learn a lot of things. Since we have time, let us study it andpare notes! Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, The first thing we have to consider is: why is he faster than us? If we could figure this out, we would not be without any chance to defeat him. Kou Zhong pulled him back to the edge of the cliff. The two boys sat on the edge, with their four feet dangling over the edge of the cliff. The wide expanse of the starry sky above and the vast stretch of the in before them extended as far as their eyes could see, making their heart and spirit felt open and clear, giving them a brand-new feeling. Kou Zhong was silent for a moment before starting glibly, I fought hand to hand with him for quite a long time, the feeling was particrly profound. Now that I recall the situation at that time, I dare say that he is able to use such a fast, high-speed saber technique, was because of three reasons. Xu Ziling took a deep breath to fill his lungs with the strong mountain breeze blowing directly onto his face; highly interested, he said, Tell me. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, This time we meet again and going up north together, whenever we have free time, we never miss the opportunity to study martial arts. It is thus clear that only under pressure mankind can strive and roam the earth, and struggle untiringly. Xu Ziling agreed; he said, This is called striving unremittingly. But if there was no stimtion like Yun Shuai, it would have been very difficult for us to make continuous breakthrough like these two days, to use battle to support battle, to make such pursuit. Ay! I seem to be changing the subject. Kou Zhongughed and said, All right! Lets get back to the main point. The reason why Yun Shuais saber technique can both be that fast and full of power is because he can use circle as a straight line. This is also the characteristic of his strange saber. Unless we could be like him, when messing with such curved saber, we would only want to draw tigers, but end up drawing some kind of dogs instead. Xu Ziling nodded and said, That is certainly one of the crucial points. The change in curved sabers rotation speed is naturally a lot faster than a straight one, plus we could exploit its spinning and splitting-the-air characteristic. Combined with his unique technique, this is the point that we are unable to learn by stealing. Kou Zhong said, But we are notpletely without any means either. Your technique has always been relying mainly on straight line. If you add a little bit of curve, circle and angle, it might evolve into a more non-square movement. Ling Shao, you might want to consider it more. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, This suggestion is not bad at all. Kou Zhong said, Next reason is his shenfa and footwork. In this aspect, we will always be one notch below him. Do you have any good idea on how to improve ours? Otherwise, when we meet him again, we will be in the situation where we could only watch him go. Xu Ziling appeared to be very deep in thought. Suddenly he was severely shaken; he said, I got it! Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, This kid is not bad at all, even this near-to-impossible matter, you are able to see through. Xu Zilings eyes were flickering with bright, peculiar light. Turning his gaze toward the pitch-ck jungle at the bottom of the cliff, he spoke slowly, Do you remember that time at the Learning Beach we seeded in jumping down the cliff, when we were finally able to master the Bird-Crossing Method? A faraway, reminiscing look appeared on Kou Zhongs face; he quizzically asked, What does it have to do with what we are talking about now? Xu Ziling turned his head around to look at him; he said, I am referring to the feeling when we jumped down from the top of the cliff, our whole body felt like it was empty and fluttering. Our problem now is that when we move from one point to another, we are afraid that we wont have enough power, so we have the qi power in our entire body passing through the arteries and veins, which is costing us a great deal of effort and slowing down our speed. If we only need to use our strength at the beginning of the movement, it would be just like when we jumped down the cliff. Do you understand? Kou Zhong suddenly shot up, and then Whoosh! he floated three zhang away, and blurted out, Sess! Inwardly Xu Ziling thought, How could it be that easy? But Kou Zhongs floating just now was definitely a bit faster than usual. Abruptly turning his true qi around, under the push of the positive and negative streams of energy within his body, he immediately soared into the air. He no longer continued circting his energy like he used to do, he simply let the initial stream of energy to carry him toward Kou Zhong. His entire body felt empty and floating like a feather, as if he waspletely weightless. When hended by Kou Zhongs side, he excited another stream of true qi, tapped the ground with his toes, and flew at an angle, traversing the nearly-seven-zhang distance across an empty space, andnded on a thick horizontal branch extended out of an old pine tree behind the cliff. One heavy and one light, it fitted deeply with natural way of raising a breath. Normally it was impossible to achieve; it was even farther away from the effortless way he was doing it now, as if he did not spend any effort at all, plus he did not even use half of the qi power he normally used. With a long whistle Kou Zhong soared into the air. Both arms hugging his knees, he made a continuous more than a dozen somersaults, beforended by Xu Zilings side. The two boysughed together, their longugh was brimming with feeling of delight and satisfaction. The fact was, ever since they witnessed Yun Shuais exceptional qinggong, they had wanted to improve this aspects deficiency with a thousand ways, a hundred ns, and now that they figured out this xinfa, they felt that their achievement wasplete. If it were someone else, even if they could think of this principle, they would not be able to seed. One might well ask, who could be like them, able to control the true qi within their body easily, sending it out and pulling it back at will? Finishedughing, Kou Zhong said, The third condition is the amazing key of cirction of the true qi within the body. But with what we had just learned today, we no longer need to take the trouble to think about it. Xu Ziling suddenly moved across toward the empty air outside the tree trunk, made a somersault, and kicked with his left and right continuously to attack the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach. Thetter remained calm and unhurried, he stepped back from the tree trunk, and raised both palms to block. Bang! Bang! Borrowing the reaction force, he leaped over Xu Zilings head. The Moon in the Well left its scabbard on his back and swept in an arc to chop on Xu Ziling. Old Yuns most formidable skill is using force to deflect force, without force to borrow force, these eight-character incantation [you li xie li, wu li jie li]. Watch for Laozis skill! Xu Ziling rapidly took a breath, his right palm swept across. Although it hit the Moon in the Well, there was a difficult-to-bear feeling of he was unable to exert his force, simply because most of his power was deflected by Kou Zhongs ingenious skill and qi power. Roaring inughter, Kou Zhong said, Now this is the right one! The Moon in the Well slightly swung open half a chi or so, and then the saber hacked back in. The speed was a lot higher than the previous saber strike. Evidently he had grasped the method of deflecting forces, he also understood the amazing key of borrowing the force. Xu Ziling fell straight down. His left palm rose up to block, his palm power met the Moon in the Wells de. Bang! While Kou Zhong flew up like a stone bullet from the impact, Xu Zilings left punch struck out. The instant his feet touched the ground, the wind from the fist soared into the air, swiftly striking Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong moved sideways to evade the fist power, andnded on a mountain rock three zhang away from him. Aghast, he said, How could you, after receiving my saber strike, counterattack that fast? Xu Ziling smiled and said, This is another kind of borrowing forces method. After absorbing a bit of your force, I returned it to you. In all the world, I am afraid only our martial art, which came from the Secret to Long Life and the Jade Annulus of He n, can do this. After a short pause, he continued, That day, on the nk walkway on my way to Bashu, Wan Yaonu borrowed my body for a hard fight against You Niaojuan. At that time I recalled the moment when I was with you and Old Ba, absorbing the extraordinary ability of the Jade Annulus of He n, so I secretly hid part of Wan Yaonus power. Therefore, when you mentioned about the method to borrow forces just now, I had a sudden inspiration to creativelybine learning with usage, and thus I mastered this matchless-under-the-heavens big method of borrowing power. Even if Yun Shuai sees it, he will only sigh with regret that we, the green, have surpassed the blue. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, This is certainly the pinnacle of martial art study since the dawn of time. If we really can use it to perfection, even if the opponent is stronger than we are, as long as the rtive superiority of the style differs only a little, we could upy the invincible position. En garde! Swiftly pouncing forward, the Moon in the Well turned into a roll of yellow light shooting straight toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling understood Kou Zhongs intention. He stood still while pushing both palms out. Bang! As soon as the edge of Kou Zhongs saber hit his palm, he pulled the saber back and chopped down. Xu Zilingughed and said, Sess! His palm swept across, he deflected the sabers power. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong made a somersault in the air and cried out, Lets see what will happen if both of us borrow forces at the same time? Dang! The two boys let out a stifled groan at the same time. One staggered backward, the other was jolted by the impact and flew midair. Unexpectedly neither one was able to borrow the least bit of force, so that without any fancy trick, two full-strength moves shed head-on. While Kou Zhong was falling back to the ground, he found out that because he was using excessive force, the wound on his shoulder was torn and bleeding. He promptly called for a timeout. He also said, Its time to check on our little Khan! Tulis voice was suddenly heard from the jungle behind the cliff, Thank you very much for Kou Xiongs concern; Xiaodi already recovered. Its just that watching two LaoGe are training so hard, I did not dare to disturb! The two boys were greatly delighted. The recovered Tuli, holding the Subduing Eagle Spear in his hand,nded by the two boys side, and spoke in delight, What happened just now, I heard everything clearly; its just that it was the critical juncture in my recovery that I did not dare to stop. Two Laoxiongs great kindness, great virtue toward Xiaodi, Xiaodi could only blush with shame. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Listening to Khan, it seems like you have done some shameful deed. Otherwise, why do you feel guilty? Raising his cupped fist, Tuli spoke calmly, Just the fact that Tuli wanted to keep the method to train hawks secret was a big mistake. If this time Tuli is able to return to my humble country safely, I will definitely send my men to deliver a special kind of good hawk, so that Shao Shuai can use it in the battlefield to subdue the enemy and score a victory. This time it was Kou Zhongs turn to be embarrassed; he said, When I asked Khan to teach me how to train the hawk, I was just joking. Khan does not need to renounce your ancestors teaching because of that. Tuli smiled and said, Shao Shuai is certainly broad-minded; you are neither greedy nor demanding. But Tuli already said it, I will definitely not renege. The other thing that Xiaodi feel ashamed is that I did not tell two gentlemen that Xiaodi basically do not have any intention of returning to Guanzhong. The two boys were greatly surprised. Lowering his voice, Tuli said, My destination is Luoyang, not Guanzhong at all, because at this moment our humble country is having a hugemercial trade delegationing to Luoyang to make business deal with Wang Shichong. Onlyter on will we go to Guanzhong. The man in charge has a close rtionship with me. As long as I can meet up with them, we can turn peril into safety. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, In that case, we ought to congratte Khan; there is no need for Khan to be concerned over this matter. Shaking his head, Tuli said, Two gentlemens righteousness toward Xiaodi reaches the clouds and the heavens; you did all these things with no regard over advantages and disadvantages, gains and losses. You deeply moved Xiaodi. Therefore, I am changing my n, as long as I can reach Luoyang in secret, I will do everything in my power to sneak two gentlemen into Changan. On the surface, this delegation is representing Xielis side, even Kang Qiaoli and Zhao Deyan will not suspect anything, the Li Family will not dare to investigate even more. This is really a foolproof n to enter the Pass. As for the details of the operation, we need two gentlemen to rack your brains. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, While it is not sunrise yet, we might as well hurry up for his mothers a hundred li. Well talk about n during breakfast! Ha! Book 28 - 3 – Tyrannical and Overbearing Chapter 3 C Tyrannical and Overbearing Hanfu was a city between Xiangyang and Jingling. Although in term of scale it could not bepared to Xiangyang and Jingling, but due to its location by the Han River, it had strong grip on major water andnd routes, hence it was very prosperous. Although this city was within the Jianghuai Armys sphere of influence, it was not under Du Fuweis direct governance; instead, it was handed over to the local gangs and societies to deal with the citys internal affairs, hence it was a bit like Xiangyang city. By dusk that day, after rushing the whole way, Kou Zhong and the others reached the official road south of Han River. From here, if they follow the official road for about ten li, they would enter the city. Because they were afraid that the spies from Li Yuanji and Kang Qiaolis side would discover their whereabouts, they especially chose wild, mountainous country to hasten on with their journey. Therefore, it was only this moment that they had the weird feeling that they had returned to thend of the living. Looking out from the forest toward the official road, they saw arge open space on the other side of the official road, where more than a hundred traveling merchants and passers-by were spread across more than a dozen shacks, big and small, constructed of wood and bamboo, as well as several empty mule and horse-drawn carriages parked by the roadside. Some of the sheds offered tea, but some other offered meals; it was very noisy. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Whats going on here? Tuli exined, This is thest major ry station [for post horses] on the west side of Hannan [lit. south of Han (River)]. All the traveling merchants from the cities and towns west of Hannan, either buying or selling to and from the big cities north and south of the river, will have to transport their goods via waterway to Hanfu first; therefore, these official roads are always busy with unending stream of horses and carriages going back and forth. Kou Zhong could not help thinking about Longyou Bang [roaming dragon gang, Book 22 Chapter 3]; nodding his head, he said, Turns out Hannan is a big distribution center; no wonder it is bustling with noise and excitement. Hey! Shall we eat here? Our breakfast iste by nearly four sichen. Knitting his brows, Tuli said, We ran around like this, how could we escape the enemys eyes and ears? I dare say that among those people eating inside those shacks, there will be Li Yuanjis spies watching peopleing and going. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Hiding to the east and running away to the west is not a way out. From the two groups of enemies pursuing us, there must be some falcons high in the sky that can recognize people. Taking wild, mountainous country pathways may not necessarily be the safest route. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Ling Shaos way of thinking and stratagems are all disying originality, making it difficult for others to guess. Since Ling Shao said so, Xiaodi has a more brazen idea; I guarantee that the enemy will be thrown into confusion and will lose their mind. Tuli was getting used to these two boys unpredictable style of conduct; he cheerfully said, Tell us quickly! Kou Zhong focused his power into his eyes. Scanning the several sheds back and forth with his luminous eyes, he spoke heavily, You said that those men ought to be the spies sent by Li Yuanji. Focusing his own eyes, Tuli also looked on. He saw most of the men congregating inside three of the shacks had weapons with them; they looked like men who made their living in Jianghu. Feeling a big headache, he said, That is very difficult to say. Proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, what do you say? Xu Zilingughed and cursed, You got fart, let it out! Isnt it hard for you to keep it inside your belly? Tuli could not help smiling; his originally nervous mood started to rx. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, Of those three shacks, only those three tables on the left, by the noodle shop door, have the optimum position topletely monitor both ends of the official road at just one nce. Therefore, if there are any Li Familys man, it will be one of the diners on those tables. The other two looked at the three tables he was referring to. Each table had four to six persons. One of the tables had finished with their meals, they were just drinking tea and chatting. All six men looked heroic with build like white horse; while chatting and drinking, their eyes continuously scanned the traveling merchant and passers-by going back and forth along the road. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height, Come! he said, I guarantee that based on what we know plus their reaction when they suddenly see us, I am not using them wrongly. The three suddenly appeared outside their target shack and continued inside inrge strides. The six big mens countenance changed immediately; unconsciously they lowered their head to avoid looking at the three mens eyes. Because of the threes outstanding appearance and tall and study body shape, plus Tuli did not look like a Han from the Central Earth, they immediately attracted the attention of most people in the shack. Kou Zhong grabbed the waiter, who was hurriedly walking past him, and said loudly, Get Laozi a clean, big and wide table. If the waiter did not see Kou Zhongs Jianghu young thug terrifying appearance, he would certainly curse him, but this moment he could only suppress his anger and spoke in low voice with bitter expression, Daye, you can see it for yourself, all the tables are upied. If Daye and your honorable friends do not wish to sit separately, would you please wait a moment? Kou Zhong pointed to the table with six men, whom he suspected to be the Li Familys warriors, and spoke with rough voice, rough manner, Cant that table be freed up? You have finished eating, why are you still hanging on to that table? All the fifty, sixty people sitting around the thirteen tables in the shack immediately quieted down that the crow and peacock made no sound. Even someone who had just made his debut in Jianghu would know that Kou Zhong, three men, were deliberately stirring up trouble; moreover, they seemed to be rushing into it by facing the apparently many men, great force C the side with the stronger six men against three. All the six mens countenance changed immediately, twelve eyes were burning with rage. The waiter was stuck with no room to advance or to retreat, but then one of the six stood up and tossed a string of silver pieces, and spoke with forcedughter, Brothers, lets go! Without saying anything, the other five hurriedly followed him out of the shack. This oue was greatly beyond the other guests expectation; they also guessed that Kou Zhong, three men, must be people with influence who were not easy to deal with. As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong beckoned Tuli and Xu Ziling to sit down, and ordered food and wine. By this time, the shack had more or less returned to its previous condition, but nobody dared to speak orugh as loudly as before. They had quite a misgiving toward the three. Furthermore, some people were rushing to settle their bills and get out of the shack, leaving a lot of leftover on their tables. Kou Zhong acted as if he waspletely oblivious of his surroundings; leaning over to Tuli, he asked, That business delegation of yours in Luoyang, is the leader as trustworthy as you said he is? You may rest assured, Tuli replied, This man is called Mo Heer, a Khitan man. I have done a big favor to him by rescuing him, as well as his nsmen, from the Zhujie people [Jie people are a branch of Tokhara people, not sure about the Zhu part]. And Xieli does not know anything about this, hence the reason I am so confident. Xu Ziling said, Is he representing Khitan or representing your Tujue people? Mainly Khitan, Tuli replied, But since he is also the Ci She [lit. second to set up/arrange] in Xieli Khans court, your Central Earth and various nations regard him as an envoy minister of our East Tujue. Kou Zhong had a headache, What in the world is Ci She? he asked. Tuli exined, Our Khanate Imperial Court have official titles such as Ye Hu, Ci She, Te Nan, Ci Si Li Fa, Ci Tu Tun Fa, and so on, a total of eighteen titles. Ye Hu and the likes are like your Prime Minister. Ci She ought to be analogous to a departmental cab minister. Mo Heer is a Khitan prince. He does not need to exert himself for the Khanate Court, him being a minister is just a gesture showing that he acknowledges allegiance to us. Xu Ziling was puzzled, West Tujues Great Khan is called Tong Yehu, is he using his governmental title as his name? Tuli exined, Before bing the Great Khan, he was the Western Tujues Ye Hu [lit. (historical) period protector]. When he ascended the Great Khans throne, he continued to use this name; who dare to argue with him? Kou Zhong was about to speak when from the other corner of the shack came a tender, soft, and pleasant-to-hear female voice, saying, There are a lot of evil people in Jianghu, but I, Lu Wuxia have never seen anybody more vile and annoying like these three reckless fellows; I wonder if Da Shixiong [oldest/first martial brother] agree? A male voice replied, If Shimei has never seen any, how could yu xiong [I or me (modest)] see any? But since they have the guts toe to Hannan to seek trouble, I am afraid there wont be any good oue. The three have never thought that in the current situation, there were still such seeing-injustice-on-the-road, warning-the-evil-and-punishing-them-well kind of heroes and heroines; they could not help smiling inwardly. Actually, they had already noticed this pair of a man and a woman, not because the woman was pretty, but because they upied two tables, apanied by eleven young men, whose clothes and adornments, even their weapons were uniform; they all looked quite lordly. Tuliughed in low voice and said, They ought to be Tian Kui Pai [heavenly stalwart sect] people. This sect is the biggest sect in this region, they have dojos in Hannan, Xiangyang, Nanyang, and Yuyang; their disciples are more than ten thousand. Their Zhangmen, the Huan Shou Dao [ring/looping hand saber] Lu Zhong is quite influential and powerful both in Jianghu and in governmental circle. These two martial brother and sister are using ring-head, straight-body long and narrow saber; undoubtedly they must be his direct disciples. The woman is surnamed Lu; she ought to be Lu Zhongs daughter. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised; they had never thought that Tuli would know more clearly about the Central ins affair than the two of them. This moment the group of men with Lu Wuxia roared inughter, brimming with mockery. Everybody else remained quiet, waiting for a good show that they were sure woulde. Since they did not know the whole story, everybody in the shack was deeply dissatisfied with Kou Zhong, three mens tyrannical and overbearing attitude. Xu Ziling put down the bowl of noodle that he had finished. Raising the cup of green tea, he sipped it and said, Li Yuanji and Kang Qiaoli sent out their troops without achieving anything; this moment they knew we are here, I wonder what kind of magic weapon they are going to draw next. Tuli acted as if he already forgot Lu Wuxia and herpanions existence; he even ignored the fact that the three of them have be the focus of everybodys attention. He said, Even if Li Yuanji is just a fool with courage and strength, Kang Qiaoli ought to realize their weak point ofcking real martial art masters. Therefore, in thest couple of days, they must be busy gathering martial art masters, so that they would be able to wipe us out in one move. Just like on the battlefield, no matter how many troops and horses they have, they still need a group of absolutely-loyal elite trusted aides to bring the entire situation under control. Lu Wuxias voice was heard again, this time it contained real anger, as she snorted coldly and said, Just now they looked like bullies riding roughshod over people, and now suddenly they be turtles who pull their heads back, not daring to say anything. Her martial brotherughed aloud and said, Shimei, please calm down. Let yu xiong get them toe here to kowtow and admit their guilt. Kou Zhong also acted as if he did not hear their exchange at all; he pondered over and said, Supposing Mo Shi [demonic master] Zhao Deyan is really in this area, naturally he woulde to join the fun. Other than him, do they have any strong hands? Li Yuanji naturally would not ask Li kid to deploy his Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art master, would he? Tuli solemnly replied, You may already know that Nanhai Pai [South (China) Sea Sect] people, with the Dugu n threading the needle [i.e. mediator], are one step ahead of Li Mi to pledge their allegiance to Li Yuan. Nanhai Pais young Paizhu [sect master] Mei Xun even has intimate rtionship with Li Jiancheng, he even gave his younger sister Mei Ling to Li Jiancheng as his feipin [imperial concubine]. Remembering the Nanhai Xian Weng Huang Gongcuo [immortal elderly man of the South Sea, see Book 12 Chapter 10], the two boys were greatly surprised. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Mei Xun must be an idiot. There is Li Shimin, this kind of wise master, he did not rely on help from him, but he hang out with Li Jiancheng; so what if he is the crown prince. There was a sound of fluttering sleeves. On Lu Wuxias side, four or five men stood up; upright and unafraid, they marched toward the three, looking as if they already ate them. Turning a blind eye to them, Tuli said, Mei Xun did not have that option; Shimin Xiong basically disapproved the alliance with Nanhai Pai, because Nanhai Pais objective was to borrow the Li Familys power to subdue their biggest enemy in the south, Song Que. Anybody with a brain ought to know that Song Que is the kind of enemy that must not be provoked. Only because Li Jiancheng is anxious to expand his power that he sought for, and epted, Nanhai Pai. Xu Zilings eyebrows were deeply knitted; he said, If thats the case, then it is highly possible that there will be Nanhai Pai and Dugu ns martial art masters among those who are going to deal with us? Under the leadership of their first martial brother, five Tian Kui Pai disciples fanned out behind Tuli. The Da Shixiong did not even have a single shred of Jianghu etiquette; he shouted arrogantly to the three men, Are you going toe out on your own, or do you need us to shoo you away? The murderous aura in Tulis eyes red out. He came in the capacity as the East Tujue Khan. In the Central ins, even Li Mi, Wang Shichong and the like, when they saw him, they would bow respectfully with sped hands. These past few days he already nursed a bellyful of grievance of a tiger fallen into the ins, and now, even younger generations like Tian Kui Pai disciples also shouted and insulted him, so how could he endure it? Knowing that Tulis vicious temperament has been aroused, Xu Ziling reached out to press the back of Tulis hand down, hinting that he must not act blindly without thinking. And then turning to Kou Zhong, he signaled him with his eyes, telling Kou Zhong to deal with this matter. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This xiongtai [brother (of the same generation/rank] looks like a talent. I wonder whats your rtionship with Lu Zhong Laoshi [teacher]? The Da Shixiong has not answered, Lu Wuxias tender and beautiful voice already came, Da Shixiong must not be bewitched by them; how could Die know these third-ss lowly men? Slightly embarrassed, the Da Shixiong turn his head around to cast Lu Wuxia a nce. When he looked back, he instantly lengthened his face and spoke in heavy voice, I am Ying Yu, the first disciple under Lu Zhong. I wonder which line of friends three gentleman are. He came from a famous school and big sect; since the other side already called the name of Lu Zhong, naturally he must find out the opposite sides identity first. Another more important reason was that not only the three did not show the least bit of fear, they remained steady and cool-headed, carrying the air of real martial art masters, which actually intimidated him. Kou Zhong giggled and said, Lu Xiaojie [Miss] is really formidable; you even know such a secret that we are third-ss lowly thugs. I might as well reveal it to Miss that those men who were driven away by us just now are fourth-ss lowly men. It was because Miss did not know this ssified information that you thought that we are bad men. The fact is, we are no different than Miss and your honorable Da Shixiong; we are chivalrous Jianghu heroes. So we all are of the same way. Xu Ziling tried hard not to smile, but in the end he could not help it. Looking at Xu Zilings expression, Tuli suddenly realized that in a big roundabout way, Kou Zhong was calling Lu Wuxia and the others third-ss lowly people. He could not help the fury from disappearing from his face, and was quite amused inwardly. At the same time, he was quite wary, because he knew that in term of broad-mindedness, he really could not match these two boys. From the Tian Kui Pai side, Miss Lu was the first one to realize it. With a tender shout she sprang out of her seat and angrily said, You dare to curse me in a roundabout way. Seeing their little Shimei throwing a temper tantrum like that, one after another the rest of her martial brothers also stood up, full of with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent, storm-clouds-looming-in-the-horizon air. Afraid of disastering to the fish on the moat, while also unwilling to miss this exciting show, the other guests on the two outermost tables left their seat with the intention of standing outside the shack to watch from a safe distance. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong spread out his arms to block them while crying out, Those who have not paid the bill are not allowed to leave. Do you think Laozi would treat you to dinner? Watching this kind of chivalrous behavior from Kou Zhong, Ying Yu and the others felt that it was not right for them not to help him stop those people, but they had no reason to stop them either, so they all felt stuck in difficult position. While the diners obediently paid their bill, Lu Wuxia, under escort of the other six martial brothers, joined Ying Yu and his team of five martial brothers, greatly increasing their momentum. In deadly earnest Kou Zhong forced the people to pay their bill to the trembling-with-fear waiter. He turned to Lu Wuxia, who was staring at him with her almond eyes opened wide, and said with augh, Miss is being oversensitive; I was just pointing out that we all are chivalrous people. Just now, those are Zhu Cans men; they came here to Hannan to open the path for Zhu Can to break into the house and rob them. We scared them away, it was entirely for the benefit of Hannan people. None of the listeners did not have their countenance changed. Hannan was located south of Han River. From here going north, after passing through Xiangyang, the road would branch out along the flowing the east to the west Tanghe, Chunshui, Nieshui, and Chaoshui, four tributaries [Trantors note: in all cases he and shui mean river]. Zhu Cans Garuda Kingdom must have stationed their troops in Guanjun city on the west bank of Qingshui. They were always looking at Xiangyang like a tiger watching its prey, but because of Xiangyangs strong troops and stalwart city walls, plus there was Qian Duguan defending the city, while Zhu Can was too busy to deal with Xiao Xian and Du Fuwei, he was helpless to take Xiangyang. But anybody on the street could see that he had always coveted Xiangyang. Speaking about reputation, Zhu Can could not possibly be better than the roving bandits under Cao Yinglongs leadership. If he brought his troops to attack, Hannan would definitely face imminent catastrophe. Furthermore, to attack Xiangyang, Hanfu, Nanyang, all these big cities along the river just north of Xiangyang would certainly be the battleground. Because of this deep understanding of this fact, Kou Zhong called those Li Yuanjis men as Zhu Cans men, so that the listeners were confused. Severely shaken, Ying Yu asked, Is that true? Another man said, May I ask three gentlemens honorable surname and great given name? Lu Wuxia restrained her angry look; she appeared to be skeptical. It was only now that she carefully scrutinized the three mens appearance. Xu Ziling was handsome, leisurely, confident and at ease. Kou Zhong was brimming with heroic and powerful aura. Although Tuli was full of aggressiveness, he was brimming with masculine charm as well. Three special individualsing together, suddenly her hostility was substantially reduced. Kou Zhong smiled. But before he had any chance to speak, there was the sound of rapid hoof beats approaching, cloud of dust rose up like whirlwind from the direction of Hannan, as more than a dozen riders wereing at full speed toward them. Xu Ziling and Tuli exchanged a nce; all of them were greatly surprised. Li Yuanji knew their strength, yet he still dared toe and deal with them head-on, instead of waiting for their reinforcement to arrive and deploying their troops to besiege the enemy, which was what they should be doing. Narrowing his tiger-eyes, Kou Zhong looked into the distance to examine the enemys potential. Slyly leaning back into his chair, he raised his cup and said with a smile, Xiaodis other group of enemies, apart from Zhu Can, ising! If all of you are willing to give me, Kou Zhong, a little bit of face, please leave immediately. This time all of your dinner is on me, so that you wont be involved in this muddy water for no reason at all. As soon as Kou Zhong, two words came out of his mouth, it was really like thunder piercing the ear, shaking and terrifying everybody present. By this time, the neers body type and appearance could already be clearly seen. The leader was precisely the outstanding martial art master of the Li n, Li Yuanji. Amazed and uncertain, Lu Wuxia looked at the speeding-along heroic rider. Her beautiful eyes went back and forth over the three men. With a feeling that even she herself could not exin, she asked, Whos the neer? The diners in the shack have already scattered like birds and beasts; they thronged out of the shack like a swarm of bees. The situation was extremely chaotic. Panic spread like a gue; the entire ry station area suddenly became a trap that put people in danger, immediately the atmosphere became so thick with everybody trying to escape as quickly as possible. Kou Zhong replied softly, The neer is Li Yuans third son, Qi Wang Yuanji. Miss Lu should have heard about Zaixia going up to Guanzhong for the treasure? Seeing Li Yuanji and his men already reached the perimeter of the ry station, Xu Ziling spoke to Ying Yu with knitted brows, Ying Xiong, please lead your honorable martial art brothers to immediately leave this ce in order to avoid unnecessary trouble. Ying Yu showed respect and worshipful admiration on his face. But in this tensed critical moment, he also disyed his quality as the Da Shixiong. Cupping his fist to salute, he pulled away the unwilling Lu Wuxia, and then while Li Yuanji and his fifteen men flew off their mount more than ten zhang outside the shack and aggressivelying near, they hurriedly left. Book 28 - 4 – Yuanji, King of Qi Chapter 4 C Yuanji, King of Qi By the time Li Yuanji and his men strode toward Kou Zhong and the others, other than Kou Zhong, three men, the shack was empty of other diners. After taking Kou Zhongs pensation, the owner of the shack ran even faster than anybody else. In fact, everybody in that entire ry station left as soon as possible, simply because they knew that this was not an ordinary Jianghu vendetta, but a battle between the Li n and the Shao Shuai Army. Kou Zhong put the wine cups on the table and arranged them in a triangle. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, This is the most formidable battle formation. Each one of us could be pointed edge of the formation, and we could change formation at any time. Xu Ziling could not help remembering Ba Fenghan. This was simr to that night in Luoyang, when they were waiting for Shi Feixuan, who was going to punish them because of the Jade Annulus of He n C and were nning on how to break the siege. But because the situation changed, they could not carryout their n; finally today they would be able to use it. Only instead of Ba Fenghan, they had Tuli. Kou Zhong went on, Khans Eagle-Subduing Spear is most suitable for attacking, if you have nothing to worry on the rear, you can unleash the strong points of the spear. Therefore, at the start of breaking the siege, Khan is in charge of striking the head of the formation. Li Yuanji and his men, fifteen people altogether, were standing in fan formation about four zhang outside the shack, facing the three from a distance. They were not anxious to attack at all. This has given the three the opportunity to look at the enemies. Surprisingly, they did not see either Kang Qiaoli or the rest of the Tujue warriors. They did recognize some, who were Li Misckeys in the past, like Two Malevolent of Changbai, Fu Ye and Fu Yan, two brothers [previously it was Fu Zhen and Fu Yan, Book 12 Chapter 2]. These twos martial art skill was outstanding, showing that Li Yuans reinforcement troops of martial art masters have arrived. No wonder as soon as they received the news, they did not have any misgivings in rushing over with threatening attitude. To Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, it was the first time that they met everybody else. There were three who particrly attracted their attention, of which a short and thin old man looked the weirdest. This old fellows height only reached the big-and-tall, mighty-looking Li Yuanjis shoulders, and he appeared to be skin-and-bones thin, as if a bit stronger breeze would sweep him up into the air. However, from his sparkling eyes, it was clear that this mans internal power has reached the great heights. He ought to be a martial art master of Li Mi, Du Fuwei, and the likes level. He was standing proud to Li Yuanjis right; there was a sword hanging on his waist, his manner was leisurely andfortable, which showed that he did not have any regard of the three men. Noticing that the two boys were sizing up this gentleman, Tuli spoke in low voice, This man is Old Monkey Li Nantian, a martial art master of elder level within the Li n, Li Yuans cousin [orig. tangxiong, older male cousin from fathers side]; even more, he is the boss of Li Yuans personal bodyguards. Who could have thought that even he also came here. Kou Zhong asked, Who are those two on Li Yuanjis left? Tuli replied, The man with the broadsword on his back, with long face like a horse, is called (Sound of) Thunder Saber Qin Wutong, a famous fierce general within the Tang Court, skilled in Leiting Dao Fa [(Sound of) Thunder Saber Technique], his name shakes Mobei [north of (Gobi) desert, i.e. Outer Mongolia]; he shares the same fame as the other martial art masters of the Heavenly Policy Mansion like Pang Yu, Yuchi Jingde, and the others. The other man wearing ck with a spear is called Qiu Tianjue, Li Jianchengs favorite general; his martial art skill is more outstanding than Qin Wutong, a Guanzhongs local rising young martial art master. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had deep knowledge Pang Yu and the others level of expertise. Since Tulipared these men to them, the two boys were able to clearly grasp the depth of these three mens martial art skill, while at the same time understood the reason why Li Yuanji was this confident. Looking at the other nine, none could not be included in the rank of martial art masters. In term of overall strength, they had enough power to leave the three far behind. Moreover, Li Yuanjis reinforcements were rushing over. Therefore, the one anxious to fight ought to be the three, rather than Li Yuanjis side. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height andughed heartily. He said, Li Yuanji, since you are so full of yourself, I wonder if you dare to fight one-on-one against me, Kou Zhong. One of the men behind Li Yuanji rushed forward, drew a long, curved-ded willow-leaf saber, and shouted loudly, No need to kill a chicken using a butcher knife. Kou Zhong, you want to seek death, but it is not easy; let me fulfill your wish. This was the first time Kou Zhong encountered an opponent using willow-leaf saber. Laughing aloud, he said, Since you have the impertinence to brandish broadsword in front of Guan Ye [referring to Guan Yu of the Romance of Three Kingdoms], Ill use you as a warm up exercise. Report your name; Laozis Moon in the Well has never killed a nameless person. Hearing thest sentence, which was borrowed from Ba Fenghans heroic passion, magnificent talk, Xu Ziling smiled in amusement. To boost Kou Zhongs morale, he said, Li Yuanji, do you dare to make a bet against us, brothers? If your honorable subordinate can block Kou Zhongs three saber strikes head-on, we will have our hands tied and wait to be captured. But if not, you will pack up and roll back to Guanzhong, dont bother us here anymore. When Tuli heard Xu Ziling called him brother, a hard to describe, burning feeling welled up in his heart. And then he also noticed the heroic-spirit-shooting-straight-to-the-heavens word making a bet, the blood in his entire body boiled over, his fighting spirit soared to its peak. Copying the two boys, he no longer cared about life or death, gains or losses; he only hoped to have a big fight right then and there. Everybody in Li Yuanjis side looked at each other in shock. The man representing Li Yuanji to challenge Kou Zhong was called the Willow-Leaf Saber Diao Ang, one of the three major martial art masters under the Sect Leader of Longxi Pai, the biggest sect in Guanzhong. He was known to everyone in Guanzhong. If anybody said that he was unable to block Kou Zhongs three saber strikes, nobody would believe it, so it was indeed a gamble. The problem was: man has a name, tree has a shadow. Such a local martial art master like Diao Ang versus Kou Zhong, whose name shook thend under heaven, basically it was difficult topare. If Xu Ziling, who never liked to blow his conch shell, dared to utter wild ravings, naturally relying on his superior eyesight, he was able to see that Diao Ang would notst more than three strokes under Kou Zhongs hands. The elder brother of the Two Malevolent of Changbai Mountain, the Long-handled Axe Fu Zhen, who was well aware that Kou and Xu were able to produce marvelous skill and strange moves in innumerable session C rushed forward in front of Li Yuanji and shouted coldly, Diao Xiong, dont be confused with his words, just have a free hand in attacking the enemy to seize victory. Diao Angs confidence already suffered setback, now it was weakened thirty-percent more, knowing that Fu Zhen, who had fought against the enemy, was not optimistic about this three-move bet. On Li Yuanjis side, everybodys eyes lost their luster; they all felt that under the circumstances, Xu Zilings light, offhand remark, has put a lot of pressure on them that their many-men-with-flourishing-momentum was unable to lift up. However, clearly they could not change the situation. Could it be that they need to pull Diao Ang back and have someone else to fight, or perhaps, disregarding their face, the entire crowd would attack together? The fact was that their reinforcement was rushing over from everywhere, Li Yuanji would be more than happy to stall for time. However, staring nkly at the man from his side being humiliated was just too upsetting! This moment, Kou Zhong had already stepped forward and stopped loftily about a zhang in front of Diao Ang. Giggling, he said, How should I address Xiongtai? Diao Ang groaned inwardly, knowing that if he could not withstand the opponents three saber strikes, he did not need to mingle around the Li Family anymore. Rousing his own spirit, he shouted, Diao Ang of Longxi Pai, asking to experience Shao Shuais saber technique! Suddenly his saber moved to sweep across Kou Zhong. A renowned expert making his move, indeed it was not an ordinary move. Not only the power was sufficient, the angle was tricky. The most particr aspect was that the willow leaf sabers elegant and swift characteristics were disyed to extreme saturation. There was softness in the midst of hard, and changes produced in the midst of soft, the momentum was difficult to fathom. However,pared to Yun Shuais crescent moon saber, the difference was like heaven and earth, cloud and mud. Kou Zhong slightly swayed aside, as if he was shing to the left, but also looked like he was about to move to the right, so much so that the impression was that he was about to retreat swiftly, but suddenly he was already at Diao Angs left side, missing the opponents swift and fierce saber strike by a fraction of a hairsbreadth. Diao Ang was about to seize this opportunity to pursue and attack, when somehow, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well was suddenly moving to his right and as fast as lightning chopped down on his head. The Fu brothers countenance immediately changed. They saw how both in terms of saber technique and shenfa, Kou Zhong was even more outstanding than before; how could their hearts not turn timid and cold? Diao Angs soul flew away and scattered. He sidestepped and swiftly retreated, while sweeping his saber again with all his might. Kou Zhongughed aloud; his feet moved in strange footwork, unexpectedly he changed from offense to defense. ng! he blocked the willow leaf saber. While Diao Ang was at a loss of what to do, the two sabers shed; a burst of energypletely deflected his saber force. It was a feeling more bitter than if he was unable to block the opponents saber force. He only felt that his own strength was bursting out like tidal waves, making him unable to maintain his stance, sending him tumbling down. When everybody on Li Yuanjis side was crying inwardly for the situation that has turned from bad to worse, Kou Zhong sent his power into his saber and made a twist; Diao Angs willow leaf saber immediately left his hand and flew up into the air while spinning continuously. Lightly and effortlessly Kou Zhong knocked Diao Angs, who was tumbling down, shoulder with the hilt of his saber, seemingly very gentle and without any power, yet thetter was immediately thrown aside for about a zhang like a kit with cut string, and finally fell to the ground without being able to rise again, stirring up a cloud of dust around him. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Without casting even half a nce toward Diao Ang, he returned the saber into its scabbard. With his hands behind his back, he faced Li Yuanji, whose countenance, which was unsightly to begin with, has be even more unsightly. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, Ling Shao overestimated him too much! Two men pounced forward from Li Yuanjis side, using iron chain mped onto a cudgel and awl spear, respectively, to attack Kou Zhong. These two were martial art masters under Li Yuanjismand; they knew that if they failed to recover a little bit of face on Li Yuanjis behalf, they would be done for. The willow leaf saber, which was falling from the air, had justnded about five chi in front of Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong strode forward; poking with his left foot he hit the willow leaf sabers hilt, the willow leaf saber turned into a rainbow. Following a dark-colored natural curvature, it shot up from the ground, as fast as lightning, unfathomably swift and fierce like a marvel. At the same time, Kou Zhongunched the Sudden Strike from the Eight Methods of the Well, the man and the saber fused into one, bing a streak of yellow light, swiftly meeting the two men. It was so strange that even brilliant masters of the opposite side like Li Yuanji and Li Nantian could not even tell which one was the real target of Kou Zhongs attack. An indescribable feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, knowing that ever since Kou Zhong had the opportunity to peek into the secret of the saber way of Heavenly Saber Song Que, and then going through study and practice these past few days, his saber technique finally made an all-around breakthrough, reaching the realm of great mastery. It happened so fast that even the eyes were unable to keep up. Qiang! Qiang! two rings exploded like a string of pearls, two martial art masters of the Li Family, one was hit on the thigh by the saber that he screamed miserably and fell back, the other one was even more unbearable; he was hit twice by Kou Zhongs saber. He was hacked that his body and his mped cudgel were lifted off the ground and thrown away, andnded in the middle of Li Yuanjis troop formation, seriously injured. In the blink of an eye, the enemy had three persons wounded in defeat. Such military sess, nobody could even begin to expect. Kou Zhongs murderous intent red out, he walked straight toward the enemy ranks, the enormous-without-equal saber qi intimidated the enemy from a distance. Throwing his head back, he let out a longughter and said, Who wants to kill me? Give me all you got! Li Yuanji roared angrily; waving his hand, he tossed his outer robe aside, revealing tight warrior outfit wrapping his sturdy body. Holding his spear across his chest, he said, I dont need any help! Finished speaking, he strode forward carrying his spear to meet Kou Zhong, until he was only a zhang and a half in front of Kou Zhong, and proudly said, Kou Xiongs name is indeed not in vain. This spear of Yuanji is called Splitting Horse; it is made of ck [or mysterious] iron undergoing numerous tempering process, weighing a hundred and twenty catties. The front part of the spear body has blood repent; even if it pierces Kou Xiongs body, it will be difficult for Kou Xiongs blood to flow along the spear, so it wont stain my hands. The divine light in Kou Zhongs eyes was shing, he fixed his gaze without blinking on Li Yuanji, whose aggressiveness soared to the sky. An elegant smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, a hint of tiny, barely discernible smile C grew into colorful, brilliant-like-the-sun smile, as he shook his head and said with a sigh, Qi Wang is willing to give me, Kou Zhong, such convenience, I am extremely grateful. Please! Li Nantian, Qin Wutong, and everybody else behind Li Yuanji, none did not show nervous expression. Although they had full confidence in Li Yuanji, his opponent this time was the running-amuck-around-the-world, no-one-can-withstand Shao Shuai, Kou Zhong. Leaving the crowd, Li Yuanji taking the risk of stepping out alone to attack him, they would be lying if they said they were not worried. Tuli and Xu Ziling, on the other hand, cheered inwardly. This was a one-in-a-thousand-year golden opportunity to injure, or even strike dead, Li Yuanji; Kou Zhong could not possibly miss it. But Li Yuanji was not a fool. After witnessing Kou Zhongs saber technique yet he still dared to challenge him in one-on-one duel, he must have real skill under his hands. This battle was like an arrow on the bow; the momentum must be released. Li Yuanji had his own calction. As soon as he received the information about Kou Zhong, three men, he guessed that Kou Zhong wanted to turn from passive to active, by testing their ability to meet a contingency; therefore, although he failed to assemble the strongest force, he still rushed over immediately, in case the three men slipped away, and then it would be very difficult to intercept them again. But if he could hold Kou Zhong, three men in this ce, he could wait for the reinforcement troops arrival, and then even if the opposite side grew wings, it would be hard for them to fly away. In that moment, Li Yuanji focused his attention; he discharged all the distracting thoughts from his mind, without anything else in his heart, his spear stabbed forward as he took the initiative to attack. Kou Zhong was already waiting; he wanted to test the fantastic skill of deflecting-force, borrowing-energy that he and Xu Ziling developed the previous night. He spected that by using this marvelous skill, he would be able to seize the initiative. And then by relying on the Eight Methods of the Well, even if Li Yuanji was exceptionally talented, he would be caught off-guard, so that even if he did not die, he would be seriously injured. He would never dare to belittle Li Yuanji, simply because knowing how formidable Li Shimin was, he could surmise that Li Yuanji, who was acimed to be a martial art master more outstanding than his older brothers, was not easy to deal with. However, it was not until he fought Li Yuanji for real, while he was in close proximity to experience Li Yuanjis spear attack, that he knew the extent of Li Yuanjis formidability. The spear turned around again, it rotated slowly at first, and then it moved faster. The hands that held the spear appeared to be maintaining the momentum and angle of the spear. When the heavy iron spear, which was equipped with blood repent, was stabbing halfway, it became like a roll of violent wind. A stream of energy in the shape of a vortex was nketing Kou Zhong from a distance. The most terrifying thing was that Li Yuanjis spear did not attack in a straight line at all; instead, it looked like an arc, following a certain trajectory in the air that corresponded with the curvature of the earth, circling around toward Kou Zhong. Just like Kou Zhongs own remark, it was a hundred times more difficult to blockpared to an attack following a straight line. In just a quick nce Kou Zhong knew that deflecting-force, borrowing-energy on this kind of fantastic, as well as bold and powerful without equal spear technique was no more than a fools dream, so much so that he even hesitated whether he ought to block the spear directly. Xu Ziling and Tuli, who were watching with rapt attention, were emotionally moved. Tuli, who himself was a spear-user, was even more severely shaken. He had never expected that Li Yuanji would have this kind of startling-the-heaven-and-the-earth, terrifying-demons-and-deities C exceptional spear technique. Kou Zhong moved back swiftly, while at the same time pulling the Moon in the Well from his back. It poked forward at an angle, from bottom to top. Li Yuanji roared, all the hair on his body stood on its end; his entire being appeared to be extremely mighty. From the impossible situation, the Splitting Horse Spear turned into defensive and loosened up, as it missed the saber de dangerously close. And then it changed again from another angle, spinning continuously as it attacked Kou Zhong. Even with Kou Zhongs guts, he could not help shivering inwardly. When his poke missed the tip of the opponents spear, the feeling was really ufortable; it was the kind of helpless feeling where the umted qi power in his entire body had nowhere to go. Fortunately he was adept in controlling the true qi within his body; otherwise he would have vomited blood and received internal injury. The Splitting Horse Spear attacked from the right, the qi power splitting the air. Kou Zhongs thought that this time it was no longer how to kill the enemy and score a victory, but how to preserve his own little life first. He waited until the sharp tip passed by a little before attempting to find a gap tounch a counterattack. In other words, under Li Yuanjis hard, violent-without-equal, powerful-strike and solid-attack spear technique, his originally rainbow-like momentum suffered serious setbacks. The strange light in Li Yuanjis eyes red out, a clear sign that he was circting his true qi to its peak, as he was striving to do his best to kill the enemy within several spear moves. The spear can change in a bizarre way; Kou Xiong, what do you think? he shouted coldly. Dang! Kou Zhongs saber cut across. The instant the spear tip was about to touch his body, he shed sideways to evade, while at the same time, without missing a fraction, he urately hit the point of the spear, controlling the tip so that the entire spear could only turn once and was unable to spin anymore. A stream of spiraling energy prated the spear in opposite direction of the rotating Splitting Horse Spear and invaded in. It was only now did Xu Ziling breath a sigh of relief on Kou Zhongs behalf. Only he could see clearly that Kou Zhong nearly failed and was almost wiped over the floor. The crucial point was whether Kou Zhong could chop the opponents spear tip, which was also the point where the twobatants doggedly pitted themselves against each other. If Kou Zhong could not break this spear strike, Li Yuanji would be able to unleash the full capability of his spear technique, and he would not stop until Kou Zhong nursed a grievance under the spear. No one could change this situation. Unless Xu Ziling and Tuli disregarded Jianghu rules and made their move, in which case the other side would not sit idly by either. Li Yuanjis entire body was severely shaken; he retreated as fast as lightning. With both hands he grabbed the body of the spear tightly. The dreadful vortex of energy finally stopped. Kou Zhong was also jolted by the qi power of the spear tip striking back at him that he staggered backward, hence it was difficult for him to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. The twobatants stared at each other as they returned to their original faceoff position. But the expression on their faces was like they had just seen each other for the first time. Grinning, Kou Zhong said, Qi Wangs spear technique has already reached the acme of perfection. Able to meet an opponent like Qi Wang, it was indeed the blessing of three lifetimes for Xiaodi. Prince Qi, Li Yuanji haughtily said, Even with lotus flower tongue, it will still be difficult for you to escape the misfortune of being defeated and perishing. But you were able to break my spear strike, you could be considered as having a real skill. Watch the spear! The two-word watch the spear [kan qiang] barely left his mouth, the Splitting Horse Spear exploded into spear shadows filling the air, covering the sky, as it pounced on Kou Zhong. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Qi Wang is tired! Unexpectedly you can no longer use the spinning spear technique. Launching the Sudden Strike of the Eight Methods of the Well, suddenly man and saber became one, bing a streak of yellow light, striking at the deepest and tightest point of the spear shadows. The sun had just sunk behind the western hills, the heaven and the earth was dark and hazy, cold wind blew, increasing the bitterness of the battle. Men and horses from both sides watch the battle holding their breath, calming their qi. There was no one else in such a big ry station; it has turned into a cold and cheerless ce. Other than Xu Ziling, no one else present understood Kou Zhongs remark. Just now his vortex of energy, which was spinning in the opposite direction of the spear, invaded Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear. Because it was the first time that Li Yuanji encountered such a vortex of energy, he was caught unprepared. Although he made an effort to strengthen his defense, it was extremely strenuous, so much so that it was possible that he suffered internal injury, and thus it was difficult for him to repeat the same trick. Bang! Qi power shed. The spear shadow filling the air dispersed like light smoke blown away by the wind. While Qin Wutong and the others were on edge, they saw Kou Zhongs saber moved like the wind, pursuing the fighting and retreating Li Yuanji with a chain of saber strikes. Momentarily the air was filled with the sound of swishing spear, while the saber wind whooshing continuously. On the surface it appeared that Li Yuanji had fallen into a disadvantageous position, and that he was scampering away under Kou Zhongs attack all around him. Only Kou Zhong knew that the opponents defense was as tight as a city protected by a wall of metal and a moat of boiling water, so that Kou Zhong was unable to gain any advantage. Once he showed any weakness or ckened his offense to defense, the opponent would immediately strike back, and if that happened, it would be extremely difficult to withstand. Li Yuanjis formidability was greatly beyond his expectation. Just as the battle became more intense, suddenly they heard the sound of hoof beats rapidlying near. Book 28 - 5 – Live Together Die Together Chapter 5 C Live Together Die Together Letting out a longughter, Li Yuanji said, How did the Sudden Thrust [lit. returning horse spear] style taste like? The spear swiftly swept across Kou Zhong. This moment Kou Zhong almost wanted to pull Li Yuanji into his embrace and kiss him a few times, to express his deep gratitude and tears of love. It could be said that Li Yuanjis divine-dragon-swings-its-tail Sudden Thrust battle tactic was the consummate skill that was Kou Zhongs natural nemesis, because the spear technique that relied mainly on the changes between hit and run was very difficult for Kou Zhong prate, so that he was at his wits end. The worst thing was that this kind of battle substantially consumed his true power, forcing him to maintain strong offensive. He had no choice but to continue pursuing and attacking. After more than a dozen circles, he knew that he could not hold on much longer. But now Li Yuanji, believing himself to be infallible, was sending out a full-strength counterattack. It was just like a sweet nectar after a long drought, so how could he not feel like he must express his gratitude for this huge favor. Naturally he knew that Li Yuanji wanted to entangle him to the death, so that the rushing over reinforcement troops had enough time toe here. Suddenly Xu Ziling and Tuli rose up. The men on Li Yuanjis side also drew near to the arena. The situation immediately tensed up like a taut bow. As soon as the twobatants gave the signal, it would be a free-for-all battle between the two sides. Dang! Kou Zhong and Li Yuanji brushed past each other in a stake-it-all move. Sparks flew everywhere, the explosive sound shook the arena. Cloud of dust arose on the official road, nearly twenty riders wereing at full speed, the momentum was terrifying the heart and the soul. Kou Zhongs heroicughter shook the heavens. Li Nantian and the others were stupefied. The saber light rose dramatically. With a spin of his body, at the speed that was hard to believe, Kou Zhongs saber hacked down on Li Yuanji, whose face revealed a shocked expression. Except for Xu Ziling, nobody around the arena had any clue on how the change happened; even Li Yuanji himself was unclear. The moment the spear and the saber shed, to his horror, Kou Zhongs originally a thousand-catty heavy saber force suddenly became empty and fluttering; practically there was no strength at all. By the time he wanted to pull the spear back, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well already chopped down on his head, biting-cold saber qi assaulted his face. It was basically an impossibility, yet it had be an unshakeable fact before his very eyes. In this critical moment, Li Yuanji demonstrated his real skill. With the spear technique that had undergone numerous revisions [orig. a thousand hammers and a hundred refinements (as in smelting metal)], he simply raised the spear to meet the chop head-on, and thus blocked Kou Zhongs sure-kill saber strike. Boom! A deep sound like a muffled thunder of the qi power colliding against each other reverberated across the entire ry station. Li Yuanji was jolted by the impact and fell sitting down on the ground, but he continued rolling away. It appeared to be an extremely cowardly act, but the fact was that it was the only way to neutralize Kou Zhongs irresistible saber power. Kou Zhong cried what a pity inwardly. Such a deflecting-force, borrowing-energy technique still failed to make the opponent spurting half a mouthful of blood. Fortunately, after suffering this saber strike, Li Yuanji shouldnt be able to show off and fight for several days, otherwise, it would be Kou Zhongs turn to worry whether he would be able to break the siege and flee for his life. Li Nantian and the others immediately drew their weapons. Half of them pounced on him, while the other half rushed toward Li Yuanji to protect him, for fear that Kou Zhong would continue to kill him. But this moment Kou Zhong was like an arrow at the end of its flight. Laughing aloud, he rose up and flew toward Xu Ziling and Tuli. This moment the riders had just entered the ry station. While they had not fully understood the situation, Kou Zhong already met with Xu Ziling and Tuli, together they ran toward the forest behind the ry station and disappeared from sight. The three stopped by a small stream in the jungle southwest of Hannan city; they sat down to rest, scooped the water and drank. They were still undecided whether they should enter the city or not. Xu Ziling jumped down from the top of a tree and said, The hawk is still not in sight. Shouldnt we immediately hasten on with our journey, to go up north to Luoyang? Kou Zhong, who was having his face immersed in the stream, mumbled, Khan is quite familiar with the hawks, it would be best for him to decide. Tuli was sitting against a tree trunk; he said, If the hawk found us, our tracks would no longer be hidden; therefore, it is quite dangerous to go up north. Only by going into a highly popted big city like Hannan will we be able to easily throw off that eye in the sky. Kou Zhong walked back to the other two and sat down. He said dejectedly, Ive never expected that Li Yuanji would be that formidable; he nearly took my little life. Astonished, Tuli asked, Didnt Shao Shuai beat him up that he was spinning on the ground? Why did you say such thing? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Khan did not know it, but my sess just now involved a great deal of luck. After this, after Li Yuanji has time to ponder over the painful experience, next time we meet again, I may not necessarily be able to obtain advantages like this time. No wonder people say that Li Yuanji is the Li ns number one martial art master. He absolutely does not have undeserved reputation. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Khan is also an expert in using spear. What do you think of Li Yuanjis spear technique? Tuli stared nkly in deep thought for a moment before saying with a sigh, Frankly speaking, I have never thought someone could use a spear with divine skill like Li Yuanji. Particrly thest Sudden Thrust style tactic; it gave me more headache. That is the highest realm of using defense for offense. Xu Ziling said, The length of the spear itself has the marvelous usage of restraining the saber. His tactic of dragging the spear and turning around the battle could even disy this advantage to extreme saturation, but it is not without any w. If Zhong Shao was not eager to kill him, he would not have fallen into that kind of no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation. Kou Zhong revealed a look as if his being was deep in thought, and that he had deep understanding. Xu Ziling asked again, Does Khan know who were those people who rushed overter? Tuli replied, I do not dare to say for certain, but the leader rather looked like the young Paizhu of Nanhai Pai, the Golden Spear Mei Xun. Ha! All spear experts inside and outside Central ins, north and south, suddenlye together here! Getting a big headache, Kou Zhong said, Add Kang Qiaoli to that bunch, it could be said that our enemys martial art masters are as numerous as the cloud. Meeting force with force, it will be a dead end for us; escaping, we are afraid of the hawks sharp eyes. On top of that, theres Yun Shuai and Zhu Cans numerous troops. We are currently surrounded by the enemies, isted and without help, everywhere we go, we are subjected to the enemy. Xu Ziling asked Tuli, Supposing Yun Shuais falcon sees the men from Li Yuanjis side, will it be able to report to its master? Tuli replied, Unless Li Yuanjis men are going around to intercept us, or perhaps they appear near us, the falcon will only treat them as passing traveling merchants. That will do! Xu Ziling said, Assuming the men on Yun Shuais side do not know the existence of Li Yuanjis troops, we still have a chance to exploit them. The two mens spirit greatly roused, they asked, How will the n be executed? Xu Ziling analyzed calmly, Just now Li Yuanji was rushing over from Hannan, evidently currently this region has cities and towns that are neutral, and all of them must give his Li Family a little bit of face. Therefore, if we enter the city, we might walk right into the trap. But as soon as we are within any area that set itself against the Li Family, Li Yuanji can no longer going on the rampage without any scruple, presumptuously unting his might like he did today; even if he wanted to deal with things one by one, he must avoid other peoples eyes and ears. One thing that I want to see the most right now is two eagles meeting in the sky. The two mens eyes lit up at the same time. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Are you suggesting that we go west to Zhu Cans oldir, Guanjun City? Xu Ziling nodded and said, From Guanjun to Luoyang and from Xiangyang to Luoyang are not much different. This is called put someone on a field of death and he will fight to live [idiom, based on Sunzis Art of War]. Only by doing this will we be able to avoid any spy, either directly or indirectly rted to the Li Family. Plus well make the enemy unable to guess that our real destination is Luoyang. Murderous intent shing in his eyes, Kou Zhong said, Perhaps we can even take advantage of this to get rid of Kang Qiaoli and Li Yuanji; that will be even more ideal. Tuli said, We absolutely must not overlook Zhao Deyan. I am convinced that he is rushing over from wherever he is to meet with Kang Qiaoli. Moreover, because of secretmunication between Kang Qiaoli and An Long, two hawks may not necessarily be able to meet in the air. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Supposing right now both hawks are looking for our shadow, while we are running straight toward Guanjun, what do you think will happen? Kou Zhong sprang up and said, Why dont we see? From high elevation looking down, the three looked at the Han River winding over from the northwest, flowing in unceasing torrent in the gorge under the cliff. Under the moon and the stars, there was a medium sized, two-mast sailboat going upstream to the north. After rushing over for nearly twenty li along the Han River, this was the first boat that traveled at double speed under cover of darkness. On the entire boat there was only a single windntern hanging on top of the mast, exuding a mysterious feeling. Just from the way this boat was sailing, anybody who had wandered in Jianghu would be able to tell that the helmsman must be an expert, because he was able to steer the boat in the dark relying on his night eyes. Can two gentlemen guess what is the chance that this boat is carrying our enemies? Tuli asked. At least fifty-percent, Kou Zhong replied, Perhaps wed better show ourselves on the shore to see how they will react. It would be best if they are the men on Yun Shuais side, so that we can lead them to have intimate meeting with Yuanji Laoxiong. Xu Ziling looked up at the night sky above; after searching for a while, he said, If Yun Shuai is on board, he has not released the falcon yet. Zhong Shaos proposal can be considered. Currently, they were more afraid that Li Yuanji did not pursue them, hence they were unafraid to expose their tracks. Tuliughed and said, Zhong Shaos methods are always as wonderful as the heavens opening up. Come! Let us say hello to them. The three went on their way, running down the high cliff, straight toward the low-lying spot by the shore. The sailboat slowly went upstream to where they were. Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well. Taking advantage of the bright moon in the sky, he reflected the light toward the boat. Contrary to the three mens expectation, the boat actually changed its course toward the shore where they were standing. The mood immediately tensed up. Could it be that the enemy had a martial art master on board that they relied on? Otherwise, how could they dare toe directly to meet them? While the three felt their scalp was going numb, unsure whether they ought to stay or to immediately slip away, from among the dense shadows on the boat came a tender shout, Its great to see you here! The three were stunned. Focusing their eyes, they looked at the sailboating closer and closer. Finally they were able to recognize Tian Kui Pais Ying Yu, Lu Wuxia, and the others, martial brothers and sister. Inwardly they thought, How could there be such a coincidence? Ying Yu called out, Where are the three gentlemen heading? Can we give you a ride? Inwardly the three were extremely touched; the other party was fully aware that the enemy the three provoked was no small matter, yet they were still this courteous and warmhearted. It was indeed extremely rare. Kou Zhong responded, Xian Shi Xiong Mei [virtuous martial brother and sister], please continue with your journey, do not mind us. It was because we met by chance at Jiangzuo [lit. left of the river; not sure if it is a name, or a typo], and got to know each other that we wanted to say hello! Lu Wuxia excitedly waved her hand and said, Get aboard first, well talkter! We waited for you at Hannan for half a night, you dont know how anxious we were! Its so great to see you. Xu Ziling calmly said, It would be best ifdies and gentlemen do not get involved with us. Otherwise I am afraid there might be unexpected misfortune. If this time we can escape the disaster, we will meet again in the future. This moment the sailboat was less than a zhang away from the shore, both sides were able to clearly see the other side. All the Tian Kui Pai disciples under Ying Yus leadership showed an expression full of admiration, as they waved their hands good-bye. Soon afterwards the three left the shore. They hurried along the Han River to the west for nearly a hundred li. It was not until the sun was high in the sky that the three could not continue and had to stop to take a rest. They spread out to collect wild fruits to ay their hunger. Two sichenter, the three finished regting their breathing and continued on their journey. The ins ended. By this time they had left Han River far behind. Ahead was a row of the marvelous peaks of the mountain range extending endlessly in both directions. Having no other choices, they had to rely on their qinggong to scale the mountain range. When they reached one of the peaks, they saw the undting mountain on the distance, the boundless ocean of clouds, as if they had just entered a fantastic world. The three had forgotten the pursuing troops relentlesslying after them, unwilling to let them go, so much so that they even forgot why they came here. Once they stop and looked around, they could not bear to leave. His heard filled with emotional stirring, Tuli said, I wonder what the most painful thing in life really is! Exhausted, being blown by the wind, the three mens sleeves were fluttering, making them looked like deities, as if at any moment they could step on the cloud and ride on the wind to leave this mortal world. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Victory is impermanence, defeat is also impermanence, whether suffering exists or not, well think about it when we have time. Xu Ziling said, Zhong Shaos remark is brimming with profound thoughts and feelings. It clearly shows that your fight against Li Yuanji has made you more mature in thought. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, I wonder if you are a worm in my belly? Because just before I said those works, I did suddenly remember the battle against Li Yuanji. At that time I had full confidence that I would be able to take his little life in a few strokes, but the result was that I nearly lost my life in his hands. Affairs of life are impermanence, nothing can pass this. Greatly astonished, Tuli said, I never thought the real Kou Zhong would be this modest and forting, because indeed, when your dominance was exhausted, you were able to get away and escape. No one can deny this fact. Pleased with himself, Kou Zhongughed and said, I am originally a modest and open-minded person [lit. receptive as an echoing canyon (idiom)], but inevitably there will be misunderstanding between one person and another. In the world, only Ling Shao is very clear about my character. My biggest wish right now is to lure Li Yuanji into Zhu Cans sphere of influence, so that I could beat him up really bad. Xu Ziling smiled and said, What does Khan think about the most painful thing in life? Tuli was pondering over Kou Zhongs remark. Hearing the question, he said, Because Xiaodi is thinking about the future, whether we will be friends or foe, I feel an indescribable pain in my heart. That was the reason I asked that question. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, When Khan is back in Tujue, you could brush your sleeve and no longer care about the Central Earths affairs, wont we all live together in harmony, like river water does not interfere with well water, and then you wont have to worry about this matter? A dense fog covered Tulis countenance; he spoke heavily, The problem is Xiaodis current strength is still some distance away from Xieli, hence I must rely on external forces to contend against his power. And presently, my only choice is Li Shimin, and not Shao Shuai at all, hence the contradiction in my heart. Ay! I have never been such a forting person, but being subjected to two gentlemens heroic passion and chivalrous feeling, unexpectedly I cannot but pour out whats on my mind. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This means Khan really regards us as friends who treat one another with absolute sincerity. Strong emotion shed through Tulis eyes, but the tone of his voice remained calm without any ripple. Sighing, he said, Not just friends, but ones own flesh and blood, good brothers who live and die together. Otherwise, based on my usual style of taking advantage of others, how could I feel the excruciating pain of contradiction in my heart? Kou Zhongughed aloud and walked over to the space between the two men; reaching out to put his hands on both mens shoulders, he looked up to the blue sky, and spoke in loud and clear, welling up with heroic spirit C voice, What Khan said is enough. No matter what will happen in the future, right this moment, we are good brothers who fight side by side. Heavens! My Niang! Does that t-feathered beast belong to Yun Shuai, or was it raised by Kang Qiaoli? The other two men looked up, and saw a ck dot circling and dancing in the wind high in the sky, drawing graceful circle upon circle in the air. Book 28 - 6 – Upholding Justice Chapter 6 C Upholding Justice Xu Ziling slyly replied, That is Yun Shuais falcon. Kou Zhong was aghast, I only see a small ck dot, yet unexpectedly you can see the birds appearance clearly? he said. Tuli said, Ling Shao looks at the hawks flight pattern to identify who this bird belongs to. People who raise hawks have this kind of ability, but Ling Shao only see them several times and he is already able to distinguish them. I guarantee that nobody in the entire Tujue would believe it. Of course Ling Shaos judgement cant possibly be wrong, Kou Zhong dejectedly said, But arent we too lucky? Unexpectedly we managed to throw off Li Yuanjis side. Greatly astonished, Tuli said, It seems that you wholeheartedly want Li Yuanji to catch up and fight a hard fight with you. I wonder if Shao Shuai has enough confidence to score a victory? The divine light in Kou Zhongs eyes glowed brightly, he said with a smile, I have just said that victory and defeat are impermanence, they are difficult to foresee, how could I dare to brag that I will certainly win? When we were kids, there was this Bai Lao Fuzi [see Book 1 Chapter 1] who oftentimes taught us about the teachings of Confucius and Mencius; he said something about learning and then not knowing enough, telling us to work hard to find it out afterwards. Li Yuanji made me know what my shorings are; such an opponent is hard to find, hard toe by. Therefore, I thirst to have another battle against him. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Shao Shuai may rest your heart at ease. With An Long threading the needle, ying ghost in the dark, I am sure you will have your wishe true. You cant even avoid it even if you dont want to. The three were chatting and joking as if they did not care that Yun Shuai was closely following them. Turning his head to face the wind, Tuli took a deep breath and said, Yun Shuai could be considered extremely skillful, unexpectedly after just one day and one night he can quickly catch up with us. Kou Zhongughed and said, He is moving real fire, he wants to wipe off the former disgrace by all means. In my opinion, he should being after us alone, he has left the others far behind. Were it not for he is able to slip away faster than any of us, I really wish I could turn back and beat him to such a sorry state. But now we have to find a crowded ce to hide his mothers a while, so that we can carry out our grand n of striking back. Xu Ziling said indifferently, You have such a rich mountain-and-stream geographical knowledge, please tell me, which way should we go? Kou Zhong pointed to the distant northwest extremities of Anhai, floating-under-their-feet. Full of confidence, he said, We are going in that direction until we reach a big river flowing from the west, which ought to be Chao River. North of Chao River, there is a big city called Shunyang. About two hundred li north of Shunyang is precisely Zhu Cans old nest, Guanjun, situated south of Tuan River. Theres a saying, how do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tigersir? We might as well charge into Zhu Cans base camp, stirring him up until the sky and the earth turning upside down. Two Laoxiong, what do you think? Tuliughed heartily and said, I might feel sorry for Li Yuanji. Although his strength far surpasses ours, but all along he has been led by the nose by us. He has be ustomed to Kou Zhongs style of speaking, his ability to turn the sky and earth upside down with only slightly exaggerated words, so he knew that the three of them were not going to rely just on their own strength to enter Guanjun, Zhu Cans tiger whiskers. Xu Ziling said, After reaching Shunyang, wed better change our appearance and assume other identities. If the hawk relies on external appearance to recognize people, there is a great chance that we will be able to trick it. Kou Zhongughed and said, I am afraid we will have to disguise ourselves as hunchbacked old men and change our walking gait, otherwise, even if we change into a small ck dot, we cant hide from its acute eyes. Amidst theirughter, the three climbed the mountain and rushed in the northwest direction. About a sichenter, the three left the mountain area. Sure enough, just like Kou Zhong said, they saw a big river flowing from the west, but they did not see any boat sailing on the river. They only saw three fishing boats with fishermen throwing their to catch fish. On the opposite site, they faintly saw a vige behind a forest. After searching the sky for a moment, Kou Zhong said, Theres no hawk in sight! Tuli said, In term of breathing endurance, how could it match us? Perhaps it is returning to Yun Shuai to eat and rest. Kou Zhong happily said, If we dont take this opportunity to cross the river, what are we waiting for? Raising their spirit, the three ran at full speed toward the riverbank. Selecting a ce where the river course was rather narrow, with the help of thick branches that they tossed into the river, they effortlessly cross the more than ten zhang wide river. As they were slipping into a dense forest by the riverbank, Tuli spoke a bit awkwardly, Xiaodi has another proposal, I hope Shao Shuai wont take offense. Blurting outughing, Kou Zhong said, If Khan has an even better suggestion, Xiaodi cant thank you enough; how could I take offense? Smiling, Xu Ziling said, Its because just now you were disying your rich knowledge that Khan is hesitant to show that he is more adept than you are in this aspect. Ay! You are a kid who loves to toot your horn. Tuliughed in delight and said, In that case I wont be shy! Frankly speaking, if we want to sneak into Guanjun, it would be more advantageous if we go via Nanyangpared to Shunyang. Kou Zhong wanted to say something, but then he stopped. Xu Ziling teased him, Are you going to ask where Nanyang is? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Can you not think that I am that disappointing? Its not that I do not have any interest in Zhu Cans territory, therefore, I made painstaking effort to study it. Nanyang is located downstream from Guanjun. If you sail following the current, it will take you only one day. Only because Nanyang is a big city C it is the most prosperous, as well as the most populous and affluent within Zhu Cans sphere of influence, which surpasses even Guanjun, and this kind of ce has many men and various eyes C that I did not choose this city! Astonished, Tuli said, I thought Shao Shuai overlooked Nanyang. Turns out you have different way of thinking. However, inside Nanyang, we have our Tujue nsmen, running our regional big sheepskin business. I thought we would be able to take advantage of him, to make arrangement to deal with Kang Qiaoli and Li Yuanji. Seizing the opportunity to get out of embarrassment, Kou Zhong vigorously pped Tulis shoulder and said with augh, Why didnt you say so earlier? Well go immediately; Khan, please lead the way. Thest sentence finally exposed the foxs tail. Pulling the two men back, Xu Ziling said, Look! A falcon was riding on the wind high in the sky. After making arge circle, it flew to the west. The three you look at me I look at you, Kou Zhong was the first toe to himself; he said, Old t-feathered beast must have lost our tracks due to the ocean of clouds covering the mountain peak. This is even better; if Kang Qiaoli is following us here, he must be taking Li Yuanji along, to rely on help from the nsman doing big business in Nanyang, then we will turn from being in the open to being hidden, so we can teach evil people, who bullied us, a lesson. The three looked at the sky, which was clearing up from the earlier haze; very carefully they hid themselves toward the north. Guanjin and Nanyang were located west and south of Tuan River, one upstream, the other downstream, as close as lips and teeth [idiom: interdependent], controlling a vast mountainous area and the traffic of the lower reaches of the Tuan River. In term of geographical location, they are very strategic. If one of the cities fell under attack, it would be difficult for the other city to maintain its momentum alone. The reason Nanyangs economy was more prosperous than Guanjun was simply because since ancient time, it has been the trade andmerce distribution hub connecting numerous official roads, thergest ry station within several hundred li area, while also an important military base of the Garuda Army outside Guanjun. Nanyang city walls on all four sides were connected by gates joined together to multi-storied buildings; strong and magnificent. The walls were constructed of bricks sealed tight with mortar. Along the inside of the wall was a road to provide rapid movement of the troops. Along the side of the road were trees and bushes. Leaning close to the north side of the city was the turbulent Tuan River, which was diverted into aqueduct around the outside of the city walls to act as a moat. On the inside, the city was prosperous, with rows upon rows of buildings, divided by cross-shaped main streets. On the north side, the street was not straight but followed the contour of the river. All the houses facing the streets had veranda with eaves. The eaves rose up, the windows on the upper floor were adorned with ornamental engraving, enhancing the citys distinguishing feature. The north street along the river was where the businesses were concentrated, shops were lining up the street on both sides, men and horses traveled back and forth in unending stream. It was just after dawn. Dressed as fishermen, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Tuli disembarked from the dock north of the city, and paid the tax to enter the city. Leaving the main street, they turned into a narrow alley. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, People say that Zhu Can is cruel and oppressive, so much so that there are miserable things like people eating people in the area under his jurisdiction, but this city does not have the slightest reflection of that kind of situation, so what exactly is going on? Tuli replied, The reason is very simple: because the real control over the big city is not under Zhu Can at all, but under the coalition government of Nanyangs three sects, four gangs, and one society. Its just that every month they have to pay tribute to Zhu Can, so that Zhu Can no longer care about Nanyangs internal affairs. Both Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were surprised. Tuli went on, This has been done by Zhu Cans own hands. Because of excessive suppression and exploitation, three years ago Nanyangs gangs, societies, schools and sects joined hands with the citizens of the city to rise vigorously and rebel against him, driving all Garuda troops out of the city. Zhu Can led his army to attack, but after attacking for a long time without sess, he had no choice but to ept the reality, and came to an agreement with the three sects, four gangs, and one society. The fact is that this actually brings benefit to Zhu Can without any harm, simply because thirty-percent of the revenue of Zhu Cans state treasury came from Nanyang. Also, only through Nanyang would Zhu Can be able to purchaserge quantities of daily necessities, because nobody wants to do business with this credulous person. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such thing. Zhu Can is not a trustworthy person, how could he be willing to ept this humiliation? Naturally he is unwilling, Tuli said, Therefore, with a hundred and thousand schemes he tries to split apart the three sects, four gangs, and one societys union. But these schools, sects, gangs and societies elected Yang Zhen to preside over the general situation. Not only he is highly virtuous, his method is smooth and evasive; he is a slick and sly person. At least until now, Zhu Can still fails to regain control of Nanyang. Kou Zhong was full of praise, Khan is really formidable, you know about Central Earths affairs more clearly than I do; evidently your intelligencework is highly efficient. He halted his steps and said, How about this inn? The other two nodded their approval. Just by looking at the shop front, it was clear that this was the cheapest kind of inn, very appropriate for their now destitute, low-ss identity. The three opened their room. Disregarding everything, they copsed down and slept soundly. When they awoke, the sky has turned ck. After taking turn going to the bathroom to freshen up and change their clothes, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling turned themselves into an ugly and boorish man and Gong Chenchun, respectively. They also had Tuli wearing Kou Zhongs full-bearded, deep-eyed and hawk-nosed mask. Tuli eximed in admiration, This mask is indeed the result of skillful, snatching-the-heaven hands; but if we walk out the street like this, those who are intentionally watching us will still be able to recognize us in one nce. Kou Zhong said, We want to deceive those who are unintentional. Besides, who could have guessed that we areing to Nanyang? Lets not worry about his mothers; we need to find a ce nearby to cure our hungry belly. While doing that, well discuss the next step of our counterattack strategy. The three men swaggered to the north main street connecting the north and south city gates. The oppressive liveliness and the crowd startled the three men;pared to the early morning Nanyang, it was like a different ce, the prosperity was not inferior to Luoyang at all. Part of the crowd was even Wulin characters, the Three Religions and Nine Schools[1] [fig. people from all trades], all kinds of people, but everybody was following thew, nobody was trying to confront anybody else, making Xu Ziling think of Chengdu. The three selected a ratherrge restaurant to sit down. When they ordered their food and wine, they noticed that the whole restaurant was full. There were nearly fifty tables in both the inside and outside sections, all were upied. Bustling, noisy, warm, and bright, morous and vibrant. The table they sat on was in the inside section, toward the side. As soon as they sat down, Kou Zhong tipped the waiter, telling him to remove the remaining chairs away, so that they could monopolize the table. All of a sudden Tuli was overwhelmed with emotion; he said, In all my life I rarely have such a moment to enjoy life, to have vivid experience of how precious life really is. Previously, even after defeating a powerful enemy, I did not have such deep satisfaction and peace of mind like right now. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I understand Khans feeling. To Khan, the experience of the past few days must be fresh and extremely stimting. But back to the main point, Khans nsman who is running sheepskin business in here, whats his surname and given name, and where does he live? Laughing involuntarily, Tuli said, I am not formidable enough to remember his address, but this mans original name is Keerpo, he also goes by his Han name Huo Qiu. He should be a figure that nobody in Nanyang did not know, he has good rtionship with local Wulin dignitaries. Xu Ziling asked, The three sects that Khan mentioned, could it be that one of those happen to be Tian Kui Pai? Exactly, Tuli replied, But speaking about power, Nanyang Bang, which is ranked among the Jianghus Eight Gangs and Ten Societies, ought to be at the top of the list. The Yan Yue Dao [lying-down moon saber] Yang Zhen is the Da Longtou [big boss] of Nanyang Bang. Right this moment, from the outer section suddenly came the noise of cups and dishes being smashed to pieces, followed by the sound of people cursing. While the three were stunned, a human shadow flew directly in, and fell face up on one of the tables. Immediately everybody scattered in all direction to escape. Cups, tes, and bowls fell to the floor and smashed to pieces; rice, vegetables and meat sshed all over the table, chairs overturned, tables copsed, the situation was unbearably chaotic. The man rolled down along the table and fell to the ground. Looking at his appearance, he could not be more than twenty years. Moaning and groaning, unexpectedly he was unable to get up. Noticing his clear eyebrows and handsome eyes, Xu Ziling knew that he was not an evil man; although well aware that he should not meddle in other peoples business, still inwardly he could not bear to watch without doing anything. First, he grabbed him and helped him up, and then he pressed his palm onto his back to transmit his true qi, saying, Dont talk. The young man slightly opened his eyes, revealing a grateful expression; following Xu Zilings instruction, he closed his eyes again. Kou Zhong and Tuli were still sitting on their original position. With eyes burning they fixed their gaze on the passageway connecting the inner and outer sections, wanting to see who would be this tyrannical and overbearing, dare to destroy this citys peaceful and harmonious atmosphere, openlymit a violent act inside this restaurant. Get lost! A man, looking like a young master of an influential family, his eyes emitted vicious look, his face suffused with iron-blue color, under escort of five armed big men C wasing to the inside court, and berated Xu Ziling angrily without any trace of politeness. Evidently the other diners knew this gentleman; everybodys countenance changed, they all kept quiet out of fear. Some people wanted to slip away, but the gentleman, sweeping his gaze around, said, No one is allowed to leave. I want all of you to watch me, Luo Rongtai, teaching a lesson to this Tian Kui Pai dog whos overestimating his capabilities. Humph! Knowing perfectly well that Xiao Wan is mine, unexpectedly still want to be the toad eating the swans meat. Even Lu Zhong is nothing in my eyes, much less you, an insignificant small bandit Xie Xianting. A man to Luo Rongtais left shouted angrily, Are you deaf? You havent crawled away, do you want to meddle in our Tuan Jiang Pais [River Tuan Sect] business? Hearing that, the three thought that it was an outrage. Even if it did not involve Tian Kui Pai, such use-of-strength-to-bully-others was already enough for them not to stand by idly and watch, much less it concerned Tian Kui Pai, who had won the three mens favorable impression. Tuli was about to burst in anger, Kou Zhong smiled and pulled him back, asking, Is it one of the three sects? After Tuli nodded, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Let Ling Shao handle this! By this time Xu Zilings true qi has circted inside Xie Xiantings body one full cycle, opening up his stopped up meridians due to the hit. Xie Xianting struggled to stand up and said, No words can express my gratitude for your great kindness. A man did it, a man take responsibility for it. EnGong [benefactor] need not mind me. Xu Ziling helped him up and sat him on a chair nearby that has not been knocked down, as if he did not even see Luo Rongtai and his bunch of vicious men; he smiled and said, Me and your honorable sects Ying Yu Xiong are friends. Xie Xiong may set your heart at ease and rest, I have a way to deal with this. Hearing that, the ominous glint in Luo Rongtais eyes shot out; signaling with his hand, the man who had just cursed angrily immediately scrambled forward, came behind Xu Ziling, gathered his fingers into a palm chop, and swiftly chopped on the back of Xu Zilings neck in full power. Xu Ziling suddenly moved backward; the man clearly saw Xu Ziling seemed to be delivering his own body to be a target for his palm chop; who would have thought that he saw a blur, and his palm chop fell on empty air? When he pulled his palm back, Xu Ziling reappeared before his eyes. Before he realized what was going on, Xu Ziling already bumped into his chest. Immediately his spine arched like a spring, his body doubled over, with a miserable scream he was jolted by an irresistible inner power; his feet left the ground, he flew toward Luo Rongtai. The nearly a hundred diners nearby, some were standing, some were sitting C had never expected Xu Ziling to be this superior; they nearly broke into cheers. Everybody has felt that Tuan Jiang Pais overbearing style was unpleasant to the eye. Luo Rongtai was outstanding as well; taking a step forward, he reached out to catch the falling man. To neutralize Xu Zilings true power, he needed to take two steps back before he was able to stand firm. And then he ordered his men to help the big man. Kou Zhongughed aloud as he rose to his full height. After all eyes were fixed on him, he glibly said, Seeing that you, Rongtai Shao still have a little bit of martial art skill, let Laozi ughter you. I guarantee that I can chop you off to eighteen pieces, and each pieces weight will be precise to the finest detail. Thump! Tuli stomped the Subduing Eagle Spear heavily on the floor, producing a rumbling-thunder-like noise that shook the entire restaurant and terrified everybodys heart. With dissatisfaction in his voice, he said, Laoxiong, you are not really a friend! Just now you stopped Xiaodi from making my move, turns out you want to take him for yourself. This fight ought to be mine. Wah! The big man that Xu Ziling threw nearly dropped down on his knees to the floor if hisrades did not hold him up, increasing the three mens prestige. Assuming a panic-stricken look on his face, Kou Zhong cupped his fist to apologize to Tuli, saying, Dage, please calm down. Ill let Dage have this fellow to satisfy your spears craving. Eighteen holes and eighteen pieces are not much different. The worst thing is that this kid reminded me of another man, so that I could not help wanting to eat this head and making him into soup. Dage, please dont me me. Of all the people around, only Xu Ziling knew that the other man Kou Zhong was referring to was Xiang Yushan. Luo Rongtai had a striking resemnce to Xiang Yushan. Naturally with Xiang Yushans outward appearance, it was a bit easier to deceive people. Inwardly all the spectators were greatly delighted; they were happy that the evil person has met the evil persons fate. Luo Rongtais countenance turned from green to white. Spreading his arms to stop his men from charging forward to stake their lives, he shouted coldly, Since you dare to meddle in other peoples business, do you dare to report your names? Even somebody who had just made his debut in Jianghu would know that he was showing strength while being weak inside, and was just trying to find a way to step down from the stage. Who would have thought that Tuli was uncooperative? He simply stood valiantly with spear lifted up; suddenly he moved in front of Luo Rongtai, his spear thrust forward. Shocked, Luo Rongtai pulled his sword to block. The other men, who were helping the injured man, were forced to stagger back by the Subduing Eagle Spears powerful gust of wind, so that they lost all their might. Dang! Dang! Dang! Luo Rongtai did have the ability to run amuck; giving everything he had, he blocked three spear strikes in session. Tuliughed aloud. The spears momentum changed; just like the Great River and the Yellow River, the spear shadow filled the air, rolling Luo Rongtai inside it. Before anybody could see clearly, Luo Rongtai let out a miserable grunt as the tail of Tulis spear swept the side of his leg, while his long sword fell off his hand, and Luo Rongtai himself was thrown sideways, knocking down another table full of food and wine, meeting the same fate as Xie Xianting just a moment ago. Kou Zhong put down some silvers and spoke in low voice, Brothers, lets go! [1] The Three Religions:Daoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Nine Schools: Confucians, Daoists, Yin-Yang, Legalists, Logicians, Mohists, Political Strategists, Eclectics, Agriculturists. Book 28 - 7 – The Wind and the Rain in Nanyang Chapter 7 C The Wind and the Rain in Nanyang The four men stepped out to the street. Noticing that the Tian Kui Pai disciple Xie Xiantings condition was much better, Xu Ziling let go of his hand and said, Xiao Xiongdi, why dont you go back? Tuli added, Its very easy for thosedies of the pleasure house to stir up argument and jealousy; it would be best if Xie Xiaodi dont go there too often. Xie Xiantings delicate face blushed; hanging his head down, he said, Thank you three Daxia [great hero] for helping me, but Xiao Wan and I did not know each other from the pleasure house; we really love each other. Ay! Kou Zhong lightly patted his shoulder and said with augh, If you dont have any romance, then you are being a young man in vain. But the most important thing is to preserve your life; if you lose your life, you cant have any romance. Do you want us to walk you back? Xie Xiantings handsome face turned cloudy and clear indeterminately. It was only a whileter that he made up his mind and said, I was wondering if three Daxia would do this kid a very big favor: you must never tell Da Shixiong about this matter. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, How could paper contain fire? We inflicted heavy losses to Luo Rongtai; he will not let this matter drop. You ought to immediately tell your Da Shixiong everything, so that you and he can make adequate preparation. Tuli asked, Is Lu Zhong Laoshi not in Nanyang? Immediately Xie Xiantings eyes turned red, with tears in his eyes, he hung his head low and spoke in distress, Somebody injured Shifu. Hearing that, the three looked at each other. Somebody with an old name in Jianghu like Lu Zhong, people usually did not talk about the level of his martial art skill, rather, they would talk about his rank and status. Even somebody whose martial art skill was stronger than his would not dare to provoke him unnecessarily, yet now somebody dide to provoke him. From this, it could clearly be seen that Nanyang, which on the surface looked tranquil, the internal struggle within it has actually reached a white-hot level. No wonder Luo Rongtai dared to publicly bully Tian Kui Pai disciple. Wrapping his arm around Xie Xiantings shoulders, Kou Zhong pulled him into a side alley to talk. Who might be that audacious? he asked. Wiping his tears with his sleeve, Xie Xianting spoke with indescribable grief and indignation, Its that traitor Ji Yinong. The three were stunned, Whos Ji Yinong? they asked. Xie Xianting could not help asking, Three Daxia are new here? Ji Yinong is the Hui Zhu [society master] of Yang Xing Hui of the three sects, four sects and one society. For the past few years, he colluded with Tuan Jiang Pai, Chao Shui Bang [River Chao gang], and Hui Yi Bang [grey clothes gang], conspiring to rece Yang Zhen, the Seniors Da Longtou position. Jia Shi [lit. family master, i.e. his own schools master] made a supreme effort to oppose, hence they regard him as a thorn in their side. The most hateful thing was that he invited outsiders to do the deeds for them. On the surface, it looked like it has nothing to do with this matter, but those with discerning eyes could immediately tell that Ji Yinong is the mastermind behind this. Who actually injured him? Xu Ziling asked. Xie Xianting angrily said, That man said that his surname is Yun, but nobody knew which school or sect he came from. After pondering deeply for half a day, Kou Zhong said, Youd better go back to your school before talking about this more. In my opinion, you shouldnt conceal what has just happened. Otherwise, when Luo Rongtais mene for revenge, your martial brothers might be caught unprepared. Hanging his head, Xie Xianting said, Daxias lesson, I will obey. And then, looking at the three, he said, May I know three Daxias honorable surname and great given name, so that Xiaodi could report it when I get back? Xu Ziling smiled and said, About how we met Ying Xiong, it is really not convenient to discuss randomly. When you go back, just describe what we look like, Ying Xiong would immediately know who we are. The three returned to the inn and crowded inside the small, narrow room. They were all amused. Sitting on the couch, Kou Zhong pulled his mask and casually tossed it to the side. Lying down on his back, he sighed and said, I dont care his mothers whether our track is exposed, wed better hurry to Guanjun immediately, to see whether Li Yuanji would dare to follow us. Xu Ziling copsed on his left side. Thinking deeply, he said, This is called a thiefcking in confidence. This ce is not Li Familys territory at all, how do you think they obtain the information? Supposing theye in contact with Huo Qiu, and supposing Huo Qiu really possesses great magical power, able to know everything that is going on in Nanyang, he will still need some time to specte whod taught Luo Rongtai some lesson. We have plenty of time to deploy our troops. Tuli, who was sitting on the only chair in the room, nodded and said, Ling Shao is right. Tonight we need to get a feel of Huo Qius foundation first, and tomorrow morning well make our moves separately, to see whether Li Yuanji and Yun Shuais men really enter the city, and then we can leisurely decide what we are going to do. Raising both hands, Kou Zhong groaned, Out of three sects, four sects and one society, we know Tian Kui Pai, Luo Rongtais Tuan Jiang Pai, Ji Yinongs Yang Xing Hui, and then there are Chao Shui Bang, Hui Yi Bang, as well as Da Longtou Yang Zhens Nanyang Bang. What are the other one sect and one gang? Tuli replied, Its Jing Shan Pai [Mount Jing Sect] and Zhen Yang Bang. Shao Shuais memory is indeed not bad; you only heard it once and youd remember. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, I remember it until my head spins. I really dont understand what they are fighting about? If Nanyangs gangs and sects are all split up and in pieces, the happiest person would be Zhu Can. Someonesing! Xu Ziling suddenly said. They heard someone wasing their direction; the footsteps were light and even, a sign that whoever wasing, his foundation was quite good, hence the reason it triggered Xu Zilings alertness. The footsteps stopped in front of their door, followed by a knock on the door, and Ying Yus voice came from the outside, Ying Yus requesting an audience! Tuli sprang up and pulled the door open to let Ying Yu into the room. Xu Ziling amiably patted the space at the edge of the bed between he and Kou Zhong, telling him to sit down. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by favor from superior, Ying Yu sat up straight before saying, Xianting really did not make any progress, unexpectedly he followed others example to have fun with pleasure housesdies. Fortunately three gentlemen pulled your saber to render assistance; otherwise I do not dare to imagine the oue. Twisting his waist to sit up, Kou Zhong said with augh, Gentlemen are fond of sweet, fair, and graceful wise and virtuousdy; love does not have established rules or social ss boundary. In my opinion, Xianting and Xiao Wan genuinely love each other, otherwise Luo Rongtai did not need to resort to force to break them up. Ying Yu was slightly stunned; a bit hard to ept, he merely shook his head. If it were not Kou Zhong, whose name shook thend under the heaven, perhaps he would have refuted it early on. Kou Zhong warmly wrapped his arm around his shoulders; in all seriousness, he presented his analysis, There are only three things that pleasure housedies love. Tell me, does Xianting have gold? Ying Yu shook his head. Ignoring Xu Ziling and Tulis expression and quizzical gaze, Kou Zhong continued asking, Is his martial art skill high? Does he have any other special skill? Ying Yu did not understand why Kou Zhong asked him this string of questions; he continued shaking his head with a nk stare. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is called: since Xiantingcks gold, and he alsocks skill, the one that Xiao Wan loves must be his person. Since they are affectionate and true to each other, if you, as the Da Shixiong try to break them up, wont it mean you are cruel and heartless? I want you to think calmly: if someone is trying to break up Ying Xiong and your honorable Shimei, how would you feel? Ying Yus face immediately turned beet red. But there is practically nothing between me and Xia Shimei, he stammered, Ay! What should I say? Kou Zhong seriously said, We are all brothers, Ying Xiong must tell me honestly, do you like your Xia Shimei? Tuli and Xu Ziling did not know whether tough or cry. This moment, there were headaches, anxieties and troubles everywhere, yet unexpectedly Kou Zhong was interested to get to the bottom of this love affair between men and women. They really did not know what he was trying to get to. As expected, Ying Yu said, Currently our Jia Shi is suffering disgrace by being injured, Tian Kui Pais fall is imminent, I ... ay! Kou Zhong smiled and said, The School of the Military has the so-called discussingughter in using troops. We can help Ying Xiong in discussing feeling in using troops. With this move, we will aplish three things: both to heal your honorable masters injury and to revitalize Tian Kui Pais reputation, plus to win the beautys heart. Moreover, we could use your honorable sects assistance to obtain intelligence on whats going on inside the city, big and small. Ying Xiong, what do you think about this proposal? It was only then did Xu Ziling and Tuli understand; presently, their most urgent matter was how to obtain intelligence on the enemys activities, because even if the three of them moved at the same time, they could not cover all four city gates. Severely shaken, Ying Yu said, Why is Shao Shuai this good to me? Love affair between a man and a woman is a trivial matter, if Jia Shi could get well soon, and our humble sect could avoid the disaster of being destroyed, Ying Yu ... Kou Zhong cut him off, This is called predestined affinity between people. Only there is one thing that Ying Xiong said it wrong! Love affair between a man and a woman is anything but trivial! Hey, it is a major event in ones life. Only by sincerity would you be able to win your honorable Shimeis fragrant heart. Lets talk less nonsense; let us take a look at Lu Laoshis condition first. When ites to treating internal injury, nobody is more adept than Ling Shao and me. Ying Yus grateful gaze moved toward Xu Ziling, and then he turned to look at Tuli. Thetter slowly tore off his mask, and said with a smile, Xiaodi Tuli of the Eastern Tujue. Kou Zhong pulled back his hand, which he had pressed on Lu Zhongs back. Under Xu Ziling, Tuli, Ying Yu, and Lu Wuxias inquiring gaze, he showed a grave expression, so that the four persons heart sank. Lu Zhong struggled hard to open his eyes. Hows Laofus injury? he spoke with difficulty, Shao Shuai, please speak bluntly without any reservation, Laofu is prepared for the worst. Kou Zhong said, Lu Laoshis injury is quite heavy. Fortunately Laoshis foundation is deep, when you were hit by the palm, you tightly protected your heart and meridians. Otherwise, you would have lost your life early on. Lu Wuxias hot tears gushed forth, she cried in grief, Can Shao Shuai cure Dies injury? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Miss Lu, please set your heart at ease. Ying Xiong is a good friend that we admire. If we cannot help your honorable father restoring his energy in one night, how could we live up to Ying Xiongs expectation? This is called everyone on the street knows whats in Sima Zhaos mind[1]. The way Kou Zhong was campaigning for Ying Yu was indeed too tant. Ying Yu was both delighted and embarrassed. Xu Ziling and Tuli felt the hair on their body was standing on its end. But as Lu Wuxia heard that her father could be saved, naturally she epted it without question; gratefully she cast Ying Yu a nce. Half believing, half doubting, she asked, Only one night? Lu Zhong sighed and said, Shao Shuai need not console Laofu. Laofu is aware of the seriousness of my injury. Six meridians are being sealed off by yin, cold qi. Even if I can survive, albeit with difficulty, within a year or a half, it would be difficult to move about freely. Kou Zhong respectfully said, How could I, Kou Zhong, dare to babble nonsense to Lu Laoshi? Our innate true qi came from the Taoist Schools Secret to Long Life; its natural property can control this kind of demonic power, peculiar method. Moreover, we do have ample experience in this. Ling Shao, why dont you try? Speaking about healing internal injury, naturally you are more superior than I am. In other things, its hard to say! Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, What demonic power, peculiar method? While saying that, he kicked off his shoes and stepped onto the narrow bed and sat cross-legged behind Lu Zhong. As he pressed both palms on the center of Lu Zhongs back, Xu Zilings tiger body immediately shook. He looked at Kou Zhong. Thetter said, Do you get it? A sh of shocked expression flitted across Xu Zilings face, but it faded almost instantly. He nodded his head to indicate that he understood. The other three were baffled. Her fragrant heart in great turmoil, Lu Wuxia asked, What is it? Xu Ziling continuously circted his true qi into Lu Zhongs body. He calmly affirmed, In less than three sichen, your esteemed father willpletely recover, and there wont be any side effectter. Obviously Lu Wuxia and Ying Yu had more confidence in the habitually silent Xu Ziling; they were finally able put down the burden that has been in their heart for half a day. They even noticed that Lu Zhongs countenance immediately turned better, even his sitting-cross-legged posture seemed to be more rxed. There was a haze-scattered, the-sky-clears-after-the-rain feeling. Kou Zhong said, Lets go out to talk. When they got to the side hall adjacent to the bedroom, Kou Zhong asked about the appearance of the man attacking and injuring Lu Zhong. After Lu Wuxia carefully described the man, Kou Zhong nodded and said, If I dont guess incorrectly, this man ought to be Yin Gui Pai martial art master of elder level, Yunyu Shuang Xiu [cloud and rain double cultivation] Pi Shouxuan [see Book 25 Chapter 8]. Stunned, Lu Wuxia and Ying Yu asked, What kind of sect is Yin Gui Pai? Howe we have never heard about it? But Tuli suddenly saw the light. Yin Gui Pais demon hand has finally reached into Zhu Cans territory; it was just a natural progression. North of the Great River, Yin Gui Pai only had Xiangyang, one stronghold. If they wanted to expand from there, they must choose theparably weaker Garuda state to be singled out as a point of attack, as the most logical choice. Perhaps even Yang Xing Huis Ji Yinong himself was a Yin Gui Pai man. If he could upy Yang Zhens position, then it would be akin to Nanyang falling into Yin Gui Pais hands. Kou Zhong exined, They are Jianghus most secretive and most demonical sect. I am sure Lu Laoshi knows about them, its just that he has not told you. Looking at the current situation, the smartest course of action that we need to take is: wait until Lu Laoshi is fully recovered tomorrow, and then immediately withdraw from Nanyang. I hear that your Tian Kui Pai has dojos in a lot of ces, is that right? Ying Yu revealed a difficult expression; he replied in distress, From Shao Shuais proposal, it is clear that Yin Gui Pai is a sect that we cannot afford to offend. However, Jia Shi and Yang Zhen Bangzhu have a life and death rtionship; he will never agree to abandon him. Where is Yang Zhen now? Tuli asked. Lu Wuxia replied, Yang Shibo [uncle (affectionate name for a friend older than ones father)] went to Guanjun the day before yesterday and has not returned yet; otherwise, he would help us making decisions. Kou Zhong and Tuli exchange nces. They both knew that Ji Yinong was taking this opportunity tounch his offensive to weaken any power in Nanyang who supported Yang Zhen. Kou Zhong decisively said, Sess or failure will be decided tonight. The first to act will gain control, thest to act will be under other peoples control. We need to y a hand against Ji Yinong, I want to see what trick he is going to y next. He had not finished speaking, a disciple came in a flurry to report, Tuan Jiang Bang people areing! On the corridor leading to the main hall, Kou Zhong pulled Ying Yu aside and whispered in his ear, With your manner right now, how could you win Xia Shimeis admiration? We are behind you a hundred-percent, it is critical that you assume the air of Lu Laoshis sessor. Since we know this wont end up good anyway, what damn thing are you afraid of? Ying Yu nodded slightly. Immediately straightening up his chest, he entered the main hall in big strides. Tuli and Kou Zhong, who by this time have put their mask back on, followed closely behind, followed by Lu Wuxia, Xie Xianting, and four most senior disciples under Ying Yus leadership. The Sect Leader of Tuan Jiang Bang, Luo Changshou was sitting in everything-steady-and-stable manner on an imperial tutor chair[2] leaning against the western wall. His lightning-like gaze swept pass Ying Yu and fell onto Tuli and Kou Zhong, two men. Standing behind him were a dozen men, tall and short; each mans eyes revealed ominous glint, with vicious appearance and evil countenance that showed that they were here on a punitive expedition. On each of the imperial tutor chairs to Luo Changshous right and left also sat a man. On the left was a big man in grey clothes, which was the Hui Yi Bangs [grey clothes gang] Gang Leader Evil Lord Xia Zhiping. On the right was one of the five Tangzhu [hall master] of Chao Shui Bangs five Tangzong [hall chief], the Iron Ruler Qi San. [Trantors note: there are some missing characters here, I could not make any sense of what the sentence is saying.] Ying Yus stuck-out chest immediately caved in. He bowed to pay his respect to the three men, in ordance to the etiquette of a disciple or younger generation greeting his superior. Letting out a cold humph, Luo Changshou said, Wheres Lu Zhong? None of the Tian Kui Pai side did not have his countenance changed. Luo Changshou simply called Lu Zhong by name, he did not show any deference at all. Prompted by Kou Zhongs light push, Ying Yu led everybody to sit on the chairs on the other side of the main hall. Ying Yu sat in the middle, with Kou Zhong and Tuli sat on his left and right. Just like the other partys disciples, Lu Wuxia and the others also stood behind Ying Yus chair, so that both sides were standing in a face-off situation. Bang! The Hui Yi Bangs Gang Leader Xia Zhiping disyed his Evil Lord true nature; he pped the small table by his chair, shaking the table so that the teacups on it produced ding, ding, dong noise. Ying Yu, are you mute? he roared angrily, Where the hell is Lu Zhong? Could it be that he feels it beneath his dignity to see us? The Iron Ruler Qi San let out a chillingugh and said, Xia Bangzhu must not get angry, perhaps Lu Changzhu [dojo master] has no face to see us! Inwardly Kou Zhong and Tuli knew that the other party were most afraid of Lu Zhong, hence they were using words to get a feel of his condition. Moreover, if Lu Zhong were not injured, they may not necessarily have the guts toe here. Finally Ying Yu was angry; he spoke heavily, Jia Shi is out on a business trip. If three gentlemen prefer to see our humble master, pleasee back tomorrow. Throwing his head back, Luo Changshou let out a longugh. His gaze flitted across Kou Zhong and Tuli, before returning back to Ying Yu. He spoke coldly, Very well! Lu Zhong is not here, then well deal with you. Your honorable Shidi, employing outsiders help, injured Ol Luos son. How are we going to settle this ount? Kou Zhong nearly could not help making fun of him; fortunately at thest moment he was able to restrain himself and simply cast an encouraging nce toward Ying Yu. Inwardly, Ying Yu was angry as well. Putting on a calm and collected appearance, he replied in a neither-haughty-nor-humble tone, Luo Bangzhu is exaggerating. Your esteemed son Rongtai Gongzi went on the rampage relying on strength, hemitted a violent act against our humble Shidi in public ce. Fortunately Ying Yus sworn brothers acted to uphold justice. Even if Xianting did something wrong, Rongtai Gongzi could have spoken directly to me. By doing what he did, he did not show too much respect toward our Tian Kui Pai. The sworn brothers identity was decided before they came into the main hall, because since the Three Sects, Four Gangs and One Society were forming an alliance, ording to Jianghu rules, outsiders did not have any ground to offer an opinion. Luo Changshou was immediately at a loss. He never expected that the always-trembling-with-fear, wishy-washy Ying Yu would be this decisive and sharp. The Evil Lord Xia Zhiping scolded sternly, Ying Yu, you have the impertinence to disrespect your elder, to offend Bangzhu. Have you eaten a bears heart and leopards gall? Lu Wuxia finally could not bear any longer; she scolded tenderly, We respect those whos worthy to receive respect. Bangzhu did not speak reasonably. While the ominous glint in Xia Zhipings eyes was ring out, Qi Sanughed and said, Tiger father will not beget a dog daughter, you are worthy to be the Huan Shou Dao[3] Lu Zhongs daughter. Just let your Qi Shushu [uncle] talk reason with you. Your Da Shixiong suddenly bring up his sworn brothers. What are their honorable surnames and great given names? Which family, which sect do they belong to? This timeing to Nanyang, for what noble errand? Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, About time! Among the three big bosses of the opposite side, this Qi San was the most calm and collected, and showed a lot of wisdom. He raised his teacup and took a sip first, before remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos he said, I am Hu San, and he is Hu Si[4]. We belong to the same school as Ji Yinong. If you dont believe me, go ask Old Ji about his true origin. This time we are passing through your honorable border, simply because our specific duty is to kill the wicked. After the area is clean of wicked people, we move somewhere else to look for wicked people. Ay! Wicked people are hard to find, its getting harder and harder for us to do our business. While everybody from the other side exploded in anger, Tuli, who already could not endure anymore, stood up abruptly and shouted, Less nonsense! Lets talk reason with Laozi, will we fight like a swarm of bees, or one-on-one? With a wave of his hand, the Subduing Eagle Spear immediately exuded a biting cold, pressing qi power; mighty without equal. Although Luo Changshou, Xia Zhiping, and Qi Sans martial art skill was far below Tulis, they were, after all, Jianghu veterans who had been rolling about for many years; their eyesight was superior. Just by looking at the pressing qi momentum of Tuli, this Hu Si, who was standing proudly holding the spear across his chest, they knew that the opponent has reached the realm of first-ss martial art master. Inwardly they were shivering in fear. As the most cunning, Qi San chuckled and said, If Ying Xianzhi [virtuous nephew] wants to settle this matter using martial force, and thus destroying the friendship in Nanyang, naturally we, one sect two gangs, will have to deal with your honorable sect to protect this friendship. I was just wondering if this is Lu Xiongs intention? This time it was Ying Yus turn to be at a loss for words. With one hand returning the spear onto his back, Tuliughed involuntarily and said, Qi Zong Tangzhu [chief hall master] said it well. Turns out it was just a small misunderstanding. However, Luo Bangzhu is wrong, in that he should not havee here with Qi Zong Tangzhu and Xia Bangzhu to lodge usation. It shows clearly that you want to make a small matter big, definitely not to protect any friendship. Previously, if I, Hu Si, did not show leniency with my spear, it is quite possible that Luo Bangzhus fragrantntern would not continue. And now, whether it will be a battle or an agreement, would Luo Bangzhu please bestow Tian Kui Pai your words. He was a figure who sat on the second chair of the Eastern Tujue, his power overflowed to the area beyond his own. This moment as he made a torrential speech, it was with a wave of awe-inspiring bearing. Qi San immediately closed his mouth to let Luo Changshou make the decision. Xia Zhiping also wanted to speak up, but in the end he hesitated. Luo Changshous countenance became quite unsightly, it alternated between cloudy and clear indeterminately. It was quite a whileter that he finally brushed his sleeve and shouted coldly, Welle back tomorrow morning. I want to personally reason with Lu Zhong. [1] Sima Zhao (211-265), military general and statesman of Cao Wei. The idiom means that a persons supposed hidden intention (in this case, usurping the throne) is so well known that it is not really hidden. [2] Imperial tutor chair [3] Huan Shou Dao C Ring head saber; the shou (hand) in Chapter 3 was a typo (Courtesy of Akw) [4] Hu San and Hu Si. The surname Kou Zhong selected could also mean barbarian/non-Han people. San and Si mean three and four respectively. Book 28 - 8 – Facing Imminent Catastrophe Chapter 8 C Facing Imminent Catastrophe As Luo Changshou and the others left with anger in their heart, with a worried frown Ying Yu said, Now that we have a fallout with Luo Changshou, the next step should be ... ay! Kou Zhong gave him a kick under the table. Ying Yu immediately roused his spirit. Striving to assume an air of heroism, he continued, Should be how are we going to gain the initiative by striking first? Tuli glibly said, Tuan Jiang Pai, Chao Shui Bang, Hui Yi Bang, Yang Xing Hui, the two gangs, one society and one sect join together to be one faction. I wonder which side do the other two, Jing Shan Pai and Zhen Yang Bang, stand on? Lu Wuxia lithely moved her tender body to Ying Yus side. They are terrified of the power of Yang Xing Huis growing expansion and of Ji Yinongs martial art; they are angry at him, but do not dare to speak out. This time after Die went out, we wanted to ask them to support justice, but they all avoided it, she spoke irately. Kou Zhong said, Although Da Longtou Yang Zhen is not here, but dont they have anybody else in charge of Nanyang Bang? He cant possibly watch Ji Yinong going on the rampage and do nothing? Ying Yu sighed and said, The most famous martial art masters of Nanyang Bang are Meng Degong and Fan Naitang; but they went to Guanjun with Da Longtou. Da Longtou originally relied on Jia Shi to act on his behalf to be in charge, but Jia Shi was wounded, so now we are in a big mess. Ay! Oh! After secretly kicking him again, Kou Zhong asked, You have so many gangs and sects governing Nanyang; how do you manage the city defense and financial matters? Lu Wuxia replied, Finance is under Da Longtous control; for other works, each gang or sect takes turn in assuming the responsibility. For example, this months defense is the responsibility of Nanyang Bang, hence the reason Da Longtou did not feel at ease leaving for Guanjun. Tuli said to Kou Zhong, We should go straight to Yang Xing Hui and get rid of Ji Yinong; this matter will bepletely resolved. His countenance changed, Ying Yu said, Absolutely not! Two gangs, one society, one sect altogether have more than twenty-thousand people. Moreover, massacring each other like this, definitely both sides will suffer. In the end, the one taking advantage will be Zhu Can, that old thief. Kou Zhongughed and said, Ying Xiongdi, dont worry, Khan is just joking. Since this matter cannot be resolved with force, we must outsmart them and not giving them any advantage. Lets divide the works; first, we must be in touch with Nanyang Bang, and then get a good grasp of the situation of the entire city, especially any activity of the hostile gang and sect to see if they are moving an army and sending a general. If my guess is correct, that fellow Yunyu Shuang Xiu Pi Shouxuan is going to pay a visit really soon! Like flurries of snowkes, intelligence was flying constantly into Tian Kui Pai dojo in the southern part of the city. As soon as Luo Changshou and the others left, they went straight to Yang Xing Hui to see Ji Yinong, so they knew that the enemy faction has begun mobilizing their troops, with their main force concentrated in Yang Xing Huis headquarters in the northern part of the city. Jing Shan Pai and Zhen Yang Bang, who were temporarily taking a neutral stance, were also consolidating their troops in order to protect themselves. Needless to say, Nanyang Bang was in full alert to guard against the coalition force under Ji Yinongs leaderships sudden and violent attack. The situation of the whole city was as tense as a taut bow, a situation where difficulty could happen any moment. ording to Kou Zhongs estimate, Ji Yinong was, in fact, facing the same problem, that is, he also wanted to avoid having their strength suffering big injury, so much so that Zhu Can would have the opportunity to exploit this weakness. Otherwise, he might have already led his troops to attack Tian Kui Pai dojo. Other than sending out spies all over the city, Tian Kui Pai also recalled their nearly two thousand disciples to guard their dojo, making a waiting-for-dawn-with-head-resting-on-the-spear [idiom: fully prepared and biding ones time before the battle] oath to protect their school. Inside the room where Lu Zhong was recuperating, Xu Ziling took off his palms from Lu Zhongs back and stepped outside. Lu Wuxia stood up and came over to meet him and asked anxiously, Hows Dies condition? Xu Ziling smiled and replied, Miss Lu, please dont worry; his condition is actually better than we thought. Your esteemed father is already able to circte his qi and regte his breathing without any help. One more sichen or so, he should bepletely recovered. Everybody heaved a sigh of relief; Lu Wuxia even shed tears of joy. She wanted toe inside, but Ying Yu gently reminded her not to disturb Lu Zhong circting his energy. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Tuli withdrew to the rear courtyard. They sat down in the pavilion to discuss their n. Kou Zhong said, Looks like Li Yuanjis party has not entered the city; at least they have not contacted Huo Qiu yet. As for Yun Shuai, this Persian fellowes and goes like the wind; nobody can keep an eye on him. Whether he is already in the city or not, only God knows. And then he told Xu Ziling what had just happened, as well as the tensed the-wind-and-the-rain-is-about-toe situation in Nanyang. Xu Ziling pondered a moment, and then asked, What time is it now? Tuli calmly replied, Very early, only the first watch of the night [7-9pm]. In all his life, he has always been in the middle of the troops facing vicious battles; he grew up in the middle of struggles and internal strife, hence this kind of situation was nothing new to him, practically he did not think it as a big deal. Xu Ziling said, As long as the other side has not figured out our real identity, they are definitely going to lead their troops to attack tonight. Kou Zhong said, We have different view: within the enemy ranks, there must be some who are unwilling to let this current situation to evolve into both-sides-suffer situation. Their eyes are on Lu Zhong only. ording to Ying Yu, in three days, they are going to hold the second Longtou [boss] election. Inflicting heavy injury to Lu Zhong is just a killing-the-chicken-to-warn-the-monkey method to force Jing Shan Pai and Zhen Yang Bang to abandon the Lying-down Moon Saber Yang Zhen and to elect Ji Yinong. In which case, even if Lu Zhong is still standing on Yang Zhens side, it will still be two against six, so that Ji Yinong will rise to Da Longtou position in a perfectly legitimate way, which far surpasses the stupid way of washing the city with blood. So thats how it is, Xu Ziling obtained sudden understanding, No wonder Lu Zhong was injured, but did not die. However, his, the Seniors foundation was extremely profound, which is also the reason he became the thorn in Ji Yinongs side. If he is able to walk on the street like lively dragon and animated tiger tomorrow, Ji Yinongs prestige will suffer a serious blow. Kou Zhong said, If the currently neutral two sects are supporting Yang Zhen, plus the Tian Kui Pai, it will be an even four-against-four situation. ording to the previous agreement, Yang Zhen will then be able to hold his current position for another year, until they are holding the third election. In Nanyang, whoever control the taxation and public finance will have the greatest power. Other than Ji Yinong, who is harboring evil intentions, the rest of the people will eventually sumb. Greatly interested, Tuli said, We should exercise our muscles and bones tonight. It Nanyang became our territory, Li Yuanji and his men could forget about leaving this ce alive. Kou Zhong said, About that, if we say its difficult, it is not difficult, but if we say its easy, it is not easy either. Ling Shao, do you have any good suggestion? Xu Ziling said, If we can be ourselves, naturally it will be the perfect solution where we can kill two birds with one stone. But currently Nanyang is like a ball of fire. One thing goes wrong, the entire city will be burned into crumbled wall and damaged roof tiles; disaster will reach the innocent civilians. After all, the three of us are outsiders, its not a good idea to be directly involved. In my opinion, we ought to wait until Lu Zhong Laoshi recovers, and then with him, a person of virtue and prestige, appearing personally, we can settle this matter with no blood on the mens swords. Our heavy responsibility is to make sure that he is safe and sound. Staring nkly, Tuli said, I did not think this matter that thoroughly. Looks like what Ziling said makes sense. There were light footsteps, Ying Yu came to report, There is a ship that has just arrived at the dock north of the city. They reported that they have a business deal with Huo Qiu. Nanyang Bang men have boarded the ship to inquire; they came in contact with Khans nsmen. Reportedly they will enter the city tomorrow. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, They are finally here! Ying Yu was stunned; he did not understand, the pursuing troops have arrived to attack, yet unexpectedly Kou Zhongs face lit up with delight. Xu Zilingughed and said, Ying Xiong, please sit down. Is there any new development on Ji Yinongs side? After sitting down properly on the stone bench, Ying Yu said with a worried frown, We have just received the information that Ji Yinong, along with the other two gangs and one sects Longtou are heading toward Jing Shan Pai to see the Zhangmenren [sect leader] Ren Zhi. Obviously they want to persuade him to join their camp. Ay! If Ren Zhi is moved by Ji Yinong, the situation will turn from bad to worse. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I am not saying that Ying Xiong is wrong, but with Ying Xiongs expression and manner like this, how could you win your Xia Shimeis heart? Staring nkly, Ying Yu asked, Whats wrong with my manner? Putting on the air of a Junshi [military advisor], Kou Zhong analyzed, The more critical the situation, the more girls want to have a strong man that they can rely on by their side. Now is the time Ying Xiong show your heroic, lofty quality. But if you are sighing in despair, acting like you are out of your wits, how could she possibly give her fragrant heart to you? The opportunity is fleeting, Ying Xiong must take a good grasp. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, They, martial brother and sister, have deep feeling, heavy friendship between them, why would they need you to meddle in their business? Ying Yu hastily said, Shao Shuai is the spectator who sees more of the game, he observes down to the smallest detail. Although Jia Shi has the intention to y matchmaker between us, but Xia Shimei has many times hinted that I am not the one she admires. It seems that I have no choice but to resign to my fate. Tuli joined in, Have Ying Xiongdi felt that the more you are yielding to her, the more she will throw a fit and get angry at you? Shaken, Ying Yu said, How did Khan do that? It was as if you witnessed it with your own eyes. The situation is indeed like what Khan has just described. What did I do wrong? Tuliughed aloud and said, Your mistake is that you dont understand that women are like wild horse; if you dont whip them a couple of times, you will never be able to tame them. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Ying Xiong must not listen to him; that is Tujue peoples way, if you apply it in the Central Earth, you may try to be clever and end up with egg on your face. While Tuli was doubling-up inughter, Kou Zhong, putting his heart and soul to give guidance, said, To put it into perspective, the man your Shimei likes is not a yes-man, but a man brimming with heroic spirit and lofty quality, a man with guts to do great things, a hero who will stop at nothing. Why do you have to be terrified when you have us behind you in everything? Think about it! Whether you are strong and courageous or humble and low-key, the enemy wont change, right? Ying Xiong ought to think about yourself! Xu Ziling said, In this kind of marriage-predestined-by-fate matter, if you are forced to do it, it will be meaningless. But there is one thing that Kou Zhong said it right. In this time of life and death, Ying Xiong simply must not afraid of the head, terrified of the tail. You need to stick out your chest to fight for your honorable sects rise or fall, regardless of the consequences, sess or failure. But you must not worry about whether admiration will grow in your esteemed Shimeis heart because of this or not. Being inspired like that, Ying Yus eyes lit up; nodding his head, he said, What three Dage said were all gems of wisdom. I, Ying Yu ... Hurried footsteps interrupted his speech. Carrying a gust of fragrant wind with her, with displeasure on her face, Lu Wuxia spoke with extreme anger, This kid Xianting really didnt make any progress. In this critical moment, unexpectedly he slipped out secretly. It will be desperately serious if he came across Tuan Jiang Pai people. Ying Yu was about to say, What should we do? but noticing that the three were staring nkly at him, he came to his senses and spoke in heavy voice, Xia Shimei must not get upset. Xianting must be going to Yue Lan She [moon orchid residence] to look for Xiao Wan. Lu Wuxia crossly said, Everybody knows about that. The problem is that he is the willing-target that Luo Changshou wants to get. Outside, their spies are everywhere. Xianting is acting recklessly for the sake of a woman who prostitutes herself, it will be terrible if he falls into Luo Changshous hands! Ying Yu decisively said, For now, we wont care about whether Xianting and pleasure house womans intimate friendship is right or wrong. The most important thing right now is to get him back here. Otherwise, if Ji Yinong got hold of him, it will be greatly disadvantageous for us. Lu Wuxia was slightly startled; she looked him up and down with full attention, her pretty eyes showed surprised expression. Kou Zhong nodded in praise. Standing up, he said, Just tell me where this Yue Lan She is, I will take him back. Let Khan and Ling Shao hold the fort here. When only Tuli and Xu Ziling, two men remained in the pavilion, thetter suddenly swept his gaze around, his tiger-eyes shed with peculiar light. Tuli was startled; following his lead, he also looked around. After making sure that absolutely nothing was out of the ordinary, he asked in surprise, Is the enemying? At first Xu Ziling shook his head, but then he nodded and said, For some reason, suddenly my heart was disturbed just now, as if we are facing imminent catastrophe. It rarely happens to me; I am afraid this is not a good omen. Tuli felt a chill creeping up from his spine all the way to his brain. After hanging around Xu Ziling for so long, naturally he knew about the sharpness of his spiritual nature, which far surpassed ordinary people. Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, he said, Logically speaking, even if Ji Yinong received help from Pi Shouxuan, they still cannot do anything to us; Ziling, why did you have this ominous premonition? Xu Zilings countenance turned even graver; he said, The feeling of danger is getting stronger! Khan, please discuss with Ying Yu for ways that we could use to withdraw quickly, I am going to patrol the outer courtyard to see if theres anything wrong. Unleashing his shenfa, Kou Zhong flew over the roofs and ridges of the buildings toward Yue Lan She, which was located on the main street at the northern part of the city. The night wind was whistling, the weather was crisp and clear. Kou Zhong leaped down from the roof to enter a side alley. Turning to the left and curving to the right, he hurriedly ran along a section of the street. When he leaped up to the roof of another residential building, he saw someone standing on the rood ridge, shouting at him in low voice, Come! Wearing white clothes, bare feet, appearing like a wisp of light smoke without any substance, she slowly rose up from the other end of the roof ridge andnded on the eaves. Blown by the night breeze, her long robe, as white as the snow without any trace of contamination from the dust of the earth, was fluttering backward, putting her beautiful, marvelous figure and her touching outline, her beautiful dreary and fuzzy eyes, her hidden-bitterness-secret-grudge expression, which was unlike her previous confident attitude, which sent chill into peoples heart C in full disy. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Even after a thousand thoughts and ten thousand considerations, he would never imagine that she would appear here. All the counting-ones-chickens-before-they-are-hatched thought immediately vanished into the thin air. Reaching up, he took his mask off, and slowly put it into bosom, while silently amassing his power at the same time, preparing himself to face the enemy. Suddenly flying over for about a zhang, she stopped and stood still about six chi in front of Kou Zhong. Her purple-red mouth lightly opened, her breath smelling like orchid, she faintly said, Is Shao Shuai well? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Originally everything was ording to n, all my wishes havee true. But now that you, Beauty, are honoring me with your fragrant presence, it is extremely likely that this is the omen that will turn my extreme joy into sorrow. How could there be any well or unwell that we can talk about? Without answering him, she raised her cicada head, her eyes gazed deeply into the night sky resplendent in the moon and the stars light, she said with a sigh, If Ziling is at Tian Kui dojo, tell him that I will never forget him. A chill grew in Kou Zhongs heart; he nearly wanted to turn around and run back to the dojo. But he realized that this was her brilliant method of disturbing his mind. If he fell into it, he would end up as a corpse lying on the street. Thereupon he promptly steadied his heart and threw the thousand anxieties out of his mind. Didnt we have an agreement that after we obtain the Duke Yangs Treasure, you can take a certain item from the treasure? he spoke heavily. Her eyes returned to his face; she asked in tranquil voice, Kou Zhong, how much confidence do you have that you will be able to evade Shi Feixuan and the Buddhist four monks pursuit? Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Your information is indeed fast and abundant. Her jade countenance returning to still-water tranquility, she spoke indifferently, Rather than letting you fall into Shi Feixuans hands and will never reach Guanzhong, Changan, it would be better for us to catch you, to see whether after tasting the most cruel torture under the heavens your mouth will still be strong enough not to spit the secret of the treasure. Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well and said with a coldugh, Less idle chat! The talent under your hands is the truth on earth; the rest, just like you said a moment ago, is just nonsense. Her pair of beautiful eyes emittedplicated, profound expression that was difficult to understand. With a sad smile she said, You and Ziling are both heroic characters who could make me admire you wholeheartedly. Too bad that in the end I have to destroy you; this really brings sorrows to my heart. But we arepelled by circumstances. Nanyang is an important stronghold that we simply must obtain; we will absolutely not let you interfere. Now Kou Shao Shuais usefulness and value has reached the end, it is time for us to send Shao Shuai off to be on your way! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Empty promises are meaningless. Watch for the saber! Launching the Sudden Strike of the Eight Methods of the Well, the Moon in the Well turned into a long streak of light; like a streak of lightning it attacked this Yin Gui Pais most outstanding new generation disciple. Bang! A pair of sleeves rose up, they brushed heavily on the Moon in the Wells de. Kou Zhong felt that the entire saber power was absorbed by her pair of Da Mo Xiu [great demonic sleeves]; instantly he could not continue his move, and had to retreat in shock. But she did not seize this opportunity to pursue and attack, she spoke softly instead, Kou Shao Shuai, you are a lot more fortunate than your brother, because we already decided to kill you ruthlessly. Ziling, on the other hand, may wish for death but wont obtain it, unless he could find the opportunity to kill himself. Kou Zhong again gathered his power, and spoke coldly, Dont toot your horn; capturing my good brother is no more than lunatic ravings. She sighed and said, Precisely because of your self-confidence and your aplishments that tonight Shizun [revered master] is personally dealing with Ziling. I wonder if Shao Shuai wants to sit down and think about the oue. His mind severely shaken, Kou Zhong made his move with all his strength. Xu Ziling rapidly flew around the vast perimeter of Tian Kui dojo, which was nearly one li long. Under the illumination of the moon and the stars, the streets and buildings outside the dojo were quiet, without any sign of anything unusual. Finally he reached the roof ridge of the main hall, which towered above the rest of the buildings inside thepound. Standing alone facing the wind, he scanned the surrounding area with his eyes. Suddenly on the roof of a building outside the perimeter wall, southwest of thepound, he saw more than a dozen human shadows, which looked exactly like numerous ghosts and evil spiritsing out of the darkherworld, flying straight toward the dojo. The one at the front had her beautiful, thick hair rolled up in a bun on top of her head, but her face was covered in thick muslin veil. Her figure was tall, elegant, and captivating. Xu Ziling immediately sucked in a mouthful of cold air. Pulling off his mask, he raised his voice in a shout, Unexpectedly it is Zhu Zongzhu [head of a n/school]ing out in person, Zaixia feels really honored. His voice reverberated throughout the dojo. Immediately the sound of twanging bows rang out everywhere. Naturally the disciples waiting in ambush around that area did not know which divine entity Zhu Zongzhu was, hence they bent their bows to release the arrows toward the enemy entering the dojo area. Xu Ziling cried, Not good! inwardly, but he was toote to stop them. He also knew that even if he could stop them, the result would not be much different. [Trantors note: in this chapter, the name Wanwan was never mentioned. I dont know whether it was the authors original intention (I checked several sources, and all are the same). I just want you to know that I took the liberty of adding she and her whenever necessary; otherwise the sentences would be iplete.] Book 28 - 9 – Difficult-to-fill Hatred Chapter 9 C Difficult-to-fill Hatred [Trantors note: my note on Wanwan (see previous chapter) applies here as well.] In that instant Kou Zhong elevated his essence, qi and spirit to their peak condition. In this critical moment of life and death, he wanted to discharge all worries concerning Xu Ziling entirely out of his mind, to deal with the cmity before his eyes first with undivided will. Otherwise he would be, just like Song Que said, practically unfit to use the saber. In this kind of moment, if he was still distracted by thinking about other things, not only it would not help him, he would be courting disaster even more. Although he has fought hand to hand with her many times, he had never really learnt her true depth. His only advantage right now is that she did not know about the breakthrough and the degree of progress he has had these past few days. If he could exploit this point well, perhaps he would be able to break the siege and escape, to rush back and rendezvous with Xu Ziling. Even if they die, they would die together. It was time to attack. The beautys jet-ck hair fluttered upwards, alive like countless vipers. It was the first time that he witnessed this kind of exciting-the-hair skill, which has reached the universally-shocking level. All four sides and eight directions were full of the dancing-violently shadows of her sleeves, like a without a single side uncovered,ing in to envelop him. Kou Zhong shouted coldly. Blurting out an apology, he put his strength onto his legs, and the roof tiles under his feet immediately shattered into cun-size pieces. It was as if Kou Zhong was falling into a deep cave. Following the shattered tiles and wooden beam, he fell into someones house below, while at the same time his saber stabbed upwards to meet the finger energy attacking down, hidden inside the Tian Mo Xiu [demonic sleeves]. Ding! The de met the finger energy head on. A burst of yin, cold qi, which felt like it could go on forever, prated the saber and went straight into his body. By the time his feet were finally going to touch the ground, Kou Zhong felt his meridians were about to split. The tip of his toes had just touched the ground, Kou Zhong already had his true qi circted one full cycle, neutralizing the opponents able-to-tear-the-heart-and-split-the-lungs terrifying qi energy, while at the same time creating a crashing noise as he broke through the main door, and running toward the open space area in front of the main hall of this house. And then he flew at an angle up toward the outer wall. These several changes urred within several breaths. Kou Zhong has broken away from critical circumstances, gotten away from the acute point of the opponents weapon. Soaring high to pursue, the Tian Mo Dai [demonic ribbon] slipped out from inside the gauzed sleeves like vipers, swiftly targeting the back of Kou Zhongs neck. It arrived the exact moment Kou Zhong gained firm footing on top of the wall. The timing was so perfect. Even though the opponent was an enemy who wanted to take his life, Kou Zhong still had to prostrate himself in admiration. This was her real skill. In the past, for various reasons, she had never fought with all her strength. But this moment she intended to kill him, hence the momentum differed greatly. It felt like the entire space was caving in. He was unable to exert his strength, and even if he tried, the force was not as strong as he wished. It was such an extremely ufortable feeling, enough to make him upset; it was a feeling of defeat without a fight. But Kou Zhong had his way of coping with this problem. Immediately he excited the qi within his entire body to flow in a forward and reversed way, like a self-contained, self-sufficient castle, although surrounded by the enemys formidable troops, it was still able to move unobstructed. The instant his feet touched the top of the wall, he abruptly took a mouthful of true qi, and swiftly moved half a zhang sideways; the Moon in the Well swept backhandedly, it squarely hit the Tian Mo Piaodai [demonic streamer]. The eyesight, craftiness and ingenuity he was using caught her off guard, since she never expected Kou Zhong to have the ability to adapt to changes, not to this extent anyway. The instant the end of the ribbon was swept by Kou Zhongs saber, not only she did not feel the slightest impact of the opponents reaction force, the streamer was unexpectedly pushed forward, and her true qi was deflected and washed away. Such a fantastic, strange power, this was the first time that she encountered it from Kou Zhong. She herself was an expert in absorbing other peoples true qi. The emphasis of Tian Mo Qi was in using formless power to steal the opponents real, tangible qi. The fiercer the enemys power was, the more desirable it would be; hence the way it was used was magical. Therefore, as this moment she saw the opponent was using simr but different method from hers, instead of startled, she was delighted. Following her hearts desire, her qi revolved around, she added another stream of true qi, while simultaneously she soared high into the sky like a demon, so that Kou Zhongs offensive hit the empty space. The Tian Mo Piaodai turned into more than a dozen clumps of circles,ing down to cover Kou Zhongs head. The change in her moves was very fast, so that it was difficult to predict. Kou Zhong was just feeling happy that his tactics seemed to be working; he was about seize this opportunity to brandish his saber to counterattack. Who would have thought that suddenly he was unable to transmit his qi because a yin, cold pain shot through his entire arm, so that his treasured saber nearly fell off his hand, while like a hanging boots ghost[1], she floated closely. The dejected, defeated feeling in his heart was like from high in the clouds he fell rapidly into the mud; he did not even have time to sigh over his own uselessness. Fortunately, while facing death, he did not panic. Making a somersault, he turned over and as he left the wall, his right foot pushed backward, on a point that was not visible to her, slightly below the top of the wall. As expected, she pursued over like a shadow attached to a shadow. As if she was performing magic tricks, one Tian Mo Piaodai turned into two, floating in two streams of arched trajectory, curving out to left and right and brushing back into the middle. If Kou Zhongs original style did not change, before he crossed over the narrow alley, both his left and right eardrums would be hit at the same time, and then, even if Kou Zhong were the Da Luo Jin Xian[2], he would have to return his countless souls. Fortunately, everything has been happening ording to Kou Zhongs expectation. With a push on the ground, he changed direction and soared into the air, just like a stone tossed into the distance. Although she promptly changed her move to pursue and attack, she still missed him by a hairsbreadth, and could only move one of the ribbons to brush on his left leg. Just like that, he escaped from her demonic hand by the skin of his teeth. Neutralizing the invading Tian Mo Jing [demonic power], Kou Zhongnded on the roof ridge of another tall building. He stood with the saber across his chest, the divine light in his eyes burst forth, he stared without blinking at the Yin Gui Pai stunning beauty, who looked like a demoness descending to the world of immortals, floating over riding on the wind. He has created all kinds of favorable situation for himself to escape the sharpest point of her several moves and powerful strikes, and now the time hase to fight back with everything he had. This moment, both in terms of confidence and will to fight, he had reached the peak. If he still failed to deal with the opponent, it is thus clear that between the two of them, there was a distance that he could not cut. Who would have thought that as the terrifying woman was about to arrive, she suddenly slowed down, and unbelievably spun around in the air? The pair of streamers flying out of her gauzed sleeves turned into wless spherical of ribbons, winding tightly around her body, flying toward Kou Zhong. Watching this, Kou Zhongs scalp went numb. He had no choice but to leap down and chopped his saber. The Yin Hou [Empress Yin] Zhu Yuyan soared into the air, with graceful posture she easily evaded all the arrows, and effortlesslynded on the other end of the roof ridge, separated from Xu Ziling by only about a zhang distance. She spoke softly, When the north and south separated, Jingzhou area has be the territory that the southern political powers must strive for, hence the saying the fate of the south is hanging on Jingzhou. It is indeed the key to the rise and fall of the southern area. Nanyang is the northern fortress of Jingzhou; the transportation is convenient, the terrain is rugged and strong, the poption is flourishing. We have already obtained Xiangyang; if we also gain Nanyang, our potential will grow horns, as the two ces will be able to support each other well. You, two boys who are unable to differentiate good from bad, have the impertinence toe here and spoil our grand n; you really have only yourselves to me, you must not me us for disregarding our agreement. Naturally Zhu Yuyan could not possiblye to chat with Xu Ziling, this junior of the younger generation, because she had nothing else to do. She just wanted to give her people a chance to carryout their murderous intent toward Tian Kui disciples, while disturbing Xu Zilings mind at the same time, with the intention of capturing Xu Ziling alive, to force him to reveal the Duke Yang Treasures whereabouts. Xu Ziling was bleeding inwardly, yet he simply had to turn a blind eye, to hear but not react, to the Tian Kui Pai disciples being ughtered all around him, while praying that Tuli would be able lead Lu Zhong, Ying Yu, and the others to look for an opportunity to escape. The pain in his heart was not something that any pen and ink would be able to describe, not even one word out of ten thousand. Blood-curdling screams and groans and grunts of pain were continuously heard from four sides, eight directions. Tian Kui dojo has suddenly be the living hell, crouching corpses were everywhere. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, If Ol Xu is lucky enough to break the siege and escape alive today, someday I will definitely pay Zhu Zongzhus tonights cruel method back. How dare you! Zhu Yuyan replied with a coldugh, Are you two still as delusional as you used to be? Her left hand slowly stretched out from inside her sleeve, the jade finger pointed toward the young and promising opponent whose fame in Wulin rose abruptly like a shooting star. Xu Ziling could not prevent his attention from beingpletely drawn toward the jade hand and small arm that extended out of the sleeve; a hard-to-describe feeling welled up in his heart. Under the illumination of the moon and the stars, Zhu Yuyanspletely-without-any-blemish hand seemed to be shining with a touching out-of-the-world light. Both in terms of posture and movement, she seemed to be the culmination of beauty and marvelous appearance of the world, containing a certain hard-to-describe secret between the heaven and the earth. Momentarily Xu Ziling felt as if he was suddenly transported into another world, which had nothing to do with the miserable reality of massacre, which was brimming with the reek of blood C happening around him. A thread of low humming noise emitted from Zhu Yuyans purple-red mouth, which was hidden behind the heavy veil. As it entered Xu Zilings eardrums, it gradually transformed into the wonderful sound of nature. This absolute-apex martial art master with the highest prestige within the demonic schools has unleashed the Tian Mo Da Fa [demonic big method] with all her strength, attacking Xu Ziling with no-gap-not-prated momentum. Bang! Kou Zhongs saber seemed to shock the streamer, but actually the de merely scratched the most concentrated point of the ribbon shadow lightly, like a toad or a slug skidding over the water, yet it produced an explosion as the qi power was shing against each other. Bothbatants were greatly shocked. The most shocking thing for Kou Zhong was that the Tian Mo Piaodai, like a living spirit-snake, coiled around him tightly with the enormous Tian Mo power like thousand-catty stocks and chain, so that his breathing could not flow freely, and even though he wanted to pull his saber and retreat, he simply was not able to. The only way was to abandon his saber and flee. In this the-soul-flies-away-and-scatters, he-possessed-exceptional-saber-skill-in-vain-since-there-is-no-favorable-position-to-use-it moment, he recalled Li Yuanjis Returning-Horse-Trailing spear technique [in Chapter 5 it was Sudden Thrust (returning horse), without thest character trailing]. She was shocked because she was unable to see through the changes in his saber technique. Clearly it was a saber strike hacking straight onto her face, yet at thest moment, when the attack arrived, it was only her streamer that was scratched by his de, so that all her formidable moves could not be carried outpletely. Fortunately, the most formidable aspect of the Tian Mo Da Fa was precisely its countless and endless changes. Immediately she unleashed the most formidable killer move of Tian Mo Ribbon, Xian Shou Yu Long [delicate hands controlling the dragon]. In the past, the two great elder martial art masters of the Flying Horse Ranchs Shang Family died tragically under this kind of not-resting-until-death-arrives technique. Just when she thought that she was lucky that her marvelous technique seeded, the Moon in the Well suddenly produced an enormous trailing and pulling force swinging to the left. Shocked inwardly, she shouted tenderly and produced an opposing force in the other direction to counter. The twonded on the roof at the same time. Contrary to expectation, Kou Zhongughed and said, Beauty fell into the trap! The Moon in the Well swayed, Kou Zhong dragged the saber in the same direction of her force, all of a sudden it caught on her streamer. With both feet firmly on the roof, she let a tender grunt and said, I want to see what other trick you have. The streamer disappeared into her sleeve, she spun around and threw herself into his bosom. While Kou Zhong was swiftly retreating out of shock, both of her sleeves rose up, revealing her small whiter-than-snow-and-frost arms, with both hands holding flickering short des, swiftly moving toward his throat and lower abdomen, respectively; fierce and severe to the extreme point. The weirdest thing was that she was touching the ground with only the big toes of her pair of bare feet; her white dress fluttered in the wind, her entire person seemed to bepletely weightless. She attacked him with an iparably graceful and outstanding lotus stance. Every single one of her posture was too wonderful for words, yet her method was cruel, ferocious and ruthless, each move was meant to kill, a strong contrast to her appearance, confusing others mind and eliminating their spirit. Ding! Ding! Unable to unfold the sabers momentum, Kou Zhong struggled hard to use the sabers de to parry her thrusting up de, and then sweeping the hilt of the saber across, he deflected the de threatening his lower abdomen. In both cases he barely escaped by a hairsbreadth. Kou Zhong took another step backward, while crying inwardly, Not good! Sure enough, her hands continued moving; without leniency at all the Tian Mo Shuang Zhan [demonic double-chop (or beheading)], like swiftly flowing mercury, followed close to his body. Her attacks did not follow certain technique, each one was aimed at Kou Zhong in a spur-of-the-moment style, seeking-any-w, looking-for-a-gap, attacking Kou Zhong dangerously, forcing him into the he-could-lose-his-life-on-the-spot-any-moment crises. From her beautiful hair to her beautiful feet, not a single one of her body parts could not be used to attack. Bizarre, fantastic changes kept appearing, so that no matter how rich Kou Zhongs imagination was, if he did not witness it with his own eyes, he would never believe such many postures existed. In a few blinks of the eye, with Ding! Dang! ng! Qiang! incessant ringing noise, Kou Zhong gave everything he had to brandish the Moon in the Well to meet every single cun of the thousand des forces. He also used his broad shoulders and elbows to meet her more than a dozen lines of force from her shoulder bumps and elbow strikes, the more than a dozen kicks from her feet, until finally his back was hit by her long beautiful hair that his clothes immediately shattered into small pieces, while several dozen bloody cuts, reaching up to two, three fen deep, appeared on his flesh. His entire body, like a kite with cut string, was thrown away and he rolled along the roof. This was actually a shenfa that he had just learned that enabled him to reach such result, it enabled him to take the killer move that was originally meant to take his little life and convert it to merely flesh injury. Suffering the hot, stinging pain, Kou Zhongnded on the street. A horse-drawn carriage happened to gallop over from the other end of the long, quiet street, while the Tian Mo Shuang Zhan wereing overhead, without giving him the slightest amount of opportunity to take a breather. A divine light shed inside Kou Zhongs mind, he dropped down to the ground, and then like an arrow he shot close to the ground toward the bottom of the carriage. It looked like he was going to escape from the other side of the carriage, but he actually stuck himself to the bottom of the carriage and moved together with the carriage. She somersaulted high in the air andnded across the street before realizing that she had fallen into the trap. Letting out a cold humph, fast as lightning she flew toward the horse-drawn carriage, which, by this time, has already galloped nearly ten zhang away. The carriage suddenly elerated. No matter how the driver pulled the rein and shouted at the horses to stop, the four strong horses were still running like mad, pulling the carriage along. Evidently Kou Zhong, who was hiding beneath the carriage, has been ying some tricks. Letting out an angry shout, she unleashed her shenfa to the limit, and quickly reduced the distance with the carriage to five zhang, four zhang, three zhang ... But when it looked like she was about to catch up, suddenly the horse at the very front separated from the carriage. Four hooves galloped freely ahead, before turning into a side street. Like a shadow attached to a shadow, she abandoned the carriage to chase after the runaway horse. Like a streak of lightning the Tian Mo Piaodai shot out to roll around the horses hind legs. Kou Zhongughed aloud. From the horses belly he flipped over to the horseback, his saber struck backhandedly, it swept across under the horses thigh, and hit the Tian Mo Piaodai. Pow! The qi power collided, her tender body shook, immediately her speed was reduced. After fighting with all her might, and then exerting her strength on the chase, the wear and tear to her true power was substantial. Even with her refined and pure demonic power, it was simply too much. Moreover, she knew that by relying on the power of the horses legs, Kou Zhong would be able to wait at his ease for the exhausted enemy, while she could only rely on her footwork to hurriedly run after him to pursue and attack, it would be difficult to unleash the Tian Mo Da Fas unpredictable formidable power. Powerless, she had no choice but to give up. Standing in the middle of the long street, she could only stare helplessly at Kou Zhong disappearing behind a corner. Facing Zhu Yuyansbination of demonic sound, demonic appearance, and demonic powers fierce and severe attack, Xu Ziling secretly performed the Motionless Fundamental Image. Immediately the vision and hearing illusion vanished, his will became as strong and solid as a boulder, not the least bit swayed by the opponent. All around him the Tian Kui Pai disciples were being ughtered, but the screams before their death could not affect his clear-as-still-water mind either. He who was born will inevitably die. To him, right then, right there, the whole world of humanity was only a fleeting illusion. There was nothing else beyond his heart right now. Duo! Letting out a low shout, Xu Zilings two hands changed into Great JinGang Chakra Image to counter Zhu Yuyans Tian Mo Xiu [sleeve] brushing over his face. Bang! Bang! Bang! Xu Ziling was giving everything he had; his feet moved in strange footwork, he changed into the Outer Lion and Inner Lion Images, blocking Zhu Yuyans three sessive sleeve attack, which never brushed from the same angle C head on, without yielding a single cun. Eventually he waspelled to meet Zhu Yuyans ruthless palm strike from inside her gauzed sleeve, with force against force. Tian Mo energy rushed forth like a violent tidal wave, like a flood breaking through the dike. Xu Ziling spurted out a mouthful of blood before retreating two steps back. And then he flew sideways, barely evading the lightning fast kick from under Zhu Yuyans skirt aimed at his lower abdomen. Xu Ziling continued swaying to the left and right, and when even Zhu Yuyan was unable to determine which way he was going to run away, he already shed behind Zhu Yuyan, both hands turned into millions of palm shadows like butterflies flying through the flowers, attacking this dreadful archenemy. Zhu Yuyan did not expect that he would still have the strength to counterattack. Seemingly casually she spun around and brushed her sleeve away, it dispersed Xu Zilings filling-the-air palm shadows. And then her cherry lips pursed, she blew a mouthful of fragrance air. Brushed by her mysterious-without-equal sleeve, Xu Ziling staggered back, all the follow-up moves could not be continued. Zhu Yuyan raised the heavy veil covering her face up, exposing her touching jade countenance. Her pair of beautiful eyes emitted some kind of pity, but also like a look of resentment. Combined with her beautiful countenance, the overall expression was some kind of words-cannot-convey touching look, yet carrying a deep, fantastic power that could hook the soul and absorb the spirit. At the same time, this most famous martial art master of the demonic schools purple-red mouth let out a chant, while her tender body slowly swayed in a dance. Her lithe, many-postures postures, which could confuse peoples mind and bewitch their spirit, would be able to move men with the heart of stone, or even Buddhist holy monks whose cultivation has reached the abandoning-the-reluctance-to-leave-this world level to vite their religious precept. The strangest thing was that the air around her was seemingly filled with the sweet scent brimming with prating-the-heart-and-spleen power, which could melt any mans soul. Xu Ziling cried, Lucky! inwardly. Were it not for when he was disguised as Yue Shan he had seen Zhu Yuyans youthful glow, her Mount Lus real appearance, which was hard to believe, this time, being suddenly exposed to her jade countenance, he would definitely be shocked and his spirit washed away, and thus would reveal the gap in his mind that the opponent could exploit. Under attack of her confusing-senses Tian Mo Da Fa, he was still able to fight and did not break down. This was precisely his only chance to turn defeat into victory. Assuming a dumbstruck expression, he secretly performed the Small Movement Fundamental Image. Floating slowly over, Zhu Yuyan raised her finger to stab him from a distance. Xu Ziling suddenly let out a wild roar, his mouth spat out the incantation, Duo! A punch shot out. Evidently Zhu Yuyan had never expected that Xu Zilings mind could not be confused by her demonic power. Her tender body shook violently, the blue glow in her eyes red brightly, her fingers turned into a palm chop, the speed increased suddenly, fast like a ghost she shed toward Xu Zilings left side, while her palm chopped down on the side of Xu Zilings fist. Although Xu Ziling was able to clearly see the style and the move with which she met the contingency, yet when he wanted to change his move, his fist was already hit by the palm strike, so that he waspletely unable to change the situation. When the opponents jade palm sliced the side of his fist, it felt like a soft de, but his brains felt like being struck by lightning, his vision and hearing blurred up at the same time. Were it not for the little bit of rity remaining in his spirit, perhaps he would be so frightened that hed let out a frantic cry. Such a demonic skill, it was truly earth-shattering and irresistible. On the other hand, his full-strength punch, which was released by seeking for a gap to exploit C has shaken Zhu Yuyan that she was forced to float toward the roof on the left. Xu Ziling made an effort to leap vertically up, and after two somersaults he had to continuously circte the true qi within his body before his vision and hearing were restored. From his high vantage point looking down, he saw the terrifying situation like the Asuras hell below. Most of the buildings of Tian Kui dojo have been engulfed in the ocean of fire. Dead bodies were everywhere, but the massacre was still raging. Using a hundred-scheme the enemies in ck clothes continued their merciless attack to kill the survivors. Thick smoke covered the sky, the moon and the stars lost their light, Xu Zilings vision could only reach the bitter scene full of running wolves and rushing wild boars. He knew that he was unable to reverse the present situation. If he did not leave now, by the time Yin Gui Pais devil heads had finished annihting the rest of the dojo, he would not be able to leave even more. But how could he break away from Zhu Yuyan? He flew toward the roof ridge of another building. Zhu Yuyan flew overhead, her pair of jade palms struck with full force down, qi power pressed down on him that his breathing stopped, his entire bodycked in strength. [1] Hanging boots ghost, ѥ (diao xue gui) [2] Da Luo Jin Xian, ޽, God of the Gods, Book 28 - 10 – Killing Their Way Out of Nanyang Chapter 10 C Killing Their Way Out of Nanyang For thest dozen years or so, Zhu Yuyan had never undergone a moment like this; a moment full of amassed murderous intent. Just now it could be said that she had given it her all, yet she could only inflict light internal injury, which was not enough to impede Xu Zilings steps. And the most frightening thing for her was that the opponent practically was unafraid of her Tian Mo Huan Xiang [demonic fantastical appearance], so that the formidable power of her Tian Mo Da Fa was greatly reduced. By this time she had already abandoned her original intention of capturing him alive; she was determined to kill the enemy at all cost, to eliminate the possibility that in the future Xu Ziling would be another Ning Daoqi. If Xu Ziling could read Zhu Yuyans thought, he would be extremely proud. But this moment, the only thing moving in his mind was how to flee with his life, so that someday he could collect this debt of blood that has filled him with grief and indignation. Confronting Zhu Yuyans earth-shattering, matchless-in-power all-out strike, he must not shrink back at all. Otherwise he would fall into troops-in-defeat-like-andslide situation, until he was killed. The force field created by Zhu Yuyans Tian Mo Da Fa was superior to female demon Wans by several decades of a thousand-tempered, a hundred-refined, the stove-fire-has-turned-bright-green maturity, reaching-the-acme-of-excellence, both in terms of the level of demonic power and experience. Under normal circumstances, even with Xu Zilings current breakthrough and skill level, he would still be unable to either borrow or deflect Zhu Yuyans palm power. Fortunately, because he has had the experience of Wanwan sending her Tian Mo power into his body to deal with You Niaojuan,pared to Kou Zhong, he had deeper understanding about the subtlety, the what-is-true-and-what-is-false C of Tian Mo Da Fa. In this critical time where life and death were hanging on a thread, he had no choice but to stake everything to try. Tilting his head back to look up, the divine light in his eyes red out, his hands performed the No Fear Image, immediately the nearly condensing blood due to the cold energy invasion began to flow again, while at the same time his blood vessels narrowed, so that the blood was flowing faster, all the true qi in his entire body cycled along his breathing. The feeling of fatigue just now was gone; the qi power within his body surged, and then changed into two streams of positive and negative energy. Moving three chi to the left, he sent out a punch. By this moment, Zhu Yuyans murderous intent red out even more. This young opponent, who was originally under pressure of her Tian Mo power that his fighting spirit haspletely gone, suddenly had the clothes and sleeves on his whole body brushing up, and turned into another person who stood as steady as Mount Tai. Even she could not figure out why the opponents striking punch unexpectedly did not carry the slightest force, yet inly there was some kind of abstruse, unfathomable feeling within it. Suddenly the opponent moved sideways to evade, her own no-stronghold-it-cannot-ovee Tian Mo power seemed to suddenly lose its center of gravity and its target, giving her a swaying, sweeping-away feeling that even though it was she who released the power, she felt extremely ufortable instead. However, changing move this moment was already toote; her palms could only move ording to the original style, only the direction was changed downward. Even with her vast experience and superior eyesight, Zhu Yuyan still had to admit that she could not see through Xu Ziling; she simply failed to understand him. Boom! With arm stretched out to the limit, until it was only five chi away from Zhu Yuyans jade palm striking down from the sky C the two streams of true qi within Xu Zilings body moving in opposite directions turned into a twisted, moving-in-the-opposite-direction pir of spiraling qi; like a flood breaking out of the dam it left his fist to meet Zhu Yuyans full-strength blow. Qi energy shed. Letting out a muffled grunt Zhu Yuyan was jolted away. Xu Ziling spurted out another mouthful of blood while staggering and spinning, until he finally fell off the roof slope. But just before reaching the ground, he stretched out his feet to push the ground, which sent him shooting like an arrow to a distant ce. Pushing the roof ridge with the tip of her toes, Zhu Yuyan also flew to pursue him. Xu Ziling looked at the raging inferno about twenty zhang ahead, and then he flew toward a cluster of buildings that emitted a great amount of thick smoke. Whether he would be able to escape Zhu Yuyans pursuit within the remaining short distance between them would be the difference between life and death. After a hard battle, both Zhu Yuyan and Xu Ziling no longer hadrge margin of movement; both have sustained injury. The difference was only in the degree of severity. Xu Ziling took greatfort in the fact that he was able to inflict injury to this grand master of the demonic school. Just a moment ago he used the No Fear Image first to concentrate the true qi protecting his body, and then applied the positive-negative power to deflect the Tian Mo power enveloping him that he was unable to move a single step,stly he sent out the punch by utilizing the power-application method from the newly-acquired Baoping [Aquarius/Treasured Vase] Image Style, so that Zhu Yuyan could not grasp his technique. Not only he was able to block her full-strength strike, he was also able to sessfully borrow a little of her true qi, and then relying on this injection of power, he generated his own true qi, so that beforending on the ground, he substantially eased the injury on his meridians. As a result, he still had enough power to run away. Five more zhang, and he would enter the zing fire covered in thick smoke, while Zhu Yuyan was still about ten zhang away. In this favorable situation, suddenly a shadow shed. A delicate and handsome, elegant, middle-aged schr with confident and at ease movements, unexpectedly blocked his way ahead. Holding a copper flute [orig. xiao, reed mouth organ, simr to pan pipes] across his chest, heughed aloud and said, Xu Xiongdi, how are you? Pi Shouxuan has been waiting respectfully for a long time. Xu Ziling noticed that the opponents movement was fast and seemed to be effortless, his bearing was charming; he immediately knew that this mans demonic power was high, outstanding above Bian Bufu. Since he knew that he would not be able to escape, he ferociously gnashed his teeth and, using the hardest, fiercest Great Vajra Chakra Image, he gathered whatever little true qi he had left, and used it to strike the opponent, without slowing down at all. Pi Shouxuan shook his head and said with a sigh, This is called a moth throwing itself into the me; you are overestimating your capabilities. The copper flute swayed, it drew a streak of light in the air, reflecting the me behind his back, producing loud screaming noise like weeping ghost or crying deity. Right the moment Xu Ziling sent out his punch, he already lost confidence. While he was sighing inwardly that his little life would not be preserved, a strange noise suddenly came from within the thick smoke and zing fire behind Pi Shouxuan, followed by a rolling spear shadow, like a tornado sweeping toward Pi Shouxuan. Immediately the situation waspletely reversed; now it was the Yun Yu Shuang Xiu [see Book 25 Chapter 8] Pi Shouxuans turn to face enemies in front and behind him. Even with Pi Shouxuans ability, he knew that it was difficult to resist two great young martial art masters pincer attack from front and back at the same time, especially the Subduing Eagle Spear attack from behind, which came so suddenly. Because he was so engrossed in the attack from the front, so much so that he revealed a big opening on his back, he was caught unprepared and could only try to save his own life first. Although he knew perfectly well that if he could block just one move from Xu Ziling, Zhu Yuyan would be able to catch up in time, he still had to sigh inwardly while shing sideways to evade. Not only that, he would have to evade far away. In that instant, Xu Ziling and Tuli met together. Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to pull Tulis arm, and then together they leaped at an angle into the depth of the thick smoke. By the time Zhu Yuyan arrived, she was already one step toote. Kou Zhong spurred the horse to gallop like crazy toward the Tian Kui dojo, from which mes and thick smoke were soaring into the sky, painting the horizon south of the city red; his heart was full of murderous intent. Presumably all the great streets and small alleys leading to the dojo were blocked by armed men rted to Ji Yinong, to strictly prohibit anybody who might want to rush over to put out the fire. At this time Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well was stained with blood, because he charged through seven, eight such blockades before he could even reached this ce. Right this time, the battered-and-exhausted, from-head-to-foot-covered-in-sparks-and-debris Xu Ziling and Tuli were rushing out of the disaster area and leaped onto the top of the wall. While he was standing on the wall, Xu Ziling saw Kou Zhonging over, suddenly he staggered and nearly fell off the wall. Fortunately Tuli grabbed him and helped him up, before leaping down toward Kou Zhong. Two shadows appeared together from about thirty zhang away from the wall, pursuing them as fast as a ghost. Recognizing one of them as the Yin Hou Zhu Yuyan, Kou Zhong cried inwardly, What a disaster! Catching Xu Ziling and Tulinding on the horseback, he immediately pulled the rein to turn the horse around, and galloped it into the long street. Everybody raised his qi to lighten his body, to substantially reduce the horses load. Three men on one horse, they fled for their lives in panic. They had just run for twenty or so zhang, more than a dozen men, holdingnces and brandishing spears, charged from both sides of the street. Moreover, arrows were raining down on them from the roof of the buildings on either side. Tuli roared. The spear in his hands turned into shadows filling the whole sky, forming a protecting them, blocking the arrows and knocking them onto the ground. Xu Ziling struck with both hands, left and right, producing punch power and palm wind, jolting the pouncing enemies, sending them falling to the east and stumbling to the west, throwing them off and forcing them to retreat. Kou Zhong shouted, If I cannot avenge this enmity, I swear I am not a human. Like lightning, the Moon in the Well moved in front of the horses head; none of the men blocking their way was able to narrowly escape, their blood sshed, they fell down to the ground. The horse never stopped running; it crashed through the barrier. They had no time to check whether Zhu Yuyan and Pi Shouxuan were still chasing them from behind; they only knew that whoever blocked their way, he must be killed, no question asked. By the time they reached the intersection of two major streets, all three were already soaked with blood from head to toes. But they already broke through many barriers and killed nearly a hundred men from the enemys side. The battle was so fierce that if one were not in the middle of it, it would be difficult to imagine. Turn left! Tuli suddenly shouted. Kou Zhong remembered that Li Yuanji, Kang Qiaoli, and their men were at the dock of the River Tuan outside the northern city gate, so if they turned left, they would go toward the western city gate; hastily he pulled the rein to turn left. Faster! Tuli cried, Yaofu is getting closer! Kou Zhong and Tuli turned their heads around; they saw Zhu Yuyan and Pi Shouxuan, one in front of the other, were closing in, so that they were now only about ten zhang away. Just a bit of dy, they would immediately catch up with them. Crying for their Niang inwardly, they wanted to spur the horse to run faster. Who would have thought that the horse, which was already foaming in its mouth, had already reached the limit of its legs, so that Zhu Yuyan quickly closed the distance to eight, nine zhang? The buildings on both sides of the street were racing backward like a phantom. Ahead, there were thick shadows of you-chased-after-me, I-pursued-you, as several hundred people were fighting desperately at close quarters; battle cries shook the heavens, dead bodies were everywhere. However, the mostforting thing for the three was that the western gate was wide open. Apparently when the Nanyang Bang men in charge of guarding the city gate were under attack, they knew that something was wrong, hence they opened the city gate to run for their lives. Otherwise, it would be difficult for the horse to jump over the wall, and if there were any slight dy, no doubt the enemy would catch up. Kou Zhong spurred the horse to weave left and right in the gaps between the fighting. In the blink of an eye they entered the gate of the city watchtower, which depth reached about six zhang. The horses front legs suddenly lost its footing, dumping the three men rolling on the ground. The three rolled out of the city gate, all the way to the edge of the drawbridge before they sprang up and ran across the suspension bridge, running away for their lives to the wilderness. Zhu Yuyan and Pi Shouxuan pursued to the head of the bridge, but their strength had already been exhausted. They could only stood while staring nkly at them disappearing in the depth of the darkness outside the city. The three sat dejectedly on a hilltop outside the city, looking down at Nanyang in the distance. They could still see the smoke and fire soaring into the sky. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, This time we really suffered a crushing defeat; being able to hold back on our little lives is indeed the Heavens blessing. Kneeling on both knees, Xu Ziling spoke heavily with wooden expression, I wonder how they are doing? Gasping for breath, Tuli replied, They should be able to escape! I was half urging, half forcing Ying Yu, Lu Wuxia, and the others to take Lu Zhong out and away from the secret chamber beforeing out to look for you. Kou Zhong suddenly stood up. His pair of tiger-eyes stared fiercely at the me above the city of Nanyang; he said, There wille a day when we will settle all the old hatred and the new enmity with Zhu Yuyan. What should we do next? Tuli asked, Are we going to Guanjun now? Kou Zhong wanted to ask for Xu Zilings opinion, Ling Shao, what do you say? Xu Ziling looked up to the sky and said, Wed better find a ce to hide first. Otherwise, by the time we see a hawk flying back and forth overhead, it will already be toote for regrets. Furthermore, with our current condition, practically we do not have any capital to fight. When Tuli woke up, the sun was already shining its noble light onto the big earth, bathing the earth with its warm rays of light from the middle of the sky. Xu Ziling was still sitting cross-legged with eyes closed, but Kou Zhong was nowhere to be seen. Their hiding ce was in a canyon within a mountainous area about fifty li northwest of Nanyang, where the forest was dark and dense; it was indeed a good hiding ce. A stream wound its way along the bottom of the canyon. The gentle murmur of the water enhanced the feeling of peace and rxing atmosphere of the mountain forest, especially after going through the foul wind and bloody rain of the previous night. Tuli rose up quietly. From among the three, Xu Zilings injury was the heaviest, so he needed longer time to regte his breathing. When he reached the mouth of the valley, he saw Kou Zhong, hiding under the shade of a thick tree, looking up to the sky. When Tuli came behind him, Kou Zhong pointed to the sky and said, Look! Following his finger, Tuli saw a ck dot circling above the open country, about ten li away from the mountainous area, looking for a target. Whose hawk is that? Kou Zhong asked. After careful observation, Tuli said in low voice, Ought to be Kang Qiaolis sparrow hawk. Finally they caught up with us here! The ck dot flew farther away and disappeared behind a small hill. Kou Zhong sighed and said, In the end, Ling Shaos heart is like clear water. If we did not escapest night, we would have been chased until we are unable to breathe by now. Tuli went down on one knee next to him and said, We have to reconsider our escape route. Now that we have one more big enemy, Yin Gui Pai, our situation is getting worse. Kou Zhong said, Your general knowledge of geography is actually better that ours, Han people. I am serious; I am not mocking you. It would be better if you n the escape route. Smiling wryly, Tuli said, I wonder if you are indeed mocking me, because Xiaodi put in time and energy to study the geography of your mountains and streams for one purpose. You ought to know what it is without me telling you. Kou Zhongughed and said, ԹǺūȣ㲻ֺʿ* [I have no idea what it is] its because you are admiring our Central Earths culture, or you fancy our wealth and women? Remaining tranquil and calm, Tuli said, To put it sinctly, it is to take advantage of somebodys precarious position and maybe to expand our territory. This is the real reason of invasion. If I dont attack you, you wille to invade me. There is no other argument. Kou Zhong pondered, However, from historical perspective, it was always your side doing the invasion more, we are only fighting back to defend our countrys territory! Tuli analyzed, This is just some kind of misunderstanding; because of tactical, geographical, and social differences, most of the time you could only be in the passive position. Frankly speaking, purely from military strengths perspective, you, Han people are not our match. The one that we really admire is your Warring States periods [475-221 BC] Tieqi Fei Jiang [armored horses flying general] Li Mu. Even with Han Wudis [Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (141-87 BC)] formidability, both sides only ended up neither side wins. Kou Zhong felt his face lost its splendor in a big way; he retorted, Since thats the case, howe your national boundary cannot expand pass the Great Wall of Yin Mountains [in inner Mongolia]? Clearly that although perhaps we are not expert in attacking, we are expert in defending. Tranquil and even-tempered, Tuli replied, I hope this discussion will not undermine the friendship, which surpasses life itself, between us, brothers. Kou Zhongs old face slightly blushed, he said, Of course not. Its just that the mood is getting a bit hot. Khan, please continue. Tuli sighed and said, If we continue, it might get more unpleasant to hear, Shao Shuai still want to listen? Forcing a smile, Kou Zhong said, Cant you not say such an unpleasant thing to hear? Tuli reached out to put his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder and said, It was because I sincerely regard you as my brother that I am speaking candidly to you. Speaking about rtive superiority, we excel in courage and strength, but you are dominant in wisdom and scheme. All along, the most formidable weapon that you, Han people are using to deal with us is division and rtion-by-marriage, two major policies. Martial art is only being use as the background support. As long as we appear to be divided and having internal strife, you can watch the fires burning across the river and enjoy the sess in peace and safety. If we were to use military force, as early as when the Northern and Southern dynasties [420-589] split apart, we could have swept across the Outer Mongolia [lit. north of the (Gobi) Desert] and established formidable Khanate nation. But look at whats going on here. Not only one fine Tujue Khanate split into eastern and western, two nations, Xieli also wanted to put me to death. If we can all work together, what do you think you can use to stop us from going down from the north? Listening to this, Kou Zhong was silent. The breaking up of the Tujue was closely rted to the alienation policy of the Sui Dynasty. This was the weak point of the crumbling apparent-but-not-real Tujue power. Because under Tujues supreme leader, the Great Khan, there were a certain number of lesser Khans like Tuli, who, each one has his own territory, the fact was that no matter who held the power over administrative and military force, he was independent. This is called although moving to different ce is impermanence, each one has a ce of his own. Therefore, living apart from the family with strangers on all sides, the heart is filled with suspicions and jealousy, but outwardly showing harmony and camaraderie; it is difficult to do, yet easy to be alienated. If one could be friendly with any of the Khans, one could create conflict between the Khans. Although the Sui Dynasty failed to use military force to gain any territory from this kind of brave and expert in war, able toe and go like the wind, having a vast desert as their hiding ce C powerful nomadic people, there were actually a few schemes that have been carried out sessfully. Tuli continued, Your people rely mainly on agriculture, although the number of people is a hundred times, a thousand times more than us, but maneuvering troops is not an easy matter; more often than not, it would give rise to mass uprising. Moreover, your defensive line is long, hence it is difficult to centralize the defense. As for military expedition, we only need to cut your provision route, you will quickly be lone armycking food supplies and weary; how could you withstand the surprise attack of our elite cavalry, who were born in the great desert? Merely the weather, which changes irregrly, and the deserts torrid heat would guarantee your defeat and doom. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The fact is like a mountain, how could I defend against this usation? Ay! But could you tell me, this deliberately dividing the Central Earth into pieces like what you are doing right now, executing brilliant scheme of using Han people to beat Han people, did Zhao Deyan have any part in engineering this? Tuli shook his head and said, This policy was decided by Wu Zun Bi Xuans younger brother Ao Yugu. Not only this mans martial art skill is superior, his resourcefulness surpasses others. In our country, his status is second only to Bi Xuan; he is the man whom Xieli reveres and trusts. Kou Zhong sighed and said, He is indeed formidable. This is called using a mans way back on himself, leaving the strong to join the weak. If we are looking at it this way, perhaps this time Khan being framed is also due to this Gu somebodys advice. They are hoping to regain all young Khans military power and establish a country with centralized power. By the time even the Western Tujue is united and pacified, the Central Earth will face great catastrophe. Tuli was shaken. I have not thought that thoroughly, he said, But Bi Xuan ... ay! What is actually at stake, it is very difficult to say. This moment Xu Ziling came over to the two men and said, Look! The two men looked up at the clear sky without any clouds for ten thousand li; the hawk was flying back in their direction. Where should we go? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, After dark, we are going back into Nanyang. Once we are there, we will act ording to circumstances. The other two were stunned. Book 28 - 11 – Sea Sand Gang’s Leader Chapter 11 C Sea Sand Gangs Leader Although there were not many pedestrians in the city, and the Tian Kui dojo haspletely turned into a pile of rubbles, but the situation in Nanyang was not much different to before the incident happened. Moreover, just like Xu Zilings predicted, there was no checkpoint to inspect the stream of peopleing and going, the city gates and the dock remained open. Commercial trade was Nanyangs lifeblood, and the basic condition formercial trade was stability, hence Nanyang had to remain open, so that local businessmen and traveling merchantsing from all over the ce could do business in peace. Last night Ji Yinong, with the Yin Gui Pais entire nest came out to give him full support C has pulled two major powers, Nanyang Bang and Tian Kui Pai, up by the roots in one move, using the ten-thousand-jun thunderbolt momentum, precisely because he wanted to reduce the chaos to minimum. It could be easily imagined that this moment Ji Yinong must be extremely busy to assure the other gangs and sects leaders, as well as the big merchants interest, while also establishing his own governance, and taking over the businesses that were previously under Nanyang Bang and Tian Kui Pai. By returning to the city at this time, not only they avoided Li Yuanji and the Cloud Commander, two sides troops pursuit, it would also be beyond Yin Gui Pais expectation. From being in the open, they were now hidden in the dark, they could either wait for an opportunity to strike back or to escape; at least they would be able to obtain some time to take a breather. The three crossed over the moat, they climbed over the western wall to enter the city. Exposing their real face, they looked for a hotel to stay for a time. While Kou Zhong was scouting out for information from the waiter in the dining hall, Tuli and Xi Ziling waited for him in the room. Arent we being too exposed? Tuli asked doubtfully. Sitting cross-legged in the chair, Xu Ziling replied, If Khan were Ji Yinong, would you send your men with great fanfare to look for us all over the city? Gaining sudden understanding, Tuli said, Zilings brain is indeed more nimble than mine. Ji Yinong would surely try to cover up at all costs, just like Xianyangs Qian Duguans situation. If he told his men or the other gangs and sects that the men he wanted to deal with are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose names shook the heavens, everybody would question if he had something he rely on in order to aplish that. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Yin Gui Pai would definitelyy down the g and still the drums, for fear that others might find out about their existence. Therefore, we should be safe for the time being. Besides, who would have thought that we might slip back into the danger zone? Tuli sighed and said, Its a pity that the battlest night is to be kept a secret. Otherwise, Zilings ability to escape unscathed from head-on confrontation against Zhu Yuyan would be enough to catapult Zilings reputation a hundredfold. Xu Ziling remained tranquil and calm, he spoke indifferently, False reputation will only bring empty benefit, why would I want to seek that? Now Yin Gui Pais power is expanding more and more, if we cannot take advantage of this important juncture to carryout counterattack toward Yin Gui Pai, by the time the rice has already been cooked [idiom: what is done cannot be undone], everything will be toote. Greatly astonished, Tuli asked, Isnt the rice already cooked now? With our three mens strength, what could we possibly aplish? Xu Zilings eyes were shing with thick murderous aura; he spoke slowly, word-by-word, If we could kill Ji Yinong, the entire situation will be reversed. This moment Kou Zhong came back. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he said, On the surface Nanyang city seems to be calm, but the heart of the people is in turmoil. Some people say that Nanyang Bangs Yang Zhen might counterattack within two days, some other say Zhu Can is going to seize this opportunity toe. Most of the city residents dont have favorable impression toward Ji Yinong. Xu Ziling said, Tian Kui dojo has been razed to the ground; what is the city residents reaction? Kou Zhong replied, They all think that Ji Yinong is too much. It is said that not only the neutral Jingshan Pai and Zhen Yang Bang are greatly furious, even Chao Shui Bang, Hui Yi Bang, and Tuan Jiang Pai, who wallowed in the mire with Ji Yinong, thought that things should not get to such a point. But due to Ji Yinongs prestige is greatly rising, they only dare to get angry, but do not dare to speak up. This time Ji Yinongs move has evoked public anger. Ay! If we had not intervened, Zhu Yuyan would not have been forced to consider the gains and losses, and took such a drastic measure. What should we do now? Tuli asked. Xu Ziling suddenly signaled, Someonesing. Kou Zhongs eyes shot sharp rays as he fixed his gaze on the door. And then, Knock! Knock! someone was knocking on the door. The three exchanged some nces; they were puzzled and were unsure of what to do. Their enemies were really too many. The one knocking on their door could be from any group. If their whereabouts could be found out this easily, naturally their situation was really bad. A gentle and lovely voice came through the door, Can Ie in? Although Kou Zhong felt this voice sounded familiar, momentarily he was unable to remember which mistress had such a captivating voice. Pleasee in! he responded heavily. Creak! The unbolted door was pushed open, revealing a graceful, many-postures, hot and charming beauty. A dazzling yellow silk cape was draped over her shoulders, she wore a veiled hat on her head, and red pomegranate skirt on the bottom. A lovely scene of blossoming flowers swaying in the breeze [idiom: gorgeously dressed woman], amorous light radiated all around. Ah! Kou Zhong eximed and stood up. Cupping his fist to salute, he said, Turns out its the newly-appointed Bangzhu of Haisha Bang [Sea Sand Gang, see Book 2 Chapter 4], the Mermaid Miss You Qiuyan who has honored us with your fragrant self, stopping by to brighten up our drab room; Xiaodi feels so lucky. Xiao Ling, why havent you given up your seat? Xu Ziling hastily stood up and moved to the side. Pfft! You Qiuyan giggled and without any trace of politeness took the vacated chair. Although Tuli was not clear the rtionship between You Qiuyan and the two boys, but he had heard the name Haisha Bang. A bit confused, he poured her a cup of tea. While closing the door, Xu Ziling took the opportunity to peek out. After making sure that they were not being heavily surrounded, he gave an all safe signal to the two men from behind You Qiuyans back. You Qiuyans beautiful like-clear-water-that-was-about-to-drop eyes cast a sidelong nce toward Kou Zhong; a bit surprised, she said, Why are you unable to take your eyes off me and staring at me like that? Are you afraid I am going to mount a sneak attack at you? Qiuyan does not have that kind of big guts. Kou Zhong smiled and said, First of all, Xiaodi has never seen You Bangzhu dress so beautifully; secondly, I recalled the three times I fought with You Bangzhu, I cannot help my spirit running fast and my mind in disorder, hence I was forgetting my manners. And then he turned to Xu Ziling and said, Xiao Ling! Tell me, dont you think You Bangzhu is even more charming now? The fact was that he really did not have the slightest idea why You Qiuyan, who only had enmity without any friendship with them, would suddenly appear here. Therefore, he started babbling nonsense to try to see why she came. It was only now did Xu Ziling have the chance to look attentively at this woman, who used to be the Haisha Bangs Gang Leader the Dragon King Han Gaitians mistress/subordinate, who had used her sex appeal to turn all living things upside down. He found out that indeed as Kou Zhong said, her appearance looked a lot more pleasing to the eye; perhaps it was because there was a bit more of dignified look on her brows and eyes, so that there was a change in her personality traits. In the battle on the ship, Han Gaitian suffered serious injury from Xu Zilings sneak attack [see Book 6 Chapter 12]. Since then, he withdrew from Jianghu, and You Qiuyan arose to take his position. Changes in the facts of life really made people sigh unbearably. It was unclear whether You Qiuyan was remembering the two times she fought with Kou Zhong, and both times Kou Zhong frivolously took small advantages off her, or perhaps because Kou Zhongs outrageous praise that she was proud of herself and was being bashful, unexpectedly she appeared like a shy girl who did not know how to respond, a clump of red clouds appeared on both of her cheeks. Glowering at Kou Zhong, she said, Its because for your own good that I took the risk toe here to see you, yet you spoke frivolous words endlessly; do you really want Qiuyan to leave in anger? Confused, Kou Zhong grabbed his head and said, For our own good? How did You Dajie [big sister] know we are here? You Qiuyan raised the teacup to take a sip of the hot tea; her beautiful eyes cast Tuli a nce, and then she looked inquisitively at Kou Zhong. She did not need to speak up, her pair of big eyes could clearly convey what was in her mind. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both stunned, because in the past, outside the city of Baling, You Qiuyan joined hands with Da Jiang Bangs Fei Yan and the Venomous Spider Zhu Mei, Bai Wenyuan, and the others to deal with them. The two boys beat them up until they fled for their lives. You Qiuyan was even captured by Kou Zhong, but in the end he let her go. Therefore, it was not unreasonable for the two boys to think that You Qiuyan was acting on behalf of Zhu Can to look for them. But if she did not even know who Tuli was, naturally she had nothing to do with Zhu Can. Kou Zhong pondered slightly; sensing that You Qiuyan did not have evil intention, he made up his mind and said, This is the Eastern Tujues Tuli Khan. You Qiuyans tender body slightly shook; she looked at Tuli up and down a couple of times, while her face showed suspicious look. Tulis eyes looked at her tender body up and down; he did not hide his interest in this woman at all. You Qiuyan immediately straightened up her silky breasts; apparently she did not mind at all that Tuli was examining her like he was inspecting a wild horse. Throwing a coquettish nce toward Kou Zhong, she said, Naturally my men recognized you and Xiao Ling. Without any fear at all you guys stopped at a hotel to stay for the night; arent you afraid Zhu Can and Li Yuanji, two sides men would discover it ande to give you bad luck? Xu Ziling asked, What is the rtionship between your honorable gang and Yin Gui Pai? You Qiuyan was slightly stunned. Knitting her brows, she said, How could we have any rtionship with Yin Gui Pai? Kou Zhong spoke nonchntly, Recently we saw your brothers sold a batch of firearms to Yin Gui Pai people. Startled, You Qiuyan said, Are you referring to the Jiangnan-made firearms that were sold to Qian Duguan? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce. They started to believe that You Qiuyan really did not have any malice toward them; naturally they still could not figure out the purpose of You Qiuyans visit. Xu Ziling exined, Qian Duguan is Yin Gui Pai man. You Qiuyan appeared to obtain a sudden understanding. After muttering to herself irresolutely for half a day, she said, Haisha Bang now is not like the Haisha Bang of the past! Before, in order to expand our influence, we had no choice but to attach ourselves to Yuwen n, Shen Faxing, and Zhu Can, one after another. As for the result, you two ought to know it better than anybody else. Now we already have change of string, and move out of a rut [idiom: dramatic change of direction]; we only do business now. However, the strange thing in Jianghu is that our prestige is increasing steadily instead. Do you understand what I mean? Of course we do, Kou Zhong cheerfully replied, We even congratte You Bangzhu for this sensible act. But since thats the case, why did You Bangzhue to see us, three men who are covered all over with trouble? You Qiuyans pretty face blushed again, she cast Kou Zhong a thousand-tender, a hundred-charm nce first, before hanging her head and spoke softly, You are my friends! Seeing you in trouble, how could I watch with folded arms? Stunned, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other; they had never expected to hear such words from You Qiuyans mouth. Xu Ziling moved over to sit by Kou Zhongs side. His sword-shaped eyebrows lightly knitted, he said, If You Bangzhu thought that we are in trouble, how do you think we can get out of it? You Qiuyan smiled and said, We all are old friends, there is no need for words of politeness. This time it was almost Xu Zilings turn to grab his head. All along, Haisha Bang and the two of them have always been in the-two-cannot-exist-together situation. The former Gang Leader Han Gaitian even had to step down because of them, there has never been the so-called old friendship to be talked about. Tuli asked, Does You Bangzhu know the situation in Nanyang now? You Qiuyan snorted coldly and said, On the surface it appears that Ji Yinongs side has control over the situation, but the fact is that their foundation is still unstable. Sooner orter they will have to let others taking care of the battle oue. The three started to see some clues. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, It seems to me that You Bangzhu does not have harmonious rtionship with Ji Yinong? You Qiuyans eyes shed with murderous intent; she calmly replied, No need to hide it from you; in Nanyang, we are only doing business with the Lying-down Moon Saber Yang Zhen, one person. This time Ji Yinong disregarded Jianghus righteousness and justice; he borrowed outsiders power, using bloody means to oppress his own people. He has aroused public outrage, everybody wants to punish him. Kou Zhong finally understood. Whats Zhu Cans reaction over this matter? he asked. Lightly shrugging her shoulders, You Qiuyan replied, Naturally he wanted to take advantage of this weakness toe over. I heard he is mobilizing his troops and marshaling his battleships; he might deploy massive military force to the east at any time to recover lost territory. But doing this wont bring any benefit for him. If Nanyang fell into his hands, it will only be a ghost town. Where is Yang Zhen currently at? Tuli asked. You Qiuyan hesitated slightly before starting, He already slipped back into Nanyang and is currently plotting a counterstrike. I hear that you were helping Tian Kui Pai to resist the enemy. I wonder which divine beings Ji Yinong actually drew to help him, howe with three gentlemens martial art skill you are still unable to withstand them? They are Yin Gui Pai people, Kou Zhong replied, Ji Yinongs other identity is Yin Gui Pai disciple. What? You Qiuyan blurted out. Kou Zhong smiled and said, The situation is getting more and more interesting. If You Bangzhu ising to help, perhaps we could turn defeat into victory, and have Ji Yinong ughtered. You Qiuyans pair of pretty eyes lit up. How do you want me to help? she asked. Kou Zhong replied, I want all intelligence about Nanyangs situation, especially Ji Yinongs each and every move, and then I can focus on designing the entire assassination n. Standing up, You Qiuyan spoke with full confidence, You wait here for my good news! After this full-of-attractive-and-seductive-charm master of a gang left, Kou Zhongs countenance suddenly turned iparably calm. He asked, Is this woman trustworthy? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling replied, Its hard to say. She is definitely not that kind of shy woman, yet twice she showed bashful-girl-like expression, a big different from her former style in dealing with rtionship between men and women, so that its hard to understand. Moreover, she meticulously dressed herself toe and see us; I wonder if she is unable to restrain her emotions and is falling in love with you? She came here to deceive us, Tuli suddenly interjected. The two boys were stunned. Although they already had doubts in their hearts, but they did not understand why Tuli was so sure. Tuli rose up to his full height and looked out the window. He spoke slowly, I have a special skill that two gentlemen are somewhatcking, which is the skill to observe women. What particr thing did Khan see? Kou Zhong asked in astonishment. Tuli replied heavily, When this woman received the news that we showed up here, she must have been intimate with a man; hence the thoughts of love on the tip of her brow and the corners of her eyes had notpletely disappeared. She was blushing not because of being bashful, but because she had not fully expressed herself. If I am guessing correctly, her man must be the Yunyu Shuang Xiu Pi Shouxuan, because only he had this kind of time, and he might have good time with women, because his nickname that you told me about! Only by means of the gathering-the-cloud-and-the-rain repairing method will he be able to rapidly restore his power. [Reminder: the cloud and rain in his nickname (cloud and rain double cultivation) also means sexual intercourse.] Kou Zhong said, Khans analysis could not be possibly go wrong. Question is: if Yin Gui Pai already knew that we are here, why should they y tricks on us by going through twists and turns, rather than the whole nest simply came out to deal with us? Xu Ziling said, It could be that Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, and the group of elder-level martial art masters are going out of the city to hunt for us, or perhaps they are rushing somewhere else for another important matter. Old Pi must realized that he is unable to deal with us alone, hence he is carrying out another malicious scheme. Kou Zhong agreed, It must be so, he said, Ay! Why didnt Khan say so earlier? If we followed that woman closely, perhaps we could even ughter Old Pi, then wed get rid of one big resentment. Tuli turned around to face him and said with a wry smile, This is not the first time Shao Shuai entered the Jianghu, is it? Just think, an old Jianghu veteran like Pi Shouxuan, who is more cunning than a fox, how could he not hide in a secret ce to watch whether we are following that womans track? Kou Zhongs two eyes lit up, he said, If Zhu Yuyan and Wan Yaonu are really not in Nanyang, then this will be a different thing altogether. Tuli wondered aloud, Why would You Yaofu [witch, lit. demon (older) woman] want us to wait for her here? Xu Ziling said, There are two possibilities: one, Pi Shouxuan is amassing his own power, including notifying Zhu Yaofu and Wan Yaonu to hurry back; two, he is notifying our enemies. The most likely candidate is naturally Li Yuanji and Kang Qiaolis side. Kou Zhong sprang up and said, In that case, what are we doing here? Waiting for death? Xu Ziling calmly said, Either one of those possibilities, they will need time. Its safe to say that there must be Yin Gui Pai martial art master outside the inn monitoring us. If this moment we could sneak out with the gods did not know and the ghosts did not perceive, then we are halfway to sess. Tuli said, If we put our heart and mind in it, this matter is not difficult at all. But once we are out, should we immediately leave town, or go on another mission? Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes emitted deep hatred and murderous aura; he spoke coldly, Tian Kui dojos blood debt is just one of the ounts we need to settle. Between Yin Gui Pai and us, theres no more good things to talk about. If we cant kill his mothers to our hearts delight, I wont be able to sleep peacefully at night. Xu Ziling spoke resolutely, In that case, well sneak out and act ording to circumstances. I am thinking of one crucial person, who is Khans informer in here, Huo Qiu. Perhaps we could grasp Li Yuanji and Ji Yinongs movement and whereabouts from him. The other two praised the wonderful n. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and said with a smile, How about letting Xiaodi be the little pawn who will find a way for Khan and Shao Shuai? Amidst the bigughter, the three left side by side in very high spirit. Book 28 - 12 – Reenactment of Old Scheme Chapter 12 C Reenactment of Old Scheme From the courtyards wall Xu Ziling jumped down to the ground, shook his head and said, The enemy is setting up hidden sentry to watch the whole surrounding area of the hotel. Unless we dig a tunnel underground, there is no way we could leave from above the ground. The three huddled up in the dark corner of the rear courtyard; they could not think of a good way to sneak away undetected. If even Xu Ziling, with his effective and acute senses C thought that the enemys surveincework was imprable, then the fact must be so. It is thus clear that in Nanyang, Yin Gui Pai was still in control, and that it would not be easy to have direct confrontation against them. Tuli said, Now at least Xiaodis guess has been proven to be correct. You Qiuyan is a spy sent by Yin Gui Pai. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, The more difficult it is, the more interesting it will be. I must, despite everything, take Ji Yinongs dogs life under this kind of circumstances, to let Zhu Yaofu know that to deal with us, they must pay the price. Being very familiar with his temperament, Xu Zilingughed and said, What ghost idea are you thinking? [I know I could have said crafty idea, but ghost idea sounds funnier ...] Tuli suddenly felt the blood in his entire body was boiling. Not only he forgot this moments on all sides, the songs of Chu [surrounded, all alone] and danger with enemies all around, he felt the endless delight in fighting side by side with these two boys. Even in the most difficult and frustrating moments, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could still maintain optimistic frame of mind and strong will to fight, vowing to contend with the powerful enemy to the end. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, Remember that time in Yangzhou we were trapped by Yang Guang at the other courtyard? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Turns out you want to reenact an old scheme. Leave it to me then! As Xu Ziling was returning to their room, Tuli asked in confusion, What brilliant scheme is it? Kou Zhong leaned over to whisper in his ear, We want to create an illusion of escape. After the enemy left, we could calmly strike back! While Tuli was still knowing one and understand half, Xu Ziling hurriedly came back. Kou Zhong hastily asked, What trick are you ying? Xu Ziling replied in low voice, I wrote on the wall, Qiuyan Jiejie, please tell Old Pi, we are going to kill Ji Yinong. Does Shao Shuai think this is passable? Smiling with exultation, Kou Zhong replied, Ling Shao is indeed a distinguished and aplished literary talent adept in passionate words and luxuriant sentences; little student salutes you with admiration. All right! Where should we hide? It was only then did Tuli understand. Xu Ziling replied, So many empty rooms, just find one to hide, anywhere is all right. Our reputation is so good, whatever we say, I guarantee everybody will believe. ck letters on white wall, whenever it is written out, it will make people believe even more. The room the three were hiding had its westward window cattycornered from their original room, separated only by a small garden, so that they were able to directly monitor any movement inside. The three sat on the floor in the dark, taking turn to watch outside the window. Laughing in low voice, Kou Zhong said, The most wonderful thing is that the enemy is afraid to stir up our suspicion, they dont dare toe within range of the hotel to look inquiringly, otherwise our brilliant scheme will not work. Now my only hope is that those traitors woulde back quicker. Tuli pulled his head back to sit against the wall; he sighed and said, Waiting is the most difficult to endure thing. But Shimin Xiongs firm and persistent endurance is something that I rarely see from among the Han people that I know. Xu Ziling said, When you say it like that, it means you, Tujue people, must have stronger perseverance! Kou Zhong was paying attention to the sign of activity in the adjoining room; the people staying inside have already entered the dreand early on, there were bursts of snoring noiseing from the inside. He joined in, No wonder your Tujue elite troops are so formidable;ing like congregating beasts, going like scattering birds, no footprint no trace, and no need to be entrenched in any city defense. This kind of tactics must be studied well. But in the Central Earth, this kind of battle style might bebeled with evil reputation of roving bandits. Tuli countered, Only those without organization and without ideals can be called roving bandits. We all live on horseback, the entire country is elite troops, how could you discuss two disparate things together? Xu Ziling said, Although your troops are elite, they are few in number, I am afraid you are barely able topare one of the big counties of ours. But the most formidable aspect is stilling-and-going-like-the-wind strategy, once the strike fails, you spread far and wide a thousand li. But to be used in invading the Central Earth, this kind of superiority might gradually fade away. By that time, the weak point of having too few people woulde to light. Smiling ruefully, Tuli replied, Ziling indeed draws blood on the first prick. But Xieli does not think so. He believes that as long as he could exploit the contradictions and conflicts among various powers in the Central Earth, he could progressively nibble away the Central Earth, and thus aplishing the grand dream that has already been existing since the ancient times. Listening to this, Xu Ziling revealed a thoughtful look, but did not say anything. Changing the subject, Kou Zhong asked, How brilliant Bi Xuan actually is? Before Tuli had a chance to answer, they heard footsteps. Hiding under the window, the three peeked outside. You Qiuyan came to the opposite room. She raised her hand to knock, but she only knocked twice and immediately felt something unusual. Pushing the door and went in, she immediately flew out of the room like a whirlwind, and waved her hand to release a rocket, which soared into the night sky and exploded into a burst of red lights. Kou Zhong was so angry that his teeth itched, thinking about the two times he let her off, yet this woman still came to harm him. He really wished he could charge out and pinch her to her death. Amidst the sound of fluttering clothes and sleeves, one after another several shadowsnded on the sidewalk outside the room. The ones that the three recognized were Yunyu Shuang Xiu Pi Shouxuan, Mo Yin [hidden devil] Bian Bufu, Wen Caiting, Yin Hou Zhu Yuyan, and a middle-aged man wearing dark green clothes; but they did not see Wanwan. They appeared like ghosts and demons, but did not disturb the other guests in their dreand. Just Zhu Yuyan, one person, was already enough to make them sucking in a mouthful of cold air. Hastily they pulled their heads down from the window, afraid to arouse any reaction from her. Zhu Yuyans voice was heard from the other side of the garden, Pi Shishu [martial uncle], your blunder this time is that your knowledge of these two kids is not deep enough, so much so that you underestimated their intelligence. If it were Meier, she could not possibly make the same mistake. Inwardly, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were focusing their attention to apply their power to eavesdrop, were ashamed. Were it not for Tulis special skill of observing women, perhaps they would have fallen into Pi Shouxuans trap. Pi Shouxuan had just stepped out of the room after examining the message on the wall. He sighed and said, The most hard-to-believe thing is that unexpectedly they guessed correctly that I was behind Qiuyans back prompting her to do it; how did they do that? Zhu Yuyan calmly said, Regret wont be helping in the least. Immediately notify Waner for me, I dont care how much manpower and resources we have to spend, I want one of them to the killed, the other captured, before they are intercepted by the four great bald donkeys [reminder: bald donkey is derogatory term to call Buddhist monk]. The surviving mouth will then be forced to reveal the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure. The unfamiliar male voice replied, The message left on the wall says that they are going to kill Yinong; how should Yinong respond, would Zongzun please bestow your instruction? Hearing that, the three cheered inwardly. This is called wearing out their iron shoes without any sess, unexpectedly the sess came without spending a great deal of time and effort. At least now they knew what Ji Yinong looked like. Zhu Yuyan responded indifferently, Its just empty words to intimidate you. They have no time to deal with you, plus theyck the intelligence to do so; what could they rely on to kill you? In my opinion, they must have left Nanyang immediately and fled as far away as they could. However, its also good to be careful. From now on, Pi Shishu and Bufu will follow you closely and not leave your side even for half a step to guard against those two kids, as well as any assassin from Yang Zhen or Zhu Can, two sides. Pi Shouxuan said, Later on Ji Yinong is going to meet Jingshan Pai and Zhen Yang Pais people for negotiation at the Yue Lan She. It does not look too appropriate for Bufu and I toe along. Zhu Yuyan replied, Pi Shishu should act ording to circumstances, as long as you are able to guarantee Yinongs safety. She was constantly lowering her voice; apparently it was because they were discussing ssified information, so she was using gathering-noise-into-a-thread skill. This moment they could only hear faint noise like buzzing bees in the distant ce. Fortunately Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were still able to catch most of what she said, while guessing the rest to get theplete picture. Zhu Yuyan seemed to have an important matter to attend to, so as soon as she finished speaking, she acted as if she wanted to leave immediately, while continued to give her orders, Caiting, find three men to be disguised as those three kids and make false appearance to lure Li Yuanjis side to pursue them. The Duke Yangs Treasure is of very great importance, this Zun [senior/honorable master] definitely will not let them fall into other peoples hands. Wen Caiting said, What Zongzun said is right; even if there was no Duke Yangs Treasure, we should not leave the root of the trouble to be misfortune in the future. Turning to You Qiuyan, Zhu Yuyan said, Qiuyan ought to pay attention to Zhu Cans side; if you see any unusual activity, notify us immediately. Lets split up to do our job now! In the blink of an eye, Zhu Yuyan and the others left until not one remained. Inside the dark room without any light in it, Tuli was about to speak, but Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong signaled him to stop at the same time. Tuli realized suddenly, and promptly swallowed the words that were already at the edge of his lips back into his belly. Quite a whileter, Xu Ziling slowly craned his neck to look outside, and saw a shadow shing on the roof. Sure enough, Zhu Yuyan has returned, scaring him that he quickly shrank back to hide. Time slowly passed. Two momentster Kou Zhong craned his neck to look outside. Zhu Yuyans shadow has disappeared. Kou Zhong whispered, Do you reckon Zhu Yaofu has really left this time? Speechless, Tuli said, Really crafty! Xu Ziling said, Actually, from the start she was already convinced that we have the ability to get away while avoiding everybodys eyes and ears. Its just thatter on she grew suspicious, but she wasnt sure. She ought to be gone by now! Kou Zhong nodded and said, She suddenly lowered her voice, it was because she was beginning to doubt that we have not yet left. Puzzled, Tuli asked, But why didnt she simply order her people to search the inn? Kou Zhongughed and said, This is themon problem of intelligent but conceited people; they are convinced that their own idea is the smartest. But it goes to show that she is certainly sinister and effective; its just that unfortunately she encountered people that are smarter than she is! Xu Ziling joined in, Furthermore, they are people who do not wish to be exposed to the light, they are ustomed to doing things in secret. More importantly, if she ordered a search, this matter will spread around. Now we must act one step ahead by breaking the siege and leave. How about Ling Shao go out to scout the area first? Kou Zhong proposed. Xu Ziling took his time to wait half a day longer before going out the window. But a short momentter he came back and said, She has really left! Immediately Kou Zhong stood up in excitement, This time Ji Yinong is in trouble, he spoke with great delight. The three crouched behind the roof ridge, their tiger-eyes observed the brightly lit Yue Lan She across the street. All the shops in the vicinity were already closed, but since Yue Lan She was a prostitutes ce, this was the good time to start their activities. The za outside the main gate was packed with parked horse-drawn carriages, the guests were moving about in unending streams. How do we do this? Tuli asked in heavy voice. Sweeping his gaze around, Xu Ziling replied, Sneaking into a ce with many people in jumble mess like this is easy, the problem is how to find Ji Yinong before we are discovered by the enemy. Kou Zhong said, We have been dyed for some time and cannot afford to wait much longer. Fortunately Ji Yinongs Yang Xing Hui men dont know us at all. Ji Yinong would not be stupid enough to tell his men to pay particr attention to three men that look like us. Time is fleeting, we must take the risk and ce his mothers bet. Tuli cheerfully said, Hanging around the two of you, having less guts is not eptable. Lets go! Soon the three went down the street and swaggered toward the Yue Lan Shes main gate. The doorkeepers were ustomed to Wulin figures and traveling merchants, who came from various regions, hence they did not question anything just because the guests looked unfamiliar; they simply led them into the main hall. When the quail matron [, could be a typo; I cant think of any brothel term that looks simr to it] came out to greet them, Kou Zhong immediately tipped her generously. With brows raised in delight and eyesughing, the happy quail matron eagerly and attentively served them, Three Daye, do you have any particr girl in mind? she asked. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around. Although there were more than a dozen guests sitting around the main hall, nobody paid them any particr attention. Only then did he feel relieved. From hiding in the dark they came out to this bright-as-day-lit lounge, the feeling was both intense and strange, as if they were no longer able to keep anything secret. Kou Zhong casually said, I heard there is ady called Miss Xiao Wan, is that right? Xiao Wan was the pleasure housedy who was a close friend of Tian Kui Pai disciple Xie Xianting, the root of disaster over whom Luo Rongtai was having a fight against Xie Xianting for her affection. Her countenance showing that she had a difficulty, the quail matron said, This is so unfortunate; Xiao Wan has been ill these past couple of days, I am afraid she cannot wait upon Daye! But Daye need not worry ... After exchanging nces with the other two, Kou Zhong cut her off, You dont know if shes already feeling better by now, just give it a try for us. Tell her that Xie Gongzis friends areing to visit here. And then he stuffed another tael of silver into her hand. Which Xie Gongzi? the quail matron asked. Kou Zhong replied, The Xie Gongzi from Hannan. Please see first whether she cane to apany us before trying to find anotherdy for us. The most important thing is to find us the best and the biggest, highest quality room for us. Do you understand? The quail matron [note: now the character is, pigeon/dove]ughed and said, Three Daye doing us the honor is hard toe by. Second floor, east wing has the best view; currently we only have one room left. Please follow nujia this way. The three followed the quail matron [note: and now it isѻ, crow] from the lounge via another door into the long corridor of the inner courtyard, both sides were adorned with flowers and trees, and a two-story wooden structure on both the east and the west ends, covering a vast area ofnd, connected by the long corridor. The sound of people drinking and ying finger-guessing game, mixed with the sound of singing and music, reverberated throughout the air between the two buildings, the atmosphere was very warm. However, how could they be in the mood to enjoy it? Especially Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were remembering their pleasure house luck. They could only harden their scalp and see what the final oue would be. Tuli, on the other hand, was in great mood. He intentionally asked, Why is the western building so quiet? The quail matron replied, All the ten rooms on the western building, southern wing, second floor, arepletely reserved. Its just that the guests have not arrived yet, thats the reason why it is so quiet. Hearing that, the threes spirit was greatly aroused. Kou Zhong hurriedly asked, Which grand guest is thisvish? Revealing a cautious expression, the quail matron replied, Nujia is not too clear about that. Upon entering the room, they ordered food and drink. After the quail matron and the young maid left, the three let out a longugh and toasted each other to celebrate their sess in sneaking into this ce safely. Although how they were going to execute the assassination was still a big headache to them, this was always better than staying on the outside looking in from a distance. Casting a nce toward the window looking east, Kou Zhongughed and said, If I had known earlier that the view from this room is not that good, I would have asked for a room with direct view to Ji Yinongs room. Tuli lightly said, Just now I nearly told that old quail to move us to the western building; but then I thought that only by watching from afar will we see the mountain as a mountain, see the water as water. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Let me take the first sentry-duty turn. Finished speaking, he slipped out of the window and climbed onto the roof ridge. Kou Zhong acted as if Ji Yinong was already in their bag; he said, Later on, before Ji Yinongs stinky butts warm his seat, well split up into two prongs, with Khan and Xiao Ling assaulting Old Pi and Old Bian, two men, I will be in charge of chopping Old Ji down into two pieces, and then using your fellow countrymens strategy, once the strike seed, well disperse a thousand li away, leaving nothing behind. Tuliughed and said, Thinking about killing, my tummy suddenly get unusually hungry. I hope the food and drink will arrive before Old Ji does; the earlier the better. While chatting and joking, suddenly there were knocks on their door. Knock! Knock! Knock! The twos countenance changed at the same time, because there was no alert or omen in advance. If it were only servants or maids delivering food, how could they hide from their alert and acute senses? Book 28 - 13 – Difficult To Fly Even If They Grow Wings Chapter 13 C Difficult To Fly Even If They Grow Wings The neer pushed the door and entered in. He sat down slyly on the empty chair across the marble-top table from the two men, his gentle and soft eyes emitted bluish, but as sharp as a knife de C light, as he fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong, and then he shook his head and said with a sigh, Shao Shuai could be smart sometimes, but could also be stupid sometimes. If after leaving the city you went far away immediately, how could you fall into current desperate straits? Kou Zhong and Tuli felt their scalp went numb. They looked in disbelief at the Cloud Commander sitting calmly on the other side of the table. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong struggled hard to calm his tumultuous heart. He said, I wonder if Guoshi [teacher of the state] could speak a bit more clearly. Yun Shuai did not even cast half a nce toward Tuli, as if he did not exist at all. Two sichen ago, he began, Shao Shuai returned to Nanyang, the news of your intention to assassinate Ji Yinong immediately spread. At first I did not believe it, until just now I saw it with my own eyes Shao Shuai entering the pleasure house, and then I knew that all along Shao Shuais movement has been inside other peoples calction. Xu Ziling slipped in through the window. As if nothing had happened, he exchanged greetings with Yun Shuai before sitting down and said, Guoshi is right; Li Yuanji and Kang Qiaolis men have already surrounded this ce heavily. Naturally Ji Yinong did not show up. We have fallen into Zhu Yuyans borrowing-someone-elses-knife-to-kill us scheme. Kou Zhong pped the table and said with a sigh, Good ol yaofu! She is indeed formidable. Only this moment did he realize where the problem was. From the beginning Zhu Yuyan had already guessed that they were still in the hotel, hence she put on an act by revealing that Ji Yinong mighte to Yue Lan She tonight to lure them to walk voluntarily into the trap, and then borrowed other peoples power to put them in order. The most formidable part of her n was that Zhu Yuyan intentionally came back and stayed for a while, so that they would believe her words without any doubt. If at that time Zhu Yuyan had forced them toe out and fight, although she would definitely win, she might not have the ability retain all three of them. It could be said that the power of Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong joining hands was renowned throughout the world. Without Wanwan by her side, no matter how conceited Zhu Yuyan was, she knew the difficulty of capturing one of them alive. The best strategy was to sit and watch them fighting a desperate fight against Li Yuanji or the Cloud Commanders sides until all three sides were defeated and injured, and then perhaps she would be able to catch all three sides men and horses in one. This demonesss intelligence and scheming mind certainly surpassed others; no wonder Yin Gui Pai could flourish like this. Based on the timing of the spreading information, by the time You Qiuyan came to see them, she must have already received the order to put this malicious scheme of borrowing-someone-elses-knife-to-kill-them in motion. Unless they left immediately, Yin Gui Pai people waiting in ambush outside the hotel would not make their move. You Qiuyan deceiving them by pretending to go out to scout for information was to stall for time to wait for Li Yuanji, Yun Shuai, and the others arrival to deal with them. One by one everything fell into ce, and now, even if they could pass Yun Shuai and Li Yuanji, these two hurdles, perhaps in the end they would still be unable to escape Zhu Yuyans evil clutch. But regret has never been Kou Zhongs habit; suddenly he calmed down and thought it over carefully. When everything became clear to him, heughed aloud and said, Thank you very much Guoshi for your directions. We have fallen into Zhu Yaofus evil scheme. It would be best not to mention the course of events within it. Currently I just want to know what would Guoshi want to do to us, and what is your position in this matter. Yun Shuai replied indifferently, If Shao Shuai asked me that question two sichen ago, I might have apletely different answer. His gaze turned toward Tuli, he went on, How could Kang Qiaoli join hands with Li Yuanji to deal with Khan? Tuli knew that the long story ought to be cut short, because the martial art masters that Li Yuanji deployed outside the city to hunt them down continuously received orders to hurry back, therefore, with passing moment their strength would increase by a notch. He spoke heavily, This whole thing, including Guoshi is sitting here this instant, has been set up by Xieli and Zhao Deyan. They wanted to borrow Guoshis hands to kill me, Tuli, first, and then they would concentrate their strength to deal with Guoshi. The one threading the needle was An Long. All along he and Zhao Deyan have been in collusion. If Guoshi would just think about it, you would understand. Yun Shuai revealed a thoughtful look. The three waited quietly for his respond. It could be said that this moment they had fallen into desperate straits; just one thing went wrong, they would have to fight with all their might and might end up perishing. But if Yun Shuai was willing to fight on their side, their chance of escaping with their life would be greatly increased. Since their encounter with Li Yuanji, they have been ying this Yun Shuai card, which could either be a lucky card or a terrible card C in their mind. And now that the critical moment has arrived, they finally had to y this card for real. Under the three mens unblinking stare, Yun Shuai smiled and stood up; he softly said, Three gentlemen are on your own. Just like that, he pushed the door and stepped out; he still took the time to gently close the door for them. Stunned, the three looked at each other. Yun Shuais reaction was still a bit beyond their expectation. Snorting coldly, Tuli said, How about killing our way out? Kou Zhongs pair of eyebrows rose up, he thundered, Li Yuanji, the defeated general under my hands, do you dare to have another duel against me, Kou Zhong? His voice spread far away, shaking every nook and corner of the Yue Lan She, other noises receded like a tide and disappearedpletely, so that all the second story of both the east and west building was like the crow and peacock made no sound. Both Tuli and Xu Ziling were startled by him; they did not expect Kou Zhong would be this bold, this recklessly disregarding life and death, because once they fell into the heavy siege, forget about the Tujues martial art masters from Kang Qiaolis side, merely Li Yuanji, Mei Xun, Li Nantian, Qin Wutong, and Qiu Tianjue, five leading martial art masters already had enough power to take their little lives away. Presently their only stratagem was to break the siege with all their might, by exploiting the delicate enmity-without-any-friendship rtion between Yin Gui Pai and Li Yuanji/Kang Qiaolis side, to create the confusion, which would be beneficial for them to flee for their lives. Kou Zhongs challenge to Li Yuanji was akin to throwing their lives away. Even if Kou Zhong gained the upper hand, the rest of their men would not watch with folded arms; otherwise, how could they answer Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng? Li Yuanjis voice came from the room at the west end of the wing, diagonally opposite to their room; he angrily said, Whos the defeated general under your hands? You three have already reached a dead end [orig. the path exhausted, the end of the road]. If you are willing to kneel and beg for forgiveness, this king can guarantee happiness for you. Another male voice said, Zaixia Hainan Pais Mei Xun. Since Kou Shao Shuai is in the mood, why not y with Zaixia for one round? Pleased with himself, Kou Zhong whispered to Xu Ziling and Tuli with augh, Did you see that? With just one sentence we sound out the enemys strongest point. The dead ce is the gate to life. We go out! The two suddenly saw the light. Meanwhile, Kou Zhong already leaped up and said, Ling Shao! Tabletop! Old man Huang! Bang! Kou Zhong smashed the door and broke out. While Tuli was still confused, Xu Ziling unexpectedly heaved the entire marble-top table, shook the food and wine, the cups and tes off the table, and then applying his power he shocked and broke the four table legs. Bang! By the time the sound of another smashed wooden door was heard, Kou Zhong already pulled the Moon in the Well and attacked Li Yuanji, Mei Xun, and Kang Qiaoli, three men, who hastily rose up from their chairs to meet the enemy head-on. This moment Xu Ziling exerted all his strength to toss the marble tabletop out. Like a storm ravaging dried up branches and pulling up rotten wood it crashed through the broken door and split wall to make the opening even wider. The tabletop spun like a windmill as it flew toward Kou Zhong, who was charging through the broken door into the enemys room. It was only then did Tuli understand. This could be said to be the only breaking the enemy method. Otherwise, with just Li Yuanji and Mei Xuns power, it would be enough to entangle the three that it would be hard for them to escape. Due to Yue Lan Shes terrain, it was natural for the enemy to concentrate their power on the roof and the garden on the east side; they did not expect the three would abandon the easy to choose the difficult by escaping via the garden in between the two buildings. Tuli drew the Subduing Eagle Spear; together with Xu Ziling they charged out of the room. There were more than a dozen enemies charging in from either side of the corridor. But of course the two would not want to meet the enemy head-on, they charged straight into Li Yuanjis wing. Lightning fast, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well struck three times, hitting the three powerful enemies weapon in session. He was shivering inwardly. While admittedly Li Yuanjis spear power was fierce and severe, the threat that he received from Mei Xun and Kang Qiaolis counterattack did not differ much from Li Yuanjis. It is thus clear that the twos martial art skill was quite high, they were only slightly inferior to Li Yuanji. Between the two, Mei Xun was perhaps half a notch above Kang Qiaoli. Kid, you are courting death! Li Yuanji thundered. Spear light red out, it attacked Kou Zhong from the right side, the qi power produced screaming noise, enveloping Kou Zhong inside it. Just this offensive move from Li Yuanji was not easy to break through. Mei Xun jumped on top of the table. Pushing it with the tip of his toes, he created millions of golden lights, raining down like torrential rain. Although the momentum was violent, his posture was still graceful and pleasant to watch. Just from this particr point, it was clear that he was able to be the head of the biggest sect in the south was due to him having real talent and solid skill. Kang Qiaoli attacked from the other side of the table. Brandishing a pair of cavalry sabers like a whirlwind, he pressed on hard toward the enemy. Kou Zhongughed aloud. While the three opponents were confused, he suddenly knelt down on one knee, while using the Moon in the Well to poke the leg of the table. The entire table immediately flew toward Li Yuanji on the right side. This moment the tabletop broke the door bolt and flew in. Unexpectedly Mei Xuns golden spear, which was originally raining down on Kou Zhongs head C was entirely blocked by the tabletop. The spear was jolted by Xu Zilings power concentrated inside the tabletop that it shot up toward the beam. While Li Yuanji pulled his spear back to avoid the table and Kang Qiaoli was slightly distracted by the spinning tabletop, he saw Kou Zhongs saber light was surging on from under the tabletop, rolling close to the ground toward him, scaring him so that disregarding everything, he simply crashed through the wall on the left and rolled into the adjacent room, scaring the guests and the prostitutes inside that they scrambled out with a shriek. The chaos reached its extreme point. Boom! The round tabletop crashed through the wall and flew out; it finally fell into the garden between the two buildings. Tuli and Xu Ziling charged into the room at the same time; Tuli let his Subduing Eagle Spear loose. The moment he evaded the table in great difficulty, like a tornado he rolled up toward him. [I believe there are some missing texts here.] Xu Ziling moved both hands together, a vortex of true power burst across the empty air to pursue Mei Xun, who was leaping up toward the beam; it was swift, severe, and astonishing to the extreme point. In an instant, the enemys strongest dispositions, led by Li Yuanji, three men, their most brilliant strategy and chain of offensive, melt like ice and broke like tiles, no longer able to withstand their assault. Kou Zhong shed through the space between Xu Ziling and Tuli; the Moon in the Well swiftly hacked onto Qiu Tianjue charging in from the broken door. Even with Qiu Tianjues brilliance, he could only retreat to evade. Immediately the troops from his own side swarming in behind him were knocked over that they fell to the left and tumbled to the right, and their troop formation was destroyed. ng! ng! ng! As Li Yuanji parried Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well arrived again. In order to save his own little life, he no longer cared about blocking these men. Roaring angrily, he followed Kang Qiaolis lead by breaking through the wall on the other side and rolling into the adjacent room. This room was originally full of his own men waiting in ambush, but because they already swarmed outside to meet the enemy, it became an empty room. Bang! Mei Xuns palm chopped backhandedly to meet Xu Zilings full-strength strike. This was the first time that he encountered spiraling qi power. He felt the opponents qi power was like a pir of wind, but with something solid inside. Unable to endure, he let out a stifled grunt, and instead of opposing the force, he rode on it to catapult him upward, breaking through the beam and the roof, and continued shooting up into the sky. The men from his side, who were lying in ambush on the roof, could only stare nkly. They had no idea what has been happening below. Mei Xun wanted to tell Li Nantian, who was inmand of the ambush on the roof, that the enemy might flee in the direction of the western building, but because he was busy with trying to neutralize Xu Zilings qi power invading his body, he simply could not open his mouth to talk, and could only continuously roll upward in an attempt to disperse the qi power attacking his system, and nearly spurted out blood. After disposing Mei Xuns threat, Xu Zilings left palm pushed the air, while secretly performing hand image to push Kang Qiaoli, who was attacking from the hole in the wall C back. Bang! Kou Zhong broke another wall and rushed out toward the garden space between the east and west, two buildings, only to see more than twenty Li n and Tujue martial art masters under the Two Malevolent of Changbai Mountain Fu Zhen and Fu Yan, rushing out of the western building to attack with quite a momentum. Yet inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, knowing that his guess was correct. Because nobody expected them to charge from this side, the force to guard this area was the weakest. As long as they did not allow the opponent to intercept them, Li Yuanji and the others could only catch empty space at their tail. After thundering, Triangr formation! Kou Zhong dropped down swiftly. One after another Xu Ziling and Tuli followed suit by jumping out and down from the hole. As soon as their feet touched the ground, the three formed a triangr formation, with Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear at the head of the formation, mercilessly stabbing the attacking enemies, sending them scattering about like a sheet of loose sand. Li Nantian and his men jumped down from the roof to run after them in wild chase. Suddenly somebody shouted from the lower level of the eastern building, Fire! Fire! Thick smoke and fire appeared from one of the rooms in that wing. The guests and thedies, who were hiding behind the windows to watch the excitement, were immediately thrown into chaos; they scrambled out through the doors and windows to flee for their lives. The sound of people screaming shook the heavens; the scene was like the arrival of the doomsday. Under protection of Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong on his two wings, which removed any threat from the left, right, and rear, three sides, Tuli unleashed his spear technique to the fullest. First he attacked Fu Zhen and Fu Yan, forcing them to evade to the left and right, and then his long spear pierced through the pit of an enemys stomach, before sweeping two more enemies, sending them falling to the east and stumbling to the west, so that all of a sudden they broke through the enemy ranks and entered the ground floor of the western building. Kou Zhong and the others did not know who set the fire to help them, but by the time they reached the corridor of the west building, it was already packed with people, men and women, trying to flee the disaster area. The sound of people screaming and wailing shook the heavens; the chaos has already reached its extreme point. Tuli took them bursting into another wing. They broke the wall and charged out, and came to the wall of the Yue Lan Shes western courtyard; behind the wall was precisely the main street leading to the north city gate. The three were about to jump over the wall to escape, when suddenly they halted their steps in shock. They saw three figures standing on top of the wall: Zhu Yuyan in the middle, Pi Shouxuan and Bian Bufu on her left and right. Laughing tenderly, Zhu Yuyan said, You can escape to this ce, Ill say you do have some abilities. Xiao Zhong, didnt you say you want to have a one-on-one duel against Qi Wang [king of Qi]? From behind, the sound of people shouting and yelling was approaching very fast, while from both left and right ends of the wall the enemies were appearing. Unless they could turn into birds soaring high into the sky, their only option was to fight with all their might and end up dead in this ce. Book 29 - 1 – Eliminating Demonic Long Road Chapter 1 C Eliminating Demonic Long Road Suddenly Tuli roared like a beast, the Subduing Eagle Spear in his hands turned into millions of fantastic spear shadow. The spear moved in front of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling; the man and the spear fused into one, leaping at an angle, rushing straight like a storm toward Zhu Yuyan on top of the wall. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart was filled with indescribable feeling. This was the strategy of using lowest-ss thoroughbred against the opponents top-ss thoroughbred [see footnote Book 15 Chapter 10]. Although whoever stood on top of the wall had the dominant position of looking-down-from-above, but because the top of the wall was narrow, with space barely enough to stand, it was advantageous to attack but not to defend. To defend steadily without moving was even more difficult than difficult. However, under present critical situation, as long as these three top Yin Gui Pai martial art masters were able to hold them one move or half a style, to prevent them from jumping over the wall, the martial art masters from Li Yuanjis side would close in, and then they would be dered dead. Among the people blocking the three mens path, only Zhu Yuyan had the most superior martial art skill. Whoever wanted to break through this hurdle would definitely be knocked over the wall. By doing what he did, clearly Tuli was sacrificing himself to help Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose martial art skill clearly surpassed his, by using the weakest man to entangle Yin Hou Zhu Yuyan, leaving Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to deal with the weaker Pi Shouxuan and Bian Bufu, respectively. Perhaps they would then be able to crash through the barrier and break the siege in one move. As long as they could cross over the wall, because Yin Gui Pai and the Li n only had enmity without any friendship, it might create a confusion where the enemy and us would be difficult to differentiate, which was greatly beneficial to their escape attempt, unlike the current situation where the Li ns men were focusing all their strength only to attack the three. Stirred by Tulis self-sacrifice, considering life or death as light andradeship as heavy, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings will to fight soared to the heavens. For them, abandoning Tuli and leaving was absolutely an impossibility; they would rather fight and die together. The instant Tulis feet left the ground, Kou Zhong shouted in low voice, Old Yuns secret. After giving Xu Ziling this cryptic instruction, the two of them raised their arms and soared together, as if they were going to break the siege and beat the enemy from the outside of Pi Shouxuan and Bian Bufu, shooting over the top of the approximately-three-zhang-high wall. As soon as Zhu Yuyan heard Kou Zhongs low shout Old Yuns secret, she already took note of it. Although she did notpletely understand what Kou Zhong was suggesting, but as a grandmaster of a demonic school of this generation, her eyesight and her intelligence were superior. When she saw the two boys were raising their arms and using abstruse and odd shenfa, where the path appeared to be straight but was actually curving, she cried, Not good! inwardly. This moment Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear has already disyed the full power of Long Juan Qiang Fa [tornado (lit. dragon roll) spear technique]; hepletely disregarded his own safety andunched only both-sides-suffer kind of offensive moves. Even with her level of expertise, she still had to deal with it with all her strength; otherwise, if she was distracted, there was a good possibility that she would be forced off the wall by him. All she could do was to shout tenderly, Watch for flying-back technique! Yet it was hard for her to free herself to help either Pi Shouxian or Bian Bufu. Yin Hou Zhu Yuyans pair of gauzed sleeves suddenly swelled; intersecting and twisting like a wheel, the sleeves received Tulis rapidly shooting Subduing Eagle Spear in full force. Hearing her order, Pi Shouxuan and Bian Bufu were startled; they saw that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling clearly were rushing outward to break the siege, and this was the most brilliant tactic, because the two boys were forcing Pi and Bian, two men, to split up to intercept, how could they fly back toward Zhu Yuyan? The demonic school people were ustomed to harm others for the benefit of self; in their heart, they really could notprehend Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings refusal to abandon Tuli and leave. When martial art masters vied against each other, one sliver of difference would mean a lot. Pi Shouxian and Bian Bufu no longer had time to ponder over Zhu Yuyans warning. Furthermore, they did not believe that the opponent had the ability to fly back. The two men moved away from Zhu Yuyan at the same time to intercept the enemy with all their strength. Bian Bufu produced two rings from inside his left and right sleeves, like a pair of silver discs chasing and dancing in the breeze C to meet Xu Zilings pair of changing-indeterminately palms. He had fought Xu Ziling several times, so he was in the best position to feel the opponents advancing-by-leaps-and-bounds martial art skill. The moment Xu Zilings feet left the ground to attack, he felt that this young opponents essence, qi, and spirit were already locked on him, brimming with once-released-no-return, perish-together-no-reserve desperate feel. He did not know that this was the force out of Xu Zilings righteous indignation, which was stirred by Tulis action; he thought that Xu Zilingunched this kind of offensive to break the siege in order to protect his own little life. Bian Bufu could not help secretly retained a third of his power; on the surface he appeared to be meeting force with force, but actually he was using an exquisite technique to deflect and move the force, so that although the opponent had the power, it would be hard to release. No matter how great Xu Zilings progress was, it should not be a problem if he wanted to meet Xu Zilings three moves, two styles, without yielding a single cun. Pi Shouxians copper flute producing sharp whistle splitting the air, he drew circles, one by one, above his head. With each circle, the amount of true qi amassed by the copper flute was increasing. His two eyes were staring without blinking at the approaching momentum of Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well. If he could squarely hit the opponents treasured saber, he dared to guarantee that Kou Zhong would be swept away and sent back to the ground. In term of martial arts, although he was the martial uncle, Pi Shouxians skill was in fact not even a notch higher than Bian Bufus. Within their Sect, he was second only to Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, and the green-out-of-the-blue Lin Shihong. Although Kou Zhong was overbearing, he still had full confidence that he would be able to defend his steady footing on top of the wall. This moment the Yue Lan She was already engulfed in thick smokes and mes. When the fire started, originally it would not be difficult to extinguished, but because the battle between Kou Zhong and Li Yuanjis, two sides rattled the peoples heart, and plus they thought that it was one of the sides who deliberately set this ce on fire, everybody inside theplex was running for their life, striving to be the first and fearing to be thest, so that the fire intensity quickly got out of hand. Li Yuanji, Mei Xun, Kang Qiaoli, Li Nantian, Qiu Tianjue, and Qin Wutong were the first to pursue; they rushed over through the window and the broken wall. Seeing some people intercepted Kou Zhong and the others, three great enemies, whom they hated to the bones, without caring who the other party was, they immediately pounced over behind the three mens tail, hence the three suddenly fell into the situation where moving forward, they mightpletely without way out, moving backward, they would be hard-pressed by the pursuing troops. The rest of the Li ns troops and the Tujue martial art masters also gathered together under the courtyard wall, shouting and cheering. Letting out a coldugh, Zhu Yuyan finally decided to take the initiative to pounce down, with the intention of meeting Tulis attack midway, to force him back to the bottom of the wall, and then the instant she seeded, she would help Bian Bufu, whose martial art skill was the weakest, to deal with Xu Ziling. As long as she could intercept Xu Ziling, even if Kou Zhong escaped, he would turn back to rescue his good brother. She no longer dared to treat these two kids lightly. This was also the best strategy to cope with the two boys flying-back technique. The instant her feet leaped off the top of the wall, from the roof of the western building came the sound something whizzing through the air, a clump of golden cloud, with hard-to-believe speed, flew in an arc from above going down in a wild attack toward her. Even with her level of martial art skill and self-cultivation, she was still caught off guard. This moment, all her styles and qi power were focused on Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear, which was attacking her from below at about a zhang and a half distance. To change her move to meet the enemys attack from above and below, two sides C before the golden cloud arrived was truly beyond her capability. The worst thing was that her feet already left the wall; she had no way to change direction. Moreover, from his outward appearance, she recognized the man mounting the sneak attack from the sky was precisely the Western Tujues Teacher of the State, the Cloud Commander. Even in a fair one-on-one duel against him, she would still have to fight a hard fight, let alone under this kind of situation, where if she attended to one thing, she would lose sight of another. Completely without any choice, Zhu Yuyan made prompt decision. Firmly pushing her qi downward, she returned to the top of the wall, and then the tip of her toes lightly tapping the wall, she floated away from the wall to evade. Finally the unbreakable battle array on the top of the wall was breached, and the one retreating was the strongest person in the formation. Upon seeing this, Pi Shouxuan and Bian Bufu were shocked, their fighting spirit took a big blow. This moment Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings shenfa also showed some changes. They curved at an angle toward the spot where Zhu Yuyan was standing earlier, so that now they were attacking outward from the inside toward the two men. The exact moment Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well chopped Pi Shouxuans copper flute, and Xu Zilings two palms met Bian Bufus double rings, Tuli seeded in reaching the top of the wall. Considering himself unexcelled in the world, he mightily roared, Fight! Practically Pi Shouxuan and Bian Bufu did not know which one of them he was going to fight; moreover, Yun Shuais crescent moon de was posing an iparable threat from the air. Losing their will to fight, they somersaulted together, down from the top of the wall, and stepped on Zhu Yuyans trailing dust. From high in the sky, Yun Shuai let out a long whistle; unexpectedly he changed direction in the air to cross over the wall, to attack toward Zhu Yuyan on the roof across the street. His lightness skill indeed worthy to be praised as unrivalled in the present age. Yun Shuais voice was heard from above, Garuda Army already entered the city, Ill hold her off, three gentlemen quickly leave! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had just reached the top of the wall, along the way they did not see even half pedestrian, but across the street they saw hundreds of men, who ought to be Yang Xing Hui warriors C rushing over. Hastily they signaled Tuli, together they attacked Yun Yu Shuang Xiu Pi Shouxuan, who had just jumped down onto the street. By the time the Yang Xing Hui men arrived, Pi Shouxuan was already under the three mens attack that sweats were flowing down his back and he had to retreat in a sorry state. Bian Bufu wanted to help, but he was obstructed by the men of his own side, who were crowding around the surrounding area. Li Yuanji and the others jumped down the wall. Not knowing what has been happening inside, Yang Xing Hui men attacked without differentiating between the enemy and us so that the city was thrown into confused fighting, the situation was extremely chaotic. Pi Shouxuan screamed. Finally his left shoulder was hit by Xu Zilings across-the-air palm chop, sending him shing sideways, and thus in an instant the pressure on the three men was greatly reduced. Returning to their triangr formation, with Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear opening up a path, they killed their way toward the north end of the long road. The battle was so intense that the sky fainted and the earth darkened, the moon and the stars turned pale. With each move that the three released, someone would be either injured or dead, and fell to the ground. Under the rainbow-like-momentum they rapidly moved away from Li Yuanjis side. Fighting hard and staking everything they had under the one-falls, the-next-follows enemy swarming toward them, they killed their way out, cutting a bloody path along the battlefield. Yun Shuai and Zhu Yuyan were chasing each other toward the other side of the roof ridge; it was difficult to tell the actual situation. Suddenly from the other end of the long street came the sound of battle cry; finally the Garuda Army arrived. Whenever they saw somebody, they would attack without any question, their momentum was like torrential rush. Immediately the Yang Xing Hui warriors were thrown into confusion; they scattered in four directions to escape. In this soldiers-panicked-the-horses-were-in-chaos moment, Kou Zhong, three men no longer worried about either Yin Gui Pai or Yang Xing Hui; rather, they were worried about Li Yuanji and Kang Qiaolis powerful coalition armies. In the blink of an eye they seized the opportunity to break the heavy siege, and came to an intersection between the main street and a side street. But their legs have gone weak; the wear and tear to their true power was extremely great. The sound of hoof beats suddenly arose, from the long street ahead more than a hundred riders were rushing over at full speed, the leader was awe-inspiringly the Garuda King Zhu Can. Just by looking at his momentum they knew that the overall situation has fallen under his control; the city of Nanyang has, once again, fallen into his hands. The three cried inwardly, Not good! While they were at a loss of whether they should escape to the left or flee to the right, a horse-drawn carriage rushed out wildly from the darkness to their left; the driver screamed, Get on! The three focused their attention to look, unexpectedly it was Xie Xianting, who slipped awayst night to look for Xiao Wan; how could they dare to hesitate? As a matter of fact, after the battle, not only all three of them were covered in wounds, their body was weary and their strength exhausted, they were approaching thentern-with-dried-out-oil stage. Upon seeing him, they aroused their remaining strength to throw themselves onto the carriage, letting the four strong horses pulling the carriage to take them to the other end of the long street. The wind blowing over their ears was telling them that they were running away from the dangerous Zhu Cans armored horses. Upon seeing this, Li Yuanji and his men, who were originally chasing them, did not dare to show off; they also scattered away like birds and beasts. Because the three mens weight was entirely concentrated on one side of the carriage, the two wheels on the other side of the carriage were immediately lifted off the ground and the carriage was tilted in the direction. From the inside of the carriage came the sound of screaming woman. This moment all three men had their legs dangling in the air, plus there was barely any strength left within their body; it was already difficult to exert their strength, let alone pushing the carriage back to its original position, which would require great strength. When very soon the carriage would be damaged and the people injured, they had a great idea; they all somersaulted to the carriage roof and used their own bodyweight to press the carriage down to the ground. The wheel grinding the gravel on the street emitted a weird, ear-piercing, violent screech, before the carriage dangerously recovered its bnce; once again everything was steady and stable as they continued dashing forward. Wiping the cold sweats from their brows, the three looked back. They did not see any enemy pursuing them. Heaving a sigh of relief, they turned around andy down on their back on the roof of the carriage. The stars were still in the sky as before, but the human affairs in the city of Nanyang have beenpletely changed, how could the emotion in their hearts not stirred? Right this moment the sound of fluttering sleeves splitting the air suddenly dropped from the sky. While the three were startled, a figure came down from the sky; surprisingly it was the Western Tujues Guoshi Yun Shuai. This Persian martial art grandmaster uratelynded on the roof of the galloping-at-full-speed carriage; his feet touched the spot between Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were immediately sitting up. Upon contact, his legs were severely shaken, and he dropped down on his butts. Wah! he spurted shocking-the-eye, astonishing-the-heart fresh blood, part of it dyed the rear half of carriage red, while the rest sprayed onto the street. Aghast, Tuli looked around, to see whether Zhu Yuyan was pursuing behind. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling busily helped Yun Shuai up. His countenance paled, Yun Shuai spoke while gasping for breath, That Yaofu is indeed formidable. I must immediately circte my inner power to heal the injury. Zhu Can is entering the city from the north gate, you must flee out of the city before he seals off the south gate. Finished speaking, he sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. Tuli quickly called out to Xie Xianting, To the south gate! Xie Xianting shouted his acknowledgement, he roused himself and urged the horses; the carriage immediately jumped and turned to enter a small alley on the left, nearly throwing the four men on the roof off the carriage. In the distance they saw the ze from Yue Lan She was still soaring to the sky, a column of thick smoke was still filling the night sky, obstructing the radiance of the moon and the stars, seemingly foretelling the bleak future of this beautiful, prosperous metropolitan city. Most of the inhabitants of the city were still sleeping peacefully; they did not know that Nanyang has changed its ruler. By the time they woke up the next day, it would be a different situation altogether. Xu Zilings heart was filled with sorrow; he turned to look at Kou Zhong, and noticed that he was also staring nkly at the ze and thick smoke in the distance, while mumbling to himself, One day, I will chase Zhu Can out of here once more. The rapid hoofbeats shattered the tranquility of the long street. Perhaps it was because these past couple of days the residents of Nanyang have been ustomed to see the fight and vendetta between the gangs and societies, or perhaps they were afraid to invite disaster onto themselves, but all doors and windows were tightly closed, unexpectedly no one even took a peek to see whats going on outside. The carriage entered the main street leading to the south gate. The empty long street was as quiet as an imaginary dreand, so that it was hard toprehend that the rapacious and savage Garuda Army has really entered the city, and was just carrying out ruthless massacre toward the opposing power. Kou Zhong flipped over to sit by Xie Xiantings side. Pointing to the carriage behind them, he said in low voice, Your Miss Xiao Wan? Xie Xianting slightly nodded his head, and then two big teardrops rolled down his face; choked with emotion, he asked, Are they dead? Kou Zhongs heart ached; sighing, he said, In the end, all mortals will die, its just a question of early orte, sooner orter. But if it is any constion, I can tell you that your honorable master, Ying Xiong, Xia Shimei, as well as a dozen of your fellow martial brothers were able to flee in time; they ought to arrive safely at Hannan by now. Xianting could go to Hannan to meet with them. Xie Xianting was overjoyed beyond his expectations; he raised his sleeve to wipe his tears. Understanding that this was not the time to wallow in grief, he roused his spirit and continue to urge the horses to run faster. Tuli, who was lying face down on the roof, craned his neck and asked, The fire at Yue Lan She, was it you? Still whimpering slightly, Xie Xianting replied, I have been hiding inside Xiao Wans room, seeing you being surrounded by Li Yuanjis men, in my anxiety I had no choice but to set the ce on fire to facilitate your escape. And then he asked in heavy voice, Did they do it? Although the question did not seem to have either head or tail, Kou Zhong understood him very well. He replied, When you see your honorable master, you can ask clearly what happenedst night. Now, you dont need to think about anything else. Even if you dont care about yourself, you ought to think about Miss Xiao Wan. Hot tears started to flow down Xie Xiantings face again; evidently he med himself and was having deep remorse for being unable to fight life and death battle with his fellow martial brothers. The south gate appeared at the end of the main street ahead; it was dark with neitherntern nor fire, the men guarding the gate seemed to have fled until not a single one remained. Xie Xianting reined the horses to slow down the carriage; they slowly entered the dark, six-zhang long gateway. The wind suddenly arose. Even before they entered the gateway, Xu Ziling, who had the fastest reaction, had already felt warning sign in his heart. It was a difficult-to-exin feeling; it seemed to be there, but also felt not there, even when he focused his attention to look around, he did not see anything unusual. Therefore, although he was on guard, he did not warn Kou Zhong and Tuli. The sneak attack came from the dark spot behind them. Instantly Xu Ziling thought that the opponent must have been waiting to ambush on top of the more-than-twenty-zhang-high city wall, so that he has had the opportunity to watch their situation clearly, and then the moment the carriage galloped into the gateway, he noiselessly slipped along the wall and then from the top of the gateway he slid tounch the strike from a higher elevation looking down. Just by looking at this kind of skill, both in terms of internal energy and shenfa, the attacker was not inferior to Zhu Yuyan, but Xu Ziling was certain that the opponent was not Zhu Yuyan. In total darkness, the attacker sent out a double-palm strike pressing down on Xu Zilings head. But Xu Zilings intuition was telling him that the real target of the attacker was not him, but Yun Shuai, whose process of circting his energy has reached a critical point. The most difficult thing to understand was that this double-palm strike was really too easy to block. Based on Xu Zilings current skill, even if it were Ning Daoqi himself came, he had full confidence that he would be able to meet the opponents strike head-on. And as long as he was able to buy a little bit of time, when Kou Zhong and Tuli came to his aid, even if the attacker was as formidable as Ning Daoqi, he would have to retreat without continuing his strike. In the blink of an eye Xu Zilings mind was churning at the speed of light thinking about countless possibilities. Bang! Four palms collided. In shock, Xu Ziling discovered that the energy paths of the opponents left and right palms were entirely different. Not only there were differences between hard and soft, hot and cold, but when the hard and hot was sent out, it became extremely yin and soft. The worst thing was that while the hard and hot right palm was powerful, wild and violent like the raging tide and huge wave, pouring down in torrents in violent attack, the left palms yin and soft, cold energy was producing irresistible sucking force. If he was dealing with only one kind of energy, even if Xu Ziling did not have enough power, he would find a way to deal with it. But now that he suddenly encountered two different energy streams attacking him from the same person, he felt like his entire body was being ripped apart while he was still alive. Immediately the meridians in his entire body felt like they were about to burst, it felt cold and hot at the same time; the cavity in his entire body was full of true qi, yet he did not know how to release it. Such martial art skill was truly startling-the-heaven-moving-the-earth; it was extremely shocking. Xu Ziling could only secretly perform the Motionless Fundamental Image. Both feet tightly nailed to the roof of the carriage, he resisted with all his might, unwilling to yield to the death. The attacker rapidly went down. With both feet he kicked the pit of Xu Zilings stomach. Xu Ziling did not expect the opponent would still have leftover energy tounch such a severely fierce move meant to take his life. In this emergency, he thought fast. Taking advantage of the movement of the positive and negative energy within his body, both feet pressed down, he bent his body backward. Not only he dangerously avoided the enemys kick, he also pushed the opponent away from the roof of the carriage. This move was obviously beyond the attackers expectation. He could never think that under his tremendous power pressing down on him, unexpectedly Xu Ziling was able to carry out such an extremely brilliant move to counter his continuously strange moves. Letting out a cold snort, he pushed his right palm forward, and pulled his left palm back. Xu Ziling felt like his whole body was mercilessly twisted; all his five viscera and six bowels were injured at the same time, his throat tasted sweet. But in that same moment he had an idea; abruptly spurting out his blood, he aimed the violent spray toward the persons head and face. The energy streams in the mans two palms immediately changed. Appearing as easy as blowing off dust, he deflected Xu Zilings flying upward blood attack, and thus dangerously evaded the full-of-qi-power blood spray. The speed of his reaction was indeed beyond everybodys expectation. Swish! Swish! Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear promptly arrived, stopping the opponent from continuing his killer move to take Xu Zilings life. At the same time, Kou Zhong rushed over; just before Xu Zilings back crashed onto the wall above the gateway, he caught him and immediately injected his true qi into Xu Zilings body to help him healing his injury. As they were falling back to the ground, Kou Zhong thundered, Xianting, go! If you wait, it will be toote! The whip rose and swiftly came down, it heavilyshed the horses buttocks. The horses neighed, the wheels squeaked, the carriage rushed violently, it dashed out of the city gate. And then it rapidly disappeared into the distance. Book 29 - 2 – Immortal Print Technique Chapter 2 C Immortal Print Technique In the dark gateway, Tuli unleashed his Subduing Eagle Spear to its fullest potential. Purely relying on his intuition he stormed the enemy with violent attacks. Who would have thought that although the opponent was clearly enveloped within the sphere of spear momentum, each one of the more than a dozen fierce spear attacks fell into an empty space? While his heart was overwhelmed with shock, the tip of his spear suddenly felt as if it was struck by lightning, jolting him that he was sent tumbling backward, while both hands Yin * Meridian felt amazingly cold that it was about to burst, and Yang * Meridian[1] actually unbearably hot. Basically he did not know how to neutralize it. In his shock, he swiftly retreated. Who might have such weird, overbearing and strange martial art skill like this? As soon as Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling obtained steady footing, they split up; together with Tuli, after he retreated, attacked the mysterious big enemy from both sides. Momentarily the sound of fist wind and saber power lingered on continuously. Tuli had to fall back more than ten steps before he was able to disperse the enemys power invading his body. At this time Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong also let out several muffled groans; obviously they also suffered major setback. They were in a wretched situation where their power has not been recovered; it was not even half of their usual power. Even so, under the two boys joint attack the enemy C without making any noise, was still able to upy the upper hand. His skill was truly shocking. Regaining his foothold, Tuli held the spear and charged forward through the space between Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, pressing down against the enemy. Suddenly the sound of hoof beats was heard, arge number of riders galloped from the city toward the city gate. The man let out a cold snort and said, Lets consider you lucky! Finish speaking, his palm brushed across the tip of Tulis spear. By the time Tuli spurted out blood and fell back, the man already pulled back and escaped from the other end of the gateway. Naturally the three did not dare to tarry either; hastily they slipped out of the city and ran away into the wilderness. In a forest outside the city, one after another the three fell onto the ground, no longer able to climb back up. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, Who could be that formidable? Xu Ziling turned around to lie on his back; struggling to open his eyes, he gazed on the night sky, which was still as clear as before, through the sparse branches with thick leaves above him. I finally understand what Immortal Image Method really is, he said. Tuli suddenly raised his head and said in shock, Xie Wang [demonic king] Shi Zhixuan? Spitting out half a mouthful of blood, Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, Its indeed him; I clearly hacked him down, who would have thought that unexpectedly the saber seemed unable to prate his skin and just slipped away? The saber power was absorbed by him, and he used it to attack Xiao Ling. The Immortal Image Method is the most brilliant borrowing-force-to-deflect-force and absorbing-power martial art technique. It originated from Tian Mo Da Fa, but it is more formidable than Tian Mo Da Fa. How did he do that? Xu Ziling said, If within the past few days we did not start to uncover the secret of borrowing force to deflect force, we would definitely not be able to understand his alternate fantastic martial art technique. In my opinion, the key is in his ability to merge together two kinds of entirely different, totally opposite internal energy, plus the way he is utilizing it, which has reached perfection, only then did he aplish this kind demonic skill, which will forever upy the invincible position. No wonder Ci Hang Jing Zhai is so afraid of him. He might catch up with us any moment, Tuli said, Shouldnt we continue to flee? With a lot of difficulty Kou Zhong managed to sit cross-legged; shaking his head resolutely, he said, No! If he wants toe, let hime! Only under this kind of situation will we be able to make breakthrough in our training. The setting sun on the western horizon emitted dimming multicolored light, painting the several clumps of about-lo-leave-but-difficult-to-part floating clouds, so that it looked like a fairnd in the world of mortals. Kou Zhong came over and knelt on one knee next to Xu Ziling. He spoke in low voice, That fellow Shi Zhixuan did note, do you think it is our good luck, or his good luck? Xu Ziling slowly opened his slender, handsome eyes. A hint of wry smile appeared on the corner of his bloodstained lips, he spoke lightly, What I was most afraid of has happened. The reason Shi Zhixuan let us away is because his target is Yun Shuai. I do hope the Heaven helps the worthy, by enabling him to escape Shi Zhixuans evil clutches. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, I havent thought about this possibility. Why didnt you say so earlier? Xu Zilings eyes flitted over toward Tuli, who was still circting his inner power to heal his injury; he sighed and said, It was only after you mentioned it that I suddenly came to realize it. But whether Shi Zhixuan can catch up with Yun Shuai or not, he wille back to look for us. Hows your condition? Kou Zhongs eyes shing with bright light, he spoke heavily, Your using-battle-to-raise-battle style is indeed iparable. It is a lot more efficacious than any closing-oneself-in-hard-cultivation method. Not only our power is greatly refined and advanced, the most hard toe by is that our battle experience redoubled; at least we gained an understanding of the highest quality borrowing-force-to-deflect-force martial art skill, which is being carried out in the acupoints and meridians inside our body. This is the key secret of the Immortal Image Method. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Passionate Prince Hou Xibai once said that Immortal Image Method integrates life and death, two extremes, into one. When the enemy attacks, his qi is the dead qi to take life away, but Immortal Image Method is going to transform this dead qi into living qi. Therefore, death is life, and life is death. Compared to it, our borrowing-force method is like little wizard looking at grown wizard; the difference is a thousand li apart. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up, he said, That is really not an impossibility. As long as our borrowing-force method can advance when we are being hit, or we can find a way that the attack would not harm us, it would be the same as we seeded in mastering the Immortal Image Method. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, We will never master it they way Shi Zhixuan did; unless we can copy his ability of utilizing two entirely different kinds of true qi, one death, one alive. But for us, that is an impossibility. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, He has his own Immortal Image Method, we have our own Jie Xie Da Fa [borrowing, dispersing big method]. As long as we know there is that kind of possibility, one day we will be able to achieve it. Xu Ziling said, But watch out that while you wanted to paint a tiger, it would be some kind of dog instead. However, the battle against Shi Zhixuan has given us huge enlightenment, it made us suddenly see the truth. Only our top priority right now is how we can break his Immortal Image Method? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Thinking about that problem just now, I nearly split my head. Fortunately there are some gains. I think the only way is by the time the true qi attacks his body, we must prevent it from being cut off by him, such as by shaking or controlling the qi power, then we wont be afraid that he would transform it for his own use. But the best method is still how to develop and promote our own Jie Xie Da Fa; otherwise we still wont be able to withstand too many strokes of his. Xu Ziling nodded and said, What you said makes a lot of sense. While Khan is still regting his breathing, how about we y for a few strokes? Since it was exactly what he wanted, Kou Zhong dly agreed. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong rose up to their full height, they looked at each other and smiled; both had a feeling of being born again. Even they themselves did not know that they were continuously making breakthrough and progress on their way to the pinnacle of the martial art way, establishing both boys future of transcending above all living things, moving forward toward the iparably great master of the realm of martial art study of this present age. After undergoing twists and turns, in the end Nanyang still returned into Zhu Cans hands. Although Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling lost Nanyang, they gained three major benefits. First, they made Yin Gui Pais effort to expand their power north of the River failed within sight of sess. Xiangyang was still a lone city. However, with thepse of short-duration peaceful rtionship with Yin Gui Pai, because of Nanyang, the hatred of both sides was deepened, so much so that now the two could not exist together. Second, Yun Shuai has been converted from enemy into a friend; now they had one less formidable enemy whoe and go like the wind. Both in terms of essence and spirit, they were much more rxed. By their analysis, naturally Yun Shuai would no longer be willing to be exploited by An Long and Zhao Deyan. Finally, because Zhu Cans main forces sudden attack confounded Li Yuanjis troops, he would no longer able to organizerge scale hunt and kill operation like before; not only that, they would have to quickly evacuate this danger zone, to avoid being exploited by Zhu Can. Furthermore, their inability to obtain additional intelligence from An Long anymore would have significant impact on their mission to track the three men. It was precisely under these circumstances that Kou Zhong, three men, took the opportunity to go up north. Naturally they did not dare to lower their guard. Although they no longer had to worry about Yun Shuai and Zhu Cans troops, but they gained Yin Gui Pai and Shi Zhixuan, two big terrifying enemies, which would give them more headache. After going into the city to buy clothes, provision, and other necessities, they started to avoid going into the city, but hastened on their journey via wild, mountainous country. Whenever they were taking a break, the three immersed themselves in studying martial arts. More than ten dayster they arrived at Yique, a big city south of Luoyang. Not only Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings cultivation enjoyed great progress, the benefit Tuli derived was not shallow either. Both in Subduing Eagle Spear Technique and internal true qi cultivation he also repeatedly made breakthroughs, deeply receiving the using-battle-to-raise-battles endless wonderful usefulness. The three disguised themselves as itinerant peddler who were doing their trade in all parts of the country. They went into Yique to find a hotel to rest, and then separately went out to research what would be the absolutely safe method to enter Luoyang. Luoyang was not like other ces at all. It was a ce where dragons and snakes mingled [idiom: a mix of good people and scumbags]. Moreover, it was Wang Shichongs territory. If they were careless, the consequences would be very bad. When Kou Zhong returned to the inn, Xu Ziling had juste back one step ahead of him. Kou Zhong dejectedly sat down on the chair, as if he was ready to give up everything C but did not say anything. Xu Ziling sat down by his side and quizzically asked, What happened? Howe you look so pitiful as if you have just lost the entire Duke Yangs Treasure? Kou Zhong shook his head and sighed lightly. I saw Li Xiuning, he spoke slowly. Xu Ziling was stunned, Did shee here? he asked. She ought to be passing by here, Kou Zhong replied, She, ay! She and her boyfriend were strolling down the street, shopping. She looked so happy and merry, but I feel like being beaten half dead; how could I think about sneaking into Luoyang when I am depressed and at a loss? Li Xiunings boyfriend was Chai Shao. Kou Zhong saw them whispering sweet nothings to one another; a scene that naturally evoked mixed feelings, which sent him into misery and self-pity. From this, it was clear that Kou Zhong still could not forget his feeling toward Li Xiuning. Yique was an important city under Wang Shichongs banner; it had tight control over Yi River, which lead directly to Luoyang. Li Xiuning was able to tour around here as she wished, clearly the Li n still had not have falling out with Wang Shichong. Li Xiuning came from Jingling in the south to this ce, without needing to guess one would know that her next stop must be the Eastern Capital Luoyang, and the purpose of her visit must be to have final negotiation with Wang Shichong. If Wang Shichong refused to surrender, the Li ns Great Tang would then wage war with him to decide to whom thend under the heavens would belong to. Xu Ziling said, In this kind of matter, please forgive Xiaodi for having the mind to, but powerless and at a loss on how to offer you any help. Kou Zhong crossly said, Cant you at least say something tofort me? For example, you already have the Song Familysdy, you must not have three hearts, two intentions, or its not that you cantpare with Chao Shao, its just that this lesser being was several steps ahead of you, also its a case of a pavilion near the water [idiom: using ones proximity to the powerful to obtain favor], or something like that? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling stretched out his hand to pat Kou Zhongs broad shoulder; he said, Speaking about the ability tofort oneself, who might surpass you, Kou Shao Shuai? Whatever I say will only be bitter medicine for you; for instance, supposing your feeling toward Xiuning Gongzhu [princess] has not ended, in the future we have the opportunity to break into Guanzhong, how are you going to face her? Therefore, from now on, all your conduct must be with the thought that she is not going to hate you. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, You are right. Since I cannot obtain her fragrant heart, making her hating me is also a way within the no way. But to stand out among my peers is the great aspiration I have since I was little, I did not go striving for the world because of her. But she is definitely one of the driving forces to make me push myself. Just think! On Li kids boat that day, with what kind of look did that guy Chai Shao receive us? What happened that day has already be fading memory in Xu Zilings mind, but he had never thought that it hurt Kou Zhong so deeply that he was dwelling on it. While Xu Ziling was at a loss on what to say, Tuli came back; his left hand carried a pot of wine, his right hand held a big bag that looked like fresh, hot, spicy stewed meat and some steamed buns. Immediately the heavy-as-a-lead atmosphere weighing them down was driven away. The three arranged some chairs, they ate and drank as much as they liked, the mood quickly turned around, their spirit ran high. Ling Shao, Kou Zhong said, Do you know who Yiguans [sic] Taishou [provincial governor] is? Xu Ziling indifferently replied, If I dont even know that fact, how could I be qualified as a scout? Human emotions change daily like the temperature, be careful or else others wont sell your ount. Kou Zhong confidently said, Dont be that pessimistic. Yang Gongqing is a good man, if I thoroughly exin the pros and cons, I guarantee that his heart will be moved. Tuli put down his wine cup. Watching Kou Zhong topping off his cup for him, What pros and cons are you going to exin to him? he wondered. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, I have not thought this matter clearly yet, but as long as Wang Shichong is unwilling to surrender to the Li Family, I, Kou Zhong have a great value for him. If we directly make peace with Wang Shichong, it will be very difficult for us all to step down, with Yang Gongqing threading the needle, it will be a different thing altogether. Shaking his head, Tuli said, This is called a new branch grows out of a knot [idiom: side issues keep arising]. One thing goes wrong, we would only expose our whereabouts in vain. It would be better to wait until you obtain the Duke Yangs Treasure, until your frame and power are increased greatly; looking for Wang Shichong at that time will not be toote. Kou Zhong said, Khans words are not without any reason. All right, Ill drop this matter for the time being. Xu Ziling cast him a sidelong nce; snorting coldly, he said, In the end you are still thinking about seeing Li Xiuning, arent you? Kou Zhong heavily pped Xu Zilings shoulder, as if he wanted to vent off his anger; he sighed and said, I really cannot hide anything from Ling Shao. With Li Xiunings status, naturally Yang Gongqing would have to receive her personally. If Kou Zhong went to see Yang Gongqing, at least in a sense he could get close to Li Xiuning. This was an extremely subtle way of thinking. Tuli said, I bought three cabins on an express ship to Luoyang, tonight wed better stay in our room and have a good night sleep, tomorrow morning well embark the ship going up north. As long as nobody knew we are going to Luoyang, there will be 90% chance I can get you sneak the gods-did-not-know-the-ghosts-did-not-perceive into Guanzhong. Kou Zhong said, On the surface it sounds like it will be a cinch. But supposing your Mo Heer is standing on Xielis side, we are going to walk right into the trap. Not to mention that by doing this, Mo Heer will not only reverse his having a face in front of Xieli to having an enmity against him, he will also offend the Li Family. In the end, it will only bring him harm without any benefit at all. Tuli replied in displeasure, Mo Heer is not that kind of person. Xu Ziling calmly said, Khan, please do not get angry. If this matter only involves Mo Heers personal honor and disgrace, I believe that in his gratefulness and seeking to repay the kindness, he would do anything for Khan. But the favor Khan is going to ask him to do is no small matter. Once it is leaked out, his, as well as his nsmens survival and prosperity and decline, will be at risk. Therefore, it is still better for us to be a bit more careful. Tulis countenance sank; he stroked the wine cup while muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment before saying in low voice, Two gentlemen are having this thought, is it because we are going to Luoyang? Kou Zhong stretched out his hand and put it on his shoulder; he smiled and said, It is for Khans sake that we are going here. Khan can go to the north from here, return to your country via Youzhou. We are all brothers, no need to say too much! Tulis tiger-body shook severely; suddenly he reached out to grab the two into his embrace. Deeply touched, he said, I can be two gentlemens brother, it is my, Tulis honor; however, how could I, Tuli, abandon you at time like this? Lets not mention this matter again. After he let the two go, Kou Zhong offered him a toast. The three of them drained the cup in single gulp. Xu Ziling said, Khan, please dont me me. No matter from which angle you are looking at it, it is inadvisable for Khan toe with us to Changan. Smiling wryly, Tuli said, I have thought it over and over, more than you did. But if you want me to abandon you and leave, I am afraid it will be my, Tulis lifelong regret. Kou Zhong said, Even if Khan could sneak into Changan with us, the fact that Khan has traveled extensively with us is not a secret. As soon as Khan is showing yourself, wont everybody immediately know that we havee too? If Khan stays hidden and do not appear, it will still be a waste of time. Xu Ziling joined in, Khans top priority right now is you must hasten back to your nsmen to confront Xieli, the sooner you put this matter in order the better. Therefore, you must race against time. Kou Zhong patted his shoulder and spoke sincerely, Seeing Khan disregarding your own gains and losses to advance or retreat together with us, we are already extremely grateful. Upper-quality troops resort to scheming. In the immediate situation, the best strategy is we take different roads and urge the horses on [idiom to part ways], each goes his own way in Luoyang; other things are secondary. Tuli was dumbstruck and unable to reply; his countenance was downcast and uncertain; it was a long timeter that he sighed and said, You have persuaded me! The sky has not yet brightened; the three came to the dock at River Yi outside the city, waiting toe aboard. Size-wise, this ship was arge sailboat carrying passengers back and forth along the Yi River; it could carry more than a hundred passengers, hence the pier next to the ship was full of people, the atmosphere was quite lively, which was beneficial to conceal the three mens real identity. They did not dare to stand together; instead, they scattered among the crowd, and were intentionally wearing oversized gown and ck sheepskin cap, as well as hunching their back a little, in order not to attract any attention. This business of ferrying passengers back and forth between two ces was extremely profitable, hence most of them were run by gangs and societies of the two ces. If they were not careful, it was very easy to reveal their track, and thus their previous effort would be wasted. What they were most afraid of now was not Li Yuanji, or even Zhu Yuyan, but Shi Feixuan and the Four Great Holy Monks, or even the gods-appear-and-devils-vanish [idiom: to appear and disappear unpredictably] Shi Zhixuan. When everything seemed to be running smoothly, suddenly they heard hoof beats as a lone rider wasing near from the distance. From their respective position the three focused their eyes to look; they were all scared and quickly hung down their head, because the newer was Li Jing, whose face was covered in dust from the hard travel. Li Jing flew off the horse and handed the horse to the boatman, while his eyes swept around the crowd waiting to board the ship. Luckily the boarding time happened to arrive; amidst the sound of bell and the announcement, the three hastily turned around and took the queue to step on the gangnk to board the wooden boat. Toward this big brother, with whom gratitude and grudges were hard to distinguish, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had hundreds of feeling growing as a thicket, but also had big headache. If it were someone else, they might just suck it up and ruthlessly get rid of him to prevent their secret from being divulged. But toward him, how could they bear to do it? This passenger ships were divided into top and bottom, two decks, each deck could hold more than seventy berths. The three squeezed into the lower deck, which hadparatively poor scenery, and sat down at different ces. While they were praying to God and worshipping Buddha that Li Jing would not enter this lower deck, Li Jing appeared at the cabins door, upright and unafraid. His luminous eyes were scanning the passengers in the cabin. Kou Zhong sighed and rose up to his full height. Laughing aloud, he said, Its a small world. Li Dage, please sit here. [1] Missing characters. ording to Huang Yushi (wuxiapedia), there are Hand Taiyin Channel of the Lung, Hand Shaoyin Channel of the Heart, Hand Jueyin Channel of the Pericardium, Hand Taiyang Channel of the Small Intestine, Hand Shaoyang Channel of the Three Visceral Cavities, and Hand Yangming Channel of the Colon. Book 29 - 3 – Total Elimination of Old Grievance Chapter 3 C Total Elimination of Old Grievance Li Jings gaze flitted across Xu Ziling and Tuli before sitting down by Kou Zhongs side. He sighed and said, Just stop! Did Li Shimin want you to tell us that? Kou Zhong coldly asked. Both men used their internal energy to focus their voice so that it was only sent to the other partys ear and did not scatter; therefore, although there were other people all around them, nobody else could hear their dialogue. Li Jings eyes emitted full-of-profound-emotion expression; he smiled wryly and said, This time I aming by defying Qin Wangs order to warn you. Even if Qin Wang is willing to empathize with my secret trouble, I am afraid it would be quite difficult for me to return to Guanzhong. Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook slightly. Although he hated Li Jing for being heartless toward Susu, he knew that Li Jing was a good man who was able to support both heaven and earth [idiom: of indomitable spirit], he would never lie just to make his point. Currently, within the Tang Court of Changan, there were the Heavenly Policy Mansion headed by King of Qin Li Shimin, and the Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanjis bloc that intensely refused to concede. If Li Shimins subordinate secretlymunicated information to the enemy, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanjis side naturally would make a big deal out of it in front of the Tang Emperor Li Yuan, using Li Shimin of wrongdoing. Therefore, if Li Jing returned to Changan, under formidable nderous report, perhaps it would be very difficult for Li Shimin to protect him. Collusion with the enemy was a mortal crime punishable by beheading. Therefore, to a man with great ambition like Li Jing, his remark would definitely ruin his future. Immediately Kou Zhongs hatred was a bit reduced; he said, Why dont Li Dage immediately turn back to Changan, pretend that you have never seen us, and avoid all this trouble? Li Jing shook his head and resolutely said, Since I havee, I do not intend to go back. Right now I just hope that you guys would listen to me, Li Jing: you must not, by any means, go to Guanzhong. Kou Zhong was silent without saying anything for half a day. His eyes looked at his nose, his nose looked at his heart, he calmly said, How did you find us? The hull shook, the ship was starting to sail. Li Jing spoke indifferently, Have you heard the name Yang WenGan? Kou Zhong shook his head, Which divine character is he? he asked, Does he have anything to do with Li Dage looking for me? Li Jing said, This man is nicknamed Heng Lian Shen [horizontal (or harsh and unreasonable) training deity], he is the Longtou Dage [big boss big brother] of the Guanzhongs biggest gang, Jingzhao Lian [capital (of a country) alliance]. Due to his first-ss mastery of Heng Lian Qigong, he is ranked as the head of Guanzhong Si Ba [four hegemons of Guanzhong]. When Gaozhu [i.e. Tang Gaozhu, Li Yuan] entered the Pass [Guan of Guanzhong], he rendered some merits, and thus was bestowed the title Qingzhou Zongguan [chief manager]. This mans martial skill is excellent, I dont need to mention it. But his yiqi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice] is outstanding, his circle of friends is vast, all gangs and sects big and small, inside and outside the Pass, none does not give him any face. All along he has close rtionship with Crown Prince Jiancheng. In order to prevent you from entering the Pass, Crown Prince Jiancheng entrusts Yang WenGan to organize intelligenceworkposed of gangs and societies, none was not included, outside the Pass, to closely monitor all roads and cities and towns leading to the Pass. As soon as you step into his sphere of influence, it is guaranteed that you wont be able to cover your traces. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Good kid; indeed he has some skill. But what does it have to do with you able to find us? Frowning, Li Jing responded, How could it have nothing to do? Since until now Yang WenGan still has no information of you, naturally it shows that you are still outside his heavenly-mesh-earthly; therefore, I concluded that you might hide in Wang Shichongs territory first, nning on entering the Pass from the west. Fortunately I also have my ways in here. Khans ent is not too pure, so someone recognized you; hence the reason I knew that you are going to Luoyang by boat. Ay! If I can guess it, then naturally others can guess it too, am I right? Instantly Kou Zhongs countenance lost its light. Smiling ruefully, he said, Hows Dasao [older sister-inw]? How could she let you go look for us like this? Li Jings countenance darkened, he sighed and said, Wont that show you that you are my good brothers? Lets not talk about her! As long as you are willing to listen to my advice, any consequences are worth it. Kou Zhong could not help feeling a bit touched. He sighed and said, Li Dage really shouldnt havee. You ought to know that once we made the decision, were not going to change. Not the slightest bit surprised, Li Jing said, I certainly know your temperament and style; the fact is that the whole world has been turned upside down by you, the situation has undergone dramatic change. But the problem is that you are only showing off an ignorant persons bravery, you might only forfeit your promising life. Currently Crown Prince Jiancheng is establishing his prestige over the world, he will definitely not spare any effort, be it manpower or physical resources, to have your two heads to be presented to his father, while also using this as a pretext to humiliate Qin Wang. You are going to Changan like this, even if you could really find the Duke Yangs hidden treasure, you would only benefit Crown Prince Jiancheng; why do you even bother? Kou Zhong suddenly realized that Li Jing was not merely giving thought to them, two boys, but he was also giving thought to Li Shimin. Simply because Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, two sides struggle was so intense, each side tried hard to recruit soldiers and buy horses, to expand their influence. If he and Xu Ziling fell into Li Jianchengs hands, and Li Jiancheng seeded in obtaining the secret of the treasure, then Li Jianchengs financial resources would enjoy steep increase, his fame and power would suddenly flourish. There has always been a legend in Jianghu that whoever obtained Jade Annulus of He n or Duke Yangs Hidden Treasure would be the futures Son of Heaven ordained by the Heaven. The Jade Annulus of He n has long gone. As for the Duke Yangs Hidden Treasure, not only it had substance that was useful, it also had irreceable symbolic significance. No wonder Li Jiancheng was dead set to deal with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, and to snatch their mission from Li Shimins hands; simply because the stake was too high. If he was sessful, Li Shimin would be defeated. What kind of man is Li Jiancheng? Kou Zhong asked. Li Jing seriously replied, Naturally one that is not to be trifled with. Otherwise, how could such a cruel, superfluous, untamed man like Li Yuanji was willing to abandon Qin Wang and threw his life in for him? His Chang Lin Army [lit. long forest] has martial art masters as numerous as the cloud, there is nock of men with both intelligence and bravery, plus the martial art masters under Li Yuanjismand had recently gained Nanhai Pai. Speaking about strength, they are definitely not under our Heavenly Policy Mansion. Ay! What can I say that will persuade you to dispel your intention to enter the Pass? Kou Zhong acted as if he did not hear hisst remark; he said, What kind of business is Chang Lin Army? Why did it change into such a strange name? The tone of his voice turned cold. Li Jing was not Xu Ziling after all; how could he guess the changes in the depth of Kou Zhongs heart? Astounded, he cast Kou Zhong a nce, and then replied, Crown Prince Jianchengs residence is the East Pce. In the Pce, there is a gate called Chang Lin Gate, Crown Prince Jiancheng built residences to the left and right of the Chang Lin Gate to house the martial art masters that he invited from all parts of the country; therefore, they were called the Chang Lin Army. Kou Zhong spoke in heavy voice, What kind of men are under Li Jianchengsmand that unexpectedly they are more formidable than your Heavenly Policy Mansion? In order to persuade Kou Zhong, Li Jing took the pain to exin, In literature [or civil], there is Feng Deyi, a man whom Shengshang [ministers form of address for the current Emperor] dotes on and trusts. His knowledge and scheme surpass others; he is the one responsible for helping Crown Prince Jiancheng with thousand ways, a hundred ns, to split apart and weaken Heavenly Policy Mansions power. In martial art [or military], there is the so-called Chang Lin Wu Jiang [Five Generals of Chang Lin]; they are, respectively, Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan, Xue Wanche, Xie Shufang, and Feng Li. Each of these five men has an official position within the Chang Lin Army, personally appointed by Crown Prince Jiancheng himself. Before they joined the Chang Lin Army, they were martial art masters whose name shook their respective region; absolutely must not be underestimated. Kou Zhongughed and said, Why didnt you mention Li Shentong and Yang Xuyan? Knitting his brows, Li Jing said, All along these two men remain neutral. But if the one they are dealing with is an outsider, naturally they would stand on Crown Prince Jianchengs side. And then he sighed and said, But the most disturbing thing is Crown Prince Jianchengs newest recruit, a young Tujue martial art master Ke Dazhi. Within the Eastern Tujue, this man is equally famous with your good friend, Ba Fenghan. He single-handedly created the Kuang Sha Dao Fa [wild sand saber technique], which shook the Mobei [north of the (Gobi) Desert], hailed by Bi Xuan as the number one within the ranks of younger generation martial art masters. He is simply rubbing his fists and wiping his palms [idiom: eager to get into action] toward the two of you, hoping to render outstanding military service by being able to kill you. Fortunately there are ten thousand men with such prestige in the Central ins. Immediately Kou Zhongs eyes brightened up; with overflowing excitement he said, Unexpectedly a fellow who knows how to use saber; very interesting. Shivering in fear, Li Jing said, I have said so many words, yet your only response is very interesting? Kou Zhongs eyes emitted prating divine light. Fixing his gaze on Li Jing, he said, Li Dage, please dont conceal it from me: this time you came to see us, was it Qin Wangs idea? Li Jings countenance changed into displeasure, he said, What kind of man am I, Li Jing? How could I deceive my own brother? Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, Li Dage, please dont me me, simply because Li Jing now is not the same as Li Jing then; rather, he is a great general under Li Shiminsmand. I am afraid there are some things that you dont have freedom to act independently. Just consider me wrongly judging you! But I also have a piece of advice for Li Dage. Smiling wryly, Li Jing said, Please dont tell me. Xiao Zhong, can I ask you one more question? Hearing Li Jing calling him Xiao Zhong, Kou Zhong remembered the time when he had just made his debut; his heart softened, he said, Go ahead! Li Jing cast his gaze toward the ceiling of the cabin, his eyes were brimming with rich, emotional expression; he spoke gently, If there were no Susus affair, would the two of you listen to my advice and dispel your idea of going into Guanzhong? Distressed, Kou Zhong replied, Why should you mention Su Jie? People die,nterns go out, life is just like a fleeting dream. How could we still have the heart to me Li Dage? Severely shaken, Li Jing blurted out, What? Xu Ziling has been focusing his power to listen to the two mens dialogue, this moment he joined in, Li Dage! Would it be all right to continue this conversation outside? Cold wind blew, the Yi River was surging. Li Jings sincere and honest countenance looked like a stone statue, his face was emotionless, as if he waspletely detached from the matter that Xu Ziling recounted. But Xu Ziling could feel that his originally stable and powerful hands were trembling. The two men were standing on the stern. ck clouds covered the sky, increasing the cold, deste, and lonely feeling in their hearts. Finished listening to the past events, Li Jing heaved a deep, long sigh, seemingly to vent the anger and resentments buried deep within his heart. He appeared to be calming down, but then hot tears started to gush out of his tiger-eyes; severely shaken, he said, I have turned my back on her! Li Jing revealing his true feeling immediately touched Xu Ziling; he said, The deceased is already gone! Li Dage does not need to be excessively sad! Someday we are going to follow Su Jies course in life; at that time perhaps we will be together again. Li Jing let the tears streamed down his face. His hand gripping the hilt of his saber, he let out a cry of sadness toward the river. Murderous intent ring out of his eyes, he spoke word-by-word, Very well! Xiang Yushan, one day I, Li Jing, will make you, heartless man with dogs lungs C pay for Su Meis life with yours! Noticing that Li Jing has been able to vent the grief and indignation in his heart, Xu Ziling felt a bit better. Trying to divert Li Jings mind, he presented the advice that Kou Zhong wanted to give Li Jing, Our trip to Guanzhong is absolutely necessary. The most sensible act for Li Dage is to regard the past as something that has never happened. We are not brothers anymore. You need to immediately leave us, two boys who are covered all over with worries and quarrel, and return to Guanzhong. In the future, even if we meet on the battlefield, you must never be soft-hearted and lenient. Li Jing was silent for half a day. Taking a deep breath, he suppressed the sorrow in his heart, and spoke in heavy voice, Ziling, tell me, how much confidence do you guys have that you will be able to enter Guanzhong, and if you are able to find the treasure can you sessfully transportrge quantities of articles and weapons out of Guanzhong? Xu Ziling secretly thought that if Li Jing knew that Shi Feixuan, joined by the Four Great Holy Monks, wanted to capture them alive, and that Yin Gui Pai wanted to capture one and kill the other, before Shi Feixuan had any chance toy a hand on them, perhaps Li Jing would even be too angry to sound them out like this. Smiling wryly, he said, Honestly, not even 5%. Stunned, Li Jing said, Then why do you still want to go to Guanzhong? Xu Ziling really wanted to tell him that his reason to apany Kou Zhong in this madness was in the hope that if Kou Zhong failed to find the treasure, he would give up his dream of contending for hegemony over the world. But in the end he could not say it. After pondering for a moment, he calmly and indifferently said, People always hope that they would have the luck. Or perhaps after obtaining the Secret to Long Life, our life is like an illusion; it is unreal, so that we practically do not understand what fear is. In fact, we have always been struggling for our survival under enormous pressure. The more difficult it is, the more we feel that it is a point of particr charm and interest of life. At least for Kou Zhong, thats a fact. Li Jing regained his calm, cool-headedposure; he analyzed, But this time its different. In Luoyang that day, although you had enemies on all four sides, inevitably there were subtle circumstances that you guys could exploit. Changan is an entirely different matter altogether. Once your track is discovered, forget about Duke Yangs Treasure, even to escape with your life is just a lunatic raving; how could I have the heart to see you die? Xu Ziling calmly said, Li Dage merely needs to treat the two of us as strangersing together by chance, otherwise you would be caught in a situation where you have no room to advance or to retreat. Since we do not give much thought to our own little lives, why should Li Dage take the trouble to worry about us? Li Jings eyes emitted deep emotions; he sighed and said, Then why do you guys keep calling me Li Dage? Some things can never be changed. Thinking about one day I might decide life and death on the battlefield with the two of you, its hard for me to dispel the burden in my heart. I seem to understand you two very well, but I also dont seem to understand you at all. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, That is because Li Dage and Kou Zhong are two entirely different types of people. On the surface, there seem to be a lot of simrities between you, such as putting high value on friendship, high aspirations in your hearts, et cetera. But the differences are a lot more. Li Dage ought to know that Kou Zhong is a natural adventurer; he would pick a particrly difficult thing to do, and he would change the impossible to be possible. Only by doing that would he derive pleasure. When I exined it like this, would Li Dage understand? Li Jing was stunned; he was silent for half a day, before slowly nodding his head to indicate that he understood. He gently said, I want to stay here alone and think about it carefully. Xu Ziling returned to the cabin. Sitting on the seat that Li Jing vacated, Tuli was chatting with Kou Zhong in low voices. The other guests in the cabin did not dare to look directly at Xu Ziling; obviously they already guessed that these three were not as simple as they appeared, so much so that they even guessed their true identity. The guest sitting next to Tuli saw Xu Ziling walking toward him, without being asked he gave up his seat and sat down where Xu Ziling was originally sitting. Seeing this, Xu Ziling did not know whether he shouldugh or cry; without any choice he thanked the guest and sat down by Tulis side. Meeting Kou Zhongs inquiring look, Xu Ziling nodded his head first, and then shook his head. Pointing to his own head, he said, He wants to think about it first. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Are we underestimating that kid Li Jiancheng? Xu Ziling only smiled wryly in response. They have already underestimated Li Yuanji, and did not consider Li Jiancheng worthy to be taken seriously, thinking that within the Li ns army in Changan, only Li Shimin, whose military merit stood at the top, upied the superior position. But just now, from the tone of Li Jings voice, they started to realize that the actual situation was apletely different matter. Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji stood hand-in-hand to fight Li Shimin, while behind them they had Li Yuans support. On top of that, there were Huang Gongcuo, Yang Xuyan, even martial art masters like Shi Zhixuan, helping them. Purely in term of strength, the Heavenly Policy Mansion was already at the disadvantageous position. But to Li Shimin, the unfavorable situation was more than this; because of Li Jianchengs status as the Crown Prince, Li Mi and Dugu Feng, who were harboring evil intentions, might possibly be willing to be his wingmen, so that together they could uproot Li Shimin, this big trouble. Xu Ziling asked Tuli, Is Ke Dazhi as formidable as Li Jing said? Showing grave expression, Tuli said, Ke Dazhi surrendering to Li Jiancheng must have happened after I left Guanzhong. I dare say that Xieli, or even Bi Xuan, was behind him, giving him instruction; otherwise, Ke Dazhi is a conceited man, how could he be willing to receive order from a Han? I have had friendly sparring against him, twice. Although on the surface we appeared to be evenly matched, I knew that he did not use his real skill. This mans Kuang Sha Dao Fa could only be described as deep and immeasurable. Xieli admires him and treats him with utmost courtesy. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, So it seems that even in impartial decisive battle, if each faction sends a man for a martial artpetition, our chance of getting defeated is greater than achieving victory, not to mention Li Jiancheng would never treat us ording to Jianghu rules. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Zilingughed and said, You dont need to be distressed over this matter. Because we dont have a chance to set foot in Changan even for half a step. A hard-to-describe, absurd and funny feeling welled up in Tulis heart; he blurted outughing and said, It would be better for you toe with me back to Mobei, to help me unifying the Tujue! The two smiled; naturally they knew that he was only joking, but they could also feel his sincerity. Putting his hand on Tulis shoulder, Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in his ear, If I cannot find the treasure and I am not dead, I will definitely go to Tujue to look for you. But you must not treat me with meager hospitality; at least you must appoint me to be the Ye Hu to satisfy my craving to be the prime minister. One word and its settled! Tuli affirmed. But then heughed and said, Now I sincerely wish that you wont find the treasure. Stretching out his limbs, Kou Zhong said, It seems that our whereabouts have already been leaked. When we disembark the ship, perhaps there will be arge army waiting for us on the shore. I wonder if we ought to get off a bit earlier? He has not even finished speaking, all of a sudden the ships speed slowed down considerably. The three you look at me I look at you, all felt that the turn of events was not too encouraging. Book 29 - 4 – Enemies Meet Chapter 4 C Enemies Meet Two warships wereing from behind; they pushed on to sail side-by-side with the passenger ship on the Yi River. By the time Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Tuli flew outside the cabin, unexpectedly Li Jing has disappeared without any trace. The warships sandwiching the passenger boat in the middle did not show any sign of with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent tense situation, they were merely forcing the passenger ship to reduce its speed. The sailors kept quiet out of fear; they only did as ordered. The gang leader in charge of the passenger ship came behind the three men and said with a low voice, That is Yang Shuais [Commander] personal ship. While the three were casting their nce toward the banner flying on the mast, Yang Gongqing strode out of the cabin and chuckled, Three gentlemen are passing through my humble territory, how could you not let Ol Yang do the honor as a host? Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong replied, Yang Gong [Duke, of simply honorable gentleman], I trust you have been well since west met. Raising his qi, he flew toward Yang Gongqings ship. Xu Ziling and Tuli had no choice but to follow closely behind. The warships increased their speed, in the blink of an eye they left the passenger ship far behind. After exchanging some pleasantries, Yang Gongqingughed and said, Zhushang [master/lord] heard that gentlemen came to the south, you dont know how anxious he is waiting for you. Kou Zhong casually responded, Is he anxious that we are not dead yet? Smiling wryly, Yang Gongqing replied, Shao Shuai must not misunderstand; lets go inside the cabin to continue our discussion. As soon as they stepped into the cabin, Yang Gongqing immediately dismissed his attendants. After seated properly, Yang Gongqing held back his smiling expression, and said with a cold snort, Wang Shichong is useless in utilizing people, he only bestowed title to his rtives, employing them for personal reasons. He fails to live up to expectation and is unworthy to receive Shao Shuais help in obtaining superior advantage. Nowadays the Li Family might attack to the east at any moment, its only natural that only now he remembers all kinds of benefit from having Shao Shuai under his service. Kou Zhong did not expect Yang Gongqing to be this affectionate and true toward them and candidly told them this matter. Raising his cup to toast, he said, Let this kid salute Yang Gong one cup. Tuli also offered a toast, Yang Gongqing is indeed a good man. Wang Shichong has Yang Gong, yet he does not know how to treat you well, he is bound not to end well. The four men loudly toasted each other, each one with his own thoughts and feelings. Tuli said, If the Tang Army attacked immediately, what does Yang Gong think about your chances of winning or losing? Yang Gongqing tly replied, Unless its Li Shimin himself inmand, in which case they still have a chance of sess, otherwise the Tang Army would retreat withoutunching any attack. The three were emotionally moved. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Isnt Yang Gong contradicting yourself? Just now you said because Wang Shichong does not know how to utilize people, he would eat his own bitter fruit, but now you seem to elevate his weight [i.e. importance]. Yang Gongqing said, I was referring to Wang Shichongs sitting and wasting a good opportunity. If he were willing to entrust the heavy responsibility to Shao Shuai, taking advantage of the very moment he acquiredrge quantities of soldiers, generals, provision, armor, and horses from the Wagang Army, taking advantage of Xue Ju, father and son, attacking the Tang Army and threatening their back C to charge straight toward Guanzhong, so that the Li n was facing the enemies from front and back, then perhaps he would be able to seize the opportunity to capture Changan. Too bad his jealousy toward people of talent was too strong, so he only knew how to consolidate the oue of the battle. By the time Xue Ju, father and son, were defeated by Li Shimin, it was already toote for regret. How could Old Zhang and I not be disheartened? Old Zhang was another great general under Wang Shichongsmand, Zhang Zhenzhou, with whom Kou Zhong was quite familiar. Listening to Yang Gongqing directly calling Wang Shichongs name without showing any respect, they knew that the rtionship between Wang Shichong and him has turned nasty and reached the point where it was difficult to mend. Xu Ziling asked in bewilderment, Now the Li ns momentum is flourishing greatly, plus they have no threat from the west, why is Yang Gong still confident that Wang Shichong has the strength to resist the Tang? Yang Gongqing said, Although the Tang Army is flourishing, Wang Shichong recently acquired more than a hundred thousand Wagang Armys generals and soldiers. The surrendering generals include Shan Xiongxin, Qin Shubao, Cheng Zhijie, and the others; all are hard-toe-by military talents. The most important thing is that the city of Luoyang is a world-ss stronghold; it is easy to defend. Moreover, it has flying stone, divine cannon, and powerful crossbow that can shoot up to five hundred paces. The city defense is entirely under themand of Wang Shichongs rtives; how could as soon as they wanted to attack, the Tang Army easily attack? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, In my opinion, that is not the case. Ay! Does Wang Shichong really want to see me? Will he setup another ambush to kill me? Yang Gongqing said, Probably not. Right now he is most anxious about the Tang Armying to the east. He has given me and Old Zhang his personal guarantee that he wont harm Shao Shuai, otherwise, how could I, Yang Gongqing, be willing to be his aplice in such a despicable, shameless, shady business? Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, As long as he is willing to listen to me, I guarantee that he wont dare to touch half a hair on my body. Where is Qin Shubao now? Xu Ziling asked. He ought to be in Luoyang, Yang Gongqing replied. Kou Zhongughed and said, Finally we are going to meet old friends. And then he reached out to wrap his arm around Tulis shoulders, winked, and said withugh, Perhaps I could arrange an eight-man sedan chair with men striking the gongs and beating the drums to send Khan off to his old home. Ha! The two warships docked by the pier outside the city of Luoyang. Yang Gongqing dispatch his men on fast horse to notify Wang Shichong, asking him to get out of the city to meet them. This was the course of action that Yang Gongqing and Kou Zhong, three men, decided after some deliberation. Otherwise, if Wang Shichong ate his own words and used them of mistakenly entering the city, it would be difficult for them to escape. While Xu Ziling and Tuli went up to the deck to enjoy the magnificent city scenery of the Eastern Capital under the setting sun, Kou Zhong could not help asking Yang Gongqing about Li Xiuning. Naturally Yang Gongqing did not know Kou Zhongs rtionship with Li Xiuning; he thought that Kou Zhong wanted to know the situation inside and outside the Pass. Sighing, he said, That was the reason I said that you have arrived in time; otherwise I am afraid Wang Shichong is still unwilling to bow and admit his errors to you. Li Xiuning is obviouslying on behalf of the Li n to C for thest time C persuade us to surrender. If we refuse to give in, the Tang Army will invade our territory inrge-scale military expedition. Because of the urgency of this situation, Wang Shichong has no choice but to draw support from you guys. Otherwise, while Tang Army is pressing toward Luoyang, and your Shao Shuai Army also seizing the opportunity to attack, Luoyang will be in grave danger. Because another problem came to his mind, Kou Zhong temporarily set Li Xiuning aside; he asked, Wasnt Dong Shuni given to Li Yuan as his imperial concubine? If the two armies were at war, what would she do? Yang Gongqing replied, Married woman follows her husband; situation like Shunis has been around since ancient times, whats so big deal about it? I hear Li Yuan loves and dotes on Shuni, no less than the other two beloved imperial concubines Zhang Jieshu and Yin Defei, plus she receives Li Jianchengs support in secret. In the Tang Pce, if she wants wind, shell get wind, if she wants rain, shell get rain, so why would she care whether Lao Tian [God/Heavens] is about to copse or not? From Dong Shuni, Kou Zhong recalled Rong Jiaojiao; from Rong Jiaojiao, he remembered Rong Fengxiangs Pi Chen yaodao [demonic Taoist]. He asked, Has Rong Fengxiang returned to Luoyang? Hows his current rtionship with Wang Shichong? Did Yang Gong tell Wang Shichong that Rong Fengxiang is Lao Jun Guans Pi Chen old demon in disguise? In the past, Pi Chen sent Priest Ke Feng as his spy to help Li Mi and Dugu n assassinating Wang Shichong; their mission nearly seeded. Yang Gongqing angrily said, I dont know what trick Rong Fengxiang is ying, he made Crown Prince Xuanying mediating for him strongly, resulting in Rong Fengxiangpensating him withrge quantities of property, but he still maintains good rtionship with Wang Shichong. Only three days ago he, father and daughter, returned from the south. When you see Wang Shichong, it would be best not to mention this matter. Otherwise, not only it would be difficult for Wang Shichong to get off the hook, Crown Prince Xuanying might be greatly displeased. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, No wonder they, father and son, greatly lost the heart of the people! Standing on the bow, Xu Ziling and Tuli were looking into the distance at the towering Luoyang City in front of them. Thinking about the perilous journey they took to get in here, there was some kind of joy after passing through a heavily dangerous ce. The sun was setting behind the mountain ranges on their left, red clouds scattered around the sky, enhancing the remarkable atmosphere of this grand city, which other cities could not supersede. Xu Ziling suddenly asked, Arent Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang merely Xielisckeys? Revealing a disdainful expression, Tuli replied, You can say that. This man Liu Wuzhou is known to be unstable; in the old days, he was a military officer at the Ying Yang Fu [lit. raising eagle mansion] of Ma Yi. Ma Yis Taishou Wang [king/prince governor (of a province)] Ren Gong valued him highly, and had personally promoted him. Who would have thought that not only he had sexual affairs with Ren Gongs concubine; during famine, he ndered Ren Gong, saying he was unwilling to release the grain to the aid of the hungry. After arousing public outrage, he colluded with Ying Yang Pai disciple to attack and kill Ren Gong. His conduct was disgraceful and vited justice. To us, it would be best if this kind of person stays in the Central ins and stirs up trouble here. Hey! Why did you ask about him? Xu Ziling said, I just wanted to know their rtionship with Xieli; furthermore, I wanted to know if Wang Shichong and Liu Wuzhou have formed an alliance. Otherwise, Khan would only get out of a dangerous situation to enter another dangerous situation. Obtaining sudden understanding, Tuli said, Zilings thought is indeed thorough. In order to curry Liu Wuzhous favor, Wang Shichong, this despicable lowly man C might betray me, or secretly tell Liu Wuzhou to kill me along the way. This way, Wang Shichong could push the me and clean himself of any guilt. Xu Ziling said, Listening to the tone of Yang Gongqings words, we could safely say that Wang Shichong still feel secure in the knowledge that he has backing. It may be assumed that that backing is precisely Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang. One more day they are still watching from the side like a tiger watching its prey, one more day the Tang Army would not dare to get out of Guanzhong toe here. Therefore, Wang Shichong cant possibly offend Liu and Song, two men for Kou Zhongs sake, while Liu and Song would not dare to go against their big backer, Xielis wishes. Tuli asked in heavy voice, Does Ziling want to point out that this situation before our eyes is just a trap that Wang Shichong is setting up against me? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Wang Shichong would never dare to make his move to deal with you in the Eastern Capital. Because such a stupid operation is just not worth it, since it might provoke retaliation from Khans rtives, but also would make me and Kou Zhong his mortal enemy, while also give rise to resentment in the hearts of the great generals in his own headquarters like Yang Gongqing, Zhang Zhenzhou, and the others. To him, it has a hundred harms without a single benefit. The best thing he can do in the circumstances is still like what Khan just said, secretly notifying Liu Wuzhou, let them ambush and kill you en route, carrying out the trick of injuring himself to gain the enemys confidence again, letting his own side lose a few men, then nobody would be suspicious of him! Tuli sighed and said, Zilings brain is truly formidable. Ill say your spection is eighty-, ny-percent, if not nearly a hundred-percent urate. Hence the reason this traitor Wang Shichong would bow and bend his knee toe and asking for help. This way it actually is advantageous to us; we could beat him at his own game, we could calmly deal with him. Ay! Thinking about the trials and tribtions we went through, and then suddenly I have to leave, it really makes me hate to do it. Casting his gaze on thest trace of the glorious light disappearing behind the western hill, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Day and month pass, human affairs shift and change, as long as Kou Zhong and I are not dead, there wille a day we will meet again. I hope it wont be we are facing each other on the battlefield! As thenterns were lit, a ship came out of the Eastern Capital, sailing with the current toward them. Finally Wang Shichong received the news and arrived. Apanied by his two sons Wang Xuanying and Wang Xuanshu, this old fox Wang Shichong deliberately wore casual clothes. He climbed aboard to meet Kou Zhong, three men. Among his attendants, they did not detect any martial art masters lying in ambush. When he met Kou Zhong, he put on a guilty expression on his face, ming himself for being confused by lowly men, and momentarily lost his reason, so that he acted in nearly a forgetting-favors-and-viting-justice manner, but in the end he pushed all the me to Li Shimin. Naturally the three did not uncover him; after some feigned civility, Kou Zhong expressed his desire to have private talk with the three of them, father and sons. Upon entering the cabin and after sitting properly in host/guest position, Kou Zhong said with augh, Just by looking at Shengshangs expression, I know that Shengshang already have a card up you sleeve concerning the Tang Army marching out of Guanzhong. I wonder if Kou Zhong is wrong? Before Wang Shichong responded, Wang Xuanying proudly said, Speaking about momentum, Tang Army is still far below the Wagang Army of the past. Although they can establish a kingdom and proim themselves hegemon in Guanzhong, how could they show off in here? In the past, Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin came to attack Luoyang, didnt they end up returning with head and face filthy with grime? Hearing that, Kou Zhong could only stare nkly at him with eyes opened wide. Wang Xuanying seemed to havepletely forgotten whom they were relying on when they defeated Li Mi that day; he spoke with rising ze as if all the merit was his. Obviously Wang Shichong was a bit embarrassed; he cast a rebuking nce toward Wang Xuanying before saying, Naturally we do not dare to underestimate the enemy. But due to their battle against Xue Ju, father and son, the Li Familys strength has suffered greatly. For the time being, they dont have enough power to invade our territory. However, we are currently making preparation with all our strength, tightening our formation to wait. In the past, Wang Xuanshu had been with Kou Zhong during the decisive battle against Li Mi at Yanshi, he knew Kou Zhongs brilliant exploit more than anybody else. His tender face blushing slightly, he showed an ashamed look as he hung his head down. Wang Xuanying still had not fully expressed himself; he went on, Although the Li n no longer has any threat from the west, breaking our Eastern Capital is just an idiots dream. Were it not for Kou Zhong would never allow Luoyang to fall into Li Shimins hands, this moment he would have stormed off in a huff. Too bad Eastern Capital Luoyangs significance was simply too great, its implication reached Bashu, the key to attacking the south, and the control of the strategic strongholds along the upper reaches of the Great River. Because of that, he had no choice but to suppress his temper and just sat there, listening to the father and son thoroughlyying out the pros and cons. While he was still thinking, Wang Shichong said, I already knew that Kou Xiongdi is not just a fish in the moat, but I never expected that in such a short period of time Kou Xiongdi is able to establish the Shao Shuai Army in Pengliang, which name shook the heavens, and was able to break Du Fuwei and Shen Faxings coalition army at Jiangdu first, and then broke Xiao Xian, Zhu Can and Cao Yinglongs allied armies at the Ju River [sic, in Book 22 Chapter 12 it was Zhang River]. Such military sess, Li Shimin would find it difficult to match. As long as Shao Shuai is willing to relinquish former hatred and no longer bother about the silly thing that I, Wang Shichong did, we could form an alliance, and then why should we be afraid of insignificant Tang Army? Kou Zhong was well aware that his own Shao Shuai Army was still verycking, it was not worth Wang Shichongs consideration. What he was looking for was Kou Zhongs ability and wisdom and prestige. That day Wang Shichong intended to kill him but failed, his reputation suffered a big blow, plus it made his subordinates to see through his natural instincts of being envious toward talents. If he could restore good rtionship with Kou Zhong, naturally it would be greatly beneficial to his declining reputation. Moreover, he would not have to station massive military force to defend the eastern front, which would bring him a hundred benefits without a single harm. After all, nobody, Li Shimin included, would want to have formidable opponent as terrifying as Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Smiling slightly, Kou Zhong said, On the surface it appears that the Great Zheng would make our elite troops even more solid. But if Li Shimin personally led the attack, the situation might not be as optimistic as Crown Prince Xuanying imagined. An angry look flitted across Wang Xuanyings face, but he quickly suppressed his displeasure; controlling his temper, he asked in heavy voice, Why did Shao Shuai utter this remark? Wang Shichong had deep knowledge of Kou Zhongs outstanding intelligence, he revealed a waiting-with-full-attention expression. Kou Zhong calmly said, If I were Li Shimin, I would lead my main forces from Guanzhong straight toward Henan. Using force against force, I would subdue the major strongholds on the Eastern Capitals western front, simply to force your honorable side to retreat and defend Luoyang. Afterwards I would carryout divisive tactic, by hook or by crook, by making threats and promises, to recruit the defending generals of the Eastern Capitals surrounding cities, big and small, to surrender to me. Crown Prince Xuanying, how much chance do you think you still have to hold Luoyang? Wang Shichong and Wang Xuanshus countenance immediately changed. It should be noted that because Wang Shichong appointed his rtives for important positions, it caused heavy internal friction within his political power; not only he lost the popr support, it also escted or started internal struggle among different factions. On the other hand, Li Shimins reputation has always been ster. Merely his ability to handle Li Mi has earned him the worlds admiration. On top of that, he enjoyed the Buddhists and Taoists, the two schools supporting his back, so he really had great opportunity to win overrge quantities of Wang Shichongs soldiers and generals who were at odds with him, without even need to spend one soldier, a single pawn. Wang Shichong wanted to renew old cordial rtions with Kou Zhong, it was precisely to use this as a pretext to stabilize his troops morale. Therefore, Kou Zhongs analysis really hit Wang Shichongs vital part. But how could Wang Xuanying be willing to concede? Forging ahead vigorously, he said, The longer Li Shimin fails to take the Eastern Capital, the greater the possibility that he will not win this battle. By the time his troops and generals are tired and weary, the casualties are disastrous, we could deploy sudden counterattack to make him easy toe, difficult to leave. After a short pause, he continued, This is, of course, assuming that he is able to force us to retreat and defend Luoyang; otherwise, everything will be a moot point. Wang Xuanshu could not help saying, Li Shimin is an expert in cavalry battle; there is no battle that he did not prevail. If we put our main force outside the city to contend against him, we will be in the situation where we will grow weak while the enemy will grow strong. Wang Shichong nodded his head in agreement; he said, Xuanshu is right. And then, turning to Kou Zhong, he said, However, even if the Tang Army were ten times stronger than ours, to break through Luoyang is not an easy matter at all. Shao Shuai, what do you think about it? Kou Zhong cast a praising look toward Wang Xuanshu; he said, Only a fool would try to shake Luoyang by force. By the time your honorable side retreat and defend Luoyang, if I were Li Shimin, I would take Yique in the south, surround Henei in the north, and then separately attack Luowei and Huiluo, these two major strategic towns. I would have my main army stationed on Mount Qiu in the north, and thuspleting the encirclement around the Eastern Capital, severing all supply routes, so that your honorable side would be caught in isted, could-only-take-a-beating predicament. When he was dealing with Li Mi in the past, he spent painstaking effort in studying the terrain around Luoyang and its vicinity; together with Yang Gongqing and the others, he researched it over and over, so that he knew what is true and what is false, as well as the strength and the weakness C of the city of Luoyang like the back of his hand, and was able to express it eloquently, so that even if Wang Xuanying wanted to debate him, he was left speechless. Wang Shichongs countenance changed again, but he quickly recovered, and then he calmlyughed and said, Based on the Li Familys current military strength, I am afraid it would still be difficult for them to achieve what Shao Shuai has just described. The strategy that Kou Zhong used to deal with Wang Shichong could be summed up in one move, intimidation. Just likest time, he must make him believe that disaster was pressing in on his eyshes; only then would he be able to use Wang Shichong as a useful chess piece in his hand to deal with Li Shimin. Otherwise, if the Eastern Capital fell, his Shao Shuai Army would lose their barrier on the northwest. And then, before he had the opportunity to regroup, the Great Tang would wipe them out like a hot knife through butter. Kou Zhong casually remarked, Does Shengshang think that Li Shimins power is not enough to deal with your and Liu Wuzhous allied armies, hence you feel secure in the knowledge that you have backing? A shocked expression flitted through Wang Shichongs face but it faded just as quickly. With a smile to conceal the horror in his heart, he spoke calmly and indifferently, My Great Zheng has no diplomatic rtion with his established Yang Khanate; we are enemies without friendly rtion. Why did Shao Shuai think that I would join hands with Liu Wuzhou to fight the Tang? Seeing Wang Shichongs expression, Kou Zhong was even more convinced thatst time Song JinGang came to Luoyang, it was to strike secret agreement with Wang Shichong. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, Even if you, both sides, do not have a contract of alliance, when the martial art masters of the Li ns native ce stabbed and injured Li Shimin, Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang sent their troops to attack the Tang. Too bad he was defeated too quickly. This time, if Li Shimin attacked Luoyang, Liu and Song would definitely not sit and watch idly, in order to avoid missing another opportunity; who would have thought that they would do exactly what Li kid has expected all along? As the three men, father and sons, who were listening respectfully, heard thest sentence, they could not help revealing shocked expression. Without giving them time to ponder over, Kou Zhong suddenly, seemingly nonchntly, asked, When Rong Fengxiang, apanied by his daughter, returned from the south after failing the general assembly of trade andmerce organizations, did he ever tell Shengshang that Du Fuwei has already surrendered to the Li Family? Finally Wang Shichong lost his cool-headedness. What? he blurted out. Inwardly Kou Zhong heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that after some exhaustive arguments,bined with tactics to attack the heart, he was finally able to move this top hypocritical, despicable old foxs heart. Book 29 - 5 – Door Like The Market Chapter 5 C Door Like The Market Following Kou Zhongs request, Wang Shichong did not make Kou Zhongs arrival in the Eastern Capital public; he arranged a small courtyard at the Zeshan Lane on the south side of the city, right next to Bijin Canal, so their backyard opened into the river, with a small dock on it, where a small skiff was provided for the three mens use. If going on foot, in just the time to drink a cup of hot tea they would reach the Tianjin Bridge on the Heavenly Street connecting the north and south of the city; it term of traffic, the location was very convenient. They tactfully declined Wang Shichongs offer to have someonee to wait upon them, they were hoping to be able to rest quietly, to recover their strength after the weariness of the journey. Yang Gongqing personally brought food and drink, as well as new clothes, for them. After agreeing to meet the next day at the House of Dong Restaurant to have breakfast with Zhang Zhenzhou, he immediately took his leave. After taking a bath and changed, they satfortably in the main hall to eat and drink and chat andugh in total bliss. After Kou Zhong recounting his conversation with Wang Shichong, father and sons, three men, Tuli sighed and said, Frankly speaking, when you dealt big blow on Li Mi in the past, Shimin and I still thought that you, Kou Zhong relied on seventy-percent luck, and only thirty-percent real skill. After that you defeated Yuwen Huaji, disrupted Du and Shen coalition army, and then dealt Xiao Xian, Zhu Can and Cao Yinglong a crushing defeat, we believed you were using trick to seed. Only after hearing how tonight you scared Wang Shichong about the strategy that Tang Army would use to attack Luoyang that I came to realize that you, Kou Zhong, are a real talent in military affairs. It is like you received Heavens instruction, able to casually spit out strategy, which others would not be able toe up even if they think until their brains split. If Wang Shichong is willing to give the full control of the military to you, when you and Shimin Xiong are in a face off, to whom the deer falls [i.e. the victor] will remain to be seen. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong responded, He does not even trust his own loyal and devoted great generals, much less me? Xu Ziling asked, Have you talked with him about Khans situation? Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong replied, Really strange, unexpectedly he was the one taking the initiative to bring the subject up; moreover, he was showing an unusually positive outlook. But when I proposed to have Yang Gongqing escorting Khan back to Mobei, he said that he had made other arrangement. I wonder what crooked idea this old fox is ying. Tuli cast an admiring nce toward Xu Ziling; he then exined Xu Zilings analysis to Kou Zhong. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, No matter what, Ling Shaos heart is a clear water; I had never thought that far. Wang Shichong arranged for you to leave tomorrow night. What should we do about it? And then he added, No wonder he denied tly any association with Liu Wuzhou, Song JinGang; it was precisely because he is afraid that I might grow suspicious. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, One time you told Wang Shichong to form an alliance with Dou Jiande, what did that old fox say about it? Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong said, I did make insinuations and asked him, but he would not say anything. Ha! He ought to be very busy tonight! I really want to go to Rong Mansion to see how he is punishing him. Shaking his head, Tuli said, In Luoyang, Rong Fengxiangs power has sturdy stem and deep roots; although he still needs to rely on Wang Shichong, this moment Wang Shichong is keyed up, so how could he support him now? My guess is that Wang Shichong must be suppressing his anger temporarily;ter on he will settle the ount with Rong Fengxiang. This time it was Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings turn to have their countenance changed. The reason Kou Zhong wanted to sow dissension in front of Wang Shichong was simply because of Rong Fengxiang, father and daughters dubious position; not only they seemed to be Yin Gui Pais allies, they were linked in countless ways with Yang Xuyan as well. If Rong Fengxiang could maintain his power in Luoyang, it would only bring harm without any benefit for the two boys. Supposing he could draw Shi Zhixuan or Zhu Yuyan, these two great demonic schools top-notch martial art masters toe to deal with them, it would be greatly disadvantageous to the two boys. They would be lying if they said that they were not afraid. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Khans analysis is not without any reason. In my opinion, Wang Xuanyings infatuation toward Rong Yaonu runs deep; perhaps even this moment he is inside her fragrant and warm nket, confiding with Rong Yaonu all our secrets. Tuliughed aloud and said, Speaking about nket and women, I am having high interest right now. I wonder if this is called when your belly is full, your body warm, you are think about [sexual] desire? Xu Ziling raised his cup to toast him and said with augh, I have no problem with drinking, but if Khan is proposing a visit to the [low-grade] brothel, please forgive Xiaodi for not able to keep youpany. You may plead Shao Shuai, this brave man, who since his youth has always had big pleasure-house dream C to apany you. Picking up his cup, Kou Zhong feigned hurt as he said, Does Ling Shao want to harm me? You ought to know that you and I have the same pleasure-house luck. Not a single visit to the pleasure house yields a good result, including thest time where Zhu Yaofus trap nearly seeded. Amidst theughter, the three clinked their cups and drank their fill, thinking about from the Han River to this ce their journey was riddled in dangers yet they arrived here alive, which made them feel that moments like this were precious. Bang! Bang! Bang! Someone banged the outer courtyard gate, creating earth-shattering noise, especially since whoever it was banged on the door directly without using the knocker at all, so that it was extremely startling. The three looked at each other; they could not think of anybody who would be that brazen. A straightforward voice called out from the outside, Qin Ye [master] Shubao is here! Why havent you opened the door? And then Qin Shubaos voice said, Old Cheng, cant you be a bit quieter? Whod like to listen to your broken-gong-like voice? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly delighted. They had just opened the door, from far away Qin Shubao and another big man already leaped over the wall; their body emitted the smell of wine, and they were indescribably excited. Rushing over the stone steps, Qin Shubao opened his arms wide like a giant roc spreading its wings and pulled the two boys tightly into his embrace, whileughing aloud and said, Who would have thought that the two clear-headed kids without a penny to their name whom I met long time ago in the wilderness unexpectedly be the men of the moment who are able to move unhindered around the world? You, these two kids, really dont have any yiqi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice]; you managed to escape every day, yet you let me fell into that poniang, Shen Luoyans hands, to be captured alive and had to work like an ox, to work like a horse for her? Seeing this brave man, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings blood were boiling as well; they also hugged him back and pped his shoulders, as if only by hugging each other like that would they be able to express the fire in their hearts. The former said with augh, We have the desire butck the power to proceed. But we already pulled your boss down, isnt that the same as letting you escape from the abyss of suffering? The man who came with Qin Shubao impatiently grumbled, Laozi came with you here instead of sleeping with a woman in my arms, but you are engrossed in talking about former times instead of introducing me; his granny, you are not a good friend. Letting the two boys go, Qin Shubao frowned and said, I told you I wanted toe alone, but you insisted oning with me. Xiao Zhong, Xiao Ling, this is Cheng Yaojin[1] who defeated ten thousand enemies with five hundred troops. The two boys had heard his name many times; they had profound impression toward him. First of all, his name was strange, so that it was easy to remember, secondly, he was a famous fierce general, so they already knew him by his reputation. Focusing their attention on him, they saw this man was sturdy and muscr, his physique was like an iron tower, his upper arms wide, his waist round, his face was rather ugly, but it exuded a deep sincerity and straightforwardness, so that his overall appearance was quite pleasant. Dissatisfied, Cheng Yaojin said, I have changed my name to Cheng Zhijie, no longer Cheng Yaojin; watch out or Ill beat your stinky mouth. While Qin Shubao was roaring inughter, Cheng Yaojin stretched out his thick and solid palm to shake hands with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, while cheerfully said, I love to make friends with heroes and towering figures the most. Old Qin has repeatedly told me about how he met you; today finally we can meet each other! Come! Lets go for a drink! Tuli appeared from the main door; he said with augh, If you want to drink, why dont youe inside? Three rounds of wer, the atmosphere was zing even hotter. Five men felt familiarity at first sight; enhanced by a few cups of yellow soup going down their belly, there were not enough words to be said to each other, all misgivings were thrown out the window. Cheng Yaojinughed and said to Tuli, I actually dont like you guys, Tujue Dazi[2], but seeing how you spit words easily, plus you are Xiao Ling and Xiao Zhongs brother, while also remembering that Dazi are just like us, Han people, where there are good and bad people, there are gentlemen and vile characters, I am willing to sit down and drink with you. Who would have thought that the more I look at you, the more pleasing to the eye you are? Let me toast you, LaoGe one cup. Tuli did not know whether he ought tough or to cry. Smiling wryly, he epted his toast. Fortunately Tuli was also most appreciative toward this kind of straightforward, tough guy who did not mince his words; hence he did not take offense. Qin Shubao served the meat and vegetable dishes into everybodys bowl, and said with augh, Just now this fellow Old Cheng and I went to the [low-grade] brothel for some fun, but when each of us had a girl tightly in our arms, Yang Gongqings messenger came to notify us that the three of you had just arrived. Since I have enough yiqi, I immediately retreat bravely from the torrent toe here to see you guys. Sneering, Cheng Yaojin said, I clearly heard you from the neighboring room, in less than three rounds you alreadyy down the g and still the drums; what horn are you tooting? Qin Shubao responded with a straight face, Turns out you were only listening without doing anything. No wonder when knocking on the door your temper was boiling. While everybody wasughing their head off, Qin Shubao sighed and said, Tonight we must enjoy his mothers fun, because by dusk tomorrow, Old Cheng and I received order to escort somebody going to Bei Jiang [North of Xinjiang]. It is very unfortunate. Kou Zhong sobered up immediately. He exchanged a nce with Xu Ziling and Tuli. Dont you know whom you are going to escort? Tuli asked in heavy voice. Seeing the unusual expression on the three mens face, Cheng Yaojin said in astonishment, Wang Shichong said that just before we set off, he will tell us the route up north we must take, and whom we are going to escort. Whats wrong? Qin Shubao added, We received the imperial order from the Crown Prince Xuanying this evening, telling us to report to the headquarters tomorrow to await orders and set off. Thinking about the lonely journey, we decided to take advantage of the time we have tonight to have some fun. What is your impression on Wang Shichong? Xu Ziling asked. Cheng Yaojin replied in disdain, He is worse than Li Mi, that kid Wang Xuanying is not like a human being even more. Thinking about him made me angry. Has anybodye to persuade you to abandon Wang Shichongtely? Kou Zhong asked. Stunned, Qin Shubao said, How did you know? Shen Luoyan dide to Luoyang, lobbying us to rejoin Li Mi, but we declined. This matter ought to be confidential. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Of course you would not speak up, but Shen Luoyan deliberately leaked it out to force you to rebel. This is called driving-a-wedge-between-allies scheme. Cheng Yaojin was furious, Shen Luoyan is really despicable, he roared. Kou Zhong said, Wang Shichong is an even bigger , because he wanted to kill you guys. Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao were stunned. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Tuli said, The person Wang Shichong wanted you to escort is precisely the insignificant Zaixia. This is called lending somebody a knife to kill someone, the knife happens to belong to Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang. Kou Zhong was about to exin, when a womans voice came from the dock behind the rear courtyard, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, get the hell out here for me. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, you slowly exin to two LaoGe, I need to console Li Dages good wife for him; just consider I have enough yiqi! Hong Funu looked a bit thinner, but she still looked bright. Standing at the top of the stone steps extending toward the river, she stared at Kou Zhong with a gaze that was as cold as frost and snow. Where is Li Jing? she asked heavily. Inwardly Kou Zhong was speechless; knowing her fiery temper, if he was not careful, they might end up fighting, while he knew clearly that he must not injure her. Facing her whisk, in which her mastery that has reached perfection, was definitely very difficult. [Reminder: Hong Funu literally means red brush/whiskdy] Thereupon he hastily smiled apologetically and said, Dasaos [big sister-inw] information is indeed fast and abundant. We had just arrived here, our butts have not even warmed the chairs yet, you already knew and came here to look for us. Pity we still think that our whereabouts is a secret. Sneering, Hong Funu said, Dont call me Dasao; if you are really Li Jings brother, you cant possibly implicate him so that he would not obey Qin Wangs order and cross a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers to look for you, these two fellows who believe yourselves infallible. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Who believes oneself infallible? Hey! I didnt say that you, Dasao ... Hong Funu cut him off, Less nonsense. Where actually is Li Jing? she asked. Kou Zhong hastily exined his encounter with Li Jing. Hong Funu was clearly relieved; her gaze softened a little. She stared fixedly at him, sizing him up and down a couple of time. An amazed look shed through her eyes; using a milder tone she said, You knew that cooperating with Wang Shichong is like conspiring with a tiger to get its skin. Wasnt it enough to learn your lesson likest time? Kou Zhong humbly nodded his head and said, Dasaos lesson is right; we will be careful! Hong Funus voice turned gentle, she spoke sincerely and earnestly, In present situation, your desire to enter Changan secretly is more difficult than ascending into the Heaven. Taking out arge quantity of articles and weaponry under Crown Prince Jianchengs all-out guarding against you is even more difficult above difficult. Ay! What should I say so that you would be willing to dispel this idea? Qin Wang has always been regarding you as intimate close friend, and it hasnt changed even until now, yet you put him in a spot where he has no room to advance or to retreat, and you make your Dage cannot sleep peacefully at night. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This is called everybody has his own aspiration. If I had a choice, how could I wish for Shimin Xiong as en enemy? But if Xiao Ling and I can really snatch the treasure and go back under Jiancheng, Yuanjis nk stare, it would only bring benefit to Qin Wang without any harm. Hong Funus countenance turned cold; she spoke indifferently, Are you still so arrogant that you think you could create a miracle again? I hear that just the collection of books in the treasure is already more than a dozen carts; weapons are in tens of thousands. Even if nobody is paying attention and the city gate is wide open, I am afraid that one day is not enough to transport all that many stuffs, yet you still think that you could steal the treasure and slip away; arent you just being carried away by your wishful thinking? Even if you could infiltrate Changan with the-gods-do-not-know-the-ghosts-do-not-perceive, you would eventually reveal your track, and in the end it would only lead you to your death. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, I know that Dasao meant well, but I am the kind of person who, the more impossible it is, the more interested I am to try; otherwise, I would not have defeated Li Mi, and until now I have not given up my little life. Hong Funu stared at him nkly for half a day; suddenly she hung her head low and softly said, Listening to the tone of your voice, it does not seem like you still harbor a grudge against your Li Dage? Remembering Susu, Kou Zhongs heart ached, he said dejectedly, Why should I hate him? Su Jie already left this mortal life! Hong Funus tender body slightly shook, Susu is dead? she blurted out. Kou Zhong did not want to talk about Susu, he said, You can ask Li Dage on the details. In my opinion, he must be in town. Dasao, please advise him to return to Changan! Ask him not to pay attention to us anymore. Hong Funu wanted to say something but then hesitated; in the end she left without saying anything. When he returned to the hall, the four men stopped talking, their eyes fell on Kou Zhongs heavy expression. Kou Zhong sat down and forced augh, She has left! he said. How did she know we are here? Tuli asked. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong replied, She didnt say, but it looks like our so-called secret nest is actually known to everyone, the problem is that our arrival was too publicized. Hey! What bird were you talking about? His vulgarnguage made Cheng Yaojins mood soaring high; with coarse voice and rough emotion he said, His grannys useless; that muddled ruler Wang Shichong has the impertinence to harm Laozi, I will make him bag his food before he finished eating. Tuliughed and said, I made the decision that I am not leaving. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Khan is just joking, Qin Shubao said, Old Cheng and I have decided toe with Khan to his native ce to take a look, to study why their riding tactics are more formidable than ours. Feeling relieved, Kou Zhongughed and said, Khan is not afraid these two fellows stealing your secret and in the future use it against you? Tuli proudly said, There are things that cannot be stolen. Xu Ziling was afraid Cheng Yaojin would refuse to concede and would argue; he promptly changed the subject, We decided to beat them at their own game; two LaoGe might seize this opportunity to leave Wang Shichong, and they wont turn back. Qin Shubao told Kou Zhong, Didnt you establish something like Shao Shuai Army? In my opinion, youd better disband it. Under present situation, no matter how you, Kou Zhong, are an outstanding hero, your intelligence and courage surpasses other, you can only apany the Crown Prince studying, you wont be able to aplish anything. In the south, only Jiangdu could withstand for a while. Nobody expected that Qin Shubao would suddenlyunch a surprise attack and speak candidly. They all quieted down to see how Kou Zhong would react. Qin Shubao was a famous general, proficient in strategy and the art of war; naturally his opinion carried some weight. At the same time, he also made clear that although he and Cheng Yaojin were leaving Wang Shichong, they could not possibly join Kou Zhongs Shao Shuai Army just for friendships sake. Kou Zhong calmly said, Lets just wait and see! Cheng Yaojin forcefully pped Kou Zhongs shoulder; he rose up to his full height and said, Good kid, you have guts. Qin Shubao alsoughed and stood up; he said, Due to Khans matter, it is inappropriate for us to stay long; plus Old Cheng and I both have brothers who will live and die together with us to apany us, so we need time to make arrangements. Dang! Dang! Another knock came from the courtyard gate. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, This is called our door is like the marketce. Tuli got up and said, Ill take them out from the waterway at the back, you and Ziling go see whosing. Everybody went their separate ways. Kou Zhong went to the west gate alone. He had just opened the courtyard gate, a powerful burst of energy, which made Kou Zhongs breathing stopped, came from a punch assaulting his face. Kou Zhong roared, while also sending a punch out. Two streams of punch wind collided, creating a loud bang. [1] Cheng Yaojin (589-665) is a real historical character, a general of the Tang dynasty. [2] Dazi, Tatar, a tribe in China, but it could be used to refer to any non-Han ethnicity. Book 29 - 6 – Treating One Another With Absolute Sincerity Chapter 6 C Treating One Another With Absolute Sincerity Suppressing his surging blood and qi, Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Wangzis [prince/son of a king] first meeting gift is not something that everybody could enjoy. The visitor was surprisingly Tuyuhun prince Fu Qian. This time he came alone, and the clothes he wore was casual, everyday Han attire, it waspletely different from thest time they met at the Eastern Capital, where he had people heralding his presence in front and thronging behind him. With dragon-walk-and-tiger-step and imposing momentum Fu Qian walked into the front courtyard, his zing eyes swept toward the direction of the main door, he spoke in astonishment, Where are Ziling Xiong and Tuli Khan? Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well,unching the Chess Abundant of the Eight Methods of the Well, he sent a saber chop across the empty air. Unexpectedly the air in the entire courtyard was pulled by the de that it created a negative force field simr to the Tian Mo Da Fa; mysterious and unusual to the extreme. Since receiving Song Ques teaching, which led him to understand the true essence of saber technique, and then along the way to Jiujiang he researched and pondered over the Eight Methods of the Well for many days on the boat, plus he underwent repeated bloody battles, and during the escape he studied meticulously and improved upon it with Xu Ziling and Tuli as sparring partners, only this moment his Eight Methods of the Well could be considered a big sess, reaching the as-the-arm-moves-the-finger [idiom: freely and effortlessly] stage, not in such a way that he would not be able to use it against a powerful enemy. Fu Qians punch just now disyed this Tuyuhuns princes tyrannical martial art skill, his profound training of the fundamentals. Immediately Kou Zhongs hands itched; how could he let this great opportunity to test his saber skill slip by? Fu Qian previously said that he wanted to experience Kou Zhongs saber technique; although inwardly he did have this desire, it was always expressed as a joke, so he never really expected Kou Zhong to suddenly draw his saber. Not only that, the saber strike was so unfathomable, so that he did not know where the strange attack would hit. Dang! A flexible steel whip, only about three chi long, each section was three cun long, consisted of thirteen round steel sections, which looked like buttons linked to each other, shot out from inside his cotton-padded jacket, straight against the wind. Simultaneously Fu Qian was moving in strange footsteps; fast as lightning he moved sideways, while the steel whip swept across the de of the saber. His reaction was fast and urate, making people gasp in amazement. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, Good! Using attack in ce of escaping, it was indeed brilliant. Under the interaction of the positive and negative qi within his body, he spun around and shed toward Fu Qians left side C the spot where it would be difficult for Fu Qians flexible steel whip to reach, using the Battle Decision stroke. Immediately his saber surged like the wave, attacking this tyrannical opponent like quicksilver flowing out swiftly. Fu Qian cried, Formidable! inwardly. The flexible steel whip blocked the top and sealed off the bottom, it parried the left and deflected the right;bined with shing and swaying footwork, he gave everything he had to deal with Kou Zhongs Great Rivers violent waterfall, unending torrential fierce and severe offensives. The sound of weapons shing was ringing constantly, zing and dazzling, exquisite and brilliant beyondpare. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Ziling stepped out of the main door and stood on top of the stone steps to watch the battle; inwardly he was greatly astonished. It should be noted that during their trip back to the Eastern Capital, both he and Kou Zhong had made repeated breakthrough in the martial art study, they had reached the level, which gave them the credibility to fight a stake-it-all battle against the pinnacle of martial art masters like Zhu Yuyan. Yet unexpectedly Fu Qian, under Kou Zhongs exceptional saber technique, still had the power to strike back. From this, the height of this mans skill could be easily inferred. Dang! Kou Zhongs saber swept across, Fu Qian was forced to retreat three steps back. And then, using the move No Attack, he sealed the opponents movements. Fu Qian wanted to attack but was unable to attack. Suddenly he heaved a long sigh and casually tossed the flexible steel whip aside. And then,ughing heartily, he said, Delighted! Delighted! What was the name of thest move? Unexpectedly it made me feel that if I forced myself to attack, I would only fail? Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, Reporting to His Highness the Prince, this move was No Attack style of Xiaodis Eight Methods of the Well. At first, Fu Qian was stunned, and then heughed to his hearts content and said, Certainly not just in name only, but also in reality; indeed I was unable to attack. Standing on the stone steps, Xu Ziling asked, Why would Fu Qian Xiong want to relinquish such a divine weapon? Fu Qian calmlyughed and said, If I was using two spear hatchets C the weapon that I am ustomed to use, just now I could have strong offense and strong defense, in trying to break Shao Shuais marvelous move No Attack. This steel whip already made me one notch inferior; even if I did not discard it, it has no use for me. This is precisely its punishment. Kou Zhong was greatly puzzled by this noblemans too-wonderful-for-words remark; he cheerfully said, Wangzi, please dont lie to me; just now when Wangzi abandoned your whip, did you intend to use iron fist instead of iron whip, but then afterwards you dispelled this thought? Fu Qians eyes were shing like lightning; he nodded and said, Shao Shuais brilliance is indeed surpassing my expectation, no wonder you could safely reach this ce and even call on Xiaodi to test your saber. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Kou Zhong testing his saber on you, he has deep meaning behind it. Stunned, Fu Qian cast a questioning look on Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I wanted to see if Wangzi has the qualification to exact revenge against Pei Ju. Severely shaken, Fu Qian blurted out, What? This moment Tuli appeared on the door and said, Why dont Your Highnesse inside to have a drink and a chat? Fu Qians gaze moved to Tuli; his eyes shotplicated, profound look toward this old enemy. After they sat down properly, Kou Zhong was the first to ask, How did Fu Qian Xiong know that we are here ande looking for us? He had asked the same question to Hong Funu, but did not get the answer. Theoretically, this secret nest should be known only to Wang Shichong and the men on his side. However, Fu Qian did not have any choice but to answer, The news that you took a boat from Yique to here C before you even entered the city C has already spread widely among the gangs and societies in Luoyang, big and small; it caused quite a sensation. But it was Rong Fengxiang of Luo Shui Bang [River Luo Gang] who sent someone to notify me just now the ce where you are going to stay. He takes such a good care of me, Xiaodi feels it is rather unexpected. Kou Zhong pped the table and spoke angrily, Must be Wang Xuanying that kid who leaked the information to Rong Fengxiang. Rong Fengxiang thought that Fu Qian Xiong and Khan are the two enemies who cannot exist together. Hey! Wangzi is noting to settle the ount with Khan, is he? Fu Qian shook his head and said with a smile, In Eastern Tujue, my real enemy is Xieli and Zhao Deyan. But lets set this matter aside for now, where exactly is Pei Ju hiding? Who is sheltering him? Xu Ziling said, Fu Qian Xiong misunderstood! Pei Ju is a fake name; your real enemy has different identity; he himself has enough power to deal with anybody. Smiling wryly, Tuli said, Were it not for us still having a bit of luck, I am afraid we would not talk with Wangzi here and now. Fu Qian asked in heavy voice, What is exactly Pei Jus other identity? Kou Zhong replied word-by-word, Within the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, he ranks barely second to Zhu Yuyan; but his demonic power may have surpassed hers. He is the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. Finally Fu Qians countenance changed. After listening to Kou Zhongs brief exnation, Fu Qian drew a mouthful of cold air and said, If I didnt hear it from three gentlemens mouth, I would have not believed it, because this matter is too bizarre and beyond belief. So the Sui Dynasty was destroyed by one mans hands? Xu Zilingughed and said, You ought to say it was destroyed by two mens hands, because even if there was Shi Zhixuan but there were no Yang Guang, that muddled ruler cooperating with him, the Sui Dynasty would not have followed in the Qin Courts trailing dust; just two generations and then ended. Tuli said, Frankly speaking,pared to Shi Zhixuan, any one of us still have some hard-to-cross distance from him. The worst thing is that he appears and disappears unpredictably [orig. gods appear and devils vanish]; he coulde and go at any moment, we cant even touch his shadow. Fu Qian had not personally experienced an encounter with him, hence he still had not had shaken-up feeling. But as Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling heard that, cold sweats appeared on their backs, because Tuli was spelling out the dread in their heart. Although Zhu Yuyan had enough qualifications to terrify them, but there would always be spiders thread and horse track [idiom: tiny hints] that they could find about her. Not so with Shi Zhixuan, who had given the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools, a lot of headache for many years; who could suddenly appearpletely without any warning. They could not help remembering Yun Shuai, whose good or bad luck was still unknown. Immediately their mood became heavy; the rxed feeling they were having when they had just arrived in Luoyang disappeared without any trace. It was only this moment that they deeply felt that Bi Xiuxin, Shi Qingxuans birth mother was truly worthy of the greatest admiration. She sacrificed many years of Buddhism practice to tightly bind that man, whose demonic power was unrivalled, using a strand of thread of passion, so that it would be difficult for his Immortal Image Method to seedpletely and could not unify the demonic way. Otherwise, it would be hard to imagine what kind of disaster it would bring. Thinking hard, Fu Qian said, Since currently his disciple Yang Xuyan is leaning toward the Li ns princelings Jiancheng and Yuanji, it goes to show that Shi Zhixuan still need to go through Jiancheng and Yuanji to aplish whatever grand conspiracy that he is plotting with utmost care. And Zhao Deyan is in an inseparably close cooperation with Shi Zhixuans worshipper, showing that these two might obey Shi Zhixuans order, which leads me to believe that the first person Shi Zhixuan wanted to kill ought to be Khan, and not Yun Shuai at all. But why did he unexpectedly abandon Khan to pursue and attack Yun Shuai? Amazed, Kou Zhong said, You are the spectator outside the field who could see clearer than the person on the spot. We have not thought about this question. Could it be because of his encounter with Zhu Yuyan he was being held up and thus could not pursue us? Xu Ziling said, I believe the first person Shi Zhixuan wanted to kill was not Khan, but Li Shimin. ording to the information that we have, when Li Shimin was on his way back to Guanzhong from Luoyang, he was ambushed by a mysterious martial art master under Song JinGangsmand, resulting in him suffering internal injury. At that time I already felt really strange. Based on Li Shimins, as well as his escorting Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art masters power, what qualification did Song JinGangs side have to injure him? At first I thought maybe Wanwan personally made her move. But now that I thought about it, I have no doubt that it was Shi Zhixuan who injured him. Kou Zhong exhaled a mouthful of cold air; he said, Finally Shi Zhixuan ising out again to stir up trouble! Noticing the trepidation on their faces, Fu Qian was aghast. Are you saying that he is more formidable than Ning Daoqi and Zhu Yuyan? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Only God knows. But if you knew that the Four Great Holy Monks acting together have fought against him three times, and yet he was still able to escape safely, and that this event happened more than twenty years ago, then he is definitely something. Evidently Fu Qian did not know which divine figures the Four Great Holy Monks were. By the time Xu Ziling finished exining, his anxiety was increased by oneyer. Talking about Shi Zhixuan, the four were no longer in the mood to drink wine. Tuli said, At least we know that Yun Shuai may have escaped great catastrophe, which is ratherforting. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Not necessarily. The reason Shi Zhixuan did not deal with you in Nanyang was that he did not worry that he would not have the opportunity to kill you; earlier orter, it does not make any difference for him. In my opinion, he let you off that time, it was because Xiao Ling and me. And then he turned to Xu Ziling and said, Did you sense that he did not go all-out that time? Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, Basically I have no idea what would it be like if he went all-out. But at that time I sensed that his real target was Yun Shuai and was not Tuli at all. Its really strange. Supposing Shi Zhixuan was standing on Jiancheng and Yuanjis side, he ought to deal with Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong ruthlessly, so that Jianchengs sides momentum would grow over Li Shimins, while also rendering great merit for Li Yuan. As for Tuli, since Shi Zhixuan was in collusion with Zhao Deyan, naturally he would not let Tuli get away. Apart from Tuli, Li Shimins momentum would be greatly affected as well. At that time, the three were weary from the battle; if Shi Zhixuan were tailing behind them, based on his exceptional demonic skill, he would have at least eighty-, ny-percent chance that he would be able to annihte all three in one move, yet he clearly did not do that, so it was very difficult to understand. Remembering his dialogue with Li Jing, Kou Zhong thought of possible answer. He sighed and said, If Im guessing correctly, Shi Lao Mo [old devil] is hoping that we will be sessful in unearthing the Duke Yangs Treasure, so that he could profit from it. The other three looked at him in surprise. Xu Ziling suddenly understood, I got it! he said, He wanted to take possession of the Demonic Emperors Relic, so that he could make another breakthrough. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, I was not thinking about the Demonic Emperors Relic; I am just thinking about the rumor that whoever obtains either one of the Jade Annulus of He n and the Duke Yangs Treasure, he would be the Son of Heaven ordained by heaven. Therefore, if Li Jiancheng could snatch the Duke Yangs Treasure from us, he would be able topletely suppress Li Shimins prestige. It was because Shi Zhixuan was thinking about this point that he let us get away, so much so that he would try to help us sneaking into Changan safely to dig the hidden treasure. Fu Qian agreed, Although I dont know what the Demonic Emperors Relic is, but since it could help such figure like Shi Zhixuan to make another breakthrough, it must be a priceless treasure. Therefore, any one of those reasons is enough to justify Shao Shuais theory. Question is, why would Shi Zhixuan help Li Jiancheng to obtain the world? Xu Ziling solemnly said, This can be regarded as the continuation of Shi Zhixuans struggle against the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools. There is a plot hidden within that we do not know; otherwise, why would Shi Zhixuan worry about trivial things? Fu Qian sighed and said, Unexpectedly three gentlemen are willing to let Xiaodi hear such a secret matter; Fu Qian is ten-thousand times grateful. Kou Zhong pped his forehead and said with augh, I never thought about whether we ought to let you know about this matter, because early on, I already considered you as my close friend; also because we might have the same anger against amon enemy. However, if you betray us, you wont have much to betray anyway. Tuli smiled and said, That thought did cross my mind; but when I think about the fact that if Wangzi and I cooperate, we will both gain benefit, whatever doubt that I had immediately disappeared. Xu Ziling said, Relying on my intuition, I feel that Wangzi is a towering figure, a true hero. If the fact is not so, I have only myself to me for having eyes without the eyeballs. Fu Qian raised his cup andughed heartily, Let Fu Qian toast three gentlemen a cup. After drinking this cup, we will be good brothers. The four men toasted each other loudly; their morale soared high. Their dread of Shi Zhixuan was swept clean. Tuli threw the cup to the ground; it smashed into smithereens. pping the table, he said, I decided not to go! Startled, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. Tuli leaned forward and spoke in low voice, Shi Zhixuan is definitely not going to let me return to the Khanate Court alive. Why dont we beat them at their own game? Lets make a n to kill him. The other three knew him very well; they immediately understand Tulis n. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had no choice but to agree; they could not possibly watch Tuli being ughter by Shi Zhixuan without doing anything. After discussing the details, Kou Zhongughed and said, Such a fine evening, is there any interesting and fun thing that we can y? Xu Ziling was most clear of his nature and style; exposing Kou Zhongs real intention, he said, Why dont you be a bit more forting? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, I want to take Rong Fengxiangs dog life, to kill the demonic school C particrly Yin Gui Pais C arrogance. Stunned, Fu Qian asked, Rong Fengxiang is Yin Gui Pai man? After giving him brief exnation, Kou Zhong said, Rong Fengxiang was able to take over Shangguan Longs position as the Da Longtou of Luo Shui Bang, it must be because there are still Yin Gui Pai people hiding inside Luo Shui Bang giving him support. This is called different broth but the same old medicine [idiom: a change in form but not in substance]. At present, the demonic school is clearly divided into two major factions, separately headed by Shi Zhixuan and Zhu Yuyan. If we could kill Rong Fengxiang, Wang Shichong might seize the opportunity to put Luo Shui Bang under his control, and thus significantly weaken the power of Zhu Yuyans side, plus we could also vent out a big bird anger and let it go to his mothers! Fu Qian cheerfully said, I dont know whether it is your luck is good, or Rong Fengxiangs luck is bad, but tonight Rong Fengxiang is at the Ting Liu Pavilion of the Man Qing Yuan, holding a great banquet to entertain ... He turned to Tuli and continued, Your honorable sides trade delegation led by Mo Heer Ci She [see Book 28 Chapter 3]. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Whenever we go to a pleasure house, other than causing trouble and fighting, killing and burning, it seems like we never did anything else. The murderous intent in Fu Qians eyes shed suddenly; he spoke heavily, First of all, we must understand clearly the situation of the banquet site. On this, Ill take care of it. Khan, do you have any thought? Tuli resolutely said, Assassinating Rong Fengxiang is a must. But it would be best if we do not harm anybody from Mo Heers side; otherwise, it would be very difficult for me to answer Mo Heer. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Khan, dont worry. Our target is Rong Laoyao [old demon], one person. Fu Qian stood up abruptly. He said with augh, Let Xiaodi y the host. Would three Dage pleasee to Man Qing Yuan to listen to music and drink wine, to avoid frittering away this fine evening? What do three gentlemen think? Tuli blew out a mouthful of cold air, saying, Absolutely not. These two kids brothel misfortune might drag us down. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only look at each other with wry smile. Book 29 - 7 – Assassination Operation Chapter 7 C Assassination Operation Kou Zhongs proposal to assassinate Rong Fengxiang was not a spur-of-the-moment emotion, but an action after careful deliberations. Rong Fengxiangs, which was actually the old demon Pi Chen C position was dubious; he unceasingly struck water right and left [idiom: reaping benefit from both sides], separately colluding with two major powers of the demonic schools. Furthermore, in general terms, it could be said that he controlled themerce organizations of the north [i.e. north of the Yellow River]; his influence on the political and economic situation was certainly no small matter. If Kou Zhong did not remove this person, he would definitely eat bitter fruit in the future. But to kill Rong Fengxiang in Luoyang was like pinching flea or louse on the tigers head. As the biggest gang on the north, Luo Shui Bangs power was solid [note: previously it was Luoyang Bang]. The other day they were able to drive Shangguan Long down from his position, it was because they were sessful in uncovering his identity as Yin Gui demon, and within that delicate situation, they onlyunched one strike and were sessful. With his many years experience in running business in the gambling industry, his image as the hegemon has entered deeply into the peoples hearts; simple rumors would not be effective against him. Were it not for the face-and-heart-do-not-match situation between he and Wang Shichong, plus Kou Zhong previously revealed to Wang Shichong that Rong Fengxiang was harboring unfathomable motives, plus Wang Shichong had some kind of conspiracy going on with Kou Zhong, even if they sessfully assassinated Rong Fengxiang, afterwards, their only way out was to run away as far as possible. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Tuli craned their necks from behind the slope of the roof ridge, looking into the distance toward the brightly lit Man Qing Yuan across the street. In this kind of situation, they felt like it was an easy drive on a familiar path, the feeling was like history was constantly repeating itself. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, If we dont enter Man Qing Yuan from the main gate, and we dont drink with the hundred prostitutes inside, we ought not stir up our brothel bad luck, right? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling responded, Tell me, how should I answer you? Kou Zhong lightly elbowed Tuli on his left, saying, Your brothel luck is certainly better than ours, why dont you n the operation? Knitting his brows, Tuli said, I am ustomed to use saber and spear openly on the battlefield. Although I am no stranger to ambush and sudden assault, this kind of assassinating-one-person-among-the-crowd-of-martial-art-masters, at-a-banquet-under-brilliant-lights, I have no idea what to do. Im afraid well have to rely on your, LaoGes brains. Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling, Ling Shao, do you have any good idea? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Assassination is nothing more than examining the situation, making the approach, andunching surprise attack, three major steps. Examining the situation is undertaken by Old Fu, thest step ofunching surprise attack naturally falls unto the two of us to operate the saber. The only thing remains now is the crucial point of how to get close to Rong Fengxiang. Tuli was not offended that Xu Ziling only included himself and Kou Zhong in the execution of the assassination, simply because the tacit understanding between Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong has already reached the seamless heavenly clothes realm, and it has been well known throughout the world. Frowning, Kou Zhong thought aloud, If we say this matter is difficult, it is not; but if we say its easy, its not either. If there were any confusion during the time they are leaving their seats to propose a toast, our operation would be a lot more convenient. Tuli was ustomed to this kind of banquet asions; shaking his head, he said, Usually the host proposes a toast to everybody present, and then the representative of each group of the guests would respond, so its unlike a birthday celebration of wedding reception, where every table proposes a toast to express their thanks. With a light gust of wind, Fu Qian C wearing ck tight nightwalker outfit C came to Xu Zilings side and said, I dont know whether Rong Fengxiang already guessed that you guys cant possibly let him get away, but not only he is deploying his men to guard every major gateway inside the courtyard, he also has two rough-faced men by his side. Looking at their bearing and mannerism, I have no doubt that they are martial art masters. Do we still want to take the risks? Kou Zhongughed and said, Wangzi, please dont tease me. Just by looking at your attire, I know that you will be the first to refuse to shrink back. Fu Qianughed cheerfully and said, Fortunately Mofei is attending the banquet tonight on my behalf. Therefore, we couldpletely grasp the situation of the assassination site through him. I have two proposals for three gentlemens considerations. And then he produced a roll of diagram showing theyout of the banquet site,plete with the tables position and the location of the doors and windows. Although it was simple, it was enough to be recognized at a nce. Fu Qian said, If Shao Shuai and Ziling Xiong have enough confidence to take Rong Fengxiangs dog life within a brief face-to-face moment, we could use thunderbolt-fails-to-reach-the-ears method to forcefully crash our way into the banquet hall. With Tuli and I pinning down the martial art masters by his side, Shao Shuai then could pair with Ziling to go all-out to kill the Old Demon Rong. Why not wait until he left and assassinate him on the street? Tuli asked. That thought did cross my mind, Fu Qian replied, Problem is, he came by a horse, presumably he will also leave by riding a horse. At that time his men would crowd around him, left and right, front and rear, so it will only be a chaotic battle. Kou Zhong suddenly asked, Is Rong Yaonu attending the banquet? Fu Qian shook his head, No, she isnt, he replied, Other than Wang Shichong, father and sons, everybody with head and face in Luoyang is here, including Wang Shichongs trusted aides Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu. Xu Ziling said, Crashing forcefully andunching surprise attack are a way-in-the-midst-of-no-way, its not exactly without any choice, and definitely not simply taking a risk. Rong Fengxiang is ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, his demonic power is profound, the worst thing is that we have not grasped clearly what is true and what is false of his foundation; on top of that, he is on elevated vignce, once we failed, they might take advantage of us instead. What is Fu Xiongs other proposal? Fu Qian replied, The other scheme is disguising ourselves as the servers holding up the meat dishes and delivering them into the banquet hall. If anybody recognizes us, we gain the initiative by striking him down first. As long as we can sneak in, we will see the opportunity and act to carry out the grand n. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Thats the best scheme to my liking. Lets do it this way. Xu Zilings gaze fell on the diagram spread out on the roof. Frowning, he said, Rong Fengxiang and Moheers main table is located at the north end, while the servers bringing the food in will enter from the south end. From the entrance to the main table, there is at least a twenty-pace distance. Do you think we could hide from Old Demon Rongs overly suspicious eyes that long? The banquet hall was located at the southern end of the Ting Liu Pavilion. The doors and windows on the north end were facing the square garden with the big fishpond right in the middle, where Kou Zhong defeated Shangguan Long. But because Luo Shui Bang was guarding that side, to enter in with the-gods-did-not-know, the-ghosts-did-not-perceive would be quite an impossibility. Even if the four of them changed their appearance, due to their outstanding builds, it would be a joke for them to pretend to be the servants who delivered the food. Hence the reason Fu Qian proposing to gain the initiative by striking first and see the opportunity and act ordingly. The key was to get as close as possible without being noticed. Fu Qian said, We have to create a situation where everybodys attention is drawn away from us, only then would our disguise have a chance of sess. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I have an idea! The Ting Liu Pavilion of Man Qing Yuans imposing style came from its structure, which consisted of four high-rise buildings linked together with open space in the middle, creating magnificent scene, which other pleasure houses could not imitate. Since Man Qing Yuan belonged to the Luo Shui Bang, assassinating the Luo Shui Bangs big boss in such a ce was akin to prate a tiger cave deeply to steal the tiger cub. One wrong step would result in exposing their track, and then they would fall into the enemys heavy siege that would be difficult to escape. Fortunately Fu Qian was a big grand guest at Man Qing Yuan; he was ustomed to spending the night here in music and song. Under the current situation this evening, although he did not appear personally, he could still reserve, via his subordinate C a room on the upper floor, north of and adjacent to Rong Fengxiangs banquet room. If they jumped down from the window facing the pond, they could go through the window into the corridor and enter the room where Rong Fengxiang was sitting with his back toward the window, tounch a surprise attack. Following the n, Fu Qians men already notified the manager of Man Qing Yuan not to send anybody in unless they were called in, hence Fu Qian and Kou Zhong were able to calmly entered the empty room, waiting for the arrival of the assassination moment. The two looked down through the window, and saw a total of eight warriors guarding and patrolling the half corridor of the lower level, every one of them looked as if they were facing powerful enemy. This gave them big headache, because concealing their movement in entering in and executing their assassination operation from these eight martial art masters eyes and ears was an absolute impossibility. As soon as Rong Fengxiang realized what was going on, the assassination would fail. Luckily they had another brilliant scheme; otherwise, they would have beaten the return drum at this moment. Fu Qian spoke in low voice, Right now they ought to serve the fourth course. Man Qing Yuans honored guest banquets altogether have nine courses. It would be best if we wait until Rong Fengxiang has finished eating and drinking until hes full and intoxicated, so that the punishment would be a bit more convenient, and when he died, he would not be a hungry ghost. Inside their darkened room, Kou Zhong smiled and said, I never thought Fu Qian Xiong is so funny. His gaze fell onto the pond in the garden, remembering the day when, under the crowds eyes he put his divine might on full disy as he defeated Shangguan Long in just several moves. Ten-thousand-fathom heroic feeling bubbling forth in his heart, he said, Luo Shui Bang may be destined to meet their end at the Ting Liu Pavilion of Man Qing Yuan, otherwise, how could their two sessive Bangzhu fall head first in here? Sensing Kou Zhongs strong confidence, Fu Qian responded with a smile, but did not say anything. Kou Zhong casually asked, Fu Qian Xiongs trip this time, other than to find Shi Zhixuan to settle the ount, is there any other purpose? Fu Qian replied, While I am at it, I need to look at the situation in the Central ins. Presently, our Tuyuhuns greatest danger is from the Eastern Tujue Xieli Khan. This man has enormous ambition, his method is savage, and is extremely difficult to deal with. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, Tuli Khan should be an unexpected reward for Wangzi! Under the moonlight from the outside prating the window, Fu Qians eyes were flickering brightly; he spoke in heavy voice, If Tuli can return to the Khanate Court, he will be the crucial point for the Eastern Tujue, which is in decline due to the split. Apart from Xieli, Tuli is the Khan of the Eastern Tujue with the most power; he himself is an unrivalledmander-in-chief, with elite troops and good generals serving under him. Therefore, no matter how much price I have to pay, I simply must protect him to return to the north safely. It was only then did Kou Zhong understand why Fu Qian would disregard everything in helping them to deal with Rong Fengxiang. Not only it was because of shady rtionship between Rong Fengxiang and Shi Zhixuan, but also because killing Rong Fengxiang was tantamount to severing Shi Zhixuans eyes and ears in the north, so that it would be difficult for Xielis side to find out that Tuli was returning to the Khanate Court. Fu Qian spoke heavily, In the north, Xieli is not without any opponent. While admittedly the Western Tujue are at loggerheads with them, there are also various Chile tribes on the north, among these are Xue Yantuo and Huihe, two big tribes, who are quite rich and powerful these days. Currently although on the surface they pay tribute to Xieli year after year, but Xieli is avaricious and insatiable; he constantly demands for more. As soon as the Tujue is internally unstable, these two tribes would probably raise their arms to revolt. Therefore, I very much agree with Shao Shuais analysis; no matter how, Xieli would use a thousand ways, a hundred ns, not to let Tuli returning alive, all because he holds the key to the entire Eastern Tujues rise and fall. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Turns out unexpectedly Ling Shao and I are being drawn into such an important struggle outside our country. And yet, he could not help asking, Arent your Tuyuhun in the Qinghai region, outside Yongzhou and Liangzhou on the western border? With the Eastern Tujue you are at least separated by the Western Tujue; why do you still have such misgivings toward the Eastern Tujue? Fu Qian replied, In the long run, I am afraid Eastern and Western Tujue might be unified under Xieli. In the short term, I am afraid Xieli would directly attack us via your Han peoples northwest territory, in which case there wont be any barrier at all. After a short pause, he smiled and went on, Frankly speaking, if you, Han people, grow strong, you might be our barrier, and then I would not need to mobilize the weapons of war. Otherwise, we might have to take the initiative by striking first by expanding our territory toward the Central ins, by capturing Wuwei, Zhangye, Dunhuang [all these three in Gansu province], that kind of fortified strategic towns, in order tobat Tujues elite cavalry. Therefore, I must personallye to the Central ins to set a policy for the future. Whether you and us can live together in harmony, it will depend on you! This moment Tulis full-of-power-and-grandeur voice rang on the lower level. The two promptly lowered their hood topletely cover their face, exposing only their pair of eyes, focusing their attention and storing up their momentum to wait quietly. The moment Tuli entering the south hall of the Ting Liu Pavilion has been carefully calcted; not only he appeared suddenly, it was also during the energetic song and vigorous dancing, during the fifth course of the banquet. By this time the wine has been flowing freely, the atmosphere has been pushed to the highest peak. The precise moment when the eighteen members of singing and dancing troupe, dressed like colorful butterfly, in lithe and graceful postures, were stepping in cadence with the music, like a clump of rosy clouds C were retreating toward the main door, Tuli suddenly appeared on the main door. With the Subduing-Eagle Spear on his back, with imposing attitude full of mighty beauty and heroic aura, he immediately attracted the attention of over a hundred guests inside the hall. The beautiful female entertainers departed from his left and right. The Luo Shui Bang martial art masters guarding the door were intimidated by his imposing momentum; moreover, since they recognized him as Tuli Khan, nobody dared to stop him. In such a big hall, there were altogether eighteen banquet tables; each table seated about ten people. The round tables were distributed on all four sides, leaving a wide, empty space in the middle as the song and dance venue. Rong Fengxiang and Moheer sat on the main banquet table, located to the north of the main door, about thirty paces away from the entrance. Throwing his head back, Tuli let out a shaking-the-heaven longugh, before speaking in loud and clear voice, Rong Laoban [boss] please forgive Tuli for turning up uninvited, simply because I hear that Cishe is here. Not only I am impatient to see him, I also want toe to join the fun. Rong Fengxiang immediately revealed an alert, be-on-guard expression. But Moheer, greatly surprised, immediately stood up and said with delight, When did Khan arrive? Moheer was only of medium build, about twenty-six, twenty-seven years old, but he looked very much thick and solid. His face square [orig. looks like a guo (country) character], yet full of neatly trimmed short iron-needle-like beard, which extended to the edge of his temples; his eyes deep, his nose high, his eyes were sparkling spiritedly, he carried quite a domineering aura. The four men who came with him also stood up from the two banquet tables on the left and right to pay their respects, further distinguishing Tulis honorable identity. Only then did Rong Fengxiang stand up to salute. unting his poise as the host, he chuckled and said, Khan honored us with your presence, Rong Fengxiang wees you toote, I am the one who should be punished. Tuli swept his gaze around. He found out that among the guests in the hall, he had seen most of them before. Wang Shichongs trusted aides, the high-ranking military officer Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu were sitting on the main table. Meeting Tulis prating, acute eyes, they forced themselves to smile and cup their fist to salute. Tuli only smiled in return. His attention fell to the other two men. These two separately sat on two banquet tables to Rong Fengxiangs left and right. From their tables point of view, they could watch the door and windows on the north and south, two sides. When their eyes met Tulis, immediately they emitted fierce and severe look, a clear sign that not only they knew that Tuli did note with friendly intention, they were also amassing their power, ready to deal with any sudden change. Tuli was a hundred-percent sure that these two were demonic schools men, simply because just like Rong Fengxiang, their eyes emitted a different, heretical vor. This moment the servants bringing the soup entered the hall, one after another. Xu Zilings voice rang inside Tulis ears, Old friend! Its time! Immediately Tuli straightened his spine. Patting the Subduing Eagle Spear on his back, he strode forward toward the main banquet table. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, Rong Laoban really knows how to y dumb. You practically knew when this Khan arrived in Loyang, yet you pretended not to know. Indeed you must be punished. The originally whispering guests immediately quieted down so that in the hall, the crow and peacock made no sound, leaving only the sound of the servers footstep around the hall. Anybody could see that Tulis visit was not as simple as joining the fun. Stunned, Moheer stared at Tuli; his eyes shot him a questioning look. The divine light in Rong Fengxiangs eyes severely red up; knitting his brows, he said, What does Khan mean? All attentions, including those two supposedly demonic schools Laojun Guan [Taoist Monastery] martial art masters C were focused on Tuli, nobody noticed Xu Ziling, disguised as a lowly servant C entering the hall from the south. Wearing Kou Zhongs ugly-man mask, Xu Ziling concealed his handsome face; he had stricken one of the servants at the least expected moment, and pulled him into a secluded ce, and swapped his clothes with his. Taking advantage while everybody in the kitchen was the-sky-grew-dim-the-earth-darkened busy, he crossed the sea by a trick [idiom: to achieve ones aim by underhanded means] and mingled among the servers bringing in the dishes, carrying a tray of boiling-hot soup into the banquet hall. He did not pick his victim randomly. The servant he selected to be reced [lit. the plum tree withers in ce of the peach tree: to substitute one thing for another] was not only the tallest, the section he served actually included Rong Fengxiangs main banquet table. As long as Tuli was able to catch the men on Rong Fengxiangs sides attention, even if there were others who realized that one of the servers was suddenly being reced with a new one, they could not possibly grew suspicious all of a sudden. Hanging his head low, Xu Ziling assumed a humble, did-not-dare-to-look-directly-at-people C respectful look. Upon entering the door, he avoided the center of the hall and headed toward the main banquet table by walking around the banquet tables. He also restraint his power as much as possible, his footsteps were empty and floating. Even if someone paid him attention, he would think that this servant did not know martial art, hence he could not possibly be on guard against him. In order to cover Xu Ziling, the real assassin, Tuli suddenly increased his pace ever so slightly; so slight that it was barely perceptible. Unless it was a martial art master, it would be very difficult to detect. Rong Fengxian was naturally a martial art master; moreover, Tuli wasing straight toward him, inducing a reaction within him, so that he moved sideways a little to leave his seat and slightly moved backward. His expression turned fierce, he shouted coldly, Khan has not answered me? Tuli secretly calcted the exact moment Xu Ziling would reach the attack position. Suddenly he stood still; throwing his head back, he let out a longugh and said, I wonder if Rong Laoban dare to answer one question from this Khan first. This moment he was still about a dozen paces away from Rong Fengxiang, plus they were separated by a table and the guests who sat on the other side of the table; moreover, he still had not revealed any sign of shing his weapon or using any force, therefore, there was no serious threat toward Rong Fengxiang. Yet the two Laojun Guan martial art masters, who were sitting on the left and right, two separate banquet tables, already arose and left their seat, and shed away to stand behind Rong Fengxiang. Anybody in the hall with a little bit of discerning eye would know that Tuli specifically came to pick a quarrel against Rong Fengxiang. Immediately the atmosphere was brimming with swords-drawn-and-bows-bent, fight-could-break-out-any-moment air. Moheer was put into the most awkward situation. He was profoundly aware of Tulis overbearing and brave style; whenever he wanted to deal with anybody, even the Tianwang Laozi [lit. old man, the king of heaven] would be unable to stop him. None of the other guests in the main banquet hall was not either an old Jianghu figure, or rich, influential businessman; nobody was not afraid of the disaster falling into the fish in the moat. One by one they left their seat and moved aside; momentarily the situation was chaotic. There was no shortage of leadership figures from the Luo Shui Bang, Tangzhu [hall master] level and above; more than a dozen men stood up at the same time with weapons in their hands, just waiting for Rong Fengxiangs order to surround the enemy. Rong Fengxiangughed aloud and said, Khans remark is extremely ridiculous; what question would I, Rong Fengxiang, be afraid to answer? Lang Feng, who had retreated to the side, looked all around. After failing to see Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he interjected, Everything can be discussed; if Khan has any grudge against Rong Laoban, we could ask our Lord to mediate, he will definitely be able to solve it. Following Fu Qians instruction, Xing Mofei, who was sitting on the third table to the right of the main table C maintained a low profile; he simply copied most of the other guests action by remaining on his seat, quietly watching the changes. This moment Xu Ziling already moved to stand behind Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu, hiding quietly, while secretly amassing his power. He only need to sh out, and would immediately upy the optimum position tounch an attack. The situation in the hall appeared to be chaotic, but in reality it was the situation where two troop formations were standing face-to-face against each other, and the line has been distinctly drawn. With the two martial art masters from his own side protecting his left and right nks, Rong Fengxiang upied the position between the main banquet table and the north door leading into the square garden. The guests on the main banquet table retreated to the left and right to let the two sides have a clear view as they stood opposite each other, separated only by an empty banquet table. As for the other leaders of Luo Shui Bang, none did not leave their seat. Although they have not rushed forth toward Tuli, who was standing in the middle of the hall, they were in position where they could rush forward to intercept in case Tuliunched an attack toward Rong Fengxiang. From outside the main door, the seven or eight Luo Shui Bang martial art masters guarding the door also rushed inside; they stared at Tulis majestic back with ring eyes, ready to fight at any moment. The guards on the north door originally wanted to enter the hall to protect their leader, but Rong Fengxiang signaled them to remain outside the north door to guard the half corridor, to guard against the enemy attacking from behind. In addition to this, there were more than a dozen serving waiters who had no room either to advance or to retreat; they had no choice but to stand nkly. Among these was Xu Ziling, dressed as a servant, who was still holding the hot soup with both hands. Tuli assumed a bewildered, not-sure expression; his crossbow-shaped eyes continuously sizing up the two demonic school martial art masters standing behind Rong Fengxiang to his left and right, but his mouth said, Rong Laoban indeed has heroic spirit. Tell this Khan then, what actually is Rong Laobans rtionship with the Xie Wang [demonic king] Shi Zhixuan? Apparently the vast majority of the people in the hall have never heard the name of Shi Zhixuan; they were all greatly astonished. Rong Fengxiangs eyes narrowed. It was half a dayter that he spoke word-by-word, I have never heard this name Shi Zhixuan before. Khan, why do you say such thing? Tulis reaction was even more beyond everybodys expectation. Shrugging his shoulders, heughed and said, In this case, just consider it a misunderstanding. Please forgive this Khan for rudely crashing in the banquet. Just like that, he turned around as if he was going to leave. Hold on! Rong Fengxiang shouted sternly. Book 29 - 8 – One Move Behind in the Game Chapter 8 C One Move Behind in the Game Xu Ziling secretly applied the positive and negative true qi within his body; fast as lightning he cut into the space between Tuli and Rong Fengxiang. With thetter he was only separated by a table full of goblets, bowls, meat dishes and tes. The Luo Shui Bang men, from the top, which were Tangzhu level, to the bottom, which were the guards, suddenly realized something was wrong; they all cried out in rm and shouted angrily, while charging forward in confusion. In the meantime, the hot soup on Xu Zilings hands already turned into two streams of scorching hot beam of liquid, shooting toward the two Laojun Guan martial art masters protecting Rong Fengxiang. Its momentum was powerful and covered a wide area. Unless the opponents inner power surpassed Xu Zilings, and they had the ability to block this kind of indeterminate shape, no-hole-not-prated secret projectile of a strange school, their only option was to either move sideways or jump upwards, or perhaps even dodge under the table. Simultaneously Xu Zilings leg flew up, the tip of his foot tapped the edge of the table, sending the spiraling qi power into the table, so that it was as if the entire round table wasing alive. It brought everything on it spinning; slow at first, but increasing in speed very quickly, as it flew toward Rong Fengxiang, three men, like a t wheel slicing toward them. Combined with the two streams of shooting jet of liquid, the opponents were caught unprepared and were put in passive, disadvantageous position. This moment Tuli also drew the Subduing Eagle Spear. He spun around and flew at an angle, unleashing the Tornado Spear Technique to the limit, producing millions of spear shadows flying over Xu Zilings head, pouncing toward Rong Fengxiang from the air. Just as Tuli was flying overhead, Xu Ziling shouted an incantation, Lin! First, he used the Motionless Fundamental Images condensed power, which he joined and transformed into Great Vajra Chakra Image, and then sent it out in a pair of punches. Right away two streams of qi column violently rose up and rushed forth, and then when they were about three chi away from the pit of Rong Fengxiangs stomach, they merged together, bing like a solid iron pir, with ten-thousand-catty momentum assaulting the enemy, catching the enemy off guard with a surprise attack. In that instant, under Xu Ziling and Tulis seamless heavenly clothes assassination operation, although the main hall was full of Luo Shui Bang men, Rong Fengxiang and the two martial art master bodyguards were still caught in the situation where they had no help from anybody else. Rong Fengxiang found out that the two men on his left and right had to evade sideways, and then the incantation pierced his eardrums, shaking all his meridians. Instantly he was frightened, while feeling empty and floating, which made it difficult for him to jump in time, either to meet Tulis offensive or to evade Xu Zilings fierce and severe attack. Missing a good opportunity, Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear and Xu Zilings across-the-air punch already hid the sky and covered the earth, plus the big round table wasing to slice his belly. All of a sudden Rong Fengxiang became a lonely army seeking survival all by himself; other than relying on himself, nobody coulde to help him. Naturally Rong Fengxiang would not let himself get ughtered; as long as he could buy a little time, his men could rush over andunch a counterattack. Immediately letting out a loud roar, he flew backward. But because of the two jets of liquid shooting on his left and right, his escape route was severely limited. Therefore, although he was extremely unwilling, he had no choice but to flee in a straight line. Bang! He crashed through the window and fell onto the half corridor connecting the north and south halls. Outside, the Luo Shui Bang martial art masters guarding the corridor rushed over from the left and right to help, but they were blocked by the water jet so that they were still a tad toote to intercept Tuli and Xu Ziling, who came like a shadow attached to the form to pursue and kill. Life and death were only separated by a thin line. Bang! Rong Fengxiangs two sleeves flew up to meet Xu Zilings fist wind head on; his body shook and swayed, but he borrowed the reaction force to increase his speed as he flew out, barely missing Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear. Boom! The round table crashed through the wall and struck two Luo Shui Bang martial art masters that their bones broke and their flesh split; they fell to the ground with miserable scream. Tulinded on the tabletop, the spear light red out, immediately two men were hit and were thrown down; the might was astonishing. Xu Ziling also came out to the half corridor. Secretly performing the Treasured Vase Image, he sent out more than a dozen punches in session, forcing the men trying to swarm out to help to stay inside the hall. It was a one man guarding the pass, ten thousand enemies unable to break through situation. As a result, Rong Fengxiang was forced to run away toward the grassy area outside the corridor on the north garden. When hended on the ground, he was staggering, his walk was unsteady. Noticing that instead of seizing this opportunity to pursue him, the two enemies were simply blocking his reinforcement troops, he knew the situation was not good. This moment, suddenly a burst of qi power came down over his head. Aghast, he looked up, and saw Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, as fast as lightning, was chopping down on him. The enormous, irresistible saber qipletely enveloped him, producing a cannot-move-a-single-cun terrifying feeling. Helpless, Rong Fengxiang urgently raised the power in his entire body; his two sleeves rose up to brush away the Moon in the Well. Just in this life-and-death, exist-or-perish, critical moment, murderous aura burst forth from the left. A deadly fist wind, wild and violent like angry wave, shocking billow C came crashing down on him like copsing wall. Shocked, Rong Fengxiang turned to look, and saw another man wearing ck cloth mask, like a soul-hooking emissary from the nothingness of Hades surfacing onto the real world,unching a sneak attack on him. He knew that because his mind waspletely terrified by Kou Zhongs startling-the-heaven-shaking-the-earth saber strike that unexpectedly he neglected to guard against another big enemy. If just now instead of hesitating he put everything he had to escape, perhaps he could still escape this cmity; however, regret now was already toote. Bang! Kou Zhongs saber heavily collided with Rong Fengxiangs double-sleeve; borrowing he impact energy, he flew back to help Xu Ziling and Tuli intercepting the pursuers. Meeting the saber, Rong Fengxiang spurted out a mouthful of blood as he staggered back. Fu Qian shed pass him. With a mournful cry, Rong Fengxiangs entire body seemed to be out of his control. Suddenly losing his bnce, he spun around like a top and tumbled down. Blood was seeping out of his eyes, ears, mouth and nose, as he rolled down to the ground. Fu Qian let out a whistle, his threepanions responded by flying back to meet up with him. Without looking back they rapidly withdrew along a predetermined route, and escaped sessfully. From the top of the bell tower looking down, they saw thick smoke and fire soaring to the sky. Kou Zhongughed and said, Even if the entire Eastern Capital burned down, Rong Laoyao will note back to live. The only thing burning is the house that Wang Shichong gave to us to stay temporarily. Really strange though! Howe Wang Shichong has not taken any intervention operation? Xu Ziling quietly stared at the ck smoke gradually dispersing, blown by the cold wind; he did not answer. Tuliughed and said, Lucky that you guys thought about hiding in the bell tower; it appears highly visible, but actually well-hidden, while we could also monitor the vast area around River Luo and Heavenly Street. A group of more than twenty Luo Shui Bang men hastily crossed over the Tianjin Bridge, as if they need to be somewhere in a hurry. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, What should we do next? Tuli replied, Wed better wait for Fu Qian LaoGe scouting the situation clearly first; making decision then wont be toote. Rong Laoyao is dead, it will rattle Zhu Yaofus troop disposition and put her at her wits end. Xu Ziling suddenly said, Looking at those Luo Shui Bang riders just now, what did you feel? Stunned, Kou Zhong replied, Now that you mentioned it, it did feel greatly suspicious; not only they did not show the slightest hanging-their-head-dispiritedly look, their formation was orderly, their morale was high. Whats going on here? No need to guess! Tuli cried in low voice, Fu Qian is here. Fu Qian was still wearing the ck cloth covering his head and the tight night-walker outfit. He appeared from a side alley and made a detour around the block before heading toward the bell tower, but as he reached the bell tower, he deliberately walked pass it. It was a good whileter that he reappeared under the bell tower and rushed directly up. The three knew that it was for fear of being followed that he took such a circuitous route; an ominous feeling welled up in their hearts. Arriving at the bell tower, Fu Qian tore off his mask, and said with a wry smile, Did three gentlemen feel that Rong Fengxiang was too useless? Shaken, Kou Zhong asked, That wasnt Rong Laoyao? Fu Qian sat down, leaning against the iron pir supporting the copper bell. He shook his head, sighed, and said, I dont know whether there is a real Rong Fengxiang or not, the fact is, theres another Rong Fengxiang appearing like a lively dragon and animated tiger, apanied by his daughter C going to Wang Shichong to ask for punitive force. And the entire Luo Shui Bang nestes out to look for us everywhere. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, The one we killed was Ke Feng disguised as Rong Fengxiang, and not Pi Chen disguised as Rong Fengxiang at all. At that time I already felt something was a bit unusual, but because those twos demonic power was of amon origin, their eyes exuded simr light, plus at that time I had no time to examine carefully, we mistakenly hit the secondary vehicle and did not know about it. Kou Zhong was so angry that his teeth itched; but since they already made a mistake, it was hard toe back. Tuli dejectedly slumped against the outer wall. Distressed, he said, What do we do now? We might implicate Moheer and his delegation. Fu Qian said, In this regard, Khan may set your heart at ease. Moheer is representing Xieli; even if Rong Laoyao had guts made in the Heaven, he would not dare to touch him. On the contrary, Khan must not show your face in Luoyang. Stunned, Tuli said, Are you saying Shao Shuai and Ziling can show their face? Fu Qian replied, Even if the other side knew perfectly well that they have a part in this matter, nobody really recognized them. On top of that Wang Shichong must protect them, so they should be able to get through this. Kou Zhong coldly said, Wed better charge into the Rong Mansion to have another fiery desperate fight against Rong Laoyao, to see whose fist is harder. Xu Ziling said, That is just ignorant persons bravado against warrior soldiers scheme. Right now we must not make any move, quietly watching the wind direction and the intensity of the fire first before deciding how we are going to get rid of Rong Laoyao. Fu Qian nodded his agreement, Currently, what is true and what is false within the Rong Mansion is hard to fathom; we must not take this risk. Fortunately the enemy did not know that I have a part in this matter, plus they have deep misgivings toward me; therefore, Khan maye to my ce to lie low for a while. Shao Shuai and Ziling may show your faces openly to test the enemys reaction. Butter on the three of you must never be seen together. Seeing the other two did not object, Kou Zhong had to agree. Fu Qian handed the mask covering his face to Tuli, and said with augh, Xiaodi has not had any chance to study any future n that will benefit everybody! Kou Zhong fished the hooknose, shallow-cheek mask from his pocket, and said indifferently, Khan may also appear publicly, only you are wearing another face! After Fu Qian and Tuli left, Kou Zhong angrily said, This time we are truly one move behind in the game, until now we are not making any progress. I am so angry I could die! Remaining tranquil and even-tempered, Xu Ziling said, We win some, certainly we must lose some. At least we got rid of Ke Feng; it ought to be a serious blow to Laojun Guans strength. Pi Chen will be hard pressed to find anybody to impersonate him. Ay! Its not that we do not ept this resentment, but those two, in terms of voice, appearance, or mannerism, everything looked amazingly simr. Somebodysing! Kou Zhong cried in low voice. A dark shadow shed out of the eaves and rapidly came near. Surprisingly it was the Crown Prince Wang Xuanying. It was only then did the two remember that they had captured him and brought him here; no wonder he was looking for them in the bell tower. Kou Zhongs countenance sank. Wang Xuanying flipped over into the bell tower. Half squatting on the floor, he said with delight, Sure enough I can find two Dage here. Kou Zhong hatefully said, You still have the face to see me? When did Wang Xuanying ever receive such criticism from anybody? His countenance changed, he said, Shao Shuai, where do these words stem from? Laughing coldly, Kou Zhong replied, Were it not for Taizi [crown prince] leaking the information on where we are staying in Luoyang to Rong Laoyao, how could he broadcast our whereabouts to our enemies that they are lining up on our door? Stunned, Wang Xuanying said, Is that so? No wonder Shao Shuai misunderstood. But I could point to the Heaven and swear to God that the information did not leak from me. However stupid I, Wang Xuanying, am, I know that betraying you will only bring harm without any benefit to our Great Zheng. Surprised, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. Although they did not have any good opinion toward Wang Xuanying; they sensed that he was not lying. How did the information leak then? Why would Rong Fengxiang broadcast it everywhere? Smiling wryly, Wang Xuanying said, But this time you have really caused trouble to us, even Fu Huang [father emperor] does not know how to answer the stamping-with-fury Rong Fengxiang. If you had really killed him, things would be easy to deal with. Xu Ziling sighed and said, We really did kill him, its just that this Rong Fengxiang was Ke Feng in disguise. Stunned, Wang Xuanying said, Ke Feng? Kou Zhong angrily said, I really dont understand what are you, father and son, thinking? With good intention I notified you that Rong Fengxiang is Laojun Guans Pi Chen Yaodao [demon Taoist], but you turned a deaf ear, and let him continue going on the rampage. Tell me, where the hell is the logic in that? Wang Xuanying replied with a wry smile, Thats easy to answer! After receiving Shao Shuais warning, we immediately deployed the army to put the Rong Mansion under heavy siege. Fu Huang and I personally led martial art masters into the Rong Mansion to give Rong Fengxiang a bad luck. Who would have thought that he did not resist at all; he let us examine his face, to confirm that he is not someone else in disguise. We thought we had fallen into Shao Shuais scheme of driving a wedge between us. Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air and said, In that case, there are three Rong Fengxiang; one real and two fakes. Pi Chen Laoyao is indeed very cunning. Xu Ziling asked, From what Taizi heard, what happened at Man Qing Yuan? Wang Xuanying replied, At that time, Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu were there. By the time they flew out of the South Hall, Rong Fengxiang has already been carried away by his men; we thought that if he is not dead, then his injury must be so heavy that he is close to death. Who would have thought that when we came face-to-face, it looked like hespletely all right? Turns out the one heavily injured is another Rong Fengxiang. Shengshang [His Holiness], the Senior, what did he say? Kou Zhong asked. Wang Xuanying replied, Fu Huang thought that you should hide. Tomorrow night, after sending Khan off, you may reappear. Even if you want to deal with Rong Fengxiang, there will be plenty of opportunity in the future, there is no need to be anxious now. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, We cant wait here being blown by the wind and drinking the dew until dusk tomorrow; where can we hide? Instead of answering, Wang Xuanying asked, Is Khan going to see Moheer? Xu Ziling was afraid Kou Zhong might blurt out and reveal their rtionship with Fu Qian, hence he answered for him, Hes just leaving some secret mark nearby tomunicate with Moheer. You may go back now! Wang Xuanying mentioned an address and said, This ce is only known by me and Die, two persons. As long as nobodys following you, hiding for a day or two should not be a problem. Im leaving now! Two gentlemen take care of yourselves, tomorrow night well make arrangement to have someone pick Khan up. After Wang Xuanying left, Kou Zhong snorted coldly and said, This kid is lying. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement; he said, Wang Xuanying has never liked us, yet just now he put his temper in check to exin everything to us. He acted totally different from his usual character and temperament. But why would he want to harm us? Kou Zhong frowned and pondered deeply, and then severely shaken, he said, His Niang! Wang Shichong has decided to form alliance with Yin Gui Pai. To this old fox, Xiangyang is more important than my Shao Shuai Army. Therefore, although he is fully aware that Rong Fengxiang is Pi Chen in disguise, he still indulges him like this. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Your spection is not without any reason. Supposing that is indeed the case, before Khan leave tomorrow evening, we ought to be safe. Kou Zhong hatefully said, This is the only reason Wang Shichong puts up with Rong Laoyao. The more I think about it, the more I feel that my guess is eighty-, ny-percent urate. There are so many Rong Fengxiang, real and fake; with Wang Shichongs astute, experienced eyes, how could he not know whether Rong Laoyao is a fish eye substituting a pearl? Therefore, I am sure that Wang Xuanying, this kid, must be swindling us. Ay! Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a sigh, This is called when we look for it, then sometimes we lose it. You want to help others defending Luoyang, not only others do not feel grateful, they also want to betray you. Things havee to this, what else can we say? Quickly think about how we are going to deal with it in the future. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If we are not nning on how to deal with Shi Zhixuan, our best choice right now is to leave Luoyang immediately, and go as far away as possible. Why dont you tell me what you think our next step will be? Xu Ziling said, This matter is of utmost importance. We ought to warn Khan and Wangzi, so that they are prepared inwardly. I believe Zhu Yaofu has not rushed over here yet. Whether we want to fight or we want to flee, we still have time. Kou Zhong resolutely said, Wed better split up to handle this separately. You are in charge of notifying our two brothers, I am going to scout the enemys real situation. What do you think? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Are you thinking of going to the Rong Mansion, or to the Imperial Pce? I havent decided yet, Kou Zhong replied, Dont worry, I have full confidence that I will be able to deal with any contingency. After agreeing on the means ofmunicating with each other and ces to meet afterwards under different circumstances, they went their separate ways. Book 29 - 9 – Cuddling and Leaning and Having a Heart-to-Heart Chat Chapter 9 C Cuddling and Leaning and Having a Heart-to-Heart Chat Putting on his Gong Chenchun mask, Xu Ziling walked swiftly to the west along the Luo River. Suddenly he heard a song, a female voice singing on a small boat in the middle of the river, Reflecting the green-jade pce, the magnificent Luo River rushing over the empty space at the end of the military camp, winking its eyes over the glory, riches and honor. Why should one always dream of the tree branch of the south? The song was moving and sad, very touching, brimming with sorrow and helplessness, floating above the distant water of the Luo River. Thiste at night, the outward emotion made ones thoughts wandering far away. Xu Ziling halted his steps; his heart was tranquil and harmonious. Ever since he and Kou Zhong started their trip north to Guanzhong, countless things that caught him and Kou Zhong off guard have been happening one after another, like wave after wave of the tide continuously pounding against the seaside, and each time they had to struggle and seek survival right on the thin line between life and death. But at this very moment, a serene feeling like he had lost countless days suddenly filled his heart to the brim. His entire being empty and ethereal, all the struggles, enmity, killing, crafty plots and machinations C felt like they had nothing to do with him whatsoever, that they no longer had the slightest influence on him. All of a sudden, his mind cleared up and he understood that his cultivation in the martial art study was ayer deeper. It was some kind of inexplicable feeling; it reached the top of the tops. As for how he attained this kind of realm at this moment, whether it was because of the operation where he assassinated the fake Rong Fengxiang just now, which stimted this breakthrough, or because of the unceasing tempering he experienced beforehand, it was very difficult to ascertain clearly. Why should one always dream of the tree branch of the south? Life has always had dream-like characteristics; the ancient sage Zhuang Zhou [aka Zhuangzi (369-286 BC), Daoist author] was dreaming about he was turning into a butterfly. When he woke up, he asked himself whether he was dreaming about bing a butterfly, or whether he was a butterfly dreaming about bing him? To exin aplicated subject matter in simple terms, it was a clear exnation of lifes bizarre illusion. The bright moon behind the soft floating clouds slowly revealed its immortal beauty, its noble golden light bathed the cold night of the ancient city Luoyang. In itself, it felt like an unreal dream. Which one was the illusion, which one was the reality? If he could turn illusion into reality, and turn reality into illusion, would he be able to break the Immortal Image Method, created by the demonic schools genius Shi Zhixuan, which could fuse together two extremes, life and death, into one? Xu Zilings entire body suddenly shook severely. Ah! he eximed. The small boat slowly glided toward the riverbank, a female voice gently came through, Such a beautiful moonlit night, would Ziling be interested to get on the boat and stay for a while? Hearing that, Xu Ziling soared into the air, leisurely and effortlessly hended on the boat, and calmly sat down. Smiling at the stunning beauty sitting at the stern, sculling the boat with a single oar, he said, Since Shen Junshi [military advisor] has the time to enjoy the night, roaming the Luo River, I, Xu Ziling, naturally am honored to keep youpany. Shen Luoyan had lost some weight; her clothes, her sleeves, her beautiful hair, were fluttering lightly in the river breeze. Her beautiful eyes, filled with resentment, gazed at the bright moon in the sky, her cherry lips opened lightly, she spoke with gentle sigh, Mi Gong [Duke Mi] is defeated! A burst of emotion filled his heart, Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, as if he was chanting, An old steed in the stable still aspires to gallop a thousand li, a martyr in his declining years strengthens his heart unceasingly. Mi Gong only needs to quietly wait for another fortunate timing! Shen Luoyans eyes fell onto Xu Zilings handsome face. Lightly rowing the boat, a faint bitter and astringent smile escaped from the corner of her perfect, pretty mouth. Shaking her head, she said, Once the fortunate timing flitted pass, it will never return. Mi Gong has been defeated; it was due to his excessive ego. Otherwise, even though Wang Shichong received help from the two of you, he would still have to bow before him. Xu Ziling said, As his Junshi, why dont you offer him your sincere counsel? Looking at the weeping willow on the left bank, Shen Luoyan spoke indifferently, Would he be willing to listen? Toward you and Kou Zhong, he simply snorted disdainfully; otherwise, how could he fail and was wiped over the floor? Xu Ziling said, Mi Gong opted to surrender to the Tang, to ept the gift of time; he couldnt be considered failing and being wiped over the floor. As if she was recounting people and things that have nothing to do with her, Shen Luoyan sneered coldly and said, What gift of time are you talking about? Themander of a defeated army is not fit to talk about bravery! Mi Gong originally thought that by leading his troops in surrender, he would receive the generous good fortune of being appointed Wang [king, prince, the highest nobility rank in ancient China]; who would have thought that the official post that Tang Huang [Emperor] bestowed to Mi Gong was only official sried high ranking officer Shang Zhu Guo [lit. upper pir of the country], the nobility conferred to him was only Xing Guo Gong [duke with the surname of the country]. On the contrary, not only Xu Zhiji is still inmand of the troops stationed in Liyang, he is also bestowed the surname Li, officially saluted as the Zuo Wu Hou Da Jiangjun [left military marquis great general]. This division has substantially weakened Mi Gongs military strength. Early on I already advised him not to enter Changan, but he did not listen. Instead, he listened to Wei Zhengs[1] nonsense; what can I, Shen Luoyan say? The destion in her voice made the sorrow in Xu Zilings heart grew as a thicket; not the least bit of hatred toward her remained in his heart. He smiled and said, You cant give up because of this. Shen Junshi can choose the wise master, you can still attempt great undertaking. Letting out a distressedugh, Shen Luoyans beautiful eyes were full of emotion as she said, To the Li n, I, Shen Luoyan am just an outsider, plus I am also discouraged, no longer have the great ambition and magnificent aspiration of the olden days! Without any better option, if you marry a chicken follow the chicken, if you marry a dog follow the dog; I have to put my feelings in order to be a good woman of a Li family. Xu Zilings heart was shaken; he knew that Shen Luoyan has finally decided to marry Xu Shiji, who had changed his surname to Li. This trip to Luoyang was to visit Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin, but not acting as an itinerant political adviser for Li Mi, she was acting for her husband instead, to obtain helps. Hanging her head low, Shen Luoyan spoke softly, Why do you stop talking? Xu Ziling hastily replied, I was just going to congratte you! Rolling her eyes at him, Shen Luoyan said, Are you being sincere? Xu Zilings handsome face slightly blushed, he calmly replied, Shen Junshi suddenly passes on this good news, but it is a bit too sudden. But Shen Junshi finding your ideal husband, naturally I am very happy for you. In daze, Shen Luoyan stared at him for half a day, before sighing and said, Oh Xu Ziling! I wonder which familys youngdy would be able to overturn you feeling and make you love her ardently? Xu Ziling did not expect her to be this straightforward; he was totally caught off guard. After clearing his throat a couple times to cover up his embarrassment, he replied with a wry smile, This question, Zaixia really dont know how to answer. Hey! How did Shen Junshi know that I was going to pass by here? Pfft! Shen Luoyan broke into giggle; she cast him a coquettish nce first before saying, Dont change the subject; we are old acquaintances! Cant we talk about some intimate things? Its not that I am forcing you to marry me. Xu Ziling nearly wanted to cry out for his Niang. Although he and Shen Luoyan have always been standing on opposing sides, and this situation has not changed even until now, but the fact was that he had never had any ill will toward her, and of course, they were not at the friendship level that they could talk about the feeling between a man and a woman. There has always been a delicate rtionship between the two, but Shen Luoyans remark has just torn this wrapping paper apart. No matter how he answered it, it would be very difficult not to touch on the affair between men and women, and this would put him in a greatly awkward position. Shen Luoyan seemed to understand his embarrassing situation very well; she spoke cheerfully, Whats the matter? Just answer me like a real man, which girl can upy the first position in your heart? Would you like Luoyan to point out several girls fragrant names to help you jog your memory? Shen Luoyan, who had always looked deeply and with much wisdom, finally no longer suppress the feeling in her heart; speaking forthrightly like this, she revealed the bitterness and despair in her heart toward Xu Ziling. Shen Luoyan, just like Yun Yuzhen, has watched them progressing and maturing, from bullied, nameless hairy-headed rascals rising abruptly to be the inspiring-awe-throughout-the-empire, rebuking-the-Heaven-and-Earth heroes and prominent figures, with enmity-and-love-difficult-to-distinguish, hopelessly-muddled rtionship between them. But now, because of Susus affair, Yun Yuzhen has had a fall out with them, while with Shen Luoyan, although the famous flower already has its owner [idiom: the girl is already taken], they still had wanting-to-break-but-still-connected, remaining-feeling-unfinished rtionship. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling nearly wanted to secretly perform the Motionless Fundamental Image. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, The two of us, Kou Zhong and I, only live our lives one day at a time, how could we dare to think about the affair between men and women? Shen Junshi does not need to waste your mind for this matter! He could not help thinking about Shi Qingxuan and Shi Feixuan. Supposing one of these two was willing to give herself wholly to him, how would he react? He knew that he was just being carried away by his wishful thinking; promptly he discharged this extravagant hope out of his mind, yet in his heart he was still not without self-pity. Shen Luoyan steered the boat into a tributary, leaving the Luo River. Sighing faintly, she looked deste. It was precisely this expression, the eternal moment that Hou Xibai was able to capture by painting it on the surface of his fan. Looking at her, Xu Ziling could only stare nkly, while a feeling of pity rose up greatly in his heart. He remembered that day in Xingyang, where from his hiding ce he heard her dialogue with Li Shiji. Evidently the rtionship between those two persons was not that harmonious and loving at all, so he wondered if the unity of marriage between these two would be auspicious or ominous. Shen Luoyan slowly brought the skiff into a halt under a small bridge, and she sat in the darkest corner at the base of the bridge. Outside the bridge, the water was flickering with the reflection of the moon above, so that the inside and outside the bridge were like two different worlds altogether. The mood was exceptionally beautiful. Quietly her beautiful eyes were gazing at Xu Ziling. It was quite a whileter that she smiled faintly and said, I had never thought that the two of us could sit side by side to have intimate talks in here without any hostility at all. It can clearly be seen that the things of the world are impermanence, it is very difficult to guess. Xu Ziling felt this touching beautys tender and affectionate side; he spoke gently, When would Shen Junshi return to Liyang? Shen Luoyan looked as if she was afraid to destroy the serenity of the moment under the bridge; she replied in soft voice, No! I aming back to Guanzhong; I want to give myst advice to Mi Gong for thest time. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, For thest time? Shen Luoyan lightly nodded her head and said, I want to persuade him to kill his lofty aspiration of contention for hegemony over the world, and to obediently be the Li Familys surrendering subject. Otherwise, even if he could return to office after living as a hermit on Mount Dongshan [idiom: to make aeback], in the end it would be difficult for him to escape his demise. Xu Ziling remained silent. Although Shen Luoyan was giving her advice to Li Mi, she might as well give the same advice to Kou Zhong and him. Shen Luoyan sighed faintly and said, Nowadays, even Du Fuwei resigned himself to surrender to the Tang, and received the order to be appointed Dongnan Daoheng Tai Shangshu [southeast expert support government minister] and bestowed the title Chu Wang [king of Chu]. In this world, who could contend against the House of Tang? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Supposing the House of Tang loses Li Shimin, how do Shen Junshi see it? Shaking her head, Shen Luoyan said, Li Shimin will not lose. Between the Heaven and the Earth, only Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong are worthy to be his opponent. Other people are simply out of the question. Surprised, Xu Ziling said, Shen Junshi thinks too highly of us! Shen Luoyan smiled and said, I did not make that remark; it came from Qin Wangs own mouth. He had worked hard to collect and study your tactics. His conclusion was: like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies, the tactics change unpredictably, without any trace that basically anyone could seek. It deeply follows the intention and purpose of the sly changes of the art of war. What you guysck is just the time. Lets talk about Kou Zhong! Who could be like him, winning without the arrogance, losing without endangering himself, his natural tendency is using logistics as the screen, an outstanding talent in moving the troops with chatting and joking? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You are praising him too much! Even if Kou Zhong, that arrogant kid, heard it, he would blush. Much less we are about to go to Guanzhong to throw away our lives; if we did not die, then we could talk about other things. Shen Luoyan stretched lightly, as if she was putting the beautiful, alluring silhouette of her naked body in full disy for Xu Zilings benefit. After casting him another hundred-charm, thousand-tender nce, she spoke with a hint of smile on her face, Including Li Shimin, nobody is optimistic about your trip to Guanzhong for the treasure hunt, only nujia is of the opposite opinion; I have full confidence on you. Ziling, how would you thank nujia? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, How do you want me to thank you Suddenly red clouds arose on Shen Luoyans jade cheeks, her demeanor became sweet and charming beyond humanprehension. After casting him a sidelong nce, she gently moved her tender body to sit in Xu Zilings bosom. A loud bang shook Xu Zilings mind, but already a soft-jade-warm-fragrance body filled his bosom. Shen Luoyans small mouth was close to his ear; slighting panting, she said, After we part this time, Shen Junshi will be Madame Li; henceforth military affairs will no longer stain Luoyans hands. Now I just wish to leave behind a beautiful memory with Ziling, to obliterate gratitude and grudges of the past. What I am asking is just a soft kiss; Ziling, please dont me Luoyan for being licentious. It was already toote for Xu Ziling to either protest or refuse, Shen Luoyans fragrant lips already heavily imprinted on his lips. That night, the dark ce of charm and beauty under the small bridge has be even gentler and softer. Kou Zhong was hiding in the dark alley, standing close to the bottom of the wall. His tiger-eyes flickering brightly, he watched the main gate of the Rong Mansion diagonally across the street. The Rong Mansion was brightly lit, it was as bright as day. The middle gate was open wide, valiant-looking Jianghu characters wereing in and out in unending stream. Under such circumstances, sneaking into the Rong Mansion was simply an impossibility. Kou Zhong did not really want to go into the Rong Mansion to scout for information; rather, he just wanted to seize an opportunity to use the Moon in the Well on his back to behead demon Taoist Pi Chen who disguised himself as Rong Fengxiang. The one he hated more was the forgetting-favors-and-viting-justice Wang Shichong, but due to the current situation, he must let Wang Shichong retain his dog life for now, so that he could block the Guanzhong Armying to the east. After going through a period of arduous days, his Eight Methods of the Well already reached maturity; the stage where he could make changes at will, the stage where what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes. The most beneficial to him was the battle against Wanwan in Nanyang, which pointed to him where his weaknesses were, which made it more clear to him the strong points that he would need to continue developing. By the time he surpassed the outstanding level of saber moves, even with Song Ques ability, he would have to be careful in dealing with Kou Zhong. And that would represent another level of martial art way. If he could climb to that level, he could be another Heavenly Saber Song Que. Just now, when he descended from the sky, hacking down at demon Taoist Ke Feng at Man Qing Yuan, it was a sign that he has broken out of his cocoon and advanced into the next level of saber technique cultivation, hence the reason Ke Fengs entire mind was terrified by his Moon in the Well, allowing Fu Qian to seed in just one strike. Failure to kill old demon Pi Chen had given him such a blow that deep down in his heart he could not ept. And now he wanted to rely on his own strength to aplish this matter, within the nearly impossible circumstances. As for whether he would have this opportunity, he would let Laotianye decide. At this moment his heart waspletely free of distracting thoughts. Not only there was not the slightest bit of nervousness, he did not even have any thought about life or death in his heart; even the jittery anxiety due to the wait did not exist, not even one drip. He felt as if he could continue waiting just like this, all the way to the end of the universe. This was a fantastic mental state that has never appeared in his mind before; as cold as ice and frost, as steady as the mountain and peaks. There was a sound of hoof beats, an ordinary looking horse-drawn carriage came out of the Rong Mansion and entered the street. There were two men sitting on the driver seat; surprisingly, they were the Laojun Guan martial art masters who stayed close to protect the demon Taoist Ke Feng. Kou Zhong was greatly surprised. Not daring to hesitate, he somersaulted onto the roof and followed the carriage from a distance. Although Xu Ziling was already far away from the small bridge where he and Shen Luoyan exchanged a touching, fervent kiss just now, her intoxicating fragrance was still lingering in his nostrils; he still felt Shen Luoyans carved-in-the-bones-and-engraved-in-the-heart deep love toward him, as well as her sorrows and helplessness. He was even more surprised that although toward this beautiful woman he only had good impression without any love or desire, he still felt the charming and gentle, the soft and fragrant, the erotic and enchanting, touching-to-the-extreme-point, first kiss. Supposing the one who kissed him was either Shi Qingxuan or Shi Feixuan, how would it feel like? Entering an alley, he suddenly halted his steps. The moonlit long street extended as far as his eyes could see. After three more blocks and then turning left, passing Tongjin Canal, he would reach the Xuanfeng Lane, where Fu Qian stayed in Luoyang. Dang! A thought-provoking, barely-audible as if it came from the far away outer space C bell of a Buddhist hall entered Xu Zilings ears. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling discharged all fluttering thoughts and mixed feelings entirely out to clear his spirit. Slowly turning around, he came face to face with a Buddhist holy monk, holding a steel bell in his hand, standing about five zhang away; he calmly said, Xu Ziling pays his respect to Liao Kong Dashi. Unexpectedly it was the Buddhist holy monk Liao Kong Dashi from Jingnian Chanyuan, whose martial art skill was trained until his youthfulness was restored. Liao Kong Dashi smiled slightly and said, Would Xu Shizhu be willing toe with Pinseng to the Chanyuan to stay for some time? Smiling ruefully in his heart, Xu Ziling knew that the ones who wereing have finallye; the ones that Kou Zhong was more afraid to confront: Shi Feixuan and the rest of the Four Great Holy Monks. [1] Wei Zheng (580-643), Tang politician and historian, notorious as a critic, editor of History of the Sui Dynasty Book 29 - 10 – Shadow Sank Into The Cold River Chapter 10 C Shadow Sank Into The Cold River The carriage speedily entered a Taoist temple. Kou Zhong suppressed his curiosity to take a peek on who would being out of the carriage. Hiding in the shadowyne, he waited patiently. Sure enough, in less than the time needed to drink half a cup of hot teater, two shadows separately came out of the Taoist temple and another building across the street, and jumped down onto the clear and cold long street, which, in this quiet night, was quite deserted. Surprisingly, it was two middle-aged Taoist priests. Just by looking at their swift shenfa, Kou Zhong knew that their martial art skill was quite outstanding. The two Taoist priests looked at each other andughed. One of them spoke in low voice, This method has both advantages and disadvantages. During the day, it is more difficult to get rid of the enemy [orig. to skim froth or foam from the surface of a liquid]; in the night, it is easy to see if there is anybody following the track. Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly. Hastily crouching down, he stuck his ear to the ground, and was able to faintly caught the sound of hoof beats in the distance. Such a close call! he cried inwardly. Winding around the two Taoist priests, he continued to follow. This was certainly a simple and effective move; from the front gate of the Taoist temple, the carriage went out of the rear gate, plus they had watchmen in hiding to see if there was anybody tailing behind. Fortunately these two demon Taoists were so pleased that they lost their senses and thus revealed their foundation, hence Kou Zhong came to see the truth. He had just leaped over the roof of a house when the rm went off in Kou Zhongs heart. Quickly he crouched down and stayed still, he cried inwardly that he was almost fooled. He recalled that all the demonic Taoists in the Laojun Guan, not a single one was not a wily old fox, a Jianghu veteran. They jumped down to the street and talked just like that, plus the first remark they made already revealed their secret, it simply did not make any sense; evidently they were ying tricks. If Kou Zhong hastily chase after the carriage, he would certainly fall into their trap. Moreover, the other party must have realized that in the depth of the night, since there was no other vehicles and horses around, the sound of hoof beats could be easily detected; how could they not think of any countermeasure? For example, using another carriage with the horses hoofs wrapped in cloth, or perhaps abandoning the carriage altogether and going in foot. Any one of these methods could be used to easily skim off the tracker. Kou Zhong secretly wiped his cold sweat; before his eyes was clearly a trap that old demon Rong meticulously plotted to be used against the enemy like he and Xu Ziling, and Kou Zhong was nearly fooled. The two Taoist priests soared into the air and disappeared behind the wall of the Taoist temple courtyard. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong watched with rapt attention and concentrated will, while amassing his qi into his dantian. Everything around him immediately became clear. From the reflection of the golden beam of moonlight, to the variation of the airflow due to the night breeze, none could escape his elevated-many-times-over senses. Right this moment, he heard a barely perceptible sound of fluttering sleeves approaching swiftly from his rear left. Without the slightest hesitation Kou Zhong leaped down to the street and like a ghost he flew toward the Taoist temple. Calmly, yet indifferently, Xu Ziling replied, Dashis proposal, please forgive Xu Ziling for not being able to ept. With solemn precious countenance, Liao Kong called one of the many names of Buddha in low voice, he spoke softly, Shizhu only has the way eye and intelligent root [not sure, perhaps Buddhist term, ۻ۸], could it be that you still cannot see through, and unable to let go? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling replied, Who can see through? Who can let it go? What I am pursuing is a carefree life; Ill go whenever I want to go, Ill stay whenever I want to stay, not being subjected to left and right. If by seeing through and letting it go means being imprisoned in Jingnian Chanyuan, wheres the logic in that? A hint of smile escaped from the corner of Liao Kongs mouth; he spoke softly, No attachment in life, no fear in death, no Buddha to look for, no demon to be afraid of, that is the meaning of freedom, which can be obtained from ones own heart. Not only freedom does not have any appearance, it also has no name, no premises. The more one is strongly attached to freedom, the more confusing andplicated it will be, reason and mental state be unclear. No existence, no end, no departing, no staying, no Buddha is in fact Buddha. Listening to that, Xu Zilings eyebrows were greatly knitted; he could no longer say that Liao Kongs words were without reason. Sighing, he said, Xu Ziling is just a piece of obstinate rock, Dashi will only waste your time exining. I will definitely not follow Dashi back to the Chanyuan. Each of us has our own attachment; it seems to me that in the end we must use martial art to resolve this matter. Liao Kong said, Only the body is solid and dense, everything else appears in the dust. Does Shizhu understand this saying? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, Such a profound Dhyana logic, I will have to trouble Dashi to exin. Liao Kong slowly came near; he said with a smile, Can we walk and talk? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, Are we going to Jingnian Chanyuan? Liao Kongughed, but did not answer; he simply brushed past him. Xu Ziling had no choice but to walk side by side with him. He heard this holy monk, who had attained the Way, said, Only the body is solid and dense is the heart of Buddhism. All mortals have Buddha nature, Buddhas heart is all living things body, that is, the heart is Buddha, and this Buddhas heart is now manifested in everything in the world, it is being released into the world during birth, strong attachment is not strong attachment, everything is in every cun of the heart. As long as Shizhu is willing to change your mind, you could exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk. Shizhu, what do you think? Xu Ziling carefully pondered his advice, imbued with Buddhist allegory. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he turned to face the brushing cold wind of the long street, and spoke indifferently, The dispute in the world is because the heart of the people is different and it grows. I understand Dashis position, but Dashi should understand my position as well. How could Xu Ziling be one who rush indiscriminately into using weapons of war? Liao Kong led him to turn left into the spacious za of a magnificent monastery, surrounded all around by old trees. On the other side of the za was the Hall of Great Strength [main hall of Buddhist temple], from which came the faint glow ofntern lights. Xu Ziling halted his steps, with his back leaning against the main entrance. Although his spirited perception far surpassed ordinary person, upon self-examination, he realized that he had no confidence to determine whether Shi Feixuan and the Four Great Holy Monks were hiding inside the temple, hence he simply had to raise his vignce. Liao Kong continued walking for ten more paces before stopping in the middle of the za, and only then did he turn around. About three paces behind him was a bronze three-legged incense burner, about waist high. He did not know who lighted two incense sticks on the stove, but the smoke was rising in spirals, which was quickly dispersed by the cold wind. The roof of the temple hall reflected the radiance of the moon and the stars; it flickered brightly. The entire temple courtyard was quiet, without any noise, giving up the impression of a secluded, cold and somber ce. Dang! Liao Kong shook the small copper [sic] bell in his hand; he spoke with solemn expression, Wild goose cross over the vast sky, shadow sank into the cold river. Although the wild goose has no intention to leave its trace, the water alsock the intention to sink the shadow; however, the wild goose crossing over and the shadow sinking is a widely known fact. Have Xu Shizhu given any thought to themon people under the heavens? Now Xu Ziling understood clearly why Shi Feixuan did not spare any effort in preventing them, two boys, going to Guanzhong for a treasure hunt. What she was afraid of was not whether the two boys could transport the treasure out, because that was practically impossible. She was worried that the treasure would fall into Li Jianchengs hands. Currently Li Jianchengs prestige was greatly rising, and this was unfavorable to Li Shimin, who found himself in the position of brothers going into separate factions and fighting each other. Xu Ziling wanted very much to tell Liao Kong that he was willing to apany Kou Zhong taking this risk simply because he was hoping that Kou Zhong would sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat [idiom], and kill his wild schemes of contending over the world, but in the end he did not say anything. Reviewing his encounter with Shen Luoyan just now, Xu Ziling recalled his understanding and what he learned from experience about illusion and reality; he spoke heavily, Since Miss Shis immortal self has arrived, why note out to see me? Staying close to the wall, Kou Zhong slipped into the tree garden of the Taoist temple. Crouching low and dashing swiftly, he rounded a hexagonal pavilion. Sweeping his gaze around, he could not help groaning inwardly. This ce was the flower garden on the left side of the Taoist temple. Although it had small bridge over running water, the pavilion [̨ͤ] and the water pavilion [ˮ] were furnished, the decoration elegant, but the vegetation was sparse bamboo tree nted inside pots; practically there was no hiding ce. In his quick wit, Kou Zhong shed to the bridge and submerged himself into the water under the bridge. He had just hidden himself well when there was the sound of rushing wind above; someone wasing into the Taoist temples main hall via the side door. For Kou Zhong, this was a gamble. He was betting that the opposite side thought nobody followed, and he took advantage of this moment of negligence to slip through this gap. Although his senses were not as sensitive as Xu Zilings, he had enough confidence that he would be able to sense whether the enemy has detected his presence or not. It appeared that for the time being, he was quite sessful. The person who had just entered the temple must be a martial art master who was responsible in making sure that nobody would follow their track. His speed was outstanding; even Kou Zhong had to admit that he was inferior to this person. Perhaps it was someone of Zhu Yuyan or Wanwans caliber. If Kou Zhong had tried to slip in after they arrived, his risk would be elevated many times over. Kou Zhong slowly rose up to the surface of the water and concentrated his power into his ears. The voice of the person in the temple immediately entered his ears. Rong Jiaojiaos sweet voice was heard from inside the temple, Really strange! Where the hell are those three goddamn guys hiding? Kou Zhong came to realize that the person inside the carriageing here from the Rong Mansion was Rong Jiaojiao and not Pi Chens Old Demon Rong disguise. If he had known earlier, he would have made his move along the way to kill this female demon. Another female voice replied, Based on Kou Zhongs character, in no way will he ept defeat, hence Da Xiaojie [big miss] guessed that just like in Nanyang, he might not want to let go and would try to assassinate Pi Chen Shishu [martial uncle]. But now evidently he has not pursued over; it is indeed unlike his usual style. Kou Zhong again wiped his cold sweat, while crying inwardly that Female Demon Wan was really formidable. Turned out Kou Zhong was so easy to see through; no wonder he was almost buried in Nanyang. The speaker was Yin Gui Pai elder Wen Caiting. Her appearance in this ce really made Kou Zhong happy, because now he knew for sure that his spection that Rong Fengxiang and Yin Gui Pai were in cahoots was correct. This moment, Zhu Yuyans voice was heard, Just consider them very lucky. Or perhaps during the execution of our n, our timing was off, or perhaps there is something important that they simply have to attend to! Either way, Wang Shichong has already agreed to cooperate with us; from beginning to end, even if those two grew wings, it will still be difficult to fly. Rong Jiaojiao said, But Wang Shichongs condition is that we have to wait until they send Tuli off before we make our move to deal with them, would Shizun [revered master] think this condition is eptable? Inwardly, Kou Zhong was greatly shaken; he did not know that Rong Jiaojiao was another disciple of Zhu Yuyans. In this case, Laojun Guan has always been working together with Yin Gui Pai. He could not help feeling so lucky that he came here and overheard such an important and confidential information. Naturally he hated Wang Shichong to the bones even more. Wanwans gentle and lovely voice came over, Quite possibly Luoyang is ourst chance to capture those two boys. That old fox Wang Shichong is too unreliable, after all, he is an outsider, plus he has misgivings toward us. My thought is that as soon as they expose their whereabouts, we will immediately go all out in making our moves, no need to have any misgivings. Shizun, please make the decision. Kou Zhong sucked a mouthful of cold air, he nearly sank back to the bottom of the creek. Just Zhu Yuyan, one person, was enough put him in order with plenty of leftover, not to mention there was also Wanwan. The Yunyu Shuang Xiu Pi Shouxuan said, Waners remark is not without any reason. While currently the two boys are still stupid enough not to know that we have arrived at the Eastern Capital, well kill them while they are unprepared. If we waited for Shi Feixuan and those four big donkeys [Buddhist monk (derog.)] to rush over, the situation will be even moreplicated. At this time, Old Demon Pi Chen, using his original voice, said, Ay! What I am worried about is Shi Zhixuan. He warned me not to get involved in those two kids affair, which put me in a very difficult situation. Die! Rong Jiaojiaos tender voice said, Now they already killed Ke Feng Shishu, how could the situation be the same? Even if Shi Zhixuan is so overbearing, he has no choice but to speak about the practices between our two schools. Letting out a cold snort, Zhu Yuyan said, Dao Xiong [brother Taoist], dont worry, if Shi Zhixuan wants to me you, let him me me, Zhu Yuyan, first! He does as he pleases more and more! He knew that Sheng Sheli [holy relics] is the object that I want, he still dares to fight over it with me. Pi Chen sighed again; obviously because his misgivings toward Shi Zhixuan was too deep that he was still worried and sick at heart. Although the monastery was full of demonic schools martial art masters, but perhaps only Zhu Yuyan and Wanwan, two persons who would be able to fight against Shi Zhixuan for a day, more or less. Wanwan said, The assassination of Ke Feng Shishu, other than those three kids, there was another person involved. If we could find out who this person is, perhaps we could find their hiding ce. Immediately Kou Zhongs scalp went numb; inwardly he swore and curse Wanwan, this despicable female demon. Pi Chenughed grimly and said, Who this person is, I already have a good guess. Before the incident, Fu Qians man reserved a private room on the upper level of the south hall, but he did not show up. From this, I obtained clues. But in this matter, we cannot act blindly without thinking. This man Fu Qian, in terms of talent, intelligent, and martial art skill, all are deep and immeasurable. The martial art masters under hismand are as numerous as the clouds. And then there are those three kids. They are absolutely not easy to deal with. If we fail to subdue them by force, it will destroy our cooperation with Wang Shichong instead. Zhu Yuyan said, Daoer [Taoist] means ... Pi Chen resolutely said, Wang Shichong and I still have to use each other; if Zhu Zunzhe [honored sir/madam] has no objection, I believe it would be best to be a bit patient for the time being, to hold back our troops without moving, to wait until Tuli leaves tomorrow, and then we can take action against them, two boys. They could not have guessed the subtle rtionship between Wang Shichong and us. Zhu Yuyan muttered to herself irresolutely for half a day before saying, We will of course respect Dao Xiongs opinion; lets do it this way! Well meet again tomorrow to discuss the details of this operation. Wanwan let out a light sigh; lowering her voice, she said, Ay! Shizun and Zongzhu [head of a n/school] must not me Waner for thinking too much, but Waners heart is suddenly filled with ominous foreboding; if we wait until tomorrow, theres a good chance that they might escape Luoyang. Those who underestimated Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have never had any good return; Li Mi is the most obvious example. Waner naturally understand Pi Zongzhus difficulty, but as long as Zongzhu points out to Wang Shichong that there is great possibility that they already see through his conspiracy, perhaps Wang Shichong would be willing to change his mind. Listening to that, Kou Zhong rained curses on her again in his heart; since clearly they had no way out, the only way right now was to inform Fu Qian as soon as possible, and then all of them would have to flee in defeat. Pi Chen was silent for a moment before speaking heavily, What Waner said is not without any reason. Very well! I will immediately go see Wang Shichong toy out the pros and cons thoroughly; well see whether we can move him or not. Immediately Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused; to assassinate Pi Chen, this would be one in a thousand years good opportunity. From the Hall of Great Strength, Shi Feixuans heavenly voice, which sounded like the sounds of nature, came out, Since Ziling Xiong wishes to see Feixuan, why note in to meet me? From deep within his heart, aplex emotion, which he himself was unable to understand, welled up in Xu Zilings heart. After saluting Liao Kong, he slowly stepped into the Buddhist Hall. Although Xu Ziling had no idea which Buddhist temple was this temple, but by looking at the magnificent construction of the hall, and the refined and amazingyout, he knew that this temple must be one of the famous Buddhist monasteries in Luoyang. On the white stone steps opposite the door, there was a giant Buddha statue sitting on doubleyer of lotus petals on octagonal Mount Meru seat. Its eyebrows raised, its precious appearance solemn as it looked slightly down, as if it was able to see clearly the suffering of all living things; its bearing was grand. A cloak was draped over one shoulder of its golden body. Its hands were in No Fear Image position, a hint of reserved smile was hanging on the corners of its mouth. Its left and right sides were lined with heavenly kings and powerful warriors y images. Not only the poses were all different, their bearing, stance, movement, all the way to the size of their bodies appeared to be random and varied. Many-posture-and-many-color scenery, the changes within it contained some kind of harmony-within-the-contrast unity. Just now he inly heard Shi Feixuans immortal voice from the inside, but as he entered the Hall, her fragrant trace was unclear. Xu Ziling walked around the Buddha pedestal toward the back. He was just about to step out from the rear door, his eyes were suddenly caught by one of the warrior statues behind the Buddha pedestal. This statue had a short skirt wrapped around its waist, the ornament on its torso was slightly cherry red, its limbs were thick and solid, it had broad shoulders and thick spleen, its muscle and flesh were bulging, its brows and eyes opened up in anger, its imposing manner was tyrannical and extremely fierce. Xu Ziling suddenly remembered Kou Zhong. Kou Zhongs wild and fierceness were hidden beneath his somewhat cynic and free and at ease manner, but his overbearing side could be felt in the same manner as this statue. Shi Feixuans voice came through again, Feixuan is waiting respectfully for Ziling Xiongs honorable self. This moment Xu Zilingpletely calmed down. Affected by the Buddhist Halls withdrawn-from-worldly-affairs atmosphere, he sessfully threw out the distracting thoughts in his heart. No attachment in life, no fear in death, no demon to be afraid of. He was well aware that as soon as he stepped over the threshold, he would confront the biggest challenge he had ever faced since his debut, yet he still fearlessly stepped into the flower garden between the Hall of Great Strength and the sparsely wooded area behind the Hall. Shi Feixuan was sitting in the small pavilion right in the middle of the garden. The moon sprinkled its golden light all over the garden, gently casting the shadow of the trees, the branches, and the leaves onto the ground, so beautiful like a scroll ofndscape painting that was hard for any highly skilled painter to capture. As long as there was Shi Feixuan in it, no matter how intolerably vulgar ce would turn peaceful with a bit of immortal aura added onto it, much less this ce was a sacred ce of an ancient and famous Buddhist temple to begin with. Under Shi Feixuans beautiful, prating gaze, Xu Ziling sat down across the table. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Since we parted at Western Shu [i.e. Sichuan], very quickly several months have passed. Ziling Xiongs elegant manner even surpasses the past, a clear sign that your cultivation has enjoyed great progress; it is indeed a pleasure to see. Xu Ziling, however, responded with a wry smile, Supposing Miss Shis remark came from a sincere heart, wouldnt it be a little contradictory? Because if my skill has progressed greatly, it would beparatively more difficult to capture me alive; am I right? Shi Feixuans jade countenance was as calm as still water, only the slender, extended-into-her-temples beautiful eyebrows slightly came together, but quickly smoothed out. Smiling gracefully, she said, Can you not be that uptight? Feixuan only wanted to invite you and your good brother Kou Shao Shuai to temporarily withdraw to hidden mountain forest to pass a bit of cozy andfortable life, to cultivate martial art in secret, just like the bird in the forest, the fish in the river; wouldnt it be free and easy? Again, Xu Ziling felt Shi Feixuans fierce and severe sharp remark, which was as deep and tightly-joined-together as a sword move. In fact, as early as when Xu Ziling stepped into the temple where Shi Feixuan was hiding, the two of them had already started their battle. It appeared to be an idle chitchat of two acquaintances when they met again after separation, but beneath the surface they were seeking for any gap in the opponents line of defense, and were striving to snatch the initiative. Xu Ziling wanted to maintain the battle intent, he was fighting for his own freedom and struggle; while Shi Feixuan was using her ingenuity to weaken Xu Zilings will to risk his life, in order to reach her goal of capturing him alive. The most delicate thing was that there was great feeling between the two, which made the situation even moreplicated. Xu Ziling recovered his calm andposed demeanor; he spoke indifferently, Misss use of the word invite is where the problem lies. It all boils down to us submitting obediently to your arrangement. Since we were little, Kou Zhong and I were wild children without any family; we are not ustomed to others exercise control over us. Does Miss understand? Shi Feixuan suddenly hung down her head and spoke gently, Of course Feixuan understands. Therefore, I decided to withdraw to the hidden mountain forest together with you. If we do it this way, would you feel a bit better? Xu Zilings heart was severely shaken. He suddenly remembered Bi Xiuxin and Shi Zhixuans affair; momentarily he was unable to respond. Shi Feixuan lifted her pretty face to gaze at the enchanting moon in the night sky. Her voice serene, she said, The Duke Yangs Treasure has more far-reaching implication than the Jade Annulus of He n; not only it affects the struggle over who will unify the world, it also touches the rise and decline of Wulins orthodox and heretical sects. Kou Zhong has proven with unshakeable facts that not only he is C other than you C an amazing talent, the top of this generation C in martial art study, he is also a smart and brave-without-equalmander-in-chief. If he is sessful in obtaining the Duke Yangs Treasure for his own, ultimately he and Qin Wang might be the two forces contending for hegemony, and then the world will be split up for a long time andmon people will suffer just like what happens today. Feixuan wants to invite two gentlemen to withdraw from the struggle. Although I am acting against my will, this is the only option. Naturally Xu Ziling was very clear about what she wanted, its just that since it was spelled out directly from her purple-red lips, outwardly he was still shocked. Not only the Duke Yangs Treasure was the key in the struggle between the different factions of the Li Family of Guanzhong, due to the Treasure also included the demonic schools treasure Xie Di Sheli [Demonic Emperors Relic], if it fell into the hands of people like Zhu Yuyan or Shi Zhixuan, the demonic school would most likely prevail against the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools. The Way would vanish, the demonic would grow, which would lead to precarious situation. Shi Feixuans worries were not without any reason. The Duke Yangs Treasure was brought about by the previous dynastys important minister and famousmander Yang Su, to be used to counter Emperor Wen, Yang Jian, when thetter was scheming to deal with him. And he had the number one artisan in the world, Lu Miaozi, helping him in designing the secret ce to hide the treasure; therefore, naturally the treasure was not a small matter. No matter into whose hands this treasure would fall into, it would be very difficult to guess what the result would be. It was precisely this kind of unpredictable aftermath that Shi Feixuan did not wish to see. Xu Ziling knew that he was in a disadvantageous position; without any better option, he sighed and said, Miss thinks that we really have the ability to transport the entire Duke Yangs Treasure out of Guanzhong? We are not talking about the tiny precious Jade Annulus of He n. Shi Feixuans pair of pretty eyes lit up, she slowly said, If it were somebody else, Feixuan would definitely think that he is carried away by his wishful thinking. But since its Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, anybody with a little bit of brains would not dare to treat it lightly. Li Mi had to forfeit the rivers and mountains because he did exactly that. And then, pursing her lips, sheughed and said, Your past achievements are too terrifying! Seeing her suddenly showing a little girls cute and na?ve demeanor, Xu Ziling could not help staring nkly at her. Shi Feixuan sighed lightly and said, Looking back, youll see the door that will free yourself from worldly worries, the return of spring brings everything anew. Oh, Xu Ziling! What else do you want Feixuan to say to you? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Misss painstaking effort to persuade me, Xu Ziling is extremely grateful. But things havee to this, nobody is able to turn it back. I have promised Kou Zhong that I will go with him to seek the treasure. If we cant find it, we will both return home to till the fields; if we find it, well split the goods and go our separate ways. This is my most honest words; originally I did not want to say it, but in the end I still had to say it! Shi Feixuan calmly asked, How much confidence does Ziling Xiong have that you will find the Duke Yangs Treasure? Not even half, Xu Ziling replied, We only know the approximate location. Shi Feixuan spoke word-by-word, Do you wish for Kou Zhong to seed in finding the treasure? Xu Ziling dejectedly shook his head; discouraged, he said, I only hope that if he cannot find the treasure, he would kill this ambition. Shi Feixuans pair of eyes flickered with bright light; she said, But you clearly know that if you divulge the approximate location, Li Yuanji would have a great chance of finding the treasure. Xu Ziling replied, That possibility is indeed very high. Not only Li Yuanji would not need to hide to the left and flee to the right like us, he could also openly carry outrge-scale excavation to search for the treasure. Shi Feixuan solemnly said, If we invite Shao Shuai to withdraw from this matter, can Xu Ziling sit on the sidelines and pay no attention? Chopping the nail and slicing the iron [idiom: resolute and decisive], Xu Ziling replied, I cant! Shi Feixuan rose up gracefully, with a light cry she said, Where it came from, where it will return. When dreaming, one cannot say its nothing; when awake, one cannot say its there. Looking at her graceful figure disappearing behind the Halls door, Xu Ziling knew that finally he broke off his rtions with this fairy-like beauty. He slowly closed his eyes. The sound of Zen chant entered his ears. The Four Great Holy Monks were about to make their move. Book 29 - 11 – Inaction and Action Chapter 11 C Inaction and Action Kou Zhong quietly left the creek. Applying his power to evaporate the water from his body; taking advantage of the bunch of demon Taoists and demon women were still discussing how to move Wang Shichongs heart, he stealthily crept toward the rear court. These past several years he and Xu Ziling have been hunted continuously to the border of the sky and the corner of the earth, they were forced by circumstances to be the top experts in escaping and hiding. Relying on effective senses and reaction, which far exceeded ordinary Wulin characters, he sessfully evaded several demon Taoist sentries and reached the rear courtyard, lined with bamboo grove, where he hid behind a garden rockery and peeked outside. The Emperor of Heaven does not turn his back on those who have the heart. The carriage that came from the Rong Mansion was indeed parked here. The problem was that the two Laojun Guan martial art masters were chatting close to the carriage. These two men were around forty years old, both had high and swelling Taiyang acupoint [on the temples]; their eyes were spirited, their appearance looked strange and demonic. If they were wearing Taoist robe, then they were definitely demon Taoists. Slipping inside the carriage via the carriage door in front of their eyes was practically an impossibility. The next best thing would be if he could hide at the bottom of the carriage. From time to time the two horses pulling the carriage were blowing air and letting out low neigh; perhaps they were getting impatient due to the bitterly cold weather. Kou Zhong frowned while trying to find an idea. He recalled Xu Zilings Treasured Vase Image. Copying Xu Zilings technique, he stretched his hand forward and extended his fingers while slowly gathering his power, concentrating hisplete attention on the whooshing night wind at the same time. Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew, brushing his back. By the time the cold wind blew through the rockery, it created a sharp whistling noise. Kou Zhong knew the time hase; he quickly released a finger wind, piercing the horses buttock standing about ten zhang away, while at the same time he shot out close to the ground. The wind pierced the horse, which immediately let out a long neigh and reared on its hind legs. When the front legs touched the ground, it pulled the carriage, along with the other horse C forward. Caught off guard, the two demon Taoists panicked; hastily they tried to control the horses. Their attention waspletely on the horses that they did not see Kou Zhong, from the back, shooting into the bottom of the carriage, and positioned himself inside the cavity between the two axles. These two men were exchanging pointers and sharing their experience in the Taoist cultivation. Just before the incident, their discussion had reached an interesting stage; therefore, after swearing and cursing for a moment, they quickly returned to the topic without the slightest care of what had just happened. Light footsteps came. Kou Zhong changed his outer breathing to the inner breathing, while suppressing the essence and qi of his entire body, and cried inwardly, A close call! Just by listening to the footsteps, he knew that Zhu Yuyan and the others were personally seeing the Old Demon Rong off into the carriage. If he had sessfully hid inside the carriage, it would definitely be extremely terrible. Among the enemies, there were Zhu Yuyan and Wanwan, hence he quickly dispelled the idea of sticking out his head to take a peek, so he just calmed his heart down to listen attentively. Zhu Yuyans cold and detached voice, which was devoid of any emotions, was heard from the side of the carriage, Dao Xiong, your trip this time is of major importance, you must use both gentle methods and force; you must not let Wang Shichong give you ambiguous answer. The door was pulled open. Pi Chens gentle-and-reserved, pleasant-to-hear voice said, Zongzun please be assured, I know this mans character like the back of my hand, plus my Luo Shui Bang has control over the economic lifeline of Luoyang; he has no choice but toply with us. Zhu Yuyan said, It is rumored that in recent years somebody is meddling topete with you for external business; is it true? Letting out a cold snort, Pi Chen said, This person is precisely Zhai Rangs daughter, Zhai Jiao. Were it not for Dou Jiande behind her giving her support, I would have sent someone to kill her. Listening to this, Kou Zhongs heart was shocked; his murderous intent was ring even higher. Yunyu Shuang Xiu Pi Shouxuan spoke indifferently, Such an insignificant Liang clown, what can they do? Do you want us to handle it on Zongzhus behalf? I guarantee it will be a clean job. Absolutely not, Pi Chen replied, If people find out about our rtionship, my trouble will be greatly increased. I have to handle this matter openly. It is best to deal a business affair with business method, otherwise, my hard-earned reputation might be destroyed overnight, Luo Shui Bang might also disintegrate because of this. Zhu Yuyan said, Dao Xiong knows about this matter better than we do, naturally it should be left to Dao Xiong to deal with. And then someone climbed up into the carriage. Unexpectedly, other than Pi Chen, there was also Rong Jiaojiao. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. If one strike failed, he would not have a second chance. But this moment he was like riding a tiger, it would be hard to get off. Without any better option he raised his qi to lighten his body to avoid the demon Taoist and the female demon sensing something was unusual from the weight of the carriage. Amidst the sound of people saying goodbye, the carriage set off. A strange and jovial voice, from nobody-knows-where, was chanting, If a man seeks Buddha, the man will miss Buddha. If a man seeks the Way, the man will miss the Way. It doesnt matter if you are proficient in the Scripture, it doesnt matter if you are a prince, a marquis, a general or a minister, it doesnt matter if you can argue with words like a torrent, it doesnt matter if you are smart or wise, you only need to be your true self. If you want to sleep then go sleep, if you want to sit then sit; if you are hot then cool down, if you are cold then face the fire. In Xu Zilings mind, a clear picture of a not-bothering-about-trifles, not-particr-about-ceremony, casual-minded-yet-has-truly-attained-the-Way holy monk started to emerge, which was as different as can be from the conscientious-in-words-andugh, precious-appearance-and-stately holy monk that he always pictured in his mind. Not only the words of this Zen-chanting holy monk contained the wisdom that was easy to understand. The most formidable thing was that he was able to make his voice swiftly moving and hard to fathom. Only this one fact, Xu Ziling knew that he was unable to match; pushing it further, he knew that the way the monk moved would also be hard to fathom and vicious to resist. Still keeping his eyes closed, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Is it Chanzong Sizu Daoxin Dashi? The manughed aloud and said, Kid is indeed destined to meet Buddha, one guess and you hit it. How about answering another question from Laoseng [old monk]? Heaven above, the earth below, ahead and behind are Buddhist Hall, left and right are the walls, where is the hidden treasure? This was the first time that Xu Ziling encountered a Zen question; smiling slightly, he said, Is it like Sizu just said, hidden treasure can only be obtained within oneself? Daoxin Dashiughed so hard that he choked; he said, Ay! Good kid. I thought you were going to reply that the hidden treasure is in Changan. All right! Life is a hundred years, how much will appearance pass? Pleasure and suffering are short, anxiety is indeed a lot! What about snow wine, the days going toward smoke dream, flowers overflow the reeds edge, sparse rain phased over. When the wine is gone, the staff travels many roads, which one is not ancient, Nanshan [southern mountain] is a lofty mountain. Xu Zilings heart was overwhelmed with emotion; using poetry and literature Daoxin described the realm in which he pursued broad-mindedness without any restriction, screaming to engage in mountain forest way of life. Although he knew perfectly well than Daoxin wanted to psychologically weaken his fighting spirit, he could not help being affected by it. Inwardly he pondered whether sacrificing his life for Kou Zhong would be too much? A Buddhist chant, followed by the humming noise of a bell. The voices chanting the sutras appeared to being from the out-of-reach distant end of the earth; if he did not pay attention, it sounded indistinct, yet if he concentrated his mind to listen, every single word was so clear, nothing was left behind; clearly it was some kind of marvelous Buddhist skill. From inside the carriage, Rong Jiaojiaos voice came down, Die, daughter is not going toe with you to the Imperial Pce, lest tonight I will be entangled by Crown Prince Xuanying. Ay! I never imagined that there would be such an annoying man in the world. Rong Fengxiangs gloomy-voice-thin-breathing said, There are all kinds of men in the world. If Li Yuan did not have a son like Li Shimin, how could situation like today arise? Pity that Wang Shichongcks his good fortune. Even until now, Kou Zhong, under the carriage, was still unclear on Rong Jiaojiao and Pi Chens father-daughter rtionship; even more, he did not know her rtionship with Zhu Yuyan and Yang Xuyan. ording to reason, if Rong Jiaojiao was Zhu Yuyans disciple, how could she hang around Shi Zhixuans disciple? Unless Yang Xuyan did not know Rong Jiaojiaos true identity. Rong Jiaojiao sighed and said, After the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan left Bashu, nobody knows his tracks; it really gives us headache. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused; hurriedly he pricked up his ears to eavesdrop. Rong Fengxiangs voice turned cold; he said, I never thought that not only he did not die, he even mastered the Great Method of Changing the Sun. The longer we do not get rid of this man, the longer he will be the great disaster waiting to happen to us. Rong Jiaojiao said, The scariest thing now is if he went to Changan to see his old friend Li Yuan. Because he has deep knowledge of our demonic schools secret, if he exposed Xiao Nis rtionship with us, the consequences is truly difficult to guess. Listening to this, Kou Zhong was stunned. He really could not imagine that Yue Shan and Li Yuan, who seemed to bepletely unrted to one another, were unexpectedly good friends. Letting out a cold snort, Rong Fengxiang said, Zhu Yuyan did not kill him that day, Ill say that she regretted it so much. Rong Jiaojiao said, Its not that Zhu Yuyan really did not want to kill him, its just that the ship was not a good ce to fight; moreover, she did not want anybody to know her rtionship with Bai Qinger. Just by hearing how she called Zhu Yuyans name directly, he knew that her master-disciple rtionship with Zhu Yuyan was not a simple one. Rong Fengxiang said, My guess is that he is going to Lingnan to look for Song Que for a decisive battle, to wipe the former disgrace away. It would be most ideal if Song Que could separate his head from his body in one chop. Once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. The carriage suddenly stopped. Kou Zhong lowered his head to look sideways. The ce where the carriage stopped was unexpectedly not the main gate of Rong Mansion, but the gate to another buildings courtyard. There was no light on the street; the air was silent without any noise. Rong Jiaojiao said, Im off! And then there was the sound of door being opened. Inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly delighted. Slowly he drew the Moon in the Well. By the time Rong Jiaojiao disappeared behind the wall, he slipped out from the bottom of the carriage. The two martial art masters from Laojun Guan driving the carriage did not know that an assassin was already at the other side of the carriage. The whip rose up and fell. The first thing he saw was naturally the sittingfortably-on-top-of-the-roof-ridge-of-the-building-behind-the-temple-hall, holding-up-a-pot-and-drinking-his-fill Chanzong Sizu Daoxin Dashi. At a nce, he seemed to be over a hundred years old man, simply because his pair of white eyebrows was so long that they hung down toward his ears, his snow white long beard was hanging down over his bulging belly. But as Xu Ziling looked closely, his eyes were shooting out spirited light, the skin on his face was as young and smooth as a babys skin, with reddish tint within the white color of his glowing-with-youthfulness face. His shiny baldhead reflected the bright moon. Although he was fat, he was in no way obese. He appeared to be rxed and contented, carefree and lived peacefully, exuding a good-natured-and-kind impression to others. Seeing Xu Ziling looking up at him, Daoxin Dashi raised his pot and chanted, Bluish green mountain, the peoplee; clear wine fills the cup to the brim, liveliness reaches far out, no need to be discouraged of death, marvelous cropes naturally, who would take part in making the decision? The idea behind these six sentences was someoneing for a visit, wine was used to show hospitality, brimming with exuberant vitality, without the slightest contamination of the heartless loneliness like the desperation of death. The most marvelous thing was the natural realm, which basically did not need anybody elses decision to make it happen. Daoxin Dashi was worthy to be one of the Four Great Holy Monks, each word was like one bead of a string of pearls, all hit squarely on the main points in Xu Zilings heart. Xu Ziling smiled and nodded his head to show courtesy, but he did not say anything. Zhihui Dashi was standing on the stone steps of the main entrance of the rear hall. A dark brown kasaya was draped across his shoulder, outside his grey monk robe. His build was tall, thin and straight, his forehead was high and broad, above his pool-like eye sockets, his eyebrows were ck, his face was slender, his pair of eyes were sparkling with the brilliant rays of wisdom. His overall look was that of a holy monk who had achieved the Way, with the benevolent look of bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind. He put his palms together and called on one of the many names of Buddha in low voice. Slowly rising up, Xu Ziling spoke in a calm andposed manner, There are still Huayan Schools Dixin Zunzhe and Sanlun Schools Jiaxiang Dashi. May I ask where those two Buddhist honorable selves are? Daoxin Dashi raised his thumb and said, Zilings spirit is indeedudable. Those two old baldheads are not in Luoyang yet; as long as you could get by us, Ziling could peacefully go back and get a good night sleep. Zhihui Dashis eyes looked down on his heart; he said, Sin! Sin! This time because it is not an ordinary Jianghu strife at all, please forgive Laonas [old cassock] offense in joining hands with Daoxin Dashi to get Shizhu to stay here. Although his mouth said offense, his state of mind did not fluctuate the least bit. Evidently, when they were making their move, these two grand-master level of Buddhist figures would make an all-out effort to attain the ideal situation without the slightest degree of concern over human emotions. Daoxin Dashiughed aloud and said, Laoseng also wants to ask Zilings forgiveness first. To be fair, as long as Ziling can leave this virtuous temple, we, the two baldheads, will no longer interfere with Zilings conducts. Zhihui Dashis eyes looked down, he chanted aloud, Everything has a method of being, like an illusion, like the dew, but also like lightning; it ought to do just like it observes. Divine light shed in Xu Zilings mind; so abruptly like a thousand li of dense fog suddenly dissipated, blown by a gust of storm, the sky was clear for ten thousand li. Upon leaving the bell tower, he has been pondering the issue that lies between the dreand and the reality. It was the marvelous thought that was brought about by Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image Method, which could raise the realm of reality and fantasy, the empty and the solid, into the extreme realm of illusion blended into the reality. At that time he only vaguely felt that it was a workable approach, but he still had not found the path to put it into practice. But when Zhihui Dashis four lines of Zen revtion entered his ears, it was like the evening drum, morning bell [idiom: the passage of time in a disciplined existence], which made him obtain awareness and enlightenment. The solution lies in the difference between action and inaction. Xu Ziling calmly smiled; he left the small pavilion and walked back toward the Hall of Great Strength [i.e. the main hall of a Buddhist temple contain the main image of veneration]. A strange, astonished feeling welled up in the two Buddhist holy monks heart. It should be noted that after they were showing up themselves, they were using scripture recitation and Dhyana chants,bined with mind power to control Xu Zilings spirit from a distance; who would have thought that apart from a short period of time at the beginning, where Xu Ziling appeared to be affected by the situation, by the time Xu Ziling opened his pair of eyes, he immediately recovered his sobriety and calmness? To this moment, when he had a smile on his face and left, every movement had some kind of resembling-the-nature-itself, confident-and-at-ease, graceful feeling, so that others could not bear to destroy this perfect feeling. In that instant, both Daoxin Dashi and Zhihui Dashi realized that they had fallen into the disadvantageous position. Using an extremely brilliant xinfa, Xu Ziling had grasped their weaknesses. It should be noted that they had been cultivating their power in seclusion for many years; under ordinary circumstances, practically there was no way they could be aroused to attack other people or even having the heart to resort to martial force. This time, for the sake ofmon people, it could be said that they reluctantly bore this heavy responsibility. And now Xu Zilings every single move, every step that he took, none did not contain some kind of abstruse legal principle, just like the touching scenery of the natural world, like watching a clear spring flowing over the rock, or the green hills did not obstruct the white cloud circling in the air; nothing to stop them from moving, nothing to stop them from staying, they wereing and going at will. They were simply incapable of having the intention to raise the weapons of war. Naturally they would not sit idly watching Xu Ziling floating away just like that, only they were forced to make their move, but while doing that, they would also vite Buddhist decree, so that there was a bad feeling of being bound by an invisible rope, which greatly affected their Zen heart. In the blink of an eye, Xu Ziling disappeared behind the back door of the Hall of Great Strength. Daoxin Dashi came to Zhihui Dashis side, and looked at thetter with a bitter smile on is face. Even with their submission power and spiritual cultivation, they still felt that in terms of intelligence and martial art skill, Xu Ziling was unfathomably deep. The Moon in the well swiftly stabbed forward, it broke into the carriage, and prated the back of the seat like piercing a piece of thin paper, to take the old demon Pi Chens, who personified Rong Fengxiang C back. The amassing-to-its-highest-level power of murderous spirit, like volcano dissolving the rocks, was released with an irresistible momentum. This one saber strike was absolutely not by fluke. After going through the Heavenly Saber Song Ques personal instruction and going through fire and water these past few days, plus the studying intensively and painstaking cultivation, it absolutely must attain this result. The most formidable aspect was, just like Xu Zilings Treasure Vase Image, before the power was released, the enemy absolutely would not sense it. It should be noted that Pi Chen ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, naturally his demonic power was excellent, reaching the bing-an-arhat level. Yet Kou Zhong was unexpectedly able to send this saber stab, which as soon as it went out it would be guaranteed to astonish and shake the world, without he perceiving or estimating it. Kou Zhongs urate timing was even more precise, without any gap left not being attacked. He was originally crouching near the front of the carriage. By the time he straightened his back, the carriage had just started to move. The time he needed to stand uppletely and stab the saber precisely brought him to the position where he was slightly behind the carriage window; therefore, the saber was entering the carriage at an angle. It should have hit the vital acupoint on Pi Chens back, so that no matter how formidable the divine power protecting his body was, he shouldnt be able to block Kou Zhongs full-strength, full-spirit, no-stronghold-cannot-be-broken saber strike. It was only this moment that the old demon Pi Chen sensed the attack; he also demonstrated his shrewd and ruthless, as well as fast and nimble reaction. Although the incident happened so suddenly without the least bit of warning sign, he was still able to move sideways first, and then threw himself forward, with the hope of avoiding the fatal disaster. A mournful scream, whichpletely shattered the tranquility of the deep night, shook the long street. Kou Zhong pulled the saber and swiftly withdrew. Taking advantage while the carriage was still blocking the two Laojun Guan martial art masters driving the carriages line of sight, he quickly hid back into the bottom of the carriage. This was a psychological gambling on his part. When an assassins hit did not seed, usually he would quickly run far away, but on the contrary, Kou Zhong stayed nearby. Bang! Pi Chen, who was hit by the saber, with blood spurting out of the wound on his back, crashed through the roof of the carriage and fell to the side of the street. He staggered a moment before rolling down on the ground. The two drivers hastily pounced down to help; naturally they did not have the time to leisurely chase the seemingly disappearing-without-a-trace perpetrator. Kou Zhong cried, What a pity! inwardly, but he was greatly satisfied. Although this saber strike failed to pierce through the old demon Pi Chens heart, but the qi power has shaken his five viscera and six bowels that he suffered a very heavy injury; without spending a year or a half, he could forget about being able to recoverpletely. Gusts of wind rapidly came. Rong Jiaojiao sternly said, Who did this? Suddenly a gentle and reserved, sweet-sounding voice, which at a moment like this still did not grow warm or get zing hot, as if he was not emotionally moved by Pi Chen being attacked and suffering heavy injury, came from the other side of the carriage, This is saber wound; it must be Kou Zhong who did this. That kid can evade Zongzhus eyes and ears and hide to this ce before sending out his saber strike, he is indeed exceptional. This unfamiliar voice, which he heard for the first time, had scared Kou Zhong off; because it was not until this man spoke that Kou Zhong realized of his arrival by the carriages side. From this, it could be imagined to what level the brilliance of his martial art skill was. Gnashing her teeth in anger, Rong Jiaojiao said, Mr. Zhao must retrieve justice for Jiaojiao. Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly. He finally guessed that this man must be the Mo Shuai [demonicmander] Zhao Deyan, who ranked barely second after the Yin Hou [Empress Yin] Zhu Yuyan, Xie Wang [Demonic King] Shi Zhixuan, and Xie Di [demonic emperor] Xiang Yutian. He had finallye. Mo Shuai Zhao Deyan spoke indifferently, Jiaojiao, dont worry. As long as you hand over Zongzhu to me, I guarantee that he has nothing worry about his life. Kou Zhong indeed has a fully justified reputation; this sudden strike has put our troop disposition in confusion. Jiaojiao immediately go back to notify Yin Hou, tell her that Zongzhu is returning to Laojun Guan to recover from his injury. That should be enough. Kou Zhong pondered inwardly that if he did not leave now, what was he waiting for? Book 29 - 12 – Break the Siege and Leave Chapter 12 C Break the Siege and Leave Xu Ziling stood inside the Hall of Great Strength, facing the big incense burner tripod in front of the Halls main gate and under the stone steps, and the main gate beyond the courtyard. It was a close distance of merely several-hundred paces, yet it represented the fate of his life, whether it would be long or short. If he could not cross over the doorstep of the outer courtyard gate, he would join the rank of prisoner. It was not that he approved Kou Zhongs great ambition of contending for hegemony over the world, but he simply could not let anybody, including the representatives of righteous way like Shi Feixuan, Liao Kong, or these Buddhist Four Holy Monks C do this to make Kou Zhongs great undertaking to meet such a dismal end, and furthermore, to reduce him to the rank of a prisoner. Because of his choice, the hard battle was going to unfold this moment. Something that was imposed on others, he simply could not ept. At the end, in everything that he and Kou Zhong ever did, they would look into their heart, and would find no shame in it. Under these circumstances, where all the outstanding heroes in the world were contending against each other, everyone could pursue his own dream. Since Kou Zhong believed that he was more qualified to be a good emperor than Li Shimin, who came from honorable school and big n, naturally he had the right to make the attempt and spend great effort on it. Not to mention the House of Tangs crown prince was Li Jiancheng, and not Li Shimin at all. Who would dare to guarantee that Li Shimin would not be defeated in the internal struggle between the factions in his own house? Therefore, Shi Feixuan and the several holy monks persuasion could not shake this conviction the slightest bit. Otherwise, this battle did not need to happen. If this was a decisive battle between life and death, then he practically did not have any chance. But if he wholeheartedly wanted to escape, while the opposite sides aspiration was only to capture him alive, naturally it would be a different matter altogether. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling suddenly shed out of the Halls main gate. Like a clump of flower in front of his eyes, a pair of huge palms pushed directly toward his face. It did not seem to have any fancy style, so much so that it did not carry the least bit of gust of wind of any qi power. But Xu Ziling knew that the opponent has reached the highly-skilled-appearing-as-clumsy realm; no matter how he dodged or retreated, he would still be unable to escape the enveloping Buddha palm. Secretly performing the Great Vajra Chakra Image, both palms struck out to meet the attack. Bang! Four palms collided head-on. The one sending out the palms to intercept was precisely Zhihui Dashi, with nearly a hundred years of Buddhist orthodox schools mysterious power like the water of Chang Jiang or Great River [i.e. Yellow River] pouring down in torrents. To his shock, however, the opponents palms were empty, fluttering, without any strength at all. Even with Zhihui Dashis like-an-ancient-well-with-no-ripple mental state, he could not help being startled and pulled some of his force back, for fear that he might shock Xu Ziling to his death. Xu Zilings palms floated backwards like a kite with cut string, all the way to the end of the stone steps, as if he was going back to where he started. But as he was falling back into the Hall, Xu Ziling suddenly change direction; he abruptly flew upward and safelynded on the wide roof of the Hall of Great Strength. Such battle oue was certainly beyond Zhihui Dashis expectation. The strategy that he and Daoxin Dashi have agreed upon was that they wanted to keep Xu Ziling from leaving the Hall of Great Strength; they wanted topete against this young martial art master in endurance and patience, until his will to fight exhausted and he raised his hands in surrender. Actually, even Xu Ziling himself was surprised by this oue. He originally wanted to exploit the Buddhist orthodox schools xinfa, which came frommon origin but different than his own, to borrow a little bit of true power from Zhihui Dashis pair of palms, and then relying on the positive and negative qi power in his body engendering each other, in the shenfa where he would be able to rapidly change direction while flying high in the sky, to abruptly break away from the other sides interception, and then to steal away. Who would have thought that Zhihui Dashis palm power has attained the head-and-tail-linked-together, perfect-without-any-w level, so that unexpectedly he could not borrow anything? While crying, Bad! inwardly, a forceful true qi prated his palm and burst into his body, forcing his own true qi to turn back. The moment he thought his little life could not be protected, Xu Zilings mind shed at the speed of light; not only he abandoned his defense, he even guided the opponents true qi invading his body toward the yongquan [gushing spring] acupoints on the soles of his left and right feet to discharge it and slip it through his meridians, which had been transformed by the Jade Annulus of He n. Zhihui Dashi withdrew most of his qi power, only this palm push was enough to make Xu Ziling vomited blood and die. However, it was actually a profit in disaster; the invading true qi flowing in opposite direction threaded together his meridians, big and small, and before it was discharged, Xu Ziling continuously absorbed and dissolved it, so that by the time it shot out of the yongquan acupoint, it fiercely hit the ground, changing his direction from tumbling backward to shooting vertically upward until he reached the roof of the Hall. Setting foot on the roof slope, Xu Ziling cried inwardly, How dangerous! Only now did he gain real knowledge of Zhihui Dashis martial art skill, knowing that if he did not use any trick, he could forget about recovering his freedom. Ziling is indeed outstanding! Stepping aside, Xu Ziling turned around to take a nce, and saw Chanzong Sizu Daoxin Dashi, looking exactly like the big-bellied Milefo [Buddha Maitreya] C leisurely sending him a kick, as if he wasing to y with him, with a giggling-happily-without-restraint expression on his face. All of a sudden, Xu Zilings mind waspletely attracted by this kick that he forgot that this was veryte at night, with the mooning right onto his face, and the ce where they fought a hand-to-hand battle was on the roof of the Hall of Great Strength. Kou Zhong was hiding in a dark alley, watching for any movement in the courtyard house across the street. Half a day earlier Rong Jiaojiao jumped over the wall and entered in, so obviously this was the Yin Gui Pai demons hiding ce. Just like the Demonic Commander Zhao Deyan said, he had inflicted serious damage on Pi Chen, dealing a grave blow to demonic schools two groups of men and horses, headed by Zhao Deyan and Zhu Yuyan, respectively. Pi Chen, using Rong Fengxiang identity, gained control over Luo Shui Bang, and thus the entire northern area was enveloped by his influence. Rong Jiaojiao might act on her fathers behalf to have the power in her palms, but in term of reputation, she was far below Pi Chen. If henceforth the Luo Shui Bang fell into disunity, to Kou Zhong, it would be the most ideal. It was not impossible at all; at least Wang Shichong would not simply lie on his couch to letting another power encroaching into his sphere of influence, left and right C to exist. The sound of fluttering sleeves came from across the street. Under Kou Zhongs nk stare, more than a dozen figures, including Wanwan, Pi Shouxuan, Xia Zhano [elder], Bian Bufu, Wen Caiting, Rong Jiaojiao, led by Zhu Yuyan, left the big residence at full speed, leaping from roof to roof, in southwesterly direction. Kou Zhong cried out, Not good! and immediately rushed over to Fu Qians residence. His only hope was that he could arrive before they did, and tell Fu Qian and his men to hide one step ahead. This time Zhu Yuyan must be really angry. Although Xu Ziling has fought first-rate martial art masters like Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan, but presently, facing Daoxin Dashis seemingly mediocre, nothing-special kick, he still felt big headache. The worst thing was that the momentum and column of force this kick produced was generating a huge, matchless pressure,pletely enveloping his senses; even his skin felt like it was pricked with needles, so that he lost his usual acute spirit. While he was unable to move a single cun, Daoxin Dashis kick suddenly increased its speed, aiming at the vital point, the ocean of qi, on his lower abdomen. Although Xu Zilings body felt like it was under pressure of ten-thousand-catty rock, his lingtai acupoint [on the top of he head] was still clear and bright. Immediately he pushed downward with both palms. Bang! Meeting the kick, Xu Ziling rose up at an angle. Inside the Hall below, Zhihui Dashi also flew upward like a shadow attached to the figure, both hands opened with palms facing up, a burst of column of qi immediately shot straight toward Xu Zilings back. If he was hit, Xu Ziling would lose any power to withstand. Xu Ziling cried inwardly, How dangerous! Ever since his debut, even he himself could not remember how many times he was under siege. In this aspect, he had ample experience. Therefore, when he blocked Daoxin Dashis kick just now, he relied mainly on deflecting the attack, while taking the opportunity to extricate himself from this Dhyana schools holy monks terrifying qi power field. This moment, the best way to evade would be to swiftly change direction, which would ensure that he would be able to evade Zhihui Dashis fierce and severe qi power; however, by doing that, he would reveal the capital that he kept hidden at the bottom of his chest. If the opponent had guarded against it, it would be difficult to repeat the same trick. Xu Ziling let out a long whistle and somersaulted in the sky, so that his head was down and his feet up, while performing the No Fear Image, and then his palm turned into a fist, with all his strength he delivered a heavy blow on the sharp point of the pir of qi released by Zhihui Dashi. Boom! Qi power sshed in all directions. Xu Ziling spurted a mouthful of blood, while his body was continuously rolling hard into the air nearly ten zhang above the roof of the Hall. Zhihui Dashi called one of the many names of Buddha in low voice, while leaping down to the ground andnded by Daoxin Dashis side. In their hearts, both men knew that this battle was nearing its end, simply because no matter how formidable Xu Ziling was, in the end, there was quite a distance between his power and Zhihui Dashis nearly two jiazi [a jiazi is a sixty-year cycle] power. His injury was too heavy, perhaps without ten days or half a month, it would be difficult for him to recover; momentarily he would not have any strength to continue the battle. Daoxin Dashi called out, Sin! Sin! Things havee to this, Ziling must not have any grudge and me in your heart foring in contact with the demonic way. Nevertheless, Xu Ziling, who had reached the highest point and was about to fall back down, was delighted inwardly. Beyond his expectation, the two monks were standing side by side, which was actually greatly advantageous to his escape attempt. If just now the two of them made their move against him together, his situation would even be more dangerous. Fortunately, they conducted themselves with dignity, fitting to their status, and only taking turn in attacking him, hence the situation evolved into giving him advantages instead. As early as when he was rolling up, he already used the unique ability from the Secret to Long Life to heal his injury, so that it was substantially reduced, giving him enough power to steal away. Zhihui Dashi hung down his head, his eyes looked on his heart, his palms put together; Daoxin Dashi gathered his strength, ready to catch Xu Ziling when he fell down. Right this moment, Xu Ziling let out a long whistle, both fists struck down, while he was still three zhang in the air he attacked the two monks simultaneously. Daoxin Dashi and Zhihui Dashi never expected that he still had strength enough to counterstrike. Not only that, it was even stronger than the power he disyed when they fought a moment ago. Left with no other choice, they both raised one palm each to meet Xu Zilings fist power head on. But since they were afraid that their power was still too strong, they only used a fraction of their strength. Bang! Bang! Two explosions. Xu Ziling borrowed the impact force to fly backward in the direction of the courtyard gate. Letting out a longugh, he said, Thank you very much for two Dashis instruction; Xu Ziling is leaving. Daoxin Dashi roared inughter and said, Ziling spoke too early! The two Great Holy Monks unleashed the skill hidden at the bottom of their chests; from the roof of the Hall they shot out. Just before Xu Ziling crossed over the courtyard gate; although startingter, they arrived earlier and caught up with him. Daoxin Dashis left palm swiftly chopped down on Xu Zilings right shoulder. Both of Zhihui Dashis sleeves flew up, two palms shot out from inside the sleeves, fiercely grabbing across empty space, immediately creating a burst of suction force. If Xu Ziling blocked Daoxins attack, he could no longer be able to borrow the force to escape out of the courtyard gate. Xu Ziling knew very well that sess or failure would be decided in this instant; if he was forced tond, he would never be able to leave this Temple by relying on his own strength. While the two Great Holy Monks found it hard to believe, Xu Ziling abruptly exchanged his true qi, the positive and negative true qi within his body flowing fantastically, he suddenly moved sideways. Instantly Daoxin Dashis palm chop hit the empty air. Xu Ziling again let out a sudden roar, both palms pressed down to strike the ground. By borrowing this impact force, he somersaulted backward to break away from Zhihui Dashis pulling force. By the time the two Great Holy Monksnded on the ground in shock, Xu Ziling already disappeared without a trace in the dark outside the courtyard gate. Instead of being angry, Daoxin Dashiughed to his hearts content and said, Hero out of the youth, Ziling please forgive Daoxin for not sending you off. Shi Feixuan and Liao Kong appeared behind the two monks; they both showed astonished, startled and admiring expression on their faces. Before this, who would have guessed that unexpectedly Xu Ziling had the ability to break the siege and leave? As if nothing had happened, Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, Dont forget past events, they can guide you in the future. Although this time we failed to retain Xu Ziling, it actually brings benefit to our n without any harm; at least we can make a more urate estimate of their strength. Kou Zhong was crouching on the roof ridge on the other side, craning his neck to look; he saw that for some reason Zhu Yuyan and the other stopped on the roof of arge building about twenty zhang away. At this moment, the contradiction in his heart was excruciatingly painful; he wanted to seize this opportunity to rush ahead of them, but he also wanted to know why they had stopped. Someone was calling one of the many names of Buddha. From the roof slope opposite to where Zhu Yuyan and the others were standing, an old monk appeared. He was holding a Buddhist staff in his hand, his bearing natural and elegant, his build tall and sturdy, bold and powerful, his eyebrows werepletely white. Greeting with one palm in front of his chest, he said, Zhu Hou [empress] is in a haste, I wonder where you are hurrying to? Letting out a coldugh, Zhu Yuyan said, Turns out it is Huayanzongs Dixin Zunzhe. I wonder if you are being ovee by a presumptuous heart anding here to meddle with our Yin Gui Pais affair? Inwardly, Kou Zhong shivered greatly, thinking that turned out it was one of the Four Great Holy Monks; no wonder he did not show the slightest fear of Yin Gui Pais many men, a great force. Presumably the other three Great Holy Monks were hiding nearby to give him support; perhaps Shi Xianzi [fairy] was also nearby. Thinking to this point, the hair on his back stood on its end. He quietly flipped over the roof ridge to hide in the dark alley. Dixin Zunzhe gently said, If you have the heart to forge ahead vigorously, then acting presumptuously is not forging ahead vigorously at all. If you control your heart from acting presumptuously, then your forging ahead vigorously will have no bound. How could Pinseng [impoverished monk] dare to randomly have a presumptuous heart? I merely saw the ring murderous intent on Zhu Hous expression, which seems like you are about to open wide the monastic discipline against killing, so I remembered the innocence of all living things, and havee with specific purpose in mind to implore you. Zhu Yuyan snorted coldly and said, The people I am going to deal with cant possibly be innocent. If Zunzhe is unwilling to make way, dont me this Empress for opening wide the monastic discipline against killing for real. Dixin Zunzhe smiled calmly and said, There is new moon, theres also full moon. Humans heart will not be filled with time. The sea of bitterness has no bounds, turn your head to see the shore. When will Zhu Hou understand that although you are seeking a thousand times, searching ten thousand times, but only this one thing is real? Zhu Yuyan let out a sharp-and-clear-like-silver-bell tenderughter; she said, From the four monks of Buddhist school, Sanlunzongs Jiaxing Dashis Ku Chan Xuan Gong [lit. Withered Dhyana Mysterious Skill/Power] upies the top position. Zunzhes Da Yuan Man Zhang Fa [lit. Great Full Circle (i.e. perfection) Staff Technique] is next. Only then will we speak about Daoxin Dashis Damo Shou [Dharma Hand] and Zhihui Dashis Xin Fo Zhang [Heart of Buddha Palm]. Yuyan is fortunate to have this good opportunity tonight to experience Buddhist schools consummate skills. Dixin Zunzhe chanted, Shanzai! Shanzai! [lit. good/peace] Since Zhu Hou already has this refined and elegant attitude of mind, surely someone would be honored to keep youpany. Astounded, Zhu Yuyan said, Turns out Zunzhe wholeheartedly came to pick a quarrel, yet you still say you dont have presumptuous heart? Who is actuallying here? She had not finished speaking, a burst of clear and melodious flute sound [orig. xiao, vertical end-blown flute] wasing from a distance. It was just a few notes, yet it appeared to touch the peoples emotion endlessly, creating enchanting, mysterious and unusual imagery;pared to Shi Qingxuans flute skill, which was considered the top in the world, it was not inferior in any respect. The flute suddenly stopped. But the sound still lingered on in the air. Kou Zhong, who was in hiding, was greatly surprised; could it be that among the other three monks, there was one master in ying the flute? Contrary to Kou Zhongs expectation, Zhu Yuyan said, Turns out it is Ning Dao Xiong [brother Taoist] honoring us with his presence. Hereby the matter tonight is dropped. While Kou Zhongs scalp was going numb, Zhu Yuyan and the others hurriedly left. Kou Zhong waited for another half a day until he was certain that Dixin Zunzhe and Ning Daoqi have also left, before he dared to quietly slip away, while crying How dangerous! inwardly. Book 29 - 13 – Repairing in the Open, Crossing in Secret Chapter 13 C Repairing in the Open, Crossing in Secret Kou Zhong leaped into the gorgeous courtyard where Fu Qian and his men were supposed to be staying in Luoyang. An ominous feeling crept up in his heart, because evidently the people were gone and the ce was empty. Kou Zhong was still not convinced; he went around the area twice, trying to find any clue, but did not find even a piece of note. While he was bewildered and did not know what to do, the rm went off in his heart; apparently somebody wasing nearby. Kou Zhong greatly shivered inwardly. The reason why he was able to sense the other person approaching was purely due to his instinct as a martial art master in response to the other persons presence, not because he heard anything. Could it be that Zhu Yuyan or Wanwan turned around and came back here? Even worse, could it be that Ning Daoqi or the Four Great Holy Monks wereing here? Ning Daoqis divine-dragon-appearing-suddenly flute sound has scared Yin Gui Pai that they retreated, and it has left a very deep impression in his mind. Although it did not cause Kou Zhong to lose his courage, unavoidably it created a bad feeling in his heart. Of course Zhu Yuyan thought that it was not worthwhile for her to fight a desperate battle against Ning Daoqi, the Four Great Holy Monks, or even Shi Feixuan and Liao Kong. But Zhu Yuyan turning around and leaving without the slightest hesitation [orig. honor does not allow one to nce back (idiom)], evidently Ning Daoqis position as the number one martial art master in the Central ins was still very stable; no one could top his prestige. With the Moon in the Well in his hand, Kou Zhong sat down in a chair inside the hall. Whos there? he shouted. A figure floated in like light smoke and stopped in front of him. Surprisingly, it was Xing Mofei, the number one martial art master under Fu Qiansmand. Thetter cupped his fist to salute and said with augh, Finally Shao Shuai is here! Kou Zhong was relieved. Returning the saber into its scabbard, he nodded and said, Turns out Xing Xiong is this brilliant, I was nearly taken in. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xing Mofei sat down next to him; he smiled and said, Shao Shuai praised me too much. But Xiaodi received Dawangs [great king] order to protect Wangzi [prince/son of a king]; naturally I must spend more effort. Kou Zhongs eyes shifted to the pair of saber hilts protruding behind Xing Mofeis shoulders. Xing Xiong is using sabers, hemented. Xing Mofei replied, In the Western Desert, I usually used arrows and spears, but upon entering the Central ins, it is more convenient to change over to a pair of sabers. Not only it is more effective, it also gives me unexpected benefit. Kou Zhong seemed to forget that Fu Qian and his men were waiting; greatly interested, he asked, What benefit? Xing Mofei replied, Saber, spear, sword and halberd, saber is number one. Its de is fast and it has the strong point that makes it easy to chop; no other weapon can take its ce. Furthermore, the shape is ever-changing. These two sabers of mine can be fitted with long handle, very suitable to be used on horseback during battle. Xing Xiong must have quite a reputation in Tuyuhun, Kou Zhong probed. From the fact that the other side could switch to other weapons quite easily, he spected that Xing Mofeis martial art skill was not under Fu Qians. Xing Mofei spoke in delight, Mofei has already regarded Shao Shuai as a good friend; to be quite honest, in Tuyuhun Mofei has not met my match. Kou Zhong pped his knee and said with a sigh, I told you I was mistaken; it is only now that I begin to know how formidable Xing Xiong is. Xing Mofei seemed to be indifferent toward his praise;ing back to the topic at hand, he said, To avoid us bing the target of enemys attack, Shao Zhu [young master, as in master/subordinate rtion] abandoned this ce and scattered around to lie low until the fire dies down. Xu Ye has arrived earlier than Shao Shuai, and had already headed to Shao Zhus hiding ce to rendezvous. Shao Shuai, pleasee with Mofei! A momentter, the two met with Fu Qian, Tuli and Xu Ziling, who were hiding in a small, totally unremarkable, house nearby. Fu Qian said, When the city is open tomorrow, my men will leave this ce by water andnd, two paths, to go up north. Along the way well deploy the troops to ensure that Khan can return safely to the Khanate court. Kou Zhong casually remarked, I already inflicted serious damage to Pi Chen, who was disguised as Rong Fengxiang. Luo Shui Bang will be in chaos, hence it will be difficult for them to effectively deal with us. While everybody was stunned, Kou Zhong briefly exined, telling them that Demonic Commander Zhao Deyan has already arrived in Luoyang, and that the divine dragon, whose head could be seen but his tail could not C Ning Daoqi also made personal appearance to force Zhu Yuyan to retreat. Everybody felt that strange incidents arose repeatedly. Luoyang has be the ce of hidden dragon, crouching tiger. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, Four Great Old ... hey! Four Great Holy Monks are finally here to give us bad luck, and they have Old Ning behind them giving them support. This hurdle is not easy to break through. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Lets talk about thatter. In my opinion, Dixin Zunzhe and Ning Daoqi forcing Zhu Yuyan to retreat, their objective was to warn her not to get involved in the matter between the Four Great Holy Monks and us. If Im guessing correctly, Zhu Yuyan will withdraw from Luoyang. As long as we can deliver a frontal assault on Zhao Deyan, it will be greatly advantageous to our mission of sending Khan returning to his homnd. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, That is not advisable. I am sure Zhao Deyan is still there, helping Pi Chen treating his injury. Tuli shook his head and said, Zhao Deyans natural disposition is devious and paranoid, he cant possibly stay there. What Khan said is reasonable, Fu Qian said, But now that we know that Zhao Deyan is here, we can slowly decide how we are going to deal with him. After a short pause, he went on, Since Rong Fengxiang is heavily injured but not dead, it will be difficult for Yin Gui Pai and Zhao Deyan to aplish anything big. As long as we have thorough arrangement, plus Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin are standing on our side, even if Shi Zhixuan made his move, I, Fu Qian, have confidence that I will be able to apany Khan returning to his home country. Shao Shuai and Ziling Xiong can focus your energy to deal with the Four Great Holy Monks. Shaking his head, Tuli said, If we are leaving, we must leave together. Otherwise, how could we be considered brothers? Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart grew warm, secretly thinking that Tuli was just like Ba Fenghan, a real friend. Fu Qian smiled and said, I have thought about that problem. But if we get involved in this matter, we would only force Shi Feixuan, Liao Kong, or even Ning Daoqi to make their move to intervene. Not only it would not help in the least, on the contrary, it wouldplicate this matter more. Much less this really isnt life and death decisive battle. As long as Shao Shuai and Ziling Xiong can safely break the Four Great Holy Monks siege and escape without being captured alive, based on their status, the Four Great Holy Monks cant possibly make their move for the second time. This is a battle with limiting condition that outsiders should not be involved in. Listening to that, Tuli was silent and did not say anything. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on Tulis shoulder; he sincerely said, The first and foremost thing that Khan needs to do right now is to return safely to the north; other things you need not care about. Ling Shao and I grew up taking a beating, what kind of situation we havent met? Fu Qian cheerfully said, The person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear. In my opinion, there is a strong point that the two gentlemen have not utilized to the max. As long as you can exploit this strong point well, although you may not necessarily be stronger than the Four Great Holy Monksbined power, but to break the siege and escape, while they are going all-out to capture you alive, shouldnt be a problem. While the two boys were stunned and could only stare nkly, Tuli and Xing Mofei asked in chorus, What strong point? Fu Qian spoke heavily, Its the formidable power of them joining their hands inbat. Shaken, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. They both felt wide-and-open, everything-linked-up-together, like the clouds and mist were being pushed aside, and suddenly they saw the clear sky. Ever since they made their first public appearance, nobody knew how many times these two boys had joined hands inbat. In the battle against Ren Shaoming, they relied entirely on their joint-power,bined with proper deployment, and only then were they able to use the weak to defeat the strong, and their names shook the world. However, the two have never really looked into how to fight together. Based on the two boys familiarity with each other and their tacit understanding, plus both of them had their martial art skill and qi power from the Secret to Long Life and the Jade Annulus of He n,bined together, they would be able to disy infinite formidable power. This strategy in using joint-forces to break joint-forces was indeed the most brilliant method; moreover, it was the only opportunity to survive. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, Wangzi is indeed brilliant. Time is pressing, Ling Shao and I will immediately study this. Fu Qian said, Building a cart behind closed doors [idiom: to be overly subjective and disregard the outside world], how about making use of the three of us to temper yourselves with realbat experience? In my opinion, you only need one night. By the time the sun is up tomorrow, two gentlemen will be able to go to the exam room to sign up to take the test! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stepped into the morous ground floor lobby of the House of Dong Restaurant. Immediately they were invited into the big room on the fourth floor. Yang Gongqing and Zhang Lingzhou have not arrived, not that they missed the appointment and arrivedte, but the two boys intentionally came half a sichen early. Boss Dong personally came to chitchat with them, reminiscing about the past. Although they were just exchanging pleasantries, it showed that this big businessman was someone who valued friendship; otherwise, who would dare, under this kind of wind-and-fire situation, to be associated with the two boys? After Boss Dong left, Kou Zhong sipped his hot tea, and said with augh, Rong Yaonu must be concealing the fact that her Die is heavily injured, in order to suppress Luo Shui Banging to carry out vendetta against us. Just now they were deliberately showing their real face on the street, precisely to test Luo Shui Bangs reaction. If the news of Rong Fengxiang was attacked and was seriously hurt came out, naturally Luo Shui Bang woulde to give them bad luck. But if female demon Rong wanted to exercise control over Luo Shui Bang, the best way was to treat this matter as if it had never happened, and then she could pretend that everything was under Rong Fengxiangs order, and even suppressed the Gangs men from escting this matter, to avoid the news that their leader Rong Fengxiang seriously injured and would be difficult to recover from spreading out. Xu Ziling was eating silently. His mind was still upied by what he learned when earlier he and Kou Zhong researching the method of fighting together, of mounting a joint attack C by having a realbat experience. In this aspect, they were the best partners made by Heaven and arranged by Earth. He had already told Kou Zhong the details of his battle against Zhihui and Daoxin, two holy monks, which made this kids confidence doubled and his morale rose up. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Since we are going to leave anyway, why dont we leave tonight? I have detailed n already in ce. Xu Ziling nodded his agreement, Whats your n? he asked in soft voice. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is called repairing the nk road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang [idiom[1]]. Openly, we are pretending to escort Khan going back to the north, but secretly you are swaggering straight to Guanzhong, while I am carrying out another n. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, You wanted me to throw away my life? Kou Zhongughed and said, We are brothers, how could I point out a sinister path for you to take? Do you know that Old Yue and Li Yuan are originally good friends? And then he narrated the rtionship between Yue Shan and Li Yuan that he heard from Rong Fengxiang, father and daughter. Xu Zilings eyebrows were deeply knitted, he said, Is that so? Why did Yue Shan not say even one word about this in his memoir? Besides, if Li Yuan is really familiar with Yue Shan, in just a few words I would have revealed the cloven foot [idiom: to unmask ones true nature]. Much less Shi Feixuan knew that Yue Shan is my disguise; how would it work? Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Yue Shan is well-known for being reticent; his conducts were nowhere near reasonable. This kind of person is the easiest to impersonate, not to mention he and Li Yuan had not seen each other for many years; at that time, you can change ording to the situation, and then you can easily deceive him. As for Shi Xianzi [fairy], no matter what, she is eager to help Li kid, yet in her heart she still has misgivings, she cant possibly betray you in this way. This is the most brilliant part of my n. You can transform outside enemy into inside aplice, it will be greatly beneficial to our mission of hunting for the treasure. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, But the biggest problem before our eyes is the Four Great Holy Monks; how are you going to deal with them? Cold, sharp and bright light shed inside Kou Zhongs eyes, he said, We have to resolve this matter before leaving Luoyang, otherwise this secretly-crossing-the-Wei-River-at-Chenchang stratagem would be the dead fetus inside the belly. I n on taking the initiative to strike first. After eating with Old Zhang and Old Yang, well grope our way into Shan Si [lit. the virtuous temple, not sure if it was the temples name], to pit ourselves against the Four Great Holy Monks until everything is clear, to see whether we are actually the prevailing kings or just defeated bandits, who are blindly winding around endlessly. Xu Ziling had to agree with Kou Zhongs n, which was the most feasible way to extricate themselves out of the current situation. As a result of Qin Shubao/Cheng Yaojins and Fu Qians, two partys cooperation, they could easily put on the false appearance of escorting Tuli back to the north. Moreover, this matter was reasonable and fair, plus it fitted well with the two boys heavy-in-feeling, heavy-in-friendship character, so nobody would suspect anything. Kou Zhong said, But one of the prerequisites is to paralyze Luo Shui Bang first, to make it difficult for them to monitor our trip to the north, and thus Wang Shichong will think that Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin are traveling north along the predetermined route that he personally nned; only then will we be able to beat them at their own game and bring Tuli back to his native ce. Still not too convinced, Xu Ziling said, With this arrangement, can you really guarantee that nothing will happen to Tuli? Reaching out to Xu Zilings shoulder, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Dont worry! In order to cover for you, I may have to really follow them for some time; this way I can guarantee that it will be absolutely safe. Laughing in low voice, he went on, Without Luo Shui Bang, Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan, this pair of Demonic King and Demon Commander [Xie Wang and Mo Shuai] has nothing to determine Tulis whereabouts. Furthermore, with Old Ning and the Four Great Holy Monks hovering nearby, how could they bepletely without any misgivings? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Lets put a bet on this his-mothers-operation ording to your n! Kou Zhong raised his cup andughed aloud; he said, Heres to wish our grand n a sess. Before he even finished speaking, a clear and melodious, touching female voice came from outside the door, Your grand n has already been heard by me; how could it still be a sess? The two boys were scared, terrified and heartbroken; they could only return a nk stare. [1] Idiom, refers to a stratagem used by Liu Bang in 206 BC against Xiang Yu of Chu; fig. to feign one thing while doing another/to cheat under cover of a diversion. Book 30 - 1 – White Snow in the Morning Chapter 1 C White Snow in the Morning The simple and elegant, clear and romantic Shi Feixuan leisurely and calmly sat down across the table from the two boys; as usual, she was still wearing mens clothing. Her bright and beautiful, pretty eyes radiated divine light onto the bbergasted Kou Zhongs face. As calm as still water, she gently said, Feixuan has a new proposal for Shao Shuais consideration. Kou Zhong cast Xu Ziling a nce first. After seeing that from being shocked, Xu Ziling haspletely recovered, his mind was slightly enlightened. Taking a deep breath, he said, Just now we were being very careful when talking, Xianzis walls that have ears simply scared us witless; you must be joking? Am I right? Shi Feixuans gaze shifted to Xu Ziling. Noticing him sizing her up with full attention, she responded with a smile, and spoke gently, Ziling Xiongs ability is greatly beyond Feixuans estimate, which forced Feixuan to alter the original n for redeployment. Xu Ziling smiled and replied, We are all old friends! Whatever it is that Miss Shi wants to say, just speak forthrightly. Shi Feixuan slightly shrugged her fragrant shoulders. With rxed demeanor she said, Previously Feixuan asked Du Zongguan to pass on the information that we want to capture two gentlemen alive; that was really to scare you, so that you would dispel your intention of entering Guanzhong. Who would have thought that we have aroused your fighting spirit instead? That was really unexpected. Therefore, I now have another proposal: I want to have the four Dashi and you fight hand to hand at Shan Si [the virtuous temple] one more time. If two gentlemen can still get away safely,ter on we will tuck our hands inside the sleeves and no longer care about you entering the Pass [reminder: Guan, short for Guanzhong, middle/central pass]; otherwise, you will have to cancel your treasure hunt trip. Gentlemen, what do you think? Stunned, the two looked at each other; they both thought, Formidable! Remaining tranquil and even-tempered, with these few words Shi Feixuan had first taken away their willingness to stake everything for fear of being captured alive and living the rest of their lives in prison, while in fact Shi Feixuan would achieve the same goal. Secondly, at this time the struggle between Li ns factions was intense, with neither side was willing to concede. For now, having free rein in dealing with the two boys really did not give them any benefit. Presently, it was more important to escort Tuli Khan back to his country, to considerably weaken Xielis power to invade the Central ins. In the long run, they wanted to establish two hard-to-defeat, formidable opponents for the demonic school. After all, the Four Great Holy Monks, Shi Feixuan, Liao Kong, and so on were people out-of-this world, they were unwilling to be directly drawn into Jianghu struggle for an extended period of time. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If Xiaodi declines Xianzis proposal, I will fall away from your grace. But may I request that this battle will be held one sichenter? Because only after eating will we have enough strength to fight! Shi Feixuan nodded and said, Shao Shuai did not disappoint Feixuan. Lets do it at Shao Shuais appointed time. Ay! If Feixuan could have other choices, how could I be willing to stand in opposition against you? She admired Kou Zhong for his frank and straightforward eptance of this battle; furthermore, he did not even protest against the unfairness of the Four Great Holy Monks joining hands, and he did not request to change the venue, which would allow the four monks to exert greatest strength due to their familiarity with the environment. It should be noted that if the two had the intention of fleeing, intercepting them would not be an easy matter at all. The four monks condition was that they would not fight on the street; therefore, Kou Zhongs nod of approval to Shi Feixuans proposal indeed deserved praise for his guts. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Miss Shi did not intend to take part personally, you are indeed our true friend! Thinking about tomorrow Xu Ziling would be Yue Shan, Kou Zhong hurriedly said, We have never regarded Xianzi as the enemy, moreover, you are our best friend. Listening to that, even Xu Ziling was blushing slightly, understanding that Kou Zhong was harboring evil intentions. Slightly displeased, Shi Feixuan said, Since you regarded Feixuan as a good friend, you should not call me Xianzi this and Xianzi that. Feixuan is just an ordinary young woman. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, Xianzis expression when your are mad is really touching; no wonder Ling Shao ... ow! Naturally he was kicked by Xu Ziling under the table. Naturally Shi Feixuan already knew that Kou Zhongs mouth could not be bridled; she had no choice but to swallow her anger. A slight rosy red cloud, which had never happened before, appeared on her pretty face, as she glowered at Kou Zhong before standing up and leaving. In the blink of an eye, her demeanor was back to its usual clear, cold, andposed. The two boys promptly stood up to see her off. Shi Feixuan looked deeply into Kou Zhongs eyes, she spoke gently, That very night Zhu Yuyan left Luoyang, but she will never be willing to give up Sheng Di Sheli [holy emperor relic] in order to prevent it from falling into Shi Zhixuans hands. Two gentlemen ought to be a bit more careful in this matter. Cupping his fist, Kou Zhong giggled and said, Thank you very much for Xianzis concern. Shi Feixuan crossly red at him before calmly, elegantly and leisurely left. After sitting back, Kou Zhong reached out to grab Xu Zilings shoulder; heughed quietly and said, Brother, you are very lucky! In my opinion, her heart has really been moved by you. Otherwise, how could she reveal such a bashful, shy young girls expression toward you? Before Xu Ziling had any chance to scold him, Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou arrived. Beyond expectation, the old fox Wang Shichong also came; the atmosphere suddenly felt very strange. Kou Zhong poured tea for the graved-expression Wang Shichong; heughed and said, Why does Shengshang need to wear in clothes to go on an inspection tour? Wont it be enough to send your honorable general to see us and pass on a message to have using to the Pce to have an audience with your honorable self? With dark countenance and heavy voice Wang Shichong said, Shao Shuai evidently know the reckless act youmitted, and the disaster that hase out of it? One after another, taking advantage while Wang Shichong was not paying attention, Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou signaled Kou Zhong with their eyes, telling him to be careful in dealing with this matter. Evidently Wang Shichong had thrown a temper tantrum in front of them. Kou Zhong struggled hard to suppress the urge to curse Wang Shichong. Leaning back into his chair, he stretched his limbs, before remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos he said, Did Shengshang feel strange why Luo Shui Bang men still have note looking for us to give us trouble? Suddenly exploding in anger, Wang Shichong said, Of course I do; were it not for Guaren [I (first person pronoun used by royalty or nobility)] spent so much lips and tongue to persuade Rong Fengxiang, the entire Luoyang would be turned upside down. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cursed inwardly; Wang Shichong did indeed persuade Rong Fengxiang, but only persuaded him to make his move a bitter, in order to avoid any plot against dealing with Tuli. Resting his left wrist on the table, Kou Zhong lightly tapped the teacup with his middle finger, his eyes were fixed on the continuously rippling green tea inside the cup being excited by the jolt. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, Shengshang, you only know one but do not know two. The one you know is that we have already gotten rid of the Rong Fengxiang that was actually Ke Feng in disguise; the second thing that you do not know is that the Rong Laoyao that is actually Pi Chen in disguise is reportedly seriously injured, and now only has half of his life remaining; it is still unknown whether he could pass tonight. Immediately Wang Shichong, Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou were emotionally moved. Kou Zhong exchanged a nce with Xu Ziling before continuing with a smile, When the couch is inclined, it wont allow people to snore while they sleep. Presently Rong Yaonu is alone, and it is difficult for her to keep everything under control. If Shengshang could grab this opportunity, you could send your man to Luo Shui Bang, perhaps you would be able to seize the control over it back. In this kind of strategy, Shengshang is definitely more adept than me, there is no need for this kid to give you direction. Thisst remark was brimming with frigid irony and scorching satire, but Wang Shichongs mind already flew elsewhere, he simply regarded it as the wind past his ear. But he still could not help shaking as he said, Rong Fengxiang is really injured that heavily? Dont deceive Guaren. Kou Zhong smiled and replied, When did I, Kou Zhong, ever deceive Shengshang? Finally Wang Shichongs face turned slightly red. Awkwardly he cleared his throat, and then said, This matter is extremely important, Guaren must first investigate this clearly before starting to make decision. And then, rolling his eyes, he said, About tonight, we are escorting Khan back to the north, is there any changes? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Everything will be done ording to Shengshangs instruction. But to be on the safe side, Ling Shao and I might have to apany them, directly going to Beijiang [i.e. northern territory], before making a turn toward Guanzhong. I hope Shengshang does not have any objection? Wang Shichong wanted to say something, but then hesitated; in the end he did not say anything. Suddenly he stood up, which caused everybody else to also stand up ording to the protocol. Wang Shichong ferociously said, It would be best if in Luoyang, two gentlemen quietly defend yourself; dont create any more trouble. Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said, If nobody ising to give us trouble, even if we dont want to quietly defend ourselves, we simply cant. Wang Shichongs countenance slightly changed, but then he quickly suppressed his anger. Where is Khans honorable self now? he asked. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Naturally he is hiding to lie low, lest he is creating more trouble for Shengshang. Shengshang, please! Wang Shichong was so furious that his countenance changed again, but eventually his anger did not re up. Brushing his sleeves, he stormed toward the door. Zhang Zhenzhou scrambled to escort him out of the door. More than a dozen Imperial Bodyguards standing outside the door stood respectfully to salute, full of pomp. Yang Gongqing fell half a step back; he whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, Li Xiuning wants to see you. Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook, but he did not make any noise. Seeing his demeanor and reaction, Yang Gongqing gave him an understanding nod; patting Kou Zhongs shoulder, he said, Ill tell you the detailster. Only then did he hurry up to catch up with Wang Shichongs party. Ding! Two cups clinked against each other. After drinking this toast of tea, Kou Zhong asked, Do you have any premonition? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, You think I can predict the future without being a irvoyant? But ording to Ol Xus judgment, afterst night, the four monks ought to have clear understanding of my foundation, no more chance of taking the risk relying on good luck, we must rely on our real skill to get away. Just like Fu Old Qian said, we can only take the exam by handing in our examination script, but we cant look for loopholes to cheat. Nodding his head, Kou Zhong said, You have justprehended that xinfa is extremely important. Since they dont want to kill us anyway, we could use this opportunity to disy what we are good at. If we lose, we could go looking for Yuwen Huaji to settle the ount; but you must not lose deliberately. Xu Ziling blurted outughing; he said, If I did that, how could I be fit to be Kou Shao Shuais brother? Besides, now I really want to go to Guanzhong to broaden my horizon. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What horizon can you possibly broaden? Xu Ziling smiled and replied, You are the one who is not being good. You came up with the idea of me bing Yue Shan to visit an old friend Li Yuan, making me not only feel excited, but there is also the possibility I might destroy Shi Zhixuans plot. Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, In the end you are still convinced that I am not going to unearth the treasure, yet you still speak about some deep felling between brothers. Evidently Xu Ziling was in a very good mood; he simplyughed and said, Shao Shuai, please calm down. Objective facts absolutely cannot shift peoples subjective determination. Lets forget about the fact that the chance of us finding the treasure is very slim, even if we did find it, it will still be difficult to transport. Youd better ept misfortunes as decreed by fate, I have nothing against it. Kou Zhongughed aloud. But then he lowered his voice and said, Is it because Xianzis heart is moved and she is reluctant to leave this world that you kid are bursting with joy? Xu Ziling sneered and said, You can think whatever you like, its almost time! Come to think about it, being besieged by the four top martial art masters of the Buddhist school is some kind of honor. Tapping the Moon in the Well on his back, Kou Zhong rose up suddenly. Tossing his head back andughed, he said, Whether its a dragon or a snake, well find out this morning. Oh, Moon in the Well, you should not disappoint me, Kou Zhong! As soon as the two boys stepped out of the House of Dong Restaurant, they looked up to the sky, to see specks of snowke gently drifting down, filling the whole sky. Instantly the previous world was turned into another heaven and earth. Each snowke drifted in indeterminate nature, yet in the diversity, one could see the iparable unity. The Heavenly Street was still busy with peopleing and going, with endless stream of horse and carriages creating a lively scene. Looking left and right, they saw further down the street the earth was covered entirely in white, hazy, floating cloud, adding ayer of color to this number one street in Luoyang, just like a picture scroll brimming with poetic vor, painting everything in the pure color of white snow. Luoyang residents were overjoyed; they cheered and smiled to greet the timely arrival of the snow. Kou Zhongughed and said, We just barely left the door when the snow falls; what kind of omen is this? Xu Ziling was turning his head to look at the other end of the Tianjin bridge, which was disappearing in the boundless rain of snow; he cheerfully said, Why do you care about his Niangs ill omen or lucky omen? In short, I now feel my heart is free, my spirit rxed, and thats what important. Without further ado, together the two boys joined the Heavenly Street crowd, walking toward the Tianjin Bridge. Their exceptional build and bearing immediately attracted not a few passersbys attention. Walking side-by-side with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong said, Who would have thought that we are going to the Virtuous Temple to have a duel versus the Buddhist schools most formidable four monks? And that this battle will most probably be rted to the rise and fall of the world? Overwhelmed by emotions, Xu Ziling was thinking of lifes dream-like characteristic; nodding his head, he said, When we were wandering the streets of Yangzhou, have you ever thought that a day like today woulde? Patting his shoulder, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Well said! At that time we were just two nobodies without a penny to our names; everyday we were only thinking about how to satisfy our hunger tomorrow, plus we had to rack our brains on how to deal with Yan Laoda [see Book 1 Chapter 1]. Thinking about that, I feel like reality is just a dream-like pretense. I am afraid of falling down and waking up, only to discover that we are still sleeping in the doghouse inside the abandoned garden in Yangzhou. The two boys stepped onto the Tianjin Bridge; the snowkes were falling even bigger and denser. Luo River and the long bridge were covered entirely by the dense, imprable, pure white winter snow. It was a vast and hazy expanse. Xu Ziling stopped at the top of the bridge. His gaze following a sailboat disappearing inside the depth of the snow rain, he suddenly asked, Why are you unwilling to see Li Xiuning? Kou Zhongs tiger body slightly shook; he grabbed the railings with both hands and looked down into the Luo River, at the snowkes floating into the constantly flowing river water, where the snow was absorbed by water, leaving no trace at all. Everything was so natural and casual. Smiling wryly, he said, Tell me, how should I answer your question? Seeing her is not as good as not seeing her, I will only disappoint her. Xu Ziling said, Supposing when you met her, the flower has no master yet, would your fate be different? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Who would know the answer? At that time, there was arge disparity between our statuses. If at that time we simply follow Li kid, today, at most we will only be two divine generals or celestial soldiers within the Heaven Policy Mansion; it would be difficult for us to have the current opportunity, in which we are very proud of ourselves. Disaster and happiness have no door, relying on one or the other, the oue is difficult to anticipate. Changing the subject, he said, Hey! Shi Feixuan finally can blush! Xu Ziling blurted outughing, You, this kid, even if you died, your character would not change; you will never let this kind of subject off, he said, Shi Feixuan, is, after all, still a mortal, naturally she has a mortals seven emotional states and six desires, one of those is blushing; whats so rare about it? Besides, your remark was so brazen and rude. Kou Zhongughed and said, She is not a mortal at all; rather, since childhood she has been practicing Buddhism to have theke of her heart trained to the ancient-well-without-any-ripple stage, bing an abandoning-passion-and-cutting-short-her-desire fairy in the secr world. She would blush for you, evidently it was because it has reached the emotion-difficult-to-endure level. Let me tell you this: you, this kid, are really too proud; even when in your heart you like a girl, you still hide it in the depth of your heart. Xu Ziling could not help thinking about Shi Qingxuan. He sighed and said, As far as karma goes, how could one make a demand? Everybody has his own pursuit of ideal and goals, if you forcefully wanted to change it, you wont get any good result. Perhaps there will be a day where I want to settle down and get married; my way of thinking might change by then. Kou Zhong sighed and said, You, Xu Ziling, how could you settle down and get married? The way I see it, you will only be a leisure-cloud-wild-crane, always seeking, but will have nothingcking and no demand for the rest of this cruel life. Ha! For the rest of this cruel life. Recalling Susu, an indescribable ache welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Kou Zhong reached out to wrap his arm around Xu Zilings shoulder, together they stepped down the Tianjin Bridge. Looking pensive, he said, Really strange! It seems like this falling snow is touching a certain realm in our spirit, evoking certain things and distant memories that have been long forgotten. Although our feet are stepping on Luoyangs Heavenly Street, but it feels like I am back to our childhood in Yangzhou city, being reced by another kind of more-able-to-affect-the-innermost-being manner with which we discuss the beautiful Nianger dy] who could make our spirit and soul upside down, with which we discuss our future dream. Xu Ziling nodded his head in agreement and said, In the past, certainly there was nothing that we did not talk about; moreover, we never stopped looking forward to the future. But now we seem to have obtained many things, yet it feels like we dont have anything at all. In the end, is there really such thing as destiny? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, You knew that before, I never really believe in destiny; good luck or bad luck is just what you call it. But after going through so many mishaps, I no longer dare to jump to conclusion. No matter where we are going, karma seems to entangle us tightly. For example, just before Niang died, why did she tell us the location of the buried Duke Yangs Treasure? Why did we meet Lu Miaozi, who designed the ce of the buried treasure? Even more coincidental, the buried treasure happens to be in Guanzhong, involving the struggle for the emperors throne and the battle between the orthodox and heretical sects. Everything is linked in countless ways; nevertheless, you and I are somehow being sucked into it. If this is not karma, I dont know what it is. With just a burst of dense snow, the Eastern Capital Luoyang was covered in the new clothes of white snow, all the buildings were covered in snow, no roof was visible, the long street was covered in thinyer of snow; the barely-left footprint and vehicles track were hidden in the blink of an eye. This process was continuously repeated. The two boys casually turned into the street that led to the Virtuous Temple. The pure, clean and simple snow scenery overwhelmed their hearts that they were beside themselves. Snowkes became snowballs, drops of water started to form into pure and limpid icicles, bing clump after clump of blossoming flowers, a beauty that enchanted their hearts. Suddenly they stopped; the wide-open gate of Virtuous Temple was before their eyes. Burst after burst of Buddhist chant, drawn out and melodious, wereing from the Hall of Great Strength. Combined with this snow white, boundless heaven and earth, it made people think about hidden feeling and sigh with sorrow, their spirit galloped outside the material world. Kou Zhongs tiger-body was shaken, he said, Howe just now Ipletely forgot that we came here to face the most important battle in our life? An iparably fantastic feeling also welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Kou Zhong patted the Moon in the Well on his back; his heroic spirit soared wildly, heughed aloud and strode ahead over the temple gate. Xu Ziling followed closely behind. In this moment, he haspletely forgotten about victory or defeat, honor and disgrace. Just like the timely snow falling down from the sky. The vast sky has been around for ten thousand ancients. The white snow in the morning. Book 30 - 2 – Arriving at the Virtuous to Fight Chapter 2 C Arriving at the Virtuous to Fight They bypassed the Hall of Great Strength and headed straight toward the pavilion in the garden where Xu Ziling talked with Shi Feixuan the previous night. Apart from the constantly droning voice of the monks chanting sutra in the Hall of Great Strength behind them, all around was silent with no one in sight, only snowkes gently and quietly floating down from the sky. Kou Zhongughed and said, I have some kind of feeling, it feels like I be honey, and all those good bees and bad butterflies that smell the aroma are rushing over to have a drop of share. The two boys let the snowkes fell onto their bodies, while their feet did not stop walking toward the Tianwang Dian [king of heaven (pce) hall], which was some distance away opposite to the Hall of Great Strength. Behind the hall, the pagoda stood tall, withyer uponyer of temple halls around it. The buildings on the left seemed to be the ce where the monks slept, while the buildings on the right ought to be the dining hall, the guest room, and so on; the scale was grand. Xu Ziling shook his head and said with augh, You, this kid, from time to time youe up with some out-of-ce metaphors; wild bees and unrestrained butterfliespete for the nectar is only applicable to situation where men chasing women. Its only because we stirred up trouble on ourselves that others are looking to give us trouble! Inside the Tianwang Hall, the object of worship was the big-bellied Maitreya, with soft leather bundle carried on his back; on the left and right were the Four Heavenly Kings [Vajra, guardians/warrior attendants of Buddha], protecting the sky on the east, west, south and north. The workmanship was absolutely exquisite, having both body and soul, vivid and lifelike. The Four Great Holy Monks were sitting side by side on four putuan [Buddhist praying mat, made of woven cattail] in front of the Buddha altar with their back toward the main door. On the left and right, two sides were Daoxin Dashi and Zhihui Dashi, who had fought against Xu Ziling. In the middle, with a Buddhist staff by his side, was Huayanzongs Dixin Zunzhe, whom Kou Zhong had seen. Thest monk was withered and thin, with swarthyplexion, wearing flimsy grey-colored monk robe. Its only natural that this was the Sanlunzongs Jiaxing Dashi, whose Ku Chan Xuan Gong was praised by Zhu Yuyan as the top in the world [see Book 29 Chapter 12]. The four monks sat silently as if the hall had four more Bodhisattva statues, but looking at them, there was not the slightest bit of abrupt, out-of-ce feeling, as if they have melted into the vast, empty space of the temple hall. A lit sweet-scenting incense stick was inserted into the center of a three-legged stove, emitting incense fragrant permeating the entire Buddhist hall. Kou Zhong was not intimidated by this kind of oppressively divine atmosphere. Taking a step forward, heughed aloud and said, Wishing four Dashis holy-selves peace and propitious; Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, two kids havee with specific purpose in mind to pay our respect. The four monks called on one of the many names of Buddha in chorus. The four monks had different voices, the intonation was also different; Daoxins was clear and soft, Zhihuis was bright and high, Dixins vigorous, Jiaxiangs deep and hoarse. But the four mens voices put together, it was like evening drum, morning bell, reverberating across the temple hall, able to rouse the grand dreams [orig. great dream of spring and autumn] that were lost in the depth of the mortal worlds sea of bitterness, to raise the awareness that life is just a spring dream [or short-lived illusion]! A peculiar feeling rose up in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart. Jiaxiang Dashi spoke with his deep and hoarse voice, but every word was distinct, powerful and resonating [lit. if thrown on the floor, it will make a sound], Two Shizhu are indeed trustworthy men; if you could cease using the weapons of war, there will be no end to virtuous achievements. Smiling slightly, Kou Zhong spoke calmly, Dashi is willing to personally give directions, it is hard toe by; how could I, Kou Zhong, be willing to miss this one in a thousand years golden opportunity? I wonder how we can be regarded as passing this four Dashis test? Daoxin Dashiughed aloud and said, The big street has no door, emptiness absolutely has a road. As long as two Shizhu can return to where you came from, in the future whatever two gentlemen love to do, we will absolutely not interfere. Listening to this, the two you look at me I nce at you. Daoxins words implied mysterious principles. No door could refer to the Tianwang Halls main door, but it could also refer to the monastery main gate of the outer courtyard. Naturally there was a great difference between the two distances. Until this moment, the four monks were still sitting with their back facing them. Outside the hall, the wind and the snow filled the air, making the atmosphere even more mysterious. Xu Ziling felt that they have fallen into the disadvantageous position; asking was not right, but not asking was not an option either. Secretly performing the Great Vajra Chakra Image, he shouted the incantation with deep voice, Lin! On the surface, the four monks seemed to be unmoved at all, but the two boys eyesight was formidable, they both sensed that the hair on the back of the monks neck was standing on its end. Evidently they were moved by Xu Zilings incantation, which contained the highest xinfa in the Buddhist school. It was indeed using someones spear to attack his shield [idiom: turning a weapon against its owner; attributed to Han Feizi]. Dixin Zunzhes vigorous and bright voice said, Shanzai! Shanzai! Unexpectedly Xu Shizhu is proficient in incantation method; it is indeed beyond Laonas expectation. Incantation is already spoken out, green hills and clear waters, everywhere is distinct; I wonder where this method came from, I beg you to bestow the revtion. After Xu Ziling released the incantation, the originally extremely dense, fantastic-pressure-to-the-spirit-and-the-atmosphere was broken and scattered that it disappeared without any trace. The mystery and strangeness within it were absolutely difficult for anybody who was not subjected to it to understand. Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Zilingughed, before speaking slowly, This was passed on to this kid by Zhenyan Dashi during a game before he entered extinction. [See Book 25 Chapter 3 and 4.] Zhihui Dashi called on one of the many names of Buddha in low voice; he spoke softly, Confused heart is turned by the sutra, understanding heart is turning the sutra. Turns out Xu Shizhu has already obtained the Zhen Yan Zhuan [true statement/incantation that is being passed on], the Buddhist secret method that has roamed the Buddhist temples all around the world; no wonderst night we were unable to move you. Jiaxiang Dashi suddenly said, Two Shizhu may make your move! Stunned, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. The four monks remained serene and stayed where they were, with their backs still facing them. In the solemn atmosphere of the Buddhist Hall,bined with their like-deep-pool-or-high-mountain calm, enigmatic concealed movement, there was a burst of austere, invible momentum that made them unable to make their move. Moreover, the four monks have be one entity, with the lofty quality of suppressing-the-opponent-before-having-a-fight; perfectly faultless, no gap could be found. Making a move toward such a Buddhist formation, no matter how conceited and how full of confidence the two boys were, they still have a moth-throwing-itself-to-the-fire, digging-ones-own-grave fear. Should they just turn around and leave? If they did, it would be even more stupid and cowardly, plus it would be a big contradiction to Kou Zhongs previous full-of-himself remark. Their qi empty and their momentum weak, they would not be able to withstand a single blow. All of a sudden they understood. Jiaxiang Dashi lightlyunched this move and reestablished their stable upper hand position, it was to force the two into the cannot, to retreat into the must not C inferior position. Kou Zhong let out a longugh, shaking up the main hall. Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock! Just as hisughter started, Jiaxiang Dashi tapped the wooden fish in front of him. It was so natural, yet it sounded so inharmonious with Kou Zhongs bigughter. Kou Zhong found out that it was very difficult to let go of his free,ing-from-his-bosomughter; suddenly he stoppedughing. The wooden fish stopped at the exact same time. It was weird to the extreme. Overwhelmed with shock, Kou Zhong said, Dashi is really formidable. Was that some kind of wooden fish incantation? Daoxinughed aloud and said, Little Kou Zhong shows real feeling, real character; no artificial and empty ornament, letting out your true nature. Its rare! Its rare! Ring! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well on his back. With another longughter he sent a saber hack. Simultaneously the four monks were emotionally moved. Superb! Xu Ziling cried inwardly; this was the only supreme, marvelous way to break the formation. This saber strike really did not strike any of the four monks; rather, it chopped the empty space about a zhang behind the four monks. But the qi power brought by dropping saber de pulled and rolled the four monks within it. It should be noted that just now the two boys could neither attack nor defend, there was neither gap nor w that they could exploit. Furthermore, with Kou Zhongsughter broken, they were forced into the disadvantageous position. Without any means of dealing with it, their situation was more like the downslide of Yangtze and Yellow Rivers. But by suddenly sending out this saber strike, Kou Zhong has reversed the whole situation. As soon as the four monks applied their power to resist, because the momentum was in equilibrium, it was as if Kou Zhong had broken their no-attack-no-defense, no-crack-could-be-found position. While the momentum was drawn and multiplied, Kou Zhong could also exchange the passive for the initiative, recing the Chess Abundant with other formidable move from the Eight Methods of the Well. At that time, advancing they could attack, retreating they could defend, unlike before, where they were in the disadvantageous unable-to-move-a-single-step position. Dixin Zunzhe called one of the many names of Buddha in loud voice; nobody knew when, but the Buddhist staff was already in his hands, while at the same time he turned it over to sweep at Kou Zhong, even before Kou Zhong leaped up to the air. Good! Kou Zhong cried out; he activated the positive and negative qi within his body while retreated swiftly backward. Xu Ziling followed him shing backward, while secretly performed the Great Vajra Chakra Image. Sending out a punch, it hit the head of the staff. The two boys shifting-shadow, exchanging-position was like flying bird in secluded forest, jumping fish in bluish green mountain stream; all werepletely natural, leaving absolutely no trace. The emphasis of Dixin Zunzhes Da Yuan Man Zhang Fa [see Book 29 Chapter 12] was the perfect freedom of being the master [or being in charge] everywhere, establishing the truth in all cases realm,ing around from nothingness, returning toward nowhere. No matter how tight the opponents defense was, his Great Full Circle [or perfect] Staff could still move like a stream flowing through the dense bamboo forest. At the beginning he estimated that Kou Zhong could only use the saber to block; in which case he would unleash his staff technique, no-hole-not-entered, no-crack-not-prated, attacking like mercury flowing out swiftly C topletely decimated Kou Zhongs fighting spirit and confidence. Who would have thought that instead of advancing, Kou Zhong was retreating, and in his ce Xu Ziling, using highly-skilled-appearing-as-clumsy astonishing technique, sent out a punch just before his staff technique changed, shaking the tip of the staff. Even with Dixin Zunzhes Zen heart, which had been cultivated for many years, he could not help feeling a surge. Inwardly, Daoxin, Zhihui, two men, were trembling. They knew that afterst nights battle, Xu Ziling has made another breakthrough. Tschok! There was a noise like dead trees striking each other. Xu Ziling felt that the internal power within Dixin Zunzhes Great Full Circle Staff was deep, pure and harmonious, like a deep pool, a creek, or river valley flowing down swiftly from the summit of a mountain; vast, empty and boundless, so that if he used true qi to forcefully attacking in, it would be just like throwing a small stone into that kind of boundless space, at most it would only produce an echo. Considering what he knew, naturally he could not repeatst nights vain attempt in borrowing forces. Secretly performing his image skill, he deflected the opponents staff power sideways. With eyes looking down, Dixin Zunzhe shouted, Xu Shizhu is indeed brilliant. While speaking, his Buddhist staff moved slightly following the push, but then suddenly exploded into staff shadows filling the whole sky, attacking Xu Ziling. It was as if Xu Ziling already anticipated this move; fast as lightning he moved across, while Kou Zhong, who had been hunching his back over in wait with store-up momentum shot up with the Sudden Strike move. The Moon in the Well turned into yellow light, it charged directly into depth of howling-rain-and-torrential-storm-like staff shadows. Dang! The staff shadows dispersed. Dixin Zunzhe stood still, holding the pole of the staff. But Kou Zhong struck a posture ten paces away, holding the saber across his chest. The spirited light in his eyes shing, with the sweeping-three-armies impression. The twobatants stood in opposition, forcing their momentum on each other. Immediately the hall was filled with qi power, cold air permeated the air. Daoxin, Zhihui, and Jiaxiang called one of the names of Buddha in chorus. Suddenly they separately moved to the corners of the Hall, so that the three were surrounded in the middle. This time Jiaxiang Dashi stood up. Compared to Xu, Kou, two boys, he was still three or four cun taller; thin like withered bamboo, his face long and narrow, his pair of eyes looked half-open, half-closed, he held the wooden fish on his left hand and the wooden mallet in his right hand. There was some kind of indescribable holy-monk-who-had-attained-the-Way aura around him. Zhihui spoke in low voice, Two Shizhu are more brilliant than we imagined. Pinseng is full of admiration. To be able to force these four men to decide to act together was indeed a great pride. A hint of smile escaped from the corner of Dixin Zunzhes mouth. Kou Shizhus saber strike already attained the essence of the Saber Way, he spoke softly, Millions of changes are contained within no-change, forcing Laona to abandon changes as well in ce of one: changing defense to offense. In the world, other than the Heavenly Saber Song Que, I am afraid no one else is able to produce such a saber strike. Only this moment did Kou Zhongs right hand, which was holding the saber, recover from the numb and painful feeling. Thinking about how he was able to exchange a stake-it-all move with this Buddhist schools Buddha-immortal level figure without vomiting blood and sustain injuries, immediately his confidence soared. Laughing calmly, he said, Fortunately, today is not a battle for our lives against all Dashi. How about we make an agreement? If by the time the incense stick is gone and we are still unable to leave this Hall, just consider us lost. What do you think? Daoxinughed aloud and said, Little Kou Zhong has fast movement and fast tongue. Very well, its a deal. Otherwise, we, these four old fellows, might appear too narrow-minded! Kou Zhong let out a long whistle; his bearing majestic, extremely overbearing, he spoke coldly, I am afraid there will be half a sichen before this incense stick is burned. This kid will take this golden opportunity to ask advice of Zunzhes brilliance. However, all Dashi ought to consider that this kid might absent-mindedly slip away at any moment. Finished speaking, he took three steps forward. Dixin Zunzhes pair of eyes suddenly opened, the spirited light within red out. In the ordinary peoples eyes, Kou Zhong appeared to use footwork to make his steps seemed indeterminate, and the angle of his saber hard to fathom even more. But of course, Dixin Zunzhe was not an ordinary man; in just one nce he could see through that Kou Zhong was utilizing the steps to excite the fantastic true qi within his body, so that when he unleashed the saber, it would be swiftly moving and even more difficult to block. Furthermore, it would definitelye with ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt, fierce-power-shaking-the-world momentum. Even with Dixin Zunzhes self-confidence, he could never let Kou Zhong stored up momentum and sent out a saber strike will all his strength. Moving the Buddhist staff swiftly, he swept across Kou Zhong. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong unexpectedlyughed aloud and said, Zunzhe fell into my trap! At the same moment he took the fourth step. Everybody present, including Xu Ziling, felt that thisst step of Kou Zhong really contained universally-shocking profound mystery; it appeared to be only one step, but it shrank the distance so that he was only one cun outside Dixin Zunzhes staff momentum. Subjected to his previous three steps, thetter was dazzled and momentarily let the fierce-and-severe-without-equal staff slipped through, so that not the slightest threat reached the opponent, who was more than two jiazi younger than he was. [With one jiazi equal to 60 years, I find it hard to believe that Dixin was more than 120 years older than Kou Zhong.] Xu Ziling also gasped in amazement. It was not that he had not experienced the fantastic footwork that Kou Zhong learned from Song Que; he simply had never imagined that Kou Zhong would be able to gopletely beyond natural inbining it with his other effective footwork and used it out. He first lured the opponent to make his move, and then when the opponent was caught off guard, he suddenly unleashed it. The most hard-toe-by was that it waspletely without warning. Swish! Swish! Swish! Three saber strikes in session chopped down, the qi power grew without restraint, enveloping Dixin Zunzhe inside it. They saw the Moon in the Well turned into lightning-like yellow light. Each saber strike hacked from unexpected angle into staff shadow, which was as solid as the wall or a mountain. Each saber strike sealed any changes Dixin Zunzhe was about to make, so that this very able person from Buddhist school was incapable to unleash the Great Full Circle Staff Technique at full strength. If Xu Ziling felt that the shocking fact was hard-to-believe to his own eyes, naturally the other three monks did not need to be mentioned. Dang! Dang! Dang! Kou Zhong pulled back his saber and retreated to Xu Zilings side. Stroking the de of his saber, he called out, Delighted! Delighted! I am indeed delighted! Dixin Zunzhe saluted with one palm; he sighed and said, Kou Shizhu is indeed an amazing talent in the martial art study of the present age; Laona is full of admiration. Daoxin Dashi interjected, In my opinion, we really do not need to waste time by continuing this battle, simply because if the four of us, old baldheads make our move together, it will be difficult for little Kou Zhongs momentum to use this kind of marvelous technique to make Zunzhe to have the power but difficult to unleash; if anybody is injured, we all will feel ufortable. This remark was tantamount to saying that because Kou Zhong was too formidable, even Daoxin himself had no confidence that he would be able to subdue Kou Zhong without using any killer move. Kou Zhong lightly elbowed Xu Ziling, while smiling and said, Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling elegantly shrugged his shoulders and calmly said, What opinion do I have? Its up to you, this kid! None of the four monks did not exim in admiration inwardly. Just by looking at how the two boys, under the monks tremendous power, were still able to be this rxed,fortable and leisurely in talking and joking about deploying their troops, it was obvious that they had obtained the hidden elegant demeanor of people with remarkable attainments in the martial art study; something that ordinary martial art master would not be able to achieve. Kou Zhong let out a burst of longugh, filled with enormous confidence; shaking his head, he said, Daoxin Dashi is mistaken! If it were only me, Kou Zhong, one kid, this moment I would have abandoned my saber and admit defeat. But Kou Zhong plus Xu Ziling, plus our goal is just leaving from the temple halls door, it is a different matter altogether. Thump! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling both felt a chilling-the-heart, failing-the-guts pounding; this time it came from Jiaxiang Dashi striking his wooden fish. It was like a strange force prating the wall and passing through the rampart, and went straight into the depths of their spirit. Suddenly, Jiaxiang Dashi, who was revered as the chief of the four monks C moved right in front of the two boys. Dixin Zunzhe withdrew to the back, forming a triangle with Daoxin and Zhihui, who were guarding the left and right corners near the door, and thus the two boys were surrounded right in the middle. Jiaxiangs withered and dark, long face did not reveal the slightest amount of mood fluctuation; the wooden fish was already hidden inside his cassock, his withered hands came out from within the wide sleeves of his grey robe, his right hand was upright, his left hand t with the palm facing down. He spoke apathetically, The two Shizhu are defeated today because of excessive confidence. The four of us have not fought hand to hand with anybody for nearly twenty years, its hard to raise the intention to fight. But given a certain amount of time, to have two gentlemen remain in this hall ought to be manageable, albeit with difficulties. Because of our concerns over themon people of the world, please forgive Pinseng formitting this offense. Kou Zhong stood upright with the saber in his hand; he pointed to Jiaxiang from a distance, while sending out wave after wave of energy to withstand Jiaxiangs terrifying-the-soul-and-frightening-the-hearts momentum. He responded in loud and clear voice, Its not that we have excessive confidence; rather, we dare to face challenge in order to establish a clear-cut goal. The reason that I, Kou Zhong, am unwilling to abandon the saber and admit defeat is also for the sake of themon people of the world. Only because of different positions that there exist a diametrically opposing argument between you and I, two sides. Daoxinughed aloud and said, Fresh and green bamboo is full of Tathata [from dictionary: the ultimate inexpressible nature of all things], dense yellow flowers not without Prajna [wisdom; from dictionary: direct insight into the truth taught by the Buddha, as a faculty required to attain enlightenment]. Little Kou Zhong, do you understand? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong replied, What is Tathata? What is Prajna? This is the first time I hear about those terms; how could I understand? Zhihui Dashi put his palms together, with a string of sandalwood Buddhist beads hanging down; guiding patiently and systematically, he said, Tathata refers to the eternal, unchanging truth contained within objects; Prajna refers to the wisdom to be a Buddha. Does Shizhu understand? Kou Zhong cast a nce toward Xu Ziling, who was standing by his side with hands hung down;ughing, he said, Xiao Ling has more Buddha nature than me; why dont you ask him? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Whether all mundane objects conceal Buddha nature or not, bluish green bamboo and yellow flowers are just one of the objects, naturally they have Buddhas truth and wisdom within them. But this kid still does not understand, what does it have to do with Kou Zhongs remark about different positions will also result in different arguments? Daoxin cheerfully said, Moving by following karma, being by responding to intention. We are moving by following karma, while two Shizhu are not. Karma rises, karma ended, cause and effect multiplied. As a result we have the meeting before our eyes this moment. Although Shizhu can understand self, you cannot understand the present. The degree of loss is a fork in the road. How about putting down nature, the body does not live? Kou Zhong shook the long saber in his hand, creating a burst of buzzing noise; he calmly said, Thank you very much for the enlightenment, so that today disciples learned a lot of principles that I have previously never thought about. Four Dashi, please bestow instruction again. Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Facts and Figures Book 30 - 3 – Hard to Differentiate Between Elder and Younger Brother Chapter 3 C Hard to Differentiate Between Elder and Younger Brother Naturally Kou Zhong did not dare to let Jiaxiang seized the initiative tounch full-strength attack; unleashing the Sudden Strike of the Eight Methods of the Well, he pushed his momentum to its peak condition. The Moon in the Well turned into yellow light, like a shooting star it streaked across the space between Jiaxiang and him, swiftly threatening the pit of Jiaxiangs stomachs position. The man and the saber became one, none of the spectators did not sense that the saber carried the shaking-the-mountain-peak, rocking-the-mountain momentum, without any fear of any head-on counterattack. If it were any ordinary martial art master, before the de even touched the body, he would have received serious injury from the saber power emitted by the de, which was full of murderous aura. Yet Jiaxiang Dashis entire body stayed absolutely still; even the sleeves of his clothes did not flutter the slightest bit. Suddenly his withered right hand changed from upright position to extended horizontally, his body, basically like a pir, swayed front and back, left and right. His right hand again swept across in front of his chest, the palm shape gradually changed, the thumb bent outward, the other fingers were closed together and stretched out. By the time the palm almost arrived, the thumb urately pinched the de of Kou Zhongs attacking saber. Daoxin cried out in low voice, One Finger Zen, Shizhu, be careful! Watching this, Xu Ziling was speechless inwardly. Jiaxiangs speed was theplete opposite of Kou Zhongs rapid-like-sudden-p-of-thunder; each movement was unhurried, so that the spectators could see everything clearly. Yet his slow happened to control Kou Zhongs fast. From this, it can be seen that his slow-moving action was simply some kind of speed illusion. Buddhist schools mysterious skill was certainly universally shocking. Kou Zhong was even more shocked. At first nce, his move Sudden Strike was just a dominant offensive move; the formidabilityy in its ability to disy full power, using highly concentrated and rapid saber strength, using force to attack force. But the real profound principle was actually in its countless changes. Yet Jiaxiangs One Finger Zen has attained the highly-skilled-withoutbor level. He could only stare nkly when the de was caught head-on, andpletely could not budge. It felt as if the de was chopping on refined steel wall. Letting out a stifled groan, Kou Zhong swiftly retreated. This move established destroyed-the-sun-defeated-the-light time, which would be difficult to have any good scenery. Lightning-fast, a stream of true qi flowed along the de, prated Kou Zhongs meridians. Jiaxiang Dashi seized this opportunity to attack; his right hand swept from left to right, his left hand struck from bottom to top, he drew a ten character [ʮ] in the air. Xu Ziling performed the Great Vajra Chakra Image, the fingers of both hands were bent toward the hollow of his palm, the thumbs of both hands met together, the middle fingers buckled backward, the index fingers twisted, he strode forward, together with the swiftly-retreating Kou Zhong they staggered back, and then he spun around. The carried over qi power violently shot out, just enough to counteract the pressure from Jiaxiang Dashis momentum. The point of the hand image urately hit the center of the ten character that Jiaxiang Dashi drew in front of his chest. Qi power shed. But it did not create any noise. Jiaxiang Dashi recited in low voice, Wither like a dry well, full like a vast body of water. Three realms and six ways[1], presented only by the mind. Xu Zilings tiger-body was severely shaken. When he made contact with Jiaxiangs ten character in the air, there was a feeling like throwing water into a well, which had been dry for nobody knows how many months and years. But when Jiaxiang recited in low voice, the dry well suddenly became the ocean, a vast body of water, which raging waves crashed onto the shore, or like a long dike copsing, sending the water rushing violently toward him. Facing this Buddhist schools top skill, Xu Ziling was still as calm as before, his will was not affected at all. Two hands separated, he secretly carried out the deflecting force technique, transforming up to 40% the opponents attacking energy stream, before bending his waist backward. By the time he straightened up his waist, he sent out a punch. Bang! Jiaxiang Dashi staggered slightly backward, but Xu Ziling was forcefully shocked three steps back. Kou Zhong, however, did not dare to move. Turned out he suddenly felt that the other monks attention was focused on him. As soon as he showed slight difference in his movement, the moment he wanted to draw qi, he might immediately be the three monks all-out attack from all sides; he really must not rush indiscriminately into action. Without any choice, he could only stare nkly, quietly watching for any changes. Jiaxiang Dashis drooping eyes suddenly looked up, revealing a pair of deep, hard-to-fathom, brimming with wisdom, holiness, and intelligent divine light. And then his grey monk robe sank down, pressing up against his body, entuating his tall, straight, obstinately thin build. Suddenly a palm shot out. His movement was like moving clouds and flowing water, or like antelope hanging its antler, implying mysterious principles. Raising his voice, Dixin Zunzhe said, Zhengyan Fa Zang[2]. The spirited light in Xu Zilings pair of tiger-eyes red out; he met Jiaxiang Dashis prating, able-to-bore-through-the-wall-and-prate-the-rampart gaze. He was well aware that although the opponents style appeared to be mediocre without anything strange, it was actually the excellence returning to truly n and simple, the level where big clumsiness appeared in ce of highly skillful martial art way. Like this palm strike, for example, no matter how he wanted to use any marvelous move or brilliant skill to counter it, in the end he could only meet the palm strike head-on. The profound mystery within it was definitely no words could exin clearly. Withered like a dry well, full like a vast body of water. Withered palm, yet contained Buddhists enormous and profound true qi like the ocean. Xu Ziling stood in ce. A hint of smile escaped from the corner of his mouth. His right palm met the attack, and then the palm turned into a punch, the punch became a finger stab, pointing at the hollow of Jiaxiang Dashis palm. Vortex of qi power broke into the palm and entered in; unexpectedly it grew and flowed swiftly without the slightest bit of resistance. Instead of delighted, Xu Ziling was shocked. Jiaxiangs dried up well suddenly became the ocean, a vast body of water overflowing with devastation, repelling the vortex of qi power and push it back. Xu Ziling already knew that the opponent was this outstanding, still he did not expect the change to be this fast. He reversed the direction of the spiraling energy and pulled it back first, and then with all his might he changed the direction to swiftly block upward. Boom! Xu Zilings handsome face turned white, he floated backward to escape. Like a shadow attached to a shape Jiaxiang pursued closely. In his heart, Kou Zhong knew that this moment was the key to their victory or defeat. How could Jiaxiang Dashis close to a hundred years full-strength palm strike be a small matter? Xu Ziling did not fall to the ground and seriously injured was certainly something that would astonish the world. No longer care that he was the target of a multitude of arrows of the other three monks, he swiftly charged forward. The Moon in the Well in his right hand swept across Jiaxiang, with his other hand he grabbed Xu Zilings right hand. Daoxin, Zhihui and Dixin called one of the many names of Buddha in chorus; they pressed on forward together while making their move at the same time. Jiaxiang Dashis right hand lightly flicked, the sleeve of his robe brushed away at the de of the saber. Amidst a whooshing noise, beyond the monks expectation, Jiaxiang met the saber and floated away, the One Finger Zen attacking Xu Ziling could not continue. Only then did they know that by grabbing each others hand, the two boys created a bridge, linking theirmon-origin-but-different true qi,bining them into one entity, producing the battle oue, which was worthy of pride. Although as a result the other three monks lost the opportunity to use thebined power of four men to overpower the two boys, naturally they were not thrown into disorder. Dixin Zunzhe immediately took the position vacated by Jiaxiang floating away. Producing millions of staff shadows, he created a wall pressing down from the front of the two boys. With his palms put together, Daoxin send out two streams of qi power, surging and rolling toward Xu Zilings left rear, pushing him away to make it difficult for him to link up with Kou Zhong. Zhihuis string of sandalwood Buddhist beads rose up; following his fantastic footwork, it appeared to be directly attacking Kou Zhongs right eardrum acupoint, but actually it could change direction at any time. It was extremely hard to fathom. The attack from all sides was in full swing. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling linked hands suddenly stretched out straight, their bodies leaned forward, unexpectedly they spun around rapidly like spinning top. The three monks never thought that they would have this move, immediately they lost the original target of their attack. Ding! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well consecutively hit Dixin Zunzhes Great Full Circle Staff and forced Daoxins sealed palms to stop. Xu Ziling waved his palm to heavily chop on Zhihui Dashis string of Buddhist beads, creating a loud Bang! as the qi power collided. The two boys utilization of the leaning outward and spinning momentum,bined with the angle of attack and the fantastic footwork, everything was beyond the three monks expectation, so that these three Buddhist top-notch figures were forced into passive position; their offensive was changed into defense, and they were forced to evade. Xu Ziling let out a long whistle; sending his power to his right hand he hurled Kou Zhong away, like an arrow leaving the bow, shooting toward the great halls main entrance. He himself used the positive and negative qi; fast as lightning he intercepted Jiaxiang Dashi. His two hands turned into countless palm shadows in frontal assault toward him. Daoxin and Zhihui, two monks were in charge of guarding the door, how could they let Kou Zhong slip away like that? Unleashing the skill that they kept at the bottom of their trunk, the former moved both hands to grab the air between them, using the Nian Chai Zhai Cai [nipping firewood picking vegetables] of the Damo Shou [Dharma/Bodhidharma Hand] Eighteen Styles. Immediately he generated a strong gust of wind, producing two streams of powerful energy with a cyclone hidden within it. If Kou Zhong was rolled into it, it would be guaranteed that he would fall back into the hall. Zhi Hui Dashi uttered, Please forgive my offense, from the string of Buddhist beads in his hand, three sandalwood wooden beads shot out. Although the beads startedter, they arrived sooner, as they flew in triangr formation [orig. Ʒ (pin) character] toward Kou Zhongs back, attacking the jianjing acupoints on his left and right shoulder, and the vital acupoint on his back. This moment Kou Zhong was no more than half a zhang away from the halls door, but he was well aware that this half a zhang was like ten thousand rivers and a thousand mountains; even if hepensated with his little life, it would still be difficult to fly over it. Making a prompt decision, the tip of his toes tapped the ground, he soared up, and made a somersault in the air, and then using his special ability of exchanging true qi midair, he simply changed direction, escaping two monks offensive dangerously closely, and flew back toward Xu Ziling at the middle of the hall. Xu Ziling was in deep danger; he was engaged in an iparably intense close-distancebat against Jiaxiang Dashi. In the midst of palm winds and fist shadows, two human figures fought endlessly like rabbit rising and cuckoo falling. On the surface the two seemed to be fighting evenly, but in just one nce Kou Zhong knew that Xu Zilings range of motion was continuously narrowing. Jiaxiangs Buddhist marvelous skill emerged more and more, forcing Xu Ziling to fight hard, to stake everything he had. Clearly his power was increasing, continuously attacking the weakening Xu Ziling. The reason Xu Ziling was trapped in this inferior situation was mainly because Dixin Zunzhe was hovering nearby, like a tiger lying in wait for its prey. Although he did not make any move, but he posed enormous pressure and huge threat to Xu Ziling, so that he was greatly affected; his mind guarding against this threat, it was difficult for Xu Ziling to go all-out in dealing with Jiaxiang Dashis howling wind and torrential rain offensive, whose power differed from Xu Zilings by arge margin. Were it not for Xu Zilings true qi has reached the following-his-hearts-desire boundary, plus the newly-mastered borrowing-strength-deflecting-forces brilliant skill, he would have been knocked down to the ground early on. Kou Zhong roared. From high in the air, he suddenly dropped down to the ground, his body following the saber, his power passed through the tip of the saber, it turned into a yellow rainbow, shooting straight toward Dixin Zunzhe, who pounced forward to intercept him. If he could not pass this Dixin Zunzhe barrier, he could forget about entering the close circle of Jiaxiang against Xu Zilings battle. Daoxin and Zhihui stood on the left and right of the door; they did not pursue. All of them were grandmaster-level figures who already made their names more than sixty years ago, their status was not ordinary at all. Unless they were forced by circumstances, they would never lower themselves to rely on number to bully the two boys. But together they guarded the door, it was akin to have an alive iron rampart and copper wall, which even spilled water could not pass. Dixin Zunzhe shed to the left, his Buddhist staff swept across, it looked like it was going to hit Kou Zhongs de. Kou Zhong suddenly changed his footwork, the de, which looked like it was impossible to change, suddenly did change. It streaked in the air, creating a circle. Not only it evaded Dixin Zunzhes Buddhist staff, it also poked the base of the staff, filling this senior monks heart full of admiration. The saber technique being disyed thus far was enough to be mentioned on equal terms with the Heavenly Saber Song Que. Dixin Zunzhe smiled slightly, the Buddhist staff in his hands pressed down. At the same time he generated a violent, fierce, sucking force, making it difficult for Kou Zhong to get away. Moreover, when Kou Zhong wanted to brake the qi of his de, even when it was disappearing, it was still under attack. He was indeed worthy to be one of the Buddhist Four Great Holy Monks. Kou Zhong apuded inwardly. Copying the Sudden Thrust Method that he learned from Li Yuanji, he retreated, along with his saber. The Moon in the Well swung to the left and shook to the right, all of a sudden it got away from the base of the staff, and then he swiftly returned about half a zhang back. The Moon in the Well swiftly chopped, the saber light shed past, Dixin Zunzhe did not have enough time to block, the Buddhist staff was finally deflected away by the de. If it were only the two of them fighting, this moment Dixin Zunzhe could get out of the way as he pleased, and then runched the offensive; he could not possibly fall into the disadvantageous position. But this moment, Dixin Zunzhes responsibility was to prevent Kou Zhong from helping Xu Ziling; it was a totally different situation. Kou Zhongs saber light red out, heunched the moves from the Eight Methods of the Well, which he had not used against Xu Ziling, the Cheating Troops. Creating million dots of saber light, just like the snowstorm outside the hall, he took advantage of the instant when the Buddhist staff was deflected away, and while Dixin Zunzhe simply had to strongly defend his position at the center of the hall C to sh toward the opponent. Letting out a cold shout, the Buddhist staff in Dixin Zunzhes hands suddenly shortened. Turned out he moved his grab to the middle of the Buddhist staff, and now, using the staffs head and staffs tail, he unleashed a set of exquisite, meticulous, beneficial to fighting a close-distancebat C staff techniques, meeting the Moon in the Well head-on. Kou Zhongughed aloud. The millions of dots created by the tip of his saber suddenly dissipated, changing back into the shape of a long saber. But he himself moved to Dixin Zunzhes left side, where the staff momentum was unable to reach. And then the saber struck. This was the first time that Dixin Zunzhe encountered such a marvelous move. As a result, it was toote for him to change his move. His hands moved to the head and tail of the staff, respectively, he positioned the staff horizontally across his chest to block the strike. Dang! While Kou Zhong felt a shot of pain as his saber hacked the Buddhist staff and Dixin Zunzhes imposing body was severely shaken, Kou Zhong borrowed the impact force to fly overhead Xu Ziling and Jiaxiang. He exerted all his strength, giving it everything he had, and was finally able to snatch this little initiative to break through Dixin Zunzhes originally no-crack-could-be-found tight barrier. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried that Kou Zhong arrived just in time. Actually, he had already reached the plight of mountain and river exhausted [idiom: dead end]. Even after Dixin Zunzhe was entangled by Kou Zhong, his disadvantageous position did not see any improvement, simply because when martial art masters fought, if one side was forced into disadvantageous position, it would be very difficult to regain the equilibrium, it might even steadily deteriorated, especially when the opponent was of a martial art grandmaster level like Jiaxiang Dashi, whose any style has reached the stove-fire-has-turned-bright-green, has undergone the thousand-hammered-hundred-refinement level. Practically there would be no chance of error at all. Were it not for Jiaxiang purposely wanted to exhaust his power, his little life would have been very difficult to protect. Dang! Jiaxiangs palm forced Xu Ziling to retreat. It seemed like a casual wave-of-hand or snap-of-fingers, but Kou Zhongs fierce-and-severe-without-equal saber strike was immediately shaken away. However, it also freed Xu Ziling from the hard-pressed situation. A strong gust of wind came; Dixin Zunzhe unleashed his Great Full Circle Staff at full power, attacking from behind like hiding the sky and covering the earth. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling bumped their shoulders;ing together and separating repeatedly, they spun around to face Jiaxiang and Dixin Zunzhes attack, respectively. Even with Daoxin and Zhihui, two great masters eyesight, this moment they were dazzled. They saw the fourbatants in the middle of the hall were engaged in a tangled battle. At first Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were under hard pressure that they could only move within a narrow space, but the two boys, using some kind of seamless-heavenly-clothes joint attack tactics, were able to strengthen the power of their marvelous moves repeatedly, so that the range of their movement was constantly expanding, was brimming with vitality. The incense stick on the Buddha altar only remained a small section about the-tip-of-a-finger long, so it would not be long before it waspletely burned. However, if this situation continued, there was absolutely no possibility that the two boys would be able to get away from under Jiaxiang and Dixin Zunzhes hands, let alone crashing through the temples door. Bump! Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings back collided against each other; Xu Ziling shouted in low voice, Yun Shuai! Kou Zhong sensed Xu Zilings burning hot true qi bursting out of his back like tidal wave; he understood tacitly. He knew that thest opportunity has appeared before their eyes. With a wild roar, the Moon in the Well carried out the seventh method of the Eight Methods of the Well, the Rapid Battle. The long saber bending inward first before returning to attack forward with great advancing-courageously feel, if-you-dont-die-then-I-perish momentum. Dixin Zunzhe felt that he waspletely shrouded by Kou Zhongs saber momentum. If he used his staff to meet the attack head-on, it would be difficult to control the momentum of his hands, and then the battle might develop into life and death situation, which he really did not wish to see. Hastily he pulled the staff half a zhang back to block. Xu Ziling had his mind focused on Jiaxiangs pair of sleeves, which were brushing from the outside C left and right C in. Completely bending his back, he sent Kou Zhongs body soaring into the air; like a shadow attached to a shape he pursued and attack Dixin Zunzhe, who was pulling back to defend. In his shock, Dixin Zunzhe suddenly realized that Kou Zhong ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt saber strike actually contained Xu Zilings qi power within. But it was toote for regret; moreover, because of the dramatic increase in Kou Zhongs speed, while he was being carried over by his own backward momentum, he had no way of stopping Kou Zhongs flight plus the fierce and severe, violent saber strike that wasing fast. Without any choice, he shed sideways, letting Kou Zhong to fly toward Daoxin and Zhihui guarding the door, in his second attempt to break through the door. This moment Xu Ziling was so weak that he nearly dropped to his knees on the floor. Raising both hands, he said to Jiaxiang, No more fight! Jiaxiang slightly nodded his head and came to Xu Zilings side, but his gaze was on Kou Zhongs back. The key to sess or failurey solely on Kou Zhong. Although they were over two zhang away, neither Daoxin nor Zhihui did not feel the threat of Kou Zhongs saber momentum. Kou Zhong flew horizontally off the ground, his head at the front his feet behind. The Moon in the Well slowly pushed out, all movements became one integral, unbroken entity. The most terrifying thing was that the two great masters felt that the moment the attack reached them would be the moment where the saber momentum reached its peak. To both sides, either the one who was crashing through a barrier or the one intercepting, there was only one way, which was letting go of their hands and staking everything they had, with no distinction between life and death. Naturally they had no intention whatsoever to stake everything in life and death battle against Kou Zhong. They rose up together, with the intention of taking advantage before Kou Zhongs saber momentum reached its apex, to intercept him and pull him back down. With their joint power, plus the amassed momentum while they were waiting, they were 100% sure that they would seed. None of Xu Ziling and the others did not hold his breath and calm his qi, waiting for the oue. Daoxin twisted his two palms together, like a pair of frolicking butterflies meeting Kou Zhong. Following a mysterious and wonderful trajectory, just before Zhihuis string of Buddhist beads met Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, it looped around the saber head-on. Both sides made their move with all their strength, it was indeed not amon chord. The distance between the two sides was rapidly decreasing. When he was less than a zhang away, Kou Zhong suddenly flew toward Zhihui Dashi,pletely evading Daoxins abstruse, unstoppable Damo Miaoshou [Dharma Miraculous/Wonderful Hand], and using all his strength to attack Zhihui Dashi. Jiaxiang and Dixin Zunzhe called on one of the many names of Buddha in chorus. Zhihui Dashi quickly decided that if he forcefully shook Kou Zhongs saber, which contained Xu Zilings true qi, they might end up in both sides defeated and perishing together. Calling inwardly, My Buddha have mercy, he dropped down from the air. Uttering Thank you very much, Kou Zhong, unimpeded and unbounded, flew over, curving toward the door, and disappearing in the snowstorm outside the temple hall. [1] Three realms and six ways C trailokya: worlds of desire, form and formlessness, and sadgatih, Buddhist/Hindu view of living being, deva, asura, human, etc. (Courtesy of Akw) [2] Zhengyan Fa Zang C Dharma treasure of the right eye; referring to the teaching of Chan/Zen, when Lord Buddha held a flower, Mahk?yapa smiled, Lord Buddha dered he had transmitted the way of Chan already and referred to it as the Dharma treasure of the right eye. (Courtesy of Akw) Book 30 - 4 – Free Walk in the Snow Chapter 4 C Free Walk in the Snow Covered in snow from head to toes, Kou Zhong crossed over the doorstep to return to the main hall. The four monks were standing still as if they had be four additional statues to the Buddha Maitreya and the four heavenly kings statues already in the Hall. Deeply concerned, Kou Zhong cast a nce toward Xu Ziling. Returning the saber into its scabbard, he spoke confidently and at ease, Only one of us could sessfully take advantage of all Dashis good intention to leave the Hall. How would we treat or talk about this battle? Ha! How do we settle this correctly? Jiaxiangs withered and slender countenance revealed apletely-unconcerned-over-sess-and-failure, over-the-gains-and-losses smile. He kindly put his palms together and said, Shanzai! Shanzai! How could those who have left home haggle over every ounce? Remaining here is Buddha, leaving this ce is also Buddha. By predestined rtionship one remains, by following predestined affinity one leaves. Daoxin Dashiughed aloud and said, Illusion is empty flower, why take the trouble to capture it? Gains and losses, right and wrong, in a short while will have to be let go and will decline. Two Shizhu please take a good care of yourselves! The snow was falling bigger and denser. Carried by the wind, snowkes like big lumps of cotton gracefully floating down, transforming the world into a pure, beautiful, blurry, touching-the-chord-of-humans-heart C bizarre and marvelous heaven and earth. When the two boys stepped out of the Virtuous Temple, the monks inside the Hall of Great Strength were still chanting the sutras. Their voices came through like tidal wave in cadence. Almost undistinguishable who went first, they both spurted a mouthful of blood, spraying the thick snow so that two red stters appeared on the ground. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other andughed. There was a relieved, rxed, delighted feeling that made them nearly bursting out in a song. Wiping the bloodstain from the corner of his mouth, Kou Zhong said, while continued walking, Ling Shao is really good, your timing was more urate than his grannys. Otherwise, right now we would be like to defeated roosters who scurried away with head hung low. Victory and defeat were only one thin line apart. Xu Ziling said, What we learned today was more than thest dozen or so daysbined. Buddhist schools consummate art is certainly wide-ranging and profound. Fortunately, from our battle against Zhu Yaofu, Wan[1] Yaonu the other day in Nanyang, we made great progress. Otherwise, merely Jiaxiang Dashis mothers One Finger Zen would be enough to beat us that we stumbled and unable to get up. Going in and out of streets and alleys the two boys walked in the direction of River Luo and the Tianjin Bridge. The excitement of the first snow has already disappeared, the number of people walking along the streets has been greatly diminished. Luoyang residents who did not have any business to be outside have already returned home to huddle around the stove in order to drive the cold away. Looking up to the sky, Kou Zhong exhaled a long, long breath, saying, While the Buddhist and Taoist top martial art masters are assembled in Luoyang, no matter how conceited he is, Shi Zhixuan would not dare to act blindly without thinking. Lets take advantage of this opportunity to go up north immediately. Xiaodi will go see Wang Shichong to make the arrangement, Ling Shao, you go find Khan and Wangzi to tell them the good news, and then Ille to meet up with you. Naturally Xu Ziling did not have any desire to stay in Luoyang either. After agreeing on the details, the two split up to do their separate tasks. The former went straight to the south bank of River Luo. Amidst the drizzle of snow, ships and boats were still sailing endlessly on the River, braving the snow, sailing slowly. Only they seemed to belong to another dimension. The weeping willow and the ancient trees along the shore were clothed in new garments of white snow. In this world of vast expanse of whiteness, matchless hidden mystery was already blooming. In that instant, Xu Ziling could only stare nkly, wishing that he did not have to leave so suddenly. Shi Feixuans gentle and soft voice suddenly spoke by his side, The battle of Virtuous Temple will make Zilings name shake the world; I wonder henceforth which course you are going to follow? Turning his head to look, Xu Ziling saw in the pure white snowke scenery, Shi Feixuan, dressed in mens clothing, looked even more like a fairy, who did not eat the food ofmon mortals C descending into the mortal world. And due to her sudden immortal appearance, the entire heaven and earth was transformed into fairnd. Smiling slightly, he said, We prevailed only by using crafty ruse; what makes us proud of? Looking at Misss happy mood, it looks like Miss takes delight in us getting away by a fluke; isnt that kind of strange? Lightly shrugging her fragrant shoulders, Shi Feixuans demeanor and expression were so touching, as she rolled her eyes at him and said, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong have never been the enemy in Feixuans heart; fighting hand to hand with you was just like a game, why would I be concerned over the gains and losses of a game? As early as when Feixuan asked the four Seniors to leave the mountain, I already told them that everything will have to follow karma. Moreover, the situation in Guanzhong is changing very fast, it is greatly unfavorable to Qin Wang. This time the two of you are entering the Pass to stir up trouble, perhaps you would create another situation. Cause and effect are difficult to guess. So thats how it is! Xu Ziling said, But supposing we really are able to transport Duke Yangs Treasure away, would Miss still have your hands inside your sleeves and not paying attention? Shi Feixuan lightly sighed and said, Feixuan really do not wish to think about anything that far ahead; does Ziling understand my feeling? Xu Zilings heart trembled slightly. Just a few wordsing out from Shi Feixuans mouth were already enough to show that she was not without any friendly regard toward him, hence the rhetorical question in thest sentence. Shi Feixuans beautiful eyes gazing deeply at him, she said, Presently Li Jianchengs Crown Prince influence is growing by the day, plus he obtained Xielis support, while Shi Zhixuan is ying ghost in the dark, and Li Yuan is leaning toward him. The situation is extremelyplex. You guys still persist in crashing into Guanzhong, this is really unwise. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Thank you very much for Misss concern, but as long as Miss does not personally make your move to deal with us, or perhaps ask Ning Daoqi or Liao Kong Dashi, two Seniors to deploy their troops to stop us, we are already very grateful. Shi Feixuan revealed a hint of helpless and pained smile, but did not answer him. Xu Ziling faintly grasped the subtle contradiction in her heart; changing the subject, he said, Xiaodi has a favor to ask. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Unexpectedly Xu Ziling can open his mouth to ask for a favor; shouldnt Feixuan be pleased beyond my expectations? Xu Ziling blurted outughing; he could not help teasing her, You are a Xianzi, I am a mortal. Mortal has a cherished desire that he is unable to aplish, shouldnt he pray to Xianzi asking for help? Amused, Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Its rare to see Xu Ziling in such a good mood, unexpectedly you can also copy Kou Zhongs sweet mouth to poke fun at Feixuan. Be careful, Feixuan might brush my sleeve and refuse to listen. Xu Ziling was greatly relieved, feeling that he had closed a considerable distance from this beauty. Calmly he said, I only want to ask Miss to think of an idea so that Tuli Khan can safely return to this Khanate Court! Casting him a nce, Shi Feixuan pursed her lips and said with augh, Ah! Turns out you guys want to carryout the repairing the nk road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang stratagem, to use it to steal into Changan. Delighted, Xu Ziling submitted to her; he sighed and said, Misss intelligence is astonishing; just from Xiaodis request, you already see us through. Smiling sweetly, Shi Feixuan spoke in tranquil, gentle tone, Whether Khan can safely return to the Khanate Court concerns rise and fall, flourish and demise of both Tujue and the Central Earth; no wonder Ziling is opening your mouth to ask for help for the first time. From this, it is clear to me that Zilings concern for themon people of the world is actually not below Feixuans. Dont worry! Feixuan especially asked San Ren, the Senior, toe out is precisely to deal with Shi Zhixuan. In all the world, I am afraid only he, the Senior, and four Dashi can make Shi Zhixuan having some misgivings. But you must be careful as well, Shi Zhixuan will definitely not want to miss the Sheng Di Sheli [holy emperors relic] of the hidden treasure. And then she added, Ay! Until this moment, even if Feixuan plotted the mission for you, I still dont know what brilliant scheme are you going to rely on to enter Changan the-gods-do-not-know-the-ghosts-do-not-perceive, under Li Jianchengs sides ring-like-a-tiger-watching-its-prey? Casting his gaze into the depth of boundless windblown snowscape on the opposite bank, Xu Ziling said softly, We will leave Luoyang immediately. After we part here, I wish there will be days where I will see Miss again in Guanzhong; and at that time, I wish I will still be friends with Miss, and not the enemy at all. And then I will have no regret. Shi Feixuan put her palms together and said, The heart is Buddha, Buddhist heart epasses all things, enlightenment and anxiety are different in names but one in body; three realms and big way only appear in ones heart, the water and the moon are the image in the mirror, how could there be life and death? Those who know this truth will not be caught off guard. Ziling, be careful in ten thousand things, dont force yourself. Feixuan wont see you off! Xu Ziling walked along the west bank of the River, his heart was still filled with Shi Feixuans touching-the-heartstrings immortal beauty and wonderful demeanor. Each time he spoke to her, he seemed to obtain a lot of enlightenment and greatprehension. What she said not only contained mysterious principle, it also had profound philosophic theory. In the end, all kinds of joys and sorrows in this world, the happiness, anger, sorrow and joy of all living things with emotions, are nothing more than the appearance of humans own heart. Just like the image in the mirror, the brief illusion in the water. As long as one could see through this, what could be worth someone reluctant to leave behind? Although this view was pessimistic, it contained irrefutable truth within. Because the fact was just like that, only all living things obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way! But why did she, just before they parted, say such thing? Was she trying to warn him? Also that she was on alert for him? But how could he bear to ponder these subtleties? Xu Ye! Xu Ziling was ashamed inwardly; because his mind was too focused on Shi Feixuan, unexpectedly he did not sense that someone wasing out of the bushes. The iing person came to his side. Full of delight, she said, I finally found Xu Ye! Unexpectedly it was Liu Heitas delicate, pretty and pleasant subordinate, the expert in using flying des, Qiu Tongtong. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Turns out it is Miss Tongtong; I wonder if Liu Dage is alsoing? For some reason, Qiu Tongtongs pretty face turned bright red; she spoke with astonishment, Just call me Tongtong; thats how Dashi [great master] also calls me. Dashi is noting, but Da Wang [great king] is. He is anxious to see and have a meeting with Xu Ye and Shao Shuai. Xu Ziling was shocked inwardly; unexpectedly Dou Jiande personally came to Luoyang, which means he must have an important matter to discuss with Wang Shichong. Yet this old fox concealed this fact from them. Half a momentter, Xu Ziling came to a warship docked at the pier nearby to see this hegemon, whose name shook the world. Dou Jiande was about forty years old; his build slender, his demeanor calm, his hair and beard were thick and ck. In his steady, cool-headed manner, there was some kind of poised and at ease fantastic characteristic. His eagle-like eyes seemed to hide profound insight. His bearing was intimidating. After dismissing everybody else, the two sat in the cabin. Appearing to have deep emotional stirring, Dou Jiande sighed and said, Heita often praises you unendingly in my presence; at that time I was still skeptical, but this moment, as I see Zilings every movement has some kind of unconstrained and natural, without the slightest bit of artificiality C ir in it, yet with immacte movement and stillness posture, my heart and my mouth are convinced. I, Dou Jiande, have read countless people throughout my life, but only from San Ren Ning Daoqi did I get the same feeling. Xu Ziling was most afraid of people praising andplimenting him to his face; he was quite embarrassed. But this Xia Emperor was unlike Wang Shichong at all. Opening his mouth and closing his mouth, his praises were few and his words scant; therefore, he already gained Xu Zilings favorable impression. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Da Wang must not praise me, this kid of the younger generation. I wonder if Da Wang came to Luoyang this time is to conclude the treaty between allies with Wang Shichong? The cold light in Dou Jiandes hawk-like eyes shed, showing his deep and unmeasurable power. Toward a lowly person who broke faith and abandoned justice like Wang Shichong, I, Dou Jiande, have absolutely no favorable impression, he spoke coldly, But Tang is strong, Zheng is weak, undoubtedly it will be unable to endure. If Zheng perished, it will be difficult for Xia to exist alone. In order to strive for the world, I have no choice but to temporarily work together with this kind of despicable, vile character, if only to get by in resisting powerfulmon enemy. This remark was akin to admitting that he has formed an alliance with Wang Shichong. Dou Jiande seemed to be unwilling to continue talking about this matter; changing the topic, he asked, Why didnt Kou Shao Shuai journey together with Ziling? Can we see him? I must discuss official business with Wang Shichong tonight, and we are leaving tomorrow. Apologizing, Xu Ziling said, I will speak to him. But we also must leave the city immediately to avoid powerful enemy; I am afraid it will be very difficult to find the time toe here. Dou Jiande nodded his understanding. He said, I might stay on the boat all the way to this evening, Ziling just see what you can do! I heard from Heita that between you guys and Yuwen Huaji there is an enmity as deep as the ocean; I wonder whether it is true? Xu Zilings eyes were shing with murderous aura; nodding his head, he replied in heavy voice, That is indeed one thing that I often have in my mind. A grim smile appeared on the corner of Dou Jiandes mouth; he said, Good! Now Xu Yuang has already surrendered to me, Ol Dou; only Yuwen Huaji remains standing on the corner, turning his back and obstinately resisting me. I dont care how Ziling and Kou Shao Shuai see me, Dou Jiande, but I always look at you as Heitas brothers. We all are on the same side, whats not appropriate to discuss? After your trip to Guanzhong, pleasee to see us; we will discuss together the grand n to deal with Yuwen Huaji. Formidable! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. In term of buying the heart of the people, Dou Jiande was a hundred times more brilliant that Wang Shichong, Li Zitong, and the like. The most admirable thing was that he absolutely did not mention the Duke Yangs Treasure, or even who acknowledge allegiance to whom. With nothing else to say, he had no choice but to nod his head to give his assent. Dou Jiande was not a man who like to talk nonsense; he personally sent Xu Ziling ashore. On the way out he introduced his ministers, Zhong Shu Shi Liang [lit. central document assistant minister] Liu Bin and great general Ling Jing. These two men, one civil, one military, both looked out-of-the-ordinary, a clear sign that there was nock of able persons under Dou Jiandesmand. The two were polite and courteous toward Xu Ziling, their attitude was pleasant. Dou Jiande reached out to grab Xu Zilings shoulder. Letting out a longugh, he said, Seeing Ziling, I could infer Kou Zhongs imposing disposition and heroic expression. Upon entering Guanzhong, you must not, by any means, force yourselves. Do what you can do, withdraw when you cant do. The day two gentlemen arrive in the Great Xia, Dou Jiande will personallye down to wee you. Please take a good care of yourself! By the time Xu Ziling was rushing back, Kou Zhong, Fu Qian, Tuli, and Xing Mofei, four men were anxious over his safety. Seeing him back, immediately they put down the rock burdening their heart. They set off at once; the five men climbed on board the horse drawn carriage, which has been waiting respectfully in the courtyard. With the men sent by Wang Shichong driving the carriage, they set out, braving the snow. Kou Zhong asked why he waste. After Xu Ziling told him about the meeting with Dou Jiande, Kou Zhong spoke in distress, Unless I know how to split myself into two, I am afraid I dont have the karma to see him. And then, highly interested, he asked, What kind of a man is he? Fu Qian and Tuli also revealed a highly-interested expression; they wanted to hear Xu Zilings response. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, When I look at people, I usually rely purely on my feeling; I am afraid it wont be too urate. Kou Zhongughed and said, I should say that Ling Shaos feeling has always been as urate as the deitys. Revealing a thoughtful look, Xu Ziling said, If there was no Li Shimin, plus the Li n lost the geographical advantage of Guanzhong, then this world would have be Dou Jiandes world. None of Kou Zhong and the others was not emotionally moved. Tuliughed and said, Shouldnt Ziling say Li Shimin and Kou Zhong? Arent you afraid of hurting Shao Shuais feeling? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, Because I understand Kou Zhong. Due to our rtionship with Liu Heita, it would be very difficult for him to face Dou Jiande as enemies. Fu Qian vigorously pped Kou Zhongs shoulder; raising his thumb, he said, Just by listening to Ling Shaos remark, I know that Shao Shuai is a good man who values friendship. Xing Mofei could not help asking, Actually, what kind of man is Dou Jiande himself that unexpectedly he could make Ling Ye think so highly of him? Xu Ziling replied with serious expression, This man has rigorous schemes and deep foresight [idiom: astute and circumspect], but he is also amiable and approachable; simr to Xiao Xian. He is open-minded and magnanimous, an expert in appointing people ording to their abilities just like Li Shimin. He is matchlessly heroic and imposing, disregarding sess or failure like Du Fuwei. If he mingled in Jianghu, he would certainly be a chivalrous hero who uphold justice, and would win peoples admiration. pping the table, Kou Zhong said with a sigh, No wonder Liu Dage is willing to throw his life in for him. Fu Qian also sighed and said, Now on the area north of the Yellow River, Dou Jiandes stability can be called number one. Meng Haigong of Caozhou and Li Wenxiang who upies Mengjin illegally have been annihted by him one after another. Xu Yuang of Chengren had also surrendered to him. Moreover, there are Yu Shinan[2], Ouyang Xun[3], Liu Bin, and the other experts on strategy establishing feudal official and building royal court for him. Under hismand the soldiers are elite, the generals are good. The number of his troops reaches two hundred thousand. He really has the strength to have direct confrontation against the House of Tang. If he formed alliance with Wang Shichong, plus he received Shao Shuai and Zilings help, to whom the world will belong to, who could guess? Nodding his head, Tuli said, Apart from Shao Shuai, the one Qin Wang is most afraid of is him, and not Wang Shichong at all. Kou Zhong sighed and said, But nowadays Du Fuwei has already surrendered to Li kid, Shimin, which gives him the advantageous position in attacking Luoyang. Otherwise, even if Li kid had guts as high as the heaven, he would not dare to go to the west to attack the Eastern Capital Luoyang, which has the worlds most powerful defense. Five men, as if they agreed by chance, turned their gaze outside the window, to the blowing-snow-covering-the-sky Luoyang, each one had his own thought. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Fu Qian said, Speaking about war and surrender, Du Fuweis Jianghuai elite squad is unrivalled; could it be that his surrender is just a dying tactic? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I also hoped that Old Du and Li kid are only ying a surrendering game, but I hate to say that the actual truth is this way. Perhaps Du Fuwei is not a benevolent person, but he is a man who finishes what he started, an ambitious and ruthless hegemon who would do what he said he would do. This moment the carriage reached the pier. Three warships were already waiting respectfully for the five mens arrival. Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin personally opened the door to wee the five men stepping down the horse drawn carriage. Wang Xuanying and Wang Xuanshu, two brothers, were seeing them off on behalf of Wang Shichong. But they did not see Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou. After exchanging some pleasantries, they were about to climb aboard when they heard the sound of hoof beats as three riders, braving the snowstorm, were rushing over. Everybody was focusing their attention to look. The rider in the middle was surprisingly the Great Tang Princess Li Xiuning. The two on her left and right were Li Jing and Hong Funu, husband and wife. Kou Zhong was pleasantly surprised; he was the first to step forward to wee them. [1] Wan Yaonu, the original text is (ݭ); I took the liberty of changing it to Wan; just so you, the readers, are aware that Huang Yi might have talked about different person. [2] Yu Shinan (558-638), politician of Sui and early Tang periods, poet and calligrapher, one of Four Great Calligraphers of early Tang. [3] Ouyang Xun (557-641), one of Four Great Calligraphers of early Tang. Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Facts and Figures Book 30 - 5 – Encounter with Rival in Love Chapter 5 C Encounter with Rival in Love Li Xiunings clothes were simple and elegant, her jade countenance was without the slightest makeup at all, she was only wearing a cloak and padded gown to give her shelter from the wind and the snow, which made her extraordinary grandeur, personality traits and breathtaking beauty even more prominent. To Kou Zhong, she was the unattainable bright moon in the sky; he would never be able to pick her, ever. This Great Tangs noblewoman dismounted her horse and beckoned Kou Zhong toe with her to the side. Xiuning is here to see you off, she spoke softly. Kou Zhongs gaze swept Li Jing, husband and wife, who were standing in the distance, holding the rein of Li Xiunings horse. Suddenly a strange feeling welled up in his heart, a feeling that made him feel dejected, as if everything that has happened in the past, as well as at this moment, has lost its meaning, while the future was vague. Wheres Chai Shao? he asked nkly. Even he himself did not understand why he was so untactful as to even mention this man. Hanging her head down, Li Xiuning spoke in low voice, He didnt know I wasing. Ay! Why didnt you want to see me? Kou Zhongs mind went nk. Smiling ruefully, he said, Even if I did, what could possibly happen? Li Xiunings face suddenly turned pale; distressed, she said, Why do you insist on setting yourself against Er Huang Xiong [second emperor brother]? Dont you know that he really regards you and Xu Ziling as his good friends? Kou Zhong took a deep breath of the cold air, his mind was clearing up a bit. Even brothers can obstruct the wall as well, he said heavily, Much less friends who are just strangersing together by chance. Tell me, is Li Xiuning actually helping your Er Huang Xiong, or Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji? Li Xiuning tightly bit her lower lip. Revealing a sad, tired look, she shook her head and said, I dont know! I really dont know. Kou Zhongs heart softened; he deeply felt the contradiction and depression from which she could not extricate herself. The fact that her very own brothers were fighting against each other ought to torment this touching princess like a heavy nightmare. Princess, set your heart at ease, he spoke gently, This time I am entering the Pass, perhaps it will be a good thing for Qin Wang. Ay! They are waiting for me; I must go! Li Xiuning also looked like she could not find anything else to say, she nodded and said, Let Li Jing, husband and wife,e with you! If some mishaps happen to Khan, how could Xiuning answer Er Huang Xiong? Kou Zhong was shocked. Finally his mind was clearing uppletely. He quietly pondered that if those two journeyed together with them, wouldnt it be difficult to carry out the secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang stratagem? Absolutely not, he hastily said, Because ... Do you want Xiuning to talk directly with Khan? Li Xiuning cut him off. Kou Zhong thought that if he refused again, he would only be trying to hide it but made it more conspicuous. Defeated, he said, Well do it ording to Gongzhus [princess] order! Li Xiunings pair of elegant eyes emitted aplex, difficult-to-understand expression; gazing deeply at him, she said, When you get to Changan, can Shao Shuai see Xiuning? Kou Zhong was stunned. Three warships slowly steered away from Luoyang. They sailed to the east along the Luo River first, and then after reaching the Yellow River, they started to change direction ind. Kou Zhong came to the main deck to look for Qin Shubao; he asked, The Zheng troops on those two ships, are they under your, LaoGes control? Revealing a strange smile on his face, Qin Shubao replied, Right now they are not, but very soon they will be! Pleased, Kou Zhong patted his shoulders and spoke in low voice, Just expel the generals who dont belong to our side off the boat; its not worthwhile to have them killed. Let them return and pass on the message to Wang Shichong. Making him so angry that he is half-dead will be more satisfying to everyone. Qin Shubaoughed and said, In this matter your are still a bit more tenderhearted. I dare to bet my life that on the boat, there is one who thoroughly understands old thief Wangs overall evil schemes, plus he must have a way to secretlymunicate with Song JinGang on the other side. If we can catch this man, and then using heavy punishment to pry open his rotten mouth, we can beat them at their own game, to have Song JinGang fall head first in big tumble. Humph! Who the hell he thinks he is, to have the cheek toe and harm me? pping his forehead, Kou Zhong said, Old Qin, you are still more capable than me. Inwardly he knew that it was due to the arrangement to meet with Li Xiuning that until this moment he had not recovered his clear-headedness, hence he was still in a daze. Qin Shubaoughed and said, Are you fooling around with Li Xiuning, that pretty girl, to such an extent as to be this hopelessly muddled? Its not worth it. I, your LaoGe have personally experienced it. When the me arrives, youd better just go to low-grade brothel and use real gold and white silver to buy someughter. If you close your eyes, you can think of the other side as the princess, that the other side was, in fact, the princess. Once you are done, just leave, carrying the profit away, happy and carefree. After the world is unified, you can talk about everything again; just be happy without any care. Thinking about whether youll live or dead on the battlefield is just like minding other peoples business. Ha! Its straightforward, isnt it? Kou Zhong remembered that Qin Shubao was secretly in love with Luliang Pai Sect Leaders thousand-jin of gold [i.e. daughter]; he inwardly thought that when Qin Shubao visited a prostitute, he must have fantasized that the other person on the bed was that Miss Zhu. Laughing involuntarily, he said, This ought to be considered your, LaoGes healing panacea! While they were still discussing some more the details of their operation, Xu Ziling came. After chatting for a moment, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong went to the stern for some private discussion. The snowstorm had already stopped a while ago, but the mountains everywhere were nketed in silver-coloredyer of ice, while the treetops were still dressed in snowkes. When the cold wind blew, the snow umted on the trees on both sides of the river fell, bing clumps of snowkes drifting away freely in the air, creating magnificently wonderful scenery. The clouds in the sky were still very thick, hiding the sun setting behind the western hills; the heaven and the earth gradually turned hazy. Kou Zhong asked, What are Li Jing and our vicious Saozi [(older) sister-inw] doing? Xu Ziling replied, Our Li Dasao [first (older) sister-inw] really isnt apletely unreasonable person; it was just that the misunderstanding between us has overgrown that she is not too courteous toward us! They are talking with Wangzi and Khan about the foreign Tujue, Tiele, Gaoli [Korea], Tubo [Tibet], Dangxiang [Tangut branch of Qiang ethnic group], Tuyuhun, Huihe [modern day Uighur]; all the northern sides situation. They get along very well with each other. And then, knitting his brows, he said, I am impersonating Yue Shan going into Guanzhong to look for Li Yuan, but with what kind of ghostly method are you going to sneak into Changan? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, I can only see the opportunity and act ordingly. Changan city defense is very long; inevitably there will be a w or a gap. After entering the city, well use usual method of contacting each other. At that time well think of how to put our hands to do the treasure hunt. I am leaving tonight, Xu Ziling said, You must be a bit more careful, dont forget that even with his strength, Li Shimin still suffered injury from the ambush. Currently it looks like our men are strong, our horses robust, but we still cantpare with Li Shimins strength at that time. Did you ask Li Jing about Li Shimin being ambushed and sustained injury? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling replied, With Li Dasao nearby, a lot of things are inconvenient to talk about. Kou Zhong expressed his understanding. Reaching out, he grabbed Xu Zilings shoulder and said heavily, After dark, you leave the boat and go ashore. You must be very careful. If anybody doubted your identity, slip away immediately, dont force yourself to do anything. Deeply concerned, Xu Ziling said, You must be very careful as well. Closing his tiger-eyes, Kou Zhongs mind already flew over to Changans Yue Ma [galloping/prancing horse] Bridge. After experiencing untold hardships, as well asyer uponyer of challenging twists and turns, finally the crucial moment that would determine the honor and disgrace in all his life was finallying. His thoughts wandering far away, he said, I might set out three days after you leave; I should be arriving in Changan before the New Year. Remember to calcte the time urately to meet me. Ha! What could possibly be more moving than a vast, unfathomable future? He could not stop Li Xiunings jade countenance from emerging in his heart, but it was quickly reced by Song Yuzhis. Disguised as Yue Shan, Xu Ziling traveled urgently for three days and night, nonstop. This day at dusk, he reached Taolin [lit. peach forest], located at the south bank of the Yellow River. Since Li Shimin defeated Xue Ju, father and sons Xi Qin Army [lit. Western Qin], his prestige flourished greatly. A lot of fortified cities in the vicinity of Tongguan, which were originally neutral, realigned their allegiance to the Lis Tang, so that they became the highway for the Great Tangs army out of the Pass. Taolin was precisely one of those cities; therefore, the banner hanging on the city wall was the Li ns. Upon entering the city, Xu Ziling stopped at a hotel to rest, to preserve and nurture his spirit before entering the Pass early the next day. Changan was located on the ins on the Wei River region. The reason it was called Guanzhong was because on the east there was Tongguan, on the west was the Da San Guan [not sure if it is a ces name, lit. greatly scattered pass], on the south was Wuguan [lit. martial/military pass], on the north was Xiaoguan [Chinese mugwort pass]. Located in the middle of these four Guan [passes], it was called Guanzhong [lit. the middle of the pass]. Tongguan was the chief among these four Guan. It was built by the Qin people during the Warring States period [475-221 BC]. On the north it overlooked the Yellow River, barely leaning against Dashan [lit. big mountain]. About a hundred li east and west were open paths, which were actually narrow slit of crushed mountain rocks where carts could not be ced on the track, horses could not be ridden side-by-side, where there was a one man guarding the pass, ten-thousand men could not pass through rugged terrain feeling on it. The original name was HanGu Guan, but after the Eastern Han dynasty, the name was changed into Tongguan. During the Warring States period, six states again and again forming the Vertical Alliance [clique of the School of Diplomacy] to attack west toward the Qin. But also time and again they ended up nursing a grievance at HanGus miserable stage. The Twin Peaks towered by the Great River [i.e. Yellow River], since ancient times HanGu has always been a battlefield. It was precisely this arduous ground that the military strategists simply must strive for that made Changan as steady as Mount Tai, that made it avoiding the fire beacon and chaos of war outside the Pass. Xu Ziling took a bath in delight before putting on the Yue Shan mask. He also applied the cosmetics and dye that he bought en route using the disguising technique that he learned from Chen Laomou, so that the skin exposed outside his clothes would have approximately the same color as the mask, to avoid any w that could be seen through by attentive and astute people like Lei Jiuzhi. The closer he got to Guanzhong, the more cautious and solemn he was. Whether walking, sitting, or lying on the bed, he also, relying on his outstanding memory, continuously reviewing the marvelous acupoint sealing technique that Shi Qingxuan taught her thest time he impersonated Yue Shan. He also repeatedly reviewed all affairs, big and small, that were recorded in the scroll that Yue Shan left behind. A weird feeling even grew in him that he had, in fact, be the Yue Shan. Returning to his room, he sat for half a sichen before going into the restaurant attached to the hotel to have his evening meals. He had just stepped across the threshold when he immediately felt the unusual atmosphere inside the eatery. Right in the middle of the hall of the restaurant, which had capacity of about a dozen round tables, sat a tall man wearing gorgeous garment embroidered clothes, with a waiter standing respectfully by his side. When the man saw himing, upright and unafraid, he stood up to salute and said, Wanbei [younger generation] Yang WenGan of Jingzhao Lian [see Book 29 Chapter 3], paying my respect to Yue Lao Qianbei [old senior]. I have especially prepared a table of food and drink for Qianbei to wash the dust off your feet. With a p of his hands, the waiter immediately moved like running water, offering fine food and good wine that were spread all over the table. Yang WenGan personally pulled a chair to invite Xu Ziling, disguised as Yue Shan, to take the seat. Xu Ziling cast a nce toward the sumptuous banquet, which would be enough to feed at least ten men to eat and drink until they were satisfied and drunk, while inwardly he frantically searched his memory for any Yang WenGan. And then he remembered Li Jing mentioned Jingzhao Lian, which was the biggest gang in Guanzhong, and Yang WenGan was precisely Jingzhao Lians big boss. This man had quite a wide face; both in Guanxi and Guandong [lit. west and east of the Pass, respectively] he was equally popr. Moreover, he was a man of Jiancheng and Yuanji, the princelings side, who was in charge of the Guanzhong-wide intelligencework, to prevent he and Kou Zhong from entering the capital. Before entering the Pass, Xu Ziling was already intercepted, plus he was well informed of the Yue Shan identity. It is thus clear that the manpower and physical resources working on the background was difficult to estimate; this man could be considered very capable. Even though Yang WenGan was appointed the Chief Manager of Qingzhou, he still could not conceal the ambitions-and-ruthless-Jianghu-character-of-the-criminal-ways impression. His countenance was quite out of the ordinary, but in terms of appearance and bearing, there was some kind of thinking-too-much-of-himself, believed-firmly-that-he-could-produce-clouds-by-turning-his-hand-over, and-produced-rain-by-covering-his-hand, that-he-could-manipte-other-peoples-destiny-at-his-whim attitude, as if Laotianye [God/Heaven] especially care about and doted on him. Xu Ziling adopted an unconcerned expression consistent with Yue Shans appearance during his life; he asked indifferently, How do you know Laofu is Yue Shan? Yang WenGan respectfully replied, Yue Qianbei has just left the mountain, in Chengdu you killed the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying. This matter, who in the world did not know? Throwing his head back in longughter, Xu Ziling said, You randomly fawn on me by preparing such a feast to entertain Laofu, what scheme are you ying? If you are babbling nonsense, dont me Ol Yue for being rude. Yang WenGan waved his hand to dismiss his attendants first, before calmly and leisurely moved to the seat across the table; smiling, he said, Yue Lao is still so temperamental like this. Why dont you sit down first, drink a cup of watery wine, and then let Wanbei tell you the details? Just by looking at his footwork and poise, Xu Ziling was able to affirm that Yang WenGan was absolutely a front ranking martial art master. Although he was still inferior to Xu Ziling, the difference should not be too far; he could not help feeling amazed, and thus spected that under Li Jianchengs Crown Prince troops, there was definitely out-of-the-ordinary strength. Letting out a cold snort, he said, Laofus hands are itchy! If you are wasting Laofus time, I am afraid it would be toote for regrets. Instead of responding, Yang WenGan asked a question, while remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Is Yue Lao thinking of entering Guanzhong? Xu Ziling felt extremely uneasy. No matter how conceited Yang WenGan was, ording to reason, he should not act like he was secure-in-the-knowledge-that-he-had-backing like this. Thinking about this point, his heart was moved. Taking his attention away from Yang WenGan, he scanned the surrounding area within ten zhang radius, and said with a coldugh, You have the impertinence to mind Laofus business, I am afraid you are already tired of living. Wait! Yang WenGan hastily said, As soon as I show Yue Lao a certain item, Yue Lao will understand everything. And then he reached into his bosom. Xu Ziling let out a stifled snort and rose up; he dangerously dodged a fierce-and-severe-like-a-thunderbolt sword light shooting at him from behind. In a sh he already broke through the ceiling andnded on the roof slope. Without even looking, he knew that the sneak attack came from the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan. If he did not know that Yang WenGan was trying to confuse him, although Yang Xuyan might not necessarily be able to injure him, this moment he would be caught in inferior position of facing the enemy from the front and the rear. On the roof, someoneughed aloud and said, Yue Xiong is indeed old but brimming with strength; only your brains is still swallowing ancient learning without digesting it [idiom: being pedantic without having a mastery of the subject]. Unless you are wiling to promise that in this life you wont enter Guanzhong even for half a step, next year today will be the anniversary of Yue Xiongs death. This mans beard and eyebrows had turned entirely white, with quite an immortal-elderly-descending-into-the-world bearing. Surprisingly, he was a figure of grandmaster level from the Hainan Pai, Hainan Xian Weng Huang Gongcuo [immortal elderly man of the South Sea, see Book 12 Chapter 10]. Xu Ziling understood in his heart; because Yue Shan was very familiar with demonic schools affair, Yang Xuyan would never allow him to enter the Pass to see Li Yuan, to avoid him spoiling the enterprise that Shi Zhixuan and Yang Xuyan have built through painstaking efforts. Although looking through the hole he did not see any sign of activity in the hall below, Xu Ziling was well aware that he had fallen into a heavy siege, and perhaps Shi Zhixuan was among those lying in ambush. Disregarding other people, merely Huang Gongcuo was already not easy to deal with. But he did not show the slightest sign of fear; concentrating his attention on Yue Shans xinfa, his eyes emitted natural divine light that was unique to Yue Shan when he was still alive. Without yielding the slightest bit, he met Huang Gongcuos fierce and severe gaze; with wooden expression he said, Who could have thought that Huang Qi Sha [seven killing] is entering the age where you are ready to enter the coffin, yet your eyes fail to see clearly; you are willingly be other peoples hunting dog. Laughable! You are indeedughable! Xu Ziling had followed the intonation and the appetion that Yue Shan used in his memoir; the words that contained disdain. Turned out Huang Gongcuo created Qi Sha Quan [seven killing fist], with which he ran amuck all over the world, hence the reason those of the older generation like Yue Shan called him Huang Qi Sha. Huang Gongcuos eyes emitted deep hatred, but the tone of his voice remained extraordinarily tranquil; a clear sign that he was about to make his move. Word by word, with heavy voice like ice and snow blowing out from the gaps between his teeth C he said, Death is near at hand, unexpectedly your mouth still produces delirious utterances. Humph! How could I, Huang Gongcuo, be afraid of you, Yue Ba Dao [overbearing saber]? Didnt you see Yuyan? Why didnt she kill you? In the bottom of his heart, Xu Ziling was startled. He secretly thought that the tone of his voice contained jealous fire; perhaps there had been a period of passion between Huang Gongcuo and Zhu Yuyan. Therefore, he hated him, this rival in love, to the bone, because he has had physical rtionship with Zhu Yuyan and even fathered a daughter. However, in his memoir Yue Shan did not mention this matter. In fact, in the scroll that he left behind, Yue Shan did not waste a lot of ink in mentioning Zhu Yuyan. It was quite possible that Yue Shan did not wish to remember this part of his past. This moment he gained more understanding on why Huang Gongcuo appeared in this ce. Copying Yue Shans style of mischievousughter, he said, The affair between she and I is none of your business. The murderous intent in Huang Gongcuos eyes was ring greatly. Even without any wind, his beard and eyebrows were fluttering. The air all around him, with him as the center, was starting to spin around; slowly at first, but growing faster. His energy was storming out; icy cold and bone chilling. Its might was terrifying. Xu Ziling knew that the time for him to make his move was imminent; presently it was only a prelude in which he was gathering his power. Promptly Xu Ziling focused his mind, while at the same time cried Lucky! inwardly. Just now his attention was focused on this big enemy. On one hand, the enemy was a senior grandmaster nearing Ning Daoqis level. The other reason was that Huang Gongcuos prowess in shaking Wang Shichongs cavalcade at the Heavenly Street in Luoyang was still deeply embedded in his mind, as if it happened justst night; therefore, he did not dare to be careless in dividing his attention. But this moment as he stood still and secretly performed the Motionless Fundamental Image, he was advancing into the moon in the well state, reaching the Buddhist realm of still-water-without-any-ripple. The lingtai and qingye acupoints on his body were as cold as the snow, while the lingjiao immediately expanded toward the space all around him. Instantly he detected that other than Yang WenGan and Yang Xuyan, two men, who were crouching in ambush on both sides behind him, there were no other enemies around. Immediately a n started to form in his mind. Huang Gongcuo condescendingly looked down on him; he let out a longugh and said, Yue Ba, you think Xiao Yan [little yan] really loves you? It was because she had enough dislike toward you that she picked you to be the man with whom she reproduced. The man she really liked was Shi Zhixuan and not you at all; let me take your dog life. Amidst his roar, the Hainan Xian Weng Huang Gongcuo sent out a punch across the empty air. His fist was like an explosion that created a hole on the dike withstanding crashing billows. All the qi power, which was originally whirling around him, was attached to his fist power like a swarm of bees, forming a narrow column of concentrated qi power, from slow to fast, which suddenly struck toward Xu Ziling. The area around him, several zhang in diameter, with Huang Gongcuo as the center, suddenly became a void in which not a single drop of energy remained, being entirely pulled by his earth-shattering punch; it was terrifying to the extreme point. Huang Gongcuos Seven Killing Fist was one of the consummate skills that Yue Shan discussed in considerable detail in his memoir, there was even an additional note written by Bi Xiuxin attached to it. Therefore, although Xu Ziling has never experienced it first hand, he had quite a detailed knowledge about it and has already prepared a way to deal with it. Letting out a coldugh, he unleashed his deflecting force skill. First, he swayed to the left and right, while utilizing the true qi protecting his body to disperse the opponents first two waves of qi power, and then his finger shot out, using the Treasured Vase Image method, stabbing with the true qi that was more concentrated than the opponents fist power, flowing against the current and across the empty air to strike toward Huang Gongcuo. The finger power was released but was immediately pulled back, and then both hands struck out, he sent out another burst of qi power to meet the main force of the opponents third wave of fist power head-on. Bang! Qi power collided. Xu Ziling was struck that his qi and blood were surging and he nearly vomited blood. Promptly, relying on his unique and unusual qi power, he pulled the opponents full of destructive power true qi from his meridians, which had been transformed by the treasured Jade Annulus of He n, and discharged it out of his system via the yongquan acupoints on his two feet. The roof tiles were immediately shattered into cun-size fragments. Huang Gongcuo let out a muffled grunt as he staggered back, simply because when the finger energy attacked, the momentum was hard to withstand, so that it was difficult for him to continuously send out another wave of punch. Xu Ziling dropped down following the shattered roof, while simultaneously circting his true qi, so that by the time his feet gained steady footing on the floor, the injured meridians were recovered. The key to life and death was precisely this moment. Finger wind struck out, one after another thenterns in the hall went out. Moving the positive and negative true qi within his body, fast as lightning Xu Ziling slipped under the banquet table, and then promptly restraint his refined qi, so that nothing leaked out. There was a sudden gust of wind. Huang Gongcuo was the first to leap down to the dining hall via the hole on the roof, followed by Yang Xuyan and Yang WenGan, who also stormed in. Huang Gongcuo shouted coldly, Lets go! After him! Listening to the sound of the three men going far, Xu Ziling was amused inwardly. No wonder the three were this careless, because who would have thought that Yue Shan would disregard his face by hiding under the table, or even so much so that he would be such a coward by running away? But Xu Ziling was not Yue Shan. Since he was no match for the enemy, he must slip away or hide; there was no need to cherish his reputation and status. By the time he slipped out, he casually snatched several mantou [steamed buns] before leaving. Book 30 - 6 – Merchant Dispute Chapter 6 C Merchant Dispute Kou Zhong woke up in an inn at Yuanxian [lit. yuan county] north of the Yellow River. The sky was already bright, he felt his body and mind werefortable, the weariness of thest several days of travel had been swept away. Since Xu Ziling left, they put on an act of changing the itinerary at thest minute by abandoning the ship and going ashore, taking thend route to continue north. Actually, they were secretly continuing their journey by changing into a cargo ship that Fu Qian had his men prepared beforehand, taking the disguise of mostmonly seen traveling merchants making their round between the Central ins and the neighboring foreign countries. The several hundred troops under Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojinsmand were broken up into several batches, temporarily going into hiding in secluded ces around the county towns in the vicinity. It could be said that this move was very safe, because they took advantage of Luo Shui Bang having internal conflict and was basically unable to effectively monitor their movements. After passing through Dangcheng, Kou Zhong ascertained that nobody was following their track, and only then did he turn back to the south, to continue along the Yellow River to the west toward Guanzhong, handing over the heavy responsibility to escort Tuli to Fu Qian, Li Jing, husband and wife, and Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, and their men. After freshening up, Kou Zhong put on the mask of ugly man with rough skin. After breakfast, not daring to tarry, he went to the dock to try his luck, to see whether he could score a ticket on the passenger ship to Guanzhong. Who would have thought that the passenger ship was already full? Furthermore, most of the ships have already departed at daybreak. While he was hesitating between taking the next day departure, which meant he would have to stay another night, or buying a horse and taking thend route, someone came up to him and happily called out, Turns out its Mo Ye; I did not expect to run into you here. Where is your honorable uncle? Kou Zhong thought that this man must have mistaken him for someone else; focusing his attention to look, he saw that the man talking to him was about forty years old, looking like a housekeeper. Behind him were four strong-looking servants carrying several bundles, big and small; evidently they were just back from a shopping expedition in the city. Looking closer, he thought the face looked familiar, but momentarily he did not remember where he saw this man. Noticing his lost expression, the man understood immediately; heughed and said, Your honorable uncle is Mo Wei, the Divine Doctor! That day outside Xiangyang, your honorable uncle upheld justice bying to our help, even the medical-treatment gold he nearly forgot to collect. Not only he cured our Xiao Gongzi [young master] Jin Geers strange illness, he also captured Ma Xuran, that traitor. Does Mo Ye remember now? [See Book 11 Chapter 6.] Kou Zhong pped his forehead and said, I remember now! You are ... ha! You are ... The man said, I am Sha Fu. You dont know how grateful Shaoye [also young master but different from xiao gongzi above] and Madame are to your honorable uncle and Mo Ye; you dont know how much painstaking effort we spent to find you. Wheres your honorable uncle? Howe I dont see him? Kou Zhong was dying to ask what Mo something name he used for himself. Snickering inwardly, he said, Jiashu [my (humble) uncle] is old. After returning to our hometown in the south, he is no longer willing to leave home again to make his way in the world. Ha! What a coincidence. Where is Sha Guanjia [housekeeper/butler] heading? Sha Fu revealed a look of disappointment. Shaking his head, he said, What a pity. A knight-errant like your honorable uncle, who is not only proficient in medical skill but also haspassion over mankinds suffering is really hard to encounter, difficult to see. Inventing crazy nonsense, Kou Zhong said, Sha Guanjia praised too much. But I, Mo ... um, I already received Jiashus handed-down teachings; I dare say that if I dont have a 100%, then at least I have 90% understanding. Hey! I am in a hurry to find a passenger ship, perhaps I can chat with Sha Guanjia another day. Please! As if gaining the most precious treasure, Sha Fu pulled his sleeve and spoke in great delight, Did Mo Ye really obtain the handed-down teachings of your honorable uncles medical expertise? Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Why would I lie to you? But who is sick this time? With pained expression on his face, Sha Fu replied, This time its Laoye [old master]. Does Mo Ye know how to treat typhoid? Kou Zhong secretly thought that by relying on his sacred qi to heal injury from the Secret to Long Life plus the Jade Annulus of He n, he ought to have a bit of assurance that he would be able to treat any strange, difficult, various illnesses; besides, helping others is a good thing. Patting his chest, he said, Whats so difficult about that? But could you wait until I find a boat? I wonder where is Mo Ye going by boat? Sha Fu asked. Kou Zhong replied, I am thinking of going to Changan to mingle there, to see whether I could start a medical business. Sha Fu was delighted, In that case, no need to look for a boat, because we happen to go to Guanzhong. Mo Ye, please! This moment Kou Zhong really wish he would remember his name! Xu Ziling entered the passenger cabin. But before he had a chance to sit down, a man, who clearly belonged to a gang or society, came to him and said in low voice, This Xiongdi, may I ask your honorable surname and great given name? Do you have any identification from some school or sect? What is your business in Guanzhong? Xu Zilings heart was filled with rage. This was certainly an intolerable bullying! In order to avoid any trouble with Yang WenGan and the others, he changed into Gong Chenchun mask, and originally thought that he would be able to use this disguise to pass through. However, due to his strong and muscr, tall and straight build, he bought a sword [orig. 彣 C fencing saber, the type of sword that is usually hung on the waist] to fool peoples eyes, but eventually he provoked suspicion from the gang and society men guarding the pier, and this big man interrogating him was precisely one of those men. Laughing coldly, he said, Tell me first, who are you? Lets see if you have enough qualifications to question me. It looked like the man already knew he was going to get angry; he smiled and said, Laoxiong, why dont you go ashore for me first? Otherwise this ship will not weigh anchor and set sail. To roam in Jianghu, one must be sensible; one must not implicate other passengers for ones self interest. By this time the boat was already half full with passengers; everybody was waiting with raised eyebrows, only nobody created any disturbance. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; he knew that if this situation continued, there would not be any benefit either for him or for everybody else. While suppressing his anger, he threw all misgivings away, and followed that big man leaving the boat. As soon as they were out of the door, the big man suddenly lowered his voice and said, Xiaoren [the lowly one] Zha Huo, one of the Four Tigers under Hong Nong Bang Bangzhu Sheng Nanfusmand. Just now my words were offensive, it was because I did not want outsiders to know our rtionship. Gong Ye must not take offense. Xu Ziling was greatly surprised. How did you recognize Ol Gong? he asked in confusion. Zha Huo replied, Lets talk after we get off the boat. Going down the gangnk, they saw a horse-drawn carriage galloping over. Gong Ye, please get in, Zha Huo said. Greatly puzzled and feelingpletely at a loss, Xu Ziling got in and sat down. After the carriage started to move, Zha Huo heaved a sigh of relief and said, Fortunately we intercepted Gong Ye; otherwise Bangzhu might pass down the me, and then how could I, Zha Huo, take it upon myself? Meeting Xu Zilings inquiring look, Zha Huo exined, Lei Jiuzhi Daye and our Bangzhu have friendship that surpasses life itself. Five days ago, on his way to Guanzhong, he stopped by our Hong Nong Bangs headquarters. He repeatedly implored us to properly greet Gong Ye; he also drew Gong Yes portrait, hence the reason we could recognize Gong Ye. It was only then did Xu Ziling understand; inwardly he did not know whether he should be grateful to Lei Jiuzhi, or he should me him, because otherwise he would have been on his way to Guanzhong. Zha Huo went on, This month, the security to enter the Pass, whether by water ornd, two routes, are very strict. Without any pass or anybody not having any business in Guanzhong are not allowed to enter the Pass, no exception. Lei Daye also relied on us to get him a pass. But Gong Yes situation is even more special. ording to our intelligent, Gong Yes name is on the list of people who should be arrested as soon as you enter Guanzhong, hence you absolutely must not reveal your identity. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Is there such thing? While inwardly mused that even if he was still disguised as Yue Shan, it would not be any better. ording to reason, Li Jianchengs men should not know that Gong Chenchun was Xu Ziling; there ought to be another reason behind this. Having a card up his sleeve, Zha Huo said, Gong Ye, dont worry; if we cant even aplish such a trivial matter as getting Gong Ye inside the Pass, how could we, Hong Nong Bang, mingle among the Jianghu? The carriage stopped. Zha Huo said, We have already prepared an absolutely safe scheme to get Gong Ye sneak into Guanzhong. We only need to cover the saber scar on Gong Yes face, which is just like a trademark, and then change your name and substitute your surname, plus wearing clothing and personal adornment to assume different identity, we can aplish this. Deeply puzzled, Xu Ziling followed Zha Huo get off the carriage, and found out that he was inside a courtyard. Smiling ruefully, he followed Zha Huo into the house. Two two-mast big ships with identical style were moored on the pier. Kou Zhong followed Sha Fu climbing onto the ship. Several men on board, who ought to be some kind of bodyguards, were sizing him up with their luminous gaze. One of them spoke in great delight, Turns out its Mo Xiongdi; where is your honorable uncle, Mo Wei, the Divine Doctor? The speaker was a fair-skinned, plump middle-aged man. Although he was fat, he looked strong and nimble; obviously his martial art skill was not weak. Kou Zhong still had a bit of impression remained toward him, but of course he already forgot the mans name. With a forcedugh he said, Hey! How are you? Inwardly he cursed Xu Ziling; a lot of names he did not want to use, yet he changed his name to Mo Wei, plus the addition of two words divine doctor to his name, which made it sound even weirder and so twisted, as if it was a metaphor of do not be a divine doctor. [Reminder: mo wei could mean nobody, mo itself means do not.] Obviously Sha Fu was ustomed to serving high official and noble persons; being a quick-witted man, he reminded him by saying, This is Chen Laiman, Chen Shifu! Kou Zhong hastily continued hisughter and said, Turns out it is Chen Shifu; I did not expect to see you again in here! Seeing that they knew each other, one by one the other bodyguards cup their fist to salute; there was a big change in their attitude, everybody became cordial and friendly. Sha Fu asked Kou Zhong to wait outside the cabin door, while he himself went into the cabin to report to his master. Speaking for one moment and was quiet the next, Kou Zhong chatted with the rather enthusiastic Chen Laiman, repeating his nonsense earlier about Xu Ziling returning to his hometown to till the fields and live in seclusion and so on, while secretly focusing his power to his ears to follow the sound of Sha Fus footsteps. This was the first time that he attempted to divide his mind for two purposes; sometimes it was fuzzy, sometimes he could hear clearly. It was a weird feeling. He heard a woman eximed, Ah! and then a tender voice said, Unexpectedly you came across Mo Shaoxia [young hero]. What about his uncle? Why havent you invited them toe in? Kou Zhongs impression toward this young madam was the deepest, simply because she was extremely elegant and beautiful, hence he immediately recognized her voice. And then his eardrums were filled with Chen Laimans voice, so he was unable to hear Sha Fus response. After giving Chen Laiman a perfunctory answer, Kou Zhong heard a young mans voice inside the cabin said, Is his medical expertise all right? If anything goes wrong, Dage and Erge [first and second (older) brother, respectively] will never let me off. Young Madames gentle and soft, graceful and subdued voice said, Xianggong [husband], youd better talk to Popo [mother-inw] to ask for instructions first; with her making decision, Dabo and Erbo [first and second brother-inw, respectively] wont have anything to say! This moment Chen Laiman asked again, Mo Xiongdis martial art is superior; I wonder if it was passed on by your honorable uncle? Again Kou Zhong was unable to hear the voices inside the cabin. He cursed inwardly, but had to answer anyway, I, Mo ... hey! All my martial art skill was imparted by Jiashu. He often said that my face is ugly, my natural disposition is dull-witted, without a bit of skill to help myself, when Ie out to roam the Jianghu, I will be at an extreme disadvantage. Ha! Looking at his revered countenance, it was hard for Chen Laiman to say anyforting words; without any better option, he said, The most important thing for men is a far-reaching aspiration, like Zi Yu in the past, well-known for his ugly appearance, but didnt he be prime minister and was conferred nobility as a marquis, his name is being passed on throughout all ages? Kou Zhong mused inwardly that if he told him his aspiration, he could guarantee that it would make him jump in fright. Pretending to take it seriously, he said, I wonder if in term of taking a wife Zi Yu also get what he wished? This remark immediately provoked the other bodyguard warriors to explode inughter. One of them, a young warrior who was called Yun Gui by the others, said with augh, Since he became the prime minister, naturally his wives and concubines were like the cloud. Mo Laoxiong, there is no need to worry. Sha Fu stepped out of the cabin; he politely said, Mo Xiong, please follow me. Kou Zhong bade the others farewell before following Sha Fu into the cabin. He saw along the narrow and long corridor maids and servants were going back and forth, rushing endlessly. Seeing Kou Zhong, this stranger, their eyes showed a somewhat disdain expression; apparently they were judging him by his appearance, and were not happy with his looks. In one of the two big rooms, which were located side-by-side, forward and aft, Kou Zhong saw the young madame Cheng Bisu, as well as the pretty maid Xiao Feng and Jin Geer. Thetter has grown considerably; he looked spirited and elegant, with striking resemnce to his mother, his appearance was a delight to look at. Its just that Kou Zhongs appearance was too scary that Jin Geer was scared and went to hide behind Xiao Feng; he did not dare to greet Uncle Mo like his mother instructed him to do. Cheng Bisus graceful bearing was just like in former times; her pretty eyes emitted grateful expression. But the one she was grateful to was mainly Xu Ziling, not Kou Zhong. After uttering some polite words, she inquired in detail about the Divine Doctor Mo Wei, which Kou Zhong answered one by one. Cheng Bisu said, Mo Shaoxia must be tired from the journey, please rest in your cabin first; after raising enough spirit, we will have to trouble Shaoxia to treat Laoyes illness. But Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. If Sha Laoyes illness was an incurable disease, how could he have the face to see thisdylike, lovely young madame? Looking at the troop disposition and weaponry on the ship, the entire Sha Family ought to go to Guanzhong; only he was wondering if they had some connection with influential officials at Guanzhong? The hull lightly shuddered; the ship raised the anchor and started to sail. Xu Ziling, having the scar on his face covered, followed the direction given by Zha Huo of Hong Nong Bang, to Xing Chang Longs front door, a shop specializing in salt, located at the main street of Yuanxian. He saw more than thirty shop helpers loading bags of salt onto seven mule carts parked in front of the door; they were very busy. Just by looking at the shop front, he knew that this Xing Chang Long was a very big store; no wonder it could be one of the major salt suppliers for Guanzhong. He was about to enter the shop, two men stopped him and impatiently asked, Who are you looking for? Applying his power to change his voice, Xu Ziling replied, I am Mo Wei; Zha Huo of Hong Nong Bang rmended me to see Tian Ye. Hearing Zha Huos name, immediately the two mens attitude changed; one of them said, Mo Xiong, pleasee with me! Xu Ziling followed behind him, passing through the main store full of piles of salt, through the open courtyard, and into the hall between the storehouse and the main store, which wasrge enough to hold a hundred people. Here, bags of salt were piled even higher like a mountain, with several dozen men rushing about endlessly. The man told Xu Ziling to stand on the side, while he walked over toward two middle-aged men who were supervising the work. After talking for a moment, one of them walked over toward Xu Ziling and said, Mo Xiong, which school or sect do you belong to? Xu Ziling replied without much thinking, Birens [your humble servant] swordsmanship was passed on directly by Jiafu [my humble father]. [Again, I just wanted to show theplexity of Chinese appetion. In this case, Xu Ziling was actually being very polite.] The man asked, And Lingzuns [your esteemed father] honorable surname and great given name? [He was also being polite.] Xu Ziling invented some crazy nonsense, Jiafu Mo Yixin; he has a bit of reputation in Bashu. [Trantors note: Mo Yixin (lit. no aspiration) was the name he assigned to Kou Zhong as his nephew, back when they encountered Sha family (see above). Apparently Huang Yi was aiming for aedic effect here.]. The man drew a nk expression; naturally it was because he had never heard of Mo Yixins name. Pulling Xu Zilings sleeve aside, he said, Mo Xiong! Its not that I, Tian Santang [lit. third hall] dont want to use you, but this time we want to ask for Sheng Bangzhus help, simply because Guang Sheng Xings side has strong men and robust horses. Therefore, what I really want is a genuine martial art master; otherwise, it would only bring harm to Mo Xiong. Xu Ziling had already been briefed by Zha Huo on the rise and fall of the terrain [idiom: the whole sequence of events]. Guang Sheng Xing and Xing Chang Long were Guanzhongs tworgest salt suppliers. Thepetition between the two has always been intense; the former enjoyed the support of the House of Tangs Crown Prince, while thetter has always had close rtionship with the King of Qin, Li Shimin. Recently, due to Jiancheng, Yuanjis Crown Prince factions power was flourishing, Guang Sheng Xings big boss Gu Tianzhang also abandoned restraint; he was using force to intimidate Xing Chang Long, even as far as sending their men to plunder Xing Chang Longs salt ship with the intention of destroying Xing Chang Long altogether. In their desperation, Xing Chang Long could only turn to Jianghu friends for help, in which Sheng Nanfu, the Gang Leader of Hong Nong Bang, was one. On one hand, Sheng Nanfu was looking at Lei Jiuzhis face; on the other hand, he also learned from Lei Jiuzhi that Xu Zilings Gong Chenchun had outstanding martial art skill. One move, two gains; thereupon he rmended Xu Ziling to Xing Chang Long, both to help Xing Chang Longs boss Bu WanNian in dealing with powerful enemy, and to help Xu Ziling to use this cover to sneak into Guanzhong. Tian Santang was Bu WanNians oldest daughters husband. His martial art skill was not weak, his specific responsibility was to protect their fleet of salt-transporting ships, naturally those who wanted to join would have to pass his evaluation first. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Tian Ye, dont worry, since Sheng Bangzhu dared to rmend me to see Tian Ye, naturally he has ample confidence in my swordsmanship. Tian Ye may inquire clearly from Zha Huo Xiong. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Tian Santang asked, What is Mo Xiongs rtionship with Sheng Bangzhu? Xu Ziling replied, Sheng Bangzhus sworn brother is my uncle. Nodding his head, Tian Santang said, Mo Xiong pleasee with me. Xu Ziling followed him through a maze of rooms and buildings toward another courtyard. Get me my stick, Tian Santang shouted. From the hall on the left wing came three men, who looked like warriors; one of them handed a long stick to Tian Santang. Tian Santang received the stick and immediately his expression turned serious. Taking a stance, he said, Mo Xiong, please make your move. No need to yield. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that if he did not yield, perhaps Tian Santang would not be able to take one move from him. However, he certainly could not pretend to be too ipetent either, because there would be a fleet leaving for Guanzhong today. He only needed to show enough strength, and the other party might let him toe along, to avoid wasting a martial art master. With a cry asking for forgiveness, Xu Zilings sword left its sheathe. Immediately the three warriors watching from the side were emotionally moved. When experts made their move, others would already see whether they really had substance or not. Although Xu Ziling was deliberately concealing his strength, his movement when he drew the sword and his footwork put his great-expert air on full disy. A series of movements from him was like flowing water and floating clouds, everything was fused together into indivisible entity. Good! Tian Santang cried out. Under Xu Zilings oppressive momentum, he produced appropriate responses; brandishing his stick, he swiftly poked upward. Xu Zilings sword swept across, lightly and gently he parried the long stick, and then sword pattern appeared suddenly,pletely sealing Tian Santangs all attack routes. Shocked, Tian Santang retreated, and then his face lit up as he cried, Mo Xiong, try attacking me! Xu Ziling let out a heavy shout, while brandishing his sword in a stabbing movement. This sword strike seemed to be ordinary without anything marvelous, but both Tian Santang, who was in close proximity to the sharp point of the de, and the three observers all felt that the sword momentum was fierce and severe, creating a feeling that it was very difficult to block. Tian Santang practically did not know how to block. Retreating again, he let out a longugh and said, No wonder Sheng Bangzhu rmends Mo Xiong to our Xing Chang Long; obtaining help from such a talent like Mo Xiong, why would we be afraid of that Gu Tianzhang somebody. Mo Xiong, pleasee with the fleet to enter the Pass today, Tian Santang will definitely not treat you with meager hospitality. Knowing that Xu Ziling was from Hong Nong Bangs side, plus seeing his outstanding skill, the three warriors immediately swarmed over to congratte him and to make friends with him. Xu Ziling was relieved. He was finally able to solve the problem, which gave him a lot of headache C of entering Guanzhong. Only he wondered if that kid, Kou Zhong, was also having a simr good luck? Book 30 - 7 – One Finger Zen Chapter 7 C One Finger Zen Knock! Knock! Knock! Kou Zhong, who was sitting in the chair, sleeping soundly, was awakened by the knock on the door. He originally just wanted to sit down for a while, while waiting for the young madames summon to treat their Sha Laoyezis illness. Who would have thought that these days, day and night, he was hastening on with his journey without a break, that he was so weary and was unable to stay awake. As soon as he fell asleep, the sky turned hazy, the earth turned dark, as if he was drunk with wine. Standing up still in daze, he found out that the bright morning sun had unexpectedly turned into the glow of the setting sun. Greatly astonished, he wondered why the Sha Family did not even invite him for lunch? Stretching his limbs, he casually unwrapped the oilcloth that he used to conceal the Moon in the Well, and then hung it on his back first before opening the door. Immediately his eyes brightened. Outside the door, other than Sha Fu, there was a pretty, slim young woman wearing magnificent clothes, who was sizing him up and down with her big, round eyes, as if she wanted to see through him. Her gaze was straightforward and bold. Sha Fu introduced her, This is our Wu Xiaojie [Fifth Miss]. We have been here twice, but seeing Mo Ye was sound asleep, we did not dare to disturb you. Kou Zhong saluted and said, Mo this ... hey! I am paying my respect to Wu Xiaojie! A look of disdain flitted across her face, but quickly disappeared. Evidently this Fifth Miss did not have too good of an impression of Kou Zhongs ugly appearance. She let out a forced smile first before perfunctorily returning the greeting and spoke indifferently, Has Mr. Mo recovered enough spirit? Kou Zhong only wished that the ship would sail straight to Guanzhong. Besides, even he himself was less than impressed toward his current appearance; naturally he did not bother to argue with her. Stretching his limbs again, he smiled and said, No problem! Do you want me to treat Laoyezis illness now? Showing an awkward expression, Sha Fu spoke haltingly, This ... Fifth Miss Sha cut him off, Mr. Mo, please return to your room first, Zhijing wants to consult Mister on some medical problem. Kou Zhong was disappointed, but he understood. It must be because the Third Master Sha went to Old Madame Sha to ask for direction that Old Madame Sha sent the Fifth Miss Sha Zhijing to test him, to see whether he had enough qualifications to treat the Old Masters illness. This kind of influential family was certainlyplicated, but he also groaned inwardly; what did he know that he would be able to answer her medical-rted questions? As soon as he spoke one or two wrong things, he would immediately reveal the cloven foot. But since his debut, what kind of situation he had not seen? Laughing aloud, he took a step out of the door. Sha Fu and Sha Zhijing were greatly surprised; naturally they stepped back to get out of his way. Kou Zhong continued striding toward the cabin door. Sha Fu ran after him and pulled his sleeve, asking anxiously, Mo Ye, where are you going? Kou Zhong replied, Naturally to jump out of the boat to return ashore. Since you dont believe my medical skill, why would I want to stay? Sha Fu hastily said, Mo Ye misunderstood! Wu Xiaojie did not mean it like that; its just because Wu Xiaojie has studied medical skill that she wanted to discuss Laoyes illness with Mo Ye first! How could Kou Zhong really want to leave the boat? He just wanted to use retreat to advance, to avoid making a fool of himself. Oh, he mumbled. Then he turned around to face the Fifth Miss Sha Zhijing, whose pretty face has turned pale from anger, and said, So thats how it is! My temperament is just like this; I eat soft food, but refuse hard food [idiom: amenable to coaxing but not coercion]. Under Sha Fu signaling her with his eyes, Sha Zhijing halted her delicate steps. Fuming in anger, she said, Come then! Kou Zhong and Sha Fu followed behind her graceful, enchanting back as they walked toward the main cabin. Crossing over the doorstep, entering the destination and seeing the situation, Kou Zhong jumped in fright. While admittedly the spacious cabin was beautiful and was arranged in excellent taste, from the decoration to each table and each chair, which none was not extremely exquisite C the cabin itself was full with more than a dozen men and women, with every single eye was fixed on Kou Zhong, this Divine Doctors nephew. Old Master Sha was about fifty years old, his appearance majestic, only he had a sickly look on his face. He was sitting, half-reclining on the couch at the end of the cabin; by his side was, naturally Old Madame Sha. She also looked graceful and luxurious, with grand, auspicious and peaceful appearance, which matched Old Master Sha very well. The other men and women sat to the left and right. The one sitting by the Third Madame Cheng Bisu ought to be the Third Young Master. He looked cultured, handsome and charming, brimming with educated, schrly impression, provoking other peoples good impression. The First Young Master and the Second Young Master were also very easy to recognize. The former was around thirty years old; he looked astute and experienced, like someone who would not easily trust others. Thetter was pompous looking, arrogant and conceited, typical look of the younger generation of rich, influential family. The other people ought to be the wives, concubines, maids and servants of the family. Chen Laiman and five others family warriors were sitting on the seats near the entrance. Most people in the cabin certainly never thought that Kou Zhong would look this ugly and vulgar; all showed contempt. Kou Zhongs eyes swept around. While those meeting his gaze were dazzled, Old Madame Sha said, Has Mr. Mo had enough rest? As her amiable voice entered his ears, from the bottom of his heart Kou Zhong felt veryfortable. Saluting, he said, Thank you very much for Lao Furens [old madame] concern. Biren has always been a boorish man who dont understand etiquette, Lao Furen please do not take offense. Standing next to him, Sha Zhijing let out a cold snort; apparently she agreed with his admission that he was a boorish man. Without saying anything she sat down on the side. It was clear that Sha Fus position within the Sha Family was quite high. He was showing utmost consideration toward Kou Zhong. Patting Kou Zhongs shoulder, he pointed to the empty chair next to Old Master Shas couch C on the other side of Old Madame Sha C and said, Mo Ye, please sit down! Under most peoples distrust gaze, Kou Zhong hardened his scalp to sit down next to Old Master Sha, who was just closing his eyes weakly. Would you mind letting Biren check Laoyezis [old master] pulse first? he asked. With encouraging tone, the Third Madame Cheng Bisu said, Well have to trouble Mr. Mo. The First and Second Young Masters did not show much of an expression, but the women by their sides, none did not show disdain and envy; it seemed that all of them were wishing that the man Cheng Bisu invited would make a fool of himself and fail to treat the Old Masters serious illness. Under the crowds staring eyes, Kou Zhong clumsily stretched out his thumb and pressed it on the vein of Old Master Shas wrist resting on the chair handle. First Young Master said in astonishment, All doctors examining the pulse would use three fingers separately pressed on cun, guan, and chi, three vital points; why is it that not only Mr. Mo only use one finger, the finger you are using is a thumb? Whats the difference? He might not be good at anything else, but in inventing crazy nonsense, Kou Zhong was a first-ss master. Clearing his throat, he said, The big street has no door, emptiness absolutely has a road. Xiaorens skill, One Finger Zen, was created by Jiashu, no one else knows about it. The first two sentences were borrowed from the Chanzong Sizus Daoxin Dashi; while One Finger Zen was Jiaxiangs Buddhist schools consummate skill. Everybody of the Sha Family in the hall felt that it was a strange, mysterious, difficult-to-understand, unfathomable, and profound C principle; nobody dared to question anymore. Old Madame Sha said, Jiuer, you must not disturb Mr. Mo. Kou Zhong was beginning to understand why for such a simple thing like calling on a doctor to treat the sick the Third Young Madame Cheng Bisu wanted her husband to ask for the Old Madames to preside over it, because it was something that was not easy for the daughter-inw of an influential family to do. The true qi that he sent into the Old Master Shas meridians already made one round; he discovered that although the Old Masters Twelve Regr Channels were clogged up and did not flow unimpeded, the real problem was located at the Ren and Du, two meridians. While he was hesitant on whether he should transmit his qi to remove the blockage, the Second Young Master, with a hint of ridicule on the corner of his mouth, said with a coldugh, Physicians examining an illness, they usually pay particr attention to visual observation and asking questions, yet Mr. Mo seems like only repeatedly feeling the pulse. I wonder how Jiafus [(polite) my father] illness is, perhaps I could trouble Mister to exin one or two. Naturally Kou Zhong did not have any qualifications to talk about patients condition; but he had already judged that if he recklessly opened Old Master Shas Ren and Du, two meridians, perhaps due to his qi deficiency, he might even give up his ghost, and that would be thoroughly terrible. Gritting his teeth, he sent his true qi straight into the taiyang [sun] fei [lung] passage, and then into zhongjiao [central burning], lower dachang rge intestine] passage, and back to weikou [appetite], along and up to feige [lung diaphragm], toward the yexia [underarm], flowing through the shaoyang [minor yang (sun)] xinzhu [heart primary] passage, and continued on along the arm, finally exited via the thumb. Everywhere it went, the true qi from the Secret to Long Life crashed through the blocked meridians like a hot knife through butter, so that all meridians were wide open and linked up with each other. While everybody thought that he was unable to respond, the Old Master cried out, Ah! and opened his eyes. The originally dispirited eyes recovered not a few of vigor. Greatly delighted, the Old Madame said, Laoye, how are you feeling? The Old Master Sha responded hoarsely, Mr. Mos medical expertise is truly divine. The pit of my stomach no longer felt tight and painful! My hands and feet also seem to recover a little bit of strength. Inwardly, Kou Zhong was greatly confident, knowing that his Secret to Long Life qigong indeed had the medicine arrives the illness is gone capability. Laughing aloud, he said, Laoye, dont worry. I have a hundred percent confidence that I can cure your illness. Does Laoyezi has any appetite? Please eat a little bit and have a good sleep. After that I will use the One Finger Zen again to treat Laoye. Nobody in the hall expected that his medical expertise was this magical; everybody was dumbstruck, they could not believe the fact before their eyes. Six cargo ships slowly docked. This fleet of Xing Chang Longs cargo ships was under Tian Santangs personal supervision. Apart from the helpers, there were a total of fifty-three warriors on board, including Xu Ziling, the newly-recruited martial art master. Due to the full load of salt, the hull was deep in the water. On top of that, they were traveling to the west, where the river was flowing more and more rapidly, so that they had to sail along the river course that was full of rocks and sandbars. Even for veterans who knew the waterway very well, sailing against the current like this was quite dangerous; therefore, they could only sail during the day, and had to cast anchor near the shore at night. But this was also a good time for the enemy to strike; therefore, the entire crew was not allowed to leave the ships. The warriors were split into two groups to take turn in night-guard duty. Xu Ziling was rmended by Hong Nong Bang, plus Tian Santang thought highly of him; therefore, the three warriors who had seen his swordsmanship, Chen Lang, Wu Dengshan, and Liu Shiwen were particrly fawning on him, trying to be friends with him. But this also incurred suspicion, jealousy, and repulsion from another group, a small circle of warriors who were originally the leaders of the bodyguards, with Liang Juzhong at the center. Naturally Xu Ziling would not take them to heart; seeing that they did not dare to be excessive and only threw a bit of mocking and ridicule his way, he simply regarded them as the wind past his ears. Naturally he would not bow down to try to win their friendship either. During dinner, the warriors automatically eat with those of their own clique. Xu Zilings table had the least number of people. Other than Chen Lang, Wu Dengshan, and Liu Shiwen, there were several warriors who were friends with the three, plus some who were rtively neutral. The atmosphere was quite lively. Taking advantage of Tian Santang going ashore to take care of some business, Liang Juzhongs clique decided to stir up some trouble. A warrior who was sitting by Liang Juzhongs side stood up and came over, Mo Xiong! he called, I heard Tian Ye said that your sword technique is extremely formidable; I wonder if you could let our brothers to gain first-hand knowledge of it? In the entire cabin immediately the crow and peacock made no sound. Everybody knew that Liang Juzhongs side was deliberately provocative so that Xu Ziling, this Mo Wei would give them a good show. Among the three warriors who were friendly toward Xu Ziling, Chen Lang was the oldest, plus he had the highest seniority; he was not afraid of Liang Juzhongs clique at all. We are all brothers, harmony is to be prized, he spoke in displeasure, If we fight and someone is hurt, when Tian Ye return, he wont be happy. Hu Hai, go back and eat! Perhaps something is going to happen tonight. While Hu Hais countenance sank, another warrior from Liang Juzhongs tableughed grimly and said, Chen Laoxiu [old rotten], why are you so serious? When Tian Ye is not present, Liang Ye is in charge of the overall situation. He wants to see clearly every brothers depth, so that when something happens, he would know how to split us up to deal with it. We all just want to be clear; what fight are you talking about? Liang Juzhongs table and the table next to it had twenty men altogether; they booed and jeered together. Receiving a boost of morale, Hu Hai said, Well said! It is because we think highly of Mo Xiong that we want to grasp Mo Xiongs foundation! How about Mo Xiong and I, Hu Hai, y for a couple of strokes to let Liang Ye see it. Are you not going to give Liang Ye a little bit of face? Liang Juzhong let out a cold snort. Immediately the atmosphere tensed up. Qiang! Xu Ziling drew his sword. Without saying anything he stabbed Hu Hai. The crowd was bbergasted. They saw Hu Hais expression was like he was falling into a nightmare and was struggling endlessly, yet waspletely unable to break away. Clearly he had enough time to evade, yet he simply acted like a fool craning his neck waiting to be chopped, letting Xu Zilings sword to pierce his throat, without being able to make any move or react. Cold sweats seeped down from Hu Hais forehead; just now when the other party stabbed the sword, it contained a huge sucking power. It looked slow, but was actually very fast, so that even if he wanted to dodge, he was simply unable to do so. The hall was so quiet that a falling needle would have been heard. None of the men on Liang Juzhongs side did not have his countenance changed, simply because they knew Hu Hais martial art skill very well, which was barely below Liang Juzhongs. Qiang! The sword returned to its sheath; as fast as lightning, as urate as a spirit snake seeking its way back to its hole. Acting as if what just happened was a trivial thing, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, My sword is to be used to deal with outside enemy, not to deal with our own side. Since we are all brothers, the smartest thing everybody can do is to be one mind in resisting outside threat. The more Xing Chang Long prospers, the more everybody will enjoy better days. Frightened by his peerless sword, Hu Hai was dumbstruck and unable to reply. A burst of apuse came from the main door. They saw Tian Santang, apanied by a dignified-build, tall and straight C young master,ing into the cabin; both had a smile on their faces as they praised Xu Zilings demonstration of his divine skill. The crowd of warriors stood up together to salute; they greeted in loud voice, Qi Shaoye [seventh young master] is here! As Xu Ziling also stood up following everybody else, Chen Lang whispered in his ear, This is our Da Laobans [big boss] seventh son, Bu Ting. He is thest disciple [lit. disciple as one is closing the door] of Guanzhong Jian Pai [sword sect] Zhangmen Ren [sect leader/headmaster] Qiu Wensheng. He suddenly graces us with his presence, something must have happened. The One Finger Zen demonstrated its marvelous efficacy, immediately Kou Zhongs position differed greatly. Not only he was invited to join the meals, Old Madame Sha even formally invited him toe with them to Guanzhong, so that along the way he could continue treating Old Master Shas illness. But Kou Zhong knew his own limitation; making an excuse that he must research the best way to treat the illness behind closed door, he tactfully declined the banquet on the Sha Familys ship. He returned to his room to enjoy, at his leisure, the sumptuous dinner delivered by Old Madames personal maid, Baoer, while also turning his mind over on how to treat the Old Masters illness. Forget about the elderly with weak body and much sickness, even ordinary strong men, if their meridians were casually opened by using true qi, due to the recipient did not know how to control it, it could easily lead to fire deviation. Just now he did not put the Old Masters life in danger, simply because the meridians he opened were all unrted to life and death. But if he really wanted to cure his illness, it would be a lot moreplicated. Particrly, it involved Ren and Du, two major meridians; therefore, he must not act recklessly even more. While thinking about it, suddenly he heard footsteps along the corridor outside his door. Two pretty maids were talking about him in low voice. One of the maids said, This Divine Doctor Mo has a real ability; no need to use needles, no need to use medicine, just using his finger pressing on Laoyes wrist, he already see a lot of improvement. It is really hard to believe. The other maid said, I wonder if we could see him too? Since I got on the boat, I have had dizzy spell and headaches; my four limbs feelcking in strength. The footsteps were going away. Kou Zhong pped his thigh, his spirit was greatly aroused. He pondered, If I have several of his mothers acupuncture needles [lit. gold needles], I can stimte different acupoints at the same time, while regting the input of the Secret to Long Lifes true qi; perhaps I can really restraint and harmonize, or even cure Laoyezis I-dont-know-what-illness-of-illnesses that is. Thinking to this point, he felt as if he had indeed be half of a Divine Doctor. Being able to help people was always a joy. The problem was that he did not even have half a needle in his possession. He could not, as the magnificent Divine Doctor Mo, ask someone else to procure a set of moxibustion needle for him. Besides, he promised to treat the Old Masters illness in the morning. If there was no other improvement and efficacy, his rising prestige as the Divine Doctor would take a big hit. Moreover, the true qi piercing through the acupoints he injected just now could only be effective for a moment, very quickly the Old Master would return to his former condition. All these problems were giving him headache, making him nearly wanted to find another Divine Doctor to take charge. Right this moment the pretty maid Baoer returned to clean up the bowls and chopsticks for him; hardening his scalp, Kou Zhong said, Baoer Jie, is it possible to ask Wu Xiaojie toe and have a little bit of talk? Baoers face showed a difficult expression; she replied, In this matter, we have to ask Lao Furen [old madame] for approval. Kou Zhong said, Its only because Wu Xiaojie is proficient in medical skill, which naturally she has special understanding of Laoyezis illness C that I wanted to consult her for a thing or two; nothing more than that. Baoer finally agreed; nodding her head, she said, In that case, let Xiaobi [little maid] talk to Wu Xiaojie and see what she says. A momentter, Baoer returned to invite Kou Zhong into the cabin hall. The Sha Familys young masters and their wives and concubines have returned to their rooms to rest, as the Fifth Miss, apanied by her personal maid Xiao Lan, with cold and indifferent expression, received Kou Zhong. What is it that Mr. Mo wanted to consult? she asked. After asking a few random questions, Kou Zhong said, Laoyezis illness is serious, I am afraid just One Finger Zen would not be able to cure himpletely, we must supplement it with acupuncture needles technique to make it work. Ay! But I lost that set of needles on the journey! I wonder ... A bit impatient, Sha Zhijing cut him off, What kind of needles Mr. Mo is ustomed to using? Kou Zhong nearly grabbed his head; without any choice he asked in return, Which needles Wu Xiaojie has? Sha Zhijing crossly replied, There are chan zhen, yuan zhen, kun zhen, feng zhen, suo zhen, yuan li zhen, hao zhen, chang zhen, da zhen, a total of nine different kinds of needles. [Trantors note: in all cases, zhen means needle; since I dont have any clue of what they are, I am afraid if I tried to trante them, I would only make a fool of myself. ording to http://.acupuncturemoxibustion/acupuncture/nine-ssical-needles/, they are: filiform needle, shear needle, round-pointed needle, spoon needle,nce needle, round-sharp needle, stiletto needle, long needle and big needle.] Kou Zhongs head swelled up; with a hollowugh he said, It would be better to lend Biren all those needles, so that I could use them for different situations. Her eyebrows deeply knitted, Sha Zhijing said, Nine different needles have their own proper use; the length, the size, each one is for a specific purpose. If they are not used properly, how could they cure an illness? How could Kou Zhong dare to have a debate with her in medical knowledge? Revealing an enigmatic smile to conceal his embarrassment, he said, Jiashu knew that Biren is dull-witted, hence he talked less about the method, but more about the application. Wu Xiaojie, if you think needles can cure Laoyezis illness, would it bother Miss to lend me the needles for my use? The Fifth Miss was not interested to continue talking to him. Standing up, she said, ording to Mr. Mos diagnosis, what illness does Jiafu actually suffer? Kou Zhong has always tried with a thousand ways, a hundred ns to avoid this dreaded question. At this moment he could no longer avoid it; remembering the condition of Old Master Shas meridians, where the yin was growing but the yang was exhausted, hardening his scalp, he said, In Laoyezis inner organs, the yin is flourishing, while the yang is empty. Could it be that it was caused by prolonged anxiety? Thest sentence was purely a spection, because he noticed that the entire Sha Family was moving away from Luoyang, there must be a mishap that was kept hidden from outsiders. The Fifth Miss muttered to herself irresolutely for half a day. As if agreeing with his diagnosis, she slightly nodded her head and said, When Mr. Mo is treating Jiafus illness tomorrow, you will have the moxibustion needles ready for Mister to use. Finished speaking she left without saying anything else. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. Whether he was a Divine Doctor or a chatan, it would be clear tomorrow morning! Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Facts and Figures Book 30 - 8 – Counterattack Chapter 8 C Counterattack Xu Ziling, Chen Liang, and Liang Juzhong, three men followed behind the Seventh Young Master Bu Ting and Tian Santang to the deck. The fleet has grown from six to nine cargo ships. The newly added three ships were under Bu Tingsmand, which had just arrived. The whole fleet was brightly lit, with guards densely covered the decks; apparently they were afraid the enemy wouldunch sneak attack. This shipment was a matter of great importance, involving the rise and fall of Xing Chang Long. The addition of Xu Ziling has prompted Tian Santang to decide to have all the cargo ships together, so that the stockpile of salt could be transported to Changan at the same time. If the entire fleet was wiped out, the blow that Xing Chang Long suffer would be extremely grave. Bu Tings eyes were fixed on the flickering lights from Xiancheng [lit. county town, not sure if its a ces name] that was hidden beyond the forest, he spoke heavily, Although I invited Da Shixiong [first martial (older) brother], in the end, the negotiation with Jingzhao Lian failed. Yang WenGan publicly announced that he wouldnt let our fleet enter the Pass safely. Inwardly Xu Ziling was shaken; only then did he understand that Guang Sheng Xings backing was unexpectedly the biggest gang in Guanzhong, the Jingzhao Lian; no wonder they did not have any regard on Guanzhong Jian Pai. Behind all these must be the struggle between Li Jianchengs Crown Prince faction and Li Shimins King of Qin faction, which continued to expand to so many different levels. And Xing Chang Long was obviously at a disadvantage. Its really strange! Tian Santang said, If they wanted to make their move, tonight will be their only chance. But ording to report, theres no unusual activity in Xiancheng. I wonder what Jingzhao Lians n is. Bu Ting nodded his agreement, because tomorrow the fleet might reach the Pass. Once they were in Guanzhong, even if Jingzhao Lian did not have any scruples in running amuck, they would not dare to openly attack the fleet that was honored by the House of Tang to supply salt for them; otherwise, the King of Qin Mansion would definitely get involved to investigate. If that happened, even the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng would be helpless to protect Yang WenGan. Chen Liang said, Jingzhao Lians Er Longtou [second big boss] Li Xiong is proficient in naval warfare; could he be intercepting us on the river? Tian Santang replied heavily, We are hoping that they would do just that. Because we have adequate preparation, plus the river is wide, so that even in desperate battle, our loss would not be that much. Inwardly Xu Ziling agreed. He had quite an understanding of naval warfare. Not only this fleet of Xing Chang Long had good performance, they had adequate protection against fire, plus their offensive and defensive equipment was faultless. The most important thing was that all the ships had old hands with ample experience at the helms. But it was precisely because of this that Xing Chang Longs strength was incurring Li Jianchengs sides jealousy. Bu Ting resolutely said, The enemy will certainly not miss tonights opportunity. We have to be prepared for a hard battle ahead. Suddenly Xu Zilings heart was moved; he cast a nce toward Liang Juzhong, who, just like him, was listening silently without saying anything. He caught a grim smile escaping from the corner of thetters mouth, which quickly disappeared and he returned to his wooden expression. Tian Santang suddenly asked, Liang Laoshi [teacher] and Mo Laoxiong, what do you think? Liang Juzhong replied in heavy voice, Qi Shaoye [Seventh Young Master] and Tian Ye, please dont worry. If anybody dares to assault the fleet, my brothers and I will definitely make them able toe but unable to leave. Bu Ting said, We must never be overconfident; dare I ask Mo Laoshi what you think? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, If we remain in passive situation just like right now, tonight we will definitely end up in total defeat of an army [idiom:plete wipeout]. Hearing that, everybody was stunned. With voice brimming with ridicule, Liang Juzhong said, Before grasping the entire situation, Mo Xiong must never speak frightening words to scare people and rattle the mens hearts [idiom]. Turning around to face Xu Ziling, Bu Ting said, What is the reason behind Mo Laoshis judgement? Xu Ziling calmly said, If I were Jingzhao Lians Yang WenGan, tonight I willunch all-out attack to the fleet from the water andnd, two routes, with the battle oue ofpletely killing the people, seizing the goods, and snatching the ships in one move. Naturally it would far surpass only using naval battle, which would end up in hard-to-avoid damage on both sides. Emotionally moved, Tian Santang said, Mo Laoxiong is indeed insightful. But I wonder how we are going to flip the passive situation into active? Xu Ziling smiled and said, First of all, we must catch the spy within us, so that the enemy will lose the advantage of coordinating outside and inside offensives. Bu Ting and Tian Santang looked at each other in shock. But Liang Juzhong revealed an uneasy look. Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Chen Liang said, Whats the basis of Mo Xiongs conjecture that we have the enemys spy within our rank? Xu Ziling calmly gave his analysis, Simply because its natural. Jingzhao Lian is the biggest gang in Guanzhong, plus they have the Crown Prince factions support behind their back. Guang Sheng Xing is just like our Xing Chang Long, rich, powerful, and have great influence. Three sides added together, the result is both terrifying and tempting. On top of that, it is human nature to look up; shameless and forgetting-justice disciples would surely unable to resist threats and promises. It will be a marvel indeed if they dont grow different heart [i.e. disloyalty]. Finally Liang Juzhong lost his temper; he angrily said, Mo Wei, you must have ulterior motive; in this critical moment you still want to destroy our unity? Xu Ziling snickered inwardly;pared to his adversaries such as Yang Xuyan or Wanwan, this Liang Juzhong was indeed too far below. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, heughed and said, If this is called having an ulterior motive, how about Liang Xiong just now inciting Hu Hai to grasp my foundation? Arent you afraid you might destroy our unity? The other three mens gaze fell on Liang Juzhong. His countenance changed, Liang Juzhong said, I am not a spy. Chen Liang has always been resentful of Liang Juzhongs imperious and cliquey style; letting out a hey, heyugh, he said, Mo Xiong did not say that you are a spy; he simply asked why you wanted to grasp his foundation! Like a thiefcking in confidence, Liang Juzhong retreated one step back, and spoke sternly, Chen Liang, is it because you want my position that you join hands with a neer to nder me? When he turned to look at Xu Ziling, he saw that Xu Ziling was looking at him with lightning in his eyes; immediately he took another step back, moving closer to the ship railing. Bu Ting said, Liang Laoshi, please dont get angry; if you are looking into your heart and find no shame, why dont you just answer that simple question? Liang Juzhong fiercely said, Now even Qi Shaoye doesnt trust me; why would I, Liang Juzhong, want to stay here? From this moment on, I sever all rtionship with Xing Chang Long. When speaking thest sentence, he rose up to leap. Stop him! Tian Santang shouted. Bu Ting had just pulled his sword out of its sheathe, like lightning Xu Ziling already rushed forward. Startingter but arriving earlier, he left the ship and caught up with Liang Juzhong, who was soaring up into the air. The two used speed to defeat speed in the air. Liang Juzhong could not be considered weak either. He sessively blocked Xu Zilings one punch and three finger stabs before Xu Ziling sealed the vital acupoint on his nk with the tip of his foot. Grabbing his belt, Xu Ziling leaped back from the shore onto the ship deck. Tossing Liang Juzhong in front of the cabin door, he said, If we could force the names of his aplices and the enemys n from his mouth, we will seize total victory tonight. With the sound of gong, all the lights were suddenly extinguished. Nine ships raised their sail and turned their rudder to speed along; instead of going against the stream to the west, unexpectedly they sailed with the stream to the east. This was the marvelous tactic of sudden change. Immediately the four enemys warships lying in ambush on the shore and on the upper reaches were thrown into confusion and momentarily were unable to respond. Under heavy torture, Liang Juzhong not only supplied the names of his three aplices, which included Hu Hai, he also revealed Jingzhao Lian and Guang Sheng Xings joint-attack grand n. From this intelligence, Xu Ziling drafted a counterattack n ordingly. They areing! Chen Liang called out. Xu Ziling remained cool-headed. He calmly monitored the four enemy warships pursuing them from behind, while none of the other men did not show tensed expression. Just by looking at the speed of the enemys ships, they knew that the opponent did not carry any load; the hull was riding high above the water, they would be able to catch up very quickly. Bu Ting said, That one on the outside gap to the left ought to be Jingzhao Lians Fu Lianzhu [vice alliance master] Li Xiongs personal ship. This man is most pompous, whether riding a carriage or a boat, he always hangs his big distinguishing banner with a picture of spirited tortoise on it. Remaining calm and collected, Xu Ziling said, Its time! Tian Santang issued his order. Nine sailboats separated into three groups; two groups only had two ships each, sailing close to the shore, while the remaining five ships maintained their original course of sailing toward the lower reaches of the river. The opponents warships immediately sounded the bugle horn. They could faintly see the enemy rushing about all over the deck in frenzy. Xu Ziling mused that if the situation were reversed, he would not know how to deal with this sudden change either. Speaking about the art of war, Li Xiong basically should not be chasing after them. His mistake was that he underestimated Xing Chang Long; moreover, he still thought that he had someone on the inside providing him support, to such an extent that he thought the enemy was falling into the currently passive situation. However, the fact was that it was his ships that could not even turn around and withdraw. By this time therge number of Jingzhao Lian and Guang Sheng Xings coalition forces attacking from thend had already been thrown off far behind, so that they were like in an empty arrangement; their navy, consisting of the remaining four warships, on the rapid stream and being blown by the northern winter wind, would enter the heavy siege in an instant. Theirparatively higher speed became the reason of their defeat instead. The gong on Xing Chang Longs ship was struck again; the four ships sailing close to the shore released ming arrows and shooting rocks toward the side of two enemy ships on the outside gap, while the five ships speeding forward also started their assault. They shot arrows andunched rocks from the stern. The counterattack toward the enemy was carried out mercilessly. The enemys four ships were under Li Xiongs personalmand; the trebuchets were setup in such a way that their firing direction was toward the target in front of the ship, so that momentarily they were unable to respond to the attack from the side. On top of that, on Xing Chang Longs side, two ships were focusing on assaulting one enemy ship, so that this side was diminishing, the other side was growing; as a result, he was stuck in the receiving-the-beating-without-able-to-retaliate situation. ming arrows and shooting rocks wereing toward the ships like rain; immediately hundreds of holes and thousands of cuts appeared on the hull. Wood splinters were sshing in all directions, tongues of me were rising up everywhere,pletely paralyzing their ability to fight back. In great delight, Bu Ting cried out, After them! Battle drums shook the heavens; from sailing close to the shore, the Xing Chang Longs four ships changed course toward the middle of the river. This moment they have changed from being downstream of the enemys ships to upstream, so that they were in position to attack the enemys tail, catching the enemy in the inferior position of being under attack from the front and back. The fiery arrows were the first to disy their might, particrly the arrows being shot from the two ships starting out of the north bank, where they had the advantage of the tail wind; as the arrows were flying toward the enemy, the ming arrows drew streaks of beautiful yellow arc throwing itself onto the enemys ship. In the blink of an eye, all four enemy ships werepletely engulfed in mes without the slightest ability to strike back. Just like Xu Ziling predicted, Xing Chang Long seized total victory. Compared to Xu Zilings guts, intelligence, andbat experience, naturally Li Xiong was far behind; from beginning to the end, he was practically being led by the nose by Xu Ziling. Seeing the enemy jumping into the river to save their lives, the morale of the men from Xing Chang Longs side soared like the rainbow; their arrows changed direction toward the river, shooting the enemies who were bobbing up and down on the water. The surface of the water, which was already dyed red by the light of the me, was turning even darker red from the blood. Ahead, all the five ships turned around to join the pursue-and-attack operation already in progress. Although they also suffered damage, but it was fairly insignificant. Standing on the bow, Xu Ziling secretly pondered about him showing off his ability to help Xing Chang Long to defeat Jingzhao Lian and Guang Sheng Xings coalition forces; what would be the consequences that he brought for himself? Early morning. With the Old Madames personal maid Baoer leading the way, Kou Zhong came to the Old Master Shas cabin to administer the second round of treatment. Other than the Old Madame and Baoer, there was also Sha Zhijing inside the cabin. This noble woman handed over a rectangr case made of copper; on the exterior the lines were simple and unadorned. She said, This box contains various kinds of moxibustion needles that Mister requested. Receiving the copper case, Kou Zhong sat on the chair that was especially set up for him next to the couch. Seeing the Old Master has returned to his previously declining-vitality, listless, sickly countenance, inwardly he was apprehensive. The Old Madame anxiously asked, When I woke up this morning, Laoyes spirit seems to be a lot worse; what happened? Under Sha Zhijings beautiful eyes luminous gaze, how could Kou Zhong dare to discuss the patients condition? He said, Lao Furen, please dont worry. My One Finger Zen only treated the symptom; it did not have the power to get to the root. But my Jinzhen Dafa [great method of golden needle] will definitely eradicate Da Laoyes stubborn disease. I just have one request. The Old Madame said, Mo Daifu [doctor/physician], please speak up. I dont care how much, we will definitely pay you. Kou Zhong secretly mused that if he failed to find the Duke Yangs Treasure, he might change profession to be a divine doctor to help the world, simply because it was a lot more lucrative than opening up a restaurant. However, his mouth responded, Furen misunderstood! Biren only wishes to be alone in this room, because my Jinzhen Dafa absolutely must notmit the slightest mistake; therefore, the biggest taboo is to have other people nearby disturbing my concentration. Hey! Wu Xiaojie ought to understand it best? The Old Madame nodded, indicating that she understood. Pulling the absolutely-unwilling Sha Zhijing, she and Baoer went to wait in the outer hall, which was separated from the inner hall only by a hanging curtain. Kou Zhong heaved a sigh of relief. Opening up the copper case that heid across his knees, he saw nine kinds of moxibustion needles arranged in a row. There were some with big head and sharp tip, there were some with egg-shaped tip; all kinds of shapes, nonecking, all were avable. Using the martial art principle, he quickly determined that if he transmitted the true qi by means of golden needle,bined with different depth and position, he ought to obtain different efficacy. Rejoicing secretly, he thought that relying on his healing sacred qi plus these nine divine needles, he would be like a tiger that has grown wings. Immediately his confidence doubled. After thinking hard all night longst night, he already drawn up a strategy to treat this seniors illness. Immediately he started working and was busy endlessly. One sichen for Kou Zhong was like a snap of the fingers. But for the Old Madame and Sha Zhijing, it felt like a long year. Therefore, when Kou Zhong called them to enter the room, the two women anxiously scrambled in. They saw Kou Zhong, immensely proud of himself C was standing upright and unafraid by the couch. Lying on the bed, not only Old Master Shas countenance looked much better, he was sleeping soundly, while continuously snoring evenly. Anyone who was not blind could see that he has had great improvement. While admittedly Old Madame was overwhelmed with thousands grace and ten thousand gratitude, Sha Zhijing was amazed as well. Her pair of beautiful eyes grew big, she was pleased beyond expectation. Kou Zhong returned the copper case to the beautys hands; he smiled and said, Next time I need it, I will borrow it from Wu Xiaojie again! Finished speaking, he lifted up the curtain and walked out; his voice came from the outside, I want to go back to my room to sleep; wake me up only for dinner! The fleet sailed upstream to the west, heading straight toward Guanzhong. The euphoria of victory was still shrouding the entire fleet. Although they did not sleep all night, everybody was in high spirit; they were still talking about the battlest night. Bu Ting invited Xu Ziling, this minister who rendered great merit C into his room. He spoke a few grateful words first before turning to the point, Inst nights battle, both Jingzhao Lian and Guang Sheng Xing suffered disastrous damage. In the short term, I dont think they can recover their vitality to give us trouble again. Xu Ziling said, But this will incur Yang WenGans jealousy even more. For the sake of Jingzhao Lians face, he might retaliate. Letting out a cold humph, Bu Ting said, He wants to shake us? Its not going to be that easy. His Jingzhao Lian is not to be trifled with, but could it be that our Guanzhong Jian Pai is easy to deal with? My Da Shixiong Duan Zhixuan is even a Heavenly Policy Mansions fierce general. For the past many years he went through fire and water together with Qin Wang; the rtionship between them is deep. Speaking about those outside the Pass, who would not look at Qin Wangs face? Who does he, Li Jiancheng, think he is? I am not afraid of him. And then he cheerfully said, Besides, we now have Mo Xiong joining our ranks, we wont be afraid to have frontal confrontation against Guang Zheng Xing even more. I have just discussed it with San Jiefu [third older sisters husband], we decided to give Mo Xiong fifty taels of gold first, and then each month we pay you five taels of gold. When we close the ount at the end of the year, if we are doing good, there will be bonus. If Mo Xiong is still unsatisfied, please feel free to tell us your terms, we definitely will not take offense. Naturally Xu Ziling did not dare to decline in order to avoid revealing the truth that he was not looking for wealth; acting grateful, he repeatedly expressed his thanks. Bu Ting said, Since Liang Juzhong is gone, his Chief of Warriors position can be taken over by Mo Xiong. Xu Ziling sincerely said, We must never do that. Speaking about seniority and prestige, Chen Liang Xiong should fill the vacancy. Mo Wei will certainly make an all-out effort to help him doing his job. Qi Shaoye, please consider carefully. Amazed, Bu Ting said, Its rare that Mo Xiong declines modestly like this; rendering merit yet not arrogant. What you said is not without reason. For the time being, lets do it ording to your suggestion! Xu Ziling had a brainwave; he said, If I am guessing correctly, our struggle against Jingzhao Lian already shifted from outside the Pass into Guanzhong; this is also representative of Qin Wang Mansion and Crown Prince factions fighting openly and maneuvering covertly. If Qi Shaoye does not have any objection, I wish to stay in Guanzhong to look after our Xing Chang Longs business, also to deal with the enemy. Bu Ting was emotionally moved; he said, Mo Xiong indeed has prating insight. San Jiefu and I also have simr worry. Fortunately our business is wholesale. As long as we can maintain our Changan head office and severalrge warehouses, we can operate business as usual. San Jiefu and I might also stay in Changan for a period of time, even if Mo Xiong did not want to apany us, you simply have to. Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief inwardly. This cover was not only important, it could also secretly help Li Shimin, who, in the end, could be considered a friend, so what more could he ask? Outside the window, the river was surging, but his mind already flew into Changan city. Book 30 - 9 – Eternal Imperial Capital Chapter 9 C Eternal Imperial Capital A nation of a thousand li of mountains and rivers, imperial city with nine-level watchtower gate; without seeing how grand the Capital is, how would people understand that the Son of Heaven was being revered? Historical relics gathered together, the imperial capital for a thousand years. Changan was located at the eight-hundred-li Qin River, which was known as the Guanzhong in, on the south bank of Wei River. Zhou, Qin, Han, Western Jin, Former Zhao, Former Qin, Later Qin, Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang, all established their capital here. To the south was the Zhongnan Mountains, the middle section of Qinling Mountain Range; range upon range of mountains, precipitous, harsh and difficult to surpass, became the natural barrier on the south side, with itsyers-of-mountain-ranges-looking-down-on-Wei-River, bluish-green-cliffs-reaching-up-to-the-heavens-in-the-distance majestic grandeur. To the north were the Yao Mountain, Huanglong Mountain, Cuoe Mountain, Liang Mountain, and the others, forming a winding, extending-continuously, Beishans [or northern mountain] cluster of mountains, its peaks standing opposite to Qinlings in the distance. The city of Changan resided imposingly in this wide expanse of fertile in delimited by these mountain ridges as its boundary, where the Jing, Wei, Feng, Jue, Hao, Chan, Ba, and Lao, various rivers, just like sparkling and translucent, flickering tassels of fluttering-in-the-wind string of beads of pearl, winding around it, forming the Eight Rivers Winding Around Changan. These rivers were like streams of blood vessels, which provided Changan with abundant water supply, and thus also made Changan brimming with vitality. The saying Qin Zhong Zigu Diwang Zhou [monarch prefecture within the Qin since ancient times] was precisely because of all kinds of advantageous circumstances in strategy and economy that since ancient times, Changan obtained the favor of monarchs of the past dynasties. Qin Shihuang [the first emperor, 259-210 BC] won the government by putting in order the chaotic situation of various hegemons setting up an independent regime during the Warring States period, by creating a centralized state power, the unification of the nation. By the time of Western Han, Zhang Qian [(-114 BC), Han dynasty explorer of 2nd century BC] went to the Western Regions twice; he opened up the Silk Road between Changan and the Western Regions, promoting the economic and cultural exchange between the East and the West, and thus Changan was upgraded even more to a city of an international level, as the link connecting Chinese and foreign civilization. The feel of its situation, only the Eastern Capital Luoyang might be able topare. At the founding of the Sui Dynasty, they established new capital called Daxing. The Tang Dynasty continued to use Daxing as the capital and changed its name to Changan; the idea behind it was the Chang Zhi Jiu An [long-term peace and stability (of governments)], and was constantly building and expanding it, to make it even more imposing and majestic. During the Sui and the Tang, the city of Changan consisted of Waiguocheng [outer city wall], Gongcheng [lit. pce city] and Huangcheng [lit. emperor/imperial city], three sections. The Gongcheng and Huangcheng were located at the central, northern part of the capital city. In the Waiguocheng, each square on the left, right, and south, three sides surrounded and protected the Gongcheng and Huangcheng. Right in the middle was Zhuque Dajie [Vermillion Bird[1] Boulevard] as the boundary, separating Wan Nian [lit. ten thousand years] and Chang An [lit. perpetual peace], two counties. Gongcheng and Huangcheng were the House of Tangs imperial family residence, where Waiguocheng was the ce wheremon people lived and made their living; each one had its own distinctyout. Hundreds and thousands of houses appeared like in the game of Go; the twelve streets were like fields to grow vegetables. Changan outer city wall altogether had eleven north-south big streets and fourteen east-west big streets, crisscrossing the outer city wall and dividing it up into a hundred and ten squares. Among those were three north-south direction big streets and east-west direction big streets connecting the city gates, forming the main traffic links within the city of Changan, of which the widest was Vermillion Bird Boulevard, which wasparable to Luoyangs Heavenly Street; its width reached forty zhang. As for the other streets, although they are not as wide as the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, their scale could be easily inferred. In Changan, in addition to the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, the most famous were the Du Hui [lit. city/metropolis] Market and Li Ren [lit. benefiting mankind] Market, located at the southeast and southwest corners of the Huangcheng; each market upied two city blocks. There were four streets inside the market, forming an intersecting # [ (jing) character] arrangement, so that the entire market was divided into nine sections, each section had its four sides facing the street, shops of all kinds of businesses were setup facing the street. Within each section there were still small alleyways, acting as the internal passageways. These two markets were the liveliest ce in Changan city. There were restaurants and eateries; many of them open all night long, so they became the famous night-and-day bustling scenic spots of Changan city. Xu Ziling, following Bu Ting and Tian Santang, safely entered the city via the Ming De [lit. illustrious virtue] Gate. As he stepped into the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, also because this flourishing city exuded the intimidatingly extraordinary and deep hegemon aura of the Emperor, he felt that carrying the Duke Yang Treasure out of such ce has now be such a distant and indistinct matter. Walking along this main axis linking Changans north and south parts, how could his heart not sigh with emotion? Thinking about the countless dangerous and difficult paths he had to go through before finally came here; the feeling in his heart was really difficult to describe. To prevent stagnant water, all the main streets in the city had gutters on both sides, as wide as a small stream. At the junction of the sewers at the mouth of the street, there were stone bridges, which became one distinguishing feature of Changan. Locust trees were nted on both sides of the main streets; but since it was wintertime, the dense branches and leaves were already reced with snow and icicles, which made the people felt the majestic of the depth of the winter even more. But the bitter cold weather did not diminish Changans prosperous and grand atmosphere. Endless stream of horses and carriages filled the streets, pedestrians were as crowded as school of fish, the liveliness was not inferior to Luoyang in any aspects. Xing Chang Longs main store in Changan was located in the Metropolis Market at the southeast corner of Imperial City; their threerge warehouses were setup separately in the Outer City, at the He Ping [peaceful] Lane on the southwest corner, and the Dun Hua [kindhearted flower] Lane on the southeast corner. After ordering Chen Liang to be in charge of transporting the salt into their warehouses, Bu Ting took Tian Santang and Xu Ziling to go to their main store. It was a clear sign that he valued Xu Ziling highly. On both sides of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, whether it was a store or a house, all wererge buildings with courtyard of magnanimous style and structure; the courtyards were inyers, all had atrium and side halls. The houses along thenes and alleys had white walls with roof tile on top. Single-story buildings lined up in continuous row along the street. Most of the residences gates were tastefully decorated wooden door with roof tile on it, with high walls and deep courtyards, located at the alleys and roads that were deep and long, serene, auspicious and peaceful; it was vastly different from the big streets bustling with noise and excitement. The houses of the rich families were extremely gorgeous and towering, but the shops construction was not without exhausting thoughts, knowledge and skill either. The columns and roof beams were carved delicately, the beams and the square wooden pirs interspersed with interlocking wooden brackets protruding out of the eaves, the shapes and techniques were different from each other. When Xu Ziling, who has obtained Lu Miaozis handed-down teachings in architecture C saw this, his interest was overflowing; he enthusiastically absorbed everything. While he was enjoying the feast for his eyes, the Imperial Citys Vermillion Bird Gate appeared in sight. Following Bu Ting and Tian Santang, Xu Ziling urged his horse to turn into the Guang Ming [radiance] Avenue connecting the Chun Ming [spring bright] Gate on the citys east side with the Jin Guang [golden light] Gate on the citys west side. Under the light of the inclining setting sun, they were galloping toward the Metropolis Market, which was also known as the East Market. Kou Zhong was invited into the cabin hall for the evening meal. The attendees included the Sha Familys three brothers, Sha Chengjiu, Sha Chenggong, and Sha Chengde, plus Sha Fu, Chen Laiman, and a man called Mao Shichang. Mao Shichang was only of medium build, but his back was thick, his shoulders round, his gait was steady; he must be a martial art master with hard skill as his expertise, and was the Chief Bodyguard of the Sha Family. Around forty years old, his manner in speaking had a bit of slick-and-sly Jianghu vor, but his demeanor was not annoying; he had a bit of wit, and from time to time he revealed amiable smile. The most friendly to Kou Zhong was of course the Third Young Master Sha Chengde, Chen Laiman and Sha Fu, simply because they had different rtionship with him. The First Young Master Sha Chengjiu was polite, but kept a bit of distance; he was neither warm nor cold-and-detached toward him. But the Second Young Master Sha Chenggong, with his second-generation-rich-familys-younger-generation appearance, although he restrained his arrogant manner to some extent, unconsciously he still showed some contempt toward Kou Zhong. After the maids served fine dishes and good wine, the First Young Master introduced everybody around the banquet table; he said with a smile, The brilliance of Mo Xianshengs medical expertise really astonished and convinced people. Not concealing anything from Xiansheng, after Jiafu fell ill before the New Year, we have invited famous doctors from everywhere Luoyang, yet there was still no improvement at all. But Xiansheng only took two days, and Jiafu already looks like he sheds his mortal body and exchanges his bones; he is able to eat, walk, and talk as usual. Xianshengs medical expertise is indeed extremely skillful. The Third Young Master Sha Chengde asked with deep concern, What illness did Jiafu actually suffer? ording to Mo Xianshengs opinion, how long will it take to be fully recovered? Kou Zhong secretly mused that the illness broke out more than a year ago, which was precisely the time when the battle between Wang Shichong and Yang Dong/ Dugu ns side was in full swing; but looking at how the entire Sha Family was moving to Guanzhong now, he could guess that to some extent, the Sha Family must have some rtionship with the Dugu n. Inwardly he started to form a hypothesis, so he calmly replied, Laoyezis illness is not typhoid at all; its because of excessive anxiety to such an extent as to be an illness. His heart mncholy, his qi is knotted; therefore, any medicine wont be effective, hence the reason I did not prescribe medicine, but was using needles instead to improve the blood cirction and the flow of qi, and the result is divine. Hey! Actually it is not any special skill, only I was able to prescribe the right cure for an illness by ... hey! By using needles! Submitting cheerfully, Sha Fu said, Mo Xiansheng is just like your honorable uncle; always modest, having self-control, and did not im credit for himself. It is indeed very rare. The Second Young Master Sha Chenggong asked, This time Xiansheng is going to Guanzhong, are you going to open up a shop to treat other peoples illnesses, to spread your expertise? Kou Zhong mused inwardly that if he told him frankly the real purpose behind his trip to Changan, it would almost be guaranteed that he would be scared half-dead; thereupon heughed and replied, I still have not made up my mind; I am just following Jiashus direction to roam everywhere to broaden my horizon. Mao Shichang smiled and said, Looking at Xianshengs deeply concentrated bearing, well-built and formidable physique, plus your saber never leaves your side, evidently you possess consummate skill. I wonder if Xianshengs martial art skill is also your honorable uncles passed on teaching? Chen Laiman dly replied on Kou Zhongs behalf, Xianshengs consummate skill, we have already witnessed it personally. That day Xiansheng made your move, in just two strokes that crafty viin Ma Xuran was captured alive. If he was not a front ranking martial art master, I dont know how he did that. The strange thing was that Sha Chengjiu, Sha Chenggong, and the others werepletely oblivious of this matter, so they promptly inquired. Finished listening, none was not emotionally moved. Even the Second Young Master Sha Chenggongs attitude toward Kou Zhong was greatly improving. Kou Zhong could not help asking, That fellow surnamed Ma, what happened to him afterwards? Did you find out why he and that Xiao Zhu plotted against Jin Geer? The Third Young Master Sha Chengde apologetically responded, After Xiansheng and your honorable uncle left that night, Ma Xuran struggled free off the rope and escaped; he even took Xiao Zhu together with him. Therefore, even until now we are still unclear why they did what they did. Displeased, Sha Chengjiu said, Such a serious matter, why didnt you tell me? Sha Chengde replied, Dage, please dont me me. It was Dies idea. It seems to me to that Die did not feelfortable in telling everybody. Trying to smooth things over, Mao Shichang changed the subject, Mo Xiansheng is good in medicine and martial art, when you get to Guanzhong, you will certainly aplish much. Let me congratte you in advance, wishing Mo Xianshengs the horse arrives, the work seeds. And then he raised his cup. One after another everybody raised their cup to toast Kou Zhong, and thus the slightly unpleasant atmosphere was diluted. In friendly tone, Sha Chengjiu said, When Xiansheng starts your medical practice in Guanzhong, I am sure because of the countless people you will help, you will be the most well-received person. If we also give proper testimony on Xianshengs behalf, you wont need much time before Xianshengs influence and reputation will flourish even more, your virtue spread in all directions. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly; if that was really the case, the more precise remark would be that he was facing imminent catastrophe. Sha Chengjiu ced a heavy-looking, gorgeously-lined bag, which presumably contained gold ingots and silver taels in front of Kou Zhong, and spoke cheerfully, This is advance payment, half of the mary reward due Mo Xiansheng as a token of our gratitude for treating Jiafus illness; just a tiny bit of kindly feelings. Xiansheng must not decline. The silver inside Kou Zhongs pouch had already been used until it was nearly gone. Upon seeing this, he took it, half declining and half loving it. Immediately his mood improved considerably; he talked and joked more. At the same time he knew for sure that the Sha Family, from top to bottom, have epted him, this outsider, which would be greatly beneficial to his endeavor in treasure hunting in Guanzhong. The evening meal ended in this kind of harmonious atmosphere. After dinner, unexpectedly the Second Young Master Sha Chenggong personally walked him back to his room. He said in low voice, I have a young concubine who suffers migraine all year long; is there any way to bring this kind of illness under permanent control? Hardening his heart, Kou Zhong vigorously pped his shoulder and said, Leave this matter to me. Tomorrow morning, after treating Laoyezis illness, I will take care of Er Shaoyes concubine. Greatly delighted, Sha Chenggong left with thousand graces and ten thousand gratitude. Kou Zhong closed the door to his room. Leaning against the door, he fiercely clenched his teeth while making a decision in his heart. He had to rely on the Secret to Long Lifes true qi plus a set of moxibustion needles to be Mo something Divine Doctor, to study in great depth and force himself to master medical knowledge. Only by using this identity would he be able toe and go freely in Changan, so that no one could associate him with his true identity. He also had to wear different clothing and personal adornment; he had to alter the intonation of his voice, all the way to his posture and habit in moving, sitting, and lying down. All kinds of changes ought to be gradual, so that even the people of Sha Family would not sense it. When he arrived in Guanzhong three dayster, he would be a new person. Xing Chang Longs main store at the Metropolis Market of Changan was under the Bu Familys second son Bu Jies management. This man looked poised and elegant, his clothes and ornaments were tastefully chosen, his speech was refined. He did not know martial art, but possessed superb social skill. Hearing that the salt shipment has arrived safely, he already prepared a grand banquet in the hall behind the store to wash the dust from Bu Ting, Tian Santang, and Xu Zilings journey. Apanying them on the banquet table were the chief financial officer of the main store, Bu Jie and Bu Tings uncle, Bu Lian, who was in charge of the expenses of all business transactions, and personal guards Xiao Xiuming and Xie Jiarong. Thest two persons were Bu Tings Shixiong from the Guanzhong Jian Pai. Xie Jiarong was even a member of Changan Bang [gang], one of the famous gangs in Changan. All these people had vastwork of friends in Guanzhong, the kind of people who was getting on well locally. Upon finding out that Jingzhao Lian and Guang Sheng Longs coalition forces were nearlypletely wiped out, Bu Jie and the others were greatly astonished. Tian Santang said, This time we reliedpletely on Mo Laoshis being able to see through Liang Juzhong, that traitor who ate-inside-but-cling-to-the-outsides real inside information. He also skillfully carried out the brilliant scheme to defeat the enemy. Otherwise, the situation might bepletely reversed. Immediately Bu Jie and the others viewed Xu Ziling in a new light; they praised him endlessly. Bu Jie asked Bu Ting, How did you guys handle that traitor? Tian Santang smiled and replied, Those men must not be taken prisoner, simply because we did not want to reveal Mo Laoshis real ability; only this way well make it difficult for the enemy to see what is true and what is false. Actually, it was due to Xu Zilings personal request. He even used this as a pretext to ask Bu Ting to say that he had joined Xing Chang Long a year earlier, so that even if someone wanted to investigate him, this would dispel any doubts. Bu Jie agreed; he said, If this is so important, Jingzhao Lian definitely would not let the matter drop. Mo Laoshi is our Xing Chang Longs secret weapon. And we must unify our mouths, so that even if someone inquire about it, we will not reveal any w. After Tian Santangid out the n and exin their strategy one more time, everybody nodded their heads indicating their understanding. Bu Ting asked, Hows the current situation in Changan? Revealing an anxious expression, Bu Jie sighed and said, Ours, as well as Qin Wangs situation is quite bad. After Qin Wang defeated Xue Ju, father and son, Qin Wang incurred Crown Prince Jianchengs jealousy even more. Under the instigation of Qi Wang Yuanji, who is harboring evil intentions of retaliation, Crown Prince Jiancheng adopted three simultaneous measures to deal with it. First, against his will he curry favor from Huangshangs [the Emperor] imperial concubines to obtain inside help. Due to all year-round Qin Wang is out on military campaigns, long-distance brings distant rtion, close-proximity brings intimate rtions, plus Qin Wang has never settled the ount with all the imperial concubines. This side vanishing the other side growing, all the imperial concubines, headed by Zhang Jie Fei and Yin De Fei [both fei means imperial concubine] have their hearts leaning toward Crown Prince Jiancheng. They sow discord in front of Huangshangs good self, ndering Qin Wang, making Huangshang gradually grow suspicious toward Qin Wang. This situation is extremely worrisome. Xing Chang Longs biggest supporter was the King of Qin. Li Shimins downfall was surely rted to their anxiety and grief. Xu Ziling had originally decided to abandon his n of disguising himself as Yue Shan to go see Li Yuan in order to avoid more knots growing out of the branch; but hearing about this situation, which was detrimental to Li Shimin C he had another idea. Now that he was in Changan and has observed the situation and formed a judgment, he has more or less determined withplete confidence that Kou Zhong would not be able to take Duke Yangs Treasure out. Since that was the case, for the sake of themon peoples happiness, he ought to secretly lend Li Shimin a hand, so that themon people of the world C due to this wise ruler ascended the throne C would obtain long-term peace and stability. Only by transforming himself as the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan would he have the opportunity toe in touch with Li Yuan, to see how he could exert himself on Li Shimins behalf. Tian Santang inquired further, Da Gongzi [first young master; it was second son above] mentioned three simultaneous measures, what are the other two strategies? Xiao Xiuming let out a cold humph first before saying, Naturally by expanding their strength. From the time Li Mi and the Dugu n surrendered, Nanhai Pai has openly cast their support to Li Jiancheng, and then he and the Tujue are pulling up a rtionship, which resulted in Li Jianchengs Chang Lin Army grew in strength. On top of that, he colluded with Yang WenGan. Right away Qin Wangs Heavenly Policy Mansion fell into the inferior position. As for the third strategy, it is a continuation of the second strategy, which is, sparing no effort in intimidating and luring by bribing the troops under Qin Wangsmand. Just the day before yesterday Da Shixiong told me that Crown Prince Jiancheng was using a huge sum of gold to lure him; their trick is extremely despicable. Frowning, Bu Ting said, In that case, the situation is very disadvantageous toward Qin Wang. It seems that sooner orter it might deteriorate into a disaster. This moment a servant came to report that Duan Zhixuan has arrived. Everybody hurriedly stood up. Either in his capacity as an important minister in the Heavenly Policy Mansion or as the head disciple of Guanzhong Jian Pai, Duan Zhixuan was a very important figure. Duan Zhixuan was about thirty-five, thirty-six years old, he looked like a talent, with a sturdy and rugged build. Whether it was his shoulder, back, neck, or his bulky palms and fingers, everything revealed some kind of restrained fierce and severe overbearing power; he was worthy to be the Heavenly Policy Mansions famous martial art master and brave general. He was in such a cordial rtionship with Bu Jie, Bu Ting, and the others, to the point that there was no need of pleasantries or polite words. As soon as he sat down, he said, I just received information that Jingzhao Lian and Guang Sheng Xings men shed against you before entering the Pass, Jingzhao Lians Li Xiong even suffered injury from an arrow on his left shoulder. Is that true? Bu Jie cheerfully replied, Da Shixiongs information is indeed fast and abundant; the fact is rightfully so. Duan Zhixuans eyes fell onto Xu Zilings face; he said, And this gentleman is ... Tian Santang replied, This is Mo Wei Laoshi; his swordsmanship is brilliant. This time we were able to achieve such an impressive oue is entirely due to him being able to see through that Liang Juzhong has already been bought by the enemy to be their spy. Otherwise, the oue would be too horrible to contemte. Finished listening, Duan Zhixuan could not help casting a couple more nces toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling hurriedly smiled and said, I have been working for Tian Ye for some time; its just that because I was always rushing about on the outside and seldom came to Guanzhong that I did not have the opportunity to pay my respect to Duan Ye! Duan Zhixuan revealed a relieved expression. Tian Santang and the others originally did not intend to conceal anything from Duan Zhixuan, someone from their own side, but since Xu Ziling has said so, they had no choice but ept the error and adapt to it [orig. if its wrong, its wrong], and vaguely let it go. Xu Ziling did not have any choice but to tell him that, or else if Duan Zhixuan found out that he had just joined Xing Chang Long before entering the Pass, it would be strange indeed if it did not give rise to suspicion. Duan Zhixuanughed aloud and said, Very good! To be able to pierce Yang WenGans arrogance is always something to the satisfaction of everyone. Yang WenGan was not even willing to give me half a face. In the future we dont need to be polite to him. And then he said, This time you were able to ship arge quantity of salt into Guanzhong, Du Gong [duke, or simply honorable gentleman] is extremely appreciative, because it would put Guang Sheng Xings desire to hoard the salt to jack up the price to nothing. Du Gong specifically came to talk to me, he is hoping to reduce the price, so that themodity prices could be stabilized. Already Xu Ziling had a good impression on this Du Gong character; he asked Tian Santang, who was sitting next to him, and learned that Du Gong was the Heavenly Policy Mansions Junshi [military advisor], an expert on strategy, Du Ruhui. Bu Jie quickly answered, Since that is Du Gongs desire, naturally we willply. Duan Zhixuan raised his cup to offer a toast. After three rounds of wine, he happily said, Xing Chang Long greatly dampened Jingzhao Lian and Guang Sheng Xings prestige, this news has already reached Qin Wangs ears. Let me see if I could arrange for you guys to see him. Bu Ting, Bu Jie, and Tian Santang immediately showed a happy and touched expression; it has put them in extremely high spirits. To be able to attract the King of Qin, Li Shimins attention was an iparable honor, much less to obtain an interview with him. Duan Zhixuan went on, Let me take Xiao Ting [little Ting] and Santang to Du Gongs ce to say hello to him first, to discuss the salt price. Xiuming, you need to act as the host to take a good care of Mo Xiong. Duan Ye is too courteous! Xu Ziling hastily said, I am thinking of looking for a friend of mine, theres no need to inconvenience Xiao Xiong. Xiao Xiumingughed and said, Everything is unfamiliar [idiom]; let Xiaodi be the guide! The person Xu Ziling wanted to look for was naturally Lei Jiuzhi. Since it was difficult to decline, he had no choice but to ept. Hereby the treasure hunt game in Changan started under this kind of circumstances. As soon as Kou Zhong entered the city, the operation could be carried out immediately. For the first time Xu Ziling felt the meaning and the fun ining to Changan. [1] Vermillion Bird (the seven mansions of the south sky) was part of the Twenty-Eight Mansions of the Chinese constetions system. More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-Eight_Mansions. Book 30 - 10 – The End of the Prancing Horse Bridge Chapter 10 C The End of the Prancing Horse Bridge Apanied by Xie Jiarong and Xiao Xiuming, these two locals, Xu Ziling exited the main store and set foot on the long street. The Metropolis Market was thriving and prosperous, thenterns were shining as bright as day; it indeed was worthy to be called the main street going through the downtown area of a famous capital and a big city. The four main streetsid-out in #-shaped were filled with shops of every trade. In addition to selling local products, there was nock of other treasures and knick-knacks, while wine shops and eateries stood in great numbers along both sides of the streets. Pedestrians were shoulder-to-shoulder; it was extremely bustling with noise and excitement. Under Bu Tings special order, the two took a very good care of Xu Ziling; they were both extremely cordial. Walking along the street paved with gstonesid out neatly, Xu Ziling let go of the loads in his mind. Looking at all directions as far as his eye could see, he squeezed into the pushing-forward, rushing-backward stream of people, absorbing the flourishing atmosphere of the peace and security of the city of Changan. Xiao Xiuming asked, Just now, from the tone of Mo Xiongs voice, you seem to have a good friend in Changan; I wonder what is your honorable friends respected surname and great given name? Where does he live? Perhaps we could offer you assistance? Xu Ziling decided to calmly ask for guidance; he replied, This friend of mine is Lei Jiuzhi, he only arrived in Changan a few days earlier than Xiaodi; this moment he ought to stay at the Dong Lai Inn on the Vermillion Bird Boulevard near the Imperial City. Emotionally moved, Xie Jiarong said, Isnt he the Lei Jiuzhi from the Northern Lei and Southern Xiang? This mans gambling skill is famous throughout the world; he once had a decisive battle on the gambling table against the Da Xian Hu Fo at the Ming Tang Wo [see Book 26 Chapter 6], and barely ran away in narrow defeat. But that year he already caused extreme sensation. It was only then did Xu Ziling know that Lei Jiuzhi suffered loss under Da Xian Hu Fos hands; he could not help thinking about Hu Fos beautiful daughter Hu Xiaoxian. Unwilling to continue this discussion, he changed the subject by pointing at a particrly magnificent building in the middle of the East Market and asked, What ce is that? Xiao Xiuming replied, That is the East Market Bureau, where the Market Chief and his deputy work, managing all business transactions in the East Market. Any shoddy goods, counterfeit, any products that are churned out inrge quantities without regard for quality, short catty and under tael, once verified, the goods will be confiscated and the people flogged. Both in the East and West Markets, the scale and yardstick being used must be uniformly produced and supplied by them; privately manufactured steelyards are strictly forbidden. The marketce prices are also controlled by them. All these are from Qin Wang Mansions benevolent government for the benefit of the people. This time Guang Sheng Xing wanted to defeat Xing Chang Long so that they could raise the salt price for profiteering, all because there is Crown Prince Jiancheng secretly supporting them from behind, the profit is to be used to expand the Chang Lin Army. This matter has enraged people. So far Xu Ziling gained even more real understanding of the significance behind the struggle between Guang Sheng Xing and Xing Chang Long, also the clear distinction between the loyal and the traitor; the vagueness was gone, it increased his resolution to help Li Shimin for righteousness sake. Now that he was on site, he gained more understanding on why Shi Feixuan chose Li Shimin to be the future wise ruler. Xie Jiarong said, Above the East and West Markets office are the offices of the low-level officers overseeing the unified administration of the two markets. Currently there are a total of more than five thousand shops in the East Market, representing more than two hundred different industries. It could even be said that this is a magnificent and unprecedented event. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was speechless. This flourishing markety within this area of about a li square delimited by a perimeter wall, the four main streets connecting eight market gates was a representative of the Li ns like-the-sun-in-the-middle-of-the-sky grandeur and the high efficiency with which they rule they country. Inparison, the Eastern Capital under Wang Shichongs jurisdiction appeared to be inferior. This moment the three were passing through a section where several dozen silk shops lined up in a row along the street. Xiao Xiuming cheerfully said, Changans silk weaving and gold and silver utensils are most famous. The silk weaving is especially of good reputation throughout the world, hence the saying as long as the trees on Nanshan [lit. south mountain, not sure if its a ces name] still exist, the thin, tough silk fabric can continue to be weaved. Furthermore, all the production of the fine silk is in workshops managed by feudal officials. Just the senior concubines weaving artisans supplied by the Pce alone number more than two hundred. With his capacity as a local expert, Xie Jiarong pointed to a bolt of satin fabric on disy, saying, The color on this satin fabric is applied using knot-printing; the weaving material is embroidered with different decorative design using needlework, during the dying and printing process, the decorative design must note in contact with the dye. After dyeing, the knots are dissolved, the decorative design can retain the primary color, and thus multiply the pattern and color. [My apology, this is beyond my ability to trante.] Xu Ziling was in rxed mood; highly interested, he listened and looked around. What time are these shops close? he casually asked. Xiao Xiuming replied, Usually they close earlier. But with the end of the year approaching, everybody is rushing to finish their New Year shopping. People from nearby towns and viges are also doing their shopping in Changan; therefore, they extend the business hours. Lowering his voice, Xie Jiarong said, Gu Tianzhang is watching for precisely this kind of opportunity to rise in revolt. Although currently the salt trade inside and outside the Pass involves several hundred houses, the major yers are still our Xing Chang Long and his Guang Sheng Xing; nearly half of the salt are supplied by these two houses. Presently thend under the heavens is not peaceful, warlords setting up their independent regime, robbers going on the rampage. It could be said that those without a little bit of weight [fig. importance] and face are unable to move a single step. In the south or along the coastal area, salt is not considered a big deal, but here, if there is a shortage of salt, the price will beparable to gold; therefore, Qin Wang Mansion attaches great importance to the salt supply, because its impact to the peoples livelihood is indeed too serious. Xu Ziling recalled his own, and Kou Zhongs C endeavor in private salt business. And then his mind wandered to Duan Yucheng, whose life or death was unknown, and the three Shuanglong Bang brothers who were killed by Yin Gui Pai; new enmity and old hatred were gushing forth in his heart. The three exited the East Market via the Metropolis Market North Gate and entered the Guang Ming Avenue connecting the Chun Ming Gate and the Jin Guang Gate, to walk in the direction of the Imperial City. Xiao Xiumingughed and said, The area left and right of the Imperial Pce has the highest number of influential officials and very rich people, their aim is to have easy ess to the royal family; therefore, theypete against each other in building their residence. Combined with the convenience of shopping, the area several li square north of the East and West Markets is called the Golden Square. The carriages traveling back and forth along the Guang Ming Avenue were adorned with extremely magnificent decoration, the pedestrians clothes were bright and neat, and as Xiao Xiuming pointed out, just by looking atyer uponyer of residences and courtyards, luxuriant forest of cultivated bamboo, lofty pavilions, Xu Ziling knew that he was not bragging. As seen along the way, Changans main thoroughfares were heavily guarded with Tang soldiers stationed on strategic points; everything was methodical and orderly. The closer they got to the Imperial City, they more they saw guards and patrolling troops everywhere; lookout posts stood in great numbers. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that under this kind of circumstances, if he and Kou Zhong raised the slightest bit of suspicion, the consequences would be too horrible to contemte. To continue looking for the buried treasure somewhere in the vicinity of the Yue Ma [lit. galloping/prancing horse] Bridge under this kind of circumstances was akin to a fools dream. He was dying to ask where the Yue Ma Bridge was, but of course in the end he restrained this unwise impulse. There were three city gates on the south side of the Imperial City. From east to west, they were An Shang [lit. Peaceful] Gate, Zhujie [Vermillion Bird] Gate, and Han Guang [lit. hidden light] Gate, respectively. Each main gate was connected to the main street inside the city. Of these, naturally the Zhujie Gate, which was the main entrance to the Imperial City, was the most majestic and the widest, with myriad of impressive aura. From the three gates strung together, the depth inside was more than a hundred paces [not sure about this part]. The Imperial Bodyguards guarding the gates were known as Yu Men Lang [imperial gate minister/official]. The guards were changed regrly, day and night, in rotation; the security was very tight. Seeing this kind of situation, Xu Ziling felt a headache; how was he going to see Li Yuan? He could not simply pat his chest and say that he was Li Yuans friend, the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, could he? Xiao Xiuming said with augh, Mo Xiong has just arrived; do you know the rule here? Bewildered, Xu Ziling asked, What rule? Xiao Xiuming replied, The authorities issued an order, prohibiting anybody from peeking into the Pce City, punishable by one year in prison. Anybody throwing a rock or climbing over the wall will be executed by hanging. Like Mo Xiong staring at the city gate just now, that could be considered breaking the rule. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Who issued such rule? Naturally the Crown Prince Jiancheng, Xie Jiarong replied, Qin Wang would not be that harsh. ncing a moment longer will also be considered breaking thew. The three turned left into the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, leaving the Vermillion Bird Gate behind. Xiao Xiuming said, Mo Xiong could be considered arriving in a good time. During the war between the Tang Army and Xue Ju, father and son, earlier, oftentimes there was night curfew. When the drum marking night watches was struck at sunset, everybody must return inside the house. Only after the drum was struck in the morning would we be allowed to get out of the house. That kind of dry and dull livelihood could really stifle your bird. Ah! Suddenly he pulled Xu Zilings sleeve; together with Xie Jiarong they crossed the street to avoid a group of about a dozen men in gorgeous clothes and brocaded gown. Xu Ziling swept that group of men with his eyes. Who are they? he asked in heavy voice. Xiao Xiuming replied, Currently Changan has a total of three wicked gangs, called Two Parties and One Alliance. The alliance is naturally Jingzhao Lian, the two parties are the Princes Party and the Imperial Consort Party. Those men just now belong to the Princes Partys Chang Lin Army. The leader is Er Wenhuan; his martial art skill is overbearing, he loves to stir up trouble and assign me the most, its not worthwhile for us to meet him face-to-face. With a coldugh, Xie Jiarong said, Looking at the situation, they are gathering the troops to march toward Ping Kang Li [lit. calm/peaceful and abundant neighborhood] to mingle there. I heard justst night Er Wenhuan had a big fight with someone over a famous courtesan called Qiaoqiao. Xiao Xiuming exined, In Changan, the brothels are concentrated at Ping Kang Li. Because of its proximity with Changans north gate, its also known as Bei Li [north neighborhood]. Xie Jiarongs spirit greatly aroused, heughed and said, If tonight Mo Xiong is not anxious to visit your friend, we would definitely take Mo Xiong to enjoy the romance of Changans North Gate. Knock! Knock! Kou Zhong was unleashing his power in looking deep into himself, studying hard the rtionship between the ocean of qi acupoints with the channels in the whole body. He thought that the first person to understand acupuncture and moxibustion method must be like him now, blindly groping around and blindly discovering by ident due to his conviction. He continuously flowed thread after thread of true qi from the ce where the true qi was concentrated, below the navel C into every major acupoint, thinking that his urate knowledge of acupoints was surely not behind other famous doctors. But the knock on his door immediately roused him. Reluctantly climbing off the bed, he pulled the door to take a look, and saw a rather pretty and flirtatious, gorgeous beautiful maid, flustered and exasperated, said, Er Shaoye [second young master] requests the pleasure of seeing Mo Xiansheng. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong asked, Whats the matter? The amorous maid reached out to pull his sleeve and spoke anxiously, Perhaps it was because she cannot take the wind and the waves, not only Furens [madam] headache is ring out, she was throwing up several times. Er Shaoye asked Xiansheng to immediately examine and treat her! Kou Zhong knew that he could not make excuses, otherwise he would obtain more enemy from within the Sha Family; having no other choice, he followed her out of his room to head toward the flight of steps leading to the upper deck. Jiejie, how should I address you? he casually asked. The amorous maid smiled sweetly and cast him a coquettish nce; she said, Xiaobi [little/lowly maid] Yu He [lit. jade lotus]. Mo Xiansheng is indeed skillful. Our Er Shaoye has never submit to anybody, yet he admires Xiansheng very much, saying that you know literature and martial art; absolutely not an ordinary man. Inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, thinking that turned out a man with a little bit of skill could still obtain womens favorable attention. Compared to the time when he first came to the Sha Family, where everybody, from top to bottom, was despising and condescending toward him, this ugly person, this alluring and amorous maids coquettish nces were like the difference between heaven and earth, between the cloud and the mud. He said, Yu He Jie, is it possible to ask Wu Xiaojie [fifth miss] to lend her set of moxibustion needles for me to use? Yu He took the lead in stepping onto the stairs; she cheerfully said, Someone already borrowed the needles! Mo Xiansheng has a really well-built physique. While saying that, her fragrant shoulder slightly leaned over to bump him. Kou Zhongs heart was swept away, but he immediately suppressed this thought, thinking that if he fooled around with the Sha Family by sleeping with this amorous maid, who was obviously favored by the Second Young Masters inner circle, not only the Third Madame Cheng Bisu would look down on him, it might also greatly affect his own hearts no-worry state. Without any better option he pretended to be an insensitive, boorish man. With a gruff voice he spoke rudely, Since I was little people have been calling me Big Bison. A man who is ustomed to heavy manual work, naturally will have a bit stronger, well-built physique. Yu He covered her mouth whileughing tenderly; she said, Which girl does not like strong and sturdy man? The kind of man who can show tenderness in the midst of roughness can move my heart the most! Hearing that, Kou Zhongs chest tightened, he was unable to speak. Such a tant woman, this was the first time he encountered one. Perhaps he only needed to respond, and then tonight he would be able to have fun with her. Fortunately this moment they reached the Second Young Master Sha Chenggongs door. Sha Chenggong personally opened the door and took him inside. With brows deeply knitted, he said, Mo Xiansheng, please do not take offense; Meies illness has turned for the worse, it is difficult for her to wait until tomorrow. Just by looking at his nervous expression, which far surpassed his concern over his fathers illness, Kou Zhong knew what kind of man this Sha Chenggong was. Following him lifting up the curtain and entered in, he saw three women by the bed. Two ought to be Sha Chenggongs favored concubines; the other was the Fifth Miss, who came as soon as she received the news. She was sitting by Madame Fenges [sic, I dont know which one is correct, Meie or Fenge] bed, checking her pulse. Seeing Kou Zhong came, she stood to give up her seat, saying, Saosao [older brothers wife] has always suffered from migraine; on top of that, she is travel-worn, not ustomed to the new ce, hence this kind of condition happens. Xiansheng, please see if you have a way to alleviate her headache. Madame Es face was green, her lips white, weakly without any strength shey in bed, with the quilt wrapped around her. Her breathing shallow, anybody not familiar with her situation might think that she was at the deaths door. Under the crowds ten thousand hopeful gaze Kou Zhong sat on the seat that the Fifth Miss Zhijing had just vacated, he could still feel the residual warmth of her body; a peculiar feeling welled up in his heart. If he were not the doctor, he would never think that there would be such opportunity to enter deep into womens fragrant chambers. Following Sha Zhijings example, Kou Zhong put his index finger on the artery on Madame Es wrist, and separately sent in three streams of true qi, which instantly cycled through her entire body. Astonishingly he discovered that not only this quite lovely Madame E was deficient in qi and had weak blood, her meridians were not flowing freely either. But as for why she was having a headache, it was beyond his capability to know. While even his own head was starting to ache, the Fifth Miss spoke to the eagerly waiting Sha Chenggong in low voice, If we could open up theo [or luo?] acupoint on her foot jue yins gan jing [liver passage] and her foot shao yangs dan jing [gall dder passage] to let the outside and the inside linked together, perhaps we could cure her illness. Kou Zhong was about to ask her the location of those acupuncture points, but Sha Chenggong already asked for him, What iso acupoint? Sha Zhijing replied, Theo acupoint is the intersection of the qi passage between the fifteen Da Lao and the twelve meridians; it is the counterpart of the yuan acupoint; one on the inside, the other on the outside. Hearing that Kou Zhong immediately understood tacitly. Get me the needles! he mumbled. Sha Chenggongs another concubine immediately handed over Sha Zhijings needle case. Kou Zhong carefully selected one needle with big head and sharp tail. Telling the others to help Madame E to sit up straight, he pricked the Da Chui acupoint of the Du meridian on her back. Watching this, Sha Zhijings brows were knitted deeply; she did not know that his true qi had already sneaked in [orig. secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang] along the Du meridian going down, and then branched out to prate the foot Yu meridian to enhance and unblock the suspectedo acupoints converging qi and meridians point. Madame Es tender body suddenly trembled; opening up her purple-red mouth, she let out a cry, Ah! Not only her countenance looked much better, she even opened her eyes. Everybody, including Sha Zhijing, was amazed that they forgot to close their mouths. Once he started, Kou Zhong pushed on to the end; seizing this opportunity, his true qi flowed through the meridians and acupoints on her entire body, implementing the treatment method that he thought out earlier, as if after thinking hard about some marvelous stroke behind closed door, he was using it against the opponent in a realbat. During that time, he was delightedly giving it all he got. However, if the true qi from the Secret to Long Life within his body did not have an inherent characteristic of divine efficacy in healing, it would be very difficult for the effectiveness to be this magical. By the time Kou Zhong retrieved the needle, the Secret to Long Lifes true qi had already cycled through from baihui on the top of Madame Es head to the yongquan acupoints on both feet, twelve times. Sha Chenggong asked in deep concern, Is it still painful? It was as if Madame E had shed her mortal body and exchanged her bones and be another person altogether; she cried out in delight, Really magical! Thank you very much Xiansheng, not only qies headache disappeared, my vitality grew a hundredfold. Hearing Sha Chenggongs thousand graces ten-thousand gratitude, Kou Zhong felt as if he had be a real divine doctor, deriving his delight and joy in helping people out of difficult situation. After speaking with the inns attendant, Xiao Xiuming came back and said with augh, This time it seems like even if Mo Xiong did not wish toe to Ping Kang Li, you simply cant. Lei Xiong has already left half a sichen ago, leaving a message in case a friend is paying him a visit, to look for him at Liu Fu Du Guan [Six-Happiness Casino] in Ping Kang Li. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I am too tired tonight! Would you tell the attendant to pass him a message that Ille back to meet him for breakfast tomorrow morning? Xiao Xiuming acknowledged in affirmative; after telling the attendant, the three returned to the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. In high spirit, Xie Jiarong said, If Mo Xiong is not travel-worn, I will definitely go with Mo Xiong to Bei Li to look for entertainment. Ha! Lets leave it for tomorrow night; how about right now we find a wine shop to down a couple cups of watered wine? Xiao Xiuming cheerfully replied, Our first-choice ought to be the West Markets number one building [orig. lou, multi-storied building], the Fu Ju Lou [assembled happiness building]. The view from their third floor is the best, from the east banquet table we could get the enchanting view of the Yong An [eternal peace] Avenue and the Yue Ma Bridge area to the fullest. Shocked inwardly, Xu Ziling blurted, Yue Ma Bridge? Xiao Xiumingughed and said, Some people call it Fu Gui [riches and honor] Bridge, simply because the ces on either side of the bridge are where the rich merchants and descendants of feudal aristocrats live. It is near the West Market. Xu Ziling suddenly felt that he was getting closer to the Duke Yangs Treasure. His mind full of contradiction, he followed the two men turning right into the street gate between Kai Hua Lane and An Ren Lane, toward the An Hua Avenue, parallel to the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, connecting the Fang Lin Gate on the north side of the city to the An Hua Gate on the south. After crossing a stone bridge spanning the Qing Ming Stream, they entered the An Hua Avenue, which, together with the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, was listed as the six biggest streets in Changan. The glorious lights of the West Market illuminated the neighboring area that it was as bright as day. Pedestrians and vehicles and horses went back and forth, the atmosphere was bustling with noise and excitement. Passing through the Yan Kang Square, they turned left toward Yong An Avenue. The Yong An Grand Canal, which width reached more than ten zhang, cutting across the city from north to south C was flowing in front of them. A magnificent big stone bridge mightily stood over the canal. Xiao Xiuming said, Yong An Canal is connected to the Wei River north of the city. It supplies half of Changans water consumption, as well as acting as major thoroughfare of the waterway traffic. This Yue Ma Bridge is Changan most spectacr stone bridge. While chatting and joking, the three stepped onto the bridge. The perfectly straight Yong An Canal and the Yong An Avenue parallel to it linked the north and south city gates. Under the bridge rowboats went back and forth, on the bridge pedestrian and vehicles and horses flowed in unending stream. All around were huge mansions and grand residences. In such an area where the city came together, how could there be any trace of where the Duke Yangs treasure was buried? Suddenly Xiao Xiuming called out in low voice, It is indeed enemies on a narrow road! Xu Ziling woke up from his reverie about the Duke Yangs Treasure. Looking ahead, he saw a group of more than a dozen Chang Lin Army men, led by Er Wenhuan C wasing down from the bridge. This time they simply could not avoid them. Book 30 - 11 – The Richest Family in Luoyang Chapter 11 C The Richest Family in Luoyang The Second Young Master Sha Chenggong walked Kou Zhong, this newly acquired divine doctor, back to his cabin. He even stayed for a while to chat with him like a close friend. Kou Zhong took this opportunity to ask him about their move to Changan. Sha Chenggong sighed and said, I regard Mo Xiong as one of our own, hence I am telling you the truth. We are slipping away from Luoyang, because Wang Shichongs luck is running out; just wait till the Great Tangs elite troops areing to the south, they are going to fix him up. Hearing that, Kou Zhong felt greatly upset, but he also knew that it was an undisputable fact. You are going to Changan this time, have you made suitable arrangement on the ce you are going to stay? he asked. Sha Chenggong thought that since Kou Zhong wanted to rely on his Sha Family, he had special concern over this aspect. Making a show of being very much in earnest, he lowered his voice and bragged, To be honest with Mo Xiong, our Sha Family is not only the richest family in Luoyang, within our n theres nock of individuals who became government officials for several generations. Have Mo Xiong heard about the Dugu n? Dugu Feng is actually my Dies biaodi [younger male cousin via female line]. Presently the Dugu n is put in important position by the Tang Emperor Li Yuan. My fourth meifu [younger sisters husband] Chang He, not only he is a famous martial art master in Wulin, he is also a valiant general within the imperial court. He is in charge of guarding the Xuanwu Gate[1], an important ce within the Changans Pce City. This time we are going to Changan is to ept Crown Prince Jianchengs invitation to seek asylum there. The course of events is so thrilling that I am not sure youll believe me when I tell you. Kou Zhong already grasped the Sha Familys rtionship with the people in Changan, he was not interested to continue chatting with him. Deliberately letting out a big yawn, he said, This time I aming across people of high rank along the way; turns out Er Gongzis family background is this illustrious. Ah! Using needle is more exhausting mentallypared to using medication. Although Sha Chenggongs mannerism was heavy in rich familys younger generation style, he was not stupid; aware that Kou Zhong had the intention of chasing the guest away, he said, After reaching Changan, Xiaodi still have one request that I hope Mo Xiong will not decline. Kou Zhong really wished that he would just shup up and leave; putting on an act like he was an old friend, he said, As soon as I saw Er Gongzi, I feel like we are kindred spirits, and have already be close friends. Whatever it is, Er Gongzi may speak it out without worry. As long as I, Mo ... hey! As long as it is within Birens powers, I will certainly do it for Er Gongzi. Greatly delighted, Sha Chenggong said, It is just a trivial thing. There is a beautiful woman that Xiaodi happen to know, this moment she is in Changan. She also suffers from headaches, which res out from time to time. If Mo Xiong could skillfully use your miraculous hands of a healer to return the spring, Xiaodi will be extremely grateful. Kou Zhong mused silently that it seemed like his new profession as a divine doctor has already been decided. Heughed and said, Such a trivial thing of lifting ones hand, whats the problem? Ha! Er Gongzi is indeed very romantic. Sha Chenggongs eyes emitted a passionate and expectant expression. As if the words came out of the bottom of his heart, his spirit running fast, he said, This beauty can be rated as the most remarkably beautiful woman in the world, when men see her, none was not moved. Kou Zhongs curiosity was piqued; he asked, A woman who could make Er Gongzis dreams winding around and lead your soul away, which familysdy is she? His thoughts wandering far away, Sha Chenggong replied, She is the double-peerless in both beauty and skill, her fame spread north and south of the Great River [i.e. Yangtze], acimed as the number one courtesan in the world, Shang Xiufang. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Sha Chenggong was stunned. With disbelief on his face, he sized Kou Zhongs ugly face up and down, and asked, Has Mo Xiong seen her? Kou Zhong realized that he had lost control over himself; hastily he said, How could I, this kind of uncouth and a person of low status, see her? Its just that if Biren could treat her illness, I feel that it would be my greatest honor! Sha Chenggongughed and said, By the time Mo Xiong be the most famous doctor in Changan, you wont be a person of low status anymore. Frankly speaking, at the beginning Xiaodi did not have the slightest regard toward Mo Xiong, but now Mo Xiong has be the good friend that I respect the most. As long as you have a real talent and a solid skill, and then add a bit of opportunity on top of that, there will be a day when you will make your debut. Itste, Chenggong will not dare to stop Mo Xiong from taking a rest. Kou Zhong stood up to send him off. After Sha Chenggong left, he turned around to fall onto his bed, while thinking about Shang Xiufang, and also thinking about Xu Ziling. Tomorrow morning, they would enter the Pass. Would the Great Tangs Changan city be like a ferocious beast that could swallow him whole, or would it be like a stepping stone that could enable him to contend for hegemony over the world? Xiao Xiuming whispered fast in Xu Zilings ear, On Er Wenhuans left is Chang Lin Army Academys military officer Qiao Gongshan; on his right is one of the three main disciples of Longxi Pais Zhangmen Jin Dazhuang, the Jian Langjun [sword young lord] Wei Jiaqing. All three are Changans famous martial art masters. Mo Xiong must be careful. While he was still speaking, the men on Er Wenhuans side already discovered that the other partying right at them from the end of the bridge was Xiao Xiuming and Xie Jiarong. Immediately they stopped chatting andughing. With eyes burning they spread sideways, blocking the entire northbound pedestrian path of the big stone bridge. Unless the three made a detour via the vehicles and horsesne in the middle or crossed over to the southbound pedestrian path, they would bump into their battle array. Upon seeing this, none of the other pedestrians did not cross the vehicles and horsesne to cross the bridge from the pedestrian path on the other side; surprisingly no one dared to stop to watch the excitement, so that only the two sides remained in the face off situation. Xu Zilings fiery gaze swept around. Er Wenhuans stature was strong and muscr, his appearance fierce and uncontroble, dauntless, ready-to-fight, and ferocious. Qiao Gongshan wasparably older; he ought to be twenty-something years old, his build was slightly short and stout. He grew short beard, but his hands and feet were thick and solid, the taiyang acupoints on his left and right temples were bulging; evidently he was an expert in inside and outside refined cultivations. His martial art skill could not possibly be under Er Wenhuans. Jian Langjun Wei Jiaqings appearance was distinguished and aplished, confident and at ease. Although far inferior to the Passionate Prince Hou Xibais elegant spirit and his out-of-the-ordinary schrly character, he ought to be very popr and a weed good-looking young lord. Xu Ziling remembered that day at the ry station outside the city of Hannan, during the confrontation with Li Yuanji, Kou Zhong inflicted heavy losses to another martial art master from Longxi Pai, the Willow Leaf Saber Diao Ang, within three saber strikes; unexpectedly he had just arrived in Changan, and already he encountered this Wei Jiaqing. From the other side, Xie Jiarong spoke in low voice, We absolutely must not show any weakness; otherwise the opponent might win-a-cun--want-a-chi [give him an inch, and hell want a mile], and then the days ahead will be even more difficult. No matter what, as long as the justification is on our side, Qin Wang Mansion could make decisions on our behalf. Hearing him saying that, Xu Ziling had an idea. Falling back half a step, he followed the other two until they were about a zhang away in front of Er Wenhuan and the others, a group of Chang Lin Army troops, before stopping. Patting the saber hanging on his waist, Er Wenhuanughed mischievously and said, Turns out its Guanzhong Jian Pais Xiao Xiong and Xie Xiong; long time no see. Ol Er thought that you guys have sealed your sword and go back to your native ce to live in seclusion. I heard in recent years Xing Chang Long made big profit and a lot of money, naturally two gentlemen also received generous bonus. I wonder if I could borrow a tael or two so that us, brothers, can go to Ping Kang Li to have fun? His remark provoked the roar ofughter from the men on his side. Qiao Gongshan spoke with a coldugh, Were it not for Er Jiangjun [General] mentioning Guanzhong Jian Pai, I nearly forget. After Bu Ting, Qiu Wensheng no longer epted disciples; was it because he changed profession to selling salt together with his disciples? Chang Lin crowds roar ofughter shook the heavens; ridicule and insult seemed to be their forte. Xiao Xiuming and Xie Jiarong were fully aware that they were deliberately provoking them, but still they did not expect that this bunch would be this rude by insulting their master and their school; they were so angry that their countenance turned pale, and were unable to say anything. A disdainful smile escaped from the corner of Jian Langjun Wei Jiaqings mouth; remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, Xiao Xiong and Xie Xiong must not me Er Xiong and Qiao Xiongs proper intestines and suitable belly; they only said what should be said, simply because these past two years your honorable Sect only knew how to curry favor from Qin Wang Mansion, as well as baring your shoulder on good business; you have long ago provoked public anger. Agitatedly and angrily Xiao Xiuming said, What does Wei Xiong mean by that remark? From behind Wei Jiaqing, someone mocked, Wei Ye said it so clearly, you still dont understand? Let Laozi exin to you: Banzhong Jian Pais people are all horse-fart worms. [I am not sure if this is a typo or he intentionally changed Guanzhong to Banzhong (lit. the middle of the board/nk) as an insult.] The other side roared inughter again. When Xie Jiarong pressed his hand onto the hilt of his sword, Xu Ziling took a step forward and said with a smile, Excuse me! Excuse me! Laozi dont have time to listen to your ravings and random talks. With repeated Qiang! one after another the more than a dozen men headed by Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan, Wei Jiaqing, pulled their weapons, while tightening their formation to wait. Xu Ziling was a veteran of a hundred battles, he had seen all kinds of wicked people; although the opponent had many men, a great force, he did not even consider them to be worthy to look at. His hand grasped the sword hilt, with repeated Pop! Pop! he stepped steadily, carrying concentrated, iparably strong momentum, pressing on straight toward the enemy. Who are you! Er Wenhuan thundered, while charging forward at the same time. The long saber streaked over the empty air, hacking down on Xu Ziling. Qiao Gongshan was, after all, a martial art master. Sensing Xu Zilings threatening momentum, he quickly matched Er Wenhuans offensive move by sending out a palm push toward Xu Zilings left nk, carrying with it violent and ring out qi power, as well as astonishing might. Wei Jiaqing was the only one among the three opponents whose sword has not left its sheath; with a coldugh he gazed steadily from the side at the development of the battle. Xu Zilingughed and said, Xie Xiong, Xiao Xiong, please hold your troop disposition for me. When thest word was spoken, the long sword was pulled fast as lightning to meet Er Wenhuans saber [orig. girdle saber]. Dang! Not only Er Wenhuan felt that his qi power was leaking out, he also felt that the opponents long sword was creating a burst of irresistible pulling force, dragging him to sway to the right, so that he was blocking Qiao Gongshans palm strike on Xu Zilings behalf. When Qiao Gongshan pulled back his palm in shock, Xu Ziling already moved to Er Wenhuans left side. Using his shoulder he forcefully bump Er Wenhuans left shoulder with the power of sh flood breaking out the mountain. The long sword in his hand made a circle, it turned into a long rainbow attacking Wei Jiaqing, who was pulling his sword out of its sheath. The turn of events happened so suddenly that practically no one was able to help. Himself, Er Wenhuan could be considered a martial art master. He suffered losses because he underestimated the enemy; he did not know Xu Zilings uncanny feat of deflecting force, hence as soon as he attacked, it ended disastrously. If he knew that the opponent was Xu Ziling, whose name shook the heavens, he could not possibly be this useless. With a miserable grunt Er Wenhuan was knocked over so that like a kite with cut string, he staggered and fell onto the vehicles and horsesne, knocking against the tail of a horse-drawn carriage that happened to be galloping by, creating a loud Bang! before bouncing back, nearly bing a rolling gourd, in an extremely sorry state. Qiang! Wei Jiaqing suddenly pulled his sword to meet Xu Zilings long sword. He let out a stifled grunt, while his sword was twisted by the opponents sword that his arm was swung sideways. He was about to change move when he felt as if the pit of his stomach was struck by a big pestle. Instantly his countenance turned white as he stumbled back and knocked two men from his own side, who were about to charge forward, so that all of them tumbled down together into a heap. Xiao Xiuming and Xie Jiarong had never thought that Xu Ziling was this formidable. Watching this, they were dumbstruck; momentarily they did not know whether they should stay on the side holding their troop disposition, or they ought to step forward to cheer for him. Xu Ziling whirled his long sword into arge circle, sessively sweeping five enemies, including Qiao Gongshans, sabers and swordsing to attack him. All of them were forced back by his sword, backed by abundant power, carrying intensely cold strong wind, bold and powerful like violent wave and raging tide. By this time Er Wenhuan already stood back up; from being ashamed, he became angry. Lets kill him! he bellowed. He was about to attack Xu Ziling from the side, when someone thundered, Stop! Startled, everybody stopped, and then turned to look at the voice. They saw five, six riders reining their horses to stop at the vehicles and horsesne. The one shouting was wearingw enforcement hat on his head, and blue-green government official attire on his body; to protect against the cold, a thick coat was draped over his shoulders. His slender face had a five-strand long beard, his age in the vicinity of forty, fifty years old; his appearance was rather like that of a Taoist immortal. With his powerful tiger-eyes he fixed his gaze on Xu Ziling. Seeing this person, Er Wenhuan and the others immediately held back their anger and obediently pulled back their weapons. Saluting, he said, Beizhi [lowly/humble officer] pays his respect to Feng Daren. Xu Ziling returned his sword into its sheath. As the guilty party files the suit [or thief cries thief], Qiao Gongshan rushed to speak, This man clearly came to the capital to stir up trouble and create a disturbance. Would Feng Daren please preside over upholding justice for us, and prosecute him ording to thew? Furious, Xiao Xiuming was about to speak up, but that Feng Daren signaled him not to speak. He spoke coldly to Xu Ziling, Whats this Renxiongs [friend] honorable surname and great given name? Where are youing from? Xu Ziling calmly replied, Xiaomin moner/civilian] Mo Wei,ing from Bashu. This past year I have been working for Xing Chang Long. Feng Darens gaze swept across Xiao Xiuming and Xie Jiarong before stopping at Xu Zilings face again. Slightly nodded his head, he spoke indifferently, Your swordsmanship in extremely remarkable, you ought to be a very famous person, but why has this officer never heard about your great name? Xu Ziling replied, Xiaomins sword skill came from Jiafu, Mo Yixin; I came out only in these past two years to roam the Jianghu, Daren please note clearly. Feng Daren slightly nodded his head again. Meeting Er Wenhuan and the others expectant gaze, he solemnly said, The right and wrong, the crooked and the straight of this matter, this officer has seen clearly. Your tyrannical behavior of blocking the way and provoking other people is surely repulsive. Were it not for looking at Crown Prince Jianchengs face, I would have taught you a good lesson tonight. Get the hell out of my back! Immediately Er Wenhuans eyes emitted ominous glint, but Qiao Gongshan, standing by his side, quietly pulled the corner of his clothes; in the end his anger did not re up. After casting a fierce gaze brimming with bitter resentment toward Xu Ziling, he led his troops to leave angrily. Only after Er Wenhuan and his cronies left far away did Feng Daren reveal a hint of smile; he said, Although Mo Xiongdis swordsmanship is outstanding, but within Chang Lin Army, the martial art masters are as numerous as the cloud. It would be best if these days you temporarily lie low until the fuss dies down. Good bye! Finished speaking, he urged his horse to gallop away. Watching his back as he went away, inwardly Xu Ziling had a favorable impression toward this man. Who was that? he asked. Coming to his side, Xiao Xiuming said, Mo Xiong certainly have good lucking right onto your face; that man is Huangshangs [the emperor] trusted aide, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Feng Deyi. Even Crown Prince Jiancheng has to give him enough face. By this time Xu Zilings interest to roam around has been greatly diminishing; he said, Wed better go back to bed early to rest! Xiao and Xie, two men, had the same feeling; they promptly agreed to go home, no longer wanted to go anywhere. When Kou Zhong woke up from sleep, the sky was still dark. Looking out the window, he saw that the two ships, one in front of the other, were still sailing upstream toward the west. From time to time, he heard people walking on tiptoe along the corridor outside; obviously the Sha Familys maids and servants already woke up to prepare themselves in serving the Sha Familys Laoye, Furen, Shaoye, Xiaojie [old master, madam, young master, miss], and so on. After putting on the mask, draping his outer robe across his shoulders, and doing little things to make himself presentable, Kou Zhong fetched the Moon in the Well, which was wrapped in cloth and silk C that he put next to his pillow, and pushed the door and went outside toward the deck. Everybody he met was deferential and polite toward him, indicating that he had won certain lofty position within the Sha Family. Holding the Moon in the Well tightly in his hand, he thought that if someday he could use this treasured de that Xiao Xian presented to him as a gift to cut down Xiao Xians head, this Great Liang Dynastys Emperor could be considered engineering his own death. Suddenly someone was calling him from behind. Turned out it was the big butler Sha Fu. This good old man, who was loyal and devoted to the Sha Family, came to Kou Zhongs side, who, by this time, was stopping in front of the cabins door. A bit nervous, he said, Is Mo Xiansheng heading outside? Surprised, Kou Zhong asked, Whats wrong? Sha Fu replied in low voice, Since midnightst night, theres a big five-mast ship pursuing us from behind, and now they are only less than half a li from us. Chen Laoshi, Mao Laoshi, and the others are already upstairs to take precautions. Although big five-mast ship was rarely seen along the river courses ind, but insignificant pirates definitely would not worry Kou Zhong. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly asked, Whats my name? Sha Fu was taken aback, Whats your name? he repeated. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This is quite funny actually. Jiashu has always disliked my real name Mo Daniu [lit. big ox] since it is not pleasant to the ears; therefore, he changed my name to Mo Da [big]. But then he felt that this name was too arrogant, so he wanted another new name for me. So he changed my name like that, and when he dissatisfied with the name, he changed it again, repeatedly. And now, even I am not clear which name he is giving me. Without any better option, I made up my mind to take the Mo whatever that Jiashu introduced me to San Shao Furen the other day as my name and be done with it. So, what name did Jiashu use to introduce Xiaodi to San Shao Furen? Sha Fu was an honest person, how could he think it strange that Kou Zhong did not know his own name? Taking it to be true, he said, In that case, Mo Xiansheng should be called Mo Yixin! Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Ha! Mo Yixin. Finished speaking, he stepped over the threshold and came to the deck. About a dozen or so Sha Family warriors were all gathered on the deck. Chen Laiman and Mao Shichang were standing on the stern gazing at the big ship appearing under the light of the dawn about half a li behind them. On the other Sha Familys ship, the warriors were also on the deck taking precautions; their number was twice, three times more than this ship. With the Moon in the Well in his hand, Kou Zhong came to Chen and Mao, two mens side, and said, Probably that ship is also heading to Guanzhong, just like us! With tensed expression, Mao Shichang replied, That ship is a seagoing ship, the hull goes deep into the water; unless it is really necessary, they cant possibly sail through the night like us. In my opinion, it is very suspicious. Focusing his power into his eyes, Kou Zhong looked carefully; suddenly his tiger-body shook and he almost cried out. Stunned, Mao Shichang and Chen Laiman looked at him. Kou Zhong realized that he had lost his self-control, hastily he tried to conceal it by saying, That ship is elerating, they will catch up with us within half a sichen. Only then did Mao Shichang and the others feel relieved. Letting out a dry cough, Kou Zhong said, I dont think that ship is pursuing us; otherwise, the trebuchets on the ship would have already cast the stones toward us. Hey! I should also go back to treat Laoyes illness! Just now, in just one nce he immediately recognized the ship was the Dongming Princess Shan Wanjings personal ship, which was also the Dongming Pais gship. Like a thiefcking in confidence, he thought that hiding in the cabin would be a bit safer. Xu Ziling went to the rear courtyards hall. He was about to sneak out from the back door to go out to the Dong Lai Inn at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard to look for Lei Jiuzhi when he bumped into Tian Santang. Tian Santang was very courteous and was in a very good mood; he warmly said, Obtaining Mo Laoshis help is our Xing Chang Longs good fortune. Last night Mo Laoshi put our divine might on full disy, fiercely dampening Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan, and the other Chang Lin bullies. Not only you have vented big resentment of ours, you also caused Feng Daren to notice you. It is indeed a good thing. Xu Ziling did not understand, I was afraid I might cause trouble for Tian Ye, he said. Letting out a cold snort, Tian Santang replied, Just like Du Gong said, when troublees, we cannot avoid it, even if want to. Duan Ye even said that we must not yield a single cun; counter soldiers with arms, counter water with an earth weir [idiom: different situations call for different action]. Leave everything for Qin Wang to take responsibility and to manage. Xu Ziling praised inwardly; Li Shimin was worthy to be Li Shimin, knowing that yielding would only make Jiancheng and Yuanjis arrogance re even more, until in the end he would have no ce where he could stand. Tian Santang went on, ording to Duan Yes analysis, because we fought a great victorious battle, inflicted heavy losses to Guan Sheng Xing and Jingzhao Lian, we have be the main target of Crown Prince Jianchengs retaliation. Last nights event was not idental at all. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, What is Duan Yes thought about how to deal with it? Tian Santang excitedly said, Duan Ye transferred more than a dozen Guanzhong Jian Pai martial art masters to help us for righteousness [or friendship] sake. He also had the salt in our warehouse delivered into Qin Wang Mansions warehouse that very night. Even if Li Jiancheng has gargantuan guts, presently he still does not dare to confront Qin Wang directly as the enemy. But we must be a bit more careful in everything. Patting his shoulder, he said, Mo Laoshi has be our main force, you must be extra careful. There is nock of first-ss martial art masters under Li Jianchengsmand, whose martial art skill is far superior to Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan, and the rest of that bunch. If you have nothing important, its best to stay in the shop. Musing inwardly that that wouldnt do, Xu Zilingughed and said, Hiding away shows our weakness too much! Tian Ye, rest your heart at ease, Mo Wei will never let Xing Chang Longs awe-inspiring authority down. Finished speaking, he went out the door and left. [1] Xuanwu C ck Tortoise, the seven mansions of the north sky. See also my note on Vermillion Bird in Chapter 9. Book 31 - 1 – Tang Emperor Li Yuan Chapter 1 C Tang Emperor Li Yuan The outside of the VIP lounge at the Dong Da Si was covered with Imperial Bodyguards, all were carefully selected, everyone had the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear; tall, straight, bulky, and dauntless. Theirmanding officer was the deputy general Wang Mu. Guan Xiaoran knew him very well. After reporting his name and surname, Xu Ziling had to follow the rule by shedding the sword hanging on his waist, and then under Wang Mus escort, he stepped over the threshold and climbed into the hall. On the north side of the hall, there was a row of windows; outside the window was the garden where the snow was still swirling in the sky. Leaning against the window was a row of more than a dozen imperial tutor chairs, separated by small side tables. Sitting in the middle was a man wearing rosy-colored in clothes, his skin was white as snow, his countenance was delicate and handsome, he appeared to be in his thirties, but with just one nce Xu Ziling recognized him as the Great Tang Nations Revered Nine Five [i.e. the most revered position of the Emperor (Courtesy of kofvsca and Akw)], the Li ns supreme leader Li Yuan. Not only because of the position he was sitting in, but more because everybody else was wearing upper-rank government officials attire; so in contrast, his casual clothes actually gave prominence to his revered position. Li Yuans handsome expression appeared to be a little tired, but under his thick eyebrows, his eyes were still bright, clear, and emitting a rather difficult-to-describe beautiful things like particr longing and pursuit of the future expression. Even though he was sitting in the chair, his waist was still straight and firm, so that his magnificent build appeared to have even more threatening grandeur. His hands holding the teacup were fine, slender, and steady. His entire body emitted out-of-the-ordinary stalwart power. As the master of a n, certainly his spirit was out of the ordinary. Intuitively Xu Ziling sensed that he did not like to show off his emperors airs, yet he still followed the protocol by kneeling down and kowtowing, while saying, Xiaomin Mo Wei, paying his respect to Huangshang. Out of the four cab ministers apanying Li Yuan on his left and right, other than Feng Deyi, Xu Ziling recognized another man, which was Pei Ji. In the past, when they stole the ount book from the Dong Ming gship and delivered it to Li Shimin, the two boys had the predestined affinity to share a meal with him. It was the same morning that Kou Zhong declined Li Shimins offer to join them, and determined topete against him in contending over the world [see Book 4 Chapter 1]. With poised bearing, Li Yuan put down his teacup and spoke indifferently, You may rise for Zhen [I, used by an emperor to refer to himself]! Wang Jiangjun may withdraw. Following the order, Wang Mu and two Imperial Bodyguards retreated outside the hall. Xu Ziling slowly rose. He stood up with both hands hanging by his side; his expression was deferential. Li Yuans eyes, emitting outstanding expression C fell on him. Nodding his head, he said, This isnt the Imperial Pce at all, everything is casual. Looking at your bearing and movements, I know that your body and bosom are filled with consummate knowledge, not at all an ordinary martial art practitioner. This time you, Mo Qing [a term used by the emperor for his subjects] came to Zhens Guanzhong, is there any specific cherished desire? Swept by his acute gaze, Xu Zilings body instantly generated reaction; only then did he realize that this master of a ns martial art skill was really unfathomably deep; no wonder he was able to raise sons like Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, and so on. He respectfully replied, Mo Wei only wishes to be able to do well as my master Bu Ting instructed, in order to repay his kindness of recognizing my worth and employing me. In other things I do not have any extravagant desire. He has been watching Pei Jis reaction; as long as he could not see through his real identity, he could be considered passing the first Changans hurdle. Expressing his overbearing quality as the n Master, Li Yuan tossed his head back and let out a longughter. Very well! he said, Zhen is most pleased with a loyal and righteous men. Listening to Feng Qing, you have witnessed Wus [also I/my] friend Yue Shan and Xi Yings dragon-war, tiger-battle. Please tell Zhen everything, do not leave out any detail. Inwardly Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Li Yuan did not suspect him at all, hence he could proceed ording to n. The Great Tangs Imperial Pce constituted two sections, the Imperial City and the Pce City. The former was the site of various Great Tang central governments ministries and agencies, thetter was where the royal family govern the county and live their everyday life. In between was a public-square-styled big street, which width reached more than a thousand paces, cutting across east to west. All the change of emperors reign, amnesty, New Years Day, winter solstice, big imperial assembly, military parade, receiving prisoners, and so on, were held here; hence it was also called the outer imperial court. The Imperial City, Imperial Pces main entrance was the three gates, located on the north-south central axis. Exactly due south at a distance from the Imperial City was the city walls main gate, the Ming De [lit. highest virtue] Gate, which was connected to the Vermillion Bird Gate by the biggest street in Changan, the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. The main south gate of the Pce City was the Cheng Tian [lit. carrying the heaven] Gate. The section of street connecting Cheng Tian Gate and Vermillion Bird Gate was called the Heavenly Street. ck Tortoise [lit. Xuan Wu, see also footnote Book 30 Chapter 11] Gate was the main north gate of the Pce City. Outside the gate was the Pce Citys rear courtyard, the West Inner Park. The Vermillion Bird, Cheng Tian, ck Tortoise, three gates formed the principal axis of the Imperial City and the Pce City, which were fortified by strong defensive structure and strict security guards. Furthermore, the Xuan Wu Gate was the location of Imperial Courts Imperial Bodyguards headquarters; it had robust military strength. Anybody who could gain control over the Xuan Wu Gate would be akin to gaining control over the Imperial Pce, even the entire capital. The Pce City was consisted of three sections. In the middle was the Taiji[1] Pce, on the west was Yeting[2] Pce, and on the east was the East Pce. Taiji Pce was where the Tang Emperor Li Yuan was rising and lying down, working and resting. The East Pce was the Crown Prince Li Jianchengs dwelling ce. The western Yeting Pce was Li Shimins home. Li Yuanjis Wu De Dian [lit. martial virtue pce hall] was located inside the West Inner Park north of the East Pce. Inside the Taiji Pce, there were a total of sixteen main halls; the most important four pce halls were the Taiji Hall, Liangyi [heaven and earth/yin and yang] Hall, Gan Lu [sweet nectar] Hall, and Yan Jia [extended praise] Hall, all were built on the central axis between Cheng Tian Gate and Xuan Wu Gate. Taiji Hall was also known as Zhong Chao [middle/central royal court], which was the main building within the Great Tang Pce. Each month, on the first two day of the month, Li Yuan received his ministers here, to deal with government affairs. North of Taiji Hall was Liang Yi Hall, acting as the Nei Chao [inner royal court]. Only a small number of trusted aides and cab ministers, who were dealing with strategic decision C were entitled to enter and participate in the national politics and major affairs, which in many cases were discussed in here first. Only after the decision has been made would the issue be raised in the Zhong Chao and discussed by whom and how the policy would be carried out. Kou Zhong, the Divine Doctor, along with Chang He and Feng Liben, entered the Imperial City via the An Shang Gate, which was the east gate of the south side of the Imperial City. On both sides of the street, official institutions stood in great number. On the left there were Taichang Si [ministry of ceremonies], Dafu Si [lit. big government ministry (no idea what it is)], Shangshu Sheng [lit. provincial government minister (again, no idea)]. On the right there were Tai Miao [grand ancestral shrine], Shaofu Jian [Minor Treasurer Supervisor], Du Shui Jian [lit. capital water-work supervisor], Dong Gong Pu Si [lit. east pce servant office], and so on. He paid special attention to the Du Shui Jian, simply because this department was in charge of all the waterway traffic in Changan, hence it had very important rtion to his treasure hunt at the Yue Ma Bridge. Although he had not even seen the Yue Ma Bridges shadow, he already had firm believe that the entrance to the buried treasure was most likely under water at the base of the bridge, otherwise the treasure would have been discovered early on. When entering the public-square side street dividing the Imperial City, even though Kou Zhong was ustomed to seeing spectacr scenes, he was still in awe of the grandeur of this long street in public-square style dividing north and south, and passing through east to west C that he gasped in amazement, especially at the multi-storied building above the Cheng Tian Gate. He could imagine the scene when the House of Tang was holding any celebration outside the imperial court, the Emperor and his nobles would ascent onto the upper level of the Cheng Tian Gate to preside over the assembly, and could not stop his blood from boiling. He thought, One day, the person ascending the upper level to preside over the celebration will be me, Kou Zhong, and not Li Yuan or any person from the Li Family. The three dismounted from their horses at the Zhong Ming [heavy brightness] Gate outside the East Pce, and stepped into the East Pce. The East Pce guards were in formation on either side of the gate, the security was very tight. Passing through the Zhong Ming Gate, they reached the Xian De [prominent virtue] Gate. Inside the gate was the main hall of the East Pce, Xian De Hall, followed by Chong Jiao [lofty teaching], Li Zheng [beauty upright], Guang Tian [light of the sky], Cheng En [continuing grace], and so on, pces. On both sides there were Yichun Yuan [proper spring courtyard], Chong Wen Guan [lofty culture (office) building], Jixian Guan [amassing worthiness], and other pce halls and building and pavilions. Xian De Hall was where the Crown Prince Li Jiancheng received the civil and military officials, as well as supervisors of the country and government inspectors. But this time Li Jiancheng received Sha Tiannan, father and sons, at the Yichun Courtyard. Although Sha Tiannan was a wealthy party, he was, after all, a foreigner, hence receiving him in the Yichun Courtyard inside the East Pce garden was more appropriate. Until this moment Kou Zhong still did not know the location of the Chang Lin Gate where the Chang Lin Army was stationed; his guess was that it ought to be around the north main gate of the East Pce, just like the Xuan Wu Gate of the Taiji Pce. Amidst the falling snow, Kou Zhong called out from in front of the buildings door, Mo Xiansheng Yixin is here, with loud and clear voice as he stepped into the Yichun Courtyard. Li Yuan was listening with rapt attention, as well as interrupting the narrative to ask for more details in certain key points. When Xu Ziling finished, Li Yuan said in great astonishment, A mans temperament determines the style with which he makes his move. I did not expect Yue Shan to be such a calm, collected, and detached person; it is indeed hard to believe. Xu Ziling felt that Li Yuans remark was only ament to his narrative, and not something that he expected him to answer, thereupon he only hung his head and did not answer. His description of the course of events in the battlefield just now had been well-prepared in advance; the decisive battle between he and the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying was describedpletely from a spectators frame of mind and angle of view. From time to time he also intentionally described subtle junctions in which he was unable to see the mystery within it, so that Li Yuan would not be able to see his real brilliance. Responding to Li Yuansment, Pei Ji said, This clearly proved that Yue Shan has really mastered the Huan Ri Da Fa, so he shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones to be another person. Otherwise, why would he abandon his saber? Heaving a deep sigh, Li Yuan said, However, Zhen still feels unbounded mncholy! Recalling Zhen and Yue Shan Dage fighting side by side in the past, going through life and death, vicious danger together, and only then were we be able topletely annihte the band of horse thieves under the leadership of Xiao Xuanfeng [little tornado] Ma Jun, who wreaked havoc in northern territory. At that time, Yue Xiongs Ba Dao [overbearing saber] was awe-inspiring and formidable. Thinking about that difficult-to-repeat experience, Zhen really feel deep regret. Inwardly Xu Ziling was shaken; in the memoir that Yue Shan left behind, Yue Shan described in details Ma Juns martial art skill and the course of events in the battle where he beheaded him, but not a word about Li Yuan was mentioned; clearly there was a reason behind it that Xu Ziling did not understand. If he could not figure it out, he might reveal ws in front of Li Yuan in the future. Feng Deyiughed and said, Chen [I, your servant (used in addressing the sovereign)] thinks that Huangshang need not be concerned over this matter. Yue Gong [honorable gentleman] abandoning his saber is a clear sign that his martial art cultivation has reached another astonishing breakthrough, otherwise he would not be able to put Xi Ying to death. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Li Yuan said, Another thing that Zhen feel strange is that Yue Xiong has always disdained to have any dealings with demonic schools people; how could he suddenly join hands with the Fat Merchant An Long and the Going-Against-The-Tide You Niaojuan to deal with Xi Ying and Bian Bufu, two men? This question, who could possibly answer it? The hall fell silent. Li Yuan suddenly asked the minister by Feng Deyis side, About sending men to seek Yue Shan, does Shu Da make any progress? The minister who was called Shu Da shook his head and said, That kind martial art master like Yue Gong, if he wanted to conceal his whereabouts, I am afraid nobody will be able to find him. Xu Ziling knew the time hase. On the surface he intentionally revealed a wanting-to-say-something-but-hesitating look. Sure enough, it did not escape Li Yuans acute eyes; he said, Mo Wei, do you have something to say? Dont be afraid, just speak it up boldly. Reverently and respectfully Xu Ziling said, On my way to the capital, Xiaomin caught a nce of Yue Lao at Heng Xian. At that time he was in a hurry; in the blink of an eye I already lost his track, but it still left deep impression in Xiaomins heart. The minister who was sitting by Pei Jis side, who all along has been silent, short and stout in stature, with an eternal smile hanging on his face, suddenly said, Yue Lao must also be thinking about the days where he joyfully crisscrossed the northern territory with Huangshang, hence he is going to Guanzhong to reminisce about the old days with Huangshang. A faraway look of remembrance appeared on Li Yuans face, but it was quickly reced by sorrow; shaking his head, he said, He cant possibly forgive Zhen, never! Although in the end both of us were defeated. Ay! The past is like fleeting smoke, in a sh it is already fifty years! Inwardly Xu Ziling broke into cold sweats, thinking that if he followed his original n of rushing to find Li Jing, definitely Li Yuan would be able to immediately see through his scheme. And he also knew that Li Yuans guess was totally urate. Yue Shan would never forgive Li Yuan; otherwise, Yue Shan would definitely mention Li Yuan in his memoir. It was precisely because he detested Li Yuan that he did not mention a single word about him. Xu Ziling began to understand Li Yuans character; his indecisive style was not because hecked charisma, or perhaps because he did not have enough determination; rather, it was because he valued emotion too much, one of them being hardship and delight, which showed his attachment and pursuit of beautiful life. After gaining this notion, immediately Xu Zilings favorable impression toward this Great Tang Emperor greatly increased. Pei Ji again consoled this Great Tang Emperor, who did not conceal the emotion in his innermost being at all, saying, The older one gets, the more he would regard past events as unimportant. Its been more than fifty years! Yue Gong shouldnt care about old affair anymore. If Huangshang agrees, Weichen [this small official] could send out informers all over the city; if Yue Gong entered the city, Huangshang would immediately know. At that time Huangshang could take control again. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Li Yuans dragon-eyes looked at Xu Ziling, he said, It is not appropriate for this matter to be publicized, otherwise I am afraid it might make Ba Dao unhappy. Mo Wei, since you have seen Yue Shan, you can pay attention in secret on Zhens behalf. But this matter is for you, one person, to know and to carry out. Heres five taels of gold for your reward. You are dismissed! Xu Ziling mused that although five taels of gold was not an unimpressive amount of wealth, butpared to Bu Tings fifty taels of gold bonus, it paled into insignificance byparison [lit. minor magician in the presence of a great one (idiom)]. Thus it was clear that Li Yuan was not an extravagant monarch at all. After kowtowing, he left the hall. Crown Prince Jiancheng stood up from his seat, and delightedly met Kou Zhong, who wasing in from Yichun Yuan straight into the hall. The other people immediately followed his example in a great rush. The startled Kou Zhong cried out for his Niang inwardly; he braced himself to deal with Li Jianchengs whole new level of respect for him. What made him scared and on edge were Dugu Feng, Dugu Ce, and Dugu Feng, these three old acquaintances; if they recognized his real identity, even if he had know-it-all-under-the-heavens ability [idiom: exceptionally talented], he would only end up nursing a grievance in the Yichun Yuan. Kou Zhong put the posture and footwork that he had repeatedly practiced for thest three days into practice; he also applied his power to restraint the divine light in his eyes, as well as changed the size of his throat, disguising himself as a dull-witted, boorish citizen who, seeing His Highness the Crown Prince, he lost control over his hands and feet in fear and respect. Without waiting for Li Jiancheng to arrive, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed, Xiaoren pays his respect to Taizi Dianxia. Li Jiancheng swiftly rushed forward, before Kou Zhongs knees touched the ground, he already pulled him up, and said with a chuckle, Heaven blesses me, Li Jiancheng. Mo Shen Yi [divine doctor] arrives in appropriate time. No need to be overly courteous, Mo Shen Yi is Li Jianchengs honored guest, you are exempt from all court custom and propriety. Kou Zhong inwardly said, That would be best; Laozi is not interested in kneeling and kowtowing to you, this kid. However, naturally on the surface he put on an act of being overwhelmed by favor from superior. Not daring to look even half a nce toward the other people who were swarming along with Li Jiancheng, he pretended to be trembling with fear, and spoke with quivering voice, Xiaoren does not dare! Hey ... Xiaoren ... Li Jiancheng pulled his arm and cheerfully said, Sit down first, talkter! Sit down first, talkter! Kou Zhong was seated by Li Jianchengs side. This Great Tangs Crown Prince introduced everybody in the hall to him one by one. In addition to the Sha Family father and sons, four men, he recognized Dugu Feng, Dugu Ce, and Dugu Feng, Chang He, and Feng Liben. Those that he met for the first time were Wei Zheng [real historical character mentioned by Shen Luoyan, see Book 29 Chapter 9], Wang Gui, and Xie Shufang, three men. Wang Gui and Xie Shufang ought to be Li Jianchengs trusted aides. Wei Liuyuan was Li Mis chief imperial strategic adviser, only it was not clear whether it was because Li Mis close rtionship with Li Jiancheng that Wei Zheng joined Princelings faction. Kou Zhong was too busy to perform an in-depth investigation on this matter. As long as Dugu Feng and the others did not grow suspicious toward him, he could consider himself lucky, so how could he have time to think about other things? Under everybodys gaze, Kou Zhong received the fragrant tea offered by a pce maid and hurriedly drank it up. Li Jiancheng cheerfully said, I heard from Sha Weng [elderly man] that Mo Shen Yis medical expertise in using needle is a consummate skill handed down in your family; I wonder if you have heard about some kind of symptom where the patient is hot and feeling agitated, the skin goes numb, the ears buzzing and the body loses strength, the qi from under the navel reverses its direction to rushing upward, both feet icy cold ... Kou Zhong knew that he was most concerned about Zhang Jieyus strange illness, because if he could cure her, not only he would win Li Yuans favor, he would also advance one step further in power with this Li Yuans doted concubine, with whom he already had an extremely close rtionship. Plus Kou Zhong was like riding a tiger C it was difficult to get off, hence he had no choice but to confront this issue head on. Pretending to be just recovering from the shock, he pondered over it for a moment before answering, The whole body feels edgy and hot, but only the feet are icy cold, this could make ordinary physician have his hands bound and is unable to do anything about it, simply because there are two possible causes of illness. The skin is numb, the qi rushing upward, this looks precisely like two illnesses sh over and invade the body. But Your Majesty may rest your heart at ease, you may leave this illness to Xiaoren, I guarantee that when the needle arrives, the illness will be eliminated. He was opening his mouth without thinking, inventing crazy nonsense, and was full of words,pletely throwing caution to the wind, taking the to-seed-or-die-trying attitude; thinking that by relying on his sacred qi with healing characteristic from the Secret to Long Life, how could he not improve Zhang beautys condition somewhat? Greatly delighted, Li Jiancheng said, If thats the case, then I ask Mo Shen Yi to immediately use your needle to treat the patient. While Fu Huang [father emperor] is at Dong Da Si, if we could bring the dying back to life relying on Divine Doctors magical hands, we could make Fu Huang inexplicably pleasantly surprised. Bracing himself, Kou Zhong followed him standing up, thinking that whether he would mingle in Changan as a dragon or as a snake, it would depend on this his mothers one stint. [1] Taiji C the Absolute or Supreme Ultimate, the source of all things ording to some interpretations of Chinese mythology. [2] Yeting C Lateral Courts in the imperial pce (housing concubines and administrative offices). Book 31 - 2 – Strange Disease Bewildering Illness Chapter 2 C Strange Disease Bewildering Illness Bluish green water, limpid deep pool reflecting the distant sky, violet cloud of fragrance driven by the breeze; the threshold of Han Familys city doubting the Heavens, the Qinnds mountains and rivers appear like reflection in the mirror. The Taiji Pce and the East Pce were connected by a door. After the door was the Taiji Pces east garden, as well as the location of the well-known Dong Yu Chi [lit. east imperial pond]. Under the snowkes floating down, the vast Dong Yu Chis crystal and brightly clear water silently reflecting the newly refurbished observation-terrace-pavilion, the old Chinese schr tree and the weeping willow by the pond, as if it was a fairnd in the human world. Apanied by Li Jiancheng, Chang He, and Feng Liben, three men, Kou Zhong walked slowly along a small gravel path by the Dong Yu Chi in the middle of the garden toward Zhang Jieyus residence, the Ning Bi Ge [concentrated/dark bluish-green pavilion], which was located in the garden north of Dong Yu Chi. Outside the wall separating the East Garden and the main pceplex, the roof of the Taiji Pce towered in the distance above the snow-covered forest, creating a spectacr scene. Li Jiancheng whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, Zhang Niangniangs illness this time is very sudden; half a month ago, when she was ying ball in the pce, she suddenly fainted. Afterwards she caught this strange disease; all along she has been sometimes good, sometimes bad, even Wei Zhengxing has his hands bound and is unable to do anything about it. Kou Zhong recalled that Wei Zhengxing was Guanzhongs most famous doctor, known as Living Hua Tuo. What did Wei Dafu [doctor] say? he casually asked. Letting out a cold snort, Li Jiancheng said, After speaking back and forth, in the end he said the same old stuff like cold, dry, empty and real. Only Qin Wang insisted that his medical skill was exceptional; in this Princes opinion, his medical skill is only so-so; he just happened to cure several illnesses and then rose to fame. Encountering a real thorny strange and difficult misceneous illnesses, immediately his hands were bound and was unable to do anything about it. Only then did Kou Zhong know that Wei Zhengxing was a man from Li Shimins side; no wonder Li Jiancheng was this nervous and was so courteous toward him. However, supposing Kou Zhong sent out his troops but failed to be victorious, he might be immediately beaten and thrown to the cold pce. He also thought about Li Jianchengs craftiness; while Li Yuan was away from the Pce, he let Kou Zhong attempting to diagnose and treat the illness; if he failed to cure her, Li Yuan did not need to know, so he could not possibly me it on this Crown Prince. Kou Zhong asked, How was Niangniang usual physical condition? Li Jiancheng revealed a deep-in-thought expression; frowning deeply, he replied, Previously Zhang Niangniangs physique could be considered not bad; this time the illness broke out so suddenly, this has been greatly beyond our expectation. While talking, they passed through a small path in the middle of a bamboo grove, suddenly a wide-open space appeared before their eyes. Thend north of Dong Yu Chi was full of all kinds of flower and nts, grass and trees. The dark bluish green water in the pond reflecting the Ning Bi Pavilion, the Tai Dian [terrace pce hall] Pavilion, and the surrounding area, melting everything into one. Li Jiancheng led Kou Zhong and the others climbing a flight of steps. A forty-something eunuch, apanied by two small eunuchs, met them at the main door. Introducing Kou Zhong, Li Jiancheng said, Zheng Gonggong [term to address a court eunuch], this is Mo Shen Yi! Seeing Kou Zhongs ugly countenance, Zheng Gonggong revealed a despising, condescending look, but he quickly restrained it. Reluctantly greeting Kou Zhong, he said, Taizi Dianxia, please! Leaving Dong Da Si, Xu Ziling felt his entire body rxed. He thought that this would be a good time to leave some secret markers with which he could contact Kou Zhong, to give him clear direction. Walking under the falling snow toward the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, suddenly someone appeared from a side street andughed aloud, Gong Xiong, how are you? It is indeed a small world [orig. in life, which ce not meet by chance]! Xu Ziling was greatly startled; he hastily spoke in low voice, I am now Mo Wei; Xibai Xiong must not randomly shout. It was precisely the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai. Even though his hat covered half of his face, but his uniquely outstanding build and poise was still easily recognizable. Discovering the scar on Xu Zilings mask was a lot shallower, Hou Xibai responded in embarrassment, I can say that I am quick at hearing. Fortunately I am positive that nobody is following behind Mo Xiong, hence I showed myself to greet you; otherwise I might reveal Mo Xiongs identity. Ha! Mo Wei! This name is remarkable. Pulling Xu Zilings sleeve, he took him into a side alley. How did you know I am here? Xu Ziling asked in surprise. Elegantly shrugging his shoulders, Hou Xibai replied, Ziling Xiong ... hey! Mo Xiong is merely my unexpected reward. The one I was following is actually Yang Xuyan, I thought that he must be following Li Yuans carriage to Dong Da Si; who would have thought that I saw you exiting Dong Da Si instead? I jumped in fright, not daring to believe my own eyes. How about going to my humble abode to have a couple of cups? Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, You also have a home here? Leading him away, Hou Xibaiughed, confidently and at ease, and said, Money will even wear the devils down. Over the years I made a lot of portraits for people who can afford it. Although it is very difficult to obtain household registration in Changan, I was able to purchase a house and the household registration, and make it my hiding ce. The two entered a door with Xuan Ping [dering peace] written over it; inside was another scene altogether. Inside the City of Changan, city blocks and the streets were separated by perimeter walls, everything was clear and in good order. Each block had four gates, and the gates were linked up together by cross-shaped principal streetsid with gstones. Thettice mesh-shaped alleys led to the main streets within the block. Inside the block, most of the houses were of brick and wood construction; in, simple, and orderly. The courtyards were dense with trees and flowers, with clean window and clean table [idiom: bright and clean]; a serene and cozy residential atmosphere. Hou Xibai took Xu Ziling deep into the alleys toward a front gate of a small courtyard. Pushing the door, he said, Mo Xiong, pleasee in. While Li Jiancheng and the others stayed in the main hall, Kou Zhong, this fake divine doctor, ascended the hall and entered in. With Zheng Gonggong leading the way, they went through corridors and passed rooms toward the Great Tang Emperors doted imperial concubine Zhang Jieyus fragrant chamber door. Zheng Gonggong told Kou Zhong to wait on the side, while he went to lightly knock the door, acting as if he was afraid to rm Zhang Jieyu. With nothing to do, Kou Zhong took this opportunity to enjoy Ning Bi Pavilions inner garden scenery. Even in the deep of winter, where cold snow was floating down, he could still easily imagine the exuberant ancient Chinese schr tree and deep green cypress in the garden. In the spring and summer, the dense shade would cover the earth. In the garden full of dark green climbing nts, the fragrance of the snow-white pear flower and luxuriant red peach blossom would strive to be the most morous enchanting scenery. This kind of observing-this-and-pondering-about-that imagination has propelled Kou Zhongs state of mind to ascend beyond the current tangible matter into another level; the feeling was novel. Right in the middle of the garden was arge pond, with a water pavilion built in the middle of the pond. Next to the pavilion was a fake mountain rock. A water orifice was carved near the top of the rockery, and a stream of clear spring was spouting from its mouth, shooting water into the pond. The flying beads of pearl and sshing jade afforded a spectacr view; furthermore, it brought about a little bit of vitality to this clear and quiet winter garden, rather like having the effect of painting a dragon and dotting in the eyes [idiom: adding a vital finishing touch]. While he was enjoying all these, the pce door opened, a pce maids voice was heard, Zheng Gonggong is well? Is the Divine Doctoring? Zheng Gonggong replied in low voice, Mo Xiansheng is here. Is it convenient? Naturally Kou Zhong pretended that he did not know and did not hear; he sensed that the pce maid was sticking out her head to look at him. Evidently the pce maid was scared by his rough appearance. It was quite a momentter that she found her voice to ask, Is it him? Zheng Gonggong hastily responded in low voice, Its Taizi Dianxia who strongly rmended him; we as the ves could only obey the order and do it. Inwardly Kou Zhong cursed this eunuch for readily pushing all the mes on Li Jiancheng; he was indeed despicable. The pce maid said, It would be better if Gonggonge with Xiaobi [little maid] to report to Guiren [lit. noble person]; let her make the decision. The twos footsteps slowly went away. The two little eunuchs apanying Kou Zhong looked at each other; they did not seem to be too optimistic toward this Divine Doctor, Kou Zhong. As a matter of fact, even Kou Zhong himself did not have the confidence; he could not help feeling a bit nervous. Half a dayter Zheng Gonggong came back and said, Mo Xiansheng, pleasee in. Kou Zhong took a deep breath before following Zheng Gonggong into the beautifully-beyond-humanprehension decorated, beautiful and lustrous inner hall. Thedys chamber was on the other side of the hall. With the two eunuchs and several pce maids crowding around her, a delicately pretty beauty was sitting on a couch. Her tender body appeared to be powerless, her face carried that kind of inducing-your-pity-as-soon-as-you-see-her sickly expression. Kou Zhong did not dare to indulge himself in enjoying the beauty; he was about to drop on his knees to kowtow, Zhang Jieyu weakly said, Mo Dafu, there is no need to be over courteous, as long as you could cure Aijias [from the dictionary: I, me (self-referring by a widowed empress etc., used in historical novels and operas)] ineradicable disease, Aijia will reward you handsomely. A pretty pce maid, which ought to be Zhang Jieyu personal maid, standing by her, exined, What our Guiren mean is that Doctor must be particr about observing, hearing, and asking questions; if you are constraint by superior/subordinate andmon courtesy, with a lot of scruples, it will hinder Mo Dafus diagnosis instead. Therefore, Mo Dafu may dispense these court etiquettes. Inwardly Kou Zhong said that it would be best this way. Therefore, after cupping his fist to salute, he cleared his throat, applying his power to alter his voice, and only then did he start speaking, Niangniang is surely an understanding person. In that case, let Xiaoren examine Madames pulse first. Zhang Jieyu nodded her agreement. Zheng Gonggong busily signaled the eunuchs to fetch a chair to let Kou Zhong sit in front of this beautiful Niangniang. A clear scent of orchid and musk deer emitted from her skin and jade flesh. When Kou Zhong put three fingers on Zhang Jieyus limp, unable-to-move, more-slippery-than-condensed-fat jade wrist, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed him, and he nearly forgot that his purpose here was not to enjoy the fragrance, but to treat an illness. Under everybodys ring-like-tiger-watching-its-prey eyes, Kou Zhong secretly transmitted three streams of true qi, prating her qi meridians. Suddenly Zhang Jieyus tender body shook severely; greatly shocked, Kou Zhong hurriedly pulled back his hand. All pce maids and eunuchs cried out in rm; their soul flew away and scattered. Xu Ziling took the fragrant tea that Hou Xibai offered; he took a sip, andmented in amazement, The decoration here is extremely out of the ordinary; the original owner must be an elegant schr. Hou Xibai smiled and said, Thank you very much for Zilingspliment; this humble abode, Xiaodi haspletely redone the original decoration. Ay! Xiaodis trait is that I cannot bear to see tacky things. To be elegant, a room does not necessarily need to be big. Hou Xibais small hall was simple yet elegant. The window was clear and quiet. The things that filled the entire environment with literary vor were the long rhyming couplets hanging between the east and the west walls; there were two pairs, written in bold cursive calligraphy [orig. dragon flies, the wind dances], lucid and elegant, brilliant and ancient. One of the antithetical couplets was releasing the bright mooning out of the mountain, quickly bringing along the wine from inside the stone spring, washing the heart from the dust of the earth, pulling the heavy wind into the room, good zither ying at the Lotus home town, feeling the rocks and the bones to be cleaned up. The other antithetical couplet was ing out from crooked path, the rain in the region enhancing the color of the willow tree, rolling up the thin hanging curtain, the wind from half the pond delivers the fragrance of the root of lotus. The couplets were counterpart of each other, the artistic conception was lofty, making those who read it cherish happy feeling. In poetry, Xu Ziling could only call himself ayman. He asked, Are these couplets Hou Xiongs work of art and the result of your brush? Hou Xibai modestly replied, They are indeed Xiaodis inferior work; would Ziling please bestow your instruction? Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, In this aspect, you could at least be my Shigong [masters master]; how could I have the qualifications to give you instruction? Hou Xibai was very appreciative toward Xu Zilings frankness; heughed and said, If it were other people, it doesnt matter if he was ayman, he would definitely invent crazy nonsense so that he could appear to be an uneducated person who mingles with the cognoscenti. From this, Zilings noble style is even more prominent. Changing the subject, he asked, How did Ziling swagger out of Dong Da Si just now? After giving him a brief exnation, Xu Ziling asked in return, What was the purpose of Hou Xiongs visit here this time? Hou Xibai sighed and said, Naturally to snatch the other half piece of the Image Scroll from Yang Xuyans hands. Right now, in the Immortal Image Method, I only know on the mouth and understand half; when training it, I nearly suffered fire deviation. Greatly confused, Xu Ziling asked, What is your honorable masters stand on this? Seeing the two of you fighting life and death battle, didnt he say anything? Currently which side is he standing on? His countenance sank, Hou Xibai spoke slowly, It was he himself who created this situation. Frankly speaking, I really am not so enthusiastic about the Immortal Image Method, because there are so many fine things in the world that can make Xiaodi be intoxicated in pursuing them. Its just that I know that Yang Xuyan will never be willing to let go of the other piece of the Image scroll in my hands. If I let him master the Immortal Image Method, the first person he is going to kill would be me, Hou Xibai. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Specting from the current situation, your honorable masters rtionship with Yang Xuyan ought to be rtively close, and this would be greatly unfavorable toward Hou Xiong. Hou Xibai shook his head and said, That is just some kind of fa?ade; Yang Xuyan should be on simr situation with Xiaodi; we can only rely on our own skill to get along and produce any activity and aplishment. When either me or Yang Xuyan seeded in mastering the Immortal Image Method, the first thing we would do is to face the challenge of the demonic schools two sects and six ways. It is precisely because Shi Shi [master Shi] has to go through this kind of test and struggle that he wants one of us to reveal our talent to be the man who would unify the demonic way. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Why doesnt your honorable master work hard to aplish this great desire of his heart, but ce the heavy responsibility on you guys shoulder? Hou Xibai responded with heavy voice, The reason is very simple: because of Bi Xiuxin, his Immortal Image Method is wed, therefore, he must hide to repair it in secret. Otherwise, if he provoked Ning Daoqi or Ci Hang Jingzhais Zhaizhu to make their move, he would probably suffer defeat. Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly, recalling that most probably the Demonic Emperor Relics in the Duke Yangs Treasure was the crucial point to make up for the deficiency within the Immortal Image Method. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai went on dejectedly, Sometimes even Xiaodi is confused and feeling lost about my rtionship with Shi Shi and Yang Xuyan. I wonder if Ziling would be willing to help me snatching the Image Scroll from Yang Xuyans hands? Xu Ziling smiled ruefully in return; he said, You are my friend; a friend in need, how could Xiaodi sit and watch without doing anything? Greatly delighted, Hou Xibai said, Ziling is indeed my life-and-death friend who treat one another with absolute sincerity. In return, I, Hou Xibai, will also help Ziling obtaining the Duke Yangs buried treasure. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that in this matter, they must receive Kou Zhongs approval first. Nodding his head, he said, Well talk about thatter. Currently, do you have any idea on how to deal with Yang Xuyan? After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, Hou Xibai let out a coldugh and said, The more I understand this my martial-brother-from-different-schools style of action, the more I know that he is a man who employs despicable methods. What makes Hou Xiong say that? Xu Ziling asked. A murderous intent shed through his eyes, Hou Xibai replied heavily, I have been in Guanzhong for pretty much half a month. Based on my familiarity with the demonic school, I have a clear idea on where Yang Xuyans hiding ce is. Several times when Yang Xuyan was out, I sneaked in to search for the Immortal Scroll. Although I gained nothing, I identally discovered his other shady business! Greatly interested, Xu Ziling asked, What kind of shady business? Hou Xibai fiercely said, I found the traces of his refinement of Fen Jing San [lit. burn-through powder (as in medicinal powder)] that Shi Shi passed on. He could deceive anybody else, but how could he deceive me, Hou Xibai? When Kou Zhong transmitted his true qi, the qi and blood in Zhang Jieyus entire tender body opened up, just like a inly visible scroll of painting, which put her mind on full disy. Right this moment, he suddenly became aware that the meridians inside this noble madames body were about to break, as if she would not be able to withstand any stimtion of energy stream no matter how weak. Aghast, he immediately withdrew his true qi and lifted up his right hand from her wrist. Because they saw how Zhang Jieyus tender body was severely shaken, the crowd of eunuchs and pce maids immediately pounced over. Zhang Jieyu was in so much pain that she was drenched in cold sweats, her tender body was shivering. Momentarily everybody forgot that Kou Zhong existed. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly; if because of this Zhang Jieyu died [orig. the fragrance disappears, the jade perishes], even if he threw himself into the Yellow River, he still could not wash clean the suspicion of him causing her death. Fortunately, half a dayter Zhang Jieyu recovered. Opening her eyes, she let out an Ah! cry. Zheng Gonggong angrily said, Mo Dafu! What the hell is going on! By this time Kou Zhong has had full understanding of his own situation; he knew that Zhang Niangniangs strange illness was beyond his ability. His only capital of being a divine doctor was precisely by relying on the healing sacred qi, but because of Zhang Niangniangs a person who is in poor health cannot handle something so strong as a tonic condition, naturally he could not use it, so that just like Living Hua Tuo Wei Zhengxing, he had his hands bound and was unable to do anything about it. His top priority right now was how to safely slip away unnoticed; thereupon he hurriedly spoke with serious expression, Gonggong must not be anxious at all. This is to be expected. Xiaoren already have a n up my sleeve on how to treat Niangniangs illness. Presently I must go back and forth to collect herbal medicine first to dissolve the cold poison invading Niangniangs body before I can use needle to bring the foul disease under control. Gonggong please understand clearly. Hearing that, Zheng Gonggong was half-believing, half-doubting; while rolling his eyes indecisively, Zhang Jieyu breathed out a deep sigh and said, Mo Dafus determining-meridians technique is different than the others; evidently you have genuine talent. Just now it was as if it suddenly made the qi and blood in Aijias entire body wanted to turn over. Zheng Gonggong was actually a master proficient in martial art study; hearing that, he suspiciously said, I hear that Mo Dafu is a martial art master in internal technique; arent you being reckless in thinking that you could transfer your qi into Madames body just like that? Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply; he cried, Bad! inwardly. Fortunately Zhang Jieyu personally rescued him, Shengshang [His Holiness] has also many times transmitted his true qi into Aijias body, but no peculiar thing happened. With Dafu feeling my pulse this time, it is entirely different. Zheng Gonggong wanted to say something, but then hesitated. Zhang Jieyus charming eyes looked at Kou Zhong, she asked, Does Dafu really have a n up your sleeve? What illness does Aijia really suffer? Bracing himself, Kou Zhong inventing crazy nonsense, This is some kind of rare cold-and-hot-intersecting-and-invading-the-body disease. When the sickness res out, cold and hot grow together, when it does not ... oh! Just like Niangniangs condition now. Hey! Dont worry! As long as I get a dose of herbal medicine, which is the right cure for the illness, I guarantee that Niangniang will feel much better. Zhang Jieyu was like someone drowning at sea and suddenly saw a floating log; her hope and confidence grew, simply because there has never been any physician who dared to boast that he could cure her illness. Her pretty eyes lit up, she said, In that case, I will have to trouble Mo Dafu to immediately write prescription for Aijia. Kou Zhong mused that wouldnt it mean that he would immediately make a fool of himself? Hastily he said, This medicine must be Xiaoren personally go up the mountain to pick the ingredients and prepare it; we must not be careless. Niangniang, please give Xiaoren a day or two; I hear that Mount Zhongnan has the greatest amount of famous herbal medicine? Zhang Jieyus personal maid knitted her brows and said, We just had big snow, the trees and grass are frozen to death! Kou Zhong had not thought about this w, but being a quick-witted person, he said, The main ingredient that Xiaoren needs is called Changchun [lit. eternal spring] Flowers root; it would not be affected by the wind and the snow at all. Jiejie, please set your heart at ease. Zhang Jieyu spoke to the Divine Doctor Mo, who was her only hope, In that case, I will have to trouble Mo Dafu! Inwardly Kou Zhong wiped his cold sweat, thinking that finally he snatched his little life back. After leaving the Pce, he would flee as far as he could; and if people thought that he was scared of this illness, then so be it. Book 31 - 3 – Burning-Channels Poison Powder Chapter 3 C Burning-Channels Poison Powder Hou Xibai spoke heavily, This kind of poison powder came from my humble schools Five-Poison Book. In term of toxicity,pared to the other poisons listed in the book, the difference is difficult to gauge, it could only be effective for one kind of people. What kind of people? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment. Hou Xibai replied, Precisely those who do not know martial art and whose body is in poor health; it has magical effect particrly against women. The person poisoned, because of the imbnce in his passages of qi, his immune system against the disease is substantially reduced. It was only then did Xu Ziling understand why Hou Xibai said Yang Xuyan was despicable, because the poison he was refining was going to be used to deal with weak women who did not know martial art. Hou Xibai has always been a lover of flowers; naturally he could not stand by idly and watch. Just like Shi Feixuan said, Hou Xibai was a different species within the demonic school. Although the difference between the orthodox and demonic was a bit difficult to tell, his desire to cherish women evolved from his sincere heart, and on this, his words and action were consistent with each other. After pondering quietly, he said, This kind of poison powder must have certain extremely unique characteristic; otherwise, it would not be worthy to be listed within your honorable sects Five-Poison Book. Impressed, Hou Xibai said, Zilings guess is spot on. It does not matter which poison, but anybody being poisoned will more or less disy certain symptoms of poisoning. Only this Fen Jing San [burning-channels (medicinal) powder] not only colorless and odorless, but also because it simply indirectly affect the victims health, moreover the process is long and slow, even first-ss physicians would be incapable to detect that the patient has been poisoned. Ay! I wonder who is Yang Xuyan going to harm? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Unless we catch Yang Xuyan and force his confession, I am afraid we will never find out the answer. Hou Xibai suddenly asked, Have you ever heard of Jingzhao Lians Yang WenGan? Without thinking, Xu Ziling nearly blurted out that he almost fought with him, but if he did that, he would reveal this Yue Shan identity; therefore, he only nodded to indicate that he has. Hou Xibai said, If my guess is correct, Yang WenGan ought to belong to the old dynastys imperial family, just like Yang Xuyan. On the surface he and Yang Xuyan appear to be standing together on Li Jianchengs Princelings Factions side, but he is actually conspiring against Yang Xuyan in the dark. Xu Ziling agreed with his analysis, but because it was not suitable for him to stay too long, he said, Can we agree on when we can meet again, and then explore the possibilities on how we can seize the Image Scroll from Yang Xuyans hands? Hou Xibai understood his situation; after agreeing on a good way to get in touch with each other, Xu Ziling hurriedly left. After leaving some secret marks for Kou Zhong in the city, he returned to Xing Chang Long at the East Market. Bu Ting, Tian Santang, and the others were gathered at the rear hall, anxiously waiting for him. After listening to Xu Ziling narrating his meeting with Li Yuan earlier that day, Bu Jie cursed, We always thought that Feng Deyi is Li Jianchengs man, but looking at how he protected Mo Laoshi, the inside story seems to be quite intriguing. This matter must be reported to Duan Jiangjun [general]. Bu Tings highest concern was about Xing Chang Long; he asked, Did Huangshang say anything about Xing Chang Long? Xu Ziling honestly shook his head and said, Because I came from Bashu, Huangshang only asked some matters rted to that ce! Tian Santang said in heavy voice, In my opinion, Feng Deyi only wanted to use Mo Laoshi. Looking from this point of view, it is still possible that he is working for Li Jiancheng. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Before seeing Huangshang, I already made it clear to him about my position that I am loyal to Xing Chang Long; yet Feng Daren was still threading the needle to let me see Huangshang, the intention seemed to be so that the people from Li Jianchengs side would not dare to touch me anymore. The situation does not seem to match what Tian Ye was inferring. Bu Jie, Bu Ting and the others were emotionally moved; they greatly appreciated Xu Zilings loyalty. Although Xing Chang Long could be greatly beneficial to Xu Ziling, but, in addition to wealth, Feng Deyi could give Xu Ziling the power that most people coveted, yet unexpectedly Xu Ziling was not moved. It was a clear disy of his rarely seen personal integrity. With this turn of events, the atmosphere quickly turned harmonious, all suspicions were gone. Bu Jie cheerfully said, Tonight we are going to Shang Lin Yuan [upper forest garden] to have fun, we wont go home until we are drunk, so that Mo Laoshi can enjoy Changans phoenix [could be a typo, perhaps it should be wind], flower, snow, and moon. Xiao Xiuming and Xie Jiarong, two men, cheered loudly. Knowing that refusing would be unreasonable, although unwilling, Xu Ziling had no choice but to agree. Evidently Tian Santang was an old hand in roaming the world of the wind and the moon [i.e. romance]; heughed and said, It would be best if Er Shu book Shang Lin Yuans prettiest Hong Ahgu [or: popr (paternal) aunt (ordies)]; otherwise, if they are inferior to Chengdus San Hua Lou [scattering-flower building], how could we save our face? When speaking about this aspect, the men rxed and abandoned restraint. Bu Jie proudly said, I, Bu Jie, dare to guarantee Mo Laoshis satisfaction. His thoughts wandering far away, Bu Ting said, I hear Shang Xiufang is currently staying at the Shang Lin Yuan; if we could invite her to sing a song for us, our lives would be without any regret. Bu Jies face revealed difficult expression; he said, Shang Xiufangs status is way above everybody elses; I am afraid only Qin Wangs invitation would move her heart. Tian Santang said, Even if we could move her heart into epting the invitation, we shouldnt think about doing it. Changans beauty, who would not want to personally enjoy their fragrance? But in this troubled times, it is not suitable for us to do anything that would incite other peoples jealousy. And then he changed the subject by asking Xu Ziling to describe the two ministers, who, along with Feng Deyi and Pei Ji, apanied the Emperor when Xu Ziling was seeing Li Yuan. After listening to Xu Ziling describing their appearance, Bu Jie said, The one called Shu Da must be Chen Shuda; the fat guy must be Xiao Yu. Xiao Pangzi [Fatty] was Yang Guangs wifes maternal uncle. In the old Sui Dynasty, he was an intimate friend of the Emperor. Apart from Liu Wenjing, he was one of the several members of the Emperors inner ministerial circle, which Mo Xiansheng had seen them all. Suddenly someone came to report that Duan Zhixuan has arrived. While everybody was greatly surprised, Duan Zhixuan hurriedly came in and said, Qin Wang wishes to see Ting Shidi [younger martial brother] and Mo Laoshi. Instantly Xu Ziling felt the chill on his spine; would he be able to deceive Li Shimins sharp eyes? Finished listening to the nonsense that Kou Zhong told Zhang Jieyu, immediately Li Jianchengs countenance sank; he coldly asked, How much confidence does Mo Xiansheng have that you could cure Niangniangs illness? Inwardly Kou Zhong cursed Li Jianchengs cold and dubious heart; he said inwardly, Laozi dont have even the slightest confidence; how about you, Jiancheng kid, help me fart? However, with his mouth he said, If I could prepare the elixir ording to the secret recipe that has been handed down from generation to generation in my family, I guarantee that as soon as Niangniang takes the medicine, the illness will be gone, and forever will not contract the disease anymore. Deeply concerned, Chang He asked, How much time will Mo Xiansheng need to prepare the elixir? Inwardly Kou Zhong only thought about how soon he could fetch the Moon in the Well and then slip away. He replied randomly, Xiaode [I (when talking to a superior)] may check around the herbal medicine stores in town to see if they have good stuffs that are readily avable; as for the rest, I will have to go to Mount Zhongnan to pick them up. Probably two days will be enough! Li Jianchengs countenance rxed slightly. This moment Feng Liben signaled him with his eyes. Li Jiancheng immediately revealed a smiling expression, brimming with crafty intention. He said, Ill leave this matter into Chang Jiangjuns hand. Please provide assistance and convenience to Mo Xiansheng as much as possible. We dont have much time; we must trouble Mo Xiansheng! Immediately Chang Hes countenance changed. This remark was tantamount to say that if Kou Zhong could not refine the elixir, or perhaps the elixir was ineffective, even Chang He would have to take responsibility. At the same time, Kou Zhongs countenance also changed. Fortunately it was hidden behind the mask. He has been mingling in Jianghu since he was little, and had never done any shady business to harm anybody, in everything, yiqi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice] was of utmost importance. If he slipped away just like this, not only he might cause Chang He to be executed, even the entire Sha Family would be implicated. How could he have the heart to do such thing? Apanied by Duan Zhixuan and Bu Ting, Xu Ziling finally had the opportunity to pass through the Vermillion Bird Gate to enter the Imperial City. They walked along the Cheng Tian Gate Street, which was also called the Heavenly Street, connecting the Vermillion Bird and Cheng Tian, two gates. Official offices lined the street on both sides. On the left there were Taichang Si [Ministry of Ceremonies], Taipu Si [Court of Imperial Stud, the office charged with horse breeding], Shangshu Xing [government minister superintendent], Zuo Wu Wei [left military guard], Men Xia Wai Xing [under-the-gate outside supervisor]; on the right were Hong Lu Si [lit. ministry of information], Zongzheng Si [Director of Imperial n], You Lingjun Wei [right vanguard regiment], Si Nong Si [ministry of agriculture], You Wu Wei [right military guard], Zhong Shu Wai Xing [central document outside supervisor], and so on. [Trantors note: I do not have any knowledge of these imperial governmental offices, hence the above terms were literal trantions.] Each building had its own characteristics. Standing together, they became an austere, awe-inspiring scene. Theyout was orderly, lofty and grand. The Taiji Hall towered above all the pce halls beyond the city wall. In the vast snowscape, the scene was even more spectacr; it represented the summit of the Great Tang imperial courts power. A group of riders that has just galloped into the cutting-across-east-to-west public square separating the Pce City and the Imperial City C was trotting over slowly from the direction of the East Pces Zhong Ming Gate. Due to the current unusual circumstances, Li Yuan allowed his ministers and generals to ride their horses in slow trot inside the Imperial City, in order not to waste both time and energy. Duan Zhixuan turned his head to look; he saluted and said, Turns out it is Chang He Jiangjun. Xu Ziling also cast a casual nce, and nearly fell off his horse; because he instantly recognized Kou Zhongs ugly face. Kou Zhong has never expected to encounter Xu Zilings Gong Chenchun at the wide public square cutting across between the Pce City and the Imperial City either. Momentarily he was dumbstruck, but he struggled hard not to show it. Chang He led Kou Zhong and his group of personal guards toward Duan Zhixuan and stopped in front of them. Returning the salute, he said, Duan Jiangjun, how are you? Duan Zhixuans gaze turned toward Kou Zhongs ugly face; he smiled and said, This gentleman is ... Kou Zhong grabbed the opportunity to speak, Xiaoren Mo Yixin; obtaining Jiafu Mo Weis handed-down teachings, we have practice medicine for many generations ... Hearing that, Bu Ting was shaken; he cast a nce toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. If because of Kou Zhongs fake report of his old man, which had exactly the same surname and given name with him C Bu Ting was surprised and asked question, it would be strange indeed if Chang He and Duan Zhixuan did not grow suspicious. Hastily he gave Bu Ting a faint smile while slightly shaking his head, signaling him not to say anything. In the world, people having the same given name and family name could be found everywhere, hence Bu Ting shouldnt be suspicious of this no heart man [reminder: Mo Yixins literal trantion is without one heart, figuratively means no aspiration.] Chang He was anxious that Kou Zhong had note out with effective cure, miracle medicine [idiom: panacea], plus he did not want Kou Zhong to leak too much information to Qin Wang Mansions people; thereupon he said, Mo Jiang has an important matter to attend to, Duan Jiangjun, please! Urging his horse, he simply left. Kou Zhong did not even dare to give half an eye signal to Xu Ziling; he also urged his horse to catch up with Chang He. Duan Zhixuan followed them galloping toward Vermillion Bird Gate with his eyes; muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, In order to treat Niangniangs strange illness, all of us must exhaust all our magic weapon [orig. talisman, religious magic technique]. Ay! Inwardly Xu Ziling was severely shaken. He had guessed whom the person Yang Xuyan wanted to harm and why he did that. As if his soul had been wandering away, Kou Zhong followed Chang He out of the Vermillion Bird Gate. Reining his horse, Chang He said, There is a street at West Market specializing in mountain herbs and ready-made medicine; they have all kinds of goods, everything that should be there is there. Perhaps the medicine Mo Xiansheng wanted to pick on Mount Zhongnan is also avable there. But I wonder which kind of herbal medicine? Kou Zhong cried for help inwardly; in term of mountain herbal medicine, it could be said that he did not know anything. The name of the main ingredient of Mount Zhongnan that he randomly invented was still all right, but naturally he could not mention any other medicine randomly, because the boss of the herbal medicine shop would be the first to know that he was a fake goods. More unfortunate for him, he could not say the name of even one type of herbal medicine. Right this critical moment between life and death, someone among the crowd of pedestrians across the street intentionally moved back and forth for a short moment. Kou Zhong immediately generated reaction. Casting his gaze toward the man, immediately he was pleased beyond his expectations. Raising his voice, he said, To go to the West Market we ought to head west, right? Lets talk on the way there. Chang Jiangjun, please! Until this moment, Chang He still had not seen any ws in him, naturally he did not suspect anything. Urging the horse, he turned right to join the stream of vehicles and horses along the Guang Ming Avenue connecting the main city gates on the east and the west. From the corner of his eyes, Kou Zhong caught Lei Jiuzhi secretly following them from the side, hence he deliberately slowed down his horse. Pretending to be thinking hard, he said, This time, in order to treat Zhang Niangniangs hot-on-top, cold-on-bottom illness, I, Mo Yixin, must disy a bit of my skill by curing Niangniangs illness in several applications of the medicine. Therefore, I need to find a quiet ce to carefully think about this before prescribing any medication. If the drug stores in the West Market have the ingredients readily avable, naturally it will save a lot of time. Hey! Xiaoren has a peculiarity, which is during thinking over the illness and the prescription, I must spend time alone. Chang Heughed and said, Thats easy. How about going to Xiaodis residence? Mo Xiansheng can have the ce as quiet as you want it to be. Kou Zhong cursed inwardly. Chang He clearly showed that from now on, until he refined the immortal pill, he absolutely would not let Kou Zhong leave his side even for half a step. Forget about he would not have the heart to harm Chang He, even if he heartlessly slipped away, it would not be easy; unless Kou Zhong disregarded everything by exposing his true identity and simply going all out. But then the Duke Yangs Treasure could be dered done for. This kind of no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation, he barely got to Changan and it immediately happened. His luck certainly could not get worse, could it? He nearly cried to vent off the resentment and indignation in his heart. Fortunately, there was still Lei Jiuzhi, who could make hime back from deaths door, the savior who could buy him a little bit of time. Thereupon he hastily said, Before peace and quiet, I need to go to a ce bustling with noise and excitement to rouse my spirit. Hence the reason I said it was a peculiarity. I wonder which wine shop or restaurant is the most famous in Changan? As if he was enumerating his family valuables, Chang He said, At night, naturally the Bei Li is most lively; Shang Lin Yuan, Ming Tang Wo, Six-Happiness Casino, Xiao Chun Yuan [little spring garden], and so on; all kinds of brothels and casinos are congregated in that area. During the daytime, the prime example would be the East and West, two markets. Speaking about vegetable and meat dishes, Fu Ju Lou [congregating-happiness building] of the West Market ranks at the top of the list, the scenery is also beautiful. From the tables on the east side of the third floor, we could see the enchanting scenery of Yue Ma Bridge and the entire Yong An [lit. eternal peace] Canal region. Hearing the three-character word Yue Ma Bridge, immediately Kou Zhongs eyes lit up, he nearly forgot his powerless-to-defend-oneself predicament. The snow finally stopped, but the entire Guang Ming Avenue and the buildings on both sides had already be a white-capped world. Relying on his spirited ears, he was also secretly following Lei Jiuzhis movement on the side. He was able to hear everything clearly. This moment they entered a side street. Their first destination was the Fu Ju Lou, so that Kou Zhong, this fake divine doctor, could perform his fraud skillfully. Duan Zhixuan, Xu Ziling, and Bu Ting, three men sat down in the hall at a small courtyard that was known as Xu Xuan [lit. continuous brilliance] inside the Ye Ting Pces east garden, drinking fragrant tea served by the pce maids. This courtyard was where Li Shimin loved to spend time to take a break; the scenery was beautiful, outside the door was a man-madeke passing through a pond. The water was bright, clear, and wavy, with fish lived deep underwater and lotus floated on the surface. By the bank of theke, flowers and trees were spread out. A long bridge spanned theke, toward a hexagonal pavilion built right in the middle of theke, and continued on toward the courtyard gate. Its a pity that Xu Zilings mind was upied with the concern whether Li Shimin would be able to see through his real identity or not, hence he was not in the mood to enjoy this beautiful scenery. Speaking one minute and was quiet the next, Duan Zhixuan apanied the other two in some idle gossip. Suddenly someone entered the hall. Bu Ting thought it was the King of Qin himself has arrived, hence he hurriedly stood up. Xu Ziling already knew that the neer was definitely not Li Shimin; however, since his master [as in master/servant] stood up, he also stood up to salute. The neer was a man about thirty, wearing Confucian schr attire, his outward appearance was refined in manner, but Xu Ziling was able to see through at first nce that this man was a martial art master. The man came in front of the three men, saluted, and said with augh, Hou Junji pays his respect to Bu Xiong and Mo Xiong. Because of an urgent matter, Qin Wang had to see Huangshang, hence he sent Xiaodi to express his regret to the two gentlemen. He will have to reschedule the meeting for another day. Secretly Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief, but Bu Ting was unable to conceal his disappointment. After everybody was seated properly, Duan Zhixuan asked with a frown, What could be this urgent? Hou Junji sighed and said, Precisely the matter about Crown Prince Jiancheng recruiting Tujues martial art master to join the Chang Lin Army. Tuli Khan of Eastern Tujues ambition toward our Central Earth, everybody in the world knows. Crown Prince Jiancheng dotes on and trusts Ke Dazhi, who was sent by Tuli to throw our Great Tang into disorder, it was already unwise, but now he even put Ke Dazhi in an important position, and he is summoning Tujue people to be his personal guards. He is showing the wolf into the house like this, naturally Qin Wang will have to counsel and strongly admonish Huangshang. And then he went on, This group of nearly three hundred Tujue martial art masters has been in the Capital for more than a month, but only this morning the paperwork was formally submitted to the personnel supervisor. Qin Wang went to see Huangshang as soon as received the news; he simply had to do it, he begged for Bu Xiong and Mo Xiongs forgiveness. Bu Ting immediately stated that he understood clearly and did not mind at all. As long as Qin Wang was willing to grant him interview, it was already something that would bring honor to his ancestors. He did not have any qualifications to bicker about Li Shimin missing an appointment, and even if he did, he would not dare to bicker. Hou Junji himself was clearly very busy; as soon as his job here was done, he stood up to see the visitors out. As they were stepping out of Ye Ting Pces main gate, Xu Zilings only hope was that he would never have toe back here. But he also knew that sooner orter the ugly woman must appear before her father-inw. If Li Shimin could see through his disguise, Kou Zhongs treasure hunt would definitely be done for. Yong An Canal received the water from the north; it was the biggest man-made canal connecting the north and south parts of the city of Changan, as well as the most important water structure in the city. The Yue Ma Bridge magnificently spanned above the canal. The body of the bridge was a big arch, like a rainbow in the sky, made of delicately carved stones. The span of the Bridge was more than ten zhang. The pedestrian path on both sides nked the vehicles and horsesne in the middle, which was wide enough to amodate four carriages traveling side by side. On the big archs shoulders, there was a small arch on each side, both for drainage purposes, as well as to lighten the load of the big arch. It was an ingeniousbination, making the bridges main structure lighter and artistic, reducing the slope of the road, and making the shape even more remarkable. The carved stone railings on the bridge were engraved with clouds and dragons decorative design bas-relief. The six observation pirs in the middle were even more different from other observation pirs; they formed six dragonheads looking down outward of the bridge, silently watching the river water and the boats flowing and passing under the bridge. It was such a unique concept. Kou Zhong grasped tightly in the palm of his hand the life-saving prescription that Lei Jiuzhi slipped into his hand as they brushed past each other just now. From the table on the east side of Fu Ju Lous third floor his tiger-eyes, without blinking at all C stared nkly out the window, down onto the big stone bridge with a distinct style. Together with the Jing Yao Avenue [or the big street with glorious scenery] that ran parallel to the Yong An Canal, where pedestrians and vehicles and horses were flowing in an unending stream, the Yue Ma Bridge was surrounded all around withyer uponyer of luxurious mansions and big courtyards of rich and influential families. Even if the Duke Yangs Treasure was at the bottom of the bridge, transporting arge quantity of treasure and weaponry from such a densely popted ce was certainly easier said than done. On either side of the Bridge there were city guards standing on sentry duty, greatly increasing the difficulty of getting the treasure out of this ce. Apanying him on the side, Chang He thought that he was thinking hard about prescribing the elixir, hence he did not dare to disturb; he could never have imagined that the problem turning around in Kou Zhongs head was such a thing. Chang Hes attendants were sitting on another table next to theirs. Since it was lunch time, the section of Fu Ju Lou with the best scenery was fully packed [orig. a banquet with no empty seats], only two or three tables were empty, but it was just because the guests reserving the tables had not arrived. Kou Zhong could not help sighing. Greatly nervous, Chang He asked, Does Mo Xiansheng have some difficulties? Kou Zhong came to his senses. Taking his eyes off the Yue Ma Bridge, he whispered, I need to go to thetrine; I wonder if Chang Jiangjun woulde with me? Chang He was greatly embarrassed; his old face turned slightly red. Smiling wryly, he said, Mo Xiansheng really know how to crack a joke; only because Xiao Jiang [lowly general] received heavy responsibility from Jiancheng Dianxia [His Highness] that I am this tense. Mo Xiansheng, please! Kou Zhong was just about to stand up when a group of men was climbing the stairs to this floor; the one in the lead was tall and straight, wearing tight-fitting dark blue warrior outfit with white trimming, with white sheepskin coat on the outside, and a long saber was hanging on his back. This lordly man appeared to be no more than twenty-five, twenty-six years old, with spotlessly white and a tint of healthy rosy glow on almost like a girls C delicate face. His jet-ck and shiny hair was put in a bun on top of his head, tied with a piece of white ribbon. His appearance was heroic, grand, out of the ordinary; his imposing attitude was intimidating. His pair of slender eyes exuded some kind of terrifyingly deep attractive force as well as solemn rays of light, so sharp that it looked like they were able to prate the opponents what is true and what is false. Although he was dressed in Han attire, with just one nce Kou Zhong was able to see that he was a Tujue; moreover, he was certain that this was the young martial art master who shared the same fame outside the Great Wall with Ba Fenghan, the expert in using Kuang Sha Dao Fa [sand storm saber technique], Ke Dazhi. Kou Zhong had never expected that he had just arrived in Changan and already came across him under this kind of circumstances; wasnt this a case of enemies on a narrow road [idiom; fig. an inevitable sh between opposing factions]? Book 31 - 4 – Great Method of Exchanging the Person Chapter 4 C Great Method of Exchanging the Person On the pretext of his unfinished business with Lei Jiuzhi earlier, Xu Ziling partedpany with Bu Ting outside the Vermillion Bird Gate, but actually he was going to look for Hou Xibai to help Kou Zhong, the fake doctor, treating Zhang Jieyus incurable disease. He pretended to walk along the Vermillion Bird Boulevard in the direction of Lei Jiuzhis hotel first to make sure that no one was following his track. He was just about to turn into a side street when Lei Jiuzhi hurriedly rushed over from behind and called out, Mo Xiong, wait up! Xu Ziling waited for Lei Jiuzhi to catch up before turning left into the alley, and continued on toward Xuan Ping Li. Lei Jiuzhi spoke in low voice, I was scouting around in the Imperial Pce for you, who would have thought that I came across Kou Zhong? Fortunately I recognized his fake face. Somehow this kid has be a doctor, and went into the Pce to treat Li Yuans imperial concubines illness, but he doesnt even know how to write a prescription. Fortunately, when I was following Lu Shi, I gained some superficial [orig. skin and hair] medical knowledge; otherwise, I dont know how to help him to get through this ordeal. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I bumped into him head-on in the Pce as well, but I was on my way to see Li Shimin. Shaken, Lei Jiuzhi asked, He didnt see through your disguise? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, That is still unknown; he missed the appointment for some urgent matter. Ay! This barrier is even more difficult to pass than Kou Zhong treating an illness. Immensely proud of himself, Lei Jiuzhi said, That kid Kou Zhong is really smart; he transmitted his voice over the distance, telling me that Niangniangs illness is cold and hot, and I happen to have special experience in treating cold and hot fever. I guarantee that with just several applications of the medicine, the illness will be gone. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Her illness is not cold and hot fever; rather, she was poisoned by Yang Xuyans slow-acting poison Fen Jing San. He is acting on behalf of Dong Shuni to clear away a formidable opponent in striving for Li Yuans favor. When Lei Jiuzhis shock was over, his face turned white; he spoke with trembling voice, If she is poisoned, then this is bad. The Dengzhan Hua [lit. cup-of-(oil)ntern flower] I blindly prescribed cannot be taken by a poisoned victim; otherwise it will speed up the toxicity in the qi and blood, which could cause that beauty to breathe herst. Xu Ziling was shocked. And then he made up his mind, Lets find Hou Xibai first to talk about it. Raising his qi, he flew forward. The passers-by only saw a blur shed past. Kou Zhong deliberately sat with his back toward Ke Dazhis table. Sitting in front of the table, he borrowed paper, brush and ink from the restaurant, and in one breath wrote down Dengzhan Hua, Sheng Di [lit. grow on earth], Honghua [safflower (Carthamus Tinctorius)], Chaihu [Chinese Thorowax (Bupleurum chinense)], Zhi Ganchao [roasted licorice root], Danpi [the root bark of the peony tree], Xiangfu [red nut sedge (Cyperus rotundus)] and other medicine names, along with their quantities, just like real prescription. [Trantors note: all these names are from the dictionary, I have no idea what they really are.] Sure enough, seeing the prescription, Chang He did not notice any difference from ordinary doctors prescription; his confidence doubled, but he still did not feel reassured. Hows these medicines property? Which one would Mo Xiansheng say the main ingredient that has to be picked from Mount Zhongnan? Naturally Kou Zhong had no intention to answer. While he was pretending to be thinking, stable, powerful footsteps came from behind. A voice speaking Han with some ent said, Chang Jiangjun, how are you? Are you off-duty today? Chang He stood up. He pulled a chair for the Tujue young martial art mastering to greet them, and said, Ke Xiong, please sit down! Ke Dazhi dutifully sat down; his sharp gaze fell onto Kou Zhongs face, he smiled and said, Is this Mo Xiansheng, the divine doctor that has just arrived in Changan? Kou Zhong had already restraint the divine light in his eyes. Assuming a socially-awkward, did-not-know-how-to-behave attitude, he said, Its precisely Xiaoren, and Sire is ... Chang He said in astonishment, Ke Xiongs information is indeed fast and abundant. Ke Dazhi cheerfully replied, Its just because Xiaodi had just met Taizi Dianxia [His Highness the Crown Prince]. And then, turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Xiaodi is Ke Dazhi of Eastern Tujue. What I admire the most is men with marvelous skill, men with real talent and solid knowledge. After Mo Xiansheng cures Zhang Niangniangs illness, Ke Dazhi will request the pleasure of enjoying some benefits from Mo Xiansheng. Finished speaking, he left with a smile on his face. Although Kou Zhong hated him for his implication, for the dagger hidden within the smiles, hinting at Kou Zhongs inability to cure Zhang Jieyus illness, he was still grateful that he interrupted Chang Hes interrogation, helping Kou Zhong out of predicament. After sending off the visitor, Chang He returned to his seat. Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in his ear, I still want to add some ginseng to the prescription. Perhaps it would be best if Chang Ye could send someone to buy the things listed on this prescription, and then well study it together. Chang He mused that how could he have any qualifications to study prescriptions with him? Are we going back to Xiaodis residence? he casually asked. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong replied, No! Sitting here, my spirited brain is gushing forth; I definitely will not leave. The truth was that in his note, Lei Jiuzhi told him to stay here, to wait for him as he went to contact Xu Ziling. Naturally Chang He had no idea of his real intention; he had no choice but to agree. After listening to the whole story, Hou Xibais handsome countenance turned white. Its bad! he cried out, I only know how to refine Fen Jing San, but not how to neutralize it. Xu Zilings heart sank straight down; he said, Since thats the case, I will have to immediately tell Kou Zhong to slip away before he tries to treat a dead person. Wait a moment! Lei Jiuzhi said, Although in term of medical expertise I only have superficial knowledge, in term of neutralizing poison I have gone through painstaking work. Is it possible for Hou Xiong to exin the method of manufacturing Fen Jing San? Let me take a look at it to see if I could spend a bit of effort. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Hou Xibai said, Fen Jing Sans two main ingredients are extremelymon around the southeast coastal region, the ingenuity lies mainly on theplex refining process, using variety of herbal medicines plus distition method, until it is refined to the colorless, odorless state, which will make it difficult to detect. Furthermore, the main ingredients poison counteracts each other and subdues the others toxicity, to such an extent as to change the property of the poison. Lei Jiuzhis countenance changed; he said, Just by listening to it, I know that this poison is very difficult to neutralize. What are the two main ingredients? Xu Ziling proposed, Can we use internal true qi to force the poison from the meridians and push it out? Hanging his head down, Hou Xibai said, That is precisely the origin of the name Fen Jing San [reminder: burning-channel (medicinal) powder]; the poison transforms itself into meridian qi, eroding the channels. If we rashly transmitting Buddhist and Taoist, two schools orthodox internal true qi into the channel, we would only intensify the toxicity, and thus producing the opposite of the desired result. And then, turning to Lei Jiuzhi, he said, The two main ingredients are Duanchang Cao [intestine-severing grass (anybody remember where we saw this grass before? Hmm ...)] and Yang Jue Niu [sheep-horn twist]. I happened to see Yang Xuyan grew these two kinds of highly toxic nt in his house, plus I saw traces of the nts being plucked, so I knew that he was refining Fen Jing San. Stunned, Lei Jiuzhi said, These two kinds of nt are highly poisonous, but they are only suitable to be applied externally, not orally. The victim would immediately feel dizzy, with sharp pain in the throat and abdomen, the mouth foams, to such an extent as to cause organ failure and even death. Is it possible for Hou Xiong to exin the entire refinement process? In one breath Hou Xibai mentioned eighteen different medicines and briefly exined the refinement process. Lei Jiuzhi suddenly stood up and said, I need to personally ask Kou Zhong about Zhang Niangniangs condition; perhaps I could really prescribe the right medicine for the illness and neutralize Fen Jing Sans toxicity. Finished speaking, he hurriedly left. Being left behind, Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling you look at me I look at you, both were burning with anxiety. Sitting there doing nothing, Kou Zhong himself felt embarrassed, but Chang He did not show the slightest bit of impatience. This moment Ke Dazhi and hispanions have finished eating and were leaving. He came over to say goodbye before going down the stairs. Kou Zhong was so bored that he became antsy; he could not help wanting to sound Chang He out, Arent the Tujueing specifically to loot our sons and daughters and our wealth? How could they unexpectedly be Taizi Dianxias honored guests? Chang He jumped in fright; lowering his voice, he said, Mo Xiansheng should not talk nonsense; even more, you shouldnt casually speak about those things with anybody. Ay! This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly; when we have timeter, Ill talk about it with Xiansheng. Just by listening to the tone of his voice, Kou Zhong knew that inwardly Chang He was also quite dissatisfied with Li Jianchengs decision to put Tujue people in important position. The men sent to buy the medicine came back and handed over arge bundle of herbal medicine to Chang He, who, in turn, handed it over to Kou Zhong. In this moment, where he could not escape anymore, his saving-star appeared. Kou Zhong used the previous escaping scheme by saying that he needed to go to thetrine to meet with Lei Jiuzhi. When he came back, with spring breeze across his face, he patted Chang Hes upper arm and said, Lets go. Stunned, Chang He said, We havent even eaten yet, how can we go just like that? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, My brain is the strangest thing; oftentimes when defecating I get bright ideas. Right now we are going to the West Market to buy the necessary medicine, and then well go to Chang Jiangjuns mansion to start refining the medicine. I guarantee that it will cure Niangniangs strange illness. Dont we need to go to Mount Zhongnan? Chang He asked in bewilderment. Kou Zhong answered his question with a question, Isnt Mount Zhongnan a thousand li away? Come on! Hou Xibai dejectedly slumped in his chair; he sighed and said, If I am guessing correctly, that piece of half Image Scroll must be carried around by Yang Xuyan. Unless we could know clearly his every move, taking advantage when he is alone, relying on Xiaodi, Ziling and Shao Shuai, three mens power to catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom from Sunzis The Art of War] to have him killed, I am afraid we can forget about getting the Image Scroll back. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Even if we could really kill Yang Xuyan, by drawing support from us, two outsiders like this, arent you afraid you might provoke your honorable masters anger? Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai replied, Its because Ziling does not know the real reason behind why I am this anxious to seize the Image Scroll. Other than to gain the initiative by striking first, the more important reason is to seek survival under Shi Shis hands. To outsiders, the rules in the demonic school are unimaginable. The year Xiaodi turned eighteen, Shi Shi swore an oath under demonic school incantation: if by the time I turn twenty-eight I cannot block the Hua Jian Pais highest martial art, the Hua Jian Shier Zhi [the twelve earthly branches of Hua Jian (lit. among the flowers)], which he will personallyunch at full-strength, then I shall die for the Sect. This year Xiaodi is twenty-six; time is limited. Since I am going to die anyway, I dont have time to attend to other things. Early on, Xu Ziling already kept his calm in the face of the unexpected [idiom: no longer surprised at strange sights] toward demonic schools more-and-more-emerging, nefarious, peculiar, and strange things. Hearing that, he said, Since thats the case, I can speak on Kou Zhongs behalf to promise Hou Xiong that we will strive our hardest to help you obtain the other half of the Image Scroll. Hou Xibai revealed a slightly happy expression. He sighed and said, Now, my only advantage is that Yang Xuyan still does not know that I am ring like a tiger watching its prey nearby. In case I expose my track, it will be my turn to be in difficult situation. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, If Hou Xiong could turn into Gong Chenchun, wont Hou Xiong be able to hide your trace? Hou Xibais pair of eyes immediately lit up. After looking at Xu Ziling up and down for quite some time, he nodded his head and said, I haveplete confidence that I can be your Gong Chenchun one hundred percent. But if I be Gong Chenchun, what identity is Ziling going to assume to move about in Changan? Compared to me, you shouldnt see the light even more. Hardening his heart, Xu Ziling said with a smile, I can be the returning-to-strike-and-kill-the-Heavenly-Lord-Xi-Yings Overbearing Saber Yue Shan; wont that satisfy rival demands [idiom: the best of both worlds]? This decision came suddenly, but there were hundreds and thousands of reasons in favor of Xu Zilings action. In the first ce, it was fueled by the King of Qin, Li Shimin. Hou Xibais Gong Chenchun would definitely have different personality traits from Xu Zilings Gong Chenchun. Only by doing this would he make Li Shimin unable to see through that Gong Chenchun was Xu Ziling, because he was practically a different person. As for other people such as Bu Ting and the others, as long as Hou Xibai knew the interpersonal rtionship and theplete details of the course of events, due to the fact that the time spent inpany of each other was short, based on Hou Xibais ability and wisdom, intentionally dealing with the unintentional, he would definitely be able to handle any asion smoothly. After staring nkly at him for a long time, Hou Xibai finally shook his head and said with a sigh, Turns out you are Yue Shan. No wonder Yue Shan became that formidable. Everybody thought that it was the Huan Ri Da Fas [great method of exchanging the sun] efficacy, turned out it was actually Zilings Huan Ren Da Fa [great method of exchanging the person]. Ha! Even if we told them, nobody would believe it. Xu Ziling spoke seriously, Hou Xiong must listen carefully, I will tell you everything, omitting nothing, about everybody I met and all the conversations I had after I became Gong Chenchun. When you have learned enough about my voice and intonation, you will be Gong Chenchun! Kou Zhong was endlessly busy in the Chang Mansions kitchen; he felt as if he was doing a repeat performance of his stint as the chef in the Flying Horse Ranchs kitchen in the past. But this time instead of preparing light refreshments, he was brewing Lei Jiuzhis recipe for antidote with utmost care. Chang He personally selected two male servants in the Mansion who were particrly nimble, both in terms of brains and hands and feet, to stay with him and help with all kinds of required work. He also hired a master worker specializing in manufacturing medicine from the drug store to be Kou Zhongs assistant, while he himself also stayed to supervise and direct the operation. Everybody was busy until the sky turned hazy, the earth turned dark, the sun and the moon lost their luster. Kou Zhong knew his own limitation. After exining the manufacturing method to the pharmaceutical master worker, he asked him to y a leading role in everything else, while he himself put on an act of supervising from the side, and only dared to invent crazy nonsense in Chang Hes ears, for fear that the master worker would hear it. Half-believing, half-doubting, Chang He asked, With this pill, would Niangniang really be able to recoverpletely? Bracing himself, Kou Zhong said, After taking the pill, I will also use the needle. I guarantee that Niangniang will be healthier and have brighter countenance than before. Hey! The Chang Mansions housekeeper suddenly C falling forward and tumbling down, flustered and exasperated C rushed in. While the two men were startled, the housekeeper cried out, Huangshang is here! Huangshang is here! The first to react were the pharmaceutical master worker and the two young servants; they threw themselves on the ground in panic. Kou Zhong and Chang He looked at each other. Amidst the heralds announcement, Huangzhang personally came! Li Yuan, wearing casual attire, under escort of Li Jiancheng, Chen Shuda, Wang Ling, and a squad of Imperial Bodyguards, rushed like a whirlwind into the kitchen. Chang He and Kou Zhong hurriedly kowtowed. The former loudly said, Chen [I, your servant (used in addressing the sovereign)] Chang He pays his respect to Huangshang. Li Yuans gaze fell onto Kou Zhong first, and then moved to the pharmaceutical master worker; he said, Mo Shen Yi, please rise. Unexpectedly Li Yuan mistakenly thought that the master worker was the Divine Doctor Mo; he was so scared that he limplyy on the ground like mud on the shore, how could he say anything? Behind Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng spoke in low voice, Fu Huang [father Emperor]! This one is Mo Shen Yi ... Li Yuan cleared his throat to express his apology. Rushing forward, he pulled Kou Zhong, the Divine Doctor, who, not only did not look like a divine doctor, but was actually not a divine doctor C from the floor, while issuing his order at the same time, Everybody, please rise. Just proceed as usual. Hearing the imperial decree, the master worker crawled back up. Under Li Yuans sharp eyes watching attentively, he continued the great undertaking of manufacturing the pill. Li Yuan amiably pulled Kou Zhongs sleeve to the side and asked in low voice, What illness does Jieyu actually suffer? Under everybodys attentive gaze, Kou Zhong cleared his throat. And then, puffing out his chest, putting on an act of proud divine doctor having a card up his sleeve, he said, Niangniangs illness is a rarely seen strange disease; forck of better term, lets call it cold deficiency, yin heat. Hey! It is indeed rarely seen. Excuse me, may I ask Mo Xiansheng, what is cold deficiency, yin heat? In the medical book of sessive generations, there does not seem to be any illness by this name. Would Xiansheng please enlighten me? The speaker was one of the mening with Li Yuan, around forty years old, with long, beautiful beard that reached his chest, his appearance clear and marvelous. Signaling Kou Zhong with his eyes, Li Jiancheng said, This gentleman is known as the Living Hua Tuo, Wei Zhengxing Dafu [physician], a person of the same profession as Mo Xiansheng. The two of you ought to have a lot inmon. Inwardly Kou Zhong felt lucky that he had received Lei Jiuzhis instruction; otherwise this moment he would definitely make a fool of himself. The thing he was most afraid of was exposing himself as a fake divine doctor, and then he would have to bag his food and leave before finish eating. Smiling slightly, he said, Xianshengs distinguished name has already been like a thunder piercing my ear, and today I have the good fortune of meeting you; it is indeed Xiaorens honor. Wei Zhengxings eyes swept across the material in making the pill; he spoke coldly, Xi Jue [rhino horn] slice, Tian Hua Fen [lit. pollen of heavenly flower], Ma Huang [ephedra], Beng Da Wan [Cente asiatica] and so on are medicines that are mostly used to detoxify [or to relieve fever] and to raise the yin property. I wonder what do they have to do with Niangniangs illness? How could Kou Zhong dare to have direct confrontation and exchange moves with him? Furthermore, he could not reveal that Zhang Jieyu has been poisoned by Yang Xuyans Fen Jing San. Without any choice, he avoided the important and dwelled on the trivial instead, saying, When the illness first broke out, were Niangniangs cheeks burning hot, but she was unwilling to drink more, her pulse slowed down, her tongue was coated with yellowish-grey, and she felt sleepy all day long? While Wei Zhengxing was slightly startled, Li Yuans dragon countenance lit up; he said, Precisely like that. It was as if Mo Xiansheng has seen it with your own eyes. It is indeed amazing. Kou Zhongs remark was in fact the symptoms of Fen Jing Sans poisoning. This moment he did not want Wei Zhengxing to continue his interrogation, he said, That is precisely the symptoms of cold deficiency, yin heat. The yin and yang shed, the disease red out rapidly. My Hui Chun Dans [returning-spring pill] power could take radical measures, and then by using needles, Xiaoren is going to link up the meridians and qi, I guarantee that Niangniang will recoverpletely in a few days. Huangshang, please rest assured. Greatly delighted, Li Yuan said, In that case, Zhen will no longer dare to disturb Mo Xianshengs work. I will return to the Pce first and wait for Xianshengs good news. Secretly Kou Zhong thanked the Heaven and thanked the Earth. Presently, his only hope was that this Lei Jiuzhis invention of Hui Chun Pill would really be keen and effective, and could really cure Zhang Jieyus strange illness. Otherwise, it would be his turn to suffer an incurable disease. Book 31 - 5 – Magical Hands Bringing the Dying Back to Life Apanied by Chang He, Kou Zhong sat in the outer hall of the Ning Bi Pavilion, quietly waiting for the good news after Zhang Jieyu took the antidote. In this aspect, because Lei Jiuzhi had obtained Lu Miaozis handed-down teachings, using speed to control the slow, he took the risk ofpletely cleaning the Fen Jing San poison from her body in just one application of the drug. After listening to Chang Hes exnation, he began to understand that Jieyu was not this beautiful Niangniangs name at all, but some kind of rank of the imperial consorts. Therefore, she should not be called Jieyu Niangniang, and could only be called either Zhang Niangniang, or Jieyu Guiren [nobility/person of high rank]. Only this one aspect about appetion of the court etiquette was already enough to give Kou Zhong, this ye min [wilderness citizen], a big headache. The two men were hungry; they were waiting until the lights in the entire Pce City were lit before Zheng Gonggong appeared to invite Kou Zhong into the inner hall. By this time Chang He already developed a together in trials and tribtions feeling toward Kou Zhong; he spoke in low voice, Be careful in all things, dont aim to achieve the best possible result, but rather try to avoid making mistakes. Kou Zhong mused that as a man who had been rolling about in the Pce, Chang He was willing to give him such advice, he was showing an extraordinaryradeship, so his heart was touched. Nodding his agreement, he followed Zheng Gonggong stepping into the inner hall. The beautiful Zhang Jieyu was still leaning limply in the couch like this morning, weak and powerless; at first nce she did not appear to make any progress. But Kou Zhongs sharp eyes were able to detect great difference on herplexion; there was less grey, dark, terrifying color within the white of her skin. Evidently the antidote Lei Jiuzhi prescribed indeed had divine efficacy. Immediately Kou Zhongs heart was greatly assured. Li Yuan was sitting by Zhang Jieyus side; his right hand was inside her sleeve, holding her left hand firmly, not letting her go, as he lovingly looked at this doted concubine, as if he did not know that Kou Zhong was here. The other eunuchs and pce maids were standing respectfully on both sides; the atmosphere was serene. Kou Zhong was about to kneel down, without even looking at him, Li Yuan said, Mo Xiansheng, pleasee here, other people are dismissed. Zheng Gonggong and the bunch of eunuchs and pce maids busily kowtowed and left. Restraining his divine qi, Kou Zhong came to Li Yuans side. Only now did Li Yuan turn to look at him and spoke in amiable manner, Mo Xiansheng is worthy to be called Divine Doctor; since she fell ill, this is the first time that after taking the medicine, Jieyu did not vomit it out and the color on her face took a turn for the better. I wonder what would the next step to control the illness be? Zhang Jieyu struggled to open her slender beautiful eyes, which extended toward her temples; she gave Kou Zhong a slight nod to express her gratitude. Kou Zhong moved to the other side and sat down on the chair specifically prepared for him; he said, May Xiaoren feel Niangniangs pulse again? Li Yuan spoke in calm, rxed manner, Although Zhen takes up duty as the Emperor, I still have half the status of a Jianghu man. Mo Xiansheng need not stand on ceremony. Zhang Jieyu stretched out her lily-white hand out of the quilt. Kou Zhong quickly put three fingers on her wrist; while inwardly calling out to Laotianye for His blessings, he slowly transmitted his true qi. Li Yuan was shaken; he said, Mo Xianshengs true qi is extremely refined and pure ... Kou Zhong knew that because Li Yuan was holding Zhang Jieyus left hand, his body generated reaction. Li Yuan was the master of a big n; he could be considered one of the top martial art masters in the world, naturally his eyesight was brilliant. Since his true qi was going through the channels of qi and blood, flowing freely without any obstruction, Kou Zhong was even more confident that the Fen Jing San poison had been eradicated, hence his quick-wit has also returned. With solemn expression he replied, Jiashu once said, using needle without training qi is just like having muscle without any bones; twice the effort for half the result. Therefore, Xiaoren has trained qi since childhood. Hey! Due to Xiaoren has not married yet, naturally my Tongzi Gong [lit. virgin boy power] is a bit more refined and purer. Thank you very much for Huangshangspliment. Zhang Jieyu suddenly heaved a deep sigh of relief; she spoke tenderly, Mo Xianshengs family qigong is original and unique. After going through the experience of treating Sha Tiannan and the others illnesses these past few days, Kou Zhong already developed a bit of insight. Since the great expert Wei Zhengxing was not present anyway, he simply must show off a bit of Divine Doctor air. Inventing crazy nonsense, he said, Upon inspecting the qi and blood, the cold, unhealthy influence that cause the disease is on the outside. Upon examining the depth of the meridians, the yin cold is in the inside. If we want to reconcile the outside and the inside, we must use big and small needles together. In Xiaorens opinion, we need no more than three days; every day use the needles one time, Niangniang will definitely recover speedily. By this time Li Yuan already had full confidence in him; greatly delighted, he said, Ill have to trouble Mo Xiansheng then! Disguising himself as a traveling merchant, Xu Ziling sneaked out of the city. And then just before the gate closed, he turned himself into Yue Shan, and using the census register that Hou Xibai purchased, he swaggered back into the city. In the dim, cold winter night, with a cloak and thick robe over Xu Zilings head and face, unless one was familiar with Yue Shan, most people would think that he was an old man approaching his coffin. Upon entering the city, Xu Ziling reinstated Yue Shans aggressiveness. Shedding off his cloak, he strode swiftly, upright and unafraid, along the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Three more days, then it would be the auspicious day of the beginning of spring. The bitter cold weather did not impede the crowd shopping in preparation for the New Year. Compared to Guanwai [outside the Pass], Guanzhong [the middle of the Pass, see Book 30 Chapter 5] was just like Bashu [Sichuan]: a thriving situation of peace and prosperity. Taking the risk, Xu Ziling trooped into the Dong Lai Inn, the same hotel where Lei Jiuzhi was staying. Until this moment, those who knew Lei Jiuzhis rtionship with the two boys were only Lin Lang and Gongliang Ji, two men. Therefore, Lei Jiuzhi was the natural and proper choice to be the bridge linking him to Kou Zhong. Just like Lu Miaozi, Lei Jiuzhi was full of tricks, plus he was an extremely seasoned Jianghu wanderer. In any thorny problem and tricky situation, he was able to change ording to the situation and could deal with it with plenty leftovers. After Xu Ziling had been sitting in the room for half a day, Lei Jiuzhi came back from scouting the situation outside; heughed and said, Yue Lao, how are you? Xu Zilingughed and asked, Did anybody follow Ol Yues track? Lei Jiuzhi sat down leisurely and said, For the time being, I havent seen any. For the next few days, have Yue Lao set up any n of action? Would you like Wanbei [junior] to work out a strategy for you? Xu Ziling knew that Lei Jiuzhi was obsessed to have him battling the Ming Tang Wos Great Immortal Hu Fo on the gambling table; changing the subject, he asked, Is there any news about the Divine Doctor Mo? How could it be this quick? Lei Jiuzhi replied, Yue Lao, please rest assured; detoxification is one of the skills that I, Lei Jiuzhi, am an expert in. Even if the medicine cannot cure people, it will definitely not kill people. Ha! You, this kid, are so lucky. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What luck? Lei Jiuzhi leaned forward and spoke in low voice, Just now that Gong kid came; he told me that he had just seen Qin Wang. Among the other guests, there was a Bashu man, who repeatedly questioning him about Bashu situation, including local conditions and customs. Tell me, what do you think would happen if it were you? Xu Ziling blew out a mouthful of cold air. Li Shimin was indeed formidable. If the Gong Chenchun who came to see him was Xu Ziling and not Hou Xibai, no matter how like seamless heavenly clothes his outward appearance was, howpletely without any w, his identity would be immediately uncovered. Only Hou Xibai, who was born and grew up in Bashu, would pass this junction. Lei Jiuzhi said, Hou kid was just passing by to talk to me about a thing or two; he heard that tonight he will have to go with Bu Jie and the others to Shang Lin Yuan. We might as well go to Ming Tang Wo to enjoy the excitement too; otherwise, it would be a long night, how could I endure it till dawn? Xu Ziling blurted outughing; he said, A long night is the perfect time to go to bed and enjoy a good dream. Dont you think beiwo [quilt wrapped around the body as a tube (traditional bedding)] is more tempting than duwo [gambling den; reminder: Ming Tang Wo means bright hall nest/den]? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Is Yue Laoing to Changan just to sleep ...? Xu Ziling knew he could not get away from him. Very well! he helplessly said, I still have the yellow-faced mans mask. The problem is you. It would be best if you dont appear as Lei Jiuzhi. Greatly delighted, Lei Jiuzhi said, Not appearing as Lei Jiuzhi, Id better appear as a traveling cloth merchant from Shandong. This is the other identity that I can use to save my life, because I really have done business in this industry. Ha! As long as I change from nine fingers [Jiuzhi] to ten fingers, no one would ever doubt it was me. Yue Lao, set your heart at ease. Chang He only needed to look at Li Yuans face, which was full of spring breeze, and although he was the revered one he dropped his nobility by personally escorting Kou Zhong to the outer hall C to know that Kou Zhong had demonstrated his inherent quality as the Divine Doctor in a big way, and has produced good achievement; he quickly kneeled down to Li Yuan. Li Yuanughed and said, Chang Jiangjun, please rise. Zhen actually wanted to ask Mo Shen Yi to stay in the Pce and let Zhen do the honors to be the host, but the Doctor has parental heart; Mo Shen Yi wants to go back to make sure your esteemed father-inws condition is getting better. He wille back to the Pce tomorrow morning to treat Jieyus illness. Chang Jiangjun, please take a good care of Mo Shen Yi for Zhen. Kou Zhong mused inwardly, If I stayed in the Pce, there wouldnt be any difference with staying in prison; how could I discuss the grand n with Xu Ziling, to see how we can proceed with the treasure hunt? Receiving the imperial decree, Chang He took Kou Zhong out of the Taiji Pce. When they exited the Cheng Tian Gate, Feng Liben was already waiting respectfully for the news. Before Kou Zhong had any chance to speak, Chang He excitedly said, Mo Xiansheng indeed did not fail to uphold Taizi Dianxias [His Highness the Crown Prince] great trust. Niangniangs illness has made great improvement. Even Huangshang did not know how to thank Mo Xiansheng. Feng Liben was caught in surprise. Even Li Jiancheng did not dare to wait for the news, because he did not have enough confidence on Kou Zhong. Thinking that what remains unseen is deemed to be clean [idiom: what the eye doesnt see, the heart doesnt grieve over], he went to Shang Lin Yuan in Bei Li without waiting for them C to enjoy life. Hearing the good news, naturally Feng Libens spirit was greatly aroused. Immediately his countenance turned deferential, he ordered his men to fetch a horse, and then said, Mo Xiansheng, please get on the horse, Taizi Dianxia is waiting respectfully for Xianshengs honorable self at Shang Lin Yuan. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, yet he knew he could not refuse. Even if his excuse was that he was tired and wanted to go home to rest, he still had to personally ask Li Jiancheng to be excused. If this continued, how could he find the time to go on a treasure hunt? Ming Tang Wo and Shang Lin Yuan actually stood side-by-side. Across the street was precisely the Six-Happiness Casino. Together, these three independent buildings formed the central district and the focal point of the Bei Li. The otherparatively-smaller-in-scale pleasure houses and casinos were like a group of stars cupped themselves around the moon [idiom from Analects], which emphasized their grandeur even more. Outside these brothels and casinos door, people were doing big business; there were food stalls selling baked sesame seed-coated cake and crispy fried dough twist, deep-fried bread, chicken eggs, and so on. It was bustling with extreme noise and excitement. The reason Shang Lin Yuan was famous throughout the country was because of its unique style; unlike the Six-Happiness Casino and Ming Tang Wo that usedrge quantity of multi-colored ceramic ze and three-color tiles and bricks as decoration, it sought some kind of grandeur simplicity and elegance, brimming-with-schrly-vor decoration. The main building after the main entrance was the best representation of the style; a wide expanse of grey brick wall, ck zed roof tile with green lining, under the eaves was blue and green colored painting. The columns, partition boards, and railings were unpainted, exposing the woods natural color. The couplets hung on the columns of the hall, which were also made of hardwood, cultured and refined. No wonder poets and literary people wrote endless odes to it. When Xu Ziling was passing through, he only caught a glimpse of it, yet he was already interested in touring the inside. Thinking about Hou Xibai, disguising himself as Gong Chenchun, was inside, in the midst of wind, flower, snow and moon [idiom: romance is in the air], it would be like a fish back in the water, naturally he would enjoy it very much, Xu Ziling felt it would be even more interesting. Toward a ce that could make people losing their family fortune like a casino, were it not for Lei Jiuzhi half dragging him in, left on his own, he would never set foot even for half a step inside. However, his natural disposition was that he could be at home wherever he was; since he was already here, he might as well make the best of it. Following Lei Jiuzhi, who was disguised as a cloth merchant from Shandong, inside, he squeezed himself in the middle of the crowd of gamblers, to enter the Ming Tang Wos mail hall. Xu Ziling could not believe the lively atmosphere of the spacious hall, which looked like a pce hall. Nearly a thousand people, crowding around fifty, sixtyrge gambling tables, were gambling until the sky turned hazy, the earth turned dark, the sun and the moon lost their luster. Perhaps it was because they wanted to prevent cheating, but thenterns in the hall were especially bright. The dice inside the bowl were knocking against each other, creating earth-shattering sharp and clear noise,bined with men and womenughing and shouting, and booing loudly, as well as pping their hands, making Xu Ziling felt like he was having a nightmare. Leaning close to him, Lei Jiuzhi asked, How much money do you have with you? Without thinking, Xu Ziling replied, A total of fifty-five taels of gold. Lei Jiuzhi was dumbstruck. Good kid! he said, Unexpectedly you have a huge sum of money with you. Give them all to me. Xu Ziling was stunned. Do you need that much? he asked. Without any trace of politeness, Lei Jiuzhi stuck his hand into Xu Zilings purse and took the gold. He said with augh, If you dont want to have your eggs to be squeezed in this ce, naturally youll have to show a bit of strength. Look at me! And then he simply left. Xu Ziling was rooted on the floor, staring nkly. He thought that each time Lei Jiuzhi set foot in the casino, it was like he became another person. Perhaps this was precisely a gamblers inherent quality. It was quite some timeter that Lei Jiuzhi came back with a big bag of gambling chips. He also opened his palm, showing two bronze medals. Immensely proud of himself, he said, With these two VIP passes, we can be like the other high officials and noble persons, to enjoy the excitement in the other four VIP halls. Xiongdi [brother]! Come on! Its time to have fun! Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, What fun is there in gambling? Lei Jiuzhi excitedly put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder and led him toward the other end of the hall. He sighed and said, Having a life and death battle on the gambling table in the casino is always better than fighting and killing on the battlefield! Tonight you have to make a name for yourself; otherwise, it will be difficult for us to proceed with the next step of our n. There are only two types of people earning the respect of the casino, the first one is the ultra-rich, who, no matter how much they lose, would never run out of money, and then there is the master who could win money. Do you understand? Li Jiancheng took the lead to offer a toast to congratte Kou Zhong. He said, Wishing Mo Xianshengs medicine to return the spring and can cure Zhang Niangniangs ineradicable disease sooner. They were sitting in the room at the northern end of the second floor, the western building of the Shang Lin Yuan, which decoration was tastefully chosen, with paintings and calligraphy works filling the walls, brimming with schrly vor; the atmosphere was overflowing with victory and celebration. The good news that Kou Zhong brought immediately made Li Jiancheng to have a whole new level of respect for him, to regard him as a honored guest. Apanying them around the banquet table, other than Chang He and Feng Liben, who had just arrived, were Ke Dazhi with his lofty appearance, and Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan and Wei Jiarong, three men who had fought against Xu Ziling and suffered defeat. The other guests were Dugu Ce and a high-ranking military officer called Xue Wanche. Kou Zhong paid special attention to this Xue Wanche. With Kou Zhongs eyesight, from looking at his every movement and his bearing, he knew that this mans martial art skill was not inferior to Li Jianchengs. Compared to special grade martial art master like Ke Dazhi, the difference was also very little. As for Dugu Ce, only a few years ago he bumped into him once on Yun Yuzhens boat, so he did not have too deep of a knowledge about him, hence he was not worried that Dugu Ce would be able to see through his real identity. Surprisingly enough, Li Jiancheng did not invite anydies to apany them drinking or to entertain them with songs; he was only chatting, joking, and drinking wine with his trusted aides. Kou Zhong was seated on Li Jianchengs left side, with Ke Dazhi sitting on the other side. From this, it was clear how Li Jiancheng treated him, this fake Divine Doctor, with courtesy and high regard. Li Jiancheng suddenly leaned over and spoke in low voice to Kou Zhong, That Hui Chun Dan of Mo Xianshengs, is it really like Wei Zhengxing pointed out, that it was mainly used to drive away poison? Hearing a song with string apaniment, one would know the elegant intention. Instantly Kou Zhong knew the crafty intention Li Jiancheng was harboring in his heart. At this time Xue Wanche suddenly barked in heavy voice, No need to wait on us, you are dismissed! The four pretty maids serving them hurriedly left. Li Jiancheng nodded his appreciation toward Xue Wanche. The others immediately quieted down to listen to the exchange between the two men. Kou Zhong cursed inwardly, thinking that no matter how much he considered Li Shimin as his enemy, it would be beneath his dignity to use this kind of despicable means to frame Li Shimin. Because based on what he, as the Divine Doctor, said, plus earlier there was Wei Zhengxings remark corroborating it, if he told Li Yuan that Zhang Jieyu was being poisoned, Li Yuan would certainly believe firmly without any doubt. And under current circumstances, the most likely suspect to put poison was naturally the King of Qin Mansions people, who, all along, did not get along well with Zhang Jieyu. Kou Zhong pretended to be confused; he nodded and said, There is indeed the efficacy to expel poison, but the poison being expelled is only cold and hot poison. In term of drug usage, it is nothing out of the ordinary. The real main ingredient was ... How could Li Jiancheng have any interest in listening to his lengthy discourse about medical science? Cutting him off, he said, Ill consult Mo Xiansheng about this matterter. Before Shang Xiaojies phoenix-self honors us with her presence, what kind of entertainment would gentlemen like to have? Laughing nastily, Qiao Gongshan said, I hear the brothers of the Bu n of Xing Chang Long are entertaining that kid called Mo Wei in the room next door; we might as well also y the host to wee him [orig. to wash the dust]! Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Mo Wei? Jiashu is also called Mo Wei! How could Chang He know that Kou Zhong was gaining the initiative by striking first? Nodding his head, he said, Such a coincidence. Nobody else paid any attention. Frowning, Li Jiancheng said, We must not act blindly without thinking. Just this morning, under Feng Shangshus arrangement, Fu Huang received this man for an interview at the Dong Da Si, asking him about the decisive battle between Yue Shan and Xi Ying in Chengdu. Ke Dazhi spoke indifferently, As long as we dont hurt him, but only frustrate his arrogance, how could Huangshang me Dianxia [your majesty]? Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. If the one making his move was Ke Dazhi, Xu Ziling would have no choice but to use his real skill. If that happened, wouldnt it mean that he would immediately let out the secret and put all the former work to waste? Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan and Wei Jiarong, three men immediately echoed their agreement and added fuel to the fire [orig. to push the wave and add to the billows]. Xue Wanche spoke heavily, I see a bit of problem with this Mo Wei; although Jianghu is full of crouching tiger, hidden dragon, but such a brilliant sword master like him, howe we have never heard his name? Kou Zhong cried, Bad! inwardly, yet he waspletely helpless. Li Jiancheng leisurely said, I have also doubted him, but today Qin Wang summoned him for an interview, and he had someone cross-examined him in details about Wulin matters in Bashu. This Mo Wei answered every single question correctly. Evidently he is a real sword master from Bashu. This time it was Kou Zhongs turn to be puzzled. From what Lei Jiuzhi told him, he knew about Xu Ziling disguising himself as Mo Wei and joined Xing Chang Long. But although Xu Ziling had been to Bashu, he could be considered viewing the flower from horseback [idiom: superficial understanding from cursory observation], since he only stayed for two, three days; how did he obtain the qualifications to deal with various issues in Bashu? Rising to his full height, Ke Dazhi said, I dont care where he ising from, let mee over to get acquainted with him! Kou Zhong cried out for his Niang inwardly. He could only stare nkly at Ke Dazhi walking toward the door. How could he resolve this ordeal? Just before Ke Dazhi reached the door, Li Jiancheng suddenly called out, Dazhi, please call that Mo Wei toe over; let this Dianxia see what kind of man he is. Ke Dazhi was stunned. But then he acknowledged loudly before stepping out of the room. Book 31 - 6 – Pleasure Quarters and Gambling Establishments The four VIP halls of Ming Tang Wo were four stand-alone buildings, which were connected to the main hall by corridors. On both sides of the corridors was the beautifulndscape scenery of pavilions, ponds, and gardens; an elegant ambience, totally different and more interesting than the hubbub and the noise and excitement of the mail hall. Since from time to time the sessive monarchs were taking measure to prohibit gambling, the casino had separate venues, which were named Ming Tang Zi [lit. bright (or public/open) small hall], and Si Wo Zi [private small den/nest]. The former was the casino that was open to public, thetter was a private mansion that was used as the casino. Therefore, the name Ming Tang Wo came from abination of the Ming Tang of the Ming Tang Zi and the Wo of the Si Wo Zi. From this, one could see the Great Immortal Hu Fos prestige and influence in the Dulin [lit. gambling forest]. It was also clear that in the midst of chaotic situation before the world was unified, thepetition among the gambling heroes and gambling hegemons of all parties was already very fierce. Because this business was extremely lucrative, to be able to open a gambling establishment, not only one must have strong and solid financial resources, one must also get along well with people from ck and white ways, plus one must have strong support from either the authority or nobility or both. In Changan, the tworgest public and legitimate casinos were Ming Tang Wo and the Six-Happiness Casino. The former had the support of Yin Zuwen, the father of Li Yuans doted imperial concubine Yin De Fei [fei means imperial concubine]. Thetter was under Li Yuanjis protection. Therefore, their standing was extremely strong. Even Li Shimin, who was a proponent of prohibition against gambling, could not do anything against these two casinos. On the surface, the Six-Happiness Casino was under management of a man with a nickname Shen Xian Shou [Daoist immortal/deity hand] Chi Shengchun. But ording to Lei Jiuzhi, Chi Shengchun ought to be Xiang Shengchun, Xiang Guis eldest son, Xiang Yushans eldest brother. Lei Jiuzhi told all these things to Xu Ziling on their way to Ming Tang Wo, in order to strengthen his resolution to strive for the hegemony of the gambling world. Only by defeating the Great Immortal Hu Fo and Deity Hand Chi Shengchun would they be able to lure Xiang Gui out and proceed with Lei Jiuzhis grand n of destroying the Xiang Family from the inside. The four VIP halls of Ming Tang Wo were given the names Da Xian [Great Immortal], Tian Huang [Heaven/Sky Emperor], Di Huang [Earth Emperor], and Ren Huang [Man/human Emperor], respectively. Other than the main hall, Da Xian Tang [tang = hall], which was not being setup for specific game, each of the three rear halls was setup for specific game. The Tian Huang Tang was dice, Di Huang Tang was Pan Tan, the Ren Huang Tang was Pai Jiu; all were widely popr gambling games. Da Xian Tang was Ming Tang Wos highest holynd. On the inside, it was divided into eighteen small gambling halls, allowing the gamblers to select the game they wanted to y. The casino itself would be happy to apany them, but they could also arrange the guests to y against each other; the casino only drew certain-percentagemission. Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi entered the Tian Huang Tang, specializing in dice. This hall had about two-thirds the surface area of the main hall, but the number of people inside was only about one-quarter of the main hall. The guests wereparatively of the higher-ss; none did not wear gorgeous, fittingly-tailored clothes. Although not as morous as the gamblers in the outer hall, the atmosphere was still zing. Among the guests, there was nock of magnificently-dressed women with beautiful appearance. The majority being thedies from the pleasure houses that the honored guests and the rich merchants brought along into the casino. Everybody was gambling in high spirits; the heaven and the earth lost their light. Entering the casino, Lei Jiuzhi was like returning home; rxed andfortable. He pulled Xu Ziling to sit on the chair at the corner. The casino attendant on duty came to greet them and offer fragrant tea. Xu Ziling took a sip of the hot tea; he shook his head and said, I really dont understand why so many people would be addicted to this and unwilling to let go. Dont they know the ten bets nine losses principle? Lei Jiuzhi replied quietly, Although everybody knew that principle, by nature people are greedy, they always think that the god of fortune might bless them; therefore, since ancient times they are always like circling vultures. Otherwise, the casinos would be out of business a long time ago. Lei Jiuzhis eyes scanned the gamblers again before calmly said, Casinos are really like miniature world; there are all kinds of people in existence here. Some only whittle their time away or just to dispel their boredom, gambling leisurely to bnce their life. Some came to unt their riches, throwing away a thousand taels of gold without hesitation; the casino is just like a ce where they could parade their wealth. For some, the intense battle on the gambling tables is some kind of psychological detachment from the real world, to turn anxieties into amusement, to immerse themselves into the excitement of a game of chance. But some others gamble out of curiosity, or perhaps using the game of chance as a means to seek contact with certain people for their own benefit, to use it as amunication method, so much so that they would deliberately lose to the other party, which is akin to a disguised form of bribery. The worst kind is thepulsive gamblers; losing, they want to recover their capital, winning, they want to win some more. This kind of addiction is difficult to cure; they would keep sinking and bring disgrace forever. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling said, Your thought is very thorough. Although I did think about this problem, I could only think about gamblers as the recipients of the excitement stimted by the depravity of gambling, by the changeable situation, where victory and defeat will be decided in an instant, the psychological temptation of winning a lot of money by relying on pure luck. I have never thought about other situations. Lei Jiuzhi smiled and said, Lets stop chatting. I want to see your, Laodi [ol younger brother] skill in listening to the dice; I wonder if it has disappeared due tock of practice? The long Wuxia [Gorge] of the Three Gorges [on the Yangtze River] in the eastern Ba [Sichuan], three cries of the apes brought tears staining the lower garment. The apes of the Three Gorges of Eastern Ba cry in grief, three cries of the apes brought tears moistening the dress. Bu Jie, Bu Ting, Tian Santang, Xiao Xiuming, Xie Jiarong, Chen Liang, Wu Dengshan, and Liu Shiwen, along with the nine beautiful courtesans apanying them drinking, had never thought that this Mo Weis improvisation in poetry was as excellent as his swordsmanship. Nobody did not p their hands and cheered, and toasted each other with a cup. The beautiful courtesan apanying Hou Xibai called Guizhi [lit. cinnamon] threw half of her body into his bosom while cooing tenderly, Mo Yes train of thought is very quick; it seems that it would be difficult to find an opponent in Changan! Let Nujia toast you one more cup. Inwardly though, Hou Xibai felt a little regret. Reciting poetry andposing poems were easy for him, but if Xu Ziling became Mo Wei again, this might be a problem. Its just too bad that going to a brothel for him was like Lei Jiuzhi going to a casino; after two cups of wine went down this belly and he had beautiful women by his side, his will was immediately swept away, he forgot who he was, and was unable to control himself. When he was drinking the good wine that the beauty held against his lips and the crowd was cheering to boost his spirit, someone outside the doorughed and spoke in impure Hannguage, I hope Mo Xiongs sword is like your skill in producing poetry, so that Dazhi can broaden his horizon. Immediately Bu Ting and the others countenance changed. Raising his cup, Hou Xibai drained it in one gulp, and said with a longugh, When morning breaks, go to Shang Lin, when eveninges, rest at Shang Lin; from dawn to dusk spend the day in Shang Lin. Ke Xiong wants to personally experience Xiaodis sword technique, it is indeed Xiaodis honor. Only arent you afraid that saber light and sword shadow will greatly damage Shang Lins wind and moon [romance/beautiful scenery]? The door was opened wide, revealing Ke Dazhis imposing figure. This young martial art from Eastern Tujues eyes were like lightning as they stared fixedly at Hou Xibais face. Calmly and leisurely he said, Using martial art to make friends is actually another way apart from using poetry and drinking wine to meet friend. Since we are not going to fight a life and death battle, what does it have to do with Shang Lin Yuans fine time, beautiful scenery? Confident and at ease, Hou Xibaiughed and said, Well said! Let Xiaodi offer Ke Xiong a toast. Hou Xibais leisurely andfortable, rxed manner was greatly beyond Ke Dazhis expectation. He would never have thought that the everyday Hou Xibai was just this kind of free, unconstrained, casual person. Even if he was defeated or even killed, he would never change this distinctive character. Ke Dazhi was disying a martial art masters bearing; stepping forward directly toward the table, he took the cup of good wine that Hou Xibai personally poured to the brim. Raising it up, he said, Mo Xiongs spirit is indeed out of the ordinary. We will have a three-stroke limit to add a little color to Shang Lin Yuans beautiful scenery. Hou Xibai was relieved. It would be very bad if they were having a free handbat and he was forced to reveal his unique schools Fan of Beauty. Under Bu Jie and the others worried look, Hou Xibai rose to his full height. He and Ke Dazhi saluted each other with a toast. Before using martial art to make friends, they used the wine to make friends first. Showing off the wild and dauntless character of Tujue warrior, Ke Dazhi casually hurled the wine cup onto the floor, creating sharp and clear noise as the cup shattered. His eyes were shing with intense murderous intent, but the tone of his voice was surprisingly tranquil. He said, Taizi Dianxias room is a bit more spacious. Mo Xiong, please! Turning around, he simply left. Hou Xibai signaled Bu Jie, Bu Ting, and the others not to worry and to wait for him, before following behind Ke Dazhi out of the room. The other gamblers envious eyes were looking at Xu Ziling collecting his win. More anxiously, they were waiting for which gate, among the two gates, big and small, Xu Ziling would put his bet next. Xu Ziling has been ying for seven hands and won five,ting him nearly fifty taels of gambling chips, which was equivalent to nearly two hundred taels of Wu Zhu Coin[1]; a considerable amount of money. Originally, when the Sui Dynasty unified the world, they also unified the currency by minting Wu Zhu Coin. By the time Emperor Yang ascended the throne, the expenditures of the military campaigns over many years put a very heavy burden on the state treasury, which forced the House of Sui to mint arge amount of Wu Zhu Coin. As a result, its worth and market value plummeted, intion intensified, plus underx government control, there were arge number of private foundries casting their own money. When the House of Tang was established in Guanzhong, Li Yuan, following Li Shimins proposal, minted new currency called Kaiyuan Tongbao[2], in which ten wen worth one tael. The people under his rule may still use the old dynastys Wu Zhu Coin in ce of the new currency, with the exchange rate of four taels of Wu Zhu Coin to one tael of Kaiyuan Tongbao. Therefore, winning fifty taels in Changan was equal to winning two hundred taels of Wu Zhu Coin being used in the area outside the Pass. This amount was nothing to be sneezed at. If gold was converted directly into Tongbao, each tael of gold could be exchanged for more than thirty taels of Tongbao. Therefore, Xu Zilings win of fifty taels of gaming chips was really a considerable wealth. Although the Tian Huang Tang specialized in dice, there were all kinds of gambling games; there was big and small, two gates, and then there was sixteen-gate wager, or putting the bet ording to the number of dots on the dice themselves, such as using three dice: if one die matched the number of the bet, the payment would be one to one, if two dice matched, two to one, if all three matched, three to one. There was also Pan Tan style counting; the total number of dots on three dice divided by four, the remainder would be the points that the bet was checked against. The mostplicated was using Tian Jiu Pai style. The three dice were matched against various tilebination of the Tian Jiu Pai, and the winning or losing was determined ording to Tian Jiu rules. All shapes and styles, rich and diverse; it was difficult to enumerate. Xu Ziling was ying the simplest big/small, two gates, simply because his dice-listening skill was still not one hundred percent urate, he could not always hear the dots that the three dicended on. Therefore, although the two-gate wager only paid one to one, he had aparatively higher odds. Lei Jiuzhi intentionally did not stay near him; he stood on the other side of the gambling table, helping him by being on the lookout. With an endless nking noise the covered bowl was shaken for one round and then stopped, the casino girl shaking the bowl called loudly in singsong voice, Have treasure bet your treasure, no treasure leave the table. The more than thirty gamblers standing around the table had their eyes on Xu Ziling, to see which gate he would put his bet on, because they wanted to go with the tide and ce their bet on the same gate, hoping that they could obtain his luck and win some money. Xu Ziling already received pointers from Lei Jiuzhi that under this kind of situation, it was not advisable to win money, or else he might attract the casinos attention; therefore, he deliberately ced his bet on the losing gate, provoking loudin from everybody. Naturally the banker seized total victory. Xu Ziling knew how to quit while he was ahead; picking up his gambling chips, he signaled Lei Jiuzhi with his eyes, and moved to another table toy his bet. Suddenly a female voice rang by his side, This Daye, could you please step aside? Our Madame wanted to ask for Dayes guidance. Startled, Xu Ziling turned to look at thedy who was speaking to him. She was dressed as a maid, her age could not be more than twenty, but the tip of her brows and the corners of her eyes were pregnant with passion; her gaze bold, not at all like the maid of an honorable family. Knitting his brows, he asked, Whos Guniangs [Miss] Madame? The amorous maid stretched out her finger to point, and spoke with an enchanting smile, In Changan, nobody does not know our Madame Hong, Daye must have just arrived here; am I right? Looking toward the direction she pointed at, he saw a beautifuldy [orig. fu, older woman] wearing splendid clothes, beautiful garment, sitting charmingly on a chair in the corner. Standing behind her were two big men that looked like bodyguards. Meeting his gaze, she smiled in return. Xu Ziling was greatly astonished; this woman seemed to take a fancy to him, but it could not possibly because of his dry, waxy-yellow fake face. If it were about Xu Zilings gambling skill, it would be even more baffling, because he was only ying for ten hands, eight hands, which were really not enough for the other party to form an opinion. Letting out a cold snort, he said, Laozi is in a hurry to make a fortune; I dont have time to chat with your honorable Madame. No longer paying any attention to the amorous maid, he squeezed into the crowd surrounding another table. pping the table, Li Jiancheng eximed, Good! Jingzhao [capital of the country] has one more strong and courageous man with guts. No matter victory or defeat, this Dianxia will reward each side ten taels of gold. Hou Xibai saluted him ording to the propriety; he spoke in loud and clear voice, Thank you very much for Taizi Dianxia bestowing rewards. From Li Jiancheng, his gaze turned toward Kou Zhong. As soon as their eyes met, they both immediately recognized who the other person was. However, if both of them did not know that the other man was in Changan, perhaps they would not be able to guess with 80-, 90-percent uracy in such a short period of time. Kou Zhong felt relieved, because he knew Hou Xibai could not possibly reveal their secret. Furthermore, since Li Jiancheng wanted to win over this fake Mo Wei, Kou Zhong felt even less worry. Now he could take his time in trying to figure Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber Technique out, so that when he faced this opponent in the future, he would have greater confidence of victory. Qiang! Ke Dazhi pulled the saber out of its sheath and took a stance. His movement was wless, but without any with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent feeling. Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai, who saw Ke Dazhi pulling his saber for the first time, shivered inwardly. It should be noted that even for a first-ss martial art master, as long as the weapon was in hand and poised to attack, it would automatically reveal killer, attacking, forcing C momentum. But Ke Dazhi was able to have aplete control of the momentum, whether it was to be released or to be withdrawn C ording to what his mind decided; he had indeed reached the realm of a grandmaster level. The profoundness of this fact, only brilliant masters like Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai could understand. Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan, and Wei Jiaqing, who were anxiously looking forward to Ke Dazhi upholding justice on their behalf C immediately broke into cheer and apuse. Li Jiancheng looked pleased; with calm,posed countenance he watched attentively at Hou Xibai, who has not drawn his sword yet. Noticing his natural elegance, he knew that this was also the bearing of a Wulin master. Xue Wanche was still showing a deep, imprable, enigmatic expression; he did not seem to be the least bit interested in the dragon wars, the tiger battles, which was about to happen in the hall. But Kou Zhong knew that he was concentrating his attentionpletely on Ke Dazhi; contrary to expectation, he did not seem to care about Hou Xibai at all. Hou Xibais lightly swiped his waist, the long sword suddenly appeared in his slender, long hand. He lightly waved it in front of his body just like if he were ying with the Fan of Beauty, creating a sh of sharp light. Only then did he point at the opponent, who was standing about ten paces away, and spoke with a cheerfulugh, Were it not for Ke Xiong already decided on the three-stroke limit, perhaps Xiaodi would be so scared that I couldnt even hold the sword steadily in my hand. Ke Xiong, please! Chang He, Feng Liben, both revealed a look of surprise, all because Hou Xibais movement was confident and at ease, and free, very pleasing to the eyes, implying a great expert attitude. More unexpected was that facing such a martial art like Ke Dazhi, whose name shook Changan, unexpectedly he still did not reveal the slightest trepidation. Ke Dazhis eyes suddenly became iparably sharp; with a cold shout, Good! the Sandstorm Saber immediately shot strong, fierce-beyond-humanprehension saber qi, straight toward the opponent. The originally moderate wind, beautiful sun atmosphere suddenly turned into raging sandstorm-like biting cold momentum. The most astonishing thing was that the shooting out qi energy powered by his internal strength was like a rolling sandstorm, like tiny particles pelting Hou Xibais skin that was quite painful. Such a bizarre and marvelous qigong, this was the first time that Hou Xibai encountered it. Even with Hou Xibais ability, presently he was forced to brandish the sword to make a small circle in the air, using hidden fan move to counter the opponents saber qi. Speaking about the rtive superiority of the two, Hou Xibai was already falling into the disadvantageous position. Ke Dazhis momentum did not spare the opponent at all; like a tiger finding its prey he moved forward while slightly stooping down. Two feet braced the floor, he suddenly pounced forward; as if without any effort at all the Sandstorm Saber shed down on Hou Xibai, yet none in the hall did not feel that his saber carried ten-thousand catty of force, an irresistible mighty power. Seeing this, Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly; only from this one saber strike he could tell that Ke Dazhis saber technique was in no way inferior to Ba Fenghan, who defeated the Tiele Eagle Qu Ao in the past. Simply his ability to handle-heavy-as-it-was-light was particrly outstanding. But Hou Xibai did not have time to think. As soon as the opponent released the saber momentum, saber qi already moved one step ahead to reach his body; quickly he swiped his sword like a fan and retreated at an angle backward before sending out his countermove. Suddenly lightning shed, sword qi pervaded the air,pletely enveloping the attacking Ke Dazhi inside its sphere. Qiang! Saber and sword collided. Hou Xibai staggered two steps back, deflecting Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber dangerously closely. Instead of advancing, thetter retreated, back to his original spot. Letting out a longugh, he said, Mo Xiong indeed did not disappoint Dazhi! But were it not this time we are using martial art to make friends, Dazhis Sandstorm Saber Technique would attack Mo Xiong like violently raging sandstorm. How many moves does Mo Xiong think you could receive my attack? Having just recovered from the shock, Hou Xibai mused that if he had to use the sword, which he could not take advantage of, perhaps he would breathe hisst within twenty strokes. But if he were using the Fan of Beauty, then victory or defeat would be difficult to foresee. He was a free and at ease person, who did not care about momentary gains and losses; cupping the sword in his hand, heughed and said, Ke Xiongs Sandstorm Saber Techniques name is certainly not in vain; Biren steps down gracefully. Ke Dazhi was amazed inwardly. He originally wanted to provoke Hou Xibai into making unyielding response, so that by unleashing his consummate skill, he could attack him into submission within two strokes. Who would have thought that the opponent would admit defeat on the spot? How could he then unleash the remaining two strokes? Li Jiancheng stood up with a longugh; he said, Mo Xiong is able to block one of Ke Dazhis all-out strike, it is enough to make your name spread out in the capital [orig. jingzhao, see above]. Such a talent, how could I let it fall into oblivion? Please sit down! Hearing that, Kou Zhongs heart was full of admiration. Although Li Jiancheng had used means that do not deserve to see the light to harm others, but he himself was a talent who had good taste and knew how to buy peoples heart; no wonder he could be Li Shimins adversary. Hou Xibai returned the sword into its sheath. He and Ke Dazhi were just about to take their seats, outside the door someone shouted, Xiufang Dajia [great expert] has arrived! Promptly everybody stood up. Even if Li Yuan was gracing them with his presence, they would not have shown him more respect than this. Even Ke Dazhi also revealed a longing, expectant expression. Clearly Shang Xiufang had enough charisma to impress others. Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai exchanged a nce; inwardly they had the same feeling, which was they both did not expect that under such circumstances, they would again meet this peerless tender beauty, with whom they have not met for a very long time. [1] Wu Zhu Coin, lit. five grain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wu_Zhu [2] Kaiyuan Tongbao, lit. circting treasure from the inauguration of a new epoch, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiyuan_Tongbao Book 31 - 7 – Where is the Treasure? Altogether Xu Ziling joined a total of ten different gambling tables ying various dice games; he lost seven games and won three. But because in the each game he won his bet was quite heavy, the bankers had topensate him ording to the betting ratio, hence he stillted more than seventy taels of Tongbao [see previous chapter]. Plus with the more than two hundred taels that he won previously, it was certainly a return from a rewarding journey. He had surely aroused the casinos attention; not only someone was continuously staying by himself to watch him, the dealer shaking the bowl was also reced by a rtively older veteran. This new dealers shaking-the-bowl technique did not follow certain set of steps. The dice inside the bowl did not knock against each other and the bowl horizontally, rather, they jumped straight up and fell down, and suddenly the three dice stopped at the same time, which was beyond everybodys expectation. Revealing a smile full of confidence, the dealer fixed his gaze on Xu Ziling and said, Gentlemen, honored guests, please put your bet. Xu Ziling mused that if he wanted to show off his real skill, then they would have to look at this round. He put all his win, leaving nothing, more than a hundred taels C to bet on the twelve-point gate. The honored guests who could enter the VIP hall were all either very rich people or nobility; but seeing Xu Ziling, with no visible change in his countenance, made such an extravagant bet, throwing away more than a hundred taels in one bet, it still provoked a loud murmur. One after another the other gamblers put their bet down; the majority rode the wind by putting their bet on twelve dots. Under ten-thousand crowds expectant eyes, the dealer held the lid with both hands; sharp-sighted and deft, he suddenly lifted the lid skillfully, revealing the three dices upper surface, showing four, five, and six, respectively, for a total of fifteen dots. Nobody, including Xu Ziling, put a bet on this point. A burst of disappointed sigh ensued. Xu Ziling knew his skill was a notch inferior, so that he was confused by the dealers special technique in shaking the bowl, so that he mistakenly heard six as a three. The dealer rightfullyughed and said, This time this Yeers [master] gambling luck iscking. Would you like to try again? Xu Ziling sensed that Madame Hongs eyes were fixed on him. From the first game, she had been following him, bent on seeing him putting his bet, and from time to time she also ced a bet or two. Xu Ziling took the gambling chips that Lei Jiuzhi exchanged for him, a total of more than two hundred taels C out of his pocket and ced them on the table, thinking that if lost all this money, even Lei Jiuzhi would have no choice but to let him go back to the hotel to sleep. The crowd burst into a loud whisper again. The atmosphere heated up. The veteran dealer appeared a little bit nervous. If he lost to Xu Zilings single bet, the casino would have topensate more than a thousand taels, which could not be considered a small amount! Naturally Xu Ziling did not have a hundred-percent confidence that he would win this hand, but he really did not have any regard toward this amount of money, which, for ordinary people, was enough to finance a life of luxury for at least one year. Therefore, he did not have any pressure of sess or failure. Secretly performing the Motionless Fundamental Image, he pushed his spirit and senses to its peak. Not only he used his ears to listen, he also used his heart to feel. Bang! The dice dropped; the bowl was also skillfully ced on the table. Xu Ziling heard that one of the dice was still rolling gently inside the bowl, unlike the way the dice stopped inside the bowl previously, where he did not hear one of them was still rolling. He cheered inwardly, Close call! He lost because previously he did not hear this tiny variation. Obviously this technique was aimed specifically for experts in listening to the dice. With a smile on his face, Xu Ziling put all his gambling chips on nine dots. This time everybody else ced their bets on various ces, only that Madame Hong was still following him by cing twenty taels on the same gate. The bowl was opened. It was indeed nine points. Shang Xiufangs jet-ck, shiny beautiful hair was rolled up in a bun with two locks of hairing down her temples like a fairy. She was wearing pale-green Hui attire, which was popr among various tribes around the northwest region, which had high turndown cors, with narrowing sleeves but wide bodice, long skirt dragging over the floor, the sleeves were lined with embroidered trimmings, and wearing a pair of soft cotton shoes with raised tips. Escorted by two pretty maids, she floated inside the hall. This kind of morous spirit, magnificent style unmatched in her generation, even a nobility like the Crown Prince of the Great Tang, Li Jiancheng, was overwhelmed with ashamed-of-his-own-inferiority feeling, let alone other people. Originally Li Jiancheng was rather resentful that Shang Xiufang wasingte; who would have thought that he was swept over by her pair of shallow-water rippling eyes that could pull the spirit and hook the soul, so that all resentment and indignation were entirely cast away outside the ninth-level clouds, and werepletely forgotten to the point that none remained. Shang Xiufang saluted and apologized, while still tenderly trying to catch her breath. Nobody, Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai included, did not have their soul hooked by her soft-speech and warbler-voice, and her touching manner and expression. Li Jiancheng introduced Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai, whom Shang Xiufang met for the first time. On the surface this beauty showed consistently polite demeanor, but did not pay too much attention. Two strong-looking servants, who were following behind Shang Xiufang, presented a guzheng, andid it in the middle of the hall. Everything was set, Shang Xiufang moved her jade steps and sat down in front of the guzheng. Everybody returned to their seat, while the maids and the servants withdrew outside the hall. Under everybodys expectant gaze, Shang Xiufang, with tranquil expression, plucked the strings to tune it. She casually spoke in soft voice, Building a house within mankinds territory, there is no mor from the vehicles and horses. Asking the lord how could it be, the heart is straying to a distant ce. Picking chrysanthemum under the eastern fence, leisurely looking at the southern mountain [orig. Mount Nan, perhaps Mount Zhongnan; see also Book 30 Chapter 10]. The mountain air, the fine day and night, the flying birds are returning. There is true meaning in all these, wanting to argue but already forgot the words. Using singing-the-poetry style, neither slow nor hurried, she sang the previous generations great poet Tao Yuanmings[1] pastoral poem, matched by the tune from the guzhengs strings, her clear voice lingered in the air, simr to the gentle, mellow speech in which heposed the beautiful poem brimming with mysterious touch, making people could not help but pouring out their spirit to listen respectfully, wishing that her enchanting voice would never stop. Kou Zhong turned his head to look outside the window. After the big snow, Changan was nketed in white, reflecting the soft light of the half-moon in the sky. He suddenly felt that Shang Xiufangs singing voice, brimming with powerful inspiration, had transported him into a farawaynd, and then from there, he wandered alone in endless, boundless earth. All those contention for hegemony over the world, the Duke Yangs Treasure, had be something that were happening in another world that had nothing to do with him. Each time he met Shang Xiufang in the past, there has always been a direct participation feeling. But this time, by bing the ugly man Mo Yixin, he had turned into a bystander, yet he was more engrossed instead. Even he himself did not understand why it was so. Ding! Ding! Dong! Dong! Shang Xiufangs song ended. She revealed a deep, contemtive expression, a touching demeanor of the-heart-racing-beyond-material-world. Her slender and long, elegant jade fingers, seemingly carelessly, fiddled with the strings,pletely without any trace of hatchet and chisel, weaving phrase after phrase of graceful music, hiding within it a lingering, deeply felt but not in an exaggerated way, faint resentment. The breathing between the notes, the transition between the phrases of the music, created a sense of space and beautiful line within the movement [of a symphony]; the timbre of her voice was even more like waves of multi-colored grandiose, endlessly haunting melody. Without any warning at all, Shang Xiufangs elegant, unconstrained voice leisurely, amidst the enchanting-between-the-heaven-and-the-earth guzheng sound, like the bright moon rising in the clear sky, pure and perfect C sang, There are many beautiful women in famous metropolis, the capital produces young men, treasured sword worth a thousand gold, covered in beautiful and brightly-colored clothes. Cock fighting on the eastern suburbs street, riding a horse in long autumn days, rushing headlong yet not even reaching half, to avoid passing through in front of me ... In an elusive, yet matching perfectly like seamless heavenly clothes C guzheng apaniment, her unconcerned, sensual and captivating voice sang a touching feeling. Nobody in the hall did not feel that she was singing this song exclusively for him. That kind of tender, satisfying feeling was certainly hard to describe. When the sun gallops to the southwest, the circumstances cannot be climbed anymore. The scattering clouds returning to the city, the early morning circles back. The guzheng turned urgent. It appeared sharp; washing, refining, and powerful. Just the moment the remaining feeling has not disappearedpletely, during the time when they wanted to stop but were unable to, the guzheng faded into the distance, and then suddenly stopped. While the crowd was still in the state of rude awakening, Hou Xibai, unruffled by the sentiment, was the first to apud, and said with a sigh, White horse adorned with golden bridle, galloping in quick session to the northwest. I wonder whose family is it? Hidden away together with the wandering knight. Xiufang Dajias song portrayed all living things in the capital [of the country], Zaixia prostrates myself in admiration. This song ought to exist in heaven only, human world has no right to listen. Everybody, including Kou Zhong, was stunned. If these words hade from Li Jiancheng, it would be proper and to be expected as a matter of course. Buting from an outsider, Hou Xibais mouth, it was slightly the voice of the guest overwhelms that of the host [idiom: a minor yer upstages the main attraction]. Shang Xiufang was slightly startled; looking at Hou Xibai, she spoke softly, Turns out Mo Gongzi is well-versed in both pen and sword; it ought to be Xiufang who prostrates myself in admiration! Kou Zhong quickly thought of a scheme to remedy the situation, he hastily interjected, This was the first time that Xiaoren listen to Xiufang Dajias touching immortal song; I could not help wanting to apud loudly, but Mo Xiong was one step ahead of me. Li Jiancheng recalled the first time he experienced Shang Xiufangs double-peerless, beauty and art C performance, he was also overwhelmed with forgetting-self feeling, hence he also felt relieved immediately. Rising to his full height, he said, Xiufang Dajia, please take a seat. It was only then did Hou Xibai realize that he had lost self-control in this situation. He also knew that it was unsuitable for him to stay for a long time, hence he seized this opportunity to take his leave. Kou Zhong also took this opportunity to leave with the pretext that he was tired. Chang He had no choice but to go together with him. Li Jiancheng did not detain them either, although inwardly he was wondering why with such peerless beauty present, the two of them still left as soon as they said they were leaving. Although Shang Xiufang did not say anything, these two men had left a very deep impression in her heart. Leaving Ming Tang Wo, Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi stepped into the street. Taking advantage while the Bei Li was still bustling with noise and excitement, stream of people was still unabated, the two men wandered back toward the inn. The whistling cold wind was giving them another feeling. Carrying the heavy bundle of Kaiyuan Tongbao, Lei Jiuzhi said, This gambling capital is enough to make you the King of Gamblers in Changan. In my opinion, your consummate skill in listening to the dice already surpasses mine, your master, like greening out from the blue. It has also reached the number-one-under-the-heavens realm. Xu Zilingughed and said, I dont care about that kind of number one under the heavens. Have you inquired which hallowed character that Madame Hong is? Lei Jiuzhi replied, Madame Hong is a celebrity, which no one in Guanzhong casinos does not know, simply because she has a very strong backer. Can you guess who that person is? Xu Ziling replied, Listening to the tone of your voice, it ought to be an acquaintance; but who is it? Lowering his voice, Lei Jiuzhi replied, Its Jingzhao Lians Yang WenGan. Madame Hong was originally a popr courtesan in the Shang Lin Yuan; Yang WenGan took her to be his young concubine. She loves to linger around the casinos, but its rarely heard that she seduces men, because nobody dares to touch Yang WenGans woman. I really dont understand why she fancied you. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, It must be because she took a fancy to my gambling technique. The strange thing is that after that she no longer wanted to talk to me. However, we shouldnt be involved with Yang WenGans woman either; it will only bring us harm without any benefit. Lei Jiuzhi pulled Xu Ziling into a side alley, he spoke in astonishment, I thought someone would follow our track to see where we are staying, because they want to understand our foundation clearly. Xu Ziling said, This is precisely one of our major problems. If someone is intentionally spying on us and saw us, two big gamblers, entering Dong Lai Inn, yet there really are no such two hotel guests in the end, it will be strange indeed if it doesnt rouse peoples suspicion. Putting his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, Lei Jiuzhi took him out of the alley, crossed the Guang Ming Avenue, and walked along Wang Xian Street, toward its southern end. Proud of himself, he said, Such a simple thing, naturally LaoGe has made appropriate arrangement. At the Chong Xian Li, next to Yong An Canal on the southeast corner of the West Market, I have a small courtyard, a ce where we can stay when we are doing business. I also prepared your identity. I guarantee that even if someone is investigating, they wont find anything amiss. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling said, This is not something that you could arrange in just a few days; whos supporting you from behind? Lei Jiuzhi led him turning left into the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Slowing his pace, he said, Naturally it is Hong Nong Bang people. Your LaoGe, I want to destroy Xiang Guis human trafficking business with a thousand ways, a hundred ns; half of the reason is for the sake of these sworn brothers of mine, simply because in the old dynasty, his younger sister was kidnapped by Xiang Familys men and was offered to the Sui Pce. At that time they had Yang Guangs support, nobody could do anything to their Baling Bang. But now the time hase to settle the ount with them. Recalling Susus voice and features, Xu Ziling nodded his head and said, All right! Ill do it ording to your n. Lei Jiuzhi said, When we are back to our residence, I am going to exin to you clearly about our overall n, so that you can be flexible in carrying it out. No matter how fierce and cunning those Xiang Family, father and sons, they will never expect that we are conspiring in the dark for their Xiang Familys demise. There is one more thing that I forgot to tell you. Xiao Zhong asked me to get two wetsuits [orig. water armor] for him. Tonight, if he could get away, he might meet with you to explore the buried treasure. Lu Shis concept certainly stands out from the masses; unexpectedly he had the treasure buried under the riverbed. No wonder no one could find it. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I havent had a wink for three nights straight; I do hope he wont be able to get away tonight! Chang He took Kou Zhong back to the Sha Familys magnificent mansion in the Guang De Li, northeast of the Yue Ma Bridge. He warned him a thousand times, ten thousand times that tomorrow at the beginning of Mao hour [5-7am] he woulde to pick him up into the Pce to carry out the second round of treatment for Zhang Jieyu; only then did he take his leave. Sha Fu met him and took him into the main hall. Seeing the main hall was still brightly lit and hearing the mor of people talking, Kou Zhong was aghast and halted his steps. Whosing? he asked. Sha Fu excitedly said, I dont know how many people came, but after Laoye returned from the Imperial Pce, the stream of visitors has never stopped. Just look at how many carriages parked in the outer courtyard. And then he leaned over and whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, The news about Mo Yes magical hands that can bring the dying back to life and have caused Niangniangs speedy recovery has already spread over Changan. None of the visiting guests did not ask about Mo Ye. Laoye instructed that when Mo Ye returns, to immediately ask Mo Ye to the main hall to meet the guests. Hearing that, Kou Zhong called for his Niang inwardly, while musing that a thousand things he did not disguise himself as, ten thousand things he did not disguise himself as, why must he foolishly disguise himself as a divine doctor? If this thing continued, perhaps he would not even have time to sleep because he would have to treat sick people. Theres a saying that if you say too much, you are bound to slip up at some point. If he treated sick people too much, he was bound to fail at some point. He pulled Sha Fu, who was about to step into the hall, and took him to a hidden spot. He spoke solemnly, Very early tomorrow, Guye [son-inw] maye to pick me up to bring me to the Pce to treat Niangniangs illness. This is a matter of utmost importance; I have to go to bed right now. And when I sleep, I must absolutely not be disturbed. Hey! Simply because what I train is called shui gong [sleeping skill/power]. Ha! Perhaps wo gong [lie down/couch skill/power] will be more apt. Do you understand? Sha Fu nodded incessantly and said, Of course treating Niangniangs illness is more important. Xiaoren will take Mo Ye back into your room, and then immediately report to let Laoye know. Only then did Kou Zhong feel relieved. But his mind already flew to the not-so-far-away-outside-the-courtyard Yue Ma Bridge. The drum signaling the second watch of the night [9-11 pm] was heard from the direction of the West Market. A squad of patrolling troops walked past from the Yue Ma Bridge, along the Yong An Canal, heading south, gradually getting farther away in the quiet, nobody-was-around street, carrying away the bright light from the windntern, so that once again the moon cast its weak light on the Yue Ma Bridge under the cold night. Without making any noise, Xu Zilings head appeared on the surface of the water under the bridge. He swam toward the pir of the bridges arch. With both hands holding on to the column shaft, he regted his breathing and circted his qi. It was quite some timeter before it was Kou Zhongs turn to surface. He came to Xu Zilings side. Gasping for breath, he said with a wry smile, Before her death Niang only said Yue Ma Bridge; what she did not say could be a thousand paces to the bridges east, or two thousand paces to the bridges west. In short, it could not possibly be at the bottom of the bridge. Quite possibly that in those days, Changan was the most well-managed city in the Central ins. The bottom of the big canal ought to have been cleaned recently. The silt and mud umted at the bottom of the canal have been filtered and purified clean. The two boys spent nearly half a sichen tob every chi and every cun exploring the canal, yet they still could not find any trace of the entrance to the hidden treasure. Xu Ziling swept his eyes over the huge mansions of the rich and powerful families in the dense darkness around the arch bridge. He sighed and said, We cant go to every building and every door to search for it, can we? These magnificent mansions have vicious dogs protecting the courtyard, plus we are not supposed to be exposed to the light. Ay! Tell me what should we do now? Displeased, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao has never been one who would give up easily; why is this treasure hunt an exception? Stunned, Xu Ziling stared nkly for half a day. Apologetically he said, I was wrong! All right! From this moment on, I will do my best to find the treasure for you. Sess or failure, I will abide by your decision and let you be in charge. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder; he said, Now, THATs my good brother. Lets not talk about the treasure for now, I want to know about your Great Method of Exchanging the Person; how everybody can fit togetherter. Good kid, you are really quite something, unexpectedly you got Hou Xibai to take your ce. Otherwise you will never be able to pass this Li Shimin hurdle. Xu Ziling briefly narrated the situation he was facing. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, From what Li Jing said, Feng Deyi ought to be Li Jianchengs imperial strategic adviser, why did it look like he is setting himself against Li Jiancheng? Xu Ziling said, The way I see it, his rtionship with Li Jiancheng is rather delicate. He told me not to mention anything about Li Jiancheng when I went to see Li Yuan. If he really set himself against Li Jiancheng, he ought to expose Chang Lin Armys wicked conduct via my mouth. Sooner orter you will find out the rtionship between them, Kou Zhong said, But you disguise yourself as Yue Shan and go see Li Yuan, there is a great risk here; I wonder if you have thought about it. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling asked, What risk? Surprised, Kou Zhong said, You are rarely this forgetful. Perhaps because I had just seen Shang Xiufang and she left a very deep impression in my heart that I was thinking about this matter. Suddenly understood what he meant, Xu Ziling said, I really have not thought about this matter. But before I understand clearly the rtionship between Shang Xiufang and Yue Shan, avoiding and not seeing her shouldnt be a problem. Kou Zhong agreed, Fortunately the Yue Shan you are impersonating is reclusive and arrogant by nature, so that whatever you are doing, people would think that it is quite natural. Ha! I really cant believe that you have such an old man like Huang Gongcuo as a rival in love. Xu Zilings mind was being used to think about something else. He asked, What do you think about Lei Jiuzhi and Hou Xibai? Are we going to let them join our treasure hunt operation? Frowning, Kou Zhong pondered, You are a bit more familiar with those two than I am; what do you think? Xu Ziling confidently said, They are trustworthy friends. Only Hou Xibai has a difficult-to-distinguish gratitude and grudges with Shi Zhixuan. Plus the Duke Yangs Treasure involves the Demonic Emperor Relics, so that I have no choice but to be a bit more careful. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This is called there is a difference between close and distant rtives. Lei Jiuzhi can, after all, be considered one of our own, but Hou Xibai is half outsider. Lets just let them participate with this in mind! Xu Ziling said, Its not that I deliberately want toplicate the issue, but Lei Jiuzhi wanting to deal with the Xiang Family; however, either for the good of themon people or for selfish reason, we shouldnt be shirked without dishonor. And then Hou Xibai wanting to snatch back the other half of the Image Scroll from Yang Xuyans hands, it is difficult for us just to watch with folded arms. This ... Kou Zhongughed and cut him off, We are all brothers, why did you speak like a stranger? Ling Shaos decision is my, Kou Zhongs decision. No need to speak superfluous words. Looking up at the sky, Xu Ziling said, While there are still about two sichen before daybreak, why dont we go back to sleep earlier. When we wake up tomorrow, well think again how to proceed with the treasure hunt. Wait! Kou Zhong said, In the book about architecture that Lu Dashi left for you, is there any reference about cave dwelling or hidden storage construction? Shaken, Xu Ziling said, Lucky that you bring it up in time. In his book, there is indeed a chapter about secret passages and underground construction principles. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Its not that you havent thought about it, but basically you have no intention to think about it. Ay! Yet you still say we are brothers! Xu Zilingughed involuntarily. You cannot find the treasure, and then constantly put the me on me, he said, All right, I apologize again. In his book, the chapter has a section which content is kind of vague, I am not sure if it is about hidden underground cave dwelling or storage. The entire section talks about the design of the entrance, empty is solid, and solid is empty, which could be difficult to find in a hundred generations. When he wrote about that, perhaps in his mind he was thinking about the Duke Yangs treasure. Immediately Kou Zhongs eyes brightened; while scanning the magnificent mansions standing in great numbers by the canal, he spoke in low voice, The Duke Yangs treasure may still be at the bottom of the bridge, but the entrance might be in one of the houses nearby. We need to find out which house belonged to Yang Su that year, or perhaps which house was constructed during the time Yang Su held power; there ought to be a list about that. This information ought to be in certain archive room in some department office in the Imperial City! Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Even with you and I, our two boys skill, sneaking into the Imperial City is still an extremely dangerous thing. Compared to the Old Fox Wangs Luoyang Pce City, this ce is a lot more heavily-guarded. His spirit greatly aroused, Kou Zhong said, I am convinced that there must be an old timer in Changan who would know about this matter, then we wont need to take risks to investigate. You and I will search separately; if we can find such premises, the scope of our investigation will be greatly narrowed. Time is limited, for each day we are able to leave with the treasure sooner, our danger is reduced by one part. Dont you ever think that I am snug and cozy in Changan! Laughing in spite of himself, Xu Ziling said, You, this kid, are always afraid I am not willing to give it my best; in every single turn you always remind me one time. Go back quickly! Tomorrow early morning you still have to y Divine Doctor! Kou Zhong said, There is another important thing that I havent told you. Your Princess is alsoing to Changan! Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What Princess? Kou Zhong whispered in his ear, Its Dong Ming Gongzhu [princess] Shan Wanjing! Hearing that, the frown on Xu Zilings sword-shaped eyebrows rxed; he casually struck back, Hows your date with Xiuning Gongzhu? Rolling his eyes, Kou Zhong swam toward the end of the bridge, I havent thought about that, he replied. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, but it was unclear whether it was for himself or for Kou Zhong. In dazed, he followed behind Kou Zhong, swimming toward the end of the bridge. [1] Tao Yuanming (c. 365-427), Jin dynasty writer and poet. Book 31 - 8 – Dropping by To Seek Vengeance Chang He and Kou Zhong waited in the outer hall of the Ning Bi Pavilion. The former spoke in low voice, This morning Huangshang is having an urgent meeting with Taizi Dianxia [His Highness the Crown Prince] and Qin Wang in the inner imperial court; otherwise, Huangshang would definitely personallye here. Rubbing his eyes forck of sleep, Kou Zhong casually asked, Howe I did not see Qi Wang? Like an old friend who stick together through thick and thin, Chang He replied, Qi Wang went to Guan Wai [outside the Pass, see also Book 30 Chapter 5] for an important matter; he has not returned yet. Zheng Gonggong came out; with smile across his face, he respectfully said, Niangniang invites Mo Shen Yi in. Kou Zhong followed him into the inner chamber. This time, dressed neatly, Zhang Jieyu was sitting on a recliner. Although she was still far away from glowing with health and vigor, her sickly look has gone, her cheeks were showing a little bit of color. As long as one was not blind, anybody would be able to see that she was in the middle of recovery. Zhang Jieyu was wearing phoenix crown on her head, her tastefully chosen dress was of beautiful deep blue-green color with pearl-colored trim. A brocade gown was draped on the outside, a white jade double-ornamented belt was tied around her waist. She appeared graceful, luxurious, dainty, and charming; no wonder she could be Li Yuans beloved pet. Naturally she treated Kou Zhong with utmost courtesy. Revealing a cordial smile, she said, This past half a month Aijia has never slept as well as I didst night; Mo Xiansheng did not bear the title Divine Doctor in vain. After greeting with raised cupped hands, Kou Zhong boldly sat on the chair prepared especially for him to examine her illness next to the couch, musing inwardly that you, beauty, had enough sleep, but I had just closed my eyes and already Sha Fu woke me up. Zhang Jieyu obediently stretched out her jade hand from inside the gauzed sleeve to let Kou Zhong put his three fingers on her wrist. Unexpectedly she expressed her feeling, saying, Why do, in life, we must suffer all kinds of suffering and torment, big and small from time to time? Naturally no one among the eunuchs and pce maids apanying her was able to answer this question. Kou Zhong was examining the condition of the qi and blood within her tender body in full concentration; absent-mindedly he blurted out, That depends on the reason of living. If it is for the sake of experiencing life, then we ought to taste a small amount of all kinds of experience. Hey! I was just babbling nonsense; Niangniang, please do not me me. Zhang Jieyu looked at his ugly face in daze. She said, Xianshengs remark is extremely novel, nobody has ever told Aijia such way of looking at things. Clearly Xiansheng is not one who confines himself tomon propriety; your temperament is frank, you will say whatever you are thinking. How could Aijie me Xiansheng? However, the torment of illness, I would rather not taste it. Originally Kou Zhong wanted to just be a yes-man and nodded his head in agreement and be done with it, yet he could not help saying, Illness is notpletely without any benefit either; at least it could remind us to watch our health. For example, a knife cut is painful, hence we know that we must avoid the knife. If it didnt hurt, even if others cut our hands, we will not know it. Ha! Therefore, people who train martial art ought to be most afraid of pain. Zhang Jieyu was stunned. What Xiansheng said is not unreasonable, she remarked. Kou Zhong thought the time hase not to use reckless move anymore, it was time to use the needles. Taking out Sha Zhijings nine-needle copper case, he said with a smile, After this time, Xiaoren shouldnt need toe again to treat Niangniangs illness! Early in the morning, Hou Xibais Gong Chenchun came to Dong Lai Inn to look for Lei Jiuzhi and Xu Ziling. In order to hide from peoples eyes and ears, thetter was wearing the waxy-yellow-faced mask. Following Lei Jiuzhis direction, he used the name Yong Qin, a gambler cum traveling merchant from Shandong. The three had their discussion inside the room. Hou Xibai said, Last night Li Jiancheng sent his man to deliver five taels of gold. I declined the reward in front of Xing Chang Long people; I wonder if I did the right thing? Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Lei Jiuzhi said, It was the totally right thing to do; but the question is how Li Jiancheng is going to swallow this annoyance. Who cares about his Niang? Xu Ziling said, The present situation is delicate. This fellow Gong Chenchun is being drawn separately by Li Shimin, Li Yuan and Feng Deyi. Li Jiancheng is not without any misgiving. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, But surely Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber Techniques name is not in vain. Even if I can use the Fan of Beauty to fight his Sandstorm Saber, victory or defeat is still unknown; if I had to use sword, I am afraid I wontst but a few strokes. This man is an ultimate disaster. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, For me, using weapon or not, there wont be much difference. If we have a chance to encounter Ke Dazhi, we could swap identities just before the fight; let me deal with him. Frowning, Lei Jiuzhi said, What I am afraid the most is if we suddenlye across him and have no time to swap identities. Shrugging his shoulders, Hou Xibai said, That shouldnt be a problem. This is the House of Tangs heavenly capital, and Ke Dazhi belongs to the Chang Lin Army, he cannot kill anybody easily, I will simply lure him to set a date for a decisive battle; at that time Ziling can leisurelying on top. But this Tujue barbarian indeed has solid skill, Ziling must never treat him lightly. Xu Ziling smiled and said, No matter who the opponent is, I have never underestimated the enemy. Hou Xibai said, There is another problem: Qin Wang seems to have the intention to recruit me into his Heavenly Policy Mansion. How should Xiaodi handle this problem? Xu Ziling decisively said, This might be spinning-a-cocoon-around-oneself problem. Hou Xiong can use the pretext that your ancestor prohibited the Mo Familyster generation to be government officials. It would be best if you drop hints to Bu Ting and the others earlier rather thanter. If the rumor reaches Li Shimins ears, this problem will be solved. Eximing in admiration, Lei Jiuzhi said, Zilings brain can move really fast. No matter how difficult the problem is, in your hands it suddenly be the bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. Hou Xibai cheerfully said, Xiaodi was just about to draw support from Zilings ability and wisdom to get the Image Scroll back from Yang Xuyans hands. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I am afraid this problem of yours can only be solved via the Overbearing Saber Yue Shans hands. If we let Li Yuan know about Pei Jus real identity and his rtionship with Yang Xuyan, we might get the result of buy-one-get-three, i.e. we could offer the secret collusion between Yang WenGan and Yang Xuyan, and Yang Xuyan and Dong Shuni, together. Then we might be able to fish in troubled water. While we are at it, ughtering Yang Xuyan is not an impossible thing either. Remembering Yang WenGans young concubine Madame Hong, Lei Jiuzhi nodded and said, Concerning Yang WenGan, we still need to do some work. Xu Ziling calmly said, We dont have much time. The time hase for Yue Shan, the Senior, to make his appearance! Apanied by Zheng Gonggong, Kou Zhong returned to the main hall. Chang He nervously asked, Hows Zhang Niangniangs condition? Zheng Gonggong rushed to answer, Mo Xiansheng is worthy to be called Divine Doctor. This time the effect of the needle is even more miraculous, Niangniangs countenance looks like as if she was never sick. Returning to his true color, Kou Zhong giggled and said, Now Niangniang only need a bit of nap. I dare say that her illness has beenpletely eradicated, and will not recur. Chang Hes entire body rxed, simply because this matter is closely rted to his future sess or failure as a government official. Yin De Niangniang has arrived! The three were stunned; they hurriedly knelt down to wee the imperial concubines honored self. Yin De Fei [fei means imperial concubine] was the most powerful C apart from Zhang Jieyu C imperial consort in the Imperial Pce; both received special favor from Li Yuan. Moreover, she was the other important imperial concubine from whom Li Jiancheng painstakingly wanted to win favor by fawning on her. Taking a furtive nce at her, Kou Zhong saw a beautiful woman, wearing buttoned cape with wide sleeves, its length reached her knees, the top embroidered with five-colored trimmed with golden thread decorative design C walking slowly with eunuchs and pce maids crowding around her. Inside the cape, she was wearing short-sleeved long skirt. The skirts waist was fastened high above her natural waist, almost to the armpits, making this originally slender, jade-like Yin De Fei appeared even morenky and lithe. Her lotus steps lightly moved as she swayed over; extremely touching, definitely not inferior to Zhang Jieyu in any respect. Kou Zhong had to admit that both Yin De Fei and Zhang Jieyu were natural beauties who could turn the world upside down. Compared to Dong Shuni, they have some kind of more mature grace; no wonder Yang Xuyan had to use heretical school skill to help Dong Shuni striving for favor. Three gentlemen, you may rise! Following Chang He and Zheng Gonggongs example, Kou Zhong stood up. He pretended to be panic-stricken, not daring to lift his head to look at her. Yin De Fei spoke softly, This must be Mo Shen Yi; hows Jiejies condition? Kou Zhong replied, Zhang Niangniang has fully recovered, the Heaven blesses Huangshang. Yin De Fei burst in praises and admiration; she said, This time Mo Shen Yi has rendered great merit, Huangshang will certainly bestow heavy reward. If Mo Shen Yi has any cherished desire, you may speak without hesitation. Just like Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong was most afraid of being entangled by government bureaucracy, which would make him unable to go anywhere. Hastily he replied, Xiaorens only cherished desire is that Chang Jiangjun will climb step by step. This time, were it not for Chang Jiangjuning with Xiaoren all over Changan to find the elixir to be used, it would be difficult to achieve this miraculous efficacy. As for Xiaoren, it is necessary to follow my ancestors wishes of the deceased, before reaching the age of forty I must roam the world to the benefit ofmon people, while also broadening my horizon. Hearing that, Chang He was so moved that he hurriedly dropped to his knees. Yin De Fei was very impressed with Kou Zhongs indifferent to fame and fortune heart; she praised, Turns out Xiansheng is a man with high aspirations; Yin De failed to venerate you! And then, turning toward Chang He she said, Chang Jiangjun rmending Mo Xiansheng to Taizi Dinxia, you have also rendered great merit. Aijia will definitely call on Huangshangs attention, we wont forget Jiangjuns contribution. Finished speaking, she went into the inner hall to visit Zhang Jieyu. By the time they left the Pce, Chang He already considered Kou Zhong as life and death friend; he pulled him toward Fu Ju Lou for a celebratory luncheon. Compared to yesterday, naturally the two mens mood now was like heaven and earth. Disguised as Yue Shan, upright and unafraid Xu Ziling stepped onto the Yue Ma Bridge. Whether his unusual appearance, his imposing figure, or his overbearing momentum, everything made other people could not help but to cast a couple extra nces toward him. Coming down the bridge, he turned toward the direction of the West Market. His destination was the Zheng Wang Fang [Political Goodwill Lane (Courtesy of Akw)] at the northeast corner of the West Market, adjacent to the Imperial City. Those able to live in this area not only had to be rich to be able to afford it, but also must have authority and power to seed. Inside the Wang Fang [king block], mansion houses stood in great numbers, all were official residences of high official and noble persons. Xu Ziling stopped outside a huge mansion. The que above the door said Hainan Huang Fu [Huang of the South Seas Mansion], four big letters. After taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling secretly gathered his strength, and then when the stored up energy reached its highest level, he let out a deep shout, and released an iron first, unleashing the power of the Treasured Vase Image, heavily struck the big wooden door, which was made of red wood, carved in detailed and delicate flower pattern. Boom! The spiraling energy was released, like a fragile piece of wood the big wooden door shattered into wood chips, sttering and swirling away into the inner courtyard. The courtyard door turned into a rectangr hole. The loud noise immediately alerted the residents of this mansion, who were Nanhai Pai disciples. Momentarily human voices were like a boiling cauldron, more than a dozen armed men and women burst out from the main entrance of the mansion. Xu Ziling, as the fake Yue Shan, precisely came here to create a disturbance; the noisier the better. The most ideal would be if he could create a stir in the whole city, to let everyone know that Yue Shans honorable self has arrived. Slightly pulling up the hem of his long gown, which was like Yue Shans trademark, he stepped across the threshold and entered in. Two big men roared angrily, one holding a saber, the other a spear, they both pounced on him. Behind them a man thundered, Who dares to disy shockingly bad behavior inside our Nanhai Pai? Swaying his shoulders, Xu Ziling floated forward like moving clouds and flowing water. He swayed left and right just before the saber and the spear reached his body, and thus evaded the enemys weapons by a hairsbreadth. Afterwards he thrust both hands to the left and right simultaneously. The two men clearly saw his palms wereing, but they were incapable to evade. They were hit squarely by the palms and were thrown backward, no longer able to crawl back up. Two persons, one man and one woman, attacked together with a saber and a sword from the top of the steps going down. Evidently they had worked hard in fighting in formation; their coordination was like seamless heavenly clothes. Because their Zhangmenren [headmaster] the Golden Spear Mei Xun and most of the Sects martial art masters wereing with Li Yuanji out of the Pass to deal with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys, the remaining disciples staying in Changan, with the exception of the Nanhai Xian Weng Huang Gongcuo, were second-ss martial art masters. Xu Ziling was very clear of this situation, hence the reason he openly dropped by to pick a fight, to look for Huang Gongcuo to settle the ount. Plus there was no better way to let Li Yuan know that he, Yue Shan, has arrived. Imitating Yue Shan, Xu Zilings eyes shooting out deep, cold rays of light, staring with powerful, fierce-withoutpanions momentum, without stopping a single step, he climbed the stairs to meet the enemy; his two hands chopped like lightning, icy cold murderous spirit surged out like the tide. Before the enemys attack arrived, he already made them feel their skin hurting, their breathing was difficult, immediately their will to fight was snatched away, they were unable to put their real skill to use. Dang! Dang! Under unending shing noise, not a single one of four enemies sabers and swords was lucky enough to evade Xu Zilings palm chops. Two enemies weapons were thrown off their hands; another person was hit by his kick and was sent flying backward. The female disciple holding a sword had her sword snatched away by him. They were utterly routed, and scattered in all directions to evade. Xu Ziling stabbed the sword backhandedly, sweeping the man attacking him from behind, sending both the man and his stick rolling down the long steps. He was just about to kill his way into the hall when a stick shadow shed out from the inside, swiftly hacking down on his head. The movement was faster than lightning or the spark from a flint, plus the stick wind was like the mountain, iparably fierce and severe. Even with Xu Zilings ability, he did not dare to meet the attack head-on. At the same time he remembered Yue Shan mentioning this person in his memoir, saying that he could be rated as the other martial art master of Nanhai Pai, apart from Huang Gongcuo. The stick wielder was an old man wearing brocade gown, his hair and beard had turnedpletely white. When the iron stick was moved back and forth, there was no hesitation in changing the moves midway; from swift hack it changed into straight stab, swiftly taking the middle of Xu Zilings waist. Ferocious and ruthless. Xu Ziling let out Yue Shans longughter; he calmly said, Qimei Gun [frowning eyebrows[1] stick] Mei Tian, after so many years you have not shown any progress. While still speaking, he already moved the sword to deflect the stick away, and then casually counterattacked the opponent until he blocked to the left and clumsily moved to the right. Suddenly he tossed the sword away and sent out a punch. Mei Tian has never expected that he would abandon the sword to use his fist instead. Hastily he used his stick to block, but with a miserable grunt he was hit by the fist power and was sent inside the door. The main mansions gate finally fell. This series on contacts between the two sides happened in just a few breaths and was quickly over. Only this moment did the other people have the opportunity to attack Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling strode into the hall. Both hands unfolding his brilliant skill of borrowing-force-to-deflect-force, forcing the attacking enemies to fall to the left and tumbling to the right in utter defeat. Mei Tian swung his stick again to attack. Naturally Xu Ziling did not need to be polite. Using force to attack force, in less than ten moves his finger jabbed the jianjing vital acupoint on the opponents shoulder. Mei Tian staggered and tumbled back, he nearly fell on his butt on the ground. After this fierce battle, nobody else in the hall was able to fight. Tossing his head back in loudughter, Xu Ziling said, Huang Gongcuo, where are you? I, Yue Shan, havee to collect your debt! Mei Tian struggled hard to suppress his surging blood and qi; he hatefully said, Huang Gong is at the West Markets Fu Ju Lou. Yue Shan, if you have guts go find him there! Xu Ziling disdainfully said, Do I need to have guts to go look for Huang Gongcuo? Were it not for Laofu restraining my anger early on, dont even think that there would be one single mouth remain alive inside this mansion. Just consider you guys lucky. With a loudugh he swaggered out. Chang He and Kou Zhong sat on the same table they sat yesterday; raising their cups, they toasted each other, happy and excited. In one breath Chang He ordered seven, eight kinds of dishes. It did not matter how big of an eater these two were, there was no way they could finish this much food. After pouring down the yellow soup into his throat, while gasping for breath, Chang He said, Yin De Niangniangs one word has more power than Taizi Dianxias ten words; this time Mo Xiong is really my true friend. In the future, Mo Xiongs problem will be my, Chang Hes problem. Kou Zhongs eyes were roaming around the mansions and the surrounding area of the Yue Ma Bridge; he casually remarked, Other than medical knowledge, Xiaodi also indulge in the study of architecture. Hey! This interest was also cultivated by Jiashu. Already regarding him as a deity, Chang He sincerely praised, Turns out Mo Xiong is such an erudite and multi-talented person. But Changan is a new city; the oldest construction is only a few decades old. Babbling wildly, Kou Zhong said, Old or new is not important; the most important is the architectural creativity. In Changan, who might have conducted special research and have the most extensive experience in this aspect? Chang He replied, The previous generations greatest architect was naturally Zi Wenqiao; the city of Changan was built under his supervision. But now the person you want ought to be the Gongbu Shangshu [lit. Minister of the Ministry of Works (in imperial China)] Liu Zhenghui. Nobody knows Changan constructions more than he does. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Is it possible to arrange a meeting with this Gongbu Daren? Chang He cheerfully replied, Even if you didnt want to see him, you cant. Just yesterday he came to me, asking me if Mo Xiong could treat his sons illness. But how could I be in the mood to talk to him yesterday? And then he suddenly leaned closer and spoke in lowered voice, Ke Dazhi ising again! Kou Zhong turned his head to look at the entrance. Ke Dazhi was climbing the stairs, upright and unafraid. The man leading the group was unexpectedly Li Mi, with Wang Bodang following behind him. Scared, Kou Zhong quickly turned his head back; his heart was thumping. Chang He went on, Fu Ju Lou seems to be particrly lively today, even Nanhai Pais old fellow Huang Gongcuo is alsoing. Apanying him are, unexpectedly, Qi Wangs doted general Zi Wenbao and Libu Shangshu [lit. Minister of the Ministry of Appointments (in imperial China)] Zhang Liang. Casting a furtive look, Kou Zhong indeed saw the appearing-to-be-immortal-elderly-man Bu Lao Shenxian [not growing old Daoist immortal] Huang Gongcuo, chatting andughing happily with two other men on the other corner. Returning to the previous topic, Chang He said, Since Mo Xiansheng has the intention to get to know Liu Daren of the Ministry of Works, let Xiaodi apany Xiansheng to stop by and pay him a visit; I guarantee that he will wee you with open arms. Kou Zhong was about to answer, Ke Dazhi came over to greet the two men; heughed and said, Tonight we are going to Shang Lin Yuan again to drink our fill; Xiaodi will be the host, two gentlemen must give me a little bit of face. Thinking that quite possibly Li Mi and Wang Bodang would be two guests of honor, Kou Zhong hastily said, Its not that Xiaoren does not want to give you a face, but ... ay! The so-called people fear getting famous like pigs fear fattening up (for the ughter) [idiom: fame has its price],ter on I will have to rush about everywhere for patient consultation. If you dont believe me, ask Chang Jiangjun. Chang He nodded repeated. The fact was that he actually did not have too good of an impression toward Ke Dazhi, this foreign outstanding swordsman, hence he did not have the desire to get close to him. Hearing that, without the slightest trace of politeness Ke Dazhi plopped his butt on the chair. But just as he was about to speak, a gloomy, hoarse voice came from the direction of Yue Ma Bridge, saying, Huang Qisha [seven-killing],e down here immediately for Yue Ba Dao! The entire originally morous Fu Ju Lou instantly became crow and peacock made no sound. Kou Zhong craned his neck to see; to his shock he saw Yue Shan was standing at the end of the bridge. His entire person exuded a considering-oneself-unexcelled-in-world overbearing spirit. Kou Zhong could not help eximing, Excellent! inwardly. He understood the purpose behind Xu Zilings action. [1] Qimei (ü), lit. eyebrowsing together, could being from an idiom: ٰü, lit. to lift the tray to eyebrow level; mutual respect in a marriage. Additional exnation courtesy of Akw: the namees from the length of the staff stand from the ground to the eyebrow of the user. Book 31 - 9 – The Battle of Prancing Horse Huang Gongcuo leaped out through the window; like a shooting star he flew through the air from Fu Ju Lous third floor, traversing the nearly twenty-zhang distance, andnded on the western end of the Yue Ma Bridge. His body did not sway the slightest bit. Ke Dazhi moved his chair to the window. Looking down, with eyes shooting sharp divine light like an eagle, he fixed his gaze on Yue Shan without blinking at all. Kou Zhong hurriedly followed Ke Dazhis example, he pulled the chair to the window, so that he was now sitting between Ke Dazhi and Chang He C before the other people also leaving their tables to crowd around the windows on this side to watch the battle C and thus upying advantageous position. Seeing that one of thebatants who was about to fight was Huang Gongcuo, who was a celebrity of a grandmaster level in Changan, plus the high-ranking officials and the ministers upstairs did not say anything to stop the fight, the guards on duty at the bridge also did not dare to step forward to intervene. At the time where the chaos of war reigned, the worlds martial wind was zing vigorously. Although Changan had prohibition against personal duel, using martial art to settle differences was still happening. Worse yet, the Chang Lin Army was going on the rampage without any scruple. Therefore, since Huang Gongcuo could be considered as an important figure belonging to the Princelings Faction, under normal situation, the city guards would not have the courage to be involved in their actions. As if he was talking to himself, Ke Dazhi spoke heavily, Yue Shan ought to have a higher chance of victory. Kou Zhong greatly shivered inwardly, realizing that Ke Dazhis superior eyesight was able to see Xu Zilings formidability from his imposing manner. It should be noted that after going through various battles everywhere around the world, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have tempered themselves and have already risen above others, so that they were now worthy to face martial art masters of Ning Daoqi level and his contemporaries. Even top figureheads of demonic school like Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, and the likes have wanted to kill them, but until now they have not been able to. In the battle of the Virtuous Temple, the two boys fought against the Buddhist schools Four Great Holy Monks; although it was not a life and death battle, plus the four monks were leaving them some leeway, but the two boys power was enough to match any one of those four monks. This was an undeniable fact. The moment the two boys stepped out of the Virtuous Temple gate was the exact same moment that they ascended into the rank of the worlds top martial art masters; there was no need to be afraid of anybody anymore. In using battle to raise battle, the two young martial art masters overflowing with talent finally reached the realm of great sess. Li Mis voice was heard behind Kou Zhong, How could Huang Gongcuo be someone who is easy to deal with? In my opinion, victory or defeat is still difficult to foresee. Someone, unclear who,mented, Hows Huang Gongcuopared to the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying? Naturally nobody could answer this question. This moment Yue Shan let out another longugh; the crowd stopped their whispered discussion to watch with concentrated attention. The guards stopped the pedestrians, vehicles and horses that were about to enter the bridge. By the time Huang Gongcuo reached the top of the bridge and stood face-to-face some distance away from Yue Shan, the entire Yue Ma Bridge has be the dedicated arena for their battle. Xu Ziling stopped his carrying-the-momentum-of-refraining-the-cloud-and-splitting-the-rockughter, and spoke calmly and indifferently, Didnt Huang Qi Sha want to send me, Yu Shan, returning to heaven [i.e. die] outside the Pass? Originally I did not have any intention to enter the Pass. But since you are intentionally trying to hinder me from entering the Pass, there must be a secret that you dont want others to find out, so I insist on entering the Pass to see what it is, to see whether these past few years you, Huang Qi Sha C were making any progress or not. On the surface, Huang Gongcuos expression looked normal, but inwardly his heart was burning with rage; he really did not understand how Yue Shan couldpletely evade Yang WenGans extensive intelligencework and suddenly appear inside the city of Changan. But of course right now it was not the time to bother about such minor side issues [orig. branches and knots]. In fact, he had been caught in no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation. Naturally he understood the rtionship between Yue Shan and Li Yuan, which was precisely the main reason he tried to stop Yue Shan from entering the Pass. If he killed the opponent, Li Yuans reaction would really be hard to predict; of course he must not let himself be heavily injured or even killed by the opponent either. Immediately letting out a coldugh, he said, You, Yue Ba entering the Pass, what does it have to do with Laofu? But since you dare to stop by, I, Huang Gongcuo, have no problem in settling the old ount of many years. Less chat, make your move! Xu Ziling was able topletely grasp the contradiction in Huang Gongcuos heart; he calmly said, In my life, I have experience countless people, but such a despicable, shameless man like you, Huang Gongcuo, is the first. You dare to do it but did not dare to admit it; which schools important figure are you? Today, even if you did not wish to fight, you simply have to fight. I, Yue Shan, am returning to the fray after a period of inactivity, is precisely to determine your destiny. Huang Gongcuo no longer responding; taking a step forward, his eyes enveloped the opponent, he showed his deeply experienced bearing. He was indeed worthy to be considered a grandmaster level martial art master who made his name for more than sixty years. Just as he was stepping forward, immediately a powerful momentum C like deep cold to the bones, like a wall or like the edge of a de C icy cold energy violently flowing out, bursting to attack the opponent. Xu Ziling secretly performed the Motionless Fundamental Image, while standing steadily like a mountain, and said with a longugh, This should be our third encounter; I hope you, Huang Qi Sha will not disappoint me! Although he was talking with big tone, but with the excessive prestige with which Yue Shan killed Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, nobody thought that he was speaking conceited nonsense. Letting out a cold humph, Huang Gongcuo took another step forward. The atmosphere was getting tenser. Even though there was no wind, his clothes swelled and fluttered; he even had enough power to blow Xu Zilings clothes that it was also rustling in the wind. When martial art masters were vying against one another, the imposing manner was indeed out of the ordinary. Any Wulin figures, either upstairs or by the bridge, with the exception of select number of people, all felt that if they were in Yue Shans situation, perhaps they would already be scared out of his wits and run away in defeat. Withplete attention, Xu Ziling fixed his eyes on Huang Gongcuo, not daring to blink at all. He deliberately provoked the opponent with words, because he wanted to force him to take the initiative by attacking first. His own mental state has entered the tranquil-without-any-ripple realm, all thought of life and death, victory or defeat, were already thrown outside the sphere of his consideration. Just the instant before Huang Gongcuos second step touched the ground, Xu Ziling, swift beyond human understanding C took arge stride forward, closing the distance between the two men to nearly eight chi. Although there was a slight difference between the moment the two took their separate steps, but the moment their feet touch the ground waspletely without any difference, as if they had rehearsed it many times before. Watching upstairs, Kou Zhong cheered inwardly. Xu Zilings move has forced Huang Gongcuo from taking the initiative into passive position; he would have no choice but to attack in order to equalize their stands. Ke Dazhi let out a sigh of admiration. Li Mi and Wang Bodang also eximed, Good! in chorus, although it was unclear as to which side their cheer was directed to. Sure enough, Huang Gongcuo let out a loud shout and sent out a punch, creating a sudden and powerful fist wind, carrying a copsing-the-mountain, crushing-the-rock momentum, so that others would not dare to meet it head-on. A smile escaped from the corner of Xu Zilings mouth. But appearing on fake Yue Shans face, it produced a grim-without-equal impression, which matched Yue Shans character like seamless heavenly clothes. Huang Gongcuos Qi Sha Quan [seven-killing fist] actually only used sixty-, seventy-percent of his power, which was precisely the ideal oue that Xu Ziling wanted to obtain using all kinds of tricks and schemes. From the time he issued the challenge, Xu Ziling has already upied the upper hand. Because Xu Ziling has publicly uncovered Huang Gongcuos plot of obstructing him from entering the Pass, plus the contradiction in his heart, Huang Gongcuo had a lot of misgivings in whether he ought to go all-out against him or not. Under all kinds of adverse circumstances like this, naturally his power was greatly reduced. On top of that, he still had one fatal weakness, which was: from Yue Shans memoir, Xu Ziling had learned about Huang Gongcuos Qi Sha Quan like the back of his own hand, while to Huang Gongcuo, the Yue Shan in front of his eyes was absolutely unfathomably deep. This side diminishing the other side growing, naturally Huang Gongcuo had to pay dearly. Bang! Xu Ziling used his palm to seal the attack; without any fake move or fancy stance he met Huang Gongcuos punch head-on. The twobatants swayed backward at the same time. Unexpectedly the twos power was on par with each other. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Good kid! He had the clearest understanding that in term of power maturity, Xu Ziling would not be able to match Huang Gongcuo, no matter what. If in just one punch Huang Gongcuo managed to strike him that he staggered backward, it would be strange indeed if people did not suspect whether he was the real Yue Shan or not. But Xu Ziling cleverly engineered this situation, where he was able to meet Huang Gongcuos punch without being inferior in any respect. And then he would unleash his shenfa to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial, nobody would suspect that in term of power he was inferior to the opponent. This was certainly a sensible act. The subtleties in this matter, although there were a thousand people stood in a circle and watch, only he, one person, would understand. Sure enough, Xu Ziling swayed to the left to evade Huang Gongcuos second punch. Like blooming flower, his two hands changed from fist to finger to palm, repeatedly, like Chang Jiang and Yellow River attacking Huang Gongcuo. How could Huang Gongcuo think that Yue Shan, who had always been known to be overbearing, which fitted his title, would unleash such a set of unique, mysterious and amazingly meticulous, hidden-in-the-midst-of-open-wide-and-greatly-deceitful fist and palm skill? His anticipation missed, he could only counter every move, and was caught in the passive position. However, his defense was impable; his meticulous fist technique was so tight that not a drop of the opponents attack could get through, so he really did not fall into the disadvantageous situation. Both sides qi power was like surging-wave-rolling-billows, like a storm pounding the shore; extremely ruthless. As soon as one side revealed slight w, he would be bound to die violently on the bridge. Whoosh! Xu Ziling attacked with a finger jab, which squarely hit Huang Gongcuos fist. Borrowing the momentum, he floated toward the other end of the bridge to evade. Good Yue Shan! Ke Dazhi, sitting next to Kou Zhong, shouted loudly. Everybody, except Kou Zhong and a limited number of people, was at a loss. Why would Yue Shan, in such a close hand-to-handbat, both-sides-trying-to-seize-the-opportunity-to-attack situation, only send a light finger jab, and then fly backward to evade, which would only foster the opponents momentum, yet Ke Dazhi praised this unwise move instead? Sure enough, Huang Gongcuos entire body, from head to foot, shook severely. Unexpectedly, instead of advancing he retreated one step backward. It was only then did the crowd realize that Yue Shans finger was not only fierce and severe, it was also highly concentrated. Unexpectedly it broke Huang Gongcuos Seven-Killing Fist power, and directly invaded his meridians, so that Huang Gongcuo has to quickly dissolve it and thus wasted a good opportunity to pursue and attack. Furthermore, Kou Zhong was very clear that Xu Ziling had calcted the timing urately. While flying backward, he simultaneously deflected the power and borrowed the power to break the impasse situation of bnced offense/defense, and to unfold the second round of offensive. Beyond everybodys, including Ke Dazhis expectation, during his flight backward, while Xu Zilings potential had not been exhausted, unexpectedly, as if he was conjuring magic trick, suddenly he changed direction; like a shooting star and shes of lightning he flew back in Huang Gongcuos direction. Even with his more than seventy years of martial art cultivation, Huang Gongcuo was shocked. His confidence lost, he had no choice but to retreat diagonally toward his right rear, until his back reached the railing of the bridge. Both fists punched out in tight defense; not seeking to attack, just seeking imprability. Once again he was caught in a passive, defensive situation. Xu Ziling was well aware that sess or failure would be decided this moment. It could be said that he was unleashing the entire treasured method [Buddhism: Buddha teaching, Taoism: magic weapon; fig. a specially effective device] he had in him from head to foot; from the opponents psychological, confidence, momentum, judgment, and so on, not-a-hole-is-not-prated, seeking Huang Gongcuos w and fault, and only this moment he really upied the upper hand position. But Huang Gongcuos more than sixty years of power was not ordinary at all; his qi meridians longsting, his power tenacious and ample. If Xu Ziling let this senior martial art master have a free hand in counterattack, the one defeated in the end might possibly be himself and not the opponent. Xu Ziling swiftly flew high in the air; with his feet not touching the ground, he traversed the two-zhang distance over the bridge floor, while all ten fingers of his hands were bent inside the follow of his palm, his left and rights ten fingers crisscrossed, the thumb of his right hand pressed on the left hands thumb, he performed the Inner Bind Image, and met Huang Gongcuos explosive pair of punches head-on, while shouting at the same time, Huan Ri Da Fa! These four words contained the xinfa of true statement [Sanskrit: Dharani] image incantation, released with Huang Gongcuo as the target. Each shout struck the bottom of Huang Gongcuos heart like a giant hammer. If Huang Gongcuos qi was starting to get empty and his momentum weakened due to the contradiction in his mind, this four-character incantation would, at most, be small disturbance to him. But this moment, because Huang Gongcuo could not grasp the opponents offensive and inwardly started to panic, the effect of this four-character incantation was no small matter. Instantly his fist potential weakened. The fists and the image collided; unexpectedly the collision did not produce any sound of qi power shing against each other. Li Mi, standing behind Kou Zhong, eximed in low voice, Oh, bad! He had not finished speaking, Huang Gongcuo already staggered and swayed sideways. Even those who did not know martial art could see that he had lost control over himself; the opponent had caused him to lose his bnce. Chang He, sitting next to Kou Zhong, gasped, Formidable! Xu Ziling knew that he had seeded. The Inner Bind Image inside his body,bined with his deflecting-force method, forcibly bound Huang Gongcuos punch power, locked it up, and deflected it away. This sudden strike instantly made Huang Gongcuo felt like he was using his power in the wrong way; it was so ufortable that he nearly vomited blood. From the Inner Bind Image, Xu Ziling changed to Outer Bind Image. His thumb bending outward, his qi power swiftly shot out. This moment both sides hands were still interlocked; Huang Gongcuo had never thought that Xu Zilings inner qi could follow his hearts desire and changed direction outward to attack. Immediately he met the image and sped up the momentum of his fall sideways. Huang Gongcuo sighed inwardly and immediately let out a thunderous roar, while seizing the opportunity to soar into the air. Unable to bear losing face, he crossed over the bridges railing and threw himself into the Yong An River. The moment he was about to ssh into the Canal, from among the crowd of spectators standing on the opposite bank suddenly a dark object shot out, crossing the seven, eight zhang of water surface, leavingter but arriving earlier, reaching under Huang Gongcuos feet, urately and unmistakably letting the tip of Huang Gongcuos foot to use it as a stepping stone, and relying on this breather enabling him to soar and safelynded on the west bank of the Yong An Canal. It was only then did everybody see clearly that the dark object was unexpectedly a shoe. Kou Zhong sensed that Ke Dazhi was casting his gaze toward the crowd of people from which the shoe was thrown. Suddenly his imposing body slightly shook; evidently he saw the person helping Huang Gongcuo and he was sure that he recognized this person; otherwise, it was impossible to distinguish this person from among the crowd this quickly. Upon self-examination, Kou Zhong knew that he would not be able to do what he did. Xu Ziling watched the shoe sinking into the water; he knew that it was a good opportunity for him to withdraw. Otherwise, if he continued fighting hand-to-hand against Huang Gongcuo while his temper was raging, Huang Gongcuo might throw away any misgivings about life or death, and then the one suffer losses most likely would be him, the Yue Shan whose prowess currently shook Changan. Throwing his head back, he let out a longugh and said, Huang Qi Sha! Excuse me, I must leave! Flying out at an angle, he shot toward the other end of Yue Ma Bridge. With several ups and downs, he disappeared behind the wall of people standing around to watch. Upstairs, the people returned to their respective banquet table. Li Mi and Wang Bodang took this opportunity to join Ke Dazhi to sit on Kou Zhong and Chang Hes table. Ke Dazhi introduced the two to Chang He and Kou Zhong. Li Mi appeared to be slightly distracted; he did not pay particr attention to Kou Zhong. Although the enmity between Li Mi and Kou Zhong was as deep as the sea, but the two were not well acquainted with each other at all; if it were Shen Luoyan, the chance of her seeing through Kou Zhongs disguise would increase substantially. Ke Dazhis mind was still on the dragon wars, the tiger battles just now; he sighed with regret, I did not expect that after abandoning his overbearing saber, Yue Shan still has the prowess-reaches-the-world aggressiveness. Huan Ri Da Fa deserves to be called Tianzhus [Indian subcontinent] consummate skill. Its strange and abstruse, making people gasping in amazement. This moment, Huang Gongcuo, with normal expression, climbed the stairs to continue his unfinished lunch banquet. Even Kou Zhong had to admire his reservation. He mused inwardly that if it were him, he would definitely find a ce where he could hide, since he would not have any face to meet other people. Wang Bodang said with augh, I wonder if Ke Xiongs hands are itching? Ke Dazhis eyes lit up, he revealed a hint of smile brimming with confidence, but did not answer. Li Mi looked out the window, toward the Yue Ma Bridge, which, once again, was filled with people and vehicles going back and forth. Sighing lightly, he said, This time Yue Ba came to Changan, he will definitely raise the wind and turn the clouds upside down. If Ke Xiong can defeat Yue Ba, your name will shake the world. Lowering his voice, Chang He said, I heard Huangshang and Yue Ba Dao were intimate friends for many years. Ke Xiong must think three times before going. Although he never liked Ke Dazhi, this moment seeing Li Mi and Wang Bodang pushing the wave and adding to the billows [idiom: add fuel to the fire], looking like they were wishing that the whole world would be in chaos, he could not help but speaking out a warning. Under the table, Kou Zhong secretly gave Chang Hes feet a kick, signaling him to look for an excuse to leave. Dealing with Li Mi and Wang Bodang, two men, was really an extremely exhausting matter. Especially when he thought about Wang Bodangs wicked conduct toward his Su Jie, which forced him to hold back, and it made his heart extremely unbearable. Ke Dazhi smiled and said, If Zaixia only look for Yue Ba topare notes on martial art study, Huangshang cant possibly me me, can he? Staring at Ke Dazhi, Li Mi spoke indifferently, The person who tossed a shoe to help Huang Gongcuo out of trouble just now, is he Ke Xiongs acquaintance? Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Formidable! From Ke Dazhis subtle reaction, the astute Li Mi arrived at the same conclusion as he did. Ke Dazhis appearance did not change, he glibly said, If Mi Gong could not see who threw the shoe, how could Zaixia see it? Its just that since this person was extremely brilliant that I was amazed! Naturally Li Mi did not believe his lie; his gaze moved to Kou Zhongs ugly face, his eyes revealed refined light, as if he wanted to see through Kou Zhong. With a smile on his face, he said, These days, the two most eye-catching matters in Changan are Yue Ba entering the city and Mo Xiansheng practicing medicine in here to help people. I wonder if Mo Xiansheng has the intention to put down roots and be Changan citizen? Kou Zhong did not dare to make the same nonsense he spouted toward Yin De Fei earlier, simply because it did not make any sense at all. He said, Thank you very much for Mi Gongs kind attention. Xiaoren has not made any decision. Chang He knew it was time to go, he stood up to take his leave and said, Mo Xiong still has to go to Gongbu Darens ce to treat his beloved sons illness. We are asking gentlemens forgiveness for not being able to apany you. Inwardly calling thank Heaven and thank the Earth, Kou Zhong hastily followed Chang Hes lead by asking forgiveness and leave. Book 31 - 10 – Past Events Like Fleeting Smoke The sound of hoof beats hiding the sky and covering the earth was approaching, but it stopped in front of the Dong Lai Inns door. Xu Ziling was standing with his hands behind his back in front of the window, gazing at the beautiful scenery of the inns rear garden after the big snow. After the sound of horses stomping their feet stopped, the entire inn suddenly grew quiet. In itself, this sudden silence was some kind of heavy pressure, telling people that something unusual was happening. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Come in! The door is not locked at all. Outside the door, Li Yuan was slightly startled. He first ordered his men to drive away all the other guests from the neighboring rooms before pushing the door and entering. Coming behind Xu Ziling, he cupped his fist and said, Li Yuan had just learned about Dage honoring us with your presence; I came with a specific purpose in mind to pay my respect and say hello. Xu Ziling replied with a coldugh, Li Yuan, you are the Great Tang Emperor set up on high, and are in the middle of unifying the world. It should be Xiaomin moner] Yue Shan who ought to follow the protocol by kowtowing to you and wishing you good health. He suddenly turned around. Concentrating Yue Shans xinfa, the spirited light in his eyes was shing as he met Li Yuans gaze. Throwing his head back, Li Yuan let out a longugh and said, Yue Dage, please stop teasing me. No matter what Li Yuan has be, my feeling toward Yue Dage has never changed. Dage has mastered the Huan Ri Da Fa, this time returning to the fray after a period of inactivity, you struck and killed the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying first, and then today you defeated Old Huang at the Yue Ma Bridge, you already aplished immortal fame for your fighting prowess. Xiaodi wholeheartedly apuds and congrattes you, Yue Dage. Heaving a sigh, Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a wry smile, Jianghus false reputation is just flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in theke [idiom: an unrealistic rosy view]; why mentioned it? Yue Shan now is not the same as the Yue Shan then. Past events are like fleeting smoke; I do not wish to remember old affairs even more. Xiaodao [little saber/de], go back and do your emperor thing! This time Yue Shan came to Changan was only to settle the ount with Huang Qi Sha; perhaps Ill even depart tonight. Thats all! Xiaodao was the term of endearment that Yue Shan used for Li Yuan, which was mentioned twice in his memoir. Due to Xu Ziling did not have any idea what actually happened between Yue Shan and Li Yuan, he gained the initiative by striking first by putting on an act that he could not bear to look back on past events, and was unwilling to discuss it. Actually, just like Zhu Yuyan, Li Yuan has never doubted that Yue Shan could also be an impostor. The most crucial point was, naturally, that Huan Ri Da Fa could change Yue Shan like he was shedding his mortal body and exchanging his bones. This moment, as soon as Yue Shan mentioned Xiaodao, it immediately stirred up Li Yuans memory of the past [orig. former dust, in Buddhism: impurity contracted previously (in the sentient world)]. In a hundred and one ways all kinds of emotions surged in his heart; severely shaken, he said, Yue Dage no longer me Xiaodao for the old affair of the past? Like a whirlwind Xu Ziling turned around again; with his back against this Emperor of the Great Tang, he spoke in heavy voice, My greatest desire now is topare whos superior and whos inferior against the Heavenly Saber Song Que. But before it happens, I want to find one person to settle the ount. Staring nkly, Li Yuan asked, Who is this person? Xu Ziling replied word-by-word, The Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. Were it not for his despicable means, how could Xiuxin die with resentment in her heart? Li Yuans eyes shed with murderous intent. Snorting coldly, he said, Shi Zhixuan is not dead yet? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Not only he is not dead yet, he is gazing intently like a tiger by your side. Were it not for this reason, how could you, Xiaodao, see me here? Finally Li Yuans countenance changed. Patting the childs cheek, Kou Zhong assumed a modest attitude and said, It really is not because of Xiaorens skill, but Liu Darens esteemed son only suffered minor illness, so two needles immediately yield results. Look! Baby darlings fever is gone! Madame Liu was faster than Liu Zhenghui in stretching out her hand to feel her sons forehead; greatly delighted, she said, Mo Shen Yis medical skill is indeed divine. Xiao Nan is not burning anymore! Liu Zhenghui was pleased beyond his expectation; he expressed his thank with a thousand kindness and ten thousand gratitude. Returning to the outer hall, Chang He said with augh, For the time being, I will have to hand over the heavy responsibility of taking care of Mo Xiong into Liu Darens hands; Mo Jiang has not been back to the Pce Courtyard Guard Office for three days. After agreeing with Kou Zhong to meet again at the Sha Familys mansion that evening, he hurriedly left. After the two were seated properly in the main hall, Liu Zhenghui cheerfully said, I heard from Chang Jiangjun that Mo Xiansheng has original insight about courtyard construction; I wonder if you have some valuable opinion about Xiaodis mansion house? Kou Zhong mused that you must have mistaken me for Ling Shao, how could I have any opinion? Avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial, he gave him a cheerful talk, The design of Liu Darens mansion house is distinct; from the gate spanning the courtyard, Xiaoren get a feeling that the master of the mansion must be a figure with out of the ordinary air, with far-reaching aspiration in his bosom. Thousand times bore through, ten thousand times bore through; horses fart does not bore through [Anything gets through me except horse fart (Courtesy of Sunnysnow during Eagle Shooting Hero trantion project)]. Although Kou Zhongs ttering words felt a bit excessive, Liu Zhenghui was still happy and ted. How could I dare to ept [thepliment]? How could I dare to ept? he remarked modestly. Having sessfully avoided a sticky situation, Kou Zhong blurted out, Although other than medical book Xiaoren did not read other books, hey! Actually, the medical books that I read are not many either; mostly I was relying on Jiashus oral teaching. But since I was little I love to see beautiful things. Ha! Perhaps its because Xiaorens natural appearance is ugly! Inwardly Liu Zhenghui agreed with him, but of course outwardly he expressed his disagreement; he spoke with augh, The most important thing for a man is skill and aplishment. Mo Xiansheng appears this lofty and dignified, ha ... Kou Zhong interrupted him with augh, Thank you very much for Liu Darens praise. The reason Xiaoren is obsessed with buildings is simply because other than buildings are pleasant to look at, they also have practical function, which give them different pleasure from watching painting and calligraphy. Hey! Just like beautiful women. Ha! Liu Zhenghui busily apanied him with a warmughter. Knowing that it was time, Kou Zhong switched to the real subject he wanted to talk about, These past two days Xiaoren was dining on the third floor of Fu Ju Lou; looking around from there, I noticed that the buildings around Yue Ma Bridge are most distinctive. I wonder if Liu Daren pays any particr attention to the buildings in that area? Liu Zhenghui cheerfully said, All buildings in Changan, big and small, must go through our Gongbu [Ministry of Works] for approval; therefore, I know these buildings like the back of my hand. I wonder what aspect of these buildings that Mo Xiansheng is interested in. Kou Zhong replied with augh, I have a peculiar character; when I like certain thing, I want to know everything about it, I would research it relentlessly to the bottom. If Liu Daren have resources pertaining to this matter, that would be the most ideal. Liu Zhenghuiughed and said, Thats easy. Whenever Mo Xiansheng have some free time, please grace the office where Xiaodi work with your presence. In there, you can findplete resources C nothing left to be desired C that Mo Xiansheng can look over. Inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, yet he knew that he must not appear too eager. Struggling to suppress the excitement in his heart, he said, Please forgive Xiaoren for being blunt; how about tomorrow morning after treating Niangniangs illness I will find the time to pay a visit to Liu Daren at the Ministry of Works? While speaking thest two sentences, he felt as if half of the Duke Yangs Treasure has already fallen into his pocket. Emotionally moved, Li Yuan said, Pei Ju is Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling said, I have investigated this matter for many years in secret; I am positive that I do not use him wrongly. Li Yuan apologetically said, Yue Dage must not me Xiaodi for having a bit of doubt. Only because this matter is of great importance that it is too hard to believe. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, Close call! Just now he acted as if he was afraid Li Yuan might not believe him. This was definitely not the Overbearing Saber Yue Shans style. If it were the real Yue Shan, he would say, Laozi say whatever Laozi wants to say, why would I give a damn whether you believe me or not. Inwardly he scolded himself to be more on alert; otherwise, this kind of details would reveal C just like Kou Zhongs Divine Doctor Mo, that he was an impostor. Stepping to his side, Li Yuan stood side-by-side with Xu Ziling, together they gazed at the beautiful snowscape in the garden. Muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, I worked with Pei Ju for many years on Yang Guangs business. In retrospect, this man was indeed a bit deep and unfathomable, and he was very shrewd. But after the Great Sui was defeated, he disappeared and I dont have any contact with him. However, why did he do that? Inciting the whole country in rebellion, what benefit would it bring him? Laughing coldly, Xu Ziling responded I see that you are already ustomed to live like a prince, unexpectedly you forgot that as long as demonic school people could bring harm to others, they practically dont care about personal benefit, plus they are obstinately clinging to their own course. If I am guessing correctly, he ought to have two purposes. The first is that he wanted to unify the demonic school; next, he wanted to unify the world. At that time the Way will diminish, the demonic will flourish; he would be able to do anything he wishes. In the end, only by doing this will he be able to eliminate all his enemies, both from orthodox and demonic ways. Shaken, Li Yuan said, As long as I, Li Yuan, am alive, I will never let Shi Zhixuan going on the rampage without any scruple. Where is Shi Zhixuan now? Xu Ziling coldly replied, This time I am making aeback, I deliberately pulled up a rtionship with demonic school people, precisely because I want to find out in which hole Shi Zhixuan is hiding himself. Li Yuan suddenly understood, No wonder when dealing with Xi Ying in Chengdu, Yue Dage unexpectedly had An Pangzi [fatty] and You Niaojuan, two men, cheering you on. I was puzzled at first, turns out there is this reason. Feeling that he had spent enough effort to remedy the w, Xu Ziling came back to the main topic, Nobody knows where the Old Demon Shi is at this moment, or even what he is disguising himself into. But I dare say that I know his next target is, which is your Great Tangs imperial court. Stunned, Li Yuan asked, What makes Yue Dage so sure? Meeting the spirited-light, shooting-lightning gaze with which Li Yuan was looking at him, Xu Ziling replied word-by-word, Does Xiaodao know Yang Xuyans true past history? Li Yuans face did not show the slightest bit of emotional fluctuation; apparently he was prepared for the worst. Whose son is he? he asked in heavy voice. Calm and indifferent, Xu Ziling replied, Whose son he is, is still not the most crucial point, but Yang Xuyan is definitely the evil seed that the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan painstakingly cultivated, the sessor of Tian Xie Dao [lit. heavenly demonic/heretic way. I think previously it was Bu Tian Dao, Xiaohu, could you confirm for me?] of this generation. This time I was passing by Guan Wai, I ran across Huang Gongcuo, Yang WenGan and Yang Xuyan, who intended to put me to death, precisely because they were afraid I would enter the Pass and tell all these things to you. Originally I had no intention to enter the Pass, but after thinking it thrice, in the end I still came. Li Yuan revealed a look of gratitude, but quickly his eyes were shing with murderous intent. He said with a cold humph, Now that I know these things, they think they can still live? Xu Ziling revealed Yue Shans signature smile, taught by Shi Qingxuan, which was brimming with grim, profound overtone; he said, Only by using long string will we be able to catch the big fish. To kill these three is absolutely not easy. One thing goes wrong, they might disappear without any trace instead. Not to mention that in my opinion, Huang Gongcuo has no idea about the rtionship between Yang Xuyan and Shi Zhixuan; his motive is purely personal grudge. Frowning, Li Yuan asked, Who actually is Yang Xuyan? Xu Ziling replied, Yang Xuyan is actually Yang Yongs young son. What? Li Yuan blurted out. Xu Ziling said, Yang Xuyan still does not know that his real identity has been uncovered by me. Last time when he dealt with me outside the Pass, together with Huang Gongcuo and Yang WenGan, he did not reveal his identity. Therefore, as long as you summon Yang WenGan and scold him, they wont suspect a thing. As for the next step, we must take our time in making a decision, we absolutely must not act blindly without thinking. Heaving a deep sigh, Li Yuan said, Yue Dage still have deep passion, heavy friendship toward me, Li Yuan; you really make Li Yuan ... Xu Ziling cut him off, I, Yue Shan, am not doing this for you, Li Yuan, but for Bi Xiuxin. The biggest regret in her life was that she could not see the world in peace and prosperity, a situation where the war stops and the troops rest. Only by getting rid of Shi Zhixuan, the root of all this cmity and chaos, will your Great Tang Dynasty have the hope to bring unification to the Central ins; everything else is pure rubbish. Go back! I will find a way to see you at the Pce. After Li Yuan left, Xu Ziling immediately left Dong Lai Inn; he turned to the left and bore through the right through the side alleys to make sure that nobody was following him. Only then did he turn toward Hou Xibais small courtyard to meet Kou Zhong and Lei Jiuzhi. Kou Zhong praised, Ling Shaos performance at the Yue Ma Bridge this morning was really brilliant beyondpare. Clearly Old Freak Huangs power maturity is above yours, yet from the beginning he had his hands and feet bound and you had him in the palms of your hands. He was so angry that he nearly spit blood. Were it not for someone throwing a stinky shoe to him, he would have be the drowning duck. Ha! Who actually threw that stinking shoe? Xu Ziling replied in heavy voice, Zhao Deyan. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. At the same time, he recalled Ke Dazhis weird reaction. Inwardly he was ny-percent convinced. Xu Ziling said, This means that Zhao Deyan has abandoned his n to hunt and kill Tuli, so much so that he could guess that either we are already in Changan, or we are about to enter Changan. This moment Lei Jiuzhi arrived. Sitting down, he said, You, this Yue Shan who is returning to the fray after a period of inactivity, has be another Ning Daoqi. Practically no one dares to follow you. I made several rounds outside, and did not see anything. Xu Ziling said, Currently the two biggest power in Changan are the Heavenly Policy Mansion and the Princelings Faction, but because they are afraid to offend Li Yuan, who would dare to provoke me? And then he recounted his meeting with Li Yuan without omitting anything. Kou Zhong said, This is indeed the best move of the guest acting as the host; via Yue Shan, we could pursue relentlessly and strike the demonic school. Otherwise, even if we could unearth the treasure, in the end we would only benefit Shi Zhixuan or perhaps Zhu Yaofu for nothing, plus we might be the target of scorn that everybody whoe across us would yell and beat us ... Hows the progress on your side? Xu Ziling asked. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong replied, Relying on my, Mo Shen Yis tricks and recognition, what could possibly go wrong? Youd better teach me a couple moves of architectural flowery fist with fancy footwork [idiom: highly embellished but ineffectual] for my self-protection. Tomorrow morning I might swagger into the Ministry of Works to look up information about the buildings around the Yue Ma Bridge, perhaps by tomorrow night we will be able to drink wine inside the treasure trove. Ha! I did not expect that after entering the Pass, things will go smoothly like this. Quite possibly our luck has turned! Lei Jiuzhi spoke seriously, Shao Shuai must not underestimate the situation. Since Shi Zhixuan and Zhu Yuyan, two persons took leadership of the demonic school, the Way has been declining while the demonic is flourishing. The demonic schools Two-Sect and Six-Ways power is like the sun in the middle of the sky, talentse forth inrge number. It could be said that those two single-handedly facilitated the current situation. They have amplebat experience, which, I dare say, unrivalled in the world. Plus they deal with their business by fair means or foul; crafty plots and machinations more and more emerge. Once you are not careful, they could immediately take advantage of that. Although presently they are holding their g and stopping their drums, quite possibly they are acting like the fisherman sitting to watch the crane and the mussel vying against one another, so that they could reap where they had not sown, waiting until we get the treasure before making their move. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Lei LaoGes lesson is well-received. I dont know how many times we have experienced extreme joy turns to sorrow [idiom: dont celebrate too soon, things could still go wrong] situation; we will definitely advance gradually and entrench ourselves at every step [idiom: to consolidate at every step]. Xu Ziling knew Kou Zhongs temperament the best; he knew that although Kou Zhong was proud of himself, yet he could not possibly forgetting himself. What will our next step be? he asked. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Kou Zhong said, I already left special secret mark to notify Shuang Long Bang [Twin-dragon Gang, see Book 6 Chapter 11] brothers that the two of us are here. After this, I have to go back to the Sha Family to continue being a divine doctor. I will have to hand over the task of contacting Gao Zhandao and the others to you. Shuang Long Bang was established by Kou Zhong many years ago. Originally they were pirates, Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, Zha Jie, and a group of their men became the initial members of the Gang. They received Kou Zhongs order to sneak into Changan, to make preparation for transporting the treasure after they obtained it. At first Kou Zhong did not intend to contact them this soon, but he changed his mind, naturally because he had greater confidence in finding the Duke Yangs Treasure. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This is not a problem. As Yue Shan, I could disappear any moment, even the Emperor would not dare to get involved. Turning toward Lei Jiuzhi, Kou Zhong said, Now LaoGe has be the bridge linking me, Ling Shao and Hou Gongzi, three sides. You need to draw up a flexible method so that you wont hold things up or perhaps letting us sit and waste a good opportunity. After further discussion, they agreed on setting up a way to contact andmunicate with each other, and then they went their separate ways. Disguising himself as the yellow-faced man again, Xu Ziling went to the south city gate to look for the secret mark Kou Zhong left there. Sure enough he saw new markings on the side. Xu Ziling was happy. After erasing all markings, he headed toward the An Ding Li [lit. stable neighborhood] on the northwest part of the city. An Ding Li was thest gate of the Yong An Canal before it joined the Wei River outside the city; it was also a wharf area in the city, where the shops that engaged in waterborne transport businesses were concentrated. Upon entering the Yong An Avenue, Xu Ziling headed north along the Yong An Canals west bank. When he walked pass the Yue Ma Bridge, he could not help paying special attention to the buildings on both sides of the Canal. The one catching his attention the most was a monastery with Wu Lou Si [lit. no-reveal temple] engraved on the que hanging above its gate. In term of scale it was not too big, but it was borate and unique; the main hall, the library [orig. Zang Jing Dian (scripture storage hall)], and the lecture hall [orig. Jiang Jing Tang (teaching/talking-about scripture hall)] stood in a row. On east and west sides were Puti Dian [Bodhi (enlightenment) Hall], the wings, and theteral court. Inside the courtyard the flowers and trees were sparse; it was tranquil and elegant. Were it not he had task to do, he definitely would enter to take a look around; who knows? Perhaps he would find some clues to enter the Duke Yangs Treasure Trove. Passing the West Market, Xu Ziling picked up his speed, only in the time needed to drink a small cup of hot teater he reached the wharf area of the An Ding Li. This section of the canal was twice as wide as the other part of the canal; several dozen docks were full of boats, big and small. There were also several hundreds ofborers busy at work, loading and unloading goods in unending stream. Xu Ziling turned into An Ding Li, where all the shops along the entire street were doing business rted to waterborne transport. Some of the shops had armed men, who looked like they belong to some gangs or societies C crowding around the door, revealing some kind of tense, unusual atmosphere. Naturally Xu Ziling did not have time to pay attention. He went to the eighth shop from the mouth of the street on the north side, and looked inside. He saw Gao Zhandao, whom he had not seen for a very long time, talking with someone inside the store. Noticing that Xu Ziling was staring at him, Gao Zhandao revealed an on-alert expression. Xu Ziling smiled and strode inside. Book 31 - 11 – Enemies On A Narrow Road Returning to the Sha Familys mansion, Kou Zhong avoided the main hall, which was still full with guests, but at the rear courtyard he was intercepted by the Second Young Master Sha Chenggong, who asked, Where did Mo Xiong go? I had a hard time looking for you. [Trantors note: original text was third instead of second, also in subsequent urrences the rest of the chapter, I think Huang Yi made a mistake; I am taking the liberty to change it to second.] Noticing that his belly was bloated, his eyes were bloodshot, Kou Zhong knew thatst night he was at the pleasure house, partying all night long. Unexpectedly he looked for Kou Zhong this early; hence he knew that he did not have any sincere intention. Gaining the initiative by striking first, Kou Zhong said, It was me who was having a hard time. As soon as we got to Changan, I am so busy until the sky hazy the earth darkened; when Er Shao [second young] was still sleeping, Xiaoren had to grope about in the dark to go to the Pce, waiting for Niangniang to wake up so that I could treat her illness. Just now I examined and treated Gongbu Shangshu Liu Darens beloved sons illness. Ay! It looks like the Heaven decreed that I have to live a busy life. And now I cant even get a good sleep. Staring nkly, Sha Chenggong said, But no matter what Mo Xiong has to help me this time. Ay! Because I already promised someone. Although Kou Zhong did not like him, but he did not have any ill will either. Smiling wryly, he asked, Is it Shang Beauty? Sha Chenggongs old face turned red; humming and hawing, he said, I havent had a chance to see Miss Xiufang. This time I want to ask you, LaoGe, to examine Feng Ya Ges [cultured/sophisticated pavilion (usually two-storied)] Laobanniang dy boss]. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What kind of ce is Feng Ya Ge? Sha Chenggong replied, Feng Ya Ge is the most famous pleasure house, apart from Shang Lin Yuan, which was personally established and managed by Madame Qingqing. From time to time she is having problem with her stomach and intestine. It seems like only Mo Xiong has the ability to eradicate her chronic ailment. Mo Xiong simply has to help me this time. Kou Zhongughed and said, I wonder if Er Shao has some interest toward Madame Qingqing? Putting his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder, Sha Chenggong was half-pushing him toward the rear courtyard gate; with an awkwardugh he said, Mo Xiong is indeed an understanding person; but the one I want is her pretty daughter Xier Xiaojie. Although she cantpare with Madame Qingqings ten-thousand-amorous-feelings, but she is also extremely tempting. When Mo Xiong sees her, you will know that I am not speaking empty words. A horse-drawn carriage was waiting respectfully at the public square by the rear courtyard gate. When the driver saw the two mening, he hurriedly opened the carriage door. Kou Zhong was greatly puzzled; halting his step, he asked, With Er Shaos capacity and status, how could you settle for second best? Sha Chenggong whispered in his ear, First of all, I just got here; I do not know Changans situation yet. Secondly, I hear that Qi Wang is crazily pursuing Madame Qingqing, so that nowadays nobody dares to touch her. Ha! Lets get in the carriage, well talk some more! Xu Ziling stepped into shop with Tong Xing She [flourishing together agency] signboard hanging above the door. Raising his voice, he said, Whos the boss? I have a batch of goods need to be shipped to Yuhang [district in Hangzhou, Zhejiang]. Can we discuss it? Gao Zhandaos imposing figure shook; abandoning the customer, he called another shop attendant to take care of him. Coming over, he said, Yuhang is a long and arduous journey, can Laoxiong afford the cost? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Lets find a ce to sit down and talk! Gao Zhandaos eyes emitted red-hot rays of light, because he recognized Xu Zilings voice. Laoxiong, pleasee with me, he hastily said. The two did not speak anymore; they walked inside, passed the atrium, and into the side hall of the inner courtyard. Gao Zhandao closed the door. Xu Ziling took off his mask. Gao Zhandaos eyes were gushing with hot tears of joy; he was about to go down to his knee but Xu Ziling stopped him up. Emotionally moved, Gao Zhandao spoke in hoarse voice, We havent seen each other for a long time, Kou Ye and Xu Ye have be the figures that the world look up to. I, Gao Zhandao, and my brothers can wait upon two Daye, it is indeed our honor. Xu Ziling felt ufortable; smiling wryly, he said, Whether people looking up to us, that is secondary, but those you want us to die are uncountable. Sit down first and then well talk. After they were seated properly, Gao Zhandao asked, Where is Kou Ye? Xu Ziling replied, He ising as well, but momentarily cannot spare time, hence the reason he cannote together with me to see you. Gao Zhandao shook his head with a sigh, The news that two Yeer [simply: masters] areing to Changan has already spread and is known to everyone, but everybody thought that it would be difficult for you to enter Changan even for half a step. Who would have thought that two Yeer possess great magical power and arrived here with not even half a person finds out? Ha! How could Yang WenGan, Li Yuanji, and the like, be two Yeers match? We just have a little bit of luck, thats all! Xu Ziling replied, How are our other brothers? Gao Zhandao replied, Fortunately Kou Ye and Xu Ye havee, so that you can make decision for us. Presently we are encountering a very troublesome matter. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What is it? Gao Zhandao replied, This matter, start exining and its a long story [idiom]. How are Yucheng and the others? Xu Zilings heart was throbbing with pain; he said dejectedly, This matter also start exining and its a long story. It was the two of us who harmed them. Recalling this matter, he could not stop the intense hatred toward Yin Gui Pai from bubbling up in his heart. Other than debt of blood must be paid in blood, there was no other way to settle this matter. Coming to Feng Ya Ge, one would feel like he was returning home. It was a different pleasure house; in terms ofyout and decoration, it looked just like ordinary residence of a family with literary reputation, there was not the slightest bit of fear-of-not-enough-grandeur,mercial feeling. Overall, this Feng Ya Ge consisted of four courtyard houses [with fully enclosed courtyard in the middle[1]], which were separated from each other by corridors, with the wing of each courtyard house pointing toward the middle courtyard [or atrium], all overlooking the beautiful scenery of a pavilion in the middle of a mood garden with a small bridge over running water. In term of footprint, it was only one-quarter of the Shang Lin Yuan, but it was superior in a sense that it did not have the hustle and bustle of therger pleasure house; instead, it gave out a feeling of a cordial home, especially to those literary, elegant schrs type. No wonder it was able topete against the long-established, having-great-potential-in-terms-of-riches-and-might, Shang Lin Yuan, which was located diagonally opposite across the street from it. The carriage stopped outside the door. Sha Chenggong pulled the unwilling Kou Zhong to knock on the door ande in. The young maid answering the door said, It is indeed lucky that Sha Gongzi invited Mo Xiansheng to honor us with his presence. Madame Qingqing has been waiting respectfully for a long time in the east courtyard! Noticing the young maid was quite delicate and charming, Kou Zhong mused that if the maidservant was like this, what the master looked like could be easily imagined. Because Sha Chenggong had ulterior motive, he was trying really hard to curry this young maids favor. But noticing Kou Zhongs ugly countenance, the young maid was rather unwilling to look at him more than half a nce. Taking the piece of silver that Sha Chenggong stuffed into her hand, while leading them in, she bantered flirtatiously with Sha Chenggong. Sha Chenggongs weakness was pretty women, hence he immediately forgot Kou Zhong. Whispering in her ear, he prattled incessantly about inconsequential matters, while walking along the courtyards corridor, heading toward the east courtyard. Because it was still early C they would not be open until another three sichen C the courtyard only had several maids and servants sweeping and cleaning; it was a serene atmosphere. Kou Zhong followed behind the two, walking with his hands behind his back, happily and contentedly enjoying the gardens beautiful scenery after the big snow. Inwardly he had a sense of dj vu, as if he had seenyout simr to this somewhere, but momentarily he could not remember where. But he did not mind it at all, because it was not the first time that he was having this kind of feeling, just like a bad memory that was left behind by a dream. Clearly this was the first time that he has been here, yet there was a feeling of he was revisiting old haunts. Finally they reached the west wing of the east courtyard. The pretty maid cast Sha Chenggong another coquettish nce, she said, Two Daye, please wait here for a moment, Xiaobi [little maid] is going to notify Madame. The young maid lightly knocked on the door, another servant girl opened the door and let her in. Sha Chenggong expertly reached out and in one swift movement he pinched the pretty maids ample butts. The pretty maid glowered at him for a moment before turning around and entering inside. Watching this, Kou Zhong shook his head in secret. Sha Chenggong moved back to his side, and whispered in his ear, Is this the first time that Mo Xiong visited this kind of prostitute ce? ying dumb, Kou Zhong replied, Of course this is the first time. This is the first time that I am going out to see this aspect of the society, not to mention where did I get the money to enjoy it from? While speaking, he gathered his power into his ears to listen to the young maid inside speaking, Sha Gongzi is here, bringing that Mo Dafu [doctor] who cured Zhang Niangniang. Oh! Mo Dafus is truly less than impressive; he is ugly and uncouth. Madame Qingqingszy voice was heard, As long as he can cure my illness, why do I care about how he looks? People greedy of handsome and love pretty faces are our biggest taboo! Most good-looking men dont have good heart. I have had personal experience in this; I know about this matter very clearly. Suddenly Kou Zhongs heart was shaken. He was sure that he had heard this Madame Qingqings voice somewhere before, but despite racking his brains, he still could not figure out who she was. Sha Chenggong spoke again in his ear, As long as Mo Xiong is able to cure Madames illness, Xiaodi will arrange to have Mo Xiong enjoying the romance among the pretty faces. Xiaodi will cover all expenses, Mo Xiong need not worry a bit. Kou Zhongs mind was somece else, naturally he did not hear what he said; otherwise he would rain curses inwardly on Sha Chenggongs lecherous and dirty means. Creak! The door opened, the two pretty maids reappeared; they bowed to invite the two men inside. Apprehensive, Kou Zhong stepped over the threshold and came inside. The room was divided into inner and outer section, separated by a screen partition consisting of two standing wooden frames with detailed decorative carved patterns, creating two adjoining halls, one big and one small. The inner section was nearly double in size to the outer section. Madame Qingqing was sitting on the left extremity of the inner section, but his view was obstructed by the screen; only after walking around the screen would he able to see her beautiful face. Finally he did pass the screen. A beautiful person with gorgeous eyes was looking at Kou Zhong. As their gazes met, Kou Zhong was immediately gob smacked; he could not believe his eyes. No matter what or how hard he thought, he would never imagine that he would see her here. Noticing Kou Zhongs peculiar expression, Sha Chenggong looked at him with astonishment. Gao Zhandao revealed grief and indignation on his face; it took him a while to calm down. He said, In that case, since Yucheng might not have been killed, why didnt hee to Guanzhong to look for us? Xu Ziling did not want to talk about Duan Yucheng anymore; changing the subject, he said, Just now Zhandao mentioned about encountering huge problem; what is it? Gao Zhandao spoke heavily, On this, I must exin the situation of local gangs and societies in Guanzhong first. Speaking about Changan, the biggest organizations are two gangs and two sects, which are Jingzhao Lian, Changan Bang, and Longxi Pai, Guanzhong Jian Pai. As a result of the Heavenly Policy Mansion and the Crown Princes Eastern Pces open fight and covert maneuver, the local gangs and sects are also separated into tworge camps, bing Jingzhao Lian and Longxi Pai on one side, taking orders from the Crown Prince Jiancheng, and Changan Bang and Guanzhong Jian Pai forming an alliance to lean on Li Shimins side. Following the Heavenly Policy Mansion and the Crown Princes Eastern Pces intense struggle, these two big camps be more and more like water and fire. Eventually it spilled over to affect us, small gangs and societies doing business. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, What gang or society do you belong to? Gao Zhandao seriously replied, Since receiving two Bangzhus order three years ago to go to Changan to set up a business, we have been mingled in Changan until today and make a name for ourselves. All shops along this street involving waterborne business are taking our Tong Xing She as their only guide. Coming across ordinary, minor inconveniences, we could be flexible and did not need to use force; most problem we are able to deal with. Otherwise, we could ask Changan Bangs Qiu Laoda [boss] to appear personally and mediate for us. Therefore, we have also been living together in harmony with Jingzhao Lian and Longxi Pai. However, five days ago, under deliberate provocation, Qiu Laoda was forced to fight and received injury from the Eastern Tujue martial art master Ke Dazhi. And thus Jingzhao Lians Yang WenGan sent his men everywhere to poke around Changan Bangs territory, putting all the small gangs and societies who have always relied on Changan Bang in danger. I dont know how Yang WenGan is going to deal with us. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Are you saying that Li Shimin only sit and watch, but remains indifferent? Gao Zhandao sighed and said, This moment Qin Wang is powerless to defend himself. Not only Li Yuan is siding with Jiancheng, the imperial concubines on his left and right also unceasingly sow dissension concerning Li Yuan and Li Shimins rtionship. I hear just yesterday Heavenly Policy Mansions schr-warrior [ѧʿ, modern trantion is university degree equivalent to bachelors degree] Du Ruhui came across Yin De Feis father Yin Zuwen. Once disagreement broke, Yi Zuwen had his men injure him, breaking his finger. And yet Yi Zuwen wanted his daughter Yin De Fei to lodge false usation [orig. the guilty party files the suit] in front of Li Yuan that Qin Wang made his men beat up her father. Unexpectedly Li Yuan believed it, and refused to listen to Qin Wangs exnation; he put all the mes on Qin Wang. Xu Ye, tell me, under this situation, how could Qin Wang still have the power to mind local gangs and societies conflict of interest? [Trantors note: as I noted before Fei actually means imperial concubine, only typing Imperial Concubine Yin De repeatedly is quite a handful.] Yi Zuwen was the man supporting Ming Tang Wo from behind; hence it was clear that the Princelings Faction and the Imperial Concubine Faction were supporting each other to suppress Li Shimin that he was unable to move a single step, and could only sit while watching the enemys power continuously increasing. Only Xu Ziling knew that Yang WenGan would notst long, because Li Yuan already knew Yang WenGans rtionship with Shi Zhixuan. If he and Kou Zhong had a free hand to deal with Yang WenGan, Li Yuan also could not possibly be involved. What is the most urgent matter for you right now? he asked. Gao Zhandao replied, Yang WenGan is using lending-somebody-a-knife-to-kill-someone-else scheme; he is using another notorious underworld gang as his pawn to force us to realign our allegiance. This morning we received notification that we only have three days to reply. For this reason we are having a big headache. Xu Ziling smiled and said, This matter is not difficult to resolve. How is the other brothers situation? Gao Zhandao cheerfully said, For a long time now we have heard about two Yeers sensational deed of turning the sky and the earth upside down; the brothers are extremely inspired. Day and night they all practice the Shen Long Ba Ji [divine dragon eight strikes] that Kou Ye and Xu Ye personally passed on to us. Otherwise we would not be able to withstand Guanzhongs wind and rain. Fengyi and Xiao Jie [little Jie] are out to scout the other gangs and societies reaction. About the two Bangzhus arrival in Changan, only the three of us know. But then he sighed and said, Its just that Xiao Jie is young and vigorous [orig. full of sap (idiom)], he is so infatuated with Feng Ya Ges popr auntie Xier that he had no thought for tea or rice. I am really afraid that he would mess up our proper business. Xu Zilingughed and said, This kind of thing is unavoidable; Im sure that he wille to his senses really soon. Right now we must ascertain first of what is true and what is false in the Weishui Meng [River Wei Union] and its rtionship with Jingzhao Lian; only then will we be able to act after full consideration of the actual situation. Greatly delighted, Gao Zhandao said, With Xu Ye personally in charge, this kind of matter surely will like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. Xu Ziling mused that if he personally appeared, he would only court disaster; but if Yue Shan or Mo Wei taking the initiative, perhaps it would be a different matter altogether. When Kou Zhong saw the beauty, he was surprised to recognize her as the popr prostitute Qingqing, whom he met many years ago in Xinan county. At that time, in order to evade Du Fuweis hunting them, they hid in a brothel to take refuge, and they took advantage of Qingqing eloping with her boyfriend as a cover for their escape. Afterwards they found out that the boyfriends goal was only to swindle her valuables and trick her to have sex with him, which led Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to uphold justice by rescuing her and her maid Xier, so that they were spared from misfortune. However, at that time not only Qingqing was not grateful at all, she evenshed bad words at them, so much so that they separated under unpleasant atmosphere [see Book 2 Chapter 3]. Unexpectedly Qingqing, master and maidservant, came here. Not only that, with sound and color [idiom: vivid/dazzling] they established and operate a brothel with out-of-the-ordinary reputation. Affairs of life is hard to foresee. This was a perfect example. Noticing he was staring nkly at her, Qingqing misunderstood; she asked, This gentleman ought to be Mo Xiansheng! Why does Mo Xiansheng look at qie [I, your servant] like that? Is it because qies chronic illness is difficult to treat? Kou Zhong came to his senses. Clearing his throat, he said, Madame Qingqings illness, did it start about four, five years ago? Qingqing was pleasantly surprised; she asked in amazement, Xianshengs medical expertise is indeed divine; just in one nce you know the condition of qies illness. Mo Xiansheng, Sha Gongzi, please sit down. Serve them tea! Inwardly Kou Zhong was sighing with sorrow, thinking that of course I know; when he encountered her in the past, this beauty was healthy and happy, but now anxiety made her brows knitting deeply. Evidently it was because of that man cheated her to such an extent as to make her suffered from pent-up frustration that was hard to dispel, and as a result her body took the toll. Just by hearing just now she spoke casually about her view on attractive and intelligent men, he knew that she still took the old affair to heart. Sha Chenggong took the fragrant tea. He bragged about Kou Zhong, Didnt I tell you that Mo Xiansheng is a Divine Doctor, not just in name only, but also in reality? Even Zhang Niangniangs strange illness was cured by him; what illness he could not possibly cure? Kou Zhong no longer wish to listen to his voice or look at his face; he said, If Er Shao dont mind, Xiaoren wants to be left alone with Madame to examine her illness. Sha Chenggong was extremely bored anyway, but he did not know what to do, hence he went out with the two maids to the outer section. Kou Zhong sat down by Qingqings side and put his three fingers on Qingqings fragrant wrist. Recalling the past events, he sighed and said, Madames illness came from pent-up frustration, which affected your mood and appetite. Illness of the heart must be cured from the heart. Does Madame have any question? The load on her mind was touched, Qingqing said, Xianshengs opinion is really urate; could it be that my illness is really without any cure? For the first time Kou Zhong really felt that he has be a divine doctor; sincerely and earnestly he said, Relying on Xiaorens needle technique, perhaps I could provide momentary relieve on Madames problem; but if the cause of illness is not eradicated, sooner orter it will recur. It is hard to bring under permanent control. Qingqing sighed faintly and said, Xiansheng, please do your best! Even if you cannot eradicate my illness permanently, qie could only me myself; I will never me Mo Xiansheng. Kou Zhong blurted out without thinking, Let the past events vanish like smoke in thin air; why would Madame still take it to heart? Qingqings tender body trembled, she said, Could it be that Xiansheng know about what happened to qie in the past? Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, realizing that momentarily he lost control over himself and revealed the content of his heart. [1] Example of courtyard house ĺԺ: Book 31 - 12 – The Battle of the Gangs Xu Ziling told Gao Zhandao the identity, which was concocted by Lei Jiuzhi C that he was currently using, I am now a traveling merchant from Shandong, specializing in satin business. There is a satin shop in the West Market that is doing business with me, also a ce where I can stay for a time. The name I am using is Yong Qin. Not only my martial art skill outstanding, I am also a proficient gambler. The weapon that I am adept in using is a pair of refined steel arm protectors, engraved with two characters Yong Qin. Gao Zhandao sighed and said, Xu Yes thought is very thorough. But since this matter arises, Xu Ye definitely must not use your real martial art skill, because the number of men with skill like two Yeer can be counted on ones fingers. Once you revealed your true skill, it might immediately provoke suspicions. I wonder what identity Kou Ye is using now? Xu Ziling leaned over and whispered in his ear, Naturally, just like me, he also use fake identity and a fake face. But for the time being you must not let the other brothers to know that we are already in Changan. Tonight, you and Fengyi, Xiao Jie, wait for us here. I mighte back with Shao Shuai to discuss our n with you. Gao Zhandaos spirit greatly aroused, he said, Finally! Ive been waiting for this day! I really wish we could leave Changan tomorrow. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Dont you have the slightest amount of good opinion toward Changan? Snorting disdainfully, Gao Zhandao said, Sooner orter the Great Tang Emperors throne will fall into Li Jianchengs hands, and then this ce has nothing that makes me want to stay. Xu Ziling revealed a thoughtful look. He remembered Li Shimin once said that he was afraid Li Jiancheng might be another muddleheaded ruler like Yang Guang, so he understood Gao Zhandaos C who deeply felt Yang Guangs tyranny, which caused family bankrupt and the people dead C disgust toward a tyrant. He was about to speak when from outside the shop came the chaotic noise of people bickering. The two men looked at each other in surprise. Gao Zhandao stood up abruptly; the bright light in his eyes red out, a clear sign that he had made considerable progress in his power cultivation. Trouble is here! he spoke in heavy voice. Kou Zhong busily tried to remedy the situation, Although Xiaoren did not know what happened to Madame, but based on Xiaorens experience, the kind of illness that Madame suffers ought to be due to the awakening passion between men and women, hence I reckon Madame ought to have a broken heart in the past. I wonder if Xiaoren has guessed incorrectly? Qingqing stared nkly at his ugly face for quite half a day; letting out a faint, light sigh, her eyes shot out reminiscing look, as she said in a daze, Mo Xiansheng is only half right. It was because qie has done something that forgets favor and vites justice that my heart feels guilty, always thinking of this mistake, which is difficult to amend. Perhaps it is because of this matter that Xiansheng determined that the illness is due to pent-up frustrations. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong asked, Did Madame ever talk about this matter with anybody? Smiling bitterly, Qingqing said, Whats the use of telling people? Merely remembering this matter, it is difficult for qies heart to be happy, yet I cannot forget it. Mo Xiansheng, tell me, what should qie do? Kou Zhong lifted up his three fingers. Taking out his copper case, he said with augh, If Madame trusts Xiaoren, please tell me what happened. Xiaoren vows to keep Madames secret safe, perhaps Xiaoren will be able to ease Madames anxiety; furthermore, I can bring Madames chronic illness under permanent control. Qingqing stared nkly at Kou Zhong opening his copper case and taking out a moxibustion needle. She said, Qie has a strange feeling; I feel like Xiansheng is closely rted to qies past. Have we ever met before? Kou Zhongs hand holding the needle trembled slightly. Asking her to sit up straight, he urately put the needle on the xinshu acupoint behind her shoulder. This was the ce where the blood and qi circting from and into the heart, located under the fifth spine of the vertebrae. Although Kou Zhong did not understand the principles of medical science, he knew that the illness of the heart ought to start with heart acupoint; hence as soon as he started, he selected this acupuncture point. True qi entered in following the needle. Oh! Qingqing cried out; her demeanor was touching. Kou Zhong softly said, I am listening! Shaking her head, Qingqing said, Qie really does not want to talk about it, it will only make qies heart hurts even more. On one hand, Kou Zhong really wanted to help, on the other hand, he was also curious. Thereupon he could not help saying, In that case, let Xiaoren guess: was it someone upholding justice and helping Madame, so much so that he saved Madames life, but Madame did not feel grateful at all? Severely shaken, Qingqing asked, How could it be that one guess and you nailed it? Kou Zhong understood. Turned out it was because in the past, after he and Xu Ziling rescued her C Qingqing said bad words to them that she was stricken by guilty conscience until now. Smiling, he said, Xiaoren merely following the tone of Madames voice and the state of the illness to make a guess! Madame, please close your eyes and have a good sleep. When you wake up, everything will be a thing of the past. Xiaoren dares to guarantee that Madames guilty feeling is totally unnecessary, because your benefactor practically did not take this matter to heart at all. Perhaps you could even meet with your benefactor again, and have a cordial and free chat with him? Qingqing slowly closed her beautiful eyes. Like a helpless little child she said, Really? Kou Zhong transmitting his inner qi, Qingqing slumped into the chair, and fell fast asleep. The trouble came in the form of more than a dozen men, every single one had a wooden stick in his hand, with which they were beating everybody they saw, while outside the shop another dozen or so men were holding their troop formation under the personal leadership of the Wei Shui Mengs Union Leader Fu Di. There were also two martial art masters from Jingzhao Lian, Shi Chengshan and Gao Yue, providing assistance. In the shop, the attendants were three Shuang Long Bang brothers. Person of noble character does not suffer injustice before his eyes, but the few are no match for the many, hence they were forced to retreat inside. By the time Gao Zhandao and Xu Ziling, along with more than a dozen brothers from the back of the store C rushed toward the front, not a single object inside the shop was spared; even tables and chairs did not escape, everything was smashed into smithereens. The evil men were retreating outside. Hearing themotion, the nearby shops, which were mostly of the same trade, came over, but they only stood on a distance; angry, but not daring to speak out. The brothers were about to rush out the shop to fight, but Gao Zhandao shouted at them, telling them to stop. He spoke in low voice to Xu Ziling, Shall we use hard, or shall we use soft? Xu Ziling felt big headache. Lets hear what they have to say first, he said. Slightly nodding his head, Gao Zhandao, followed by Xu Ziling, stepped out of the shop and shouted sternly, Fu Laoda [chief/boss], what is the meaning of this? Just this morning you sent us notification, demanding our Tong Xing She to work ording to your rules in receiving and disbursing funds. And now, less than a few sichen, you came to create trouble and ransack our ce, acting like you want to kill us to thest one. Fu Di cast a sidelong nce toward Xu Zilings yellow-faced man; heughed coldly, Any idle person who has nothing to do with this matter, get lost for Laozi first. Seeing how overbearing he was, Xu Ziling was enraged, but on the surface he did not show any anger. He smiled and said, Xiaodi Yong Qin, Gao Shezhus [agency master] sworn brother; am I considered an idle person? Gao Yue, standing next to Fu Di,ughed nastily and said, Kid is courting death! He was the one talking, but the one making his move was the other Jingzhao Lians martial art master, Shi Chengshan. This short and stout overbearing man pulled the saber hanging on his waist, and strode forward to attack; he suddenly chopped his saber down on Xu Zilings head. Unexpectedly his first strike was meant to take the enemys life. The onlookers from the same waterborne-transport businesses immediately broke into an uproar. Xu Ziling also strode forward to meet the attack. Under the ten-thousand-crowds stunned look, he imitated his Ol Die Du Fuweis Universe Inside The Sleeves; the arm protector inside the sleeve met the hacking down broadsword head-on. Ding! Shi Chengshans entire body was severely shaken; the broadsword was deflected away, his person was also jolted three steps back. While Fu Di and the others were revealing shocked expression, Xu Zilings pair of arm protectors stretched out swiftly to attack the opponents pair of eyes. Being jolted by Xu Ziling earlier, Shi Chengshans blood and qi were already surging, his five viscera and six bowels felt like they were turning over. Frantically he moved his saber to block. Who would have thought that Xu Zilings real killer move was his leg, which,pletely silently, flew out from below, the tip of his foot hit the qihai [ocean of qi] acupoint on Shi Chengshans lower abdomen. Shi Chengshan howled miserably and was thrown backward; hended among Fu Dis troops, knocking down two men. As a result, all three of them became rolling gourd, battered and exhausted. Aghast, Fu Di and his men turned pale. Shuang Long Bangs brothers, as well as the onlookers, broke into loud cheers; their voices shook the long street. Xu Ziling returned to Gao Zhandaos side; calmly and leisurely he said, The one courting death ought to be this fellow surnamed Shi. Later on he could forget about fighting with other people. The murderous intent in Fu Dis eyes red out; he fiercely said, Gao Zhandao, a toast you dont drink, a forfeit you want to drink. Do you dare to fight one-on-one with me? Gao Zhandaoughed aloud and said, Fu Laodas remark is contradictory and ridiculous. As soon as you are here you wanted me to drink a forfeit; how can there be any toast to talk about? Even more ridiculous, you did not follow Jianghu rules, clearly you are using the big to oppress the small, your logic is no more than resorting to martial force. Based on this kind of conduct, how could you win over the peoples heart? Again the onlookers of the same trade roared into an ear splitting ps and cheers. Fu Dis tyrannical attitude has aroused public outrage. Xu Zilings halberd-fingers pointing at Gao Yue, who was standing by Fu Dis side with his eyes rolling randomly C he shouted, Gao Yue, get out here for Ol Yong; I want to see what qualifications you have for saying Ol Yong is courting death. The cheers and apuse grew even more thunderous to boost Xu Zilings morale. Gao Yue was so angry that his face alternated between red and white, yet obviously his heart was empty and timid. In Jianghu, this kind of challenge by mentioning the name and saying the surname, even if one was fully aware that he was no match for the opponent, he simply could not back down. Without any choice he pulled the long sword hanging on his back and strode forward. Adopting a stance, he said, Yong Qin, youd better measure your own weigh. Daring to be our Jingzhao Lians enemy in Guanzhong, what could possibly be the good oue? Xu Ziling coldly said, Listening to the tone of your voice, I wonder if the one in charge in Guanzhong is actually surnamed Yang, or surnamed Li? As soon as these words were out, the nearly a thousand people on the street immediately became like crow and peacock make no sound; they all wanted to see how Gao Yue would respond. Gao Yue realized that he had made a mistake. His shame turned to anger, he shouted, Kid, give your life to me! Suddenly he charged forward. The long sword in his hand created three clumps of sword flowers, stabbing toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling dropped his strong wrist, fast as lightning the arm protector struck out from inside his sleeve. Qiang! Sweeping the opponents long sword away, the lower part of his body adopted a stance like he was about to kick, scaring Gao Yue that he retreated in panic, with a seeing-a-bow-reflected-in-a-cup-as-a-snake [idiom: overly fearful] attitude. Instantly he provoked another bout of hoots ofughter. Fu Dis countenance turned extremely unsightly. Who would have thought that he wanted to kill Yong Qin to show off their prowess, but it turned into self-humiliation instead? It was indeed beyond his expectation. Looking at Gao Yue, who retreated more than a zhang away, Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a sigh, Gao Xiong rolling out so far away like this, how could Ol Yong give my life to you? Gao Yue was so angry that he nearly vomited blood. He was about to charge forward again, Fu Di suddenly shouted, Hold on! Gao Yue already had restraining fear toward Xu Ziling, he happily stepped down the stage. Halting his steps, he asked, What does Fu Laoda want to say? Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Whatever you say, its useless, since we know that there could not possibly be any good oue. All of us might as well rip the skin off our face in vain. Didnt Fu Laoda want to have a one-on-one duel? If you have guts, lets decide victory or defeat in one round. Henceforth the loser will get lost from Changan, and must no longer mingle and create trouble in here. The onlookers roared their approval; the atmosphere was zing hot, the crowds emotion was surging up violently. Behind Fu Di, his number one general Shi Bu grasped his spear and stepped out to relieve their Laoda from embarrassment. Stinky kid! he shouted, You can talk after you pass this barrier of me, Shi Bu. Someone with a saber in his hand pushed his way from among the crowd of onlookers;ughing heartily, he said, To kill a chicken, theres no need to use the cow-butchering cleaver; let me, Zha Jie, serve you, this fe speaking conceited nonsense. Turned out Zha Jie was back. Out of nowhere, Niu Fengyi also appeared and came to Xu Zilings other side. In this area, who did not know Zha Jie? Everybody raised their voices to cheer on him. The more than thirty men on Fu Dis side immediately became lone-momentum, weak-force instead, caught in inferior situation where everybody was yelling at them. Just by looking at Zha Jies bearing and his footwork, Xu Ziling knew that his skill has made substantial progress. Standing next to Xu Ziling, Niu Fengyi excitedly said, Finally two Bangzhu are here! Shi Bu and Zha Jie, two men, were separated by a ten-pace distance, ring at each other like tiger watching its prey. And then both men roared together and pounced on each other. Shi Bu thrust his long spear swiftly toward the pit of Zha Jies stomach; it was extremely ferocious, carrying a one hundred percent power stream. Just by looking at this one spear strike, it was obvious that this mans martial art skill surpassed Jingzhao Lians Gao Yue and Shi Chengshan, two men. Who would have thought that Zha Jies saber moved as he wished, fully unleashing the first strike Qishi Ru Hong [qi momentum like rainbow] of the Divine Dragons Eight Strikes that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling passed on to him. Brandishing his saber, he stabbed and swept, easily deflecting the opponents spear. Heughed and said, Shi Xiong must not deliberately yield; otherwise, it wont worth it if Xiaodi unintentionally injure you! Seeing how brilliant Zha Jies saber technique was, the crowd burst into cheer and apuse again. Gaining the upper hand, Zha Jie did not spare the opponent; taking advantage while Shi Bus defense line was wide open, while shame and anger mixed together in his heart C he bent his waist and charged out, his long saber continued by unleashing the second strike, Zhi Dao Huang Long [directly attack Huanglong (yellow dragon); idiom: directlybat the root of a problem]. The long saber changed its angle of attack, it went straight toward Shi Bus lower abdomen, forcing Shi Bu to tumble backward and lose the key moment. One after another the men from Fu Dis side backed down to open up more space for the two to battle each other. Shi Bu roared violently, his spear technique changed direction, each move was a desperate move meant for both sides to die together, in his attempt to recover his bruised ego. Zha Jie remained calm in the face of adversity; he used counterattack as means of defense. On the surface Shi Bus counterattacks appeared to be sessful, but Xu Ziling and the others knew that Shi Bus strength was fading very fast, bing a strong crossbow reaching its limit. Sure enough, observing Shi Bus spear momentum was somewhat exhausted, he shed into the opponents spear shadow, and then suddenly withdrew; so fast that nobody could see it clearly. Blood sshed from Shi Bus shoulder, his spear fell down on the ground, he staggered and fell back. Returning his saber into its scabbard, Zha Jie withdrew to Gao Zhandaos side, and calmly said, If Fu Laoda do not personally make your move, henceforth Weishui Meng need not mingle in Changan anymore. Fu Dis countenance turned ashen, he looked at his own men helping Shi Bu up. Gao Zhandao smiled and said, For the next one, how about me, Gao Zhandao, apanying Fu Laoda ying a around or two? But I would like to set up a bet; the loser will have to immediately leave Changan. Will Fu Laoda have enough guts to ept this challenge? Fu Di was like riding a tiger; its hard to get off. Get the stick! he bellowed. Gao Zhandao shed Xu Ziling a smile brimming with confidence; he spoke in low voice, Time to make my move! Finished speaking he strode forward. This man, who used to be a pirate, still looked like he did in the past; his long hair was draped over his shoulders, his face full of beard, a pair of short tasseled spears, which was only about five chi long each C hanging behind his back, even more hard toe by was his bearing, which was reserved and grave, but his overbearing prowess was turning into imposing manner, brimming with tension. He stood casually, immediately Fu Di, who was alreadycking in confidence and losing his courage C was put into disadvantageous position. After three years of training, Gao Zhandao, just like Zha Jie, already made the leap to be a martial art master able to assume personal responsibility. No wonder he could make a name for himself in Changan; furthermore, he had be a thorn in Jingzhao Lians side. Fu Di roared wildly, his long stick suddenly mmed down. This stick strike was purely to feel out the opponent. Fu Di no longer dared to despise the opponent. Gao Zhandao took half a step forward, his pair of short spears already moved in front of his body, but the spears were still held in the shape of an X to block the long stick head-on. The pair of slender, but thick and solid hands holding the spears was steady and powerful, not shaken the slightest bit, immediately provoking waves of cheers. Dang! Fu Dis long stick was jolted that it sprang high. Gao Zhandaos pair of spears separated, fast as lightning he thrust both spears forward, forcing Fu Di to withdraw backward and fell into the passive position. He originally wanted to send a full-power stick strike with ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum, to try to overpower the opponent in the inner power aspect; who would have thought that Gao Zhandaos power was really high, greatly beyond his expectation. Immediately he swallowed his pent-up unspoken grievances. Gao Zhandao was about to seize this opportunity to pursue and attack, when a loud shout came, Stop immediately for this officer! Stunned, Xu Ziling looked up, and saw Er Wenhuan, wearing full government official uniform, leading more than a dozen Chang Lin Army, breaking through the crowd of onlookers, which was like a wall of people, pushing them aside as if they were venting their anger on these innocent people; inwardly Xu Ziling cried, Bad! Sha Chenggong took this opportunity to stay at the Feng Ya Ge to fawn on Xier, who was originally Qingqings maid. Kou Zhong made an excuse that he was tired and hence went home alone, but he actually slipped away toward the Yue Ma Bridge to take a look at the situation, so that when he went to the Ministry of Works the next day to check the building information, he would already have approximate idea of what he was looking at. Leaving Bei Li, he headed west, figuring out that if he reached the east bank of the Yong An Canal, he could walk south along the canal, and thus saved himself some pointless walk. Meeting with Qingqing and Xier again, his heart was not without any sigh of sorrow. In his mind, these twodies have never upied any significant position; therefore, even their names he had already forgotten. However, meeting them again today at different ce, a feeling offort and familiarity welled up in his heart. They represented the half-bitter, half-happy memory of the days before the two boys made their name, while also invoking the memory of past events in his mind. Suddenly jolted back into the present, he focused his attention to look. The opposite bank of Yong An Canal was packed with people, the situation was very morous; something must be going on. Kou Zhongs interest was piqued; he promptly crossed the Da Qiao [lit. big bridge] spanning across the canal, toward the ce where the crowd was most dense. Right this moment, he heard Er Wenhuans voice, full of official prowess, saying, Fighting in the middle of the street is a vition of thew. Everybody involved, stay where you are. Who dares to resist will be killed without question. Kou Zhong leaped up to take a look. The first thing he saw was Xu Zilings waxy-yellow face, followed by Gao Zhandao and the others. Inwardly he cried, Desperately serious! But momentarily he could not think of any solution. Book 31 - 13 – Startling-the-Heaven Conspiracy Gao Zhandao respectfully said to Er Wenhuan, Daren, please understand, Xiaoren is the business proprietor of Tong Xing She, who has always been carrying out my official duties and observing thew, engaging in waterborne transport business, earning considerable respect from colleagues of the same profession, and has been appointed the president of the waterborne transport industry association in this region. For some unknown reason today suddenly some evil people dropping by at our door, smashing everything in my shop into smithereens, also wanting to hurt people. As the victim here, Xiaoren only fight to defend ourselves. Everybody here has seen this matter with their own eyes; they can be my witness! He had just finished speaking, the onlookers roared their agreement at the same time; they all denounced the Weishui Mengs side under Fu Dis leadership for bullying intolerably, for going on the rampage and being tyrannical. Seeing the crowds emotion was running high, Er Wenhuans countenance changed slightly. If the city broke into civil unrest and this matter reached Li Yuans ears, plus Li Shimin made a big fuss over it, perhaps even Li Jiancheng would not be able to cover it up. But he has been rolling about in the official arena for many years; there was no trick in dealing with contingencies like this that he did not know. Waiting for the crowd to calm down, he shouted, Right and wrong, crooked and straight, this officer will investigate very clearly, and will severely punish the perpetrator. You, who are the heads of the two parties, shall follow this officer back to the office to exin everything. The crowd burst into rowdy jeering again. Everybody knew that Weishui Meng and Jingzhao Lian had the Crown Prince Jianchengs backing. If Gao Zhandao was arrested and brought back to the office just like this, it would be no different than sending amb into the tigers den; it would be strange indeed if he woulde back alive. Gao Zhandaos countenance changed; he cast a nce toward Xu Ziling, asking direction from him. Inwardly Xu Ziling realized this was a thorny problem. Basically, he must never let Gao Zhandao toe with Er Wenhuan to the office. But if they resisted arrest openly, could Gao Zhandao and the others continue mingling in Changan? He spoke to Gao Zhandao in low voice, Witness testimony! Gao Zhandao came to see the truth; he spoke to Er Wenhuan, Even if Xiaoren and Fu Die with Daren back to the office, it will only be my word against his; it will still be difficult to decide whos right and whos wrong. If Daren wants to investigate this matter clearly, why not ask nearby shops on the spot ... Er Wenhuan angrily cut him off, How to investigate a case, must this officer receive instruction from you? Anybody who wants to be your witness cane to the office! Guards! The group of guards behind him responded in chorus; it was quite intimidating. Those who originally wanted to straighten their back to bear witness immediately cowered into silence. Anybody knew that going to government official institution was never a good thing. On Fu Dis side, everybody revealed a pleased look; a gloating, taking-joy-in-cmity-and-delight-in-disaster expression that said I want to see how you, Gao Zhandao, will end. Hold on! Everybody, including Er Wenhuan, was stunned. Kou Zhongs disguised Divine Doctor Mo pushed his way from among the crowd. Giggling, he said, Er Jiangjun, how are you? Lucky that Xiaoren was passing by that I saw everything clearly, so that I can save Er Jiangjun from wasting your spirit. Let Xiaorene back with Er Jiangjun to be the witness. Immediately Er Wenhuan had a headache. This time he was able to appear in time to help Fu Di out of hard-pressed situation, actually it was pre-arranged. Their objective was to use thebined power of the government official and the gang and society to destroy Tong Xing She in one move. Who would have thought that amidst the bullying, one Divine Doctor Mo Yixin appeared, so that it would be difficult for their counting-their-chicken-before-they-are-hatch plot to seed? Kou Zhong was not amoner that he could push around; on the contrary, he was the current burn-your-hand, feel-the-heat [idiom: a mighty figure that no one dares to approach] celebrity, who had direct ess to Li Yuan, and had also obtained Li Yuans favorable impression and trust. Er Wenhuan hurriedly changed his face; respectfully he said, Turns out Mo Shen Yis honoring us with your presence. This kind of trivial matter, how could we dare to inconvenience Mo Shen Yi? Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi and Zha Jie still failed to recognize this brave man who upheld justice as Kou Zhong. On one hand, they had not seen each other for many years, but also because at this moment, whether it was voice, bearing, and so on, Kou Zhong looked like another person altogether. Xu Ziling cried, Wonderful inwardly. Since their arrival in Changan, whenever Kou Zhong wanted to see them, it had to be in secret, under sneaky environment. But after this, Kou Zhong would be able to establish rtionship with them; outsiders would think that they had formed friendship through this matter. Acting friendly, Kou Zhong came to Er Wenhuans side and said with augh, Upholdingw and order is not only Er Jiangjuns responsibility, but also everybodys responsibility. Only this way will justice be upheld. Xiaoren decided to bear witness in this matter, because this group of wicked men is too excessive! Er Wenhuan nearly wanted to grab his head and cry out in pain. This kind of incident involving public security inside the city was actually outside the limit of his Chang Lin Armys authority. His original intention was to take Gao Zhandao back to Chang Lin Army headquarters, lock him up for ten days or half a month until the general situation was fixed before releasing him out. But with Kou Zhong meddling like this, potentially Gao Zhandao could be brought to the city guards office, and then everything must be carried out impartially ording to the rules. With Kou Zhong, this Divine Doctor, as the witness, who would dare not to show deference by not handling this matter inpliance with his testimony? If the incriminating evidence was established, Fu Di would be sent to the Ministry of Justice, and then even Li Jiancheng would not be able to bare one shoulder [idiom: to side with] on his behalf. However, he was not without a bellyful of evil tricks; rolling his eyes, heughed and said, With Mo Shen Yi giving testimony, how could Mo Jiang still have any doubt? I do not need to trouble Shen Yi toe and go and rush about either. If I made Xiansheng exhausted, how could Mo Jiang answer Huangshang and Taizi Dianxia? Guards, arrest Fu Di and his men for me, and bring them back to the office. Amidst the thunderous cheers, Fu Di and the others, hanging their head dispiritedly, followed Er Wenhuan leaving this ce. Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to invite Divine Doctor Mo to the inner courtyard as a way to express their gratitude. Once they reached the side hall of the inner courtyard and were seated properly, Xu Ziling revealed Kou Zhongs real identity to Gao Zhandao, three men. They chatted warmly with the delight of meeting again after a long period of separation. After Kou Zhong recounted the current situation briefly to them, Xu Ziling said, Yang WenGan wanted to control the gangs and societies in Guanzhong via Weishui Meng is only a harbinger for more important operation. Now we are openly frustrating their awe-inspiring authority, although it is a delight, but we have be a thorn in their side. From taking the initiative, Yang WenGan has turned passive,ter on he would have no choice but to use ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt trick to deal with us, otherwise, how could he stand? If we do not prepare a good method to cope, it would be toote for regret. Gao Zhandao, three men nodded in agreement. Fu Di was merely Yang WenGans vanguard pawn. Speaking about strength, they had Yang Xuyan, Li Jiancheng, and Li Yuanji supporting Jingzhao Lian from behind, which certainly could not be underestimated. Kou Zhong asked Xu Ziling, In your opinion, will Yang WenGan conspire with Jiancheng, Yuanji, and so on to assassinate Qin Wang? None of Gao Zhandao and the others was not emotionally moved. Xu Ziling said, You and I came to the same conclusion. Yang WenGans counting-his-chicken-before-they-are-hatched plot ought to be removing Li Shimin first, and then dealing with the other members of the Li n. There must be Tujue people involved in this matter, Mo Shuai [the Demonic Commander] Zhao Deyan must havee here for this matter as well. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, If we could exploit this situation well, we might be able to strike the water right and left; both to unearth and carry away the hidden treasure, and because the Li ns vitality is heavily wounded due to the struggle among different factions, it will be difficult for them to invade to the east. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, This really isnt the struggle among different factions; rather, it is Tujues invasions startling-the-heavens conspiracy. Once something goes wrong, it might repeat the Wei [220-265] and Jin [265-420] and the Northern Dynasties [386-581] falling due to Yi peoples [barbarians/non-Han people] invasion. Excuse me, but may I ask Shao Shuai if you could bear it in your heart? Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Listening to Ling Shao, I am getting muddleheaded. Are you saying that we have to help Li kid dealing with our honorable Taizi Dianxia? I am most afraid that not only Li kid wont appreciate our kindness, he might, likest time in Luoyang when he helped Wang Shichong dealing with us C try to harm us one more time. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, That is preposterous. I dont believe that you are that muddleheaded! We, Han people, fighting among ourselves behind closed door, is our own business. But if we let Tujues evil ws reach Guanzhong, the world will potentially be in great mess; how could you not understand? Seeing the two were having argument, Gao Zhandao, three men, did not dare to interrupt; they did not dare to express their opinion even more. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The preposterous thing is that I cant argue with you. Since we are brothers, naturally I will have to respect your opinion. Turning to Gao Zhandao and the others, he changed the subject, It has been many years! Are there any brothers who get married and have children here, and put down roots? he asked. Niu Fengyi replied, All of us brothers, not a single one did not suffer from the war. As long the world has not been pacified, we dont dare to get married; therefore, its not that there are no brothers who get married and have children, but the number is very low. Those who happened to be in that situation were advised to leave our Gang and sever all rtionship, so that if something bad happens, it wont implicate their wives and children. You guys have handled it very well, Xu Ziling praised. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, That will make it a lot easier for us to manage. Starting from this moment, we will immediately break up the whole into pieces, disperse all over the ce, lie low momentarily to avoid being the target of the enemys attack. Can the business be handed over to somebody else of the same trade to act on our behalf? That shouldnt be a problem, Zha Jie said. Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao and I will be in charge of getting clear understanding of the situation on Yang WenGans side; you will try your best to conserve your energy. As long as you are thinking that there is a great possibility that Yang Xuyan might be among those who are going to deal with you, without I need to tell you, you ought to know how to be careful! Gao Zhandao and the others exhaled a mouthful of cold air together; they repeatedly nodded their head to promise. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Gao Zhandao said, The day after tomorrow is the auspicious day of New Year [orig. the beginning of Spring]; even if there was no Yang WenGans affair, we are going to close down temporarily tomorrow night anyway, and probably open up for business after the first three days of the new year. Therefore, taking advantage of the situation to close for five, six days probably wont raise anybodys suspicion; they wont guess that we are increasing our vignce even more. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, In the previous years, do you guys have a gathering to eat dinner together on the New Years Eve? Smiling wryly, Niu Fengyi replied, That is indeed our usual practice; in fact, we have already reserved more than ten tables at the restaurant to celebrate the Spring Festival [another word for Lunar New Year] together. Wed better cancel it now. Which restaurant is it? Xu Ziling asked. Zha Jie replied, Fu Ju Lou is out of question for us, but the Changan Lou in Bei Li is not bad either; only the scenery cantpare to Fu Ju Lou. Kou Zhong happily said, This family dinner, we simply have to do it. If the enemies want to create trouble, this is the best opportunity. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Just now Zhandao and Xiao Jie separately revealed your skill, putting your martial art masters power on full disy; therefore, if the opponents want their strike to go smoothly under this kind of situation, they must also be able to leave peacefully afterwards, their operation must be squeaky clean. Other than Yang Xuyan, Yang WenGan, who else from the other side might be able to do it? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Hou Gongzi will be very happy to hear this news. Xu Ziling said, This matter still need to be nned in details; if we let Yang Xuyan get away, well have no choice but to bag our foot before finish eating. Therefore, we must not fail. Kou Zhong addressed Gao Zhandao and the others, You go notify our brothers first. From this moment on until tomorrow nights family gathering, we must not show our face in public as much as possible. Gao Zhandao and the others received the order and left. Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and asked, Do you really want to help Li kid? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Its not that I dont have any consideration for you, but a virtuous cause is facing us, we must not let the demonic school and Tujue people join hands to inflict great suffering to the world! Kou Shao Shuai is an outstanding hero; if you want to contend over the world, in the future you could disy strength and discipline by fighting Li Shimin on the battleground, to determine victory and contend for supremacy. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Speaking about outstanding hero, how could I, Kou Zhong,pare to Ling Shao? I totally agree with you; its just that how to proceed, its definitely not an easy thing. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day. Finally he spoke in heavy voice, Do you agree to help Li Shimin because I stubbornly insist on it? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Ling Shao look down on me, Kou Zhong, too much! I really believe that what you said is right, hence I agree to help you. Come! Tell me first, what great idea do you have? Xu Ziling said, I want to warn Li Shimin. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Returning to his Yue Shans disguise, Xu Ziling swaggered back into the Dong Lai Inn. The owner and all the inn attendants were treating him like a deity; they were extremely deferential toward him. They even took the initiative to upgrade his amodation to the biggest and most luxurious suite in the north garden of their hotel, lest they displeased him, the old friend of the Great Tang Emperor. Sitting in the imperial tutor chair in the hall, Xu Ziling closed his eyes to regainposure, pondering over the affairs of the past few days, in order to n future action. Currently he and Kou Zhong were like walking on a dpidated old rope bridge spanning a high cliff. Once they slipped, they would fall into the abyss and would have their body torn, their bones crushed; therefore, they simply must not make a wrong step under any circumstances. Suddenly the rm went off in his heart, Xu Ziling shouted coldly, Whos there? A man slipped through the window; like moving clouds and flowing water he sat into the imperial tutor chair separated by a small table from Xu Ziling, and said with augh, Yue Ba, I trust you have been well sincest time we met! Xu Ziling opened his eyes and calmly said, Turns out its Going Against the Tide You Niaojuan. You came to Changan, I wonder what noble errand brings you here? Every single wrinkle on You Niaojuans face was shining and glowing; lowering his voice, he let out an evilugh and said, For someone you had just returned to the fray after a period of inactivity, Yue Ba is indeed not amon chord. First, you struck and killed Xi Ying in Chengdu, and today you ruthlessly repressed Old Freak Huang on the Yue Ma Bridge. The powerful way the wind blows, nobody in the world canpete with you. Acting impatient, Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said, Do you think that I, Yue Shan, am someone who love to be ttered? If you want to talk nonsense, dont me Ol Yue for asking you to leave. Hastily You Niaojuanughed apologetically and said, Yue Bas temper is still this fiery. No more chitchat then, this time Xiaodi came to ask Yue Ba for a favor. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Why would I want to do you a favor? You Niaojuan leaned a bit closer; lowering his voice, he said, Because the Old Demon Shi wants to kill you. Xu Ziling responded indifferently, If he wants to kill me, what can you, You Niaojuan, do for me? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, You Niaojuan said, Right now Xiaodi is pretending to wallow in the mire with An Pangzi [fatty], to carry out a joint-conspiracy with Zhao Deyan. The target is precisely your old friend Li Yuan. If Yue Ba agrees to help Xiaodi, I, You Niaojuan, am willing to swear an oath ording to the demonic school magic spell that I willpletely stand on your side. Xu Ziling smiled and said, This business deal does not sound like it will bring me any benefit. What is it that you want me to do for you? The demonic light in You Niaojuans pair of eyes red out dramatically, he spoke word-by-word, Xiaodi wants to ask you, the Senior, to help me snatching the Sheng Sheli [holy relics]. For me, this object is a matter of life and death, but for you it does not have any usefulness. If you dont help me, it might fall into the Old Demon Shis hands; and after the Old Demon Shibined the Demonic King and Demonic Emperor in his body, the first person he is not going to let off will be you, and then it will be Zhu Yuyan and Ning Daoqis turn. Xu Ziling so wanted to ask him why the first person Shi Zhixuan wanted to kill was him, but naturally he did not dare to ask that question for real, otherwise, it would be strange indeed if You Niaojuan would not suspect that he was a fake Yue Shan. Xu Ziling coldly asked, Where is Sheng Sheli hidden at? You Niaojuan spoke in heavy voice, Its hidden within the Duke Yangs Treasure. Inwardly Xu Ziling was severely shaken. You Niaojuan should have been unaware that Demonic Emperor Relics was within the Duke Yangs Treasure; this information could not possiblye from the Fat Merchant of Sichuan An Long. Zhu Yuyan would not be willing to tell him, this old enemy, even more. In which case, where did he learn about it from? Concentrating his attention to execute Yue Shans xinfa, Xu Zilings eyes emitted grim rays of light; turning his head, he met You Niaojuans excited, wild and zing eyes, and said, I have never heard about this matter; where did you hear it from? You Niaojuan replied, Please forgive Xiaodi for keeping the climax of this story. Yue Ba, you may decide in one word, are you willing to cooperate with me, You Niaojuan? Instead of answering, Xu Ziling asked him, Do you know where the Duke Yangs Treasure is? Laughing evilly, You Niaojuan replied, If I did, I would not havee to ask for your help. But the two stinky kids who know the hidden treasure, this moment they ought to be already in Changan. Right now the Old Demon Shi is ring intently on the side like a tiger watching its prey, waiting for them to look for the treasure, and then he will reap where he has not sown. Everybody for himself, you, Yue Ba, ought to do me this favor. Inwardly Xu Ziling was shaken again, thinking that he and Kou Zhong had really underestimated Shi Zhixuans scheming, as well as his means. By the time Kou Zhong was returning to the Sha Mansion, Sha Fu was directing his subordinates to decorate this magnificent mansion withnterns and colored banners, in preparation for the beginning of spring. His status and position now really could not be mentioned on equal terms with his status and position then. Everybody showed him utmost courtesy and was very respectful, polite and cordial. Laying down the task in his hand, Sha Fu took him straight into the inner hall to see Sha Tiannan, husband and wife. After asking him in details about treating Zhang Jieyus illness, Sha Tiannan cheerfully said, These couple of days there is a steady stream of peopleing to ask to be examined or treated medically. Laofu has been trying to push them off on the grounds that Yixin is treating Niangniangs illness. But after the Spring Festival, no matter what, Yixin must entertain Laofus friends a little bit. Kou Zhong simply gave him his yes-man consent. After sitting down for half a moment, he asked to be excused. But as soon as he stepped out of the hall, he was intercepted by the Fifth Miss Sha Zhiqings personal maid, who said, Xiaojie is requesting the pleasure of seeing Xiansheng. Having no excuse at all, Kou Zhong did not have any choice but to follow her toward Sha Zhiqings elegant residence at the southern garden. Arriving outside the door, he heard a sweet female voiceing out from the inside, That Kou Zhong loves to y ghost and disguise himself as a demon; but no matter what he looks like, I only need to take one nce, and I will certainly be able to recognize him. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs soul flew away and scattered, while crying out Really bad! Book 32 - 1 – Coming Across A Friend in Foreign Place Xu Ziling nodded and said, No wonder You Xiong wants to plead me to personally help you, because you need enough power to be able to fish in troubled water and obtain benefit from within it. But in my opinion, unless you can grasp clearly the time and the ce those two boys are going to unearth the treasure, you will only miss it in vain; when they seed, you will still at a loss of what to do. Having a n in advance, You Niaojuan said, This aspect, let Xiaodi worries about it. As long as Yue LaoGe is willing to give me a nod, I have ample confidence that Shi Zhixuan will fall head first. Xu Ziling knew that if he did not give him a nod, he could forget about this demonic schools utterly-vicious-extremely-evil demonic man willing to reveal any information. Although he might not be telling the whole story or the truth, but in the end he would reveal a little bit of spiders thread and horse track behind the truth. Making up his mind, he said, Very well! Its a deal, and I dont need you to swear an oath either. However, if Ol Yue find outter that you, You Niaojuan, are not being honest, dont me me for dealing with you without showing mercy, for falling out with you and bing hostile. Greatly delighted, You Niaojuan said, Yue LaoGe, dont worry. This kind of mutually-beneficial, mutually-advantageous thing, how could I, You Niaojuan, foolishly mess it up? Much lesster on we can be friends! Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to ask, Youd bettery out the n first [orig. put everything out including the tray]; I want to know how I would fit into it. Lowering his voice and leaning closer, You Niaojuan spoke with serious expression, Shi Zhixuan wanting to kill you, Yue LaoGe, is not an empty talk that I, You Niaojuan, am using to threaten you. If you, LaoGe, know that Shi Zhixuan, Zhu Yaofu and Zhao Deyan, these three current top figures of the demonic school, are, for the first time, never happened before C joining hands to do a world-shaking thing, then you wont be surprised why you, LaoGe, could be the first target that they want to eliminate, because you, LaoGe is a threat to their sess or failure. For the first time Xu Ziling was convinced that You Niaojuan sincerely wanted to cooperate with him to snatch the Demonic Emperors Relics. Previously, from Yang WenGans action, he and Kou Zhong spected that Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan were working together to topple the Great Tang Dynasty, only they did not expect that Zhu Yuyan, who has always been like fire and water with Shi Zhixuan C might also join this conspiracy. Each one of these three parties had enormous strength; theirbined power was definitely not a small matter. Not to mention the reality that the struggle among the different factions in the Great Tangs royal household was very intense, which gave the enemy a good opportunity to be exploited. Pretending to be amazed, Xu Ziling said, Is that so? You Niaojuan said, Their first objective is to kill Li Yuans second son, Li Shimin. Without this man, the House of Tang will be a tiger without teeth andcking ws. However, this is just their target on the surface. The fact is that each one of the three is harboring sinister design to obtain the Sheng Sheli; its just that no one openly admit it! Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, How did you know about all these things? An Pangzi cant possibly tell you! Proud of himself, You Niaojuan replied, It was Zhao Deyan that crafty ghost who told me. He knew that his martial art skill couldnt match Xie Wang [demonic king] or Zhu Yaofu; so he knew that he has to find a martial art master to help him. Although with his mouth Old Zhao said he does not covet Sheng Sheli, and that he would rather it falls into my hands, and that he does not want Shi Xie Wang or Zhu Yaofu obtaining it, but how could I, You Niaojuan, be that easy to be cheated? Old Zhao could see that I know the method to extract the divine power umted inside the Sheng Sheli; hence he deliberately coaxed me to help him! Once he obtained the Sheng Sheli, he would turn the spearhead around to deal with me. Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, I, Yue Shan, has never been ay practitioner of Buddhism [orig. virtuous men trustworthy women]; you are not afraid that just like Old Zhao, I am going to deal with you too? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, You Niaojuan said, Forget about your, LaoGes words have always been like the Nine Tripod Cauldrons, you have never done anything that is against your conscience, the most important thing is that your Huan Ri Da Fa actually follows Tianzhu [Indian subcontinent] Buddhist School approach; if you absorb the divine power of the Sheng Sheli, you might immediately suffer fire deviation, and then even Da Luo Jin Xian [God of the Gods, see Book 28 Chapter 9] would not be able to save you. Letting out a cold humph, Xu Ziling said, Frankly, I practically have no interest in your Sheng Sheli at all; the only thing I am interested in is to take Shi Zhixuans dog life. Where is thispletelycking-any-sense-of-justice madman hiding? It was only this moment that he was able to figure out the reason why Yue Shan simply must kill Shi Zhixuan. The key person was Shi Qingxuans birth mother Bi Xiuxin. She was Yue Shans close female friend, but Shi Zhixuan, using despicable method, killed her. Based on Yue Shans violent character and explosive temper, it would be a wonder indeed if he did not hunt Shi Zhixuan to the ends of the earth to settle the ount. From Yue Shans description of Bi Xiuxin in his memoir, Xu Ziling could not help greatly admiring this previous generations good-looking and intelligent beauty, while at the same time his detest toward Shi Zhixuans despicable means also arose involuntarily. Even he himself was unaware of the emergence of this attitude of the heart. This morning he told Li Yuan that wanted to deal with Shi Zhixuan, and both sides epted this matter as it should be by rights, nothing to doubt. But Xu Ziling had not pondered deeply why he felt like he simply had to kill Shi Zhixuan. Until now, You Niaojuan pointed out the circumstances behind why he and Shi Zhixuan could not exist together, he began to understand and came around to the idea that between the two, there was a deep hatred that even all the water of the three rivers and two streams would not be able to wash away. You Niaojuan said, Under the heavens, I am afraid only An Pangzi knows where Shi Zhixuan is. An Pangzi has now be Shi Zhixuans mouthpiece. Shi Zhixuans business deal with Old Zhao and Zhu Yaofu, everything was negotiated through him as his representative. Perhaps only when Sheng Shelies into being will this fellow show himself to plunder it. At that time well have to rely on your, Yue Dages skill. Xu Zilings eyes deliberately showed vicious murderous aura; he slowly asked the question he wanted to know the most, Kou and Xu, those two kids, are they in Changan now? You Niaojuan calmly replied, Based on the fact that those two are proficient in disguise and method of changing their appearance, plus their craftiness, which surpasses cunning fox, everybody from all sides still does not dare to affirm whether they are heading north, or they already secretly entered Changan. The most ridiculous thing is that everyone seems to shy away from talking about this matter. Even if somebody knew where they are, as long as they have not touched the Duke Yangs Treasure, they would definitely do everything possible to cover up for the two boys. Xu Ziling was relieved. If thats the case, he asked, Before they unearth the hidden treasure, we ought to lie low and not waste our time. But we need to agree on a way tomunicate with each other, so that if something does happen, we could immediately find the other party. You Niaojuan nodded his agreement. While they were discussing some ways to stay in contact, the inn attendant excitedly shouted outside the door, Yue Gong Daye, Miss Shang Xiufang ising to visit. Stunned, You Niaojuan said, Turns out its that girl [orig. yatou, can be used either deprecatingly or as a term of endearment]. She seems to be made of the same mold as Mingyue [lit. bright moon]. I wont bother Yue LaoGe any longer! Finished speaking he slipped out through the window. Xu Ziling replied the inn attendant. He felt his scalp went numb as he waited for Shang Xiufangs arrival. Kou Zhong pulled the pretty maids sleeve and half-forcing her behind a cluster of small trees under the doorstep. The pretty maid misunderstood, thinking that he was going to do wicked things to her, her flowery countenance turned pale. She was about to scream, Kou Zhong promptly said, Jiejie, please dont misunderstand, I just want to know whos talking with Wu Xiaojie [Fifth Miss] inside? Having just recovered from the shock, the pretty maid saw his ugly face right in front of her eyes, she made an effort to suppress the disgust in her heart, and asked in astonishment, So far away, Mo Xiansheng unexpectedly could hear Xiaojies voice inside the hall talking to Dong Guifei [imperial consort]? Of course even if she had turned into ashes Kou Zhong would be able to recognize Dong Shunis voice, the woman who has had one-night-predestined-affinity with him, the one who was given to Li Yuan as an imperial concubine as part of the political business deal between Luoyang and Changan. He was asking that question, which he already knew the answer, simply to buy some time. Lowering his voice, he said, I practice some punching and kicking for a few days; as a result, my ears are a bit sharper than average people. So Dong Guifei did note to ask me to treat her illness? The pretty maid moved away a little bit; frowning, she said, Back in Luoyang Dong Guifei was Xiaojies closedy friend [orig. boudoirdys chamber friend]; this time she came specifically to visit Wu Xiaojie. They have been talking for a while, Xiaojie then told me to see if Mo Xiansheng hase back, and asked Mo Xiansheng to meet her. Other than that, Xiaobi [little maid] does not know! Kou Zhong groaned inwardly; he fully realized that Dong Shuni must have received Yang Xuyans order to investigate whether this Mr. Mo was Kou Zhongs incarnation. To put himself in someone elses shoes, if he were Yang Xuyan, he would do the same thing. Just like Li Shimin suspected that Mo Wei was one of the two boys in disguise. This is called sooner orter the ugly woman must see her father-inw. Even if he could avoid it temporarily, he could not avoid it forever. His mind churning at the speed of light, he hardened his heart and said, Jiejie, please wait for me here for a moment, I need to go to thetrine; when Ie back, I will see Dong Guifei and Miss. Perhaps it was because the pretty maid was imagining the repulsive expression of this ugly man inside thetrine, her expression looked like she was going to be sick. Turning her face away, she said, Mo Xiansheng, the quicker you go, the quicker youlle back. Ay! Kou Zhong implored her over and over again, Jiejie must not go in by yourself; otherwise Dong Guifei will know that I am going somece else! The pretty maid nearly wanted to stomp her feet in anger; she crossly said, Dont call me Jiejie this and Jiejie that unreservedly; Xiaobi is called Xiao Ning. Mo Xiansheng, please go to relieve yourself quick! Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! while hurriedly left. Xu Ziling listened to Shang Xiufangs footsteps as she, under escort of the innkeeper and her maids and servants C was walking along the corridor, his listless heart was difficult to suppress. Apparently Shang Xiufang had some kind of unusual gratitude and grudges rtionship with the real Yue Shan. Otherwise, based on Shang Xiufangs usual style, she could not possibly pay Yue Shan a visit like this. One thing went wrong, his real identity might be exposed by her, and then all his achievements thus far would be wasted. To be honest, whether they could find Duke Yangs Treasure or not was not a big deal. However, to let Shi Zhixuan and the others to overthrow the Li n and pulling in the Tujue to invade was not a joking matter. But slipping away was not Yue Shans character either. All he could do was to brace himself and continue, betting on Laotianyes kind intention. Shang Xiufangs touching voice, which contained specks of great changes [lit. the blue sea turned into mulberry fields (idiom); fig. the transformations of the world] within the tenderness and softness, was heard from the corridor about ten zhang away, saying, Wait for me here. Without my order, no one is allowed toe over. After the chorus of response from the maids and the servants, light and graceful footsteps wereing near. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, What brings Shang Xiaojie here to see Ol Yue? His voice was faint, yet it traveled far away. Shang Xiufang did not answer. She went straight toward the door, gently pushed the door open, and stepped inside the hall. The two looked at each others face. Shang Xiufang was wearing a hood to defend against the cold, which extended from the top of her head down to her fragrant shoulders, exposing only half of her face. The outside emphasized the exceptionally magnificent contour of her beautiful silhouette. On the lower part of her body, the long skirt was made of multi-pleated fabric, each pleat was of different color, with light traces in pale drawing, simple, elegant and noble, with some kind of indescribable grace, confidence and at ease impression, pretty and leisurely with many postures. On the outside, she was wearing white-colored fur coat; which also made her appear to be too weak to stand up to the wind, lovely and touching, a when-I-see-it-I-feelpassion charm. Although he was half-pretending, Xu Ziling was certainly taken aback and was emotionally moved. Every single fiber of his as-thin-as-cicada-wing mask, which seamlessly covered his handsome face, revealed a shocked expression, as his entire body, from head to toe, shook severely and he blurted out, Mingyue! Shang Xiufang was slightly startled. Her eyes revealed a hard-to-believe expression. Fixing her gaze to size him up, she shook her head and said, Are you really the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan? No, it cant be. Yue Shan had passed away many years ago. Xu Ziling felt as if his entire spine was immersed in ice water, as he was overwhelmed by the dejected feeling of defeat. Could it be that Kou Zhong and his treasure hunt effort and grand n to fight the demonic school must be written off just like this? Pop! Pop! Kou Zhong applied the Tou Tian Huan Ri Suo Gu Da Fa [lit. stealing-the-heaven, exchanging-the-sun (together means engaging in fraudulent activities), shrinking-the-bones big method], which heprehended in the face of emergency. Enduring unlimited pain, he doggedly used his internal power to alter his skeleton and muscles original shape. As long as he could make his physique slightly different, he could still hide from the crafty girl Dong Shuni. Since practicing the qigong from the Secret to Long Life, he and Xu Ziling have been increasingly able to control their own body, but using inner qi to forcefully change his external form like this, this was his first attempt. A momentter, Kou Zhong wiped the cold sweat due to the pain from his forehead, feeling that not only he was about a cun shorter, the most amazing thing was that he now had a big belly, which,bined with his ugly face, made him appear even more evil. Fortunately, most of the time, the women of the Sha Family, the Fifth Miss Zhijing included, had never had their eyes stayed on his body for long, so that even if he changed his shape, they could not possibly notice it. Afterforting himself, Kou Zhong patted his belly and walked back toward the pretty maid Xiao Ning. In that instant, Xu Ziling was walking out of the bottom of despair and saw a glimmer of light. Listening to the tone of Shang Xiufangs voice, also looking at her hard-to-believe demeanor, it was evident that Shang Xiufang was not absolutely sure that Yue Shan was dead; hence the reason she personally came to see him. From this, it could be inferred that she only received the news of Yue Shans demise from some third party and thus Xu Ziling still had some leeway to recover. [Trantors note: this part had several missing characters and kind of gibberish, so I interpret it the best I can.] At that time, only Bi Xiuxin and Shi Qingxuan knew about Yue Shans passing. Therefore, Shang Xiufang possibly received the news from Shi Qingxuan. His mind turning at the speed of light, Xu Ziling sighed and said, You are Mingyues daughter. Ay! With graceful posture, Shang Xiufang slowly removed her hood to reveal a magnificent-style-unmatched-in-this-generation beautiful jade countenance. Without blinking her pretty eyes stared at him. Who are you? she asked. Xu Ziling decided to stake it all, to take a risk, by saying, No wonder Xiufang misunderstood. At that time Laofu intentionally asked Xiuxin to broadcast the news of my death. Past events like fleeting smoke, I really cannot bear to look back! He blurted thest two sentences simply because he did not know what to say. Shang Xiufangs tender body shook severely, she asked in astonishment, Why are you doing this? Xu Zilings entire body rxed, knowing that he had won this bet. But he had notpletely and safely crossed the danger yet, because he did not know anything about Yue Shans rtionship with Shang Xiufangs mother, Mingyue. He only needed to say one word wrong, and he would immediately reveal his foundation. In his memoir, Yue Shan had never mentioned this woman, Mingyue. However, after meeting Li Yuan, he had more or less grasped Yue Shans style. When there was someone with whom his love and hate were difficult to distinguish, he would be unwilling to mention this individual in his memoir. In simr fashion, toward Shang Xiufangs mother, Yue Shan must have had intertwining gratitude and grudges, so that he was unwilling to remember her. Yue Shan died nearly ten years ago, which put Shang Xiufang at around ten years old; therefore, the news of Yue Shans death that Bi Xiuxin sent must have been addressed to her Niang, Mingyue. Thinking to this point, Xu Ziling rose to his full height, walked over to the window, heaved a deep, deep sigh, with his hands behind his back, he asked, Is Mingyue well? Niang passed away five years ago! Shang Xiufang responded in low voice. Perhaps it was because he had put himself too deep into Yue Shans persona, myriads of feeling assaulted his heart. Both in terms of romantic love or in endeavor, it could be said that Yue Shan was a loser from head to tail. After his wife and daughter were murdered by the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, Yue Shan had dedicated his life to the way of the saber, mastering the shocking-the-world saber technique, acimed to be the unparalleled-in-the-world Overbearing Saber, and was finally defeated under the Heavenly Saber Song Que, and thus the illustrious name he built all his life went down the drain and flowed to the east. During this period of his life where his family was destroyed and he suffered a crushing defeat, he had been in love with a number of beautiful women, but nothing good hase out of all of those. Perhaps the gratitude and grudges between he and Li Yuan was also caused by a woman. His husband-and-wife passionate rtionship with Zhu Yuyan was also just a blurry image. Sighing mournfully, Xu Ziling sadly said, Its finished! Its finished! Mingyue had gone, what else there is to say? Xiufang, go back! You look very much alike your Niang! Hot tears gushed out of Shang Xiufangs eyes; she spoke tremblingly, Xiufang only want to tell Yue Gonggong [grandpa] something. When Niang received the fake news of Gonggongs death, she said something. Would Yue Gonggong like to know what it is? Xu Ziling quietly calcted; base on the time period, Yue Shan suffering a crushing defeat and returning to his native ce to live in seclusion happened forty years ago. At that time Shang Xiufangs Niang was probably just a little girl in her early teens; otherwise, how could she had such a young daughter like Shang Xiufang? Therefore, she ought to be about the same age as Madame Dongming. From this, he spected that Yue Shan and Mingyue must have different kind of rtionship, not a passionate love between a man and a woman. Besides, Shang Xiufang called him Yue Gonggong, which confirmed his guess about this kind of rtionship. What did she say? he asked in deep voice. Lowering her voice, Shang Xiufang replied, She said that she regretted that she did not listen to Yue Gonggong, and failed to live up to Yue Gonggongs good intention. Finished speaking, the beauty covered her face and withdrew; she hurriedly left as if she was fleeing from him. Xu Ziling breathed another long, long sigh. He nearly wanted to tear off his mask to wipe the cold sweats inside. This kind of test would continue toe. Next time, would he still be able to pass the test without a hitch like this? As Kou Zhong was stepping over the threshold, two pairs of beautiful eyes immediately shot at him, but their reaction was different. Dong Shuni, who looked more mature and more brilliant, had her eyes fell on his ugly face first, before moving toward his slightly bulging belly, and then casually toward his physique, which, due to the muscles and bones were tightened up, it appeared to be bending outward, making him appear to be a cun or so shorter on the legs. A look of disgust shed through her eyes, and then, unwilling to look at him any longer, she lowered her eyes. Sha Zhijing had never been attentive to either his appearance or his physique. Although this moment he showed a lot more shorings than usual, she still did not notice anything different. Her expression looked just like before, sheughed and said, Mo Xiansheng is here! This is Zhijings good meizi [younger sister], who is now Huangshangs noble Dong Guifei. Hearing Xianshengs great name, she came especially to visit Zhijing and to pay her respect to Xiansheng. Kou Zhong raised his cupped fist to greet her; using his unpleasant-to-hear fake voice, he said, Turns out its Guifei Niangniang. Please ept Xiaorens respect. Dong Shunis eyes scanned him from top to bottom one more time; she revealed a disappointed and disinterested expression. This is not Imperial Pces inner garden, she spoke indifferently, There is no need for Mo Xiansheng to be overly courteous. Kou Zhong cheered inwardly for getting through this ordeal, while at the same time, because of applying his inner power, his whole body was unbearably aching, hence he sat with an unnatural posture some distance away on a seat below the twodies, epting the cup of fragrant tea offered by a maid, acting like he was listening to thedies instructions respectfully. This time it was Dong Shuni who really wished that this ugly divine doctor would quickly leave. During the awkward moment where everybody did not know what to do, Sha Fu rushed in and said, Taizi Dianxia [His Majesty the Crown Prince] is here; he is asking Mo Ye to immediatelye to see him. Inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly surprised; why would Li Jianchenge looking for him? Book 32 - 2 – King of Qi Returning to the Capital Apanying Li Jiancheng were Xue Wanche and Feng Liben. The three borrowed the east wing of the Sha Mansion to have a private talk with Kou Zhong, but none of the Sha Family was invited to join. Kou Zhong was still especially wary toward Xue Wanche, simply because he could see that both in terms of intelligence and martial art, within Li Jianchengs Crown Prince Faction, he could be considered top tier [orig. shang shang, borrowing Akws term: A1]. After chitchatting for a moment, Li Jiancheng went straight to the point, From Yin De Fei, I hear that Mo Xiansheng is determined to use your medical skill to help the people of the world, to obey your Jiashus instruction to roam the world, hence you have no intention of bing an officer in our Great Tang. Is that right? Just by looking at how fast he obtained the news from Yin De Fei, Kou Zhong knew how close Li Jianchengs rtionship with Yin De Fei was. Naturally it was also possible that it was Chang He who reported this matter to him, although this possibility was not high, simply because it involved Kou Zhongs support on his career. With flickering eyes Xue Wanche and Feng Liben fixed their gaze on Kou Zhong; they wanted to know how Kou Zhong would respond. Naturally Kou Zhong also know that Li Jiancheng had a reason for asking him that question. He wanted to see if Kou Zhong could be bribed; hence he did not hesitate to deploy his army and move his troops like this, urgentlying to the Sha Family to have a good talk with him. There must be an urgent matter that Li Jiancheng needed Kou Zhongs cooperation. If he said one word that was out of line, it would be strange if Li Jiancheng did not doubt him. Thereupon Kou Zhong sighed and said, Dianxia [Your Highness], please understand, mening out of his home to make his way in the world, who does not want to establish some glorious deed? Only because Jiashu is proficient in reading fortune by looking at my appearance that he told me that these ten years Xiaoren would have to go through dangers one after another, therefore, I must go to the south and scuttle to the north in a life of a wanderer; only then will I be able to resolve my fate. Hence he admonished Xiaoren to go everywhere and all directions to practice medicine. Relieved, Li Jiancheng said, Turns out Mo Xiansheng has this secret trouble. This is easy. This Dianxia will give Xiansheng some travel expenses first. Some day when Xiansheng is tired of traveling you maye back here; at that time this Dianxia will have unified the world, I guarantee that Xiansheng will enjoy endless glory, splendor, wealth and rank. Kou Zhong pretended to have his eyes brightening as he looked at Feng Liben putting a heavy bag on the small table by his side. Li Jiancheng smiled and said, Here is two hundred taels of gold, a trivial token of my appreciation, Xiansheng please kindly ept. Kou Zhong shook all over; lying prostrate to express his gratitude, he said, Thank you Dianxia for the reward. Back to his seat, Kou Zhong felt that Feng Liben and Xue Wanche were thirty-percent less alert, their expression was more rxed. Li Jiancheng said, Now we all are of the same side, there is no harm in this Dianxia to speak forthrightly. Supposing Huangshang inquires about the cause of Zhang Jieyus illness, this Dianxia hopes that Xiansheng would speak the truth about the cause of Niangniangs strange illness just like Xiansheng told this Dianxia at Shang Ling Yuanst night, which was the invasion of slow-released cold and hot highly toxic poison. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Formidable! If he was not being tactful and voluntarily entered into cooperation, it would be guaranteed that he would not end well. If it were someone else, under this kind of making-threats-and-promises situation, who would dare not to obediently submit? Hanging his head down, Kou Zhong said, That is as it should be. Xiaoren understands how to report to Huangshang! None of Li Jiancheng, three men, did not show happy expression. ying it down, Xue Wanche said, Mo Xiansheng must remember, you must not take the initiative to raise this issue to Huangshang; you must wait until Huangshang inquires it before you begin to tell him the particrs without concealing anything. In the medical field, Xiansheng is a great expert, naturally you know how to speak like seamless heavenly clothes a lot better than us, theseymen. Inwardly Kou Zhong was startled; lifting up his eyes, he replied, Leave this matter to Xiaoren. Xiaoren will carefully formte good exnation. When Huangshang inquires, then I will be ready to give him an answer. Seeing how sensible he was, Li Jiancheng was greatly delighted; he said, Mo Xiansheng indeed did not fail this Dianxias expectations toward you. I wonder how long will Mo Xiansheng stay in Changan? Inwardly Kou Zhong said that as soon as Laozi obtained the treasure, even if you kneel in front of me, begging me to stay, I couldnt possibly agree. However, on the surface he answered, politely and modestly, Should be about twenty more days. Jiashus instruction is that I should never stay in one ce more than a month. Li Jiancheng rose up and said, Since Xiansheng is going to stay in Changan for a while, this Dianxia will send you two young and pretty pce maids to serve Xiansheng in bed. I guarantee that Xiansheng will be satisfied. Kou Zhong was shocked, thinking to himself wont that mean Laozis every single movement would be under your, Li Jianchengs close watch? He busily sprang up and said, Dianxias good intention, Xiaoren can only appreciate it in my heart. Because Jiashu told me that as long as the bad luck has not passed, I must note near women. Stunned, Li Jiancheng said, Unexpectedly there is such a strange taboo. Your esteemed uncle must be an extraordinary person. Ha! In that case, Ill wait for Xiansheng to finish your wandering ande back here. This Dianxia will make arrangement for Xiansheng then. Kou Zhong sent off the three men to the main gate, and watched as the three galloped away under escort of their personal bodyguards. He was about to slip away to see Xu Ziling when he came across the Second Young Master Sha Chenggong, who had juste back. He immediately grabbed Kou Zhong and pulled him back into the house to talk. Kou Zhong had no choice but to sigh for his bad luck. Sitting down on a corner of the main hall, Sha Chenggong cheerfully said, Mo Xiongs medical skill is indeed like a deitys. After your needle treatment Madame Qing felt like she had shed her mortal body and exchanged her bones, the sickness and pain arepletely gone, she is extremely happy; she repeatedly urged Xiaodi, no matter what I have to take Mo Xiong to Feng Ya Ge tonight for a simple meal, to let her personally express her gratitude. Thats why Xiaodi once said that outward appearance is not important at all, the most important thing is whether one has real skill or not. You must not, by any means, touch Madame Qing. Hee! Other than Madame Qing and Miss Xier, Feng Ya Ge has beautiful women so numerous that one could just bend down and pick them up. Tonight, I guarantee Mo Xiongs luck with women will reach the heavens. Inwardly Kou Zhong mused that I came to Changan for the purpose of contending for hegemony over the world; I dont have time to apany you visiting a brothel. But on the surface he revealed an awkward expression as he shook his head and said, I was born to live a hard life. Very soon your Jiefu [older sisters husband; in Book 30 Chapter 11 and 12, Chang He was the fourth Meifu (younger sisters husband)] Chang He Daye mighte looking for me; I dont know which Emperor rtives illness I will have to treat. About the luck with women on that Madame Qings side, I have no choice but to trouble Er Shaoye to go and enjoy it alone. Ha! I might make some tonic for you, Er Shaoye to boost your vitality. This was a half-true-half-false statement; obviously Sha Chenggong was not without any misgiving toward Chang He. He had no choice but to show a pained expression and said, No problem. But could LaoGe do your best to get away and make a detour for a moment? Otherwise, it would be very difficult for Xiaodi to answer Xier. This moment a subordinate came to report that Chang Hes good self has arrived. Inwardly Kou Zhong was amused; actually, he was more afraid of Sha Chenggong and Chang Hes confrontation. Patting Sha Chenggongs shoulder, he said, Let Xiaoren see what I can do! And then he hurriedly went out to greet Chang He. Dusk. Xu Ziling changed back to his disguise, the yellow-faced man Yong Qin. He had an appointment with Lei Jiuzhi to meet at Hou Xibais small courtyard, and then together they would go for dinner followed by a trip back to the casino. Coincidentally Hou Xibai also came. Actually, it was not a coincidence at all, because a few hours every day Lei Jiuzhi woulde here to wait, to see if Hou Xibai left any information or perhaps wanted to meet. Grabbing his head, Hou Xibai said, Li Yuanji and Yang WenGan are back! Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi looked at each other. This could mean that those two had abandoned their n to intercept the two boys outside the Pass and changed it into dealing with them inside Changan, or perhaps they were guessing that the boys had already entered Changan, hence they must return immediately to deal with them. Hou Xibai said, This is very strange. ording to intelligence, Ziling and Shao Shuai have appeared in Weinan, another big city inside the Pass, in Changans vicinity, and even ran into Jingzhao Lian people over there and injured several men. Hence the reason Li Yuanji and the others were rushing back upon receiving the news. Astonished, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Where did Xibai get this information from? It was Qin Wang Mansions people who told me, Hou Xibai replied, Just now when I met Qin Wang, he asked me if I fought Ke Dazhi, what would be my chance of victory? Remembering that it might be Zilings battle, I said I have 50% confidence. Hearing that, Qin Wang was very happy, he rewarded me ten taels of gold, double the amount of gold that Li Jiancheng gave me. Lei Jiuzhi said to Xu Ziling, Li Shimin must be at the end of his patience toward Li Jiancheng. Xu Ziling nodded and said, That must be the case. This is called even Buddha has a fire! Li Jianchengs biggest blunder was involving the Tujue, making Li Shimin feel that he is in danger. Actually, in the struggle between the factions in Guanzhong, the key to its sess or failure has evolved to whether the Eastern Tujue would be able to deployrge scale invasion or not. Hou Xibai said, In my opinion, Li Shimin is having a major headache; although in the battlefield he is a triumphing-in-every-battlemander-in-chief, but back in Changan, he is facing another kind of battle strategy, crafty plots and machinations, and enemiesmitting all manner of crimes. Furthermore, Li Jiancheng is the perfectly legitimate sessor to the title of the Emperor, receiving support from Li Yuans favorite concubines faction, plus he has the demonic school and the Tujue people backing him, it could be said that Li Shimin is caught in apletely take-a-beating, disadvantageous situation. I really cant think of any way to help him. Lei Jiuzhi was puzzled, Within the Great Tang Army, Li Shimin has great prestige. As soon as he issued his order, wont Li Jiancheng be beaten and be utterly defeated, and even Li Yuan wont be able to do anything about it? he asked. Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, The House of Tang adopts governmental military system; after fighting a battle, they return home. Government soldier returning to the farm, they are no different than ordinary citizens. In the event that the central government wants to deploy government troops, they have to issue military symbol of authority to local prefecture or county. And then the provincial governor of the prefecture or county, together with capital citys guards jointly verify the authenticity of the military symbol of authority; only then will they be able to send troops. Military training is carried out locally every winter. Supposing Li Shimin wanted to raise arm in rebellion; first of all, he must obtain the military symbol of authority from Li Yuans own hands. Secondly, such arge-scale mobilization, how could it not rm Li Jiancheng? Perhaps even before the government soldiers arrived, the Heavenly Policy Mansion would have been beaten to pulp already. Xu Ziling began to understand Yang WenGans usefulness. Such a big boss of arge underworld gang who held tyrannical power over a territory, without any military symbol of authority, he could deploy arge number of men to deal with anybody. And the Tujue martial art masters under Ke Dazhis leadership could y an even more critical role in this kind of situation. Hou Xibai went on, Many times Li Shimin has asked Li Yuan to allow him to attack Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang, who are bidding their time in Taiyuan like a tiger watching its prey, but he was thwarted by the Crown Prince and Imperial Concubines Factions, precisely because they are afraid that seeing the situation is not favorable to him, Li Shimin would gather the troops outside and dere his independence, to such an extent that he might turn around and attack Changan. Lei Jiuzhi gained a sudden understanding, No wonder Li Shimin values an outsider like you so much. If you could ruthlessly dampen Ke Dazhis might, he could at least kill Li Jianchengs arrogance. Looking around the Heavenly Policy Mansion, although they have martial art masters like a cloud, but even Zhangsun Wuji was defeated under Ke Dazhis hands. Fighting one-on-one, they do not have anybody who could withstand Ke Dazhi. Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, Hence the reason Qin Wang told me toe with him tomorrow night into the Imperial Pce to participate in the Lunar New Years Eve banquet. This time well have to see Zilings martial art skill! Tomorrow night! Xu Ziling was surprised, Ay! I was just going to tell you a n to deal with Yang Xuyan; too bad it was going to be carried out also tomorrow night. And then he told them the details of Yang Xuyan might assassinate Gao Zhandao during the Tong Xing Shes New Years Eve family dinner tomorrow night. While upon listening to this Hou Xibais eyebrows were knitted deeply, Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Dont worry! Yang Xuyan has a close rtionship with the House of Tang, how could he dare to miss this kind of asion? Supposing he really wanted to proceed with the assassination operation, he would only do it before or after the event, or perhaps making an excuse to leave. As long as we make proper arrangement, we still have the opportunity to kill him. Hou Xibais eyes lit up; he said, This time we definitely must not let him slip away. Otherwise Ziling and Shao Shuais identity would be exposed to light. Xu Zilingughed and said, Even if he is fully aware of our identity, or perhaps just before the battle he manage to slip away, he would definitely not broadcast this matter out. Its just that our situation will be even more dangerous. Thats all. The other two looked at him in bewilderment. Xu Ziling exined one step further, The logic is very simple, simply because of his Shifu is also Hou Xiongs Shifu, Shi Zhixuan, who is painstakingly waiting for us to get the Duke Yangs Treasure out. In his eyes, other matters are only secondary. pping his thigh, Lei Jiuzhi said, This will give us more leeway in carrying out our n; there will be no more misgivings. Hou Xibai said, Now it should be Xiaodis turn to tell Ziling everything that has been happening these past two days I am in disguise as Mo Wei! Kou Zhong pulled Chang He back to the main gate; making a show of being very much in earnest, he lowered his voice and said, Lets get out first and talk. The four subordinates that Chang He brought with him gave one of the horses to Kou Zhong, so that two of them had to share a ride as they galloped out of the Sha Familys new mansion, in the direction of the Yue Ma Bridge. Pretending to be in distress, Kou Zhong, in so much pain that he did not want to live, said, Xiaoren got entangled by Er Shaoye that I nearly died, fortunately you, Chang Daren came to the rescue; otherwise, I really dont know how to get away from him. Chang Heughed and said, Is Chenggong trying to get Xiansheng to treat Madame Qingqing, whose beauty and fame spread far and wide? Treating an illness is not the problem, Kou Zhong replied, What I am most afraid of is that he wanted me to go drinking and socializing with brothel beauties. Wine can confuse character, beauty is even more formidable. Xiaoren is practicing Tongzi Gong [virgin boy skill/power], if it is broken, more than thirty years of heart and blood will go down the drain. Chang He revealed a look of sympathy; momentarily he did not know how tofort him. Beating the snake following the stick [see Book 3 Chapter 3], Kou Zhong said, Can Chang Daren do Xiaoren a favor? Chang He showed his natural color as a man who upheld yiqi; patting his chest, he said, Whatever it is, Mo Xiong only need to tell me, Xiaodi will definitely carry it through to the best of my ability. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, These past two days I treated peoples illnesses nonstop, I am so tired that I nearly die, when I get home, Er Shaoye is entangling me to death. Hey! You know that sometimes I need to quietly rest, alone. Can I ask that when I am hiding, you cover for me by making an excuse that I am treating someone elses illness at your request? Chang He dly said, This should be no problem. But Huangshang ordered me to notify you: tomorrow night, the Lunar New Years Eve banquet at the Pce, Mo Xiong must attend. When the timees, Xiaodi wille to pick Mo Xiong up and bring you to the Pce. Kou Zhongs remark just now was nothing more than to find an excuse not to stay at the Sha Mansion to eat the New Years Eve family dinner, so that he could deal with Yang Xuyans assassination. This moment he was dumbstruck and unable to reply, while crying, What bad luck! inwardly. Chang He went on, Mo Xiong has be the most well-received person in Changan. Not only Huangshang and Taizi Dianxia think highly of you, even Qi Wang, who had just returned this morning, also wanted to invite you to Feng Ya Ge tonight to have a chat. On this, Xiaodi did not dare to decline on your behalf. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. Even after going around and around, he still had to attend the King of Qi, Yuanjis banquet. He spoke dejectedly, Arent I supposed to go to the Pce early morning tomorrow to treat Niangniangs illness? Of course Qi Wang is aware of that, Chang He replied, Mo Xiong only need to stroll into his banquet for a moment, and that should do it. Kou Zhong pushed for a final effort; he sighed and said, Chang Xiong seems to forget that I am training Tongzi Gong; I am most afraid of seduction. Leave this matter to me, Chang He replied, I will secretly notify Qi Wang, asking him to make appropriate arrangement; I guarantee that nobody is going to seduce you, Laoxiong. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, What time is Qi Wangs banquet going to be held? If there is still time, Id like to go home and take a nap to restore a bit of spirit. This is called the way of maintaining good health. Chang He took a nce toward the setting sun in the west, Theres still about a sichen or so, he replied, Its not a big deal if Mo Xionges a bitte. Xiaodi will speak for Mo Xiong! Kou Zhong asked to be excused, pulled his rein to turn his horse around, and flew away as if he was escaping. Book 32 - 3 – Facing Challenges Kou Zhong handed over the horse to be looked after by a Sha Family servant, and then he headed toward Hou Xibais secret nest to meet with Xu Ziling. By the time he arrived, Hou Xibai had just left, Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi were discussing gambling technique in preparation for going back to Ming Tang Wo to make a kill on all directions. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said to the two, Li Yuanji is back! Xu Ziling already knew this, naturally he was not surprised at all. Nodding his head, he said, Because someone created the illusion that we are entering the Pass; naturally Li Yuanji had to rush back. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly you know more than I do. Lei Jiuzhi poured a cup of tea for him, and then he rted Hou Xibais information to him. Rubbing the bottom of the teacup, Kou Zhong pondered deeply for a moment, and then said with a frown, The person creating the illusion, is he trying to harm us or help us? If they had not entered the Pass, and Yang WenGans intelligencework mistakenly thought that they already entered the Pass, so much so that their vignce was cking down, naturally it would help the boys to enter Guanzhong. If the boys were already inside the Pass, but their doppelgangers appeared outside the Pass, naturally people would be even less suspicious of the boys assumed identity. However, if everybody knew that they have arrived in Changan, they might increase their vignce and would greatly increase the pressure. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, We must not underestimate the enemy. The one creating the illusion is definitely someone who is very familiar with our temperament and style. Lei Jiuzhi nkly said, How did Ziling arrive at that conclusion? Leaning back into his chair, Kou Zhong stretched his limbs and said, What Ling Shao said is quite reasonable. If I am guessing correctly, this must be the Yaonus doing; she might even know that Mo Shen Yi is me, Kou Zhong, so she deliberately uses this method to increase the pressure on us, to force us to unearth the Duke Yangs Treasure as soon as possible. His countenance changed, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Why not Shi Zhixuan or Zhao Deyan, but the Yaonu? Xu Ziling agreed with Kou Zhongs assessment; he said, Because she is most familiar with us, so much so that she is familiar with the ins and outs of our Secret to Long Lifes qigong. Because of Kou Zhong proficiency in medical skill, others might not suspect that he is Kou Zhong. But if they know the Divine Doctor Mos style in treating illness, they would immediately know that it was Kou Zhong in disguise. Deeply worried and sick at heart, Lei Jiuzhi said, This is very bad; how are we going to deal with it? Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont worry! Yin Gui Pai will never spread this precious secret out, because they [feminine] want to swallow the Xie Di Sheli for themselves, hence they also spend a great deal of effort to escort us. This illusion is certainly one method. But then he dejectedly said, Tomorrow night, there will be a Lunar New Years Eve banquet at the Pce, Li Yuan has determined that I have to participate. This is giving me bad headache. Xu Ziling indifferently responded, You and I are in the same trouble. Fortunately Yang Xuyan will also have to attend this grand asion tomorrow night. As long as we n ahead on how to meet any contingency, we should be able to deal with it. And then he told Kou Zhong about Hou Xibais situation in passing. Kou Zhongs eyes suddenly lit up. He said, I have no doubt that the best moment for treasure hunting must be tomorrow night, because everybody will be concentrated in the Pce. After the event, everybody will be full and drunk, nobody will have leisure time to patrol around to see whether somebody is going on treasure hunt in secret. Ling Shao, what do you think? Displeased, Xu Ziling asked, Have you investigated clearly where the treasure is? Full of confidence, Kou Zhong replied, Tomorrow morning, after examining Zhang Beautys pulse and pay my respect, Xiaodi already received Gongbu Shangshu Daren Li Zhenghuis permission to go to the Ministry of Works document archival room to examine the files of the building in the Yue Ma Bridges vicinity. If we can find the building that was built in the same year, or even that was built under Yang Sus personal supervision, it would be the same as we find the entrance to the treasure. Just leave this heavy responsibility to Xiaodi. Lei Jiuzhi was gradually getting used to Kou Zhongs style; sincerely and with earnest wishes he said, Since the secret storehouse was designed by Lu Shi, it will definitely not that easy to see through. Turning to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong said, Tonight Li Yuanji is going to invite me to dinner at Feng Ya Ge. Do you know who is Feng Ya Ges beautifuldy boss, who is also the beauty whom Li Yuanji admires? Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Who is she? Kou Zhong leaned forward and spoke mysteriously, Its Miss Qingqing, who had once bit the hand that feeds her. Xu Ziling drew a nk. Who is Qingqing? he asked. Kou Zhong already guessed that this would be Xu Zilings reaction; he exined clearly with a smile on his face, and then he sighed and said, This proves that she is a person with conscience, hence the reason she is feeling guilty afterwards. Remembering what Gao Zhandao told him, Xu Ziling said, Thats funny. Zha Jie is just like your Sha Familys Second Young Master, he also grovels under Xiers skirt trying to win her heart. I hope this is just a temporary thing, I dont want him to be really bewitched. Kou Zhong did not take this matter to heart. Taking out the gold that Li Jiancheng gave him from his bosom, he put it on the table, and said with augh, This is my share of the gambling capital; if you win, you ought to give me my share. Immediately Lei Jiuzhis eyes lit up. Rising up to his full height, he put the gold into his bosom, andughed aloud and said, Brothers! Its time to make our move! We must not waste this extremely good time. Wait! Kou Zhong said, While theres still a bit of time, Lei LaoGed better teach me a couple of medical knowledge for my self-defense, so that when someone asks me, I wont be dumbstruck and unable to reply. Lei Jiuzhi cheerfully said, Speaking about tooting our horns, I can be considered the master among the masters. Based on Shao Shuais aptitude, I guarantee that I can teach you within one sichen. Blurting outughing, Kou Zhong said, I dont want to learn how to toot my horn from you; rather, I want to learn some know-how and theory of medical science, so that when someone ask, I wontck the words to respond to them. Rolling his eyes, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Is there any difference between the two? Xu Ziling could not help bursting into loudughter. Glowering at him, Kou Zhong said, Funny that you areughing so happily. All along I have a feeling that Li Yuanjis banquet tonight is not a good banquet at all; it is not a simple banquet to express his gratitude for curing Qingqings disease. If it were you, you just got back from a long and difficult trek from outside the country this morning, and then tonight you makeborious effort to entertain the physician who treated your sweethearts illness; what kind of logic is this? Not only that, he had to coax and plead by specifically sending Chang He to invite Laozi to attend the banquet? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Lei Jiuzhi said, I hear that Nanhai Pais Zhangmen Mei Xun not only has tyrannical martial art skill, his intelligence is outstanding as well. It must be him who grew suspicious and came up with this arrangement to test your authenticity. Xu Ziling said, Fortunately you and the Sha Family have already had previous predestined affinity. If you suddenly appeared just as the Sha Family was on their way to Changan, it would be strange indeed if they did not think that you are a fake article. Presently it is hard to distinguish the real from the imitation, doubts are growing as a thicket. The two could not help worrying for Kou Zhong. Li Yuanji and his mens situation was different from Li Jianchengs, simply because they went all over the ce to hunt down Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys. Anybody with unknown origin would be a suspect to them. Otherwise, with Li Yuanjis status and rank, he could not possibly conduct the investigation himself. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, The theory of medical science is moreplex than the stars in the sky. You are cramming in haste to learn it, if you came across someone with real medical knowledge, I would be surprised if you dont reveal hundreds of mistakes. pping his thigh, Lei Jiuzhi said, I got it! Although with sessive generations the theory of medical science is developing like crazy, but pursuing the source and direction of the flow, it is still based on the Huangdi Neijing [medical text (Internal Canon) attributed to the Yellow Emperor, c. 300 BC] as the jade tablet standard, nothing deviates from it. As chance has it, LaoGe has spentborious effort in studying the Huangdi Neijing. I wrote about the essence and vital points within it, such as the Four Qi, Yin and Yang, Five Viscera, Meridians, Qi and Blood, and so on, which I will pass on to you. When the timees, Shao Shuai may disy your knowledge on the spot, perhaps you will be able to pass this hurdle. Worried, Xu Ziling said, If the other side raises a question about the practice of using medication, how is he going to deal with it? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Perhaps it wont go that far! At that time I will have no choice but to change ording to the situation. The troopse, fight; the wateres, build a dike. That shouldnt be a problem either, Lei Jiuzhi said, On the way, I am going to teach you some songs about the secret of Shennong Ben Cao Jing [Shennongs (lit. farmer god) Compendium of Materia Medica, a Han dynasty pharmacologicalpendium, 3 scrolls]. At that time, you can talk about the general idea; dont talk about the details. Unless the opposite side is a master proficient in medical skill, nobody would be able to see through it. Kou Zhong bowed with sped hands in front of his chest, saying, Shifu, please bestow your teaching, Xiaotu [little disciple] is listening with respectful attention. Tonight Bei Li [northern neighborhood, see Book 30 Chapter 10; probably equivalent to city district] was especially bustling with noise and excitement. Xu Zilings Yong Qin and Lei Jiuzhis Wen Kuan, both were traveling merchants from Shandong C selected a random restaurant to feed their belly, before going straight to Ming Tang Wos main gate. Xu Ziling wondered aloud, At the end of the day, our target is the Xiang Family. Why dont we go directly to the Six-Happiness Casino, which they open, and beat them ruthlessly? My gambling method can be a bit more vicious and merciless. With a card up his sleeve, Lei Jiuzhi replied, That is precisely the crucial point. You must remember that both Ming Tang Wo and the Six-Happiness Casino have their own behind-the-scenes supporter. Even though they are archenemies, they cant do anything to the other side. ording to Jianghu rules, well water cannot vite river water. Even if the Great Immortal Hu Fo is fully confident that his gambling technique surpasses that of the (Daoist) Immortal Hand Chi Shengchuns, he could not go to the Six-Happiness Casino and kick around over there. But with you as a master from the outside, its a different matter altogether. Laodi [ol younger brother] is a smart man, you ought to understand what I said! Xu Ziling suddenly saw the light. It was only then did he understand why Lei Jiuzhi wanted him to make a name for himself in the gambling world. When he had enough qualifications to battle against the Great Immortal Hu Fo on the gambling table, he would be the target that the Six-Happiness Casino would want to rope in, to use him to strike the opponent. This was certainly a marvelous n and brilliant scheme to infiltrate the Xiang Family. They were lucky that Lei Jiuzhi was able to think about it. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, When you told me about this aspect earlier, why didnt you give me details? If you had told me earlier, I would know what I am doing, my fighting spirit might be a bit higher. Sound of hoof beats came. Seven or eight riders wereing directly at them, one of the riders was surprisingly Er Wenhuan. Seeing Xu Ziling, this yellow-faced man, immediately his eyes shone. He spoke a couple of sentences to Ke Dazhi, who was riding beside him. The spirited light in Ke Dazhis eyes red brightly as he turned his gaze toward Xu Ziling. This was Xu Zilings first encounter with Ke Dazhi, but just like Kou Zhong, he was able to recognize him in just one nce. Groaning inwardly, he avoided Ke Dazhis eyes, while pulling Lei Jiuzhi into Ming Tang Wo. Lei Jiuzhi sensed something was amiss; he asked, What happened? After giving him brief exnation, Xu Ziling said, Wen Xiong has not answered Xiaodis question just now. Subconsciously Lei Jiuzhi cast a nce toward the entrance; he said, I did not know how to tell you, plus I did not want you to think about winning or losing. Gambling is the most demonical game. The more you want to win, the greater your chance of losing. Hey! They did not follow us in. Xu Ziling said, Based on the Chang Lin Armys ruling as a despot, I am sure they will not let me go. Let Kou Zhong deal with him! Stunned, Lei Jiuzhi asked, What does it have to do with Kou Zhong? The two men stepped into the main hall. They were squeezing into the crowd of gamblers, but there was no sense of safety at all. Xu Ziling said, Since tomorrow night I might have to take Mo Weis ce in battling Ke Dazhi, tonight I must not fight against Ke Dazhi at all. I will have to trouble LaoGe to go to Feng Ya Ge and find a way to notify Kou Zhong, tell him that when the Divine Doctor is done making fake medicine, he is toe here to gamble with us; I must survive this cmity. As long as I stay in the casino, even if Ke Dazhi doesnt want to see the monks face, he will have to see the Buddhas face; therefore, we should have enough time. Lei Jiuzhi happily said, After I leave, you must go to the Di Huang Hall to y Pan Tan. After you win one thousand, you stop. But you must wait for us before you can leave. After giving all the silver taels and gold ingots to Xu Ziling, he hurriedly left. Inwardly Xu Ziling was smiling wryly, thinking that this time he could only stand on his own feet [orig. to eat off ones own strength (idiom)], fighting the battle as a lone army. Kou Zhong urged his horse into Feng Ya Ge, and flew off his mount as soon he got there. Before he even announced himself as the King of Qi, Li Yuanjis guest, Chang He already stepped forward to meet him. Pulling him aside, Chang He said, Qi Wang is waiting for you. Let mee in with you! I dont think its proper? Kou Zhong said, How could I let Chang Xionge out personally to wee me? Chang He pulled his sleeve and took him along the small path within the woods toward the eastern courtyard. All the four courtyards of Feng Ya Ge were brightly lit. From time to time came the sound of string and woodwind instruments mixed with singing and warmughter; the atmosphere was very lively. Compared to this morning, when Kou Zhong came to treat Qingqings illness, it was like twopletely different heaven and earth. Chang He spoke in low voice, Qi Wang seems to be very interested in Mo Xiongs background and origin. Just now he constantly questioned Chenggong, while in fact he could have just asked me; why must he take such a circuitous route? The favorable impression Kou Zhong had toward Chang He soared greatly; he knew that Chang He considered him as a friend, hence he was willing to go one step ahead to warn him. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Xiaoren is innocent, I am not afraid people knowing about me. Halting his steps, Chang He said, This matter is extremelyplicated, it is very difficult for me to exin it to Mo Xiong clearly. Simply put, currently Changan is in the wind-sighing-and-crane-calling situation [idiom: to panic at the slightest move], because it is suspected that two resoundingly formidable figures are secretly entering Changan on some conspiracy. And Qi Wang is precisely themander-in-chief of the team responsible for catching these two men. They suspected Mo Xiong, it is not without any reason, simply because they did not know that Mo Xiong is Yuefu Darens [father-inw, reminder: daren is a title of respect toward superiors] old acquaintance. Just now with Chenggongs own mouth he exined clearly and cleared any doubts, there should be no problem! Kou Zhong was dying to ask what Sha Chenggong actually said, but of course he did not dare to ask; he only asked, Whos that formidable? It would be better if Mo Xiong did not know about this matter, Chang He replied, The other reason Xiaodi especially came out to meet Mo Xiong is that among the guests attending the banquet, there is Living Hua Tuo Wei Zhengxing. A chill immediately crept up Kou Zhongs spine. What? he blurted out. Chang He understandingly said, I know that Mo Xiong does not want to see him. This man is jealous and has misgivings toward Mo Xiong. He is a man of the same profession yet acting like an enemy country. I dont like him either. If I knew in advance that Qi Wang was inviting him, I would have pushed Mo Xiong off Qi Wangs party tonight. While Kou Zhong was hesitating whether he ought to turn around and leave, Chang He said, Lets go in! In everything, there are Huangshang and Taizi Dianxia supporting Mo Xiong; no matter what, Wei Zhengxing would not dare to be too much. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, as if he was visiting a convict sentenced to death in the execution ground, he was escorted and protected by Chang He into the Eastern Courtyard. The banker grabbed a handful of copper gambling chips from a copper jar and scattered them on the table at once. Before the several dozen of gamblers surrounding the table were able to see clearly, he covered it with a round disc made of thin metal, and chanted, Gentlemen, please ce your bet; betting on one gate and win the gate,pensation is three to one, betting on two gates and win one gate,pensation is two to one. Once you have seen clearly,y your bet. The only one did not look was Xu Ziling. He was using his ears to listen. He listened for five rounds before cing his bet on this round,ying a hundred taels Tong Bao of gambling chips on two gates. To ordinary people, the sound of copper chips being scattered over the gambling table was just a session of intense crunching noise; but in Xu Zilings sharp ears, he was able to guess the number of gambling chips. Recognizing the different sound different number of chips produced, in his concentrated, single-minded attention, just now out of the five rounds, he was able to guess correctly three times. The Emperor Hall was more lively than the previous night, the gambling atmosphere was zing. One after another the crowd of gamblers put down their bets. Once the betting process waspleted, the bankers left hand lifted the lid, while his right hand raked the pile of chips. Skillfully he separated the chips into piles of four gaming chips each. The several dozen chips became seven, eight piles, the remainder was exactly two chips. Some people cheered excitedly, some sighed in disappointment, some others envied Xu Zilings a hundred-tael heavy bet. The banker stared nkly; he gazed deeply onto Xu Ziling first before paying nine-tenths of Xu Zilings winning ording to the three to onepensation rule. This was the casinos rule, taking one-tenth of the winning up front as the casinosmission. A whiff of fragrance assaulted his nostrils. Without even needing to look, only by relying on this familiar scent Xu Ziling knew that Yang WenGans young concubine wasing to his side. Madame Hongs gentle and soft voice was heard next to his ear, This gentleman [orig. guan ren C government official], can nujia ce my bet following yours? Xu Ziling heaved a sigh and turned to look at her. As soon as Kou Zhong crossed over the doorstep into the biggest hall in the East Courtyard, he became the target of a multitude of arrows of everybodys gaze inside the hall. The King of Qi Li Yuanji ran his sharp gaze on him a few times; with a bit arrogance fitting his status he beckoned Kou Zhong, while remained sitting, and said with augh, Mo Xianshengs name is like thunder piercing the ear; you may sit! Sitting on the other side of Li Yuanji, Qingqing looked radiant; she gracefully stood up with grateful expression and even saluted and greeted him. Kou Zhong tried his hardest not to show any w on his bearing; sweeping his gaze across, he saw that sitting around the banquet table, other than Wei Zhengxing and Sha Chenggong, there were also the elegant and smart-looking Nanhai Pais Headmaster Mei Xun, Li Yuanjis great general Qin Wutong, Qiu Tianjiao, whose skill wasparable to the Heavenly Policy Mansions Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde and so on, and the Longxi Pai martial art master who had been injured by him, the Willow Saber Diao Ang. There were also a serious-looking, with arrogant expression, elderly man, and a middle-aged man wearing official attire, both of whom he did not recognize. After a round of polite words, Li Yuanji introduced everybody on the banquet table. The old man was unexpectedly the Sect Leader of Longxi Pai, Jin Dachun [lit. golden big father (literary metaphor)], Diao Angs Shifu. The man in official attire was Li Yuanjis other trusted aide, a high-ranking military officer whose title was Hu Jun [protector of the army], Yuwen Bao. With such strength, once Kou Zhongs identity was exposed, even if he had three heads and six arms, he could forget about leisurely breaking the siege and fleeing for his life. Upon realizing this fact, Kou Zhong made up his mind to stake it all, to deal with Wei Zhengxing with all his might to the end. After three rounds of wine, Li Yuanjiughed aloud and said, Tonight we raise our cups and be merry. Just because this King is here, you must not be very particr about etiquette; everybody, as you please! Fine food and beautiful wine flowed like water onto the banquet table. This moment, Xier, whom Kou Zhong had not seen for a long time, came into the hall to y the qin [zither] and sing a song. Sha Chenggong naturally listened as if he was drunk and stupefied, unable to control himself. The grown-up Xier ended up as delicate as a flower, as refined as a precious jade [idiom: (of a woman) exquisite], not in the least inferior to Qingqing, whose beauty radiated all around; no wonder there were so many men groveling under her skirt, including Zha Jie, who was unable to restrain emotions toward her. One song finished, Li Yuanji invited Xier to join them on the banquet table, seated her next to Mei Xun. Although Sha Chenggong was so jealous that his teeth itched, he waspletely helpless. The way Kou Zhong saw it, although Sha Chenggong might be richer than most people around the banquet table, but one, he had just arrived here, two, himself wascking political power and position, as well as rank; therefore, although on the surface everybody on the banquet table was polite and courteous toward him, the fact was that nobody thought too highly of this second generation tycoon. If it were Sha Tiannan himself, it would be a different matter altogether. Li Yuanji cheerfully said, I havent seen you for more than a month, both in ying the qin and singing, Xiers skill made great progress, the pleasant lingering effect still hanging around the beam. Lets salute her with a toast! The crowd roared to join the toast. Li Yuanji then signaled the Longxi Pais Sect Leader Jin Dachun with his eyes. Jin Dachun smiled; turning to Kou Zhong, he cleared his throat and said, Mo Xiansheng not only has medical skill like a deity, you are also proficient in martial art; I wonder which southern sect did the skill that Xiansheng learnede from? Qingqing said with astonishment, Unexpectedly Mo Xiansheng came from the south? I cannot tell from your ent. Kou Zhong mused that if he did not change his ent, just by listening to him speaking, one would know that he was from Yangzhou. He turned toward Qingqing first and nodded with a smile. Thetters tender body slightly trembled; it appeared that she recognized his eyes. Kou Zhong was so scared that his soul flew away and scattered; hastily he moved his gaze toward Jin Dachun and said with a wry smile, Xiaorens martial art skill entirely came from Jiashu. Whatever he taught me, that was what I trained. I think the style is called Hunyuan Tongzi Gong [lit. time immemorial/origin of the universe (virgin) boy power/skill]. Therefore, as to which sect or school, I am afraid youll have to ask him. Like a sharp arrow Mei Xun cast his eagle and falcon-like gaze toward Kou Zhongs face, as if he wanted to see through him and understand him thoroughly. Yet the tone of his voice was gentle without any ripple, as he spoke indifferently, Since your esteemed uncle is adept it medical skill and martial study, he ought to be a figure from a well known family with long tradition in the south, but Zaixia is probably ignorant and inexperienced; unexpectedly I have never heard of your esteemed uncle, such a renowned character. This is very strange. Chang He smiled and said, This is called in the wider world there are people more talented than oneself [idiom; lit. there is sky beyond the sky, there is person beyond the person]. The Central ins Wulin is full of crouching tiger, hidden dragon. Mo Xianshengs uncle is that kind of character; a very able person and unusual warrior who did not seek benefit from a reputation. Mei Zhangmen [headmaster] has never heard about him, this is ordinary thing, not surprising at all! This rebuttal was rather blunt; even the King of Qi Yuanji, when he heard it, his brows were knitted together. But Chang He yed a critical role in the Imperial Pce; moreover, he was a man that Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng doted on and trusted. Even Li Yuanji himself was unwilling to offend him. But Mei Xun himself did not take offense at all. With a smile on his face, he nodded his head and said, What Chang Daren said is right. Seeing how Chang He was not afraid to offend Li Yuanji and stuck out his head to defend him, Kou Zhong was even more sure that Chang He was a man with yiqi, a heroic and passionate man. Throwing all misgivings aside, Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, Jiashu often said that men are scared of fame, swine is afraid of strong men. He also said that training martial art is to be used to help people. Using martial art to enter medicine, hence able to tread different secluded path, establishing distinct method/way. Wei Zhengxing cleared his throat and said, Speaking about medicine, Ol Wei has something that Id like to ask Mo Xiansheng for guidance. Bracing himself, Kou Zhong said, Wei Xiansheng, please bestow your advice. The thing that he feared the most was finally happening. Book 32 - 4 – Dangerously Close to Revealing the Flaw Looking at her from a close distance, Xu Ziling noticed that Madame Hong had bright eyes and white teeth. Not only she was without the slightest bit of broken flower, withered willow [idiom: fallen woman] impression, her youthful glow had a strong attractive force. Even until now, Xu Ziling still could not figure out, what did she see in him? But he dared say with 80% confidence that probably it was not be far removed from his gambling technique. He politely nodded his head and smiled. Confident, at ease, and natural, he lightly shrugged his shoulders, indicated that he did not mind. The chips were covered again. But due to Madame Hongs distraction, he could not hear the number of chips in this round. Yet he was still totally unconcerned to put all four hundred taels worth of chips, including his capital, on the three gate. Madame Hong cast him a surprised look, but she did not follow him cing her bet. For the first time Xu Ziling felt that Madame Hong was not simple at all. Just now she was clearly distracting his attention on purpose, so that he could not concentrate to listen. Yet he was still cing heavy bet, precisely so that she could not see what is true and what is false with him. He suddenly felt another pair of eyes from among the crowd on his left was casting its burning gaze on him. He casually turned to look; surprisingly he came across a pair of familiar looking eyes. Open up! Everybody in the hall, none did not show listening-attentively expression; they quietly waited for the two great masters in the medical field to pit themselves against each other. Although on the surface Li Yuanji and Mei Xun were showing rxed expression, both were actually concentrating their attentionpletely, ready to deal with any sudden change. Many times in the past they had experienced Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings going-through-the-heavens [idiom: expert] methods; therefore, although they only had little suspicion about Kou Zhong disguising himself as a divine doctor, they still did not dare to lightly overlook this possibility, and simply had to verify his authenticity. Among the outsiders that came to Changan nowadays, the three most notable were the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, Mo Wei, and the Divine Doctor Mo Yixin. No one doubted that Yue Shan could not be impersonated. Mo Wei has been going through Li Shimins thorough investigation that he was indeed new rising star among the Bashu Wulin; only this Divine Doctor has not yet had anybody really ascertaining his foundation, and since Li Yuanji had just returned to Changan, he wanted to be very clear about this matter, so that he could decide what his next step be in dealing with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. This time Li Yuanji returned without any achievement, he suffered a great loss of face; therefore, he was unwilling to miss any opportunity. If Kou Zhong were not someone who obtained Li Yuans special favor and gratitude, based on Li Yuanjis oppressive style, he would have grabbed Kou Zhong early on to see whether he was in disguise. But presently he could only take an indirect approach by examining whether he was a real divine doctor or not. While inwardly Kou Zhong was fifteen, sixteen [I have no idea, but I am sure Akw will exin shortly ], Wei Zhengxing calmly said, Looking at Xianshengs method in treating patient, you rely mainly on using needles, with medication as a supplement. For example, Sha Ershaos venerable father and Madame Qing were purely treated using needles, only in diagnosing and treating Zhang Niangniang did you involve medicine. Therefore, Ol Wei wanted to ask Xiansheng for guidance in tips and tricks concerning needles usage. Kou Zhong secretly thought, you, old kid wants to investigate clearly, go ahead, give me all you got! Heughed and said, Xiaoren is listening respectfully with washed ears. Wei Zhengxing said, The ancient books have written: the use of needles, from yin extending to yang, from yang pulling the yin, using right to govern the left, using left to control the right, using self to know the other, using exterior surface to know the interior, using observation and falling short of the inner essence, seeing the profound to obtain, one wont be in danger. I wonder how to apply this principle in the usage of the needles? Although on the surface Kou Zhong appeared to be smiling, the fact was that he did not even have any idea about the real meaning of those words; he only knew that Wei Zhengxing was asking something about yin and yang, left and right, outside and inside, and so on, some kind of vague and generic principles of medical sciences. Listening to it, not only he waspletely muddled, even those present only knew one and understand half [idiom: smattering of knowledge] of such profound and highly specialized terms in medical science, so much so that they did not even know what he was driving at. Fortunately, tooting his horn could be considered one of Kou Zhongs expertise. His brows knitted, the words came into his mind, he spoke with assurance andposure, Not only principles of medical science must be alive, most importantly, it must be applied creatively and flexibly. The so-called left and right, outside and inside, what is true and what is false, in the end it is still no more than distinguishing yin from yang, while yin and yang are actually one integral whole. Separated, lone yin will not grow, independent yang will not live. In our medical schools usage of the needle, the top fetches the bottom, the bottom gets the top, also perhaps using left to control the right, using right to govern the left, which is nothing more than the principle of focusing on the yin and yangs opposing nature toplement and multiply each other. I wonder if Xiaorens humble opinion can dissolve Xianshengs misgivings? Wei Zhengxing was stunned. He was looking for a standard answer, like the most crucial pursuit and the method of using the needle; if Kou Zhong answered it that way, he could pursue relentlessly and strike by asking in details the method and principle of using the needle, to see whether Kou Zhong was a real talent with solid stuff. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong was using martial art study into the medical skill, speaking out some principles that would be difficult for others to distinguish true from fake, and adding some familiar knowledge of the needle technique from the Internal Canon, so that momentarily hecked the word to ask difficult question. Upon seeing this, Yuanji and the others thought that Kou Zhongs medical knowledge was superior to Wei Zhengxings. Instantly their suspicions diminished greatly, so they rxed. Chang He was already resentful that Yuanji was calling on Wei Zhengxing to challenge Kou Zhong. Raising his cup, he said, Mo Shen Yis remark is truly brilliant; lets respect him with a cup. Lets end tonights discussion of medical science here, lets continue talking about the wind and the moon [idiom: romance or petty talk]. Chang He was Li Yuans trusted lieutenant; Li Jiancheng also doted on him very much, Yuanji had no choice but to give him some face, thereupon he also raised his cup to go along with him. Seeing Kou Zhong was able to reply quickly and fluently, Sha Chenggong felt he gained a lot of face, so he became the third person to raise his cup. Everybody had no choice but to follow suit. Naturally Qingqing also stood by Kou Zhongs side. While putting down her empty cup, she leaned closer to Yuanji and spoke with charming voice, In order to express my gratitude to Mo Xiansheng for saving me, tonight Qingqing will make an exception by singing a song to liven things up. When the crowd roared in cheers and apuse, Mei Xun smiled and said, Hold on! We have an injured man here who would like to ask Mo Shen Yi to examine and treat his illness first, and then we can enjoy Madame Qings enchanting singing voice. Chang Hes countenance sank; he wanted tosh out, but Mei Xuns younger sister was taken by Li Jiancheng as his imperial concubine, so he was quite apprehensive. Li Yuanji also revealed a slightly startled look; obviously he did not understand what famine muscle [no idea, ˼] behind Mei Xuns prominent sudden strike. Wei Zhengxing swept his gaze around; he wanted to be one step ahead of Kou Zhong in identifying the injured person that Mei Xin was referring to. But Kou Zhongs heart was as calm as the moon the in the well, although inwardly he also cried, Formidable! This was some kind of strategy that Mei Xun was using too attack his mind: on the surface it looked like everybody countenance looked normal, but unknowingly one person was injured. Supposing Mo Yixin was either Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling in disguise, because they knew that Diao Ang received serious injury from Kou Zhong, it was reasonable and fair to expect that his internal injury had not recovered until now. Therefore, if he made his guess based on this fact and said that the injured person was Diao Ang, then he would have fallen into Mei Xuns trap. His mind churning at the speed of light, Kou Zhong determined that Diao Ang haspletely recovered based on three reasons: first, he drank wine as usual. People who suffered internal injury would avoid wine at all cost because alcohol would aggravate the injury. Second, even Wei Zhengxing could not see that he was injured. As a real physician, his insight ought to be a lot more reliable than Kou Zhong, this fake divine doctor. Third, the most important aspect was that supposing Diao Ang has not recovered from his internal injury, Mei Xun would not be able to use this as evidence that Kou Zhong was simply guessing. Just from the fact that in the blink of an eye like this Mei Xun was able toe up with such a brilliant scheme to test Kou Zhong, he knew that this man did not carry his name as having wisdom and scheming mind in vain. With this man helping Li Yuanji, in the future Kou Zhong must be careful in dealing with them. The eyes of the crowd were focused on Kou Zhong. Kou Zhongs eyes scanned everybodys face back and forth several times. He smiled and said, Please forgive Xiaorens eyes from being dull, but I cannot see anybody who has any injury. Li Yuanji apuded and said, Mo Xianshengs sight is indeed like a torch. Now we ask Qingqing to sing us a song. While Qingqing cheerfully left her seat, Kou Zhong made a signal with his eyes toward Chang He, hinting that when the song ended, it should be time for them to leave. Three gate hits! Xu Ziling himself was greatly surprised; he had never thought that he won this round by relying purely on luck. With three to onepensation ratio, he won over a thousand taels of gaming chips. Madame Hong standing beside him could only stare nkly at the gambling chips he put down on the three gate; she waspletely at a loss on how he decided to put down his bet. Watching this, Hu Xiaoxian, the Great Immortal Hu Fos pretty daughter, who was mingling among the gamblers to Xu Zilings left C was gobsmacked; she could not figure out Xu Zilings depth. Now that he had won a thousand taels, the amount that Lei Jiuzhi told him to, after receiving the payment, Xu Ziling took the big pile of gambling chips and left the table, while also shing a smile toward Madame Hong, as if saying that she missed the opportunity to win arge amount of money. Madame Hong ran after him, and called with a low voice, Guanren, please stay. Xu Ziling calmly stopped. Turning his head around, he smiled and said, Xiaojie, what advice do you have for me? Carrying a whiff of fragrance, Madame Hong came to his side, breathing out orchid-scented air and said, May I ask this Guanrens honorable surname and great given name? After Xu Ziling reported his name and surname, Madame Hong spoke with serious countenance, I wonder if Yong Xiong knew that you are too exposed, and have put yourself in danger? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Are you saying that Ming Tang Wo cannot even afford to lose a thousand or so taels of silver, and would presumptuously disregard Jianghu rules and plot and kill someone for his property? Sketching it in light shades, Madame Hong said, Under normal circumstances, of course this kind of matter will not happen; but currently Changan is in an unusual time, each major power is contending against each other. Anybody who does not have powerful backer or strong background, once they are drawn into this intense vortex of power struggle would definitely meet with terrible tragedy. Beating the snake following the stick, Xu Ziling said, Could Furen [Madame] please borate some more? Madame Hong cheerfully said, How about we sit on the side and talk? Xu Ziling thought that since Kou Zhong and Lei Jiuzhi were not here yet, he might as well let her help him pass the time, while along the way try to find out why she looked upon him. If he could find out more about Yang WenGans plot, it would even be more worthwhile. Chang He and Kou Zhong left the East Courtyard. Their excuse was that the next day, early in the morning, they had to go to the Pce to treat Zhang Jieyus illness. Once this imperial-sword-giving-the-bearer-arbitrary-powers [from the dictionary: Chinese version of 007s license to kill (in fiction)] was out, even though Li Yuanji possessed overbearing and tyrannical prowess, he did not dare to stop them, and had no choice but to immediately let them go. Indignant, Chang He said, They went too far! If this matter is known by Huangshang or Taizi Dianxia, they would thoroughlyy the me on Qi Wang. Kou Zhong was d that he had passed this barrier, he tried to pacify Chang He instead, Chang Daren, please do not put this matter in your mind. Jiashu said that only ordinary talent will not provoke other peoples jealousy. Now that Xiaoren has provoked other peoples jealousy, I ought to be happy. Mo Xiong is indeed open-minded, Chang He praised. This moment the two of them reached the za in front of the main gate. Immediately someone brought their horses along and waited upon them mounting their horses. As they galloped out of the gate, Kou Zhong caught a glimpse of Lei Jiuzhis disguise, Wen Kuan. He hastily said, If Chang Daren wont mind, I want to return to the Mansion alone, so that I could quietly think about Niangniangs treatment tomorrow morning. By this time Chang He was already ustomed to his quirk; he had no choice but to agree. Madame Hong took Xu Ziling to a corner to sit. She epted the hot tea offered by a maid, her pretty eyes scanned the area first, before speaking in low voice, Does Yong Xiong know that you have drawn Hu Xiaoxians attention? Thisss is the Ming Tang Wos big boss, the Great Immortal Hu Fos daughter. Not only on the gambling table she gambles ferociously, even in day-to-day life she is also vicious and merciless. When Yong Xionges across her, you must be very careful. Xu Ziling deliberately revealed a lecherous look; he said, Was that the pretty woman who watched meying my bet? Madame Hong did not miss anything; she smiled and said, Yong Xiong this time came to Changan, is it only to gamble? Xu Ziling said, My ability to spend money is more brilliant than my skill to gamble. Hearing that Changans casinos follow Jianghu rules the most, I came to take advantage of it. But listening to Madame just now, looks like this is not the case. It seems to me that Id better leave quickly. Madame Hong said, If Yong Xiong is only looking for wealth, it is going to be a lot simpler. As long as Yong Xiong has someone supporting you from behind, you could gamble as much as you like. In Yong Xiongs mind, how much win do you think you want before you feel that the trip has not been made in vain? From Lei Jiuzhis mouth Xu Ziling learned earlier that Dulin [reminder: gambling forest, counterpart of Wulin C martial art world] masters also have their own rules; they did not dare to win excessively, otherwise they might suffer the casinos reprisals. Therefore, once they won certain amount of money, they had to stop. Hearing the question, he glibly replied, Originally I was thinking that as soon as I win a thousand taels of gold, Ol Yong will immediately leave Changan. Madame Hong cheerfully said, Yong Xiong clearly know that if nujia said that I do not have any rtion with you, I guarantee that Yong Xiong will not be able to leave safely. Xu Ziling mused that this was clearly intimidation by using gain as a lure; he smiled and said, If Furen has some instruction, do not hesitate to speak out, lets see if Ol Yong will be able to get it done. Lowering her voice, Madame Hong said, What nujia needs, Yong Xiong definitely have more than enough qualifications. During the Lunar New Year festivities, nujia will make arrangement to have Yong Xiong ying against some gamblers. Although Yong Xiong will determine win or loss ording to nujias instructions, but if you lose, nujia will provide the money, if you win, Yong Xiong may take everything. Yong Xiong, what do you think? As for other things, Yong Xiong need not ask, and you need not know either. Xu Ziling deliberately showed a greedy look. He said, Such a convenient thing, how could Ol Yong refuse? shing him an enchanting smile, Madame Hong said, As long as Yong Xiong carry through this matter ording to nujias instructions, Yong Xiong definitely will be able to leave safely. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Please forgive Ol Yong for being blunt; but since we all are people who mingle in Jianghu, how could Furen make such a guarantee? Madame Hong calmly and indifferently replied, Yong Xiong may casually ask anybody who Hong Furen is, then you will know that nujia is not speaking empty words. This moment Lei Jiuzhi appeared in the distance and signaled him with his hand. Madame Hong nonchntly said, Your friend Wen Kuan is back! Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, knowing that Madame Hong has already figured out his fake foundation. Kou Zhong stepped into Ming Tang Wos main hall. Before he even had time to thoroughly understand the surroundings, someone ran after him from behind and called out, Mo Xiansheng! Mo Xiansheng! Stunned, Kou Zhong looked back; surprisingly it was the First Young Master of the Sha Family, Sha Chengjiu. Greatly surprised, he asked, Howe I run into Da Shaoye in here? In high spirits, Sha Chengjiu replied, I should ask Mo Xiansheng the same question. Slightly embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, I am the kind of person that cannot have money on me; when I do, my hands itch. I happened to pass by and noticed the grand scale of this casino, hence I dropped-by to roam around. Sha Chengjiu pulled him to the side to sit down; he said, Didnt you go with Chenggong to attend Qi Wangs banquet tonight? Kou Zhong said, That cannot be called a banquet; rather, it was an investigative meeting to test my medical knowledge. Even Da Jiuye [first son-inw] could not stand it; he and I left earlier. Sha Chengjiu said, Qi Wangs reputation in Changan has always been disparaged more than being praised. But we have Huangshang and Taizi Dianxia looking after our Sha Family and Mo Xiansheng; we dont need to stoop down in front of him. Kou Zhong could not help asking, Is Da Shao here to y a hand or two? Sha Chengjiuughed and said, Dont look at me like that. Although I, Sha Chengjiu, am a good gambler, but I always gamble responsibly, plus my gambling technique is quite exquisite. Back in Luoyang, I was already a celebrity in the gambling circle. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Turns out Da Shaoye is a Dulin master; my utmost admiration! My utmost admiration! Sha Chengjiu proudly said, Speaking about gambling technique in Luoyang, Rong Fengxiang is at the top, and I am his direct disciple in gambling; therefore, Mo Xiansheng does not have to worry about me. It is crowded here; how about we go to the inner hall to try our luck? Actually, Kou Zhong had an appointment to meet with Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi at the main gate, its just that since the other two took their time toe out, he went in to circle around just to pass the time; therefore, how could he dare to leave this road that he had to follow? He tried to decline, I was justing on to y two or three rounds to satisfy my cravings, because tomorrow morning I still need to enter the Pce to treat Niangniangs illness. Da Shaoye, please do as you please; no need to mind me. Who would have thought that Sha Chengjiu would show iparable enthusiasm? Forcefully pulling him up, he said, To gain first-hand experience, you must go to the inner hall. Lets y a couple of rounds with me! If we win, it will be all yours; if we lose, put it into my ount. Even though he thought hard until his brains split, Kou Zhong could not find a good excuse to decline; thinking that Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi must be in the inner hall, he could always signal them with his eyes to wait for a moment. Thereupon he followed Sha Chengjiu into the inner hall. When Kou Zhong was entering the Tian Huang Hall, Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi were just leaving Di Huang Hall and going to the main hall C and thus missed the other partys path C with the sole intention to go to the main gate to meet up with Kou Zhong. Finished listening about Xu Zilings business deal with Madame Hong, Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, This kind of trick, I, your LaoGe, can show off as well. Your advantage, other than superior gambling technique, is your identity as an outsider. After this is finished, the corpse will be destroyed, the traces will be wiped out, Hong Furen can push all the responsibilitypletely away. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Yang WenGan must be behind this. I never thought that the big boss of the magnificent Jingzhao Lian could do such a shady business of using fairy to cheat people. Lei Jiuzhi shook his head and said, This matter cannot be as simple as it appears. Hong Furens target must be another master in the gambling world; otherwise, she would not need to turn to you, a super master, to deploy her troops. Really strange! Howe the people from Six-Happiness Casino still have not noticed your existence. Tomorrow afternoon we will start earlier to let you revealing your hands at the Six-Happiness Casino. This moment the two were already outside the main gate. Sweeping their gaze around, naturally they did not see Kou Zhongs shadow. Grabbing his head, Lei Jiuzhi said, I specifically told him to wait for us here. Where in the world that kid run into? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, They are here! Alerted, Lei Jiuzhi looked to the right. He saw among the peopleing and going on the main street, there were four men, who were clearly Tujue men in warrior outfit C wereing toward them with ominous glint in their eyes. Book 32 - 5 – The Person 1 in the Carriage Chapter 5 C The Person[1] in the Carriage While Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhis attention was focused on the four martial art masters mixing among the crowd of pedestrians who wereing toward them, someone from behind shouted loudly, The one surnamed Yong, when are you going to pay they money you owe? And then there was the sound of wind; the opponent must have thrown some kind of secret projectile like flying dagger or the like, separately targeting the two. Their means was very ruthless. Without even looking back, Xu Ziling shouted, Wen Xiong, deal with the rear! Lei Jiuzhi was a Jianghu veteran; in an instant he already grasped the opponents strategy. Without saying anything further, he spun around. Like magic the padded gown he was wearing suddenly appeared in his hands, sweeping across the secret projectiles shooting toward them. As the pedestrians in the vicinity saw people fighting, they were terrified and scattered in all directions to avoid trouble. This moment the four Tujue martial art masters were only about two zhang away from Xu Ziling. Suddenly they moved faster, knocking against two innocent passers-by that they tumbled to the east and fell to the west. At the same time they drew their weapons. All of them were wielding cavalry sabers, which were very suitable to be used to chop and hack from the horseback; their momentum like torrential rush. But not only Xu Ziling was a martial art master of grandmaster level, he was also an expert with realbat experience, a veteran of a hundred battles. In just a nce, he immediately knew that not only these four Tujue men had formidable saber technique, they were also ustomed to group warfare. In order to attack Xu Ziling at the same time, they did not hesitate to knock down passers-by who happened to be in their way. Xu Ziling was sure that this moment Ke Dazhi and Er Wenhuan were not present, and these menunching sneak attack on them from the front and rear were merely receiving order to guard and wait for the two toe out. It was reasonable to think that with Ke Dazhi and Er Wenhuans status and rank, they would never painstakingly wait for some nameless people. However, these four Tujue men were all first-ss martial art masters; the most terrifying thing was that they were dauntless and aggressive by nature. If the four sabers attacked him at the same time, even with Xu Zilings ability, it would still be quite a struggle to cope. Under simr circumstances, Xu Ziling only needed to retreat or perhaps sidestep, he could change his passive situation into active, and then using all kinds of strategy and technique, he would be able to break their seemingly invulnerable battle array. The problem was that Lei Jiuzhi was facing the sneak attack from the rear. If he got out of the way, it would be akin to open up Lie Jiuzhis defense and practically exposing his back to receive the enemys saber strike. Therefore, he had no choice but to meet the enemys strike head-on. The bigger headache was that he must not appear to be too brilliant. Yong Qin was not like Yue Shan, Mo Yixin, or Mo Wei, who could rely on their special status as a cover. If someone figured out that Yong Qin was either Xu Ziling or Kou Zhong in disguise, not only he could not use this identity anymore, he might even implicated Gao Zhandao and the others, or even Kou Zhong himself. As all these thoughts were shing through his mind in an instant, the arm protectors dropped into his hands, both feet sprang up, he charged swiftly toward the enemy; bold and powerful, dauntless and severe, surpassing the enemy. Like two streaks of lightning both sides collided. The instant before the close, hand-to-handbat urred, one after another the two Tujue martial art masters in the middle suddenly slowed down and stopped out of the line. Turned out these two men separately felt Xu Zilings terrifying offensive momentum with some kind of advancing-courageously, wholeheartedly-willing-to-die-together-with-the-enemy feeling,pletely focused on their bodies, so that even if theirpanions would be able to kill the opponent to avenge them, but they would have to die first. Their heart grew timid, immediately their courage was gone. From being at the front line, they fell behind somewhat, and thus creating a gap in their own battle formation. A continuous ringing of the arm protectors and the cavalry sabers shing against each other was heard. Xu Ziling felt the tip of the leftmost enemys saber poked his left shoulder, ripping his clothes, while the other enemys saber stabbed into his right arm, prating his flesh for a full cun. Bang! Bang! When the two enemies were hit and spun around and fell, Xu Zilings blood sshed as he swiftly retreated. These two saber wounds were deliberate. Although on the surface it looked like he was drenched with blood, the cuts were actually only skin and flesh injury; it was to hide his real skill. Bang! Xu Zilings back bumped into Lei Jiuzhis back. The remaining two Tujue martial art masters saw that Xu Ziling was wounded, they did not even look at theirpanions life or death, they bellowed like a thunder and brandished their saber to chase and kill. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; he mused since you are courting death, let Laozi fulfill your wish then! He was about to make his move again, suddenly a loud shout came from the horses and carriagene, Qin Wangs order, stop immediately! Following Sha Chengjiu, Kou Zhong stepped into the Tian Huang Hall. Sweeping his gaze around, he did not see Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi, whom he ought to see in here. While groaning inwardly, someone weed them with augh, Turns out its Sha Xianzhi [virtuous nephew]; since hearing that Xianzhi wasing to Changan to settle here, Ol Hu has been waiting respectfully for your good self. Hearing that this man was surnamed Hu, Kou Zhongs heart was moved. Looking up, sure enough, he saw Sha Chengjiu cupping his fist and respectfully said, Chengjiu pay my respect to Da Xian [great immortal]. Under escort of four big men, the Great Immortal Hu Fo glibly came toward the two. This hegemon of the gambling world looked to be about forty-five, forty-six years of age. His grey hair wasbed from his forehead back, and tied into a bun near the back of the top of his head. He wore a small square cap made of green jade. His face and eyes delicate and pretty, showing off his distinct personality, with five locks of long beard, which was also grizzled like the color of his hair. Combined with his slender and tall figure, he did carry some kind of fox fairy exotic personality traits. Kou Zhong was particrly interested in his pair of hands, which were spotlessly white, sparkling and translucent, slender and exquisite. In itself it appeared to have some kind of magical power. When his inquiring eyes fell onto Kou Zhongs ugly face, unexpectedly Kou Zhong could not help feeling guilty, as if Hu Fos gaze was able to see through that his face was fake. Sha Chengjiu hastily said, This is Mo Yixin, Mo Shen Yi, who cured Zhang Niangniangs weird illness! The Great Immortal Hu Fo cupped his fist and said, Ive long looked forward to meeting you! Its an honor to meet you atst! Ol Hu is fortunate, unexpectedly Mo Xiansheng is honoring us with your presence; this is indeed our Ming Tang Wos honor and glory. Kou Zhong absent-mindedly returned the salute. Finally he could not resist asking, Hu Laobans Ming Tang Wo has how many inner halls? Obviously Hu Fo was trying to win over and curry favor with this popr man in Changan; smiling, he replied, Other than Tian, Di, Ren Huang, three halls, there is also Da Xian Hall, which only admit honored guests. If Mo Xiansheng is interested, let Xiaodi apany you looking around the halls one by one. Kou Zhong cried, Bad! inwardly; this mistake, what would the consequences be? Xu Ziling turned to look; he saw a gorgeous horse-drawn carriage stopping in the middle of the street, to its left and right there were more than a dozen riders. He recognized five of them as Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, Pang Yu, Luo Shixin, Shi Wanbao, the martial art masters and fierce generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion. This moment the eyes of every single one of them were shooting fierce and severe look as they fixed their gaze on the two Tujue martial art masters, who, although they were stopping, their faces still showed unyielding expression. One after another the other two Tujue martial art masters were crawling back up. The three Er Wenhuans underlings who fought against Lei Jiuzhi did not suffer losses at all; seeing the King of Qins honorable selfs arrival, they knew that they had to seize this opportunity to squeeze into the crowd of onlookers and disappeared without any trace. The carriage door opened; the King of Qin Li Shimin, whom Xu Ziling had not seen for a long time, stepped down from the carriage. With intimidating expression he swept his gaze around. When the crowd watching the excitement met his not-angry-but-mighty, elegant eyes, unexpectedly they quieted down. Zhangsun Wuji let out a shout, more than a dozen riders flew off their mounts at the same time; their movement was orderly, as if they had rehearsed this a thousand or a hundred times, brimming with performance or demonstration vor, in itself it carried enormously shocking power. Immediately the onlookers broke into apuse and cheers, which also showed how popr Li Shimin was. Although on the surface the four Tujue martial art masters still appeared brazen without any fear, but Xu Ziling could feel that after seeing Li Shimin, immediately their bravado was gone their heart turned timid. They could not leave, but staying was not an option either; thereupon they could only force themselves to keep up their appearance. Li Shimin let out a cold snort. His eyes moved away from them toward Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi. His sword-shaped eyebrows slightly knitted, he spoke gently, This Renxiongs injury is not too heavy, is it? Close call! Xu Ziling cried inwardly; if just now he did not carry out the-trick-of-injuring-himself-to-gain-the-enemys-confidence stratagem but making his move with all his might, Li Shimin would surely see through that he was Xu Ziling. Moreover, if the person behind him were not Lei Jiuzhi but Kou Zhong, even if he disguised himself as ugly-faced weird doctor, it would also be very difficult not to arouse astute mens suspicion like Li Shimin. Xu Ziling cupped his face and kneeled down to the ground, saying, Thank you very much for Qin Wangs concern; Biren has no serious problem. By this moment the number of people watching the excitement has swelled to nearly a thousand; everybody was striving to see Li Shimins elegant manner. The traffic on this big street in the most prosperous section of Bei Li was paralyzed. The instant Xu Ziling straightened up his tiger-body after saluting, he felt that the window curtain of Li Shimins personal carriage was slightly raised, and a pair of eyes was looking at him from the window, sizing him up in full concentration. Xu Ziling really wanted to see who was looking at him from behind the window, but he also realized that doing so would be extremely unwise; therefore, he had no choice but to suppress his urge. Zhangsun Wuji and Pang Yu separately came behind Li Shimin. The former shouted to those four Tujue martial art masters, Unexpectedly the Chang Lin Army men do not understand courtesy when seeing Qin Wang? Kneel down for me. Immediately the four Tujue martial art masters countenance changed; they knew that the House of Tangs martialw was extremely strict. Under this kind of circumstances, if they dare to resist, it would be tantamount to viting military orders; even Li Jiancheng would not be able to protect them, let alone Er Wenhuan or Ke Dazhi. You looked at me, I looked at you, hanging their head dispiritedly they dropped down on one knee to salute. Li Shimin did not even cast half a nce toward them; calmly and leisurely he smiled and said, This Renxiongs skill is not weak; may I ask your honorable surname and great given name? Cupping his fist, Xu Ziling said, Biren Yong Qin,ing from Shandong, doing business in silk cloth, in my spare time I love to go to the casino to y a round or two. Because my sworn brother offended someone, they wanted Biren to suffer their reprisals. Thank you very much for Qin Wangs kindness in rendering your assistance. Slightly nodding his head, Li Shimin said, Yong Xiong, please be a bit more careful! Turning toward those four Tujue martial art masters, he shouted, Get lost for me! Like stray dogs the four slinked away with their head hung down. Most probably Li Shimin thought that Lei Jiuzhi was the sworn brother that Xu Ziling was referring to; turning to Lei Jiuzhi, he spoke in low voice, It would be best if two gentlemen leave Changan immediately; there are some things that even I am not convenient to meddle. Finished speaking, he climbed into the carriage and left. When the convoy has left far away, the main street returned to normal. Only this moment did Kou Zhong, flustered and exasperated C arrived. Seeing Xu Ziling was bleeding on two ces, he was aghast, Ke Dazhi is really that formidable? he asked. Xu Ziling crossly said, If you dont want to know, slip away with us right away! In the corner of a wine shop, the three raised their cup to toast each other. Since arriving in Changan, this was the first time that they met in public like this; they were delighted. There were a total of thirteen tables in the shop, and seven or eight of them were upied. Business could be considered quite good. This ce was in a rather secluded alley in Bei Li, two streets away from Shang Lin Yuan and Ming Tang Wo. Frowning, Kou Zhong pondered, Whos that person staring at you from inside Li kids carriage? If he did not get suspicious, he could not possibly look at you attentively. If he was not familiar with you, Ling Shao, he would not be suspicious. Therefore, this person should be an acquaintance, but not entirely standing on Li Shimins side. Otherwise, he would expose you on the spot. Lei Jiuzhi said, Its possible that that person is not sure yet. Among the southern people, you guys can be considered very tall; but in the north, people with body type like yours are not a few. Therefore, as long as you change your usual posture and habit, plus with wearing Lu Shispletely-without-any-w mask, even I, every now and then, am having misperception, thinking that you have really be another person. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, No! In my opinion, Ling Shao has been recognized by that person. I also have a feeling that this person must be a woman, thats why it was inconvenient for her to get off the carriage. After a short pause, heughed in low voice and said, A man is looking at a woman, a woman is looking at a man, both are especially attentive and profound; like I am looking at Song Yuzhi, I only need to look at the graceful line under her fragrant shoulder de, I would immediately be able to recognize her back. A man looking at a man will not be like that. Lei Jiuzhi cast a nce toward Xu Ziling. Could it be Li Xiuning? he wondered. Kou Zhong, holding the pearl of wisdom [idiom: to be endowed with extraordinary intelligence], said with confidence, Definitely not Li Xiuning; because she is not familiar with Ling Shao at all. Xu Ziling spoke in surprise, You look like you already guessed who it was. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong was unable to cover his pride, as he said, Of course its the beauty who has always admired you, the Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing. Ha! I am formidable, arent I? Lei Jiuzhi topped off their wine cups; nodding his head, he said, Make sense! Indeed you are formidable! Xu Ziling was slightly startled; he was speechless. Kou Zhong said, Li Yuanji is back. Nowadays he regards you and I as his enemies with hatred as deep as the ocean. I am sure he will do his best, by fair means or foul, to capture us. Lei Jiuzhi was puzzled, Li Yuanji ought to work hand in glove with Crown Prince Jiancheng, but looking at his action tonight in targeting you, this Divine Doctor, Li Jiancheng must be unaware of it. A smile, brimming with murderous intent, escaped from the corner of Kou Zhongs mouth. He said, I cant possibly misjudge people like Li Yuanji. Currently the one he is wary of is Li Shimin; therefore, he wants to borrow Li Jianchengs power to eliminate Li Shimin. And then, when Li Jiancheng bes the obstacle between him and the Emperors throne, he will turn the spearhead around to deal with Li Jiancheng. If he were not a man with wild schemes, how could he put so much effort to cultivate his own power and his band? Xu Ziling agreed, Li Yuanji is certainly that kind of man with thriving wild schemes. He took the task of intercepting us in his hands, it is precisely to extract the location of the Duke Yangs Treasure from our mouth, and then cover it up and not report it so that some day he could use it for himself. Lei Jiuzhi sighed and said, And thus the demise of the Great Tang starts from this. Kou Zhongs eyes glowed with spirited light; fixing his gaze on Xu Ziling, he said, In your opinion, in this intense struggle, how much chance does Li Shimin have of victory? Sidestepping the question, Xu Ziling said instead, Tomorrow morning I am going to see Li Yuan. Frowning, Lei Jiuzhi said, Arent you afraid if you say too much, youre bound to slip up at some point, and reveal some ws? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, My main purpose is to chew him out a bit; is there any problem? Kou Zhong and Lei Jiuzhi looked at each other; they were stunned. Kou Zhong returned to the Sha Mansion. The two brothers Chengjiu and Chenggong, one went gambling, the other was visiting prostitute C had not returned home. Old Master Sha was discussing how to expand their mining and metal foundry operations in Guanzhong with the Third Young Master Chengde. Until this time, Kou Zhong still could not figure out clearly about the confused ount in the past; when someone struck treacherously, harming the Third Young Master Chengdes beloved son, what exactly was going on. However, extrapting from the facts on the surface, he thought that Sha Tiannan was a man whom any hegemon who wanted to obtain the world would like to win over, because not only he possessed mineral resources and weapon manufacturing nt, the most important thing was that he was an expert in both aspects; how could this kind of talent be easy to seek? And looking at the present situation, only the Third Young Master Chengde had the aptitude to inherit Sha Tiannans legacy [orig. the cassock and alms bowl of a Buddhist master passed on to the favorite disciple (Buddhism)] and enterprise. After all, Sha Tiannan was old; it would be difficult for him to pursue great aplishments. Therefore, the Third Young Master Chengde and Madame Cheng Bisu made those outside the Sha Family to be trembling with fear, simply because it was so easy to provoke the other two young masters jealousy. One thing went wrong, it would provoke an attack. Returning to the inner courtyard, Kou Zhong came across Sha Fu. Sha Fu asked in surprise, Didnt Mo Ye go with Er Shaoye to attend Qi Wangs banquet? Howe you are returning home alone? Kou Zhong mused that Sha Chenggong must have done his best to broadcast the news that he was being invited to the King of Qis banquet, in order to show off his identity and status. Heughed and said, I still have to go to the Pce tomorrow morning; how could I dare to return toote? Tonight I must have a good night rest. These past few days I have been so tired that I forget even my Ol Dies surname. Sha Fuughed and said, Mo Ye loves to crack jokes! I have instructed everybody in the Mansion that after Mo Ye enter your room to rest for the night, absolutely no one can disturb Mo Yes lian wo gong [lying down skill/power training]. Hey! I hear Mo Ye is training Tongzi Gong, is that right? Greatly surprised, Kou Zhong asked, Where did Sha Guanjia [housekeeper] hear it from? A bit embarrassed, Sha Fu replied, It seems to have been passed on from Wu Xiaojies maid over there. Kou Zhong said, This is called good things dont go out the door, ugly scandals spread for a thousand li. Ay! A man who trains Tongzi Gong, can he still be considered a man? Sha Fu could not help asking, Why did Mo Ye train this kind of kungfu? Is it really must not be broken? Putting his hand on Sha Fus shoulder, Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Only Laotianye knows. But if Shifu said so, do you dare to vite? One thing goes wrong, all four limbs are paralyzed; must we call on Wei Zhengxing to save me? Horrified, Sha Fu said, In that case Mo Ye must not try! Amused inwardly, Kou Zhong said, I am going back to my room to train Tongzi Gong; even half a night training wont be enough. Finished speaking, he went back to his room. He was barely outside the door, a strange feeling suddenly rose up in his heart. But momentarily he could not pinpoint the exact reason. He thought could it be that he was seeing a bow reflected in a cup as a snake, suspecting a ghost in the dark? Before pushing the door open, he focused his power to detect any sign of activity inside the room. Only after he was certain that no one was hiding inside did he push the door and enter. The maid assigned to wait on him has already lit up the oilmp in the small outer hall, giving the elegantly decorated small hall a warm and cozy feeling. The bedroom on the inside and the exterior hall were separated by a curtain; inside, the bedroom was pitch-ck. Gazing at the curtain, Kou Zhong shouted in low voice, Whos there? Puff! The lone oilmp in the outer hall went out. The entire room sank into total darkness. A strange change appeared suddenly. [1] Chapter title: person, orig. (yi ren), usually refers to a female. Book 32 - 6 – Reversal of Fortune Xu Ziling, back to his Yue Shan disguise, casually strolled along a small alley. Only after estimating that Lei Jiuzhi should have been back at the Dong Lai Inn did he slowly walk back to the inn. It was the middle of winter, the weather was bitterly cold, and it was veryte at night, pedestrians, vehicles and horses on the streets were sparse. Yet luckily from time to time there was still the sound of firecrackers from deep within thenes and alleys. On top of that, every household hung brightly coloredntern, so that the night did not feel so quiet, cold, and deste. Tomorrow morning he was going to see Li Yuan. But how on earth was he going to begin talking to him? He could not but put himself in Yue Shans position, to think like Yue Shan, in ordance to Yue Shans character and style; Yue Shan would never be interested in the Li ns family matters. His only interest was to chop Shi Zhixuans dead body into ten thousand pieces. Xu Ziling could only thoroughlyy out the advantages and the disadvantages to Li Yuan from this point of view. Should he go see Li Yuan then? This was actually an even bigger problem. Yue Shan would never ask for help. It was not until he knew that his internal injury was without any hope of recovery that he went to build his house outside Bi Xiuxins small valley and settled there. In his memoir, each time Yue Shan mentioned Bi Xiuxin, the tone was nothing more than respect; there was not the slightest bit of hint that it involved the feeling between men and women. In term of age, Yue Shan was old enough to be Bi Xiuxins father. While still thinking, he already walked past the West Market, and reached the western end of the Yue Ma Bridge. The cold wind was blowing. On the stone bridge, a man was standing, leaning against the railing, looking down at the water of the Yong An Canal flowing under the bridge. This man was wearing Confucian schr attire, with brocade gown on the outside. His figure was tall and perfectly straight, confident and at ease, quite good looking. The hair on both his temples was grizzled. There was a hard-to-describe crafty, weird personality traits around him. But his eyes were as cold as ice and snow, as if they were devoid of any living human beings emotion. His hands pressing on the bridge railing were sparkling and translucent, prating, like they were containing inexhaustible magical power. Xu Ziling felt a chill crept up his back, but his steps were unaffected as he continued walking up the sloped of the Yue Ma Bridge. He was hoping that the guards who were usually standing guard by the bridge were still there, so that he would not have to face this demonic schools most terrifying demonic man. At the first sight of this man, from where he stood, to certain degree, the mans countenance had striking resemnce with Shi Qingxuan; hence Xu Ziling knew that this was the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. The other side appeared so suddenly like this, it must be that he wanted to put him to death, because he did not want this Yue Shan to destroy his grand n. Xu Ziling suddenly stopped. The severe light in his pair of eyes red out greatly, he shouted coldly, Good! Since you are voluntarily willing to drop by, you have saved Laofu a lot of trouble. Shi Zhixuans gaze was still fixed on the water flowing unendingly under the bridge. He took a deep sigh; his grim eyes suddenly changed, showing a recalling-past-memory-fondly expression. The tone of his voice was extraordinarily tranquil, as if he was talking to himself, How did Xiuxin die? Not good! Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; he only knew from Shi Feixuan that it was because she read Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image Scroll that Bi Xiuxin had her life reduced and she died young, but as for the real cause of her death, even the real Yue Shan did not know, because Yue Shan was one step ahead of Bi Xiuxin. Fortunately Xu Ziling was able to think fast in an emergency; heughed coldly and said, Why talk much nonsense? You should know clearly what you did. Make your move! Let Laofu see how formidable your Immortal Image Method is. Shi Zhixuan looked up to the bright moon in the sky. His eyes became iparably cold and ruthless again, as he spoke indifferently, In Ol Shis opinion, your Huan Ri Da Fa is nothing more than a childs ything. Yue Shan, you made a mistake bying to Changan. Otherwise, you ought to have the opportunity to lose under the Heavenly Saber Song Que one more time. Xu Ziling had not had the chance to reply, a blur appeared in front of his eyes, Shi Zhixuan was suddenly only five chi away from him, with both hands carrying out hard-to-pin-down strange, mysterious moves, attacking directly toward him. The speed was fast, the shenfa [Trantors note: since its been a while, I thought a reminder might be useful; shenfa C pose or motion of ones body in martial arts] was strange, even the Cloud Commander would have to yield one level below. When the light went off, the bamboo curtain separating the inner bedroom and the outer hall was raised up. If it were someone else, he would have thought that from the inner room, the enemy would bore through the curtain ande out, using something like a finger wind or palm power to extinguish thentern first, and thenunching the surprise attack. But Kou Zhong knew that that was entirely the enemys trick to fool peoples eyes and ears, and that only this moment did he enter in through the window to mount a sneak attack on him. To this moment, this day, Kou Zhongs martial art has already reached the grandmaster level. If someone had wanted to mount a sneak attack on him without procuring alertness from him, it was practically an impossibility. Therefore, since this person was able to make Kou Zhong unable to detect his position, he was definitely extremely exceptional. Kou Zhong did not have time to think about the problem that his identity has been uncovered. He swept backhandedly in the right rear direction. This move was purely to feel out and estimate the opponents weight [fig. importance]. Whoosh! Unexpectedly the tip of his palm swept across an object that was soft and limp, but hiding a deflecting-force power within it. Kou Zhong was shocked. He cried, Bad! inwardly, because he knew who wasing. This person was able to easily fend off his palm strike easily and leisurely using the sleeve of her garment; who could it be but Female Demon Wan? All of a sudden, he knew that his good fortune has been dered dead of old age, and that in his struggle against Yin Gui Pai, he hadpletely fallen into the disadvantageous position. Putting his positive and negative qi into motion, he suddenly traversed the ten chi or so distance to the left, until he nearly knocked down the small table leaning against the wall, and then sliding along the wall before he was able to narrowly miss two sleeves and one finger, which followed him in close pursuit. The two sides seemed to have tacit understanding between them, which was, they must not rm the Sha Family people. Therefore, all the hard fighting, where there was only a slight difference between life and death at every turn C was carried out inplete silence, only asionally generating light noise of the qi power colliding against each other. Swish! Kou Zhong bored through the curtain into the bedroom; one foot tapped the bedside, his entire body flew back to meet the rushing-into-the-room, wearing-all-white-from-head-to-toe, beautiful-like-a-fairy Wanwan. In an instant, the two exchanged more than ten moves in hand-to-handbat in close quarter. A tenderughter was followed by her entire body flying outside the curtain. Kou Zhong took a deep breath. Looking through the curtain, his eyes were fixed on Wanwans elegant figure. Because the outside hall was slightly brighter than the inner room, Kou Zhong was able to see Wanwan, but the other side could not see Kou Zhong. This made Kou Zhong felt a little bit better. Wanwan did not really want to kill him; she just wanted to test how much progress he had made in term of his martial art skill. Otherwise, by adding either Tian Mo Shuang Zhan or Tian Mo Piaodai [demonic double-beheading and streamer/ribbon, respectively], in such a limited space, she would definitely be able to push him into a more difficult situation. Kou Zhongs only constion was that just now, under Wanwans pressure, he was still able to hold on his ground with enough leftover power, which,pared to thest time he ran away into the wilderness in desperation, could not be discussed in the same sentence. Wanwan suddenly grabbed the curtain and lifted it up. Acting as if she did not know that Kou Zhong was waiting on the side with amassed momentum, she coquettishly said, All this fighting made me tired! I wonder if I could borrow Shao Shuais bed for one night? Take off your ugly mask! Are you trying to scare people to death? Other than smiling wryly, what else could Kou Zhong say? What did he do wrong? After deceiving pretty much everybody else, the Female Demon Wan, as easy as blowing off dust, was able to see through his fake identity. In the battle against Shi Zhixuanst time, Xu Ziling still had slight favorable situation. Although at that time he was suffering from internal injuries, but the one Shi Zhixuan wanted to kill was not him but Yun Shuai; secondly, he was fighting together with Kou Zhong and Tuli to face this formidable opponent, plus at that time they were in the deep and long gateway. The three men joining hands disregarding life and death in counterattack, even a tyrannical man like Shi Zhixuan would have a lot of misgivings and would be difficult to prevail. This time on the Yue Ma Bridge, however, the situation was different. This time Shi Zhixuan was making his move at full strength, with the sole intention of putting him to death. To make it worse, this time he was in disguise as Yue Shan. Even if he knew perfectly well that he was no match for the enemy, he definitely could not escape cowardly. Within that lightning-sh, flint-spark moment, Xu Ziling cast away all apprehensions and decided on a strategy; he put himself to death and then reborn, using aggressive offensives to deal with Shi Zhixuans aggressive offensives. Based on Yue Shans temperament, this was the only proper response. Shi Zhixuans speed has already exceeded and broken through the limit of humans physical capability. He practically could not use eyes to see or ears to hear; he could only rely on his surpassing-ordinary-peoples efficacious and acute senses, to react intuitively relying on his instinct. In that instant, suddenly there seemed to be countless Shi Zhixuan springing out in front of his eyes C which naturally was just an illusion, but this was also a clear demonstration of the fantastic speed of Shi Zhixuans shenfa and footwork C attacking toward him. Finger wind split the air. Chi! Letting out a cold humph, Xu Ziling secretly performed Wisdom Punch Image, while brandishing his fist to block. Pow! The speed of Shi Zhixuans finger increased abruptly. Unexpectedly it was a tad faster that Xu Zilings anticipation, so that before his power reached its peak, the finger already stabbed his fist. Being able to parry this one finger attack from Shi Zhixuan, he could be considered very capable already. At the beginning, the finger seemed to have boring-the-wall, prating-the-rampart, sharp-like-de true power, but when Xu Ziling hastily applied his power to resist it, the finger power disappeared like magic, it turned into a bottomless hollow abyss, so that no matter how much he sent out his true qi, it was like a y ox entering the sea [idiom: disappear without any hope of returning],pletely without any trace. While Xu Ziling was feeling so ufortable that he nearly spurted out blood, Shi Zhixuans leg flew into a kick, fast like lightning,ing from an odd and obscure angle, aiming at the vital part under his abdomen. Xu Ziling cried Bad! knowing that the opponent haspletely borrowed his entire finger power, so that this kick was like thebination of his and Shi Zhixuans power. If he was hit, how could he still be alive? Moreover, it was practically irresistible. He let out a cold shout. The Wisdom Fist Image turned into Motionless Fundamental Image, the jabbing finger of his left hand turned into a palm chop. Completely ignoring the opponents kick on the bottom, he directly attacked the pit of Shi Zhixuans stomach, a clear show that it was a move to perish together with the enemy. Furthermore, he was well aware that relying on the amazing power of Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image, perhaps he could forcefully withstand this move and bring together the power of his entire body into this palm chop so that even if he did not die, heavy injury could not be avoided. Whether he would live or die, it would entire depend on whether Shi Zhixuan was willing to kill Yue Shan by sacrificing his own life. Shi Zhixuanughed and said, All yours! Suddenly he came to Xu Zilings right side. Not only he evaded Xu Zilings palm chop, his left elbow was striking toward his lower nk. If he was hit, it would be guaranteed that his ribs would not stay intact. Xu Ziling had no time to think about evading, but he was ted; making a spin, he dodged the elbow strike and shed pass Shi Zhixuan, and flew to the bridge. Shi Zhixuanughed aloud and said, Where did Laoxiongs overbearing air go? While speaking, Whoosh! from about a zhang away he sent out a palm strike over the empty air, generating a raging-wave, violent-storm-like and highly concentrated gust of wind forcing Xu Ziling to stake it all in meeting the attack head-on. Inwardly Xu Ziling was well aware that between he and this Demonic Kings martial art skill, there was still an insurmountable distance. The opponents long distance attack and closed hand-to-handbat were all free, unconstrained, and smooth, seizing the initiative entirely in his hands. As this palm strike arrived, not only it contained the Immortal Print Powers marvelous stroke, it also carried trick move behind it, forcing him lose his move, while the opponents offensive was rushing over like the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, which would not stop until Xu Zilings dead bodyy across the end of the bridge. Xu Ziling let out a longugh and said, Tonight, if you dont die, then I perish. In that instant, he put life and death outside the sphere of his consideration; without yielding the slightest bit, he brandished his palm to meet the attack. Bang! Not only Xu Ziling was not jolted back, he leaped one step forward instead. Turned out when it came into contact, this powerful and ferocious looking qi power suddenly became gentle and reserved pulling force. However, Xu Ziling had already guarded against it; otherwise he would have vomited blood on the spot and made a fool of himself. The palm wind suddenly changed: from yin and soft to yang and hard, from icy cold to burning hot. Such a weird change, it could only be started and aplished by Shi Zhixuans able-to-blend-life-and-death, two extremes Immortal Image Method. Life could change into death, death could change into life. Xu Ziling felt as if he was struck by lightning. His body, from head to foot, was severely shaken. In that instant, when the Immortal Image qi power within the palm strike, like wave upon wave C heavily crashing against Xu Ziling, alternating between hard-and-violent and gentle-and-reserved in abrupt manner, even though Xu Ziling has undergone Secret To Long Life refinement, plus his meridians have been transformed by the Jade Annulus of He n, he was still unable to endure it. Xu Ziling staggered back in utter defeat. Like a ghost, Shi Zhixuan floated over. His countenance became iparably cold and grim, as he spoke indifferently, Let Ol Shi send Yue Xiong to be on your way! Xu Ziling took a sudden intake of breath,pletely suppressing the surging over blood and qi in his body. His back straightened up, he suddenly became mighty and rising high without equal. Brushing his sleeve away that it floated in the wind, he let out a longugh and said, Xie Wang [demonic king] fell into my trap! Raising up the Treasure Vase Image qi, he struck with all his might. Wanwan acted as if she was returning to her fragrant chamber; she leisurely andfortably walked over to the bed andy down. Letting out a contented sigh, she cast her gaze on the top of the bed covering, and spoke in soft voice, These beddings and quilt are freshly washed and dried in the sun, hence they still have the fresh, clean scent of the sun. His scalp went numb, Kou Zhong stood quietly by the bedside, his eyes scanned her shocking-the-eye-astonishing-the-heart captivating curves haphazardly lying down on the bed, until they finally stopped at her pair of pure white, wless bare feet. Full of curiosity he asked, You walk barefooted all day long, but howe your feet are still so clean? Closing her beautiful eyes, Wanwan said, Dont make a fuss! I am very tired; I want to sleep! Kou Zhong thought, thats not going to happen! If shey here and slept until the dawn, how would he exin this to others? After all, just today he repeatedly bragged that he trained Tongzi Gong. Thereupon, smiling wryly, he said, Dajie [big sister]! You win! Whatever it is that you want, just spit it out! Wanwan scooted her tender body a little. Her delicate hand patted the other half of the bed, she softly said, Shao Shuai, please take a rest a moment; how about temporarily be my pillow mate [orig. the person who shares ones bed] here? Kou Zhong was overwhelmed with some kind of get-trampled-on, defeated feeling; although he greatly racked his brains, he was still unable toe up with any effective strategy to deal with this ckmailing threat. Sighing, he said, I, Kou Zhong, am a hero and a good man; I would never mount a sneak attack on good Dajie. But good Dajie has never tried to be a woman from a good family [or innocent people]. Such a dangerous thing like being your pillow mate, please forgive Xiaodi for it is difficult for me to keep youpany. Wanwans beautiful eyes were twinkling like the bright star in the deep space of the night, as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. A hint of smile escaped from the corner of her mouth, her expression was so touching, as she spoke softly, Shao Shuai and Ziling are so capable, you managed to swagger into Changan undetected; how could I have the heart to kill you? If I kill you, whos going to fetch the treasure for us? Dejected, Kou Zhong sat down. But then he suddenlyughed aloud andy down on the bed by her side. The more he thought, the more he felt amused, as he said, To be honest with you, we arent even sure if we are going to get the treasure. As far as Im concerned, this is no more than a treasure-hunt game, both to satisfy our curiosity, and to fulfill Niangs cherished desire. Lying on her side, Wanwan propped her cheek with her hand, her beautiful eyes gazed deeply into his, smiling gracefully, she said, Can Shao Shuai repeat what you just said one more time? Because Xiao Nuzi [little girl] could not hear it very clearly. Only when nujia is sure that you no longer have any interest in excavating the treasure will I send people to imitate Shao Shuais old skill, writing Mo Shen Yi is Kou Zhong in disguise, eightrge characters [trust me, the original Chinese has eight characters] on all conspicuous ces inside the city. Kou Zhong knew that his vital point has been hit. Turning his head toward the stunning beauty by his pillow, he changed the subject by saying, I have a very strange feeling; Xiaodi and Dajie have known each other for quite some time, but I have never understood you. For example, what are you thinking in your heart? What is your pursuit? Other than killing, burning, fighting, revenge, do you have any other life? When you have free time, what do you do? Can you love someone? I really dont understand you at all. Listening to that, Wanwan was slightly startled; her face revealed a contemtive expression. Now it became Kou Zhongs turn to be greatly amazed. Although his remark just now was quite passionate, his main purpose was still inventing crazy nonsense to stall for time, to see if he could find a way to strike back. Wanwans gaze suddenly became as sharp as a de; staring at him, she said, The things we pursue, you will never understand. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, If you dont tell me, how do you know whether I will understand or not? Unless it is in vition of the Heavensw, for instance, to seek after the extermination of mankind under the heavens, in which case, its not that I dont understand, but it is difficult to ept. The light in Wanwans eyes changed; she spoke indifferently, Lets speak less nonsense. Our condition is very simple: after you find the treasure, you must let us take away one thing from the storehouse. Laughing coldly, Kou Zhong said, How do I know that you will hold your end of the deal? In this aspect, your evil reputation has preceded you. If, when the timees and you go against our agreement by hogging the treasure for yourselves, I might as well leave now, lest thedy turns the troops around, and then it will be toote for regrets. Wanwan leaned a bit closer, with breath that smelled like orchid she said, This is very simple. As long as Xu Ziling agrees to make personal guarantee to give a certain item from the treasure to me, we, Yin Gui Pai, will provide assistance to you with all our strength. Otherwise, just one obstacle, Shi Zhixuan, you definitely will not able to pass. Formidable, Kou Zhong thought inwardly; she was able to see very urately. Xu Ziling was precisely that kind of a-promise-worth-one-thousand-in-gold person. He sighed and said, I will have to discuss it with Ling Shao first. Wanwan slightly raised her fragrant shoulders; seemingly unconcerned, she said, But of course. Tomorrow night at thetest you must give me a definite answer; he will have to personally make the promise to me. Sniffing at her beautiful and secluded, healthy and bewitching body scent, Kou Zhong said with a frown, How did you guess my identity? Pressing both hands on the mattress, Wanwan floated away from the narrow bed andnded by the bedside. With a smile on her face, she shook her head and said, Shao Shuai is so smart, you will be able to guess it eventually. Kou Zhong sat cross-legged; his luminous tiger-eyes shot at Wanwan, he spoke heavily, You still havent figured out Ling Shaos disguise, have you? Do you want me to tell you? Wanwan slightly shrugged her shoulder des, her pretty face revealed a cute, silly expression, which could bewitch and drive any man crazy; neither confirmed nor denied it, she said, That is totally up to you. Kou Zhong revealed a yful, naughty expression; patted the pillow by his side, he said, I thought you are going to share a passionate night with Xiaodi tonight; turns out its just a lie. Wanwan floated backward and suddenly disappeared behind the beads-curtain. Her voice came back from a distance, like a gentle breeze blowing into his ears. She said with a tenderugh, Arent you training Tongzi Gong? How could nujia bear to break your virginity? Kou Zhong was so angry that he copsed back into the bed, no longer had the willpower to stand up. Book 32 - 7 – Demonic King and Empress Yin Actually, Xu Ziling had no strategy left to try; when he said that Shi Zhixuan has fallen into his trap, he was just bluffing, in order to cover up his own difficult situation. Shi Zhixuan was a first-ss figure within the demonic school, how could he be confused by his empty words? When he was about half a zhang away from Xu Ziling, he sent out a palm strike. In Xu Zilings eyes, the opponents palm was unceasingly growing bigger and bigger, while also appeared to be as light as a feather without the slightest bit of power, so that he was unable to grasp whether it was heavy or light. The most formidable thing was that it followed his overpoweringly fantastic shenfas steps and styles; with each moment, the angle with which the palm power was attacking appeared to have new changes. Such a terrifying palm technique, this was the first time that Xu Ziling ever encountered it. While standing motionless, both of his fists struck together one from the top and the other from the bottom, hiding within it a subtle difference between which one was ahead of the other, appearing to be without the slightest amount of qi power, while in fact the Treasure Vase Image Qi has already been stored up to the overflowing peak, ready to be released. The demonic light in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes red out dramatically, his palm strike suddenly changed into a forward chop, slicing across Xu Ziling, this Overbearing Saber Yue Shan. Since the fight started, all along Xu Ziling has always been in absolutely disadvantageous situation, he could only take a beating and had to painstakingly hold his ground. Until this moment, borrowing the fantastic true qi from the Secret to Long Life, contrary to Shi Zhixuans expectation, he was able to recover his vital energy in a short period of time, ferociously countering and meeting Shi Zhixuans changes, striving to gain back a little bit of initiative. Obviously Shi Zhixuans eyesight was more brilliant than the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying; he was able to see that Xu Zilings double punches carried qi power waiting to be released. If he continued with his initial palm strike, he would definitely fail to get the desired oue. Thereupon he cut in between the opponents two punches, forcing the opponent to save himself first and thus made it difficult for him to rush into attack. Upright and unafraid, Xu Ziling ignored the opponents following-a-certain-abstruse-trajectory palm chop, which changed from light, floating and powerless, to fierce and severe like the edge of a sword, the de of a saber, full of hacking-and-slicing qi power. The two punches released the Treasure Vase Qi. In this critical moment between life and death, facing this giant heretical demon in martial art study, which felt like he could never be knocked down, Xu Ziling already did his best and gave it everything he got before he strived to gain this good chance to strike back; naturally he did not want to miss this opportunity that easily. Two streams of highly concentrated true qi followed the punch power and burst out. Unexpectedly just before it struck Shi Zhixuan, from two separate streams it converged into one; furthermore, it changed direction a little. Like a shooting star it stamped on the pit of Shi Zhixuans stomach. This pair of Treasure Vase style punch power was created by Xu Ziling to save his little life in critical moment. Even Shi Zhixuan had never dreamed that there would be such a strange boxing move in the world. The big devil head, the Demonic King Shi Zhixuans countenance turned as cold as an iron pir as he pulled back his chopping palm. This moment, since it was already toote for him to evade, he simply made a sharp spin, relying on the Immortal Image Method to neutralize Xu Zilings double Treasure Vase Qi. Bang! Xu Ziling was hit by the palm power first. Fortunately the strike missed the fatal point on the pit of his stomach, because he used his shoulder to take the attack head-on. Plus the moment the palm wind cut his shoulder, he swiftly swayed his shoulder, ingeniously deflecting most of the opponents true qi. Even so, it was enough to make him feel ufortable. Meeting the palm, he flew about a zhang away andnded on the highest point on the bridge. Bang! The highly concentrated Treasure Vase Qi was ferociously thrown toward Shi Zhixuans body. His spinning speed immediately slowed down. By the time he was facing Xu Ziling again, this fake Overbearing Saber Yue Shan had just steadied his footing on the top of the bridge. Both sides have respectively received the hard attack from each other. On the surface Shi Zhixuan did not show any differences, yet Xu Ziling knew that to some extent, the opponent has also received injury. Otherwise, how could he not follow up the victory and press home the attack, to dispose him once for all, so as to avoid a long-night-with-many-dreams? On Shi Zhixuans side, he had to reconsider his assessment on this Yue Shan, who had made ae back after a long retirement. The one thing that astonished him the most was that after receiving a palm strike from him, unexpectedly the opponent did not show any changes in his countenance; it had never urred to him that the other side was wearing a mask that was crafted by the number one artisan under the heavens, Lu Miaozi. While he was seizing the opportunity to fly back just now, Xu Ziling could not help spurting out a mouthful of blood midair, but he hid it inside his sleeve. Shi Zhixuan happened to just turned around on the other side, hence he did not see it. Beforending on the ground, Xu Ziling already applied the Secret to Long Life to recover his true qi; however, if he was not wearing the mask, Shi Zhixuan ought to be able to see that hisplexion was pale and tired, and cold sweats appearing on his forehead. Xu Ziling took advantage of the situation to circte his true power and recover his qi, while amassing his strength secretly. Coldly and calmly he said, Laofu thought Immortal Image Technique was such an extraordinary martial art, turns out it is no more than so-so. If Shi Xiaoers [young child] skill is only like this, you could forget about leaving the Yue Ma Bridge alive tonight. While talking, he secretly calcted the slope of the bridges incline. Maintaining his wooden expression, Shi Zhixuan fixed his gaze on him as if he was looking at a dead object, while speaking indifferently, Yue Ba, if you have nothing else to say, please forgive Ol Shi for not able to apany you! If it were someone with slightly lower intelligence, he would have been puzzled by Shi Zhixuans remark, so much so that he might even thought that because Shi Zhixuan was suffering serious internal injury, he was beating the retreat drum. However, Xu Ziling knew that Shi Zhixuan could see through the special characteristic of his fake Huan Ri Da Fa was that it was suitable to stay still, but was unsuitable to move; hence he was luring him to take the initiative to attack, and then break it in one fell swoop. The brilliance of his insight was definitely not something that ordinary martial art grandmaster would be able topare. Xu Ziling thought that sess or failure, victory or defeat C would be decided in this moment. To surpass the opponent was definitely an impossibility. Currently, the only way out was to snatch a little bit of upper hand, before attempting to break the siege and escape. If necessary, he would escape into the Imperial Pce, and then even Shi Zhixuan would not dare to chase after him. With a longughter Xu Ziling leaped a little, and then the tip of his toes tapped the ground some more, and he pounced on Shi Zhixuan at the bottom of the bridge slope. Seeded in luring Yue Shan to take the initiative to an all-out attack, Shi Zhixuans face still did not show the slightest emotional fluctuation. But actually inwardly he had made the decision that no matter how much injury he would have to suffer, he simply had to kill the opponent in one fell swoop. Because he had seen how Yue Shan, who was returning to the fray after a period of inactivity, had mastered the Huan Ri Da Fa, and had shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones and turned into a different man. If he did not take the opportunity to kill him tonight, he might be a serious problem for him in the future. If Xu Ziling had known what this Demonic King was thinking, he would definitely be very proud. Xu Zilings mind had entered the Moon-in-the-Well, Heaven-and-Earth-fusing-together-into-one-entity realm. More importantly, he had be one with the Yue Ma Bridge. There was some kind of subtle rtionship between the angle and trajectory of his pouncing with the slope of the Yue Ma Bridge, like it was made by heaven, like the water flowing from higher elevation rushing down, which be an integral whole with the passage in which it flows,pletely following the Heaven and Earths principles, carrying in itself a burst of irresistible and unstoppable momentum. In Shi Zhixuans eyes, Xu Ziling has been able to exploit the gradient of the bridge to extreme saturation, making him feel as if he had been isted and had be an unnecessary, even redundant C addition to the harmonious blending between Xu Ziling and the Yue Ma Bridge. It was such an extremely abstruse feeling; if he were not a martial art master of that level, he would never have this kind of intuitive feeling. The tip of Xu Zilings feet, left and right, alternately tapped on the slope; with each tap, his speed was slightly increasing, subsequently his momentum was also growing. Shi Zhixuan urately estimated that by the time Xu Zilingnded on the nearly four-zhang long slope to attack, the opponent would have umted his power to its peak intensity. And this one strike by Xu Ziling was brimming with once-released-there-will-be-no-return desperate feeling, some kind of sparing-no-effort, staking-it-all, fighting-to-the-death, until-both-sides-perished C intention. Even with Shi Zhixuans self-confidence and conceited character, he could not help feeling regret. However, it was like riding a tiger; it would be hard to get off. If he withdrew at this time, and then while he was pulling back his qi, the opponents momentum suddenly surging and he seized the opportunity to pursue and attack, regaining the upper hand might involve a lot of effort. Having no other choice, Shi Zhixuan made prompt decision; he soared at an angle, the-guest-acted-as-the-host-like [idiom: turning from passive to active] he rose up high in the air, and then like a fierce tiger seizing the rabbit he pounced down, to put this tyrannical opponent, which was hard for him to believe C in order. Under normal circumstances, this was indeed the best way to response to Xu Zilings strategy. Unfortunately, he was missing a point; which was Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs unique method of converting and changing true qi midair and the consummate skill of flying backward, which they imitated from the Cloud Commander. Shi Zhixuan shot up like a projectile into the air, with his feet on top and his head on the bottom, his palms struck together, he unleashed the special ability of the Immortal Image Method. The left palm power was icy-cold, gentle and reserved, while the right palm power was burning hot, hard and violent;bined together they became a hurricane that could destroy the heart and split the lungs, in heavy strike toward Xu Ziling. Letting out a long whistle, Xu Ziling abruptly exchanged a mouthful of true qi, changing direction from moving down at an angle to rushing up. The most formidable thing was that he was following a bizarre trajectory curving outward toward Shi Zhixuans right side before attacking Shi Zhixuan directly. For the second time Shi Zhixuan was forced to change his move. As a result, immediately his momentum and power were somewhat reduced. Xu Ziling was curving upward from Shi Zhixuan, who was also moving upward to meet him head-on. Suddenly his body swayed to the left and right; his two hands creating millions shadows, he blocked Shi Zhixuans double palms, before gradually turning back into two hands with the thumbs bending outward, pointing at the hollow of Shi Zhixuans palms. Unexpectedly it was the One Finger Zen that he learned from Jiaxiang Dashi, which was changed into Two Fingers Zen for his own specific use. Because he was proficient in the Image Method, although the form did not appear to be divine, the essence was the Motionless Fundamental Image. The left hand performing Great Vajra Chakra Image and the right hand Sun-Bind Image, the yin and yang true qi flowing separately, he met Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image marvelous skill head-on. Qi power collided. Making repeated miscalction, Shi Zhixuan let out a cold humph and floated up mid-air toward the west bank. Xu Ziling made three consecutive somersaults and fell onto the bridge, barely able to stand up steadily. As soon as Shi Zhixuans feet touched the ground, he flew back. Im finished! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. His five viscera and six bowels felt as it theypletely flipping over; his entire body was twisted so that the pain made him lost his strength. Presently, forget about Shi Zhixuan, a strong man with no martial art knowledge would easily be able to take his little life. However, Shi Zhixuan was merely standing nkly at the end of the bridge. His eyes were looking at something behind Xu Ziling. A gentle and reserved, sweet-sounding feminine voice rang, along with a tenderughter, from about a zhang behind Xu Ziling, Zhixuan, oh, Zhixuan! Although you consider everyone else beneath you, but now you have no choice but to admit that you encounter a hard-to-defeat worthy match! Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to circte his true qi three rounds, before forcing himself to speak, Laofus affair, no need for you, Xiao Yan [Little Yan] to care about. Tonight, between me and Shi Zhixuan, there will only be one man leaving this ce alive. Actually, he was groaning inwardly. In front and behind him were the most outstanding two top figures of the demonic schools over thest several hundred years. If he let either one of them see through his real identity, death would definitely be his only way out. Shi Zhixuans face revealed an iparably grim smile; he shifted his gaze toward Xu Zilings face, and calmly said, I admit that I have underestimated you, Yue Ba. But speaking about killing me, dont ever think that you will be able to aplish in your remaining destroyed life. Xu Ziling forcefully raised his true qi again. Struggling hard to suppress the surging blood and qi in his body, he swallowed the fresh blood gushing through his throat back into his belly. Throwing his head back, heughed and said, I never thought that you, Shi Xiaoer have the impertinence to boast shamelessly like this. Xiao Yan, move back for me; lets see if I could put this disciple, who does not know the height of heaven and the thickness of the earth C in order. Xu Ziling figured out that the reason Zhu Yuyan appearing in this critical moment between life and death was because his skill was brilliant enough to contend against the Demonic King, hence she did not wish for him to die under Shi Zhixuans hands. If his guess was incorrect, tonight next year would be the anniversary of his death. Zhu Yuyan sighed faintly. She seemed to be having unbounded emotional stirring. Huan Ri Da Fa still cannot change your terrible temper? she spoke softly. Shi Zhixuan looked up to the sky andughed; lightly and leisurely he said, You two husband and wife want to whisper sweet nothings to one another, please forgive Ol Shi for not having spare time to apany. Finished speaking, he swiftly flew backward and disappeared in the darkness of a small alley in the blink of an eye. A faint sweet scent came closer and assaulted his nostrils; Zhu Yuyan was already behind Xu Ziling. You are injured, she spoke softly. Although Xu Zilings strength has recovered a little, but if he had to fight Zhu Yuyan, he would definitely notst more than three moves, plus he simply could not force himself to do so. Suddenly turning around, he came face to face with the Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan, whose face was covered in ayer of muslin. Forcing himself to imitate Yue Shans fierce and severe expression, as if he wanted to see through her flowery countenance C heughed coldly and said, Why didnt you seize the opportunity to kill Shi Zhixuan? Was it because theres still feeling remaining in your heart that has not been broken yet? Sure enough, Zhu Yuyans tender body trembled slightly. Avoiding his eyes, she cast her gaze toward the northern extremity of the Yong An Canal in the distance. The tone of her voice turned cold, she spoke, calm and collected, You are jealous! How could Xu Ziling dare to tarry long? Brushing his sleeve, he walked away; very scared and on edge, he brushed past her tender body, while repeatedly letting out coldughter, acting as if it was not worth exining his situation. Stop right there! Zhu Yuyan shouted coldly. His scalp turned numb, Xu Ziling halted his steps behind her. He spoke indifferently, If you want to kill me, Yue Shan, this is your best chance. The tone of Zhu Yuyans voice turned gentle; she spoke softly, They say that one night being husband and wife is equal to a hundred nights kindness; Yue Shan, would you be willing to lend Xiao Yan a hand? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling shook his head, and said with a sigh, I never thought that Yue Shan would suddenly be valuable and useful? Forty years ago, between me, Yue Shan C and you, the kindness has already been cleared, the friendship severed. Do you remember what you said to Ol Yue at that time? Zhu Yuyans voice sounded like it came out from between her teeth; she spoke coldly, Just get the hell out of here as far as you possibly can. If by tomorrow you are still in Changan, dont me me, Zhu Yuyan, for not showing any mercy. Xu Zilings mind was churning at the speed of light, he caught the real intention behind Zhu Yuyans remark. Zhu Yuyan was the most notorious demon of the demonic school; not only she was not particr about friendship, she also had no regard of the Heavensw. How could this kind of person care about old affection? She was willing to let him go just like that, it was purely to test his reaction; she wanted to see the extent of his serious injury. With Yue Shans temperament, if he obediently submitted to humiliation by walking away, naturally it could be inferred that Xu Ziling, this fake Yue Shan C has lost the ability to fight and to resist. Once this point has been confirmed, Zhu Yuyan would make her move with all her strength to get rid of this old intimate friend. Xu Ziling felt relieved instead. Slowly turning around, he snorted coldly and said, Based on your, Zhu Yuyans status, you are still not qualified to call, and I, Yue Shan Ce, to order me, and I go. Let me gain first-hand knowledge of your Tian Mo Da Fa then, I want to see,pared to Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa, which one is high, which one is low. He dared to be one-hundred-percent positive that Zhu Yuyan would not dare to fight; not because she was afraid of Yue Shan, but she was afraid that Shi Zhixuan might take profit from the side. She was even more afraid of losing the opportunity to seize the Demonic Emperor Relics. He and Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan, three sides were holding each other back, the result was that no one was willing to act blindly without thinking. Zhu Yuyan quietly sighed and said, That was just Xiao Yan speaking in a moment of anger; Dage, you go back and think about it, see if we could work together, to establish great undertaking together! Finished speaking, she floated and flew away, like a specter in the depth of the night, her feet did not touch the ground C and disappeared beyond the other end of the bridge. Xu Ziling nearly fell to his knees. Only after deeply reconciling several mouthfuls of true qi did he manage to act upright and unafraid as he walked toward the Dong Lai Inn. Xu Ziling pushed the door and came into the room. Immediately the sky spins, the earth goes around. But as he was copsing to the ground, he was caught by Kou Zhong, who had been waiting painstakingly for a long time. Kou Zhong closed the door and asked in shock, What happened? Helped by Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling sat cross-legged on the floor, absorbing the healing true qi Kou Zhong transmitted into his back. Smiling bitterly, he said, I have just had a confrontation with Shi Zhixuan. To be able to gather my little life back is totally due to Laotianyes blessing. Inwardly Kou Zhong groaned, This is called before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises [idiom]. He sighed and said, Fortunately I came to look for you. Otherwise, with your current heavy injury, how could you fight tomorrow night? And then he frowned and said, Other people, Zhang Jieyu, has her upper body hot, her feet cold. But you, half your body is cold, the other half is hot; it looks like the meridians in your entire body are twisted forcefully. Fortunately you came across Xiaoren, Mo Shen Yi. Otherwise, I guarantee that you will lie down for three days and three nights. While receiving help from Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling circted his power to heal his own injury. How did you wait in the room and happen to save me? he asked. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly. Lets heal your internal injury first and talkter. There was only another sichen before daybreak. Xu Zilingy on the bed. Kou Zhong sat on the other end of the bed, reclining against a pillow. To escape other peoples eyes and ears, the two hid inside the bed curtain to talk. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, If the Demonic Emperor Relics is given to Wan Yaonu, it will be something that will cause no end of trouble. Kou Zhong said, It would be better if we leave this ce immediately; we cane backter for the treasure hunt. No! At least we have to check information at the Ministry of Works first before we leave. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Currently our feet are deep in the mud. No matter what, we must help Li Shimin to pass through this crisis, to get rid of the threating from the Tujue and the demonic school and heretical way C before we could leave. And then he added, You Niaojuan is lying. Kou Zhong nkly asked, What lie? Xu Ziling said, He told me that Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan, and Zhao Deyan are forming an alliance to pull down the Li n. But looking at the situation a moment ago, Shi Zhixuan and Zhu Yuyan do not appear to be having any agreement at all. Kou Zhong matter-of-factly said, Of course he is lying to you. Otherwise, how could Yue Shan be willing to deal with his own old close friend [the original can also mean someone intimately rted]? Displeased, Xu Ziling said, You are still in the leisurely mood to talk nonsense? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong responded, If not talking nonsense, what do you want to talk about? I already thought about it until my head nearly split. Do you have any good idea? Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, So what if we let Wan Yaonu obtaining the Demonic Emperor Relics? As long as afterwards we broadcast the news, I guarantee that the demonic school people woulde to make a ruckus. This is called using the other persons method to deal with himself. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, That is indeed a good n. No matter what, the Demonic Emperor Relics cant be as formidable as the Jade Annulus of He n! So what if we give it to her? We could seize this opportunity to wear her off. Closing his eyes, Xu Ziling said, Go home quickly! Ol Yue did not sleep at allst night. Climbing down the bed, Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, When I get back, I am afraid I wont even have time to sit in thetrine. It seems like I am fated to live a harder life than yours. Xu Ziling matter-of-factly responded, Who told you to strive over the world? You only have yourself to me. Go and reflect upon yourself carefully! Kou Zhong hatefully said, My good brother indeed! Remember your appointment with the beauty Wanwan. When the timees, you mustfort her well. Ha! Xu Ziling could only respond with a wry smile. Thinking about Wanwan, instantly the sleep left himpletely. He listened as Kou Zhong was escaping into the distance, as he was disappearing away from outside his door. Book 32 - 8 – Encountering Fairy in Chang’an Entering the Six-Happiness Casinos main hall, Xu Ziling immediately understood why Lei Jiuzhi was able to recognize from theyout and style of the casino that this casino belonged to the Xiang Family. At first nce, this casino did not look like the Xiang Familys famous brothel-and-casino-in-one in Pengcheng; but although the form was not there, the spirit was there. First of all, the gambling tables and gambling equipment, down to the furniture and the other furnishing, were all equally gorgeous and carefully selected for quality. Secondly, in the main hall of the Six-happiness Casino, the number of gambling tables was also arranged ording to the Five Phases of Chinese Philosophy [i.e. five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal, water], i.e. exactly twenty-five tables, which was identical to the Pengchengs Xiang Family Casino. Thirdly, which was also the most obvious, was that all the waitresses [orig. lotus pce maid] were young, beautiful women with jade countenance; although their clothes were rtively conservative, but they have been carefully designed to show their moving figures on full disy, even more captivating than baring their breasts and revealing their arms. The four fireces in the main hall were zing, so that the main hall felt like it was another world, a warm one, which was entirely different from the heaven and earth outside. On top of that, the main hall was crowded to bursting point with guests, it was bustling with noise and excitement, the mor reached the sky; even more, it was brimming with the mood of drunken dreams. Xu Ziling stood still for a moment. Still did not feel anybody was watching him, he then strolled casually into the main hall, and ced a bet in one of the five dice games. Four wins and one losster, because the bet he put down was rather heavy, very quickly he won nearly a hundred taels of gambling chips. Recalling Lei Jiuzhis instruction, and seeing that the main game in the main hall was not dice but Pan Tan, he proceeded inside. This hall wasparatively smaller, only half the size of the main hall, but there was a side hall connected to it. These two hallsbined, the total area wasparable to the main hall. On the other end there was an entrance to another room, with a que over the entrance, Honored Guest Hall. There was also a big man guarding the door. Obviously it was not a ce where anybody could enter casually. The game in the middle of the middle-inner hall was Pai Jiu; it also had twenty-five tables, with either four, six, or eight seats per table. The tables were about half the size of the bigger tables in the main hall. The gamblers with no seat could ce their bets following the oue of the seated gamblers against the bankers; therefore, each table was surrounded full of people. Xu Ziling chose a table that was so crowded that not one drop can trickle through to enjoy the excitement. It was not until he squeezed himself in that he understood why this table was so popr. The reason was that seated on one of the chairs was a thousand-tender, a hundred-charm female gambler. Although the banker was also a young and pretty woman, but byparison, she was eclipsed hand down, just like a small star in the sky apanied by the bright moon. This woman was as delicate as flower, as refined as precious jade, her amorous light was quite overwhelming; it could be said that she was one notch superior to Madame Hong, but just like Madame Hong, she did not appear to be a woman from a respectable family. Her manner loose, her eyes brazen, the way she fetched the tiles and spread the tiles was quite practiced, her bets were heavy and fierce, from time to time she exuded silver-bell like tenderughter, adding quite a warmth to the already intense gambling game. With the exception of the female banker, the other five seats were upied by four youthful pampered sons of wealthy families and a middle-aged fat man. The other people could only ce their bets from the periphery. From time to time the beautys eyes scanned the people standing in the circle and watching. When her gaze swept over Xu Ziling, who was half a head taller than other people, it lingered a moment, but then it was as if she did not care anymore. Xu Ziling only had to look at the gambling chips in front of her to know that she was a big winner. Besides, the female bankers fragrant forehead was glistening with sweats, a clear sign that she was losing and was in panic. The cards were dealt. As if she was performing conjuring tricks, the banker shuffled the Pai Jiu tiles into two groups, and then tossed the dice to decide who would pick the cards first. Pai Jiu has Straight, Big, and Small, three kinds of gambling method. In Straight Pai Jiu, there could be from two to four yers, each receiving six tiles. The dealer then groped seven tiles and took the lead to y. After putting forth the tile, the next yer drew a tile in session; either to discard a tile or to capture the tile. If the tiles at hand formed two sets of suit plus one barbarian [yi] tile, then it was a hu, in which he would push the tiles and triumph over the opponent. In Big Pai Jiu, four tiles became a set, which were divided further into two suits to determine victory or defeat. Win or lose was decided whether the tiles form a pair or by counting the dots. The pairs were heaven, earth, man, and civil and military suits. The Small Pai Jiu was the mostmon in the casino, because more people could y together. Victory or defeat was decided only using two tiles forming a set. The calction method was identical to the Big Pai Jiu, only it was short one set. The game currently being yed was the Big Pai Jiu, hence each yer picked up four tiles. This time apparently the cards that the beauty picked were not good, she picked the cards and took a look, immediately she lightly knitted her brows, but her expression was still beautiful and enchanting, brimming with intoxicating flirtatious expression. She suddenlyughed aloud, like a trembling stem of flower. Those who looked at her, none did not have their mind thrown into disorder and their spirit bewitched. With a flip of her jade hand, she revealed her tiles; unexpectedly it was a man-six suitbined with man-five. When the dealer flipped the tiles, none of the gamblers surrounding the table did not break into rowdy jeering. Turned out the cards did not form any pair at all; it was a total defeat of the army. Xu Ziling secretly mused that if he wanted to show his edge, this moment he ought to take over the bankers position. But this kind of high-profile practice certainly did not fit his identity as a professional gambler; thereupon he moved to another table. This table was ying the Small Pai Jiu; the wind of bankers hands was very strong, there was an unending stream of defeated gamblers [orig. crippled feather] leaving their seats. Xu Ziling seized the opportunity to take a seat. He lost a couple of rounds first, losing more than twenty taels. But in the third round he ced a five hundred taels worth of gambling chips. Immediately everyone raised their eyebrows. The female dealer was nervous as well. Such a big bet, even in such a big casino in big city of Changan like this C was notmonly seen. After looking at three consecutive hands, Xu Ziling applied the secret method that Lei Jiuzhi imparted on him; relying on his outstanding memory and his sight, which was a hundred times sharper than ordinary people, and his unusual skill, no matter how the tiles were shuffled, he was able to track the position of several most important tiles. As long as he could affect where the points wouldnd, he had seventy-, eighty-percent confidence of winning. Right this moment, he felt a pair of sharp eyes was staring at him. It belonged to a short and small middle-aged man. He also noticed that the female banker repeatedly cast a nce at him, as if she was asking him for instructions; hence Xu Ziling knew that this man must be from the casino. The men surrounding the gambling table to watch suddenly burst into an uproar; unexpectedly the beautiful gambler from the neighboring table squeezed her way in to join the excitement on this table. Such a beautiful woman exuding a lot of sparkling color and lively fragrance immediately made the mood differ. The beautys eyesnded on his bet first, and then moved away toward his face. But Xu Ziling deliberately did not pay her any attention; he acted as if he had zero interest in her. The female banker waved her slender hand; three diced fell into a copper dish. The dice spun very fast at first before gradually slowing down, bing three separate spinning dice. Xu Ziling sent out a stream of his Secret to Long Life true qi, going out from the yongquan acupoint, flowing through the ground, along the table leg, and toward the copper dish. In all the world, it was not that no one had deeper true qi than he, but being able to control true qi remotely to this shocking level, perhaps only Kou Zhong couldpare with him. Even if there were any expert nearby, he could forget about being able to see through that he was ying trick in the dark. The dice finally stopped spinning. The dealer dealt the tiles ording to the number of dots on the dice. Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted sharp and cold light; he only stared fixedly on the tiles in front of him. He neither took the tiles to see, nor, like some gamblers, used his finger to feel the bottom of the tiles, as if he was able to see through what is true and what is false of the row of Pai Jiu tiles in front of him. The dealer apparently got big cards; her spirit was aroused, she cried out tenderly, Open the cards! One after another the gamblersid their cards on the table; they were all small cards like earth-eight, man-six, red-four, and so on, so the dealers heaven-eight ate them all. When everybodys eyes fell on Xu Ziling, Xu Ziling calmly flipped the tiles for everybody to see. None of the crowd standing around to watch did not exim in admiration. Turned out it was a pair of supreme; which, ording to the rule, the banker must pay double. The banker cast an imploring nce toward the middle-aged man. The man spoke in low voice, Pay him ording to the rule! While Xu Ziling was collecting his winnings, the beauty suddenly said, Let me be the banker this next round. It was as if the banker has received the Emperors amnesty; she hurriedly gave up her seat to her. If a guest became the banker, the casino only took a percentage of the winning asmission; however, if the stake was big enough, it could be quite profitable. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height while the beauty had just sat on the dealers chair. Stunned, she asked, Not ying anymore? Xu Ziling met her gaze. With a smile on his face he shook his head and simply left. The crowd was in uproar. The beauty swore in low voice, Gutless ghost! Xu Ziling was indifferent. He exchanged his gambling chips into cash and then left the casino. But he had just stepped over the main halls threshold, a big man came to him and respectfully said, This Daye, our familys Gongzi is asking to speak a few words with you. Xu Ziling was greatly astonished. Looking at the direction the man was pointing at, he saw one of the horse-drawn carriages parked at the public square in front of the casinos main entrance had its curtain being raised, revealing the face of the person sitting inside the carriage. Xu Zilings tiger body shook; he secretly heaved a sigh of relief. Obediently walking over to the carriage, he spoke in low voice, Gongzhu [princess], I trust you have been well since west met. Inside the carriage, dressed in mens clothes, the Dongming Princess Shan Wanjing spoke heavily, If you dont want to fight in the middle of the street, the middle of the alley, just get on. While looking at the files, Kou Zhong casually pried more information from the mouth of the two assistants. They received the assignment from Liu Zhenghui, plus they also knew that Kou Zhong was the favored-person whom the Emperor and the Imperial Concubines held in high regard; therefore, they knew that nothing was off-limit. Kou Zhong was asking them about the former Sui dynastys affairs, and they did not conceal anything [orig. not hiding anything he knows, not stopping before he has said it through (idiom)], so that Kou Zhongs understanding of Yang Sus situation at that time progressed one step further. Suis Emperor Wen, Yang Jian, was extraordinarily capable and experienced, plus he was a founding monarch with finesse in politics, his track record was remarkable. Its a pity that he had a serious shoring, which was highly suspicious and jealous of everybody else. Perhaps it was due to his fear that others would repeat his achievement of snatching the country from someone elses hands. Consequently, many of the founding cab ministers who were convicted did not end well. Even ministers who had given outstanding service like Liu Fang, Zheng Yu, Liang Shiyan, and so on were put to death one after another. Yang Jian was also temperamental, his method was severe; therefore, all the ministers felt that being close to the sovereign can be as perilous as lying with a tiger [idiom], they were terrified and were unable to carry on even for a single day. Yang Su knew that as a chancellor of the Sui dynasty, it would be unusual for him to end well. With all his strength he helped Yang Guang to depose the Crown Prince Yang Yong and to ascend onto the imperial throne. More likely than not, it was also he who instigated Yang Guang to kill his Father Emperor Yang Jian by poisoning him, precisely as a means to seek self-preservation. The problem was that supposing Yang Sus secret treasure was designed and built by Lu Miaozi during Yang Jians reign, this matter must be kept under extreme secrecy to evade Yang Jians eyes and ears. Under this kind of circumstances, Yang Su could not possibly use his own name to start the construction of the secret passage and the treasure trove inside the mansion. Because if Yang Jian ever found out, even if Yang Sus tongue were as splendid as lotus flower, a hundred words would not be able to deny. Kou Zhong was certain that Yang Su would only build the treasure trove at a ce that on the surface had nothing to do with himself. Yang Jian appointed Yuwen Kai in the second year of his reign to start the construction of the new capital. Less than two years after moving to the new capital, he proimed amnesty throughout the world. Hereafter the city saw unceasingrge-scale constructions, which still continued until today. ording to reason, it would be the easiest to fool the peoples eyes and ears if the construction of underground treasure trove was carried out when the new city was being built and the canal was excavated, because at that time the situation must be chaotic. Only Yang Jian murdering his ministers began early in the sixth year of his reign by killing Liu Fang, which provoked vignce in Yang Sus heart, and gave birth to the intention of building a treasure trove. It ought to be after the sixth year of Yang Jians reign until the four Renshou years [601-604AD], when Yang Jian died, a period of eighteen years. Most likely it was the upper half, i.e. the first nine years. During this period, the outstanding founding ministers [a title given to reward loyal general or vassal of new dynasty or state] were murdered for minor mistakes until practically nothing left; it would be strange indeed if Yang Su was not afraid. The biggest headache for Kou Zhong was that during that time period, the number of courtyard houses built within a li radius of the Yue Ma Bridge was more than a hundred, not including extension to the existing buildings. Could it be that he had to go to each home, each household in open enquiries and secret search? While his head was spinning, Liu Zhenghui returned with grave expression on his face, and sat by his side without saying a word. Very scared and on edge, Kou Zhong asked, Whats the matter? Liu Zhenghui spoke heavily, You two get out of the room for me. Seeing his ill expression, the two men promptly retreated outside. They even closed the door behind them. Inwardly Kou Zhong said, Here we go! Taking an indirect approach, he said, Does Huangshang know that I am here? Liu Zhenghui shook his head and heaved a deep sigh. Kou Zhong was a bit relieved. But then he got worried for him. Whats the matter? he asked, Liu Daren, please feel free to tell me, perhaps I could ask Niangniang to think of a way to help you. Liu Zhenghui was slightly startled; he appeared to be surprised and touched. Xiansheng misunderstood. I am not worried about myself. Kou Zhong rxed. Thats good, he said. Liu Zhenghui sighed again. With a worried frown he said, New Years Eve ising again. [This part has missing characters, I cannot figure out what he said: ôһ£治?Ǻͷ?] Kou Zhongs curiosity was piqued; using retreat-to-advance strategy, he said, If it is not convenient, Liu Daren does not need to tell me. Its not a secret, Liu Zhenghui replied, Very soon the news might spread widely in Changan. When Huangshang issued the decree, Taizi Dianxia, Qin Wang, Qi Wang, and Pei Ji, Feng Deyi, Chen Wanfu, and so on were all in the audience. Kou Zhong nearly wanted to give him a kick, to make him speak quicker. What is it? he asked. Liu Zhenghui spoke word-by-word, Huangshang is ordering me to close Tong Xun Gate, Tong Ming Gate, and Jia Gate, three passageways. Kou Zhong was baffled, Huangshang wants to close three passageways; its not a big deal! he said. Liu Zhenghui said, But these three gates are no small matter. Tong Xun Gate is the only passageway connecting the East Pce with the Taiji Gate. Jia and Tong Ming, two gates connect Ye Ting and Taiji middle pces. Hereafter, when Taizi Dianxia wants to go Taiji Pce, he could only take Cheng Tian Gate or Xuanwu Gate to get into the Pce. If Xu Ziling were here, he would immediately understand Li Yuans intention. By restricting ess into the Pce to these two gates, naturally it would be much stable in terms of security and defense. Kou Zhong was still momentarily unable to understand Li Yuans motivation. Staring nkly, he said, Huangshang wants to increase control over the traffic in and out of the Pce, he must have his own reason; why is Liu Daren this deeply worried and sick at heart? Liu Zhenghui replied with a wry smile, I should not have told Xiansheng about this matter. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Xiaoren heard about the struggle between Taizi Dianxia and Qin Wang in the Pce; therefore, there is no problem about whether I ought to know something or not. Smiling bitterly, Liu Zhenghui said, Huangshangs action makes us feel that the crisis is even more imminent [orig. pressing in on ones eyshes (idiom)]. When Huangshang issued the decree, no one dared to speak even half a word. And now please excuse me, Xiaodi must leave, because I have to immediately make arrangement. Otherwise the construction cannot start after the New Year as scheduled. Xiansheng, please forgive me. Kou Zhong took the copied information and put it into his pocket. Rising to his full height, he said, Liu Daren, no need to see me off. I am an old horse who knows the way home, I know my way out. Liu Zhenghui apologetically said, Afterpleting Huangshangs order, Xiaodi will raise my cup to Xiansheng and discuss in details the development in architecture from ancient times to today. Kou Zhong secretly thought, I appreciate your kindness, but no, thank you, while hurriedly left. The snow was still falling endlessly. Kou Zhongs enthusiasm and hope in the treasure hunt was just like the ice and the snow; cold and bone chilling. He no longer had even half a point of confidence and certainty. Book 32 - 9 – Straightforward Affair Kou Zhong and Chang He urged their horses to gallop toward the Imperial Pce. Did you sleep wellst night? thetter casually asked. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that it was not that he did not sleep wellst night, but he did not sleep at all. Sighing inwardly, he replied, Not too bad! I made an appointment with Liu Shangshu that after treating Niangniangs illness, I would go to the Ministry of Works to visit him. I would have to trouble Chang Daren to show me the way. What do you mean Chang Daren this and Chang Daren that? Chang He said, Although Mo Xiong and I only know each other for a short period of time, I really regard you as a good friend whom I should treat with absolute sincerity. If you want, you could even call me Lao He [Old He]. Kou Zhongughed and said, Calling you Chang Xiong is a bit more pleasant to the ears. Actually, Niangniangs illness is gone; today is only a follow up visit to tell Niangniang that she is not sick anymore. After this, we can get out of bed a bitter. Chang Heughed and said, I actually think that taking you to the Pce early in the morning is some kind of unprecedented delight; it is both nerve-wracking and exciting, just like a battle on the gambling table, before the lid is lifted, we wont know the oue. You know that if you failed in treating Niangniangs illness, I would not have good future either. Feng Deyi Daren has just told me that after the New Year, he would let me take the Xuanwu Gates Zheng Tun Jiangjun [Station Principal General] position. There are at least ten peoplepeting for this position. Qin Wang and Qi Wang both wanted to have their man in this position. Originally I did not have much hope; it was all due to you healing Niangniang that Xiaodi has such a good opportunity. Congrattions Chang Xiong, Kou Zhong spoke in delight, Why is this position important? he asked. Of course it is, Chang He replied, The City Guard headquarters is located at the Xuanwu Gate; it is where heavy military force are being stationed for long term, and is under Huangshangs personalmand. There are four Zheng Tun Jiangjun and eight Fu Tun Jiangjun [Station Deputy General] working on shifts in charge of the Pce Citys defense. Yuefu [father-inw] spent a lot of money on my behalf, and only then did I get the opportunity to be a Fu Tun Jiangjun. But to be a Zheng Tun Jiangjun, Huangshang himself must give us a nod. Using money will not work. Kou Zhong secretly thought that Chang He really regarded him as a close friend; otherwise, he would definitely not disclose such a confidential matter to him. This moment the two galloped into the Vermillion Bird Main Gate. Both sides were full of colorful hangingnterns, brimming with the atmosphere of the Spring Festival Eve. The two no longer spoke. When they reached the Taiji Pce Gate, they dismounted their horses and continued on foot to see Zhang Jie Fei. Zhang Jie Fei received Kou Zhong in the inner hall, while Chang He remained in the reception hall to wait for him. This beauty, whom Li Yuan favored deeply, was in great spirits; her amorous glow radiated all around, without showing the slightest bit of sickly look, so that Kou Zhong also felt proud. The court eunuchs and pce maids were serving her left and right. Having his desire aplished and his aspiration fulfilled, Kou Zhong pushed back Zhang Jie Feis hand, which pulse he already examined, and said respectfully, Congrattions Niangniang, the illness haspletely gone; no need to use the needle or take any medicine anymore! Greatly delighted, Zhang Jie Fei said, This time I can break away from the illness, it was entirely due to Xianshengs magical hands that bring the dying back to life. I am sure Huangshang will reward you handsomely. Standing on the side, ttering and fawning, Zheng Gonggong said, Is it possible for Mo Xiansheng to write a prescription to help Niangniang ovee any aftermath of the illness, so that she will recover her original vitality? Kou Zhong cursed inwardly; why did he insist on Kou Zhong making a fool of himself on the spot? Fortunately he learned some unexpected tricky move as ast resort from Wei Zhengxingst night. Thereupon he calmly said, Too much is as bad as not enough [idiom from the Analects]. Right now Niangniangs face is glowing, her meridians and qi are neutral. It is really inadvisable to take tonic or something like that. Zheng Gonggong, please understand. Zheng Gonggong wanted to pat the horses butt but patted the horses leg instead [note: pat the horses butt = boot-licking]; he was greatly embarrassed. Clearing his throat, he said, Of course, Xianshengs diagnosis prevails. Zhang Jie Fei suddenly said, All of you, withdraw for me. I have something Id like to talk to Xiansheng. None of Zheng Gonggong and the others was not stunned. They had no choice but to follow the order and withdraw. Kou Zhong said inwardly, Here ites. Sure enough, when only the two of them remained in the hall, this thousand-tender, hundred-charm imperial concubine beloved by the Great Tang Emperor spoke in low voice, Xiansheng, I want you to speak boldly; I will take the responsibility for you. This time I suddenly contracted strange illness, did someone secretly poison me? Kou Zhong cursed Li Jiancheng in his heart for putting him in such a situation where there was no room to advance or to retreat. If his answer was affirmative, the guilt would definitely fall into Li Shimin. If the answer was negative, he would offend Li Jiancheng. What was he supposed to do? After making himself presentable, Xu Ziling was contemting whether he ought to immediately enter the Pce to see Li Yuan, but he also felt that it would not fit the intertwining gratitude and grudges rtionship between Li Yuan and Yue Shan, not to mention it would not resemble Yue Shans reclusive nature and his doing-it-my-way style. While he was having a headache, outside the room, someone called out, Is Yue Shan Qianbei in? Wanbei Qin Chuan, seeking an audience. Xu Zilings tiger body shook. A burst of hard-to-describe feeling went straight into his head, immersing him into some kind of mood that even he himself did not understand. He pulled the door open. Shi Feixuan, wearing mens clothing, still carrying the graceful and elegant, touching appearance C brushed past him and entered the room. With a smile on her face, she said, This ought to be the most gorgeous room in Changan; it has a hall on the outside and bedroom in the inside, both are spacious and cozy, plus it is separated from other guest rooms. Who would have thought that Yue Qianbei would receive such courtesy in Changan? Xu Ziling closed the door. He took a deep breath to suppress all kinds of indescribable mood swings in his heart, and spoke indifferently, When did Shi Xiaojie arrive? Shi Feixuan turned her tender body around; she scrutinized his Yue Shans disguise with rapt attention, and said with a sigh, You were able keep Zhu Yuyan in the dark, I was not surprised. But how could you keep even Li Yuan in the dark? Mischievous thought appeared in Xu Zilings heart; putting on the Yue Shan act, he swaggered and sat down pompously in a chair, and then pointing to another chair across the small table by his side, he said, Feixuan, please sit down. This time Laofu is returning to the fray after a period of inactivity, practically I do not have anything to hide from anybody. Seeing this, Shi Feixuan was dumbstruck. A rarely seen displeased and helpless touching expression floated on her face. But she followed his bidding and sat on his right side. Using Yue Shans expression and intonation Xu Ziling said, Ol Yue came to Changan not for Li Yuans sake, but for that everything-that-is-evil, the unpardonable traitor [a couple of gibberish here]. Were it not for him, how could Xiuxin leave this world one step earlier than Laofu? Shi Feixuan spoke gently, Feixuan understands! But I still prefer your original look and mannerism. Shaken, Xu Ziling turned to look at her. Shi Feixuan acted as if she was speaking about some trivial matter; with frank and natural expression she met his gaze, and said with a smile, Where is your good brother? Xu Ziling felt that it was so difficult not to tell her the truth. He calmly said, He is now the mightiest figure that no-one dares to approach in Changan [orig. burn your hand, feel the heat], the Divine Doctor who helps people and aids the world. Greatly astonished, Shi Feixuan said, When did he ever learn medical knowledge? Even illnesses that the Living Hua Tuo Wei Zhengxing was unable to cure, he is able to perform the medicine arrives, the disease gone act. How long have Shi Xiaojie been in Changan? Xu Ziling asked in surprise. Shi Feixuan exined, I only camest night, but I have seen Qin Wang, and had a chat with him for nearly one sichen. You and Mo Shen Yi are among the names that he mentioned. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Kou Zhong does not have any medical expertise. He was acting before thinking when he cured Sha Tiannans illness using acupuncture and moxibustion, along with the true qi from the Secret to Long Life, hence he waspelled to climb the sedan chair and be a divine doctor. As for how he was able to cure Zhang Jie Feis strange illness, there is another ulterior motive, which is hard to narratepletely. Actually, Shi Xiaojie came in time; there is one trivial matter that Id like to ask for a guidance. Shi Feixuan nodded, indicating that there was no harm in him to speak forthrightly. Xu Ziling said, Supposing Wanwan acquired the Demonic Emperor Relics, what will the consequences be? Shi Feixuan, with tranquil expression, replied, I am afraid that even if Xiang Yutian came back to life, he would not be able to answer your question, so much so that either lucky or inauspicious, it will be difficult to tell. After a short pause, her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she asked, Did she see you through? Xu Ziling admiringly said, Xiaojies guess is extremely urate; it was Kou Zhong that she saw through. Now she is threatening us that after finding the treasure, we must hand over the Demonic Emperor Relics to her. Shi Feixuan asked indifferently, And how are you going to deal with this matter? Xu Ziling replied, Kou Zhong originally proposed for us to immediately retreat and leave, ande back another time. But I opposed him for doing so. Shi Feixuan was surprised, Why did Ziling Xiong oppose him? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, There are slight or important, urgent or non-urgent differences in this matter. Compared to the disastrous turn that is about to happen, Demonic Emperor Relics is no more than an insignificant thing. Emotionally moved, Shi Feixuan said, Feixuan would like to hear the details. Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment. He asked instead, Why did Niangniang have this suspicion? Zhang Jie Feis phoenix eyes narrowed, she spoke heavily, This strange illness of mine was without rhyme or reason at all. Even if no one warned me, I still want to investigate to the bottom of it. Hardening his heart, Kou Zhong said, Xiaoren does not dare to confirm whether Niangniang was really poisoned or not, but the possibility is definitely there. Zhang Jie Feis tender body severely shaken, she said, Why does Xiansheng not dare to confirm? Crown Prince Jiancheng took the prescription that Xiansheng wrote to renowned experts in Changan to be studied. They all believe that the medicines principal usage is in detoxification. But because the way it was formted does notply withmon practice, they do not dare to be sure. Inwardly Kou Zhong cursed Li Jiancheng. Smiling bitterly, he said, Niangniang, please note clearly: one time Taizi Dianxia also inquired of Xiaoren deeply about this matter. Ay! I was wondering if Niangniang could do Xiaoren a favor? Otherwise Xiaoren would have to urgently pack and quit and flee from Changan. Displeased, Zhang Jie Fei said, Xiansheng is the benefactor who saved my life; whod dare to bully you? Speak up, let me report it to Huangshang. Pretending to be horrified, Kou Zhong said, Absolutely not! Otherwise it would even be more difficult for Xiaoren to conduct myself. Slightly annoyed, Zhang Jie Fei said, Xiansheng may speak forthrightly without any scruple with me; dont hum and haw, wanting to say something but then hesitate like this. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Although Xiaoren is an expert in treating illnesses, I have no expertise in using poison at all. I only know how to use needles and apply medicine ording to the Four Great Laws that I observed, heard, and asked. Therefore, whether Niangniang was poisoned or not, I do not dare to speak untrue to my convictions. Ay! But Taizi Dianxia seems to already decided that this is the case. If Xiaoren ... ay! I think it would be better if I leave earlier and be done with it! Zhang Jie Fei understood. She said, Xiansheng must never speak about leaving too lightly. I already understand Xianshengs situation, naturally I know how to speak in front of Huangshang. Kou Zhong did not feel rxed as if he was relieved from a burden at all, simply because he knew that Zhang Jie Fei and Li Jiancheng would definitely unite to use Li Shimin falsely. But this was something that he could not control, also something that was out of his control. With nothing else to say, he took the opportunity to ask to be excused. Shi Feixuan revealed a grave expression that has never been seen before. She nodded and said, Ziling Xiong is right. Compared to this, Demonic Emperor Relics is only an insignificant thing. If we let Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyans conspiracy prevails, not only it would be difficult for the world to be unified, it would also repeat the foreign invasion situation of the past. Xu Ziling said, Currently, the key person is Yang WenGan; I am hoping that I could get all information pertaining to him, especially the intelligence about histest activities. Would Shi Xiaojie be able to help in this regard? Shi Feixuans bright eyes revealed an intelligent light; it was deeply moving. She spoke indifferently, The two of you are always beyond expectation; you barely arrived in the capital, and already you see through Shi Zhixuans startling-the-heavens method. But this is akin to helping Li Shimin for justices sake; does Kou Zhong agree? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Justice is to be found everywhere; Kou Zhong definitely will not argue about who is being helped. Shi Feixuan asked, Do you still want to get the treasure out? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Whatever I promised Kou Zhong, I will do my best to aplish it for him. Frankly speaking, although Kou Zhong has ample confidence, I feel that the chances of finding the treasure are extremely slim. Shi Feixuan stood erect. Her beautiful eyes shot a nce at the dark sky outside the window. Its going to snow soon! she spoke softly. Xu Ziling stood up to apany her; he spoke in low voice, How can I contact you? Shi Feixuan turned to face him. She softly said, Feixuan is staying at the Yu He An [jade crane nunnery] by Dong Da Si. You only need to say Buddha have mercy four words [Fo Zu Ci Bei], the Shifu of the temple will know that you are looking for me. If I am not there, you can just tell Zhuchi [Abbess, lit. manager] Chang Shan Shitai everything. [Reminder: Shitai is the counterpart of Dashi, a term of respect to address Buddhist nun.] A peculiar feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart; it was as if she was promising him a date. Anytime he wanted to, he could go looking for her. Of course it was just some kind of misperception. Shi Feixuan walked toward the door. Suddenly she halted her steps and said with augh, Why is it that although I know that you have be the target that Shi Zhixuan wants to get rid of soon, I am not worried for you at all? Stepping toward the door, Xu Ziling said, Frankly speaking, against Shi Zhixuan, although Xiaodi stake everything, I am still not his match at all. Therefore, I am not going to give him another chance to kill me. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, That is precisely the reason I am not worried about you. May I ask, when Ziling Xiong is not being Yue Shan, what identity are you using? Xu Ziling hesitated for a moment before awkwardly replying, I might be a gambler by the name of Yong Qin. Shi Feixuan repeated the name Yong Qin twice in low voice. Suddenly she remembered her own alias Qin Chuan [same qin character]; unexpectedly two clumps of red cloud rose up on her pretty face. She cast him a scolding look. Behind the mask, Xu Zilings old face has already turned beet red. He wanted very much to exin that it was because Lei Jiuzhi found a pair of arm protectors, which had two characters Yong Qin engraved on it C by ident that he wanted him to use this name. But he also knew that in this kind of matter, the more he wanted to exin, the more it would sound awkward. He had no choice but to freeze on the spot. The expression in Shi Feixuans eyes suddenly becameplicated; it seemed to contain countless emotions that have been hidden deep within her heart. She sighed softly and said in a low voice, Be careful! Xu Ziling pulled the door open. He looked at her back gradually moving away, until it disappeared at the end of the corridor. Snowkes were starting to rain down again. He was about to close the door when his heart was moved. He stepped into the corridor and stood with his hands behind his back to watch the beautiful scenery of the snow slowly covering the flower garden. His heart was a piece of haziness. Whenever he was interacting with Shi Feixuan, time seemed to be slipping away very fast; life also seemed to be escting to its most intense realm because of her. Was this a romantic love between a man and a woman? Even if the answer was a resounding yes, he could only grow the wrong root of romantic love, there would be definitely no good oue in the future. Since the first time he saw Shi Feixuan at the Tian Jin Bridge in Luoyang, he knew that he would never forget her. In this tumultuous era of killing or be killed, the time where everybody was tired of constantly running around for his life, the time where you hoodwink me and I cheat you, all to obtain the benefit for oneself by fair means or foul, where people reject everybody that was different from themselves, Shi Feixuan was like a stream of clear spring that trickled to change the human world, which enabled him to feel the true meaning of life. Footsteps came from behind. Xu Ziling was awakened from his contemtion. Is it Xiao Dao? he said in heavy voice, I just exchanged blows with Shi Zhixuanst night. Coming alone, wearing civilian clothes, Li Yuans dragon-body was shaken. What? he blurted out. Extremely cordial, Liu Zhenghui personally came to the main entrance of the Ministry of Works to wee Kou Zhong. Aplishing his task, Chang He withdrew, dly handing over the heavy responsibility of taking care of Kou Zhong to Liu Zhenghui, his sessor, while he himself returned to the Guards Headquarters at the Xuan Wu Gate. Liu Zhenghui entertained Kou Zhong at the lobby first with a couple cups of hot tea and some pastries, before taking him to the archive room. Ordering his men to unroll a giant scroll painting of Changan city map, he cheerfully said, At the beginning of the old Sui dynasty, the old Hans Changan was still used as the capital. Afterwards, because it was no longer suitable, plus there were too much damages, Yang Jian, beginning in the second year of his reign, appointed the Crown Prince and amoner Yuwen Kai to build the new capital. This moment Kou Zhong had just found the Yue Ma Bridge on the map. He casually asked, Was Yuwen Kai from the Yuwen n? Liu Zhenghui replied, Yuwen Kai was precisely the current Yuwen ns Fazhus [n Master] uncle. Pointing to the scroll, he said, Based on the geography and the terrain of thend, Yuwen Kai divided the new city into six slopes just like in the Zhouyi [another name for Book of Changes (yi jing/I Ching)] Qians [from Ba Gua, symbolizing heaven/male] six stages, hence in the nine-two pce is the Diwangs [lit. emperor and king; monarch] residence; the nine-three ce a hundred department, in ordance with the number of noblemen; the nine-five noble positions are not formon folks to live, because that is where Xuan Du Guan [lit. ck/mysterious capital Taoist monastery] and Xing Shan Si [lit. flourishing benevolence Temple (usually Buddhist)] are located. The essence is to have control over the high elevations of the city, to have the major buildings upy the hignd. [Sorry, this part is beyond me. Please also refer to Akwsment on Book 31 Chapter 1.] Listening to this, Kou Zhong only knew one and understood half; he could not but admiring Liu Zhenghui for his wise opinion and knowledge in this aspect. At that time, he asked, Did Yang Jian personally supervise the construction of the new city? Liu Zhenghui replied, In name, it was under Yang Jians supervision, but in fact, it was Yuwen Kai who worked on it hands and feet. Whatever material he required, he only needed to report to Yang Su for approval. Hearing Yang Sus name, Kou Zhongs spirit was immediately aroused. He wanted very much to ask Liu Zhenghui directly which buildings originally belonged to Yang Su, but he was afraid that being so open and fearless like that, he might provoked Liu Zhenghuis suspicion. Without any better option, he took an indirect approach, asking, The buildings in the city, were they built at the same time as when the new city was constructed? Liu Zhenghui replied, They were built within the twenty years period after the new city was constructed. After Yang Guang ascended the imperial throne, he rejoiced in grandiose deeds; not liking certain buildings for their looks, he gave an order to demolish and rebuild them. It was an extreme waste of manpower and resources. Kou Zhong started to realize that his effort in examining particr year was not a simple matter at all. His scalp went numb, he said, Xiaoren is particrly interested in the buildings around the Yong An Canal area as seen from Fu Ju Lou. I wonder if Liu Daren could give me brief introduction. Liu Zhenghui dly said, I have done some work on Xianshengs behalf. Xiansheng, please. Kou Zhong followed him into the neighboring room. He saw the four walls were covered inrge bookcases from floor to ceiling, full of scrolls. Two Ministry of Works staffs were standing respectfully on the side; they appeared to be waiting there to serve Kou Zhong. There was a huge rectangr table in the middle of the room, with several scrolls of paintingid out on top of it. Liu Zhenghui said, This is a detailed map of the area several li square around the Yong An Canal. Just the Yan Kang, Chong Xian, Yan Shou, Guang De neighborhoods of the east bank of the Yue Ma Bridge alone have nearly ten thousand buildings. Which courtyard house Xiansheng is interested in, you may ask to have the n drawing avable for your inspection. Xiaodi still have some business to attend to. Later on I wille back to take Xiansheng to Fu Ju Lou for lunch. Kou Zhong called for his Niang inwardly. For the first time he thought about giving up the idea of treasure hunting, because it was simply too hard. Book 32 - 10 – Sealed Door, Cut Off Path Exhaling a mouthful of cold air, Li Yuan said, Fortunately Dages martial art skill is matchless, so that Shi Zhixuan and Zhu Yuyan could not take advantage of you. Humph! If my spies obtain those twos whereabouts, I am going to make them nursing grievance in Changan. Xu Ziling coldly and calmly said, Xiao Dao, it could be that you have been deep inside the Pce for too long, unexpectedly your way of thinking is like a three-year-old child. Lets not talk about Shi Zhixuans, just like Yin Gui Pais C movement and whereabouts have been hidden for a long time, he also has a way to disappear, and is able toe and go whenever he wants to, your Great Tangs security measures did not y a role at all. In the same way, we know that he has other identities that he could use to hide; no matter how you mobilize your manpower, dont think that you will be able to uncover his whereabouts. Currently, Xu Ziling ought to be the only person in the world who could reprimand Li Yuan to his face like this. Either in his position as the Master of the Li n, even more as the ruler of the Great Tang, even a trusted aide or cab minister who dared to admonish him frankly would have to kneel on the ground and speak in fear and trepidation, nobody could possibly address Li Yuan using the same manner of speaking as Xu Zilings. Blushing with shame, Li Yuan said, Dages admonition is right. Xu Ziling was still maintaining his demeanor, watching the floating snow in the courtyard with his hands behind his back. He spoke to Li Yuan, who was standing solemnly behind him, Ol Yue originally did not wish to meddle in your family affairs, but yesterday I received an information, which I cannot but tell you about it. Xiao Dao, do you know that your Great Tang is on the verge of getting split apart, defeated and dispersed? Li Yuans dragon-body slightly shook; his pair of eyes shot fierce and severed spirited light, he spoke heavily, Why did Dage say such thing? Xu Ziling said, What you and I are talking about this moment, absolutely must not be repeated to the third person. Do you understand? Li Yuan nodded and replied, Xiaodi understands. Xu Ziling said, Yesterday Going Against The Tide You Niaojuan came to see me, begging me to help him resisting Shi Zhixuan and the others, in order to strive for the Demonic Emperor Relics. Naturally he gave me a reason, but at the same time also revealed a gargantuan conspiracy against your Great Tang. Knitting his brows, Li Yuan said, Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention. Xu Ziling said, Before talking about the conspiracy, let me ask you a couple questions first. Li Yuan seemed to know what he wanted to ask; sighing helplessly, he said, Dage, please ask! Xu Ziling said, Although hearsay must not be trustedpletely, but how could the wind from an empty cave [idiom: unfounded story] be without any reason at all? I reenter Jianghu, from time to time I hear some people say that the Great Tang can found a country in Guanzhong, its all because your second son Shimins talent, which surpasses others, while also going through the fire and water, repeatedly establishing marvelous meritorious services. Yet you, Xiao Dao, because being confused by your harem, repeatedly indicated that the inheritance of the Emperors throne would be turned toward Jiancheng, Yuanji, while neglecting Shimin, which lead to the internal strife among the different factions in the imperial court. Is there such thing? Li Yuan was silent for half a day. He smiled wryly and said, There is of course discrepancy between the facts and the rumor; the minor details I, Li Yuan, do not wish to dispute, but I do have my eyes on the major thought. Jiancheng is the oldest son of my first wife, plus he has no serious mistake. Although his outstanding merit seems fall short of Shimins, it is only because in the capacity as the crown prince, it is inappropriate for him to go out to lead the troops in military expedition, not because he is inferior to Shimin. On the surface Shimins talent shines forth like spirited horse, his meritorious grand, his might shakes the four seas; these are the things yearned for by the public. As a matter of fact, wasnt this also the case with Yang Guang in the past? By deposing the elder setting up the younger, proper human rtionships got into disarray; it would only repeat the disastrous turn in the pce court of the previous generation. Xu Ziling had never thought Li Yuan would respond this way. Although he was leaning toward Li Shimin, but if he put himself in Li Yuans shoes, he had to admit that Li Yuans thought was not without any reason. This is what is called the matter between father and son is difficult for others to speak about. Under this kind of situation, Xu Ziling could only quit while he was ahead, touch on something and leave it there; it was inappropriate for him to force Li Yuan to ept his opinion. He coldly said, Your Li Familys matters, naturally you, Xiao Dao is clearer than me. However, it is because of the serious factional struggle that outsiders have the opportunity to exploit the crack. In my opinion, what You Niaojuan said about Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan already forming alliance, they are going to topple your Great Tang imperial court by all means, I am afraid this rumor is not far from the fact. The murderous intent in Li Yuans pair of eyes red out greatly, he said angrily, Unexpectedly there is such thing. Do they think that I, Li Yuan, am a three-year-old kid? Xu Ziling knew its time. He turned around, the might in his eyes radiated all around, he said, Shi Zhixuan in the dark, Yang WenGan in the open; Zhao Deyan in the dark, Ke Dazhi in the open. Xiao Dao, do you understand? Li Yuan revealed the iparable depth and the cool-headedness of a master of a n. He nodded and said, Dage said it very clearly. Xu Ziling said, Our best choice now is using not-moving to control movement to beat them at their own game. Their operation ought to be directed at your second son Shimin, so much so that the one they wanted to deal with might be you, Xiao Dao. We could only quietly watching any changes, to see whether we have a way to get rid of Shi Zhixuan, to get rid of this worry forever. Frowning, Li Yuan said, Why not using ten-thousand-jun- thunderbolt momentum, to have Yang WenGan, Yang Xuyan, Ke Dazhi, as well as all their parties entirely executed, so as to avoid long night and many dreams, which they would take advantage of. How could it be that simple? Xu Ziling said, Forget about Yang WenGan has close rtionship with Jiancheng, Yuanji, first, lets talk about Ke Dazhi, who was sent by Tuli. With obscure reason you suddenly have him executed, you would cause internal and external changes, which will only bring harm without any benefit. Li Yuan nodded and said, Dages remark is definitely very reasonable. Fortunately Dage reminded me, otherwise perhaps I would really let the crafty viins prevail. Xu Ziling said, Perhaps I would be able to find out Shi Zhixuan and the others conspiracy both via You Niaojuan and personal investigation. As long as Yue Shan is not dead, Shi Zhixuan can forget about ying trick like he did when he topple the Great Sui. Li Yuan said, If Dage have no objection, I could dispatch a group of trustworthy martial art masters that Dage could use. Giving him cold shoulder, Xu Ziling said, I, Yue Shan, have always beening and going alone; the only one with whom I can be big brother and little brother is you, Xiao Dao. Why do I want anybody else to be in the way? Li Yuan seemed to recall past events; his old face slightly blushed, he said, Until today Dage still treat me like this, Xiao Dao is certainly very much ashamed. Xu Ziling shouted, No need to mention past events; I do what I do not for you, but for Xiuxin. Go back to the Pce! Li Yuans dragon-body shook. He repeated the name Bi Xiuxin in low voice, twice. His face suddenly seemed to age a few years. After heaving a deep sigh, he saluted and left. Inside a restaurant in the Bei Li, Xu Zilings Yong Qin and Lei Jiuzhis Wen Kuan were having lunch together. Finished listening to what happened the previous night, Lei Jiuzhi was speechless. You know that you could sit in here, alive and well, is an extremely extraordinary thing. Shi Zhixuans demonic power is unrivalled; other than Ning Daoqi, Song Que, Zhu Yuyan, and a limited number of people of their caliber, he really never paid attention to anybody, butter on I am afraid Yue Shans name will have to be added to that list! he said. Without feeling proud at all, Xu Ziling said, I relied entirely on the mask to hide my real face, plus my Secret to Long Lifes true qi is the best to be used to keep up empty appearance, only then was I able not to wipe out Old Yues fame for fighting prowess, plus to snatch back my own little life. After a short pause, he went on, At present, we have another important matter that must be done immediately, which is, relying on the power of your, LaoGes hands, you must try to investigate Jingzhao Lians movements both in Changan and outside the Pass. That should be no problem, Lei Jiuzhi replied, After this, we go to the Six-Happiness Casino, you will enter alone to y a few rounds, when your winning reaches one thousand taels, leave immediately; by no means, do not stay. Xu Ziling did not understand, Since we want to attract the Shenxian Shou [(Daoist) Immortal Hand] Chi Shengchuns attention, why not gamble ruthlessly, defeat him until he is in a sorry state? he asked. Smiling wryly, Lei Jiuzhi said, You have said the reason yourself, i.e. we want to attract the opposite sides attention. For the genuine professional gamblers who work for a living in the casinos, the one thing we want to avoid the most is revealing our cutting edge to the fullest. This kind of people, unless they could be like you, able to fight hard and attack one another against Shi Zhixuan C would only end up dying by violence on the street. Much less your disguise right now is an ordinary Jianghu martial art master, who was wounded in fighting hand to hand against a few Chang Lin Armys Tujue troops. Remember, only those who could appear like they are relying on gambling luck rather than gambling technique in winning some money can be considered the real experts. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, How do the Six-Happiness Casino people know that I am ying dice and Pan Tan? Lei Jiuzhi exined patiently, Ziling, dont worry. Casino circle is so narrow, so thin. At the Ming Tang Wo you revealed two hands in session, plus there is Madame Hong treating you favorably, I guarantee that this matter has already spread widely around the gambling circle in Changan. Not to mentionst night at Ming Tang Wo you had a big fight against wicked men of the Chang Lin Army, even rmed Qin Wang Li Shimin. Xiongdi, you must be a celebrity by now. Xu Ziling abruptly calmed his spirit; he secretly wondered whether it was because he had seen Shi Feixuan that he became absent-minded, even such a simple thing he was unable to think about. Lei Jiuzhi patted his shoulder and said in a low voice, I am going to wait for you at the Duoqing Wo [passionate nest]. Finished speaking, he left first. Passionate Nest was the Passionate Prince Hou Xibais Changan secretir, which had be their meeting ce. By dusk tonight, Xu Ziling still had to swap identity with Hou Xibai. It was going to be a very busy New Years Eve. The sound of firecrackers was heard everywhere from the streets and alleys, making people forget the endlessly sprinkling snow. By the time Liu Zhenghui came back to take Kou Zhong to lunch, Kou Zhong had been sitting until his waist ache, his back stiff, he was dizzy and his eyes dimmed, unexpectedly it was more exhausting than being on the battlefield, yet he had to pretend that he was greatly interested, acting as if he was thoroughly enjoying it and would never tire of it. Actually, he knew that he brought this hardship on himself. However, even more tired than he was were the two Ministry of Works staffs, who had to climb high and crawl low, and go around and around for Kou Zhong; they were already so tired that they lost their excitement. Kou Zhong originally wanted to carry on, but seeing how they looked, he had no choice but to dispel this idea. But he did not want to waste time to go too far to Fu Ju Lou either, so he asked, Do you have to go out of the Pce for lunch every day? Hearing the singing to a string apaniment [from idiom: Hearing a song with string apaniment, one would know the elegant intention], Liu Zhenghui understood the valuable advice behind it; heughed and said, Turns out just like Zhenghui, Xiansheng is also crazy about architecture. In here, every department office has independent dining room, with specially hired personnel to prepare the food. But the best ce to eat in the Pce is the third floor of Sifang Guan [lit. four-sided (or all directions/everywhere) office building] by the Zhong Shu Wai Sheng [lit. middle/central ministry outside/external department; in Book 31 Chapter 3, there was zhong shu wai xing, which I tranted as central document outside supervisor; I wonder if this is a typo, or those two words are interchangeable]. Although the food is not as good as Fu Ju Lou, it is only across the public square from the Pce City. This time, when the snowke is swirling in the air, we could look to the north at the beautiful scenery of Taiji Pce in the snow, while raising our cups and chatting about architecture, ancient and modern. It is such a joy in life. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, secretly thought that how could he have enough qualifications to chat about architecture with him? Yet he could not refuse; without any better option he hardened his face behind the mask and went with him. On the way to Six-Happiness Casino, Xu Ziling could not help recalling Shi Feixuans bashful expression when she was stunned and was quite at a loss when she heard his alias Yong Qin. Suddenly he heard someone shouting, Hey you! Stop for Laozi! Frowning, Xu Ziling halted his steps. He saw gathering by the Six-Happiness Casinos main entrance were three men who looked like local ruffians and gangsters; they all had long saber hanging on their waist. On both sides of the casino gate, there were two giant stone lions, which were taller than a man, with bold and powerful grandeur. From the three men, two were sitting on the stone base supporting the stone lions. Obviously the one speaking had just stood up. The other twos eyes revealed ominous glint, apparently they were harboring malicious intentions. The men guarding the casinos entrance seemed to already knew that this matter would happen, they acted as spectators enjoying the excitement, taking joy in cmity and delight in disaster. When the passers-by saw that something was about to happen, one after another they crossed to the other side of the street and walked past. Xu Zilings mind was turning at the speed of light. Instantly he understood what was going on. He was certain that these three were targeting him; he was also sure that they must be gangsters affiliated with either Jingzhao Lian or the Chang Lin Army. Seeing him, this gambler, did not gamble simply for fun, they sent men to guard outside all casinos, big and small, to give him bad luck. As long as they pretended that it was an ordinary dispute, even if the King of Qin Li Shimin found out about this matter, it would be difficult for him to investigate. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, What is it? Biren still needs to hurry up to y a few rounds! The big man walked straight toward him and stopped about three chi in front of him. Squinting at Xu Ziling, he said, This renxiong, where did youe from? Have you paid your respect and reported your presence to Yang Guozi at the pier? Xu Ziling knew this man was stalling for time, to wait for other men toe and help dealing with him. Smiling, he said, Get out of Laozis way immediately. Otherwise,ter on you wont be able to use that big mouth of yours to speak anymore. The big mans countenance changed abruptly; by the time his hand moved toward his saber hilt, Xu Zilings palm already shot forward. The big man was hit by the palm and was thrown sideways, his mouth spurted fresh blood. The other two men roared together and leaped; they brandished their saber to chop from left and right. Xu Ziling feigned a sway to dodge the saber, but he suddenly shed into the space between the two men. Nobody saw how he moved, but the two men were knocked by his shoulders and fell, rolling on the ground like a gourd, battered and exhausted. Acting as if he had done a trivial thing, as if nothing had happened, under the gatekeepers dumbstruck stare, he swaggered through the Six-Happiness Casino main entrance. Kou Zhong and Liu Zhenghui came to the dining hall at the third floor of Sifang Guan. It was only then did he understand the saying toote for regret. His ugly face has be his easiest-to-recognize trademark; everybody scrambled over to talk with him and introduced themselves to him, in order to pave the way for them to invite him to treat patients in the future. Countless government officers from Si Nong Si [agriculture department], Shang She Ju [social welfare?], Wei Wei Si [Commandant of Guards], Da Li Si [justice of the peace], Jiang Zuo Jian [(military) construction battalion, lit. military worker(?)] and so on, everybody was cordial and as warm as the fire. Forget about Kou Zhong could not remember so many official names, in the end, he could not even tell one face from another. The only benefit for him was that Liu Zhenghui would not be able to study architecture from sessive dynasties together with him. It was only when the food was delivered was the flow of people paying their respect to Kou Zhong starting to dwindle down. The huge dining room returned to its original situation as when they arrived. Through the window Kou Zhong looked at the Pce City under the fluttering snow. The apex of the Taiji Pce Hall towered above other buildings; it was still nearly two zhang higher than where he currently was. Its prestige when receiving the crowd of ministers could be easily imagined. Liu Zhenghuis voice was heard by his ear, The dining hall in this Sifang Guan is dedicated to receiving diplomatic envoys that areing from various regions, hence the name Sifang. Kou Zhong casually asked, What countries are outside the Central Earth? Liu Zhenghui replied, If Xiansheng is interested in knowing, let Xiaodi introduce you to the best person. Before Kou Zhong had any time to decline, Liu Zhenghui already left his seat to go to another corner. Shortly afterwards he invited another government official toe over and introduced him to Kou Zhong, This gentleman is Wen Yanbo Daren from Foreign Affairs Department; no one is more qualified to answer Xianshengs question than he. It was not that Kou Zhong did not have interest in the situation outside the Central Earth, but right now he was just confused and disoriented by those scrolls of architecture drawings, so how could he be interested in other things? Wen Yanbo was refined in manner and looked like a pedantic schr, about forty years of age, making Kou Zhong think of Bai Laofuzi in Yangzhou [see Book 1 Chapter 1]. Naturally Wen Yanbo knew that Kou Zhong was a highly favored person by the court, so his manner was respectful and cordial. Left without any choice, Kou Zhong had to repeat his previous question. Wen Yanbo replied in a leisurely manner, In the north these days, the most powerful are the Eastern Tujue, the Western Tujue, the Huiqi, and the Xueyantuo, four ethnic groups. Others like Bayegu, Pugu, and so on, their nation is weaker and a lot smaller. Kou Zhong asked, About these four nations, Xiaoren has heard as well, but I have never heard about those other tribes. Hey! These names are really hard to remember. Liu Zhenghui added, In the west, the most powerful are Gaochang and Qiuci! Hearing the name Qiuci, Kou Zhong remembered Luoyangs Qiuci beauty Linglong Jiao and her music and dancing. His interest was piqued, he asked, Isnt Qiuci famous for their singing and dancing beauties? Smiling, Wen Yanbo said, Turns out Xiansheng is this experienced and knowledgeable. Qiucis music and dance are certainly famous throughout the Western Regions. But speaking about beautiful women, the Persians are the most famous. Their precious stones, amber, coral, crystal chalice, ss bowl, cornelian cup gilded with gold, are also popr in our Great Tang Court. Reminded of the anxiety about the Cloud Commanders life or death, Kou Zhong immediately felt theres-food-but-its-hard-to-swallow. To make the conversation entertaining, Liu Zhenghui asked, Hows the strength of the Persians? Persian merchants are good in doing business, their economy must be rich and powerful, and prosperous. Wen Yanbo replied, Politically, currently the Persians are under the Sassanid Empire [c. 2nd to 7th century AD], but their situation is not too optimistic. Recently, there was a group of Persian merchants who came to Changan. I heard them say that their neighboring countries are eating away their national strength and are more flourishing by the day, posing a great threat of invasion from all four sides to them. Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he asked, Where did these Persians stay after their arrival in Changan? Wen Yanbo replied, They are staying at Changans only Bosi Hu Si [lit. Persian and barbarian (non-Han) temple (or government office)], which was built by the Persian people who reside in Changan after the permit was approved by Liu Daren. Liu Zhenghui blurted outughing and said, Unexpectedly Wen Daren is teasing me. Without Huangshangs nod, how could Zhenghui have the qualifications to examine and approve their permit? Kou Zhong mused inwardly that if Yun Shuai did not die, he ought to being to Changan to see the situation. Thereupon he cheerfully said, Unexpectedly there are foreigners building a temple in here; I must go and visit it. But I wonder where is this temple located at? Liu Zhenghui replied, It is located west of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, in the Chong De Li, east of Qing Ming Canal; very easy to find. In the Li [neighborhood] itself, there are several dozen household of Persian and barbarian people who open Persian shops in both the East and West Markets. Wen Yanbo was about to speak, a ministry guard hurriedly came. After saluting, he said, Huangshangs decree, Liu Daren is requested in the Pce to have an audience with the Emperor. Liu Zhenghui jumped in fright. He stood up and left in a flurry. Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down to the bottom. He secretly wondered if his going to the Ministry of Works to look at the scrolls has already leaked outside, and that Li Yuan found out about it and grew suspicious, hence he summoned Liu Zhenghui to be interrogated. If this was indeed the case, not only his great undertaking of treasure hunting could be dered finished, even whether he would be able to escape alive would be a big question mark. Book 32 - 11 – Treating Illness For An Enemy Leaving the Six-Happiness Casinos main gate the horse-drawn carriage turned into the street. Shan Wanjingughed sweetly and said, Every time you leave the casino, do you always have people waiting for you outside the door? Xu Ziling peeked through the curtain at the armed men outside the door, looking for him to give him bad luck; he asked in surprise, Surely they have people inside the casino standing guard to take precautions against me leaving via the back door or any other doors, or even jumping over the wall. Howe they dont even know that I got into Gongzhus [princess] carriage? Shan Wanjing nonchntly said, If we cannot even deal with these small characters of the dark road [criminal ways], can we, Dong Ming Pai still mingle in the Central ins Jianghu? Leaning back into his seat, Xu Ziling turned his head toward the beautiful woman sitting by his side. Smiling wryly, he said, Gongzhus vision is very formidable. Lat night, just one look through the curtain, you already recognized Xiaodi. With myriads of emotional stirring, Shan Wanjing said, Xu Ziling, you really are too easy to recognize! My guess is that even Qin Wang has also seen through your disguise; only he hides it in his heart and did not express it out! Xu Ziling recalled the previous nights situation, where in the end Li Shimin advised him to leave the city. It was indeed remarkable; it did not sound like something that anybody would say to a random stranger. His heart was moved, he said, If there is a chance, please warn Qin Wang that within his Heavenly Policy Mansion, there must be someone who had been bought by Li Jiancheng; because anything that happened in the Mansion, Li Jiancheng seemed to know everything like the back of his hand. Just from the fact that Hou Xibais disguise of Mo Wei was subjected to questioning and Li Jiancheng immediately received the news, he knew that there was a mole inside the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Shan Wanjing nodded and said, I will warn him. The carriage was heading in the direction of the pier area. Not knowing what to say, Xu Ziling had to ask, Gongzhu this time came to Changan, was it for any particr reason? Shan Wanjing replied indifferently, Taking advantage while Wang Shichong and the Li n have not formally shed all pretense of cordiality, I am rushing to deliver a shipment of weapons, shields, bows and arrows, as well as armors, that have been manufactured in thest two years to Qin Wang, to rece the broken and old weapons. You ought to know how tense the situation in Changan is these days. Xu Ziling nodded, indicating that he understood. But there was something that he did not understand, With Li Yuan here, he asked, Although they, the three brothers, dont get along well like fire and water, they should not dare to openly fight desperate battle! Shan Wanjing sighed and said, I am afraid only Laotianye would know the answer to that question! Right now both sides are somewhat wary of each other, considering both sides strength in Changan. Because Jiancheng, Yuanjis side obtained Dugu n, Nanhai Pai, and Li Mi joining their ranks, also the Tujue people openly and without fear rooting for them, their power enjoys dramatic increase, immediately they tower over the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Xu Ziling really wanted to ask her whether she knew that Yue Shan was her Yeye [paternal grandfather (I think he ought to be her maternal grandfather)]. But naturally he did not dare to actually ask her that question. This moment the carriage stopped at the dock. The huge warship, the Dong Ming Pai gship, cast its anchor by the bank. Shan Wanjing sighed and said, Qin Wang already has enough headache, yet you, two Dage inly chose this moment toe to Changan for the treasure hunt. What do you suppose he has to do? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, He ought to wee us. You can suggest to him that at least under current circumstances, Kou Zhong and I only bring benefit to him without bringing any harm. But then he frowned and said, Li Yuan only look on helplessly at Li Jianchengs power growing big, and the people he is pulling in are either families with wild schemes like Li Mi, the Dugu n, or those harboring evil intentions like the Tujue; what is he actually thinking? Shan Wanjing said, Li Shibo [uncle (affectionate name for a friend older than ones father)] ought to be deliberately letting Li Jiancheng expanding his Chang Lin Army to make Shimin Shixiong [the same shi character as in shibo above and in Shimins name, this is the first time I see this kind of shixiong] not daring to be disloyal. In his mind, Shimin Shixiong relies heavily on troops, using power to go on the rampage; if he let him be the emperor, Jiancheng, Yuanji, could forget about surviving, it would be even more difficult for his beloved imperial concubines to live to theirter years. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Is he really that clueless on how to look at people? Shan Wanjing cast her gaze on the floating snow outside the window; her bosom filled with emotional stirring, she said, The imperial pce is another world altogether. Deep in the Pce is where most lies and nders are. Li Shibos greatest weakness is that he is affectionate and lustful, so that the women surrounding him are telling him all day long that Shimin Shixiong is not right; hence even a better person would be a bad person who is wicked beyond redemption in his eyes. For example, there was this one time during a banquet in the Pce Courtyard; remembering his birth mothers early demise, momentarily Shimin Shixiong was overwhelmed with emotion and shed tears in public. Unexpectedly Li Shibos imperial concubine ndered him, saying that he harbored a grudge against and jealous of Jiancheng and various imperial concubines. If he was allowed to hold power, he would definitely kill them [feminine] all to thest one. They also said that Jiancheng Taizi is kindhearted and loving; only he could take care of them [again, feminine]. Under this daily effort, naturally Li Shibo put Shimin in a distance and Jiancheng close to him. Furthermore, Shimin Shixiong spent a long time outside on military expedition, how could he have time to make the effort to exin himself? His natural character is the kind of people who refuse to abandon his principle and his stand, who does not keep ount on anybody. Himself and Li Shibo are two different kinds of people who are the pr opposite of each other. Xu Ziling was beginning to understand why Li Yuan would condone Ke Dazhi frustrating Li Shimins awe-inspiring authority. But after he reminded him a little bit, Li Yuan ought toe to see the truth. After a moment of silence, Shan Wanjing softly said, When are you nning on transporting the stuffs inside the treasure trove out? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, We only have vague clues on the treasure trove; until this moment we still have not found the main threads. Stunned, Shan Wanjing said, Unexpectedly you dont know where the treasure trove is? You could say that, Xu Ziling exined, Niang did not have time topletely exin the location before she gave up. Shan Wanjings pair of beautiful eyes lit up; she cheerfully said, That is to say that your chance of finding the treasure is just slightly higher than people whopletely have no knowledge of the treasures location; am I right? Xu Ziling was slightly stumped for words. You could say that, he replied. In high spirits, Shan Wanjing said, Then I advise you to simply give up looking for the treasure trove! Yang Su was intelligent but devious; he was reserved but shrewd. This kind of man plotting actively to build the treasure trove in preparation of rising in rebellion, how could it be that easy to find? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Gongzhu seems to be very happy that we cant find the treasure trove. Of course, Shan Wanjing admitted frankly, Do you know that the two of you have be the figures that the outstanding heroes throughout the world have the most misgivings against? If the Duke Yangs Treasure fell into your hands, you would be like a tiger that has grown wings. At that time Qin Wang will also be forced to immediatelyunch the attack to avoid the Shao Shuai Army creating the situation that would be big trouble for his Li Familys effort in unifying the Central ins. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Such a trivial treasure trove, can it y such a big role? he asked. Shan Wanjing asked him back, Do you know how the existence of the treasure trove leaked out? Xu Ziling shook his head nkly. Shan Wanjing said, The information was started by Yang XuanGan. In those days he raised his troops in rebellion. To stimte morale, he imed that if he could force entrance into Guanzhong, he could unearth his old Die Yang Sus treasure trove. He also said that the storehouse has enough weapons of superior quality to equip a division of twenty-thousand-man army and enough richesparable to the state treasury. Even before he was wiped out he stillmented that in vain he had the treasure but could not use it. He had the treasure map entrusted to his trusted aide to break out the siege and take it away. Afterwards the map ought to fall into your Niangs hands. Everybody thinks that you obtained the secret map from the Luocha Nu [female demon]; turns out there is no such thing. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, When Niang passed away, she did not have the secret map on her at all. It must be Niang herself who destroyed it. Shan Wanjing sighed and said, If it were other people, not the two of you, talented martial art masters, who nobody could do anything to you, I am afraid he would have been captured early on and would be tortured to get to the bottom of it, and then there could not possibly be this kind of misunderstanding. Xu Ziling looked out at the Yong An Canal; the snow has finally stopped. Both banks have entirely be a pure white world. A subtle feeling welled up in his heart. This time, meeting Shan Wanjing again, they were like old friends who had known each other for many years, with nothing that could not be talked about, plus they trusted each other. The feeling was cordial and warm. Shan Wanjing said, If I hade to Changan after the New Year like it was originally nned, I am afraid I would not havee across you! Without thinking, Xu Ziling asked, Why did Gongzhue to Changan early? Did Madamee along as well? Niang did note, Shan Wanjing replied, We received Qin Wangs urgent letter, hence we had no choice but to deliver the weapons early, simply because recently Li Jiancheng convinced thergest weapon manufacturer in Luoyang, Sha Tiannan to throw his lot with him, and the Sha Family has always amassed arge quantity of excellent quality weapons stored up outside Luoyang. Qin Wang predicted that obtaining the weapons that the Sha Family offered to him, Jiancheng might be unfavorable toward him, hence he has to make good preparation to guard against it. And Li Yuan does not know anything about this matter? Xu Ziling asked in disbelief. So what if he does? Shan Wanjing said, Unless Li Yuan forbids his three sons to raise their own armies; upgrading equipment is the mostmon matter. All weapon factories in Guanzhong are under Li Yuans direct control; therefore, his sons must seek help from the outside. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Xu Ziling said, In this kind of desperate-fight-could-happen-at-any-moment situation, anything could go wrong and deteriorate into trouble. Glowering at him, Shan Wanjing said, For Kou Zhong, isnt the more chaotic Guanzhong is, the better it is? Xu Ziling frankly said, If there were no Tujue people or perhaps the demonic schools tremendously wicked people involved in this matter, Kou Zhong would have thought so. But for the present virtuous cause, naturally Kou Zhong knows the difference between slight or important, urgent or non-urgent. Muttering to herself irresolutely, Shan Wanjing asked, Would Ziling be willing to meet Qin Wang one time? Xu Ziling said, If anybody found out about it, Qin Wang might be used of having secret ties with external enemies, plus Kou Zhong might not be happy if I do that. Shan Wanjings jet-ck eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, You guys seem to know something that even Qin Wang himself did not know. Am I right? This is as it should be, Xu Ziling replied, Ay! I understand Gongzhus good intention toward us. And Gongzhu still have great kindness toward us that we do not know how to repay. Ay! Xiaodi is leaving! But before I do, I have something to say, I hope Gongzhu will listen carefully. A dark shadow flitted past Shan Wanjings pretty eyes; she gently hung down her head and said, Speak up then! I hope its not something that is too hard to hear. Xu Ziling said, Li Shimin is a powerful, broadly-talented man. Once he determines clearly the enemy and us, he would never allow any selfish sentiment to influence either his decision or action. Gongzhu is looking at a certain side of Li Shimin, while what we are experiencing is the other side of Li Shimin. I dont want to talk about the details, but I hope Gongzhu could leave this trouble spot as quickly as possible. Shan Wanjings jade countenance changed repeatedly; she said, Thank you very much for Zilings word of advice, Wanjing understood my own situation. Didnt you just mention something about paying a debt of gratitude? Although I would not consider it that, but if you guys are willing to do something for me, Wanjing would be extremely grateful. Xu Ziling responded affirmatively, Gongzhu, please speak up. As long as it is within our power to do so, we will definitely do it for you. Shan Wanjing hatefully said, Kill Bian Bufu for me. The longer this man did not die, the longer Niang and I cant possibly live in peace. After leaving the Imperial Pce, Kou Zhong rushed over to see Gao Zhandao and the others first, to coordinate and discuss the details of the tonights operation. While there was still one or two sichen before his appointed time to meet with Xu Ziling, he thought about returning to the Sha Mansion first to see if he would have time to rest for half a day, to recover his spirit in order to deal with anything, big or small C that could happen tonight. Stepping into the Sha Mansion, Sha Fu, greatly delighted, met him and said, Mo Ye is back just in time. Wu Xiaojie is looking for you! Kou Zhong had no idea what to think; he asked, Wu Xiaojie is looking for me? What for? Sha Fu replied, Lets get into the reception hall first, well talk inside. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Wu Xiaojie is waiting for me at the main hall? Sha Fu replied, Dugu Familys Feng Xiaojie [Miss Feng (phoenix)] is here. Wu Xiaojie is talking with her. Kou Zhong was shocked. Since we have guest, plus she is Wu Xiaojies close friend [orig. close friend of thedys chamber], it is not appropriate for Xiaodi to barge in! he said. Lowering his voice, Sha Fu said, Feng Xiaojie appears to being especially to see Mo Ye. Theres more, Laoyes order, tonight, for the Lunar New Years Eve banquet at the Imperial Pce, he and three Shaoye, as well as Mo Ye, will set out from here at the you hour [5-7pm]. Laoye specifically instructed me to remind Mo Ye. Ha! It is quite possible that Mo Ye is the busiest person in the City of Changan. This moment they reached the guest room outside the main hall. Having no other choices, Kou Zhong braced himself to step over the threshold and into the main hall. Chatting in low voices in the corner, one after another, Sha Zhijing and Dugu Fengs two pairs of beautiful eyes followed his steps as he was walking in. Kou Zhong stopped some distance away and greeted by raising his cupped fist, Xiaoren pays his respect to Wu Xiaojie and Dugu Xiaojie. To his relief, Dugu Feng did not seem to be suspicious of him; she even stood up prettily and returned the greeting, saying, Mo Xiansheng honors Fenger too much! With a smile on her face, Sha Zhijing said, Lets sit down first before continue talking. Serve tea! After seated properly, Kou Zhong said, I hear Dugu Xiaojie wanted to see Xiaoren; I wonder what instructions do you have for me? Sha Zhijing said, Fengfeng is Zhijings intimate friend, we all are of the same side, there is no need for Mo Xiansheng to stand on ceremony. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that Zhijing could be considered having a vast circle of friends; unexpectedly she had that many good friends. From this, it could be inferred how well regarded Sha Tiannan was in Luoyang. Dugu Feng said, In that case, Fenger will no longer be polite. This time Fenger came to beg Xiansheng to treat the illness of one of Fengers elders. Momentarily Kou Zhong was still unable to guess; he asked, Treating the illness of which honorable rtive of Dugu Xiaojie? Dugu Feng replied, Its Fengers Momo [from the dictionary: (dialect) elderlydy]. She is suffering from asthma. But this past year there have been more frequent attacks; it makes us worry to our death! It was only then did Kou Zhonge to his senses. He mused inwardly that treating You Chuhongs asthma was still all right, but when they came across each other, it would be strange indeed if she did not beat him until he was in a sorry state. Besides, he practically did not have any qualifications to cure her long, chronic illness. Without any better option, he had to resort to his secret art of stalling for time. He said, Xiaoren is certainly willing to help, but asthma, the cause of disease is soplex, its hand and tail are the longest, and its very difficult to be brought under permanent control. After the New Year let Xiaorene to take a look, and then well decide how we are going to put our hand to it. Revealing an embarrassed look, Dugu Feng asked earnestly, Fenger knew that Xianshengs honored self is so busy, but these past couple of days Momos illness is ring out really bad, I was wondering if Xiansheng could find the time toe with Fenger to make a detour to our humble abode? Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. He has been ustomed to be the physician who once he put his hand to it, vitality will return. If he went, he simply must show off his ability, otherwise he would make people suspicious. But treating the illness of such a powerful enemy, it would only bring a hundred of harms without a single benefit; how must he deal with it? From the side, Sha Zhijing opened up her mouth to help, Mo Xiansheng simply has to help; Zhijing has not seen Lao Furen [old madam] for a long time, let us go together to pay an official call on her, the Senior! Kou Zhong wanted to decline yet it was beyond his capability to do so. Hardening his heart, he said, Two Xiaojies orders, naturally Xiaoren has to follow. Greatly delighted, the twodies escorted him to hurry up into the carriage and drove toward the Dugu Mansion. Coming to Hou Xibais Passionate Nest, Xu Ziling found out that thetter was one step ahead of him to be here, bending over his desk, writing or painting something, looking so rxed and contented. Concentrating his attention, Xu Ziling came to look. Its her! he said in shock. Hou Xibai had just put the finishing touch on the vivid and lifelike, distinctive-styled and lively-stroked painting of a beauty. Astonished, he asked, You know Ji Qian? Xu Ziling said, I saw her at the Six-Happiness Casino today; she was gambling fiercely and ruthlessly. With leisure yearning, Hou Xibai said, I can imagine her boiling-wave enchanting look by the gambling table. Ji Qian is the most poprdy of Shang Lin Yuan; I dont know how many high officials and nobilities, rich merchants and huge businessmen grovel under her pomegranate skirt. I never thought that even after exchanging my face, I could still be in her favor. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, This is called it is hard to change ones essential nature. Just how many emotional debts have you incurred so far? Quickly own up to the facts one by one. Otherwise, when I take your disguise, I would have to pack my food before finish eating. Embarrassed, Hou Xibai said, Its not that I wanted to go to the pleasure house to fool around. Its just that every night, if Er Shaoye and that kid Bu Jie dont go to the pleasure house, they wont be able to sleep peacefully, and he regards me as his best pleasure house buddy, plus when I dont have anything to do, Xiaodi be agitated, hence I have no choice but to risk my life to apany the gentlemen. Honestly, Xiaodi has already been exercising extreme restraint, otherwise when Ziling is back to be me, you will encounter even more trouble. Forget about it! Xu Ziling said, Luckily I cant possibly see her tonight! Hou Xibais handsome face turned slightly red, he cleared his throat and said, Ziling, please forgive me. I heard that with Ji Qian in the lead, a group of Shang Lin Yuans poprdies mighte to the Pce to perform singing and dancing tonight. I hope she wont be looking for you! Seeing Xu Zilings face, he hastily added, Ziling, theres no need to be worried; the feeling between Xiaodi and she is only limited tomon courtesy, there has been no activity that oversteps the bounds of propriety. At most just a few intimate words! Hey! No! She and I are clear and innocent; we are just friends who can talk to each other! This beauty has always been a lone flower admiring itself, just like Shang Xiufang, who only sells her art and not her body. Dejected, Xu Ziling sat down. Smiling bitterly, he said, Other than that, what else does Hou Xiong have that will give Xiaodi a bit advantage? Hou Xibai tossed the painting brush and spoke in serious expression, I have just obtained information that Yang Xuyan never attend any public events, and this gives me headache. Based on Xiaodi, one persons strength, I am afraid I cannot take him. Hearing that, Xu Zilings eyebrows were knitted deeply. It was half a dayter that he spoke in heavy voice, Its a pity that tonight both Kou Zhong and I cannot spare time for a separate task. However, if one person is willing to help, capturing or killing Yang Xuyan shouldnt be a problem. Emotionally moved, Hou Xibai asked, Who is this person? Xu Zilingughed and said, Hou Xiong is able to cooperate with her, it might be something that you seek but fail to get. Ill give you three chances to guess, lets see if you could guess it. His curiosity greatly piqued, Hou Xibai said, Ziling, pleased dont torture Xiaodi! Quickly open your revered mouth and tell me! Xu Ziling said, Other than Shi Feixuan, who would have the ability to help Hou Xiong dealing with Yang Xuyan? Greatly shaken, Hou Xibai pped the table and said, I should have guessed earlier that it is she. I did not think she would alsoe here. Xu Ziling said, I will go immediately to see her. Hou Xiong may continue painting. I want to see which beauty you have not had a chance to paint yet, so that when Xiaodi see her in person, it wont be like I dont even know her name. Hou Xibai cheerfully said, In that case, Xiaodi will make an exception by painting a few stinky men! The two looked at each other and roared inughter. Nothing else needed to be said. Book 32 - 12 – Able to Meet Together Only by Fate The Dugu ns mansion house was located in the Guang De Li [lit. light virtue neighborhood] east of the West Market. The Yue Ma Bridge was precisely at the southwest square of the neighborhood block. The scale was grand, withyer uponyer of buildings, yet unlike the Sha Mansion, which was new construction mansion house. In Kou Zhongs impression, he had seen this mansion houses profile, because it upied the area far away from the other magnificent houses in the neighborhood. However, because the year of itspletion was before the sixth year of the Emperors reign, he set it aside and did not pay too much attention to it. From the Sha Mansion, this ce was only a little more than the time needed to drink a cup of hot tea away, but Kou Zhong deliberately wanted to make Dugu Feng happy, thus he pretended to be clueless. When they alighted from the carriage at the za of the main courtyard, which everybody else was already familiar with, Kou Zhong, out of habit, scrutinized the main buildings construction. Dugu Feng asked in surprise, Mo Xiansheng must have a lot of experience inndscape garden and building architecture! It was Sha Zhijing who bragged for him, Because of mutual interest with the Ministry of Works Liu Zhenghui Daren, Mo Xiansheng has made his acquaintance with him for two days and they have be close friends. Kou Zhong mused that turned out Sha Zhijing was paying attention to his business. ording to reason, Chang He should not broadcast everywhere with whom Kou Zhong had dealings with, so where did her informatione from? Perhaps when he had the chanceter he ought to inquire clearly. Dugu Feng cheerfully said, Turns out Xiansheng is an expert in this field as well. Fenger knows nothing about architecture. I wonder what Xianshengs evaluation on our Xi Ji Yuan [lit. west lodge garden] is. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Good question! Clearing his throat, he said, This is an old Sui architectural style, and it ought to be built at the beginning of Sui, hence in style, technique and materials, it still has Wei, Jin and North-South dynasties influence. Dugu Feng came to his side and said in astonishment, Xianshengs insight is very urate. So what are actually the differences with current construction? Inwardly Kou Zhong replied that perhaps only Laotianye, or perhaps Liu Zhenghui C would know; yet he blurted out an answer anyway, Each generation has distinct technique and spirit, as well as appearance C of the architecture. An expert would know in just a nce. Sha Zhijing originally thought that other than medical and diseases, he did not know anything else. This moment she suddenly had a whole new level of respect for him. She asked Dugu Feng in low voice, Your Xi Ji Yuan indeed has a long history; I thought it was a new construction. Dugu Feng replied, It was refurbished at the beginning of the Emperors eighth year. This residence building used to be cab minister Chen Gongs official residence. Chen Gong was Yang Sus trusted aide; although his official position was not high, at that time he had quite an authority and power. Kou Zhong was severely shaken, What? he blurted out. Stunned, the two women looked at him. Kou Zhong realized he had lost self-control. Fortunately this moment Dugu Feng [peak] personally came out to meet them, saving Kou Zhong from wasting his time to invent some story to exin his blunder. At the same time, he changed his mind. Now he determined to show some achievement in treating You Chuhongs asthma; otherwise, You Chuhong, this temperamental and entric old woman might not want him to continue treating her illness, and then Kou Zhong would lose the opportunity to hunt for the treasure. Xu Ziling circled around Dong Da Si once, but he was still unable to find Shi Feixuans Yu He An [jade crane nunnery]. While he was wondering inwardly, he found out that behind Dong Da Si, there was a narrow alley with forest trees on both sides covering the sky, giving up the impression that the path was leading directly into some mysterious hidden ce. Due to the falling snow, the path was covered in thick snow, so that if one did not pay attention, it would be so easy to miss it. Xu Ziling entered the alley. His feet were producing crunching noise as he walked along the snowy path. Suddenly the path opened up to a wide panorama. An imperial ancestral temple, which size was only about one quarter of Dong Da Si, appeared before his eyes. It was in and simple, without any adornment, giving the impression of a quiet and secluded ce where people could hide from the dust of the earth. Were it not for he absolutely must find Shi Feixuan, he would hate to disturb the peace of the stand-aloof-from-worldly-affairs Buddhist nuns inside the nunnery. Reaching the outer courtyard main gate, he was about to knock using the ring on the door, when he sensed that somebody inside wasing toward the gate. Xu Ziling mused, What a coincidence! Taking three steps back, he stood aside, so that whoever opened the door would not be startled by his presence standing outside the door. Creak! The door was opened a little, a man slipped out, wearing a hood that was pulled low to cover his eyes. For a moment Xu Ziling was unable to see his appearance. Both men were startled at the same time. Xu Ziling never expected that the personing out was not a Buddhist nun, but a man. The other side was startled because he never expected that someone would stand outside the door. The man looked up from under the hood. Xu Ziling also looked at him. Their eyes met. Both mens tiger-body was severely shaken. The man cried out in surprise, Ziling! Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. Not knowing whether tough or cry, he said, What a coincidence! Its Shimin Xiong. Unexpectedly it was Li Yuans second son, the King of Qin, Li Shimin. Kou Zhong put his Three Fingers Zen on the artery of You Chuhongs exposed thin-boned wrist under Dugu Feng [peak], Dugu Feng [phoenix], Sha Zhijing, Dugu Ce, and several other Dugu Familys sons, grandsons, daughter-inws and grandsons wives attentive gaze; immediately he moved his gaze to look deeply onto You Chuhongs face. This old woman, not only she did not look fiery like when they met in Luoyang, her eyes were deep, her breathing hurried and brief; she appeared to be in a lot of pain from the torment of her asthma. You Chuhong was unlike Zhang Jie Fei. If Kou Zhong was not careful, she would immediately see through what is true and what is false. Toward his mother, Dugu Feng [peak], this wily old fox, was acting like apletely filial son; deeply concerned, he asked, Mo Xiansheng, is my Niangs illness really problematic? Kou Zhong asked, When did Lao Furens asthma start? Opening her old eyes, You Chuhong, weakly and without strength, replied, It was thirty years ago. Xianshengs true qi is very refined, pure, and authentic; I wonder which family or sects internal schools true qi is it? Dugu Ce replied for him, Mo Xianshengs skill came from teachings handed down in his family; his uncle is a famous divine doctor in the south. Kou Zhong mused inwardly, Little Ce is a good kid. And then, full of confidence, he said, I wonder if Lao Furens asthma came from martial art training? You Chuhong nodded and said, Xianshengs insight is very urate. Lao Shens [lit. old body] illness was from when I trained Pifeng Zhang Fa [lit. cloak/cape staff technique] in the past, and suffered a setback. At first I did not care, plus I thought it was a momentary urrence; who would have thought that it deteriorated into an uncontroble stage? The past few days were even more exhausting. Most of Kou Zhongs internal skill and true qi came from self-study by groping in the dark, hence he knew about the channels in human body like the back of his hands. He said, Lao Furens Pifeng Zhang Fa relies mainly on the Twelve Regr Channels, with Eight Extraordinary Channels as the secondary, exactly the opposite of great majority of other internal skills that rely mainly on Eight Extraordinary Channels, and here lies the problem. Sha Zhijing humbly asked for guidance, What is the rtionship between the Twelve Regr Channels and the Eight Extraordinary Channels? Although there was nock of experts in internal schools qigong present, it could be guaranteed that no one knew how to answer this question, because everybody simply trained by following some prescribed method; they only knew how but did not know why, let alone understanding the rtionship between these two types of meridians of different nature. In this aspect, Kou Zhongs knowledge entirely came from the blind man riding a blind horse, basically by relying on introspection and analysis of his own experience. He smiled and said, The so-called extraordinary channels are Ren, Du, Chong, Dai, Yang Qiao, Yin Qiao, Yang Wei, and Yin Wei, these eight meridians. They are both not constrained by the ordinary meridians, and not restricted by the regr meridians yin and yang; hence the name extraordinary. Dugu Fengs [phoenix] eyes emitted a look of reverence; she said, Xianshengs medical theory is brilliant; it is indeed admirable. Kou Zhong seized the opportunity to show off his prowess; he said, The qi and blood in human body circtes and flows through the Twelve Regr Channels; the cyclees back to the start, maintaining normalcy. If qi and blood rush forth together, the meridians are full to overflowing, they flow into these eight channels; leaving the path and keep flowing, it bes extraordinary channel. Hey! As an analogy, consider the Regr Channels as Jianghe [could refer to Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, or simply river], while the Extraordinary Channels aske and deep pool. When the river is full to overflowing, the water flows intoke and deep pool. When the river dries up the water flows out of theke and deep pool. Both function as regtor to each other. Lao Furens asthma is due to the coordination between the Twelve Regr Channels and the Eight Extraordinary Channels became dysfunctional, the cmity reached the lung passage, over the years it manifested into this illness. Shaken, You Chuhong said, After all these years, can it still be cured? Under everybodys expectant gaze, Kou Zhong said, Lao Furen, please dont worry; with several applications of needle, feeling the way to adjust the bnce, Lao Furen then alter the cirction of the channels within your body, I guarantee that we will immediately see some result. Everybody was greatly delighted. Dugu Feng [peak] said, Fortunately we have Mo Xiansheng going out to aid the world; indeed this is the good fortune of the people under the heavens. Kou Zhong took out the nine-needle copper case, and said, After Xiaoren uses the needle, I guarantee Lao Furen will be able to sleepfortably tonight. Tomorrow I wille back to continue Lao Furens treatment. But because of an urgent matter, Xiaoren will have to leave immediately; I am asking everybodys forgiveness. Inwardly he was delighted. From You Chuhong, he would be able to pry into the secret of the Twelve Regr Channels. The great benefit to his saber technique would be difficult to estimate. Both men did not expect that they would meet face to face on a narrow path under this kind of situation. Li Shimin was the first to recover. Are you looking for Shi Guniang [different Miss]? Embarrassed, Xu Ziling nodded. He said with a wry smile, Turns outst night you have really recognized me. Li Shimin nodded. After muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Lets talk inside! Turning around, he pushed the courtyard door and took the lead to enter in. Xu Ziling followed behind him. Two Buddhist nuns were sweeping the snow umtion in the courtyard. On the doorstep of the main temple stood an old Buddhist nun, holding a string of beads in her hand. With kind brows, pleasant eyes [idiom] she greeted the two with joined palms. Li Shimin said, Chang Shan Shitai, please dont me Shimin for leaving and thening back, simply because I came across a good friend, and wish to borrow your honorable temples quiet room to talk. Chang Shan Ni [Buddhist nun] was not surprised at all, she did not even ask anything; she simply said, Two Shizhu [benefactor], please follow Lao Ni this way. She took the two around the imperial ancestral temple and into the guest room on the left side of the middle courtyard to sit, and then she quietly left. After the two were seated properly, Xu Ziling took his mask off and asked, Shi Xiaojie [regr Miss] is not here? Li Shimins eyes emitted aplicated but passionate look; shaking his head, he said, Her fairy-self went out and has note back. Nobody knew when she is returning. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, Bad! He smiled wryly again, and said, How is Shimin Xiong going to deal with us? Li Shimin sighed and said, That question ought to be asked to Jiancheng Taizi and Qi Wang Yuanji; it has nothing to do with Li Shimin. Recalling that day in Luoyang, where Li Shimin ordered his men to surround and kill him, Xu Ziling felt it was very difficult to return to the rtionship he had with Li Shimin in the past. Why did Shimin Xiong look for Shi Xiaojie? he asked, Ay! This is not an appropriate question, is it? Li Shimin shook his head and said, Ziling must not think that there is anything that you should avoid. It was because my situation is not good that I came to look for Shi Guniang to confide with her. She is the only person who could make me tranquil and even-tempered. Its just that I never expected that Ziling has such a close rtionship with her. After pondering quietly for a moment, Xu Ziling made up his mind. He said, If Shimin Xiong is willing to let the two of us move about freely in Changan, perhaps we could help Shimin Xiong dealing with the disaster pressing in on your eyshes. Emotionally moved, Li Shimin said, Does that include sitting and watching, but remaining indifferent, toward your effort to get the treasure trove? Xu Ziling returned to his calm demeanor; he smiled and said, With Shimin Xiongs out-of-this-world talent, you are still afraid that the treasure might return to Kou Zhong? We know whats slight or important, urgent or non-urgent;paratively speaking, the Duke Yangs Treasure is merely a trivial matter. Li Shimins heroic emotion welled up; heughed aloud and said, Listening to the tone of Zilings voice, it seems to me that after Kou Zhong obtains the treasure trove, Ziling will no longer participate in his Shao Shuai Army. If that is the case, then theres no harm in letting Kou Zhong taking away the treasure trove. However, Xiaodi must also dere it clearly: the day Kou Zhong seizes the treasure and leaves Changan will be the day that Xiaodi will begin to deal with him with all my strength. One word and its settled, Xu Ziling replied, Does Shimin Xiong know that you have be the next principal target of the conspiracy of numerous powers joining hands together? Astonished, Li Shimin said, Ziling came to Changan for, at most, just a few days! Howe you seem to understand Changans situation better than Xiaodi? Xu Ziling replied, This matter, start exining and its a long story. If my guess is correct, in the not-so-distant-future, there will be a big change in Changan. If Shimin Xiong does not deal with it properly, your Li Familys world will be all split up and in pieces, and forever cannot recover your strength. Li Shimins countenance changed, he said, Unexpectedly it is that serious. Xu Ziling asked, In the near future, does Shimin Xiong have any n to leave Changan to go somece else? Li Shimin shook his head and replied, Under current circumstances, even if I have a mind to go on a military campaign, Fu Huang would never allow me, and Huang Xiong [emperor elder brother] would also attempt to stop me. Thats strange, Xu Ziling said, ording to reason, even if your esteemed older brother is directly involved, it would be very difficult for them to make their move inside the city. Shaken, Li Shimin said, I understand what Ziling said. If they want to take advantage while I am out of town to deal with me, there will be a great opportunity ahead. Xu Zilings spirit was greatly roused. Li Shimin went on, Every year, the third day after the beginning of Spring, Fu Huang usually go to Mount Zhongnan to hunt, apanied by me and Yuanji, while Taizi usually stays behind to take care of Changan. On Mount Zhongnan, we usually stay at Ren Zhi Gong [lit. humane wisdom pce]. That ce does not have any defensive means; if the enemy attacks and we are not prepared, and they have enough military power, their chance of sess is quite high. That must be the enemys plot, Xu Zilingmented. Li Shimin said with a coldugh, Since I already know it, they could forget about having any chance of sess. Xu Ziling said, The implication of this matter is extremely extensive, Shimin Xiong must not treat it lightly. But if you have proper arrangement, perhaps Shimin Xiong will be able to turn the whole situation around, so much so that you might be able to ascend the Taizi position. Li Shimins eyes flickering brightly, he said, Xiaodi is listening respectfully with washed ears. Ziling please exin the rise and fall of the terrain [idiom: the whole sequence of events] one by one in its entirety, so that Xiaodi can consider it in details. Book 32 - 13 – Intimidation and Threa t When Kou Zhong arrived at Hou Xibais Duoqing Wo [Passionate Nest], Xu Ziling has not yet returned. Lei Jiuzhi and Hou Xibai were chatting idly. Kou Zhong took of his mask and tossed it onto the small table by the chair; sitting down dejectedly, he said, Wearing this thing is so ufortable. Hou Xibai agreed wholeheartedly. He said, Those who have never worn a mask will never know the happiness of not wearing a mask. But Lu Miaozi really deserved to be called the number one highly skilled person in the world; this mask can pass off as genuine, not only it could convey facial muscles expressionpletely, it also enables the skin to breathe. Otherwise it would be even more ufortable. Kou Zhongughed and said, Hou Gongzi must have a habit of looking yourself in the mirror; otherwise, how could you know that clearly? Hou Xibais handsome face turned red, he crossly said, Kou Xiong seems to be very happy to disparage me. I did look in the mirror, but it was because I have to imitate the expression and posture of Zilings Mo Wei, not because its a habit. Kou Zhong blurted outughing happily; he said, I really wanted to see whether you could always maintain your elegant, romantic, warm, cultured, confident and at ease manner. But when you are angry, you still look very good. No wonder there are so many girls liking you. Uh! Howe Ling Shao is not back yet? Lei Jiuzhi said, He went to see Shi Feixuan! Kou Zhong jumped in fright. What? he blurted out. Hou Xibai rudely said, What is there to make a fuss about? We need a martial art masters help. Outside of Ning Daoqi, who might be more qualified than she? Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Why do we need a martial art masters help? Afraid that the two would argue, Lei Jiuzhi hastily said, Xibai obtained the information that Yang Xuyan never attended public events, while tonight you and Ling Shao are up to your ears with work; therefore, we need Shi Xiaojies help. Kou Zhongs eyebrows deeply knitted, he said, Shi Feixuan is a fairy. Except for dealing with the female demon, she only exchanged a few strokes against Ling Shao in that Jade Annulus of He ns affair. In my opinion, she cant possibly be directly involved in the-sworde-the-saber-go struggle of the Jianghu. Lei Jiuzhi said, But the one we are dealing with is a demonic schools man, also this matter concerns all the people of the world; it should be a different matter altogether! Patting his chest, Kou Zhong made a pledge toward Hou Xibai, Gongzi, dont worry. Tonight, unless Yang Xuyan did note, Xiaodi will definitely snatch back the other half of Image Scroll from him. If I went missing from the banquet in the Imperial Pce, nobody would really bother to pay attention. From somewhere outside the courtyard came a burst of firecracker sound, noisy and lively, reminding them of the approaching festive day. Hou Xibai never thought that Kou Zhong would be this concerned over his other half of the Image Scroll. Instantly his view on Kou Zhong was changed greatly; he spoke gratefully, Just now Xiaodis words were offensive, I am asking for Shao Shuais forgiveness. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I was intentionally teasing you. This is perhaps my unique way to express friendly feelings. I also love to tease Ling Shao. I am sure Hou Xiong will get use to it really quickly. Ling Shao and I are people who put yiqi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice] above everything else. Your business is our business. Besides, my impression on that kid, Yang Xuyan C cannot be worse than this. Others might be afraid of him, Yang Xuyan, but to me, he is nothing! Hou Xibai said, I heard Ziling said that Yang Xuyan had suffered great loss in your hands. Kou Zhong said, That time Yang Xuyans luck was toocking, plus he underestimated me, Kou Zhong, while I will never be careless by underestimating the enemy. Therefore, the one suffer losses was naturally him. Astonished, Lei Jiuzhi said, Listening to how you usually love to exaggerate, it is very easy to think that you are pompous and arrogant, but the fact is that you are really not like that. Is that some kind of disguise? Spreading his hands, Kou Zhong said, If even that thing can be disguised, then I am really a greatly-crafty, greatly-wicked man. Hou Xibai tried to exin on his behalf, Kou Zhong only tries to make his words a bit more vivid and interesting. When Ie across a beautiful woman, my words also be even more unconstrained and free; not only spirited thought gushes forth, when ites out, it bes poetry. Kou Zhongughed and said, I wish that when Xiao Ling is taking your disguise, he wont run into Shang Xiufang. In my opinion, she has a very good impression on you! Ay! When we have timeter, I really want to learn one or two tricks from you on how to deal with girls. This moment Xu Ziling came back. Grabbing his head, he said, I just saw Li Shimin. The three sprang out of their chair in fright. What? they blurted out in chorus. Putting on his Mo Wei disguise back, Xu Ziling entered the west gate of the East Market, heading toward Xing Chang Long. In his mind he was reviewing what Hou Xibai told him about what happened these past few days. There was still nearly one sichen before the banquet at the Imperial Pce. He and Bu Jie, Bu Ting, would be picked up personally by Duan Zhixuan to be taken into the Pce City. When he nearly arrived at Xing Chang Long, suddenly he heard a female voice calling out, Gong Chenchun! Xu Ziling was shocked. He had quickly forgotten the name Gong Chenchun; he only remembered that his name was Mo Wei. Stunned, he looked up. A horse-drawn carriage galloped past him. The curtain was raised, revealing the Great Immortal Hu Fos beloved daughter Hu Xiaoxians flowery jade countenance. With a long face, she coldly said, Finally you remember your own name? Quickly get on the carriage for this Miss [Guniang]. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, Close call! If this moment the one disguised as Mo Wei was still Hou Xibai, definitely this woman would be offended and then the situation would turn bad. Currently, although the situation could not be called good, but there was still room to redeem it. Listening to the tone of his voice, she must have met Hou Xibais Mo Wei. Naturally Hou Xibai did not know her; perhaps he was even immeasurably self-satisfied thinking that even though he was wearing the mask, he still had the charm as before. She was unhappy because she was given the cold shoulder by Mo Wei, and thus Hu Xiaoxian used her Ming Tang Wos influence to investigate his background, hence she was able to wait in here for his honorable self. Having no other choice, Xu Ziling pulled the carriage door open and slipped inside. Only after he sat down by this beautys side did the carriage start to move; it traveled slowly down the street. The sound of firecrackers continued on from everywhere, the atmosphere was filled with the celebration of the New Year. Sniffing the scenting from Hu Xiaoxians tender body brought peculiar feeling in Xu Zilings heart. Her pretty face sullen, Hu Xiaoxian spoke coldly, So who are you, Mo Wei or Gong Chenchun? Xu Ziling apologetically said, That day I did not dare to greet Xiaojie, simply because Ol Gong had secret trouble; begging Xiaojies forgiveness. With fury that was difficult to calm down, Hu Xiaoxian said, You really know how to y dumb! I thought your eyes grew on your temples. Even more unexpected, you are more engrossed on women than gambling; every night you went to Shang Lin Yuan to fool around. Injustice! Xu Ziling cried inwardly, but of course he could not exin. Embarrassed, he said, Its just because bi dongzhu [(humble) my boss] loves to go to the pleasure house to enjoy the wind, flower, snow and moon. I was just chaperoning him! Hu Xiaoxian crossly said, You still say you are chaperoning? Were it not for you being particrly attentive to Shang Lin Yuans poprdy Ji Qian, how could she act happy and her heart was flipping over when she was talking about you? Xu Ziling was scared out of his wits; he and Hu Xiaoxian only had predestined affinity of meeting only one time, howe the tone of her voice was filled with intense jealousy? Naturally he did not dare to argue. Hu Xiaoxian looked at him. Laughing coldly, she said, You have nothing to say, do you? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Hu Guniang [Miss] seems to know everything about me very clearly. Hu Xiaoxian said, I already knew that you woulde to Luoyang and Changan, so I specifically notified friends who are guarding the Pass to pay particr attention to youring and going. Who would have thought that unexpectedly you were using different identity to sneak in? Tell me, you went to such great lengths, what conspiracy are you plotting? It suddenly dawned on Xu Ziling the reason why the frontier defense guarding Guanzhong had his portrait. What exnation could he possibly give her? Sighing, he said, It was because Ol Gong has some powerful enemies that I had to turn to the north from the south, and also had to change my surname and use another given name to evade the enemys eyes and ears. Without any trace of politeness, Hu Xiaoxian said, What offending-the-Heaven-and-reason thing did you do that others are so bent on giving you a hard time? Mei Ji Sina [see Book 26 Chapter 2] came to mind, Xu Ziling said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly, its hard to exin in a few words. Hu Xiaoxian said, I am not interested in minding your personal affairs; I just want to know, why you dont go to the casino? Are you afraid of running into me? Clearing his throat, Xu Ziling said, Xiaojie misunderstood! I just arrived in Changan no more than a few days ago; I am not familiar with the environment yet. Give me a couple of days, naturally I am going to pay Guniang a visit at Ming Tang Wo. [Trantors note: honestly, I dont understand why sometimes he called Xiaojie, the other time Guniang; but if I just use Miss, whatever subtle difference between the two will be lost in trantion.] Lowering her voice, Hu Xiaoxian said, If I told the Bu Family brothers of Xing Chang Long and uncovered your true identity, what might be the consequences? Xu Ziling really wanted to reply, At most I will have to waste a bit of lips and tongue to exin, but naturally he did not want to arouse her temper and her gambler instinct. If she really did tell on him, even he himself did not know what the consequences might be. Without any better option, he lowered his voice while suppressing his anger, Hu Da Xiaojie, please be magnanimous; would you let Xiaodi off? Hu Xiaoxian was very proud of herself. Pfft! she broke into tenderughter and said, Just consider you really know how to talk; no wonder you can coax that girl Ji Qian and made her so happy. Xu Ziling only wanted to get away as quickly as possible. Smiling apologetically, he said, Xiaodi still have an urgent matter to attend to; would it be possible for me to pay Guniang a visit at Ming Tang Wo another day? We can chat in details then. Hu Xiaoxians pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, Mens words, how much can be trusted? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, My words are naturally different from other mens. Otherwise, if Da Xiaojiee to pay a visit andunch a punitive campaign, Ol Gong would have to bag my food and leave before I finish eating. Hu Xiaoxian was inplete bliss. Its best that you know it, she said, Ah, Gong Ye! Xiao Nuzi [little girl] has a favor to ask you. Xu Ziling knew something was not right, but under her threat, he was unable to refuse. He spoke in defeat, As far as Xiaodis capabilities extend, and its not killing and burning, not something that will offend Heaven and reason, I will definitely do it for Da Xiaojie. Hu Xiaoxian suddenly leaned toward him. Bumping him lightly with her fragrant shoulder, she said with a giggle, Of course it is something within your capabilities. I want you to gamble the Shenxian Shou [Deity Hand] Chi Shengchuns Six-Happiness Casino until they copse, so that he wont mingle in Changan anymore. Xu Ziling looked at her in shock. This change was beyond his expectation. How was he going to deal with it? By the time Kou Zhong was back at the Sha Mansion, he only had less than half a sichen before they had to set out to the Imperial Pce. Meeting him, Sha Fu said, Mo Yes new clothes are already in your room. Shall I get two maids to wait on Mo Ye freshening up and changing your clothes? Kou Zhong said, Are you forgetting that what I am training is Hunyuan Yi Qi Tongzi Gong [lit. time immemorial (or origin of the universe) one breath virgin boy skill (or power)]? Taken aback, Sha Fu asked, Wasnt it Hunyuan Tongzi Gong? Inventing crazy nonsense, Kou Zhong replied, Theplete name is Hunyuan Yi Qi Tongzi Gong. Hey! Did you get someone to make me new clothes? Walking Kou Zhong to his bedroom, Sha Fu spoke in low voice, From selecting the material to the measurement, it was San Furen [Third Madame] who took care of it all by herself. She is most concerned over Mo Ye, oftentimes she asked me where did you, Mo Ye go. Kou Zhong almost forgot about her; a warm feeling welled up in his heart, he said, Tomorrow I will have to express my gratitude to San Furen. Sha Fu walked him to his bedroom door. He reminded him repeatedly, When Mo Ye is ready, pleasee to the main hall. Ill have someone deliver hot water for you. Before Kou Zhong entered his room, two young maids were walking past him. One of them was the Second Young Master Chenggongs beloved concubine Madame Es personal maid Yu He. When she was greeting him, she also cast him a coquettish nce, so that seeing her, his heart was itching; but he warned himself. Although he was ugly, his physique was lofty, plus he had skills, hence he received favor from womenfolk. To Yu He, someone with lowly status, if she could marry him and became his wife, she would have the hope of flying up to the top of the branch to be a phoenix. Thinking about Yu He, he could not help remembering Zhai Jiaos maidservant Chuchu, with whom Kou Zhong had sincere feeling. He wondered how Zhai Jiao was doing? He was sure Zhai Jiao would treat Susus child as her own. By this time, Little Lingzhong should be able to walk on his own using his little legs! With myriads of thoughts filling his heart, Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered in. Wanwans gentle and beautiful voice came from the inside, Wee! Shao Shuais honorable self has returned! Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Closing the door, he went straight into the inner chamber. The peerless beauty Wanwan was holding the new set of clothes. How about Wanwan wait upon Shao Shuai and help you change your clothes? she said. Displeased, Kou Zhong said, You just want to enjoy Xiaodis touching body, dont you? Hiding in my room like this, if it gets out, you will affect the innocence of this divine doctor. Wanwan still maintained her confident and calm demeanor. Putting the clothes gently back in the chair, she walked over to him and said with a smile, Shao Shuai please calm down. You promised Wanwan something; have you done it? Kou Zhong replied, Such a small thing, of course theres no problem. Demonic Emperor Relics for you, the treasure belongs to me. No need for Xu Zilings personal guarantee; the words that Laozi said has never been not counted. Stunned, Wanwan said, Demonic Emperor Relics? You knew? Kou Zhong calmly said, I already knew early on. You dont have to make an oath ording to those demonic school ghost incantations either. But I will only hand the Demonic Emperor Relics over to you after we leave the city. Youd better take the responsibility of protecting us. If Shi Zhixuan snatched it away, you must not me us. Wanwan fell into the disadvantageous position. Frowning, she asked, When are you going to get the treasure? Kou Zhong replied, You may not believe it, but until this moment, we still have not found the exact location of the treasure. Otherwise Xiaodi would take the advantage of the moment where everybody is going to the Imperial Pce for the feast to get the treasure and slip away. Do you understand? Frowning, Wanwan said, Why do I have the feeling that I shouldnt believe you? If it was not because Kou Daye still was not sure of the treasures location, today you did not need to go to the Ministry of Works and be busy until the sky turned dark and the earth ck! Astonished, Kou Zhong said, You are surely well-informed. Wanwanughed tenderly and said, Anything that happened in the Capital, dont think that you could hide it from our eyes and ears. I also know that Zilings disguise is Yong Qin. Changans Tong Xing She was setup by you in here to do undercover work. Therefore, if you are thinking of taking the treasure out and running away quietly, you must be joking. This time it was Kou Zhongs turn to fall into the disadvantageous position. He spoke angrily, Why havent you taken off my clothes and served me taking a bath? You are just standing there absent-mindedly like a bird-head only thinking about how you are going to harm me, what his grannys thing are you? There was a knock on the door. The hot water has arrived. Book 33 - 1 – Giving Up Luckily when Xu Ziling arrived at Xing Chang Long, Duan Zhixuan has not arrived yet, but Bu Jie and Bu Ting were already waiting impatiently. The real reason was that they were afraid he grew timid of the battle and thus decided not toe. After hurriedly freshening up, he came to the main hall. Duan Zhixuan had just arrived, and was talking to Bu Jie and Bu Ting, the two men. Seeing Xu Ziling came out, he said, Theres a change in n! Confused, Xu Ziling sat down by his side and asked, What changed? Duan Zhixuan replied, Originally Qin Wang decided that if Ke Dazhi challenged our Heavenly Policy Mansion, he would have Mo Laoshi to undertake the task to deal with him. But now he cancelled this n; Mo Laoshi does not need to make your move tonight. Xu Ziling was a bit baffled. Bu Ting exined, Mo Laoshi must not misunderstand; its just because the Heavenly Policy Mansion has a martial art master from the outside that had just rushed back, so another arrangement has been made. Xu Ziling immediately thought that Li Jing and Hong Funu must have returned; only he did not know which one received the order to deal with Ke Dazhis challenge. Seizing this opportunity, he said, Naturally Biren will listen and obey Gongzis instruction. Since that is the case, shall Biren not going to attend the Lunar New Years Eve celebration at the Imperial Court tonight? Duan Zhixuan apologetically said, But Qin Wang specifically instructed that Mo Laoshi must attend, so that you could observe from the side Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber Technique. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Left with no choice, he had to agree. Duan Zhixuan rose up and said, Its almost time! We need to stop by Heavenly Policy Mansion first, and then well go to the banquet together with Qin Wang. Steam was rising. With one hand holding on the edge of the huge barrel that was half full of hot water, with the other hand Kou Zhong tested the water temperature inside the barrel. Smiling, he said, Xiaodi is going to take a bath. Are you, Beauty, going to watch from the side? Hiding inside the bedroom, Wanwanughed tenderly and said, Dont make a racket, I want to sleep! Raising his eyebrows, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, In that case, be my guest! He simply took off all his clothes and went in to sit inside the barrel to bathe; he even hummed a lighthearted tune. Like a ghost Wanwan floated out of the bedroom. She could not helpughing as she said, Your singing voice is really hard on the ears. Is it a popr folksong [orig. Xiaodao, a Chinese folk song genre] from Yangzhou? You need to be careful, lest you reveal the cloven foot in here. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly. It was indeed a folksong that he eavesdropped from a prostitute when he was little at Yangzhou. But he still did not forget that Wanwan was taking advantage of looking at his naked body. Submerging his body into the barrel, he said with a frown, Its indecent that you are looking at me. I am most afraid that you would fall in love with my formidable male body, and cannot extricate yourself. And then Xiaodi will have a headache. Wanwan came to the barrel, which height reached the pit of her stomach. Looking at him, Pfft! she broke into tenderughter and said, I have never seen a manly man swinging and twisting like you; a gentleman must be magnanimous! I am already unable to extricate myself from you, there is no need to wait until this moment. Covering his private part with bath cloth, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Dont tease me! The one you are unable to extricate yourself from is Ling Shao, not Xiaodi at all. If you dont move away a little, I am going to drag you into the barrel to have a bath together with me like a pair of mandarin ducks [fig. affectionate couple]. Dont me me for not warning you. Laughing indifferently, Wanwan said, The time that I spent thinking about you is as much as the time I spent thinking about Ziling. You can say whatever you like! Ay! But you, this kid, are astute in big things, but careless and confused in little things. Do you know how I found out that Mo Shen Yi is you, Kou Shao Shuai? Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Where did I show the w? Wanwan was about to speak. Suddenly she showed an alert expression, and spoke in low voice, Someonesing! Finished speaking, she disappeared into the bedroom like a wisp of smoke. Compared to her, Kou Zhong was a split secondte in hearing the approaching footsteps; inwardly he knew that in this aspect he was still a hair inferior to her. And then he heard Chang Hes voice calling out from outside the door, Xiaodi and Mei Xiong are here to apany Mo Xiong into the Pce. Before Kou Zhong had any chance to mutter that he was taking a bath, Mei Xun already pushed the door and entered in, and said with augh, Huh? Turns out Mo Xiansheng is ... ha! Please forgive our offense in disturbing you. Unexpectedly he simply pushed the door and entered without any trace of politeness. Kou Zhong was startled and angered at the same time. Fortunately because of Wanwan, he did not take off his mask; otherwise this time his original identity would be fully revealed. However, he whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille [idiom]; Mei Xun definitely was still suspicious toward him, therefore, he especiallye to visit to verify the fact, to look for any w in him. Seeing Kou Zhongs robust male body in the bath, Chang He was greatly apologetic for inconveniencing him; he rebuked Mei Xun, Hey! Xiaodi said we are going to wait in the main hall for Mo Xiong! Mei Xun was scrutinizing Kou Zhong with his sharp gaze; if he was hurrying in putting on his mask, or perhaps he was putting on disguise on his face, it would be strange indeed if he did not show any w. Although inwardly Kou Zhong was dying to jump out of the barrel to pinch Mei Xun to the death, on the surface he had no choice but to put on happy and pleased expression, as he said, Never mind that. Mei Xiong is giving Xiaoren such a face, the honor indeed belongs to Xiaoren. He mused in his heart that if Mei Xun saw his perfect physique, then he, Kou Zhong, would have nothing to hide anymore. Mei Xuns eyes looked around everywhere, but his mouth casually said, Xiaodi felt familiarity at first sight with Mo Xiansheng, hence when I came across Chang Jiangjun on the street, knowing that he was going to the Pce together with Mo Xiansheng, I decided to join in the fun ande with him here. Finally his eyes fell on Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well hanging on the wall. His pair of handsome eyes immediately brightened several times over. Slyly walking over toward the hanging saber, he said, Turns out Mo Xiansheng is an expert in using saber. With Mo Xianshengs good taste, this saber must be an extraordinary article; I wonder if youll let Xiaodi broaden my horizons. Inside the barrel, Kou Zhongs entire body immediately emitted hot sweats; his soul flew away and scattered. Although the scabbard and the hilt were heavily wrapped in oilcloth, so that the outside appearance looked shabby, but the real content was difficult to hide, especially since this was the unique treasured saber with which his name shook thend under heaven. Chang Hes brows were greatly knitted, knowing that Mei Xuns suspicions toward Kou Zhong had not been satisfied, hence he came with the specific purpose in mind to investigate Kou Zhongs foundation. But Chang He knew that he could not do anything about it. Mei Xun was this presumptuous, naturally because there was the King of Qi, Yuanji, supporting him behind his back. Kou Zhong felt like he was a convict waiting for the execution. His scalp went numb, he watched helplessly at Mei Xun fetching the Moon in the Well from the wall. Momentarily hepletely lost his mind. Qiang! Without waiting for Kou Zhongs permission, Mei Xun pulled the saber out of its scabbard. This was the second time Xu Ziling went to Yeting Pce. In the pceplex itself, actually there was not a single pce hall called the Heavenly Policy Mansion. It was just because Li Shimin had rendered meritorious service that he was bestowed the title Tian Ce Shang Jiang [lit. heavenly policy (or n/scheme) upper/top general (admiral/marshal ... you get the idea)]. Thereupon the Cheng Qian Pce Hall, which was the seat of his administration, was called the Heavenly Policy Mansion. The Heavenly Policy Mansion itself was arranged like an ordinary rich and influential familys hall, yet it was real and unpretentious. The main seat was at the northern end of the hall; to its left and right were eighteen chairs. Behind the main seat was tworge banners crossing each other. One was the Great Tangs g, the other was Li Shimins Tian Ce Shang Jiangmand banner. The east and west, two walls, were covered in strange weapons and unusual devices of all shapes and sizes both from the Central ins and from abroad, creating some kind of horses-galloping-over-the-battleground imagery, mighty and terrifying grandeur, which left profound impression in Xu Zilings heart. By the time Xu Ziling, following Duan Zhixuan and the others, entered the Heavenly Policy Mansion, Li Shimin was already sitting on the north seat, chatting with various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion. His appearance was poised and at ease. upying the chief seat on Li Shimins right was Du Ruhui, followed by Hou Junji, Chai Shao, Luo Shixin, Shi Wanbao, Liu Dewei, Pang Yu, and several civil and military officials whom Xu Ziling did not recognize. On the chief seat to the left was surprisingly Li Jing, and then Hong Funu, Li Shiji C Shen Luoyans husband who was bestowed the family name Li, Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jing De, and so on. But he did not see Shen Luoyan. As they entered, everybodys eyes were cast on them. Li Jings tiger-body slightly trembled; he immediately recognized Xu Ziling. It was only then did Xu Ziling remember that in Luoyang, he has had this Scar-faced Guest mask on when he saw Li Jing. But this moment it was already toote for regrets. Evidently Li Shimin thought very highly of this Mo Wei character; unexpectedly he stood up to personally greet and wee him. Because of him, the Bu Family brothers also enjoyed the glory. After some polite greetings and chitchats, Bu Jie, Bu Ting, and Xu Ziling were seated on the empty seats at the end of Li Jings row. Because thest seat was the seat that Duan Zhixuan was striving for, inwardly Bu Jie and Bu Ting also felt honored. After serving tea to everybody, Li Shimin suddenly shook his head and said with a sigh, This afternoon Fu Huang urgently summoned Taizi Dianxia, Qi Wang and this king to have an audience with him. In front of us he ordered the Ministry of Works to, after the Spring Festival, immediately start the work of sealing all the gateways connecting the Yeting, East Pce, and Taiji Pce. What do you think abut this matter? After he finished saying these words, the entire Heavenly Policy Mansion immediately fell silent that the crow and peacock made no sound. Everybody you looked at me I gaze at you, but nobody dared to speak even half a word. This matter concerned Li Yuan; who would dare to speak careless words? Of everybody present, only Xu Ziling grasped the deep meaning behind Li Shimins remark. A moment ago, at Yu He An, he had put Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan, two major demonic persons, via Ke Dazhi and Yang WenGan, exploiting Jiancheng, Yuanji C plotting against him, on the tray, which had touched Li Shimin greatly. Li Shimin was the kind of person who did big things. He had led many years of career in military campaign, so that he understoodpletely that the victors would be the king, while the losers would be the bandits, that in the life and death battle to determine victory, there must be no ce for excessive tendency to clemency [idiom: soft-hearted]. His intention to kill Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong in Luoyang precisely represented this aspect, that once he saw the goal clearly, he would be hard-hearted and would not rest until his target was achieved. This was the prerequisite of every sessfulmander-in-chief. Otherwise he would be eliminated. Kou Zhong also had this kind of character and traits. By now, Li Shimins heart toward Jiancheng, Yuanji, two men, had already died, because this war was no longer limited to internal strife within the imperial court, but it involved themon people of the world, even the outside tribes and the demonic school. But Li Shimin still shared Li Yuans vision and fantasy for the future; particrly Li Yuan suddenly sealing the passageways from the east and west, two pces C leading to the Taiji Pce in the middle, has ignited his hope. Hence the reason he was making this remark. On one hand, he wanted to hear the crowds opinion, but more importantly, he wanted to test everybodys reaction. After a spell of unnatural silence, Li Shiji, who changed his surname from Xu to Li, cleared his throat and said, Could this be a warning from Huangshang? Inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly astonished. He never thought that the first to respond would be Li Shiji, who had just joined the Heavenly Policy Mansion. But then he immediately understood. Li Shiji was really a formidable chess piece that Li Shimin was using to deal with Li Mi and Li Jiancheng. After Li Mi threw his lot to the House of Tang, he relied on Jiancheng to fight Li Shimin; naturally he harbored evil intentions, hoping to split apart the House of Tang, or even to remove and rece it. However, Li Shimin was not without any way to cope with it either; that is, he took Li Shiji, who no longer had great hopes toward Li Mi, into his employment, so that Li Mis remaining power was split up one step further. Since Li Mis troops were defeated, Li Mis undefeated legend was shattered. His prestige fell to the lowest point. And by the time he surrendered to the House of Tang, already all the overlords vying for the world from all directions did not regard him as a top figure anymore. On the contrary, Li Shiji, who led Li Mis remaining troops and generals guarding Hebei to fight Wang Shichong, had his prestige soared. Not only the outstanding heroes all over the world had a whole new level of respect for him, it even made him obtaining Li Mis power, as well as bing his substitute within the Wagang Army. Even among the generals of the House of Tang, he was also an influential figure. Whether Liu Wuzhou wanted to go down south, or perhaps Dou Jiande wanted toe to the east, they must break through the defense line that he guarded first. It was precisely because of his special position, plus because he was the onlooker who sees clear while the person on the spot is baffled [idiom] C that he was the first toment. Chai Shao spoke heavily, What does Huangshang want to warn about? Just by looking at this Kou Zhongs number one rival in loves expression, one could tell that his rtionship with Li Shiji was not too good. With a slight smile, Li Shiji, indifferently and calmly, replied, Huangshang is warning people with disloyalty in their hearts not to act blindly without thinking, because by this action Huangshang is showing that he is not without vignce. None of the people present was not emotionally moved. With a smile on his face, Li Shimin said, Shiji and this kings views agree without prior consultation. Who can tell this king why Fu Huang did not issue the decree early, he did not issue the decreete, but the moment the Spring Festival is about to arrive, he grandly and seriously issue the decree this afternoon? Clearing his throat, Du Ruhui said, Is it possible to discuss this matterter? One after another everybody echoed what he said. Although Li Shimin appeared to be wishing to continue, he did not insist; turning toward Li Jing, who all along remained silent, he said, If Ke Dazhi goes against our expectation by not issuing any challenge, should we take the initiative by striking first? Listening to this, Xu Ziling praised him inwardly. Li Shimin was worthy to be called a chief talent as themanding officer of the joint armed force; he unceasingly shot out questions to encourage his subordinates to use their brains. If it was pleasant to hear, he would take their suggestion and use it to verify and revise his own firm view. Before Li Jing could respond, Zhangsun Wuji already answered, I think if we do not have one-hundred-percent confidence, it would not be appropriate to lightly initiate a battle. If we are unfortunate and suffer defeat, the harm to our Heavenly Policy Mansion will be even more difficult to make up. Zhangsun Wujis analysis was very insightful; at the same time, it was obvious that this martial art master, who ranked within the top three masters of the Heavenly Policy Mansion, who had suffered defeat under Ke Dazhis hands, was still wary, as well as still having deep misgivings C toward Ke Dazhi. In fact, this kind of using martial art to make friends that Ke Dazhi used to issue challenge with evil intention C has dealt a heavy blow toward the Heavenly Policy Mansions prestige, hence it was necessary for Li Shimin to work out a strategy to deal with it. Yuchi Jingde added, Jingde is in favor of Zhangsun Jiangjuns [general] opinion. Furthermore, I think that even if Ke Dazhi issued challenge tonight, Li Jiangjun or Li Furen [Madame Li] must not take up the challenge either. Otherwise, if we let Ke Dazhi prevail one more time, he would proim everywhere that he had defeated the Heavenly Policy Mansions generals from top to bottom. Letting out a cold snort, Hong Funu said, Supposing it was us who won, and then what? Wouldnt it dampen their Chang Lin Armys might? Tonight, let the Red Whisk undertake the task [reminder: Hong Funu means red whiskdy]; I want to see if he, Ke Dazhi, really have three heads and six arms. Li Shiminughed calmly and said, As for who is going to undertake this task, or not, let us talk about itter. His tiger-eyes turned to look at Xu Ziling, he said cordially, Mo Laozi, what do you think? Please feel free to speak out, no need to have any scruples, just consider it chatting about domestic trivia. Of course Xu Ziling did not dare to respond with lengthy discourse; pretending to be humble, he said, Due to Biren being an outsider, even if I lost this battle tonight, the blow toward the Heavenly Policy Mansion should not be too grave. Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, No! We must not lose. Standing up abruptly, he went down the steps, and walked slowly with his hands behind his back. Throwing his head back, heughed loudly and said, I never thought that I, Li Shimin, am not afraid of any battle with magnificent army of thousands of men and horses on the outside, but am baffled by a tiny, insignificant one-on-one duel in here. Everybody revealed an ashamed look. When he was in the middle of the hall, Li Shimin suddenly stopped and stood still. His pair of eyes flickering brightly, he said coldly, Gentlemen [orig. qing C term used by the emperor for his subject], dont ever think that sess or failure of this kind of two-person battle will have nothing to do with the general situation. In fact, toward our Heavenly Policy Mansions prestige, morale, and confidence, it will have a serious influence. Xu Ziling agreed from the bottom of his heart. Because of Li Shimins unrivalled military achievement, the Heavenly Policy Mansion has established supremely perfect image among the Great Tangs army and civilians. But Ke Dazhi, relying on one skill Sandstorm Saber Technique, wanted to make a dent on this originally unblemished image. This side vanishing that side flourishing, Chang Lin Armys prestige therefore would rise. If Li Shimin did not try to remedy this, to redeem his reputation, in the struggle against Jiancheng, Yuanji, he would be forced to be in the disadvantageous position. Under his doted imperial concubines and lowly peoples incitement, Li Yuans impression on Li Shimin was getting worse, even though he was still unable to control Li Shimin, also because he was constrained by circumstances. But once this situation was reversed, the consequences were certainly hard to fathom. Li Jing sprang up from his chair and threw himself kneeling on the ground. Qin Wang, he called in clear voice, Please let Li Jing battle Ke Dazhi tonight. One after another everybody present, civilian ministers and military leaders alike, left their seat and kneeled down. Xu Ziling and the two Bu brothers had no choice but to blindly follow their lead and kneeled on the ground. Li Shimins speech had inspired everybody so that they were brimming with the fighting spirit; they were all willing to die for him. Returning to his throne, Li Shimin said, Gentlemen [qing, see above], please rise. After everyone was seated, Li Shimins flickering eyes swept across each one, with a hint of smile brimming with confidence on his face. He spoke shrewdly, Ke Dazhi is the Eastern Tujues most prominent martial art master of the new generation; only Ba Fenghan could bepared to him. However, even if he could defeat Heavenly Policy Mansion peoplepletely, it does not mean that he is without a rival in the Central ins. Everybody, Xu Ziling included, was greatly astonished. Judging from the tone of Li Shimins voice before, the battle tonight could only be won and must not end in defeat. But from the tone of his speech just now, it sounded like losing was not a big deal. Hong Funu said, Qin Wang, please let Li Jing go out to battle; he surely will not disappoint Qin Wangs expectation. Pang Yu joined in, Among our Heavenly Policy Mansions generals, Li Jiangjuns Bloody Battle Ten Styles could easily be considered the chief. Only he can redeem our face. Please Qin Wang give him your permission. One after another the crowd nodded in agreement. The atmosphere was solemn, the fighting spirit was exuberant. Li Shimins gaze fell on Xu Zilings face, he spoke in heavy voice, Mo Laoshi has fought hand to hand against Ke Dazhi; exactly what is your odds of victory? Inwardly Xu Ziling replied not even half a part [i.e. 5%], simply because the one fighting hand-to-hand against Ke Dazhi was Hou Xibai and not him; and Hou Xibai, because he did not dare to use the Fan of Beauty, his unique schools weapon, to fight him, his power was greatly diminished, plus it gave Ke Dazhi a lot of advantage. However, he simply had to answer Li Shimins question. He said, Victory or defeat is only fifty-fifty. More than half of the crowd present revealed an expression showing that they were thinking that he was too boastful. If Xu Ziling made that remark as himself, no one would dare to doubt it, so much so that they might praise him for being too modest. But as Mo Wei, naturally it was another matter altogether. Especially Pang Yu, Zhangsun Wuji, and Yuchi Jingde, three men who had fought hand to hand against Ke Dazhi; they felt that he was overestimating his capabilities. Only Li Jing was well aware that among the people present, he was the most qualified person to make that remark. Letting out a longugh, Li Shimin said, Very well! Since Mo Laoshi has the confidence and the guts, this king will keep our original intention of letting Mo Laoshi go out to battle Ke Dazhi. Li Jiangjun, do you understand this kings intention? It suddenly dawned on everybody that Li Shimin was using a roundabout way to exin one thing, which was that the Heavenly Policy Mansion could not afford to lose another battle. By letting Mo Wei, this outsider, to go out to battle, even if he was defeated, the Heavenly Policy Mansions fame for fighting prowess would not be brought down to the point that it waspletely lost. The most formidable part of Li Shimins n was that he kept everybodys opinion in bnce; he was unifying different voices and encouraging morale. Otherwise, if he only epted one suggestion, those people whose ideas were not epted would not ept wholeheartedly. Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde were not proponent of this battle; furthermore, they could not ept that an outsider would represent them to battle. But after listening to Li Shimins speech, they felt that having Mo Wei, this outsider to go out to battle was proper and to be expected as a matter of course, and worth a try instead. Sincerely and in good faith, Li Jing said, Li Jing understands. This is indeed the best option. Li Shimin rose to his full height and said with a smile, So be it. Tonight we will depend on Mo Laoshis ability! Xu Ziling knelt on the ground and spoke in bright and clear voice, Xiaoren surely will not disappoint Qin Wangs expectation. The crowd roared their approval, the morale was extremely high. Book 33 - 2 – Cutting Across the Public Square Kou Zhong closed his eyes, while secretly amassing his power at the time. Right now he really wished he could eat Mei Xuns flesh and drink his blood, to vent his resentment for having his overall grand n destroyed by him. Surprisingly though, he did not hear anybody speaking. Opening his eyes, Kou Zhong only saw Mei Xun was showing the saber to Chang He, saying, I bet you that this is the fine steel saber that Jiangnan Lao Dao [the Old Saber of Jiangnan] forged with his own hands; if you dont believe me, lets ask Mo Xiansheng. Kou Zhong nearly wanted to grab his head; the saber gleaming and flickering in Mei Xuns hands was definitely not the Moon in the Well. Could it be that Wanwan really cared about him that she came earlier to swap his treasured saber with a fake one? He felt as if he had just woken up from a nightmare. Immediately his entire body rxed. Slipping down to sit in the barrel, he smiled wryly and said, Two Dage, could you take the saber outside and examine it carefully there? Xiaoren is going to get out butt-naked to put on my clothes! Xu Ziling followed Li Shimin and the Heavenly Policy Mansion civilian ministers and military leaders cutting across the public square separating the Pce City and the King City. Immediately he was dumbstruck. Just now he entered the Yeting Pce via the back entrance, hence he did not see the scene on this side. The Lunar New Years Eve banquet has not yet begun, but all preparation was ready. The first thing that made his eyes lighting up was antern wheel about fifteen zhang high built right in the middle of the public square, wrapped in multicolored silk brocade, with countless coloredntern hanging on it, dazzling the vast area of the public square, like seven-colored light tree with ten thousand beams of multicolored sunlight [of sunrise or sunset], so that the splendor of the colorednterns arranged on both sides paled inparison. On either side of the Cheng Tian Gate leading into the Pce City, both left and right, there were firecrackers towers, which height reached twenty zhang. He could imagine the shing fire and the exploding firecrackers when these were ignitedter; a brilliant, glorious, and warm atmosphere. On both sides of thentern wheel, more than a dozen stages were set up for various types of entertainment, extending all the way to the ends of the square, on the east and the west. The performers: singing and dancing troupe and their apanists, jugglers, animal acts, magic show, ethnic dancers, et cetera, were in all stages of preparation by the elevated tforms, waiting for the arrival of the auspicious time to begin their show. The most eye-catching performers were a group of more than a hundred kids, looked to be around ten years old, wearing crimson headband and ck clothes, their hands were holdingrge drums, as they stood around a master dancer wearing a mask with four huge golden-colored eyes on his head, holding a spear and a shield in his hands. There were also twelve men wearing ferocious beast masks, gathering in front of the Cheng Tian Gate, waiting. Noticing that Xu Ziling was unable to take his eyes off this group of performers, Bu Jie whispered excitedly on his ear, They are going to perform the driving off the malicious and evil spirits from the previous year to meet the Great Nuoxi [Nuo (exorcism) opera, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuo_opera] of the new year, with the children as the Changzi [the ghost of someone devoured by a tiger who helps the tiger devour others]. The master dancer is ying the Fang Xiang Min [I believe it is a typo; ought to be Fang Xiang Shi (ritual exorcist), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fangxiangshi]. I have seen it once in Luoyang; it was extremely brilliant and lively! Xu Ziling mused that although Bu Jie has been in Changan for many years, it seemed like this was the first time he had the opportunity to enter the Pce on Lunar New Years Eve. This moment there were several thousands of visitors gathered on the square, mainly the House of Tangs government officials with their wives and children, but there were also local big merchants, as well as diplomatic envoys and barbarian merchants from abroad. Whether it was the pce maid, the officials wife or children, or the singing and dancing female performer, everybody was dressed like a lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze, in gauzed open-work silk, flowing embroidered brocade, brilliant pearl and green jade, and full makeup, creating a rich blend of color and smell, enhancing the unbounded tenderness and glorious beauty of the Lunar New Years Eve banquet that night. On the stage by the entrance to the public square from the Heavenly Street, two groups of musicians were already ying. They repeatedly yed Taiping Le [peace and security joy (or music)], Chuxi Le [lunar new years eve], and other famous festive tunes with Xiao [flute] melody and the ringing of bells and drums, brimming with the ushering-out-the-old, greeting-the-new atmosphere between the Lunar New Years Eve and the New Years Day. From among the nobilities of Wang [king/prince] rank, Li Shimin was the first to arrive, immediately attracting the various groups who were chatting and joking with each other toe over to wish him a happy New Year. Just by looking at this, it was obvious how much Li Shimin obtained popr support, albeit Jiancheng and Yuanji pushing him aside and intentionally alienating him. As a result, the Heavenly Policy Mansions party was also dispersing; everybody was scattering around, looking for people they were familiar with to chat. Shortly afterwards, Xu Ziling realized that Bu Ting and Bu Jie also disappeared to nobody-knows-where. However, he felt his ears pure and peaceful instead [idiom: staying away from the filth and unrest of the world]. This moment Li Jing came over, pulled his sleeve, and said with a sigh, Lets move aside and talk, shall we? The City of Changan became the city without the night. Each and every family was decorated withnterns and colored banners. The maidens and young children who normally hide inside the house were pouring out into the street to wee the approaching holiday. The sound of firecrackers was ringing nonstop. Affluence families were even opening their doors and preparing a feast, allowing anybody passing by toe in and eat and drink. Kou Zhong rode on the carriage together with Chang He, Mei Xun, and the Sha Familys First Young Master Sha Chengjiu, three men. Thetter asked, Whats this sweet smelling fragrance? Chang He asked in surprise, Wasnt Luoyang like this as well? In Changan, every Lunar New Years Eve, the Pce lighted Chenxiang [Aquria agallocha (Agarwood)] and Tanmu [sandalwood] in a bonfire, which will burn until daybreak, so that the scent permeated the entire city! Kou Zhong was speechless. They must be burning a lot of incense wood? he asked. Mei Xunughed and said, At least a hundred carts of incense. Just by looking at Mei Xuns expression this moment, Kou Zhong knew that his suspicions on him hadpletely gone. A moment ago, when he got out of the bath barrel to return to his room to change clothes, Wanwans fragrant tracks already disappeared, hence he did not have any chance to ask whether she did swap his Moon in the Well with the fake article for him. For Kou Zhong,pared to having his identity uncovered, losing the Moon in the Well, which he was ustomed to, was merely a trivial matter. The two carriages joined the traffic heading toward the Vermilion Bird Gate, the main entrance to the Pce. Since the Imperial Bodyguards at the gate must verify the identity of the banquet guests one by one, they could not move faster. Kou Zhong asked Mei Xun, What are the arrangement and the program in tonights banquet? Mei Xun pushed the boat with the current [idiom: to take advantage of the situation for ones own benefit]; he said, On this, Chang Daren is more clear than Xiaodi. Chang He said, Based on usual practice of previous years, we should have banquet first and danceter. The banquet is the Taiji Pces courtyard banquet and standing banquet held in the public square. After all, the seats in the Taiji Pce are limited, only highly qualified people could attend. The standing banquet could amodate the remaining numerous guests. Frankly speaking, the standing banquet is much more fun than the banquet at the pce courtyard. Not only it is more rxed and livelier, there are also dancing, music, and a hundred other shows to liven things up. Sha Chengjiu asked, The dance you are talking about, is that the Great Nuo Dance to exorcise the demons? Precisely the Great Nuo Dance, Chang He replied, The dance will start at the xu hour [7-9pm], andst until the zi hour [11pm-1am, midnight]. The Nuo Dance chases the gues from the Pce one by one; it will be repeated three times, thest one will use torches to send the gues and inauspicious demons out of the Pces gate, and then the torches will be cast into the Yong An Canal at the Yue Ma Bridge, so that the gues and demons will never turn over. At the same time, the moment we enter the zi hour, the two firecracker towers will be ignited. The sound of firecrackers will spread throughout the city, the sh and the smoke will soar into the sky; very spectacr. Afterwards Huangshang will drive out of the Pce and circle around the city, to wee the arrival of the New Years Day. Listening to that, inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly delighted. ording to Chang He, the banquet ought to finish before the Great Nuo Dance on the xu hour. By that time the Pce would be in confusion, so that if he, this fake divine doctor went missing, it should not attract anybodys attention. As long as Chang He did not go looking for him, he should be all right. Xiaoren loves to enjoy the excitement the most, he spoke in low voice, Is it possible for me to skip the courtyard banquet in the Pce? Xiaoren is serious. If he asked that question before Mei Xun examined his saber, it would definitely add more suspicions. But this moment Mei Xun only felt that Kou Zhong was being honest and showing his true nature. Laughing, he said, If Mo Xiansheng skipped the courtyard banquet, Shengshang and Niangniang would be disappointed. Chang He nodded and said, This matter, Xiaodi cannot bear the responsibility. Mo Xiong, just do Xiaodi a favor: as long as you make an appearance for a moment, Xiaodi will try to find an excuse so that Xiansheng could leave early. His objective was reached, immediately Kou Zhong was bursting with joy. He and Hou Xibai agreed to try as much as possible to dy the Tong Xing Shes New Years Eve family dinner until after the xu hour. Therefore, as long as he could get away from the courtyard banquet in the Pce early, they would have plenty of time to deal with Yang Xuyan. As for Xu Zilings battle against Ke Dazhi, he was not worried at all; no matter how formidable Ke Dazhi was, it would still be very difficult for him topare to the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. Dealing with him, Xu Ziling ought to be handling a butchers cleaver with ease [idiom: to do something skillfully and easily]. Everybody all around was happy and excited, brimming with an ushering-out-the-old, greeting-the-new holiday atmosphere. But for Li Jing and Xu Ziling, it was like they existed in a different dimension. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling asked, Li Dage is talking to me like this, arent you afraid people might be suspicious? Li Jing spoke heavily, They might think that you and I are researching a way to deal with Ke Dazhi. Ay! Ziling, do you realize that you are putting me in a very difficult position? Xu Ziling said, I wonder if Dage is aware of my other identity, Yong Qin? Stunned, Li Jing asked, What Yong Qin? Inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly astonished, realizing that Li Shimin concealed his meeting with him to even the closest of his subordinates. This was probably due to his cautiousness, but it was more likely that he did not dare to trust anybody. After exining everything to Li Jing, Xu Ziling said, Dage, please set your heart at ease. We have a secret agreement with Qin Wang; for each day that we have not taken the Duke Yangs Treasure away, there will still be friendly and cooperative rtionship between us. Li Jings countenance rxed slightly. Knitting his brows, he asked, Xiao Zhong agrees to help Qin Wang just like that? Xu Ziling replied, The Eastern Tujue and the Demonic School are ourmon enemies; besides, who would want to see the dreadful situation of foreign invasion and the evil way going on the rampage? Hey! Has Tuli returned home, safe and sound? Letting out a cold snort, Li Jing replied, Of course he is back safe and sound; otherwise, how could we withdraw and return? We sent him off straight to the northern frontier, had him meet with his nsmen, with Fu Qian Wangzi, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao escorted him for a bit longer, but because we were worried about the situation in Changan, we turned back earlier. The two of you slipped away one by one, your Saozi [sister-inw] threw me a temper for several days. Xu Ziling apologetically said, Whats done is done. Li Dage, please understand our difficulties. Li Jing sighed and said, How could I not understand? Actually, you two were willing to protect Tulis life with all your strength, Qin Wang was extremely grateful. Qin Wang has always been someone who aplishes big things but does not bother about small things. Whatever it is that he is doing, he cant possibly do a slovenly job. But whenever he is mentioning you two, he is always hesitant and cannot make decision, and seems to be in a very difficult position. Ay! Tell me, what should I say? Xu Ziling honestly said, Li Dage need not be worried. The Duke Yangs Treasure is just like flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in theke [idiom: an unrealistic rosy view]; our chance of getting it out is more and more remote. As long as Kou Zhongs treasure hunt operation failed, I might be able to force him to abandon his great endeavor of striving for the world. And then Dage wont have to be in quandary. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Li Jing said, How can I help you? His heart was moved, Xu Ziling said, It is highly possible that Chi Shengchun is Xiang Guis eldest son. Currently Xiang Yushan is disappearing without any trace, but in secret he is still engaged in the offending-Heaven-and-reason shady business of human trafficking. We want to lure him out and topletely destroy their evil family business. Perhaps Li Dage could lend us a hand. Li Jing was stunned. Chi Shengchun actually belongs to the Xiang Family? he asked, It is indeed beyond my expectation. But the rtionship between Chi Shengchun and Li Yuanji is very close. ording to Heavenly Policy Mansions intelligence, half of the Six-Happiness Casinos profit goes into Li Yuanjis coffer. It is really not easy to shake him. Xu Ziling was about to speak when he saw in the distance a lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze [gorgeously dressed woman] was waving at him. Fixing his gaze to look, unexpectedly it was the master gambler, the Shang Lin Yuans famous courtesan Ji Qian. He could not help groaning inwardly. Casting her a nce, Li Jing asked in surprise, Whos that? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling replied, Its the trouble that Hou Xibai, that kid, attracted. I wonder if Li Dage could do me a favor? Li Jing sighed and said, Speak up! Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, Later, when I go out to battle Ke Dazhi, regardless of victory or defeat, I would pretend to receiving internal injury. I need Dage to think of a way to personally take me out of the Pce, so that I can take the time to deal with Yang Xuyan. Li Jing gave his consent, turned around, and left. No sooner said than done, Ji Qian floated over like a butterfly. Grabbing his sleeve, she forcefully pulled him to the side. Her powdered face was pulled taut, she was seething in anger, Whats your rtionship with that girl [yatou C used deprecatingly] Hu Xiaoxian? Why did you get on her carriage and ride in a circle around the East Market? Xu Ziling cried, Bad! inwardly; how should he answer this question? Hou Xibai was indeed a good friend. Kou Zhong and his party got off the carriage at the public square behind the Vermillion Bird Gate and continued on foot to cross the square. Kou Zhong took this opportunity to ask Chang He, Is there any etiquette we have to observe in the pce courtyard banquet? Will I sit next to you? Chang Heughed. Dont worry! he said, Even if you, LaoGe break any court etiquette, definitely no one will dare to me you. Early this morning Zheng Gonggong received special order to see me. He instructed me to make you feel at home. It can clearly be seen how Zhang Niangniang is showing you special attention. Later on I only need to tell Zheng Gonggong that you, Laoxiong, would love to go to the square to enjoy the festivities, I am sure he will make the arrangement. There wont be any problem at all. Kou Zhong thought that if Chang He wasing with him, it would still be difficult for him to get away. Thereupon he sounded out, I can go alone to enjoy the fun. Chang Xiong need note with me. How could I do that? Chang He replied, Tonight, we, two brothers, must party until daybreak; we are not going home before we are drunk, well pass the festive day together. Kou Zhong cried, Not good! inwardly, yet he had no way to refuse Chang Hes excessive friendliness. This moment Mei Xun, leaving Sha Chengjiu, Sha Chenggong, two brothers behind, came to Kou Zhongs other side and said, Since Mo Xiansheng is also a martial art master, you must not miss the brilliant martial art duel in tonights pce courtyard feast. Pretending to be stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Isnt the feast tonight to celebrate the beginning of Spring? Plus isnt there prohibition inside the Pce? How could people fight desperate battle in it? Chang He replied, This is Huangshangs original family, the Li ns tradition. Every celebration of festive day is a good day topete, to pit oneself against each other. The participants only touch on the opponent and stop; there wont be any serious injury or bloodshed. It is precisely because of our Great Tangs illustrious and flourishing martial style that the Great Tangs military can be unrivalled under the heavens. Kou Zhong assumed an air of having just received an enlightenment; he asked, Will Mei Xiong personallye down to the arena to y a round or two? By this time Mei Xun already considered him someone from the Crown Prince Jianchengs side; not concealing anything, he said, Tonight, Taizi Dianxia might send someone out to challenge the Heavenly Policy Mansions troops. Ay! If I were Qin Wang, I would also have big headache. Apart from Li Jing and Hong Funu, all the others are the other sides defeated generals. Chang He said, I have seen with my own eyes Li Jings Bloody Battle Ten Styles; it is indeed a first-ss formidable saber technique. Butpared to Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber Technique, I am afraid it is still half a notch inferior. Pretending to be an amateur, Kou Zhong said, If the difference is so slight, plus it is not really a battle to determine life or death, cant they just fight to a draw and be done with it? Mei Xunughed and said, Even in the game of chess, slight difference can make one having his hands and feet bound and unable to do anything, much less martial artspetition contending for supremacy. Martial art masters in attendance are as numerous as the cloud, Huangshang himself is a big expert in martial art study. Just by looking at a few moves, he could immediately tell whos superior and whos inferior. Huh! Speaking of the devil [orig. dont talk about people in the daytime, dont talk about ghost in the nighttime], isnt that Ke Xiong? Following his gaze, the two saw Ke Dazhi, apanied by a cute beauty, strolling among the crowd, in an ample-aspiration-full-of-confidence manner. Taking a closer look, Kou Zhong recognized the delicately pretty girl by Ke Dazhis side; who else but Xier? This moment Ke Dazhi also saw them, so he steered Xier to walk toward them. Kou Zhong looked back to cast a quick nce toward Sha Chenggong. He saw the anger on his face that made the blue veins appear, his eyes shot hatred out of jealousy. Book 33 - 3 – Confirming the Spy Within Xu Ziling was definitely not Hou Xibai, hence he did not understand Ji Qians temperament. Moreover, he was afraid to say a wrong thing, and then she might find out that he was an impostor. Thereupon he only said, She and I had the predestined affinity to meet outside the Pass one time; nothing more than that! With a cold humph Ji Qian said, If it was just a predestined affinity to meet one time, why did she send men everywhere to investigate you? She also took the effort to wait at the East Market for you toe back from Xing Chang Long. As I see it, you must have an unclear, indistinct rtionship with her, yet you deliberately conceal it from me. Xu Ziling was starting to realize that this woman was not simple at all. At the same time, barraged with her questions, he was caught off guard, and was thrown into a very difficult situation. Without any better option, he shrugged his shoulders calmly and said, Ji Qian Guniang did not believe me, there is nothing that Xiaodi can do. The only rtionship between she and I is that I defeated her a round, half a round on the gambling table. It really stopped right there. Ji Qians pair of bright eyes lit up. Fixing her gaze on him, she said, Turns out you know how to gamble. Where did Mo Gongzi dampen that girl [orig. yatou, see previous chapter], Hu Xiaoxians prowess? Inwardly Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that he had caused problem for Hou Xibaiter, so that the two of them were even. Lowering his voice, he replied, In Jiujiang. Ji Qian happily said, That must be at Yin Ru Ge, which is managed by the Gambling Ghost Zha Hai [see Book 26 Chapter 6 and 11]; am I right? But the winner of the Tian Jiu Big Meet was Hu Xiaoxian, not you, Mo Daye. It was only then did Xu Ziling know who the winner of the Tian Jiu Big Meet was; he said, I did not participate in the Tian Jiu Big Meet at all; I just gambled for two hands with her before the Meet. This moment several men that looked like the pampered sons of wealthy family wereing toward them. Ji Qian sighed and said, Those bunch of pain-in-the-neck ghosts areing again! And then she reached out to pinch his forearm, hard, and spoke in low voice, Ill settle with youter. Just like that, she slipped away at lightning speed. With the beauty in his arm, Ke Dazhi came over, and said with a loudugh, Finally I can meet Mei Da Zhangmen [big headmaster]. I hear Mei Xiong has met, even fought hand to hand, with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling; I wonder if that is true? Full of graceful smile, Xier greeted everybody, but her demeanor toward Sha Chenggong was cold, instead, her eyes fell onto Kou Zhongs ugly divine doctor, as if she wanted to say something. Having his scar cruelly exposed like that, inwardly Mei Xun was offended, but he had to answer; without any better option, he said, Indeed we met, but did not really fight. These two are disciples with no guts; their most remarkable skill is to escape. Listening to this, Kou Zhong was amused inwardly, while a look of disdain appeared on Chang Hes face. Behind, Sha Tiannan, Sha Chengjiu and Sha Chengde, three father and sons, were intercepted by other people who wanted to chat with them, so that they failed to join this small circle of conversation. The number of guests in the public square has reached several thousands, and still more people were crowding in continuously. Moreover, Tian Gong [the Lord of Heaven] bestowed them beauty; the bright moon was hanging in the sky, plus the pce wall on the north side obstructed the cold wind, so that the public square was exceptionally and pleasantly warm. Ke Dazhi smiled and said, With Qi Wang and Mei Xiong leading the troops, naturally they had to flee at the mere sight of you. In Mei Xiongs opinion, which one from the two is more brilliant? Both Kou Zhong and Chang He did not have good impression on Mei Xun; they exchanged a look, while snickering in their hearts, simply because they could catch Ke Dazhis implied meaning; he was mocking Mei Xun for relying on many men, a great force, naturally the opposite side had to break the siege and escape. Mei Xun was a smart man; how could he not catch the hidden meaning behind his remark? However, Ke Dazhi was currently the most popr member of the Chang Lin Army, plus he had the Eastern Tujues support behind him, thereupon he had no choice but to endure the tone of his voice. Acting as if nothing had happened, he said, This is quite difficult to say; each of those two has his own specialty, but neither one sticks to one pattern. No matter how simple and ordinary a style is, when they execute it, it could bring out the marvel of touching the base matter and turn it to gold. Kou Zhong has never heard the enemy discussing his and Xu Zilings martial arts; the feeling was extremely novel. Fascinated, Ke Dazhi said, Listening to Mei Zhangmens description, these two have indeed reached the great expert realm, since they can change something rotten into something magical, and can make skillful appears clumsy. If we could defeat any one of them, it will certainly be a lifes pleasure. Sha Chenggong finally found an opening; he fiercely said, In Luoyang, these twos fame for fighting prowess is very resounding; if Ke Xiong came across them, what do you think your odds of victory will be? Shrugging his shoulders, Ke Dazhi replied, Not even half a part [5%]. Including Kou Zhong, everybody was greatly astonished by Ke Dazhis modesty. Sha Chenggong burst into loudughter and said, In that case, Ke Xiong must be careful lest the lifes pleasure might turn into a matter for regret. Ke Dazhi revealed a hint of smile brimming with mockery; remaining tranquil and calm, he gazed deeply into Xiers eyes first before responding to Sha Chenggong, Er Gongzi has always been ayman in martial art study; you dont understand that not only martial art study puts emphasis on the style and training in the basic skills, but the most important is the xinfa. Xiaodis Sandstorm Saber Techniques xinfa is seeking victory amidst defeat. The principle is rather abstruse; it is not something that can be exined clearly in just a few words. Kou Zhong was the first to be emotionally moved. Although he was unable topletely grasp the xinfa that Ke Dazhi was talking about, but the thought of being able to strive to transform defeat into victory in hand-to-hand fight against the enemy was already extremely unusual. He could not help feeling a bit anxious for Xu Ziling. Xier was revealing a look of adoration, which was more damaging to Sha Chenggong, who immediately went silent C than Ke Dazhis remark. Greatly astonished, Mei Xun said, Unexpectedly Ke Xiong has this unique school xinfa; no wonder the Sandstorm Saber Technique is impossible to defend effectively, plus it changes unpredictably. Ke Dazhi nonchntly said, Xiaodis set of saber technique was developed from the Great Desert. Anybody who has been to the desert would know that the ce is brimming with the taste of death, mishaps and desperation. And seeking the opportunity to live from such a dead end is precisely the principle of seeking victory in the midst of defeat. Xier sighed in praise, What Ke Ye said is very moving! It looked like Ke Dazhi deliberately wanted to anger Sha Chenggong; looking down, he spoke tenderly, Didnt Xier Guniang want to watch some juggling? The juggling show over there is just beating to gong to open the performance. Xier blissfully nodded and said, Ke Ye, please wait a moment, Xier wants to talk a little bit with Mo Xiansheng. When he was looking for the Bu Family brothers, Xu Ziling caught a glimpse of Kou Zhong and Xier talking. He only vaguely remembered Xier from many years ago; hence he could not immediately recognize her, who had grown up to be even more beautiful. While he was muttering why such a beauty was taking a fancy to Kou Zhong with his current revered countenance, unexpectedly someone blocked his way andughed aloud, saying, Who could have thought that I would run into Mo Xiong here. Stunned, Xu Ziling halted his steps; to his surprise, it was the Tujue martial art master Ke Dazhi. Momentarily he was still not used to the idea that he knew Ke Dazhi, hence it could not be helped that he was a bit losing his head. Chang He and Mei Xun came to Ke Dazhis side. Chang He still showed some courtesy by politely greeting Xu Ziling, but Mei Xun only showed a hint of cold smile on the corner of his mouth, acting like he enjoyed watching a bustling scene, as well as throwing stones at somebody who fell down a well. Leaving Xier, Kou Zhong came over. Sha Chenggong seized this opportunity to entangle Xier. The people all around thought that Ke Dazhi and Xu Ziling were friends greeting each other; no one perceived the hostility between the two sides. Seeing Xu Ziling looking at him like he was in a daze, Ke Dazhi spoke in great astonishment, Mo Xiongs heart does not grow timid, does it? Xu Ziling came to his sense. Inwardly he was severely shaken. Relying on his outstanding intuition, he was nearly certain that Ke Dazhi must have known that tonight, the one going to fight with him was he, Mo Wei, hence he mistakenly thought that Xu Ziling was scared. This information was very useful, because from this, it could be determined that just now, among the Heavenly Policy Mansion people, there was Li Jianchengs spy. Otherwise, it was impossible for Ke Dazhi to guess that the one going to fight was Xu Ziling and not Li Jing. This matter was extremely important; he must notify Li Jing immediately. Clearing his throat, he said, Ke Xiong, why did you say such thing? Ke Dazhi was also a highly intelligent person; immediately he sensed that there was a problem with what he just said. His countenance did not change, he smiled and said, This man is adept at observing slight changes in other people, thereupon I was simply making casual remark. I would like to offer a bit of good advice to Mo Xiong; a fine bird chooses a tree to nest in [Chinese proverb]. If Mo Xiong chooses wrong, I am afraid you will meet unexpected consequences. Were it not for this person admiring Mo Xiongs swordsmanship very much, I would not have wasted this lips and tongue. This moment Kou Zhong came over. He said with a chuckle, Ke Yes training in thenguage of the Central ins is very good; you are very articte, Xiaoren definitely cannot match it. Hey! This gentleman is ... Chang He said, This is Mo Laoshi of Xing Chang Long. Weve met before! Kou Zhong said, Mo Xiong shares the same given name and family name with Jiashu; you are closer than family with the same surname. With such fate, we must find the time to get together over a cup of wine. Pretending that he did not know Mei Xun, Xu Zilings gaze fell on his face. Mei Xun arrogantly looked up to the night sky. Kou Zhong pretended to be astonished; he said, Does Mei Xiong have any enmity against Mo Xiong? Mei Xun coldly said, Persons who walk different paths cannot make ns together. If we have a chance, I must ask to experience Mo Xiongs swordsmanship, which even Ke Xiong admires very much. This remark was full of gunpowder taste; the atmosphere was instantly strained. Kou Zhong let out a dry cough; he was about to speak when Ke Dazhi spoke up, Mo Xiong please think it over, or else regret will be toote. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, I, Mo Wei, call one as one, two as two; I never knew what is called regret. Finished speaking, he stormed off in a huff. Mei Xun let out a hey, hey coldughter, brimming with disdain. Kou Zhong asked Chang He in low voice, Whats the matter? Ke Dazhi followed Xu Ziling disappearing into the distance with his eyes; he smiled and said, Tonight, I, Ke Dazhi, will make him understand what is called regret. Dang! Dang! Dang! The pce courtyard feasts bells were finally ringing. Apanied by the members of the monarchs inner ministerial circle, the imperial concubines, and Jiancheng, Shimin, Yuanji, three sons, amidst the sound of drums and warm music rising to the heavens C Li Yuan, wearing dragon crown on his head and yellow gown on his body, ascended onto the Cheng Tian Gates tower, to receive the crowd of government officials and the guests well wishes, as well as to make a speech corresponding to the holiday. The atmosphere at the square immediately boiled up. As soon as Li Yuan withdrew from the gate tower to return to the Taiji Pce, all performances begun. Those who were entitled to attend immediately made a beeline for the pce courtyard banquet at the Taiji Pce. Beyond the Cheng Tian Gate was precisely the Jia De Gate, situated between the Cheng Tian and Taiji, two gates; obviously it acted as a barrier between the Cheng Tian and Taiji, two gates, to ensure the Pces security. After stepping out of the Taiji Gate, there were bell towers and drum towers on the left and right. Ahead was the majestic, magnificent sight of the Taiji Pce, with its myriad ambience C located exactly due north of the public square. In the middle of the public square, which was paved with grey bricks, there was the imperial road, paved withrge gstones, from the front of the main hall straight toward the Pces gate. Taiji Hall was the most magnificent building in the imperial pceplex; its width was twelve jian, and its depth fifteen jian [interval between two pirs (Courtesy of Akw)]. The most breathtaking thing was the single ledge on the top of the pce with its four different-style slope, interlocking out with the fouryers of the wall. It was aplex structure in the middle of simplicity, really abination of aesthetic perception with the mechanics. Arranged at the wide northern extremity of the pce hall were six round tables as the main banquet tables. Those who were entitled to sit around these six tables were, naturally, royalties. The rest of the banquet seats were arranged on the east and west, two sides; everything was clear and in good order. Xu Ziling entered the Taiji Hall behind the Heavenly Policy Mansion people. As soon as he found an opportunity, he told Li Jing about the spy. Hearing that, Li Jing was frowning deeply, but since it was inconvenient to talk, he simply nodded to indicate that he understood. Zhangsun Wuji came to Xu Zilings other side and spoke indifferently, Mo Xiong and Li Jiangjun seem to be getting along very well with each other! Xu Ziling knew he was attentive and was very intelligent; hence he did not dare to lightly neglect him. Smiling wryly, he said, Zhangsun Xiong misunderstood; Li Xiong simply did not feelfortable with Birens martial art skill! Li Jing pretended to be embarrassed; he said, Mo Xiong please do not be oversensitive; its just because this matter is very important, Ol Li is only curious and wanted to ask a couple more questions. Zhangsun Wuji said, My understanding is that after fighting hand to hand with Mo Xiong at the Shang Lin Yuan that night, Ke Dazhi said that Mo Xiongs shenfa is better than your jianfa [sword technique]. One time Xiaodi and Jingde carefully analyzed his strangement about Mo Xiong, but we remain puzzled after pondering over it a hundred times [idiom]. Mo Xiong was the one directly involved, perhaps you can grasp the hidden meaning behind hisment better than we do. Inwardly Xu Ziling shivered greatly; he could not help revising his assessment on Ke Dazhi. He certainly understood this remark, which was referring to Hou Xibais sword move failed to fully match his confident and at ease, mysterious and strange shenfa. But perhaps it was because he was not using the Fan of Beauty that he was ustomed to. But how could he reveal that? Lets go to the side, Li Jing said. To avoid blocking other people, the three stepped aside to a corner of the Taiji Hall za and continued discussing their previous topic. Xu Ziling saw Kou Zhongs disguise of Divine Doctor Mo, apanied by Chang He and Mei Xun on his left and right, mingled among the crowd of guests climbing up the hundred-step stone stairs of the main hall. He said, That night, due to Jiancheng Taizis presence, Biren did not dare to use the sword technique to its fullest, hence Ke Dazhi could have such criticism. Pang Yu and Yuchi Jingde separately saw them from a distance, so they came over to say hello. The former said with augh, Are you discussing tonights big n to punish the bad guy? We will have to rely on Mo Laoshi. With grave expression, Yuchi Jingde said, Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber, I am afraid only Song Ques Heavenly Saber canfortably beat him; even Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well against him, victory or defeat is still hard to tell. Therefore, Mo Laoshi must not make the mistake of being eager to snatch victory, because not only Ke Dazhi has astonishingly tenacious power, he is also the best in using strength to attack strength, a martial art master in fighting hard battle. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that the Kou Zhong that Yuchi Jingde knew was the old Kou Zhong when they were in Luoyang. What he learned through experience from Luoyang until now, plus obtaining the Heavenly Saber Song Ques painstaking effort in training and enlightening him, and then going through the battle against the Four Great Holy Monks, todays Kou Zhong was not at all like the Luoyangs Kou Zhong. He definitely would not underestimate the enemy because of this. Li Jing said, Jingde, dont worry, Mo Laoshi will definitely not make the mistake of neglect. Zhangsun Wuji asked in astonishment, Xiaodi has a strange feeling that Mo Laoshi does not seem to take Ke Dazhi to heart at all. Could it be that Wuji misinterpret what I see? This moment, there was a sudden burst ofmotion among the crowd waiting in queue to enter the pce hall. Turned out Shang Xiufang has arrived. Apanying her was Hong Funu. Everybody, men and women alike, was striving to see her graceful bearing; a clear proof of her astonishing charisma. Seeing Li Jing, the two women turned toward them, inciting not a few of admiring and envious gaze. Taking the opportunity while the two women had not yet arrived, Xu Ziling responded to Zhangsun Wuji, I am the kind of person who is indifferent toward fame and profit. Plus tonight its not like a battle to determine life or death. Therefore, I do not take this matter to heart. I will only think about it when thingse to a head, so its not like Zhangsun Xiong think that I do not have any regard toward Ke Dazhi. Zhangsun Wuji appeared to be quite suspicious toward him. Although due to Shang Xiufangs arrival he did not continue his questioning, his pair of sword-shaped eyebrows was still tightly knitted. Everybody crowded warmly to socialize with Shang Xiufang. Shang Xiufang was indeed a natural beauty; she had the countenance that was capable of causing the downfall of a city. The most touching thing was that whether she was walking, standing, sitting, or lying, she had myriad bearings; every frown and every smile, none could not overthrow all living things. By the time she arrived in front of them, everybody, Li Jing included, held his breath because they were overawed by the extraordinarily enchanting beautiful appearance of her lightly made up pretty face. Her seemingly-full-of-tender-feelings big eyes were sweeping across everybodys face until her gaze stopped at Xu Ziling. However, she was speaking to everybody. She said with a smile, By nature, Xiufang is curious; seeing gentlemen are having discussion in high spirits, I could not help begging Hong Fu Jiejie to take Xiufang here to listen respectfully. Naturally everybody knew that she was joking. But she was willing toe over and exchange some pleasantries with them, not only she was giving them a lot of face, she also made them feel overwhelmed by favor from superior. Pang Yuughed and said, We are discussing whether Xiufang Dajia [great expert] would open your golden mouth tonight, to offer a tune to Huangshang in the pce courtyard? Among the generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion, Pang Yu was well known to be a romantic character. This kind of teasingment would nevere out of Yuchi Jingde, Li Jing, and the others mouth. Hong Funu replied on her behalf, This time Xiufang came on Huangshangs invitation, not to perform her singing art. If Shang Xiufang were invited to the pce courtyard banquet on Li Shimin, or even Li Jianchengs invitation, it would only to be expected. But since the invitation came from Li Yuan, it was clear that their rtionship was very unusual. Intuitively Xu Ziling knew that the rtionship was not that of between men and women, rather, it had something to do with Shang Xiufangs mother, Ming Yue. From Pang Yu, Shang Xiufangs beautiful eyes returned to Xu Ziling. She spoke softly, Not only Mo Laoshis swordsmanship is brilliant, turns out you are also a distinguished and aplished figure that in the four arts [zither, Go (Chinese chess), calligraphy, painting], none is not exquisite. Xiufang has not had any chance to ask for advice. Xu Ziling was greatly embarrassed; secretly he cursed Hou Xibai for not knowing how to restraint himself. Merely this sarcasm-hidden-inside-thepliment was already hard to swallow; furthermore, now he knew that Shang Xiufang was quietly paying attention to him at the pleasure house. Perhaps she even knew he was fooling around with Ji Qian like the back of her hand. Bracing himself to face the worst, he said, Biren was only apanying our familys Er Shaoye to Shang Lin Yuan to enjoy the fun! Shang Xiufang cast him a deep, meaningful nce, so that even with Xu Zilings breadth of mind and self-cultivation, he still could not stop his heart from throbbing. Li Jing said, Its almost time! Xiufang, please. Everybody looked at the pce halls door. Most guests have already entered. If they did not move now, they would bete. Shang Xiufang did not modestly decline; apanied by Hong Funu, she took the lead toward the Taiji Hall in elegant, many-postures C light jade steps. Xu Ziling was about to move, Zhangsun Wuji held him back and said, Qin Wang instructed me to remind Mo Xiong, if Mo Xiong could block Ke Dazhis fifteen saber strikes, he will stop the match. Our Heavenly Policy Mansion will already win back our face. Xu Ziling replied with a smile, It would be best if Huangshang stops the match; wouldnt it be more convincing? Finished speaking, no longer paying attention to Zhangsun Wuji, he ran after Li Jing. Book 33 - 4 – Banquet Night at Taiji It was not until he stepped into the vast and magnificent space of the Taiji Pce Hall did Kou Zhong find out how popr he was in Changan. It did not matter whether it was somebody he knew or not, everybody was striving to greet him and to climb the friendshipdder with him. While he was extremely busy with these people, Mei Xun patted his shoulder and said, Xiaodi will have to ask to be excused! Later on I will find Mo Xiansheng to drink and be merry; let Xiaodi be the little host. Kou Zhong was stunned, Where is Mei Zhangmen [headmaster] going? he asked. Chang Heughed and said, Mei Zhangmen is not going anywhere; he just need to go to his assigned seat. Momentarily we have to partpany! Mei Xunughed aloud and left by himself. Chang He pulled Kou Zhong toward a banquet table near the main table; he exined, Jiancheng Taizi is taking up eight tables, Qin Wang six tables, but Qi Wangs quota is only four tables. All seats are reserved for nobilities. Mei Xun could only sit on the table allocated to Qi Wang. Kou Zhong understood. He said, Xiaodi naturally will sit with Laoye, Gongzi, and the others at the table allocated to Taizi Dianxia, right? Chang Heughed and said, Your LaoGe is some kind of VIP; we are going to sit on the table allocated to Huangshang. Over there! Kou Zhong followed him toward the third banquet table on the east. Two high-ranking officials stood up and said, Mo Xiansheng, please sit down! Kou Zhong looked up. Unexpectedly they were Liu Zhenghui and Wen Yanbo of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, whom he met at the Sifang Lou earlier. Promptly he returned the greeting. Liu Zhenghui personally introduced him to various men around the banquet table; all were top rank officials of various ministries and departments. Kou Zhong sat down between Liu Zhenghui and Chang He. Two of the seats were still vacant. After chatting andughing for a moment, Kou Zhong could not bear not to ask, Who are not here yet? Liu Zhenghuiughed and said, On this, you must ask Old Wen. Wen Yanbo said, One is an important foreign envoy. ording to etiquette, we ought to wait for him, and not let him waiting for us! Now Xiaodi must ask to be excused. Kou Zhong did not take it to heart. Leaning toward Chang He, he said, This kind of feast is so boring that people want to get the bird out of it, so when can we go out to y? Chang He awkwardly said, I thought you were going to sit at Taizi Dianxias allocated table, so that slipping away would not be too conspicuous. But now ... Noticing the two whispering to one anothers ear, Liu Zhenghui was curious, What is it? he asked. Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and replied, Nothing, its just my grand n of touring the outside is done for. Sitting together with him were all Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art masters, including Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Li Jing, husband and wife, Pang Yu, Luo Shixin, and Liu Dewei. There were still four empty seats, but he did not know whom they were reserved for. Xu Ziling was not like Kou Zhong; although inwardly he was apprehensive, he was well aware that it was inappropriate to ask. Fortunately Zhangsun Wuji was not sitting by his side, otherwise Xu Ziling would have to keep warding off his questions. Pce maids and court eunuchs poured wine for them. Pang Yu, sitting on his left, sighed and said, I wonder who will be the lucky one tonight to sit by Xiufang Dajias side. Although the main hall was packed with people, but since this was imperial court banquet, everybody was solemn and exercising self-control, no one dared to make a racket, hence the atmosphere remained serious. Hong Funuughed and swore in a low voice, In my opinion, Xiufangs heart already belongs to someone. Yu Gongzi must not be carried away by your wishful thinking. No one present was not emotionally moved, yet no one was not without envy either. Yu Gongzi [lit. jade young master] was Pang Yus nickname-in-jest at the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Hearing that, he was shaken. Which lucky guy could really make people envious and jealous? Who is he? If this Gongzi spread this news around, I guarantee that there will be many men looking for him to stake his life against him. Hong Funu said, Whatever this gentlemans name and surname are, please forgive Hong Fu for being unable to provide, because I am just guessing. Greatly interested, Zhangsun Wuji said, Although Zaixia does not have the qualifications to be the minister under Xiufang Dajias skirt [I know, it sounds weird in English, but thats what the text says], I am still concerned over Shang Cainus [talented woman] lifelong happiness. I wonder from which spiders thread and horse track [i.e. clues] did Dajie [big sister] guess that Shang Cainus heart belongs to someone? Hong Funu said, Yesterday Hong Fu went to Shang Lin Yuan to call on her. I saw her writing Thinking about the countenance, remembering the countenance, droplets of tears wet the beautiful silk fabrics, young master [orig. shaonian gongzi C young master who is young in age] bearing heavy kindness, these several lines over and over more than a dozen times. When she saw meing, she threw the note away. If her heart was not yearning, how could she act like that? Pang Yu dejectedly said, Thank you Dajie for mentioning that; Im sure she did not write that note for me. Li Jing suddenly spoke in low voice, Look whos here. Following his gaze, the crowd saw a group of men, upright and unafraid, entering the pce hall. Two of those men were surprisingly the Eastern Tujues Kang Qiaoli and Jingzhao Lians Big Boss Yang WenGan. Thetter was obviously getting on well with the influential officials of Changan; he never stopped exchanging greetings with high officials and noble persons on the east and west banquet tables. Following behind them was the Great Immortal Hu Fo and his daughter, Hu Xiaoxian. Who could have imagined that this pair of father and daughter, who was famous in the gambling world C would also be in the list of people being invited to the feast. When Hu Xiaoxian was passing by, her beautiful eyes cast a nce toward Xu Ziling; she even pursed her mouth and chuckled lightly, a pleased-with-herself, graceful but hateful appearance. Luo Shixin, who was sitting by Xu Ziling, asked, Does Mo Laoshi know Hu Xiaoxian? Xu Ziling was greatly embarrassed; he had no choice but to give him a vague answer, Only met one time! This moment Hong Funu nudged Li Jing and said, Shiji with Madame are here! Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart was shocked. Looking toward the pce hall door, indeed he saw Shen Luoyan, like a little bird relying on people [idiom: cute and helpless-looking], leaning on Li Shiji as they walked in this direction. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. Kou Zhong was unable to stop himself from asking Liu Zhenghui about the rise and fall of the terrain of the buildings around the Yue Ma Bridge region. While they were engrossed in the discussion suddenly everybody was standing up one after another, only he did not know what happened. But then he saw the beautiful Shang Xiufang, with Chen Gonggong, the head eunuch who was in charge of the seating arrangement of tonights feast, floating directly toward their table. None of the people on the nearby tables did not reveal envious expression. Kou Zhong came to his senses. He hurriedly copied everybody else by standing up to wee her, while thinking inwardly that Shang Xiufang had more charisma than any high-ranking official or millionaire. Chen Gonggong personally pulled the chair for Shang Xiufang, asking her to take the seat. Who would have thought that Shang Xiufang said, Please forgive my presumptuous request, but I was wondering if Xiufang could sit by Mo Xianshengs side, so that I could consult Mo Xiansheng about some medical problem. If Kou Zhong were either Pang Yu or Hou Xibai, men with distinguished and aplished appearance, everybody might guess that this goddess had some interest; but since it was Kou Zhong, the ugly divine doctor, naturally nobody suspected her motive. Immediately Liu Zhenghui gave up his seat. Two young eunuchs came to move Shang Xiufangs chair around. It was after Shang Xiufang was seated properly that everybody started to return to their seat. Chang He leaned over to whisper teasingly in Kou Zhongs ear, Be careful Laoxiong, your virginity cannot be guaranteed. Kou Zhong could only respond with wry smile. Shang Xiufang immediately became the target of a multitude of arrows; everybody, including Chang He, was striving to fawn on her. But she was an eloquent and fluent speaker as well; with springtime never leaving the corner of her mouth, she held her ground in responding to everyone. Kou Zhong, on the other hand, became like a mute. From time to time he took a furtive look at the pce hall door. One after another he saw Li Mi, Wang Bodang, Huang Gongcuo, Ke Dazhi, and so on entering the hall. By the time he saw Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing and her designated husband Shang Ming entering the hall, Shang Xiufang was finally able to cast away her fans around the banquet table. She leaned close to his ear and softly said, Does Mo Xiansheng know why Xiufang could be ced on this banquet table? Knowing something was amiss, Kou Zhong braced himself to speak in low voice, What exactly was the reason? The other people thought that they were discussing some medical problems, hence no one dared to disturb; they continued talking and joking among themselves. Because Xiufang specifically requested it, Shang Xiufang replied, Ay! You! You nearly deceived me. Inwardly Kou Zhong was severely shaken. Stunned, he looked at her. In return, Shang Xiufang shed him an enchanting smile. As if nothing had happened, she said, When can Mo Shen Yi find the time toe to treat Xiufangs illness? Kou Zhong has not figured out the real meaning why she said she was nearly deceived; smiling wryly, he said, Xiufang Xiaojies order, how could Xiaoren dare not to obey? Whatever time Xiaojie wants me toe, that will be the time Xiaoren will report for duty to see Xiaojie. Pfft! Shang Xiufang broke into tender giggle. She rolled her pair of eyes, which could hook the soul and suck the spirit, like a clear stream spinning round and round C at his ugly face, and then she leaned closer and with a voice so low that it could not be lower, but still every word was distinct, and her breath smelled like orchid, she spoke softly, Spring Festival, how about Shao Shuaie to Shang Lin Yuan to apany Xiufang celebrating the New Year? This time you must not miss the appointment! Instantly Kou Zhongs scalp went numb. He waspletely at a loss on where did he reveal the w so that she was able to see through his fake countenance. Dejected, he said, How could Xiaoren dare to disobey? This moment Wen Yanbo returned. With him was the foreign VIP, which was, surprisingly, the Eastern Tujue diplomatic envoy onmercial trade Mo Heer. Suddenly the music started. The Great Tang Emperor has arrived. The nearly a thousand guests in the main hall stood respectfully to wee him. Xu Ziling really wished he could find a hole where he could hide. The four vacant seats were subsequently filled by the two couples. One couple was Xu Shiji and Shen Luoyan, the other was Shan Wanjing and Shang Ming. Hearing the Fuma Ye [emperors son-inw] appetion, Xu Ziling knew that the Dong Ming Princess Shan Wanjing, in ordance to the Dong Ming Paiw C has made the arrangement to take Shang Ming as her husband. No wonder when they met earlier, she was showing dignity and self-control; in her speech and manners, she avoided anything pertaining to man-woman rtionship as much as possible. Shen Luoyans beautiful eyes gazed deeply in his eyes, and then she pretended not to pay attention to him anymore. But Xu Ziling dared to say that she already knew that he was Xu Ziling. However, because of her previous convictions about Yong Qin, although there was doubt, Shan Wanjing could not be certain. Thereupon she continually bombarded him with her gaze, so that he could not sit peacefully. Although no rtion, let alone a romantic one C had ever grown between he and the twodies, moreover, he already knew early on that the girls were already taken [orig. famous flower has its master], but seeing face-to-face with the two women, sitting together at the same banquet table, while the women had be couples, it was such an unpleasant and weird feeling that only he would know. Fortunately, this moment Li Yuan, leading the imperial concubines, his three sons, and various rtives of the Emperor, entered the banquet. A majestic party of nearly a hundred persons attracted everybodys attention. And thus his miserable plight and pressure were easing off somewhat. From among Li Yuans imperial concubines, Xu Ziling only knew Dong Shuni. Her beauty was not inferior to the other imperial concubines. She was following closely behind Yin De Fei and Zhang Jieyu, who had just recovered from strange illness. It was thus clear that she was indeed beloved by Li Yuan. Li Jiancheng and the others also lead their respective imperial concubines, as they entered the pce hall ording to their rank. Behind Jiancheng was Shimin, followed by Yuanji. Finally Li Shentong, Li Nantian, and the other members of the Li n brought up the rear. Ever since Li Xiuning entered the hall, Kou Zhongs eyes have never left her. The most wretched thing was that Chai Shao publicly apanied her by her side. Evidently his ce has already been determined that his seat was so arranged. When the people of the Li n were seated on the six main banquet tables, the ministers and guests in the hall, led by two cab ministers closest to Li Yuan, Liu Wenjing and Pei Ji, toasted Li Yuan with three rounds of wine, so that the atmosphere in the hall immediately warmed up. Li Yuan again asked everyone not to stand on ceremony. After some more holiday speech, more than a hundred singing and dancing artisans, under Ji Qians leadership C floated out like butterflies from the doors at the back of the hall on both sides of the main banquet tables, singing and dancing in the midst of melodious drumming music. In the middle of the dancers, Ji Qian was exceptionally charming. Even inside the formation of many singing and dancing artists, her beautiful and wonderful posture stood out. Amidst the choir of female voices, she lightly sang and gracefully danced; her voice was sweet. Although she could not match Shang Xiufangs unique and outstanding style, there was a different touchingly implicit charm in her voice; no wonder she could be the most popr female entertainer in Changan. Her skirt and garment were rolling, her long sleeves floating; Ji Qians touching and suave singing voice seemed to being from everywhere. Added to that her beautiful dancing movement that could overturn a nation, even Li Yuan found it difficult to avert his eyes from her. This was the first time that Kou Zhong saw Ji Qian; he could not help momentarilyying down the anxiety and depressed mind, which was caused by Li Xiunings arrival. He watched her as if he was drunk and stupefied. Suddenly Shang Xiufangs tender and soft voice rang in his ear, Is Mo Xianshengs heart moved? Kou Zhong came to his senses. His nostrils were filled with this beautys scent; he could not help countering the remark without even thinking, Only toward Xiufang Xiaojie Xiaodis heart is moved. Shang Xiufang was slightly stunned. Her pretty face was glowing hot, she glowered at him and said in a low voice, You are lying to me again! This time it was Kou Zhongs turn to be stunned. He was wondering inwardly if Shang Xiufang took a fancy to him? Otherwise, how could she act like a spoilt and na?ve little girl like this? Moreover, she was using that kind of tone to respond to his remark. The others around the table were still watching the singing and dancing with full attention; no one paid any attention to the brief interlude happening between this pair of a man and a woman. They heard Ji Qians singing, New rain and dew in front of Huae Lou [flowers calyx building], peace and security reign over mankind in the City of Changan. me from the dragons mouth engulfs the trees a thousandyers thick, chicken step on lotus flower over ten-thousand-year springtime. Three or five Spring performance stages in the Emperors Pce, passing rain and flowing wind, none came in envy. In the Western Region thentern wheel like a thousand-shadow tree, in the Magnificent East [orig. hua, i.e. China] the imperial ce is open ten-thousand times. As soon as the song ended, the lights suddenly went dark. Almost as suddenly, like performing magic trick the group of female dancers produced brightly colorednterns in their hands. The hundred or sonterns danced together like dazzling red clouds. The space in the middle of the main hall was turned into ten million kinds of lights moving in a dance, weaving across each other in certain patterns. Everybody watching was unable to take it all in, everybody was gasping in amazement. When the lights in the main hall returned, the dancers already left the hall via the same route they wereing in. Cheers and apuse shook the pce hall. A cab minister sitting on Kou Zhongs table, Gao Shilian, pped his hands while also spoke to Shang Xiufang, Xiu Fang Dajias choreography of this singing and dancing routine was certainly brilliant beyondpare, making people could not help but gasping in admiration. It was only then did Kou Zhong understand the reason Shang Xiufang was staying at Shang Lin Yuan. Turned out it was to train this group of dancers/singers for this performance. Shang Xiufang promptly declined modestly. This moment the pce maids, like flowing water, delivered the fine food and delicacies to the banquet tables, creating another burst of noise and excitement. And then it was Li Yuans turn to toast the crowd, rising the harmonious atmosphere among the host and guest to its warmest level. Xu Ziling, sitting on the other side, was thinking that were it not for the Great Tangs fame and power, which was like the sun in the middle of the sky, tonights New Years Eve banquet would not be as zing-hot as it was this moment. Were it not for the unending struggle among the different factions of the imperial court, the Great Tang definitely did not have anybody with enough momentum to challenge it. After three rounds of wine, three hundred imposing-looking imperial guards and bodyguards, in full battle armors, marched inside from the main hall gate, arranged in all kinds of battle array, holding sabers, spears, swords, and shields, performing beautiful troops formation, which came from full hard work. Compared to the fluttering, colorful dancers just now, it carried another kind masculine vor, an equally thrilling show. Once the troop dance finished, Li Jiancheng, leading Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, and the other kings and their rtives and nobilities C offered a toast to Li Yuan, arousing another mood surge. When the crowd calmed down, Li Jiancheng rose up to his full height, and spoke in loud and clear voice, Since our Great Tang raised our troops in Taiyuan, all along we fought battles with no one could subdue us. Its all because we were able to use martial art to found a country, as well as because we embrace worthy talents from wide range of area. Tonight, in this distinguished meeting, ording to our Great Tang tradition, martial art examination is indispensable, thus this Dianxia is throwing out a brick to get the jade thrown back [idiom: to attract others interest or suggestions by putting forward ones own modest ideas to get the ball rolling] by sending out Chang Lin Army Duwei [military rank] Ke Dazhi Jiangjun to ept challenge, to touch on the opponent and leave it there. Regardless of winning or losing, both sides will be bestowed ten taels of gold reward to liven things up. Immediately the pce hall exploded in cheers and apuse. Xu Ziling also cheered inwardly. He did not expect to go down the area for the martial artpetition this quickly. Under everybodys eyes, Ke Dazhi rose up to his full height; upright and unafraid he walked down to the front of the pce hall, and went down on his knees to kowtow toward Li Yuan. Book 33 - 5 – The Wind And Cloud at the Palace Courtyard Banque t Now that they were inside, separately sitting on different seats, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling began to put themselves in somebody elses shoes by experiencing for themselves how important the martial artpetition in front of the imperial court was. Li Shimin was relying on unrivalled military merit, while Li Jiancheng was relying on his official title as the sessor of the Emperors throne, plus Li Yuanji was drawing close to him so that Li Jiancheng obtained his help. Therefore, the two sides were locked in power struggle where both sides refused to concede. In the struggle between the two major factions, the most important link was for both the enemy factions to strive for support from those in neutral ground to throw their lots into his side. And the precondition was precisely by showing that his side was upying the upper hand. However, with Li Yuan looking on, the two sides men and horses could not publicly show hostility to each other. Consequently, only by using this kind of martial artpetition in front of the imperial court would they be able to show off their strength. The Heavenly Policy Mansion suffered several defeats in session, but it happened during ordinary days, which,pared to the imperial banquet, only made small differences. Afterwards, although the Princelings Faction spread the news out,plete with some embellishments, even though the damage was serious, it was still not decisive. However, tonight, the ministers and foreign guests were gathered together. If the Heavenly Policy Mansion lost again, the consequences were really hard to imagine. No wonder Li Shimin was so keyed up like this, and had to personally appoint the general in advance. In Li Jianchengs mouth, it appeared that anybody could challenge Ke Dazhi, but the fact was that only the Heavenly Policy Mansion had the qualifications, as well as the guts C to answer the challenge. Sure enough, Li Shiminughed aloud, stood up to his full height, and reported to Li Yuan, Wanger [son king] Heavenly Policy Mansion new recruit, Ke Qing [visitor/guest subject] Mo Wei, his swordsmanship is outstanding; asking Fu Huang to give permission for him to set himself against Ke Duwei in martial artpetition. In the pce hall, more than half the people practically had never even heard of Mo Wei. Seeing that the one epting the challenge was not the top-ranked martial art master Li Jing, none did not show the expression that they lost interest. Even more, some spected that Li Shimin simply could not afford to lose this time, hence the reason he did not let Li Jing toe down to the arena. The main hall was so quiet that the crow and peacock did not make any sound. Standing in the middle of the hall, Ke Dazhi maintained tranquil expression; he was taking a profound-mystery, calm attitude. Li Yuan obviously did not expect Li Shimin would send out a Ke Qing whose name was not encountered in the ssics [idiom: unknown] toe out to deal with such an importantpetition like this. Immediately his brows were wrinkled deeply. And then they saw Zhang Jieyu leaning over and whispered something in his ear. While Li Shimin, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were crying, Bad! inwardly, Li Yuan opened his dragon mouth, If Mo Wei is not the Heavenly Policy Mansions best candidate, it would be best if Wanger select someone else to fight. Tonight is possibly not an ordinary banquet. Xu Ziling turned to look at Li Jiancheng. He noticed that his face revealed a pleased-with-himself expression. From this, he deeply felt the formidable power of the alliance between the Princelings Faction and the imperial concubines left and right of Li Yuan. Even Kou Zhong also felt that if he were in Li Shimins position, he would equally be put in no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation. If he admitted that Xu Ziling was the best candidate, naturally the other Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art masters would be upset. In case Xu Ziling was defeated, it would be akin to the Heavenly Policy Mansion no longer had anybody who was Ke Dazhis match. Who would have thought that Li Shiminughed aloud and said, In taking any action, Child has always emphasized the Art of War. Sunzi [Sun Tzu] said[1], In making tactical dispositions, the highest pitch you can attain is to conceal them; conceal your dispositions, and you will be safe from the prying of the subtlest spies, from the machinations of the wisest brains. How victory may be produced for them out of the enemys own tactics C that is what the multitude cannotprehend. All men can see the tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved. Do not repeat the tactics, which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regted by the infinite variety of circumstances. Would Fu Huang please bestow your permission for Mo Wei to take up the challenge? This segment of Sun Wus [another name of Sun Tzu] Art of War, the general idea was talking about the way of warfare should not be constrained to a certain pattern, it must be flexible with ten thousand changes, so that the other could not see the least bit of trace. Since there is no trace, the other side would be unable to see whats true and whats false on his own side, even a sage would be unable to think of a way against his troops, so much so that they would not understand how they could be defeated. Therefore, the most brilliant strategy was to respond to the situation without any fixed method, and definitely would not let the opponent see through whats true and whats false. Although Li Shimin did not directly answer Li Yuans question, he actually hinted that Mo Wei was the wonder troop [orig. troops appearing suddenly in an ambush] that the other people would not be able to see through. This deeply matched the Art of War. Inparison, everybody thought that Li Jiancheng sending out Ke Dazhi to the arena, this was the trace that could be found. Immediately Li Jianchengs countenance changed slightly, hiding within it an angry look. Li Shimins remark had hit his most fatal weak point, which was: hecked the military merit. Also, by showing himself and preaching like this, Li Shimin was reminding everybody in the hall that he was the unrivalled-under-the-heavensmander-in-chief. Of course, if Xu Ziling was unable to withstand a single blow and was defeated, Li Shimins hard-to-tell-if-its-real-or-sham remark would turn into aughingstock. However, at this moment, not only Li Shimin evaded the crisis of belittling the other Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art masters, he also seized back the initiative. He demonstrated the magnificent magnanimity of his air as themander-in-chiefs. Hearing this, Kou Zhong submitted cheerfully. Inwardly he was full of praise, while also felt that Li Shimins struggle with his elder brother has reached the level where it has be apparent. On the other hand, Xu Zilings thought went ayer deeper. Just now Zhangsun Wuji, either openly or surreptitiously, hinted that he ought to choose stable-defense strategy. Most likely it was Li Shimins idea. Li Shimin wanted to incite Ke Dazhis eagerness to win, so that he would not be able to unleash the formidable power of the Sandstorm Saber Technique to the max. After all, this really was not life and death decisive battle. As long as he could hold his ground for a round, Li Yuan might give the order to stop the martial artpetition. In the entire hall the people were holding their breath and quieting their qi, waiting for Li Yuans decision. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, in the end Li Yuan said, Very well. Let it be as Wanger requested. At Yuchi Jingde and the others signal, Xu Ziling stood up calmly, walked over to Ke Dazhis side, and went down on his knees to kowtow. It was only this moment did Li Yuan remember that he had seen this man before, when he inquired about Yue Shan. Immediately hispassion grew; with a tender but happy expression he said, Turns out it is Mo Qing [subject]. Mo Qing must bear in mind that this is only martial artpetition to test your moves, plus there will be Zhen [I, imperial use] personally supervising it. When the bell rings, regardless of the situation, both sides must immediately stop and withdraw. Mo Qing only needs to demonstrate outstanding performance; no matter victory or defeat, it will be enough to propel your name in Guanzhong, Zhen may also consider promoting you for your talent. Mo Qing, you may rise. After this special care remark from Li Yuan, in an instant Xu Zilings social status differed greatly. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Formidable! It seemed like when Li Shimin decided to send Xu Ziling down to the battlefield, he already considered the rtionship between Li Yuan and Xu Ziling. In this case, Li Shimins borate and meticulous thought process must be re-estimated. Xu Ziling stood up awe-inspiringly. Ke Dazhi cast his gaze toward him and smiled calmly, without the slightest bit of with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent impression. Inwardly Xu Ziling shivered greatly, knowing that although in term of age Ke Dazhi was not much different than himself, but in term of self-cultivation, he had reached the realm of the stove fire has turned bright green [idiom (allusion to Daoist alchemy), fig. (of an art, a technique etc.) brought to the point of perfection], hence while being on the spot he did not affected by outside influence at all. Li Shimins spurring into action by making negative remarks obviously was not effective to be used against him. This was certainly an extraordinary opponent. Ke Dazhi even raised his cupped fist to salute and said, Mo Xiong, please do not hesitate to bestow your instruction. Xu Ziling returned the salute. ording to court rule, no one, except high-ranking imperial bodyguards, was allowed to carry any weapon into the Pce. Therefore, the two must wait for the imperial bodyguards to deliver their weapons. The main hall was abuzz with everyone whispering to each other. The topic obviously did not depart from who would win and who would lose. Chang He pulled his gaze away from scrutinizing Xu Ziling; he spoke to Mo Heer, who was sitting next to Wen Yanbo, Compared to us Ci Qie Daren must be more familiar with Ke Duwei. Compared to Ba Fenghan, who do you think is superior? Ci Qie was Mo Heers official rank. [Trantors note: in Book 28 Chapter 3 it was Ci She.] If Chang He was asking about the oue of Xu Ziling versus Ke Dazhis battle, no one would be interested to know, simply because everybody already decided that Xu Ziling was going to lose. Naturally Kou Zhong was the only exception. Because he was holding the exact opposite conviction. But Chang He was asking about the top two young martial art masters of the new generation, the Tujue martial art master Ba Fenghan, who shared the same fame as Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Therefore, no one did not feel curious, hoping that they would hear a bit of clue from Mo Heer, who had juste back from the East Tujue. Kou Zhong was particrly concerned over an old friends current situation; hence he pricked up his ears to listen attentively. Slightly startled, Mo Heer smiled and said, Chang Darens question really confounds Xiaodi. Since entering the Central ins to take refuge, Ba Fenghan has been disappearing without any trace. It is rumored that there were traveling merchants in Huihe [pre-Tang name of ethnic group corresponding to modern Uighur] who heard news about him; they said that he defeated the three most famous local martial art masters in session, while also beheaded several horse thief bosses who wreaked havoc locally. When this news reached Tujue, it created quite a stir in the entire nation. Inwardly Kou Zhong was relieved; knowing that Ba Fenghan was preparing himself in the martial way cultivation before challenging Bi Xuan. Wen Yanbo said, In that case, Ci Qie is still unwilling toe to the final conclusion on whos superior and whos inferior between Ke Dazhi and Ba Fenghan. Mo Heer nodded and said, Ba Fenghan was able to defeat the Eagle Qu Ao, naturally he cannot be trifled with. But I have never personally seen his startling-the-heaven method, so it is inappropriate for me to make anyment. However, among the younger generation masters, he is definitely Ke Dazhis most formidable opponent. Everybody felt that his remark was very appropriate; they all nodded in agreement. Just like everybody else, Mo Heer could not control his gaze from looking at Shang Xiufangs exceptional jade countenance. Sitting next to Kou Zhongs ugly countenance, it appeared even more tender and beautiful and alluring. With a I-see-it-and-feel-pity impression, he said, Where we live, having martial artpetition in a banquet like this is amon urrence, it even often ends up in blood. I wonder if Xiufang Guniang is ustomed to it? Sighing lightly, Shang Xiufang replied, After arriving in Changan, even if I was not ustomed to it, I be used to it! And then she turned to Kou Zhong, pursed her lips and said with a tenderugh, Besides, with Mo Shen Yi here, I am not afraid someone would be injured; am I right? Kou Zhongs heart was moved. He was about to respond, Liu ZHenghui said with augh, Weapons are here! The main hall grew silent again. Two imperial guards delivered the saber and the sword to Ke Dazhi and Xu Ziling, respectively. Under ten thousand expectant gaze, the Li ns tradition of pce courtyard martial artpetition finally began. Xu Ziling and Ke Dazhi received their weapons. Together they saluted Li Yuan, and then separated to the left and right. Ke Dazhi held the scabbard in his left hand horizontally in front of his body. Standing with his back toward Xu Ziling, he pulled the Sandstorm Saber from its scabbard, producing a clear gaining-the-upper-hand-by-a-show-of-strength, intimidating-the-entire-arena ring. His feet slightly apart,bined with his tall and straight like pine and cypress imposing build, he exuded a motionless-like-a-mountain, deep-pool-pavilion, highest-peak grandeur, immediately inciting a burst of cheers and apuse, which increased his awe-inspiring authority. Under the brightntern light of the main hall, the Sandstorm Saber emitted cold rays that were flickering continuously as if it was a magical object that had a life of its own. Xu Ziling could not help crying Good saber! inwardly. He slowly pulled the sword out of its sheath. Looking at that, the people in the hall who understood weapons shook their heads, simply because Xu Zilings weapon was just an ordinary fine steel sword. Compared to Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber, it was indeed too far inferior. The people on the Heavenly Policy Mansions side were stunned as well; they had never thought that the weapon he was using was such an ordinary sword. Perhaps after blocking a few of Ke Dazhis saber strikes, it would be hacked and chopped and broken. But Xu Zilingpletely ignored the other peoples sighs due to his long sword. After handing the sheath to the imperial bodyguard, he looked at the sword closely, and used his fingertips to stroke the sword de lightly. By the time the finger reached the tip of the sword, a hint of smile floated out of the corner of his mouth. Ke Xiong, please bestow instruction, he spoke calmly. Ke Dazhi still had his back facing Xu Ziling. Throwing his head back inughter, he said, Mo Xiong may make your move anytime. Xiaodi is not afraid anybody would attack me from behind. Not only this remark contained heroism reaching to the clouds, it also meant to shame Xu Ziling, containing the arrogance of he did not consider the opponent worthy in his eyes. However, Xu Ziling definitely would not fall into this thought. The moment this Eastern Tujue young martial art master pulled the saber out, he already started the offensive toward Xu Ziling. If he got angry, he would fall into the trap that heid out. All the people in the hall, from the Great Tang Emperor Li Yuan to the imperial bodyguards and pce maids, none did not sense the feeling of wind and rain approaching, the urgent feeling of two martial art masters in a thousand-jun face-off about to happen. Everybody was holding his breath, watching with full attention. Ding! Using his fingertips, Xu Ziling flicked the de of the sword, producing a clear ringing noise that sounded like the dragons groan from the abyss; the noise was focused and did not scattered. And then his waist and spine straightened up, just like his entire body suddenly lengthened, to be lofty, confident and at ease, with a looking-disdainfully-out-of-the-corner-of-his-eyes-at-the-world spirit, definitely not inferior to Ke Dazhi in any aspect. The change was so sudden that it appeared magical, totally outside everybodys expectation, brimming with intense dramatic feeling. Being at the receiving end of it, Ke Dazhi generated reaction. He felt the opponents powerful-without-equal momentum pressing down on his back. If he still had his back toward the enemy, he would immediately fall into the disadvantageous position. With a long whistle Ke Dazhi, with the scabbard in his left hand and the saber in his right, he spun like a hurricane toward Xu Ziling. In the entire hall, only Kou Zhong, one person, knew that in flicking the sword to create the sound, Xu Ziling secretly applied the Zhenyan Yin Fa [incantation image method] to break Ke Dazhis unfathomable move. Those with superior eyesight like Li Yuan, father and son, Huang Gongcuo, Li Shentong, and martial art masters of their level only saw Xu Ziling shooting forth sword qi to deal with Ke Dazhis changing moves, but they failed to really understand the profound mystery within the move. However, their impression on Xu Zilings Mo Wei was growing considerably. From the Great Vajra Chakra Image, Xu Ziling changed into Motionless Fundamental Image. The lingtai [on top of ones head] empty, bright, and clear, the divine light in his pair of eyes subdued, his heart was like the bright moon in the well, nothing was missing from Ke Dazhis move, which, from stopping, has already started to attack again. Each spin of the body was carrying a burst of howling noise brimming with rhythm and strength. The scabbard in his left hand and the saber in his right hand intersected and weaved sharp thunderbolt, both offense and defense forming a covering the opponent. The fantastic qi power, with Ke Dazhi at the center, like violent sandstorm scraping the desert, followed Ke Dazhis approach, attacking Xu Ziling with ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum. Regardless of whether one knew martial art or not, no one did not feel that Ke Dazhi has turned into a terrifying eye of the storm, carrying abundantly unstoppable power. Even for various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion who has had a chance to exchange blows with Ke Dazhi, or perhaps a chance to personally see Ke Dazhi fighting before, this was still the first time they saw Ke Dazhi using his saber and scabbard together, in such a fantastic shenfa, unleashing his offensive. It was only then did they realize that Ke Dazhi has been hiding his strength. However, Xu Ziling was able to force Ke Dazhi to make his move in full strength, it could be considered extremely exceptional. The most formidable aspect was that each spin of Ke Dazhi body had subtle difference from each other, so that it was difficult to predict beforehand the urate time on when his attack was going to reach the opponents body. Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber Technique was divided into five secrets [of an art], namely spin, blow, roll, scroll, and break. This moment he was using the spinning sand secret; it changed unpredictably like the whirlwind in the desert, making it hard for the opponent to fathom. Facing Ke Dazhis attack, Xu Ziling was immediately subjected to the frightening feeling of thirst and drought in the desert. The opponent seemed to turn the main hall into an endless expanse of sandstorm. If it were other people, such offensive method would definitely bring about discouraging feeling of being lost and being routed by gazing into the sandstorm in the distance. Another hint of smile floated on the corner of Xu Zilings mouth. Suddenly he traversed and swayed sideways. When everyone thought that he was going to evade, fast as lightning he shot forward again, his long sword swiftly pricked up. Ding! Like a streak of lightning the long sword, swift beyond humanprehension, shot inside Ke Dazhis saber. At the speed that was hard for naked eyes to see clearly, the saber and the sword collided. And then Xu Ziling spun around, putting his fingers together into palm chop, he fiercely hacked onto Ke Dazhis sweeping-over saber de. The two men spun away from each other at the same time. When the distance between them was about two zhang away, both of them suddenly stopped and stood steadily at the same time as if they had prior agreement, facing each other. The entire hall exploded in shaking-the-heaven cheers and apuse. The two mens eyes met. It was as if theypletely did not hear the cheers and apuse. Practically, it was as if there was no other person watching the battle; there was only the opponent in each others eyes. Watching this, Kou Zhongs blood was boiling. He really wished it was he who went down the arena in ce of Xu Ziling. Such a formidable opponent, where else could he find it? Ke Dazhi casually tossed this scabbard away, letting it dropped on the side, and then he pounced forward like a tiger, the Sandstorm Saber swept C following a curving arc trajectory, to chop toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling secretly performed an image technique, casually his sword swept,pletely without any fancy variation. The instant the scabbard touched the ground, creating a clear ringing noise C was the exact same moment Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber was swept by Xu Zilings sword. The speed of these movements could be easily imagined. The saber and the sword struck; simultaneously the two mens tiger body was severely shaken. Ke Dazhi let out a long whistle, his saber technique changed. Fantastic, like rolling quicksand, wave upon wave of saber strikes attacked Xu Ziling. This was the rolling sand secret of the Sandstorm Five Secrets. From the people watching, none did not have their breathing stopped, their qi was unable to flow. Now the two were engaged in close hand-to-handbat. Both sides were fighting with all their might. Not only victory or defeat could be decided at any moment, life and death were barely discernible. It was not until this moment that Xu Ziling truly experienced Ke Dazhis startling-the-heavens power, as if he was trapped in violent billows and angry wind, saber waves were rolling down on him without any letup. However, he was already aware of Ke Dazhis extraordinary ability; otherwise, how could he and Ba Fenghan be equally famous in the East Tujue? On the other hand, because Ke Dazhis previous impression from the fight at Shang Lin Yuan, he had never expected that the opponent would be able to receive his full-strength attack without yielding the slightest bit. Xu Ziling was using attack to meet attack, using hard to attack hard, powerful like Luoyang, Changan, that kind of strong big cities with the strictest military defense system, so that no matter how devastatingly like sandstorm the opponents rolling sand method was, it could not sway him the slightest bit. The most shocking to Ke Dazhi was that although on the surface Xu Zilings sword technique was brimming with agile and graceful impression, the reality was that each sword strike carried more than a thousand-jun power. The outside was empty, the inside was solid. And the sword technique fantastically changed without any pattern, just like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies, each stroke was original and ingenious, going or staying without any trace. Such swordsmanship, this was still the first time that he encountered. Everybody watching even forgot to cheer. Ding! Xu Ziling twisted his sword upward onto the saber de, Ke Dazhis saber could not continue rolling anymore, he could only dodge. Once again they returned to their previous position of standing some distance away facing each other. Cheers and apuse shook the hall again. It was only then did Li Shimin and the Heavenly Policy Mansion people heave a sigh of relief. They were d that Xu Ziling was able to block this round of Ke Dazhis howling-wind-and-torrential-rain-like offensives. Kou Zhong was also heaving a sigh of relief, because he could see that Xu Ziling had fallen into disadvantageous position somewhat, not because his skill could not match the opponents, but simply because he was not ustomed to using sword. The crowd could not help casting their gaze toward Li Yuan; they wanted to see if Li Yuan would use this opportunity while both sides stopped fighting to discontinue the martial artpetition. Ke Dazhi stood with his hands cupped the saber. Before Li Yuan made any decision, he let a longugh and said, Delighted! Delighted! I never expected Mo Xiong to be this brilliant. I am asking Mo Xiong to take three more strikes from me, and then Xiaodi will propose a toast to make amends. This way, it would be difficult for even Li Yuan to issue his decree to stop thepetition. This moment Xu Zilings surging blood and qi had just calmed down. Inwardly he knew that the next three saber strikes must be no small matter. Smiling slightly, he said, I am asking Ke Xiongs saber to be lenient, so that even if Xiaodi loses, I wont lose too unsightly. Anybody would know that Xu Ziling was only being modest, hence nobody took it seriously; they admired his manner from the heart even more. Ke Dazhi was slightly startled. A bit awkwardly he said, Mo Xiong must be joking; just now Xiaodi fully used spinning sand and rolling sand, two kinds of saber secret in session. The next one will be scrolling sand saber technique; I am asking Mo Xiong to give directions. Finished speaking, the strange light in his eyes red out brightly, he pulled his saber backward, the clothes and sleeves on his body fluttered, his momentum violent and ferocious to the extreme point. The strangest thing was that the air around seemed to stop flowing; it became empty and silent like a vast desert without even half a drop of wind, while the temperature was rising. Xu Ziling showed a grave expression, his entire spirit was ready. [1] If you think that I am not smart enough to trante Sun Tzu, then you are right. The excerpt is from Sun Tzu on the Art of War, tranted by Lionel Giles, M.A. Andale Online Publishing, 2000, ISBN 1-903328-03-9 https://sites.ualberta.ca/~enoch/Readings/The_Art_Of_War.pdf Book 33 - 6 – Placating Injury and Fleeing Away Everything seemed to stand still, including the passage of time, night and day, just like the dry desert without the slightest bit of life force in it. The air temperature was constantly rising. Such momentum was certainly horrifying to the extreme. Ke Dazhis back suddenly arched slightly, the divine light in his eyes red even brighter. While it looked like he was about to make his move, suddenly someone raised his voice and said, Previously, during the pce courtyardpetition, several times the moves Dazhi used were only limited to ci sha jue fa [lit. secondary sand secret method]. This time you used several secrets at once to let us open wide our horizon. Is there any particr reason? Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and everybody belonging to the Princelings and Imperial Concubines Factions, none did not rain curses inwardly. It was clear that whoever speaking was trying to help Xu Zilings disguise, Mo Wei. Whether it was magnificent army with thousands of men and horses determining victory on the battlefield, or perhaps martial art masters standing in a face off contending for supremacy, both put emphasis on a spurt of energy. Ke Dazhi was waiting for action after having umted his power; if he was interrupted, naturally reunching the move would be affected. Everybody looked toward the voice. The speaker was surprisingly sitting on the right side, around the main banquet table, the cab minister that Li Yuan doted on and trust, Feng Deyi. None of the people on Li Shimins side was not greatly astonished. Feng Deyi has always had close rtionship with Li Jiancheng; he could be considered a core figure of the Princelings Faction, why did he openly help the Heavenly Policy Mansions side like this? Even after pondering over it a hundred times, Xu Ziling remain puzzled. No matter how much Feng Deyi cared about or had good impression toward him, he should not risk offending the Princelings and the Imperial Concubines Factions by helping him. However, this was really not a decisive battle between life and death, only apetition in front of the pce court to learn from one another, so no one could really me Feng Deyi. Even Li Yuan, who was supervising the battle, only smiled without saying anything, naturally other people did not dare to object even more. Ke Dazhi only smiled calmly. He still maintained a strong momentum pressure. Without blinking at all his eyes were fixed at Xu Ziling, he replied in heavy voice, With Mo Xiong, such a hard-toe-by opponent, how could Dazhi dare to value the broom as ones own [idiom: to attach value to something because it is ones own]? Naturally I have to fight with all my strength. Immediately Li Jiancheng and the others cried Superb! inwardly. On the surface Ke Dazhis remark was modest, but under the surface it was haughty and oppressing, implying that in the past the martial art masters of the Heavenly Policy Mansion still did not have enough qualifications to force him to fight with all his strength. If this time he was able to beat Xu Ziling, then anybody would feel that the Heavenly Policy Mansion no longer had the ability to oppose him and be his match. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Thank you Ke Xiong for honoring me with yourpliments; please bestow your move. Ke Dazhis tongueshed out a spring thunder, he let out a sudden roar; the Sandstorm Saber, which he pulled behind his back, suddenly appeared in front of him like magic. Using an extremely abstruse and fantastic technique, his body following the saber, he struck toward Xu Ziling. For the first time that night Kou Zhong was worried about Xu Ziling, while at the same time he felt Ke Dazhis profound, immeasurable depth. The reason he was forced to re-evaluate Ke Dazhi was that although he was distracted by having to respond to Feng Deyis remark, not only he was able to hold his momentum without any change, it also showed his strong will to fight and his unswerving determination, steadfast spirit; moreover, it also showed his deep, bottomless power. Asking himself, Kou Zhong was not sure that he could reach this same state. Bearing the brunt of the attack, Xu Ziling felt the opponents pressure even more clearly. He nearly wanted to abandon the long sword in his hand to use the image method that he was good at to block the three saber strikes that he already publicized beforehand. But naturally he must not do so. Without any better option he pushed all distracting thoughtspletely out of the sea of his mind. Secretly performing the Motionless Fundamental Method, he raised the entire power in his body to deal with the fierce and severe saber methoding at him, which the opponentunched using the scrolling sand technique. The Sandstorm Saber drew an arc in the empty air, brimming with spinning and scrolling feeling, moving up and down like a wave with inexhaustible changes, scrolling toward Xu Ziling. Although it was officially one saber strike, it constituted of more than a dozenyers of continuous rolling waves; each rolling wave carried subtle changes within its timing and the angle of attack, delivering scroll after scroll of saber power, converging into a fierce and severe saber qi capable of covering the wall and cracking the rampart, its formidable power had no end. Looking at this, Xu Zilings eyebrows were greatly knitted; just now he was able to hold his ground and not losing under Ke Dazhis rolling sand saber secret, he was relying entirely on his technique in deflecting force and borrowing qi. But Ke Dazhi obviously released this one saber strike focusing on his key strength; practically he could not deflect, he could not borrow. It was a brilliant trick to force him to use brute force against brute force. The biggest headache was that when Ke Dazhi was waiting for action after having umted power earlier, he already had his intention and his qi locked on him. If he used his earlier method of dodging first and attackingter, he might be able to evade the first saber strike, but not the second. While his qi and intention were drawn, the opponent might seize the opportunity to strike in one move. It was only now did he realize that Ke Dazhis reputation was not in vain; he certainly belonged to the rank of young martial art masters like Ba Fenghan, Yang Xuyan, Hou Xibai, and the likes. Xu Ziling let out a low shout; fast as lightning he floated forward. The long sword in his hand curved outward first before meeting Ke Dazhi. Dang! Like two streaks of lightning, the saber and the sword shed. The long sword broke upon contact with the saber. More than half of the people in the hall cried out in rm. Li Jing raised his hand to strike the small copper bell in the middle of the table, but it was already toote to prevent the bloodshed that was about to happen. After hacking and breaking the long sword, Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber headed directly toward the pit of Xu Zilings stomach. While it looked like the saber, which carried the abundant advanced-courageously momentum, could not be withdrawn, Xu Ziling tossed the broken sword, but his thumb miraculously pressed on the saber de. Dang! The cease-fire bell rang. Upon contact with the saber, Xu Ziling flew off like a kite with cut string andnded over a zhang away. When he touched the ground, he appeared to be staggering slightly before being able to stand steadily. Ke Dazhi stopped his saber and withdrew. His pair of eyes emitted strange rays of light. Without blinking at all he looked at Xu Ziling, his eyes revealed a hint of astonished look, which he failed to hide. It was only then did the people in the hall heave a sigh of relief. Even Li Jiancheng himself did not wish to see the fierce general under hismand, under this kind of festive-day-approaching event C made trouble by shedding blood and killing someone. In the main hall the crow and peacock still made no sound, everybody was quietly waiting for Li Yuans decision. Li Yuan personally started to p and praise Good! which immediately provoked the entire hall to echo with unending cheers and apuse. Letting out a longugh, Li Yuan said, Good! Good! Two Qings martial artpetition is certainly brilliant beyondpare, making others gasping in amazement. Ke Dazhi and Xu Ziling went down on their knees to thank the Emperors favor. Li Yuan swept the hall with his gaze. His fingers fiddled with his beard, he smiled cheerfully and said, Ke Qings saber technique is surely unrivalled. Mo Qings sword technique is also out of the ordinary. Its a pity your sword is just ordinary iron, which cannot take the brunt of the battle. Zhen hereby decrees thepetition ends in a tie. Anybody has any objection? Naturally nobody dared to oppose the Great Tang Emperor cum the master of the Li ns decision. Li Yuan also said, Furthermore, Qin Wang is to reward Ke Qing with ten taels of gold, Huangtaizi [crown prince] is to present Mo Qing with a treasured-sword. Xu Ziling and Ke Dazhi thanked the Emperors favor in chorus. The people in the hall cheered and apuded. It could be said that this was Li Yuans first attempt in the hope of quieting down the dispute between his two sons. Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in Shang Xiufangs ear, See you tomorrow! before rising up to his full height. Under the masses gaze, he came to the middle of the hall, between the two men. Li Yuan looked at him in astonishment. Kou Zhong kowtowed and reported, If Xiaorens medical eyes are not mistaken, Mo Wei Zong Xiong [older brother of the same n], because his sword was broken, he received internal injury, and must immediately seek quite ce, where Xiaoren will personally use the needle to treat him. Otherwise it will cause no end of trouble. Huangshang, please note clearly. Deeply concerned, Li Yuans gaze fell on Xu Ziling. Thetter cooperated seamlessly by saying, Shen Yis insight is very urate. Everybody in the hall eximed together in admiration. Looking from such a distance, yet he was able to see clearly that Xu Ziling received internal injury. Other than Kou Zhong, whose medical expertise was like the deitys, who could have done that? Wei Zhengxing, who was known as the Living Hua Tuo, nearly wanted to crawl under the table. The people on Li Jianchengs side did not know whether tough or to cry. Kou Zhongs action was akin to indirectly pointed out that Xu Zilings disguise of Mo Wei was actually the big loser, and thus he was increasing Ke Dazhis prestige. However, if he cured the enemy, whose martial art skill was more or less on par with Ke Dazhi, it would indeed cause no end of trouble. However, doctors have parents heart, plus Kou Zhong, who always appeared to be a clueless person, seemed to really do not understand the struggle between different factions in Changan. Even Li Jiancheng did not have the heart to me him for being meddlesome. Li Shimin rose up to his full height and said, I will have to trouble Mo Shen Yis miraculous hands to take care of Mo Laoshi. I am asking Fu Huang to bestow your permission. In their heart and belly, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong knew that Li Shimin has finally seen through the two boys real identity. After thanking the Emperor for his favor, they left in great hurry. In Changan city, each and every home was decorated withnterns and colored banners. The sound of firecrackers stopped here and started again somewhere else, echoing unendingly. The two left the Imperial Pce, both had the rxed feeling of the dragon returning to the ocean, the fierce tiger going back to the jungle. Squeezing themselves into the stream of people on the main street, they sensed even more the bustling atmosphere of the night on the Lunar New Years Eve. The tworgest coloredntern year-end night markets were held at East and West Markets, respectively. Most of the pedestrians on the street had these two markets as their destination. Groups of boys and girls marched together to enjoy themselves to the full, strolling along the streets, invoking the two boys memory of celebrating Lunar New Year back in Yangzhou. Kou Zhongughed and said, We, two brothers, are finally able to swagger along Changan streets side by side. Things of the world are difficult to foresee; nothing can surpass this. Xu Ziling smiled and said, While we still have half a sichen before our appointed time to meet with Hou Gongzi, would Mo Shen Yi be interested in visiting a local scenic spot? Kou Zhong knew that this was not as simple as merely a sightseeing visit; he cheerfully replied, How could Xiaoren dare not toply? Xu Ziling steered him in the direction of Yue Ma Bridge. Bang! Bang! It was unclear who set them off, but a couple of fireworks shot to the sky and exploded one after another, creating garish and beautiful colored light patterns, fantastic and beautiful like a dream. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Since following Niang leaving Yangzhou, it seems like we have never celebrated the New Year. Therefore, tonights feeling is particrly strong. Xu Zilingughed and said, Are you thinking of your Zhizhi? Dejected, Kou Zhong replied, You saw through me again. Last time Xiaodi suffered the torment of yearning heart, it was the Mid-autumn night where the round moon was shining bright, causing me to abandon everything and rush to Lingnan to look for her. I wonder if festive days are particrly hard because it stirs up the longing in our heart? Xu Ziling was reminded of the touching scene ofing upon Shi Qingxuan during another festival in Chengdu; he could not help sighing as well. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his broad shoulder and spoke in low voice, Who are you thinking of? Xu Ziling changed the subject, Everybodys past is just a heavy burden, it would be best if we do not talk about it, he said, That kid, Ke Dazhis Sandstorm Saber Technique was quite something; do you have any confidence of beating him? Kou Zhong pondered silently for half a day. He finally said, Its very difficult to say. Just now when he was fighting against you, because it wasnt a battle to distinguish life and death, there was still a bit of power left in reserve. If it were an all-out battle, it would be even more not easy to deal with. The Yue Ma Bridge was in sight, the streets were packed with boys and girls releasing fireworks and lighting up firecrackers; the atmosphere was very warm. Kou Zhong went on, If I had a chance to have an all-out battle against him, it would certainly be a pleasure in life. Xu Ziling suddenly halted his steps, Were here! he said. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around. He discovered that they were standing outside a templeplexs main gate. In term of scale, this temple was not big, but clearly the incense was burning vigorously in front of the temple. This moment the middle door was wide open, from which unending stream people who came to make a vow and pray for blessings was flowing. Looking inside, heads were surging, smoke and fire pervaded the air. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, This is Wu Lou Si [no-reveal temple, see also Book 31 Chapter 10], built during the eighth year of the Emperors reign; could it be rted to the treasure-trove? Pulling him into the temples door, Xu Ziling said, From the ingenuity of the templeplexs architecture andyout, I have a feeling that there is a high possibility that this temple came from Lu Dashis design. If Xiaodis discerning eyes are unmistaken, the entrance to the Duke Yangs Treasure ought to be somewhere inside this temple. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused, but then he sighed and said, I just hate that currently we are unable to move a single step. Tomorrow night we wille again to look for the path and step on the field. Xu Ziling agreed that under current circumstances, it would be impossible to find the passageway. Heughed and said, Dont say that I am not enough of a brother! Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, How could Xiaodi dare? In the meantime the two reached the white stone steps in front of the Hall of Great Strength. The sound of the monk chanting their prayers wasing from inside the hall; a religious ceremony ought to be in progress. Kou Zhong said, Do you want to get inside to get the feel on the interior structure? Based on your, Ling Shaos insight, perhaps you would be able to tell if it is indeed Lu Dashis style. Xu Zilingughed and said, That is precisely Xiaodis intention. After some efforts, the two were finally able to squeeze into the halls door. Looking into the interior of the hall together, they saw a group of monks, with their backs toward the boys, standing facing the Buddha altar, tapping on the chime stones and praying to Buddha. The monk presiding over this religious ceremony ought to be this temples Fangzhang [Abbot]; he stood facing the crowd of monks, both palms came together, the eyes looked at the nose, the nose looked at the heart, leading the crowd in chanting the sutras, carrying the appearance of a holy monk who had attained the Way. Suddenly Xu Zilings tiger-body shook. He pulled Kou Zhong back and out. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Whats the matter? Xu Ziling responded in low voice, That Zhuchi [manager/host] is the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. That Zhuchi is Shi Zhixuan, Xu Ziling affirmed, Although he glued on beard on his face, even if he turned into ashes I would still recognize him. Kou Zhong spoke in great delight, Your keen eyes are not going to go wrong. Plus this is only to be expected. Didnt at one time Shi Zhixuan pay obeisance to the two of the Four Great Holy Monks and stole some Dharma supreme arts? Disguising himself as a holy monk is just like returning to his own profession. Ha! We are going to get to the soles of our feet this time [idiom: really very lucky, lit. while walking we kick some treasure (Courtesy of Akw)]. Were it not for him conducting the religious ceremony, we would not have the opportunity to see him. The two boys finally squeezed out of the temple door and headed toward the Yue Ma Bridge; they felt the jubnt atmosphere of the festive-daying-near in the city was growing. The pedestrians were you bump me, I knock against you, but nobodyined or got angry over this. Kou Zhong went on, Old Shis thinking is very thorough. If he came to live in seclusion to practice Buddhism, or perhaps saying that he wandered the four oceans, then he could go out and do the killing and burning, the shady business that offends the Heaven and reason. Bang! Bang! Bang! A group of children cast lighted firecrackers from the bridge into the Yong An Canal below. The more water bursts they created, the louder their shouts and cheers were. It just happened that someone was leaving the imprable bridge railings, so that the two boys quickly took their ce, to stand against the railing. Kou Zhong followed Xu Zilings eyes looking at the half moon shining bright in the sky, What are you thinking? he asked. Sighing lightly, Xu Ziling said, I am calcting whether if we joined hands in surprise attack, we could take Shi Zhixuans old life. Intense murderous aura shed through Kou Zhongs eyes, but immediately he frowned and said, You are more qualified than me to make the judgment. What exactly is Immortal Image Method? Xu Ziling replied honestly, I still cannot fathom his foundation. The general idea is: its some kind of life and death conversion. When under attack, it could transform death to life; when attacking, it could use life as death, so that he could y the opponent in the palm of his hand. Himself will always be upying invincible position. Althoughst night I used my entire treasured method [fabao, Buddhas teaching, magic weapon] to the fullest, he still appeared as if he wasnt affected at all. From this, you could imagine how formidable he is. If you have to guess, Kou Zhong asked, How would Hou Xibai react if we killed Shi Zhixuan? That is very difficult to guess, Xu Ziling replied, First of all, we must decide whether we really want to dispose of Shi Zhixuan. Other things, we could always think a bitter. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If the entrance to the treasure-trove is really inside the Wu Lou Si, even if we did not want to dispose of him, we simply could not. Xu Ziling said, If this is our decision, then tonight we must not deal with Yang Xuyan, to avoid beating the grass to scare the snake. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement. It should be noted that until this moment, those who knew that they were already in Changan, other than Wanwan C would definitely not reveal their secret. However, if they made their move to deal with Yang Xuyan, Shi Zhixuan would definitely be on guard, so much so that he would suspect that Gao Zhandao and the others were rted to the two boys. Kou Zhong said, But what about that Hou kid? Let me talk with him, Xu Ziling replied, We are all friends, we should not hide anything. Well see how he reacts, and then decide what we are going to do. Kou Zhong patted his shoulder vigorously and spoke in determination, Lets do it this way. Well go see Hou kid first. The two were about to leave, a burst of fragrant wind assaulted their nostrils, followed by a sweet, familiar voice speaking behind them, Excuse me, may I ask two Renxiong, what is so interesting inside the Wu Lou Si that amidst your busy schedule you still find the time to visit? Without needing to turn around, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew who wasing. They could not help groaning inwardly. A soft and touching female body squeezed into the space, which actually was not enough to amodate anybody C between the two boys. Book 33 - 7 – Bound Hands and Fee t The wind from the river blew in their face, carrying the smell of fireworks and fire fragments; blowing the peerless beauty Wanwans beautiful hair, brushing on the two boys fake faces. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Wan Dajie certainly possesses great magical power; all along you were following behind us, uncle and nephew? Pfft! Wanwan giggled tenderly and said, Uncle and nephew, fancy that you guys have such big guts; one is called Mo Wei, one is called Mo Yixin. I want to see when the Li Family are going to lock you up in the prison. Pulling his attention away from her fragrant, flexible, tender and soft body, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, What trick are you going to y this time? Wanwans beautiful eyes floated over to him; slightly angry, she said, You have not seen me for such a long time, cant you be a bit more polite? Answer my question first. Kou Zhong said, Just now we went to the temple to implore the gods and worship Buddha, asking for good luck. Right now we are leaning on the railings is to wait for the good luck to arrive. Is it clear enough? Wanwan pointed to fireworks exploding in the sky, saying, Look! How beautiful! Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other; they were at a loss on how to deal with her. They were groaning inwardly even more, because if she entangled them endlessly like this, how were they going to carryout their grand n tonight? Wanwan suddenly turned her gaze to the river again. Her lucid-and-elegant, free-from-vulgarity jade countenance revealed deep thought expression, she spoke unhurriedly, Since the news spread out that you two areing to Guanzhong for a treasure hunt, Li Jiancheng sent out his men all over Changan to investigate a total of twenty-eight buildings rted to Yang Su, big and small, nearly having the buildings flipped over, but still could not find any trace of any treasure-trove, before he finally gave up. If the treasure-trove is inside Wu Lou Si, that is indeed beyond anybodys expectation. Didnt Shao Shuai say that tonight is the best propitious day for treasure hunting? Hearing that, Kou Zhong was nearly dumbstruck and unable to reply. Revealing another bitter smile, he said, I wonder who is Wan Dajies spy and informer in the Pce? It seems like there is nothing happening in the Pce that Dajie does not know. Wanwan leaned half of her tender body against Xu Ziling, and whispered softly in his ear, Ziling is a bit more honest. Oh, Ziling! Persuade your good brother, without my cooperation, you obtaining the buried treasure might only convenience Shi Zhixuan in vain. Resisting her intimate nuzzling, Xu Ziling said, Who would dare not to cooperate with you? The problem is that we have another important matter tonight; the treasure hunt will have to be left for another day. Hardening his heart, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, What I, Kou Zhong said has never been something that you cannot count on. In short, the hidden treasure that we are trying to find, you will have a share. But if you so disturb the n by muddying the water, at most we break up the partnership, we are going to copy the Li ns government and military system, from then on we will remove our armor and return to the farm, each one will take his separate way. Wanwan leaned into his bosom; looking up to him, sheughed in spite of herself and said, Shao Shuai, please calm down. I just want to help you. I thought you were going to appreciate it. But I am afraid it will be difficult for your threat to be effective. Shao Shuai has so many brothers in Changan, you want to remove your armor and return to the farm, it wont be that easy! Having his weak-point hit by her, he sighed bitterly and said, Luckily I have Wan Dajie reminding me, otherwise I would have certainly forgotten about this point. Xiaodi can guarantee that when the treasure is found, we will send crimson bridal sedan chair to take you to share the booty. Wanwan totally upied the upper hand. Straightening up her tender body, her bright eyes flickered brightly, her bearing returned to her usual confident and calm demeanor, as she softly said, Now, thats not bad. What you said is pleasant to hear. However, nice words are usually not honest. I want to know your n clearly. This is yourst chance to express your sincerity in cooperation. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce. They both felt that they were helpless against her. Xu Ziling spoke with serious expression, Basically we do not have any n. If you dont believe me, theres nothing that I can do. Wanwan calmly said, In that case, let Wanwan know the current situation. This is not an excessive request. Kou Zhong leaned over to her small ear. He yed the ghost by blowing a breath of air into her ear first before saying, The truth is that we, two brothers are still groping about to find the location of the entrance to the treasure-trove. If you could provide the list of those twenty-eight buildings that Li Jiancheng investigated, it would definitely be great help to our work. Huh? Howe your little cheeks are turning bright red? Red clouds descending on her jade cheeks, Wanwan hatefully glowered at him, and said, When I want to kill someone, my face will turn red. If you are not lying to me, then you basically dont know where the treasure-trove is. Xiaomei [little sister, counterpart of Xiaodi] is thinking, should I continue cooperating with you, or should I uncover your identity, so that Li Yuanji, who hates you to the bones, could redeem his lost face. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Please dont scare us. As long as theres still a thread of possibility, your honorable Sect definitely will not be willing to give up the opportunity to acquire the Demonic Emperor Relics, which is also the only way to defeat Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhong joined in, We might as well cooperate in other things; for example, joining hands to kill Shi Zhixuan. As long as you can find out his hiding ce, we could help you getting rid of him. Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong was sounding out Wanwan, to see whether she knew that Wu Lou Sis manager was Shi Zhixuan. Wanwan shook her head and said, Even if we know where he is, we have no way to kill him. Otherwise, he would have lost his life under the Four Monks hands that year. Unless theres a way to force him to fight to the death, otherwise, based on his Immortal Image Method and Huan Mo Shenfa [lit. fantasy demonic pose/motion (of the body in martial arts)], even if Zhu Shi [master] and Ning Daoqi join hands, they would still be unable to hold him down. Hearing that, the two were shocked in their hearts. No wonder both orthodox and demonic ways were so afraid of Shi Zhixuan, who was indeed the practically-invincible-and-unrivalled demonic lord. On the other hand, it was also clear that at least at this stage, Wanwan had the sincerity to cooperate with them, otherwise she could not possibly be this forting toward them. Kou Zhong said, Leaving Shi Zhixuan aside, his subordinates do not know Immortal Image Method; at least we could find a few to be offered as sacrifice, to weaken the Old Shis power. Wanwan sighed and said, Currently, between us and Shi Zhixuan, we maintain a certain delicate bnce, both sides have misgivings about each other. Once the bnce is destroyed, the consequences will be unbearable to imagine. Therefore, at least before obtaining the Demonic Emperor Relics, we do not wish to act blindly without thinking. You dont have to make your move, Xu Ziling said, Well take charge of distinguishing everything. As long as you provide urate information, we will carry thing through. Who do you want to kill? Wanwan asked heavily. How about Yang Xuyan? Kou Zhong sounded her out. Wanwan said, Yang Xuyan received Shi Zhixuans handed down teachings in Huan Mo Shenfa, killing him will be more difficult than difficult. Youd better set your goal a bit more realistic. An Long would be a very good choice. Losing him would be a very serious blow for Shi Zhixuan. He is also the link between Yang Xuyan and Shi Zhixuan, while also the only one that Shi Zhixuan trusts. Where is An Long hiding at? Xu Ziling asked. Wanwan replied, An Pangzi is an old fox, but to look for him, there will still be traces that we could find. Leave this matter to nujia. All right. Whats your n tonight? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged a nce. Kou Zhong resolutely said, We want to try whether Yang Xuyan really cannot be killed? Frowning, Wanwan said, Practically Yang Xuyan is not in town tonight; how are you going to kill him? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were stunned. They were skeptical at the same time. How did Wanwan know so clearly about the Shadow Assassins, whose secretive trace was renown throughout the world C whereabouts? Wanwan smiled and said, I just happened to know his whereabouts tonight. He left Changan to pick up his other lover Rong Jiaojiao. Do you understand? Kou Zhong seized the opportunity to ask, Whats the rtionship between Rong Jiaojiao and you? Wanwan replied, On this, please forgive Xiao Wan [little Wan] for not able to reveal to you. Since you dont have anything else to do tonight, I have a proposal that I want you to consider. Kou Zhong only wished that she would not follow them; forck of better option he said, What good presentation do you have? Wanwans eyes were shing with murderous intent; she took out a picture scroll from her bosom, the tone of her voice tranquil, she said, This is the map of the foreign guesthouse where the Tujue emissary minister is staying. If we are not mistaken, Zhao Deyan ought to be hiding in the embassy building. If you could kill him, it would be the most serious blow to Shi Zhixuan. Naturally Zhao Deyan is not an easy person, plus among the Tujue people, there is nock of top quality martial art masters. Why dont you consider it first? Kou Zhong took the picture scroll. Laughing tenderly, Wanwan said, If nujia finds out that tonight you sneakily go treasure hunting, I will definitely make you bag your food before you finish eating. Are we clear? With another tenderughter, still barefoot, she disappeared like a ghost into the western end of the bridge, among the stream of happy and excited people celebrating the Lunar New Years Eve. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other with wry smile on their faces; they were both left speechless. Inside Tong Xing Shes secret nest, Gao Zhandao was listening to the news that Yang Xuyan was not in town. So what are we going to do now? he asked. Xu Ziling spoke to Hou Xibai, who was pondering silently, Hou Xiong, do you think Wan Yaonus words are credible? Hou Xibai sighed, a bit losing interest, he said, Before obtaining the Sacred Relics, her words can be trusted up to 90%, simply because if we make mistake due to erroneous intelligence, it would bring them [feminine] more harm than good. Kou Zhong decisively spoke to Gao Zhandao, Cancel tonights New Years Eve family dinner. Since the oneing tonight is not Yang Xuyan at all, other assassins stillck even the qualifications to be killed by us. Niu Fengyi epted the order and left. Xu Ziling said, Another headache is that Wan Yaonu has already figured out our rtionship with Tong Xing She. Zhandao, do you have a way to deal with it? With a card up his sleeve, Gao Zhandao said, Thats easy. These past few years, we have focused on all kinds possible situations, repeatedly worked out various ways of dealing with contingencies. As soon as two Dangjia [manager/chief] give us a nod, the entire Tong Xing She can be the sound vanishes, the trace-hidden; we wont let the enemy find even half a shadow. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, That will do! But now is not the time yet. Otherwise we will only alert those yaonu, yaofu. Lei Jiuzhi said, Listening to the tone of Xibais voice just now, Yin Gui Pai wont be satisfied only by obtaining the Sacred Relics; is that correct? Hou Xibai snorted coldly and said, On this, I can make a universal affirmation. The reason Yin Gui Pai was able to be the sect with the strongest power within the demonic school is entirely dependent upon by fair means or foul, bymitting all manner of crimes. Zhu Yuyan is even more a heartless, faithless person. If they [feminine] are willing to share the result with others, the sun will rise from the west. Kou Zhong agreed, I dont have any delusion toward them either, he said, But they do possess great magical power, omniscience like immortals. I wonder whos their informer within the Tang Pce? This persons status cannot be low. Lei Jiuzhi said, The answer to this question ought toe from you. No one here is more familiar about the situation inside the Pce than you. Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day. He said, In the Pce, no one has greater power than Zhang Jieyu and Yin De Fei, two women. But which one is the yaonu, I really dont have any clue. Hou Xibai nodded and said, It will be extremely unwise for us to assume that Zhang Jieyu is not a yaonu simply because she was hit by Fen Jing San. Lei Jiuzhi said, If there is a chance we could try to feel it out. Whoever is willing to cover up for you, Mo Shen Yi, that would be the biggest suspect. But you must be especially careful, otherwise you might try to be clever and end up with egg on your face, and would expose your identity instead. Kou Zhong turned toward Zha Jie, who, all along, was silent, You are taking a fancy to Xier Guniang, arent you? Nobody expected that he would suddenly change subject, and even get right to the point [orig. to open the door and see the mountain]. Zha Jie was immediately put on the spot; extremely embarrassed, he said, Shuxia [subordinate] ... ay ... shuxia ... Kou Zhongughed and said, Everybody here is our own people, you can say whatever you want to say. I am only concerned about the major turning point in your life. Zha Jies face turned beet-red; hanging his head down, he said, Zhong Ye, please note clearly, in no way would Xiao Jie [little Jie] harmmon goal for selfish reason. Relying on his wisdom as an older man, Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, That is a deep love toward Xier! Kou Zhong asked, But hows Xier toward you? Distressed, Zha Jie said, She treats me better than she treats others, but ... ay, I really dont know how to exin it. Kou Zhong smiled and said, This is no problem. I could feel her pulse to see her love to you, to find out clearly. Hou Xibai was baffled, Please forgive Zaixia for being slow, Zhong Shao, are you thinking of meddling in this matter? Upright and unafraid, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Jie is my brother, his problem is my problem; naturally I must strive for him. Zha Jie was so touched that he did not know what to say. But he still did not understand what he could do to help in this matter. Kou Zhong went on, Tonight, should we go home to sleep, or should we listen to Wan Yaonu and go find Zhao Deyan to give him bad luck? Hou Xibai said, Merely Zhao Deyan one person is enough to give us headache, much less there are also other Tujue martial art masters. Ziling, what do you think? Xu Ziling said, The first priority right now should be to snatch the half Immortal Image Scroll back from Yang Xuyan. Hou Xibais eyes emitted grateful expression, but then he spoke dejectedly, Im afraid it would be very difficult for us to aplish. Sometimes I really want to destroy the half Image Scroll in my hands, so that Yang Xuyan will never get theplete Image Scroll. Xu Ziling said, Snatching back the half Image Scroll from Yang Xuyans hands is certainly more difficult than ascending the Heaven; but to get a glimpse of the full picture is not an impossible thing either. Shi Feixuan is the person who had reviewed the Image Scroll, if we ... Hou Xibai resolutely and decisively [orig. chop the nail and slice the iron] said, ording my humble schoolspass and set-square, I definitely cannot learn the Immortal Image Method from an outsider. Raising his thumb in praise, Kou Zhong said, You have ambition, but there will always be a way. For example, supposing we could bribe Rong yaonu to deceive him so that he would undress and climb onto the bed, he cant possible have the Immortal Image Scroll hanging on his neck while he is doing that thing! Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart was moved; he asked, Is there any hot spring public bath or something like that in Changan? pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, Really formidable, you even thought about that. While Gao Zhandao, Zha Jie and Lei Jiuzhi were still confused, Hou Xibai eximed, Ah! His face revealing a happy expression, he said, I nearly forget. An Pangzi loves to train qigong in warm water. It is bothfortable and particrly beneficial to the cultivation of his schools internal energy. Thest fact waspletely unknown to Kou and Xu, two boys. They both thought, So thats what it is. Zha Jie said, Changan has more than a hundred such halls, big and small. The three most famous establishments are the East Markets Qingfeng Quan [cool breeze (water) spring], the West Markets Ning Cui Tang [concentrated green jade hall], and the Bei Lis Le Quan Guan [happy/cheerful spring establishment]; they all use hot spring water. Gao Zhandao said, If I know what An Pangzi look like, to find out which public bath he is going to should be extremely easy. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs eyes fell on Hou Xibai at the same time. Hou Xibai said, Drawing his portrait is just the effort of lifting a brush. Question is: how are we going to extract from his mouth the information on how to deal with Yang Xuyan? Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes. Xu Ziling understood his intention implicitly. He said, There is something I want to talk privately with Hou Xiong. Kou Zhong stood up and said, Since it has nothing to do with us, let us get out of here for a moment! Hou Xibai smiled and said, Shao Shuai, please stay. Overwhelmed by favor from superior, Kou Zhong sat back down. After Lei Jiuzhi and the others left, only the three of them remained in the small hall. The sound of fireworks and firecrackers was still crackling happily; it was stilling continuously from the street outside. Xu Ziling still found it a little difficult to speak. He was silent for half a day, before finally said, ording to Wan Yaonu, your esteemed masters most formidable skill, apart from the Immortal Image Method, is the Huan Mo Shenfa; therefore, no matter how the enemy has many men and strong momentum, he would still be able to break the siege and leave. Is that true? Hou Xibai nodded and said, Exactly so. Wanwan did not deceive you. These two gongfa were both created by Shi Shi, plus there is a very close rtionship between the two. Does Hou Xiong know Huan Mo Shenfa? Kou Zhong asked in heavy voice. Hou Xibai shook his head and said, This is one of Shi Shis housekeeping skill. Unless I can surpass Yang Xuyan, Shi Shi would never pass this kind of secret manual on to me. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other. The mentioning of Huan Mo Shenfa was just an opening remark, so that they could gauge Hou Xibais real intention toward Shi Zhixuan; who would have thought that the answer brought up another matter? Noticing the odd expression on the two boys faces, an ominous feeling welled up in Hou Xibais heart. Stunned, he asked, Is there a problem? Kou Zhong replied, I dont know whether Wan Yaonu is simply babbling nonsense, but she said Yang Xuyan has obtained your esteemed masters Huan Mo Shenfas real teaching. To defeat him is easy, but to kill him is difficult beyond difficult. Hou Xibais tiger-body severely shook, the blood on his face was drained. What? he blurted out. But then he shook his head and said, It cant be, can it? Ay, its really hard to say. Xu Ziling understood. He said, Hou Xiongs judgment must be because when you were fighting over the Image Scroll in Sichuan that day, Yang Xuyan did not fully use the Huan Mo Shenfa, hence you believed that he had not obtained your esteemed masters secret manual. But it is also possible that he deliberately concealed the truth, so momentarily it is difficult to tell. But lets leave this all aside; if that day Hou Xiong did note across me, would it be save to assume that Hou Xiong practically did not know about the existence of the Image Scroll? Kou Zhong pped his thigh and said, I got it! Hou Xibai turned toward him with nk expression on his face. Smiling wryly, he said, Speak up then! Right not I am in a mess, I need someone to show me how to get to the right path. Kou Zhong said, Shi Zhixuan wants to kill his own daughter. Even Xu Ziling could not help blurting out, What? Kou Zhong said, This is called the person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear. Perhaps Shi Zhixuan did not personally order anybody to kill his daughter, but he leaked out the existence of the Image Scroll via An Long, and so those two can do the other things. Ay, cruel tiger wont eat its own cub, Shi Zhixuan is too heartless! Hou Xibai nodded and said, Shi Shi is certainly a man with an iron and stone heart. Ay! Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong could only look nkly at him. Hou Xibais handsome face alternated between cloudy and clear indeterminately. It was quite a whileter that he finally spoke dejectedly, Its too unfair. Shi Shi is clearly leaning toward Yang Xuyan; he even wanted to send him to get rid of me. Xu Ziling said, This is because Yang Xuyans natural disposition is simr to his, hence he is a lot more useful to him. Kou Zhong did not understand, If I were Shi Zhixuan, I would definitely not waste a talent like Hou Xiong, hemented, Why didnt he simply order Hou Xiong and Yang Xuyan to cooperate? Why would he want to borrow Yang Xuyans hand to kill you? It is our tradition, Hou Xibai replied, Its very difficult for outsiders toprehend and understand. Shi Shis original intention was to groom me specifically to deal with Ci Hang Jing Zhais direct disciple, but I turned my back on the matter he entrusted to me. Perhaps because of this he decided to give up on me. Whats Hou Xiongs n for the future? Xu Ziling asked. Hou Xibai struggled to rouse his spirit, he said, Fortunately I have two gentlemen supporting Xiaodi; otherwise, I, Hou Xibai, would stumble and unable to rise, and could only flee as far away as I can. Kou Zhong happily said, Indeed a strong and courageous person. Now, are you going to change your mind by pleading Shi Feixuan to recite the Immortal Image Method for you to listen to? Hou Xibai recovered his usual free and at ease demeanor;ughing involuntarily, he said, An ingrained thought, how could it suddenly change? ording to our humble schools statute, under current circumstances, either me or Yang Xuyan, we could onlybine the two pieces of Immortal Image Scroll into one, before we could learn the Image Method from it. Xu Ziling said, Supposing your esteemed master vited the rules by privately passing on the Immortal Image Method to Yang Xuyan just like he did with the Huan Mo Shenfa, wouldnt Hou Xiong suffer a serious loss? Hou Xibai said, Ziling is having this thought simply because you do not understand our demonic schoolspass and set-square. Shi Shi recorded the secret method in the scroll, it was to be the Legitive Scroll for us to fight over it, while we are bound by the oath that we must not use any other way to pass it on to anybody. Only if he does not enact thew-scroll would the limit be removed. Kou Zhong decisively said, All right, I, Kou Zhong, will also make an oath that by using whatever method, I am going to get the other half of the Image Scroll from Yang Xuyan for Hou Xiong. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Our aspiration must be on the Image Scroll, not on Yang Xuyan. But if we carefully exploit these two aspects, plus we have An Pangzi as the bait, perhaps we could achieve both. Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, ording to your honorable schoolspass and set-square, Shifu wants to kill his disciple, how should the disciple react? A hint of icy-cold smile floated out of the corner of Hou Xibais mouth; he spoke indifferently, Resist with all my strength, of course. Could it be that I should just sit and wait for death? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, That will do. Its so beautiful tonight, while we have nothing else to do, how about looking for a fine horse using only a picture [idiom: to try and find something with the help of a clue] by going to the foreign guesthouse and step on the tray? Perhaps there might be an unexpected gain. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai cheerfully agreed. Book 33 - 8 – Hitting the Secondary Vehicle by Luck The foreign guesthouse was located inside the Shizheng Li [lit. municipal administration neighborhood] west of the Imperial City, only separated by the An Hua Avenue from the Imperial City. Altogether there were ten buildingplexes; each one had its own detached courtyard, with more than a dozen buildings each, big and small, upying a vast area. Due to the several heavy snow recently, the roofs were covered in several cun of snow; the trees were covered in icicles even more. For nightwalkers whoe and go on high ces, this was extremely unfavorable, and tonight, there was another difficult problem, which was that all official residences and magnificent mansions in the entireplex, none was not decorated withnterns and colored banners, the noise reached unto the heavens, light shone everywhere making it as bright as day. To sneak in so that the gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive C would only be a wishful thinking. The three men, Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai, who were transformed by Lei Jiuzhis miraculous hands into rough Jianghu men, circled the foreign guesthouse, where the East Tujue people stayed, twice, but still they were unable to find a way to sneak into the guesthouse. Fortunately the streets were packed with people enjoying the festivities, so that they did not worry about raising anybodys suspicion. Finally the three sat down at the base of one of the ruishou [auspicious animal, such as the dragon, but my guest is Qilin (kirin)] stone statues standing on both sides of the guesthouse C looking at each other with wry smile on their faces. Bursts of the beating of the drums and the sound of music of the Great Nuo Opera came from the direction of the Imperial Pce. It was already the hai hour [9-11pm], so the New Years Day was only half a sichen away. Fireworks and firecrackers were lit on the streets, people enjoying the noise and excitement were in high spirit, weing the arrival of the new year. Some of the crowd were starting to make their way toward the river, where the Great Nuo Opera was chasing the ghosts down the path they must follow, so that the auspicious air would reign in order to obtain theing years peace and security. Taking out the scroll of the guesthouse map, Kou Zhong spread it out and said, If we enter by stepping across the wall of the rear courtyard, we could use the garden on the northeast corner as a cover, but after the garden, we would be unable to move a single step, unless we want to do a big fight. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, That should be our contingency n, big fight will only be harmful to us without any benefit. Hou Xibai said, But if we want to kill Zhao Deyan, this is certainly a hard-toe-by opportunity. At least we know that Ke Dazhi, Kang Qiaoli, and other Tujue men with identity and rank are in the Imperial Pce attending the banquet. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, This is called smart people speaking out, stupid people making the move. Right now Wan Yaonu is leading us along by the nose. Hou Xibai proposed, Wed better go to the rear court gate again. If we cant find the opportunity, well go home and sleep. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had to agree; thereupon they circled to the rear court again. The alley here was only one-fifth of the big streets width, plus it was far less crowded than the big street; there were only a few passers-by taking the shortcut. Suddenly the rear court gate opened a little, someone with the hat pressed down to his brows and eyes sneakily dodged out and squeezed himself into the stream of people. Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were severely shaken. Staring at the mans back, Hou Xibai asked, Whos that? Intense murderous aura red in Kou Zhongs eyes, he spoke heavily, Xiang Yushan! From the eastern bank of the Yong An Canal, the three looked at the skiff taking Xiang Yuhan toward arge sailboat anchored in the middle of the river. At this time, the waterway was full of ships and boats; more than a thousand big and small boats were moored along the banks, all were decorated withnterns and colored banners, shining on the river water, creating flickering and dazzling reflections, greatly increasing the difficulty of diving and climbing onto the enemys ship. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Whose boat is that? What is Xiang Yushan doing in Changan? Naturally the other two did not have the answer. Sweeping the people enjoying the festivities on both sides of the canal with his eyes, Xu Ziling said, Whatever the case, we must take risks. I want to spy who Xiang Yushan is going to see. If I could reach the bottom of the boat, I will have a way to hear every word that Xiang Yushan is saying. Stunned speechless, Hou Xibai said, Zilings spying skill is very formidable. But if you rise to the surface to take a breath, it would be very easy for the people on the banks to see you. Kou Zhongs eyes scanned the waterway upstream and downstream, until finally his gazended on the row of skiffs moored by the bank. He said, If we steal a skiff, we could solve the problem of going back and forth. He reached out to put his hand on Hou Xibais shoulder, and said with a smile, Unless that Little Thief Xiang is talking for three days and two nights, Ling Shao and I do not need to rise to the surface to take a breath. Lets go! From the skiff, Xu Ziling slipped down into the water, and then swiftly, keeping close to the bottom of the canal, he swam across the nearly seven zhang distance toward the target ships keel, and then like a leech, he stuck himself up. For fear of getting his clothes wet, he was only wearing inner garment. Although the water was icy and bone-pratingly cold, his inner power was profound, hence he was unafraid of the cold. When he stuck his ear to the hull and applied his power to listen, the sound from the hollow of the big ship, as well as the sound from different sources, immediately came alive in his mind. In the blink of an eye, he traced Xiang Yushans hateful voice to one of the cabins. He heard him say, We must consider this matter at length before making a decision. If Li Shimin had any opportunity to strike back, our former sess will be wiped outpletely. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was stunned; how did Xiang Yushan get involved in the conspiracy against Li Shimin? A female voice spoke softly, Ah, Xiang Gongzi, how could we still have time to consider this matter at length? Everything is well-prepared; we only need to execute it ording to n, I guarantee it would be difficult for Li Shimin to escape his allocated lifespan. Xu Ziling vaguely remembered hearing this voice before, but momentarily he could not remember who. While inwardly he was distressed, another unfamiliar deep and low male voice said, What is Xiang Xiong worried about? Xiang Yushan slightly muttered to himself irresolutely, before replying with a sigh, For some reason I always feel a little restless, but as for why, I really cannot tell. The womanughed and said, Does Xiang Gongzi feel restless because of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, those two kids? The man let out a cold snort and said, Xiang Xiong, isnt this anxiety a bit too excessive? The woman spoke softly, These two kids are experts in causing trouble. But Changan is unlike Luoyang at all. They are too busy to go treasure hunting, they wont have time to meddle in other peoples business. Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly. He was finally able to guess that the speaker must be Rong Jiaojiao, whose identity was dubious. In that case, the man must be the Shadow Swordsman [sic] Yang Xuyan, who was as mysterious and sneaky-like-a-ghost as Shi Zhixuan. Why would Wanwan lie to them? Yang Xuyan and Rong Jiaojiao were not out of town at all; they were practically in town. Were it not for them identally following Xiang Yushan, they would have been deceived by her. But until this moment he still could not figure out the rtionship between these three people. In the past, Yang Xuyan had tried to assassinate Xiang Yushan in Baling; it was entirely due to him and Kou Zhong that Xiang Yushan avoided cmities and dissolved the disaster, hence they ought to be enemies and not friends. Xiang Yushan sighed and said, The problem is that I understand them better than you do. I dare say that this moment they are already in Changan. But where the hell are they hiding? What are they doing now? We cant even touch their shadows. Rong Jiaojiao hatefully said, If we could touch their shadows, their corpses would have been torn apart to ten thousand pieces early on. There must be someone helping them in Changan, otherwise, they could not have hidden so secretive like this. Inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly astonished. If Rong Jiaojiao was one of Zhu Yuyans disciples, how could she not know about them? But listening to the tone of her voice, it sounded like she was being sincere. Could it be that Wanwan deliberately conceal it from her? Or perhaps her rtionship with Yin Gui Pai was not like what he was thinking? Yang Xuyan spoke heavily, Toward these two kids, naturally we must not treat them lightly, but we need not worry excessively either. Li Yuanji is doing everything he can to find them. As soon as they are revealing their hiding ce ever so slightly, I can guarantee that they will not leave Changan alive. Xiang Xiong can get rid of these two cmities within your bosom. Xu Ziling thought that if Yang Xuyans remark came from the bottom of his heart, then quite likely he did not know that the demonic schools coveted treasure the Demonic Emperor Relics was along the treasure-trove. But this matter was also reasonable and fair; based of Shi Zhixuans style, he could not possibly let his disciple know about this matter. Xiang Yushan suddenly asked, Has that batch of firearms arrived? Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly. He vaguely remembered something, but temporarily was unable to put his finger on it. Rong Jiaojiao said, The fourth day of the first month at thetest, we will hand over the firearms into your hands. Is there a problem? Xiang Yushan resolutely said, The fourth is definitely not a problem, but we cant bete even for a day. Otherwise we will have to abort the entire operation. We understandpletely, Yang Xuyan said, Hereafter, we will have to keep close contact with each other. Xu Ziling left the bottom of the boat and swam secretly toward Kou Zhong and Hou Xibais small boat. Climbing aboard the skiff, which was parked between tworge ships, Xu Zilingughed and said, Hou Xiongs luck cannot be considered bad at all; at least half of that half piece of Immortal Image Scroll is already inside your pocket. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Yang Xuyan is on board that ship? While circting his power to vaporize the water from his body, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Rong Yaonu is also on board. The most wonderful thing is that on the boat, other than they, there are more than a dozen men, but listening to their breathing, they are either ordinary martial art masters, or do not know martial arts at all, not enough to make us worry. Kou Zhong positioned the skiff at a ce where they could watch Rong Jiaojiaos ship from a distance. They saw Xiang Yushan boarding the small boat and returning to the bank. At this time, the number of people strolling both banks of the canal has been greatly reduced. A lot of people were rushing toward the river to watch the Great Nuo Dancers performing the chasing of the ghosts into the river. Hou Xibai excitedly said, Yang Xuyan is still on board. Watching Xu Ziling putting on clothes, Kou Zhong smiled and said, A single man and a single woman on board the ship, plus they are meeting after a long period of separation, and Yang Xuyans character is lecherous, in this festive day and beautiful night, I wonder what those two are going to do? Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Why dont you go listening if you want to know clearly? Hold on! Hou Xibai said, This is probably one in a thousand years golden opportunity for me to snatch the Image Scroll back; shouldnt we make meticulous n first? Ziling, what do you say? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling replied, I only have four words to say, attack while the enemy is unprepared [gong qi wu bei]. Not even in his dream would Yang Xuyan expect that we would grasp his whereabouts, while there is no defense on board. If we could reach the ship undetected, advancing we can attack, retreating we can defend, changing ording to the situation C we practically do not need any n. Kou Zhongughed and said, The general idea is like that, but I do have a more brilliant proposal. With an exuberant interest, Hou Xibai asked, What proposal? Curbing his immense pride in himself, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Yang Xuyan always considers himself to being without a trace, going without a mark. This time we are going to use the opponents own methods to obtain retribution [from the dictionary: idiom, attributed to Song dynasty neo Confucianist Zhu Xi; so Kou Zhong was way ahead of his time?]; using no-shadow, no-trace to steal the half-piece of Image Scroll and leave. Gentlemen, what do you think? Xu Zilingughed and said, Lets get on the boat first and talk about itter! Using the ships nearby as a cover, Kou Zhong quietly moved the boat toward their target, the big ship. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai raised their vignce to watch the enemys ship. If someone on the ship looked this direction, they would definitely be unable to hide from their eyes. Lowering his voice, Hou Xibai said, The ship is brightly lit; if we climb on board, it would be very easy for them to detect us. Kou Zhongughed and said, Hou Gongzi has done too little of imitating-the-dog-and-steal-chicken things, while Ling Shao and I are great expert in this regard. Did you see those windows? Each one is an entrance. Do you understand? While speaking, the skiff made arge circle, from the bow they went directly toward the aft of the enemy ship, and then from this direction they sped up. Unless someone was standing at the stern, they would not be able to see them. Xu Ziling suddenly muttered to himself with a sigh, Why didnt we think about killing Xiang Yushan? We didnt even think about following him to find out where he is staying. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Now that you mentioned it, it does seem strange. Ay, although I am dying to chop him into mincemeat sauce, but honestly, I am scared of even confronting this problem. After all, he is little Lingzhongs father; what should we do? Hou Xibai interrupted, If we could smash his Xiang Familys offending Heaven and reason human trafficking shady business, making Xiang Yushan losing his standing, wont that give him more unbearable pain than simply killing him? Kou Zhong pulled back the pair of oars; purely using his inner power he made the boat glided silently over the more than ten zhang water surface of the river, toward the bank behind the enemy ship, where another big ship was moored, so that they would not have to worry about anybody on the shore catching sight of their movement. Hou Xibai took out three ck-cloth hoods and said in a low voice, Lei LaoGe prepared these for us earlier; who could have thought that they woulde in handy. Xu Ziling stretched out his palm and pressed it against the big ships hull; applying his power, he used sucking force to steady the skiff. A martial art master like Yang Xuyan might immediately be alerted if the skiff bumped onto the ship lightly. Kou Zhong took the hood while pressing his ear against the hull. After listening for half a day, his brows greatly knitted, he said, Howe I did not hear that kid and Rong Yaonus voices? Xu Ziling also used his eavesdropping technique. Although asionally he heard voices, but they had nothing to do with Yang Xuyan and Rong Jiaojiao. This does not make any sense, he said, puzzled, Even if they did not murmur endearments to each other, they would at least talk about things pertaining to Xiang Yushan. Hou Xibai spoke in low voice, I am thinking of a possibility. The two boys fixed their gaze on him, waiting for him to borate. Hou Xibai said, Since Laojun Temple became independent Sect, they have been practicing separate flows of men and women. No matter what kind of school of thought, all are perfecting the cultivation method where the yin and the yang are mutually transferred; that is, the yang flow and the yin flow. Within the yin flow, there is something called xuan pin cha nu shu [lit. mysterious female (of animal or nt) beautiful girl method],ing from Laozis [Lao-tze] Daodejings [the Book of Dao] Gu Shen Bu Si [harvest god not dead], which speaks about xuan pin. Xuan pin school is referring to transferring the root of the Heaven and Earth. This gongfa must be cultivated together by a man and a woman. During training, the breathing stops, only the inner qi is going back and forth. Under this kind of circumstances, its only natural that the sound of breathing cant even be heard. Kou Zhong happily asked, During training of this demonic skill, do they need to take off their clothes? Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, I only heard Shi Shi talking about it, I am not too clear on the details. Xu Ziling said, In that case, Rong Yaonu herself must be Laojun Temples person. The reason she became Zhu Yuyans disciple is merely some kind of business deal between the two sects, just like marriage arrangement between two countries. Kou Zhong asked, Did Old Shi talk about anything else? Hou Xibai said, Shi Shi only exined based on the theory of xuan pin cha nu fa characteristic. He said, Mystery is marvelous, the female (see above) bears and gives birth to living creature, which is the root of divine qi and the valley of nothingness, which must be sought within oneself C and not from him. Kou Zhong pondered deeply for half a day; he said, Since together men and women have something to do with bearing and giving birth, quite possibly it refers to the sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. Ay! Thinking too much wont do us any good, lets just go on board and take a look. What do we do with this skiff, Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong replied, With apology to its owner, we have to sink it to dispose of this matter. Xu Ziling applied his power to his feet. Sending out yin power, the ce where he stepped on immediately caved in. Stunned, Hou Xibai said, Zilings power has made great progress, no wonder Huang Gongcuo had to suffer losses in your hands. Kou Zhong pressed his ear onto the hull again; suddenly he soared upward. By the time Hou Xibai looked at him, he already did his trick to open one of the windows and slipped in. His movements were quick and nimble like a ghost. Water was starting to gush in from the rupture on the skiffs hull. Kou Zhong stuck his head out of the window and made a safe signal. Hou Xiong, you go first, Xu Ziling said. Sticking himself onto the wall, Hou Xibai crawled up and slipped inside the cabin to rendezvous with Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong pulled his head, which was craning outside the door to look around C back and closed the door. He spoke to Hou Xibai, who had just joined him, in low voice, This ships main cabin is divided into three floors. The bottom cabin is the cargo hold, the upper two floors are sleeping rooms, the cabin hall is in the middle deck, only the topyer is gorgeously decorated. Yang kid and Rong Yaonu must be in one of the rooms on this deck. Looking at the structure, thergest cabin ought to be at the end of cabins corridor. Your Immortal Image Scroll must be in there. Astonished, Hou Xibai said, You just got here not long after I did, how did you find out all these many things so quickly? Kou Zhong replied, This is the benefit of riding too many ships. Coming and going, they are all nothing more than these several kind ofyouts. This moment, someone was walking passed outside the door. Listening to their conversation, it sounded like they were some kind little maids or servant girls. One of them sighed and said, Such a beautiful night of the holiday, we are trapped on the boat and can only watch other people enjoying the excitement. If we were in Luoyang, tonight would have been a fun night! The other maid replied, If anybody heard that, you will be embarrassed. Lets go see if Xie Shu [uncle Xie] has the ginseng soup ready! And then we could go to the deck to watch the fireworks. The footsteps going farther away, Xu Ziling came to the two mens side, and said with knitted brows, If they are training some Cha Nu Da Fa [great method of beautiful girl], there is no reason for them to ask for any ginseng soup. Kou Zhong silently made ns in his head. Suddenly he opened the door and shed outside. While Hou Xibai was jumping in fright, Xu Ziling patted him and followed Kou Zhong shing out the door. Hou Xibai had no other choice but to follow them rushing out the door. All of a sudden he had a feeling that whether tonight would be a sess or not, it all depended on those two boys imitating-the-dog-and-stealing-the-chicken method, whether it was as brilliant as Kou Zhong bragged it to be. Book 33 - 9 – Empty-handed When the three men, wearing ck hood over their heads, exposing only their eyes, moving like ghosts, came to the corridor on the main deck, footsteps were heard on the deck from outside the dooring in, fast approaching. This moment Kou Zhong was flitting across the left and right doors, and was still seven, eight paces to the end of the room. Already toote to go back to the cabin where he came from, without any choice he pushed open the door on his left closest to him, and shed inside. He made up his mind that whether the upant of the room was Tianwang Laozi [lit. old man king of Heaven], or perhaps Xian Fo Shengseng [lit. immortal Buddha holy monk], he would use the thunderbolt-fall-short-of-the-ears technique, to subdue the person inside the room before the other side figured out the noise. One after another Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling shed into the room as well. Thetter closed the door in passing, right when the outside cabin door was pushed open. The cabin was pitch-ck, the window was tightly closed. Kou Zhong stood by the bedside. He faintly saw someone sleeping on the bed, wrapped inside the quilt. The other two simply assumed that Kou Zhong already took care of whoever it was inside the room before they entered. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai positioned themselves on either side of the door. If anybody came in, he would have to crash his way through their joint ambush. The footsteps passed outside the door and stopped in front of the cabin at the end of the corridor. An old voice spoke, Shaoye, An Ye is here! It was half a dayter that Yang Xuyans voice was heard from inside the room, Ask him to wait in the cabin hall and drink a cup of ginseng tea; I will see him shortly. The old man received the order and left. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai exchanged a nce; they were both greatly astonished. Previously they thought that this was Rong Jiaojiaos personal boat, but now it seemed like the ship belonged to Yang Xuyan, otherwise the old man should have asked female demon Rong for instructions. Kou Zhong came to Xu Ziling, two mens side; the three of them listened with rapt attention. Sure enough, they heard the rustling noise of someone putting on clothes. They were all greatly amused, because in the past, since Yang Xuyan has alwayse without a warning and gone without a trace, he was known in Jianghu as the Shadow Assassin, and everybody who heard his name had their countenance changed. But this time, not only the three identally discovered his track, they also spied on him on the side, and to some extent, were plotting against him. Thinking about it, they wanted to shout that this was immensely enjoyable. And then they heard the female demon Rongs voice said, Really a mood killer; he did notete, he did note early, but he came exactly at this annoying time. Yang Xuyans heavy voice replied, Without anything urgent, An Pangzi would not havee to see me. I have to see what he has to say. The door was pushed open, the two exited the room and turned left, took the spiral stairs going down and proceeded toward the cabin hall. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Theres a woman on the bed, someone must have fed her some kind of knockout drug that she remains unconscious. You go take a look. Xu Ziling was greatly surprised; he walked over toward the bed. Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai came over to his side. They saw Xu Zilings tiger-body shook and he eximed in low voice, Isnt this Jin Huanzhen? Together, You Niaojuan, Ding Jiuzhong, Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen were the Demonic Emperor Xiang Yutians disciples, who were involved in internal strife, fighting over that Emperors relics [see Book 20 starting in Chapter 5]. That day at the bat cavebyrinth, Shi Qingxuan lured the four of them into the cave, and then she used the flute sound to stir up the bat to attack the four. Ding Jiuzhong was killed by Xu Ziling; one after another Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotan were hit by You Niaojuans despicable method, which inflicted serious damage on them so that they had to flee in defeat. Who could have thought that this moment Jin Huazhen was unexpectedly on board Yang Xuyans ship, and looked like someone had beaten her, causing others to sigh with regret for her. Jin Huanzhen was precisely one of a few people who knew how to use the Demonic Emperor Relics. The fact that she was here indicated that Yang Xuyan might have learned about this method. Do you want to take her away? Kou Zhong asked in low voice. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, This is kind of like taking someone whose death is not enough to arouse pity; we do not want a new branch grows out of a knot. You and Xiao Hou [little Hou] go to their room to search, I will go to eavesdrop their meeting. Kou Zhong acknowledged the order. With Hou Xibai on tow, he shed out of the door. Xu Ziling then threw himself on the floor and pressed his ear to eavesdrop. An Longs voice came from the direction of the cabin hall, Yun Shuai hase to Changan. Xu Ziling waspletely unprepared to receive such good news, to learn that the Cloud Commander has escaped Shi Zhixuans treacherous assault and was still in the world of the living. He could not refrain from feeling overjoyed at the unexpected good news. Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai shed into Yang Xuyan and Rong Jiaojiaos luxurious cabin in session; from the big bed to the small side table, from the decoration to theyout, everything was designed extremely well. Without saying anything further, the two immediately got down to the task of searching every cun of the room until they were certain that Yang Xuyan did not leave the Image Scroll in the room, before they reconvened to discuss this matter. Kou Zhong said, It is obvious that at a nce, in this room, only the bottom of the couch can hide someone. Let me hide under the couch. As long as you two can lure him away at the right time, I will make my move to steal that thing. Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, Too close! You will definitely induce Yang Xuyans reaction. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Not only I can close my breathing for a long period of time, I can also apply my power to seal my pores so that my body will not emit heat; I guarantee that he will not sense it at all. Hou Xibai shook his head and said, Unless you can sever your life force, otherwise, merely the heartbeat is enough to arouse Yang Xuyans alertness. This n will not work. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You are very thorough, but other than this, what can we do? Hou Xibai said, Lets go back to the previous room and talk about it. Currently we already grasp what is true and what is false in Yang Xuyans situation, we also have enough power to beat himfortably. If necessary, well use force on him. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Precisely because we have the upper hand that we must snatch that thing beautifully, so that afterwards he would suspect everybody because he is unclear who robbed him of his things. This is called superior troops boasting about the scheme. Ha! Whats in the next room? Ought to be two other cabins, Hou Xibai replied, Remember that before we came in, there were doors to the left and right? Kou Zhong quickly moved to the left and right walls and pressed his ear down. Holding out a hand, he said, Do you have a dagger or something sharp? Hou Xibai took out the Fan of Beauty and said, This thing can be used as a dagger. Are you thinking of opening a hole on the wall? Kou Zhongughed and said, As expected, I mentioned the head and you caught the tail. We are going to make a mouse hole on the corner. When the timees, just let Laozi show off my skill to grab things over the distance, to bring the Image Scroll into my hand. Hou Xibais pair of eyes lit up, he said, Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens. We might as well open up three holes each on left and right, two walls. At that time we can look at the situation and decide to make our move from which hole. But can you really use your internal energy to fetch something more than two zhang away? I was just pulling your leg, Kou Zhong replied, But if there is cloth belt or something like that, it would be like the extension of my hand. Come! Lets do it quickly. The cut must be neat in order to patch the wall. I will poke some peep holes. The two carried out their tasks separately, and were done soon afterwards, right on time as Xu Ziling came and said, An Long is leaving! Yang Xuyan and Rong Jiaojiao entered the room,pletely oblivious that big enemies were spying on them from both sides, watching for an opportunity to make their move. In the room on the left, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were sitting on the floor in the pitch-ck cabin, closing their breathing and restraining their power to wait quietly. Kou Zhong even used his hand to cover the hole, which he created by jabbing his finger into the wall, so that there would not be any difference in luminosity and thus raised Yang Xuyans vignce. On the other side of the wall, this little peephole was located under a small table, hence it was extremely hidden. The two you look at me I look at you, not daring to say anything. And then came the sound of a couple in affectionate embrace; evidently those two were carrying on intimately and were unwilling to waste any time. Gasping for breath, Rong Jiaojiao said, The child inside Shunis belly, is it yours? Of course, Yang Xuyan replied, Fancy that Li Yuan always believed himself infallible, an old hand among the flowers, but he could not see that Shuni is not a whole jade annulus anymore. Rong Jiaojiaoughed and said, How can you thank nujia? If I had not passed on her the secret method, how could she conceal it from Li Yuan? Yang Xuyanughed evilly and said, There is only one way to thank you, this little loose woman. What followed was the sound of clothes being removed. Kou Zhong winked at Xu Ziling, removed his palm, and crouched down to peek. Xu Ziling could not stop the image of Rong Jiaojiaos beautiful, seductive figure, her ten-thousand-kind amorous jade countenance C from floating into his mind; he was sexually aroused as well. While peeking, Kou Zhong made some signals, indicating that the couple was undressing each other, and was letting the clothes to drop on the floor. Xu Ziling could imagine that inside the room on the other side, Hou Xibai must be watching from behind the wall as well. The sound of the couple falling into the bed was heard. Kou Zhong straightened up his body to sit; he leaned over and whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Sess! He moved to the square hole right in the middle of the foot of the wall, pressed his palm and applied his power; silently the broken wall was sucked away. Xu Ziling bent down to look; to his surprise he saw the Immortal Image Scroll, wrapped inyer uponyer of oilcloth, along with the abandoned clothes, lying on the deck floor, only about a zhang and a half away from the hole. Pop! Pop! Bang! Bang! Finally the zi hour [11pm-1am, or simply midnight] came. The two firecrackers towers at the Imperial Pce were lighted to wee the arrival of the New Year. The noise spread widely inside the city. Wonderful! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. The strip of cloth in his hand became alive like a spirited snake, driven by his inner power, poking out its head from the hole, and slithered toward the target. Kou Zhong woke up from his sleep in the midst of jubnt explosion of the fireworks. Outside the window he saw fluffy spring snow floating down in the air. Recalling Hou Xibais joyous expressionst night when he put the two pieces of Image Scroll together, there was a great sense of relief in his heart. Now, although they still could not do anything to Shi Zhixuan, but they couldunch all kinds of imaginable and profound and longsting strike to this terrifying big enemy from the other aspects. The next target would be the Fat Merchant of Sichuan An Long. If they could kill this man, Shi Zhixuan would lose his connection with all parties in the other ces. Kou Zhong sprang up from the bed. After freshening up and changing his clothes, he grabbed the fake Moon in the Well, which someone had swapped in the stealing-dragon-and-turning-it-into-a-phoenix manner C in passing. He pulled a short section and started nkly at it for half a day, before heaving a sigh. Although he had profound emotional attachment to the Moon in the Well, but there was contradiction in his heart as well. It was, after all, a gift from his archenemy Xiao Xian. Holding that thing in his hand, he always had a little uneasiness. Ay! He might as well ignore Wanwan and let the Moon in the Well die peacefully. Based on his current skill, any saber in his hand could be turned into a divine arm, sharp weapon. Coming to the hall, he found festive atmosphere filling the entire hall. The entire Sha Family, from top to bottom, big and small, were gathered inside congratting each other, expressing good wishes for theing year. When Kou Zhongs good self arrived in the hall, the entire hall erupted in good cheers, everybody was scrambling to wish him a happy new year. After receiving the Old Masters particrly big red packet [hongbao], Chang He pulled him to the side. Taking him to sit down to talk, he said, Taizi Dianxia was very appreciative of what you didst night. It was certainly brilliant. This way, everybody knew that the loser was that Heavenly Policy Mansions Mo Wei. Has he recovered from his injury? Kou Zhong has not thought about this at all. Recalling his date with Shang Xiufang, he said, I was just thinking as a doctor. After Xiaodi treated his injury with needles, he shouldnt have any problem. Give him about ten days, he should be fully restored. The First Young Master Sha Chenggong [sic] came and said, Lets go to Ming Tang Wo to y a few rounds, just to wee the Spring Festival. Chang He replied, Later on I need to go with Mo Xiong to see Taizi [Crown Prince] to pay a New Year call, we could go a bitter in the evening. And then he asked Kou Zhong, Does Mo Xiong love to go to the casino? While groaning inwardly, Kou Zhong replied, Just in my free time, I would gamble a hand or two, nothing more. Since we have to go to the Taizi Mansion to pay a New Year call, wed better leave early. I still need to go to Shang Lin Yuan to treat Shang Xiaojies illness; the appointment was agreedst night. We have a guest! The three stopped talking and looked at the main entrance, only to see the tender, pretty, and charming Dugu Feng [phoenix], smiling gracefully, full of passion C walking in. Her beautiful eyes swept the entire hall. When her gaze fell on Kou Zhong, it suddenly lit up, and she revealed a sweet, sweet smile first, before walking over toward Old Master Sha and Madame Sha, who were sitting on the host seats at the northern end of the hall. A peculiar feeling rose up in Kou Zhongs heart. Could it be that Dugu Feng, who has always loved to look at handsome men, unexpectedly took a fancy on him, this ugly Divine Doctor? In the lodge at the Chong Xian Li where they stayed, Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi were leisurely drinking tea while enjoying the snow; their heart felt rxed and peaceful. Lei Jiuzhi said, ording to what you said, when you stole that batch of firearms from Yin Gui Pai, you indeed threw their troop disposition into disarray, hence they had to immediately replenish the firearms from somece else. But time is pressing, where could they find it from? Sipping his hot tea, Xu Ziling said, I am afraid that if we want to find out, we would have to talk to Wanwan. But now at least we know that whatever it is, they would only carryout their plot after the fourth of the first month, and the target is Li Shimin. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Lei Jiuzhi said, If we could take the advantage of the confusion while they areunching their raid to transport the treasure out, it would be absolutely safe. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, The problem is that right now we cannot touch even half the edge of the shadow of the treasure. Supposing the entrance to the treasure is really inside the Wu Lou Si, the situation would be even worse. Frankly speaking, even if I join hands with Kou Zhong, I am afraid we will still be unable to ovee Shi Zhixuan. His Immortal Image Method practically is not afraid of the opposite side having many men. Lei Jiuzhi said, We must think of a way to lure him away. Someone was knocking the brass ring against the door. The two looked at each other. Early morning of the Beginning of Spring holiday, who could havee looking for them? Book 33 - 10 – Entangled in Evil Passion Kou Zhong was about to enter the Pce with Chang He to pay a New Year call, Dugu Feng was rushing over from behind. Apologizing to Chang He, she asked Kou Zhong to step aside to talk. She said, Mo Xianshengs art of healing is indeed like a deity. From yesterday until now, I just cant exin how well Momo [grandma/elderlydy, see also Akwsment on Book 32 Chapter 11] is, she did not even gasping for breath in her sleep. She said that in thirty years she had never slept all through the night until daybreak likest night. Therefore, she specifically told Fenger to invite Xianshengs good self over so that she could thank you in person. Now that he knew that Wu Lou Sis possibility was greater, correspondingly, Kou Zhongs interest in Dugu Fengs suspected mansion house was declining. He quietly mused that if he cured You Chuhongs asthma, he could not tell how much more formidable this vicious old granny would be. Thereupon, he cleared his throat and said, Feng Guniang do not need to be overly courteous, but today Xiaoren is simply too busy. When I have spare time in a couple of days, I will definitely stop by to pay a visit to Lao Furen [old madame] and Feng Guniang. Dugu Feng understood; she said, Currently, Mo Xiansheng must be the busiest person in Changan. Say,st night Mo Xiansheng was really impressive; striding forward with head high, you came forward to confirm that that fellow called Mo Wei actually lost; the other side did not dare not to admit, yet you magnanimously treated his injury. Die and Ge [dad and bro, respectively], they praised you very much. Kou Zhong was a bit at a loss on how to ward off her admiring gaze, musing that when he was all right, it was not effective, but now that he was ugly, it was effective. If she really took a fancy on this ugly man, it would be thoroughly troublesome. Embarrassed, he said, I was not thinking of confirming that that Mo Wei fellow was the loser; I was simply acting based on the feeling in my heart. Hey, I must hurry up to the Imperial Pce. In a couple of days I will pay Lao Furen a New Year call. Smiling sweetly, Dugu Feng said, I just got back from the Imperial Pce. Last night, Shuni, me, and your Wu Xiaojie were having fun all night. Today is the New Years Day and the day to congratte the imperial court. Huangshang is sitting on his dragon throne at the Taiji Pce, receiving the civil and military cab ministers, princes and dukes, nobilities and rtives Cing to the imperial courts well wishes. In the Pce woodwind and string instruments are ying, making joyful music. Even in the old dynasty when Yang Guang was the Emperor, it was nothing more than this. Fortunately this moment Chang He came back to urge Kou Zhongs good self to hurry. It was only then did Dugu Feng reluctantly let him go. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong sat down in the carriage that Chang He prepared for him. Chang Heughed and said, She seems to have a bit of affection toward you! With a rueful smile Kou Zhong replied, She just looks upon my medical expertise. Whether family background, status, talent or appearance, how could Xiaodi match her? Chang He spoke with serious expression, I respectfully disagree. Right now, as long as you, LaoGe nod your head, I guarantee that the Imperial Physician office will fall on you. That is a Zheng Er Pin [principal second grade] high-ranking official position, of the same rank as Liu Zhenghui, Wen Yanbo, and the others. After the world is unified, all the physicians across the nation will be working under you. Kou Zhong said, My natural disposition is that I dont like to be a government employee. What could be more enjoyable than living a carefree life? For this reason, women of honorable school, noble women born ofrge and influential family, unfortunately Xiaodi cannot enjoy! Chang Heughed and said, What about Shang Xiufang? Zhenghui and I got a feeling that she is treating you differently. Kou Zhong blurted outughing and said, This is not aughing matter even more. She is the fairy in the sky, how could I, a mere mortal, dare to be delusional? The sound of hoof beats rang out. A lone rider was chasing after them from behind. Stunned, Chang He and Kou Zhong looked back. The oneing to look for them was Hou Xibai. It was only then did Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi realize that they were being paranoid. With a face full of spring breeze, Hou Xibai wished them a Happy New Year first, before sitting down and said, I have to trouble Ziling to be Mo Wei again. Today I just got to Qin Wang Mansion to pay a New Year call, on my way back I came across Hu Xiaoxian head on; she forced me to immediately go with her to Ming Tang Wo to pay a formal visit to the Great Immortal Hu Fo. Fortunately, in dealing with women, Xiaodi could be considered having some skill. But I still had to spend considerable effort with my mouth and tongue before I was able to get away. Afterwards I still had to exin to Bu Jie and the others. Xu Zilings rxed andfortable feeling was immediately swept clean. After listening to the details, he asked, Hows your training in Immortal Image Method? Hou Xibais spirit greatly aroused, he said, Shi Shi is indeed an out-of-this-world marvelous talent, unexpectedly he was able to create such a wide-ranging and profound gongfa. Without a year or a half, how could I master it? Presently I am only swallowing everything in one gulp,mitting the entire scroll into my memory. Afterwards I am going to burn the entire Image Scroll into ashes, so that Yang Xuyan would never obtain it. Then you must not have sleptst night, Lei Jiuzhimented. Hou Xibaiughed suavely and said, One or half a night less sleep is nothing. Xu Ziling turned serious, Hou Xiong must be a bit more careful. Althoughst night our theft was neat and tidy, Yang Xuyan would definitely guess that it was us. Furthermore, your esteemed masters reaction is quite difficult to foresee. If he made his mind to destroy Hou Xiong, Hou Xiongs situation would turn extremely dangerous. Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, I have already considered this oue, but I have no other choice, hence I must destroy the Image Scroll. Unless Shi Shi disregards our schoolsw, or else, even if Xiaodis life cannot be guaranteed, Yang Xuyan still loses the qualifications to learn the Immortal Image Method. Lei Jiuzhi could not help asking, What kind of person your esteemed master actually is? Hou Xibais countenance turned dark. It was half a dayter that he shook his head and said, I really am not clear. Since I was young I was an orphan; I was raised by one servant of Shi Shis. Every so often Shi Shi woulde to see me, teaching me all kinds of arts and martial arts. Sometimes he was likepassionate father, showing affection and consideration in every possible way. But other times he was like a cold-hearted stranger. I really dont know how to aptly describe him. Xu Ziling spoke resolutely, Hou Xiong better leave Guanzhong immediately. Shaken, Hou Xibai said, You are so sure he is going to kill me? Puzzled, Lei Jiuzhi said, As long as Shi Zhixuan cannot see through Xiao Hous disguise as Mo Wei, he should be all right. With grave expression, Xu Ziling said, The person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear. Nobody understands Hou Xiongs ins and outs better than Shi Zhixuan. Mo Wei came from Bashu, plus he has outstanding martial art skill. He will eventually arouse Shi Zhixuans suspicion. The battle of the Imperial Pcest night will only bring harm to us without any benefit. Hou Xibais countenance changed, he said, Right now I, Ziling and Shao Shuai, three persons destiny is tightly intertwined; if one person is seen through, the other two will be implicated. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Hence the reason I want you to avoid the problem by walking away from it. It will avoid Hu Xiaoxians entanglement, it will also remove one weak point from us of revealing any w, and Hou Xiong will be able to concentrate fully on training the Immortal Image Method. It could be said one move, three gains. Hou Xibai pondered quietly for half a day; his handsome countenance alternated between clear and cloudy. It was quite a long timeter that he said, I wonder if Ziling is ready to have a frontal conflict against Shi Shi? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Hou Xiong is indeed an understanding person. In order to avoid Hou Xiong being hard pressed from left and right,bined with considerations on other aspects, Hou Xiong really ought to leave immediately. This is the best thing we can do under current circumstances. Hou Xibai revealed a pained smile and said, You guys disregarded everything in helping me obtaining the Immortal Image Scroll, yet I avoid the problem by walking away from it. If something happens to you, how could I, Hou Xibai, rest or eat in peace in the future? Lei Jiuzhi said, I agree with Zilings proposal. This is beneficial to both parties. As for the two of them, you dont need to worry even more. What asion and situation they have not been able to cope with? Xu Ziling did not let him to think too much. He said, Hou Xiong go back immediately, write a letter, more or less exining that you are actually Gong Chenchun and not Mo Wei; because Hu Xiaoxian saw through your identity, plus in the battlest night you received internal injury, you had to leave without saying goodbye, and so on, something like that. Brandishing characters, ying with ink, you are naturally more adept than I am. Hou Xibai smiled wryly and said, Xiaodi has never thought about making lifelong friendships with anybody, but today I made three. Very well, Ill do it ording to what Ziling said. Xu Ziling smiled and said, This will be greatly beyond Shi Zhixuan and Wan Yaonus expectation, while we also regain a bit of upper hand. From now on we have the initiative totally in our hands, otherwise we would end up nursing a grievance in Changan. Hou Xibai stretched out his palm to grasp Xu Zilings; his eyes emitted profound emotion, he said, Take care of yourself! Chang He focused his attention to look; he eximed in low voice, Its Xiuning Gongzhus [princess] man. Not good! Kou Zhong secretly cried. The man urged his horse to the carriages side. After saluting, he said, After paying a New Years visit at the Imperial Court this morning, Xiuning Gongzhu suddenly felt unwell. We have to trouble Mo Xiansheng into the Pce to examine her. Kou Zhong was well aware of what was going on. He had made too big of a mistakest night by exposing his trace; swaggering like that and standing in the middle of the pce hall, making public appearance together with Xu Ziling, naturally Li Xiuning, who was familiar with him, was able to see through in just one nce. Without any better option he turned to Chang He and said with a wry smile, After entering the Pce, we have no choice but to take different roads and urge the horses on. I will also have to trouble you to apologize to Taizi Dianxia on my behalf that after seeing Xiuning Gongzhu, I will have to see Shang Xiufang. Xu Zilings Yong Qin once again went to the Shang He An next to Dong Da Si. After reporting his intention, he was brought by the receiving nun to the simple and unadorned guest parlor. His natural disposition was also simple and unadorned, with a passion for nature. In the guest parlor, other than a small table and several chairs, the walls on all four sides were bare, yet it gave him rxed, peaceful, and suitably calming feeling instead. In this tranquil frame of mind, the present situation of Changan appeared in his mind. You Niaojuan indeed did not lie to him. Zhu Yuyan, Zhao Deyan and Shi Zhixuan were joining hands to conduct a big conspiracy to topple Li Shimin. If their plot seeded, the Great Tang nation, which was like the sun in the middle of the sky, would be all split up and in pieces, turning from prosperity to decline. If he guessed correctly, the central figures in this conspiracy ought to be Yang WenGan, Yang Xuyan and Xiang Yushan, three men. The conspiracy would take ce during the annual hunting trip when Li Yuan was going to the Ren Zhi Pce at the foot of Mount Zhongnan. Their target was to wipe out Li Shimin and his men in one fell swoop, and then to exercise control over Li Yuan, forcing him to abdicate his throne to Li Jiancheng. At that time, if they could make Li Jiancheng their puppet figurehead, the Great Tang Nation would fall into Yang WenGan and Yang Xuyans hands, which was akin to the surviving members of the Yang family of the evil former regime, the House of Sui, recovering their power once again. Li Shimin and his men, the Heavenly Policy Mansions battle generals and personal soldiers were veteran of a hundred battles, undefeated mighty army. The ck Armor Riders name intimidated the world even more. Battlefield was unlike the fights and vendettas in Jianghu. It required the power of the group; it had to go through detailed organization, drill, the art of war, battle formation, strategy and tactics, and good disy of leadership; there was no ce for luck. In direct confrontation, even if Yang WenGans side had several times the number of people, it would be difficult for them to prevail. Once they let Li Shimins side mobilizing the Great Tang Army, even ten Jingzhao Lian would be forced to bag their food and leave before they finished eating. Therefore, Yang WenGan could only watch for the opportunity when they were unprepared, and then using ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt-momentum attacked Li Shimin and caught him off guard. The most important reason Xiang Yushan was involved in this matter was that he was an outsider whom Li Shimin did not even know, so he could move outside the Heavenly Policy Mansions surveincework. If Yin Gui Pais superior quality, made-in Jiangnan firearms fell into his hands, under particr environment, they could bring out hard-to-imagine destructive power. So far, it suddenly became clear to him why Haisha Bang, which belonged to Shen Faxing, was willing to supply firearms to Bai Qinger; it was simply because Li Shimin has be the number one big enemy for the warlords vying for supremacy, for those who were setting up independent regimes. The Xiang Family turned from being in the open to being in the dark. Officially it was out of fear of him and Kou Zhong, but actually it was because he secretly colluded with various sects of the demonic school. On one hand, he continued doing business for Xiao Xian, but on the other hand, it was to deal with the two of them. He was now certain that once they knew the location of the buried treasure, Zhu Yuyan would do everything she could to have them killed with all her strength, and then she would hog the treasure all for herself, and use the weapons within the treasure to assist Lin Shihong to obtain the world. Xu Ziling had a feeling that Shi Zhixuan had already seen through Hou Xibais identity. So much so that afterst nights event, Kou Zhong also exposed his foundation; its just that he did not tell Yang Xuyan. Based on Shi Zhixuans strength, with him lying in wait for the opportunity, he would definitely be able to snatch the Demonic Emperor Relics from their hands. The current situation was extremely disadvantageous for him and Kou Zhong. Their every move was under the enemys ring of spies and surveince, while they still had no clue about the Duke Yangs Treasure. Therefore, they must seize back the initiative from being passive. Otherwise, they would always be in the disadvantageous position of taking a beating. Thinking to this point, he could not help sighing. Outside the window, fine kes of snow were swirling in the air, increasing the indescribable mncholy of the beginning of the year. Shi Feixuans gentle voice rang out, The beginning of a new year, nature is taking on a new look. The whole year must be nned for in the spring [idiom: early nning is the key to sess]; what new n does Ziling have? Xu Ziling looked up to the entrance door; immediately he was stunned. Li Xiunings residence, the Princess Mansion Yi Yu Xuan [lit. proper rain pavilion (with a view)] was located east of the West Park. The cluster of gardens and courtyards were built by utilizing the original natural environment, it was elegant, quiet and secluded. Compared to the other pce halls and courtyards in the Imperial Pce, it had more fresh and clean vor. The main structure was located at the southern end, withyers ofkes and rockeries on the northern part, and small winding bridges scattered around. The artificialke was extending toward the hall, where it turned into a winding stream, sprinkled with odd-shaped rocks. The stream winded around the pavilion [orig. xuan, see above] on the west side and flowed into the fan-shapedke on the south side of the pavilion, bringing about a rippling effect of the water of thekepping against the shore. It was quite an open country artistic mood, the rtionship between the water and the buildings was handled exceptionally outstanding; clearly it came from a master architects conception. Perhaps it was because these past couple of days his mind was revolving around all kinds of construction designs, quite naturally Kou Zhongs mind was able to appreciate the rtionship between the scenery and the resulting effect, he was very interested and enthusiastic. Stepping over the small bridge, passing through the main pavilion, Kou Zhong went straight into the inner courtyard; from the main room, entering the inner chamber, he reached Li Xiunings fragrant chamber, which unconcerned person would be barred from entering. All sorts of feelings welled up in his heart. Over the years, although he had intentionally shifted his love toward Song Yuzhi, but toward Li Xiuning, the beauty who made him fall in love for the first time, he was still unable to forget. Usually he simply suppressed this feeling, but as soon as he saw her, old affection was rolling over and over, making him unable to control himself. Li Xiuning was sitting on a couch-chair outside her bedroom toward a small hall. Seeing himing, she motioned him to dispense withmon court protocol, and also dismissed the pce maids and servants. Kou Zhong absent-mindedly sat down beside her. Li Xiuning sighed and said, Ay! I really am at a loss about you. Tell me, what should I do? Naturally Kou Zhong understood the contradiction in her heart. He, Kou Zhong, has be the big enemy of their Li Family; he came to Changan to conspire about the hidden treasure, which might be able to topple the House of Tang. Li Xiuning could not bear to lodge an usation against him, but covering up the truth on his behalf, she felt guilty toward her father and elder brothers. The pressures she felt from left and right could be easily imagined. Her hair wasbed in a pair of spiral coils, on her forehead she wore borate hoop made of exquisite coral, on her body she wore high-coredke water green and dark yellow decorative design dress that was connected to full-body gauze skirt, and silk floss gown draped over her shoulders to defend against the cold. The magnificent and beautiful clothes and ornaments did not fail to put her lucid and elegant, free from vulgarity personality traits on full disy, so that Kou Zhong felt a rush of excitement, while his feeling of inferiority was even more painful. Li Xiunings beautiful eyes gazed on him, she said, Why dont you say something? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Gongzhu, there is no need to feel difficult, we and your esteemed brother Shimin have reached agreement. We will help him go through the crisis, and he wont care about what we are doing in Changan. Only if I really carry the treasure away will he look for me to give me bad luck. This way, wont Gongzhu feel a bit better? Li Xiuning was astonished, What crisis? she asked. This moment a maids voice was calling from outside the door, Reporting to Ning Gongzhu, Fuma-Ye-to-be [emperors son-inw] has arrived. Kou Zhongs tiger-body was severely shaken. Fuma-Ye-to-be? he blurted out. This was the first time that Xu Ziling saw Shi Feixuan returning to wearing womens clothes, but it was also the first time that he saw her wearing the grey coarse hemp garment of those who had left home [to be Buddhist/Daoist monk/nun]. Her cloud-like beautiful hair cascaded like waterfall over her shoulders and her back. Her uniquely jade-countenance quiet-and-contented-without-any-ripple, her in and simple cloth robe against her skin emphasized her beautiful innate,plete-beauty-without-any-w character. A burst of inconsble pain appeared in Xu Zilings heart, as if his liver and intestines were about to break. Shi Feixuan was dressed like this to see him, it was to show him that she was a person who had left her home and definitely would not set foot on the emotional entanglement between men and women. He suddenly felt that his dealings with her were like spring dream, autumn cloud, which eventually he could only look back in his mind, as an unbearable memory. Suddenly he had an impulse in his heart; if right now he avoided the problem by walking away from it and forever would not see her again, what would the consequences be? Would she feel sad? Or perhaps regret? Although this impulse could only appear among the fantasies in his mind, but thinking about it could also bring the delight of revenge of the pain that arose because of this; even more, it could alsopensate slightly the disappointment in his heart due to being treated like this by her. Xu Ziling endured all kinds of feeling attacking and piercing through his heart, and then he ferociously took a deep breath to discharge all flights of fancy from his mind, to return his heart to the tranquil state of still water. It was at this moment that he secretly made steadfast determination not to indulge himself in any wild fantasy or delusion of longing for Shi Feixuan. It was highly likely that the other sides reaction was due to his alias Yong Qin [lit. harmony with Qin]. This time Lei Jiuzhi has indeed brought terrible damage to him. But it also made him more aware of Shi Feixuans wishes. Shi Feixuan sat down by his side. The crisp spring breeze lightly blew inside from the quiet and peaceful courtyard via the window, carrying with it the fresh smell of rain and snow. The blue sky seemed to have disappeared. He could only see the vast expanse of whiteness of the never-ending spring snow floating down in the air. It seemed like there was nothing else on the earth except two beating hearts. Xu Zilings gaze was fixed on the tip of his boots, he spoke calmly, The demonic schools three giants, Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan are joining hands, conspiring to assassinate Qin Wang. Shi Feixuan did not show any particr reaction. She responded indifferently, I heard yesterday Ziling came to look for Feixuan, but came across Qin Wang, and the two of you talked for a while. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This was perhaps Laotianyes arrangement, so that he could pass through this cmity. Knitting her brows, Shi Feixuan said, Qin Wang always guards against Jiancheng, Yuanjis inappropriate conduct, he is always very careful. Even if theyunched sneak attack, it might not necessarily be effective. Song JinGang has tried it, the oue was that he returned without any achievement. Xu Ziling said, This time the n might be even more thoroughly auspicious. I hearrge quantities of firearms are involved. If the n is matched with appropriate timing, plus Qin Wangs attention is only focused on the Chang Lin Armys movements, maybe it could cause the ship to capsize in the gutter. Shi Feixuans pretty eyebrows were tightly knitted; she spoke in astonishment, Li Yuan has always exercised strict control on weapons, firearms and the like; unless they are from forced robbery. Otherwise, where couldrge quantities of firearmse from? Xu Ziling said, Therefore, if we could investigate the location of this batch of firearms, we could uncover, as well as thwart, the entire conspiracy. Moreover, since this matter involves Yang WenGan, Yang Xuyan, even the Tujue people, Li Jiancheng would not be able to escape responsibility. As a result, perhaps Qin Wang would be able to, in a perfectly legitimate way, be the Crown Prince. Shi Feixuans beautiful eyes brightened. She smiled and said, Could Ziling tell me more details? Book 33 - 11 – Mistakenly Falling into the Enemy’s Trap Chai Shao stormed in like a whirlwind. Knowing his position, Kou Zhong stepped aside. His heart was overwhelmed with bitter, humbling feeling of being wronged. Indeed it was like drinking snow water in chilly weather; only those who had drunk it would know the taste. Li Xiuning had never expected that Chai Shao would suddenly barge in; she understood Kou Zhongs feeling from experience. Knitting her brows, she said, Didnt you go to the Heavenly Policy Mansion to see Qin Wang? Deeply concerned, Chai Shao exhibited his feelings in his speech, saying, I heard Gongzhus noble body is sick, Chai Shao ... Li Xiuning was afraid he might see through Kou Zhongs disguise, she cut him off by speaking to Kou Zhong, Mo Xiansheng is a very busy person, Xiuning does not dare to waste Xianshengs precious time. Guards! See Mo Xiansheng off for me. Chai Shaos handsome eyes shot toward Kou Zhong, he said, Let me see Mo Xiansheng off! Kou Zhong hastily said, Fuma Ye need not be polite; Ning Gongzhus illness is due to excessive anxiety, plus she is constantly on the move, hence she caught a little bit of cold. If Fuma Ye could ease up Gongzhus emotional issue, she would recover without any medicine. Kou Zhongs mind could move very fast; he guessed correctly that Chai Shao volunteering to see him off was to inquire in private about Li Xiunings illness. This aspect he and Li Xiuning had not hadmon agreement. Ifter on Chai Shao bring it up andpare it Li Xiunings response, they would surely reveal the cloven foot. Therefore, he specifically mentioned the patients condition in Li Xiunings presence, so that they would not reveal any w. Chai Shao naturally knew that Li Xiuning was upset about her three elder brothers struggle, hence Kou Zhongs casually grasped cause of her illness was absolutely impable. Although Kou Zhong did not like Chai Shaos arrogance, but he knew that Chai Shaos deep love toward Li Xiuning was sincere. Chai Shao cordially said, Let Chai Shao see Xiansheng off to the Pce gate! Kou Zhong had no choice but to agree. Actually, he ought to thank Chai Shao for interrupting his talk with Li Xiuning, because he did not wish to see her unhappy. But the other pain in his heart was that Li Yuan already formally decided the engagement between the two. He, Kou Zhong, could simply put his heart to death. Today might be an extremely busy day for him. Last night, he and Xu Ziling have already plotted good deployment n in response to thetest development. They would split up today to execute their separate tasks, and then they would join hands again tounch the attack. Before seeing Shang Xiufang, he still needed to find someone. If this person was willing to cooperate with them, their momentum would grow tremendously. Finished listening, Shi Feixuan pondered silently. Her beautiful eyes were radiating intelligent rays of light. Xu Ziling suddenly asked, Would Shi Xiaojie make your move to deal with the enemy? Astonished, Shi Feixuan asked, Why did Ziling ask such a strange question? Because Shi Feixuans heartless hint rendered a heavy blow, which wound he had to bury deep inside his heart C Xu Ziling recovered his usual calm, confident and at ease manner. Toward Shi Feixuan, he had never had more than wild schemes and wild fantasy, but between the two, they have always maintained some kind of seeming-neither-close-nor-distant subtle rtion. But Shi Feixuans action has skillfully smashed this wonderful, hard-to-describe rtionship. Smiling, he said, Other than stabbing Xiaodi a few times with the sword due to the Jade Annulus of He n affair, Shi Xiaojie has only fought a desperate battle against Wanwan; hence Xiaodis question. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Learning the sword is to be used to subdue the demon and defend traditional values, how could it not be used to fight with others? It was because Feixuan has my schools support behind my back, and those of the same principle in Jianghu give Feixuan enough face that Feixuan has not been involved in situation where weapons of war are being used in a big way. The most subtle thing is that between the demonic school and the side that Feixuan is representing there is an unwritten tacit understanding, which is Wanwan is Feixuans match. Supposing someone destroys this bnce, it would stir up the huge waves between the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools, against the demonic school. Xu Ziling said, So to speak, is it inappropriate for Shi Xiaojie to personally deal with demonic school people? Shi Feixuans beautiful eyes staring deeply into his eyes, she said, Who do you want to deal with? Xu Ziling nonchntly replied, Shi Zhixuan! Even with Shi Feixuans level of self-cultivation, her tender body still shook slightly. Do you know where he is? she asked. Xu Ziling replied, I could tell you, but Xiaojie must keep this secret for us. Staring fixedly at him, Shi Feixuan lightly shook her small cicada head and said, Why is it that the two of you always can do what others cannot do? Feixuan already used all the bargaining chips in my hand, yet Shi Zhixuans whereabouts is still a mystery, but you, as easy as blowing off dust, can show him to me. Xu Ziling said, This is perhaps the Will of Heaven. Wu Lou Sis Zhuchi is precisely Shi Zhixuans embodiment. Stunned, Shi Feixuan said, Unexpectedly there is such thing. Wu Lou Sis Zhuchi, Dazhi Shengseng [lit. great wisdom holy monk] is a well-known virtuous person. Most of the time he lives in seclusion in Buddhist meditation, he rarely has any contact with outsiders. Ay! This is certainly a marvelous way to conceal his track. How did you find out? It was only after listening to Xu Zilings exnation did Shi Feixuan find out that when disguised as Yue Shan, Xu Ziling has exchanged blows against Shi Zhixuan. Puzzled, she asked, After knowing Shi Zhixuans strength, the two of you still have the confidence to deal with him? Xu Ziling responded indifferently, This matter will happen sooner orter. The question is which side would take the initiative to move first. I originally wanted to ask Xiaojie to join us, but after listening to what Xiaojie just said, obviously it is not appropriate at all. Shi Feixuans jade countenance returned to its tranquil state. Casting her gaze toward the dense snowkes outside the window, she spoke softly, When the road exhausted there will be change, with change there will bemunication. Buddhism seeks purification of defiling illusion, the demonic school emphasizes going to the extreme. Shi Zhixuan put two kinds of thought, philosophy, theory, which like acting in a way that defeats his purpose, and merge them together to develop the Immortal Image Method, where life and death are being swapped and substituting one another. No matter how outstanding the opponent is, he can always transform either total or partial power of the opponent to be his own power; benefiting self while harming others, hence he appears to be able to upy the invincible position. To this day, although we exhausted our thought and drained our consideration, we still cannot find an effective way to restrain him. I hope you two can create another miracle and get rid of evil for the sake of the people. Xu Ziling thought that he and Kou Zhong have also, from previousbat experiences,prehended and obtained the gongfa to borrow force and deflect power. However, it was insignificantpared to Shi Zhixuan. He asked, Because of your honorable Zhais Bi Xiuxin Qianbei [senior], Shi Zhixuan has revealed a w. What exactly is the w? And how did you find out about it? Shi Feixuan replied with serious expression, What I am going to say has always been a highly confidential information. For three times in session San Zhenren Ning Daoqi fought with Shi Zhixuan. The first two times neither side won, but thest time they fought happened after Shi Zhixuan had intimate rtionship with Xiuxin Shishu [martial uncle]. Shi Zhixuan was defeated and fled to the wilderness. It was after he returned that he wrote the Immortal Image Scroll, indirectly killing Xiuxin Shishu. Henceforth Shi Zhixuan vanished without any trace, and only now he is revealing his demonic footprint. Xu Ziling obtained sudden understanding. So thats how it is, he said, It is actually your spection. Shi Feixuan sighed and said, Its not that I want to consider Shi Zhixuans backbone too much, but you two decide to deal with Shi Zhixuan, you must think three times before going. Shi Zhixuans character is entric; once his demonic character is aroused, he might disregard everything to put you to death. Letting out a cold snort, Xu Ziling said, And vice versa! And vice versa! As long as he is human, there is the possibility of being killed. Now I still need to see Qin Wang. May I ask Shi Xiaojie to take the responsibility for investigating everything about that batch of firearms? Compared to Qin Wang, Xiaojie must be more resourceful in dealing with Yin Gui Pai. Shi Feixuan sighed. Her pretty eyes emitted profound emotion, which was difficult for Xu Ziling to understand, plus looking at it, it made his heart sad and increased his heart rate. She nodded and said, Leave this matter to me. Ziling must be a bit more careful! Bosi Hu Si [lit. Persian Barbarian/Foreign Temple, first mention Book 32 Chapter 10] was located west of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, inside the Chong De Li east of Qing Ming Canal. Due to its unique shape, the mushroom-shaped big round spire of the Hu Si could be seen towering above the neighboring private houses. Theyout of the Chong De Li was not the same as the other neighborhood blocks [reminder: li means neighborhood]. The streets crisscrossing the block, forming a checked patternwork of streets and alleys, which did not change, but on the intersection of the two major streets linking the east-west and north-south block gates, there was an open-air circr za. The Bosi Hu Si was exactly due north of this za, bing the focal point of the entire block, while also increasing the international vor of the city of Changan. Braving the fluttering rain and snow, Kou Zhong, wearing a mask with full beard on the face, and a special brocade gown, which he wore inside out C was rushing directly into the Persian Temple. The previous night Xu Ziling eavesdropped An Long and Yang Xuyans secret talk, and gained a lot of valuable intelligence. One of them pertained to the Cloud Commander. This Western Tujues martial art master Teacher of the State, mingling among a group of foreign merchants, sneaked into Changan, but afterwards his trace disappeared. Because Yun Shuai has be Shi Zhixuans archenemy, An Long was greatly nervous; he was more afraid that Yun Shuai mighte to him to give him bad luck. Therefore, he immediately notified Shi Zhixuan. In turn, Shi Zhixuan told An Long to find Yang Xuyan, to tell him to use Li Jianchengs power to get rid of Yun Shuai. Facing this unstable situation and dangerous autumn [not sure], naturally the Demonic Emperor Relics was even more important than Yun Shuais life or death. Shi Zhixuan was unwilling to show his face, it waspletely understandable. The za was full of ying children, the rain and snow failed to dampen their mood, the sound of firecrackers was unending. Everybody was wearing new clothes, whenever they ran into each other, everybody was wishing the other a happy new year. It was a jubnt New Years Day atmosphere. The middle gate of the Hu Si was wide open. There was an unending stream of people with high nose and deep eyes; in just one nce he knew that these were barbariansing into the temple to worship. Arriving at the stone steps, Kou Zhong called in his heart, Laotianye bless and protect. He took off his mask first before climbing the steps into the temple hall. In front of the main entrance to the temple hall, there was a reception room, which was filled with boots and shoes. Everybody who came to the temple to worship must be barefoot. Kou Zhong was about to follow the customs [orig. when you enter a vige, follow the local customs], a foreigner came out to meet him, asking, This Renxiong, is this your first visit? His Hannguage was very articte, obviously he had settled here for a long time. Kou Zhongs gaze swept the inside of the hall; he saw four rows of a total of twelve big columns on the left and right supporting the towering space of the temple hall, yet with nearly a hundred Persian foreigners lying prostrate inside in worship, the space appeared extremely small. Bracing himself, Kou Zhong tugged the man aside and spoke in low voice, It is indeed my first visit, for the purpose of finding a friend. After he and I got separated in Nanyang, we lost contact. The man revealed a wary look; he asked, And your friends honorable surname and great given name? Kou Zhong lowered his voice even more, he said, He is your nsman, also the Western Tujues Guoshi. The man suddenly shook, the refined light in his eyes red out, he stared at Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong heaved a sigh of relief instead, because the way he reacted showed that he knew Yun Shuai. Smiling, he said, I have to trouble you to tell Yun Guoshi that Kou Zhong has an urgent matter and requesting an audience with him! He had no choice but to report his identity, because there was simply not enough time to look for him any other way, hence he opted to open the door and see the mountain [fig. to get right to the point] to ask to see him. If his bet was wrong, regardless of the situation, as long as he could get away, he could still change shape in a single shake to be the ugly divine doctor, and nobody could seize him and expose him half a bit. The man hesitated for half a day. Finally he nodded and said, You wait here for a moment; you must not leave without any reason. Finished speaking, he went inside the temple. Xu Ziling went to see Li Jing first, who then made the arrangement to have him enter the Pce to see Li Shimin. Inside the secret chamber, when Li Shimin and Li Jing finished listening to Xu Zilings report, they both showed grave expression. Xu Ziling said, Under normal circumstances, these three big shots of the demonic school would never join hands to work together. It is thus clear than Shimin Xiong made them extremely wary; they are afraid that once you obtain the world, the demonic school would not see the day, they would sink and unable to rise again. To them, the more chaotic the world is the better. Li Shimin nodded and said, I am the person who gain the support of the Buddhists and Taoists, two schools; naturally they are unwilling to see me gain ground. Muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, In Zilings opinion, are my two brothers involved in this operation? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, There should be no direct rtionship, but whether they are in favor secretly, it is difficult to say. After all, Yang WenGan is their man, no matter what, they cannot escape from the guilt of harboring rebels. Li Jing spoke in heavy voice, I dont believe Taizi Dianxia knows nothing about this matter. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, That little thief Xiang Yushan voluntarily stopping by our door, we must make him able toe but unable to leave. Xu Ziling said, In this matter, we still have to take our time in making a decision; Kou Zhong and I thought that chopping him down with one saber strike would be too easy for him. Toward an evil family who does offending-Heaven-and-reason shady business to the fullest like this, we must pull them by the roots, so that they cannot do evil anymore. Li Shimin dly said, It ought to be so. And then he added, I wonder if Mo Shen Yi is Kou Zhong? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, In the end we cannot conceal it from Qin Wang. Li Shiminughed and said, If I cant even see that, I, Li Shimin, would have fallen head first really bad. Kou Zhong is surely a good man, although Wang Xiong [brother king] pressed him to frame me up, wanted him to use falsely that I poisoned Zhang Jieyu, he still was not willing to submit. Please tell him that I, Li Shimin, am extremely grateful. Amazed, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly Qin Wang is aware of even this matter. Li Shimin replied indifferently, They nted a mole in my Heavenly Policy Mansion, I, Li Shimin, naturally know how to reciprocate. Ay! I never thought that Guan Wai [outside the Pass] is a battlefield, Guan Nei [inside the Pass] is another battlefield. Military intelligence is number one, nobody can me anybody. Since we know that the traitors are going tounch an attack during the Mount Zhongnan hunting trip, how are we going to deal with it? Li Jing asked. Li Shimin replied, We dont need to do anything, lest we beat the grass to scare the snake. We only need to make every effort to find that batch of firearms, and then capture both the men and the stolen goods, so that we can present a memorial to ask Fu Huang to dispatch the troops to root out the rebels once for all. Xu Ziling praised him inwardly. This was indeed the best policy. Li Shimin suddenly revealed an emotional expression; he sighed and said, To be able to receive Ziling and Zhong Shaos cooperation, it is indeed lifes pleasure. You have given me both kindness and friendship. Thinking that this must be difficult days for him, how can I not feel regret? Xu Ziling said, Oftentimes the development of the affairs of life exceeds all expectations. Qin Wangs current top priority is the matter at hand; other things, lets think about it another day! The man returned to Kou Zhongs side and said in low voice, Shao Shuai, pleasee with me. Kou Zhong followed him from a side door around the temple hall toward the courtyard at the back. The man fell back a little and said, These past two days, from time to time there were strangersing to stick their head out and look around, hence we are being particrly careful. Fortunate Shi Ye [master (as in teacher) master (as in superior/subordinate)] instructed us that he only wants to see Shao Shuai and Xu Ye, two men; otherwise how could I dare to report to him on your behalf? Inwardly Kou Zhong praised Yun Shuai for not only having divine martial art skill, but brilliant as well. He asked, Laoxiong, may I ask your honorable surname and great given name? The man replied, My name is very long; simply call me Tana! Shi Ye is my Zhuzi [Master (term used by servant)]. After passing through a long corridor, Tana took Kou Zhong to a small, brimming-with-exotic-vor, its-floor-was-covered-in-Persian-rug-made-of-felt C hall to sit down. He said, Shi Ye will be here shortly, I need to go outside to take care of things! Kou Zhong promptly expressed his thanks. While leaving, Tana closed the door behind him. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around. Other than the door, this small hall unexpectedly did not have even half a window, yet it did not feel stuffy forck of venttion. Turned out on the wall, about two zhang from the ground, there was a row of three venttion holes. All the four walls and the ceiling were extremely strong. Even with Kou Zhongs power, he had to admit that he would not be capable of breaking the walls and charging out, so that the impression was that he was inside a prison cell. Suddenly he had a feeling that something was very wrong here. Logically, Yun Shuai should not use this this kind of room, which, if people were guarding outside the door, it would be difficult to flee even if they grew wings C to see him. It should be noted that due to their rtionship with Li Jiancheng, the Eastern Tujue people had enormous power in Changan. Yun Shuais situation was simr to his and Xu Zilings; once they were not careful, they would have to pack their food and leave before they finished eating. Another suspicious thing arose from his heart; logically, it was only yesterday that An Long notified Yang Xuyan, yet Tana said that these past two days there were peopleing to stick their head out and look around, so it did not make sense. Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong came to his senses. He sprang up from his seat and charged toward the door. The sound of people falling from the air andnded on the ground was heard outside the door. Kou Zhong knew he had fallen into a trap. Both fists struck together, he hit the door. The wooden door was shattered, wood splinters sshed everywhere. Kou Zhong flew out, only to fall in the enemys heavy siege. Book 33 - 12 – Fierce Battle at the Foreign Temple At the speed of lightning or a flints spark, Kou Zhong bare-handedly took three consecutive saber strikes from Ke Dazhi. Both sides knew that if Ke Dazhi was forced to retreat, Kou Zhong would break the siege before the enemy had any chance to stabilize their troop formation. In todays situation, where tens of thousand people were celebrating, pedestrians and vehicles were striving for the road to visit each other to pay a New Year call, Kou Zhong only needed to slip into the crowd, and then relying on his superior shenfa, throwing away the people following his track would be as easy as a hands turn. Not to mention that his unique skill in fleeing for his life, plus his ample experience C could only be matched by Xu Ziling. But if Kou Zhong was forced back inside the hall, he could only fight like a trapped beast. By the time therge number of Chang Lin Armys martial art masters rushed over, even if Kou Zhong was an unrivalled hero, his martial art skill outstanding, it would be difficult to fly even if he grew wings. Kou Zhong was d that he came to his senses early; otherwise, by the time the enemiesid outyer uponyer of heavy siege and swarmed in, while he was still thinking that Yun Shuais honorable self would arrive soon, he wouldck the skill to keep his life. At the same time, he cursed his own stupidity. Yang Xuyan was by no means someone who was easy to push around. He must be furious for losing the Image Scroll. Plus he must have guessed that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had overheard his talk with An Long. Thereupon he must have notified Li Jiancheng, andy out a trap waiting for him to drop by this morning. Putting his fingers together into a palm chop, Kou Zhong swiftly hacked just like as if he was using the Moon in the Well. Momentarily qi power filled the air. Although Ke Dazhis saber strike was more tricky than thest, more powerful than the previous, he was still unable to force Kou Zhong back even for half a step. Kou Zhong was finally able to experience the formidability of this martial art master, who shared the same fame as Ba Fenghan C in direct confrontation. The air was full of fine particle of revolving energy like a sandstorm blowing wildly at him. And Kou Zhongs spiraling energy, before it pierced the opponent meridians C was neutralized by the true qi concentrated on his saber de. Kou Zhong could not open thunder-climbing-over-the-pond [no idea: ͨԽ׳] even for half a step, but Ke Dazhi was unable to force him back into the hall either. The long corridor extended to the left and right. To the left, it led to Bosi Hu Sis back door; to the right was the pathway toward the main hall of the temple. Outside the covered corridor was the side garden. The grass and trees were covered in white snow, with the snowkes were still floating down unceasingly. If Kou Zhong could force his way out of the long corridor, crossing over the approximately three zhang side garden was the Foreign Temples outer courtyard wall, which was about three zhang high, which would be the determining factor between life and death. Evidently Ke Dazhi and the others came in haste. It was during Ke Dazhi and Kou Zhongs fiery battle that Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan, Wei Jiaqing, and more than a dozen Chang Lin Armys martial art masters, both Tujue and Han, leaped down from the outer courtyard wall, and formed a fan-shaped formation behind Ke Dazhi to surround Kou Zhong. Arriving right after Ke Dazhi was Xue Wanche, a core figure within the Chang Lin Army, toward whom Kou Zhong had extreme misgivings. There was also Feng Liben, another trusted aide of Li Jiancheng. Xue Wanches weapon was a Qimei copper stick [per Akws note earlier, qimei indicates the height of the stick reaches ones eyebrows], while Feng Liben was using sword. Two men pounced over from left and right, with the intention of forcing Kou Zhong back into the hall by all means. It could be imagined that this was only the vanguard squad to encircle and annihte him, arge number of Chang Lin Army elite troops must be rushing over at full speed. Whether Kou Zhong could immediately break the siege would determine his fate. Xue Wanches copper stick turned into sharp shadows filling the air, attacking from the left like hiding the sky and covering the earth. It appeared to be all mixed up and chaotic, but hidden within the confusion was movement method that reached the great expert level of transformingplexity into simplicity, so that to Kou Zhong, he had be the threat second only to Ke Dazhi. Although Feng Liben was also a first ss martial art master, clearly he was still inferior to Ke Dazhi and Xue Wanche. However, since it was hard for Kou Zhong to attend to multiple attacks at the same time, his swift stabs toward Kou Zhongs right nk broke out everywhere, potentially it could change the angle of attack any moment, so that he was giving Kou Zhong a big headache as well. Surprisingly, Yang Xuyan was nowhere to be seen. If Yang Xuyan were added into the number, even if Kou Zhong grew another pair of hands, he would still be unable to deal with them. Kou Zhong roared andughed aloud, saying, Good saber technique! His foot flew into a kick, unexpectedly it was as if hepletely ignored Xue Wanches copper stick and Feng Libens sword. When martial art masters fight, knowing the enemy is a must. This is called man has a name, tree has its shadow. Although Ke Dazhi was proud and arrogant, and did not consider Changans Han martial art masters worthy in his eyes, but encountering such martial art master whose name shook the world like Kou Zhong, naturally he did not dare to be careless. He estimated that Kou Zhong could only soar into the air to jump into the back of the long corridor, which was more than two zhang high from the ground, before he had any hope of evading this three-pronged attack, and then he would still fall into the inferior position ofpletely taking the beating until he was injured and was captured. Another way was to charge back into the small hall, and then defended himself to the death at the door to stall for time. Upon self-introspection, if Ke Dazhi were Kou Zhong, he would only have these two options. Therefore, he changed the Sandstorm Saber from hacking to thrusting, to attack the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach directly, while simultaneously releasing Sandstorm power, so that the Sandstorm Saber appeared to suddenly lengthen, while sharp light shot out of the saber de; fierce and severe to the extreme point, a clear disy that he was taking unfair advantage while Kou Zhong could only block the attack using his bare hands. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong unexpectedly sent out a kick, in a both-sides-perish manner? If the saber momentum did not change, by the time Ke Dazhi hit the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach, his lower yin would also be kicked by the opponents leg, and then they both would return to the Western Paradise. But since he already upied the upper hand, of course Ke Dazhi did not want to perish together with him; moving backward a little bit, his saber sliced down toward the tip of Kou Zhongs foot. His might did not diminish the slightest bit, it still blocked Kou Zhongs charging-forward path. One attacking, the other defending, outstanding with no ck to be exploited. In this blink of an eye, Qiao Gongshan, Er Wenhuan, the Jian Langjun [sword young lord] Wei Jiaqing, and so on, a group of rtively prominent martial art masters of Chang Lin Army, a total of seventeen men, were rushing over from the direction of the external wall, forming a half-moon formation,pletely sealing all exit paths from the temple. Kou Zhongughed aloud. The kick, which appeared to be sent out with abandon, was suddenly pulled back, and changed direction to kick sideways toward Feng Liben, aimed at the vital point on his calf about three cun up and three cun down. If the opponent was hit, although he would not be killed, he could forget about walking with two good legs in the future. Ke Dazhi, three men were greatly shocked. They began to understand that Kou Zhongs reputation was certainly not in vain. It should be noted that the reason Ke Dazhi changed his move was because he knew Kou Zhongs kick was released at full power, like he wanted to stake everything in charging forward, absolutely difficult to block. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong had the unique ability of rapidly changing qi power? Not only he changed the kick direction from forward to sideways, it was also change target to another opponent like freely running water; how could they not be surprised? Feng Liben was so sure that a little bit more and then his sword was going to stab and prate Kou Zhongs right nk, yet while the opponent was trapped in this dangerous situation, he suddenly carried out this odd move; naturally he was unwilling to lose his robust useful leg, hence he hastily changed from offense to defense. Copying Ke Dazhi, his sword sliced down. Ke Dazhis eyesight was the most brilliant among the three; immediately he cried Not good! inwardly. Letting out a violent roar, he moved his saber to cut sideways, yet he was still one step toote. Pulling back his hundreds and thousands stick shadows, Xue Wanche turned it back into just one stick, striking Kou Zhong at an angle from the bottom going up. Suddenly he saw that the tip of his stick was about to make contact with Kou Zhongs palm; he could not help feeling greatly delighted, thinking that if you hastily use your flesh to meet my ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt strike head-on, even if momentarily you could get through this ordeal, but you would fallpletely under my control, so that you would not have enough power left to deal with Ke Dazhis saber. Feng Libens sword, the stick, and the palm collided. Xue Wanche immediately sent out his power, but at the same time he was shocked. Not only he did not feel the slightest force resisting his power, but he felt as if he was striking empty air. It was as if Kou Zhong pulled his stick, which was moving at an astonishing high speed, into his palm, and his true qi was flowing swiftly out uncontrobly like a sh flood, being absorbed by Kou Zhongs bizarre technique. The feeling was like the stick was caving in into a force field. Not even in his dream would Xue Wanche ever think that Kou Zhong would use this kind of brilliant strange technique to neutralize his must-kill stick strike. Making a prompt decision, he immediately pulled his stick back. Kou Zhongughed aloud and threw himself to fly sideways; his shoulder powerfully hit the pit of Feng Libens stomach on his right, while closely evading Ke Dazhis slicing saber. On the surface, it would appear that Kou Zhong was unable to block Xue Wanches fierce and severe stick strike. Only Ke Dazhi and Xue Wanche knew the turn of events was not too encouraging. From his angle of view, Feng Liben also mistakenly thought that Kou Zhong was unable to take Xue Wanches stick strike, hence the reason he was pouncing on him. Changing his slicing down sword strike to pricking upward, he intended to cut across Kou Zhongs shoulder crashing over toward him. Kou Zhong spun around; amidst the hundred-busyness, he feigned a palm chop toward Ke Dazhi first, to stop him from changing his attacking move. And then his other hand also chopped down, as fast as lightning, to hit the de of Feng Libens sword. The palm and the sword collided. Crack! Rip! The long sword disintegrated into cun-size pieces, while Feng Liben spurted out blood and was thrown down. With everything he had, Kou Zhong had sessfully fooled the enemies one after another. Finally he borrowed part of Xue Wanches power, and then, selecting the enemys weakest link, he broke the enemy in one fell swoop, opening up a gap from which he could escape. Again Kou Zhong let out a longughter. Staying close to the wall, he flew along the corridor over the injured Feng Liben, who was lying face up on the ground. He shot like a shooting star toward the main hall of the temple. With a loud roar Ke Dazhi ran after him like a shooting arrow. Kou Zhong had just left the long corridor, a voice was heard overhead, calling, Follow me! Kou Zhong fixed his gaze to look, surprisingly it was Yun Shuai; not daring to hesitate, he ran after him. Somersaulting on top of the temples roof, he followed Yun Shuai fleeing for his life. Xu Ziling returned to Lei Jiuzhis hideout. Thetter was talking to Gao Zhandao. Seeing Xu Ziling, Gao Zhandao said, Fortunately we did not bring disgrace to ourselves; based on the portrait that Hou Ye provided, we found that every night at dusk the Fat Merchant of Sichuan An Long patronizes the Le Quan Guan public bath. Is he usually alone? Xu Ziling asked. Thats right! Gao Zhandao replied. And then he took out from his bosom a roll of rough sketch of the bathhouseyout and spread it out on the table. He said, Le Quan Guan has four big pools and twelve small ones. Most of the time An Long visits the big pool, not sure if that is because he loves the crowd. He is always liberal with money, all the attendants and masseuses over there consider him a VIP. Frowning, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Zhandaos inquiry is so much detailed, arent you beating the grass to scare the snake? Gao Zhandao smiled and said, Lei Ye, dont worry; in here, we are local mafia boss [orig. local snake head], definitely we wont leak the least bit of tail. Turning to Xu Ziling, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Ziling, how are you going to deal with him? Xu Ziling said, An Long is a formidable figure of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. If he intentionally wants to escape, killing him will not be easy at all. Fortunately public baths are fixed environment; as long as we n carefully, as well as we watch for a fortunate timing, once we make our move we must go all-out to kill him with everything we have, then our chance of sess is very high. When is Ling Ye going to do it? Gao Zhandao asked. This matter should not be dyed, Xu Ziling replied, We will do it tonight. Losing An Long, this capable helper, Shi Zhixuans troop disposition will be thrown to confusion. Only then will we be able to seize the opportunity. ordingly, he turned to Gao Zhandao and said, From now on, Zhandao, you must immediately order all our brothers to break up the whole into pieces, everybody vanishes without trace following our n, quietly waiting for the next order. Gao Zhandao replied, I am going back to make the arrangement right away. As a matter of fact, we are already going into hiding. If Ling Ye so wishes, I could even pull most of our brothers out of Changan, or perhaps we hide on the boat, so that we could either attack or defend. And then he asked, About An Long, will you need our support? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Many men will botch things up instead. Let Shao Shuai and I handle An Long. After Gao Zhandao left, Lei Jiuzhi said, Just now Yang WenGans woman sent her man to the shop to pass on a message to you, asking you toe to Ming Tang Wo to see her tonight. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, That Hong Furen is really troublesome; how could I have the time to entertain her? Lei Jiuzhi asked in surprise, She must have Yang WenGan behind her giving her instructions. In this exciting times when things are developing rapidly, this cant possibly be a simple matter; arent you interested in finding out what this is about? Inwardly Xu Ziling agreed that it could not possibly be as simple as Madame Hong just want to hire him to win some money, but he was not in the mood to cheat anybody on the gambling table either. Lei Jiuzhi sighed and said, Very well, just ignore her then! Now that is the right thing! Xu Ziling cheerfully said. Lei Jiuzhi said, Taking advantage of the holiday season, plus we have solid financial resources, today we should go to the Six-Happiness Casino to make a fortune, to see whether Chi Shengchun can still endure and not lose his temper toe out and interfere. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I am most afraid of provoking Xiang Yushan toe out. He knows me very well, perhaps he would be able to see through my disguise. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Ling Ye may set your heart at ease. Precisely because he knows you too well that he knows you dont know anything about gambling, hence he cant possibly guess that you are Xu Ziling. Inwardly Xu Ziling knew that in this matter, he would be unable to change Lei Jiuzhis mind; without any better option he gave in and said, Lei Laoyes order, how could Xiaodi dare to disobey? Lei Jiuzhis pair of eyes lit up instantly; he said, Today we are going to change strategy; ruthlessly win arge sum of money from him, you could also use this as an excuse not to meet Hong Furens invitation. You are a professional gambler. After winning a basin-full, a bowl-full, you pack your money and leave; right? Without any choice Xu Ziling replied, Very right! Book 33 - 13 – Emotion Cannot Be Stopped By Oneself Inside a small courtyard west of Qing Ming Canal, Yun Shuai invited Kou Zhong to sit in the hall. Heughed and said, A wise person reflecting a thousand times can still make a mistake. This is your honorable countrys widely popr saying that is the truth. If you only thought carefully, you ought to know that I cant possibly let my nsmen know that I am here. But An Long could be considered extremely capable; even when I disguised myself as a Dashi [ancient Chinese term referring to Persian and Arabs (Courtesy of Akw)] merchanting to the east to do business, I still could not hide from him. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, I underestimated Yang Xuyan. The strange thing is, logically speaking, he has no reason not toe. Yun Shuai said, Why do you think he has no reason not toe? Kou Zhong said, Becausest night I stole something that is extremely important to him, quite possibly make him never able to get a glimpse of his Shifu Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image Method. Staring nkly, Yun Shuai said, Yang Xuyan is unexpectedly Shi Zhixuans disciple? After giving him a brief exnation, Kou Zhong said, Yang Xuyan really wishes to eat my flesh and drink my blood; this scheme was nned by him. Tell me, do you think he ought toe? Yun Shuai smiled and said, He dide; he even crouched on a high ce behind the temple, ready to ambush Shao Shuai, only too bad the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it; I ambushed him from behind, only his agility was indeed outstandingly quick. At that time I had a hundred-percent confidence that I would be able to subdue and kill him, but he still managed to escape. This man is indeed Shao Shuais formidable opponent. Kou Zhong cried, Lucky! inwardly. He said, Was Guoshi unable to bear not going to your temple to worship God? How could you coincidentallye across me? Yun Shuai sighed and said, When one already left his hometown for a long time, it was easy to have ones thoughts and feeling. Seeing the entire city of Changan celebrating the beginning of Spring invoked the homesick feeling in my heart, inadvertently I came to the temple and wandered around the neighborhood. I saw arge number troops with torrential rush momentum were charging over, so I knew you met a mishap. Kou Zhong expressed his gratitude again, while casually asked what happened after they parted. Yun Shuais pair of eyes emitted an intense murderous aura, but the tone of his voice was unusually calm; sketching it light shade, he said, Since Shi Zhixuans sneak attack, I knew that I am his target. I also knew that you guys were unable to stop him. Therefore, after my power recovered somewhat, I leaped onto a big tree by the road and hid over there, letting the carriage leaving without me. Kou Zhong stared nkly. He wanted to say something but then hesitated. Yun Shuai spoke indifferently, Let the things of the past remain in the past, I could retain my life, hence I still have a chance to take revenge on them. Kou Zhong had nothing to say; he could only earnestly hope for Xie Xianting, two persons C that Heaven would help the worthy, that Shi Zhixuan could not catch up with them, or perhaps he disdained to kill them [see Book 29 Chapter 1]. Kou Zhong was dying to ask his rtionship with Zhu Can, but in the end he decided it was inappropriate for him to open his mouth; he changed the subject instead, Why did Guoshie to Changan? he asked. Yun Shuai pondered silently for a moment before saying, I came to see the situation in the Central ins. We, the Western Tujue have been fighting against the Eastern Tujue for many years; although there have been many victory and defeat between the two, the fact is that we are actually inferior to them. If your distinguished country could turn the chaos back and put it under control, thend under heaven is unified, the most important thing is naturally to deal with Xieli by all means, then our objective would be the same, hence there would be the possibility that we could cooperate. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Guoshi came to Changan, evidently you decided that the House of Tang has the best chance to unify the world, am I right? Yun Shuai sighed and said, Originally I thought so. But once I saw how numerous andplicated the factions in Changan are, how the Qin Wang Mansion and the Taizi Mansion, the two cannot exist together, to such an extent as to miss the golden opportunity of going to the east to attack Luoyang and let Wang Shichong sorting out the remnants of Li Mis troops C I cant help but feeling worried for the Li Family. If Xielis evil clutches seize this opportunity to invade, the Central ins will be in great danger. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Now that I know the reason why Guoshi came to Changan secretly, maybe we could be battlepanion to deal with the big enemy. Knitting his brows, Yun Shuai asked, Are you referring to Shi Zhixuan? Kou Zhong replied, Not only Shi Zhixuan, there is also Zhu Yuyan and Zhao Deyan. These three are joining hands in a conspiracy to deal with Qin Wang Li Shimin. Greatly astonished, Yun Shuai said, Isnt Li Shimin your enemy as well? Why dont Shao Shuai sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, while also seize the opportunity to take away the weapons and other things from the Duke Yangs Treasure? Kou Zhong sighed and said, This matter is hard to exin in a few words. For the time being there is a partnership rtion between Li Shimin and me; if Xieli invades, all of us would have to pack our food and leave before we finish eating. After staring fixedly at him for a moment, Yun Shuaiughed hoarsely and said, Although I still dont understand you too well, furthermore, your action and style dont match my character, but surprisingly, I admire you very much. About this cooperation, we must take our time in making the decision. I wonder if Shao Shuai could make arrangement for me to see Qin Wang first ... Kou Zhong dly said, If I cant even aplish such a trivial matter, how could we talk about working together? Ill do it right away. I will give Guoshi a definite answer before nightfall today. Inwardly he thought it was really not suitable for him to tarry, he still had to go quickly to see Shang Xiufang. Usually the Bei Li [northern neighborhood] was already crowded and bustling with noise and excitement, today not even one drop could trickle through. Every casino had people at the main gate directing traffic; only for every person exiting would they allow another person entering, so that there was a long line outside the door. Even Lei Jiuzhi, someone who saw casinos as his home, could only gaze wistfully at the gate and sigh, but had to step back. On the contrary, Xu Ziling happily pulled Lei Jiuzhi to turn around and leave; he said with augh, Everybody is scrambling to make a fortune, while in fact, it is the casinos changzhu, guanzhu [owner] are the only ones getting rich. Wed better stroll around a little bit, and thenter on we go to Fu Ju Lou to enjoy the beautiful scenery of snowkes floating down over the Yue Ma Bridge. Lei Jiuzhi said, These few days, all the restaurants and wine shops are closed, only pleasure houses and casinos are still opening their door to do business. With nowhere else to go, everybody is just flocking into these ces; thats why their doors are like the market. Xu Ziling led him walking south along the Yong An Canal; he lightly said, Dont you use your lotus-flower-lustrous-tongue to tell me to brave the snow to wait for our turn at the casino door. The temples should be open? Stunned, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Are you thinking of going to Wu Lou Si? Arent you afraid of alerting Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling said, Shi Zhixuan is a holy monk living in seclusion in clear meditation, how could he have spare time to go all over the ce watching and searching for people? Besides, the temple must be very crowded. We take advantage of the confusion to get into the temple; if we are lucky, we might find the entrance to the buried treasure, and then we would be able to make proper arrangement with what is about to happen. Greatly astonished, Lei Jiuzhi said, I thought you are hoping that Xiao Zhong is not going to find the treasure, and then he would give up his ambition of striving for the world; why do you suddenly be this enthusiastic? Sighing lightly, Xu Ziling said, Supposing after doing my best I still cannot find the treasure, I can persuade him to give up. The thing is, I already promised him that Id do my best to look for the treasure. Something that I promised, I have to strive my hardest to aplish it. Wu Lou Si appeared ahead. As expected, people wereing and going, the rain and snow did not affect their enthusiasm to worship God and pray for His blessings. Lei Jiuzhi said, The peopleing to worship Buddha are mostly benevolent believers with advance age; I wonder if the closer one is to ones death, the more one hope that there will be another heaven and earth after death, so that their life could go on. Xu Ziling did not expect Lei Jiuzhi might suddenly make such a deep philosophical remark; he responded, Based on what they have seen and heard, people might, over the years, deepen what they know about life from experience. Take Kou Zhong for example, he said that before, he never believed such thing as decreed by fate. But after going through all kinds of situation, he felt that in everything, there is a pair of hands of the fate behind it; therefore, gradually he is developing different way of looking at things. Lei Jiuzhiughed and asked, Does Ziling believe in fate? Looking up to let the snowkes floating onto his face, Xu Ziling replied, I dont know. He could not stop the memory of Shi Feixuan wearing Buddhist nun attire this morning from appearing in his mind; a burst of bitter feeling rose up in his heart. What kind of arrangement would fate bring him? Kou Zhong hurriedly came to Shang Xiufangs temporary residence, located within a standalone courtyard house with a fully enclosed courtyard [see footnote Book 31 Chapter 11] west of Shang Lin Yuan. The heavenly woman whose beauty and stage name was known throughout the world, who was waiting eagerly at the west wing, saw his arrival. She was sitting quietly in front of the qin, tuning its silky string, facing the window, looking at the garden outside, where snowkes were floating down, in harmony, dense, freely dancing in the air. In the hall of the wing, the stove was zing, so that the room was as warm as the spring. Perhaps her subordinates were out to enjoy the festivities, but other than two maidservants waiting on her, there was no other person in sight. After closing the door, the maid left. The pavilion courtyard was quiet without any noise, a piece of tranquil harmony. Only asional noise of the firecrackers from a distant ce was heard, as if it kept reminding them that today was the big auspicious day of New Years Day, but that it was something that happened in another world. Shang Xiufang softly said, Sit down by Xiufangs side, will you? Kou Zhong lifted a chair and set it down by her side, slightly behind her, and sat down obediently. Ding! Ding! Dong! Dong! One after another the notes to the Xian Weng [lit. immortal elderly man] rang. While tuning the instrument, Shang Xiufang casually plucked segment after segment of the melody. Although it was an improvisation, none of the melody was not elegant. Suddenly this talented girl transformed these originally discontinuous notes into a beautiful musical score, like disjointed segments of sentences linked together into a chapter, brimming with sad, parched, bitter, and also making the listeners wallow in, and were enchanted by C melody, as if it tenderly excavated the deepest feeling in everybodys heart. Kou Zhong breathed her enchanting fragrant, he looked as her snow white, scallion-like fingertips pushed, pressed, and plucked the seven strings of the qin; momentarily his mind was intoxicated. After going through the fierce battle at the Bosi Hu Si, where he narrowly escaped death and came out alive C just now, he felt as if it had happened in another reincarnation, that it was something that happened so far away that it could not be touched, and that it was something to be forgotten. The song ended. Kou Zhong was still in daze, unable to control himself. Fixing her gaze at the snowscape outside the window, Shang Xiufang spoke softly, You finally came! A feeling that Kou Zhong could not identify welled up in his heart; although it was such a simple remark, it was just like her qin, narrating thousands of words, hiding with it endless disappointment, pleasant surprise, anticipation, as well as hope. Clearing his throat, Kou Zhong looked at the graceful, undting outline of the side view of her face, her sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade, rosy-within-the-white tender and lovely flesh of her cheek, her sparkling and dazzling, unfathomably deep beautiful eyes. Somewhat at a loss on how to respond, he said, Xiufang Xiaojie ought to be very busy today, howe you are staying alone in here, amusing yourself by ying the qin? Shang Xiufang unhurriedly replied, Xiufang politely declined any visitor today, because it is the anniversary of the death of my deceased mother. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was greatly astonished; if that was the case, why did she implore him toe alone today to see her? Shang Xiufang turned her head to look at him, she spoke indifferently, Other than contending for hegemony over thend under heaven, is there anything else that would move Shao Shuais heart? Song Yuzhi came to his mind, Kou Zhong was on alert inwardly. Smiling wryly, he said, Xiaojie could try to ask Qin Wang the same question. I am afraid the answer would be precisely the same. Anybody who got sucked into this whirlpool, it is not just difficult to get out, it is even more difficult to pursue other things. Pfft! Shang Xiufang giggled tenderly and said, Youre lying! Her demeanor and facial expression was like an innocent and unaffected, honest but shy little girl. Looking at her, Kou Zhong felt a rush of excitement; he awkwardly said, Xiaojie is really formidable; unexpectedly you could even tell lies when you hear it. Highly excited, Shang Xiufang said, Its good to talk to you to relieve boredom; if it were someone else, he would have use thousand methods a hundred words to exin and circle around the lies. Oh, your face is not bad either! Surprised, Kou Zhong said, This is the first time anybody ever praised my fake face. He could not help remembering Dugu Fengs viewing in a new light demeanor toward him, and mused inwardly that he had just spoken another lie. But this time Shang Xiufang did not see through his lie; turning her head back to look at the scenery outside the window, she spoke indifferently, I wonder if Shao Shuai is afraid to see Xiufang. Kou Zhong could not bear to lie to her again, he calmly said, In the world, which familys man does not wish to get close to Xiaojie? Its just that because Kou Zhong cannot spare time or has no time for a separate task, that time in Luoyang I missed our appointment, thats all. I am asking Miss to forgive me. Shang Xiufang shook her head and said, I was not talking about that time only, but in general. Womenfolks intuition is very formidable, unlike men who always think that every woman is interested in them. From some subtle facial expression and reaction, it is very easy to read the secret in mens heart. Unable to argue, Kou Zhong smiled ruefully and said, Even if Xiaodi wanted not to believe, I simply cant. Only meeting a few times, plus we have never had any in depth conversation, but Xiaojie understands me very well, it even feels like even more clear than Xiaodi himself. Shang Xiufangs beautiful eyes floated over him again. In this sidelong nce, certainly her seductive appearance was growing without restraint, overflowing with ten-thousand-kind amorous feelings. The most formidable part was that in her pair of eyes, there was a hooking-soul, absorbing-spirit charm, so that being at the receiving end of her gaze, Kou Zhongs heart was severely swept away, and nearly had his soul hooked by her for real. He was ustomed to see beautiful women, butpared to Shang Xiufang, all those womencked that kind of charm-beneath-the-surface touching flirtatious expressions. Only the simple-and-elegant-like-a-fairy Shi Feixuan had enough qualifications to make ims as an equal with her. But naturally thetter would never use that kind of bewitching-people-to-the-death expression in her eyes to look at people like Shang Xiufang did. Laughing sweetly, Shang Xiufang, as tender and soft as water, said, Does Shao Shuai understand? Absent-mindedly, Kou Zhong asked, Understand what? Lowering her head to the base of her neck, Shang Xiufang said, Dork! Ding! Ding! Dong! Dong! This touching beautys delicate, long, gentle and beautiful hand glided over the strings of the qin, ying a piece of gentle and cheerful melody. Even the slowest and obtuse man would know that she was happy and pleased because she had Kou Zhong by her side, apanying her. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb as he suddenly understood. Just now Shang Xiufang said that she could catch the content of the other sides heart from the mans facial expression and demeanor. But now unexpectedly he failed to catch the meaning behind her ttery, so it served him right for her to regard him as a dork. Ay! What should he do? His first love was Li Xiuning. After knowing Song Yuzhi, although gradually he was able to shift his love to her, but the beauty before his eyes right now was so provoking-tender-affection; hurting her heart was truly the most cruel thing to do. Although for a man to have three wives and four concubines was none of the other peoples business, he has never entertained any idea of having wives and concubines; he felt that he could only focus his love on one woman. Being fickle in love was really not a burden hed like to bear. Besides, he had made a pledge to unify the world; he practically did not have time to consider the passion between a man and a woman, because the most difficult problem was still weighing his mind. Shang Xiufang stopped ying the qin, thest note was still lingering in the air. The beautyughed slightly and spoke gently, What is Shao Shuai thinking? With a pained smile Kou Zhong said, This time Xiufang Xiaojie cannot see it through? Shang Xiufang spoke softly, Heroes and outstanding talents always have other aspiration to be embraced. Today I was able to invite Shao Shuai to honor me with your presence, Xiufang is extremely grateful. Kou Zhong was afraid she might go on, changing the subject, he said, That night Li Jiancheng was giving a dinner party, it seemed like you have not seen through that I am Kou Zhong, how did you suddenly find out? Shang Xiufang replied, Just when you were leaving, you cast me a nce, and that nce revealed your identity. Therefore, theres a saying that secrets may be inadvertently revealed. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Now I am really a bit scared of you! Shang Xiufang looked directly at him. Her beautiful eyes staring deeply into his, she said, No need to be afraid, Xiufang is already very clear of the content of Shao Shuais heart. Kou Zhongs heart was boiling, he blurted out, No! But as soon as the word came out of his mouth, he already regretted it. Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi walked back and forth more than a dozen times among the crowded-to-bursting-point tide of people in the temple, stepping through every nook and corner. But there was still not in the least bit of clue on the possible entrance to the buried treasure. Taking the opportunity while the monks in the temple were still busy in receiving the benevolent believers, they even sneaked into their apartments to search, yet the result was still nothing. The two sat down in the center pavilion by the turtle pond at the rear garden. Lei Jiuzhi said, We even sneaked into the Zang Jing Ge [library, lit. scripture storehouse (two-story) pavilion] to search, and certain that there is no entrance whatsoever. The only one remaining is the Fangzhang Tang [Abbot hall], which is closed all year round. Do you want to take a risk to search there? Xu Ziling shook his head, Too dangerous, he said, There is a fifty-fifty chance that Shi Zhixuan is sitting in meditation inside. Well talk about it tonight. Lei Jiuzhi was shaken, You guys are really going to fight tonight? Shi Zhixuan is definitely someone not to be trifled with. Rising up to his full height, Xu Ziling said, Lets go. Well discuss it with Kou Zhong. Book 34 - 1 – Old Affection Difficult To Break Xu Ziling went to see Kou Zhong at Hou Xibais secret hideout; thetter showedplicated expression on his face, his pair of eyebrows was deeply creased. Struggling to raise his spirit, Kou Zhong asked, Where is Lei Dage? Sitting down next to him, Xu Ziling replied, He went out to investigate Yang WenGan and Madame Hongs affair. What happened to you? A lot have been happening to me! Kou Zhong replied, I went to Persian Temple looking for Yun Shuai, who would have thought that I fell into the trap that Yang Xuyan carefullyid out? Fortunately he did not expect me to be not easy to be duped; while they were all caught unprepared, I seized the upper hand, and I even came in contact with Yun Shuai. After exining briefly, he went on, Yun Shuai wants to see Li Shimin. I told him that I will give him the answer before dusk today; could you make the arrangement? That should be no problem, Xu Ziling replied, Since you did not leak your identity, why are you looking so pathetic like a defeated rooster? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I just realized that I have to pay the price for the choice that I make. But when you can only make one choice, that kind feeling is really hard to take. Ay! Listening to him, Xu Ziling was baffled, What are you talking about? he asked. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, I am indeed babbling nonsense, yet I cannot express it clearly, because the problem is not in the choice itself, but humans are creatures that are brimming with emotions, that can be subjected to theplications because of said emotions, that furthermore, we cant resist temptation. Xu Ziling understood; frowning, he asked, What happened between you and Shang Xiufang? For now, nothing, only the tail remains, Kou Zhong replied, The problem is that she clearly indicated that she has a bit of interest toward me, and I cannot bear to refuse. Frankly speaking, she is indeed very charming. Xu Ziling rememberedst night Hong Funu mentioned about Shang Xiufangs heart already belongs to someone, he quietly pondered if Talented Lady Shangs yearning about the countenance, remembering the countenance [Book 33 Chapter 4] was written for Kou Zhong? No one knew Kou Zhong better than Xu Ziling. He was a man who would put the great undertaking on the first position. Of the four beautiful women who have had rtionship with him, Li Xiuning was love at first sight, but the oue was the most tragic as well! Plus there was still a great possibility that in the future they would be enemies. Toward Song Yuzhi, at first 70% was because he wanted to use her, 30% because he admired her, and onlyter that his feeling grew. As for Yun Yuzhen and Dong Shuni, both of whom have had physical rtionship with him, with thetter, it was purely under hot-blooded lust and full-of-stimtion environment that joined in the fun [orig. find a stage, put on aedy (idiom)]; there was only desire without any love. With Yun Yuzhen, it was a lot moreplicated. To Kou Zhong, Yun Yuzhen was the aloof and remote figure that he knew before Kou Zhong has not yet made his mark in the world. In his mind, to be able to own her represent his ascension to the sublime status of the higher social ss, which was some kind of psychological achievement. Currently, his feeling for Song Yuzhi was extremely stable, but still, when Shang Xiufang was looking upon him with favor, he became uncertain, dithering and miserable. From this, it was thus clear that Shang Xiufang was extremely tempting to him. In this kind of rtionship between a man and a woman C even as a brother, he found it very difficult to help. Seeing him staring nkly, deep in thought, Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Why dont you scold me for being weak? Displeased, Xu Ziling responded, Even if I did, whats the use? I told you not to be drawn into the contention over the world, but did you listen? How could you mix those two separate things together? Kou Zhong protested, Ay! Lets not talk about this kind of depressing thing for now. Any good n for today? Xu Ziling briefly exined the situation. He said, I believe the most important person that we should deal with is Shi Zhixuan. Meeting force with force, we do not stand too much of an advantage, but dealing with his pawn, the Fat Merchant An Long, it is still possible to aplish. Killing An Long is something that must be done, Kou Zhong said, We must make meticulous n; one strike and we must seed. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to get another opportunity. You have fought one-on-one against Shi Zhixuan; in your estimate, can Yun Shuais qinggong ovee Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling replied, This is very difficult to tell. If Yun Shuai and Shi Zhixuanpete on who will arrive at certain destination first, perhaps Yun Shuai would be able to triumph over the opponent. But speaking about dodging, shifting, moving, I believe Shi Zhixuan is still one notch higher. Coupled with his amazing skill of Immortal Image, we really cannot pin him down. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up, he said, If it was on the ins and wilderness, wont we have a good chance of killing him then? Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Youll have to break his Immortal Image Method first. What about if the three of us joining hands against the Four Great Holy Monks? Why dont you think about it? Dejected, Kou Zhong said, Is there really no way to kill him? The problem is that the entrance to the treasure-trove is extremely likely located inside the Wu Lou Sis Abbots room. In that case, well just have to try our luck. Hopefully while we are trying to find it, he would not be in the Temple. Xu Ziling said, Since he is undercover and intentionally concealing his track, unless absolutely necessary, Shi Zhixuan will not leave the temple. Feeling big headache, Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Looks like our good luck has reached the end of its path; previously, even if the treasure-trove was hazy without any clear thread, we always had hopes. But now our only clue leads us to Shi Zhixuans old nest tiger cave. Ay! I suddenly feel very tired! If only Niang made it clear that day, it would be much better. Xu Ziling looked up at the beam; pondering deeply, he said, Yue Ma Bridge? Why did Niang only mention Yue Ma Bridge? If the treasure-trove is in the Wu Lou Si, she ought to say Wu Lou Si of Changan, and that should be enough. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Make sense! This is called we are catching the wrong expression; the question is, where? The refined light in Xu Zilings eyes red out brightly; he looked at Kou Zhong, the two boys gazes met, they were shaking at the same time. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, We are so stupid! We only swam back and forth under the bridge, but did not search the Yue Ma Bridge thoroughly. Xu Ziling said, The most important point is: if the entrance to the treasure-trove is inside the Wu Lou Si Abbots room, then even Niang would not be able to get in. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. But he was still puzzled, But howe Wu Lou Si has Lu Dashis architectural style? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Perhaps I misinterpret what I saw! No! I cant possibly misinterpret it; especially the shape of the protruding interlocking wooden brackets between the top of a column and crossbeams. I am sure it was Lu Dashis original painting. There is an exnation about it in the architectural book he left behind. The decorative lines and patterns are of the same family, theres no difference. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, Thinking too much is useless; after ughtering An Long, we will take advantage of the dark to explore the bridge, well search every brick and every stone. Its pointless to bother about anything else. Pondering deeply, Xu Ziling said, Dont you think we are asking too much? You have just exposed your identity. Based on Li Yuanjis nature, he is eager to win and keen to render meritorious service, certainly he will use thousand ways, a hundred ns to capture us, yet we still want to C openly and without fear C kill An Long? Kou Zhong said, This is called seeking victory in the midst of danger; with enemies on all four sides, if we cannot grasp the initiative, we could only crane our neck waiting to be chopped. Right now our best scheme is to make Shi Zhixuan believe that An Long is harmed by Yin Gui Pai people; otherwise, how else can we deceive Shi Zhixuan, this big crafty scoundrel? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Unless you know Tian Mo Da Fa, and when you are making your move you make sure that no one is watching, how could you shift the me onto the Eastern Wu? This moment Lei Jiuzhi came back and said, I have information. Yang WenGan is really crafty. Hearing that, the two boys were greatly delighted; busily they poured tea and handed the water, and waited upon him to sit down. Pointing to Xu Ziling, Lei Jiuzhi asked, Do you remember Li Xiong? Xu Ziling nodded and said, He is Jingzhao Lians Fu Lianzhu [vice alliance master]; one time he led his men to rob Xing Chang Longs salt goods, and was injured by me [see Book 30 Chapter 8]. Lei Jiuzhi said, Hong Nong Bangs men have been monitoring his movements secretly, they finally discovered that there is a batch of salt shipment of unknown origin that was delivered to Hong Nong, and was received by Gu Tianzhang of Guang Sheng Xing, which was then shipped into Guanzhong. Guang Sheng Xing was Xing Chang Longs archenemy. Kou Zhong asked, So whats wrong with this batch of salt shipment? Lei Jiuzhi said, Of course its a fake salt shipment. Hidden inside are arrows and darts. They must be shipping bows and arrows separately. Xu Ziling asked, What made Hong Nong Bang men suspicious? Lei Jiuzhi replied, Because Gu Tianzhang personally went to Hong Nong to supervise the handing over the goods. That was the reason Hong Nong Bang thought there is something wrong with the shipment. Kou Zhong said, Where in Guanzhong will this shipment be delivered to? Lei Jiuzhi said, After entering the Pass, they lost track, because all along, this is not their territory. In Hong Nong, Hong Nong Bang possesses great magical power, but in Guanzhong, they have to rely on gangs and society with whom they have friendly rtionship. Because they are afraid to beat the grass to scare the snake, Chen Shi did not dare to ask other people to help. Chen Shi was Hong Nong Bangs Gang Leader [in Book 30 Chapter 6, it was Sheng Nanfu]. Lei Jiuzhi went on, Finding that there was a problem with this batch of salt shipment, and the twist and turns of the course of events, plus in order to deal with the Xiang Family Hong Nong Bang has never rxed their surveince on Ba Ling Bang, from this, they unexpectedly found out several gangs and societies that have always had close rtion with Xiao Xian were sending their men along the way to take care of this batch of shipment, only then did they find out that this salt shipment actually contained arrows and darts. Its getting more and more interesting! Kou Zhongmented, Shen Faxing delivered the firearms to Yin Gui Pai, and then Yin Gui Pai transported it into Guanzhong, while Xiao Xian supplied the arrows to Yang WenGan. Xiang Yushan personally undertook the task to help Yang WenGan to rebel. If the firearms did not fall into our hands, and Li Shimin was oblivious, perhaps Yang WenGan could really avoid the Heavenly Policy Mansions eyes and ears, and could get rid of Li kid in one move. Xu Ziling said, This is called one scheme fails, carryout another scheme. The mastermind behind it must be Shi Zhixuan. He originally intended to conspire with Song JinGang and the Tujue, when Li Shimin was returning from Luoyang to Guanzhong, to kill him en route, but they failed. Naturally as a result Li Shimin raised his vignce. Shi Zhixuan was left with no other choice but to n anotherrge-scale ambush. If we follow this reasoning, Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji ought to be kept inside a drum [idiom:pletely in the dark], and do not have any knowledge of the n. Lei Jiuzhi said, But if they can really kill Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng might think that if its wrong, its wrong [idiom: to make the best after a mistake], and cooperate with Yang WenGan to force Li Yuan to abdicate, so that he could ascend the dragon throne. Since Li Shimin is gone, whod dare to oppose? Kou Zhongughed and said, Its a pity that we messed up their scheme. This time Yang WenGan is bound to end in doom and gloom. Dont be so pleased too early, Lei Jiuzhi said, Just now Li Yuanji summoned the heads of all local gangs and societies, saying that the two of you already infiltrated Changan, and ordering them to mobilize their manpower to find you at all cost. It must be becausest night Yang Xuyan lost the Scroll that Li Yuanji was put on alert. After exining the real reason, Kou Zhong said with a cold snort, As long as he does not suspect my Divine Doctor identity, he could forget about finding me. But Ling Shaos Yong Qin might be more at risk. pping the table, Lei Jiuzhi said, We havent thought about one other thing; if Ziling bes Mo Wei again, it will be seamless heavenly clothes. Xu Zilingughed and said, The reason Zhong Shao is able to deceive people is because no one thinks that he knows medical art. As for Xiaodi, no one would link a gambler identity with either me or Kou Zhong. Especially Xiang Yushan; he knew that gambling does not even enter a single aperture of our heads [idiom: dont understand a word]. Ay! Looks like I will have to hang out with Madame Hong. With her as my cover, I could escape peoples eyes and ears even more. He thenughed and said, Dont forget that not only I am Gong Chenchun, I am also the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, whose name shook the world. Kou Zhong summed it up, Presently these are the two most urgent things for us to do: first, naturally we must find the location of the treasure-trove, and second, kill An Long. With these two aplished, we could decide the grand n, and be able to leave this dangerous ce where danger lurks on every side a bit early. Lei Jiuzhi said, About An Long, let me step into the field, Xiao Zhong had better return to the Sha Mansion. Right now you have vast circle of friends; people areing to pay a New Year call to you, yet you mysteriously disappear, that wont look too good! And then turning to Xu Ziling, he said, No matter what, you have to see Madame Hong today, see what she has in mind. The situation is critical, I need to do some trick on the interface between your fake and real faces. You might be able to use it when necessary. After that was finished, the three split up to do their separate tasks. Kou Zhong had just stepped into the Sha home, Sha Fu already met him up and said, Li Furen [Madame Li] is waiting for you in the east hall. Whos Li Furen? Kou Zhong asked in surprise. Sha Fu replied, Its Li Shiji Jiangjuns [general] wife. It was only then did Kou Zhong realize that Shen Luoyan hase looking for him. While groaning for the headache inwardly, his mouth said, Why is she looking for me? I dont even know her! If she wanted me to examine her, she shouldnt choose this Beginning of Spring day, right? Sha Fuughed with him, This, Xiaoren does not understand either, he said, But Wu Xiaojie is apanying her chatting. I hear that nowadays Li Shiji is greatly popr, he holds military power in his hands, therefore, Mo Ye has to give his wife a little bit of face, no matter what. When they were outside the east halls door, Sha Fu said, Today there are really a lot of peopleing to pay a New Year call, Xiaoren needs to go outside to take care of things. When Mo Ye has timeter, please go see Er Gongzi; he said he wants to talk with you about something. Kou Zhong said yes and stepped into the east hall. After introducing him to the sitting-with-her-mind-wandering far-away Shen Luoyan, Sha Zhijing said with augh, Today Li Furen came here specifically to pay a New Year call to Mo Xiansheng. She has some medical question that shed like to ask for Xianshengs guidance. And then she found an excuse to leave, leaving the two people alone. Kou Zhong spoke with a wry smile, Li Furen clearly knows that dropping by looking for Xiaodi like this is extremely dangerous. Shen Luoyan spoke indifferently, Your disguise is this remarkable, who would suspect you? Your ability has always been exceeding all expectations, but it is not surprising to Luoyan at all [orig. keeping ones calm in the face of the unexpected]. Kou Zhong was well aware of her strong will and her style of conduct; he sighed and said, What advice does Li Furen have for me? Shen Luoyan cast her gaze outside the window, where the fine snowkes were still floating down endlessly. With a tired look on her face, she appeared haggard and lost; something that has never happened to her before. Kou Zhong remembered how she was previously following Li Mi going to war on all sides, braving all kinds of crises, which was a far cry to her situation now, where she was willing to be someone elses woman, abandoning all official position and political power; what could he say tofort her? Her interest waning, Shen Luoyan sighed lightly and spoke in soft voice, Wheres Ziling? Is he deliberately avoiding me? Kou Zhong was shocked; under such circumstances, where she has be someone elses wife, Shen Luoyan was still nursing lingering entanglement with Xu Ziling, the consequences were truly too horrible to contemte. Shen Luoyans countenance turned cold, as she said, Just now I heard the news from the Heavenly Policy Mansion: Ziling, using the name of Gong Chenchun, left without saying goodbye, only leaving a letter. This matter was immediately reported to Huangshang. Originally everybody thought that Qin Wang would definitely receive serious criticism; who would have thought that Huangshang did not me anybody, he simply considered this matter settled by leaving it unsettled. Kou Zhong mused that Li Yuan was busy dealing with the attack from all sides from the demonic schools three big shots, how could he have any interest in meddling with other peoples business like that? Shen Luoyan turned her head around to look at him; slightly angry, she said, Why is the glib-tongued Shao Shuai suddenly be a mute? Kou Zhong has indeed racked his brains, but was still unable to find any good word to deal with her; momentarily he was speechless. Suddenly Shen Luoyan broke into a tender giggle. The formerly deploying-troops-with-chatting-and-joking, the lofty quality of a woman-whopare-favorably-with-men-in-terms-of-ability-and-bravery seemed to reappear on her; casting a flirtatious sidelong nce toward Kou Zhong, she said, Perhaps it would be better for Luoyan to be the foot soldier in front of the horse under Shao Shuais banner, or perhaps waving gs and shouting battle cries by your side, watching Shao Shuai moving the chess pieces and troops disposition in battle, unifying thend under heaven. A tumultuous feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; although he was fully aware that Shen Luoyan was just joking, but he knew that it was not without 30% of earnestness within it. As Li Mis Junshi [military adviser] for many years, Shen Luoyan has always been single-mindedly loyal to Li Mi, regarding Li Mi as the true master who would someday unify the world. Once this originally unswerving conviction broken by the cruel reality like a burst bubble, the frustration and depression could be easily imagined. Regarding Kou Zhong, the great enemy who defeated Li Mi, Shen Luoyans attitude has turned from hate to respect, a totally different kind of mentality. Until this moment, Kou Zhong still did not know what to say. Fromughter, Shen Luoyan quickly heaved a sigh. Her eyes moved to look outside the window, she spoke faintly, Let me tell you frankly, the moment the troops were defeated, I really did not want to believe it. One moment the world was still brilliant and beautiful; the next moment it turned into another thing altogether. Everything, and I really mean everything, has an entirely different meaning; the past and the future bepletely without any value! At that time I only felt that my four limbs werecking in strength, my thoughts were in a whirl. Those who have never gone through that wretched state will never know how it feels. Finished! Everything is finished. Kou Zhong wondered if he were to face that kind of failed-and-wiped-over-the-floor situation like Shen Luoyan, would he feel the same? Shen Luoyans beautiful eyes were zed with a mist, dreary and fuzzy turmoil; the previously astute expression was reced by a perplexed, at-a-loss look. Kou Zhong felt that the one before his eyes, sitting opposite him was no longer the living-color-growing-fragrance pretty Junshi, but only the losing-life-force-leaving-only-the-beauty-on-the-outside shell. Lightly hanging down her small cicada head, Shen Luoyan, with a hint of bitter expression floating out of the corner of her mouth, spoke in low voice, I constantly remind myself that I have to pull myself together and be strong, but I also know that the great momentum is over. The undefeated Mi Gong [Duke Mi], after he was defeated, unexpectedly disyed such a poor, hopeless, missing-the-golden-opportunity-to-recover attitude. Completely disheartened, I had no choice but to marry Shiji. Do you understand? I have never told Ziling this, but I could not refrain from pouring out my emotions to you. Does Shao Shuai feel it strange? Kou Zhong awkwardly said, Must be because we are old friends who had been around each other for many years. Without concealing anything, Shen Luoyan let out a cold snort and said, Friend? Calling you my bane is more apt. Its over! Everything has be the past. I want to see Ziling again; can you arrange it for me? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Xiaodi has just revealed my tracks, and was almost killed by Li Yuanji. Now the city the boiling; I was wondering if Shen Dajie [big sister] could wait until this Changan affair is over before meeting Ziling again? The brilliant light in Shen Luoyans eyes shing, she said, You think I dont know that? Shao Shuai is indeed formidable. Even Ke Dazhi, who had always considered himself higher than the heaven could only stare nkly while letting Shao Shuai, you, break the siege and escape without losing half a strand of your hair. This matter immediately exploded all around the city. Only now the people of Changan begin to understand that Shao Shuais reputation is not in vain. Kou Zhong sincerely said, It was just luck; I really hope that this kind of encounter will not happen the second time. Shrugging her shoulders, Shen Luoyan said, I still insist on seeing Ziling. Shao Shuai, what do you say? Distressed, Kou Zhong said, Dont forget that you are Li Furen. You are seeing Ziling like this, it wont be good for anybody. I dont care! Shen Luoyan resolutely said, Tell Ziling, the zi hour [11pm-1am, or midnight] tonight, I am going to wait for him at the ferry crossing dock outside Anli, west of Yong An Canal. Finished speaking, without paying any attention to Kou Zhongs reaction, she walked out of the hall. Book 34 - 2 – Sticking Willow In Unintentionally Using the method that they agreed on to contact each other, Xu Ziling went to see Li Jing in a small house at the southern part of the city. Thetter pped his forehead and said, Is there any other substitute of yours that I do not know of? Xu Ziling replied, That was Hou Xibai in disguise; otherwise, how could we conceal it from Qin Wang? Anyway, whats past is past, I am asking Li Dage to apologize to Qin Wang on our behalf. The two sat down in a deserted small hall. Li Jing sighed and said, Your disguise was all right, why suddenly leave a letter and run away? You implicated Qin Wang so that he had to brace himself and rush to report this matter to Huangshang. Surprisingly Huangshang did not use this matter toy the me on Qin Wang. Xu Ziling said, Mo Wei simply had to disappear; the reason behind it is unusuallyplicated, plus we can get rid of one w that others could use against us. And then he brought up Yun Shuais request to meet Li Shimin, as well as exining to him the whole sequence of the events. Finished listening, Li Jing was greatly delighted. He said, We have been trying to pull the Western Tujue into an alliance with us to suppress Xielis aggressive arrogance. Now that Tuli is standing on our side, if we could also form an alliance with Western Tujue, this time it would be difficult for Xieli to escape cmity! Taking out a scroll of map from his bosom, he spread it out on the small table between the two men and said, Look here! This is the hunting area of the Mount Zhongnan. The day after tomorrow Huangshang, apanied by Qin Wang and Qi Wang, will go to this mountain area to go hunting. Taizi Dianxia will stay behind in Xianyang to take care of things. We might stay there for seven, eight days. Xu Ziling carefully examined the map; he pointed to a ce on the map and asked, What is this ce? Li Jing praised him, Ziling is very perceptive. This is the famous Lu Gu [Deer Valley]. Due to the water flowing down from Mount Zhongnan over a long period of time, plus there are high mountains on all sides to block the cold wind, during the winter, animals are using this valley as their hiding ce, so it is a good hunting ground. Since ancient time, beginning with Ying Zheng [Qin Shi Huang], emperors areing to this ce for winter hunting. Xu Ziling said, This is also the best ce toy an ambush. If they could seal the mouth of the valley, the inside of the valley will be apletely enclosed battlefield. Li Jing nodded and said, If it were in the height of the summer, as long as they could sever the connection between the inside and the outside of the valley, and then release ming arrow into the middle of the valley, they could create forest fire. It doesnt matter how much magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, they could only sit and wait for death. But like right now, everything is covered in deep snow, it would require special firearm to be somewhat useful; or perhaps by sshing kerosene onto the trunk of the trees to burn them. But when the snow catches fire, it will melt and extinguish the fire. Therefore, from the beginning to end, it would not be too effective. Xu Ziling said, Li Dage is absolutely right. Their n is precisely to use firearms; if they cannot burn the forest, then they could burn the tents and misceneous items. Li Jing was stunned. Xu Ziling spoke with confidence, Burning the forest is twice the effort for half the result, plus the number of firearms is limited, its hard to cause great damage. In my opinion, Yang WenGan wants to exploit the terrain inside the valley where all four sides are high mountains, using ruthless firearms that can spray poisonous smoke, poisonous fog, and the like. If there is wind from the above, the poisonous smoke will spread all over the valley; it can kill while cannot be guard against. Even though it might not necessarily be able to kill everybody in the valley, but it could shake the heart of the troops, to create panic, so that they would have a good chance of sess. Li Jings countenance changed, he said, We havent thought about that. This scheme is surely very sinister. Xu Ziling asked, Usually, do you pitch camp inside the valley and spend the night there? Li Jing nodded and said, Huangshang might stay and hunt in the Deer Valley for three consecutive days. For fear that many people would scare the prey in the valley, other than a group of civil and military cab ministers, he will be apanied by only several hundred imperial bodyguards; it is indeed a good opportunity for the enemy to make their move. But we have another elite unit of about two thousand men guarding the mouth of the Deer Valley. Letting out a cold snort, Xu Ziling said, Turns out Yang WenGan wants to kill even Li Yuan. If his strength is in the vicinity of ten thousand men, plus theyunch the attack when least expected, and dont forget that there is a spy by Qin Wangs side, when the timees, in the confusion he could use special technique to tell Yang WenGan about Qin Wangs position, even in the dark of the night, the enemy would know the location of their target. Li Jing was puzzled, Jingzhao Lians men and horses have always been under our strict supervision, if they are mobilizing arge number of men, how could they hide it from us? he asked. Have you forgotten Xiang Yushan? Xu Ziling asked, The biggest role this man is ying is that the whole nation is full of pleasure houses and casinos that are opened and operated by their Xiang Family. They could secretly transmit order and make arrangement to mobilize arge number of people. Since you guys do not pay him any attention, so much so that previously you did not even know he existed, with his experience and craftiness, surely he could make arrangement in term of manpower, hiding them outside of Changan, waiting for themencement of this operation. It could be considered that they are plotting actively. Li Jing slowly exhaled a mouthful of air. Agreeing, he said, Zilings thinking is very thorough. Firearms that can spray poisonous fog not only could attack the troops inside and outside the valley, it could also attack the defenders of the Dong Gong [Winter Pce]. If theyunch the attack at night, the formidable power will be even more enormous, so that the entire division of the winter hunting army will be paralyzed, head and tail difficult to attend to. But now that we already know about it in advance, they are doomed to end up suffering a crushing defeat. Xu Ziling cautioned him, This is a rare opportunity, you must by all means not miss it. Li Jing said, Qin Wang thought so too. He paused, sighed lightly, and then continued, You know very well that you two are showing off too much of your ability; to those who have high aims of the throne, people like you guys, if they cannot use you, then they must kill you, or else you would be big misfortune to them in the future. Xu Ziling understood Li Jings earnest and well-meaning advice, his good intention, but he still felt dissatisfied. Smiling wryly, he said, Li Dage already warned us! Li Jing sadly said, But I cannot help telling you one more time. Last night Qin Wang returned to the Mansion after the evening feast, he especially summoned Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, and Du Ruhui, three men to meet with him, but he did not include me. You probably can guess what it was about. Xu Ziling remembered that after they broke off rtions with Li Shimin in Luoyang, Li Shimin colluded with Wang Shichong to put the two of them to death. Nodding his head, he said, I understand. I just hope that he could stick to his promise to wait until we leave Changan before making his move. In this, you may set your heart at ease, Li Jing guaranteed, Qin Wang has always been a man whose promise worth a thousand in gold, especially toward the two of you. But because he has deep misgivings toward you, once he is making his move, he will strike with ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt momentum, so that you guys will never recover. Furthermore, if he wants to kill Xiao Zhong, this is one in a thousand years golden opportunity. An iparablyplex emotion welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Of course he understood the meaning behind Li Jings words. First of all, after Kou Zhong obtained the treasure, he and Kou Zhong would split up, no longer participate in his great undertaking of striving over the world. Without Xu Ziling, it would be like Kou Zhong losing one arm; his power would be substantially reduced. Secondly, if Kou Zhong transported the treasure and returned,rge quantities of weapons, money and valuables were unlike salt shipment that could be abandoned randomly; it would be the clear target of the enemys C those who would do anything to ensure that Kou Zhong would perish together with the treasure C attack. Thirdly, Guanzhong was Li Shimins territory, plus he could guess beforehand the escape route Kou Zhong was going to take, so that no matter what great magical power he had, it would be difficult for him to fly even if he grew wings. What should Xu Ziling do? Should he change his mind and wait until Kou Zhong was back to Pengcheng before he left? But after defeating Yang WenGan, Li Shimin might immediately ascend to the Crown Prince throne. At that time he would certainly move his troops on arge-scale attack to the east, and Kou Zhong would be his primary target. Should he remain by this good brothers side and fight side by side with him? Thinking to this point, Xu Ziling wanted to speak but he was at a loss for words. Li Jing spoke in low voice, Please advise Kou Zhong well! The ce that Shao Shuai Army is upying right now, on the surface it appears prosperous and flourishing, and is having the benefits of river, stream,ke and sea, but it is actually weak and cannot be defended. Once Luoyang falls, Shao Shuai Army will copse ordingly, definitely without any chance of recovery. What else could Xu Ziling say? Li Jing went on, As long as we can find out where that batch of firearms is located, we could gain the initiative by striking first, whilepletely grasp the enemys troop disposition at the same time. At that time we could report it to Huangshang, the situation could bepletely changed. Xu Zilings heart was extremely troubled; standing up to say goodbye, he said, I still have something important to do, we can contact each other any time. About Yun Shuai, I am asking Dage to make the arrangement. Li Jing understood what was in his mind; he sent Xu Ziling off the door, and followed him with his eyes until he disappeared into the happy spring snow before he himself rushed back to the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Kou Zhong slipped back into his room. While he was hesitating whether he ought to find an excuse to go out, Chang He, full of joy, came. Kou Zhong was an expert in looking at peoples brows, eyes, and forehead; heughed and said, Looks like Chang Daren has spring breeze across your whole face, this year good luck will certainlye right at you, with great luck, great profit. With a smile on his face, Chang He remained silent. It was quite half a dayter that he said, How could I match your luck at walking straight into the peach blossom [fig. love affair]. The first day of the beginning of Spring, from the main room, you enter the inner chamber [idiom: attaining a higher level] by going to see Shang Dajia [great expert]. Kou Zhongs heart was move; he deliberately asked, What do you mean from the main room, entering the inner chamber? Dont tell me Shang Xiufang personally told you. Chang Heughed and said, This is called if you dont want people to know, then dont do it. The information came from Qi Wang Mansion; they also said that you, Laoxiong, are the first man ever to enter Xiufang Dajias fragrant chamber; everybody is extremely jealous of you. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Howe Chang Darens mood is this good? You even tease Xiaodi. Besides, unless Qi Wang sent his men to Shang Lin Yuan, how did they find out about this matter? Astonished, Chang He said, Listening to the tone of your voice, it looks like it is true! I thought those men only caught the shadow and captured the sound, and deliberately exaggerate it. And then he revealed a suddenly-understanding expression. Seeing this, Kou Zhong had a faint understanding of what was going on. Toward him, this fake Divine Doctor, Li Yuanji had never been able to dispel his doubts. Thereupon after the affair at the Persian Temple, he sent his men to look for his whereabouts. Fortunately after parting with Yun Shuai, he immediately rushed over to see Shang Xiufang; therefore, he did not expose any w. Besides, just at the time of the auspicious day of the beginning of Spring, the previous night everybody was partying until dawn; waking up in the morning, everybody was still in a daze, so that on what time he went and what time he left, there should be nobody paying attention. So the Qi Wang Mansion spies only knew that he went to Shang Lin Yuan, and immediately reported back thepletion of their mission. Otherwise, Li Yuanji mighte earlier to give him back luck. Chang He was afraid Kou Zhong might pursue this matter over, he changed the subject by saying, I really am being promoted! Delighted, Kou Zhong said, Congrattions! Congrattions! Fully content with his achievements, Chang He said, This morning Huangshang announced a series of job promotion and transfer. Xiaodis name is on the list. Starting this day, Xiaodi is one of four chiefmanders of the Capital. I am bing a high-ranking military officer close to Huangshang is entirely due to Laoxiongs favor. Declining modestly, Kou Zhong said, I was just pushing the boat with the current; if Chang Daren were not doted on and trusted by Huangshang already, how could you take this position today? Chang He was about to speak, the Second Young Master Sha Chenggong hurriedly rushed over and said, Mo Xiansheng, it was so hard for me to find you! You are not going out again, are you? Kou Zhong hastily said, I was just going to look for Shaoye, but happened to run into Chang Daren, who ising to talk to me. I wonder what urgent matter Er Shaoye has? Sha Chenggong spoke to Chang He, Bai Daren of the Ministry of War just arrived; isnt Jiefu [older sisters husband] going to greet Bai Daren? Chang He was fully aware that Sha Chenggong was trying to get rid of him, yet he was unable to do anything about it, hence he had no choice but to beg for forgiveness and left. Sha Chenggong sat down and said, This time Mo Xiansheng simply must do me a favor. Holding his temper in check, Kou Zhong said, Is it about Xier? Its not because of her, Sha Chenggong replied, Ay! How should I say it? Ke Dazhi is the Tujue ghost whose stinky name in toying with women has spread far and wide in Changan; I heard a woman hasmitted suicide after being abandoned by him, but Xier acted like she did not know anything about it. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Since there is such thing, Er Shao can tell Xier directly, there is no need to ask for my help. Sha Chenggong said, Just now I went to look for Xier, she and Qingqing Furen went to the Fo Guang Si [Buddhas Halo Temple] outside the city to worship, and I must go on a journey immediately, so I have no choice but to ask Xiansheng to warn Xier on my behalf. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What day is today? Where are you going? Sha Chenggong replied, Dies order, what can I do? Theres a shipment of goods arriving from Luoyang, I must go to check and receive it. Must be arge quantity of superior quality weaponry; am I right? Kou Zhong guessed. Absent-minded, Sha Chenggong replied, If weaponry, there is no need to transport it separately. Xiansheng must promise me that you will tell Xier about Ke Dazhis behavior. She respects you so much, she ought to be willing to listen to you. Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he said, About Xier, leave it to me. But what exactly is it that must be transported separately? Seeing that he agreed to help, Sha Chenggong was immediately happy, naturally he did not dare to make him, this benefactor, dissatisfied; without concealing anything he said, Does Xiansheng know that Die is not only an expert in developing weaponry, he is also the most well-known firearm maker in the north. This batch of goods was originally ordered by Wang Shichong, containing bows to shoot fire-pomegranate-arrows, thunderbolt-smoke-balls and divine-fire-flying-crows, three types of formidable firearms. If these weapons are being used to attack the enemys camp, more often than not they would have the previously unimagined divine efficacy. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he pretended to be highly interested and asked, These thunderbolt-smoke-balls and divine-fire-flying-raven names certainly sound like astonishing formidable power. What kind of formidable thing are those? This time it was Sha Chenggongs turn to hold his temper in check to satisfy Kou Zhong; he exined, Thunderbolt-smoke-balls use potassium nitrate, sulfur, wolf poison, arsenic trioxide, and so on, more than a dozen different kinds of chemicals mashed and mixed together and shaped into spheroids. When facing the enemy, we only need to use wood charcoal or branding iron that is already burning red to ignite it, and throw it to the enemy. It will emit a great amount of nitric acid that will burn the enemys mouth and nose. Although it will not kill, but to break the city defense or perhaps under the attacking-from-high-looking-down situation, it will bring about a great usefulness. After a short pause, he went on, As for the divine-fire-flying-raven, it is firearm made of bamboo tubes. The outside is firmly wrapped in cotton paper, filled with gunpowder. The front and back, secured onto the head and tail, the paper is shaped into wings like a raven gliding in the air. nting on the underneath of the ravens body are four takeoff rockets. When the rockets are ignited the fiery raven can fly more than a hundred zhang, and when it reaches the target the gunpowder inside the raven explodes. This is the optimum firearm to attack the enemys camp, and it is not easy to defend against. Kou Zhong praised, Turns out Er Shao is an expert in firearm trade. Such a formidable stuff, is it to be given to Jiancheng Taizi? Sha Chenggong said, Whether it will be sold or given, Die has not made up his mind. This matter must not be revealed to anybody else. It is because you are my best friend that I am telling you this. Our Sha Family have a strict security method regarding transporting and storing weaponry that cannot be divulged to outsiders. But Xiansheng naturally cannot be considered an outsider. Kou Zhong was very pleased with this unexpected gain; patting his shoulder, he said, Er Shao, dont worry; if you cant trust me, who can you trust? He finally guessed that the person that Yang WenGans woman, Madame Hong was asking Xu Ziling to deal with was precisely the First Young Master Sha Chengjiu. But there was still one thing he did not understand, because even if the Sha Family lose big on the gambling table, based on the Sha Familys financial ability, they were always able to pay, there was no need topensate with firearms. Not only that, other than being good on the gambling table, Sha Chengjiu was known to be stable and self-sustaining. Logically he ought to know that entrusting such a batch of firearm to gangs and societies figure might result in serious consequences. If he owed money, he ought to pay with money; there was no reason to pay his debt with firearms. But supposing Madame Hong had this scheme in mind, she must have had her own wishful thinking. Sha Chenggongs voice entered his ears, Ke Dazhis bad deeds, I have already investigated clearly. Now I am going to tell Xiansheng some of those, so that Xiansheng could pass it on to Xier. Kou Zhongs mind already flew somece else, Sha Chenggongs words became the wind past his ears; he let it blew and considered it done. Xu Zilings Yong Qin was outside Ming Tang Wo. The line of people waiting to enter the casino was finally gone, but people were stilling and going through the main gate, which was bustling with noise and excitement like the vige market. Entering the gambling hall, he saw the mor of the imprable crowd surrounding the gambling tables was still shaking the heavens; some were shouting in jubtion, some were sighing in remorse. All kinds of human emotions were represented here. In this ce where the prosperous people gathered, Xu Ziling suddenly felt some kind of false sense of security. As he bade farewell to Li Jing a moment ago, along the way to Bei Li [northern neighborhood/district], he ran into a lot of Wulin characters. Although they did not particrly pay him any attention, but he had somecking-in-confidence feeling, something absolutely unpleasant. Today, because the number of people walking on the streets was several times more than usual, as well as there were a lot of out-of-townersing into the city to enjoy the festivities, he was not too conspicuous. After these festive days were over, it would be strange indeed if walking along the street, he did not attract suspicions. Therefore, if within these next two, three days they still could not find the Duke Yangs Treasure, he had no choice but to advise Kou Zhong to give up and leave. As soon as he stepped into the Tian Huang Hall, a man, who looked like he belonged to a gang or a society, came up to meet him, Yong Ye, pleasee this way. Xiaoren is called Li Zhen. Xu Ziling followed him out of the Tian Huang Hall. He thought they were going to another VIP hall, who would have thought that Li Zhen actually took him toward the main gate. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Li Xiong, where are you taking Xiaodi? Li Zhen replied, Today the casino has many people and various ears. Hong Furen instructed Xiaoren to take Yong Ye to see her. Yong Ye, please dont worry. An ominous feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Based on Madame Hongs face, if she was afraid of many people and various ears, she could have seen him inside one of the VIP lounges of the Daxian Hall; why did she take this much trouble? What should he do? If he adamantly refused, it really did not make any sense, unless he himself was harboring ulterior motives. And then it would increase the suspicions of the people on Yang WenGans side, which, in turn, would drive them to try to investigate his real identity by all means, and then it would be even more difficult for him to hide and mingle. Conversely, if he could really pass this hurdle, as Yong Qin he would no longer need to be very scared and on edge, afraid that his identity would be uncovered. ording to reason, Yang WenGans side only had slight suspicions on him, because everybodys guess was that to him and Kou Zhong, gambling had never entered a single aperture on their heads. However, because he and Kou Zhong helped Hou Xibai stealing the other half of Immortal Image Scroll from Yang Xuyan, and then also this morning Kou Zhong has had confrontation with Ke Dazhi and his men, Yang WenGan became overly fearful [orig. seeing a bow reflected in a cup as a snake], and thus wanted to verify the real identity of every suspect. Thinking to this point, he began to rx. Li Zhen took Xu Ziling to a carriage waiting in the public square at the front courtyard, and respectfully said, Yong Ye, please board the carriage. Xu Ziling steeled his heart and boarded the carriage. The man driving the carriage waited until Li Zhen boarded the carriage with him beforeshing out his whip to get the carriage out of the main gate. The crack of the whip, together with the sound of children cheering on the street, as if they were cheering for the carriage to start its journey, reminded Xu Ziling that today was the day of great happiness, the Beginning of Spring Holiday. Xu Ziling looked out the window at the morous crowd on the street, inwardly he mused that he and Kou Zhong have made a great sacrifice for Hou Xibai, but the sacrifice was totally worth it. Book 34 - 3 – Successively Breaking Through Dangerous Barriers As Kou Zhong was stepping out of the door, he ran into Chang He, who was taking Yuwen Bao, a high-ranking military officer under Li Yuanjismand C to see him. Without any better option, he greeted the two men and invited them back into the small reception hall to have a chat. Inwardly he mused that with Yuwen Bao, he only had shallow predestined affinity during that evening feast at the Shang Lin Yuan; why would Yuwen Bao especiallye to pay him a visit? After drinking two mouthfuls of hot tea, Yuwen Bao said with augh, Qi Wang asked Xiaodi to consult Xiansheng, what illness is Xiufang Dajia suffering? Kou Zhong was still unclear on the meaning behind this remark. There were two possibilities: first, Li Yuanji was Shang Xiufangs admirer, so he was concerned over everything that was going on with her, and wanting to see if he could offer anything to show how he was particrly attentive to her. The other possibility was extremely worrisome, which was Li Yuanji clearly grasped that there was a period of time after he left Li Xiunings pce but before he came to Shang Lin Yuan, which could not be ounted for, and that was precisely the time where Kou Zhong appeared at the Persian Temple. Therefore, he sent Yuwen Bao to sound him out. However,e to think about it, the second possibility was more unlikely, because by nature, Yuwen Bao was somewhat boorish, definitely not the best choice to do this kind of delicate job of sounding out other peoples opinion. If the oneing to see him were Mei Xun, the situation would be extremely far from good. The fact was that Kou Zhong and Shang Xiufang never talked about treating any illnesses. Fortunately from Sha Chenggongs mouth Kou Zhong knew that Shang Xiufang oftenined about her migraine; therefore, it was unlikely that he would be dumbstruck and unable to reply, or perhaps carelessly supplying random answer. Bracing himself, he said, Xiufang Xiaojie is suffering from migraine. But after going through my needle treatment, she has seen a lot of improvement. Qi Wang certainly shows extraordinary concerns over Xiufang Xiaojie. Chang Heughed and said, Presently, everybody in Changan, from top to bottom, who does not show utmost care toward our Shang Cainu [talented woman]? And then he turned to Yuwen Bao and said, Your information is certainly fast and abundant. Last night Xiufang Dajia inviting Mo Shen Yi, only a few people sitting around the table heard it. Logically, they shouldnt announce it publicly, yet it still cannot escape your ears. Yuwen Bao sighed and said, Let me be frank with you; this morning after we pay Huangshang a New Year call, Xiaodi went with Qi Wang to Shang Lin Yuan, requesting to see Xiufang Dajia; who would have thought that her auntie stopped us, saying that Mo Shen Yi was treating Xiufang Dajias illness with the needles? As a result, we found the door closed in front of us. The new year has just started, we already hit the wall. Looks like our prospect is not too good. Kou Zhong cried Great luck! inwardly; musing that turned out that was what happened. Because of the anniversary of her mothers death, Shang Xiufang used him as a pretext to refuse any visit, and thus unintentionally stuck in the willow and did him a huge favor. Just now when he was thinking of different possibilities, he waspletely oblivious of this matter. If Li Yuanji performed in-depth investigation, surely he would find out that Shang Xiufang was only borrowing Kou Zhong to refuse visitors. At that time practically he was not at Shang Lin Yuan at all. However, Li Yuanji had no reason to doubt Shang Xiufang. Therefore, Kou Zhong has safely crossed this crisis. Kou Zhong felt that luck was descending on him; right away his spirit was greatly aroused. Frowning, Yuwen Bao said, Migraine? This might be difficult for us. I wonder if Mo Shen Yi has a good suggestion, Qi Wang wanted to send some tonic, elixir, or the like C to Xiufang Dajia, to show his concern for her. Kou Zhong and Chang He suddenly saw the light. They understood now the reason behind Yuwen Baos mission toe to see Kou Zhong. But this time it was Kou Zhongs turn to have headache; he had no idea what kind of medicine would cure migraine, so any suggestion would just be a joke. Without any better option, he said, Yuwen Xiong, please ask Qi Wang not to worry; leave this matter to me. Later Chang Daren and I will go to the pharmacy to buy enough famous and valuable medicinal ingredients and have them send it out to Qi Wang Mansion. This way, it would be more ideal, wouldnt it? Greatly delighted, Yuwen Bao said, With Mo Shen Yi personally, with heart and soul, with all your strength, choose the medicine, naturally it is the most ideal; Qi Wang will definitely be very grateful. And then lowering his voice he said, Two gentlemen need not be frugal for Qi Wangs sake; for Xiufang Dajia, spending any amount of money is not a problem. However, Kou Zhong was thinking about how to find a saving-star who would help him on what tonic or elixir to buy, while not letting Chang He know that Kou Zhong was a fake article. If he had a choice, he would definitely not let Chang Hee with him. Only too bad that today was the auspicious day of the beginning of Spring, all pharmacies were closed for business. Without Chang He, even buying one grain of lotus seed would be a problem. Sighing inwardly, he mused that his good fortune seemed to be limited to big things; in small things, it did not seem to be too ideal. He barely stepped out of the carriage, Xu Ziling immediately sensed that someone was lying in ambush behind the door of the main residence building, waiting for him to go through the door tounch their attack. It was a private mansion located at Qu Chi Li [crooked/curved pond neighborhood] by the Qi Xia Gate south of the city. The fa?ade was tasteful, the building gorgeous; if Madame Hong lived here, it would quite fit her status. Two big men came out to meet him, saying, Furen is in the main hall, waiting for Yong Ye. Xu Ziling secretly watched the two men; his judgment was that even in this kind of gang or society that dominated a region like Jingzhao Lian, these two could be considered martial art masters. Their skill was clearly a lot higher than the bodyguard or hired thug that usually escorted Madame Hong. Thereupon Xu Ziling could not help doubling his vignce. His mind was churning at the speed of light, he already grasped the current situation. He dared to say that Yang WenGan has personallye here to see whether he, a man whom Madame Hong rmended, was reliable. From this, it was clear that this matter was of great importance; it was extremely possible that it was rted to the big conspiracy against the Li n. Otherwise, in this tense situation, Yang WenGan would not have any interest to see him, a mere professional gambler. The men lying in ambush on the left and right behind the main entrance were used to test whether he was Xu Ziling or Kou Zhong in disguise. Currently nobody knew for sure what identity these two boys were assuming, so much so that they saw a bow reflected in a cup as a snake; therefore, whenever they encounter any stranger with tall and straight build, they would use all kinds of method to verify their identity. Figuring out this key point, Xu Ziling took a deep breath, nodded his head, and said, Please lead the way! The two big men exchanged a nce first before taking the lead stepping up the stone stairs, walking toward the entrance. Xu Ziling secretly performed the Motionless Fundamental Image, discharging all distracting thoughts out of the sea of his brains. His lingtai [top of the head] was empty and clear, ready to deal with any sudden change. Because if his judgment was wrong, the enemy would have ascertained that he was Xu Ziling, hence they used Madame Hong to lure him here to deal with him. In which case, other than trying to break the siege with all his strength, he basically did not have the second option. Under this kind of situation, he would have to react in a very different way. Based on his current martial art skill, he had full confidence that when the enemy mounted the sneak attack, in that instant he would be able to tell whether the enemy wanted to try him out, or they were already sure that he was either Xu Ziling or Kou Zhong and decided to kill him. The two big men suddenly increased their speed. After crossing the doorstep, they promptly separated to the left and right; one of them even shouted loudly, Yong Ye has arrived! From where Xu Ziling was standing, he could see Madame Hong sitting in an imperial tutor chair at the other end of the hall, directly opposite to the entrance, leisurely looking at him walking in. Behind him, Li Zhen said, Yong Ye, pleasee in! Murderous aura was pressing from both sides inside the door, but Xu Ziling was heaving a sigh of relief instead, because if the other side was positive that he was either Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling, the ambushing party would include Yang Xuyan. With Yang Xuyans skill, how could they be so useless as to emit murderous aura even before they were making their move? He pretended not to notice anything as he strode over the door and entered in. Saber light shed repeatedly. Two sabers chopped from left and right, appearing to be full of power, but Xu Ziling knew that the other sides still had plenty of strength left. On the surface, Xu Ziling pretended to be frightened; he acted as if he wanted to dodge, but cold des were already pressing on his shoulders left and right, so that he was unable to move a single step. These two ambushing sabers were sharp, fast and urate, but if Xu Ziling countered with all his strength, it would be guaranteed that they would have ended disastrously. Xu Ziling took this opportunity to hang his face down, for fear that they would see that his countenance did not change at all, while he cried out in rm, Dont kill me! The two sabers moved away. And then with a peal of silver-bell likeughter, Madame Hong gracefully stood up and said, Yong Xiong must not take offense; I only wanted to see the degree of Yong Xiongs martial art skills brilliance. Straightening up his body, Xu Ziling resentfully said, Its pleasant to hear, but wasnt it merely a disy of power on first meeting? Forget it; dont you think that I, Yong Qin, want to cooperate with you. Longughter came from the direction of the inner hall; upright and unafraid Yang WenGan stepped out and said, If Xiao Hongs apology is still not enough, let me, Yang WenGan apologize to Yong Xiong. Testing Yong Xiong was entirely my idea, but behind it, there was a secret trouble that I had no choice but to do it; would Yong Xiong please forgive me? And then he shouted to his men, You guys, get out! Xu Ziling inwardly heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that Yang WenGan has dispelled hid doubts toward him; naturally he seized this opportunity to step down from the stage, assuming the air of a nobody seeing important figure, trembling with fear, as he cleared his throat and said, Turns out its Yang Lianzhu. Hey! Biren ... Coming over to him, Yang WenGan smiled and said, If Yong Xiong is willing to do me this favor, henceforth you are Yang WenGans friend. Yong Xiongs trouble will be mine, Yang WenGans. Come! Lets sit down and have some tea before talking about this. Returning to the secret nest, Xu Ziling noticed that Lei Jiuzhi was thinking hard on Kou Zhongs behalf to make a list of items that Li Yuanji intended to give to Shang Xiufang as a present, thereupon he sat down on the other side of the round table. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, I found out whom Hong Furen wants to deal with byying out the fairy trap [see Book 32 Chapter 4: perfect trap that even immortal will fall into it (Courtesy of Akw)]! Stunned, Xu Ziling said, I have just met Yang WenGan, we made arrangement that tonight we are going to start the gambling party in the VIP lounge of the Da Xian Hall of Ming Tang Wo, but I still dont know who the target is; unexpectedly you do? You must have possessed great magical power. After listening to Kou Zhongs exnation, Lei Jiuzhi said with a frown, This does not make sense. Even if he loses money, there is no need to pay with firearm; besides, how is Sha Da Shao going to answer Sha Laoyezi? Kou Zhong said, When I left just now, I made insinuation to the housekeeper Sha Fu, and found out that turns out Sha Laoyezi hates it when his oldest son going gambling, his second son visiting prostitute. Therefore, whenever they go gambling or visiting prostitute, they have to hide it from Sha Laoyezi. Xu Ziling said, The Sha Family must have a Yin Gui Pai mole inside. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I was thinking about this question as well. The reason Yin Gui Pai looks upon the Sha Family, not only because they are the richest family in Luoyang, but also because the Sha Family is the biggest weapon and firearm manufacturer in the north; whod not want to have the Sha Family on their side? Xu Ziling said, That year Ma Xuran and that amorous maid poisoned Xiao Jin, I am so sure that it was Yin Gui Pais plot, its just that we happened to spoil it. However, there must still be Yin Gui Pai people inside the Sha Family. Kou Zhong said, Wan Yaonu easily saw through my disguise, I believe it was also because of the Yin Gui Pai demon in the Sha Family; otherwise, how did they know that the Sha Family has a batch of firearms being shipped from Luoyang to Guanzhong? Lei Jiuzhi said, Since Yin Gui Pai possesses great magical power, why do they have to go through twists and turns toy out the fairy trap to get the firearms from Sha Chengjiu? They only need to send their men to follow Sha Er Shao. Kou Zhong said, The question is who would have the foreknowledge that the Sha Family might send Er Shaoye, who usually is idling about, to receive the firearm on the beginning of Spring day? Evidently the Sha Family is keeping this firearms shipment a top secret, because normally this kind of matter is handled by San Shaoye. Xu Ziling said, I am afraid the fairy trap tonight will have to be cancelled. Kou Zhong agreed, I am sure it will be canceled, he said, This shipment of firearms rtes to the sess or failure of the entire conspiracy. Yin Gui Pais spy definitely keeps a close watch of the movements of everybody in the Mansion. Sha Er Shao is leaving the city so abruptly, it would be strange indeed if he did not be the target that they must keep track. And then he said dejectedly, My brain is not quick enough; I did not seize the opportunity to inquire where exactly the firearms are hidden. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, This matter can be handed over to the Heavenly Policy Mansions people to handle; as long as we keep a close watch on Xiang Yushan, theyll find out the whereabouts of those firearms. Kou Zhong whined, If tonight we still cannot find the location of the treasure-trove, tomorrow morning we are going to withdraw from Changan. Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi were stunned; they had never expected that Kou Zhong would be this decisive. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, I cant give thought only to myself. Currently we seem to have no scare, no danger, but its just because the enemy is waiting for us to unearth the hidden treasure before they are making their move; nothing more than that! Do you still want to deal with An Long? Lei Jiuzhi asked. Resolute and decisive [orig. chop the nail and slice the iron], Kou Zhong replied, I already said that this is something that we absolutely must do. Even if I give up the world, the struggle against the demonic school still continues. Besides, this fellow An Long is always unpleasant to my eye; getting rid of him will purify peoples eyes and ears of defiling illusion. Lei Jiuzhi spread Gao Zhandaos simple sketch of Le Quan Guan on the table. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Are the bathhouses open for business in the Beginning of Spring day? Lei Jiuzhi replied, Bei Li is the only ce in the city where the shops are not closed on the Spring Festival day. Because pleasure houses and casinos do not stop doing business, all other shops rted to their business also continue to be open. Ask Ziling! Right now Bei Li is even more prosperous than ordinary days! Kou Zhong dly said, In that case, An Long is facing imminent catastrophe. Ay! Is there a way to frame Yin Gui Pai? Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi pondered quietly. Nowadays, the three big shots of the demonic school were dealing with the same target, but individually, they were striving for different benefit. Zhu Yuyan was hoping Lin Shihong could reveal his talent among the warlords vying for supremacy and unifies the world. Shi Zhixuan wanted to help Yang Xuyan recover his power [or restore the past regime], and then he could be the person who controls him behind the scene. On the surface, Zhao Deyan was working for the Eastern Tujue, but the bottom line was that he only wanted to draw support from the Tujues power, so that he himself could sit on the supreme throne of the world. Therefore, there were conflict of interests and contradictions among them. If they could exploit this situation well to deepen their suspicion, Kou Zhong and the others could benefit from this. Lei Jiuzhi broke the silence, If you have to guess, after what have been happening these past few days, would Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan be able to guess your identities? What happened these past few days were Xu Ziling, disguised as Mo Wei, battling Ke Dazhi, and then afterwards Kou Zhong, disguised as the Divine Doctor, helping him leaving the Pce and together they helped Hou Xibai stealing the Image Scroll, and finally Kou Zhong fell into the ambush at the Bosi Hu Si. Along the course of events, there were really a lot of ws. Kou Zhong said, I can always be considered a bit lucky. And then he narrated to Xu Ziling how Li Yuanji went to see Shang Xiufang, but Shang Xiufang used him as a pretext to decline any visitation. Then he said, Li Yuanji shouldnt be suspicious. For the time being, he is certain that I am not Kou Zhong. Ha! On top of that, Mo Wei went back to be Gong Chenchun, who left a letter and ran away. Even if anybody harbors suspicions, they would be lost in different directions and would be confused. Xu Ziling also said, Just now Yang WenGan also tested me. Fortunately I saw through it in advance so that I did not expose any w. Now I can be considered half a Jingzhao Lians man already; other gangs and societies shouldnt suspect me. In that case, Lei Jiuzhi said, We shouldnt worry about this aspect. His eyes fell onto Le Quan Guansyout sketch, he said, Unless we wait for An Long to leave before making our move, or perhaps following him home, we are going to rm other people. Turning to Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling said, Good luck wont always be on our side, wed better leave An Long to me, while at the same time you intentionally show yourself publicly. This way nobody will have any more doubts toward you. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, First of all, relying on you, Ling Shao, one person, do you have any confidence that you will be able to kill An Long? Secondly, if you undertake this task alone, Shi Zhixuan will still suspect me. Xu Ziling smiled and said, The man of the mountain has a brilliant scheme, Shao Shuai, please set your heart at ease. Kou Zhongughed and cursed; he said, Good kid! Unexpectedly you know how to keep your listeners in suspense. There is one more thing that I nearly forget to tell you: just now when I came back to the Sha Mansion, Shen Luoyan was already waiting for me, she insists on seeing you by zi hour tonight [11pm-1am] outside the An Li west of Yong An Canal. I already exhausted my magic weapons to offer excuses for you, but she refused to even listen to me. Finished speaking he revealed a helpless facial expression. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, It is certainly a good news; fancy that you were still able to giggle happily when telling it to me. Changing the subject, Kou Zhong said, About Yun Shuai wanting to see Li kid, have you made the arrangement? Xu Ziling replied, There shouldnt be any problem, Li Dage is going to pass on the information back soon. I am going to deal with An Long; I will leave this matter in Lei Dages hands. Kou Zhong said, When you are going to kill An Long, I am going to deliver Li Yuanjis courting-favor gift to the Qi Wang Mansion. Ay! I really dont know what muddled medicine you have inside; its so mysterious. And then his gaze fell upon Lei Jiuzhi. Lei Jiuzhi spoke frankly, Dont look at me; you and I both dont know anything about it. Rising to his full height, Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhong, you must remember your own promise; if we cant find the hidden treasure tonight, tomorrow not only we are going to leave Changan, you also have to give up your idea of contending for hegemony over the world. After disbanding Shao Shuai Army, together we will look for Yuwen Huaji to settle the debt, and then well think about something else. Lei Jiuzhi hastily said, Dont forget our great endeavor to deal with Xiang Gui. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling, and then he gazed at Lei Jiuzhi. Suddenly he roared inughter and said, I have a premonition that tonight we will be able to find clues to the hidden treasure at the Yue Ma Bridge; otherwise the Heaven is dead to me, Kou Zhong, for not letting me to be the emperor. Xu Ziling shook his head andughed in spite of himself; he said, After tonight, we will know for sure Laotianyes intention for you. Finished speaking, he floated away. Book 34 - 4 – The Mystery of the Swap Xu Ziling quietly left town, and when he returned, he was already wearing Yue Shan attire and appearance, and swaggered back toward the inn. When he was sitting down and drinking his hot tea, You Niaojuan entered in through the window; heined, Where were you these past few days? Xu Ziling did not even give him half a gaze; he only snorted coldly. You Niaojuan sat down next to him; lowering his voice and suppressing his anger, he said, Its not that I am ming you, Senior, its just that the past few days the situation in Changan is tense, while I went everywhere to look for you, Senior, but could not find you, so in my heart I was a bit anxious, thats all! Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, You knew Shi Zhixuan wanted to kill me. Displeased, You Niaojuan said, Xiaodi already told you he wants to kill you; could it be that only this moment you, Laoge, believe that I am not lying to you? Inwardly Xu Ziling was amused; he actually wanted to see You Niaojuan more than You Niaojuan wanted to see him. Now that You Niaojuan voluntarily dropping by like this, naturally it was the best. Otherwise he would have to use the secret method to contact him. Finally Xu Ziling turned around to face this big crafty ghost You Niaojuan, who was putting on an act like he was loyal and sincere C and spoke slowly, I have had a battle against Shi Zhixuan. What? You Niaojuan blurted out. Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted deep murderous intent, but the tone of his voice remained tranquil; he said, He intercepted me at the Yue Ma Bridge, thinking that I, Ba Dao Yue Shan was still as useless as that year when I was defeated under Song Ques hands. Humph! That fact proved that he practically does not have the qualifications to kill me, Yue Shan, at all. Stammering, You Niaojuan said, You really fought Shi Zhixuan? Only by listening to the tone of his voice, he knew that he was extremely wary toward Shi Zhixuan. Xu Ziling smiled and said, When did you ever hear me, Yue Shan, telling a lie? Shi Zhixuan thinks so highly of me, I, Yue Shan, definitely must reciprocate. You Niaojuan calmed down his spirit, he said, LaoGes Huan Ri Da Fa is really growing more and more formidable. From the bat cave, Chengdu, and now in Changan, each time more formidable than thest time. Now even Xie Wang cannot do anything to you. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Less nonsense. You say I ought to return Shi Zhixuanspliment? With an evil grin You Niaojuan said, Having enmity but not avenging it is not the conduct of a gentleman at all. A gentleman ought to take revenge. Let alone I, You Niaojuan, have never been a gentleman. Its just that I really dont know in which dog hole Shi Zhixuan is hiding. Im afraid even An Long would not know. Never mind! Xu Ziling said, Ill take An Long first as a sacrificial offering! Stunned, You Niaojuan stuttered, This ... hey! This ... You may go, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Hereby our cooperation will be two segments with a single cut. Smiling apologetically, You Niaojuan said, You, Senior want to kill An Long, you kill An Long then! There is no need to lose your temper like this. The refined light in Xu Zilings pair of eyes shed, he looked straight into You Niaojuans vicious eyeballs and said, I did not lose my temper at all; rather, Ive seen through that you are not a person to do big things, you are afraid of the head, terrified of the tail, how could you aplish anything? Currently the situation is extremely clear; within the demonic school, you have be lone-momentum, weak-power. Were it not for Zhao Deyan seeing there is still something of value in you to be exploited, you have been ughtered early on by either Shi Zhixuan or Zhu Yuyan. But unless you go as far away as possible, this matter will happen sooner orter. Hearing his remark, You Niaojuan was dumbstruck and unable to reply. He was right. Otherwise, You Niaojuan would not have toe to seek cooperation from Yue Shan, who was well known for being difficult to get along with; even more, he had to suffer enough from Yue Shans bird temper. Finished ying with the hard, now Xu Ziling turned to soft. His voice softened as he sighed and said, You clearly know why I am willing to help you. If you think that your eloquence could persuade me, or perhaps that I trust your personal character, then you are gravely mistaken. Embarrassed, You Niaojuan asked, So theres a special reason? A hint of strange smile escaped from the corner of Xu Zilings mouth; he said, Because I want to cultivate another Xie Di [demonic emperor]. You Niaojuan was shaken; he revealed an unbelieving expression. Xu Ziling sighed again and said, In order to master the Huan Ri Da Fa, I have overdrawn myself very badly. Very soon I will be ny! Time is limited. Before I die, I am hoping to have another stake-it-all, disregarding-victory-or-defeat battle against Song Que. If you could be Xie Di, you could act on my, Yue Shans behalf to collect some old debt from the people that I detest the most. I, Yue Shan, have always been a man who, kindness must be repaid, enmity must be avenged. You Niaojuan spoke heavily, Is Yue Lao referring to Zhu Yuyan? Xu Ziling muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day before asserting, Now lets settle it in one word; are you willing to disregard everything, by hook or by crook, to obtain the Sheng Sheli? His speech aroused the vicious nature inside You Niaojuan. He nodded and said, LaoGe haspletely seen through my, You Niaojuans situation. I will either grab the Sheng Sheli in my hands, or find a mountain cave and hide forever, never toe back out. There is no third option. And then he softly said, Its not that I am scared of Shi Zhixuan, but under current circumstances, what good will it bring us by getting rid of An Long? In that kind of situation, it will be very difficult for Zhao Deyan to speak to me. Xu Ziling calmly said, Supposing we could frame the killing of An Long to Zhu Yuyan, do you think it will be worthwhile? You Niaojuans pair of vicious eyes lit up immediately. He said, That is of course another matter altogether. But Shi Zhixuan is definitely not easy to be deceived. If he examined the injury, he would immediately know that it was not from Zhu Yuyans hands. Cant we make An Long disappear forever? Xu Ziling asked. pping his forehead, You Niaojuan nodded and said, I am really stupid! And then his excitement rose as he said, This kind of trick, no one is more expert than me. If we could make Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan ghost fighting ghost, naturally it would be most beneficial to us. Yue LaoGe, you are really formidable. Where is An Pangzi now? Xu Ziling asked. Radiant with delight, You Niaojuan said, This is even more marvelous. An Pangzis hiding ce, only the people from Zhu Yuyan and Zhao Deyan, two sides, know. Shi Zhixuan would never suspect Zhao Deyan, but he never trust Zhu Yuyan. Will he suspect you? Xu Ziling asked. You Niaojuan replied, After I got to Changan, I had never been in contact with An Pangzi. I know where he is hiding, but I investigated it by relying on my own skill. That is the best, Xu Ziling replied, Any news about those two boys? You Niaojuan said, These two boys really possess great magical power; the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive, they stole into Changan. But this morning that kid Kou Zhong nearly fell into the ambush; fortunately it was Ke Dazhi who was in charge of the general situation and he deliberately let him go, so that he did not suffer any mishaps. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was shivering inwardly. If Ke Dazhi really deliberately let Kou Zhong off, and Kou Zhong unexpectedly could not see it, then they had to reevaluate their assessment on Ke Dazhi. Distressed, You Niaojuan said, The strange thing is, what are those two boys waiting for? Why havent they unearthed the hidden treasure yet? Hearing that, Xu Ziling was shocked. But naturally on the surface he did not show anything. He asked in heavy voice, Do you know their hiding ce? You Niaojuan replied, Yue LaoGe is willing to show such support on me, Niaojuan does not dare to conceal anything. Our school has a set of gongfa [reminder: skill (or power) method, as long as Xie Di Sheli is within a hundred li from us, we would sense it. LaoGe naturally would ask, wouldnt it be possible for Xiaodi to rely on this method to find the hidden treasure location? Its just too bad that how could Lu Miaozi, that crafty ghost, make things easy for me? I dont know how he did it, but he made it difficult for me to rely on this gongfa to find the Relics location. Although Xu Ziling had one less thing to worry, there was another thing that made him worry. Frowning, he said, Among your Shidi, Shimei of the same school, who else knew this gongfa? That day in the Xie Di Miao [demonic emperor temple], you guys did not seem to know that Qingxuans yellow crystal ball was a fake. With an evil grin You Niaojuan said, Whether the crystal ball was real or fake, how could it deceive me? But who my target was, Yue LaoGe ought to know clearly more than any other people. Less incense burners, less ghosts, how could they ovee me, You Niaojuan? Recalling Jin Huanzhen, who was lying on Yang Xuyans boat with her acupoint sealed, Xu Ziling secretly paid close attention to the tone of You Niaojuans voice; it did seem that he was the only one understood this set of gongfa. But the stake was high; he must confirm it from You Niaojuans mouth. Otherwise, even if they unearthed the hidden treasure, it would still be difficult to escape the bad luck of Shi Zhixuan or Yang Xuyan intercepting them. He said, Are you the only one with this ability? You must tell me clearly. Smiling wryly, You Niaojuan said, Honestly, even I do not dare to be certain. But Ding Jiuzhong was killed by you, LaoGe. Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen were heavily injured by Xiaodi; life or death are not on the cards. We shouldnt be worried about them. Xu Ziling was dying to ask him how this gongfa work, but was afraid to arouse his suspicion; without any better option he suppressed this desire. You Niaojuan suddenly asked, Hows the rtionship between Yue LaoGe and Li Yuan now? Xu Ziling knew that in the end You Niaojuan could not help bringing up this matter to him; smiling, he said, Li Yuan is a formidable chess piece that I am using to deal with Shi Zhixuan. Do you understand? You Niaojuan did not dare to pursue this matter; obviously he did not care too much about this matter either. To him, the most important thing was to obtain the Demonic Emperor Relics; other things, even if the sky copsed, he simply did not have the time to care about. Xu Ziling asked, Other than me, is there anyone else who knows that you understand this set of gongfa? You Niaojuan replied, This is our schools secret, we certainly will not reveal this information to anybody else. Xu Ziling did not think so; take Jin Huanzhen for example, if she knew that she had no hope of obtaining the Demonic Emperor Relics, because she hated You Niaojuan to the bones, she might reveal to Yang Xuyan that You Niaojuan had this kind of ability. And then Yang Xuyan only needed to keep a close watch on You Niaojuan, and he would be able to find the Xie Di Sheli. Besides, Zhou Laotan might be lurking nearby, which would make the situation even moreplicated. All right! Xu Ziling said, Lets set others thing aside for now, we need to look into how to deal with An Pangzi first. You Niaojuans pair of eyes shot excited look; he nodded his head and said, Not even in his dream would An Long think that there are the two of us scheming against him behind his back. This time he will be dead for sure! Kou Zhong and Chang He went to buy the gift that Li Yuanji wanted to send to Shang Xiufang. He randomly fabricated an excuse to return to the Sha Mansion first, and made appointment that Chang He woulde to the Sha Mansionter to find him, and then together they would deliver the gift to the King of Qi Mansion. When he reached the Sha Mansion, the guests paying the New Year call have already dispersed, the Old Master has returned to his room to rest. Although the Sha Mansion was still brimming with the holiday atmosphere, it was not like before, where it was so morous and so busy that everybodys head was spinning. The First Young Master Sha Chengjiu and the Third Young Master Sha Chengde, two men, were talking in the hall; they seemed to be discussing business. Kou Zhong only exchanged a greeting with them and went back to his room. At the winding corridor of the garden he came across the Fifth Miss Sha Zhijing, who dressed up really meticulous today, whose bright countenance shone on others. When this younger sister saw Kou Zhong, immediately she came over to him, full of smiling expression, and said, This moment, in Changan, Xiansheng is definitely the most popr person. Feng Jie [older sister phoenix] even praises you without ceasing, saying that not only your medical expertise is brilliant, your character is witty, and you are a very good man! Making modest remarks, Kou Zhong responded, Feng Guniang is really courteous. Sha Zhijings attitude toward him now was like the difference between heaven and earthpared to when they first met. Leaning closer, she cordially said, I hear even Shang Xiufang is showing particr appreciation toward Xiansheng, so that the men in the whole city are very envious of you. Kou Zhong had never expected that Sha Zhijing, who had always been guarded and serious, would speak out such witty remark; smiling wryly, he said, But certainly no girl would be envious of Xiufang Xiaojie? Pfft! stifling a giggle, Sha Zhijing covered her mouth and said, Xianshengs remarks are really interesting, no wonder Feng Jiemented on Xianshengs witty character. But anybody who has been in contact with Xiansheng for a bit longer period of time would naturally feel ... hey ... feel ... ay ... Zhijing does not know how to exin it! While speaking thest few sentences, unexpectedly red clouds appeared on this beautys jade cheeks, even the base of her ears turned red. Watching this, however, Kou Zhong was panic-stricken; he mused inwardly that could it be that she found his ugly face adorable? Unable to conceal her blunder, Sha Zhijing hung her head down to avoid his gaze, and then finding an excuse, she ran away to escape from his presence. Totally confused, Kou Zhong returned to his room. But as soon as he stepped over the threshold, he generated a reaction. Sitting down dejectedly, he said, Come out! What advice does Wan Dajie have for me this time? Like a clump of cloud, the barefooted Wanwan floated out from inside his bedroom, came over to him and knelt in front of him on one knee, putting both her hands on his thigh. Acting like a wife greeting her husband, she said, Guanren [lit. government officer] worked hard! Fortunately you can stille back alive and see nujia. Kou Zhong impatiently said, If you have something to say, say it quickly; with you here, I cant even take a nap. With an enchanting smile, Wanwan said, Shao Shuai please calm down, dont get excited. Now some people outside are starting to suspect that you basically do not know the location of the treasure trove, we are also considering whether the cooperation should be canceled. Kou Zhong responded with cold snort, If you dont believe then just drop it. What kind of situation that I, Kou Zhong, have not seen? Wanwan spoke softly, Can Shao Shuai say it one more time? Kou Zhong was immediately at a loss. Currently the situation was leaning to her advantage. Wanwan only needed to release the information that Divine Doctor Mo was Kou Zhong in disguise, and he would have to pack his food and leave before finish eating; he practically did not have any qualifications to show off. Feeling awkward, his gaze was roaming around everywhere except Wanwans beautiful eyes with prating power. When his gaze swept past the Moon in the Well, which was as fake as his divine doctor guise, he blurted out without thinking, When are you going to return the saber to me? Stunned, Wanwan asked, Return what saber? Kou Zhongs tiger body shook. He turned his gaze to Wanwan, the entire spine on his back felt like a bucket of iced water was poured over it, a chill prated his brain. Wanwans pair of eyes emitted peculiar look, she turned to look at the fake Moon in the Well hanging on the wall. This moment Kou Zhong could be a hundred-percent sure that Wanwan was not the one swapping the real Moon in the Well with a fake one. But who did it then? Sound of footsteps approaching, like a wisp of smoke Wanwan floated back into the bedroom. The First Young Master Sha Chengjius voice rang outside the room, saying, Mo Xiansheng! May Ie in to have a word with you? Helpless, Kou Zhong stood up and opened the door to let Sha Chengjiue in. As soon as he plopped his butt on the chair, Sha Chengjiu said dejectedly, So disappointing! As soon as they say that the gambling party that has been scheduled well in advance is to be canceled, they canceled it. In his heart Kou Zhong was shocked, knowing that their guess did not miss the mark; the shipment of firearms that Yang Xuyan and Xiang Yushan were ganging up on has finally found its way in. After You Niaojuan left, Li Yuan, wearing civilian clothes, arrived. While his escort of more than a dozen martial art masters was staying outside, he went in to pay a New Year Call to Xu Ziling. Once they were seated properly, Li Yuan said, Turns out these past two days Dage was not in Changan. Xiaodi was worried about Dage. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Hows the situation? Letting out a coldugh, Li Yuan said, They want to deal with me, Li Yuan, how could it be that easy? Right now I am quietly holding back any movement, I want to see what Shi Zhixuan is going to do? Xu Ziling asked, Have you told anybody about this matter, including your sons and concubines? Shaking his head, Li Yuan said, The stakes are high, how can I leak any information? However, I have already deployed enough resources to deal with any sudden change. Xu Ziling said, This is called pulling a snake from its hole [idiom: exposing a malefactor]. The most important thing is that everything must proceed as usual, you must not beat the grass to scare the snake by any means. Pondering deeply, Li Yuan said, If Dage could investigate clearly Shi Zhixuans hiding ce, I could mobilize my manpower to eliminate him in one fell swoop, to cut off future trouble. Xu Ziling suddenly had a strong urge in his heart, he nearly divulged Shi Zhixuans secret. Chances are, from among the men under Li Yuansmand, there was no one who could match the Four Great Holy Monks. But if they tried to seize victory by relying on many men, a great force, as long as they did it when least expected and heavily surrounded Wu Lou Si, perhaps even Shi Zhixuan could not rely on Bu Si Yin Fa [Immortal Image Method] and Huan Mo Shen Fa [Phantom Motion] to get away. However, perhaps before they even maneuvered the men and horses, Shi Zhixuan already sniffed the wind and escaped. Or perhaps before the surrounding the temple waspleted, Shi Zhixuan would break the siege and escape. Without any better option, he said, I am still trying to figure it out. Li Yuan said, Were it not for I still did not want to openly dere enmity against Xieli, the first one I want to kill is Zhao Deyan. You must not act blindly without thinking, Xu Ziling advised, The biggest problem right now is that we practically do not know how many people from the demonic school have infiltrated your Great Tang dynasty. Therefore, we must wait for them to expose their own track, and then you could seize them all to remove the inside danger. Li Yuan said, The day after tomorrow, as usual practice, I am going to lead a group of subjects to the Xing Gong [lit. temporary imperial residence] on Mount Zhongnan for spring hunting; would Dage be interested in joining us? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Xiao Dao, you have enough power to deal with any sudden change on your own; there is no need for me to be by your side. You can be sure that I will hold Shi Zhixuan back, so that it would be difficult for him to meddle in everything on your side. Astonished, Li Yuan said, Looking at Yue Dages card-up-your-sleeve manner, I wonder if there is something that Xiao Dao does not know? Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and said, There are some things that would be better if you dont know. Right now I am going to kill somebody. Eliminating this man is akin to removing an arm from Shi Zhixuan. You just wait for my good news! Book 34 - 5 – Bad Luck All Over After Sha Chengjiu left, Kou Zhong went back inside the room to look. Wanwan already left via the back window. Who actually swapped his Moon in the Well? This person must be suspicious of him, hence taking advantage while he was not home toe into his apartment to investigate, and from the Moon in the Well discovered the clue that he was Kou Zhong. Because he did not want others to find out that he was Kou Zhong, he quietly substitute one thing for another [orig. the plum tree withers in ce of peach tree], by swapping the Moon in the Well, so thatter on Kou Zhong evaded Mei Xuns suspicion. Kou Zhong was hard-pressed and upset at the one loophole in a perfect n [idiom (Courtesy of Akw)], but at that time he practically did not n to pretend to be a divine doctor. Only because the situation developed in such a way that he did not have the freedom to act independently and had to assume this identity. Moreover, as soon as he arrived in Changan, he was already very busy treating Zhang Jieyus strange illness until the earth hazy and the sky turned dark. Plus he also had to deal with all kinds of people so that momentarily he became careless and forgot that it would expose the w of his identity, and thus the bitter fruit before his eyes. Which enemy would protect him like this? Needless to say, this gentleman must be hoping that he could, without any rm, without any danger C enter the treasure trove. And that, other than Wanwan, the possibility that the person was either Shi Zhixuan or Zhao Deyan was equally great. Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong felt the tip of his fingers and the tip of his toes grew icy-cold. This moment Chang He arrived as previously arranged. Together they were going to deliver the goods to the King of Qi Mansion. Kou Zhong really wished that he could immediately go to warn Xu Ziling not to continue his n to assassinate An Long, but he was fully aware that right now he did not have any way of finding him. Suddenly, Kou Zhong knew that in his struggle against the three big shots of the demonic school, he had fallen into the absolutely disadvantageous situation, and that he found about it toote. The first evening of the New Year, the city of Changan finally quieted down. On the streets, there were only sporadic burst of firecrackers. The snow was getting heavier and heavier, the number of pedestrians on the street was obviously declining. Xu Ziling pressed down his snow hat to his eyes, and he wore thick cotton gown. He also turned up his cor to cover the lower half of his face. However, merely his curved eagle nose was enough to make people who use their heads to recognize that he was the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan. When he was certain that nobody was following him, immediately he unleashed his shenfa, weaving swiftly in and out of the small streets and alleys. If they were not particrly attentive, an average person might think that he was just a bit faster than other people, but actually he was particrly fast in going round the curves and skirting the corners [idiom]; his speed was more than ten times faster than average person. In just the time needed to drink a cup of hot tea, he already reached the Yong Yang Li at the southwest part of the city. Here, warehouses stood in great numbers, with only a small number of residential buildings. Ordinarily there would be an unending stream of people and carriages delivering goods and transporting goods, but since nobody worked today, in contrast to the rest of the city, it was colder and more cheerlesspared to normal times. An Long was the biggest wine distributor in Bashu, his territory was mainly the southwest region, but he also supplied a small number of wine retailers in the northern metropolis, with Changan being one of them. An Longs hiding ce was a wine warehouse in the Neighborhood [reminder: Li means neighborhood]. This warehouse was located in the middle of Yong Yang Li; it consisted of four buildings, big and small, surrounded by high walls all around. An Long knew that he had enemies everywhere; selecting such a ce to stay and live temporarily, it would not be easy for the enemy to find him; whether he decided to fight or to slip away, either way it would be very convenient. Snowkes were swirling in the air. This warehouse district was devoid of any pedestrian. Fortunately in most of the warehouse thentern was dark, the fire ck; to cover ones track was not difficult at all. Under cover of darkness, Xu Ziling scurried along the wall. Watching the ground, he soared high into the air; setting his foot on the courtyard wall first, he continued leaping up andnded on the roof of another warehouse building across the street from the wine warehouse. Seeing his arrival, You Niaojuan, who had been crouching on the roof ridge earlier, signaled him toe over to meet him. With Xu Ziling crouching next to him, You Niaojuan pointed to the distance and said, Do you see that? There is a weak lighting from inside the warehouse on the left. Half a sichen ago, I saw with my own eyes An Long went in, and I am sure that he is alone. The strange thing is, there is no guard or even dogs to protect the warehouse. Xu Ziling thought to himself that could it be that An Longs misfortune has already arrived that it would be difficult for him to flee? Based on his usual style, he ought to have several of his men to apany him. Of course, there was also the possibility that You Niaojuan was lying to him; but this possibility was very low, unless You Niaojuan disdained the Demonic Emperor Relics as beneath contempt. Even so, it would still be not worthwhile for You Niaojuan to conspire with Fatty An to harm him. Previously when You Niaojuan suggested that theye to this ce to kill An Long, he was hesitating. But thinking that An Long might not visit the bathhouse today, plus this warehouse was not an easy ce for idle person to identally stumble upon, hence it would be easier to frame Zhu Yuyan. Naturally it was aparatively ideal ce to carryout the assassination operation. Did An Longe back from the street? he asked in heavy voice. Shaking his head, You Niaojuan replied, He just walked from one building to the next. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Thats not right! You Niaojuan was a Jianghu veteran; hearing that, he said, Are you saying that theres secret passage in the warehouse, and that An Long has already left from the secret passage? Theres a good chance of that, Xu Ziling replied. He recalled the secret room at the Tianyang Gong in Chengdu [in Book 24 Chapter 2, it was Qingyang Si]. Based on An Longs character, he simply must guard against Zhu Yuyan and Zhao Deyan. You Niaojuanughed grimly, If there is a secret passage, it will be more ideal. Its also reasonable and fair. Xie Wang [Demonic King] is the most should-not-be-exposed-to-light person of the demonic school. If there is a secret passage, it will be a lot more convenient for him to see An Pangzi. And then, lowering his voice, he spoke hoarsely, I might as well go into the warehouse to look around. Yue LaoGe, you be on the lookout for me. If An Long is still inside the warehouse, Ill stall him by trying to talk to him. If Yue LaoGe hear myughter, you can immediately get in and make your move. Ha! Even if An Long think until his brain split he would never guess that I would kill him, that I would dare to kill him. Finished speaking, he stuck out his tongue to lick his lips, revealing a sinister look of taking utmost pleasure in killing. Even though was now fighting alongside him, Xu Ziling still could not help having his hair standing on its end. Struggling hard to refocus his mind, Xu Ziling nodded and said, We go together! The two soared at an angle, traversing the long street, andnded on top of the wall outside the wine warehouse. And then they soared again andnded on top of the wine warehouse, all without creating the least bit of noise. You Niaojuans pair of eyes flickered with ominous glint. Signaling Xu Ziling, he swept along the roof ridge toward the warehouse gate until the end, before leaping down to the ground, and then disappeared from sight. Xu Ziling pressed his ear onto the roof tile, letting the cold snowkes floating onto his face. There was no sound at all inside the warehouse; it appeared that even the mice ceased all activities due to the bitterly cold weather. After quite half a dayter, there was still no sound. Xu Ziling greatly felt that something was amiss. Just now You Niaojuan clearly indicated that he was going to enter via the main gate; at least there ought to be the sound of door being pushed open. The only noise he heard was the snowkes falling on the roof tiles; never-ending, continuous, as if it would go on forever. Aghast, Xu Ziling sat his tiger-body up straight; an intense ominous feeling welled up in his heart. Looking out the carriage window, Kou Zhong was staring nkly at the streetscape moving backward, under the spring snow, which, the more it fell, the denser it grew. Sitting by his side, Chang He asked in surprise, Why does Mo Xiong look like you are having your heart filled with thoughts? Kou Zhong blurted out without thinking, I want to leave this ce. What? Chang He blurted out. Kou Zhong came to his senses. Being a quick-witted person, he recovered quickly; he said with a sigh, I am the kind of person who is not ustomed to social niceties. These past few days not only physically draining, it was also emotionally draining. Chang He understood. I understand, he said, Actually, my biggest dream right now is to go to bed immediately, to have a good night sleep, without worrying about what time I have to get up to do public business. How about this: Ill deliver this stuff to the Qi Wang Mansion for you, you could go back earlier and take a rest. Kou Zhong acted as if he had just obtained imperial kindness, amnesty from the emperor; he busily said, Chang Daren is indeed a true friend who understand Xiaodis distress. Just let Xiaodi get off the carriage here; it should be all right. Xu Ziling somersaulted over the wall andnded in front of the wine warehouses main door. The open space in front of the warehouse was covered in snow, but he did not even see half a shadow. Unexpectedly You Niaojuan, one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way C has disappeared without any trace. At first Xu Ziling thought that it was the trapid out by You Niaojuan, in coboration with An Long C to deal with him. But then he quickly discarded this thought. Because just now he focused all his attention to the movement inside the warehouse, yet he did not hear any noticeable noise. However, supposing You Niaojuan suddenly fell into people conspiring against him, perhaps there was a faint noise of something falling to the ground, which could be easily missed, let alone amidst the sound of falling snow, it might beparatively easy for him to overlook. But if You Niaojuan was suddenly ambushed, with his level of ability to meet a contingency, he ought to have time to call for help. Who on earth was so formidable that You Niaojuan did not even have time to cry for help? Shi Zhixuan appeared in Xu Zilings mind; his delicate and pretty face seemed to be brimming with emotions, but also seemed to be cold-hearted. Reaching out, Xu Ziling pushed the door. One side of the warehouses double-door gave in and opened, letting a faintntern light from the inside of the warehouse to pass through. Raising his vignce to its highest level, Xu Ziling looked inside. From his point of view, he could see that one end of this vast warehouse was covered in bamboo baskets. Xu Ziling pushed the door a little more; most of the warehouse came into view. The scene that entered his eyes, even though he was usually cool-headed, was enough to make his heart and guts trembling; he was shocked and heartbroken. Since he was a bit free and had nowhere in particr to go to, Kou Zhong rushed back into their secret nest. In his heart he simply did not know why he wanted to go back. Xu Zilings great endeavor in assassinating An Long ought to be in progress. Lei Jiuzhi was making arrangement for the Cloud Commander to see Li Shimin. Coming back to the secret nest, he could only stare nkly at the wall, alone. It would be easier for his mind to indulge in flights of fancy and be restless. But he did not want to go back to the Sha Mansion and stare nkly at the wall. In this kind of situation, no matter how optimistic he was, it would still be very hard to, like Chang He said C not be concerned with the skys falling, and sleep to his hearts content. He jumped over the wall to get in. Immediately attracting his attention was an everything-steady-and-stable, lying-on-the-round-table-in-the-middle-of-the-hall brocade case. Inwardly Kou Zhong was severely shaken. With sudden big stride forward he rushed to the table. A while ago Xu Ziling was the first to leave, and afterwards he and Lei Jiuzhi were leaving separately. Unless either Xu Ziling or Lei Jiuzhi came back, this delicate brocade case seemed to be appearing absolutely without any reason. Kou Zhong felt his heart was rapidly leaping and moving. Uneasy feeling spread all over his body without him being able to control it. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down. Reaching out, he uncovered the lid of the case. Inside the box, there was a set of neatly folded outer clothing. Lying on top of the clothes was a note, saying, Shao Shuai, please kindly ept Zhao Deyans sincere offering, nine shaking-to-the-core characters; the penmanship was firm and powerful. Kou Zhong roared wildly. He pulled the clothes from the case. It was precisely the cotton gown that Lei Jiuzhi wore when he left a moment ago. Inside the wine warehouse, near the main door, set in the middle of the otherwise empty area, there was a square table with three chairs around it. There was a small oilmp on the table, the faint light only illuminating the narrow space with the table at the center, everything farther down was still engulfed in the darkness. This scene was strange enough as it was. But the most frightening thing was that on one of the chairs sat someone, with his back toward the main door. In just one nce, Xu Ziling immediately recognized this man to be You Niaojuan, who had just gone missing. This utterly vicious, extremely evil man did not show the least bit of liveliness at all, his head was skewed unnaturally to one side, hanging against his left shoulder, both of hands were hanging limply on his sides. Seeing this, Xu Ziling calmed down instead; inwardly he felt sorry for him. No matter what, You Niaojuans death was somehow rted to him. It could be considered that he had erred. Previously he did not think through why Jin Huanzhen would be on Yang Xuyans boat. It was indeed a very big miscalction. Now he dared to say with a hundred-percent confidence that Shi Zhixuan already obtained the secret method of detecting the Demonic Emperor Relics presence from Jin Huanzhen. Hence he determined to attack murderously to kill You Niaojuan, so that in the world, only Jin Huanzhen and her lover Shixiong Zhou Laotan would have this ability. This moment Jin Huanzhen was still in Yang Xuyans hands, while Zhou Laotans life and death was still unknown. If Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sessfully unearth the hidden treasure, based on Shi Zhixuans unrivalled demonic skill, plus this unique schools ability, it could be said that the Demonic Emperor Relics was already inside his, Demonic Kings pocket. It was also highly likely that from the time You Niaojuan left the Demonic Commander Zhao Deyans secret residence to go to the Doni Inn to look for him, Shi Zhixuan has been following close behind You Niaojuans back. Shi Zhixuan was willing to wait until this moment before he dealt with You Niaojuan, naturally it was because of him, Yue Shan. Shi Zhixuan took advantage while Yue Shans attention was focused on the inside of the warehouse, using the thunderbolt-barely-reaching-the-ear technique to kill You Niaojuan outside the warehouse. By the time Xu Ziling realized something was amiss and went down to the front door to investigate, he took You Niaojuans dead body via another entrance into the warehouse and sat him down on the chair. Such skill, ability and wisdom, it was greatly beyond Xu Zilings expectation. Was Shi Zhixuan still inside the warehouse? Xu Ziling slowly turned around. The Demonic King Shi Zhixuan, with his hands behind his back, was standing in the rain and snow, barely two zhang away from him. His white clothes were as white as the snow. If he did not have any hair, plus he wore monk robe, no one could deny that his appearance was like an out-of-the-world holy monk who had obtained the Way. Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes was sparkling with deep, unfathomable refined light. His prating gaze was watching attentively at his every movement. Shaking his head, he said with a light sigh, I cant believe it! I really cannot believe it; the grandiose Ba Dao Yue Shan unexpectedly cooperated with a third ss, despicable disciple. It can clearly be seen that your destiny hase to its end, you wont have either qualifications or hope for a decisive battle against the Heavenly Saber Song Que. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. This was the critical moment that would decide whether he could continue to excel as Yue Shan or not. Because if it were the real Yue Shan, there was no way he would slip away to escape. But since it was Xu Ziling, other than thest move of the thirty-six stratagems, what brilliant scheme would he use to deal with this situation? In just the twinkling of an eye, he made up his mind and decided to fight to the death. Not because he wanted to show off, but because he was fully aware that he could not surpass Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa anyway; if he bolted away, it would only expedite his defeat. Throwing his head back, heughed and said, I, Yue Shan, only have one rotten life remain. If you have the ability,e and get it! A shadow shed, Shi Zhixuan appeared nearby on his left, sending out an elbow strike toward him. If he could go back in time to the beginning, Kou Zhong definitely would not overlook Zhao Deyan. After arriving in Changan, there were simply too many things happening at the same time. Every moment he had to deal with new problem, which was appearing one after another. Although he had not had any direct confrontation against Zhao Deyan, but because Zhao Deyan had not demonstrated any astonishing skill, his actions were very much low-key, Kou Zhong therefore did not pay attention to him, so much so that he had a little contempt toward him. However, if he would really give it a serious thought, based on the Eastern Tujues strength, Xielis powerful aptitude and grand scheming ability, plus he was vicious and merciless, yet he was willing to use this Han person as his Guoshi [teacher of the state], how could Zhao Deyan be someone who was easy to deal with? Apart from this point, merely the fact that Zhao Deyan ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way second only to Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan, this persons strength ought to be easily inferred. The person who swapped the Moon in the Well could very well be Zhao Deyan. It should have given Kou Zhong a warning. Pity that he mistakenly thought that it was Wanwan, and thus he overlooked him. It appeared that Zhao Deyan was able to see through his identity from the beginning, and has been holding his troops, only silently watching from the side like a tiger watching its prey, waiting for them to reveal their ws and weak points. Zhao Deyan finally seeded. Based on Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings character, it did not matter if they had to sacrifice their life, they would definitely want to get Lei Jiuzhis life back. But why did he choose this very moment to capture Lei Jiuzhi? Quite possibly it had something to do with Mo Wei leaving a letter and running away out of Changan. It gave others the impression that they were going to enter the treasure trove soon. Therefore, Zhao Deyan must strike first and gain the upper hand, and had their throat pinched. Where would Zhao Deyan hide Lei Jiuzhi? After the initial shock, Kou Zhong gradually calmed down. He immediately considered ways to remedy the situation and to strike back. He had a vague feeling that it was because he slipped away midway toward the King of Qis Mansion that he was able to discover this matter sooner than nned. Perhaps this would be the crucial point to turn defeat into victory. With Zhao Deyans craftiness, he would not detain Lei Jiuzhi in the foreign guesthouseplex. Aside from the fact that he was afraid of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, it was not worthwhile to station massive military force at the foreign guesthouse to act as guards. The scene of Xiang Yushan leaving foreign guesthouse emerged in Kou Zhongs mind. His heart was moved, thinking that were it not for Xiang Yushans assistance, Zhao Deyan would never be able to affirm Kou Zhongs identity from the saber that he carried along. Thinking to this point, he stood up suddenly. He wanted to go see Li Jing immediately; he ought to be the only hope Kou Zhong had to quickly rescue Lei Jiuzhi back. Otherwise, his trip to Changan this time would fail and he would be wiped over the floor. Book 34 - 6 – Using Weak to Control the Strong Xu Ziling unleashed the shifting and dodging method that they created based on the Cloud Commanders shenfa, purely relying on the natural cirction of the true qis rising and falling. He retreated at an angle to the right, turned his body sideways, and his right palm, as light as a feather, sliced down on Shi Zhixuans elbow. Toward Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image amazing skill, he already umted plenty of experience on how to deal with it. He knew that if he forced his true qi to invade the opponents meridians, part of it would be neutralized, part of it would be turned around by Shi Zhixuan for his own use, so that he would upy an invincible position. Therefore, he stored up his energy in his palm, but did not release it; his usage of it was only defensive in nature. Bang! Beyond his expectation, Shi Zhixuans true qi burst out violently with toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas momentum. Clearly he wanted to shock forcefully without being lenient at all, with the intention to resolve this matter in the shortest time possible. Xu Zilings true qi had already reached the following-the-hearts-intention level. He drew the true qi from the yongquan acupoint on the sole of his feet and sent it to his dantian, and transformed it into two streams of qi, one yin, one yang, andbined the two into one spiraling qi power, and then he sent it out through the Du meridian on his back via his right palm, to meet Shi Zhixuans overbearing, iparable true qi C head on. The moment the two streams of energy shed, a bizarre thing happened. Xu Zilings mind suddenly became clear and prating. When bothbatants true qi made contact with each other, it was like two originally separated, independent individuals suddenly linked up together. This feeling was wonderful beyondpare. Since he made his debut until now, this was still the first time that he generated this kind of reaction. In the past, he had to inject his true qi to other peoples meridian, and only then would he be able to start checking the situation of the other sides qi and veins. But this time it was only a contact between the true qi, and the gathering and flow of qi and veins within Shi Zhixuans body wasid out in his mind like an open map. At the same time, he sensed that disaster was imminent, because he detected the genuine killing move from Shi Zhixuan was amassing inside the yin and soft qi power at the tip of his foot. This thought had juste up, Shi Zhixuans left foot, without noise without breathing [idiom: silently] C rose up in a kick. If Xu Ziling did not generate this kind of supernatural response, due to his mind was focusedpletely on Shi Zhixuans bizarre shenfa and rapid, hard and ferocious elbow strike, perhaps he might really be hit by this kick. In this world, perhaps only Shi Zhixuan, one person, could use vigorous-and-fierce and unfathomably-yin-and-soft, two streams of qi power at the same time. Pow! Xu Zilings left foot swept out, it deflected Shi Zhixuans originally must-kill kick. Both men staggered back. If someone was watching nearby, they might only see slight contact between the two, like nothing more than hand contact and immediately separated; no one would think that the situation was unexpectedly this subtle, thrilling, and was really a shift in the trend of events. Shi Zhixuan showed a look of astonishment. Clearly he did not expect Yue Shan to be this brilliant that he was able to,pletely-at-ease-and-unobstructed C block the strange move that he had plotted with utmost care, without even showing any difficulty on the surface. Xu Ziling, however, knew the pain he experienced. Merely the hard and violent qi power from Shi Zhixuans elbow strike was enough to make his qi and blood surging, his meridians were shaken, his head dizzy and his body weakened. Fortunately, the mistake he made actually helped him. For fear of Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image Method, he kept some true qi to guard his meridians. Otherwise, a stake-it-all hard battle like this would be enough to make him suffer internal injury and vomit blood. Even though he decided to fight to the death earlier, this moment he had to change his mind. Only Shi Zhixuan could separately use two streams ofpletely opposite true qi, with destructive power so enormous that upon self-examination, he knew that he could never be able to ovee it. He and Kou Zhong couldbine yang-and-hot, and yin-and-cold, two kinds of true qi into one, or perhaps swap the yin and the yang. But to be like Shi Zhixuan, who could use and obtain divine transformation C was still beyond his reach. Just by looking at this aspect, Shi Zhixuan was the clear winner. The tip of Xu Zilings foot tapped the ground, he traversed the nearly four--zhang space where big snow was still swirling in the air, toward the middle of the space between the two wine warehouses. The sound of wind followed behind his back. Violent, ferocious-without-equal force was pressing down on him like a big mountain. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, Not good! Previously, even when he was fighting Zhu Yuyan, from the way the opponents qi power wasing together and separating, he could guess whats true and whats false of the opponent, as well as the final target the opponent was going to strike C one step ahead. But every single one of Shi Zhixuans attacks was in equal proportions, so that he practically did not know where the opponent was going to strike. And since he did not know which ce was under attack, naturally he did not know which part to guard. All of a sudden, Xu Ziling gained great understanding of the Immortal Image Method as if it was wide and open. It was actually some kind of training of the true qi until it reached the real perfection, some kind of amazing skill where the true qi follows his hearts desire. It was applicable to his own true qi, as well as to the other peoples true qi. Exactly because when Shi Zhixuan was fighting and exchanging blows he unceasingly explored the other peoples true qi situation, when it ran into Xu Zilings Secret to Long Lifes qigong, it also had this kind of fantastic characteristic. Therefore, when Shi Zhixuan detected the true qi situation within Xu Zilings body, conversely, Xu Ziling also detected his situation. This was precisely the formidability of Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image Method, which enabled him tost long and upy invincible position. If Xu Ziling could block Shi Zhixuan from seeing through and understanding thoroughly, while the opposite was true, i.e. he could see through what was true and what was false of the opponent, although it might not be enough to defeat Shi Zhixuan, but it would be of great help to save his life and flee for his life. Thinking to this point, Xu Ziling still did not know what to do. Secretly performing Motionless Fundamental Image, his left hand sleeve brushed backward, while at the same time he soared up toward the dark roof of the warehouse. Bang! Qi power collided with each other. When once again Xu Ziling could see the empty and real within Shi Zhixuans true qi, the reaction force of an irresistible qi power propelled him faster to rush at an angle toward the roof of the warehouse. The already repressed meridians in Xu Zilings body were even more repressed. Fortunately he acquired the precious moment to take a breath. The instant the tip of his toes tapped the edge of the roof tiles, his Long Life Gang [stars of the Big Dipper that constitute the tail of the dipper] Qi circted eighteen rounds of heaven, neutralizing most of his injury, giving him the means with which he could run for his life. Like a shadow following a shape, Shi Zhixuan was in close pursuit. The qi power of his finger, without carrying the least bit of noise C jabbed out, swiftly sealing the vital acupoint on Xu Zilings back. For thest nearly twenty years of his life, this was the first time he went all-out to kill someone. The tip of Xu Zilings foot generated power, he made a somersault; not only he evaded Shi Zhixuans yin in nature, damaging and extremely vicious finger jab, he alsonded behind Shi Zhixuan, and sent an explosive punch toward him. Even with Shi Zhixuans gloomy character, he was still shocked, because even though Xu Ziling had his back to him, it was as if he could see this style with his own eyes. Furthermore, he was able to link the strike so evenly, and the power being used was just perfect. A blur appeared in front of Xu Zilings eyes. Under thepletely impossible situation, Shi Zhixuan changed direction and swiftly dropped down, but before hended on the ground, he turned around and sent a double-palm counterattack. Two streams of power, one hard and one soft, with toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas momentum C arrived. Earlier Xu Ziling already experienced his entirely different two streams of internal energy; it was a dreadful feeling, like it was going to rip his body apart, of course he did not dare to meet it head on. Laughing aloud, he said, Shi Xiaoers [little one] skill is only like this! Bang! Without changing the punch power he heavily knocked against the warehouse wall near the roof. Xu Ziling then borrowed the reaction force to increase the speed of his flying back to evade Shi Zhixuans hard-to-resist palm power. Swift like an arrow he flew into the wine warehouse behind him, where You Niaojuans corpse was. Inside the Jiangjun Fu [General Mansion] located at the Bu Zheng Fang [lit. departmental governmentne], Li Jing had just finished listening to Kou Zhongs narrative. He said with grave expression, Indeed Lei Xiansheng came in the afternoon to see me, to make arrangement for Yun Shuai to see Qin Wang. And Yun Shuai has also met Qin Wang ording to the secret arrangement. Evidently Lei Xiansheng being captured had happened within thest one or two sichen. Kou Zhong, who had changed into another mask full of beard, spoke heavily, While the enemy has not steadied their footing, we must immediately rescue Lei Jiuzhi back. Otherwise, if the enemy managed to force confession from his mouth about us, it would be even more detrimental to us. On his way to see Li Jing, he figured out a lot of things. In fact, bying to Changan for the treasure hunt, they were indirectly doing a great favor to Yang WenGan. On the surface Yang WenGan mobilized Jingzhao Lian men to help Li Yuanji hunting down the two boys, but in the dark, he was actually seizing this opportunity to maneuver his troops in the conspiracy to topple down the Li n. Plus at the same time, the two boys infiltrating Changan has diverted Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, two powerful factions attention, giving Yang WenGan the convenience of action. Yang Xuyan, using Fen Jing San, dealt with Zhang Jieyu, not only to help Dong Shuni eliminating a formidable opponent in her strive for favor, it was also to make Li Yuan, because his beloved imperial concubine caught a strange illness, not in the mood to mind the government affairs, to give the conspirators the opportunity to act. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong unintentionally cured Zhang Beautys illness? And then Xu Zilings Yue Shan has raised Li Yuans vignce. And then Yin Gui Pai lost the batch of firearms supplied by Shen Faxing. All these have thrown Yang WenGans side into great confusion. The immediate situation was certainly tangled andplicated. None of the parties involved, including Kou Zhong, understood clearly the overall twists and turns. Like Ke Dazhi, who recently constantly challenged the Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art masters, it was quite possible that the intention was to confuse peoples eyes and ears, to shift their attention somece else. Li Jing nodded and said, We must immediately rescue Lei Xiansheng back. Problem is we only have one chance. If I were Zhao Deyan, the safest way is to transport Lei Xiansheng out of Changan; nothing can surpass that, since then we have no strategy left to try. Kou Zhong said, Hence the reason we must act immediately. Everybody on Zhao Deyans side is a Tujue; too conspicuous. To do this kind of thing, only a local worm with power would be able to easily aplish it. But Zhao Deyan would never let Yang WenGan find out about this matter. The only thing he could rely on, plus the only logical choice, would be for him to seek Xiang Yushans help. And Xiang Yushan would naturally turn to Chi Shengchun, or perhaps we should call him Xiang Shengchun, and then the removal of Lei Jiuzhi would be without any trace to find. Chi Shengchun was the big boss of the Six-Happiness Casino. He had Li Yuanjis support behind his back. Only he, this kind of local power, could, under the currently tense situation, remove someone away while the gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive. Li Jing stood up suddenly. His pair of eyes flickering brightly, he said, Well ce our bet on this shop. Fortunately, after talking with you guys earlier, I have been keeping a close watch on Chi Shengchun and his mens every movement. As long as they really have our man, if Chi Shengchun is anxious and cannot wait to send Lei Xiansheng out of Changan, I haveplete confidence that we could rescue him back. The two men pushed the door to walk out. Immediately they were stunned and halted their steps. With her pretty face containing displeased expression, Hong Funu stood in the middle of the door, blocking their way. She spoke coldly, Howe whenever you brothers have something going on, you always leave me out? Xu Ziling retreated back into the wine warehouse; about a zhang or so behind him was the ce where You Niaojuans dead body sat. The true qi within his body was circting dangerously, so he did his best to use this short period of time to heal the injury in his meridians, to deal with the new round of attacks. With a card up his sleeve, Shi Zhixuan leisurely, with his hands behind his back, stepped into the warehouse. Without any contact, without any wind, the big door behind his back was closing by itself, turning the wine warehouse into a closed space. In actuality, this door did not have any bolt; naturally it would not be an obstacle. But psychologically, it was certainly some kind of insult, indicating that Shi Zhixuan wanted to lock Yue Shan up like catching a turtle in a jar. With a slight smile, Shi Zhixuan said, Yue Shan, the older you are, the more muddleheaded you be; you thought that by mastering Huan Ri Da Fa, you would be unequalled in the world, and have the impertinence toe to Changan to set yourself against me. Laughing coldly, Xu Ziling said, Wheres An Long? Why dont you call him to help you? Relying on you, Shi Xiaoer alone, I am afraid you dont have enough qualifications to kill me. Shi Zhixuanughed in spite of himself; he said, People say that Yue Shan is arrogant and conceited. And now hearing you say so yourself, I begin to understand that the rumors are not empty. You think yourself clever by running away into the warehouse; what you are afraid of is that An Long might mount sneak attack from the side! Your move is indeed a joke. Xu Ziling precisely wanted him to think this way; even more, he wanted to use this as an excuse to escape. Although by nature Yue Shan was resolute and upright, haughty and unyielding, but under multitude-of-enemies, few-friends situation, fleeing for his life to survive was a human nature. Shi Zhixuan has been rolling about in the officialdom and in the ck ways [i.e. criminal/underworld] for many years; naturally he would not be that easy to be cheated by him. However, because he was convinced that Xu Ziling was Yue Shan, Xu Ziling was able to exploit Yue Shans identity and character, so that it was difficult for Shi Zhixuan to discern what was true or bogus. Letting out a muffled snort, Xu Ziling said, Rubbish! Without An Long helping you from the side in pincer attack toward You Niaojuan, how could you put him in order within such a short period of time? Laughing involuntarily, Shi Zhixuan said, You may think whatever you, Laorenjia [polite term to address older person] like to think. I, Shi Zhixuan, have never argued against someone whose death is near at hand. Theres one more thing that I forgot to tell you, Laoxiong. When you were being intimate with Yuyan, did you notice that she was not finished at all? As soon as he finished speaking, his pair of palms pushed together, sending out two entirely different streams of shocking qi power, attacking Xu Ziling at the same time. Xu Ziling practically did not know how would the real Yue Shan react if he heard such a discrediting remark? However, since Shi Zhixuan said so, naturally he was sure that Yue Shan would, because his state of mind was stirred up C expose ws, and thus gave him an opportunity he could exploit. Just from this kind of despicable scheming, he could infer Shi Zhixuans character. Pretending to have his state of mind severely shaken, Xu Ziling let out a wild roar and sent out a punch. Actually, he secretly applied the Great Vajra Chakra Image. First, he guarded himself as steady as Changan, Luoyang, that kind of fortified city, and then when the punch was halfway out, he changed into the Treasured Vase Image, storing up qi power but did not release it. Before making real contact, the opponent practically had no way to know what is true and what is false. This was one of the best ways to deal with Shi Zhixuan. Were it not for Xu Zilings own Secret to Long Life true qi also had simr fantastic characteristic, perhaps even to his death he would never find out the real what-is-true-and-what-is-false in Shi Zhixuan. As expected, Shi Zhixuans eyebrows were slightly knitted; he could not figure out Xu Zilings deceitful trick. What puzzled him in particr was the weird footwork Xu Ziling was disying. At first nce it did not make any sense; it was not to dodge, but it was not to confuse the enemy either. Ay! Xu Ziling waited until Shi Zhixuans qi power was about to arrive, the Treasured Vase Image, like a sh flood breaking out the mountain C shot out via his punch, to meet Shi Zhixuans palm wind head on. The Treasured Vase Image Qis special characteristic was a high concentration of qi power. As it was released out of the body, it was like a spheroid made of true qi being thrown toward the enemy across empty space; hence it avoided direct contact with the enemy. In the past, the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying suffered great loss because of this, leading to his final defeat and demise. In this moment, this was the best way to deal with Shi Zhixuan. The Treasured Vase Image Qi was like the vanguard troops. No matter how formidable Shi Zhixuan was, he would have to neutralize the attack first before he could directly attack Xu Ziling. Furthermore, because the Treasured Vase Qi was highly concentrated and very dense, even with Shi Zhixuans ability, it would be difficult, given the short period of time, to transform it for his own use and then use it to counterattack the opponent. Shi Zhixuans face revealed an astonished expression; the pushing-forward pair of palms changed into folding-toward-the-middle, creating a burst of strange noise of exploding qi power. And just like that, he neutralized the Treasured Vase Image Qi. Looking at this, a chill crept up Xu Zilings spine. He had never thought that anybody could neutralize the Treasured Vase Image Qi like this. Instead of advancing, he retreated and shifted sideways to evade. But Shi Zhixuan did not seize this opportunity to attack at all; he looked at him instead. His pair of eyes gleaming brightly, he asked in astonishment, What kungfu was that? Laughing grimly, Xu Ziling replied, You think I still care about Xiao Yan, you are gravely mistaken. Throwing his head back, Shi Zhixuan let out a longughter and said, Good! How about Xiuxin? Xu Ziling inwardly cursed him for having the heart of a wolf and lungs of a dog; he spoke indifferently, Do you dare to say that to Qingxuan? From head to foot, Shi Zhixuans shook. His pair of eyes emitted aplicated, unfathomable expression. For the first time Xu Ziling obtained the one-in-a-thousand-year golden opportunity initiative to strike; fast as lightning he moved forward, as if unintentional, his left palms fingers gathered together into a palm chop, it jabbed the empty space by Shi Zhixuans right shoulder. Shi Zhixuan was slightly stunned. Xu Ziling changed the palm chop into the edge of his palm cutting toward the side of his neck. The move was bizarre to the extreme point. This could be the impromptu move that Xu Ziling created on the spot, his bizarre conception from his disregard of life or death. From being to nothing, from nothing into being. Were it not for the fact that he had mastered the Long Life true qi to the receive-and-send-following-his-hearts-desire, plus he had obtained the Buddhists ultimate knowledge of Eight-Character Incantation Image Method, he would never be able to create this unprecedented kungfu. People who practice martial arts, none did not emphasize genuine or fake, what is true and what is false, but there has never been anybody who could explore the being and nothing way one step further. First, this move of Xu Ziling was stabbing the empty space by Shi Zhixuans right shoulder at full strength, which was different-tune-same-work to Kou Zhongs Chess Abundant, which was to see how the opponent would react. Shi Zhixuan was using the-still-to-control-the-movement, which could be considered an empty move. He immediately changed move, from being into nothing; this changing from stabbing to cutting palm unexpectedly did not carry any qi power. How could Shi Zhixuan not feel greatly surprised? However, learning the lesson from the Treasured Vase Image Qi, Shi Zhixuan was unwilling to take risks by challenging thew by letting the chop hit, because even with his Immortal Image Method, he still did not have any confidence to immediately neutralize this kind of highly concentrated true qi. In the past, when the Four Great Holy Monks surrounded him, he had suffered great loss under Jiaxiang Dashis One Finger Zen. Letting a cold snort, Shi Zhixuan unleashed his Huan Mo Shenfa; fast as lightning he staggered toward Xu Zilings left side, the middle finger of his right hand stretched out, it swiftly poked the vital part on Xu Zilings left nk, which was exposed due to himunching the attack. Xu Ziling spun around, the right hand sleeve brushed across Shi Zhixuans finger jab. Shi Zhixuan seemed to be recovering from the shock of hearing his daughter Shi Qingxuans name; heughed aloud, pulled his finger back and retreated, while his leg kicked from below, swiftly aiming the five cun up and five cun down on the opponents lower leg. His movement was like moving clouds and flowing water, confident and at ease, free and easy, worthy to be Hou Xibais Shifu. Throwing away all misgivings, Xu Ziling unleashed the newlyprehended being and nothing xinfa to extreme saturation. Sometimes the qi power was there, sometimes it was not; from being it changed into nothing, from nothing it turned into being. Shi Zhixuan could no longer fathom what is true and what is false of him. After being attacked more than ten times in session, he began to find one opportunity to force Xu Ziling to meet one palm strike head on. Xu Ziling immediately felt that more than half of his true qi was being absorbed and transformed by the opponent. He was shocked. Fortunately, when the true qi made contact, he sensed the technique of the opponents next strike, so he suddenly moved to the left to evade, barely missed Shi Zhixuans must-kill move. The two men finally separated. They stood some distance away from each other like a tiger watching its prey. The murderous intent in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes was ring greatly, producing enormous momentum like a wall, like a rampart, locking Xu Ziling from a distance so that he could not escape. Behind Xu Ziling were precisely the wine jars inrge bamboo baskets, which were piled high like a magnificent mountain. For the first time he felt that Shi Zhixuan had always had misgivings toward him, and was determined to eliminate him at all costs in this battle. Not that Shi Zhixuan has not been making his move at full strength just now; rather, Shi Zhixuan has always been trying to avoid the situation where he would receive injury in order to kill him. Therefore, when he encountered certain possibility that he might cause damage to himself, he would rather miss the opportunity than taking the risk. But now Shi Zhixuan was staking everything, including sustaining injuries, to put him to death by all means. Xu Ziling was now already like an arrow at the end of its flight. Just now he was staking everything, using his strength to the greatest extent to strive for the opportunity to strike. It could be said that he exhausted the power in his entire body, depleted his true power, even walking all over the warehouse, treading everywhere on the floor board, looking for the location of the secret passage to leave the warehouse. If he did not escape, he was certain that his dead body would lie horizontally in here. Shi Zhixuan, whose mind already showed gap, was still this formidable. If he had no gap whatsoever, no one would dare to imagine how formidable he could be. Upright and unafraid, Shi Zhixuan closely fixed his gaze on Xu Ziling. Nodding his head, he said, Good! For thest several decades, other than Ning Daoqi and Song Que, who can barely be considered my opponent, now finally there is one more, Ba Dao Yue Shan. You can go with your mind in peace. Shi Zhixuan finally expressed his admiration for his heroic spirit, and no longer belittled this opponent. Creak! The warehouse door opened, An Long shed inside. Laughing nastily, he said, Shi Laoda [eldest child, the boss], I am back. Yue LaoGe, how are you? Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, An Long, you came just in time! mming backward, the bamboo baskets, which were stacked reaching up to two zhang in height immediately copsed; like snowballs they rolled toward Shi Zhixuan and An Long. You Niaojuans corpse was the first to suffer the cmity; it rolled along the bamboo baskets like a ball. The situation was chaotic to the extreme point. The candle was extinguished, the wine warehouse immediately sank into the darkness so deep that even five fingers stretched in front of ones body could not be seen. Under Xu Zilings premeditated administration, the bamboo baskets continuously fell, copsed, rolled, and tossed away. The sound of jars breaking, the wine overflowing was heard in session, the sweet smelling of the wine permeating the whole ce. With a longugh, Xu Ziling said, Please forgive Laofu for not being able to apany you! With a gust of wind he swiftly flew toward the main door. Shi Zhixuan and An Long flew together to intercept. But by the time they discovered that all they had been intercepting was only the outer robe that Xu Ziling tossed out, they were already one step toote. There was the sound of the floorboard being smashed to pieces. By the time An Long lighted up thentern, Xu Ziling had already shook and broke the tunnel, and had already left safely. Even with Shi Zhixuans ability, he did not dare to rashly enter the tunnel. Book 34 - 7 – Detour Riding on fast horses, Kou Zhong, Li Jing, and Hong Funu took the shortcut via the mountain road. When they could no longer take the horse, they abandoned the horses and unleashed their legs power, so that in just a short period of time of less than a sichen they already rushed over nearly a hundred li, reaching the upper reaches of the Jin River, another tributary of the Yellow River. About ten li north of here was another big city, Jingyang, located north of Changan. This ce was a small ferry crossing point outside the city of Jingyang. Relying on the Heavenly Policy Mansions vast intelligencework inside and outside of Changan, Li Jing did not miss any movement rted to Chi Shengchun, and he was sure that Chi Shengchun was taking Lei Jiuzhi away. Li Jing made a judgment; he determined that Chi Shengchun must have transported Lei Jiuzhi to Jingyang, based on three reasons. First of all, the cargo and passenger ship going back and forth between Jingyang and Changan was operated by Jin Shui Bang, a small gang based in Changan. Other people did not know the rtionship between this small gang and Chi Shengchun, but the Heavenly Policy Mansion discovered that from time to time, Chi Shengchun gave financial support to the Jin Shui Bang, in order to help them expanding their power. Secondly, the spy assigned to watching Chi Shengchun saw two of Ke Dazhis very capable men escorting a horse-drawn carriage into Chi Shengchuns magnificent residence in Bei Li. When the carriage was leaving the mansion, the wheel track left on the snow was definitely lighter than when it arrived. The third reason was that the cargo ships departure to Jingyang was dyed for nearly half an hour. It was not until a batch of cargo, which Chi Shengchun dered to be bolts of silk C was delivered on board that the ship departed. Two of Chi Shengchuns men even came on board to escort the goods. Under normal circumstances, this kind of operation would not attract anyones attention. But during the time when the Heavenly Policy Mansion was going all-out to trace the whereabouts of the firearms, naturally no goodsing into and leaving from the Chi Mansion would be missed. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward the lower reaches of the Jin River; anxious, he said, Could we miss it by ident? Hong Funu was strangely cordial toward him; she spoke gently, No need to worry; we already sent a letter via pigeon post to notify our men in Jingyang, telling them that as soon as the ship docks, they are to go on board to search. Li Jing calmly said, Although we did not start pursuing the boat until half a sichen after they departed, we were taking the shortcut, plus the boat is sailing upstream, so how could we not able to overtake it? What I am afraid of is that they are ying a trick: they would unload Lei Xiansheng before reaching this ce, which is the only ferry crossing point between Jingyang and Changan. Kou Zhong hatefully said, Zhao Deyan is really crafty; he really moved our man away immediately. Fortunately I had a sudden impulse not to go to the Qi Wang Mansion, but returned to our safe house and saw the letter and the outer robe; otherwise I would not find out untilter tonight, and that would be thoroughly terrible. Hong Funu said, If this time we seed in rescuing our man, and thenter on Zhao Deyan came to see you to negotiate the terms, that would be really interesting! Stunned, Kou Zhong said, I have not thought about that; Saozi [sister-inw, older brothers wife] is really attentive. Receiving his praise, Hong Funu responded with a smile; she said, You must be deeply concerned over your good friend? Hong Funu is the onlooker who sees clear while the person on the spot is baffled. Seeing how, for the first time, the rtionship between these two was showing signs of improvement, Li Jing was greatly relieved. He seized this opportunity to say, You dont know how much your Saozi cares about you; from time to time she asked me about you, only I did not dare to tell her! Slightly displeased, Hong Funu said, Still saying good things? Basically you are concealing everything from me. Feeling the tender side of Hong Funu, Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, thinking that if in the future he met this elder brother and his wife couple on the battlefield, how would he feel? Although he has had this thought before, he had never given it a serious consideration. But now that his rtionship with Li Jing was easing up, plus they were fighting side-by-side, naturally his feeling was a lot deeper. Kou Zhong suddenly spoke happily, They are here! Li Jing and Hong Funu quickly looked downstream. But all they could see was darkness and the constantly sprinkling down snowkes. Kou Zhong cried in low voice, Listen! Sound of hoof beats came from the direction of Jingyang. Kou Zhong said, Lets hide in the woods next to the ferry crossing. The iing must be the vehicle to pick up the goods. This move is really formidable. Were it not for Li Dage knew that there is a ferry crossing point in here, we would only send people to Jingyang to wait, and then we would have fallen into the enemys crafty scheme. Xu Ziling changed back into his Yong Qin disguise and returned to the secret nest. Waiting for him was Gao Zhandao. Before leaving the city, Kou Zhong contacted him and instructed him to notify Xu Ziling. Listening to Gao Zhandao, Xu Zilings heart sank. Just like Kou Zhong, he immediately thought that Xiang Yushan was ying ghost. Gao Zhandao exined, Kou Ye said that if Xiang Yushan did not work together with the Tujue ghosts, how could Zhao Deyan specte his identity from the treasured saber? Therefore, he is following this trail to pursue and intercept Lei Ye, hoping that Heaven helps the worthy, so that Lei Ye and Kou Ye coulde back safely together. Inwardly Xu Ziling was smiling bitterly. It could be said that each of the three big shots of the demonic school had strange-scheming-magic-weapon. If not because all three sides were staying quiet and holding up their troops, hoping that the two boys would unearth the hidden treasure, the two boys would have been packing their food and leaving before they finished eating. Zhu Yuyan was controlling them via Wanwan. Shi Zhixuan was resorting to secret method, trying to detect the Demonic Emperor Relics location before it was unearthed. Although it was a mystery within a mystery, but demonic schools bizarre skill and strange technique more and more emerged; no one dared to deny that such weird method existed. Zhao Deyan was using the most direct approach; he simply captured their man and used him to ckmail them; he was not worried that they would not give in. Zhao Deyans method must be designed by Xiang Yushan; only he knew clearly the two boys weakness in that regard. It could be said that presently they had fallen into the absolute disadvantageous position. No matter how they calcted it, even if they really found the treasure, to carry the treasure away safely was really a vain attempt. Turning to Gao Zhandao, he asked, Hows the situation on your side? Gao Zhandao replied, Most of our men have already left Changan. Now, other than me, Fengyi, Xiao Jie, and about a dozen most capable brothers, we have no one else in the city. Xu Ye, please dont worry. After this matter with Lei Ye happened, we are redeploying our men; I guarantee that the enemy wont be able to find us. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Bying here to wait for me, you have already exposed your track. Gao Zhandao said, I have already thought about that. Therefore, right now Fengyi and Xiao Jie are hiding outside, watching for any suspicious people. If they found any, we wait for Xu Ye to return, and then well grab some to swap our appearances. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Unless they knew that we are sessful in snatching Lei Dage back, they should notunch another operation. Ay! Gao Zhandao tried to console him, Xu Ye need not worry, Kou Ye has the Heavenly Policy Mansion people helping him, he should be able to rescue Lei Ye back. Rising up to his full height, Xu Ziling said, Staying here with a nk stare is not an option. I want to see someone. You must, by all means, be careful; one mistake is enough, we must not make another mistake. I am going to follow you guys in secret, to make sure that nobody is following you. The passenger and cargo ship finally arrived. The boat gradually slowed down, and finally it docked at the ferry crossing point. Under Kou Zhong, three persons tiger-watching-its-prey gaze, two big men brought a long wooden chest off the boat and loaded it onto the waiting carriage. The four big men receiving the cargo did not wait for the ship to depart; together with the two men from the ship, forming a party of six, they escorted the leaving carriage. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, We must capture all of them alive; we must not let anybody escape. Li Jing and Hong Funu nodded to express their understanding. The three retreated back and out of the woods toward a slope before charging toward the muddy road where the carriage was galloping. All around was the wilderness with no one in sight, they did not need to cover their track, they wanted to do everything within their power tounch a ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum to put the enemy in order in one fell swoop. In an instant they were already speeding along the snow-covered muddy road, about a hundred paces behind the rapidly rushing out carriage. The two riders at the very end heard the sound of gusting wind; looking back, one of them unexpectedly shouted loudly, Break off! Five riders immediately scattered in all directions, running away to the wilderness. The driver of the carriage leaped onto a spare horse, while also giving the horse pulling the carriage a heavy kick before escaping away. Kou Zhong and the others cried Bad! inwardly. This moment, although they knew perfectly well that the carriage was loaded with fake goods, they still had no choice but to overtake the pulled-by-the-horse, leaning-to-the-east-and-tilting-to-the-west, scampering-along-the-road carriage first, and let the six men urging-their-horses, scattering-like-birds-and-beasts got away. For the first time Kou Zhong resented himself for not killing Xiang Yushan. Only he coulde up with such a shady, damaging malicious scheme. This time he failed and was wiped over the floor; it would be difficult to even up the situation. Xu Ziling went to Yu He An. After reporting the purpose of his visit, a momentter, in the same reception hall from thest visit, he saw Shi Feixuan, who was still wearing mens clothes. It appeared that she had just got back from the outside. Xu Ziling opened the door and saw the mountain [i.e. get right to the point], he said, Xiaodi wants to ask Xiaojie to recite the Immortal Image Method one time for me. Shi Feixuan looked at him with full attention for half a day; she spoke softly, Has Ziling received internal injury? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, I, as Yue Shan, have fought hand to hand against Shi Zhixuan. Xiaojies discerning eye did not miss anything, your insight is very urate. Shi Feixuan calmly said, I heard about that. But looking at the expression showing in your eyes, Ziling seems to have heavy load on your mind, the usual rity, brightness, limpid, without-obstruction, is not there. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Lei Dage has been captured by Zhao Deyan and Xiang Yushan conspiring together. This moment Kou Zhongs all-out rescue operation is underway; how could I possibly be in good mood? Remaining indifferent, Shi Feixuan calmly asked, When did this happen? Xu Ziling replied, It happened some time between noon and dusk today. Shi Feixuan rose up gracefully, still with that kind of simple-and-elegant-like-an-immortal, rxed and cool-headed demeanor, she spoke softly, Ziling, pleasee with Feixuan; perhaps Feixuan can help you bring Lei Xiansheng back. The crate was opened. Sure enough, it was a box of brocade merchandise, genuine goods at fair prices, children were not subjected to deceit. Other than Kou Zhong, whose facial expression, because he was wearing a mask, could not be seen, Li Jing and Hong Funus countenance became more unsightly than unsightly. Something was lost but then regained, something regained but then lost again, hope suddenly turned into despair, this kind of psychological process of change was the most difficult to bear. Grabbing the edge of the crate with both hands, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, How did Chi Shengchun know how to y this trick? With astonished look on her face, Hong Funu cast Kou Zhong a nce; she never expected that after being deceived that sent him going round and round, he was still this cool-headed, calm and collected, and asking this question, which had profound meaning behind it. Chi Shengchun was able to pull such a great trick, it was greatly beyond their expectation. Unless he was certain that Kou Zhong would pursue this clue, hence he was able to n everything in advance. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Li Jing said, He wanted to test your rtionship with the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This is perhaps the only exnation. Because all along Zhao Deyan and Xiang Yushan have been unable to understand the rtionship between the Heavenly Policy Mansion and us, whether we are deceiving you, or we work together in secret; they simply had to find the answer. And then suddenly the Heavenly Policy Mansion sent men to closely monitor Chi Shengchun, hence it aroused Xiang Yushans vignce even more. Therefore, they carried out this move; one, as a military show of force to me, two, to understand clearly the rtionship between us. Killing two birds with one stone, fancy that Xiang Yushan, that stinky kid C coulde up with. Were it not for Hong Funus presence, he would have used vulgarnguage to rain curses on Xiang Yushan. Li Jing sighed and said, It seems like it would be best for us to return to Changan first. On one hand, to wait for Zhao Deyan toe to you to negotiate the terms of agreement, and then we could change ording to the situation; on the other hand, we will exhaust our resources to look for other clues. Hong Funu chimed in, Is it possible that Lei Xiansheng might still be on board the ship? Li Jing said, If he is, then our people, who are waiting respectfully at Jingyang, would have good news for us. Xiao Zhong, what do you think? Kou Zhong decisively said, I should not be away from Changan for too long; we rush back immediately. Xiao Ling might have other ideas. Shi Feixuan took Xu Ziling out of the city, flying at full speed on the snow-covered ground. Since today was the New Years Day, the city gate was extended so that it would not be closed until the end of the hai hour [9-11pm], to facilitate ess for the people from the surrounding urban and rural areas. This was the first time that Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan fighting and doing something together side by side. With this jade person [i.e. a beauty] alongside, their clothes fluttering as they were speeding along, the heaven and earth felt like an endless night and a boundless great snow, separate from the feeling of mere traveling over a distance. Until this moment, he was still unclear where Shi Feixuan was taking him, as well as why she thought she had the confidence to rescue Lei Jiuzhi back. He only had a faint idea that perhaps in the process of tracking down the firearms C the task that he entrusted her with, she inadvertently found the secondary vehicle, and suspected that it might be rted to the kidnaping of Lei Jiuzhi. This was a quite reasonable conjecture. If he were Zhao Deyan, after capturing Lei Jiuzhi, this kind of important figure, the first business on the table ought to be forcing out from his mouth the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure. If he had him transported out of the area, the travel going back and forth already took time, not to mention it might mess things up. Expecting Lei Jiuzhi to betray Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling was naturally not easy at all. The main thing was to use an expert in torture, a master who knew psychological and physical, both aspects of human body, to destroy Lei Jiuzhis willpower. Only then would they seed. The two climbed the mountain over the forest, rushing along for nearly more than half a sichen, toward arge-scale fishing town located at the west bank of the Zi River southeast of Changan, from which came the sound of barking dogs, interspersed with bursts of firecrackers. Shi Feixuan halted her steps at the top of a hill overlooking the entire town, and said, Today, inpliance with Zilings request, Feixuan separately investigated some people who are rted to Yin Gui Pai and the Tujue side. Just before dusk I saw Du Yan of the Heavenly Policy Mansion unexpectedly he climbed onto Ke Dazhis carriage in the city. But the strangest thing was thatter on, getting off the carriage was only Ke Dazhi and not Du Yan. Thereupon Feixuan decided to follow the carriage to see where Du Yan was going. Who was driving the carriage? Xu Ziling asked. Shi Feixuan replied, Lets not talk about that first. The reason Ke Dazhi was attracting my attention was because after he left the foreign guest house, he appeared to be cautious and solemn, acting as if he was afraid someone might follow him. He went to an ordinary house in the Qing Long Li [green dragon neighborhood] south of the city, when he left, he abandoned the horse and took the carriage. It was when he was near the city gate that he handed over the carriage to Du Yan and two of his men. I followed them here, and saw with my own eyes en route they changed into a fishing boat, sneakily taking a chest under cover of darkness and sent it to that house on the south side of the vige. Although I felt strange, for fear that I might beat the grass to scare the snake, I returned to Changan first, thinking that I wanted to discuss it with you guys, and then you came. Xu Ziling said, I hope they havent sent Lei Xiansheng somece else. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, I feel that Lei Xiansheng is still inside the house. Wed bettere in to take a look, to confirm whether Feixuans intuition is really brilliant or not. Suppressing his nervous mind due to his worry over personal gains and losses, Xu Zilingughed and said, Xiaojie, please show the way! The three people return to Changan via the same route; along the way they looked for the horses that they abandoned earlier, and then braving the snow, they rushed back. Just like when they came, they were hastening on with their journey in silence, but their mood was in a totally different state. This moment the thought in Kou Zhongs mind was not the Duke Yangs Treasure at all, but Xiang Yushan, the crafty viin. Beginning from the moment they met him on the street, he and Xu Ziling were doomed to meet with bad luck one after another. This kid was profoundly shrewd and scheming. His deceiving skill was even more superb; once they did not guard against him, he would take advantage of them. Kou Zhong made a firm resolution; as soon as he had a chance, he must chop him with a saber and kill him, no longer would he be softhearted because of Su Jie or Little Lingzhong. Based on Yang Xuyan and Bai Qingers style of work, they could not possibly tell Xiang Yushan about them secretly getting on the boat. Therefore, Xiang Yushan should not be aware that they knew that he, Xiang Gongzi, was in Changan, moreover, that he was involved in the conspiracy to overturn the Great Tang. He and Xu Ziling still had the capital to make a stand and fight against him. Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan separately sneaked in from the southeast and northwest corners of the courtyard house. When they met on snow-covered roof tiles of the main building, they already grasped clearly what is true and what is false of the opposite side. This courtyard house was not too big. The front, middle, and rear, three structures C were connected by two open-air courtyards. Inside the house, there were only four big men on guard duty. Looking at their appearance, these men must be from some gang or society; they were also certain that neither Du Yan nor his men were among these four. Shi Feixuan leaned over and whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Lei Xiansheng must be held in an underground secret room or something like that, hence I did not hear any sound. Feixuan rescue him, Ziling go beat those men up; what do you think? Xu Zilings mood turned for the better; listening to her, he found it interesting and weird at the same time. Nodding his head, he smiled and said, If Xiaojie wants to save people, you need to beat up people. How about Xiaojie keep watch here for Xiaodi, the rough and heavy task, let me take care of it all by myself, all right? Shi Feixuan rolled her eyes at him; slightly displeased, she said, Go then! Xu Ziling pulled back his soul, which was almost hooked away by her. Abruptly raising a mouthful of true qi, he somersaulted andnded on the courtyard. Without even thinking he pushed the door and bolted into the main hall of the front section. The two men inside the hall were ying Pai Jiu; they were gambling in high spirits. Thinking that the neer was theirpanion, one of the men, without even looking, called out, Lao Li [Old Li],e here and take a look. The set in my hand is very strong. Xu Zilingughed and said, Then you must let me broaden my horizons. Hearing the wrong voice, the two men turned to look in shock. Suddenly they saw a blur, Xu Ziling was already in front of the table. Completely powerless to block, the two men were jabbed by his finger and copsed. But before they fell to the floor, Xu Ziling held them up to avoid making any noise. Xu Ziling swaggered through the room and over the residence. He was just going to enter the middle section, a man was pushing the door the get into the front hall, and came face to face with Xu Ziling. The mans reaction could be considered quick; even when he was startled, he promptly pulled his saber. Xu Zilings right hand reached out, seemingly slow, but that man acted as if he was trapped inside a nightmare, and was unable to evade at all. He could only stare nkly and let Xu Ziling poke the space between his eyebrows, and immediately passed out. Xu Ziling set him down by the door, across the threshold. Standing quietly inside the small hall, Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Feixuan can share a bit of the rough and heavy task as well. As for looking for secret room, this kind of skillful, meticulous work, naturally you, Lu Dashis brilliant student C can take full responsibility. Xu Ziling suddenly felt that the distance between he and Shi Feixuan has been pulled closer. But as soon as he remembered her appearance when she was wearing nun attire, he did not dare to have any vain thought. He said cheerfully, The one learning mechanism and building construction is Kou Zhong, I am only an admirer of building architecture. But since Xiaojie shows clearly that you want to test Xiaodi, I, this Liao Hua have no choice but to be the vanguard. [Trantors note: the only reference to Liao Hua that I can find is a general under Guan Yu of the Romance of the Three Kingdom; not sure why Xu Ziling likened himself to Liao Hua.] With his hands behind his back, he stepped into the rear section. He could not help feeling nervous. Supposing he stepped across the entire house and still could not find the secret room, what should he do? Ay! He would have no choice but to ask Shi Feixuan to temporarily get far away from him, while he used cruel methods to force confession from these mens mouth. No matter what, he must notmit this kind of repulsive thing of the secr world in the presence of this fairy-like beauty. Book 34 - 8 – Seven Needles to Control the Mind Lei Jiuzhi was plucked from danger by Xu Ziling from an underground secret room in the rear section. His mind was clear, but his hands and feet were bound to a wooden frame using thick ox tendon, and there were seven silver needles stuck on top of his head to seal his acupoints, evidently it was the handiwork of a martial art master proficient in acupuncture points. Seeing Xu Ziling, naturally Lei Jiuzhi was pleased beyond his expectations; he was so happy that he felt like crazy, but he suffered from having-mouth-difficult-to-talk, it was even difficult for his facial muscle to convey his emotion, and could only blink ferociously, as if he wanted to say something. Xu Ziling understood without being told explicitly; he said, Do you want to tell me not to recklessly pulling the silver needles on your head? Lei Jiuzhi blinked his eyes. Xu Ziling said, Lets do it this way: blink once if you agree, blink twice if you disagree! Sure enough, Lei Jiuzhi blinked once. Inwardly Xu Ziling shivered greatly. Lei Jiuzhi might not know other skills, but he was proficient in the art of healing, and had particr knowledge about acupuncture points and meridians. He was fully aware that Xu Zilings Long Life Qigong was able to unseal the blockage in any meridian and acupoint, yet he still warned him not to act blindly without thinking. Evidently there was profound knowledge behind these seven needles. But he was not worried at all, because there was the outstanding direct disciple of world-ss Buddhist orthodox school upstairs, Shi Xianzi [fairy], who would take charge of treating strange, difficult, and mixed illness, so there was no need for him to worry. He quickly but carefully carried Lei Jiuzhi up, and found that his body was as stiff as wood or stone; even his hands and feet could not be bended, his neck was even more straighter, so that for the first time he started to feel this was not an ordinary problem. Shi Feixuan met him at the end of the stone steps at the mouth of the tunnel to help him carry Lei Jiuzhi up. Her expression grave, she said, Ziling, lock those four men inside the secret room first, I am going to examine Lei Xianshengs condition before discussing it with you. This was the first time that Lei Jiuzhi met Shi Feixuans fairy self; his pair of eyes immediately lit up with liveliness. Evidently his confidence in Shi Feixuan rescuing him was a lot higher than his confidence in Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling put Lei Jiuzhi down on the bed inside one of the bedrooms in the inner section, and then he carried the four men into the secret room. Using the materials at hand, he tied them using the thick ox-tendon rope. This room ought to be a torture chamber that was prepared in a hurry. Other than wooden scaffold to tie the prisoner, there were no other torture instruments. The only strong point of this room was that even somebody was screaming, howling and calling miserably, no sound would be transmitted outside. But for Lei Jiuzhi, who was unable to budge at all, this benefit was totally useless. Back on the ground level, after closing the door to the secret room, Xu Ziling went to the room. Lei Jiuzhi was still stiffly lying on the bed. The seven thin needles, each one about a cun long, separately pierced the Tianzhu, Cheng Ling, Luo Que, Nao Kong, Feng Chi, Wan Gu, and Tou Wei, seven acupoints on the head and the back of his neck, exposing only the glittering silvery light of the end of the needles; it was indeed shocking the eye, astonishing the heart. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Have Ziling heard about Five Capital Punishment? Xu Ziling shook hid head nkly. Shi Feixuan said, The Five Capital Punishment refers to the worlds most formidable five different kinds of cruel punishment. This Seven Needles to Control the Mind is one of those. It can make a person unable to speak, unable to sleep, unable to move, even the muscles also stiffened. The mind is clearly iparably awake, but the pain indeed no use to tell others. It doesnt matter how resolute ones aspiration is, under this kind of cannot-seek-life-cannot-seek-death situation, inevitably he would suffer nervous breakdown. In order to seek death, he would be willing to surrender everything. Fortunately we rescued Lei Xiansheng at the earliest possible time. Otherwise, after thirty-six sichen of the application of the needles, even if we managed to rescue him, he would be a handicapped person. Listening to the tone of her voice, Xu Ziling knew that she understood the method to break it; inwardly heaving a sigh of relief, he knitted his brows and said, Who would apply such a malicious torture method? Shi Feixuan said, It was after reading our Zhais Ci Hang Jian Dian [sword canon of Ci Hang], our worthy predecessor wrote about the Five Capital Punishment that I found out about this. Because the Five Capital Punishment is rted to the mystery of the human body, other than understanding the art of blocking the meridians and sealing acupoints, the person carrying out this method must also be proficient in medical skill. This person is definitely not simple. And then she slightly smiled and said, During the process of resolving this method, Feixuan must not have divided heart, Ziling must be the protector the (Buddhist)w for Feixuan. Xu Ziling acknowledged the request. When he was leaving, he also closed the door per her instruction. He mused inwardly that the enemys move this time was really sinister; otherwise, even if they rescued Lei Jiuzhi back, in the end they would still have to give in. Suddenly raising up his qi, he soared upward to the roof, and happened to see a skiff slowly approaching the beach, and docking by a small pier outside the residence. Focusing his power to his eyes, Xu Ziling concentrated his attention to look. The first thing that caught his attention was a yellow umbre. On the skiff, aside from the man steering the boat, there were three other men. One of them was under the umbre, taking shelter from the wind and the snow, so that Xu Ziling could not see his face. Of the two that he could see, surprisingly one was an old friend Kang Qiaoli, the other was the Demonic Commander Zhao Deyan. He was able to recognized Zhao Deyan, because during the battle against Huang Gongcuo at the Yue Ma Bridge that day, when thetter was about to fall into the water of the Canal, Zhao Deyan tossed his shoe to help him, to avoid Huang Gongcuo making a fool of himself in public. That day Xu Ziling only had the predestined affinity to catch a glimpse of him, but the impression was very deep. It could be said that Xu Ziling had ample experience in fighting hand to hand, in exchanging blows with various heretics of the demonic school, eitherpeting in literary [or soft method] or in martial art [or hard method]. He always felt that the demonic school people, from top to bottom, people of every description, none did not carry some kind of hard-to-describe, but also quite putting-emphasis-on strange, heretical, and secretive personality traits. Naturally You Niaojuan, that kind of utterly-vicious-extremely-evil man C need not be mentioned. But even the handsome, brimming-with-elegance Hou Xibai also had somewhat heretical, bizarre air around him. The only exception was Shi Zhixuan. His heretical aura could be overwhelming, but when he was disguised as the Da De Shengseng [great virtue holy monk] of the Wu Lou Si, both outward show and inner thoughts, inside and outside, he was able to project some kind of out-of-the-dust, free-from-vulgarity, austere, upright orthodox aura, which could deceive anybody. The one thing of Zhao Deyan that was hard to forget was not his tall, straight, wiry-thin build, sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade skin, or even a bit pale, could-be-considered-handsome countenance; rather, it was his pair of eyes, which was eternally squinting into a narrow slit, cold and icy like saber de, giving him a cold-hearted, no-matter-what-dare-to-do-it-even-if-he-had-to-die, dare-to-brave-the-danger kind of temperament. His scalp went numb, Xu Ziling watched as the skiff gradually pressing close to the pier. He did not understand why in such a tense moment, his own mind could wander into some thought that had nothing to do with the pain and itch before his eyes. If Shi Feixuan could get away and fight, even if that person holding up an umbre was a martial art master of the same level as Zhao Deyan, Xu Ziling was confident that they had the ability to advancing-to-attack, retreating-to-defend; worst-case scenario, they could escape without a trace. However, this moment Shi Feixuan was going all-out to use her power to break the extreme torture that Lei Jiuzhi was subjected to. For the time being, Lei Jiuzhi was akin to a handicapped person. Under this kind of situation, how could they ward off the enemy? Relying on his own strength, merely dealing with Zhao Deyan already entailed strenuous effort for Xu Ziling; if Kang Qiaoli was added to the equation, he would undoubtedly be defeated. Not to mention there was also the mysterious person holding the umbre. Xu Zilings intuition said that this person was the one carrying out the extreme torture of Seven Needles to Control the Mind onto Lei Jiuzhi. Since he was powerless to face the enemy, he must use ruse. Using the fastest shenfa, from the roof Xu Ziling returned to the house. He opened the door of the room adjacent to the one where Shi Feixuan and Lei Jiuzhi were. He pulled the bedding of the bed, and also took the board of the bed. And then with one hand carrying the cotton bedding, the other hand carrying the bed board, he pushed the door to Shi Feixuans room, and put the bed board and the cotton bedding in a corner. Shi Feixuan sat cross-legged on the bed, her pretty eyes were tightly closed, her left palm was pressed on Lei Jiuzhis forehead, while the other hand was pinching one of the needles. Of the seven needles, five were gone; there were still two remaining. The heavy snow continued to float down. It created faint rustling noise as it hit the paper covering of the window, just enough to cover Lei Jiuzhis light breathing. However, such a martial art master of Zhao Deyans caliber, if he listened attentively from somewhere near enough, he would definitely detect it. Xu Ziling did not have any better idea to cross this danger, hence he wanted tobat the other side psychologically. The sound of knocking was heard from the outer courtyard door. Xu Ziling could not help feeling remorse. He should have thought that such a crucial hostage like Lei Jiuzhi, Zhao Deyan must be anxious to extract any important intelligence about Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling from his mouth. If he could force confession of the location of the treasure, naturally it would be most ideal. With the sound of fluttering clothes, the enemy already detected that something was amiss; they entered in by leaping over the wall. Kang Qiaolis voice wasing from the outer section, Not right! Where are they? A not-warm-not-fiery, gentle-and-reserved, sweet-sounding voice said, Lets go to the secret room first to see whether we still have our man down there. Xu Ziling was unclear whether this voice belonged to Zhao Deyan, or the mysterious man holding the umbre. But he was certain that his previous supposition had been wrong. He thought this ce, where Lei Jiuzhi was imprisoned, was Chi Shengchuns ce, and that the men guarding him were Chi Shengchuns men. But listening to the other sides exchange, this ce ought to be arranged by Kang Qiaoli. Otherwise, he would have said, Find out where the secret room is. As expected, the three mens light footsteps were moving toward the middle section, and then there was the sound of the door to the secret room being opened. Kang Qiaoli angrily said, There is no possibility here ... and then his voice became muffled and hoarse, difficult to recognize. Apparently Kang Qiaoli entered the secret room, so that his voice was dampened. Xu Ziling applied enough power to his ears, but he still was not able to grasp what Kang Qiaoli was saying. It could be imagined that this moment Kang Qiaoli immediately rescued his men and asked them what had happened. Another voice outside the entrance to the secret room calmly said, Yan Shuai [Commander Yan] may set your heart at ease. My Seven Needles to Control the Mind, no one in the world can break it. They rescued our man, yet they are still under my control. This was still the first time that Xu Ziling heard this voice; it was beyond his capability to recognize which divine being the voice belonged to. Still with not-warm-not-fiery voice, Zhao Deyan spoke indifferently, This kid Kou Zhong is brilliant beyond my expectation; unexpectedly he knew how to carryout threaten the east and strike to the west stratagem, he sent people in secret to rescue our man away. Fortunately we already setup preventive arrangement, so that our entire army will not be wiped out. Kang Qiaolis voice said, All four men were ambushed and subdued; some did not even see the opponents shadow and were already knocked down. The other two saw the perpetrator ought to be Xu Ziling disguised as Yong Qin. Xu Ziling felt relieved instead. Luckily the other party did not know Shi Feixuans existence. Looking back at Shi Feixuan, thetter was just pulling the sixth needle from the Cheng Ling acupoint on the top of Lei Jiuzhis head; her pretty face waspletely bright red, so that she was showing some kind of beautiful appearance that she had never shown before, but it also showed that the loss to her true energy was huge, hence it would not be advisable for her to fight immediately. The crisis has not passed yet. Zhao Deyan said, If those two kids recklessly pulled the needles, they could make Lei Jiuzhis blood passages in disorder and send him to his death; wouldnt we spend a great deal of time and effort for nothing then? With a card up his sleeve, the man holding the umbre said, In order to guard against this situation from happening, before carrying out the punishment, I already warned Lei Jiuzhi that he should be thinking of a way to signal them not to do that and kill him. Xu Ziling mused that no wonder when he was rescuing Lei Jiuzhi, he was rmed and wildly blinking his eyes. However, even if he did not give him any signal, seeing seven such shocking-the-eyes, astonishing-the heart silver needles deeply embedded into unusual acupoints, Xu Ziling definitely would not carelessly make his move. The sound of footsteps was approaching. Hearing the footsteps, Xu Ziling knew it was Kang Qiaolis man. Shout of rm came from the adjacent room. Xu Zilings heart jumped into his throat. Whether it was luck or disaster, it would be decided this moment. Lei Jiuzhis breathing suddenly turn soft; even with the close proximity to him, Xu Ziling was barely able to hear it. He saw Shi Feixuan slightly nodded her small cicada head to him, indicating that she knew what was going on outside. Her ability to control Lei Jiuzhis breathing, whether light or heavy C had greatly broadened Xu Zilings horizons. A short momentter, Kang Qiaoli spoke from inside the adjacent room, Good kid! Unexpectedly he dismantled the bed board to bring the man away. Zhao Deyanughed aloud and said, It has been a long time that I, Zhao Deyan, never met this kind of brilliant adversary. It looks like tomorrow morning I need to meet with Kou Zhong, to see what other magic weapon he still has? Kang Qiaoli said, They should have left bynd route. Carrying a man like that, they should not go too far, perhaps we will be able to intercept them on the road. Zhao Deyan said, They are still a very useful chess piece, we must cherish them extremely; as long as they are willing to nicely offer the treasure to us, we should still help them. Now lets retreat immediately. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, Thank the Heaven and thank the Earth! Zhao Deyan and the others quickly returned to their ship and left via the waterway. After pulling thest needle from Lei Jiuzhi, Shi Feixuan sat down for a moment, took a very deep breath, and said, Fortunately I did not disappoint! Lei Jiuzhis body returned to being limp; he fell into deep sleep. Greatly delighted, Xu Ziling put Lei Jiuzhi onto his wide shoulders, and said, We must rush back immediately; otherwise Kou Zhong, unaware of what we had aplished, might create another trouble. Shi Feixuan proposed, It would be better to bring Lei Xiansheng to Yu He An. He still needs at least eight to ten days to recover. Feixuan could arrange to have him leaving Guanzhong in secret. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried, Thats wonderful! As matter of fact, he was having a headache on where to send Lei Jiuzhi to. Gao Zhandao definitely could offer a ce, but it would not be one hundred percent secure. After Xu Ziling expressed his gratitude, carrying Lei Jiuzhi, the two quickly left. The dejected Kou Zhong and Li Jing, husband and wife, rushed back without stopping at all to Changan. Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde were already waiting respectfully along the route they were taking; they even prepared a carriage. Zhangsun Wuji stared at Kou Zhongs full-bearded fake face; he sighed and said, Although fully aware that the face is fake, Wuji still cannot see any w. It is indeed frighteningly admirable. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, You guys saw us returning empty handed, but did not seem to be surprised the slightest bit? You even have time to take note of other things. Yuchi Jingde smiled and said, Its because Lei Xiansheng has been rescued back by Ziling Xiong. This moment he is resting in a safe ce. Kou Zhong was overjoyed at the unexpected good news; not quite believing, he shrieked and said, Ha! Unexpectedly there is such thing? Li Jing, husband and wife, did not believe their ears either. Zhangsun Wiji said, This is not a good ce to talk. Shao Shuai, please get on the carriage. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Where are we going? Yuchi Jingde said, Qin Wang wanted to see Shao Shuai. Ziling Xiong is already there. Zhangsun Wuji added, Mo Shen Yi went missing for no reason for many sichen, Qin Wang already sent men to notify the Sha Family, telling them that he wanted to invite Shen Yi to stay at the Qin Wang Mansion as a guest. If Shao Shuai can stop by at the Qin Wang Mansion, you can dispel other peoples doubt even more. Although Kou Zhong did not want to see Li Shimin, but under the circumstances, there was no other alternative; he had to fly off the horse and change to ride on the carriage instead. Before the city gate was closed, he returned to the dangerous ce of Changan, even drove straight toward the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Inside a secret chamber in the Heavenly Policy Mansion, other than Li Shimin, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, Du Ruhui, Li Jing, Hong Funu, Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde were also in attendance. Finished listening to theplicated process that Xu Ziling had to go through to rescue Lei Jiuzhi back, Kou Zhong spoke with bitter thoughts, Who is this man with the umbre? After Lei LaoGe wakes up, I need to ask him, perhaps as the water recedes, the rocks appear. Du Ruhui shook his head and said, Since this man knows how to use such a shocking torture method, his ability, wisdom, and martial art skill must be high, naturally he is not one to talk easily. The most terrifying thing is that he is prudent and very careful; he was able to anticipate the possibility of Lei Xiansheng might be rescued. This kind of man definitely would not let Lei Xiansheng see his true identity, so much so that even his voice might be fake. Xu Ziling said, If I hear him speak again, I will immediately recognize him. Everybody nodded in agreement, because when that man was talking with Zhao Deyan and the others, he did not know that someone was eavesdropping on the side. The murderous intent in Yuchi Jingdes pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, Du Yan has the impertinence to be disloyal and did not uphold justice toward Qin Wang, I will make him die without intact corpse. Li Shimin calmly said, Du Yan is just an insignificant pawn, all the more important affairs of the Heavenly Policy Mansion, he did not have ess to hear, yet Taizi Mansion knows all of our important secret. Therefore, the mole ought to be a higher-level figure. We must avoid acting blindly without thinking, beating the grass to scare the snake C at all cost. Xu Ziling said, Qin Wang is associating with us like this, would the enemy use this as a pretext to strike Qin Wang? Li Shiminughed and said, The present situation is freaky and bizarre. In order to obtain the Demonic Emperor Relics, various heretics of the demonic school might cover up a thousand sides and a hundred schemes on our behalf. Instead, it is Shao Shuai staying over here the entire evening that will be difficult to dispel doubts in Taizis heart. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, We met as peers of the same generation, it would be more pleasing to the ear if Ziling Xiong simply address me as Shimin Xiong. Xu Ziling only smiled wryly in response, because even he was unclear whether Li Shimin could be considered a friend, or an enemy. Li Shimin went on, Even if someone informed against me, I dont care. Today Fu Huang summoned me for a secret talk, telling me that Ba Dao Yue Shan gave him serious warning, Yang WenGan and Yang Xuyan, with great support from various demonic school powers, want to restore the old dynasty. I must deal with it seriously. If I could find proof, we could move one step ahead to strike and break down Yang WenGan, and then Taizi and Qi Wang will not be able to avoid me either. Hearing this, all the Heavenly Policy Mansion generals, none did not have their countenance turning happy, knowing that Li Yuan has moved real fire toward Jiancheng and Yuanji for showing the wolf into the house, for moving recklessly and acting rashly. No wonder Li Shimin had less misgiving. Li Jing said, Since we know the whereabouts of the firearms, we could track this clues, to follow the vine to get to the melon, to catch both the people and the stolen goods, then Yang WenGan wont be able to deny. Hong Funu said, If we could prove that Jiancheng Taizi is directly involved in this matter, it would be even more ideal. Li Shimin revealed a hint of bitter smile, but did not say anything. Turning to Kou Zhong, he asked, Has Shao Shuai dispel the idea of unearthing the hidden treasure? Kou Zhong replied with a wry smile, Now does not seem to be the best time to discuss this issue! This was Kou Zhong once again rejecting Li Shimins proposal of coboration. Hong Funu revealed a displeased expression, but Li Jing signaled her with his eyes not to speak. The murderous intent in Yuchi Jingde and Zhangsun Wujis four eyes was shing. On the contrary, Li Shimin did not seem to care; heughed and said, Before the hidden treasure is unearthed, we are still friends who fight side-by-side, right? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Even if we meet in the battleground, at the bottom of it we are still friends. I sincerely wish Shimin Xiong will reach the Taizi position, and drive away the Tujue ghosts and the crafty and evil demonic school from Changan. Book 34 - 9 – Establishing an Oath by Clapping Each Other’s Hands Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling left the pce riding on a carriage. Afraid that the driver might hear their conversation, Kou Zhong applied his power to focus his voice into a beam and spoke in low voice, Were it not for everybody in the demonic school has sinister design in their bosom, Yang WenGan might know from Zhao Deyan that you are Xu Ziling, and Mo Yixin is me. Furthermore, he might guess that there is the possibility that we already discovered the secret of the firearms. Byparison, in the fight over the Demonic Emperor Relics, Shi Zhixuan upies the most unfavorable position. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Quite the contrary, he ought to be the one with the best chance to snatch the Demonic Emperor Relics. Why didnt you ask me whether I have gotten rid of An Long or not? Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What happened? Xu Ziling whispered in his ear, You Niaojuan was killed on the spot, by pure luck Yue Shan escaped alive from a hard battle. And then he briefly narrated the course of events. Speechless, Kou Zhong said, I wonder if You Niaojuan was just bragging. Unexpectedly there is such a formidable demonic method of detecting the Demonic Emperor Relics existence within a hundred li radius? Xu Ziling said, In itself, the Demonic Emperor Relics is a mysterious and inexplicable object. What benefit would You Niaojuan get from deceiving me? It would be better if we believe that it exists rather than it does not. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he softly said, ording to your estimate, can the two of us together beat back Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Why do you suddenly have no confidence in yourself like this? As long as we join hands and fit the wall together, I dont think there is anybody in the world who could put us in order all by himself. Problem is perhaps Shi Zhixuan would mount sneak attack, plotting against us in secret, or some other tricks like that. Or perhaps Pangzi An Long or Yang Xuyan would be holding one of us down, so that the other one would end up very unlucky. Kou Zhong said, In that case, we need to find a way to get rid of Shi Zhixuan first, and then the sky will be bright, the air clear; no wind, no rain. Basically there is no way, Xu Ziling replied, When I fought with Shi Zhixuan, I created being and nothing method; suddenly its there, suddenly its gone, from nothing to being, from being to nothing, to make it difficult for him to borrow, use, and transform, as well as to see through what is true and what is false of me, only then was I barely able to emte a number of tricks, without losing Yue Shan, the Seniors prestige. But all along this was not the effective strategy to break his Immortal Image Method. Listening to that, Kou Zhong was having a big headache; he asked, What do you mean theres being and theres nothing? What are you talking about? Xu Ziling said, When we have a chance Ill show you a couple of moves, and youll understand. Quickly go back to the Sha House! Hows the operation tonight? I want to go see Zhandao and the others to make sure they are all right. I also need to tell them thetest situation. Kou Zhong said, Ill return to the Sha House first, at the beginning of chou hour tonight [1-3am] well meet at the bottom of Yue Ma Bridge. By that time your tryst and touching emotions with the Beautiful Junshi should be over! Xu Ziling already forgot his date with Shen Luoyan. Smiling ruefully, he said, Do I really have to see her? Kou Zhong said, I dont care if you keep her as a friend, or just see her perfunctorily, but when women throw a temper, they could be more ruthless than men. However, you must be a bit more careful; dont let that Li Shiji kid catch the two of you in bed. If there is conclusive evidence, even I, the other dragon of the Yangzhou Twin Dragons C will be shamed. Xu Ziling said, Fancy that you are still in the mood to joke around. Ay! Somehow, although You Niaojuans death has nothing to do with me, but I always feel sorry for his tragic death. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes darkened, he said, Probably Xie Xianting and his sweetheart were murdered by Shi Zhixuans hands. Between the various heretics of the demonic school and us, the two cannot exist together. Therefore, we must work hard not to fall short, so that our martial art skill will rise to the upper level; otherwise we would only be other peoples fish and meat. The carriage stopped. They have arrived outside the Sha Houses main entrance. Kou Zhong actually still had thousands of words and ten thousand speeches hed like to pour out toward Xu Ziling. But hindered by the circumstances, he had no choice but patting Xu Zilings shoulder and helplessly got off the carriage. The carriage rapidly took Xu Ziling away. Kou Zhong calmed himself down before returning to the Sha Mansion. Sha Fu intercepted him at the winding corridor by the main hall. With a strange expression, he said, Did Mo Ye go to the Qin Wang Mansion? Acting surprised, Kou Zhong asked, Whats the problem? Sha Fu hastily replied, Naturally I dont have any problem. But Laoyezi is not too happy. Could it be that Mo Ye did not know that Taizi Mansion and Qin Wang Mansion are arch-enemy? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, I never care about that kind of thing. Others showing earnest desire, are you saying I ought to drive people a thousand li away? Whos looking for me tonight? Sha Fu replied, Both Qi Wang Mansion and Taizi Mansion were sending their men to look for Mo Ye. Laoyezi did not dare to tell them that you went to see Qin Wang; therefore, he imed as an excuse that because Mo Ye did not sleepst night, you went to bed early. Kou Zhong cried, Wonderful! inwardly. He said, I am really tired. When I am asleep, please dont let anybody disturb me. Sha Fu busily said, Mo Ye please go see Laoye first; he wanted to talk to you. Kou Zhong nodded. As if nothing had happened, he said, Thats good too! Its time to say goodbye to Laoye anyway. Sha Fus countenance changed. What? he blurted out. Kou Zhong put his hand on Sha Fus shoulder. While walking together toward Sha Tiannans dwelling ce in the inner courtyard, he said, In this world, there is no banquet that did not end; the life in the capital does not suit me very well. Besides, I am decreed by fate that before I turn thirty, I must be constantly on the move all over the ce to be of help of mankind. I have been here for too long, its time to leave! Sha Fu was puzzled, Before the age of thirty? How old is Mo Ye this year? Kou Zhong was nearly dumbstruck and unable to reply; he started to remember that the impression that others perceived was that this ugly mask made him look like thirty-four, thirty-five years old. Without any better option, he said, Because I charged to the south and wandered to the north, I ate enough wind and frost [fig. hardships], hence I appear this old. In fact, I am only twenty-eight years old; I have to toil for another two years before I pass the barrier. Hearing about his life experience, Sha Fu did not have anything good to say. Thinking about leaving, Kou Zhongs entire body felt rx. As a result of being in contact with the Sha Family day and night these past few days, he felt affection with everybody here, from top to bottom. If he could publicly retire, instead of having his real identity uncovered and thus dragging down the Sha Family, or even his old friend Chang He, he would definitely feel much better. Xu Ziling went to see Gao Zhandao and the others. He told them the too-good-of-a-news about the rescue of Lei Jiuzhi; everybody felt deeply relieved, their morale was greatly aroused. Xu Ziling said, Our current situation is still heavily dangerous and difficult, it is extremely delicate. If tonight Shao Shuai and I still cannot find the treasures location, tomorrow all of us are leaving Changan. When the three men, Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, and Zha Jie heard that, they you-look-at-me-I-gaze-at-you, it was difficult for them to cover their shock and disappointment. More than two years ago they took the long and difficult trek from far away Yuhang toe to Changan. They built up an enterprise through painstaking efforts, from not-having-anything-at-all, struggling and striving until they reached their current status in Changan. The gains and losses, the rise and fall, along the way were certainly hard to exin in a few words. Now suddenly they found out that everything that has been done in the past came to nothing. Their feeling right now could be very easy to imagine. For the first time Xu Ziling felt the pressure that Kou Zhong was experiencing. The name Shao Shuai has already blown and spread across the world. In this time of chaos, who did not want to follow the bright master who would unify the world, who would establish eternal endeavor, whose name would be passed on for all eternity? Kou Zhong was imposing, highly capable, and broad-minded, plus he was affectionate and true; naturally he possessed outstanding charisma that would make people willing to throw their life in to follow him. But at the end of the day everybody would have their own n, or be at the mercy of their own emotions. The aspirations and goals of the followers might, in turn, also control the person leading them. Like Xu Ziling at this moment, for example, for the first time he really wish that they could find the treasure-trove, although it was merely because he did not want Gao Zhandao, three men, to be disappointed. Zha Jie said, I am sure two Yeer will be able to find the treasure-trove. Niu Fengyi said, What exactly is the clue? Is it possible for Xu Ye to tell us? We have, after all, lived here for several years. Who knows? Perhaps we could help Shao Shuai and Xu Ye to cote and examine critically, and thus make our contributions. This was the first time that he directly inquired about the treasure-trove. Xu Ziling knew that if he still kept the secret and refuse to tell them, it would be akin to he did notpletely trust them. After considering the pros and cons, he made up his mind and said, The clue is Yue Ma Bridge, three words. At first we thought it was the riverbed at the bottom of Yue Ma Bridge, but now we think that the secret has something to do with the bridge itself. Gao Zhandao and the others originally thought that the two were in possession of some treasure map; turned out they were looking for the treasure-trove by looking for a fine horse using only a picture [idiom]. Hearing that the truth was simply like this, they were stunned speechless. Even Xu Ziling did not understand himself. This moment he really wanted to convince the three that he had more grasp of the clues and that he had more confidence in finding the treasure-trove to appease them. His mind went to Xuan Yong, Xu Xingzhi, Chen Changlin, Ren Meimei, Jiao Hongjin, and their men in Pengcheng. Even if Kou Zhongs treasure hunt failed, to retire as soon as he said he would retire, to wash his hand over the golden bowl C would be very difficult, because they had to take these peoples safety and state of mind into consideration. Xu Ziling has never given Kou Zhongs side of the equation an in-depth consideration; but this moment he suddenly gained deep understanding. Xu Ziling had nothing else to say. This moment he only wanted to leave as soon as possible. Compared to confronting these three men, suddenly his date with Shen Luoyan did not feel tooplicated anymore. Kou Zhong returned to his room. Old Master and Old Madames words urging him to stay still lingered in his ears, the Fifth Miss Sha Zhijings emotion showing in her eyes was still fresh in his mind. Compared to his resignation, his visit to the Qin Wang Mansion became insignificant. With meaningful and heartfelt words, he also advised Sha Tiannan to do everything he could not to be involved and drawn into the vortex of political power struggle, to use the wise man looks after his own hide method to keep himself as neutral as much as possible. Although it might not be the easiest thing to aplish, it was the smartest thing to do. Kou Zhong casually stepped into his room, a beauty was lying ocean-cherry-apple-spring [Trantors note: no idea :D] down on his bed. He already guessed that tonight, Wanwan could not possibly let him off; therefore, not the slightest bit surprised, he sat down by the bedside. And then, without the slightest bit of misgivings, he lightly pped her erect, brimming with sticity C buttocks, saying, Its daybreak! Niangzi [(dialect) form of address for ones wife], quickly get up. Wanwan moaned tenderly, she turned her tender body to face the other direction, lightly gasping for breath, she spoke in light and gentle whisper, Dont fuss! Quickly take off your clothes and shed your shoes, ande to bed! Astonished, Kou Zhong said, You dont serve me taking off my clothes, could it be that you want me to undress you? Wanwan crossly said, This is my first time; of course I want you to serve me. Kou Zhong whistled; he casually stood up, removed his outer robe, and tossed it haphazardly onto the chair, while saying with augh, In that case, as the husband, I wont be polite! But by all means, you must not, after Laozi get on the bed, pushing three and warding off four, so that I would be like an arrow on the bow, ready to be released but theres no target! Wanwanughed tenderly and said, Too much warning is superfluous. If you have enough guts, just get on the bed! Such a strong-in-appearance-but-weak-in-reality kid. Kou Zhong stopped his stripping action; he said dejectedly, Whatever you say! Why did youe here tonight? Seizing the total victory, Wanwan giggled, and then turned around to face him. With one hand propping her cheek, her pair of eyes brimming with smile, she stared at him and said, Who was so kind to swap your saber for you? Kou Zhong retreated to the imperial tutor chair leaning against the window; plopping his butts down, he spoke in displeasure, Could be Shi Zhixuan, could be Zhao Deyan, even Ning Daoqi, Li Yuan, Li Shimin ... Tell me, how do you want me to answer your question? Astonished, Wanwan said, Looking at your demeanor, your expression, you seem to know who did it? Kou Zhong mused inwardly that Wanwan was too familiar with his words and action, with his character; just by looking at his eyebrows, eyes and forehead, she easily saw through what was in Kou Zhongs mind. This was definitely not a good thing. Frowning, he said, Enough chitchat. I have more or less grasped whos the spy that you imnted in the Sha Family. If Wan Dajie does not make arrangement for her to disappear on her own, there wont be any good oue. He was purely inventing crazy nonsense and was bluffing; he wanted to spend a bit of effort on the Sha Familys behalf. The fact was that he neither had a way nor the time to investigate which member of the Sha Family belonged to Yin Gui Pai. Wanwan suddenly sat up straight. Her jet-ck eyebrows showing fiendish air, she said, You are powerless to defend yourself, yet you have the guts to mind our business. The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes greatly brightened, without yielding at all he met her gaze and coldly said, I am reminding you out of kindness; as for whatever Wanwan Dajie wants to do, Wan Dajie has absolute freedom to decide it yourself. Wanwan returned to her usual calm and unhurried, quiet and cold, apathetic demeanor. Sighing lightly, she said, Ay! You, this kid, death is really near at hand, you still dont want to repent. Who exactly swapped your saber? Kou Zhong did not dare to offend her since she was too formidable; joining her in sighing, he said, The most likely culprit is naturally Shi Zhixuan. Who did Wan Dajie think it was? Wanwan fixed her eyes on him with full attention for a moment before saying, This is a matter of great importance, why do you look like you dont care much? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, How could one person knowing be better than two persons knowing? Because there is a little bit ofpetition between the two of you, Ziling and I be a bit more valuable; am I right? Wanwans deep beautiful eyes flickered with bright and shiny light, but the tone of her voice remained calm; she said, Basically you guys do not have the sincerity to cooperate with us. Kou Zhong casually countered, Does your honorable Sect have the sincerity? Wanwan had never expected that Kou Zhong would dare to contradict her; slightly surprised, her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted as she said, What upset you today? Do you want to break up this business partnership? It wont bring either side any benefit. From our standpoint, since we cannot obtain the Holy Relics, we have no choice but to get rid of you by any means; it would be better than nothing. Now Kou Zhong dared to be one-hundred-percent sure that under these circumstances, Wanwan could not possibly reveal their tracks; the reason did not lie on the Demonic Emperor Relics, not because they have any pity toward the two boys even more, but because she was afraid of a new branch growing out of a knot [idiom:plications], destroying their conspiracy to overturn the Great Tang. Compared with the strife for supremacy over the world, the Demonic Emperor Relics could be considered nothing. If the hidden-treasure could not be found, then the fine bnce among various demonic schools would remain the same. With a slight smile, he said, I figured it out! If the turns of events is not too encouraging, I will escape out of Changan immediately, Wan Dajie ought to know that other things we may not be able to speak about, but our ability to escape is definitely not inferior to Shi Zhixuan. As long as the treasure-trove is still there, we could alwayse back some day to retrieve the treasure. Wanwan calmly-without-any-ripple, sketching-in-light-shades C said, If you leave, I will kill Sha Tiannans family, without leaving a chicken or a dog, without leaving a single mouth alive. Kou Zhong was amused inwardly; if she really had that intention, she could not possibly announce it publicly. In Jianghu, unless one was a desperate criminal, nobody would be willing tomit such a devoid-of-all-humanity crime, for fear of provoking public anger. Even if Yin Gui Pai was confident of their own formidability, but if they provoked Ning Daoqi or the Four Great Holy Monks level of martial art masters toe out and intervene, Zhu Yuyan would have to pack her food and leave before finished eating. If they really wanted to do it, they would do it in secret, and afterwards they would not leave the slightest bit of clue that other people could trace back to them. Laughing coldly, Kou Zhong said, In that case, Ziling and I will, when we see one Yin Gui Pai person C kill one Yin Gui Pai person, we see two well kill a pair. Lets see how many you could provide for us. The murderous intent in Wanwans pair of eyes ring greatly, she spoke heavily, Do you really want to set yourselves against us? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Now, this is you being overly sensitive. I just said those few words, you believe me. Just dont look at me like you are watching your prisoner. When we obtained the Holy Relics, and I am sure that you wont after crossing the bridge, pull the nk away, naturally I will hand over the Holy Relics into your hand. Wanwan softened down; she sighed and said, What I am most afraid of is that before you hand it over to our hands, Shi Zhixuan already snatch it away. Kou Zhong said, This is even easier to solve; after we get the hidden treasure out, we can leave the Holy Relics wherever it is, so that you, Wan Dajie could retrieve it yourself; wont it be to everyones delight and satisfaction? Wanwan shook her head and said, Nowadays the city is flooded with spies; you want to transport the hidden treasure out of Changan, that is just a vain attempt. Lets do it this way: I will go with you into the treasure-trove, after obtaining the Holy Relics, I will no longer care about your business. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, You dont seem to understand, now that you trust us, we dont trust you. Even if you give it to us, for us, Holy Relics has no use. All right! Lets go back one step. Well move the contents of the treasure-trove somewhere safe in the city, then well notify you to get the treasure. Well establish this oath by pping our hands, to guarantee that we wont eat our words to each other. But from this moment on, you can no longer follow behind me at night like diao xue gui [hanging-boots ghost], like gods appear and devils vanish. Wanwan spoke softly, You really dont want our help? If you have Shizun [revered master] and me holding the troops disposition, even if Shi Zhixuan makes his move to seize by force, you wont need to be afraid. Thats good, Kou Zhong replied, It is because both you and Shi Zhixuan are equally terrifying that Ie up with thispromise to satisfy rival demands. In case we break our promise, by carrying that much stuff, how far can we run? Wanwan said, I can take the responsibility for making the decision in response to Shao Shuais proposal. The only condition is that you must notify me which day, which time you are entering the treasure-trove. This request shouldnt be too much to ask! Kou Zhong nodded and said, Very reasonable and fair. But I cant tell you until tomorrow. Wanwan stared at his ugly face for quite half a day. On the pretty face suddenly bloomed a sweet, enchanting smile; she said, Waner suddenly got a feeling that previously you did not lie at all, because until this very moment, you, Kou Shao Shuai, still dont know where the treasure is. Am I correct? In his heart Kou Zhong shivered greatly. Not because Wanwan could see through the cards in his hand, but how did Wanwan suddenlye to this conclusion? What he just said shouldnt be the problem; therefore, Wanwan must knew something concerning the treasure-trove that even he did not know, hence under his ignorance he divulged this profound mystery, which enabled Wanwan to grasp what was actually happening. Otherwise, even if he was going to tell her tomorrow, it did not imply that he did not know where the treasure was. So where was the hup? On the surface however, naturally he would not show such emotional surge in his heart; smiling mysteriously, he slyly said, Your insight is so prating, because that is indeed the actual situation! All right, I have something important to do tonight, whether battle or harmony, lets settle it with one palm. With a smile on her face, Wanwan raised her sparkling and translucent, spotlessly white jade palm. With deep feeling she spoke leisurely, Waner is establishing an oath with you, Kou Zhong, with a p of our palms; let whoever vites this oath will have bad luck overlooking him, and let him not die a good death. Kou Zhong also raised his palm up. Book 34 - 10 – As the Water Recedes, The Rocks Appear The snow stopped. The moment Shen Luoyan steered the small boat off the pier, Xu Ziling arrived at the Fei Yun [lit. flying cloud] Bridge, which was smaller in scalepared to the Yue Ma Bridge. Looking south, over two river bends, was precisely the Yue Ma Bridge. Xu Ziling had a dj vu of that day in Luoyang; he felt as if everything before his eyes had happened before, but everything also felt strangely unfamiliar. Shen Luoyan lifted the oar to let the current brought the boat to gently bump into the bridge pier. She curled up her knees and wrapped her lily-white hands around them, and then she lowered her forehead and propped her head between her knees. Her bright and beautiful, yet carrying a bit of vicissitudes C eyes, under the new moons nting beam, which had just reappeared from behind the ck cloud, were fixed on Xu Ziling with full interest, but she did not say anything. Being at the receiving end of her stare, Xu Ziling felt awkward, but at the bottom of his heart he still admitted that Shen Luoyans posture and appearance were extremely moving. Smiling slightly, he said, Tonight Shen Junshi were asking me toe here, I wonder what instruction you would like to bestow? Shen Luoyan gently shrugged her shoulders, Nothing, she replied, I just wanted to see you! How old are you this year? I shouldnt be too much older than you are, my guess is probably two or three years older. This year you ought to be twenty-two or twenty-three, only after your birthday will you be considered one year older. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Shen Xiaojie seems to forget that she is now another mans wife. As friends, seeing each other should not be a problem, but if like right now, in the depth of the night, on a small boat under the bridge, it could provoke other peoples misunderstanding. Laughing softly, Shen Luoyan said, Are you saying that it should be no problem to reserve a table at the Fu Ju Lou, to see you under ten thousand of staring eyes? Xu Ziling was at a loss for words. Shen Luoyan stopped her smile; lowering her voice, she said, What I am about to tell you is very important, you have to listen carefully. Xu Ziling shivered greatly in his heart. He slightly nodded. Shen Luoyan spoke heavily, Last night, veryte at night, Qin Wang summoned Shiji. When he came back, Shiji told me that we are going to leave Changan on the second day of Lunar New Year. The original n was that we are going toe with Qin Wang to participate in the spring hunting on Mount Zhongnan. Without needing her to continue, Xu Ziling could guess what happened. Because Li Shiji was themanding officer of the remnant of Li Mis troops, it could be said that he was the only high-ranking military officer within Guanzhong with massive military force. Without the trouble of mobilizing the entire army division, he could easily make effective interception of Kou Zhong transporting the treasure away. Under the multitude-of-enemies, few-friends [idiom from Mencius] situation, plus being weighted down by the wealth, goods and treasure, even if he and Kou Zhong were more formidable than the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan, they would be helpless to do anything, and would only be fish and meat to the opposite side. The most brilliant part of this n was that it would absolutely not alert either Li Jiancheng or Li Yuanjis side. Shen Luoyan said, At first I thought Qin Wang was preparing to attack Luoyang, but unexpectedly Shiji did not want to divulge anything about the inside story of this mission to me at all, so that I am more sure than ever that the person he wanted to deal with is you. Xu Ziling did not know what to feel. Just now Li Shimin wanted them to call each other Xiong and Di [elder and younger brother, respectively], yet beneath the surface he was making arrangement to deal with them. However, it was also difficult to me him, because if he only made his move when they were leaving Changan, he did not break their agreement. Its just that in his heart, Xu Ziling did not feel toofortable. With his thought wandering, Xu Ziling casually asked, Why didnt you tell Kou Zhong directly this morning? Sketching it in light shade, Shen Luoyan replied, Because I wanted Xu Ziling to know that for his safety, Shen Luoyan is willing to betray her husband. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Shen Luoyan sat her tender body up straight, while covering her mouth as she said with augh, I was just teasing you! Dont take it too seriously. No one dares to say that you and Kou Zhong are fools, but I am very clear that you two are extremely muddleheaded; sometimes you got yourselves into the tip of the horn of a bull. I wonder if you have ever given any thought on the transportation issue, about how you are going to take the treasure out? With that pointer, Xu Ziling understood immediately. His tiger body slightly shook. Since arriving in Changan, all along they were in distress on how to find the treasures location, but they had neither the time nor the mood to think about this aspect, while in fact, transporting the treasure was equally important to finding the treasure. If there was no detailed n, they might fall into a no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat, at-a-loss-to-know-what-to-do situation. Gao Zhandao and the others might have a n, but it was no more than how to stealthily transport arge quantity of weapons and treasure out of Changan via the waterway, yet there was no ingenious n. Under the current situation, where there was an enemy soldier on every tree or bush, where every sound of the wind was a reflection of the crane, their n absolutely would not work. Based on Li Shimins shrewdness, surely they would find out Gao Zhandao and the others rtionship with the two boys. Shen Luoyan said, The way of the military expert is nothing more than using empty in ce of real, and using real in ce of empty. In term of strength, you guys are weak; you must not have direct confrontation with the enemy, only use the strategy of deploying troops to mislead the enemy. With your, Xu Zilings intelligence and wisdom, without anybody telling you, you ought to know what to do? Xu Ziling sincerely said, Thank you very much for the directions! Shen Luoyan went on, This morning Pang Yu found an excuse toe to pay a New Year call to us, he and Shiji talked in the study room behind closed door for the entire sichen, you know what kind of role Pang Yu is ying within the Heavenly Policy Mansion? Its precisely what I have been doing for Mi Gong [Duke Mi] in the past. Xu Ziling recalled that at the Heavenly Policy Mansion earlier, Pang Yu was the only one he did not see; turned out he was in charge of intelligence, investigation, infiltration, and other simr military duties, just like Shen Luoyan. If he was cooperating with Li Shiji, plus this ce was his territory, and on top of that, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs identity had been exposed, with clear distinction which one in the open and which one in the dark, his and Kou Zhongs transporting-treasure troops might be heavily besieged by Li Shiji. He started to understand the gravity of this matter. Revealing a grave expression, Shen Luoyan spoke in low voice, Ive heard rumors on the grapevine; do you want to hear it? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, With so many bad news, whats the harm in hearing one more? Shen Luoyan said, After acquiring the treasure, are you going to split way and scattering the goods [i.e. goods sent under the protection of an armed escort]? Xu Zilings heart tightened; he could no longer act indifferent toward Shen Luoyans so-called rumor on the grapevine. Nodding his head, he asked, What exactly is the matter? Shen Luoyan said, Ning Daoqi has answered Shi Feixuans request; after you guys split up, he is to force Kou Zhong, using all possible means, to withdraw from the strive over the world. Otherwise, if they let Kou Zhong safely return to Pengliang, even if he did not have the treasure, the worlds situation would have to be rewritten. In Li Shimins eyes, only Kou Zhong can terrify him. Xu Zilings hands and feet turned icy-cold, secretly musing that unexpectedly even Shi Feixuan was plotting against him. Although the one Ning Daoqi was going to deal with was Kou Zhong, but to him, it was no different than dealing with him, Xu Ziling, personally. No matter what, Kou Zhong was his brother, who was closer than his own flesh and blood. Although Shen Luoyan could not see his face, she could guess that behind the mask, his handsome face must have turned extremely unsightly. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Would Ning Daoqi act mercilessly? Shen Luoyan sighed faintly; she said, In order to let Li Shimin achieve his goal of unifying the world, if necessary, the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools, under the leadership of Ci Hang Jingzhai and Ning Daoqi, would definitely carry out extreme means. With Kou Zhongs martial art skill this day and age, who has the ability to capture him alive? Based on Ning Daoqis identity and status, he would disdain any cooperation with anybody else to deal with Kou Zhong. In that kind of situation, the danger that Kou Zhong is facing could be easily imagined. Otherwise, Xiuning Gongzhu would not have to borrow my mouth to warn you. Xiuning Gongzhu is hoping that Kou Zhong would rein the horse at the edge of the precipice [idiom: to act in the nick of time], to give up his idea of striving over the world, because it seems that this idea has be a deadly delusion to him. Xu Ziling was no longer in the mood to tarry here; he spoke gratefully, Xu Ziling will never forget Shen Junshis strong affection and profound thought. Tonight you came out to see me like this, arent you afraid you might provoke your revered-husbands suspicion? Shen Luoyan hung her cicada head down; she spoke softly, Dealing with such a trivial matter, I, Shen Luoyan, still have a bit of trick. Are you leaving? Please take a good care of yourself! After saying goodbye, Xu Ziling left the boat andnded on the shore. All of a sudden, his heart was filled with grievance, resentment and indignation; he made a firm resolution that if they obtained the treasure, he simply must help Kou Zhong transporting the goods and wealth back to Pengliang before he could partpany with Kou Zhong. This was not only because Kou Zhong was his brother, even more, it was because the anger out of sympathy toward the weak, who was fully experiencing bullying and humiliation. By the time Xu Ziling arrived at the Yue Ma Bridge, Kou Zhong was already there, searching the Yue Ma Bridge thoroughly one time through, yet still ended up empty-handed. Relying on his eyesight and sense of touch and intuition, which were a hundred times sharper than ordinary person, he nearly dare to be certain that this magnificent stone bridge did not have any mystery. After going through the washing ritual of the big snow, the city of Changan was once again covered in thick snow. Although each and every family was still decorated withnterns and colored banners, but this deep in the night, plus after the merriment of the previous night, this world-famous city has returned from brilliance to tranquility. asionally there was still the sound of firecrackersing from the depths of thenes and alleys, but it was a far cry from the grand asion of the Lunar New Years Eve the previous night. All around was silent with nobody in sight. The bitterly cold weatherpelled the patrolling guard to goof off inside their warm lookout posts. Hiding in the shadow under the bridge, Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a bitter smile, Its finished! Tomorrow I am going to return to the vige to open a food stall. Kou Zhong no longer has any share in striving over the world. This was originally the word that Xu Ziling wanted to hear the most. But as this moment he really heard it from Kou Zhongs own mouth, a difficult-to-describe feeling welled up in his heart, like the feeling of losing all his gambling chips on the gambling table, and while he was feeling miserable, the opponent, feeling fortunate, cast his eyesight on the misfortune. Xu Ziling took a deep breath and said, Lets get to the side and talk. Lets go! Kou Zhong replied. Xu Ziling followed Kou Zhong leaving the bottom of the bridge. They leaped onto the Fu Ju Lous set-up-on-high roof. This was the highest point in the area surrounding the Yue Ma Bridge. Unless somebody was leaping up like them, nobody would be able to see them. This was the safest ce. Kou Zhong sat on the roof ridge, staring fiercely at the magnificent stone bridge spanning the Yong An Grand Canal, connecting the two sides, down below, at an angle from the roof. The peculiar light in his pair of eyes was shing brightly, obviously he was extremely unwilling to ept this. Xu Ziling said, This is perhaps a sign that your life should not end; finding the treasure might make you running away in cmity. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What do you mean by that? Sighing inwardly, Xu Ziling decided not to say what Shen Luoyan told him. His gaze fell onto the bridge, he said, Supposing the purpose of the Duke Yangs Treasure was to provide Yang Su withrge quantities of goods and weapons in time of need, to be used to save his life in rebellion, then from the start, it ought to be easy and convenient to transport the weapons out of this treasure-trove to ground level. Kou Zhong nodded and said, You are right! If they needed three days and three nights to bring the stuffs from the treasure trove to the ground level, Yang Su would have been ughtered by Yang Jian early on. Xu Ziling analyzed calmly, Naturally the weapons are for his men, hence the exit must be in a courtyard house that can amodate arge number of soldiers. If the exit is at the bottom of Yong An Canal, or perhaps at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, it would only be a joke. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up; his gaze swept over the roofs, which were covered in heavy snow, and stopped at the Xi Ji Yuan [lit. west lodge garden, see Book 32 Chapter 12], the Changan residence where the Dugu n lived away from home. Nodding his head, he said, Courtyards that can contain several thousand men like that are not many. Although there are a lot of grand residences around the Yue Ma Bridge, Xi Ji Yuan upies thergest tract ofnd; it also has the best qualification to hide the troops. It is even a bit bigger than Wu Lou Si. Xu Ziling pondered, Evidently Wu Lou Si is not a good ce as an exit, unless the monks inside the temple are entirely Yang Sus men. This is certainly not possible. But why did Lu Xiansheng build such a Buddhist temple? Whats the purpose of this building? Growing dispirited, Kou Zhong said, I have a more outrageous thought; based on Lu Dashis intelligence and wisdom, if he was only designing an underground treasure-house, and the purpose was only to hoardrge quantities of treasures and weapons, it is really inconsistent with his style. Thats why he especially taught me about mechanism. Frankly speaking, under ordinary circumstances, how could I find the interest to delve into this kind of knowledge? He was forcing me to learn, so that his skill would not die out. Therefore, the way to enter the treasure-trove must be rted to the study of mechanism. Your so-called outrageous idea, is that it? Xu Ziling spoke crossly. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, That was just the introductory remarks. What I wanted to say is: Duke Yangs Treasure House is perhaps an underground fort, where advancing one can attack, retreating one can defend. I dare say that it has multiple gateways. Before the mechanism is activated, all gateways are closed. Therefore, even if the Li Familys people turn Changan upside down, they still cannot touch the treasure-troves shadow. The mechanism to open it must be on the Yue Ma Bridge; otherwise, before her death Niang would not possibly point out Yue Ma Bridge. The two boys gaze fell onto the six lookout pirs in the middle of stone bridge at the same time. Only these six lookout pirs had the roof carved into six stooping down, stretching forward outside of the bridge C stone dragon heads, the painting of the dragon dot, which looked like eyeballs, added unbounded liveliness to the peaceful stone bridge. The two boys exchanged nces; they saw the thought in each others heart at the same time. Whether it was a dragon or a snake, they would have to look at these six dragonheads. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, I know the reason Lu Xiansheng built Wu Lou Si! Kou Zhong responded, Must be for venttion. In time of need, Yang Su and his men could go to take refuge in the underground vault, and then escape from another secret path. My Niang! This ce is only several hundred zhang away from the city wall. One of the tunnel exit might be outside the city. Xu Ziling took a deep breath. Staring fixedly at the six dragonhead lookout pirs, he said, What do you think? You want to give it a try? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I am very much afraid. Xu Zilingughed involuntarily, Afraid? he said, Are you joking? Kou Zhong replied with a sigh, I really am very afraid. Afraid that the dragonheads might not budge at all, also afraid that when the dragonheads mechanism is activated the Changan underground would produce strange creaking and rumbling noise, so that the entire city would know that I found the Duke Yangs Treasure. Xu Ziling nearly doubled up inughter. Gasping for breath, he said, Fancy that you are still in the mood to crack jokes. Do you want me, this little apprentice, to test it on behalf of you, this mechanism expert? Revealing a smile full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Just now when I inspected them, I discovered that the construction of the six dragonhead lookout pirs is different from other lookout pirs. Instead of the entire pirs joined together, the column is embedded inside the hollow square pir. At that time I was already suspicious, but I did not think that it has something to do with mechanism; hence I skipped it over. Do you remember Lu Dashis secret room in the Flying Horse Ranch? After the mechanism was activated, the entire secret room unexpectedly sank underground. Xu Ziling took another deep breath. He said with augh, Come on Brother! Lets see whether we buy big and open big, or buy big and open small. [No idea, must be Chinese idiom] Just like when they were little, before doing anything important, the two boys always bumped their shoulder to each other; only then did they somersault down from the roof, and shed toward the Yue Ma Bridge under cover of darkness. They climbed the stone bridge and came between the six dragonhead lookout pirs. The two boys you-look-at-me-I-gaze-at-you, finally Kou Zhong reached out with both hands to grope around one of the dragonhead lookout pirs. A clump of ck cloud happened to float over from the southeast direction, covering the barely-there weak moonlight. The sound of gong announcing the night watch hour came from the distant ce. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, In Lu Dashis mechanism book, there are a total of more than a dozen different types of button switch to activate the mechanism. The most brilliant button switch will not show any difference before and after the mechanism is actuated. I hope these six dragonheads are of this type; otherwise, if all six dragonheads are facing the same direction, it would be thoroughly terrible. Xu Zilingughed and said, Dont you know that theres such thing as the revered masters important way? Watch out lest Lu Xiansheng wont bless you. Kou Zhong pushed a little. The dragonhead did not budge at all. He repeatedly exerted more force, twisting to the left and turning to the right, but the dragonhead still did not respond. Xu Ziling was not disappointed at all; he said in low voice, This is to be expected. Otherwise the mechanism would have discovered by many hands early on, and Lu Xiansheng did not need to teach you about mechanism. Quickly use your brains! I hate to let my hands off, Kou Zhong said, Can you go under the bridge to take a look? Button switch must have button lock; logically it ought to be under the bridge, not on the bridge surface. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, I did not study civil engineering and mechanism; how would I know how to open a lock? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I am not much better than you; otherwise just now I would have found the lock. Today your luck is much better than mine, Xiaodi cannot afford the blow of another defeat. A squad of patrolling soldiers wasing from the direction of the Western Market. The two boys quickly somersaulted down the bridge railing, and used their inner power to stick themselves under the bridge. Twelve patrolling troops strode up the bridge. Suddenly they stopped. One of them said, This heavy snow made men and birds hide from the cold, otherwise tonight would be very lively. The other menughed and swore. They all talked spiritedly, mentioningst nights majestic pomp in the Pce; evidently they were still immersed in the high spirit of the previous night. The two boys under the bridge were unable to take their eyes off the bottom of the lookout pirs. Focusing their power into their eyes, they faintly saw a faint trace of the circle where the column and the body of the bridge met. If it were not the target of their investigation, they might think it was just the grain of the stone and would overlook it. The patrolling troops, under their fervent anticipation, finally left. Kou Zhong excitedly said, My Niang! We got it! You do it. Xu Ziling freed his right hand. Applying his divine power, he used this thumb to press the center of the ring mark, and then exerting his strength, he pushed it upward. With a loud groan the column sank upward, creating a depression about two cun deep. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Sess! Xu Ziling said, This kind of button lock can be opened even without understanding the science of mechanics. There should be five more locks. Before he finished speaking, Kou Zhong already moved around the entire bottom of the bridge; using the fastest speed he found the other five button locks and set them in motion one by one. The two boys returned to the surface of the bridge. Again Kou Zhong held a dragonhead with both hands; muttering to himself, he exerted his strength. Pulled by him, suddenly the dragonhead rose nearly two cun. Greatly delighted, Xu Ziling said, Sess! Kou Zhong nervously said, Not yet. Shall we turn it to the left or twist it to the right? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling responded, You ask me, whom should I ask? There shouldnt be any difference? How could there be no difference? Kou Zhong replied, If we turn it the wrong way, perhaps the entire bridge would copse, and then we would be drowning dogs. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Twist it to the left then! Kou Zhong twisted it to the left, the dragonhead did not budge at all. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, This time it is indeed a sess! Applying his power to the right, the dragon pir obediently turned a circle. When Kou Zhong released his hands, the dragon pir was back to its original position. Indeed there was not the slightest difference from before. Blowing out a big mouthful of air, Kou Zhong said, What do I do next? This question, in this whole wide world, perhaps only Xu Ziling, one person C understood his real meaning. Book 34 - 11 – The First Appearance of the Dawn How do you feel? Xu Ziling asked. Pondering over it, Kou Zhong replied, The dragon pirs ought to be connected to steel rope, axle and wheel, or something like that. You should feel the vibration as it twisted and moved. Sweeping his gaze around, Xu Ziling still could not believe what had happened; he said, If these six dragonheads could indeed open a secret pathway in a certain building over a hundred zhang away, this is not just a coincidental snatching-the-heaven skill; it is absolutely shocking. Lu Xianshengs ability really had the gods-and-demons-cannot-fathom ingenuity. Breathing hard, Kou Zhong said, If I twist the other five dragon pirs like that, perhaps a secret entrance would appear inside the Xi Ji Yuan, and then wouldnt we just present a great gift to Dugu Feng [peak] for nothing? Xu Ziling replied, If that is the case, then you, Kou Shao Shuai is doomed to walk away in bad luck. But in my opinion, based on Lu Xianshengs conduct and style, that kind of scenario cant possibly happen. The rumor that the Jade Annulus of the He n and the Duke Yangs Treasure, whoever obtains one of them could obtain the world, ought to have some truth within it. The Jade Annulus of the He n need not be mentioned, because it was the seal of state that has been used since Qin Shihuang Ying Cheng. The Duke Yangs Treasure is in fact the underground base to be used to overthrow the Sui dynasty. Although obtaining the world seems to be an exaggeration, its real role shouldnt be too far off. Kou Zhong nodded his head in agreement. The Jade Annulus of the He n was the seal of state, the symbol of the imperial power. Furthermore, with its invaluable status, which origin was heavy with legend and myth vor, who would dare to doubt that only the Son of Heaven, ordained by heaven itself, would be worthy to obtain it? The Duke Yangs Treasure could make someone obtain the world; originally there was no basis behind it. But if one would stop to think about it, the current situation when Yang Su built the treasure-trove was that the world was the Yang Familys world; Changan was the capital of the Yang ns world. If there was a valiant military leader with his elite troops drawing out the weaponry from the underground treasure-trove and suddenly rising in revolt, he would have had a chance to force entrance into the imperial pce, and kill the then emperor of the Sui dynasty, Yang Jian. It was extremely likely that the legend that the Duke Yangs Treasure was the crucial point in obtaining the world was rted to this fact. One truth understood, a hundred reasons became clear. Because they figured out this point, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling started to understand the true meaning behind the three characters Yue Ma Bridge, they could see through the way to open the Duke Yangs Treasure. Ferociously clenching his teeth, Kou Zhong repeated the process with the other five dragonheads. After he finished with thest one, breathing heavily, he said, I am very nervous; could you give me a bit of encouragement? Xu Ziling said, Li Shimin has appointed Li Shiji to prepare an all-out effort to intercept your wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly in ambush] transporting the treasure. What? Kou Zhong blurted out, What kind of painful encouragement is that? Noticing that Xu Ziling only looked at him as if nothing had happened, he had no choice but to sigh and said, This can be called another form of encouragement. Now, even I am convinced that Li Shimin has the qualifications to be the emperor. If one is not sinister enough, not ruthless enough, its impossible to assert the follow me and you will prosper, oppose me and you will perish principle; Id better just return home to coax the children and sleep peacefully. If that is still not enough, there is still another present, Xu Ziling continued, Shi Feixuan is asking Ning Daoqi to, by all means, stop you from returning to Pengcheng, forever. This encouragement was obviously even more powerful. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong asked, Did Shi Feixuan tell you personally? Xu Ziling sighed and said, I wished she would personally talk to me, its a pity that this is not the case. Her public and private affairs are clearly divided, making my heart cold. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes emitted resolute and brimming-with-strong-self-confidence divine light as he slowly held up the dragonhead, and spoke word-by-word in heavy voice, Where did the informatione from? Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the flowing water under the stone bridge, he lightly said, It was your first-love sweetheart borrowing Shen Luoyans mouth to warn you, hoping that Shao Shuai could rein the horse just before the precipice, to avoid you falling into the toote-to-regret situation. Kou Zhong shook his head andughed hoarsely; he responded by action, by slowly turning the dragonhead. ck! The dragonhead returned to its original position. The entire bridge suddenly started to vibrate lightly, and did not stop until quite half a dayter. Were it not for the two boys were concentrating their attention, plus by relying on their acute senses, they might not even sense it. Kou Zhong craned his neck to look under the bridge; he said, The vibration ought toe from the riverbed and was transmitted upward. He had not finished speaking, strange ripples appeared on the surface of the water under the bridge. Apparently there was a strange change on the riverbed. There were also bubbles floating up and popping. Bewildered, Xu Ziling said, Thats impossible; we searched the riverbed everywhere, if there is an entrance, how could we miss it? Kou Zhong replied in great delight, The impossible matter has be the irond fact before our eyes. Well definitely have to go take a look. Dont you have the slightest bit of curiosity about the Demonic Emperor Relics? Xu Ziling watched the flowing water carefully, which was like a stream pouring into an empty hole underground. Shaking his head, he said, If after the secret path is opened the water of the canal is rushing into the storehouse, the treasure is going to be drown out. And then Lu Xiansheng would be the number one idiot in the world. Kou Zhong already removed his clothes, revealing the wet suit inside;ughing, he said, It makes sense. But when Ie back, Ill tell you the actual facts. Kou Zhong climbed back to the canals bank, and came to sit down by the hiding-in-the-dark-under-the-bridge Xu Zilings side. Raising his thumb up, he said, Ling Shao is indeed good, your assessment is more urate than me, this little master in the study of mechanism. Unexpectedly there are more than a dozen square holes appearing on the riverbed, the water is flowing into those holes. After the space underneath is full of water, the holes closed up. The ingenuity is more than you dare to believe. Lu Dashi must have used the water power [same character as in hydraulic] to activate a mechanism somewhere, which will open the secret path. Xu Ziling said, Therefore, we are only half-sessful. Only if we could find the real entrance of the secret path will we have the chance to go in and explore. Ay! I am really worried that your mechanism knowledge is not up to par; if you implicated Xiaodi that I am trapped underground, and I have to beat the wall and tap the rampart to call people to rescue me, it will be the most ridiculous joke since the world began. Evidently Kou Zhong was in a very good mood; heughed and said, Heaven helps the worthy. Even if I am like Lu Dashi, an educated celestial being, I still need to look at Laotianyes mood. Ay! I cant wait even a moment longer; Id better go to Xi Ji Yuan to grope around. Thest insulting thing that Xiaodi have to do is to temporarily stop the asthma of You wupo [loathsome granny]. To want something in haste, but cannot get there [idiom from Analects: more haste, less speed], Xu Ziling said, The only thing you need to do now is to return to the Sha Mansion and have a good night sleep, to recover enough spirit, tomorrow disguise yourself as the divine doctor to serve You Pozi [old woman]. Helpless, Kou Zhong asked, Where are you going then? The secret nest is no longer a secret nest; wouldnt it mean you have no home to return to? I can go to Gao Zhandaos ce to pacify their heart, Xu Ziling replied, Also to guard against they bing the enemys target. Reluctant to part, Kou Zhong stared resolutely at the water of the canal for a few moment before saying, Tomorrow I am going to look for the secret passages real entrance. In the evening I am going to bring wine into the treasure-trove to drink to our hearts content with you to celebrate. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, thinking that celebrating was really too early, because their real trouble has just begun. Kou Zhong woke up at daybreak. The first thing in his mind was the Dugu ns Xi Ji Yuan; promptly he climbed out of bed, freshened up and changed clothes. He was going to take advantage while Sha Tiannan and the rest have not woken up to sneak out of the Sha Mansion, but he ran into the Fifth Miss Sha Zhijing at the za of the outer courtyard. With several bodyguards [orig. protector of the courtyard] waiting upon her, she was testing an extraordinarily spirited grey horse, but he did not see Chen Laiman and Mao Shichang, the two bodyguard chiefs. Chances are they went to escort the Second Young Master Sha Chenggong to check the receiving of the firearms. Seeing Kou Zhong, Sha Zhijing cheerfully called out, Mo Xiansheng, what do you think of my horse? This was the first time that Kou Zhong saw her wearing warrior outfit. Although her heroic spirit was stillcking, but her charm was abundant, her brightness dazzled others. Blurting out without thinking, he said, Horse is good, the person is even better. Only after seeing that after hearing what he said Sha Zhijings pretty face was blushing did he remember his status as the ugly divine doctor; inwardly he cursed himself for being muddleheaded. With the bodyguard holding the horses head down, Sha Zhijing, like a model, swung off the horse, and shyly came to him. Glowering at him, she said, Turns out other than brilliant medical skill, Mo Xiansheng is also proficient in teasing others. Mo Xiansheng is about to leave on a long journey, there will be a lot of people in Changan that will be extremely disappointed. Averting her gaze, Kou Zhong looked at the clear sky after being washed with one full day of big snow; he said, A year at thetest, half a year at the soonest, I maye back to Changan to visit Laoye and Xiaojie. Slightly displeased, Sha Zhijing said, We have just celebrated the New Year; cant you stay a bit longer? Zhijing has not had any chance to consult Xiansheng on problems rted to the art of healing. I am your little disciple! Thest sentence was brimming with withdrawn, tender feeling, which wasing from Sha Zhijings mouth for the first time since they met. Kou Zhong had no doubt that just like Dugu Feng [phoenix], Sha Zhijing also fell for him, this ugly divine doctor. Changing the subject, he said, This is an excellent horse; where did ite from? Sha Zhijing lightly moved her jade steps toe over to the horse. Full of affection she reached out her delicate hand to gently caress and stroke the horses head, creating a touching picture of a fine horse and a beauty. Laughing sweetly, she said, This is a Tujue horse. I changed its name to Xiao Fei [little flying], it was given by Ke Dage. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Taken aback, Sha Zhijing asked, Is there any problem? Kou Zhong nearly held his head in his hands and cried for the pain, musing inwardly that could it be that Ke Dazhi was drooling over Sha Zhijings beauty? And then after recalling the Second Young Master Sha Chenggong might not spare anything, might not shy away from any method to destroy any wild schemes Ke Dazhi had toward Sha Zhijing, he felt a bit better. However, with his mouth he said, Theres no problem, I just did not expect Wu Xiaojie to know Ke Dazhi; thats all. Sha Zhijing said, It was Dong Guifei [senior concubine/imperial consort] who introduces us. Ke Dage is an outstanding hero, his saber technique is formidable, before he came to the Central ins he already beat everybody in Tujue and did not have any match. Kou Zhong mused that this inurate information must be from Dong Shuni, bragging to Sha Zhijing on behalf of Ke Dazhi; otherwise, no matter how arrogant Ke Dazhi was, he would not dare to say that he surpassed Wu Zhun Bi Xuan, who ranked among the Three Great Grandmasters of the world. What evil intentions might Dong Shuni have toward Sha Zhijing? He was too busy to look after this matter; he neither had the time nor the leisurely mood to mind this kind of other peoples business, but not caring about it, his heart felt uneasy; the contradiction was heavy. This kind of highest quality warhorse was more valuable than gold, so this was obviously a serious gift. This moment the First Young Master Sha Chengjiu rushed over from inside the residence, saying, Mo Xiansheng is going out? Seeing that everybody in the Sha Family, from top to bottom, was so tense over him leaving, inwardly Kou Zhong was not without any emotional stirring. Nodding his head, he said, I am going to treat Dugu Lao Furens [old madam] asthma; we can talk when I get back. Sha Zhijing happily said, I have not paid a New Year call to Lao Furen; why dont Zhijing go together with Xiansheng? Again Kou Zhong cried Headache! inwardly. Fortunately Sha Chengjiu spoke up, Zhijing forgot that today you are supposed to go with Niang to Dong Da Si to burn incense and worship? Sha Zhijing pouted; she turned to apologize to Kou Zhong, Zhijing cannot apany Xiansheng! Kou Zhong cheered inwardly. Using the excuse that it was not too far, he also tactfully declined Sha Chengjius offer to have him take the carriage. And then he stepped out of the Sha Familys main gate. The street was still lively with the New Year celebration atmosphere; there was the sound of cracking whips everywhere. The sound of hoof beats came from behind; without even need to look back, Kou Zhong already knew who wasing. Sure enough, under escort of several Tujue warriors, Ke Dazhi came to his side and said with a smile, Wishing Mo Xiansheng all the best for the New Year, may every year is better than the previous ones. Kou Zhong turned around to look at the perched-high-on-the-horse-back, urging-his-horse-to-walk-slowly-by-his-side Tujues young martial art master. Pretending to be smiling bitterly, he said, Ke Xiong, how are you? Its just that Xiaodis situation iscking in improvement, ample in staleness. Does Ke Xiong have any good advice to bestow? Seeing his expression, Ke Dazhi was sure that Lei Jiuzhi was still trapped in the supreme penalty of Seven Needles Controlling the Mind. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, Shen Yis miserable plight is only temporary. We, Tujue people, have a saying, after the wind and the snow, the grass grow especially robust. Would Xiansheng have the time toe with Dazhi to see someone? Kou Zhong suddenly knitted his brows; pretending to be puzzled, he said, Do you, Tujue people, have proverbs like pleasure from helping others? In vain you nurture an ultra martial art master of the demonic school, what benefit does it bring you? Ke Dazhi calmlyughed and said, I admire people that are as candid as Xiansheng the most. Xiansheng may set your heart at ease, we have appropriate measure. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, I have done my duty to remind my friends. Ke Xiong, please lead the way. Ke Dazhi barked his order to get a horse for Kou Zhong to ride. The group of riders turned the horses head around to gallop slowly in the direction of the Foreign Guesthouse. Riding side-by-side with Ke Dazhi, Kou Zhongughed and said, If someone asked Xiaodi, why did I go to the Foreign Guesthouse with Ke Xiong, how should Xiaodi respond? Ke Dazhiughed aloud and said, Speaking about this kind of ability, Ol Ke is really seeing only the other riders dust and have no hope of catching up [idiom: to be far inferior]; but for the sake of consistency, naturally Xiansheng will say that you are going to the Foreign Guesthouse to treat someone by the name of Yan Chede. He fell ill only yesterday, and Taizi Dianxia is also aware of this matter. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Formidable! Zhao Deyans attention to details certainly could not be underestimated. He himself was brilliant in terms of big things, but he was muddleheaded in small things, hence he was showing w by having his treasured saber letting out the secret. Ke Dazhi looked at him and said, Xiansheng has not thanked me? Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What did Ke Xiong do that benefited Xiaodi? Ke Dazhi slyly said, Were it not for Ol Ke taking the lead yesterday, perhaps Xiansheng would never leave the Persian Holy Temple! Kou Zhong mused, so what if you want to be recognized as the first and I am recognized as the second; who was high and who was low, it would be seen clearly in the future. He smiled and said, Ke Xiong was letting me win, naturally Xiaodi is very grateful. But Xiaodi is ustomed to keep my gratitude toward others hidden in my heart, hence it led to Ke Xiong having a misunderstanding. Ke Dazhi was unclear whether Kou Zhong was really grateful or was mocking him, he did not pursue this matter further. Kou Zhong giving prominence to troops appearing suddenly, he said, I wonder if each time Ke Xionges across a beautiful girl you love to present your distinguished countrys famous colt as a gift? Ke Dazhi was slightly caught off guard. The refined light in his pair of eyes flickering, he looked at him and spoke in heavy voice, Ol Ke has an advice Id like to give Xiansheng as a present, which is, do not mind other peoples business. Dont say that Ol Ke did not state it in advance. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, It seems like Ke Xiong has not figure out who I am. Thest statement, I wonder if in this matter Ke Xiong could do it for Xiaodis sake. Ke Dazhi turned his gaze ahead of the horses head, his eyes fell onto the end of the long street, where the neighborhood gate was in sight. He was silent for half a day, and then he shook his head and said, I wonder if Xiansheng is also unclear what kind of man I, Ke Dazhi, am? Ke Dazhi does whatever Ke Dazhi wants to do, he will never be swayed by other people interfering his business. The two mens gaze met, they both were able to see the intense murderous aura, which was shing in the others eyes but quickly died out. Xu Ziling went to Yu He An but did not see Shi Feixuan; he was heaving a sigh of relief instead. Since finding out that Shi Feixuan had asked Ning Daoqi to undertake the task of dealing with Kou Zhong, so that he would never return to Peng Liang, in his heart he felt extremely ufortable. Although knowing that Shi Feixuans standpoint in this regard has never changed, it was still difficult for him to feel at ease. And then there was also the hidden feeling of being betrayed. If Kou Zhong was defeated and killed on the battlefield in an open decisive battle, naturally for this reason he would feel a sense of loss and would be broken-hearted! But in no way would he seek revenge against Li Shimin. Kou Zhong has made his own decision to strive for the world to be the emperor; he should have thought that this might be one of the possible endings. But Shi Feixuan, due to she had urate grasp on the two boys information, was using this method to setup a n to deal with Kou Zhong. He felt that it was very difficult to understand her. This incident has caused an irreparable crack between he and Shi Feixuan. Lei Jiuzhi was lying on a clean bed in a quiet room. His countenance was pale, but his spirit could be considered not bad. Xu Ziling sat on the edge of the bed, he said, Lei Dage feels better? Smiling wryly, Lei Jiuzhi replied, I have been dead and came back to life. Yesterdays experience was just too terrifying, unexpectedly there is such torture method in this world, stimting the meridians in your entire body, yet you cant even move half a finger, other than blinking your eyes, which you could barely aplish. Honestly, if you did not rescue me back, I would have sumbed if only for the sake of seeking death. Who did it? Xu Ziling asked. Shaking his head, Lei Jiuzhi said, When the man was doing it, he had my eyes covered, I couldnt see anything. This mans technique both in using needles and applying power are extremely brilliant; he is a first-ss master. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, We found the clue to the hidden treasure. Really? Lei Jiuzhi said in great delight. After giving him brief exnation, Xu Ziling said, Although we have not found the entrance, we are not as clueless as before. Lei Jiuzhi signaled Xu Ziling to help him to sit up. Muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Since it is activated by hydraulic power, it may be rted to water. You could pay particr attention to the water itself or ces with water. My guess is that the process of entering the treasure-trove might involve dangerous mechanism; definitely nothing that human power is capable of resisting. Only after reaching the treasure-troves mechanism room would you be able to gain ess to the other safe passages. I am too aware of Lu Shis character. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Lu Xiansheng loves to take advantage of the power of nature the most, which is evident in his architectural style. Lei Dages suggestion is very useful. Lei Jiuzhi said, Shi Guniang has juste to see me. This time it was entirely due to her upholding justice and undertaking this task, otherwise I would have dragged you down. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. He said, This time I aming here to take you out, and then immediately send you to a safe ce, so that Lei Dage could have a good rest. Stunned, Lei Jiuzhi said, Wasnt Shi Guniang going to take me outside the Pass? Xu Ziling sighed inwardly again; shaking his head, he said, Since we have the ability to do so, why would we want to trouble an outsider? After Lei Dage recovers, I will meet up with you, together we will root out the Xiang Family. This time, the criminal ringleader, the main offender who harmed you is precisely Xiang Yushan. Lei Jiuzhis pair of eyes emitted deep hatred, but then he weakly closed his eyes, and with a barely audible voice he said, Even without this enmity, I would never let Xiang Gui, father and son, off. You guys be careful. After I am gone, if you feel it is beyond your reach and power, dont force yourselves to do it. Tell Kou Zhong, with his drive and enthusiasm, powerful talent and great nning, even without Duke Yangs Treasure he would still be able to aplish it. Xu Ziling turned his gaze toward the serene garden outside the window, thinking to himself that that was exactly what Shi Feixuan feared would happen. Especially that now Kou Zhong has obtained the Heavenly Saber Song Ques full support; one old the other young, two men joined together, who in the world would not be afraid? Suddenly, he empathized with the helplessness and contradiction in Shi Feixuans heart. Book 34 - 12 – Demonic School’s Heretical Commander Kou Zhong followed Ke Dazhi into the Foreign Guesthouse; passing through the main hall, he saw that along the way, everybody was a Tujue. Taking casual look, they all looked alike to him, but none did not reveal revered expression when they saw Ke Dazhi. When they set foot on the winding corridor leading to the inner courtyard, Ke Dazhis men no longer followed them behind, leaving only the two of them walking along the corridor. All around there was no one else in sight; it was abnormally quiet. Ke Dazhi said, Surely Shao Shuais guts surpass others; do you believe firmly that if we have a fall out and fight, you still have the confidence that you can still break the siege and leave? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Confidence, that I must have; whether it will be effective or not, thats another matter altogether. I just think that you guys cannot be that stupid. If you fight right now, what good will it bring you? Laughing involuntarily, Ke Dazhi said, We could capture Shao Shuai. Shao Shuai surely knew that we havee kind of method that will make any man of steel surrender. Kou Zhong replied, Killing me, you might still be able to do, but capturing me alive, that is definitely impossible. Would Ke Xiong like to give it a try? Extremely sharp light suddenly appeared on Ke Dazhis pair of eyes, but it quickly vanished; he spoke coldly, Its a pity that everything today will be up to Yan Shuai mander Yan] to decide. Otherwise Ol Ke would like to y with Shao Shuai for a round; it will certainly be an extreme delight. Both Kou Zhongs heart and hands were itching at the same time; with overflowing excitement he said, Ke Xiongs proposal really teases people to their death. Perhaps Id better mention it first to Yan Shuai; as long as we both promise not to harm the others life, it shouldnt hinder the overall situation. This was the first time Ke Dazhi came across someone who was eager to ept his challenge; he was hesitating instead. Not because he was afraid of Kou Zhong, but he knew his own problem. Once he started to fight hard, he practically did not have the capability to hold his hands back. He sighed and said, Today it is really not suitable to have a martial artpetition; otherwise, if Shao Shuai suddenly lose an arm, how can I exin it to Taizi Dianxia? This is Ol Kes situation. Kou Zhong also knew that they had urgent business to attend to, he should not deliberatelyplicate the issue. In fact, he had already made up his mind to seize an opportunity to take Ke Dazhis little life, to weaken Zhao Deyans sides strength, but oneyer deeper was actually for Sha Zhijings sake. With Zhao Deyans style of conduct, he could not possibly, just because Ke Dazhi lost his life C disregard everything to seek revenge against him, so much so that he even gave up the Demonic Emperor Relics. Although Ke Dazhi regarded Kou Zhong as a formidable opponent, the fact was that he actually did not have any malice toward him, naturally he did not expect that Kou Zhong would have his heart set to kill him. Pity! Kou Zhong cried inwardly; in the end he failed to force Ke Dazhi to immediately make his move in a stake-it-all battle. Ke Dazhi turned left into a gravel path passing through the rear garden, lined with trees covered in icicles, where he faintly saw the silhouette of a building, and behind the building was the rear courtyard wall. The atmosphere was quiet and secluded. High, straight, tall and thin Zhao Deyan, was standing with his hands behind his back on the top of the steps in front of the door. His as-sharp-as-a-knife gaze, prating his so-narrow-that-it-became-a-slit eyes C was looking at Kou Zhong. His body, from head to foot, emitted some kind of hard-to-describe overbearing, as well as demonical C aura, giving chill to those who looked at him. Without yielding the slightest bit Kou Zhong met his gaze, the corner of his mouth exposed a hint of smile, brimming with challenge and disdain look. He reached up to his face to remove his mask, andughed aloud with heroism reaching to the clouds, and said, I regard you as an outstanding figure, so lets talk less chitchat. If you, Zhao Deyan, want to get the Holy Relics, then you must immediately dissolve the sorcery you carried out on my Xiongdis body; otherwise, we could stop talking right now. Zhao Deyan, who was still two zhang away, raised his thumb and praised, Good! A hero out of the youths! Although this person has read ten million peoples, a figure like Kou Shao Shuai, who suddenly be like a divine dragon, suddenly be like a fierce tiger C is actually rarely seen. No wonder Shao Shuai is able to move all around the world unhindered; turning your hand over you make the clouds, flipping your hand over you make rain. But I, Zhao Deyan, have never believed anybody that easily. I wonder if Shao Shuai have any proposal that will make this person believe that after saving the man, Shao Shuai would keep your promise and hand over the Holy Relics. Kou Zhong moved forward inrge strides toward him, but Ke Dazhi stayed behind and did not follow. On the surface, Zhao Deyan did not make the slightest movement, but Kou Zhong knew that his vignce was at the highest level, in an instant his momentum has been elevated to its peak. However, Kou Zhong had already encountered this kind of power in the other martial art masters of the demonic way, up to Zhu Yuyans level. Upon self-examination, Kou Zhong realized that it was still difficult for him to amass his power to its peak within a few steps. Purely in term of inner power, Zhao Deyan was really above him, Kou Zhong. Murderous aura rose up severely. Layer uponyer of qi power from Zhao Deyans body burst forth like rapid waves and rolling billows toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong halted his steps while hastening up his qi power to resist Zhao Deyans astonishing pressure. This halting his steps was carefully nned; if under the increasing thunder Kou Zhong was half a stepte, as he was drawing his qi, Zhao Deyan would be forced to make his move. Kou Zhong stopped right outside this alert level. The two stood opposite of each other, about a zhang apart, neither giving way to the other. The atmosphere immediately tightened, carrying the it-could-happen-at-any-moment momentum. Watching from behind, Ke Dazhis eyes emitted zing expression. Since he arrived at the Central ins, this was still the first time that he encountered anybody with ample aggressiveness like Kou Zhong, an outstanding character who was showing off his ability, who was seizing the upper hand everywhere. Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes emitted fierce and severe divine light, he stood erect proudly like deep pavilion, towering peak, and spoke calmly, Yan Shuai has yed a sinister, damaging, and cruel trick on my brother Lei Jiuzhi. How do I know that after the person was rescued, there wont be any residual effects in the future? Therefore, if Yan Shuai did not save him first, we could forget about everything. My name, Kou Zhong, these two characters C is the goldcquered signboard of my guarantee. Zhao Deyan nodded and said, Kou Shao Shuais words are reasonable. But the stakes are high, plus Shao Shuai is definitely not someone who would surrender so willingly, how could I dare not to guard against Shao Shuai ying tricks? Although I, Zhao Deyan, am not a virtuous or trusted man, furthermore, I always disdainpassion, duty, propriety and integrity C that set of hypocritical sayings, but I am a man who speaks mouth and teeth. As long as the day after tomorrow before the xu hour [7-9pm] in the evening Shao Shuai bring the man and the Holy Relics at the same time, I can guarantee that after resting for some moonlight scenery, Lei Xiong will recoverpletely. Kou Zhong rejoiced secretly, knowing that his bluff has shown some result, Zhao Deyan believed firmly without any doubt that Lei Jiuzhi was still under control of the Seven Needles Controlling the Mind. Suddenly he retreated. Zhao Deyans body shed; atst his sinister acute eyes showed astounded expression. It should be noted that as the two men stood in opposition, their qi momentum was controlling each other; getting away was easier said than done. But before retreating, using lightning-fast speed Kou Zhong shed to the left and right each, and then like a fish struggling free of the fishing, he got away, disying a brilliant shenfa and intelligence. Kou Zhong dared to be one-hundred-percent sure that Xiang Yushan was hiding inside the house, listening to him and Zhao Deyans exchange, helping Zhao Deyan to discern the authenticity of what he was saying. Inside the house, there ought to be other Tujue martial art masters, such as Kang Qiaoli. If Xiang Yushan believed that Lei Jiuzhi has been freed from the peculiar technique of the Seven Needles Controlling the Mind, he would surely notify Zhao Deyan, and then immediately the whole army woulde out to capture Kou Zhong alive by all means. Naturally this would only be thest-resort policy. It was some kind of martial art masters intuition. The qigong Kou Zhong trained was from the Secret to Long Life, the Taoist Schools most mysterious and marvelous. Although could notpare with Xu Zilings acute and effective senses, but since he was concentrating his attentionpletely, he could still generate some reaction. From the moment he saw Zhao Deyan standing outside the door, immediately warning bells went off in his heart, knowing that someone was secretly monitoring him. Suddenly an extremely daring idea popped up in his head; supposing he crashed inside through the window, could he, before the others rendered their assistance, strike and kill Xiang Yushan? Noticing that he was silent and did not speak, Zhao Deyan thought that he could not make up his mind. With serious expression, he said, Shao Shuai is worried that we might go back on our word, but its because you dont understand our true position. For us, the Eastern Tujue, anybody who is setting himself against Li Shimin will certainly receive our full support. Kou Zhong was amused inwardly, while cursing Zhao Deyan for regarding him as an idiot. Only because Kou Zhongs rtionship with Tuli Khan, the Eastern Tujues Xieli Great Khan already detested him to the bones. Xieli might support Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidou, even Wang Shichong and Xiao Xian, but he would never support him, Kou Zhong. Because who in the world did not know that Kou Zhong only dominated people, but no one could dominate him. What Xieli wanted was a puppet who would obey him, who would satisfy his plot to invade the Central ins. In the history of the Central ins, foreign tribes of the northwest have never suspended their wild fantasy of invading and upying the Central ins. The only question was whether they had the strength to invade. Until now, he was still unclear about the rtionship between Zhao Deyan and Xiang Yushan. Assuming the Xiang Family threw their full support on the Eastern Tujue, Xieli would immediately gain all thetest intelligence about changes and developments in the Central ins, which previously has been beyond his imagination. In the past, Xieli could only ce his people in certain position in each major city in the Central ins, and the information they obtained could not be very confidential and critical; moreover, most would only be rumors. But the Xiang Family started their enterprise during Yang Guangs reign. In the open, they were operating pleasure houses and casinos; in the dark, they were trafficking women, with ws and teeth [fig.ckeys] everywhere. Therefore, their intelligencework was faultless; they even dared to boast that it was unparalleled in the world. If Xieli obtained Xiang Gui, father and son, to be his eyes and ears, ws and teeth, naturally it would be two things that cannot be spoken on the same day. Therefore, no matter from which angle he was looking at it, he simply must wipe out the Xiang Familys power thoroughly. Kou Zhong started to understand a little why Xiang Yushan was involved in the conspiracy against Li Shimin. He looked straight at the refined light from Zhao Deyans pair of eyes, which was turning brighter, and spoke word-by-word, I believe Yan Shuais word this time. If Yan Shuai eat your own words, hereby I, Kou Zhong, swear that I will disregard everything, by fair means or foul, to retaliate. At first the murderous intent in Zhao Deyans eyes was shing, but it stopped immediately; evidently he was struggling hard to suppress his rage. Laughing evilly, he said, Shao Shuai, dont worry. I, Zhao Deyan, call one as one, two as two. Otherwise, how could I unite the troops and convince the masses? From behind, Ke Dazhi also reminded, When Shao Shuai have both the person and the Holy Relics delivered, we will implement the technique to save the man. By all means, you must not beter than the xu hour of the third day of the New Year; otherwise, even Da Luo Shenxian would be powerless to help. Kou Zhong let out a cold snort. Pretending to be deeply dissatisfied but helpless, he turned around to leave. Zhao Deyan, who was now behind him, raised his voice to say, Shao Shuai may leave in peace; Deyan wont see you off! The Moon in the Well has already been returned to its original ce, Shao Shuai may check and receive it. Kou Zhong sighed in his heart. Were it not for Xu Ziling fortunately rescued Lei Jiuzhi back, also luckily Shi Feixuan knew how to dissolve the torture, this time he would certainly be forced to go home without the power to hit back at all. In the final analysis, all these problems stemmed from Xiang Yushan, that kid. Although his martial art skill was only so-so without anything special, his treachery and craftiness definitely surpassed any marvelous power, strange skill. Perhaps it was Su Jies soul and spirit blessed and protected them; otherwise, this time they would fail and would be wiped over the floor without knowing that they were actually defeated under Xiang Yushans hands. He would send Lei Jiuzhi over. At that time, just like this time, Xiang Yushan would definitely preside over the matter from the side. And that would be the best chance to kill him. Xu Ziling personally escorted Lei Jiuzhi leaving the city secretly via the water. Along the way, he nted his men to watch from high ces on both sides of the river. Only after making sure that nobody followed did he abandon the boat to go ashore. The n was to hasten for half a day, and then caught a boat on a tributary of the Yellow River. As long as they could reach the Great River, they would not be far from sess. Now that all the major powers in Changan were somewhat busy, plus he obtained the Heavenly Policy Mansions support in secret, were it not for he was afraid the Tujue and the Xiang Family would find out, he basically did not need to use so many ways to fool peoples eyes and ears. Lei Jiuzhi was hiding in the darkpartment of a mule cargo cart. Even after self-examination, Xu Ziling could not see any ws. The most wonderful thing was that the brothers driving the cart had already put down roots locally at the nearby vige for nearly two years; they even had wives and children. They had already separated themselves from Shuang Long Bang, it was only now that they were asked to help. Before closing the darkpartment, Lei Jiuzhi said, I nearly forget to tell you: yesterday Hong Furen sent her man to notify you that the gambling party has been cancelled, saying that she would let you know when the new arrangement is made. She ought to do so, Xu Ziling remarked, Lei Dage need not be worried about us anymore; get a good rest. In the future we will crisscross the casinos again, to kill their Xiang Family until they are utterly defeated. After Lei Jiuzhi was safely carried away, Xu Ziling and Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, Zha Jie, and the other brothers boarded their fishing boat again to return to Changan. Since the previous night Gao Zhandao and the others have found out that the Duke Yangs Treasure already began to take shape, which washed away their dispirited mood, so that they now became officers and soldiers waiting to follow orders, their mood was high, their demeanor opened up. After sending off Lei Jiuzhi, Xu Zilings mind rxed and felt peaceful. Surveying the beautiful scenery on both banks, he felt leisurely and contented. The river breeze blew, the icy-cold air that it brought greatly shook the peoples spirit. Gao Zhandao asked, Is there any ce where Xu Ye wants to use us now? Since the three of them surrendered to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, although all along the news pertaining to these two young leaders that they received has been off and on, they knew that their fame and power were flourishing more by the day, their momentum was unstoppable, but at the end of the day, theycked the opportunity to fight alongside them. Until this time, the two boys sneaked into Changan and treated Changan like a y ce; this has won them over. And then Lei Jiuzhi was suddenly being captured, but as if they were conjuring magic trick, these two boys immediately rescued him back. This made them revered these two boys like deities even more. And now that once again the Duke Yangs Treasure had a ce to settle, their morale was greatly aroused, they were ready to die for them. Naturally it was not difficult for Xu Ziling to remember You Niaojuans tragic death; he also recalled Jin Huanzhen, as well as Zhou Laotan, whose trace has not appeared. He thought to himself that if he had a pair of highly skilled hands like Hou Xibai, which could paint vivid and lifelike portrait of anybody, he would paint Zhou Laotans portrait, so that he could have Gao Zhandao and the others search for him, and not let him hide beneath the surface, withdrawing his head like a turtle. He spoke heavily, For the time being, you guys wont be in danger. But it is highly likely that you are under the watchful eyes of the enemy, including the Heavenly Policy Mansion. Therefore, if, under the enemys strict surveince, you could suddenly disappear, it would be like doing us a great favor, so that we wont have any fears of trouble in the rear, and we will upy the invincible position. Niu Fengyi spoke in low voice, Our time in Changan for the past few years has not been in vain. In our current hiding ce, theres a secret passage that extends for more than ten zhang long, connecting it to the backyard of the neighboring courtyard house. The most splendid thing is that the people in that courtyard house have no knowledge of this at all. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, If the enemy were to take advantage while you were out to enter and search the house, would they find the secret passage? Zha Jie replied, There will always be people in the house, plus the entrance to this secret passage has been carefully designed, its not easy to find. We have also made special arrangement that if anybody ever opened the entrance, it would not be hidden from us. Gao Zhandao said, The problem is that we made this secret passage to flee for our lives, so after we escape from the secret passage, we must immediately leave the city, otherwise the enemy would be able to link it back to us. Xu Ziling smiled and said, How about you hide inside the Duke Yangs Treasure House? Stunned, Gao Zhandao and the others looked at each other. I am not joking, Xu Ziling said, The Duke Yangs Treasure House is an underground military base, meticulously designed by Yang Su with the help of Lu Miaozi. In time of need, he wanted to use it to overthrow the Suis Emperor Wen, Yang Jian. Advancing he could attack, retreating he could defend; its hiding ce is more secure and reliable than anywhere else. In our estimate, the treasure house definitely has a secret passage that leads to outside the city. It was the first time that Gao Zhandao and the others learned about Xu Zilings astute and decisive judgment; they all viewed him in a new light. Niu Fengyi gasped twice. pping his forehead hard, he said, Such a simple, convenient and fast, even more marvelous beyond humanprehension C way, why didnt we think about it? All along we were having a headache thinking about how to transport the wealth and goods out of Changan. Gao Zhandao said, We will follow Xu Yes instruction; lets see how we are going to work together. Xu Ziling said, Today Shao Shuai ought to be able to find the treasure houses real entrance. I hope we will have good news for you by this evening; we have to hide into the treasure house at the first opportunity. As long as we could hide from the enemys eyes and ears, we will get the upper hand and grasp the initiative. Zha Jie asked, Hows Xu Ye going to handle the Demonic Emperor Relics? Xu Ziling replied, I will leave it to Shao Shuai to decide; he will make the best arrangement. We will do everything we could to make the three major powers of the demonic school kill each other, since we will be too busy to mind our own business. Submitting cheerfully, Gao Zhandao said, Two Yeer certainly nned everything, nothing is missing. To be able to serve Kou Ye, Xu Ye, is indeed our good fortune. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Lets talk about it when we get back to Peng Liang! That would be the hardest part of the journey. Book 34 - 13 – Lucky Arrangement Wonderful Situation Kou Zhong had never seen such a brilliant smile, which, for the first time C appeared on You Chuhongs old face; suddenly the deep wrinkles seemed to disappearpletely. This old granny, whose martial art skill was absolutely high, seemed to find her long-lost youthfulness. Looking horizontally, looking vertically, she was just a kind old woman. Even though they were enemies and not friends at all, Kou Zhong still felt happy and pleased that he was able to get rid of the ineradicable disease, which had pestered and brought suffering to this Senior for more than half of her lifetime. Standing on the side, Dugu Feng [peak] and Dugu Feng [phoenix] were so impressed that they felt like prostrating themselves in admiration. For thest several decades, they had invited famous doctors from various regions to treat You Chuhong, but only Kou Zhong could do the the needle arrive, the illness gone; at least it has not red up again. Kou Zhong performed five needle treatments in session. This moment he felt like he was recement guaranteed if not genuine Divine Doctor; although he was unable to eradicate You Chuhongs asthma, at least he could substantially reduce the number of times the illness ring out. You Chuhong gratefully said, Mo Shen Yi is the benefactor who saved Laoshens [old body] life. These past two nights I slept until daybreak; something that I had never experienced in more than thirty years. Kou Zhong put up a front by quoting the principles of medical science that Lei Jiuzhi taught him, saying, Tai Furens [olddy (title for the mother of a noble or an official)] ineradicable disease was due to your martial art training took a wrong turn, so that the lung and kidney, two passages C suffer damage. ording to the medical book: lung is the imperial canopy of the five viscera, kidney is the fundamental of the vital energy. Lungs qi not healthy, kidneys qi not strong; obstinate phlegm follows the qi floating upwards, turning into the illness of coughing and gasping for breath. I now apply the needle to target the illness, so that the lung and the kidney intersect. As long as from now on you properly take care of your health, perhaps in the end you couldpletely recover. Greatly astonished, Dugu Feng [peak] said, A lot of physicians have already explore the possibility that something was wrong with the lung and the kidney, two passages, but howe they always end up having their hands bound and unable to do anything about it? Inwardly Kou Zhong scolded himself for talking too much; inventing crazy nonsense, he said, It was due to Tai Furens martial art training went wrong, and it was rted to internal qi; how could ordinary physician know how to treat it? Our humble family specifically talked about using martial art to treat people, as it turns out, it could really deal with it. You Chuhong nodded and said, Shen Yis inner power is from the orthodox Taoist school, iparably refined and pure, not inferior to Fengers [phoenix]. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that although he had already held back half of his power, he still could not hide it from her, this great expert. Dugu Fengs [phoenix] pair of eyes lit up, she said, This is called there is a sky outside the sky, theres a person beyond a person [idiom: in the wider world there are people more talented than oneself]. If Mo Xiansheng dedicated yourself to developing martial art, you will be a first-ss master. May I ask Xiansheng, how should Popo [grandma] take care of her health properly? This was precisely the question that Kou Zhong was waiting for. With serious expression, he said, First of all, she must not fight against anybody; even more, she must not get angry. Apart from this, she has to eat and drink regrly, and must have enough sleep. Hey! Water quality is most important; it could directly affect kidneys function. You Chuhongs pair of eyes shed brightly, she spoke fiercely, If I could kill that s1ut, I, You Chuhong, will henceforth wash my hands in the golden bowl; how about that? Dugu Feng [peak] hastily said, Niang must not personally think about it that you injure your spirit; just leave it to us! Hearing that, Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly; intuitively he knew that the s1ut was referring to Shen Luoyan, because Dugu Ba lost his life in her hands. He could not help regretting that he told You Chuhong about this matter. But at that time they were in Luoyang, plus their fight against Shen Luoyan was like wildfire; how would he know that the changes of today might happen? Dugu Feng [phoenix] also persuaded her, Popos own body is most important, you must listen and obey Xianshengs orders. Revealing a disheartened expression, You Chuhong sighed and turned to Kou Zhong, saying, Mo Shen Yi please do not take offense; this is a matter for regret to our humble family. I make clear distinction between gratitude and grudges the most; what other people do to me, I will do the same to them in return. Kou Zhong had no choice but to be a yes-man, thinking that he must find a way to warn Shen Luoyan, telling her to be vignt. Dugu Feng [peak] said, Xiansheng specifically mentioned the water quality for consumption; I wonder if you have a good suggestion. I dont care which famous spring in the world, we will find a way to transport that spring water to Changan. Just from this remark, he knew that this centipede, the-dead-but-showing-no-signs-of-rigor-mortis Dugu n certainly still had influence in all parts of the country; otherwise, if the famous spring was inside Wang Shichongs territory, how could he regrly transport the water into Changan? This was exactly what Kou Zhong wanted; he said, We may not necessarily have to abandon the near to seek the far. May I ask, where does the water that your honorable home use for daily consumption? How could Dugu Feng [phoenix] ever imagine that he was harboring evil intentions? She replied honestly, In the Xi Ji Yuan, there are a total of four wells, separately located on the east, south, west and north, four sides; it is said that they are rted to geomancy and feng shui. Of the four, the water from the north well is the sweetest. Suppressing the ecstasy in his heart, Kou Zhong pretended to be amazed; he said, Unexpectedly there are so many; four wells! Really amazing! Dugu Feng [peak]ughed and said, For us, this is normal. The strange thing was thatst night three wells were frozen, only the north well did not freeze. Not only that, because of the snow, the water level rose nearly two chi. Kou Zhong nearly wanted to hug and kiss Dugu Feng [peak]; because without he even needed to see, he already knew what happened. Both he and Lei Jiuzhi had the same thought; the entrance to the treasure trove must be opened using hydraulic power, and the entrance must have something to do with water. Jiancheng and Yuanji have investigated the courtyard houses that were rted to Yang Su, naturally this Xi Ji Yuan would not narrowly and luckily escape. The reason they could not find it was because the secret passage has not been activated yet. Lu Miaozi loved to exploit the power of nature the most. The bottom of the well was naturally connected to the river course, which was also the best cover for the entrance. Kou Zhong said, Is it possible for Xiaoren to inspect the water quality of the north well? If there is no problem, we may not need to trouble the troops and mobilize the masses to collect water from afar. Dugu Feng [phoenix] blissfully sprang up and spoke cheerfully, Let Fenger show the way! After exchanging conventional greetings, the two men sat down. Xu Ziling asked, Was Yun Guoshi [teacher of the state] satisfied with your meeting with Qin Wang? Yun Shuai nodded and said, Li Shimin is certainly a dragon among men, no wonder Xieli has such a deep misgiving toward him. At first I thought he was just the kind of people who loves empty words of benevolence and righteousness, but the fact is greatly beyond my expectation. Other than Shao Shuai, no one has enough qualifications to be his match. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, I never expected that Guoshi has such a high opinion of Kou Zhong. Yun Shuai proudly said, For those of us in high position, the first thing we must learn is to understand people; without any insight, I have no doubt that we are doomed to be defeated. Li Shimin is precisely a man with insight; just by looking at his subordinates, I knew that he is deeply aware of the way to employ people. In that case, Xu Ziling said, Junshi has decided to cooperate with Qin Wang, to deal with Xieli side-by-side? Yun Shuai replied, Its too early to say. Upon my return, I will report the fact to our humble king, everything still needs to be decided by our humble king. If theree a day where the one unifying the world is Kou Zhong rather than Li Shimin, we will still have a chance to cooperate. Xu Ziling smiled and said, The matter of the future, who could predict without being a irvoyant? However, there is an opportunity to cooperate before our very own eyes. Yun Shuai sighed and said, Its not that I unt the others spirit while extinguishing my own might, but even if the three of us join hands, I am afraid we will still be unable to kill Shi Zhixuan. His demonic power already surpasses normal practices of martial art study; we cant put him in order just by relying on numbers taking unfair advantage of a few. Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, What about Zhao Deyan? Yun Shuais imposing physique shook, the radiant light in his pair of eyes suddenly red out as he looked at Xu Ziling. Returning to the Sha Mansion, Kou Zhong was summoned by the Third Young Madam to talk. Over and over again she implored him to stay, hoping that he could stay in Changan for a little while longer. Only after Kou Zhong exhausted his lips and tongue, also made a promise that after two years of wandering he would return to Changan C did he barely get off the hook. On the way back to his room, he came across Sha Fu. Noticing his gloomy countenance, plus he appeared to be extremely busy, Kou Zhong asked in surprise, What happened? Sha Fu hatefully said, Er Furen [second madam] has a maid who ran away, stealing a batch of Er Furens jewelry. Now Da Guye [oldest son-inw] is deploying his men to search everywhere; Ill say she wont run away too far. [Trantors note: its confusing to me, since at first Chang He was the husband of Sha Tiannans fourth child (Sha Zhijing was the fifth); but a couple times now Chang He was called the oldest (son-inw, brother-inw).] Kou Zhong understood immediately, he secretly called female demon Wan formidable; this move was the right medicine prescribed for an illness, in order to strive for his favorable impression. He remembered that amorous maid servant of the Second Madame, he just did not remember her name; knowing full well that even if Chang He made the move himself, he would not be able to find, let alone bring back, the escaping Yin Gui Pai mole. After uttering a couple of consoling words to Sha Fu, he went back to his room to take a look; sure enough, Wanwan has been waiting for his good self inside the room. As if nothing had happened, Wanwan said, Shao Shuai ought to be satisfied! Following your instruction, we withdrew our people from the Sha Family, to show our good faith in the cooperation. Furthermore, we pledge not to offend the Sha Family in the future. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Xiaodi is extremely grateful. Wanwan went on, The saber outside has also been changed back to the Moon in the Well. Can Shao Shuai exin whats going on? It was Xiang Yushan and Zhao Deyan ying ghost, Kou Zhong replied, I wonder if Dajie know what is the rtionship between those two? Evidently Wanwan was very appreciative of him telling the truth; sheughed and said, Xiang Yushan already paid obeisance to enter Zhao Deyans tutge, to be the only disciple of Zhao Deyans, to receive direct instruction from him. You guys want to kill him, Im afraid it wont be as easy as before. Kou Zhong said, Catching uspletely off guard, those two wretched muddled-eggs kidnapped Lei Jiuzhi, and tortured him using some kind of his mothers Seven Needles Controlling the Mind capital punishment. Now, although we have rescued him back, he still cannot talk, cannot move. If Dajie could tell us how to break this torture method, on the evening of the third of the month, we may deliver the Holy Relics into your jade-hands. Hearing that, Wanwans countenance changed slightly; displeased, she said, Are you thinking of disregarding your promise, and change to have discussion with the tiger while scheming to peel its skin [see chapter title of Book 25 Chapter 8], by striking a business deal with Zhao Deyan? Kou Zhong mused that Zhao Deyan, this old tiger, might not necessarily be easier or more ferocious than the tiger Yin Gui Pai; no matter with whom he made the deal, it would still be having discussion with the tiger while scheming to peel its skin. Aha! heughed, How could I, Kou Zhong, be willing to led by the nose by Zhao Deyan like that? Between me and him, as well as the Xiang kid, there is only enmity without any kindness. With Dajie, at least within the enmity theres still a bit of friendly rtions. However, if Dajie cannot offer any way to break the torture method, then Dajie would have to ept our arrangement. But I guarantee that as long as Ling Shi [your honorable master] is willing to make her move, with me and Ziling helping on the side, eventually the Holy Relics will still fall into your hands. Wanwans countenance changed several times; finally, perhaps she was having another thought, she asked, Have you found the entrance to the treasure trove? Kou Zhong smiled and said, I dare to swear to Heaven, indeed that is the case. However, Dajie must not follow us; otherwise this agreement is void. Wanwan smiled sweetly and said, Very well! I will immediately go back to Shizun [revered master] to ask for guidance. If we know how to break the torture method, I will notify Shao Shuai immediately, then all the difficult problems will be easily solved [orig. bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge]. Who on earth knows about this kind of long-lost torture method anyway? We want to know this person more than you do, Kou Zhong replied. Wanwan said, Within the demonic school, Zhao Deyan is well known to be light-in-promise, scant-in-trust type of person. You must be careful and must guard against him. If Shao Shuai has no urgent matter, please do not leave the Sha Family. Perhaps I will be back soon with the good news! After Wanwan left, Kou Zhong stretched his limbs; his entire body rxed. The n that he and Xu Ziling came up with was both amazing-like-the-Heaven-opens, and feasible; it included all the top figures of the ck and white, two ways, pitting them against each other in sandpiper-and-m-war-together-and-the- Fisherman-catches-both strategy, which was greatly advantageous to their treasure-picking operation. If they could kill An Long along the way to enter the secret passage to avenge for Shi Zhixuan murdering You Niaojuan, naturally it would be even more ideal. Thinking about Xu Ziling, a strong gratitude welled up in his heart. Were it not for Xu Ziling, this time he came to Changan for the treasure hunt, he would have made a mess so bad that it would be difficult to clean. What was the real situation at the bottom of the north well at the Xi Ji Yuan? Tomorrow Li Yuan would lead his civil and military officials, along with his sons Li Shimin and Li Yuanji, leaving the Pce to go to the Zhongnan Mountain for their annual spring hunt. And Yang WenGan would take advantage while they were camping at the Deer Valley tounch the surprise attack. While on the battlefront over yonder the killing was like wildfire, the city of Changan would be another battlefield for the bitter struggle between the orthodox and the demonic over a different treasure, the Demonic Emperor Relics. Under this tangled andplicated circumstances, the stuffs from the treasure trove would be secretly removed. If they could safely reach Peng Liang, then he, Kou Zhong, could start the great undertaking of striving over the world. If Ziling could stay, that would be even more ideal. Its a pity that reality doesnt always happen like ones hearts desire. Chang Hes voice called out from outside the door, Mo Xiong! Xu Ziling came to Yu He An. After announcing his intention, Shi Feixuan came out to see him. Thetters countenance serene, she spoke indifferently, Just sending Lei Xiansheng off? Sketching it in light shades, Xu Ziling replied, Something that we could do ourselves, how could we dare to trouble Xiaojie? Shi Feixuan sat down by his side, separated by a small table; she asked in astonishment, Howe from the tone of Zilings voice, you seem to suddenly regard me as an outsider? Suppressing the urge to ask her where she went this morning, Xu Ziling said, I wonder if Shi Xiaojie would have a way to invite the Four Great Holy Monks, or perhaps Liao Kong Dashi, toe over before the xu hour on the third? He sighed inwardly. Who could have thought that forced by circumstances, even toward Shi Feixuan, he did not have any choice but to scheme against. However, it could be said that what you did the first day of the year, Xiaodi do it on the fifteen [no idea, must be a saying]; there is nothing to say. Shi Feixuans tender body slightly shook, she said, Have you finally found the location of the treasure-trove? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Indeed. We also want to set a trap to make Zhu Yuyan, Zhao Deyan and Shi Zhixuan to you fight, I snatch for the Demonic Emperor Relics, so that they break off their rtions with each other. If Shi Xiaojie does not want the Relics to end up in one of those peoples hands, you must make your move. Book 35 - 1 – Everything is Ready Xu Ziling met Kou Zhong in an ordinary residence that Gao Zhandao arranged for them. Both were extremely careful, they made sure that they were not being followed, while also fully used all kinds of methods to confuse the enemy, before quietly entered the house. Kou Zhong arrived a bitter. When he entered the living room, Xu Ziling was standing upright in front of the window, gazing at the clear sky after the big snow. Burst of firecrackers and the sound of childrensughter were stilling from thenes and alleys, brimming with the ushering-out-the-old, greeting-the-new Spring Festivals atmosphere. Kou Zhong came behind Xu Ziling. Afraid to disturb him, he spoke in soft voice, Are you thinking about Shi Qingxuan? Is she really pretty? How is shepared to Shi Feixuan? Heaving a sigh, Xu Ziling spoke slowly, I was not thinking of either one of them. My mind is a nk space. Kou Zhong said, Sometimes I feel that Laotianye is too unfair; why is it that some people are tall and handsome, while some others arepletely unattractive? Xu Ziling nodded his head and said, As soon as people are born, it is already not fair; not only theres the difference between beautiful and ugly, furthermore, theres the difference between intelligent and stupid. Take Li Shimin for example: he is blessed by heaven; moreover, he ising from an influential and noble family. His fate is to be the future hegemon. If you, Zhong Shao and he swapped identity, the one Shi Feixuan supports would not be Li Shimin at all, but you, Zhong Shao! Well said! Kou Zhong said, I, Kou Zhong, just dont believe in evil anyway. Besides, Laotianyes decree is hard to fathom, who can tell the oue in the future? All right! Hows the progress on your side? Everything is progressing ording to n, Xu Ziling replied. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Is Yun Shuai willing to give us a nod? Xu Ziling replied, If we could kill Zhao Deyan, it will be the biggest unexpected gain in his trip to the Central ins this time, what can you have against it? A man like Yun Shuai, telling him anything is useless; only by using pros and cons will we be able to move his heart. How about you try to persuade him to deal with Shi Zhixuan, to indulge his as-deep-as-the-ocean blood debt? Kou Zhongughed and said, Ling Shaos insight is very prating; how was Shi Xianzis [fairy] reaction? She felt that we are very much not ready, Xu Ziling replied, But I think she has not guessed yet that we already got the wind that she is asking Ning Daoqi toe to deal with us. Kou Zhong said, Just to deal with me, Little Kou Zhong! She is still reluctant to deal with her Ziling Xiongdi [brother]. Xu Ziling crossly said, You still say this kind of senseless talk? If I have a choice, I would definitely not n to deal with her. Problem is, she is nning on dealing with us, Kou Zhong replied, In Shi Feixuans position, she would never let Demonic Emperor Relics to fall into anybody on the demonic schools side, simply because the consequences will be hard to fathom. Honestly, I would also prefer for the Demonic Emperor Relics to fall into Shi Feixuan or Ning Daoqis hands; otherwise, we wont have good days ahead of us. Xu Ziling said, Listening to the tone of your voice, it seems to me that you already found the entrance! Kou Zhong replied happily, Fortunately I did not bring disgrace to the order given to me. I dare say that it is the north well of the Xi Ji Yuan. Last night not only the water level suddenly surged up, the depth reaches five zhang, which is two zhang deeper than the other water wells. This matter has already provoked suspicions. When are we going to get in? Xu Ziling asked. That depends on An Long destiny, Kou Zhong replied, If he goes to the public baths before dusk, then well kill him before entering the treasure-trove. Arent you afraid a new branch might grow out of a knot? Xu Ziling asked. This is not a new branch growing out of a knot at all, Kou Zhong replied, Rather, it is a stratagem to confuse the enemy. We might as well showing our true identity openly, and then we kill An Long in a public ce with numerous people. Nobody would think that we would immediately enter the treasure-trove, right? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Your n seems to be too far-fetched; besides, your Mo Shen Yi suddenly disappears, arent you afraid people might be suspicious? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I just wanted to vent your anger for you, while also to show a bit of countenance for Shi Zhixuan to see. As for Mo Shen Yi, you dont have to worry even more, because Li Yuan wants to officially appoint me as the Imperial Physician; therefore, I ought to leave a letter and go, to make clear of my aspiration of wandering around the world to be of aid to the people. Ha! Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, If you leave a letter and go, and then tonight, after exhausting our strength we still cannot enter the treasure-trove, wouldnt it be trying to be clever but end up with egg on our face? Kou Zhong spoke seriously, If we cannot enter the treasure-trove, we will leave immediately. Xiaodi will return to Peng Liang and disband the Shao Shuai Army, respectfully asking Li kid to receive it. If Laotianye treats me like this, what can I possibly say? Kou Zhong returned to the Sha Mansion. Sha Fu met him and said, Qingqing Furen over there sent a messenger, asking you, whenever you have spare time, toe over and pay her a visit. Actually, on the Lunar New Years Eve, Xier already passed him the message that Qingqing wanted to see her; its just that these past two days he simply did not have time to get away. While he was still thinking, Sha Fu continued, I heard from Da Guye [first son-inw] that Huangshang has the intention to appoint Xiansheng to be the Imperial Physician. Hey! The Emperors Decree is difficult to disobey; I wonder if Xiansheng can cancel your n to wander the four oceans? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Tell me, which is more important, your little life, or the Emperors Decree? [Trantors note: little life C Xiao Ming, Emperors Decree C Huang Ming, same Ming character.] Sha Fu was stunned speechless. Kou Zhong patted him on the shoulder and went back to his room without saying anything anymore. Before crossing the doorstep, he already mentally prepared himself to deal with Wanwan. Based on Yin Gui Pais style so far, naturally they would not be easy to deal with, they would not easily follow Kou Zhongs arrangements. In Kou Zhongs estimates, either Zhu Yuyan or Zhao Deyan, their wild schemes could not possibly stop only at the acquisition of the Demonic Emperor Relics; rather, they would not let both the persons and the stuffs off. Not only they wanted to seize all the weapons and the riches in the treasure-trove, they would also want to put him and Xu Ziling to death. He, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling, two boys have be the demonic schools greatest threat. Because with every passing day they were progressing in martial art way at the speed that surpassed anybodysprehension; in light of this, it would be natural to predict that one day even Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan, or the like C would bow under their hands. One might as well ask the demonic school people; no one wished that the affair would develop into this stage. Sure enough, Wanwans jade body was lying haphazardly on the bed inside his room, waiting for his honored-self; with earnest smiling expression, she said, Zhu Shi is asking that you hand him over to her; she guarantee that she can neutralize the Seven Needles to Control the Mind. You guys can feel reassured that you dont have to be under Zhao Deyans threat anymore. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong sat down directly in front of her, and said with a smile, Wan Dajie, are you kidding? Why dont we do it like this: you invite your honorable master toe over, Xiao Ling and I will supervise on the side. This way it will be absolutely fair and reasonable; Wan Dajie, what do you think? Wanwans jet-ck eyebrows lightly knitted, she acted as if she was in difficulty and said, To neutralize this kind of unusual method to control the mind, ones heart must have no side interference, there cant be anybody else present; even more, there must be a trusted aide protecting on the side. Now you want Shizun [revered master] toe to your designated ce, plus you want to supervise nearby; it wont work that way. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, We suffered untold hardships to rescue our man back, and you think wed be stupid enough to just send him out with you? Apromise would be you tell us the method to remove the needles, let us do it ourselves. Dont forget that since Xiaodi is able to impersonate a divine doctor, I must have a hand or two in meridians and acupuncture points! Remaining tranquil and even-tempered Wanwan said, Shizun must examine Lei Xianshengs condition first before setting about saving him. There are a lot of abstruse points within it; to tell you the truth, it is inexhaustible. Supposing we simply provide you with one method of solving it, and his medical condition takes turn for the worse, it will generate misunderstanding between us for nothing. Kou Zhong firmly shook his head and said, You guys have had the criminal record of not scrupulously abiding by yourmitment, teaching me not to trust you unreservedly, especially in matters where human life is at stake. Wanwan sat her tender body at the edge of the bed, her pretty face returned to its usual calm and unhurried, still-water-without-any-ripple C expression, while also carrying some kind of cool-headedness, which made peoples heart cold. She spoke indifferently, You are not going to keep your promise? Being familiar with her, Kou Zhong knew that she was moved to be really angry, and could make her move any moment; while amassing his power, heughed coldly and said, Anything that I, Kou Zhong, promised, I will never renege. The oath that you and I made is simply to hand over the Sheng Sheli into your, Wan Dajies hand. As long as you are willing to follow my arrangement, I, Kou Zhong can guarantee that the Sheng Sheli will be delivered into your hand. As for whether you can keep the Sheng Sheli in your hands, it will depend on your own skill. The sharp light in Wanwans pair of beautiful eyes flickered, she and he stared at each other for a moment, and then she said, You clearly know that you are setting foot, step by step, into Zhao Deyans trap. No one knows Zhao Deyans style better than we do. Not only he cant possibly save your man, he will also kill you, these two ignorant kids, while hogging the Sheng Sheli and the treasure for himself. Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, At the end of the day, you guys are still afraid of Zhao Deyan. Just consider me making an error of judgment! All right! Just so you wont say that I, Kou Zhong, dont have any mouth and teeth, regardless of whether you are taking part in my n or not, I will still hand the Sheng Sheli over to you. Wanwans countenance softened, she sighed quietly and said, Overconfidence might kill people. Zhao Deyan is well known within the demonic school to be a difficult person, how could he let himself being manipted by you? How about this: in our possession, there is a fake-that-can-pass-off-as-genuine yellow crystal stone. You may use it to steal-something-valuable-and-substitute-it-with-a-smiliar-looking-but-worthless-item, to let you guys make a business deal with Zhao Deyan. And then, even if Zhao Deyan goes back on his words, you wont let him upy the advantageous position, while still fulfilling your promise to us. Formidable! Kou Zhong inwardly cried. He mused that if he let Wanwan entering the treasure-trove together with them, perhaps she would take this counterfeit article to swap the genuine Relics. Based on her skill, plus taking advantage while they did not pay attention, there was a real chance that she would be sessful. Muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Xiedi Sheli is unusual treasure of the demonic school; perhaps you guys, demonic school people might have special reaction toward it. To bepletely safe, I say we must use the real Sheli to make the deal, and then use another good scheme to protect the treasure and get away. Otherwise, when the timees, not only we will have to find a way to break the siege, we would still have to protect Lei Laoge; who would have a pity on us? That n is absolutely out of question. Wanwan angrily said, Left wont work, right is out of question, what devious trick your brains is cooking? Kou Zhong leaned forward slightly, he spoke solemnly, My n is not only bold, it is also feasible. The inspiration came from Lin Xiangru [dates unknown, ca. 3rd century BC, famous statesman of Zhao] of the past, carrying the Jade Annulus of He n to see Qin Shihuang [259-210 BC, the first emperor] Ying Zheng. Compared to Ying Zheng, Zhao Deyan is, at least, inferior by arge chunk. As long as the Sheli is in my hands, Zhao Deyan must obediently save my man. Otherwise, well break up the business deal, and well burn both jade andmon stone [idiom: destroy indiscriminately], recement guaranteed if not genuine. As long as Dajie and your team showing yourselves at the appropriate fortunate timing, you can take the Sheli away. At that time we will do everything we can to snatch the person away, while you guys attempt to protect the treasure, and pin Zhao Deyan down at the same time; wouldnt it satisfy rival demands then? Naturally, the most ideal is if we could get rid of Zhao Deyan, which will depend on the Old Zhaos luck! Knitting her brows, Wanwan said, Your thought is too na?ve; it looks like Lei Jiuzhi is screwed! Assuming having-a-card-up-his-sleeve air, Kou Zhong said, Maybe not! Otherwise, even if we use the real Sheli to make the deal, Lei Dages life cannot be guaranteed either. One hand delivers the person, the other hand delivers the goods, crisp and neat; does Wan Dajie understand? Sighing gently, Wanwan said, When are you going to do the transaction with Zhao Deyan? Without the slightest hesitation, Kou Zhong replied, Tomorrow night at the beginning of Shu hour, in the rear courtyard of Tujue Foreign Guesthouse at the Bu Zheng Lane. Now we can start discussing the details, to decide on all kinds of secret signals, so that both sides can work together like seamless heavenly clothes, to everyones delight and satisfaction. Is it smart to do the business transaction at the opposite sides ce? Wanwan asked, Currently the initiative is firmly in your hands; conducting the business deal in another ce might only bring benefit to you without any harm. Now Kou Zhong was positive that having no other choice, Yin Gui Pai could only forcibly seize their target before conducting the business deal with Zhao Deyan. At that time, because the two boys would have to take care of Lei Jiuzhi, they would be in the inferior position of only taking the beating, so that not only the opposite site could easily snatch the Relics away, they could easily get rid of the two boys as well. Whether it was Zhu Yuyan, Zhao Deyan, or Shi Zhixuan, no one would be willing to only acquire the Demonic Emperor Relics while sitting and watching Kou Zhong transporting arge quantity of weapons and treasure out of Changan, which, in the end it would be extremely possible that these stuffs would fall into the Li ns hands. If they had to follow Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings track, perhaps even their top martial art masters might not necessarily be able to aplish it. But to keep a close watch over Gao Zhandao and his men in a the-gods-did-not-know-the-ghosts-did-not-perceive manner, they had ample, with plenty leftovers C means. Currently the three big shots of the demonic school were in a delicate state of equilibrium. On the surface, it seemed that Zhao Deyan was the weakest; his rank was under Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan as well. But since there were the Tujue people supporting him from behind, plus with Kang Qiaoli, Ke Dazhi, and arge number of Tujue martial art masters cheering for him, even Yin Gui Pai, which had the strongest power within the demonic school C would not dare to consider them lightly. And the most important point was that under current circumstances, even the most powerful hegemon, Li Yuan, would not dare to offend the Tujue Great Khan, to say nothing of Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan. All these things have been considered carefully by Kou Zhong; therefore, Wanwans reaction was naturally not beyond Kou Zhongz expectation either. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Tomorrow morning, Li Yuan is going to lead civil and military officials for the annual hunting trip to the foot of Mount Zhongnan. The City of Changan will be under Li Jianchengs full responsibility. At that time the City of Changan will be like the Chang Lin Armys world, there is no ce where Ke Dazhi does not have a full control over it. Therefore, as far as I can see, there is no need to have a new branch growing out of a knot, lets do the deal with Zhao Deyan at the Foreign Guesthouse. I dare say that even if he has three heads and six arms, we will y with him in the palm of our hand. Having no alternative, Wanwan said, Very well! You want to y with fire, we are going to apany you for the time being. But dont you dare ying any trick, otherwise, we will, by hook or by crook, retaliate to anybody who has had any rtionship with you; all of them will be the target, which our merciless hands will deal with. Xu Ziling examined the entrance to the secret passage. Upon returning to the hall, he discussed it with Gao Zhandao, three men, saying, Transporting the stuffs from the water way is the most convenient and fastest method, but it is also the easiest for the enemy to discover it, hence it bes the most dangerous method. Smiling wryly, Gao Zhandao said, When we made that n, we thought that everything could be carried out quietly; who would have thought that it might develop into the-wind-and-the-rain-through-the-town [fig. big scandal], everybody-ring-like-a-tiger-watching-its-prey situation like today? Xu Ziling said, We could underestimate Li Yuanji, or even Li Jiancheng, but we must not underestimate the Heavenly Policy Mansion, with imperial strategic advisors like Du Ruhui and the like, although their martial art skill is only so-so, their ability and wisdom are extremely high. Without even thinking, Li Shimin readily agreed to make his move only after we transport the treasure out of the city, it must be because he has a card up his sleeve, not afraid that we are going to fly anywhere. Brimming with confidence, Niu Fengyi said, We still have a contingency n of usingnd route; if necessary, we could take the meandering and circuitous path, whileying out diversions in timely manner. As long as we can get out of the House of Tangs sphere of influence, we will be able to return to Peng Liang safely. Supposing there is someone within our brothers who was bought by the enemy, what would the oue be? Xu Ziling asked. The three you-look-at-me, I-gaze-at-you, Gao Zhandao said, Its not possible, is it? All of us brothers have gone through life and death together, how could there be this kind of unrighteous disciple? Its hard to fathom a persons mind, Xu Ziling said, Besides, you have lived in Changan for a long time, you see with your own eyes the House of Tangs prestige is like the sun in the middle of the sky; to have a change of idea is not unusual at all. Zha Jie said, The Heavenly Policy Mansion found out our Tong Xing Shes rtionship with Kou Ye, Xu Ye, only within the past few days. Plus we quickly pulled our people out of town. Even if Li Shimin wanted to bribe our men, theres not enough time to administer it. Niu Fengyi nodded and said, We have been extremely careful. The fifteen brothers remaining in Changan are all trustworthy. The more crucial point is that during the operation we are looking after each other; no one had the opportunity to see some people from certain side alone. Xu Ziling spoke seriously, Perhaps I am just being paranoid; brothers who remain in Changan should not have any problem, but about the brothers who have withdrawn out of the city, its certainly very hard to say. Li Shimin is the best in winning the peoples heart, plus he always pays attention to the local gangs and societies, he knows whom he could set his hand to. Under the lure of high officialdom and generous reward, change of heart is just amon thing. Therefore, we cant stop him from making his move, so much so that we, in turn, could exploit this gap. What is Xu Yes instruction concerning this matter? Gao Zhandao asked. Xu Ziling said, Only after entering the treasure-trove will we be able topletely grasp the scale of the quantity of the goods that we have to transport, and then we can begin to determine the grand n of transporting the treasure out. But the brothers who are scattered outside the city, we must deploy them first; before the enemy has the chance to carry out any action, we seize the opportunity to assign their task appropriately. Hearing that, Gao Zhandao, three men were confused. Xu Ziling had just said that he was afraid some brothers of their gang were bought by the enemy, but now he said to assign their task appropriately; wouldnt it mean they were one step ahead of leaking the secret of their deployment to the enemy? However, after considering it more thoroughly, everybody agreed that Xu Zilings remark was not shooting without aiming at all. Li Shimin was a readily avable hegemon; taking refuge in him meant obtaining great benefits immediately. The oue of vowing loyalty and devotion to Kou Zhong was still unknown. Supposing Li Shimin intentionally trying to bribe them, perhaps some of their gang brothers with weak willpower would really be moved. The way the situation developed, no one dared to say that all brothers were still under their full control. Remaining tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling said, Perhaps my worry is not necessary. But one thing for sure: withdrawing three groups of men out of the city, partially or in entirety C we will be under the enemys close surveince; therefore, we could use their deployment to carry out the scheme to confuse the enemy, so that the enemy would grasp the wrong door and pathway. Niu Fengyis countenance changed slightly, he said, In that case, wont they be trapped in danger zone? Xu Ziling replied, In short term, there wont be any danger. For Shao Shuai and me, our brothers safety is more important than the treasure-trove. As long we can determine how to proceed, they could always break up the whole into pieces, all of them dispersing and immediately withdrawing from Guanzhong, to assemble again in Guanwai [outside the Pass]. Gao Zhandao and the others could only return a nk stare. Even with the addition of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, they only had twenty men; even if each man grew three heads and six arms, transporting a huge amount of wealth and weapons out was still beyond either their reach or power. Xu Ziling smiled slightly and said, What we want to determine is the situation inside the treasure-trove, to see Yang Sus rigorous schemes and deep foresight, whether there is any sound n to transport the weapons out of the city. Moreover, we do not need to transport everything at once. As long as we could transfer all things into another ce, we could wait until the sound of wind dies down and then think of a way to ship it out. This will be greatly outside the enemys expectation. This was precisely the trick that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came up with after being reminded by Shen Luoyan. Gao Zhandao, three men suddenly saw the light. Their original hard thought, which they thought would not work, had be practical and feasible. They could not help having their morale receiving great boost. Furthermore, they felt that their decision to follow Kou Zhong, two boys, was the right choice. Only, they had to confuse the enemy from all sides first before they would have the hope of returning to Peng Liang alive; there was simply no other way. Book 35 - 2 – The Study of Psychological Warfare The sun finally disappeared behind the western mountains. Since the afternoon, the clouds filling the sky was thickening, the sunny and cloudless weather was merely the night-blooming cactus shows once [idiom: short-lived]. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong sat in a corner of the restaurant; they ordered some steamed buns and small side dishes, in a heroic undertaking of filling their tummy to its capacity before entering the well on the treasure hunt adventure. Today was the second day of the lunar New Year, there were not too many shops open for business, and since this was one of those, it was crowded to bursting point with diners. Diagonally opposite was precisely the rear wall of the Dugu Familys Xi Ji Yuan. Although shops and big restaurants were concentrated in East and West, two Markets, responding to demand, these kinds of restaurants were spread out within the neighborhood and blocks within the city, while most inns were located on major thoroughfares and big streets like Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Kou Zhong looked at the well-wrapped Moon in the Wellying on the side, along with a sack filled up with tools for their treasure hunt exploration; heughed and said, The letter I left behind, I put it under the pillow. This kind of pleasant and uplicated departure is greatly beneficial without any harm for both the Sha Family and me. In addition, I also wrote two letters; one is addressed to Li Yuan, the other to Li Jiancheng, so that Chang He would not have to waste his lips and tongue to exin. Writing three letters in one sitting, it took me the entire sichen; it was really hard. Biting a mouthful of mantou [steamed bun], he said, Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan are definitely not benevolent people [orig.y practitioners of Buddhism], on the surface their style of work is very close to each other, they always love to use trick, and the way they handle their affairs is very ruthless and without mercy. But I always think that there are some great differences between them; Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling said, I am not familiar with Zhao Deyan at all; but by looking at his move in suddenly kidnapped Lei LaoGe to ckmail us, also using the Seven Needles to Control the Mind on him, his method is straightforward, yet there is a two-armies-facing-off-against-each-other, doing-his-utmost-to-seize-victory feeling. It is thus clear that this man has both the guts and the drive to take risks, to stake-it-all. When we fight with him, we must pay particr attention to this kind of style and character. Hows Zhu Yuyanpared to the other two? Kou Zhong asked. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling replied, Zhu Yuyan appears to be not as ruthless she is showing on the outside; in fact, she is a person rich in affection, at least toward Yue Shan and Shi Zhixuan she became too irrational. Its just that for someone in her position, she simply has to hide her real emotion well, and has to assume a callous, heartless appearance. Speaking about cold-heartedness, Shi Zhixuan is the one. However, even Shi Zhixuan still cannot cross over the barrier of the affection between a father and his daughter. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Ipletely agree with you. Just by looking at how Zhu Yuyan putting his heart and soul to cultivate Wanwan, while Shi Zhixuan guards against his two disciples left and right, but also make his two disciples fight until you die, I live, for the sake of Immortal Image Scroll, it is clear that Shi Zhixuan is a person who only care about himself. As for Zhao Deyan, he is another kind of person; treacherous and cunning, more than Zhu and Shi, two persons. In no way will he lose self-control due to momentary impulse or anger. For the sake of his ambition, hepletely ignores other peoples life or death; otherwise, he could not possibly help cruel and tyrannical Xieli to invade the Central ins. Xu Ziling poured some tea for him; heughed and said, Why are you suddenly so interested in discussing the differences of their characters? Kou Zhongs eyes flickered, he lowered his voice and replied, I am looking for any weak point in their characters to see if there is anything that can be exploited. Shi Zhixuan is the most unclear for me; you have fought him hand to hand three times, you ought to be a bit clearer than me. He does not talk much, Xu Ziling said, My intuition is that he sees himself extremely high, proud and aloof above the crowd, despises everybody else. As a matter of fact, those with qualifications to be his opponent are really not many. Kou Zhong pondered, Even though we know the differences in their character, but in nning a meticulous operation, we still cannot use it too much. Do you understand what I mean? Xu Ziling nodded to express his understanding; because when one was making a n based on reason, he might do his utmost not to be held back by emotion and his own character, plus he must have the open mind to consider someone elses opinion, and thus would have suppress individual subjectivity to its lowest degree. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, However, by the time they find out that all their originally prepared ns are not going to be applicable, the situation will be another matter altogether. Therefore, I specifically want to create such situation, so that when sudden change happens, the enemy from all parties will not have time to go through careful deliberations before they will have to spring into action, and thus we will have an opportunity to be seized. Xu Zilingughed and said, Lets talk less nonsense; we go down first to see the situation and then well decide what we are going to do. One after another the two boys jumped over the courtyard wall and hide in a pile of undergrowth. About two zhang beyond that was their target, the north well. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, I am really worried that there is no entrance down there, then what are we going to do? Xu Ziling understood his frame of mind; he was worried about personal gains and losses. Trying tofort him, he said, That possibility is very little, but one thing I am sure: it will be a real test whether you really have the skill as a schr in mechanics and mechanisms. Go! The two boys flitted across the two-zhang distance and dove into the well. The water in the well is bone-chillingly icy cold. They stopped up their breathing and sank down to the bottom of the well, where the light did not prate, not to mention deep under water,te at night, their vision was totally useless and thus they could only proceed by relying on their feeling. The bottom of the well suddenly opened up; it was indeed as expected, the bottom of the well was connected to a stream of underground river. If it were the men that Li Jiancheng sent, this moment they would not have any clear idea which side they had to grope about along the underground river; however, the two boys were positive that the treasure-trove ought to be under the Wu Lou Si. The direction was clear, thereupon they dove toward that direction. After swimming and groping about for nearly ten zhang in the narrow, rugged, and pitch-dark [orig. stretching a hand and cannot see five fingers] river course, Xu Ziling lightly pulled Kou Zhong, indicating that something was not right. Kou Zhong understood immediately, because not everybody could be like them, able to stay under water for a long period of time, by only relying to the ability to breathe inwardly; therefore, it did not make sense if the entrance was too far from the bottom of the well. Moreover, this underground river was continuously nting down and prating deeply, wouldnt it be farther and farther away from the ground? A momentter the two resurfaced from the bottom of the well. Kou Zhong said, Definitely not at the bottom of the river, because the underground river might change due to the changes in the soil. That is also the reason why some wells might suddenly dry up. The entrance must be somewhere on the wall of the bottom of the well. Reconciling his breathing, Xu Ziling said, From now on, I will no longer rely on your pain-in-the-butt mechanism knowledge, because the ce that Xiaodis left foot kicked was certainly the mechanism of the entrance. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Dont move! Flipping over, he bored back into the bottom of the well, toward one side of the rock, which, ording to Xu Ziling, was the problem area that his foot felt. Indeed it was protruding about a cun from the well wall. Just now, were it not for their attention waspletely on the underground river, it should not be easily missed. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Heavens bless me, while exerting his strength to push the rock, which was about half a chi square. Under the two boys expectant gaze, Creak! the sound of machinery from the long and narrow space at the bottom of the well entered their ears. Above the floating-above-the-water-surface Xu Zilings head, the well wall slowly caved in, revealing an entrance that could barely amodate one person to squeeze through. Floating up to the surface, Kou Zhong happily said, My Niang, we finally seed! Xu Ziling sighed and said, I have no confidence. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Why do you need confidence? The entrance is right before your eyes, as long as you do notck any hands and feet, you can always crawl in. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Its not that I dont have confidence in the treasure-trove, but I dont have confidence in your knowledge about mechanism. Kou Zhong was in a very good mood, he did not have time to be bothered by his teasing; heughed and said, The Heaven helps the worthy; just now I only did not have the opportunity to show it. Ling Shaoye, let Xiaodi take the lead. Taking the lead, he crawled up the wall and squeezed into the small square hole. The passageway was extending upward at an angle for about five zhang first, before nting rather steeply downward. Quite surprisingly, all four walls of the passageway were clean of any moss, fungi, or the like, any vegetation that thrives in the dark and moist area. The air was stuffy and turbid to the extent of suffocating; luckily the two boys had already turned the external breathing into internal breathing, their consummate skill of fetal breathing, so that it was as if they were traveling under water. After crawling on their knees like this for more than ten zhang, Kou Zhong suddenly stopped. Immensely proud of himself, he said, There is another button to press. Xiongdi! This time I am not disappointing, am I? Xu Ziling knew that he had learned from experience, and thus did not dare to miss any peculiar situation. Behind Kou Zhong, he nodded and said, You are the expert, everything is up to you, no need to consult my, thisymans opinion. Remaining calm and unruffled in critical moment, Kou Zhong started his lecture, Merely the use of granite in the construction of this secret passage is already demonstrating the ingenuity of the skill [orig. seizing the heaven]. I dont know how much manpower and physical resources were used that year. The hardest thing toe by was that it involved, as well as utilized C that many people, unexpectedly they were able to conceal it from Yang Jian? From this, it can be seen that at that time Yang Su must have power that could overturn thend under heaven. While speaking, he exerted his strength to push the button protruding on the left wall, while controlling his force carefully to react ordingly. With another Creak! the passage where the two boys were suddenly moved, taking the two sliding down the line. This change was greatly beyond the two boys expectation. While inwardly they cried, Not good!, the bottom of the wall was producing unpleasant-to-the-ears squeaking noise like grinding wheel on millstone. Moreover, because the narrow passageway, which was barely enough for them to fit their body in C greatly restricted their ability to move to meet a contingency, while they were thinking of retreating, while they were shocked, this section of the passageway suddenly moved again, taking the two without-the-freedom-to-act-independently boys sliding further down, faster and faster. The two cried inwardly, Hereby my life thus endeth! Boom! After dropping fast for nearly twenty zhang, the moving passageway suddenly crashed against some sort of hard stop and came to a halt. Unfortunately for the two boys, they did not have anything to stop their fall; carried by the strong momentum of the fall, they fell into another boundless and dark space. Falling down from the height, Bang! Bang! they separately plunged inside something that felt like fis. They bounced up and fell down again, jolting the two great young martial art masters that their entire body was aching and felt numb, they were confused and disoriented, and did not know either the human world or the life. Their nightmare was not over; the suddenly fell down. After falling swiftly for nearly a zhang, following the momentum of the fall, the closed up, so that the moment they stopped falling, the tightly caught the two boys inside so that they were unable to move a single step, your head stuck close to my head. Since their debut, they had never been in such sorry state as this one. The sound of flowing water could be heard from the absolute darkness under their feet, producing a gurgling noise. The was swaying, turning to the left and spinning to the right, seemingly would never stop. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Now I understand what Lu Dashi wrote in his book about the science of mechanism attach most importance to psychological warfare, with random changes as the secondary character; other things going down from there to lower grades. Following this logic, the first button was safe, so that people would never think that the second button was unexpectedly some his mothers trap. His voice echoed, a clear sign that this underground cave was quite wide. Dont breathe, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, This ce is full of marsh gas [methane], you breathe half a mouth more will give you trouble. The was on its end of travel and was swinging to the other direction, and was picking up speed. Being suspended mid-air in the pitch-dark [see note above] underground cave, even a great master of martial art study unmatched in his generation would also lose his sense of direction. Have you breathed the air? Kou Zhong asked, How else did you know? Xu Ziling replied with bitter smile, I was thinking of testing whether this space has any venttion. Ay! If I am guessing correctly, just now we were thrown down like garbage being dumped down the garbage chute; if that is the case, then the tunnel ought to be full of marsh gas. Earlier, although the passageway was stuffy, there was no marsh gas that could fatally poison a human. Kou Zhong said, The only good luck for us is that this is not like Beautiful Junshis, which was woven out of heavenly natural silk, but it is made of thick refined ox tendon. However, after so many years, it is showing some sign of decay. If I exert my divine power, I guarantee that it will disintegrate into cun-size pieces. Its just that under this kind of situation, how could we dare to act blindly without thinking? Ling Shao, what do you say? Xu Ziling said, Our only hope now is seeking a way back into our previous path. Havent you read through the book Lu Xiansheng left behind repeatedly for more than a dozen times? Why dont you use your small brains to think of something? What can a small brain aplish? Kou Zhong said, But small eyes definitely can see a lot of things. I have with me more than a dozen fire sticks, all tightly wrapped inside waterproof oilcloth, not afraid of ... Ay! Do you want to take this risk? Our divine skill of shutting our breathing may notst too long. Xu Ziling understood what he meant; shaking his head, he said, In a cave full of marsh gas, fire is absolutely a no. Your fire stick may be usedter when we are ready to kill ourselves! This time it looks like we are fulfilling the prophecy, the difference is that even if we have a gong or a drum that we can beat, calling the Heaven, the Heaven would not respond, calling the Earth, the Earth would not hear. Kou Zhong randomly cast his gaze into the darkness above; heughed and said, If we could return to the surface, we could tell the people who are walking back and forth along the Vermillion Bird Boulevard that there is another world below, I guarantee that nobody would believe us. Come! Lets get out of here first. The finally stopped. Chi! Chi! In one breath Kou Zhong sent out several dozen streams of finger wind, sharply shooting to all four directions, striking the cave walls, sending sand and stones sshing everywhere. Suddenly there was a Dang! sound. Sess! Kou Zhong happily said. Xu Ziling could also hear that one of the finger winds generated different sound; there was a very high possibility that it hit the steel te sealing up the tunnel entrance; otherwise, it would not have created a clear ringing noise like the sound of shing gold or iron. The two boys senses were very sharp, they were able to instantly grasp the position of the steel te. The started to move again. Xu Ziling swiftly released Treasured Vase Image Qi, using the rebound force to swing the in the direction of the steel te. The two boys applied their power at the same time. Sure enough, just like Kou Zhong predicted, the disintegrated into cun-size pieces. Raising their qi midair, they borrowed momentum of the swing, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were like birds escaping from their cage, they deftly pounced toward the steel te, and sessfully attaching themselves onto uneven surface of the rocky cave wall on either side of the steel te. Xu Ziling reached out and tapped the steel te; he said, Kou Dashi [great master], how do we open the door? Kou Zhong replied, In the book on mechanism, Lu Dashi dered at the outset that building construction and mechanism is the study of hidden damage [not sure]; in order to amass the heavens virtue, one must seize a sliver of opportunity at the end of the rope. ording to his style, there must be a way to activate the mechanism in this cave; question is whether we can find it or not! Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, To find a push button in such a wide, unfathomable underground cave like this, before we find it, we would already be unable to hold our breath and give up the ghost. Therefore, if Lu Xiansheng really left behind a way to survive, this push button must be located in a ce that we could think about. Hey? it! Kou Zhongs tiger body shook; he looked up at the pitch-ck space above. Nodding his head, he said, Right! Must be at the top of the wall where the rope is hanging. Ay! It would be much better if we did not shatter the rope of the. Xu Ziling freed up his right hand and shot a finger wind. It was quite half a dayter that it knocked against the top wall, creating a Thud! sound. The two were stunned. Listening to the sound, the top of the cave must be at least ten zhang from here. Without a word Kou Zhong started to climb up, but a momentter he was back at his original spot, and said with a wry smile, The higher it is, the smoother the wall is, plus it is dripping wet; I am afraid my gecko skill will be insufficient to reach the middle of the top of the cave. The worst part is that applying power like that is extremely taxing to the real energy, so that I cannot hold my breath even more. Fortunately Laozi still have thest trick. Ha! Xu Ziling did not need him to exin, he already reached out to the bag tied to Kou Zhongs back and took out a long rope. Smiling wryly, he said, I dont believe your rope is ten zhang long. My Niang! Its only two zhang or so; whats the use? With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Please grope a bit better, I still have another one. I, Kou Lao [old] Zhong, am very fair; how could I not prepare one for you, Ling Shao as well? Xu Ziling reached out again to grope around. Sure enough, he found another roll of ox tendon rope. Sneering, he said, If it is your business, of course you must prepare everything inside for us. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Does it matter who prepared it? One rope tied on my waist, the other end you hold in your hand, without me telling you, Ling Shao should know what to do! Lets start the Xianren Tanlu [immortal finding the way]. Turning upward, he repeatedly sent out finger wind. Luckily both of them were able to use finger wind to act as a probe; if it were other people, under this kind of circumstances, they would have been at wits end. I found it! Kou Zhong eximed, The feeling of finger wind striking up ispletely different. Come on! The two boys exerted their power simultaneously. Power shot out of the hollow of their palms, they sprang off the wall of the cave backwards, toward the air behind and above them. As they reached the middle of the cave, Kou Zhong took a breath midair, and soared straight up, the two-zhang long rope in his hand became perfectly straight, it shot toward the target, and suddenly stab it head-on. If someone was watching on the side, certainly they would gasp in amazement that in such a stretching-a-hand-and-cannot-see-five-fingers darkness after repeatedly moving and shifting position, they were still able to find the target without missing a fraction. For Xu Ziling, however, he felt that it was proper and to be expected as a matter of course. He abruptly changed a mouthful of true qi, and threw himself toward the cave wall next to the steel te. Kou Zhong then borrowed the pulling force of the rope, and sessfully pounced back to his original spot. Creak! there was the sound of machinery again. The iron panel has finally been opened again. The two boys felt muscle-weary-strength-exhausted. One after another they climbed back into the hole. Perhaps it was because their weight activated the mechanism at the bottom of the wall, unexpectedly the steel te fell down to seal the cave mouth again. Kou Zhong proposed, Very soon I cannot hold my breath anymore! Wed better return to the bottom of the well first to catch our breath beforeing back to look for the entrance! Xu Zilings condition was not much better than his, naturally he agreed. Quickly, one in front of the other, they both crawled along the path they wereing from. They climbed down first, and slid down, finally they were back at the entrance at the bottom of the well. Immediately they were shocked and horrified, simply because the exit at the bottom of the well was sealed tight. Without saying a word Xu Ziling turned around and climbed back inside. If they could not find the entrance, they would never be able to leave this ce. Book 35 - 3 – Genuine or Fake Treasure-Trove? Without even thinking, Xu Ziling pressed the button. There was not much time, their internal breathing could not hold for too long, they did not have time to consider their alternatives. This button was only about ten paces or so from the button that sent them down into the trap a moment ago. If this button still led them into another trap, they would simply have to me their own destiny for cutting their lives short. Under the two boys scalp-went-numb expectant gaze, the mechanism started to make noise again, ahead, one side of the wall sank in, opening up a square hole. From Xu Zilings side, Kou Zhong squeezed past him, chopping the nail and slicing the iron [i.e. decisively], he said, Let me lead the way. Xu Ziling was helpless against him, he only said, Just be careful. And then he followed closely behind Kou Zhong into the hole. The passageway widened; it now became a corridor where people could stand and walk. Straight ahead, at the end of the passageway, was a hazy green light. Finding it hard to believe, Kou Zhong stared nkly at the light source. He slowly stood up and said, Is it because I have been in the dark too long that unexpectedly I am seeing things? Xu Ziling also stood up; shaking his head, he said, You are not seeing things; that is indeed a light, but it is definitely not antern light. Although the air in this passageway was not as fresh and clean as above ground, but obviously there was good venttion somewhere, because it was not stuffy. Kou Zhong greedily took a breath and said, This time we will definitely find the right door. Finished speaking, he walked forward, upright and unafraid, toward the light source, but this time he was cautious and solemn, for fear of taking the wrong step and nursing a grievance of losing his footing. My Niang! Kou Zhong eximed, Could that be the legendary Night Pearl? Each side has six pearls. If we take it out and sell it, it would be enough for half of our lives to have ample food and clothing! The end of the passageway was a steel door with a steel ring on it. On each side of the door, six shiny pearls emitting dark green light were embedded outside the door. Although the light intensity was not strong, it was enough for the two boys to see everything as clearly as if it was daylight. Xu Zilings tiger body suddenly shook severely, Look! he said. Following his gaze, Kou Zhong looked at the wall to the left of the door C he saw, engraved using a sharp dagger or simr object on the smooth granite wall, was a row of nine characters, Gaoli Luocha Nu Zeng Dao Cidi [Luocha (demon C Buddhism) woman of Gaoli (Korea) was here]! Hot tears gushed forth from Kou Zhongs eyes; he spoke with a trembling voice, Niang wrote this! Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted intense emotion. Reaching out, he gently stoked the characters, saying, If Niang knew that we finally see the words that she left behind, she must be extremely gratified. Kou Zhongs tears flowed, he was unable to speak, thinking about Fu Junchuos voice and features, her smiling face, herst words before she passed away, as well as what they went through these past few years; how could he not sigh with sorrow? Xu Ziling lightly pushed his shoulder and said, Go on. The two boys started to search again. After verifying that there was indeed no other button to push, Kou Zhong sighed and said, In the Book on Mechanism that Lu Dashi left behind, there is a chapter specifically dedicated to door ring; there are ten different methods to open the door. If we use the wrong method, we might activate the wrong mechanism, the oue will be difficult to foresee. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Is there a way to test this door ring for the proper method to open the door? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Its not that by nature I dont have interest to study the mechanisms, its just that although I read it many times, its still like water over the back of the duck, nothing made any sense. Let me think about it. Suddenly he reached out to grab the steel ring. Xu Ziling jumped in fright, What are you doing? he asked. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Dont worry. I remember something; if we could pull the steel ring out, there are only two ways to test the method of opening the door. If we cannot pull it out, then well try other methods. Without waiting for Xu Ziling to voice his opinion, he pulled the door ring, exposing a steel cable attached to the ring. Sess! Kou Zhong happily eximed. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Just consider you have a bit of skill [orig. skills acquired through religious practice]. Now only those two ways of opening the door remain. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, It is either twisting it to the left or turning it to the right. Tonight my luck does not seem to be of help, why dont you decide? Xu Ziling blurted out, Is that what you called your mechanism knowledge? I might as well go gambling or bet on the points of the dice. Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, There should be a way to test it, its just that Lu Dashi, the Senior, had not taught me. Just try our luck then! We have at least 50% chance of sess. In his subconscious mind, Xu Ziling looked up and down and all around, trying to anticipate any disaster that might happen. Shaking his head, he said, If I had known this earlier, even if you threatened me with the Moon in the Well, I would not havee with you her to suffer cmity. Turn it left then. Ay! You really anger me to death. Kou Zhong cautiously swapped his left and right hands position and then turned the door ring. By the third turn, the steel door produced a crisp, loud and clear ck! The two boys watched with full attention, their alertness was elevated to its highest level. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You are all right; sess! Trying to push the steel door, indeed it yielded to his force and opened up; the steel ball running along a track on the ground opened the door wide. Another corridor appeared before their eyes, but the end disappeared into the darkness ahead, so that it was difficult to tell just how deep. But the airing right on their faces felt fresh and clean. Kou Zhong waved his hand and bowed, Ling Shao, pleasee into the treasure-trove, he said. Xu Ziling was about to step in, suddenly the mechanism sprang into action. The two boys countenance changed with this sudden unexpected change. Ten particrly long and thick refined-steel arrows, appearing to be in confusion and at random C were shooting from the darkness of the other end, carrying sharp whizzing noise as they flew, splitting the air. In this quiet underground corridor, the sound was even more ear piercing. The narrow corridor had barely enough space for one person to stand. Unless they could make their bodies as thin as paper, there was simply no way to dodge the arrows. This kind of arrows, which wereunched by mechanism-activated super-strong crossbow C were a hundred times more formidable than any arrows or dartsunched by ordinary crossbow. The only way to dodge it was to immediately close the door and hide behind the door. Even for someone with less skill than they, as long as his reaction was fast enough, the timing would still allow him to do so. However, the two boys have already had long experience; they vaguely felt that such an easy method did not conform to Lu Miaozis style. It was obvious that Lu Miaozi deliberately left a sliver of gap in time between when the mechanism started to make noise and the steel arrows splitting the air, to let one to have the time to ponder deeply and react. Anybody who was not too slow-witted, and at least had some training in basic martial art skill C would definitely be able to use the door to block the arrows. But who would dare to guarantee that once the steel door was pulled, it would not automatically close again and could never be opened? These thoughts shed through the two boys mind at the speed of lightning, immediately they went into action. To block ten of such powerful arrows at once, even if the two boys worked together in one mind, they simply did not have enough power. If it were other people, without the ability to see things under the faint illumination as if under the daylight like they had, to see the arrows clearly was already a problem, let alone trying to block the arrows! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well left his back and swept down, while he cried out urgently, Im down youre up! There was a fine tacit understanding between Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, the two had reached the state of linked-mind. Without the slightest hesitation Xu Ziling threw himself toward Kou Zhongs back. While Kou Zhongs scabbard struck, both his palms sliced down, he swept two arrows, which were flying close to their body. Ding! Ding! Kou Zhongs saber and its scabbard struck down two arrows, which were flying close to the ground C in session, while the two arrows that Xu Ziling struck wereparatively higher. The other six arrows whistled past above them, but dangerously close. The technique they were using was deflecting-force technique to deflect the arrows direction; however, the arrows still had enough momentum that unexpectedly they embedded themselves into the wall about a cun deep! Considering the hardness of the granite, the power of the arrows could be easily imagined. Immediately their four arms were aching and went numb to the point where they lost all sensation. Watching the tail of the arrows still quivering, they were overwhelmed with after-the-cmity, renewed-life feeling. Xu Ziling crawled down from Kou Zhongs back and said with a wry smile, Next time remember to turn it right. While rubbing his numbed arm, Kou Zhong returned the saber into its scabbard. His eyes scanning the floor, he shook his head and said, We turned the door ring in the right direction, but we did make one wrong step. Do you see this? This section of the stone b behind the door is different than the rest; being unaware of the inner workings we stepped on it, we triggered the mechanism. Xu Ziling felt there was terror on every step; sighing, he said, Lu Xiansheng seemed to have turned this storehouse into life-and-death game, as well as the testing field for the students of mechanic and mechanism; someday, if you can return to the world of the living, it could be considered that you graduate already! Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Dont worry; not only we will find the treasure, we will also return safely! Xu Zilingughed and said, You, this kid, are really weird. If it were someone else hitting a wall like this, he would have lost all confidence, but you, on the contrary, increase your confidence. If its not weird, I dont what it is. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, I just thought that we came across a barrier, we ovee the barrier, our achievement is remarkable; the treasure-trove must be inside. Tschak! Kou Zhong fished out a fire stick and lighted it up. He saw that at the end of the corridor, the wall was covered in small holes from which the arrows were shot. There were perhaps thirty or more such holes. If each hole shot one arrow, more than thirty of such arrows were shot at the same time; other than using the door as a shield from the arrows, there was simply no other way. Seeing this, the two boys could not help sucking in a mouthful of cold air. Speechless, Kou Zhong said, We are lucky! Some of these must be in disrepair due to its age and thus did not shoot arrows. Otherwise, just like you said, we would have to go back to the bottom of the well and bang on the wall to call on Feng Jieer [elder sister Feng (phoenix, Dugu Feng)] toe and rescue us. Seeing this, Xu Zilings scalp went numb as well. He said, Or perhaps the other arrows are for some other treasure hunters to enjoy. It seems to me that Niang should have known the mechanismyout in here; otherwise, there would be arrows that were already shot on the floor. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement. Raising the fire stick high, he stepped gingerly deep into the corridor. When he reached the end of the long corridor, he saw another corridor appearing on the left, connecting it into another room. We are here, he happily said. Learning from experience, they no longer dare to be reckless, but this corridor clearly did not hold any surprises. After passing through the corridor, Kou Zhong lifted high the fire stick, the two boys looked intently, and immediately looked at each other in shock. Not because the underground storehouse held too much treasure and weaponry, but because it was too few. It was practically 108,000 li apart [light-years apart; I seem to remember someone said that 108,000 li was the distance the Monk Xuanzang travelled in Journey to the West] from the Duke Yangs Treasure that they had in their mind. It was a vast, sealed underground room. On the top of the four corners of the room there were venttion holes. On both sides there were more than a dozen chests that supposedly contained rare treasure. Mounted on the walls were dozens of weapons rack, full of all kinds of weapons. But these were all just ordinary stuffs, and all were rusty and moldy; even if you take it out and give it away, nobody would want it. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, What in the world is this? The world famous Duke Yangs Treasure is just like this? Even if this batch of weapons, bows and arrows were not rusty, at most it could only be used by several hundred men. Xu Ziling lifted the lid of one of the chests. Inside were ancient jade, antique curios, and the like; it seemed that these things would worth quite a lot. After looking at all these more than a dozen chests one by one, Kou Zhong dejectedly sat on a chest and said with a sigh, If we carry these fifteen chests out, we could perhaps be richer than Sha Tiannan, but definitely cannot be the hegemon of the world because of it. My guess is that these are the precious articles that Yang Su raided from other people for his personal gain. Ay! In times like this, it is really not easy to sell this batch of things. Xu Ziling sat down on a chest opposite him. Watching Kou Zhong taking out a fresh fire stick, he suddenly said, Where is the Xiedi Sheli? pping his forehead, Kou Zhong grumbled with a weirdughter, Well said. This is actually another kind of even more formidable psychological warfare. If it were other people, by finding this ce and seeing this batch of knickknacks, probably they are already delighted like crazy, thinking that they had found the Duke Yangs Treasure, while the fact is that this is not the genuine treasure at all. Ay! Where exactly is it then? Xu Ziling smiled and said, This time it is really going to test your skill. After checking every cun of the fake treasure-trove walls, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came back to sit on their original position without finding anything. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Xiaodi only have one fire stick left; after it is burnt, we will have to tear apart the night pearl. Frankly speaking, the most valuable item at present ought to be those twelve night pearls; only those pearls are worthy to be called the real rare treasure. Xu Ziling disagreed, The real treasure-trove cant possibly be inside the fake treasure-trove. If, after entering the arrow holes we can find another ce with hidden mechanism, perhaps we could find the passageway to the real treasure-trove. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Such a simple thing, why didnt I think about it before? In the scroll he left behind, Lu Dashi did mention that although the mechanism can beid out in numerous different ces, but there must be a main control room, using sliding shafts, chains, cables and so on to control the overall situation; this one open that one closed, moreplicated that his grannys. Ay! Where is this main control room? If Lei Laoxiong prepared some tools to chisel the rock, we could look for a wall and dig some to search for it. Xu Ziling replied with a sneer, How could Lei Dage possibly know that your mechanism knowledge is so useless? Come, let us examine those arrow holes. Tschak! Another fire stick was burning bright. Kou Zhong sat motionless, his pair of eyes gleaming as he stared in full attention, glowing with the brilliant rays of wisdom, as he was racking his brains. He had no choice but to think deeply with all his heart, because when they activated the mechanism, the original entrance at the bottom of the water well was already closed. At the moment, even if they were willing to give up, they still did not have a way to escape. Only by finding the real treasure-trove would they have the opportunity to get out. Kou Zhong suddenly sprang up. Coming to Xu Zilings side and sitting down, he said, Let me borrow your palm. When they were little, Xu Ziling often yed this kind of game with him. Spreading out his right palm, he said, The fire stick could still burn at most for half a day; wed better go outside to borrow the night pearls light. What happen if the door suddenly closes? Kou Zhong asked. Reaching out, he drew a ten character [ʮ] on his palm. Xu Ziling did not understand, What is this? he asked. Immensely proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, Lu Shi did say, in constructing secret room underground, the positioning must be decided first. The position means the orientation as well. Using the ten character to indicate east, west, south and north, others can be positioned base on this ten character; thereupon the measurement can be exact. You see, if the passageway where we came in and the passageway leading to the fake treasure-trove could extend in the opposite direction, they would make a ten character. Xu Ziling nodded his head and said, You really have a bit of skill. Why didnt you think about it just now? Having his scar exposed bluntly like that, Kou Zhong said in embarrassment, When one is in desperate situation, naturally one must struggle for survival. Come! The two went back to the wall covered densely in arrow holes. Their backs were facing the open wide iron door at the end of the long corridor. Kou Zhong put his eyes to peek into a hole. Shaken, he immediately jumped back and said, My Niang, you were right; there are still arrows inside that could shoot out any moment! Astonished, Xu Ziling said, In that case, not only the wall is thin, the arrowheads must be some distance away from the arrow holes; otherwise the firelight would shine in and let you see the arrows. Kou Zhong said, The distance is at least one chi. Perhaps this wall is moveable. The legacy scroll mentioned there are only seven or eight methods in moveable wall [orig. living wall] construction, I hope we will not activate the mechanism, so that Xiaodi can try the methods one by one. And then he spoke excitedly, The first method is called pushing inward. If there is an axle underneath, it will slide inside, revealing the Kang Zhuang [lit. peaceful/abundant vige/manor] highway leading to paradise. As he spoke, he raised his hand to push the wall. The sound of machinery arose. Their soul flew away and scattered, together the two boys jumped to the left side, to the corridor leading toward the fake treasure-trove. The fire stick flew off Kou Zhongs hand, it hit the wall on the right, and sparks flew about in all directions. Ten powerful arrows shot out at the same time, whistling passed their ears! Boom! The two crouched on the ground, you look at me I gaze at you; having just recovered from the shock, Kou Zhong craned his neck to look, the door with the ring on it unexpectedly closed up, they could no longer see the glow of the night pearl! The smashed fire stick flickered and died, so that they sank into the pitch-ck darkness. For the first time, the two boys regretted for not taking the night pearl to be used in emergency like this. Xu Ziling said, Since we already did the first, we might as well do all fifteen. Lets push the wall again, so that the arrows inside shoot clean, and then well talk. Good idea, Kou Zhong said. Just like that, he lifted his leg and stretched out his foot, he gave the arrow wall a fierce kick. Dang! Dang! With a series of ringing noise, all the arrows hit the steel door. After the wall was kicked two more times, the arrows no longer reacted. The two boys jumped up. Groping in the dark, they came over to the arrow wall. Xu Ziling said with augh, This treasure hunt is certainly thrilling and excited. If your opening-the-door method no longer effective, I am afraid we will be the evidence of the will-never-be-forgotten old proverb, people who die for wealth. Dont worry, Kou Zhong said, Unless it is Shi Zhixuan, how could a Shifu be willing to kill his disciple. Pei! [spit in contempt] Exerting his strength, he pressed fiercely. Sure enough, the wall gave in and sank two cun back. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, There is indeed an axle underneath. Now, if we could raise the wall, it could be a moveable wall. Whether we are dragon or snake, we will see it soon! Finished speaking, he inserted two fingers separately into two arrow holes on two sides; applying his power, he lifted up. The wall rose up. Xu Ziling busily reached the bottom of the wall to help Kou Zhong lifting the wall up. Amid the creaking sound of the sliding axle and wheel, the two boys only hope obediently rose up. Kou Zhong suddenly pulled back his fingers and shouted, Stop! The stone door only shrank halfway into the top of the wall. Whats the matter? Xu Ziling asked. As if he was still having a lingering fear, Kou Zhong said, We only need enough for us to get in; we had better restore the wall properly. Xu Ziling was in total agreement. After the two boys crawled inside, the living wall fell back down, and then they pushed it back into its original position. The two boys groped about all over the ce in total darkness; they just did not dare to touch the mechanism to release the arrows. This was a square room of about twenty paces wide, and the air was flowing unimpeded, so that the two boys felt like they had found the right ce. Kou Zhong suddenly cried out in low voice, Sess! Theres another movable wall in here; we are saved! Book 35 - 4 – The Duke Yang’s Treasure Puzzled, Xu Ziling said, We pushed it, it wont even budge; how could you call it moveable? Excited, Kou Zhong exined, It did not move when you pushed it, simply because the moveable wall is particrly thick and heavy. Lu Dashi had mentioned this kind of moveable wall. After going through this, there shouldnt be any mechanism instation; this is his habit. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Why do you suddenly be so smart that unexpectedly you could find such a moveable wall, which ispletely no different than other walls? And now we should work together to push? In the dark, Kou Zhong kept pounding the wall in front of him. Assuming the air of a master worker, he spokecently, This is called good fortunees to the quick-witted; it is also called deathbed struggle. The texture of this moveable wall is different from other walls; it exudes some secret from it. Fortunately, we cannot see anything, but in my heart I am convinced of the existence of this crucifixyout. If there is any passageway behind this moveable wall, wont it be in straight line with the corridor we came in from? Come! Press your hands right here. The two boys four palms pressed on the left edge of the moveable wall. While calling to God to bless them in their hearts, they shouted together and pushed with all their might. The moveable wall was absolutely still. Perhaps we should push the other side, Kou Zhong said. Still, it did not budge, it did not respond the slightest bit. Impossible! Kou Zhong blurted out, This is clearly a moveable wall. Xu Ziling examined the wall for a moment; he agreed, This six-chi square section of the wall is indeed different from the stony wall next to it; could there be any wall lock or something like that? Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Xiaodi already groped around the foot of the wall, but I still end up empty-handed. Xu Ziling said, In the book that Lu Xiansheng left behind, there must be a chapter about door lock. Can you recite it for me? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, The parts that I understand I havemitted it to memory; I am afraid reciting it wont do you any good. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, Are you saying that there are ces that you dont understand? Kou Zhong said, Theres nothing difficult about it; the text is dead, when a living person is looking at it, naturally there will be questions. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, Fancy you still mentioned it like it is proper and to be expected by right, and that any mistake is not on my part. Quickly recite the parts that you dont understand for me; otherwise, our only choice is to pick those rusty weapons and use them to chisel the wall. After pondering quietly for half a day, Kou Zhong said, There are only a few sentences that I do not understand. Among those, there are a couple of words about some kind of interlock, and some open this and close that other, or something like that. Do you think it will be useful in this case? Xu Ziling repeatedly recited the words open this and close that other three times over. His tiger-body shook, he said, I understand! Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! Such a mystery and you are able to grasp it. I should have handed over the legacy scroll to you earlier so that you could take the responsibility of studying it in details. Dont be too happy too soon, Xu Ziling replied, I am just thinking that if all the passageways and the vaults in this underground treasure-trove areid out in east-west and north-south axes in crucifix arrangement, then at the end of the fake treasure-house and passageway pair, there should be another corridor. The moveable wall sealing the way should have an interlock rtionship with the moveable wall in front of our eyes. What do you think? pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, Makes sense. These two interlocking moveable walls separate the crucifixyout into west-south axes and the east-north axes, two regions; the west-south axes this side is the entrance, which is also used to deceive people, hence the fake treasure house is ced on this side. Such arrangement really disys the psychological warfare to extreme saturation. The two groped around all the way to the wall directly opposite to the fake treasure house. They examined the wall for half a day, and were convinced that this was also a moveable wall, proving that Xu Zilings inference was correct; however, they still failed to open it. Kou Zhong said, If I am guessing correctly, Niang only came to the fake treasure house. Xu Ziling said, Are you saying that because these two interlocking moveable walls must be activated by two people at the same time in order to unlock, and since Niang came alone to look for the treasure, she was unable to go to the other side? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its most fun talking with you; someday after you leave, I will definitely feel lonely. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, How will you have time to feel lonely? Less nonsense! Ill take the north wall; how do we unlock it? Kou Zhong said, Whether this wall or that wall, both are smooth and slick; even if Lu Dashi came in person, he would have no way to push inward. Do you have other ideas? Xu Zilingughed and cursed, You still speak more crap. Groped around the wall, he walked away. A momentter, Xu Zilings voice came back from the other end, Get ready! Push! ck! the two walls sank inside a cun or so at the same time. Sess! Kou Zhong called out loudly, Wait for me to get there! Coming to Xu Zilings side, he said, The west region should be located under Wu Lou Si, the north region naturally ought to be the control room where the hinges and buttons are located. ording to the open this and close that other principle, only one of these two moveable walls can be opened. When we reach the control room, then we can open all passageways. This deduction should be logical! Ay! I have had enough! I dont want to make a mistake again. Inwardly Xu Ziling was also very cautious; smiling wryly, he said, Your deduction seems to be quite logical. Ay! Ive had enough as well! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Real men get buried inside the horse hide, viewing death as a return home. Pei [spit in contempt]! With that, he pushed the moveable wall using his shoulder. With loud rumbling the moveable wall swung inward; unable to stop the momentum, the two boys tumbled inward. Bang! the moveable wall closed behind the two. Unexpectedly there was another ck! of the lock being engaged. It was so ingenious that it was hard to believe. Like a dj vu, another long corridor appeared before their eyes,plete with the faint light from the Night Ppearls at the other end. Kou Zhong crawled back up and said, I hope its not another arrow-shooting gate. Using the faint light of the Night Pearls, Xu Ziling carefully examined the floor. Did you see this? he said, The floor seems to be made of two different shades of grey bricks, different from the other corridor just now. Focusing his eyes to look, Kou Zhong happily said, Indeed! We have found the right ce! Xu Ziling said in surprise, If you hadnt made mistakes over and over again earlier, just by listening to you, one would think that you had the treasure map in your hand. Kou Zhong excitedly said, The fact is, the book on mechanism that Lu Dashi left behind is tantamount to a treasure map, its just that I did not understand it! This kind of ground pattern andyout ought to be nearing the end. Even if you take the wrong step, it would merely activate the rm, just in case someones sneaking into the control room and trap the people inside the treasure-trove dead. Lu Dashi did say that although this is just a small gadget, it has great preventive function. In that case, Xu Ziling asked, Should we tread on the dark brick, or on the light brick? Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, On this, he did not say clearly. Since ancient times, sesse to those who try. How about giving it a try? Xu Zilingughed and said, Havent you always been brave enough to try? Why are you acting like you want me to make the decision? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, My confidence in mechanism has been thoroughly destroyed by the mechanism and traps in this ce; I do not dare to trust my luck even more. Therefore, this time I want you to make the choice. Xu Ziling stretched out his foot to lightly tap the darker brick. He said, These darker bricks should be the problem; tapping on it, there is a bit of unstable feeling. That should be correct! Kou Zhong said, When the entire person sets foot on it, the weight might make the brick sink down one or two fen [part, or 1/100 of a chi], and thus activates the rm bell. Xu Ziling tried to step on a square light-colored brick. Fully alert, he remained still for a moment, before saying, Lets go! Advancing gradually and entrenching themselves at every step, the two boys forged ahead. After about fifty steps, under the illumination of the two rows, left and right, of three Night Pearls each, indeed they saw a door. There was no steel ring this time, but there was a round knob, with numbers engraved along the circumference of the circle; there were altogether forty-nine markings. Above the knob, there was a red dot engraved on the wall of the door. Looking at this, the two boys frowned deeply. Seeing the questioning look on Xu Zilings eyes as he was looking at him, Kou Zhong said, This is another Lu Dashis invention, some kind of button lock. The button is engraved with numbers, which is called Heaven and Earth Lock, something about turning left for the Heaven, turning right for the Earth, also something about Heaven one Earth two, Heaven three Earth four. Reading that, I had big headache, and no idea what it means. Hey! Fortunately, facing this Heaven and Earth Lock, I suddenly understand it a bit. Xu Ziling did not understand, You confused me, he said, Isnt Lu Xianshengs secret book a book that teaches people how to install mechanism? But listening to you, it sounds like a book that only teaches people how to open and close a door, how to open and close a lock, just like a book that teaches people how to steal things. Kou Zhong confessed honestly, The secret book indeed has detailed list of all kinds of mechanismyout,plete with diagrams and exnations, but then its like military tactics on paper [idiom, fig. theoretical discussion that is worse than useless in practice], plus Xiaodi is slow on the uptake in nature, hence I could only know one and understand half, plus it is constantly fading from memory, until finally I might as well gave it to Chen Laomou, this real expert, to see. This time, our biggest mistake was not inviting him, the Senior, toe along. Xu Zilingughed in spite of himself, You nearly infuriate me to death. This is perhaps thest hurdle. We must think of a way to unlock and break the obstacle. Appearing to be thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, The structure inside is extremelyplex and ingenious, but its not without no trace to look for, because when the correct number activates the button lock, it will produce different sound. This was mentioned by Lu Dashi himself. This ought to be easy to aplish, Xu Ziling said, Kou Dashi, please make your move. Kou Zhong squatted down. He slowly turned and pull the knob, while quietly mumbling to himself, Ill try Heaven one Earth two first. I should turn it to the left first. My Niang! These markings agree with the numbers. When the number 21 passed the red dot, unexpectedly it produced a soft, unusual noise. But were it not for the two boys were wholeheartedly paying attention, they would surely miss it. Kou Zhong pressed hard, creating a sharp click noise. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Finally we are being promoted, from the little pickpockets to divine thief, even this kind of weird lock we know how to open. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Why dont you toot your horn after opening the door? Kou Zhong muttered again, Turning right for the Earth! And he twisted the knob in the opposite direction. To the number 47, the unusual noise was heard again. Pressing down the button, there was another noise of the mechanism being activated. Kou Zhong turned around and asked nervously, Should we go Earth two, or this is it? Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, Unexpectedly you are asking me? Kou Zhong ferociously clenched his teeth and continued until the number 47 was back, and then he pressed again. ck! As long as you are not deaf, you should know that the lock has been opened. Kou Zhong stood up loftily, brushed the dust off his body, and pressed both hands on the door. And then he pushed hard. The steel door gave up; it opened inside, revealing a small room, which was barely ten paces square. In the middle of the room, there was a contraption that looked like a water well, with arge winch above it, and iron chain, which was as thick as a babys arm, wrapped around it. After going through numerous setbacks and sufferings, they finally broke into the main control room of the world-famous Duke Yangs Treasure-trove. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong turned the winch, the iron chain on the winch continuously grew. Obviously the other end of the chain was linked to some kind of wheel-and-axle equipment, which allowed them to lift the chain one fen and one cun at a time. ck! The chain could not move anymore. Kou Zhong hastily locked the handle in ce. The two boys your-eyes-looked-at-mine, they waited quietly. After quite half a day, from the depth under their feet suddenly came a rumbling noise like a muffled thunder. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Its the sound of flowing water! Xu Ziling said, The mechanism is activated by hydraulic power. Kou Zhong spoke anxiously, I hope Shi Zhixuan is not sitting in meditation inside the Fangzhangs [Abbot] room. Otherwise, based on his skill, the vibration underground would not be hidden from him. Letting out a cold humph, Xu Ziling said, So what if he knew? Will he know how to get down here? Creak! Creak! the sound of machinery rang out one after another. Finally the mechanism to operate the treasure-trove was activated. Kou Zhong walked out of the door, and said with augh, This time we learned from experience! Lets take the Night Pearl, one pearl per person; Ling Shao, what do you think? We cant be considered greedy, can we? The interlocking moveable walls separating the west-south axes and east-north axes were opened at the same time, revealing the secret passage leading into the treasure-trove on the east area. The two boys walked through the long hallway, and reached a circr room, with a circr stone table right in the middle, surrounded by eight stone chairs. There was a map drawn on the table; it was detailed map of the treasure-trove, drawn in fine lines. It also showed the rtionship of the treasure-trove and the City of Changan above the ground. Along the wall of this circr room, there were four ordinary-looking wooden doors, separately leading into four different treasure rooms. There was even a flint, fire stick, and paper coal under the table, enough to lit the eight wallnterns evenly-spaced around the circr wall. When the room was brightly lit, the two boys searched around, and could not help gasping in amazement. They began to understand that certainly the name of Duke Yangs Treasure was not in vain. Each of the four stone rooms was as wide as a hundred paces. Three rooms contained weapons, one room contained money and valuables, but mostly was gold. All the weapons were properly wrapped in special oilcloth to protect them against corrosion, and were ced inside sturdy wooden crate by the thousands. Roughly estimated, only the strong bows numbered more than three thousands, with arrows and darts beyond counting. As for the others, armors, sabers, spears, swords, halberds, all kinds of weapons, they numbered in tens of thousands, enough to assemble a ten-thousand-men strong elite army with plenty to spare. By the time the two boys returned to the stone table to sit down, their hearts were still in endless shock. Kou Zhong sighed in admiration, Yang Su indeed had a good taste; the weapons in the vault are all top-notch goods of highest quality. Xu Ziling focused his attention to look at the map drawn on the tabletop, Where did Lu Xiansheng hide the Relics? Although they had not, as well as could not possibly C opened the more than ten thousand big chests in all four underground storehouses, they were positive that the Demonic Emperors Relics must be hidden in a separate secret ce, so much so that Yang Su did not know either that Lu Miaozi stealthily hid the unusual treasure that everybody in the demonic school was yearning for even in their dreams C somewhere in the vault. Kou Zhong sighed and said, For the time being I am not in the mood to think about this pain-in-the-neck Relics, why dont you see what kind of magic you cane up with. Xu Ziling said, Laotianye has taken care of you in every possible way. There are altogether four passageways; the entrances are separately inside the four storehouses. One passageway is going straight to a small hill outside the city. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, This is called the Heaven will not disappoint the person who tries [idiom (Courtesy of Akw)]. But then he sighed and said, However, to transport suchrge quantities of gold and weapons, even if Shuang Long Bang is deploying the entire army, we still dont have enough power. To transport everything at once, the mule cart caravan will be, at least, more than a dozen li long. Carrying these things out is just a big joke. Even if you take the waterway, you will need at least ten, eight super-sized cargo ships. Xu Ziling was still reading the caption next to the map; he said, The secret passage leading to outside the city is equipped with rails and iron cargo cars. By pulling and activating the winching cable, you can rapidly transport the weapons out of the city. Only I am afraid the so-called rapid will still take at least a day or two. Kou Zhong pointed to a square on the map, located between the secret passage leading to outside the city and the treasure house, This looks like another underground room, he said. Xu Ziling was reading the part about how to open the tunnel; he said, Lets not worry about other things first, this is the way to seal the treasure-trove, it can open the partition between fake treasure-trove and the real treasure-trove located at the west-south axes, so that even if someone knew the entrance at the Xi Ji Yuan, they cannot find their way here. Naturally Kou Zhong understood what he meant. pping the edge of the table, he was just about to exim, Excellent! but his expression suddenly turned strange. Whats the matter? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment. Kou Zhong leaned over to look at the single leg supporting the stone table, which was embedded into the floor. He said, This table is a bit weird. When I pped on it, the reaction force entering my palm gave me the impression that it could move. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, Could it be that this stone table is another variant of fancy ring lock? Perhaps it could open certain secret vault? Kou Zhong sprang up and said, That must be it! Grabbing the edge of the table with both hands, he pulled it up. The table gave in and rose two cun, producing a light noise. You looked at me, I looked at you, Kou Zhong said, Turn left or turn right? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, I dont think there will be arrows shooting up! Kou Zhong agreed; he said, In that case, lets use the turning left for the Heaven. From under the table came the sound of grinding wheel and axle as the table was turning counterclockwise. An area by the table sank down, revealing a small, narrow space underneath. Xu Ziling came over to the small square hole and looked down. He said, Theres a small copper jar sealed with a lid over it. I do not dare to have a free hand over it, Kou Zhong said, You open and take a look. Xu Ziling squatted and kneeled down to reach inside, but suddenly he pulled his hand back and said, Remember that day at the Jing Nian Yuan, Liao Kong hid the Jade Annulus of He n inside the copper hall, so that we could not detect the Jade Annulus of He ns presence? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Right! If the lid is opened, perhaps Shi Zhixuan could sense it. Xu Ziling reached down again, not to open the lid of the copper jar, but to lift it up, to feel the weight of the jar. Seeing he did not say anything, Kou Zhong could not help asking, What do you think? Rising up to his full height, Xu Ziling said, Lets close the secret hole first. Kou Zhongplied; he closed the hole, and then after everything was back to its original condition, the two boys sat down again. Xu Ziling said, The jar is at least a hundred catties. Kou Zhong jumped in fright, That heavy? he said. Xu Ziling said, There must be a spherical object inside, immersed in some strange solution. This must be a unique secret method to make You Niaojuan and the others cannot sense the location of the Relics. Kou Zhong said, But just now, why did your expression look strange? I thought you were possessed. Xu Ziling said, It felt more or less the same as being possessed. When my hand touched the copper jar, unexpectedly all kinds of terrifying situation brimming with the reek of blood appeared in my mind. My ears even seemed to hear the screaming of millions of ghosts of the people who died unjustly, demanding retribution. It took quite half a day to get rid of it. Kou Zhong shuddered, So evil! hemented. Xu Ziling said, I think it is almost daybreak. Lets make decision how to proceed first. Kou Zhongs gaze fell back to the map on the table. He said, The other three tunnels are leading to Xi Ji Yuan ... ha! Isnt this the Sha Mansion? How can there be such a coincidence. Xu Zilingughed and said, If you havent left a letter saying that you are running away, it would be quite convenient to go home. Kou Zhong was studying the exit of thest passageway. Frowning, he said, This is not an exit, but it could lead directly to the Yong An Canal. After thinking deeply for half a day, Kou Zhong decisively said, Ill stay here to try to understand all the mechanism here; I have to trouble Ling Shao to take the Yong An Canal exit, and then lead Zhandao and the others toe in. We will then establish our invincible position first before thinking of other things that injure our spirit. Book 35 - 5 – You Fight, I Snatch After sending Xu Ziling off, the first thing Kou Zhong did was to re-separate the east-north and west-south zones, leaving the east wall as the only gateway connecting the two zones. For safety measure, the moveable wall was still closed, but he did not engage the lock. And then he walked toward the secret passage leading to the outside of the city. He opened the hidden door of the secret passage in ordance with the instructions left by Lu Miaozi. Sure enough, as he had guessed, there was another in-between secret room; the other side was the entrance to the real secret passage leading to outside the city. Under the illumination of a fire stick, he saw inside this room, which was only about an eighth in sizepared to the adjacent storehouse C a total of eight peach-wood chests, which greatly piqued Kou Zhongs curiosity, which made him decide to take a look at the contents of the chests first before continuing his exploration to the other end of the secret passageway. This was because he has hadparatively thorough understanding of the entire Duke Yangs Treasure-trove; moreover, the more he understood the situation clearly, the more he sighed in admiration on the originality and ingenuity, the supernaturally fine craftsmanship of the construction of the entire underground vault. However, were it not for the full support of Yang Su, whose authority at that time was enough to overturn the world, plus Changan was undergoing major construction within the city itself, building an underground treasure house while the gods did not know and the ghosts did not perceive, no one would have the ability to aplish. In his power struggle against Yang Jian, Yang Su has be the final victor, by borrowing Yang Guangs hands to murder Yang Jian, and by having the Duke Yangs Treasure ready just in case. But subsequently Yang Sus son, Yang XuanGan died, and the Duke Yangs Treasure became a riddle-like legend. Somehow, the legend was passed on and finally reached Gaoli [Korea]; thereupon Fu Junchuo received her masters order toe to the Central ins. Very likely her mission was to be the vanguard to find a path into the Duke Yangs Treasure, with the weapons, money and valuables as the target, to be secretly transported back into Gaoli. Its a pity that Fu Junchuo could only enter the west-south axes of the underground storehouse. Witnessing the situation of the fake treasure-trove, naturally she was greatly disappointed, and only took away a handful of treasure, hoping that she could stir up chaos in Jianghu. The twists and turns within this story was surely not something that Kou Zhong could guess out of thin air. For instance, Fu Junchuos Shimei [younger martial sister] Fu Junyu did not seem to have any knowledge of the Duke Yangs Treasure. This was difficult for Kou Zhong to exin. Kou Zhong opened the lid of the first chest. Inside were unexpectedly several sets of clothes, folded neatly. Picking up one to take a look, he noticed that it was just ordinary apparel that the traveling merchants used to wear; there was nothing special in either the handiwork or the material. Needless to say, it was prepared for Yang Su in case of emergency, to provide cover during his escape. This fellow was indeed very thoughtful. Under the clothes, there were surprisingly two sets of mask. In just one nce Kou Zhong knew that it came from Lu Miaozis highly skilled hands. He was overjoyed at this unexpected discovery; the masks were exactly what he and Xu Ziling needed, one mask per person. He was happier than if he had found the entire chest to be filled with gold. Promptly he put the masks into his sack for safekeeping. And then he opened the other chests one by one. Two chests contained genuinely invaluable rare treasure, glittering jewels to delight the eye, so that even with Kou Zhongs mental cultivation, he was still dazzled and stunned, and was pleased beyond his expectation. The other five chests contained all kinds of weapons; whether a saber or a shield, each one was a famed item. Evidently these were Yang Sus collection of divine-arms-sharp-weapons from the past dynasties; any one of these was unusual treasure that martial art practitioners would yearn for even in their dreams. Kou Zhong greatly felt that this trip has not been made in vain, thinking that if he let Gao Zhandao and the others to pick anything that their hearts desire, they would be wild with joy. Continuing his steps toward the entrance to the secret passage leading to outside the city, he saw under the illumination of the fire stick two strips of rail extending far into the darkness. On the rails were parked more than a dozen iron cars, each cars had ten wheels; with the robust structure, the cars would be able to carry heavy loads. He was about to raise his qi to swiftly run to the other end to take a look, when suddenly there was a loud Dang! that made him jumped in fright. He was stunned, not knowing what happened. Xu Ziling left from the Yong An Canal exit. The passageway was ingeniously designed, the exit was located underwater on the canals wall, only thest section was sloping down into the water. The most striking part of the entire Duke Yangs Treasure was that before the main control was activated, all the secret passages were sealed off, so that it was as if the treasure-trove was invisible, unless the whole city of Changan was excavated, which, naturally no one would do that. The treasure-troves entire venttion system was integrated with the Wu Lou Si like seamless heavenly clothes. Last time Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi were outside the Abbots chamber, although they examined the entire Wu Lou Si, they still failed to discover the slightest spiders thread and horse track of this aspect. Xu Ziling thought he might as well swim along the canal for a short section and only emerged out of the water at the ce closest to Gao Zhandao and the others hideout. There was still light snow falling down from the sky; it was still an ideal time in the dead of the night. Inwardly he mused that luckily they entered the treasure house immediately after dusk; otherwise by this time it would have been the full light of the day. He was wearing the wetsuit [orig. water armor] that Gao Zhandao had a specialist in this trade made for him. The color was dark grey, so that in the dark night,bined with Xu Zilings demon-like movement as he soared and traversed in the night, it also function as camouge. Tonight, the security over the city was obviously growing in number as well as it was stricter thanst night, although naturally it did not pose any problem for Xu Ziling, a top martial art master of the younger generation. He sprang high andy low, suddenly stopped and suddenly moved. In less than the time needed to drink a cup of hot tea, and after evading several squads of patrolling troops, he already reached a ce, from which he could see the roof ridge of the courtyard house where Gao Zhandao and the others went into hiding C from a distance. The first thing that caught Xu Zilings attention was the ornamental rooster on the eaves tile above the main door of the main building. His heart was shocked; immediately he knew something was amiss. This was the method ofmunication that he and Gao Zhandao agreed upon. If everything was all right, the rooster would face directly ahead, but if it was nting to the right, it meant the situation was critical. Perhaps they did not even have time to escape. If it was nting to the left, that meant they had time to get away from the underground passage. Thentern was dark the fire ck in the courtyard house; it actually did not have anything especially ringpared to the neighboring houses, but Xu Ziling deeply felt the heavy crisis within it. The rooster on the roof nting to the left [sic] simply put the ill omen clearly and concretely on disy. Who was actually the enemy? How could they act in this terrible moment, suppressing them down? The reason must be the Duke Yangs Treasure. Gao Zhandao and the others already received the two boys instruction in martial art, thesest several years they had been training hard day and night; to capture all them in one, perhaps only Shi Zhixuan, Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, Zhao Deyan, Ke Dazhi, or martial art masters of their caliber could aplish. However, he immediately removed Zhao Deyan, Shi Zhixuan, two parties. The former, because he believed sess was within his grasp C did not worry that they would not go through with their business deal; thetter, since he had not sensed the Demonic Emperor Relicsing up out of the ground, he would never act blindly without thinking. Thinking to this point, he dared to guess that Gao Zhandao must have fallen into Zhu Yuyans hands. They [feminine] knew that they [masculine] would enter the treasure-trove tonight, plus they were unwilling to fight a you-die-I-live battle against Zhao Deyan with open saber, open spear; hence they were forced to gain the initiative by striking first, by forcing the two boys to hand over the Relics first, or even by forcing them to give up the way to enter the treasure-trove. After figuring out this point, Xu Ziling took a deep breath and soared to the air. Traversing the more than ten zhang space, hended directly in front of the courtyard houses main gate. As if nothing had happened, he pushed the door and walked in. A singlentern was lit. Wanwans sweet voice came from behind him, Ziling, you worked hard! Sit down and have a cup of hot tea. Looking at how you are dripping wet really makes people feel sorry for you! Even though Xu Ziling had adequately prepared himself mentally, the scene catching his eyes still made his scalp went numb. Gao Zhandao and the others, eighteen men in total C were sprawling at sixes and sevens [idiom: disorder] at one corner of the main hall; everybody was unconscious. Even if no one else was watching on the side, but relying on Xu Ziling, one persons power, how many he could possibly rescue? At the round table in the middle of the hall, sat Zhu Yuyan, whose face was covered in ayer of muslin, and then Bian Bufu, Pi Shouxuan, Wen Caiting, Xia Zhano [elder], five big shots of the Yin Gui Pai C leisurely enjoying fragrant tea, as if it was beneath them to consider Xu Zilings presence at all. The way out was blocked by Wanwan behind him. Zhu Yuyan looked at him from behind the veil, and spoke indifferently, Wheres your Xiongdi [brother]? With a cold humph, Bian Bufu said, One lie one life. It would be best for you to think clearly before answering. Wanwan floated behind him and spoke quietly, Dont me us for not keeping our promise, its you who reap the consequences of your words first, so that we are forced to execute emergency measures. Xu Ziling inwardly performed Motionless Fundamental Image; assuming a pained expression, he nodded and said, Very well! This time consider us failing and being wiped over the floor. Just state your condition for releasing these people! He swept his gaze back and forth over Gao Zhandao and the others bodies. Only after confirming that they only had their acupoints sealed did he turn his eyes back. The tone of Zhu Yuyans voice turned stern, she still asked the same question, Wheres your Xiongdi? Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, It seems like we have not talked about the suitable conditions, am I right? The Cloud and Rain Double-Cultivation Pi Shouxuan raised his thumb and said, You have guts! Wen Caiting spoke to Zhu Yuyan, Wed better capture this kid first, so that we wont have to look at his face. Xu Ziling sniggered inwardly, knowing that Wen Caiting was just bluffing to scare him. Not that Zhu Yuyans side did not have the power to do so, its just that once the fight broke, it would be extremely likely that they would alert the patrolling troops, which would not bring the least bit of benefit to either side. Behind him, acting as the good guy Wanwan spoke softly, Ziling is a smart guy, you ought to understand the current situation clearly; there cant possibly be any second choice. Zhu Yuyan coldly said, Just hand over the treasure-trove and the Relics obediently: otherwise there will only be dead end for you. Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, Lets fight then! Based on your, the Seniors empty promises, you think I will obediently tell you everything? I am determined to fight to the death. Someday Kou Zhong will retrieve justice for me. Other than Zhu Yuyan, whose face he could not see, and Wanwan, who was standing behind him, Bian Bufu and the others expression remained wooden. But Xu Ziling intuitively knew that inwardly their hearts were shocked, knowing that his bluffing, the guest acted as the host C had stricken their vital point. Behind him, Wanwan angrily said, Everything can be discussed; why speak about fight or not fight, talk about life and death? Xu Ziling spoke resolutely, I have neither the patience nor the time to bicker with you; if you cannot state the conditions to my satisfaction, I will have no choice but to burn both the jade and themon stone [idiom: to destroy indiscriminately], to see if you have the ability to retain me here. If you kill my men, Kou Zhong will destroy the Xiedi Sheli, so that you will never get it, ever. Letting out a burst of deep and low coldugh, Zhu Yuyan nodded and said, All right! You do have the qualifications to speak about conditions and negotiate the price. Is Kou Zhong still in the treasure house? Xu Ziling replied, If Zongzhu [head of a n/school] rush immediately, there is a fifty-percent chance that you mighte across him. Zhu Yuyan spoke word-by-word, Lets do it this way: as the Master of Yin Gui Pai, I vow an incantation oath that as long as you agree to honestly tell me how to enter the treasure-trove, I guarantee that I wont harm Kou Zhong, and all the eighteen men in here will be handed over to you. Their life and death, you may decide with one word. Xu Ziling said, Since Zongzhu personally guarantees with an oath, naturally you wont eat your own words. From here to the entrance to the treasure house is just the time needed to drink a cup of hot tea; therefore, if after the time needed to drink two cups of hot teater we dont see Zongzhuing back, you ought to know that I am not lying; other people must leave immediately, and for the next two sichen, you must not disturb us at all. Elder Xia, who has been silent so far, suddenly said, Since the distance is not far, we could send someone to check. After confirming that you, Xu Ziling did not lie, then well release the men immediately. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, This is Zaixias condition for self-preservation; the ones going must be Zhu Zongzhu and Wan Xiaojie, two persons. Zhu Yuyan nodded and said, This condition is eptable. Turning to Pi Shouxuan, she said, If we are not returning in two quarters of an hour, that means we are already entering the treasure house, you must leave at once and must not vite the agreement. Although Pi Shouxuan was Zhu Yuyans martial uncle, he could only nod his head to ept the order. After demonstrating her good faith, she said to Xu Ziling, Speak up! Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, The entrance is inside the Dugu ns Xi Ji Yuans north well. And then without concealing anything he exined the location of the entrance to the well, as well as the location of the button to pull, even the method of opening the steel gate. Hearing that the entrance was at the bottom of the well, plus seeing the wetsuit that Xu Ziling was wearing was still wet, everybody believed him at least fifty-percent. Bian Bufu spoke heavily, What kind of trap and mechanism are still inside? Xu Ziling replied, The mechanism has been broken by us,dies and gentlemen need not be worried. Zhu Yuyan suddenly rose up and said, Theyout you are describing is certainly that Laobusis [lit. old not dead, i.e. old fart, old ] style; I hope you are not deceiving us! Only after focusing his attention did Kou Zhong realize that someone must have touched the storehouses rm system. His first thought was that whoever it was must have entered the corridor with the different shade of colors leading into the main control room. Immediately shocked, he thought that if the person stole into the control room and close the mechanism, the consequences might be catastrophic. This moment he had no time to worry how did such a dreadful thing happen, or what kind of person might possess such a great magical power? But he knew that he ought to immediately rush into the control room to prevent such thing from happening. Unleashing his shenfa, in an instant he came to the only passable moveable wall, the one that shot arrows; he crashed against the wall and entered in. The next moment he stood at the end of the corridor. The moveable wall was closing wlessly. Behind him was the wall with the arrow holes, to his right was the entrance to the fake treasure house, and directly ahead was the steel gate. The steel gate was just opened, and the light from fire stick was shining in. It suddenly dawned on Kou Zhong that the rm did note from the corridor leading to the main control room; rather, it came from outside of the steel gate. Kou Zhong originally still had time to return to the other end of the moveable wall. But the sound of the moveable wall being activated would reveal the secret that he would absolutely not willing to reveal. Without any better option, he braced himself to stand at the end of the corridor to meet the everything-bodes-ill, no-positive-signs [idiom: inauspicious] fate that he simply must face. Under the illumination of the fire stick, three men shed inside. Seeing Kou Zhong, not only they were not surprised, the one leading evenughed out loud and said, Shao Shuai has never thought wed make it, have you? I want to see where you can escape this time! The speaker was precisely the King of Qi, Li Yuanji. The two men behind him were, respectively, Yang Xuyan, who was wearing nightwalker outfit with a hood covering his face, and an old friend, the young Headmaster of Nan Hai Pai, Mei Xun. Based on these three mens power, even if he, Kou Zhong, had Xu Zilings help, perhaps they would still have greater chance of losing than winning. Until this moment Kou Zhong still could not figure out how the other side understood the location of the entrance to the secret passage. The problem must be in Xu Ziling and him; otherwise, Li Yuanji would have found the treasure-trove early on, at least he would have discovered the fake treasure-trove. Feeling that he might not necessarily lose the overall situation, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. This time we are certainly meeting face to face on a narrow path; there is no choice but to see the real skill of our hands, to see who can get out of this ce alive. Yang Xuyan spoke heavily, Where is Xu Ziling? Acting surprised, Kou Zhong replied, So, it was not because you guys saw Xu Ziling climbing up from the entrance of the well that you found out the way in. Slightly stunned, Li Yuanji said, ughtering you first shouldnt be a bad thing either. No matter how crafty you arepared to a sly fox, you never thought that I might send my men working in shift to monitor the situation underground. Xi Ji Yuan has always been a ce I suspected, especially the north well; its just that we could not find the entrance. This time Shao Shuai has done a big favor to this king. Listening to the tone of his voice, Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he guessed that most likely Li Yuanji was concealing his movement from Li Yuan or even Li Jiancheng, because he wanted to obtain the Duke Yangs Treasure for himself. Therefore, only the three of them came. Mei Xun probably sincerely wanted to help him, but Kou Zhong was sure that Yang Xuyan was harboring some evil intentions. At the same time he med himself for being careless. Such a big city like Changan, there must be an arrangement to monitor the situation underground, in case the enemy dug a tunnel to attack the city; therefore, monitoring the two boys treasure-hunt activity was a readily avable convenience. Li Yuanji shook the Splitting Horse Spear in his hand; with heroism reaching to the clouds, he said, Tonight is not an ordinary Jianghu vendetta, there is no rule to speak of. Kou Zhong, if you agree to kill yourself, I, Li Yuanji, will honor you as a real man, and will let you be buried with your body intact. Kou Zhong threw his head back and roared inughter, Rubbish! he said, Its either you die or I live. I want to see if in this kind of environment, you can still use the Sudden Thrust [lit. returning horse spear, see Book 28 Chapter 5] style, to broaden my horizons. Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard. Yang Xuyan let out a low shout. Suddenly he rushed by Li Yuanjis side; unleashing the full force of his Shadow Sword Technique, he attacked Kou Zhong. Mei Xun was responsible for holding up the fire stick; he was standing at the back, bringing up the rear. Limited by the narrow space of the corridor, Li Yuanjis side could only use wheel tactic C to take turn in attacking the enemy, to see how long Kou Zhong wouldst. Kou Zhongs tiger back smashed onto the arrow wall. Boom! The steel gate closed. Kou Zhong thundered, Now, whether its life or death, no one can get out. Book 35 - 6 – Unstable Situation in the Treasure House Thats impossible! Mei Xun cried out. Li Yuanji searched around the steel gate many times over, he still failed to find any button or lever to open the gate. Xuyan! he called sternly, Absolutely dont let him escape. By this moment Kou Zhong and Yang Xuyans saber and sword have already exchanged more than a dozen fierce moves in desperate battle, they were both attacking and defending equally, no one upied the upper hand. Hearing Li Yuanjis anxious and angry shout, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Turns out you have no men waiting for you outside. Hey! Yang Xuyans sword light red out dramatically, to such an extent that it was difficult for Kou Zhong to continue talking, he had to use the saber to sweep away Yang Xuyans exquisite-beyondpare sword technique. Li Yuanjis bright and shiny eyes suddenly surged up; carrying the Splitting Horse Spear he approached the battle arena. With a thunderous roar he shouted, Xuyan, get out of the way! epting the order, Yang Xuyan pulled back. Li Yuanjis body followed his spear. Reflecting the light of the fire stick, the spearhead looked like a streak of lightning, shooting straight toward Kou Zhong, who was standing at the end of the long corridor. Kou Zhong had already experienced his divine bravery and unrivalled martial art skill; actually, dodging this spear attack would not be difficult at all, he only needed to retreat toward the corridor leading toward the fake treasure house, and he would instantly turn peril into safety. However, he absolutely must not do so, because the consequences might be too horrible to contemte. First of all, he might lose the chance to escape from the moveable wall, his only way out. But this was, of course, quite low in his priority list; the real reason was that if Li Yuanji found the real treasure house, then all his great effort would go down the drain, and he would gratuitously convenience the Li n. Secondly, if Li Yuanjis unstoppable spear momentum forced him to retreat into the treasure house, then the situation would be reversed; the spacious space would give Mei Xun and Yang Xuyan the opportunity to join the battle, how could he, Kou Zhong, keep his life then? Therefore, whatever the case, he simply had to fend off Li Yuanjis pressing, vigorous, unstoppable spear. The spear powerpletely enveloped Kou Zhong, the momentum was fierce and severe without equal, the spearhead moved in the corridor following a brimming-with-measured-force-and-sense-of-beauty arc, swiftly aiming at the vital part on the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach. Because the spear power was highly concentrated on the tip of the Splitting Horse Spear,bined with the flint-spark-like speed, even if Kou Zhong wanted to deflect the energy and borrow the force, he was simply unable to do it. With a violent roar the Moon in the Well transformed theplicated into simplicity, it swept upward first, and then, following Kou Zhongs leaning-forward posture, it chopped down in a straight line, hitting the tip of the spear squarely. Qiang! Without any cheap trick at all, the two exchanged hard, stake-it-all moves; both felt as if they were struck by lightning, and both staggered backward. Kou Zhongs entire right arm, with which he held the saber, went numb. Li Yuanjis spear attack was releasing the entire store-up energy, plus he was in a rage, hence the momentum was like the rainbow, reinforced by total-annihtion bravery. Moreover, long spear was the best weapon to be used in direct-force attack; in the narrow space of the corridor, this advantage could be unleashed in its finest detail. During his all-out battle against Yang Xuyan, Kou Zhong hurriedly adapted himself to meet the enemy, naturally he was at the disadvantageous position. Unable to deflect the force, he could not stop his body from being thrown backward and heavily crashed against the arrow wall. Li Yuanji was also staggering back. Compared to their previous encounter, Kou Zhongs power seemed to be stronger; it was able to meet his spear power head-on, without yielding the slightest bit. It was indeed greatly beyond his expectation. Before this, he was fully confident that even Ning Daoqi would not dare to take his spear head-on like Kou Zhong. The contact between the two happened in the blink of an eye, at which point Yang Xuyan was still on his way back. Like Li Yuanji, he estimated that Kou Zhong would evade, and then Li Yuanji could forge ahead with the remainder of his spear power, and attacked Kou Zhong so that he could only parry without any power to strike back. Who would have thought that Kou Zhong was able to meet the attack solidly head-on? Seeing no time to lose, Mei Xun tossed the fire stick to Yang Xuyan and roared, Let mee! Lifting his spear, he charged forward, trying to take advantage while Kou Zhong was in a difficult situation, to continue Li Yuanjis attack. Bang! Finally Kou Zhong hit the arrow wall; he crashed so hard that his true qi nearly scattered. Yet before he had time to focus his mind, Mei Xuns golden spear, which name shook the South, already shot toward his head from Li Yuanjis side, three zhang away. Qi power was arising first,pletely locking his movement, showing that his astonishing power was not inferior to Li Yuanji and Yang Xuyan. ck! The mechanism behind him rang out. Hearing the noise, Li Yuanji and the others, three men were stunned, but Kou Zhongs soul flew away and scattered, realizing that it was extremely possible that the crossbow inside the wall still had enough power to shoot arrows. Perhaps because it has been sitting for many, many years that some of the arrow-shooting mechanism failed, but after Kou Zhong mmed on it, the failing arrow-shooting mechanism somehow recovered its ability. Kou Zhong did not have time to think about anything else, he threw himself in the direction of the fake treasure house to evade. Zip! Zip! Zip! Three powerful arrows shot horizontally out of the arrow holes. The fire stick knocked against the wall. The first to be in trouble was Mei Xun, because he was the closest to the arrow wall; practically he did not have enough time to block. Left without any other choice, he threw himself backward, one of the arrows flitted pass the tip of his nose, and firmly embedded itself into the steel gate, creating a loud Dang! noise. The other two separately shot toward Yang Xuyan and Li Yuanji. The two did everything they could to block; they were caught in an extremely difficult situation. The fire stick went out, so that the corridor sank into a stretching-a-hand-cannot-see-five-fingers darkness. All of a sudden, no one dared to make any noise. In this enemy-and-us-difficult-to-distinguish darkness, if Kou Zhong intentionallyunched sneak attack, they would enter an extremely-difficult-to-cope situation. It was precisely at this terrible moment that they heard the sound of lock ring being pulled outside the steel door. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, thinking that turned out the opponent still had reinforcement. Presently, the only way was to leave secretly from the moveable wall and then seal the moveable wallpletely. But if he did that, it would be akin to telling Li Yuanji that in this seemingly closed space, there was, in fact, another passageway. In a hurry, he could only take away a few of the most valuable things from the treasure-trove, butpared to losing his little life, it was still extremely worthwhile. On the other hand, Li Yuanji and the others thought that the neer must be Xu Ziling; they cheered inwardly, thinking that if they could take advantage of the instant while Xu Ziling was busy with opening the door and waspletely defenseless, using a ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt momentum tounch a sudden attack, they undoubtedly would be able to kill him, and then borrowing the light from the Night Pearls outside the door, they would be able to see everything clearly and turn around to get rid of Kou Zhong. And thus it would an ideal end of this saga. Mei Xun, who was closest to Kou Zhong, was listening with rapt attention, trying to detect Kou Zhongs movement. As long as Kou Zhong made any noise or perhaps made any movement, he would do everything he could to intercept, so that Kou Zhong would not be able to rendezvous with Xu Ziling. The steel door opened. To the surprise of all four men, outside the door wasplete darkness without the slightest thread of beam of light, which was supposed to be there. Li Yuanji and Yang Xuyan thought that Xu Ziling must have heard the loud noise of the arrows hitting the steel door just now, which alerted him, and thus he covered the night pearls with some kind of cloth and silk, hence creating this kind of situation. They already amassed their strength like an arrow on the taut bow; it simply had to be released. Thereupon they shouted at the same time, and then one spear and one sword, like mercury flowing swiftly, attacked toward the outside of the door. Only Kou Zhong knew for sure that the neer at the door was not Xu Ziling. This moment he also knew that it was definitely not Li Yuanjis reinforcement. His heart was moved, the Moon in the Well hacked forward to test Mei Xuns position, as well as his reaction. Xu Ziling, who was sitting in a corner, stood up, walked forward, and spoke indifferently, Time is up,dies and gentlemen, please leave per our agreement. The four persons exchanged eye signal, and stood up at the same time. And then, altering-shape-exchanging-position, fast as lightning they moved to all four corners, surrounding Xu Ziling in the middle. Xu Ziling acted as if he already knew that this situation would happen, heughed calmly and said, You want to renege on your words? Arent you afraid of dealing with the incantation oath? Bian Bufu revealed a smile brimming with ridicule; he spoke grimly, Kid, how could you be so na?ve? If you were in our position, would you let people who knew the entrance to the treasure house running all over the ce in Changan, bbering indiscriminately? Wen Caitingughed tenderly and said, Xiao Geer [little boy]! We do not have the slightest intention to break our promise, we just want to let you sleep in peace, until after we find the treasure house situation clearly, and then well let you and your Xiongdi leave freely. You can consider it reasonable and fair, right? Finished speaking, she even cast him a coquettish nce, as if she was very interested in him. While applying his power to resist the enormous pressure that the four people were sending out to him, Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said in surprise, Have you ever thought that if you spare Wanbei [junior, younger generation], the consequences could be extremely grave? In my anxiety, I would be forced to notify the Heavenly Policy Mansion, one thing goes wrong, not only you would lose the treasure house, Zhu Zongzhu might even have to nurse a grievance inside the treasure-trove. Elder Xia coldly said, Dont forget that Kou Zhong is still inside the treasure house. If you rm the Li Family, the first to suffer will be him. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Isnt this remark contradictory to your previous one? Since you are not afraid that I might rm other people, why are you now disying torrential-rushing momentum, acting like you want to beat me, you want to kill me? Pi Shouxuanughed coldly and said, If you stubbornly resist, we will have no choice but to go all out and kill you. Xu Ziling shook his head with a sigh, he said, Frankly speaking, with the four of you joining hands, my chance of getting away is rather slim, but to rm the patrolling troops and horses in the city, it will be easy to aplish. Do you want to try it? Pi Shouxuan, four persons, could not help but look at each other in dismay; they all knew that to put Xu Ziling in order was something that cannot be aplished in just eight or ten moves. If he disregarded Kou Zhongs life or death and used his internal power to create noise to attract the patrolling troops, the consequences would certainly be difficult to predict. Xu Ziling cleverly exploited the currently special circumstances and suddenly he upied the upper hand. In order to let the four get off the hook, Xu Ziling slyly said, How about this: I promise you that I will stay inside this house and will not go out the door even for half a step until daybreak. This way, wont it satisfy rival demands? If it were confirmed that Kou Zhong has fallen into your hands, I cant possibly act blindly without thinking even more, can I? This could still be considered to be a solution. Taking into consideration the safety of his men, based on Xu Zilings conduct, he would definitely not charge outside and run away. Without waiting for them to respond, Xu Ziling coldly said, But you must withdraw outside the perimeter of this courtyard house to let me save them and wake them up. Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think? Any other proposal, forgive me for not being able to ept it. Using eye signal, Pi Shouxuan consulted the others opinion, and found that even Bian Bufu, who hated Xu Ziling to the bones, was also expressing that this was the only feasible solution. Without any choice, he said, Very well! Well do as you say. But if we ever find out that you are conspiring against us, none of your brothers will be able to live. The one gracing them with her presence was naturally the head of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, the Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan. She was apanied by Wanwan, whom she left behind to guard the entrance of the well, while she came alone to this ce, determining to put Kou Zhong in order first and forget about other things. It would be best if Kou Zhong thought that it was Xu Zilinging back with their men. She could exploit this misunderstanding, which would save her a lot of effort. The six Night Pearls were jabbed by her fingertips and were smashed, with the purpose of giving Kou Zhong unexpected surprise, to catch him off guard. Who would have thought that as soon as the steel gate was opened, weing her was an extremely fierce and severe pair of one spear and one sword? Fortunately she had been storing up her momentum as well. The gauze sleeve flew, it struck the tip of the first-to-arrive Li Yuanjis spear. The Tian Mo Gongs full strength was unleashed, it deflected the Splitting Horse Spear sideways, urately without any mistake it hit Yang Xuyans Shadow Sword. Li Yuanji let out a muffled groan; it was unbearably ufortable. Even if he hit a copper wall, iron bastion, he would not feel this ufortable. Although he had the strength, the Tian Mo power made him unable to release it, so that his whole body felt empty and fluttering, he nearly sustained internal injury and vomited blood. If he knew clearly that his opponent was the Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan, he would not have suffered such a terrible loss as soon as they met facet-to-face instead. Yang Xuyans Shadow Sword originally carried an advance-courageously momentum, but he never expected that Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear would suddenly move sideways and hit the sword. Caught off guard, the long sword was immediately knocked askew, while his entire body instantly felt absolutely empty, all the following changes he was nning were disrupted. In the absolute darkness, neither side knew who the opponent was, they were simply overly suspicious, and were thrown into extreme confusion. In fact, Zhu Yuyan was shocked as well; she quickly judged that to kill these two mysterious opponents in such a narrow and small space, although not impossible Cwould definitely cost her a hefty price. Her senses were very sensitive; she detected that there were still two other persons in the corridor, who were fighting each other, and she knew that one of them was Kou Zhong. Under such circumstances, how could she be willing to take the risk of sustaining an injury? Once again Li Yuanji and Yang Xuyan regrouped tounch an offensive counterattack. Although Zhu Yuyan was so upset that her teeth itched, she had no strategy left to try, and was forced to retreat. Inside the treasure house, no one really understood what was going on. Mei Xun was standing against the wall. From the sound of the saber wind, he deduced correctly Kou Zhongs position. His spear, without creating any noise, stabbed suddenly. As luck would have it, unexpectedly his stab missed, but before he had any chance to change his move, Kou Zhong heavily hacked down on the golden spearhead, jerking the Golden Spear that it nearly fell off his hands. Overwhelmed with shock, he retreated backward. Outside the door, the sound of fierce fighting gradually moved away. Mei Xun did not have enough strength left to strike back. On one hand, Kou Zhong already seized the initiative, on the other hand, he was unclear of the situation between the enemy and us, just now it sounded like Li Yuanji had suffered a bit of defeat. Not in the mood to zealously continue fighting, he then fought and retreated toward the door, thinking that as long as he could defend the entrance to the well, even if Kou Zhong grew wings, it would still be difficult to escape. It was not worth it for him to decide life and death with Kou Zhong in this total darkness. Kou Zhong, however, cried Wonderful! inwardly. If he could force Mei Xun to the secret passage leading to the underground river, or perhaps back to the mouth of the well, he could then return to the treasure house and escape via the moveable wall. And after locking the wall, it would be akin to locking the enemy outside the real treasure-trove. Even if the other side came again, they would think that the fake treasure-trove was the real Duke Yangs Treasure. Furthermore, they would think that he, Kou Zhong, left via the underground river. And then things changed beyond anybodys expectation. Xu Ziling blew the oilmp first, and then he took his time to rescue and wake up Gao Zhandao and the others, one by one. The technique used to seal their acupoint was extremely vicious, to unseal it would not be easy at all, even if the unsealing process was sessful, perhaps everybody would have to lie down for several days before they could recover. Fortunately Xu Ziling had certain knowledge about the Tian Mo Gong, plus in itself the Secret to Long Life Qi had divine efficacy in healing injuries; therefore, although they could not fully recover, nearly 80- or 90-percent of their strength were back. After listening to Xu Zilings brief exnation of the situation, Gao Zhandao said with a sigh, They [feminine] came without warning at all, fortunately at that time I was outside and still had the time to activate the rooster warning sign on the roof. But it did not make any difference. Ziling is indeed supremely honorable and righteous, unexpectedly you refuse to take your own safety into consideration ande in to deal with those demons. Xu Ziling said, Fortunately I have conditions that we can negotiate with. Presently we are still upying the upper hand. If we could sneak out from the secret passage and steal into the treasure house, we can still be highly sessful. Gao Zhandao cheerfully said, That is not a problem. Xu Dage, pleasee with us. Xu Ziling was amused inwardly; ifter on Pi Shouxuan and the other demons discovered that they have been guarding an empty, uninhabited house, what would their expression look like? Book 35 - 7 – Breaking Off Relationship with the Beloved Xu Ziling and Gao Zhandao and his team returned to the treasure house via the Yong An Canals hidden entrance. Kou Zhong was waiting for them, burning with anxiety; seeing them arriving safely, he was overjoyed at the unexpected good news [idiom]. After both sides narrated their bitter experience, they all felt lucky. Under freakbination of factors [orig. an ident arising from many causes (idiom)], if Li Yuanji thought that the fake treasure-trove was the real storehouse, they would obtain obstacle-protection instead. Kou Zhong said, Now we must absolutely not make any noise from activating the mechanism, otherwise we cannot hide from the eyes and ears of the men on Li Yuanjis side specializing in monitoring the activities underground. Therefore, right now two secret passages must remain open. When we have the opportunity, we can close the secret passage leading to the Yong An Canal. There were altogether four secret passages from the real treasure house. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling opened up the two secret passageways leading to outside the city and the Yong An Canal, leaving the other two in their original state. But this did not mean that the exits were open; rather, the boulders filling the entrance would have to be removed via the mechanism. If they wanted to leave from the secret passage, there was another ingenious moveable door. Frowning, Gao Zhandao said, So how do we transport the things away? Having a n in advance, Kou Zhong said, After daybreak, the streets of Changan will be full of pedestrians and vehicles and horses going here and heading there, that will be the best cover, whatever we are doing down here, we wont have to worry that anyone will hear it. And then he asked, How long is it before dawn? Ought to be less than half a sichen, Niu Fengyi replied. Zha Jie said, An Long never showed up. Letting out a cold humph, Kou Zhong said, Just consider him lucky. Yesterday they made up their mind to get rid of An Long before entering the well to search for the treasure. Who would have thought that An Long did not go to the Bei Lis Le Quan Guan at all, so that the heroes had no ground to use their martial art? Kou Zhong cheerfully addressed the crowd, On the way to the tunnel exit over there, there is a super treasure house; stored inside ought to be several dozens of divine arms and sharp weapons of extremely great fame. As a token of my gratitude to all brothers, you can help yourself by picking up one item each. Gao Zhandao and the others, none was not wild with joy; to martial art practitioners, divine arms and sharp weapons are the things that could only be discovered but not sought, more valuable than any treasure. They were overwhelmed with the touching feeling of entering the treasure mountain, indeed they did not return empty-handed. Everybody followed Kou Zhong. After they all picked up the treasure, from his pocket Kou Zhong produced a mask, and said with augh, This was originally prepared for Yang Su to escape; since he has no use for it, you can inherit it. Xu Ziling took the mask. Running his fingers on it admiringly, he said, Having one more mask is just like having one more identity. The former masks have been exposed too much; this one can be just the weapon with a life force in it. And then he asked, Whats your n in handling the stuffs from the treasure house? Kou Zhong sighed and said, It is both unwise and impossible to carry that much stuffs at once. I only intend to carry out the super weapons and super treasure from this super treasure house. Even if Li kid or anybody else intercept us, because they see that we do not harvest much, they might think that these are all from the original fake treasure house, and might not guess that there is another universe down here. Xu Ziling said, I can imagine that the Li n will send men underground for a thorough search, conceivably among those men will be experts in civil engineering, as well as in mechanics and mechanism; perhaps they will be able to find the secret to the real treasure house. Kou Zhong replied, That possibility is next to nothing, because I have another unexpected tricky move, which is, just now, taking advantage while Li Yuanji and the others were retreating toward the mouth of the well, I opened the steel door leading to the cave full of marsh gas [methane]. Now that passageway must be filled with marsh gas, only martial art masters who can close their qi for a long period of time will be able to enter. Before the marsh gas are cleared away, experts like Liu Zhenghui and the likes could only look at the door and sigh from a distance. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Such a vicious tricky move, I am surprised you cane up with it. Kou Zhongughed and said, I did note up with it. In fact, I am not a vicious person, hence I cannot think of vicious thing. At that time I wholeheartedly wanted to create an illusion that I was escaping from the underground river, and then when the marsh gas was pouring into the cave I came up with that idea. Ha! I hope Li Yuanji is not entering the cave holding a torch; otherwise I am afraid his eyebrows and his hair will be difficult to protect. Xu Ziling said, This time you might implicate the Sha Family. Dont worry! Kou Zhong said, I will immediately rush back to the Sha Mansion, and adapt ording to the situation; I guarantee that I can still cover up everything. Xu Ziling said, Everybody in the Sha Family, from top to bottom, are honest people; you, this kid, can easily deceive them, but arent you afraid Wanwan ising to entangle you? Kou Zhong proudly said, Xiedi Sheli is still in our hands; why would we be afraid of her? No matter how crafty and vicious Wan Yaonu is, in the end she is still a toy that I can y with on the palm of my hand. After a short pause, he added, Leave the business here for Gao Zhandao to take care, youd better use your Yong Qin identity to show your face everywhere, and then nobody will think that outside the fake treasure house, there is still the real one. Isnt Yun Shuai still relying on you to make contact? Kou Zhong secretly returned to the Sha Mansion and sneaked into his room. Groping under the pillow, he found the letter he left was still there, so he was relieved. By this moment the sky has slightly brightened, light snow was still falling. Kou Zhong might as well put his head down and went to sleep, and only woke up when he heard Sha Fus cry of surprise. Sha Fu, with happy expression, asked, When did Mo Yee back? Bundling up inside the quilt, Kou Zhong sat up; he asked, Did anybodye to look for mest night? Sha Fu replied, Xiufang Xiaojie and Qingqing Furen separately sent someone to look for you. Kou Zhong mused that fortunately his countenance was ugly; if he were wearing mask with Hou Xibais kind of appearance, he would definitely provoke interest from even more beauties, plus people would think that he was sowing love everywhere. Sha Fu inquired further, Where did Mo Ye actually go? Laoye and the others thought that you were afraid of being detained, and thus you left without saying good-bye. Kou Zhong replied, These days I must take advantage of Huangshang leaving the city to steal away. Did Da Jiuye [first son-inw] look for me? Da Jiuye was on dutyst night, he did not have time to stop by, Sha Fu replied. Secretly Kou Zhong thanked the heaven and thanked the earth; lowering his voice, he said, Last night at dusk I came across Heavenly Policy Mansions Li Jing, and was invited back to the Mansion to have some drink. Who would have thought that three cups of wine went down my belly, I was drunk and did not remember anything, until I woke up earlier this morning, and only then did I hurriedly go home, by climbing in from the rear courtyard, because Laoye definitely will not be happy that I have such a close rtionship with Heavenly Policy Mansions people. What can you do to help me covering this matter? Without even batting his eyes, Sha Fu replied, Thats easy. In this mansion, who does not revere Mo Ye? Who is not willing to do his best for Mo Ye? As long as I make a bit of arrangement, I will say that only at chu hour [7-9pm]st night Mo Ye came back from either Xiufang Xiaojie or Qingqing Furens ce, I guarantee no one will question it. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Just say I went to see Xiufang Xiaojie then. Thank you for your, the Seniors trouble in making the arrangement. Sha Fu sighed and said, Its a small matter. Ever since Laoye found out that you insist on leaving, he has been very unhappy. Kou Zhong said, I am just going out into the world to fulfill my destiny; its not a big deal. Lowering his voice, Sha Fu said, But theres news that Huangshang wanted to appoint you the Imperial Physician. If Mo Ye leave just like that, Huangshang might not be happy, perhaps he would me Da Jiuye. Kou Zhong had not thought about this; frowning, he made up his mind and said, Tell Laoye not to worry. I will go into the Pce to see Zhang Jieyu to give her the full ount. With her speaking to Huangshang, it will be more effective than other peoples thousands of words. I guarantee that Da Jiuye will not be affected. Sha Fu said, In that case, you have to be quick. I hear that Huangshang is leaving today for Bie Gong [lit. the other pce] on Mount Zhongnan; he might take Zhang Guifei [imperial consort] along. Kou Zhong thought that the Duke Yangs Treasure affair was like paper cannot wrap fire [fig. the truth wille out], it would be strange indeed if Li Yuan would not postpone his trip because of this; thereupon he nodded his agreement. Sha Fu left hurriedly to circte the lie on Kou Zhongs behalf, lifting one load from Kou Zhongs mind. After freshening up, he was about to go out when Wanwans fragrant-self came to honor him with her presence. Seeing Kou Zhongs serene appearance, as if nothing happened to him since he was staying peacefully inside the room, she could not hide the look of surprise from her face. Kou Zhong also wanted to know clearly what happened between them [feminine] and Li Yuanji, so he sat down on the side and said, Im surprised you still have the face to see me. Wanwan sat down at the edge of the bed, looking contrite; acting cute and pitiful, she said, How could you me me? The one eating his words is you; having no choice, we were forced to carryout necessary action for self-preservation. Spreading out his hand, Kou Zhong said, All right! Now we break up this agreement; you dont have the Relics, I lost the treasure. The only thing I am thankful of is that I can still eat and walk away. Pfft! Wanwan giggled tenderly, You should thank us instead. Your so-called covert operation turned out to be just like that. Were it not for Zhu Shi came into the treasure house just in time to lure Li Yuanji away, even if you, Kou Zhong grew wing, it would still be difficult to fly. And then, spreading her palm, she said, Give it to me! Kou Zhong shivered inwardly; Wanwans side definitely had a spy inside the Li n, hence the reason they knew what happened inside the treasure house as soon as it happened. Furthermore, she knew that he escaped from the underground river. Knitting his brows, he said, You think I have the Relics in my hand? Wanwan said, Before Li Yuanji found the entrance, the two of you had enough time to turn the treasure house upside down. When we saw Xu Ziling, he was wearing skintight water armor, there is no possibility to hide the Relics on his body. Since it was not on him, naturally its on you. Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, If I did not see that you can still dress up as God, y the devil, I really do not wish to make a business deal with you. But now you can only listen to me: tonight, at the beginning of xu hour [also 7-9pm], meet me at the Foreign Guesthouse! Wanwan still wanted to talk, but there were footstepsing. Kou Zhong signaled Wanwan to get out with his eyes before going to the small hall to meet the visitor. Turned out it was a servanting to report that Ke Dazhi was waiting for him in the East Hall. Kou Zhong already guessed that Ke Dazhi would get the wind ande to see him; he dly went. Xu Ziling changed back to be Yue Shan and waited patiently in the inn. Sure enough, when the sky was bright and the floating snow stopped, the Great Tang Emperor Li Yuans dragon-self, wearing hunting attire, came to honor him with his presence. Grabbing his head, Li Yuan said, The Duke Yangs Treasure has been unearthed! Xu Ziling calmly looked on as Li Yuan was sitting by his side. Did you catch those boys? he asked. Shaking his head, Li Yuan said, Consider them very lucky; they separately escaped via the entrance to the well and the underground river. Yang Su was very cunning; unexpectedly there is a storehouse within a storehouse; it was nearly concealed from us. Xu Zilings entire body, from head to toes, broke into cold sweats; could it be that they found the real treasure house? If so, wouldnt that mean Gao Zhandao and the others meet with cmity? But listening to the tone of Li Yuans voice, it did not seem that they caught anybody. What do you mean a storehouse within a storehouse? he asked. Li Yuan did not hesitate to exin in details; he said, As early as many years ago, when Yang XuanGans army was defeated and he perished, someone came to me and told me that before his death, Yang XuanGan mentioned that sentence, a storehouse within a storehouse. Therefore, when we entered the treasure house, we paid particr attention, and finally unearthed an entrance under a chest, opening to another room underneath. The weapons inside are well preserved, enough to assemble a thousand-man army. Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief inwardly, Turns out only that, he mused. He could not help prostrating himself in admiration toward Lu Miaozis psychological warfare. If it were them, supposing they were unlucky to find the storehouse within a storehouse, they might also believe that this was the real treasure house, and thus beat the gong to recall the troops. This time Xiao Dao struck a bumper harvest, he spoke heavily. Li Yuan nodded and said, It is indeed unexpected joy; my only regret is that we failed to catch those two gods-appear-and-devils-vanish [idiom: to appear and disappear unpredictably] kids. Also, to get to the cave inside the treasure house, it will still take some effort, because presently the storehouse is full of marsh gas. Were it not for the night pearl from the Pces warehouse, when we got in, we would not be able to see anything. Xu Ziling had a faint feeling that the reason Li Yuanji was confused, thinking that Zhu Yuyan was him, Xu Ziling, must be because Yang Xuyan was ying trick on him, because he did not want the Li n to be on guard, to such an extent as to destroy his plot to restore the Yang ns old dynasty. Li Yuan gratefully said, Our Li Familys good luck so far is entirely thanks to Dages advice. Later on, after subduing the treacherous viins and evildoers, I must invite Dage to the Pce for a drink and heart-to-heart chat, as well as to celebrate. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I have not had that kind of mood early on; Xiao Dao, do your best to be the Emperor! Shaken, Li Yuan asked, Dage wants to leave? Acting old and decrepit, Xu Ziling said, In life, wee together and separate, nothing is permanent; what we cannot see, we cant understand! While I, Yue Shan, still have a little bit of strength left, I must aplish some unfinished wishes before I die. Li Yuan stared nkly for half a day. Lowering his voice, he said, Yue Dage wants to go to Lingnan for a decisive battle against Song Que, Xiao Dao hereby offers best wishes for the sess of your mission. The Heavenly Saber Song Que is a rare genius of the Central ins Wulin for thest hundred years, and now he is the strong supporter behind Kou Zhongs back; he has indeed be our Li Familys serious problem. Xu Ziling mused that this was exactly the reason why Shi Feixuan did not hesitate to do everything within her power to prevent Kou Zhong from snatching the treasure and returning to Peng Liang, and even Ning Daoqi agreed to make his move. Song Que plus Kou Zhong, once they established a foothold and seeded in controlling the situation, in the world, apart from Li Shimin, it would be difficult to find anybody who could match them. If Li Shimin did not upy the favorable location in Guanzhong, plus his foundation deep and stable, perhaps he would suffer a dismal end as well. Li Yuans fear was, by no means, a paranoia. With a far-away look on his eyes, Xu Ziling slowly, yet firmly said, In this battle, I have no regard of sess or failure, life or death; I am only looking for delight. Delight, these two characters [tong kuai] carried an inauspicious implication, but Li Yuan did not dare to point it out to him. The Heavenly Saber Song Que was a martial art master of Ning Daoqis caliber. His name shook the world after he defeated Yue Shan; since then, he had never tasted utter defeat. Even though the demonic schools martial art masters came forth inrge number, they still obediently stayed away from his sphere of influence in the Lingnan region, so as to avoid angering this outstanding figure who was acimed as the number one saber expert in the world. The reason behind the Li n recruiting Huang Gongcuo and Nanhai Pai was precisely because they were hoping that they could curb Song Ques influence. Nowadays, from the Jianghu Four Major ns, the Dugu n was in decline due to their defeat against Wang Shichong; the Yuwen n repeatedly suffered defeat, their prestige went down the drain like the Yangtze River flood. Although the Li n was like the sun at noon, but the Song n was settling steadily in the south [orig. Nan Jiang C southern border (of a country)]. One more day Song Que still alive, one more day they would not be willing to bow to anybody. Perhaps it would not matter who seeded in unifying the world, that person would still be unable to do anything to Song Que. The only thing Song Que wascking was someone who would be willing to conquer the world on his behalf, and nobody was more qualified for this task than Kou Zhong. Just like Song Ques daughter, Song Yuhuas analysis, Song Que seeing Kou Zhong was like bees meet honey; no one could separate them. Xu Ziling was lost in his thought for a moment. He spoke heavily, Xiao Dao, go! LaoGe is wishing you the-horse-arrive-the-meritorious-deed-seeds from here. Kou Zhong sat down by Ke Dazhis side. Smiling wryly, he said, You came this early in the morning to look for Xiaodi, arent you afraid people might grow suspicious? Ke Dazhi exhaled very, very slowly; he said, Even Ol Ke have no choice but to admire Shao Shuai for possessing great magical power. Currently there is a widely-spread rumor in the pce that Shao Shuai is buried inside the marsh gas cave in the treasure-trove, only Xu Ziling escaped alive; who would have thought that not only Shao Shuai is still alive and well, you appear vigorous as if you just wake up, looking radiant with happiness? Kou Zhong replied, Without some skills [orig. skills acquired through religious practice], how could I mingle in Jianghu? Ke Dazhi said, Naturally Shao Shuai has a skill so high that its hard for other people to believe, only Yan Shuai [Commander Yan] worried that probably you guys did not have time to take away the Relics. Raising his eyebrows, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Did somebody find the Relics in the treasure house? He casually took out a night pearl from his pocket. Although it did not produce the same brilliance as when it was in the total darkness of the underground treasure house, anybody would be able to tell in just a nce that it was indeed a rare gem. Facts speak louder than words, Ke Dazhi was immediately left speechless. Putting the night pearl back into his pocket, Kou Zhong said, Ke Xiong, please go back and notify Yan Shuai, the business transaction will proceed as nned tonight; you must, by all means, not y any trick. Otherwise, if he killed us, he wont get the Sheng Sheli. Besides, I, Kou Zhong, am not one who will be easily bullied. Presently Xiaodi has many things waiting to be done, I must leave immediately to take care of so many things more than I can count, please forgive Xiaodi for not able to apany you. Ke Dazhi rose up to his full height; his pair of eyes flickering brightly, he sized Kou Zhong up and down, and spoke in amazement, Shao Shuai does not seem to care about losing the treasure-trove you have just obtained; what exactly happened? Apanying him standing up, Kou Zhong smiled mysteriously and said, Entering the treasure mountain, how can one return empty-handed? Riches can make the ghosts pushing grindstone. Ke Xiong is very familiar with our humble countrys proverbs, surely you understand the meaning of these two sayings? Ke Dazhi was at a loss against him; knowing one and understanding half, he left. He just went out the door, Sha Fu came and said, Li Jing Jiangjun is here! He said he wanted to see if you have any hangover from drinkingst night. I did not dare to let Laoye and Xiaojie know, so I invited him to sit at the small pavilion of the outer courtyard, waiting for Mo Yes honorable self? Inwardly Kou Zhong praised Li Jing for being astute; following the tone of Sha Fus voice, he helped him perpetuating the lies, so that the crazy nonsense he uttered now be seamless heavenly clothes. He hurriedly went out to see him, fully aware that this hurdle would be even more difficult to deal withpared to Ke Dazhi. After Li Yuan left, Shi Feixuan honored him with her presence [note: original text says fa jia C Buddhist teaching good-self]; seeing Xu Zilings Yue Shan, she spoke, tranquil and calm, Is Kou Zhong all right? Just from this question, Xu Ziling knew that hermunication with Li Shimin was even more highly efficient than he thought, hence she received the news this quickly. Smiling, he said, Thanks to your lucky influence [polite reply to health inquiries]! Her eyebrows deeply knitted, Shi Feixuan sat down beside him, but the tone of her voice was very tranquil as she spoke softly, Why does it look like Ziling suddenly has a great change of attitude toward Feixuan? A feeling of delight, which even Xu Ziling himself did not fully understand, welled up in his heart. But then he calmed himself and got rid of any distraction from his mind. He changed the subject by saying, Xiedi Sheli is in our hands; tonights n will proceed as scheduled, has Xiaojie made appropriate preparation? Shi Feixuans jade countenance returned to her usual ancient-well-without-any-ripple state; she gazed at him for half a day, and then softly said, There is really no other way? Xu Ziling nonchntly said, Only by doing this we can kill Xiang Yushan, plus we can break apart various factions of the demonic school. Does Xiaojie have a better suggestion? Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, Why didnt Ziling answer Feixuans question earlier? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, How does Xiaojie want me to answer? Our problem is only because our goals are different that we appear to disagree on how to handle Xiedi Sheli. Shi Feixuan sighed lightly, she said, Destroying Xiedi Sheli is merely the exertion of lifting ones hand, but it will give rise to great misfortune. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that if you, Shi Xiaojie did not invite Ning Daoqi to deal with Kou Zhong, perhaps they would indeed do so; but presently, this was the only way that could put the top few people of the orthodox and heretic schoolspletely under control. Whoever seeded in seizing the Demonic Emperor Relics would be busy dealing with the other people and would have no time to worry about anything else. In the end, he and Kou Zhong did not have to be afraid that the Demonic Emperor Relics would fall into the hands of the demonic school people. In the martial art way, there was no instant-sess, to-get-there-in-one-step method; the Jade Annulus of He n was the best example. Although their attainments were progressing slowly, but they were improving every day, practically they need not be afraid of anybody. Xu Ziling did not want to be in a tangle with Shi Feixuan any longer; toward Shi Feixuan, his heart had already died. He replied calmly, If Xiaojie can persuade Kou Zhong, I, Xu Ziling, will not have any objection. Shi Feixuan was slightly stumped for words; her pretty eyes staring at him, obviously she had a faint grasp on the reason of Xu Zilings change of attitude toward her. It was quite half a dayter that she said, Now that you lost the treasure that you have just obtained, whats Kou Zhongs n? This was the question that Xu Ziling dreaded the most. No matter how resentful he was that Shi Feixuan was conspiring against Kou Zhong in secret, he still was not willing to lie to her. Sighing inwardly, he said, Why dont Xiaojie drop by in person to ask Kou Zhong? Shi Feixuans pair of beautiful eyes emittedplicated expression. Sighing quietly, she said, If I have a choice, Feixuan definitely did not want, even more, did not wish C to be enemies with you. If things really developed to that stage, Ziling, I want you to know that Feixuan is acting against my will. Inwardly, Xu Ziling let out a rueful smile. When Kou Zhong found the Duke Yangs Treasure, things had indeed developed to this inevitable stage, no one could do anything about it. Shi Feixuans beautiful eyes appeared pained and bewildered; this was indeed an expression that has never appeared on her. A sliver of pained smile floated out of the corner of her mouth, she spoke indifferently, But Feixuan is still very much grateful of two gentlemen helping Qin Wang out of righteousness this time. Ziling, please take good care of yourself! Finished speaking, she floated away. His scalp felt numb; Xu Ziling sat nkly in his chair. Finally he broke off rtions with Shi Feixuan. Emotional stirring and heartache, which he could not even start to exin, were surging in his heart. Perhaps it would be unlikely that he was going to stand face-to-face against Shi Feixuan as enemies, but when Kou Zhong became her greatest enemy, there would not be as much room for a turnaround as before. Since setting his foot in the Duke Yangs Treasure-trove, Kou Zhong has started to embark on this difficult road in his great undertaking to contend for hegemony over the world. Unless someone could knock him down, there would be one day that he became a hegemon whose prowess would intimidate the world. No one knew Kou Zhongs strength better than him. Once heunched his great undertaking, with every passing day, his foundation would grow even more solid, he would be even more difficult to restrain. Book 35 - 8 – Real or Fake Difficult to Tell After staring fixedly at Kou Zhong for half a day, Li Jing asked, What exactly happenedst night? Kou Zhong replied, Our luck wascking; Li Yuanjis men heard the activities in the underground treasure house, so ... Cutting him off, Li Jing said, What you are telling me is already widely-known in the city; what I am asking you is that since you were forced to escape by going into the underground river cave, how could you be here, rxing? This is more surprising than not seeing you. Kou Zhong replied, This is called Heaven never bars ones way. Although my divine ability to close my breathing is not bad, but I still cannot continue forever without stopping; I had to swim desperately along the underground river. Ha! Who would have thought that unexpectedly I got out at a smallke outside the city? Li Jing stared at him without blinking. He still could not tell whether Kou Zhong was telling the truth or not. Moreover, the rtionship between the two was delicate; if he forced Kou Zhong too hard, there was a higher chance that Kou Zhong might be hostile. After a spell of silence, Li Jing sighed and said, Why is it that you, Xiao Zhong, do not seem to be the least bit disappointed by the loss of the treasure-trove? Kou Zhong smiled and said, If I am not obtaining it, then I am losing it. Frankly, the contents of the treasure-trove, other than those several boxes of jewels, which can be sold for a few pennies, even if you give me those rusty weapons, I will have a hard time finding a ce for them. Unexpectedly his grannys Duke Yangs Treasure is just like that. Li Jing said, Before dawn, Huangshang personally led Qin Wang, Qi Wang, and a dozen of martial art masters into the treasure house, their intention was to capture you guys alive; who would have thought that you have escaped via the underground river cave? Marsh gas was also constantly pouring into the storehouse. Huangshang immediately ordered the men to search everywhere inside the treasure house, finally under a box of treasure they discovered the mechanism to open the real treasure house in the lower level. They found a batch of weapons and armors enough to fit a thousand-man army. Only then did Kou Zhong heave a sigh of relief, while crying Close call! inwardly. Just like Xu Ziling, he thought that if they were the ones finding the lower-level storehouse first, they would also be fooled by Lu Miaozi and Yang Su. Li Jing went on, Now the situation in the treasure house is ssified as top secret. After sealing the entrance leading to the river cave and draining the marsh gas, we might send men down there to search, to see if we can find the Xiedi Sheli, which we will hand over to Shi Xiaojie to be sent back to Jingzhai, to avoid the cmityter if it was left there. Only now did Kou Zhong know that Shi Feixuan already told Li Shimin about the Xiedi Sheli. Under current circumstances, naturally Li Shimin had to report everything truthfully to Li Yuan. Kou Zhong cried Bad! inwardly. If Zhao Deyan and Ke Dazhi decided that the boys did not have the Demonic Emperor Relics in their hands, how would the operation assassinating the fragrance [Xiang] tonight proceed? The enemy might try to beat them at their own game, by making an all-out arrangement to strike and kill them. That kid Ke Dazhi was really treacherous; he pretended to be in the dark, while luring Kou Zhong to deceive him. This moment Li Jing believed firmly without any doubt that Kou Zhong had not entered the real treasure house. Seeing his dazed appearance, he felt sorry for him, and said, The Buddhists have a saying, everybody in himself is a treasure-trove [reminder: figuratively it is book of treasured wisdom]. As long as he knows how to use it, it could bring endless benefit throughout his life. The number of days is fixed; it is not something that man can control. Xiao Zhong, what is your future n? Kou Zhong came to his senses; forcing a defeated, pained smile, he pretended to be disheartened, dispirited and listless. Sighing, he said, Right now I just want to leave Changan quickly, and wont evere back. Xu Ziling was sitting alone in the room. His thoughts surging in his mind, after pondering deeply, he understood why Shi Feixuan appeared to be so disappointed at him. Actually, it was a misunderstanding. He was telling her the truth, but Shi Feixuan believed he was lying to him. It was no wonder that she would think so, because if Lu Miaozi wanted to store the Demonic Emperor Relics, the most logical course of action would be to hide it in the most secret ce. To Shi Feixuan, the most secret ce within the treasure house was naturally the lower-level treasure house. And since he and Kou Zhong werepletely oblivious of the existence of the lower-level treasure house, how could they possibly find the Demonic Emperor Relics? Under this kind of situation, things had be extremely critical. Supposing Xu Ziling, with his eyes opened wide, told the tant lie iming that the Relics was in their hands, wouldnt it be the same as deceiving Shi Feixuan to enter the fray, implicating her in the desperate fight against Zhao Deyan and Zhu Yuyan? No wonder when she left she revealed such an unbearably sad expression. Xu Ziling had no desire to exin this to her at all; he looked into his heart and saw no shame, whatever she thought of him, let her think so. She was disappointed at him, but it was not that he did not disappointed at her either. Someone was behind the window, he still had no idea. But then his heart was moved, he coldly said, I already guessed that you woulde. Come in, then! The window opened, a human figure shed inside; her face covered in ayer of muslin, Zhu Yuyan appeared in the flesh inside the room. She spoke softly, What made you guess that I woulde? Todays Yue Shan is no longer the Yue Shan of the past; early in the morning, the Great Tang Emperor and the most outstanding direct disciple of Jingzhai for thest several hundred years came to pay their respect to you. Xu Zilingughed coldly and said, Xiao Yan, if you want to extract any information from my mouth, I am afraid not only you are at the wrong ce, but you are looking for the wrong person as well. Zhu Yuyan stepped over and stood in front of him; the tone of her voice turned frigid, she said, When did your not-amenable-to-reason character ever change? Trust me, I would kill Ming Yues daughter just to see how unbearably grieved you are. Xu Zilings pair of eyes shot Yue Shans style of fierce and severe light; he stared at Zhu Yuyan without even half a blink, without even saying half a sentence, but he made the opposite side felt pressured more than if he said anything. Zhu Yuyan suddenly turned around and walked over toward the window, as if she was about to leave, but then changed her mind. Sighing quietly, she said, I said those words in the moment of anger. I hear you have had a battle against Shi Zhixuan, is that right? Keeping Yue Shans gloomy and cold, heavy and hard-hearted expression, Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, If I were unable to fight Shi Zhixuan, perhaps you would not havee? Zhu Yuyan spun around like a whirlwind and angrily said, I came here today not to ask you to do me a favor at all; I, Zhu Yuyan, am able to move unhindered across the world, who can do anything to me? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Well said. If you throw these words on the ground, it will make the sound of metal hitting the rock [idiom (Courtesy of Akw)], but if Shi Zhixuan obtained the Holy Relics, the one who could unify the demonic school will no longer be you, Zhu Yuyan, but Shi Zhixuan. And you areing to ask me, Yue Shan, for this matter, am I right? Zhu Yuyan shook her head andughed tenderly, You are still this believing-yourself-to-be-infallible; didnt Li Yuan tell you that currently the treasure house is full of marsh gas? Whod dare to take the risk to enter it? Therefore, this is not my top priority at all. Inwardly, Xu Ziling scolded himself for being muddleheaded; he originally thought that Zhu Yuyan came to beg him to speak to Li Yuan, asking him to search for the hidden Demonic Emperor Relics inside the treasure house, but he momentarily forgot that Yang WenGan was plotting to assassinate Li Yuan and Li Shimin. If he was sessful, Changan would be in great mess; at that time, to whom the Relics would belong to, would be decided by whose ability [orig. skills acquired through religious practice] was the highest. Of course, this was assuming the Demonic Emperor Relics was really still inside the treasure house. Frowning, he said, Since it is not for Xiedi Sheli at all, then why are you looking for me? Zhu Yuyan was silent for half a day. I came looking for you, she started softly, because I remember one night as a husband and wife means a hundred nights of kindness. I am asking you to immediately leave Changan, otherwise you will never have the opportunity to battle Song Que. After a short pause, she added, Would you listen to me this one time? The fact is, I have never done anything to let you down. Xu Ziling did not know the real meaning behind her remark; he had no choice but to dismiss it vaguely, Who wants to kill me, Yue Shan? After letting out a silver-bell likeughter, Zhu Yuyan continued with ice-and-snow like intonation as she spoke slowly, word-by-word, Yue Shan, you listen to me: there are a lot of people who want to kill you! Shi Zhixuan, Zhao Deyan, and then there is Huang Gongcuo. Due to the treasure house affair, Li Yuan is dying his spring hunting trip for two sichen. After he leaves, the City of Changan will fall into the Chang Lin Armys control; at that time, you will have enemies on all sides. If you only know how to show off an ignorant persons bravery, you ought to understand what the consequences will be. Thats all I have to say, you are on your own! Finished speaking, she went out via the window and disappeared from sight. Not only Kou Zhong was now a Changan celebrity, he was also a frequent visitor to the Imperial Pce. This was the first time he went to the Imperial Pce alone; without needing to report his distinguished name, the imperial guard already recognized him, and even reported it to the military officer of the general rank, who was in charge of the Vermillion Gate, toe and greet Kou Zhong personally, so that he felt overwhelmed by the favor from superior. Across the public square, the spring hunting troops were ready to go. Except for asional neighs and snorts of the steeds, the several-thousand men did not create any noise at all; also, no one showed impatience or undisciplined expression as they were waiting. It was a clear disy of excellent training, worthy to be called the Great Tangs mighty army. Compared to the so-called Peng Liangs mob, which had undergone a few days of training, it was certainly a heaven and earth difference. Within the Shao Shuai Army, only Xuan Yongs troops could be considered elite. He was hoping that after his departure, Xu Xingzhi, Xuan Yong, and the others, could take advantage of short period of peace and security, to improve the Shao Shuai Armys inner quality andbat ability. If he could immediately bring back therge quantity of wealth and weaponry to Peng Liang, his Shao Shuai Armys strength would definitely increase greatly. In the chaotic world, nothing was more practical than gold and highest quality weapons and armors. While his thought was turning over in his mind, following the protocol, the outer city guard who took him here handed him over to General Lang of the Cheng Tian Gate. General Lang knew that not only he was Chang Hes old friend, he was also the Emperor and the Second Imperial Consorts favorite person; naturally he showed utmost respect, and personally led him into the inner courtyard to seek audience with Zhang Jieyu. Suddenly a group of men with great momentum wasing directly toward him; before Kou Zhong realized what was going on, General Lang hurriedly pulled him aside and said, Huangshang is here, quickly kneel down. ording to the Imperial Pce protocol: all the imperial guards on duty at the city gates and city towers, even though they see the Emperor, they only needed to salute without needing to kneel down. But when the encounter was on the road, not only they had to step aside, they also had to kneel on the ground with head hung low; they were not allowed to look straight. After the dignified vanguard troops, Li Yuans voice rang out in front of Kou Zhong, Stop! Someone immediately epted the order and shouted themand to stop. From the troops striding ferociouslying to a sudden stop, they all moved uniformly. Isnt this Mo Xiansheng? Li Yuan asked in surprise, Please rise immediately. Xiansheng is our Great Tangs honored guest; there is no need to follow the etiquette between a ruler and his ministers. Kou Zhong pretended to stand up in panic. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, and Li Yuanji, were standing to Li Yuans left and right; behind him was a group of cab ministers, including his old friend Liu Zhenghui, and then there were also Pei Ji, Liu Jing, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, Feng Deyi, and other members of the monarchs inner ministerial circle. Apparently they had just had an emergency meeting, and this moment were on their way to the public square to rendezvous with the spring hunting troops, to set off toward the Zhongnan Bie Gong [lit. the other pce; not sure if this is a name]. He could not help cheering inwardly. His appearance happened to coincide with such a meeting, apart from Li Shimin, who was familiar with the situation, nobody would suspect that he was Kou Zhongs incarnation. Because in Li Yuan and the others mind, even if he was able to escape alive from the river cave, it was simply impossible to be back that quickly. Li Jiancheng regarded him as a man who already had rtionship with him, he opened his mouth to help him speak, These days Mo Xiansheng is running around everywhere, busy with helping people, you are working too hard. Beating the snake following the stick, Kou Zhong bowed and said, Thank you Huangshang and Taizi Dianxia for your concerns. This time Xiaoren enters the Pce is to see Zhang Furens condition as she is recuperating, while also to say goodbye. Li Yuan was stunned, Xiansheng is about to travel? he asked. Kou Zhong hurriedly pulled Li Jiancheng down the water, saying, Xiaoren has reported it to Taizi Dianxia, because of the bane in Xiaorens fate, before turning thirty, it is not suitable for me to stay in a certain ce for a long time; therefore, one of these days I will leave Changan to go elsewhere to learn through experience. This is my Jiashus [(polite) fathers younger brother] instruction, Xiaoren does not dare to disobey. Li Yuan cast Li Jiancheng a questioning look; Li Jiancheng was startled, but it indeed happened just like Kou Zhong said, thereupon he replied helplessly, Mo Xiansheng indeed mentioned this matter to Wanger [king son], its just that I did not think Xiansheng would leave so soon, hence I did not report it to Wangfu [king father]. Li Yuan could not do anything to him; he simply asked, How old is Xiansheng this year? Bracing himself, Kou Zhong replied, Xiaoren is twenty-eight this year. If there were no Li Yuan around, the crowd of ministers and soldiers would have burst into uproar, because his appearance, whether you look at it from left to right, from top to bottom, would look more than thirty-five years old. Li Yuan said, Turns out Mo Xiansheng is still so young. In that case, there are still two years that you have to wander around to be of help to the world. Lingshu [your honorable uncle] is an unusual master and schr, since he had this strict order, there must be a deep meaning behind it. Two yearster, after Xiansheng finish your wandering ande back, Zhen [I, imperial use] definitely will not treat you meagerly. Lets go! Xu Zilings Yue Shan hurriedly left Changan, but then he turned around and reentered the city in his Yong Qin identity. Because Lei Jiuzhi already prepared adequate documentation to enter the city, he did not have any problem at the gate. Although it was the time of the chaos of war, Guanzhong could still be considered peaceful. In order to promote strong economic andmercial trade, Changan kept the area outside the city gate open. As long as they followed the rules and the proper procedures to enter the city, paid the taxes and duties, people from outside the region would not have any difficulties in entering Changan. After entering the city, he found the secret mark at the ce where he and Li Jing agreed on whenever he urgently needed to see him, and hurriedly went to Li Jings General Mansion. Li Jing was about to go out. Seeing Xu Zilinging, Li Jing changed his ride to the carriage, saying, I originally thought Qin Wang was going to leave me here, to get in touch with you, who would have thought that Qin Wang suddenly changed his mind and ordered us, husband and wife, toe with him to Mount Zhongnan? This thing makes me feel very ufortable. Xu Ziling sympathetically said, Li Dage has made great sacrifice for our sake; I hope it wont affect Li Dages rtionship with Shimin Xiong. Inwardly he mused that there was a great possibility that because Shi Feixuan already talked to Li Shimin, now Li Shimin was more determined than ever to deal with the two boys, hence he had Li Jing, husband and wife, transferred out of Changan to avoid him helping the outsiders. asionally from the depth of thenes and alleys came the sound of firecrackers, only it was not as frequent and as lively as the previous two days. Li Jing resolutely said, We are all brothers, no need to say such thing. This time, were it not for you guys upholding justice and helping us, the consequences would be too horrible to contemte. Hows the progress? Xu Ziling asked. Having a card up his sleeve, Li Jing replied, Everything is under control. Now we only need to wait for Yang WenGan to steal that batch of firearms from the Sha Family. When the delivery is received, well catch both the men and the stolen goods, and so we can sweep away Jingzhao Lian in one move, and arrest anybody who is implicated in this. Li Jing proudly said, In our territory, how could such a trivial matter overthrow us? Ay! It is precisely for this reason that I am still worried over you two. Now that the Duke Yangs Treasure has be froth and shadows, why does Xiao Zhong still show no sign of stopping at all? Xu Ziling had no idea how to answer this question; he had no choice but to say, For the time being, it is very difficult for him to ept this fact. Let him calm down in a few days, maybe hell have different ideas. Smiling wryly, Li Jing said, However, in my opinion, Qin Wang still thinks that Xiao Zhong is not going to give up. Once it bes direct conflict, the development of this matter itself might change peoples perception and aspiration; by the time it esctes to only hatred without any friendship, everything might fall beyond our control. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Since Kou Zhong had determined to contend for hegemony over the world, everything has been moving in this direction. Li Jing dejectedly said, In the beginning, when Qin Wang thought so highly of you, most of the Heavenly Policy Mansion people did not ept it as proper. However, the facts continuously prove that Qin Wangs view on you is correct. As a result, you now have be the persons that the Heavenly Policy Mansions generals have the most misgivings. They know that once they let you establish a foothold, you will be the most terrifying enemy. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, They dont include me in this, I hope? Li Jing said, They dont know your rtionship with Kou Zhong at all, but even if they did, so what? Whos not afraid that if they killed Kou Zhong, they would suffer your revenge in the future! Now, both inside and outside the imperial court, the two of you are believed to be C after Ning Daoqi and Song Que C the most outstanding martial art masters for thest several generations. In the future, it will be even more so. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, We are being held too high. The carriage stopped in front of the city gate. Li Jings pair of eyes emitted deep emotion, the rim of his eyes turned red, he spoke mournfully, I already lost a good Meizi [younger sister], I dont want to lose two good Xiongdi. Thinking that in the future we might stand face-to-face on the battleground, it makes my spirit hurting and my soul broken; I hope that that day will nevere. Ziling, take care of yourself. Resisting the heros hot tears with great difficulty, he got off the carriage and changed into a warhorse, and rode out of the city. Book 35 - 9 – Man Will Die For Riches Zhang Jieyus mood today was not good. Turned out Li Yuan originally promised to take her and Yin De Fei toe with him to Zhongnan Bie Gong [the other pce on Mount Zhongnan], who would have thought that this morning he changed his mind at thest moment, by ordering the two beloved imperial concubines to stay in Changan? Before seeing Zhang Jieyu, Zheng Gonggong again and again warned Kou Zhong, if he did not have any urgent business, it would be best toe again another day to seek audience; he even hinted that were it not for he was looking up at Kou Zhong, he would definitely not want to go through this trouble for him. Otherwise, if Zhang Jieyu took her anger out on him, Zheng Gonggong might fall head first. Listening to his very serious talk, Kou Zhong also thought about beating the return drum. But then he remembered Chang He said that Zhang Jieyus one word worth more than Li Jianchengs ten words, he had no choice but to brace himself to go see Zhang Jieyu, because Zheng Gonggong taking her anger was a small matter, but if she took her anger on Chang He and the Sha Family, it would be a big matter. Considering the severity of this case, he simply had to take this risk, no matter what. After waiting for a moment, Zheng Gonggong came out to the outer hall and said, Furen indeed treats Xiansheng favorably, knowing that Xiansheng came, she is putting aside everything and wanting to see Xiansheng first. Kou Zhong was dying to ask Zhang Jieyu what exactly were other things that she put aside, but he knew that asking such question was not appropriate; without any better option he took an indirect approach, Has Furen calmed down? Terrified, Zheng Gonggong replied, She has just hurled a big state-flower vase that Huangshang gave her and smashed it to pieces, and she did not allow anybody to clean up; would you say she has calmed down? Kou Zhong nearly turned around and leave; its just that his arrival has been reported inside, so it became if-you-ride-a-tiger, its-hard-to-get-off situation. In this kind of situation, if he told her that he was going to leave Changan, he wondered what would her reaction be? Come, Zheng Gonggong said, Dont let Furen wait. There was only this six-character saying in Kou Zhongs mind, every one shall die in his own sin [zi zuo nie, bu ke huo]; his scalp went numb, he entered the inner courtyard. The study room where Zhang Jieyu was receiving him was evidently not the ce where she smashed things to vent her anger; the floor was clean, maids and servants were standing respectfully on the left and right with head hung low, with their heart rmed, their body leaping [idiom: fear and trepidation in the face of disaster], the only thing they dared to look at was the floor. Seething, Zhang Jieyu was sitting in an imperial tutor chair; forcing herself to nod at Kou Zhong, she coldly said, Xiansheng, please sit down. Kou Zhong possessed an eloquent torrential talent, but in this case, he did not even dare to breathe loudly; he obediently sat down opposite her. Zhang Jieyu was looking out the window. Suddenly she sighed, her voice turned soft, although it still carried a stiff, icy-cold impression, as she said, Xiansheng is noting with Huangshang to Mount Zhongnan? Kou Zhong almost blurted out without thinking, saying, Zhang Niangniang is here, how could Xiaoren dare to stay away? Fortunately, he remembered that after saying those beautiful, big ttery words, how could he say goodbye to her? Without any better option he just shook his head. Zhang Jieyus pretty eyebrows deeply knitted, she spoke coldly, Xiansheng came to visit me, what exactly is the matter? But then she felt that the tone of her voice was too heavy to be used toward the benefactor who saved her life. Xiansheng, please dont take offense, she spoke apologetically, Im in a bad mood. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Seeing Furens mood is less than good today, Xiaoren indeed has a matter to be reported, yet too frightened to speak. Zhang Jieyu was slightly stunned; her eyes moved toward Zheng Gonggong, thetter immediately looked down. Zhang Jieyu scolded tenderly, All of you, get out of here, I want to speak with Xiansheng in private. Being able to leave, Zheng Gonggong and the others simply did not know how to express their gratitude to Kou Zhong; hurriedly they scattered away like birds and beasts. When only the two of them remaining in the study room, Zhang Jieyu left her seat, pressed one hand on the table, and spoke angrily, Mo Xiansheng, you be the judge for me. That Dong Fei [imperial concubine], what kind of thing is she? Unexpectedly Huangshang is leaving me and Yin De Fei behind, while taking her alone to Zhongnan. Not distinguishing between senior and junior, whos first and whosst, how could there be such an unfair, unreasonable thing under the heavens? Hearing that, Kou Zhong was dumbstruck; only then did he understand what was going on. However, although Zhang Jieyu was showing her shrewish side, she was still impressively beautiful; there was some kind of touching demeanor of pretty, coquettish anger around her. Without needing to ask, he already knew; Li Yuan left his two favorite imperial concubines in the pce, it was out of consideration for their own safety. He let Dong Shunie along, most probably because he understood her rtionship with Yang Xuyan. As for whether the fact was like this, perhaps only Li Yuan knew. The more she spoke, the angrier Zhang Jieyu was; she hatefully said, Qin Wang brought this vixen [lit. fox-spirit] back from Luoyang, Yin De Fei and I already guessed that he was having bad intentions; he wanted to confuse Huangshang. This is too revolting! Kou Zhong was afraid she might cry, which would be even more difficult to handle, and then how would he talk about saying goodbye? Thereupon he busily said, Niangniang, please calm down. Xiaoren has different understanding. Astonished, Zhang Jieyu asked, What understanding? Inventing crazy nonsense, Kou Zhong said, Just now when Xiaoren entered the Pce, I came across Huangshang; at that time Taizi Dianxia was also present. Xiaoren said that I was going into the Pce to see Furen, Huangshang revealed a very concerned look about Furen, he implored Xiaoren over and over again to serve Furen well. Taizi Dianxia will be able to confirm this. Although it was a deliberate exaggeration, he was certain that Li Jiancheng would not expose him. The thing that Zhang Jieyu was most afraid of was losing favor; hearing that, half-believing, half-doubting, she said, If Huangshang really cares about me, then why is it that when he left, he did not evene to say goodbye to me? Kou Zhong was now certain that Zhang Jieyu was not Yin Gui Pais mole, because her jealousy and grievance, none did note from the bottom of her heart, absolutely not fake; thereupon he confirmed, If Xiaoren did not guess incorrectly, Huangshang is afraid that if he saw Furen first, he would be reluctant to leave, or perhaps he would not be able to help taking Furen along to Zhongnan. As for the reason, it is not Xiaorens ce to know. And then lowering his voice, he said, Xiaoren is most adept in reading peoples countenance. Hey! The seeing part of the seeing and hearing, asking everything is precisely referring to this. Because Huangshang has a load on his mind, the inmmation of his liver is rising, his cheekbones are turning red; this trip to Zhongnan is not as simple as it appears on the surface, it must be involving some extraordinary secret. It is enough for Furen to know it in your heart, you must never, ever reveal it to anybody else, not even Yin De Niangniang or Taizi Dianxia. Otherwise, its hard to say, but Huangshang might be really unhappy. Zhang Jieyu revealed a grave expression; absentmindedly she returned to her seat, nodded her head, and said, Now that Xiansheng mentioned it, I also feel that these past few days Huangshangs demeanor is rather strange, as if he has a very heavy load on his mind? Suddenly he ordered Liu Zhenghui to seal off the two side doors, left and right, leading to the main pce. He suddenly summoned Taizi, Qin Wang, and the others for a meeting. The strangest thing was that he handed over the Xuanwu Gate Imperial Guards Headquarters to Pei Ji to take full responsibility, leaving Jiancheng Taizi to take charge of the city defense; all these arrangements are out of keeping with reason. Inwardly Kou Zhong scolded Li Yuan for beating the grass to scare the snake. However, from Kou Zhongs standpoint, it was really not his mothers fart to care about. Stroking her silky chest, Zhang Jieyu exhaled slowly, and then said, Now my heart feels much better! Xiansheng not only know how to cure illness, you also know how to pacify others heart. Xianshengsing here, what exactly is the problem? As long as it is within my powers, I will definitely do my best for Xianshengs sake. Kou Zhong heaved a sigh of relief inwardly; after giving everything he had, finally he seized a good opportunity to talk. Xu Ziling met with Yun Shuai, thetter said, I thought I would not see you again. Xu Ziling knew that relying of his exceptional qinggong, Yun Shuai really had the ability to spy on the Tang Armys movements in secret. What did Guoshi [teacher of the state] see? he asked. Under the distinct silhouette of his high and straight nose, Yun Shuais eyes appeared to be even deeper. Revealing a hint of enigmatic, slightly crafty expression, he fixed his gaze on Xu Ziling as he responded, I heard intense noise of a gate being brokening from the Dugu Familys Xi Ji Yuan; rushing over, I saw Li Yuanji and Dugu Familys people gathered around the mouth of the well in the right backyard, and then Li Yuan and arge number of imperial bodyguards rushed over. What exactly happened? Just by hearing how he was able to casually mention the name of the Dugu Mansion, Xu Ziling knew that Yun Shuai had spent some effort to investigate. The sound of breaking door that aroused his attention must be from Zhu Yuyan; she would rather have the Demonic Emperor Relics temporarily fall into the Li Familys hands, which was better than if Yang Xuyan obtained it. Xu Ziling suddenly had a little regret for cooperating with Yun Shuai. From the fleeting expression showing in his eyes just now, he intuitively felt that all his actions were based on self-interest, and if necessary, he could turn his back ruthlessly. As a Persian living among the Western Tujue and holding the Teacher of the State position, his situation was very simr to Zhao Deyan, who, as a Han, was the Eastern Tujues Teacher of the State. Merely this kind of simrity was enough to make Xu Ziling wary. If he also had wild schemes toward the Demonic Emperor Relics, then it would be a great headache for them. In that instant he made up his mind to take Yun Shuai out of the game. Actually, the real reason was because the changes in their situation. Their originally fool-proof n has be hard to execute ording to n. Xu Ziling nodded and said, What happenedst night was the heaviest ident; when we entered the treasure house, we were detected by Li Yuanjis men who are monitoring the underground situation; fortunately we managed to escape via the underground river. This time I came here to tell Yun Shuai that the n is canceled. Shaken, Yun Shuai asked, What about the Demonic Emperor Relics? Xu Ziling was even more convinced that Yun Shuai was not without any desire to obtain the Relics himself; but since at least up to this moment they still had a cooperation agreement, he felt that deceiving him was an unrighteous thing. Thereupon he smiled and said, The Relics is in our hands. Stunned, Yun Shuai said, Since thats the case, why cancel the n? Xu Ziling shook his head as heughed in spite of himself, he said, The problem is that even if we guarantee that the Relics is in our hands, no one is willing to believe. In this kind of situation, if we proceed ording to n, it will be akin to throwing ourselves into the that Zhao Deyan isying out. Yun Shuai said, If the Li Familys men cannot find the Relics in the treasure house, how could they not believe? Xu Ziling said, Currently the storehouse is full of marsh gas, the Li Familys men could only make quick inspection; the vile environment does not allow them to make a thorough search. He did not tell Yun Shuai half a word of lie; he just did not reveal the existence of the real treasure house. After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, Yun Shuai asked, What exactly is the Demonic Emperor Relics? I have not seen it yet, Xu Ziling responded truthfully. What? Yun Shuai blurted out. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, The Demonic Emperor Relics is stored in a sealed copper container, it is only about a chi tall, and it is immersed in some kind of thick liquid. We did not dare to open it, hence we stillck the good fortune of seeing the Demonic Emperor Relics. Yun Shuais pair of eyes emitted prating divine light, as if he wanted to see through Xu Ziling. Knitting his brows, he said, Toward this unusual treasure that everybody in the demonic school is fighting over, you guys dont have the slightest bit of interest? Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Honestly, no. Yun Shuai said, Since you dont want to make use of the Demonic Emperor Relics to proceed with the n, what is your n to handle it? Xu Ziling casually replied, Perhaps well find a ce to bury it. Does Guoshi have any good suggestion? Yun Shuai said, I still think that we could proceed ording to n. As long as the Relics is the real Relics, we could still use it to control the situation, so that Zhao Deyan will fall into the trap. I want to discuss it with Kou Zhong first, Xu Ziling replied, Tonight, before the you hour [5-7pm], well give Guoshi a definite answer. Yun Shuai suddenly sighed. He said, I have something that Id like to discuss with you. Supposing we proceed ording to n, and then when everybody is scrambling to seize the Demonic Emperor Relics, I join the melee, would two gentlemen be willing to give me a hand? Xu Ziling never expected him to be this forting, without glossing over anything; it greatly increased his favorable impression instead. He also responded candidly, To Kou Zhong and I, our highest hope is that the Relics will fall into Shi Feixuans hands; but under current circumstances, the chances that she will show up appears to be not too good. In this case, helping you is not a problem; however, I wonder if Guoshi has considered the aftermath? Yun Shuai smiled wryly; he said, The aftermath is that if I seed, then the return route to my country will be nine deaths and still alive [idiom: narrow escape]; however, to you, it will only bring benefit without any harm. Relying on my feets power, no one will be able to intercept me for the first part of the journey. But because I am not familiar with the road, there will always be the risk of being overtaken. However, I still think that it worth taking the risk to try. Xu Ziling said, If Guoshi obtains the Relics, because you do not know how to draw its power, it might be useless for you, plus you let the chance to kill Zhao Deyan slip by for no reason. It looks like it wont be too worthwhile. Yun Shuai said, You and Kou Zhong discuss first whether we will proceed ording to n; if everything is feasible, we will make careful n. Inwardly Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief; he also recalled the old sayings, human beings will die for riches, just as birds will for food. Li Yuans spring hunting team galloped majestically out of the Vermillion Bird Gate, into the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, while the multitude ofmon people nked the street to see them off. The sound of cracking horsewhip unending, the atmosphere was very warm. Since ancient times, there was nock of men, emperors, kings and members of the imperial n of sessive dynasties, who loved to go on hunting expeditions. Every dynasty designated a certain restricted imperial park wheremon people were not allowed to hunt. It was after the Great Tang entered Changan that Mount Zhongnan was selected as the hunting ground. The number of unforeseen events rted to hunting expeditions throughout history was too numerous to mention individually one by one. The ancient Xia Dynastys [2070-1600 BC] Son of Heaven, Tai Kang, because of his obsession with hunting, was deposed by Hou Yi, the leader of Dong Yi Tribe [Eastern Barbarians, non-Han tribe living to the east of China c 2200 BC], who took advantage of Tai Kang going out hunting to start rebellion, and then he himself ascended the royal throne. However, Hou Yi himself did not learn from experience; he was also obsessed with hunting and ignored the state affairs, and ended up in the same tragic fate as Tai Kang. The Zhou Dynasty even specially formted a system of shooting etiquette and field hunting; they promoted hunting expedition as major national affair, and even used it as a way to select the best talent. A lot of promising monarchs were crazy about hunting; for example, during the Warring States period [475-221 BC] the King Zhuang of Chu [reigned 613-591 BC, one of the Five Hegemons] reached the top, and then there was the Han Dynastys [206 BC-220 AD] Han Wudi [Emperor Wu, 141-87 BC], and the Three Kingdoms Cao Cao [(155-220), famous statesman and general at the end of Han, noted poet and calligrapher,ter warlord, founder and first king of Cao Wei, father of Emperor Cao Pi]. However, the most absurd was Emperor Wei Ming. Unexpectedly he established a restricted park at Xingyang, east side of Luochang, which was more than a thousand li wide. In it, he raised six hundred tigers, three hundred wolves, ten thousand foxes, and other birds and beasts, so many that their number cannot be counted. He also prohibited the local people from harming the beasts of the park; thereupon the beasts went everywhere, hurting people, so thatmon people suffered. Not only they bewailed the tyrannical government, which was fiercer than a tiger, but demanding government and fierce tigers and vicious beasts were not a goodbination. The Li n inherited the tradition of field hunting; they consider it the sign of the nations prosperity. Field hunting and beauty were two hobbies that Li Yuan greatly enjoyed and ones he never tired of. However, this time the hunting expedition involved the struggle between the orthodox and the demonic school, the conflict between the previous dynasty and the new one; hence the pleasure was greatly reduced. Kou Zhong followed behind the end of the procession to leave the Pce, and headed north toward the Bei Li. His heart was not without a sigh of sorrow, but it was quickly reced by another kind of emotion. The person he wanted to see was Shang Xiufang, the number one famous courtesan in the world. Even though the previous night she did not send anybody to look for him, he felt the need to say goodbye to her. The contradiction in Kou Zhongs heart was excruciating. He wanted to see Shang Xiufang, because when he was intoxicated by her touching amorous feelings and charming attitude, he could forget about the ugly side of the world. However, he also had a faint feeling that he was ying with fire. In case anything went bad, he would suffer the cmity of burning body. There was the rumbling noise of horses hoof. A carriage was speeding out of the Vermillion Bird Gate of the Imperial City; ahead and behind the carriage were eight Imperial Bodyguards. When the carriage was by Kou Zhongs side, it suddenly stopped. And then Princess Xiunings voice came from behind the hanging-low window curtains, Mo Xiansheng, where are you going? Would you let Xiuning give you a ride? Since he was in the middle of major thoroughfare, Kou Zhong had no choice but to board the carriage, facing the other person, whom he wanted to see, but he did not wish to see. Xu Ziling walked swiftly along the street. His destination was the Le Quan Guan of Bei Li. Originally he was thinking of diving back into the treasure house to check the situation, but in broad daylight, both on the water and on both banks of Yong An Canal, traffic was heavy; how could he go down into the water under ten-thousand staring eyes? The chances of assassinating An Long were quickly fading, but there was still a sliver of opportunity, as long as he was willing toe to Le Quan Guan today. Since he had nothing to do anyway, he might as well go to Le Quan Guan to check on this gathering ce, and find a restaurant that was open for business along the way to fill his belly. With his current cultivation level, several days without a drop of water entering his body would not be a problem, but eating was still a pleasure and delight to the mouth, which he considered it as some kind of enjoyment in life. While passing through the Ming Tang Wo and the Six-Happiness Casino, he noticed a lot of people were going in and out, although there was no queue like the previous two days. Arge number of gamblers must have lost their money with only both-sleeves-flowing-in-the-breeze remained, no longer had the power toe to enjoy the excitement. Li Shimin was advocating the ban on gambling. But he was helpless to deal with Ming Tang Wo, which had Yin De Feis evil tyrant father Yin Zuwen supporting behind them. And then the Six-Happiness Casino had the strong support of Li Yuanji. Just by looking at how the Great Immortal Hu Fo and his daughter, Hu Xiaoxian could publicly appear at the Lunar New Years Eve banquet at the Pce, he knew that since they had the support of the Princelings Faction and the Imperial Concubines Faction, Li Yuan had to allow the two major casinos existence. Judging from this point, Li Yuan was not a good emperor at all. While he was still engrossed in his thinking, suddenly he heard a tender humphing from the main gate of the Six-Happiness Casino. Xu Ziling did not expect that the tender call was actually targeted at him. Without looking back, he continued walking forward, until he heard the sound of footsteps running after him from behind, and only then did he stop and look back. The beautiful courtesan Ji Qian, who made her big appearance and made headline during the Lunar New Years Eve banquet, was panting for breath as she rushed over toward him, provoking the other passers-by raise eyebrows. Xu Ziling felt big headache, because he knew that this woman was difficult to deal with. Ji Qian came to his side and crossly said, Whats wrong with you? The more I call, the faster you are walking away. I dont know how to address you. Xu Ziling really wished he could pretend not knowing her, but he knew that it would make no sense, because whether it was a man or a woman, as long as they caught a nce of someone as pretty as her, Ji Qian, they would definitely not forget her. Feigning surprise, he said, Isnt this the Guniang that I once saw at the Six-Happiness? I wonder why are you looking for Zaixia? Ji Qian pulled his sleeve and said, Lets find a ce to sit down and talk. Dont worry, I wont ask to borrow money from you. Xu Ziling was helpless against her; he was pulled away by her without the freedom to act independently. Book 35 - 10 – Seeing Each Other in Difficult Situation The carriage was spacious, but it only had seats at either end. Kou Zhong originally wanted to sit on the seat at the other end, but Li Xiuning said in low voice, Come sit next to me, it will be more convenient to talk. Where are you going anyway? Kou Zhong did not want her to know that he was going to see Shang Xiufang; he gave her a random answer, I want to go to the Six-Happiness Casino in Bei Li. Musing inwardly that he only needed to walk across the street, since cattycorner from the Six-Happiness Casino was precisely the Shang Lin Yuan. After giving her men some direction, Li Xiuning lightly twisted her waist so that her pretty face was looking directly at him. She said, Xiuning thought thatst night you could not escape disaster, thinking that when you fell down to the river cave your chance of survival was very slim; I was so worried about you, unexpectedly I suddenly received the news that you went to see Jieyu. Stretching his limbs, Kou Zhongid backfortably on the soft cushion and said with augh, What kind of scene have I, Kou Zhong, not seen? A river cave cannot stop me. Astonished, Li Xiuning said, Looking at you, it appears that you are not disappointed over losing the treasure at all. Ay! Is your head made differently from ordinary peoples head? Kou Zhong met her beautiful eyes. He spoke in low voice, Right now I dont have time to worry about the treasure house; thank you very much for Gongzhus concern. About that information, where did Gongzhu obtain it from? The information he was referring to was about Shi Feixuan asking Ning Daoqi to deal with Kou Zhong. Hanging her head low, Li Xiuning said, It was Chai Shao who learned it from Er Wang Xiong [second king brother]. Although your and Xu Zilings martial art skill is very high, I am afraid you are still not Ning Daoqis match. Kou Zhong pondered it in his heart; if Li Shimin deliberately let Chai Shao tell Li Xiuning, and in turn Li Xiuning told them to drive a wedge between Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan, then Li Shimins scheme was simply too formidable. Li Xiuning cast her gaze toward him again, her pretty eyes emitted anxious, restless expression; she said, Now that you lose the treasure, would Shao Shuai consider withdrawing from pursuing the deer [i.e. vying for supremacy]? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, I do not wish to deceive Gongzhu; the fact is, I do not have the option to quit. Either you kill me, or I will do my utmost to reach my goal. Li Xiuning calmed down instead. Obviously her heart has finally been dead for him; her eyes looked straight ahead, she nodded and said, Everybody has his own aspiration, Xiuning cannot force my will. The carriage stopped, Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, knowing that this might very well be thest time that he could talk with Li Xiuning as friends. Next time they met, it would be as the-two-cannot-exist-together enemies. Gongzhu, please take good care of yourself! he spoke in low voice, pushed the door, and got off the carriage. Obviously Ji Qian was a frequent visitor to the restaurant. She easily obtained a wing room on the second floor, and ordered some wine and dishes. After the waiter withdrew, Ji Qian put on the air of a seasoned Jianghu girl, candid and heroic, without yielding the least bit to any man. Although Xu Ziling was forced toe here, he did not have any bad feeling toward her. My name is Yong Qin, he said. Ji Qian revealed a hint of sly smile; she said, Actually, I already know that your name is Yong Qin; just now I was pretending that I did not know. Didnt Die Furen [Madame Butterfly] look upon you? [Previously it was Hong Furen (Madame Rainbow), perhaps it is simply a typo.] Her man is not to be trifled with, watch out or you will never leave Changan. Xu Ziling smiled and said, So what does Ji Guniang look upon Zaixia for? I am sure its not to apany you eating and drinking in here, is it? The food and drink arrived, the two paused their talk. After the waiter left the room, Ji Qians spotlessly white and beautiful hand picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for him;ughing tenderly, she said, The thing I am looking upon is your gambling skill. I wonder if you could tutor me a skill or two, I will give you a hundred taels of gold as the reward of passing on your art, and I will also guarantee that you can leave Changan safely. Its not that I am using frightening words to scare people, but Yang WenGan already issued an order to hunt you down, he would do anything to put you to death. Xu Ziling thought that this was quite logical. Since Yang WenGan requested Xiang Yushans help in carrying out the plot, afterwards, he would want to distance himself from this matter. Moreover, because of his rtionship with Li Jiancheng, not only he wanted to preserve his strength, he could also seize this opportunity to expand his power, until he hadplete control over the situation, and then he would eliminate Li Jiancheng. Under this kind of circumstances, naturally he wanted to kill Xu Ziling to shut his mouth, to avoid Li Jiancheng finding out the inside story from Xu Ziling. If the Tujue people were really willing to support Yang WenGan, plus Li Yuan and Li Shimin had no prior knowledge, his chance of sess could be quite high. Laughing indifferently, Xu Ziling said, Since thats the case, why did Guniang dip yourself into the muddy water? Could it be that you are not afraid of Yang WenGan? Puzzled, Ji Qian sized him up for half a day. Instead of answering, she asked with astonishment, I know you knew a skill or two of martial arts, but Jingzhao Lian is the biggest gang in Guanzhong. If you think that you can escape the disaster, then one, you dont know yourself, or two, you think that I, Ji Qian, am threatening you with empty words. So, which one is it? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Both reasons are correct. Guniang, please answer my question first: why is it that you do not hesitate to spend huge money to learn tricks from me to deceive people? Ji Qian replied, On that, no need for you to worry. Oh! Apparently you, this man, is pigheaded. Forget it, your life and death, I will care no more. Are you interested in making a hundred-tael-gold profit or not? Xu Ziling smiled and said, If I want to make a bit of profit, I could always go to Ming Tang Wo or Six-Happiness Casino to try my luck; I wonder if Guniang does not think so? Greatly displeased, Ji Qian said, I dont know how to say it to make you understand; as soon as you step into any casino that has any link to Jingzhao Lian people, your little life wont be guaranteed anymore. I have saved your life, yet you dont know how to be grateful. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, When did you save me? Ji Qian crossly said, Is your head really made of stone? Who pulled you out of the casinos doorways gate of hell toe over here, and still treat you for food and drink? All right, five hundred tael of gold, take it or leave it. Dont act coy like a girl, at most this ji niang [lit. prostitute/courtesandy] will also apany you for one night. This time it was Xu Zilings turn to blush; fortunately he had the mask to hide his face, plus his ears were covered under the wig. This was the first time that he encountered a woman whose words and actions were as unrestrained and brazen as Ji Qian. Yet she looked so open, beautiful and moving; so that it was inconceivable that anyone would associate vulgarity orsciviousness with her. Recalling the numerous pampered sons of wealthy families who were trying to woo her during the Lunar New Years Eve banquet, he could not help but was greatly astonished inwardly. Such a famous and currently popr courtesan, unexpectedly was willing to pay and to spend some efforts in learning gambling technique, certainly it was not as simple as for the sake of wealth or just to have fun. Noticing that Xu Ziling was looking at her nkly, Ji Qian smiled sweetly, wile casting him a thousand-tender-a-hundred-charm nce, the autumn ripples [fig. luminous eyes of a woman, amorous nce] were on the move, with her breath smelling like orchid, she softly said, Dont think that I, Ji Qian, am a very wanton person. In Changan, I dont know how many men wanted to get close to me, but I never let them touch even my fingertips. You dont know how lucky you are! Xu Zilings heart was moved, lowering his voice, he said, If Guniang is willing to tell me the real reason you, without sparing anything, want to learn Zaixias little bit of trick, perhaps without requiring Guniang to pay any price, Zaixia would empty my pocket to teach away our humble Sects gambling skill to you. Ji Qian fixed her eyes at him with full attention for half a day, suddenly, like a trembling stem of flower she broke into tenderugh. Gasping for breath, her seductive appearance grew without restraint as she said, Ay! I never thought that the new year has just begun, I, Ji Qian, already walked into a bad luck, meeting a man with no manly character. And then her countenance sank, she hatefully said, You want to investigate this Guniangs affair? You must be thinking that this is the first day that I, Ji Qian, am mingling in Jianghu. Youd better leave Changan immediately, otherwise, dont even think that this Guniang is going to care for your dead body. Finished speaking, she furiously brushed away her sleeve and stormed out of the room. Although he was scolded like that, Xu Ziling could still tell from the way she spoke that she was actually a kindhearted person, hence the reason she still did not forget to warn him to leave Changan immediately. Xu Zilingughed hoarsely. He raised his chopsticks and marched toward the table-full of wine and dishes, which had not been touched at all. His belly was empty anyway, so he might as well not waste the food. The door opened again, followed by a whiff of fragrance. Ji Qian came back and sat across the table from him, saying in astonishment, You, this person, are very not simple. Fully aware that the disaster is at the door, unexpectedly you are still sitting leisurely in here, gorging yourself. Xu Ziling raised his cup to salute her, he smiled and said, This is called to live in the moment [orig. there is wine today, get drunk today]; let me salute Guniang a cup. Ji Qian watched as he raised his cup and drank it in one gulp. As he was putting down the cup, her jet-ck eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, Theres a table downstairs with four Jingzhao Lian men, all are their Alliances outstanding, well-known martial art masters. Even if you want to wait until tomorrow to worry, you simply cant. Xu Ziling picked up a mantou [steamed bun] and sent it to the edge of his mouth. Before taking a bite, he smiled calmly and asked, Why did Guniange back? Offending Jingzhao Lian will not benefit you at all. Ji Qian sighed and said, This is perhaps sympathy to a talent; you are the most brilliant gambler that I ever met in the casino; your technique did not show the least bit of trace. All right! Last offer, will you take both money and beauty? Kou Zhong arrived at the Shang Lin Yuan. When he reported his visit, the gatekeepers immediately recognized him as the current burn-your-hand, feel-the-heat [idiom: a mighty figure no one dares approach] celebrity, Divine Doctor Mo; they were exceedingly polite. One of the men took him to the fragrant temporary residence where Shang Xiufang stayed; he even disclosed confidential information to Kou Zhong, saying, Ke Dazhi Daye has juste to request an audience with Xiaojie, and has not left yet. Perhaps Mo Ye would have to wait a little bit. Kou Zhong secretly mused that where the beauty was, there he could see traces of Ke Dazhi; but he also had to admit that Ke Dazhi had the charm that could make any beauty admire wholeheartedly and be bewitched by him. Arriving at Shang Xiufangs courtyard, the man handed over the responsibility to Shang Xiufangs maid, leaving Kou Zhong in her care. Kou Zhong sat in the side room. He waited for nearly half a sichen, still he was not summoned to see the beauty. Impatient, he stood up. But as he was about to leave, the maid stopped him. Terrified, she said, Mo Xiansheng, please wait a moment, let Xiao Bi [little maid] make another report. Seeing the young maids panic and terrified appearance, Kou Zhong had no choice but to suppress his burning heart and sat down quietly. It was not because he felt that he was given cold treatment and thus was throwing a fit and wanted to leave; rather, it was because time was precious. He wanted to visit Qingqing, the woman who had subtle rtionship with him, to see why she repeatedly sent her people to look for him. Who would have thought that after waiting for the entire sichen, Shang Xiufang still did not appear? Kou Zhong no longer had the patience to wait here, doing nothing. He said to the maid, I wille backter! Horrified, the maid said, Xiaojies instruction: whatever the case, I must keep Xiansheng here; she ... Kou Zhong smiled and said, It is I who, whatever the case C must leave; it is not your fault. As long as Jiejie [older sister] report truthfully, Xiaojie cant possibly me you. Finished speaking, he calmly walked away. Like rolling wind and scattering wind Xu Ziling filled his belly to the brim, before meeting Ji Qians eyes, which were staring at him without any letup. Laughing calmly, he said, Since disaster is imminent, how could I have the time to collect both money and beauty? Lets wait until after I pass the hurdle downstairs before we talk further! Stomping her feet, Ji Qian said, You really angered me to death; now, I am the only one who can help you, you still dont understand? Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Why does Guniang look upon me? Sticking out her silky breasts, Ji Qian proudly said, In Changan, who dares not to give me, Ji Qian, some face? As long as you are with me, no one will dare to touch you. Under ordinary circumstances, Xu Ziling believed that what Ji Qian said was not empty words. Just by looking at how she was able to perform song and dance at the pce court, this special position and status, no one dared to offend her. However, this was a special situation; perhaps even Ji Qian would not be able to suppress Jingzhao Lians people. Xu Ziling said, Lets do it this way: well conduct an experiment, you and I leave together, if Jingzhao Lians people really do note to deal with me because of Guniang, then Ill teach Guniang the trick. If the opposite is true, then Guniang will have to give up this desire, plus Guniang will have to tuck your hands inside your sleeves, and ignore whatever is happening between me and Jingzhao Lian. Seething, Ji Qian said, In the end, you still refuse to believe that Jingzhao Lians people are out to kill you. Lets go then! A real man must not go back on your words. Kou Zhong arrived at the Feng Ya Ge, and was immediately invited into Qingqings fragrant residence. Seeing him, Qingqing breathed a deep sigh of relief and said, You finally came! Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Furen is so anxious to see Xiaoren, yet it is not because of your illness ring out, so what is actually the reason? Qingqing ordered everybody else to withdraw first, and then she picked an embroidered case with both hands and put it on the table. Smiling, she opened the embroidered box. Inside, there was something that looked like a scroll of silk parchment; she spoke softly, This is the imperial notification offering heavy reward that was posted on the street. I had someone stole it for me; Xiansheng, why dont you open it and see? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Without opening it, I also know who is that valuable. Furen is really formidable. When did you start suspecting me? Qingqing slipped her lily-white hand into the crook of his arm, while with the other hand she closed the embroidered box. Pulling him into herdys chamber, she took him to sit side-by-side on a bench at the corner of the room. She cheerfully said, The first time I saw you, I felt that your eyes looked very familiar. The strangest thing was that you know my past like the back of your hand, every word you said was right on the mark. At first I never thought that it would be you. Fortunately Qi Wang told me that you guys entered Changan in secret, and that they are struggling but failing to find you. All these things put together; I was still not suspicious. Later on, Qi Wang also told me that you know disguising method. And then that night at the Lunar New Year Eves banquet in the Pce you and Ziling, two men, stood together. Although you have grown taller and much more impressivepared to before, I could still recognize you in one nce. Kou Zhong met her gaze, a familiar, warm feeling welled up in his heart, but it was not a romantic emotion between a man and a woman at all; rather, it was more like when he met Susu in the past! Slowly he peeled his mask and removed it. Qingqings pair of eyes turned red, she hung her head low and spoke softly, You really do not me me for repaying a kindness with ain? Kou Zhong mused inwardly that he and Xu Ziling had already forgotten about her early on; how could there be any gratitude and grudges? But naturally he could not tell her that. Smiling, he said, Qing Jie [older sister] still cannot get down the steps [fig. way out of an embarrassing situation]? We have never med Qing Jie. Recovering her liveliness, Qingqings eyes lit up with beautiful light. She blissfully said, When I saw the imperial notification, I know that you are the Shao Shuai Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose names shook the world. Xier and I were so happy that we couldnt sleep, but we did not dare to tell anybody else, and are even more anxious for you. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Do you often go to see the imperial notifications in the city? Pfft! Qingqing giggled tenderly and said, I have never seen it. Its just that when Qi Wang was mentioning it, I have a feeling that it was you. In the past, you were still very young, but Xier and I knew that you guys are not ordinary things in the pond at all, we just did not think that you would be big heroes understood by everyone [idiom: household name]. Hows Ziling? He is very good, Kou Zhong replied, I did mention to him that I came across you. By the way, is Xier hooking up with that kid Ke Dazhi? Qingqings countenance darkened; she said, We are women who sellughter to make a living [to work as a good-time girl/to prostitute oneself], what and with whom are we hooking up with? Ke Dazhi is a favorite person by Taizis side; even if our heart is unwilling, we still do not dare to offend him. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to ask, I wonder if Xier is unwilling to get acquainted with a kid of younger generation called Zha Jie? How did you know about this? Qingqing asked in surprise. Kou Zhongughed and said, Zha Jie is my brother; this kid is quite all right. Covering her mouth, Qingqingughed tenderly. Returning to the natural color of a pleasure house woman, she leaned half of her tender body over and whispered in his ear, Shao Shuai wants to y a matchmaker? But Xier may not want it. Xier is a bit like me in the past; very easy to have feelings toward good-looking men, also very easy to trust other people, whatever you say wont change her mind, but she should have a good impression toward Zha Jie! Only these days she only has Ke Dazhis name on her lips; I advised her but was met with a rebuff. In todays situation, Zha Jie would not have the time to think about the love affair between a boy and a girl anyway; Kou Zhong had no choice but to change the subject, Currently Qing Jie is the most famousdy boss of the pleasure house, your circle of friends are all influential officials; Ziling and I are very relieved. We will leave Changan one of these days, when we have the opportunity, we wille back to visit Jiejie. Qingqing said, Jiejie understands your situation. I really take pride in you. Even Qi Wang, who considers himself to be on top of the world, when he mentioned you, he could not help admitting that you guys are the most difficult opponents to deal with. Oh! When are you leaving? Kou Zhong felt that he had an unreserved trust in her, just like he trusted Susu. Thereupon he replied honestly, Soonest will be tonight,test will be tomorrow morning, depending on the situation. Disappointed, Qingqing said, Then Xier and I will not have time to serve you. Kou Zhong jumped in fright. He hastily said, We have elder-sister-younger-brother feeling between us, which is very special; why do you need to serve us? Qingqing was slightly taken aback, but then she delightedly said, Only today did Qingqing know what is real hero, towering figure. Other men, no matter how beautiful the wordsing out of their mouth, the bottom line is that their greatest interest lies in our body. I dont know where Xier went, but when she finds out that she missed the opportunity to meet you, she will be sorely disappointed. Kou Zhong fixed the mask properly on his face, rose up to his full height, and said, Here we part, I dont know when we will have the opportunity to meet again. Qing Jie, please take a good care of yourself. Qingqing suddenly pulled his sleeve. Standing up, she said, I almost forget to tell you, Qi Wang leaving the Capital to go hunting on Mount Zhongnan is just a ruse; the fact is that as soon as he left the city, he would turn around and slip back, in order to plot against you in the dark. Kou Zhong thought it made sense. After happily bade his farewell to Qingqing, as he was stepping out of Feng Ya Ge, he felt his entire body rxed, and he had high fighting spirit. Book 35 - 11 – Dual Personality Xu Ziling and Ji Qian went down the steps outside the restaurants main gate and into the street. It was just past noon; this most flourishing avenue of Bei Li was crowded with endless stream of horse and carriages, and with bustling pedestriansing and going; it was extremely lively. Xu Ziling walked inrge strides along the street with his hands behind his back, while Ji Qian was half-walking, half-running, trying to keep up with him. Taking the credit for their sess, she said, You see? Were it not for this Guniang by your side, I am afraid you would never be able to get out of that door. Xu Ziling blurted outughing, but he did not say anything. Ji Qian suddenly stopped and put her hands on her hips, while shouting tenderly, You dont believe me? Stop! Xu Ziling finally came to a stand, but he was already about a zhang away from her. The people on the street, both men and women, all stole nces toward Ji Qian, whose beauty radiated all around, while the Dengtu Zi-type men even unable to take their eyes off her, feasting on her beauty. Ignoring the bystanders eyes, Xu Ziling turned around slowly and said, So what if I dont believe? Ji Qian crossly said, If you dont believe me then Ill let you emerge and perish on your own; if you want to y ghost then Ill let you be a regretting ghost. Xu Ziling walked back to her;ughing indifferently, he said, Whether you are by my side or not, they are not going to let me off. If you believe me then give it a try. Ji Qian acted as if she had just known him for the first time; she looked at him from top to bottom and back, pouted her mouth, and said, What do you mean try? Xu Ziling threw his head back andughed a loud, saying, Guniang, pleasee with me. He then led the way moving forward, and specifically picked a narrow alley. When they were on the alley where there were not many pedestrians, he suddenly stopped and said, They areing. Ji Qian looked back, sheughed and said, Nonsense! Theres not even half a shadow behind us. Even if you want to step down, theres no need for you to lie! Meeting her gaze, Xu Ziling slyly said, Why dont you look again? Half-believing, half-doubting, Ji Qian looked back again. Her countenance changed, she said, Du Weizi [son of a rabbit, a cuss word (Courtesy of Akw)]! They have the cheek not to have any regard for me, Ji Qian. Four big men rushed over from behind. Ji Qian stood in front of Xu Ziling and crossly said, Do you know who I am? One of the men respectfully said, The fame of Ji Qian Xiaojies beauty spread far and wide, who does not know you? Although on the surface he was reverent and respectful, there were thorns in his words, insinuating that Ji Qian was a famous prostitute. The other party was such a blunt old Jianghu man, Ji Qian, this young Jianghu person C was immediately at a loss for words. The previous man said, Naturally we respect Ji Xiaojie, just as we respect Mo Ye even more. This time we receive Die Furens order to invite Mo Yes good self to meet with her. [Note: I dont recall these people knew Xu Ziling as Mo Wei, plus IIRC, Xu Ziling was wearing his Yong Qin disguise. Also, like I notedst chapter, Madame Butterfly used to be Madame Rainbow.] The other two men separated to the left and right. Just by looking at their momentum, it was clear that these men were Jianghu veterans who were ready to deal with any situation. Ji Qian finally found her voice back; she spoke heavily, If you only want to invite Mo Ye over to see Die Furen, why such battle formation? Do you think I dont know who you are? The first manughed calmly and said, Xiaoren is Zuo Jinlong, a mere little foot in Jingzhao Lian, only because of Lianzhus [alliance master] promotion, I have the opportunity to do some work by Lianzhus side, so its unusual that Ji Xiaojie knows a lowly character like me. And then he pointed to man speaking sarcastically earlier and said, He is Li Ba, also another little foot ying small role within the Jingzhao Lian. The rough and heavy works within our Alliance are our responsibility. Specifically inviting Mo Ye to see Furen, what battle formation can be said? Xiaojie overpraised us! Li Baughed evilly and said, Ji Xiaojie enjoys benefit from your fame, you are ustomed to quiet life and good fortune; how would you understand the suffering of people like us, who are constantly on the move, licking the blood on our sabers de? Finally Ji Qians countenance changed slightly; she knew that these bullies and gangsters would definitely not spare her feelings and face. While she was at a loss of what to do, Xu Ziling smoothly turned around and stood by Ji Qians side. Smiling, he said, This is the second time we met! It was precisely these two men who mounted sneak attack from behind the door the other day, and ced their de on Xu Zilings neck. Zuo Jinlong cupped his fist and said, Mo Ye, how are you? Furen has an urgent matter to be discussed with Mo Ye. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Ziling cast Ji Qian a nce first, before he turned toward Zuo Jinlong and said, Tell Furen, these next couple of days Xiaodi happen to be very busy; Ill see what I can do after two days! Li Bas countenance sank, heughed coldly and said, You seem not to know who you are talking with. The refined light in Xu Zilings eyes red out, he shouted in deep voice, Zhao! and lifted his right hand. Including Ji Qian, all five people were suddenly ovee with a hard-to-describe feeling. They saw the movement of him lifting his hand appeared to be slow, yet it appeared to be fast as well, so that it was indeed hard to fathom. The most shocking thing was that although the movement appeared so fast that it ought to bepleted within a snap of the fingers, yet it also appeared to be free and endlessly drawn-out. By the time Xu Zilings hand reached the height of the pit of his stomach, suddenly all five fingers moved, producing myriad of changes, until finally only his thumb was sticking out, pressing toward Li Bas forehead. It was only this moment that Li Ba realized that Xu Ziling was attacking him; he moved back hastily. But when everybody was thinking that Li Ba had sessfully dodged the attack of this slow, clumsy finger, Li Ba already fell into the trap; like a kite with cut string he flew backward, and fell t on his back. The passers-by around them cried out in rm and scattered away. Zuo Jinlong and the other two men looked at Li Ba in disbelief. Perhaps they were scared, but unexpectedly they could only stare nkly without fighting back. Ji Qian moved her gaze from Li Ba to Xu Ziling; she was stunned speechless. Xu Ziling responded with a smile. Zuo Jinlong came to his senses. Shouting angrily, he pulled the saber hanging on his waist, and shouted, Kid, you are using sorcery! The other two men also drew their weapons; together with Zuo Jinlong, they surrounded Xu Ziling and Ji Qian in the middle, while striking a posture and shouting and yelling. Xu Ziling shook his head and said with augh, Knowing that I know how to use sorcery, you still dare to provoke me; arent you tired of living? Lifting his foot, he kicked Zuo Jinlong. Zuo Jinlong saw that this kick was actually half a zhang away from him; how could the kick reach him? However, he was extremely careful. He shouted first, Brothers, attack! One of them actually brandished his saber to chop Ji Qians head, with the intention of dividing Xu Zilings attention, so that he could not perform his sorcery. Ji Qian cried out in rm. Naturally she ran toward Xu Ziling. Xu Zilings left hand lightly grabbed Ji Qians slim waist, the two mens attack from behind fell on empty space. They could only look on helplessly as, somehow, Xu Ziling effortlessly shed past Zuo Jinlongs chopping saber, while his leg continued without changing style, kicking Zuo Jinlongs lower abdomen. Hit by the kick, Zuo Jinlong flew more than a zhang away, and was unable to crawl back up. Xu Ziling had mischievous idea; while letting Ji Qian go, he pushed lightly, sending Ji Qians body spinning. Although it could notpare with when she was wearing full dancing regalia, with her hair and sleeves fluttering around, but such a beauty, performing an amazing disy, which was growing without restraint in the middle of the street C in living color, was still very fascinating. On her first spin, Ji Qian caught the sight of Xu Ziling dodging the two mens de; if the de chopped a bit lower, Xu Zilings little life would be difficult to protect. On her second spin, which she had no control over her own movement, she saw the two mens saber flew off their hands, while they staggered and fell backward in an utterly sorry state. Freely and easily Xu Ziling also spun around, his finger stretched out and lightly touched Ji Qians delicate waist. The angr momentum carrying Ji Qian, who was still feeling like she was soaring above the clouds, riding on the mist C suddenly disappeared, just as sudden as when it started to send her body spinning. Her beautiful eyes flickering with strange light, she stared and Xu Ziling and asked, Who are you, actually? Xu Ziling retreated backward. He did not seem to be changing his footwork, neither did he increase his speed, yet in an instant he was already two zhang away from her. He smiled and said, Guniang, please quickly leave this danger zone. Unable to run after him, Ji Qian stamped her foot and angrily said, I want to do obeisance to you to learn your skill! Xu Ziling turned around and swiftly went away, but his voice came back, The trick to deceive people, even if used without malice, learning it would only bring harm without any benefit; please forgive Zaixia for being unable toply with your request. Ji Qian watched as Xu Ziling disappeared into another side alley; the two men knocked down by him were struggling to crawl up. Knowing that it was not advisable for her to stay, she stomped her feet and left. Leaving Feng Ya Ge, Kou Zhong was still thinking about what Qingqing told him that Li Yuanji was secretly returning to Changan to plot against them. Logically speaking,pared to other people, Li Yuanji was more certain that Kou Zhong was escaping via the underground river cave. Even if he did not die in the great disaster, and managed to escape with another lease on life, the exit must be in in the bottom of a river far away outside the city, and could not possibly return into the city within a short period of time, or perhaps he was even seriously injured. If Li Yuanji had his men secretly monitoring the peopleing into the city gate, ordering the guards around the city and the sentries on the watchtowers to increase their vignce, Kou Zhong could forget about returning into the city in broad daylight without being detected. Therefore, Li Yuanjis target ought to be Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong remembered that onlyst night he told Xu Ziling to make appearances all around the city, to let the people who knew them believe that the Demonic Emperor Relics was in their hands, because at that time they still did not know the real situation inside the treasure house. Thinking to this point, he no longer had any interest in returning to the Sha Mansion. Where could Xu Ziling possibly be at this moment? Leaving the fight scene and Ji Qian, Xu Ziling cursed himself for disying himself too ostentatiously. However, although those four Jingzhao Lians martial art masters whom he knocked down appeared to be seriously injured, the fact was that he only sealed their acupoints, so that within the next few sichen they would be only half conscious, hence it would be hard for them to rte the particrs of what actually happened. By the time they sobered up, the Yong Qin would already disappear, without leaving the least bit of trace that people could track down. Suddenly a feeling of homelessness welled up in his heart. In Changan these days, he always had a ce to stay. For instance, as Yue Shan he coulde back to the Dong Lai Inn, or else went to Hou Xibais Duoqing Wo, or to Lei Jiuzhis Xing Gong [temporary imperial residence] at Chong Xian Li [reminder: li is neighborhood (district)], or even to Gao Zhandaos hideout. Each ce gave him the feeling of home. But now those homes were not home anymore, there was no ce for him that he would feel safe. They could only go into the treasure house after dark. The huge city of Changan was still bustling with the atmosphere of the beginning of Spring, yet he was feeling the other side of this atmosphere, i.e. danger lurks on every side. Compared to the other people on the street, he seemed to live in another world altogether, a world where there was only animosity, killing, strife, and violence. Storehouse within a storehouse was a misunderstanding, which made him and Kou Zhong temporarily lost the advantage. The enemies who believed that the Demonic Emperor Relics was not in their hands, naturally no one was willing to let the tiger returns to its mountain, to release the dragon back into the sea. Zhu Yuyan and Zhao Deyan still have not made their move, only because they still could not figure out how Kou Zhong could easily return to the ground surface level of the city of Changan; therefore, they still needed a bit of time to find out and think it over. Where could he go to momentarily lie low waiting for the intensity of fire to die down? Without realizing it, his own inertia brought him to the Yong An Canal; he smiled bitterly in his heart. Letting his feet carried him, he walked slowly along the bank. On the water, boats were going back and forth. It was slowly returning to the busyness of before the beginning of spring. A big clump of dark clouds were hanging low on the horizon, evidently another heavy snow was brewing, soon it would nket the famous city in anotheryer of white coat like this morning. It was at this point that a familiar voice was calling from the water behind him, Xiao Xiongdi! Could you get on the boat to have a chat with me? Xu Zilings soul nearly flew away and scattered. Turning his head to look, he saw the demonic schools big evil man, Shi Zhixuan, wearing Confucian attire, dressed as if he was a Taoist immortal, was sitting peacefully on a small skiff, leisurely operating the boat along the water by a single oar on its stern. His pair of eyes was flickering with unusual rays of light. Xu Ziling was groaning inwardly. If they fought, in less than three moves Shi Zhixuan would immediately discover that Yue Shan was actually Xu Zilings other incarnation. This was the identity Xu Ziling was most unwilling to reveal. Only after clenching the pair of cast arm protectors inside his sleeves from which he got the name Yong Qin did Xu Zilings heart calm down somewhat. Bracing himself, he jumped onto Shi Zhixuans boat, which was docking onto the bank, and sat down on the bow. Shi Zhixuan looked at him deeply, sizing him up, with a hint of indiscernible smile at the corner of his mouth. The wooden oar went back into the water, the skiff slowly moved away from the shore. The sound of horses hoof thundered. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, and halted his steps. Ke Dazhi, along with more than a dozen Tujue warriors, galloped toward him and reined their horses by his side. Smiling, he said, Shen Yi [divine doctor], please get on the horse. Displeased, Kou Zhong said, Laozi dont have time right now; whatever it is, lets wait until tonight! He was shivering inwardly; Ke Dazhi seemed to be able to find him any moment, he must have his men watching him in secret, plus they must have a special method ofmunication in the city, hence he was able to intercept Kou Zhong on the street like right now. Ke Dazhi jumped down the horse. Maintaining the polite smile on his face, he said, Mo Xiansheng, please dont misunderstand, Ol Ke only wanted to understand where did Xiansheng find the Sheng Sheli? Supposing Xiansheng is unwilling to exin to Yan Shuai, we could find a ce to talk; ones selling the others buying, we just want to talk about fair dealing, Xiansheng needs to dispel our doubts. Of course Kou Zhong knew that fighting this moment would not bring any benefit to him, while it could also implicate Chang He and the Sha Family. Having no other option, he replied, Actually, Xiaodi is hungry; I wonder if Ke Xiong has a good suggestion. Ke Dazhi said, Fu Ju Lou is open for business today, Ol Ke especially reserves a table in there, so that I could drink wine and have a heart-to-heart chat with Xiansheng. Xiansheng, please! Kou Zhong had a feeling like he was a serious criminal being sent away under escort. Helpless, he got on the horse. Part of Xu Zilings scalp went numb. After a bout of ufortable silence, Shi Zhixuan moved his gaze from the water. Looking up to the sky, he sighed and said, Very soon there will be another blizzard. Xu Ziling did not know how to answer him. Shi Zhixuan turned his gaze toward him. Trying to break the ice, he asked, Why didnt Ziling stay in Bashu [Sichuan]? Xu Ziling already guessed that Shi Zhixuan already saw through his real identity, but listening to him saying so, he was still shocked inwardly. Taking a deep breath, he said, I still dont have any n on settling down in a certain ce. Shi Zhixuan nodded. He spoke seriously, Good answer! Good answer! Do you know who I am? I did not, but now I do, Xu Ziling replied. Shi Zhixuan looked up to heaven and exhaled really slowly; his eyes turned gentle, he spoke softly, as if he was muttering to himself, Is Qingxuan well? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, I dont know, I really dont know. Shi Zhixuans eyes suddenly be iparably sharp, as if he was able to look straight into the bottom of Xu Zilings heart. But his voice remained tranquil, Have you listened to her flute art? Whats it like? The icy-cold river breeze blew against the bow of the boat. Xu Ziling felt the cold wind whistling against his back, but his heart actually warmed up, recalling the touching scene that day at the Duzun Bao, where he was listening to Shi Qingxuan ying her flute by the window. Momentarily he unexpectedly forgot that sitting across him was devil incarnate, whom no one in the Wulin under the heavens did not fear, the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. He spoke softly, Her flute is like some kind of rebellion against the fate. Severely shaken, Shi Zhixuan blurted out, What? Greatly surprised, Xu Ziling looked at Shi Zhixuan. In this moment, Shi Zhixuan no longer exuded the slightest amount of evil and treacherous impression; he was like someone who wandered far from home, feeling frustrated all his life, and then by chance he happened to hear precious information about his hometown, which he had long forgotten, and thus he could not get rid of the mncholy in his heart. Shi Zhixuans eyes welled up with deep andplex emotion, which he was unable to cut. Profound light floated up, he chanted, Mountains have no mound, river water exhausted, thunderbolt in the winter, snowstorm in the summer, the heaven and the earthing together, only then the gentleman will give up his feeling. Whatever Xu Ziling thought about what Shi Zhixuans reaction would be, he would never have guessed that his mood would be stirred up to the extent that it created a sad melody in his heart. His singing voice was exhausted and deste, expressing the pain hidden deep within his heart in some kind of a way, almost like releasing the self-pity and wallowing-in-suffering feeling C out in the open, like a love letter filled with regret, which was announced all over the world, brimming with gray, hopeless pain. Who could possibly resist from being emotionally moved? These few lines of the poem was talking about how the mountains have be tnd, how the river water dried up, the rainstorm in the winter and the snowstorm in the summer, the heaven and the earth closing down, and only then would the love be broken. Such deep emotion emerging from a great evil man who personally engineered his own tender wifes death, which made other people feel the contradiction and remorse in his heart. Xu Ziling was unable to rte the man in front of him, whose spirit hurting and his soul broken, who was proud above the crowd, yet brimming with talent and passion, refined in manner C with the vicious and merciless opponent he faced when he was disguised as Yue Shan. Momentarily he was unable to say anything. For the first time he understood what Hou Xibai said about Shi Zhixuan having a dual personality. Sitting close to the window, Kou Zhong looked down; surprisingly he saw Xu Zilings Yong Qin was riding a boat with a middle-aged Confucian schr. The shock in his heart was not something that anynguage could describe. He intuitively felt that this man was Shi Zhixuan, because he had heard from Xu Zilings mouth the description of Shi Zhixuans clothes and outward appearance. Fortunately, from where he sat, Ke Dazhi could not see the situation on the river, plus he was in the middle of ordering the dishes, so that he did not know that Kou Zhong was so scared that his entire body was drenched in cold sweats, his soul flew away and scattered. The skiff stopped at the bottom of the bridge. For fear of attracting too much attention, Ke Dazhis men were scattered outside the door and did note with them to the second floor. Upstairs was very noisy, packed with diners; on one of the tables were Li Mi and Huang Gongcuo. Just by seeing how Li Mi was not invited to participate in the spring hunting, his status in the eyes of the Li n could be easily imagined. After dismissing the waiter, Ke Dazhi turned to Kou Zhong and said, What can Xiansheng say about Ol Kes question earlier? By this time Kou Zhong decided that Shi Zhixuan had no malice toward Xu Ziling. Although he was still at a loss, his heart has calmed down somewhat, his brains turned toward Ke Dazhi, he knew that if he said that he did not know about the storehouse within a storehouse, even if he told about dragon and phoenix in the sky, he could forget about Ke Dazhi believing that he had the Relics in his hand. He only regretted the fact that if he said that he knew about the storehouse within a storehouse, it was still improper because the people on the Li ns side have long decided that he and Xu Ziling never entered the lower-level storehouse, which was also the fact. Ke Dazhi clearly indicated that one wrong word, and he would immediately uncovered Kou Zhongs identity, to remove his chance of ever leaving Changan alive. Kou Zhongughed calmly, and spoke in low voice, May I ask Ke Xiong, if I really escaped via the river cave, how could I sit here with you to have a drink and chat right now? Uh, its snowing heavily again! Ke Dazhi looked out the window, pieces of snowkes were falling down from the sky, the momentum was fiercer and more severe than thest heavy snow. Book 35 - 12 – Disastrous Fall Into the Enemy’s Trap Xu Ziling saw three entirely different faces of Shi Zhixuan: Shi Zhixuans natural color, the Demonic King, head of a Sect, ruthless and heartless; the Abbot of Wu Lou Si, Buddhas light illuminating the people, looking at him vertically or horizontally, he was a haughty senior monk who had reached the Way; and finally, the lonely down and out schr in front of his eyes, who, deep inside his heart, was hiding endless pain. The heavy snow was like two curtains transforming the space under the bridge into another world, isted from the world outside. The world outside has be fuzzy, losing all sense of substance. asionally, another boat entered in, but in the blink of an eye immediately left, briefly connecting the two worlds together. Shi Zhixuans downcast voice echoed in the empty space under the bridge; he heard him say, Since her death, I have never felt this lonely. I asked myself over and over again, why I want to do this. I really dont know; I really dont know ... His voice continued to be downcast, brimming with the deep pain of remorse and frustration. Xu Ziling stared at him nkly. Everything in front of his eyes was not real. The Demonic King Shi Zhixuan unexpectedly showed regret and remorse in front of him; if he told it to anybody, he could almost guarantee that nobody would believe him. Suddenly, he realized that Shi Zhixuans w was that his love to Shi Qingxuans birth mother Bi Xiuxin was his true feeling. He did not abandon Shi Qingxuan; rather, he was afraid to face Shi Qingxuan. In the heaviest xinfa of the superior innate internal energy cultivation, only because of the enigmatic knot that was hard to untie in his heart that his Immortal Image Method was showing a w, and thus he was defeated in Ning Daoqis hands. And most likely the Demonic Emperor Relics was the only way to remedy this w. Xu Ziling could not help asking, How did Qianbei [Senior] see through my true identity? Severely shaken, Shi Zhixuan slowly raised his head; the sorrowful emotion in his eyes disappearedpletely, reced by as-sharp-as-de flickering demonical gleam, as he stared at Xu Ziling without blinking at all. Xu Ziling cried Bad! inwardly. But how would he know thatmon, casual remark would recall Shi Zhixuans other, terrifying mood? Gazing out of the window, Ke Dazhi spoke slowly, Heavy snow always reminds me of the windstorm outside the Great Wall. There are not many things in the world that can move my heart, but I could go down on my knees to a tornado, to have my blood racing by the p of thunder and lightning shes splitting the sky over the desert. Under the power of nature, men are so insignificant. This is the first time that I reveal the load on my mind to other people, because Gexia [Sire] is not only qualified to be my adversary, you are also a tough guy worthy of my respect. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Turns out when Ke Xiong said we are going to drink wine and have a heart-to-heart chat, you were not joking. Let Xiaodi salute you with a cup. The two cheerfully raised their cups to clink each other, and drown it in one gulp until not a drop remained. And then looking at each other, theyughed together. On the surface the atmosphere seemed to be harmonious and very close, but both sides could see the intense murderous aura in the other sides eyes. Revealing a faraway, reminiscing look in his eyes, Kou Zhong slowly said, I remember when I had just started to master my martial art skill, I was in a small valley, suddenly I felt the whole world was different from before; it was as if my senses had ascended to a different level, seeing and sensing things that I normally overlooked, the ordinary flowers and grass and trees, suddenly they seemed to be alive. The texture, the color, everything was so rich that it moved me to tears. But this feeling onlysted for a few days; very soon I was ustomed to everything. I still miss the feeling of that moment very much. Ke Dazhi pped the table and said with a sigh, This is precisely amon problem for all people. Once we are ustomed to something, then it bes ordinary, there is no novelty anymore. The same is true of women; riches and honor, glory and splendor, are also nothing more than this. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If I did not know what kind of person you are, I would have thought that you are trying to persuade me to retreat from Jianghu. But the problem is that despite the loss of freshness, losing what one has just obtained is worse than returning to the original shape; it is indeed harder to ept than never obtaining it. Just imagine that if someone disabled Ke Xiong that you lose your martial art, how many days can you endure? Ke Dazhi raised his wine cup and poured another cup for him; he said with augh, Well said! We really must not look back. Thinking that one day I can decide life and death with you, LaoGe, Ol Kes life is already brimming with thirst and expectation. Inwardly Kou Zhong mused that perhaps tonight would happen just as you wished. Raising his cup he said, This cup is for our future toast. The two loudly toasted each other and drank their wine, their attitude heroic and imposing, not only provoking other people to raise their eyebrows, they even attracted Li Mi, Huang Gongcuo, and the others attention that they also looked at them. For the time being, Kou Zhong only had eyes for Ke Dazhi, he did not take anybody elses attention to heart at all. Ke Dazhi leaned forward a bit and spoke in low voice, I have gone down and looked, escaping alive from that river cave seemed to be nearly a miracle. Were it not for this understanding, would Shao Shuai think that Xiaodi still have the patience to sit here with you to drink wine and have a heart-to-heart talk? Kou Zhong smiled and said, You are forting enough, I will also make a long story short: I dare to guarantee with my personal integrity that the one I am going to bring is the a-thousand-real-ten-thousand-genuine Xiedi Sheli. How could this unusual treasure be like an ordinary object? Trying to pass of fish eyes for pearls is simply a joke. The refined light in Ke Dazhis eyes red up brightly, he spoke in heavy voice, How could you guarantee that Gexia is not going to miss the appointment? Kou Zhong proudly said, I am Kou Zhong, these two characters are my guarantee; otherwise, I am worse than a dog or a pig. But you must not eat your words either; if you are unwilling to save people but want to seize the treasure, so much so that you want to get rid of us, then I will make you regret it so much. Intense murderous aura shed through Ke Dazhis pair of eyes, heughed coldly and said, Sheli is in your hands, the initiative is in your grasp as well, what can we do to turn things over? Xiongdi, dont worry! Kou Zhong pretended to casually cast his eyes to the Yue Ma Bridge below. In the drizzle of snow, a small section of the tail of the skiff was seen under the bridge. Without yielding the slightest bit, Xu Ziling met Shi Zhixuans gaze directly. A hint of grim and cold smile grew from the corner of Shi Zhixuans mouth, as he spoke calmly, The Sheng Sheli is still down there, isnt it? The fact was certainly so, however, it was a little bit different than the situation that Shi Zhixuan imagined. Xu Ziling nodded calmly. Like a de, the pupil of Shi Zhixuans eyes were fixed on Xu Ziling, no longer showing any heartfelt emotion, but it was cold, hard, yet it carried some kind of mysterious calmness, more like it had no connection with a living human beings flesh and blood. He spoke slowly, Since you havent deceived me, I will leave you with a way to survive. Get lost far away this instant. Tonight, after the city gate is closed, if you are still inside the city, dont me me, Shi Zhixuan for not warning you. Xu Ziling calmlyughed and said, Not because of looking at Qingxuan? Severely shaken, a sad expression flitted across Shi Zhixuans face but it quickly faded, reced by the icy-cold, heartless expression, as he fixed his gaze on Xu Ziling and said, Dont let the little bit of favorable impression I have on you disappear too. As far as Im concerned, killing people is a rare pleasure of life. Even Xu Ziling was wondering if the previous Shi Zhixuan was the same person with the gentleman in front of his eyes right now. Shaking his head, he cried, I basically do not need Qianbeis favorable impression at all; I do not wish to drift and live without purpose based on other peoples pity even more. If Qianbei wants to kill me, Xu Ziling, please make your move at your convenience. Shi Zhixuanughed aloud; he said Good! three times in session, and only then did he say with a smile, Killing people is also one type of art; killing just like this will indeed be a waste. Ziling, I am sure we will meet again some day. One moment he was still sitting peacefully on the boat, the next moment he already disappeared in the snowstorm outside the bridge. He sprang, drew back, shed, and shifted in a series ofplicated movements, which he aplished in the blink of an eye. Watching this, a chill crept up Xu Zilings spine. Huan Mo Shenfa was indeed brilliant. Xu Zilings scalp went numb; he sat nkly for half a day. Suddenly the rm went off in his heart. Kou Zhong slipped under the bridge, and sat on the seat Shi Zhixuan had just vacated. Giggling happily, he said, What kind of intimate words were you talking with your future father-inw? Casually he grasped the oar and paddled the boat. The skiff left the bottom of the bridge to enter the world with the snow filling the sky. Kou Zhong brought the skiff toward the shore. Just like the night, the heavy snow provided the best cover for them; if right now they wanted to reenter the underground treasure house while the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive, it was no longer an impossible matter. Kou Zhong said, Shi Zhixuan originally wanted to kill you, but because you suddenly evoked a load on his mind, in the end he let you off. He is fully aware of your character; therefore, in thatst remark, he deliberately provoked you to infuriate him, then he would not have any scruples in killing you. Looking from this point of view, Shi Qingxuan still upies a very important position in his evil heart. Giving him a cold shoulder, Xu Ziling said, Dont put a the-person-on-the-spot-is-baffled, the-onlooker-sees-clear act. Are you going to proceed tonight ording to the original n? I am afraid Yun Shuai is not so reliable. Ignoring his question, Kou Zhong continued his analysis one step further, He has not seen your Mount Lushan true colors; if he really cares about his daughter, he should have asked you, this soon-to-be his son-inw, to take your mask and have him take a look. Yet he did not make this request, because he harbors the intention to kill you, hence he did not want any other factor to intervene. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Let me tell you for thest time, Shi Qingxuan and me have nothing to do with each other whatsoever. Kou Zhong raised his hands in surrender, saying, I am just trying to make you happy. Yun Shuai can do whatever he pleases. Tonight, the messier the better. I does not matter who obtains the Relics, there wont be any good oue. Ning Daoqi is the only exception, because only he has no fear on Shi Zhixuan. Any demonic school thingy, please forgive Xiaodi for being unable to enjoy it. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, You seem to forget there is still Zhu Yuyan. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, I always thought that Shi Zhixuan is more formidable than Zhu Yuyan. All right! I am going back to the Sha Family; how about we meet underground in a little bit? Xu Ziling said, I am afraid Wanwan might hurt you. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You are right. Now the situation is clear, once Wan Yaonu decided that the Relics is not in my hand, she wont be lenient anymore and will kill me. The problem is that just like Zhao Deyan, it is not easy judge her. Therefore, I am deliberately going back to the Sha Mansion to let her find me, so that I can try to convince here that the Relics is indeed in my hands, and only then we will have the chance to fish in troubled water tonight and steal away. Xu Ziling said, I am most afraid that they [feminine] would use the killing-using-borrowed-knife stratagem, by having Li Yuanji toe and deal with you. Finally Kou Zhong changed his mind; nodding his head, he said, You, this kid, must be a first-ss lobbyist. Very well! Ill go back with you. Xu Ziling said, Before we go back, we must n clearly the details of tonights operation with Yun Shuai. We should never be seen walking together. Let Xiaodi go first, you run after me one step behind! Using the heavy snow as a cover, Xu Ziling bored through the streets and passed through the alleys; suddenly walking and suddenly stopping, he gave it his all not to let anybody following his track. Shi Zhixuan was able to intercept him head-on at the Yong An Canal, it was extremely shocking to him. If the other side found him just because he was looking for Yun Shuai, it would bring him regret for the rest of his life. Shi Zhixuan could not possibly be polite toward Yun Shuai. Arriving at the wall of the rear courtyard of Yun Shuais secret hideout, Xu Ziling elevated his senses to the limit of sensitivity attainable by his current power. Forget about the situation inside the house, even the real situation within several neighboring houses would not be able to escape his eyes and ears. Everything was still as usual. He felt that Yun Shuai was waiting for him inside the house, alone. Xu Ziling jumped over the wall to enter the courtyard, and went straight to the main hall. A man, upright and unafraid, was standing overlooking the window. Although Xu Zilings footsteps did not make any noise, he could not escape being detected by him. The moment Xu Ziling stepped into the hall, like a whirlwind he spun around,ughed long and loud, and said, Even though Zaixia and Ziling Xiong are mortal enemy, Ziling Xiong is still one of the people that Zaixia admires. This gentleman was around twenty-seven, twenty-eight years old; tall, straight, and dignified. His build was perfect without any w, every cun of muscle on his entire body, from head to toe, was brimming with power. Amidst the beauty and handsome look, there was a grandeur and elegant charisma. The only shoring was the bridge of his nose was too high and crooked, making his already sharp eyes looked even more unfathomably deep, as well as making people feel his innate arrogance and his disregard of other people, and his everything-for-self-and-selfish-profit innate character C even more. His left hand held a long sword, which, even though it was still inside the sheath, it already emitted a biting-cold murderous aura. On the surface Xu Ziling was calm and cool-headed, but inwardly a huge wave, which height reached the sky, was churning in his heart, while he was groaning incessantly. Nodding his head, he said, Xuyan Xiong, how are you? Suddenly it dawned on him that the problemy with Yun Shuai, and not with him, Xu Ziling. Although Yun Shuais lightness skill was unrivalled, in the end he could not hide from Shi Zhixuans eyes and ears, hence Shi Zhixuan found his hideout. The gloomy Shi Zhixuan did not immediately create trouble, knowing that he and Kou Zhong had some rtionship with Yun Shuai; therefore, he was using a long line to catch a big fish [idiom: long-term n for major returns]. This morning Xu Ziling was going to see Yun Shuai, thereupon Shi Zhixuan put his n into action. It could be imagined that Shi Zhixuan was shadowing Xu Ziling from a distance, hoping to find Kou Zhongs whereabouts from him. Fortunately Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong split up, so that Shi Zhixuan erroneously thought that Kou Zhong was buried in the river cave, or at least has not returned to the city yet, hence they could meet at the river. Shi Zhixuan obviously guessed that Xu Ziling would see Yun Shuai again, thereupon he executed the to-kill-with-a-borrowed-knife stratagem, by notifying Yang Xuyan to borrow Li Yuanjis power to get rid of him. It looked like everything bodes ill, no positive signs [idiom: everything points to disaster] for Yun Shuai. Current situation clearly showed that the target was him. Even if he could pass this Yang Xuyan barrier, he would not be able to pass theyer uponyer of heavy siege outside. His only chance of survival was precisely Kou Zhong, who was tailing behind him, hoping that he would be one step ahead in discovering the hidden troops from Li Yuanjis side; otherwise it would be very difficult for them to escape great catastrophe. Yang Xuyans Shadow Sword was still inside its sheath, the momentum already locked him tight, so that other than fighting, there was nothing else he could do. Xu Ziling slowly removed his mask and put it inside his pocket. Yang Xuyan pulled the sword out of it sheath, heughed cheerfully and said, Ziling Xiongs progress is rapid, it is indeed frightening. Thinking about that year at Shen Luoyans fragrant residence in Rongyang, Zaixia pulled the Shadow Sword out, Ziling Xiong could only flee for your life, whether today Ziling Xiong could protect your life and escape, it will depend on your refined progress. Xu Ziling pulled both hands inside his sleeves, he tightly grabbed the arm protectors, which were made of fine-steel; he could not help thinking about his Old Die Du Fuweis Xiu Li Qiankun [universe in the sleeve], and spoke indifferently, Xuyan Xiongs elegant demeanor fills Xiaodis heart with extreme admiration, unexpectedly you did not mention even one word about losing the half section of the Image Scroll. Hearing that, the murderous aura in Yang Xuyans eyes immediately red greatly. He took a step diagonally to the left, and then said with a calmughter, As long as I could capture Ziling Xiong, why would I be afraid that Ziling Xiong would not obediently confess? How could Ziling Xiongs way of thinking be this immature? Xu Ziling took a step to the right,ughing involuntarily, he said, Even if Xuyan Xiong could capture Xiaodi alive, I am afraid that would still be a good dream that is hard to justify; would Xuyan Xiong like to know the reason? The two men walked step-by-step in a circle inside the limited space of the room, mutually looking for the other sides w, while crossing verbal swords, striving to seize a good chance to take initiative to strike when the opponents resolution was showing a gap. In the hall, murderous aura filled the air, qi power was already shing against each other, momentarily neither one upied the upper hand. By the time Yang Xuyan became world-famous Shadow Assassin, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were still nameless boys, but now he was able to stand on equal footing with the opponent, determining life and death; thinking about it, it was enough reason to be proud of his achievement. Hearing that, Yang Xuyan let out a cold humph and said, Even if it was destroyed, so what? Not only Shi Shi [master] promised to pass on the Bu Si Yin Fa to me, he also decided to personally take care of that traitor. Therefore, hearing Ziling Xiongs remark, I feel that is extremely ridiculous. It was not clear whether this statement was true or false, but as it entered Xu Zilings ears, he could not help but was shocked; but as soon as he realized it was bad, Yang Xuyans sword light red out brightly. The air was full ofyer uponyer of sword shadow. Even with Xu Zilings eyesight, he still could not tell which sword was real, which sword was empty. Behind the fierce and severe ten-thousand-change sword shadow, Yang Xuyan disappeared into thin air. Kou Zhong was crouching on the rooftop of a multistory building some distance away, letting the endless snowkes to cover him. The shock in his heart was very difficult to describe. He originally intended to see whether Shi Zhixuan was following behind Xu Ziling, hence he intentionally dyed entering Yun Shuais courtyard house; who would have thought that in less than a quarter of hour, from all four ways, eight directions appeared the enemys track, the total number reaching about a hundred men, setting up an ambush on the roof of the neighboring houses, as well as in the streets and alleys, heavily surrounding Yun Shuais nest. Some that he recognized, apart from Li Yuanyi, Mei Zun, Yuwen Bao, there were also Huang Gongcuo, Li Mi, Wang Bodang, and the Longxi Pais Sect Master Jin Dachun. Without taking into ount the martial art masters under Li Yuanjismand, merely relying on these mens strength, in direct confrontation, even if Kou Zhong joined the battle, he would only increase the number of deaths by one. It is thus clear that this time Li Yuanji went all-out so that Xu Ziling did not have any chance of escaping. Yet he did not see even half a shadow of Chang Lin Army people. The ce where he was crouching happened to be behind Li Mi, Wang Bodang, and the others, more than a dozen men. Trying to charge into the house to meet up with Xu Ziling was already extremely difficult, let alone trying to open up an escape route for Xu Ziling. But he did not lose his head out of fear simply because of therge disparity between the enemy and us at all; his heart was as calm as the moon in the well. Slowly he took off his robe, removed his mask, and slowly pulled out the treasured saber. The snow was falling faster and denser. The sky gradually darkened. Kou Zhong did not have time to think about Yun Shuais life or death; he was only hoping that waiting inside the house to pin Xu Ziling down was not Shi Zhixuan. Otherwise, today next year would be the anniversary of their, two brothers death. Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Facts and Figures Book 35 - 13 – Escaping Via The Water Naturally Yang Xuyan was not really disappearing; rather, Xu Zilings eyes were dazzled by his unique skill of inciting the sword light and sword qi,bined with his Huan Mo Shenfa, so that Xu Ziling was unable to grasp either his position or his movements. Since Yang Xuyan made his debut, the number of outstanding talents and towering heroes who nursed a grievance under this kind of flying-banner-on-a-solitary-tree [idiom: lone ranger] fierce and severe swordsmanship was really too numerous to count. Xu Ziling was unable to grab the initiative, momentarily he could only take a beating, and could only rely purely on his instinct in brandishing his sleeves. Ding! Ding! The arm protectors inside his sleeves repeatedly shed against the Shadow Sword. This move was greatly beyond Yang Xuyans expectation; he never thought that Xu Ziling, who had always been barehanded in facing the enemy, would suddenly hide arm protectors inside his sleeves. Both in terms of applying the power and the execution of his move, he simply missed and failed due to making wrong assessment on the enemys situation. The sword shadow dispersed, Yang Xuyans acute spirit took a big hit. Xu Ziling let out a longugh, both hands shot out from inside the sleeves, using millions of changes he moved backward while attacking Yang Xuyan. Calm and unhurried, Yang Xuyan let out a cold snort and in a sh sent two sword shes in session. No matter how profoundly mysterious and unfathomable Xu Zilings style was, he was still pushed back by him. The third sword strike was even more fierce and severe without equal, forcing Xu Ziling to get away. Xu Ziling did not expect him to be this overbearing; he pulled both hands back inside the sleeves. Learning from experience, this time Yang Xuyan shed forward like a streak of lightning; the Shadow Sword producing hundreds and thousands fantastic beams of sword light, bits of sharp sword qi immediately closed in and enveloped Xu Ziling tightly. Xu Ziling used his left sleeve to brush away and disperse the sword qi, while the other sleeve brushed up toward the sword de. But when Yang Xuyan thought that he was going to use the arm protector inside his sleeves to meet the sword in a stake-it-all move, Xu Ziling used the deflecting power technique, by utilizing the sleeves flexibility to catch and pull so that Yang Xuyan nearly lost his bnce, and shed at angle past his right side. Horrified, Yang Xuyan pulled his sword back. Xu Ziling made a somersault; flying upside down above Yang Xuyan, he sent out double-palm strike in full power down. The battle was speed against speed, with fast changes from one move to the next, so that it was hard for others to pin down. Yang Xuyan let out a coldugh, his sword turned into a streak of lightning, he soared upward. Unexpectedly hepletely disregarded Xu Zilings double-palm strike. If both men did not change their style, he would surely be injured under Xu Zilings palms, but his Shadow Sword would also prate the space between the two palms, and pierced Xu Zilings face. Inwardly Xu Ziling was full of admiration; it could be said that this was the only way he could turn the situation around. Laughing aloud, his palms closed down, he heavily pped the sword de. Qi power collided, violent shockwave sshed in all directions, immediately the table broke, the chairs flipped over; the furniture in the hall was the first to suffer a cmity. Yang Xuyan staggered sideways. When he was crying Bad! inwardly, Xu Ziling already borrowed the reaction force to flip midair like a windmill. In an instant he spun out of the window andnded on the courtyard. Yang Xuyan unleashed the Huan Mo Shenfa at full power; in the blink of an eye he flew out the window, his long sword flew straight toward Xu Ziling. He thought that if after suffering untold hardships Xu Ziling was finally able to get away from his tight sword momentum, he would definitely escape without a trace immediately. Who would have thought that unexpectedly Xu Ziling lowered his waist in a horse stance and sent out a punch toward the tip of his sword? The punch and the sword collided, as if they were struck by lightning, immediately both men spewed out blood. Xu Ziling was jolted backward and Bang! he hit the courtyard wall. Yang Xuyan was shaken by the explosion and flew back inside the house. With his back against the wall, Xu Ziling catapulted himself upward, let out a longughter, and said, Please forgive Xiaodi for not being able to apany you any longer today. Falling inside the house, Yang Xuyan staggered slightly, but Xu Ziling was already at the top of the wall. Exerting his power to the tip of his toes, he flew up at an angle. Li Yuanjis loud voice reverberated across the night sky full of snowkes; he shouted loudly, Fire at will! Arrows were whizzing, nearly a hundred powerful arrows were shot from adjacent roofs and the streets and alleys, woven into an all-epassing arrow, closing down on Xu Ziling. Right this moment where his life was hanging on a strand of hair, out of nowhere, a snowball was thrown under Xu Zilings feet. Xu Ziling already knew that Kou Zhong woulde to his rescue in secret. Lightly stepping on the snowball, he could feel that the snowball was imbued with powerful and fierce true energy. With another bout of longughter, he borrowed the energy to suddenly change direction and increase his speed; before the arrow was formed, he traversed over more than ten zhang of empty air to flee toward the roof of an adjacent building. Li Mi, Wang Bodang, and more than a dozen martial art masters appeared simultaneously in the direction Xu Ziling was pouncing. Li Mi shouted, I want to see where you can escape this time. Another snowball, again like sending charcoal in a snowy weather [idiom: providing help in somebodys hour of need], was flying ahead of Xu Zilings feet. Against everybodys expectation, not only Xu Ziling did not change direction, he stepped on the snowball, borrowed its momentum, and increased his speed to pounce on Li Mi, who was about two zhang away, as if he was delivering himself to receive death. Li Mis heart was moved, he soared like a big bird to meet Xu Ziling head-on, extending his two palms rolling up with violently powerful qi, with the intention of forcing Xu Ziling to fall down from the air onto the ground, so that the men from his side, who were gathering together from all directions C could surround him and trap him inside the siege. It was indeed an invincible scheme, worthy of him being the overlord who had once crisscrossed the world unhindered. Li Yuanji was the first to rush toward the ce Xu Ziling was supposedly falling to. If he could intercept him, he dared to write a guarantee certificate that he would be able to kill Xu Ziling. Although he was fully aware that there was Xu Zilings aplice helping him in the dark, but due to the confusion, he could not even grasp the opponents position, so he had no choice but to trap Xu Ziling to his death. And then, Xu Zilings aplice, which was most likely Kou Zhong, would also show up to receive his death. This moment Huang Gongcuo was rushing to the ce where the snowball was thrown from, but he could not even see Kou Zhongs shadow. He was a Jianghu veteran, immediately he soared into the air and when he reached sufficient elevation, he swept his gaze around to search for the enemys tracks. Yang Xuyan chased out and rushed toward Xu Ziling. As soon as he left Yun Shuais courtyard house, Xu Ziling was like a ma that attracted iron; he pulled the entire surrounding toward him. Of everybody present, Kou Zhong was the only one who understood Xu Zilings escape strategy. Taking advantage of the dusk during a heavy snow, when the sky was darkening, he mingled among the enemy ranks, and rushed toward the ce where he would be able to provide optimum support for Xu Ziling, so that Huang Gongcuos high-altitude search was in vain. While he was still about a zhang away from Li Mi, the moment the strong wind was pressing down on him, Xu Ziling took a breath midair, he used the backward flying technique inspired by Yun Shuai, to suddenly change direction and flew diagonally outward. Mei Xun and Yuwen Bao happened to be about to get out of the house and jump onto the roof; they were rushing over from the side when Xu Ziling appeared to change direction toward them. As if gaining the most precious treasure, they soared together, trying to intercept him with all their strength. As Li Mi was pouncing straight ahead, he could only look on helplessly at Xu Ziling moving away at an angle. He stretched his finger out and sent a stream of finger wind to attack Xu Zilings back and shoulder. The changes were fast, plus it all happened in the air, a clear proof that he did not have an undeserved reputation at all. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling suddenly flew back? Not only he evaded Li Mis finger wind, he also made Mei Xun and Yuwen Baos attack hit the empty air. Xu Ziling suddenly curved toward Wang Bodang, who, in Li Mis absence, was acting as the great general guarding the pass, leading more than a dozen enemy soldiers. Longxi Pais Sect Leader Jin Dachun, apanied by two of his disciples, the Willow Saber Diao Ang, and Qimei Stick Gu Ju [see also Book 31 Chapter 8, back then, his name was Mei Tian], happened to rush over, to join Wang Bodangs group. Watching this from below, Li Yuanjis confidence soared, thinking that no matter how outstanding Xu Ziling was, he would never be able to break this barrier. With thunderous roar he soared into the air. The Splitting Horse Spear attacked Xu Zilings back. In this critical moment, Kou Zhong appeared from behind Wang Bodang and his men. The man followed the saber, the Moon in the Well turned into unstoppable long rainbow, rushing toward the rear of the enemy ranks. Inwardly Xu Ziling cried that Kou Zhong came just in time; sending out explosive double punches, he separately struck the strongest enemies Wang Bodang and Jin Dachun. Even if guarding the roof were the strongest among the enemy like Huang Gongcuo, Yang Xuyan, Li Yuanji, Mei Xun, or even Li Mi, under Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs pincer attack from the front and the rear, they would still be routed and would scatter to evade, forget about Wang Bodang and Jin Dachun, who were second tierpared to those martial art masters. The tacit understanding between Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling was superb, there was no third person in the world who could imagine it. Seeing Xu Zilings attack was concentrated on Wang Bodang and Jin Dachun, two men, he immediately pushed the wave and added to the billows [idiom: add momentum/add fuel to the fire] by reducing the attack range of the Moon in the Well, with all its changes, to focus on these two men. Naturally Wang Bodang and Jin Dachun were unwilling to take this risk; they split to the left and right to evade. Seeing the two strongest members of their group separated to escape, also seeing how Xu Ziling, who was soaring in the air, and Kou Zhong, who was mounting surprise attack from behind C were impossible to resist, in an all-out effort to perish together with the enemies, the rest of the men scattered away,pletely routed. The firm, unbreakable finally exposed a gap. Xu Zilingnded on the roof tile; he shed over toward Kou Zhong, both palms struck together, separately attacking Wang Bodangs double-headed spear and Jin Dachuns long swording from left and right, so that the two mens, whose acute spirit had been broken C counteroffensive immediately crumbled. Kou Zhong went straight to the edge of the roof. The Moon in the Well swiftly swept, it fiercely struck the spearhead of Li Yuanjis stabbing Splitting Horse Spear. He evenughed aloud and said, Qi Wang, please go back! Li Yuanji was forced to follow his spear dropping down to the ground; but he could not do otherwise. Huang Gongcuo came down from the sky, and flew over the two boys head. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong struck at the same time; a double-punch and a saber. Even if Ning Daoqi came in person, it would still be difficult to get the desired oue, forget about Huang Gongcuo. After blocking Xu Zilings double-punch strike with an all-out palm counterstrike, he borrowed the reaction force to fly away to evade; otherwise, there was a great possibility that Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well might chop his head down. The two boys mmed their shoulders against each other, and borrowing the reaction force to fly upwards swiftly over the top of everybodys head, unexpectedly they went in the opposite direction. This move was greatly beyond everybodys expectation; momentarily they did not know which one to chase. After them! Li Yuanji roared, and took the lead to chase after Kou Zhong. This moment Yang Xuyan was just rushing over. Unleashing his Huan Mo Shenfa, he was suddenly only two zhang away behind Xu Ziling. The situation became extremely chaotic. Xu Ziling knew that in term of qinggong, he had to admit that his was still a notch below Yang Xuyans qinggong, which name shook the present age. However, he was fully confident that as long as nobody intercepted him, there was a very high possibility that he could escape. The two boys split up and fled, each one had a pack of powerful enemies like wolves and tigers pursuing relentlessly, unwilling to let go. Both sides were leaping from house to house, as if they were in qinggong shenfapetition. A momentter Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong separately rounded half a big circle, unexpectedly they wereing together; ahead was precisely the Yue Ma Bridge. The closest pursuer was Yang Xuyan, followed by Huang Gongcuo, Li Yuanji, Li Mi and Mei Xun. This moment the sky had turnedpletely dark, but Yang Xuyan and the other pursuing troops had high confidence that they would be able to catch up with the two boys shortly; they definitely would not let them get away. The enemies were getting closer and closer. The two boys shouted together, and leaped from the roof down to the ground. Again they bumped each others shoulder, their speed surged steeply, they rose into the air, and threw themselves into the water of the Yong An Canal. Splosh! Splosh! and together they disappeared into the pitch-ck water below. Book 36 - 1 – Unexpected Changes After closing the exit of the secret passage, the two boys left the sloping section of the passage, which was immersed in the water of the Canal, and then they sat leaning against the wall; their true energy had been nearly depleted. The previous violent battle, the chasing, the swimming underwater while closing their breathing, had consumed a lot of their physical strength, as well as their true energy. Pulling his knees into his chest and propping himself with his right hand, Kou Zhong, while panting for breath, said, Tonight we had total bad luck; I thought that kid Ke Dazhi was just talking big. If we dont keep the appointment than we are worse than a dog or a pig! Ay! Bing a dog or a pig is a small matter; I just hope for that Yun LaoGe, the Heaven helps the worthy, and he was able to sessfully escape! Their original n was to have Yun Shuai disguised as Lei Jiuzhi, and relied on the Demonic Emperor Relics to control the initiative in dealing with Zhao Deyan and Xiang Yushan. Now that Yun Shuais good or bad luck was unknown, it would be difficult to proceed with the n. If they had one of Gao Zhandao and the others pretend to be Lei Jiuzhi, they would only put him in the harms way. If Hou Xibai was still around, then he would be another suitable candidate. How are we going to handle Xiedi Sheli then? Xu Ziling asked. We have two options, Kou Zhong replied, One, we leave the Relics in its original ce; two, you, Ling Shao, take it to Shi Feixuan, do her a favor at little cost. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Do you think Shi Feixuan can be bribed? After taking the gift she would let you, this fierce tiger to return to the mountain to stir up havoc? I was not thinking about that, Kou Zhong replied, I was just afraid that it would be difficult for you to exin it to Xianzi [fairy]. Xu Ziling spoke tly, There is no more intertwined sentiment between Shi Feixuan and me. Your two options are not the best policy. Only by letting various factions of the demonic schools fighting each other over the Relics so that they wont have time to care about us will we have the chance to leave safely. Kou Zhong nodded, That is right! he said, Such a one-in-a-thousand-years chance of having Zhao Deyan, Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan fighting until you die, I live, if we let it slip, it is indeed a pity. Ling Shao, do you think we still need to keep the appointment as scheduled? Absolutely, Xu Ziling replied, Theres no Lei Jiuzhi then there is no Lei Jiuzhi. At that time we will change ording to the situation. As long as the Relics is in our hands, then we could show it off to them. Kou Zhong sprang up and said, Theres not much time. Lets check on Gao Zhandao and the others progress first. Back into the storehouse, Gao Zhandao and the others were concentrated on the secret passage leading out of the city; they were so busy until the sky darkened the earth turned hazy, but the major operation of transporting the treasure was nearingpletion. Gao Zhandao excitedly exined to the two boys the n that they came up with after careful deliberations: for the time being, not a single item of weaponry would be carried out, but not even half of an item of therge quantity of other stuffs C mostly gold, would be left. Gao Zhandao said, The exit outside the city is ingeniously concealed. We hide the treasures there, and transport them in batches one by one. All brothers will be divided into three groups, each group operates independently, they do not know the other groups method and route in transporting the goods. This way, even if there really is a mole among us, we can reduce the loss to a minimum. But I and Fengyi and the others agreed that among the brotherhood, there is little chance of treason. How are you going to transport them? Kou Zhong asked. Gao Zhandao cheerfully said, Over the years, we have experimented with all kinds of methods in smuggling goods, so we picked the one that is the safest; we will deliver the goods via water andnd to Pengliang. As soon as Jingzhao Lian rises up in rebellion and fails, Guanzhong is bound to be in a great mess, then well have an opportunity that we can exploit. On top of that, two Yeer are diverting the opposite sides attention away, so our chance of sess is very high; at least we will be able to transport most of the treasure away. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Our chance of sess is indeed very high, because right now everybody believes that we entered the treasure mountain and came back empty-handed; therefore, their attention is shifted onto our, two mens next operation. He casually mentioned to Gao Zhandao about the storehouse within a storehouse. Greatly delighted, Gao Zhandao said, That is even more surefire; we are most afraid of Jingzhao Lian people. Not only they have enormous power in Guanzhong, they also have connection with gangs and societies inside and outside the Pass, they are also very familiar with our Tong Xing She, so any movement on our side will be very difficult to concealed from their eyes and ears. Fortunately they have this mistake, plus they are too busy to pay attention, hence we wont have to worry about them. Kou Zhong said, The situation is still not highly optimistic. Li Shimin appointed Pang Yu and Li Shiji, two men with specific mission to deal with us. They will certainly mobilize local gangs and societies in every possible way to watch our each and every move. Once they see something unusual, perhaps we cant even keep the real treasure house a secret anymore. Having a card up his sleeve, Gao Zhandao said, When we were nning the smuggling operation, we already considered that kind of situation. At that time we were still thinking of transportingrge quantities of weapons, and not the easier-to-hide gold and precious stones. Unless Laotianye deliberately set himself against us, it should be no problem. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Since Zhandao is so confident, Ill leave everything to you. After Gao Zhandao left, Kou Zhong asked, Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling replied, We cannot not guard against people having a change of heart. Zhandao wants to transport all the stuffs at once, this is a sensible act. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. Although those who knew the secret of the real treasure house were only about a dozen loyal and devoted brothers, but the power of temptation of the treasure was really too strong; who would dare to guarantee that someday in the future no one would secretly sneak back in privately to lead away a goat in passing [idiom: to steal something under cover of an emergency]? If he managed to take away just half a box of gold, it would be more than enough tost a lifetime. As for the weapons being left in the storehouse, unless one was raising an army in rebellion to conquer the world, selling one or two items would not yield too much money, selling in batches was no more than a fantasy story, taking the remainders out of the treasure house was not an easy matter either. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Dont worry! Just by looking at how Zhandao and the others managed Tong Xing She sessfully [orig. having sound and color (idiom)] so that in just a short period of two years they be the leaders of Guanzhong waterborne transport business, we should know that they are outstanding figures. And the most important part is that Pang Yu will not dare to publicize his investigation on our rtionship with Tong Xing She, to avoid alerting Jingzhao Lian, or even Jiancheng, Yuanjis men, and therefore unable to engage all local gangs and societies to participate in this operation. The threat is still limited. Kou Zhong happily said, After listening to Ling Shaos analysis, I also feel that our chance of sess is indeed very high. Ha! In your opinion, would Ning Daoqi make his appearance tonight? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Since Shi Feixuan misunderstood that I deceived her, she cant possibly disturb him, the Senior. Kou Zhong said, Isnt she going to ask Ning Daoqi to deal with me? Tonight will be the best chance; if they let us, these two escaping-experts, to leave Changan, to find us again is not going to be easy at all. Xu Ziling replied, On that, I am afraid you will have to ask Shi Feixuan or Pang Yu. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I really wish that when Shi Feixuan discovers that the Relics is the genuine Relics, I can see her expression. Our Ling Shao is a real man who is able to support both heaven and earth [idiom: of indomitable spirit], how could he lie to deceive a ...! Hey ... a fairy. Xu Ziling knew that he was going to say a woman that he loves dearly, or something like that, only he changed his tune at thest moment. Displeased, he said, Its almost time, lets get the Sheli first and talkter! Compared to the previous two nights of the Beginning of Spring festivities, the City of Changan tonight was bustling with different noise and excitement. The water gates leading out of the city on both ends of the Yong An Canal were closed, on both banks of the Canalnterns and torches illuminating the sky, so that the swimming fish in the water were clearly visible. The snowkes falling down from the sky reflecting the brilliant rays of the torch and the windnterns; although it could notpare to the rich and diverse, colorful fireworks, but the brilliance and the scale of the light wereparable to the fireworks, which diminished as they flew far away from the eyes. Both sides of the Canal were full of Li Yuanjis and Chang Lin Army men. Li Jiancheng has been alerted and thus he came to preside over the search operation. The least willing to participate was Ke Dazhi; but he had no choice but to stay by Li Jianchengs side. He was worried that the two boys were trapped in the river and could not keep the appointment. Several members of the Chang Lin Army donned their wetsuits and went underwater tob each of the river channel. All the other boats moored at the banks were driven away that none narrowly and luckily escaped. Because Li Yuanji was convinced that the two boys had not left the Yong An Canal, the search operation was meticulous and thorough; they blockaded the streets and alleys in the neighboring area, and set up archers on the roof all around. The Tang Armys attention in the city was focused on the big canal connecting the north and the south, so it was actually giving Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who secretly came back into the city from the secret passage C a convenience. The gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive, they climbed onto the roof of a grand residence, which probably belonged to some high official or noble people, near the rear courtyard of the Foreign Guesthouse, and peeked across the yard to see if there was any movement all around outside the Foreign Guesthouse. Kou Zhong put the copper jar containing the Demonic Emperor Relics down on the back of the roof, and spoke in low voice, This thing is really evil. Carrying it in my arm, from time to time I got a heart-rmed, body-leaping feeling. Xu Ziling was gazing into the distance with full attention, he said, If I am not mistaken, Zhu Yaofu and Wan Yaonu must be hiding nearby, trying to intercept us before we enter the Foreign Guesthouse. Kou Zhongughed and said, Perhaps they think that the Relics is not in our hands, or perhaps we are still trapped at the bottom of the river. Even without these errors in judgment, at least they would think that we took great trouble in carrying Lei LaoGe here, so that they are making calction and deployment errors. Xu Ziling smiled and said, In our treasure hunt this time, we are upying the advantageous position due to a freakbination of factors [orig. an ident arising from many causes (idiom)]. Lets go! The two boys soared and shot down like a shooting star toward the street. With several ups and downs they reached the outside wall of the Foreign Guesthouse rear courtyard, and then without pausing at all they made a somersault andnded safely in the courtyard. Zhao Deyans longughter was heard, followed by his figure appearing on the steps outside the door of the small two-story building. Raising his cupped fist in salute, he said, Two gentlemen are indeed trustworthy people, whom Ol Zhao extremely admires. Only I wonder where Lei Xianshengs honored-self is? Kou Zhong put the copper jar in front of his feet; folding his arms, he spoke leisurely, Lets talk about thatter. I wonder if Guoshi [teacher of the state] could invite the expert who is able to resolve the cruel punishment Seven Needles to Control the Mind out to pacify our hearts? There was not the least bit of light in the entire Foreign Guesthouse. The total darkness plus the continuously falling snowkes increased the somber, deste-and-cold, danger-lurking-on-every-side feeling. Sizing Xu Ziling up and down, Zhao Deyan calmly and unhurriedly said, Thats not a problem. As soon as we verify the authenticity of the Relics, I will ask him toe out to see you. From behind, Kang Qiaolis voice came out, Sheng Sheli must be fake; otherwise, there is no need to hide it inside a copper can, plus you dont bring Lei Jiuzhi here. Without even looking back, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Whether it is genuine or fake, we can prove it immediately. Problem is, you guys have no sincerity at all; otherwise, we only ask to see the person and you push-three-and-ward-off-four [must be an idiom, but I guess the meaning is clear]? Zhao Deyan sneered hoarsely and said, When I, Zhao Deyan, crisscrossed thend under heaven, you guys have not been reincarnated yet, and now you have the impertinence toe to swindle me? This time Ill make you able toe, unable to leave. He had not finished speaking, from behind, as well as from the small building, more than a dozen Tujue martial art masters swarmed out and heavily besieged the two boys. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, however, were still calm and at ease, without the slightest intention to escape, so that Zhao Deyan was greatly puzzled, with a faint feeling in his heart that the one upying the upper hand was actually the other side. Zhao Deyan loftily said, To avoid outsiders gossip, Ol Zhao can give you guys a fair duel opportunity, nobody else is allowed to interfere. Which one of you want to apany Zhao Deyan ying a round? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried Formidable! inwardly; it could be said that Zhao Deyans move this time removed the silliness and retained the exquisiteness. Not only it showed his confidence and his bearing in defeating either one of the boys, its greatest purpose was to prevent the two boys from breaking out the siege and escaping. And escaping was precisely the two boys special skill. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, The reason we came today is not to decide life and death, victory and defeat, with Yan Shuai, you, the Senior. Could it be that youck even the time or the patience to verify whether the Sheli is genuine or fake? From behind, Kang Qiaoliughed and said, After taking care of you, even if the copper jar is dissolving into a copper ball, there will be ample time for thatter; why should we be eager to determine the Shelis authenticity? Shaoshuais remark is indeed ridiculous. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Kang Xiong seems to forget that I still know a bit of Kungfu; I only need to step on it, I guarantee that the Sheli inside the jar will be shaken with torn body and crushed bones. If you dont believe me, just make your move! Xu Ziling smiled and said, I told you that they cant possibly have the good faith to make the business transaction, but you did not believe me. Come on then! Lets get rid of the Sheli C once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved; and then well see whether we could break through the siege or not. Zhao Deyan raised his hand and said, Hold on! If you can prove that inside the jar is the real Sheng Sheli, everything will still proceed ording to our original agreement; Ol Zhao will definitely not eat my words. Thats easy, Kou Zhong replied. With one hand Xu Ziling lifted the copper jar from the ground. Kou Zhong grabbed the lid with both hands and exerted his strength to twist it open. Click! the lid was unlocked. Actually, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were also nervous, because all along they did not dare to open the lid to inspect the goods; furthermore, they had not understood the mystery of the object inside the jar. Zhao Deyan was worthy to be called an old fox; his attention was not on the copper jar at all, but on the two boys expression and movement. The group of Tujue martial art masters elevated their vignce to the highest level, they tightened their formation while waiting silently. The courtyard was quiet without any noise, except for the endless snowkes that fell from the sky, and the asional burst of noises of people and the flowing water from the Yong An Canal in the distance. Kou Zhong revealed a brilliant smile. He removed the lidpletely, the two boys looked inside together, both showed astonished look, and then you look at me I look at you. Zhao Deyan revealed a hint of warm smile, with a hint of ridicule hidden in it. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they both felt something was not quite right, but momentarily were unable to pinpoint what the problem was. Completely beyond the two boys expectation, Zhao Deyan suddenly shouted, Go! Two pieces of darkish green-ck steel with a long tail shot out of Zhao Deyans left and right sleeves like a pair of vipers; their head was pointy awl in the shape of water caltrop, as fast as shooting star, flying straight toward the two boys, sneaky and sinister to the extreme point. For some time in the past, this pair of strange schools weapons name was feared among the demonic school of the two regions. It was called A Hundred Changes Water Caltrop Spear; it could be flexible, it could be stiff, the changes were endless, with ghosts-and-deities-cannot-fathom variations. It was the weapon with which Zhao Deyan made his name. Not only it was not afraid of divine arms and sharp weapons chop and slice, it was also the nemesis of saber and sword. When someone was entangled by him using his special technique, it was practically impossible for that person to escape the clutch of the bad luck. The most formidable aspect of Zhao Deyans attack was that it wasunched when the two boys absolutely did not think that he would make his move, and thus he grabbed the advantage of the initiative of making the first move. While the water caltrop spear was shooting at the speed of lightning toward the two boys face, from all around the Tujue people plus Kang Qiaoli also swarmed in violently, as if they wanted to chop the two boys in pieces. Without even thinking Kou Zhong flung the lid in his hand, the steel [sic; I think it should be copper?] lid spun rapidly like a flying disc to cut Zhao Deyans throat. Qiang! at the same time the Moon in the Well left its scabbard. Zhao Deyan put his hands together, the water caltrop spear intersected, it urately blocked the flying disc. Watch me! Xu Ziling thundered. Both hands shook, unexpectedly millions of sliver dots radiated all around from inside the jar to attack the more than thirty enemies. How could Kang Qiaoli and the other ever guess that Xu Ziling wouldunch this move? Moreover, they did not know what kind of magic weapon these silver dots were. Therefore, they scattered back; retreating even farther away than their original position when they were standing just now. Enraged, Kou Zhong was about to brandish his saber toward Zhao Deyan to determine which one had real skill. Zhao Deyan was looking at the silvery dots on the ground, some still maintained their original liquid drop shape, rolling and scattering around the snowy ground. Stop! he suddenly shouted. The water caltrop spear returned inside his sleeve. Holding the saber across his chest, Kou Zhong stood by Xu Zilings side, awe-inspiring like a deity. Furious, he said, Stop your mothers hands! Tonight, not only you are not going to get the Xiedi Sheli, I will also take your dog life, so that you will never return to Tujue to be the pain-in-the-butt Teacher of the State. Xu Ziling stood still, carrying the copper jar in his right arm. His demeanor was calm, as if he did not care the slightest about the ring of powerful enemies surrounding them. Listening to Kou Zhongs harsh scolding, Zhao Deyans eyes red with vicious, cruel look. Nodding his head, he said, I will remember your, Kou Zhongs every single word. But if you still want to break the Seven Needles to Control the Mind that hit Lei Jiuzhi, you must listen to Ol Zhao. Throwing his head back, Kou Zhongughed and said, What else is there to say? You have shown clearly that you dont keep your promise; you want to take our lives, as well as rob the Sheli. Zhao Deyan nodded and said, This is just a misunderstanding; because Ol Zhao thought that two gentlemen were ying cheap trick to swindle me with fake article, hence the offense just now. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Then how did it suddenly be a misunderstanding? Pointing to the silver beads on the ground, Zhao Deyan spoke in heavy voice, Because the jar is filled with mercury. Only mercury can cover up the Sheng Shelis holy light and its spiritual influence. Only by looking at this point, I have no doubt that immersed in the mercury inside the jar must be the real Sheng Sheli. It is really unexpected; where on earth did you find it? As if agreeing by chance, the two boys looked into the jar. All they could see was still mercury. With nontern no fire, it simply looked ck. Less nonsense, Kou Zhong said, Now since you know that the Sheng Sheli is in our hands, lets talk about a single business transaction. From behind, Kang Qiaoli shouted, Didnt we agree on the transaction early on? You give us the Sheli, we resolve Lei Jiuzhis capital punishment. Kou Zhongughedcently and said, Your so-called the Seven Needles to Control the Mind is just a ything to swindle a three-year-old kid; Laozi randomly found someone on the street and it was readily resolved. I want to talk about a different business transaction; if you dont agree, I will immediately destroy the Sheli, and then well fight to decide life and death. Slightly startled, Zhao Deyan knitted his brows and said, Whatever new proposal Shaoshuai has, you might as well say it, Ol Zhao is listening with respectful attention. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Very simple. You immediately hand over Xiang Yushan, that little thief, and this Sheli will be yours. Zhao Deyan was stunned. Suppressing a happyugh, he said, I thought it was something serious. Why didnt Shaoshuai say so earlier? Its a deal. Would Shaoshuai please take the Sheng Sheli out to show that there is indeed a Sheng Sheli inside the mercury first, we will immediately hand the person over. And then he shouted loudly, Yushan, you get the hell out of here. A burst of the noise of shing weapons came from inside the building. Less than half a dayter, the originally green-faced, white-lipped Xiang Yushan, held by two big Tujue men, came out and stood by Zhao Deyans side. This time it was Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings turn to be stunned. Not because Zhao Deyan was sopletelycking any feeling or sense of justice toward Xiang Yushan, but because Xiang Yushan was a key figure in the major conspiracy to restore the old dynasty. How could Zhao Deyan sacrifice him so casually like this? Wouldnt it mean the traitorous scheme fail within sight of sess? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt something was greatly amiss; it just that regretfully, just like a moment ago, they could not pinpoint the problem. Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Facts and Figures Book 36 - 2 – Vicious Internal Strife in Demonic School Kou Zhong glowered hatefully at Xiang Yushan; he said, Did Xiang Gongzi already guess that we knew you were hiding inside the building? Xiang Yushan replied in distress, You harm me like this, and you still make cynical remarks. But when Xiang Yushans eyes met Xu Zilings, he immediately shivered and hung his head low. He had never seen this kind of expression in Xu Zilings eyes; it did not have the least bit of happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy [the four types of human emotions]. Instead, it was icy-cold and dark, which made peoples heart palpitating and terrified. The snow was falling faster and denser, everybody was covered in thick snowkes. Zhao Deyan impatiently said, Lets talk less idle words, Shao Shuai, please get the Sheng Sheli out, well immediately hand over the person to you. Kou Zhong was still unable to see through this major demonic man; he cast a nce toward Xu Ziling, asking for help. Xu Ziling casually threw the copper jar in front of the two boys, between their legs, without even sshing a drop of mercury. He spoke indifferently, Use the saber to pick the Sheli out. Kou Zhong mused that this was aparatively safe way in the midst of no way at all. The Demonic Emperor Relics was a bizarre, unfathomable object. Nobody knew after being buried underground for many years, would it undergo any change or not? Sticking the Moon in the Well inside the jar, he reached deep inside the mercury. In the courtyard, the crow and peacock made no sound, including Xiang Yushan. Everybody was waiting with bated breath. The feeling of something was not right in Xu Zilings heart was getting stronger. Since Xiang Yushan was powerless to defend himself, why would he still be this expectant and attach particr importance to the unearthing of the Relics? Logically, he should not have the leisure to care about it. Zhao Deyan was as unfathomable as usual; he did not reveal the slightest bit of emotion in his heart. This major demonic figures knowledge of the Relics ought toe from You Niaojuan. But surely he did not know about You Niaojuans secret method of detecting the Demonic Emperor Relics; otherwise, he would have asked them to hand over the Relics and the copper jar together. Yellow light suddenly appeared, enveloping Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling in bizarre, dark yellow glow. On the tip of the Moon in the Well, there was a yellow crystal, about the size of a human fist, which had just left the mercury liquid in the jar. The crystal appeared to be solid, yet it appeared to be soft at the same time; translucent, showing the faint blood-red thread-like lines, which was moving slowly inside the crystal, like a cloud or red clouds [yun and xia (sunset clouds)], emitting a faint yellow glow. Following the Moon in the Well, the Demonic Emperor Relics rose slowly out of the mouth of the jar. Zhao Deyans eyes shot violent and hot severe light, he stared at the Relics without blinking. Suddenly Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook severely, as if someone sealed his acupoint so that he froze on the spot. Xiang Yushan suddenly straightened up;ughing aloud, he said, You fall into the trap! Zhao Deyan was the first to strike. The Hundred Changes Water Caltrop Spear shot out of his sleeves, one going up the other going down, he separately aimed for the vital points on Kou Zhongs face and lower abdomen. As soon as the word was out, the attack arrived; there was no fore-warning at all, it was malicious and ruthless to the extreme point. But Kou Zhong appeared to be totally oblivious; it was as if he was bewitched. He had his eyes fixed at the Demonic Emperor Relics, the strange treasure of the demonic school C resting on the tip of the saber, but his expression was nk. Xu Ziling made prompt decision; before he was being sucked into the chaotic battle, his body shed, he stood in front of Kou Zhong, acting as a shield. His left foot picked the copper jar, like a silver pir the mercury inside the jar shot up to meet Zhao Deyans attack head-on. His right hand pped heavily backward toward the Relics; he wanted to smash this demonic schools inauspicious object into pieces, to end this cmity. In this critical moment when a thousand pounds hung by a thread, he rescued Kou Zhong. For the second time Zhao Deyan retracted the Water Caltrop Spear, and shifted sideways to evade the mercury column shooting at him like an arrow. Attack! he shouted loudly. Kou Zhong was another matter altogether. When the saber de had just made contact with the Relics inside the mercury, he still did not feel anything different. But when he used his sucking power to lift the Relics out of the silvery liquid, a burst of heavy-as-the-mountain, oddly-cold-without-equal, demonic-to-the-extreme-point C stream of yin [negative] qi immediately rushed forth along the Moon in the Well, like a giant wave breaching the dike C into his system. If his meridians were breached, the entire channel in his body would definitely rupture, even if he did not die, he would definitely be crippled. Only then did they know Zhao Deyans crafty scheme; no wonder he pretended to be so generous by willing to hand over Xiang Yushan. His intention was to catch Kou Zhong off guard and lose the power to hit back. Kou Zhong was using the mysterious power within his body entirely to resist the weird power of the Demonic Emperor Relics; hence he lost the ability to protect himself. Bang! Xu Zilings concentrated power in his palm swiftly struck the Demonic Emperor Relics on the saber de. The Demonic Emperor Relics yellow glow suddenly red out brightly, as its intensity increased dramatically several folds, but unexpectedly it did not suffer any damage. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were severely shaken; they were jolted forward and backward, respectively, as if they were struck by a lightning, and fell to the ground. The Demonic Emperor Relics left the saber de and fell onto the snowy ground. The moment Xu Ziling struck the Relics, a fantastic change, which was difficult to exin in words, appeared inside the Relics, just like the core suddenly caved in, as if it turned into a bizarre vacuum that nothing could escape, nothing could go through. There was a space within no space, it was limited but also infinite. When Kou Zhongs true qi came bursting inside the Relics, Xu Zilings true qi was also sucked into the Relics, leaving nothing. When the two boys cried out, Not good!, their true qi ferociously met inside the bizarre space in the Relics. If it were two different people, these two streams of true qi, just like they were led by the nose by the Relics C would fight each other desperately. But their true qi wasing from the same source, the Secret to Long Life. Moreover, one was leaning toward yang in nature and hot, the other was leaning toward yin and cold. Not only these two streams of true qi did not repel each other, they became a spiraling qi power instead, like the yin and yang, two qi in the Taiji [the Absolute or Supreme Ultimate, the source of all things ording to some interpretations of Chinese mythology], growing and multiplying without end, in the snap of the fingers, at astonishing speed, revolving in more than a dozen continuous cycles. What followed was Zhao Deyan witnessing the Relics light intensity increased steeply. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt like the core of the Relics exploded, a burst of irresistible force swung the two boys in the opposite direction. They had a faint feeling that not only the Relics was sending back the two boys qi power, after converging the flow andbining the movement, separately into their bodies, but also adding a considerable amount of amazing power that the two did not understand. When the two fell to the ground, their body was tired, numb, andcking in strength. If at that time the enemys weapon struck their bodies, they would die for sure. The sound of something splitting the wind came from above, a shadow, at the speed that anybody would find it hard to believe, traversed the sky, and in an instant came to the spot where the crystal ball was falling. The crescent saber in his hand spun in a circle, sharp qi red out, it forced the Tujue warriors to scatter away, temporarily providing relief to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were lying supine and lying face down, respectively, on the snowy ground, from the danger of being killed. His right foot picked the Relics, like performing a conjuring trick he put the Relics into a sheepskin pouch he held in his other hand. All these movements were like moving clouds, flowing waters, without wasting the least bit of time. Zhao Deyan was the first to attack the iing person. One of the Hundred Changes Water Caltrop Spears met the iing crescent saber, while the other swept toward the left hand holding the sheepskin pouch; he shouted loudly, Yun Shuai honors us with your presence, how could Ol Zhao dare not to show hospitality wholeheartedly? Kang Qiaoli was one of the people that had not been forced away by the Cloud Commanders saber qi. Knowing that Yun Shuais qinggong was crowned as the number one in the world, he soared into the air, and then when Yun Shuai was getting the Relics inside the sheepskin pouch, he flew about two zhang diagonally from Yun Shuais backside, his cavalry saber turned into more than a dozen streaks of sharp shadowpletely enveloping, and pressing down on, Yun Shuais head. Zhao Deyan and Kang Qiaolis cooperation was like seamless heavenly clothes. Yun Shuais only way out was to evade sideways. But it did not matter which direction he took, potentially he would fall into the other Tujue martial art masters siege, and then forget about escaping, even protecting his life would be a very big problem. This group of Tujue martial art masters only consisted of no more than thirty men, but none was not a carefully selected elite troop. On top of that, they were all valiant and vicious, expert in group warfare; their strength must not be slighted. Just now Xiang Yushan pretended to have his hands tied and so did not make any move, but this moment he charged toward the battleground, while taking out a seeing-blood-closing-the-throat sharp dagger from his bosom. His target was not Yun Shuai, but still-lying-on-the-ground Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose life and death had not been decided. Actually, Zhao Deyan already made up his mind that if he could get near, he would kick Xu Ziling, who was the closest to him C to his death, to get rid of this problem once and for all. Yun Shuai was worthy to be called a man with remarkable attainments above the men and horses, whose name shook the Western Regions; he also showed yi qi toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Get up! he thundered. His left hand swung the sheepskin bag backward, his right hand shed the crescent saber into an arc of light to meet the Water Caltrop Spear. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling seemed to be awakened by Yun Shuais shout, they shook at the same time. By this moment Xiang Yushan was only half a zhang away from Xu Ziling; thinking that Xu Ziling would wake up immediately, unexpectedly he did not dare to continue to pounce. Shaking his hand, the dagger shot out toward the vital point on the side of Xu Zilings neck, but he himself ran backward urgently, in a greedy-for-life, afraid-of-death action. Bang! Kang Qiaolis cavalry saber chopped on the sheepskin pouch fully imbued by Yun Shuais true qi. He was jolted backward in a tumble and fell some distance away. Ding! Ding! Yun Shuai unleashed his amazing footwork, he swiftly shed through a very narrow space using his exceptional shenfa, forcing Zhao Deyan, who, in his disbelief, did not change his move, and thus the crescent saber struck the tip of his Water Caltrop Spear repeatedly. However, Zhao Deyan also knew that in blocking his and Kang Qiaolis joint-attack, Yun Shuai already gave it his all; unexpectedly he pulled the Water Caltrop Spear and sent out a palm strike instead, forcing Yun Shuai topete in internal strength. This palm strike appeared to be ordinary without anything special, while in fact in was the essence of the demonic power Zhao Deyan cultivated in all his life. Itpletely enveloped and locked the enemy inside; the five fingers spread out, it seemed to be slow, yet seemed to be fast, skillful in the midst of clumsiness, with endless variations; it was indeed the skill that Zhao Deyan kept at the bottom of his trunk, the Zhuque Ju [lit. vermillion bird resistance] of the Gui Hun Shiba Zhua [lit. eighteen ws returning the soul] style. It was based on the saying, Vermillion bird refuses to bow down, holding its head high like a mountain, the head does not hang low, as if unwilling and resist to be buried by others. Yun Shuai originally intended that after holding up righteousness and justice for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he would immediately soar to the sky, and then using the backward-flying technique to get away and escape. Who would have thought that as soon as Zhao Deyan sent out his w, unexpectedly the momentum pinned him down that he was unable to move a single step? Only too bad that this moment he did not have time to marvel at this old enemys outstanding demonic skill. Fully aware that this move would not change, he had no choice but to meet it head-on. In distress, he clenched his teeth and swept the crescent saber to split the air to meet the Demonic Commander Zhao Deyans fierce-and-severe-without-equal strike. Suddenly Xu Ziling flipped over to evade Xiang Yushans shooting-dangerously-close dagger, which was dipped in deadly poison. Yet it was actually Zhao Deyan who was greatly shocked; his attention waspletely focused on Yun Shuais crescent saber, he simply did not have time to check Xu Zilings real situation. He only knew that from lying face down, Xu Ziling suddenlyy face up. If Xu Ziling suddenly attacked him in conjunction with Yun Shuais crescent saber, his situation would turn bad really quickly. In order not to suffer the present loss, he had no choice but to move backwards. Yun Shuai finally obtained a sliver of gap. He shouted, Brothers, pull back! and soared into the air. Kang Qiaoli and Zhao Deyan yelled angrily at the same time, and leaped at an angle to pursue, hoping that they could intercept Yun Shuai before he had a chance to unleash his shenfa at full power. Seeing that after flipping over Xu Ziling no longer moved, Xiang Yushan screamed at the Tujue martial art masters surrounding them all around, Kill these two kids first! Who would have thought that this group of Tujue martial art masters actually only recently followed Zhao Deyan and Kang Qiaoli inside the Pass? No one understood Hannguage, plus every one knew that Yun Shuai was the Teacher of the State of the Western Tujue, who was their most important nemesis; unexpectedly no one paid attention to Xiang Yushan. They scattered around to expand the, in order to prevent this archenemy, whose fame in qinggong has spread out around the Western Regions C from escaping the heavy siege. Xiang Yushan was so angry that his lungs were about to burst. Hatred grew to the edge of his gall dder, he rushed forward in big strides, to kick the tianling acupoint on the top of Xu Zilings head. Soaring over ten -zhang into the air, Yun Shuai let out a burst of longughter, while calmly returned the saber into its scabbard, and then moving the sheepskin pouch into his teeth, his arms shook like birds wings, he made a circle in the air, and evaded the pursuit of the two major formidable opponents. Just like that, he glided down from a high altitude toward the perimeter wall of the nearest northern courtyard. His posture was extremely elegant. Bang! Xiang Yushans footnded heavily on the top of Xu Zilings head. However, hit by the kick, Xu Zilings skull did not disintegrate, neither did his head broken and his blood flowing. Turned out his hair was standing on its end, forming a protective cover, not only against Xiang Yushans full-of-internal-energy kick, but also sending out thread after thread of yin and cold qi, ferociously splitting Xiang Yushans qi protecting his body, and continued on to invade his system. Although people with superior qigong would be able to send his qi into his hair, even use the long hair to attack the enemy, but using hair to counterattack and break the enemys defense like Xu Ziling, although Xiang Yushan was experienced and knowledgeable, he had neither heard nor seen such thing. His soul flew away and scattered, reaping what he had sown, Xiang Yushans entire leg, which he used to kick, lost its strength, went numb, and was very painful. Immediately he staggered back and tumbled down, thud! hended on his butt on the snowy ground about a dozen steps away. The yin and cold qi spread to more than half of his body. The ones closest to him were the two Tujue martial art masters who pretended to take him out earlier. They originally received Zhao Deyans order to protect him. Upon seeing what happened, they hastily rushed over to help him up, one on the left and the other on the right. Xu Ziling suddenly leaped up. After casting a disdainful nce at Xiang Yushan, who was about two zhang away, he came over to Kou Zhong, and pped Kou Zhong, who was lying on his back C on the pit of his stomach. This moment Yun Shuai was about tond on the top of the wall. If he could tap the top of the wall with his toes, then he could get new spring force and escape to the wilderness! But when he was feeling happy inwardly, suddenly he saw fluttering sleeves; with ayer of muslin covering her face, the Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan, who ranked at the top of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, suddenly appeared at the top of the wall, spreading out her delicate arms, as if she was going to catch Yun Shuai in her embrace. Yun Shuai was able to escape to this point, he had already given everything he had, there was no strength left to change move high in the air. He knew that his only way to save his life was to obediently hand over the sheepskin pouch hanging on his teeth. Sighing inwardly, he opened his mouth while ferociously shook his lower jaw, throwing the sheepskin pouch toward Zhu Yuyan. Zhu Yuyan let out a smug silver-bell-like tenderughter, caught the sheepskin bag with one hand, while her other sleeve brushed away, saying, I am surprised that you are so well-behaved. Go back! She was certainly being lenient, although it was by no means with good intention. With her Tian Mo Da Fa [demonic big method], although she might not necessarily be able to kill Yun Shuai, but to inflict heavy injury on him, she certainly had more than abundant power. However, her sleeve brush was intended to send Yun Shuai back to the pursuing Zhao Deyan, Kang Qiaoli, and the group of Tujue martial art masters, to use Yun Shuai to hold back the enemy. On the other side, Xiang Yushan cried inwardly, Close call! But by the time the two good-intentioned Tujue martial art masters were helping him up, the cold qi had already invaded his entire body. However, although he was strung through and filled with evil [idiom], his life had not ended yet; he busily transferred the cold qi in his body into the two Tujue mens body, to use them as scapegoats. Under normal circumstances, Xiang Yushans own power definitely could not aplish this, but the demonic and strange true qi that Xu Ziling sent into his body wasing from the Relics, which was strangely yin and strangely cold, like a parasite invading the host looking for a more ideal residence, thereupon it flowed along the two unlucky Tujue mens arm into their meridians. Although these two mens power surpassed Xiang Yushans, they were still overpowered by him. Like being struck by lightning, the two Tujue martial art masters were jolted to the left and right, their face lost its color. This moment, Kou Zhong happened to spring up from the ground; how could Xiang Yushan dare to tarry? Hastily he ran toward the troops from his side. Bang! After resigning himself to part with his treasure and offer it as a tribute, Yun Shuai sent out a palm strike to meet Zhu Yuyans iing gauzed sleeve, and was sent flying back toward Zhao Deyan and Kang Qiaoli. If this moment Zhao Deyan decided to make an all-out attack, with the assistance of Kang Qiaoli and the group of Tujue martial art masters, tonight next year would definitely be the anniversary of Yun Shuais death. Fortunately Zhao Deyans ambition was on the Relics and he was not in the mood to pursue this. Unexpectedly from midair he simply changed direction by dropping straight to the ground, and hurried toward the north wall. Zhu Zunzhe [honored Sir/Madame], please listen to a few words from Ol Zhao, he urgently shouted. Zhu Yuyan originally wanted to leave immediately, but in the end she decided that she could not not giving Zhao Deyan a little bit of face. Displeased, she said, What is there to say? The Sheli for me, the persons for you. Yan Shuai must not take everything in the world for yourself! Without me, Zhu Yuyan, I am afraid you would lose both the object and the persons. The sound of shing weapons rang out from behind Zhao Deyan; obviously Yun Shuai has fallen into the heavy siege and was fighting a blood soaked and hard-fought struggle. However, Zhao Deyan did not have any interest to even look back and take a nce. Stopping about ten paces away from the wall, he spoke heavily, The Sheng Sheli is intended to be presented to our humble Wu Zun as a congrattory gift for the Seniors nieth birthday. If Zhu Zunzhe took the treasure and left just like this, Deyan would have no choice but to go back and report as things really are. Zunzhe, please consider thrice. Even though Zhu Yuyan was able to move unhindered all over the world, she still could not help hesitation from appearing at the bottom of her heart. Although Zhao Deyan spoke lightly and politely, but he indirectly told her that if she snatched the Relics away, it would be akin to offending the entire Eastern Tujue, while also tying enmity against the three top figures of the Eastern Tujue, namely Zhao Deyan, the Great Khan Xieli, and the Wu Zun Bi Xuan; which was definitely not something to joke around. The fight behind suddenly grew in intensity, tragic screams rang out incessantly. Zhu Yuyan spoke indifferently, If Yan Shuai does note over to help, I am afraid not many of your men would remain alive. Those two kids have recovered! She finally made up her mind. Zhao Deyan yelled angrily and leaped at an angle, with both ws attacking together, in the first style of the Gui Hun Shiba Zhua, the Xuanwu Beiqi [lit. ck Tortoise Weeps with Grief]. It was based on the saying ck Tortoise bes the water, decline and flourish are rted to its shape, buckling the mystery to be sentient beings, with formes the reaction. Suddenly his left w changed into shooting straight, while he bellowed angrily. The other hand curved, it moved in a slow, mellow and deep arc. Such w technique, unless one sees it with ones own eyes C would be difficult to believe. Laughing tenderly, Zhu Yuyan said, Yan Shuais skill has enjoyed great progress, worthy of celebration. Forgive Yuyan for not able to keep youpany much longer! She floated away from the top of the wall, and flew toward the roof of the building across the street. Even with her Tian Mo Da Fa, unexpectedly she did not dare to meet this move head-on and only sought a hasty retreat, which made it difficult for Zhao Deyan to pursue relentlessly. From this, it could clearly be seen how formidable Zhao Deyans move was. Finally, because of the Demonic Emperor Relics, the four big shots of the demonic school officially broke off rtions with each other. Zhao Deyan tapped the top of the wall with his toes, he shot rapidly toward Zhu Yuyan, who was still flying backward high up in the sky. Letting out a longughter, he said, To be able to fight a desperate struggle against Zhu Zunzhe is indeed a life pleasure. The ranking of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Holy Way is an old affair that has been stored for many years; it ought to be revised ording to thetest situation. Wouldnt Zunzhe agree? From the first style Xuanwu Beiqi, he changed to the most formable, the eighteenth style Qinglong Ji Zhu [lit. Azure Dragon Jealous of Its Master]. Both hands were pulled back into the pit of his stomach first, before he rolled them out again. Zhu Yuyan knew that since she was flying backward, her speed suffered great loss. Although Zhao Deyan startedter, he would be able to arrive first and catch up with her midway. Making prompt decision, she tossed the sheepskin pouch she was carrying horizontally to the ground, while calling out tenderly, Catch! Zhao Deyans pair of eyes emitted intense ominous glint; he knew that he could forget about snatching the sheepskin pouch back. Keeping the original style unchanged, he attacked Zhu Yuyan with all his might, to vent all his resentment entirely on her. Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Facts and Figures Book 36 - 3 – Timely Acquisition of Fundamental Essence The Demonic Emperor Relics was originally from the first generation Xiedi [demonic emperor] Xie Bo, when he was looking for a set of silk scroll rted to medical science, and idently discovered a funerary object [i.e. item buried together with the dead] inside an ancient tomb from the Spring and Autumn [770-476 BC] and Warring States [475-221 BC] era. The tomb was located in the ancient Qi state [of Western Zhou and the Warring states (1122-265 BC), centered in Shandong] territory. The construction was grand and magnificent, the funerary objects were extremely luxurious. Just the number of fine horses buried alive reached a hundred; evidently during his life, the owner of the grave, even if he was not an aristocrat, general, or minister, his power and position must be extremely high. Although Xie Bo was not tolerated by the orthodox Confucianist society that was dominant at that time, so much so that they were cynical toward him, they considered his conduct monstrous, he himself was not a heretical man that was so wicked beyond redemption. Alone, he devoted himself to the art of healing, hoping to rely on his medical expertise to solve the riddle of the demonic schools most mysterious canon, the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa [lit. great demonic cultivation method of the heart of the way, first mentioned by Shi Qingxuan in Book 20 Chapter 10]. When the Demonic Emperor Relics was discovered by Xie Bo, it was ced under the pillow behind the neck of the upant of the tomb. It was full of traces of blood, sparkling and translucent, mottled on the surface. Due to its semitransparent crystalline characteristic, it was ssified as yellow crystal, but actually there was great difference between this crystal and any other yellow crystal stone. The one thing that piqued Xie Bos interest the most was that the crystal ball seemed to contain some kind of bizarre power. After conducting experiments over a long period of time, Xie Bo made an astonishing discovery: the crystal ball actually had a singr characteristic of being able to absorb and store humans real energy and qi essence. This discovery was extremely important. Within the demonic school, all kinds of demonic power and strange method of absorbing other peoples power had been handed down from generation to generation for a long time. But no matter how brilliant the practitioner was, absorbing other peoples true qi was only supplementary or temporary in nature; nobody has really been able to take other peoples several decades of power permanently, furthermore, to use it to increase his own power substantially and endlessly. Even if it could be done, due to the difference in the innate character of the true qi, it would only bring harm without any benefit, and frequently led to the disaster of fire deviation. Aparatively superior method was through man-woman sexual intercourse, absorbing the other partys primordial yin or primordial yang; however, this was still supplementary in nature, and it was not without any risk either, hence it was not the best way. However, primordial essence was another matter altogether; it was mystery within a mystery. The Taoist school had the so-called three-primary concept. In the sky, they are the three lights; namely the sun, the moon and the stars. On earth, they are the three vital elements; namely the water, the fire and the earth. In human, they are the three matters; namely the essence, the qi, and the spirit. By training the essence, one could transform the qi, by training the qi one transforms the spirit, and by training the spirit, one returns to emptiness. This was precisely the entire Taoist cultivation process. Within the primordial essence, primordial qi [or vital energy in traditional Chinese medicine] and primordial spirit, three primaries, the primordial essence is the fundamental of all things; primordial qi and primordial spirit were obtained with the advancement of the primordial essence cultivation. Due to the differences in each schrs luck and the method he was using, primordial qi and primordial spirit would also differ from one practitioner to the other. However, there was no difference in the primordial essence. [Trantors note: I tranted the best I could, but honestly I had no idea what Huang Yi was talking about. My apology.] This discovery made Xie Bo wild with joy. After many years of research, he was finally able to create one kind of method to inject primordial essence into the crystal ball. At that time, he was not too far from the great journey back to the western paradise; therefore, as he was approaching his end, he poured his entire primordial essence into the crystal ball, and instructed his next generation sessor to find a method of extracting the primordial essence from the ball. Since then, the crystal ball was given the name Sheng Di Sheli [Holy Emperor Relics]. This has brought about a problem with the most headache to the Heavenly Evil Way [not sure, а, perhaps a schools name?] of the demonic schools two sects and six ways. A man like Xie Bo, who was erudite and multi-talented, his knowledge and experience out of the ordinary, possessing great wisdom, great intellect C was indeed rarely seen in a hundred years. Although the disciples of sessive generations exhausted their brains and physical strength using thousand ways, a hundred ns, it was still as if they sat with the treasure mountain in their embrace, but never had any share in it for even half a penny of profit. And because they failed to obtain the method to extract the energy, the Relics unceasingly absorbed all kinds and sorts of both harmful and harmless primordial essence, so that the problem grew to be moreplex, more difficult to solve. However, the sessive generations Demonic Emperor, as long as they did not die an unexpected death, at the death door they would all follow the legacy of the previous generations Demonic Emperor by injecting their primordial essence into the Relics, which was also bing the choice way-of-death of the Zongzhu [head of a n/school] of the Heavenly Evil Way of the sessive generations. Because of all kinds of changes, the research on how to extract the primordial essence from the Relics had evolved into a highly dangerous study. One thing went wrong, it could easily lead to fire deviation. Every now and then, there were people who sessfully extract beneficial primordial qi from within the Relics, which could increase their power many times over. This fact has given enough reason for the sessive generations disciples to chip away at a task and not abandon it [idiom: persevering]. As for how to extract the primordial essence from the Relics, no one was able to find a solution yet. Until Xiang Yutian arrived. With his heavenly talent, he cultivated the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa, and suddenlyprehended a way to extract the primordial essence from the Relics. It was only then that Xie Bos dream could be realized. At this time, because his training in Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa took a wrong turn, also seeing not one of You Niaojuan, four disciples, became a person who was worthy of respect, before his death Xiang Yutian handed over the Relics to Lu Miaozi, imploring him to search for a capable schr among the other sects of the demonic school, to pass on the Relics, and to have him unify the demonic way, and thus terminating the disunity and the endless internal strife within the demonic school for thest several hundred years. In the end, since Lu Miaozi thought that for the time being no one in the demonic school was qualified to be entrusted with the Relics, he hid the Relics in the Duke Yangs Treasure-trove. Ever since learning about the existence of the Demonic Emperor Relics, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never had the intention to dip their finger into the Relics; were it not for Zhao Deyan, based on the information pertaining to the Demonic Emperor Relics that he obtained from You Niaojuan C deliberately harming them, the two boys practically would never want to have a direct contact with the Relics. The various qi within the Relics was wide open; only primordial essence would be able to close it, and the method to link the tremendous mixture of qi within the Relics was precisely through interaction with true qi. Absorbing the various qi in the Relics was not difficult at all. The problem was that it was impossible to control the amount of mixed qiing in, and there was no way of filtering the flow of harmful-and-without-benefit death qi and evil qi. If Kou Zhong merely dipped his hand into the mercury inside the jar and took out the Relics, nothing would happen instead. However, Kou Zhong was using the Moon in the Wells saber de to stir up the Relics inside the jar, hence he must transmit his qi through the saber de to use the internal qi so that the Relics would stick onto his saber, thereupon the Moon in the Well became the bridge, so that there was no barrier whatsoever between Kou Zhong and the Relics. Naturally Kou Zhong was unable to immediately understand the logic. The great amount of death qi and evil qi, like the water from Yong An Canal, burst with irresistible power along the Moon in the Well, which had be the bridge, into Kou Zhong, so that momentarily the illusion in his brain grew as a thicket, like millions of ghosts of the people who died unjustly wereing together to demand his life. The only thing that Kou Zhong could do was to stake it all, to exhaust all his strength, to try hard to repel and force the strange qi rushing forth back into the Relics; therefore, as if he was possessed, he was unable to move. Lucky for him that this moment Xu Ziling saw something was wrong and made the prompt decision to destroy the Relics, and attacked the Relics with all his strength. But perhaps because the Relics contained primordial essence, practically no human power would be able to destroy it. And because Zhao Deyan was aware of this fact, he had no misgivings whatsoever to have a free hand inunching an all-out attack; moreover, exploiting this special characteristic of the Relics, he seized the initiative to the greatest extent, to upy the upper hand to the greatest extent, and repeatedly carried out killer moves. Failing to shake and shatter the Relics, Xu Zilings true qi violently burst into the Relics. It appeared that ever since Xie Bo injected his primordial essence into the Relics, this situation had never happened. Thereupon he and Kou Zhong, two boys together, established a channel, which linked them with the Relics. On Kou Zhongs side, he felt that the strange qi bursting in from the Relics suddenly rolled up and flowed back. Since he could not pull his true qi back, while things that have happened could hardly be controlled instead, he pushed his true qi entirely into the Relics. Things that even Xie Bo and Xiang Yutian had never thought about were happening at this moment. Because the two boys power wasparable to each other, was of amon origin and heterogeneous, the two strands of true qi unexpectedly converged into one stream inside the Relics, forming a yin and yang, positive and negative vortex, which sharply triggered the primordial essence that has been dormant for a long time, it burst outside into the two boys body like a flood breaching the dike. If it were other people, even someone as brilliant as Zhao Deyan or Zhu Yuyan, perhaps they could not withstand this violent shock; fortunately, after going through the Jade Annulus of He n transforming their meridians, they were barely able to endure this shock. Otherwise, their meridians would immediately burst open and they would perish. However, even so, because they triggered most of the primordial essence inside the Relics, when it entered their body, it was also mixed with arge amount of various qi that came from sessive generations Heavenly Evil Way Zongzhu, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were still unable to withstand; they were jolted and fell to the ground, the meridians and true qi within their body was scattered, they were on the verge of suffering fire deviation. Thanks to Xiang Yushans evil thought, Xu Ziling had the opportunity to unload the various qi, which his own true qi had strongly rejected Cpletely to him, while the primordial essence, which nature was different from the mixed qi C immediately integrated itself with his own primordial essence, which functioned was to recover his physical strength. By the time he sprang up from the ground, although he did not feel any sudden surge in power, he did feel as if he just shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones, and he felt differentpared to before. As for what exactly was different, momentarily he was unable to say, because he really did not understand the logic behind the primordial essence piercing through his body. This moment Kou Zhong was still in deep water and scorching fire [idiom: abyss of suffering]; he was still in predicament where fire deviation could happen any moment. Fortunately, Xu Ziling, who had undergone two unprecedented valuable experiences of absorbing the Jade Annulus of He n and the Demonic Emperor Relics, immediately came over and pped him on the back. Kou Zhong instantly knew that the mixed qi was sent to his body. By the time Xu Ziling drew and forced out the evil and strange qi from Kou Zhong with his palm wind, everything was settled conclusively. Without anybody knowing anything about it, each of the two boys have absorbed up to 70% of enormous primordial essence from the Demonic Emperor Relics, which the demonic school people yearned for even in their dreams; it was as if they were taking away 70% of the weapons and gold from the Duke Yangs Treasure. This moment Yun Shuai has fallen into the heavy siege and was fighting a hard battle against the Tujue martial art masters under Kang Qiaolis leadership; not having the time to deal with Xiang Yushan, they promptly rushed over to rescue Yun Shuai from danger. Like a hot knife through butter they cut an opening. Inwardly they knew that prolonged battle would be inadvisable. After getting together with Yun Shuai, they pushed through in the direction of the north wall. By the time they leaped up the wall, Zhao Deyan happened to soar into the air in pursuit of Zhu Yuyan. Thetter was at the critical juncture where she was about to throw the sheepskin pouch containing the Relics to Wanwan. The sheepskin pouch flew in an arc across the nearly ten zhang of empty air and fell into the distance. The snow was thick and dense. The residents of the city, because the Great Tang Army closed the roads and was searching the Canal, unless it was absolutely necessary, everybody did not want to step outside. Streets and alleys, big and small, were as quiet as ghost domain. There was only the sound of neighing horses and human voices every now and thening from the Yong An Canal. Zhu Yuyan dropped onto the middle of the street. Her entire clothes and sleeves rose up and swept around, so that the snowkes falling within half a zhang radius from her body were sshed away by her power. The scenery was bizarre to the extreme point. Seeing how formidable Zhu Yuyans demonic power was, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Yun Shuai sucked in a mouthful of cold air. Hold your troops for me! Yun Shuai shouted in low voice. Both legs bent and straightened out, his toes tapped the top of the wall, he shot like an arrow, straight toward the sheepskin pouch, which was flying more than ten zhang into the distance. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling backhandedly met Kang Qiaoli and two other martial art masters attack and sent them down the wall. After exchanging a nce, they both jumped down onto the street and flew toward the point where the sheepskin pouch was expected tond. On the street, danger was lurking from all four directions; no one knew whether someone would suddenly charge out from somewhere. White shadow shed; the barefooted Wanwan, like a specter, floated out of a magnificent mansion, to meet the sheepskin pouch falling down from the sky. In the blink of an eye the sheepskin pouch was only about three zhang away. Because the sheepskin pouch was thrown in her direction, she was so sure that before Yun Shuai caught up with it, she would be able to safely take the treasure away. Several shadows rushed out of the dark. Surprisingly, it was Yin Gui Pais four martial art master elders, Bian Bufu, Pi Shouxuan, Wen Caiting, and Xia Zhano. They were not intercepting the three men at all; rather, they stayed on the ground, holding up their troops for Wanwan, who was soaring into the air to catch the treasure. Bang! Zhu Yuyan met Zhao Deyans fierce-and-severe-without-equal Qinglong Ji Zhu [seest chapter] head-on, and was jolted by the strike that she flew backward to neutralize the opponents power, but she promptly turned around to engage him in fierce battle. The situation was fiery and dazzling. The sound of qi power colliding against each other was heard in session. In the middle of the sshing snowkes, two figures, like falcon catching a rabbit Cunched iparably intense severe battle. Two top martial art masters of grandmaster level of the demonic school in life and death decisive battle, amazing and strange moves more and more emerged. On the other side, when it looked like the sheepskin pouch was about to fall into Wanwans hand, sword light filling the atmosphere suddenly shed; fairy-like Shi Feixuan arrived from the sky, the sword in her hand turned into a streak of white light, shooting toward the up-in-the-air Wanwan. If Wanwan still focused on catching the sheepskin pouch, she would definitely nurse a grievance under the sword of Shi Feixuan, whose destiny to be her archrival was foreordained. Wanwan made prompt decision. She called tenderly, Shibo Gong [martial (older) uncle, Gong is a term of respect to address older gentleman]! while the Demonic Ribbon shot out of her sleeves, brushing toward Shi Feixuan. Pi Shouxuan immediately soared toward the sheepskin pouch falling down from the sky to catch and take it away; the coordination was impable. At this time Kang Qiaoli and the group of Tujue martial art masters were jumping over the wall to go out. Kang Qiaoli swept his gaze around. After grasping the situation, he shouted loudly, Follow me! Taking the lead, he rushed toward the sheepskin pouch at full speed. This moment, at the end of the long street were Zhu Yuyan and Zhao Deyan in ruthless battle. On the other side was the you-fight, I-snatch battle with the sheepskin pouch in the middle. The situation was very chaotic, but Yin Gui Pais side was still upying the upper hand. Shi Feixuan arrived at the scene the moment Zhu Yuyan snatched the sheepskin pouch from Yun Shuais hands. Originally she decided not toe to the Foreign Guesthouse, the reason was precisely like Xu Ziling had guessed: she thought that Xu Ziling was deceiving her. Afterwards she received information from the Heavenly Policy Mansion, and knew that the two boys were falling into the ambush, and that they escaped by getting into the water of the Yong An Canal. In the end she could not resist worrying over Xu Zilings safety, hence she secretly monitored Jiancheng, Yuanjisrge scale search operation around the Canal C from the side. By the time she was certain that the two boys ought to havee out of the Canal early on, she immediately headed toward the Foreign Guesthouse, and happened to see Zhu Yuyan throwing the sheepskin pouch toward Wanwan, while Zhao Deyan was staking everything in desperate battle against Zhu Yuyan. In her heart she was still half-believing-half-doubting, not sure if the object inside the sheepskin pouch was the real Relics. However, since the demonic people were disregarding everything and opening up their oath against taking life in a you-fight, I-snatch melee over the pouch, she set her trust or her distrust aside to make her all-out move to intercept Wanwan. Pow! The Tian Mo Ribbon hit the sword de. Shi Feixuan borrowed the impact force to change direction; her body followed her sword, but was still flying toward the sheepskin pouch high up in the air. Her posture was confident and at ease, beautiful to the extreme point, but it was also beyond everybodys expectation. Wanwan suffered the setback of having to change her move at thest moment to meet the enemy, she could only use 70% of her power in her Demonic Ribbon against Shi Feixuans 100% sword, immediately she appraised the shape and seeing inelegance [no idea, must be an idiom], like a violently strong wave rolling up, Wanwan floated to the side andnded down. This moment Pi Shouxuan was right under the sheepskin pouch; he only needed to rise about a zhang or so, then the sheepskin pouch would be grabbed firmly in his hands. His power was deep, his five fingers generated a force, the sheepskin pouchs momentum stood still, it dropped straight down toward him as if it was being pulled by maic force. If Shi Feixuan had wanted to fight over the sheepskin pouch like him, she would surely be able to slow him down a hair; but Shi Feixuans objective was to destroy the Demonic Emperor Relics; naturally, it was another matter altogether. Flying across the air, Shi Feixuan did not care about Pi Shouxuan leaping up from below using a grabbing-something-across-empty-air technique to seize the Demonic Emperor Relics at all, the Color Empty Sword shot out of her hand, like a streak of lightning splitting the air, it scattered the snowkes everywhere. Releasedter but arriving sooner, at the critical moment where Pi Shouxuan was only about a cun from grabbing the edge of the sheepskin pouch, the sword hit the sheepskin pouch. Boom! The pouch and the sword collided; the impact produced the sound of shing qi power, which was beyond everybodys expectation, deep and low like the echo of a muffled thunder. The sheepskin pouch was blown into shreds of skin filling the air, bright yellow light shooting down, the snowkes within the three zhang radius were shaken by the power into snow particles and were sent sshing in all directions. The first to suffer cmity was Pi Shouxuan. Jolted by the impact, he dropped straight down to the ground. At the same time as the Color Empty Sword fell down and flew back, the Demonic Emperor Relics turned into yellow light, shooting toward Yun Shuai, who was flying over across the sky. The strange thing was that the Relics yellow light gradually dimmed down, as if it was an object with spirit within in. Shi Feixuans countenance finally changed, knowing that she had med Xu Ziling wrongly. Grabbing the Color Empty Sword, she dropped down to the ground. Only this moment did she realize that the Demonic Emperor Relics was not something that human power could destroy. The happiest was Yun Shuai, thinking that the swan was around the corner, good luck was at the door. Promptly he maintained his posture to meet the Relics, making up his mind that if the Relics fell into his hands, he would disregard everything and run far away a thousand li, to return to the West Tujue at full speed. Behind him, running after him on the ground from three zhang away, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs countenance changed greatly, afraid that Yun Shuai might repeat their mistake. Dont touch! they shouted together. Yun Shuai was a warrior with superior ability and wisdom; furthermore, he knew that the two boys would never deceive him, and he also recalled the two boys terrifying bitter experience just now. Thinking quickly, while still flying in the air, he took off his robe and brushed it forward to roll the Relics inside. While changes were happening on this side, changes were also happening on the other side. Originally, Zhao Deyan was certain that he would lose; hence he wanted to vent his resentment onto Zhu Yuyan. Previously, he has always been dissatisfied that he was ranked under Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan; therefore, for several decades in the East Tujue he secretly cultivated his demonic power, hoping he could ascend to the top position of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. Battling Zhu Yuyan this time, although he had not fallen into the disadvantageous position yet, but he was well aware that he was still half a notch inferior to Zhu Yuyan. This time, seeing another party appeared, he did not have the heart to zealously continue fighting. Since he was still maintaining his offensive momentum, he made a feign move and withdrew from the battle arena, to go toward the Relics. If Zhu Yuyan wanted to entangle Zhao Deyan, it would be as easy as a hands turn. However, on one hand, she did not have the intention to put Zhao Deyan in order yet, moreover, she was afraid both sides suffered, also afraid that the Relics would fall into Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hands again; thereupon she let Zhao Deyan off, and followed behind Zhao Deyan toward the other battle arena. The men and horses from several different parties, every one using every method, their target was the Relics flying in the middle of the big snow above. Yun Shuai and the Relics continued to approach each other at about three-zhang altitude above the ground. When it looked like Yun Shuai was about to catch the Relics into his robe, a shadow, at the speed that nobody was able to see clearly, pounced over from the courtyard to the side, at the speed that was faster than Yun Shuai, just before Yun Shuais robe caught the Relics, stretched out its hand to grab the Relics, traversed cross the long street, andnded on top of the courtyard wall of the magnificent mansion across the street. Throwing his head back, he let out a longugh and brought the Relics in front of his eyes, his pair of eyes emitted wild and hot light. Surprisingly, it was the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. Dazzled, Yun Shuainded on the ground, only to find that everybody else, none did not stare nkly while being rooted on the spot. With Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa and Bu Si Yin Fa, even if everybody present worked as one, perhaps they would still be unable to retain him, much less everybody was against everybody else, every one had his own sinister design. Coming behind him, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in shock; inwardly they were puzzled that Shi Zhixuan grabbed the Relics, yet it did not look like he was adversely affected at all. In a ruler-overlooking-the-world posture, Shi Zhixuans evil eyes slowly swept everyone. His left hand waved, a streak of me soared up into the sky and exploded into blood-red fireworks; he spoke loftily, One year from now, I, Shi Zhixuan, will make aeback, to unify the demonic way. Obeying me, you will prosper, opposing me, you will perish. Zhu Yuyan and Zhao Deyan shouted in anger at the same time, and flew toward him. Only now that everybody else, Yun Shuai included, acted as if they had just woken up from a dream, and swarmed toward Shi Zhixuan standing on top of the wall. Shi Zhixuan made a somersault and disappeared behind the wall. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were dejected as if they had lost. They did not know that 70% of the Relics best feature had already entered their body. Shi Feixuans voice was heard behind the two; she spoke indifferently, Is this the result you were hoping for? The two were left speechless; but when they looked back, Shi Feixuans immortal tracks had already disappeared. Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Facts and Figures Book 36 - 4 – Taking Refuge in Peach Spring [1] The two boys flew along the eaves and leaped over the walls, traversing the vast and obscure Vermillion Bird Boulevard under the big snow, in the direction of the Yong An Canal. From head to foot they were blood-soaked, were wounded in multiple ces, and were quite desperate. The enemys was continuously tightening up with the two boys at the center, as could be seen clearly under the torch lighting from four sides, eight directions. The City of Changan was the Chang Lin Armys territory, they knew the situation within the city like the back of their hand, plus they had Ke Dazhi, Mei Xun, and so on, warriors with both ability and wisdom C conducting the operation from behind, so that they were disying an amazingly high efficiency. Shi Zhixuan seemed to be carelessly and casually flicked his hand, sending the fireworks into the sky to broadcast the information; it was indeed an extremely formidable killing-two-birds-with-one-stone killer move. This was precisely the method to send warning sign when they found Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling that Jiancheng and Yuanji agreed on in the evening. The blood red fireworks exploded in the snowy night sky, its light could be seen several li away, immediately it attracted the attention of the Chang Lin Army, which was already in high-alert state. The gongs were urgently sounded all around the city, each and every familys doors and windows were tightly closed, on top of the city wall everybody gathered their spirit, waiting in strict formation. Shi Zhixuans move not only put Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling into the biggest crisis after entering Changan, it also gave Zhu Yuyan, Zhao Deyan, and the others, who were pursuing the two boys relentlessly and did not want to let them go C an unsolvable distress, and made it difficult for them to have unrestricted room to you-chase-me-I-run-after-you inside the city. If Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were killed, Shi Zhixuan would be the sole beneficiary and be the winner of this strife. Hearing the rumbling noise of horses hoovesing directly toward them, the two boys knew that the turn of events was not too encouraging. Making prompt decision, they immediately charged toward the city wall. Outside of Luoyang and Yangzhou, Changan was a big city with the most solid city defense. The outer city wall was as high as thirty --zhang; even for someone with brilliant qinggong like Yun Shuai, or perhaps like Kou and Xu, two boys, who had the ability to take a breath in the air, without using any tools, they could forget about jumping over the wall and going out. Even if no one was watching, leaving the city still involved quite a bit of effort, much less under the watchful eyes of the experienced city guards in tight formation. This would be the second time the two boys were going to scramble up the city wall. To rely on hooks and ropes to break through the wall, they would have to return without any achievement, because the guards would meet them and force them back using strong bow, powerful arrow, hooks andnces, boiling oil, lime, and so on. Moreover, they had suffered some minor injuries, so that if they exposed their tracks, the enemy would immediately grasp their position within the city. The streets were blockaded; all high elevation points were manned to watch over any movements. It did not matter which direction the two boys were running away to, there were shing light to indicate their whereabouts. Several times they encountered the pursuing troops and had to fight a fierce battle; luckily so far they managed to avoid the opponents main force that was supported by martial art masters, hence they were able to break the siege. But they received more and more injuries. They felt like the fish in the, where their path exhausted, the end of the road. The moment the enemy tightened the would be the moment they were defeated and perish. Having no other choice, they could only charge toward Yong An Canal, their only way to survive. However, even if they could sessfully throw themselves into the Canal, and then enter the treasure-house, and leave the city via the secret passage, the secret of the treasure-house would bepromised, because anybody would be able to guess that there must be a secret passage inside the Canal from which they could flee for their lives. Without any better option, they had to use the tactic to confuse the enemy; first, they charged forcefully toward the south gate, to lure the pursuing troops to flock toward them, and then they abruptly leaped down to the ground, braving the snow, especially choosing narrow alleys to turn to the left and round to the right, in the direction of the Yue Ma Bridge. Were it not for the big snow tonight, which made the torch light could not reach far, and visibility was limited, even if they were so quick-witted, perhaps they would have fallen into the enemys heavy siege early on. The two boys, one in front of the other, jumped onto the roof ridge, stretched their neck to look toward the Yong An Canal, and immediately sucked in a mouthful of cold air. They saw both sides of the Yong An Canal were covered densely with city guards, torches illuminated both banks and the water of the canal that it was as bright as day. Li Jiancheng, wearing garrison attire, was standing on the Yue Ma Bridge, busily issuing orders. Standing nearby were Xue Wanche, Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan, and other trusted aides and great generals. Looking at this, the two boys scalp went numb, while they groaned inwardly. Forget about going into the water, which was not easy at all, even if they seeded in diving into the Canal, they would not be able to avoid the enemys powerful arrows. This situation was to be expected. They were able to escape via the Yong An Canal before, the enemy naturally would not allow it to happen again. Strategically speaking, if they could guard thergest canal that cut across Changan from north to south tightly, then they could substantially narrow the range of the two boys movement. Blocking this path would be tantamount to sentencing the two boys to supreme penalty. A gust of wind was heard from the left. Aghast, they looked; in the midst of drizzling snow, more than a dozen shadows some distance away were leaping from house to house,ing straight toward them. Apparently the two boys track has been discovered. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, My Niang! Supposing well find a house where we can hide, what will the consequences be? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, Probably we can extend our little life by one or half a sichen. Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he said, Follow me! Xu Ziling could not figure out his brilliant scheme of escaping; without any better option he followed him somersaulting andnded on the roof time, before rounding a corner. From the other end of the alley came more than a dozen figures rushing toward them, and three torches were illuminating the way that they could not hide their track. After tightening their, the enemy further adopted a more effective strategy, by dispatching several dozens martial art masters to form several groups of search party, moving nimbly inside the siege to search the two boys. As long as they could entangle or force the two boys to run in panic so that they did not look where they were heading, the two boys might fall into the siege, and then their time of death woulde closer. Taking the lead was, surprisingly, the Golden Spear Mei Xun, and the Two Malevolent of Changbai, Fu Zhen and Fu Yan, brothers. None of the others was not a master whose skill was out of the ordinary. Originally Kou Zhong was thinking of charging forcefully to break the siege, to kill or injure some to vent his anger. However, seeing that the leader was Mei Xun, he changed his mind immediately; instead, he ran across and jumped over the roof. Looking at all four directions and eight sides were people rushing over, approximately five or six groups of men, he called for his Niang inwardly, and led Xu Ziling leaping down into a side alley from the other side of the courtyard house. Turning to the left and rounding to the right, he unleashed his confusing-the-enemy ability to charge toward the south gate again. Several times along the way they hid inside the courtyard of the peoples homes, letting the enemy to chase overhead. Xu Ziling was at a loss, because what they were doing was no different to throwing away their lives. Kou Zhong suddenly turned back in the direction of the Yue Ma Bridge, which was even more dangerous. Every step that they took was even more difficult, because the enemys siege was moving in from the south, as well as narrowing down, so that their range of movement was getting smaller and smaller. The two boys fled to the dark side of a roof; ahead was precisely the Yue Ma Bridge and the Yong An Canal. The snowkesing down from the sky were glittering brightly under the torchlight, dazzling and beautiful to behold, but to them, it was the worst omen. Torchlight was constantly approaching from the four directions, eight sides. Although they had agile shenfa and out of the ordinary senses, and were able to y hide-and-seek with the enemy, but good times were difficult to repeat. If this situation continued, at most they could only hold for less than half a sichen. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around; he saw the closest search party was still about fifty zhang away. Sess! he cheerfully said, We can find a ce where we can sleep his mothers a bit. Come! Flipping over onto the roof, he led the baffled Xu Ziling creeping away in a rush, and flipped over onto the Wu Lou Sis courtyard wall. Xu Ziling began to have sudden realization, and cried Wonderful! inwardly. The ce where Kou Zhong wanted to sleep was naturally the Abbots room, which was the ideal ce to hide and shun the world, the Peach Blossom Spring, which no one would be able to guess. Ordinarily this move would not be possible, but this moment Shi Zhixuans Dade Shengseng [lit. great virtue holy monk] definitely was not sitting in contemtion inside; in fact, for the next year, he could not possibly be inside practicing Zen meditation. Based on Shi Zhixuans conduct, he would not trust even his own disciples; after obtaining the Relics, he would definitely go into hiding somece else in the city and would not return to the original hiding ce. Dade Shengseng was a person of virtue and prestige in Changan, his habit of closing his door in Zen meditation was widely known, Jiancheng, Yuanji would never suspect that they came to this holy ground. Half a dayter, the two boys arrived outside the Abbots room. This house was specially designed; other than one main door, there was not even half a door or window, there was only a venttion hole near the eaves the size of a fist. The biggest headache was that the door ring was locked with iron copper chain. To cut the iron was not difficult, but if people discovered that the iron lock was broken, it would be strange indeed if they did not guess that the two boys were sneaking inside. There must be a secret passage to enter the room, Kou Zhong said, Otherwise, how could Old Shie and go easily? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, The exit must be outside Wu Lou Si. He had searched the entire temple before and found no tunnel entrance, hence he concluded that the entrance must be somewhere outside the temple. Time and circumstances did not allow them to go outside the temple to look for the secret passage. Kou Zhong picked up the copper lock and said, This chain is fastened with standard lock, Chen Laomou has taught me how to unlock it, Ill have to trouble Ling Shao to find a suitable twig for me. Xu Ziling epted the order and left. A short momentter he came back with a tender branch and handed it over to Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong transmitted his qi power into the twig and inserted it into the keyhole. Tweaking it a few times, Pop! the lock opened. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Do you think we can do it? Kou Zhong replied, Without trying it, how would we know? The two boys took off their robe to sweep the footprints on the snow outside the door before entering the Abbots room. It was veryte at night, plus the weather was bitterly cold. Those who have left their home [to be monk/nun] pay no attention to the affairs of life; although the world outside was in so much chaos that the sky and earth were turning upside down, all the monks in the temple were hiding inside their soft and warm quilt, either sleeping or meditating. The Abbots room was spacious but empty; there was only one putuan inside [praying mat, made of woven cattail]. If they did not know that Shi Zhixuan was the Dade Shengseng, they would believe that Dades [great virtue] name and reality indeed matched, and that he was a hundred percent Shengseng [holy monk]. Kou Zhong slowly closed the door and said in low voice, Come on! Xu Ziling pressed both palms on his back and transmitted his internal energy into Kou Zhongs body. But then the two shook all over, while eximing in surprise together. In the past, under simr circumstances, the flow of energy was only unidirectional, the true qi that Xu Ziling transmitted into Kou Zhongs meridians linked with Kou Zhongs own true qi, substantially increasing Kou Zhongs power. And then Kou Zhong would transmit his true qi in return. However, although this time they still did it the same way, it became bidirectional; after the true qi linked together, unexpectedly it circted naturally and immediately cycled back into Xu Zilings body. This cycle continued incessantly; with every cycle the condensed true qi expanded its potential. Kou Zhong had no time to think, but his confidence was boosted greatly. Closing his eyes, he pressed both palms on the big wooden door, his true qi prated the door and flowed along the iron chain outside the door. The ability to transfer object across empty air, only talented person whose internal power had reached perfection would be able to aplish. But transmitting power via an object, the difficulty was a notch higher; in this case, moving a heavy iron chain across the door, where there was no visibility, also buckling back the iron lock, restoring it to its previous condition C is certainly unheard of, and had never happened before. Even if the two joined hands to work together, Xu Ziling was still unsure whether they could do it, hence previously he expressed his doubt to Kou Zhong. Now, although the two boys were still unclear of the reason, their ability tobine power was not as simple as one plus one equal two; rather, the result was exponential, so that the nearly impossible became possible. Kou Zhong felt that when he transmitted his true qi through the door, it was just like when he became the divine doctor, examining the meridians inside other peoples body; although he could not see, he could understand itpletely. The two hanging-down iron chains rose up as if being moved by invisible hands, ovepping each other, one end even suspended a huge copper lock, weighed more than ten jin [catty], and remotely positioned the chain that it could be locked together. Even with Xu Zilings support, Kou Zhong was still overwhelmed with emotion. Crying inwardly, Heaven bless! he pushed thest stream of internal power as hard as he could, ck! the copper lock, heaven was moved by humans wish C was engaged. The two boys immediately plopped back onto their butts, feeling weak all over, more tired than if they fought Shi Zhixuan or Zhu Yuyan for three hundred rounds. It was quite half a dayter that Kou Zhong was gasping in the dark, saying, What is this? Xu Ziling said, Maybe because our power made another breakthrough that such a strange thing happened. We are lucky it did; otherwise, we could forget about the troublesome giant lock on the other side of the door. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, In my opinion, it must be rted to the Relics. Earlier we ran this way and that in the city, ying hide-and-seek with the enemy, also fighting several fierce battles with them. If it were before, we would have had our strength exhausted our muscle weary; but this time we still feel like nothing happened. If it is not rted to the Relics, I dont know what it is. Xu Ziling was about to respond, the sound of footsteps wasing from outside the door. The two you look at me I look at you, they tensed up. If people found out that they were hiding inside the room, they were really like a bird in the cage; even if they grew wings, it would still be difficult to fly. Immediately they shut their breathing. Footsteps wereing near, an auspicious and peaceful voice said, Emituo Fo, this is the Abbots room where our humble temples Zhuchi [manager] Dade Shengseng closes the door to meditate. All four walls are sealed, this locked door is the only ess, outsiders absolutely cannot enter. Qi Wang, please understand. Ke Dazhis voice said, Reporting to Qi Wang, we found the roof and the walls have no problem. Mei Xuns voice said, Really strange; we inly saw theming to this neighborhood yet they disappeared; we cant find them. Then came the rattling noise of the copper lock and the chains; evidently someone was examining the door lock. Xu Ziling suddenly remembered a big w; lightning fast he sat down on the putuan and let out a deep and long, fine breathing sound. It was only then did Kou Zhong realize what happened. Wiping his cold sweat in the dark, he continued stopping his breathing, letting Xu Ziling to y Dades breathing. Sure enough, there was a slight noise on the door, indicating that the enemy, just like they expected, put their ear on the wooden door to listen to the situation inside the room. Li Yuanjis voice finally said, Dashi, please rest assured that naturally we do not dare to disturb Shengsengs meditation. I will have to trouble Dashi to gather all the Shifu here in the main hall, to facilitate us searching other ces. The voices finally faded away. Kou Zhongy down on the ice-cold ground and muttered, After sleeping, well think of a way to find the entrance to the secret passage! Xu Ziling took out the Night Pearl, which immediately bathed the meditation room in its light. Smiling, he said, No need to look, the entrance is right under this putuan. Kou Zhong sat up. Theres secret room? he said in astonishment, But that makes sense. Old Shi at least needs a ce to change clothes; otherwise how could he go out to see people? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, I did not guess. Just like you closing the lock across the door, I also sent my true qi underground to probe the situation inside. Were it not for its difficult for the true qi to reach far, perhaps I could even tell where the secret passage is leading to. Kou Zhong excitedly came over and sat cross-legged by his side; he said, You still dare to say that it has nothing to do with the Relics? Before, we werent this formidable. The strange thing is, I dont feel I am making any progress in the true qi department. Not strange at all, Xu Ziling responded, Our progress is undoubtedly in the original cultivation-primary aspect. If we say that the treasured Jade Annulus of He n is expanding our meridians capacity and throughput, the Relics is increasing the source of our energy. Later on, the efficacy may gradually appear with practice. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Well said. In that case, is it possible that Shi Zhixuan only grabbed the Relics empty shell, while the real content inside has been drawn out by us? Xu Ziling dejectedly said, In my opinion, we are merely scrambling to drink the head soup [not sure]; it could be that because the Relics would make up for the deficiency in Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image Method, it does not matter how much progress we are making in the next year, because the difference in power is simply too far. When we encounter him again, we will still have to pack our bag before we finish eating. In true inner power, the xinfa style still has to match with the strategy. I would rather meet Zhu Yuyans Tianmo Dafa than battling his Bu Si Yin Fa. Letting out a cold snort, Kou Zhong said, As long as it is something thates out of humans thinking, it is impossible to be perfect. There must be a w in the Immortal Image. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, The first secret of Bu Si Yin is to probe the opponent, just like our ability to probe the situation on the other side of the wall being used in the battle against the enemy. When Shi Zhixuan was probing me, my body generated the reaction to probe him back; otherwise, I would have breathed myst early on inside An Longs wine warehouse. Speechless, Kou Zhong said, Turns out Shi Zhixuan has reached that kind of realm; fortunately we are not bad either. My Niang! Imagine that each time we meet the enemy we could detect the opponents movement and stillness one step ahead, wouldnt we upy the lead? Xu Ziling said, This probing-the-enemy thing might actually be distracting; we can only use it once in a while, otherwise it will be harmful and without benefit. Moreover, against Zhu Yuyan, Wanwan, that kind of martial art masters, due to the qi protecting their body is really strong, how could it allow random probing? Instead, it might produce unexpected effectpared to when it is being used against Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhong nodded, You are right, he said, During the fight, the most important thing is the momentum of advancing courageously and the reaction of the intuition. If all day long we only think about peeking other peoples next style, whether it is a great roc spreading its wings, or an old tree coiling its roots, how can there be any mystery left to ponder? Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, You, this kid, really know how to exaggerate. At most we can only sense the opponents internal energy distribution, whether it is slight or important, urgent or non-urgent; how could we conjecture what style other people are going to use? Kou Zhong stretched outzily and said, Talking with you, my sleepiness is entire gone; how about we go downstairs to take a look? Xu Ziling said, The entrance is locked dead by Shi Zhixuan using door bolt [i.e. horizontal bar to hold a door closed (made of wood or metal)] from the inside; to get down, we must spend some considerable effort. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, With our current power, we can shock and break even a door bolt made of iron. Xu Ziling crossly said, Door bolt thicker than your arm, do you have the ability to shock and break it? In that case, let Xiaodi step down gracefully. Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, That thick? Holding the Night Pearl between his teeth, Xu Ziling removed the putuan. Kou Zhong reached down to run his fingers across the ground. He praised, This entrance unexpectedly has no visible seam, I cant even feel it. Xu Ziling suddenly said, Did we do the right thing tonight? Or did we make a mistake? Kou Zhong stared fixedly at him for quite half a day. Smiling bitterly, he said, It could be said that we seeded for the most part; at least we made it difficult for the three major powers of the demonic school to continue working together. The downside is that we did not expect that Shi Zhixuan would obtain big convenience as easy as blowing off dust. If the Relics fell into Yin Gui Pais hand, Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan would stake their lives to snatch it away; it would be another thing altogether. This is called man proposes but God disposes. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Quite possibly we also did Ke Dazhi and Xiang Yushan another big favor. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, You might be right. Xiang Yushan and Ke Dazhi will definitely abort Yang WenGans rebellion plot, but make Li kid unable to take advantage of their destruction instead. Shi Feixuans remark just before they parted rang inside Xu Zilings ears; sighing inwardly, he said, Are you ready? Kou Zhong put his palms on Xu Zilings back. Nodding his head, he said, Lets do it! [1] FromһԴ (Tao Hua Yuan) C the Peach Blossom Spring, a hiddennd of peace and prosperity / utopia. Book 36 - 5 – Compassion Under the illumination of the Night Pearls green glow, they saw a flight of stone steps extending from the mouth of the secret passage under the putuan, down into a small secret chamber, about a zhang square C below. It was precisely like Kou Zhong was joking earlier; this room was for changing clothes and putting on disguise. On the east wall of the room was the entrance to the secret passage. The ceiling was only a bit more than five chi high [reminder: 1 chi is approx. 1/3 of a meter], so that tall men with magnificent build like Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, must stoop down and bend their knees to enter. Kou Zhong entered the secret chamber and plopped his butts on a chair in front of a table with a mirror on it. Looking at his own countenance in the copper mirror, heughed and said, The disguising equipment in here is veryplete; I was just wondering if perhaps when he was in the mood, would he disguise himself as a woman and go out to y? Xu Ziling entered the secret room behind him. He took a quick nce toward the dark secret passage first before responding, If you want to know the answer, you can open these clothing trunks to see whether there are some womens clothes and ornaments. On the other two walls, leaning against the wall were tworge chests. Inside were all kinds of clothes, ornaments and costumes. In one of the chests they even found Great Tang Armys military uniforms. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, Tomorrow we could rely on these things and put on disguise to leave Changan. Xu Ziling said, It would be best if we dont touch anything in here, so that even if Shi Zhixuan returned, he would not know that we already know the secret that he is Dade Shengseng. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Do you think Shi Zhixuan wille back? Its very difficult to say, Xu Ziling replied, Shi Zhixuan did say about returning to the fray after a period of inactivity in one year, which coincides with this habit of going out of the Pass every year during the Beginning of Spring festival. It can clearly be seen that he would hate to lose this Dade identity, which he painstakingly created and built. His dried-up Zen identity is practically only used to deceive people, Kou Zhong remarked, Ay! If we cant borrow his things, how are we going to go out and see people with our clothes covered all over with bloodstain like this? Xu Ziling sat on the trunk behind Kou Zhong with his back leaning against the wall. Thinking deeply, he said, You think Yun Shuai could get away? Kou Zhong replied, It depends whether he could seize the opportunity while the Great Tang Army is entirely under our control. Yun Shuai really have some skill in qinggong; his ability to escape shouldnt be below ours. Why do you suddenly think of him? Xu Ziling did not answer him; muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Jiancheng, Yuanjis search operation cannot continue indefinitely. However, reinforcing the city defense, dispatching massive military force to guard the city gate surely can be easily done. Therefore, the best way to leave the city is still via the secret passage inside the treasure house. That is indeed the safest way, but not necessarily the best way, Kou Zhong said, First of all, if we could slip away with the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive, anybody would be suspicious. If there is no precursor of us mysteriously disappearing in the Yong An Canal andter on reappearing, it might not be a problem, but now its a different story. Besides, our responsibility is to draw everybodys attention away so that Zhandao and the others have the convenience of transporting the precious gold and treasure away. Staring fixedly at the Night Pearl in the hollow of his palm, Xu Ziling said, Lets look at where the other exit is located first, and then well think of a way; what do you say? Kou Zhong sprang up and said, Good idea. The two focused their power into their ears, and after making sure that there was no one upstairs, they slowly pushed the cover of the exit open. Craning their neck to look, unexpectedly it was a study room with shelves full of books. The secret passage was longer than the two boys thought, it was at least ten zhang long. The Abbots room was located at the rear court of the Wu Lou Si, near the eastern external wall. Outside the wall was a side street about three zhang wide. Calcting the distance, this study room ought to be located in the courtyard house across the street. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, The master of this house must, more or less C have some rtionship with Shi Zhixuan. Xu Ziling walked over to the window and pushed it open a little; looking outside, he saw the snow was still falling endlessly. From outside the courtyard wall came the sound of people speaking and horses neighing, apparently the search operation around this area was still growing strong. Kou Zhong came to his side and said, They must have started house-to-house search; after this is done then they would pull back the troops. They heard the knocking on the door of the neighboring house, followed by someone shouted, We are hunting down criminals, quickly open the door! Xu Ziling smiled and said, They must have finished searching this house, our secret passage courtyard. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, We ought to attract their attention to search again; if they find the secret passage, Dade Shengseng will be dog meat Buddhist monk whose reputation is swept over the floor. Lets go back and talk about this! Xu Ziling said. Returning to the entrance of the secret passage, they heard faint footstepsing from outside the door. The two boys were shocked; just by listening to the footsteps, they knew that the iing person was a first-ss martial art master; moreover, there were two of them. Jumping in fright, they immediately shed back to the secret passage using the fastest shenfa. As soon as the lid was closed, the study room door was pushed open. An Longs voice was heard from above, We are nearly implicated by those two kids to the death; they did not run to other ces, yet chose this area to run to. Ha! This time it should be difficult for them to escape cmity. A female voice responded, Jiaojiao dont have such confidence like Long Shishu [martial uncle]; perhaps they already left the city early on. Underground, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised; they never imagined that Rong Jiaojiao and An Long would hide in here together. It appeared that even An Long himself did not know that there was a secret passage leading into the Abbots room at Wu Lou Si; otherwise, he would not have taken Rong Jiaojiao over here to talk. Until now, they were still unclear of Rong Jiaojiaos rtionship with Yin Gui Pai. But looking at how close her rtionship with An Long was, it could be inferred that Laojun Temple ought to be leaning closer to Shi Zhixuans side. The rtionship among the demonic schools two sects and six ways was tangled andplicated, impossible to unravel. An Long said, Just now Xuyan had someoneing over to report to me that Shi Dage already seized the Relics. Tomorrow morning Jiaojiao must depart Changan by boat immediately. Rong Jiaojiao said, Would Shishu leave together with Jiaojiao? Lowering his voice, An Long said, I still have some business to attend to; I must stay one more day. Rong Jiaojiao said, Could it be that Shishu is going to deal with Zhou Laotan? Letting out a cold snort, An Long said, Zhou Laotan will never give up his ambition to obtain the Sheng Sheli; all along, keeping him alive is a disaster. Whats more, Shi Dages instruction is for you to take care of Jin Huanzhen; when you get to the Great River, throw her to the water to be fish food, neat and tidy. Henceforth Tian Xie Dao [Heavenly Evil Way] will be done for! Ha! Suddenly there was the sound of rustling clothes; listening from below, the two boys looked at each other. They could not believe their ears. A moment ago she was calling Shishu this and Shishu that, this moment female demon Rong was already sitting in An Longs arms in passionate embrace. Plus they knew that earlier female demon Rong was ying with Yang Xuyan, which made it more difficult for them to ept this change. Withbored breathing, Rong Jiaojiao said, Hearing about killing people, Jiaojiao cannot help being excited. Laughingsciviously, An Long said, If I had known you are a s1ut earlier ... You seriously told me to look for a secret ce to talk, turns out you only want Shishu tofort you. The two boys could easily imagine what An Long would look like right now; thinking about it, they felt sick. Quietly they sneaked back into the Abbots room. Do you want to get rid of An Long before leaving? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Presently we are powerless to defend ourselves. If we killed An Long, we wouldnt have the convenience to ride Rong Yaonus boat to leave, right? Absolutely right, Kou Zhong replied, Rong Yaonu is an unusual character, she has been involved with Yang Xuyan. We are using this pretext to go north out of the Pass shouldnt be any problem, but if we slip away like this, it wont be any different from going out via the secret passage of the treasure house, it would still make people suspicious of our track. Xu Zilingughed and said, If you want to attract attention, wont it be very easy? Lets talk less nonsense, while we still have a little bit of time, lets raise enough spirit first, and then well see where we can steal two sets of decent clothes, and then well proceed with out magnificent feat of leaving the city. Early morning the next day, the City of Changan returned to its former situation. There were no checkpoints to interrogate pedestrians and vehicles on the street, neither was there any significant increase in the number of soldiers patrolling the city. In fact, it was actually loosen-up-the-outside-opening-up-the-inside. The Great Tang Army tended to have the good reputation of not disturbing the people. Li Jiancheng was a man who cherished his plumage [love and care for his reputation (Courtesy of Akw)]; he did not wish that when Li Yuan, Li Shimin had just left the city, immediately criminal charge was imputed on his back. Yesterday he had no other choice, but today he must not act rashly. The more important reason was that an ordinary measure to intercept escaped criminal simply would not work against people with superior martial art skill, ability and wisdom like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Therefore, Li Jiancheng decided to strengthen the exit checkpoints ofnd and water, two routes, first; the other strategy was to turn from light to dark [or from open to secret], by mobilizing the local gangs and societies to pay attention to suspicious people. Unless the two boys did not set a foot outside, they could forget about evading his eyes and ears. The big snow stopped before dawn, dumping about knee-deep snow all over the city. Vehicles and horses could not pass, traffic was paralyzed, everybody was busy shoveling the snow, the situation was quite chaotic. Those who wanted to leave town had no choice but to take water route. The passenger and cargo terminal at the An Ding Li on the northern extremity of the Yong An Canal was crowded to bursting point. Under the many monks and not much gruel [idiom: demand exceeds supply] situation, those who were unable to secure seat on the boat had no choice but to painstakingly wait. If Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong wanted to take advantage of this kind of situation to secretly board any boat docking on the pier, they would definitely not be able to do it. Fortunately, in order to evade other peoples eyes and ears, before daybreak, taking the golden opportunity while the Great Tang Army involved in the search operation was being pulled back with their body weary, their strength exhausted C the two boys were one step ahead by hiding inside the boat, waiting quietly for female demon Rongs good self. Originally they were unclear whether this big ship belonged to Yang Xuyan or Rong Jiaojiao? Butst night they heard An Long told Rong Jiaojiao to make her move toward Jin Huanzhen, so at least they knew that Rong Jiaojiao would take this boat to return to Luoyang. The two were hiding inside the room where Jin Huanzhen was kept. From time to time, they heard peopleing and going outside the door, but no one came into the room to check. Xu Ziling came to Kou Zhongs, who was leaning against the window, monitoring the sign of activity on the opposite bank C side, and spoke in low voice, Although this woman is not a good person [orig.y practitioners of Buddhism], but all along she did not have any major evil conduct. I really cannot bear to watch her dying tragically without her knowing anything. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I was also thinking about that, but then I thought that the reason she did not continue her evil streak was simply because these years she was under Yin Gui Pais control, so that she could not breathe, hence she did not have any chance to do evil. If we saved her and in the future she harms people all over the ce, wont that mean we aremitting a grave sin? Xu Ziling said, After going through such a serious blow, perhaps her temperament would change a little. As long as we tell her that Zhou Laotans life is in danger, she undoubtedly will strive her hardest to rescue her husband; I am sure that she will give An Long a lot of trouble. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I understand your frame of mind; lets try first whether we can wake her up. If she remains stubborn, we will knock her out again, to let her emerge and perish on her own. The two came over to the bedside. Kou Zhong has not shed his Divine Doctor Mo Yixins distinctive character; he put out three fingers on the artery of her wrist. It was quite half a dayter that he spoke in shock, Formidable! This is the first time that I encounter this kind of sealing acupoint technique, whichpletely lock her true qi dead. From her hand, it wont pass the elbow; from her foot, it wont pass her knee. Her five viscera are blocked, making her unable to rely on her own true qi and bloods natural course toe to her senses. Can you do it? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Just with me alone, perhaps I cannot do it. But with us, the Twin Dragons of Yangzhous seamless cooperation, unequalled under the heavens, apart from the Seven Needles to Control the Mind C that kind of heretical trick, is there any acupoint-sealing, meridian-stopping technique that we cannot break? Lets wake her up first and talkter. The two boys propped her up in bed. Separately sitting on either side, they both stretched out one hand to grab her shoulder, and sent their inner qi inside her body. A short momentter Jin Huanzhens tender body shook; she opened her eyes, looked up, then looked down, and was about to cry out when Kou Zhong covered her mouth and whispered in her ear, Dont make any noise; we are here to save you. Jin Huanzhens eyes rolled around wildly, but she slowly calmed down. She slightly nodded her head, indicating that she understood. Kou Zhong slowly removed his hand. Jin Huanzhen was still extremely weak; she spoke with difficulty, Who are you? Kou Zhong replied, I am Kou Zhong, he is Xu Ziling; have you heard our names? Jin Huanzhen calmed down instead. Nodding her head, she said, Of course I have. Why did you save me? Xu Ziling said, How did Jin Dajie fall into such predicament? Hearing him addressing her as Big Sister Jin, she showed happy and pleased expression. By the time Xu Ziling finished speaking, her expression turned severe; gnashing her teeth in anger, she said, It was that Pi Chen who harmed us. I will definitely take revenge for Laotan. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly understood; they sketched the rise and fall of the terrain [idiom: the whole sequence of events] in their mind. She and Zhou Laotan came to Pi Chen to ask for help, but Pi Chen betrayed them; he even sent Jin Huanzhen to Shi Zhixuan, hoping to win a favor from him. From this, it could be inferred that just like An Long, Pi Chen has acknowledged allegiance to the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhong said, Your Zhou Laotan has not died yet, but if you cant find him before dusk, he will definitely die! Jin Huanzhens tender body severely shook, her pair of eyes shot a deeply concerned expression. Kou Zhong briefly exined the situation, but even before he finished, tears were already falling down from the corner of Jin Huanzhens eyes. Distressed, she said, Now, all my four limbs arecking in strength, I am afraid that even in walking I will need help; how could I warn him? Xu Ziling said, As long as you promise from now on you wont presumptuously kill the innocents, whats so difficult for us to help you recovering your strength? Kou Zhong spoke seriously, If we find out that you broke your promise, it does not matter if you hide at the ends of the earth, we will find you to settle the ount. Since you know who we are, you ought to know as well that theres nothing that we cannot do. Jin Huanzhen spoke in low voice, Why are you helping me? Xu Zilingughed bitterly and said, I wish I know the answer to that question. Perhaps this is calledpassion; everybody has it! Jin Huanzhenughed freely and said, Turns out there are really such good people like you on earth. We, husband and wife C used to scheme against other people all day long; in the end we fell into other peoples scheme. Very well! I, Jin Huanzhen, starting from today, will absolutely not kill anybody presumptuously; otherwise, let me not be reincarnated forever. Your great grace, great kindness, one day we, husband and wife, will repay. The two boys felt her sincerity. Without any more words, their true qi slowly entered in, to help her blood cirction and to help her gathering her strength. No one knew how long, but the hull shook, finally the boat raised its anchor and started sailing. Footsteps wereing straight toward the door. Fast as lightning Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong shed toward the right and left of the cabin door, waiting in tight formation. Jin Huanzheny down, back inside the quilt, pretending to be unconscious. Creak! The door was pushed open. The two boys already caught female demon Rongs scent. Right this tense moment, there was an urgent sound of footsteps approaching. Rong Jiaojiao halted her steps and asked, Whats the matter? Bang! The door was closed again. A mans voice came from the outside, Xiaojie! The military officersing on board insisted that they must check the boat. Displeased, Rong Jiaojiao said, Do they know that I am Dong Guifeis honored guest? Unexpectedly they have the cheek to do this. Her subordinate replied, They are very clear about our identity, but while continuously apologizing, they said that this is Taizi Dianxias strict order; they simply must carry it out. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong cried, Formidable! inwardly. It was only then did they know that every boat leaving Changan must be searched by the Tang Army. After making sure that there was no problem, they would open the gateway to let the ship pass. Laughing tenderly, Rong Jiaojiao said, They want to search, let them search then! What they are looking for is those two kids; other people, they wont care. Footsteps were going away. Jin Huanzhen sat up from the bed. Horrified, she said, What do we do? Kou Zhong smiled and said, When we are exercising our muscles and bones, Jin Dajie ought to know what to do! Jin Huanzhen was slightly startled; she was also a daring person. Immediately her eyes showed appreciative look and a smile. Nodding her head, she said, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, indeed your name is not in vain. Xu Ziling said, If we are not mistaken, An Long and your esteemed husbands appointment will most likely be at the Bei Lis Le Quan Guan. Sound of footsteps was heard again. At least a crowd of ten people wasing. And then there was the sound of door opening. Kou Zhongughed aloud and pushed the door and came out just like that. Standing in the middle of the corridor, he shouted, Whos looking for me, Kou Zhong? Standing by Rong Jiaojiaos side was, surprisingly, Qiao Gongshan. Suddenly seeing Kou Zhong, momentarily he was shocked and was stunned; he forgot how to react. Female demon Rongs face was devoid of any color; her heart was inplete disorder. Book 36 - 6 – Escaping Out Of Chang’an Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard. It pointed at the more than a dozen men headed by Rong Jiaojiao and Qiao Gongshan across the distance. A biting cold saber qi, like a piece of wall, was pressing down on them. Caught off guard, everybody felt as if they had fallen into an icehouse; no one dared to move, afraid that even a simple nod of the head or snap of their fingers might provoke Kou Zhongs extremely focused attack. Four big men appeared from behind Kou Zhong; yelling sternly together, sabers and swords attacked Kou Zhongs broad back at the same time. Who would have thought that a shadow shed, appearing in front of their eyes was not Kou Zhongs back, but the sneaking-in-calmly Xu Ziling. Because the timing of Xu Zilings appearance was so abstruse and subtle, the two attackers at the front unexpectedly did not have the opportunity to change their move; suddenly they found that the weapon in their handspletely lost its power, and fell into Xu Zilings sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade, wless, slender-yet-powerful hands. Laughing calmly, Xu Ziling said, Daren [big man, a termmonly used to address government official] is speaking, little kid have the temerity to cause amotion; he is asking for a beating! Although the attackers were Jianghu veterans, they did not know that the qi power concentrated on the saber and swords de has been deflectedpletely by Xu Ziling, so that as they were overwhelmed with shock and wanted to apply their power to pull the saber and sword back, suddenly the pit of their stomach was like being struck by lightning. They were jolted backwards and crashed onto their twopanions; four men grunted miserably and rolled together into a heap, no one was able to climb back up. Xu Ziling casually tossed the weapons he seized aside, so that two of Rong Jiaojiaos men, who had just appeared from the lower deck, who did not know exactly what was going on here, had the jian jing acupoint on their shoulders hit by the sword hilt, internal energy attacked their body, they copsed onto the floor. All of a sudden the threat from behind was cleared clean by Xu Ziling. Xu Zilings trick and his remark were the favorite game they loved to y when he and Kou Zhong were little pickpockets back in Yangzhou. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs naughty heart was greatly aroused, the little rascal nature buried deep in his heart rose up to the surface, intensifying the saber qi he projected forward. Letting out a longugh, he said, Xiaojie, please forgive Kou Zhong for viting the Mandate of Heaven. Although you told Xiaodi to hide, but how can I, Kou Zhong, be someone who hides in the east and conceals myself in the west? Even if I want to leave, I will have to leave openly with my head held high. Rong Jiaojiao was so angry that she nearly threw up blood; she said furiously, Dont make false usations against others. Not only she was caught off guard, she did not carry any weapon with her, plus Kou Zhong already seized the initiative, so that even though she was burning with rage, she did not dare to counterattack to express her hearts desire. Kou Zhong chuckled gently and said, Xiaojie need not say that; as long as I kill all the men that Old Qiao brought up here to shut their mouth, who would know our rtionship? And then he shouted, Qiao Gongshan, tell your men on board not to act blindly without thinking; otherwise, the first to suffer will be you. The vicious light in Qiao Gongshans eyes red out, he thundered, Charge! Yet although his mouth said, Charge, his feet were retreating backward. Propelled by his qi, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well turned into surging saber light, rolling the enemy inside it. With a tender shout Rong Jiaojiao crashed onto the wall on her left and escaped into the cabin. Two Chang Lin soldiers bore the brunt; they struggled hard to raise their saber to block. As for the rest of the men, if they were not rolling into the cabin on either side, then just like Qiao Gongshan, they retreated in sorry state, hoping to withdraw to the ships main deck. At that time, whether they would fight or escape, they would have the liberty to decide for themselves. The corridor was as chaotic as the doomsdays approaching, brimming with panic and fear. Saber light was everywhere; men and horses suffered a crushing defeat. Luckily Kou Zhong was not someone who killed indiscriminately; although on the surface he appeared aggressive, his hands were very measured. He only used his inner power to hit and seal acupoints, which was actually much more difficult than simply killing the enemy. There was a series of loud crash of shattering windows; apparently people were breaking the windows and jumping into the Canal to save their life. All of a sudden the enemies in the corridor were either knocked by the saber to the floor, or fleeing into the cabins on either side and crashing through the window to escape, leaving only Qiao Gongshan, one person, trying to escape into an open wide cabin door. Kou Zhong let out a longugh. The Moon in the Well transformed into the Striking Strange. The person following the saber, he shot toward Qiao Gongshan. Qiao Gongshan felt that Kou Zhongs saber qi was locking him from the distance; although he was only two steps away from being able to get out of the cabin, these two steps felt like so close, yet worlds apart, so that it was difficult to cross the mine field. Without any choice, he pulled the saber hanging on his waist and raised his spirit to parry with everything he had. This moment Jin Huanzhen leaped from the bed. She was going to look for Rong Jiaojiao to give her bad luck, but Xu Ziling stopped her at the door and said, Jin Dajie, if you dont leave now, you will never leave! Jin Huanzhen understood what he meant. This was still the Great Tangs territory. Once they attracted the Great Tang Army to flock over, their only way to survive would be to flee as far away from the city as possible, and potentially she would not be able to rescue Zhou Laotan. You guys be careful, she spoke in low voice. And then she slipped out through the window. Dang! Sparks flew everywhere. Meeting the saber, Qiao Gongshan was thrown outside the door like a kite with cut string, and fell face up on the deck. The momentum was enough to send him rolling seven, eight times and only stopped when he hit the base of the sail mast. Up to this moment, the six or seven Chang Lin troops guarding the deck were still unclear of what happened under the deck. Seeing Qiao Gongshan fell and rolled like a gourd, aghast, they swarmed toward the confused and disoriented Qiao Gongshan and took their position in front of him to shield him. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong stepped across the cabin door with the saber in his hand, and swept his gaze around. On both sides of the Canal, gongs and drums were struck, horses were rushing and the people running, battle could happen at any moment. After jumping down into the canal to flee for her life and swimming desperately toward the shore, this moment Rong Jiaojiao appeared on the west bank. Naturally the sailors and boatmen of the ship, not even half remained on board. As far as the eyes could see, Chang Lin troops were lining the banks with bows and arrows at the ready, aimed at the big ship; anybody would know that this was a dangerous ce where it was not advisable to stay for long. Bang! Xu Ziling used his back to crash against the cabins ceiling and appeared in front of the bridge on the upper deck. Looking at the direction of the bow, he saw that there was still more than fifty zhang before they could pass through the gate at the mouth of the canal. But this was certainly a crisis that was impossible to skip. On both sides of the mouth of the canal, built along the city wall were two stone forts, equipped with a winch on top to control the rising and lowering of the iron gate to seal the canal. This moment the iron gate was slowly falling; it would definitely seal the canal before the ship was out of the gate. On top of the stone forts, there were also trebuchets, with rocks ready to beunched. Moreover, both sides of the gate were covered densely with archers in tight formation, waiting for action. A team of riders was galloping along the canal from the east. The leader was surprisingly Li Yuanji, apanied by Ke Dazhi and Mei Xun. Merely these three major martial art masters would be enough to deal with the two boys. With no one at the helm, the big ship floated with the current toward the gate, carrying a seed-or-die-trying heroic momentum. The sound of whizzing arrows rang out; hundreds of powerful arrows were shot from both banks, attacking Kou Zhong on the main deck, and Xu Ziling on the upper deck. Kou Zhongs saber light red out, lightly and easily he struck down all the arrows and darts shooting at him. His advantage was that there was the hold of the ship behind him acting as a shield, so that dealing with the arrows and dartsing from two sides wasparatively easy. Xu Ziling did not have this advantage; hence he became the target of multitude of arrows. Immediately he slipped back into the cabin below to evade the arrows and darts. Seven Chang Lin soldiers shouted at the same time and charged toward Kou Zhong. With blood on the corner of his mouth, Qiao Gongshan struggled to crawl up. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well shed out, creating an arc of saber light, the enemy soldiers were struck and scattered in utter defeat. And then Kou Zhong made a sudden stride forward, the Moon in the Well shed left and right, two Chang Lin troops were struck and fell down. He then lifted his leg to kick another man. Li Yuanjis angry bellow came from afar, Leave the ship immediately. The soldiers were earnestly hoping that Li Yuanji would issue this most wee order; immediately they dispersed in confusion, leaped off of the big ship and ran for their life. Kou Zhong did not pay any attention to them at all. His long saber swung to hack Qiao Gongshans, who was just crawling up C head. Qiao Gongshan desperately raised his saber to parry. Qiang! The broadsword was forcibly chopped off by Kou Zhong. He was sighing inwardly, ready to die. Who knew that suddenly Kou Zhongs saber momentum turned? It disappeared leaving no trace as it was pressed against his throat, as if this was what he was nning all along. The saber technique was so amazing that it was very hard to believe. Revealing his tough guy natural qualities, Qiao Gongshan hatefully said, Just kill me! Is your hand turning soft? Completely ignoring the tense situation on both banks, Kou Zhong smiled and said, You and I have no grievance in the past, no animosity in the present; why would I want to kill you? His leg flew, Qiao Gongshan was kicked over the side of the boat and fell into the water of the canal; he was feeling useless to the extreme point. The three men whom he had stricken earlier were crawling and rolling as fast as they could toward the edge of the boat, and threw themselves into the water to escape. Without any worry, arrows and darts from both banks immediately flew over like locusts. Kou Zhong retreated straight toward the door of the cabin. While striking the arrows down, heughed heartily and said, Qi Wang is really polite; theres no need to send us off! Li Yuanjis group just happened to arrive at this exact moment, galloping along the canal, parallel to the big ship, which was still more than twenty -zhang away from the gate. Li Yuanji shouted sternly, Well said! This king certainly came to see you off, but to see you off to theher world. Kou Zhong shouted back, Is it the Western Bliss, or eighteenyers of Ceaseless Pain [Sanskrit: Avici, one of the Buddhist hells]? Well wait and see who is right! Finished speaking, he withdrew back into the cabin. Xu Ziling had just unsealed the Chang Lin troops acupoint, which were sealed by Kou Zhong earlier, and forced them to jump out of the window to save their own life. This moment he met up with Kou Zhong and said, The waterway is not essible; we could only leave only via the top of the water gate. Even if we are not afraid of arrows and darts, but it wont be easy to pass Li Yuanji, Ke Dazhi, Mei Xun, and the other martial art masters barrier. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Although we cannot order Laotianye for snow, but we could set fire, right? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Good n! Li Yuanji and the others leaped off their horses and soared into the air. Theynded on the stone tform of the fort on the east bank; everybody drew his weapon, stored up his energy and waited. The city guards defending the Yong An Canals north gate, plus the reinforcement from the Chang Lin Army, everybody had the bow and arrow at the ready, taking aim at the continuously approaching double-mast sail boat. All the trebuchets, crossbows machines, were ready; they were only waiting for Li Yuanjis order. The water gate was slowly entering the water. The winch was producing Creak! Creak! unpleasant-to-hear sharp grinding noise, so that the already strained, a-thousand-pounds-hanging-by-a-thread atmosphere was even more tensed. Thirty zhang, twenty-eight zhang ... Suddenly two of the cabins caught fire and emitted thick smoke, followed by two other rooms. Li Yuanji had never thought they would execute this move. The thick smoke spread to all directions. Presumably the two boys must have used some pillows, mattresses, quilts, beddings, and so on, mmable articles to start the fire, otherwise the smoke and fire would not rise this densely and rapidly. Without any other choice, Li Yuanji shouted, Attack! The bugle horn sounded; huge rocks, crossbow arrows, powerful arrows, sprinkled toward the target like rain. That moment the mast snapped, sparks of fire sshed; the water was rising, debris was flying, the entire canal gate area was engulfed in thick smoke. Boom! The sail crashed heavily against the water gate, the bow was immediately crushed, the two masts broke at the same time, falling toward the ce where Li Yuanji and the others were standing, while also sending out a cloud of burning debris mixed with thick smoke. Everybody scattered in all directions to evade. The situation was a total chaos. Bang! The collision between the canals water and the broken mast created a sink in the water, which brought the hull spinning. The stern fiercely knocked against the water gate, so that even the people on the shore were able to feel the shock from the impact. The solid hull finally gave up and started to lean to one side. The archers blindly shot their arrows toward the thick smoke; no one really knew what they were shooting at. The fire intensity was rising. Right this moment, suddenly they saw Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling soared from the smoke and fire into the sky. In the blink of an eye four feet tapped the top of the water gate at the same time, which sent them flying even higher, before sending them plunging into the water outside the canals gate, and disappeared from sight. It did not matter how many men and great force, how powerful and overbearing they were, Li Yuanji and his men could only stare nkly at the two boys escaping without any trace, and could only sigh without being able to do anything. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilingy on their back on a snowy slope, looking at the blue sky and white clouds above, while panting continuously. With exhaustedughter, Kou Zhong said, I am sure that kid Li Yuanji wont be able to sleep tonight. Xu Zilingughed and said, Its not that he cannot sleep, but he wont want to sleep. We will still need at least two days before we can leave Guanzhong; how could he be willing to let us go? Without any better option, he would have to sacrifice his sleep. Kou Zhong said, Do you also feel that our power is getting deeper? If it were before, after swimming underwater for nearly half a sichen, once we went ashore we rushed for over fifty li in one breath, we would have had our body weary, our strength exhausted. But now I feel like I still have enough strength to spare. Xu Ziling nodded and said, We ought to have gained the Xiedi Shelis advantage. Running away for our lives seemed to give us quick results [orig. set up a pole and see the shadow]. Kou Zhong sat up and said, We are still not out of danger yet; the next step ought to be how. Xu Ziling was still leisurely lying down on the snowy slope, enjoying the icy-cold snow on his back. He said, If we simply escape with our heart and soul, we must leave immediately, this instant. But presently our mission is to attract the pursuing troops, so we must seize this opportunity to catch our breath, to preserve and nurture our spirit, to see who will find us first. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around. The entire vast and boundless Guanzhong in was covered in heavy snow, to be a vast expanse of whiteness. The footprints they were leaving on the snow seemed to being from the infinite distance, extending toward this ce; it was shocking the eye, astonishing the heart. Kou Zhong could not help smiling bitterly said, I wonder if there is some kind of qinggong in the world that is called treading on the snow without leaving a trace? Although our qinggong is not too extraordinary, butpared to the number one qinggong martial art master in the world Yun Shuai, we shouldnt be that far below; why do we still leave footprints on the snow? Aghast, Xu Ziling sat up. Frowning, he looked at the although-it-was-light-but-still-clearly-visible footprints. He sighed and said, Hows Yun Shuais qinggongpared to the birds in the air? Even the eastern bean geese still leave their footprints on the dirty snow, much less people? Ay! This time TianGong [Lord of Heaven] is not pleased with us. If there is no more floating snow, or perhaps a bit stronger wind blowing, certainly anybody would be able to find us. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Although we want to draw the enemy to us, but definitely not in following-the-path-to-our-own-doom way like this. Presently it seems like the only way is to flee in defeat. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Running away until our strength exhausted and our muscles weary definitely wont do us any good. All along this is Li Yuanji, Pang Yu and those other peoples territory. They can change horses along the way, while running here and there, we are still relying on these four legs. Pointing to the southeast direction, Kou Zhong said, Over there is precisely the Guang Tong Canal connecting Changan with the Great River. In the middle are two big cities Xinfeng and Weinan. This section of road from here to Weinan will be the most dangerous, because the enemy could use the waterway to catch up and cut in front of us, and thenying out inescapable to wait for us to fall into it ourselves. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Only by reaching the Great River will we have the opportunity to escape. When we get there, we could buy a boat and sail downstream to the east, and then in one day we will leave the Pass. How could intercepting us in such a big river be an easy matter? Plus if necessary, we could abandon the ship and go ashore; whether we will fight or run away, it will be very convenient. In that case, lets go straight to the north, Kou Zhong said, In my estimation, we should reach the Great River tonight. Xu Ziling suddenly sprang up and said with augh, Watch this! He flew up at an angle toward the top of the hill. The tip of his feet went everywhere, but it only left a light, barely-noticeable footprints. Although this moment the breeze blowing over the snow was not strong, it was enough to sweep the footprints in a short period of time. Copying his action exactly, Kou Zhong also flew to his side. pping Xu Zilings shoulder, he said, Ling Shao, you are indeed very smart. Although we cannot travel a thousand li without leaving any trace, but we could travel ten or five li without leaving any trace. Working hard for a short duration, but in exchange we get half a lifetime of being well-off; nothing is more advantageous than this. But by doing this we are taking a bit of risk, Xu Ziling warned, Because it will cause wear and tear to our true energy. If within this short period of time Ning Daoqi intercepts us, we, two brothers, will have to pack our food and leave before we finish eating. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Do you think this old kid is so brilliant that he would drink wine and admire the full moon at the south bank of the Great River, waiting respectfully for us? This is very difficult to say, Xu Ziling replied, It could be said that we know nothing about him at all. What trick he is going to use against us, only Laotianye knows. Under famous reputation, there is no empty schr; much less the Old Ning, who is acimed to be the number one in the Central ins. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I have an ominous premonition that no matter how the two of us, experts in running for our life C exhausting our magic weapon, in the end we still cannot escape his immortal palm. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Are you scared? The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring out brightly, a smile full of confidence escaped from the corner of his mouth, as he spoke indifferently, Not scared, just deep respect. But thinking about it, we unexpectedly can disturb him, the Senior, it is enough to make us proud. And then he went on, Do you think Shi Xianzi [fairy] would be willing to make her move against you, Ling Shao? Revealing a pained expression, Xu Ziling said, Our conduct and deeds have made her thoroughly disappointed at us. With her impartial nature, she cant possibly talk about any friendly rtions with us; dont you think? Gazing into the end of the snowy ins in the distance, Kou Zhong nodded and said, I am sure she will have to be forced to make her move, because no matter how formidable Ning Daoqi is, he will still be unable to kill me, Kou Zhong, when we, two brothers, join hands. But I still dont understand, why would she bepletely disappointed? The Relics falling into Shi Zhixuans hands, that is certainly our unwise move, but we achieved our goal of splitting up each sect of the demonic way, so there is meritorious deed in there. Xu Ziling sighed and said, You seem to forget that in her eyes, I became the person who go back on his word. You, Kou Shaoshuai could not obtain the hidden treasure, I still did not advise you to give up, also I did not keep my promise to part ways and divide the goods with you. Tell me, how should she look at me, this person? Kou Zhong sighed together with him. Reaching out, he put his arm on his shoulder and pulled him in tightforting embrace, and said with a bitterugh, Rtionship between people is just like this, simply because everybody can only understand the actual facts based on his own position and point of view. Even though Xianzi still cannot see the full picture and misunderstandings are growing as a thicket, in the end, it is me who is harming you. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, We are brothers, why do we talk about such things? I wonder if Shaoshuai is in the mood topete in foot strength, to see who will arrive at the Great River first? Releasing his embrace, Kou Zhong abruptly raised up a mouthful of true qi, and flew down the hill. Heughed and said, The one who move first will control others, the one movingter will fall under others control. This is the logic of the School of the Military. Letting his arms go, Xu Ziling chased behind him. The two boys left shallow marks in the snow. The breeze was blowing, in the twinkling of an eye the footprints were covered up in snowkes. Book 36 - 7 – Water Can Capsize the Boa t The two boys were crouching on the snowy ground in shock. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, a falcon was circling gracefully overhead, and then it flew down at only about forty zhang elevation above the ground, before pping its wing and rose high into the sky, flying in the direction of the Great River. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you-look-at-me-I-gaze-at-you, they were both speechless; so much so that they even lost the will to crawl up. Using the treading on the snow without leaving any trace, which was extremely taxing to their true energy, they had been rushing for nearly seven li, followed by running at full speed nonstop for more than three sichen. The Great River was only about fifty li ahead on foot, yet tragically they were discovered by Kang Qiaolis t-feathered beast. This blow was so heavy that they were frustrated! In addition, they both felt moody and hot-tempered; a feeling that they had never experienced before, only neither of them told the other about it. Quite half a dayter, Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, Kang Qiaoli and the others must be on the boat. The feeling of difort was getting more intense, they had to rely on the icy-cold snow to suppress the feeling. Xu Ziling understood what he meant; the pursuing troops must be using the boat to leisurely sail from the Wei River to enter the Yellow River. They released the falcon along the southern bank to search for the two boys track. On the currently snow-white world, one falcon was morepetent in the searching operation than a thousand troops with ten thousand horses. The enemy was waiting at their ease for the exhausted enemy, while the two boys body was weary, their strength exhausted. Plus against these acute-eyes high in the sky, there was no hiding tactic that they could carry out. The potential for the good and the bad was clearly understood. Xu Ziling put his face on the snow. The ice-cold feeling calmed him somewhat. Looking up to the distance, he said, Kang Qiaoli ought to be helping Zhao Deyan dealing with Shi Zhixuan, how could he have the time to mind other peoples business? In my opinion, the falcon ought to belong to Ke Dazhi. The pursuing troops must be the Chang Lin Army. Kou Zhong nodded and said, True! The color of the feather was a bit different. Xu Ziling said, Arent you proficient in mountain and river geography? Tell me, where is the nearest city? Horrified, Kou Zhong said, We just escaped from a city, are you telling me you want to walk right into the trap by entering another city? Ay! If you continue forward, across the river will be Wannian and Gaoling, two cities. If you turn back, it will be Weinan. But in those ces I am sure there will be pursuing troops waiting respectfully for us. The snowy in where they were this moment was sandwiched between the Yellow River and the Wei River. If the enemy divided themselves into two groups and took the boat to pursue the two boys, they would seal the escape route both in front and behind the two boys. Without the falcon, they might still be able to y some tricks against the enemy. But now they were definitely unable to find any solution, and were at an absolute disadvantage. Kou Zhong said, If we bury ourselves in the snow, how long do you think we can hold up? Xu Ziling replied in heavy voice, If the enemys good self is about toe, based on our current condition, being able to hold up for a quarter hour will already be extremely extraordinary, but afterwards we willpletely lose the ability to fight. Distressed, Kou Zhong said, Currently we wont have much fighting strength left anyway. Thinking that Ke Dazhi, that kid, has his belly full of skill having been tempered in the desert, it is clear that he is a big expert in following a trail and seeking a trace, just like Old Ba. Even if we want to go, it will be in vain; we might as well take his mothers moment of rest. We will use this time to restore our energy as much as possible, and when the falcon reappears on the horizon, we immediately bury ourselves in the snow. If we shrink our pores, then even if the opponent dispatch hunting dogs, they wont be able to smell us. Xu Ziling looked back. The footprints on the snow were following them right to this spot. Following his example, Kou Zhong also turned his head around to look at the footprints. While struggling hard to suppress the heat rising up in his body, heughed and said, This is called empty is solid and solid is empty; it is especially useful for smart people. Xu Ziling sprang up andughed and cursed, your solid and empty; no-track-no-trace is the most brilliant move. Startled, Kou Zhong said, If we fully use treading on the snow without leaving any trace, in less than half a li we would be done for. Xu Ziling crossly said, There are experts [orig. gaoshou (high hand)] in treading on the snow without leaving any trace in the world, but there are also inept people [orig. dishou (low hand)] in treading on the snow without leaving any trace. Come on! And so he took big strides heading to the east. Every ten paces, he created palm wind to blow across the snow to erase his footprints. However, as he rushed his true qi, the irritability in his heart was growing more intense. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong walked beside him, taking turn in erasing the footprints. Shortly afterwards, the two entered a snowy forest. Xu Ziling looked for a clearing with particrly thick snow. Sitting down, he said, Let us, two brothers unleash our unique-and-unmatched-in-the-world, the absolute-pinnacle great method of circting qi from the Jade Annulus of He n plus the Demonic Emperor Relics plus the Secret to Long Life. We will seed or die trying. Kou Zhong sat cross-legged down in front of him, he reached out to grab Xu Zilings outstretched palm-up hands, and spoke happily, After snatching the Relics, we have not had time to study meticulously whats inside it; lets take advantage of this opportunity to explore it! Ay! Powerless to defend himself, Xu Ziling did not want to waste his time to perform an in-depth investigation on why he was sighing. He said, You send your true qi in from your left hand, I will send my true qi from my right hand to you. After circting through all the channels in our bodies for a hundred cycles, we reverse the flow, lets see what will happen. Four palms made contact with each other, the two were severely shaken at the same time. The two major innate acupoints on top of Kou Zhongs head and the center of Xu Zilings feet were hit and was opened wide simultaneously. Abundant and universal innate qi pierced through their palms and entered inside their bodies, bit by bit it transformed into primordial qi, which circted around along with the true qi, surging faster and faster, but also bringing them into critical circumstances. A never-happened-before event in Wulin history was taking ce. It could be said that the course of events in the two boys training for the past many years was circuitous and bizarre. Because they started training quitete, it should be difficult for them to reach the pinnacle of martial art study. However, from the Secret to Long Lifes point of view, they were precisely two pieces of raw fine jade that had not undergone carving process. There has never been anybody in the previous generations that could sessfully reap any benefit from the Secret to Long Life; one of the reasons was naturally the profound, hard-to-understand secret, which led people mistakenly taking the wrong path. But the more important reason was because of their own training; it was difficult for the practitioners to turn back from their deep-rooted practice. Take Mountain-Pushing Hand Shi Long for example [Book 1 Chapter 1]. By the time he obtained the Secret to Long Life, he had already trained external martial art for several decades. Just like a sheet of paper densely covered with characters, there was no more empty space to write. The two boys, on the other hand, did not have such problem at all. Fu Junchuos Great Method of Nine Mysteries adequatelyid the foundation for them and had provided correct guidance to superior qigong, so that the two boys, separately, inadvertently obtained the secret map to thest twoprehensive and the best feature of the Secret to Long Life, and be the first two persons in history who mastered the Secret to Long Lifes qigong. Although their aptitude was outstanding, but they started toote; originally, there was no hope whatsoever for them to reach Ning Daoqis level in their life time. However, they came across the Jade Annulus of He n, which naturally transformed and erged the meridians in their body, so that they made lightning-speed progress in their training. But this kind of progress would inevitably slow down at some point. This was the rtionship between the spring and the stream, which illustrates the rtionship between the primordial essence and the primordial qi. No matter how far and how wide the flow of the stream, if the water source is small, the river stream will dry up; it will never be Yellow River and Yangtze River. Therefore, their inner power could not bepared to Shi Zhixuan, Zhu Yuyan, and the like; if it had to bepared, it would still one or two notches below, because they were relying entirely on the Secret to Long Lifes fantastic gongfa [training method] to create the style to contend against the enemy. The Demonic Emperor Relics was precisely the wlessplement for this deficiency. From the moment the two boys directly touched the Demonic Emperor Relics, nearly 70% of the primordial essence in the Relics, which was stored by more than a dozen generations Demonic Emperor, was unexpectedly shared by the two boys. Water can keep the boat afloat but can also capsize it. Taking the primordial essence for their own was just the beginning. Only when they were able to transform the primordial essence into primordial qi that they could apply into power that they could use C would it be considered a sess. It was a long, difficult and dangerous process. Even with Shi Zhixuans ability, wisdom and skill, with his deep understanding of Xiang Yutians great method of training the essence and transforming the qi, he still set a one-year period for himself. In first-ss innate qigong, the most important xinfa was in being and doing, and it was very easy to sink into lower quality result, or even suffer fire deviation. Fortunately, the two boys practically did not know what they were absorbing from the Relics; everything followed its natural course, which conformed to the Taoist doctrine of inaction instead. But the danger was still there. Each of the two boys body was like a warehouse storing gunpowder. Once triggered, the aftermath really cannot be imagined; they could suffer snapped channels and burst arteries and veins and could die any moment. Fortunately, their meridians have been transformed by the Jade Annulus of He n; otherwise, the primordial essence, which had barely entered their body, would be enough to make them breathe theirst. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had been rushing over the snowy in for several sichen in one breath, their true qi had been circting continuously, their primordial qi was exhausted, the wondrous Secret to Long Life qi cannot be pressed down even lower, so that their primordial essence, which had been in hibernation, had begun to stir, which caused various ufortable feeling in the two boys body. If they did not encounter the falcon, which forced them to sit down and attempt to restore their power, perhaps before reaching the Yellow River, they would have been hit by the primordial essence shock and fall dead along the way. Boom! Their true qi circted for less than ten cycles, the two boys brains felt like being fried by a thunder, enormous-without-equal primordial essence surged forward like mountain sh flood breaking the dam, rushing through the river, charging through every blockage in their meridians, like escaping wild horse bashing sideways and colliding straight on [idiom] C coursing through inside their body, causing their qi and blood to turn over, their five viscera and six bowels felt like they were being unbearably ripped apart. But what made them in so much pain that they wished to die was their cranial nerves; their whole head felt like exploding. This kind of unbearably wild, violent, and fierce feeling was really not one in ten thousand that any words can describe. The ni wan gong [lit. mud pill pce], located between the eyebrows inside their brain was precisely the ce where the primordial essence was stored. The true qi no longer under control, it pierced through the top of the head and the bottom of their feet, and blended inside their body, triggered by their innate energy. With astonishing speed, the primordial essence was transformed into primordial qi, which then surged uncontrobly inside their meridians. It was increasingly difficult to bear, yet they were helpless to wash it away. Fortunately, the two had undergone the precious experience with the Jade Annulus of He n. Completely without any way to dissolve it, they had no choice but to maintain a bit of rity on their lingtai [top of the head], and clench their teeth to withstand the increasingly violent attacks one by one, to see how long they wouldst. The four hands sping tightly became two channels through which the true qi was traveling back and forth, so that Xu Zilings true qi, which was leaning toward yang and hot, and Kou Zhongs true qi, which was leaning toward yin and cold, revolved inside the two boys body like a wheel. Two streams of true qi, one yin, one yang, gradually merged. Were it not for this, it would be difficult for the primordial essence to turn into primordial qi, plus the two would have suffered fire deviation and died on the spot early on. Even in the world of ice and snow, the two boys were sweating; their bodies, from head to toes, were soaked. Nobody knew how much time has passed, they did not even know that the setting sun has been reced by the bright moon. The moon sprinkled its light over the snowy forest. They were like two lonely skiffs in the middle of the angry sea, constantly being tossed about in the wind and the waves, yet were still struggling to survive on the peak of the waves, striving to evade the cmity of the boat capsizing and the people perishing. Toward the outside world, they neither hear nor question [idiom]; in fact, they were powerless to care. The only thing they knew was to protect the barely-there rity on their lingtai, while quietly endured the pain of their meridians about to burst and their bones about to bore into their heart. If their ears were able to hear, they would have heard the sound of barking dogsing nearer and nearer; if their eyes were able to see, they would have seen the torches painting the sky on the horizon red. The two gradually approached the brink of copse. Blood gradually seeped out of their eyes, ears, mouth and nose, even their skin. Were it not for their transformed meridians, which enhanced their tolerance far beyond any warriors trained in qi, how could they endure to this moment? The innate true qi has long stopped entering their body, yet the primordial essence source of disaster has beenpletely initiated, the qi transformation process gradually slowed down. When the qi transformation process has stopped, the primordial essence would then invade the five viscera and six bowels like sh flood breaking the dike, with a power that could no longer be suppressed the slightest bit, and would result in the two boys meeting their death. The two boys intuitively felt that this would be their inevitable tragic end, yet clearly they were unable to turn around from this hopeless situation, they werepletely without any means to save themselves. In this life and death crisis, although they had a faint feeling that it had something to do with the Demonic Emperor Relics, they were actually still no sure what happened inside their body; even if they died, they would die without knowing the reason. From fast, the true qi cirction turned slow, before suddenly stoppedpletely. It was just like the deathly stillness before the big storms arrival. Boom! The meridians in their entire body shook, and then swelled and opened. While they were crying inwardly, My life thus endeth! suddenly they felt sharp, prating-the-heart pain on their heads, their back, their hands, and many other ces. Bang! Like a flood suddenly found an opening, the primordial essence and primordial qi immediately rushed out. The two boys body rxed, the pressure lessened, rity was returning to their mind. Opening their eyes at the same time, they discovered that they were trapped inside the enemys heavy siege. Torches were so bright that even the fine hair on the body were visible. They heard groaning noise all around. Eight enemy soldiers, the-troops-broken-the-people-injured, were sprawling all over the ce, their mouth and nose were seeping out blood. Focusing their mind, the two boys looked, and found that their bodies had many more wounds, and thus they started to realize that these enemies, who wereunching sneak attack on them C had be sacrificial victim who saved their little life instead. Springing from the ground, they met Li Yuanji, Ke Dazhi, and the others bewildered, suspicious eyes. Close call! they cried inwardly. Their wound was only skin and flesh. It was clear that when the enemys weapons made contact with their skin, the true qi immediately shocked the weapons and inflicted serious damage on the enemies. Such a universally shocking martial art, perhaps even Ning Daoqi would not be able to aplish. No wonder in just one move the enemy was horrified and scared away. The King of Qi Li Yuanji shook the Splitting Horse Spear in his hand and shouted, This time, even if you grew wings, it will still be difficult for you to fly. If you are sensible, just end your own life, this King respects the two of you as real men, I will definitely let you keep your body intact. Standing proudly, Xu Ziling scanned the area with his eyes. The forest was full of flickering shadows. Apart from Li Yuanji, Ke Dazhi, Mei Xun, Yuwen Bao, Qiu Wensheng, these top-quality martial art masters, there were also more than two hundred other martial art masters. Even if the two boys power was advancing by leaps and bounds, if they continued this desperate battle, they would definitely run out of luck. Fortunately, this was a snowy forest, which was disadvantageous for tangled battle, unlike on the snowy in, where they would not have the slightest bit of chance to break the siege and escape. This moment Ke Dazhi slyly pulled the Sandstorm Saber from his back and said with a calmughter, Xiaodi admires two gentlemen more and more. You have the audacity whilst running for your life still have the guts and determination to train here, which really broadened Xiaodis horizon. I wonder if Shao Shuai is willing to bestow instructions, and for Qi Wang to make an exception by allowing this battle to ur; before life and death are decided, no third party is allowed to intervene. As soon as he heard it, Li Yuanji understood his intention. Although their side was upying the upper hand with many men, a great force, but Kou and Xu, two men had the advantage of the snowy woond. Remembering the opponents glorious record in breaking a siege time and again, who would dare to guarantee that tonight they would not be able to force their way out of encirclement again? Besides, around the two boys, there were still eight of their men lying injured on the ground. Once the chaotic warfare broke, the first to suffer a cmity would be these eight men. Both in terms of situation and reasons, he ought to give serious consideration to this arrangement. If Ke Dazhi could kill Kou Zhong in one move, naturally it would be most ideal. Even if Ke Dazhi were unfortunate and perished in battle, he would certainly cause wear and tear to most of Kou Zhongz true energy, perhaps even cause him to sustain injuries, which would increase his confidence in besieging and annihting the two boys. Therefore, he made his decision, Lets do it as Ke Dazhi asked, only I dont know whether Kou Shao Shuai dares to ept the challenge. This King will definitely not go back on my word. Do you hear? His men all epted the order in unison, all shouted in one voice, as if a thunder suddenly arose in the snowy forest for no reason at all, shocking the snow on the trees and branches that snow umtion fell like rain, hanging icicles snapped and fell, precisely offsetting the pressing down qi momentum that Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong built earlier, where they used their true qi to shock and injure the eight men mounting a sneak attack on them. Mei Xun and Yuwen Bao cheered inwardly. They always felt that Ke Dazhis overbearing, tyrannical attitude was unpleasant to the eye. It would be best if he and Kou Zhong fought until both sides suffer, so it would be one move, two gains. But inwardly they also admired Ke Dazhis self-confidence and heroic spirit. Kou Zhong exchanged a nce with Xu Ziling first; the two boys minds were interlinked, right away they were able to see clearly, without any doubt, what the other side was thinking. This was indeed the battle that Kou Zhong was looking forward to. Its a pity that neither the time nor the location was suitable. Kou Zhong boldly met Ke Dazhis brimming-with-challenge look; heughed indifferently and said, If Ke Xiong is willing to go alone with Xiaodi outside the forest, not only Xiaodi will be honored to keep youpany, it is also something that I seek, but fail to get. Xu Ziling added, Before life and death are decided, Zaixia guarantee that I will stay inside the forest, and will in no way break the siege. Ke Dazhi looked at Li Yuanji, asking for his opinion. Just by looking at his expression, both sides already felt that he longed for this battle. Hearing that, Li Yuanjis eyebrows were deeply knitted; he mused inwardly that if, under this situation, where his side did not upy the least bit of advantage C Ke Dazhi were unfortunate and die in battle, how would he answer Li Jiancheng and the Tujue people? Although Ke Dazhis saber technique was unrivalled, but the opponent was the Shao Shuai, Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world. Furthermore, he had just witnessed with his own eyes the astonishing and peculiar skill, which, by using the true qi protecting his body, not-afraid-of-any-weapon, he shocked and injured eight of his men. Hence the reason he was hesitating. The forest was silent without any noise. Everybody was waiting with bated breath for Li Yuanji to make his decision. The moon shed its weak light low in the horizon, faintly illuminating the snowy forest. Li Yuanji slowly raised his Splitting Horse Spear; pointing it at Kou Zhong from a distance, he shouted loudly, Turns out Kou Zhong is only a chicken-hearted disciple. Kill them! As soon as the word kill was out, the spear in his hand changed into a sharp rainbow; the man and the spear became one, he shot toward Kou Zhong, whose saber has not left its scabbard. The rest of his men immediately charged forward. The big battle was in full swing. Book 36 - 8 – Miraculous Great Success The same instant Kou Zhong was pulling the saber out of its scabbard, Xu Ziling spun his body and rose up, his sleeves swept around, carrying roll after roll of strong wind, blowing the snow umted on the trees that it sshed everywhere, creating a man-made snowstorm. Moreover, this snow was different from that other snow, because this snow contained his true power. Anybody who was unfortunate to have his acupoint hit, if the true qi protecting his body was rather weak, he would certainly suffer some losses. Qiang! Kou Zhongs saber fiercely chopped on Li Yuanjis attacking swift-like-the-wind Splitting Horse Spearhead. Li Yuanjis entire body was severely shaken; unexpectedly he was forced to move back by Kou Zhongs chop, the entire follow-up moves could not be carried out at all. Facing the same spear attack, in the past, Kou Zhong would have been sweating profusely. But today he was able to break it without extra trouble. Even though Kou Zhong did not understand the Demonic Emperor Relics benefit to him, he knew that his power had progressed greatly. If at this time he followed up the victory and pressed home the attack, he would definitely gain the upper hand. Mei Xuns spear, Ke Dazhis saber, and Qiu Wenshengs sword simultaneously attacked from three sides. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Borrowing the impact force from Li Yuanjis spear attack, he shed under Xu Ziling, who was soaring into the air. Stifled groan sprang up everywhere; most of more than a dozen torches around the battle arena were extinguished, the few that remained were also sshed by the flying snow that they flickered indeterminately. The snowy forest became like a ghost domain. The umted snow was still shooting continuously, following Xu Ziling, who was rising into the air; puff after puff of snowkes was sshing to attack the enemy. The hunting dogs were barking furiously, the warhorses were neighing sharply. Dang! Ding! Kou Zhong attacked left and right, separately meeting Ke Dazhis saber and Mei Xuns Golden Spear head-on. He also used the tip of his foot to kick Qiu Wenshengs attacking sword. His momentum appeared like a rainbow, but actually the blood and qi in his body was rolling over and over. He had no choice but to use the momentum to increase his speed C startingter but arriving sooner C to sh past Xu Ziling. Ke Dazhi, three men were jolted back to the ground; they were shocked inwardly, feeling that Kou Zhongs power was really deep and immeasurable. Because Xu Ziling released his power while he was high up in the sky, this moment he was already out of breath; moreover, he was incapable of taking a breath. Fortunately, Kou Zhongs big hand reached out, two hands grabbed each other, he carried him to continue climbing upward, and suddenly they reached a horizontal leafless branch of arge tree. Li Yuanji was regrouping his battle array; he was about to soar upward only to see the forest was full of fluttering snow drops. Unexpectedly he lost the two boys trace. Crying inwardly, Not good! he continued leaping up, purely relying on his intuition to attack upward. One after another the rest of his men also charged upward. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were secretly happy that they had passed the most difficult moment, and were not entangled by the enemy to the death. The former waved forcefully, spinning Xu Ziling around. And then it was Xu Zilings turn to send out his strength, just before Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear attack arrived, they escaped by a hairs breadth, the two boys became a windmill spinning rapidly, flying horizontally away, carrying with them a sweeping violent gale. As if being blown by a big storm, the snow umtion on the tree scattered and shot out in all directions. Momentarily the air was filled with flying snow, like thick smoke providing them with the best cover to escape. The snow rained down on the torches, putting them out; mixed with the barking dogs and neighing horses, people crying out in rm and confused shouts, no one could see anything clearly, the situation was chaotic to the extreme. The two boys let go of their hands. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling leaped from the top of the tree to the next; they flew over the totally-in-chaos enemys troop disposition surrounding them, and escaped to the depth of the snowy forest. Those withparatively higher martial art skill from the enemy ranks leaped up to intercept them, but the two boys countered every move and shocked them back to the ground. Meeting the interceptors, they used the true qi protecting the body that they had just mastered, coupled with their ability to borrow-strength-and-deflect-force, staking everything and receiving a few more skin and flesh injuries along the way, while choosing only the area clear of any obstruction ahead, since they were unwilling to be entangled by the enemy even for a moment. Otherwise, if Li Yuanji, Ke Dazhi, and arge number of men and horses, who were pursuing them relentlessly C were unwilling to let them off, they could forget about any chance of escaping. The height variation of the top of the trees was greatly advantageous to their leaping and escaping. Under this kind of circumstances, their unique skill of taking a breath while high up in the air was disying its divine efficacy even more. Qiang! Qiang! Two Tujue martial art masters suddenly sprang out of their hiding ce on a tree branch to mount a sneak attack. Like two streaks of lightning theirnces struck the lower part of Xu Zilings body, while Xu Ziling was busy dealing with three saber strikes. From behind, seeing the turn of events was not too encouraging, Kou Zhong abruptly took a mouthful of true qi, and fell headlong, so that his legs were up and his head down, the Moon in the Well ferociously chopped two sabers. In turn, the sabers urately hit the twonces. Hit by the chop, the two Tujue martial art mastersnces broke and the people injured, they fell down to the ground. Kou Zhong used this opportunity to reverse his force, he easily grabbed the clothes on Xu Zilings back, and borrowed the force to soar higher, and thus both the two enemies left and right attack hit empty air. Reaching the height of about two zhang above the treetop, it was Xu Zilings turn to take a breath, and so he took Kou Zhong flying across the air, and sessfully broke through the siege. They jumped back to the ground, passed the trees through the forest, and slipped away, free and easy. The two boys stepped into a stream and ran swiftly to the east for nearly five li. Ahead was a mountain range extending forever into the distance. Following the mountain, the snowy forest was also extending up, higher and steeper. Instead of rmed, the two boys were delighted. They climbed up, and a short momentter they reached a dangerous cliff. Looking down, they only saw several fiery dragons flickering, shing on and off C rushing toward their location high up in the mountain. The dogs bark and the horses neigh destroyed the tranquility of the snowy forest and wild mountain range. Using the forest as a cover, the two boys looked up to examine the night sky first, looking for any trail of the falcon. Kou Zhongughed and said, That t-feathered beast must be extremely tired! It does not have any strength to fly around in the sky. Xu Ziling said, You are probably only half right. The eagle ought to be resting on its masters shoulder; when needed, it would be dispatched. Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, If I were Li Yuanji, I would have beaten the gong to recall the troops early on ande back to Changan to sleep. Under the circumstances just now, he still let us break the siege and escape, not to mention the current terrain? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Li Yuanji is eager to win and loves to render meritorious service, how could he be willing to give up? Ke Dazhi is ustomed to difficultbat environment, he cant possibly concede that easily. Unless we can leave Guanzhong, these diao xue gui [lit. hanging-boots ghost] definitely will not let us off. Feeling big headache, Kou Zhong said, What can we do to get rid of that pesky t-feathered beast? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, There is only one way, which is also the most dangerous way. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up, he said, You mean the Great River? Xu Ziling resolutely said, Only by using the water to escape will we have the hope to avoid the falcons sharp eyes. Otherwise, once we are out of the mountain forest, the eagle would immediately find us. Come on! Before the sky brightened, the two boys crossed over seven, eight hills, big and small, and reached the area at the edge of the woods, where the trees were sparse and green. Outside, as far as the eye could see, was the vast expanse of snowy in. ording to Kou Zhongs estimate, if they turned north, they would reach the Yellow River by that afternoon, but on this road, it would be difficult to conceal their track. Under the full light of day, it would be even more difficult evade the falcons eyes. Plus they were certain that the coastal area of the Yellow River would be teeming with the enemys massive military force, because it would be the most direct and most convenient path to leave Guanzhong. If they went downstream from there, in two days they would be leaving Tongguan. Although Tongguan was a natural stronghold, it was only with regard to the enemiesing from the east; if they wereing from the west, going swiftly down the river, as long as they could withstand arrows and rocks, they would be able to get through the Pass in a short moment. Xu Ziling withdrew his gaze from the sky; he spoke in low voice, Hows your condition? Kou Zhong was still looking for any trace of the eagle; he replied, My strength is much better than before! After traveling that long, I still unconsciously gasping for breath. Ling Shao has any good idea? Xu Zilingughed and said, I am azy person, I can only havezy persons idea. Do you have any confidence that you will be able to rely on inner breathing and close your qi to hide inside the snow for one or two sichen? After the enemy leave, we can sleep to our hearts content, and then proceed after dark to go to the Great River. Thats all I can think of as well, Kou Zhong said, In here, or on the outside? Xu Ziling said, Under here perhaps the tree roots are intertwining. Come! The two spotted an area about a dozen zhang outside the forest with an especially thick snow between two small hills. Unleashing their treading on the snow without leaving a trace skill, they shed over as fast as lightning, and then lying t on the snow. After making sure that there was no eagle in the sky, they applied their power to sink into the snow. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I still remember that day we left Yingyang, I only wanted to have fun and sank into the snow, yet as a result we beat back Yuwen Chengdu. Kou Zhong was circting his power to force heat out to dissolve the ice and snow he was lying on. Thinking about what happened that day, he could not help emotional stirring from filling his heart. There were six of them that day; Cui Dong was killed on the spot, although Susu escaped great catastrophe, in the end she fell ill due to the distress caused by Xiang Yushan, which led her to her death. The former dust [in Buddhism: impurity contracted previously (in the sentient world)] and past events were shing by one by one in his mind. In the blink of an eye the two boys disappeared under ayer of snow. For fear of the dogs sniffing the reeking of blood on their clothes, they sank down to the depth of nearly five chi, straight to the solid ground under the snow umtion, before they stopped. It was so quiet under the snow; only their heartbeat and the sound of blood circting through their arteries were dotting this wonderful world. Actually, it was because they had no other way that they had to take this risk. If the enemy came above them, there was a great chance that they would see the traces of the melting snow. Or perhaps martial art masters of Ke Dazhis caliber would sense their presence. They applied their power to seal the pores on their whole body, so that the body heat would not be emitted outside, while also to prevent the cold air from invading inside. The breathing from the mouth and nose was cutoff, the inner breathing was circting endlessly, and they were entering the fetal breathing state. The two boys mind was in a haze; it was as if they were returning to some kind of inborn realm like being back inside their mothers womb as a fetus. It was an unprecedented feeling. Suddenly a loud noise brought them back to their senses. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong focused their power into their ears. Immediately the voices became clear. Ke Dazhis voice said, They are running away toward the snowy in west of the Pass; Kana must be able to find them. Mei Xuns voice said, How can there be not the least bit of trace on the snow? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong shivered greatly. They had just hid themselves in the snow, and the enemy already pursued them here. Evidently there must be an expert in following a trail within the enemy ranks, so that all along they were following behind the two boys without losing their track. Listening to the tone of their voice, there was no doubt that the expert must be Ke Dazhi. Even stranger yet, they were under five chi of snow, yet they were still able to hear the enemys conversation, which happened on the ground, more than a dozen zhang away C very clearly. Gnashing his teeth, Li Yuanji said, These two kids are crafty with a hundred changes, luckily we have Dazhi leading the way; otherwise, I am afraid we already lost their track early on. Letting out a cold snort, Ke Dazhi said, To escape my, Ke Dazhis tracking, they do not have enough skill [acquired through religious practice] yet. Qiu Wensheng said, Their footprints extends straight from the mountain top to here; could it be that they are carrying out the deploying-troops-to-mislead-the-enemy tactic, to make us believe that they are running toward the snowy in, while in fact leaving from the treetops, and hence theres no footprint on the snow? Mei Xun agreed; he said, Qiu Dangjias [chief] question is not without reason. Ke Dazhi said, Not leaving any footprints on the snow, if it is for a short distance, we can do it as well. Huh? Unexpectedly Kana cannot find them. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling realized that Kana was the falcons name. Even Li Yuanjiis confidence was swayed; he said, We must not be fooled by those two kids. Ke Dazhi spoke with determination, I dare say they are running away to the snowy in. Otherwise, the smell of blood cant possibly disappear here. Even if they left from the treetop, they would certainly leave the scent. Only by rushing to the snowy in will the reek of blood gradually dissipating in the direction of the snowy in. Under theyer of snow, hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air. Perhaps Ke Dazhis nose was more formidable than the dogs. The sound of footsteps was rushing in as arge number of enemies, who were falling behind C finally caught up. You go into the forest and search everywhere, Li Yuanji ordered. The footsteps scattered. And then there were footsteps approaching from afar; evidently Li Yuanji and the others were leaving the forest and came to this ce. Other than praying to God and worshipping Buddha, the two boys could not do anything. Li Yuanji said, This ce is open as far as the eye can see; unless they bury themselves in the snow, where can they hide? Ke Dazhi said, Since they can go into the water withouting out, naturally they have the ability to close their breathing for a long time. It is extremely possible that they are hiding under the snow. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. This time they definitely brought the disaster upon themselves. Their inner breathing was extremely taxing to the real energy; if the enemy was guarding above, their only choice was to rush out to the ground earlier and fight to the death with the enemy. Mei Xun said, People who train qigong from internal school are able to prolong their qi inside the meridians. Closing qi while doing nothing for a quarter hour definitely wont be a problem, much less it was in the middle of a snowstorm, visibility was very low. If they dived underwater, they could exploit the situation at the Yong An Canal toe to the surface at any time to take a breath. But if they buried themselves in the snow, no matter how profound their power is, holding up for half a sichen is already extremely remarkable. Qiu Wensheng also said, I hear that martial art masters who are proficient in water skill can breathe through the pores on their skin; therefore, they are able to stay underwater for a long time. Perhaps those two kids are proficient in this technique. Mei Xun said, Not that Xiaodi want to sing on the same stage as Ke Xiong, but I am afraid we just sit and waste a good opportunity; we are painstakingly searching in here, but they already calmly run away outside the Pass. Ke Dazhi sighed and said, Dazhi is only expressing my opinion! Naturally it would be up to Qi Wang to decide. Li Yuanji resolutely said, We will divide our troops into two groups. Dazhi will lead one team to stay here and wait for one sichen; if you cant find them, then well link up again. If I were they, I would hide in the mountain forest, waiting for dark. Ay! Its snowing again! Under theyer of snow, the two boys heaved a sigh of relief. First of all, they really could not hold up for one sichen; secondly, the snow would eliminate the barely-remaining traces on the ground, so that they could hide without any worries. Two snow heads appeared from within the snow. The heaven and earth werepletely filled with boundless floating snow. Kou Zhong greedily took two deep breaths, turned to Xu Ziling, and said, Now what do we do? Xu Ziling looked like a snowman. Looking up to the sky, he said, Do you think when we are looking like we are right now, would Kana recognize us from high in the sky? Kou Zhong replied, As long as you dont look up to the sky, divine eagles wont be able to see you. Are we going to wait for the night like this? Xu Ziling said, My gut feeling is that Ke Dazhi is definitely not someone who would easily give up his conviction. Therefore, he would pretend to be leaving, while in fact he is still waiting nearby, to see if we would show ourselves. Kou Zhong turned his gaze in the direction of the mountain forest, which had just hidden from sight by a newly formed snow umtion. If Ke Dazhi was hiding inside the forest, quite likely he would not be able to see them. But if they climb up to the ground, they might immediately expose their whereabouts. Kou Zhong said, Your intuition cant be wrong. Ke Dazhi is indeed that kind of person. Just now the danger wasing really close to us. Were it not for Mei Xun wanted to share the limelight with Ke Dazhi, arge number of men would defend their property to the death in here, everything would definitely bode ill, with no positive signs for us. Snowkes were constantly falling on their head; all around them the snow umtion was slowly rising. Kou Zhongughed and said, I have a daring idea. How about we jump out just like that, to lure that kid to pursue us. Our legs are faster, so that after we throw off the rest of his men, we turn around and kill that kid. Without Ke Dazhi, our chance of leaving sessfully will increase considerably. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, How can killing that Ke kid be as effortless and easy as you said? Worst thing is that if they found out about our great method of closing the qi, then the gains would not make up for the losses. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, What do we do then? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Right now the enemies are tired of constantly running for their life, their mind is confused their heart anxious, while we are actually calmly holding up our movements. It would be better to preserve and nurture our spirit well, to restore our exhausted true energy. And then when the sky turns dark, that will be our world! Kou Zhong cheerfully said, I have a better idea. Just now our training was only halfway before we were interrupted by those people. While we dont have anything else to do now, how about we continue? Xu Ziling jumped in fright, You still dare to try? he asked. Sneering, Kou Zhong replied, Why not? The heretical qi of the Relics has been given as a present to those bunch of idiots, only the orthodox qi remains. Plus this time we already take precautions against it, nothing can go wrong. Under the snow, Xu Zilings hands were holding Kou Zhongs hands firmly; a powerful confidence welled up in his heart, he said, We will take a gradual approach; if something does not feel proper, well stop immediately. Kou Zhong slowly transmitted his true qi out; heughed and said, Dont worry! Whether its a dragon or a snake, well see soon. Even Kou Zhong did not realize that his casual remark, which he meant as a joke, was actually the real situation. The reason they were able to be the top grandmaster of martial art study without equal throughout the world in their generationter on C was precisely due to this training in the snow, where theypletely stabilized the Relics primordial essence, and transformed it into their own primordial essence, so that in the future they were able to make breakthrough after breakthrough, climbing to the top of the martial art world. Book 36 - 9 – A Promise Worth One Thousand In Gold At the beginning, it was only the niwan, one acupoint C that continuously throbbing, but then the tianling acupoint and the left and right yongquan acupoints on the bottom of the two feet followed. At once the two boys felt their entire body itch, their four limbs went numb. This kind of feeling was ufortable beyond description; fortunately their bodies were hidden inside the snow, so that the ice-cold snow lessen their suffering somewhat. Otherwise, it would be strange indeed if they did not separate and give up. This moment, naturally they could not break the snow ande out even more, and were forced to endure the pain and defend their property to the death. The true qi inside their body was continuously circting, going back and forth endlessly. Very soon all the acupoints on their whole body were throbbing at the same time. It was the two boys good fortune that they were smart; they let the yin and yang primordial qi to go up and down, rising and lowering. The innate true qi pierced through the top of their head and bored into their feet, while they maintained their tranquility as if they were dead,pletelycking any anxiety. The most amazing thing was that because previously the two boys were buried inside the snow, their true qi had reached the level of dried up oilmp; this moment, as they went through this process, it was just like after severe winter, the spring was returning to the earth, the dried-up stream was flowing again into the river, the dead grass and trees happily came back to life. The primordial essence fusion was originally a long process; inside the snowy forest before, they unintentionally released the primordial essence, which was barely enough to stabilize it. But now they really transformed the primordial essence into the primordial qi, and bring it into all acupoints, big and small, to take it for their own. Even more amazing was that the snow surrounding their bodies was forming a sealed up snow cavity, so that the primordial qi was contained inside and would not leak outside; as a result, the two boys were enjoying an even bigger benefit. As Kou Zhongs true qi was growing cold rapidly, Xu Zilings true qi was also growing hot rapidly; one yin, one yang, blending with each other, yet to the two boys, it was a natural course, they let it circte at its own pace, neither urging it nor slowing it down, neither helping it nor neglecting it. Using the training method they learned from the Secret to Long Life, they applied the empty-but-not-actually-empty, solitary-but-not-actually-solitary, the divine qi fusing together to be one entity, vague and indistinct as if they were returning to the Great Emptiness realm before Pan Gu [creator of the universe in Chinese mythology] started the creation. It deeply matched the Taoist Schools realm of the fire in the stove is forced, the White Tiger [the seven mansions of the west sky] remained still in the whole spirit, the water in the three-legged cauldron is melting, the Azure Dragon [the seven mansions of the west sky] is swimming out of the abyss [sorry, its beyond me]. Together the wind and the fire in the stove, the water and warm weather, formed the red clouds. The heavy snow was falling continuously, covering the two boys head. Outside breathing automatically reversed back into inner breathing. Not only there were no wear and tear to the true energy, the flow of the true qi inside the body was circting even more vigorously. All of a sudden strange visions, demonic images appeared in their mind, but the two boys heart and mind were firm and persistent, they refused to acknowledge it just the same, guarding their lingtai steady, continuing toward the progress of the martial art way. Nobody knew how much time has passed, the two suddenly woke up. All the acupoints on their body stopped together, their meridians swelled to the point of about to snap. The two automatically broke the snow and leaped out above the ground, before falling down heavily. Bang! The two boys true qi shed fiercely against each other, and thus it reversed direction outward, smashing the ground so that snow powder swirling up, filling the whole sky, creating a magnificent spectacle. It was only this moment that they remembered that perhaps the enemy was watching from the side. Overwhelmed with shock, they sprang up, the pain from the swelling meridians disappeared without any trace, their body feltfortable, rxed, and peaceful; they felt unspeakably restful. The heavy snow finally stopped. Above the snowy in, the sky was grey and hazy. The two came over toward each other. Together they looked far and near; the snowy in was deste and empty, the mountain forest was void and silent, there was no shadow of the enemys falcon. Why is it still daytime? Kou Zhong said in horror. Xu Ziling understood what he meant. The two had been training for quite a long time. Now, even if it was not veryte at night, at least it should be dusk. Although they could not see the sun, they could feel that the sun was still in the middle of the sky, behind the ck cloud. It did not make any sense. Frowning, he pondered over, and then said, Hows you tummy feeling? Kou Zhong subconsciously rubbed his stomach and said, Originally it was full of qi, but now that you mention it, suddenly my stomach is rumbling with hunger; I just want to eat a big meal. And then, shocked, he blurted out, Are you saying that we spent one day and one night in the snow, and that now it is noon the next day? Xu Ziling said, Even if we have been going three, four days without a single grain of rice entering our belly, we cant possibly be so hungry like this moment. On the third of the New Year we ate until our belly was full, our intestine was fat. On the fourth, early morning, we escaped out of Changan. On the fifth, by sunrise, we came to this ce. Today could be the seventh or the eighth. Do you think my deduction makes sense? Dumbstruck, Kou Zhong said, If thats the case, then there must be something wonderful is happening to us, two brothers. Do you also feel like your power is advancing for several years? Xu Ziling unleashed his skill of looking inside himself; sneering, he said, How can there be such thing in the world? However, whatever it is that we get from the Demonic Emperor Relics indeed brought us up a level; we are making a major breakthrough. The cirction of the true qi inside our body is greatly different from the past, but definitely not suddenly advancing for several years. Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well, rapid and fast beyond humanprehension he swiftly hacked three times; each saber force was identical, but the speed was faster than the previous one. The execution was what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes; delightful, flowing smoothly, and beautiful. Watching this, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck; he spoke in disbelief, Whats going on here? Kou Zhong stood with the saber across his chest;ughing aloud, he said, If this is not great advancement in power, then what is it? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I am not talking about sharp increase in your power, but the way you moved the heavy saber as if it was light, with easy and understated bearing;pared to your previous fierce, overbearing and ruthless saber technique, it has apletely different vor. Kou Zhong was stunned. You are right, he said, The fact is that I did not feel my power is making any progress, but the cirction of the true qi inside the body is certainly free and unobstructed, following my hearts desire. Come! Lets y a couple of moves to see how formidable your being and nothing way really is. Before he even finished, Xu Zilings childish heart greatly aroused, he shed toward Kou Zhongs right side like a ghost. Copying Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa, he struck Kou Zhong with his elbow, but the real killer move was the kick down below. Kou Zhong suddenly shed across and swept his saber to chop, whileughing heartily and said, You think I would fall into your kicking trick? Xu Ziling extended his thumb to hit right in the middle of Kou Zhongs de. Qi power made contact with each other; neither one expected it, but both of them staggered back. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling said, How did you know I was going to kick? Stunned, Kou Zhong stopped. Scratching his head, he said, You are right. That was purelying from some kind of inexplicable intuition. My Niang, this time our breakthrough is certainly no small matter. I want to look for Wan Yaonu or Ke Dazhi to test my saber. Watch the fist! Xu Ziling shouted, and sent out a punch. Kou Zhong could see that this punch was without the slightest qi power. Heughed and cursed, Are you thinking of using that pain-in-the-butt Treasure Vase Qi to trick Laozi? Ha! Huh? The fist power was no longer like a highly concentrated ball, but like a wall pressing down straight at him. Kou Zhong felt that he could not block this attack, simply because he did not know where to chop; without any choice, he shed away to evade. Xu Ziling pulled his fist back and said with augh, This is the Treasure Vase Qi being transformed into Treasure Wall Qi, I learned it from Shi Zhixuan who personally tutored me on the spot. The Secret to Long Lifeid the foundation for us, the Jade Annulus of He n transformed our meridians, and the Demonic Emperor Relics substantially improved the effectiveness of our acupoints. As a result, we can reach this kind of ying-with-the-true-qi-with-divine-transformation level. Returning the saber into its scabbard, Kou Zhong stretched out his muscles and bones, and said, The general saying is washing the muscle, cleansing the marrow, shedding ones mortal body and exchanging ones bones. This will be greatly beneficial to our escape back to Pengliang. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Supposing that we really spent two, three days in the snow, the enemy surely lost our track; they might think that we have reached Tongguan or going to that direction. In that case, we will follow our original n to go to the Yellow River and see if there is any convenient boat that we can take! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Convenient boat is definitely not convenient. I dont know how difficult it is to get one. Qiang! He pulled the Moon in the Well again and said, My hand is terribly itching; how about we travel and fight at the same time? Xu Ziling floated backward;ughing aloud, he said, Bring it on! You think I am scared of you? Kou Zhongs person following his saber, it turned into a yellow rainbow, chasing to kill Xu Ziling. The two boys, you-chase-me-I-follow-you,pletely without any misgivings, exchanged blows on the snowy in. Not only these two were on par in term of power, but due to their different characters and preferences, as well as different luck in life, each one developed martial art skill that was of entirely different style from the other. The simrity was both were geniuses and outstanding wonder-talents in the martial art study. Therefore, as they were having a free hand in practice like this, they did not need to worry about error and negligence, holes and ws; each one was exquisite, bright, brilliant and varied, both sides enjoyed great benefits. They fused and thread together everything that they had learned thesest few days. The most important thing was that they deeply felt, as well as experienced C that currently they had reached the next level of attainment. This was precisely the biggest advantage that the two boys were able to make breakthroughs time and again. If it were Ning Daoqi, Shi Zhixuan, Zhu Yuyan, or the like, people who turned up their noses on the crowd, where could they find the opponents? Therefore, they could only think hard and grope about alone, they did not have the convenience like these two boys, blessed-by-the-Heaven, in that they have a partner in their research. Just like when they were buried inside the snow a moment ago, theypletely forgot self in their practice; the more they fought, the faster they moved, totally uninhibited. Kou Zhong repeatedly used the full set of his Eight Methods of the Well: No Attack, Striking Strange, Using Scheme, Cheating Troops, Chess Abundant, Battle Decision, Rapid Battle, and Perimeter [Trantors note: I realize thest one is different, but its what the text says]. Every time heunched a new round, he gained new insight, different changes. Since hisprehension of the Eight Methods that he gained from the Heavenly Saber Song Que, it was only here and now that the maturity was starting to take shape. Xu Ziling has been sessful in merging-without-leaving-any-trail the Nine-Character Incantation Image Method into his every movement. The changes were multifarious, it appeared more like a heavenly steed soaring across the skies [idiom: unconstrained in style]; each break [in sequence] did not leave any traces. Merely from this difference in style one could differentiate the two boys characters. Kou Zhongs saber technique was brimming with entering-the-world vor. Just like when two armies were facing off against each other, the emphasis was in battle array, military strategy and tactics, and showing off ones ability. Xu Ziling was full of Buddhist and Taoist withdrawing-from-worldly-affairs Dhyana vor, like being yet nothing, clumsiness in the middle of skillfulness, genuine conveyance in the middle of ordinary, the wonderful charm quite like seeing mountain but not actually a mountain, seeing a river but not exactly a river. Their heroic excitement ring out greatly, the two no longer remembered that they need to go to the Yellow River, so they fought and fought, paused and paused, and only when the sun was on the Dong Shan [lit. east mountain (yes, its east, not sure if it was a typo, or the name of a mountain)] that they stopped because their strength was exhausted, the two boys dropped on their butts on the snowy ground, they both sensed an unprecedented carefree, joyful feeling. Kou Zhongughed and said, Hypothetically speaking, if one day we, two brothers C must fight a life and death decisive battle, can Ling Shao guess what the oue will be? Gasping for breath, Xu Ziling said, You are talking nonsense again. But guessing game is also interesting; what do you think? Smiling, Kou Zhong said, It is definitely a match where both sides suffer. Do you think there will be any other oue? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, It should be that I suffer defeat and get killed. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, How could you have this unexpected idea? I really dont have the slightest amount of either the assurance or the confidence to defeat you. Xu Ziling analyzed, If we really have to fight a life and death decisive battle, then naturally we have be enemies, as ipatible as fire and water. Dont forget that you have your Shao Shuai Army, the martial art masters under yourmand are as numerous as the cloud. No matter how I mingle around, I am still one who has chosen to follow a solitary path. If I looked for you for a decisive battle, if that is not tantamount to me throwing away my life, then what is it? Kou Zhong solemnly said, Lets not talk about that this situation will never happen, even if it did happen, you wanted to kill me, it would be a matter between us, brothers; it has nothing to do with other people. Ha! The more we talk, the farther away we are from the original subject! Suddenly there was a burst of wolves howling from the distance. The two boys sprang up and rushed toward the sound. Soon they reached a small hill. The scene before their eyes was one that they could not bear to see. A wild deer was surrounded by five or six hungry wolves, its throat was bitten by the most thick and solid among the wolves, which refused to let it go. The other wolves were biting wildly at its body and legs, but the deer was still struggling not to copse; it was still fighting with all its remaining strength to survive. Kou Zhongs hand went toward the Moon in the Well on his back, he was about to rush downhill to ughter the wolves, but Xu Ziling pulled him back and said, The deers done for. You are rescuing it would only prolong its suffering for a bit longer. Kou Zhong turned his face away; he sighed in pain, but did not say anything. The wild deer finally copsed. The unbearable sound of the wolves teeth devouring their victims ensued. The two boys retreated far away and sat down dejectedly. The cold wind brushed their eyelids. Kou Zhong emotionally said, Beasts in the natural world are just like that, they all struggle for survival. The deer eat grass; the wolves eat them. Its really hard to say whos right and whos wrong. Without any better option I can only me Laotianye for His arrangement; its just that watching it made me extremely uneasy. Xu Ziling said, This is called the weak are prey to the strong; isnt the same also happening between humans? Its just that the outer appearance has even more countless changes, the reasons are even moreplicated, the scale is much bigger. Take Bai Qi [(-258 BC), famous general of Qin], Xiang Yu [the Conqueror (232-202 BC), warlord defeated by first Han emperor], and the likes from antiquity; they would bury the entire bunch of generals alive at the slightest pretext, isnt that even more cruel? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, I will never do such thing. I know that you cant possibly be that cruel, Xu Ziling replied, But I want to ask you a question. Surprised, Kou Zhong said, Whats the question? Xu Ziling said, We saw a deer being ughtered and devoured by a pack of wolves, and we felt grieved and disturbed by it. But why is it that we step on an ant and kill it yet we arepletely indifferent? Both lost their lives tragically, essentially there is no difference. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, That is ... hey! An ant and a deer are not the same. The deers death was just too tragic! It was being eaten up alive. Xu Ziling sighed and said, The difference is precisely this kind of substitution feeling. Compared to the tiny ant, the deer is closer and more simr to us. Our familiarity and understanding of the deer in a lot of ces are much higher than toward the ant. Seeing the deer being bitten on the throat, we might remember the dreadful state if our throat is being bitten. This kind of as-if-it-had-happened-to-oneself feeling is precisely the source ofpassion. If the one being eaten by a pack of wolves is us, the feeling will be even more profound, because we canpletely put ourselves in their ce, so much so that from the facial expression of the victim, we could see the pain and dread before his death. Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air; he said, Stop talking about it! Its too horrible. Xu Ziling said, I just want to remind you, war is the most horrible thing in the world. Not only there is nopassion, there is no Heavensw even more. Father and son, brothers can mutually destroy and harm each other. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, It wasnt something that I, Kou Zhong, invented. Since the history began, war has never stopped. Just try telling that to Xieli, see how will he react? I am not ming you, Xu Ziling replied, I just hope that you will remember the secret inclination that has just appeared in your heart, so that in it you will have proper measure for the future. Kou Zhong nodded and decisively said, Thank you very much, Xiongdi, for your reminder. I, Kou Zhong, will engrave it in my memory and will not disappoint you. The sky turned dark. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and said, We have lost a lot of time; we must hurry on at double speed to meet up with Zhandao and the others. The two gathered up their thoughts and rushed toward the Yellow River at full speed. Under the new moon, the stream of the Great River was surging forward to the east. Over the surface of the river, which spanned several dozen -zhang wide, both banks were dark and quiet without any sign of either boat or people. The snow extended as far as the eye could see. The two boys crouched in the shadow of a rocky beach, they were both greatly puzzled. Kou Zhong said, We have been waiting for more than half a sichen, unexpectedly we dont see even half of a convenient boat; could it be that boats no longer travel during the night? Xu Ziling said, This kind of situation would only happen if the river is sealed off. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Isnt that making a big fuss over a minor issue? Unexpectedly for our, two kids sake, they cutoff the Great River transportation? How much loss will one day bring? Xu Ziling could not answer his question. You have another exnation? he asked. Kou Zhong stared in the direction the river water was rushing; he shook his head and said, I dont. But I wonder if Li Yuanji has this kind of power. The most convenient way to go out the Pass is naturally via the waterway, but we could also climb the mountain and over the mountain range; therefore, even if Li Yuanji dared to seal off the river, there is still no assurance that he would be able to catch up with us. He should not be this foolish. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, You are right. Li Yuanji cant possibly have the authority to do this. There must be some other reasons that we cannot guess right now. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, If today is the seventh of the first month, Yang WenGans conspiracy to restore the old dynasty ought to bepleted early on; could it be that Li Yuan and Li kid really met bad luck and were getting ughtered? Xu Ziling crossly said, If the victor was Yang WenGan, then right now the river would be crowded to bursting point with boats and people fleeing from danger. The reason that the opposite is true, currently there is no boat on the river C is precisely a clear sign that the Li ns regime is stable. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Yang WenGan is really not Li kids match. Shi Zhixuan has no time to mind other peoples business. If he cant kill Zhou Laotan, he must find a hiding ce more than a hundred li away, to avoid peopleing to look for trouble. My Niang! Whats going on here? Xu Ziling said, I hope it is only the Li n prohibiting night travel, so that tomorrow we can catch a convenient boat. Putting his hands behind his head, Kou Zhong said, I hope you are right. Climbing the mountain and over the mountain range will take us several days and several nights to get out of Guanzhong, which means troubling themander in a long journey, which is also a big taboo in the military strategy. Suddenly shaken, Xu Ziling said, A boatsing! Kou Zhong turned his gaze westward. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, he said, My Niang! There are so many boats! More than a dozen big three-mast ships were sailing speedily downstream from the direction of Changan. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling drew a mouthful of cold air before saying, Look clearly, they all are the House of Tangs warships. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he said, Are they sending the main army to encircle and annihte us? There were a total of seventeen giant warships sailing past in front of them, all were ckntern-dark-fire, giving out a mysterious, sneaky impression. There were no soldiers visible on the deck, there was nobody watching both sides of the river either. The ships were loaded with piles of things and stacks of stuffs covered in oilcloth. When the giant ships had sailed far away, Kou Zhongs expression turned extremely grave; he spoke in heavy voice, Ling Shao, do you know whats going on? Xu Ziling replied, The Li n has put Yang WenGan in order; perhaps Li Shimin has now be the Crown Prince. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This is called heroes usually agree. Those bunch of warships are very deep in the water, they must be heavily loaded with grains and military supplies. Ay! This move of Li Kid is certainly brilliant; he is using our arrival as a cover, while his actual target is to attack Luoyang. Xu Ziling nodded his agreement. It should be noted that all along Li Shimin has been determined to attack Luoyang and to use it as the foundation to advance eastward; however, due to the internal power struggle within the Li n, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and the others were afraid that after going out of the Pass anding back, his power would increase greatly, he would be uncontroble, so much so that he might dere his independence to be the emperor; therefore, all along they did everything they could to block his military expedition to the east. After Yang WenGans plot to restore the old regime was foiled, Jiancheng and Yuanji would definitely be implicated, Li Shimins power returned to be flourishing. As long as Li Yuan gave him a nod, no one would be able to stop his grand n of advancing to the east, which he had been nning for years. Before their eyes now was the irond fact. Before the three armies [(in former times) upper, middle and lower army] were deployed, the army provisions must be shipped first. Thereupon Li Shimin used the hunt and search for the two boys as a pretext to banned night travel, while actually he secretly transported army provisions and siege equipment out of Guanzhong, and thusmencing the military operation to attack Luoyang. If Luoyang fell, even if Kou Zhong brought the entire Duke Yangs Treasure back to Pengliang, it would only be a superfluous action [orig. doing more than is required]. Besides, Li Shimin was convinced that Kou Zhong did not obtain the Duke Yangs Treasure. Li Shimin ordered Li Shiji to return to outside the Pass; he must intercept Kou Zhongs troops transporting the treasure at all cost. Instead, he saw the situation clearly, and immediately crushed the internal troubles. Right away he seized the opportunity to attack Luoyang. There was only one person under the heavens, Li Shimin, who had such positive outlook and aspiration. Jiancheng and Yuanji would definitely lose their power. Guannei [inside the Pass] was Li Shimins world. If there was anybodying to deal with them, he must be Li Shimins man. Kou Zhong contemted silently for half a day. He sighed and said, After getting out of the Pass, we must split up! Xu Ziling nodded and said, I will meet up with Zhandao and the others, and deliver the treasures back to Pengliang for you. You must be more careful as well, striking a business deal with Wang Shichong is akin to having a discussion with the tiger while scheming to peel its skin. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, This is called one wrong word, and the whole game is lost [original idiom: one careless move and the whole game is lost]. Li kid is definitely my, Kou Zhongs most terrifying enemy. After delivering the treasure back to Pengliang, could you, Ling Shao, go to Luoyang to see Xiaodi? It will probably be thest time. The most formidable part of Li Shimins grand n was that he would not let Kou Zhong have either the time or the opportunity to establish and develop Shao Shuai Army. Xu Ziling nodded and gave him his promise. He asked, Do you have any message you want me to tell Xingzhi, Changlin, and the others? Kou Zhong suddenly stood up and spoke with determination, Tell them, if I, Kou Zhong, am unfortunate and die in battle at Luoyang, they must immediately disband the Shao Shuai Army. If they do not want to surrender to Li kid, just tell them to flee to Lingnan. Song Que will definitely look up at me and take them under his wings. The surging water continuously flowed eastward, representing the prestige of the Li Familys army, which was sweeping away toward the east. Book 36 - 10 – The Fish on the Empty String Ding! After clinking their cups, the two boys drained the wine in one gulp, and immediately turned their attention to the sumptuous vegetable and meat dishes on the table to cure their nearly-breaking-down-from-hunger belly. This ce was a restaurant in the city of Taolin, on the southern bank of the Great River, outside the Pass. Only after reaching this ce did they find out that tonight was unexpectedly the tenth of the first month, so that after quick calction, the two boys realized that they had spent at least three days and three nights training in the snow. Although the fact was like a mountain, the two still found it a little hard to believe. Anyway, the three-day dy had enabled them to evade the enemys hunt-and-arrest operation. Anybody would mistakenly think that they had escaped out of Guanzhong. Thereupon the two boys relied on their consummate skill of closing their qi under water and attached themselves to the bottom of one of the warships going out of the Pass; without any surprise, without any risk, they escaped to the sky, and went ashore after Tongguan, and headed straight toward Taolin. Officially, Taolin belonged to the House of Tang, but it was still under control of local gangs and societies; there was no defense, as long as they were willing to pay the illegal toll, no traveling merchants would be barred from getting in and out of the city. Kou Zhong poured a cup for Xu Ziling, and said with augh, After we part tonight, I dont know whether we, two brothers, still have a day where we can see each other again. Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart tightened. Knitting his brows, he said, Why are you sock in confidence this time? It differs greatly from the past. Apart from them, there were only two other tables with diners in the restaurant; it was quite cold and cheerless. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear. You ought to understand it better than I do. I am still haggling over every ounce in transporting the treasure, in running away for my life, those kind of small matters, while Li kid already moved his [gambling] chip and tent curtain, deploying his entirebat force concerning the worlds prosperity and decline. Compared to him, I am like a small brook to the vast body of water. You are rarely this modest, Xu Zilingmented. The refined light in Kou Zhong pair of eyes ring greatly, he put down the wine pot, and stared fixedly at the rippling liquor in the cup. This is called knowing oneself, he spoke heavily, Starting today, I am going to have frontal confrontation against Li kid. I must make correct assessment of him. Turning his gaze toward Xu Ziling, he said, Can you guess how many days will Li kid need to start the invasion to the east? Xu Ziling replied, For now, lets not make unnecessary guess about that. Have you forgotten about the Tujue? Zhao Deyan is definitely not interested in Yang WenGans restoring the past regime, yet he was still willing to participate, naturally it was for the Tujue peoples benefit. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Are you saying that Xieli mightunchrge scale invasion to the south? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Unless there is no other way, Xieli would not toil his army on long distance military expedition to prate the Central ins. He has so many ws and teeth [i.e. henchmen], the best way would be to kill with borrowed knife, by provoking us, Han people, to massacre each other first, and then when everybody are defeated and wounded, he would reap the fishermans benefit. Kou Zhong nodded and said, You are right. Smart ones use words, stupid ones use hands. The stupid ones should be Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang. If Li Yuan and Li kid were killed, Xieli would fish in troubled water, and would reap great benefit at the others expense. Xu Ziling said, Li Shimin precisely saw through this situation; hence the reason he ordered Li Shiji to immediately deploy his troops outside the Pass. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Could it be that contrary to expectation, Li Shimins deployment is not targeted at Luoyang? Xu Zilingughed and said, This is called you are so anxious that you are confused. Li Shimins target is still Luoyang, but presently the Li n potentially will be the target of a multitude of arrows. Any operation involving the mobilization of his entire body might provoke the concern of, as well as the attack from, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, and Wang Shichong, three powers. Also, only these three powers have enough strength to fight them east of the Pass. In the south, because our Old Die has surrendered to the House of Tang, Xiao Xian, Li Zitong, and the others are under pressure that they cannot move a single step. Under this kind of favorable situation, if Li Shimin did not spread out his fists and feet wide, when is he going to do that? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, It looks like you are more fitted and morepetent to be the Shao Shuai than me. Lets talk less nonsense, Xu Ziling brushed him off, I just want to remind you, from the beginning, it is difficult for Wang Shichong to be a very capable person. You still want to help him defending Luoyang? Kou Zhong sighed and said, If I had a choice, why would I want to speak half a word more to that old fox? The only other choice was to give up his fight over the world. Xu Ziling raised his wine cup and said with a smile, With effort, one can achieve anything. This time Li Shimins military expedition to the east is quite risky. Xiongdi! Later on Ill look for you in Luoyang to drink some wine! Kou Zhongs heroic spirit welling up, heughed heartily and raised his cup and clinked it against Xu Zilings. Seeing him raising his cup and drinking it until not a drop remained, Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Suddenly I am brimming with fighting spirit again. Real man is buried inside a horses hide; as long as I can pursue my dream without a moments hesitation, although I die, there will be no regret! Raising his cup, he drank it dry. Xu Ziling parted ways with Kou Zhong outside the city of Taolin. He rushed toward Hongnong that very same night. Hongnong was the ce he and Gao Zhandao agreed to meet. Because of his rtionship with Lei Jiuzhi, the Gang Leader of Hongnong Bang Chen Shi could be considered on his side as well. With such a big gang supporting him east of the Pass, naturally there would be a lot of conveniences. They already made meticulous n. The treasure was hidden outside the city; nothing would be brought inside. Gao Zhandao would contact Chen Shi first, to see whether he would be willing to help, before they proceed to the next step. He barely entered Taolin, when Xu Ziling immediately got a feeling of being followed. Based on his foots strength and speed, unless it was female demon Wan, Yang Xuyan, or martial art masters of their level, he would be able to throw them off easily. However, this moment he felt that the person watching him was located at the high elevation at the top of the hill, and no one was following behind him. This situation clearly showed that it was along the way to Taolin that the enemy discovered their track. Thereupon they setup inescapable so that as soon as they got a grasp of the route he was going to take, they would besiege him en route and put him to death. Immediately he determined that the opposite side must be from the Heavenly Policy Mansion. The logic was very simple: because nobody could guess that he and Kou Zhong might part ways [orig. to take different roads and urge the horses on (idiom)] outside the city of Taolin. Currently theirbined power was naturally enough to deal with Li ns people. However, if one is divided into two, it would be another matter altogether. If it were Li Yuanjis men, then they would definitely choose Kou Zhong instead of Xu Ziling. Only the Heavenly Policy Mansion would pick him to be dealt with. Because they knew that San Ren Ning Daoqi would personally wait upon Kou Zhong. He nearly wanted to turn around and run after Kou Zhong, but immediately gave up the idea. With the strength of Kou Zhongs legs, plus he was hurrying on at full speed, catching up with him was practically an impossibility. The only thing he could do was suppressing the burning anxiety in his heart, hoping that since Kou Zhongs martial art skill has progressed greatly, he would be able to avoid this cmity. Xu Ziling suddenly avoided the official road and rushed into a dense forest by the road. This move would definitely mess up the enemys troop disposition and would reveal their trail. Kou Zhong was rushing at full speed along the river. Ten-thousand-fathom heroic emotion welled up in his heart. To be able topete against Li Shimin, the most excelling-themon [idiom], outstanding figure of the Li n, which inspired awe throughout the empire, in the hunting of the deer in the Central in [fig. to attempt to seize the throne (see also Chapter 1 of Jin Yongs Deer and Cauldron)] C was indeed the delight in life. Since leaving Yangzhou, he and Xu Ziling have always been on the run, they grew to maturity in challenges and in tempering themselves. Yetid out in front of their eyes was the most severe situation since their debut. Would the never-been-defeated Li Shimin, in his attack against Luoyang, a world-ss strategic town C suffer big loss? The crescent moon was hanging high in the sky. Gusts of strong, extremely cold wind were rolling in from the other side of the river, blowing on him that he felt as if he was riding the wind. With his current speed, he could forget about reaching Luoyang in less than three, four days. The fastest and most convenient way was naturally taking a boat. Its just too bad that on the boundless Great River, unexpectedly there was not any boating or going. It must be because Li Shimin was amassing his main forces outside the Pass that all water traffic toward Luoyang was cutoff. After rounding a bend, Kou Zhong came to the top of a high cliff. Under the hazy light of the moon, the majestic, vast and mighty Great River was rolling on from the west, flowing toward the distant east. The atmosphere was multifarious, making people gasping in amazement. Kou Zhong could not help stopping his steps. On both sides of the river the forest met the hill, the mountain was connected to the ridges, extending forever to all directions; the earth was boundless. Throughout the ages, how many heroes and towering figures had been pursuing bloody battle on this beautifulnd, to decide who would be the emperor? Today, he, Kou Zhong, would join their ranks. It was the only way to make his life worth living. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around, his heart was surging. Suddenly he discovered that far away downstream, there was a small fishing boat by the shore. Greatly delighted, he hastily rushed toward his target. Xu Ziling was hiding on a high ce in the forest. He closed up his pores, and quietly waited with rapt attention for the enemy to show themselves. If he were on the other sides shoes, he would also be confused by this strange and sudden move; he would be at a loss to know what to do. The enemy has been very careful; they only kept watch on higher elevations. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling possessed acute senses, which was different from ordinary person, and was able to react to long-distance surveince? And now the sentry would use special method to notify his leader, and then this leader would decide the next step of their operation. In this kind of wild, mountainous country, Xu Ziling was an expert in fleeing for his life; anybody knew that the pursuer would fail. Sure enough, less than the time to drink a cup of teater, there was sudden gust of wind, more than a dozen men were rushing over, along the official road from the direction of Taolin. Xu Ziling did not dare to take a peek. Since the opponent had the confidence to take care of him, naturally they were not ordinary martial art masters; any movement on his part might incite reaction from the opponent. The enemies stopped at the spot where he entered the forest just now, only about three zhang away from his hiding ce. Someone said, Xu Ziling entered the forest from here. Chai Shaos voice said with a cold snort, Good kid. Unexpectedly he knew that we are following his trail. But their separation is even more beneficial for us; it will save us some effort. Duan Zhixuans familiar voice said, Leaving person will not go to the Temple [no idea, perhaps an idiom]. I am one hundred percent sure that he is rushing to meet with Tong Xing She people. If we take fast horse to hurry on, we could catch all of them in one. Inwardly Xu Ziling shivered in fear, knowing that his guess was not incorrect. At least one of the Tong Xing She teams could not escape their surveince. His only constion was his side had already guard against this, so they were not failed and wiped over the floor yet. Now that he found this piece of information, perhaps they could still beat the enemy at their own game, by leading the enemy along a different path. Pang Yu coldly said, These twos action often exceeds all expectation. We must have all our twelve-consciousness on guard; otherwise it will be difficult to answer Qin Wang. Kou Zhong is doomed to a dismal end, if we could put Xu Ziling in order as well, then Shao Shuai Army will be a dragon without its head, it would be greatly beneficial to our mission to attack Luoyang. A gentle and reserved voice said, Shao Shuai Army is still in fledgling state, even with Kou Zhong in the helm, why worry over them? This time their treasure hunt operation failed, it can clearly be seen that our Great Tangs fortune is like a rainbow; it is not these jumping-over-the-beam clowns turn to mess it up. Lets just proceed with Pang Jiangjuns n to immediately hurry to Hongnong at full speed. With Chen Dangjia [chief] on our side, why do we have to worry that we cannot capture Xu Ziling and the rest of his clique in one? Hearing that, Xu Ziling nearly fell off the tree, simply because not even in his dream would he expect Lei Jiuzhis sworn brother unexpectedly could betray them for their own benefit. At first he only felt the speakers voice sounded very familiar, but he could not remember who it was. Only after he finished speaking that he recognized him from his elegant tone to be Wang Xing Shan [lit. forgetting-shape (folding) fan] Pei Ji, one of Li Yuans inner ministerial circle, whose status was on par with Liu Wenjing, who had deep rtionship with Li Yuan. Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, and Feng Deyi were all slightly below him. This time he came with Pang Yu and the others, the Heavenly Policy Mansion troops to deal with the two boys, it could be concluded that Li Shimin had received Li Yuans full support. His mind went back to the old affair, where they were still kids venturing from their thatched hut for the first time [idiom: young and inexperienced], after stealing Dong Ming Pais ount book, they had breakfast with Li Shimin, Pei Ji, Li Xiuning, and the others on the ship, where Chai Shao and Pei Ji did not even consider the two boys worthy in their eyes. And now they became enemies as ipatible as fire and water; how could he not sigh with sorrow? And then another familiar voice said, The matter should not be dyed. We must immediately be on our way. Surprisingly it was the Li ns top martial art master Li Shentongs voice. Xu Ziling sucked in a mouthful of cold air. Merely Li Shentong, Pei Ji, Pang Yu, Duan Zhixuan, and Chai Shao, five major martial art masters were already enough to deal with him and Kou Zhong, not to mention there were other martial art masters apanying them. Suddenly he understood that this group of men had onlye to deal with him, so that he could not support Kou Zhong. Right now, his only hope was that Kou Zhong would be able to escape through the gap of Ning Daoqis fingers. Otherwise, everything would be finished; it would be unclear whether they could even avenge this enmity. A light boat, across the surging-up billows of the Great River, about five zhang away from the shore, was bobbing up and down on top of the waves; unexpectedly it was not pushed by the current downstream. On the boat sat an old man that looked like he belonged to the intellectual ss, wearing five-strand long beard on his face, his appearance looked quaint, elegant, and simple. His clothes were oversized brocade gown; his appearing-to-be-taller-than-ordinary-people build looked even more imposing like the mountain. He was fishing with rapt attention. He had quite the impression of an elegant hermit who had been out of the dust. Seeing this, Kou Zhongs eyebrows were deeply knitted, while he groaned inwardly. Suddenly rising up, hended on the other end of the boat, and smiled at the idling-and-sitting-quietly-on-the-bow master and said, The kid Kou Zhong,ing specifically to pay my respect to you, Senior, and to wish you well. A hint of smile escaped from the corner of the San Ren Ning Daoqis, who was hailed as the number one master in the Central ins C mouth, but he was still staring with rapt attention at the string hanging down from the fishing rod in his hand. Suddenly a happy expression appeared on his face, just like a child getting a treasure, as he blurted out, Got you! The fishing rod rose up, the fish at the end of the line must weigh several dozen catty, unexpectedly the entire fishing rod was bent due to its pull. Watching this, Kou Zhong was dumbstruck, musing that how could there be such a coincidence; he had just stepped on the boat, his butts had not seated properly, and there was a big fish caught by the hook. The fishing basket next to Ning Daoqis foot was still as empty as anything [idiom]; this was obviously the first big fish that Ning Daoqi caught. But if this fish was as big as the bent fishing rod indicated, it would definitely not fit into the small fish basket. The fishing line slowly left the water. Surprisingly it was an empty string; there was not even half a hook. Aghast, Kou Zhong looked at the fishing rod, which was still bent from the pull. His entire body went numb, a chill started to rise on his back. Unexpectedly there was such a mysterious skill in the world. The fishing line was still swinging around in the air. As if he really caught a big fish, Ning Daoqis hand reached out to grab, it was as if there was a big fish struggling in his hand, which was about to escape; his hand made movements as if the fish was wet and slippery. It looked so real that even Kou Zhong started to doubt whether there was really an invisible fish getting caught on an invisible hook. Some timeter, Ning Daoqi finally released the invisible fish, the fishing rod was back to its original shape, Ning Daoqi skillfully put the fish into the fish basket, closed the lid, and only then did he turn to look at Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong has never seen this kind of pair of eyes. A pair of standing-aloof-from-worldly-affair eyes. Looking at them, it was as if he looked at another world, which had nothing to do with this dusty, vulgar world, which was as if it could be eternally kept inside a mysterious level, which also contained an enormous-without-equal power. The calm and elegant gaze appeared to be forting, sincere, even carried a little bit of childrens naivet. Combined with his quaint, elegant, and slim face, there was some kind of transcending-the-mundane-world charm. He suddenly patted the bamboo basket by his feet lightly, while revealing the satisfied smile of a fisherman catching his fish. Looking up to the heaven, he spoke softly, Look! The starry sky is so beautiful. The impossible thing in the world among the entire set of constetion bes possible. Following his example, Kou Zhong looked at the magnificent night sky, while sitting on the boat in the vast river, moving up and down with the waves. Nodding his head, he said, Tonights starry sky is indeed extraordinarily touching. Inwardly he thought that if the one looking at the sky was Xu Ziling, he would definitely point out each bright stars name, or perhaps which constetion the star belonged to. Ning Daoqis eyes were still on the starry sky, he spoke calmly but slyly, Has Shao Shuai heard the story about Wanting to use the moisture of the (mouth) [note: the original text has this word in parentheses], to moisten with spittle [idiom: sharing meager resources] is not as good as forgetting the Jianghu? Kou Zhong knew that he wanted to enlighten him [orig. magic transformation performed by Taoist immortal]; smiling wryly, he said, Please forgive this kid for being stupid and ignorant, I have never heard such a fable. Although the two of them were standing on opposite sides, but toward this most outstanding grandmaster in nearly a hundred years, he still admired him from the bottom of his heart, hence he humbly asked for enlightenment. Ning Daoqis gaze returned to him, with cultured and refined smile he said, There was a small spring that has dried up, and the fish were trapped in the dry pond; they could only blow moisture at each other, using their saliva to moisten each other. Although some of them could see the truth, but how could each of them swim randomly, free and easy in the boundless greatke? Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook. Ginger gets spicier as it gets older [idiom: the older, the wiser], let alone this supreme-without-equal, with-deep-and-wide-wisdom grandmaster of the Taoist school. Moreover, this story was the most urate portrayal of Kou Zhongs current situation; although he was not trapped in the dry spring yet, but he was not far from that state. Under the threat of the Great Tang Army, he could only moisten using the spittle with Wang Shichong and the others. Moreover, it was unfortunate that not everybody could see the truth. His eyes fell on the fish basket by Ning Daoqis feet, he spoke heavily, Qianbei went fishing, and only then you start to obtain the joy of fishing; moreover, there is actually no fish in the basket, yet it did not diminish the fun of fishing. Evidently whether you get the fish or you lose the fish, you never really care it in your heart. Since that is the case, why bother about dry or wet, gains and losses? Astonished, Ning Daoqi said, Where is the fish then? Even with Kou Zhongs imaginative power and quick thinking, as well as his eloquence, he was still at a loss for words. Ning Daoqis remark, Where is the fish? was brimming with pointed Zen logic; very thought provoking. Kou Zhong felt that his fighting spirit has been substantially weakened. Ning Daoqi revealed another moving smile, brimming with childlike interest. He spoke softly, guiding patiently and systematically, Before, there were three gods in the world; in the south, there was Nan Di [the Southern Emperor], in the north, there was Bei Jun [the Northern Lord], in the middle is a god whose name is Hun Dun [Chaos], who treated Nan Di and Bei Jun extremely generously. Thereupon Nan Di and Bei Jun got together to discuss how they could repay the kindness. They came up with the idea that human have seven apertures [of the human head: 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 nostrils, 1 mouth], with which they see, hear, eat and drink, and breathe. Thereupon each day they bored a hole, seven dayster Hun Duns seven apertures were opened and he died. Can Shao Shuai understand the truth from this? Kou Zhong sighed and said, This kid understands that Qianbei wants to enlighten me, you want the kid to act following thew of nature. But people have their own aspirations, naturally Qianbei feels nothing about it, but this kid has different view, and thus I am doing something about it. Ning Daoqi let out a longughter. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, Looking at you is like looking at myself when I was young; never willing to yield to authority, always refused to be bound by thew. I wonder if Shao Shuai has the patience to listen to Laofus [old man]st tale? Straightened up his back and shoulders, Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was shing with divine light, but his attitude was still so modest and deferential. He nodded and said, Qianbei, please bestow your instruction. Ning Daoqi calmly and leisurely said, In ancient times, there were two gentlemen, A and B, both raised sheep, and as a result they both lost a sheep. When A was asked why he lost a sheep, his answer was that he was busy with studying; when B was asked why he lost a sheep, turns out he lost it in gambling. What they did were entirely different things, but the oue waspletely without any difference; both lost their sheep. Kou Zhong met Ning Daoqis brimming-with-wisdom gaze, torrential-reaching-to-the-sky wave was surging in his heart. Ning Daoqis tale really hit his vital point. All along, he felt that his motivation in striving for the world was different from other people, which was also the driving force behind his advancing toward this ideal. But Ning Daoqi has used this tale to vividly describe the judgment toward this kind of behavior, which could only be seen from the result, and he alluded to the fact that his action could have disastrous consequences to the world. The two men looked at each other. Ning Daoqi was still with stand-aloof-from-worldly-affairs, clear-and-still-with-no-action immortal disposition and leisurely attitude, but Kou Zhongs gaze has be pratingly sharp like a saber de. Ning Daoqis good words had finished, if Kou Zhong refused to turn back to the shore, potentially it would be a battle to see the truth. The hull shuddered lightly, the boat started to float with the current eastwards. Smiling slightly, Kou Zhong said, Why did Qianbei insist on telling this to the kid? Ning Daoqi smiled in return; remaining tranquil and calm, he said, Since Shao Shuai has the predestined affinity to master the Taoists Secret to Long Life, Laofu consider you as a kindred spirit, and thus I do not loath to be too wordy. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, The natural way is nothing more than the weak are prey to the strong. Now, just because Li Shimins potential is great, plus he obtains Shi Feixuans personal support, I, Kou Zhong, am reduced to be the stray dog that the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools C yell to hit and shout to kill. If some day this kid is fortunate enough to be the hegemon most qualified to seize power over the whole country, would the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools still be dead set in supporting Li Shimin? Stroking his beard, Ning Daoqi smiled and said, Good question. Precisely because we are adapting to circumstances and look ahead to the consequences that we wish for Shao Shuai to give thought to the people of the world, and stop without dy. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, If Qianbei has nothing else to say, please forgive this kid for not having the time to apany you. With a somersault, he escaped into the water behind the boat. It was the only way he could escape the immortals palm, also the only way he could strive for the initiative and the upper hand. Ning Daoqis martial art skill was indeed too terrifying. Book 36 - 11 – Conditions of Undertaking The Task Because Kou Zhong was afraid that Ning Daoqi might stop him, he tried to minimize the time between he got out of the boat and into the water as much as possible. When he was still sitting at the stern, he already made the n; what he wanted was the convenience of going into the water as soon as he threw his head back. Who would have thought that the moment he was falling backward, the boat suddenly sank? By the time he cried inwardly, Not good! his head and shoulders were, surprisingly, still on the nk of the stern. Turned out in that instant the boat suddenly moved against the current several chi backward, urately catching him back into the boat. Because the boat was sinking, his body was suddenly high up in the air, and thus he was unable to exert his strength, and Bang! he fell headlong onto the aft of the boat, in an extremely sorry state. His miserable plight did not stop there. The moment the boat was hit, it generated an abundant, unfathomable reaction force, shocking him so that he was seeing stars and unable to tell directions. He nearly fainted, except for lucky for him the newly-acquired primordial essence from the Relics was helping him so that his foundation was substantially deepened; otherwise, this miscalction would be enough to make him failing and being wiped over the floor. Kou Zhong ferociously clenched his teeth, both palms struck out fast as lightning to hit the stern. Immediately he shot out at an angle into the air, with his head down and feet up. Right this moment, like a beam of wind, Ning Daoqis gentle yet irresistible qi power blew over. Unable to evade at all, Kou Zhong had no choice but to activate the true qi protecting his body to take this attack head-on. Bang! He was like a dead leaf being blown by a gale; refusing to obey its master, his body was spinning continuously in the air, as he was thrown far away into the distance. Although Kou Zhong was dizzy and his body ached and felt numb from the strike, instead of scared, he was happy, thinking that as long as he could get into the water, even ten Ning Daoqi pursued into the water, he would still have a chance to escape. However, in just a blink of the eye, he discovered that his way of thinking was very wrong. Turned out although he was thrown far away from the small boat, he was actually being thrown onto the shore. This was simply not possible. The small boat wasing from the west, facing east; he should have been thrown into the water, but the iron-d truth before his eyes was that the skill with which Ning Daoqi controlled the boat, as well as his martial art, which had reached perfection, were really beyond his expectation, so that unexpectedly all his schemes werepletely silent. As Kou Zhongs feetnded on the shore, his back happened to face the river, and qi power rolled up from behind. This moment he was sore all over, so he did not dare to resist, promptly he raised his qi and in panic, without choosing where to go, he simply soared toward the slope in front of him, to evade this cmity first before thinking about his next scheme. Who would have thought that Ning Daoqis qi power was like a maggot attached to the bones? No matter how he moved, shed, or leaped, it always threatened his back, neither too close nor too far from him, straight out for nearly ten li, through the mountains and over the forests, the situation still did not change the slightest, he evencked the opportunity to look back. This kind of useless, helpless feeling really did not need to be mentioned. If he let this situation continued, his true energy would be wasted like antern with the oil drying up, and he would end up falling to the ground and would be taken prisoner. Racking his brains, Kou Zhong suddenly increased his speed to rush toward a hill. Like stocks and chain attached to his body, Ning Daoqis qi power followed wherever he went. As soon as the true qi protecting his body weakened, or his speed slowed down, it would definitely attack to make him throwing up blood and falling to the ground, absolutely without any good luck. When martial art masters were vying against one another, one move would make a difference. From the moment Kou Zhong threw his body backward into the water, he had made miscalctions everywhere, and thus had fallen into an absolute disadvantageous situation, to such an extent as to be trapped in the current difficult situation. Kou Zhong mused that whether he was a dragon or a snake, it would soon be clear in the next moment. With both feet fiercely pushed the ground, he soared toward the top of the hill. From behind, Ning Daoqi pursued like a shadow attached to the shape. Kou Zhong pushed forward silently. Suddenly he exchanged a mouthful of true qi, and executed the technique to fly backward, miraculously flying toward the bend on his left. His body suddenly lightened, finally he broke away from Ning Daoqis threat. Kou Zhong was well aware that his sess was due mostly to it has caught Ning Daoqi off guard, but it was just like the night-blooming cactus shows once [idiom: short-lived], hence he did not dare to slow down. His right hand pulled the Moon in the Well on his back, he hacked backhandedly toward Ning Daoqi. Boom! Saber de was everywhere, producing an explosion of qi power shing against each other, like a muffled thunder. Close call! Kou Zhong cried inwardly, knowing that he just happen to meet Ning Daoqis astonishing qi power that was changing direction. Although he was shocked by the impact that the numbness in his arm invaded straight toward his shoulder, he was still in ecstasy, just like encountering a drop of sweet dew after a long drought. Hastily he took advantage of the reaction force to fly back, andnded on the grassynd outside the slope of the hill. Still appearing to be unhurried, Ning Daoqi descended down from the sky, looking exactly like an immortal. Without waiting for him to steady his footing, Kou Zhong let out a loud shout, his person following his saber, he unleashed the Striking Strange of the Eight Methods of the Well. The Moon in the Well turned into a streak of yellow light, fast as lightning it hacked down onto Ning Daoqi. While still sweeping across the sky, the Moon in the Well drew a beautiful arc that was beyond any vulgar world could create, while also continuously made subtle changes; exquisite, splendid, brilliant and varied, it attacked the grandmaster, the chief in the Central ins martial art study of this generation. Blown by the concentrated saber wind, Ning Daoqis hair and beard fluttered, the sleeves of his robe danced in the wind, his face revealed a grave expression, his body suddenly generated subtle, mysterious, and amazing changes that no pen and ink would be able to describe. It appeared that his two sleeves were raising their head up, suddenly his sparkling-and-translucent-like-jade hand shot out of his left sleeve, his fingertips closed up casually, as it swept across the de of Kou Zhongs saber. Instantly Kou Zhongs offensive dissipatedpletely, while at the same time his body was sent spinning outward. He was only able to stop after three spins, about five zhang away from Ning Daoqi, where he stood holding the saber across his chest. Ning Daoqi acted like what he had just done was not worth mentioning; stroking his beard, he revealed a smile on his face, and spoke slyly, Shaoshuai has indeed received the Heavenly Saber Song Ques instruction. The saber strike has obtained his spirit and marrow to the greatest extent. Rarer still, it could produce a different essential, which also presents Laofu with a difficulty. Kou Zhong seized the opportunity to circte his qi and regte his breathing. He said, What difficulty might Ning Dashi possibly have? Are you afraid that after getting rid of me, Song Que might look for you to settle the ount? Laughing involuntarily, Ning Daoqi said, All along Song Que Xiong is unwilling to let Laofu off, too bad he does not have any excuse. This will certainly be one of the misgivings, but its still nothing that worries Laofu. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, In that case, its hard to know what the problem is; Id like to hear the details. With his hands behind his back, Ning Daoqi looked up at the bright moon in the sky; tranquil and calm, he said, The problem is that Shaoshuais saber technique already reached the expert level where the skill enters The Way, able to transformplex into simple, appearing clumsy but actually skillful. Thinking back to Laofu in the past, it was also after I was forty years old that I started to reach this aplishment. Even if Shaoshuai has no rtionship with Taoist school, how could Laofu be without anypassion toward a talent? Shaoshuais mastery is indeed beyond Laofus estimation. A sublime respect toward this pinnacle among the martial art masters welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; only this kind of broad-minded spirit was worthy to be called the number one figure in the Central Earth. Smiling ruefully, he said, If Qianbei is still thinking about advising the kid to wash my hands and retire, it would be best to save your breath. Ning Daoqi smiled and said, Shaoshuai already expressed your true feeling, how could Laofu nag endlessly? Laofu is nearly a hundred years old; over the past thirty years I already lost the desire to show off my might and strive for victory. This time I am undertaking this task, it is really not what I wished for. Shaoshuais flying-back technique, where did you learn it from? This was the first time that Laofu witness it. Kou Zhong modestly replied, This technique, half was inspired by the Western Tujue Guoshi, the Persian Yun Shuai, half came from our own creation. Ning Daoqi shook his head and sighed lightly; he said, The saying there is a person beyond a person is not erroneous at all; were it not for Shaoshuai understood this uncanny feat, perhaps you would have fallen and be captured early on, saving Laofu a lot of energy. Lets speak less idle talk, Shaoshuai, please make your move! Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, I had better ask you, the Senior, to bestow instruction first! Frankly speaking, I had wanted to make my move all along, too bad I never found the opportunity; this is extremely difficult to bear. Ning Daoqiughed aloud and said, No wonder Feixuan has never been able to deal with you ruthlessly, all because your frankness really provokes others delight, makes changes in other peoples heart. Please forgive Laofu for being impolite then! The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes red greatly, his spine straightened, his shoulders opened up, disying his formidable-without-equal confidence. From head to foot he emitted unyielding, focused, strong and solid momentum. Qianbei, please, he spoke heavily. With his hands behind his back, Ning Daoqi took arge stride to the left. Kou Zhong was greatly shocked. It should be noted that from the beginning he had been using his momentum to lock Ning Daoqi tightly. This moment he even excited his saber qi to shoot out. If the opponent was making any movement, under the pulling force of the qi, he would immediately provoke Kou Zhongs violent offensive. Who would have thought that Ning Daoqis simple step unexpectedly was able to shift the focus of the entire field of qi opposing him, so that even when Kou Zhong wanted to attack, he simply was unable to; furthermore, he was immediately falling into the inferior position. Just like in a wrestling match, one person was suddenly twisted by the opponent that his body was askew to one side; he had the strength but was unable to use it. Ning Daoqi smiled and said, Shaoshuai, please be careful! One sleeve suddenly flicked out. Right in front of Kou Zhongs eyes, the sleeve red out; unexpectedly he was unable to see Ning Daoqis figure and his footwork. Originally the robe and the sleeves were floating lightly, but suddenly it turned into a slender, sparkling and translucent immortal hand, but as for why it was divine, he could not describe it. Kou Zhong had no other choice but to move sideways and brandish his saber to block. The hand and the saber changed against each other, finally the edge of the palm and the de of the saber, without any fancy move, without anything fake, met head-on. Kou Zhong let out a stifled groan; he was jolted by the impact that he staggered backward, his qi and blood were churning, and he groaned inwardly. If he were forced to ferociously stake his all against Ning Daoqi just like this, with the opponent having nearly a hundred years of power, in less than a dozen moves he would end up throwing away his saber and admit defeat. But Ning Daoqi pulled his attacking hand behind his back again, he did not follow up the victory and press home the attack. Just now Laofu was not being lenient, he spoke glibly, Shaoshuai could still meet Laofus strike head on; it is indeed hard to believe. Suddenly, without warning, he stepped closer again, his left palm cut across Kou Zhongs throat. It was obviously a in, nothing-special, not-in-the-least-fancy style, but executed by this grandmaster, there was an indeterminate change, so that the opponent was overwhelmed by an unfathomably mind-blowing feeling. But it was as if Kou Zhong already knew that he was going to attack like that; with adequate preparation, he used clumsiness to control clumsiness, the heavy saber de appeared to be light, floating emptily like it was without any strength it swiftly moved forward in a poking movement. Bang! Vortex of energy shot out. Caught off guard, unexpectedly Ning Daoqi was unable to unleash his full power, it was difficult for him to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack, and thus he let Kou Zhong evading away. Kou Zhong slightly arched his back, his pair of eyes emitted fierce and severe gaze, with his saber de he pointed at this terrifying big enemy. Like a leopard fixing his eyes on the enemy, he spoke heavily, Please forgive this kid for being impolite. It was only this moment that he was barely able to level the ying field, how could he be willing to miss this golden opportunity to press in? Yet with one hand behind his back, Ning Daoqi stretched out the other hand in front, with all the fingers together like he was greeting with one palm, he stood as steady as the lofty mountain, so that others would get a feeling that it was difficult to sway him the least bit. Immediate he broke Kou Zhongs No Attack. Kou Zhong let out a long whistle, the Moon in the Well hacked down into the thin air; it was precisely the Chess Abundant of the Eight Methods of the Well, which he created based on Yijian Technique. For the first time Ning Daoqi revealed an astonished look. Such a strange move, it was the first time that he encountered it. He pulled his palm back so that it was just in front of his chest, seemingly moving yet not exactly moving, mysterious and strange, profound to the extreme point. Kou Zhong was totally unable to grasp his foundation. The Chess Abundant could not continue, he immediately changed it to the sixth method, the Battle Decision. The saber momentum wasunched, like Yangtze River, Yellow River, it rolled toward Ning Daoqi. Ning Daoqi only used one hand to meet the attack. Confident and at ease, he casually pushed, swept, waved, hacked, without the slightest bit of fancy move, yet the defense line was so tight that it was hard for Kou Zhongs thunder to cross over the pond even for half a step, rendering Kou Zhongs mercury-flowing-out-swiftly-over-the-ground style offensivepletely ineffective. Inside the bubble of the saber light, two human figures, fast as lightning, moved their forms and exchanged their positions, advancing and retreating, rising and falling, in a dizzying speed. Bang! Ning Daoqis palm chopped down heavily on the back of Kou Zhongs saber, shocking him to retreat nearly ten steps back. Looking up to the sky, Ning Daoqi sighed and said, If Shaoshuai had Ziling traveling together with you, even Laofu would be unable to deal with the two of you. Wiping the bloodstain at the corner of his mouth, Kou Zhongs fighting spirit soared as he said, Why did Qianbei use only one hand? Raising his thumb, Ning Daoqi praised him, Shaoshuai is indeed an exceptional hero; not only you dare to raise this issue, you even implied I am to me for this. Laofu is not afraid to exin it clearly; this is the condition that Laofu agreed to Feixuan when she asked me to deal with you. If I had a choice, how could Laofu be willing to be enemies with you? Kou Zhongughed and said, Thank you very much Qianbei for cherishing me. But please get rid of this condition that binds Qianbeis hands and feet, so that this kid can experience Qianbeis brilliant skill. Ning Daoqi cheerfully said, One hand or two hands, for Laofu, the difference is really not much. In the battle tonight, the benefit Laofu gain is really not shallow, simply because we are of simr Way and of the same source, so that I can learn through experience the essence of the Secret to Long Life from Shaoshuai. Astounded, Kou Zhong said, I didnt think Qianbei would learn anything from me? No wonder Qianbei did not seem to use all your strength. This time it was Ning Daoqis turn to reveal a bitter smile; he said, Shaoshuai is wrong. I really already spared no effort. The problem is that I cannot thoroughly use killer moves against you, thereupon I have to leave some leeway everywhere. Shaoshuais will is very strong, your essence and qi are flourishing, that is something that Laofu rarely see in all my life. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, If Qianbei cannot heartlessly kill me, I am afraid you will have to allow me to leave. Ning Daoqi was back to his immortal disposition, wonderful posture by putting his hands behind his back again; remaining calm andposed, he spoke indifferently, Essence is the origin of the body, two essences fighting each other designate the spirit; following the spirit going back and forth is called the soul [hun, immortal soul, i.e. that can be detached from the body]. Furthermore, essence going in and out is the soul [po, mortal soul, i.e. attached to the body], the ce where the heart is depending on is designated as the intention, the ce where the intention is stored is designated as aspiration. At the top, the Martial Art Way is nothing more than the intersection where the Heaven and Man affecting each other, where yin and yang meet. Shaoshuai, go! Please bear in mind that the thought can be evil, but the thought can be good as well. The difference between good and evil is merely the difference in thought. Kou Zhong appeared to be thinking deeply; he realized that because Ning Daoqi understood the essence of the Secret to Long Life from him, he gave this secret method back as a present to him. It was quite half a dayter that he raised his cupped fist and flew away. Xu Ziling was rushing along for three days, day and night, and sneaked into Hongnong by leaping over the wall before daybreak. He left a secret mark at the appointed ce, which led Gao Zhandao to meet him in a tea house by the south gate at the beginning of the yin hour [3-5 am]. After leaving Changan, this was their first meeting; they both were extremely happy with a feeling of meeting again after a cmity. Xu Ziling exined Kou Zhongs whereabouts first before asking, Did Hongnong Bang people know that you areing to see me? Gao Zhandao said, Ling Yes secret mark indicated that we must act in secret; how could I be so muddleheaded? Is there any problem with Chen Shi? Nodding his head, Xu Ziling replied, Chen Shi is standing on Heavenly Policy Mansions side, and they are conspiring to deal with us. They were riding the horse, while I was running; at most I would only be a few sichen faster than them. Even with Xu Zilings legs power, in a long distance race, he still could not run faster than strong horses. However, his advantage was that he could take a shortcut through the mountain, hence he was able to reach Hongnong one-step earlier. Gao Zhandaos countenance changed, What do we do? he asked. If there was no gold and treasure, they would be able to immediately leave as soon as they say it, neat and tidy. But now, not only they were unable to move freely, they could not let others find out that they had obtained the hidden treasure, and thus leak the secret. Xu Ziling said, Amidst the bad news, there is good news as well: among our brothers, there should not be any traitor who had been bought by the enemy; therefore, the enemy still had not found out that we have the treasure with us. Exhaling slowly, Gao Zhandaos entire body rxed; he said, Then its easy; as we leave this ce, we go to a tributary of the River Yi, a bit over a hundred li to the east, and stop midway. There are about a dozen brothers running a waterborne transport business in there. From there, we could go to Luoyang, passing through the Great River, and going straight to Pengliang. That ce is Wang Shichongs territory; the Li ns power cannot reach it. Xu Ziling said, This over a hundred li road will not be easy, because we will still be within Hongnong County, its going to be very difficult to evade Hongnong Bangs eyes and ears. Letting out a cold snort, Gao Zhandao said, Unless it is the Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art master; otherwise, no one in Hongnong Bang is worthy in our Tong Xing Shes eyes. In vain that old codger Chen Shi putting on an act of being supremely honorable and righteous; opening his mouth he talks about benevolence and righteousness, closing his mouth he talks about virtue. His granny, before we leave, we might as well get rid of him in passing; white dagger in, red dagger out. Seeing how he was revealing his former natural color as a pirate, Xu Zilingughed bitterly and said, Little thing must not mess up big scheme. Chen Shi is a small matter, but the arrival of Heavenly Policy Mansions pursuing troops is big problem. Tell me first, hows the situation with our brothers? Gao Zhandao said, Currently we divided our people into three groups, with each one of us leading one group. My group has the smallest number of people, only twenty-five men; we stay in the city at the ce that Chen Shi arranged for us. The other two groups are hiding in the mountain forest nearby. Does Chen Shi know where the other two groups are? Xu Ziling asked. Naturally we cant let him know, Gao Zhandao replied, I told the other brothers to go to Pengliang first, while we, twenty-five men, stay here waiting for your news. You did very well, Xu Ziling said, Now, you must return immediately, find an excuse to get out of the city, Ill meet with you a bitter. His eyebrows deeply knitted, Gao Zhandao asked, Why dont Ling Ye leave with us? Xu Ziling smiled and said, The Heavenly Policy Mansion enticed Hongnong Bang with benefit, my method is to threaten them with fear. As long as Hongnong Bang is having outward devotion but inner opposition [idiom], they wont dare to go all-out to intervene, only then we will have the chance to safely reach River Yi transit station. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Gao Zhandao spoke in astonishment, We dont have much time, the Heavenly Policy Mansion people might arrive any moment, Ling Ye is taking too much risk! Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Squaring up for a fight, with open saber and open spear in hard battle, I certainly should note. But only breaking the siege and leave, I still have 80% confidence that I can do it. I just want Chen Shi to see clearly that the Heavenly Policy Mansion people are unable to stop me, and my, Xu Zilings intimidation can begin to take effect. Showing a look of respect, Gao Zhandao sighed and said, From head to foot, Ling Ye is definitely full of guts. Xu Ziling said, My method may not necessarily work. We dont have much time; you must proceed ording to n immediately. I will take care of the traitor hanging behind you. Aftermunicating the ce of meeting and various details, Gao Zhandao hurriedly left. Xu Ziling then swept the breakfast on the table. He was amused inwardly, thinking that he was originally most reluctant to run amuck relying on force, but toward a faithless person who betrayed his friend like Chen Shi, he did not have any better choice. As long as Chen Shi obediently do what he was told, he did not need to open wide the Buddhist monastic discipline against killing and harming Hongnong Bang people. Where could Kou Zhong be at this moment? How was his situation? Even Ning Daoqi, who has not been paying attention to the affairs of life, was drawn into the vortex of contention over the world. So if he, Xu Ziling, was using a bit of means as an emergency measure, it could not be considered too much. Book 36 - 12 – With the Tiger Scheming for Its Skin Kou Zhong rushed to Luoyang. He reported to the general on duty at the city gate, asking for an audience with Wang Shichong. As soon as he reported his name, Kou Zhong, Lang Feng immediately came personally to receive him. After some pleasantries, Lang Feng took him on a horse-drawn carriage into the Pce. Revisiting the once familiar ces, Kou Zhong noticed the Heavenly Street was still bustling and flourishing as before. Thinking that not to long in the future this famous city, which was even grander than Changan, would suffer the fire of war, how could he not sigh with sorrow in his heart? His mouth did not match with his heart, Lang Feng said, The past few days Shengshang [courtiers or ministers form of address for the current Emperor] asionally mentioned Shaoshuai; it must be that he had a premonition that Shaoshuai would honor us with your presence. Kou Zhong cursed inwardly; among Wang Shichongs generals, Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu, two men were the most doted on, not because the two had any skill, rather, they were good at the way of the official court, expert in ttery and tooting their own horn, plus they won the Crown Prince Wang Xuanyings favor. Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin had left, there were only Great General Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing who could be considered military talent. Too bad that Wang Shichong overlooked them in favor of his own rtives. Within Wang Shichongs n, only the young second son Wang Xuanshu appeared to have a bit of ability; the rest, he disdained even to mention it. Once the Great Tang Army arrived, Heaven knew how many people might defect to the Tang? Wang Shichong was harsh and merciless, Li Shimin was generous in his treatment of worthy talents. A fine bird chooses a tree to nest in; merely this aspect was beyond his, Kou Zhongs ability to pull strongly against a crazy tide [idiom; fig. to try hard to save a desperate crisis]. The only way was to win the first battle, in order to stabilize the officers and soldiers whose heart was at odds with Wang Shichong, to make them feel that following Li kid might not necessarily be a safe bet either. But to win over Li kids able-to-move-unhindered-and-unrivalled ck Armor Elite Cavalry personal guards, which momentum was like a rainbow, which equipment excellent, an imposing army with superior training C was easier said than done. While he was still pondering over this, Lang Feng said, Duke Yangs Treasures name is empty, losing it not worth the regret. As long as Shaoshuai is willing to serve Shengshang, wont that be the same as sitting on a treasure house? Besides, among the three capitals of the old Sui, the storehouse in Luoyang is the riches. Kou Zhong mused Lang kid, your information is indeed fast and abundant, you knew what was inside the Duke Yangs Treasure. He casually asked, About Yang WenGans upheaval, whats the conclusion? Lang Feng let out a cold snort and said, WenGans position was as a insignificant Zongguan [manager] of Qingzhou, holding power over a local gang, yet he had the guts to send out his troops in rebellion, naturally he ended up suffering a crushing defeat. Now Jingzhao Lian is ssified as a rebel organization, and no longer allowed to exist in Guanzhong. Is Li Shimin ascending to the Crown Prince throne? Kou Zhong asked. Lang Fengughed grimly and said, This time Li Jiancheng was really tragically implicated by Yang WenGan, fortunately there are various Guifei [imperial consort] pleading for leniency on his behalf, Cab Minister Feng Deyi and the others also asked Li Yuan to absolve him. In the end Jiancheng only had to kowtow to ask for forgiveness, throwing himself on the ground; only then he was barely able to save his position. Finally Li Yuan only med it to Zhong Yun [an official position (Courtesy of Akw)] Wang Gui, You Wei Shuai [Right Guard Commander] Wei Ting, and Heavenly Policy Bing Cao [lit. army officer] Du Yan; they were only looking for several scapegoats to redeem themselves and be done with it. Kou Zhong was confused; he did not understand what did this strife have to do with Wang Gui and Wei Ting. He thought that perhaps just like Du Yan, they were also Yang WenGans spy. What about Yang WenGan? he inquired further. Lang Feng replied, Yang WenGans rebel army was defeated by the troops under Li Shiminsmand; they werepletely wiped out, only Yang WenGan broke the siege and escaped alone, his whereabouts is unknown. Hearing that Li Shimin did not be the crown prince, a spark of new hope appeared in Kou Zhongs heart. He probed further, Shuni Xiaojie cant possibly be implicated, can she? Surprised, Lang Feng said, Li Yuans love for her is only increasing by the day, how could she be implicated? It was Kou Zhongs turn to be at a loss; he asked in confusion, Shuni Xiaojie has a close rtionship with Yang Xuyan, this ... Lowering his voice, Lang Feng said, Shuni Xiaojie has just be pregnant, she is carrying Li Yuans flesh and blood, Li Yuan, that pervert, only shows tenderness toward her and not enough dislike, how could he treat her coldly? Although Yang Xuyan has some rtionship with Yang WenGan, but he was not involved in the armed rebellion. Li Yuan is a man who cherishes old friendships; therefore, his position is still very stable. Kou Zhong nearly blurted out, saying that Li Yuan knew that Yang Xuyan was Shi Zhixuans disciple. He thought that Li Yuan was indeed muddleheaded, or there was some other subtle inside story that he did not know. The carriage drove into the Imperial City. Kou Zhong gathered his thought, ready to deal with the old fox Wang Shichong. Xu Ziling swaggered into the city. Following Gao Zhandaos direction, he came outside therge residence that was Hongnong Bangs headquarters, and reported his name at the door, asking for an audience. The fact was that without him needing to reveal his identity, as early as when the entered the city, the guard already recognized him as Xu Ziling, and had already sent information in secret, notifying Chen Shi of his arrival. But naturally all these did not escape Xu Zilings eyes and ears. Also, it was obvious that his and Kou Zhongs portraits have already been distributed to the various branches of Hongnong Bang, in order to detect and monitor their movements. Chen Shi received him in the inner hall. This leader of the Hongnong Bang, the sworn brother of Lei Jiuzhi, was about fifty years old, wearing a thick goatee, somewhat slim, having regr features, his eyes lively, but also carrying a bit of a Gang Leader air. On the surface, he was very cordial. After some polite greetings, the two sat down to drink tea and talk. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Zaixia has something to be discussed with Chen Bangzhu. Chen Shi was a Jianghu veteran, naturally he understood his intention. After ordering his men to withdraw from the hall, he spoke solemnly, Xu Ye is a man that Chen Shi always admire; even with no rtion to Jiuzhi, Chen Shi will still consider imitating the dog and toiling like a horse on Xu Yes behalf as an honor, much less Jiuzhi is my sworn brother, which we sealed with the incense stick. He spoke with such sincerity that if Xu Ziling did not know the truth, he would definitely not be suspicious of him. This moment, however, he only thought that his pretense was soughable. Again, Chen Shi so casually asked, Shaoshuai did not travel with Xu Ye? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Shaoshuai has other important things to attend to, hence we did not travel together. Zaixia came to Hongnong this time, it was just to let Zhandao and the others know that we are fine, so that they can leave with no worries. Frowning, Chen Shi said, Your honorable subordinates have just left the city to provide support to the other team of troops and horses, I dont know when they will be back. Xu Ziling smiled and said, They are gone! What? Chen Shi blurted out. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Xu Zilingughed and said, Chen Dangjia, please listen carefully to every word that I, Xu Ziling, am going to tell you. Were it not for I, Xu Ziling, remembering Dangjia is Lei Jiuzhis sworn brother, also you have done Zaixia a favor in the past, there would be only one way to resolve the problem between us, which is by relying on martial art. Chen Shis countenance changed, he asked, What does Xu Ye mean by this? The divine light in Xu Zilings eyes red out, he fixed his gaze on Chen Shi and said, If Chen Dangjia is a real man, you should dare to admit what you dare to do, no need to waste any lips and tongue. Besides, the Heavenly Policy Mansion people may arrive any moment; we can take this opportunity to work out a good way to satisfy rival demands first, wouldnt it be better than we be enemies where you are wishing for my death, and I am desiring you to perish? Chen Shi was stunned speechless. After all, Hongnong Bang was just a small gang in a county or prefecture; even if they had the support of Heavenly Policy Mansion behind their back, but offending some top figures whose name intimidated the world like Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, it would still be extremely unwise. Finished ying hard, Xu Ziling changed direction by ying soft, to give the opposite party the opportunity to step down with dignity. Lowering his voice, he said, Naturally I know that Chen Dangjia had no choice because you were under pressure. You are afraid to offend the Li Family, afraid that another day when the Tang Armying to the east, you would have to bag your food and leave before you finish eating; therefore, although I know Chen Dangjia is assisting Li Shimin in secret, we still understand you. However, one mistake cannot fix another mistake; Kou Zhong and I always pay any kindness, avenge any enmity. Avenging any enmity was actually not Xu Zilings style at all, but in order to achieve his goal, he simply had to say it. Chen Shi suddenly looked like he was aging several years older; his eyes down, he spoke dejectedly, Ay! How can I still have the face to see Jiuzhi? Xing Chang Longs Bu Ting and Tian Santang personally came to see me, they said the situation is very serious. If I were alone, I could always run so far away; but how can I bear to see the brothers who follow me have their family bankrupt and the people perish? Suddenly he looked up and said, Xu Ye, quickly go. Im afraid they are already entering the city! Xu Ziling suddenly said, If I go away, how would Chen Dangjia make the report back about your mission? Dont worry! I can get out of Guanzhong ande over here, naturally I can get out of here and go anywhere I want. I only hope that Chen Dangjia would be able to rein the horse at the edge of the precipice, and to be magnanimous by letting Zhandao and the others off. Otherwise, even if I understand Chen Dangjias difficulty, Kou Zhong might not be willing to let you go. At the same time, inwardly he cursed himself and Kou Zhong for being careless; they set Hongnong as their meeting ce, forgetting that from Xing Chang Long, Li Shimin could trace back their rtionship with Hongnong Bang. Chen Shi resolutely said, Xu Ye can return good for evil, I, Chen Shi will definitely be able to reciprocate. Xu Ye, please leave immediately, I will deal with the Heavenly Policy Mansion people. Xu Ziling suddenly signaled him with his eyes, indicating that there was enemy sneaking in. Slightly raising his voice, he said, Since Tong Xing She brothers have already left, Zaixia must immediately be on my way to Guanjun to meet up with them. Guanjun was south of Hongnong, a Zhu Cans territory, a ce difficult for the Li ns power to reach, so if they fled to that ce, it would be quite logical. Chen Shi was ustomed to Jianghu way, immediately he yed along, Xu Ye hase from afar, no matter what you must let Chen Shi be a good host; lets eat lunch first before you hit the road. I can even arrange vehicle and horse, I guarantee Xu Ye will be able to catch up with your honorable brothers. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and said, This matter should not be dyed, let me ept Chen Dangjias good intention in my heart! Someday when I have the opportunity, I wille again to look for Dangjia to drink wine and celebrate together. Secretly he made a signal telling Chen Shi to find an excuse to leave the hall. Chen Shi could also be considered one of those men whose brains could move fast; he immediately said, Xu Ye, please stay a moment, I have something that Id like to trouble you to deliver to Jiuzhi. Let me go to get it for Xu Ye. Finished speaking, deeply worried and sick at heart, he left. Although Xu Zilings name shook the world, but the Heavenly Policy Mansion came prepared. If Xu Ziling met with unexpected misfortune in here, it would be strange indeed if Kou Zhong did not dye Hongnong red with blood. Xu Ziling sat down again. He stared at the door where Chen Shi had just disappeared. Suddenly he roared, Chen Shi, how dare you betray me! The windows shattered, like a tidal wave the enemy flooded into the hall. Wang Shichong received Kou Zhong at the other courtyard of the imperial pce where he discussed government matters with the members of his inner ministerial circle. Apanying him on his left and right were Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, two brothers, and Song Mengqiu plus Lang Feng, all were Wang Shichongs closest men. After the host and guest sat down, Kou Zhong chopped his head [saying something in a rush (without proper warm up) when just met (Courtesy of Akw)] and said, Great Tang Army finally went out the Pass! Slightly startled, Wang Shichong frowned and said, Can Shaoshuai be a bit more specific? Kou Zhong said, The Great Tang Army is already sending light military supply wagons and army provisions toward Guandong [lit. east of the Pass], they are about tounchrge scale invasion to the east. Showing a bit of disdain, Wang Xuanying said, Shaoshuai has been inside the Pass for a long time, hence you dont know thetest development outside the Pass. The Tang Army deployment is due to Song JinGang borrowing Tujue warhorses, amassing troops and horses at the provincial border north of Taiyuan; they could storm to the south any moment to attack Taiyuan, the old nest where the Li Family made their mark. It is reported that Li Yuan sent Li Yuanji out to calm Taiyuan; naturally they have to continue to provide material support. Kou Zhong had already guessed that the Eastern Tujues ws and teeth might take the opportunity to rise in revolt, only he did not expect it would be Li Yuanji who was being sent to deal with it. Immediately he felt that Li Shimins strategy was unfathomable, giving him a big headache. Wang Xuanshu said, This time the Li Familys situation is not optimistic at all, simply because Pubans Wang Xingben has be the Eastern Tujues vassal state, greatly weakened the Li Familys power in Taiyuan. Plus Wang Xingben and Song JinGang are supporting each other, so that the Li Army at Taiyuan is facing enemies on both sides. Taking joy in cmity and delight in disaster, Song Mengqiu said, Song JinGangs timing is very urate; taking advantage while the situation inside the Pass is very chaotic due to Yang WenGans rebellion, he suddenly rose in revolt. This is precisely the essence of to attack when least expected of the School of Military. On the contrary, Wang Shichong was the one did not dare to despise Kou Zhongs ability and wisdom the most; he asked, Shaoshuai, whats your opinion? Kou Zhong has not fully digested the information yet. Who is Wang Xingben? he casually asked. Lang Feng replied, Wang Xingben was a high-ranking military officer of the Old Sui, he established himself as a warlord in Puban, assembling his personal army, thereby presenting a challenge to the central government. Officially he already surrendered to the House of Tang, but several times Li Yuan ordered him toe to Changan, he always refused, and now he finally rebels. Kou Zhong decided that Li Yuanji was not Song JinGangs match; therefore, in the end Li Shimin must stick out his head to deal with this situation. But if that was the case, how could he still have the energy to invade Luoyang? However, he had a faint feeling that the situation was not so. Without any better option, he looked around and asked, Hows the situation of the remaining members of the Wagang Army? Wang Shichong replied, It appears that the only remaining members of the Wagang Army are Li Shijis troops, who had surrendered to the House of Tang, who still have control over a vast area reaching to the ocean on the east, the Great River to the south, Dangzhou to the south, and Wei County to the north. But if Dou Jiande defeated Yuwen Huaji, and then Dou Jiande and us attacked from north and south, definitely he is not going tost long. Divine light suddenly shed inside Kou Zhongs mind. Severely shaken, he said, I understand now! Everybody looked at him in surprise. Kou Zhong said, Li Shimin deliberately wanted Li Yuanji to suffer defeat. Frowning, Wang Shichong said, Troops in defeat is like andslide; where is the logic in losing a battle on purpose? Kou Zhong analyzed, Under ordinary circumstances, naturally Li Shimin would not do such a stupid thing. However, on the basis of internal and external, two factors, Li Shimin simply cannot not taking this risk. It is a calcted risk, but its extremely brilliant; lucky that Li kid was able toe up with it. Puzzled, everybody waited for him to continue. Kou Zhong said, Lets talk about the external factor first. If Li Shimin is out to defend Taiyuan, what would the situation be? Shivering slightly, Wang Shichong said, You are right. If the one defending Taiyuan is Li Shimin, this kids ability to defend a city no one in the world could match or surpass, although Song JinGang is strong, he would still be locked in a stalemate position. Kou Zhong said, But to the House of Tang, this situation will not bring the least bit of benefit. Once Li Shiji is defeated by Shengshang and Dou Jiandes joint attack, the contact between Taiyuan and Guanzhong will be cut off, the only way out is for Li Shimin to give up defending Taiyuan. Wang Xuanshus countenance changed, he said, Is Shaoshuai saying that sending Li Yuanji to suffer defeat is unexpectedly Li Shimins scheme to lure the enemy to go deep into the south? Kou Zhong asserted, If Liu and Song are holding back their troops without moving, due to their location on the northern frontier, bordering the Eastern Tujue, in case of direct conflict between the Li n and Xieli, any punitive expedition to the north to Liu and Song is definitely not something that a wise man would do. However, as long as Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGangs problem is not resolved, it will still be difficult for Li Shimin to advance to the east with peace of mind. The only way is to lure Liu and Songs main forces to go deep into Taiyuan, and then using his usual trick, Li Shimin would build a rampart and hold fast inside, while cutting off the rear route for providing foodstuff. When the enemys grain is depleted, he would raise his troops to attack. Shengshang, what do you think? Wang Shichong took a deep breath and said, That is the external factor. Whats the internal factor? Kou Zhong said, The internal factor involves the internal power struggle within the House of Tang. Looking at the current situation, Yang WenGans upheaval has not shaken Li Jianchengs Crown Prince throne. Jiancheng. Yuanji, have always opposed Li Shimins military expedition to the east, for fear that if his prowess is growing, once he leaves Guanzhong, it would be even more difficult to hold him back [orig. holding him by the elbow]. Therefore, Li Shimin uses retreat to advance, he let Li Yuanji going to Taiyuan to hit the nails first, while he himself would provide support. Wang Xuanying excitedly said, This is the time to attack Guanzhong. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If Dou Jiande defeated Yuwen Huaji, Li Shiji would be too busy to deal with him, then it would indeed be the best time to attack Guanzhong. However, if my guess is correct, Li Shimin stationing the troops outside the Pass is one-move-three-purposes strategy. It could provide assistance to Taiyuan, while also curbing Shengshangs main forces, so that it would be difficult for Shengshang to go all-out in dealing with Li Shiji. The most formidable part is that if he could lure Shengshang to send your troops to attack, it would hit his hearts desire head-on. Wang Shichongughed and said, I wonder if Shaoshuai is not overestimating Li Shimins ambition? We only have to force Li Shimin back into the Pass, and then Li Yuanjis troops defending Taiyuan would be an isted force. If Shaoshuai is willing to be Zhens [I/we (imperial use)] Junshi [military adviser], why worry that big things are not going to seed? This was precisely Kou Zhongs objective ining to Luoyang. But since he guessed that for the time being Li Shimins aspiration was not on Luoyang, he immediately felt that the situation was reversed. If the Zheng Army attacked the Tang, on the surface Li Shimin would appear to be passive, while the fact was just the opposite; he was holding the initiativepletely in his hands. Kou Zhong knew himself very well. Both in martial art and in the art of war, he was good in offense but poor in defense. Even in defending a city, he relied mainly on troops appearing suddenly in ambush. Li Shimin was good not only in offense, but in defense as well. Using Kou Zhongs offense against Li Shimins defense, what could the oue be? Smiling wryly, he said, Will Shengshang trust Xiaodi? Wang Shichong calmly said, Without the lips, the teeth will feel the cold [idiom, fig. intimately interdependent]. Now that Zhen and Shaoshuai have identical interest; if I dont trust you, whom should I trust? His spirit greatly aroused, Kou Zhong resolutely said, Very well! Its a deal. As long as Guanzhong is not defeated, we are allies fighting side-by-side. Wang Shichong issued his imperial order, On Zhens behalf, summon Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing immediately. The Great Zhengs prosperity and decline will be decided by this wars sess or failure. The crowd acknowledged the order in loud voice. Book 36 - 13 – Old General Handing Over His Hear t The first attack to arrive was from Li Shentongs double punches and Pei Jis Forgetting Shape Fan. Two major martial art masters joint strike was definitely not amon chord. They broke into the hall separately via the main gate and the window; sending their qi power from a distance, locking Xu Ziling tightly. If it were the Xu Ziling before absorbing the primordial essence of the Relics, his only feasible method would be to break out through the roof and escape. But if he did that, it would be precisely what the enemy wished for. Xu Ziling had no choice but to take the risk of singlehandedly meet the attack. He deliberately let the enemy know that Gao Zhandao and the others were going to Guanjun. Only by doing this would the enemy pursue in the wrong direction. The best part of his n was that he could force Chen Shi, the lowly people of this ce, to help him perpetuate his lies. Smiling slightly, Xu Ziling pressed both hands onto the round table. The table immediately flew off the ground. It hit the few chairs by the table first, sending them flying in all direction, before it swiftly spun around to m into Li Shentong, who was entering via the main gate. At the same time, Xu Ziling soared into the air, the tip of his right foot tapped the center of the tabletop, both palms met Li Shentongs double punches head-on. The flying chairs shattered midair, turning into wood splinters raining down on Pei Ji and the other martial art masters breaking in through the window; it was more than they could attend to, so that they were unable to join Li Shentong in besieging Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling dared to ascertain that the enemys main force was concentrated on the roof, so that no matter from which window or door he was escaping, they could still live high and look down, and able to see everything very clearly, and thus could coordinate their attack. On top of that, the archers lying in ambush on the roof of the buildings around would be able to intercept him and could easily put him under heavy siege. Just now, when he came in, he had carefully looked at the situation surrounding the hall. Outside the main door of the inner hall, there was a long corridor leading into the main hall of the main building right ahead. Directly outside the door of the main hall was a za, leading toward the perimeter wall and the main street. If he could break through to the street outside, his chance of escape would increase substantially. Under normal circumstances, Li Shentong would never be afraid of Xu Zilings double-palm strike; in any case he would be able to intercept him, entangle him, or even repel him. But no matter how brilliant he viewed himself, he still did not dare to meet his double-palm strike head-on while dealing with the rapidly spinning table top about to m onto his chest at the same time. Without any choice, he had to evade sideways, and roared wildly, He wants to escape from the main door! Boom! Since the table could not fit through the door, it crushed the doorframe and knocked down the wall around the door as well. Like a bird out of its cage, Xu Ziling pounced toward the tabletop first, positioning himself about 30 from the tabletop, the tip of his foot pushed hard on the edge of the table, he shot as fast as artillery shell toward the other exit of the long corridor. Outside the door, although sabers and swords moved together to block him, but they did not expect that his momentum would be this fast and nimble; all were chopping and shing empty air, they even failed to touch the corner of his clothes. Xu Ziling pounced into the main hall; unexpectedly not a soul was in sight. Obviously it has been cleared away earlier so that it would be convenient to deal with him. Guarding outside the door, more than a dozen men under Chai Shaos leadership stormed toward him. From the ground, Xu Ziling shot up and to the side, made a somersault, and broke through the window; hended on the open space between the main hall and the external wall. Arrows and bows immediately rang out. More than a dozen strong archers lying in ambush on the roof tile on top of the wall shot their crossbows together, powerful arrows crisscrossed the air from all directions. Xu Ziling knew that his move has thrown the enemys troop disposition into chaos. Such a rushing and random shooting practically did not pose any threat to him at all; instead, the time to reload the arrows had actually given him a breather. His toes tapped the ground, he soared straight up. Sweeping his gaze around, he saw Pang Yu and Duan Zhixuan, leading more than twenty men C were pouncing over from the roof. Probably by this moment Li Shentong and Pei Ji were pursuing into the main hall, hence he did not see their trace. But if he did not leave now, what was he waiting for? Thereupon he took a breath high up in the air, at more than ten-zhang high altitude he changed direction sideways to evade the enemys second round of powerful darts, and crossed over the external wall covered with enemies, andnded in the middle of the street. Tapping the ground with his toes again, like he was soaring above the cloud, riding on the mist he rose up toward the back of the roof of the building across the street, and slipped away and disappeared without any trace. Because Zhang Zhenzhou was in Yanshi, it took some time to go back and forth, hence a small courtyard was arranged at the south part of the city for Kou Zhong to take a rest. Wang Shichong originally wanted to keep him in the Imperial Pce, but Kou Zhong tactfully declined; he even politely refused maids and servants who were sent to wait upon him. After Lang Feng, who had taken him into the residence C left, the only thing he wanted to do was to have a good sleep. By the time he was awakened by the knock on the door, it was almost dusk. The one paying him a visit was an old friend cumrade-in-arms Yang Gongqing. Meeting again after a long period of separation, naturally they were very excited. Yang Gongqing did not bring any entourage. As soon as he sat down, he asked, Why is it that once Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin left, they did note back? If its not convenient for Shaoshuai to tell me the reason, I will not mind at all. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Did Shengshang put this ount on my head? This matter is quite strange, Yang Gongqing replied, Twice I mentioned them in front of him, but Shengshang always changed the subject; it seems to me that he is unwilling to perform an in-depth investigation. Kou Zhong said, This is called having a guilty conscience. Thereupon he narrated the rise and fall of the terrain on why Wang Shichong wanted to borrow Song JinGangs hands to conspire against the two men plus Tulis lives. Heughed and said, Xiao Ling and I were also the target that Shengshang wanted to get rid of. Fortunately we discovered it in time, and we neutralized his malicious scheme, leaving no trace. Otherwise, Tuli might never return to his hometown. Wringing his hands, Yang Gongqing sighed and said, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao are fierce generals, veterans of a hundred battles; only because their frank natural disposition, they refused to fawn on Taizi [the Crown Prince], plus in terms of strategy and troops disposition, they opposed Taizis ideas, hence they incurred Taizi and Shengshangs dislikes. However, such rare talents should not be tossed away like a pair of worn-out shoes because of this kind of small argument; on top of that, they still conspire to harm them. Ay! Toward such master, who would not be bitterly disappointed? Greatly shocked, Kou Zhong said, Setting bitter disappointment aside, right now the war is pressing in our eyebrows and eyshes [idiom: nearby], it is crucial that Yang Gong [honorable sir] supports the overall situation. Otherwise, Luoyang will be in extreme danger. Yang Gongqing fixed his gaze on him for a good half a day. And then he spoke heavily, Do you know that Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao, via Li Jings rmendation, already surrendered to Li Shimin? What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Shaking his head, Yang Gongqing said, Sometimes I really dont understand; if you help Wang Shichong defeating Li Shimin, whats in it for you? Kou Zhong spoke seriously, First of all, the one I am afraid of is Li Shimin and not Wang Shichong at all. Next, I want to strive for a chance to take a breath, in order to establish my Shao Shuai Army. Do you think I dont know what kind of trash Wang Shichong is? After a moment of hesitation, Yang Gongqing lowered his voice and said, Will Shaoshuai be interested in offering shelter to Laofu? Kou Zhong jumped in fright. Also lowering his voice, he responded, This is not aughing matter; however, under current circumstances, the one Yang Gong should consider ought to be Li Shimin or Dou Jiande, why would you want me, little Kou Zhong? Taken aback, Yang Gongqing broke intoughter, Shaoshuai is too modest. Laofu look around at the hero and mighty around the world, only you, Kou Shaoshuai, have the capability to go head to head against Li Shimin. Ever since I, Yang Gongqing, was involved in the great undertaking of Handan uprising ten years ago, I have been able to move unhindered; what kind of figure I have not seen? But I have never seen someone like you, Kou Zhong, who stand tall and see far, able to produce hundreds of crafty changes yet without losing honest and considerate way. To serve you in some capacity is already some kind of satisfying delight. Receiving such praise, Kou Zhong was quite embarrassed; smiling wryly, he said, Yang Gongs praise, this kid is ashamed and dare not to ept. I certainly wish to gallop side by side on the battleground with Yang Gong, but the immediate situation is greatly disadvantageous to me, so I really do not want Yang Gong to apany me bearing the hardships together. Yang Gongqing smiled and said, Since thats the case, Shaoshuai might as well disband the Shao Shuai Army, be happy to be unfettered, carefree and without worries? Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes were shining, he spoke heavily, Since my debut, I have been ustomed to constant struggle for survival; battling the mighty is as natural as taking a breath. Only because all the things we encountered were almost impossible to aplish, yet in the end Ziling and I managed to settle it one by one, I am able to derive the pleasure from within the hardships. Our trip to Changan this time has deepened my conviction that the people of honorable school andrge and influential family do not have the qualification to bring happiness, peace and security to the people. Just look at Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and the others; anybody would understand my feeling. Within the Li n, only Li Shimin is a decent person. Yang Gongqing pped his hands and said, Well said! I, Yang Gongqing, after Li Jiancheng harmed me that my family bankrupt and the people dead, have been all alone in the world; therefore, to be anything, I do not have any burden, to do anything, I do not have any scruples. Shocked, Kou Zhong said, Li Jiancheng harmed Yang Gong that your family bankrupt and the people dead? Yang Gongqing nonchntly said, Lets not mention this matter anymore; I just want to ask Shaoshuai whether you would be willing to ept Laofus proposal or not? Kou Zhong extended his big hand and solemnly said, Its rare that Yang Gong thinks so highly of me, Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong could only be grateful and delighted. Yang Gongqing grasped his hand tightly, the divine light in his pair of eyes flickered as he said, I have been thinking deeply about this for a long time; this is not out of a momentary impulse. Henceforth, what does Shaoshuai want Laojiang [old general] to do? Kou Zhong replied, Our top priority is to borrow Wang Shichongs power to resist the Tang Army. Among Yang Gongs men, how many can we use? Yang Gongqing said, The officers and soldiers under mymand have been cut to the left and reduced to the right by Wang Shichong, the remainder is less than five thousand men, but all are trusted elite troops who have been with me for many years, so in term of loyalty, there is no problem whatsoever. Kou Zhong said, This matter must remain a tacit mutual understanding between the two of us; Yang Gong must, by no means, reveal it in your words and deeds, to avoid inciting Wang Shichongs suspicion. Again Yang Gongqing grabbed him firmly for a moment. Letting go of his hand, he nodded and said, Shaoshuai set your heart at ease; Laofu has my own measure. And then he sighed and said, How much confidence does Shaoshuai have in saving Luoyang? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Originally I had ten- or twenty-percent, but now not even five-percent? Stunned, Yang Gongqing asked, Why is that? Staring at him, Kou Zhong said, Yang Gong, you are a living example, a clear prove that the heart of the people of the Great Zheng has been scattered about. Unless in our first battle we could render big blow on Li Shimin, when the Tang Army ising to the east, without even need to injure one soldier or half a troop, they would be able to receive the cities that wanted to surrender to them just like harvesting the grass. And then when Luoyang be a lone city, how long can it hold up? Yang Gongqing nodded and said, That scenario indeed might happen. Many times Zhang Zhenzhou, in private, in front of me, chewed out Wang Shichongs passing his former subordinates in bestowing titles in favor of his own rtives. Most likely he will be the first to surrender to the Li n. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Shrugging his shoulders, Yang Gongqing said, Whats so strange about it? Wasnt I just one step ahead of him? Its just that the target is not Li Shimin! Hearing that, Kou Zhong did not know whether he ought tough or cry. Suddenly he remembered something, Did Wang Shichong put Rong Fengxiang in order? he asked. Indignant, Yang Gongqing said, That is another source of resentment for us. I really dont understand why Wang Shichong is having so much apprehension toward Rong Fengxiang; but after Rong Fengxiang was assassinated by Shaoshuai, he did not show his face for a long time. However, the control over Luoshui Bang is still in his hands. Kou Zhong was also struggling to understand. After Yang Gongqing left, Kou Zhong returned to his room. While he was still pondering whether he should go to the street to roam around, he heard faint noise. Kou Zhong was greatly stunned. Could it be that the enemy wasing to his door to give him trouble this soon? Book 37 - 1 – The Extent of First Ability Knock! Knock! Someone was knocking the window, just like Yang Gongqing calling out from the door a moment ago. Kou Zhong was slightly startled. He came to the window and pushed it open. Unexpectedly it was the Qiuci beauty, the Hu Ji [barbarian woman/concubine/courtesan] Linglong Jiao, in person, beautiful, fragrant, standing captivatingly outside the window. She was wearing night-walker attire, so that her purity was reduced somewhat, but there was some kind of stirring-tender-affection-beneath-the-surface impression on her; perhaps because her manner was not as-cold-as-ice-and-frost like before, or perhaps because there was a faint grief between her brows and eyes. Shaoshuai, how are you? Linglong Jiao spoke softly. Suddenly Kou Zhong had an impulse to pull her into his arms; it must be very intoxicatingly delightful, especially recalling her persistently-pushing-others-thousand-of-li-away hateful attitude. However, it was just some fantasy prancing around in his mind; of course he was not going to do it for real. A bit unsure what to say, he simply said, Long time no see. Linglong Jiao cast him a sidelong nce; her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she spoke with slight displeasure, Why are you staring at me, seemingly unable to take your eyes off me like that? Could it be that you have already forgotten about me? Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly. He mused that when a woman made that kind of ming, angry remark, certainly it was because she had great affection, and was forcing him to dere his position. He could not help thinking about past events in Changan, the grief of when he wanted to say goodbye to Shang Xiufang but after waiting painstakingly, he still could not see her. Clearing his throat, he said, How could I forget Jiao Xiaojie? How abouting in and talk inside? Linglong Jiao shook her head and said, I received Shengshangs order to immediately go to Changping to scout Tang Armys activity; before leaving, I just want to stop by and say hello to Shaoshuai, thats all. From Tongguan to Luoyang, the waterway passed through the Yellow River, while thend route was through the official road out of Luo Pass. Changping was located midway along the Luo Pass official road, right on the south bank of the Yellow River. It simultaneously controlled the water andnd, two major routes, while it was also the location of thergest silo west of Luoyang. Both in terms of economic and military, it was definitely a ce that any military strategist would want to capture. While one after another various cities east of the Pass was surrendering to the Li n, Changping was still firmly in Wang Shichongs grasp. But if it fell into Li Shimins hands, the Tang Army from Guanzhong would be able to go straight out of Tongguan, via Hongnong to Changping, or from the waterway to Luoyang,nding on the north shore, through the only major thoroughfare, attacking the two strategic towns along the Luo Pass official road Mianchi and Cijian. How did Jiao Xiaojie know that I am here? Kou Zhong asked. Rolling her eyes at him, she said, Everything that happened here, rarely anything can be hidden from me. Ay! I really dont understand, Shengshang treated you like that, you are still willing toe to help him. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This is called vital interest. Jiao Xiaojie ought to understand what kind of a man Wang Shichong is, why are you still reluctant to give up your post and leave? Once Luoyang falls, it wont be fun anymore. Linglong Jiao shrugged her shoulders. More and more of her charmingscivious pose casually appeared. Wrinkling her nose, she said, I am just following orders. If he is done for, Ill recover my freedom, then Ille to you to be your little intelligence gatherer! Kou Zhong dejectedly said, I hope I would still be alive to enjoy that good fortune. With slight displeasure in her voice, she said, How could Shaoshuai have no confidence in yourself like this? I wont talk with you anymore. With a somersault, as nimble as a leopard cat, she was suddenly on top of the wall. Without looking at him, she waved her hand good-bye, and swiftly disappeared outside the wall. Kou Zhong shook his head with a wry smile. He had a general idea of Li Shimins might and capability; he also had profound understanding of the amazing way how he moved his troops. Unless Wang Shichong yield to him immediately, or perhaps entrusted the military powerpletely to him, Kou Zhong, then there would be a slight chance that he would be able to turn the situation around. This was not to say that he thought his military strategy was outstanding, sufficient to contend against Li Shimin, rather, he would at least be able to appease various generals under Wang Shichongsmand, who were already at odds with him; he would employ them based on their ability, unlike Wang Shichong who only know how to appoint his own rtives. From now on, until the city of Luoyang fell C would be the most important period for his Shao Shuai Army. The longer this period, the better it would be for him. He would meet with Xuan Yong, Bai Wenyuan, Bu Tianzhi, and the others, via Yang Gongqing, to make the grand n of defense and offense. Only by seizing his old home Jiangdu would he have the hope of aspiring to the throne over the world, topete against the unrivalled Li Shimin in hunting the deer in the Central ins. For the next fifteen days Kou Zhong did not set his foot outside. He focused his attention on digesting the precious realization that he learned from Ning Daoqi; furthermore, he thoroughly brought the profound mystery of the Eight Methods of the Well to a higher level. Every time Yang Gongqing came to visit, they would study Luoyang geographical situation and the application of military strategy and tactics together. His life was quiet and fulfilling. On the sixteenth day, Wang Shichong, without any reason, dyed the military affairs meeting for at least five days. Yang Gongqing received the order to pick him up into the pce. As soon as they climbed into the carriage, Yang Gongqing angrily said, Do you know why Wang Shichong insisted on dying the meeting by a few days? Startled, Kou Zhong asked the reason. Yang Gongqing said, This morning Wang Shichong announced the imperial edict: Wang Honglie to guard Xiangcheng, Wang Xingben to guard Ho, Wang Tai to guard Huaizhou, Wang Shihui to guard Nancheng, Wang Shihui to guard Feicheng, Xuanying Taizi [Crown Prince] to guard Dongcheng, Wang Xuanshu to guard Hejia city, Wang Daosi to guard Yaoyi city, he himself is inmand of twenty thousand troops to resist the Tang Army. Hearing that, Kou Zhong could only stare at him in astonishment. The high-ranking military officers guarding the important city on eight points of thepass around Luoyang were all the rtives of Wang Shichongs n; evidently he simply did not trust high-ranking military officers of outside his surname. Such move would definitely alienate various generals of different surname one step further. Maybe because Wang Shichong learned from past experience with Li Mi, knowing that once their troops were defeated, the generals under hismand would surrender to the enemy like in a chain reaction. However, moving an army and sending a general by appointing men based on family rtionship instead of talent would only put the Zheng Army in defeated position. This arrangement already caused Wang Shichong to think hard and waste his mental and physical strength, which also resulted in the dy of the meeting. Has Zhang Zhenzhou arrived? Kou Zhong asked. Zhenzhou arrived six days ago, along with Xianzhous Zongguan Tian Fen and Guanzhous Zongguan Yang Qing, Yang Gongqing replied, But Li Mis surrendering generals Duan Da and Shan Xiongxin were not summoned back into the capital, because Wang Shichong does not trust them even more. Ay, Shaoshuai, tell me, this battle, we dont need to fight it, I already know the oue. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Wang Shichong is that kind of man who doesnt know he is going to lose; our hope is that he will be able to hold out a bit longer. Yang Gongqing nodded and said, Beyond that, what can we expect of him? The carriage entered the imperial city. By the time the three sailboats from the Yellow River swiftly entering the Tong Ji Canal, starting theirst leg of the journey toward Liangdu, Xu Ziling already knew that he did not fail the task that Kou Zhong entrusted him; he sessfully transported the treasure back to Pengliang. Because Tong Xing Hui [sic; previously it was Tong Xing She] had done enough business and periodically sent tribute, hence they modestly earned favorable reputation, whenever they met with the Zheng Army, they did not have any trouble. Everybody was in high spirit; hurriedly they reced the banner with Shao Shuai Armys Twin-Dragon military banner, to avoid provoking unnecessary misunderstanding. When they were still a couple of sichen away from Liangdu, Bu Tianzhi got the wind and came; he personally led a warship to wee them. Meeting again after a long period of separation, naturally they were all exceptionally happy. While the fleet majestically sailed with the current, Xu Ziling, Bu Tianzhi, Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, and Zha Jie gathered in the cabin to talk, telling each other what happened after they parted. Seeing what kind of talent Bu Tianzhi was, plus he was taking shelter with Kou Zhong, Gao Zhandao and the others confidence soared. Bu Tianzhi said, Shaoshuai already arrived safely at Luoyang, and is dealing with the old fox. I hope he could defend Luoyang steadily. Only four days ago Shaoshuai sent us news, saying that Ziling and Gao Dajiang [great general] and the others may arrive any moment. Everybody was worried over Kou Zhongs current situation; learning of this matter, immediately a big load on their mind was gone. Only Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong had sessfully slipped away from under Ning Daoqis hands; furthermore, he knew that from this moment on, even if he fought alone, there would not be many people in the world who could deal with Kou Zhong. Why did Bu Xiansheng call me Dajiang? Gao Zhandao asked in astonishment. Bu Tianzhi smiled and said, This is Xu Junshis arrangement. Shaoshuai has a brilliant insight; Xu Junshi is indeed a rare talent, he organized us, a tray of loose sand, into a real Shao Shuai Magnificent Army Division. In administering the economic and peoples livelihood, everything is clear and in good order even more. Gao Xiong is now one of eight Zhen Dajiang [garrison great general] of our Shao Shuai Army, equivalent to Shaoshuais capable aides. Niu Xiong and Zha Xiong are left and right flying generals, respectively. For the time being, one garrison is thirty-five hundred men strong; naturally it will be greatly expanded someday. Gao Zhandao and the others were ustomed to being pirates; with more than two hundred men crisscrossing the world, they already felt very great. Hearing that all of a sudden they had more than three thousand men under theirmand, immediately their spirit was greatly aroused; they were pleased beyond their expectation. Lowering his voice, Bu Tianzhi said, Shaoshuais message did not mention anything about the Duke Yangs Treasure; what exactly is the situation? What kind of rumors did you hear? Xu Ziling asked. Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, What we received were all bad news. Reportedly your treasure hunt operation suffered setback, and thus the Li n seized the treasures for themselves. However, all along wealth and weapons are external objects; as long as the people coulde out unscathed, other things, we really need not care. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, The fact is the exact opposite. In the holds of these three ships of ours, we are carrying gold, enough to feed military and civilian poption of the entire Pengliang region for at least three years. This is Shao Shuai Armys secret; it must not be leaked outside. Bu Tianzhi stared at him in disbelief. After Xu Zilings brief exnation, Bu Tianzhi pped his thigh and blurted out, This will solve the problem that gives Xu Junshi the most headache. After getting the stash that Cao Yinglongs hid everywhere, in line with Shaoshuais intention, Xu Junshi returned the riches to the people, by exempting the Pengliang region of the taxes for one year, also by purchasingrge quantities of grains and building materials from various regions via Ze Yue of Long You Bang, using up almost all of the cash reserve. But now that we obtain this gold, naturally it is another matter altogether. Hows Pengliangs current situation? Niu Fengyi asked. Bu Tianzhi replied cheerfully, Under Xu Junshis governance, tens of thousands in Pengliang have had their hearts returning to us; the city is flourishing. Even if the Tang Army arrives tomorrow, we are confident that we will be able to hold out for a few days. Greatly interested, Zha Jie asked, Other than Gao Dajiang, who are the Eight Garrison Generals? Bu Tianzhi replied, Currently we only have six Garrison Generals, there are still two vacancies waiting for virtuous persons. The other five Dajiang are Xuan Yong, Chen Changlin, Bai Wenyuan, Jiao Hongjin, and Xiaodi. Each one is leading a garrison [note: the word garrison can also be tranted as small town], the total military strength is twenty thousand. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Last time when I left, the total strength ought to be over that number. Bu Tianzhi said, This is precisely one of the reasons why I admire Xingzhi. Before, we did not have any separation between military and civilians, we did not have enough weapon and horses to be distributed. The total number of people appeared to be forty, fifty thousand, but actually we were just a mob. Thereupon Xingzhi made a big reform; the entire army was disbanded first, and then from among those who were interested in joining the army and willing to vow loyalty we selected the best, forming six-garrison army, which underwent strict training. We also subdivided Pengliang into six regions, each region is one garrison; we can both maintainw and order, and also provide assistance to regional farming and manufacturing industries, building construction and road repair, furthermore, we also reinforce each regions defense and military matters in general. Shao Shuai Army now is no longer like Shao Shuai Army then. Xu Ziling secretly praised Kou Zhongs movement; he understood even more why Li Shimins restraining fear toward Kou Zhong was growing by the day, simply because Pengliangs situation must have been reported in details by his own spies mouth. Bu Tianzhis excitement in talking was rising, he went on, In term of internal affair, Xingzhi established four ministries superintendent. Ren Dajie is appointed Family Rite Superintendent, in charge of six areas: farming household, normal routine expenses [Courtesy of Akw], money and silk, warehouse, ceremony, host and guest, feeding, and other ministries. Chen Laomou is appointed Ministry of Works Superintendent, in charge of civil engineering and construction, vige and field, farming expansion, mountains, ponds, parks and gardens, boat building, rivers and canals, and other ministerial duty. Xingzhi himself concurrently holds Law-enforcement Superintendent and Ministry of War Superintendent. The officers are elected officials, they have to take exams, gain merit, pass criminalw, military affairs, and other subjects. Due to all of us are of one heart, the overall operation is both streamlined and effective. Hearing that, Xu Ziling did not know how he ought to feel. Under Xu Xingzhi and the others painstaking efforts, the Shao Shuai Army was finally showing its scale. If the Great Tang Army took advantage of this time before they were stable, using Mount-Tai-pressing-down-overhead powerful momentum to destroy them, the people perished and the army scattered, it would definitely be hard for Xu Ziling to take. Zha Jie excitedly said, What instruction does Shaoshuai have? Are we going to send troops to help Wang Shichong defending Luoyang? Smiling bitterly, Bu Tianzhi said, Although in name we have twenty-thousand men, the fact is that thebat force is only twelve, thirteen thousand men; the rest consists of all kinds of specialists in defensive structure and heavy military equipment. Moreover, because we still need to leave some men to guard Pengliang, so that Li Zitong, who has been watching like tiger C will not enter by exploiting a weak spot. Therefore, in actuality we could only send absolutely no more than three, four thousand men. Fortunately Shaoshuai clearly ordered us to defend our base camp well, while imploring us to apany Ziling Xiong to visit Luoyang to meet with him to have a discussion. When are you nning on going? Xu Ziling asked. Bu Tianzhi replied, If there is no objection, we can set out tonight. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Very well, well leave tonight. The military affairs meeting, which would decide the Zheng States rise and fall C was finally being held in the Yizheng Dian [lit. pce hall to discuss politics], presided by Wang Shichong himself. The attendees included Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Wang Honglie, Wang Xingben, Wang Shihui, Wang Shiwei, Wang Daohuai, the Crown Prince and other princes. The high-ranking military officers of different surname included Yang Gongqing, Zhang Zhenzhou, Song Mengqiu, Lang Feng, Yang Qing, and Tian Fen; and albeit it was forced, Kou Zhong was added into their number, to even up the number of men on each side. Apparently Wang Shichong has recovered from the shock of listening to Kou Zhongs report when he first arrived; he seemed to have nned in advance, and appeared to be calm. However, at least on the surface, he still respected Kou Zhong, and let him sit on the seat of honor on his right-hand side, to stand side by side with Wang Xuanying on the opposite side. Kou Zhong originally thought that he might see Linglong Jiao, but the Qiuci beauty did not show up. Wang Shichong started the meeting by saying, Just received the news: Song JinGang, with twenty thousand elite cavalry, defeated the Tang generals Jiang Baoyi and Li Zhongwens troops in surprise attack. The next target, if not Pingyao, then Jiezhou. The crowd was in an uproar. Only Wang Xuanying, with grim, sarcastic smile on his face C was staring at Kou Zhong; his reaction was entirely different from other people. Kou Zhong was puzzled inwardly. Wang Xuanying was not surprised, it must be because he already knew this matter; but his dislike to Kou Zhong was certainly thought provoking. Something was not right here. But what was it? Puzzled, Wang Xuanshu asked, Although Song JinGang is a fierce general, the Tang Army should not be so weak that they were unable to withstand a single blow like this. Immensely proud of himself, Wang Xuanying said, Wangdi [younger brother king] may not know it, but this time Song JinGang invading Taiyuan in the south, he has Xielis full support behind him. Not only they provide warhorses and equipment, they also have Tujue elite troops disguised as Song JinGangs men. Naturally they are not something that the Tang Army can deal with. Kou Zhong started to understand why Li Yuan had such a restraining fear toward the Tujue, and did not dare to openly offend Xieli. If he tore the face, Xieli would have no scruples whatsoever to join hands with Song JinGang and move his troops to the south, and then who could stand against them? Fortunately, this moment he was still not that bright-eyed-open-up-gall-dder [i.e. tant]. Zhang Zhenzhou said, Once Song Army takes Pingyao and Jiezhou, they will directly besiege Taiyuan, their original target. Not only Taiyuan is Li Yuans old nest, it is also the House of Tangs back-up granary, it must not fall. I wonder what would Li Yuans countermeasure be? Wang Shichong looked at Kou Zhong. With a rxed manner, he said, If it is really as Shaoshuai had guessed, Li Shimin is deliberately letting Li Yuanji to suffer defeat to lure Song JinGang to prate deeply, then it is extremely likely that he ismitting the big blunder that will bring the Li Family from prosperity to decline. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Wheres the mistake? Raising his voice, Wang Shichong spoke word-by-word, loudly and powerfully, His mistake was in underestimating the enemy. Now Li Yuan already sent Li Yuanji out to defend Taiyuan, he also sent Pei Ji as Jinzhous Dao Xing Jun Zongguan [lit. chief of marching army, perhaps a title], leading the troops to support Li Yuanji. Evidently Li Yuan sensed the danger. Once Taiyuan fell, Song JinGang might go down south along Fen River, following the old route Li Yuan took many years ago to enter the Pass, crossing the Yellow River and straight toward Changan. Otherwise, why would he send Pei Ji to help? Wang Xuanyingughed evilly and said, As long as we can restrain Li Shimins army outside the Pass, by the time Song JinGang go down south smoothly, even if Li Shimin had three heads and six arms, he would fall into the enemy-in-front-and-back situation, then no one can change his fate. Kou Zhong raised his eyebrows, but did not answer. Tian Fen asked, What is Li Shimins army strength? Where are they stationed? Wang Xuanying scrambled to answer, This moment Li Shimins main force is concentrated at Chousang, northwest of Hongnong, two-day march from Taolin. Looking on the situation, they seem to be marching toward Changping. This time we must make him able toe, unable to leave. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. With his ipetence and ignorance, Wang Xuanying was trying to guess Li Shimins capability, it was akin to summer bug trying to talk about ice; he did not know what he was talking about. Frowning, Zhang Zhenzhou said, With Li Shimins shrewdness, how could he be stupid enough to open up two fire heads at the same time? Everybody knew that even if Luoyang remains as a lone city, it is not something that can be captured within a year or a half. Displeased, Wang Xuanying said, He does note to attack me, then I wille to attack him, to make him stand in the deep mud, unable to divide his troops to deal with Song JinGang. By the time Song JinGang and Li Army, both sides suffer, we will enter by exploiting a weak spot, and thus receiving the fishermans benefit to the greatest extend. Wang Shichong cleared his throat to interrupt Wang Xuanyings immensely-pleased-with-himself torrential river of words. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, If Shaoshuai has any opinion about this matter, please speak out, no need to have the slightest misgivings. Kou Zhong cursed him inwardly. Although Wang Shichong was putting on an act of respecting the wise, the fact was that he already had a n. By putting the princes out to be in charge of strategic towns all around Luoyang, his purpose was to ensure Luoyangs safety and secure the route for providing foodstuff; furthermore, it was also to guard against his men defecting to the enemy. If one was to besiege Luoyang, the first thing to do was to clear away theseyers of barrier. Thereupon, he slowly said, Whats the situation on Li Shijis side? Wang Shichong said, Li Yuan appointed Huaian Wang [king] Li Shentong to be the Shandongs Dao An Fu Dashi [ambassador to pacify the road], to help Li Shiji attacking Yuwen Huajis troops at Weixian, hoping to defeat Yuwen Huaji one step ahead of Dou Jiande, to intercept Dou Jiandes army. Kou Zhong pped the table and said with a sigh, This is precisely the role of the troops Li Shimin stationed at Chousang; its purpose is to control Shengshangs Zheng Army, to give Li Shiji a chance to expand to the north. Zhang Zhenzhou nodded and said, Shaoshuais view is not without any reason. Wang Xuanyingughed coldly and said, I think Li Shimin is following the path to his own doom. Yuwen Huajis demise is at hand, this is the fact that no one can reim. It does not matter which side defeats Yuwen Huaji, with no one helping him, the Xia and the Tang powers will face each other. To us, there will he a hundred advantages without a single harm. Wang Honglie and the others were Wang Xuanyings cronies; one after another they praised him, they voiced their support to him. Wang Shichong cleared his throat again. After everybodys attention was back to him, he spoke heavily, Todays meeting is to decide whether we ought to send troops to attack Li Shimin. This is a matter of great importance. Once the weapons of war move, we are openly [orig. tearing the face apart] dering war against Li Yuan. Wang Xuanying spoke resolutely, This is a one-in-a-thousand-years opportunity; we must not miss it. Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing exchanged a nce; they did not speak. Tian Fen and Yang Qing, two mens position was lower than theirs, they did not dare to make any noise even more. Song Mengqiu was the first to express his approval. Lang Feng and the rest of the rtives echoed in session. Seeing Kou Zhong staring nkly with knitted eyebrows, Wang Shichong asked in surprise, Does Shaoshuai have different thought? It was as if Kou Zhong had suddenly woken up; he nodded and said, I surely have different thought. In my humble opinion, under current circumstances, it is definitely inadvisable to send troops to attack the Tang. Bang! Wang Xuanying heavily pped the table and roared furiously, I knew you are the spy that Li Shimin sent here; you still havent revealed the foxs tail? Everybody, including Wang Shichong, was stunned. Book 37 - 2 – The Way To Live Or Die Wang Shichong shouted, Wanger [king son], dont talk nonsense. Wang Xuanying stood up suddenly. Glowering at Kou Zhong on the other side, he pointed his fingers at him and said, A real man dares to admit what he dares to do. Kou Zhong, when you were in Changan, did you, with Li Jing threading the needle, already surrender to Li Shimin? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong still acted leisurely andfortable; he smiled and said, Theres no need for Taizi [crown prince] to get this angry. A rumor of such great importance, this is the first time that Xiaodi hears it; I wonder if the information originates from the report of our Luoyang great beauty Rong Jiaojiaos spy? Apparently Kou Zhong had hit the nail on the head; Wang Xuanyings in-the-right-and-self-confidence momentum immediately took a beating. But showing strength while weak inside, he still pushed on, Where the information came from, no need for you to care; do you dare to answer my question? In the pce hall, the crow and peacock made no sound. Kou Zhong was still taking things less seriously; heughed heartily and said, What kind of man I, Kou Zhong, am? Any public opinion in the world, if others dont understand, its pointless for me to waste my breath. Zhang Zhenzhou spoke heavily, I am afraid Taizi misunderstood. Shaoshuai is definitely not that kind of person. Seeing Wang Shichong did not say anything, Wang Xuanyings guts grew; he angrily said, If it were real misunderstanding, why did he advocate strongly that we shouldnt use troops against Li Shimin? Kou Zhong mused inwardly that probably it was not a good idea to argue and push Wang Xuanying too hard; seizing this opportunity to let him step down, he pped his forehead and said, Turns out Taizi misunderstood Xiaodi because of that. Taizi, please sit down, listen to Xiaodis exnation. Wang Shichong nodded to Wang Xuanying. Although Wang Xuanying was deeply dissatisfied, he did not have any choice but to sit down to listen to what Kou Zhong had to say. Everybodys eyes were fixed on Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong spoke seriously, I am the kind of person who loves to ce myself in how others would think. If I were Li Shimin, under current circumstances, I would definitely not want to start an all-around war against Shengshang, because I must preserve some of my strength to deal with Song JinGang, whose momentum is pressing. Astounded, Wang Shichong said, Since thats the case, why did Li Shimin station his troops outside the Pass? Could it be only to control us, to make us unable to be involved in Li Shijis operation? Kou Zhong said, That is one of the reasons. The other reason is to sound out Shengshangs intention. If I am guessing correctly, Li Yuan absolutely does not want to use force against Luoyang at the moment; he is hoping to dy this matter for at least ten months. Everybody was stunned. They did not understand how he could determine the ten-month time limit. Even Yang Gongqing could not help asking, How did Shaoshuaie to this conclusion? Kou Zhong smiled and said, The reason is very simple; all because Dong Guifei is pregnant with Li Yuans flesh and blood. If the Tang and the Zheng start a war, Dong Guifei might be frightened and panic, and hurt the fetus. Based on Li Yuans character, he certainly would not want this to happen. The crowd suddenly understood, but they still felt it was hard to believe. Still puzzled, Wang Honglie asked, Didnt Shaoshuai say that the Tang Army ising to attack Luoyang? But now you said this; arent you contradicting yourself? The attack on Luoyang is imperative, Kou Zhong replied, But there are differences in the order, which one is first, which one is second. Just by looking at how the Tang Army is divided into two prongs, one to resist Song JinGang, one to attack Yuwen Huaji, while Li Shimin stays behind to take care of things, it is evident that Li Shimins strategy is to consolidate the northern bank of the Yellow River first, and only then will he conspire for the official road of the Luo Pass. If the official road fell into Li Shimins hands, the Tang Army would be able to arrive secretly via the water and thend, two routes. They would nibble away at the cities surrounding Luoyang first, and then only after they seeded in cutting off the route of foodstuff supply, they would besiege Luoyang directly. Wang Xuanying argued with the courage of his convictions, Since thats the case, are you saying wed still sit and wait for death, letting Li Shimin baring his fangs and brandishing his ws, showing off his military strength? Remaining calm, Kou Zhong said, If we sent troops to attack Tang at this time, we would be only doing Li Shimin a big favor for nothing; he would simply ignore Li Yuans decree, and Li Yuan would also have to exin to Shuni Xiaojie. When the timees, Li Shimin only need to move his main forces across the Yellow River; would Taizi dare to cross the River to pursue and attack? Wang Xuanying was at a loss for words. Although they have gained several strongholds on the north bank of the Yellow River, but all were located north or Luoyang, plus Li Shijis army was pinning them down that they were unable to budge. If they transferred their main force to attack Chousang, potentially it would be difficult for the head and the tail to look after each other; perhaps the strongholds on the north bank would be lost as well, while the other side would only pounce on empty air. Of course it was definitely not a good idea. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Wang Shichong said, So Shaoshuai think we ought to hold back our troops without moving, quietly watch for the changes? Kou Zhong said, In the Zheng-Tang war, Shengshang actually holds the utmost advantage of upying the favorable location. If you could unify the people, so that from top to bottom everybody is of one heart, when Li Shimin is weary from the long war, very likely he would repeat Li Mis mistake. It is also advisable for Shengshang to form alliance with Dou Jiande; together you fight the Tang Army. This way it will even be more foolproof. This could be considered Kou Zhongsst meaningful and heartfelt words toward Wang Shichong, warning him and reminding him, pointing out his biggest weak point. Zhang Zhenzhou and the other high-ranking military officers with other surnames, none did not praise inwardly, but they did not dare to reveal it outwardly. Wang Shichong nodded and said, The alliance with Dou Jiande is absolutely necessary. One time he personally came to Luoyang to have discussion with Zhen [I, imperial use] for one night, but because of some differences in interest, from beginning to end we did not reach any agreement. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Disagreement? A bit embarrassed, Wang Shichong cleared his throat and said, From the time Xu Yuang surrendered to Dou Jiande, the Xia Armys power reaches Tongji, so that we have had several conflicts with Xu Shiji and Dou Jiande, west of Yingyang, which was very unpleasant. Even though he mentioned it without borating, Kou Zhong faintly guessed that perhaps this matter had something to do with him, because from Tongji Canal going down south was precisely Liangdu, which was Kou Zhongs territory. Due to his rtionship with Liu Heita, Dou Jiande had already regarded Kou Zhong to be on the same side. Perhaps Wang Shichong was conspiring against his Shao Shuai Army, but Dou Jiande opposed him, hence the Xia-Zheng alliance talk could not reach any agreement. But naturally he could not uncover this point. He proposed, Leave this matter to me. As long as Shengshang agrees, I can go to Leshou to talk with Dou Jiande, toyout the pros and cons to him; I guarantee he will be willing to fight the Tang Army together with you. This proposal squarely hit the content of Wang Shichongs heart. It should be noted that after Kou Zhong dealt the big blow to Li Mi, he already established sublime prestige and status within the Zheng Army; therefore, whenter on Wang Shichong joined hands with Li Shimin to deal with him and Xu Ziling, he incited intense discontent within the army. With Wang Shichongs everything-for-self-and-selfish-profit character, it was only natural for him to be afraid that Kou Zhong might join hands with the high-ranking military officers of other surnames to usurp him. Therefore, Kou Zhong willing to leave Luoyang was really something that Wang Shichong sought, but failed to get. Laughing aloud, he said, As long as Shaoshuai can persuade Dou Jiande, why should we fear the Tang Army? Kou Zhong apanied him inughter, but inwardly he thought that before either Li Shiji or Dou Jiande transformed Yuwen Huajis bones [huagu, y on words, remember the boys used to call Yuwen Huaji Yuwen Huagu], he and Xu Ziling must grab the opportunity to take revenge for their Niang. Under Yang Gongqings arrangement, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling met at Chenliu. Coming with Xu Ziling were Xu Xingzhi, Xuanyong, and Bu Tianzhi, three men. They held a meeting on board the ship moored at the dock. After exining the situation of the north, Kou Zhong asked, Hows the situation on the south? Xu Xingzhi said, On the surface, Li Zitongs prestige appears to be rising; not only he inflicted heavy losses on Shen Lun, Du Fuwei also momentarily withdrew his troops. Li Zitong even led his army crossing the river to attack Shen Faxing, and advancing to upy Jingkou. Shen Faxing dispatched his troops to Jiangzhi to meet the enemy head-on, but he was beaten on the spot by Li Zitong, and was forced to abandon Piling, while he himself fled to Wujun. Even Danyang also fell into Li Zitongs hands. Kou Zhong said, His prestige is surely flourishing greatly; why did Xingzhi say on the surface it appears to be rising? Xu Xingzhi analyzed, Li Zitong did not have any choice but to take the risk to attack Shen Faxing, because north of his old nest, the East China Sea has been upied by us, to the west there is Du Fuweis crisscrossing-unrivalled Jianghuai elite squad. Therefore, the only expansion target is Jiangnans old enemy Shen Faxing. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Compared to Shen Faxing, Shao Shuai Army clearly has small army, scant generals; why did Li Zitong choose the strong and abandon the weak, instead of retrieving lost ground he attempted to take Jiangnan? Xu Xingzhi replied, Abandoning the weak and choosing the strong is one of the crucial points. Li Zitong knew that we are powerless to invade Jiangdu; therefore, he went all-out to take care of Shen Faxing first, which, to him was more of a threat. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Due to the grave disagreement between the two big shots of Jianghuai Army, Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyou, momentarily they have no time to pay attention to Li Zitong; no wonder he is so reckless. Xuan Yong asked, How long does Shaoshuai think Luoyang can survive? Kou Zhong replied, Wang Shichongs appointing his rtives is not without one good point either. He himself is also amander-in-chief, a veteran of a hundred battles; furthermore, now they are staking everything to amass rations and fodder in the city. Even if Luoyang became a lone city, at least they would be able to hold on for a year or a half. Xu Xingzhi sighed and said, In that case, it is very likely that Li Shimin will suffer defeat. Not only he will have to ovee Song JinGangs army with Tujue elite troops mixed within in, he also has to deal with Dou Jiandes mighty army. On top of that, over a long war, Guanzhongs fighters will feel homesick for their rtives; in their attack to Luoyang, the casualties must be disastrous. The situation is very bad for him. Bu Tianzhi said, Most probably after defeating Song JinGang, Li Shimin would change from offense to defense, to consolidate and recapture the lostnd. Xuan Yong said, That is the next policy. Once Yuwen Huaji is destroyed, Dou Jiandes main forces will be like the tide running over the dike, sweeping everything along the northern bank of the Great River. If Li Shimin cannot capture Luoyang before this situation urs, he willpletely lose the superiority of his painstaking operation outside the Pass, and will be forced to retreat and defend Guanzhong. And then he could only sit and watch Dou Jiande be powerful hegemon outside the Pass. Kou Zhong said, Precisely because Li kid is well aware of this key point that he carried out the strategy to confuse people. But I dont care if Li Shimin is Wuhou [Duke Wu] came back alive, or Sun Wu reincarnated [referring to Zhuge Liang and Sun Tzu, respectively], capturing Luoyang is still a year or a half matter; plus it does not matter who win who lose, unless we are willing to surrender, the head of the fire will continue to burn toward us. Xingzhi, what wonderful method do you have in mind to deal with this matter? Xu Xingzhiughed and said, Shaoshuai already has a card up your sleeve, why should Xingzhi put my disgrace on disy? Attack Jiangdu? Xuan Yong spoke heavily. Kou Zhong said, Only by obtaining Jiangdu will we have a hope to resist the north and scheme against the south. Now that we have the entire gold from the treasure house, we are not afraid of financial shortage. Taking advantage before Luoyang falls, we go all-out to expand our army to prepare for war; but this is by no means a blind expansion, since that will not only damage the local production and aggravate the storehouses load, it might also cause Shao Shuai Armys quality to decline. pping his chest, Xuan Yong guaranteed, Leave this matter to us. All substandard soldiers will be eliminated; we will definitely not ept new recruit indiscriminately. Bu Tianzhi said, Externally, we can im to receive arge quantity of gold from Cao Yinglong, so that even when we have cash in abundance, it wont provoke outsiders suspicion. Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Pengliangs development is unusually ideal. Shaoshuai, you may deal with Yuwen Huaji with peace of mind. Kou Zhong pped the table and praised, Xingzhi is like the worm in my belly; unexpectedly you understand the content of my heart. Xu Zilingughed and said, Just by looking at how you wanted to meet us here, I knew that you, Laoxiong, momentarily do not have any intention to return to Pengliang. Kou Zhong said with a bitter smile, Ling Shao is teasing me again. Turning to Xu Xingzhi and the others, he said, During the preparation for war, there are two things that we must do separately. First, we need to make contact with Gui Xiliang of Zhu Hua Bang; we can grasp the situation in Jiangdu and the south through them. The other thing is that we must try to secretly buy a batch of first-ss warhorses from the Flying Horse Ranch, which Shang Xiuxun has personally promised me. The day that I, Kou Zhong, return to Pengliang will be the time to attack Jiangdu. The three men acknowledged in loud voice. After taking their leave from Xu Xingzhi, three men, Kou and Xu, dressed as fishermen, took a fishing boat to go up north. The weather suddenly turned awful; wind and snow attacked together, so that they had no choice but to dock their fishing boat on the shore to avoid the storm. Unafraid of cold weather, the two sat outside the sail to enjoy the snowscape of the Tongji Canal. Kou Zhong said, In another sichen well reach Daa in the north, and then turning left, going downstream to the east, in two days we will reach Yuwen ns old nest Xucheng. In the past, when Emperor Yang had not returned to the west [i.e. die], I remember how Yuwen ns prestige was spread into eight directions, but now their path exhausted, they reach the end of the road. Xu Yuang surrendered to Dou Jiande, Yuwen Huagus fate is doomed to defeat and disperse. Xu Zilings eyes were fixed on a burst of gale blowing the rain and the snow sideways so that it looked like a wall traversing the vast canal surface; he spoke heavily, Ever since Yuwen Huagu attacked Liangdu and suffered destroyed-troops-broken-generals and had to go back, their allotted share is just waiting to be ughtered. Xu Yuang relies on help from Dou Jiande, it will only make them trapped on all sides, without any way to escape. Kou Zhong said, Now Yuwen Huagu personally leads his army to Weixian on the eastern bank of Yongji Canal to fight Li Shiji and Li Shentongs main forces, to vie over control of the Yongji Canal. In my opinion, Yuwen Huagu wontst for too long. We are going directly to Weixian like this, theres great chance that we will miss him. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, If we dont go to Weixian, where should we go? Kou Zhong analyzed, What weck is intelligence; hence we can only sigh from the very beginning. Are you thinking of asking for Liu Heitas help? Xu Ziling asked. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Sooner orter I will have to see Dou Jiande. Only because the rtionship between you and me is vague and unclear, Xiaodi has to go a few circles before speaking to sound out Ling Yes reaction. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, This is called empty evil intentions. However, looking for Liu Heita is not at all easier than looking for Yuwen Huagu. Furthermore, going back and forth will take time. If Yuwen Huaji is already killed by Li Shiji, we will regret it very much. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Ive never said anything about your ... Xu Ziling cut him off, Because you have selfish motives, hence you cant tell me. Selfish motives? Kou Zhong blurted, I, Kou Zhong, have selfish motives for Niangs sake? Xu Zilingughed to his hearts content and said, To know somebody is really not easy; to know oneself clearly without prejudice is even more difficult. I havent had a chance to ask you: that Ning Daoqi barrier, how did you pass it? Kou Zhong hatefully said, Good kid; you clearly dont want to give me the opportunity to exin myself. All right, Laozi is a big man and magnanimous; I wont argue with you. Xu Ziling doubled-up inughter and said, The one who is a big man and magnanimous, I am afraid it was Ning Daoqi and not you? Indeed Kou Zhong had his sore feet grasped by Xu Ziling; seizing the opportunity of seeing good thing and promptly epting it, he nodded and said, Ning Daoqi is indeed a super-talented figure of the immortal way,pletely without anypetitive thought, just like running water, no matter how it flows over water and through the forest, it is always free and leisurely, without any care or worry, receiving and releasing with ease. Honestly, if he were dealing with me by fair means or foul like we imagined earlier, I wouldnt be sitting here with you, expressing my highest reverence to him. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Are you pretending to be modest? Kou Zhong patted his shoulders vigorously; heughed freely and said, You have seen me through again. But except thest sentence, the rest are the truth. When I blocked Ning Daoqis full-strength palm strike, I knew that I simply had to stake everything. Did he use his San Shou Ba Pu [lit. scattered hand eight pounces; reminder: his title was San Ren (lit. scattered man)]? Xu Ziling asked. No, Kou Zhong replied, Definitely not. Xu Zilings interest was piqued, he asked, You, LaoGe, have never seen San Shou Ba Pu; how do you know whether he was using it or not? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, San Shou Ba Pu ought to be aplete set of martial art ways essence, from one move to the next there ought to be coherence, including thew with which the spirit and substance are disyed, just like Xiaodis Jing Zhong Bafa [eight methods of the well]. (Cough!) Ha! The reason I wanted Eight Methods instead of nine or ten methods was precisely as a tribute to his Eight Pounces. Another question, Xu Ziling said, Why didnt Ning Daoqi use his consummate skill? Ill say you wouldnt be able to block his Eight Pounces either. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Because he restricted himself to use only one hand to deal with me; how could heunch the Eight Pounces? Xu Ziling said, For a man with that kind of outstanding intelligence, how could Ning Daoqi be willing to let the tiger return to its mountain? If that was the case, he practically should not agree to make his move to Shi Feixuan, and Shi Feixuan could not possibly ask him to make his move either. Kou Zhong appeared to be deep in thought. Muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Thats true. There must be some changes in this matter that we are not aware of. Xu Zilings pair of eyes was gleaming with outstanding-wisdom-as-deep-as-the-ocean brilliant rays; he spoke slowly, We ought to understand those changes. If I am guessing correctly, this time Shi Feixuan is not absolutely optimistic about Li Shimin; therefore, she let you off. Under current circumstances, Li Shimin is still her first choice, and Kou Shaoshuai is the second choice. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such thing? Just think, Xu Ziling analyzed, Yang WenGans armed rebellion was such a grave matter, yet Jiancheng could still be acquitted. Evidently the Crown Prince and Imperial Concubine Factionsbined power is very strong. Currently Li Shimin only has two paths to take: one is to raise the troops on the outside and dere independence. However, if he wanted to take this path, he must take Wang Shichongs territory first, otherwise he would only follow the path to his own doom. And the other path is to stage a coup in Changan, Kou Zhong continued, And this is even more not easy. With the support of the Tujue, Jiancheng, Yuanjisbined power is stronger than Li Shimins. Not to mention Yuanji has Li Yuans support. Ha! Your observation about Shi Feixuan not absolutely optimistic about Li Shimin makes a lot of sense. Xu Ziling said, Whats more puzzling is why, since that is the case, did Ning Daoqi still want to make his move? Kou Zhong replied, I am afraid the reason was our Secret to Long Life. Ning Daoqi was using this opportunity to force me to stake it all, to go all out, so that he could get a glimpse of what is true and what is false of the Secret to Long Life. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. pping his forehead, Kou Zhong said, I am so stupid; unexpectedly I forgot about Yang Gongqing. We could ask him to provide us any information pertaining to Yuwen Huagu. Frowning deeply, Xu Ziling said, You want to make a detour to Luoyang? Kou Zhong said, These days Yang Gongqing ought to be in Yingyang and not in Luoyang; looking for him is just as convenient as passing through. Lets do it then, Xu Ziling said. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong asked, After avenging Niang, where would Ling Shao go? Xu Ziling replied, I want to visit Da Xiaojie and little Lingzhong. I want to see them too, Kou Zhong said with a sigh. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Unless you know how to split yourself, how could you have any spare time? Afterwards I am going to take a trip beyond the Great Wall, to see Old Bas prairie and the desert that Ke Dazhi loves dearly. Kou Zhong was silent without saying anything; he understood that Xu Ziling wanted to avoid the Central ins in order to stay out of his business. Otherwise, if he heard the news that he, Kou Zhong, was in danger or met with mishap, how could Xu Ziling tuck his hands inside his sleeves and ignore him? Book 37 - 3 – Flying Dragon in the Sky Without any trouble Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling arrived at Yingyang and went to the former Duke of Mi Mansion to look for Yang Gongqing. Revisiting old haunts, they remembered the past where together with Susu, they went through difficult time as they escaped out of Da Longtou Mansion, as well as many other past events when they escaped out of Yingyang. The situation has changed; Susu was gone, Li Mi was like a tiger that fell into a in, Shen Luoyan was married and became a wife. They could not help sighing. Yang Gongqing did not expect the two woulde together. Greatly delighted, he said, It was such a headache looking for you. Whats the matter? Kou Zhong asked in surprise. A man was walking inrge strides from the inner hall;ughing aloud, he said, Its a small world. I never imagined that you, two Laoxiong unexpectedly would drop in; it saves Xiaodi the hardship of searching for you. The iing person was elegant, distinguished and aplished; it was precisely the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai. Suddenly seeing an old friend, the two boys were pleased beyond belief. Kou Zhongughed heartily and said, I thought you were hiding deep in the mountains and deste valleys somewhere, who would have thought that you are running around all over the ce? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Hiding deep in the city, how could Hou Xiong be willing to remain lonely? Without a close female friend keeping youpany, how could you pass your days? Hou Xibai said, Ziling must be joking! These days Xiaodi broke off all rtions with red-mansion-clear-establishments; I constantly have you in my heart, I miss you really bad. (Gasp!) Kou Zhong cried out in surprise theatrically, Both Ling Shao and I are no good in such matters. Hou Xibai blurted outughing and said, Shaoshuai is teasing me. Xiaodi was just exaggerating a bit; otherwise, how could I express the gratitude in my heart? Kou Zhong deliberately spoke with straight face, But your handsome and graceful gentleman style might make people suspicious! Three mens six eyes looked at each other, they all roared inughter. Their banter provoked Yang Gongqing toughter as well; he deeply felt the absence of hypocrisy among the three, that they were full of sincere friendship. Both in the officialdom and in Jianghu, it was rare and precious. Lets sit down first before we continue talking, he hastily said. The four sat down around a table. Yang Gongqing personally poured tea for everyone. How did Hou Xiong know that you could find us via Yang Gong? Xu Ziling asked. Hou Xibai replied, After leaving Changan, I went to Luoyang first, stayed there for more than ten days before leaving for Yingyang. In this region Xiaodi could be considered having a bit of face, but it was not until Shaoshuai left Luoyang that I got wind. I knew that Yang Gong and Shaoshuai have a rather close rtionship, thereupon I took the liberty of asking Yang Da Jiangjun for help. The two boys recalled how during Rong Fengxiangs birthday feast, Hou Xibai was one of the guests of honor, which was enough proof that he was quite popr in Luoyang. In this kind of cultural big city, merely by relying on his painting skill, the Passionate Prince would definitely enjoy widespread poprity, not to mention his skill was not limited to that. Kou Zhong said, Yang Gong is one of us, there is nothing to hide; hows Hou Xiongs Bu Si Yin Fas training? Yang Gongqing has never heard about Immortal Image Method, hence he did not show any reaction. Hou Xibaiughed cheerfully and said, Failing to reach the speed I wanted, I just leave everything to fate. I can say that I have small sess by now; thank you for Shaoshuais concern. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I cannot but be concerned about you, because the Relics has already fallen into your honorable masters hands. He dered that he would live in seclusion to train for one year. After one year he might show up any moment to test your kungfu. Hou Xibais handsome face changed slightly, he said with a wry smile, This news will encourage Xiaodi to put more effort. Finally Yang Gongqing could not bear not to ask, What Relics? Who is Hou Gongzis zhizun [revered master]? After listening to Kou Zhongs brief exnation, Yang Gongqing began to realize that the real treasure had fallen into the two boys hand; he was extremely moved and wanted to give his bare heart into his keeping even more. Listening to that, Hou Xibai was dumbstruck as well. Sighing, he said, I never thought you could really transport the treasure out of Changan, while also make the world think that your treasure hunt has failed. Xu Ziling said, There was a very high degree of luck in our sess. Are you going to look for Yuwen Huaji to settle old ount? Hou Xibai asked. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong asked, How do you know that? Hou Xibai replied with a sneer, Anybody who knows your background would also know that between you and Yuwen Huaji, there is an enmity as deep as the ocean. Now that Yuwen Huajis fall is imminent, based on two Dages usual style, you cant possibly borrow anybody elses hand to resolve your blood debt! Kou Zhong vigorously patted his shoulders and said, You got that right! Let me toast you a cup of tea. In high spirits, the four raised their cup of tea to salute each other. After taking a sip of tea, Hou Xibai smiled and said, We could also fight side by side as well! Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, What enmity do you have against Yuwen Huaji? Shrugging his shoulders, Hou Xibai replied, He has an enmity against you, its the same as he has an enmity against me, Hou Xibai. A few days ago Yuwen Huajis top confidant, who is also my former acquaintance Zhang Shihe, came to Luoyang to look for me, pleading me to paint a portrait of Yuwen Huajis beloved concubine Wei Furen [Madame Wei]; thepensation was a scroll of Ju Rans authentdscape painting. Yang Gongqing asked in surprise, Soldiers at the city walls [idiom: at a critical juncture], the country ruined and the people starving may happen any moment, Yuwen Huaji still have the mood for such idle enjoyment. A strange feeling welled up in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hearts; the Yuwen Huaji in their mind has always been a cold-hearted, one without so much humanity. Who would have thought that unexpectedly he also had this warm, affectionate side? Kou Zhong asked, What kind of fellow is Ju Ran? Hou Xibai swayed his head as if he was reciting, Jing Guan Dong Ju, they were the Four Great Masters [orig. Da Shi Ju Jiang (great master great master C in arts)] of the previous generation, pioneers ofndscape paintings. Ju Ran himself was a senior monk who had attained the Way, his painting style was lofty, rustic, elegant, and leisurely. Its a pity that not many of his works are preserved. Frankly speaking, this reward indeed moves Xiaodis heart. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Where do they want you to be? Naturally the capital of the Wei State, Xucheng! Hou Xibai replied. Kou Zhong asked Yang Gongqing, Hows Yuwen Huajis current situation? Yang Gongqing replied, He is able to hold off until the first month of the new year, it can be considered quite remarkable. Based on Li Shijis usual style, if he defeated Weixian, he would follow up the victory by an all-out pursue and attack, and would not give Yuwen Huaji any opportunity to catch his breath. Any movement from Dou Jiandes side? Xu Ziling asked. Yang Gongqing replied, He could be described as ring like a tiger watching its prey. Currently Dou Jiande is approaching several cities bordering the Wei, amassing massive military force, he could deploy his troops to invade the Wei any moment. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Such a headache. But in my opinion, Yuwen Huaji would not be that easy to kill; even if he was defeated, he would simply return to Xucheng, right? How did Hou Xiong respond to Zhang Shihes request? he asked. Hou Xibai smiled and said, Old friends affair is my, Hou Xibais affair. Naturally Xiaodi is willing to agree. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, That will do! One more thing, Yang Gongqing said, ording to thetest information we received, turns out Xieli was originally prepared to personally lead the main forces, inpany with Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang C to invade Taiyuan together. But in the end, due to Tulis return to his country, which made Xieli unable to spare time on his war effort. Without any choice, he had to continue his current way of sending his men and horses to strengthen Song JinGangs military power. In that case, Hou Xibai said, Shaoshuai and Ziling were doing Li Shimin a huge favor. Yang Gongqing said, It could be said that you are doing the people of the Central ins a huge favor. Tujue people are used to stealing horses; killing and burning, raping and looting aremon urrence. If we let them go directly to storm the Central ins, they may bring about extremely grave destruction. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, In light of thetest development, there maye a day when the Tujue areing from the northern border to attack us. Changing the subject, Kou Zhong asked Hou Xibai, Hou Gongzi! May I ask how are we going to sneak into Xucheng? ck! Hou Xibai opened the Fan of Beauty; he shook it leisurely and gently, and then he smiled and said, Do you know how lions and leopards hunt for their food? Stunned, Kou Zhong reply, I have never even seen lions and leopards; how do I know how they hunt for food? This was what Shi Shi told me when he was training me, Hou Xibai said, And it has left deep impression in me. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew he was referring to Shi Zhixuan, so both paid very close attention, because the more they were able to grasp Shi Zhixuans foundation, the higher their future chance of survival would be. Currently, even with his w, Shi Zhixuan was still that formidable; after a year, how exceptional the Shi Zhixuan who wasing out of the mountain would be even more difficult to imagine. Greatly interested, Yang Gongqing said, Ive seen a man who was injured by a leopard; the wound was extremely terrifying. Hou Xibai said, Unless its an old lion or a hungry leopard, vey rarely would they attack people. They all have a fixed target, and they understand the preys habit and reaction very well; only then will their chance of sess in attack increase. Revealing a thoughtful look, Kou Zhong said, This is in line with the objective of the School of Military; it is called know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated [idiom from Sunzis The Art of War]. Hou Xibai spoke heavily, Lions and leopards are experts in hunting. A pack of lions moving together is like unrivalled mighty army on the grasnd. Leopards are like apparition in the wilderness; theye and go alone, much like a solitary bandit in the night. Your esteemed master must be a bit more like leopards, Xu Zilingmented, Hou Xiong is alsoing and going alone. Yang Gongqing said, In that case Shaoshuai and Ziling must be like a male lion with two heads! Nodding his head, Hou Xibai said, They are two dragons. Not only dragons can change unpredictably, they can roam the abyss and the oceans in secret, and also soar above the ninth heaven. Alone, they are free and unfettered, but now unexpectedly forming an alliance, they can move across the world unhindered, no one can attack their acute point. Xu Ziling was most afraid of receiving praise in front of his face; embarrassed, he said, Hou Xiong praises too much! How about going back to lions and leopards? Hou Xibai said, When a pack of lions makes their move, they all preserve and nurture their spirit, and will be in their peak condition. They never act recklessly; instead, they have urate strategic deployment. Coping with different situation, they would use different strategy. The first was to watch the enemy; the pack is divided into two or three groups, lying in ambush around the ce where their prey are, and they are able to wait for several sichen at a time. Kou Zhong was speechless. Awesome! he eximed, It would be strange indeed if those oxen and horses, sheep and deer are not scared by them that their hearts racing their spirit petrified. Hou Xibai said, After they see urately what is true and what is false of the prey, then two or three lions pounce forward, driving the prey scattering and isted. And then when the prey sinks into their death trap, the lions mighte out of the flock, taking turn in pursuing and intercepting the prey, confusing the enemy, throwing them into disorder, ambushing, and all kinds of trick, turning the prey, which is actually faster than the lions, into culinary delicacy to fill their bellies. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Yang Gongqing said, Really terrifying. Merely listening to it makes my hair stands on its end. Xu Ziling remembered the frightful scene of bloodstained snow when a pack of wolves attacked a wild deer along the way as they were escaping out of Changan. What about the leopard? he asked. Hou Xibai said, In a short distance race, no animal can run faster than a leopard. Its strategy is to get as close as possible to its prey; therefore, not a single leopard is not an expert in hiding and concealing its track. As soon as it reaches certain distance from the prey, pretty much every attack will hit. Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes was flickering brightly, he nodded and said, No wonder your esteemed masters word left deep impression on Xibai; it is a very big inspiration for us as well. Yuwen Huajis Wei Army is like a flock of sheep being watched by a pack of lions or a lone leopard; it is destined to be the food to fill the lion or the leopards belly. The question is whether it will be hit by the lions or attacked by the leopard. Hou Xibai said, After arriving in Xucheng, we separately sneak into the city. I will be in charge of prating the enemy ranks to scout the situation, to see how we can separate the prey. As soon as the prey enters your two dragons hunting range, you cant possibly be inferior to lions or leopard, can you? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong disembarked at the Yellow River ferry-crossing southeast of Wuyang, and set foot on the official road leading to Wuyang. Approximately three hundred li northwest of Wuyang was precisely Weixian, where Yuwen Huaji fought the Tang Army. From Wuyang heading east, passing through Yuancheng, Shenxian, and Wushui, three cities, was Xucheng, the capital of Yuwen Huagus Wei State. Hou Xibais journey was much morefortable; he took a boat ride downstream straight to Xucheng, to be their vanguard. Showing their true colors, the two boys swaggered along the official road, striding forward with head high. Kou Zhongughed and said, When Yuwen Huagu finds out that we areing to settle an old ount with him, how will he feel? Although Hou Gongzi described him as a sheep, but I always think that imagining Yuwen Huagu as a scared littlemb is very difficult. Xu Ziling was enjoying the beautiful snowscape along the sides of the road; he smiled and said, We can consider this trip as one process in our cultivation, with killing Yuwen Huagu as the destination, along the way we use war to raise war, with the Yuwen n providing the material. In current situation, Yuwen Huagu neither has the time nor the spare energy to deal with therge scale besiege and attack that we are carrying out, and can only sit and watch our approach either as a lion or a leopard. I also want to know how he feels very much, its too bad we really dont have any way of knowing. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was shing with profound hatred, he said, We have been waiting too long for this day toe. If we just suddenly assassinate Yuwen Huagu, we would only give him the delight in vain, how could it give vent to the hatred in our heart? Therefore, we must y a game of death with Yuwen Huagu, to see whose fist is harder. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, You ought to say whos more die hard. This is called the centipede bug, dead yet not be vanquished. Besides, Yuwen Huagus Bing Xuan Qi [Mysterious Ice Energy] already reaches great heights of attainment, and behind him there is still Yuwen Shang. Therefore, we must y smarter. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Who can stop us, two brothers? Huh? An unusual noise came from ahead. After they listened carefully, they found out that it was the sound of wheel and footsteps, mixed with human voices. The two boys you look at me I gaze at you, arge group of people, men and women, young and old, dressed as farmers, taking everything along, using ox carts and mule carts to carry their familial property, their wailing shook the heavens C appeared from the bend of the road ahead. None did not look to be in panic. In just one nce they could see that these people were running away from their home; they were refugees fleeing disaster. All of a sudden the official road was crowded to bursting point with thousands ofmon people running away from cmity. Kou Zhong randomly grabbed one of them and asked, What happened? Weixian has fallen! the man replied. Finished speaking he hurriedly caught up with his group and went away. Xu Ziling grabbed another man and asked, Are you running away from the Tang Army? Seeing his righteous expression, the man calmed down somewhat. Sneering, he said, Whats so terrifying about the Tang Army? What we are afraid of is the defeated army; wherever they go, not a chicken or a dog will be spared. Why havent your turned back? Where are you going? Kou Zhong asked. Another man replied, There is no safe ce north of the Great River. Only by fleeing to Shao Shuai Army ce will we be able to pass our life in good days. Shaken, Kou Zhong blurted out, What? How could the man have the time to pay him any attention? He hurriedly continued on his journey. The two boys stood aside, waiting for thest one in line to walk past. Xu Zilingughed and said, Looks like Xu Xingzhi governs Pengliang very well. Happy and pleased, Kou Zhong said, When we obtain the world in the future, let him be the Emperor; you and I will go beyond the Great Wall to look for Lao Ba to drink wine. Xu Ziling suddenly sighed. He said, I am a bit scared to go forward. Kou Zhongs countenance darkened, he nodded and said, You are scared to see the defeated troops raping and looting again, to see the dreadful scene of people in terrible situation. Lets go! Xu Ziling said. Amidst the sound of hoof beats and the rolling sand, more than twenty riders galloped at full speed; they were Yuwen Huajis Wei troops. The two boys stood in the middle of the official road, blocking their way. The enemy riders eventually saw the two, but they were intimidated by their imposing manner, hence they did not dare to charge forcefully, so they gradually slowed down and finally stopped about a zhang away from the two. The horses snorted and did not stop stomping their feet. The sergeant at the front glowered at them and shouted, Which sides kids are you? Why havent you get lost for me? Kou Zhong threw his head back and burst into loudughter, This person never changed surname while walking, never changed given name while sitting [idiom: to be proud of ones name and stand by ones actions]; I am Kou Zhong. The one by my side is my Xiongdi Xu Ziling. If you have the ability, make me get lost. None of the riders did not have his countenance changed. The names Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who in the world did not know? The sergeant and his men exchanged some nces; they could see the fear in each others eyes. Clearing his throat, he said, Turns out its Kou Ye and Xu Ye. Please forgive Xiaoren for our offense. Pulling the rein, he wanted to turn the horse around and leave. Hold on! Kou Zhong shouted. Immediately the sergeant did not dare to move. Forcing himself to calm down, he said, Two Yeer have any instruction for us? Xu Ziling said, You rushed over in a hurry, whats that for? With heart rmed, trembling in fear the sergeant said, We received Da Jiangjuns order to collect grain and grass from the people. Furious, Kou Zhong said, What do you mean collecting grain and grass? Clearly you are robbingmon peoples grain and goods. Whos this Da Jiangjun? Lowering his voice and suppressing the anger, the sergeant said, Its Yuwen Shiji Da Jiangjun. Within the Yuwen n, Yuwen Shu and Yuwen Shang, two brothers had the most resounding reputation. The former was an important minister of the old Sui, thetter was the n Master, who ranked second only to Song Que. Yuwen Shu had three boys: Yuwen Huaji, Yuwen Shiji, and Yuwen Zhiji, respectively; Yuwen Shang had two boys: Yuwen Chengdu and Yuwen Wudi, both died in the battle of Liangdu by Kou Zhongs hands. Furthermore, Yuwen Shiji was once the Emperor Yang of Suis Fuma [emperors son-inw]. Xu Ziling shouted, You get lost immediately, go back to inform Yuwen Shiji, tell him that Yuwen Huaji must take a good care of his little life, to wait for us to pluck it off. If we see you again robbing the peoples grain, we will kill you without mercy. Get lost! They hurriedly slipped away as if they were just granted amnesty by the Emperors benevolence. Looking at the rolling dust in the distance, Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, Yuwen n is really finished. I have never seen such troops without fighting spirit and only wanted to save their own life. Theyck even the courage to test whether we are real or fake, to see what is true and what is false. Xu Ziling said, In my opinion, this bunch must be army deserters, hence they no longer want to throw their life in for Yuwen Huagu. If like the enemy, they knew we wereing, I am afraid they would make a bit moremotion before leaving. Kou Zhongughed and said, In that case, we have to go to Wuyang to drink some fine wine first! Book 37 - 4 – Dog Lovers The aroma of roasted wolf meat attracted five, six dogs that have been abandoned by their masters; drooling with desire, they waited on the side for Xu and Kou to show pity. When they entered this vige, whose inhabitants had run away, the dogs were not friendly toward Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong at all, until they lit a bonfire in a clearing between houses and roasted the wolf, and then the pack of dogs attitude turned from baring-fangs-and-brandishing-ws to meekness. The hungry wolf was also seeking its own misfortune. With other hungry wolves, unexpectedly it attacked the two boys, and was struck dead by Kou Zhongs palm, which also dispersed the pack of wolves. Along the way, wave after wave of refugees were rushing forth in the direction of the Yellow River. Seeing this made their heart unbearably aching, yet clearly they had neither the capability nor a way to change their miserable plight. Using Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, Xu Ziling cut the wolf meat and gave it to the dogs, to let them gorge themselves and eat their meal in delight. This moment Kou Zhong came with two jars of rice wine and sat by his side. Laughing, he said, Just like I expected, I found two jars of home-brewed rice wine; our dinner will be a lot more delightful. Sweping the dogs, which were resting around after eating their fill C with his eyes, Xu Ziling sighed and said, They are also the victims of war. He took the rice wine that Kou Zhong handed over to him. Kou Zhong pulled the plug of the jar and took two mouthfuls. Gasping for breath, he praised, Good wine! Xu Ziling said, We will leave the wolf meat here; how long do you think they can eat it? Kou Zhongs gaze fell on the quarter-part of the wolf meat that the dogs had eaten, he said, It shouldst two more days? Ay! Your remark made my heart ached. We should just eat the dry rations that we carry instead! Leave the wolf meat entirely to them. This pack of dogs is just like us, two brothers, we will not fight for food; its really rare. Xu Ziling said, If it is only onerge piece of meat, they might fight for food. Let me cut the wolf meat in equal proportions to reduce the friction among them. Kou Zhong appeared to be deep in thought. Watching Xu Ziling moving the de up and down to make arrangement for the dogs, a profound hard-to-describe feeling welled up in his heart. Handing the wine over to Xu Ziling, he said, This move of yours will not be effective for people, otherwise Li Shimin would not attack Yuwen Huaji, Tujue people also need not drool over the Central in, this big piece of fatty meat. Xu Ziling drank two mouthfuls, he said, Because peoples minds are much moreplex; their desires are endless, they are never satisfied. Even respected people who are beyond this mortal world, they are no more than having another cherished dream. It does not mean that they have nothing to seek for, only that they are not doing what they want to do. What about Ling Shao? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling sat down. Smiling ruefully, he said, Right now what I desire the most is to avoid the suffering I see before me, and do not have to think about the future fate of the dogs. Either the dogs encounter Yuwen Huagus defeated troops or the hungry people fleeing from cmity, they are doomed to die. However, even if I can physically avoid it, I cannot keep my heart away from it. Kou Zhong appeared to have something to say, but in the end he did not say it. Taking out the dry rations that Yang Gongqing prepared for them, he handed it over to Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, I am not hungry! Suddenly his pair of eyes shed with refined light. Kou Zhong was alerted at the same time. His two eyebrows were rising; he spoke heavily, Which respected person honoring us with your presence? Please show yourself to meet in person. A burst of longughter rang from the forest behind the vige. They heard someone said, Indeed Kou Xiong, Xu Xiongs names are not in vain. Xiaodi has always unted myself as being an expert in hiding-and-concealing technique, yet I still cannot hide from two gentlemen. Only at this time did the hair on the dogs neck rise up, while deep growl came out of their throat. Xu Ziling hurriedly shouted to tell them to stop. A man casually came out of the woods. He gave the impression of a bold and powerful, tough and tenacious, intimidating and heroic C man; his skin was dark from exposure to the sun, his appearance sincere and honest. Were it not for the lightning-like brilliant flickers in his pair of eyes, which showed his superior power, he looked no different than a local peasant. Perhaps it was because of his leisurely attitude, or perhaps because Xu Zilings shout was effective, the dogs stopped growling. They stopped moving, but were in a full-alert state. Two of the dogs ran forward to sniff at him. The iing man revealed a smile, he reached out to lightly stroke their heads, and then spoke cheerfully, All are obedient and tame dogs. Its too bad that they were abandoned in here! Both his expression and his speech appeared to havee from his sincere heart, so that the two boys had a good impression on him. Xiongtai, please sit down and talk, Kou Zhong said. The man sat down on the other side of the bonfire; he said, Xiaodi Zhang Jinshu, a low-level infantryman under Yan Wang [King of Yan] Gao Kaidao. [Interesting fact: Zhang Jinshu literally mean spread out golden tree, while Gao Kaidao means high open road.] Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not expect to meet a Gao Kaidaos man in here; they were both very surprised. Furthermore, from this mans style of conversation and elegant demeanor, they were sure that this gentleman was not a low-level soldier, but a general or a minister with authority. Gao Kaidao was from Yangxin, Cangzhou. In the northern territory, he was equally famous with Ying Yang Shuang Jiang [lit. fluttering eagle twin generals] Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidou. His martial art skill strong, at the end of Sui he mustered his men in an uprising, attacked and captured Beiping, Yuyang, and other counties one after another, dering himself as King of Yan, and establishing Yuyang as his capital. Due to his connection with the Tujue in the north, although Dou Jiandes prestige far surpassed his, he still did not dare speak lightly and use troops against him. Zhang Jinshu took the rice wine Kou Zhong offered to him. Glug! Glug! Glug! he took several big mouthfuls. Putting down the wine jar, he sighed and said, I dont know if it is because this wine is Shaoshuais treat, drinking it is especially satisfying. Kou Zhongughed and said, Good wine is a good wine. Seeing him still did not forget to pet the dog sitting by his side, he nodded and said, Seems like Zhang Xiong is a dog lover! Keeping his eyes on the dog, Zhang Jinshu showed tender expression on his face; he said, From young age Xiaodi always have deep love toward domesticated animals, I like to make friends with them. Therefore, seeing how two gentlemen took great pains to think about the dogs, my heart is moved, I could not helping out to talk with two gentlemen. Xu Ziling said, Zhang Xiong is indeed a brilliant figure in hiding and concealing your track. But Kou Zhong asked, Listening to the tone of Zhang Xiongs voice, it seems that originally you did not wish to meet and talk with us, I wonder why? Zhang Jinshu said, Currently I am staying at Wuyang. When I got wind, I just wanted to get a glimpse of two gentlemens outstanding elegant manner. Originally I did not intend to be involved in the dispute between two gentlemen with the Yuwen Family. But seeing two gentlemens benevolence in attending upon the dogs, I knew that I have encountered kindred spirits, so how could I have any misgivings? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Come! Lets drink! The three took turns drinking from the jar; they were exceptionally carefree. Zhang Jinshu raised his sleeve to wipe off the wine stain on his shoulder. His eyes shing with incessant ze, he said, This time two gentlemen inadvertently doing Yuwen Shiji a great favor. Kou Zhong hurriedly asked for exnation. Zhang Jinshu said, Yuwen Shiji is racking his brains to see how he could surrender with dignity to the House of Tang, and two gentlemen are honoring us with your presence at this crucial point. Naturally it is something that Yuwen Shiji seeks but fail to get. Listening to that, Xu Ziling was amused. Heughed and asked, What do you mean surrender with dignity? Zhang Jinshu replied, The dignity in favoring one and discriminating against the other; the high or low official title after the surrender is determined. The two boys understood, but it still felt unclear. Kou Zhong frowned and said, I cant imagine Yuwen Shiji would betray his family! In that case, the Wei States western defensive line would bepletely lost; the only path Yuwen Huaji could take would be returning to Xucheng, waiting for death. Lowering his voice, Zhang Jinshu said, Yuwen Shiji not only did not betray his family, he also made the best choice for the sake of his family. Listening to this, the two boys were confused. But then they understood. Zhang Jinshu indeed had an out of the ordinary insight; under the overturned nest, there is still an intact egg! Nowadays Yuwen Huajis Wei State was surrounded by the enemy on all sides, there was absolutely no luck. Rather than the entire family perish together with the fall of the Wei dynasty, it would be better if one of them, Yuwen Shiji whose status was special, to surrender to the House of Tang. And then the Yuwen n could continue to be well regarded. In the immediate situation, Yuwen Shiji certainly could negotiate generous conditions for his surrender. First of all, he was the Emperor Yangs son-inw, hence he had family rtionship with the Li Family. Secondly, the House of Tang was eager to attack and seize the We territory before Dou Jiandes main forces going down south, and Yuwen Shiji offered Wuyang, the most important big city on the western front C with both hands, naturally it would be weed. Finally, with the addition of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, another big gift, it was like a pretty [or cunning] woman met a womanizer [orig. color/beauty ghost]; one contact and they clicked together. As for Yuwen Huaji, he was doomed to die in battle, simply because he bore the guilt of murdering his superior, the Emperor Yang, and seizing his throne. He would never tolerate Li Yuan, who raised his troops and attacked while he was the Sui dynastys great general, guarding and defending the House of Sui. Moreover, the Li Family and the Yuwen n have always fought openly and maneuvered covertly. The animosity between them was very deep. Only because Yuwen Shiji was a Fuma-ye [emperors son-inw] that he was not involved; his surrender wasparatively easier for the Li Family to ept. Yuwen Shijis surrender to the Tang should have received Yuwen Shang and Yuwen Huajis approval in secret. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Please forgive Xiaodi for being presumptuous [orig. talking intimately while beingparative strangers (idiom)]. Zhang Xiong came to Wuyang under order, are you in any particr mission? Zhang Jinshu looked affectionately at the dog by his side, which seemed to be intoxicated by his light stroking; he spoke indifferently, Xiaodi received Yan Wangs order to take a look at the Tang Armys situation. Hearing that, Kou Zhong nearly scratched his head again, because he simply could not figure out the meaning behind that answer. However, because this affair involved Gao Kaidaos strategy, he had no choice but to suppress his curiosity and did not pursue further. Xu Ziling remembered something; he asked casually, Hows the situation beyond the Great Wall? I heard that Xieli and Tuli are undertaking weapons of war on arge scale. Zhang Xiong ought to know better than anyone else. Zhang Jinshu replied, Both sides did fight a few hard battles. Tuli is upying a slight upper hand, but the initiative is still in Xielis hands, because all along Tulis strength is still inferior to Xieli by arge chunk; he is powerless to broaden the scope of the battle. If the present situation continues, Xieli might invite Bi Xuan to preside over this matter, to settle the internal division. Ay! We are just being caught in the middle; deeply aware of what is called left and right, but difficult to conduct ourselves. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Could it be that Yan Wang did not know that toward us, the Tujue are having tiger and wolf-heart? Zhang Jinshu sighed, So what if he does? he said, On the frontier fortress, all four sides are the enemys troops. Whether it is Liu Wuzhou, Guo Zihe, Liang Shidou, or our Yan Army, our first and foremost task is to stay alive. If we offend the Tujue, they mightunchrge-scale invasion into our territory. Trampled down by the iron hoof of the Tujue elite cavalry, the cities will be ruins, the viges will turn into wastnd. Whod dare to take this risk? Tujue Army is that formidable? Kou Zhong asked. Zhang Jinshu replied, Tujue people grew up on horseback; their bravery and expertise in fighting are inherent, far more than our Han peoplebined. When they join hands and fight together, it is like they are being helped by the gods,ing and going like the wind, an army of one thousand troops is enough to resist our Han army of ten thousand men. Were it not for the high mountain and the Great Wall blocking our northern border, I am afraid the Central ins would not have half a cun ofnd with peace and happiness. Xu Ziling said, Just now Zhang Xiong said that if Xieli could not withstand Tuli, he might ask Bi Xuan to persuade Tuli so that both parties will be reconciled. Does Zhang Xiong believe that Tuli would ept? How could Tuli not ept? Zhang Jinshu replied, East of the Eastern Tujue there are Gaogouli [Goguryeo (37 BC-668 AD), one of the Korean Three Kingdoms] and Qidan [or Khitan, ethnic group in ancient China, a branch of the Eastern Hu people inhabiting the valley of the Xar Murun River in the upper reaches of the Liao River]. On the west there are Xue Yantuo and Huihe [pre-Tang name of ethnic group corresponding to modern Uighur], whose prestige has been greatly flourishing in recent years. If Xieli and Tuli are involved in endless bitter struggle, the first to suffer would be Tuli, whose strength is weaker than Xielis. Constrained by circumstances, Tulis only way out is to quit while he is ahead. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to ask, This time Song JinGang, inpany with Tujue people, invades Taiyuan; what is Zhang Xiongs view on the oue of the battle? Zhang Jinshu tly replied, If they are crossing swords face to face, even Li Shimin would suffer defeat. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other. Zhang Jinshu smiled and said, Two gentlemen should not me Xiaodi for speaking subjectively, but this is certainly sincere words. However, wars are ever changing, no one or two battles can decide the final oue of the war. Song-Li war will be Li Shimins biggest test; I hope he could pass. Otherwise, the consequences will be too horrible to contemte. Listening to that, the two were dumbstruck and unable to reply; moreover, they did not understand Zhang Jinshus inner thoughts. ording to reason, he should not hope Li Shimin would prevail, but listening to the tone of his voice, it appeared that this was not so. Lowering his voice, Zhang Jinshu said, I dont know whether its because all of us are dog lovers, toward two gentlemen, Xiaodi has a familiarity-at-first-sight feeling, hence the reason I spoke candidly. Among the various hegemons of the northern territory, aside from Liang Shidou, everybody who is being exploited by the Tujue, none is not afraid of their tyrannical abuse. Even more, they know that if Tujue main forces really go down south, the Central Earth will fall into people-in-terrible-situation, facing-imminent-catastrophe situation; no one can luckily escape. Xiaodi this time receives order to be an observer, precisely to form a judgment on the Tang Armys strength. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly. He secretly estimated that Gao Kaidao had the intention to surrender to the Tang, and the keyy in whether Li Shimin could beat back the Tujue, who were borrowing Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang in indirect invasion. This kind of mentality that Gao Kaidao was showing was actually a representative of the warlords vying for supremacy, whose power wasparatively sub-par, which was, while the Tang Armys soldiers were at the city walls, they took advantage of while they still had their qualifications to talk about conditions of surrender one step ahead. Puzzled, Xu Ziling said, Why only Liang Shidou wishes for Tujue invasion? Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang unexpectedly dont count? Zhang Jinshu replied, Among the various hegemons on the northern territory, Liang Shidou has the closest rtionship with the Tujue, plus Liang Shidou has blood rtionship with the Tujue; early on he had already considered himself a Tujue, and not a Han. After a short pause, he went on, As for Liu and Song, two men, if they had any choice, they might wait until the Tang Army attack Luoyang beforeunching their own offensive, so that they would receive the fishermans benefit. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never thought that on the surface this matter seemed to be simple, turned out the inside was thisplicated. Xieli was hard-pressed to know that Yang WenGan was conspiring to raise arms in rebellion, hence the reason he paid no attention to Liu and Song, two mens aspiration to move their troops to the south to attack Taiyuan. Who would have thought that Yang WenGan was pacified by Li Shimin, without much effort, like blowing out a breath, and the Li n did not even spend half a strand of hair. On the contrary, Li Shimins fame and power spread out, suppressing the aggressive arrogance of the Crown Prince and the Imperial Concubines Factions. Xieli originally intended to personally lead therge-scale military invasion, but was curbed by Tuli that he was unable to move a single step, and was forced to send his ws and teeth to undertake the task. Zhang Jinshu sighed and said, Being a neighbor to the Tujue is not easy at all. Xielis severe demand is brutal. Today it is silk cloth, thin, tough silk fabric, and silk [these are all variants of silk, different characters: zI], tomorrow it will be money and beauty; who can cope? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, The longer we cannot suppress the Tujue, the longer we can forget about passing our days in peace and happiness. Kou Zhong asked, Zhang Xiongs Yan State is neighboring Gaoli [Korea], you ought to know them better. I wonder what kind of person Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin is? Knitting his brows, Zhang Jinshu said, In the heart of the Gaoli people, Fu Cailin is already a deity, not a mortal, brimming with mysterious vor. ording to the bits and pieces of information that Xiaodi acquired, he is a man in pursuit of perfection. It was only in hister years that he epted three female disciples; all are as lovely as a flower. His youngest disciple, Fu Junqiang is the most remarkable, also the one he most doted on. Hearing that, the two boys you look at me I gaze at you; they never thought that other than their Niang and Fu Junyu, there was still a little martial art sister. Kou Zhong said, Theres also a man called Jin Zhengzong, his martial art is outstanding; have Zhang Xiong heard about him? Zhang Jinshu replied, Jin Zhengzong is the King of Gaolis former imperial chief of the martial art training center, with specific responsibility to train the imperial army. Listening to the tone of Shaoshuais voice, it appears that you have exchanged blows with him, is that right? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Indeed I have exchanged a few moves with him, but before victory and defeat were decided, both of our boats were broken and we fell into the sea. Zhang Jinshu said, In order to resist Xieli, Gaoli and Qidan formed an alliance. With no fears of trouble in the rear, Qidan people asionally disguise themselves as horse thieves, invading and harassing the border area, bringing about serious harm and destruction to themon people on the frontier fortress. They not only want money, they also want to capture the people. Were it not for they still have misgivings toward the Tujue, I am afraid they would haveunchedrge scale invasion early on. Kou Zhong already had profound understanding on this matter; he thought that if he unified the Central ins, he would have to deploy the troops in punitive expedition to the north, to attack the Tujue and the Qidans old nest directly. He must strive to achieve the nation-rich-the-people-strong condition; otherwise, he would only repeat Emperor Yangs disastrous policy. Supposing he could subdue the Tujue and the Qidan, then he could pursue peaceful coexistence with the Gaoli; considering his Niang, he could not possibly use military force against Gaoli. Zhang Jinshu continued, Looking at two Laoxiongs leisurely attitude, apparently you dont take Yuwen Shiji colluding with Li Shimin and the others to deal with you to heart at all. I wonder if two gentlemen already have a n to cope with this matter? Xu Zilingughed and said, Other things we cant do, but escaping, we do have a bit of experience; therefore, we are not afraid anybody scheming against us. Meeting Zhang Xiong today has broadened our horizon; this is a delight in our lives. I wonder if Zhang Xiongs next destination happen to be Taiyuan? Zhang Jinshu pped his thigh and sighed in praise, Xu Xiong indeed can see through Xiaodi. Rising to his full height, he looked around at the dogs, saying, These dogs led Xiaodi to make friends with two gentlemen, I cant bear to leave them here, fortunately Xiaodi has an idea, I can transport them via the river to my humble abode. The two boys were greatly delighted; hurriedly they stood up to express their thanks. Actually, they were thinking about it and were sad. Merely from this point, from the bottom their heart the two were willing to make such a friend. During the time where the soldiers panicked and horses in chaos, Zhang Jinshu was still willing to take the trouble to care for the dogs; evidently this man hadpassion. Lowering his voice again, Zhang Jinshu said, The news that the two gentlemen are heading to Xucheng to settle an old ount with Yuwen Huaji has spread all over the world. Xiongdi hereby wish two gentlemen winning a victory on raising the g [idiom: sess in a single move], settling the load on your mind. Finished speaking, unexpectedly he took off his outer robe to wrap the wolf meat. After saying goodbye he casually led the dogs to leave. Seeing this, the two boys were greatly relieved. They went the other direction to continue their journey. Book 37 - 5 – Beautiful Younger Martial Sister Avoiding Wuyang, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong went straight toward Yuancheng. To their surprise, Yuwen Huajis defeated troops also took the same retreat route. Moreover, along the way they wantonly looted, burned, killed and plundered Yuancheng, Shenxian, and Wushui, three cities north of Xucheng, as well as the neighboring viges, so that themon people were fleeing toward the Great River or running away toward the mountain area. Unfortunately another snowstorm hit, so that not a few refugees froze to death along the way; dead bodies filled the wilderness, making it unbearable to watch. When they came across the straggling disbanded soldiers who burned the vige and robbed the grains, the two boys showed no mercy; they made their move to wipe them out, and confiscated their money and valuables to be used entirely to aid the refugees, with the hope that they could have a good life outside the Wei border. Therefore, by the time they were outside of the city of Xucheng, the two were without a wen to their name. Kou Zhong did not shy away from his Divine Doctor nature; he took out the nine needles given by Sha Shijing, and with Xu Zilings assistance, he used the Secret to Long Life qi to treat the refugees who suffered from illnesses that were cold in nature. The big snow temporarily alleviated the Wei Armys plight, since the Tang Army was unable to pursue relentlessly at their tail. However, everybody knew that Yuwen Huajis great momentum has gone; otherwise, how could he let his own troops to cruelly oppress local cities and viges, and thus distancing themselves from the heart of the people C and not subjecting the soldiers to military discipline, repeating the heinous atrocity of the Sui army in the past that made ones hair stand up in anger? Based on their observation, the two boys knew that when the Wei Army was retreating in defeat back to Xucheng, along the way more and more of them were leaving their posts to flee and plunder. Those who were able to follow Yuwen Huaji returning to Xucheng were perhaps only the remainder of Yuwen Huajis disciples and personal guards. The two boys came to the top of a hill, overlooking the Wei capital, Xucheng, on the east. Of all the cities they saw along the way, this city was the biggest in scale, the city walls were tall and thick, with a moat around it. Although it could not bepared to Luoyang, Changan, those kinds of big cities, it still served a certain defensive function. From time to time, the Wei Army was going back and forth on the official road leading into Xucheng, but they no longer saw any fleeing refugees; naturally there were no traveling merchants or tourists even more. The sky overhead was covered densely in dark clouds, apparently another big snow wasing. The two were hiding behind an underbrush, quietly waiting for the night. With his eyes fixed on Xucheng, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, As soon as we are inside the city, we must look for Old Hou. As long as we could clearly grasp Yuwen Huagus whereabouts, well watch for an opportunity to go all-out to kill him, and then well find a ce to drink to celebrate. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I really dont understand what Yuwen Huagu is thinking in his thick head. Before, after assassinating Emperor Yang, when he was leading his troops returning to the north, he was also looting along the way, making himself infamous, not enjoying popr support. And now he is getting worse. I wonder if his true character makes it so, or is there another reason? Recalling the dismal, cold tragic situation he was witnessing along the way, Kou Zhong said dejectedly, Yuwen Huagu directly inherited Yang Guangs army, also directly inherited the old Sui Armys ruthlessness and violence, who made brutality towardmon people to fatten themselves amon practice. If Yuwen Huagu came out as the victor in his war against Li Mi, he might use this prestige to consolidate his troops, yet clearly Laotianye did not look with favor at him, and did not give him this opportunity. It was after the battle with Li Mi that he came to attack our Liangdu and suffered big defeat, Yuwen Huagu practically did not have any chance to turn his luck around. And then he said, You see, forget about this kind of city cannotpare to Changan or Luoyang, even Liangdu is superior to it. Since he already lost popr support while alsocks favorable location, how long do you think he canst? Xu Ziling only sighed. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, What are you thinking? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Have you ever thought that such day wille to Yuwen Huagu? His remark provoked emotional stirring in Kou Zhongs mind. He nodded and said, You are right. Whether it was him chasing to kill us and Niang in the past, orter on himmitting the crime of murdering his superior by assassinating Emperor Yang, his arrogance soared to the heavens, acting as if he considers himself unexcelled in the world; Im afraid even he himself never thought that such the-path-exhausted, the-end-of-the-road day woulde. Although avenging Niang is something that we must do, I always feel a bit disgusted as well. The two boys were outstanding heroes who were ustomed to deal with power and evil forces; but taking advantage of somebodys precarious position, throwing stones at somebody who fell down a well like this, this would be the first time that they were trying to do. Were it not for Fu Junchuos blood debt must be avenged, perhaps they would turn on their heels. Xu Zilings pair of eyes was shing with sharp light, he spoke heavily, Theres no limit to the bad things that Yuwen Huagu has done; today he is strung through and filled with evil, his death should not be begrudged! Dont forget that Yan Laoda also died because of him. I dont know how many people in Yangzhou were harmed by him. Killing him, the Wei State will melt like ice and break like tiles; perhaps we can even preventmon people from receiving the suffering of war. Ay! This is just my wishful thinking. Kou Zhong only needed to think about the tree fallen, the monkeys scattered, the dreadful situation of the troops roaming all over the ce, burning and looting, and he understood Xu Zilings feeling immediately. Suddenly a group of Wei Army soldiers, approximately two hundred men, came out from the open city gate. Just by looking at how they were dressed, it was obvious that these soldiers were going on a long-distance journey, heading to the west. They must be going west to check the Tang Armys situation, Kou Zhong said. Do you recognize any of them? Xu Ziling asked. Focusing his eyes, Kou Zhong looked, and then said, Turns out the leader is Yuwen Shiji. Shall we block their way and ambush them in surprise attack, to give them forewarning that the lion and the leopard hunting the sheep are going to honor them with our presence? Sneering, Xu Ziling responded, Are you confident that you can deal with two-hundred-strong cavalry in the wilderness? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Just let them go then! Huh? Xu Ziling eximed. He saw Yuwen Shijis troops suddenly deviated from the official road. Bypassing their hill, they turned north from the other side. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Yuwen Huagu sends Yuwen Shiji to surrender to Dou Jiande! Otherwise, why didnt they go out of the city via the northern gate? It is precisely to fool the peoples eyes and ears. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. As the former great general of the Sui, the first time Li Yuan entered Changan, he still supported the old Suis imperial n; although he directly suppressed Yuwen Huajis military banner, both in terms of feeling and reason, it was still difficult to ept Yuwen Huajis surrender. But Dou Jiande did not have this psychological barrier; this was Yuwen Huajis only way to survive. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, We must, before Dou Jiandes main force moving south, ughter Yuwen Huagu first. The sky gradually darkened, dots of snowkes started to drop from the sky. The two boys were about to move, but while the city gate was still wide open, the suspension bridge had not been raised, four or five men were rushing out. The guards on the tower immediately released arrows. The escapees had not crossed the hanging bridge when they were already shot and fell down like the victims of murder tragedy. Watching this, the two boys eyes were about to split, yet they were clearly in no position to help. And then some of the guards rushed out and tossed the dead bodies into the moat. Afterwards, as if nothing had happened, they returned into the city and raised the bridge and closed the gate. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Lets go to demand repayment! Xucheng was grim; nine out of ten houses were empty. The shops closed their doors; the barely remaining inhabitants were also hiding inside their houses. Not only there was no pedestrian on the street, even patrolling troops were scarce. No one cleaned the streets from snow. In the side streets and narrow alleys, thenterns were dark, and the fire was ck even more. Some residential houses andmercial shops showed the sign of being robbed and looted. The two entered the city by jumping over the wall. They leaped onto the top of the roof of a residential building to watch the situation. Sweeping his gaze around, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, In the Weixian battle, Yuwen Huagus troops must be broken and suffered serious damage, resulting in not enough manpower to guard their capital, otherwise, merely entering the city, we would have to go through a lot of trouble. Xu Zilings eyes fell onto the river course passing through the heart of the city, with its gentle twists and turns. The houses and bridges were built on both sides, following the curve of the approximately three-zhang wide river course. Under the snowkes flying in the air, there were only a few dots of light; it was quite lifeless. He mused inwardly that during the flourishing days of peace and security, this city must have its unique charm, but now it only looked like a seriously ill person on his deathbed, struggling to survive until hisst breath. He sighed lightly and said, Basically the morale iscking, there is no will to fight at all. Those who are willing to stay with Yuwen Huagu in life or death are only Yuwen ns younger generations, disciples and soldiers. Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, please wait here for a moment, Xiaodi will be back soon. Quickly flipped down from the roof, he disappeared into the long dark street. This side of the street was lined with pine trees. Under the rain of snow, plus the quiet-like-ghost-domain long street, it looked indescribably bleak, wretched, and deste. The snow umtion on the pine branches looked like it was skewered by the pine needles, looking exactly like a bunch of white thorns trying to climb up the tree. Xu Ziling could not help thinking back to the touching scene in the past, where he was rushing along on the snowy ground side-by-side with Shi Feixuan, hurrying to rescue Lei Jiuzhi. And then his memory brought him to the moment after Shi Zhixuan snatched the Demonic Emperor Relics, her remark toward the two boys was brimming with severing-all-rtions-with-them overtone, before she simply left without paying them any attention. He took a deep breath, sucking in the cold air into his lungs, while continued to recall the deep memory winding around his mind. In this transition time from the old dynasty to the new one, the era of conflict where the warlords vying for supremacy struggled against each other, contending for hegemony, the world was no longer a happy ce. It was full of killing or being killed situation, people struggling for survival, people aggressively trying to expand their territory with crafty plots and machinations, with bloody methods, bymitting all manner of crimes. Forget about friends falling out with each other, even father and son, older and younger brothers also wanted to put their next of kin to death just because of their ambition. In the face of this lonely citys deste-and-cold final-days scene, he suddenly felt that all fame and profit, all power, had no meaning, no value at all. In his brain appeared the beautiful scenery of beyond the Great Wall that Ba Fenghan described, the uninhabited prairie spanning thousands of li like the ocean. Inwardly he thought that only by going there, by being in the prairie and desert C would he be able to forget all these things. However, wouldnt this kind of escapism be too pessimistic? But then he thought that even if he stayed here, what could he do? Should he help Kou Zhong conquering the world? Wouldnt that mean he was cing himself right in the middle of the power struggle and the massacre? Only by being outside the region, isted from the news of the Central ins would he be able to avoid everything C including Shi Feixuan, with whom gratitude and grudges were difficult to separate. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. He had a faint feeling that his desire to go far away, to shun the world, still contained aplicated, contradictory feeling to make reprisals against Shi Feixuan. Suddenly the rm went off in his heart. Looking at the direction of the city wall, he saw a female figure leaping down like a ghost from the top of the wall. Her shenfa was fast and nimble,parable to top-ranking martial art masters. Her figure and posture were also graceful, almost wless. In the blink of an eye she disappeared in the distant darkness. Although Xu Ziling was unable to see the womans face, a familiar feeling welled up in his heart. But he was so sure that he had never seen her before; his heart was bewildered with uncertainty. A momentter Kou Zhong returned to his side and excitedly said, I found the secret mark left by Xiao Hou! Xu Ziling told him what he just saw. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Which familys Guniang has such an outstanding martial art skill? This is an empty city, what excitement could she possibly want to enjoy? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I have some kind of inauspicious premonition; this Guniang appears to have subtle rtionship with us. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Inauspicious? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, This is purely a feeling, I dont have any logical exnation. He whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille [idiom: Be careful not to trust strangers]; wed better note across her. Kou Zhong said, Let Xiaodi makes brief analysis: the reason Ling Shao has inauspicious feeling is because her skill is exceptionally brilliant, plus she must being here for Yuwen Huagu; hence from head to foot she appeared murderous looking, which made you, LaoGe has an inauspicious feeling. Is that right? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, She did not exude half a thread of vicious impression, her movements were even more like moving clouds and flowing water, pleasing to the eyes. Ay! But looking at her posture and shenfa, I have a feeling that Ive seen it before, but where in the world did I see it? Kou Zhong apanied him thinking deeply. She ising for Yuwen Huagu, and her shenfa gives you a dj vu; who might she be? The two boys were severely shaken at the same time, and looked at each other. Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air and said, It cant be this much of a coincidence, can it? As soon as we spoke about Cao Cao, Cao Cao came. Must be her, Xu Ziling said, But she is more brilliantpared to Niang. The two boys recalled Fu Junchuos little martial sister, the Yijian Dashi Fu Cailinsst disciple Fu Junqiang. Only she matched these conditions. Were it not for not long ago Zhang Jinshu mentioned her name, they would never have guessed that it was she. Just like them, Fu Junqiang also wanted to take advantage while Yuwen Huagu had not perished to give him bad luck. Xu Ziling wrung his wrists and said with a sigh, Its good that we remember her earlier! Now its a close shave. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Dont forget your inauspicious feeling. Gaoli people cant possibly have good impression on us, Han people. Besides, they misunderstood that we implicated Niang that brought her to her death, and now we have one more guilt in stealing the treasure. Xu Ziling said, What I am most afraid of is that she is unting her bravery and forcefully charging into the Imperial Pce. It would be very bad if she came across Yuwen Shang, while Yuwen Huagu is also not easy to deal with at all. its useless to think too much, Kou Zhong said, Lets enter the Pce to look for our Hou Gongzi first and then well talk some more. In term of scale, Yuwen Huajis imperial pce was only one-fourth of Luoyangs Pce City; it was merely an expansion of former Zongguan [chief, manager] of the Sui dynasty, particrly the reinforcement of the external wall, by making it higher and thicker, and by installing sentry towers. Following the instructions, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling dug a terrain map of the Wei Pce buried next to a tree behind the Pce City. When they spread it out to take a look, on the left and right surprisingly were two dragons. One was bold and powerful, as if soaring high, ready to pounce. The other was up high in the distant cloud, in an unrestrained scene. The painting was vivid and raw. Laughing hoarsely, Kou Zhong said, Good kid, he drew me like I am about to eat people. I will have to find him to give him bad luckter, to see what kind of thing his Bu Si Yin Fa training has made him. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, This is called you are being a thiefcking in confidence; howe you dont think that the dragon soaring in the cloud riding in the mist is you? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This is both being a thiefcking in confidence and also knowing oneself. Since childhood I have always been an ambitious person; all day long I instigated you to join the militia, I also forced you to learn martial art by stealing, to listen respectfully to Bai Laofuzi teaching people to read the scripture. Moreover, today I am sucking you into the struggle to contend for hegemony over the world. How could I have the qualifications to be a free and unfettered, frolicking-infort dragon? The two hid in the dark shadow of the tree. Focusing their power into their eyes, they scanned the situation inside the Wei Pce for Hou Xibais whereabouts. Obviously the Wei Armys strength was seriously inadequate. Even an important ce like the Pce, the surrounding guards were only going through the motions. In the two boys eyes, it was tantamount to no defense at all. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling jumped over the wall to enter the Pce; they still did not dare to be careless, because Hou Xibais map indicated more than a dozen points of hidden sentry posts. One careless move and they would be found. A momentter the two boys sneaked into the small building at the north courtyard where Hou Xibai was staying; it was an exquisite, two-story small house from which came the faint sound of people talking. Crossing a willow grove, they came to the back of the house. Focusing their attention, they happened to hear Hou Xibais voice talking, Just one more day and it should be finished! A female voice responded with a Hmm but she did not say anything; and then they heard the light footsteps of someone leaving. Able to easily, without any hitch, find Hou Xibai like this, the two boys were excited. As soon as the maids and attendants also left from the front door, they hurriedly slipped into the hall via the window. The east wall of the hall waspletely covered by a silk painting hanging down from the ceiling. The color painting was dominated by a life-sized woman in luxurious attire. The creases, the lines, and the forms, none was not borate and meticulous. She was standing directly facing out of the screen. The background was a vibrant spring or summer countryside, dotted with deer, sheep, rabbits, ckbirds, and other tame animals. The painting of the beauty was nearingpletion, the face has been sketched out, the only thingcking was the eyes, ears, mouth and nose, leaving only a weird-looking nk face. Under Hou Xibais wonder brush, the beauty in the painting disyed graceful, elegant posture and graceful bearing. Although they could not see her facial features yet, they could already feel that she was an extraordinarily moving beauty. This moment Hou Xibai was seeing Madame Wei [different character from Wei State] off. When he stepped into the hall, he suddenly saw the two boys. Two gentlemen finally arrived! he spoke in great delight. Pointing to the silk painting, Kou Zhong wondered, Are you leaving her appearance forst? If there is any slight mistake, wouldnt all these efforts be wasted? Hou Xibai stood between the two. He sighed and said, Kou Laoxiong, you did not know it, but Xiaodi has a very bad habit; when I paint, I have to do it in one go; only then will I be able to catch her charm [orig. shenyun C charm or grace in poetry or art], moreover, I can grasp that charm at once. Just like when in a spurt of energy, the strength is waning or the power exhausted, it will be difficult to continue. Therefore, this time I adopt the shape-first-spiritter approach, by spending considerable time in the tedious features before plucking the charm at thest moment. This is also a way within no way. Xu Ziling said, Hou Xiongs color painting of beauties is unique, but I still like your ink freehand-style [of Chinese painting, characterized by bold strokes rather than urate details] beauty portraits better, like the painting you did on your Fan of Beauty. Lowering his voice, Hou Xibai said, This may very well be a funerary object to be hung inside the tomb; naturally it has to be colorful, garish and beautiful, extremely luxurious. Hearing that, the two looked at each other in dismay. Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air, Yuwen Huagu is going to kill himself? he wondered. I am just making a wild guess, Hou Xibai replied, Ay! That Wei Furen ... that Wei Furen indeed invokes my pity, no wonder Yuwen Huaji is showing such yearning and cherishing heart toward her. To be honest with gentlemen, when I was painting her, I had the urge to hide and distance myself from her as far away as possible, just because when you are getting rid of Yuwen Huaji, I dont want to see the mournful and tragic situation where she is in so much pain that she does not want to live anymore. Empathizing with him, Xu Ziling said, I am really sorry to trouble Hou Xiong; for no reason at all you are being sucked into the gratitude and grudges between us and Yuwen Huagu. If Hou Xiong wants to stay away from this ce, we will definitely not me you. Smiling ruefully, Hou Xibai said, This is an old weakness; I cannot see women suffer a cmity. Two gentlemen, dont worry. I, Hou Xibai aming from Hua Jian Pai, where killing people is not a big deal. People often have strange ideas, only rarely they put it into practice. One time I tried to pick up a precious and fragile ancient dynastys porcin dish, and suddenly had the urge to throw it into smithereens; fortunately it was purely an idea in my mind, yet I shuddered whenever I had such a crazy thought. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, Well said. When I was a teenager, I saw a beautiful woman on the street, I also had an urge to touch her; only because I remembered that the consequences were grave that I did not dare to do it. It is no different than Xibais desire to smash the treasured china. I thought I was a big bad egg [scoundrel], turns out it is a human nature. Only when we are able to suppress the urge will we be considered normal. Hou Xibai agreed. He said, That is how a tyrant came to be; simply because he is not afraid of any consequences, and no one dares to stop him, in the end he became a madman, someone like Yang Guang. Where is Yuwen Huagu? Xu Ziling asked. Hou Xibai replied, The day before yesterday he was defeated in Weixian and was returning to Xucheng; I have not had any chance to see him. Kou Zhong said, There dont seem to be many people in the pce; where did the imperial concubines and pce maids go? Hou Xibai replied, From the information I gathered, most of the Yuwen n people, from top to bottom, have moved to Wuyang, to witness Yuwen Shiji, the defender of Wuyang C surrendering to the House of Tang. Kou Zhong said, Your guess is spot on. I wonder if Yuwen Shang, that old chap C is also running for his life to Wuyang? Hou Xibai said, Yuwen Shang shouldnt be here. Among the four major ns n Masters, this mans martial art skill is second only to the Heavenly Saber Song Que. Whening across him, two Dage must be a bit more careful. Heaving a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong said, Yuwen Huagu is certainly strung through and filled with evil. Now the Wei Pce is alreadycking martial art masters, it is just like an empty house with a subpar defense system. We will kill him tonight; with him, there is nothing good to say. Hou Xibai was about to speak, suddenly from the other side of the pce came the sound of gongs and drums and rm bells, followed by amotion; some people even cried out, Assassin! Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Niangs formidable Xiao Shimei is here! Book 37 - 6 – Bloody Battle at the Wei Palace With the rain of snow swirling in the air, under the flickeringnterns inside the Wei Pce, a human figure, which seemingly brimming with infinite explosive power, was, in one moment, shing on the roof of the long corridor like a ghost, and in the next moment attacking the pursuing Wei Army in violent offensives. The sword qi was fierce and severe, the moves were beyond all expectations. Although the Wei Army upied the advantages of being on their home turf and they had many men, a great force, unexpectedly momentarily they were unable to grab the momentum to close in on the enemy, allowing the person to move unhindered among the pce halls, pavilions, and gardens. Inevitably some men were hit by the sword and fell to the ground, sustaining injuries. By this time, under the illumination of the faint light reflected by the snow, they were able to see that this person was surprisingly a young woman in the prime of her youth. Although her hand was extremely ruthless, her every movement was brimming with mechanical sense of beauty; elegant and pleasing to the eye. The most astonishing thing was the changes of her movement when advancing or retreating; she alwaysnded on the weak point or the gap in the that the pursuing troops created while trying to intercept her. Just like a graceful game of chess, each piecended on the spot that was beyond the enemys expectation, so that practically the enemy was being led by the nose by her. Definitely her martial art skill has reached Shi Feixuan, Wanwans level. Even in life and death decisive battle, there was still some kind of elegant and at ease feeling, calm and rxed vor. Dang! Dang! Two long spears attacking her were parried by her long sword. And then spinning around, she entered the space between the two enemies, the tip of her left palm swept the two mens face one after another; the enemies screamed and rolled down the roof, and fell onto the ground. Just before the enemys weapons reached her, her body soared into the air like a bird. Three somersaults in session, shended on top of the main pce hall within the Wei Pce. Three martial art masters from the Wei side followed closely behind her, but before they steadied their footing, she turned around and pounced, heavily injured one of them, forcing the other two to drop down back to the ground. Arrows were released like rain, shooting at her both from the ground and from the roof of the neighboring buildings. The young woman sidestepped and leaped, she evaded the attack effortlessly, until finally she stood behind the roof ridge, and drew the sword to create a of sword light protecting her body, striking down arrows and darts that not even one leaked through. Although the ones she was battling were the Wei soldiers, who were short-handed and whose morale had sunken low C the young womans shenfa, sword technique and strategy, none was not superior to the shocking level. Arrows and darts eased up a little bit. The three-hundred strong Wei Army guarding the Pce heavily surrounded the main pce hall from the roof of the surrounding buildings, which were about a zhang away from the Ling Xiao Dian. However, seeing her astonishing skill, no one had any confidence that they would be able to detain her here. Among the demoralized Wei Army, no one was willing to take the risk of scrambling on top of the Ling Xiao Dian even more. The young woman was standing charmingly on the roof ridge of the pce hall under the swirling snow, looking like an immortal descending to the world; both intimidating and touching to the extreme point. Hiding far away from the siege, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were staring in awe; they were quite shocked by her flower countenance and graceful bearing. This woman looked to be between eighteen and twenty years old, as delicate as the blooming tree peony [Paeonia suffruticosa] or Chinese peony [Paeoniactiflora]. Her cloud of jet-ck beautiful hair cascading down her back, fluttering freely, brushing and dancing in the snowstorm, following her movements, smooth and graceful to the extreme point. Moreover, her figure was graceful, tall like a pole, and quite charming. Under her beautiful-like-crescent-moon long eyshes were slender and long, bright and beautiful eyes, flickering with divine light. Even more beautiful that it caught peoples breath was against her bright and beautiful eyes, her gentle eye sockets looked like clear pond. Under her elegant and perfectly straight nose was a pair of cherry, plump and glossy scarlet C lips, that when she smiled, it made her appeared even more picturesque. Her eyes carried a bit of childlike tender naivet. Her hand wielding the sword was tender and white, her fingers slender, delicate and pretty and beautiful. Looking at the hands alone, this pair of hands would appear to be the slender hands that were skillful in ying qin or plucking zheng; no one would imagine it could brandish a sword with this ferocity, ruthless, experienced and expertise. Stop! The martial art masters among the Wei Army, who were hesitant whether they should take chances by charging up the pce halls roof, were dying to hear this word; hastily they scattered around to the roof of the neighboring pce halls, which wereparatively lower than the main pce hall. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, two boys exchanged nces. A feeling of hatred, which they were unable to suppress C welled up in their heart, because it was precisely Yuwen Huajis voice. In the past, after they buried Fu Junchuo, the hatred toward Yuwen Huaji started to grow in the deepest part of the two boys heart. Only because at that time they were young and weak that revenge became delusion, an extravagant hope; hence they had no choice but to use their rationale and suppress this urge. But the hatred, the desire to kill Yuwen Huaji to repay Fu Junchuo, whose magnificent, luxuriant years of her life was cut short like the fragrant disappeared, the jade perish C has never stopped burning in their hearts, not even a moment. Now they, separately, have be the most outstanding experts in martial art study among the younger generation, who were able to fight the three grandmasters. If they were willing to risk their lives to fight with all their might, even under current circumstances, they still had 80% confidence to kill Yuwen Huaji. Even if they had to pay the ultimate price of their own life, they would never shirk this responsibility. Only this moment did they understand Fu Junchuos position in their heart, that is, nothing could take her ce. And thus they also realized their hatred toward Yuwen Huaji, which even all the water of the Yangtze River and Yellow River would not be able to wash clean. Fu Junchuo sacrificed her life for them; they were willing to do the same in return, as long as they could kill Yuwen Huaji. But when they were showing sign that they were about to make their move, the first to be shocked was Hou Xibai. Severely shaken, he said, Two LaoGe must be joking! There are several hundreds Wei troops in here, not a few martial art masters are among them; how many are we going to kill? Besides, there might also be Yuwen Shang nearby. Kou Zhong reached out to wrap his arm around Hou Xibais shoulders; pulling him tightly, he smiled and said, Although at the beginning Laozi thought that you, this kid, was unpleasant to the eye, but now, I really like you. Ha! Dont misunderstand or be too excited, because this is friend-kind of like. Lao Bai! Why dont we decide which pleasure house we are going to meet? After we chop Yuwen Huagus stinky head, well rush over to meet with you. What do you think? Hou Xibai has not had any chance to reply, a clear and melodious, tender and gentle voice rang out in the air above the Wei Pce Hall, amidst the wind and the snow filling the whole sky, Whos speaking? Although she spoke with very articte pronunciation and vocalizing, it still carried a slight foreign ent, forming some kind of soft and gentle style brimming with exoticism. Momentarily Hou Xibai forgot to respond to Kou Zhong; he appeared to have his mind intoxicated. Shaking his head and swaying his noggin, he praised with a sigh, Listening to the voice one would know the person; this is a talented and good-looking fine woman of foreign nationality. Kou Zhong let go of his arm around Hou Xibais shoulder; turning to Xu Ziling, who was crouching behind a bush on his other side, he said with a wry smile, I am sure this fool is not going to leave; persuading him will be useless. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Let him be! As long as he understands forty-, fifty-percent of Immortal Image Method, he shouldnt bring disgrace to Immortal Image Methods famous reputation. No one in the Great Wei can match him. Yuwen Huajis voice was heard from the distant inner courtyard of the rear Pce; he did not deliberately raise his voice, yet every single word was very clear, the qi meridian was prolonged, as if he spoke next to everybodys ears. Obviously the training of his Mysterious Ice power has reached great heights [lit. reach the peak, arrive at the pole (Courtesy of Akw)]. He said, This person is the Great Wei Lord, Yuwen Huaji. Guniang forcefully charged into my imperial pce, arent you taking too much advantage of me? Although he spoke pompously, those with discernment could hear that his ambitious and ruthless air has gone, no longer like in the past, intimidating and zing like when he was rebelling against the Sui and murdering his superior the Emperor. The Gaoli beauty, wearing skintight nightwalker warrior outfit, which put her tender body and beautiful lines in full disy C let out a burst of silver-bell likeughter and said, I am the Gaolis Yijian Dashi Fu Cailins disciple Fu Junqiang. This time I aming to collect Da Shijie Fu Junchuos blood debt. Yuwen Huaji, do you dare to fight one-on-one with me ording to your Central ins Jianghu rules? Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings blood was boiling, as if they suddenly met a close rtive, whom they never met, but had blood rtionship with them. Yuwen Huaji was silent. The entire Wei Pce was so quiet that a pin drop would have been heard, waiting for his response. Outside, the soldiers were defeated, inside, assassin was at the door, the leaking house was encountering night rain; this veryte at night with intensely cold wind and bitter snow, the Wei Pce was heavily shrouded by the doomsday atmosphere. Yuwen Huajis voice came from the distant again; he said with a sigh, Guniang, just leave! If it were your honored mastering in person, I, Yuwen Huaji, would definitely keep himpany. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and the others, three men looked at each other in dismay. Could it be that the always overbearing, imperious Yuwen Huaji, on the face of the country ruined and the people starving, suddenly changed his character, was unexpectedly willing, after Fu Junqiang killed and injured so many Wei soldiers C to still let the enemy go? How would he answer his subordinates? Laughing coldly, Fu Junqiang said, Incidentally, just like you said, my Shizun [revered master] already decided to go down south to the Central Earth, to find Yin Gui Pais master Yin Hou Zhu Yuyan to settle the ount; furthermore, he might meet with San Zhenren Ning Daoqi, to experience his San Shou Ba Pu [scattered hand eight pounces]. I, Fu Junqiang, am merely a foot soldier, Shizuns vanguard, to get your, Yuwen Huajis head for the sacrificial offering to open the way for Shizun, to strengthen his, the Seniors interest in the journey. In their hearts, none of Kou Zhong, three men did not have huge wave rising to the sky. Fu Cailin was one of the three grandmasters whose names shook the world; if he really came to the south, with so much enmity between the Han and the Gaoli people, he would definitely raise the wind and cloud [i.e. unstable situation] of the weapons of war, to create more storms to the already troublesome Central ins. From this, it could be inferred that the Gaoli people had the intention to push the wave and add to the billows, to add oil to the fire, so that the Central ins, which the Tujue already watched like a tiger watching its prey, would be even more chaotic. Letting out a longughter, Yuwen Huaji said, Since Guniang insists on following the path to your own doom, what can I, Yuwen Huaji, say ... Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling chose this moment to rise up to their full height from their hiding ce. The former shouted loudly, Hold on! Tonight,ing to give you, Yuwen Huaji bad luck, are also us, two brothers. Instantly Hou Xibai, who was standing behind them, also had a very strange feeling. In his eyes, the two boys qi momentum suddenly rose to the unfathomable apex. Each leap, jump, shift, and sh to evade the more than a dozen powerful arrows shooting swiftly toward them C disyed enormous self-confidence. And only this kind of absolute self-confidence could make them waste the least amount of energy, could enable them to evade the rain of arrows in just the right way. Hou Xibai was immediately infected. He suddenly revealed the Fan of Beauty, which had never left his body, and swiftly shed sideways to evade several long spearsing right toward his face, andnded on the grassynd by the long corridor. His fan waved at an angle, he deflected a saber chopping across from the side, and borrowed thirty-percent of the enemys power, which he transformed inside his dantian, to be used for his own. By the time the Fan of Beauty was spread again, following his abstruse footwork, the edge of the fan urately cut over empty air at the side of an enemys neck. The enemy was hit by the fan and fell down, immediately saying goodbye to the mundane world. As soon as he made his move, he already used a fraction of the Immortal Image Method, because only by using this method he would have the hope to preserve his life until the two boys killed Yuwen Huaji. Hou Xibai had never thought that he would be willing to give his life for his friends, but right now he was doing exactly that, with such an honor that did not allow him to nce back. There was absolutely no way that these four persons would be able to surpass more than a hundred Wulin martial art masters plus the as-numerous-as-the-clouds Yuwen n disciples and personal guards. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Hou Xibai had to fight a desperate battle at the long corridor, while endless stream of Wei soldiers was surging like a tide from the front and both sides. If they could pass this long corridor and turn right at the end, that would be where the Ling Xiao main pce hall was. Kou Zhong sent out his first saber strike to meet and cut off an enemys sword head-on, and continued to chop the enemys chest. The attacking enemy met the saber and fell; perhaps even upon his arrival at the underworld, he was still unclear how he died. Xu Ziling deeply understood the cruelty or war. Ordinary Jianghu fight would not be effective here; he could only use the most primitive, the most direct, the most simple and the most effective method to kill, while trying to avoid being killed. It was some kind of deathly game to see whose injury was heavier. No one could avoid getting hurt! Thinking to this point, Xu Zilings heart was moved; he spun around and unexpectedly entered the enemy ranks. His body was hit by at least two sabers and one spear, but all were deflected by the true qi protecting his body. Shaoshuai! he shouted loudly, What kind of water dont stink? As he spoke, he sent out two punches and one kick; three enemies were hit and fell to the ground. Xu Zilings voice had just arrived, Kou Zhong alreadyughed heartily and said, Naturally its rolling and flowing water; just like Xibai Gongzis Immortal Image Method. Hou Xibais voice came from a distance, Inside is the natural rotation of the sky, outside is the cirction of the handle of the Big Dipper; the Immortal is within it. Two LaoGe, shall we try to reunite to be one? The main road leading to the main pce hall was teeming with one-falls-the-next-follows charging Wei Army, forcing the originally fighting together three young martial art masters to fight their separate battles. Weapons were attacking from four sides and eight directions, so that they werepletely without any spare time to take a breather and circte their qi. Every moment was used to deal with the many weapons threatening their bodies. The space where they were able to dodge and move about was constantly narrowing. Although the enemy had just suffered crushing defeat, their morale was low, but this moment, when life and death were concerned, their usual strict training plus their abundantbat experience were put in full disy, as they formed a great wall made of flesh and blood, dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety, in violent attack toward the three men. As for the three, because each one of them had his own unique consummate skill, upon contact with the enemies, they immediately upied the upper hand. However, this kind of superiority could not be longsting; once the true qi recovery slowed down and their true qi was consumed, under this kind of situation, their true energy might suffer wear and tear rapidly, plus whenever they were wounded and bleeding, it would elerate the wear and tear of the true energy even more, hence Hou Xibais proposal. Concentrated, their power would be strong; separated, their power would be scattered. Xu Zilings palm swept out, he pushed aside an enemys big axe, while at the same time he sent out a spiraling true energy, jolting the enemy so that his defense line was open wide, and then a carefully-ced kick, fast as lightning, hit the pit of the axe-wielders stomach. This kick was executed at full strength, sending the man off the ground and knocked down the three Wei soldiers behind him. Suddenly a shot of pain burst out on his thigh and shoulder de, as he was hit by the enemys weapon. Although the true qi protecting his body reacted by jolting the weapons that they slipped, but because he was concentrating his power to deal with the axe-wielder, he still suffered half a cun of skin and flesh wound. There was no way they could let this kind of tangled battle continued, since in the end their power would be exhausted and their blood drained, and then they would perish. Hence Xu Ziling shouted loudly, To the roof on the left! Crashing sideways, he knocked two Wei soldiers, sending them rolling down like a gourd. To the left of this huge corridor was a three-zhang widewn and flowerbed, which, this moment, was covered in thick and fluffy snow; beyond that was the side wall of another building. Taking a mouthful of breath rapidly, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well chopped thirteen times in session, the saber momentum was fierce and severe without equal, but he felt that the true qi within his body was growing and multiplying without end, without exhaustion. Unexpectedly not one of the thirteen enemies was lucky enough to evade, they all died under the saber strike. But inwardly he was not pleased at all. If he had the choice, he would never kill on the first encounter, plus there was no hatred or desire for revenge toward these people. The enemys martial art masters unceasingly leaped down from the roof to join the battle formation surrounding them. The situation was bitter to the extreme point, the dead and injured were everywhere, blood sshes created frightening red spots on the white snow; it seemed like life was not worth even half a penny. This was the essence, as well as the true face C of war. A burst of painful heat shot up from his back; he was stabbed by a spear. But before it had any chance to pierce his skin and flesh, the true qi protecting his body already generated reaction force to shock it, so that it slipped away from his shoulder de and could only rip open his clothes. This was not to say that Kou Zhong had already reached the impervious-to-sword-and-spear realm; it depends on who was holding the spear. In this instance, the spear-wielder did not have enough qualifications to harm him. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well whirled in the air, saber light shing brightly, yellow light dazzling the eyes, the enemies all around had their heart turned cold, their guts sank down, they were falling forward and tumbling down. As a result, he also received many more injuries; even the time to apply his power to stop the bleeding wascking. Letting out a loud shout, his body moved following the saber, he charged in the direction of Hou Xibai. Anybody trying to block him was swept away; unexpectedly no one was able to stand. Immediately the pressure on Hou Xibai was greatly reduced; staking everything, he parried a sword. By opening and closing his folding fan, the enemy struck by the fan fell to the ground. Rising up, he broke away from the heavy siege and turned over in Kou Zhongs direction. Kou Zhongs long saber shed out, forcing the enemy to break away. He also rose up, reached out to grab Hou Xibais belt, and carried Hou Xibai, whose power has been exhausted C along as he leaped up and flew toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling saw the two were flying high in the air toward him, he knew that the crucial point between life and death would be decided at this moment. Ignoring the weaponsing to greet his body, he soared into the air. Deliberately he cast himself down, but the attacking de could only cut open his clothes and added many more traces of blood. In such close-distance bloody battle, this was the price to pay to get away. The three met in the air. Xu Ziling generated power to both hands and reached out to separately catch the clothes on the two mens back, taking them tond on different spot, and then together they flew toward the roof of a multi-story building on the left. More than a dozen enemies guarding on the roof were waiting in tight formation. One of them had a long saber, which created dots of saber light enveloping them. The saber momentum was fierce and severe. This was the most threatening attack since the fight broke. The three knew that they were encountering the enemys martial art master. Xu Ziling let out a loud shout. He took a breath in the air, his two hands sent out true power. Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai promptly seized this opportunity to soar high to evade the saber strike, and threw themselves toward the roof behind the enemy. But Xu Ziling dropped down to the ground; once again he was trapped inside the enemys heavy siege. Even with his martial art skill, he could forget about escaping easily like a moment ago, because he had fallen into the lone-army-in-desperate-battle situation. Sticking out his thumb, he hit the middle of the enemys de. The man suddenly realized that the opponents thumb was producing a suction force. Aghast, he quickly pulled his saber back, and began to know that he had fallen into the enemys trap. Xu Ziling then borrowed the little bit of sucking force to leap across the enemy, and together with Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai he safelynded on the roof ridge. At the same time they were able to see the entire situation clearly. Book 37 - 7 – People Rebelling And Friends Deserting Still with his hands behind his back, Yuwen Huaji stood at his original spot. Standing behind him, tall and short, were eight martial art masters, his personal bodyguards. They appeared to be the elite figures, the inner circle of the Yuwen n. Fu Junqiang still chose gueri-war technique; she flew from the top of the pce hall among the corridors and wooded areas to controlrge number of enemies, the dead bodies she killed were everywhere, the postures of the corpses were fantastic oddities of every description, some corpses were even hanging on the trees. It is thus clear how desperate the battle was. But obviously her attack on Yuwen Huaji just now did not return any merit. This Gaoli beautys body also suffered multiple injuries. The situation was not optimistic at all. Yuwen Huaji personally, by way of bugle horn, conducted the operation to surround and block the four persons. The three men flew up to the top of the pce hall, and met again on the roof. Immediately another situation emerged. By the time the enemies from everywhere frantically pursued and attacked, the three also moved out to meet the enemy head-on. Automatically they formed a triangr battle formation. Because there was no fear of trouble in the rear, the three were able to have a free hand in facing the enemies attacking violently from the front, killing them that dead bodies were strewn all over the roof, flesh and blood sshing, dyeing the snow on the roof of the pce hall red with fresh blood, including the blood from their own wounds, old and new. Dang! Kou Zhong sent out a swift saber chop. The snow-covered top of the pce hall was slippery and did not provide any traction. Although the attacker was a martial art master among the enemies, his martial art skill was outstanding, he was barely able to block Kou Zhongs saber strike, but the soles of his feet was not obedient, hence he slipped down the slope of the roof, and fell onto the ground. Suddenly there was no enemy on the roof, leaving only shocking-the-eye, astonishing-the-heart bloodstains, as well as few dozen dead bodies strewn along the roof ridge and rood edges. Bugle horn sounded again. Following the order, the soon-to-be-scattered enemies once againid out a defense on the public square between the main pce hall and the hall where Yuwen Huaji was standing. The number of men was greatly reduced to about a hundred men. The square was nearly forty -zhang wide; to kill Yuwen Huaji, one must break through this barrier first. Yuwen Huaji indeed had rigorous schemes and deep foresight; seeing the turn of events was not too encouraging, he immediately changed strategy. To the Wei Army, the spacious and open wide square was definitely greatly beneficial to regroup just like during the training. Under the snowkes swirling in the air, the sound of shing weapons of the fierce battle between Fu Junqiang and the troops pursuing and attacking her was stilling from a distance ce that they were unable to see behind the pce hall where Yuwen Huaji was standing, a clear sign that momentarily she would not be able to pose any threat toward Yuwen Huaji on this side. The torches were burning in the public square, illuminating the za as bright as day, while also heightening the somber and deste situation of the Wei Imperial Pce under the frigid wind and bitter snow. Standing on the back of the roof, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai looked into the distance at the decisiveness with which Yuwen Huaji was conducting the operation; they were groaning inwardly. It was clear that Yuwen Huaji was carrying out a dying tactic, waiting for the Wei Army guarding outside the city wall to be transferred back. If there were two or three thousand more men in here, they could forget about getting away. The three also knew that they had brought suffering to themselves. By killing their way to this ce, particrly the fierce battle during which they were charging up to the top of the pce hall, they had added more than a dozen cuts on their bodies. Although these were all skin and flesh injuries, but it still adversely affected their strength greatly. Gradually their true energy consumption was elerating, forcing them to regte their breathing to recover their qi. For the time being they simply could notunch their second round of violent attack. Even more unfavorable was that after killing and injuring nearly seventy martial art masters of the enemys side, their acute spirit gradually disappeared; from the bottom of their hearts, there appeared thepassion, as well as weariness after killing people, which substantially weakened their will to fight. If the battle continued, in order to save their own life, they would not have the time to have this kind of feeling instead. This moment the bloody battle was stopped somewhat; in their physical and mental fatigue, were it not for their zing hatred supporting them, perhaps they would have broken the siege and run away early on, and given up the massacre. Suddenly a figure came to Yuwen Huajis side and spoke in low voice. Immediately Yuwen Huajis countenance changed. After listening to some orders, the man submitting the report left immediately. Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he shouted, Yuwen Huaji, is it the Tang Armys solders at the city walls, so that you are unable to transfer your men back to defend your dogs life? Immediately the Wei Army in troop formation at the square was abuzz; evidently Kou Zhongs remark has stirred up the troops heart. Yuwen Huaji let out a string ofughter with a hint of destion inside; he thundered, Even if I, Yuwen Huaji, am going to die, I will pull you along to be buried with me. Release the arrows! The more than twenty archers at the front of Wei Army formation put their arrows on the bow; the twanging of the bows rang out continuously, arrows and darts filled the sky, piercing the rain of snow, shooting toward them. Kou Zhong rushed forward, the Moon in the Well turned into ten thousand streaks of yellow light, single-handedly he blocked the powerful arrows shooting in. Were it not for the arrows were concentrated, that is, they were shot only from the front, even with Kou Zhongs ability, he would not be able to disy such an eight-sides prowess. From the back, Hou Xibai spoke in low voice, Well circle around and attack from the back, their troop disposition will copse. Xu Ziling had his gaze fixed on Yuwen Huaji, who was standing on the other pce halls roof, across the public square, without letting any micro changes on his expression slip by; he spoke heavily, That is precisely what he wants us to do, so that he could slip away to the city wall outside. Hou Xibais pair of eyes lit up, he said, I have a way to beat him at his own way; if I am guessing correctly, Yuwen Huaji will leave together with Wei Furen. Ziling understands my wish and kindness? Kou Zhong retreated to the other two, he spoke in low voice, Lets seize the victory! Just before the second round of arrows and darts were released, the three somersaulted down the pce hall roof and pounced on the enemy ranks. They were just like the rock on the surface of flowing water; immediately they stirred up the waves of war. The archers at the front row separated to the left and right, the more than a dozen axe-and-shield-wielders from behind rushed forward to attack, holding the shield on their left hand and axe on their right, assisted by twenty spear- andnce-wielders, using the ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum closing in toward the three men. By this time the three already had deep understanding of the battle formations formidable power. Each one of these axes weighed no less than a hundred catty, their des flickered brightly; if they got hacked, no matter how formidable the true qi protecting their body was, due to the direct shock, there was no way that they would suffer only skin-deep injury. Furthermore, because their long shield thoroughly protected their neck, chest, abdomen, and the vital point on the lower part of their body [orig. yin C genitalia], they were able to focus their power to attack the enemy. Combined with the spear- andnce-wielders offensive, their destructive power was doubled. One long, the other short, whether it was close-distancebat or long-distance attack, they upied the ultimate superiority. Kou Zhong took the first position to rush out; the person following the saber, the saber turning into yellow light, like a streak of violent lightning it arced down into the middle of the enemy ranks, producing a loud Dang! shaking the entire pce, like the sound of the death knell announcing the demise of the Yuwen n. The iron shields disintegrated, the enemys big axes flew off their hands, and they tumbled backwards. By the time the twonce-wielders on his left and right found out that they had lost the shield protection, before they had any chance to raise theirnces in counterattack, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well already shed the side of their neck, sending them into their instant death. This fierce and severe, hard-to-believe saber technique immediately chilled the enemys guts; upon self-inspection by putting themselves in other peoples shoes, they knew that they would also end up stricken and dead. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well red out in hundreds and thousands rays of light again, forcing the attacking spear-,nce- and saber- and axe-wielders away. Letting out a longughter, he said, I know who ising! Its Dou Jiande! Am I right? Huangshang [Your majesty the emperor]! The enemy ranks burst into another uproar; unexpectedly they withdrew some more, not only they were intimidated by Kou Zhongs direct attack, but they were disturbed by Kou Zhongs words. Kou Zhong also retreated to Xu Ziling and Hou Xibais side. Qiang! the Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shot two streaks of lightning as he gazed at Yuwen Huaji standing on top of the pce hall across the battle formation on the public square. Xu Ziling shouted coldly, Yuwen Huaji, what kind of character are you? Rather than waiting for Dou Jiande to kill you, why dont you take the chance to see if you could kill us? You could even seize the opportunity to escape. But you only know how to send your men to throw away their lives for you. You are really despicable. Hou Xibai was also a man of simrly above average ability and wisdom, he immediately understood the two boys were carrying out psychological tactics, striving to disturb Yuwen Huajis mens fighting spirit. Greedy for life, afraid of death was human nature; just how many people can really put life and death outside the sphere of their consideration? As long as they were able to affect half of the men here, not only they might be able to kill Yuwen Huaji, they might also be able to easily escape afterwards. Just now Kou Zhong charging into the enemy ranks and opening up a gap appeared to be effortless, but in reality Kou Zhong had to pay a great price, which was considerable wear and tear to his true energy. Under current circumstances, if Kou Zhong was asked to simply repeat his feat three more times, it would be guaranteed that he would drop down in exhaustion. Since they could not win by force, its only natural that they must outsmart the enemy. Thinking to this point, Hou Xibai opened up his Fan of Beauty, and casually fanned Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling on his left and right sides. In this bitter snow and intensely cold night, his action appeared to be absolutely absurd; but Hou Xibai was doing it so naturally and elegantly, without the slightest bit of pretense. He sighed and said, There is only one exnation on why Huangshang does not make his move personally, which is Dou Jiandes soldiers are at the city walls, since Huangshang can retreat from Weixian, naturally you also can withdraw from Xucheng to other ces to evade. Therefore, as long as Huangshang has your men entangling us, Huangshang can take the opportunity to slip away. These words were even more formidable; it had enough power to wake up the Wei Army, to remind them not to be Yuwen Huajis scapegoat. Kou Zhong thundered, Wei State has fallen, you havent run for your life? His voice echoed over the Wei Pce. Snowkes sprinkled down on the Wei Army in the square, everyone was as dumb as wooden chicken, the crow and peacock made no sound. Even after Kou Zhongs voice disappeared, it still echoed in every single one of their hearts. The harsh light in Yuwen Huajis pair of eyes red greatly, Pei! he spat in fury, and roared, You have the cheek to mislead the public with rumors, to disturb my soldiers heart. The day I, Yuwen Huaji, am still here, the Great Wei has not perished. With equal harshness, Xu Ziling said, Why did Huangshang call yourself I and not Zhen? Could it be that you no longer dare to shamelessly dere yourself a lone way [not sure]? Yuwen Huaji was nearly at a loss for words. Presently, among the hegemons of all sides who had some weight [i.e. importance], it was he who had the most difficulty in dering himself the Emperor; the reason was because after murdering his superior, Emperor Yang, he always suffered defeat in battle, while his breathing space, just to be able to survive C was shrinking day by day. In the Battle of Liangdu, unexpectedly the two feather-head kids that he disdained as beneath contempt before managed to return in low spirits following a failure to achieve their ambitions [idiom], so that he even lost Yuwen Chengdu and Yuwen Wudi, two lives, which led to a fallout with his uncle, Yuwen Shang. Thetter led his troops to leave him, vowing to find Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to settle the ount, which caused his strength to weaken one step further. And now finally the sun was setting over the western hills [idiom: the end of an era], he had reached the stage where he was only prolonging his remaining breath; how could he still have the face to call himself the emperor? Staring nkly into the distance, he forced himself to squeeze out a confident smile, as he snorted coldly and said, I dont have time to talk nonsense with you. Charge! Kou Zhong roared like a p of thunder on the in; immediately he overwhelmed the Wei Army, which did not know whether they should fight or run for their lives. Even Yuwen Huaji also felt that the turn of events was not too encouraging; he knew that his troops heart had been swayed by the opponent, hence they did not immediately carry out the order that he issued. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Gentlemen, please listen to Xiaodi: Dou Jiandes soldiers at the city walls is definitely true, hence your brothers guarding the city walls cannot spare time toe and help you. Between me and ... Seeing the deteriorating situation, Yuwen Huaji roared wildly and said, Dont let him poison your mind, even if theres enemying to attack, we can still get rid of these men first before facing the enemy. Attack! His men and personal bodyguards your eyes look at my eyes, but no one moved. Since Weixian was taken by the Tang Army, the troops morale has been sinking to its lowest point, and now with his own mouth Yuwen Huaji admitted that Dou Army wasing to attack. The Wei State, which barely remained in Xucheng, was sandwiched with enemies on both sides; any passer-by would be able to see its ending, there was no more hope. All the warriors at the very front of the battle formation had seen Kou Zhongs prowess just now when he decimated three men of their side in one move; who would dare to be the first to attack? The torches made crackling noise, the snowkes fluttered in the air, more than a hundred men in battle formation, their qi deted, stood nkly in awkward silence. The sound of fighting between Fu Junqiang and the pursuing troops was stilling intermittently from the distance behind the pce hall where Yuwen Huaji was standing. Who dares to disobey Huangshangs order? one of the imperial bodyguards by Yuwen Huajis side shouted sternly. Finally the front row of the Wei Army started to move, slowly advancing toward the three. Their expression showed that they were unwilling, yet they had no choice. This moment, if there was one person to be the first to desert, it could be guaranteed that the entire battle formation would scatter like a swarm of bees; yet clearly there was no such opening. In this critical moment when the battle clouds were rising again, Dong! Dong! Dong ...! urgent and powerful battle drums shook the heavens from the direction of the northern part of the city, striking straight into the bottom of everybodys heart. The barely moving Wei Army stopped immediately; everybody looked at each other in dismay. The sound of drum stopped. Dong! Dong! Dong! The battle drum arose again. This time it came from the distant ce east of the city. Kou Zhong raised his arms and shouted loudly, You havent slipped away quickly? Your father and mother, wife and child are at home, waiting for you! Xu Ziling also shouted, Great Wei is no more, our business with Yuwen Huaji will be settled only in ordance with Jianghu rules. No one knew who started it, but when the drums from the west shook the heavens, only thest group of personal guards who were loyal to Yuwen Huaji remained in the square, everybody else dispersed in confusion; they were gonepletely. The strange thing was that they did not see Fu Junqiang appearing; the three had no time to think about her, since Yuwen Huaji, leading the eight martial art masters, his personal guards C was already jumping down from the roof. Vicious light shot out of his pair of eyes, obviously he was really angry. No longer cared about anything else, good or bad, he wanted to kill the three at all cost. By the time Yuwen Huaji was only about three zhang away from them, Kou Zhong said with augh, Theres one thing that I nearly forget to tell you: a moment ago outside the city, we saw your esteemed younger brother Yuwen Shiji, leading more than two hundred men, leaving to the west first, before taking a detour to the north. I thought he was acting on your behalf to make peace and surrender to Dou Jiande. But now I am starting to realize that he is going to betray you. Finally Yuwen Huajis countenance changed; now he knew how the Emperor Yang felt when the people were rebelling and friends deserting. He shouted loudly, Stop talking nonsense. Everybody here is willing to abandon his head and spill his blood for me, Yuwen Huaji. Eight major martial art masters and personal guards shouted at the same time, together as one, determined to fight to the death. Since Fu Junchuos death, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had been waiting for this opportunity, how could they suppress the overflowing-to-the-sky hatred in their heart? They rushed at the same time to attack the enemy under Yuwen Huajis leadership together. Hou Xibai opened up his folding fan, but he did not follow the two boys into the battle arena, instead, he circled around to the enemys behind, andunched a pincer attack from the back, so it became an even greater threat. Throwing away all misgivings, Yuwen Huaji shattered the dragon robe he was wearing into pieces, exposing the skin-tight ck warrior outfit inside, and his thin and straight formidable build. Both hands opened up, he stepped in mysterious footwork, and sent out palm strike without any sign of fear to meet the two boys head-on. Laughing nastily, he said, Lets see if you have the qualifications to take my life? Bang! Bang! Three men, like three streaks of lightning C shed together. Yuwen Huajis body was greatly shaken. Although he was able to block the two boys offensives, he could not withstand two boysbined, irresistible power. Were it not for the two boys true energy has been depleted, merely this contact would have sent Yuwen Huaji vomiting blood and suffering internal injury. But now it could only shock Yuwen Huaji, sending him staggering and tumbling backward. The eight major martial art masters and personal guards divided themselves into two groups of four men each, one group attacked Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, blocking them from seizing the opportunity to attack, and the other group turned around to attack Hou Xibai, in order to avoid falling into the disadvantageous position where they had enemies in front and behind them. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling shivered greatly; after experiencing Yuwen Huajis Mysterious Ice Energy, they knew why it was worthy to be called the Yuwen ns unique skill to subdue the n [before you ask, this is what the text saysy^]. Even with the two joining hands, killing him would require a hard work. The four mening at them, not a single one was not a genuine martial art master. One of them was a middle-aged man with long beard wielding a spear; his move was fierce and severe, his power deep. His spear swiftly stabbed Kou Zhong, carrying cold and raw power with strong gust of wind, enough to terrify people. Another man used his sword to sh across Kou Zhongs waist from the side. His sword also created a gust of wind, fast like lightning shes. His coordination with the middle-aged spear-wielder was like seamless heavenly clothes. Kou Zhong was well aware that this was the crucial point to determine sess or failure. If, before Yuwen Huaji recovered his qi, he failed to take care of these two martial art masters, not only he might lose the opportunity to kill Yuwen Huaji, most likely the three of them would be the side that was defeated and dispersed. The two men attacking Xu Ziling, one used a hook and the other used saber. They both looked to be around thirty, the Taiyang acupoint on their temples was high and bulging, their skill was supported by unassable footwork, full of energy. Xu Ziling had the same idea as Kou Zhongs; he understood the importance of grasping the fortunate timing. Unexpectedly he somersaulted over the two enemies head, his left and right hands simultaneouslyunched the Treasured Vase Image, transformingplexity into simplicity, forcefully shocking the enemy. Kou Zhongs left hand cut out, he blocked the sharp sword shing horizontally head-on, while his right hands wrist shook powerfully, the Moon in the Well turned into yellow light, it swiftly hit and lifted the enemys spear. While Yuwen Huaji was still unable to maintain his stance as he was tumbling backward, Hou Xibai kept pressing forward, carrying out the gueri tactic, luring the four martial art masters pursuing and attacking him away from the battle arena. The battle for revenge was finally pulling its curtain up. Book 37 - 8 – Difficulties Left and Righ Dang! The Moon in the Well skewered up towards the enemy spear. The opponent was very good; the parrying spear moved back only slightly from the force. Who would have thought that Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well took advantage of the instant the momentum was withdrawn somewhat to rush through the gap like a thunderbolt and swiftly hacked in, straight toward the enemys face? The saber technique was unbelievably fast and exquisite. The man with the long beards soul flew away in fright as he tried to lower the spear and retreat. Shaken, he desperately retreated only about a zhang away when a blood mark appeared on his chest, and he fell onto the snow facing upward. Yuwen Huaji roared in grief. He pounced towards Kou Zhong, shouting Ill take your life for his! Hearing that, the swordsman who attacked together with the man with long beard who died C who was just being shaken away by the saber in Kou Zhongs hand C changed direction to assist his numerouspanions besieging Xu Ziling. Peng! Peng! With two sharp noises, unable to withstand the Treasure Vase Images highly concentrated and thick qi power, the two enemies hook and saber were swept away, their bodies copsed as their eyes, ears, nose and mouth simultaneously oozed blood. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong had interlinked minds, they both had a clear understanding of the current situation. There was no leeway to hold back, they had to use ten- thousand-jun thunderous shocking force. They must, by all means, in these several face-to-face encounters, clear away the martial arts masters, Yuwen Huajis personal bodyguards, to take advantage while the enemys mind was in chaos to make their move with all their strength. Otherwise, if they let the opposite side steady their footings, victory or defeat would be difficult to predict. The swordsmaning to help prolonged hispanions time of defeat, due to Xu Ziling was forced to let the opportunity to follow up the victory and press home the attack to slip by, since he had to handle him first. With single somersault, Xu Zilings foot glided on the snow, with another whirling spin, he avoided the enemy sword by mere fraction of a hairsbreadth, as he came to the enemy left side, where the sword could not reach, bumping his elbow across the enemys rib. The saber wielder and the hook wielder attacked again, while the sword wielder unexpectedly shot heavenward; not only did he avoid the elbow strike, the long sword also came back swiftly from above to pierce Xu Ziling as well. He was definitely worthy to be a martial arts master, one of Yuwen Huajis personal bodyguards. Xu Ziling secretly performed the Motionless Fundamental Image, in that instant he already grasped the timing, speed, and position at which the enemys weapon would reach his body, the timing and movement of the enemys position, andunched a punch upwards, shocking the enemy sword head-on. Over yonder Kou Zhong was caught in a bad situation where he could only take a beating; not because Yuwen Huajis martial arts was more brilliant than his, but because breaking the axe and shattering the shield, as well as killing the long bearded man C one after another consumed a great amount of his true energy, and he had still yet to recover, while Yuwen Huaji, whose vicious nature was aroused due to the death of his subordinate, attacked wildly and struck violently. Momentarily he could only rely on his exquisite saber technique to hold on, waiting for Yuwen Huajis lofty spirit to diminish, before waiting for an opportunity to strike back. Kou Zhong entered the realm of Moon in the Well martial art way, where the raging battlefield would never dissolve the ice and snow, that no matter how treacherous the situation, he would advance with dead mind, that he would still deal and defuse the crisis with ice-cold, calm state of mind. Yuwen Huaji wished that he could, with one move, cause great suffering for Kou Zhong and destroy him. Therefore, every move was spent with full force, watching for any of Kou Zhongs weak point, forcing him to continuously resist with all his strength, making sure that Kou Zhong would not have the opportunity to recover his qi. Regardless of how Kou Zhong shed and leaped to evade, he would advance in closebat, or sending his power across empty air, denying Kou Zhong for any chance to take a breather. Kou Zhong, however, remained calm in the face of adversity; he fought and retreated, while moving away from the other two battlefields, that is, the side on the public square by the main pce hall. His essence, qi, and spirit were fully concentrated in every single saber strike; with all his heart and soul and spirit he dealt with his mortal enemys startling-the-billows-astonishing-the-waves style of offensives. His deflecting-qi-borrowing-force technique waspletely ineffective against the Mysterious ck Ice Energy, simply because if he let the ck Ice Energy enter his meridians, it would absolutely be harmful without any benefit. The battle between both sides increased in ferocity. There was not even a tiny moment in the gap between their actions; they were countering each others moves, using speed to fight speed, dangerous, fierce and severe to the extreme point. In just the amount of time to sip a cup of hot tea, the saber and palms already shed for nearly thirty moves. The Moon in the Well suddenly hacked towards the empty space by Yuwen Huajis left nk; it was precisely the Chess Abundant of Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well Eight Great Wonder Moves. Yuwen Huaji was a veteran of a hundred battles, he was ustomed to viewing andprehending the situations, but there was an iparably strange feeling that started to bubble up in his heart. Though Kou Zhongs saber had the effect of confusing the enemys reaction, he was able to see through the empty tricks. However, Kou Zhongs single saber hack downwards unexpectedly produced a swirling vortex and force field that enveloped him. He was pinned down and unable to ignore this blow. It resembled a majestic whirlpool from the oceans, where all the fish outside of the whirlpool were drawn in. Yuwen Huaji was experienced and knowledgeable, still, it was the first time he came upon such a fantastic and terrifying saber technique. Involuntarily he moved sideways where the saber momentum reached the end of its range, his offensive finally slowed down a sliver. It could be said that this single saber strike was forced out. That day when he faced Ning Daoqi, this move was easily broken simply by the opponent raising his hand, which, after the fact, made Kou Zhong feel unsatisfied, and thus he thought hard to figure out how tobine it with the spiraling energy. Until now, the move Chess Abundant was starting to produce great sess, letting him to strive for the opportunity to turn defeat into victory. Huh? a soft cry came from somewhere on the side. Kou Zhong did not need to see to know that Fu Junqiang was watching the fight from her hiding ce, seeing his move deeply embodied the spirit and marrow of the Yijian Technique, she blurted out a gasp of surprise. This moment he did not have time to think too much, otherwise the opportunity would be gone in a sh. Hastily he evaded backward, the Moon in the Well pointed at Yuwen Huaji from a distance, changes were happening everywhere, from Chess Abundant to No Attack. For the first time Yuwen Huaji felt the chill, sensing that although Kou Zhong kept pulling away from him, but unexpectedly the saber qi and the saber momentum controlling him from a distant were continuously getting stronger, whichpletely did not make any sense. Not being able to get away, Yuwen Huaji let out a violent shout and soared high into the air, and then shot out two streams of Mysterious Ice Energy from the air, attacking the top of Kou Zhongs head and his face. Kou Zhongs heart was without fear without joy; his saber chopped down, it cut right in the middle of the two streams of fist power, carrying another burst of vortex of true qi. Unexpectedly it met the two streams of fist power head on and dissolved and neutralized it, producing a violent explosive noise of qi power colliding against each other; exquisite, mysterious, and strange. Bang! Borrowing the momentum, Kou Zhong floated from the back door into the main hall. With a backward flip he leaped onto the tform steps at the northern end of the main hall. The spot that his footnded on was precisely Yuwen Huajis dragon seat facing the main hall. The saber de sliced down just a hairsbreadth in front of the tip of his nose. Hou Xibai opened his folding fan. It shed toward the opponents face first to confuse his eyes, but his attack was actually a kick from below, which hit the enemys genitalia. But at the same time he felt a sharp pain on his shoulder de; he was stabbed from behind by another enemys long sword. Hou Xibai deflected the enemys sword, so that the opponent could not injure his muscles and bones. In the meantime, the enemy in front of him was thrown back from his kick, along with shaking-to-the-core miserable scream before his death. Although Hou Xibai paid the price, the wound on his shoulder de was no less than a cun, and his blood sttered everywhere, but his heart calmed down instead. If the four martial art masters besieging him was fighting one-on-one, none of them was even one-tenth of his level; however, since they were ustomed to fighting together, thebined power far surpassed the sum of four mens individual power. He was nearly unable to resist their attack. Lucky for him that Hua Jian Pais consummate skills more and more emerged; on top of that, he had built up his skill through painstaking effort to master the Immortal Image, one of the most formidable skills of the demonic school, so eventually he was sessful to eliminate one of the enemies. Hou Xibai used the listening-to-the-wind-to-determine-the-position skill, he spun and swept to the left; from open, the Fan of Beauty closed up again, as if he was moving it casually, yet it urately, beyond humanprehension C swept the tip of thence. The Immortal Image absorbed the enemys power first, and then in an instant it burst back, shocking thence wielder and sending him stumbling to the side. Hou Xibaiughed aloud, unleashing the Fan of Beauty Technique, he attacked the three enemies, whose hearts already turned cold, whose guts split open C that they were routed and had no more power to retaliate. Ding! The long sword broke into cun--sized pieces. Completely outside the sword wielders expectation, the long sword was sent at full power to stab Xu Zilings tian ling acupoint; but instead of meeting Xu Zilings world-famous bare hand, it actually encountered a pair of short arm protectors shooting out from inside his sleeves. This move took Xiuli Qiankun [universe in the sleeves], the unique skill ranked among the wonderful skills and supreme arts with which Du Fuwei made his name C up a notch. The end of the arm protector stuck to the swords de, itpletely dissolved the true qi concentrated inside the opponents sword. And then fast as lightning the arm protector on the other hand swept across the swords de, shattering the enemys sword, which was already without any true qi to protect it C to pieces. The enemys soul flew away and scattered, he was carried away by another stream of force that Xu Ziling was sending out, and was thrown high into the air. He was lucky that Xu Ziling was being lenient; otherwise all would be lost and he could not protect his little life. After rending a meritorious service, Xu Zilings arm protectors returned to his sleeves. Using the Inner and Outer Lion Images he dealt with the hook wielder and the saber wielder, two major martial art masters howling-wind-and-torrential-rain-like attacksing from his left and right. These two were martial art masters, Yuwen Huajis personal guards whose martial art skill was higher than the others, barely under the man with the long beard, who was killed by Kou Zhong. But to defeat Xu Ziling, they still did not have enough qualifications; he blocked the attacks one by one. He was waiting for their acute spirit to pass, and then he would immediately control the enemy and score the victory. Kou Zhong moved within the narrow space of the dragon throne, he parried Yuwen Huajis all-out fierce and severe offensives without yielding a single step. Letting out a longughter, he said, This dragon throne looks a bit familiar; is this the one Old Yang sat on in Jiangdu before he was killed? Yuwen Huaji let out a cold snort, but did not answer him, while in the bottom of his heart he cried that the turn of events was not too encouraging; he took this opportunity to catch his breath, immediately his power increased substantially, as if he suddenly became another person. Shua! Shua! Kou Zhong hacked three times in session, each saber strike was wonderful to the extreme, once again he forced Yuwen Huaji to back off. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, Huagu, why are you so unwise like this? This is an inauspicious object, unexpectedly you took it through a thousand li road from Jiangdu to here, making you stepping on the Old Yangs trailing dust. Too stupid! Bang! Suddenly he sent out a punch to meet Yuwen Huajis fist. The two, without any fancy or fake move, exchanged a blow head-on. The Mysterious Ice Energy was forced by Kou Zhongs spiraling true energy to ssh in four directions, momentarily qi power filled the air. Kou Zhong was shocked by Yuwen Huaji that he staggered backward, as if he was going to fall down from the dragon throne. Yuwen Huaji was greatly delighted; lowering his body, he stretched out his hand in a w toward Kou Zhongs genitalia. Kou Zhongughed aloud. He sent his true power from the soles of his feet, all four legs of the dragon throne snapped. The Moon in the Wells yellow light burst forth, it swiftly picked and raised Yuwen Huajis treacherous and murderous w. Yuwen Huaji had never thought that not only Kou Zhong was able to meet the power of his Mysterious Ice Energy, which he had umted for forty years C head on, but was also able to execute the luring-the-enemy tactic without him able to see it. Now that the height difference between the twobatants has changed, it became as if he was sending his hand toward the opponents saber de. Overwhelmed with shock, he hurriedly retreated. The lightning inside Kou Zhongs pair of eyes fiercely shing, he roared and turned the Moon in the Well into a long rainbow, the person and the saber became one, he unleashed the Striking Strange from the Eight Methods of the Well. The guest acting as the host [i.e. turning the table around], he attacked Yuwen Huaji. Yuwen Huaji was just retreating down the steps of the dragon throne, he suddenly felt that he waspletely shrouded by Kou Zhongs saber qi; unable to dodge, he had no choice but to block with all his strength. Boom! Yuwen Huaji met the saber and staggered down the tform steps. At the same time, blood was seeping out of the corner of both mens mouth. The battle was that desperate. Seeing Yuwen Huaji was retreating to the middle of the pce hall, Kou Zhong stood at the very top of the tform steps. The Moon in the Well pointed at the enemy from a distance, while with the other hand he wiped the bloodstain on the corner of his mouth, how could he not sigh with sorrow in his heart? Thinking that in the past he was just a kid who did not even fit to carry Yuwen Huajis shoes, but today he became the person directly causing Yuwen Huajis defeat and fall. The twists and turns of the process, and the many changes within it, were difficult for even he himself to describe one by one. Yuwen Huaji finally retreated to the middle of the hall, about forty paces away from Kou Zhong. But Kou Zhongs saber qi was still faintly locking him tightly. Such inner power and saber technique, it has already reached the shocking level; a feeling of despair welled up in his heart, realizing that his own acute spirit has been exhausted, his will has been snatched away, plus he had suffered internal injury. Although he still had enough power to continue fighting, he certainly had no hope of victory. Heaving a deep sigh, he said, Its finished! Its finished! I never thought that I, Yuwen Huaji, have be a hero of this generation, yet in the end unexpectedly I am defeated under two rascals hands. Raising his palm, he pped his own tianling acupoint. How could Kou Zhong think that he still had this one move? Shocked, he pulled his saber back and rushed toward the archenemy; even he himself did not know what he could do. Yuwen Huaji let out a longugh. Breaking away from Kou Zhongs saber qi, he soared into the air, broke the pce halls roof, and flew across the sky. With a tender shout, Fu Junqiang, who had been hiding on the side, soared into the air to intercept. The two brushed past each other in the air. Fu Junqiang was jolted by his Mysterious Ice Energy that she fell from the air. Yuwen Huajis left arm was stabbed by her treasured sword head-on. Injury on top on injuries, he flew in the direction of the rear pce [generic term referring to the chambers of imperial concubines]. By the time Kou Zhong reached the top of the main pce, he saw Hou Xibai was still being entangled by the enemies, but Xu Ziling already seeded in knocking down the enemy; hastily he called out, Xiao Ling,e quickly! Taking the lead, he chased after Yuwen Huaji, who had run away far ahead. The two boys leaped down from the roof and came to a moon gate located at the courtyard of the rear pce; the two were puzzled. They did not understand why Yuwen Huaji, after managing to run away this far, he actually only hid in this courtyard of the rear pce. Entering the moon gate, they came to a small flower garden. The snowkes were still swirling in the air, so that the garden became a picture of snow-white peace and harmony, making it impossible to associate the scenery before their eyes with the reeking-of-blood violence outside. All three of the doors into the multi-story building were wide open, and it was brightly lit. Although they could not grasp the mystery inside the building, the twos martial art skill was unrivalled, plus they were driven by the me of hatred, naturally they did not care much about anything, and entered in side by side. More than a dozen pce maids and eunuchs crumpled onto the ground, cowering into a corner, their countenance lost the color of the blood. Xu Ziling could not bear to see this; he spoke softly, This does not concern you, we are definitely not going to harm you; just go! Finished speaking, he ran after Kou Zhong, straight into the inner hall. Yuwen Huaji, his face deathly pale, sat with nk expression on a chair by the west window, his arms were embracing tightly a woman in beautiful imperial concubine attire, who was leaning against him. There was no one else in the room. The two looked at each other in dismay; they never thought that they would witness such a scene. Yuwen Huaji, his heroic spirit already broken, was like another person; his entire mind was focused on the woman in his embrace, as if he waspletely oblivious that the mortal enemy was already at his door. Shaking the Moon in the Well in his hand, Kou Zhong shouted, If you are a man, stand up and fight. We, two brothers, guarantee that we wont hurt the innocents. Yuwen Huaji revealed a bitter smile. He moved his hand to the womans fragrant shoulders, as if he was going to push her away. The woman stood up slowly and turned her tender body around to face the two boys, her body was covered in the blood trickling down from Yuwen Huajis arms. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings tiger-body shook severely; they blurted out together, Zhen Sao! Unexpectedly, it was Sister-inw Zhen from Yangzhou in the past, who, from time to time, gave them vegetable and meat steamed buns out of the kindness of her heart to the two boys, the concubine of Old Feng, who opened up a food stall at the southern gate, selling steamed stuff buns. When the Emperor Yang entered the city, he conscripted Old Feng into the Pce. And thenter on Old Feng was executed for offending Emperor Yang, and they lost Sister-inw Zhens trace. Who could have thought that today she was the beloved imperial concubine whom even when he was facing death, Yuwen Huaji did not forget to see? Wearing magnificent clothes, Sister-inw Zhen appeared even more elegant, her manners grandeur, her jade countenance was exceptionally tranquil, as she spoke softly, Xiao Ling, Xiao Zhong, you have finallye! Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings scalp went numb. Theypletely lost their mind. In their lives, the three women closely rted to them the most were Sister-inw Zhen, Fu Junchuo, and Susu. Thest two have both died [orig. fragrance disappeared, jade perished], while unexpectedly Sister-inw Zhen has be the imperial concubine of Yuwen Huaji, their archenemy, whom they really wish they could eat his flesh and saut his skin. What should they do? Suddenly they heard the sound of wind. Horrified, the two turned around to look, Fu Junqiang finally arrived. With fury on her pretty face, she raised her sword, her eyes fell on Yuwen Huaji, who was still sitting on the chair, half of his body blood-soaked; she asked in surprise, Why dont the two of you take his dogs life? They did not know how to respond; her question made them dumbstruck and unable to reply. In the past, no matter what situation the two encountered, they always had a way to deal with it. Only the tight knot before their eyes made them unable to eveny a single gambling chip on the table. Wei Furen, arriving behind Fu Junqiang, Hou Xibai blurted out to call her. His call was like an iron hammer striking into the bottom of the two boys heart. Turned out Sister-inw Zhen was Yuwen Huajis most beloved Madame Wei. Yuwen Huaji even especially invited Hou Xibai to make a portrait of her, so that her flowery countenance would forever remain on the silk painting. The meaning behind it was the haunting feeling of unchanging in death, inseparable in love, always lingering together. Fu Junqiang stopped behind the two boys. She looked back to cast a nce toward Hou Xibai first, before looking Sister-inw Zhen up and down as if it was the first time that she saw her. Yuwen Huaji, who looked like he suddenly aged more than ten years, got up from the chair. His right hand gently pressed Sister-inw Zhens fragrant shoulder, he spoke with deep emotion, One person did it, one person ept the consequences. Ay! I should not havee back to see you. And then he turned to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling and spoke coldly, This is a matter between us, lets settle it outside. The sound of battle drums reemerged; this time it did note from a certain ce, but was concentrated on the northern part of the city, and it was constantlying near. Sister-inw Zhen shook her head resolutely. Opening up her pair of slender hands, she calmly shook her head and said, No, if you die, I also want to die together with Huangshang [Your Majesty the emperor]. Xiao Zhong, Xiao Ling, can you help us aplish this wish? Speaking with this kind tone was even more shocking and made the hearers feel even sadder than any cry-to-heaven-and-scramble-the-earth voice, not to mention Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already had sublime respect and full-of-gratitude feeling toward her. Fu Junqiang finally realized that the two boys had greatly unusual rtionship with this imperial concubine of Yuwen Huajis. Her jade countenance sank, she asked nonchntly, Who is she? The sound of battle drums was continuously approaching, pressing down on peoples heart and making their mind jittery. It wasing with certainty, symbolizing the fate of the Great Wei Kingdom, which wasing to its end. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong replied, She could be considered our other Niang. Xu Ziling nodded his head dejectedly. Suddenly he no longer had any intention to take revenge and wipe out a grudge toward Yuwen Huaji. This once rebuking-the-Heaven-and-the-Earth figure [fig. all powerful], who was single-handedly responsible for destroying the Great Sui C was no different from a lot of people. Within his ferocious and ruthless image, unexpectedly he had a tender and affectionate side. Only because he and Kou Zhong had never been in contact with him that they never knew this side of Yuwen Huaji. Now that he already suffered family bankrupt and the people perish, people rebelling and friends deserting, the end of his life was so tragic, how could they, at this time, still want to confront him with mortal danger in Sister-inw Zhens presence? Fu Junqiang spoke coldly, Since you cannot do it, let me help them aplish their wish. Sword light shed swiftly, it passed through the space between the two boys, and shot toward Yuwen Huajis, who was standing behind Sister-inw Zhen C face. Book 37 - 9 – Hard-to-resolve Tight Kno t Kou Zhong was shocked. He shed to protect Zhen Sao [sister-inw] and the big archenemy Yuwen Huaji; the Moon in the Well deflected Fu Junqiangs treasured sword upward, he called out, Qiang Yi [auntie], please hear Xiao Zhi [little nephew] out! Fu Junqiangs jade countenance blushed slightly, she spat and said, Whos your Qiang Yi? Get out! With a light twist of her waist, her treasured-sword created an exquisite and mysterious change that even Yuwen Huaji, who waspletely without the mood to enjoy it C had to exim in admiration; she evaded Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well just by a hairsbreadth. And then her tender body spun on the spot like a top, her long sword also swept around and swiftly stabbed Kou Zhongs face. She showed no quarter, ferocious and ruthless to the extreme point. Since Kou Zhong did not dare to offend her, he had his hands and feet tied, and had no choice but to respond ordingly, blocking each move, while pulling back the Moon in the Wells offensive, and held the saber across his chest as a shield. Unexpectedly Fu Junqiang was greatly angered, Such a disappointing move, she said, Get lost! Her demeanor was dainty beyond humansprehension, brimming with innocent and unaffected youthful impression. Her leg flew, without avoiding arousing suspicion at all she kicked the vital point under Kou Zhongs abdomen [i.e. genitalia]. Xu Ziling, who was on her right, and Hou Xibai, who was behind her, felt a rush of excitement by her touching mood. But only Xu Ziling understood her resentment toward Kou Zhong. The Yijian Technique specialized in anticipating the enemys essence first; the prerequisite was to grasp the level of the opponents martial art skill, to understand clearly the opponents foundation before making any judgment. Her evaluation of Kou Zhong was clearly very high; who would have thought that because Kou Zhong did not dare to offend her, he did not use the skill with which he made his name, so that her Yijian Technique was hard-pressed in anticipating the enemys moves and could not be unleashed, just like as if she was making an error in judgment. Bang! Kou Zhongs left palm pushed down to seal Fu Junqiangs kick, which wasunched inplete disregard of the sentiment between an aunt and her nephew. But her inner energy separated itself into eightyers and burst in. Kou Zhong had to stake everything not to be shocked by her strike so that he did not knock against Zhen Saos tender body behind him. Aghast, he called out to this Aunt Qiang, who was a year or two younger than he was, Qiang Yi, you have mastered the Great Method of Nine Mysteries to level eight! Formidable! Fu Junqiang had never expected that Kou Zhong would be able to block her full-force kick head-on; unexpectedly she let out a burst of lightughter and said, This palm is more like it. Look! I am going to cut off your wild-words-random-talk tongue. She withdrew backwards first, but quickly spun around forward; her sword turned into millions sharp rainbows, like raindrops blowing toward Kou Zhong, fantastic, fierce and severe. Unexpectedly Hou Xibai took out the brush and ink that he always carried with him, opened the Fan of Beauty, and quickly painted her on the side that had Shang Xiufangs picture. Obviously, to him, Fu Junqiangs beautiful appearance was quite stunning. Zhen Sao suddenly turned around pulled Yuwen Huaji tight into her embrace. To her, Yuwen Huaji was the only man in the world who loved her dearly, with all his heart and soul. His liver and guts cut to pieces [idiom: grief-stricken] Yuwen Huaji pulled his Madame Wei into his bosom. With his conceited character, plus his long-term position at the peak of power, how could he ever imagine that there was a day that he could not even protect his own woman? Perhaps it was also because of the sin hemitted in his previous life, but the first time Yuwen Huaji saw Wei Zhenzhen, he could not help falling in love with her. Before, there were other women who moved his heart, but after obtaining them, he always abandoned them like worn out clogs. Only this time his feeling grew a deep root; it was totally different from those other times in the past. The battle drum suddenly stopped, just as sudden as it had started. But Xu Ziling did not have time to pay attention to it. He was still having his hands bound and was unable to do anything about the difficult problem before his eyes. How could he make Fu Junqiang understand their between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea [idiom: dilemma] situation? Kou Zhong knew that if he held his hands, forget about protecting Zhen Sao and Yuwen Huaji, perhaps even his own life would be difficult to preserve, because this Auntie Qiang, who was younger than him C was really too formidable, each move was meant to take his life. Sighing inwardly, he straightened his back and shoulders, and became bold and powerful without equal, the Moon in the Well continuously chopped like cutting melon and chopping vegetables, each saber strike shook and parried Fu Junqiangs long sword urately without any mistake, as if he already knew Fu Junqiangs treasured-sword changes in advance. Unexpectedly it was Yijian Technique versus Yijian Technique. Fu Junqiang suddenly retreated away and put her sword back into its sheath; her charming eyes staring fixedly at Kou Zhong, she said, I cant beat you. Everybody was stunned. Kou Zhong hastily put his saber back into its scabbard; bowing, he said, Qiang Yi Daren please be magnanimous, forgive Xiao Zhis guilt of disrespect. Ay! Please allow Xiao Zhi to exin the inside story to you. Fu Junqiangs pretty face was as cold as frost; she looked coldly at the rain of snow outside, but the tone of her voice was unusually calm. She said, No need to exin. When Shizun ising to the south, he will find you to talk. Retreating some more, when she was by Hou Xibais side, she still had the leisurely mood to look; with tender and na?ve demeanor she said, Good kid, unexpectedly you drew nujia [I, your servant (usually used by young female)]; are you looking for a beating? Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling your eyes looked at mine; this beautiful Auntie Qiang could be very ruthless and cool-headed one moment, but could suddenly turn innocent and unaffected, confusing and hard to pin down. Its a pity that the two boys already lost the mood to admire her. Inwardly they thought that this misunderstanding could have serious consequences, yet they were unable to fix it. Overwhelmed by favor from superior, Hou Xibai replied awkwardly, My character cannot change even if I am dead; I do deserve some beating! Fu Junqiangughed and said, Seeing your painting can be considered not too shabby, your head can momentarily stay on your neck! She continued flying backward, and disappeared outside the main door of the inner hall. Kou Zhong dejectedly turned to Xu Ziling, Why didnt you help me talk? he said usingly. Xu Ziling replied with a bitter smile, What can I say? Kou Zhong also responded with a bitter smile. Yuwen Huajis voice suddenly said, Two gentlemen cherish your old friendship with Zhenzhen, I, Yuwen Huaji am very grateful. Hearing his unusual tone, Kou Zhong turned around in shock; he said in astonishment, Do you know our rtionship with Zhen Sao? Yuwen Huaji embraced Zhen Sao tightly, his expression was calm as he replied, I know everything about Zhenzhen, how could I not know your rtionship with Zhenzhen? I have ast wish: I hope you could, for the sake of Zhenzhen, help us, let Zhenzhen and I be buried in the same hole. The three where shocked; knowing that something was amiss, they rushed toward the two. Yuwen Huaji sank back into his chair, both hands were still embracing Zhen Sao, but fresh blood was flowing out of his eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Unexpectedly he shattered his own meridians and died. A dense sound of footsteps was heard outside the hall. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were even more shocked to find out that Zhen Sao already took the poison and died early on. Instantly their hands and feet turned cold, their mind went nk, they did not even know where they were. The tragedy in front of their eyes was too cruel, and there was nothing they could do to change it! Hou Xibai put his arms around the two boys shoulders, he spoke in distressed, This is perhaps the only way that their love, which is unchanging in life, would continue forever. Zhen Saos expression was still so tranquil and serene, as if it was a testament that for her, death was the best ce to return to. Liu Heitas majestic voice came from the main door, Congrattions two Laodi for avenging this big enmity. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings four eyes met, they wanted to cry but they could not cry. There was not the slightest bit of hatred toward Yuwen Huaji in their hearts; whether it was love or hate, everything ought to end here and now. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling drove a sealed carriage carrying Yuwen Huaji and Zhen Saos coffins, going out of the city via the east gate. Liu Heita personally escorted them for a section of the journey. The g flying above the city of Xucheng had changed to the Great Xia banner. Army camps were spread across the wilderness outside the city, there werentern lights everywhere, troop arrangement was in full bloom, brimming with the atmosphere of the victors. It was only a couple of sichen since Yuwen Huaji and Zhen Sao killed themselves, the sky has not yet brightened, the snow was still raining without letup from the dense darkness of the night sky above. The two boys feeling was still a nk numbness. Because of his terrible crime in murdering his superior by assassinating Emperor Yang Guang, although Yuwen Huaji was dead, there was still a very high price for his severed head. If the ones asking to protect his corpse intact and bury him secretly were not Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, how could Liu Heita agree? Therefore, due to his rtionship with Zhen Sao, even after his death, Yuwen Huaji could be considered a bit lucky. This moment Liu Heita galloped to the two boys side and said, How about I wait around here for two Laodi toe back and well drink water-downed-and-filthy wine together? The two boys voiced their agreement. They proceeded to drive the hearse to gallop toward the snow-covered mountain and fields ahead. Kou Zhong cast a nce toward Xu Ziling, who was holding the reins; noticing that Xu Zilings nk eyes were fixed on the open country blurred by the snow rain, he sighed and said, Fate is really difficult to foresee; who would have guessed that Zhen Sao unexpectedly became the beloved imperial concubine of our archenemy, so that the plight of today happened? Xu Ziling looked at him; revealing a hint of bitter smile, he spoke heavily, Zhen Sao already aspired to die early on. When she turned around into Yuwen Huajis embrace, she took the hidden poison pill. At that time, only Yuwen Huaji knew it. Ay! I wonder how does it feel to look at your beloved woman dying in your arms? Kou Zhong felt as if his heart was cut out; he was speechless. They heard the sound of hoofbeats running after them from behind. Kou Zhong looked back. Turned out it was Hou Xibai, who just now said that he had something he had to do and thus could note with them. Hou Xibai urged his horse to ride side-by-side with the carriage, Sess! he spoke cheerfully. The two boys quick-witted was reduced substantially so that they could not fathom what he was talking about. Sess in what? Kou Zhong asked in bewilderment. Hou Xibai replied, I finally finished that roll of silk painting; I have it with me here to be buried with these two persons. Kou Zhong raised the horsewhip and lightly hit the horses buttocks. The four strong horses pulling the hearse immediately sped up; they galloped into the depth of the heaven and earth under the boundless snow. Inside a wine shop by the main street of the south gate of the city of Xucheng, which has not been used for a long time, Liu Heita, Hou Xibai, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat around the table, drinking wine. The sun had just disappeared behind the western mountains. The funeral arrangement to bury Yuwen Huaji and Zhen Sao had taken them the entire day. After three rounds of wine, Liu Heita spoke to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling in low voice, Buried and at rest, no one can avoid death; question is whos going to go one step ahead? If there is another world after death, wont someday we meet again over there? At that time we might even find out that all gratitude and grudges in life are just a big basket of jokes. Swish! Hou Xibai opened the Fan of Beauty, showing the side with the painting of Shang Xiufang, Fu Junqiang to the three men, while with the other hand he pped the table in praise, Thest two sentences were very well said! It can clearly be seen that not only Liu Shuai mander] is a broad-minded, vastly optimistic person, but is also a hero who view death as a return home. Casting a nce toward Hou Xibais folding fan, Kou Zhong grabbed his head and said, Any one of these three women can make me suffer from headache; all three of them together, its desperately serious for the old man. Liu Heita and Hou Xibai were doing their best to ease their anxiety, suddenly they found out that Kou Zhong was so normal, as if he did not have the slightest bit of grief; they looked at each other. Remaining indifferent, Xu Ziling calmly raised his cup and said, We have been hit by poison; fortunately, theres the antidote here. Let us, four brothers, have another dose of the antidote. Everybody cheered loudly; they drank the water-downed-and-filthy wine until not a single drop remained. Liu Heita raised his thumb and praised, Good! You are worthy to be my good brother; what we can raise up, we can also put down. Then we might as well talk less idle chat, and go straight into the main issue; what do you think? Kou Zhong pped his forehead and said, Fortunately you reminded me; I nearly forget that I am Wang Shichongs special envoy, receiving his stinky order to curry favor with your, Liu Dages boss. Laughing involuntarily, Liu Heita said, Ha! Boss? But Dou Ye might like this appetion, because it was given by Kou Shaoshuai, whose name shook the world. A heroic, grand, deep and rich voice came from up the street, saying, Heita is absolutely right; anything that is given by Shaoshuai, I, Dou Jiande will definitely ept cheerfully. The four hurriedly stood up to wee him. Upright and unafraid, Dou Jiande walked in. The entire group was covered in dust; apparently they had rushed over a long and difficult trek. His attendants were ordered to guard outside the shop. Dou Jiande crossed over the doorstep, his eyes swept around at the three, and finally rested on Kou Zhong. Letting out a longughter, he said, Meeting in person surpasses hearing the name. Kou Xiongdi is indeed a dragon among men; its nice to meet you. Promptly Kou Zhong declined modestly. After Liu Heita introduced Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, all five men raised their cups back and forth and drank half a jar of wine. Dou Jiande smiled and said, The Tang Army knew that we captured Xucheng, they began to withdraw from Weixian; do you think we ought to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack? Inwardly Kou Zhong was shocked. The Tang Army withdrew, the Wei territory would entirely fall into Dou Jiandes hands, making his momentum even more flourishing. Moreover, with the Tang Army no longer had any buffer, the war could happen at any moment. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Liu Heita said, I, Heita, still dont have any regards toward Li Shentong, but Li Shiji is a famous general of the present age. Just by looking at how when Li Mi surrendered he still had the capability to fight Wang Shichong, I know that he is a talent. This time he got the wind and retreated, while admittedly he is afraid of our armys might, but it is not without the intention of luring the enemy. In my humble opinion, our top priority right now is to consolidate the oue of the battle first, and to proim our armys benevolence to the people of old Wei. After the peoples heart is won, we could deploy our troops to the west to root out Li Shijis old Wagang Army troops. Listening to him, Hou Xibai could not help admiring from the bottom of his heart. Dou Jiande said, Currently Song JinGang has captured Jinzhou and Longmen, two strategic towns one after another. Li Yuanji and Pei Ji abandoned Bingzhou and ran away in defeat, Taiyuan is in a state of emergency. If we do not seize this opportunity to defeat Li Shijis Shandong Army, by the time Li Shimin stabilize Taiyuan, we would have been sitting and wasting a good opportunity. Shaoshuai, what do you think? Kou Zhong was drinking wine until the sky turned hazy the earth turned dark; the wine entered his intestines, his heart was filled with emotional stirring, only he did not show it. Hearing the question, he fought hard to focus his attention, and said in astonishment, Unexpectedly Li Yuanji is that quick to be defeated; I wonder if Li Shimin was dragging his hind leg? Dou Jiande ran his finger along the mouth of the wine cup; his gaze was fixed at Kou Zhong, he said, With Pei Ji being the army supervisor, how could Li Shimin dare to y ghost [i.e. acting up/mischief]? Pei Ji was the cab minister, Li Yuans trusted aide, whose rtionship with him was the closest. Li Yuan sending him with the army was precisely to be the buffer between Li Shimin and Li Yuanji. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling. He saw how Xu Ziling was absent-mindedly listening without saying anything, he knew that Zhen Saos suicide had caused him an indelible blow. Struggling hard to suppress the sorrow in his heart, he said, Before Li Shimin defeats Song JinGang, Dou Gong [duke/honorable gentleman], you must defeat Li Shijis Shandong Army; otherwise Li Shimin might seize the opportunity to march to Luoyang, Li Shiji would be able to easily hold Dou Gong north of the Great River, waiting anxiously and watching Li Shimins whale to swallow Luoyang. Dou Jiande turned his gaze toward the wine inside his cup, he appeared to be in deep thought, giving the impression that he was an enigmatic figure. Hou Xibai smiled and said, Listening to the tone of Shaoshuais voice, it seems to me that Song JinGang will definitely lose. Kou Zhong wanted to divert Xu Zilings attention, he threw the topic at him, saying, Ling Shao, what is your opinion? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Gentlemen, please do not take offense; I wasnt paying any attention to your discussion. This trick of Kou Zhong is definitely to y a joke on me. Liu Heita sighed inwardly. Naturally he understood what kind of man Xu Ziling was. Trying to smooth things over, he repeated what they talked about for his benefit. Enthralled, Dou Jiande said, This is really a very interesting discussion. Full of praise, Xu Ziling said, I agree with Kou Zhongs view; Song JinGang and Li Shimin are both military experts proficient in the art of war. Originally, the two are equally matched; the difference is that Song JinGang is just a dog who rely on the Tujue, not enjoying popr support, while Li Shimin is able to understand and exploit this weakness of his, so that he could make him suffer a total defeat of his army. Bang! Dou Jiande pped the table and praised, Good description: not enjoying popr support! Now even I believe firmly without any doubt that Song JinGang is absolutely not Li Shimins match. Since thats the case, we must make good preparation against the Tang Army attacking to the west, and immediately move the army to force Li Shiji in a decisive battle. The unusual light in Liu Heitas eyes was ring out brightly; raising his cup, he said, Let Heita toast Dou Ye one cup, to wish our army winning a victory on raising the g [idiom: sess in a single move], the horse arrives sess is achieved. The two drank their toast with a loud bang. But Xu Ziling was sighing inwardly. With Dou Jiandes remark, he did not know how many people would be destitute and homeless, how many dead bodies would lie on the roadside C because of the war. Due to Zhen Saos death, momentarily Kou Zhongs great ambition and magnificent aspiration was greatly diminished and had not yet returned. He was only staring nkly at the excited and in high-spirit Dou Jiande and Liu Heita; he wanted to speak but remained silent. In turn, Dou Jiande also toasted Kou Zhong and the others, saying, Whats three gentlemens n? Kou Zhong knew that this hegemon, whose name shook a region, wanted to see if Kou Zhong would support his idea; he replied, Xiao Ling and I are going to visit Zhai Da Xiaojie. Xibai, what about you? Hou Xibai replied, I want to go look for Lei LaoGe, to see hows his recovery. Liu Heita said, I did not expect us, brothers, to meet in a hurry, and will have to part right away. But I am extremely delighted already. Let me offer a toast to the three gentlemen, wishing you a pleasant journey, and soon all of us will meet again to drink wine together. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were grateful; they knew that Liu Heita was hinting that they ought to leave immediately. Promptly they raised their cups in response. Snow powder was sprinkling from the night sky to the earth. Book 37 - 10 – Guest Appearance As Bodyguards In the darkening dusk, the two boys traveled away from Xucheng for about a hundred li. The snow was still raining down endlessly. They reached the top of a small hill, where down below the mountain and the fields, and the river stretched out to the infinite distance. Feeling tipsy from the wine, Kou Zhong sighed and said, The gratitude and grudges in the world, are they really just a big basket of jokes like Liu Dage said? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, If you can really take Xiang Yushan or various demons of the demonic school as friends and joke with them, not only you dont need to strive for the world, you can even leave home to be Buddhist monk. But the way I see it, even the people of the Empty Door still cannot bepletely indifferent toward the world of the living. Otherwise, Shi Feixuan did not need to have fall out with us. Kou Zhong sat down dejectedly; he nodded his head and said, You are still a bit more clear-headed than me. As soon as I recall Xiang Yushan, murderous intent immediately appears in my heart. Even if life is just a spring dream, this dreand is just too real! One more day we are still not awake, one more day we will be under control without the freedom to act independently. Xu Ziling sat down by his side; sighing, he said, Only because of the grievance in seeing Zhen Saomitting suicide that we are having self-reflection upon life. Just think, at that time our hatred was burning; we concentrated our thoughts and efforts to kill Yuwen Huaji, how could we think about other things? From this, I could imagine that after a short period of time, we would return to normal, and then we would not have time to think whether life is just a spring dream. Kou Zhong sighed and said, But right now I do have a every-hope-turns-to-dust feeling; I dont have any interest in doing anything, I just want to see Da Xiaojie and Little Lingzhong, I dont want to part ways and part goods [referring to goods sent under the protection of armed escorts] with you, to take our respective path C even more. Xu Ziling said, The problem is that you, LaoGe, are shouldering countless responsibilities and other peoples expectations on your back. Not only you are the son-inw that Song Ques personally picked, even more, you are also his heir in merit. Kou Shaoshuai is also the leader of the Shao Shuai Army. The people and troops at Pengliang are waiting for you toe back to lead and protect them. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, This seems to be the first time that you are encouraging me to strive for the world. You could say that, Xu Ziling replied, In case Li Shimin takes a wrong turn, or perhaps Li Jiancheng rises to power, Tujues main forces will go south. If that happens, we can only rely on your Shao Shuai Army to pull strongly against a crazy tide [idiom: to try hard to save a desperate crisis]. This is the real reason why Ning Daoqi let you go. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Supposing the one seizing total victory is Li Shimin, while Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, and the others are all defeated, what advice would you have for me? Xu Ziling turned his gaze toward the boundless snow-covered ins ahead, he spoke softly, Then I wont know what to say. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Where are you going? Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted a chopped-but-cannot-be-broken grieving expression; shaking his head, he smiled wryly and said, My good brother is going to strive for the world, is there any ce in the Central ins that Xiaodi is reluctant to leave? Stunned, Kou Zhong said, I thought you wanting to go beyond the Great Wall was just a random talk. Isnt Lei LaoGe relying on you to deal with the Xiang Family? Ay! At least you ought to go to Bashu to see Shi Qingxuan. You are going single-shaped-lone-shadow to wander the cold world outside, it really pains Xiongdis heart. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Actually, I enjoy the feeling of loneliness very much. Only by being far away from the world of the living will I be able to get even closer to nature, to sense the existence and significance of life. Xiang Yushan has now found the most tyrannical backing. In the future, if Li Shimin copses from the stage, I will certainly return to your side, to fight alongside you, to drive the Tujue away to their native ce. This is a promise. Kou Zhongs eyes lit up;ughing heartily, he said, I hear you. This is the biggest encouragement for me. I will absolutely not let Li kid capture Luoyang. In your opinion, what kind of man Dou Jiande is? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, I am not clear. His actions always carried a bit of unfathomable impression. Without Li Shimin, the Tang Army would never be his match. Damn it! Kou Zhong suddenly cursed. Unable to make any sense of it, Xu Ziling asked, Damn what? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Just now unexpectedly we forgot to borrow a few taels of silver from Liu LaoGe or Xiao Bai; now we, two brothers, are without a single wen to our name, how are we going to Leshou to look for Da Xiaojie? Xu Zilingughed and said, Wont selling your Moon in the Well solve the problem? As long as we have gambling capital, I can make a few taels for you to spend. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height; subconsciously he whisked the snow soaking his body. Laughing involuntarily, he said, If we want to sell, each of us still have a Night Pearl; are you willing to part with it? Those are irreceable souvenirs; each time I y with it on my hand, its just like I am reying the unforgettable days of dressing up as deities and pretending to be ghosts in Changan. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, In that case, lets think of something along the way. We are young and vigorous, doing hardbor will probably earn us a few pennies. Kou Zhongs heroic spirit rose vigorously, he said, From nothing to something, from something to nothing. Since leaving Yangzhou, this is the first time we are beaten back to our original shape, bing poor ghosts once more. Let us, these pair of poor ghosts brothers, break into Jianghu again, using the sky as our nket, using the earth as our mattress. Ha! I got it! Why dont we hunt a couple of deer to be exchanged with some gambling capital? Xu Zilings grief was lessened a little bit, Good idea! he cried out, and flew down the mountain. Kou Zhong promptly followed behind him. The two boys quickly went far away. Liting, located on the south bank of the Yongji Canal, was in Dou Jiandes territory. It was a big small town at the intersection of the water andnd routes. From here to Leshou, one could take a boat sailing up north along Yongji Canal, disembark at another town, Dongguang, and then taking two more days on fast horse, one would reach ones destination. Another way was to cross the Yongji Canal, travel west until River Zhang, and take a two-day boat ride to reach Leshou. However, no matter which way they wanted to take, the implementation would be difficult, simply because the two had not a single wen on their body. In this turbulent era, without a few pennies, one would be unable to move a single step. They rushed urgently day and night for three days straight, still without half a grain of rice in their belly. Were it not for their profound power, they would have frozen stiff on the way. By the afternoon, they arrived outside the city gate. Seeing the few food stalls and tea shacks were crowded to bursting point with traveling merchants and passers-by, their stomachs were rumbling with hunger even more, the feeling was difficult to bear. Xu Ziling pulled Kou Zhong back and said, Unless you want to enter the city, we will stop here. It was only then that Kou Zhong remembered that to enter the city one must pay taxes. Heughed and said, We are the younger brothers of their Lao Chuang [lit. old charging/breaking in], Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two such resounding names; we might as well tell the Dage soldier guarding the city gate that we want to see the civil officer or military general in charge of this city. We will suddenly reveal our names, borrow some traveling expenses, and find cure for our rumbling stomach. Wont everything be easily solved [orig. bamboo splits when meeting the knifes edge]? Xu Ziling crossly said, You dont want to follow Dou Jiande conquering the world, yet you want to ask for his favor; what kind of hero are you? pping his forehead, Kou Zhong said, I am confused from hunger; if I received his favor now, how could I strive for the world against him in the future? Ay! Those mantou [steamed buns] smell really good. Xu Ziling turned his head around, the closest food stall to them was selling steamed buns; the steam was rising, the aroma permeated the whole ce, he could not help thinking about the past, where Zhen Sao often gave them vegetables and meat buns just for friendships sake. Going through the same experience now, the heartache that he deliberately pressed down suddenly bubbled up in his heart. Seeing the two unable to take their eyes off the steamer basket, the stall owner thought that business wasing; he shouted, One wen each, best to eat while its still hot. Kou Zhong patted his as-empty-as-anything waist pocket; smiling bitterly, he said, Do you want to hire us to do rough work? We dont need wages, you can just pay us with mantou. Showing look of disdain on his face, the stall spoke impatiently, I am not hiring, go somece else! Kou Zhong did not take offense; heughed heartily, shrugged his shoulder calmly, and turned toward Xu Ziling and said, Looks like well have to hit the road on hungry tummies; how about sneaking into the river to catch two fresh fish? Based on our two brothers skill, it should be the exertion of lifting our hand. The stall owner no longer paid them any attention; he went to wait on the customers around the several tables inside the shack. Xu Ziling thought that it could indeed be considered a way to solve their hungry intestines problem. Lets go! he cheerfully said. As they were about to leave, someone called out, Two Renxiong, please hold your steps. Stunned, the two looked back. The man calling them was one of the diners inside the shack, sitting alone on a table, a middle-aged plump man with a round, pouty face. In just one nce they could tell that he was a businessman. The fatty stood up and said with augh, Across the four seas all are brothers; how about letting me, Guan Ping, to be a small host? Feeling grateful, Xu Ziling said, We appreciate your kindness, but how could we let Guan Laoban [boss] spend your money? Guan Ping cheerfully insisted, No matter what, two Renxiong must bestow Guan Ping a little bit of face, you must not be too courteous. Please take a seat. Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, hinting that he must not miss this opportunity, and then took the lead to walk toward Guan Pings table. Xu Ziling was helpless against him; he had no choice but to follow him taking a seat. Guan Ping called for some wheat porridge and mantou, and invited the two boys to gorge themselves. Suddenly lowering his voice, he said, I wonder if two gentlemen have some skills? While stuffing a mantou into his mouth, Kou Zhong raised his thumb and praised, Guan Laoban indeed have insight; we both know a couple of tricks. Guan Ping cheerfully said, Other things I cannot do, but reading people I have a bit of understanding. Although I know nothing at all about two gentlemens background, surname and given name, but only by looking at the elegant manner and imposing disposition of the two gentlemens dragon-walk and tiger-step, I am already admiring from the heart. The rarest thing was that the two gentlemen do not rely on strength to go on the rampage; you would rather go hungry than stealing and robbing, which is the sign of true hero and warrior. Xu Ziling was afraid that Kou Zhong would give him random name such as Xiao Jing, Xiao Xuan, Xiao Xuan [from Shan Wanjing, Shi Feixuan, Shi Qingxuan, respectively] or things like that; he hurriedly introduced himself, I am called Fu Jie, he is Fu Xiong [the same surname as Fu Junchuo, jie and xiong mean heroic and grand/mighty, respectively],ing from Yuhang, on our way to Leshou to see a rtive. Guan Ping sighed and said, Not to conceal anything from you, right now my little life is as precarious as a pile of eggs [idiom: in a dangerous state], I could be killed any moment by evil people. If two gentlemen are willing to help, I am willing to pay two taels of gold as a thank you gift to two gentlemen. Kou Zhongs pair of big eyes immediately shone, he said, Who have the impertinence to injure and kill others at will? Could it be that they are not afraid of thew of the state [lit. kingsw]? Stunned, Guan Ping said, Thew of the state? Soon afterwards he smiled bitterly and said, The government is far away, the fists are near, plus the warlords vying for supremacy, each one separately dered himself king. Committing a crime here, one could run away elsewhere, bing unfettered and beyond thew. Frankly speaking, in Pingyao, whod dare to move half a strand of my hair? But here, people are unfamiliar. Ay! Xu Zilings sympathy greatly aroused, he asked, Guan Laoban is a shrewd businessman, how did you be trapped in this kind of situation? Lowering his voice, Guan Ping replied, Simply because I trusted the wrong person. This time I followed everybody going to Shanhai Pass to do business, requesting the Da Dao She [lit. main street agency] people to be our bodyguards. At first everything was going as it should be, who would have thought that along the way we began to realize that Da Dao She people are colluding with my enemies in the dark? In the moment I have no room to advance or to retreat, I dont know what to do? Puzzled, Kou Zhong said, Since your life is in danger, why not avoid the problem by walking away from it? Guan Ping forlornly replied, The problem is that the people I aming with are transporting five hundred bolts of highest quality silk fabric, half of the goods were entrusted by connoisseurs; if I avoid the problem by walking away from it, my own loss will be disastrous beyond exnation, and when I return, I still have topensate for the loss and will lose my family fortune, furthermore, my reputation will be damaged, afterwards it will be difficult for me to do business again. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Isnt Shanhai Pass far away in the barrennd of the frontier fortress? Guan Laoban has confidence that you can sell off such arge quantity of silk cloth over there? Guan Ping exined, The most popr gang at the northern territory is the Bei Ba Bang [lit. northern hegemon gang]. Bei Ba Bangs Da Longtou [big boss/chief] is the Ba Wang [simply hegemon/overlord/despot] Du Xing, well known both inside and outside of the Great Wall. Whether its Qidan, Tujue, or Gaoli, everybody has to give him a bit of face to some extent. Therefore, he is able to enjoy market dominance in themerce world, by exporting goods from Shanhai Pass to the various non-Han tribes beyond the Great Wall. Previously, he was content to receivemission, but in recent years he is personally involved in trading and some shady business. The order for this batch of silk fabric was actually ced by his representative, for which he had even paid a ten-percent deposit. As long as I can transport the goods to Shanhai Pass, I could collect the agreed value of the goods in gold. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such a formidable figure in the northern territory; why would the Tujue want to do business with him? Guan Ping replied, On one hand, its because his martial art skill is outstanding, hailed as the number one martial art master of the northern territory, but also because of his blood rtionship with the Tujue and Qidan; therefore, either the Tujue or the Qidan do not regard him his an outsider. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged a look, inwardly they felt that this was not good at all. It was extremely likely that this Ba Wang Du Xing was a formidable chess piece in the Tujues invasion of the Central ins, simr to the previously cultivated by the Tiele, Ren Shaoming. This Da Dao She that you requested as your bodyguards, what kind of social connections do they have? Kou Zhong asked. Stunned, Guan Ping said, You are people who wander the Jianghu, unexpectedly you have never heard of Shanxis biggest underworld gang Da Dao She? After the demise of the Great Sui, the world is in chaos, robbers spring up everywhere, the roads are not safe to travel, thereupon Da Dao She established escort agencies in various provinces, cities, everywhere. Although the fee they charge is expensive, it is worth it. As far as I know, they only lost three batches of goods, and after the fact they were able to recover some of the goods, even to kill the robbers to thest one. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Escort agencies rely mostly on the reputation of theirpany, if they embezzled their charges, whod dare to trust them afterwards? Smiling bitterly, Guan Ping said, Under normal circumstances that is indeed so, hence this time, were it not for I hear it with my own ears, I would definitely not believe it. Kou Zhong was puzzled, This kind of things, how did Guan Laoban hear it with your own ears? Guan Ping replied, Its like this: after our tworge ships berthed at the dock here, following normal procedure, I went to the hold of the ship to check the cargo, suddenly I heard the voices of three men, Da Dao Shes Fu Shezhu [deputy agency master], Yecha [yaksha (malevolent spirit), but it literally means night fork] Feng Ba, who is in charge in protecting the goods this time, talking with his subordinates Meng Degong and Su Yun, at the door of the hold. In it they mentioned receiving Cun Yi Gongs payment of a hundred taels of gold to have me killed before reaching Shanhai Pass, and swallow my silk goods. I was scared and went to hide, and waited until they left before daring to slink off, and promptly left the ship and came here. While I was at a loss of what to do, I was lucky toe upon you. Who is Cun Yi Gong? Xu Ziling asked, The name is so strange? Guan Ping replied, Cun Yi Gong is Shanxis biggest cloth dealer; along with my Yu Sheng Chang and Ri Sheng Hang, which specializes in print fabric, are known to be Shanxis Three Big Businesses. Cun Yi Gong has always wanted to expand their business in silk fabric, as a result we have had very unpleasant dealings with Cun Yi Gong. Kou Zhong asked, When will your cargo ships continue the journey? Who are the other people traveling together with you? Guan Ping replied, We wont leave until tomorrow morning. Traveling together this time are the goods from Shanxis other dozen or so businesses, including Cun Yi Gong and Ri Sheng Hang. Each business sends their representative with the goods going up north, to be in charge of the business transaction. All the goods are ordered by the Bei Ba Bang. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Guan Laoban, you fell into a trap! Stunned, Guan Ping said, Fell into a trap? Kou Zhong said, This is called export method. Feng Ba and the others practically knew that you were inside the hold doing an inventory count; therefore, they deliberately talked near the hold door, so that you can hear every word, and thus youd escape without any trace. I dare to guarantee that this matter does not concern Cun Yi Gong. If you just rush back to Pingyao and send punitive force to Cun Yi Gong, then you would fall right into Da Dao Shes plot. After the fact, Da Dao She can get off scot-free, they can even push the me entirely to you. And Guan Laoban, you are finished; afterwards, you no longer need to do silk fabric business. Hearing that, Guan Ping was half-believing-half-doubting; alternating between clear and dark, his countenance became even more unsightly. Staring nkly, he was deep in thought, while muttering, Between Da Dao Shes Shezhu [agency master] Qiu Qipeng and I, there is no past grievance, no current hatred, why would he unexpectedly want to harm me? And then he reached out to grab Kou Zhongs hand firmly and said with quivering voice, Two heroes must help me. I decided to immediately withdraw this business, retrieve the goods, and then find another way to transport it to Shanhai Pass. Xu Ziling said, We are helping you to retrieve the goods is just the exertion of lifting our hands. However, the root of the trouble has not been eliminated, because we still dont know why Da Dao She is targeting your honorable business. Where is your next stop? Kou Zhong asked. Guan Ping replied, We are precisely going to Leshou where your honorable rtive lives, because there is still a batch of goods need to be shipped there. Ay! What do we do? Kou Zhong mused, how could there be such a coincidence? Heughed and said, From here, Leshou is still a few days away. Let us, two brothers, temporarily be your personal bodyguards. Well talk again after Leshou. Guan Ping hesitated instead; he said, This ce is Dou Jiandes territory, plus with you two strengthening my momentum, perhaps I still have a chance to take the goods back. I expect Da Dao She would not dare to openly harm me or seize my goods by force in front of the other business people. But once we leave Liting, Da Dao She might use their many men, a great force; plus the situation would be different. If two gentlemen are implicated, it will be difficult for me, Guan Ping, to have a peaceful heart. Kou Zhong patted his full stomach, he rose up to his full height and said, Guan Laoban, please set your heart at ease; dont look at our poor, wretched look. The fact is, we are martial art masters who are able to deal with any situation. We are going out to wander the Jianghu, our main principle is to hold up the Way of the Heaven. Come! Let us go to the ship and have a good his mothers sleep first; as long as you dont leave our side, I guarantee that just like in Pingyao, no one can move half a strand of your hair. He also patted the Moon in the Well hanging on his back and said with augh, Anybody wants to y rough? Let him ask my other brother whether he is willing or not. Doubt and trust mixed in Guan Pings heart, but he was ashamed to doubt Kou Zhongs capability, so he felt awkward to the extreme point. Xu Ziling pulled him up and whispered in his ear, Guan Laoban, its time to pay the bill! Book 37 - 11 – Wanting to Let Go but Difficult to Leave The three boarded the ship at dusk. Several of the leaders of the Da Dao She, including Feng Ba, had gone to the city to seek pleasure. This moment Guan Ping had no choice but to brace himself up. He assumed a big boss air and acknowledged Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling as the sons of his maternal cousin, who had rushed over to meet him here, ignoring Da Dao Shes mens objection, and brought the two into his room. Seeing there were two beds in the room, Kou Zhong asked, Who shares the room with you? Guan Ping replied, Every business representative is assigned a spare bed. I originally had a personal bodyguard traveling with me, too bad not long after we left Pingyao he fell ill, and had to return to Pingyao to receive medical treatment. I had no choice but to travel alone. Now that I think about it, that attendant of mine ought to have been poisoned; otherwise, as a martial art practitioner, how could he catch illness that easily? Kou Zhong nodded in agreement. Turning to Xu Ziling, heughed and said, We will have to crowd together in one bed tonight! Xu Ziling kicked off his boots. Without any trace of politeness, he went to bed andy down; dead tired and sleepy, he said, Feng Ba ising back soon, you deal with him, dont wake me up. Frightened and indecisive, Guan Ping asked, How do you know Feng Ba ising back soon? Kou Zhong pulled Guan Ping to sit down in the chair by the window. Stretching, he said, Feng Bas men saw Guan Laoban suddenly brought two strong-looking men on board, naturally they immediately went to town to notify Feng Ba toe back. After casting a nce toward Xu Ziling, heughed and said, Good guy! He said he wanted to sleep and he immediately fell asleep; indeed he is a sleeping expert. Xu Zilings slow, long, and fine breathing was barely heard; it appeared to be there, but not exactly there. With heart rmed, trembling in fear, Guan Ping said, When Feng Ba is back, dont we need to wake him up? Isnt having more helpers always better than having less people? Kou Zhong yawned and said, I will talk with Feng Ba, but I dont know how much face I need to give him. Were it not for being afraid that in the future it would be difficult for Guan Laoban to conduct yourself, I would certainly throw all Da Dao She men into Yongji Canal and drive the boat ourselves to go up north. Guan Ping could not help saying, Honestly, I have seen not a few martial art masters of famous schools in Jianghu, but those whopletely have no regards of the enemy like two gentlemen, this is still the first time that Ie across. If I did not see two gentlemen having a card up your sleeve and already giving this matter meticulous thought, I would really think that you are newborn calf that do not know the immensity of heaven and earth. Patting him on the shoulder, Kou Zhongughed and said, I like forting person the best. Hey? They areing! Da Dao She people are indeed efficient. Guan Ping was stunned, Did somebody knock the door? he asked, Howe I did not hear anything? Feng Ba has just stepped on the boat, of course Guan Laoban did not hear it, Kou Zhong exined. Guan Ping was skeptical. He was about to speak when more than a dozen mens footsteps were heard from the entrance to the corridor, heading straight toward them. Bang! Bang! The hoarse voice outside the door said, Feng Ba is asking an audience; Guan Xiansheng, pleasee out to talk. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Er Dangjia [second chief], how are you? This is Fu Xiong, Guan Laobans distant rtive, the son of his maternal cousin. And then he lightly kicked Guan Ping. Guan Ping cleared his throat and said, Whatever it is that Er Dangjia wanted to say, just speak with my distant rtive ... hey! The son of my maternal cousin! Whatever he says is the same as what I say. Separated by the door, Feng Baughed nastily and said, Guan Laoban ought to know that whoever wants to speak with me must have the qualifications to do so. This time our Da Dao She is in charge of the escort; ording to the rules, we will absolutely not let any stranger and outsider to join in midway. Unexpectedly Guan Xiansheng does not pay attention to the rules; I wonder if you are harboring evil intentions? Kou Zhongughed hoarsely and said, Whoever is harboring evil intentions, Feng LaoGe, you ought to know better than anybody else. Feng Ba fell silent for half a day. The tone of his voice suddenly became steady and calm, You have guts! he spoke indifferently, Fu Xiong, pleasee upstairs to talk. Footsteps were going away. Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs again, he rose up to his full height, and then casting an envious nce toward Xu Ziling, who was deeply intoxicated in the dreand, he said, The earlier the problem is resolved, the earlier I can go to sleep. No matter what happens, Guan Laoban must never, ever, leave Xiao Jies side. Pulling the door open, Kou Zhong saw that at both ends of the corridor leading to the upper deck of the ship stood nearly ten armed men. Everybody was sizing Kou Zhong up with their ominous gaze and murderous-looking expression. Kou Zhong swept them up with his eyes, one after another the men was intimidated; they either looked down or moved away from his line of sight, simply because Kou Zhongs gaze was as sharp as the arrow, as if it really had substance, so that none of the Da Dao She men was not palpitating and their mind was chaotic, no one was able to hold his gaze. Kou Zhongughed aloud, stepped across the threshold, and closed the door behind him. He walked leisurely along the corridor with the enemies standing on both sides in great numbers in the direction of the upper deck; automatically he generated a burst of pressing momentum, which seized the mens soul, so that they did not dare to make their move lightly. Under the illumination of the windntern, nearly twenty Da Dao She men were crowding the bridge at the aft of the ship. The leader was a middle-aged man with solid body, medium build, jug-eared, lion-nosed, and ugly appearance. The ominous glint in his eyes was flickering, he fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong without blinking. Hanging on his back was a pair of intersecting iron forks, each one was about four chi long, with the tip of the forks protruding above his left and right shoulders. There was quite a bit of overbearing imposing manner of a martial art master on him. Since he was able to upy the Deputy Agency Master position of Da Dao She, naturally he had some weight. If it were ordinary Jianghu martial art master, seeing such imposing manner, it would be strange indeed if he did not immediately beat the return drum. Kou Zhong, on the other hand, only found it amusing. As soon as he stepped onto the upper deck, a shadow shed. The man guarding the left side of the cabin door was trying to knock him down with his shoulder. Kou Zhong secretly mused that this kind of trick, Laozi has seen it all, since it was the usual trick that Jianghu people used. Thereby he estimated the opponents weight, and in an initial show of strength, he increased his speed many times over, so that the man immediately hit an empty air, he staggered and tumbled behind him toward the other side, knocking the man guarding the right side of the door, so that both men tumbled down, battered and exhausted. All the men on Feng Bas side showed stunned expression, because unexpectedly they were unable to see how Kou Zhong dodged by increasing his speed; the feeling was extremely strange. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong continued toward Feng Ba, and stopped about a zhang in front of him. The men who were initially inside swarmed out to the deck to seal off Kou Zhongs retreat path. Meeting the shing refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes, a chill crept up in Feng Ba heart. Originally he had a thousand words, but suddenly he could not say even half a sentence. Kou Zhong was deeply aware of the quitting-while-one-is-ahead principle; of course he was not afraid of Da Dao She at all, but if he tied unsolvable enmity against the Da Dao She, it would potentially cause no end of trouble to businessmen like Guan Ping. Therefore, it was necessary to use both hard and soft approaches to solve the problem. There was a faintmotion from inside the cabin, the other businessmen wanted toe out to see what was going on, but they were stopped by Da Dao She men. Kou Zhong took a couple steps forward. He only stopped when the crowd standing to Feng Bas left and right moved their hands to press against the hilt of their weapons. Revealing his signature smile, which was as brilliant as the sunshine, he calmly said, A gentleman uses his mouth and not his fist, enmity should not be easily made, we all out to earn a living, Er Dangjia is a man who understands reason, you shouldnt need Xiaodi to tell you, the Senior, what to do? All the men on Feng Bas left and right shouted angrily, fortunately Feng Ba stopped them. He spoke heavily, Which line of friend is Xiongtai from? [Note: I realize it sounds weird in English, but I believe the readers will understand it without further exnation?] Kou Zhong blurted outughing and replied, Naturally from Guan Laobans rtive line. Finished speaking, he straightened his shoulders and back, immediately generating the imposing manner that made the peoples guts trembled and their hearts turned cold. Everybody, Feng Ba included, unconsciously took half a step back. Kou Zhong calmly went on, Rules are made by people, it might change ording to the situation, otherwise we are only swallowing ancient learning without digesting it [idiom], continuing the same old routine blindly. Our Yu Sheng Changs Ma Xiansheng was ill and could not finish the journey, he withdrew midway. Therefore, our aunt [maternal cousin by marriage] ordered the two of us to travel day and night to catch up with to follow and attend upon Biaoshu [uncle from maternal side]. This matter is absolutely fair and reasonable, conforming to reason. However, the final decision is naturally in Er Dangjias hands; if you disagree, we, Yu Sheng Chang will immediately withdraw the shipment. When that happens, Er Dangjia cannot me us for not following procedures, since we are only ask for fairness. His speech suggested that if Feng Ba turned his back on him, then he would make Feng Bas treachery public to the other business members, and thus making Da Dao Shes reputation sweep the floor. They were all smart people, Guan Ping had no reason to risk the grave consequences of offending Da Dao She, to use and nder Da Dao She. Feng Bas countenance changed again, he let out a muffled snort and said, You dare to threaten our Da Dao She? Pretending to be polite and modest, Kou Zhong answered, Er Dangjia must not misunderstand, Xiaodi is only acting ording to Jianghu rules. His pair of eyes shooting ominous glint, a man by Feng Bas sideughed nastily and said, Which Jianghu schools rules are you following? Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, And this LaoGe is ... The man smugly said, I am the Da Dao Shes Left Hand Sword Meng Degong. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Since there is a Left Hand Sword, there must also be Right Hand Sword; am I right? His remark was full of ridicule, which immediately provoked the anger of the men and horses on Feng Bas side; everybody was eager to make their move, but it was Feng Ba who did not dare to act blindly without thinking instead; he stopped his men. A man on Feng Bas other side said, I am the Right Hand Sword Su Yun. Kou Zhong uttered some perfunctory Jianghu remarks like Ive long looked forward to meeting you or nonsense like that before responding to Meng Degongs question earlier, The Jianghu rules that I follow is you respect Xiaodi one chi, Xiaodi will respect you, LaoGe, one zhang. Do you get it? The ones all Dage are going to deal with are the people who want to rob the escorted goods and not Xiaodi at all. Once we are fighting, no matter which side suffers death and injury, it wont be a good thing at all, right? Feng Bas countenance alternated between clear and cloudy indeterminately; evidently he was hesitant to make decision. In all respects, the enemy revealed an unfathomable impression, so that it was hard for him to know his real depth. Moreover, the neer was adept at Jianghu way, the remarks he made immediately put him in the advantageous position. Just when the standoff continued, two men, one old, one young, stepped out of the cabin door. The old one was about fifty, his appearance amiable and at ease, neither timid nor overbearing, automatically he revealed the air of a big businessman; medium build, his hair sparse, as soon as he opened his mouth he helped resolving the dispute, Laofu has just had a chat with Guan Xiong; his two nephews [maternal, see above] are not outsiders at all. I wonder if Er Dangjia could give Laofu a little bit of face, by letting these two Xiao Geer [basically little boys] join in midway? The younger one had a bit of impression as a pampered son of a wealthy family; his age was more or less the same as Kou Zhongs, only a bit shorter than Kou Zhong, but he could be considered big and tall as well. His clothes were tastefully chosen; he dressed like a literary schr. His forehead broad, his eyes sharp; he appeared to be a talent. This young man added, This Fu Xiong appeared to be righteous; would Er Dangjia please ... With obvious displeasure, Feng Ba interrupted him, Since Cun Yi Gong and Ri Sheng Hang both think that there is no problem, what can I, Feng Ba, say? If in the future something does go wrong because of these two men, our Da Dao She will not be responsible. Finished speaking, he brushed his sleeve and led his men back into the cabin. It was only then did Kou Zhong find out that these two were representatives of Cun Yi Gong and Ri Sheng Hang, two big businesses. This moment he was even more convinced that Cun Yi Gong did not collude in the dark with Da Dao She; promptly he expressed his gratitude toward the two. Guan Ping came out to introduce Kou Zhong to the two men. The old one was the younger brother of Ri Sheng Hangs big boss, Luo Yi. The younger one was the oldest son of Cun Yi Gongs big boss, Ou Liangcai. After exchanging some pleasantries, Kou Zhong went back to their room andy down next to Xu Ziling and slept. He did not care whether the sky copsed, he just wanted to sleep to restore his qi. Only in their dreams would they be able to temporarily put aside the world brimming with heartache and trouble. It was not yet dawn when the cargo ship set sail. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were sleeping until the sky turned hazy the earth turned dark, woke up at the same time. On the other bed, Guan Ping was still snoring thunderously; he was sleeping soundly as if he was dead. Kou Zhong crawled up and sat on the edge of the bed. Patting Xu Ziling with the back of his hand, he said, You got the easy part, I got the hard part; you, this Xiongdi, are really good to me. Xu Ziling sat up next to him; staring nkly at the snowscape on the west bank of Yongji Canal outside the window, he spoke heavily, Last night I dreamed about Niang. Is Niang well? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling shook his head, I dont know, he replied, She was walking in front of me; I ran after her and called her, but she paid no attention to me, she did not even look back. Kou Zhong said, Perhaps she is ming us for not personally kill Yuwen Huaji! Ay! Even if we get to do it all over again, we would still make the same choice. Really strange, I dont seem to have any hatred toward Yuwen Huaji anymore; in fact, he and me and you are no different, we are human beings with flesh and blood and feeling. Just like us, sometimes he might do something stupid. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Something stupid? Is it me doing stupid thing right now, or is it what Shaoshuai Yes doing is stupid? Kou Zhong sighed and said, It stilles down to you got the easy part, I got the hard part. Tell me, who is a bit more stupid? But if right now I said I want to give up striving for the world, youd probably advise me to think thrice? Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Its pathetic. But if some day you and I fight side by side in the decisive battle against the Tujues invasive forces, that will be a very delightful thing. Tujues evil clutches have already entered the Central ins. Other outside tribes are also like a tiger watching its prey, otherwise our Niangs Shifu would note to the Central ins to look for Ning Daoqi; this really gives us headache. For Niangs sake, other than trying to avoid him, what else can we do? With pained expression Kou Zhong said, What I am most afraid of is that we cannot avoid him. Therefore, the best way would be to strive unremittingly, just like the way of heaven, we are constantly forging ahead. Heavens! What can we do to have our inner power advancing by leaps and bounds in a short period of time, so that well reach the level where we wont be afraid of Ning Daoqi, Zhu Yuyan, Shi Zhixuan, and the likes? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, When I find it, you will be the first to know. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Only people who are not afraid to do rough work will find it. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Tell me then. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up, he lowered his voice and said, Naturally its the cultivation ording to Old Bas martial art way, or perhaps your, Ling Shaos using battle to raise battle. Do you remember what Gao Kaidaos subordinate Zhang Jinshu said about why Tujue cavalry is so formidable? Hearing is not as good as seeing. Since you, Ling Shao are going beyond the Great Wall anyway, I might as well see the gentleman off, and along the way learn something from Xieli. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day. He said in grief, Inst nights dream, I was back at our broken-down home in the abandoned garden in Yangzhou. Unexpectedly Zhen Sao was there, cleaning up the house for us, while also scolding us for the hideous mess our home was. When I went out, I saw Niang walking alone on the street. Ay! Do you understand? Currently I am downhearted about everything and have no interest in doing anything. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, All right! In that case, well split up after Leshou! Ay! How did things be like this? Lying on his back on the bed, the tone of his voice brimming with pain, he softly said, For the first time, I feel like I hate you a little. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, You dont hate me; you just want to force me. However, cultivation ording to martial art way and using battle to raise battle are two different things. The former is hard training, thetter is facing the enemy by using trick. Hence the reason Ba Fenghan must leave us to undertake the lonely, single-shadow-lone-shaped journey, to deal with all difficult things alone, to ponder and reflect upon himself everything that hee across, alone. Isnt our using battle to raise battle enough? Now is the time to train hard! Kou Zhong sat halfway up in horror; he said, ording to what you said, wouldnt it mean I cannot train? Under current circumstances, there is no way I can be alone. Guan Ping was still snoring loudly, providing the best cover for their whisperings. Xu Ziling reached out to put his hand on Kou Zhongs broad shoulder; he shook his head and said, Loneliness is one kind of mental state. The longer we dont part, the longer we cannot be like Ning Daoqi, that kind of martial art master who assumes personal responsibility. With your, Zhong Shaos aptitude and intelligence, you ought to understand what I mean. All right! Kou Zhong said dejectedly, But how long are you going to wander before you are willing toe back to visit me or collect my dead body? Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, Dont speak pathetically like that. I really dont know when I aming back. Perhaps one day my heart would suddenly move, and I mighte back. A hundred kinds of emotion running through his heart, Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, Ever since we understand things, we, two brothers are like a pair of pping block, we left home to make our way in the world never far from each other, but suddenly we have to part, how could it not make me depressed and unwilling to let go? Displeased, Xu Ziling said, How could you describe this matter as suddenly? Didnt we agree that after obtaining the hidden treasure, you go to strive for the world, I go to pursue the life that I have been dreaming about? Kou Zhong pushed hisst effort, But now the situation has changed; Li Shimin might copse any moment, Tujues invasion is at hand; you, Ling Shao, ought to change in response to the situation. You ought to apany Xiaodi to look at the situation clearly first, and only then you decide whether you should go or stay. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Good fellow! You go back on your word, yet you are still speaking passionately. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I call this unyieldingly seeking survival. Frankly speaking, even though previously I was forced to promise to let you go, I always feel that it was just empty promises, nothing serious, and cant possibly happen for real. But now that the separation is pressing in on our eyshes, naturally it is another matter altogether. After a short pause, he went on, I wanted to send you off, yet you refused; what kind of brother are you? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, You are like a man with a family, the entire city of Pengliang is waiting for you toe back. Furthermore, you ought to make adequate preparation, theing year will determine the rise or fall of your Shao Shuai Army; how could you ignore your own family? Hearing that, Kou Zhong unexpectedly showed an excited look; he spoke cheerfully, On that, you dont need to worry. In the preparation effort, we have Xu Xingzhi, Xuan Yong, and the others helping Xiaodi. Li Shimin wanting to put Song JinGang in order, he will need at least a year or a half. I am nowpletely free and easy, suitable to make the trip to the foreignnd. Before Xu Ziling had any chance to respond, the ships speed increased sharply. The two looked at each other, they both know that something unusual was happening. Book 37 - 12 – Good Person’s Scheme Three light sailboats pursued from behind, their speed far surpassed the Da Dao Shes two cargo ships, which sailedparatively deep in the water. The distance between the two sides was constantly decreasing. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came out of the cabin. The ill-intentioned sailboats were pressing in to within fifty zhang away; each boat was carrying seven, eight armed men. Their number was far less than Da Dao Shes two ships, which carried a total of more than one hundred men. However, just by looking at the tumultuous momentum with which the opponents were approaching, secured in the knowledge that they had backing, one would know that the neers did not even consider the Da Dao She to be worthy in their eyes. Feng Ba, with Meng Degong, Su Yun, and the others, more than a dozen men crowding around him, was standing at the stern, staring fixedly with grave expression at the continuously approaching sailboats. The other men were holding bows and arrows and weapons at the ready, scattered around the ship, entering the battle-might-start-any-moment mode, waiting in strict battle formation. The light of dawn was illuminating the Yongji Canal, the air was filled with murderous aura, the situation was as tense as taut bowstring on the verge of being released. The two Da Dao She escorts who were guarding the cabin door did not dare to block the two because they had seen Kou Zhongs skill, but they advised the other business people to stay inside the cabin. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came behind Feng Ba and the others. Feng Ba raised his voice and shouted, Are the iings friends from Huang He Bang [Yellow River Gang]? Xiaodi Feng Ba of Da Dao She. Our humble agencys Da Dangjia [first chief] Qi Peng has always had friendly rtions with your honorable gangs Fu Bangzhu [deputy gang leader] Living Zhuge [from Zhuge Liang] Wu Sansi, Wu Xiansheng. Whatever the problem is, your honorable gang only need to speak, Ol Feng will pay a visit to apologize humbly. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling naturally have heard Huang He Bangs fame for fighting prowess; they were the biggest secret society on the Yellow River, ranked number one gang within the Eight Gangs Ten Societies in the world. Its prestige surpassed Hai Sha Bang, Jukun Bang and Da Jiang Hui. Although the two boys did not care about this kind of gang and society, they knew that this matter was really not simple. It should be noted that this kind of big secret society would never do shady business of blocking-the-path-to-rob-the-travelers, plus they paid most attention to Jianghu rtions and contacts, everything had to follow Jianghu rules; only by doing this would they be able to eat openly and have financial resources rolling in. The iing boats were slowing down at the same time, maintaining about a three-zhang distance. This moment both sides could see the other partys appearance clearly. On the middle sailboat a man of about twenty-seven, twenty-age came out from among the crowd and stood on the bow. Cupping his fist, he said, Turns out the goods under escort this time is under Er Dangjias personal leadership, then its even better to speak. I am Hong Ying Qiang [lit. Red Cherry Spear, dictionary has this definition: ancient spear-like weapon, decorated with a red tassel] Xi Jie, the Left Vanguard General under our humble Bangzhu, the Great Roc Tao Guangzu. This time I came to disturb Er Dangjia, I already feel ufortable, asking Er Dangjias forgiveness. Hearing that, Feng Bas eyebrows were deeply knitted, he said in astonishment, Fivekes and four oceans, all are brothers, not to mention that between us and your honorable gang there has always been friendly rtions. Whatever it is, Xi Xiong may speak forthrightly without any inconvenience. Until this moment, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were still in the rxed mood while enjoying watching a bustling scene, thinking that they would only make their move when necessary, to ensure that the Huang He Bang would be beaten and flee with their tail between their legs. Xie Jie, with his forthright countenance, called out, Good! and then he said, This matter is hard to exin in details. If Er Dangjia really consider us as friends, please ask the subordinate of our humble gangs mortal enemy Meiyan Furen [lit. beautiful and alluring/morous/gorgeousdy/Madame], Duan Chu toe out, Xiongdi will immediately turn on my heels. Feng Ba unconsciously looked back, shooting a nce toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, before turning to Xi Jie and said, There is no one with surname Duan, given name Chu, on out boat; I wonder what he looks like? Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were unsure whether they ought to be angry or amused; they knew that Feng Ba suspected that one of them was Duan Chu. But this was the first time that they heard the name Madame Meiyan, which was brimming with erotic, seductive impression; they could not help being greatly interested. Xi Jie said, We also only hear his name but have never seen him. The information came from an absolutely trustworthy spy of our humble gang, he is positive that this person has infiltrated your honorable agencys escort team, and is harboring malice intention. If you could pull this person out, it would only bring benefit to your honorable agency without any harm. Feng Baughed aloud and said, Who the Meiyan Furens man is, I dont know, but suspicious characters, we have two. I wonder if Xi Xiong could move your good self to our boat to identify him. Stop them! Thest sentence was obviously addressed to his men. While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were crying Not good! inwardly, they were already surrounded. They could have disregarded everything and left, or even took Guan Ping with them. But Yu Sheng Chang would offend two big gangs in one move, the consequences would certainly be grave to the extreme point. The five hundred bolts of silk fabric on board was another problem that gave them headache. Furthermore, Feng Ba could carry out his wicked scheme without the slightest scruple. The biggest problem was that the two boys indeed harbored ulterior motives by posing as Guan Pings distant rtives, the sons of his male cousin via female line. Once this fact was confronted, inevitably they would not be able to cover their traces. This was not something that could be solved by force. Gusts of wind were heard, Xi Jie and five of his men leaped onto the cargo ship, and came to Feng Bas side. Using his official authority for private interests [idiom], Feng Ba pointed to the two boys and thundered, Its these two men of unknown origin, who call themselves Fu Xiong and Fu Jie, who forcefully joined midway, who are the biggest suspects. The refined light in Xi Jies pair of eyes shed continuously, he sized the two up with rapt attention. Meeting his eyes, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, That Duan Chu fellow whom Xi Laoer [lit. old man] is looking for, how old is he? If you mistook Feng Jing as Ma Liang, you would only benefit Xi LaoGes archenemy in vain. Laughing coldly, Xi Jie said, No need to sweet-talk me, our Huang He Bang has always differentiate gratitude and grudges clearly, we will never me good people wrongly. Turning to Feng Ba, he asked, If they are of unknown origin, how could Er Dangjia let theme on board? Feng Ba replied, They were recruited at thest moment by one of the customers of this escorted shipment, he also said they are distant rtives. Humph! I dont believe it. Frowning, Xi Jie said, Is it possibly to ask your honorable customer toe out to talk? Feng Ba nodded in agreement. He ordered one of his men into the cabin to look for Guan Ping. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you look at me I look at you, momentarily they could not think of any way to deal with this matter. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. The worst-case scenario was to use force, which would, naturally, deepen the misunderstanding, and might destroy Guan Ping. Trying to be as friendly as possible, he said, What was the exact time Xi Xiong received the information that Xi Xiongs archenemy has infiltrated the escort team? Because we only came on boardst night. This fact, Er Dangjia and anybody on board can testify. Xi Jie coldly said, I am not afraid to tell you, the information came from a brother of our gang just before his death; he only said one thing, which is Duan Chu is mingling among this Da Dao She escort team. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Who would strike treacherously and kill Xi Xiongs gang brother? Where did it happen? Both his countenance and his voice turned harsh, Xi Jie shouted, Dont call me Xiong or Di; even if your tongue is as resplendent as lotus flower, today you can forget about good ending. This moment, Guan Ping, whose countenance had turned pale, has arrived under escort, What happened? he spoke in trembling voice. Kou Zhong hurriedly reminded him, Biaoshu, dont panic; as long as you exin our rtionship ... Shut up! Feng Ba cut him off sternly. The vicious light in Xi Jies pair of eyes red up, he glowered at Guan Ping and said, I am Xi Jie of Huang He Bang, if Guan Xiansheng speaks one word of lies, I, Xi Jie, will definitely not let you off. Now tell me the truth, are these two really your rtives? Guan Ping was so scared that he nearly copsed to the floor. Stammering, he said, Daye, please spare my life, I dont know; I really dont know. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were bbergasted. With heart and mind they were trying to help Guan Ping, yet unexpectedly in this critical moment Guan Ping betrayed them. Plus the stupid and cowardly appearance that he put on disy right now was greatly beyond their expectation. It was as if this Guan Ping was a totally different person from the Guan Ping that they knew earlier. Inwardly they cried that something was not right. Feng Ba appeared to be very proud of himself; his face showed a hint of cold smile. Xi Jies pair of eyes shone even brighter. He scolded, What do you mean you dont know? Exin clearly. His voice trembling, Guan Ping said, I ran into them outside the city, they said they want to earn some traveling expense. Ay! I saw them having good eyebrows and good appearance, plus they are strong and vigorous, they seem to have a skill or two, so ... What? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling blurted out in chorus. Guan Ping hid behind Xi Jie, he blurted out, You two deceived me really bad; are you trying to implicate me, this honorable businessman, to death? Qiang! Qiang! the sound of weapons being pulled lingered on faintly, as everybody, Xi Jie and Feng Ba included, pulled their weapons. Brandishing his Red Cherry Spear, Xi Jie thundered, What do you have to say for yourselves? Kou Zhong calmed down instead. He shook his head and smiled bitterly, What else is there to say? he said, Please! Im sure well meet again someday. Just as the crowd was charging forward, the two rose straight up into the air. Ignoring their shaking-the-heavens shout and yell, they took a breath high up in the sky and flew toward the western bank. The two sat down dejectedly in a snowy forest far away from Yongji Canal. Four eyes met, they roared intoughter at the same time; theyughed so hard that tears were streaming down their faces. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, In vain have we always been proud of our intelligence and wisdom, unexpectedly a cheating stick beats the chicken feather and duck blood out of us, nearly making us cannot reincarnate forever. Leaning against a frosty pine tree trunk, Xu Ziling sighed and said, Good fellow! He spoke with seven emotional states [in traditional Chinese medical theory and therapy, namely: joy, anger, anxiety, thought, grief, fear, and fright] on his face, moving us, these two idiots, to be willing to be his scapegoats. His Niang! I dare say that Da Dao She wanting to kill people and swallow the goods is just his fabricated lie. Unless Da Dao She intends to withdraw from Jianghu, why would they be stupid enough to smash their own rice bowl? Escort businesses rely on trustworthiness the most; why did we believe his lie firmly without any doubt? Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong said, But Feng Ba did act like he was harboring ulterior motives [orig. theres a ghost in his heart]. Xu Ziling patted his knee vigorously and said with a smile, Guan Ping is definitely the most brilliant fraudster we have encountered; he deceived us until we are confused and disoriented. Even whether he is really the Yu Sheng Changs boss or just a hired hand C is still a question that we forgot to ask. In fact, we know nothing about him at all. Isnt this called underestimating the enemy? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, We have never regarded him as the enemy, so why should we underestimate the enemy? Ay! Yet this is clearly the worst mistake of underestimating the enemy in the game of chess. His Niang! I definitely dont want to swallow and endure this quietly. In your opinion, is it possible that Guan Ping is precisely that Meiyan Furen somebodys man, Duan Chu, that Xi Jie is looking for? Meiyan Furen, such a savory name that smells, looks, and tastes great. Hearing it, my heart itches to the death. Xu Zilingughed heartily and said, Destitute heart is not over yet, lecherous heart is already rising. Dont forget that our financial situation has not improved even for half a penny, we still dont have a wen to our name. Fortunately we were finally able to fill our stomach, so that we canst a few more days. After reaching Leshou, we will look for Guan Ping to settle this ount; that ce is Da Xiaojies territory, we will be able to move about a bit easier. Laughing to his hearts content, Kou Zhong said, This time we indeed met with unexpected failure, others were able to peek into our greatest weakness, which is our chivalrous character. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Dont joke around; what are we going to do? Kou Zhong made a sign as if he was about to speak. He mused, I wonder if there is any problem with the escorted goods itself? I am talking about Du Xing cing the order. Perhaps the goods were not ordered by Du Xing at all. Xu Ziling nodded. He said, This is a cleverly arranged scam, and the escorted goods are apanied by a fraudster. I dont know how this secret was leaked to the Huang He Bang, and the fraudster also got wind about the leak, and thus he looked for two idiots to be the scapegoats. Guan Ping, oh, Guan Ping! You are so unbelievably formidable. I wonder if he knew that you and I are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling? Kou Zhong said, This morning in the cabin, its possible that he was only pretending to be sleeping. Ay! The more I think, the more I refuse to ept this. We will fight deceit with deceit; we will y a round with Meiyan Furen. The two shook hands, they shouted in unison, Fight deceit with deceit! As outstanding heroes, they disdained to use force to deal with Duan Chu, hence they came up with this other fair way to make reprisals. In Jianghu, the most loathed and despised kind of people was precisely the fraudsters. Book 37 - 13 – Counted as Hitting the Targe t Leshou was located between two rivers, Tuoshui and Zhangshui [both shui means water/river], a famous mountain city in the northern territory, controlling the vast area between the two rivers, up to the transportation hub at the upper reaches of Yongji Canal. In term of geographical location, it was quite significant; it had tight grip over thend route and official road leading to Yuyang and Shanhai Pass. The city walls were connected all around, strong and majestic, constructed of bricks that were sealed tightly, reinforced by arrow-towers and barricaded entrances. A stream flowed into the city, bing a river channel inside, and a moat protecting the city outside. The ups and downs of surrounding mountain range made its imposing manner iparable to the ordinary open cities built in the ins. Although in term of scale it was only half the size of Luoyang, Changan, that kind of metropolis, it had its own vast, expanded grandeur, which left deep impression in peoples heart. Surrounded by irregr mountains, sandwiched by the mountains and the rivers, rugged, dangerous and difficult, it was indeed a city with natural defenses on all four sides. The marketce in the city was even more prosperous, with row after row of houses and multi-story buildings facing each other. When the two boys reached Leshou, it happened to be the second day of the second month of the lunar year, the cold was over, after the snow was melting, the trees outside the city were nketed in green, creating the beautiful scenery of the spring returning to the mother earth. Along with the rising momentum of the Kingdom of Xia, the business in Leshou flourished, so that it became the political, economic and cultural center of the northern territory. Dou Jiande also built satellite cities and forts between the two rivers and one canal, which were connected to Leshou by roads, forming a transportationwork linking up the rivers and canal, and thus enhancing the citys strategic and economic importance. The citys most important thoroughfares were the main streets connecting the four city gates, the north-south, and the east-west, with the Xia Pces inner city as the core. The other secondary streets wereid out crisscrossing this cross-shaped main streets. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hid inside the goods brought in by a group of peasants to avoid paying tax as they sneaked into the city. And then, following Liu Heitas directions, they went to a huge residential building at the north side of the city. They saw the gate was tightly guarded, with Jianghu characters going in and out from time to time. The front courtyard beyond the gate was bustling with noise and excitement; obviously Zhai Jiao was doing very well in Leshou. Their hearts were filled with excitement, the two boys came to the outer courtyard gate. One of the men guarding the doors saw them and in his great delight was going to call them, but Kou Zhong, realizing that the other party knew them, quickly signaled him not to call their names. This time we areing incognito, he exined, Is Da Xiaojie in? After leaving his order to the other gatekeepers, the man immediately took them into the courtyard. While walking, he said, Da Xiaojie is unable to move freely, let Xiaoren take two Yeer straight into the inner hall to see her. Ay! Its really good that two Daye areing at this time. All of us, brothers admire two Daye very much. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were shocked. The former asked in concern, Why is Da Xiaojie unable to move freely? What happened? The manpletely regarded them as one of their own; lowering his voice, he spoke sorrowfully, Da Xiaojie suffers leg injury at the frontier fortress due to ambush, we also lost arge number of brothers; therefore, the mood is extremely somber. Ay! Fortunately two Dayes good selves arrive, you could retrieve justice for us. Murderous aura in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke fiercely, Who has such guts? How about Tu Ye? The man replied sadly, In order to rescue Da Xiaojie, Tu Ye received an even more serious injury. Other things, let Da Xiaojie tell two Daye personally. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling shivered greatly. It should be noted that Tu Shufang was the chief martial art master among Zhai Rangs troops in the past, his martial art skill outstanding. The two boys sealing acupoint and cutting off meridian technique was taught by him, which has given the two boys endless benefit. If even he ended up seriously injured, then the enemys strength must not be taken lightly. Moreover, Zhai Jiaos subordinates were entirely elite troops and personal bodyguards of the former Wagang Army, which must not bepared to ordinary flock of crows of the gangs and societies. Such tragic loss, one could well imagine how formidable the enemy was. A bit of embarrassed, Kou Zhong suddenly asked, Is Chuchu Guniang all right? It was only then that Xu Ziling remembered Zhai Jiaos beautiful personal maid, Chuchu. The happy scene of them ying snowball fight with Chuchu and the other young maids in the Da Longtou Mansion at Yingyang that day immediately reemerged in his mind. The man replied, Luckily Chu Dajie was looking after Lingzhong Shaoye that day, hence she did note. By this time the three reached the stone steps in front of the inner hall. Zhai Jiaos angry voice came from the inside, Useless bunch! Such a trivial matter, yet you manage to turn it into total mess. Get lost for me! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were able to hear that whether her middle qi or her fire qi [internal heat (in traditional Chinese medicine)], both were still very vigorous, hence they were relieved instead. The joy of meeting again after a long period of separation welling up in their heart, they quickly sped up to climb the long steps toward the main door. Five men happened to stepped out of the door; hanging their head dispiritedly they ran into the three head-on. Seeing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, three out of five men recognized them, none did not reveal pleasantly surprised expression. One of them even shouted excitedly, Da Xiaojie! Kou Ye and Xu Ye are here! Zhai Jiaos voice roared, What do you mean Kou Ye, Xu Ye? You mean those two kids areing? Seeing how Zhai Jiao treated these two martial art masters whose name shook the world without any trace of politeness like this, the men were both embarrassed and excited at the same time. The two could no longer restrain their concern and longing; they rushed into the hall together, the group of men anxiously followed. Everybody was talking, the atmosphere was warm. Zhai Jiao was half-lying on the couch, her right foot was wrapped like a pigs hoof, the smell of medicine and wine permeated the air in the hall, and there was some kind of paleness that came from blood loss on Zhai Jiaos face; however, she could still be considered energetic. There were four men standing behind her; she did not lose her lofty style at all. Seeing that it was indeed the two boys, she shouted loudly, You, two fellows, roll over here. You came to see me only today? Do you believe me if I say I am going to break your dog legs? Kou Zhong dropped down and raised his cupped fist, he said deferentially, Da Xiaojie scolds us well; we, these two fellows, areingte, we are asking for Da Xiaojies forgiveness. Xu Ziling rushed forward and said, Da Xiaojies leg injury ... Staring wide-eyed, Zhai Jiao cut him off, Dont worry! How could I, Zhai Jiao, die that easily? Hows Tu Gongs injury? Kou Zhong asked. Of course he is not going to die, Zhai Jiao replied, You, two kids, arrived just in time. I want you to kill three men for me. And then her gaze swept the men standing behind the two boys, smiling obsequiously; she angrily said, You guys standing there smiling ingratiatingly; are you asking for a beating? Get lost for me! Do you think that since they havee, you guys can eat for free? Theres no such convenience. Get lost! Everybody went out of the hall in a flurry. Zhai Jiao also shouted at the four guards behind her, You guys get lost as well. With these two Xiongdi here, whod dare to assassinate me? When only the three of them remained in the inner hall, Zhao Jiao bestowed the two boys favor by letting them to sit at her left and right. Which three men Da Xiaojie wants us to kill for you? Kou Zhong asked. Zhai Jiao muttered to herself irresolutely for half a day. Her tone turned gentle, she said, I hear you lost the Duke Yangs Treasure; how could you be so useless like that? Kou Zhong did not dare to deceive her, he exined everything in low voice. It was obvious that Zhai Jiao was happy for them; nodded, she said, That will do! Xiao Zhong, its most important that you strive and work hard, dont let Old Suis corrupt official obtain the world. In front of Zhai Jiao, the two boys allotted share was just nodding their heads. Because of her rtionship with Susu and Little Lingzhong, they had long regarded Zhai Jiao as their close rtive. Suddenly Zhai Jiaos two eyes turned slightly red; gnashing her teeth in anger, she fiercely said, My loss this time is really disastrous; I lost fifteen brothers who had followed me for many years, I also lost a batch of goods, and I still had to pay for the damage. This time, even Xu Ziling was enraged; he spoke heavily, Who actually did it? We will certainly get justice for Da Xiaojie. Zhai Jiao lost her temper again; she said angrily, What justice can be talked about on earth? Whoever has harder fist will have the right to run amuck and do evil. The first one to be killed is the Ba Wang Du Xing. I even want you to pull Bei Ba Bang by the root; otherwise, how could I vent this anger? And then she uttered a string of cuss words so vulgar that when hearing it, even the two boys were blushing. From Zhai Jiaos mouth, they started to verify that a man named Du Xing did indeed exist, not just some crazy nonsense that Guan Ping invented. Did Du Xings men ambush Da Xiaojie? Kou Zhong asked. Zhai Jiao crossly said, The prairie was so dark, how do I know who ambushed us? But if not Du Xing, then it must be the chief of Qidans horse thieves Hu Yanjin, or Han Chaoan who came from Gaoli; it must be one of these three. I want you to take the heads of these three viins who collude together and bring them to me. Although he knew that it would not be easy to do, Kou Zhong still patted his chest and said, Just leave this matter to us, your two Xiongdi. That batch of goods that Da Xiaojie lost, we will definitely force them to vomit it out. Without any trace of politeness, Zhai Jiao said, Then you need to leave quicker. I bought that batch of highest quality sheepskin from Huihe [pre-Tang name of ethnic group corresponding to modern Uighur]; I would have made at least a few thousand taels of gold profit. But now, not only I dont have the goods to deliver, I still have to pay for the loss. It infuriates me to the death! Xu Ziling said, We will immediately set out tomorrow morning. Tonight we still have time to give it thorough consideration. We want to see Tu Gong and Little Lingzhong first. Zhai Jiao nodded and said, I need to make arrangement for your trip to the north as well; lets talk more during dinner. Tu Shufang suffered many injuries on his body, but the one nearly taking his life was a palm strike on his shoulder de, which inflicted serious damage to his five viscera and six bowels, confining him to a bed rest. This moment, seeing the two boys gracing him with their presence hasforted his old heart and relieved him of the load on his mind. He was very clear of Zhai Jiaos temperament; were it not for her leg injury preventing her from walking, she would have led her men back to the frontier fortress to look for the enemy to settle the ount early on. Things have priorities. Although Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling was eager to see Little Lingzhong, their precious darling, they still need to heal Tu Shufangs injury first. Kou Zhong promptly took out the Divine Needles, and then assisted by Xu Ziling, used more than half a sichen to treat the meridians rted to Tu Shufangs injury, to open the blocked qi passages. Their Secret to Long Lifes true qi was indeed no small matter, the effect was almost immediate, the achievement was significant, Tu Shufang immediately saw big improvement. Asking the two boys to help him sit at the bedhead, he said, The attack this time, our loss is indeed disastrous; it inflicted heavy damage to our primordial qi. Furthermore, the effect on our business is far-reaching; the worst is that we cannot let people know. But ultimately paper cannot contain fire. By the time we really cannot cover it anymore, our Yi Sheng Longs reputation, which we have worked so hard to build, will receive a big blow. Consoling him, Kou Zhong said, Tu Gong, dont worry. We will try to get that batch of sheepskin back, no matter what. Ay! I hope those thieves have not sold the goods yet. Tu Shufang asked in surprise, Did Da Xiaojie not tell you about the price that Du Xing opened to us? He wanted us to pay five thousand taels of gold to redeem the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin. Honestly, even if everything goes smoothly without a hitch, at most we can only make about thousand taels of gold. Now, if we also have to pay the ransom, before and after, we will have to pay nearly ten thousand taels of gold for nothing. This is really a burden that we cannot afford to carry. That amount was equivalent to about one-tenth of the gold in the Duke Yangs Treasure; it was indeed a veryrge amount of money. Xu Ziling angrily said, This is indeed bullying too much. Kou Zhong said, Since the sheepskin is in Du Xings hands, naturally it was he who sent people to rob us. And now he still want to extort ransom; isnt there Heavensw anymore? Tu Shufang said, Whether it was Du Xing who robbed us, it is still difficult to ascertain. On the surface, the rtionship between Du Xing and our Yi Sheng Long has always been not bad, plus every time we were robbed or lost some goods, Du Xing had always acted as an intermediary and the role of the elderly, from which he drewmission. But five thousand taels is certainly a lions share; because of this, these past two days Da Xiaojie could not sleep out of anger. Does Du Xing know Da Xiaojies rtionship with us? Kou Zhong asked. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Tu Shufang replied, Its hard to say. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged some nces. They had a nagging feeling that this matter was not as simple as they thought. It was extremely possible that it was part of an operation with the two boys as the target. Is it true that Du Xing has the Tujue supporting him behind his back? Xu Ziling asked. Tu Shufang nodded, Tujue and Qidan are both supporting Du Xing behind his back, he replied, However, Du Xings rtionship with Qidans Hu Yanjin isparatively closer. In Shanhai Pass region, Qidans power, due to its concentration, is stronger than the Tujue, especially because of endless internal strife between Tuli and Xieli. Thereupon Qidan people are relying on their power to go on the rampage; anybody who wants to do business beyond the Great Wall must give them face. Remembering Prince Ku Ge, whom Kou Zhong had beaten until he abandoned his armor and flung his troops and escaped back to Qidan in a sorry state, Kou Zhong felt great uneasiness in his heart. It was extremely possible that it was indeed he who implicated Zhai Jiao. Therefore, in trying to get justice for Zhai Jiao, he must not be shirked without dishonor even more. Xu Ziling spoke with heavy voice, This may be Xiang Yushans operation to deal with us. Also, he is the only one who understands clearly our rtionship with Da Xiaojie. Shaken, Tu Shufang said, Xiang Yushan! I have not thought that he is the one ying ghost here. He ... does he really have that much influence? Kou Zhong briefly exined about Xiang Yushan bing Zhao Deyans disciple, as well as the gratitude and grudges between them and the Tujue and Qidan people. Tu Shufang said, It seems that your conjecture is not without any reason. Recalling the situation that time, the enemy did have the intention to capture Da Xiaojie alive, fortunately a group of brothers and I risked our life to rescue her back, and escaped to the wilderness under cover of darkness. Now they demand for ransom, it is indeed one scheme failed the other scheme is in ce. We absolutely cannot pay; without any better option, we have to ask for your help. Gnashing his teeth in anger, Kou Zhong said, Good kid, I donte to deal with you, yet youe to scheme against me. If I, Kou Zhong, cannot kill you, I swear that I am not a human. Tu Shufang said, Since we are fully aware that this is a trap, you must not step in. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Just the opposite is true. Now, even if in front of us is a mountain of sabers or a cauldron of oil, we must break through forcefully. Kou Zhongughed and said, Tu Gong, dont worry, in deploying troops and carrying out tactics, we definitely will not unt ignorant peoples bravado. Besides, Tuli and us arerade-in-arms who treat one another with absolute sincerity, who had gone through life and death together. Delighted, Tu Shufang said, If Tuli is willing to stand on your side, naturally it will be another matter altogether. The two secretly thought that even if they did not have Tuli, this external help, this matter still must not be ignored. Tu Shufang started to show sign of fatigue. The two boys did not dare to disturb his rest, plus they wanted to go see Little Lingzhong, hence they said their goodbye and left. The person receiving Zhai Jiaos order to wait upon them was a teenager called Ren Jun. He appeared to be quite sharp; he was Zhai Jiaos trusted aide, her trusted lieutenant. Seeing the two boysing out, he immediately said, Let Xiaode [I (when talking to a superior) take Kou Ye and Xu Ye to see Lingzhong Shaoye immediately. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, Have you ever heard the name Meiyan Furen? he asked. Overwhelmed by favor from superior, Ren Jun nodded his head vigorously and said, Of course I have. In the northern territory, it could be said that the fame of her beauty reaches far and wide, attracting arge number of men to crowd around her skirt. But those who had really seen her are not many, because her track is swiftly moving, she does not have a fixed residence. The three were walking through a vast garden toward the rear courtyard. Is she a Han? Xu Ziling asked. Ren Jun replied, I hear she belongs to Yiwu tribe, her martial art skill is extremely brilliant. I hope two Yeer do not have any enmity against her? Halting his steps, Kou Zhong said, Not right now, butter? Its hard to say. I need Xiao Jun to do something for us. Ren Jun dly said, Kou Ye, please tell me. Are you familiar with Pingyaos situation? Xu Ziling asked. Ren Jun replied, Anybody whos doing business or inmercial trade knows Pingyao, the most populous and affluent city in Taiyuan. Pingyao people are daring and brave enough to take risks, their business are very big. Kou Zhong said, Pingyaos three major businesses, of which one is Yu Sheng Chang, is the boss surname Guan? Ren Jun replied, Yu Sheng Changs boss surname should be Li; my understanding is that he still has family rtion with Li Yuan. Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and said with wry smile, Indeed as we expected; we have fallen into that fellows evil schemes. Xu Ziling calmly said, The future is long [idiom], since we are going to Shanhai Pass anyway, we will see what magic weapon that fellow Guan Ping has. Kou Zhong smiled and said, No longer refuse to travel together with Xiaodi now? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Since when did Kou Zhong turn to be this narrow-minded, haggling over every ounce? Kou Zhong sighed and said, You dont know how unbearable it is to be harmed by your own brother; if there is any opportunity, naturally I must avenge the wrong I suffered. Standing in the middle, hearing that, Ren Jun was baffled; but he could still feel the deep brotherhood love between the two. Kou Zhong energetically patted Ren Juns shoulder. Pointing to the building surrounded by the forest ahead, he asked, Is Xiao Lingzhong in there? Ren Jun nodded. You dont nee to take us inside, Kou Zhong said, I want you to investigate one thing. Da Dao She, under the leadership of their Er Dangjia Feng Ba, is escorting a batch of Pingyao businesses goods via Leshou. Xiao Jun is to check when they are due to arrive here, and which businesses in Leshou are the recipient of the goods. The more detailed the information the better. We are going to wait for your good news in here. Being able to exert himself to handle things for the two, Ren Jun felt great honor; epting the order, he left. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, he smiled and said, This is destiny. Even if you did not want me to go with you to see the scenery outside the Pass, you simply cant refuse. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, I ept misfortunes as decreed by fate! The two looked at each other andughed. They raised their feet to step forward together. Book 38 - 1 – Establishing Prestige in the World Wearing a leather hat, Little Lingzhong was taking an afternoon nap on a mat on the floor. Under him the mattress was soft, over him the nket was thin. Although the cold winter had just passed, the weather has not been back to warm yet, but because of the burning stove in the hall, such measure to defend against the cold, the air temperature was just perfect. Therefore, a hint of sweet smile was hanging on the corner of Little Lingzhongs mouth; it was such a picture of unspeakable peace andfort. Chuchu, his wet nurse, and two other young maids, were keeping Little Lingzhongpany while doing needlework and chatting idly, giving Xu Ziling the nest-like warmth of home feeling. He never had a home. The broken-down house in the abandoned garden at Yangzhou was just a hideout where they lived in temporarily; it was very difficult for him to see it as his home. Home should look like the one before his eyes. Kou Zhongs shock was not over yet. The moment he crossed over the doorstep into the hall, he met the gaze that Chuchu sent to his direction. His heart, which was originally like a tranquilke, suddenly rippled and boiled over because a rapidly flowing stream was rushing into it. Chuchus eyes were like a magical cupids arrow, containing a pleasantly surprised,plicated and subtle mood, as well as endless expectation, which came from the depth of her fragrant heart; who could resist it? Kou Zhong remembered the scene at the Da Longtou Mansion in the past, where Chuchu took the initiative to throw snowballs at him; he also recalled her enchanting beauty and charm when he pulled her gauzed sleeve, she was displeased and annoyed, and scolded him as silly kid. The enchanting beauty of the past suddenly came back to life, bing the reality before his eyes. Kou Zhong immediately med the cupids arrow because an unprecedented urge was welling up in his heart, an urge to embrace her, to cherish her, tofort her, to make her happy and merry. Even toward Song Yuzhi he had never experienced this kind of hard-to-hold-back longing and desire. Perhaps it was because at the Da Longtou Mansion Chuchu has shown initiative and her brazen style, which exceptionally able to evoke the desire hidden deep within his heart. The moment he made contact with her affectionate nce, all he could think about was to hold her inside his strong, powerful arms, to stroke he, to understand as much as possible the profound mystery in her fragrant heart. Toward her, he was both familiar and unfamiliar. The familiarity gave him the feeling of intimacy. The unfamiliarity made him wanting to seek the hidden-away, to explore the mystery, the intensely stimting taste. Only it was a pity that this moment he must forcefully suppress this kind of genuine emotion in his heart, he must not let it out the slightest. Two boys, with two different frames of mind, took off their boots and set their feet on the soft yet springy straw mat covering the entire floor of the hall. Chuchu came up to meet them. Gently, tenderly, delicately she used her clothes to brush off the dust from the two boys body, without saying even half a sentence. Xu Zilings gaze fell onto the Little Lingzhongs face, who was sleeping soundly without waking up on the mat on the floor; smiling, he said, Chuchu Jie, no need to mind us, dont wake Lingzhong up even more, we can only quietly look at him from the side. When he wakes up, then we can y with him. Chuchu gently said, He has just fallen asleep, I am afraid he wont wake up in less than a sichen. Even if we talk next to him, we dont have to worry about waking him up. At the same time, heartache mixed with heartening feeling welled up in Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs heart, thinking that Little Lingzhong not only did not have a mother, he was like not having a father as well. Zhai Jiaos temperament was irascible and shecked patience, definitely not a good candidate for motherhood, so Chuchu was certainly the best choice. The wet nurse and the others knew that it was time for them to temporarily take their leave, while Chuchu led the two boys to sit by Little Lingzhongs side. Chuchu automatically sat next to Kou Zhong. She cheerfully said, Did you notice that Xiao Shaoye has grown more like Su Jie? Kou Zhong caught her scent, the delicate fragrance that he knew so well, yet also appeared to belong to the distant past, he sensed that she was fondly attached to him and had great hope toward him, yet he knew that he simply must not be aroused to passion toward her, so he fought hard to suppress his feeling. Nodding his head, he said, He inherits all of Su Jies good genes, not the least bit was left. Unable to take his eyes of Little Lingzhong, Xu Ziling sized him up and asked, How old is he this year? Chuchu raised two fingers; she said, He will be three soon. And then she stood up and said, You stay here and look after Xiao Shaoye for me, Chuchu will be back soon. Stunned, the two boys watched as her figure disappeared outside the door; they were both unable to make any sense of the matter. Kou Zhong looked back, his gaze fell on Little Lingzhongs ruddy, healthy-looking little cheeks, and said with a sigh, I just hope that he will never find out who his father is. If in the future Xiang Yushan is content with his lot [idiom: to know ones ce], his ount with us can be wiped out. Its a pity that I dont see how it will happen, because the problem is on him. Full of tenderness, Xu Ziling gently fixed the hat and the thin nket on Little Lingzhong, to prevent him from being invaded by the wind chill. Nodding in agreement, he smiled bitterly and said, What we are facing right now is definitely a trap. Time and again we set ourselves against Xieli, we must have angered him, hence he exploited Xiang Yushans familiarity with us to eliminate us. The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes red out severely, he spoke in heavy voice, I want to establish my prestige. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I understand what you are thinking. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Only you understand me well. After burying Zhen Sao and their archenemy Yuwen Huaji, the two boys enmity and gratitude and grudges toward the secr world became blurry, so much so that it was reced by every-hope-turns-to-dust [idiom:pletely disheartened] feeling. Kou Zhong wanted toe with Xu Ziling to Leshou to visit Zhai Jiao and Little Lingzhong, practically it was some kind of escape. However, receiving all kinds of irritants from the outside world, such as being deceived by Guan Ping, even to the snare set before their eyes, which showed clearly that it wasid out by powerful enemies from the foreign tribes under Xielis leadership, has finally shocked and woke Kou Zhong up, making him realize that he must rouse his diminishing and crumbling willpower, to make the enemies understand that he, Shaoshuai, was absolutely not a man with an undeserved reputation. Compared to Song Que or Ning Daoqi, the martial art masters of grandmaster-of-this-generation level, who had be famous for several decades, yet were still standing without copsing, whom no one dared to challenge, in terms of prowess and reputation, the two of them were still a notch below, simply because in the past, the two have always fought and escaped. If this situation continued, it would be difficult to establish unrivalled-martial-art-masters fame for fighting prowess. Therefore, Kou Zhong decided toe to Xieli with open saber, open spear, in a hard battle. The target was to force Du Xing to spit out that batch of Zhai Jiaos sheepskin, thereby establishing his prestige in the world, to make whoever wanted to provoke them in the future to think thrice before even starting to make their move. This would be the only way to guarantee the survival of Zhai Jiaos business. It was really not ignorant peoples bravado or momentary show off anger, because formally it was really not one-sidedly benefitting them. In the northern territory, they had Tuli, therade-in-arms with whom they treat one another with absolute sincerity, who was sufficient to maintain the bnce of forces on both sides. Hence the reason Kou Zhong must, by all means, take advantage of this opportunity to establish his prestige in the world. Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes lit up, he said, We must first find two best and capable-of-enduring-hardships warhorses, and then learn the skill to fight on horseback, and train from here all the way to the northern border. Ay! Whenever I think about determining victory and contending for supremacy against the enemy on the prairie and barrennd beyond the Great Wall, my blood is boiling, I cannot control myself. Xu Ziling said, We also have to learn archery. Riding and shooting always go hand-in-hand. Kou Zhong did not think that Xu Ziling would actually agree to his proposal. He patted Xu Zilings shoulder vigorously, but he was also afraid he might wake up Little Lingzhong, hence he lowered his voice as he said with augh, You are indeed my good Xiongdi. This time we might as well do everything big, so that both inside and outside the Great Wall, everybody will know that whoever wants to provoke us, Yangzhous Twin Dragons, will have to pay a heavy price. There wille a day where we will surpass those his mothers Three Grandmasters, because we are still young, the future is long. Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted an emotional look; he spoke slowly, This may be thest time that we fight side-by-side. Turning his gaze toward Little Lingzhong, he spoke heavily, If we catch Xiang Yushan, what are we going to do? Kou Zhong stared nkly at Little Lingzhong for half a day. Smiling wryly, he said, Both formon good and personal reason, we have to harden our heart and treat Xiang Yushan ruthlessly, but in the end he is still Lingzhongs, this little darlings father; we ought to give him thest advice, to tell him to give up everything. If his character cannot change, then dont me me, Kou Zhong, for treating him ruthlessly without any mercy. Leave this matter to me. Ling Shao can put aside everything, go on a scenic tour beyond the Great Wall, take the Persian beauty as your tender wife, ha ... It was like Xu Ziling did not hear his teasing; the murderous intent in his tiger-eyes ring greatly, he spoke coldly, One word and its settled. We are going to give him one more chance. If he, Xiang Yushan, still obstinately persists in going about things the wrong way, even if Bi Xuan and Fu Cailin both acknowledge him as their son, we are still going to take his dog life. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong asked, What about the blood debt with Yin Gui Pai? Xu Ziling replied, We will follow closely our intention to overthrow the scum-of-themunity demonic school, since it cannot exist together with the orthodox Wulin of the Central ins. This matter is not only rted to personal grievances. After a year I will certainly rush back to the Central ins to see how formidable Shi Zhixuan, whose power has no w, is? At that time we can sweep away and ttened Yin Gui Pai at the same time. Question is what kind of stage our martial art skill will achieve. Pleased with himself, Kou Zhong said, In that case this will not be thest time that we fight side by side! I dont want you to say such thing in the future; I will take offense very much. Very cross, Xu Ziling said, Lets talk about thatter when in the future you have time to talk. Kou Zhong stretched his hand to lightly touch Little Lingzhongs puffy, pink and soft cheek; he praised, Such a handsome baby. In the future he will grow into our Xu and Kou, two families; I guarantee that he will be even more formidable than us. Whatever it is that we are unable to aplish, it will bepleted by him. Giving him the cold shoulder, Xu Ziling said, This is called you are giving him unnecessary burden. To be really alive, one must be free and unconstrained, be able to do what he wish to do; only then will one be able to really enjoy life. Kou Zhongughed and said, I was just speaking without thinking the matter through, Ling Shao should not take it seriously. And then, revealing a thoughtful expression, he said, Even if we have enough strength to deal with Du Xing head on, we still need superior strategy to match, and the most important condition to formte the strategy is to know the enemy. Now it could be said that we know nothing at all about the enemy. In this aspect, we need Da Xiaojie to find us a way. Xu Ziling was about to answer when Chuchu came back, followed by two young maids carrying two bowls of something that looked like stew. Chuchus two hands were not empty either; she brought two exquisitely made sheepskin robes. She said with augh, After you finish drinking the bear gall soup, try these robe that nujia made for you. Xiaojie said that you are going to Shanhai Pass. This will be very useful. The two hurriedly sprang up to express their thanks. The beauty was showing great kindness. A hundred emotions ran inside Kou Zhongs mind, he said, We will certainly have to try the new clothes that Chuchu sewed for us. Rolling her eyes at him, Chuchu smiled sweetly and said, Shaoshuai is the best in showing off his clever mouth; why havent you untied your saber? Xu Ziling watched as Chuchu attentively helped Kou Zhong putting on the robe; remembering how Susu made them new clothes at the Da Longtou Mansion in the past, myriads of emotion grew in his heart, he stayed silent. Wearing the new robe, upright and unafraid Kou Zhong twirled around in front of Chuchu and the two young maids, exuding a burst of intimidating might, stirring them up that three pairs of eyes lit up. Chuchu blissfully said, This robe even has a wind cap, it can block wind, sand, rain, and snow. You can even hide weapon inside, so you dont need to hang the saber so conspicuously on your back. And then she turned around to help Xu Ziling trying on the new clothes. It was also tailored to fit him well, putting Xu Zilings elegant charm in full disy. This moment Zhai Jiao suddenly honored them with her presence. The two sat down on a table to the side to talk while drinking the bear gall soup. Seeing how she was walking with crutches, the two were even more determined to put Du Xing in order. Zhai Jiaos weary countenance could not cover her endless excitement as she said, Just received new information. The Dragon King Bai Ziting is going to hold the founding-of-a-country ceremony in Little Changan. It is estimated that everybody, whether in support or in opposition to the founding of this country, is going to attend this meeting. My guess is that Qidans Hu Yanjin, Gaolis Han Chaoan, and Du Xing are all going. You can get rid of them all at the same time, then you wont need to rush about all over the ce. The two boys were listening with nk face. Xu Ziling asked, Who is Bai Ziting? What kingdom is he establishing? Putting her temper in check, Zhai Jiao exined, Bai Ziting is the most powerful leader of thest division of Jie people. He is establishing the Jie Kingdom. Such a simple matter you dont know? I never thought that your aptitude is this low and hopeless. Not knowing whether he ought tough or to cry, Kou Zhong resigned himself to be scolded. He spoke deferentially, What kind of thing is Little Changan? Displeased, Zhai Jiao said, Little Changan is not a thing, but the Long Quan Fu [lit. Dragon Spring Mansion] that Bai Ziting selected as the upper capital of his new kingdom. Ay! Chuchu,e here and exin these things to them. Chuchu had clearly received extreme trust from Zhai Jiao, and she was doted on her, and that she knew Zhai Jiaos business very clearly. Coming over gracefully, she sat down by Zhao Jiaos side and with a smile on her face, she said, Long Quan Fu is located in the middle stretches of Mudan River, the city is linked with the tail of the Changbai mountain range, bordering the Jingbo [lit. mirror moor] Lake in the south. Jie people are originally nomadic tribe between Qidan and Gaoli, two countries. Since the Dragon King Bai Ziting took the risk to raise arms, his fame and power rose up greatly, his power reaches to Bohai [Sea] in the east, Gaoli in the south, and the Qidan-Tujue border in the southwest. Bai Ziting admires the Central Earth civilization since his youth, hence Long Quan Fu was built entirely ording to Changans style. The political system, writtennguage, all the way to the attire and local custom, he emtes us in everything, hence Long Quan Fu is nicknamed Little Changan. Xu Ziling was greatly interested; he had never thought that unexpectedly there was such a ce outside the Great Wall. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, I did not expect Chuchu to be so experienced and knowledgeable. This is the first time we hear about such figure as Bai Ziting, and about Long Quan Fu, this Little Changan. Snorted coldly, Zhai Jiao said, Would the person I cultivated becking in anything? It was after the information was received that Chuchu sorted out everything and only then did she exin it to those rice-bucket idiots. Seeing the two boys helpless expression as they were scolded as rice-bucket idiots, Chuchu struggled hard not tough as she said, Long Quan Fu was built on the in. Inside the Fu [Mansion] the water is clear and abundant, it ispletely a hot spring. Thend produces famous rice, the grains character is soft and wriggle in the mouth, crystal white and shiny, famous beyond the Great Wall. It has always been the fatty meat that the Qidan people re like a tiger watching its prey. Luckily the Gaoli want to use it as a buffer between the Qidan and the Tujue, hence they are very supportive toward Bai Ziting. However, were it not for the internal strife between Tuli and Xieli, which greatly lessen the pressure on Bai Ziting, he would still not dare to found a country all of a sudden. The strongest opponents to this matter are the Eastern Tujue and the Qidan people. Therefore, the case of Bai Ziting founding a country will, naturally, not go smoothly. The result will be even more difficult to predict. Only this moment did the two boys have a little outline of the entire thing. Zhai Jiao joined in, That batch of furs of ours was acquired from the Huihe via Bai Ziting. He and I had seen each other once, the chat could be considered amiable, enough to strike friendship to do business. This man is quite ambitious; he himself Cboth in terms of intelligence and martial art skill are very much outstanding, definitely not a simple man. What is Tulis position on this matter? Kou Zhong asked. Chuchu said, He shouldnt want to see another power suddenly rising on the east side, but currently he has no time to care about it; he is powerless to interfere. Zhai Jiao said, The founding ceremony of the Jie Kingdom is going to be held at Long Quan Fu on the first day of the fourth month, less than two months away from now. The two of you must get things done for me by then. How could Da Xiaojie grasp the situation outside the Great Wall this clearly? Kou Zhong asked. Zhai Jiao proudly replied, By relying on friends. In doing business, I, Zhai Jiao, have always said one and meant just that [idiom: keeping ones word]; other than people who are harboring malicious intentions, who would not be willing to make friends with me? I wonder if Da Xiaojie has any friends that you specially trust on this side of the Great Wall? Xu Ziling asked. Chuchu replied, On the northern territory, other than Bei Ba Bang, there are also two big gangs and one big sect. Themon term is Three Gangs One Sect. The other two gangs are Wai Lian Bang [lit. Outside/External/Foreign Alliance Gang] and Sai Mo Bang [lit. Pass/Border Desert Gang]. The former has a man from the Xi Tribe Da Gonng as its leader, thetters longtou [big boss] is a Han named Jing Kang. Jing Kang has a very serious friendly rtions with Dou Ye, hence he is very supportive to us. Any wind blowing and grass moving outside the Pass, he would notify our branch office at Shanhai Pass, which then pass on the information via flying pigeon to us. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, That will work! What we arecking is the intelligencework concerning the area beyond the Great Wall; finally we get one. Xu Ziling asked, Is the Changbai Pais [Changbai Sect] Paizhu [Sect Leader] Zhi Shi Lang [the minister/official/youth who understood the world/lifetime/era, see Book 1 Chapter 10] Wang Bo? Snorting coldly, Zhai Jiao said, Who else but that old fellow? He said he would renounce striving for the world, yet he clearly created wind and set up rain everywhere. Some times ago unexpectedly he leaned on Yuwen Huaji for help, but afterwards seeing his prestige in decline, he was forced to slip back to Changbai with his tail between his legs. Perhaps this time Wang Bo has a share in dealing with us. Kou Zhong smiled and said, This is getting more and more interesting. Is it possible for Da Xiaojie to find us two of the best warhorses, highest quality bows and arrows, as well as a roll of road map with detailed geographic and terrain information? The two of us can guarantee that we wont disappoint Da Xiaojie. Xu Ziling added, And then whom should we contact at that time, please Da Xiaojie bestow the instruction. Everything you are asking is readily avable, Zhai Jiao replied, I just bought from the Tujue two best-quality purebred, high and flourishing ten thousand li horses [idiom: fine steed], unafraid of the bitter cold and the sandstorm outside the Great Wall. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, That will do! We will immediately set out tonight, to attack Bei Ba Bang and make them to be in a sorry state, along the way well have a taste of the sweet, fragrant and delicious rice. Ah! Chuchu eximed, revealing a disappointed expression. Obviously she did not expect Kou Zhong to leave this quickly. Even Xu Ziling did not understand why Kou Zhong was this anxious to leave. Only Kou Zhong had painstaking understanding of himself; because to him, Chuchus attractive power was simply too great, if he stayed one night longer, no one could tell what would happen. Zhai Jiao wanted to say something but then hesitated; in the end she nodded her head and said, Very well, you will leave tonight. I will arrange everything for you. Be careful, outside the Great Wall is unlike the Central ins, there are not many ces you can hide. All of a sudden you might fall into desperate situation due tock of food supplies and water shortage. Ten thousand fathoms heroic feeling was surging in the two boys heart at the same time, thinking that they would finally gain first-hand knowledge of the foreignnd and exotic customs that they heard from Old Bas mouth. When the time came, what would the scene look like? Book 38 - 2 – Piercing the Sun, Shooting the Moon Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong felt as if they were returning to the long-forgotten childhood years, where they were turning back to two big kids, with Little Lingzhong, who had just learned to walk, crawling around the floor mat giggling and frolicking, ying in extreme delight. This moment they no longer had the air of martial art masters contending for supremacy over the world; they bent their heads pretending to be an ox, pretending to be a horse, just to make Little Lingzhong happy. Watching from the side, Chuchu and various servants were pushing the wave and adding to the billows [idiom: adding fuel to the fire], the sound ofughter filled the inner hall. Suddenly Ren Jun came back to report, pulling the two boys back to the real world. The three went outside the door to speak. Ren Jun said, I wonder if two masters information is inurate, I went to investigate everywhere in the whole city, and still cannot find any business awaiting any consignment from Da Dao She. There is also no information that Da Dao She is going to deliver any goods to Leshou. The two cast a nce to each other; they both knew that Guan Ping had yed a trick on them. However, were it not for Guan Ping was lying to them saying that he was going to pass through Leshou, they would not havee on board his convenient boat and sail with the current; furthermore, they would not have be his scapegoats. Kou Zhong asked for details in Ren Juns investigation, to make sure that he did not overlook anything. Turning to Xu Ziling, he resentfully said, Lets consider that Guan Ping still has a bit of luck for now, but if he really is going to Shanhai Pass, we will have the opportunity to look for him and give him bad luck. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Supposing what he said is all crazy nonsense, I am afraid we wont be able to even touch his shadow. Dejected, Kou Zhong said, Cun Yi Gongs Ou Liangcai and Ri Sheng Hangs Luo Yi are both honest businessmen and good men; how could we have the heart to just stare without doing anything while they are being insidiously harmed by evil traitors? Listening to them, Ren Jun was enthralled. He said, Is it possible for two Yeer to tell me everything in details? Perhaps Xiaozi [this kid, referring to self] can think of something else. Thereupon Xu Ziling exined everything one time through. Ren Juns assertion was, Its not like Du Xings style at all; I am sure Guan Ping was talking rubbish. Ri Sheng Hangs dye is famous throughout the world, but various kingdoms outside the Great Wall have their own unique dying method; there is no reason why they wanted to purchase the goods by paying high prices over a long and difficult trek from the Central ins. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, I have guessed so! It must be Bai Ziting. He wholeheartedly wanted to learn the Central ins culture, plus the ceremony of founding the kingdom is at hand, naturally he needs a batch of authentic Huaxia [old name for China] goods in time. Xu Zilingughed and said, If thats the case, even if Guan Ping had a bad luck, he still has to protect himself, to guard against someone killing him en route and swallowing the goods, and make a lot of profit by doing business with Bai Ziting himself. Killing the man and swallowing the goods? Ren Jun said, No matter how reckless Meiyan Furen is, she will not dare to make her move inside the Pass. Therefore, as long as two Yeer can reach Shanhai Pass one step ahead of them, you will definitely be able to intercept them. The two thought that it highly made sense, so they had the weight off their mind. Such a big escortpany with branches all over the world like Da Dao She, they must have friendly rtions with gangs, societies, schools and sects in all parts of the country. Even if they had an ident, they would have enough resources to investigate clearly; only if the perpetrator was someone from outside the Pass and it happened in unfamiliar ces would they be unable to arrest although they devoted their efforts to do so. No matter from which angle they considered this matter, Guan Ping should wait until they were out of the Pass before he would dare to make his move. Suddenly remembering something, Kou Zhong asked Ren Jun, Is Hannguage popr outside the Pass? Ren Jun shook his head and said, Not many people know Hannguage, much less proficient in it. On the contrary, everybody knows a few Tujue words. The two felt big headache. If they set foot outside the Pass, wouldnt it mean that not only they be mute, they were practically deaf as well? Ren Jun said, Yeer, dont worry. Xiaozi is from Yulin [prefecture, Shaanxi]; when I speak Tujue, even Tujue people cannot tell that I am an outsider speaking the localnguage. As long as two Yeer speak with Da Xiaojie a bit, Xiaozi cane along to serve Yeer as trantor. Xu Ziling said, Xiao Jun [little Jun]ing with us should not be a problem, but you are onlying to Shanhai Pass. Along the way, you be our Tujuenguage Shifu, teaching us to understand Tujuenguage; I hope its not too difficult to learn? Although Ren Jun did not fully achieve his goal, but being able to apany the two boys for nearly half a month, he was already pleased beyond his expectations. Hurriedly he said that he definitely did not dare to be their Shifu. Kou Zhong grabbed him by the shoulder and looked at the saber hanging on his waist, and said with a smile, You are using saber, arent you? How about doing a couple of moves for us to see? Ren Jun knew that the two had the intention to give him directions; wild with joy, he hurriedly went to the spacious and empty courtyard in front of the building. Reverent and respectful, he bowed to salute the two, and then pulling out his saber, he demonstrated a couple of moves. For a short while the saber wind was whistling, evolving into the saturation realm where the person and the saber were fusing together, marvelous and pleasant to the eyes. Saber light stopped suddenly. Ren Jun prostrated himself on the ground and deferentially said, Two Yeer, please give pointers to Xiaozi. Kou Zhong helped him up and asked Xu Ziling, Ling Shao, what do you think? The refined light in his pair of eyes flickering, Xu Ziling sized Ren Jun up; nodding his head, he said, In terms of substance, quality, talent, and passion, everything is the choicest top of the top. Although presently its only a piece of unpolished gem, as long as it is carved and polished, it will be a fine jade, definitely a talent that can be built. He rarely spoke like this, relying on his seniority in talking toward someone in the position lower than himself. Only Kou Zhong understood the reason behind his seriousness. Kou Zhong shouted, The moment you, Ren Jun reached Shanhai Pass, you will be a different Ren Jun. Furthermore, you will have a chance to ascend to the throne of the northern territorys number one saber master. But do you know why we want to build you like that? Ren Jun was already listening with his heart and head burning hot as if he was on fire; copious hot tears were filing his eye socket, he shook his head. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Because we want to train a genuine martial art master to protect Da Xiaojie throughout her life, lest she get hurt again. Beyond his control, Ren Juns hot tears burst out of the eye socket, because his lifelong dream has finally had a chance to be a solid reality. The three started on their journey that very night. Zhai Jiao presented the two with Tujue treasured horses, extremely divine spirited horses, but toward their new masters, they were rather untamed and not docile at all. From time to time they were acting out, wanting to throw them off their back. But what kind of people Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were? No matter how the horses nearly give it their all, they were still sitting effortlessly on the horseback. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had spent a period of time at the Flying Horse Ranch. Living near Buddhist monk temple, one knew how to recite Buddhist scripture, much less inside the Buddhist monk temple. When the hard was over, the soft arrived. By daybreak they left the official road and came to a stream, where they let the horse to drink while they themselves scrubbed their coat, using the soft way to win over the horses heart. Ren Jun also took this opportunity to teach them Tujue spokennguage. The two boys were good schrs, erudite and had good memory. Ren Jun only needed to speak a few times, they were able to remember firmly; the ent and intonation were grasped urately without error, making Ren Jun gasp with admiration. Kou Zhong loved to serve the horse so much to part with it, he spoke earnestly to Xu Ziling, These are two treasured-horses, fine steeds that we own after Baier and Huier [see Book 4 Chapter 5]. What should we name them? Xu Ziling remembered their beloved horses that died tragically under Yuwen Wudis hands, an intense rage welled up in his heart. He decided that he would do everything in his power to protect the Tujue steed before his eyes; they would be goodpanion for the journey ahead. He smiled and asked, Does Shaoshuai have a good suggestion? Kou Zhong replied, People are most afraid to change bad name. Horses name also cannot be lightly changed; I need to think about it carefully first. Xu Ziling sized up Kou Zhongs jet-ck fine horse with rapt attention, and did not see a single strand of different-colored hair; he spoke indifferently, Devising the battle n in a tent, decisive battle is thousand li distant; isnt that your, Kou Shaoshuais dream? Why dont you name your horse Qian Li Meng [Thousand-li Dream]? Kou Zhong was slightly startled. Ren Jun by his side pped and praised, Ling Yes imaginative power is so quick, its definitely the crown of the world. This name is not only thought provoking, it also implies the meaning of a thousand-li daily travel. Certainly there is no better name than this. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Xiao Jun, perhaps because you have not been in contact with us for long that you did not know we do not like to be praised. Speaking about quick imaginative power, even if I patted the horses bottom [to urge it to run faster], I cannot chase after the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Even I also wanted to pat your horses bottom [i.e. boot-licking]. All right! Ill use the name Thousand-li Dream for my darling horse. Ren Jun could not help adding, There will be a day Shaoshuais dream will be reality; were it not for Shaoshuai making your move, who would be able to greatly defeat Li Mi, that mother thief? Kou Zhongughed and said, This is yourst time to pat the horses bottom, we want to learn your his mothers Tujuenguage; we dont have time to listen to patting-the-horses-bottom words. [Note: in Chinese, nguage and word are the same character.] Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Speaking about changing names, mine are Xiao Jing, Xiao Ning; yours are Mo Wei, Mo Yixin. Each one implies far more than your aspiration to travel ten thousand li far into foreignnd, the road should also be measured by ten thousand li. Although your horse is mainly brown, but you could see hidden within it strange patterns; how about calling it Wan Li Ban [Ten-thousand-li Spots]? Ren Jun did not dare to speak, he was afraid to be referred to as horse butts patter [i.e. bootlicker]. Xu Ziling thought deeply for half a day before agreeing, All right! From now on, my well-behaved horse will be called Ten-thousand-li Spots. I hope that when I am returning to the Central ins after a year, Thousand-li Dream and Ten-thousand-li Spots will have a chance to meet again. The person exists, the horse exists. Kou Zhongs heroic feeling rising vigorously, he rose to his full height and shouted loudly, Ren Jun! Ren Jun hastily sprang up and responded loudly, Xiaozis here! Throwing his head back, Kou Zhong let out a longugh. Suddenly he sent out a palm strike sweeping across Ren Jun. Naturally Ren Jun never expected that he would attack. Even if he guarded against the attack in full alert, he might not necessarily be able to block, much less he was caught off guard. Immediately he was thrown sideways and fell t on his back in utter defeat. As if nothing happened, Kou Zhong led the three horses to the green meadow by the stream to eat grass. Feelingpletely foolish, Ren Jun crawled up. Xu Ziling signaled him, hinting that he ought to run after Kou Zhong to hear what he had to say. Ren Jun was an astute person, otherwise he would not have risen above the others while he had just turned twenty, deeply won Zhai Jiaos favor that she doted on and trust him and put him in an important position. Naturally he understood that Kou Zhong was about to impart martial skill to him. Hastily running after Kou Zhong, he listened respectfully with head hung low. Standing with his hands behind his back, without even looking back, Kou Zhong said, Do you know why just now you did not have the slightest bit of power to block my attack so that you became a rolling gourd? Polite and modest, Ren Jun replied, Because Xiaozis martial art skill too low, naturally cannot stand Zhong Yes one strike. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Your saber technique actually can be considered not bad. If I wanted to put you in order, I am afraid I wont be able to do it in one or half move. Scratching his head, Ren Jun said, Then it must be because Xiaozi was not ready at all, I did not expect Zhong Ye would suddenly test me. Kou Zhong suddenly spun around like a whirlwind, his tiger-eyes shing brightly, he said, If that is the answer, you will never reach the realm of true martial art master all your life. Xu Ziling came to Ren Juns side and said with a smile, The most important thing in martial art training is xinfa. Our xinfa is called the Moon in the Well. Any time, any moment, we have to be like the clear water in the well, reflecting the movement of the sun and the moon, as well as any magical changes outside of the world. Therefore, there is practically no possibility of sudden and violent attack or sneak attack, because no changes can be hidden from us. Ren Jun sucked in a mouthful of cold air, but then he immediately spoke with longing in his voice, If I, Ren Jun, can achieve this kind of divine state, even if I had to die, I would do so willingly. Kou Zhongs expression suddenly turned gentle; putting his hand on the overwhelmed-by-favor-from-superior Ren Juns shoulder, he spoke gently, The water in the well, no victory, no defeat, no life no death, it has both passion and ruthlessness, it simply reflects any his mothers thing that it sees. If you understand it then you understand it. If you dont understand it then you dont understand. It is entirely depending on yourself, no one can help you. We can only take the responsibility to give you directions and train you. Xu Ziling said, Now, taking advantage of the time while the horses are resting, we will use the Long Life qi to open and expand the meridians in your entire body. This will not make your power to advance greatly, but it will guarantee the potential of your ascending to an even higher level. Ren Juns entire body shook severely, he prostrated himself on the ground, and spoke with a trembling voice, Obtaining such training from two Yeer, Xiaozi will definitely not fail what two Yeer entrust to me in the future. And that was how the days of the journey were passed. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling put aside all worries. Other than sleeping, they spent the rest of their time entirely to study Tujuenguage and equestrian archery, plus giving pointers on Ren Juns martial art training. When they shot the powerful arrow imbued by their true qi, it could prate a solid tree trunk. In just a ten-day period, they had mastered the horseback archery skill that they could shoot from any angle, use the fastest technique, continuously put up the arrows on the bow and release them, none did not hit the target, so that the nearly three hundred highest quality powerful arrows that they carried with them were nearly exhausted, hence they had no choice but to change strategy from traveling on the wild, mountainous country to going to a big city to procure a supply of arrows. Ren Jun was an old horse who knew the way home; he knew that in the capital of Gao Kaidaos Yan Kingdom, Yuyang [see Book 37 Chapter 4], there was a famous bow and arrow craftsman, who was known as Jian Dashi [lit. Great Master Arrow], specializing in manufacturing bows and fabricating arrows for people who were willing to pay the high price. This gentleman was also an imperial craftsman appointed by the Gao Kaidao himself; however, Gao Kaidao was not an outspoken and straightforward person, plus Jian Dashi loved to linger on the pleasure quarters and did not hesitate to stake a thousand pieces of gold on one throw [idiom: extravagant], hence he needed another source of extra ie and secretly struck business deal with gangs and societies people to supply them with bows and arrows. By this time the two boys were fascinated with their newfound skill of equestrian archery, thinking inwardly that they might as well rece their bows. Since the other party earned the right to be called Great Master, he ought to have a skill or two. Therefore, they werepletely in favor toward Ren Juns proposal. Under the two boys putting their heart and soul into induce and instruct, Ren Juns saber technique moved forwards inrge strides, stepping over one day, a thousand li [idiom: rapid progress]. Three men, each lost himself in training, the journey was not lonely at all. Treated well by Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the Thousand-li Dream and Ten-thousand-li Spots established deep emotional rtionship with the two boys, the two colts were sensitive and had good understanding of the two boys intention; riding on the horses back, they had a familiar feeling like the horses were their own flesh and blood. Zhai Jiao opened up a branch in Yuyang, specializing in sheepskin wholesale, the manager, Xing Wenxiu, was Zhai Rangs former subordinate, around thirty years old, although his martial art skill was so-so, he was very smart; in a few years he had established crucial rtionship with Yuyangs government officials, merchants, and various gangs and sects. He was getting on very well in the region. Hearing that Kou and Xu, two mens great selves were honoring him with their presence, he hurriedly received them wholeheartedly, inviting them to stay in his magnificent mansion at the southern part of the city. The three entered the city at dusk. During the dust-washing banquet that night, apanying them on the banquet table were Xing Wenxius left and right capable assistants Zhuang Hong and Liu Datian, also Zhai Rangs former subordinates, valiant generals in the battlefield under his personalmand in the olden days. After three rounds of wine, Xing Wenxiu asked, Zhong Ye and Ling Yes visit to Yuyang this time, will you visit Yan Wang [King of Yan]? Kou Zhong did not have any n to see Gao Kaidao. Knitting his brows, he said, Isnt Gao Kaidao a Tujues hunting dog? Tujue people and us are like water and fire; seeing him will only bring harm without any benefit. Xing Wenxiu said, That was then and this is now. Currently Tujues Tuli and Xieli are attacking each other, both refuse to concede to the other, Gao Kaidao no longer needs to look at the Tujues countenance to act. ording to the information I received, Gao Kaidao is considering his position and movements from this moment on. Two Dayes names shook the world, perhaps you could form a contract of alliance with him. This is indeed a rare opportunity. Recalling Zhang Jinshu, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, One day the battle between the Li n and Liu Wuzhou, Song JinGang is not concluded, Gao Kaidao should not make reckless decision. If the winning side is the Li Family, perhaps Gao Kaidao will surrender to the Li Family; but if the victor is Liu and Song, he will have no choice but to obediently be the Tujue peoples hunting dog. No matter what, it wont be my, Kou Zhongs turn. Zhuang Hong pped the table and said with a sigh, Shaoshuais view is urate and thorough; how could we not think through this matter deeply? Nodding his head, Xu Ziling said, Its better not to see Gao Kaidao, to avoid a new branch grows out of a knot. We came to Yuyang this time, other than to pay a visit and send our regards to gentlemen, we also wish to replenish our supply of some excellent quality strong bows and powerful arrows, so that we could retrieve Da Xiaojies sheepskin goods from Du Xings hands. Xing Wenxiu said, Thats not a problem, we have a batch of readily avable bows and arrows, all are highest quality goods. Lowering his voice, Ren Jun said, What the two Yeer have in mind was bows and arrows manufactured personally by Jian Dashi, not any ordinary highest quality goods. Xing Wenxiu cheerfully said, All of our bows and arrows are bought at high price from Jian Dashi; how about I send someone to get them so that two Daye can have a look? Liu Datian shook his head and said, Although our arrows and darts are not bad, they are entirely made by Jian Dashis apprentices. Compared to the ones that Jian Dashi personally select the material and put his hands to refine it, whether in term of durability or precision, there is still a great distance. I hear that throughout his life, Jian Dashi only made seven divine bows that he is very proud of. And now only two remain in his hands, the Piercing the Sun and the Shooting the Moon, which he regards as personal collection. Someone bid a thousand taels of gold, he still refused to part with his cherished possession. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Just by hearing the name, I know its not an ordinary article; I want these two. Xing Wenxiu and the others were dumbstruck and unable to reply. Greatly displeased, Xu Ziling said, Lets not talk about you do not have thousand taels of gold, even if you have more silver taels than that, the other party may not necessarily want to sell. Are you going to use force to rob other people? Revealing a difficult expression, Xing Wenxiu said, Jian Dashi has a strange temper; he does not care about anybody, including Gao Kaidao. Hey! I wonder if Zhong Ye can put up with it a bit and look at our inventory first? His pair of eyes lit up, Kou Zhong said, I definitely want to y with these Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon, to see what these divine bows look like. This matter is up to us to find a way, Xing Laoxiong only need to make arrangement for us to meet Jian Dashi, to let us persuade him. If it does not work then well forget about it, tomorrow morning well be on our way. Zhuang Hong looked at the sky outside the window, he said, To see Jian Dashi at this time, you need to go to Bai Hua Yuan [hundred flowers park]. He is infatuated by Bai Hua Yuans charmingdies. If he does not go there, he absolutely cannot sleep. Thinking about their pleasure-house luck, inwardly both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were feeling the situation was far from good; but the words have already left the mouth, plus they really wanted to have two a bit more decent good bows. Since they did not want and did not wish to take back their words, Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, We have no choice but to see hows our luck this time, right? Ling Shao? Book 38 - 3 – Husband and Wife Team of Evil Thieves Collectively, Yuyang, Anle, Beiping, Liaoxi and Zhuojun were known as the Five Big Cities of the Northeast Frontier. Because Gao Kaidao established Yuyang as his capital, Yuyang became chief among the five cities; it became the military, economic and trade center in the region. In term of scale, Yuyang was only half of Luoyang, Changan, that kind of metropolis. Themerce was concentrated on the main street connecting the north and south city gates. Spanning across the street were ten memorial arches and pavilions. Most of the buildings were single-story houses with roof tiles. The long street was simple and unadorned, but there were alsoyers of carved storied buildings, brimming with the atmosphere of a big city on the border. Due to Yuyang being the biggest ry station for post horses and trade center south of Shanhai Pass, there were many traveling merchants from both the south and the area beyond the Great Wall, people from everywhere mixing with one another C at the old city, so that it was prosperous and bustling with noise and excitement. With Xing Wenxiu leading the way, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and the others came to the north-south main street, where the decoratednterns had just been lit, strolling leisurely toward Bai Hua Yuan, located in the middle section, chatting and joking along the way, in a free and rxed manner. The six men divided themselves into two groups, Xing Wenxiu, Zhuang Hong, and Liu Datian in front, Kou Zhong, three men behind them. It was Kou Zhongs idea; whatever happened, the three of them could pat their butts and slipped away, while Xing Wenxiu and the others would still have to stay here to mingle, hence it would be best if they did not provoke any inconvenience. Therefore, when they arrived at the pleasure houses main gate, Xing Wenxiu and the others went home to wait for their news. Kou Zhong hid the Moon in the Well in the outer robe that Chuchu sewed for him, to avoid being too conspicuous. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around with great interest; the unfamiliar city gave him a novel sensation. Kou Zhong fell back a little to talk with Ren Jun, who was walking slightly behind to show respect to his superior; heughed and said, Xiao Jun, have you set a goal for yourself in life, such as bing a saber master, or perhaps taking a flowery beauty and start your family, to enjoy the happiness of the warm and delight of married life? Ren Jun caught up a step to walk by his side; he respectfully replied, I used to think only to manage well whatever Da Xiaojie is instructing me to do, until I have enough savings to build a big house, to get married and have children. But now I just want to follow good examples by mastering the xinfa of martial art that two Yeers imparted to me. Will this be considered a goal in life? But since I have this way of thinking, it is as if my entire person has shed my mortal body and exchanged my bones; I am indescribably happy. Kou Zhongughed and said, You are really shedding your mortal body and exchanging your bones. We can only train you ording to the way that we ourselves have walked past. Compared to before, your skill now has taken a few big steps. As long as you add realbat experience to temper yourself, very soon you will join the rank of front ranking martial art masters; perhaps one day you can even catch up with Xuan Yong. Ren Jun busily said, How could Xiaozi dare to bepared to Xuan Ye? This moment a group of men in warrior outfit was hurriedly rushing past them. Some of them constantly turned their heads to size up Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Looking at their attire, appearance and stature, they must be Tujue men. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling calmly responded to their unfriendly stare with a smile; the men then continued on. Do they recognize two Yeer? Ren Jun asked. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling replied, Whether they recognized us or not, we will find out very soon. Letting out a cold snort, Kou Zhong said, That kind of stuff is only good for Xiao Jun to practice his saber. Shaken, Ren Jun said, I am afraid it still wont work? Putting his hand on his shoulder, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Tujue mens martial art put emphasis on dauntless approach, heavy on the imposing manner, staking their lives to fight will all they have. If you are intimidated and scared by their momentum, youd better just return to Yulin to till the fields. Do you understand? Xu Ziling added, In a decisive battle against the enemies, you must set aside life or death outside the sphere of your consideration. Only by not fearing death, daring to confront death C will you be able to surpass death itself. Ren Juns expression rose vigorously. Sticking out his chest, he said, Xiaozi received the instruction! Kou Zhong said, Since you are about to fight, let me teach you how to endure saber cut! Caught off guard, Ren Jun stared nkly and blurted out, What? Kou Zhong calmly said, I am not joking with you, especially when facing numerous enemies, injuries are unavoidable, but how to reduce the injury to the lightest, not to let the vital part being hurt by the enemy, down to how to recover your qi to treat the injury while taking a beating, these are actually the abstruse knowledge of our school. By learning andprehending the know-how of those things we can recover a lot of blood loss. You must diligently study and grasp this knowledge. Respect arose from the bottom of Ren Juns heart. The more he was in contact with these two, the more he felt that they were different from ordinary people. Going to Bai Hua Yuan this time was to persuade Jian Dashi to give up two divine bows. But the two looked as if they were not anxious at all whether they would be sessful or not, they did not think about any gains and losses, neither did they discuss about how to deal with the situation when they met Jian Dashiter; instead, they took the opportunity to impart the martial art xinfa, which could be rated as outstanding in the present age C to him. Kou Zhong whispered the gems of wisdom in his ear. Ren Jun promptly listened attentively; he did not dare to miss even half a word. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ren Jun, three men swaggered into Bai Hua Yuans main entrance. Seeing Kou and Xu, two mens build, bearing, and countenance, which looked like immortals descending to the world, the five men guarding the door did not dare to be careless, hastily they weed them into the inner hall, and handed them over to the flowerdy procuress at the reception. Assuming a rich patron air, Kou Zhong stuffed heavy tip into her hand, and spoke in a low voice, Has my old friend Jian Dashi arrived? Clutching the silver tael in the palm of her hand, the flowerdys eyebrows were blooming, her eyes wereughing, she said, Of course Jian Dashi has arrived. Every day he is the first guest here. Turns out three Daye are Dashis old friends. How do we address Daye? Nujia will immediately pass on the news of Dayes arrival to him. Kou Zhong leaned over to whisper in her ear, Please pass it on for us, tell him that Kou Zhong is requesting an audience. Hearing that, the flowerdys entire body shook severely, Kou Shaoshuai? she blurted out. Inwardly Kou Zhong mused that turned out his name was so resounding that even a flowerdy of a pleasure house far away in the northern territory has also heard his fame for fighting prowess. He smiled and said, Go on then! But dont let anyone else know that I am here. Until this moment Ren Jun still did not know with what magic Kou Zhong was going to persuade the strange-tempered Jian Dashi; even more, he did not expect Kou Zhong was able to open the door of the mountain by pulling his big name and asking for an audience. He felt deeply that the twos actions were unfathomable, like troops appearing suddenly; no wonder that by turning their hands open they could make the clouds, by turning their hands close they could make the rain, leading the various outstanding heroes of the Central Earth by their nose. After the flowerdy left, the three sat down on the chair in one corner of the reception hall. It was still quite early in the evening, the pleasure house had just opened their door to wee the guests, so there were not too many guests around; the house was quiet. Kou Zhong asked Xu Ziling, Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling responded indifferently, He thinks there is no better way to numb himself than going to the pleasure house every night like this; otherwise, he ought to have more time to create more divine bows like Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon. Nodding his head, Ren Jun said, A ce like pleasure house, the more you go, the more it will disgust you. Kou Zhongughed and said, Turns out Xiao Jun is also a frequent visitor to the pleasure house. Lowering his voice, Ren Jun said, Ive only been there a few times; please, you must never tell Da Xiaojie. If she finds out, I am finished. He could not help asking, How is Zhong Ye going to talk with Jian Dashi? Kou Zhong spread out his hands and spoke calmly, I dont know yet; when we see him, well change ording to the situation! Shes back! Twisting and swaying, wheezing lightly, the flowerdy rushed back, saying, Dashi requests the pleasure of seeing the three gentlemen! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other and smiled; they felt deeply that they were no longer the General Lu Meng of the olden days. As soon as they revealed their illustrious names, even a man with strange character like Jian Dashi would have to give them a little bit of face. Jian Dashi was actually younger than they thought; he was around forty-five, forty-six years old, half-bald, his long neck seemed to be straining to support his big head alone, he kept two nting-down ash-colored mustache, his eyes looked tired and thoughtful, the skin on his face was loose, his belly was swollen; his uninspired appearance was like someone who indulged himself in wine and women all year long, there was not the least bit of great master who made bow and arrow air on him. The room still had residual scent of women; obviously Jian Dashi had just sent away thedies who apanied him in order to receive the three men. Seeing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, only at first nce did his pair of eyes light up with refined light, but very quickly it turned back to that kind of every-hope-turned-to-dust, his-heart-like-a-dead-tree beaten expression. He spoke indifferently, I am just a nobody in Jianghu; the two gentlemen toiled your good selves in vain. Have a seat! Kou Zhong, three men sat down. After some pleasantries, Kou Zhong took out the Moon in the Well from inside his robe, and put it down on the table in front of Jian Dashi. Smiling, he said, Dashi, please look over. Without even looking, Jian Dashi took out his pipe, leisurely stuffed it with tobo, and lit it up with his heart and soul. Taking a deep pull, he puffed out the smoke, looked apathetically at Kou Zhong, and said, Not only I have no interest in saber, even with bow and arrow I am also fed up. If Shaoshuai came to ask me for some bow and arrow, I am afraid you will have to return in disappointment. Ren Jun was confused even more. He did not understand that Kou Zhong came to ask something, but unexpectedly he presented his saber for Jian Dashi to look over? Xu Ziling gazed out of the window, as if he neither heard nor questioned, without the slightest interest on whatever was going on before his eyes inside this wing room. Kou Zhong was unconcerned about Jian Dashis indifference; still smiling full of encouragement, he said, This saber has a touching tale behind it, when Dashi look at it, you will understand. Jian Dashi revealed a disdain look, he coldly said, Shaoshuai need not waste your scheme. I dont care how much Shaoshuai is offering, I will never sell those two broken down bows, which busybodies added washes of color to a painting, exaggeratingly giving a false picture of the situation. Besides, I have already thrown away those two bows, which created distress to everybody. If Shaoshuai has nothing else to say, please let me quietly pass this night in peace. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, To be quite honest, with all the money I have on me, I am afraid I cannot even afford to buy half a bow from you; therefore, I basically do not want to spend any money to buy your fine bow. Moreover, in my, Kou Zhongs eyes, those two bows of yours are not only broken down bows, they are also trash bows. A hint of smile escaped from the corner of Xu Zilings mouth; he appeared to have grasped Kou Zhongs strategy and trick. Jian Dashi was slightly startled, but quickly his pair of eyes shot indignant, enduring disgrace C look; he spoke heavily, Since thats the case, what is the real reason Shaoshuai is looking for me? Were it not for me respecting the two of you as exceptional heroes, I would immediately ask you to leave. Leaning backfortably into his chair, the divine light in his pair of eyes shing, Kou Zhong said, This saber of mine is actually also a piece of scrap iron, once Dashi take a look, you will see it. Jian Dashi stared at Kou Zhong with full attention; for the first time a little bit of life and some interest to other things returned to his pair of eyes. While Ren Juns mind was in total confusion, Jian Dashi shook his head and said with a sigh, Kou Zhong is indeed Kou Zhong, not someone who is ordinary people couldpare to. His right hand grasped the scabbard, his left hand grabbed the saber hilt, he pulled the Moon in the Well out of its sheath. Naturally the Moon in the Wells outward appearance was something that left people less than impressed. At first Jian Dashi was stunned, but then his eyes lit up brightly. His right hand put down the scabbard, he ran his finger tips lightly long the body of the saber, he sighed and said, How can this be a piece of scrap iron? Just by looking at the hidden, unexposed helix metal grains, I knew that this was cast by a saber master. The choice, highest quality metal material is oozing with the mysterious feel of the steel that has undergone many steps in the forging process before it waspleted. And the heat control during the tempering process was just right. The dull finish hides its exquisiteness; this is indeed a rare outstanding work. The de is formed in double-angle arc; not only it is good to be used in chopping and hacking, its formidable power in straight stab is also boundless. This kind of t and level, smooth surface, even from the edge of the de to the thick back broadsword is ground without any ridges, this fabrication technique has been lost for a long time. This remark finally put the great master air of the Jian Dashi [Arrow Great Master] in full disy. When he spoke, his demeanor turned lively, radiating with a burst ofing-from-beneath-the-surface zeal and pride, lofty quality, no-man, no-self [anatta, a Buddhist concept]; just like Lei Jiuzhi looking at the dice and gems on the gambling table, or Hou Xibaiing across a beautiful woman. It would be difficult for Kou Zhong and the others to associate him with a man addicted to wine and women any longer. But then he returned the saber into its scabbard, and he was back to his previous expression of not having any interest in anything. His voice weary, he said, That was certainly a touching tale; the saber is good, the person is better! Kou Zhong calmly said, This saber is still a piece of scrap iron. Stunned, Jian Dashi asked, How could such a good saber be a piece of scrap iron? Ren Jun started to understand a little. To move someone like Jian Dashi, one must begin with something that fascinates him. Kou Zhong retrieved the Moon in the Well. Qiang! he pulled the saber out. While the ringing was still lingering in the air inside the side room, Xu Ziling suddenly brushed his sleeves all around; all fournterns inside the room went dark at the same time. It should be noted that these fournterns were insidempshade protecting it from the wind. Xu Zilings technique in using the power was so ingenious that made others gasped in amazement. Jian Dashi was unable to make any sense of the matter. The Moon in the Well in Kou Zhongs hand suddenly glowed with bright yellow light. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Only when this saber is in my, Kou Zhongs hand, will the piece of scrap iron turn into heavenly arm, divine weapon. Because of me, Kou Zhong, the name of the Moon in the Well will then able to go down in history for a thousand years, a hundred generations. Qiang! The Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard. The yellow light disappeared. But the impression of the saber light suddenly ring, ordinary iron suddenly bing divine weapon C has already embedded deeply in the spectators heart. Ren Juns blood was boiling. He finally understood the method Kou Zhong was using to persuade Jian Dashi. Combined with Xu Zilings cooperation, it was brimming even more with dramatic, shocking-to-the-core feeling. The dark room turned to light again, as the moonlight from outside the window prating the inside, causing them to notice the beautiful scenery under the bright moon outside for the first time, which has actually been ignored before today. Jian Dashi neither spoke nor moved. He met Kou Zhongs intimidating gaze. The two looked at each other for half a day, neither one wanting to yield the slightest bit. Suddenly Jian Dashi shouted, Pour wine! Having the lowest status, Ren Jun busily got up to pour wine for everybody. Jian Dashi looked away to stare intently at the good wine pouring into the cup. He sighed and said, I have never seen anybody more convincing than Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong. Have two gentlemen ever heard a ce called Shiwei? Shiwei? Kou Zhong said in astonishment, Such a strange name. Does it belong to some kingdom outside the Pass? Ren Jun spoke in low voice, Shiwei is located east of Western Tiele and Tujue, and south of Qidan and Xi. Jian Dashis eyes emitted a grieving expression, he slightly nodded in praise toward Ren Jun first, and then said, Shiwei is located at the upper reaches of Heishui [ck river], upying the lower reaches of Heishui as it is going out to sea [note: the upper/lower reaches part does not make sense to me, but its what the text says]. Heishui is the biggest river outside the Great Wall. Shiwei isprised mainly of four big tribes of Shiwei division, which is Bo [earthenware bowl/monks alms bowl] Shiwei, Da [big] Shiwei, Bei [north] Shiwei, and Nan [south] Shiwei. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, As long as it is notmitting any crime against thew, or harming the Heavens harmony, Dashi may speak it out, I, Kou Zhong, will definitely do it for Dashi. Jian Dashi angrily said, Defiling other peoples wife, upying other peoples family property, the kind of man whose death is not enough to be begrudged, would killing him be considered harming the Heavensw? The more he spoke the louder he got; the more he spoke the more upset he was, until in the end his pair of eyes turned very red, as if a soluble rock hidden deep beneath the earths surface, pressed down again and again, was erupted out from the volcanic crater. The three stared nkly at him. Jian Dashi turned dejected, he said, Forget it! Forget it! There is no reason for you to risk your life for me. Buried in the ground, those two broken down bows of mine are going to be wasted anyway; good bow needs wise master, how about I give them to you? Xu Ziling finally opened his mouth, Certainly everybody has the right to punish this kind of crafty scoundrel; not killing him would be viting the Heavensw. I wonder if Dashi could tell us a bit more details. Jian Dashi looked like he was aging a few more years; his face was devoid of the color of blood, he slowly said, It was the summer of seven years ago. At that time I was at Shanhai Pass, opening a factory, specializing in manufacturing bows and arrows. I had just married a wife as beautiful as a flower, life was good. One day there was a man who called himself the Shiwei Wang Zu [king of tribe], Shen Mohuan, leading arge number of entourage,ing to buy goods from me. On the surface, I saw him as a talented man, his manner of speech was abundant with poise and generosity, plus the goods purchased was going to be used to deal with the Tujue thieves whom I detest the most. On top of that, he painstakingly fawned on me, so that I went so far as to invite him inside the house, I considered him as a close friend. Who would have thought ... ay! Who would have thought that this man had the heart of a wolf and lungs of dog [idiom: cruel and unscrupulous]? Ay! Severely shaken, Ren Jun said, Isnt Shen Mohuan the Bangzhu of Shiwei Sha Bang [Shiwei sand gang]? Together with his wife Mu Ling, they are known as Husband and Wife Team of Evil Thieves? Outside the Great Wall, this mans stinky name has spread far and wide, the bunch of robbers under his leadershipe and goes like the wind, no one can do anything about them. I hear that they received Xielis support in the dark, wreaking havoc in Liaobei [north of Liaoning], killing countless people. How could Dashi be deceived by him? Full of grief, Jian Dashi said, At that time he was indeed the Wang Zu of the South Shiwei, his evil reputation was unclear yet. It was not until the South Shiwei was defeated by the Big Shiwei that he began to sink down to dramatic banditry. One night he deliberately made me drunk, defiled my wife Xiao Juan, and robbed my collection of bows and arrows until nothing was left, before he went away like a yellow crane. Since then poor Xiao Juan fell gravely ill, and never recovered; in the end, harboring hatred, she passed away. Oh, Shen Mohuan! The enmity between me and you is such that we cannot live under the same sky. Listening to him Kou Zhongs righteous indignation filled his breast; he spoke heavily, I dont want to carry his stinky head back with me. Is there anything that I can bring back so that Dashi can pour wine on the ground as a sacrifice for your deceased wife in heavens spirit, and Sao Furen [lit. madam sister-inw] in the Nine Springs [underworld in Chinese mythology] can rest in peace? Shaken, Jian Dashi said, You are really willing to demand this debt of blood back for me? This is not an easy thing at all; two gentlemen must be preupied by your honorable affair. Ay! Xu Ziling said, We came to ask for bows and arrows this time, precisely because we want to go outside the Pass. Dashi, rest assured that even if Kou Zhong does not have time, I will definitely seek justice for Dashi. Jian Dashis pair of eyes brightened, his whole person like it was returning to life. Rising to his full height, he said, We leave immediately to get Extinguished Sun and Perished Moon, two bows out of their burial ce. During that time, were it not for these bows were hidden separately, they would have fallen into this evil thiefs hands as well. Stunned, Ren Jun said, Arent they called Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon? Jian Dashi proudly said, One day Shen Mohuan has not died, the two bows will be called extinguished and perished. Kou Zhong raised his cup and said, Dashi has not told Xiaodi the token of evidence to restore the two bows to their former names. With trembling hands Jian Dashi picked up the wine cup and said, If you could bring the Flying Cloud bow that he took away back, the name Extinguished Sun and Perished Moon will be changed back to Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon. The four men raised their cups and drained it in one gulp. Their ears already heard the thunderous hoof beats of the Sha Bang [Sand Gang] bunch of thieves galloping along on the desert. Book 38 - 4 – The Anle Tragedy Swish! The powerful arrow left the Extinguished Sun Bow, like a streak of lightning it shot toward Xu Ziling, standing five hundred paces away, holding a shield in his hand. Dang! With an ear-splitting clear ringing noise, both the arrow and the iron shield shattered into pieces at the same time. As if nothing had happened, Xu Ziling brushed away the debris on his clothes and said with a smile, It is indeed a divine bow. Watching that, Ren Jun and Jian Dashi were dumbstruck. Before then, they never would have thought that Kou Zhong could shatter an iron shield five hundred paces away. Such archery method, and the strength behind it, could be considered unrivaled in the world. This was the wide archery practice field next to Jian Dashis factory. After unearthing the divine bows he buried at the rear court, Jian Dashi move the troops here to test the bows. The Extinguished Sun and Perished Moon bows were not made of ordinary wood. The body of the bow was reinforced using special strands of steel wire twisted around it, which not only increased its sticity, but made it iparably solid as well. The best feature was that it could be folded into three sections, so that it was easy to store. The bowstring was made of fine steel wire. It was indeed the work of seizing-the-heaven skill; no wonder there were people willing to bid a thousand taels of gold for it. Ordinarily, a bow requiring thirty stones of force to pull could already be considered extraordinary. The Extinguished Sun and Perished Moon were two-hundred-stone strong bows; those with a bit less strength would not be able to pull. Yet Kou Zhong was able to casually pull the bow into a full moon, which already stunned Jian Dashi. Kou Zhong loved it so much that he did not want to part with it. ying with the divine bow in his hands, he clicked his tongue in wonder and said, Unexpectedly there is such an amazing bow in the world; it is really beyond anybodys expectation. Xu Ziling walked over toward the three men, Extremely formidable, hemented, If I did not use the power to protect my body, I am afraid I would have been shocked to injury. But if I injected my true qi into the shield, the one shattered would be the arrow. Kou Zhong said, If I have an endless supply of arrows, even if the opposite side has many men, a great force, caught off-guard, they would surely suffer a big loss. In the desert, on the prairie,bined with the horses speed, the shooting range will be twice as good as the enemys, I guarantee we will be able to kill Shen Mohuans Sha Bang, turning them into rivers of blood, in utter defeat. Jian Dashi came back to his senses. He sighed and said, Only two gentlemen are worthy to use my Extinguished Sun and Perished Moon. If two gentlemen can use these to shoot dead Shen Mohuan, I will be very grateful. Kou Zhong patted his shoulder and spoke earnestly, Since Dashi has this desire, we will definitely give consideration to your wish. It was as if Jian Dashi has be a different person. Excited, he said, You wait here for a moment, I will be back soon. Finished speaking, he returned to the factory. Kou Zhong handed the Extinguished Sun to Ren Jun and said, Treasured bow is not easy to find, Xiao Jun, you give it a try. Ren Jun raised the bow and pulled the string; straining, he pulled only halfway, and already he had to stop since his strength was exhausted. The bowstring vibrated back and forth on the bow, creating a buzzing noise. His face turned beet-red, he said in disgrace, I still do not have the qualifications to use this bow. Xu Ziling raised his own Perishing Moon Bow and said with a smile, Pulling the bow, you cant used your arms dead force; you must use true qi concentrated through the whole body, using the strength of the entire body to pull the bow, like this. Just like Kou Zhong, he effortlessly pulled the bow into a full moon. Ren Jun calmed his qi down, he was quiet for a moment, and then slowly pulled the bow. This time, sure enough, he managed to pull the bowstring open. In his great delight, his qi immediately leaked out, he hurriedly let go, while blurting out, Xiaozi benefits from the instruction! Seeing how he was receptive to their teaching, Kou Zhong cheerfully said, The only thing youck right now is some realbat experience; when we get to Shanhai Pass, you must give Du Xing a nice surprise, let him know that its a mistake to assume that there is no talent under Da Xiaojiesmand. Ren Jun wanted to say something but then hesitated. Xu Ziling said, Whatever it is you wanted to say, you might as well say it. Hanging his head down, Ren Jun said, Being together with two Yeer for some time is the happiest moment in Xiao Juns life; if two Yeer bestow permission, Xiao Jun wishes toe with two Yeer outside the Pass to gain experience, while also serving two Yeer in everyday life and take care of the horses. Kou Zhong said, If we let youing with us taking risks outside the Pass, we will only bring harm to you. If you can strive untiringly, in two years your saber technique will achieve small sess; besides, Da Xiaojie needs a martial art master like you by her side. Trust us! This is your best choice, going to Shanhai Pass is enough for you. Ren Jun could not hide his disappointment, but he still bent his head and received the instruction, Xiaozi follows your orders, he said. This moment Jian Dashi came back; his steps were light and quick, his left and right hands each carried a bulging bag, he said, These are my specially cast hollow iron bullets, very difficult to aim urately, but of course to you guys there shouldnt be any problem. Each pouch contains three hundred pieces, they couldplement the arrows if you dont have enough. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong picked one bullet from the pouch. Lifting it high in front of his eyes, heughed aloud and said, This time there will be a lot of people outside the Great Wall who are going to encounter disaster! Xu Ziling folded the Perished Moon Bow and hid it in the pocket inside his robe. pping his as-empty-as-anything hands, he said, We might as well dont carry any arrows, use the iron bullet to take the enemy, and when the iron bullets are exhausted, we could randomly find some tree branches and use them as arrows. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, Why make so much trouble? After killing the enemy, wont we have an endless supply of arrows? Jian Dashi threw his head back andughed heartily; his extreme delight swept away his deep gloomy air. Sessful in acquiring the bows, they returned to the Mansion. Xing Wenxiu, Zhuang Gong, and Liu Datian naturally did not expect it. Seeing the ghost-axe miracle of the two folding bows, they were even more amazed. Kou Zhong remembered something. He exined the Da Dao She affair to Xing Wenxiu, and asked whether he had a way to scout some information. Xing Wenxiu said, Yuyang and Beiping are escort agencies two big stations standing side-by-side left and right of the border fort; they will always stop either here or there. Such a big escort agency like Zhong Ye described, you only need to check guest houses and inns, you will immediately find what you are looking for. Let Xiuwen go to investigate immediately. The three took this opportunity to freshen up. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling went to see their two beloved horses to spend some time to pet them, before going to the small hall in the inner residence to talk. After sitting down, Kou Zhong said, It looks like our trip outside the Great Wall this time is specifically on an assassination mission. On the list, other than Du Xing, Hu Yanjin and Han Chaoan, there is also Shen Mohuan, this Xu Ziling said, Shen Mohuan is a man whose death cannot wipe out his crimes. If Du Xing is really the Tujues hunting dog, he also must die. As for Hu Yanjin and Han Chaoan, whether they are rted to the sheepskin robbery, even Da Xiaojie herself is still unclear. We must proceed with caution. Kou Zhong said, Hu Yanjin is Qidan horse thief. Just look at Ku Ge! A grandiose son of a king, unexpectedly he went to the Central Earth as a bandit to kill people and rob their belongings. The rest can be imagined. Xu Ziling said, Old Ba was also a horse thief; is he a good person or a bad person? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Honestly, until now, I am still unclear whether Old Ba is a good man or a bad man. Xu Ziling said, I just want to remind you that although we must not be softhearted toward those who ought to be killed, we should not presumptuously kill the innocents as well. To Han people, Hu Yanjin is a horse thief who is wicked beyond redemption, but to his own tribesmen, Hu Yanjin could very well be a national hero. How many good things have we, Han people, done for them? Just think about Yang Guang sending military expedition far away to Gaoli, majestically leading his mothers more than a million strong army, setting off from Zhuoxian, their route took them across Qidan, Shiwei, and other ces where these outer tribes roam and live; how enormous was the damage and destruction that they caused? I heard that when the Sui Army entered Gaoli capital Pingrang [Pyongyang], due to Sui Army wantonly raped and plundered the people, the discipline of the army was so bad, unexpectedly they were unable to regroup and form battle formation, the ambushing Gaoli army in the middle of the city seized the opportunity to strike back, and dealt serious blow to the Sui Army. Nianging to the Central ins to assassinate Yang Guang, it was precisely because Gaoli peoples hatred toward us was as deep as the ocean. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, You are right. I was only thinking of spreading out my divine might, to test the Extinguished Sun Bows formidable power. We see them as robbers, perhaps they are just protecting their own people. Ay! The moment the des are shing against each other, must we still speak aboutpassion, duty, propriety and integrity with them, to borate the reasons why they shouldnt be killed? Dont overdo it, Xu Ziling said, I am just pointing out that we should act cautiously and must not randomly open the monastic discipline against killing. Currently, it is only because the Central Earths nation is in chaos, its power weak C that one after another various outside tribes are striking back at us, Han people. This kind of dispute and hatred is not something that can be resolved in one morning or half a night. In the future, if you be a hegemon in the Central in, you must try to build good rtions with outside tribes; everybody live and coexist in peace, then I wont be worried when you be the emperor. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, The emperor! Ay! The night before yesterday I dreamed about Luoyang being captured, everybody died except me, alone, I staked everything to escape, but my pair of legs refused to obey my order. Fortunately, I woke up before Li kid managed to overtake me. Xu Ziling was silent and did not say anything. Kou Zhong was puzzled, he said, Turns out wanting to be the emperor, I cant even have a good dream; why didnt you take the opportunity to persuade me to give up contending over the world? Xu Ziling stared at him fixedly for half a day. He shook his head and said, Although your mood fluctuation is easy to rise and easy to fall, but coursing through your body is ambitious and aggressive blood. No matter what blow you receive, you are able to recover very quickly. This time you are going outside the Great Wall, the main purpose is to stealthily learn cavalry battle skill from the Tujue, simply because you have witnessed the Tang Armys formidable might, realizing that if you dont catch up urgently, you might fail and being wiped over the floor on the battlefield. Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes shone, heughed and said, Nobody knows me better than Ziling. Precisely because no one thinks highly of me that I must bestir myself, to strive unremittingly. Ha! If my power is great and Li kid is weak, perhaps I would let him have the title as the emperor. Xu Ziling smiled bitterly without saying anything. Xing Wenxiu came back at this time, sat by the two and said, I found a secret society member who is familiar with Da Dao Shes affair. Unexpectedly he did not know about the escort job this time; evidently Da Dao Shes method in escorting the goods this time is unusual, very likely they are not going to enter any big city, to keep their route a secret. Kou Zhong said, In that case well settle the ount with those swindlers when we get to Shanhai Pass. Xing Wenxiu said, I also received another information: because of the Anle Tragedy, the section of the road from here to Shanhai Pass might surge like a gathering storm, fights break frequently. What is Anle Tragedy? Xu Ziling asked. Xing Wenxiu replied, Anle County is another big city north of Yuyang. The biggest secret society in the city is Anle Bang [gang]. The Bangzhu, Lu Ping, is a person of virtue and prestige, with a vast circle of friends, obtaining respect from others. Because he was tracking down a robbery case with violence, he offended Lang Gu [wolf valley] people. Unexpectedly the Lang Gu bunch of robbers, taking martial art masters with them, sneaked into the city, and in one night massacred Lu Pings family, from top to bottom, more than a hundred people, even young children and pregnant women did not escape. They also burned Lu home into ashes; the fire even spread to neighboring homes and destroyed dozens of houses. The number of innocent victims reaches several hundred. This matter provoked northern territory Wulins public indignation. For the first time in history, the gangs and societies who had always done things each in their own way C unite to seek justice for the dead. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked into each others eyes, both could see the murderous aura in the others eyes. Unexpectedly there were such savage and brutal people in the world. Where is this Lang Gu? Xu Ziling asked. Xing Wenxiu replied, Lang Gu is just a small vige where the Hungry Wolf Cui Wang came from. The wolf-bandits under hismands whereabouts is stealthy, theye and go like the wind, their specialty is robbing the traveling merchantsing and going through the border, those who resist will be killed without mercy, during their operation they always wear ck hood and mask, afterwards they simply scattered everywhere, so they could be anybody around you. Although Gao Kaidao is offering huge reward, he still fails to arrest them and bring them to justice. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, How many are they? They cant possibly have smooth sailing each time they make their move; as long as we can catch one or even half, wont we be able to track down the rest? Xing Wenxiu said, No one knows for sure how many they are, so much so that whether Cui Wang is a real or fake name, no one knows. And every time they are making their move, it was always well-nned; therefore, until now, not even half has been caught. Kou Zhong said, I heard that Gao Kaidao is not loaded; how much reward he can afford to offer? Xing Wenxiu replied, The bounty is donated by the rich merchants of various towns, anyone with information that leads to Cui Wangs arrest could get three thousand taels of gold, plus will be exempted from any liability. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned. Under such a heavy reward, unexpectedly there was no brave soul? This matter is highly unusual, Xu Zilingmented, If the robbers under Cui Wangsmand are only after wealth, inevitably there will be someone coveting these three thousand taels. From this, it could be seen that these wolf-bandits are really not simple; they are robbing not just because of money. Xing Wenxiu was shaken; he said, Ling Yes way of thinking is unique; nobody has ever thought about that aspect, we thought that it was because Cui Wangs men are afraid of reprisal that no one dares to report. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, How did Cui Wang deal with the goods that they robbed? Eventually he must attempt to unload it. This way there would be a trace that could be followed. Since he provoked public anger, it shouldnt be that easy for him to get away. Xing Wenxiu sighed and said, This is the point that Cui Wang gives us the most headache; no one has ever able to touch even half of his edge. Xu Ziling said, If wey out all the cases that he has done and examine it, there must be a thread that we can draw. For example, what kind of goods he took a fancy on, the time of the crime, the frequency, and so on. There must be some spiders thread and horse track that can be found. From the bottom of his heart Xing Wenxiu admire the two boys unique views; he said, After listening to two Dayes analysis, I suddenly feel that Cui Wang is not without any trace that we can follow. Next step, perhaps the Zong Xunbu [Chief Constable] Qiu Nanshan, whom Gao Kaidao appointed to be in charge of Cui Wangs case, would be able to tell clearly how many robberies he hadmitted and the details surrounding those cases. Heaving a deep sigh, Kou Zhong said, I hope we would have the luck toe across him head-on along the way! That would be called Lao Tian [God/Heavens] has eyes. Daybreak the next morning, the city gate was open wide. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ren Jun, three men rode their horses out of the city, to continue on their journey. The weather suddenly changed. Dark clouds were low in the sky, heavy rain was brewing; it was quite different from the lovely spring sunshine of thest several days. Kou Zhong spoke out his mind, saying, No wonder Bai Laofuzi [see Book 1 Chapter 1] often said than reading ten thousand scrolls of book is not as good as traveling ten thousand li of road. How did we know that in the city of Yuyang there is a great master [orig. jujiang C great master of literature/music, art] in making bows and arrows? We even obtained fine bows that can be folded into the same size as Old Hous folding fan, the Fan of Beauty. This is called you cant gain knowledge without practical experience; at least we know that there is a ce called Shiwei. Xu Ziling nodded, indicating that he had simr feeling. Turning to Ren Jun, he asked, On the way to Shanhai Pass, what other ces are we going to pass? It depends on what two Yeer have in mind, Ren Jun replied, We could go straight along the official road; if we dont want to go into Anle then we could pass Yin Ma Yi [not sure if it is a name, literally means the ry station to give the horses a drink], and straight into Shanhai Pass. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that even if they went to Anle, they could not catch that savage hungry wolf anyway; in order to avoid a new branch growing out of a knot, he said, In order to stay ahead of Da Dao She, we could spend the night in any town. Along the way they came across several traveling merchants, with whom they exchanged some friendly greetings, as well as some news about the road ahead. The two had begun their study in Tujuenguage, so under Ren Juns, this fine teachers guidance, the three have been able to chat in simple Tujuenguage. By dusk that day the three branched off of the official road, and stopped to rest at the foot of a small hill, to let the horses eat grass. Surprisingly, although the sky was overcast all day long, there was no rain. But the weather turning nasty was an indisputable fact. After building bonfire, the two chewed on the vegetable and meat steamed buns prepared for them by Xing Wenxiu. Kou Zhong brought up Cui Wang, he analyzed, Lu Ping was the Piao Bazi [gang leader (Courtesy of Akw)] of Anle Countys biggest gang; his martial art skill couldnt be too bad, in his mansion there must be martial art masters as numerous as the clouds, plus Anle was his territory, how could they be massacred that not even half a person slipped away? This matter does not make sense at all. Ren Jun said, Could it be that Cui Wang is an expert in using poison? That way, other than genuine martial art masters who were able to expel the poison out of their bodies, the rest could only get trampled on and were unable to escape. Kou Zhong praised, Xiao Jun finally disy your talent. In everything, as long as we think deeply, we will be able to spin silk from cocoons [fig. to make a painstaking investigation], we will always obtain some unexpected result. Xu Ziling said, Is it possible that they were using some firearms that can release poison gas like the Divine Fire Flying Crows like the ones the Sha Family manufactured? That possibility is indeed great, Kou Zhong said, If the firearm was shot into the house, certainly its formidable power was endless. At that time the weather was still extremely cold, anybody would close the doors and windows tight. Ren Jun said, Too bad we must hasten on with our journey. Otherwise, with two Yeer undertaking the task, I guarantee that Cui Wang, who is strung through and filled with evil, will be difficult to escape the wrath of Heaven. Pointing to the northwest direction, he said, Anle is over there; taking a straight line about a hundred li in the northeast direction is the Yin Ma Yi, thest ry station for post horses before Shanhai Pass. The hot spring to water the horse is famous throughout the northern territory. Yin Ma Shack is the lodging ce that the traveling merchants praise; the Laobanniang dy boss] in charge of that ce is called Sao Niangzi [lit. flirty (older) woman]. Although she is a bit old, her flirtatious charm enters deep into the bones, there is no man who met her that is not swooned by the billow. Pleased beyond his expectations, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such a good ce here; before dusk tomorrow we ought to reach Yin Ma Yi, we should copy An Long, soaking our bodies into the hot spring water, to see whether inside the spring water, our training will have another strange efficacy. Xu Ziling casually asked, What is the main diet of the people outside the Great Wall? Ren Jun replied, For the most part their food and drink have something to do with goat; from the goats milk, they make foodstuff of each color and each form. Theres milk tofu, milk skin, milk fruit, milk liquor, milk tea; the smell is very strong. Personally Id rather have air-dried goat meat and wild garlic chives [Allium tuberosum, aka Chinese chives] to stuff the steamed buns. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Jun is more experienced and knowledgeable than us; hows the weather outside the Pass? Ren Jun said, The best time in term of weather north of the border is the transition between spring and summer. Right now its a bit cold, and in the summer its going to be too hot. Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted the galloping-spirit expression as he said, I heard that outside the Great Wall, not only there is a great desert, there is only a great prairie; is that right? Ren Jun replied, The terrain outside the Great Wall is unusual. All the prairies are on the teau, the Great Gobi Desert is to the west of the prairie. The eastern part of the prairie is the widest. The locals say that the sun raises from the eastern part of the prairie, and it will take the entire sichen to illuminate the entire prairie. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air. It was only then did they realize that in such a vast area that they were not familiar with, finding a group of horse thief like Shen Mohuans thate and go like the wind, would be extremely uncertain and would cost them so much mental and physical efforts. Book 38 - 5 – The Trip to Yin Ma Yi Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling deeply appreciated the imposing and wonderful scenery of the northern frontier; ahead, a high mountain towering to the sky, the vast and murky primitive forest extending infinitely. There was a stream flowing through the depth of the shade of the trees, lush with water nts, while birch trees, bright [shuo] trees were rising around it. The road was rugged and hard to pass; they could imagine the hardship of the traveling merchants passing through this road. Nevertheless, they were traveling leisurely; since they decided to spend the night at Yin Ma Yi, they did not need to hurry, so they just enjoyed the beautiful scenery along the way. The sky was still covered densely with ck clouds. The three were ustomed to this. Although there was a bit of there-is-a-fly-in-the-ointment feeling, but the weather was pleasantly cool, so that their spirit and mind were bright and open. When they reached a high elevation, they could see far into the distance the fields and the low farmhouses and the cattle and sheep around them; there was quite a being-cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the-world-and-without-any-struggle feeling in them. After crossing the mountain, the official road became straight and t. Over the distant forest, the mist seemed to be rising to the sky, as if it was the realm of the immortal; it was quite fascinating. Ren Jun happily said, That is the steam rising from the Yin Ma hot spring; luckily we did not go the wrong way. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Arent you the old horse who knows the way home? Howe you are afraid of going the wrong way? Ren Juns tender face blushing slightly, he said, I only went there twice; I still dont have much confidence. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, It was just a misunderstanding. Seeing how you have such a profound impression on the Laobanniang of Yin Ma Yis shop Sao Niangzi, I thought you have been there more than a dozen times. Begging for mercy, Ren Jun said, Zhong Ye, please let me off. With the sound of rapid hoof beats, more than a dozen riders wereing from behind; in just one nce they could tell that these were some gangs or societies men. Seeing the three, except for Ren Jun, did not carry any weapon, the men only cast a few nces and continued galloping past them without stopping at all in the direction of Yin Ma Yi. The horse hooves kicked the dust that rolled up into the air, filling the sky like a block of wall blown by the wind assaulting them right against their faces. Kou Zhongughed toward Xu Ziling and said, Those who are able to be one step ahead of other people can always upy a little bit of more advantageous position. He had not even finished speaking when there was another sound of hoof beats. The three turned their heads around to look; a man, dressed in Taoist robe, riding alone on a mule, was rushing over. The mule was extraordinarily like a divine steed; its speed wasparable to a horses, in just a short moment it was already behind them. The middle-aged Taoist priests appearance was weird and ugly; he was short in statute. While still some ways away, he already called out loudly, Gentlemen, how are you? I am Luo Daoren [lit. Mule Taoist]; which gang or society brothers are you? Kou Zhong waited until he came by the horses side before he replied with augh, We are without a gang, without a sect. This time going out to Shanhai Pass on some errands for our Laobanniang. Luo Daren revealed a oh, I see look; his gaze fell on the horses that the three rode. Refined light shing in his eyes, he said, Good horses! If you want to sell them to the Bei Ma Bang [lit. northern horse gang] people, you can certainly make more than ten taels of gold. Kou Zhong said, Our horses are just like Daozhangs [Taoist priest] mule; they are the root of our life [i.e. lifeblood], the stem of our heart, absolutely not for sale. Stunned, Luo Daren asked, How do you know that Xiao Lei [lit. little bud] is my lifeblood? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Just by looking at how moist, clean, and beautiful Daozhang keeps the mules coat is, I know that Daozhang loves the mule like your life. Luo Daren threw his head back and roared inughter; he said, Well said. Seeing how smart you are, let Pindao [poor Taoist] offer you a bit of advice: if you dont want to give up your horses, it would be best if you do not go into Yin Ma Yi; the detour will take you no more than two extra days. Laughing aloud, he rode past them and disappeared in the distance. Fixing his gaze on the lone man on a single mules back, Kou Zhongughed and said, This is the benefit of traveling a ten-thousand-li road; otherwise, how could we meet so many strange people, unusual schrs? This Luo Daren is very interesting. However, Ren Juns expression was grave; he said, Why would Bei Ma Bang go to Yin Ma Yi? Surprised, Xu Ziling asked, Have you heard about Bei Ma Bang? Ren Jun replied, Bei Ma Bangs Bangzhu Xu Kaishan is the biggest horse dealer in the northeast, specializing in doing transaction with various tribes outside the Great Wall, and then selling the warhorses to the south for huge profits. Gao Kaidao cannot control him either. He sometimes does business with Xia Wang [King of Xia]. Kou Zhong asked, Those riders we met earlier, are they Bei Ma Bang men? Ren Jun replied, If they were Bei Ma Bang men, the horses thigh would have been branded with horseshoe-shaped marks. Since their horses do not have this marking, they cant be Bei Ma Bang men. Kou Zhong said, The Three Gangs, One Sect of the northern border are Bei Ba Bang [northern hegemon gang], Wai Lian Bang [outside/external alliance gang], Sai Mo Bang [border desert gang], and Changbai Pai [Changbai Sect]; there is no Bei Ma Bang; they shouldnt be any good. Why is it that when Xiao Jun mentioned their name, your expression looked so nervous? Ren Jun replied, The reason why Bei Ma Bang is not included in the Three Gangs, One Sect is simply because they rose up abruptly only in thest few years. Three years ago, no one had even heard of Xu Kaishans name, but now he has be a household name. Ba Wang Du Xing even became sworn brothers with him. Zhong Ye ought to understand why I am so nervous. Turning to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong said, Do you think Xu Kaishan might be Cui Wang? Xu Ziling asked Ren Jun, When doing business with the tribes outside the Great Wall, will it be goods traded with goods? Ren Jun replied, Generally, it is goods traded with goods; gold is rarely used. Xu Ziling nodded and said, In that case, the possibility is much higher. Dejected, Kou Zhong said, How can we catch his sore feet then? This guy must have grabbed a lot of stuffs before doing business; otherwise, how could he rise up so quickly? Du Xing is willing to be brothers with him, it can clearly be seen that this mans background is not simple at all. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, It must be because Lu Ping had grabbed the Hungry Wolf Cui Wangs sore feet that Cui Wang had him killed; he even destroyed the evidence. At first, Kou Zhong was only staring nkly, and then he pped his thigh and said, You are right. Cui Wang only seeks goods, seeks wealth; killing the rebels is only to establish his might. Since it was neither sensible nor reasonable to take the risk to kill everybody in Lu Pings mansion, not to mention burning the residence, it must be to destroy the evidence that could be in existence over there. Ren Jun said, If Lu Ping knew who Cui Wang was, he would naturally spread the information widely; why didnt even half the informatione out? Raising his thumb, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Jun is beginning to have the ability to think and analyze; it is worthy of celebration. Being praised, Ren Juns young face revealed an excited yet shy look; blushing, he said, Two Yeer repeatedly encouraged Xiaozi, naturally Xiaozi must use my brains. Xu Ziling said, Things of the world, nothing is too bizarre, anything is possible. Perhaps Lu Ping did obtain the evidence, but he did not know that it was something that could prove who Cui Wang is. Or perhaps he was waiting for certain people to look over it. As long as we can find out where he went and whom he met before he was killed, maybe we coulde out with some general idea of what happened. Suddenly the dust arose in the distance; riders, mule carts, and horse-drawn carriages wereing from the direction of Yin Ma Yi. Unleashing the watching-the-dust technique that Linglong Jiao personally imparted to him, Kou Zhong said, The dust is scattered, the formation is not in good order. This bunch of people seemed to be one troop formation, but they actually consist of diverse groups of people, and they are quite in a hurry, as if they wanted to get away from Yin Ma Yi as quickly as possible. What is actually happening? Ren Jun asked in astonishment. The three could not help urging their horses to speed up to meet the caravan. When they got closer, they were quite certain that these people were the traveling merchants who had stopped by Yin Ma Yi for a rest, but now they were running away from the ry station. The three got out of the way by moving to the side of the road. What happened? Kou Zhong asked one of the groups at the front. A fat man in a traveling merchant attire replied, Dont go to Yin Ma Yi, that ce is now teeming with gangs and societies figures, definitely nothing good is going to happen. The three watched as group after group of the caravan passing through. Constantly people were passionately urging them to leave. When the dust from thest group of the caravan had settled down, Kou Zhongughed and said, In order to facilitate the investigation of this case, what do you say Xiaodi changing back to Fu Xiong, and Xiao Ling bing Fu Jie? Xu Ziling nodded his head in agreement, he said, Even if Du Xing is a man who uses his head, he would not have guessed that we mighte this quickly. In Du Xings mind, after Zhai Jiao returned to Leshou, she would still have to send people in a long and difficult trek to Pengliang to summon the two boys to make their move, plus whether the two boys could spare the time to respond to the request was still unknown. If Du Xing was able to capture Zhai Jiao alive, naturally it was a different matter altogether. Smiling wryly, Ren Jun said, Frankly speaking, two Yeers formidable power is just like the deitys, anybody would be able to see that you are not ordinary men, even if you change your name, you still cannot hide your true identity. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Juns life experience is still not rich enough. Human psyche is very strange; not only he has oneself as the center, subconsciously he also see himself as superior to the others. It is because you know us that you think we have real skill. If it were someone else who did not know us, he might deliberately demean us in his heart. For example, although he might say that these two kids are as thick and solid as an ox, they ought to be just silver-like spearhead, plus they have no weapon. Looking at their two spiritless eyes, it must be because they are relying on their two pretty faces to deceive women all over the ce, indulging themselves excessively in wine and women. Ren Juns expression went nk, he said, But your two eyes ... oh ... he had not finished speaking, suddenly he discovered the spirit in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was restrained; although it still looked refined and alert, but there was no intimidating refined light like before. It could be said that it was indeed brilliant. Xu Ziling was amused; he blurted outughing, pped the horses butts, and said, So what if he could see us through? Come on! When the three rode down the sloping road leading toward Yin Ma Yi, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling gasped in amazement. They never expected that there would be such a grand, magnificent, strange-shaped hotel cum ry station in the border area. Yin Ma Yi was located on mountainous high elevation with the canyon on one side. Its back was leaning against the high mountain, giving up the impression of a fortified hill vige high on the mountain, equipped with military defense capability. The main building was a two-story terracotta structure, with a circr stone-stepped perimeter wall, about three zhang tall, protecting the main building, located at the side facing the mountain. The perimeter wall was open on both sides of the terracotta structure, surrounded by a spaciousrge za, which was also where the vehicles and horses were parked. The main gate was directly opposite to the main building, and there was only one entrance. The guest rooms were set up along the perimeter wall, there were as many as fifty of those. Circling around the atrium was a winding corridor, with seven, eight set of table and chairs for the guests to sit and chat, providing a casual, idle and rxed ambient. In the middle of the atrium was arge pond, nearly two zhang wide. When the three rode into the ry station, there were already four, five groups of people sitting on separate set of chairs, their weapons on the table. There were dozens of people, yet the crow and peacock made no sound; everybody looked up and gave the three unfriendly stares. Around the square were more than a dozen wooden frames to tie the horses. A man, who looked like a hotel employee, was filling the mangers with water and fodder for the more than fifty horses to eat and drink. The atmosphere was thick with the tension of mountain-rain-about-toe feeling; the kind of feeling that make people felt their chest was tightening. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around. Among the people staring at them, there were men and women. The more than a dozen men who caught up with them earlier upied two of the tables, but he did not see Luo Daoren; perhaps he was inside the main building, hence there was no trace of him. There were two women; one was delicate and pretty, the other seductive. The delicate and pretty one looked to be around twenty. Along with a young man, tall and straight, heroic and grand, the two persons upied a table. A talented man and a beautiful woman; such a suitable couple. Their table was separated to the other people left and right by an empty table, giving up a feeling that they were a bit unwilling to mix with the rest of the people. The other woman was sitting in the middle of seven or eight valiant-looking men, just like a dot of red among the cluster of ten thousand green. Her graceful, beautiful limpid autumn waters emitted a hint of foxy charm, her appearance elegant, but the expression on her stare was coquettish and seductive, as if any man whom she took a fancy on would have no reason to refuse her. Her forehead was particrly high, above a pair of brown phoenix eyes, which indicated that she might have foreign blood in her. Perhaps it was because the Thousand-li Dream saw its kind, but it suddenly reared its head and let out a long neigh, causing the originally quiet horses to also mademotion, acting as of they would willingly follow the Thousand-li Dream as their leader. There was a middle-aged man sitting on the table by the door, dressed in schr attire, looking just like a master/teacher of a high-ranking official family. Seeing themotion, his pair of eyes lit up immediately. Sitting next to him were two armed men; they also acted simrly. Noticing this, inwardly Ren Juns hair was standing on its end, while Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling calmly flew off their mounts. Right this moment, a clump of rosy cloud was floating down the steps from the main buildings entrance,ing toward them to wee them with a tenderugh, saying, Three gentlemen guests must not scare them away, nujia can give you the most special discount privilege. Ay! Out of a hundred choices ten thousand selections, unexpectedly they picked nujias establishment to hold his grannys Wulin assembly; Lao Daye [old big master] really dont have his eyes open. Without anybody needed to exin, anybody would know that she was Yin Ma Yis flirty female proprietor, Sao Niangzi. Its just that they did not expect that she did not give a damn toward the gangs and societies evil tyrants that came from all over the ce; as soon as she wanted to cuss, she simply cussed, without the slightest bit of scruple at all. Someone, nobody knew who, spoke in strange voice, Sao Niangzi, didnt we say that the bill for the food and drink, as well as the lodging, does not need to be settled? The crowd burst into rowdy jeering. Because they were sitting around the pond in the middle of the za, the voices came from four sides, eight directions, shaking and surging in the air, back and forth, carrying another kind of momentum, while also diluting the previously thick and depressing atmosphere. Sao Niangzi came over toward the three, her almond eyes grew big, she straightened up her back and feigned anger coquettishly, saying, So what if you dont settle the bill? If the news that my Yin Ma Yi hotel specially caters to you guys, who love to fight and kill C ever spread out outside, how could nujia still do business? If you provoke Cui Wang that he vents his anger on nujia, who would substitute for nujias life? The speaker was immediately at a loss for words. The three exchanged a nce, knowing that their guess was not incorrect, these people gathered here for Cui Wang. Now they were able to see clearly that Sao Niangzis figure, whose name was famous inside and outside the Central ins, was clearly well developed, perhaps even a bit too well endowed. Her age looked to be early thirties, she was entirely dependent on cosmetics to fight against the unforgiving years of her life. She wore cheesy, garishly bright crimson clothes, the strong scent of her face powder and perfume assaulted their nostrils, but her limpid coquettish nces were indeed provocative, reminding people of cheap physical business deal. The handsome young man sitting next to the delicate and pretty girl raised his voice and proudly said, The inconvenience that Laobanniang has to endure, let Shiqing sincerely offers an apology on Jiashis [family master] behalf. Casting him an enchanting smile, Sao Niangzi said, The people that nujia cursed, how could it include Gongzi? Lu Gongzi must never scare nujias guests away. Scolded by her, that Young Master Lu was very embarrassed; with awkward expression he shot a nce toward the delicate and pretty beautiful woman by his side. Seeing her did not look unhappy, he began to feel relieved. Naturally he no longer dared to provoke Sao Niangzi. The seductive woman burst out in tenderugher, her gaze floated randomly all over the ce, she said, Good-looking men always have a bit more advantage. The men sitting at her table, none did not agree with her, plus everybody wanted to fawn on her, hence they roared in bigughter, brimming with mockery. The strange-voiced man who spoke earlier was one of the dozen or so riders who galloped past the three outside the ry station; he knew that the seductive womans remark was targeted at him, insinuating that his appearance was not good. Heughed aloud, stood up, and proudly said, This is called one who does not know is not guilty. Qing Gu [auntie Qing] has not tried Xiaodi yet, hence you dont know Xiaodis strong points. Xiaodi cant possibly me Qing Gu. This remark was sexually suggestive and obscene; immediately it provoked hispanions, who shared his insinuation, into loudughter. An angry look appeared on the face of every single one of the men who were sitting on the so-called Auntie Qings table, they all appeared to be ready to make their move and kill at any time. The delicate and pretty girls charming face blushed slightly, she leaned over to Lu Gongzis ear and whispered some honeyed words. Kou Zhong and the others began to understand what Xing Wenxiu meant when he said various gangs and societies did things each in their own way. This was the first time that they joined together with the single purpose of dealing with Cui Wang. Just by looking at how they were now verbally attacking and trampling each other, it was clear among the gangs and sect, nobody wanted to submit to anybody else. On the other hand, that Auntie Qing did not seem to mind the attack;ughing tenderly, she said, How do I address this Xiongdi from Tongbei Hui [northeast gang]? I think it would be best if you apany qie [I, your servant] into the room for a round of y, so that qie can see your strong points, while also take advantage of the opportunity before Xu Dangjias arrival to relieve the boredom. Hearing that, the three mens spirit was greatly shocked; turned out everybody here was waiting for Xu Kaishan to honored them with his presence. The Tongbei Bang [sic] man obviously did not have the guts to apany Auntie Qing into the room. Heughed and said, If by the time Xu Dangjia arrives Qing Gu is still unable to get up from bed, wouldnt I, Luo Deng, bear the me? Thisst remark was even more tant and unpleasant to hear. Although hispanions were still roaring inughter to cheer him up, but in the end he stillcked the guts to get on the horse; his grandiose was not as big as before. Auntie Qingughed like a stem of flower trembling randomly; her seductive appearance grew without restraint, she said, What a coward without any prospect! Perhaps it was because Sao Niangzi was jealous of Auntie Qing, who was definitely younger and prettier than her, she spoke to the three, Dont mind them, they are just ghost attacking ghost. And then she called out, Men! Take care of three Gongzis horses! Her eyebrows blooming her eyesughing, it was as if she was stripping the three men naked with her eyes as she looked at them up and down and said, Three Gongzi looked really handsome. This was the first time that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling assaulted indecently by a womans eyes; they did not know whether they ought to be angry or amused. Pointing to Ren Jun, Kou Zhong said, How could Laobanniang forget Xiao Jun so quickly? Isnt he your admirer? Reluctant to part, Sao Niangzi took her gaze away from the two, and moved it to Ren Jun, she said, This Xiao Ge [little elder brother] indeed look familiar. Betrayed by Kou Zhong, Ren Jun was so embarrassed that he really wished he could find a hole where he could hide from everybodys eyes. Trying to rescue him, Xu Ziling said, We want three rooms, tomorrow morning we will be on our way. This moment, responding to the order, two hotel employees came to take care of the horses. Sao Niangzi practically forgot about Ren Jun; seizing this opportunity to step down the stage, she said, Three gentlemen, please follow nujia to the main hall for a cup of hot tea. The two boys were about to follow her into the main building when suddenly someone shouted, Hold on! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling halted their steps, musing inwardly that trouble has finallye. Book 38 - 6 – Lone Wanderer with a Single Sword The speaker was the middle-aged schr who looked like a master/teacher. With his hands behind his back, he leisurely got up and walked away from his table, which was located at the corridor, and came behind the three men. He walked around the three first before finally stopping in front of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. He squinted at Kou Zhong, and then turned his attention to Xu Ziling. Revealing a grim, harboring-evil-designs smile, he let out a cold snort and said, I am Xiang Yuanhua, also known as Shiye [master/teacher] Hua, with specific responsibility of procurement within the Bei Ma Bang. I believe two gold ingots are enough to purchase two Xiongtais horses. Sao Niangzi, youd better not meddle with our Bei Ma Bangs business transaction. Auntie Qingughed in low voice and said, The officer in charge of the ount indeed has good insight. Shiye Hua looked back and glowered at Auntie Qing, but his anger did not reup. Turning back to the two boys, he said, Two Xiongtai must not listen to other peoples interference. Whether we, Bei Ma Bang do business in gold or silver, anybody must give us a little bit of face. When he spoke, his mouth and facial movements were extremely exaggerated, his two strands of nting-down beards were also moving up and down following the shape of his mouth; it was actually quiteical. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Whatever you are offering, I am not selling. The vicious light in Shiye Huas pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, Let me ask you again, are you going to sell or not? That Lu Gongzi and the delicate and prettydy showed a disdain look; evidently they did not approve Shiye Huas conduct. From the Bei Ma Bang table, someone shouted, Our Xiang Shiye looks upon your horses, you dont know how much honor and glory that is for you. With our Bei Ma Bang taking care of you, you cane and go in the northern border without any fear. We are going out to wander the Jianghu, its nothing more than seeking wealth and looking for safety. Xiongdi must be a bit more sensible. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Not selling. Shiye Hua nodded and said, All right. Finished speaking, he turned around and went back to his table. But everybody knew that he would not give up; furthermore, not only he wanted the horse, he would not let the persons get away either. Sao Niangzi cursed in low voice, What a jerk. And then she bloomed in smile toward the three and said, Lets get in first and talk about itter; nujia may find a way for you. Ill stay outside, Ren Jun spoke in low voice. Kou Zhong knew that he was afraid Bei Ma Bang people would seize the horses by force; he nodded and said, Remember, dont be afraid. Ren Jun nodded to indicate that it must be so, and then he left to take care of the horses. Under the crowds attentive eyes, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling followed Sao Niangzi entering the main building. Unexpectedly it was a spacious dining hall, big enough to put several dozens ofrge round tables. Behind the main building was a big flower garden, the site for the famous Yin Ma Hot Spring. Steam was rising from irregr-shaped natural hot pond, filling the air with mist; immediately the simple and unadorned arrangement of the dining hall was elevated into a paradise in the world of the immortals. Behind the smoke screen, they could see someone standing motionless. The persons figure was slender, tall and thin, with a long sword hanging on his back; there was an indescribable haughty loneliness in him, as if he was a man of the world of immortals. In the dining hall, only one table was upied with guest. Naturally, it was the Luo Daoren [Mule Taoist], bending his head over the table, chewing busily, acting as though there were nobody else present. Seven waiters were standing on the side with nothing to do, seeing theirdy boss personally ushering the guests inside, theyzily came over to greet them. Luo Daren acted as if he realized only this moment that there were other guestsing; looking back, he saw the two boys, and immediatelyughed aloud and said, Chewing alone is no fun;e quickly to apany Pindao. Laobanniangs mutton steamed buns are certainly out of themon run. Theres also the treasured Hongmao wine, good for rectifying the qi and benefiting the lungs, nourishing the yin and mending the kidney, increasing the qi and soothing the spirit, pacifying the liver and invigorating the eyesight. The benefits are inexhaustible. Sao Niangziughed and cursed him, Who needs you to advertise nujias benefits? As soon as the two gongzi try it, they will know. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only shake their head. Sao Niangzis remarks were always rted to, and not departing from, the affair between men and women. After somemotion, the two finally sat on Luo Daorens table. Sao Niangzi personally poured wine for the three, whileughing and said, Two Gongzis honorable surnames and great given names, I have not yet asked for guidance. Kou Zhong replied, My name is Fu Xiong, he is Fu Jie; we are [paternal] cousins. Xiao Jun outside is our bodyguard. He raised the wine pot and took a sip, So bitter? he said with a frown. Luo Daoren doubled up inughter and said, Dont they say good medicine tastes bitter? This is clearly medicinal wine. With ten thousand kinds of flirtatious expressions Sao Niangzi sat down on Luo Daorens other side; she said in tender, affectionate voice, Luo Daoren, you must help two Gongzi find a way, Bei Ma Bangs Shiye Hua insists on buying their steeds. You, Senior, must act on their behalf. Luo Daoren cast the two boys a nce, heughed and said, Right or wrong is just a matter of opening the mouth more. When in distress and hard-pressed, one will bepelled to act. If Pindaos discerning eyes do not err, two Xiao Xiongdi already have a way to deal with this matter. Staring nkly, Sao Niangzi said, Turns out two gentlemen are martial art masters, sage who presents as ordinary person. Nujia did not see you carrying any weapon, you really make others anxious for you for nothing. Kou Zhong said, We only trained a little bit of three-legged cat punching and kicking; the real martial art master is Xiao Jun. Lying. All four were stunned at the same time, they turned their gaze toward the hot spring pond in the inner courtyard. The tall and thin swordsman walked out of the mist, his eyes shing, he looked at the two boys up and down, his expression was grim without any trace of politeness. Simr to his build, this mans face was long, narrow, meatless. His cheeks appeared to be hollow, his nose long, his shoulders narrow, the distance between his eyebrows and eyes was wider than average, his countenance gloomy and cold, as if ever since he came out of his mothers womb he had never smiled. He should have looked more like a Diao Si Gui [hanging ghost, ghost who died from hanging] than a human, but for some reason, his five sense organsbined together had a different kind of charm, a sense of beauty within the ugliness, forming some kind of haughty, icily arrogant lofty quality, leaving deep impression in peoples heart. He looked to be around twenty-seven, twenty-eight years old, but he gave up the impression of an old man full of experience and the vicissitudes of life. The two boys only needed a nce and they knew that within Yin Ma Yi at this point of time, aside from they, two boys, who could be considered having the most brilliant martial art skill, next in line was Luo Daoren. But now unexpectedly they encountered another martial art master. Frowning, Sao Niangzi asked, What did Die Gongzi [(young) Master Butterfly] mean by that? Die Gongzi coldly replied, I said they are lying. Kou Zhong spread his arms and said with a bitter smile, I am just embarrassed to admit that my Kungfu is exceptional; could it be that modesty is a crime? Die Gongzi coldly said, Modesty is not a crime, but lying indicates one is harboring unfathomable motives. What time is this? What ce? Xu Ziling smiled and said, We are just passing by, happen to be in time for the meeting. If Gongzi dont believe us, theres nothing we can do. Die Gongzi muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, he nodded and said, I believe you. Finished speaking, he turned around and walked back to the mist. The four looked at each other; no one could guess he came suddenly, he walked away even more suddenly. Kou Zhong could not help lowering his voice when he asked, Who is he? Luo Daoren replied, Die Gongzi Yin Xianhe is the newly rising sword master of the northeast; cold-blooded and ruthless, vicious and merciless, reclusive in nature, but although there is no major wicked conduct, his reputation is not too good, because not many people like him. With a lot of trepidation, Sao Niangzi said, Such a strange man. What is he doing here? Shrugging his shoulders, Luo Daoren said, If he did not tell, who would know? Xu Zilings heart was moved; rising to his full height, he said, Ill go and ask him. Her countenance changed, Sao Niangzi said, He is not messing with you, you are going to mess up with him? Kou Zhong understood inwardly, Yin Xianheing here must have something to do with the Anle Tragedy; trying to understand everything from him might be more reliable than asking anyone else. Thereupon heughed and said, Laobanniang, dont worry. This Xiongdi of mine is the most outstanding lobbyist; I guarantee that Old Yin will open his golden mouth. Looking at Xu Zilings leisurely, elegant back, Luo Daoren giggled and said, Looks like three gentlemen are not as simple as only passers-by. Kou Zhong frankly said, I dare to swear by the Heaven that we are passing by your honorablend, just happen to be in time for the meeting. But we have also heard about the Anle Tragedy. Plus from Shao Niang [youngdy] we saw injustice, so we determined to act on behalf of the Heavenly Road. This exnation ought to be satisfactory? His words stemmed from sincere heart, so that others could not doubt him. A bit impatient, Sao Niangzi got up and said, You two chat in here, I am going to see whether Xu Dangjia has arrived or not. Without any reason, why would Qiu Daren [title of respect toward superiors] and Shu Ye [master] bete? After Sao Niangzi left, Kou Zhong asked, Who are Qiu Daren and Shu Ye? Luo Daoren replied, They are the Zong Xunbu [Chief Constable] Qiu Nanshan and Anle Bangs Er Dangjia Shu Dingtai. Both are men that Pindao does not like. Who do these men think they are that they want to seek justice for my chess buddy? It was only then did Kou Zhong realize that Luo Daoren was a close friend of the harmed Anle Bangs Gang Leader, Lu Ping. His good impression could not help but to increase greatly. Luo Daoren was a man who despised worldly conventions. With all smiles, he drank a full cup of bitter wine, and then sighed and said, Other good name they did not pick, they selected the name Anle Bang [anle literally means peace and happiness]. Only in death one will obtain peace and happiness; I never thought the words have be a regret. Its finished! Whether dying by violence or dying of old age, in the end it is death. Seeing that he was revealing the real situation, Kou Zhong seized the opportunity to ask, Who are the people outside? They are just like a sheet of loose sand, how could they achieve big things? It was as if he was sobering up; Luo Daoren suddenly looked at him up and down several times before smiling and said, Are you meddling in other peoples business out of your kindness, or are you harboring other evil intentions? The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes appeared; but it was just a sh and died down immediately. Remaining tranquil and calm, he said, Is it considered other peoples business? Luo Daorens astonished expression has notpletely disappeared, he was startled by the exquisite, iparably pure unusual light of mysterious power that appeared in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes. Previously the divine light was held back; to Luo Daren, Kou Zhongs skill in hiding it without revealing anything was even more shocking. It was quite half a dayter that Luo Daoren came to his senses; lowering his voice, he asked, Who are you? After delivering the mutton steamed buns, nobody knew where the waiters went, but in the empty spacious dining hall, only the two of them remained. Kou Zhong took off the knee-length sheepskin robe he was wearing, revealing the Moon in the Well hanging inside the right-hand pocket. He said, Who does Daozhang [Taoist priest] think I am? Severely shaken, Luo Daoren said, Isnt that the appearing-to-be-unremarkable-on-the-outside treasured saber the Moon in the Well? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Daozhang has good eyesight. Luo Daoren calmed down instead. Exhaling slowly, he said, No wonder you guys dont give those people outside a ; turns out you are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose names shook thend under the heaven C in person. If I did not see your saber, I would surely be fooled by you. I was wondering if we could work together sincerely, Kou Zhong said. Luo Daoren nodded and said, With you guys willing to undertake the task to help, naturally its another thing altogether. Outside, there are altogether four groups of people,ing from Bei Ma Bang, Wai Lian Bang, Xian Xia Dong, and Dong Bei Bang, respectively [north horse gang, outside alliance gang, immortal red cloud cave, northeast gang]. The most upright are the man and woman Lu Shiqing and Lang Tingting, the proud disciples sent by Xian Xia Dongs Dongzhu [cave master] Chen He. Xian Xia Dong is a prestigious school, upright sect of the northeast, barely second only to Changbai Pai. One of Lu Laodis [ol younger brother] son who was murdered actually paid obeisance to Chen He and became a disciple of his school. Therefore, although Chen He did not like to be drawn into Jianghu dispute, he simply cant ignore this matter. I wonder if Qing Gu is from Wai Lian Bang? Kou Zhong asked. Wai Lian Bang was ranked among the northern borders three gangs, naturally Kou Zhong had to pay attention. Luo Daoren replied, Qing Gus name is Su Qing, her title is Hooking the Spirit, Snatching the Soul [orig. hun, immortal soul, and po, mortal soul]. She is the Wai Lian Bangs Longtou [big boss] Da Gonngs woman; therefore, although her martial art skill is not so great, she is able to upy the position of Tangzhu [hall master] of the Phoenix Hall, one of the three external halls. As for Dong Bei Bang, they also have great interest. Their Bangzhu Bei Shuqun is Gao Kaidaos sworn brother. Gao Kaidao rose in power, they are like the tide rises, the boat floats [idiom] C hoping to surpass Bei Ba Bang to be the biggest gang in the northern territory. This time, leading their troops here is the young gang leader Bei Chenfen. This mans character is gloomy; just now he did not speak at all, he was only indulging his men to act willfully and make a scene, hence he did not attract Shaoshuais attention. Kou Zhong was going to delve deeply into the Anle Tragedy when suddenly from the outside came the intensely sharp and clear ringing noise of weapons shing against each other, apanied by the sound of people shouting and pushing-the-wave-and-adding-to-the-billows cheers and apuse. Kou Zhong stretched his limbszily and said, The fight is starting. Those Bei Ma Bangs peoples patience is not bad. Xu Ziling came behind the taller-than-him-by-about-a-cun, looking-more-like-a-bamboo-pole-than-a-human-being Yin Xianhe. The dense steam was rising from the hot spring, making people think that being able to soak in it must be a joy of life. Yin Xianhes gaze was fixed on the hot spring. In his usual not-revealing-the-slightest-bit-of-emotion voice and intonation, he said, Xiongtai better go back. Xu Ziling halted his steps. He spoke indifferently, Xiaodi only want to say something. If Yin Xiong is unwilling to answer, Xiaodi will turn on my heels. Yin Xianhe was silent for half a day. Finally he spoke slowly, Speak up. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Yin Xiong came here, is it to kill Xu Kaishan? Yin Xianhe spun around like a whirlwind, the murderous aura in his eyes ring greatly, he stared at Xu Ziling and asked, Who are you? For some reason, when he first saw this reclusive, haughty lone wanderer with a single sword, Xu Ziling felt that he hade across a friend. And now that he knew his guess was correct, his baseless idea had just been confirmed. Unwilling to conceal anything from him, he smiled and said, Zaixia Xu Ziling. Shaken, Yin Xianhe said, Then the one in the dining hall must be Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling nodded. It is he, he replied, We are indeed just passing by this ce on our way to Shanhai Pass to look for Ba Wang Du Xing to settle an ount; along the way we heard about this Anle Tragedy, and bumped into this great assembly called by Xu Kaishan to demand justice from Cui Wang. We feel theres something suspicious in this matter, hence I came to Yin Xiong to ask for guidance. Yin Xianhe spoke disdainfully, Du Xing, humph! Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to ask, What kind of character is Du Xing? Murderous aura reappeared in Yin Xianhes eyes, but the tone of his voice remained quiet, cold, and calm. Du Xing is a two-faced person, he said, Secretly he is doing all bad things, controlling gambling establishments and operating prostitution, building a kingdom of evil by smuggling and tax evasion, by means of violence, threat, bribe, wiping out dissidents, and all kinds of dirty method, opposing me you die, following me you live, until everybody sumb to his tyrannical abuse, dare to be angry but afraid to speak up. On the other hand, he put on Wulins heroic and proud face, presiding over righteousness, removing perils and solving disputes everywhere, recovering justice for people who are robbed by bullies, so much so that he set up the Righteous Hall where poor people can eat and drink free of charge. Xu Kaishan is precisely his hunting dog, theckey whomitted all kinds of offending-Heaven-and-reason things for him, so as not to damage his reputation. Xu Ziling gained a sudden understanding, Turns out Yin Xiong has the heart to rid the world of evil, he said. Pei! Yin Xianhe spat in disdain and said, I am not interested in that kind of things. This world has always been like this, it wont change in the future. I want to kill Xu Kaishan, because I owe a debt of gratitude toward Lu Dangjia. And now is the time to repay that debt. What makes Yin Xiong believe that Xu Kaishan is Cui Wang? Xu Ziling asked. Instead of answering, Yin Xianhe asked, What makes Xu Xiong believe that I want to kill Xu Kaishan? Xu Ziling frankly said, Its just my preliminary spection; I still do not dare to be certain. Based on Xu Kaishans rapid rise, plus his rtionship with Du Xing, and they way he does business, he ought to be the greatest suspect. It seems to me that Yin Xiong is not someone who might be interested in any Wulin matters, hence I try to confront you directly. Yin Xianhe suddenly sighed and said, I rarely speak so much to anybody; even more, it is not my habit to work together with anybody. Were it not for both Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong are the men I hold in high regard, I would have saved these words. Xu Xiong, please do not pay attention to this case, paying a debt of gratitude is my, Yin Xianhe, one persons business. The sound of shing weapons came from far away precisely this moment. Kou Zhong and Luo Daoren stepped outside the terracotta building. Unexpectedly Ren Jun was fighting against seven or eight men from the Dong Bei Bang, instead of Bei Ma Bang, which single-mindedly wanted to seize the horses away. One of the Dong Bei Bang men was sitting by the pond, blood was flowing out of his shoulder like a flood; one of hispanions was helping him taking care of the injury. Without even need to guess, Kou Zhong knew that one of Dong Bei Bang men must have challenged Ren Jun for a fight. After that person proved to be no match for him and sustained injuries, the other men saw how brilliant Ren Juns saber technique was, they disregarded Jianghu rules by charging together to besiege him. Lu Shiqing of Xian Xia Dong stood up; it seemed like righteous indignation grew in his heart, hence he was about to go down the arena to intervene. Ren Jun was charging and retreating, his left arm was dyed red with blood. Because the opposite side had many men, a great force, he was falling into the disadvantageous position. Wai Lian Bang and Bei Ma Bangs people were cheering for the Dong Bei Bang men, acting like they were wishing for the whole world to be in chaos. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around at the unconcerned Dong Bei Bang crowd shouting themselves hoarse for theirpanions. One of those men was a young man with deathly pale countenance that looked to be around twenty years old, who was stealing a nce toward him with calm expression. He mused that this young man must be the Dong Bei Bangs young gang leader Bei Chenfen. Su Qing and Shiye Hua also cast a nce toward him. Kou Zhong smiled at them in return, and then he shouted, Back off three cun! Somebody had just shed the back of Ren Juns left shoulder, drawing a line of blood from him, provoking his anger. Hearing Kou Zhong, his spirit was greatly aroused instantly; he believed Kou Zhong firmly without any doubt, although saber light was assaulting his face and he was unable to see the enemys saber iing momentum, he still retreated slightly three cun backward. The saber de chopped down in front of the tip of his nose. It was precisely this hairsbreadth difference that enabled him to turn peril into safety. The other menpletely misread his retreating momentum, so that all the sabers and swords hit the empty air. Ren Juns sabers light shed. As the saber wielder right in front of him was hitting the empty air, immediately blood sshed from the upper part of his body as he was hit by the saber and fell down. Kou Zhong shouted again, No clouds, no rain, ten thousand li one fold, flip to the left. Everybody, including Lu Shiqing, martial brother and sister, Su Qing, Shiye Hua, Bei Chenfen, and the others, none did not reveal astonished expression. Ren Juns martial art skill was brilliant, he was able to fight seven men undefeated, it was already greatly beyond their expectation. But now, as long as they were neither deaf nor blind, anybody would know that Kou Zhong was an even more formidable martial art master. Hearing the instruction, Ren Jun obeyed without question; he flipped to the left, and leisurely escaped from the besieging. His heartpletely calmed down. The strict training he received from Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling along the way proved to be exceptionally effective. He felt an enormous confidence, as if he was able to see through the enemys every single intention and change. Dong Bei Bangs mens acute spirit had already been drained, momentarily they did not know whether they should do their utmost to continue fighting, or stay on the spot and stop. Bei Chenfen suddenly stood up and said, Stop! Kou Zhong threw his head back and roared inughter; he said, You think you just say stop and we stop? Xiao Jun, kill them all for me. Ren Jun was about to pounce on the enemy, a voice came from the main gate, saying, Who dares to be this arrogant and aggressive? Kou Zhong turned to look at the main gate, wondering if Xu Kaidao has arrived. Book 38 - 7 – Who is the Main Culprit? Two men on horseback were galloping into the only main gate of the ring-shaped perimeter wall. The speaker was about thirty-five, thirty-six years old, refined in manner, fair-skinned, with a smile hanging on his thin face. Although he was criticizing, he still spoke calmly, leisurely. On the surface he appeared to be a weak schr, but from the refined light shing in his eyes, Kou Zhong could see that he was a top quality martial art master. Moreover, he had firm and persistent, unyielding personality; he could not possibly let others force him to easily sway his determination and conviction. The other person was older by one to six years; his hair and eyebrows were as dense as iron wire, he wore a pair of short moustache that looked exactly like a brush. He had clear outline, the expression showing in his eyes was gloomy and cold, calm and collected, a middle-aged man with quite manly-man charisma. Most striking was that he was wearing a white scarf tied on his forehead with character ji [sacrifice (to gods/ancestors)] on it, making Kou Zhong believe that he was the second-inmand within the Anle Bang, Shu Dingtai, showing off his position and determination to seek justice for Lu Ping. Then the other man must be the Chief Constable Qiu Nanshan who was appointed by Gao Kaidao; before, Kou Zhong could not have imagined that he was such a top figure. Sure enough, everybody present stood up one after the other, cupped their fist to salute and said, Qiu Zongxun, Shu Er Dangjia. Qiu Nanshan was, after all, the representative of the local government of this area, no matter how disconcerting, the gangs and societies of various regions must still give him enough face. Qiu Nanshans eyes fell on Ren Jun first, before shooting toward Kou Zhong, who was standing on top of the steps. Still sitting high on the horseback, he spoke indifferently, This gentlemans honorable surname and great given name? Luo Daorenughed aloud and said, Lao Zongye [old chief], how are you? These two gentlemen, one is Fu Xiong, the other is Ren Jun; there is also another gentleman by the name of Fu Jie, a party of three, passing by this ce on their way to Shanhai Pass. Because they are unwilling to sell their horses to these Bei Ma Bang boys, they offended and angered the crowd, provoking the Dong Bei Bangs big brothers to teach them a lesson on their behalf. Lao Zongye arrived just in time to judge between right and wrong. Dong Bei Bang and Bei Ma Bang, two groups of people immediately showed angry look, but momentarily they were helpless to deal with Luo Daoren. Shiye Hua spoke grimly, Luo Daoren dare to guarantee that they are without any problem? I pretended to buy their horses just to sound out their identity. Su Qingughed tenderly and said, Xiang Shiyes ability is getting more and more profound! If you did not exin it personally, nujia would not have known that your buying the horses is fake, while the sounding out is real. Shiye Hua was immediately at a loss; he had never thought that Su Qing would openly help outsider. Qiu Nanshan understood, but he still did not want to let Kou Zhong and Ren Jun off; he spoke slowly, Gentlemen going to Shanhai Pass, what noble errand brings you here? Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, Zongye, please understand, the three of us going to Shanhai Pass is to negotiate a business deal. Due to the confidential nature of the business, if Zongye wants to understand the details, would it be possible to step aside to talk? Ol Fu will surely exin the details truthfully, I wont dare to conceal anything. It could be said that by saying that, he was giving Qiu Nanshan enough face, plus it was neither haughty nor humble. As expected, Qiu Nanshans countenance rxed; with a slight nod, he said, I will discuss the details with Fu Xiongter. Behind him, slightly to the left, the Anle Bangs Second Chief Shu Dingtai spoke in his deep and low voice, Ren Xiongs martial art skill is superior, I wonder a brilliant disciple of which family, which sect are you? Ren Jun acknowledged frankly, My humble master is Yulin Da Dao [lit. broadsword of Yulin] Guan Changjiu. Apparently Shu Dingtai has never heard this name Guan Changjiu; it was difficult for him to either speak or ask question. Without any better option, he said, Indeed a famous teacher trains a fine student [idiom]. Qiu Nanshan finally dismounted from his horse, Shu Dingtai followed, a ry station worker immediately came over to take care of the horses. Qiu Nanshan said, At thest moment Xu Bangzhu had an urgent matter to attend to, he wont be here until tomorrow morning. The crowd broke intomotion; they all were disgruntled. Only Shiye Hua, two mens underlings dared to make noise. Lu Shiqing looked up at the sky, dark clouds were scampering across the dusk sky; he asked, What is the reason Xu Bangzhu dying the meeting? Shu Dingtai replied, Xu Dangjia sent someone to notify us that he found something rted to the case, he will certainlye tomorrow morning. The crowd was abuzz again. Boom! a thunder broke through the clouds. The p of thunder was right overhead, followed by bean-sized raindrops, sparse at first, but quickly getting denser, pouring down from the sky. The heavy rain, which had been brewing for a long time, finally came down to the earth. Immediately the situation turned chaotic; everybody was either scurrying into the main building to avoid the rain, or rushed their horses under the roof-tile-topped winding corridor. Those nning on leaving had no choice but to dispel that idea. By the time Luo Daoren settled his beloved mule by the Thousand-li Dream and the other horses side, the downpour started in the earnest, the sky turned hazy, the earth turned dark, the night came early. When everybody had taken shelter into the dining hall, like a butterfly weaving through the flowers Sao Niangzi attentively showed hospitality to Qiu Nanshan and Shu Dingtai. Avoiding the others, Xu Ziling and the others took a table on the corner, away from the crowd C in aidback manner. Half of their body drenched, Kou Zhong and Ren Jun sat down on his left and right. The former asked, What about that strange man? Xu Ziling said, There is a stone pavilion outside, he must be taking shelter from the rain over there. This mans character is reclusive and cynical, but it does not look like he is evil. For some reason he suspects Xu Kaishan; perhaps he ising here, his target is Xu Kaishan. Kou Zhong turned his head around to cast a nce toward the crowd, the gangs and sects people took two tables on the other corner. Wai Lian Bang and Dong Bei Bang men took one table. Xian Xia Dongs Li Shiqing, Lang Tingting, Bei Ma Bangs Shiye Hua, Dong Bei Bangs young gang leader Bei Chenfen, Wai Lian Bangs Phoenix Halls Hall Master Su Qing, Luo Daoren, Chief Constable Qiu Nanshan, Anle Bangs Second Chief Shu Dingtai, and so on sat around another table, in closed discussion. Two of Shiye Huas men crowded in among the Dong Bei Bangs men, it is thus clear than Bei Ma Bang and Dong Bei Bang were breathing through the same nostril. Outside the heavy rain was falling down nonstop, standing by the main entrance, Sao Niangzi conducted her men to brave the rain to put away the fodder and other things, and closed the window; they were busy endlessly. After narrating his dialogue with Yin Xianhe, Xu Ziling said, This mountain stronghold with stone steps is located high on a hillside, whether it is the public square or the main building, there is only one entrance, and the windows are narrow. Although it has defensive advantages, but if someone sealed off the entrance, nobody would be able to escape. Xu Kaishan chose this ce to hold a meeting, I wonder if he has another goal, he is harboring bad intention? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, If they coordinate outside and inside offensives, Dong Bei Bang plus Shiye Hua, two groups will be able to aplish. But then afterwards, how are they going to exin the reason why Xu Kaishan was dyed until tomorrow morning was because he might have found a clue about Cui Wang? This moment, the Die Gongzi Yin Xianhe appeared from the back door like a specter, the bamboo rain hat on his head was still dripping wet, his wooden face was without any emotion, he coldly swept his gaze over everyone, before going to a corner to sit down silently. Suddenly seeing him, Qiu Nanshan and the others stopped talking. The atmosphere was quickly turning heavy, brimming with hostility and suspicion. Finished working outside, Sao Niangzi and her workers returned to close the main door to the dining hall. They also lit the more than a dozen spring-windnterns hanging on the four walls. The noise of the violent rain and thunder seemed to be in a separate world. When the fireces on all the four walls were all lit, the hall became even more warm and cozy. Shu Dingtai beckoned Sao Niangzi toe. After he whispered something on her ear, Sao Niangzi, with ten thousand kinds of flirtatious expressions, made an announcement, Tonight Shu Er Dangjia is going to treat everybody. Brothers, quickly prepare vegetables and meat dishes, get the wine and serve all honorable guests. The workers immediately received the orders and went each one to do his job. Sao Niangzi plopped her butts on the chair next to Lu Shiqing. Lang Tingtings pretty eyebrows immediately shot up; but, just like Lu Shiqing, there was nothing she could do. Qiu Nanshans voice rang, Yin Xiong, I wonder what business brings you to grace us with your presence here? Yin Xianhe did not care about him at all, he coldly said, I cannote here? With a hollowugh, Shiye Hua said, Theres a saying, one does not visit a temple without a cause. If you let us suspect that Yin Xiong came here to inquire the news on Cui Wangs behalf, while the fact is Yin Xiong came here only to enjoy the feeling of rain, wont we then have unnecessary misunderstanding? It is not worth it. This man, not only the tone of his voice was annoying, his action was like pushing the wave and adding to the billows, fanning the me to light a fire, as if he was afraid that the world was not chaotic enough. Yin Xianhe did not get angry at all, he simply said, I came here precisely to enjoy the feeling of rain. Just then the workers came to serve the wine, and thus diluting the tense atmosphere. Sao Niangzi was fluttering everywhere, she personally poured the wine for everybody, only she did not dare to provoke Yin Xianhe. The wine and the dishes were served, other than Yin Xianhe, who did not touch the food and drink, everybody else was eating and drinking to their hearts content. Luo Daoren came to Kou Zhong, three mens table and sat down. After toasting the three two cups each, he lowered his voice and said, What is two gentlemens view on the Anle Tragedy? On the other side, the people were tipsy and merry, they chatted freely about light Jianghu affairs of the northeast Wulin, plus from time to time Sao Niangzis licentiousughter rang out; the atmosphere was warm, so that it was hard to imagine that they gathered here for the Anle Tragedy. Kou Zhong replied, We are guessing that it was because Lu Dangjia grasped witness testimony or perhaps material evidence that could reveal Cui Wangs real identity that he met the disaster of being killed. Daozhang might know where he went or who he saw before he was murdered. Luo Daoren nodded and said, Your view and Pindaos agree without prior consultation, because approximately a month ago Lu Laodi went on an all-out effort to investigate the wolf bandits tracks. Before he was killed, he went to Shanhai Pass. Only, ording to Shu Dingtai who went with him, nothing special happened. They were going to see a group of barbarian merchants who had been robbed by Cui Wang, but they were pouncing empty air, because the barbarian merchants already went out the Pass. What kind of person is Shu Dingtai? Xu Ziling asked. Luo Daoren was stunned, You think his guts is that big? he asked. Kou Zhong said, Didnt Daozhang say earlier that you dont like him? Luo Daorens expression turned grave, he said, I dont like him, because Lu Laodi had privately told me that Shu Dingtai and Du Xing have been very close, and he refused to listen to his advice. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, I dare say that Cui Wang is a fictitious character invented by Du Xing. Revealing a shocked expression, Luo Daoren said, What is the basis of Kou Xiongs conclusion? Du Xing is as weighty as Mount Tai, as brilliant as the Big Dipper [idiom: a giant among men] in the northeast Wulin. Everybody is willing to follow him blindly, plus he receives the Tujue and Qidan peoples support, provoking him is not fun. Kou Zhong was about to respond, suddenly someone spoke with a trembling voice, My head is very dizzy. Stunned, Kou Zhong and the others looked up, only to see one of the workers C carrying wine jar, his footsteps unsteady C was swaying to the east and swinging to the west, and then the person and the wine jar he was carrying fell down to the ground. Crash! The wine jar shattered, the wine sttered all over the floor. One after another, Sao Niangzi and the other workers also copsed. Momentarily in the hall the crow and peacock made no sound, everybody was looking at each other, while secretly raising the qi in their body to check their own condition. However, the situation has not deteriorated into too much panic, because any warrior who trained qi would have the ability to resist and expel poison, hence they were not excessively anxious. Qiu Nanshan was the first to have his countenance changed. I am poisoned, he shouted. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at Luo Daoren and Ren Jun, and discovered that the two mens countenance had be extremely unsightly; they knew inwardly that these two had been poisoned as well. Overwhelmed with shock in their heart, they wondered what poison was this formidable? On the other side, everybody cried out in rm, yelling and cursing; obviously not a single one was lucky enough to escape. The situation became chaotic. Qiu Nanshan rose up to his full height and shouted, The food and drink are poisonous; dont panic. Lu Shiqing, who has been closing his eyes, suddenly opened his eyes and fearfully said, This poison is extremely formidably damaging, unexpectedly I am unable to raise and gather true qi to force the poison out. Ren Jun spoke in low voice to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, I am unable to raise true qi either. Shu Dingtai suddenly stood up and pointed at Yin Xiahe, sitting alone in a corner, and shouted sternly, Only you, one person, did not touch the food and drink; dont say that this is not you doing the trick. Quickly take out the antidote. Yin Xianhes expression did not change, as if nothing had happened, he said, If I were the one poisoning you, by now I would have pped your mouth first, and then I would have chopped all of you into ten thousand pieces. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were really shocked. In the hall, it could be said that Yin Xianhes martial art skill was the most superior. If even he were unable to raise the qi to drive the poison away, the formidability of this poison has already reached the shocking level. Shu Dingtais imposing body suddenly shook severely, and then fell back into his chair. Qiu Nanshan slowly sat down, indicating that his power was more profound than Shu Dingtai. But the terrifying fact that even sitting down has be a problem for him also made others even more shocked. The originally arrogant, considered-themselves-unexcelled-in-the-world gang and society violent disciples, every one has now be like a defeated rooster, their faces were deathly grey. No one knew what their fate would be. Shiye Hua spoke with trembling voice, Wine and dishes do not have poison; I tested them with silver needle. Everybodys eyes turned to Kou Zhong and the others. Since Yin Xianhe also fell into the same predicament, Kou Zhong, three men had now be the greatest suspects. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were the only ones who were unaffected by the poison. Their Long Life Qi had a hundred-poison-cannot-invade characteristic. In the past, Shen Luoyan was trying to poison them in Xingyang, the oue was that it did not work, and even backfired. If they wanted to dispel the poison from Ren Jun or Luo Daoren, it would only be the exertion of lifting their hand, but under ten thousand staring eyes, others would immediately know that they were not poisoned. Plus there was a more important reason for not making their move, which was to lure the real culprit out of hiding, to wait for him to reveal the mountains original shape on his own. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Just like Yin Xiong said, if we were the ones poisoning you, now that it had been sessful, we ought to move our des to kill, to avoid the long night with many nightmares. Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, The poison was set off either from thenterns or the stoves. Everybody suddenly saw the light, but it was already toote for regret; they hated the fact that while they were still able to get up and walk, they did not extinguish thenterns and fire, and now they could not even do such a simple day-to-day task like this. This not-just-in-name-only-but-also-in-reality poison scheme was certainly very vicious; inside this kind of sealed-up space, no one could escape, and all fell into the trap. With trembling voice and stern expression, Bei Chenfen shouted, Who exactly put the poison; stand up for me. Everybody you looked at me I gazed at you, everybody suspect everybody else; the situation was bizarre to the extreme point. The firewood in the stove was crackling like it was haunting them to the death, with every passing moment, the poison inside their body was one part heavier. This thought was like a ten-thousand-jin heavy burden pressing down to the bottom of their heart. The hall fell into a disheartened, unbearable silence, just like the silence before the execution of the death penalty. A tenderughter rang. The originally flirty,sciviousughter, this moment has be iparably ear-piercing. Everybody looked up in horror. The originally lying down by Lu Shiqings feet Sao Niangzi suddenly stood up gracefully. She even reached out to stroke Lu Shiqings cheek. Immensely proud of herself, she said, Nujia is standing up. Shao Bangzhu [young gang leader], how are you doing to deal with nujia? Everybody, including Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, was dumbstruck. Nobody had guessed that the one putting the poison was Sao Niangzi. She definitely was not a martial art expert, hence no one suspected her, and consequently they fell into her plot. The rest of the workers were still lying on the floor, unconscious. Shu Dingtai heaved a sigh instead; he said, Sao Niangzi, you are amazing. Why dont you take the antidote out? Hearing that, none of the crowd was not surprised. Sao Niangzi came from behind him, sheughed and said, The antidote ising. While everybody looked on helplessly, Sao Niangzi took out a sharp dagger from inside her sleeve, gleaming blue because it has been dipped into the poison. But Shu Dingtai could not see it. Because they were too far, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not have enough time to prevent thistest development from happening. Theres a saying, ginger gets spicier as it gets older; Luo Daoren called loudly, Shu Dingtai, who is Cui Wang? Quickly tell us. While Shu Dingtai was stunned, he did not understand the question, a sharp pain shot up from his back, followed by a miserable scream of death shocking and piercing the big hall. Before he had a chance to reply, the poison already attacked his heart, he fell face down on the tabletop, overturning the wine pots and the vegetable and meat dishes, and was killed on the spot. Sao Niangzis expression was as usual; she put away the dagger as if nothing had happened, and then sheughed and said, Daozhang looked down on nujias skill in using poison too much. His voice trembling, Shiye Hua said, Tomorrow morning when our Da Dangjia arrives, how are you, Sao Niangzi going to exin to him? Sao Niangzi moved her tender body behind Shiye Hua, putting her arm around his neck, she whispered on his ear, Nujia fell unconscious, how am I to know what had happened? The best thing is that we have extra participants here, Yin Gongzi and Fu brothers; perhaps nujia will arrange for you guys to have a duel, several defeats, all died. I think it will be interesting. Qiu Nanshan spoke heavily, Who is behind you? Sao Niangzi let go of the so-scared-that-he-nearly-pissed-in-his-pants Shiye Hua, and walked over to the empty table on the side and sat down leisurely. Her pretty eyes were fixed on the closing-his-eyes-circting-his-power, not-saying-a-single-word Yin Xianhe; instead of answering Qiu Nanshan, she spoke softly, Die Gongzi, dont waste your energy; if right now all four stoves on the wall are extinguished, if you dont have half a sichen, dont ever think you could force out nujias ten-supreme poison. Su Qing made a signal with her eyes, two of her men responded by struggling to stand up. They shouted angrily, We will stake everything against this stinky poniang [woman (derogatory), this term appeared quite often in earlier books]. The words have not yet finished, a single step has not been taken, they already skewed to the east and tumbled to the west, and fell to the floor, knocking the chairs over, in an extremely sorry state, and were unable to crawl back up. Like a sprig of flower trembling randomly, Sao Niangziughed and said, That is the result of rushing the true qi indiscriminately. Lang Tingting cast herself into Lu Shiqings bosom. Revealing a feeling-as-if-having-his-heart-cut-out look of despair Li Shiqing tightly embraced the jade person, whom he was powerless to protect, in his bosom. Everybody thought that no one in the hall would narrowly and luckily escape this cmity. Finally Kou Zhong could not bear it anymore; heughed aloud, as if he was extremely happy. Everybody, Sao Niangzi included, looked at him with astonishment. Xu Ziling however, only shook his head andughed involuntarily. Sao Niangzi asked in surprise, Fu Gongzi, what makes you so happy? She had be the terminating-star demon [personifying pestilence] that no one dared to provoke; no one dared to attract her attention, no one dared to make her angry even more. Yet Kou Zhong did exactly the opposite, so that people both admired him and worried for him. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, If I am guessing correctly, Du Xing is exploiting you, Dajie [big sister], and then he will kill you to shut your mouthter. Just like Dajie killed Shu Dingtai, just because he knew something about you that he should not know. After the Anle Tragedy, there will be Yin Ma Tragedy [note: the word tragedy can also be tranted as massacre]. Everything will be burned to pieces of embers and destroyed ashes. Henceforth Cui Wang will disappear, both cases will forever be unresolved cases. Xu Ziling joined in, Howe Dajiesoban [big boss] Du Xing has note to the door? After holding back the smiling expression on her face, Sao Niangzi rose up to her full height, and came over toward them. What nonsense are you talking about? she spoke coldly. Qiu Nanshan was a Jianghu veteran; he knew Sao Niangzi was about to make her move and kill people. In order to divert her attention, he thought of a way within a no way situation, he shouted, What evidence does Fu Xiong have that you are certain that Du Xing is the mastermind behind all these? Sao Niangzi was only about fifteen paces away from Kou and Xu, two boys, but she stopped; evidently she also wanted to hear Kou Zhongs answer. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling made up their mind; finally they lured this malicious woman within the range of their control. Kou Zhongughed and said, The logic is very simple. In the northern territory, other than Yan Wang, only Du Xing has the capability to shield arge number of wolf-bandits. Da Shiye must not me me for this offense. Because your honorable Dangjia is the sponsor of this assembly, plus he deliberately dyed his arrival at the meeting, it would be difficult for him to avoid suspicion, much less he is Du Xings sworn brother. It seems that Da Shiye has be the scapegoat. All of you get murdered, your honorable Dangjia will bepletely outside suspicion, plus all those who know the fact lose their lives and go to theher world. Su Qing screamed, Why would Du Xing want to harm us? Xu Ziling suddenly asked, Yin Xiong, how did you know that there is such assembly at Yin Ma Yi? Opening up his eyes, Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, It was Shu Dingtai who informed me. The crowd was in uproar. With voice as cold as the ice, Sao Niangzi spoke, Have you said enough? Kou Zhong smiled and said, No, I havent. I still have two words to say. Does Dajie wish to hear it? Although everybody sighed that he would surely die, Kou Zhong still piqued their interest; what could those two auspicious words be that it could give the best evidence? Returning to her flirtatious behavior, Sao Niangzi put on her seductive appearance and said, Dead Yuanjia [enemy/foe/(in opera) sweetheart or destined love], please speak up. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height, pulled open his sheepskin outer robe, threw his head back in longughter, and said, It is based on these two words, Kou Zhong. Is that enough? It was as if Sao Niangzi was struck by thunder; she faltered back, until finally, Bonk! shended on the ground, the blood waspletely drained from her face. Everybodys eyes were drawn toward the Moon in the Well, which was originally hidden but was now exposed, their ears where shaken by the two words, Kou Zhong, momentarily they have not fully grasped the fact that he was not poisoned. This moment the sound of hoof beats wasing from afar. The wolf-bandits have finallye. The thunderstorm was still pouring down endlessly. Book 38 - 8 – Yin Ma Alliance By the time Kou Zhong was pouncing toward Sao Niangzi, he was already one step toote. He saw her face turned ck; it was no different to the highly lethal poison hitting Shu Dingtai. He knew that she had killed herself using the dagger that has been dipped into poison that she hid inside her sleeve. Kou Zhong grabbed her shoulders and shouted, Was it Du Xing who incited you to do this? Sao Niangzis eyes emitted a strange light; she recited, Thou ought to know, that is, before this world was established, Jing Feng, Shan Mu [lit. clean wind, benevolent mother], two envoys of the light from the dark, ck, no-light [avidy (Buddhism concept)/ignorance/ delusion] realm, selected the best, the brave, the strong, the ever victorious, the great wisdom, five distinct bodies ... [sorry, no idea what Huang Yi was talking about.] Her voice was getting lower and deeper, until it could not be heard anymore. Her head leaned to the side, ck blood was oozing from her seven apertures, the poison red out, and she died. Hearing that, inwardly Kou Zhongs hair was standing on its end. That thing that she recited before her death must be some kind of scripture; mysterious, strange, weird, odd, making him feel that this matter was not simple even more. This moment Xu Ziling extinguished the four fireces using his palm wind. The sound of hoof beats was getting nearer; listening to the sound, it looked like there were no less than a hundred horses. Kou Zhong put down Sao Niangzis dead body and sprang up and rushed toward the main gate, saying, Ling Shao, you take care of these people, Xiaodi will block them as long as I can. When the main door was opened, suddenly this sealed up world was connected to the wind-and-rain-mingled-together world outside. As Kou Zhong was disappearing into the thunder and lightning, wind and rain, Xu Ziling shocked all the doors and windows open using his fists power. Everybody in the hall were closing their eyes and circting their power, hoping to force out the poison as soon as possible to deal with the wolf-bandits. The situation was very tense. Xu Ziling rushed toward Yin Xianhe first. In the hall, his martial art skill was the highest; if he could recover him first, they would have more assurance in subduing the enemy and seizing the victory. The sound of hoof beats suddenly stopped at the gate outside the wall, and was reced by the muffled explosions of the ram against the solid gate; the sound of one boom after another wasing through. Xu Zilings Long Life Qi entered Yin Xianhe from his back. In this life and death moment, this proud and aloof man had no time to be polite, he received and grabbed Xu Zilings true qi, and sent it bit by bit into his inner organs to drive the poison out. Boom! The door bolt was broken, the outer gate was finally opened. Kou Zhong, with a quiver of arrows hanging on his back and the Extinguished Sun Bow in his hand, was standing on the top of the steps, waiting in strict formation, letting the rain fell on his body. There were two quivers of reserve arrows on both sides; these arrows were supplied by the Dong Bei Bang. He still did not have enough confidence in using the iron bullets, hence he thought using arrows was still rtively more dependable. He had four arrows in his other hand. For him, using his dexterous hand to raise and shoot four arrows in session would not take much effort at all. The rain prated his clothes, no-hole-remain-unentered; he was like a statue standing in the midst of the violent wind of the thunderstorm,pletely unaffected by anything. His pair of eyes emitted terrifying light. With the help of the lighting from the main building, his gaze was fixed on the battered main gate. He made up his mind that he would die before letting the enemy storm into the hall, otherwise, these people, who were helpless to fight back, would meet with cmity. Bang! The door broke. Three riders, like apparition appearing from the darkness, rushed in, braving the wind and the rain. They all dressed like demons, wearing ck hood covering their face, revealing only their eyes, ears, mouth and nose. These were precisely the wreaking-havoc-in-the-northeast, running-amuck-without-any-scruple wolf-bandits. Kou Zhong let out a longughter. Swish! Swish! four powerful arrows were shot in rapid session. Anybody who suddenly came from the dark to the light, his vision would be more or less affected, not to mention the arrows from Extinguished Sun Bow was as fast as lightning, crossing over the pond in the middle of the round za, traversing over the nearly six hundred paces distance, their speed did not diminish the slightest bit, the arrows pierced through the enemys chest and went out of his back. Thest arrow flew into the dark outside the gate, generating another scream as someone was meeting his death. Several horses were frightened and rushed about everywhere, throwing the enemys momentum into chaos. The horses neighed, the people screamed; nightmarish pandemonium broke loose. There were six, seven more riders charging through the door. Kou Zhong knew that he had adopted the correct strategy. If he had setup his defense at any point between the pond and the outside gate, due to the enemy had many men, a great force, he would be overwhelmed; potentially the enemy would be able to break through his line of defense, and it might develop into a chaotic warfare. It would not matter how brilliant his saber technique was, for self-defense, it shouldnt be any problem, but he could forget about stopping the enemy. Currently, relying on the Extinguished Sun Bows long range, he was already able to hold on to the main buildings entrance, where he could get an unobstructed view of the whole za, while also had his beloved horse Thousand-li Dream and Xu Zilings Ten-thousand-li Spots within range of the divine bows protection. Advancing, he could attack, retreating, he could defend; it was indeed an invulnerable position. Another four arrows flew swiftly. None of the arrows missed the target, four enemies fell down from the horseback. But another ten riders sessfully broke through the gate and rushed in, lifting their weapons high, rounded the pond and attacked straight toward him. Kou Zhongs mind was as clear as the moon in the well, he calcted the timing of the enemys arrival without the slightest bit of error. At this time two more riders entered the main gate. The wolf-bandits on horseback leaned over to bend their bows and put on the arrows, which they aimed at him, in a clear disy of exquisite equestrian archery skill. The eight arrows wereunched almost uninterrupted. Like eight streaks of lightning they prated the enemies body. The speed of the arrows was beyond the enemies ability to block; their blood sshed, they obediently fell off their horses. Two riders attacked from left and right; the riders soared into the air to pounce toward him. Kou Zhong did not have enough time to fetch the arrows, he sprang at an angle, barely missed the arrows shot by the three enemies on horseback appearing from the edge of the pond. Not just in name, but also in reality [idiom], he shot from left and right, using the Extinguished Sun Bow to sweep the iing enemies, sending both the person and the weapon flying down the steps. Before his feet evennded on the ground, four more arrows came into his hand. Swish! Swish! the three archers on the other side were done for. Losing their riders, the warhorses in the za rushing to the left and dashing to the right in the rain, kicking the ground and neighing violently, affecting the other horses tied all around the winding corridor, so that they also neighed and kicked restlessly. On top of that, the lightnings and thunders, the torrents of rain, were making the chaos even more chaotic. Dang! The third group of about twenty wolf-bandits rushed in, the iron shield in the leaders hand was hit by Kou Zhong, it shattered immediately, while the wielder screamed and was thrown backwards. More enemies appeared at the entrance to the nearly a zhang high external wall, one after another they plunged into the za. The smarter ones rode around to use the winding corridor where the horses were as a cover, in an attempt to surprise Kou Zhong where he was standing. Kou Zhong did not pay them any attention at all; he kept shooting as if all his attention was concentrated in it. With the highest speed he was able to reach the quiver, fetched the arrows and shot the arrows; the enemies suffered a crushing defeat, they were unable to form any organized formation. Finally some enemies managed to reach the bottom of the steps. Kou Zhong folded the Extinguished Sun Bow in his left hand and stored it well, and then he pulled the Moon the in the Well, which name shook thend under the heavens, and said with loudugh, Whoever can block my, Kou Zhongs two moves, Laozi is going to spare his wolf life. Dang! One enemy, the person, as well as the saber, was hacked by him that he flew and fell down the steps, knocking down one of hispanions who was about to pounce up. Kou Zhong retreated back to defend the main door. With Kou Zhong unleashing his saber power, even if the enemy were able to block his saber, no one would not be able to block his out of the ordinary qi power. The enemy was shocked that he spurted out blood and fell away. In the blink of an eye the situation became grim, as rivers of blood and dead bodies filled the stone steps. Under the thunder and lightning filling the sky, the za was packed with the enemies. By this moment gradually Kou Zhongs qi was drained, his strength exhausted, with many cuts and wounds adorning his body. He was able to hold off purely by relying on his firm and persistent, surpassing-others willpower. The dauntless, unafraid of death wolf-bandits were still attacking; one fell, the next one followed. Suddenly sword light red up, catching most of the wolf-bandits offensives. Surprisingly, it was the Butterfly Prince Yin Xianhe. The pressure on him greatly reduced, Kou Zhongs spirit received tremendous boost; heughed and said, Good sword! Yin Xianhes sword had just sliced an enemys throat; he responded in only one sentence, The saber is even better, before going back to fight the enemy. Iming! from his other side, Ren Jun bored out of the mountain to take the attack on Kou Zhongs right side. Immediately Kou Zhong rxed. He took the first step forward after falling into the enemys siege, hacking and sending the enemy flying away. Luo Daoren and Qiu Nanshans voice came from behind; they shouted together, Dont let Cui Wang get away! Laughing wryly, Kou Zhong said, You guyse out and point him out to me. The circle of the battle was suddenly expanded; with the reinforcement of the two forces, the enemy was driven back down the steps. Kou Zhongs side was finally able to stabilize their defensive troop disposition. The situation was reversed. This moment Xu Ziling pounced out of the door, made a somersault in the air, and flew over the steps tond in the middle of the enemy formation in the za. The wolf-bandits were falling to the east and tumbling to the west, immediately they were routed. Like a ripple on the water, the chaotic situation swelled to the entire enemys battle formation. The originally organized wolf-bandits were finally thrown into chaos, so that they were falling into an every-man-for-himself situation. Kou Zhong and the others, in Mount-Tai-pressing-down-on-the-crown-of-the-head momentum, joined hands to kill their way down the steps, to attack the originally ruthless-like-the-tigers-charging-up-the-steps enemies that they fled to the east and ran away to the west, their acute spirit disappeared immediately. The bugle horn sounded. The enemy, striving to be the first and fearing to be thest, escaped to the main gate. Kou Zhong and the others followed Xu Ziling running after the enemys tail to chase to kill; those who fought back were swept by the wind, leaving more dead bodies. The rain falling in the za dyed the ground red with blood; it was such a shocking-to-the-eye, astonishing-the-heart scene. By the time they reached outside the main gate, the barely remaining forty something wolf-bandits already escaped in the dark, under the wind and the rain. The thunderstorm was somewhat abated, but the weather was still unstable, from time to time there were shes of lightning in the far away horizon, followed by the faint sound of thunder rolls. Everybody who came out to battle the wolf-bandits, Xu Ziling included, none did not receive some kind of injury. That kind of chaotic warfare was just like a life and death game to see who received serious injury and who was unable to continue, using life to fight for their life. After being in mortal danger and escaped alive, as well as knowing that the two were Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling C Su Qing, Shiye Hua, Bei Chenfen, and their mens attitude changed greatly; they expressed their gratitude and respect endlessly. The seven workers and three chefs who were working at the kitchen were poisoned too deeply; they gave up their soul, and thus they were added to the number of the ghosts who died unjustly. Assisted by the Bei Ma Bang, Wai Lian Bang, and Dong Bei Bang disciples, Qiu Nanshan cleaned up the dead bodies, while also wanted to see if there was any living mouth from which he could interrogate Cui Wangs secret. There was still about a sichen before daybreak. Although Yin Xianhe was willing to sit around with the others, he still did not utter a single word, did not speak half a sentence. Nobody knew what thought was whirling around in his head, which was different from ordinary peoples heads. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling used their power to dry up their clothes, to circte their qi and regte their breathing to restore their vital energy. Because of his responsibility in helping the people expelling the poison, the wear and tear that Xu Ziling suffered was more severe than Kou Zhong. He was dead tired, so he only sat down and copying Yin Xianhe, he did not say a single word. Kou Zhong did not have the slightest feeling of great victory; not only they let Cui Wang slipped away, but the innocent ry station workers also lost their lives, which made him feel totally useless. Shiye Hua broke the unbearable silence by clearing his throat, and then with solemn expression in ce of his usual annoying manner, he politely and modestly said, Xiaoren have eyes but fail to recognize Mount Tai [idiom], and havemitted a lot of offense, hoping that Shaoshuai Ye and Xu Daxia [great hero], being persons of great moral stature who do not remember the offensesmitted by those of low moral stature, would grant great forgiveness. Lang Tingting showed a look of contempt; apparently she looked down on Shiye Huas lowly character of switching from arrogance to deference. Because Lu Shiqing was at the za outside helping Qiu Nanshan clearing up the enemys dead and wounded, she was left behind in the dining hall. Kou Zhong shot a nce toward the bodies of the workers covered in cloth at the corner, which also included Sao Niangzi and Shu Dingtai. Sighing inwardly, he said, We do not need to say that kind of things; since we have been through life and death together, we arerade-in-arms. Shiye Hua spoke haltingly, Earlier, Shaoshuai Ye indicated that our humble Da Dangjia is rted to this matter, I wonder if ... Kou Zhong looked at Yin Xianhe; he said, I wonder if Yin Xiong can help Xiaodi here, could you suggest a way out for Da Shiye? With wooden expression, as if each word of his was as precious as gold, he said, Xu Kaishan is Cui Wang. Shiye Hua turned his imploring look at Kou Zhong; he was well aware that continuing to inquire of Yin Xianhe, he would only hit the wall. Yin Xianhe acted as if Shiye Hua did not exist; he spoke to Kou Zhong, The first person to suspect Xu Kaishan was Lu Bangzhu, the Senior. One time Lu Bangzhu went to Beiping to look for me, asking me to undertake the task of helping him to deal with Xu Kaishan. I have never had any interest in this kind of things, so I resolutely refused. Ay! Kou Zhong knew that remorse and guilt grew in his heart. What did Lu Bangzhu say? he asked. Su Qing, Bei Chenfen, Lang Tingting, who sat on the same table, all revealed a listening-attentively expression. Everybody knew that Xu Kaishan was extremely ambitious, but they never thought that he was the wolf-bandit chief Cui Wang. Only Luo Daoren still had his eyes closed since he was still treating his injury. Yin Xianhe slowly said, Lu Bangzhu had spent a great deal of manpower and resources to investigate his background; he said that he had some connection with the rising Huihe [ethnic group] evil sect called Da Ming Zun Jiao [lit. great light/brightness revered cult]. Kou Zhong was shaken, he said, Did you hear that strange scripture Sao Niangzi recited before her death? Except for Xu Ziling, everybody shook their head nkly. Kou Zhong said, She recited something like before this world was established, Jing Feng, Shan Mu, two envoys of the light from the no-light realm. Strange talk that sounded like scripture but not exactly scripture, it sounded like incantation, but not exactly an incantation. Doesnt the word light [guangming] have the Ming character in it? It is thus clear that Lu Bangzhu did not shoot without aim [idiom]. Su Qing asked Shiye Hua, When Anle Tragedy was happening, where was Xu Kaishan? Shiye Huas countenance turned even more unsightly; lowering his head to avoid other peoples eyes, he spoke in low voice, He just went alone outside the Pass. It was only three days after the tragedy that he returned. Xu Ziling said, In that case, the proof that Lu Bangzhu obtained must be enough to confirm that Xu Kaishan is Da Ming Zun Jiao member or perhaps some envoy. Also, it is possible that he told Shu Dingtai about it, and caused the tragedy of his whole family met with violent death. Shiye Hua was severely shaken, What do I do? he asked. Instead of answering him, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I have exchanged blow with Cui Wang. Everybodys spirit was greatly aroused. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, But I could not retain him. Even fighting one on one, I would have to spend some effort before I can retain him. Everybody revealed a disappointed expression. Qiu Nanshan and Lu Shiqing came back together. Looking at their expression, the others knew that there was no good news. Sure enough, Qiu Nanshan barely sat down, he heaved a deep sigh and said, Not even half a living mouth. The wounded killed themselves to be buried with the dead in battle with a dagger that has been dipped in poison; there was not even half a familiar face either. All had strange tattoo on their body. Lu Shixiong guessed that they belonged to the outside ethnic minority; Huihe to be precise. The biggest reaction came from Shiye Hua, Is Lu Xiongdi sure? he asked in trembling voice. Lu Shiqing nodded and said, When Wanbei was young, I apanied my humble master in a sightseeing trip outside the Pass, I saw this kind of tattoos technology and pattern in Huihe. It is said that it belongs to a local mysterious sect, but any knowledge about this cult is considered inauspicious. But Du Xing is not a Huihe, Bei Chenfen said. Letting out a cold snort, Su Qing said, There is no distinction of race and nationality in Cult and Sect. Bei Chenfen glowered ferociously at Su Qing, but he did not refute; this was really not the time to bicker. Listening to that, Qiu Nanshan and Lu Shiqing were confused. After giving them a bit of exnation, Kou Zhong asked, What is Qiu Laozong [old chief] going to do about this? With a bitterugh Qiu Nanshan said, This problem gives me the most headache. Not going to conceal anything from you: nominally, our Yan Wang is the master of the northeast region, but there are a lot of ces still not under hismand. Take Du Xing, this kind of hegemon over an area, for example, he has the Tujue and the Qidan supporting him from behind. Even though we are fully aware that secretly he does not shrink from any crime, we are still helpless to do anything about him. Plus this mans martial art is the top in the northeast, anybody would be somewhat afraid of him. Su Qing and Bei Chenfen nodded their head in deject. Kou Zhong smiled and said, That gives me a good idea. What happenedst night, we can tell it as things really are, except for our suspicions toward Xu Kaishan and Du Xing, and we must not mention anything about the strange scripture that Sao Niangzi recited before her death. Leave Du Xing and Xu Kaishan to me, let Xiaodi deal with them. Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, How could you not consider my, Yin Xianhes part in it? Quite surprisingly, Bei Chenfen also said, Our Dong Bei Bang definitely cannot not be involved. Su Qing spoke up as well, Ultimately, our Bangzhu will have to decide on this matter, but whether looking at it from righteousness and justice standpoint, or actual benefit, we also want to pull Du Xing down. She was speaking forthrightly; being able to eliminate the Bei Ba Bang, the biggest secret society in the northeast, Wai Lian Bangs power would definitely enjoy dramatic boost. Lu Shiqing went on to say, Our humble master and Lu Bangzhu had life-long friendly rtions; this matter, we cannot not to be concerned. After everybody expressed their position clearly, Qiu Nanshan resolutely said, After making clear report to Da Wang [big king], I will go to see Shaoshuai to discuss this further. Luo Daoren opened his eyes and burst into loudughter, he said, With Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose name shook the world C to look upon Du Xing, surely Du Xings good luck will go down very quickly. Kou Zhong asked Xu Ziling, Ling Shao, whats your thought on this? Xu Ziling replied, Well be in the open, whiledies and gentlemen are in secret. Upon our arrival in Shanhai Pass, we will change ording to the situation. It would be best if we leave before Xu Kaishan arrives, so we wont bump into him. Then he would not suspect that we already see through that he and Du Xing are in collusion. With pained expression, Shiye Hua nearly begged, Gentlemen, please point out to me a way out; should I just go as far away as possible? Ay! Have pity on me; above me I still have my parents, below me I have a wife and children. You must never do that, Kou Zhong said, Da Shiye is our extremely useful wonder troop [i.e. troops appearing suddenly (in a raid or ambush), but I decide to use the literal trantion here]. I guarantee that Xu Kaishan is not going to touch you. But of course, it all depends on whether you can deceive him. Xu Ziling said, Da Shiye must pretend that nothing happened; you must never, ever, show in your expression or action that you are scared of him or suspect him. You should also praise me and Shaoshuai, expressing your gratitude to us; this way, your honorable Dangjia will not doubt you. Qiu Nanshan pped the table and said, That is absolutely wonderful; I never thought that Xu Xiong has deep understanding of human psychology. After discussing the details of their operation, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ren Jun immediately hit the road. In their struggle against Du Xing, they have reached the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light [idiom: at ones darkest hour, a glimmer of hope/light at the end of the tunnel] phase; however, it was not as simple as previously imagined. Book 38 - 9 – Three Mighty Men Meet Again Two capitals, strategic ces, a pair ofnd, the first pass of the Great Wall. Shanhai Pass was located at Liao Ji Throat, between the mountain and the sea [note: Shanhai means mountain and sea], a vital ce, an important military strategic town east of the Great Wall. During the Warring States period [475-221 BC], in order to resist the foreign tribes plundering the border and invading in, each kingdom, one after another, built walls on the border of their own country. After the Qin unified the world, they linked each countrys border wall, as well as repaired and fully expanded the wall, so that to the west it reached Lintao, to the east it reached Liaodong, winding along and reaching to ten thousand li long wall [note: the Great Wall in Chinese is ten-thousand-li long wall]. Later on, the Han [206 BC-220 AD], the Northern and Southern dynasties [420-589 AD] and the Sui dynasty [581-617 AD] continued adding towers and expanded it. Until the Sui dynasty, Shanhai Pass has not yet developed its peak phase of being city-to-city defensive function, but it already reached its scale as a strong defense of the Pass. Presently, with the Tujue peoples increasingly growing momentum, although Shanhai Pass somewhat lost its importance in the military sense, it was still a choice thoroughfare connecting the inside and outside of the Pass, as well as a hub formercial goods distribution. The ancient city was built against the mountain and close to the sea; to the east, the extremity of the Bohai Bay was only fifteen li, to the north, ten thousand mountains were running together, imposing and majestic. The city wall was winding down from Mount Yan, along the mountain ridge and turning down the mountain, running through the sea to the north and south, equipped with several watchtowers, joined together, the construction became aplete defense system. Shanhai county town conformed to the irregr square-shapedyout, with the south-north as the long axis, and the west-north [sic, I checked both sources, not west-east] as the short axis, with the city wall around as protection. The four open city gates were connected by main streets in cross-shapedyout. In the middle of the cross was a tall bell and drum tower, standing tall over the other buildings, corresponding to the four gates in straight lines. Businesses were concentrated on both sides of the cross-shaped main streets; the shop at the front and the residence at the back. Most of the residential buildings were courtyard house with a fully enclosed courtyard [see footnote, Book 31 Chapter 11]. However, whether it was a shop or a house, all were constructed using green bricks, grey roof tiles, white stones, and so on,paratively more durable building materials; in, without anything fancy, unafraid of sandstorm, forming a distinctndscapepared to other cities in the Central Earth. But the biggest distinguishing feature was the demographic distribution between the Han and the barbarians. As Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ren Jun were riding slowly along half of the main street, they encountered more foreign tribes people than Han people. And the people looked valiant; those walking on the streets, none did not carry some kind of weapon or bow and arrows. There were more people riding horse than walking; therefore, all the stores had a wooden frame hitching post in front of them for the people to tie their horses on. After arriving at Shanhai county town everyone had deeper understanding why Du Xing was able to proim himself hegemon in this high-mountain, far-from-the-emperor ce. In this situation where the foreign tribes had great momentum while local peoples momentum weak, the highest authority was neither unable to, nor they dare to, control thisst county town in the northern territory. On the streets, they did not see even half of Yan troops; there was no tax to enter the city either. In here, only the powerful could call themselves king. Also only the most powerful could maintain the loose and unwrittenw and order in here. Everything was conducted ording to Jianghu rules. Hence, Du Xing, this kind of local big hero, who had influence in providing protection both outside and inside the Pass, had enough strength to be chief and to preside over matters. Shanhai county town was more bustling and prosperous than Yuyang. Pointing ahead, Ren Jun said with augh, We are here! The two boys eyes followed the direction of his finger, and saw a signboard with three characters Yi Sheng Long painted in goldcquer, and knew that this was the branch that Zhai Jiao opened here. Ren Juns countenance changed, he said, Without any reason, how could it close this early? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling noticed that the door was boarded up tight with wood nks. They have been rushing over without stopping, and right now it was still nearly half a sichen before sunset. The three increased their speed toward the shop, and saw that the wood nks had a piece of paper stuck on it, with surprising four blood-red big letters Dao Bi Feng Pu [lit. go bankrupt/close down sealed-up shop; basically going out of business]. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt that something was definitely afoot. Lets not talk about Zhai Jiaos branch here suddenly went bankrupt, even if it was indeed the case, the branch manager would have tactfully worded the announcement, and would not use words like go bankrupt or sealed up shop. Evidently the situation was very unusual. Ren Jun jumped down the horse; visibly upset, he said, Ill go to the back to look for them. Finished speaking, he quickly left. After looking closely for half a day, Kou Zhong said, This notice was posted only today, the ink is still fresh. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Du Xing knew we wereing, hence he is sending us a first-time-meeting gift, to show off his stand. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement. He spoke heavily, Du Xings only source of information is Xu Kaishans Cui Wang. This move is unwise; it adequately exposes his rtionship with the wolf-bandits. It can clearly be seen that in his anger, he had no other choice but to vent his anger at Yi Sheng Long people, while testing our reaction at the same time. Ling Shao, what do you think we should do in this matter? Xu Ziling said, Du Xing must have captured everybody in the branch office as hostages, to make us refrain from shooting the rat for fear of breaking the vases [idiom]. If we act blindly without thinking [another 4-character idiom], we would fall into his scheme. We should find out first what kind of scare tactic he is implementing here, and only then will we be able to formte the countermeasure. Due to the fact that on the surface Du Xing poses as a great hero, the embodiment of righteousness, the upholder of justice, he cant possibly, under ten thousand staring eyes, publicly move his saber, move his spear. This moment Ren Jun returned, flustered and exasperated; he said, Inside, everything has been smashed into pulp, plus there was red paint everywhere, but I did not see a single soul. Let me ask around the neighboring shops to see what exactly has happened. Kou Zhong smiled and said, When you have a problem and you are losing your mind, youll only make it worse. This is called fierce tiger cannot surpass local worm. Right now we should maintain the moon-in-the-well cool-headedness. Come, lets find a decent hotel and settle down first before talking about this. They went to several hotels in session, but as soon as the receptionists at the door saw the three arrived, they immediately put up the No Vacancy sign, and so they were refused entrance immediately. Ren Jun was so angry that he nearly wanted to move his saber to kill and burn, but Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling simply dismissed it with augh. Ren Jun angrily said, Lets go find Jing Kang, he has a headquarter in here. Jing Kang was the Gang Leader of the Sai Mo Bang, one of the Three Gangs One Society. He has always had a bit of friendly rtions with Dou Jiande, hence Zhai Jiaos opening up a ce in his territory has always been under his care. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Xiao Jun, you havent been too deep into the world, Jing Kang cant possibly provoke Du Xing, this kind of formidable opponent C for Da Xiaojies sake. And we must not make it more difficult for Old Jing to conduct himself left and right. Xu Ziling took the lead to trot slowly toward the southern gate, he said, There is no ce to stay here, there will be ces to stay elsewhere. Du Xing is sounding us out, why dont we sound him out instead? I want to see him staring nkly at us leaving the county town. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Even if he has guts as high as the sky, I presume he wont dare to stop us. I dare say that because we are arriving so suddenly, he did not have time to amass enough power to lie in ambush to kill us, so kidnapping several people from Yi Sheng Long branch is some kind of dying tactics. Ren Jun said, If they are murdered as a result, Da Xiaojie will be extremely grieved. Xu Ziling said, Therefore, we must ascertain Du Xings foundation first; for example, who is the person important to him? We could apprehend that person in our hands, and then use him in hostage exchange; how could Du Xing not surrender? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Du Xing wants toe and y with us, I am afraid he wont have any chance until he is reincarnated. The remark openly mentioned surname and stated the given name, plus it was spoken in loud voice and deliberate brassiness, immediately it provoked the hurriedly-walking-along-the-street people to raise their eyebrows. The two stirring up his heroic spirit, Ren Juns guts was aroused as well; he shouted loudly, Du Xing is just as timid as a mouse, he can only do some shrinking-head, tail-between-his-legs things; how could he possibly dare to provoke two Yeer? Those who heard this exchange turned pale; Du Xing was a hegemon in here, not just in name only, but also in reality, who would dare to openly provoke his tiger-whisker? Kou Zhong might as well thundered, Du Xing, if you are nearby, quickly roll out to see me. His voice traveled far and wide, overwhelming the voices of the people along the street, even the people in the neighboring streets and alleys could hear him loud and clear, immediately arousing a burst ofmotion. Suddenly a very familiar voice, which they had not heard for a long time, came from a restaurant to their left, saying, What kind of pain-in-the-posterior-end thing Du Xing is, anyway? Unexpectedly he provoked Shaoshuai, whose name shook the inside and outside of the Central ins C to be this angry? Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings tiger-body shook severely, they both revealed disbelief expression, and quickly looked at the direction where the voice came from. A man slyly stepped out of the restaurant, his majestic-as-a-mountain figure was as straight as a spear, he had a long sword hanging on his back, his outline distinct, his long and narrow face, which was as perfect as if it was sculpted in Dali, carried a brilliant smile that was as bright as the sun. There was a lord-overlooking-the-world overbearing lofty quality in him. Who else but Ba Fenghan, whom they have not seen for a long time? Kou Zhong somersaulted down his horse, ran toward Ba Fenghan, and embraced him tightly. The two burst out in loudughter together, with intense emotion in their hearts, delighted, carefree to the extreme point. Who would have thought that Ba Fenghan, who was going far away outside the Great Wall C would unexpectedly appear in this ce? Xu Ziling smiled and told Ren Jun, This gentleman is Ba Fenghan. Finished speaking he dismounted from the horse and walked over to the two men, who were hugging each other. Overflowing-to-the-sky huge waves were surging in Ren Juns heart. It could be said that other than the Wu Zun Bi Xuan, Ba Fenghan was the most prominent martial art master in the Wulin world of both inside and outside the Central ins, acimed as the most outstanding grandmaster of martial art study of foreignnd after Bi Xuan. Together with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, they were known as the most outstanding up-anding young men of the new generation both inside and outside the Central ins. Now that these three men were together again, what kind of earth-shattering things would emerge? Who could possibly guess? Kou Zhongs voice came back, Xiao Jun, tie the horses well, we are going to drink our fill first before dealing with other his mothers things. Ren Jun came to his senses; hastily he climbed down his horse to take care of the horses. On the streets, those who stand in a circle and watch were increasing without letup. Naturally they only dared to watch from afar; anybody knew that Kou Zhong and the others were not benevolent men, virtuous women at all. And now they bluntly and openly dered war against Du Xing, naturally there would be a good showing on the stage. By the time Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan hugged each other, all the diners in the restaurant, as well as the waiters and even their boss, have already slipped away quietly from the back door to avoid bringing disaster to the fish in the moat. Ba Fenghan moved away a little, with both hands he grabbed Xu Zilings shoulders tightly, he cast a nce toward Kou Zhong by his side, his pair of eyes emitted intimidatingly bright expression, he shouted, Great! Two gentlemens cultivation has made an even bigger breakthrough; it is certainly worthy of celebration. Kou Zhong excitedly said, You, this kid, seem to be urate to perfection as well. Based on the bearing and spirit before your eyes, perhaps the two of us fighting together still cannot besiege you. Ha! Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, Xiaodi has not heard such a funny joke for a long time. His eyes fell on Ren Jun, he smiled and said, This Xiao Xiongdi looks pretty good; your future outlook is unlimited. Receiving Ba Fenghans praise, the blood in Ren Juns entire body was boiling. Raising his cupped fist to salute, he deferentially said, It was entirely due to Zhong Ye, Ling Yes giving directions and promoting me to a higher level. Ren Jun pays his respect to Ba Ye. Ba Fenghan took his hands off Xu Zilings hand, and then wrapping his arms around the two boys shoulders, he led them into the restaurants door, and cheerfully said, Those two horses must be Gaochangs highest quality warhorses; you two managed to swindle them out of that ce, if you had not met me, I guarantee that when you get out of the Pass, someone will steal them. Ren Jun deeply felt the sincere emotion between the three, his heart warmed up; no longer considered the onlookers worthy in his eye, he closely followed the three into the restaurant. Because all the waiters and cooks responsible to serve the food and drink had all escaped with not a single one remaining, Ren Jun had no choice but to take both jobs, to cook and wait on the three, to give them the opportunity to chat freely about everything that happened after they parted. After three rounds of wine, Kou Zhong already forgot about Du Xing, he said, Good kid, unexpectedly you can appear and disappear unpredictably. Earlier in Changan we heard the news that you got rid of several big thieves, yet today you appear in the flesh in here. Ba Fenghan could not maintain his usual icily arrogant bearing in front of these two; smiling widely, he said, I came for a particr reason, which is to sincerely waiting here for the two gentlemens good selves to arrive. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, How did Fenghan Xiong know we areing to Shanhai Pass? Ba Fenghan replied, Even if I didnt go out, I would still know whats happening in the world, much less I am a homeless duckweed floating over the four seas. Quite by ident I learned about Xieli forming alliance with Kuge of Qidan, they are doing everything they can to lure you out of the Pass and put you to death. Since Xiaodi did not have anything to do anyway, plus I want to get first-hand experience on Du Xings Ba Wang Fu [lit. hegemons axe], thereupon I thought Id look for you along the way to drink wine and chat. Even if I could not see you, I would have gotten rid of Du Xing to dispose of this matter. Kou Zhongughed to his hearts content and said, Good kid! Let me toast you a cup. The three boisterously raised their cups to drink. Ren Jun came to serve them a te of steaming hot beef. The three were not bashful, they gorged themselves on this unexpected free dinner. As the night wore on, the people on the street still saw that there was no visible reaction from Du Xings side, most of them dispersed. In a splitting-the-rock-startling-the-heaven manner Kou Zhong suddenly spoke in Tujuenguage toward Ba Fenghan, Hows your old sweetheart? Ba Fenghan was greatly astonished What did you say? he asked. Kou Zhongs old face turned red, he said in embarrassment, Did I not pronounce it correctly? Ba Fenghan roared inughter and said, I was just teasing you. Who taught you? The pronunciation is not bad, but it can still be significantly improved. Xiao Jun, Kou Zhong thundered, Didnt you say that the Tujuenguage you taught us can fool even Tujue people? Terrified, Ren Jun said, I am exaggerating a little bit, Zhong Ye, please dont take offense. Hearing that, the three nearly split their sidesughing. For some reason, after meeting again, their power to refrain fromughing had suffered substantial setback. Ren Jun came to the table and spoke in low voice, Maybe Du Xing is here; the pedestrians outside arepletely gone, I did not see even half a shadow. Kou Zhong turned his head around to look outside, he said, You go outside and get the horses into the shop. Also take a look if they have some fodder inside? Feeding the horses until they are full is more important than ughtering Du Xing. Ren Jun received the order and left. Ba Fenghan practically did not consider Du Xing to be worthy in his eyes; remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, Our Tujue words are multi-sybles, divided into tight vowels and loose vowels. Tight and loose are referring to tightening and rxing pharynx muscles. Only when you know how to use these tight and loose vowels will your speaking have both shape and spirit. In that case, let us switch to you as our master, Kou Zhong said. Ba Fenghan said, Frankly speaking, I aming to Shanhai Pass this time, its just a stop along the way; my true destination is Longquan Fu. Xu Ziling said, Fenghan Xiong wants to participate in the founding ceremony of the Jie Kingdom. A hint of grim smile floated out of the corner of Ba Fenghans mouth; copying Kou Zhongs intonation, he said, Bai Ziting founding a country is none of my, Ol Bas goddamn business; I just want to see martial art masters from all parts of the countrying to participate in the ceremony, I want to select several as sacrifices for the sword. If Bi Xuan is willing to bestow him some face, nothing can be more ideal than that. Kou Zhong happily said, We are thinking of going to gain some experience too. Ba Fenghanughed heartily and said, To be able to gallop side by side with two gentlemen on the prairie outside the border is certainly a delight in ones life. What exactly is your animosity against Du Xing? Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to ask, Have you heard about Da Ming Zun Jiao? Stunned, Ba Fenghan asked, What does Du Xing have to do with Da Ming Zun Jiao? I heard they are one kind of mysterious sect that came from Persia. It flourishes after spreading to Huihe, but after itbined with an evil sect in Huihe, it gradually deteriorates. Not only the people of the Cult have outstanding martial art skill, they are also proficient in astronomy and in the use of poison. Not many people dare to provoke them. As for who the Jiaozhu [Cult Leader] is, I have no idea. Kou Zhong was about to speak, a voice was speaking outside, Bei Ba Bangs Bangzhu Du Xing came to seek audience. I wonder if Kou Xiong, Xu Xiong are willing to let Ol Du toe in to talk? Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you looked at me I looked at you, they never thought that Ba Wang Du Xing could be this polite and modest, and have such courtesy. Book 38 - 10 – Recreating Immortal Footprints Du Xing was worthy to bear the name Hegemon King; he was tall and straight, his build carried some kind of stalwart and intimidating spirit, which surpassed ordinary person by arge margin, insinuating that he was not at all a man who was bold but not very astute. He appeared to be in his early forties; although could not be considered handsome, he was brimming with masculinity and was glowing in spirits. Underneath his rough and bushy eyebrows was a pair of sharp eyes, there seemed to be nothing could be hidden from him. He came with his hands behind his back; outside his yellow warrior outfit he wore an overcoat and a cape. His feet were inside a pair of leather boots; he surely had ample overbearing air [note: ba can be tranted as hegemon or overbearing; same word applies to Yue Shan]. Under three mens sharp gaze, he did not show the slightest amount of uneasiness; on the contrary, he was carefully sizing up the three. However, it was obvious that he did not know which divine character Ba Fenghan was; his gaze lingered on him the longest. Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, I wonder if Du Dangjia was such in a hurry that you left your Hegemon Axe at home? Upright and unafraid, Du Xing sat down opposite to the three men. He alsoughed calmly in return and said, This time Xiaodi is here to talk business, why would I want to bring the Hegemon Axe? His eyes fell on Ba Fenghan, he said, And this gentleman is ... Ba Fenghan rose up to his full height and said with a proud smile, A no-name small soldier, there is not enough reason to mention. Three gentlemen, please carry on as you wish. Finished speaking, he walked over to the back of the shop to be with Ren Jun, who was there to feed the horses. Du Xing regained his gaze, with which he stared at Ba Fenghans majestic back. Meeting Kou Zhongs gaze, he spoke heavily, This time Shaoshuais good-selfing to the north, is it to bring Ol Du bad luck, or to act on Zhai Xiaojies behalf to talk business? Formidable, Kou Zhong cried inwardly. Du Xing came to deal with them ording to Jianghu rules, which put them in disadvantageous position instead. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, If Du Dangjia could provide exnation on why you closed Da Xiaojies branch and pulled the people away that will make others ept wholeheartedly, I, Kou Zhong, will pour wine to pay my respect to you, LaoGe. Du Xing pped the table with his palm, producing a loud noise that surprised even Ba Fenghan and Ren Jun and made them look. But the wine on the table did not ssh a single drop, which showed that not only his martial art skill was out of the ordinary and has entered the Arhat stage, but also his inner power skill was strange beyond humanprehension. With this little demonstration, immediately Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan had to greatly revise their impression on him, which made Kou Zhongs hands, just like Ba Fenghan, itching. Such a worthy opponent, it was not easy to seek; it definitely worth a try. Du Xings voice and expression turned stern, he shouted, Closing the shop and pulling away the people, how could it be my Niangs fart matter? Did you, Kou Zhong, see me, Du Xing did that? Your grannys bear, were it not for Ol Du giving consideration to Jing Kang, how could I have the spare time to mind Zhai Jiaos business? Now I painstakingly persuaded the opposite side to make them obediently hand the sheepskin back, yet you came shouting abuse in the street like a fishwife, shouting and yelling, making so much noise that the whole city knows. What kind of man am I, Du Xing? I dont care if you are the Tianwang Laozi [the old man, emperor of heaven], or the Jade Emperor himself, if you are unpleasant to the eye, I will chop you off to seven, eight pieces and eat you to apany my wine. You have the cheek the use me falsely, lets see if I donte to look for those small soldiers to vent my anger. Being at the receiving end of the sudden outburst of his haughtiness-reaching-the-sky counterstrike, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were dumbstruck; momentarily they did not know how to respond, hence they could only meet his pouring the dogs blood [fig. torrent of abuse] scolding head on. Even if they were fully aware that he was the man behind the scene driving the wolf-bandits, fully aware that he was the one closing the shop and pulling away the people, also prohibiting the hotels in Shanhai Pass from receiving them, yet these were all baseless conjectures, without any concrete evidence. Ba Fenghans voice came over, Du Xing, it seems like you really cannot guess who I am, unexpectedly you dare to open your eyes and speak big words to my brothers in front of me. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Not good!; they knew Ba Fenghans temperament very well, knowing that when his murderous intent was stirred up, one wrong word and fight would ensue. How ferocious and ruthless Ba Fenghans sword moves were? As soon as they fought, how could he be lenient? If Du Xing was killed, their effort to retrieve the sheepskin would certainly fizzle out, and then how could they answer Zhai Jiao? Du Xings reaction was even more beyond their expectation; he suddenly stood up, both hands grabbed the edge of the table, while taking a slight step backward, he pulled the big wooden table so that all four legs left the ground, and then he threw it up in anger. As if it was weightless, the whole table, along with the cups and dishes, soared straight up and crashed heavily onto the big beam of the roof. The table, the cups, and the dishes immediately shattered into smithereens, and fell down like rain on the floor, as well as on the two boys. With his finger pointing to Ba Fenghan like a halberd, Du Xing roared, F*ck your eighteen generations of ancestors. Who dares to lift their breath against me, Du Xing in here? I, Du Xing, am a man whose word worth nine sacred tripods, whose promise worth one thousand in gold. Right now Laozi is not interested in your goddamn business [orig. bird business; as I said earlier, Chinese have certain fascinations with birds]. Let Zhai Jiao and the others lose their family fortune, their reputation swept over the floor. His granny! He turned around and walked away. Kou Zhong sprang up and rushed after him outside the shop. Suddenly a lot of men, so many that even if anybody wanted to count he would not be able to count C appeared from the roof of the shops around, as well as from the streets and alleys, in orderly and uniformed manner, their bows were bent, the arrows were aimed at him. With just one order from Du Xing, they would shoot Kou Zhong and turn him into a hedgehog. Kou Zhong acted as if he did not notice the hundreds of arrows aimed at him at all. Reaching into his robe to take the Moon in the Well out, he pointed his finger at Du Xing, who was walking to the middle of the street, and shouted loudly, I also dont care whether you are overbearing heaven or overbearing earth; whoever embezzled the sheepskin, Laozi has enough skill to make him vomit it out. If you, Du Xing, did it, dont think that you can mingle in Jianghu anymore. The originally bustling street suddenly became as empty as a ghost domain. Only the windnterns hanging outside the shops were swaying and flickering in the cold breeze blown from the northern desert. Nearly five hundred archers were waiting with stored-up momentum, yet not a single rapid breathing was heard. Evidently Du Xings men were not ordinary gangs and societies mob at all. This bunch of archers consisted mostly of foreign tribesmen from Tujue and Qidan; none was not valiant, calm and collected. Such strength was greatly beyond Kou Zhongs expectation. Du Xing was turning around slowly. He had no choice but to move slowly, simply because Kou Zhongs saber momentum was locking at him tightly; any slight mistake, Kou Zhong would immediately pounce on him in full power. He was watching quietly; as soon as, due to the multiple arrows pointing at him, Kou Zhongs momentum was slightly weakened, he would order the arrows to be released immediately. Too bad not only Kou Zhongs saber qi did not weaken the slightest bit, it was constantly increasing instead. The two mens eyes met. They both could see the loathing, hatred, and murderous intent toward each other. Kou Zhong appeared to be holding the initiative, but he was actually groaning inwardly. If he brandished his saber to strike, if Du Xing was able block his saber head-on, due to all his mind was focused on Du Xing, he would definitely be unable to evade the nearly five hundred powerful arrows shooting at him from four sides, eight directions C to keep his life. If he returned to the shop, he would fall into the disadvantageous position where he could only take a beating. It would be even more difficult for their beloved horses to avoid cmity. If Du Xing could set up his men at the shops front door, the back door would certainly be heavily surrounded as well. Du Xing indeed had the air of a hegemon. On the other side, Du Xing was filled with regret as well; he regretted that he did not carry the Hegemon Axe with him, so that he had no confidence that he would be able to meet the Moon in the Well head-on. Standing ten paces away, Du Xingughed coldly and said, I wonder if Shaoshuai is afraid? Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, Not only I am afraid, I am scared to death. Actually, I am most afraid of the dark; therefore, even when traveling on the road, I always look for someone to keep mepany. Inside the shop, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan did not show the least bit of movement. They knew that with any slight movement, the resulting changes would be difficult to anticipate. Therefore, even though Ba Fenghan was valiant, he still did not dare to move lightly, and had no choice but to let Kou Zhong deal with it alone. While resisting Kou Zhongs astonishing saber qi pressing down on him, Du Xing threw his head back in longughter and said, Good. I, Du Xing, has proimed myself hegemon inside the Pass for more than ten years, this is still the first time I encountered a man full of guts like Shaoshuai. Now I give you two way-outs; one is to fight immediately, the other is to get lost as far away as possible, and afterwards dont let me see your face again, ever. Nonsense! Kou Zhong thundered, and was ready to brandish his saber to deal a heavy blow. Right in this critical moment where a thousand pounds hung by a thread, a sweet-sounding voice like heavenly music, gentle and soft, wasing from the end of the long street, saying, I wonder if two gentlemen be willing to give Feixuan a bit of meager face, and cease the hostility? Kou Zhong and Du Xing were shocked; they both looked at the direction of the voice. And there, wearing mens clothing, simple and elegant like a fairy, was Shi Feixuan, walking over gracefully. None of the archers was not distracted; they turned to look, and thus greatly diluted the taut-bow-ready-to-be-released tense atmosphere. Kou Zhong had never imagined that Shi Feixuan would suddenly appear in such a secluded county town at the northern border; he nearly wanted to call Xu Ziling out to verify his eyesight. However, Du Xings face was alternating indeterminately between gloomy and clear; he was hesitating and could not make up his mind. His troop disposition was originally had enough power to deal with Kou and Xu, two boys. With the addition of Ba Fenghan, whom he still did not know which divine character he was, he already missed his calction. Now that Shi Feixuan was here, the situation turned into two battlefronts, with one ready tomence. In the end he lost confidence. Shi Feixuan came to a stand behind the archers formation; she smiled and said, Du Dangjia, Shaoshuai, what do you think? Kou Zhong put the saber back into its scabbard. After covering it well with his robe, he said with a grin, Xianzis order, naturally Xiaodi will have to listen to the instruction and obey. All eyes were now on Du Xing, to see how he was going to react. Du Xing angrily said, Looking up on Shi Xianzi, you guys may stay in Shanhai Pass for only three days; otherwise, dont me me, Du Xing, for being impolite. At that time, I will ask Xianzi not to intervene. Unwittingly he followed Kou Zhongs example by addressing Shi Feixuan as immortal/fairy. Go! Du Xing thundered. Finished speaking, he brushed his sleeves and turned around brazenly. The archers retreated, dispersed, and were gone in the blink of an eye, not a single one remained. Shi Feixuan calmly moved over in front of Kou Zhong. Her beautiful eyebrows knitted lightly, she said, Why did Shaoshuaie this far? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong asked, You are not angry at us anymore? Shi Feixuan sighed lightly and said, How could Feixuan have the leeway to be angry at you? Ba Fenghans voice came over, Since Shi Xiaojies immortal self has arrived, why dont youe in to have a chat here? After casting Kou Zhong a sidelong nce, Shi Feixuan stepped into the shop. Inside the restaurant, they selected a table by the door and sat down, with Ren Jun serving them fragrant tea. The most excited person tonight was Ren Jun. In one day, he consecutively came across the exceptional hero Ba Fenghan, and the out-of-the-ordinary, looking-askance-at-the-vulgar-world fairy Shi Feixuan. It was just like a dream. The most natural and calm was Ba Fenghan. Simply because he did not know that now Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings gratitude and grudges were intertwined with Shi Feixuan, that they were in aplex rtionship that they themselves could not exin. Shi Feixuan maintained her usual cold andposed manner. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were well aware there was a gap growing between them that was difficult to mend. Xu Ziling had no choice but to greet her with a smile as if nothing had happened. Ba Fenghan started the conversation by saying, Who would have thought that Shi Xiaojie might show your fragrant footprints in this ce? How long has Xiaojie been here? Shi Feixuan responded indifferently, Feixuan has just arrived. Did Ba Xiong agree with Kou Xiong, Xu Xiong to meet up here? Ba Fenghan replied, I specifically came to meet with them, but they had no idea that I would be here. Kou Zhong respectfully said, What noble errand brought Feixuan here? It cant be because you want to cultivate and refine yourself by experiencing the desert beyond the Great Wall, can it? Hearing Kou Zhong acting familiar by calling her by her first name, Feixuan, this beautys pretty eyebrows slightly knitted, she cast him a displeased stare and said, Why Feixuan must go to Shanhai Pass, you ought to know better than anyone. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, The tone of Feixuans voice implies me and displeasure, as if you are here to bring harm to us. Hey, it shouldnt be like that? Secretly, he gave Xu Ziling a kick. Xu Ziling could not guess the reason Shi Feixuan went to Shanhai Pass either, but of course, unlike Kou Zhongs wishful thinking, he did not think that Shi Feixuan did not hesitate to take the long and difficult trek to seek him, Xu Ziling. What else but for Shi Zhixuan, Shi Feixuan replied nonchntly. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly astonished. Based on Shi Zhixuans ability and wisdom, and his demonic skill, even if Ning Daoqi personally undertook the task, perhaps it would still be difficult to cling to his tail and pursue him all the way to Shanhai Pass. Shi Feixuans beautiful eyes emitted a determined look, she spoke slowly, We decided that whether we will have to chase him to the end of the sky or to the corner of the ocean, we definitely will not let Shi Zhixuan settle down to train the demonic skill from the Xiedi Sheli. Ba Fenghan was listening with nk face; but since he knew that this matter concerned the demonic master of this generation Demonic Emperor [sic] Shi Zhixuan, he was greatly interested. Avoiding Xu Zilings eyes, but meeting Kou Zhongs gaze, Shi Feixuan said, Feixuan is unsure whether to scold you or thank you. Were it not for you guys believed yourselves infallible and ran amok, the Relics would not have fallen into Shi Zhixuans hands; but were it not for you rescuing Jin Huanzhen, they, husband and wife, would not have taken the initiative to seek us to cooperate, which enable us to rely on their secret method to follow Shi Zhixuans trail. The two suddenly saw the light. Jin Huanzhen seeded in rescuing her husband, she did not let Zhou Laotan to be harmed by An Long. Afterwards, whether it was because they wanted to exert themselves in mending their ways, or because they wanted to exploit the orthodox paths power to help them snatching the Relics back, they sought Shi Feixuan and were willing to cooperate with her, relying on their marvelous skill to detect the Relics within a hundred li radius, and thus forcing Shi Zhixuan to run away outside the Pass. ording to reason, Shi Zhixuan ought to go out of the Pass via the northern border, because from Guanzhong, whether he headed west or north, he would enter the Western Tujue or Eastern Tujues territory; both could be considered unwise. Kou Zhong asked in low voice, I wonder if San Ren, the Senior, ising with Feixuan? Shi Feixuan replied casually, Time was pressing, Feixuan did not have time to notify anybody else. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Shi Feixuans sword technique definitely had reached the out of the ordinary and entered the Arhat stage, but to kill Shi Zhixuan, it was still an impossibility. Based on Shi Zhixuans power and his bloodthirsty character, he would devour her just for fun instead. Shi Feixuan cast a nce toward Xu Ziling, as if she was saying, Do you still care about me? Her expression was subtle. Ba Fenghan could not help blurting out, What the hell are you guys talking about? Ill exin it to you, LaoGe,ter, Kou Zhong replied. Turning to Shi Feixuan, he asked, Where are Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotan? Shi Feixuan spoke without any emotion, Along the way, they and I maintained an inseparably close contact with each other, I followed Shi Zhixuans trail by following the secret markings that they left behind. But they suddenly disappeared near here, no further secret markings were left, the reason is unclear. Kou Zhong drew a mouthful of cold air; he said, I am afraid they stepped onto Old Yous trailing dust [fig. course in life], and met with cmity under Shi Zhixuans poisonous hands. Instead of responding to his remark, Shi Feixuan asked, What noble errand brought you to Shanhai Pass? Why did you have such a stiff confrontation with Du Xing? Kou Zhong exined briefly; he also mentioned the wolf-bandits and Da Ming Zun Jiao. It was only then that Ba Fenghan understood a little bit. Shi Feixuan revealed a grave expression. She said, About Da Ming Zun Jiao, Feixuan heard a little bit. It originated from a certain descendant of feudal aristocrats in the Persian capital Taixifeng [Persepolis?], who wrote the book Suo Bu Luo Qian [sorry, no idea], introducing the Two Schools Three Rtionships Theory. The two schools are Light and Darkness. The three rtionships are past, present, and future. They believe that the highest god is the Da Ming Zun Shen [lit. great brightness revered deity], and the highest expression of four kinds of virtues to be the god, the light, the power and the intelligence. Under the Da Ming Zun Shen are Shan Mu [benevolent mother], Yuanzi [origin/atom], five names and five kinds of demon, and so on. The organization is secret, their strength enormous. If Du Xing is rted to this Cult, it wont be like it appears on the surface, only worshiping the deity ording to his faith, but it is extremely likely that he would deploy arge-scale invasion in the name of religion. Kou Zhong was speechless. Currently the demonic schools in the Central Earth is stirring the wind, disturbing the rain, he said, With the addition of Huihe evil cult, it will really bring us headache. Rising to her full height, Shi Feixuan said, Since three gentlemen are here, I am sure you wont sit idly by. Feixuan still have some business to be done; when theres a chance, we will meet again. The three stood up in a hurry. With a wry smile Xu Ziling said, About Shi Xiaojie dealing with Shi Zhixuan, is it possible to let us exert a little bit of strength? Shi Feixuan met his gaze. Her beautiful eyes emitted aplicated and sad emotion, she spoke gently, Since you yourselves are too busy with your own business, when you have the time and the mood, you can try to find the dont-know-where-he-is-hiding Shi Zhixuan. Finished speaking, she floated away. Book 38 - 11 – Exchanging Saber and Sword Theory The four men walked slowly along the street. Other than Ren Juns horse, which required him to pull it by the rein, the Thousand-li Dream and Ten-thousand-li Spots, just like the most loyal dogs, followed behind them; their manner serene, indeed they were out-of-the-ordinary spirited horses. The street had already returned to its bustling-with-noise-and-excitement, endless-stream-of-horses-and-carriages atmosphere. The weather was still unstable; from time to time raindrops were falling. But other than they could not see the moon and the stars, it could be considered not too bad. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan walked side by side, behind them were the two spirited horses, followed by Ren Jun, the elf little servant, which attracted the passersbys raised eyebrows. They were pretty sure that the entire Shanhai Pass already knew that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling havee; otherwise, people in the inns and the restaurants could not possibly rush out to gawk at them. Shanhai Pass was the ce where the top Wulin figures from inside and outside the Central ins gathered and made contact with each other; naturally everybody wanted to see their elegant manner and their skill, or perhaps even get to know them. Fortunately, everybody knew that potentially they and Du Xing were like water and fire; a battle was inevitable. Unless they wanted to be drawn into this fight, in which victory or defeat was difficult to foresee, it would be better to just show respect to them from a distance. Previously, inside the restaurant, Ba Fenghan already listened to Kou and Xu talking for the whole sichen. It was not until the shop owner, trembling with fear, came to ask them to leave the restaurant C that they went out the door together. And it was not until now that Ba Fenghan finished listening to the whole story. Kou Zhong even told him the true story concerning the Duke Yangs Treasure, because he absolutely trusted Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Indeed it was brilliant beyondpare. Spending time with you those days, it was very colorful, very exciting; I always recall it fondly. I am hoping we will have some rather interesting program tonight to liven things up; how about we go to give Du Xing some bad luck? Kou Zhong was secretly worried for Du Xing; offending Ba Fenghan was definitely not a joking matter. He said, You, LaoGe, must hold down your temper a bit. First of all, we must rescue the five people that he holds hostage and send them out of the danger zone. Next, we must find out that batch of Da Xiaojies sheepskins whereabouts. I dont doubt that killing Du Xing, this Ba Wang, is a delight, but we must aplish these two things first. Xu Ziling said, Xiao Zhong, do you remember Da Xiaojie said that those eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin was purchased from Huihe people via Bai Ziting? Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Fortunately you reminded me, I nearly forget. How can it be such a coincidence? That batch of goods might be the dirty stolen goods that Cui Wang robbed. He turned his mothers internal robbery into export, and then shipped it back into the Central ins and sold it at the highest price to make a profit. And yet his grannys bear came midway to intercept and rob again, demanding ransom. F*ck his eighteen generations of ancestors, he really knows how to do business. Halfway through his speech, he changed to Du Xings voice and intonation, and he was able to mimic him extremely well; it was extremely hrious, so that even Ren Jun, who was walking behind them, was blurting outughing loudly. To Ren Jun, everything was like in a dream. He had never thought that in the face of Jianghu fighting they would still be able tough heartily without restraint; he realized that he was infected by the three mens enormous-without-equal self-confidence and heroic spirit. Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, Good ol Du Xing. That kind of person is rare, I havente to look for him in vain. If we can capture him alive, I have confidence that if we want him to call for his dad he would call his dad, if we want him to call for his mom he would call his mom. I have been here three days, and have already figured out his foundation. When we get back to the shop, we will carefully study how to proceed with this operation. Kou Zhong was about to reply when suddenly someone called from behind, Xiao Jun! Four men turned to look. They saw a medium-built, well-dressed, looked to be forty-something years old man, in glowing spirits, rushing from behind to catch up, carrying with him an intimidating momentum. The one feature that left deep impression in others mind was his eagle-beak nose, and a pair of deep set yet sharp like a hawks eyes, giving people the feeling that he was a treacherous man with a nerve of steel. Jing Dangjia! Ren Jun blurted out. The three immediately knew that the neer was the Sai Mo Bangs Gang Leader Jing Kang. His steps appeared to be slow but he was actually fast, Jing Kang hurried to Ren Juns side, cupped his fist to salute, and said, This gentleman is ... his eyes were on Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan returned the greeting and said, Wanbei Ba Fenghan. Jing Dangjia, please bestow your instruction. For him, it could be considered extremely polite already. Emotionally moved, Jing Kang said, Unexpectedly its Ba Fenghan who defeated the Flying Eagle Qu Ao; please forgive me for failing to show respect. Kou Zhong stepped back to his side and said, This kid is Kou Zhong, he is Xu Ziling. Da Xiaojie entrusted to us to send her regards to you, the Senior. After saying Good! three times in session, Jing Kang said coldly, I am extremely disappointed at Du Xing, he yelled and shouted to beat and to kill the men that my noble niece sent here; how am I going to exin to Jiande? This matter is clearly a bullying case; I tolerated him once, I cant tolerate him anymore. Therefore, I decided to kill him on the street; otherwise, how can I vent this anger? Kou Zhong had a big headache. Jing Kang was surely a vicious and merciless old fox with exuberantly wild schemes; he could see that this is a once-in-a-thousand-years chance to put Du Xing in order, because there were the three of them, big martial art masters to help him. Ba Fenghan leaned over to Xu Ziling, who was listening attentively to Jing Kang, and whispered in his ear, Left side, there is a very beautiful girl staring at you. Casting a surreptitious nce, immediately Xu Ziling called for his Niang inwardly. He drew out a mouthful of cold air and said, She is Fu Junqiang, the female disciple of Fu Cailin C that he is most proud of, the one he took as he was closing the door [i.e.st one], our Niangs young Shimei. Startled, Ba Fenghan turned to look, but Fu Junqiang already disappeared into a side alley. How could Kou Zhong not hear what Ba Fenghan said? It was also because he looked at Fu Junqiang that he lost his concentration and forgot to respond to Jing Kang. Jing Kang did not mind at all, he simply continued, The only thing we need to be careful about is the Bei Ma Bang. Xu Kaishan and Du Xing called each other Xiong and Di [older and younger brother, respectively]; when something happens, he would go all-out to help Du Xing. After seeing Fu Junqiang, how could Kou Zhong have any interest in other things? He replied without thinking, Killing Du Xing is a small matter, retrieving the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin and rescuing the people from the shop that have been kidnapped is the big matter. And another thing that you, Senior must consider is that right now the frontier defense of Shanhai Pass is wide open, anybody can enter or exit freely, the Great Wall is just like an empty arrangement. If, because of Du Xing get murdered the Tujue and Qidan enter the Pass to massacre everyone in the captured city to vent their anger, I wonder if Jing Dangjia have a good n to deal with them? He did not dare to offend Jing Kang, hence he tactfully advise him not to be involved in the struggle against Du Xing, otherwise it might evolve into a big territorial war among the gangs and societies, and then how would they rescue the people and retrieve the goods? If you dont look at the monks face, then look at Buddhas face. Not only Jing Kang was Dou Jiandes old friend, Zhai Jiao would still need him to take care of her future foreign trade. He would be happy to obtain Jing Kangs Sai Mo Bangs help to upy the advantageous position. But before he could think of a suitable way to deal with Du Xing, it was inadvisable to make things overlyplicated. Jing Kang smiled and said, Shaoshuai, dont worry, this time we have Yan Wang giving us full support from behind. As long as we can eliminate Bei Ba Bang and Du Xing, Yan Wang will send arge army to establish his presence here and to strengthen the frontier defense. I guarantee that anyone who disys shockingly bad behavior wont be able to do it as easily as before. After a short pause, he said, Were it not for receiving Yan Wangs information, I would not know that the two gentlemen whom Da Xiaojie invited wereing to settle the ount with Du Xing. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that turned out that was what happened; no wonder Jing Kang coulde and talk to him publicly. Gao Kaidao not only observed, but also monitored closely the internal strife in Tujue. They had no time to pay attention to foreign affairs; thereupon he wanted to take advantage of this situation to eliminate Du Xing C this thorn in his side C in order to break away from Xielis control. It was surely much easier to deal with the Qidan people only than with the two tribes coalition army at the same time. Under this kind of circumstances, they would bepelled to stand on Jing Kang and Gao Kaidaos side. Other than this, there was no other choice. Jing Kang suddenly stopped; he said, Gentlemen, pleasee with me. Following his example, everybody stopped. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Where does Jing Dangjia want us to go? Jing Kang cheerfully said, Staying in an inn is not too convenient, I have a wine shop at the western gate, four gentlemen could stay there. Ba Fenghan looked at Kou Zhong. Seeing him nodded slightly, he said, We will trouble Jing Dangjia then. But I still need to go back to my hotel to retrieve my traveling bag and my horse. Jing Kangughed and said, As long as Ba Xiong is willing to nod, let some of my boys take care of it for Ba Xiong. I already ordered the people to withdraw from the wine shop, so that four gentlemen could rest quietly. If you need someone to run an errand, outside are all my Sai Mo Bang men. After taking gentlemen there to settle down, Laofu still need to see some people. Before, they did not dare to touch Du Xings affairs, but now they cant stay behind closed wall anymore. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, I wonder if Jing Dangjia could send your men to deliver a message to Du Xing? Shaoshuai, please bestow your instruction, Jing Kang replied. How could this kid dare to bestow instruction to you, Senior? Kou Zhong said, I just want to ask Jing Dangjia to send someone with this message to Du Xing: if by sunrise tomorrow he still refuse to release the five subordinates of Da Xiaojie, then I, when I see one Bei Ba Bang people, will kill one. Unless he is willing to admit that he is not the master of Shanhai Pass at all, he will not get away from this. Jing Kangughed loudly and said, Kou Zhong is Kou Zhong. Laofu really want to see Du Xings reaction when he heard this message. Yanshan [Mount Yan] Winery was indeed a very good ce, the front courtyard was spacious, it could house more than a dozenrge round table, and then there was arge atrium where the horses could rest, which connected to the rooms, the bathroom and the kitchen at the rear courtyard, as well as a cer where they kept fresh water and wine. The walls of the room were made of dressed-stone bricks [not sure], strong and sturdy. The perimeter walls all around were high. It looked more like Sai Mo Bangs headquarters than a wine shop. In fact, Yanshan Winery had never opened its door for business; rather, it was a distribution center for Shao Wine [dictionary says name of a famous Tang dynasty wine, same as white wine]. Ba Fenghans horse was a divine spirited horse, plus Ba Fenghan himself was skillful in training the horses. Under hismand, the horse could perform all kinds of tricks, freely and effortlessly [orig. as the arm moves the finger (idiom)], so that they were very impressed. Ba Fenghan said, Horses are some kind of noble and proud animals. The key trick in training a horse, first, you must establish close rtionship with it as if it is your own flesh and blood, and then cultivate its confidence and alert nature. A horse that goes panic when encountering a problem will only botch things up. What do you call your horse? Kou Zhong asked. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, This was a generous gift from a chief of Shatuo tribe; I give it the name Tamakan, which is the name of a beautiful but terrifying great desert. Ren Jun noticed that Ba Fenghan fetched a long bow that had its entire body painted in colorful decorative design; very peculiar and exquisite, brimming with exotic vor. Ba Yes bow is very unique, hemented. Ba Fenghan said, Its a mulberry wood bow made by a skilled artisan from Persia, deeply conforming to the reach, speed, sharp, blend, solid, and durable, six forms of the bow fabrication. In the great prairie, without bow and arrows, one would feel unbearable as ifpletely naked. From inside his robe Xu Ziling took out the Perished Moon Bow, unfolded it, and handed it over to his hand, saying, Take a look, what do you think of this bow? Greatly astonished, he said, This is the first time Xiaodi see a bow that can be folded like this. My Niang! I bet this bow can shoot the enemy one thousand paces away. Who made it? Seeing how effortlessly he was able to pull the bow into a full moon, Ren Jun was speechless endlessly. Kou Zhong said, It was made by a man in Yuyang who is known as Jian Dashi. Throughout his life, he only made seven bows that he is very proud of. This is one of the two that he is most proud of, the other is in Xiaodis possession. Sketching in light shades, Xu Ziling said, This bow is called Perished Moon. After we get rid of Jian Dashis archenemy, the Husband and Wife Team of Evil Thieves of Shiwei, Shen Mohuan, then the name will be changed back to its original elegant name Shooting The Moon. Since Xiaodi wont have much chance in using it, I might as well borrow the flower to worship Buddha by giving it to Fenghan Xiong. Hearing Shen Mohuans name, Ba Fenghans tiger-eyes lit up. And then when he heard that Xu Ziling was giving this out-of-this-world unusual treasure Perished Moon Bow, which could be considered the king among the bows, he threw his head back andughed to his hearts content, and said, If I, Ba Fenghan, pushing the three and warding-off the four, I am not your, Xu Zilings brother. I, Ba Fenghan, am truly very grateful. In that case, Ill give the mulberry wood bow to Ziling in exchange. Ziling wont want to go naked beyond the Great Wall! Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, How can Xiaodi refuse and not wear any clothes? Ba Fenghan said, Shen Mohuan can be considered a formidable figure that no one in the northern border dare to provoke. His wife Mu Ling is even more vicious and merciless than him. To find them is absolutely not an easy matter. Without me helping you, you guys can die of thirst in the desert but you can forget about touching the least bit of their shadow. In the prairie, Zaiwei [sic, I checked different sources, maybe different tribe?] peoples equestrian archery has greater reputation than ours, Tujue people. Ren Jun modestly asked for pointers, What is the key trick of equestrian archery? Ba Fenghan replied, In equestrian archery, its nothing more than: forward, the hand is blocking, backward, the hand is tearing. The leg in front must be straight, the leg in rear must bend. Its like this. Leaping to the horseback, he rode Tamakan around the atrium. Ba Fenghan squatted high on the saddle-less horse, the long bow struck a posture, he looked like a heavenly arrow god descending to the mortal world; mighty to the extreme point. His movements graceful, no w to be stricken. Three men pped their hands and cheered. Ba Fenghan somersaulted off the horse, patted the horse, and grasped the bow to give demonstration to Ren Jun. He said, Left hand grasping the bow, must make the upper end slightly down, the right palm holds the target within, the index finger presses the target outside, right in the middle the eagle beak, the remaining three fingers and the thumb tightly grasp the target like blocking. The right hand is holding the arrow and string, the index finger covered up the thumb, the other three fingers grasp the string in the hollow of the hand and sweep over the chest, with the back of the elbow pressing close to the ribs,pletely pull back and release, upright, urate and powerful. If shooting the arrow in a hurry, it will float and empty with no strength. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Turns out all along our posture in shooting the arrow is wrong. Ba Fenghanughed and said, No matter who wrong Shaoshuais posture is, who could block the powerful arrow that you shoot using the spiraling energy? Kou Zhongughed and said, Being praised by you, my hands are itching. LaoGe, how about a couple of moves? After putting away his bow, Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, Its rare that you open your mouth to propose it; I did have that intention. Kou Zhong suddenly reached into his robe and fast as lightning pulled the Moon in the Well. Without making any noise he swiftly hacked Ba Fenghan. No one knew how, but Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword was already in his hand. The tip of the de pointed to the sky, it sliced up Kou Zhongs saber chopping across his upper torso, a fierce-and-severe-to-the-extreme-points saber strike. After the saber and the sword shed, they stuck together, yet unexpectedly they did not create any noise. It was bizarre to the extreme point. The two mens gaze met, they revealed smiling expression at the same time. Ba Fenghan applied his internal energy to push open Kou Zhong, while he himself withdrew three steps back, and then adopted a defensive posture. The other two men moved out to make room for these two to fight. Watching this, Ren Juns blood was boiling. He finally understood Kou Zhongs teaching and instruction to him. A martial art master ought to be like Ba Fenghan, to be in some kind of the moon in the wells water realm, able to reflect any changes on the outside world C all the time. Practically he would not be afraid of any sudden or sneak attack. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were both giving everything they had; those who did not know might think that they were in a life and death duel. Letting out a longughter, Ba Fenghan said, Delighted! Delighted! Since the beginning the two Xiongtai and I have always been exchanging saber and sword theory, we all developed friendship that is surpassing life itself. I rarely think about sacrificing my life for other people, but for two gentlemen, I definitely, without the slightest hesitation C am not afraid to hand over my life. Kou Zhong also burst out in longughter and said, No better or worse than each other. Xiaodi recently created a set of saber moves called the Eight Methods of the Well, would you, Old Ba, look over? You must never, ever be lenient; if you defeat Xiaodi, I definitely will not be upset, I will only continue to work hard, to perfect something that is already outstanding [idiom]. Finished speaking, he unleashed the first style of the Eight Methods of the Well, the No Attack. The saber momentum appeared to be released, yet it was not actually released, an enormous saber qi pursued straight ahead. Ba Fenghans face revealing an astonished look, he moved one step aside, immediately exerting tremendous pressure to the Moon in the Well, forcing Kou Zhong to change move. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were emotionally moved at the same time. Speechless, Kou Zhong said, Your grannys bear, in the world, only Ning Daoqi, one person could break this move of Laozi purely relying on footwork. Emotionally moved, Ba Fenghan said, You have fought against Ning Daoqi? How was it? His grannys bear, Kou Zhong replied, We have not had a chance to determine victory or defeat. Holding the Beheading Mystery Sword across in front of his chest, Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, If you keep imitating Du Xings tone of voice, watch out less I will really use killer move to get rid of you. Kou Zhong sneered and said, You want to use a tigers roar to scare me? If you have guts, give me all you got! Right this moment, there was a knock on the door of the shop at the front. Naturally it was Ren Juns responsibility to answer the door. But how could he be willing to miss such a brilliant-beyondpare sparring? While he was hesitating, Xu Ziling, who was good at understanding others, said, Let me go take a look. Qiang! The saber and sword shed. Qi power filled the air, sparks sshed everywhere, two major outstanding young martial art masters from inside and outside the Central ins finally crossed swords in a face off. Book 38 - 12 – Enemy and Us Difficult to Tell Xu Ziling opened the outer courtyard gate of the Yanshan Winery, the first thing that caught his eyes was Shiye Hua, having slightlyical face with his pair of nted mustaches. Next to him was a man wearing gorgeous dress, tall and strongly built, heroic and grand, around thirty years old, his nose was slightly too long, the corner of his wide mouth seemed to carry an eternal smile, brimming with self-confidence, the kind of person who would constantly looking for facts to prove that he was the greatest. Shiye Hua saluted and said, I am d Xu Ye is here, our humble Bangzhu Xu Kaishan is asking for an audience. [Just so you know, the Xu of Xu Kaishan is different character from the Xu of Xu Ziling]. Xu Ziling struggled hard to suppress the urge to look at Shiye Huas expression, for fear that he would not be able to restrain himself fromughing. He smiled calmly to Xu Kaishan and said, Xu Bangzhu is overly courteous; how could we dare to ept? Xu Kaishan revealed a bending-his-ear-to-listen-attentively look; he said, Such a formidable true power; just by listening to the sound of saber and sword I know that great-master-grade figures are exchanging blows. Its only natural that one is Shaoshuai, but who is the other gentleman? Even if I had to cut my life for a few years, I am willing to pay the price to know. Xu Zilings heart turned cold; he knew that he had guessed wrong. He was sure that the martial art master among the wolf-bandits that he encounteredst night was not this person. Not only the body shape was not right, the Xu Kaishan before his eyes was a lot more formidable, his martial art had reached their level. Could it be that he had used him wrongly? As if nothing had happened, Xu Ziling said, That is Ba Fenghan. As long as Xu Xiong is willing to inquire, Zaixia would be happy to oblige. Emotionally moved, Xu Kaishan said, Unexpectedly it is Ba Xiong, who swept Qu Ao back to Tiele. Ha, I, Xu Kaishan must have a very good luck, to be able to meet three most outstanding heroes all at once. Tonight Xiaodi is giving a dinner party, three gentleman must give Xiaodi a little bit of face. Xu Ziling was confused. Toward this Xu Kaishan, he did not have the slightest feeling that he was a fake; just like Shi Zhixuans disguise as Holy Monk Dade, he did not reveal the slightest bit of w. If that was indeed the case, then Xu Kaishan was really too terrifying. Who was he, actually? Trying to sound him out, he said, Wasnt Xu Xiong going to see someone in connection to the Anle Tragedy, which dyed your arrival at Yin Ma Yi for one night? I wonder what was the oue of your trip? Xu Kaishan solemnly said, I was half a step toote, that person has been killed to prevent him from opening his mouth. Strangely, there were also two dead bodies nearby, one man and one woman. The way this pair of man and woman died was nefarious. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, What? Stunned, Xu Kaishan asked, Does Xu Xiong know them? Xu Ziling described Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotans appearance. Xu Kaishan said, I dare say its them. But who are they, actually? How were they rted to Cui Wangs dog breed? Does Xu Xiong want to examine them personally? Its very convenient, I can have the bodies brought here. Oh! How about tomorrow? Tonight we have to drink our fill and talk freely until daybreak. Suddenly Xu Ziling felt that he has fallen into the disadvantageous position, because he waspletely unable to see through this person. Had it not been for he and Kou Zhong joined the battle, perhaps all the other gangs and societies added together still could not defeat the gentleman in front of him. Xu Zilings gaze briefly made contact with Shiye Hua; he sensed that deep in his heart, Shiye Hua was terrified. Smiling wryly, he said, Apparently Xu Xiong did not know that your sworn brother and us have be like water and fire; he even put three-day limit before we have to leave. Xu Xiong came to look for us like this, arent you afraid he might not be happy? Xu Kaishanughed aloud and said, I came this time precisely to be the old peace-maker. What matter cannot be resolved peacefully? Wait till everybody raises his wine cup and talk happily, forget former enmity, and then well look for the best solution. No matter how much well have to pay to redeem Da Xiaojies sheepskin, I, Xu Kaishan will cover it. The most important thing is that we all have open and happy hearts. Xu Ziling cried for his Niang inwardly. This was the first time that he felt that he had fallen into the disadvantageous position andcking in strength to defend himself in a verbal battle; the opponent hadpletely overwhelmed him. Smiling slightly, he said, How about several workers of Da Xiaojies branch office that their whereabouts is still unknown? The longer we fail to resolve this matter, the longer we and your honorable sworn brother cannot sit down together, talking in tranquil and even-tempered manner. Xu Kaishanughed and said, That is just a small misunderstanding. Turning to Shiye Hua, he nodded his head. Shiye Hua immediately withdrew to the middle of the small street, lit a bright torch, and used the fire to send out a signal to someone in a distant ce. The sound of weapons shing came to an abrupt end. Xu Kaishan spoke leisurely, When we have spare timeter, Xiaodi would like to ask for some pointers from three gentlemen. I did not expect that not only Shaoshuais saber technique is formidable, his archery skill is even more brilliant, beyond everybodys expectation. I have examined those Huihe wicked thieves condition. The arrowspletely pierced through the vital part, iron shield was not much of a use either, one arrow and its done for. Xu Ziling said, About killing people to shut their mouth, I wonder if Xu Xiong could give me more details? Xu Kaishan said, That man was called Gemike, an able subordinate of a Tujue man known as the Zang Shou [lit. stolen goods/booty/spoils hand] Ma Ji. For some reason he had fallen out with Zang Shou and secretly contacted Xiaodi to meet at the first abandoned Mountain God temple in Shenmu [lit. divine forest], hinting that he had information about the wolf-bandits. He even asked me to give him the money to be used for traveling expenses since he wanted to escape to faraway ces. Who would have thought that by the time I arrived, he already met someones vicious attack and died a violent death? If gentlemen are interested, you could examine his cause of death as well. He was killed using the same technique as that pair of man and woman whom Xu Xiong recognized. But Xu Xiong has not told Xiaodi who those two people are? Xu Ziling knew that he was sensing that Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, and Ren Jun wereing toward them. He said, That pair of man and woman was from a famous sect of the Central ins demonic school; they were husband and wife. The man was called Zhou Laotan, the woman Jin Huanzhen. I never thought they would die by violence in the northern territory. This moment Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong appeared on Xu Zilings left and right, respectively. Two pairs of eyes, like four arrows, shot at Xu Kaishan. Xu Kaishan saluted and said, Nice to meet you, nice to meet you. Xiaodi Xu Kaishan, paying my respect to Kou Xiong, Ba Xiong. Two gentlemen are the men Xiaodi has admired for a very long time, and finally we can meet in person and talk together; I have no more regret in life. They heard the sound of pattering hoof beats, a horse-drawn carriage arrived outside the door. Shiye Hua, who has been waiting for a long time, hurriedly opened the door. Five men got off the carriage in single file. Ren Jun, who was standing next to Kou Zhong, blurted out, Li Shu! [uncle] Stunned, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. They were surprised, not because these people were being released, but because Uncle Li, five peoples countenance was calm, they acted normal, without the least bit of sign that they had been detained. Although inwardly they were happy, but they also felt something was not right. Xu Kaishanughed and said, Li Shu,e here quickly and exin to Kou Xiong, Xu Xiong and Ba Xiong what really happened. Uncle Li was around fifty, he appeared to be loyal and honest; he said, Three Daye, please understand, we went to Beiping to deliver goods to a customer, we were just rushing back when on the way we were intercepted by the men whom Xu Dangjia sent. Only then did we understand that someone posted a seal on the shop, while inside, the room was sshed with red paint and was left in a mess. Xu Kaishan added, Xiaodi dares to guarantee it with my neck that Du Xing is absolutely not someone who would do such a thing. Dage is an unrivalled hero; anything happens, he would resolve it with open saber, open spear. Otherwise, inside and outside the Pass, everybody could not possibly give him a little bit of face. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt greatly awkward, they were nearly speechless, so much so that they felt confused, unable to figure out what game was Du Xing and Xu Kaishan were ying. Kou Zhongughed and said, Turns out its a misunderstanding. Xu Xiong must know everything that happened here like the back of your hand, I wonder who might instructed the hotels around here not to receive us? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Kaishan said, It was a freaky coincidence. In thest few days, there is a rumor going around the Shanhai county town. The rumor reportedly says that the Heihe Shuang Sha [lit. Twin Demons of the ck River], whose name stinks far and wide outside the Pass, areing to look for Dage for revenge. Those two men look good [orig. good eyebrows, good appearance], but their hands are extremely vicious and very ruthless, they wont shirk from any crime. The most despicable thing is that they went everywhere to rape women. Because they are so unpleasant to the eye, one or two years ago Du Dage went out personally in a hunt and kill mission; unfortunately they managed to slip away. Reportedly recently they want toe and plot against Dage. Ba Fenghan let out a longugh to let the two boys step down the stage; he said, I am looking for them as well; if they want to drop in, that will be most ideal. Clearing his throat, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly it was a misunderstanding. Ha! This is a case of a toast we did not drink, but we drank as the result of having lost a bet. Where is Du Ba Wang? He has to punish Xiaodi three cups. Ha! Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong has not changed his view toward Du and Xu, two men at all; he was just feigning civility, to see what other trick they were going to y? Xu Kaishan said, Xiaodi has already prepared a banquet at the local Xiao Taoyuan [little Peach Spring, from Tao Hua Yuan C utopia] to wash the dust from gentlemens feet. Other than Du Dage, I also invited Sai Mo Bangs person of virtue and prestige, Old Jing, to apany the guests. If three gentlemen are willing to do the honor of attending the banquet, it will be Xiaodis greatest honor. Kou Zhong was back to normal. Laughing aloud, he said, Xu Xiong honors us like this, how could we dare to have the intention to brush it off? He could no longer understand the rtionship between Du Xing, Xu Kaishan, and Jing Kang; he had lost the dividing line between friends and foe. Xu Zilings eyes fell onto Uncle Li; while he was hesitating whether they should go along in order to protect them, Xu Kaishan, who was good at understanding others, said, Li Shu and the others may take a rest in this ce in peace, Xiaodi can guarantee their safety. Ren Jun spoke in a low voice, Let me stay to take care of them. Kou Zhong slightly nodded. Xu Xiong, he said, Please lead the way. Xu Kaishan spoke to Shiye Hua, Xiang Xiansheng may go back to take a rest. And then turning to the three, he said, Please! A light drizzle was falling down from the sky, so that this remote county town in the northern territory sank into the hazy curtain of water droplets, bringing about some kind of dismal feeling like in a dream. The four strolled along the street on foot, braving the rain. On the surface they appeared to be good friends seeking pleasure together. Xu Kaishan was very popr here, from time to time there were people calling out to him and saluting him, and Xu Kaishan was quite friendly as well, he never stop nodding his head to return the greetings. Ba Fenghan was walking side by side with Xu Kaishan, while Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were following behind them. One after another the passersby gave way to them. Although it was drizzling, the street was brightly lit; it was very lively. Ba Fenghans conversation was never far from his interests; he asked, What kind of weapon Xu Xiong is ustomed to using? Xu Kaishan cheerfully replied, Xiaodi really do not dare to say it to make a fool of myself in front of an expert, because Xiaodi is also using sword, butpletelyck the method. The only thing that Xiaodi cane up with is to see peoples stuffs, which is some experience in raising and training horses. Evidently Ba Fenghan, just like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, was unable to see through what kind of person Xu Kaishan really was, so he asked more questions, while appearing to be casual, Ol Ba is very interested in training horses; I wonder what is your key trick? Xu Kaishan smiled and said, Turns out Ba Xiong is a kindred spirit. How could Xiaodi dare to show off my disgrace? A good horse is no more than the breed, the break in, and the training, three important keys. But to train hundreds or thousands in groups, yet still silent without any neigh, conforming to the as-the-arm-moves-the-finger principle, there must be some trick within it. Naturally Ba Xiong is more outstanding andpetent than Xiaodi. Walking behind them, Kou Zhong said, I am the kind of person who when theres a horse, you ride on it; I wonder if Xu Xiong could teach me a skill or two, in order to open Xiaodis horizon? He knew that Ba Fenghan wanted to set his hand to delve into his real background via his horse-training experience. Xu Kaishan was the fastest rising man in the northeast in recent years; in just a short period of a few years, he had be the biggest warhorse supplier in the northern territory, but no one really knew his foundation. His appearance and body type was a bit like Tujue man, but it was possible that he belonged to any ethnic group beyond the Great Wall. Xu Kaishan said, Shaoshuais inquiry, none of what Xiaodi knows will not be revealed. The emphasis of breeding is experience and eyesight. Breaking in a horse relies on horseback skill. In training the horse, first of all one must love the horse, make it into your best partner andpanion. Using the whip tosh out lightly, even if the horse might submit out of fear, you will never be able to cultivate it into a top quality warhorse. Ba Fenghan said, In dealing with wild horses that have not been tamed, which one Xu Xiong is ustomed to using, the fly rope or the loop-pole? Xu Kaishan was slightly startled, and then said, Ba Xiong is indeed a big expert. Xiaodi is using the loop-pole. Baffled, Kou Zhong asked, What is a loop-pole? Ba Fenghan replied, A loop-pole is a sturdy, with braking characteristic C long wooden pole, with a loop of leather rope tied on its end. After the rope is looped around the wild horses neck, hold the pole tight, do not let go. Let it run around, wait for an opportunity to jump onto the horse back, let it rears, leaps, or bucks, as long as you are not thrown down, by the time the wild horse shouts itself hoarse, it could only resign to its fate and bes tame. He exined further, Methods of breaking in a horse beyond the Great Wall can be divided roughly into two major systems, using flying ropes and using loop-poles, but only Shiwei and Huihe people use loop-pole. Evidently Xu Xiongs method in breaking in a horse originated from one of these two locales. For the first time Kou Zhong felt that they were back at upying a bit of the upper wind, and it was entirely due to Ba Fenghans familiarity with the ethnic groups beyond the Great Wall; how could Xu Kaishan think that he was divulging his foundation from these points? Following up the victory and pressing home the attack, Ba Fenghan asked, Does Xu Xiong castrate horses? This time Xu Kaishan was a lot more careful in answering, he said, The secret method of castrating the horse, Xiaodi certainly stole it from the Shiwei people. Whenever the horse grows four teeth, the horse must be neutered. This way, the horse stays strong, healthy, powerful, but also gentle and agreeable, without its wild nature, able to withstand wind chill and have long life. Several big men from Xiao Taoyuan came out to meet them, they bowed respectfully with sped hands to wait upon the four men as they entered in. Up to this point, whether it was going to be a good feast or a bad feast, the three did not have the slightest assurance. The Xiao Taoyuan was located at the main street traversing the north and south of the city, near the north gate; it was three floors high, and sitting in the big side room on the top floor, one was able to see the Great Wall through the wind and the rain, like walking-dragon, roaming-snake among the perilous peaks, summits and ridges along the mountain range of the Yanshan [Mt. Yan], not only making people think about the spectacr and magnificent sight of how it went up and down, meandering straight toward Jiuquan at the western border, continuous for ten thousand li, but also think about the history of the Central ins written in the blood and tears of the people inside and outside the Pass resisting the foreign tribes invasion since ancient times. The wine has been going for three rounds, but Du Xing and Jing Kangs good-selves have not arrived yet. Noticing that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Great Wall outside the county town, Xu Kaishanughed and said, Those who have never been to Shanhai Pass always think that the Great Wall is on barren mountain, located between deste mountain ridges. They did not know that ces famous for their scenery can be found throughout the Great Wall. For example, on Mount Jue, about six li from here, there is the Qi Xian Si [perching virtuous temple]; serene and hidden in depth, tranquil, with dense pine, hazel trees and luxuriant vegetation. From the famous Fo Du Tai [lit. Buddha-passing-through tform] of the Qi Xian Si looking down, one can see the Yan Sai Lake. The water is bluish green, full of birds cry and beasts trail; beautiful, interesting and attractive. Other amazing sights are in innumerable session, each with its own distinguishing feature. If two gentlemen are interested, Xiaodi will be happy to show the way. The three secretly mused that perhaps Shi Feixuan was staying in that temple. Ba Fenghan said, Yesterday I went to the Xuan Yang Dong [lit. hanging sun cave] north of the city; the mountain is wonderful, the rocks rugged. The wonderful scenery from the hanging cave looking into the sky is indeed rarely found. Xu Kaishanughed and said, I did not know Ba Xiong loves to go on a scenic tour. Thats why I often say that only by interacting with each other will one understand the other party. Relying on rumors to get the impression, there will always be distortion. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Who actually did it? Stunned, Xu Kaishan asked, What is Kou Xiong talking about? Naturally about Da Xiaojies eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin that were robbed by force, Kou Zhong replied, Da Xiaojie even lost more than a dozen brothers. This is not something that can be resolved in just a few words, not to mention now they even demand that we pay ransom; where is the logic in that? If this happened to Xu Xiong, what do you do? Xu Kaishan sighed and said, Its a question of choices. ording to Jianghu rules, we cannot reveal who did it. Ba Xiong ought to understand better than anybody else the situation of the horse thieves beyond the Great Wall. To find a bunch of horse thieves on the prairie is not much different to fishing a needle from the sea. If Shaoshuai wants to investigate, I am afraid in the end the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin would only be like throwing a stone and see it sink without any trace in the sea. Du Dage made contact with them via a middleman. Although their opening price is exorbitant, but there is no room for negotiation. However, Shaoshuai must promise not to pursue, and only then will we have the possibility of talking about closure. As Kou Zhong was about to speak, Du Xing rushed in like a whirlwind and said with a bigugh, Since we all understand that it was a misunderstanding, we can entirely erase what happened today, everything will start from the beginning. Book 38 - 13 – Having an Audience with the Tang Emperor Chapter 13 C Having an Audience with the Tang Emperor Following Xiao Xiuming, Xu Ziling came out to the street. Snowkes were floating down from the sky. A gorgeous horse-drawn carriage, under escort of eight cavalrymen, was waiting respectfully by the roadside. The white snow swirling in the air united the neat and tidy Vermillion Bird Boulevard with the purifying-heaven-and-earths whiteness, making everything appeared blurry. Xu Ziling felt as if he was reliving the old dream of that morning in Luoyang, where he bravely battled the Four Great Holy Monks. Xiao Xiuming rushed forward to pull the carriage door open and said, Mo Xiong, please climb into the carriage, Xiaodi will be waiting for you at the head office. Hardening his heart, Xu Ziling climbed into the carriage. Feng Deyi, wearing full government official regalia, was staring at him without blinking at all; he spoke indifferently, Mo Xiong, please sit by my side. Following his order, Xu Ziling sat down. The carriage slowly started. Feng Deyi looked out the window at the number one street in Changan under the swirling snow. He smiled and said, Changan has three treasures; I wonder if Mo Xiong has heard of it? Xu Ziling nkly shook his head. Feng Deyi slowly said, They are silk weaving, tri-color zed pottery, and copper mirror. And then, lowering his voice, he spoke like reciting poetry, Using copper as a mirror, one can properly put on hat and clothes. Using ancient history as a mirror, one can clearly see the rise and fall of mankind. Using people as a mirror, one can understand gains and losses. Conducting himself as an official in feudal court, one must be like a clear mirror. Does Mo Xiong understand what I mean? Xu Ziling actually did not understand why he spoke those words, but referring to oneself as a mirror contained a deep truth, while also implying clean personal integrity, unlike one who resorted to fawning on the superior, resorted to bragging and ttering. Feeling deep veneration in his heart, he said, Only by being like that would one be called doing his responsibility as an official to the utmost, to avoid disaster from reaching all the people. Xiaoren submit with admiration. Feng Deyi pulled back his gaze from looking outside the window; looking at Xu Ziling approvingly he said, Able to make Mo Xiong deeply having simr impression, I knew that Mo Xiong is also a loyal and righteous warrior with high aspiration in your bosom. I wonder if Mo Xiong know why this officer is looking for you this early in the morning? Xu Ziling shook his head with nk expression on his face. Revealing a faraway look on his eyes, he said, Mo Xiongs disy of martial artst night had some kind of heavenly-steed-soaring-across-the-skies, brandishing-unconstraint, brimming-with-creativity feeling. This kind of out-of-the-ordinary, bing-an-arhat swordsmanship is something Ol Feng seldom see in all my life. I cant help having sympathy-toward-talent thought; I cant bear seeing you die by violence in Changan just like that, so that such a good sword technique would be in vain. Xu Ziling suddenly saw the light; he smiled and said, Thank you very much for Feng Darens concern. Life and death are ruled by fate; if Xiaoren take life or death to heart,st night I might resign myself to adversity [idiom: submit meekly to humiliation] and would not have set myself in direct confrontation against Er Wenhuan and the others. Astonishment appeared on Feng Deyis face; he spoke cheerfully, Turns out Mo Xiong truly is not the kind of people who unt courage and strength, but dont put life and death in the eyes. My utmost admiration. Xu Ziling was afraid Feng Deyi wanted to recruit him as his subordinate, which would mean he could not go anywhere, and lose the freedom that he currently wanted the most. Gaining the initiative by striking first, he said, Xiaoren has always been indifferent to worldly rewards, to life or death. The reason I threw myself into the Bu Family was just because the Bu Family is well known for their charity, unlike profiteering merchants in general. When the world is set in order, the four oceans return to one, Xiaoren is going to go back to my hometown to pass my days cultivating the soil and growing vegetables, enjoying the truly interesting livelihood within the ordinary life. Feng Deyi smiled and said, Unexpectedly Mo Xiong has some other cherished desire, this official admires that very much. But one has topromise in this world [orig. when one in Jianghu, ones body does not belong to him]; does Mo Xiong know what kind of people have you offended? This moment the carriage was entering the Guang Ming Avenue; if they continued forward, they would go straight into the Imperial Citys main entrance, the Vermillion Bird Gate. Feng Deyi shouted out, To Dong Da Si [lit. eastern big temple]! The drivershed his whip to urge the horses on; they turned to the right toward the east. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Changans situation today is as rivers Jing and Wei are clearly separated [idiom: to be entirely different]. Under Huangshang, if one is not attached to the Crown Prince, then he is attached to Qin Wang. Xiaoren understands his own situation. Feng Deyi said, If Mo Xiong were Qin Wang Mansions man, I would not have to worry for you. The problem is that Mo Xiong has just arrived; although you are working for Xing Chang Long, you are still considered an outsider. If some mishaps happen, it would be very difficult for Qin Wang to stick out his head for you. Just for this fact, your enemy might, without the slightest scruple, try to kill you, by fair means or foul, within this short period of time, to establish their prestige. Therefore, this official wanted to waste my time exining, to persuade Mo Xiong to seek a way of self-preservation. Xu Ziling calmly said, This morning they already tried once; theyunched surprise attack on Xiaoren at the West Gate of the East Market. Fortunately Xiaorens luck is not bad that I was able to avoid this cmity. After Feng Deyi asked for more details and Xu Ziling told him everything, Feng Deyi muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, before he suddenly asked, Where in Bashu is Mo Xiongs home? Xu Ziling was afraid he would ask in details about his hometown situation and then he would be dumbstruck and unable to reply; therefore, he had to say the ce where he was most familiar with. Xiaorens home is at Shizi Qiao [Lion Bridge] Street in Chengdu. Feng Deyi delightedly said, That will do! Recently there was a major event in Chengdu that created an uproar within the Wulin world; did Mo Xiong hear about it? Xu Ziling had absolutely no idea what he meant when he said, That will do!, but noticing his brimming-with-expectation manner, he could not make an excuse that he did not know. He had to respond, Is Daren referring to the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan struck and killed the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying affair? pping the handle of his chair, Feng Deyi delightedly said, Precisely that affair. I wonder if Mo Xiong know enough details about that? Inwardly Xu Ziling started to have a little bit of understanding. He replied, At that time by coincidence Xiaoren was back home to visit Jiafu, I happened to be at the right ce on the right time, and witnessed the entire course of events. His spirit greatly aroused, Feng Deyi asked him over and over about the course of events that he witnessed with his own eyes. Naturally Xu Ziling was able to reply quickly and fluently. By the time Feng Deyi waspletely satisfied, this high-ranking minister, Li Yuans trusted aide, nodded his head and said, This officer already thought of a wonderful way to get Mo Xiong out of misfortune. Xu Ziling was already well aware of what he was going to say, but of course he had to pretend that he did not know anything and had to ask him for guidance. Feng Deyi said, Later on Huangshang is going to the Dong Da Si to burn incense on behalf of Guifei [imperial consort] Zhang Jieyu, who is suffering from a strange illness. This officer might be able to arrange to have Mo Xiong see Huangshang. As long as this matter enters the ears of Chang Lin men, I guarantee that henceforth Mo Xiong will be as steady as Mount Tai; nobody will dare to touch even half a strand of your hair. Inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly delighted, but he pretended to be astonished and blurted out, Paying my respect to Huangshang? But how could Xiaoren have that qualifications? Feng Deyiughed and said, Originally you did not. But Huangshang is anxious to know any information about Ba Dao Yue Shan, and Mo Xiong happened to be the only one in Changan witnessing the two mens dragon-war, tiger-battle. So you do have the qualifications. Out of the sincere gratitude in his heart, Xu Ziling said, Feng Daren is so concerned about Xiaorens disaster and happiness, even if Xiaoren repay your kind acts until the next life, it will not be enough. Feng Deyi said, Guanzhong Jian Pais Qiu Wensheng and I have more than ten years of friendship; with you, I even have particr kindred spirits. How could I see you die by violence without doing anything? But Mo Xiongdi must keep in mind that when you see Huangshang, whatever he is asking, you must reply, but must never mention anything about what happened with Er Wenhuan and the others; understand? Xu Ziling gave him his most solemn promise. This moment the carriage happened to gallop into the grand, magnificent Dong Da Si. Xu Ziling already set a n in his mind; he knew how to get Yue Shan to see Li Yuan, but he still needed to wait for Kou Zhongs arrival in Changan before he could put this n into action. The Sha Familys two sailboats, under escort of two House of Tangs warships, sailed into the City of Changan via the Guang Tong [wide thoroughfare] Canal linking the Yellow River with the Tangs capital, Changan. At the pier, firecrackers were lit, the Imperial Bodyguards stood respectfully to salute in such a grand troop-formation; it waspletely beyond Kou Zhong, this fake Divine Doctors C expectation. When he focused his attention to look, Kou Zhong nearly wanted to jump into the river to flee for his life, because among those weing them at the dock, the ones he recognized included Dugu Feng [peak], Dugu Ce, Dugu Feng [phoenix], and the other Dugu ns leaders. Those that he did not recognize were even more. It looked like they must be the influential officials and rich merchants in Changan. It was only then did he realize that when Sha Chenggong told him that the Sha Family was the richest family in Luoyang, he was not bragging at all. The one attracted his attention the most was a man wearing Crown Prince attire; his appearance resembled Li Shimins. Needless to say, this must be the Great Tangs Crown Prince Li Jiancheng. His build was on par with Li Shimins, only his face wasparatively longer and narrower; he alsocked Li Shimins awe-inspiring righteous charisma, but the expression in his eyes was threatening. He was absolutely not an ordinary character. Sure enough, Chang He, standing in front of him, whispered in Sha Tiannans ear, I didnt expect Taizi Dianxia [His Highness the Crown Prince] might personallye to wee us; he is indeed giving us a lot of face. Sha Tiannan was smiling so wide that he could not close his mouth. Kou Zhong withdrew into the crowd consisting of Chen Laiman, Mao Shichang, and the others. When thingse to a head, he recovered his cool-headedness and calm demeanor instead. Inwardly he revived the habit he cultivated this past few days in walking, moving, sitting, and lying, as well as the voice and intonation when he spoke, hoping that he could mingle among the crowd to enter the city, and then seize the opportunity to slip away. Fortunately the weing partys attention was entirely focused on the people of the Sha Family, they did not have any interest to cast even half a nce toward Kou Zhong. When the crowd moved, he also moved; when the crowd stopped, he also stopped. When Sha Tiannan went ashore to meet Li Jiancheng, who weed him, Kou Zhong and the others were still remaining on the deck, waiting for further arrangement. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried Thank Heaven and thank the Earth!, as he watched various members of the Sha Family climbed into the weing carriages one by one, and then under escort of Li Jiancheng and his Imperial Bodyguards, they left the pier. Dugu Familys people also left that not even half remaining. Only this time did he, as if relieved from a burden, follow the crowd of family bodyguards and the maids and servants to go ashore. More than a hundred people from other government offices received them. Boarded another fleet of horse-drawn carriages, under the snow swirling in the air, they traveled speedily toward the Sha Familys new residence in Changan. Sharing the same carriage with Kou Zhong, Chen Laiman happily said, Taizi Dianxia Jiancheng is so courteous toward Laoye, our Sha Family will definitely start another enterprise in Changan. Kou Zhong was plotting on how to slip away undetected; hearing him, he blurted out asking, What kind of business does our Sha Family do, actually? Surprised, Mao Shichang said, Unexpectedly Mo Xiansheng did not know. Our Sha Family started out by mining business. Our five metals [gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin] industrial arts are famous throughout the world. In just the weaponry, which is a separate division, we have more than a hundred factories throughout the whole nation; in Guanzhong itself we have more than a dozen foundries. Kou Zhong quietly mused that no wonder Li Jiancheng had such a high regard toward Sha Tiannan; turned out he was a big businessman having control over the military lifeline. Losing this person, Wang Shichong might suffer a significant blow. Lowering his voice, Chen Laiman said, Do you know that Luoyangs most powerful city defender, the Divine Crossbow, was personally designed and its fabrication supervised by Laoye himself? Inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, since now he knew that Li Jiancheng had the intention of personally lead the army to attack Luoyang. While he was still deep in thought, there was the sound of hoof beatsing directly from ahead. Chang He and another high-ranking military officer were rushing over to stop the cavalcade. While in his heart Kou Zhong was like a deer caught in the headlights, Chang He and the general urged their horses toe to Kou Zhongs carriage; they called, Mo Xiansheng! Hardening up his scalp, Kou Zhong stuck his head out and responded, Biren is here. I wonder what advice does Chang Ye have for me? The other general courteously said, Mo Jiang [lit. end-of-the-line (i.e. lowest grade) general] Feng Liben, paying my respect to Mo Xiansheng. Chang He introduced him by saying with augh, Feng Jiangjun [general] is Taizi Dianxias Commander of the Eastern Pce; we are all good friends. Kou Zhong knew things have gone bad for him. Sure enough, Feng Liben said, Dianxia did not know that Mo Xiansheng is honoring us by your presence, and thus he failed to show respect. Therefore, he specifically sent Mo Jiang to wee Xianshengs honorable self, asking Xiansheng to immediately go to meet him in the Pce. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried out for his Niang; definitely without any good excuse to decline, he had no choice but to untie the Moon in the Well, get off the carriage and change into riding a horse, and follow the two men galloping toward the Imperial Pce. Feng Deyi made arrangement in advance for Xu Ziling so that when they arrived at the Dong Da Si, he was to wait in the reception room. The Great Tang Emperor Li Yuans holy-self had not arrived, but arge number of Imperial Bodyguards have already setup security so that the entire templeplex was closed to public, nobody could go any farther. Apanying Xu Ziling was Feng Deyis assistant general Guan Xiaoran, who, with nothing else to do, tried to strike conversation with Xu Ziling, who was watching the snowscape outside the window, Feng Daye certainly views Mo Xiong in a new light. After personally watching Mo Xiongs swordsmanshipst night, he asked us for our opinion. Xu Ziling quickly declined modestly. Guan Xiaoran said, The rarest thing was that Mo Xiong has an extremely calm, deep and clear C bearing; your every movement was so wless, so that it will forever be engraved in my heart. Inwardly Xu Ziling shivered severely, realizing that if he encountered someone who was familiar with him, like Li Shimin for example, he might grow suspicious based of this aspect. On the contrary, disguising himself as Yue Shan might not be a problem, simply because Yue Shan himself was that kind of martial art master. He casually asked, In the world, nobody does not know that Changans Wulin is the ce of crouching tiger, hidden dragon. Which figure is particrly remarkable? Guan Xiaoran replied, Speaking about real masters, perhaps ten fingers will not be enough to count them. But to count the most powerful in public opinion, the one regarded as the foremost is the young martial art master Ke Dazhi from Eastern Tujue. This mans saber technique has reached the realm of perfection. Time and again he defeated martial art masters of Qin Wangs Heavenly Policy Mansion, so that the Taizi Dianxias Eastern Pces prestige is greatly flourishing. I hear that in the martial artpetition during the feast in the Pce the night beforest, even Zhangsun Wuji suffered losses. At that time there was also the number one famous courtesan in the world, Shang Xiufang, present. The loss of face that Qin Wang suffered was indeed too great! Xu Ziling repeated the name Ke Dazhi in his heart, he did not even take note of Shang Xiufangs name. This moment someone wasing to report: Xu Ziling was to go to the VIP lounge at the back of the monastery to have an audience with the Tang Emperor. Xu Ziling calmed his mind. With Guan Xiaoran showing him the way, he went to see Li Yuan. Book 39 - 1 – First Arrival at Your Honorable Territory Jing Kang sat down leisurely. He looked different; this moment he looked like a modest, generous elder, as if he would never get angry and throw a temper, while previously, the Jing Kang on the street gritting his teeth and saying that he wanted to throw Du Xings dead body on the street. It was as if they were two different persons. Everybody stood up to wee him. One after another they sat back down, Du Xing showed an oddly deferential and polite manner. Jing Kang raised his cup and said, Laofu iste, I must be punished by one cup first. Naturally no one dared to refuse; they all raised their cup to apany him drying his cup. Jing Kang pped the table and said with a sigh, Who would have thought that thecking-the-strength-even-to-truss-a-chicken Sao Niangzi was actually an expert in using poison? Although we have been very careful in watching who might be scouting for Cui Wang, we had never made the least bit of progress. Turns out it was Sao Niangzi, who knew the traveling merchants going back and forth inside and outside the Pass like the back of her hands C who provide information for Cui Wang. I feel sorry for us, the men, since we cant make her look up on us and feel regret; who would have thought that she was sleeping with people for different purpose. Du Xing cleared his throat, he looked quite embarrassed. Kou Zhong, three men, immediately knew that Sao Niangzi has definitely slept with Du Xing, and that whether Jing Kang was intentional or unintentional, he had uncovered this scar. This old fellow was indeed formidable. Changing the subject, Xu Kaishan said, I heard that Tianzhu Kuang Seng [lit. mad monk of the Indian subcontinent] Fu Nantuo is also an expert in using poison. I wonder if he is somehow rted to Sao Niangzi? Frowning, Ba Fenghan asked, Is this man real? Xu Kaishan said, Bai Ziting establishing his kingdom against the trend, this man has a great influence. Fu Nantuo came from Tianzhu, he had wandered all around the world, his knowledge and experience extensive, his eloquence unimpeded. I hear it was after listening to him that Bai Ziting hurriedly established his kingdom. Expressing a different view, Du Xing said, But you cannot not mention that Fu Nantuo has a bit of skill. After Bai Ziting dered that he is establishing his kingdom, immediately Xieli and Tuli were engaged in continuous confrontation, to such an extent as tock the strength to interfere, even the King of Qidan did not dare to act blindly without thinking, he only conserves his strength and watches for any changes. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I never thought that a martial art master from Tianzhu unexpectedly made Long Quan Fu suddenly be this lively. Jing Kang said, Three gentlemen, please dont take offense; its a rare asion that Du Dangjia and Xu Dangjia are present, Laofu wants to take this opportunity to discuss a little bit of domestic affairs with them first. Kou Zhong did not know what kind of medicine inside his gourd he was going to sell, he only knew that whatever it was, it could not possibly be a good thing for Du Xing and Xu Kaishan; perhaps Jing Kang already obtained Wang Bos support. If Tuli and Xielis rtion worsened, the effect would be far-reaching; only by personallying to the northern territory would he begin to gain deep understanding. Thereupon he nodded and said, Jing Lao, no need to stand on ceremony, please do as you wish. Jing Kangs pair of eyes glistening brightly, he swept Du Xing and Xu Kaishan, who were holding their breath and calming their qi C with his eyes back and forth twice, before smiling and said, Yin Ma Yi has be a master-less ry station, naturally we cant let it be abandoned and go to waste; not only it must stay as a money-making business, it is also indispensable to the traveling merchants going back and forth. Two LaoGe, who do you think must assume control over Yin Ma Yi? Inwardly the three cried, Formidable! Jing Kang chose precisely this moment to execute his old-selling-old-ce stratagem to negotiate this matter with Du Xing and Xu Kaishan, it was precisely to borrow the power of Kou Zhong, the three men to put pressure on Du Xing, this pair of viins-colluding-together sworn brothers, so that they could only handle this matter ording to Jianghu rules, and after they gave their consent, they would not dare to renege, otherwise they would be men who ate their own words, and Kou Zhong and the others were precisely the witness. Because Yin Ma Yi was a famous hot spring in the northern territory, it was a strong business along a major route, bing the must-stop station between Shanhai Pass and the other cities and towns. Both in term of business and strategy, it was a piece of fatty meat that all local gangs and societies was watching for and desired passionately. Kou Zhong even has personally verified the irond fact that Yin Ma Yi was as strong as a fort; with only several dozens of strong bows, they could defend the ce as secure as a city protected by a wall of metal and a moat of boiling water [idiom]. In itself it had an important military role; if it fell into the hands of Jing Kang or Gao Kaidao, it would y a direct role in maintaining check and bnce of power in Shanhai Pass. In short, it was a strategic point that anybody moving the troops must strive to obtain. Du Xing smiled calmly and asked, What good proposal does Jing Lao have? Jing Kang spoke seriously, Laofu thinks that under current seeing-a-bow-reflected-in-a-cup-as-a-snake situation, it is inadvisable for any local gang or sect to intervene, temporarily it ought to be Yan Wang assuming control of that ce; two LaoGe, what do you think? And then he smiled and said, And that is also what Zhi Shi Lang [i.e. Wang Bo] has in mind. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly realized that the struggle before their eyes was actually between the Han people and the foreign tribes. Gao Kaidao, taking advantage of the opportunity while the internal strife within the Tujue was difficult to resolve, strived to resurrect his independence, in order to obtain the support of the local Han-dominated gangs and sects. On the surface Xu Kaishan did not show any disgruntled expression, he cheerfully nodded and said, Presently, this is the best solution to this problem. The ominous glint in Du Xings pair of eyes shed, but it quickly disappeared. Exhaling lightly, he said, Since this is Jing Lao and Zhi Shi Langs proposed solution, I, Du Xing, can only agree, there wont be any objection. Jing Kang acted as if he had just aplished a trivial thing; turning to Kou Zhong, he asked, I wonder for which affair did Shi Xiaojie honor us with her Buddhist-selfs presence? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, How would I know if she didnt tell me? Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and said, Thank you for Du Xiongs trouble; while there is still time, we want to examine those three dead bodies. Xu Kaishan personally saw them off to the Yanshan Winery before taking his leave. Du Xing and Jing Kang also made some excuses and hurriedly left their seats and partedpany with them. Returning to the Winerys inner hall, they sat down, and Ren Jun reported that due to the tiring journey, Uncle Li and the others, five men have gone to bed. After drinking two mouthfuls of hot tea, Kou Zhong asked Xu Ziling, What do you think? Ba Fenghan said, Even if I have never seen Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen, I know that those two dead bodies are not them. This is just a tactic to confuse peoples eyes and ears, and I am certain that it was not Shi Zhixuans doing. Otherwise, why should he destroy their faces? Both corpses were severely struck on the face, so that it was badly mangled and was difficult to recognize; but the clothes and ornaments, as well as the body type and age, could be pass off as genuine. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, This method is simply too cruel. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. At thest moment they had to rush to find two people to substitute this pair of old man and his old wife of the demonic school, it could only be aplished if they drew on local resources to look for two innocent persons in the neighboring cities, towns and viges to pass off fish eyes for pearls. Were it not for the three happened toe upon this matter, the news would only reach Shi Feixuans ears after the bodies were buried. Because the clothes and ornaments came from the real Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotan, there was a good chance that Shi Feixuan would believe that the two were killed by Shi Zhixuan. This hasty scheme was definitely targeted to Shi Feixuan. Xu Ziling sighed and said, The only thing I can think of is Yin Gui Pai. This is very simr to their [feminine] style of work. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Even if Ling Shaos guess is not spot on, it shouldnt be too far off; just how many people out there know that Xiedi Sheli fell into Shi Zhixuans hands? Counting it horizontally and vertically, there are no more than Zhao Deyan, Yun Shuai, and Zhu Yuyan, three parties. Yun Shuai could be excluded [orig. skimming the foam from the surface of a liquid], because he does not have any knowledge whatsoever about Jin Huanzhens marvelous method of sensing the Relics, which leave us with Zhao Deyan and Zhu Yuyan, two major demonic school powers, of which, Zhu Yuyan is the most unwilling to see Shi Zhixuan unifying the demonic way. Xu Ziling said, Yin Gui Pai ought to do everything in their power to secretly follow Jin Huanzhen, husband and wifes track, their objective is to let Shi Feixuan defeat the vanguard troops first, so that they could pick up some convenience. Yet because there is a good chance that Shi Zhixuan is running away outside the Pass, their tracking method is ineffective in the great prairie and the great desert, they had no choice but to change n and captured Jin and Zhou, two persons, and forced them to follow Shi Zhixuans trail, hence the reason of this fake-passing-off-as-genuine move. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I always say that being together with you must be many-postures, many-colors. No time to lose, shall we inform Xianzi [fairy] immediately? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Unless she wants to see us on her own, her immortal track is hard to fathom; how would we find her? Ba Fenghan said, Maybe the ce where Shi Feixuan is staying is the Qi Xian Si that the Old Xu mentioned, or perhaps we could ask them to deliver a letter to her. This could be considered we are upholding righteousness and justice in Jianghu. Turning to Ren Jun, Kou Zhong said, Currently the situation in Shanhai Pass is delicate, your safety while staying here shouldnt be a problem. You stay here to organize things and practiced. Also, this matter about notifying Xianzi, I leave it to you to manage. It was hard for Ren Jun to hide his disappointment; hanging his head, he said, When are three Yeer leaving? We will leave immediately, Ba Fenghan responded resolutely. Stunned, Ren Jun said, If Jing Dangjia is asking your whereabouts, how am I going to answer him? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Just tell him that we have to deal with the Qidan and the Tujue immediately. As for when it is confirmed that Du Xing and Xu Kaishan are conniving with the wolf-bandits in the dark, whether we want to kill them or to cut them to pieces, we will leave it to him, the Senior, to decide. Remembering Da Dao She affair, he said, By now, you ought to know about Da Dao She as much as we do. Consider it your good deed of the day; you need to inform the Da Dao She people that Guan Ping is a recement-guaranteed-if-not-genuine fraudster. Urging them to leave, Ba Fenghan said, If we hurry tonight, by the time the sunes out tomorrow, we should be able to see the Qian Duo Lian Hua Shan [lit. thousand-stem of lotus flower mountain] extending all the way across in front on us, which is acimed as no peak not wonderful, no cliff under the rock not high and steep, no temple not ancient, which is also the most beautiful mountain on the Changbai Mountain Range. If two gentlemen think that just looking at it is not satisfying enough, you may consider the thousand hot springs about ten li away. It is rumored that the spring water has the divine efficacy to rejuvenate the skin and muscle. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such a brilliant ce outside the Pass? My Niang! Is there really a Buddhist temple on top of the Qian Duo Lian Hua Shan? Ba Fenghan blurted outughing and said, My Niang, indeed! You, this Central Earth kid who has never seen the side of the world outside the Pass, you think that outside the Pass is a remote border area, a poor ridgend where human footprints do not reach, and water nts do not grow? Actually, outside the Pass you can find both a lot of the most beautiful and cozy ces, but also the most terrifying ces. I guarantee it will greatly broaden your horizon. Blushing with shame, Xu Ziling said, I did not think that there will be a Buddhist temple outside the Pass either. Ba Fenghan said, On top of Qian Duo Lian Hua Shan, there are three famous Buddhist monasteries, known as Qian Shan San Da Chan Lin [Three Great Zen Forests on Thousand Mountains], which are Wuliang Guan [immeasurable monastery], Si Ge [west pavilion] and Long Quan Si [dragon spring temple]. Think about mountain peaks ovepping each other, covered inyers of forest as protection, ancient Buddhist temple built leaning against the rocks, or hidden deep in bluish-green valley, a really perfect environment in the human world; if you dont see it with your eyes, you will not believe it. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Lets stop the idle talk, we are leaving immediately. Outside the Great Wall, we will take a leisure tour, to pass a few of his grannys bear free and unfettered days. The surging river flowing across the vast ins toward the Bohai Sea, grand and majestic; it made people gasping in amazement. After hastening day and night for three days, the three finally crossed the Yan Mountain, and entered the famous Yanyuan in Northern Liao, reaching the southern back of the Liao River north of the border. The three let their horses eating grass and resting by the river bank, they also took the horses to the shallow shore of the river to give them a good scrub, as a way to say thank you for the horses hard work. Kou Zhong could not help asking Ba Fenghan, Is your Tamakan actually stronger, or our Thousand-li Dream and Ten-thousand-li Spots live too much like a prince? Howe these two are dead tired, but your horse still appears to have vigorous spirit, as if traveling a hundred more li wont be a problem? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I have been waiting for you to ask this question for three days and now you finally mention it; its so not like your, Zhong Shaos style! Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Listening to the tone of Ba Fenghan Xiongs voice, could it be that there is some other trick in it? Ba Fenghan returned to the shore to sit down. Pulling the Beheading Mystery Sword, he wiped the de like he usually did every evening; nodding his head, he said, The reason that I, Ba Fenghan, am able to repeatedly defeat the horse thieves from various sides, is simply because I have a unique, self-created horse-riding technique, which I called man and horse as one. Can two gentlemen guess what this name implies? Delighted, Kou Zhong said, Good kid, you are really quite something! Is it injecting the true qi into the horse? But in order for it to work, it requires urate understanding of horses meridians and their tolerance. Smiling bitterly, Ba Fenghan said, It was after I exhausted more than a dozen highest quality warhorses to death that I seeded in creating this method. It was really not easy, the guilt in my heart is even more unbearable! That was the reason I intentionally waited for you to raise it up before I am passing this secret method to you, so that youll know that this is very precious. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward the grasnd extending as far as the eye could see on the opposite bank of the river. Sighing, he said, If I obtain this amazing horse-riding technique, oh great prairie! Wont you be mine, where I, Kou Zhong can gallop unhindered? The boundless grasnd extended straight toward the end of the earth, as if Laotianye has personallyid out a piece of dark green carpet. A thousand li of fertilend, adorned by big and smallkes like drops of pearls, the river interwoven among them,rge flocks of cattle and sheep under meandering white clouds, walking back and forth among the brushing grass like ocean waves in the natural big pasture, wild flowers were blooming, all the colors in profusion [idiom], with cold celery wormwood [Artemisia carvifolia] and needle spears mixing together, growing among the small grass and small shrubberies, enriching the variety of flora in the prairie. Layer uponyer or even more verdant grass waves brought about the diversity of the changes. Other than they, there was no human footprints on the vast grasnd. asionally there was the undting sound of howling wolfing from the distant hills, reminding people that the beautiful heaven and earth also had its dangerous side. The threey down by a smallke to rest. A long gust of wind was blowing, brushing theke water that it looked like a rippling clear and crystalline jade. Fish were swimming freely in the water; ducks, swans, wild geese were scattered all around theke, hunting for their food, brimming with vitality. After scanning the vast area by the bank of theke, Ba Fenghans gaze returned to the two boys faces, he sighed and said, Although I dont want to admit it, but I failed to chase the wolf-bandits. Cui Wang must be someone with profound knowledge of the prairie, as well as deep understanding of the trick of hiding. Shaken, Kou Zhong asked, Why did you say so? Ba Fenghan sat up and said with a smile, This game of ten-thousand-li pursuit has be more interesting. If I am guessing correctly, Cui Wang already sensed that we are pursuing him from behind, so he yed the mingling-horses-traveling-together trick, and then separately escaped and dispersed, so that we did not know which way to pursue him. What is mingling-horses-traveling-together? Xu Ziling asked. Casting his gaze far away into the distance, Ba Fenghan said, Cui Wangs group of more than forty riders was rushing toward thiske. Because there was arge herd of wild horses by thekeside drinking water, Cui Wang then drove the horses away toward the west, and then he drove the horses to scatter in all directions, while they were mingling in the middle; this way, we could no longer be sure which hoof prints were left by them. So what do we do now? Kou Zhong asked. Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, How can you guys just rely on me, one person? You came here to learn through experience, to devote yourselves to perfecting your skill. For example, Ling Shao could use his superhuman efficacious senses to detect which direction Cui Wang was running away to; am I right? Xu Ziling suddenly made a signal, telling them not to talk, while he slowly closed his tiger-eyes. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan fervently waited in expectation. Xu Ziling opened his eyes and cast his gaze toward the northwest, he said, Now I seem to obtain a little reaction. Kou Zhong vigorously patted him on the shoulder and said in great delight, You are quite all right. If toward this kind of hiding method you could also generate reaction, sooner orter you might be an immortal who does not know how to fly. Xu Ziling said, The one I am sensing is not Cui Wang, but Xiedi Sheli. What? the two blurted together. Xu Ziling said, The sense appears to be there but not quite there, it disappears in a sh, leaving some lingering feeling. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Since when did you learn this strange technique of sensing the Relics? Why didnt you tell me? Ba Fenghans pair of eyes lit up, he said, Because Ling Shao has the strange qi that came from the Relics in his body, coupled with his own amazing natural endowment, he can produce reaction. Ha! Killing Shi Zhixuan is much more interesting than killing the wolf-bandits. The murderous intent in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, Xiao Ling, do you remember what Xiaodi said, if we besiege Shi Zhixuan in the prairie, I guarantee that he wont be able to escape. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, If we let the wolf-bandits off, how are we going to recover Da Xiaojies eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin? Ba Fenghan pointed to the northwest horizon and said, Did Ziling sense that Shi Zhixuan is fleeing in that direction? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I am sure he is going in that direction. pping his thigh, Ba Fenghan said, That will do! I have a way that will satisfy rival demands. Quickly tell us! Kou Zhong said in delight. Ba Fenghan spoke unhurriedly, About two hundred li in the northwest, there is a bigke. By theke is the famous Yan Yuan Ji [swallow origin gathering], located at the northeast edge of the Little Gobi Desert. It is a big county fair where the tribes from various regions gather to do business, but is also the battlefield where the powers from all sides are having their internal strife, yet no one is ever able to seize absolute control; therefore, there is no day where there is no bloodshed. From there turning to northeast is precisely Mohe, Shiwei, and Qidan. To the west, well enter Tujues sphere of influence. Going south is the grasnd that the Xi people inhabit. Kou Zhong said, Shi Zhixuan must be driven by Yin Gui Pai to go over there. But what does it have to do with pursuing the wolf-bandits? Ba Fenghan said, Remember the Zang Shou [Dirty Hand] Ma Ji that Xu Kaishan mentioned? [Note: in Book 38 Chapter 12, different Zang character, maybe a typo, but again, I dont know which one is correct] His subordinate Gomiko was killed because he offered to supply Xu Kaishan information about the wolf-bandits. Whether there is another inside story, we put it aside for the time being, but there is no doubt that Ma Ji cannot escape responsibility. Does Ma Ji live in Yan Yuan Ji? Xu Ziling asked. Ba Fenghan responded indifferently, Ma Ji is a celebrity there; his business specialty is receiving stolen goods [the Zang in Book 38 Chapter 12 I mentioned above], he makes so much profit that you wont believe it. This man is without a fixed residence. Yan Yuan Ji is just seasonal vige market where they do business in certain times, but also the ce where people like Ma Ji meet and have fun together. From this kind of people, you can probably imagine what kind of ce Yan Yuan Ji is. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, If Ma Ji is the man receiving the wolf-bandits dirty goods, perhaps we will be able to recover the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin from him. Ba Fenghan said, This kind of matter cannot be resolved by purely relying on force. If we rely on strength to pressure him and provoke public anger, afterwards we will be unable to move a single step in the prairie; it will only be harmful without any benefit for us. Someonesing! Xu Ziling said. The two looked toward the northeastern horizon. The dust was rising to the sky, arge group of riders was rushing in their direction, their number could not be less than a hundred. Ba Fenghan rose up to his full height, his hand grabbing the Beheading Mystery Swords hilt, a smile escaped from the corner of his mouth, he said, They are Qidan people. This time I am not going to hum half a sentence, I want to see if your Tujuenguage can pass these peoples muster? Book 39 - 2 – Following the Trail for a Thousand Li Book 39 The more than a hundred riders galloped at full speed; all the riders had their hair tied in a bun and fastened with a piece of green cloth. They wore warrior outfits with the cor nting diagonally to the left, their arms were exposed under the rolled-up sleeves, an armor belt looped around their waist, with sabers, swords, and so on hanging from the belt, their feet wearing jujube-red deerskin boots, each one had a dagger slipped into their belt, and oversized robes draped over their shoulders. While driving their horses speeding along, the wide robe flew backward like a clump of cloud. Contrasted with the warrior outfit held tight with the belt, one moving, the other still, it disyed particrly clear lines of beauty, sophistication and elegance. The leader wore silver crown on his head, shaped like lotus flower. Instead of wearing oversized robe, he wore a vest with iron armor stitched onto it. His age was around thirty, his build was like intrepid white horse, the divine light in his pair of eyes shing, there was some kind of not angry, but powerful lofty quality. Ba Fenghan blew a whistle, the three horses immediately ran back from thekeside, and gathered behind the three men. This was Kou Zhongs first time experiencing the astonishing might of arge number of riders galloping over the prairie like a rolling tide; he thought that merely the other sides bow and arrow would be very difficult to block, to say nothing of all warriors in the prairie had a set of charging-and-breaking-through-enemy-lines skill. Therefore, although it was only a group of about a hundred men, they must not be lightly ignored. What do they want? he muttered to himself. Ba Fenghan was the most calm; he smiled and said, Looking at their attire, they must be the Qidan Grand [Tribal] Chief Abaojias most elite Sparrow Hawk Army. The silver crown indicates that the leader is a first-ss Sparrow Hawk General. The golden crown is the Commander-in-Chief. You must pay attention to the crown-wearing officers and soldiers greeting and hand gestures. He might speak out the purpose of hising from outside the shooting arrows range, you must give him a satisfactory answer, otherwise it will be quite possible that the situation may deteriorate into staking-it-all, you-die-I-live battle, without any room to retreat. He had not finished speaking, the leader of the Sparrow Hawk Army already had his hand in front of his chest. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, This is a greeting, just like you guys cupping your fist to greet. They could be considered being polite and tactful. The Sparrow Hawk Army suddenly shouted together and pulled the reins. More than a hundred warhorses stopped immediately and neighed; the momentum was terrifying. The silver-crowned Sparrow Hawk General waited until the horses front legs touched the ground before continuing toward them. The rest of the Sparrow Hawk Army stayed in ce in tight formation. Their movement was swift and pleasant to watch. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If they knew our true identity, a greeting [orig. wen hao, lit. asking for well-beings] might be asking for trouble [wen nan]. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Not necessarily! Within Qidan people, there are more than a hundred tribal chiefs, Abaojia is just one tribal chief. Hu Yanjin is a horse thief. Based on your rtionship with Tuli, Abaojia will not want to tie an enmity with such a formidable opponent like you, Kou Zhong. By this time the silver-crowned Sparrow Hawk General was already about thirty paces away from them, where he reined his horse and stopped. The horse kept kicking the ground where it stood, so that the silver-crowned Sparrow Hawk General on the horseback appeared even more ferocious, his might spread out to eight directions. He uttered a string of unintelligible words toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Seeing Ba Fenghan did not show the least bit of reaction to give them any directions, Kou Zhong braced himself like the ugly woman finally had to see her father-inw, using the newly-acquired superficial Tujuenguage to shout back, The towering Qidan brothers, do you speak Tujuenguage? The silver-crowned general responded in Tujuenguage, Turns out Han manzi [barbarian, contemptuous term used by northern Chinese people for people from southern China]. What are you doing in our ce? Greatfort swept over Kou Zhongs heart, musing to himself that at least he understood these few words, and thus did not let down Ren Jun and Ba Fenghan putting their heart and soul into teaching them thenguage. Moreover, he knew that this group of valiant Qidan Sparrow Hawk Army was noting for them at all, otherwise, their first question ought to be whether they were Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. His spirit greatly aroused, he let out an ear-splitting longughter in an initial show of strength [orig. disy of might in getting down the horse], before speaking with his pair of eyes shing refined light, I called you Qidan brothers, unexpectedly you called me Han manzi. We are not friends anymore, I am not going to answer your question. Hearing that, Ba Fenghan nodded inwardly, praising Kou Zhong as a child who could take instruction. Because outside the Great Wall, various tribes martial [or military] air was extremely flourishing, they valued courage and strength the most, and looked up only on heroes with guts; reputation and face were of paramount importance. If Kou Zhong meekly and politely took the insult, the other side would have looked down on you instead. The vicious light in the silver-crowned generals pair of eyes red out, he sized the three up with his burning gaze, but did not respond to Kou Zhongs remark. Finally his eyes rested on Ba Fenghan, he shouted sternly, You are a Tujue? Ba Fenghans eyes turned as sharp as an arrow. Meeting the silver-crowned generals gaze, he spoke coldly in Tujue, I only speak with friends. Suddenly the silver-crowned generals countenance changed slightly. Staring fixedly at Ba Fenghans mount standing behind the three, he asked, Isnt that Tamakan? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt great honor and glory. Obviously, beyond the Great Wall, Ba Fenghan had resounding reputation. Unexpectedly a Qidan high-ranking military officer was able to recognize Ba Fenghan from his horse. Letting out a longughter, Ba Fenghan said, Just consider you have a bit of eyesight. I am indeed Ba Fenghan, and these two brothers of mine are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Whether friends or foe, it can be decided in one word, no need to waste lips and tongue. From head to foot, the silver-crowned general was severely shaken; suddenly he turned his horse around and left, his voice came back from a distance, I am Huangzhikun, the Right Vanguard General serving under Abaojia; gentlemen, I am sure we will meet again someday. Watching the Sparrow Hawk Army left far away like a tornado, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, It looks like our three names added up together is quite valuable; without even fighting, it was enough to scare a hundred Qidan men to retreat. Ba Fenghan said with a sneer, The good show is stilling. Because Huangzhikun has an important matter to attend to, he did not wish a new branch growing out of a knot, hence he was willing to retreat. On this kind of t open in, once fight breaks, if we want to put them in order, I am afraid we will have to pay a bitter price. The three sat downfortably by theke, while the horses leisurely gorged themselves on the green, fertile meadow, passing the beautiful and spectacr nightfall in the prairie. Xu Ziling said, How did Huangzhikun recognize you as a Tujue? Right now you are wearing Han attire, there is no obvious difference from us. Ba Fenghan exined, Some habits are difficult to change, such as how to deal with disheveled hair; therefore, in just a nce he could see through that I am a Tujue. Shiwei people are the easiest to recognize, because they have their hair draped over their shoulders. Gaoli people love to wear white clothes, Huitong people love tattoo; each ethnic group have their own social custom. Remembering Fu Junchuos white clothes, a burst of emotional stirring welled up in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart. When you interrogated Xu Kaishan the other day on the technique of training horses, what is your conclusion? Kou Zhong asked. Its really hard to say, Ba Fenghan replied, I am guessing that he is Mengwu [Mongolia?] Shiwei man. All tribes of the prairie called themselves Mongolians. Among the Shiwei people, this tribe is the most courageous. Every year they hold a wrestling and horse racing festivals, attracting a lot of people to participate. Some say that in the future, the one most likely to unify the prairie will be them. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Why not your Tujue people? Ba Fenghan sighed and said, What the facts are, we will only know in the future. I just wanted to make it clear that among the Shiwei people, the Mengwu Shiwei is the tribe with biggest potential. Martial art masterse forth inrge number, included among these are Belegunatai and Bugunatai, two brothers, who are known as the Mighty Candidates of Argun River. My understanding is that there has never been anybody able to walk ten steps under their hands. Kou Zhongughed and said, Old Ba, you should not let them get away. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, They are the men that Xiaodi admire; one day we will meet each other. Kou Zhong said, Returning to our main topic, ording to your guess, is there any connection between the wolf-bandits and Xu Kaishan and Du Xing? Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan replied, I really am not sure. I hope that by the time we reach Yan Yuan Ji by the Buir Lake, Ma Ji could provide us with an answer. Yan Yuan Ji could not be called a county town or even a hamlet; it was just a marketce on the eastern bank of Buir Lake where nomadic people from various neighboring regions gathered. There was a vast open space in the middle, surrounded all around by nearly a hundred irregrly scattered tents, in all shapes, sizes and colors, creating an impressive sight. When the three arrived, the open space was packed with a crowd, bustling with noise and excitement. Looking at their apparel, they were mostly Qidan, Mo, Tujue, and Huizu. There were men and women, all well-dressed, so that it was quite like a holiday atmosphere. The three urged their horses to the top of a small hill and looked over. Ba Fenghan said, We are a bit lucky; it happens to be their market day. This situation may continue for more than ten days. There will be endless stream of peopleing, but there is also an endless stream of people leaving. To the people on the prairie, this is an important moment. Not only they can exchange goods for the stuff theyck, they can also exchange women. Kou Zhong was watching a group of ox-carts entering the Yan Yuan Jis surrounding, behind them was a spectacr sight of arge flock of several hundred bellwether sheep, bleating incessantly. Hearing Ba Fenghan, he was startled, What? he blurted, How could such a barbarous thing happen? Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghan said, For you, Han people, the area beyond the Great Wall is a savagend anyway. Not only there are tribes who make their nest up on the trees, there are also people who live in caves, or perhaps in buildings made of y mixed with the blood of cattle and sheep. Some of the customs might be hard for you to imagine, you will be more likely to see it as a good andmon-sense, such as brother sharing one wife, or perhaps treating a guest with your wife. Xiaodi has made every effort to say things that are more eptable to you, but some are so absurd that you will not believe it. The two listened with eyes opened wide, mouth agape. Ba Fenghan continued, Under normal circumstances, womens trade is limited to their own tribe. But in the case of female ves that they captured in war, they might bring them here to be traded with horses, cows, sheep, sables, and so on, whatever is more useful to them. By now two gentlemen ought to understand why Xiaodi made light of traveling a thousand li toe to the Central ins, which is because of my admiration to your culture. During the great prosperity of the Great Sui, all the princes and tribal chiefs of the kingdoms beyond the Great Wall were learning yournguage. Kou Zhong was dying to ask him whether his Hannguage was taught by Ba Daier [see Book 15 Chapter 5], but in the end he refrained from asking. Nodding his head, he said, Trading stolen goods in here is indeed absolutely safe [orig. ten thousand things, not one fails]. Ba Fenghan said, Ma Ji has a short rule: anybody who want to talk business with him muste here. As for his real base of operations, nobody knew. My guess is that he has distribution points everywhere. He has arge number of artisans working under him, who can work on the stolen goods. Even if it was sold back inside the Pass and was purchased back by the original owner, they might not recognize their own batch of goods. Xu Ziling sighed and said, No wonder his stolen goods business can be that big. Ba Fenghan said, He must do it this way, because horse thieves are the public enemy of the prairie tribes. The reason that wherever Xiaodi goes everybody must give me a little bit of face is precisely because I am the bane of the horse thieves. Kou Zhongughed and said, You really know how to choose people to kill. Not only to get rid of the inauspicious, but also to train your sword. One move, two gains indeed. Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, It ought to be one move, four gains. Each time I go to a certain ce, I would offer my service to the tribe of the area to wipe out the horse thieves, and they would offer the most valuable special local product as a reward, which would support Xiaodis livelihood. More importantly, they would provide the most thorough and detailed intelligence about the horse thieves. In general, horse thievesmit crimes across multiple tribes, hence it is very difficult for the tribe suffering damage to pursue and make reprisals. On the contrary, as a lone rider I dont have the slightest bit of misgivings. Therefore, not only I can obtain reputation, but also find someone to test my sword. At the same time, I get the mary reward and all kinds of unexpected information and intelligence. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Should we get rid of Ma Ji, to cut off a channel with which the horse thieves can unload one or two stolen goods? One chicken died one chicken cried, Ba Fenghan replied, Killing Ma Ji does not make much sense. When we meet Ma Jiter, we will use both gentle methods and force. When he feels that his life is threatened, he might be willing to betray the wolf-bandits. He is just another kind of bandit. Urging his horse to gallop down the hill, heughed heartily and said, You ought to make mental preparation. Entering the market is easy, going out is difficult! Brothers! Leading their horses along, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling ced themselves right in the middle of the Yan Yuan Ji, to learn from experience the local conditions and customs of the people of the prairie beyond the Great Wall. Whether it was a man or a woman, everybody had a bow on their back and a de on their waist; sitting on horseback was like sitting in a chair, serene and cozy. Different ethnic groups had different dialects, clothes and ornaments, adornments. Watching this, they were dazzled; hearing this, they werepletely baffled. Coming here to do business were mostly ordinary herdsmen, but there were a lot of tribal chiefs and evil tyrants from various ces. However, everybody conducted their business ording to established rules; they haggled over the price, but nobody used their strength to mistreat the other. There were no other Han people in the market, so that the two were especially conspicuous; the difference was that no one interrogated them yet. As for the goods being traded, everything that should be there was there; aside from all kinds of beast of burden, cowhide, sheepskin, deerskin, jars of wine, dishes, kitchen utensils, there were also Central Earth products like silk cloth, ceramics, and so on. Seeing all these, the two boys eyes were unable to take it all; it was indeed eye-opening. Avoiding unfriendly stare, Kou Zhong leaned over to whisper on Xu Zilings ear, The real big transactions ought to be carried out inside the tents. Do you think Cui Wang might be in one of those tents? Huh? What are you thinking? Are you detecting Shi Zhixuans presence? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, I lost Shi Zhixuans track, I cant sense anything anymore. Kou Zhong was about to speak, suddenly someone shouted loudly in front of them, startling the two that they jumped in fright. Following the direction of the voice, they saw the speaker was a big man perching high on the horseback; his long hair was draped over his shoulders, his head was wearing a round cap made of wolf skin, his body was wearing short-sleeved, elbow-length leather jacket with ovep cor, and leather belt with copper buckle, his feet in leggings and boots, his steel-bell like eyes were fiercely sizing the two boys up. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce, knowing inwardly that this man was a Shiwei man, but they did not know from which tribe. ording to Ba Fenghans directions, when Shiwei people met their friends or perhaps wanted to express goodwill, they would take off their hat to show respect. But presently this gentleman did not take off his cap, plus his eyes showed ominous glint, so he could not possiblye in goodwill. Nearby, the people were crowding around the goods, the moring noise reached out to the sky, so that even though the Shiwei man was shouting like a thunder shaking the heavens, he did not attract any attention at all. The Shiwei man pointed at their horses and shouted some unintelligible bbers, too bad the two boys did not understand even half a word of Shiweinguage. Kou Zhong lightly nudged Xu Ziling with his elbow and said with augh, Have you ever seen anybody who wanted to buy a horse this vicious? When a tiger did not show off its might, it might be considered a sick cat. And then he shouted in Tujuenguage, Not for sale! Get lost! Tujue was indeed a poprnguage beyond the Great Wall. The Shiwei man understood immediately. The ominous glint in his pair of eyes ring even brighter, beyond the two boys expectation, unexpectedly he pulled the saber from his waist and urged his horse to charge forward, he chopped down on Kou Zhongs face. With a whoosh, the saber disyed his full power. Frightened, the crowd fell over each other in their eagerness to evade. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that buying a horse should not use any de, so which social custom was this man using? The saber momentum was as fast as lightning, yet in his eyes it was still extremely slow. Thereupon he gathered his fingers together in a palm chop and raised it over his left shoulder in swift chop and hit the de of the saber. The big Shiwei man let out a stifled grunt, both his person and his horse were jolted away. His eyes revealed a disbelief, his saber drooped down by the horses belly side. The two boys were certain that his right hand holding the saber went numb so that he was unable to lift it up. He was still lucky that Kou Zhong was being lenient to him. The big Shiwei man continued to retreat, his pair of eyes was zing with hatred, he angrily glowered at the two boys, and then pulling his rein, he turned the horse around and disappeared into the crowd. The two boys looked at each other in dismay. Xu Ziling blew out a mouthful of air and said, Seems like something is wrong. This moment Ba Fenghan heard themotion and came back. Seeing the two boys unusual expression, he asked what happened. However, showing the least bit of care, he said, Come with me! The three flipped over to the horseback and left the market; they galloped toward a cluster of tents by the Buir Lake. Before entering the market, when they were still on top of the small hill looking this direction, the various tribes camp looked to be crowding together densely. But now that they were inside, they began to know that the camp was unexpectedly distributed by groups, and a certain distance was maintained between the groups of camp that no one would misunderstand. The real big business deals were indeed being carried out inside the tents. Outside the tents were each tribes warriors responsible for protecting the important figures inside the tents. As the two boys passed, they aroused these guards alertness; they all fixed their gaze on the three. Ba Fenghan spoke in low voice, Dont look at them, to avoid a new branch growing out of a knot. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, A nce can arouse conflict? Ba Fenghan responded, Who told you to be a Han like Yang Guang? The months and years that the Old Yang sitting on the dragon court has made the rtionship between the Han people and various tribes of the prairie be extremely poor. Were it not for them seeing that the two of you look like you have a skill or two, I guarantee that somebody would have already blocked your way. Xu Zilingughed and said, They ought to be looking up at you, this Tujue man, and wont dare to act blindly without thinking! The three galloped toward the group of Majis tents. More than a dozen Tujue armed men swarmed out from among the tents and blocked the way. One of them shouted in Tujuenguage, Whosing? Ba Fenghan calmly dismounted the horse, the two boys followed his lead. The former smiled and said, These two Han friends of mine are big customersing from the Central Earth, they want to discuss a big business with Ma Ji; would you please let us pass? His eyes shing, the Tujue man sized the two boys up. Seeing that the three were in rxed manner, their shape dignified, their bearing steady and calm, he knew that these three were not to be trifled with. His haughtiness slightly diminished, he said, Ma Ye dont have time to see guests today; if you want to see him,e back tomorrow morning. Laughing coldly, Ba Fenghan said, It looks like you still dont know whats going on? We are following the etiquette asking for an audience, this way we already give Ma Ji enough face. Quickly get lost and see Ma Ji, tell him that its me, Ba Fenghaning. As soon as the three characters Ba Fenghan were spoken, it was indeed like thunder piercing the ear. None of the Tujue crowd did not have his countenance changed. From the nearest cluster of tents, more than twenty armed men rushed out; it appeared that they wanted to enjoy watching a bustling scene, but it also looked like they wanted to support Ma Jis side. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes became as sharp as saber de, he shouted, Ma Ji! Do you want me, Ba Fenghan, to forcefully charge inside, or do you want me to peacefullying to see you? His voice traveled far and wide. Immediately from the five tents on Ma Jis side men were rushing out to join the other Tujue warriors blocking the way. The number of men rapidly reached more than fifty, mostly Tujue men, who ounted for more than thirty men, while the rest were warriors from various different tribes. A gentle and reserved voice came from the main tent, Turns out it is Ba Xiong honoring us by your presence. The other two gentlemen must be Shao Shuai and Xu Ziling Xiong. You havee from such a faraway ce, it is indeed Ma Jis honor and glory. Pleasee into the tent to chat. Unexpectedly he spoke Hannguage with very articte pronunciation and vocalizing. Although the three were not afraid, they still cried Not good! inwardly. Ma Ji did not need to get out of the tent, yet he already knew that there were Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling apanying Ba Fenghan. It is thus clear that he already received the news, and was waiting in strict formation. Ba Fenghanughed aloud. Pulling his horse along, he took the lead to walk toward the main tent. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they both recalled Ba Fenghans remark, Entering the market is easy, going out is difficult. Book 39 - 3 – Weapons of War at the Yan Marke t Under the solemn gaze of the more than fifty murderous-looking warriors escorting them, the three, leading their horse along, upright and unafraid, walked over to the main tent, about sixty paces away. Xu Ziling whispered in Ba Fenghans ear, Have you ever heard anybody mentioning that Ma Ji knows how to speak Hannguage? Ba Fenghans expression changed, he slowly shook his head and spoke heavily, Never heard. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, If I am guessing correctly, the speaker just now must be Tonyukuk. His words were like scorching thunder on the in, making the two mens brains were like being struck by thunderbolt, like a sh of lightning illuminating their mind. The reason they came to Yan Yuan Ji was because Xu Kaishan said that Gomiko, who was killed in order to shut his mouth, was Ma Jis subordinate, and that he had information about the wolf-bandits he wanted to sell. Therefore, when they suddenly lost the wolf-bandits tracks on the road southeast of Yan Yuan Ji one night, they automatically thought abouting to Yan Yuan Ji to look for Ma Ji for some information, as well as to try their luck. At that time they did not think too much about this matter, because basically they did not consider Ma Ji to be worthy in their eyes. But as soon as Xu Ziling made that remark, the two men were suddenly awakened. Due to their carelessness, they had fallen into the enemys evil schemes, while also had no choice but to admit that the opponent was indeed brilliant. From Yuyang to this ce, everything that happened was practically a string of plots; one scheme failed the next one was carried out. Their visit to the pleasure house to seek Jian Dashi asking for the bows C had exposed their whereabouts, which triggered the enemy, headed by Du Xing and Xu Kaishan, tounch their operation. The wolf-bandits and Sao Niangzis mission was not targeted at Yin Xianhe, not even Qiu Nanshan or various gangs and societies people C but at them. Sao Niangzi, who was adept at astronomy and the use of poison C had given everything she had, and sessfully, inside a fully enclosed environment C poisoned and harmed everybody, only too bad for her that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were a-hundred-poison-cannot-invade type of persons, hence the enterprise was ruined for the sake of one basketful, and they had to pay with the Madams life and broken soldiers. One scheme failed the next schememenced. Du Xing originally nned to go all out to strike and kill the two at Shanhai Pass, only because of Ba Fenghan and Shi Feixuans appearance that Du Xings troops disposition was thrown into a mess. He had no choice but to change n by sending Xu Kaishan into the arena, cleverly luring them to pursue the wolf-bandits outside the Great Wall. All along the wolf-bandits had been leading them toward Yan Yuan Ji before vanishing in its vicinity without any trace, forcing them toe here to look for Ma Ji. This was practically a plot to consign them to eternal damnation. Myriads of thoughts shed at lightning, flint-spark speed in Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhongs mind. At every most critical juncture, Xu Ziling was always able to disy his outstanding intelligence and his mystical intuition. When they were about twenty paces from the main tent, Xu Ziling focused his voice into a line and sent it into the two mens ears, saying, Strike first and gain the upper hand! Ba Fenghan stood in ce, threw his head back in longughter, and spoke in Tujue, Tonyukuk, get out here for me! All around, the men were stunned, and then Qiang! Qiang! an unending string of ringing noise fell incessantly on the ear, as everybody pulled the most popr weapon beyond the Great Wall, all styles of cavalry sword. They scattered away a little bit first, before pointing the des at the three men. The reaction of these people has confirmed, without the slightest bit of inuracy C Xu Zilings assessment. Without waiting for Tonyukuks answer, the three immediately leaped onto their horseback. The matter of life and death was going to to be strived for in this very brief period of time [orig. the time it takes for a shadow to move a cun (about an inch)]. If they let the enemy to easilyyout their troop disposition to guard the court, next year today would be the first anniversary of their death. Merely Tonyukuk, one person was already not easy to deal with, not to mention the opposite side has plotted actively; this time certainly the whole nest came out to fight, even Bi Xuan might be hiding inside the tent. This was surely not aughing matter. If they nursed a grievance in this ce, Ren Jun, Uncle Li, and the others would certainly lose their lives as well. Only by defending their lives and staying alive would make Du Xing not daring to strike treacherously. Bang! A man broke through the top of the tent and soared into the air, straight up for about four zhang, and thundered with powerful voice, Great Khans order! Attack! Naturally he was speaking in Tujuenguage. This mans build was a bit like Yin Xianhe, as thin as a match, tall like a white crane [Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus)], but he was a bit more good-looking than Yin Xianhe. He was clothed in snow white wide robe, which freely fluttered high in the air blown by the straight wind of the prairie. Within his imposing and amazing appearance, there was a hint to graceful intelligence. Looking at him either horizontally or vertically, he could not possibly be more than thirty years old, but the three had a feeling that he was precisely Tonyukuk; otherwise, who could have such a mighty presence? A martial art master who was indeed a martial art master; recement guaranteed if not genuine. Tonyukuk suddenly changed from rising to falling, just like a vulture or a hawk gliding down from the sky, diving to snatch its favorite culinary delicacy on the prairie. His pair of eyes pouring out deep emotion, yet a hint of self-confidence, haughty smile escaped from the corner of his mouth. The Perished Moon Bow appeared in Ba Fenghans hand. Xu Ziling leaned forward and stuck his hands into the two leather bags full of iron bullets hanging on both sides of his horses back; letting out a longugh, he said, Shaoshuai, you get your wish so soon; what more is there to regret? Ba Fenghan sent out his true power, the Perished Moon Bow, as if it had a life of its own, opened up automatically. With his other hand Ba Fenghan fetch an arrow from the quiver, so fast that no one could see his movement clearly, the arrow was already on the string. The three warhorses in triangr formation, it changed position so that now Kou Zhong became the vanguard C charging toward the left side of the main tent. Ba Fenghan, who was originally at the front, now brought up the rear along with Xu Ziling, so that Tonyukuk now was striking down toward their right-rear side. Following his leaning-forward body, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well chopped down on the enemy, while his other hand shot a string of iron bullets swiftly in session, yet he still had time to respond to Xu Ziling, saying, Ling Shao really know how to crack jokes; I thought one step at a time would be a bit better. Ha! With the bow loaded, Ba Fenghans hands made changes so subtle that made people gasping in amazement. But in the eye of Tonyukuk, who was falling down from the sky, the shooting arrows angle and timing were constantly changing, so that he felt that it was beyond his capability to fathom. Suddenly, Tonyukuk knew that he had fallen into the disadvantageous position. Swish! The powerful arrow left the Perished Moon Bow, it flitted across the two-zhang distance, shooting toward Tonyukuk as fast as lightning, so that there was no trace he could find, there was no ce he could evade to. Such an archery technique, it could be called the mighty on the prairie. Holding the iron bullets, Xu Zilings pair of clean, beautiful, sparkling and translucent, slender and graceful hands performed thousands and tens of thousands different hand images, like the Qian Shou Guanyin [Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva of Compassion] sprinkling the iron bullets like drops of rain filling the sky, shooting toward the more than fifty Tujue warriors pouncing toward the three like wolves and tigers. Some of the iron bullets brushed past Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, yet none could hurt the two men. It was urate like following the hearts desire so that it was hard to believe. Bang! Tonyukuk had no choice but to send his true qi into his gown and sleeves, and met Ba Fenghans full-powered arrow that was shot by the Perished Moon Bow C head on. Two streams of power shed. The long arrow shattered into cun-sized pieces. On the surface, Tonyukuk seemed to be upying the upper hand, but the reaction force from the impact jolted him away, so that the distance to the three men was quickly widened. The sess or failure of this arrow was an important key; if they let a super-martial-art-master like Tonyukuk get near, at least one of them would be entangled to death, then the consequences would be really difficult to imagine. After Tonyukuks shout, Attack! from all around, nearly fifty tents were flipped at the same time, followed by six, seven hundred men rushing out. On top of that, there were also Tujue elite troops, which masqueraded as various other tribes warriors outside the camps covering the whole area, bringing the total to over one thousand men, each one, using the fastest possible time, flipped over the warhorses. The camp area, which was originally covered in great numbers of tents, was transformed back to a wide-open grasnd by the Buir Lake and a battlefield where the sound of battle cry shook the heavens. The change was both abrupt and shocking. From the main tent, more than a dozen people rushed out. Surprisingly, Zhao Deyan was one of those people. Every single one of the other people had intimidating shape, so that in just one nce it was obvious that they were all genuine martial art masters; the enemys main force was right here. Among them was a man wearing golden robe, his outer appearance attracted attention, not only because he was bald, but he had wide backbones and brimming-with-valiant-vor countenance, which outline left a profound impression in others. Furthermore, there was the inducing-fear bearing and strong self-confidence, which gave the impression that he was the kind of person who was decisive, tenacious, and possessed unlimited energy, as well as mighty, capable, and knowledgeable, an ambitious and ruthless character who would do whatever it takes to achieve sess. Nearly without any difference who moved first and who movedst, Zhao Deyan and the golden-robed bald man soared into the sky, somersaulted over the warriors dashing-on-bravely-with-no-thought-of-personal-safety to attack and block the three men; all the other martial art masters were a hair slower than these two men. One after another, the more than a dozen warriors charging toward Kou Zhong, three men, fell back and died; if not their faces, then either their throat, chest, or other vital parts were hit by the iron bullets. Even the usually-did-not-kill-anybody-wantonly Xu Ziling did not show leniency, because if he yielded even the least bit, the first to suffer cmity would be the beloved colts they were riding on. Like tidal wave the Tujue elite cavalry swarmed in from the wilderness, which was inundated by the mountains, on the east side, opposite to the Buir Lake C treading over the copsed tents. Because on the south side the enemys strength was rather weak and had slightly less resistance, this was the direction the three chose to force their way out of the encirclement. Whether they were able to get away from being entangled by the enemys main force would define their sess or failure. Dang! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well hacked a blocker, sending both the saber and the person flying backward. Under Kou Zhongs full-force saber strike, the qi power broke out like a mountain sh flood, fresh blood seeped out of the mans eyes, ears, mouth and nose, his body refused to follow its master, he knocked over seven or eight of hispanions that they fell to the east and tumbled to the west in a heap. Jump! Kou Zhong roared. Abruptly pulling the rein, he sent his true power ording to the secret method Ba Fenghan personally imparted on him toward the horse legs. The Thousand-li Dream jumped straight nearly a zhang above the ground, over six, seven enemies, traversing more than a three-zhang distance, pouncing toward the even-farther-away enemies. The two boys minds were interlinked. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan immediately urged their horses to jump, like celestial flying horses, leaving the ground, and were finally able to break away from the entanglement of the fifty infantry warriors. This move was greatly beyond the enemys expectation. Immediately their troop disposition was thrown into great chaos, they lost the central core of their attack. Where the three horsesnded, the enemies were forced to scatter in all direction. Zhao Deyan and the golden-robed bald man were falling far behind. Iron bullets did not stop shooting from Xu Zilings hands. The enemy cavalry attacking from the east was hit; they fell from the horseback one after another, men and horses piled up into a hill, so that it was difficult for theirpanions behind them to leap over the thunder-moat [or pond; no idea, must be an idiom] even for half a step. Unable to break through the three mens triangr battle array, they were forced to fight individually. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well turned into saber light filling the air. He focused on the attack from the front. The attackers were swept by the wind, wherever the saber light passed through, the enemy riders would either be dead or injured. He was like the ships bow cutting through the raging waves, through the angrily surging wild billows, constantly urging his horse to press on. Ba Fenghan had the bow in his left hand and the sword in his right. Unleashing his expertise, one-heart-two-uses [multitasking] technique, he blocked the enemy pursuing from behind from getting close, as well as pressing down a small number of enemies attacking from Buir Lake direction. The three broke out of the siege along the coast. This was the best strategy under such circumstances. Traversing the zhang-and-a-half distance, the Chain Water Caltrop [i.e. rhombus shape] Spear shot out of Zhao Deyans hand, flying silently toward the back of Ba Fenghans head. [Note: in Book 36 Chapter 1, it was called A Hundred Changes Water Caltrop Spear.] Ba Fenghan had just beheaded an enemy. As if he had eyes at the back of his head, his sword swept backward at the tip of the Water Caltrop Spear, while he shouted, Shaoshuai, watch out, Xieli ising to get to know you better! The golden-robed bald man was rushing over from the shore;ughing aloud, he said, When I, Xieli established my might in the great desert, you were still kids whose smell of your mothers milk not yet dried. Finished speaking he soared at an angle, in the blink of an eye he already rushed over to Kou Zhongs right side. The cavalry sword in his hand turning into a dazzling white light, he chopped the left side of Kou Zhongs neck; it was extremely bold and powerful. Ever since Tonyukuk shouted, Great Khans order! Kou Zhong had already guessed that Xieli had personallye, only he did not expect that Xielis saber technique was formidable to such a level. The saber qi already locked on him firmly; he sighed inwardly. Unable to block anothernce that was attacking his chest, he abruptly twisted his tiger-body, the Moon in the Well swept to meet the strike head-on, heughed aloud and said, Kou Zhong pays his respect to Great Khan! If they were stopped by Xieli even for a moment, the enemy cavalry charging from the left side would block the escape route ahead, and then they would lose the opportunity to leave. Ding! Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword heavily swept Zhao Deyans Chain Water Caltrop Spear away, but he had to pay the price as well; two more wounds appeared on his body. Xu Ziling was also able to see the threat Xieli was posing on them, and he also judged that Xieli had enough power to hold them. Shooting all the iron bullets in his hands out, he shouted to Kou Zhong, Change position! Qiang! The Moon in the Well shocked Xielis cavalry sword head-on. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Completely beyond Xielis expectation, he borrowed the reaction force from the impact to spring out of the Thousand-li Dream; not only to evade the spear and saber attacking him from the front, but also to throw himself toward Xu Zilings Ten-thousand-li Spots. Xu Ziling flew horizontally. Before Xieli had any chance to change his move, his hand pressed on the Thousand-li Dreams back, with his leg supporting him horizontally, he swiftly attacked Xielis face. When Xieli was soaring into the air to pursue, relying entirely on a mouthful of qi, he had already prepared a good strategy to deal with Kou Zhong. He wanted to carry out the to-shoot-the-person-one-must-shoot-the-horse-first tactic. First, he forced Kou Zhong into a more-than-one-can-attend-to situation, and then using heavy-hand technique he would kill the Thousand-li Dream. Who would have thought that man proposes but God disposes, Kou Zhong was suddenly reced by attacking-full-force-supported-by-a-single-foot Xu Ziling. Roaring angrily, he changed to use the sabers hilt to strike Xu Ziling. Bang! The Treasure Vase Qi Power burst out suddenly. Although Xielis martial art cultivation has reached grandmaster level, still he had never thought that there was such a mysterious qi power on earth, so highly concentrated to the point of hard to believe. Immediately he suffered pent-up unspoken grievances; his hand was jolted that his arm went numb, plus his mouthful of qi was depleted, he was thrown sideways like a kite with cut string. This moment Xu Ziling has be the sharp point of the triangr troop-disposition. The Treasures Vase Qi burst out again, two enemies received his punch and fell off their horses. Immediately the pressure was loosened, the enemy formation on the south side has finally cut open to be a gap from which they could flee for their lives. Under the brilliant, enchanting starry sky, on the deste sand-covered earth, the eye-catching grey and yellow Little Gobi half-desert, the three urged their horses to speed along. Since fleeing for their lives from Yan Yuan Ji, they have been rushing along without stopping to rest for one day and half a night. Xieli and his personal guards, the elite cavalry of Tujue, were pursuing relentlessly at their tail. Before arriving at Yan Yuan Ji, they already ran the whole night, while the enemy was preserving and nurturing their spirit inside the tents by the Bui Lake, waiting respectfully for their arrival. Were it not for Ba Fenghans man and horse as one xinfa, even heavenly steeds like their horses would have fallen dead on the yellow sand. This moment both men and horses were unbearably weary. The night wind was blowing the sand into the air, hitting them right on their faces; it felt dry and rough, difficult to bear, as if they were enduring the torment of the living hell, suffering the torments of Buddhist hell while still alive. Other than holding on to the little bit of barely-there willpower and hope, there was nothing else to hold on. After fighting with all their might, the three men, whose bodies were covered all over with wounds C still had to use their true qi to support their horses, the wear and tear to their true energy has approached thentern-with-dried-up-oil stage, while the enemy was still pursuing relentlessly from the eye-could-not-see distance behind them. On top of that, the falcon that Xieli had released was hovering at the invisible hundred-zhang elevation above their heads, bringing about an enormous pressure and threat to their spirit and willpower. It was just like their past experience, the history was repeating itself, with the addition of the barrennd beyond the Great Wall, where it was even more difficult to go into hiding. Shouting against the wind, Kou Zhong said, The horses wont be able to endure much longer! Ba Fenghan replied, Our only way to survive is to reach Deguaru, the only green area in the Little Gobi Desert C as quickly as possible, and we definitely cannot stop. Kou Zhong said with a sigh, Hopefully we are not lost! Ba Fenghan looked up to the sky to look at the stars. Xiongdi! he spoke confidently, Trust me. With the constetion of stars in the sky as a guide, I will never lose my way. The three strenuously supported the horses under their crotch to gallop speedily toward the wilderness where the sand and the stones reached the sky. Suddenly a strip of green line appeared on the horizon ahead. Greatly delighted, Ba Fenghan said, Ha! Xiongdi! In the end Xiaodi does not fail you. Look! The two boys spirit was greatly aroused. They cast their gaze into the distance, where a miracle-like scenery appeared before their eyes. The green lines seemed to be following them, pushing ahead to be a vast area of green jungle; vertical and horizontal, each strip, each line standing tall, so full of life. The breezeing at them carried the scent of tender and moist grass, so that they felt as if they wereing out of hell and returning to the beautiful world. The perfectly straight por trees and the lush elms and Chinese schr trees [Sophora Japonica] grew together in dense, mixed clusters, forming a natural, sand-proof formation. Lush green in suddenly opened up, covering the shore around a smallke like a piece of green rug falling from heaven. The horses, on the verge of falling dead from exhaustion, stopped at the edge of theke to drink the water and eat the grass. The three regted their breathing for nearly half a sichen, their physical strength and spirit recovered for the most part, their heart was filled with abundant will to fight and confidence again. Kou Zhong looked up into the sky at the falcon that only looked like a ck dot spiraling in the air, How much time do we have? he asked. Ba Fenghan replied, Based on Xiaodis experience, we ought to be faster than the opposite side by nearly two sichen. No matter how amazing Xieli is, he cant possibly catch up to this ce in less than one sichen. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, That should do it! As long as we could kill this t-feathered beast, we would be like a bird out of the cage, a divine dragon returning to the sea, throwing off Xieli and his men. Xu Ziling also looked up at the falcon. Knitting his brows, he said, This is the second falcon that Xieli released. Getting rid of one, we still cannot evade the pursuit of the other one. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Supposing we can injure the falcon without killing it, and then it returns to Xielis side, do you think Xieli would dare to release the falcon to follow our trail? Training a falcon is not something that can be done in ten days, half a month. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Do you have the confidence to shoot a falcon flying at a more than a hundred-zhang altitude, a falcon that know how to evade arrow? Kou Zhong took out the Extinguished Sun Bow and spread the bowstring, he let out a longugh and said, If it were only me, Kou Zhong, one person, without the divine bow that Jian Dashi refined, naturally this is not possible. But now there is the Arrow God Ba Fenghan, who shot Tonyukuk back with just one arrow; the situation is greatly different. Ba Fenghans countenance did not change, but his pair or eyes emitted an awe-inspiring divine light, he breathed out a long-drawn breath, and said, If you guys can send me forty zhang up into the air, Xiaodi can try. After making quick calction on the distance, Xu Ziling said, At most we can send you up twenty zhang. Kou Zhong said, If we could lure the falcon to fly a bit lower, wont something impossible be possible? Ba Fenghan took the proffered Extinguished Sun Bow, rose up to his full height, and said, Right! How do you know you cant do it without trying? If we hide in the woods, we are not afraid the beast wonte down to see. Book 39 - 4 – The Alliance of Abandoned For t The three galloped away from the green area. They set foot on the yellow sand again, butpared to before, their mood was as far as the heaven from the earth. First of all, the falcon, which made them unable to rest or eat in peace, had been hit by the arrow on its left wing; it let out a sad cry and left, so that they were back to their free and easy way again. Secondly, the horses, after they had eaten till full and had enough rest, coupled with the true qi that they injected, were bing like lively dragon and animated tiger, which gave them tremendous advantage in throwing off the enemy far behind. In this kind of you-pursue-me-I-chase-you battle of wits, clearly they had upied the extreme upper hand. This moment it was still half a sichen to daybreak. Kou Zhong suddenlyughed aloud and said, It looks like our destiny is to be chased and fiercely attacked by the enemy. It was like that inside the Pass, and now that we came beyond the Great Wall, the same thing happened again. Reducing the speed of his horse, Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Shaoshuai did not know how lucky you are. Xieli has always prepared exhaustive scheme, he rarely failed. This time he toiled the army and moved the crowd; furthermore, he took the risk of being attacked by Tuli, yet he still wasted time and energy, and made an exhibition of himself. Just this fact will be enough to make Shaoshuais name famous beyond the Great Wall, no one will dare to take Shaoshuai lightly. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, But our pursuit of the sheepskin hase to nothing. The worst thing is that clearly Du Xing and Xu Kaishan betrayed us, yet they can still escape responsibility dry and clean, we are still unable to look for them to settle the ount. Kou Zhong was so aggravated that his teeth itched, Those two are too despicable! he said. Ba Fenghan took the two boys to the top of a small hill and reined the horse to stop. Sweeping his gaze around, he said cheerfully, Two Dage, please rest assured that this moment Xiaodi has more confidence than before that we will be able to recover Da Xiaojies eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin, although it may not be the original sheepskin. In short, there will be somebody who will bear the full responsibility topensate us, unless he does not wish to live. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Are you saying that we are going to look for Ma Ji to settle the ount? The murderous aura in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke coldly, Ma Ji is willing to be Xielis hunting dog and aplice, naturally he has to bear full responsibility for the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin. Astounded, Xu Ziling said, Didnt you say that Ma Jis whereabouts is fleeting, he is without any fixed residence? Where are you going to look for him? A smile escaped from the corner of Ba Fenghans mouth, he said, This is called wandering monk will not wander far from the temple. Xiaodi happen to know the secret workshop where Ma Jiunders the stolen goods. After each business deals at Yan Yuan Ji, he will personally supervise the shipment of the stolen goods back to the workshop for his craftsman to adjust its head and turn its face [idiom: cosmetic changes], before unloading it off for sale. Come! We will go to that ce one step ahead, to wait respectfully for Ma Jis honorable self. This time, even if there is Tianwang Laozi [lit. old man king of heaven] present, no one will dare to speak up for him. Xu Ziling pulled the reins and called for a halt. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan let their horses run for more than ten zhang ahead before they pulled the reins and came back. After three days of traveling at double speed, not only they already threw Xieli far behind, they have also left the Little Gobi Desert and reached the prairie on the bank of Wu Jiang Xi. Over the vast teau, the shiny silvery-white clouds floated leisurely and freely, like an umbre sheltering them from the spring afternoon sun, creating an impressive sight of the shade moving across the grasnd. Reflecting the sun, the water of theke sparkled brightly like precious stones. A straight breeze was blowing gently, brushing their clothes. Coming back to Xu Zilings side, Kou Zhong asked, Whats the matter? His eyes closed, Xu Ziling pointed to the distance and said, The Relics is over there! His spirit greatly shaken, Ba Fenghan said, Shi Zhixuan? Opening up his tiger-eyes, Xu Ziling nodded and said, The feeling is slightly fuzzy. Clearly Shi Zhixuan has been passing here many days ago. What is that ce? Kou Zhong asked. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan replied, I have never been to that area. But now we have to make a choice, Shi Zhixuan or Ma Ji? His head ached, Kou Zhong asked, If we miss this opportunity, will we still be able to find Ma Ji? Ba Fenghan said, Definitely will be very difficult, but not impossible. No matter what, he will have a trace to find. Making up his mind, Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, Then for the time being well let Ma Ji off. Well get rid of Shi Zhixuan first before doing other things. Thinking deeply, Ba Fenghan said, Really strange! What in the world is Shi Zhixuan hiding from? Unexpectedly he went to this remote and farawaynd? Could it be Yin Gui Pai people? Kou Zhong said. Exhaling a mouthful of air, Xu Ziling said, The feeling disappeared again! I hope we can catch up with him before dusk. Lets go! Dust was rising in the distance, a team of more than a dozen loaded camels and more than a hundred riders wereing across the prairie. Ba Fenghan fixed his gaze to observe for half a day. He said, They are merchants from Da Si Guo [dont know if its a typo, but it literally means big/great feed country]. Wait here for a moment, Xiaodi will go over to ask for directions. Finished speaking, he urged his mount to gallop over. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took this opportunity to dismount and let the horses rest. After following Shi Zhixuans trail for nearly ten days, even Ba Fenghan, the old horse who knows the way home, did not know where he was anymore. Xu Zilings sense of the Relics was intermittent. This moment he could no longer sense Shi Zhixuans whereabouts. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This old fox Shi Zhixuan is really not simple. Coming beyond the Great Wall, he is still this formidable so that we cant even touch his butts. Xu Ziling said, He is taking a meandering and circuitous route, as if he wholeheartedly wants to throw off some big enemies pursuing closely behind him. Who could make him so afraid? Losing Jin Huanzhen, husband and wifes assistance, Shi Feixuan ought to be at a loss on how to follow him, plus Shi Feixuan does not have enough resources to make Shi Zhixuan to be this fearful. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, That is precisely what puzzles Xiaodi the most. Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife could only detect the Relics presence within a hundred li range. On this t in stretches out as far as the eye can see, if he run a bit quicker, very soon he will be able to escape this hundred-li range. Even with Jin Huanzhen, husband and wifes help, Yin Gui Pai still could not pursue for several thousand li straight to this ce. This moment Ba Fenghan returned from asking for directions. He rushed back and said with augh, Do you know what lies ahead? Kou Zhong calmly replied, If you dont tell us, how could we, a couple of kids who arrived at your honorable territory for the first time C know? Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, I asked this one additional question. From here traveling to the west for two days, we will reach the outstandingly famous Tong Wan City [lit. city of ten-thousand unity] at the south bank of Heishui, which came from the saying, Uniting the world, the ruler overlooking ten thousand nations, which cannot bepared to the migrating tribe following water and grass at all. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Unexpectedly there is such a ce? Ba Fenghan said, You, Han people ought to be familiar [orig. whats frequently heard can be repeated in detail] with Helianbobo who built this city, because during the Jin Dynasty [265-420 AD] he established the Xia Kingdom, one of the sixteen kingdoms of the Northern Dynasties. Furthermore, he took advantage of when the House of Jin was internally in chaos to lead his troops to go down south and conquer Changan, where he proimed independence and became the emperor. Helianbobo was a famous tyrant in history; one time he piled up human heads and called it Skull tform. Toward his subordinates he was also extremely cruel; he would gouge out their eyes, cut their lips, hook their tongue, or chop their heads at the slightest pretext. As a result, only after one generation he was destroyed by the Wei of the Northern Dynasties. Do you think Shi Zhixuan is going to Tong Wan City? Kou Zhong asked. It depends on our luck, Ba Fenghan replied, Currently the one in charge is Tiefuyou of Mohe [tribe], Heshui division. There is no longer any grand asion of when the city was built. Very well! Xu Ziling said, Well go to Tong Wan City to try our luck. Chatting andughing, the three continued their endless journey toward the boundless open country. The sickle-shaped waning moon was hanging low on the western sky. Urging their horses to trot slowly, after traveling day and night nonstop for three hundred li, they felt a little lost, because Xu Ziling could not sense the Demonic Emperor Relics. Looking up to the sky, Ba Fenghan said, If I am guessing correctly, we will have rain before sunrise. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Isnt it a very fine weather? What makes Fenghan Xiong think that there will be rain? Ba Fenghan replied, People who live in the prairie have a way to predict the weather; those who dont know how to do it will suffer extreme losses. Ziling, look at the sky, dont you think the clouds look like cotton wadding, and they are very high in the sky, plus the air is full of moisture? This is called cotton clouds; the rain ising. This forecast ought to be 80% urate. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, This method to predict the weather is very useful in troop deployment. Quickly tell me. Ba Fenghan proudly said, In the prairie, if my weather forecast technique cannot be considered number one, then it is at least number two. This technique can be divided into three parts, which are observing the clouds, examining the wind, and watching for stuffs. If I could put all three together to make spection, I could reach the point where I am nine-out-of-ten certain of the oue. Xu Ziling was greatly interested as well; he said, When I was little, I often heard older people said that red clouds in the morning, dont go out; red clouds in the evening, travel a thousand li. Its probably this kind of umted experiences to develop the technique of observing the heavens. Ba Fenghan said, Let us begin by watching the clouds, from its shape, trace its movement and changes to distinguish what is called the fish scales sky, carp spots, or perhaps turret clouds, muscle-cloth clouds. If you have an understanding of these, I guarantee that when Shaoshuai returns to the Central Earth and contend for hegemony against others, not only you will be themander-in-chief who can read the enemies like a deity, you will also be an expert in reading the sky. Letting out a longughter, Kou Zhong said, Merely this secret technique, Xiaodi already feel that this trip has not been made in vain. Pointing ahead, Xu Ziling asked, What is that? Following his finger, the two looked up; far away in the middle of the luxuriant grasnd, on top of a small hill, stood a building that looked like a fortress [or castle]. It had three floors, with the highest level was the high tform of the towering fort. Ba Fenghans spirit greatly aroused, he said, That must be the Helian Fort, located south of the Tong Wan City. We have a ce to shelter from the rain! Hesitating, Kou Zhong said, What time is it now? Will the people in the fort wee us, three uninvited guests? Ba Fenghanughed and said, Its just a broken-down fort that has been abandoned for more than ten years! Well take this opportunity to rest well, tomorrow we will enter Tong Wan City. He had not finished speaking, the wind and the clouds in the sky already changed, heavy rain was about toe. Urging his horse to speed forward, Ba Fenghanughed heartily and said, Shaoshuai ought to have full confidence in my weather-forecast technique by now! The two boys admired him wholeheartedly; urging their horses, they ran after him. The white castle magnificently upying the top of the hill was like an apparition overlooking the earth, as if it waspletely indifferent toward the heavy rain that was about to pour down on its head, totally without any concern over its dpidated andcking body due to prolonged disrepair. Braving the rain, the three came to the main gate, which could not be called gate anymore, and were greatly delighted. Ba Fenghan looked up to the sky to let the rain wash his face, he smiled and said, I wonder if two gentlemen know under what circumstances this small fort was built? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I was about to ask for guidance. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Helian Forts ruggedness is very famous on the prairie. It was built using a special kind of y, mixed with cattle and sheeps blood, builtyer byyer, and then they piled firewood on it to bake it. As eachyer waspleted, Helianbobo ordered the soldiers to bore it using an awl on iron chain. If the awl went a cun into the wall, he would have the builder of the wall killed; if the awl did not go in, he would have the soldier killed. Two gentlemen can imagine, would a fort that was built like that be strong enough to withstand sabers and axes? Kou Zhong felt a chill run down his spine; he said, My Niang! Was the entire Tong Wan City built like that? Shaoshuais guess is right-on. The three were severely shaken at the same time. In disbelief, they looked through the broken-down gate into the dark cavity inside the ancient castle that was big enough to amodate several dozens of people. The rain was pouring down heavier and heavier, pattering against the fort wall, creating a loud noise. The murderous aura in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes red out greatly, but he spoke calmly, Turns out its Zhu Zongzhu honoring us with your presence. This is called being brought together over a thousand li by fate. It could also be called enemies on a narrow road, or meeting face to face on a narrow path [all these are four-character idioms]. Dont me us for not willing to let this good opportunity slip by. Zhu Yuyan stepped out of the darkness, but stopped just one step away before she renounced the dark and seek the light [another idiom] at the edge of the darkness inside the door. Laughing coldly, she said, Ignorant kids; do you think you have the qualifications to retain me here? Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Qualifications? That year in Luoyang, you, the Senior, naturally had the qualifications to speak those words. But now, you must ask my sword first! Zhu Yuyan let out a peal of tenderughter; gasping tenderly, she said, No need to mess with you guys; getting back to the main point, are you interested in working with me to kill Shi Zhixuan? Her voice had some kind making people feel it was worth hearing a hundred times, their heart trembled, their spirit moved C powerful appeal. The three immediately felt that the hostility in their heart was somewhat decreasing, their fighting spirit greatly reduced. Kou Zhong was well aware that they have been subjected to her demonic power; frowning, he said, Lets talk less nonsense; there is no possibility of working together between us. Zhu Yuyan calmly said, In order to show my sincerity in working together, I will make an exception by exining something clearly to Shaoshuai, which is: Shangguan Long does not belong to my Yin Gui Pai at all. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Who is he then? Zhu Yuyan responded indifferently, He belongs to a mysterious sect of Hui people beyond the Great Wall. Although he has some rtionship with us, it was only a rtionship based on mutual benefit; I bear no responsibility on whatever he is doing. Did Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife, fall into your hands? Xu Ziling asked. Stunned, Zhu Yuyan said, Why did Ziling ask me that question? The three were certain that she was not lying. Because in her capacity and her status, there was no need for her to lie about such matter. But if it was not Yin Gui Pai, who on earth would have captured Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife? Besides, other than Yin Gui Pai, which family or sect would have such strength? Jin Huanzhen, two people were certainly not antern which oil had dried up. Kou Zhong spoke in displeasure, Frankly, now that we know that Zhu Yu Zongzhu wants to look for Shi Zhixuan to give him bad luck, we can temporarily cease hostility. But the matter of working together will not be mentioned again. Zhu Yuyan sighed faintly and lightly; there was some kind of evoking-pity feeling around her, but the strange thing was that she was still hiding in the dark behind the door, that she seemed to fuse together with the darkness, but merely her voice was enough to stir up peoples wild and fanciful thoughts, endless imagination. They heard her youthful, abundance with seductive power voice spoke, You guys may not believe it, the only person Shi Zhixuan is afraid of right now is me. Do you want to hear the reason? Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Zhu Zongzhu, please bestow your instruction. Zhu Yuyan was silent for half a day. She spoke softly, Because he knows that only I can kill him, because I have established impassable aspiration that I will never let him exploit the dead qi within the Relics to mend his fatal w. Listening to her, all three mens heart was trembling, their spirit swayed. The tone of her voice carried tenderness as deep as the water of the vast ocean, yet she was speaking about eliminating Shi Zhixuan and establishing life or death oath. Zhu Yuyan continued, Only by taking mutual destruction move against Shi Zhixuan will it be possible to break his Immortal Image Method; apart from this, there is no other way. Do you believe it? The entire earth was covered in boundless wind and rain, bing a water world. But the three acted as if theypletely forgot the violent rain drenching their body, the only thing ringing on their eardrums was what Zhu Yuyan had just said. If Shi Zhixuan and Zhu Yuyan, the two very top figures of the demonic school fought until they both perished, what could be a more ideal ending? What can we do to help you? Kou Zhong asked. Dead little demon! Zhu Yuyan cursed angrily, Hearing that nujia is going to burn both jade andmon stone against Shi Zhixuan, immediately you change into flippant and insincere words; arent you afraid you are going to reveal too much trace? The rain was getting heavier, bursts of chilling-to-the-bone rainwater blown by the wind wereing from four sides eight directions. Countless waterfalls washed down from the countless holes on the Helian Forts broken-down roof. Heaven and earth were separated again. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Does Zhu Zongzhu know where Shi Zhixuan is? Instead of replying, Zhu Yuyan asked, Why do you want to go to Tong Wan City? Ba Fenghan replied, We are looking for a man called Ma Ji, and then from him, we want to track down the wolf-bandits that have been wreaking havoc in the northeast. Zhu Yuyan said, If you have the sincerity to work together, you will stay in Tong Wan City to wait for the news from me. Finished speaking, she disappeared into the darkness inside the fort. The three you look at me I look at you, they all felt that what had just happened was totally unimaginable. Zhu Yuyan unexpectedly pleaded for their cooperation to deal with Shi Zhixuan. It is thus clear that Zhu Yuyan wanted to destroy Shi Zhixuans determination. Ba Fenghan flew off the horse and said, Lets go! Lets get in! Altogether the Helian Fort had three levels, the fort width was approximately twenty paces across, with stone steps inside the building connecting the floors. At the very top was a watchtower, extending the height of the fort to ten zhang, like a stone pagoda. Although dpidated, the main structure wasrgely intact. The solid city gate was about two chi thick, enough to withstand the violent impact from beating stones. All around were t field, but because it was built on a high elevation of the top of a hill, it had the intimidating momentum of a solid defense. It was raining heavily outside, but it was also drizzling inside. The rainwater flowed down from the cracks on the upper level in a no-hole-left-not-prated momentum. The water cascaded down the stone steps from the upper to the lower levels. The ground floor was covered in firewood, branches, wood charcoal, coal, rocks, and litters left by travelers. Fortunately, the wall was open with small window holes for shooting arrows, so that fresh air was flowing, hence there was no smell of anything rotten. Xu Ziling suddenly stood still. Lowering his voice, he said, Shi Zhixuan was here, and he stayed here for quite a long time. Hearing that, the other twos spirit was greatly aroused. Ba Fenghan, dripping wet, came over to one of the windows of the small room; looking out at the heaven and earth nketed in the surging wind and rain, he spoke heavily, What exactly is the problem with Shi Zhixuans Immortal Image Method? Listening to the tone of Zhu Yaofus voice, it seems like if his Immortal Image Method did not have any w, no one can do anything to him. Relieving his horse from the saddle, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao has fought hand to hand with him many times, he ought to know a bit more clearly. Xu Ziling said, About forty years ago, Shi Zhixuan sneaked into a Buddhist school and stealthily learned orthodox schools mysterious skill. Combining it with demonic schools Hua Jian and Bu Tian, two sects secret art, he created the shocking-both-the-orthodox-and-heretic-ways Immortal Image Method, aspiring to be a super outstanding figure to unite the demonic way. Around this time, he encountered Bi Xiuxin, who was sent out by Ci Hang Jing Zhai specifically to deal with him. And thus an unprecedented-in-history, with extremely-weird, strange-to-the-greatest-extend particr abilities, outsiders-are-incapable-to-imagine struggle was unfolding. Boom! A sudden p of thunder exploded outside very close to the fort, shaking everybody that their ears were buzzing. The lightning streaked across the darkness, illuminating the ins and hillsides near and far as bright as daytime. The ink-ck trees and grass shook violently and swayed wildly, creating a terrifying scene. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, My skills [acquired through religious practice] are not yet refined; just now that cotton-wadding-shaped clouds looked like a castle, it ought to be a sign of thunderstorm. Please continue! Xu Ziling came over to Ba Fenghans side, next to the window hole on the wall. Looking outside, he said, This struggle was supposedly due to Bi Xiuxin reading the Immortal Image Scroll, to such an extent that she ended up her fragrance disappeared, her jade perished, but the fact is not so. Because Shi Zhixuans feeling was too deep, plus he could not ept the cruel fact that his beloved woman died in his own hand, his personality appeared to be split. On one side, he is still the cold-hearted heretical sects top martial art master. On the other side, he is a miserable, ming-himself, deep-feeling-like-the-ocean, frustrated man. Furthermore, Shi Qingxuan has be a burden that is difficult for him to cut. The Immortal Image Method is no longer without any gap that can be found. Ba Fenghan drew a mouthful of cold air; he said, Unexpectedly there is such a strange thing in the world. If I did not hear it from Zilings own mouth, I might not dare to believe. Kou Zhong came over. Patted the two mens shoulders, he said, If with the addition of Zhu Yuyan we still fail to kill Shi Zhixuan, Im afraid it will be difficult for us to sleep well in the future. Boom! Another p of thunder and a streak of lightning, which could not be distinguished which came first and which cameter, exploded and shed above the Helian Fort, shaking the entire solid rock castle, giving birth to the feeling that they were in danger. Book 39 - 5 – Divine Bow Displaying Its Migh Book 39 t The without-horizon, without-boundary silent dusk descended upon the prairie. The sun, sinking fast into the t in, before it was swallowed by the great earth C spitted out its rose-tinted light, dyeing the western horizon red. Tong Wan City towered ahead. Tents of all shapes and sizes were spread outside the city wall. The white-colored fortified city consisted of the East City, the West City, and the Outer Open City. Each of the four corners of the city had a prominent square-shaped watchtower tform towering over the city wall, which added not a few of grandeur to the city. Simple and unadorned white houses, big and small, were sparsely distributed inside the city, forming big and small streets and alleys. Most households already lit up thenterns, while all over town white smoke spiraled out of the kitchen chimneys, a scenery that was brimming with the breath of life. To the three faraway travelers who had not seen kitchen smoke for a long time, it gave up some kind of indescribably close and dear feeling. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, I did not expect Tong Wan to be this lively. Apart from us, there are two other groups of men and horses rushing into the city before dark. Ba Fenghan said, In this area, Tong Wan is the biggestmercial distribution center. In itself it is famous for its ironware industry. It is known as the Armory of Maowusu, and this treasure house is under the control of Heishui divisions big tribal chief Tiefuyou. What is Maowusu? Xu Ziling asked. Mauwusu is another name of the Little Gobi Desert, Ba Fenghan replied, I especially mentioned Tiefuyou, because this man is quite not simple. Not only he is ambitious, he is even using his ambitions to be imposing talent. It is rumored that in the Xieli-Tuli conflict, he is supporting Tuli in the dark. From this, we can clearly see this mans insight and means. Kou Zhong nodded and said, If he lets Xieli eliminates our good friend Tuli, he wont have too many good days to pass. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, Not only Tuli is not my good friend, he cant be considered my friend at all. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling said, Does Tong Wan allow outsiders to enter and exit freely? Sound of hoofbeats wasing from behind. Looking back, they saw three small dots from a distance growing bigger at an rming rate; apparently the riders wereing extremely fast. While focusing his eyes to examine the iing riders, Ba Fenghan replied, Tong Wan is a ce where no one can boast that he has exclusive control over it, since that would provoke an attack from every ethnic group in the vicinity. Even Tiefuyou can only control about 70% of the ironware industry in the city. On top of that, the city has eight temples, which belong to eight different sects. Grasnd tribes areing into the city on pilgrimage to these temples. Lets not talk about closing the city gate, even if the gates are broken, no one dares to repair it, for fear that others would use him of having different ambition. This moment the three riders havee near. The men on horseback wore Mo Ji tribes warrior outfit; they looked young, swift and fierce. Although their appearance was out of the ordinary, people could feel the evil air emitted out from beneath the surface. ording to Ba Fenghans instruction, Kou Zhong put his right hand in front of his chest in Mo Ji peoples style of greeting. Who would have thought that the three men looked at him with cold eyes without responding at all? When they were galloping past them, one of them spoke in not fully proficient Hannguage, Han dogsing here to court death! The other two roared inughter in an extremely insulting way. Kou Zhong was not angry at all, simply because he remembered Emperor Yangs conduct and deeds toward them in the past; he only revealed a wry smile toward Xu Ziling. The refined light in Ba Fenghans eyes ring greatly, he fixed his gaze on their backs as they galloped away toward Tong Wan. Suddenly he shouted, Tagulunalie! Hearing that, one of them looked back in shock. Ba Fenghan roared inughter and spoke in Tujuenguage, What a coincidence! Later on I must get to know you, three brothers better. The other two looked back. The ominous light in the three pairs of eyes immediately red greatly, but they did not stop. In the blink of an eye they already disappeared in the distance. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Do you know them? With spring breeze all over his face, Ba Fenghan replied, This trip we wont need to worry about being lonely. Just by tossing a tiny stone to test the waters, I found out that they are the Heshui San Sha [lit. Three Demons of the ck River; in Book 38 Chapter 12 it was Heishui Shuang Sha (twin demons)] whose bad name spread far and wide. Do you remember them? Kou Zhong happily said, So they are the Heshui San Sha that Xu Kaishan mentioned. This time we can vent our bird anger! Pointing to a group of about a dozen tents erected on a high ground east of the city, Xu Ziling asked, Those tents are colorful; which tribe do they belong to? Ba Fenghan replied, That ought to be Yiwu peoples camp. Their tribe loves color; the pigments that they produce enjoy famous reputation in the prairie. Kou Zhongs mind was still on Heshui San Sha; he said, The famous Heshui San Sha are rushing over hurriedly, it cant be a good thing. I wonder whats going on? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I uncovered their identity, they are going to be forced to kill us to shut our mouth. Shaoshuai need not worry that they are going to hide away. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Old Ba really understands Xiaodis intention. Finished speaking he pressed his legs to urge his horse to speed up, to gallop toward the white city in the prairie, which was built using people and livestocks blood. When Helian Bobo built the city, obviously he received Central Earths influence. Other than different architectural style of the construction of the buildings, the basicyout of the city was following the traditional rules of Han ethnic group city nning. There were four gates on four sides, the cross-shaped main streets passed through the whole city, with the pce city located in the middle. The scale of some of the buildings was quite grand. The most distinctive characteristic was there were stone carving everywhere. They just entered the south gate, and immediately saw the left and right of the gate were two rows of stone carving of mythological animal that were as tall as a human. Although they were badly damaged, it actually increased the highly simple and unadorned, inelegant vor. The three led their horses into the city. Every scene that entered their eyes induced a novel feeling in their heart. On the street, people and livestock went back and forth; there were herdsmen driving the sheep, there were ox carts and camels caravan, there were traveling merchants from far awaynd. The locals were mainly of Mo Jie tribe and nomadic tribes from all over the ce making pilgrimage. Different social custom and local practice, as well as different clothes and ornaments C created the scenery of a metropolitan in the grasnd, brimming with exotic vors. The tents that were erected on spacious and emptynd appeared incongruouspared to the solid white y buildings, a clear-cut contrast, as if the prairie was moving inside the city. Leaning close to Xu Zilings ear, Kou Zhong asked, Do you sense the Relics? Xu Ziling responded by shaking his head, while his eyes were on the buildings standing on both sides of the street. A lot of the buildings had door eaves as protection against the rain, as shield from the sun. Some even had chairs and tables under the eaves for the people to sit and rest. Only unlike shops in the Central Earths city and town, restaurants and inns werecking. Where could we rest tonight? he asked Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan replied, You guys pay attention to the signs outside the door. The house that has a sheeps horn hanging on it means that the host is willing to receive foreigners, or perhaps he has vacant room in the house. This is the nomadic tribes tradition of hospitality. Sometimes they give gifts to make friends, to everyones delight and satisfaction. But our situation is a bit different, because you are Han people who are the most unwee in here. Kou Zhong noticed the unfriendly gaze that the pedestrians on the street cast toward them; smiling wryly, he said, Can we buy a tent and set it up outside the city to make a nest like Yiwu people? Ba Fenghan moved to the side; he temporarily tied the horse to a horse post, took off the saddle, and said with a smile, Lets sit down first and then well talk. Leave everything to Xiaodi to take care. Following his example, the two took off the saddles and sat down at a table and chairs under the eaves by the big street. They put the saddles on the ground by their feet. Facing the long street, they felt different mood. When darkness fell, the street was relying entirely on the lightsing from the houses on either side. Suddenly there was a group of warriorsing from the other end of the long street; surprisingly, the Three Demons of the ck River were among them. The other dozen or so armed men, everybody had his hair draped over his shoulders, apparently they were the warriors from Shiwei tribe. Their eyes were on the three men, but they did not immediatelye over to make trouble; instead, they simply sat down on the tables and chairs outside the house across the street. Clearly they intended to make life difficult for the three. Kou Zhongughed and said, Good show ising! The residents of the surrounding houses, as well as the passersby on the street already sensed the peculiar mood of the confrontation between these two groups separated from each other by the street; those who must close the door closed their doors, those who must get away got away quickly, the long street immediately quieted down. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Nobodys in charge in this ce? Ba Fenghan stretched out his legs, he pushed his chair back to lean against the wall. Stretching out his limbs, he said, This is just like another Yan Yuan Ji, everybody acts ording to Jianghu rules. Those with harder fists can speak and decide on any matter. These bunch of Shiwei men, nine out of ten are local bullies; otherwise, local residents would not be this afraid. Kou Zhong spoke calmly, What about killing people? Ba Fenghan pulled out his Beheading Mystery Sword and lightly stroked it with his fingers. He spoke calmly, It depends on who get killed. If it were us, three foreigners with no name, no surname, no one would utter even half a sentence. If it were they who are being ughtered, the consequences will be difficult to guess. It depends on whos behind them. The sound of hoofbeats was suddenly heard as more than a dozen riders wereing from the other end of the street. As if they were making a show, they pulled the reins in the middle of the street, so that their warhorses reared on their hindlegs and neighed, before the riders flew off their horses to join the group of men across the street. Looking at their hair, ornaments and clothes, they must be Qidan people. Immediately the opposite sides momentum grew tremendously. Kou Zhongughed and said, Really have no guts; they still need helpers. They are thinking highly of us, Ba Fenghanmented, They areing! One of the Shiwei men rose up to his full height and crossed the street toe to them. Some crackling noise was heard as the enemy lit up four torches to illuminate this section of the street. The number of the enemy reached thirty-nine; in terms of numbers, they clearly held the advantage. The Shiwei man walking toward them, his face ferocious and rough, his hand clenched the saber hilt; he stopped about ten paces in front of the three, and then using Tujuenguage, he pointed his fingers like a halberd and roared, Two Han dogs, get out and receive your death! Ba Fenghan threw his head back andughed loudly; his voice shook the long street. And then he stood up suddenly. The murderous aura in his eyes ring greatly, he glowered at the Shiwei man and spoke heavily, I have never killed a nameless person. Report your name! Pretending to be surprised, Kou Zhong spoke in Tujuenguage, Supposing he really is a nameless person, will you, LaoGe, spare his life? Laughing calmly, Ba Fenghan replied, If he really is a nameless person, then Ill cut off his dogs head and call it good. The Shiwei man could not take it anymore; with a loud roar he pulled his saber and charged toward Ba Fenghan. Immediately seven, eight men from the enemy ranks sprang up to pounce at the same time. Kou Zhong also sprang up from his seat. His hand reached inside his sheepskin robe to take the Moon in the Well out. With a somersault hended in the middle of the street, urately cutting off the enemy, and chopped his saber. All his movements were like moving clouds, flowing water, and werepleted in one breath, wonderful as if made by the Heaven, while at the same time he shouted, Let Xiaodi take care of the nameless person. This sentence was in Hannguage. Left entirely without any choice, the only path that the Shiwei man could take was to brandish his saber to block. Dang! The opposite side found it hard to believe, but the Shiwei man was hacked by Kou Zhong that both the man and his saber were spinning away with fresh blood spewing out of his mouth. When the men from the enemys side were rushing out to hold him up, the big man could not even stand firm relying on his own strength; his saber fell to the ground. All the enemies, including the Three Demons of the ck River, none did not have his countenance changed; they were all rooted on the spot. Such a bold and powerful without equal saber technique, this was the first time that they had ever seen. Standing with the saber across his chest, Kou Zhong shouted, Tagulunalie, get out here! The Three Demons of the ck River stood up at the same time. They were about to shout curses when suddenly there was a sh of lightning; an arrow, with speed that was hard to see with naked eye, flew across the street and prated Tagulunalies broad chest. The force even carried him, Bang! crashing against the outside wall of the building on his side, nailing him onto the wall. Without any chance to groan, he died on the spot. The arrows strength and speed need not be mentioned, but the most amazing thing that made people gasping in surprise was that the timing and the angle were impable; the arrow hit precisely the instant he was standing up. Momentarily, everybody, including Tagulunalies two brothers, were as dumb as a wooden chicken; no one dared to move. Holding the Perished Moon Bow in his left hand and putting an arrow on the string with his right hand, Ba Fenghan said, Anybody dares to move half a finger, for my next target, I, Ba Fenghan, will choose him. As soon as these words were out, not even half a person dared to move. The situation was strange to the extreme point. The remaining Twin Demons exchanged a nce; suddenly they bolted away, one to the left, the other to the right. Even more despicable, they used the bodies of the men on their own side as a shield, as they ran away with all their might. A grim smile floated from the corner of Ba Fenghans mouth, yet he held his bow still. Kou Zhong, however, contrary to the enemies expectation, put the saber back into its scabbard, using a technique that was swift beyond humanprehension, he took out the Extinguished Bow, and then using Ba Fenghans invention, his unique schools technique, he exerted his strength to open the bow, while shouting coldly, Ling Shao! Arrow! An arrow flew from Xu Zilings hand. Without even looking, Kou Zhong reached out to catch it and put it on the string. This moment the Two Demons already left the enemy ranks. One man soared toward the roof of a building nearby, the other, staying close to the wall, darted toward a small alley. It looked like very soon the two men would break away from the arrows threat. The two bows opened fully, powerful arrows left the string. Under the enemies gaze as their scalp was going numb, the two arrows pierced the mens back, producing two sprays of blood. One demon just had the tip of his toes touching the roof, he immediately fell face up andnded on his back in the street. The other demon, carried by his own momentum, still ran into the side alley before falling face down on the ground. None was narrowly and luckily escape. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Putting the Extinguished Sun Bow away, he shouted at the Shiwei man being helped by hispanion, Do you still want to fight? The crowd was still as dumb as a wooden chicken. Xu Zilingughed and said, Kou Zhong, you ought to talk in Tujue! How could they understand? pping his forehead, Kou Zhong blurted outughing while shaking his head. Turning around, he walked back to his chair. He sat down and said, Ill let you, Old Ba to deal with it. Ba Fenghan slowly put the bow away and said, You insulted my, Ba Fenghans friends. Actually, it will be difficult for tonight to end well, but after killing three men, my anger has dissipated somewhat. Go get someone else to talk to me! The entire street was devoid of any passerby; it was as quiet as a ghost domain. From the other side, another Shiwei man came out. His appearance was slightly more pleasing to the eye than the injured Shiwei man. Coming to the three mens presence, he put his hands together and lifted them to his forehead; he bowed and said, We did not know it was Ba Fenghaning in person, hence wemitted the offense. We ask for your forgiveness. Ba Fenghan stepped down from the stone tform and set foot on the street. Coming to the other side, he spoke in low voice, Why did Heshui San Shae to Tong Wan? Dont lie to me. Otherwise, even if we have to chase you everywhere in the prairie, we will not let you get away. The man waspletely intimidated by Ba Fenghans extended imposing manner; hanging his head low to avoid Ba Fenghans eyes, he said, They wanted to snatch a precious stone from Yiwu people, only before we had any chance to discuss the details, they were killed by you. Thats all I know. You mean the Yiwu people who are setting up camp outside the city? Ba Fenghan asked. The man nodded, Precisely, he replied. Waving his hand, Ba Fenghan said, Get lost! Dont forget to take the corpses away. As if they had just received amnesty from the emperor, the crowd took the dead bodies and hurriedly left. In an instant they have gone and not a single one remained. Ba Fenghan returned to his seat between the two boys;ughing, he said, Delighted! Delighted! With this Perished Moon Divine Bow, even confronting magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, I have nothing to fear! Kou Zhong said, Wed better replenish our arrow supply. If we shoot them all, even divine bows will not be of any use. Ba Fenghan said, Thats easy. Tomorrow morning let me ask around, whos the most famous arrow producers in here. Well buy however many you want. Stretching his limbs, Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Sitting here, I feel a special distinctive vor. We might as well put up with sitting here tonight. Tomorrow well have Ling Shao use his nose to sniff around everywhere, to see if he could sniff Shi Zhixuans stinky smell. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Are you jealous of my ability to sense the Relics? Laughing bitterly, Kou Zhong said, There seems to be some limitation to your senses; otherwise, how could you find out about it just now? Patting Kou Zhongs shoulder, Ba Fenghan smiled and said, A lot of things are inherent, they cannot be forced. Creak! The door by their side opened. An old man with long ck and unkempt beard stuck his face out and spoke in Hannguage, Three heroes, if you dont dislike my simple and crude humble abode, you are wee toe in. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Laozhang [sir (respectful form of address for an old man)], who are you? Howe your Hannguage is very good? The old man replied, Laofu is called Cheng Zhen, I am actually of the Xi tribe, migrated here to engage in ironware business, without realizing it, it has been more than twenty years. Due to Niang was a Han, I understand Hannguage. Heishui San Shas evil name is widely known, tonight three gentlemen got rid of evil for the sake of the world, Tong Wan people will be very grateful. Ba Fenghan said, I wonder if the current Ahuishi of the Xi tribe is Suzhi? Chengzhen nodded and said, Ba Ye is experienced and knowledgeable. Our Ahuishi is precisely Da [great] Sijin, Suzhi. What is Ahuishi? Kou Zhong asked. Cheng Zhen exined, Our Xi people altogether have Rugewang, Mohefu, Qige, Mukun, and Shide, five divisions. The tribal chief of each division is called Sijin, and Ahuishi is the chief of the group. Ay! Originally the Qidan and us are called the Donghu [eastern barbarian] together, but now we are like water and fire. Three gentlemen must not have dinner yet; why dont you bring the horses in, let me, Cheng Zhen, one family, act as the host a little bit. The three cheerfully epted the invitation. The mountain road twists around each new peak [idiom: an opportunity hase unexpectedly], suddenly their problem of lodging and food and drink became like bamboo splitting when it meets the knifes edge [idiom: easily solved]. To people who wandered the barren wilderness, having a roof over their head was extremely precious. Book 39 - 6 – The Reappearance of the Demonic King Book 39 Crossing the doorstep, the three felt as if they were entering another world. Cheng Zhens house, which from the street did not look remarkable at all, actually upied arge tract ofnd. First of all, they used rammed earth as the wall and the rolled-style mud brick as the roof of the ironware factory. Their main product was cavalry sabers. All kinds of tools and equipment were avable in there; from this, it could be seen that the ironware industry in Tong Wan City was thriving. Noticing that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were looking closely at the mud brick and t roof construction of the factory, Cheng Zhen said, This kind of rammed earth is abundant in this region, the supply is inexhaustible; it has strong cohesive property, it is pliable, and easy to dehydrate. The biggest advantage is that it has good thermal instion characteristic; warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The two wanted to ask whether in building each house, Helianbobo would kill either the craftsman building the house, or the soldier testing the strength of the wall, but they thought that this kind of question would be a blot on thendscape [spoil the fun], hence they suppressed the urge and did not mention it. Ba Fenghan randomly picked up a cavalry saber and said, Is the iron materialing from the neighboring area? Cheng Zhen replied, The iron is mainly supplied by Tiefuyou of Heshui Division; therefore, doing ironware business here, we must follow his direction. Passing through the back door of the workshop, they came to a patio courtyard. On the trellises overhead, they actually grew grapes, while underneath was an open water well, brimming with the breath of life. Beyond this was the living room of the inner section. The surface of the wall was full of decorative patterns created by pressing wooden mold onto it. The wall also had hanging rugs for decoration. Reed mat covered the floor. There was a kang [a heatable brick bedmon in the northern part of China], as well as a stove C attached to the y wall. A gorgeous multi-colored screen was hanging on the outside. To Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, everything was brimming with exotic vor. Finally, there were dining room and kitchen, stable,trine, cer, guesthouse, and other anciry buildings. Cheng Zhens wife died young. He had five sons and two daughters, as well as grandchildren inrge numbers. His daughters were already married and lived with their husbands. Three out of five sons were married. Following the customs, they lived in their fathers home and carried on their fathers business. Toward the three guests, they were all very cordial and attentive, fully demonstrated the hospitality of the foreign tribes beyond the Great Wall. The evening meal was held in lively atmosphere, only the adult males of the household were in attendance; the hosts and the guests were very happy. During the meal, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling opened their ears wide, listening to not a few of the strange style and unusual custom of various tribes beyond the Great Wall. For example, the Xi Tribes marriage custom: after obtaining the consent of both sides parents [or head of household], the new son-inw would kidnap the new bride first, and then together the new bride and groom would return to live in the womans family, until the bride was pregnant, then the married couple would return to the mans family. Kou Zhong asked Ba Fenghan in Tujuenguage, which he was increasinglyfortable in using, Do you, Tujue people, also have this kind of stealing brides custom? Ba Fenghan replied, We are more like you, Han people, that is, we ask someone to be the matchmaker to contact the womans family, to negotiate a certain number of livestock as betrothal gift. Cheng Zhens oldest son, Muke, was suddenly overwhelmed by emotional stirring; he sighed and said, The reason we make light of traveling a thousand li and move to Tong Wan was precisely to run away from you, Tujue people, because we do not want to be taken in very. Astonished, Ba Fenghan said, Although Tong Wan is not a territory under direct jurisdiction of the Tujue, but it is still within the sphere of influence of the Eastern Tujue; I am afraid it is still not a safe haven at all. Cheng Zhen said, Tuli and Xieli have different styles. Tuli has always been tolerant to the various ethnic groups within his territory, unlike Xieli, who will easily loot, kidnap, and rob. And Tong Wan is in Tulis territory, hence all ethnic groups can live in peace,rge-scale conflicts are rare. Muke joined in, Therefore, all Tong Wan people wish that Tuli can beat back Xieli. But Tulis current situation is rather not too encouraging. On one side Xielis main forces, which is stronger and more solid than his C is pressuring his territory; on the other side, Limo is founding his kingdom, so that he has enemies left and right, the situation is not favorable to him; we can only ask God to bless and protect him. Ba Fenghan went silent. Confused, Xu Ziling asked, In the vast, boundless prairie and endless desert, nine out of ten people are nomadic ethnic groups living by the water and the grass; how do you determine national boundary or territory? Cheng Zhen replied, The ethnic group with some power, each upiesrge or small pasturnd that are moving about following the season, with river orke as natural boundaries. If any small and weak ethnic group wants to share the pasture, they must offer tribute, which varies ording to the number of people, to the master of the stronger group. Take Tong Wan for example; each year we must offer weapons, arrows and darts, and so on, as a tribute to Tuli. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, The prairie is so big, the enemy advances I retreat, the enemies retreats I advance; how can we tell victory and defeat? Ba Fenghan replied, The conflicts in the prairie is very different from besieging-a-city, capturing-territories wars in your Central Earth. What we are fighting is a war of attrition by killing the people and looting their belongings. For example, during your Great Suis Renshou year, Tujues Awusiliqi went down south to invade Qimin Khan, who by that time had realigned his allegiance to the House of Sui. In one strike he snatched more than two hundred thousand livestock, so that Qimin Khan was powerless to strike back, while the other sides power enjoyed sudden flourish; naturally continuing their raids in killing and burning was not difficult at all. In Tujue, only those who die in battle will receive respect, and allowed to erect a stone next to their grave as a memorial. During their lives some people can only erect one stone, but some others can erect hundreds or thousands. Muke said, There are also young men and women who are taken away by other tribes as ves, who are forced to work in order to support the war. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Such using war to raise war, it will never stop! No wonder each time Xieli going on a raid, other than killing and burning, he also captured arge number of our Han peoples young men and women; turns out it was in order to continue this war of attrition in the prairie. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, That is precisely Xielis shorings; he is good in attack and plunder, but bad in defending a city, hence he has to rely on Han hunting dogs to attack the troop dispositions for them. Ba Fenghan said, Now that Xieli has Zhao Deyan as his Junshi, the situation might change. Therefore, if Xieli defeated Tuli, not only all ethnic groups in the prairie would bear the brunt, they would also suffer unspeakable misery, and you, Han people would not have peaceful days either. Cheng Zhen raised his cup and said, Itste! We will chat again tomorrow. The three were ced in the guesthouse behind the main residence. The top was ttop tent that looked like it was made of y. Theyy down to rest, but did not feel sleepy yet, so they sat up leaning against the wall to talk. What should we do? Kou Zhong asked, Trapped in here waiting for Zhu Yaofus news, I dont know how long we are going to painstakingly wait? Well set a three-day limit, Ba Fenghan replied, If we dont hear anything from Zhu Yaofu, well immediately set out to find Ma Ji, perhaps well still have time. Kou Zhong said, The strange thing is, since Shi Zhixuan was already at Helian Fort, why did he pass Tong Wan over and did not enter? Whats even more puzzling is that he should be escaping to the wilderness, rather than to a densely popted ce like Tong Wan. Ba Fenghan said, The only exnation is that Shi Zhixuan was unable to break away from Zhu Yaofus entanglement, hence he turned around and took a detour, so much so that he might even fight hand-to-hand with Zhu Yaofu. And because alone, Zhu Yaofu did not have enough strength to pester him to death, to reach the perish-together-with-the-enemy situation, she waspelled toe to us and spoke in low voice, asking for help. Noticing that Xu Ziling remained silent, Kou Zhong looked at him and asked, Ling Shao, you are sensing something? Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, Fenghan Xiongs guess was not incorrect; Shi Zhixuan eventually lost his patience and decided to fight back with everything he has. Greatly astonished, the other two asked how he could be so sure. Xu Zilings tiger-eyes shing brightly, he said, During dinner earlier, when we were chatting, I sensed the Relics evil qi, twice in session. Although it appeared to be there but not exactly there, I was very clear about it. Greatly delighted, Ba Fenghan said, Based on Ling Shaos extraordinary spirit and senses, well dig him out of his hole and chop him in half at the waist tonight and be done with it. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I cant find him, simply because the Relics is not on him at all. When I sensed him during dinner earlier, I thought I was wrong, only now I begin to feel sure. The two suddenly understood. Because Shi Zhixuan carried the Relics with him for a long time, unknowingly he was infected with the Relics death evil qi; therefore, although he hid the Relics in some secret ce, the evil qi on his body was still generating reaction from Xu Zilings senses. Furthermore, from this, they determined that he was about to strike back. Twice Xu Ziling sensed his presence, clearly it was because he wanted to ascertain the situation first beforeunching his surprise attack toward them. Stretching out his limbs, Ba Fenghan said with augh, Lets go to bed then! The other two agreed. They blew out the sheepskinntern, andy down on the bed to sleep, generating an even breathing noise. In the quiet darkness, the three regted their breathing and circted their qi, stored up their strength and waited patiently. If Shi Zhixuan wanted to make his move, it must be tonight, since the three mens bodies must be weary, their strength exhausted after a long and difficult trek, resting in a safe environment, they must be sleeping particrly soundly. Sure enough, not even half a sichenter, Xu Ziling, who was sleeping in the middle, nudged the other two, indicating that once again he sensed the Relics evil qi from Shi Zhixuans body. The three kept everything about them the same, because any changes, including breathing, heartbeats, so much so any drastic variation of their pulse C might raised rm in Shi Zhixuans senses. For an average person, naturally it was not possible, but Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan were really the most outstanding new talents inside and outside the border of the present age, naturally it was easy for them to do so. They did not hear the slightest noise, but relying purely on their intuition as martial art masters, they knew clearly without any doubt that Shi Zhixuan was shing from the dining rooms t roof down to the ground and was approaching the window facing the courtyard on the stables side, shot a nce upward, and then turned around and was standing with his back against the wall. The three discharged all distracting thoughtspletely from the ocean of their mind and theke of their heart, over ten-thousand-li brightly lit ground, waiting for the course of events to unfold. What kind of means would Shi Zhixuan, who has always been unscrupulous, use to deal with them? An instantter Shi Zhixuan was already standing outside the wooden door of the guesthouse. Even though they did not see it with their own eyes, the three still strongly sensed his terrifying, demon-like speed. Huan Mo Shenfa was indeed not amon chord. At his peak, with Bu Si Yin Fa and Huan Mo Shenfa, practically no one in the world was able to do anything to him. The Four Great Holy Monks had enough power to defeat him, yet they were helpless to subdue him and keep him from escaping; could they do it now? Without creating any noise at all Shi Zhixuans palm pped on the door. The thick and solid wooden door, like a piece of frail tissue being flicked by a finger, could not withstand the force, it disintegrated into wooden chips flying into the room. At the same time, this most terrifying martial art master of the demonic schools right hand released three daggers, which, as fast as lightning, shot toward the vital point on the three mens throat. It was vicious to the extreme point. Suddenly, like a whirlwind, three pieces of thin nkets rose up and rolled toward the daggers. Shi Zhixuans entire body shook severely. It was clear that he was extremely shocked that the three were already on guard. Instead of retreating, he rushed in. With a spin of his body, he pounced in between the two thin nkets imbued with Ba Fenghan and Xu Zilings inner power. In the stretching-the-hand-unable-to-see-five-fingers darkness inside the room, the Moon in the Well in Kou Zhongs hand glowed. From his angle of view, the line of sight was blocked, so that he could not see Shi Zhixuan, hence it was difficult to carry out a sudden attack. He could not help eximing Formidable! inwardly. But still, the person following the saber, the Moon in the Well, like a spirit snake, rounded the thin nket to attack the super martial art master behind it. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan knew that this so-brilliant-that-nothing-could-be-more-brilliant formidable opponent had already seized the initiative; sighing inwardly, they split to the left and right. Xu Zilings two hands, like fresh flowers blooming vigorously, unleashed hundreds and thousands of image methods, so that others werepletely unable to grasp his intention, and thus it was also difficult to determine the best way to attack; it was indeed a perfect defense. After retreating slightly, Ba Fenghan immediately advanced, the Beheading Mystery Sword swiftly shooting toward Shi Zhixuan. Both sides were making their moves with all their strength; there was absolutely no leeway. Letting out a cold snort, Shi Zhixuan retreated toward the door. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong immediately struck empty air. The three sucked in a mouthful of cold air. This was simply impossible, yet Shi Zhixuan aplished it as effortlessly as breathing. It should be noted that just now the three sensed that he was about attack either Ba Fenghan or Xu Ziling. But turned out it was just an empty move, tricking the three that they tottered away. Once again they lost the initiative, Shi Zhixuan was still leading them by the nose. If they let Shi Zhixuan slip out of the guesthouse, who had the confidence that he could be intercepted? They originally thought that by catching him off guard, they would be able to inflict heavy losses on him; too bad things turned out contrary to the way they wish [idiom]. First, Shi Zhixuan used attack to break their offense, and then he used retreat to break their defense. Their defense was actually no-hole-could-be-attacked, but this moment they had no choice but to counterattack in disadvantageous position, making an attempt to keep Shi Zhixuan inside the room. Although fully aware that this might possibly be a dangerous trap, they still had no choice but to advance. Only by their three mens joining hands would they have the chance to annihte this demon head. Bang! Bang! Bang! The daggers struck the rolling-in thin nkets. The thin nkets were transformed into debris, but ultimately they did not fail the task entrusted to them, they sessfully blocked the daggers. Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword moved out, it turned into a beam of sword light, rolling toward Shi Zhixuan in total disregard of his own safety. Only by forcing him to counterattack would he be able to slow down Shi Zhixuans retreating momentum, so that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling would have an opportunity that they could exploit; however, it would mean that he would be trapped in danger in which he could easily lose his life. As expected, Shi Zhixuan let out a coldugh and changed his retreat to advance; both hands t out, he created a burst of qi power like a wall, forcefully pressing down on Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, while at the same time his left foot flew horizontally, aiming at the vital part under Ba Fenghans abdomen [i.e. genital]. Fast, ruthless, urate, and vicious. Ba Fenghan nearly wanted to call his Niang. Based on his experience and judgment as a veteran of a hundred battles, he was 90% sure that if his Beheading Mystery Sword was just a tad faster, he would hit the left side of Shi Zhixuans neck, and wouldnt he be able to take his demonic life before Shi Zhixuans kicking leg hit him? The problem was that the Demonic King Shi Zhixuans skill included this not dead [bu si of Immortal Image] name, hence it would not be this easy for Ba Fenghan to kill him. Supposing Shi Zhixuans Not Dead Image Method was unexpectedly able to withstand his strike, he, Ba Fenghan, would definitely lose his life. If he changed his move to defense, he would lose the offensive advantage, and thus it would be difficult for him to entangle Shi Zhixuan to death. In that instant, he was caught up in the no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat disadvantageous position. Among the three, Xu Ziling had the clearest understanding on how formidable Shi Zhixuan really was. This moment, as in this critical circumstance Shi Zhixuan was disying his real skill, he could not help gasping in amazement. Secretly performing the image art, both feet sprang off the ground, he rose up until his back hit the ceiling, and sent a punch exploding downward, in order to control Shi Zhixuans iparably fantastic qi power, so that Kou Zhong could break through his no-crack-could-be-found,pletely-without-any-w true power protecting his body. Kou Zhong mind was interlinked with Xu Zilings, he retreated back first, until his body stuck to the wall, and then taking the opportunity while his body and his saber became one, heunched the Striking Strange of the Eight Methods of the Well, the saber turned into yellow light, it shot straight, lightning fast, toward Shi Zhixuan. If with thebined power of the two boys they still could not break Shi Zhixuans rated-as-the-most-outstanding-in-the-world wall of qi defense, then Ba Fenghan would indeed fall into the danger of easily losing his life. Inwardly Shi Zhixuan was groaning as well. Before his eyes, he was actually confronting a more difficult battle since he fought Bi Xiuxin, the Four Great Holy Monks, and Ning Daoqi. Against Bi Xiuxin, the danger of the battle was not in life or death; although Bi Xiuxin had reached the mutual sensitivity [or tacit exchange of romantic feelings/a meeting of the minds] in the heart realm of the Ci Hang Sword Canon, it was still not enough to break his matchless-under-heaven Immortal Image Method. The danger was in the painstaking longing in his heart toward Bi Xiuxin, which was difficult for him to give up or cut apart. In the end he won; he even inflicted heavy losses to Bi Xiuxin. Yet due to momentary slip he risked the wear and tear of his true energy to save her back, but also snatched away her chastity, which eventually evolved into emotional attachment between the orthodox and the heretic. The two fights where he was besieged by the Four Great Holy Monks, although along the way the danger was growing without restraint, but from beginning to end the Four Great Holy Monks were men who followed Buddhist monastic discipline against killing, hence although their martial art skill was wide-ranging and profound, the murderous intent in their hearts was not vigorous, they left opportunity to live everywhere, so that although he had no chance of ever controlling the enemy, his chance of protecting his life was actually more than enough. When fighting hand to hand against Ning Daoqi, a seed of w already grew in his spirit due to Bi Xiuxins death, and when the turn of events deteriorated, he broke the siege by relying on Bu Si Yin Fa and Huan Mo Shenfa, and Ning Daoqi was unable to do anything to him. But this time he came with the sole purpose of putting the three men in order, unexpectedly the threeid out a trap to deal with him, which caused him to fall into a situation where it was most difficult for him to retract himself. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghans martial art skill came from countless realbats, the result developed out of thousand-hammered-hundred-refinements efforts. Each move was a gamble using their own life to win a life, without the slightest bit of leeway. If their strike did not hit the target, they would retreat with all their might. I am vanishing the other side flourishing, even if he could force his way out of the room, it would be more or less difficult to avoid injuries. In the end, whether he could force his way out of the encirclement, it would depend on the severity of the injury. Therefore, having no other choice, he had to give up the idea of luring the enemies into the wide space outside, instead of deciding victory and defeat with the three men inside the cramped space of the bedroom. This kind of solid mud brick t roof was built to Helianbobos standard; although unlike the construction of the city wall, which had to undergo test using human life, its hardness was indisputable. Although there were window openings on all four sides, but because these holes wereparatively too small, he could not pass through, the only way out was via the door. Furthermore, he exploited this only exit, using thousand ways, a hundred ns, trying to create situation that would be beneficial to him. With his qi power, he still had 90% confidence that he could break the wall and leave, but it would be difficult to avoid injury from the impact, which would also slow down his speed. In short, a wise man would not take this method. Letting out a cold shout, the Beheading Mystery Sword shot out of Ba Fenghans hand, but reacting to the forward momentum, his body recoiled back, his abdomen retracted, he bounced off the ground. The tip of his right toes tapped the hilt of the sword, unexpectedly he used his foot in ce of his hand, in a strange move, which, even for Shi Zhixuan, it was the first time that he encountered such move. Shi Zhixuans leg, which was kicking swiftly horizontally, seemed to bepletely free from the limitations of the human body. Bang! From the air, Xu Zilings punch hit Shi Zhixuans wall of qi. At first the qi power was contained within and was not released, until Shi Zhixuans qi power, like a reversing ripple, burst toward the core to attack. The vortex of energy, in Treasure-Vase Qi style, like an iron awl, bored into the wall of qi,pletely blocking Shi Zhixuan from borrowing the least bit of strength with which he could cope with the saber strike in which Kou Zhong concentrated all the power of his entire body. Such utilization of power was still beyond his reach prior to obtaining the primordial essence from the Relics; therefore, he did not have any worry that Shi Zhixuan would be able to see that Yue Shan was his disguise. The wall of qi, where originally the power was evenly distributed,pletely without any hole, immediately showed the Escaping One [see Book 9 Chapter 9]; the strongest point was precisely his weakness. This change was greatly beyond Shi Zhixuans expectation, so that from upying the upper hand, for the first time he fell into the disadvantageous position. Whoosh! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, in no-stronghold-one-cannot-ovee [idiom] momentum, split Shi Zhixuans wall of qi, which was under Xu Zilings control, and shot straight toward the pit of Shi Zhixuans stomach. Dang! The tip of Shi Zhixuans kicking-upward foot hit the de of Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword. Immediately Ba Fenghan felt empty and fluttering; the foot pushing the sword did not use any force at all. While he cried out, Not good! Shi Zhixuan swiftly spun; rapidly moving, he knocked against Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well like a whirlwind, hence he knew that Shi Zhixuan was borrowing his true qi. Xu Ziling suddenly felt that the power of the wall of qi was increasing dramatically; it suddenly caved in like Tian Mo Da Fa. Furthermore, from his contact with Shi Zhixuans true qi, he was able to take a peek into the next move that Shi Zhixuan was going tounch. No attack! he shouted loudly. Kou Zhong always listened to Xu Ziling; he simply changed his move and withdrew backward, the Moon in the Well seemed to be attacking, but without any surprising move, so that Shi Zhixuan was unable to grasp the changes. Letting out a longughter, Shi Zhixuan said, Excuse me, I must leave! Under the three mens nk stare, he bore through the door like a demon, and disappeared outside the house. Book 39 - 7 – Beauty Like a Jade Book 39 In Changan, Luoyang, or simr metropolis, people might react slower to subtle changes of the season, but in Tong Wan City, because it was closely bound up with the prairie, no one missed the reflection of the changes in the natural climate. She was like a small boat floating over on the rolling green sea, so that the passengers of the boat could feel the beginning of spring, brimming with life force. Early morning under the brilliant radiance of spring, after not sleeping a wink all night long, Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, and Xu Zilingzily sat at the same ce they were sittingst night, facing the unending stream of vehicles and horsesing and going along the street, enjoying the glossy, shiny-and-translucent-like-a-tray-of-pearls grapes supplied by Cheng Zhens household. The news of the killing of the Hei Shui San Sha [Three Demons of the ck River] was spreading like gue, especially since it involved Ba Fenghan, the only martial art master beyond the Great Wall who dared to openly challenge Bi Xuan. It has caused a sensation in Tong Wan. It was reflected in the attitude and expression of the passersby. Kou Zhong and the others responded to the passersby saluting and saying hello to them with smile. That was then, and this is now. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling went from Han dogs to great hero of Han ethnic group who got rid of the evil. Ba Fenghan tossed a grape high in the air and easily caught it with his mouth. While chewing, he said, Very soon someone will deliver his daughter over. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. He nearly spurted out the grapes that he was eating with keen pleasure from his mouth. Ba Fenghan roared inughter and said, Are you saying that you did not know that in the prairie, daughters are a mans most precious asset? First-ss warhorsese next. ording to Tujuew, a man who caused others to be permanently disabled mustpensate it with his daughter. Only if he does not have any daughter will he have topensate it with other things. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Why did you say that very soon someone would deliver his daughter over? Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghan calmly said, They. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, They. Your granny! Who are they? Ba Fenghan replied, Naturally they who want to ask me to kill someone. Something that other people cannot aplish, Jian Ba [overbearing sword] Ba Fenghan definitely can do it. Hearing that, the two doubled up inughter. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Other than Jian Ba, Xiaodi also have a dozen more nicknames that other people are imposing on me. If I tell you, I am sure you will beughing to the death, and then I will be doing a big favor to Shi Zhixuan for nothing. With abundant palpitation Kou Zhong said, That fellow Shi Zhixuan is really formidable;st night was like a nightmare. Nodding his head, Ba Fenghan said, Compared to him, Qu Ao was like a child who has just learned to walk. I am afraid the three grandmasters in the world joining hands will still be unable to break his Immortal Image and kill him. Smiling, Xu Ziling said, What other nicknames does Fenghan Xiong have? Its really difficult for Xiaodi to curb my curiosity. Ba Fenghan returned a greeting from a group of young riders passing by. They were the third group to salute them. He replied, The more decent one is Xiao Zongshi [little grandmaster]. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Zongshi Ba Fenghan; it describes your literary skill as well. Jian Ba is too old-fashioned,cking new idea. But still, Ba Fenghan, three characters are the most brilliant; why do you need any nickname? Xu Ziling suddenly tensed up; he said nervously, Fenghan Xiong is indeed seasoned and experienced; unexpectedly someone is really offering his daughter! The two stopped talking and followed Xu Zilings gaze, looking at the northern end of the long street. Two pairs of eyes immediately grew big and lit up. A gorgeous beauty, which could bepared to the morning sun, riding a horse, was slowlying over. Having her would be like having all the radiance of spring in the prairie. Everybody on the street was gaping at her. For the first time, people all around moved their attention away from the three men. She was dressed like a bride. Her jet-ck beautiful hair was woven into two straight, hanging down lively, graceful and good-looking long braids, separately tied with small flowery cloth with rhombus-shaped embroidered trim. Her pair of bright and clean, sparkling and translucent beautiful eyes was like the brightest stars hanging in the deep night sky. Set against the two hair-like slender eyebrows, it was like a clear, limpid and bright spring of fresh water in the desert;bined with her elegant, charming nose, two juicy, moist-petal like colorful fragrant lips, which matched very well with her goose-egg-shaped face, enhancing her beauty shining on other people, which none did not greatly admire her. On her cheeks, there were two healthy, pink, rose-colored-clouds-like small dimples. The glow of two strings of long drop earrings hanging from her small ears, and a string of pearl wrapped around her slender neck C was brimming with luminous youthfulness, thick with the passion of a bud of flower not yet bloomed. Outside the close-fitting skintight clothes, she wore colorful, exquisite robe, the sleeves reached to the wrist, about five cun above the cuff was embroidered with wide-edged motif, which was simr to the decorative trim of her cor. Her trousers were made of five sections of wide cloth of different colors, her feet encased in sheepskin riding boots, extremely dazzling to the eyes. There were a couple of old men riding ahead and behind her acting as her escorts. It appeared that one ought to be her grandfather, while the other one looked like an uncle or that kind of rtives. All three peoples eyes were looking at Kou Zhong and the others; apparently they were heading toward the three. As if he was talking in his sleep, Kou Zhong said, Now I understand why girls are the most precious assets in the prairie! Such beauty was enough topete with beautiful women of Shang Xiufang, Shang Xiuxun, Shi Qingxuan, Shi Feixuan, Song Yuzhis caliber day in and day out. The three were nervous; they were afraid that she would reallye to look for them. Yet if it were not so, they would feel sorely disappointed as well. The feeling was quite contradictory. The beauty and her entourage finally came to the street section where the three were sitting on the stone steps, and then they all flew off their horses together. The three came to their senses. For the first time, from the other sides deft movements, they spected that these people were not to be trifled with. With a smile on her face, the beauty bowed to salute and with very articte pronunciation and vocalizing Hannguage she said, Three gentlemen great heroes, I wonder if I could sit down and say a few words? The three hastily stood up to return the salute. Kou Zhong replied politely and modestly, Its our honor; how should we address Guniang? The beauty lightly moved her lotus steps and sat down on the chair facing the street. Her grandpa and uncle, acting like they were her ves, stood behind her. And then of course the three men knew that the other side were not what they thought they were. The three men sat down. The beautys autumn ripples [fig. luminous eyes of a woman] wandered around, revealing an extremely enchanting smile, the two small dimples, like a ripple on the water, exploded upon her jade cheeks, between her fragrant lips appeared snow-white and even white teeth; using a brimming-with-tenderness sweet-sounding voice she said, People of the prairie call me Meiyan Furen [see Book 37 Chapter 12]; everybody calls me that name, so that I have even forgotten my original surname and given name. Inwardly the three men were shocked, recalling the Yiwu Tribes camp of many colors outside the city, they never expected that Meiyan Furen would grace them with her fragrant self, and that she actually looked so young, just like a girl. Meiyan Furen introduced the two men behind her, one was the Left Elder, the other was the Right Elder. The two mens expression did not show any emotion, as if the ones being introduced were not them, but some other people. Originally, because they did not know whether they should recall the swindlers Guan Ping or Duan Zhu, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were brimming with hostility toward her, but now that she sat in front of them in living color, exuding fragrance, they were unable to generate any ill will toward her. Ignoring the gaze of the people gathering around them to watch, Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Furen came to us, I wonder what instruction do you want to bestow? Meiyan Furens full of tender feelings gaze fell on Ba Fenghans face. Lightly shrugging her fragrant shoulders, she said, Cant Ie to a ce on ount of its reputation [idiom]? Wee across each other and talk, both to increase our understanding, but also to see which affairs we can work together, right? Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, I wonder if Furen has a Han subordinate by the name of Duan Zhu? Meiyan Furen knitted her pretty brows, while revealing a look of contemtion. Looking back, she asked the Right Elder behind her, Do we have a Han man called Duan Zhu? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned; they had never thought that the two Elders knew Hannguage. The Right Elder took out a book, nearly three cun thick C that looked like an ount book from his pocket, and in deadly earnest started to leaf through the pages. Meiyan Furen exined with wry smile, Nujia has so many people working for me. Finished flipping through the book, the Right Elder shook his head and said, No one by the name of Duan Zhu. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you looked at me I gazed at you, naturally they did not believe him. Clearly he just wanted to push this matter thoroughly back at her. Meiyan Furen let out a burst of silver-bell like sweet-sounding tenderughter; she stretched out her delicate lily-white hand to take the ount book. Putting it on the table, she spread it out and said, Three gentlemen, please look over. The three concentrated their attention to look, only to see the book was full of Yiwu characters, which the three did not understand at all. Without any better option they looked at each other with a bitter smile; they had a feeling that this woman was ying them on the palm of her hand. Aiyo! Meiyan Furen eximed. After saying, Im sorry, she flipped to the end of the book, on the left side appeared several Han names; indeed Duan Zhus name was not listed in it. The Right Elder said, This is Furens expense ledger. Anybody who works for Furen, their names will be listed in the book, along with detailed records of the work performed and the mary reward received, daily expenses, and so on. Meiyan Furen spoke softly, As far as Im concerned, anything as big as a country or as small as a gang or society, school or sect, they are just a business. Therefore, we must assess our ie and spend ordingly [idiom]; we must control the cost. Three gentlemen ought to think so, no? Her gaze shot at Ba Fenghan. Pursing her lips, she giggled and said, Not many Tujue men look cultured and handsome like you. Ba Fenghan chuckled and said, Looks like Furen does not have too good of an opinion on Tujue men. Meiyan Furen sighed lightly and said, Yiwu people dont have any good opinion on any tribe who worship the wolf, but Ba Fenghan is an exception. In the prairie, Tujue and Qidan were tribes who worship the wolves. Tujue Armys banner was golden wolf head, which was disyed prominently during battle. Astonished, Ba Fenghan asked, Why am I an exception? The colorful light in Meiyan Furens pretty eyes were shing, giving the impression that not only she was good-looking, but also possessed out-of-the-ordinary intelligence, absolutely not just an extraordinarily beautiful woman who bewitched others using her outward appearance. The tone of her voice serene, she said, Ba Fenghan has be a model in the prairie as the only person who fight against power. Mentioning Ba Fenghan, no one dares not to say that you are a hero and a good man. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, How could Xiaodi dare to be presumptuous? Tranquil and calm, Xu Ziling asked, I wonder if Furen has a five-colored precious stone? A hint of smile appeared at the edge of Meiyan Furens fragrant lips. Suddenly her left hand bored out of her sleeve; turning the palm of her hand over, a slightlyrger-than-the-Night-Pearl, its-seven-colors-moving-incessantly, showing-its-extraordinary-splendor-under-the-sunlight, anybody-who-is-not-blind-would-know-that-it-was-a-rare-treasure colorful stone suddenly appeared before the three mens eyes. Set against the delicate and beautiful, so gentle and soft that it was hard to describe, moving jade palm, the five-colored precious stone appeared to be like an alien objecting from the world of immortals. This move was greatly beyond the three mens expectation; momentarily they could only stare nkly. Meiyan Furens voice entered the three mens ears, If the three gentlemen do not dislike being troubled, is it possible to deliver the Five-Colored Stone for me to Longquan, and present it to Bai Ziting? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Frankly speaking, Furen is a person that is difficult to refuse. But I still dont understand why Furen is so sure that we, three brothers will ept this proposal. Meiyan Furens lily-white hand went down until it was only about a cun above the tabletop; tilting her palm, she let the perfectly round precious stone rolling gently on the table. Watching this, the three were very scared and on edge, nervous that the precious stone might knock into something and be damaged, because any slight defect was an unforgiveable error. The Five-Colored Stone was just too precious! Rolling her beautiful eyes around, Meiyan Furen cast Kou Zhong a seemingly deeply meaningful nce; as tender and soft as water, she said, Because to Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook inside and outside the Central ins, going to Longquan will be a moving journey. Not to mention this stone is originally the Qidans subduing countrys treasure, no matter the cost, Qidan people will never let it fall into the old enemy, Bai Zitings hands. Qidan people are seeking Shiwei peoples help. I hear that Shiweis two most outstanding martial art masters, Junwaweis Bielegunatai and Bugunatai, two brothers, are rushing over for this purpose. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Furens speech is just as enchanting as Furens elegant manner. I wonder if Furen wants us to be your bodyguards, Kou Zhong said. Meiyan Furen stood up gracefully, shook her head, and said, Now everybody in this street knows that nujia has handed over the Five-Colored Stone to you, it no longer has anything to do with nujia. If so destined, we will meet again. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, You are not afraid that we might embezzle the treasure or perhaps we will have a rift with Bai Ziting and give the stone to Qidan people? Laughing tenderly, Meiyan Furen said, Then Ill have no choice but to me myself for entrusting it not to the right person. Finished speaking, just as graceful-with-many-postures, along with the Left and Right Elders, she swiftly get on the horse and left. Staring nkly at the Five-Colored Stone Meiyan Furen left behind, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Just another beauty that gives people headache. Ba Fenghan reached out to pick the colorful stone with his fingertips. Bringing it to about three cun in front of his eyes, he looked at it closely and spoke heavily, Last night Shi Zhixuan already made me feel that from being the hunter, we have be the prey, and now this feeling is getting more intense. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Ma Jis good luck is certainlying right into his face; otherwise, how could side issues keep arising, so that we cannot concentrate our attention and find the time to deal with him? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Does Shaoshuai think that this treasure can be exchanged with eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin from Bai Ziting? This request is not too excessive! Whenever I, Ba Fenghan have worked for somebody, I would have to get paid. He casually put the colorful stone into Kou Zhongs sheepskin robes coat. Kou Zhong grabbed the Five-Colored Stone over the coat. As if he was just awakened from a dream, he said in pleasant surprise, Must be because I am still adjusting to the water and soil [i.e. climate] of the prairie that my brain is still sluggish. Xiaojies eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin were practically purchased by Bai Ziting from the Huihe people. Da Xiaojie dipped into her pocket. This time it ought to be his turn. Xu Ziling said, Money being avable does not necessarily mean the goods is readily avable as well. Didnt you have to wait at least a year or a half? Kou Zhong reached out and pressed his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder; immensely proud of himself, he said, Xiao Ling is, after all, an honest person, in this matter your little brain cannot go around a corner. Bai Ziting can buy the skin from Ma Ji, no need to worry that it will be out of stock. Ba Fenghan jumped up and retrieved the ced-on-the-table, intimidating-the-prairie Beheading Mystery Sword, hung it on his waist, and cheerfully said, Its time to let the horses go for a walk. Without even looking, Kou Zhong took the Five-Colored Stone, transferred it from his right hand to his left, and stuffed it inside Xu Zilings outer robes pocket; he said with augh, Ling Shao has the least stuffs to carry, naturally youll have to be responsible for this. Helpless, Xu Ziling replied, Dont worry, I dont want Da Xiaojie to sink down because of this. The sound of hoof beats suddenly rang; dust was rolling from the end of the long street, more than a dozen riders were galloping over. Ba Fenghan sat back into the chair; unconcerned, he said, They are Heshui [ck river] people; as long as two LaoGe mention your rtionship with Tuli, I guarantee you can cross the barrier without a hitch. While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were thinking that the Heshui troops wereing to look for them to settle the Three Demons of ck River ount, to their surprise, the Heshui troops rushed into every great streets and small alleys, and shouted loudly along the sides of the road. Listening to their frightened, urgent, and tense intonation, although the three did not understand Heshuinguage, they could tell that the announcement could not be good news. Hearing them, none of the people on the street was not overwhelmed with the great-catastrophe-about-to-arrive mood; they scattered in all directions in great haste, the streets became chaotic, the tranquil and peaceful atmosphere vanished from the face of the earth. Two Heshui troops rushed over along the street, still shouting the same words over and over again. Cheng Zhen, father and sons rushed out of the workshop. The eldest son Muke shouted some questions to the Heshui troops. The Heshui troop answered while still running, and immediately disappeared into the distance. Cheng Zhen and his sons, their faces devoid of any color, withdrew to their house. At a loss, the three men stared nkly at Cheng Zhen. Cheng Zhen appeared as if he suddenly aged several years. He spoke in panic, They are finally here. Who are they? Xu Ziling asked. Cheng Zhen replied, The Golden Wolf Warriors are advancing toward Tong Wan, they could be here as quickly as midnight tonight. We now must immediately flee to the mountain area to take refuge, hopefully they wont pursue. Hearing that, the threes scalp went numb. Unexpectedly Xieli was unwilling to let them get away and was pursuing relentlessly, probably it was that group of Arabian merchants who leaked out the information. Pulling the sleeve of Cheng Zhen, who was returning to the house to pack, Ba Fenghan said, How many days will it take? Smiling bitterly, Cheng Zhen replied, We are dragging the old and carrying the young, no matter how fast we are walking, it will still take at least two days. Ba Fenghan let go of this old mans, who was afraid to be Tujue ves C sleeve. Cheng Zhen said, Quickly get out of here. Ay! I really envy you. Finished speaking, he returned inside the house. The two boys you looked at me I looked at you, momentarily they did not know what to say. Because of them, these people had to abandon their house and flee to the mountain area; it would be difficult for their heart to feel peace. Wed better escort them to the mountain area, Kou Zhong said. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, If we do that, the only oue is everyone will die together. If Xieli still has his more than a thousand personal guards with him, in face-to-face confrontation, we will surely lose. Since we have no way of leading Xieli away, we might as well stay here to guard the city. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Well do it that way then. This matter is caused by us, we ought to resolve it. Dang! Dang! The bells were ringing, elevating the mountain-rain-about-to-fall tense situation. Rising up to his full height, Ba Fenghan said, Ill go grab a Heshui troop to inquire clearly Xielis situation. You guys are in charge of collecting darts and arrows. Fortunately we have two good bows, otherwise, we wouldck the qualifications of even fighting with all our might. Suddenly the main street was full of vehicles and horses fleeing from cmity, most were scrambling toward the north gate. Seeing this, the three found it extremely unbearable. Kou Zhong pped the table, creating a loud Bang! He angrily said, His mother! I, Kou Zhong, will definitely make you pack your bag before finish eating. Easye, but difficult to go. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Dont toot your horn too loud! Just to stay alive, we must beseech God and ask for good fortune, there is no need to be overly delusional. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, I always said that mingling with you is always fun and colorful, and now unfortunately this prophecy hase true. As long as we can prevent the people of Tong Wan from being ves, what harm is there in dying? The three agreed in loud voice; they vowed to fight to the death. Book 39 - 8 – Using the Few to Strike the Many The originally bustling with noise and excitement, prosperous and peaceful Tong Wan City, due to its people and livestock left until none remained, became so quiet like a ghost domain. The setting sun in the sky was like a monarch overlooking the boundless, infinite prairie, illuminating Tong Wan that it looked like a shiny white jade. Inside Cheng Zhens house, the three fed their horses until they were full first, before leading them into the street and loading them with travel necessity, especially the leather bag containingrge amount of fresh water, to provide enough water for the horses as they were running for their lives. However, the horses must not be overloaded either. Therge quantities of darts and arrows they collected were already a heavy load. Were it not for their secret method of man-and-horse-as-one, carrying that many things, the three divine steed definitely would not be able to overrun Xielis Golden Wolf Army. While arranging the luggage, Ba Fenghan spoke with a bitter smile, Some say that Xieli has more than ten thousand men, some others say thirty or forty thousand, yet some others say it is arge army of a hundred thousand; each statement is different. In my opinion, it ought to be one or two thousand men. Do you agree? Xu Ziling put the barely remaining a hundred or so iron bullets entirely into his outer robes pocket. He said, Although what they saw may be only a thousand or so men, they might mistakenly think that it was only the vanguard unit, hence they estimated that the main force ought to be close to ten thousand men. I dont think Xieli would deploy that many men to pursue us. Kou Zhong reminded Xu Ziling, Ling Shao, dont use the Five-Colored Stone as an iron bullet to attack Xielis Golden Wolf Army. Xu Ziling responded in displeasure, I already keep it in the inside pocket! Ba Fenghan said, Those several Heshui troops that I asked, not one saw Xielis men with their own eyes. They got their information from the grasnd tribes fleeing from cmity. I hear Xieli was killing and burning along the way, destroying a lot of camps, raping and murdering not a few of women and children. The murderous aura in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he fiercely said, Debt of blood must be paid in blood [idiom], Xieli, you just wait and see! Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Shaoshuai, do you think that kid Xiang Yushan would be by Xielis side, giving him advice? Only he would know this kind of trick to force us to stay and fight. Kou Zhong sighed and said, That possibility is quite high. That Xiang kid is indeed a cmity within our bosom [idiom]. Warning sign arose in the three mens heart at the same time; they looked at the street. Like a specter, Zhu Yuyan leaped down from the roof of the building across the street into the middle of the street and came over to the three. She wore wide hemp cloak, her face was covered in ayer of muslin cloth. You want to throw away your lives? she spoke indifferently. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, If we are not throwing away our lives, the people of Tong Wan will definitely die, or perhaps even if they live, it would not be better than death. Nonsense! Zhu Yuyan coldly said, You, Ba Fenghan, were not a blockhead like this before; you must be infected by these two foolish kids to do this kind of foolish things. In the prairie, these matters happen every day since ancient times; since when does it be your turn to mind it? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Other things we need not mind, but this time Xieli ising because of us; we are duty bound. Does Zhu Zongzhu have any information about Xie Wang? Xu Ziling asked. Zhu Yuyan was silent for a moment before slowly said, I have searched the area within a hundred li from here; there is still no trace of him. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, He was herest night, and wore us out that we did not have a good night sleep. What? Zhu Yuyan blurted out. Even hidden behind twoyers of ck muslin, the three could still feel the demonic light ring out of her eyes. Kou Zhong exined briefly, and then added, The reason Zhu Zongzhu did not sense his presence it just because the Relics is not on him at all. Zhu Yuyan coldly said, He will always have to take the Relics with him. In the end, are you going toe with me to pursue him, or are you going to stubbornly insist on seeking a death path? In the prairie, Xieli has never met his match. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If we are lucky and dont die, we will definitely cooperate with Zongzhu to get rid of Shi Zhixuan. Laughing coldly, Zhu Yuyan said, Do you know where to find me? Xu Ziling replied, To be quite honest, we also know the secret to sense the Relics; otherwise, we would not have pursued him directly to Tong Wan. Zhu Yuyans tender body slightly shook, she said, Thats impossible. Only demonic school people know this technique very well. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, The fact is like this; when did we ever tell lies? There is not much time, Zhu Zongzhu, please. Putting the saddle on the horseback, Ba Fenghan said, You, Senior, better be a bit more careful; Shi Zhixuan definitely will not give us, four people, the opportunity to join hands to deal with him. Zhu Yuyan spoke softly, Nujia precisely wish that he would be willing toe out and decide to fight to the death. A strange feeling welled up in the three mens heart at the same time; Zhu Yuyan had never spoke with them using this kind of intonation. Putting her fingers to her mouth, Zhu Yuyan produced a sharp whistle. From far away came the sound of hoof beats; a steed, its entire body was snow white, appeared from the other end of the long street, and quickly, as fast as the clouds, as swift as an arrow C galloped over. This top martial art of the demonic school floated up to the horseback;ughing tenderly, she said, Although you guys are fools, but you are genuinely good men; nujia is full of admiration. Finished speaking, she urged the horse to get out of the city, and rapidly disappeared in the distance. After the sound of hoof beats vanished, Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, I wonder if we are indeed big fools through and through? Xu Zilingughed calmly. He replied, I am afraid we will have to wait until after the fact to make the judgment. The threeughed heartily as they got on their horses and galloped toward the south gate. On the northeastern horizon, the fire illuminated the sky, raging mes were like fiery dragon spreading out with the wind, making those who saw it had their legs trembled, their heart startled. The three reined their horses and stopped north of the Helian Fort. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Whats going on there? Ba Fenghan said, That is the forest at the west bank of Wuding River, a tributary of Heshui [the ck River]. The wind brings the ze toward the river and the opposite bank, cutting off the waterway traffic. Furthermore, it makes the warriors of the other tribes who are rushing over from the waterway do not have any ce to hide. This is a game that Xieli is ustomed to y. It is both to lure the enemy and confuse the enemy, but also has substantive role. Will Xieli be there? Xu Ziling asked. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan replied, Such a small matter like setting fire to the forest, Xieli could randomly select a dozen of his men, and it can easily be done; there is no need for him to personally lead the troops, toiling his army and moving his crowd. Pointing to the distance, Kou Zhong said, That ce also catches fire. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling focused their eyes to look toward the south, there was indeed a bit of red light at the end of the prairie, only it appeared pale under the brilliant moonlight and the splendor of the stars. Ba Fenghan said, There shouldnt be any dense forest like the bank of Wuding River over there. Lets go over there to take a look. Right now I really want to kill someone. The three rode their horses traveling through the night [orig. with the moon draped over their shoulders and the stars worn over their bodies], rushing over the great prairie, until the forest fire of the Wuding riverbank became a few moving lines on their left rear. Ahead, they could clearly see the raging mes soaring into the sky, sending thick smoke rolling in the air, covering the sky above, so that the moon and the stars lost their light. Kou Zhong suddenly pulled the reins and shouted, Enemy ahead! They saw from the direction of the fire, several dozens riders wereing at full speed. Xu Zilings left hand immediately went inside the pouch and held four iron bullets inside his fingers. This kind of secret projectile skill, he had already mastered to able-to-receive-and-send-following-the-hearts-desire level. On top of that, with his hand image plus the spiraling energy, he could send it flying to and fro, so that others could not guard against it, could not evade from it. Kou Zhong grabbed and pulled the Extinguished Sun Bow, while his other hand went into the quiver by the saddle to fetch an arrow, ready to put the arrow on the bow. But Ba Fenghan put up his hand to stop them. He said, They are Huihe people. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling immediately thought of Da Ming Zun Jiao. Seven or eight men rushed over toward them. Kou Zhong took this opportunity to put away his bow and hold back his arrow to express his good will. When he looked at the more than thirty riders rushing over, he saw that none was not wounded and was bleeding; he knew that they had just gone through intense battle. The leader was tall, his shoulder broad and thick, on the side of his square-shaped face he grew a cun-long lonesome beard joined with each other. His face was full of dust, blood and sweat. Under his thick eyebrows were slender and pretty eyes, which were not quite in contrast with his high cheekbones and sticking out nose. The warrior outfit he wore was full of dried-out blood and grass and mud. But his eyes were still so staunch and sober and cool-headed. He looked to be around twenty-five, twenty-six years old, reminiscent of the protector Vajra warriors inside the temple. Ba Fenghans tiger body shook, he shouted in Tujuenguage, Is it Huihes Yaoluo Tribe Shijian Houjins son, Pusa [the Bodhisattva] who must be first in battle, sweeping everything before him? The man reined in his horse to a halt and stopped about a zhang away in front of them. One after another his followers also stopped, in full disy of exquisite horsemanship. The fire, which was still at least five or six li away from them, was gradually fading; it appeared that it was nearing its end. The mans luminous gaze was fixed on the three. Suddenly he shook and said, Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, I am indeed Ba Fenghan. These two brothers by my side areing from the Central Earth, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. I wonder if Pusa Xiong has heard of them. And then he turned around to introduce the two to them. Pusa threw his head back inughter and said, In the prairie, those who do not know the names Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are not heroes. By the way, I, Pusa, am no longer the son of Shijian. Shijian was bewitched by treacherous viin and expelled me from the Huihe people. Ba Fenghan was stunned, Is there such thing? he said. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Is it rted to Da Ming Zun Jiao? Pusa did not expect that he could speak Tujue, his face showed appreciative look. He said in surprise, Unexpectedly Shaoshuai has heard about Da Ming Zun Jiao, moreover, your guess is spot-on. [Trantors note: for thest three or four times (maybe more), Kou Zhongs nickname was changed from Shaoshuai (young/juniormander) to Shaoshi (young/junior master/teacher). I believe it was a typo, unless one of you tell me otherwise. There are so many of them; just so you know.] Turning his head around, he looked at the fire, and then sighed and said, There is not much time. Wed better find a ce to drink and talk. Did Xielis men set off the fire? Ba Fenghan asked. The murderous intent in Pusas pair of eyes ring up suddenly, he spoke with hatred, That was Tuyuhun peoples traveling camp. By the time we rushed over, the Tuyuhun people, men, women, young and old, more than seventy people, had met with treacherous assault. In one breath we did our best to annihte more than fifty Golden Wolf troops, until a one-thousand strong Golden Wolf Army headed our way, pressing down on us that we were forced to flee this way. Kou Zhong coldly said, Xielis brutality, Heaven cannot tolerate this. Pusa Xiong, please continue on your journey, we will fight to the death against Xieli. Pusa and his men were stunned; they all revealed a look of disbelief. Just relying on the three mens strength to fight the unequalled-in-the-prairie Golden Wolf Troops magnificent army with thousands of men and horses [idiom], it was tantamount to spreading ones chest and arms to stop a runaway chariot; they were following the path to their own doom. Knitting his brows, Pusa said, Three gentlemen are not joking, are you? With resolute expression, Xu Ziling said, We are not just unting ignorant peoples bravado, but we must confine Xieli to the Wuding River area; otherwise, people running away from Tong Wan would meet the same fate as the Tuyuhun people. Feeling deep veneration, Pusa shouted, Good men! Tonight I, Pusa, make three new friends. Your deeds, the people of the prairie will sing the praises for a thousand autumns, a hundred generations. And then, together with his men, they saluted. Their movement uniformed and orderly, immediately provoking the howling wind easily make the water cold, once the warrior leave, he will no longer return heroic atmosphere. Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, Pusa Xiong, dont worry, we will survive and wille looking for you to drink and chat. Please! Standing amidst the shout, the three stepped out of the way to let the warriors pass through, before rushing over toward the remaining embers of the fire. The beautiful prairie had turned into the scene of post-robbery ughterhouse, where more than a dozen tents had been reduced to ashes, and human bones and dead bodies of the beasts scattered everywhere, making people unable to watch. The torches in the distant was slowlying near, indicating that the Golden Wolf Army was advancing in this direction. Ba Fenghans gaze was fixed on the different-looking dead body of a Golden Wolf Army troop; he sighed and said, Whether it was the aggressor or the victim, death is death, there is not the least bit of difference. This is perhaps the only ce where Laotianye is showing impartiality. Kou Zhongs gaze was fixed on the constantly approaching enemy soldiers. He wondered aloud, Dont Xieli and his men need to rest? Even if the men can endure, the horses will be wearied to the death. Ba Fenghan said, That is Xielis shaking-the-prairie strategy. Each time they approach the battlefield, he divides his warriors into several groups to fight in turns. By keeping the troops in peak offensive condition, he does not give the opponent a moment of rest. This tactic is very effective in the ins,bined with him dispatching small teams everywhere to disturb the enemy; everywhere they go, its like locust devouring everything on their way. Although I am a Tujue, I am so ashamed of his brutal means. No wonder Pusa detests Tujue people so much, Xu Zilingmented. Ba Fenghan said, It was not until Chuluo Khan raided and looted Huihe tribe that Huihe people no longer willing to be the Eastern Tujues hunting dogs. Before that time, the Tujue had always been controlling the vast northern region via the Huihe. Kou Zhong asked, But I see Pusa as a strong and courageous person; where exactly is Huihe? Pointing to the distant northwest, Ba Fenghan replied, Huihe is divided into two branches; the Weijue is scattered around the northern area of Duluo River, the other branch, Niaohu is located west of Yiwu, roughly on the foot of the northern hill at the eastern end of the Tianshan mountain range. If the two branches unite, they can raise up to fifty-thousand strong army that can influence the general situation. But now the two branches are unified under Shijian Houjin. Houjin is like a great khan. In my opinion, the reason Shijian disown Pusa is most probably because he is standing in opposition against Xieli. After Xieli gained enough momentum, he did everything in thousand ways, a hundred ns, to repair his rtionship with Shijian. At this time the Golden Wolf Army was only about a li away. The sound of hoof beats could be faintly heard, the rising dust covered the moon and the stars. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief; he said, Indeed only a few hundred men. Even if he is dead, Xielis character wont change. A thousand, maybe two, are still divided into four groups. What strategy should we take? Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, The most delightful is of course meet them head-on and feel the painter. However, fighting three, four hundred Golden Wolf Army, even if there are no martial art masters supporting them, would Kou Ye believe that you can deal with them? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, We are as close as brothers, yet you are also teasing me? If I could resist a hundred, theres no need to humbly ask for your, LaoGes advice. Pulling the Perished Moon Bow, Ba Fenghan roared inughter and said, Well meet them with long distance arrow strike first, and then carry out hit-and-run tactic, luring them to pursue relentlessly and unwilling to let go. By the time the men are weary the horses tired, with a sudden thrust, we catch them off guard and attack, leaving them no time deal with it. Xiaodi has a good proposal, Xu Ziling said, If we could lure them into Helian Fort, wont we be able to upy the invincible position? Kou Zhong took out the Extinguished Sun Bow andughed aloud, Might as well make you the Junshi [military adviser], and Old Ba as the Da Jiangjun [great general]. If we could ughter Xieli, on the prairie, who would dare not to kneel and bow in worship to us as gods and Buddhas? Xu Zilings left hand grabbed the mulberry wood bow, his right hand fetch an arrow, he spoke cheerily, Get out of here, you and your Shaoshuai Kingdom. Fenghan Xiong, please look clearly whether they are indeed Golden Wolf Army; we must not kill good people by mistake. Focusing his power to his eyes, Ba Fenghan exerted his strength to pull the bow into a full moon; he spoke softly, In the prairie, Xiaodi has never failed to recognize the enemy. Ziling, you may set your heart at ease. The bugle horn sounded. The enemy riders stopped less than half a li away; they regrouped and arrayed themselves in battle formation. What are they doing? Kou Zhong asked in astonishment. Ba Fenghan said, They already guessed that we are here, hence they do not dare to take it lightly. Could it be that they are waiting for the others? Xu Ziling wondered. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, They are ready tounch an offensive. Xielis Golden Wolf Army is a full-scale attack army, fully disying the flexibility of the cavalrys mobility. Their usual tactic is sudden raid from long distance, to win by a surprise move. Their frontal attack unit is in fan-shaped formation, which carries defense in the middle of offense. But the real killer move is the assault team from the left and right nks, so that we are unable to focus on the attack from any single one direction. Speechless, Kou Zhong said, This kind of grasnd battle tactic is indeed hard to deal with. We can use the few to strike the many, to win from a position of weakness. Besides, currently the opposite side is a hundred times more than us. Ba Fenghan revealed a hint of smile brimming with confidence; he said, If there is no man-and-horse-as-one technique, we will surely die tonight. But now we have the hope of great victory. Brothers, they areing. The sound of bugle horns filled the earth, the sound of hoof beats shook the heavens. From the enemy ranks, more than a hundred riders rushed out. Like a tidal wave, the fan-shaped formation charged forward, everybody with bent bow and arrow at the ready, waiting with stored up momentum. After the center forward of the enemy formation burst forth for a thousand paces or so, the bugle horn sounded again. The remaining two hundred or so riders separated themselves into two groups and turned to the left and right, charging out along an arc toward the outside first before turning back inside, so that when they finally attacked, it coulde either from both left and right nks, or from behind. Even if they could withstand the opposite sides center forward, eventually they would be caught in the inferior position of chaotic warfare. The three groups of enemy troops constantly varied their speed in coordination with each other. The tactic was exquisite, so that people cannot help gasping in amazement. Xu Ziling said, Finally Shaoshuai can obtain first-hand experience of the formidable power of the equestrian archery battle of the prairie. Ba Fenghan shouted, Shooting people, we must shoot the horses first. Release the arrows! Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong released strings of arrows, so that the cavalrying directly at them suffered a crushing defeat. Xu Zilings mulberry wood bows firing range wasparatively shorter, so he was looking for any gap within the enemys and entered in tounch a head-on offensive into the enemy ranks. The center forward unit changed tactics. Under themand of the bugle horn, they separated, but their attack speed did not diminish at all. The two wings of the enemy ran fast from the left and the right, like two clumps of dark cloudsing to envelop them. In a few blinks of an eye, the moving-at-high-speed center forward team of the enemy consisting of approximately thirty riders swayed to the left and right, but the remaining eighty-something riders already passed their safe distance and released the arrow to strike back. Go! Ba Fenghan thundered. The three spurred their horses to turn around, and as they were leaving, they also released arrows to return fire. Retaining their three-group battle formation, the enemy pursued relentlessly on their tail. Kou Zhong suddenly cried out, Not right! Shocked, the other two swept their gaze around, only to see the prairie horizons, ahead, left and right, were entirely covered in the brilliant rays of the torches. They estimated that the enemys strength must be above ten thousand men. His countenance changed, Ba Fenghan said, We are falling into the ambush! Xu Zilings arrow prated the chest of a pursuing troop. He shouted loudly, Before the enemy closing in, we must rush to Helian Fort. The three did not have time to shoot dead the pursuing troops; they unleashed the man-and-horse-as-one technique with all their strength to flee toward Helian Fort, the only ce that could give them a ray of hope to stay alive. Book 39 - 9 – Battle of the Ancient Castle The three stood on the highest watchtower of the Helian Fort, living high and looking down on the enemy moving the army and sending a general,pleting their siege. Earlier they thought that they still had a ray of hope to stay alive, but now they knew that that hope had already disappeared, the only opportunity remained was to fight until theirst breath. The enemys total strength was estimated between thirty-five thousand to forty thousand; such strength was enough to tten the prairie; even crisscrossing the Central ins, no one would be able to stop them. At the bottom of the hill where the Helian Fort was built, the uniform-looking cavalry was moving about as if in a military show of force, and was ready at any time to charge up to the top of the hill. They had considered breaking through the siege, but all the escape routes were sealed off. There was nothing outside the Helian Fort that could prolong the time they killed or be killed. Not too far away, the Golden Wolf banner was flying in the evening breeze from the prairie. Xieli and a group of great generals were sitting high on horseback, talking and pointing to their direction; needless to say, they must be discussing the strategy to kill them as quickly as possible. The enemy was divided into groups, and then different groups assembled to form argerbat unit. These units spread out as far as the eye could see, covering every single strategic point in the prairie, forming an inescapable enveloping the Helian Fort; a disy of military glory at its peak, enough to scare anybody out of their wits. The entire prairie was lit up by torches, only Helian Fort, standing on the hilltop, was hidden in the dark, outside the reach of the torches light. Ba Fenghan said, East, west, and north, three slopes are steep and full of rocks; only the south slope is most suitable to attack with the fast horse. Shaoshuai and I are in charge to defend the south slope, the rest will be left to Ziling to deal with. Kou Zhong said with a sigh, No wonder Xieli can call himself the mighty over the prairie. The speed and wonder with which he dispatches the troops and horses, it is indeed the first time that Xiaodi has ever seen. When our headache is over, it will be Tulis turn to have a headache. Tell me frankly, Old Ba, do you still hate Tuli now? Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, Right now, how do I have the leisure to hate anybody outside the battlefield. If with heart and soul, with all my strength, I can, ording to my capabilities, weaken the military strength with which Xieli is going to attack Tuli, wont it be worthwhile? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Kou Zhong, in your heart right now, do you have any special thought of someone? Kou Zhong dejectedly replied, The first person came to my mind was unexpectedly Shang Xiufang, only then did it turn to Zhizhi; before, I also thought about Chuchu. If Xiaodi died in this battle, who might be the most broken-hearted among them? My guess would be Chuchu. This thought makes my heart feels extreme depth of sorrow. In my heart, I only want to kill people, Ba Fenghan said, But listening to Shaoshuais speech, which evolved from the bottom of your heart, I suddenly had to search deep within me. Is it possible that because I, Ba Fenghan, am so engrossed in the way of the sword, I am missing the opportunity to pursue all other things in life? In the end, am I really strong, or am I weak? Because the one thing I am most afraid of ising upon something that would cause anybody extreme depth of sorrow. The brotherly love between the two of you is something that I never dreamed that it could happen. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, Listening to the tone of your voice, it seems like after killing Xieli, you are going to look for that Dai Waer [baby; reminder: Ba Daier]; am I right? Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, Go to your granny; death is near at hand, Xiaodi is still afraid of extreme depth of sorrow? Thinking about it, I did not have the courage to act. Ay! Its a mess! I actually really want to see her again before I die, to offer my deepest apologies for the hurt she has suffered. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted. He looked at Xu Ziling, and saw that his pair of eyes emitting an iparably deep emotion, as he slightly lifting up his handsome face to stare into the vast starry sky over the battlefield. Could not help being shaken, Kou Zhong asked, Ling Shao, who are you thinking of? As if he had just been awakened from a dream Xu Ziling moved his gaze toward Xieli, Tonyukuk, Zhao Deyan, and the others. Come! he said. The sound of hoof beats rumbled in the sky. From the east, south, west, and north, each direction ran out a group of a hundred riders, darting back and forth across the hill, dazzling the eyes, while at the same time generating a chill in the heart. Ba Fenghan said, Shouldnt the first dish set the prairie on fire? Pulling the Moon in the Well, Kou Zhong lifted it high above his head;ughing calmly, he said, To be able to fight Xielis Golden Wolf Army to the death, even though I die, I will have no regret! The first dish, let Xiaodi take care of it. As long as we can hold out until daybreak, it will be enough to be a mythical legend that will be passed on to theter generations. Xu Ziling said, The enemy is using wheel tactics. The first fire should be released before we exhaust our strength. You guys are the guests, Ba Fenghan said, The first dish should be mine to take care of. It seems simple, but its not easy, especially during this season where the air is heavy with spring moisture. Fortunately I have ample experience in this regard, and am well prepared. The ingenious fire-arms that I bought when leaving the Central Earth are still well-preserved. Ay! I hope half of them have not lost effectiveness; that would be extremely ideal. The bugle horn sounded again. The other team of five hundred men nearest to the dismounted from their rides together, and took out their sabers and hatchets, and then, the hatchets rising and the sabers falling, they cleared away the tall grass and shrubberies all around the hill, as if they already knew their grand n of setting the grasnd on fire. Watching this, the three were dumbstruck and did not know how to deal with it. Its the Xiang kid! Xu Ziling said. The other two cast their gaze in Xielis direction. Surprisingly, Xiang Yushan was showing himself among the enemy ranks, separated from Xieli by only one person, Zhao Deyan. From this, it could be seen that he was very important to Xieli. Kou Zhong hated it so much that his teeth itched; he said, Even if I die, I want to pull this deserved-to-be-chopped-a-thousand-times kid to apany the burial. His expression grave, Ba Fenghan said, Now its only the enemy who cane to set fire to burn us, but its difficult for us to retaliate. Next moment the wind wille from the northeast. If they set the two slopes, east and north on fire, although the ze may not threaten us directly, but the thick smoke blown by the wind will roll in, the enemy may take advantage of the thick smoke to attack from four sides, eight directions. If we could hold out for the time needed to drink a cup of hot tea, it would be considered amazing already. The three looked on hopelessly as the vacant and vast grasnd all around were constantly turning into bare ground, yet they clearly could not do anything about it. They were unafraid of the thick smoke, but their line of sight would be blocked, surely they would not be able to prevent the enemy fromunching surprise attack into the castle, and their horses would be the first to suffer a cmity. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Shall we kill our way into the enemy ranks, to try to get more people to apany us on our way? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, That will be our n B. Only inside the unique environment of this Helian Fort will we be able to disy the superiority of using-the-few-to-strike-the-many tactic. The most ideal will be if the enemy attacks for a long time without sess, Xieli and the others wille to attack personally, and then our death will be more valuable. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Ziling is right. Let me go down to cover all small windows and battlement holes opening toward the east and the north sides with felt and various bits and bobs, to prevent the smoke bits from permeating the fort. When the enemy attack, we will set the other two sides on fire, I hope we could buy some more time. Finished speaking, he leaped down from the third floor observation tform onto the city gate tower tform on the second floor before entering the ground floor via the broken-down stone steps inside. The bugle horn sounded again. The Golden Wolf troops, who were clearing up about thirty zhang bare ground all around the fort hill return to the horseback, and retreated to four directions, and then another five-hundred-man team took up their ce, neat and orderly. The Golden Wolf banner began to advance toward them. Battle drums were ring, the cavalry moving around the hill stopped. Wherever they were stopping under the slope of the hill, they waited with stored up momentum to attack. The atmosphere grew tense very quickly. Withdrawing the Moon in the Well, Kou Zhongughed toward Xu Ziling and said, Dont you feel proud? The grand Tujue Supreme Khan, leading the most elite Golden Wolf Army, as if they are facing big enemy,e to wait upon us, insignificant three persons. If death can be divided into glorious and not glorious death, this time our death is surely glorious. Looking up to the sky, Xu Ziling said, We are not without any way out at all. If another thunderstorm like the other night came, all the torches would be extinguished, perhaps we could take advantage of the darkness to break the siege. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Now it is at most only three sichen from daybreak, yet there are only a few thin clouds in the sky. Even if I dont know how to read the wind and read the clouds, I know that there is no chance of rain. When the sun is out, our barely-there advantage will be lost, and then our allotted share will only be taking the beating. And then his pair of eyes emitted a determined look, he said, If we can hold out until daybreak, even if I die, I will have no regret! Xieli and a group of his high-ranking generals moved to the south slope and reined their horses to stop. Xieli let out a burst of shaking-the-heavens longughter, the no-less-than-forty-thousand Golden Wolf Army on the prairie immediately roared in response. The entire prairie seemed to be rocking and shuddering; the momentum was terrifying. Kou Zhong took one step ahead, he shouted in Tujuenguage, Whats so funny? If you have guts, why dont you, Xielie to have a one-on-one duel with me, Kou Zhong? Let your subordinates see that if we are not under the-many-bullying-the-few situation, how useless you really are. The men on Xielis left and right immediately shouted and cursed; the crowds emotion was surging up violently. Xieli signaled with his hand to stop the battle of cursing and scolding; he said, Shaoshuai is indeed a tough man who is not afraid of death. This Khan loves tough men the most. If the three of you are willing to abandon your weapon and surrender, kneeling in front of this Khans horse to swear an oath to vow loyalty and devotion forever, this Khan can guarantee that you will enjoy endless beautiful women, wealth and power. Wouldnt it surpass dying by violence in your young age inside this dpidated fort? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Less nonsense talk. How could we, three brothers, be people who are willing to surrender? You might as well give me all you got! Let me see whether Golden Wolf Armys name is not in vain. Furious, Xieli said, Death is near at hand, you still dare to boast shamelessly. Youd better not be captured alive; otherwise this Khan will make your life not any better than death. Attack! The bugle horn sounded. Sure enough, not deviating from Ba Fenghans guess, one after another the Tujue warriors on the east and north slopes tossed some tinder toward the grassy slope, they also used torches to light the tree leaves and tall grass on the slope. Following the slope, the ze spread upward, thick smoke rolled in. Battle drums were struck again. The several groups of cavalry waiting with stored up momentum under the south slope, each group consisted of a hundred riders, brandished their broadswords, bent their bows and put on the arrows, and charged up the hill; the momentum was terrifying. Xu Ziling quickly told Kou Zhong, I deal with the rest, you must not worry about anything else, just defend the south slope to the death. He soared and leaped toward the thick smoke rolling over from the northeast slope. The thick smoke rose straight up, like a haze floating around the Helian Fort, before rolling upward and dispersing in the air. Kou Zhong roared violently. Using the fastest technique he pulled the bow and released the arrow. All the enemy riders reaching the middle of the slope were entirely inside his arrows range. Hardening up his heart, he targeted the horses. As the warhorses were hit by the arrow, they rolled down the hillside. The majestic cavalry on horseback turned into rolling gourd sliding down the hill in confusion, striking the men and horses behind them that everybody tumbled down, no longer able to maintain the acute spirit of the assault formation, and were turned into chaos. Those who flew off their horses and were fortunate enough not to be injured wanted to charge up the hill on foot, but with the Extinguished Sun Bow Kou Zhong met them one by one in every possible way. Although it was one-person-defending-the-pass situation, but because he was on the higher elevation, the arrows were able to reach farther, so that the riders were intercepted in the middle of the slope below. The sound of bugle horn reverberated across the grasnd. Another three groups of the enemy dismounted from their horses and using the thick smoke as cover, charged up the hill on foot toward the Helian Fort. Momentarily from four sides, eight directions the cavalry were advancing like a tide. Ba Fenghan stormed out of the only gap on the south gate, both hands moved together, specks of me streaked across the darkness on both sides of the Helian Fort, toward the south and the west slopes that had not caught fire. After sessfully setting the slopes on fire, Ba Fenghan pulled the Perished Moon Bow and rushed to the top of the west slope, where he released a string of powerful arrows. Relying on the steep and rugged western slope, he was able to set up his defense line, so that the enemy could not leap over the thunder pond [thunder pond is the name of a river; idiom: blocking the enemy that they can not pass through the ce (Courtesy of Akw)], they were unable to counterattack with the arrow. The slope of the southern hill of the Helian Fort was the gentlest, hence the inclined path was the longest. The northern slope was the shortest, but it was also the steepest. The grass, trees, and bushes among the rocks caught fire, but it would not bepletely burnt in an hour or two, hence the enemy could not advance. They could only stand outside the fire range, hooting and putting on an attitude, temporarily they did not pose any threat. Assisted by the wind, the fire on the east slope reached the waist of the hill. Hundreds of warriors on foot slowly approaching; if they managed to advance fifty more paces, then Kou Zhong would be inside their firing range. If that happened, it would be very difficult for Kou Zhong to hold fast to the watchtower of the third floor. From external breathing, Xu Ziling changed to inner breathing, and rushed into the thick smoke. The tip of his toes tapping the rocks on the slope, he leaped from rock to rock toward the enemy. Both hands reached into the pouch, using the thick smoke as cover, iron bullets shot out of his hands. Not knowing what hit them, one after another the enemies were shot down and rolled down the slope. By the time they shot arrows blindly into the thick smoke, Xu Ziling was already leaping onto another rock. He was continuously moving and shooting, creating huge panic among the enemy, so that momentarily everybody, striving to be first and fearing to best, scrambled down the hill. Breaking out of the smoke, unexpectedly Xu Ziling chase after the enemys tail, so that they werepletely routed, and momentarily were even more powerless to strike back. It was not until the enemy at the foot of the hill shooting powerful arrows wildly toward his direction that he calmly returned up the hill. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere along the slope. The fire on the west and south slopes spread and intensified, emitting thick smoke into the air, covering the hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earth enemy ranks. Xieli was afraid they might seize this opportunity to break the siege, he issued an order to pull the assault team back toward the grasnd, and then the entire force was spread out in all directions, forming ayer of siege, quietly waiting for the me topletely burn the grass and the trees on the hill. The Helian Fort waspletely surrounded by thick smoke and fire particles. Actually, its not that the three did not want to break the siege. Rather, in breaking this first wave of offensive, the wear and tear to their true energy was extremely severe; they practically did not have any strength to break the siege. When the wildfire subsided, their great difficulty woulde. The three reconvened at the highest watchtower, which was engulfed all around with smoke and fire; it was difficult to see far. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong asked, Are the horses all right? Ba Fenghan replied, I used wet cloth to wrap their mouth and nose, so that they could freely go to the lower level where theres not much smoke; they should be all right. Kou Zhong pressed his palm on Xu Zilings back, while Ba Fenghans palm was pressed against his broad back; he said, Lets see if we could rapidly recover our qi like when we obtained the Jade Annulus of He n that time, then perhaps we will be able to force our way out of the encirclement under cover of the thick smoke. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, My good brother, surrounding us right now is not just a few hundreds or even a few thousands men; rather, it is a few tens of thousand men. Charging out is practically without any chance at all. Defending ourselves here, we can kill a few more to apany us in burial. Let alone if we do not have a sichen or so, we can forget about restoring our primordial qi. Kou Zhong said, If I were Xieli, I might as well wait until daybreak beforeunching the offensive. In terms of the situation, at that time it would be surely difficult for us to narrowly and luckily escape. If Xieli has this kind of patience, we will have a chance to recover our strength. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, Suppose we can stir up the traveling-quietly-and-hidden-deep-beneath-the-surface power within our body which has not been used, wont that be the same as quickly recovering our primordial qi, while also buy us some more time, waiting for the smoke and fire to disperse, the intensity of the fire to weaken, then their death knell will be ringing. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, The situation is urgent, how could we find the time to ponder and grope around? Xu Ziling said, I do have the Huan Ri Da Fa from Yue Shan that he learned from a Tianzhu Monk in my possession; I am able to integrate this method within my hand image method, only I have never tried practicing it separately. A glimmer of hope grew in Ba Fenghans heart, he said, Since we have the stealing-the-heaven-exchanging-the-sun ability [fig. to engage in fraudulent activities; reminder: huan ri da fa means great method of exchanging the sun], there is no harm in trying. Stretching out his hand, he pressed it onto Kou Zhongs back. Performing the lotus flower image with his hands, Xu Ziling said, Huan Ri Da Fa is different from the Central Earths Buddhist and Taoist, two schools. It specializes in training the five qi, three meridians, and seven chakras. While giving exnation, he let the true qi circted naturally within his body, using his own body in giving the most urate demonstration in teaching the other two, with whom he had built a very close rtionship with. Boom! The three mens qi chakra burst forth at the same time, all the barely remaining true qi in their body gathered together into a stream. This kind of progress had never happened before to anybody outside Tianzhu [reminder: Indian subcontinent] who cultivated this different method. If this moment the enemy attacked, they would not have the slightest bit of power either to attend to or to resist. Compelled by circumstances, the three did not have any choice but to take this risk. Just now the attack to the Fort only happened in half the time to drink a cup of hot tea, yet the dead and wounded on the enemys side exceeded a hundred men. It was desperate to the extreme point; yet their strength was also like the bow which momentum had been spent. The thick smoke gradually dispersed. Under the illumination of the torches and the starlight, the Helian Hill has turned into scorched earth, full of charred corpses. The frightening scene was like the infernal hell. The sound of bugle horns and battle drums shook the heaven and rocked the earth. From four directions and eight sides, the Golden Wolf Army was advancing toward the Helian Fort. Xu Zilings hands performed the inexhaustible hand images, but not a single one was premeditated, everything was following the variation of the true qi within his body, but also in response to the various internal shapes and external changes. The true qi within the three mens body changed from small springs, small streams into long river and big watercourse [fig. Yangtze and Yellow Rivers], surging and rolling inside their body, rushing through another system of qi meridians, releasing the unused and hidden deep potential. If they were able to sessfully aplish it, this new system might fuse together with the old system and became one. Although it could not make their power to grow by leaps and bounds immediately, it was like opening up arge amount of wastnd, which could provide them with arge amount of primordial qi. They paid no heed to the enemy down the slope; they were throwing their heart and soul into the breakthrough brought about by the Huan Ri Da Fa. The enemy calmly moved into position, ready tounch a new round of attack. Xu Ziling suddenly let out a long whistle terrifying the grasnd, while performing the Motionless Fundamental Image to distribute the true qi surging back and forth within the three mens body. The true qi converging into river and ocean changed into thousands creeks and hundreds of streams, rushing into every qi gathering point in the three mens body. The three young grandmasters finally finished their cultivation, from one entity they reverted back to three independent individuals. The sky above the grasnd was still filled with glittering starlight, but it was even more unfathomably deeper than before, even more majestic beyond description. Ba Fenghan felt as if he had shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones, his essence, qi, and spirit had reached the pinnacle; even if Bi Xuan came in person, he had the confidence that he would have enough power to battle him. He shouted loudly, Little baby Xieli, if you have enough guts, release your horse ande over [i.e. bring it on!]. Enraged, Xieli replied, You want to die sooner, Ill help you aplish your aim. Attack! The enemy, who had been waiting with stored-up momentum, shouted in chorus, and charged up toward the Helian Fort at the top of the hill. The fastest cavalry took the southern slope, while the infantry attacked via the other three slopes. The three knew that the moment the enemy broke into the fort was the moment Xielu and his team of special grade martial art masters joined the battle. Xu Ziling reached into the bag, and discovered that all the iron bullets he had in both pouches added together were less than two hundred. When the iron bullets were exhausted, he would have to enter the enemy ranks to fight a fierce hand-to-handbat. Ill take care of the south gate defense, he spoke heavily, You guys dont worry about me. With a somersault he leaped off the high tform. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan did not have time to reply, the Extinguished Sun and the Perished Moon Bows immediately started to shoot toward the enemy charging up the slope. Book 39 - 10 – Supremely Honorable And Righteous On Helian Hill, dead bodies were strewn everywhere in open space, blood flowed like a river. Their arrows exhausted, their bullets depleted, the three were no longer able to utilize the most advantageous darkness and the favorable location of the top of the hill to resist the enemy outside the fort. The enemys arrows flew like a gue of locusts, forcing Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong to retreat and defend the wall and tform on the second floor. Xu Ziling defended the south gate alone, which was the only ess to the fort. As long as he could closely guard this pass, the only way the enemy could attack the second floors wall and tform was by darting through the rocks and climbing over the wall. The Helian Fort, which was so sturdy that iron hammer could not break it, has be their lifesaver before their blood ran dry and their strength exhausted. The Helian Fort became like the honey where the Golden Wolf Army rapidly swarmed over like bees; one fell, the next followed, searching for a crack, looking for a gap C that they could exploit to attack. The Treasured-Vase Qi red out, how could two Tujue warriors be able to withstand? Their bodies were thrown backward, they crashed onto the other warriors charging up the hill, suffering a crushing defeat. However, Xu Ziling also felt that his strength suffered sudden drain. Reaching backhandedly, he snatched an enemys saber, while kicking another enemy at the same time, sending him flying backwards while spurting blood andnded outside the door. Saber light shed again, he hacked down an iron shield. The spiraling energy sent the man spinning and tumbling out the door, and disappeared from Xu Zilings line of sight. The torches bathed the Helian Fort red. No one could tell the difference between the red from the ze and the red of the blood. The battle was desperate to the extreme point. Suddenly a palm strike arrived, carrying with it a very strong gust of wind, forcing the other Tujue warriors to scatter around like dead leaves. The speed, the timing, and the angle were wless, so that the only option left for Xu Ziling was to stake everything to meet the strike head-on. Xu Ziling forgot about all the wounds, big and small, on his body; he knew that if he failed to block this ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt palm strike, the south gate would be lost. Taking a deep breath, he concentrated the hidden power generated by Huan Ri Da Fa, while his mouth spat up an incantation, like a sudden rumble of thunder on the ins, Zhao! His right palm collided head-to-head with the opponents palm power. Bang! Xu Ziling spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood, as he staggered half a step backward. But the shooting out toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas, as well as highly-concentrated C Treasured-Vase Qi and the spiraling energy also made the invader spurting out blood and tumbling back, revealing Tonyukuks clear and strange, as well as brimming with astonishment C expression; evidently he refused to believe the oue of this head-on, stake-it-all move. Two cavalry sabers immediately swooped in to fill the gap left by Tonyukuk, separately attacking Xu Zilings face and the vital points between his chest and abdomen. The attack was fierce and severe, unlike ordinary Golden Wolf warriors at all. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing that he did not have much time; how much longer would he be able to hold on? His short shout of incantationpletely overwhelmed the sound of battle and the shouting of the enemies attacking the fort, intimidating the entire battlefield. But at the same time it boosted the spirit of the blood-soaked and fighting-hard-battle Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong on the second floor; at least they knew that Xu Ziling downstairs was still alive, and was still defending the south gate steadily. Kou Zhongs chasing-the-spirit-and-snatching-the-soul Moon in the Wells yellow light was shing everywhere across the watchtower. Unleashing his saber technique, he gave everything he had, using the newlyprehended amazing power to protect his body, staking it all, enduring the enemys de and shedding his blood, each move was aimed to snatch victory amidst danger, using his life to gamble for survival. After killing more than a dozen men, unexpectedly no one was fit to meet his saber; he had killed all the Golden Wolf Armys martial art masters leaping up to him, they all fell outside the castle wall with snapping neck and broken bones, their dead bodies were piling up at the foot of the wall. Dang! Powerful counter force shocked his arm that it went numb. This was the first time anybody was able to, not only parry his Moon in the Well, but fight back as well. The tip of his toes tapped the top of the wall, the person soared into the air, the long cavalry saber stabbed down on the top of Kou Zhongs head. The shenfa [body movement] and daofa [saber technique] fused into one, the style was exquisite beyondpare. The powerful-without-equal saber qi enveloped Kou Zhong tightly. At the same time, another man rose up to the top of the wall, Water Caltrop Spear shot out of his sleeve, fast as lightning it flew toward the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach. Kou Zhongs left palm swept the top of the Water Caltrop Spear, while his saber swept upward. Laughing heartily, he said, Great Khan is too courteous; even if you want to send off the guests, you dont need to apany the guests to theher world. Naturally the saber wielder was the Eastern Tujues Great Khan, the overlord of the prairie, Xieli. The master of the Water Caltrop Spear was Zhao Deyan, who ranked third among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. The two have already agreed on a n to go all out to get rid of Kou Zhong first before dealing with Ba Fenghan on the other side. This moment more than a dozen Tujue martial art masters appeared on the top of the wall. Their only mission on the battlefield was, even if they had to sacrifice their life C to protect Xieli at all cost, not to let any harming upon him; at any time, they must be as inseparable as form and shadow with Xieli. Its just that just now, in his raging temper, Xieli was impatient to kill Kou Zhong, hence he rushed ahead of them to charge up the wall and onto the tform. Ding! The Moon in the Well, sweeping upward, disyed a subtle change that was difficult to believe, so that no matter how Xieli changed his offensive, the saber de was still sweeping it up. Xielis entire body shook, being swept up by Kou Zhong that he soared up, and momentarily was unable to pose any threat to Kou Zhong. One was standing on the ground, the other side hanging in midair, naturally thetter suffered losses. Bang! The tip of the palm swept the tip of the Water Caltrop, forcing it to sweep away. Kou Zhong abruptly twisted his bear-waist, like a canopy in front of him, the Moon in the Well went straight to stab the pit of Zhao Deyans stomach. If he could not force Zhao Deyan down the wall, tonight next year would be the anniversary of his death. Three spears and two sabers, several people attacked him from left and right, but they were still a tad too slow. Zhao Deyan showed a look of disdain. The Water Caltrop Spear slithered back into his sleeve like a viper, his left hand swiftly chopped, he met the saber de head on. Kou Zhong cheered inwardly; just now he borrowed Xielis true qi, guaranteed to make Zhao Deyan suffer a big loss. He was not worried that Zhao Deyan would not fall into the trap, because Zhao Deyan still thought that Kou Zhong was still like the Kou Zhong in Changan, how could he be afraid to meet Kou Zhongs saber head-on? Pow! Zhao Deyan hit the de of the saber; instantly his countenance changed greatly. Vortex of energy shot out; like a violent wind, angry wave it rolled into Zhao Deyan, so that even Zhao Deyan was unable to stand. He spun backward and fell outside the wall. If it were a second ss martial art master, it could be guaranteed that before he hit the ground, he would have spurted out blood and died. Kou Zhong swiftly retreated backward, so that the enemy was now attacking him from the front. Laughing aloud, he said, Fenghan Xiong, its time to protect the stairs! His voice spread out far and wide. The entire Helian Fort was designed in such a way that its main role was defense. The wall was as strong as iron, it need not be mentioned further. To guard against the enemy attacking up to the second floor of the city gate tower, this level was divided into inner and outer, twoyers of defensive line. On top of the city wall, there was still square-shaped city gate tower. The third levels watchtower tform could amodate twenty people with the roof of the building as the cornerstone, majestically towering over the Fort. The city gate tower had two exits, east and west. The stone steps were precisely in the middle of the city gate tower, leading into the lower level. Seeing the situation was not too encouraging, Kou Zhong hurriedly informed Ba Fenghan to retreat to the city gate tower, which he called protecting the stairs, but actually it was to save their own life. Ba Fenghans shout came from the air, as he roared in Tujuenguage, Xieli, keep your life for now! The tacit understanding between Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan was second only to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling; he understood Ba Fenghans strategy immediately. elerating his retreat, he passed through the west door of the city gate tower, and after entering the city tower, he turned around and brandished his saber to meet the Golden Wolf Army flocking in from the east door, without paying attention to the enemy on the other side at all. On the city gate tower itself, the sound of sword de splitting the air filled the atmosphere. Valiant like the God of War, Ba Fenghan soared close to the pir of the highest watchtower. The Beheading Mystery Sword turned into a long streak of light, it shed down at full force on wearing-golden-robe Xielis bald head. On the other side, Xielis group of martial art masters, his personal guards, everyone was shocked, how could they have the mind to chase and kill Kou Zhong? One after another they pulled their body up to block Ba Fenghan. Xieli was so angry that he nearly vomited blood. This moment his mouthful of true qi has been used up, he has not recovered the true qi he lost from staking-it-all against Kou Zhong earlier. Facing Ba Fenghans brimming with once-released-would-not-withdrawn, using-life-to-win-life sword strike, although fully aware that as long as he was willing to stake it all with a both-sides-suffer move, parrying Ba Fenghan a move for a move, his men would definitely have time to put Ba Fenghan in order. However, it was clear that he did not dare to take this big risk. He stretched out his leg to tap on the column of the watchtower, and changed his direction to fall straight down, to fly outside the city wall. Seeing his tactic seeded and he forced Xieli to run away, Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Great Khan is scared! Suddenly he sunk his qi so that he fell straight down to avoid all attacks andnded outside the city gate towers west door, before retreating back into the city gate tower. The Beheading Mystery Sword flew left and right, two Golden Wolf troops met the sword, their blood sshed and they fell down. Leaping up the city gate tower again, Zhao Deyanunched his schools unique skill, the most formidable killer move of the Eighteen ws Returning the Soul, the Green Dragon Jealous Lord, his hands coiled around while changing constantly to attack Ba Fenghan. Letting out a coldugh, Ba Fenghan did not care about the subtle changes of his w technique at all, the Beheading Mystery Sword swiftly stabbed his face, showing clearly that he was ready to perish together with Zhao Deyan. Without any choice, Zhao Deyan changed his move; the chain of the Water Caltrop Spear shot out from inside both sleeves, forming a cross with which he scrambled to parry the enemys sword. Qiang! Zhao Deyan recoiled from the impact, while the other men hurriedly filled the gap he had just vacated,unching another round of attack toward Ba Fenghan. On the other side, Kou Zhong was driving the enemies forcing their entrance into the city gate tower outside the door. His defense was as steady as copper wall, iron bastion, not a ssh of water cane through. However, he was well aware that just now the wear and tear to his true qi was extremely severe, very soon he would reach the sun-sets-over-the-western-hills situation, and then how long would he be able to stand? Xieli jumped back on the city wall tform andnded by Zhao Deyans side. He was about to speak when warning signals came from outside the fort. The two looked in shock, only to see the me was zing on the prairies northeast horizon, thick smoke rolled in like ck clouds toward them, and the noise of people shouting and fighting was faintly heard; they wondered inwardly whether Tuli wasing? The city wall tform was crowded to bursting point with Golden Wolf Army; one fell, the next followed, they attacked Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan guarding the gate with everything they had, yet it was still difficult to leap over the thunder pond even for half a step. It was a clear disy of the twos astonishing tenacity, power and determination. Zhao Deyan said, Resist foreign aggression first before pacifying the inside. Even if they grew wings, these three kids will be difficult to fly. Xieli hesitated for half a day, only then did he ept Zhao Deyans proposal and issued the order to temporary withdraw. The Golden Wolf Army withdrawing back to the ground floor of the castle, Xu Ziling returned to the city wall tform. The three looked at each other with bitter smile. Fighting with all their might, their entire body, from head to foot, was covered in blood, and they were on the brink of copsing from exhaustion. If Xieli ignored the outside enemy and continued his assault, perhaps this moment they would have to nurse a grievance and lie on the ground as corpses. The smoke from the fire on the northeast covered a wide expanse of the prairie. The Golden Wolf Army changed formation. Although the Helian Fort was still heavily surrounded in the middle, they maneuvered the troops strongly defending the northeast position, away from the area where the intensity of the fire was the highest. Due to the heavy moisture content in the air in the spring, while it was possible to use fire-arms and kerosene to increase the fire intensity, it was difficult for the fire to gain momentum to spread. Therefore, Xielis countermeasure was extremely proper. Gazing at the thick smoke covering arge area on the northeast, while gasping for breath, Ba Fenghan said, I wonder whos helping us? He had not finished speaking, a group of riders rushed out from inside the thick smoke, breaking through a group of Golden Wolf troops who had not steadied their footings yet, like a hot knife through butter they killed their way toward the castle. Like a cruel dragon the leaders long-handled axe spun around, those who tried to block were swept by the wind. To their surprise, it was none other than the Hui tribe warrior Pusa, who had been exiled by his own father. Following closely behind him were his men, which by this time had increased in number to more than seventy men. All were staking their life to fight to the death; all were unstoppably brave. Although their number was pathetically smallpared to the opponent, their power was concentrated, plus they were taking advantage of the golden opportunity while the Golden Wolf Army was being maneuvered in haste. Under cover of the thick smoke, they seeded in cutting a gap, and in the blink of an eye they reached the bottom of the northeast slope. The three mens spirit was greatly aroused. By his own initiative, Xu Ziling checked and collected the arrows on the ground and handed them over to Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, to be shot out by the Extinguished Sun, Perished Moon, two bows, to support the assisting troops. Bugle horn sounded again, the Golden Wolf Army strived to block them, but they were one step toote. Pusas troops showed exquisite equestrianism, they simply rode their horses flying up the rugged and precipitous slope and came to the top of the hill. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Pusa Xiong did not bring any wine? From the back of his horse, Pusa leaped onto the top of the wall andnded nearby the three. Letting out a longugh, he said, After killing the Golden Wolf thieves, I will certainly drink my fill until daybreak with three gentlemen. None of his men was not a martial art master, veteran of a hundred battles. Without needing any instruction, each one upied a strategic point, and immediately shot the Golden Wolf Army back down the slope, sessfully establishing defensive line. Toward Pusas supremely honorable and righteous action, all three mens heart was intensely strengthened, as well as extremely grateful. Grabbing Pusas solid shoulders, Ba Fenghan said, I, Ba Fenghan make you a friend. No! A brother. Casting his gaze in the direction of the fluttering Golden Wolf banner, Pusa said with a sigh, Frankly, I was really struggling whether I shoulde to throw away my life together with you. But I know my own affair; if I let three gentlemen fighting to the death in here, although I, Pusa, can live alone, I will definitely not pass my days in happinesster on. And then he shouted loudly at Xielis direction, Xieli baby, I, Pusa, do not consider you worthy in my eyes; I want to see what are you going to do to me? Xiely angrily shouted back, Ignorant baby, you want to die with them, Ill help you aplishing your aim. The fire on the northeast subsided. Although it still emitted a bit of smoke, it no longer posed any threat. Pusas men brought the horses into the ground level, but the men spread out across the top of the hill in tight formation, waiting and ready. With the addition of this batch of fresh force troops, Kou Zhong, three mens fighting spirit received big boost. Using the fastest method they picked up the arrows and darts that the Golden Wolf Army had shot up, ready to be shot back at the enemys face. Amidst the sound of bugle horn, the Golden Wolf Army was advancing slowly, deploying the third round of the big attack. Pusa said in praise, I really dont understand, relying on your, three mens strength, how did you keep the lid on Xieli for that long? Xu Ziling smiled and said, You will understand very soon. The sound of battle cry sprang up everywhere. Like a tide, the Golden Wolf Army charged up the hill. This time, they were employing different tactic; using a clear style of shield and saber wielder infantry, they attack upward along the slopes on all four sides. Evidently they wanted to consume their arrows first. Ba Fenghan said, Kou Zhong and I will defend the high tform. Kou Zhong already leaped up and shouted loudly, Those who are not afraid of death,e! The attack and defense battle was in full swing on all sides. Under the shroud of the Extinguished Sun, Perished Moon, two bows terrifying formidable power, the arrows shot at the enemy attacking up like flying locusts so that the dead and injured were piled in a heap, but their supply of arrows was used up rapidly as well. Standing on top of the slope, Xu Ziling shot thest arrow, shattering the shield and prating the enemys chest, sending him flying down the hill. Retreat to the city gate tower! he shouted loudly. Everybody hurriedly withdrew to the city gate tower. Who would have thought that the Golden Wolf Army also retreated down the slope? Naturally they knew that it was not out of Xielis kindness to give them a bit of rest, but he wanted to use fresh force army to rece the injured and weary warriors, tounch another round of violent attack on them. Xu Ziling defended the south gate alone, while the others set up their defense on the city wall tform. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan leaped back onto the city wall tform, but they saw inside and outside the Helian Fort lying corpses were everywhere; the scene was tragic, a silent disy of the cruelty of war in its most terrifying form. His heroism reaching to the clouds, Pusa shouted, Brothers, to be able to fight to the death at Helian Fort with Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling, whose names shook the world, there is no regret. The speech was made in Hui tribenguage. The crowd of Hui warriors responded thunderously, their fighting spirit reached its highest level. Bugle horn suddenly sounded again. Concentrated at the bottom of the south slope, the five-hundred-man army shouted together and charged up the hill. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Fully aware that they areing to throw away their life, yet they are still rushing that quickly? Its really strange. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Not only Shaoshuai views death as a return home, you also view deadly battle as a game. My admiration, my admiration. All of a sudden the fort was surrounded by the Tujue cavalry. Arrows and darts were sprinkling up like torrential rain, everybody hid behind the thick wall, quietly waiting for the moment where the enemy would leap up to attack. The first line of dawn appeared at the northeastern horizon of the prairie, the Golden Wolf Army, which had suffered disastrous dead and wounded, withdrew to the ins. Yet nobody had any sense of victory at all, simply because everybody knew that it would be difficult to withstand the enemys next round of attack. Without the cover of the night, their defeat mighte faster and more disastrous. Including Kou Zhong, three men, they only had thirty-eight men left, five of whom were seriously injured that they were unable to continue fighting. Everybody was unbearable exhausted, andrge amount of blood loss had made them close to copsing. The Golden Wolf banner was gradually approaching. The offensive this time would be under Xielis personalmand, utilizing the most elite of his personal guards, to end the bitter battle that has been continuing the whole night. Returning to the city wall tform, Xu Ziling said with a bitter smile, I hope Xieli would fight at the head of his troops, taking the lead to charge up; perhaps we could call on him to apany us in the burial. Shaking his head, Pusa said, That is not Xielis style. His greatest enemy is Tuli; therefore, he cant possibly risk his life for us. Ba Fenghans gaze swept past the distant ce of the prairie, and then back to the charred mountain top all around and the dead bodies scattered everywhere. He said, The enemys casualty is over five hundred. Although it has no effect on Xielis military strength, but it definitely renders a big blow on the Golden Wolf Armys acute spirit. If Tuli could rush over in time, perhaps he could score a ferocious victory, so that in short term, Xieli wont dare to invade to the east. Kou Zhongughed and said, Listening to the tone of Old Bas voice, it appears that there is no more hatred toward Tuli. And then he spoke heavily, I hope Tuli could take revenge and wipe out a grudge for us. Come! Everybody looked down the south slope, only to see the Golden Wolf Army divided itself into three groups, waiting for action after having umted their energy. Kou Zhongs eyes fell on Xiang Yushan mingling among Xielis group of men. Xiang Yushan, he roared, If I, Kou Zhong, do not die this time, I will definitely take thy life as a sacrifice for Su Jies spirit. Tonyukuk shouted back, Death is near at hand, you still dare to speak conceited nonsense. Xieli was about to give an order, sound of hoof beats suddenly came from the northeast, from afar buting near. By listening to the sound of the hoof beats, the iing riders must be in the thousands. None on Xielis side did not have his countenance changed. Book 39 - 11 – Converting Enemy into Friend The Golden Wolf Army retreated in haste. The orderly reinforcement troops formation ran fast from the northeast direction, heading toward the troops formation at the southern slope of the Helian Fort. ck Wolf banner was fluttering with the rising of the red sun, showing that the other hegemon of the Eastern Tujue, barely second only to Xieli, Tulis good-self has personallye. The new arrivals were the vanguard regiment of the ck Wolf Army, consisted of two thousand riders. The high-ranking military officer leading the regiment, both in terms of build and appearance, bore striking resemnce to Tuli, but he was younger than Tuli. He saluted toward the men on the Helian Fort from a distance, but did not raise his voice to greet them. His mind was focused entirely on keeping a constant distance with the Golden Wolf Army, both to guard against theirunching sudden counterattack, but more importantly to watch the other side closely to see whether there was any opportunity that he could exploit. Coming back from the deaths door, everybody secretly cried, Lucky! Pusa said, This general must be Tulis younger brother Jieshelu. My understanding is that this man is brave and good at fighting; he is Tulis right arm. The sound of hoof beats arose again. Tulis armys main force appeared on the northeast horizon, galloping over at full speed. The army appeared to be at its peak. Although the military strength was at fifteen thousand men, which was only half of Xielis troops, it carried a stake-it-all momentum. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, This time Xielis in danger. Surprised, Kou Zhong said, Xielis military strength is more than double Tulis; why do you, LaoGe say such thing? Xu Ziling also said, Although because he is failing to besiege us Xielis acute spirit has been reduced, but his strength is not damaged. None of the Golden Wolf Army is not a veteran of a hundred battles. In frontal confrontation, to whom the deer falls is still hard to foresee. Yet Pusa did not stop nodding his head and smiled, showing that he understood why Ba Fenghan made such judgment. Ba Fenghan kept his eyes on the gradually approaching big army; he spoke heavily, On the prairie, the decline of one tribe represents the rise of another tribe. Since the rise of the Tujue Great Khan Shidianmi, who led ten big tribal chiefs,manding a hundred-thousand-strong army, defeating Rouran, and establishing nomadic khanate which prestige was more powerful than the Xiongnus domain of the ancient times, founding the tent capital [of nomadic people] at Yudu of Mount Jin, various tribes of the prairie, none was not scared into submission. Althoughter on it split up into two khanates, East and West, but in the prairie it is still without any rival. Pusa added, Since Xieli employed Zhao Deyan as the Guoshi, he acted on his own initiative to be involved in the national politics. Government decree became severelyplicated, the peoples heart disintegrate, all the original ministers who belong to various tribes of the Eastern Tujue are having the intention to revolt. Now Xieli and Tuli be estranged, to the various tribes who are at odds with him, it is indeed huge good news. Therefore, as long as Tuli can score a few beautiful victories, to show that he has the strength to contend against Xieli, he will win over the support of all big powers of this region. Wouldnt you agree that Xieli is in danger? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly realized that in the past, whenever the Tujue invaded, they were always in collusion with other nomadic tribes. If they were able to break this kind of unity among the various ethnic groups outside the Great Wall, the Central ins would have the opportunity to take a breather. A group of riders rushed out of the main forces, the leader was, surprisingly, Tuli himself, they headed straight toward the Helian Fort. Ba Fenghan moved back a little, but as if they agreed by chance, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were closing in on him, and grabbed him tightly from left and right. Kou Zhong said, LaoGe, for mine and Zilings sake, is it possible to write off your former hatred and old enmity with Tuli at one stroke? Smiling bitterly, Ba Fenghan said, Right now Xiaodis legs go soft, even if I want to walk away, I have the mind but not the strength, why do you need to detain me like arresting a prisoner? This exchange was in Hannguage, hence Pusa only looked on without understanding what was going on. What happened? he asked in astonishment. Xu Ziling let go of Ba Fenghan, and spoke to Tuli, who was rushing up the south slope, Well have to trouble Khan toe up here; we are having problem even to walk. Tuli roared inughter and said, Did you learn your Tujuenguage from Fenghan Xiong? Its almost better than Xiaodis Hannguage. Hearing Tuli addressed Ba Fenghan as brother, Kou Zhong was relieved; greatly delighted, he said, Looking at your appearance, it seems like you already knew that we are in here? Raising his voice, Pusa said, Pusa pays his respect to Khan! Together with his men, they all saluted. Tuli leaped down from the horses back. With a somersault, hended in the middle of the crowd. Rushing forward, he grabbed Ba Fenghans shoulders and said with a longughter, You are Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings brother, hence you are my, Tulis brother. Other things need not be mentioned. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were very grateful. Tuli was worthy to be the good brother with whom they went through life and death together. Ba Fenghanughed aloud. He grabbed Tulis hands in return and spoke resolutely, Looks like even if I dont want to be brothers with you, I simply cant. Tuli let go of Ba Fenghan and came over to Pusa; stretching out his arms, he said, You should know how grateful I am to you. If you did not disregard life and death to help these three brothers of mine, I would have lost them forever. Even if I could chop Xielis body into ten thousand pieces, it would still be difficult to dissolve the regret in my heart. He pulled Pusa into his embrace. Pusas pair of tiger-eyes turned red. Evidently he was extremely touched that Tuli considered him important. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling mused inwardly that no wonder Tuli was so popr in his native ce, because he had this skill to win peoples heart. Tuli spoke solemnly to Pusa, I dont care how fierce that old fellow Shijian opposing me, we, brothers will definitely help you back to Huihe, to retrieve what is rightfully yours. All the men following Pusa went down on their knees, some were so touched that they wept in bitter tears; finally their totally impossible dream had a chance to be realized. The fact was that Pusa has already reached the mountain-and-river-exhausted stage [idiom: nowhere to go]; sooner orter he would sink down to be horse thief. Yet Tulis promise immediately changed everything. Letting Pusa go, Tuli rushed over to embrace Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys, and said with a sigh, You finally came! Fortunately I have set up intelligencework in Tong Wan, hence I knew that you guys were trapped in Helian Fort. I thought I would not see you again, luckily you created a miracle again. This battle will cause sensation in the prairie, your names will linger forever in the prairie. Ba Fenghan pointed to the rising dust caused by the Golden Wolf Army, which could still be clearly seen at the edge of the prairie, he coldly said, This battle is only the beginning; Xieli is waiting for us over there. Tuli and Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Pusa came to Ba Fenghans side; casting their gaze toward that direction, five pairs of eyes lit up at the same time. Tuli spoke heavily, Xieli underestimates me too much. We will show the iron-d proof for him to see, so that he knows how extremely wrong he is. If this was not a special circumstance, relying on his superior military strength, naturally Xieli could easily defeat Tulis ck Wolf Army. But currently the Golden Wolf Army has been in bloody battle the whole night, the men weary, the horses tired, since not only they were unable to capture the trifling Helian Fort, they even had to retreat in panic, their acute spirit suffered a big blow, their morale was low. Compared to the imposing-manner-like-a-rainbow before they invaded Tong Wan, it was like a thousand li away, like the difference between the heaven and the earth, between the cloud and the mud. Yet the most discouraging thing for the Golden Wolf Army was more than this. Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling had left a very deep impression in their hearts, nted an invincible image, so that who among them did not lose their courage against the threes martial art and archery skills? After determining the real situation, Tuli immediatelymanded his troops to attack. Both sides made contact with each other, the Golden Wolf Army was unable to hold out, Tuli seized the opportunity to lead his army to pursue behind the enemys tail relentlessly, not allowing Xieli any opportunity to catch his breath and recover his qi. Several small-scale battlester, the ck Wolf Army gained the absolute superiority. After three days of hot pursuit, Xieli ran along the Wuding River toward Ben Lang Yuan [lit. rushing wolf in], on the undting hills east of Buir Lake, and only then was he able to settle his troops heart, and once again regrouped their battle array, preparing to meet the enemy. On the other side of the prairie, Tuli set up his camp with their back against the hills on the north bank of a tributary on the east end of the famous Qielulian River, ready for a head-on confrontation against Xieli. When the sun went down on the west, Tuli, apanied by Jieshelu, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Pusa, five men went to the front line, looking at the enemy ranks from the top of the highest hill, researching the strategy for tomorrows confrontation. Two li away, the Golden Wolf Army upied more than a dozen hilltops. Specks of me were everywhere, so that the hills were painted red with the fire. Flying high in the air, the Golden Wolf Khan banner was located at the rear, with all around the hilltop the camps were surrounding and protecting the Khans tent like multitude of stars protecting the moon. Kou Zhong said with a sigh, Xieli, this little devil really knows how to pick a ce. If I were him, I would use the forest and the hill as cover to hold out without going out at all. And then when we are discouraged, I wouldunch a thorough counterstrike. Smiling, Ba Fenghan said, How about tonight we grope in the dark into their camp and kill and burn, so that they cannot sleep peacefully, to see if they wont be discouraged. Xu Ziling said, That can only create small disturbances. One thing goes wrong, we might not be able toe back alive. Tuli agreed. He said, After all, the situation is still favorable to us, no need to take risks. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, Tonight is our only chance to seize victory. But instead of setting fire to several camps, we willunch arge scale assault. Everybody, Xu Ziling included, was stunned. After vigorous pursuit thesest few days, both sides were both mentally and physically exhausted,cking the strength to wage war; ording to reason, they ought to seize this time to rest. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, You see? Even you guys did not expect our troops mightunch fierce attack, the enemy would be caught off guard even more. Now, this is what we can consider real troops appearing suddenly [reminder: qi bing, lit. wonder troops]. Smiling wryly, Pusa said, Its not that I did not think about it, its just that I dont think we have the power to aplish it. Kou Zhong spoke with a serious expression, I am not joking at all. If we let Xielis men and horses rest all through the night, tomorrow everyones spirit will be trembling with excitement, then it would be our turn to be in trouble. Therefore, we must catch him unprepared first. Although right now the enemys defense seems to be invulnerable [orig. no leak to be attacked], the fact is that their strength is scattered. If we could concentrate our elite troops, in the beginning pretending to be the whole front is advancing, and thenter on gather them again to be a point and make a breakthrough toward the middle, with me, Ling Shao, Old Ba and Pusa Xiong taking the lead to open up a path, the target is Xielis Khan tent, just like two people fighting each other, to take each others vital point, even if he has men several times our number, he would still have to pack and leave before he finish eating. Shaken, Jieshelu said, Shaoshuais remark is not without any reason. When do you think is the best time to attack? Tuli asked. Lets pick two sichen before sunrise, Kou Zhong replied, After dinner, you, LaoGe, order three thousand of your most elite soldiers who will be participating in the raid to go to bed early, but you must never tell them what is going on, so that they can take a rest with peace of mind. Well wake them up just before the operation. Ba Fenghan said, There will be three-sichen worth of sleep, enough to recover their strength. How will the rest fit into this?Tuli excitedly asked. Kou Zhong smiled and replied, They can always wave the gs and shout battle cries! Jieshelu said, If Xieli deployed his martial art masters one step ahead to invade our camp and make a disturbance, wont we sink down from taking initiative to passive position? Ba Fenghanughed and said, On that, you dont have to worry. If the onesing are Zhao Deyan or Tonyukuk, we wont have time to wee them. But the martial art masters of next grades quality, leave it to me to greet them. It should be enough! Kou Zhong shook his head and said with augh, That is still too passive, not the best policy at all. Within these three sichen before our surprise attack, we ought to lead Xieli by the nose, depriving them the chance to take a breather or strive for the initiative. Drawing out a mouthful of cold qi, Pusa said, Is Shaoshuai going to send people within these three sichen to take turns in carrying out attack? With a smile on his face Kou Zhong shook his head, acting like he had a card up his sleeve. Although none of Tuli and the others was not a warrior with absolutely high ability and wisdom, they were still unclear what kind of medicine he was selling inside his gourd. A shiver went up in Xu Zilings heart. Kou Zhong was no longer the General Lu Meng of the southern state of Wu [idiom: model of self-improvement by diligent study] of the past who did not know anything at all about military strategy and tactics; rather, he was amander-in-chief devising the battle n in a tent, capable to win a thousand li, an expert in deploying the troops. Although fully aware that the day woulde where he would be such figure, but this moment seeing it with his own eyes, hearing it with his own ears, it still stirred up the great waves in theke of Xu Zilings heart. Kou Zhong looked up at the magnificent starry sky, and then set his gaze on the brightly lit, the dazzling more than a dozen hilltops where the enemy camps, over the approximately two li wide Rushing Wolf ins separating the enemy and us, and he spoke heavily, Supposing all the torches in the enemy camp suddenly stop burning, what would Khans response be? Shaken, Tuli replied, Naturally I would be on high alert, ready to deal with any change. And then, exhaling slowly, he said, I begin to understand why, with his rigorous schemes and deep foresight, plus profound elite troops method, Li Mi still had to lose in your hands. That is definitely the most convenient scheme to simplify matters or to confuse the enemy. Turning to Jieshelu, he ordered, You go back to the camp to arrange everything ording to Shaoshuais n. Jieshelu epted the order and left to return to the camp. Kou Zhong said, Our attack this time consists of three steps. The first step is spreading out to advance, pretending to create an all-around assault situation, so that the enemy has no choice but to separately defend each hilltop camp. Before entering the opposite sides powerful bows shooting range, our two nks adopt a false front of going around to encircle the enemy, threatening the opposite sides left and right wings, so that they wont be able to spare time to help their middle army. And then wellunch the assault to the middle, using a rushing-thunder, shing-lightning momentum straight to the heart of the Golden Wolf Army. This is called to capture the thieves, one must capture their king first. As long as we can smash the Golden Wolf Armys heart, no matter how courageous and strong his four limbs are, he will crumble immediately. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Ling Shao, do you have any other good proposal? Xu Zilingughed and said, I want to find a long spear, so that I can apany you charging and breaking through the enemy lines. Tuli excitedly said, Just let us, a few brothers, charging and breaking through the enemy lines shoulder to shoulder, to chop Xielis head off his neck. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, It would be best if Khan stays behind to oversee the general situation. If anything bad happens to Khan, it would be like we are delivering our heart for the enemy to scoop it out. Pusa also said, There is no need for Khan to personally risk yourself. Shaking his head, Tuli said with augh, Only by fighting at the head of my troops and to personally risk myself will I be able to make my generals to follow my orders. This psychology is very subtle; with me at the scene to escort and protect the troops disposition, the soldiers will stake it all and going all out to pursue the reward. This is precisely the main reason why when fighting against the Han army, our morale isparatively higher. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understood. This was the difference between the Central Earth and the outside the Great Walls army in battle. The emperor of the sessive dynasties of Han people, although there was so-called the emperor leads his troops into battle [idiom: to take part personally in an expedition], it was mostly in name only, unlike the chief of various kingdoms in the prairie, such as Xieli, Tuli, and the likes. None was not a master in tactics, they were alsomander-in-chief, veteran of a hundred battles, not just in name only, but also in reality, they went in person to be on the front line conducting the battle. The advantage was that when the supreme leader or themander-in-chief was personally at the front line, all military dispatches would be his own responsibility, no need to go throughyers of chain ofmands, which would affect the battle adversely. When encountering any sudden change, he could make prompt decisions, quicklying up with countermeasure, and from realbat, he would constantly draw experience to improve and innovate. For example, Emperor Yangs the emperor leads his troops into battle, he was just hiding in the back. Unclear of the situation, yet ordering people by pointing the chin [idiom: to signal orders by facial gesture/arrogant and bossy], conducting the huge army via the marshal and high-ranking military officers, big and small, just like a fat person covered all over in excess flesh walking around ineffectively. Even though he has tremendous physical strength, it would be strange indeed if he would not suffer losses against the foreign tribes that were as quick-witted as a monkey. Kou Zhong could not help speaking cheerfully, Your decision and analysis benefit me a lot! Xu Ziling said, Knowing self and knowing the enemy, onees unscathed through a hundred battles. I want to act as the scout, to go first to find a path, to see whether Xieli is making his men to set up some horse-tripping ropes, horse-trap trenches, or some other defensive measures like that. Tuliughed and said, Lets go back to the tent and rest! We Tujue people always put emphasis on offense and not so much on defense, we only use offense as defense, and will never use defense for offense. The only thing Xieli is going to do is to strive for as much rest as possible, to deal with the decisive battle of the prairie, which he thinks will happen tomorrow. Kou Zhong said, To know clearly the route and the enemys troop disposition will only bring benefit without any harm. Khan may want to return to the tent with Pusa Xiong first to exin our n clearly to various big tribal chiefs, so that they could make preparation at the earliest possible time. Frowning, Tuli said, Xieli might, like me, release the falcon, to keep watch from high altitude whether there is outside enemy sneaking in. If you grope around like this, wont it might beat the grass to scare the snake? Ba Fenghanughed and said, Dont worry! Even if Xieli has guts as high as the sky, he wont dare to release the falcon so casually. Therefore, while Tuli and Pusa were unaware, the three rose up and down the hills, using the tall grass and sparse forest of the prairie as cover, darting toward the enemy ranks. The fire and the first watch of the night at Tulis camp suddenly went out. And these all urred at the same time. In itself it was brimming with strange and mysterious taste. Naturally it was just like what Kou Zhong expected, the tense atmosphere immediately shrouded the Golden Wolf Army. The men already asleep were aroused by the shouts of order; they crawled out of their tents and enteredbat mode. Archers were waiting with their bows as the pillow. Under the glittering and enchanting starry sky, the three hid among the branches and leaves of arge tree, not far outside the enemy camp, silently watching the situation of the enemys maneuver. Kou Zhong said with augh, How long do you think they will be able to keep this situation going? Ba Fenghan replied with full confidence, It depends whether Xieli dares to release the falcon. Xu Ziling said with augh, Arrow God, get ready. Ba Fenghan reached behind his back to fetch the Perished Moon Bow. He said, This arrow bears upon our life in glory or death in disgrace; it must not miss. Kou Zhong said, If Xieli release more than one falcon, which one should we shoot? Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, This kind of psychic falcon that can be a scout is very rare, not even one in a thousand. The falcon that we wounded must not have recovered yet, he should have only one remaining. Itsing! Xu Ziling said. A ck dot swiftly flew straight up into the sky from the Khan tent. After spiraling in the air, it flew straight in their direction. Gazing at the ocean andmenting his inadequacy [idiom: feeling powerless and ipetent], Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, His Niangs! Unexpectedly its flying so high! The falcon was flying swiftly about three hundred zhang above the ground. The two divine bows added together, their range was not enough to reach half of its feather. The three looked on helplessly as it glided past. Can the falcon tell the number of people? Xu Ziling wondered. Awakened by his remark, the other two scolded themselves as idiots. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Ling Shao has always been the one with the clearest brains among us; we only think of shooting it down, but we never thought about its effectiveness to pose a greater threat by letting it discover the enemys tracks. Kou Zhong proposed, We are going back to the camp in three different routes. If the falcon obediently reported back one by one, then they would think that there are three separate men and horses going to attack the camp! Both Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan cried out, Good n! and immediately put it into action. The many stars were still illuminating the mother earth from the deep darkness of the night sky,pletely oblivious that a fierce and cruel battle was brewing before their very eyes. Book 39 - 12 – Spearhead Battle Formation 1 Chapter 12 C Spearhead Battle Formation[1] Thousands of torches were lit up at the same time, illuminating the ck Wolf Armys camp, which extended continuously across seven, eight hilltops C as bright as daytime, as suddenly as when it was extinguished half a sichen ago. When the Xielis side was watching and was very scared and on edge, on the ins of the enemys side, tens of thousand ck Wolf warriors shouted in chorus, Tuli will win, Xieli will lose. And then on both sides hundreds of torches were lit, brightening the dark earth where the ck Wolf main forces were arrayed over two li of battle formation. But the middle army was still in the dark, outside the reach of the torches light, brimming with mysterious, unfathomable feeling. Just the changes between light and dark torches immediately created the amazing efficacy of snatching-peoples momentum. Bugle horn sounded. The front row started to move. Separated by three or five horses position, the second row also started to move. These first two rows were entirely saber and shield wielders. The third and fourth rows were the archers. All along the middle armys situation was still hidden in the dark. Tuli, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling, and Pusa, five men took their position at the front of the army. Behind the five men were rows of three thousand most valiant ck Wolf Armys elite troops, who have had enough rest. They used the cover of darkness not to let the enemy see through whats true and whats false, so that the opposite side could not see through their strength. Strike the drums! Tuli shouted. The battle drums rumbled loudly. Following the cadence of the drums, the entire army, in high spirit and determination C marched toward the enemy camp. Pusaughed and said, Xieli must be thinking that we are tired of living, instead of sleeping we are rushing forward to throw away our lives. Ba Fenghan swept his gaze over at the enemy camp. The undting hills no longer had any tents, all the enemys archers were hiding inside the sparse forest at the bottom of the hill. Group after group of cavalry took their position on the tops of hills everywhere, so that they could see that when the hidden archers failed to hold back the enemy, the cavalry on the hills would rush down the in like a tide tounch ruthless assault against them. Strategically, it had no w to be attacked. Its a pity that Xielis opponent was not Tuli anymore, but the crafty-with-hundreds-of-changes, with wisdom-higher-than-the sky Kou Zhong. Under Kou Zhongs ingenious psychological warfare and the troops-deployed-to-mislead-the-enemy tactic, he made Xieli unable to fathom the troop deployment invading his territory. On top of that, the Golden Wolf Armys morale was already down, plus they were weary troops who did not have enough sleep. Once they engaged in battle and suffered defeat, it would be difficult to maintain their momentum and guard their troop disposition steady. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, If our entire front line sprint all the way, certainly it will be akin to following the path to our own doom. Tuli held high the Subduing Eagle Spear hanging on his shoulder. Revealing the smile brimming with confidence, he cheerfully said, Since bing You and Yan, two areas Khan, this is the first time that I am full of confidence that Xieli will be defeated. And then, slightly muttering to himself irresolutely, he turned to Ba Fenghan on his left and said, I was wondering if Fenghan would find the time to go to You Du [lit. capital of You] to see Badaier? Since returning from Luoyang in the south, she refuses toe in contact with anybody. Ever since the two relinquished their former hatred at the Helian Fort, this was the first time that Tuli mentioned Badaier to Ba Fenghan. The enmity between the two in the past was precisely because Ba Fenghan kidnapped Badaier away. Listening to the tone of Tulis voice, it appeared that he still care about Badaier very much. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, I will go see her. Kou Zhong, on Tulis right side, raised his thumb and said, Now that is a good man who is willing to assume responsibility. Tuli spoke in Hannguage to praise him, Shaoshuais Tujuenguage is getting better the more you speak it. Xu Ziling had a long and heavy iron spear that Tuli gave him in his hand while he was riding the Ten-thousand Li Spots. Suddenly Shi Feixuans image appeared in his heart. Could shee to the area outside the Great Wall to look for Shi Zhixuan? Kou Zhong leaned over and said, That night at the Helian Fort, before Xieliunched the assault, Ling Shao, your two eyes appeared to be shining as if you were thinking of something; I wonder if you were thinking of certain beauty? Was it Shi Feixuan or Shi Qingxuan? Xu Ziling crossly said, Can you not talk nonsense and ther randomly? At that time my heart had no care, had no worry. I was just thinking whether after we die, we would be the star in the sky. I wonder how it would feel like. Pei! Kou Zhong spat and said, Unexpectedly you are still deceiving your own brother. At that time I had just spilled the load on my mind to you, how could it not evoke simr reverie in your heart? Quickly confess, or else I wont let you off; starting tonight, morning, noon, evening, I will surely ask you one time. Xu Ziling surrendered, You, this kid, are really annoying, he said, Ay! Even if I tell you, you wont believe me. At that time I was remembering the first time beautiful Changzhu [ranch master] trying our strange dish. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Shang Xiuxun? The torches at the enemy camp in the distant stopped burning. This moment the ck Wolf Army was no more than three thousand paces away from them. If they carried out an all-around offensive, under the enemy-in-the-dark-we-are-in-the-open circumstances, certainly they would have to pay bitterly. Tuli remained calm and unhurried. After pushing on for a thousand paces more, he shouted his order. The entire army halted their advance. Ba Fenghan shouted in low voice, Its time. Tuli issued his order, the battle drums rumbled again, urgent and quick, brimming with murderous aura. The two wings, two thousand elite cavalry each C rushed out along a roundabout route, circling outside the enemys left and right wings. Tuli yelled, and took the lead to rush out, Pusa and Ba Fenghan on his left, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling on his right. Behind were the three thousand elite troops, like a gigantic dragon emerging from the dark abyss, charging toward the enemy ranks at full speed, straight toward the heart of Xieli. The rest of the troops continued to advance slowly, pressuring the enemy so that it was difficult for the enemy to concentrate their forces to deal with this giant-dragon-prating-tactic consisting of three thousand elite troops. As long as they could break a gap, they would be like a powerful current breaking the dam, dashing against anything blocking the way, destroying and drowning them. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhongs Perished Moon and Extinguished Sun were the first to release the arrows, traversing the grasnd, not-missing-a-thread piercing thru the chest of two high-ranking military officersmanding the archers hiding inside the sparse forest at the foot of the hill, as the opening act of the battle. Under the starlight, in the two mens eyes, there was only a slight difference in their visionpared to daytime. The two wing-units were only pretending to attack; they purely used arrows to pin down the enemy troops on both sides. Only the spearhead troops were the real sharp edge to attack the enemy. The sound of the enemys hoof beats was jumbled, they were roaring all over the hills. And then there was a long st of bugle horn, evidently Xieli finally figured out their exceeding-all-expectations tactics, and hastily maneuvered his troops into attack formation to meet the enemy head-on, but he already lost the key moment. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Little kid Xieli, we areing to take your life! His Tujuenguage carried foreign ent. In the Golden Wolf Armys ears, his voice was already very familiar, so that everybody knew without any doubt that the attacker was Kou Zhong. Arrows and darts came like rain from the sparse forest, but they weremitting a serious error; they picked the head of the dragon as their target, yet Xu Ziling, Pusa and Tuli, using long spears and shield, blocked every single one of them. It did not matter how many or how dense, the three took the outer left and right and the middle positions, like true qi protecting the body, not only protecting the head of the dragon, but also to give Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan the opportunity to have a free hand in shooting the arrows. Each arrow hit the target, the enemies were shot that they fell head first to the left and tumbled to the right. Their morale took a big hit. The elite troops behind them only needed to raise their shield to protect their body, as they followed the five men closely, waiting for the moment to enter the enemys defense line. Under this kind of circumstances, the Golden Wolf Army extinguished all the burning torches, but it was a wrong move in the game [of chess]. Cavalry was the most mobile and flexible assault forces in the prairie. Six, seven hundred paces of arrow was just a brief respite of several rising and falling breaths, plus this giant dragons spearhead tactic could rapidly narrow the range of the enemys long-range strike. The powerful arrows did not pose any powerful threat to it. In some ces, the front line of the Golden Wolf Army continuously fell, and when they saw that the iing enemies were Kou Zhong and the others, who had made grand disy of his divine might at the Helian Fort, their spirit trembled, their guts failed, unexpectedly they ran and scattered in all directions. The malicious dragon formation was like the sharp point of the spearhead, piercing and splitting the sparse forest area at the bottom of the hills slope. In the dark sparse forest the battle cry shook the heaven. On the hilltop, the two thousand Golden Wolf Armyying out the defense line werepletely in the dark as to what has been going on in the sparse forest below. Tuli, five men took the lead to charge up the slope, heading straight toward the top of the hill. The three thousand warriors following behind them remainedrgely intact. The soldiers in the middle were in charge of shooting arrows, while those on the sides used shields to block the arrows, and sabers and spears to pin down the enemy. This was precisely the formidable aspect of the spearhead tactic that Kou Zhong came up with. It does not matter how solid your military strength is, he simply focused his strength into a one-point violent attack, to clear away all barriers blocking the way, to advance courageously straight toward the heart, the vital point of the enemy ranks, grasping the initiativepletely in his hand, to use speed to defeat slow, to strike in the shortest time possible. Yet there was only a sliver of difference between victory and defeat. Were it not for the Golden Wolf Armys soldiers were weary, their generals tired, also supposing Xielis side saw through Kou Zhongs tactic one step earlier and concentrated their military strength to meet force with force, then there was the potential that the ck Wolf Army would fail and would be wiped over the floor. The torches were lit again. Although the light was enough to illuminate the situation, but the vicious dragon has prated the hintend deeply, so that it would be difficult for the crisscrossing-over-the-world-unhindered Xieli to recover his lost momentum. Far away at the rear, themander-in-chief Jieshelu knew that the enemy was in chaos, he shouted his order, the cavalry at the two wings position changed from feign attack to real attack; they pounded at the enemy at full force. The remaining six thousand ck Wolf troops pushed forward, pressing on the enemys front-line position, so that they could not divide their attention to deal with the enemys main assault force breaking into the middle of their defense line. Tulis Subduing Eagle Spear, Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword, Pusas long-handled giant axe, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, and Xu Zilings heavy iron spear mercilessly wiped out the Golden Wolf Army troops charging down the hilltop to meet the enemy; they killed until the opposite sides dead bodies scattered across the hill, the grass and the rocks dyed red with the blood, like a hot knife through butter straight to the interior of the enemys camp at the summit of the hill. From four sides, eight directions the Golden Wolf Army were charging toward them. Those with somewhat less courage would definitely be scared until their hands and feet turned to jelly, and would be trampled on. Tuli was the first to discover that amidst the magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, Xielis Khan banner was moving to another hilltop. Pointing at it, he shouted, After him! Kou Zhong took this opportunity to shout, Little baby Xieli, where do you think you are running to? His voice reverberated across the battlefield, the Golden Wolf Armys offensive momentum was immediately cking; they turned their head to look at the moving-away Khan banner. Knowing that Kou Zhongs psychological attack was actually showing amazing efficacy, Ba Fenghan roared, Xieli, leave your life behind! Taking the lead, he charged downhill, straight toward Xielis main force, which, by this time, was in between two hills. Surrounded by the enemy, the ck Wolf Army charged to cut a bloody path out, making an all-out effort to pluck the fruits of the victory. Battle cry from the battlefront shook the heavens, as the fight evolved into hand-to-hand, short-weaponed-soldier-fighting-one-another stage. Kou Zhong and the others were blood-soaked; none did not suffer any kind of injury. Of the three thousand elite troopsing with them, roughly twenty-five hundred men remained. It could clearly be seen how desperate the battle situation was. But everybody knew that victory was in sight, their morale soared to the extreme point, they were brave and unstoppable. Tulis spear thrust and pushed an enemy general off the horseback. Suddenly the pressure was greatly reduced. Turned out one after another the Golden Wolf Army on both sides ran away and scattered. To the valiant, unafraid-of-death, intimidating-the-prairie Golden Wolf Army, this had never happened before. The only thing in Ba Fenghans eyes was Xielis flickering golden banner in the distance. He increased his speed, and became the vanguard at the very front of the formation. Those who tried to block him were swept away. By the time he charged to the bottom of the hill, the Golden Wolf Army had copsedpletely. The torches that fell from their hands became hundreds of flickering mes across the mountains and fields, thick smoke rose up to the sky. From upying superior position, Xielis main forces were reduced to scampering away everywhere like stray dogs. By the time Tuli sessfully captured the hilltop, victory and defeat has been decided. Although Xieli was lucky to escape in the darkness to the forest, he was no longer an unrivalled Supreme Khan who had never tasted defeat in the prairie. Book 39 - 13 – Nobody Can Do Anything About I t The ck Wolf Army spent the whole day handling the dead and wounded on the battlefield, collecting the foodstuff, weapons, horses, tents, and everything else that the Golden Wolf Army left behind, the abundant spoils of war. The enemys remains were piled together on top of firewood and were cremated to ashes, while the wounded were captured. In this battle Tulis side lost more than eight hundred men, while Xielis side lost nearly three thousand. It was certainly a beautiful victory; its a pity that because the men were weary the horses tired, they were unable to immediately pursue and attack the enemy, and thus were unable to seize the opportunity to expand the oue of the battle. The dead were put together inside more than twenty tents. By nightfall that day they held public memorial service. They killed horses as sacrificial offering in front of the tents, to be used as a libation to the departed spirit. Under Tulis leadership they walked around the tents seven times. Each time they passed the door of the tents, they used the saber to strike their own arm and wept. And then the deceased and the articles, clothing, and all funerary objects were cremated together. Afterwards they collected the ashes to be brought back for burial at their vigester. After the dead were handled properly, the celebration began. The entire army built campfire everywhere, the warriors brandished their saber and yed their spears, putting their arms up to sing loudly and to dance. The aroma of roasted meat permeated the whole camp, brimming with the atmosphere of victory. Tuli, along with a group of tribal chiefs and high-ranking military officers, apanied by Kou Zhong and the others, made a round to visit every camp, to share their happiness and to encourage their morale, before returning to the main tent, where they were holding the highest level of banquet to celebrate the heroic deed. This victory was really not easy toe; the tribal chiefs and the generals knew that it was entirely due to Kou Zhong making an effort to offer advice. They also admired Kou Zhong and the others magnificent feat in resisting Xielis main forces at the Helian Fort. They held the three in the same regards as they would a god [idiom]. After three rounds of wine, Tuli solemnly toasted Kou Zhong, who was seated on his right-hand side, saying, From life to life, from age to age, Shaoshuai and I are brothers. When in the future Shaoshuai is striving for the Central ins, and you need a brothers ce, I, Tuli, dare to wear an oath on the grasnd and high mountains that I surely will go through water and tread on fire, and will not hesitate to do it. Jieshelu and the others, more than a dozen tribal chiefs and generals, also raised their cups. Their gaze steady, they looked at Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong hurriedly raised his cup, while his heart was surging. This promise was akin to Tuli showing his position clearly, in that he gave up Li Shimin and was leaning toward him. Tujue people regarded trust and promise of the utmost importance, this promise was certainly not a small matter, it would influence the changes in the Central Earths situation. On the other hand, Xu Ziling did not know whether he should be sad or happy. Now, Kou Zhong obtained the full support of two big powers, Tuli in the north and Song Que in the south. He was no longer powerless to stake it all against Li Shimin. Moreover, from the battle of the Rushing Wolf ins, Kou Zhong has demonstrated his intelligence in battle, which indeed awed the peoples heart. Even in Xu Zilings heart, a deep and immeasurable feeling toward this old friend, as well as a partner and a brother, started to grow. Shi Feixuans wish for Li Shimin to be the emperor was no longer as easy to achieve as before. The crowd noisily drank their fill. Tuli turned his attention to offer a toast to Pusa, who was sitting on Kou Zhongs other side; he said, After the general situation is somewhat stabilized, I will send my envoy to notify Shijian and your honorable tribes various big tribal chiefs to re-elect new Shijian; I want to see if they dare not to elect you. Pusa hastily returned the toast to express his gratitude; his face was full of joy. Before the battle of the Rushing Wolf ins, the old Shijian had Xielis support behind his back, practically he did not need to owe Tuli anything. But now the time hase that the power would easily move; naturally it was a different matter altogether. Tuli would also be delighted to support Pusa as the master of the Huihe. Apart from Tujue, Huihe was one of the powerful tribes in the prairie. Obtaining this ally, Tuli did not need to consider Xieli in his eyes even more. Ba Fenghans gaze was fixed on the campfire flickering erratically in the middle of the encirclement. Tuli cut a piece of delicious roast meat from themb leg and handed it over to him. He said, Xieli has Bi Xuan, but I, Tuli have you, Ba Fenghan; why would I be afraid of Bi Xuan? The crowd of generals cheered loudly while raising their cup to salute. While chewing, Ba Fenghan thought about Bi Xuans name. His pair of tiger-eyes shining brightly, heughed aloud and said, Lets drink this cup for Bi Xuan. And he drained the cup in one gulp. It seemed like Tuli has turned into another person; his heroism reaching to the clouds, he was brimming with self-confidence. I wonder if Khan knows Ma Ji? Xu Ziling asked. Tuli was slightly startled. A bit awkward, he said, Of course I do. I havent had any chance to ask you guys why you went out the Great Wall, is it rted to this person? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I have no idea how many people are rted with it. Du Xing is another muddled-egg that is rted with it. He even said that he is friends with you. Tuli turned to Jieshelu, Doesnt Du Xing have friendly rtions with you? he asked. Jieshelus old face blushing slightly, he said, From time to time he sends gifts to me, in rtion to some warhorses transaction. Letting out a cold humph, Tuli said, If he dares to offend my brothers, I will make him die without a burial site. Xu Ziling secretly thought that he still preferred the former Tuli that has undergone trials and tribtions together with him. The Tuli now had some kind of above-every-one-else feeling, an air of the hegemon that could decide other peoples life and death at any moment. Ba Fenghan proposed, Perhaps it would be better if Shaoshuai narrates the rise and fall of the terrain you areing faraway to the grasnd this time; maybe many things will be like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. One of the tribal chief general nodded and said, As long as it is within our powers, we will definitely do it for Shaoshuai. From this remark, one could see the difference between the nomadic khanate and the Central Earths ruler and his ministers system. In the Central Earth, only the monarch had the capacity to make decisions, but in Tujue Khanate, the leader was elected from among the big tribal chiefs. The army was also formed from various tribes. Each tribes tribal chief had a position of authority. As for Xieli became the Supreme Khan, he went through the same process as Tuli in ruling the huge khanate. While drinking and eating the meat, Kou Zhong narrated his story from start to finish, and then finally spoke fiercely, Ma Ji is certainly a key figure. If I can find him, I can dig the wolf-bandits out, Da Xiaojies eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskins will also fall into my hand, and then we will turn around to look for Du Xing and Xu Kaishan to settle the ount. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Looking for Du Xing and Xu Kaishan to settle what ount? These two fes, one disguises himself as a clown [in the opera], the other pretends to be a good man, surely they can push things aside nice and clean, are you saying that you can just chop them with a saber and kill them? Jianghu rules put emphasis on this reason word. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, You are right. These two fes are definitely slippery, its hard to catch their foxs tail. Laughing involuntarily, Tuli said, With me, Tuli here, you can rest assured. Lets not talk about anything else first, as long as you give me three months, I can raise eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskins for you, which you can report to Da Xiaojie as thepletion of your mission, and you can send people to deliver the goods to her. Ba Fenghan shook his head vehemently, he said, Eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskins is not a trivial amount; besides, there is not much delight in obtaining the sheepskins like that. I want Ma Ji to spit the sheepskin out. Tuli agreed. I understand Fenghans feeling, he said, What kind of thing Ma Ji is? Right now, if I want him to kneel, he will never dare to stand up. And then he asked the generals, Anybody know where Ma Ji currently is? I do, Pusa said. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong pursued further. Pusa said, I dont know where he is right this moment, but I know he is going to Longquan to take part in the ceremony of Bai Ziting founding his kingdom, and also to conduct a big business deal with Bai Ziting at the same time. The murderous aura in Tulis pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke in heavy voice, Ma Ji has the guts not to consider me in his eyes. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to ask, Bai Ziting establishing his kingdom, what exactly is that? Jieshelu replied, That is one conspiracy between the Gaoli people and Xieli, in order to control the Qidan people, to prevent them from interfering in the entanglement between us and Xieli. Frankly speaking, Qidan people helping us in secret is with bad intentions; they are hoping that our conflict willst a long time, that we will be in endless war, and then they can wantonly expand their territory, strengthen their power. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he took the five-colored stone out of his pocket and said, This was given to us by Meiyan Furen at Tong Wan, the Five-Colored Stone that she entrusted to us to be delivered to Bai Ziting. None of Tuli and the others was not emotionally moved. Evidently they knew the origin of this stone. Shaken, Pusa said, Is that really the Five-Colored Stone, the Mohe peoples subduing-tribe treasure? How could Meiyan Furen give this exotic treasure to you? Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan you looked at me I looked at you, thinking wasnt this stone snatched away from the Qidan peoples hands? How could it be the Mohe peoples subduing-tribe treasure? Stretching out his hand, Tuli said, Can I take a look? Without the slightest hesitation Xu Ziling put the Five-Colored Stone into the hollow of Tulis palm. Thetter took the stone and held it up between his two fingers in front of his eyes. He said, During your Northern and Southern dynasties [420-589] era, Leiluan has not been split up into seven divisions, their chiefs name was Mohe, he obtained this exotic treasure from the Persians, thereupon he used this as the ornament on the crown cap of the chief of the big tribe. Henceforth the Five-Colored Stone became the emblem of the Mohe leader. Later on, the Qidan invaded, Mohe perished, his people fled all over the ce, forming the seven divisions of Mohe. The most powerful are the northern sides Heishui [ck river] Mohe and the southern parts Limo Mohe. The other five divisions are considerably weaker and not worth mentioning. Since then the Five-Colored Stone fell into the Qidan peoples hands. Supposing Bai Ziting can obtain this stone, it would be like you guys, Central ins people obtaining the Jade Annulus of He n; it could increase his prestige in a big way, and thus it would be only logical for him to seize the opportunity to establish his kingdom. The three suddenly saw the light, but at the same time cried Bad! inwardly. Such object would only be harmful without any benefit to Tuli. But if they simply handed the Five-Colored Stone to Tuli, how would they answer Meiyan Furen? This is called Jianghu rules. Could this stone be fake? Kou Zhong asked. Chuckling slightly, Tuli, contrary to everybodys expectation, returned the Five-Colored Stone back to Xu Ziling, shook his head and said with a sigh, Such an exotic treasure, how could it be fake? But even if it was fake, it doesnt matter. As long as Bai Ziting pretends that it is real, it will still be effective. Tuli was worthy to be called the second most powerful figure of the Eastern Tujue; his analysis drew blood on the first prick of a needle [idiom: to hit the nail on the head]. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling looked at the Five-Colored Stone in his hand; he said, Now what do we do? I hear that the Qidan people might join forces with the Shiwei people to forcibly take this stone. Cursing in rage, Jieshelu said, That wh0re Meiyan Furen is really repulsive. It is clear that she wants to drive a wedge between us and the Qidan. Everybody nodded in agreement. If Qidan people butted head with Kou Zhong and the others, then it would be difficult to the pinched-in-the-middle Tuli to conduct himself left and right. His brows knitted, Pusa said, Meiyan Furen has never had any friendly rtions with Bai Ziting, why would she want to do this enormous favor for Bai Ziting? And how did the Five-Colored Stone fall into her hands? Naturally no one was able to answer his question. Greatly astonished, Ba Fenghan said, Pusa Xiong knows everything that happened in the grasnd like the back of your hand. Pusa smiled and said, That was the only thing I have been able to do. Tuli spoke calmly, Just consider me never see the Five-Colored Stone. Tomorrow I will send Pusa Xiong off back to your home country first, I will personally tell Shijian what a glorious deed his son has aplished. He is old! The older he gets, the more muddleheaded he bes. It is long overdue that he ought to give way to his outstanding son. Everybody was stunned. Just now he said he would send his envoy to talk to the old Shijian, but now suddenly he said he would personally send Pusa off back to his home country to seize the throne; he made the people unable to make any sense of the matter. Greatly shocked, Pusa could only stare nkly. Surprised, Ba Fenghan asked, Didnt Khan need to pursue and kill Xieli? Tuli sighed and said, After seeing the Five-Colored Stone, I changed my mind. If I send military expedition to Mount Dujin during this time where a myriad of changes might happen in an instant in the northeast, by the time I return, I dont know what will happen. Without any better option, I have to dispel this tempting idea; I need to pacify the inside before resisting the threat outside. If Pusa Xiong can subdue Huihe, I dont believe Xieli would dare to send his army to the east. Kou Zhong agreed. That is indeed a sensible act, he said, Furthermore, Xieli has learned a lesson, he wont be easily defeated again. Wrapping his arm around Tulis shoulders, he said, Laoxiong, we are going to part again! I really hate to do it. Tuli also wrapped his arm around Kou Zhongs bear waist, he said, Separating and meeting again, life is just like this. I really am grateful to you guys. Xu Ziling nudged Ba Fenghans ribs, he said, Old Ba, dont you need to see someone? Tuli said, Before you leave, you have toe to Youdu to let Xiaodi act as a host a little bit. Perhaps we wont need to wait until then, we could meet again at Longquan. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly you are willing to attend Bai Zitings founding a country ceremony? Tuliughed and said, He has enough guts to found a country, I have enough guts toe; there is nothing to be afraid of. He whoes is surely ill intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille [idiom], Tuli showed clearly that even if he had to move his men and horses, he would never let Bai Ziting be the overlord who unified Jinyin. This matter involved Heishuis two divisions Su and Mos armies. If the situation was reversed, he would have no more misgivings. This was precisely the main reason Tuli was willing to abandon his n to chase and kill Xieli. From another point of view, Xielis strategy in assisting Bai Ziting already showed result, which made Tuli unable to move a single step. Ba Fenghanughed and shouted, Tonight, we wont go home before we get drunk. Everybody roared inughter and drank. Tuli leaned over and spoke in Kou Zhongs ear using Hannguage, If we cant meet at Longquan, remember to go to Youdu to look for Xiaodi. I have a present I want to personally give to you. Immediately Kou Zhongs two eyes lit up; he tried to probe, Is it something that can fly? With a smile on his face Tuli nodded; he also spoke in low voice, Remember to get Old Ba toe to see Badaier, I really dont mind. Tuli raised his arms and using his internal power, he shouted loudly, My three brothers, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling join hands, is there anybody in the prairie who can do anything to them? The entire ck Wolf Army roared in response, No one! Their voices went straight up to prate the starry sky, shocking the mountain and fields and startling the grasnd that it trembled in amazement. At the same time, the three remembered the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. Book 40 - 1 – Martial Art Venerable Bi Xuan The prairie was on a teau, the area was vast, and within this region there were thousands andkes, big and small. To the east it reaches the Xingan mountain range, to the west the Altai mountain range, to the south it reaches the Yinshan mountain range, and to the north is Lake Baikal and Yenishui River, the upper reaches of the Irtyish River region. East to west isparatively wider; it is more than three thousand li, while north to south was only a bit more than two thousand li. Even galloping on the fastest steed, and able to travel a hundred li a day, plus without taking any rest along the way, and there was no obstacles slowing the journey, without a month of time, one could forget about crossing the prairie. From Kenchi Mountain to Xingan mountain range, from Wonan River to Qielulian River, Yinshan mountain ranges vast area, the terrain includes undting, not-too-big hills, ins, deserts and mountainous region. The yellow-sanded, vast and mighty Gobi Desert was located on the southern half and western part of the prairie. It was critically short of water, so that it became the barrennd that terrified the people of the prairie the most. The climate changes were even more drastic. It was very windy in the spring, a lot of rain in the northern part in the summer, and dry and blisteringly hot in the south. In this unique nature and scenery of the vast region, the most precious thing was the grass, followed by the water. These two were the fundamental condition for survival; one could not do without either. Whenever the water and the grass of certain ce were exhausted, it was time to move to another pasturnd, in order to resolve the problem of raising livestock, which gave birth to the nomadic livelihood following the water and the grass. Livestock was their livelihood; the water and the grass were the fundamental conditions. It was precisely around these two elements that the people of the prairie started their you-fight-I-snatch struggle for supremacy. Starting with the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Rouran, and the Tujue of today, the tribe was rising to seed the other, bing the overlord of the prairie. Some ethnic groups merged, and the merger formed a cohesive whole; some took refuge in a farawaynd. The rate of these changes was something that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, Han people from the Central Earth C found it difficult to imagine. Under these circumstances, none of the tribes that were able to survive was not valiant. They relied on military force to protect water and grass and livestock. Thereupon martial art masters came forth inrge numbers, capable people were countless. But a man who intimidated the earth like Bi Xuan, seldom appeared in the prairie; he was more of an unusual case. But today he finally had an opponent who had enough qualifications to challenge him C Ba Fenghan. The two battles of Helian Fort and Rushing Wolf ins have ordained that there woulde a day where these two martial art masters of two generations would stand face to face. Hulunbuir pasture, the most fertilend in the prairie, was located between the Kuolianhai and Buir, two bigkes. Currently, it was Xielis base of operations. If Tuli could sessfully capture this region, he could usurp Xielis position and became the new generation hegemon leader of the grasnd. Under the hooves of the three mens horses, the vast, populous and affluent Hulunbuir grasnd extended to the infinite distance beyond the horizon. In this beautiful region that was acimed to be the cradle of the nomadic people, the big and smallkes were like multifaceted clear mirrors sprinkling thendscape. Long and short rivers and streams intertwined over the ground covered by soft carpet of green grass. Flocks of wild horses galloped to their hearts content, everywhere they looked, there were waves of grass and fragrance of flowers. Standing in the middle of it all felt like falling into a beautiful dream that could not be described in words. In here, the most ferocious people were the Tujue, who considered themselves to be the wolves. The most vicious beasts were the real wolves, which hunted for their food in pack, and which howl alone was enough to make people trembling in fear and losing their soul. The tworgestkes were the Hulun Lake and Buir Lake, which are connected by the Wuerxun River. Entering the prairie from the east side, the position of the river course often changes, just like the nomadic people who are without any fixed residence. Even the water of the river itself from time to time changed from salty to fresh and back, but the fish were plentiful. After parting ways with Tulis main army, the three intentionally made a detour via this area. On one hand, it was to make people watching for the Five-Colored Stone, or perhaps even their lives, unable to ascertain their whereabouts. But the more important reason was so that the two visitors from afar, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, could enjoy the most moving scenery of the prairie. Pointing to about a dozen tents standing by a smallke in the distance, withrge flocks of horses and sheep grazing nearby, and several herdsmen leisurely watching their flocks, Kou Zhong asked, Which tribe do those tents belong to? Following his finger, Ba Fenghan took a couple of nces, and then said, Felt-covered tent body, bulging in middle but drooping down all around, those are our Tujue tents. If Shaoshuai like, we can ask for lodging over there tonight, so that you can experience the customs of my people. Worried, Xu Ziling said, Isnt this Xielis territory? How could they wee us? Ba Fenghanughed freely and said, In the prairie, every small tribe grazing their livestock is like amunity that is isted from the rest of the world. News do not circte here. Sometimes they donte across any outsiders for the whole year. When encountering strangers, they might be particrly hospitable. Everybody watches for everybody else. Hence the reason I hate horse thieves the most, because they are the despicable destroyer and robbers of this grasnd livelihood. Killing horse thieves is a redemption for myself as being a horse thief when I was young. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, In that case wed better take a look whether there is any business of killing horse thieves, perhaps we can catch one or two to y with. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, If you are holding on to that intention, you will return in disappointment, because horse thieves will never dare tomit a crime within Xielis territory, and Xieli is the horse thieves boss whose power is the strongest in the prairie, plus he is the horse thief who is capable of seizing a country and exterminating the entire tribe. Fixing his gaze forward, Kou Zhong said, I wonder if Li Shimin is at war with JinGang; hows the battlefield situation? Casting his gaze toward the verdant meadow, Xu Ziling said, I dont feel like thinking about anything right now, I just want to lie down quietly watching the floating clouds in the sky. Xiao Zhong, I dont know if you notice it, but after setting foot on this prairie, Thousand-Li Dream and Ten-thousand-Li Spots are unusually spirited. Ba Fenghan said, Thats why some people say that Hulunbuir is the birthce of the horses; just like you guys returning to Yangzhou, Xiaodi returning to Gaochang City. Although I am a Tujue, I was born there. This was the first time that Ba Fenghan mentioned his birthce. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong said, Gaochang! Arent Ferghana horses [orig. blood-sweat treasured-horse] Gaochangs specialty products? What does it look like? A hint of bitter smile appeared on the corner of Ba Fenghans mouth, he spoke heavily, Gaochang is located in a big basin valley called Turpan west of the prairie, in the vein sandwiched between two mountain ranges, forming a vast in. The south is the deste Grottago mountain, the north is sealed by the peaks of Bogda Mountain. Very hot during the day, and extremely cold during the night; typical desert climate. It would be great if we could pass it along the way! Kou Zhong said, Speaking about along the way, I wonder if along the way we will be able to kill the Husband and Wife Team of Evil Thieves of the South Shiwei Shen Mohuan and Mu Ling? So that Jian Dashi can resolve this matter for regret in his entire life. Patting the Perished Moon Bow hanging on his back, Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Receiving other peoples thing, naturally we must do things for others. But we may not necessarily have to suffer untold hardships to look for Shen Mohuan. If I am guessing correctly, he should be looking for us to give us bad luck, because not only he is Xielis hunting dog and w and teeth, we also have the Five-Colored Stone with us. It would be strange indeed if he is willing to let us off. They already passed the Tujue shepherds camp far behind. The sun was still hanging low above the ins, very soon the white cloud in the blue sky would be reced by enchanting starry night; in the prairie, the natural change of nightfall gives people a particrly intense feeling. Pointing to a tnd in the distance, Xu Ziling asked, What is that? The other two focused their eyes to see. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, It looks like a tent. As the three urged their horses to gallop faster, the ck dot grew into a tent, standing alone on the in. Ba Fenghan said, This is a mourning tent specifically erected to keep the body of the deceased until burial, otherwise, there wont be memorial banners standing on all four sides. Really strange! Do you see anybody? The two shook their heads with nk expressions; they all felt something was not right. It seemed to be very close, but it was not until the sun has disappeared under the ins that they arrived in front of this strange tent. Inside the tent, not a soul was in sight. The three jumped off the horses and let them eat the grass and rest. On the vast grasnd under the starry sky, it was dark and quiet without any human trace. Kou Zhong stared nkly at the mourning tent, which should have been used to keep the body of the deceased before cremation or burial. This thing is so demonical. This was clearly erected in our path; most likely it is waiting here for us. Ba Fenghans eyes slowly swept across the grasnd, searching for traces of the enemy; he agreed, This is the first time that I encountered such a strange thing. After walking around the tent, Xu Ziling came back to the two mens side and said, The strange thing is that there are no traces of anybody trampling the grass around the tent. Do you think we can do it? Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Its impossible not to leave any mark. And then after personally examining the grass around the tent, he said with a wry smile, We are encountering a real martial art master! Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Could it be Shi Zhixuan? In the night sky, the bright moon was low on the horizon, bathing the prairie in its misty beauty light. The night breeze was blowing gently, the night was as cool as the water, but the three felt the chill creeping up all over their body. No matter who the opposite side was, merely this show of skill was enough to intimidate these three extremely daring men. It should be noted that in order to visit Longquan to take advantage of the lively ceremony of Bohai Kingdom starting their dynasty, they have been hurrying without stopping to rest, yet unexpectedly the other side could the gods-did-not-know, the-ghosts-did-not-perceive follow behind them. And now he even passed them, to be one step ahead and set up this inauspicious mourning tent, which was simply impossible to aplish. I dare say this is just a coincidence, Kou Zhong spoke resolutely. He had not finished speaking when a cold snort came from the direction of the horses eating grass behind them, shocking the three that their ears were buzzing. Greatly shaken, the three turned around like whirlwind. Under the misty moonlight, a man was standing proudly among the horses. With one hand behind his back, his other hand gently stroked the mane on the back of Ten-thousand-Li Spots neck. His expression was free and easy, but his entire body seemed to be emitting demonic, strange, indescribably terrifying aura, as if the deity demon ruling the prairie in the dark suddenly appeared in the flesh in the human world. He appeared to be a man of thirty-something years of age, with perfect physique, his bronzed skin was gleaming with dazzling luster, his legs unusually long, making his imposing body had a reaching-to-the-starry-sky momentum even more. Draped over his body, the wild-hemp outer robe was fluttering in the wind. His palms were thick, broad, and big, seemingly containing the most terrifying power on earth. The most shocking thing was that he seemed to be brimming with the bubbling-up-in-the-dark the water of the ocean; there was quietness within the movement, and movement contained within the stillness, so that others werepletely unable to fathom his movement and stillness. His jet-ck hair was tied behind his head into a bun, his handsome, mighty, and quaint charming face was like cast bronze statue, without the least bit of blemish. Just one nce would be enough to make people cannot forget him for the rest of their life, with their heart palpitating with fear. Embedded above his high and erect, perfectly straight nose bridge was a pair of brimming with demonic strange charm, grave and stern, as well as in high spirits, yet would never reveal the mood changes and the perception in his heart C eyes, which gave the impression that he might make his move at any moment to destroy someone or something, and after the fact he would not have the slightest amount of guilty conscience. The man spoke leisurely, Good horse! Best to be buried as funerary object. Taking a step forward, Ba Fenghans pair of eyes shed with unprecedented rays of light, he shouted loudly, Is the neer Bi Xuan? Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; they would never have thought that they might suddenly encounter the able-to-move-unhindered-on-the-prairie-without-reason, his-famous-reputation-never-failed-for-several-decades Martial Art Venerable Bi Xuan. He whoes is surely ill-intentioned, no-one well-meaning wille! Bi Xuan showed clearly that because they helped Tuli defeating Xieli, he was angry and pursued them over to give them bad luck. Just by looking at his self-confidence in daring toe alone to settle the ount with them, they already admired him from the heart, because the three of them were definitely not fuel-efficientnterns [no idea, must be a saying]. Bi Xuan pulled his hand from the horses neck; he leisurely looked at them. His eyes were grim and deep, refined light was shing. A hint of grim smile floated out of the corner of his mouth, he spoke indifferently in Hannguage, Helian Fort and Rushing Wolf ins, two battles have made your name shaking the prairie, also made this person to abandon everything to immediately rush over. You can say that even in your death you will have no regret. Throwing his head back, Ba Fenghan let out a longughter. He spoke with coldugh, The prairie of today is already not the prairie of your, Bi Xuans olden days. The Golden Wolf Army had just suffered their first defeat. The next defeat should be your, the Seniors turn to bear it! Because he had killed the head disciple that Bi Xuan doted on the most, the enmity between the two was as deep as the ocean. The only way out was to settle it using martial art. Even without Helian and Rushing Wolf, two battles, it was already difficult to end well. Qiang! The Beheading Mystery Sword left its sheath, it pointed at Bi Xuan from a distance. The biting cold sword qi burst out. Yet Bi Xuan was not the slightest bit affected. His eyes fell on the Beheading Mystery Sword, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, The sword is a good one, but I am afraid it will only fail to bear the name Beheading Mystery. [In case you forgot, Xuan of Bi Xuan means Mystery; so the sword could be called beheading Bi Xuan.] His voice has just dropped, like magical transformation he already moved half a zhang away from the de of the sword, while his right fist struck out. Beyond the three mens expectation, Bi Xuans one strike did not create the slightest bit of the whistling sound of the fist wind; it did not carry even half a point of qi power either. However, the three simultaneously felt that all counter-offensive routes have been sealed dead by the fists momentum. Because Ba Fenghan took a step forward, Xu and Kou, two boys had to upy the left and right, two positions; naturally they formed a triangr battle formation. But this one seemingly simple punch from Bi Xuan hadpletely paralyzed the triangr formations attack and defense capability, leaving only one way to move, which was to pull back. Right this moment, a terrifying feeling of their body did not follow its masters will and wanted to fall forward suddenly grew in the three mens heart. Suddenly, pulling back became no longer possible. Still without violent burst of qi power, the entire space was boiling hot, as if they were in the boundless yellow sand, dry, sizzling hot; a dreadful feeling of severe dehydration like they were in the desert, left naked, being exposed to the strong sunlight for many days, and were on the verge of death from thirst. Yan Yang Qi Gong [lit. ming sun amazing/wonder skill], the name was surely not in vain. Bi Xuans punch was practically impossible to evade; for Ba Fenghan, who bore the brunt, the only way was to stake everything he had, which was also the thing that he was most unwilling to happen. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well sent out a violent strike, while Xu Zilings hands performed image method, but they were a tad toote. With astonishing speed, Bi Xuans fist momentum pushed on before it changed, the heat was continuously rising; it could not be estimated, they were unable to grasp it even more. However, it also looked like it did not change at all; instead, it returned to its original form of countless changes within no change. Such a martial art would take away the heaven and earths good luck to the greatest extent. Ba Fenghan felt that the sword that he thrust out, confronting this boxing skill, which was of an even higher level, became like a childs y, like he was disying his slight skill before an expert. Having no other choice, he roared, executed marvelous footwork, putting his capabilities in full disy, to meet Bi Xuans seemingly-changing-but-not-exactly-changing fist momentum. The Beheading Mystery Sword drew an arc, which was conforming to the inner essence of heaven and earth, wonderful to the peak of perfection, with all his strength he faced Bi Xuans continuously expanding until it filled up the universe C punch. Naturally Bi Xuans fist would not be bigger, its just that his momentum waspletely overwhelming and suppressing him, affecting his mind, so that it created this strange illusion. The instant just before the sword and the fist collided, Bi Xuan dashed forward, a nearly impossible thing happened, his pair of feet lightly pushed the ground, his majestic body unexpectedly floated about a cun above the ground, the fist changed into a palm, so the situation became he was pping the sword de from a slightly higher angle. Ba Fenghan did not have enough time to change move, he could only stare nkly at Bi Xuans sudden change;pletely helpless, he lost this move miserably. Bang! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shocked. Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword shook erratically from top to bottom, creating a buzzing noise of vibrating metal; his tiger-body felt like it was being electrocuted. He staggered back between the two boys, wisps of blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth. Lightning fast Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well hacked down, like drawing a knife to cut the water, forcing the heat wave to roll to both sides, straight toward the pit of Bi Xuans stomach. Xu Zilings Treasured-Vase Qi shot out, without daring to be careless at all, he met the heat wave and bust open a line of gap. Two great young martial art masters, giving everything they had C went all-out to attack this Wu Zun Bi Xuan, one of the three grandmasters inside and outside the Pass. Bi Xuan swayed to the left and right. The refined light in his pair of eyes shing, as if the lightning from the sky grew in the depths of the pupils of his eyes. His two sleeves brushed out, appearing to be attacking but not actually attacking, yet they met Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well and Xu Zilings Treasured-Vase Qi head-on. Bang! Bang! The two boys offensive waspletely blocked, the meridians in their entire body were burning hot, it was so unbearable that they felt like howling at the moon like a wild wolf of the prairie. The feeling was terrifying to the extreme point, so difficult to bear that they nearly vomited blood. Bi Xuanughed aloud and stepped back. Ba Fenghan spread his arms to stop the two boys, who were forced back behind him. His pair of eyes emitted unswerving determination, he fixed his gaze on Bi Xuan. Bi Xuan stood leisurely about two zhang away from them. His grim countenance revealed a perfectly satisfied smile, he shook his head and said with a sigh, After battling Ning Daoqi forty years ago, I have never been this delighted. Ba Fenghan, you can block my full-strength blow, it is enough for your famous reputation to endure forever. Ba Fenghans countenance was iparably grave; he whispered in two boys ears, This battle is mine. If I am unfortunate to die in it, use this tent to be my cremation ce. As for the horse, let it go free on the grasnd! Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings two hearts sank down. Based on Ba Fenghans haughty and conceited character, there would be no room for negotiation. The problem was that with the martial art skill that Bi Xuan demonstrated, even if the three joined hands, they might not necessarily be able to grasp it and victory was assured. In Ba Fenghans decisive battle, how could there be any luck involved? His speech was just tantamount to thest words of the dying. A master of Bi Xuans caliber has already reached wless stage; he would not make mistake, but would not take advantage of the opportunity either. Although the opponent was two zhang away, the three could no longer feel the night wind of the prairie; instead, they felt as if they were standing in the middle of dry, zing air of the desert. Evidently Bi Xuan was using the Yan Yang Da Fa [big method of the ming sun] to lock them tight, so that even if they wanted to escape, it would be difficult to do. Who would ever think that there was such a startling heaven and earth, sobbing demons and deities C martial art skill in the world? Furthermore, no one knew how to break it or resist it, how to bring injury to this grandmaster of martial art study. Ba Fenghans spine and shoulders straightened up, steady as a mountain he took three steps forward toward Bi Xuan. Their scalp went numb, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only follow after him. Suddenly the burning hot air vanishedpletely. The night wind was blowing again. Bi Xuans Yan Yang Qi was concentrated on Ba Fenghans body. Yan Yang Da Fa was like the scorching sun over the desert sky. At first it did not feel good, but there was no ce to hide, and in the end it could bake you to be a pile of bones. Ba Fenghans hand gripping the sword hilt was still so steady, Please bestow instruction! he shouted coldly. The Beheading Mystery Sword seemed to sink down, but abruptly it angled upward. Suddenly, the man following the sword, it moved into a long rainbow, just like a powerful arrow leaving the bowstring, shooting toward Bi Xuan, brimming with once-released-no-return idea. Bi Xuan revealed an appreciative look. He made a somersault in the air, unexpectedly he flew above Ba Fenghans head. The battle that Ba Fenghan had been looking forward to all his life suddenly became a reality in front of him. Book 40 - 2 – Stealing the Heaven Exchanging the Sun 1 Chapter 2 C Stealing the Heaven Exchanging the Sun[1] Before making his move, Ba Fenghan already thought about all kinds of method to meet Bi Xuans move, including the opponent leaping into the air, yet he still missed one, which was the Yan Yang Qi suddenly vanished without leaving a thread of trace. When martial art masters fight, even blindfolded, they could still grasp the opponents advancing or retreating movements from the subtle changes of the other sides qi power. The rity of their senses even surpasses a brightmp in the midst of angry wave at night, so that both sides knew the changes in offense and defense, so that it was unlikely that they might make mistake. But Bi Xuan unexpectedly couldpletely curb his true qi. This kind of feeling was even more difficult to deal with than being suppressed by his Yan Yang so that he was unable to move a single step. Although he could see clearly that the opponent was making a slight move, it was still like from being in the sunshine-drenched heaven and earth suddenly falling into a dark prison where one could not even see the fingers stretched in front of his face. It felt like suddenly everything was beyond ones ability to fathom; the feeling of shock and awed could really make one go crazy. Overhead, Bi Xuans right foot expanded rapidly, as it was kicking toward him, seemingly heavy, but appearing to be light C inplete perfection. If one did not see it for himself, one would never believe that such an insignificant kick unexpectedly could reach such realm. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could not help moving slowly toward the battle arena; supposing Ba Fenghan really suffered a big loss, they would abandon everything and do everything they could to attack. They had no idea about the changes in battle situation of Ba Fenghans feeling before blocking the attack; they only knew that when Ba Fenghan started to attack, Bi Xuan already leaped into the air. Evidently he had seen through the movement with which Ba Fenghan was going to attack. The rtive superiority between the two was clear without any need of exnation. Ba Fenghan suddenly felt that he was unable to change his move, because once the swords momentum was released, changing it would only throw his own troop disposition into disorder; he had no choice but to continue. With a cold snort he shifted to the left, the Beheading Mystery Sword thrust at an angle upward, it exploded into sword rain filling the whole sky, like a tray meeting Bi Xuan from underneath. Bi Xuanughed aloud. Without changing the original style his right foot stepped into the sword rain. An average-looking, nothing-special kick disyed the power of thousand hammerings [on an anvil] and hundred refinements, it prated the sword rain first, and then while the heel was not moving, the tip of his toes swept across, without missing a fraction of a hairsbreadth, the leather boot hit the swords de. Immediately Ba Fenghan felt that the meridians in his entire body were burning, swollen, and hurting; unexpectedly it created a terrifying feeling that he was unable to apply his qi or spit out his power. His tiger-body shook severely, the momentum of his sideways movement turned into his body refusing to follow his mind, he stumbled sideways and staggered back, losing his center of gravity, and was unable to continue his killer move. Like a piece of Chinese mahogany wood [Toona sinensis], Bi Xuans body seemed to be inserted straight into the grassynd. One after another his two sleeves brushed out, like a pair of butterflies chasing each other in a game of tag; but actually the momentum was frightening, he did not give Ba Fenghan the slightest bit of opportunity to take a breather. In this critical moment between life and death, Ba Fenghan disyed the result of his many years of painstaking cultivation. He converted the stumbling momentum into a big spin of his body, the tip of his sword pierced the two sleeves in rapid session. Bang! Bang! Ba Fenghan spun outside. Like a shadow attached to the form, Bi Xuan pursued forward. Ba Fenghan suddenly spun around, the Beheading Mystery Sword was unleashed at full force, rolling Bi Xuan inside the raging-waves-splitting-the-shore sword momentum. Laughing heartily, Bi Xuan said, Good sword! Freely and easily he used his two sleeves to parry. Seeing Ba Fenghan was finally able to turn the disadvantageous position into a position where he could both attack and defend, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling finally breathed a sigh of relief. Only Ba Fenghan, who was in the middle of it all C knew that he would not live much longer. Simply because this situation was Bi Xuan showing mercy; on one hand, Bi Xuan wanted to see his skills, but more importantly, Bi Xuan did not want Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to sense the danger Ba Fenghan was facing and thus intervened to stop him. Ba Fenghan discharged the tempting idea of summoning the two boys assistancepletely out of the sea of his mind. Being at peace with himself, he put his expertise in full disy, using life to win life, hoping to create a miracle. Suddenly Ba Fenghans Beheading Mystery Sword broke through Bi Xuans sleeves shadow. It looked like it was going to hit the vital part of the pit of this cannot-bepared grandmasters stomach, but the pit of the opponents stomach suddenly turned into his shoulder. The tip of the sword prated the flesh for about a cun, but was immediately jolted back. All these high-speed movements dissipated like a flying smoke. By the time Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling roared and pounced forward, Bi Xuans horizontal kick already hit the vital part on Ba Fenghans dan tian. Like a kite with cut string thetter left the ground and flew away, Bang! he fell straight onto the soft meadow. A wisp of red color flitted across Bi Xuans bronze face; he quickly moved away, and then said with a bigugh, After performing funeral ceremony for him, two gentlemen should immediately take a hike back to the Central ins for me. Otherwise dont me Bi Xuan for not understanding pity. In the blink of an eye Bi Xuan became a small dot on the edge of the prairie. Inconsbly grieved, the two pounced toward Ba Fenghan, only to see his eyes, ears, mouth and nose were seeping blood, his breathing had stopped. Probing his chest, Kou Zhong called out loudly, His heart meridian has not been broken, we must immediately try to save him. Xu Ziling picked him up. The Long Life Qi was continuously transmitted via his back. Kou Zhong then grabbed his pair of hands and converged his Long Life Qi with Xu Zilings. After circting the qi for three cycles, with hot tears gushing out of his eyes, he said, Ay! Shall we save him, or shall we let him die? His true qi has been kicked and shattered by Bi Xuan, his main meridians were broken seven, eight parts. Even if we saved him, I am afraid he will only be a handicapped person, paralyzed for the rest of his life. Xu Zilings tears wet the front piece of his clothes as well, but his expression resolute; he spoke heavily, Broken, and then stand; defeated, and then seed. Whether Old Ba can challenge Bi Xuan again, it will depend on whether Huan Ri Da Fa is really as divine as the legend says. The sun rose above the ins, illuminating the grasnds. Ba Fenghan was lying on the felt inside the tent. Kou Zhongs seven silver needles were stuck on all major acupoints on his face. Kou and Xu, two boys strength exhausted, their body weary already, they could only gasp for breath, while waiting quietly for the oue of their magic. After experimenting, testing, thinking over, and striving all night long, they finally seeded in bringing Ba Fenghan back to life, in recovering his breathing, as well as stimting the potential of his three meridians and seven chakras, and releasing the remnant of his true qi. As for whether they could repair his several broken main meridians, it would have to depend on Ba Fenghans own power and the divine efficacy of the Great Method of Exchanging the Sun. For Xu Ziling, before the battle of Helian Fort, where he used this method to let the three men rapidly recovering their power, Huan Ri Da Fa was still only auxiliary in nature. Rapid cultivation to reach the shedding-ones-mortal-body-and-exchanging-ones-bones was not really its purpose. But now that he had no choice but to use it, he had to hope that Huan Ri Da Fa would really have the efficacy of rebirth. Ba Fenghans breathing turned rapid. The two were shocked. Xu Ziling pressed on the qi ocean on his dan tian, Kou Zhong quickly applied his silver needle, hoping to wake him up. Ba Fenghans entire body shivered, his eyshes were fluttering continuously, with great difficulty he opened his eyes, but his gaze was empty like his mind was scattered, as he stared nkly at the top of the tent, as if he did not really see anything. Mad with extreme happiness, the two called out, Old Ba! Ba Fenghans gaze gradually became coherent, his consciousness returned. Struggling to take a breath, he looked at the two, his gaze showed disbelief as well as confusion, and then as if he suddenly remembered what happened, he spoke with a hoarse, weak voice, I am not dead yet? Kou Zhong found out that totally out of control, his hot tears rolled down his face, flowing through his cheeks, and dripping on Ba Fenghans chest. Shaking his head, he said, Of course you are not dead; you will recover, and be one good man again. This moment Ba Fenghan discovered the silver needles being stuck on his face. He wanted to move his body, but was unable to move a single step. Sighing, he said, Dont cry! I am most afraid to see a man crying. What is this ce? Has Bi Xuan gone? Xu Ziling was more cool-headed; although tears also filled his eye sockets, he was still able to resist, albeit with great difficulty, so that the teardrop did not fall down. He spoke heavily, This is still that tent. Although Bi Xuan took up a bit of small advantage, he also paid the price, hence he slipped away with the tail clipped between his legs. Smiling bitterly, Ba Fenghan said, Why did you save me? Living this way is not better than death; where is the delight in conducting myself? You dont need to lie to me. Squeezing out a smile, Xu Ziling said, We are brothers, why would we want to deceive [the word means coax or amuse a child] you? The reason you are able to breathe and talk is entirely due to miraculous efficacy of Huan Ri Da Fa. This method can also help you fully recover your power, so much so that it will be even stronger than before. As long as you train ording to the method, you can repair the broken meridians. Helping him speaking, Kou Zhong said, There has never been anybody able to master Huan Ri Da Fa, because only after being broken one can stand, only after defeat one would seed. You, LaoGe are currently broken and defeated, precisely the good opportunity to train Huan Ri Da Fa. You must never give up; otherwise, even if you want to kill yourself, you will need to ask us for help. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes emitted a glimmer of hope, he asked, How do you train it? Xu Ziling said, From now on, we will take turns in injecting the true qi into your body, but it is up to you to guide it, relying on your willpower to rouse the life force hidden deep beneath the surface. I will recite the theory for you, LaoGe to listen to. Very well! Ba Fenghan said, Lets try it. Picking up the Moon in the Well, Kou Zhong said, I am going outside to keep watch. By dusk that day, Ba Fenghan was fast asleep. The silver needles on his face have been removed. Kou Zhong took the horses to a small brook nearby to drink, and when he returned, he entered the tent and sat by Xu Zilings side. Hows his condition? he asked. Xu Ziling replied, We will see the progress tonight. Up to this point, Old Ba has been keeping up with the theory of the Huan Ri Da Fa; he has stimted self-equipped, self-sufficient hidden potential and life force inside the treasure-house within the body like Niang mentioned. The clotted blood within his five viscera and six bowels has already dissipated eighty, ny-percent. The question is whether his broken meridians can be connected again. Right now he is not asleep, but is entering the absolute rxed state of rest, no man, no self; this is the genuine Zen meditation. Can he hear us talking? Kou Zhong asked. He shouldnt be able to, Xu Ziling replied, Because he must use his own supreme determination to strive with all his strength to hasten the stimtion of the life force within his body. The theory says: from a thought or an extinguished thought, life extinguished to the greatest extend, from the deathes the life force. This is called the power of thought. In this critical moment between life and death, you and I can only bear the responsibility of bing the protector. Everything will have to depend on his own good luck. Supposing ... ay ... Kou Zhong was very scared and on edge, Supposing what? he asked, Dont just talk and stop, all right? Xu Ziling dejectedly said, Only Laotianye knows whether in this kind of life extinguished to the greatest extend Huan Ri Da Fa would take effect in Old Ba. Supposing by tomorrow morning he cannot repair his broken meridians, we will be forced to put our hands to make him whole, and then well look for Bi Xuan to stake everything against him. Kou Zhong said, The theory says, life extinguished to the greatest extend, from the deathes the life force and so on, I am sure Heaven will help the worthy. Ay! My Niang, you are right; perhaps these mnemonics were created to be recited smoothly. I just hope that this time will be the exception. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Too much thinking wont help. Bi Xuan is formidable way beyond our imagination. Now I begin to understand that the saying theres heaven above the heaven, theres a man beyond a man [idiom: in the wider world there are people more talented than oneself] is not just random talk. Kou Zhong said, Bi Xuan originally decided to take our three little lives, to kill us all that not even a half remains; who would have thought that we are more formidable than he thought? In the face of his life extinguished to the greatest extend, Old Ba struck back and wounded him, only then was he unable to continue his murderous hands toward the two of us. Would you say that after his injury is healed he woulde to chase and kill us again? That possibility is very high, Xu Ziling replied, What do we do? Old Ba must not move now; if we wake him up his previous achievement will be wasted, there is no hope of recovery. Kou Zhong reached out to feel the felt on which Ba Fenghan was lying, which was taken from their traveling bag. He said, Although a bit difficult, as long as we are a bit more careful, each of us grab two corners of the felt, wont we be able to carry him out without disturbing him? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Where will we take him? If it is too far, we might not be able to endure. Kou Zhong said, Just now when I took the horses to drink, there is a big forest by the brook. Over there will always be safer than this inauspicious tent. Afterwards I will burn this mourning tent, and take the horse riding all over the ce to trample the grass, to create a false appearance to confuse the enemy. I will go far beforeing back along the river. Even if Bi Xuans intelligence surpasses others, he will need a big headed Buddha. Xu Ziling said, If it is only Bi Xuan, one person, we can still stake everything against him and die together. What scares me the most is that if the onesing are Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, and hundreds or thousands of Golden Wolf Army. Lets do it! With the rumbling sound of hoof beats, more than thirty riders were galloping over. Reaching the burned-to-ashes mourning tent, they dismounted their horses to examine it. A falcon was released from among the crowd. It soared into the sky, spiraled in the air, and flew away. Hiding on top of a tree, Kou Zhong leaned over to whisper in Xu Zilings ear, Do you see Bi Xuan? Under current circumstances, Bi Xuan has be the nemesis who was hounding them to the death. If they were discovered by him, Ba Fenghan would surely be done for. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Too far, I cant see clearly. He is after all, a grandmaster; the words he said must count. In my opinion, it must be Zhao Deyan and that little thief Xiang. It is only they who wont let us go. Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong said, Let me go, Ill lead them away from here. By the time the enemy could not find Ba Fenghans remains or his ashes, they would guess that although Ba Fenghan was seriously hurt, he had not died yet. As long as they could follow the hoof marks to the riverbank, they could split up and search along the river in both directions, and then eventually they would be able to find them; hence Kou Zhongs proposal. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, If we have to die, well die together. The worst that can happen is that you dont know the way, sooner orter they will catch up with you. Dont forget that theres a pair of falcons eyes overhead watching you. Kou Zhong looked back at Ba Fenghan, lying in a clearance among the trees, and the horses resting by his side. He sighed and said, All right! Even to death I still want to get that Xiang kid to be buried with me! I never detest and despise someone this much. The falcon suddenly flew back. After making two, three circles in the air, it flew to the west. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly delighted; obviously the falcon discovered someone in that direction. How could there be such a coincidence? Sure enough, one after another the enemies got on the horse and ran after the falcon at full speed; they quickly crossed the river and went far. The sky was gradually getting brighter, finally the long night was over. Ba Fenghan opened his eyes. But it was quite half a dayter that he finally recovered his consciousness. Help me up, he said. Complying with his request, the two helped him up. Their hearts were pounding waiting for him to say something. Ba Fenghan took a deep breath; heughed aloud and said, I lost! Seeing the two boys dumb-bird look as they were staring nkly at him, he cheerfully said, Dont misunderstand. I was saying that I lost to Bi Xuan, but I havent lost to Huan Ri Da Fa. The two shouted loudly in great delight, they were mad with joy. Ba Fenghan tried to shake his arms; he said, I only mastered the first level of Huan Ri Da Fas fundamentals, and the broken meridians are reconnected. But in such a short period of time, I definitely must not rush indiscriminately to move the true qi; everything must flow naturally. The way I see it, I still need probably seven, eight days before I can fully recover my strength, perhaps it will be even stronger than before. You guys must not use Long Life Qi to help me anymore, otherwise my power might be greatly diminished. The two boys could only nod. Ba Fenghan reached out to put his hands on the two boys shoulders; he said, You are indeed my good brothers. Let me stand up. The two helped him up. Ba Fenghans gaze fell onto the glistening, dazzling tender green prairie outside the forest; he could not help sighing as he said, Only after dying anding back to life one can see how blessed and precious the beautiful scenery of the prairie is. Humph! A day wille where I will have Bi Xuan tasting the feeling of defeat. Let me go, I, Ba Fenghan, want to stand on my own strength. The two waited upon him to drink several mouthfuls of fresh water, and then they let him go. Ba Fenghan swayed a couple of times before he was finally able to stand firm. His face pale, he said with a wry smile, I am afraid I cannot ride the horse. Kou Zhongughed and said, Let us take turns to help you up! The two did not dare to tell him that they were still in danger, and that Zhao Deyan and the others might catch up with them any moment. Without any better option, Xu Ziling said, Wed better take another day of rest. We will hasten on with our journey after sunset. Ba Fenghan was stunned for a moment, and then he spoke heavily, Do we have pursuing troops behind us? Kou Zhong could not conceal it from him; otherwise there was no need to move him from the tent to this ce. Thereupon he told him what happened the previous night. Ba Fenghan spoke decisively, Even more reason for us to set out immediately. Hastening on with our journey, relying on the man-and-horse-as-one method at full speed, this is the only way to throw off the pursuing troops. Stop! Xu Ziling suddenly shouted loudly. Leading Ba Fenghans beloved colt Tamakan, Kou Zhong turned around and rushed back. Seeing Ba Fenghans deathly pale face, he could not help but was shocked. What happened? he asked. Closing his eyes, Ba Fenghan leaned against Xu Zilings back, saying, My head is very dizzy. Xu Ziling said, Its nothing. You only need to rest a moment and youll be all right. Kou Zhong got down from his horse to help Xu Ziling getting Ba Fenghan off the horseback and let him lie down on the grass to rest. The sun has already passed the middle of the sky. Although there was no trace of the enemy in sight, but the enemy might appear any moment. Several wild eagles were circling over a smallke and a sparse forest in the distance, making them feel that every tree or bush was an enemy soldier, and that the ghosts and deities were suspicious. Ba Fenghan closed his eyes; unexpectedly he was gone as if he was falling asleep. Anxious, Kou Zhong asked, Dont you think theres something wrong with him? Xu Ziling held up his wrist to examine his pulse; delight appearing on his face, he said, Not only theres nothing to worry about, we ought to cheer in joy. Huan Ri Da Fa has entered the second stage of seizing the essence of heaven and earth in order to strengthen his body. Old Ba did not suffer from the hardship of continuous jolting on horseback; rather, he is subjected to the effect of the sunshine and earths qi, involuntarily he needs to lie down for the Zen meditation. Originally I did not have the confidence that his power would recover fully, but now I do! His misgivings had not been exined, Kou Zhong said, Wouldnt it be like absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon? Would it be that formidable? Xu Ziling said, Not absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon, rather, absorbing the innate qi thates from the heaven and earth, much like our Long Life Qi. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I hope he wont sleep for seven days and seven nights. By then, our only share is to wait for others toe and ughter us. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, Bad! Following his gaze, Kou Zhong saw that from the direction the enemy galloped away the previous night, the dust was rising high into the sky, he could faintly see a group of men and horses rushing over. [1] Chapter title: idiom, to engage in fraudulent activities. Book 40 - 3 – Prairie Alliance Concentrating his attention to look clearly, he began to realize it was a false rm. This caravan ought to be some envoys from a certain kingdom in the west. There were more than a hundred knights, wearing chain armors, which hang down to their knees, their pants were tuck inside their tall cylindrical boots, their round-necked tops only covered parts of their arms C acting as the escorts. The most eye-catching was that all the warriors were wearing helmet with a crest on the top, which protective edge hang down to their ears, while also protecting their nape, so it was both a helmet and wind cap to protect against the windblown sand that was popr among the people of the desert. There were also more than a dozen camels in the caravan. The goods were wrapped up and fitted inside a wooden frame that was mounted on the twin humps of the camel. In addition, there were also five mule carts, each cart was pulled by four mules. Neither slow nor hurried, the caravan passed in front of them in northeasterly direction. They were watching the caravan, the other side was also sizing them up. Kou Zhong whispered, I wonder which western countrys people are they? Their dress looks so weird. Temporarily losing Ba Fenghan, this expert guides direction, they were helpless to make a guess. Xu Ziling replied, Camels are desert animals; their hats also function as protector from the sun and the sand, hence they must being from some desert area. With a loud shout, the caravan stopped. It extended all the way across approximately half a li in front of them. The leader was a young knight, which galloped straight toward them. The horse had a slender head and thick neck; extremely refined and strong. The knights body was valiant and robust, he had swarthyplexion, but appeared to be honest, considerate, and simple. However, his pair of eyes was extremely spirited; he must be a man with both bravery and intelligence. A cavalry saber was hanging on his waist, and a long bow on his back; an awe-inspiring presence. The two boys intuitively felt that the other side did not have any malicious intent, because the other side wasing alone to meet them, but also because the other side raised his right palm, which seemed like he was greeting them to say hello. Hurriedly they copied the other side to raise their palm to return the greeting. When he arrived in front of the three men, the knight unexpectedly spoke in Hannguage, My Han brothers, where are you going, is anybody injured? His gaze fell into Ba Fenghan, who was lying t on the meadow. The two had never expected that the other side actually knew Hannguage; they were greatly amazed. This was the first time that anybody beyond the Great Wall called them brothers, hence they also had overwhelmed-by-favor-from-superior feeling. Kou Zhong replied, He is indeed seriously injured and had to lie on the ground to rest. Laoxiong, where are you from? The young knight flew off his horse and walked toward the two. Stooping down, he took a close look at Ba Fenghan, and spoke in heavy voice, Was he injured by Tujue people? He should also be a Tujue? He is suffering from an internal injury. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, He is indeed our Tujue brother. Laoxiong, how did you know that he was injured by Tujue people? The young knight said, My name is Yuekepeng, Escort General under Jushi King of Turpan. Last night a group of Tujue people came to our camp to inquire the whereabouts of two Han people; I am guessing they are looking for you? The two you looked at me I looked at you, they started to understand thatst night, the target that the pursuing troops, Zhao Deyan and the others C were mistakenly pursuing was this delegation from Jushi Kingdom. Revealing a joyfully satisfied smile, Yuekepeng said, I told them that I seemed to be hearing hoof beats heading to the west, hence they pursued to that direction. Ha! Kou Zhong happily said, Many thanks for your help. With a cold snort, Yuekepeng said, Tujue peoples hands are reeking of blood, they are bullies; if I dont deceive them, whom should I deceive? Xu Ziling could not help asking, Jiangjun [general], how did you speak such a beautiful Hannguage? Yuekepeng cheerfully replied, During the time your Han Ming Di [Emperor Ming of Han (28-75), Western Han Dynasty Emperor 58-75] was ruling the Central ins, your honorable dynastys great general Ban Chao [(33-102), noted Han diplomat and military man] led his troops toe here to drive away the Xiongnu who bullied us, and established Duhu Fu [highest administrative post in border areas, fu refers to seat of government] of the Western Region. Afterwards the Han Dynasty fell, the Han army stationed there became citizens of our country, got married and had children. I also have Han lineage; hence I have high admiration toward the Central ins culture and learned Hannguage since I was young. The two mused that no wonder he called them Han brothers. Now that Ba Fenghan was injured, the road ahead was vast and obscure; encountering someone with Han lineage was a nice surprise of meeting an old friend in a foreign ce. Yuekepeng spoke in friendly way, This time Xiaodi receives the Kings order to deliver congrattory gift to the northeast Longquan; if you are heading in that direction, you could travel together with us, your Tujue brother could recuperate inside the mule cart. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted; but then he shook his head and said, We have offended Tujue people, if we go together with you, we might implicate you. Jiangjuns kindness, we appreciate in our hearts! Raising his thumb, Yuekepeng said, Many people say that Han people are faithless and crafty, but I can see that you are good men. Dont worry, Tujue people already believed firmly that you are not within our caravan. As long as three gentlemen are willing to be crowded together hiding inside the cart, I guarantee that they wont suspect a thing. Come! If their falcon discovers you, it will be a disaster. Inside the sealed carriage, the twofortably sat among the cloth and silk goods, guarding Ba Fenghan, who was lying down in the middle. Their three horses followed closely behind the cart. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Thest day and night was certainly the most difficult and frustrating time in our life, and now it is finally over. Dont speak too soon, Xu Ziling responded indifferently, One more day Old Ba has not recovered, one more day we do not pass in peace. Ay! For the first time I regret taking Meiyan Furens Five-Colored Stone; I am more afraid that we will implicate Yuekepeng Xiongdi, who sees what is right and acts courageously [idiom from Analects]. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Now we can only take one step at a time, which is always better than being killed by Bi Xuan. Another Han-speaking Jushi warrior, Yuekepengs deputy general Kezhuan said, Watch out! Tujue people areing! Kou Zhongs hand grabbed the Moon in the Well lying next to him. The two felt their hearts were rising to their throats. If discovered, they had no choice but to fight back with all their strength; they must not abandon Ba Fenghan, but they must not let the enemy kill the Jushi warriors who were helping them out of righteousness even more. The rumbling noise of hoof beats wasing fast. Tonyukuks voice shouted in Tujuenguage, Have you run into those two Han men? We have not run into anybody, Yuekepeng replied. The sound of hoof beats went away. The two rxed and cried, Lucky! inwardly. By nightfall they pitched camp to rest. The pursuing troops did not reappear. After helping Ba Fenghan, who was still sleeping soundly without waking up C settling down, the two boys joined Yuekepengs crowd wilderness banquet outside. Everybody sat around the bonfire. In the crisp and clear evening breeze of the prairie, they drank fine grape wine, which was passed along from hand to hand. After drinking two big mouthfuls of wine, the emotionally moved Kou Zhong said, This is the clearest, rich and delicious wine that I have ever drunk. Inside the iron pot boiling over the bonfire, the aroma of mutton soup permeated the whole camp. The warriors were very friendly and cordial, they passed on the food into the two boys hands inrge pottery bowls. Yuekepeng said, We have not asked for two gentlemens honorable surname and great given name yet. Kou Zhong did not want to lie to him, he frankly said, I am Kou Zhong, he is Xu Ziling. Evidently Yuekepeng had never heard their names; he cheerfully said, Turns out its Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong; both are good names. Out of curiosity, Kou Zhong asked, If I am to call Jiangjun as brother, out of Yuekepeng, three characters, which one is your surname? Yuekepeng replied, My full name is Yuekepeng Taguluna. Luna is an ethnic name, Tagu is my ancestors family name, and Yuekepeng is Xiaodis given name. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, In that case, how about I call Jiangjun Peng Xiong? Would that be offensive? Yuekepengughed and said, Peng Xiong, that is pleasant to hear! Xu Ziling said, This time we are relyingpletely on Peng Xiong upholding justice and helping us to avoid disaster, we, two brothers will never forget. Tomorrow morning we will go on our way, hoping that in the future there will still be days where we can meet again. Stunned, Yuekepeng said, Your Tujue brother is still unconscious, why not wait until he is awake to make the n? Kou Zhong understood that Xu Ziling did not want to implicate Yuekepeng; he said, Peng Xiong, please dont worry, we will find a way. Yuekepengs countenance sank, he spoke in displeasure, Dont two gentlemen regard me as a friend? Xu Ziling hastily said, Peng Xiong, please do not misunderstand, you are our brother forever. Yuekepeng resolutely said, Then lets wait until we reach Qidan peoples pasturnd before we go our own ways! A difficult expression suddenly appeared on his dark face. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Qidan people might not necessarily treat us better than Xielis subordinates. Knitting his brows, Yuekepeng said, What exactly have you done? Kou Zhong said, I wonder if Peng Xiong know that our wounded Tujue brother is Ba Fenghan? Yuekepeng and the Han-speaking Kezhuan were emotionally moved at the same time. Severely shaken, the former said, Turns out its the horse thief bane Ba Fenghan; I really failed to see it. In the prairie, who can harm him? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Who else but Bi Xuan, that old fellow. Immediately Yuekepeng and Kezhuans countenance changed. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, but the firm expression remained on his face, Yuekepeng said, In that case, I cannot but care about this matter even more. Ba Fenghan has gotten rid of two bands of horse thieves who ran amuck in our Turpan Luzhou [green area]; he is our benefactor. Joining the conversation, Kezhuan asked, Bi Xuans means has always been cruel, he murders without blinking an eye, plus Ba Fenghan is the man that Xieli hates to the bones, how could Bi Xuan spare his life? Kou Zhong replied honestly, Its not that Bi Xuan started off leniently, but we snatched Ba Fenghans life back from Bi Xuans hands. Yuekepeng and Kezhuan only returned a nk stare; they seemed to be unable to believe. Kou Zhongughed and said, Fortunately it was only Bi Xuan, one person who came after us; otherwise, we, two brothers would not have the life to sit here and drink grape wine with gentlemen. Incredulous, Yuekepeng asked, Have you ever fought hand to hand with Bi Xuan? Kou Zhong replied, The one really fighting hand-to-hand with Bi Xuan was Ba Fenghan, hence the reason he nearly lost his life. We only exchanged a couple of moves with him. After Bi Xuan left, Tonyukuk and the others rushed over to look for us to give us bad luck. In order to take care of Old Ba, we have no choice but to run around. Severely shaken, Yuekepeng said, That bunch of Tujue people just now, unexpectedly Tonyukuk was one of them? After giving brief exnation, Kou Zhong sincerely spoke, The one questioning you was precisely him. Peng Xiong has a mission at hand, its not appropriate to enter this murky water. Peng Xiongs kindness to us, we are extremely grateful. Yuekepeng suddenly burst into loudughter and cheerfully said, Two gentlemen must be very famous persons in the Central Earth, hence you can be Ba Fenghans friends, plus you are able to beat back Bi Xuan. To be quite honest, this time Xiaodi going to Longquan is to participate in Sumo divisions ceremony in founding the kingdom, but it is also for another purpose, in which we already decided to risk our lives. It would be better for us to cross the river in the same boat, working together in sincerity, for mutual benefit, mutual profit. What do you think? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly astonished, but they were also very curious; they mused secretly that when a friend is in trouble, naturally they must lend a hand to help, much less this was their benefactor, they must not to be shirked without dishonor even more. Kou Zhong spoke with determination, Peng Xiong, please speak forthrightly and freely. As long as Old Ba wakes up, even gargantuan matter, we can still think of a way. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Yuekepeng said, Have you ever heard about a man called Funantuo? Xu Ziling replied, Isnt he the Tianzhu Kuang Seng [Indian mad monk] Funantuo who incited Bai Ziting to establish his kingdom? The murderous intent in Yuekepengs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke hatefully, Precisely that man. Seven years ago, this man came to Turpan to preach his religion, and had religious debate against the Jiaozhu [Cult Leader] of Monijiao [Manicheanism] and Jingjiao [Nestorian Christianity], two religions. His eloquence was superb, his religious logic refined, he deeply won the acim of various kingdoms sovereign. He even established Tianzhu Jiao [Indian Cult]. At that time he was not called Funantuo at all. His face was hidden behind luxuriant beard, and he called himself Ku Seng [lit. bitter/suffering monk]. At that time everybody thought that he was a Buddhistw expert, a profound holy monk; those who were cheated by him followed him blindly. Who would have thought ... Ay! Was Peng Xiong also swindled by him? Kou Zhong asked. Yuekepeng replied, At that time I was still very young. My parents are followers of Nestorian Christianity, hence they were not swindled. But the kings of various kingdoms and tribes, none did not revere him as a deity. With him fabricating all kinds of excused, they donated money and presented him treasures; he also sought children to be his followers, until the Monijiao and Jingjiao, two Jiaozhu died suddenly. Only then did some people suspect that it was he who dealt vicious blow to them. But they were still one step toote. He took arge amount of money and valuables and disappeared without any trace. They also discovered that arge number of good-looking female disciples who had been with him to study the religion have been raped and murdered. This matter aroused huge waves. Our former king, because he had wholeheartedly promoted him, received the me of the people; he died in his sorrow and anger. This hatred, our Jushi people definitely will not forget. How many kingdoms are there in Turpan? Xu Ziling asked. There are altogether eight kingdoms, Yuekepeng replied, Thergest is our Jushi Qian [front/forward] Kingdom, the others are Jushi Hou [rear] kingdom and the Shan Bei [north of the mountain] six kingdoms. Two years ago, some people from our country went to Longquan on business; as chance has it, they ran into Funantuo. Although he has shaved off his beard, in just one nce they were able to recognize him. Kou Zhong had a sudden understanding, In name, your trip this time is to deliver a gift, but in fact, it is to look for Funantuo to settle the ount. In my opinion, Bai Ziting cant be a good person either. Eight or nine out of ten, Ill say he and Funantuo are viins colluding together, cheating your wealth to be used to establish his kingdom. Xu Ziling said, This kind ofscivious monk, everybody has the right to put him to death, let alone it is Peng Xiongs business; we will definitely not watch with folded arms. With a bitter smile, Yuekepeng said, The problem is whether we can pass the first hurdle, which is to deliver the gifts to Longquan. Because Qidans most notorious horse thief boss, Hu Yanjin, who has obtained the full support of Qidans most powerful Abaojia, has vowed to intercept the congrattory gifts we are delivering to Longquan. Kou Zhong said, If Peng Xiong took a roundabout route to bypass Qidan, wont this problem be solved? Yuekepeng sighed and said, If we bypass Qidan, we will have to go through Shiwei. I hear Shiwei people are in opposition to Bai Ziting and Qidan people forming an alliance. It is rumored that South Shiweis Shen Mohuan is even more difficult to deal with than Hu Yanjin. Kou Zhong happily said, In that case, it would be better to detour via Shiwei to lure Shen Mohuan out of his thief nest, because we are looking for him. Frowning, Kezhuan said, We dont know the way over there. Xu Ziling did not want to, because of their private business, disturb other peoples n; he hastily said, No problem, you must go following your established route! A bit awkward, Yuekepeng said, Xiaodi has not asked the reason why two gentlemen came to the prairie? Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, Originally it was just to get the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin, which had been robbed by a certain party C back, but things have been progressing in a tangled andplicated way. Peng Xiong suddenly asked, I suddenly find it difficult to decide where to start. Speechless, Yuekepeng said, Eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin, that is not a small amount. Who owns it? Kou Zhong replied, Bai Ziting was precisely the middleman, he bought it from Huihe people. Shaken, Kezhuan looked at Yuekepeng. He wanted to speak, but then stopped. Thetter nodded slightly, he said, Simr thing has happened to us. About three years ago, we bought a hundred carts of famous rice [paddy] from Bai Ziting. Along the way it was robbed at night! Several people were lucky to escape, but the rest were murdered. All along we thought we came across horse thieves, and never suspected Bai Ziting. Looks like it is not as simple as we imagined. Hearing that, the two looked at each other in dismay. Gnashing his teeth, Kou Zhong said, We did not suspect him either. Humph! If I can obtain the evidence, I will turn his founding-a-country ceremony into a funeral of vanquished nation. Yuekepeng and Kezhuan only thought that he spoke those words in the moment of anger, they had never guessed that he had a very close rtionship with Tuli, hence he really had the power to overturn Limo Mohe. Yuekepeng stretched out his hand; showing a firm expression of vowing to achieve the goal, he said, Starting tonight, we are brothers who fight side by side, we live together, we die together, we will never abandon each other. Kou Zhong reached out to grab his hand firmly, he said, No matter how difficult it is, we will definitely seek justice from Funantuo for your distinguished country. Xu Ziling followed Kou Zhong example by putting his hand on top of the two mens hands, and said, We will never allow cheatingscivious monk running amuck in the prairie. Kezhuan also joined the ranks of men swearing an oath by handshake. All four men felt intense emotion in their strong bosom. The sound of howling wolves came from afar, reminding them that on the beautiful prairie, which on the surface appeared to be tranquil and peaceful, crises were crouching in the dark. The road ahead would be difficult. The two returned to their tent. Ba Fenghan was still in deep sleep meditation state. After checking his pulse, Kou Zhong happily said, F*ck his grannys bear. Although Tianzhu produced ascivious monk, they also produced genuine goods at fair prices Huan Ri Da Fa. Old Ba only has two main meridians that have not been reconnected yet. It is really hard to believe. Very pleased, Xu Ziling said, These two days will be critical time. We must not let Old Ba receives any external damage. Kou Zhong said, Tomorrow we will enter the Qidans sphere of influence, we must not fail even more. Therefore, we now must have a good sleep. Ay! How many nights have we stayed up? Blowing the sheep horn windntern, Xu Ziling said, In your opinion, are the wolf-bandits Bai Zitings men? Perhaps even that Duan Zhu or the fellow called Guan Ping are also the hunting dogs that umte wealth for him? Kou Zhong breathed out a mouthful of air. He said, If your guess is correct, then that Da Ming Zun Jiao ought to use Bai Ziting as one nostril to breathe out the air. His Niang! We are going to Longquan to disturb him until the sky and the earth are turning upside down, so that Bai Ziting and thatscivious monk will not have any good days in the future. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, You seem to forget another problem that will give us headache. Niangs country, Gaoli is fully supporting Bai Ziting. If we interfere and mess things up, our feud with Shiyi [martial aunt] will grow deeper and deeper. Kou Zhong remembered the beautiful young martial aunt Fu Junqiang, whose fragrant footprints appearing suddenly at Shanhai Pass, but immediately disappeared; grabbing his head, he sighed and said, We can only take it one step at a time. Ay! Lets talk again after we wake up! And then hey down on the reed mat. Xu Ziling was lying on Ba Fenghans other side. Inside the darkness of the tent, his eyes were wide open, but Shi Feixuans exceptional jade countenance appeared in theke of his heart. He wondered if at this moment she was at the other corner of the prairie? Book 40 - 4 – Giving One’s Life to Save a Friend The warrior at the front shouted loudly, the caravan responded by stopping. Sitting low inside the mule cart, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you looked at me I gazed at you; both knew that something unusual was happening. This morning they set out at daybreak; up until now they were only covering one or two sichen of road. Were it not for encountering an unusual thing, they should not stop. The boys did not dare to get down the cart to take a look, for fear that the one blocking their way were the men from Tonyukuks side. Ba Fenghan was at the most critical stage, any disturbance might make it difficult for him topletely recover his power. Therefore, the two were particrly careful. A momentter Yuekepeng came to the tail of the cart. Kou Zhong opened the cloth cover and asked, What happened? Yuekepeng, with grave countenance, said, Ahead are three long wooden poles with three wolf heads that have just been chopped off, still dripping with blood C hanging from them. This is Qidans Huyan Jin trademark, the Bloody Wolf Mark that intimidates the prairie. If one was the wolf heads but did not immediately leave all money and goods by the wolf poles, they will kill the other party entirely without leaving a single life. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, When do they usually make their move? Its hard to say, Yuekepeng replied, Sometimes they acted immediately, sometimes they waited for many days while you are frightened, and then they attack suddenly. Whats Peng Xiongs n? Xu Ziling asked. Yuekepeng replied, I did not expect that we barely entered Yan Yuan and immediatelying in contact with Huyan Jin. All we can do is to raise our vignce, counter soldiers with arms, counter water with an earth weir [idiom]. Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Not good! inwardly. In the prairie, there was no danger that they could guard against, and now they had to take care of Ba Fenghan plusrge quantities of congrattory gifts. If the iing enemy numbered in one or two thousands, attacking from four sides, eight directions, how should they deal with it? Steeling his heart, Kou Zhong said, We areing outside to drive the mule cart, it will be more convenient to fight back as soon as we find out. The caravan continued their journey. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, using their precious horses to rece the mules, sat on the carts driver seat, forging ahead following the caravan. Passing the three hanging-high-on-the-poles, malevolent-and-terrifying, yet-also-pitiful C wolf heads, even with the two boys guts, they were still overwhelmed with shocking-the-eyes, astonishing-the-heart uneasy feeling. Xu Ziling took back the Perished Moon Bow that he had given to Ba Fenghan, along with all the arrows and darts supply, and kept everything by his side, in preparation for the battle. Yan Yuan [lit. swallow ins] was still charmingly tender and green, but the caravans mood has changed. This group of warriors from Jushi, who made light of traveling a thousand li to Longquan on revenge mission, ready to die, everybody was in the state of high alert, the previously rxed andfortable spirit was no more. Yan River appeared ahead, snaking away into the distance. Yuekepeng ordered the troops to proceed along the river to decrease the possibility of the enemy attacking from the north. On the endless in, apart from wild animals, they did not see any sign of humans presence. Yet it did not calm everyones heart. Qidans Huyan Jin, Shiweis Shen Mohuan, and Gaolis Han Chaoan were the three most notorious horse thieves in the prairie. Theye and go like the wind, appear and disappear unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, scaring those who hear it out of their wits. No one knew when and where they would suddenly appear. With a bitter smile Kou Zhong said, I have never thought that the two of us, brothers would have a day where we are very scared and on edge like sheep waiting to be ughtered, waiting for theing of our allocated lifespan. If I can have a one-on-one duel against Huyan Jin, even if Xiaodi have my life shortened by ten years, I will be most willing. Looking into the distance straight ahead, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, We can only take it one step at a time. This might be the most challenging hard battle we have to fight after Helian Fort. If we really cannot hold out, we can only give up our property, seize the path to escape, and then when Old Ba wakes up we will look for Huyan Jin to settle the ount. After passing two sichen with no rm, no danger, but everyones heart was like waves surging forth, the caravan stopped again. From his position at the front of the convoy, Yuekepeng urged his horse to gallop back toward the two boys sitting on the cart, saying, There is a jungle blocking our way ahead; shall we pitch camp earlier today, or take advantage of two more sichen of sun light to continue on with our journey? The dense forest ahead grew along the river, the terrain was starting to rise and fall unevenly. Under this kind of every tree or bush an enemy soldier, wind sighing and crane calling [both are idioms: panic and treat everyone as an enemy/at the slightest move] situation, it waspletely understandable that Yuekepeng was intimidated at the first nce [another idiom] at the enemy who could hide inside the jungle. Kou Zhong spoke decisively, The enemy wille sooner orter, and I would rather theye sooner thanter. If I were Huyan Jin, I would not attack tonight where we have the river behind our back, waiting in tight formation for the iing attack. He would leave us in the predicament of waiting for dawn, ones head resting on a spear, not getting any good sleep all night, and then tomorrow will still have to face the currently no room to advance or to retreat situation. That makes sense, Yuekepeng said, We might as well avoid this forest region, pass through the hill area through the night, perhaps we can break away from the enemy. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Huyan Jin should be in the dense forest. Taken aback, Yuekepeng said, How could Xu Xiong be so sure? Kou Zhong did not want to waste his tongue to exin Xu Zilings surpassing-others spirited sense; he said, Because that is the best ce to ambush us. Naturally Huyan Jin, who has deep knowledge of this area, wont want to miss it. His heroic spirit suddenly aroused, Yuekepengughed aloud and said, If they want toe, let theme then! I want to let Huyan Jin know that our Jushi men are absolutely not to be bullied. Galloping along the caravan, he gave orders in Jushinguage, to encourage his mens morale. By the time he was back at the head of the procession, the caravan deviated from the Yan River and took a detour. Kou Zhong spoke to Xu Ziling, Peng Xiong is indeed a talent, his character is also good; we simply have to try to preserve his life. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Even if you preserve his life, it will be useless. Supposing both the men and the goods were lost, how would he answer his king? It would be better for him to die in the line of duty with all the honor and glory. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Is there a way to satisfy rival demands, that can both save the people without having to lose the property? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, I just hope that there will only be a few hundred mening, so that we could counterattack first, to chop down Huyan Jins dog head. The sun was falling beyond the western horizon of the ins, the red-spread-with-green-stitched-together grasnd was covered in ayer of light red sunset color. The wind blowing across the grass was like an embroideredndscape of silk roll, yet inside it danger was lurking on every side. Without-border, without-limit silence pervaded the vast heaven and earth before their eyes. To the left, the green forest reached the sky, the road ahead extended into the undting hills like a ripple in the water, with random clusters of trees sprinkled in between. After thinking hard, the two boys still could not find a good way. The sound of hoof beats suddenly arose. From the forest to their left suddenly rushed out endless stream of ck-cloth-wrapped-around-their-heads, battle-armor-covering-their-bodies Qidan horse thieves, covering the mountains and the ins, from about half a li away, charging toward them, their battle cry shook the heavens. Fortunately this side has been prepared. Immediately they arranged the carts into a ring, with the warriors hiding behind the carts, bending their bows and putting up their arrows, protecting the camels on the other side. Suddenly from the front battle cry shook the heavens as well; another group of horse thieves appeared from behind the hills, divided themselves into two prongs, one team went straight to attack the head of the caravan, the other team rounded toward the right side. Immediately the caravan was in the inferior position where three sides were the enemies. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, My Niang! There are at least three thousand of them. How could they fight this battle? Even if Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could kill their way out of encirclement, Ba Fenghan, Yuekepeng, and all his men would be done for. Looking at the enemys rming-the-heaven-moving-the-earth terrifying offensive, the color of blood was drained from Yuekepeng and the others faces. What they were confronting was no longer a group of savage horse thieves, but an army that could overturn a kingdom and exterminate a tribe. Relying on their insignificant strength of a few hundreds men, it would only be like a praying mantis spreading its arms to block a carriage. The Qidan horse thieves were approaching continuously. Kou Zhong suddenly shouted loudly, Peng Xiong! Retreat immediately, well meet again at Longquan. With ash of his whip, the three horses reared in pain and pulled the cart out of the formation, going at an angle toward the northeast corner where the enemys military strength was the weakest, precisely between the enemying out of the jungle and rushing down from the hills. While C just like Yuekepeng C Xu Ziling was thinking that Kou Zhong was not loyal to his friends and was running away to the wilderness alone, Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Ling Shao! Five-Colored Stone! Xu Ziling understood immediately. He leaped and somersaulted to the top of the cart, while calling out, You go throw the goods away! No time! Kou Zhong replied. Each hand reached a quiver of arrows, slung the quivers behind his back, he pounced forward,nding on the Thousand-Li Dream, which was at the very front pulling the cart. One hand grabbed the bow the other hand fetched the arrows, he released strings of arrows like a string of pearls toward the enemies on both sides. Xu Ziling stood on the shaking and jolting cart, steady as Mount Tai, he pinched the Five-Colored Stone between two fingers and lifted it up high above his head. Secretly performing the Motionless Fundamental Image, using Incantation Method, he shouted in Tujuenguage, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling are here; whoever dares,e seize our Five-Colored Stone! With the brilliant scheme that the quick-witted Kou Zhong came up with surely they did not have to worry that Huyan Jin would note. First of all, in the Central ins, Kou Zhong had defeated Ku Ge, the son of another big Qidan tribal chief Mohui, and ughtered more than a hundred Qidan men, hence he tied deep enmity with the Qidan tribe. Secondly, the Five-Colored Stone was snatched away by Qidan from Mohe peoples hands, and has been in their possession for many years, bing the symbol of victory, honor and disgrace of their people; it was of great significance. They would definitely not allow the Stone to fall back into Mohe peoples hands. Furthermore, after Bai Ziting obtained the Stone, he would be able to, in a way that justifies the use of the term, be the sovereign over the various tribes of Mohe. Byparison, the congrattory gifts from the various kingdoms of Turpan were just a small matter. Speaking about affairs, there is the difference between slight or important, urgent or non-urgent [you guessed it: another idiom]. Huyan Jin waspletely oblivious that the cart had the immobilized Ba Fenghan inside; he only thought that if he let the two forced their way out of encirclement and escaped to the wilderness, intercepting themter would be more difficult than ascending to the heavens. Plus there was not much of daytime left, the night wasing. Sure enough, from within the enemy ranks a loud shout was heard, giving orders. Although the two boys did not understand Qidan, just by looking at the entire enemy cavalry turning around to chase them, they knew that they were halfway to sess. The other half was how to kill their way out of the encirclement, and break away from the enemys pursuit. Which was nearly impossible. No matter how much of divine steed the Thousand-Li Dream, three fine horses were, after rushing along the entire day, plus they were pulling a cart half full with cloth and silk, there was no way they could beat the Qidan horse thieves, who grew on horseback, no matter how fast they ran. But the two had no other choice. Xu Ziling made another somersault. Quick like apes and monkeys, he flipped from the tail of the cart to inside the cart. Ba Fenghan was still sleeping soundly, totally unaware that the two boys were facing life and death crisis. Xu Ziling grabbed a bolt of cloth; he was about to toss it out of the cart to lighten the load of the horses when suddenly his heart was moved. Shaking the cloth with both hands, he stretched out nearly two zhang of wild hemp cloth. The cart was going against the wind. The two-zhang long hemp cloth fluttered behind the tail of the cart, as if a big tail suddenly grew behind the cart, which fluttered wildly due to the brushing wind, creating loud Whoosh! Whoosh! noise. This moment the enemy riders were surging like a tide from the left side. Xu Ziling transmitted his power into the cloth, the long cloth swept across the grasnd like a solid wall, urately shrouding five riders charging over so that both the men and the horses suffered a crushing defeat, stumbling the ridersing behind them that one after another they lost their footing and knocked against each other into a heap. Hope grew in Xu Zilings heart, thinking that this tactic was indeed one move, two gains; it could both deter the enemy and decrease their load. Hurriedly he put the hemp cloth tactic into full swing. At the front, Kou Zhong, who was controlling the cart while attacking the enemy at the same time, was also extremely busy. Both sides werepeting against time, to see whether the Qidan horse thieves could close the siege one step ahead and thus cutting off the carts way out, or the cart could escape through the gap before the enemy closed in in front of them. If in Kou Zhongs stretched hand was not the Extinguished Sun Bow, mighty and powerful, definitely the enemy would be able to close in, shoot the three fine horses dead, and achieve their goal. Kou Zhongughed aloud. The cart swerved from the enemy on the left. Steering the Thousand-Li Dream, he aimed to hilly area where they wereing from, toward the weak point at the tail of the enemies, which were now charging from the right and the front. Powerful arrows were shooting constantly. Hardening his heart, he did not shoot the people but shot the horses instead. One after another warhorses tumbled, the riders from behind could not stop their momentum, they were tripped, and created a chain reaction so that immediately the battle array was in big chaos. It was hard to stop at full speed! In the blink of an eye the cart broke the siege, all the enemies were now chasing from behind. Xu Ziling shouted, You are in charge of steering the cart; as long as the cart does not overturn, we will seed! Another bolt of hemp cloth was released, the force was applied ingeniously, the hemp cloth wrapped itself around the feet of nearly ten enemy riders; the horses lost their footing, the men on the saddle were thrown forward, none was narrowly and luckily escaped. The cart rushed up the hill. By the time it crossed the hilltop and was charging wildly down the slope, the sun already disappeared under the ins. The cart was hidden inside the dense forest in the depth of the hilly, mountainous area. Finally they were able to temporarily escape the pursuing troops, but they had not escaped from the danger yet. The three horses mouths were foaming; if they were forced to continue, they would definitely copse from exhaustion. Some of the enemies chased past them, so that now there were enemies on four sides and eight directions. Were it not for the vastness of the dense forest on the hilly area, plus it was deep in the night, plus they deliberately took meandering route, perhaps the enemy would have advanced to this ce by following the wheel tracks. But when dawn came, they would lose this advantagepletely. The in-and-out torches light and the sound of horse neigh were moving to the other edge of the hill. The two breathed a little sigh of relief, while at the same time they were well aware that next time they might not be so lucky. Kou Zhong said, If you were Huyan Jin, and you came here only to find an empty cart and three horses, what would you think? Of course Xu Ziling understood what he meant; he wanted to execute the troops deployed to mislead the enemy tactic, to make Huyan Jin think that they were abandoning the cart and the horses to escape. Shaking his head, he said, Even if I have to die in battle, I will never abandon the horses. Kou Zhong said, They are three first-ss spirited, thoroughbred horses; Huyan Jin might take them as his own, in which case well wait until Old Ba wakes up, and then well get the horses back, while chopping Huyan Jins dog head along the way to be brought back to Da Xiaojie, signifying thepletion of our mission. Voices and torchlight wereing again from the distance, slowly heading straight toward the jungle where they were. It looked like this time they could not escape. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If from shame Huyan Jin turned to rage and kill the three horses to vent his anger, wont it would be toote for regrets? Hugging him on his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, please answer my question first: if we stake it all to fight, what will our chance of sess be? Xu Ziling replied in displeasure, Naturally the oue will be we fight with all our might and die in battle. That is for sure, Kou Zhong replied, Let me use my illustrious name, Kou Zhong, as a guarantee; if Huyan Jin or his men strike treacherously and murder our treasured horses, we will immediately strike back, and will not run away until we get rid of Huyan Jin to avenge our horses. Whether we seed or we fail, on the whole we can still answer Old Ba. If we are unfortunate and die in battle, due to Huyan Jin does not know Old Bas existence at all, perhaps he, LaoGe will be able to escape this cmity andter on wipe away this hatred and dishonor. The enemy finally reached the edge of the jungle. Xu Zilings heart was finally moved. Very well! he said, Lets do it as you say. The two put their n into action. They selected a big tree with particrly dense branches and leaves, using the wild hemp cloth tied hastily near the top of the tree to make a cradle-like hammock, and then also using the hemp cloth as a stretcher, they lifted up Ba Fenghan and put him in the hammock. They had just hidden themselves well when the enemys shouts and yells came as they discovered the cart. A momentter torches light were everywhere around the tree, they could not even count how many enemies were there. Looking at it, the two boys scalp went numb. If there was no Ba Fenghan, they could break the siege and escape like handling a butchers cleaver with ease. But now, even if they stake everything, they would C no doubt C die. At best they could only kill Huyan Jin to be buried together with them. However, this man was able to go on the rampage across the prairie,mitting countless offending Heaven and reason crimes yet still managed to survive, naturally his martial art skill was surly and unreasoning, among his men were surely some capable men and martial art masters. The shouting suddenly stopped. More than a dozen riders galloped over and stopped near the cart. A burst of sharp, unpleasant to hear voice spoke some Qidan words, which they did not understand at all, and then,pletely beyond the two boys expectation, the voice continued in Hannguage, Liang Gongzi! Dont you think this matter is very strange? These three horses are highest quality warhorses, why did those two kids abandoned their horses and run away? In my opinion, these three horses can at least run another hundred li. Another young voice, which the two felt somewhat familiar, replied, In the Central ins, those two have been besieged many times, yet they were always able to escape relying on their qinggong. My guess is they were afraid of leaving hoof marks, hence they abandoned their horses? Huyan Dashuai [greatmander], what do you think? Gnashing his teeth, Huyan Jin said, F*ck their eighteen-generation ancestors; even if they run away to the edge of the sky, I will chops their dead bodies into ten thousand pieces. Kou Zhong gripped the Moon in the Wells hilt; as soon as Huyan Jin issued an order to kill the horses, he would immediately pounce down to stake it all against him until you die, I live. That Liang Gongzi spoke with a coldugh, Outside the Great Wall, everything is unfamiliar to them, where could they run to? Even if Dashuai is willing to let them off, theres no way Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, and Bielegunatai would allow them to deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting. Whats more, Ku Ge is conductingrge-scale recruitment efforts, he will do everything not to allow them returning to the Central ins alive; we only need to hurry to the grasnd region at full speed, so that no matter how fast their legs are, in long distance race, they would surely lose to the horses legs. Kou Zhongs tiger-body slightly shook, he leaned over to whisper in Xu Zilings ear, He is Liang Shidous dog kid, Liang Shunming. Xu Ziling was stunned. They had the predestined affinity to meet with Liang Shunming only once, and it was under a very unpleasant circumstance. At that time they were just insignificant soldiers at the beginning of prying into the martial art way, and under threat from Du Fuwei, they came across Liang Shunming, who were hanging out with people from Lu Lingchens family. ording to reason, Liang Shidou was Xielis hunting dog. The Qidan wanted to expand their power. There was no reason for Liang Shunming and Huyan Jin to walk together. Yet since the fact was like this, there must be a reason that they did not understand. Huyan Jinughed like an owl, brimming with grim, merciless overtone, he said, All right! Well just see how far these two crafty and cowardly kids can run. And then he added, These three spoils of war; how about I give Gongzi one? Liang Shunming promptly expressed his gratitude. The two boys heaved a sigh of relief, knowing that Huyan Jin would not kill the horses to vent his anger. Huyan Jin issued a string of orders in Qidannguage. The sound of bugle horn shed, and the enemies quickly departed. As if agreeing by chance, the two boys turned to look anxiously at Ba Fenghan, who was lying in the hammock. They were wild with joy at the same time. Ba Fenghans two eyes were wide open, emitting unprecedented strange light. A hint of smile brimming with murderous intent escaped out of the corner of his mouth. Finally, the Great Method of Exchanging the Sun, like stealing the heaven, exchanging the sun [idiom: engaging in fraudulent activities, see Chapter 2 title], was able to snatch him back from the death deitys [mythological figure (such as the Grim Reaper) in charge of taking the souls of those who die] hands. Moreover, his power was stronger than before. Book 40 - 5 – Setting the Long Snake on Fire Three men were crouching inside the forest at the eastern edge of the hilly region, looking into the distance at Huyan Jins camp. Under the sunlight, one side of the camp facing the sun was dyed red with the rose-tinted color of sunset, while the other side was casting lines of long shadow on the prairie. There was some kind of hard-to-describe poignant beauty, yet it also appeared particrly tender. Only its a pity that the owners of this camp regarded killing and looting as nothing out of the ordinary [orig. simple home-style meal], horse thieves who obliterated humanity. Kou Zhongs mood was cheerful due to Ba Fenghan had died but came back to life, his power exhausted but was recovered; moreover, he recovered his self confidence. Smiling, he said, The camp only had four, five hundred men. The rest must be toiling-the-army, moving-the-crowd, treading around the grasnd C looking for us. Really ridiculous to the extreme. Sidestepping the issue, Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, I lost! Ha! I finally tasted real defeat. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Without this defeat, you will never beat Bi Xuan. This mans martial art skill is really high, it already reaches snatching-the-heaven-and-the-earth, ascending-to-the-great-heights realm. Although each of the three of us has the power to stake it all, ultimately we will undoubtedly lose, and that is the final conclusion. Remember that time Qu Ao nearly seized your life, but that was precisely the turning point where you were able to defeat Qu Ao. Qu Aos mistake made him unable to kill you. Bi Xuan will make the same mistake. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, The taste of dying anding back to life is profoundly unforgettable. Now I can put life and death outside the Way, because I have seen deaths true identity. Because of Huan Ri Da Fa, now my old martial art foundation has evolved into a new gongfa, which I call Tou Tian Da Fa [Great Method of Stealing the Heaven]. Henceforth the Beheading Mystery Sword is also changed to Tou Tian Jian [Stealing the Heaven Sword], representing the brand new me. Kou Zhong happily said, Stealing the Heaven is definitely much better than Beheading Mystery. After grabbing the horses back, we must see a couple of moves from you, to see how stealingCtheCheaven-and-exchangingCtheCsun your sword technique really is. Letting out a cold humph, Ba Fenghan said, Why wait until we retrieved the steeds? When I, Ba Fenghan chop Huyan Jins stinky head, you will see for yourself Xiaodis new changes. Grabbing Ba Fenghans shoulders tightly, Kou Zhong excitedly said, Just by looking at how after suffering a crushing defeat your confidence unexpectedly surpasses your former confidence, I know that LaoGes Stealing the Heaven Sword Technique is definitely not a small matter. However, confidencees back to confidence; if you are eager to excel and force entrance into the camp, you still have to think thrice. Smiling, Ba Fenghan said, Ling Shao, what do you think? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, If we cant win by force, we must win by wits, transforming the impossibility into possibility; its all in the head. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Since Ling Shao is also in favor of ughtering the camp, how could Xiaodi not keep youpany? In this battle Old Ba is in charge, the two of us will be hisckeys [orig. the foot soldier running before a carriage]. Ba Fenghan suddenly changed the subject, saying, When Bi Xuan knows I am not dead, I wonder what kind of blow will his confidence take? They were waiting for the night toe in order to raise their chance of sess in evading the night guards. They were hiding near the enemy camp; hence they were in an extremely fine mood and had free time to talk about whatever they were interested in. Xu Ziling said, Not only he wont be able to grasp, as well as understand, why you did not die and your power is doubled, potentially you are nting the seed of defeat in his heart. Just like Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa, which is no longer without any w. Full of admiration, Kou Zhong said, Such a prating thought. Therefore, we absolutely must keep Old Ba mastering the Tou Tian Da Fa in secret; we cant let the fourth person know. Ba Fenghan said, Give me a year, I will wipe away this hatred. And then, sweeping the camp with his gaze, he said, Huyan Jin is no longer an ordinary horse thief; rather, because his looting continues to grow, he has turned into armed tribe able to y a critical role in the prairie. Taking advantage of this golden opportunity, we could casually wipe them out, to rid of one big trouble. As long as we can kill Huyan Jin, the men under him will not submit to anybody else, they will definitely be all split up and in pieces. Once they stumble, they will lose the vitality. Other tribes who have suffered enough from their oppression and humiliation might flock together and attack them. Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes shed with refined light, he asked, How are we going to make our move? Ba Fenghan replied, If we can find the three horses, Huyan Jinsmander tent will be nearby. Huyan Jins natural disposition is crafty and paranoid; unlike Xieli, he wont let people find out his tent position in just one nce. Xu Ziling felt a headache, There are more than two hundred tents in here, he said, Approximately twenty tents forming one cluster, each cluster is separated by more than a thousand paces of distance, arranged in serpentine battle array, in deep conformance with the art of war. How are we going to find the three horses like panning for gold from the sand, and scout the location of Huyan Jins tent at the same time? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Watch me! Sucking in some air, he let out an owl hoot-like cry, which spread far into the distance, scaring the two boys that they jumped in fright. In response, they heard a horse neigh. Looking at the direction of the sound, they saw at the third cluster on the left end, Ba Fenghans beloved horse Tamakan was raising its head high and neighing wildly. Since it was tied among a big flock of warhorses by the camp, if it did not raise its head and neigh, it would be very difficult to find its location. Very scared and on edge, the two boys looked around. After seeing that the enemy did not care at all, Kou Zhong said, This move is really formidable. Perhaps even when Huyan Jin arrived at theherworld, he still did not know how we could find him. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. If they could not find the location of themand tent, relying on their three mens strength, it was indeed impossible to make their move. But now the entire situation immediately became another matter altogether. Suddenly Kou Zhong frowned and said, Huyan Jin hates us to the bone, can he not make the move to leave the camp to personally search for us? Ba Fenghan said, Precisely because he hates us that he must stay here to preserve and nurture his spirit, to give the horses and the men a chance to have a good rest. When his men discover our track, they will send information back using either rocket or homing pigeon, and then he will immediately rush over at full speed. If we rely on our two legs to cross the mountain area without stopping to rest, by the time we reached this side, we ought to be too tired to even move! Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Then let us, three brothers give him an unexpected nice surprise, I guarantee that he will never forget it for the rest of his life. The sun finally set, the night enveloped the earth, campfire sprang up everywhere across the camp, the aroma of roasted mutton floated to this side. Ba Fenghan said, Taking advantage of the time the enemy is busy eating and drinking, we will use arrow first to eliminate a few small thieves on sentry duty in the surrounding area. But each arrow must take one life, dont let him make any noise. And then well set the serpentine camp on fire; well throw the burning-red bonfire wood onto the tents, to create chaos as much as possible. We then fish in troubled water by getting rid of Huyan Jin. Kou Zhongughed and said, Are you thinking of repeating old tactic? Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, Using prating tactic to strike and scatter, using speed to control the slow, only then will the few win. Remember not to be greedy, as long as we snatch the horses back and behead Huyan Jin, then the goal of this battle is aplished. Kou Zhongughed and said, And you dont consider that greedy? Lets go! Swish! The bowstring twanged lightly. Two powerful arrows shot out of the Extinguished Sun and Perished Moon bows, across the grasnd, and pierced two enemies throat. Without making any noise the two men fell backward in the dark, outside the reach of the campfire. The three men darted out; unleashing their shenfa, like a phantom they swiftly headed toward the group of tents where Huyan Jins tent was located. Huyan Jins horse thieves attention was focused on ins side, their precaution toward this side was only perfunctory. Furthermore, who could have thought that the three were able to figure out what is true and what is false! And with their guts reaching to the sky, the three even dared to shake their nearly a thousand-man army. Suddenly Ba Fenghan flitted forward swiftly. By the time the more than twenty horse thieves eating roastmb by the campfire detected something unusual was happening, the Stealing the Heaven Sword already arrived. Nearly half of the men did not have time to fetch their weapon, tragically they were beheaded by Ba Fenghan, while the rest were attacked by Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling tailing closely behind Ba Fenghan so that their breathing stopped and their bodies perished. The horse thieves in the camp were beginning to realize that they were under attack; hastily they met the enemy head-on. Without stopping at all Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan stormed into the camp. Xu Ziling fetched the glowing-red firewood from the campfire, and then, using the flower-rain-filling-the-sky technique he sprinkled it over the enemy camp. Both Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, because Huyan Jin snatched their horses away, were having a bellyful of anger; seeing the horse thieves were flocking to meet the enemy, how could they show mercy? They swiftly pounced on them, killing everybody on their way. Wheres Huyan Jin? Kou Zhong shouted sternly, Get out and receive your death! His saber shed out, fierce and severe without equal, no need to be mentioned, but the most frightening thing was the fully concentrated spiraling energy. The little leader of the bunch, who was first to arrive, was hacked that the person and the saber were lifted up from the ground and were thrown backward, his life perished on the spot. Ba Fenghan was even more unstoppable than before, the Stealing the Heaven Sword simply swiped the enemys shield from below, and conveniently entered the enemys chest. On top of that, his leg flew, he kicked the enemys dead body to knock down the enemies swarming in from the rear. The enemiesing to help were thrown to the east and fumbling to the west, their troop disposition was in big chaos. But all of a sudden the front and back, left and right, were ferocious horse thieves, their battle cry shook the heavens, swords and axes met and waited upon them, everybodys eyes were bloodshot, they would do everything to put these two to death. Yet Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan remained calm and were unafraid; one saber and one sword, everywhere they went dead bodies filled the ground, dyeing the tender green spring grass red with their blood. The chain of tents constantly caught fire. Xu Zilingunched another set of tactics; relying on lifting-up technique, one moment he leaped up the top of the tent, and the moment he bounced down, hended on another bonfire, and kicked the burning wood onto another tent; the next moment he already soared into the air again. The moment chaos started to ensue, he set on the fire everywhere to create more disturbance. He did everything he could to make the enemy could not figure out where he was going to attack, and thus they did not know where to defend. The me on the tents that were set on fire earlier were zing high, emitting great amount of thick smoke, which was carried by the wind, pervading the wide expanse of the prairie where the camp was standing, giving Xu Ziling maximum advantage as he carried out his operation. The destruction he created spread from one end of the long-snake-shaped camp to the other end. Momentarily the people shouting and the horse neighing, the horse thieves some distance away from themand tent thought arge number of enemies wereing to carry out night raids; they rushed about in panic, battered and exhausted. Although there was a group of men chasing Xu Ziling, but there was no way to stop him. Bang! Bang! Two enemies met his fists, spurted blood and fell to the ground. Xu Ziling shed toward another campfire. The ember sshed into the night sky like fireworks, andnded on top of the tents all around. Sometimes the smoke and fire debris were thick, another time were thin, enemy and us difficult to tell. Their entire body blood-soaked, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan killed their way toward themand tent. Although they looked terrifying, most of the blood dyeing their body was actually from the enemies; on themselves, they only had a few skin and flesh wound. Their power was extremely high, plus they knew how to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial; even if the enemys de was just about to touch their body, it would not cause any serious injury. There was a roar ahead, Huyan Jins voice shouted sternly, You are actually tired of living! Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong were greatly delighted. The former shouted, Shaoshuai go get the horses! The man and the sword became one, he swiftly charged ahead, totally ignoring the enemy troopsing to attack him. Everywhere he went the horse thieves fell to the east and tumbled to the west. Suddenly there was a group of mening straight toward him. One of them had long hair, which was draped over his shoulders, his body was wrapped in jujube-redbat robe, with battle armor inside it; his waist was tied in steel rope, his facial features fierce. This was precisely Huyan Jin, the most notorious chief of Qidan horse thieves. But they did not see Liang Shidous son Liang Shunming. Bang! The thief blocking the way, using hard technique, met Ba Fenghans shing sword head-on, but he only fell back two steps, showing his extraordinary skill. Attacking to this point, this was the first time that someone was able to meet force with force, and yet did not sustain injuries. Two axes and one spear attacked from left and right, so that he was unable to unleash his killer move on the hard-to-defeat enemy in front of him. Behind him, he did not know how many weapons were going to meet him. Letting out a fierce whistle, Ba Fenghan soared into the air, while seizing this opportunity to sweep his gaze around. The whole camp was engulfed in the ze and thick smoke, men were rushing and horses were running everywhere. Quickly focusing his attention again, he dropped back down, and pounced toward Huyan Jin, who was surrounded by the horse thieves. This moment Kou Zhongnded on the saddleless back of Thousand-Li Dream. The beloved horse recognized its master, it skipped around and neighed happily. The Ten-thousand-Li Spots and Tamakan were separately tied on both sides. The Moon in the Well pared down, it cut the three pieces of rope. Without even stopping it continued to hack down on the enemys long sabering over to attack. The enemys saber broke immediately, while bloodstain appeared suddenly on the pit of his stomach, as he dejectedly fell to the ground. Kou Zhong seized this golden opportunity while the enemys main force was being held back by Ba Fenghan. Curling his lips, he let out a long whistle, ordering the Ten-thousand-Li Spots and Tamakan to follow behind the Thousand-Li Dream. Taking the lead, he charged toward the other side, the blockers were swept away by the wind. Due to the thick smoke covering their eyes, by the time the enemy found out that he was the enemy and not a friend at all, the Moon in the Well already hacked down on him. Qiang! Huyan Jins long spear swung upward to block Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven Sword head-on. Borrowing the impact force, Ba Fenghan shot up. Three thief generals immediately soared up from Huyan Jins left and right. Two sabers and one axe stormed in, so that Ba Fenghan was unable to carryout his killer move. Unexpectedly Huyan Jins feet were trapped in grassy ground nearly three cun deep; his face turned white, he suffered internal injury. The sword strike carried the concentrated power of his entire body; it was intended to take Huyan Jins dog life, naturally it was swift, powerful, fierce and severe to the extreme point. Seeing Huyan Jin was still able to stand without falling down, Ba Fenghan could not help crying, What a pity! inwardly; he did not expect Huyan Jins martial art skill to be this brilliant. He knew that he had missed the only difficult-toe-by chance to kill Huyan Jin. Woah! Finally Huyan Jin could not help vomiting a mouthful of blood, he nearly dropped down on his butts on the ground. Quickly kill him for me! he roared in Qidannguage. Ba Fenghans qi and blood were also surging due to the shock of the impact force, but his three meridians and seven chakras were cycling, he immediately recovered. The Stealing the Heaven Sword hit the big axe that was the first to attack him. Borrowing the reaction force, he soared into the air, while at the same time letting out a sharp whistle, notifying Xu Ziling to retreat immediately. And then the tip of his toes tapped on the top of an unburned tent, he somersaulted, and without-rm, without-danger hended on the bare back of his beloved colt, while shouting loudly, Huyan Jin, listen to me, I, Ba Fenghan will definitely take your dog life with my own hands. I swear! Shouts were spreading widely across the camp that was turning into a raging inferno. In the blink of an eye, two men, three horses, like a hot knife through butter, cut through and left the camp, galloping toward the dark grasnd on the northeast. Behind them, the me and thick smoke covered the sky and concealed the moon. Like a meteor catching up with the moon [idiom: swift action] Xu Ziling ran after them. He flew onto the horseback, the threeughed heartily, extremely carefree. Hundreds of enemy riders were pursuing them from behind, but it was just a false bravado. Shouting against the wind, Ba Fenghan said, I hope the good-for-nothing Huyan Jin would be burned alive. Naturally the two knew that he was just joking. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong asked, Where can we fit some saddles? Unleashing the man-and-horse-as-one technique, they left the pursuing troops far behind; all they could see was the flying dust being kicked by the horses hoofs. Ba Fenghan said, At the border between Qidan and Shiwei, there is a big river called Heishui [ck River], which is where the two tribes living together. We are going over there to try our luck. Amidst theughter, the three disappeared into the darkness of the prairie. In the sparse forest region with tall grass and tall undergrowth, a small stream, as if it was ying hide-and-seek with the people, meandered along the big earth, flowing into a smallke, lying quietly among the grass and the trees, as if in a dream. Along with the sun, which had just been awakened from its sleep, the birds were circling in the air, singing, brimming with the vitality of the early morning. Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling, three men were swimming freely in theke, washing their clothes. The three horses, which were lost and then regained, were drinking water and grazing by theke. After tossing and turning all night, they all felt how carefree and precious this moment was. Kou Zhong said, Isnt Shen Mohuan Xielis man? And Xieli is supporting Bai Ziting founding his kingdom in order to strike Tuli. Why did Huyan Jin say that Shen Mohuan woulde to rob the Five-Colored Stone? Ba Fenghan was rubbing vigorously to wash the bloodstains off his body; hearing the question, he shrugged his shoulders and said, That is very hard to say. After all, Shen Mohuan is not Xielis direct subordinate, if he does not follow the order, its not too surprising. The Five-Colored Stone is just like the Jade Annulus of He n, it has be the emblem of the sovereign king, who would not want to seize it for himself? Xu Ziling said, I wonder if there is a way to lure Shen Mohuan to a certain ce and then kill him. This way we could resolve the hatred in Jian Dashis heart. Ba Fenghan said, Shen Mohuans ominous name surpasses Huyan Jins, plus he is very crafty, I am afraid he wont fall into the trap that easily. Kou Zhongughed and said, If he is eager to get the Five-Colored Stone, why afraid that he wont fall into the trap? We are going to go on the rampage across the prairie, wherever we go, well strike there, deliberately disy our presence ostentatiously. He and Mu Ling, this couple of husband and wife will naturally want to look for us to rob the treasure. And then he sneered and said, Theye and go like the wind, how could they beat us whoe and go like lightning. Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, Since Shaoshuai has this intention, we might as well go to Hualin [lit. flower forest], which is the grandest country fair town on the south bank of the ck River, under the joint-authority of Tuli, Ku Ges Die Mo Hui, and the South Shiwei big tribal chief Qing Mugua [lit. clear papaya]. People of all ethnic groups far and neare to that ce to make transaction; just like another Yan Yuan Ji. Due to its delicate situation, no one dares to takerge number of men and horses to that ce to do business, precisely the best ce to lure the enemy. How far is Hualin from Longquan? Kou Zhong asked. Only about ten days by horse, Ba Fenghan replied, The fish over there are especially tasty, I guarantee Shaoshuai can gorge yourself. I wonder if we will be able to meet Yuekepeng over there? Xu Ziling said. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, That possibility is quite high. The three suddenly felt warning sign in their heart. Looking west, they faintly saw the dust rising at the edge of the prairie. So annoying, Kou Zhong muttered, We cant even sleep. Ba Fenghan spoke leisurely, You ought to thank them. So many live targets knocking on your door for you to practice your archery skill. The three shouted together and scrambled to the bank of theke, and quickly put on their wet clothes. The clothes were already unsightly, and they were ufortable as well. Kou Zhong said, When we get to Hualin, we must buy a few sets of new clothes. Ba Fenghan sneered and said, Shouldnt you go to Luoyang or Changan instead? Get some ready-made clothes. Only heavily-loaded people can afford tailor-made clothes. The riders were clearly visible; there were approximately a hundred men, precisely Huyan Jins horse thieves. Xu Ziling said, After killing the enemy, wont Shaoshuai be able to sleep? Opening up the Perished Moon Bow, Ba Fenghan said, This time shoot the people dont shoot the horses. They rob other peoples belongings and snatch other peoples life, we ought to pay them back a tooth for a tooth. Well take their healthy horses to be exchanged for new clothes and fresh fish, also to replenish our quivers. The powerful arrow streaked across the sky, hitting the horse thief at the head of the convoy. Book 40 - 6 – On the Bank of Songhua River Along the five-day journey, the three drove more than forty first-rate warhorses that they seized from the Qidan horse thieves. They left the prairie and entered a more varied and vast mountainous area. Along the sides of the road were primitive forests, ranging from sparse to really dense, covering the high and low, undting mountain and fields. In the depths of the forest, under the shade, a clear stream was flowing, asionally they even saw t grassy field. The sound of the spring breeze brushing the tree echoed one another; it was very rxing to the spirit. Kou Zhongughed and said, I now understand why grasnd peoples have so much invasive character. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, Dont use one bamboo punting hole to tear down a boatful of people. There are a lot of peace-loving peoples on the prairie, standing aloof from worldly affairs. Kou Zhong spoke seriously, This is not malicious criticism. LaoGe, please tell me, those who are not striving for the world, nicely grazing their livestock, are theyparatively smaller and weaker grasnd tribes? Ba Fenghan was left speechless. Smiling bitterly, he replied, Probably so. Shaoshuai, what exactly it is that you understand? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong replied, Upon first arrival at the prairie, everybody would be shocked by the magnificent scenery of the prairie, but after getting used to it, one might feel it is a bit monotonous, and theres some kind of wanting to urge the horse in wild gallop, to go to the end of the heaven and earth, to see if there is something different there C feeling. Like right now we havee to the mountain area on the northeast, the feeling is very fresh, while also stirring up the desire to continue to pursue. What I called invasive character grows from this kind of tendency. Especially for someone like Xieli, who have over a hundred thousand strong contingents in his hands; naturally he might desire the delighted experience of seeing his army sweeping away the world like a tidal wave. Therefore, since ancient times, the hegemons of the prairie all wanted to expand to the outside world outside the grasnd. To the south it is our Central Earth, to the west it is the Persia, Tocharian, Arabian Empire, and so on. Tianzhu [Indian subcontinent], because there is an obstruction in the form of high mountain that the horses cannot pass C is protected and remains safe and sound. To the north is the frozen-over-all-year-long barrennd, not suitable for troop movements. Your analysis is quite thorough, Ba Fenghanmented, I want to add a little: since ancient times the nomadic peoples have acquired the characteristic of residing along the water and the grass; all their life they are in search of fertilend that will make their lives even more abundant. Perhaps because of this kind of characteristic that they are constantly invading other tribes territory. We are adept in attacking, you are experts in defending; thats how the Great Wall came to be. The mountain topography changed; after passing through a deep valley between two mountain peaks, a wide panorama opened up before their eyes, the path tapered into a long, gentle slope into the boundless meadow below. Among the sea of luxuriant forest, among the waves of the grass, they faintly saw tents and y houses, and both green trees and spring wheat and x field, but also arge herd of grazing cows, disying another kind of half-farming, half-ranching type of livelihood scenery outside the prairie. The y houses were like earthen tents. A wonderful feeling of returning to the human world grew in their hearts. Which direction is Hualin? Xu Ziling cheerfully asked. Reining his horse to a stop, Ba Fenghan looked at the distance from his high vantage point, and pointed to the distant north, where argeke was lying leisurely among the mountains and the forests. He said, That is Songhua Lake. After theke, another more-than-ten-li travel, is Songhua River. It is said that the water flows steadily from Changbai Mountain to here, and then after converging with Nenjiang [river Nen] it bes the Songhua River. The two boys used enough power in their eyes to look. Along the Songhua Lake, the mountain was stretching, twisting and turning, fishing eagles were busy circling above it, the abundant bluish waves reflecting more than a dozen multi-colored tents. The scenery was charming and gentle, looking at it made the peoples heart rxed, their spirit felt right. Although it was already the end of the spring, the crisp and clear weather was still assaulting people. This area had a wide variety of trees; camphor pine, red pine,rch and elm, et cetera, werepeting against each other to show off their brilliance. There were all kinds of color, glittering magnificently; some people might suspect that this was a fairnd among the world of the living. Looking at all these, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were gasping in amazement. Ba Fenghan continued, After traveling four, five li along the Songhua River, we will reach Hualin. On every area with convenient transportation and especially rich, there will be a center of distribution for people and goods; everything is handled ording to the prairie rules. And what are the prairie rules? Kou Zhong asked. Ba Fenghan chuckled and said, Prairie rules are each army has its method; whether its reindeer, fierce tiger, bison, or hungry wolf, each one has a set of survival method. In the end, the strong will be king, those who cantpete have to learn to run faster, or perhaps like the wolves, they unite into a pack to resist external enemies. Shaoshuai, do you understand? Kou Zhong roared inughter, Totally! he answered. Taking the lead, Ba Fenghan urged his horse to gallop down the hill. Hualin Market was located on the southern bank of Songhua River. The river was wide, the water tranquil; the market area was hilly. Just like Tong Wan, the y houses were scattered across an area several dozen li wide. Tents could be seen everywhere. Most of the greyish-yellow y structures were concentrated near the river, forming the only street in Hualin. More than a dozen log rafts were afloat on the river, the fishermen were throwing their to catch fish. On the shore, men and horses went back and forth. It was bustling with noise and excitement, not inferior to Yan Yuan Ji in any respect. The three entered the perimeter of the market. Because they were driving more than forty saddled warhorses, they attracted every tribes attention so that the people were buzzing; not to mention Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were wearing rarely seen Han attire. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Indeed each ce has its unique scenery. Where will we find a ce to eat delicious fishter? Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, Dragonfly, sand perch, carp, green-scales, and others, my lord can take your pick, Xiaodi is only addicted to green-scales. The quality of meat is extremely delicious, hence I already decided to revive old dreams. Xu Ziling has always been casual about food and drink, his concern was on other things; he asked, We are bringing so many horses, its difficult to move around; I wonder if we could sell them immediately? Ahead, arge flock of cattle and sheep, driven by more than a dozen herdsmen, were heading toward an empty lot at the east side of the market, blocking the way, forcing them to proceed slowly behind them. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Truth be told, Xiaodi has never done this kind of business. I just take it for granted in a country fair like this, it would be easy to sell anything at a bargain price. Kou Zhong said in high spirits, The reason we are doing this business is to broadcast our presence; we might as well sell a horse for one qian, a fragment of a gold; I guarantee it will immediately cause a sensation across the entire Hualin market. And then he asked, Wheres the ce people making clothes? Ba Fenghan replied, After the main street, if you want ironware, there will be iron shops, you want clothes, there are clothes shop. Only theres no ce to stay. People whoe here all have their own tents. Patting the head of his horse, he steered it away from the herd of cattle and entered the main street. On the left and right, both sides of the street, there were several rows of irregr-shaped buildings. As expected, there are all kinds of shops; it was very lively. It seemed like anybody who was willing to open the door, business woulde crowding the door. The main street was spacious and open. Under the trampling of the horses and the wheels of the carts, the originally tender green meadow has been destroyed and was turned into yellow dirt. The dust under the horses hoofs was rising, so that the entire street was covered in yellow fog. This barely-counted as the main street, which could amodate thirty horses walking side-by-side, was lined with elm trees, which provided shade from the sun like an umbre. All y shops had a wooden shed outside, which was equipped with table and chairs, so that weary travelers could sit inside and have a rest. The horses were tied to the hitching post outside the shed. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly invigorated, they looked around as if their eyes could not take it all in. Suddenly from a shed nearby rushed out more than a dozen long-haired-draped-across-their-shoulders armed Shiwei men, blocking their way with ill expression on their faces. The three were stunned; could it be that the enemy was so well informed that they knew they had to be here and thus were waiting for them? One of the men pointed his fingers like a halberd and shouted in Tujuenguage, Where do you think you, these two horse thieves C are going? More than a dozen men immediately pulled their cavalry sabers; their movement was neat and uniform, they were absolutely not a mob. Obviously the passersby on the street already regarded this kind of fight as amon urrence; they simply got away a little, only to congregate in the distance, pointing and gesticting, while watching the excitement. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt that the talker, the Shiwei man looked very familiar, but momentarily they could not remember where they saw him; they had a faint feeling that this bunch of men blocking their way was for another matter. Ba Fenghan still thought that the opposite side was acting on behalf of the Qidan people; feeling strange inwardly, he let out a clearughter and said, This batch of horses were Huyan Jins; since when did it be your, Shiwei peoples turn to act on his behalf? If you dont get lost, dont me my, Ba Fenghans sword for showing no mercy. Kou Zhong suddenly remembered the Shiwei man who was talking; it was the one chopping him before they encountered Xieli. At that time both sides were talking in differentnguages and did not understand each other, even until now he still did not know what the matter was. Only because he did not take it to heart that he nearly forgot. A burst of tenderughter came from the shed on the left, followed by a voice speaking in Tujuenguage, Ba Fenghan, whose name shook the prairie, unexpectedly mingles together with two horse-stealing Han dogs; arent you ashamed? Stunned, the three looked at the shed, and saw another group of men sitting around the table deep inside the shed; five men and one woman, all were Shiwei people. This moment all of them left their seats, stood up, and walked over toward them. This pretty woman looked to be seventeen, eighteen years old, her beautiful hair was draped over her shoulders, the sky-blue warrior outfit she was wearing was fitted very well on her tender body. She also wore sleeveless jacket on the outside, and a cavalry saber hanging on her waist. Her pair of long legs was encased in leather pants and tall riding boots, which matched very well with her tight-fitting, full-bodied and well-proportioned attire. She was natural and lively, her entire being exuded some kind of healthy elegance, yet also tender, as if she was boneless C touching beauty, just like a clump of clouds floating down from the sky. Her left arm was adorned with multi-colored metal bracelets, two long drop earrings were hanging from her earlobes, her pretty neck was wrapped in bright-colored beads strung together into a ne, hanging down to her well developed breasts. Her egg-shaped face was roundish. Hidden behind her jet-ck, bright and clean beautiful hair, her icy flesh and jade bones appeared more prominent. Her lively, lucid and elegant, spring-water-like pure and clean big eyes were graceful like limpid autumn waters. Yet this moment, hidden beneath the eyes, which ought to be the hope and expectation of the gentlemen wanting to marry her, was a strong murderous intent. Her good-looking face was frosty. The three had never expected there would be such a fair-skinned, outstandingly beautiful woman within the Shiwei people; momentarily they could only stare nkly at her. Apparently the five men who followed her into the street could only follow her blindly; they followed her closely, on her left and right, into the street. Coming back to his senses, Ba Fenghan spoke in astonishment, Guniang, what do you mean by that? The Shiwei beauty did not give Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling even half a nce; her gaze was fixed on Ba Fenghan, she said, What do I mean? Two little Han dogs stole my horses; they are horse thieves whom everybody despises. Ba Fenghan, are you going to protect them? Listening to this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other with nk expression on their face. Ba Fenghan leaped off his horse. Immediately the crowd of Shiwei men showed wary look; they did not dare to underestimate him. Obviously the Shiwei beauty was awed by Ba Fenghans ample brilliance; her eyes showed an appreciative expression, but it was quickly reced by a baleful look. Pointing at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling striding across the Thousand-Li Dream and Ten-thousand-Li Spots, she said, Those two are our horses; are you going to quibble about it? The three were even more stunned. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, My two Han brothers have been riding these horses from Shanhai Pass to this ce; are you sure Guniang is not mistaken? Greatly displeased, the Shiwei beauty said, I, Shili, have never lied. If you dont believe me, just look at the side of their inner thigh, see if there is our Great Shiwei branding on it. That is impossible to remove. Crying inwardly, Not good! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling leaped down their horses, and looked at their horses legs to check. Sure enough, Xu Ziling found the branding at the side of the Ten-thousand-Li Spotss right hind leg; he groaned inwardly. Kou Zhong stuck his head and said, This time it is really bad. Turns out Da Xiaojie has bought stolen goods. Heaving a deep sigh, Xu Ziling straightened up his tiger-body. He shrugged his shoulders toward Ba Fenghan and nodded helplessly. Smiling bitterly, he said, Unexpectedly our horses are stolen goods! Ba Fenghan felt big headache. Clearing his throat, he spoke to Shili, Hey, this must be a misunderstanding. My two brothers are not horse thieves; they just bought stolen goods by mistake. Guniang can look up my, Ba Fenghans face and transfer ownership of the horses to them, Guniang may set the price. Evidently Shilis prejudice against Han people had run deep; her pretty face revealed an only-ghost-believes-them expression, without looking at Kou and Xu, two boys at all, she let a cold humph and said, Our Great Shiwei horses are not for sale to Han dogs. Looking up your, Ba Fenghans face, they must immediately return the horses, and I can promise not to pursue this matter. Otherwise, they will bear responsibility of all consequences. The crowd on the street jeered; some even cheered and pped, showing their resentment and hatred toward Han people. The remark was resolute and decisive [orig. chop the nail and slice the iron (idiom)]; there was no room for negotiation. Seeing how speaking to the left she mentioned Han dogs, speaking to the right she called Han dogs, inwardly Kou Zhong was furious. Guniang can make Zaixia bear what consequence? he spoke heavily, Please underline your words. He was speaking in fluent Tujuenguage, which was currently the mostmonly spokennguage in the prairie, so most people understood him. But even if they did not, they could always ask those who understood. Very quickly the morous main street quieted down; everybody wanted to see how the Great Shiweis Shili would deal with the two Han men. Although the crowd did not know which hallowed figures Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were, but since they had the qualifications to be Ba Fenghanspanions, plus they had the imposing and impressive appearance, the air of a sects martial art master, naturally they could not be ordinary people. Xu Ziling busily pulled Kou Zhongs sleeve and rebuked him in low voice, Although the fault is not on us, but in the end we are in the wrong. Kou Zhongs anger had not diminished, he said, But she shouldnt curse Han dog, Han dog, vertically and horizontally. Was Laozi born just to be cursed by her? Shili did not understand Hannguage; she crossed her hands, so that against her skin, the colorful bracelets covering her arm made her look even more tender than a flower. A cold smile hanging at the corner of her mouth, she said, My future husband Bielegunatai will be here tonight; if you are a man, dont leave. The crowd was thrown into uproar; around the Songhua river basin, the Mengwu Shiweis Bielegunatai and Bugunatais fame for fighting prowess was more resounding than Ba Fenghan; no wonder Shili did not even consider Ba Fenghan to be worthy in her eyes. Finished speaking, Shili turned around and led her tribesmen away. Xu Ziling called in clear voice, Guniang, please wait. Shili halted her steps, yet she did not turn around. Feigning anger coquettishly, she said, Spit it out. This Guniang has no time to talk nonsense with people who dislike having a long life. Xu Ziling was not angry at her insult of not showing her face; smiling, he spoke to her ky back, This horse belongs to Guniang, let me return it to its rightful owner then. The crowd on the street exploded into a burst of jeering, full of mockery and despise toward Xu Ziling. They mistakenly thought that hearing Bielegunatai brothers name, he was scared out of his wits and thus immediately gave in. Even their opinion toward Ba Fenghan took a big hit. Ba Fenghan simply watched with folded arms in a rxed manner; he was not moved by the crowd filling the streets rowdy jeering. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, This crafty and unruly girl reminds me of Dong Shuni. She is beautiful all right, but certainly impervious to reason. Just save your tongue a little bit! Shili still did not turn around;ughing coldly, she said, A horse that Han dog already sat on, I dont want to touch. Just leave them with you to apany your burial. Lets go! Shili Gongzhu [princess], hold on! Shilis tender body shook slightly, she slowly turned around to look at the direction where the voice wasing from. As a matter of fact, by this time, everybodys eyes were on the speaker. The person was standing up from the other side of inside the shed; a hint of profound-mystery smile was hanging on the corner of his mouth. This person was only around twenty years old, but the expression showing in his eyes was like he had been through the hardships of life, and that he could see beyond the fa?ade of the ways of the world. This kind of contradiction made him exuding some kind of demonic, strange vor. His face was long and narrow, his skin fair, like a womans. Whether he was handsome or not, it was not worth mentioning, but overall, he made people feel that he possessed some unusual charm. Even with Ba Fenghan, three mens experience and knowledge, it was still the first time that they encountered such a character. In just one nce, they knew that this mans martial art skill was definitely not inferior to theirs. Startled, Shili said, Its you again! The man smiled and saluted, saying, Its me, Liexia. But Gongzhu must not misunderstand! Its not that you happen toe across me in here; rather, I, Liexia am following Gongzhu here. At a loss against him, Shili angrily said, Who wants you to follow me! The crowd was unable to figure out the rtionship between the two. Shrugging his shoulders, Liexia smiled wryly, his manner confident and at ease, distinguished and aplished, he turned and walked over toward Ba Fenghan, three men. Saluting, he said, I, Liexia, dare to guarantee against anything that these few Han friends are definitely not horse thieves. Gongzhus informationwork is too ineffective! Unexpectedly you dont know that Shaoshuai Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose names in the Central Earth are like the sun in the middle of the sky C havee in person to the prairie. At the Helian Fort south of Tong Wan City they were joined by Ba Xiong, Pusa, and seventy warriors, forcefully resisted Xieli and his Golden Wolf Armys violent attack until daybreak. After that, with Tuli, they rendered big blow on Xieli at the Rushing Wolf ins on the banks of Qielulian River. Such figures, how could they be horse thieves? The street suddenly grew so quiet that a needle dropped would have been heard; it could clearly be seen how shocking his speech was. The fact was that the news about Xielis troops defeat has been spreading rapidly like a gue to all nooks and crannies of the prairie, its just that nobody knew the details as thorough as Liexia. Shilis eyes emitted hard-to-ept-and-be-convinced expression, for the first time she sized the two boys up with full attention. More and more Ba Fenghan and the others felt that this persons depth was hard to fathom; they were unable to ascertain his foundation. With his hands behind his back, Liexia exited the shed and came to the middle between the two sides on the street. He spoke gently toward Shili, Were it not for them, Xielis army might have had their horses drink the water of Songhua River. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Lie Xiong praises us too much. We are just lucky not to die! Feigning anger coquettishly, Shili said, Who wants you, Liexia to meddle in my business? If you annoy me again, I am going to have someone break your dog leg tonight. Laughing heartily, Liexia said, Didnt you try to break my dog leg many times already? So why is tonight different? Ah! I know! Tonight, your sweetheart ising! With such remark, nobody did not know that Shilis side had fought many times with Liexia, only they were helpless to do anything toward him. The Shiwei warriors shouted at the same time and drew their cavalry sabers, but no one dared to attack first, which affirmed the crowds opinion one step further. Furious, Shilis beautiful face turned deathly pale; stomping her feet, she angrily said, Lets go! Without casting half a nce toward Ba Fenghan and the others, she angrily led her men away. Liexia shook his head and sighed bitterly. But then a smile appeared on his face, as he spoke to the three, The fish here is very famous; how about allowing Xiaodi to be the little host to wash the three gentlemens dust away? Unexpectedly he was speaking in Hannguage with very articte pronunciation and vocalizing. Book 40 - 7 – The Head of Bright Sons Lie Xiongs Hannguage is better than mine, Ba Fenghan said, I wonder if that is because you have lived in the Central Earth for a long time? The four men were sitting around the table on y terrace on the side facing the river of a shop specializing in sheepskin trading along Hualins main street, enjoying the river scenery in front of them and drinking wine. ording to Liexia, this shop was opened by Huihe people, and thus the reason he chose this shop was to obtain his nsmens assistance. However, the three felt that the Huihe shop owner, which was called Keleidaming, was particrly deferential toward him, it did not like an ordinary rtionship between fellow tribesmen. The three felt that Liexia was a profound mystery; although his speech was pompous, he was polite and showing respect toward them. Yet they always sensed that he had an ulterior motive; certainly he was not as simple as he appeared on the surface. Therefore, as soon as he started the conversation, immediately Ba Fenghan deftly cross-examined him. Liexia was pouring wine for the three; hearing the question, heughed and said, This ignorant person has never been to the Central Earth, but has always had great admiration toward Central Earth culture, hence I study hard to understand Hannguage, so that when Ie to the Central Earth, there wont be any misunderstanding or obstacle due tonguage differences. Xu Ziling was enjoying the beautiful scenery of the fertilend extending for a thousand lion the opposite bank of Songhua River. Among the luxuriant forest, he saw several herdsmen wearing garish and beautiful little hats in the distance, driving arge flock of cattle and sheep slowly away. On the water flowing toward the northwest, fishermen on wooden rafts were pulling the and casting the; everything was brimming with the breath of life. Inwardly he could not help feeling anxious even more. Various tribes outside the Great Wall were heading quickly toward dangerous struggle; would there be a day where the peace and security before his eyes were going to be destroyed? Liexia continued, Keleidaming will send someone to put a few different mud-burning fresh fish on the table so that three gentlemen can sample it. On the other side, the main street was still moring; horses and sheep were squealing, the terrace felt like it was far away from the hustle and bustle, so that they appreciated the quiet side of the Songhua River even more. Their horses were within their line of sight in the backyard connected to the y terrace, resting and grazing peacefully. Clinking his cup in a toast, Kou Zhong said, We came across Lie Xiongin here, I wonder if it was due to another misunderstanding. Earlier, Liexia was joking with the Great Shiweis Princess Shili, telling her not to misunderstand that this was a coincidental meeting; hence Kou Zhongs remark. Liexiaughed aloud and said, Of course its not a misunderstanding at all, because this ignorant person has heard the news and came here specifically to wait respectfully for the three gentlemens good selves. Not expecting he would be this forting, the three were stunned. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, Lie Xiongs news is fast and abundant, which is quite impressive. How did you guess that we woulde to Hualin? Liexia replied indifferently, From Yan Yuan to Longquan, Hualin is the road one must follow. Based on various Dages style, naturally you cant possibly be shing and pulling, fleeing and taking a roundabout route; am I right? Xu Ziling pulled his gaze back from the ins on the opposite bank and cast it toward Liexia. This person seemed to carry some kind of evil, demonic and strange temperament, yet it was precisely this characteristic that made up his unique charm. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes emitted sharp rays of light; sizing him up with full attention, he said, If Lie Xiongis unwilling to tell us frankly the reason you are looking for us, we will immediately brush our sleeves and leave. Letting out a longugh, Liexia said, Shaoshuaiis too serious! The reason this ignorant person sitting here with the three gentlemen drinking wine and sampling the fish is to warn the three gentlemen: several most formidable figures from Qidan, Mohe and Shiwei, three sides, have decided to ignore your close rtionship with Tuli; not only they are going to stop you from delivering the Five-Colored Stone to Longquan, they will also try to kill you at all costs. The Furens heart is the most poisonous of all; you have fallen into that s1ut Meiyans malicious scheme. Letting out a cold snort, Ba Fenghan said, Lie Xiongand us are neither rtives nor friends. Why isnt Lie Xiongafraid to offend the three sides power and take the risk to warn us? Sketching it in light shade, Liexia said, Because I practically am not afraid of them, but toward three gentlemen I do have heartfelt admiration. Kou Zhongughed and said, Lie Xiongis indeed outstandingly outspoken and straightforward. Only I wonder which figures are you talking about? Can you tell us? Liexia dly replied, From Qidan, naturally the various tribes big tribal chiefs led by Abaojia. From Mohe, its the HeshuiMohes Houjin Tiefuyou, who is like water and fire with Bai Ziting. As for Shiwei, they are Shen Mohuan and Mu Ling, the Husband and Wife Team of Evil Thieves. In order not to offend Tuli, each of them dispatches the very top martial art masters, to do everything they can to get rid of you, neat and clean. Therefore, if three gentlemen fall into the ambush, you will encounter their ten-thousand-junthunderbolt attack. If three gentlemen lower your guard, perhaps you will suffer big loss. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Unexpectedly Mengwu Shiweis Bielegunatai brothers are not involved? Shaking his head, Liexia replied, Bielegunatai and Bugunatai, two brothers martial art skill is unrivalled, they have no reason not to fight alone, how could they lower themselves to join forces with others to take advantage of the many to strike the few? Therefore, no need to worry that they would participate in this kind of crafty scheme. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Lie Xiongs news is indeed fast and abundant, beyond conventional reasoning and morals. But how do we know that Lie Xiongis not the martial art master sent by three sides coalition army? Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong had simr suspicion. The stern light in two pairs of eyes was ring greatly; if there was one wrong word, they were ready to strike with all their strength to kill this person, to avoid endless trouble in the future, because this mans martial art skill, ability and wisdom, were all able to make others wary and apprehensive. Liexia suddenly reached out to pull open the front piece of his jacket, exposing his broad and sturdy chest. Surprisingly, there was a tattoo of strange graphic, dominating by red and yellow fine lines; at first nce it looked like a strange beasts head, but it also looked like dark green human face with tusks. Startled, Ba Fenghan said, Da Ming Zun Jiao? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce. The Da Ming Zun Jiaotattoo on Liexias chest was clearly not the same as the tattoo on the wolf-bandits bodies; could it be that the wolf-bandits have nothing to do with Da Ming Zun Jiao? Liexia spoke seriously, This ignorant person is precisely the head of the Five Bright Sons, Miao Kong Mingzi[lit. wonderful air/empty bright son], under Da Zunzhe[great honored sir] and Shan Mu[benevolent mother, see also Book 38 Chapter 10]. By now gentlemen ought to understand why this ignorant person is so well-informed, moreover, unafraid of anyone? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Isnt Lie Xiongan enemy and not a friend to us? Astonished, Liexia asked, When did we tie any enmity? Staring at him fixedly, Xu Ziling said, Wasnt Shanhai Pass Sao Niangziyour people? Laughing involuntarily, Liexia said, Turns out there is this misunderstanding in the middle. Sao Niangziwas indeed our Cults people once, but then she betrayed our religion and ran away into the Central ins. Remembering that she had served her for many years, Shan Mudecided not to pursue this matter and spared her life. Kou Zhongughed and said, Before her death, she was still reciting your Da Ming Zun Jiaos scripture; apparently her apostasy was notplete at all. Liexia cheerfully said, Ming Zunbless and protect; unexpectedly at the deaths door she relied on a bit of divine light to get back on the right path. After death she might leave the dark and enter the light, into the blessednd of eternal light. He pushed everything away neat and clean, so that the three were unable to do anything to him. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, The reason Pusa was expelled from Huihe, could it be that it does not have the least bit rtionship with your honorable Cult? Smiling bitterly, Liexia said, This is an even bigger misunderstanding. This ignorant person himself is a Huihe, naturally I hope to have a hero and towering figure like Pusa to revitalize Huihe, so that we could follow the national strength, as the tide rises, the boat floats, to spread our teachings. Pusa was actually chased away by Xieli, who was putting pressure on Shijian. But Shijian pushed the me on us. It is indeed an injustice. Xu Ziling said, Lie Xionghas said so much, but you still havent told us why your honorable Cult wanted to help us. Liexia smiled and said, We are hoping that three gentlemen could deliver the Five-Colored Stone into Bai Zitings hands. Having a sudden understanding, Ba Fenghan said, Turns out Lie Xiongis standing on Bai Zitings side. Throwing his head back, Liexiaughed aloud and said, Incorrect, incorrect! Actually, both we and Meiyanalike, we have bad intentions, because the moment the Five-Colored Stone is delivered into Bai Zitings hands, he will be the sovereign in spirit to unify Mohe. Even if Tiefuyou is also jealous of him, under pressure of the other six Mohe tribes, he still had to acknowledge allegiance to Bai Ziting. However, good fortune or disaster depends on oneself. Outside the tribe, this Five-Colored Stone has no effect, it would only draw outsiders and Tuli to join hands; they wont have any scruple in raising the weapons of war to snatch the Five-Colored Stone away. Bai Ziting also deeply understands this reasoning, so he wont be grateful to you at all for delivering the Five-Colored Stone to him; too bad that in regard to this gift, it wont be right to receive it, but not receiving it would not be right either; am I right? Hearing that, the three looked at each other; they had never thought that the Five-Colored Stone would involve such a tangled andplicated situation. No wonder when Tuli learned that they were going to deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting, he immediately abandoned his n to pursue Xieli. Liexia continued, Our target is actually not Bai Ziting, but that Mad Monk Funantuo. After Bai Ziting appointed this man as the Teacher of the State, immediately he banned religions; moreover, he ruthlessly killed our Cult people, and established the Tianzhu Xiejiao[lit. evil cult of Indian subcontinent] as sole orthodoxy. Therefore, Da Ming Zundered Bohai Kingdom as the kingdom of darkness. Only by getting rid of the devil and killing the demons will we begin to make the light to ovee the darkness. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Thank you very much Lie Xiongfor telling us frankly. Now, whether we ought to deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting or not, we need to reconsider. Liexia said, Naturally this matter must be decided by three gentlemen. Whether the Five-Colored Stone will fall into Bai Zitings or other peoples hands, it wont do Bai Ziting any good. However, this ignorant person must warn three gentlemen, Cui Wang is actually Bai Zitings man, so to three gentlemen, he is an enemy and not a friend at all. The three sadly looked at each other. Since his appearance, Liexia has been in the lead,pletely in control of the initiative. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, You are very clear of our affairs. Who does not have any informer in Shanhai Pass? Liexia said, If it wasnt through looting and cheating, surrounded by powerful neighbors pressing down on him, how could Bai Zitings national strength grew day by day, enabling him to carry outrge scale construction, establishing Longquan as Little Changan? If three gentlemen are willing to work together with me, this ignorant person guarantees that not only gentlemen can get the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin back, you can also kill Cui Wang to rid the world of evil. After a short pause, he went on, A trivial Five-Colored Stone, suddenly reversing the entire situation of all parties in the prairie, although Xieli is in favor of Bai Ziting founding his kingdom in order to draw Abaojia and Tuli, but he is also unwilling to see Bai Ziting unifying Mohe to be formidable enemy in the future. Therefore, he secretly allows Shen Mohuan to participate in the operation to snatch the Stone away. The most ridiculous thing is that Xieli has suffered untold hardships to invite the Central ins number one talenteddy Shang Xiufang to perform during the founding a kingdom ceremony for Bai Ziting, who is engrossed in Central Earth culture, but now this matter is evolving into she can only sing a dirge for the vanquished nation, and thus benefiting this ignorant person, who is an admirer of the talenteddy Shang. What? Kou Zhong blurted. He could not help remembering his desire to bid Shang Xiufang farewell in Changan, but because Shang Xiufang was pouring wine for Ke Dazhi behind closed door, he waited for the entire sichenin vain, and finally, getting impatient, he left. Turned out it was for this matter. Xu Ziling noticed that when Liexia was mentioning Shang Xiufang, his pair of eyes immediately emitted longing and intoxicated expression; thereupon he asked on Kou Zhongs behalf, How did Talented Lady Shang agree to take the long and difficult trek toe to this faraway ce? Swaying his head as if he was reciting, Liexia said, Talented Lady Shang has always been fascinated by the art of various tribes beyond the Great Wall, Xieli already guaranteed that she would be able to aplish this wish, naturally she is unwilling to miss this opportunity. I really wish I could grow a pair of wings on my back and immediately fly to her side, to get a glimpse of her immortal countenance, and listen to her immortal voice. If I could personally obtain her fragrant beneficence, even if I die, I would not have any regret. The three stared nkly at him without saying anything; they mused inwardly that possibly this man was a version of the Passionate Prince from beyond the Great Wall, only he was a lot more demonic, strange, and terrifying. Facing this enigmatic Huihes martial art master, Kou Zhong was unsure whether he ought to treat him as a rival in love, knowing that what he said was not false, because he remembered in the past when he shared a banquet table in Luoyang, she indeed praised the innovation and liveliness of the music and dance of the people beyond the Great Wall; he also remembered Linglong Jiao and thought about the music and dance of the renowned Qiuci Kingdom. If he had the opportunity, he surely would like to go there to gain first-hand experience. This moment however, he did not even have the slightest idea of which direction Qiuci Kingdom was. Liexia suddenly recovered his cool-headedness, he said, The friction between Tuli and Xieli has caused fast change of scene in the northeast. Apart from Mohe, Abaojia and Bielegunatai brothers also have the heart to unify Qidan and Shiwei. Whoever can take advantage of this opportunity will be able to expand outwards, as well as pacify the inside to resist foreign aggression. Therefore, no one wishes to see a neighboring country grow strong. Wouldnt you agree that it has be a race of whos going to unify whom? It has not been this lively for a long time. Ba Fenghan said, Bai Ziting bing the target of a multitude of arrows, the turn of events could be quite bad. Shaking his head, Liexia said, Bai Ziting is surely a leader who has the most vision and the most powerful talent. The stance he adopted, which is establishing the Little Changan because he admires the Central ins culture, in essence is targeted to the cavalry war of the neighboring kingdoms, by using city defense in ce of battlefield operation on the ins. Three times have Qidan troops attacked Longquan, all were pushed back without any sess. He can defend, and afterwards can attack. Besides, Bai Ziting has the full support of the Gaoli King behind his back; otherwise, there is no need for the neighboring countries to join forces to attack him. Suppressing the agitation and distress, which Shang Xiufang aroused in his heart, Kou Zhong said, Lie Xiongs proposal of cooperation, we have to think it over first. Liexia smiled and said, Of course. Three gentlemen, please rest here, whatever you need, do not hesitate to tell Keleidaming. But it is not suitable to think too long either; we must grasp the initiative, to strike first and gain the upper hand. Taking advantage while the enemy have not join forces, we strike and destroy them one by one. This ignorant persons biggest usefulness is that I have a vast intelligencework at my disposal, I know the enemys situation like the back of my hand. Kou Zhong could not help asking, I wonder if this moment Talented Lady Shang has already arrived at Little Changan? Liexias eyes lit up again; he said, She ought to be on the way. Under escort of the martial art masters, which personally led by Ke Dazhi, she is going to visit various kingdoms of the Western Regions Turpan, especially Qiucis collection of Han culture, the prairies culture, Persian and Tianzhus culture. Their music and dance can be rated as number one in the world. That is the ce that Talented Lady Shang must visit. Although he was speaking without thinking the matter through, it was clear that Liexia had superb knowledge and experience; he was definitely not an ordinary man. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have never thought that they might encounter such figure beyond the Great Wall; not only that, he was the head of the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Five Bright Sons. What kind of person is Meiyan Furen? Ba Fenghan asked, How did the Five-Colored Stone fall into her hands? Liexia spoke in distress, Until now we are still unclear what kind of person she is, or what her goal is. The Five-Colored Stone was originally kept inside Abaojias tent [i.e. capital of a nomadic people]. Five years ago it was suddenly stolen, no one has any clue; only recently it was widely rumored that it is in Meiyans hands. It was only when she handed it over to three Dagethat she caught everybodys attention and set off huge waves. Xu Ziling already made up his mind not to cooperate with this person; seizing this opportunity, he asked, Lie Xiongdoes not really know her, but why is it that when you talk about her, you gnash your teeth in anger? Forcing a smile, Liexia said, To be quite honest, this ignorant person has always had particr interest toward women. Although I cannot say I cannot stand them, but I can more or less gain a little from them. Only, since encountering her I was tricked repeatedly, so that my fury is hard to pacify. Three gentlemen should not misunderstand; I never used force dealing with women. Something that is difficult to get, theres nothing interesting to be said. Ha! We are farther and farther away from the original subject! Toasting him, Ba Fenghan said, Honestly, until this moment Ol Ba is still unclear whether Lie Xiongis a friend or a foe. But whatever the case, let me salute you one cup first, because even if you are an enemy, you are a hard-toe-by opponent. Laughing aloud, Liexia raised his cup and said, Ba Xiongis quick, both the person and the tongue, making this ignorant person feel delighted. Let us all drink a cup. Tonight is definitely not an ordinary night. Let me offer best wishes for threeDageto win a victory on raising the g, your mighty prowess shake the prairie. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heroic spirit burst forth, they both raised their cup. But the cup has not touched their lips, suddenly they heard footsteps. Arge number of warriors appeared in the backyard, and swarmed toward the y tform. Without even looking, the four men continued bringing their cups to their lips and drank. Dozens of Qidan warriors burst in like a tide from the rear courts gate, and every one immediately took strategic position, forming a semi-circr battle array, everybody pulled his bow with an arrow at the ready, surrounding them only about two zhangaway, and took aim at the three men. Ba Fenghan casually tossed the wine cup onto the ground, creating a shattering noise, while with his other hand he wiped the wine stain on the corner of his mouth. Laughing hoarsely, he said, Why wait until tonight? This is still dusk, but its already very interesting. Xu Ziling did not even pay attention to the threat of these fifty strong bows and powerful arrows, he slyly looked at the red sun going down under the earth, but his mind actually went to the Five-Colored Stone inside his pouch. Should he, or should he not deliver this treasure? If Bai Ziting was rted to the wolf-bandits, naturally his death was not enough to be pitied, its just that if he brought harm and suffering to ordinary people, how could his heart endure it? Murderous intent appeared in Kou Zhongs eyes; looking at the enemy, he slowly put down the wine cup, and shouted loudly, Whosing? The Qidan warriors moved aside; Ku Ge, under escort of more than a dozen martial art masters, stepped out of the troop formation, his pair of eyes emitted deep hatred, he fiercely said, Kou Zhong, have you ever thought that a day like today woulde? Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, That is precisely what Xiaodiwanted to say to you. Liexia turned around to face Ku Ge and said with augh, Wangzi[son of a king], before you make your move, please look behind you first. His countenance changed, Ku Ge looked back. More than a dozen Huihe men appeared on the roof of the rear court, the leader was precisely Keleidaming, their hands held strong bows, all were aimed at Ku Ge. Just now when they burst into the shop, the people inside the shop were scattered like birds and beasts, how could the think that suddenly these people became serious threat, which lived high and looked down [idiom: upying higher ground] C to them? Liexia even teased him, Hows Wangzpared to Xielis forty-thousand-strong Golden Wolf Army? It would be better if you sit down and eat some grilled fish; this is what is called it is better to squash enmity rather than keeping it alive [proverb]! Ku Ges countenance became even more unsightly than unsightly. Book 40 - 8 – Subduing the Enemy without Fighting Ku Ges countenance alternated between clear and dark; clearly, he could not make any decision. He wasing to seek revenge and settle the ount, it was not driven by momentary impulse at all; rather, it was after giving it careful consideration, knowing that only by exploiting the unique situation of this shop, which front end was facing the street, its y terrace on the backyard facing the river, he would be able to carry out his strategy of swarming out and using powerful arrows at close range to attack the enemy, to kill or injure martial art masters of Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Xu Zilings caliber. As for Liexia, he had never even heard about him, hence he did not take it to heart. This slight miscalction on his part has caused him to be trapped into enemies in front and behind him situation. Furthermore, he started to feel that Liexia and his men were not ordinary people. Ba Fenghan looked at Ku Ge; he seemed to be oblivious of the sparkling-like-crystal arrowheads pointing at him. Revealing an extremely grim smile, he spoke indifferently, I have a proposal. Ku Ge, if you are a man, why dont you have a one-on-one duel against Shaoshuai, to provide us with some entertainment before eating the grilled fish. If you, Wangzi Dianxia [your majesty son of a king] have the ability to kill Shaoshuai, Xiaodi and Ziling Xiong will immediately kill ourselves on the spot as a gift to you. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Fenghan Xiong has a very good idea. This is equivalent to each side sending one man to decide both sides life or death, victory or defeat. Its so much more interesting. Ku Ge answered back sarcastically, Even if in the Central ins you are a local worm, in here you are no more than a dog that has fallen into dire straits. Beaten by Bi Xuan, you ran to this ce with your tail between your legs, yet you still dare to show off. These sixty archers of mine, none is not a divine archer; moreover, they are a group of elite fighters, our best quality personnel. This time you are too careless in underestimating the enemy. Ba Fenghan spread out his hands and shook his head; he said with a sigh, Xiaodis first battle against Bi Xuan indeed ended in defeat, but I am looking forward to the approaching second battle. If even Bi Xuan, Ol Ba is not scared of, who do think you, Ku Ge, are? You, Laoxiong, ought to know Ol Bas style, I have never been afraid of viting Buddhist monastic discipline against killing. Emotionally moved, Liexia said, So Ba Xiongs battle against Bi Xuan Kulbelen is not unfounded rumor at all. Xu Ziling pulled his gaze back from the beautiful scenery of the twilight in the sky and swept it across the Qidan warriors pulling the bowstrings; each opponent was very stable, without swaying the least bit. He could not help smiling as he said, Why did Lie Xiong think it was an unfounded rumor? Is it because Old Ba is still alive and kicking? An astonished expression shed through Liexias face, but it quickly disappeared. Obviously it was because Xu Ziling had seen through the load on his mind, and thus he was wary of Xu Zilings ability and wisdom. Nodding his head, he said, Xu Xiong is guessing correctly. If Ba Xiong really had decisive battle against Bi Xuan, then Ba Xiong is the first opponent that Bi Xuan wanted to kill but he could not kill. This time it was Ku Ges turn to tremble inwardly. Although he heard the rumor, he only had vague knowledge that Bi Xuan had pursued to kill the three, but he did not know the details. Now that he heard from the persons involved with his own ears, he mused inwardly that if Bi Xuan was unable to kill Ba Fenghan, would he be able to do it? Thinking to this point, his will to fight was reduced substantially. The feeling of more than a dozen arrows from higher position looking down threatening his back C was greatly intensified. He really hated this no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation. Ba Fenghan smiled wryly toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he said, You see, Bi Xuans attitude is this fierce and severe and awe-inspiring; losing several times under his hands with the good fortune of not dying unexpectedly has be some kind of glory. His Niang! I am the first person that Old Bi killed but did not die! And then a deep, unfathomable lightning light exploded within his pair of eyes, he turned his eyes toward the eternally flowing water in the river, he spoke slowly, word by word, Bi Xuan! You are going to pay the price that you cannot afford for your mistake. I finally know what you are made of. This remark was more formidable than any threat or intimidation. It heavily hit Ku Ges spirit and willpower. Ba Fenghan was no more a defeated general under Bi Xuans hands, but now he became the most terrifying swordsman with most qualifications to challenge Bi Xuan. Finally a thought to retreat sprouted in Ku Ges mind. Four men confronting sixty arrow tips, yet they were still able to talk andugh as though nothing had happened. What spirit, what charm! Ku Ge could not help being convinced. The more than a dozen personal guards, martial art masters on his left and right were entirely the most valiant warriors within his tribe. Yet this moment every one stayed quiet out of fear; clearly they were intimidated by the four mens imposing manner. They did not even dare to breathe loudly; how could they fought this battle? Xu Ziling followed Ba Fenghans gaze, enjoying the beautiful open country scenery on the opposite bank under the setting sun low on the horizon, thinking that the prairie was indeed a ce that could bewitch and turn people upside down. Its vastness could make peoples imagination run wild like the four legs of a horse. Thinking to this point, he suddenly felt disengagement from the battlefield, while enjoying some kind of indescribable serenity, the extraordinary situation all around became even clearer instead. He seemed to grasp everybodys internal and external changes. In that instant, Xu Ziling understood that he has finally entered the realm that he and Kou Zhong have been pursuing all along, the realm of the moon in the well. Turning his gaze to Ku Ge, he said, If Wangzi is willing to promise that you are not going to move the weapons of war anymore, have your men put away their bow and arrow first, and then I will guarantee safe passage for Wangzi to leave. Other things are simply nonsense. They were speaking entirely in Tujuenguage, so that all three sides understood clearly; their gaze could not help concentrating on Ku Ge, to see whether he would choose war or peace. Suddenly bean-sized beads of sweat were starting to form on Ku Ges ashen face, from his forehead flowing down his cheeks, and finally dripping on the ground. Anybody would know that in staking-in-all qi momentum faceoff, Ku Ge was defeated silly, his troop disposition was in a mess. Ku Ge suddenly stomped his feet and roared, Lets go! And then he turned around and walked away. The crowd of Qidan warriors promptly put away their arrow, and hurriedly followed behind him in such a sorry state. In a sh they all disappeared clean and neat. Liexia raise his cup and said, Wheres the fish? Come! I salute three Dage one cup. Only today I understand what is called subduing the others troops without fighting. Top quality warhorses, for sale at the price of half a sheet of sheepskin. Come and get it quickly, otherwise youll miss this opportunity. Buy a horse, get a free saddle! The three quickly disseminated the horses that they took from Huyan Jins men in an empty lot at the eastern end of Hualin. They exined that the horses originally belonged to horse thieves, but people were still so eager to buy. Ba Fenghan led the way, while the two boys apanied him on his left and right. Their three beloved colts were obediently following behind them. This moment they have be such divine figures, their military sesses were shining. How they scared away Ku Ge and his several dozens warriors has already passed on fromyer uponyer of people, with eachyer added washes of ink or color to a painting [idiom: to exaggerate/to embellish]. Hualin people, due to their ability to drive out Xieli, already regarded them as heroes; therefore, everywhere they went, there were cheers and apuses, and extreme politeness and respect. Although Kou and Xu, two boys were happy that they were no longer considered as Han dogs, they were pestered beyond endurance. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Its definitely Liexia, that kid, whos ying ghost, doing everything he could to make us the focus of attention. It would be best if we could stake it all against all sides men and horses and defeat them entirely. Kou Zhong said, It looks like our grand n to buy new clothes has to be temporarily set aside. Leaving as quickly as possible seems to be the best move. Hualin after dark seemed to be a different scenery altogether. In the dozen or so y buildings along the main street thentern was dark, the fire ck. The main street, which during the day the dust was rising, was deserted by both men and horses. On the contrary, bonfires sprouted out everywhere across the hilly country, the mor reached to the sky. Some people even sat around the bonfire, singing and dancing. The atmosphere was full of exotic air. On top of that, the sheep were bleating, the cows were mooing, the camels braying and the horses neighing. The feeling was hard to describe. The three turned into the dark main street, heading toward the northeast, away from Hualin, rxed and leisurely. Ba Fenghan said, I wonder what did Ling Shao think about this man, Liexia? Xu Ziling replied, This man is a bit like Shi Zhixuan, from head to toes he exuded demonic qi, and he is harboring unfathomable motives toward us. Therefore, Old Ba, you resolutely refused to work together with him, it is definitely a sensible act. Kou Zhong said, If Zhu Yaofu is willing to speak, she could surely tell us what in the world Da Ming Zun Jiao really is. But now this kid, Liexia is giving me a headache; I wonder if the wolf-bandits are really like he said, i.e. Bai Zitings tool to grab some silver taels? In this matter, Ba Fenghan said, I am sure that there wille a day when as the water recedes, the rocks appear. If what Liexia said turns out to be true, our eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin will fall in. The sound of the water of the riverpping against the shore wasing from the left side. Under the beautiful scenery of star constetions filling the sky, from straight ahead two dark shadows were appearing; one tall, the other short, upright and unafraid standing in the middle of the street, blocking the road heading out of Hualin. Kou Zhong looked with rapt attention, heughed aloud and said, Could it be Bielegunatai and Bugunatai brothers of Mengwu Shiwei? The man who is half a head taller than the other had a pair of axes hanging on his back, he was thick and solid, his body was well proportioned and perfect. His long hair was draped across his shoulders, his age could not be more than thirty years old. His face was full of beard, his outline was distinct and prominent, heroic, mighty, yet simple and unadorned. His entire body exuded overwhelming aggressiveness, like a big tree that could stand forever without falling over, unafraid of any storm, any wind and rain. The shorter one was as robust as iron tower. His broad and thick shoulders made his entire body appeared to be rectangr. A cavalry saber was hanging on his waist, his eyes fierce and severe, but his hair was short, only about a cun long, stiff like iron needle, like a brush that was used to scrub pigs or horses mane. His appearance could not be considered handsome, but there was a valiant, heroic, mighty feeling, which attracted other peoples favorable impression. The tall one responded in Tujue; he let out a longughter and said, Precisely us, brothers. I am Bielegunatai,ing with a specific purpose in mind to send my regards to the three gentlemen. The three continued until they were about five paces away from the two before stopping. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, Ba Fenghan has heard two gentlemens name for a long time, today we can finally meet, you are indeed not disappointing. Bugunatai raised his thumb and spoke solemnly, Good men. Relying on three mens power, you resisted Xielis Golden Wolf Army at Helian Fort; if you are not heroes, I dont know who is. Bugunatai is full of admiration. Bielegunatai joined in, Although we have heard about Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings mighty power spreading all over the Central Earth, we still thought it was exaggerated rumors; who would have thought that two gentlemen had just arrived in the prairie, you immediately reversed the entire situation of the grasnd, your might covered thend beyond the northern border. Such heroes and towering figures, we, two brothers admire wholeheartedly. The three were greatly surprised; they never thought that the two would be this polite and courteous, and truly pushed away evil spirit to the utmost. Bugunatai said, We came with a specific purpose in mind to wee three gentlemen and to meet at our camp. We will all drink until daybreak; as for whether tomorrow we will be friends or foes, let that be tomorrows problem. Ba Fenghans heroic feeling surging, he agreed on behalf of the other two, Please show the way. Bielegunatai brothers camp was far from Hualin, it was set up about half a li on the hilltop. There were more than seventy tents, nearly five hundred riders, none was not brave and good fighter. With such strength, plus the Bielegunatai brothers, if they had frontal confrontation, the side suffering losses would certainly be Xu Ziling, three men. Nevertheless, they were undaunted at all; following the Bielegunatai brothers, they went straight toward the main tent at the heart of the camp. The main tent was surrounded by arge area of empty space, with four campfire built on all four directions. In fact, everywhere in the camp, bonfires were zing, men and horses went back and forth, filling the prairie with valiant, primitive vor. Following the Bielegunatai brothers, the three dismounted from their horses. Warriors with long hair draped across their shoulders swarmed in,peting to look at the three mens air. Bielegunatai waved his arm and spoke a few Shiwei words. The crowd of Shiwei warriors immediately burst into loud cheer, some even toss their helmets and hats into the air. The scene was zing, making peoples blood boiling. Bugunatai excitedly exined, They are cheering for the three heroes driving away the Golden Wolf Army. They went inside the tent and sat down. Outside, the Shiwei warriors were still sitting, singing, and dancing around the campfire, their emotions were running high. Bielegunatai fetched a sheepskin bag of cheese, he took a bit first, before handing it to Kou Zhong and said with augh, Just now, due to misunderstanding, Shili offended Shaoshuai, I hereby apologize to you. Those two horses were my gift to her, but now I want you to take them to make amends. Kou Zhong felt awkward instead, Those two horses ... hey! he stammered. Bugunatai resolutely said, Shaoshuai does not need to be concerned about that; if you want to settle the ount, you ought to find the thief who stole the horses to settle the ount. Xu Ziling started, Shili Gongzhu, she ... Bielegunatai cut him off, Forget it! Women are like wild horses, they are unwilling to be tamed. With that said, the two guessed that because of the earlier problem with them, Shili had some disagreement with her future husband, and had left sulkily. What exactly is the rtion between the three gentlemen and those Huihe people? Bugunatai asked. Ba Fenghan received the cheese, took a big bite, and praised it first, How sweet! before answering, This man, it was the first time that we met him. He is harboring unfathomable motives, and we are not friends with him at all. And then he continued with serious expression, I heard two gentlemening this time, it is to stop us from delivering the Five-Colored Stone to Longquan; I wonder if there is such thing? This moment someone served roasted sheep thigh, Bielegunatai took out a sharp knife and personally cut the meat. Handing the meat to the three, he smiled and said, That is the rumor we spread out to fool peoples eyes and ears. The fact is that we areing to the east this time, there is another n, but the one we want to deal with is not three gentlemen but someone else. Humph! So what if Bai Ziting obtains the Five-Colored Stone? Tuli will be the first person not to let him off. Hearing that, the three looked at each other, while thinking inwardly how could it be so? They felt that these two brothers were not simple at all, they were not men who relied on pure weapons of war or valiant, fierce battles. Greatly bewildered, Kou Zhong asked, Who is the person that two gentlemen want to deal with? Bielegunatai nodded slightly toward Bugunatai. Immediately the murderous intent in Bugunatais pair of eyes red greatly, as he spoke heavily, The one we want to kill are Shen Mohuan and Mu Ling, who are known as Husband and Wife Team of Evil Thieves. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, How can there be such a coincidence? We also want to take Shen Mohuans dog life. Why dont two gentlemen tell us more on their wicked conduct, so that our intention to kill him will be strengthened? Bugunatai still thought that Kou Zhong wanted to kill Shen Mohuan because he intended to seize the Five-Colored Stone; unconcerned, he said, We want to kill him, not because of personal grievances at all; rather, it is for the sake of our children and future generations. Stunned, Ba Fenghan said, Unexpectedly it is that serious? Bielegunatais in and simple, majestic and amazing face became as staunch as a rock, his pair of eyes lit up with unusual light, shing brightly, yet he remained tranquil, Can I interest three gentlemen in taking a stroll outside the camp? he said. The five men came to a small hill about a thousand paces outside the camp. Bielegunatai lifted his eyes to gaze at the magnificent starry sky, as if he was able to look deep into the end of the blue dome of heaven. He spoke slowly, Currently, the struggle in the prairie is already developing into the struggle between the Eastern and Western Tujue, various divisions of Tiele, eight branches of Mohe, Tuyuhun, big tribal chiefs of Qidan, and the various tribes of our Shiwei. Those with a clear view of things know that if they do not want their family lost and their tribe perished, they must unite their inside divisions first. Therefore, even if the condition has notpletely matured, Bai Ziting is forced to take a risk. Abaojia also has to form an alliance with Huyan Jin, whom he always despised in the past. Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling were mesmerized by his touching expression and his speech, which fully expressed the knowledge and experience in his bosom, thinking that this man was by no means a nobody. Bugunatai spoke indifferently, The most powerful among the various divisions of Tiele was originally Xue Yantuo. But if Pusa manages to ascend to the position of Sijin Shijian, Huihe, under leadership of this broadminded mighty talent with exceptionally good reputation, will definitely able to unify various divisions of Tiele. Bielegunatai suddenly asked, What kind of person Li Shimin actually is? Why is Xieli so afraid of him? Coming over to his side, Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward the campfire over Hualin in the distance, and spoke with wry smile, Frankly speaking, after arriving at the prairie, I already forgot about him. In short, just like Pusa to Tiele, Li Shimin is the most promising person to unify the Central ins. Ba Fenghan said with a sigh, Shaoshuais way in using words and dispatching characters is certainly exquisite beyondpare. One sentence and you exin the subtle meaning behind it all. Looking at Kou Zhong, Bielegunatai said, Any nation, turning from decline to glory, must have heroesing forth inrge numbers. Looking at Kou Xiong and Xu Xiong, such iparable geniuses, is precisely the omen that flourishing period is about to arrive. Once the Central Earth is unified, it will certainly be under big centralized unified empire. And the first to bear the brunt will definitely be the most powerful tribe in the prairie. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Whether the world [reminder: tianxia nd under heaven) also refers to the whole China] will belong to Kou Zhong or Li Shimin, the first thing they do will be to look for Xieli to chop his head. Xu Ziling began to understand what he meant when he said for the sake of our children and future generations. This pair of brothers certainly stood tall and saw far, they made predictions and preparations for the vast-without-clear-boundary, unfathomable future, in order to avoid greed on the temporarily easy andfortable life before their eyes, which nted the seed of cmity to the perished tribes of the future. It made him think, just like the two brothers, to have a clear view of the ups and downs of this matter. Bugunatai smiled and said, Anybody could surrender and transfer their allegiance, only Xieli cannot surrender. Once he surrenders, he will be done for. In the prairie, no one will be willing to obey him anymore. Therefore, the moment the Central Earth is unified will be the day he would abandon everything to go all-out to invade the Central ins. Revealing a hint of bitter smile, Bielegunatai sighed and said, We originally thought that no one in Central Earth is able to control Xielis Golden Wolf Army, who would have thought in the Helian Fort and Rushing Wolf ins, two battles, Shaoshuai, in iron-d fact, announced it to the entire prairie that Xieli is not unrivalled hegemon at all. Therefore, if Shaoshuai unifies the Central ins, this side grows the other side disappears, it will be difficult for the Tujue to call themselves the mighty anymore. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I understand! Therefore, you want to take advantage before a powerful empire appears in the Central Earth, to make adequate preparations to deal with the new situation in the prairie after Xielis Khanate copses. Really formidable! Very few people have such a far-reaching view. The furthest thing I can see is the Little Changan bing the capital of Longquan. Without restraint, Bielegunatai put his hands on Kou Zhongs broad shoulders, and blurted outughing, Talking with Shaoshuai is definitely a joy in life. Shen Mohuan is colluding with Xieli, he is a traitor to our Shiwei people, everybody hates him to the bones. If we, two brothers, can behead this man, our prestige will immediately rise tremendously, and will naturally be able to unify Shiwei. At that time we will pledge allegiance to Shaoshuai, sending you tribute year after year, Shaoshuai cant possibly treat us meagerly! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Good guy! Your n is meticulous indeed; moving the troops executing the n, there wille a day Mongolian people will raise abruptly in the prairie, sweeping across the six directions [north, south, east, west, up, down/the whole country/the universe /everything under the sun] on the foundation that two Laoxiongid out. Ba Fenghan said, In that case, wouldnt it mean we are doing two gentlemen a big favor? Shen Mohuans sand-bandits always hide in the desert,ing and going like the wind, appearing and disappearing unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, yet this time we lure him out of the desert, like a vicious fish out of the water; getting ughtered will be their only allotted share. Bielegunatai smiled and said, This is a one-in-a-thousand-year golden opportunity; therefore, we are hoping to work together with two gentlemen to chop his head. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, This move of Laoxiong will most likely provoke the anger of Tiefuyou and Abaojia, who will stop at nothing to destroy us. Bugunatai spoke with a coldugh, In the prairie, we brothers only have misgivings against Bi Xuan, Xieli and Tuli, three men. We will do whatever we love to do, we dont care what other peoples reaction will be. These words exuded intense sense of self-confidence and heroic spirit soaring into the sky. Since it came from the bottom of his heart, it did not feel too ear piercing. Bielegunatai spoke indifferently, Do not despise these five hundred brothers from our tribe who came with me. None of them is not carefully chosen one out a hundred, just like the ready-to-die warriors by Pusas side, even if the enemy has a thousand men ten thousand horses, we are absolutely not afraid. Kou Zhong spoke in Hannguage, Ling Shao and Old Ba, what do you think? Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghan replied, There are so many kinds of game, this must be one of them, let the lord chooses. Xu Ziling did not say anything. Kou Zhong reached back to draw Bielegunatai into his embrace;ughing out loud, he said, Even if you are not the most formidablemander-in-chief, you must be the most outstanding lobbyist. From today onward, we are brothers andrade-in-arms. If in the future I can unify the Central ins, we will join hands to strike Xieli down, and bring about all-around peace and security to the prairies. A shooting star shed by from the horizon, just like a vanishing dream, but it looked like the beginning of a dream even more. Book 40 - 9 – Seeking Life in Death Under the light of the dawn, the three men urged their horses to gallop; climbing over to a higher elevation, they looked over the road ahead. The rolling hills, which looked like waves in the ocean, extended as far as the eye could see, sparse and dense forests spread over the big earth. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, In less than three days, we can pass through the hills, forests and ins. To pursue us in this kind of terrain is no more than a fools dream. Kou Zhong looked back; he focused his attention to look closely at the ins extending toward Hualin. Feeling strange, he asked, Why didnt the enemy make their move to deal with us at Hualin? Xu Ziling said, My guess is that they have misgivings toward Tuli. ording to Bielegunatai brothers analysis, out of the three parties of men and horsesing to deal with us, only Shen Mohuan has enough guts to kill us. The other men are afraid that tying a deep enmity with Tuli would cause them no end of trouble. Because Shen Mohuan had Xielis support behind his back, plus he had hiding ce in the desert, he was not afraid of Tuli at all. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, After entering this hilly area, we can choose any point to break a siege and leave. Anybody who wants to pursue wont be able to pursue, anyone who wants to intercept wont be able to intercept. Therefore, if the enemy wants to rob the Five-Colored Stone or to kill us, they will be able to do it only by direct interception before entering the forest, right? Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, Are you saying that in one of the dense forests ahead ambushing troops are hiding, waiting respectfully for our honorable selves arrival? Must be so, Ba Fenghan replied, This one hurdle, we must charge through forcefully relying on our strength, and then turn back to chase and kill Shen Mohuan. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, The enemy is waiting in tight formation, and their strength is hard to fathom, if we charge through forcefully, wont we suffer too much losses? The refined light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes was burning; he scanned the area far and near, and said, You see, in the distant woods, you can see birds circling in the air, ying happily. Only on these several dense forests ahead of us are devoid of the birds; from this, we could draw conclusion that these several mountain forests have ambushing troops hiding inside, scaring the birds away. The ambushing troops distribution is clear. The worst-case scenario is if the enemies from the three sides, Abaojia, Tiefuyou, and Shen Mohuan are forming an alliance, in which case their total military strength ought to be nearing one thousand. From Bielegunatai brothers, they received urate intelligence pertaining to the enemy. Abaojias Sparrow Hawk Army, under Kunzhihuangs leadership, has had a predestined affinity to meet with them once. At that time they only had around twenty men, but all were outstanding martial art masters from various divisions of Qidan tribe. By relying only on these men, if life or death battle happened, it would be enough to deal with them. [Note: back in Book 39 Chapter 2, it was Huangzhikun, plus their number was more than a hundred; either a typo or a different person, these Chinese transliterations of foreign names are difficult for me to fathom.] Tiefuyous side had fifty elite fighters under his personal leadershiping to the east, naturally all of them were warriors, veterans of a hundred battles. And Tiefuyou was both intelligent and brave; he himself was a martial art master with illustrious fame for fighting prowess in the prairie, his strength was unquestionable. Both these two sides men and horses valued exquisiteness but not numbers, because they did not want any publicity, doing everything they could to avoid provoking Tulis anger. If they werepelled by circumstances to kill the three, they would quickly go into hiding and push everything away from them, nice and clean, or perhaps they would push the me to Shen Mohuans sand-bandits. The fact was that Shen Mohuan exhausted all his elite troops ining here; his men, the sand-bandits numbered nearly eight hundred. The sand-bandits cruelty and notoriety spread far and wide; crisscrossing the desert and the prairie, they had never lost any battle. Even if they retreated asionally, while returning in a swirl of dust [idiom: to regroup ande back even stronger], they were able to ruthlessly injure the enemy. Naturally they were not men who were easy to deal with even more. Any one groups strength was enough to give the three men headache. If they joined forces in an ambush, once the three fell into the heavy siege, they would be forced into hard battle, perhaps they would not be able to leave alive. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Deploying troops, dispatching ns, the best strategy this time seems to be to go back to Hualin, buy a wooden raft, and enjoy the beautiful scenery of Songhua Rivers coastal area along the way. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Fancy that you, this kid, can still crack jokes in time like this. Last night, with heroism reaching to the clouds, you already promised Bielegunatai brothers to join hands to exterminate Shen Mohuan, yet now you shrink back as the time for battle approaches; are you going to disrupt the whole punishing-the-enemy grand n? Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes lit up, he spoke heavily, I was really cracking jokes. Old Ba, why dont you be in charge? This kind of ins, forests, hills battle, you ought to be more of an expertpared to us. Ba Fenghan said, I only know how to choose the most beneficial terrain for us to break through the enemys siege. However, the enemies are all martial art masters whosebat experience cannot be enriched more; what appears to be the weakest point might perhaps be the strongest ce instead. Xu Ziling said, If we get off the horse to rest now, what would the enemies do? Ba Fenghan replied, They will be forced to attack before dark. But as far as I can see it, Ling Shaos tactic may not necessarily work. They must already have their men hiding in Hualin to cut our retreat path. Without the cover of the forest, it would be more difficult for us to break the siege. Looking up at the sky, Kou Zhongughed and said, Since we cant advance or retreat, we could execute another prating battle n; I want to see who has enough qualifications to block my path. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, This is not any prating battle n; rather, it is following the path to our own doom! If the enemiesid out severalyers of siege inside the forest, it would be like we are walking right into the trap. I have a better proposal, which is to find where Shen Mohuan is first, and then release the rocket that Bielegunatai gave us, perhaps we can turn defeat into victory! From the prey, we will be the hunter. Ba Fenghan said, Although it is not the n we agreed with Bielegunatai brothers, to me, it can still be considered a method to meet a contingency. Question is: how are we going to find Shen Mohuans location? They had originally nned to use themselves as bait. As long as they could lure Shen Mohuan to pursue from behind, Bielegunatai brothers would be chasing their tails, and then from front and back, they wouldunch pincer attack to deal with the sand-bandits. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Come with me! Taking the lead, he urged his horse downhill, charging toward the enemy ranks. The twoughed aloud and rushed down the hill behind him. The threeunched the man-and-horse-as-one technique, the horses they were sitting on became the extension of their own flesh and blood, as they headed toward the closest jungle to their right. Automatically they formed a triangr formation, with Xu Ziling in front, and Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan bringing up the rear. Thetter two had their Extinguished Sun and Perished Moon Bows in their hands. The bows were stretched open. Swish! Swish! Powerful arrows were sent out of the steel string, imbued by the two mens concentrated true qi, turning into two streaks of lightning traversing the nearly one-thousand-pace distance, and disappeared into the forest. Two miserable screams responded from the forest, followed by a rain of arrows shooting back at them. Too bad that even the farthest arrow was still three hundred paces away from bing any real threat to them. Xu Zilingughed aloud. He suddenly pulled the rein and changed direction to gallop straight toward the open ins, across and away from the forest. Battle cry rose up. From the ce where the two arrows strike just now, random sound of hoof beats came, several dozens of riders were charging out of the woods, the warriors bent their bows and put on their arrows,ing diagonally to cut their tail. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhongs murderous temperament was aroused, they repeatedly turned around to release strings of arrows. From the front row of the enemys soldiers, constantly someone got hit and fell off the horse. Suddenly from the left side of the forest ahead came the sound of battle drums, as hundreds of enemies rushed down like a tide from the top of the hill, to pursue the three men galloping across the open ins between the hills; clearly they intended to intercept them. If it were someone with slightly lower ability and wisdom, seeing such enemies momentum and troops disposition, he would certainly go back to where he came from. But the three already saw the ambushing troops behind the enemy, of course they would not fall into the trap. Xu Ziling decided on the direction; slightly swerving to the left, he rushed at an angle away from the cutting-across enemies, to avoid being cut off and fall into hard battle situation. The three mens horses were fast, they already left the enemy pursuing them from behind far away. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans two divine bows were now dealing with the enemies on the right-hand side. Everywhere the arrows arrived, men fell face up, horses were overturned, in an extremely desperate situation. The enemys battle cry shook the heavens, they charged from the rear and the right side. If it were people with smaller guts, they would have pissed in their pants in terror and scurried off like a frightened rat into the wilderness. However, what kind of people these three were? Even the prairies most formidable elite squad, the Golden Wolf Army was detained all night at the top of Helian Fort; what kind of situation they had not seen? They felt their heroic spirit soaring to the sky instead, their fighting spirit rose up, they exploited the undting terrains of the hills to the fullest, to avoid the disaster of being trapped inside heavy siege. Also, taking advantage of their fast horse and divine bows, they hoped to lure out the ambushing troops behind the enemy, so that they could either fight or escape without any apprehensions. Xu Ziling ran to the top of the hill first. Quickly sweeping his gaze around, he indeed saw the dust was rising to the sky in the direction of Hualin, more than two hundred riders in fan-shaped formation was rushing toward them,pletely sealing off their retreat path. If they did not know the true strength of the enemy, it would not be surprising if they did not panic. But from the Mongolians they obtained urate intelligence, they knew that the enemys coalition force numbered in around nine hundreds; naturally it was another matter altogether. This was precisely the knowing yourself and knowing your enemy, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles from Sun Tzus Art of War. The enemying from Hualin consisted of more than twenty percent of the enemy forces. The strength on this side must be no more than six hundred men. The appearing enemies were about three hundred men, in which case the ambushing troops inside the forest still remained three hundred men. The situation for them became extremely favorable. Xu Zilings mind went back to the moon in the well realm like the one he experiencedst night, under threat of the tip of the Qidan warriors arrows, he stood still and became a Buddha, as if he suddenly withdrew from the flesh-and-blood-flying battlefield, yet his innermost being generated reaction to all external surroundings that not even a sliver could leak through; he fully grasped any subtle changes of the entire situation. Just like in the game of chess, the current situation and any possible changes on the chessboard was like a pearl of wisdom being held in his grasp. If he chose the next step properly, then he would be able to lead the enemy by the nose. Letting out a long whistle, unexpectedly Xu Ziling turned his horse around to charge toward the enemy ridersing from Hualin, rapidly going down the hill. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan fully trusted Xu Zilings decision; they followed closely on his left- and right-rear. The enemies charging out of the forest now converged to be one group, pursuing them from behind. The sound of hoof beats shook the hills, the grassy ins swayed, the dust rolled up to the air, covering the sky and concealing the sun. They were still about fifteen hundred paces from the iing enemy. Xu Ziling again let out a shrill whistle to tell the other two to change direction, they reined their horses to the right, traversing another hill, moving toward the top. On this side of the dense forest area, no enemy trace was in sight, five hundred enemy riders wereing from behind, on the left and right, covering the mountains and the ins. The three galloped at full speed, constantly pulling farther and farther away from the enemy. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan no longer released any arrows to attack the enemy, with heart and soul they urged their horses to run faster, so that now they were in horse race against the enemy. Ready to prate! Xu Ziling shouted loudly. Kou Zhong responded in great joy, Delighted! Delighted! This group of idiots can only eat dust and suffer the arrows, they are nothing like his mothers elite troops. Xu Ziling took the lead to go round a curve, now they came from the left side of the dense forest area to prate the enemy at an angle. This was certainly a grand gamble; if the Mongolians intelligence was wrong, and there were enemies inside the forest, then they would C no doubt C die. The dense forest was constantly growing. ording to Ba Fenghans bird watching technique just now, the spot they were going to forcefully breaking through ought to be the northern extremity of the enemys ambushing troops location. If they did not enter the forest but ran away to the left, they could escape by entering the hills area, so that other than strenuously pursuing behind them, the enemy had no other way. Under this kind of situation, the enemy could only try to get out of the forest first to seal their escape route on the left, and then they could attempt to heavily surround them. Sure enough, bugle horn sounded. More than fifty riders from the end of the formation charged outside. The leader was a short and stout, tyrannical man, wearing a feather cap on his head, seven colors, rich and diverse, the bright colors dazzled the eyes. Where do you think you are running away to? he shouted loudly. Ba Fenghan replied in Tujuenguage, Turns out its the Heishuis [ck River] Tiefuyou; whos running away? Xu Ziling let out another longugh, he abandoned the northern part on his left side, and changed direction to his right, speeding along parallel to the dense forest area, following the edge of the forest. This move was greatly beyond Tiefuyous expectation, so that he pounced on empty space; without any better option he changed direction to run after the rising dust behind the three men and horses. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, This is not prating battle, but ying hide-and-seek in front of the troop disposition. Even Sun Tzu, the Senior has not written something like this in his book. Ha! Urging their horses to run at full speed, the three continued along the forest but did not enter, leaving the enemy entirely behind. Whoosh! A powerful arrow was shot from the dense forest, traversing the more than a thousand-pace distance, straight toward Xu Ziling. urate and ruthless, really made people gasp in amazement. Facing death, Xu Ziling did not panic. With lightning or spark-from-the-flint speed, hepletely grasped the angle and the approaching momentum of the arrow, suddenly he reached out, unexpectedly he grabbed the iing arrow head-on. A burst of scorching and sharp jolt assaulted the hollow of his palm, a clear sign that the archer was definitely not an ordinary martial art master. Shen Mohuan! Kou Zhong called out loudly. The two men finally understood how Xu Ziling was able to identify Shen Mohuans position among the enemy crowd, which was by luring Shen Mohuan to shoot the arrow using the Flying Cloud Divine Bow that he stole from Jian Dashi. Only the arrow shot from the Flying Cloud Bow could reach more than a thousand paces away. The hardest part of this battle was not in breaking the siege and escaping at all, but in helping Bielegunatai killing Shen Mohuan. If they could destroy this allied armies, they would be able to go leisurely toward Longquan via the scenic route, to enjoy the excitement. Kou Zhong swung his arm to release a rocket. Bang! It exploded in the sky into a burst of red cloud. Let the spearhead battle begin! he shouted sternly. Even without his reminder, Xu Ziling already turned his horse around, without any fear he galloped in the direction of where the arrow from the Flying Cloud Bow wasing from. Like flying locusts, powerful arrows swarmed out from inside the forest. Xu Zilings mulberry wood bow hacked to the left and chopped to the right, hepletely blocked the iing arrows, while his other hand sent out punches across empty air to hit the arrows so that they lost direction and were deflected elsewhere. And thus Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were able to concentrate on shooting the enemy, firing string after string of powerful arrows. This moment from the end of the enemy ranks on the right hand side more than twenty riders were charging out. Needless to say, this must be Qidans Great Tribal Chief Abaojias ready-to-die warriors. Another group of more than a hundred riders came out of the forest right ahead, trying to intercept them in the ins outside the forest. Long-range attack and defense evolved into a close-up, short-weaponed-soldiery-fighting-one-anotherbat. The sand-bandits weapons were either saber or spear, some bent their bodies low by the horses belly to chop the horses legs with their saber, some leaned forward so that their head stuck close to the horses neck to pierce the enemy with their spear, trying to y the full advantage of long weapons. When the distance between the two sides was roughly seven hundred paces, this originally disordered-and-in-a-mess sand-bandits suddenly organized themselves into a battle array as if they were performing a show, into more than a dozen rows of elite squad, and then charged in wave after wave toward the enemy, making people gasp in amazement. Behind, the enemies covering the mountains and the ins were charging toward them; if from the front the sand-bandits could stop them even slightly, they would be trapped in deadly bloody battle. With their true qi, as well as their physical strength were rapidly consumed, plus with the loss of blood from their injuries, if they were able to withstand for the time needed to drink a cup of hot tea, it could be considered that they really had the skill. Even if the three grandmasters wereing in person, it would not be possible to break the siege and escape underyer uponyer of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses. Both in terms of tactics and equestrian skill, the sand-bandits were formidable beyond their expectation; it was even clearer that their battle array would be able to restrain their spearhead battle tactic. It was precisely spearhead battle versus spearhead battle; therefore, naturally the side with pitiful number of men would suffer big loss. The two sides were rapidly closing in. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong already shot theirst arrows, so they immediately drew their weapons. The four quivers full of arrows that they carried had been consumed entirely. The moment they were only about a hundred paces away from the enemys vanguard, Xu Ziling pulled the horses head to change direction, they were now heading toward the gap on the left side of the tip of the sand-bandits spearhead formation. The sand-bandits also changed their direction slightly to intercept will all their strength, attempting to cut in front of the three. The moment when the two sides were about to collide, Xu Ziling suddenly shouted loudly in Hannguage, Stop! Under the man-and-horse-as-one technique, the impossible thing was happening. The three horses were galloping at full speed, yet suddenly they stopped. Their hind legs were like being nailed firmly on the ground, so that the enemy was like a long snake missing its target. In this kind of riding the horse at full speed, the sand-bandits could only stare nkly at the enemy stopping about ten paces to their left; they simply could not stop their momentum and galloped past. Whileughing aloud, the three turned their horses around and ran in the other direction, still curving toward the forest where the Flying Cloud Bow was shooting from. The sand-bandits were now chasing them from behind. Kou Zhong spoke in great delight, Ling Shao is indeed formidable; you can y the enemys magnificent army with thousands of men and horses [orig. thousand troops ten thousand horses] in the palm of your hand. Ba Fenghan shouted against the wind, Shaoshuai exaggerated too much! One thousand men barely make up the number, where did the ten thousand horsese from? Arrows were raining directly at them, including the ultra-powerful arrow that was shot by the Flying Cloud Bow. Yet the three effortlessly blocked them all, and they still have time to chat andugh. From the number of arrows and darts, they were able to judge that the number of enemy inside the forest could not be more than a hundred; hence the three were in a very good mood. As long as they could break through the dense forest, the three would be able to disy their mobility and flexibility to its full potential; they simply had to try to hold out until their reinforcement, the Mongolian people arrived. Worst-case scenario, they could break the siege and escape. Amidst the sound of battle cry, more than eight riders were charging out of the forest. The two leaders riding at the front were one man, one woman. The man was wearing sixyers of iron round-chain armor, the inneryer was made of refined leather, the outeryer was full of hanging iron disks. The armor disks were linked together like fish scales, ordinary arrows could forget about prating the armor. The woman was dressed in plume base armor. The plume bases were stitched and strung together using hoof tendon to be armor sheet. She also appeared majestic and was not inferior to the man. This couple, whose name The Husband and Wife Team of Evil Thieves shook the area beyond the Great Wall, wore helmets on their heads, which hide most of their faces, exposing only their brows and eyes and mouth. The part protecting their nose was particrly humongous, making their appearance kind of odd. Shen Mohuan held serpentine pike. The body of the spear was made entirely of forged refined steel. Just looking at it from a distance one would know that the tip of the spear was sharp and difficult to block. Mu Ling held a shield in her left hand and a saber in her right. Her build was tall, big, and well developed. Although they could not see her countenance, her attractive figure was enough to stir up any males reverie. Looking at the heroic and the beauty of the husband and wife on the horseback, there was no doubt that they were martial art masters who couldpete against Xu, Kou, and Ba, three men. On top of that, with the elite sand-bandit troops under theirmand, it was not surprising that they were able to move unhindered across the prairie and the desert; moreover, they could make exceptional heroes like Bielegunatai brothers to have misgivings against them. Kou Zhong thundered in Tujuenguage, Shen Mohuan, your end hase! On the contrary, Shen Mohuan roared inughter and responded in Hannguage, Shameless boast! I want to see where are you going to. Xu Ziling used the back of his mulberry wood bow to heavily block the tip of Shen Mohuans serpentine steel pike, which was piercing at him from an angle. Thereby the fierce battle began. Book 40 - 10 – Pursuing the Enemy for A Thousand Li Mu Lings attack came at the same time as her husband Shen Mohuans. While Xu Ziling was busy with blocking Shen Mohuans serpentine pike, she slipped in from the left side. The sharp top of her shield, which was wide at the top and tapered down at the bottom, shaped like tree leaves, suddenly swept across horizontally, like a clump of cloud swiftly shing the Ten-thousand-Li Spots neck. This move was extremely vicious and sinister, which was also impossible to defend effectively. The most fierce and severe was that she exploited the horse speed to greatly enhance the momentum of her attack, so that not only the opponent had to grasp the changes of her move, but also to calcte the momentum of the horses four legs. The husband and wifes coordinated move was like seamless heavenly clothes, ruthlessly delivering a frontal assault toward Xu Ziling. Even with Xu Zilings martial art skill and his ability to gauge the enemy, he knew that it was difficult to block this couple, evil husband and wife coordinated attack on horseback. Shen Mohuansnce technique already reached the level of grandmaster, founder of a sect. Thence that appeared to be simple actually hid myriad of changes. Only by giving everything he had that Xu Ziling was able to hit the tip of thence with the back of his bow. He felt that the opponents attack, in which the true qi was linked in countless ways, left him with no choice but to give it all before he was able to deal with it. He suddenly shouted, Fenghan, protect the horses! Shaoshuai, kill the people! This was precisely Xu Zilings brilliance. He did not fall into the trap of focusing his attention to block Mu Lings shield attack; instead, he dealt with Shen Mohuan with all his strength, so that Kou Zhong, which was at his right rear would have a good chance to put the enemy to death. Although in front and back, all around was full of the enemy, yet the three were engaging the husband and wife team of evil thieves in closebat, in face-to-face confrontation; the rest momentarily did not have any chance to join the fight. If they could not seize this opportunity to kill Shen Mohuan, an instantter the fight would develop into a melee, and then they would not have such a good chance anymore. On Xu Zilings left side, Ba Fenghanughed aloud while injecting his true power into the horses body, urging the horse to run faster, without paying the slightest attention to Mu Lings shield, sweeping across to cut Xu Zilings mount. His long sword, which was now called the Stealing the Heaven, which mighty power overawed the prairie, thrust forward following his leaning body, turning into sharp rainbow, swiftly shing Mu Lings throat. Following the sword body, the sword qi burst forward in increasing intensity until it reached its apex, fierce and severe to the extreme point. Kou Zhongs mount stayed close to Xu Zilings, the Moon in the Well rose high overhead, and then it chopped down in straight line, hacking the middle section of Shen Mohuans serpentinence. Both sides movements were lightning fast, putting the horses brilliant characteristic as warhorses in full disy, without the slightest amount of reliance to luck. Mu Ling let out a tender shout, the cavalry sword in her right hand shed diagonally down on the Stealing the Heaven Sword, the shield in her left hand canceled its attack on the Ten-thousand-Li Spots, and was pulled back to protect her body. Ba Fenghans sword strike was the culmination if the skill he cultivated his entire life, it forced her to have no choice but to deal with it will all her strength. Thwack! The back of the mulberry wood bow shed against the tip of the serpentine pike. Shen Mohuan was shocked to find that Xu Zilings strike, which appeared to carry ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt force was actually as light as a feather, empty and floating. This was the first time that he encountered such martial art skill. Unexpectedly the qi power that he sent out in his attack was like throwing a stone and seeing it sinking without trace in the sea; it failed to affect the opponent the slightest bit. Just as he wanted to shift his spear sideways and pull back his true qi, the back of the opponents mulberry wood bow suddenly generated irresistible sucking force, pulling him, along with his horse, toward Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, which was hacking forcefully down on the body of his serpentinence. Qiang! Thence, which was forged from refined steel, broke, while the Moon in the Well, scraping along the body of thence, went straight toward the pit of Shen Mohuans stomach. The saber technique was exquisite, it already reached the arhat realm. Dang! Mu Lings cavalry sword shed the Stealing the Heaven Sword, but she could only deflected the Stealing the Heaven Sword a little bit, it still heavily stabbed the pointy-leaf shield. This beautiful womans body, whose head was covered in iron helmet C shook severely, both the person and the horse were knocked aside by the sword power. But she was exceptional as well; both legs controlling the horse, she evaded diagonally, the trailing shield neutralized Ba Fenghans sword power. In the blink of an eye she shed past Ba Fenghan and his horse. Shen Mohuan, under Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs, two young martial art masters of the highest quality of grandmaster level, whose tacit understanding no third person could emte C pincer attack, opened his mouth and spurted out blood. He made prompt decision, just before Kou Zhongs Moon in the Wells snatching-soul strike arrived, his body left the horseback and sprang backward, while the remaining half of the serpentinence left his hand and shot toward Kou Zhong, and then with a somersault hended on a distant location. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, What a pity! The brilliance of Shen Mohuan, husband and wifes martial art skill was really greatly beyond the three mens expectation. They staked everything and went all-out, yet they could only break Shen Mohuansnce and make him vomiting blood. The Moon in the Well swept the brokennce away. The enemy riders came inrge number. Xu Ziling was well aware that if the enemies in front were able to dy them even for a moment, then they could forget about another chance in this lifetime to enter the forest. This moment, the enemy riders nearest to them from behind were no more than five hundred paces away. Once the enemy from the front and back closed in, it would be like a wheel rolling over a praying mantis, squeezing them into minced meat sauce. With a loud shout, the mulberry wood bow in his hand deflected a long spear thrusting at him from straight ahead, his left hand performed the Treasured Vase Image, and hit the pit of the iing enemys stomach. By the time the sand-bandit left the horseback and flew backward, he already urged his horse to charge into the middle of the enemy ranks. They already had profound and ample experience in spearhead battle tactic. Xu Ziling became the sharp point of the triangr formation. Using the entire length of the mulberry wood bow, he parried the enemies weapon, while using the highly concentrated true power of the Treasured Vase Image of his left hand to send out strikes over empty air to repress the enemy. Although by doing this, the wear and tear to his true qi was extremely rapid, fortunately in term of strength, the enemiesing from the front were the weakest. Therefore, it could be said that it was another form of wear-and-tear battle, purely to see who would be able to stand until thest moment. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong, one sword and one saber, protected Xu Ziling on the left and right wings, so that he could single-mindedly devote himself to deal with the enemy at the front without any distraction, charging into the enemy to break the siege. From behind, the sound of hoof beats and battle cry was constantly approaching, yet they turned a deaf ear to it; even more, they did not have the time to pay attention to it. Life or death would be decided in this blink of an eye moment. Ba Fenghan unleashed the full capability of the Stealing the Heaven Sword. Since his mortal danger, escape alive moment relying on the Great Method of Exchanging the Sun, his sword technique, due to the transformation of his true qi, has evolved in a shedding ones mortal body and exchanging ones bones way into another kind of sword technique, that is, he could maintain his usual fierce, ruthless, crafty style, but it also became even more like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies, going or staying without any trace, speed contained within the slow, lifting heavy as if it were light, hidden within it the lord-overlooking-the-world air. After each contact with the enemys weapon, his Stealing the Heaven Sword could still retain abundant power and generate another change. Even when it was impossible to take the enemy, its changes seemed to be endless and would not be exhausted forever, transcending themon limit; it indeed had a somewhat stealing-the-heaven-exchanging-the-sun taste. On the surface it appeared that he was of one sword subduing the enemy, but the moves within it were profound, so abstruse to the point of beyond description. Kou Zhong was still opening and closing wide, his overbearing presence was pressing, appearing to be clumsy but was actually ingenious; every saber chop, whether it struck the enemys weapon or the enemys shield, was infused with the Long Life Secret, the Jade Annulus of He n, and the Demonic Emperor Relics, the true qi of three major wonder powers, like sh flood breaking the dam, bursting out in vortex of energy, so that each chop resulting in either death or injury, sending the enemy off his horse. The three men were of one heart, they all knew that they must not stop ever so slightly, hence each move they made was in full strength, holding nothing back, momentarily the enemy suffered a crushing defeat everywhere, those who tried to block were swept away. Suddenly the pressure lightened, ahead the forest was back in sight, the situation became all the enemies were behind, the dead and wounded were all over the ins. They no longer had the power to exert the man-and-horse-as-one technique, they relied entirely on the horses legs to try to escape toward the dense forest, which was still more than two hundred steps away. Like wolves and tigers whose vicious nature had been aroused, the enemies rolled in like a tide, arrows and darts filled the air. The three were already blood-soaked, and could only stake everything in blocking the arrows and pulling the arrows. If ahead was still t ins extending as far as the eye can see, they would surely not able to hold out for half a li, and would die under the enemys random arrows. Xu Ziling was the first to enter the forest. Kou Zhong let out a stifled grunt, his shoulder was hit by an arrow, fortunately his body immediately generated resisting power, so that the arrow only prated his flesh for half a cun and already unable to enter deeper, but his countenance was twisted in pain. Not far away bugle horn sounded, followed by thunderous hoof beats shaking the entire battlefield. Bielegunatai brothers reinforcement troops finally charged over. The threes spirit was greatly aroused; its a pity that they had no strength left to turn around and force the enemy out of the forest, otherwise, for Shen Mohuan, husband and wife team of evil thieves, everything bodes ill, no positive signs [idiom: everything points to disaster]. A few breathster, the three urged their horses to go deep into the dense forest, where the enemy arrows could no longer pose any threat to them. Outside the forest, battle cry reached the heavens. Bielegunatai brothers certainly did not merely toot their horn; their five hundred men were enough to suppress the enemys army of one thousand. Very soon it was Shen Mohuans coalition army that was all split up and in pieces, utterly defeated. Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling slowly recovered their qi, and turned around to charge and kill. Like cutting melon and chopping vegetables,ing across a man they killed the man, encountering an enemy they killed the enemy; the enemy troops were routed and running away in all directions, so that they did not know which one they ought to chase. In this moment of turmoil and chaos of war [orig. soldiers mutiny and troops rebel (idiom)], to find Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, would be as difficult as fishing a needle from the sea. But in the end they crushed the three biggest forces that tried to prevent them from proceeding toward Longquan. A smooth road was opening before their eyes. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Bielegunatai, Bugunatai, sitting on horseback, standing on top of a high hill, looking far and near. Behind them were the woods and ins at the end of the hilly area. In front of them, to the east they saw green pasturnd, studded withkes and interweaved with streams. Under the nting light of the setting sun, the open grasnd looked deste and vast, with no clear boundary; the scene was awe-inspiring. After many days of pressing on and following their trail day and night, Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, along with about a dozen of their men apanying them left and right, suddenly vanished into thin air, disappeared without any trace, not even leaving half a hoof print. Two of Bielegunatais men, carrying two bundles of something, galloped up the hill to see them. Upon opening the bundles to take a look, unexpectedly they saw that the bundles contained Shen Mohuan and Mu Lings helmets and battle armors. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, What kind of trick are they ying? Bielegunatai spoke heavily, The sand-bandits two most famous skills are following a trail and hiding their trails. I am not surprise that we suddenly lost their track. What I am wondering is why they were leading us outside the hilly area, but also leaving material evidence that shows clearly that they are assuming different identity, and running away in the direction of Longquan. Letting out a cold snort, Bugunatai said, It is clear that he is challenging us. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, This is possibly just a troops deployed to mislead the enemy tactic. The fact is that they are not going to Longquan at all, but are escaping back to Gobi Desert. Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling carefully examined the helmet and the battle armor; he said, Shen Mohuans eyes are very particr. I feel that he is not only cunning, his heart is brimming with hatred toward me even more, yet it was the first time that I met with him. This hatred might be greatly intensified because he suffered a crushing defeat this time, enough to make him disregarding everything to make reprisals. Perhaps in Longquan he will be able to find helpers to bite us back. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, I am ny-percent sure that it is Bai Ziting. Ha! If you dont believe me, Xiaodi can bet a sheep with you. The crowd was amused. That day, during the battle at dawn outside Hualin, Bielegunatai brothers and their Mongolian warriorsunched a massacre toward the sand-bandits; the Qidan and Mohe people were routed and fled. For three consecutive day and night they thoroughly pressed on Shen Mohuans escaping sand-bandits. Finally the sand-bandits who were able to follow Shen Mohuan running away out of the hills area remained only a dozen men. The desperate situation of this pursuit battle could be easily imagined. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Ling Shaos conjecture is rarely wrong. What do we do now? Bielegunatai said, Naturally several hundreds of us cant set foot in Longquan. Didnt three gentlemen have something called the Five-Colored Stone, which Bai Ziting could use to decorate the crown for his coronation? It would be better if you deliver the goods, while we will use our own way to mingle into the city. Well rendezvous inside the city, and then well think of a way to dig them out. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This game is bing more and more brilliant and interesting; Shen Mohuan, the Mad Monk, Bai Ziting, Five-Colored Stone, eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin, all have been pulled together into this establishing the kingdom of Bohai nation that will happen in more than ten days. His granny! Thest sentence was, naturally, spoken in Hannguage. Bielegunatai cheerfully said, To be able to fight shoulder to shoulder with three gentlemen is indeed a delight in life. Frankly speaking, we, two brothers, have always considered everyone else beneath us, but after being in contact with you, we cannot but admit that three gentlemen are certainly extraordinary men. Bugunatai spoke with wry smile, In the future, if Shaoshuai obtains the world, we, brothers will definitely not invade the Central ins; not only because we have all be brothers, but even more, there wont be any chance of victory. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Did you intend to invade the Central ins? Ba Fenghan shouted loudly, Shaoshuai definitely spoke nonsense. In the prairie, which tribe does not wish to enter and own the Central ins? The problem is that to invade the Central ins, the prerequisite is to unify the desert first. Only after there is no fears of trouble in the rear, one can turn his power to go down south. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings scalp went numb. The various tribes of beyond the Great Wall, not only heroese forth inrge numbers, each division was a strong contingent. Elite troops like the Li ns Tang Army greatly pale inparison with them. They were like a pack of ferocious evil wolves or hungry lions, pacing back and forth outside the farm, waiting for the opportunity to pounce inside to devour the fatty meat, while the people inside the farm were still staking it all, you die, I live, fighting against each other, splitting up in disunity. Bielegunatai continued, As long as Xieli and Tuli continue to be divided and fight each other, the Tujue Wolf Army will be powerless to invade the south, and one day another grasnd tribe will rise, towering as a peak, to rece them. Its just like the change of the seasons. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, As long as Bi Xuan exists, Xieli and Tuli can only end in friendly rtionship. The dispute between the two was because Xieli refused to see Tuli grows; even more, Tuli is standing in Li Shimins side. However, the defeat at the Rushing Wolf ins had woken Xieli up; he knew that it would be difficult to put Tuli in order. Even if he managed to aplish that, the Eastern Tujue will only ruin its own constitution, and wont be able to subjugate other tribes and various ethnic groups. Under this kind of situation, if Bi Xuan ising out to clear up the mess, who would dare not to look at his face? Within the Eastern Tujue, Bi Xuan was like a deity who received millions of warriors admiration and adoration, including Tulis generals and warriors. The reason it was Bi Xuan who undertook the task to hunt and kill the three men was precisely to use this as a pretext to establish his might. Bielegunatai could not help asking, Did you really fight with Bi Xuan like the rumors say? Ba Fenghan took a deep breath. Casting his gaze toward the horizon at the end of the ins under the sunset glow covering the whole sky, he nodded and replied, I did fight with Bi Xuan for the first time, and ended up suffering a crushing defeat. Bielegunatai brothers were emotionally moved. Thetter said, Bi Xuan shouldnt show leniency toward Ba Xiong, plus it was more than an ordinary martial artpetition, so howe Ba Xiong did not suffer the slightest injury? Kou Zhong answered on his behalf, It was because we managed to rescue him from Bi Xuans hands in time. In a way, it was the truth, yet it was quite ingenious, so that other people would not think that before Bi Xuan had any chance to kill Ba Fenghan, they forced him to retreat, and practically Ba Fenghan was not injured at all. Bugunatai sighed and said, Even Xieli and Bi Xuan are unable to do anything to three gentlemen, who in the prairie might be able to deal with you? Xu Ziling said, Is there any way we can sneak into Longquan with the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive? Bielegunatai replied, We have our people doing business in Longquan, they can make arrangement for three gentlemen to enter the city. Longquan is the ce in the prairie where Hannguage is widely used. However, three gentlemens shape and appearance are distinct; as soon as you show your face, others would immediately see through your identity. Kou Zhong carefully looked at Bielegunatai up and down; seeing this tough man was without malice, heughed and said, As long as there are appropriate materials, we could disguise ourselves as your Shiwei people; naturally you need to supply us clothes and equipment. Bugunatai cheerfully said, As long as during the five-day journey from here to Longquan you dont shave, let your hair loose on your shoulders, darken your face a bit, then you can be our horse dealer, driving a dozen or so Shiwei horses to Longquan to do business. I guarantee that no one will be suspicious. Bielegunatai said, We still have to search Shen Mohuan everywhere, to see whether he is stealthily sneaking back into the west. But before the big ceremony of Bohai kingdom establishing their nation, we will definitely rush over to Longquan to meet with three gentlemen over there. Xu Ziling spoke with a wry smile, We still have a big w, which is we dont speak your Shiweinguage. If we came across Shiwei people, wont we reveal the cloven foot right away? Bugunatai said, Each tribe of our Shiwei uses differentnguage, hence we are ustomed tomunicate with each other in Tujuenguage, so this is really not a problem. We are going to dispatch fast horse to notify our brothers in the city first, so that they can go out of the city to respectfully wee your good-selves. Three gentlemen, please rest assured. Letting out a longugh, Ba Fenghan said, Thus one word and its settled. After a good night rest, we will go our separate ways, and then well meet again in Longquan. The crowd chorused their agreement. In the prairie, a ce brimming with staunch men, heroes and towering figures, it was very easy to make mortal enemy, yet it was equally easy to make friends, to have familiarity at first sight, to treat one another with absolute sincerity. Book 40 - 11 – Longquan Upper Capital Longquan Shang Jing [lit. Upper Capital] was thergest city on the northeast prairie; to the south, it bordered Jingpo Lake [jingpo itself means mirrorke], the city looped around Changbai Mountain residual vein [not sure], facing the water on three sides. It was built on a piece of wide alluvial in, the soil was fertile, it relied mainly on agriculture, with animal husbandry as close second. Their main product was Xiangshui Rice, which was famous throughout the prairie, considered to be the best quality rice. Another distinguishing feature was that the water flowing in the city was entirely hot spring water, therefore, stone steps canals could be found throughout the city. The water was clear and abundant; whether it was for washing, irrigation, or ying, it was warm and pleasant, overflowing with delight. In term of size, Longquan was only a quarter of Changan, but it was also divided into the Outer City, the Inner City, and the Pce City, threeyers. There were ten gates on four sides; south and north had three gates each, each and west had two gates. The main street in the middle divided the city into two halves, left and right; naturally it was also called the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, which lead directly to the main south gate of the Inner and Outer Cities. In addition, there are four other main streets, crisscrossing each other and with other secondary streets. Just like Changan, the residential houses were divided intorge and small street blocks. The inner city was located right in the middle of the northern part of the city, surrounded by nine neighborhoods, with the Pce City located in the inneryer. The east side of the city was where the Forbidden Garden was located; inside there were pond, small bridge, fake mountain, gazebo and pavilion, the scenery was very beautiful. Although in term of scale the city defense of Longquan was far inferior to Changan, the city wall was also five zhang tall, built of basalt rocks; extremely sturdy, equipped with magnificent arrow towers, designed to deal with the cavalry-based enemies of various ethnic groups in the prairie. The defense was very solid. The Pce City had fiveyered pce hall. The main pce was also known as Taiji. The pce halls were connected by meandering corridors. This was where Bai Ziting governed his kingdom. Outside the southern gate, there was a stone lighthouse, consisting of twelve sections passing through carved basalt rocks structures; quaint and heavy. Each night, a special officer would light the torch at the top of the tower, the light shone high, it became the symbol and trademark of Longquan. As for Longquan Citys inhabitants, from their attire, customs, script, culture, and political system, everything was a carbon copy of Changan, so that when one was in the middle of it, one would think that he was back in Changan of the Central Earths Guanzhong. Since seven dayster was the grand ceremony of founding the country, diplomatic envoys from all over the ce havee to offer their congrattions; even various Mohe tribes in support of Bai Ziting also came in unending stream. Therefore, it was a magnificent and unprecedented event. The Vermillion Bird Boulevard was even more lively than Changan. The city defenses were greatly strengthened, and team after team of Bohai troops donning body armor and helmet continuously patrolled around to prevent anybody from disturbing the peace. Under care of Bielegunatais nsman called Shuwen, the three, disguised as horse dealer from Shiwei, paid the taxes to enter the city, and stayed in a courtyard house at the western part of the city. Since there was a hot spring pond in the middle of the courtyard, naturally the three need not be polite; after settling down the horse and sent Shuwen out to scout for some news, they stripped stark naked and dipped themselves into the hot spring. Hot steam was rising into the star-studded sky, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Unexpectedly there is such a ce outside the Great Wall;ter on I must sample the Xiangshui rice. [Note: xiangshui lit. means echo/sound/noise water.] And then, he curiously asked, Rice is rice; why is it called Xiangshui? Could it be that when it falls into the water [shui], it would ring [xiang]? Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, It is called Xiangshui, because under the paddy field is stone b of concentrated basalt rock, above the b is fertile soil full ofposting nts. The spring water flowing through gaps within the b make noises, the water temperature is higher, the irrigation is natural, it makes the best location to nt rice, hence the rice quality is special, and it is called Xiangshui. Shaoshuai understands? Kou Zhong revealed an Ah, so thats what it is expression, and then he said with augh, Would you say Bai Ziting is going to dress exactly the same as Li Yuan? Dont you think its funny? Ba Fenghan replied, Its not Li Yuan that Bai Ziting wanted to copy, but the Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian, who once unified the Central ins. It is said that he had spent quite a long time in Changan several years before Yang Jians death. At that time he was still young, and he had received in no small measure the influence of the atmosphere of the Great Sui at its peak. It should be noted that the Great Sui in that era was in a period of prosperity that was rarely seen in your Central Earth, the excellent cultural tradition since the Han and Wei dynasties, also the result of the fusion of the Wei, Jin, and North-South dynasties [which is also a generic term for historic period 220-589 between Han and Sui], bing the economic and cultural center of the Central ins and abroad. Imagine that after more than three hundred years of division in the Northern and Southern dynasties, where everybody set up independent regime, it returned to unity. But this unified country is no longer like the Qin and Han kingdoms, rather, it is a new country after the integration and invasion of various ethnic groups. Unless its someone like Song Que in the remote area of the south who still adheres to Han unification, anybody would be more or less affected. Xu Ziling said, Fenghan Xiong has very deep understanding of our Central Earth. I have a question in my heart, which I really wish I could ask for your guidance, but I hope you wont be offended. Kou Zhong spoke with a sneer, Can you not be that polite and so serious? We are all brothers, what cant possibly be talked about? Ba Fenghan said, I can guess what it is that Ziling wanted to ask; you want to ask that as a Tujue, howe I do not show great concern about the Tujue nation, right? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Fenghan Xiongs guess is really urate. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes flickering brightly, he said, Since ancient times, the people of the prairiecks your Central Earths cultural cohesive and unifying force. Even though there appear to be overlords with enough military power to conquer arge area of territory, in the end it always tend to split. This is the inevitable oue of the prairie civilization, which inhabited vast, but sparsely poptednd, and following water and grass to make a living. Even if they could invade the Central ins, ultimately they have no capabilities to govern such a vast and geographicallyplex territory, in the end they can only be assimted. Many, many years ago I have already seen this point; therefore, I have never had the desire to take spring and autumn great undertaking, and wish only to pursue my personal freedom, to explore the extreme pinnacle of the martial art way. Practically the concept of nation has never entered my mind. Obtaining sudden understanding, Kou Zhong said, In that case, Bai Ziting must be a man with the most far-reaching vision in the prairie. The establishment of Longquan is precisely to create some kind of cohesive force; he unifies Mohe first, and then unifies the grasnd. And studying Central Earth culture is to pave the way to invading and governing the Central Earth in the future. This fellow is more formidable than I thought. Ba Fenghan said, The path Bai Ziting is taking is already correct, but the time is not yet ripe, because the Tujue is still in its peak; on one side of my bed, how could I allow others to sleep soundly [idiom: how could I let someonee to my turf and boss me around (Courtesy of Akw)]? Xu Ziling remembered being in such flourishing, bustling with noise and excitement, exotic city, which was about to receive washing ceremony by the fire of war, yet he knew that he could not change anything. He could not stop sad feeling from welling up in his heart. Kou Zhong excitedly said, Lets take advantage of this time to discuss this matter well;ter on naturally we must visit the fake Vermillion Bird Boulevard to enjoy the festivity. But what are we going to do tomorrow? Shall we deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting? Along the way, we can see if that Mad Monk Funantuo really has three heads and six arms, his eloquence unimpeded. Xu Ziling said, The Five-Colored Stones matter should not be taken lightly; otherwise, there is no need for us to disguise ourselves as Shiwei horse dealer. I think we ought to inquire first whether Yuekepeng and the others have arrived safely, and then coordinate with them the grand n of assassinating the Mad Monk. Ba Fenghan said, If Funantuo died by violence, Bai Zitings grand n of founding a country will surely be done for. Xu Ziling secretly thought that this was precisely where he could exert his strength for the innocent people of the Little Changan. Currently Tuli was too busy to do anything else, if Bai Ziting failed to found the country, how could he have the time to mind anything that was happening on this side? But if Bai Ziting seeded in founding the country, coupled with the pressure from Bi Xuan, he might really make peace with Xieli. In which case, not only Bai Ziting would face imminent catastrophe, the Central Earth would no longer have good days ahead. Kou Zhong said, In that case, well see what we are going to do tomorrow. I hope that when Shuwen is back, hed have all the information ready, so that we know what to do to make Bai Zitings sky and earth turning upside down, and retrieve the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin that he cheated from Da Xiaojie. This moment Shuwen came back; he went over to the poolside and gave report to them. This Shiwei man was a real horse dealer; about forty-something years old. He did not have the valiant air of Bielegunatai or the other Mongolian men, rather, he appeared like a gentle schr. He wore Han attire, and spoke proficient Hannguage. He has mingled in the northeast for many years, and knew everything inside the city like the back of his hand. Shuwen cheerfully said, I found the whereabouts of the Jushi Kingdoms delegation! They entered the city only two sichen earlier than the three Daye. They are staying at the foreign guesthouse at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, near the Inner City. Knowing that Yuekepeng and the others were safe and sound, the three immediately felt a big rock was unloaded from their mind, and felt iparably rxed. Shuwen went on, There is no news of Meiyan Furen; her whereabouts has always been a secret, plus she possesses great magical power, even if she is inside the city, nobody will know. How about Shen Mohuan? Ba Fenghan asked. me of hatred was shing in Shuwens pair of eyes, he said hatefully, Theres still no information. As long as they really dare toe, we will definitely make it difficult for them to leave alive. In recent years, this pair of dog man and woman, under Xielis support, constantly robbed the livestock of our various tribes of Shiwei; they raped, kidnapped, plundered, not stopping at anything at all. Fortunately three Daye are undertaking the task to help for righteousness sake. This time we certainly must not let them off. Xu Ziling said, Is there any distinctive feature in their appearance? Shuwen dejectedly replied, Among the people that I know, no one has ever seen their true identity. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, They are another bunch of wolf-bandits. Relying on their strength, it would not be difficult to kill Shen Mohuan; the real difficulty was how to recognize him. Any news about Ma Ji? Kou Zhong asked. Shuwen replied, Ma Ji lives in a group of tents by Jingpo Lake south of the city. He has arge number of warriors with him, he even obtains Bai Zitings courtesy treatments. If three Daye want to deal with him, you must be a bit more careful. Is there any movement from Tuli? Xu Ziling asked. Shuwen had a ready answer, In the past few days, the city is abuzz with the rumor that Tuli, Abaojia and Tiefuyou are forming an alliance; soldiers might be at the city walls at any moment. But most people dont think that Tuli would really dare to invade our territory, because after Xielis defeat at the Rushing Wolf ins, he is trying hard to retrieve lost ground, Tuli ought to be too busy to spare time for a separate task. He then said, As for the caravans that came from the Central ins, there are three altogether, but their inside story is unknown. They are all arranged to stay at the foreign guesthouse. His eyes revealing excited look, he continued, Xiufang Dajia [Great Expert] is going to arrive in two days, because this morning Bai Ziting sent out the Ceremony Minister leading the troops to wee her. Obviously he received the news of Xiufang Dajias phoenix-self. Dejectedly Kou Zhong slinked back into the hot spring water, with overflowing-the-heaven-gigantic-waves surging inside his heart, his feeling filled with sadness. Shang Xiufang was the person he wanted to see the most, yet also the person he did not want to see the most. That kind of contradiction tore his heart into two dripping-with-blood halves. Astonished, Shuwen looked at the top of Kou Zhongs head inside the water of the pool. Dont mind him, Xu Ziling said, Where can we eat the most authentic Xiangshui rice around here? Shuwen replied, I already reserved a table at the most famous Dao Xiang Guan [lit. rice fragrant restaurant] on the Vermillion Bird Boulevard to wash the three Dayes dust. Ba Fenghan said, Shuwen Xiong must not hang out with us, because we made a lot of enemies, someone may fight with all his might at any moment. Awkwardly Shuwen said, This ... We are all brothers, Xu Ziling cut him off, There is no need to be polite, our proper business is more important. Shuwen had no choice but to agree. Kou Zhongs head came out from the hot spring pool, he blurted out, Dao Xiang Guan, such a good name; hearing it my tummy is already rumbling. Lets smell the rice fragrant first before thinking about other things! Just like that, he climbed out the edge of the pool. There was no empty table at Dao Xiang Guan, nearly fifty tables on both floors were full of guests. The din shook the heavens, gathered here were heroic warriors, schrs, and beautiful women of all ethnic groups, brimming with exotic atmosphere, striking the table and singing loudly, ying finger-guessing game and drinking wine, there was so much Central Earth air, yet it waspletely different as well. The three sat on a table on the second floor, facing the street. Looking out the window, men and horses went back and forth along the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. In such a bustling city looking for Shen Mohuan and Mu Ling, whom they did not even know what they looked like C would certainly be more difficult than ascending the heaven. They ordered the dishes. The most important menu was naturally a bucket of Xiangshui rice. Kou Zhong leisurely said, Sitting here is like sitting in Changan. If the Central Earth is captured by foreign tribes, perhaps the situation in the real Changan would be like right now. They were still dressed as Shiwei people; their long hair draped across their shoulders, their faces darkened, moustache and beard across their whole face, they wore leather clothing, bare arms, their chest exposed, and Mengwu tribes cavalry sword hanging on their waist. In the Central Earth, this kind of attire was bound to attract attention; but here it was like the blend between water and milk, well fitting with each other with no gap in between. Ba Fenghan said, After eating our fill, we will go see Yuekepeng first; I want to personally thank him. The waiters delivered the Xiang rice and wine, Kou Zhong eagerly poured three cups full of wine. Offering a toast, heughed and said, The cups, bowls, dishes and chopsticks being used here must be brought from the Central Earth. Ganbei! With overflowing emotion the three clinked their cups and drank. As expected, the wine entering their mouth was clear, rich, fragrant, mellow; sweet but not inundating the mouth, so that they did not stop eximing in admiration. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Old Ba was right, the prairie is indeed a ce with many postures, many colors; they have everything you want. Oh, crap! Forgot to ask Shuwen what the most famous pleasure house in Longquan is; how could we not gain first-hand experience on that? Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, What you want to have first-hand experience is not the pleasure house beyond the Great Wall, rather, it is the military tactics of each tribe. This is part of your cultivation of the art of war, so that when you get back to the Central ins, who can be your opponent? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, It is only now that I understand why the Tujues Wolf Army, one person could block ten. That kind of bravery and equestrianism, we, Han people, cannot learn even in one hundred generations. Our weapon is the high number of people, but yours is the elite troops. But if we fight on an open field, even if we have overwhelming military strength, we will certainly lose. Scoffing, Ba Fenghan said, We are all brothers, yet you still want to deceive me. In my opinion, you have already had enough grasp of our weak point; more importantly, you, Kou Shaoshuai have already established your prestige in the prairie. One day the Central Earth will be your seat, I guarantee that no foreign tribes will dare to invade the Central ins. Kou Zhong protested, I am not as formidable as you make me; besides, whether I can unify the Central ins or not, it is still a vast, with no clear boundary, unfathomable matter. Ha! Heres another cup! Xu Ziling suddenly spoke in low voice, Look whos here! Kou Zhong looked at the top of the stairs, his tiger-body shook; stunned, he said, My Niang! Unexpectedly they reallye here. Two Han men, one old, one young, were standing there with distressed look, since there was no seat for them. Clearly they were Ri Sheng Hangs Er Laoban [second boss] Luo Yi and Cun Yi Gongs boss son Ou Liangcai of Pingyao [see Book 37 Chapter 11], but they did not see any Da Dao She people. Unruffled by sentiment, Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and called out, Over here! There are seats! Stunned, the two looked over, but they did not recognize Kou Zhong; they only saw this Shiwei man was outspoken, his attitude warm and friendly, thereupon they walked over to them. The three rose up to salute. Kou Zhong leaned over and said, Luo Laoban and Ou Gongzi, do you recognize us? Luo Yi and Ou Liangzi looked closely at them, their countenance changed simultaneously. Xu Ziling sincerely said, That was just a misunderstanding. We definitely dont have any ill intention. Luo Yi sat down dejectedly, he said, Ill intention or no ill intention, whats the difference? Not only we lost the goods, we put ourselves in debt; what are we afraid of? With bitter expression, Ou Liangcai followed him sitting down, heaved a sigh, and acted like it was the path exhausted, the end of the road for him. Naturally the three were able to guess what had happened. After sitting down, Kou Zhong spoke with a frown, Didnt you go through Shanhai Pass? I already had someone over there to warn you, you must not fall into that crook Guan Pings evil schemes. Stunned, Luo Yi said, Crook Guan Ping? Ou Liangcai spoke heavily, Who are two gentlemen, actually? Ba Fenghan replied on their behalf, They are, one is Kou Zhong, the other Xu Ziling; two gentlemen have heard their names, I suppose? Immediately Luo Yi and Ou Liangcai were severely shaken. In the Central Earth, even ordinary people would know who Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were, much less businessmen like them who walked in Jianghu. Ba Fenghan continued, I am Ba Fenghan. These two brothers of mine indeed have good intention toward two gentlemen; as long as you told us what happened, we will surely demand justice for you. Luo Yi heaved a deep sigh; nodding his head, he said, On the road, we intermittently received the news about three gentlemen greatly defeated the Golden Wolf Army at the Helian Fort and Rushing Wolf ins, which gave us a great face; various tribes impression on us, Han people is greatly improving, only we never thought that it was you. Ou Liangcai suspiciously sized up the three, and then said, You! Hey! Why ... Xu Ziling said, We have too many enemies, hence we dressed up as Shiwei men. Did you get out of the border via Shanhai Pass or not? Ou Liangcai nodded and said, Of course we go through Shanhai Pass; we even had Sai Mo Bangs Da Longtous reception, only there was no one warning us. Hearing that, the three looked at each other in dismay. Wasnt the Sai Mo Bangs Big Boss Jing Kang? Could it be that he was the bad egg? Luo Yi sighed and said, Under Da Dao Shes escort, we had pleasant journey all the way to the Xiao Hua [lit. little flower] River south of Longquan. While we were heaving a sigh of relief, suddenly our camp was heavily surrounded by several hundred horse-thieves. The head of the thieves even invited Da Dao Shes Er Dangjia Feng Ba to have a one-on-one duel with him. In less than twenty moves Feng Ba was injured and defeated, we had no choice but to offer our money and goods. Ou Liangcai spoke with bitter smile, Misfortune does note singly [idiom]. We reported this matter to the Foreign Trade Ministry here, hoping that they could dispatch troops to recover our goods; who would have thought that not only they ignored us, they forced us to pay double deposit and had several of our principals detained in here. Its too unreasonable! Bang! Kou Zhong pped the table, causing the people at several tables nearly to look at them in shock, he spoke in fury, Practically it was Bai Ziting who sent his men to rob you, how could he pay attention to you? Luo Yi and Ou Liangcais eyes met each other. Xu Ziling said, Fortunately they were still exacting deposit, otherwise your life would be difficult to protect. Ba Fenghan patiently exined the matter to the two men. Where is Guan Ping now? he asked. He is still with us, Luo Yi replied, Humph! And I thought he was a victim as well. What is his rtionship with Yu Sheng Changs Li Gong? Xu Ziling asked. Frowning, Ou Liangcai replied, He is the newly hired employee at Yu Sheng Chang, with specific responsibility of developing business outside the Great Wall; he is the man whom the Li Family doted on and trust the most. Turns out he is a swindler. Were it not for him campaigning vigorously for this matter, we would not have made such arge business deal with Bai Ziting so easily. This moment the food arrived at the table. Kou Zhong asked for two more sets of bowl and chopsticks from the waiter, and then he said with augh, Two gentlemen need not be troubled, leave this matter to us, three brothers. After eating our fill, we will find Guan Ping first to settle the ount, and then well look for Bai Ziting to give him bad luck. Book 40 - 12 – Living Declaration of War After dinner at Dao Xiang Lou [sic; lou C multi-storied building, guan C shop/establishment], they told Luo Yi and Ou Liangcai to return to the foreign guesthouse first with not a word or movement, while the three returned to the courtyard house at the east side of the city, and reverted back to their original attire and appearance. Borrowing a horse-drawn carriage from Shuwen, they drove straight toward the foreign guesthouse, parked at the street corner, and waited patiently. In this prosperous and bustling with noise and excitement time, pedestrians and vehicles wereing and going, their carriage did not attract any attention at all. The driver, Ba Fenghan, putting on a wind cap, which was popr over there, covering the top half of his face, sat on the driver seat, wearing Han attire. Unless someone knew him well, even up close, he surely would not be easily recognized. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were hiding inside the carriage, peeking through the curtain to watch the main gate of the foreign guesthouse, where Luo Yi and the others were staying. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Bai Zitings money-making methods are despicable and vicious, not only he sent men to rob clean a dozen or so Han merchants both of their money and goods, he also detains people, lending money at high interest rate, requiring them to pay the cost of their food and lodging. Da Dao She men were evicted back to the Central ins, to raise huge sums of money ande back to redeem themselves. Although the method is slightly different, it is no different than robbing Da Xiaojies eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin and then demanding the gold; how could there be somebody who is that despicable? I wonder if Jing Kang is their aplice? Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, If Jing Kang is an aplice, perhaps Gao Kaidao is also slightly rted. His grannys bear, the more I thought, the more furious I am; I really want to storm the Pce City to chop Bai Ziting and Funantuo, two mens heads. Once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I understand your sentiment. But if you do that, you will be unable to aplish anything but liable to spoil everything [idiom]. Didnt we say we are going to use deceit to fight deceit? How can we cheat Bai Ziting for arge sum of money? Kou Zhong spoke fiercely, Previously, we felt sorry for Guan Ping, that muddled egg, since his martial art skill is so low, hence we were unwilling to use martial art to ovee him. But now, since we know that Bai Ziting is the mastermind behind his back, how could we still pay attention to using deceit to fight deceit? We are going to, by all means, do whatever it takes to deal with him, so that not only his founding a country will fail, but also he wont be able to cheat, trap, and harm people in the future. Xu Ziling said, Just like martial art masters facing each other off, we must first find all his ws and weak points, and then well make our move, to do whatever it takes to break the enemy in one move, without giving him the opportunity to free himself. He is out! Kou Zhong eximed in low voice. They saw the hateful Guan Ping unhurriedly stepping out of the guesthouse, down the basalt-rock-paved steps, to join the stream of people on the street. They promptly informed Ba Fenghan outside, and the carriage started to move. Guan Ping was strolling leisurely along the street, totally oblivious that his demon star has arrived, his good days of cheating would be over. The reason Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling particrly detested him was because he helped foreigners to deal with his fellow citizens, which was an unforgivable sin. The carriage sped up and passed Guan Ping. Suddenly it stopped, in a sh Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already out of the carriage and blocked the road. Caught off guard, Guan Ping was startled, when suddenly he saw two men, immediately he was so scared that his soul flew away and scattered, his countenance dramatically changed, but before he had time to react, Kou Zhong alreadyughed aloud and said, Guan Xiong, I trust you have been well since west met. We are going drinking, and will not go home until we are drunk. The passersby thought they were old friends, hence nobody paid them any attention. The two already waited upon him left and right, and lightly escorted him into the carriage. Guan Ping sat inside the carriage, his countenance was as pale as a dead man; he struggled hard to remain calm, but his hands and feet trembled uncontrobly. The two looked at him with smile on their faces. Kou Zhongughed and said, Why does Guan Xiong panic? We are not robbers who kill anybody for his belongings; as long as you are willing to obediently answer some questions, once we are done asking for guidance, we will immediately release you. Guan Ping took a deep breath and recovered his senses. Smiling bitterly, he said, Between me and two gentlemen was just a misunderstanding. That day I was forced and had no choice but ... ay, indeed I was wrong. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Are you Duan Zhu? Rolling his shifty eyes, Guan Ping nodded and said, That is my real name. Because I offended Huanghe Bangs Da Peng [Great Roc] Tao Guangzu, I was forced to hide my name and conceal my surname, and went to Pingyao to find employment, working under Yu Sheng Changs Li Weng. Before that, I was indeed an employee of Meiyan Furen, specializing in purchasing goods for her from the Central ins. Ay! Just because of a business deal with Huanghe Bang went wrong that I am in this plight today. Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and spoke in astonishment, It appears that Guan Xiong really does not have any idea who we are; otherwise, how could he dare to tell us such a ridiculous lie with eyes wide open like that? Guan Pings pair of eyes revealed a shocked expression; evidently he did not know which w he has exposed in his speech. Xu Ziling smiled and said, How old is Meiyan Furen? Guan Ping was able to reply quickly and fluently [idiom: having a ready answer], Her real age, no one knows. She looks to be only around thirty, her appearance is as lovely as a flower, with ten thousand kinds of charm. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Ling Shao! Let this LaoGe look over that thing. Xu Ziling fetched the Five-Colored Stone from his pocket and held it in front of Guan Pings eyes. Severely shaken, Guan Ping said, You are ... Kou Zhongs pair of eyes emitted sharp, acute, fierce and severe divine light. Letting out a cold humph, he said, You finally know who we are! The carriage stopped in a deeply dark side alley. Ba Fenghan got into the carriage, heughed coldly and said, I see the two of you are like chicken hands and duck feet, totally unlike people who would do things properly. Evil person must be worn down by evil person. Let me wait upon him, I guarantee he wont dare to speak half a sentence of lie. Guan Pings already pale countenance was even more without any trace of blood. His lips quivering, he spoke in trembling voice, Whatever it is, we can talk about it. Ah! Ba Fenghan took Kou Zhongs seat; one hand pinched Guan Pings throat, five fingers tightened, Guan Ping could not breathe, his hands and feet were struggling. Ba Fenghans other hand fetched a dagger and pressed it against his genital. Grinning wickedly, he said, Even the most valiant horse thieves, so far no one is able not to supply the truth under my, Ba Fenghans torture. Dont look down on my pinching-the-throat technique; this is actually one kind of first-ss technique. It can reduce the blood flowing into his head, so that he cant be as clear-headed as usual, plus his brain will feel like being pricked by the needle, being bitten by ants. Any man of steel or hero of iron will be a yes-man. And then his five fingers loosened up slightly, Guan Pings eyeballs, which had rolled up to show only the whites, began to show the ck part, but the veins on his head suddenly appeared; his face twisted, his expression revealed a terrifying pain. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Ba Fenghan said, I ask one you reply one. One word wrong, Ill cut your eggs. Understand? Guan Pings raspy voice replied, Understand! Do you know who I am? Ba Fenghan asked. You are Ba Fenghan, Guan Ping replied. Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, Indeed you, Old Ba have a real skill, you made Guan Xiong suddenly be so well-behaved. Ba Fenghans expression turned stern, he said, Your only chance of living right now is to own up to the facts. I guarantee not to harm half a strand of your hair; otherwise Ill simply cut off your pair of eggs and feed it to the wolves. You should know that I, Ba Fenghan am not the kind of man who wouldnt do such a trivial matter. Xu Ziling said, What we are going to ask you, many of the questions we already know the answer, so youd better speak a bit more carefully. Guan Pings entire body was shaking, he tried hard to resist the pain in his head, his entire being was caught in the brim of a nervous breakdown. Ask away! he spoke hoarsely. Kou Zhong threatened, This man is a habitual liar, he is an expert in telling lies. Old Ba, if you think something is not right, just cut off his eggs and be done with it. Ba Fenghans dagger emitted cold energy. Severely shaken, Guan Ping said, No, dont. Xiaoren will tell you everything. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Now thats a good boy. The goods that Bai Ziting robbed, are allundered via the Zang Shou [dirty hand] Ma Ji? These two sentences were extremely fierce and severe. It showed that they already knew a lot of the inside story, while also made it hard for Guan Ping to quibble. One item dirty, two items are also dirty; as long as they could start Guan Ping to tell the truth, it would be the most critical thing, other minor things, naturally they need not be afraid that he would not reveal, not to mention this matter concerned the survival of his eggs. Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, three mens name shook inside and outside the Central ins, even Xieli was not considered worthy in their eyes. Even if Guan Ping was able to conceal something momentarily, eventually the three would find out, and then he could forget about saving his life, since no one would be able to protect him. Guan Pings pair of eyes revealed a toote-for-regret expression; as he was slightly hesitating, Ba Fenghans five fingers quickly tightened up, hastily he said, Ill talk! Ill talk! Ay, you already know everything, why are you asking me? Ay! Ill tell you! Were it not for umting wealth via Ma Ji, how is Bai Ziting going raise such a huge army? Moreover, he would not be able to build a city of Longquans scale. Ma Ji is also the main supplier of the military; no one knew this secret. Kou Zhong remembered Pusas remark, also, from Shuwen he knew that Ma Ji setup his camp outside the city. He said, I hear that this time Ma Jiing to Longquan, it is also to negotiate arge military deals; I wonder if it is true. With a bitter expression Guan Ping said, Shaoshuai knows a lot more than I do. Ma Ji is indeed outside the city, but the vast situation within it, it is beyond Xiaorens qualification to know. How long have you been working for Bai Ziting? Ba Fenghan asked. Almost fifteen years, Guan Ping replied, I originally was going to wait until the ceremony of founding the country before returning to the Central ins to spend myst years. Ay! Kou Zhong happily said, Then you ought to be very familiar with Bai Ziting. Now I am going to ask you one sentence, you answer one sentence; if you want to preserve your eggs, you shouldnt tell me half a word of lies. Ba Fenghan released his palm. He watched as Guan Ping, like a soft mud, slunk into the chair. He spoke without any emotion, I fixed his three meridians and seven chakras using a very special technique. Without anybodys help, he could forget about waking up within three days. Even if he did, he will lose consciousness, the previous things will be blurry, everything will bepletely forgotten. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such a formidable sealing-acupoint technique between the heaven and the earth; Old Ba, I wonder if you could teach me. Displeased, Ba Fenghan said, The acupoint-sealing technique did not make him like this; rather, it was caused by my earlier method of restricting the qi and blood into his brain. As for why it is like this, I am not quite sure. I only know that whenever I forced confession using this technique, they would lose consciousness, and then when the person wakes up, he would be like this. Xu Ziling reached out to press his hand on the side of Guan Pings neck. Nodding, he said, This kind of sealing the three meridians and seven chakras technique is extremely hard to solve; without a long period of time and considerable waste of true energy, they could forget about resolving it. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, If Ling Shao say so, then those who dont understand three meridians and seven chakras wont know how to begin even more. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Other than the three of us, there is only one person in Longquan who can wake up Guan Ping quicker. Kou Zhong nodded and said, That person is the Tianzhu Kuang Seng Funantuo. Ba Fenghan said, We will throw Guan Ping outside the Pce City as a living deration of war, so that hed suspect everyone. Perhaps he would think that his Tianzhu enemies areing here to give him bad luck. Kou Zhong pped the chair and cried out, Definitely a good n! What is the next step? Xu Ziling asked. Ba Fenghan said, From Guan Pings mouth, we obtained a great amount of precious intelligence, no longer like before, where we were like blind people touching an elephant [idiom from Nirvana Sutra: unable to see the big picture; if you are interested, just google it: blind men and the elephant (Hindu/Buddhist parable)]. Tonight well visit our old friend Ma Ji to drink wine and reminisce about the past; tomorrow well look for Yuekepeng and go to Dao Xiang Guan to drink morning tea. Two gentlemen, what do you think? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Ma Ji! Da Xiaojies eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin and Pingyao merchants goods, all depends on you, LaoGe! The three jumped over the wall to get out. Following Shuwens direction, they went to Ma Jis camp by the Jingpo Lake south of Longquan. There were more than thirty tents. Hanging outside the door of each tent was a windntern. There were also torches erected all around the tents, so that it was as bright as day. The water of theke reflected the light. From the distance, they could see peoples shadow dancing in the light. The security was very tight. Upright and unafraid, the three arrived outside the camp. Someone immediately shouted in Tujue, Whos there? Ba Fenghan did not halt his steps at all; he kept walking straight toward the more than a dozen men swarming out of the camp. I am Ba Fenghan, he shouted, Ma Ji, do you want toe out to meet me, or do you want us to fight our way in? Hearing Ba Fenghans name, the originally-rushing-out-to-intercept-and-fight men immediately withdrew. A peal of simple and honest, heavyughter came from the tent by thekeside, followed by someone speaking, Turns out its Ba Fenghan. I, Ma Ji, am only a small businessman, how could I deserve Fenghan Xionging at night to pay a visit? I wonder if Shaoshuai and Ziling Xiong areing with you? He spoke Hannguage with a heavy Tujue ent; it was very unpleasant to hear, but he spoke very fluently. Kou Zhong chuckled and said, Turns out Ma Ji Xiansheng himself is a martial art master, no wonder you are able to move unhindered across the prairiecently. Kou Zhong is calling to pay his respects. All of Ma Jis men swarmed out of the tents. The number of men reached two hundred, all were martial art masters from various tribes in the prairie; a group of warriors that must not be taken lightly. Upright and unafraid the three passed through the troops ring like a tiger watching its prey straight toward where Ma Jis voice wasing from. In front of a particrlyrge and gorgeously decorated tent by thekeside, stood eight people, tall and short. But in just one nce the three was able to recognize Ma Ji like panning for gold from the sand. Outside the Great Wall, or even in the Central ins, they had never seen anybody dressed more luxuriously than Ma Ji, more pearls luster and treasures air. Whether it was his inner clothes or outer robe, it was entirely Han attire. Not only it was tailored to fit, the embroidery was borate, using sun, moon, and stars motif, resulting in multi-colored, sumptuous effect. On top of his head, Ma Ji was wearing tall crown, and jade belt wrapped around his waist, studded full of precious stones, which flickered dazzlingly under the torch me. Any part that anything could be hung, worn, or wrapped around, not a single one narrowly and luckily escaped. Kou Zhong and the others thought that it looked cumbersome, but he appearedfortable. This most-famous-person-in-the-prairie-specializing-in-receiving-stolen-goods appearance was less than impressive. He was short and fat, his head small his bellyrge, his face was fat and swollen so that it was hard to distinguish. Both his eyes and belly were bulging, the appearance of a man indulging excessively in wine and women. But inside his eyes, which often squinted to be just two slits, there was a sudden sh of peculiar light. Not only it was a sign of profound power, it also gave up the impression that he was astute and formidable, as well as extremely shrewd; not at all a man who was easy to deal with. Ma Ji took a step forward, chucked, and said, To be able to have the three gentlemen honoring me with your presence, it is my, Ma Jis privilege. What cant possibly be discussed nicely? Let us get into the tent to drink and have a heart-to-heart chat. The three secretly wondered whether this was another Xu Kaishan. Fortunately, they have obtained a bargaining chip from Guan Pings mouth, hence they would never allow Ma Ji to confuse them; thereupon they dly followed him into the tent. The long wind was blowing, the dark clouds were covering the sky. It looked like another rainstorm wasing. Book 40 - 13 – Business Deal Inside the spacious tent, both parties sat down as host and guests, respectively. The carpet covering the entire floor of the tent was soft and cozy, the tent walls were decorated with embroidered tapestry of multi colors; rich, elegant, and grand. In the middle was a basket of all kinds of fresh fruits. The dinnerware was famous Persian utensils, filled withrge pieces of savory goat meat, putting the hosts luxurious, tastefully chosen lifestyle and habits on full disy. A group of seven of Ma Jis men sat behind him. Every mans face was expressionless, vastly different from Ma Jis style of talking cheerfully and wittily, politely treating the guests. Ma Ji untiringly introduced his men one by one in details. One of them was called Tuoba Miefu, a young swordsman from Dangxiang [Tangut branch of the Qiang ethnic group]. This person attracted the three mens attention the most, not only because he looked lofty and handsome, but even more, it was because his bearing, his movement and stillness, everything disyed a first-ss martial art masters air and self-confidence. Shuwen was right. Ma Ji was definitely not a person that was easy to deal with. After some polite exchanges, Ma Ji raised his cup and said, This cup is for me, Ma Ji, to apologize to three Dage. The Yan Yuan Ji affair, it waspletely beyond my control. Ay! Other people was the prairie overlord considering himself unexcelled in the world, while Ma Ji is only small businessman rushing to and fro to make a living. If he wants me to go east, Ill have to go east; he wants me to go west, Ill have to go west. What can Ma Ji do? However, I steadfastly refused to participate in that affair. Fortunately the three gentlemens ability is outstanding; you broke the siege and left, so that Ma Ji wont have to bear a lifetime of regret. The three already fixed a n in their hearts that whatever he said, everybody would raise his cup and drink. What they were drinking was, naturally, fine wine made of Xiangshui rice. Ba Fenghan said with augh, This time we came here really is not to argue about this matter with Ji Ye [master]; rather, wed like to discuss two business deals. Ma Ji pulled the dagger that was inserted into the roasted goat meat, cut three pieces of the meat and offered it to the three, before cheerfully said, Hearing business two characters [sheng yi], I, Ma Ji immediately am excited. Ay! Life is getting harder and harder! I have huge expenditures, if I dont strive to make money, how am I going to deal with it? When speaking, he was still smiling wholeheartedly, so that the two big chunks of fatty meat inside his cheeks were constantly shaking and jolting following his abundant-with-many-postures facial expression. Kou Zhong inwardly cursed this fat fox, since by saying that, he stated clearly that he would not do any business that nibbled away at his capital. With a slight smile, he said, Doing business naturally there will be profit and loss. But Ji Ye may feel reassured, we will definitely not make Ji Yepensating for the loss with your old capital. Hearing that, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were amused inwardly. Although Kou Zhong was very polite, he was actually opposing each other with equal harshness [idiom], pressing in step-by-step. Ma Ji chuckled and said, Its rare that Shaoshuai is so fair and reasonable. Whatever it is, just tell Ma Ji; as far as Ma Jis capabilities extend, I will certainly do it for Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Then Ill be straightforward as well: we want to buy back Zhai Da Xiaojies eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin and the Pingyao merchants batch of goods. Ji Ye, please do not hesitate to name your price. If the gold in our purse is not enough, I am afraid we will have to raise money by asking Tuli for the deficiency. Ma Ji did not show the slightest bit of reaction on Kou Zhongs threat by referencing Tuli; he asked in astonishment, I really dont know which batch of goods Shaoshuai is talking about? Ba Xiong ought to know more clearly the horse thieves technique and style. For instance, if they have the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin in their hands, certainly they wont sell it to one party; instead, they would scatter the goods around, so that other people cannot trace the source, moreover, the goods would pass through many middlemen. I, Ma Ji, have never inquired about the source of the goods; I only know that if theres any business, then Ill do it; if theres any profit to get, then Ill do the transaction using real gold and white silver. Disdain grew in Xu Zilings heart; he knew that Ma Ji would not easily submit and cooperate with them. He coldly said, In that case, what kind of goods is currently in Ji Yes hands? Ma Ji took a fragrant pear, brought it to his mouth, and then he took a big bite and chewed noisily. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, Whatever goods Xu Xiong wants, I, Ma Ji, will do my best to supply it. In this aspect, I, Ma Ji dare to brag that nobody does it better than me. As for the price, well decide it by the cost of the goods, I, Ma Ji will be perfectly satisfied to make a 30% profit. Kou Zhong stretched outzily and said, It seems to me that we cannot close these two business deals. Ji Ye really know how to do business; I only hope that Ji Ye can continue making profit and will never lose money. Ha! Ma Ji slightly shrugged his shoulders; he was about to speak when Ba Fenghan spoke one step ahead of him, I hear that currently Bai Ziting suffers serious shortage of bows and arrows. Ji Ye understands business very much, you shouldnt miss this good opportunity; you should go make a profit from this deal with Bai Ziting! Finally Ma Jis countenance changed slightly; his squinting-to-be-two-slits eyes suddenly grew big, emitting sharp rays of light, but the eyes quickly returned to their original state. Spitting the piece of fragrant pear in his mouth, he spoke heavily, I, Ma Ji have never dealt business in weapons or military equipment. Although the profit is huge, its not a good business. Longquan has many cksmiths, if Bai Ziting is out of stock, he could simply order them to make some. Kou Zhongughed and said, Ji Ye must not mislead us. Perhaps Longquans internal supply can deal with ordinary situation, but definitely not enough to deal with various elite squads that may invade his territory at any time. It would be best if Ji Ye move a bit faster. If misfortune brings disaster to the fish in the moat, it really is not worth it for the innocence. If you are being misunderstood as Bai Zitings weapon supplier, your only way out is to hope that Bai Ziting would be another Xieli; otherwise, Ji Yes livelihood will certainly be in trouble. Ma Jis countenance changed again. If the three leaked the information that he supplied bows and arrows to Bai Ziting, due to the three had close rtionship with Tuli, he would certainly have to pack his food and leave before finished eating; much less he was already harboring ulterior motives. Unable to suppress the sudden surge of emotion in his heart, he gasped for breath and said with a sigh, Three Dage, please be magnanimous, let me, this small businessman off. Three gentlemen wont want me to sustain losses, will you? Whatever you want, please make a list, and give me one-month time to take care of it. Whatever price that others give me, Ma Ji will pass it to the three gentlemen at cost, I wont make half a penny profit. Three Dage should be satisfied! Ba Fenghan let out a loud, longughter, the divine light in his eyes was shing, he stared at Ma Ji and said, We still cante to an agreement, Ji Ye may just consider us nevere here! The three stood up at the same time. Ma Jis men were afraid they might make their move, they also stood up. The atmosphere suddenly be drawn-sword-bent-bow. Ma Ji hastily said, Whatever it is, we can discuss it. The three knew clearly in their heart that the one Ma Ji was afraid of was Tuli, not them. Based on Ma Jis current strength, although it might not be enough to detain them, it was more than enough to protect Ma Ji. Ma Ji slowly stood up. The murderous intent in his pair of eyes was shing but it quickly died, reced by a smiling expression. Speaking patiently in low voice, he said, If we all amodate each other, what business deal we cant possibly discuss? Three gentlemen, please speak out the proposal that will satisfy you, Ma Ji will see whether I can meet your request. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Before Ji Ye goes to bed tonight, think about it carefully. Our request is not unreasonable at all. Whatever is ours should be ours. So sorry for disturbing you tonight! Finished speaking he took the lead the exit the tent. Without looking back at all, the three left the camp. Hiding in the forest, the three looked at Ma Jis camp in the distance. Kou Zhongughed and said, After receiving our threat, what do you think Ma Jis reaction will be? The murderous intent in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes was ring, he coldly said, His only way out right now is to prevent anybody from catching the evidence that he is selling weapon to Bai Ziting, so that when in the future Tuli is looking for him to give him bad luck, he can still quibble. Xu Ziling said, If what Guan Ping said is true, the batch of bows and arrows should still be on the way to Longquan. Ma Ji ought to immediately send his men to take care of it, to change the route, or perhaps break up the shipment into pieces and transport it separately, or something like that. But howe we have been waiting here for two sichen, and still we dont see any movement on his side? At least he ought to send someone to inform Bai Ziting. Ba Fenghan exined, Ma Ji is an old fox. For thest many years, he has painstakingly established good rtionship with major tribal chiefs of various regions for mutual benefit, thats why he gets along well with everybody. You can ask Tuli, see whether Ma Ji from time to time sent him gifts of beautiful women, precious things or some toys. He cant possibly offend Tuli or us for Bai Zitings sake; therefore, he cant possibly tell Bai Ziting about us. For this man, greed has be second nature; he cant possibly pass any opportunity to make money. Now his only desire is to deliver the goods and receive the payment from Bai Ziting as quickly as possible, and then find a secluded distant ce to lie low temporarily. This has been his usual style. Kou Zhong hatefully said, Ma Ji is not only cunning, he is also extremely careful. If he only makes his move tomorrow, are we going to wait here until dawn? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Leave this bow and arrow matter to me. Dont forget, I am an expert in torturing method, and then I can make them forget what happened. As long as we can figure out how that batch of goods is being delivered, we can y with Ma Ji and Bai Ziting on the palm of our hands. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, We advance together, we retreat together; how could we leave you here to endure it alone? Ba Fenghan said, I am a hunter; although I am hunting horse thieves, I have to have more patience than any hunter. Tomorrow you have an appointment with Luo Yi and Ou Liangcai, you also have to see Yuekepeng; how could you apany me keeping watch over here? Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Be a bit more careful! We are waiting for your good news in Longquan. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, in their true colors, arrived at the packed dining hall of the Dao Xiang Guan. Luo Yi and Ou Liangcai, eager and hopeful, were waiting for the two. To them, Kou Zhong and the others were the life-saving sweet spring in the dry desert, their only hope of survival. After sitting down, the four ate and talked. Kou Zhong said, There is a bit of progress; your batch of goods has not changed hands yet, there is a very high chance that we could get it back for you shortly. Luo Yi and Ou Liangcai were overjoyed at the unexpected good news; they were so grateful that tears fell off their eyes. Did you see Guan Ping this morning? Xu Ziling asked casually. Unconcerned, Luo Yi replied, When we went out this morning, we came across him,ing back from the outside. His expression was weird; he did not even greet us, as if he did not see us. Hearing that, the two looked at each other in dismay. Those who could dissolve his acupoint, other than they, there was only the Tianzhu Mad Monk Funantuo, one person. In just one night he was able to break Ba Fenghans unique schools acupoint sealing method, he was not simple at all; their impression on this person had to be reevaluated. Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he asked in detail about the situation of the guesthouse, as well as the location of Guan Pings room; and then he said, When we have good news, we wille to see you. Pulling Xu Ziling up, they simply left. Setting foot on the beyond-the-borders Vermillion Bird Boulevard, they joined the stream of people. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, You are not going to torture Guan Ping again, are you? Kou Zhong roared inughter; he said, Ling Shaos one guess hits the mark. Just think, Funantuo was so anxious to dissolve Guan Pings sealed acupoint, surely it was because he thought there is a great enemy from Tianzhu crossing ten thousand crags and torrentsing here to look for him, hence he had to wake Guan Ping up to investigate. There is a good chance that wed be able to pull something useful from Guan Pings mouth. Xu Ziling did not understand, Arent you afraid to beat the grass and scare the snake? he asked, If it implicates other people, wouldnt you try to be clever and end up with egg on your face? Wrapping his arm across Xu Zilings shoulders, Kou Zhong said, With Old Bas unique skill of torture, Guan Ping would only consider it as a nightmare. Xu Ziling was surprised, When did Old Ba pass on to you that kind of torture method by locking someones throat? he asked. Very proud of himself, Kou Zhong spoke with ir, You think we are still two little delinquents back in Yangzhou? As long as we know the principle behind it, we could draw a gourd from the model [idiom: to copy something mechanically without attempt at originality]. Old Bas technique is to reduce the blood flow into the brain; as long as we copy the technique, and then afterwards we knock him unconscious, I guarantee that his little brain will not function properly, and he will forget everything that has happened. And then muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Do you remember one time we had a fight in Yangzhou, I got hit on the back of my head quite heavily, afterwards Ipletely forgot about the fight. It was the same principle. Human can only remember things firmly under normal circumstances. As we get older, our memory is more likely to decline; everything is rted to the brain. Ha! Xu Ziling was helpless to deal with him, he had no choice but to say, All right! Leading him in the direction of the guesthouse, Kou Zhong said, If we could really get our hands on that batch of bows and arrows, we could even use it for other purposes as well, to rip off Bai Ziting and Ma Ji separately; we could bully them well this time. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. ording to Guan Ping, the quantity of these bows and arrows was huge, enough to defend the city of Longquan for a year. Therefore, for Bai Ziting, this was a matter of life and death for the Bohai Kingdom. Its value ought to be above the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin plus the Pingyao merchants batch of goods. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, But this game is not easy to y; several dozens cartload of bows and arrows, where can we hide them? Why not ask for Bielegunatai brothers help? Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong vigorously pped his back and said with augh, Ling Shaos brain is still more nimble. Ah! I suddenly realize that this Little Changan is very lovely, and it is very fascinating. Arent you anxious because of Shang Xiufang? Xu Ziling spoke in low voice. Kou Zhong was dejected, Because I was so excited just now, for a moment I forgot about her. You, this kid, are so mean. Xu Zilings tiger-body suddenly shook severely, he looked ahead in disbelief. Following his gaze, Kou Zhong also looked; immediately he was dumbstruck as well. A man and two women were riding along the street. The man was handsome, the women were tender and pretty; they were extremely eye-catching. Book 41 - 1 – The Walls Have Ears The one with beautiful women apanying him left and right was, unexpectedly, Duan Yucheng, who has been without any news, whose life or death was difficult to foresee. In the past, not long after the Shuanglong Bang [twin-dragon gang] was established, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and the four brothers from within the gang that were selected very carefully, Duan Yucheng, Bao Zhifu, Shi Jie, and Ma Gui, four men C transported a batch of salt to the north. Along the way, misfortunes repeatedly happened, until finally Bao Zhifu, Shi Jie, and Ma Gui were killed by Shangguan Long, while Duan Yucheng managed to break the siege and fled, since then his whereabouts was unknown. Who would have thought that they would meet him again in this foreign ce brimming with Han and indigenous air? Kou Zhong was about to pounce forward to make himself known to Duan Yucheng, but Xu Ziling pulled him back into a side alley, while Xu Zilings voice rang inside his ears, These two Huihe girls are very demonic; its not suitable to act blindly without thinking. Kou Zhong focused his attention to look at the young Huihe women by Duan Yuchengs side. They were dressed like lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze [or simply: gorgeous] with the luster of pearl and air of jewel, their appearance had ten thousand kinds of flirtatious expressions, exuding beauty all around. Indeed like Xu Ziling said, they were not women of good family at all; moreover, they were top quality Wulin martial art masters. Other people were sizing them up, they were also sizing the passersby up; not only they were unafraid of mens wanton gaze, they did not stop whispering to one anothers ear on horseback, as if they were having idle chat about the good-looking men on the street. Fortunately they did not look at the two boys direction. Kou Zhong stared nkly at Duan Yucheng, which, by this time, was urging his horse over in front of him. Feeling his mouth and teeth hard and rough, he said, My Niang! Whats happening here? Are we still dreaming? Xu Ziling followed Duan Yuchengs lofty back, which gradually went away C with his eyes; lowering his voice, he said, You go look for Guan Ping, I go to see where Yucheng is staying, and then well meet again at our ce to discuss our next action; what do you think? Exhaling slowly, Kou Zhong said, Be careful. If I am guessing correctly, these two pretty women should be Da Ming Zun Jiao people. Didnt Zhu Yuyan say that Shangguan Long is a Da Ming Zun Jiao disciple? I hope Yucheng did not betray us. Ay! How did it happen? Xu Zilingforted him by patting him twice on the shoulder, and then he shed out of the alley to pursue Duan Yucheng, three riders. Kou Zhong left from the other end of the alley. Reaching the foreign guesthouse, Kou Zhong was about to sneak inside by leaping over the wall when he unexpectedly saw Guan Ping slipping out via the back door. His countenance was pale and unsightly, as if he was lost. It must be because he had not recovered from Ba Fenghans torturing techniquest night. Kou Zhong could not help smiling wryly in his heart. It looked like hed better let him off this time; otherwise, if he tortured him again, perhaps he might not be able to take it and breathe hisst instead, and then wouldnt Kou Zhong be guilty of serious crime? But his curiosity was piqued; this fellows body was still so weak, yet he still sneaked out, where could he be going? Obviously Guan Ping was afraid of being followed; he continuously nced left and right. Kou Zhong quickly hid behind a big tree. He waited until Guan Ping was out of the alley and sneaked into the stream of people, vehicles and horses on the main street before he chased after him. Along the way, he also looked over on Guan Pings behalf to see if anybody was following him. Since they grew up, it seemed like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were constantly ying a treasure hunt game. When they were little pickpockets, their target was the silver in other peoples purse. And then, after they became outstanding martial art masters of the younger generation, their target became the Jade Annulus of He n, the Duke Yangs treasure, and other treasures such as the emperors throne. Now, chasing behind Guan Ping, he also had the feeling of being in a treasure hunt. Who was he going to see? Would it be the Tianzhu Mad Monk Funantuo? Just by looking at how this person could easily break Ba Fenghans sealing-acupoint-shutting-meridian technique, which was clearly a challenge to him, he could see that this person was definitely not a small matter, absolutely not someone who was easy to deal with. Guan Ping suddenly entered a grocery store on the east side of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Very pleased with himself, Kou Zhong chuckled softly, and focused his power into both ears, immediately he locked into the sound of Guan Pings footsteps, all other sound of footsteps, rolling wheels, and hoof beats on the street werepletely isted, they could not affect his highly concentrated sense of hearing the slightest bit. Guan Pings footsteps became the canopy over his spirited senses, just like the ability to grasp the location of the enemys sword de from among millions of phantom images. Guan Ping slipped out from the back door of the shop. Crafty! Kou Zhong cried inwardly, and turned into a side alley, cutting into another big street parallel to the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Guan Pings back reappeared ahead. He turned into a feed store. Kou Zhong nearly lost connection. Marvelous! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. If someone passed through the shop to trail him, there was a good chance that Guan Ping would be able to throw him off. Arriving outside the feed store, there were two men squatting down by the street, ying chess. There were also several men standing in circle to watch. Kou Zhong also leaned forward, pretending to watch the game, while secretly sending enough power to his ear to eavesdrop Guan Pings movements inside the shop. An old-sounding voice suddenly said, Why is your face so ugly? Kou Zhongs heart was shocked; why did this voice sound so familiar, yet he could not think who it was? Xu Ziling sat at a table set up by an outdoor tea stall on the main street of the East Market, keeping watch of the main entrance of a sheepskin wholesale shop located catty corner from where he sat, where Duan Yucheng and the two Huihe girls were disappearing into. Longquan had the East Market, but they did not have the West Market. However, the market was as bustling with noise and excitement as the real Changan. The main street was crowded, ox-, mule-, and horse-drawn carts were going back and forth in unending stream, the din shook the heavens, brimming with vitality. Suddenly he felt someone was watching him, and then the person came over to him and sat beside him. Without even looking, Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, Zhu Zongzhu, I trust you have been well since west met. Zhu Yuyans sweet and charming voice rang, she spoke in astonishment, Ziling did not look back at all, and the route that I took toe here was not your pair of eyes could reach; how did you know it was me? Xu Ziling replied, Everybody has their own special scent; hence Wanbei knew it was Zhu Zongzhu. Zhu Yuyan spoke indifferently, I already applied my power to restrain the pores on my entire body, so that no scent would leak out. This exnation is clearly perfunctory, beating around the bush. Xu Ziling turned his head around, Zhu Yuyan was back at wearing Han attire again, still with ayer of muslin covering her face. Even in the full light of day, sitting at the same table in the middle of the market, he could still feel her strange, mysterious characteristics. One after another the passersby cast curious gaze toward her, yet she simply turned a blind eye them. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, In that case, it must be because of the telepathic senses I grew toward Zhu Zongzhu. Just like looking at a culinary delicacy from a distance, although cannot directly smell the aroma, but because of memory, it looks as if I can smell the aroma. Zhu Yuyan stared at him from behind the veil, as if she was trying to see through the natural endowment that was different from ordinary people inside his heart. It was quite half a dayter that she spoke softly, You are a very frank person, and I like frank people. Xu Ziling naturally could not misunderstand that her like was referring to the emotion between a man and a woman. Although Zhu Yuyan knew the technique to maintain a youthful appearance, that she was able to maintain youthful glow of her outward appearance, the fact was that she was of the same generation with Ning Daoqi, Shi Zhixuan, Yue Shan, and the like, those who had seen the worlds situation, who had been through the hardships of life, old enough to be his paternal grandmother. Reverting his gaze back toward the sheepskin shop, he took a deep breath and asked, I wonder if I could ask for a guidance from Zhu Zongzhu? With a bit of tenderness, coyness, Zhu Yuyan responded in soft voice, Just ask. We are stillrade-in-arms, arent we? Xu Ziling nodded his head in response. He said, Why did Zhu Zongzhu let yourself be sucked into the vortex of contention over the world? Zhu Yuyan sighed faintly and replied, Why didnt Ziling take the same question to ask Shi Feixuan? Xu Ziling turned his head to look at her. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, Because I understand why she did it, and she never hide it from me. Very well! Zhu Yuyan replied indifferently, Its not any extraordinary secret anyway, there is no harm in telling you. To the people of the demonic school, whether it was from the Two Sects or the Six Ways, what we are pursuing is the ten scrolls Tian Mo Ce [demonic policy/n/scheme]. Only by obtaining all ten scrolls will it be possible to pry into the pinnacle of the demonic way, to arrive at the highest mastery of the Great Method of Dao Xin Zhong Mo [the heart of the road, the seed (or cultivation) of magic]. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, Wanbei understands! The reason why Zhu Zongzhu wants to strive for the world is to unify the demonic way, so that the ten scrolls of Tian Mo Ce will return into one, to aplish the dream of the demonic school. Zhu Yuyan spoke heavily, Striving for the world is akin to having a frontal confrontation with the Wulin under Ci Hang Jing Zhais leadership. Whichever side can upy the upper hand, the other side will have to find a ce to hide, bing an outside way. In this struggle, we have always been in the disadvantageous position since the Han dynasty. And now you ought to understand why Shi Zhixuan must destroy the Great Sui! But have Zhu Zongzhu ever considered all the people? Xu Ziling asked. Sneering lightly, Zhu Yuyan said, Isnt this a case of a wise person reflecting a thousand times can still make a mistake [idiom: nobody is infallible]? Whoever ascended to the emperors throne would have no choice but to seek the peoples happiness, otherwise his seat would be unstable. History has already had clear examples. You think that when our demonic people be emperors, we must be brutal and heartless? This idea is indeed too childish. Our demonic school reject the evil spirit for real situation, real character. What we despise are those whose mouth exclusively filled withpassion, duty, propriety and integrity, those hypocrites Kong Meng Fo Dao [Confucius and Mencius, Buddhist, Taoist]. Fortunately Ziling is not that kind of person. Otherwise, I wont even speak half a word with you. Xu Ziling awkwardly agreed, he said, Thank you very much for Zhu Zongzhus direction. But people like Li Shimin definitely have very big essential difference with you. Zhu Yuyanughed and said, Difference? What difference? Did he kill less people than we did? The longer he does not turn around to deal directly with his father and elder brother, he could forget about sitting on the emperors seat. Isnt striving for the world means following me you prosper, opposing me you perish? Since Han Wu, we have suffered enough from persecution by being pushed aside. Without any emergency measure, how can we survive? Xu Ziling replied with bitterugh, I understand that too! Gently, happy and pleased, Zhu Yuyan said, You are willing to speak about this, I am very happy to listen. Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the sheepskin shop again, he spoke indifferently, What rtion does Zhu Zongzhu have with Da Ming Zun Jiao? Up until now, it is still a cooperative rtionship, Zhu Yuyan replied, But this cooperation is entirely based onmon benefit. When I rescued Shangguan Long from your hands in the past, it was merely to cover this spirit of cooperation. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I wonder if Rong Jiaojiao is Da Ming Zun Jiaos disciple? Laughing tenderly, Zhu Yuyan replied, Your guess is spot on. Xu Ziling had never expected that Zhu Yuyan would easily give him such an affirmative answer. Turning his head around, his eyes were zing as he looked closely at the jade countenance behind the veil, he asked in astonishment, Does Zhu Zongzhu no longer have the intention to continue the cooperation with Da Ming Zun Jiao? The tone of Zhu Yuyans voice turned cold, she slowly said, Presently, the most important thing for me is to kill Shi Zhixuan; other things are secondary. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, What does Da Ming Zun Jiao have to do with Shi Zhixuan? Zhu Yuyan replied, Not much rtion, but if Da Ming Zun Jiao can put down roots in the Central Earth and preach their teachings, one day they might be another big danger to our Two Sects Six Ways. In fact, their hands have already reached the Central ins, its just that they are not being noticed, thats all. Xu Ziling remembered Sao Niangzi and Liexia, deep in his heart he knew that what Zhu Yuyan said was not empty words at all. Who are the formidable figures among the Da Ming Zun Jiao? he casually asked. Zhu Yuyan replied, In Da Ming Zun Jiao, there are the Da Zun [great venerable], the Shan Mu [benevolent mother], and the Five Bright Sons in leadership position. I only have the predestined affinity to meet the Shan Mu Sha Fang one time. She is proficient in the cultivation of the Yao Wang Jing [lit. king of medicine scripture] and the Guangming Jing [lit. light/bright scripture] subduing-cult-secret-canon Suo Bu Luo Gan [I dont know how to trante this, my guess is that this is a transliteration of some foreignnguage]. Her martial art skill is not below mine, plus she is adept at using poison. Merely this person is enough to deal with you. Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air. With Zhu Yuyans identity and status, no one dare to ignore whatever she was saying. Above the Shan Mu Sha Fang, there was still the Da Zun; wouldnt that mean that his martial art skill could bepared to Song Que, Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan, and the likes? There is sky above the sky, there is man outside the man, it was indeed the truth. Zhu Yuyan said, In the Central Earth, you have repeatedly messed up Da Ming Zun Jiaos affairs, they will certainly not let you off. You and Kou Zhong must be careful to guard against them. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Thank you very much for Zongzhus direction. I wonder if this moment Shi Zhixuan is in Longquan? Sidestepping the question, Zhu Yuyan said, Shui Nucha [water baby girl] and Huo Nucha [fire girl, Ů (nucha) is Taoist term for little kid (Courtesy of Akw)] areing out! Xu Ziling turned his head around. Duan Yucheng and those two Huihe beauties left the sheepskin shop, mounted their horses, and continued their journey. A group of Mohe girls wearing traditional Han dresses walking hee hee ha ha along the street, seeing the tall, straight, heroic and mighty, brimming with intimidating charm Kou Zhong, none of the pretty eyes did not brighten up, they boldly fixed their attention to him. Although Kou Zhongs two ears were upied, he still had the time to sh his brilliant smile toward the most beautiful among those girls. This moment came the sound of Guan Ping sitting into the chair. In Kou Zhongs mind immediately appeared the image of Guan Pings posture as he was sitting, light or heavy, slow or urgent, as if he saw it with his own eyes. The girls cast him charming smile, but he did not have time to enjoy. Guan Ping sighed heavily. A little impatient, the old man asked, What exactly happened? With sighing voice, wailing breath, Guan Ping said, Something very strange happenedst night. I just remember stepping out the main gate of the guesthouse, and suddenly lost consciousness. When I woke up, I was inside the Pce City, with Bai Ziting and Funantuo standing beside me. They said that someone sealed my acupoint and left me outside the pce gate. The old man was silent for half a day, he slowly said, This is indeed extremely weird; what else did they say? Up to this moment, Kou Zhong still could not remember where he heard the old mans voice; he nearly could not bear not to stick his head inside the shop to take a look. Guan Ping replied, They didnt say anything. Only Funantuo repeatedly asked me if before my acupoint was sealed, I saw anyone in wide yellow robe. Ay! I really cannot remember a thousand things. Muttering to himself irresolutely, the old man said, From this question, clearly Funantuo already guessed from the technique being used to seal your acupoint who the other side is. The question is, from so many people to choose from, why did you get picked? This matter must be immediately reported to Furen [Madame]. Hearing Furen two characters, Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook; he finally remembered who the old man was. Furen was clearly Meiyan Furen, so the old man in the shop must be her Right Elder. That day in Tong Wan City, the words that the Right Elder spoke added together were less than five sentences, hence the reason Kou Zhong momentarily failed to remember. He could not help feeling greatly delighted inwardly. If he hung around behind the Right Elder, wouldnt he be able to find this cunning beauty? This thought was just shing in his mind, warning sign suddenly grew in his heart; immediately he looked across the street. A graceful woman, wearing clothes as white as snow, bamboo rain hat on top of her head, hanging muslin veil covering her face, was waving at him. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, but he had no choice but to respond to the call immediately. Although he could not see her face, but even if the other side turned into flying ashes, he could still see at a nce that she was Fu Junqiang. The young martial aunt publicly summoned him, how could he not obedientlyply? No need to pursue! Zhu Yuyan said, The ce they are staying is a small Hui courtyard at the Renli Lane south of Quan Bridge in the southern part of the city. If you follow them, sooner orter they will find out. Xu Ziling gratefully said, Thank you very much for giving directions. Zhu Yuyan spoke heavily, If you despise Da Ming Zun Jiao, perhaps the illustrious name you built your whole lifetime would die in this ce. Xu Ziling met the fierce and severe gaze that she shot out through the veil, I understand, he said, In Hualin, we came across the head of the Five Bright Sons, Liexia; definitely not a simple person. Zhu Yuyan was silent for half a day. Where are you guys staying? she asked coldly. Xu Ziling exined the location of the courtyard house where they were staying. And then, knitting his brows, he said, Zhu Zongzhu has not answered Wanbeis question earlier. Zhu Yuyan said, Shi Zhixuan is definitely here. When I get new discoveries, I will get in touch with you. Your sweetheart is here! Hurriedly she told him how to get in touch with her, and then she got up and left. Kou Zhong ran behind Fu Junqiang, through a narrow alley, and saw a stream of hot spring ahead, extending all the way across, where houses were standing on both sides. Fu Junqiang stepped across the stone bridge spanning the stream, she stopped and turned around, and then with her tender voice she sternly said, You are standing there like a dumb bird, what are you doing? Kou Zhong was sighing over the lost opportunity to find Meiyan Furen, hearing the question, he did not dare not to answer, putting on a respectful expression, he said, I was watching people ying chess! Fu Junqiang began to feign anger coquettishly, Lying! she said. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Shiyi [young martial aunt] is really smart, I was indeed lying. Actually, I was eavesdropping two idiots talking inside the shop. Fu Junqiangs hand grabbed the hilt of her sword, with frosty voice she spoke fiercely, You call me Xiao Shiyi again, I am going to cut off your stinky head. Kou Zhong spoke in horror, Not calling! Not calling! As long as Shi ... Oh! As long as you, Da Nuxia [great (female) hero] understand that Yuwen Huagu affair was just a misunderstanding, you want me to call you Da Nuxia, you want to be the Niang, Ill do it. Beyond his expectation, Pfft! Fu Junqiang giggled tenderly and said, Misunderstanding? Fancy that you can say that. A cold snort came from behind. Someoneughed aloud and said, Hows Shaoshuais current situation? Shaken, Kou Zhong looked back; two men leisurely came to the bridge, sealing his retreat route. One of them was Jin Zhengzong, the Gaoli Kings chief warrior who had fought with him on the ocean. The other man was even taller than Jin Zhengzong; he was wearing ck clothes, with a pair of short halberds, each was about three chi long, hanging across his back, around thirty years old, his face was quite rough and imposing, his bearing distinguished and aplished, his appearance was out of the ordinary. The man greeted by raising his sped hands, and said with a smile, Han Chaoan of Gaoli pays his respect to Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, knowing that he had fallen into Fu Junqiangs trap, putting him into the inferior position where there were enemies in front and behind him. Any one of these three was enough to deal with him, not to mention all three were joining hands. Laughing tenderly, Fu Junqiang said, Isnt this what you, Han people say heaven has a road you dont want to go, hell has no door yet you insist on breaking in? Book 41 - 2 – True Feeling Revealed Xu Ziling was still pondering the meaning of Zhu Yuyans words of advice on parting, sweetheart, when the answer appeared by his side. Wearing mens clothing, her expression serene, Shi Feixuan sat down next to him. Tranquil and calm, she said, What business deal are you making with Zhu Yuyan? A stab of pain attacked Xu Zilings heart, Shi Feixuans misunderstanding to him was obviously getting deeper by the day. Just with this seemingly ordinary remark, she was actually showing a bit of disdain, which in the past, would nevere out of her fragrant lips. Hiding the emotions in his heart, his gaze fell on her calm-as-still-water jade countenance; shrugging his shoulders, he calmly said, Just having a little chat. The pupil of Shi Feixuans pretty eyes darkened, she looked him up and down, and then said, Theres some discontent in Ziling Xiongs words, I wonder if in your heart you are feeling that you have been wronged? Xu Ziling never expected that she was able to glimpse inside his heart; smiling ruefully, he said, What do you mean by discontent? The fact is that we do have a single big business deal with Zhu Yuyan, the goal is to kill Shi Zhixuan. Sighing lightly, Shi Feixuan said, Why does our rtionship be so vile? Xu Ziling picked the cup, which was ced in the middle of the table, and put it in front of her. Filling the cup full of hot tea, he said, In my heart, Shi Xiaojie has always been the person I respect. Shi Feixuans pretty eyebrows were slightly knitted, revealing some so what if you respect me? pained expression. This kind of expression rarely appeared on her charming face, hence it was particrly touching. Raising the cup, she took a sip, and then spoke softly, In the area beyond the Great Wall, the sky and the earth are turning upside down because of the three of you. Anybody that I met along the way is always unable to bear not to talk about you. This time you areing to Longquan, is it to deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting? Xu Zilings heart was swelling with an intense urge, he really wanted to exin that he did not vite his promise to part ways and divide the escorted goods, that he would not be sucked into Kou Zhongs great undertaking of contending for hegemony over the world. However, that would be tantamount to him exposing the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure. He had no choice but to swallow the words that have been at the edge of his lips. The Five-Colored Stone is indeed in my possession, he said, But I still have not decided how to deal with it. What brought Shi Xiaojie here? Unconcerned, Shi Feixuan replied, Zhou Laotan has escaped from Da Ming Zun Jiao peoples hands, too bad that Jin Huanzhen has been taken away from Shanhai Pass. Fortunately Zhou Laotan has a skill to follow his wifes track; he pursued her straight to this ce. I only came to town this morning. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly it was Da Ming Zun Jiao again? What kind of following-the-trail method was that? Unexpectedly it could be this brilliant? Shi Feixuan replied, Zhou Laotan, husband and wife have always had close rtionship with Da Ming Zun Jiao. In the past, in order to escape Yin Gui Pais pursuit, they fled to Huihe to seek protection under Shan Mu. After returning to the Central ins, in their helplessness, they had no choice but to seek help from Rong Jiaojiao, hence the reason Jin Huanzhen was captured. And you knew as well that Rong Jiaojiao is Da Ming Zun Jiaos disciple, Xu Ziling said. Shi Feixuan said, I heard it from Zhou Laotan. Rong Jiaojiao is the Miao Feng Ming Zi [bright son of the wonder wind] of the Five Bright Sons, so she is a leadership figure within the Da Ming Zun Jiao. Pi Chen is Da Ming Zun Jiaos closest ally in the Central ins; they work hand in glove with each other, stirring the wind and disturbing the rain. Xu Ziling said, So it seems like Da Ming Zun Jiao also wants to dip their finger into the Xiedi Sheli. Who actually is the Da Zun? Shi Feixuan replied, Da Zuns identity is mysterious, I am afraid only the leaderships of the Da Ming Zun Jiao would know. The Shan Mu Sha Fang current identity is the most beloved great imperial concubine of Sijin, the Shijian of the entire Hui. Toward her, Shijian sees, hears, and obeys. Xu Ziling could not help feeling worried for Pusa. Is Shan Mu going to personallye to fight over the Sheli? he asked. That possibility is quite high, Shi Feixuan replied, But the most urgent task at the present time is to rescue Jin Huanzhen back from Da Ming Zun Jiaos hands; this is what I promised Zhou Laotan. I wonder if youll let us lending a hand and spending some effort for Xiaojie? Xu Ziling spoke in low voice. Meeting his gaze, Shi Feixuan looked deeply into the abyss of his eyes, a hint of gentle smile escaped out of the corner of her mouth, she spoke serenely, Ah, Xu Ziling! What kind of person is the real you? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Most probably you are thinking that I am a man who would do anything, by hook or by crook, to achieve my goal. Ay! The Sheli fell into Shi Zhixuans hands, the guilt in my heart is really excruciating; therefore, although I have to cooperate with Zhu Yuyan, as long as I can kill Shi Zhixuan and retrieve Xiedi Sheli back, I would be happy to do so. Furrowing her brows, Shi Feixuan said, What happens if the Sheli fell into Zhu Yuyan hands? I hope Zhu Yuyan did not deceive us, Xu Ziling replied, She told us that only by being ready to die in such a way that Shi Zhixuan also perishes will there be any possibility of killing Shi Zhixuan. If these two very top figures of the demonic school are done for, Shi Xiaojies days in the future will be a bit easier. Revealing a thoughtful look, Shi Feixuan spoke softly, You are still unwilling to answer my question honestly. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What question? Staring at him, Shi Feixuan said, What kind of person Xu Ziling really is. Dumbstruck, Xu Ziling could only stare at her, meeting her deep, limpid, bright eyes; a difficult-to-exin emotion welled up in his heart. It was quite a whileter that with bitterness in his voice he said, Why does Shi Xiaojie want to know what kind of person I am? A faint blush appeared on Shi Feixuans pair of whiter-than-frost, surpassing-the-snow cheeks, but the tone of her voice was extraordinarily calm. Because Feixuan really wants to know, she responded slowly. Xu Ziling wiped out the intense longing in his heart. If he could ride alongside this pure, clean, beautiful inside and outside, superior to the immortal [esp. female] beautiful woman galloping across the prairie, pursuing the water and the grass, grazing the livestock, what else could he possibly seek in life? But very quickly he realized that this matter would never happen. He sighed and said, What kind of man I am, it should note out from my mouth. I am afraid nobody will be able to answer the same question. Kou Zhong and I grew up on the street, our nature insolent and difficult to tame. In a lot of things, it is difficult to control, otherwise Shi Xiaojie would not be so angry with us. Shaking her head, Shi Feixuan said, There has been time when I was indeed angry with you! But when I saw you just now, my anger suddenly faded away, disappeared without any trace; otherwise, how could I be willing toe out to see you. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, You really are no longer angry with me? Shi Feixuan sighed and said, Right now I am angry with myself for underestimating the brotherly feelings between you and Kou Zhong. With you helping Kou Zhong conquering the world, and now you even have Tuli standing on your side, when will the Central Earth have happy days in peace and security? Xu Ziling solemnly said, Xiaojie can rest assured that I will definitely not be drawn into Kou Zhongs great undertaking of contending for hegemony. What about that? Shi Feixuan said, Kou Zhong has Song Ques full support behind his back, even if he lost in the north, establishing power in the south is still like handling a butchers cleaver with ease. I did not expect that the unified world under the Great Sui could only be maintained for such a short period of time, and the world is back to the North-South confrontation, attacking and fighting each other. Therefore, Feixuan wanted to ask Xu Ziling, what kind of person are you? If you are really like what I think you are, shouldnt you think a little bit about this situation? Forced by her sharp rhetoric, Xu Ziling was unable to resist; blurted outughing, he said, How about if we wait until Li Shimin ascending to the emperors seat before we discuss this matter again? Rolling her eyes at him, Shi Feixuan said, Remember that its you who said that. Feixuan still have something I want to ask you. Xu Zilings entire body rxed, simply because Shi Feixuans attitude toward him now has returned to what it used to look like. Xiaojie, please speak up, he calmly said. Getting straight to the point, Shi Feixuan asked, The Duke Yangs Treasure, what exactly happened there? If you guys did not know about the storehouse within a storehouse, how did you steal the Sheli out? Kou Zhong felt that although the three had not drawn their swords, the momentum had already firmly locked on him. As soon as he made any move, it would be like throwing himself into the hot spring, he would immediately provoke the three peoples full-strength joint strike, and that would not be a joking matter. Han Chaoan was one of the three men that Zhai Jiao wanted him to kill, and now that he finally met him, he was afraid that he was the one that would be killed instead; it was indeed discouraging. Due to his rtionship with Fu Junchuo, subconsciously he did not regard the young martial aunt Fu Junqiang as an enemy; hence his heart was without any intention to guard against her, to such an extent as to fall into this no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation. If they fought, Fu Junqiang would certainly show no mercy, while he could not be ruthless toward her. Without even fighting, he could already predict the victory or defeat of this battle. Jin Zhengzong, who imed that using any weapon he could move it in what-the-heart-wishes, the-hand-aplishes way, was wearing in white Gaoli warrior outfit; whether the head scarf, the belt, the riding boots, everything was in white. In fact, from head to toe, he was spotlessly white. With Fu Junqiang, who was blocking the bridge, they made a matched-up pair, giving the impression that anything rich in color was not the local custom of Gaoli people. Kou Zhong paid more attention to the two swords hanging on his waist, left and right, one long, one short, which definitely would not be easy to use, but if he could use it well, it would be dangerous and marvelous at the same time, extremely hard to block. When he fought against him in the past, upon self-examination, Kou Zhong realized that he was still a notch inferior to him; fortunately he was able to borrow the wind and the waves of the ocean to get away. This moment, seeing his spirit and bearing, obviously his power had enjoyed great progress, so that even fighting one-on-one, to whom the deer falls was still difficult to foresee. On the surface, Han Chaoan was the most polite to him. Taking a step forward, he smiled and said, Didnt Shaoshuai travel together with Ba Xiong and Xu Xiong? Why only Shaoshuai alone now? Seeing the with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent, battle-could-happen-any-moment situation on the bridge, one after another all pedestrians took a detour; they crossed the river via the two other bridges nearby on the left and right. Some people even stopped by at a distant ce to watch the excitement. Kou Zhongughed and said, It is very easy if Han Xiong wants to see them; all you have to do is walk a few steps with Xiaodi. Still babbling nonsense? Fu Junqiang spoke angrily, I now give you two roads to take; one, you hand over the Five-Colored Stone and crippled your own martial art skill, two, you ssh your blood on the bridge,y down your dead body in here. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Niang has never taught me how to cripple my martial art skill, Xiao Shiyi, youd better pass on the secret technique to me first, and then well talk. Letting out a longugh, Jin Zhengzong said, Good guts! Apparently Shaoshuai does not consider us worthy in your eyes. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Jin Xiong must be joking. You think I am Fu Cailin or Bi Xuan? How could I dare not to consider you worthy in my eyes? The problem is I really dont know the method to disperse my power, plus I do not have the Five-Colored Stone in me. Looks like I have no choice but to experience three gentlemen anddys Gaolis pinnacle art. With a tender shout, Fu Junqiangs long sword was out of its sheath, it shed down swiftly toward his head. Han Chaoans double short-halberds, Jin Zhengzongs long and short des, moved out together to attack him. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Completely ignoring Fu Junqiangs shing sword, not even pulling the Moon in the Well out, he ducked low and charged forward, aiming to crash against Fu Junqiangs fragrant chest. Scoundrel! Fu Junqiang shouted loudly, unexpectedly she pulled the sword back and retreated. It turned out that Kou Zhongs style that was not really a style C was entirely focused on dealing with her Yijian Technique. The inspiration came from thest time they met at Yuwen Huajis pce, he did not follow any saber technique, yet Fu Junqiang was unable to unleash the formidable power of Yijian Technique instead. He also had no choice but to use inappropriate move, because if he let Fu Junqiang to unleash her sword technique, she would surely be able to pin him down, so that he would be unable to divide his attention to deal with Han Chaoan and Jin Zhengzongsbined violent attack. Within the little gap before Fu Junqiang changed her move to attack, Kou Zhong spun around, took off the sheepskin outer robe along with the Moon in the Well, and then like a clump of white cloud swept it across Han and Jin, two men, carrying a vortex of energy, like a tornado or violent storming right at them. The two had never encountered such a fierce and severe marvelous move. The sheepskin robe swept Han Chaoans double-halberds first. This man was worthy to be the boss of horse thieves, whose name, together with Shen Mohuan and Huyan Jin, subdued the three sides. His left-hand halberd shed the sheepskin robe, while the other halberd, fast as lightning, stabbed straight out to take on Kou Zhongs face. He thought that as long as he could block Kou Zhongs strike, Jin Zhengzong would be able to seize the opportunity to prate deeply, to kill the enemy in one move. Who would have thought that Dang! his left-hand halberd shed not the sheepskin robe full of stored-up qi power, but the Moon in the Well, still inside its scabbard, hidden inside the robe. His counting-his-chicken-before-they-are-hatched n immediately failed, he was jolted forcefully backward and staggered, the web between the thumb and forefinger of his hand went numb. The tail of the robe pped the tip of his right-hand halberd stabbing forward, the momentum suddenly exploded so that it even swept Jin Zhengzong, who was about to pounce toward Kou Zhong. Jin Zhengzong had never expected that Han Chaoan unexpectedly failed to block Kou Zhongs sweep. Overwhelmed with shock, he retreated suddenly in an extremely sorry situation. Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well in one fluid move, and chopped it down backhandedly. Dang! Fu Junqiang wasunching her second round of attack, but it was as if she was delivering the long sword to be chopped by his saber. Spiraling energy, like mountain sh flood breaking the dam, rushed forth. One side was sending out full-strength saber strike with the momentum like a rainbow, the other side was changing move in haste, therefore, even with Fu Junqiangs brilliance, she was hacked by this young martial nephew, using Yijian to face Yijian, so that her follow-up move could not be released, and she was jolted back miserably as if she was struck by lightning. Kou Zhong did not take this opportunity to run away, he did not follow up a victory and press home the attack either. He even returned the saber to its scabbard, and unhurriedly put on his sheepskin robe. Letting out a longughter, he said, Everything can be discussed. The matter between Xiao Shiyi and me is just a misunderstanding. With two Dage, there is no his mothers deep enmity, big hatred even more. His grannys bear, why do we need to fight? If we all go to eat Xiangshui rice, wont it be better than beating each other up, which may result in someone losing his life? Fu Junqiang pointed the tip of her sword to Kou Zhong from a distance; she could not stop trembling, as if she was shivering in fear. Only Kou Zhong, who bore the brunt, felt that it was some kind of abstruse sword technique, which could umte the power of the entire body into the de of the sword; moreover, the direction and the changes were indeterminate, so that it was difficult for him to guess. If this sword attacked, it would carry prating-mountains-and-rivers momentum, both sides had neither buffer nor leeway, one side must suffer defeat, injury or death, before the other side could rest. This was Fu Junqiangs true skill. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. Considering his Niangs face, how could he kill or injure her younger martial sister? Han Chaoan and Jin Zhengzong regrouped and steadied their footings, once again they pressed on toward him. The formerughed involuntarily and said, Shaoshuai, this is not the first day you are mingling in Jianghu, is it? These past dozen of days we have been waiting respectfully for your good self; its rare that you finally show yourself, I am sure its not because you want to drink wine, eat rice, or something like that. Suddenly they heard the sound of hoof beats. A group of cavalrymen galloped over as if they were flying. The onlookers immediately scattered away, so that the situation was chaotic. The leader of these Sumo Mohe warriors shouted from afar, Shaoshuai is gracing Longquan with your presence, Da Wang [great king] requests the pleasure of inviting you to the Pce immediately to meet in person. Steeling himself, Xu Ziling calmly said, The Duke Yangs Treasure not only has storehouse within a storehouse, moreover, there is the difference between the real and the fake storehouses, the main and the secondary storehouses. Shi Xiaojie, please understand. Shi Feixuans jade countenance was still as calm as still water, as if she already knew that it must be the case; tranquil and calm and at ease, she said, Why only now you are willing to tell me? Xu Ziling swept his gaze over at the foreign, exotic city, at the market that was bustling with noise and excitement; he thoughtfully said, Maybe because this ce is too far away from the Central Earth, far enough to make me feel that what happened in Changan was just a surreal dream. Or perhaps because I feel that Xiaojie definitely will not betray us, by passing on this information to Li Shimin. A hazy, like a gentle and soft moonlight, like water or like fog rose-tinted sky colored light rose up in Shi Feixuans pair of beautiful eyes. She spoke softly, Of course Feixuan will not say. Ay! Feixuan has already tried my utmost; Feixuan no longer has any ce in the great whirlpool of contention over the world. After this matter is concluded, Feixuan will return to Jingzhai; unless there is no other alternatives, Feixuan will no longer set foot on the world of the living. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Without even blinking Shi Feixuan stared fixedly at him and spoke softly, I wonder if Ziling is willing to listen to Feixuans advice. Although Xu Ziling was well aware that this day woulde, which was Shi Feixuan returning to Jingzhai to cultivate the Way of the Heaven in seclusion, that she would never set foot on the mundane world anymore, yet when he came face to face with this fact, he was still unable to control the overturning-the-heaven-shaking-the-earth intense emotion inside theke of his heart, the soul broken, the spirit wounded feeling that he was losing her forever. Hanging her head low, Shi Feixuan spoke softly, You know what? Feixuan really loves to see you revealing your true feeling. You, this person, have your shoring, which is you love to hide everything at the depth of your heart, which no one can pry into; everything is tightly closed inside, you are neither willing to express it, nor are you willing to fight for it. This is the advice Feixuan is giving you. Xu Ziling looked at her with nk expression. It was quite half a dayter that he exhaled slowly and said, Is Feixuan encouraging Xiaodi to take advantage of the time while you are not back in Jingzhai yet, to do everything in my power to pursue you? Suddenly sunset clouds arose on Shi Feixuans jade cheeks; a bit awkward, a bit cross, she glowered at him, as if she was displeased and annoyed, but not really angry with him, her attitude was so touching, so moving. Her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, You! How could you think that far? I was referring to you and Shi Qingxuan. Ay! I really cant believe those words coulde out of your mouth. Xu Ziling felt like he was high in the clouds and suddenly lost his footing, and heavily tumbled down straight to the mortal world. Smiling bitterly, he said, The first time I am revealing my true feeling and I already received the reproach of being frivolous due to misunderstanding. It seems like its always better to have a bit more reservations. Returning to her normal self, Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Good medicine tastes bitter, loyal advice jars the ears. Feixuan is finally able to reach the way of friendship with Ziling to the utmost. This was the first time that you called me Feixuan! Xu Ziling suddenly felt extremely rxed. It was unclear whether it was because he had poured out his feeling, spitted out the words buried at the bottom of his heart, or because he realized that Shi Feixuan was really not as heartless to him as it appeared on the surface. Herst sentence even slightly swept away theke of his heart. Heughed to his hearts content, and then slyly said, I dont want to fight for it. I did not dare to reveal my true feeling because I do not wish to force someone to do something. Isnt this called what you dont want done to you, dont do to others [idiom, from the Confucian analects]? Shi Feixuan lightly shrugged her fragrant shoulders. Changing the subject, she said, I wonder if Ziling knows, if Shi Zhixuan could really use the Relics to patch his w, who would be the first person that he is going to kill? His countenance changed, Xu Ziling asked, Who? Fixing her gaze at him, Shi Feixuan said, Ziling already guessed the answer, am I right? Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Xu Ziling spoke in horror, Could it be his daughter? Shi Feixuan spoke heavily, word-by-word, Shi Qingxuan is the embodiment of Bi Xiuxin, Shi Zhixuans only w. Book 41 - hapter 3 – Intentionally Playing With Fire C Kou Zhong followed the Sumo warriors galloping toward the Five Cities, and entered the town via the Vermillion Bird Gate. He nearly thought that he was back at the Central Earths Changan; to his left and right government office buildings stood in great numbers. Were it not for the warriorsing in contact with him were different from the Tang Army, it might make people doubt the fantasy, suspect the truth. Coming to the Pce City entrance, the Cheng Tian Gate, a forty-something civil officer came out the door to wee him. After saluting, he introduced himself, Bohai Kingdom Right Deputy Kesubie respectfully wee Shaoshuais good self. Kou Zhong jumped down the horse and returned the salute. Although Kesubie was wearing civil officers attire, but looking at his build and bearing, the Taiyang acupoint on his temples were high and bulging, he must be a top quality martial art master. This man had regr features, his profile was quite impressive. Apologetic, Kesubie said, This is really an infortune time; a little while ago Da Wang [great king] heard that Xiufang Dajia [great expert] arrived outside the city, he could not help going out of the city immediately to wee her, hence he is unable to wait respectfully for Shaoshuai in here, thereupon he ordered Xia Guan [lower government officer] to express his heartfelt apology to Shaoshuai, while wondering if he could meet with you another time? In his heart, Kou Zhong was shocked, crying inwardly that Shang Xiufang has finally arrived! This moment, he was not in the mood to me Bai Ziting for favoring that one and belittling this one, not to mention that before he was able to ascertain the location of the bows and arrows that Ma Ji raised for Bai Ziting, he practically had no interest to meet with Bai Ziting. Thereupon he hastily agreed, How about tomorrow? Kesubie cheerfully said, Da Wang alreadymanded that everything ought to be done ording to Shaoshuais wish; tomorrow at You hour [5-7pm] then. Da Wang might arrange a banquet to wash the dust from Shaoshuais feet. As for amodation, Xia Guan already made proper arrangement for Shaoshuai. Kou Zhongughed and said, Xiaodi will enter the pce on time to pay my respect to Da Wang. As for amodation, there is no need to trouble Ke Xiang [government minister]. After a couple more pleasantries, he bade farewell and left. Xu Ziling stared nkly at Shi Feixuan, but in the ocean of his mind he was thinking about Shi Qingxuan, while a feeling of tenderness toward her welled up in his heart. He had never put himself in someone elses shoes by considering that due to the love and enmity between her parents Shi Qingxuan had suffered profound trauma! Until now, where Shi Feixuan personally revealed this cruel possibility. He could not help making up his mind that even if he had to die, he simply had to prevent this matter from happening. This was indeed the tragedy of human rtionship. He would absolutely not allow this touching beauty to lose her life under her fathers demonic hands. Shi Feixuan sighed and said, Feixuan has asked Qingxuan to stay at Jingzhai for a little while, or perhaps for her to seek another ce to live, but she refused on both ounts. Perhaps Ziling can persuade her. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Her personality is very strong. I am afraid whatever I say will not enter her ears. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Does Ziling know that you are the first man ever invited to visit her at the little hut in the secluded forest? A feeling of pain and self-pity rose up in Xu Zilings heart, he suddenly said, Her invitation was not due to the feelings between men and women at all, but because she wants to solve the mystery of Bu Si Yin Juan [Immortal Image Scroll] in her hands; once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved, afterwards she could peacefully live in seclusion. With a bit of yfulness Shi Feixuan said, How can you be so sure? The load in girls mind, how much can you understand? Have you ever throw yourself into pondering it in earnestness? A bit cross, Xu Ziling stared at her and said, Feixuan seems to spare no pains or effort in ying matchmaker between me and Shi Qingxuan; arent Buddhist supposed to follow karma? I wonder what it is that you are really thinking in your heart? A blush flitted across Shi Feixuans pretty face, her beautiful pupils were still as limpid as the water, she sighed lightly and said, Feixuan was wrong; I put forward an advice that could raise misunderstanding in Zilings heart in the inappropriate time. Can Ziling forgive Feixuans slip of the tongue? No! Xu Ziling blurted out without thinking. It was after the words came out of his mouth that he realized that he had the audacity to speak such a disrespectful word toward this fairy. Yet once the word was out, he could not pull it back. Was it because he had suddenly heard that she was about to go far away from the mundane world, or perhaps because of her touching demeanor as she beseeched him in soft voice? Xu Ziling himself was unclear. Unable to parry his verbal assault, Shi Feixuan revealed a little girls shyness; lowering her head to avert his burning gaze, she spoke with slight displeasure in her voice, How could Ziling be this kind of person, saying such rude words to Feixuan? Xu Ziling recalled the heartless manner in which she was seeing him while wearing Buddhist robe in Changan, unexpectedly there was pleasure in his heart that he could not exin, so much so that it even shocked him. Hardening his heart, he lowered his voice and said, Xiaodi has a proposal that will satisfy rival demands. Recovering her serenity, Shi Feixuan met his gaze. Deeply guarded, she replied, Let me hear it first. Laughing calmly, Xu Ziling said, I am not going to. Otherwise, Feixuan wont want to see meter. Shi Feixuan faintly rolled her eyes at him, and then said, If you wont tell me, I may really not going to see you again. However, Xu Zilings heart was moved. Thesest two sentences were obviously filled with friendly regard. He had a feeling that he was ying with fire. But even if he was ying with fire, could it be that Shi Feixuan was not? At the beginning it was just a little spark, but by the time the intensity of the fire was expanding, it would be difficult to hold back. It might burn the entire prairie into ashes, destroying any defense that any man could make. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, In here, are we stillrade-in-arms fighting side by side? Nodding her head, Shi Feixuan replied, You could say that, yes. Xu Ziling nearly wanted to shrink back as the time for battle approaches. After taking a deep breath, he went on, Before Feixuan returns to Jingzhai, would you dare to taste the romantic love on purely spiritual level? Extraordinarily, Shi Feixuans pretty face did not reveal any rose-tinted clouds, her jade countenance remained as calm as still water, as she gazed at him for half a day without showing any emotional fluctuation. And then she smiled and said, Since ancient times, the barrier of love has always been difficult to pass; Ziling has the heart to let Feixuan fall into this danger? Xu Zilingughed without restraint and said, I just wanted to vent my feeling! Xiaojie need not be overly concerned. Shi Feixuan fiercely rolled her eyes at him again, but a hint of pained smile escaped from her fragrant lips. She spoke gently, My problem is that I do not have the heart to deceive you; furthermore, I cannot harden my heart to speak heartless words to you. Xu Ziling, you make Feixuan fall into a dilemma! Xu Ziling spoke apologetically, Xiaojie is willing to say this, Zaixia is extremely grateful. I have offended you, I am asking for Xiaojies forgiveness. Ay! Revealing true feeling can be this meddlesome, right? Shi Feixuanughed indifferently. ring at him, she said, Although you me yourself for the indiscretion, even apologizing and asking for forgiveness, the fact is that in your heart you still dont feel relieved. However, Feixuan does not have the slightest thought of me on you. Let me go back to think about it first? Thinking about what? Xu Ziling blurted out asking. As if nothing had happened, Shi Feixuan replied, Naturally thinking about your, Xu Gongzis proposal; dont tell me that there is something else? When Kou Zhong returned to the courtyard house, Xu Ziling was sitting by the hot spring pool, staring nkly. He had released the three horses from the stable and let them leisurely eat the fodder inside the corral. Kou Zhong was showing his affection to the horses by nuzzling on their necks first beforeing to sit down by Xu Zilings side, saying, Can you guess whom did I meet? Following which he exined a bit, and then asked in wonder, What are you thinking? You look so weird, did you talk to Yucheng? Xu Ziling shook his head, No, he replied, But I know where Yucheng is staying; Zhu Yuyan told me. And then he recounted his conversation with Zhu Yuyan. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly Shi Zhixuan came to Longquan, wouldnt it mean he is stupidly walking straight into the trap? Xu Ziling acted as if he did not hear him at all, he spoke indifferently, I also saw Shi Feixuan. Kou Zhong was greatly astonished; he leaned closely to look at his expression, and probed, She could not helping here to look for you, could she? Xu Ziling replied in displeasure, She came across Zhou Laotan, who escaped from Da Ming Zun Jiao peoples hands, and then in order to rescue Jin Huanzhen, who are still in Da Ming Zun Jiao peoples hands, she pursued straight to here. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, I wonder if she learned from Xiao Juns mouth about those two impostors dead bodies? In that case she should have found Old Zhou at Shanhai Pass. Did you ask her who are the Da Ming Zun Jiao people in Shanhai Pass? Embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, Next time I have the opportunity I will ask. Kou Zhong roared inughter; pulling his shoulders close, he said cheerfully, That is not a problem, we are all brothers, how can I me you? Ha! Dont hide it from me! Have you and Shi Feixuan already promised each other for eternity? Ha! No wonder your expression looks so weird. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Promising each other for eternity? Dont make a joke at my personal affair! She told me that after all these are over, she would immediately return to Jingzhai and will note out anymore; she will not interfere with your great undertaking of contending over the world even more. Releasing his embrace, Kou Zhong blurted out, What? Looking up at the darkening sky, Xu Ziling breathed out a mouthful of air and said, Am I really the kind of person who keep everything tightly closed at the bottom of my heart? Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong replied, I dont have that impression, perhaps because you have never concealed your discontentment toward me. And then he excitedly put his hand on his shoulder and curiously asked, Why do you suddenly have that thought? Did Shi Xianzi tell you that? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I am now revealing my thought and looking for someone to relieve my mncholy. Do you have any interest in listening? Patting his chest to give his pledge, Kou Zhong said, One lifetime, two brothers. If you dont tell me, whom are you going to tell? Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, I want to pursue Shi Feixuan with all my strength, to enjoy the feeling of love, which, within ten or so days cant possibly have any oue, but I am also afraid of messing up her clear cultivation. The contradiction in my heart is agonizing. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was wide-eyed and tongue-tied, because not even in is dream he ever thought that Xu Ziling would be this brave and fearless, explosive, intense, and impassioned. Xu Ziling doubtfully said, Am I very foolish? Putting up the haughty manner of an expert, Kou Zhong analyzed, Did Shi Feixuan ept it? If she forcefully refused, the severity of the blow you received might be hard to estimate. Dont forget that emotionally you are very vulnerable. Just like helpless child, Xu Ziling nkly said, She said she is going to think it over carefully. What? Kou Zhong blurted out, Unexpectedly you already talked to her. Isnt this the kind of thing that can be done but cannot be talked about? My grannys bear, what is she thinking over for? Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, Was that absurd enough for you? But now I am really happy. In fact, my expectation on her is very low, I only hope that she wont me me or just give me some face. I dont know whether it was because I am in a foreign country, all kinds of depressing apprehension in the Central ins before, in here, everything lost its constrain and effectiveness, so that I want to do some exciting and interesting things. I am a little not normal, but she does not seem to be any better than me. Kou Zhong vigorously pped him on the shoulder and said, Good kid! Before, you were the sage presents as an ordinary person, you even made me worry that you go through big things in your life blindly, so that I was afraid that after we part ways, you would stealthily slip away to be a monk. Who knew that unexpectedly you are a general charging through the barrier of love? In my opinion, you either give up, or go through to the end [orig. one dont do, two dont rest]; you might as well go all-out to pursue Xianzi, and in the future be married couple very much in love. I see a picture of a pair of you roaming everywhere to the ends of the earth. When your life reaches that point, what else is there to regret? Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Asking for advice to a man like you who only see utilization of achievement is like asking a blind man to lead the way. Lets stop idle gossip, the top priority job before our eyes is to understand clearly what happened to Yucheng? And then well see whether we could find out Jin Huanzhens whereabouts from him, afterwards we will undertake the task to rescue her. That is as it should be, Kou Zhong began, But about what we were talking just now, I am not done yet ... Xu Ziling cut him off, You can always say some constructive words, save a bit of time! Kou Zhongughed and said, I only want to show my support to you. Love without any result may be more moving than love with some result. If you dont believe me, just look at Shi Zhixuan and Bi Xiuxin, Yue Shan and Zhu Yuyan. Ha! Arent Shang Xiufang and me also having bitter love without any result? Xu Zilingughed and cursed, Go to your grannys bear. If you have a change of affection, a shift of love, you disregard Song Yuzhi, not only it wont be moving at all, it will be forgetting love, turning your back to righteousness. I advise you to behave. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, You scolded me right. But my situation is very different from yours. Ay! My heart is suddenly in a great mess, the situation here is tooplicated! Unlike in the real Changan where it was so simple, as long as we found the Duke Yangs Treasure then we would sessfully aplish our goal. Its not thatplicated, Xu Ziling replied, The most important thing is to retrieve the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin for Da Xiaojie, and then help Pingyao merchants to get back their wealth and loan, and then get rid of Shi Zhixuan, and then help Yuekepeng to assassinate the Tianzhu Kuang Seng Funantuo, and then ... My Niang, it is indeedplicated. Exactly my point! Kou Zhong proudly said, The worst thing is that enemy and us are difficult to tell apart. Merely beautiful Xiao Shiyi is enough to give us headache. Yucheng seems to be bewitched by the Da Ming Zun Jiaos yaonu [female demon]. Hey, lets put everything else aside, we must find Yucheng first to ask clearly, and then we can talk about other matters. Rising to his full height, Xu Ziling said, If Yucheng really betrayed you, how would you handle him? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Are you saying that I should make my move to kill him? Without any better option, I would persuade him to go a bit far away, so that I wont momentarily have a slip of hand to injure him. Ha! That cant be true. Yucheng is not that kind of person. There must be something in it that we cannot guess yet. He sprang up suddenly and put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder again. Walking toward the main gate, he sighed and said, Maybe I am too optimistic. First of all, its hard to fathom a persons mind. Secondly, it involves womens magical power. It does not matter whether it is a female demon or a saint, they are all the same thing. The proverbs say something like one smile overturning the state, presently we have you, this good example. Amidst Xu Zilingughing and cursing, the two, with their mind wandering all over the ce C went out the door. Of the ces that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have visited, Little Longquan was the city with most bridges. The city was surrounded by wends, the streets and alleys were adapted to this environment; the water, the streets, the bridges, the houses, everything was ingeniously integrated. Plus the water was hot spring water; steam rose up into the air, so that the scenery on both sides of the water seemed to be covered by ayer of hazy gauze, making people feel blurry and intoxicated. The two boys were riding on a boat supplied by Shuwen. They wore bamboo rain hats on their head, gliding deftly on the small river interspersed among the buildings and the trees like a cobweb, one stone bridge after another passing overhead, just like one dreand after another. The farther south they were rowing, the fewer pedestrians they saw in the city, the quieter it felt. Since arriving at the famous Longquan Upper Capital of Little Changan, this was the first time that they had the chance to experience this exotic city on the northeast prairie, while also experiencing Bai Zitings ambition to contend for hegemony over the prairie. Kou Zhong, who was responsible for sculling the boat, asked Xu Ziling, who was sitting in the middle of the boat, Shall I go see Shang Xiufang? Xu Ziling responded indifferently, Youd better not. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Not afraid of failing to show courtesy? Xu Ziling sighed and said, You are bringing trouble for yourself. In Leshou, in order to avoid Chuchu, we had to set out that very night without a good sleep, and now you want to walk right into the trap and surrender; it can be considered something that you dont have any bargaining chips in. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I really am surrendering. But I surrender to you. You said dont go, then I wont go. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling said, I wonder if Da Ming Zun Jiao is aware of our rtionship with Yucheng? Shaken, Kou Zhong said, I havent thought about that. Reasonably speaking, they are not. If they knew our rtionship, yet still let Yucheng have the opportunity to meet us, that means Da Ming Zun Jiao people are confident that Yucheng wont cast his lot with us again. My Niang! Does it mean that Yucheng has already be their people? Xu Ziling said, Do you remember in Shanhai Pass Shi Feixuan told us that in Da Ming Zun Jiao, under the Da Zun and Shan Mu, there is still one Yuanzi [origin child], but Zhu Yuyan did not mention such a person. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Other than Yuanzi, there are also Five Kinds of Demons. I wonder if Zhu Yuyan really did not know, or she was deliberately concealing it? Xu Ziling analyzed, ording to reason, Zhu Yuyan should not harm us, just like she said, her biggest enemy is Shi Zhixuan; without us helping her, even if she wanted to fight Shi Zhixuan until both sides perish, she simply could not. Plus her rtionship with Da Ming Zun Jiao has deteriorated from working together into hostility. I think it was because Da Ming Zun Jiaos power is expanding continuously, and its influence has reached the Central Earth, hence she is apprehensive, afraid that one day they might rece her Yin Gui Pai. Under this kind of situation, there is no reason she is concealing the truth on behalf of Da Ming Zun Jiao. Who is Da Ming Zun Jiaos Yuanzi? Kou Zhong wondered. There is someone who we can ask, Xu Ziling replied. Shi Feixuan? Kou Zhong guessed. Not Shi Feixuan, but Zhou Laotan, Xu Ziling replied, He is arranged to stay in a private residence at the east side of the city. After dealing with Yucheng, well immediately look for him, and then well see Yuekepeng. The small skiff passed another stone bridge, and rounded a bend on the river. Both banks of the river were lined with elm trees, which, shrouded by the steam rising from the water, appeared to be moist and dense dark blue, arousing peoples spirit. A stone bridge with three characters Nan Quan Qiao [south spring bridge] engraved on it appeared ahead. To the left of the bridge there was a ratherrge mansion, surrounded by high walls all around. Hidden behind the emerald green forest tree, they saw pavilions and kiosks; the scenery was extremely beautiful. The Xiao Hui Yuan [Little Hui Garden] and the stream of hot spring winding around the mansion were only separated by a road. The gate of the mansion had a pier, where several skiffs, big and small were moored. This segment of the waterway was particrly wide, its width reached three zhang. A boat, which was about twice the size of their small skiff, wasing out of the pier, heading in their direction. The two boys sharp eyes swept across; the person sculling the boat was a Huihe man, sitting on the boat were surprisingly Duan Yucheng and the water and fire, two female demons who were traveling with him a moment ago. The boats on both sides quickly approached each other. Duan Yucheng and the two women looked at them. Kou Zhong raised his bamboo rain hat, exposing his face. His gaze swept across the three people. Clearly Duan Yuchengs body was trembling lightly, but he did not open his mouth to call. The two womens beautiful eyes lit up at the same time; they were in awe of Kou Zhongs appearance. Kou Zhong pulled the bamboo rain hat down, the two boats passed each other, and quickly pulled away from each other. The two women still constantly turned their heads around to look back, but Duan Yucheng suddenly became like a rock, he did not make any move. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, Whether its a dragon or a snake, it will be up to Yucheng to decide. Xu Ziling nodded and said, If he has not gone bad, he ought to leave secret mark at the south gate, to try to contact us. They had aplete set of technique tomunicate secret information. If Duan Yucheng still considered them the Gang Leader of the Shuang Long Bang, he should contact them via the secret markings. Kou Zhong steered the skiff toward the left side of the waterway, winding around the Xiao Hui Yuan, turning into the river course east side of the city. He said, How about we look for Zhou Laotan to have a heart-to-heart chat over tea? Xu Ziling mused inwardly that he might see Shi Feixuan again; his heart was immediately burning. Book 41 - 4 – Preview of a Lesson in Love The two boys tied the small skiff to an elm tree by the riverbank, and then they went ashore toward the small single-story house where Zhou Laotan was staying. In Longquan, not only the big streets were as wide as the ones in Changan, thenes and alleys were imitated to perfection. Because of the water, the decoration on the stone bridges and row upon row of tiled houses was made simple and unadorned as much as possible, attaching most importance to practicality. Arriving outside the courtyard of the bungalow that Shi Feixuan mentioned, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Can you guess how Zhou Laotan is going to treat us, the two benefactors who saved his life? Will he be grateful, or suspicious? Its called rivers and mountains are easy to change, human character is difficult to shift. Xu Ziling smiled and said, In order to recapture the Xiedi Sheli, you want him to call you Die, there wont be any problem. Thinking too much wont help, wed better think whether we ought to knock on the door asking for an audience, or jump over the wall to enter, to give him a surprise. After listening carefully for half a day, Kou Zhong said, There is not a sound inside the house, it looks like Zhou Laotan already went out incognito to go on an inspection tour [the terms here referred to high-ranking government official in civilian clothes], going all over the ce to sense the Shelis location. Xu Ziling grabbed the door ring and knocked it lightly three times; as expected, there was no response. He signaled Kou Zhong with his eyes. After ascertaining that there was no one else in the alley, the two soared over the wall andnded in the courtyard inside. The two-section building was connected by an atrium. The main door was half open, serene and elegant. Raising his voice, Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are calling to pay our respects to Zhou Xiong. Beyond the two boys expectation, a grim voice came from the depth of the inner section, saying, Turns out my, Old Zhous life-saving benefactors. Come in quickly. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Zhou Laoxiong is indeed brilliant; unexpectedly the two of us arepletely unable to detect someone is inside the house. He was about to lift his foot to enter the house, when he noticed Xu Zilings odd expression. He was about to inquire, Xu Ziling already reached out toward his shoulders, and quickly wrote the character fake on his back. Inwardly Kou Zhong was shocked, but he immediately understood. In his disguise as Yue Shan, Xu Ziling had met, even fought C against Zhou Laotan, hence he recognized his voice, yet the other party did not know this fact, thereupon he pretended to be Zhou Laotan to deceive them. If Xu Ziling did not hear wrong, then it must be everything bodes ill, no positive signs for Zhou Laotan; perhaps he had been captured. This bungalow was arranged by Shi Feixuan via a local Han merchant for Zhou Laotan to stay, and Shi Feixuan was ustomed toing and going alone, she definitely would not stay here for a time, hence were it not for Xu Ziling already met Zhou Laotan, it would be strange indeed if the two boys did not fall into the trap. Creak! The double-door was pushed open from the inside, and the fake Zhou Laotan appeared on the door. Xu Ziling was immediately scared out of his skin. In terms of outward appearance, the fake and the real Zhou Laotan were seventy-, eighty-percent alike. Both had wide face and hook jaw, thick lips, bulging neck, their build short and stout. Although wearing Buddhist monks cassock, from head to toes he emitted demonic qi. If Xu Ziling saw the person first before hearing the voice, because it has been a long time since he met Zhou Laotan, perhaps he would be deceived as well. This moment however, since he already had a doubt in his heart, after a closer look, he immediately realized that the fake Zhou Laotans nose was shorter, the expression showing in his eyes was different. Under Xu Zilings sharp eyes, he was sure that this person was not wearing any disguise, neither did he wear any mask. Although people might look simr, no two are identical. Yet since the resemnce was to such degree, most likely the fake Zhou Laotan before their eyes was the real Zhou Laotans twin brother. What was happening here? Could it be that Shi Feixuan was also duped? The fake Zhou Laotanughed and said, Two gentlemen are honoring me with your presence, making Laotan feels that your presence brings light to my humble dwelling. Come in and drink a cup of hot tea first and then well talk. Kou Zhongughed aloud; calmly and unafraid he took the lead to enter the small reception hall. The houses furnishing was simple. Other than a set of table and chairs, there were only a few pieces of small furniture. The four walls werepletely bare, yet it could be considered clean and bright with several windows. After the two sat down, Zhou Laotan sat down on the other side of the table. He said, Two gentlemen came just at the right time. I had just returned from the outside, in here waiting for Shi Guniang. You did not knock the door using the agreed technique, I thought it was the enemy dropping in to look for me. Do you have an appointment with Shi Xiaojie? Xu Ziling asked. The fake Zhou Laotans eyes spouted me of hatred; full of emotion, he said, I just left secret markings in the designated ce, asking her toe here to meet, because I have found the ce where Huanzhen is being held captive. Kou Zhong pretended to be greatly delighted; he asked, Where is Saozi [sister-inw] being imprisoned? Lowering his voice, the fake Zhou Laotan said, Just outside the city, about ten li to the west, inside a mansion in a vige, which is Da Ming Zun Jiaos secret nest. Xu Ziling said, Why do we need to wait for Shi Xiaojie toe back? Lets go immediately to rescue her. The fake Zhou Laotan shook his head and said, The mansion is heavily-guarded, their strength is difficult to estimate. What I am most afraid of is that they would rather kill Huanzhen than letting her be rescued by us; therefore, we must wait for the dark before trying to sneak in. This way our chance of rescuing her would be a lot greater. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, How did Zhou Xiong know that she is inside the mansion? The fake Zhou Laotan was able to reply quickly and fluently, Huanzhen has a set of gongfa, even if we are separated by a long distance, I could detect her presence, unless Da Ming Zun Jiao people knocked her unconscious; but they evidently want to draw support from her marvelous technique to detect the Sheng Sheli, hence I was able to seek her straight to Longquan. Were it not for they already knew that he was a fake, they would have been deceived into believing that it was the truth. But now they knew that he was merely inventing crazy nonsense; there was simply no such gongfa in the world. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly; fake news against fake information, they were even. He said, Ba Fenghan is outside the city, tracking down Shen Mohuan, husband and wifes trail; he will be back in three days. The fake Zhou Laotan asked, Is the Five-Colored Stone still in your hands? Kou Zhong replied, We hid the Five-Colored Stone in a secret ce outside the city; we could use this as a bargaining chip against Bai Ziting. About rescuing Saozi back, what exactly the n that Zhou Xiong has in your heart? The fake Zhou Laotan asked, Do you happen to know where Shi Xiaojie is staying? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied with a wry smile, Her misunderstanding toward us is too deep; by willing to speak a few words to me, she has already given me enough face, how could she be willing to tell us where she stays? A barely visible happy expression shed through the fake Zhou Laotans pair of demonic eyes, he asked, But why was Shi Guniang be willing to tell you that I am here? The two boys were nearly left speechless by his question. Fortunately Xu Ziling was able to think fast in an emergency; he replied, Shi Xiaojie is still not too unreasonable, she knew that we had plucked Saozi from Rong Jiaojiaos hands, hence she allowed us to meet with you, Laoxiong. Kou Zhong did not let him to think deeply, he asked, Werent you being ambushed and captured at Shanhai Pass? Who attacked you? Howe Shi Feixuan could only rescue you, one person? The fake Zhou Laotans face turnedpletely severe, he clenched his fist and gnashing his teeth, saying, The ones dealing with us were the Five Kinds of Demons of the Da Ming Zun Jiao. First, they used poison when we were unaware, and then catching us off guard, they suddenly made their move, blocking our path while we least expected it. They put me in a farm near Shanhai Pass, and only took Huanzhen away, because they wanted her to work for them because she was worried over my life and death. And then he let out a cold snort and fiercely said, But they still underestimated me; how could I, Zhou Laotan be someone who is easy to deal with? In less than a day I forced the poison out, unsealed the acupoint, and killed the bandit guarding me. Humph! Inwardly Kou Zhong mused, Ive heard enough! but he said, I have a suggestion: is it possible for Zhou Xiong not to tell Shi Xiaojie about this matter? Tonight well meet at certain ce, and together well go to the mansion on a rescue mission, and so we give Shi Xiaojie a nice surprise? The fake Zhou Laotan revealed a difficult expression first, and then, after rolling his pair of demonic eyes several times, he nodded and said, As long as we can rescue Huanzhen, Ill do anything. After discussing the meeting ce and time, Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to ask, Other than the Five Kinds of Demons and Five Bright Sons, I hear that under Da Zun and Shan Mu, there is also one Yuanzi; I wonder if Zhou Xiong know who it is? Frowning, the fake Zhou Laotan said, Although we, husband and wife, have sought shelter under Shan Mu, we did not enter Da Ming Zun Jiao, therefore, we are unclear about the more confidential matter within Da Ming Zun Jiao. I only know that Yuanzi is training the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing [imperial (or defending) extreme ten thousand methods origin wisdom scripture] of the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Three Great Secret Canons. The Five Bright Sons are qi [or air], wind, power, water, and fire. The Five Kinds of Demons are thick fog, dying down fire, vicious wind, poisonous water, and dark qi [or air]. As for the Da Zun and Yuanzi, they are the most mysterious figures within the Cult. The Cult people never talk about it with outsiders. Rising up to his full height, Kou Zhong said, Well see you at appointed time tonight. They left after saying goodbye. The two boys sat on the small skiff. Kou Zhong quickly took off his robe, he even handed the Moon in the Well to Xu Ziling; putting on his mask, he spoke in low voice, Ill follow the fake Zhou Laotan to see who he is in contact with. This is called beating someone at his own game. You go look for your fairy! See what she thinks about it. Without waiting for Xu Zilings agreement, he simple went ashore and left. Xu Ziling gently sculled, the small boat glided away. He understood Kou Zhongs intention of beating someone at his own game, which was a good opportunity to rescue Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotan. The fake Zhou Laotan made light of traveling a thousand li to lure Shi Feixuan toe to Longquan, he definitely harbored malicious intentions. In the Central Earth, Ci Hang Jing Zhai was the holynd that Wulins white way [righteous/orthodox] looked up to; to deal with Shi Feixuan, the direct disciple that the Jingzhai sent out, was certainly easier said than done. But in this Little Changan, which was far away from the Central ins, it was another matter. Shi Feixuan had just arrived today. She was precisely the person that the fake Zhou Laotan was waiting for, so that they could carryout their conspiracy. But coincidentally the two boys dropped by, the fake must change their n; first, they must get rid of them, before they could leisurely deal with Shi Feixuan. Therefore, the fake Zhou Laotan must now notify his conspirators to make adequate preparation. If from the fake Zhou Laotans side the whole nest came out toward the mansion outside the city to prepare an ambush, they could enter by exploiting a weak spot, to rescue Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotan. The crucial point was to be one step ahead to grasp the ce they were being imprisoned. Therefore, Kou Zhong must find the clues from the fake Zhou Laotan. In order to find the Demonic Emperor Relics, Jin Huanzhen, either both husband and wife, or one of them, must be in Longquans vicinity. This way, Kou Zhong had a great chance of sess. The skiff elerated continuously. After rounding a bend on the river, a pagoda, towering over the dense forest on the left, appeared in sight. This was Sheng Guang Si [holy light (Buddhist) temple], the only Buddhist temple in Little Changan. Bai Ziting himself has never believed in Buddha. And now, it was more likely that he converted to Funantuos Tianzhu evil cult. However, since the real Changan had many Buddhist temples, the Little Changan must follow suit. ording to Shi Feixuan, not only the incense burning in Sheng Guang Si was not flourishing, the number of monks inside the temple was less than ten. Sheng Guang Dashi [great master, Buddhist monk] presiding over the temple was invited by Bai Ziting from the real Changan, a virtuous holy monk. The monks inside the temple were all his disciples who came with him from Changan. Xu Ziling left the skiff and went ashore, he headed straight toward the temple gate. Entering the temple, he spoke the code word to the first monk that he encountered. Seemingly uninterested, the monk only cast him half a nce with his drooping eyebrows; putting his palms together, he said, Shizhu [benefactor], please follow me. Finished speaking, he led the way forward. Xu Ziling did not expect that he would be able to see Shi Feixuan without a hitch like this. His heart immediately rose into his throat, thumping and leaping; the feeling was hard to describe. What approach should he take toward her? What would the oue of her consideration be? How would this fairy, who was half outside the human world C deal with his offense? Suddenly, all the beautiful women who had left beautiful image in his heart became a fuzzy image. Shi Feixuans every frown and every smile entered and upied his entire mind. If he really could, in this famous city of the foreignnd, which was brimming with Central Earths vor, he would throw everything to enjoy the touching feeling of love between a man and a woman, the love andpassion in spirit and mind with this fairy, which would only happen in a short period of time and would not bear any fruit, and then let this short and beautiful memory follow him wandering everywhere to the ends of the earth. Thinking about that kind of sweet yet sad feeling could melt ones soul. The monk led him through a moon gate to the outside of a building that looked like a meditation room; he said, Shizhu, pleasee in. Fangzhang [Abbot] is waiting respectfully for your good self. All around, the forest tree reached high to the sky, the surroundings were serene, beautiful and tranquil. The sound of meditative chanting of the scripture, moving up and down, wasing from not far away, apanied by the clear and rhythmic sound of the wooden fish. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, The one I want to see is ... With wooden expression, the monk interrupted him, Xiaoseng [little monk] understands. Shizhu go see Fangzhang, and you will understand. Finished speaking, he simply turned around and walked away. A feeling that something was not right welled up in Xu Zilings heart, a burst of numbness overwhelmed his scalp. Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the meditation hall. On the far end of the hall, there was a sacrificial offering of the Three Precious Treasures of Buddha [namely, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Shangha]. In front of the altar, sandalwood incense was burning, the smoke spiraled into the air, the fragrance permeated the entire meditation hall. A tall and thin old monk was sitting facing the door, his eyes were watching his nose, his nose was watching his heart, his Buddhist appearance was solemn. His hands were holding Buddhist beads, his mouth chanting words, as if he waspletely unaware that there was a guest paying him a visit. In front of him was a putuan [praying mat, made of woven cattail], which seemed to be prepared for Xu Ziling. Entering the temple to worship Buddha, Xu Ziling took off his boots, kowtowed three times, and then without consulting anyone he walked over, and copying the other side, he sat cross-legged on the putuan, but did not say anything. Sheng Guang Dashi did not move a single jot. That pair of eyes, which was buried in his face full of wrinkles, suddenly arose, shooting toward him like a pair of brightnterns. Hows your cultivation? he asked. Here ites! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. But he smiled and said, Dashi, please bestow your instruction. Sheng Guang Dashi said, In general, the one devoting himself to spiritual development must be away from distraction, clearly obtaining the now of the three boundaries, originally empty, ced to dissolve the cultivation. Not seen since the ancient times was a monk persevering in Buddhist monastic discipline, in all his life he had held Buddhist monastic discipline. During a night walk he suddenly stepped on something that produced a sound, he suspected it was a toad with countless eggs in its belly; he was frightened and regretted endlessly! When he slept, he dreamed about several hundred toads wereing to demand his life; he woke up in great rm. Under the light of dawn he looked carefully, it was no more than an old eggnt. [Sorry, this is definitely beyond my ability to trante. I know nothing about Buddhist teachings.] Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing than old monk Sheng Guang wanted to use this tale to enlighten him. For the Buddhists, the three boundaries originally had no material object; everything was an illusion. Just like the monk persevering in Buddhist monastic discipline in the story stepping over something. Was it actually a toad? Or was it an eggnt? If it were a toad, looking under the light of the dawn, he would see an eggnt. If it were an eggnt, in his dream there would be toadsing to demand his life. Only because the dust in his heart has not been shed, his mindset framed how he viewed the world, causing the three boundaries unable to transcend worldliness. This tale was clearly told in response to his own inappropriate demands toward Shi Feixuan. From this, it could be spected that Shi Feixuans consideration could not possibly have any good oue. Why couldnt Shi Feixuan tell him directly the decision she made after consideration, instead of using Sheng Guang Dashis mouth to do so? It made him both confused and embarrassed. If he did not have to tell her about the fake Zhou Laotan, perhaps he would have immediately brushed his sleeves and walked away. But this moment he had no choice but to speak with rueful smile, Many thanks for Dashis enlightenment, this kid understands. May I ask if it is possible for this kid to see Shi Xiaojie? This kid has an important matter to report. Sheng Guang spoke serenely, Feixuan has just left Longquan to return to Jingzhai. These few words were like a thunderbolt in a sunny day, shaking Xu Ziling that his whole body went numb, his mind went nk. Sheng Guang, without blinking at all, looked calmly at his reaction. Its over! Its all over. All his desires, all his expectations, all his hopes, in that instant became scattered ashes and dispersed smoke, without leaving the least bit of a trace. On the contrary, his heart calmed down, just like the deathly stillness of the ashes. Xu Ziling has never had any demand toward life. He went through life feeling at home wherever he was. Were it not for Kou Zhonging alongside him, urging and pushing him on, he would never be a martial art master whose name shook the world today. If something could be sought, then something could be lost as well. This was the most serious emotional blow he suffered after Shi Qingxuan. He felt that every hope turned to dust; he was even unwilling to ask Sheng Guang Dashi why Shi Feixuan did not consider Shi Zhixuan and Jin Huanzhens affairs anymore but hurriedly returning to Jingzhai. In a daze, he felt himself standing up, moved to the door and picked up his boots. Shizhu! Sheng Guang called. An extremely absurd feeling grew in Xu Zilings heart. Things started absurdly, and it ended even more absurdly. While thinking, he slowly and attentively put on his boots. Even not from Buddhist perspective, the essence of every single matter in the world is fundamentally an absurdity. Why do men and women love so that they be caught up in an irresolvable situation? Why do people massacre each other? What exactly is the purpose of life? What is the meaning of the vast, without-boundary universes existence? Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, I really understand! But I really dont understand. Dashi, please! Finished speaking, he left. Stepping down the steps of the meditation hall, his eyes saw no ones footprints, his ears heard no sound of the tapping of the wooden fish and the chanting of the names of Buddha. The magnificent templeplex, the shaded trees, falling inside Xu Zilings eyes, it has some kind of brilliance behind the overgrown vegetation. He put the sheepskin robe, which was originally draped over his forearm, onto his shoulder. Suddenly heughed involuntarily, shook his head and heaved a sigh, and then stepped forward. Life without Shi Feixuan was precisely the fate that was waiting respectfully ahead for his good self. He had never thought that Shi Feixuan would upy such an important position in his heart. The world after losing her no longer had the rich, touching color as before. Even though previously he raised the request concerning love to her, there were still some elements of a game, rejection was something that was as it should be by rights, it could not possibly bring pain and sense of loss like now. But she was really too heartless, to return to Jingzhai as if she was escaping from a gue. Entering the path into the main hall, Xu Zilings entire body shook severely. Looking to the left in disbelief, he saw Shi Feixuan, wearing mens clothing, was sitting peacefully inside a small pavilion in the garden, with her jade countenance as calm as still water. And she was staring fixedly at him. Xu Ziling blurted out, You ... Shi Feixuan smiled and said, This is called the first rehearsal of separation. Ziling Xiong still has the courage to listen to the situation? Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a bitter smile, This move of Xiaojies is superior to Bi Xuans Chi Yan Da Fa [great method of naked me], Xiaodi steps down gracefully. Slowlying inside the pavilion, he sat down dejectedly, and then he sighed again and said, Too formidable! Shi Feixuans charming face showed neither wind nor wave, as if what they were talking about had nothing to do with her at all. ying it down, she said, Once there is love, if Feixuan wants to leave, I must be heartless like this. Whether there is love or there is no love, it will be equally hard to take. Thats why Feixuan said that the barrier of love is difficult to pass. From head to foot, Xu Ziling was without any strength; he nodded and said, I surrender! Would it be possible to let me take the proposal back? Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Xu Ziling, arent you a real man, a mans man? The words are already out, how could you take them back? In shock, Xu Ziling looked at her. Shi Feixuan lightly shrugged her fragrant shoulders and said, Did Ziling Xiong see through that Zhou Laotan is just a fake guy? Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Turns out you have already seen it through. Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, We rarely have the opportunity to talk calmly, how about we have a chat now? Xu Ziling felt like he was dealing with her Color Empty Sword, his allotted share was to parry with great difficulty. Smiling wryly, he said, What should we talk about? Laughing involuntarily, Shi Feixuan said, Its indeed a joke. Didnt you say that you wanted to pursue Feixuan with all your might? Even what to talk about, you need to ask me; isnt it funny? Throwing his head back, Xu Zilingughed and said, You scold me well! This is called Xiaodi is reaping what I have sown. With nothing outstanding, dared to ask Xiaojie whether she considers Xiaodi as part of her cultivation? Neither for nor against what he said, Shi Feixuan said, The way of the sword is the way of heaven. The heart of the sword is a brightly lit realm, which is the realm of peaceful and whole awareness. Which one is not a part of Feixuans sword cultivation? Ziling Xiongs remark is really hard to understand. Xu Zilings heart suddenly calmed down, he advanced into the Moon in the Well realm, because he knew that if he did not rouse himself to take up the challenge, he would surely suffer defeat in this battlefield of love. To Shi Feixuan, not only the way of the sword is the way of heaven, it was also the way of man. Book 41 - 5 – Brought Together By Fate Shi Feixuan exined patiently, Before leaving Shanhai Pass, all along the oneing in contact with me was Jin Huanzhen, I have never met Zhou Laotan. The reason I was able to detect a problem with the Zhou Laotan that appearedter was purely some kind of intuition. I felt like his mouth and his heart are not in agreement. After Feixuan came into the city, I followed his trail in secret. This morning Ziling Xiong came across Feixuan at the East Market, it was precisely because Zhou Laotan was inside the sheepskin shop that Ziling Xiong was watching, having a meeting with his aplice. This fake Zhou Laotan is a person that must not be taken lightly. Seeing that she did not advance and press forward step-by-step, Xu Ziling felt disappointed instead, yet he still gave thought to the subject she was raising; he said, The fake Laotan could very well be the real Laotans twin brother, hence the real Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, did not guard against him and gave him full ess instead. Otherwise, with their, two husband and wifes level of mastery, unless it were the Five Bright Sons and Five Kinds of Demon making their move together, there was no way they could catch the two in one. Astonished, Shi Feixuan asked, Have you seen the real Zhou Laotan? Xu Ziling exined all the way through. Obtaining this sudden understanding, Shi Feixuan said, No wonder you could deceive him, because he did not know that you have seen the real Zhou Laotan. In that case, they have already forced confession from Zhou Laotan, husband and wifes mouth everything, including such a trivial matter like whether they have met you. And then she smiled and said, I wonder if Ziling Xiong has a brilliant scheme in mind? Xu Ziling said, The crucial point of sess or failure lies in whether before we see the fake Zhou Laotan tonight we could find the ce where Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife are being kept prisoners. And then we split our troops into two prongs; one is to rescue the people, the other is to attack at full force, to do everything we can to wipe out the Da Ming Zun Jiaos main force in one stroke. Shaking her head, Shi Feixuan said, Kou Zhongs tracking will not bring any results. This morning, only after the fake Zhou Laotan left the sheepskin store that Da Ming Zun Jiao people arrived. Evidently their method of contact basically wont allow direct meeting. Since they are this careful, how could they possibly take Kou Zhong to the ce where Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife are being kept prisoners? Rising to his full height, Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, The matter depends on the individual [idiom: with effort, one can achieve anything]. Can Xiaojie wait here for our news? Leave everything to us. Shi Feixuan was slightly dismayed; obviously she never expected that he would suddenly leave, that as soon as he said he would leave he immediately left, musing inwardly that this could possibly be Xu Zilings counterattack to her. Her pretty eyebrows slightly furrowed, she said, You acted like you have a card up your sleeve. Feixuan really does not understand why you have such confidence. Smiling enigmatically, Xu Ziling said, Things of the world are impermanent; whod dare to say that he really has confidence? Xiaodi is merely trying to do my utmost! Finished speaking, he floated away. When Xu Ziling was back at the courtyard house, Kou Zhong was talking with Shuwen. Shuwen received the order and left. Kou Zhong angrily said, I wish I could cut open that fake Zhou Laotan and feed him to the wolves. He took me touring the gardens in the city, nearly tiring me to the death, and in the end he returned to his dog house. Xu Ziling already knew this would happen. Sitting by the hot spring pool, he said, So whats your n now? Panting with rage, Kou Zhong sat down by his side, and angrily said, His grannys bear, what n are you talking about? I decided to go all out. The fake Laotan must have sent messages to hisrades using his special technique; Laozi did not expect him to do that. I am going to setup an inescapable to catch all Da Ming Zun Jiao people in one, and then use them to swap hostages, to exchange whatever his mothers Five Bright Sons, Five Kinds of Demons for Zhou Laotan, husband and wife. Ha! Thinking about it, it should benefit them more. To be fair, we ought to kill a couple of them before swapping people. Are you going to seek Gunatai brothers help? Xu Ziling asked. Bold and confident with justice on his side, Kou Zhong said, If I dont seek them, whom should I seek? Who told them to be our brothers? You have different ideas? Xu Zilingughed and said, I am more greedy than you. I want to kill them all that not a single armor is left, while also rescuing Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife at the same time. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong excitedly said, Have you decided on the n? Xu Ziling asked him instead, Why do you think Da Ming Zun Jiao must capture Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife, alive? Naturally for the sake of Xiedi Sheli, Kou Zhong replied. And then he added, Almost forget to tell you, Yucheng did not leave any secret marking in response to ours at the south gate. Seeing his sinking countenance, Xu Ziling said, Dont be too quick to judge, he might be unable to get away to attend to other things. Kou Zhong said, I am most afraid that during the attack on the mansion tonight, our people might mistakenly get rid of him. Whats your opinion on Du Xing and Xu Kaishan, this pair of sworn brothers? Xu Ziling asked. Even though Xu Ziling was changing the subject, Kou Zhong did not get angry at all. Knitting his brows, he said, Listening to the tone of your voice, you seem to think that they have a part in this, am I right? And then he nodded and said, I like Du Xing better, Xu Kaishan is shrewd and too deep. Could it be that they are not viins colluding together, but all along Du Xing has been exploited by Xu Kaishan? That is one possibility, Xu Ziling replied, I wanted to say that originally Da Ming Zun Jiao had no intention of provoking Shi Feixuan, this formidable opponent. It was only because we happened to see through their cheap trick of passing off fish eyes for pearls that they wanted to beat us at our own game by ying this fake Zhou Laotan card. In that case, Kou Zhong said, Are you saying that Xu Kaishan is Da Ming Zun Jiao man? I dare say that if he is not the Da Zun, then he is the Yuanzi, because his ability and wisdom and martial art skill are definitely not beneath Liexia. Xu Ziling said, Whether Xu Kaishan is Da Ming Zun Jiao man, we will find out tonight. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, How could we find out? Xu Ziling replied, The reason is very simple. That night, outside the gate of the Yanshan Winery in Shanhai Pass, I exined Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotans attire and appearance to Xu Kaishan, therefore, Xu Kaishan ought to know that I have seen Zhou Laotan. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, I understand! If the fake Laotan knew about this, then he would be sure that we have seen through his disguise. For martial art masters like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, as long as they took a nce, they could immediately recognize the distinctive feature in the other sides appearance, they could urately grasp their bearing and expression; they would not make mistake. Unless, like the fake Yue Shan, they had a mask that waspletely without any w, plus the Huan Ri Da Fa that could make people doubt between fantasy and reality; only then would they be able to trick Zhu Yuyan and lead her by the nose. Xu Ziling said, Therefore, tonight will likely be our chance to beat them at their own game, plus the other side has scheme within scheme. Therefore, the absolutely foolproof policy would be rescuing Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife first, and then from them, well understand Da Ming Zun Jiaos strength. Afterwards we can concentrate all our power and deal a ten-thousand-jun-momentum fatal blow toward Da Ming Zun Jiao. Pusa will certainly be very grateful to us. Kou Zhong stared at him for quite half a day before speaking in astonishment, You rarely took initiative and being this active on anything; I wonder if it is because Xianzi, the Senior is involved in it? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, That is part of the reason, but more importantly its for the sake of Zhifu, those three men, to look for Da Ming Zun Jiao people to pay with their life. They died because of us; without wiping out this hatred, it is really hard to have peace in my heart. After returning to the Central Earth, we still have to find Pi Chen, Rong Yaonu, Shangguan Long and the others to settle the ount. The murderous aura in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he said, Quickly tell me your wonderful method of looking for Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife. Xu Ziling said, In this matter, we need to ask Zhu Yuyan for help. Kou Zhong suddenly saw the light, Wonderful! he cried out, and said, Even if Zhuge [Liang] was back in the world, Sun Wu [Sun Tzu] was reborn, they would only have ability and wisdom just like yours. We will immediately go look for Zhu Yuyan; but how are we going to do that? Leave it to me to find her, Xu Ziling said, You go see Yuekepeng first, and then go to the south gate to see whether Yucheng responded. Well meet again here to discuss the next step of our operation. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, While we still have a bit of time, I should go out of the city to scout the mansion. If there is practically no vige or no mansion, we could save some foot power, no need to go out for nothing. Xu Ziling sneaked into the hotel where Zhu Yuyan was staying; he came to the west wing and snapped his fingers three times outside a closed window. Both among the Wulin of the Central ins and outside the border, Zhu Yuyan was the martial art master that no one would dare to provoke. No matter how conceited one was, unless one really had no other choice, one would never be willing to enrage her. Even if Longquans master Bai Ziting was fully aware that the leader of the number one sect of the demonic school of the Central ins was in his city, he still had to have one eye opened and the other eye closed, pretending to be unaware; or, he would have to drop by to pay a formal visit and try to build friendly rtions. Thetter action certainly carried the risk of being refused entrance. The chance that Zhu Yuyan would be inside the room was quite high, simply because she must fully used the demonic skill to detect the Relics, in order to probe Shi Zhixuans location. Sure enough, Zhu Yuyans voice came from the inside, Come in, the door is not bolted. Xu Ziling pushed the door and entered. Zhu Yuyan was sitting cross-legged on the chair, revealing her beautiful jade countenance, staring deeply at him. Her gaze was icy cold, as if it was without any normal human emotion at all. But Xu Ziling knew that behind this heartless fa?ade, there was abundant emotion that has been suppressed for a long time. She wanted to die with Shi Zhixuan in such a way that he also perished, but it was a hatred caused by love. Xu Ziling closed the door, and after saluting, he sat down in a chair on her left, separated by a small table about a chi wide. Before he had any opportunity to exin the purpose of his visit, Zhu Yuyan coldly said, What do you think about Waner? Wanwans beautiful barefooted image floated in Xu Zilings heart; but clearly he was shocked inwardly. He spoke indifferently, Under Wan Xiaojies leadership, Yin Gui Pai will enjoy famous reputation. How formidable Wanwan was, no one knew better than he and Kou Zhong. Zhu Yuyan nodded and said, Talking with you, there is no need to speak nonsense. Why do youe to see me? Xu Ziling said, Wanbei ising with specific purpose to invite Zhu Zongzhu to undertake the task to deal with Da Ming Zun Jiao. Tranquil and calm, Zhu Yuyan said, The one I want to deal with is only Shi Zhixuan; I have neither the time nor the mood to grow other branches and knots. Xu Ziling smiled and said, If Shi Feixuan happened to suffer mishap in Longquan, and Zhu Zongzhu happened to be in the same ce, what would the consequences be? Knitting her brows, Zhu Yuyan said, Da Ming Zun Jiao has the impertinence to take the risk to offend Fan Qinghui, to deal with her disciple? This was the first time Xu Ziling heard someone mentioning Fan Qinghui, the name of the master of Ci Hang Jing Zhai; moreover, he knew that Zhu Yuyan had seen the seriousness of the problem, because no matter how she denied it, because she had always had close rtionship with Da Ming Zun Jiao, it was certainly hard to stay out of this matter. Xu Ziling exined how Da Ming Zun Jiao used the fake Zhou Laotan to lure Shi Feixuan to Longquan in details. The harsh light in Zhu Yuyans pair of eyes ring greatly, she let out a cold humph and said, Although this matter did note through me, but if Shi Feixuan has any unexpected misfortune, Fan Qinghui would surely leave the mountain and open wide the Buddhist monastic discipline against killing. However, how could Shi Feixuan be someone who is easy to deal with? Its still not worthwhile for me to make another powerful enemy for this reason. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Could it be that Qianbei failed to see that not only Da Ming Zun Jiao wanted to extend their ws into the Central ins, they also wanted to take over Yin Gui Pais position and reced it with theirs? Otherwise, how could they dare to meddle in the affair between Qianbei and Shi Zhixuan? Currently our side has powerful people strong horses, however many people we want, well get that many people, so much so that we can exploit the most powerful force in this region, Tuli to deal heavy blow to Da Ming Zun Jiao or anybody who wants to help them. Such a good opportunity, how could Zhu Zongzhu lose various chances to link arms? Sighing lightly, Zhu Yuyan said, There are some things that are very difficult for outsiders to understand. If I cooperate with you guys and turn my back to deal with people of the same principle beyond the Great Wall, it would be difficult for Yin Gui Pai to protect our position as the head of the demonic school. And then she softly said, But I wont oppose you guys dealing with Da Ming Zun Jiao at all. Xu Ziling said, How could Wanbei dare to risk Qianbei falling into injustice? Before Wanbei came, I already thought about a way that would satisfy rival demands. Not only Zhu Zongzhu is doing us a big favor, no one will ever suspect that Zongzhu is cooperating with us. Pfft! Zhu Yuyan broke into tender giggle, she cast him a thousand-tender, a hundred-charm nce, the ice and snow on her pretty face dissolved, springtime has returned to the great earth, she cursed in low voice, Dead little demon, unexpectedly you can think of such a crafty move; do you want me to disguise myself as a ghost, to dress up as a horse, pretending to find out Shi Zhixuans location? Looking at her, Xu Zilings two eyes went nk. The Zhu Yuyan before his eyes was just like Wanwans sister, brimming with little girls touching charm. Without waiting for his response, Zhu Yuyan recovered her cold and detached demeanor; she spoke calmly, Very well! The route must be urately nned. Remember! You must wait for them to put either Jin Huanzhen or Zhou Laotan back into captivity, and wait for one day before you can make your move to save them. My only condition is that you must kill all Da Ming Zun Jiao people and not leave a single one alive. Are you willing to give me your promise? Recalling Duan Yucheng, Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, We will try our best to do it ording to Zongzhus wish! By the time Kou Zhong returned to the city after scouting the enemy, the sun already set over the western hills; on the way he made a detour to the south gate, and still he did not see any secret mark from Duan Yucheng, his heart could not help sinking down. Among the four subordinates with whom they transported the salt north, Duan Yucheng had the highest talent, plus he was good-looking, hence Kou Zhong extremely cared about him. If he betrayed Shuang Long Bang and cast his lot with the Da Ming Zun Jiao, it would make Kou Zhong feel deeply hurt. While he was thinking deeply, he reached the bustling Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Because the first of the fourth month, the big day of the ceremony of founding the country C was only a few days away, the number of peopleing to offer their congrattions or perhaps wanting to take advantage of the liveliness for other purposes continued to increase. The air was brimming with the holiday atmosphere before the arrival of the big celebration, the prosperity of the situation could be easily imagined. His appointment with the fake Zhou Laotan was still three sichen away; it was still early. Kou Zhong mused inwardly whether he ought to go to say hello to Yuekepeng first. Suddenly someone from above shouted loudly, Shaoshuai, I trust that you have been well since west met! Stunned, Kou Zhong looked up. He saw on the second floor balcony of a two-storied wood and brick structure, two men were drinking around a table, looking down on the lively long street below, so free and rxed. They were precisely the Bei Ma Bang [northern horse gang] big boss Xu Kaishan and the Ba Wang [hegemon king] Du Xing. Kou Zhong casually swept his gaze around, and found out that the lower level was quite arge-scale horse and mule business. Laughing aloud, he simply leaped up andnded on the balcony, and sat down safely. Xu Kaishan set up a wine cup for him, and Du Xing happily poured wine for him. Their manners were cordial. Du Xingughed aloud and said, Shaoshuais name is indeed not in vain; the Helian Fort and the Rushing Wolf ins, two military campaigns, have made Shaoshuais great name spread widely to every corner of the prairie. Today we had just entered the city, and already we heard the news that Shaoshuai sold Huyan Jin, that kids warhorses at Hualin. Ha ha! Why dont I see Fenghan Xiong and Ziling Xiong? Xu Kaishan asked. Raising his cup, Kou Zhong replied, We are all busy. Come! Lets have a cup. The three boisterously toasted each other, the atmosphere was warm, unsuspecting people might think that they were intimate friends who treated one another with absolute sincerity. Wiping the wine stains at the corner of his beard and whiskers, Du Xing said, Shaoshuai seems to have lost the wolf-bandits trail, am I right? Kou Zhong smiled and said, We did not lose the wolf-bandits trail; rather, because of theplexity of things, which far surpass our initial estimate; afraid that our desire and speed are not up to reach, we let Cui Wang breathe a couple more breaths. Du Xing poured him another cup full of wine. Raising his thumb to show his praise, he said, His grannys bear. I, Du Xing, admire Shaoshuai, this kind of genuine heroes the most; confronting magnificent army with thousands of men and horses without any fear. Whatever offense Xiaodimitted in the past, let me use this cup of wine to apologize. Her grannys! Later, let me, Du Xing take Shaoshuai to Jing Long Jiu Guan [capital dragon wine shop], the most famous in here, to enjoy the excitement. That ce specializes in famous wine from all sides, while also the ce where pretty girls congregate. If you have not been to Jing Long, its like you have not been to Longquan. [Reminder: Longquan literally means dragon (water) spring]. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such a good ce; I must experience it for myself, but not tonight. So how about tomorrow night? Xu Kaishan asked, But we must invite Fenghan Xiong and Ziling Xiong toe to enjoy the excitement; all of us brothers enjoying an evening of wine, what could be more delighted that that? Tomorrow night shouldnt be any problem, Kou Zhong replied, After seeing that fellow Bai Ziting, I wille here to look for two gentlemen. Du Xing raised his cup and shouted, Cheers! The three drained another cup. Until this moment Kou Zhong was still unclear whether these two were friends or foes. He put his hand on the cup to prevent Du Xing from pouring more wine; heughed and said, Lets wait for tomorrow night to drink the third cup. Xu Kaishan cheerfully said, Whatever it is that Shaoshuai wants us to help, please feel free to give us your instructions, I guarantee that we will do it properly. In here, Xiaodi cant be considered anybody, but Du Dage, no one will not give him enough face, doing things will be very convenient. Kou Zhong put an air as if he was having a whole new level of respect for Du Xing. Hows the friendly rtion between Du Ba Wang and Ma Ji? Du Xing spoke disdainfully, Although I, Du Xing came from gang and society background, and now I even be the Bei Ba Bang boss, but all I am doing is straight, honest business. Every now and then a friend would make a request, I have no choice but to have dealings with the horse thieves or to receive stolen goods, but in my heart I despise these people without backbones the most. To earn respect in Jianghu, one must not do these imitating the dogs and stealing chicken, offending the Heaven and reason C shady business. Kou Zhongughed and said, That will do! I dont have to be polite to Ma Ji anymore. Huh? His eyes were turning to the big street where people were rushing forth, where the vehicles and horses were striving for the road. The two men followed his gaze. Outside a shop specializing in musical instruments stood more than a dozen Tujue warriors, everybodys spirit was trembling with excitement. Among them, there was one man whose appearance was particrly dignified, heroic and mighty, his bearing surpassed others, he had long saber hanging on his waist; he looked exactly like a crane among a flock of chicken. While Du Xing and Xu Kaishan were still guessing who this man was, Kou Zhong already arose and leaped down onto the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. The young Tujue martial art masters eyes were immediately shooting like an arrow toward Kou Zhong. As soon as Kou Zhongs feet stepped on solid earth, he tore open his robe to reveal the Moon in the Well, which name shook inside and outside the Central ins, whileughing aloud and said, Isnt this brought together by fate, meeting together after a thousand li? Unexpectedly I can continue the unfinished karma in Changan with Ke Xiong. One after another the passersby scattered to both sides of the street; the situation was greatly chaotic. Ke Dazhi spread his arms to stop the group of his subordinates. Taking a step forward, his hand grabbed the hilt of his saber, with heroism reaching to the clouds he let out a longughter and said, Since Shaoshuai is this excited, it will be Ol Kes pleasure to keep youpany. This moment the crowd on the street already escaped to the pedestrianne on either side of the street, so packed that not even a needle could be inserted in. The vehicles and horses were stopped. This moment, the wide, spacious main street, which could amodate twelve horses galloping side-by-side C was without any obstacle. Although there were soldiers patrolling the street, but the two, one was the young martial art master the Tujues Great Khan Xieli was doting on, the other was the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name intimidated thend under the heavens, Tulis brother. Who would dare to intervene and stop them? Qiang! The two men pulled their treasured saber at the same time. The battle could happen at any moment. Book 41 - 6 – Presenting Gift in the Middle of the Stree t Shi Feixuan was standing facing the window. The setting sun shedding its light inside the room illuminated her entire being so that she appeared like apletely wless sculpture. Her beautiful form and immortal disposition could only be barely described with the four characters chaofan tuosu [out of the ordinary, free from vulgarity]. Xu Ziling came to her side. His heart and spirit could not help being deeply attracted by her mountain-and-stream-spirited-movements beautiful silhouette. The beautiful pupil of her pair of eyes was fixed on a pair of butterflies fluttering, happily chasing each other in the flower garden outside the window, as if she waspletely oblivious that Xu Ziling hase to her side. She was still dressed in mens clothing, her face was as fair as fine jade, brimming with youthful tension and vitality. Wherever she ced herself, the secr world immediately became the world of the immortals. Xu Ziling secretly scolded himself; he should not disturb the peaceful harmony in which she lived alone to reach tranquility [the dictionary gives this additional definition: purified of defiling illusion (Buddhism)]. Yet he could not stop himself from asking, What wonderful truth [in Buddhism context] and reason does Shi Xiaojie see from this pair of butterflies? Shi Feixuans answer was indifferent, Which answer do you want to hear? The real one or the fake one? Xu Ziling smiled and said, I am dying to know both answers, but I also hope that Xiaojie will bestow instructions on why there are real and fake answers. Shi Feixuans beautiful eyes flickered with deep, unfathomable rays of light, she glibly said, The real answer is that I have not made any attempt at all to seek any wonderful truth from the butterflies, because their own existence is already justified. [Note: the same word li can be tranted as inner essence/intrinsic order/reason/logic/truth C different character from the wonderful truth above.] Xu Ziling looked at the butterflies fluttering among the flowers, he nodded and said, I understand what Miss is saying. When I dont have preconceive idea in my mind, when I discharge ten thousand thoughts from the ocean of my brain, without a single thought rising, gazing at that pair of butterflies, my heart is grasping some kind of mysterious, beyond-reason bizarre perception. What about the fake answer? Shi Feixuan serenely spoke in soft voice, Ziling Xiong is indeed a man with fundamental ideas, no wonder you could grow in both the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools. As for the fake answer, please forgive Feixuan for holding off the climax, for the time being I cannot tell you yet. Ziling Xiong came here to look for Feixuan, there must be good news to tell! Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Xiaodi has long surrendered and admitted defeat. I aming here to ask Xiaojie for more directions. Sighing lightly, Shi Feixuan said, Does Ziling Xiong know why Feixuan could detect Zhou Laotans mouth does not match with his heart? Could it be that that kind of mysterious intuition that was stirred up by sudden inspiration can be premeditated into being? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment. Shi Feixuan responded as it should be by rights, That is precisely the realm of the brightly lit heart of the sword. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly Shi Xiaojie has reached the highest realm of the Ci Hang Sword Canon, the Jian Xin Tong Ming [the heart of the sword brightly lit]? Finally Shi Feixuan withdrew her gaze from outside the window, her beautiful eyes deeply fixed on Xu Ziling; half of her face was in the twilight darkness where the setting sun was unable to reach. The contrast between light and darkness made her originally iparable beauty became even more enshrouded in unspeakable secret. Her fragrant lips slightly opened, she spoke softly, Feixuans Jian Xin Tong Ming still has one w. That w is precisely you, Xu Ziling. The divine light in Xu Zilings handsome eyes ring greatly, without blinking he met Shi Feixuans gaze head-on, and spoke word-by-word, Xiaojie is willing to candidly tell me that, Xu Ziling is both honored for the privilege and very grateful. No wonder Xiaojie said that since ancient times the barrier of love is difficult to cross. The preview of a lesson in love for me, did I pass albeit with difficulty? Is it possible for Xiaodi to mend Xiaojies w, to somewhat strive with my limited power? Shi Feixuan smiled and said, You, this person, are rarely this modest. In fact, you are a very proud person; fortunately, it is the free, flying over the cloud and the wilderness type of pride. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Turns out my modesty was not recognized. The worst thing is that I do not have the capability to reflect upon myself for self examination. With a smile on her face, Shi Feixuan said, You acted like you have all the time in the world. The sun is going down! Theres one more thing I want to tell you: that story about stepping on eggnt, stepping on the toad, it was Feixuan wanted to tell you via Sheng Guang Dashis mouth. Continuous ringing noise like strings of firecrackers lingered on endlessly, without the least bit of gap in between. As soon as the two sabers were unsheathed, the sabers attacked each other like lightning strikes,pletely unconstrained by moves and styles, using speed to beat speed, the saber came and the saber went, like in a stake-it-all contest of power and speed, you attacked I defended, I blocked you struck, intense sparks of fire permeated the battlefield, so that the onlookers forgot to breathe. The morous spectators all around suddenly became so quiet that not even a sparrows chirp was heard. Voices and horses neighing from far away seemed to be muted. Only brilliant martial art masters living high and looking down to watch the battle like Du Xing and Xu Kaishan would be able to see the two mens saber technique, which had reached the no-move-surpass-the-move, transformingplexity-into-simplicity, mercury-flowing-swiftly-looking-for-any-gap-to-enter realm. Plus the twobatants were evenly matched; after attacking the opponent with one saber strike, they must also defending against the opponents one saber strike, no one had the ability to be a half hairsbreadth faster byunching two saber strikes in a session. Each saber strike was using life to gamble against life, dangerous and intense. The spectators felt their whole body went numb, the palm of their hands were mmy with sweats. Dang! The two sabers were suddenly glued together. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Good saber technique. No wonder Ke Xiong can beat everybody in Changan without any rivals. Ke Dazhiughed proudly and said, One day I fail to defeat Shaoshuai, how could Xiaodi dare to boast that I have no rivals? The two swiftly released their qi power at the same time. Bang! they both drew back. The Moon in the Well in Kou Zhongs hand emitted strong yellow light, he pointed the de at Ke Dazhi from a distance, a strong, unmatched fighting spirit welled up in his heart, while secretly mused that this mans Kuang Sha Dao Fa [wild sand/sandstorm saber technique] was indeed formidable. If he did not take advantage of the situation today to ughter him, another day he would certainly cause no end of trouble. Right this moment, a womans tender voice shouted, Why havent you stopped for me? [Again, I realize it sounds weird in English, but ...] Ke Dazhis spirit was aroused as well, he struck a posture, still unwilling to let this matter drop. Just now, the round of violent attack between the two was purely to probe what is true and what is false of the other side, so that when the battle started again, they were going to stake it all in willpower, xinfa, tactics, and intelligence. Just as the big battle could happen at any moment, suddenly they heard tender shout, Ke Dazhi revealed a helpless bitter smile, while Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook. Stunned, he looked over. Without wearing any makeups, in and simple, natural, but her beauty was still able to make people hold their breath. She was wearing wide robe with a cloak, her jade countenance was hidden deeply inside the cloak, yet not only it did not diminish her attractiveness, it even increased some kind of mysterious feeling around her. Apanied her by her side was a young Mohe female warrior, with a long sword hanging on her waist. She appeared to be as tall as Ke Dazhi and Kou Zhong. Her most distinguishing feature was her beautiful hair, which was tied into two braids hanging down from left and right corners first, bent into a semicircle, and then winded around the neck to be one again, hanging straight back over her spine. Although in term of beauty she could notpare with Shi Feixuan, who was standing prettily by her side, she possessed a different vivacious grace, brimming with vitality charm, which was quite attractive. Proportionately, her face was a bit too long, but it matched well with her tall, frivolous, well-developed tender body, spirited and charming, bright and ck beautiful pupils of her eye, concealing any shorings she had. However, this moment the gaze with which she was staring at Kou Zhong was brimming with hostility, but was also carrying hidden curiosity. Qiang! Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi reluctantly returned their sabers into the scabbard. One after another the people on the street started to guess that the neer must be Shang Xiufang, immediately they went abuzz. Shang Xiufangs pretty eyebrows were tightly knitted, her residual anger has not dissipated, she said, Other than relying on martial art to settle a dispute, dont you have any other way? The female warrior signaled with her hand, a gorgeous carriage slowly galloped over. Kou Zhong has never expected that he woulde across Shang Xiufang under this kind of situation; there was a faint feeling in his heart that Shang Xiufang was not without any favorable impression toward Ke Dazhi, hence she lumped the two together and scolded them at the same time. Immediately his heart grew a bit upset. Ke Dazhi cleared his throat; embarrassed, he cast Kou Zhong a nce, and then said, Shaoshuai and I are just ying to say hello to each other, it was not serious. For the first time Kou Zhong felt appreciative toward Ke Dazhi, because Ke Dazhi could have pushed the me on him, the criminal ringleader, the main offender who started the fight. He could not stop his old face from blushing slightly as he cupped his fist to salute Shang Xiufang and said, I was wrong, I should not have disturbed Xiufang Dajia, please forgive me. The carriage galloped behind her. The female warrior opened the door for her. Shang Xiufang took off her cloak, her jet-ck soft beautiful hair, just like clear mountain stream, secluded spring, cascaded down like beautiful waterfall, freely andfortably hung and scattered over her fragrant shoulders and ky back. Smiling sweetly, her sweetness and charm grew without restraint, so that none of the breathing of several hundred people watching did not stop, using the voice and intonation that could be considered the most moving in the world today, apanied by a smile, she said, I figure as much! See you tomorrow night. Being dealt with her obvious exceptional youths skill, Kou Zhongs spirit and soul nearly flew out of his body. While he was thinking of speaking a couple more sentences with her, suddenly someone called out, Xiufang Dajia, please halt your steps! Shang Xiufang was about to climb into the carriage, hearing the call, she turned her tender body around and looked in the direction the voice wasing from. A man stepped out of the crowd, his hands were holding a metal case, reverent and respectful, he walked over toward her. Ke Dazhi and the group of Tujue warriors shouted together to stop him, holding the man outside the wall they formed in front of Shang Xiufang. The Mohe female warrior moved closer to Shang Xiufangs side to protect her. From head to toes, the gentleman was full of demonic qi, rich with some kind of demonic, strange charisma. He was precisely the head of Da Ming Zun Jiaos Five Bright Sons, Liexia. Liexia shouted over Ke Dazhi and the others blocking his way, Please dont misunderstand, I, Liexia am Xiufang Dajias loyal admirer,ing with a specific purpose in mind to offer the Shenqi Mi Pu [magical/mystical secret (music) score], asking Xiufang Dajia to kindly ept. Xiaodi is Shaoshuais friend. Shaoshuai can guarantee that Xiaodi cant possibly, dont dare even more C to offend Xiufang Dajia. Severely shaken, Shang Xiufang said, Shenqi Mi Pu? Naturally Kou Zhong did not know what kind of ghost thing Shenqi Mi Pu was, but looking at Shang Xiufangs expression, he could guess that it must be a rare and valuable item that music lovers would yearn for even in their dreams. With Liexias identity and status, while presenting first-time-meeting-gift, he could not possibly make wrong move. This kid was really resourceful, he had a skill to pursue beautiful women in a way that fit their fancy, he was able to nt profound impression in the other partys heart right from the beginning, while also putting himself on the stage. Thereupon, smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Lie Xiong cant be that stupid! Evidently Ke Dazhi has already heard Liexias distinguished name; emotionally moved, he said, Turns out its the Liexia of Huihe. If you want to present a gift to Xiufang Dajia, you can just give it to me, Ke Dazhi. Liexias expression showed that he has been wronged; using a pitiful, slightly carrying pleading tone of voice, he said, I wonder if Ke Xiong could graciously permit Xiaodi to personally offer the secret score to Xiufang Dajia, while giving a couple exnations on the secret score to her? Let Lie Gongzie over! Shang Xiufang said. Without any choice, Ke Dazhi relented. Suddenly, he felt that both he and Kou Zhong have been reduced to supporting roles. Liexia, both delighted and trembling with fear, afraid that he might treat a beautiful woman irreverently, came to Shang Xiufangs presence, and stopped about five paces away. Unexpectedly he dropped down to one knee, lifted the metal case high above his head, and spoke in loud and clear voice, Presenting the secret score, asking Xiufang Dajia to kindly ept. The entire section of the street was so quiet that the sound of falling needle would have been heard, yet no one showed the slightest amount of bored expression. Traffic along the Vermillion Bird Boulevard waspletely paralyzed, everybody fell over each other in their eagerness to see what happened. Kou Zhong did not forget to look back at Du Xing and Xu Kaishan, two men, on the second-floor balcony. Naturally he paid particr attention at Xu Kaishans reaction to Liexia, but he saw that both men were unable to take their eyes off Shang Xiufang, as if they could never eat their fill on Shang Xiufangs beauty, they seemed to be without the slightest bit of interest toward Liexia. The Mohe female warrior took Liexias metal case on Shang Xiufangs behalf, and then she opened it in front of Shang Xiufang. Only Shang Xiufang and the female warrior were able to see whats inside the metal case. Shang Xiufangs ice-flesh, jade-bones, as smooth as concentrated resin, as white as frost and snow C lily-white hand stretched out from her raised wide sleeve to flip through the secret score inside the case. A pleasantly surprise expression appearing on her face, she said, This is the Qiuci Scroll; where did Lie Gongzi get it from? Liexia stood up with his hands hung by his side, and respectfully said, Altogether, there are ten scrolls of the secret score. Other than Qiuci Scroll, there are Gaochang, Jushi, Huihe, Tujue, Shiwei, Tuyuhun, Dangxiang, Qidan, Tiele, and so on, nine scrolls, containing famous music and dance from all parts of the country. Fifty years ago, Huhaer, which was known as the Qiucis Music and Dance God exhausted his energy throughout his life to collect and write it down. However, the musical score and the annotation were all written in Qiuci musical annotation and script. Fortunately Xiaodi has done a bit of work on this. As long as Xiufang Dajia does not mind, Xiaodi is not going to hold back anything. Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Formidable! It could be said that Liexia has hit Shang Xiufangs vital part. Although, relying on this, he might not necessarily be able to steal her fragrant heart, to aplish his vain attempt to win her fragrant affection, but it was indeed a big step in the right direction. Sure enough, it was as if Shang Xiufang already forgot Kou Zhongs existence. She blissfully said, Lets board the carriage and talk about it in details. Liexia was wild with great delight; turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Later on Ill look for Shaoshuai to have a drink and a chat. While Kou Zhong was raining curses on him in his heart, this kid already tagged along Shang Xiufang into her fragrant carriage. Naturally the Mohe female warrior also followed closely behind him. The carriage started to move, one after another Ke Dazhi and the group of Tujue warriors mounted their horses. Ke Dazhi urged his horse toe to Kou Zhongs side, his eyes swept over Du Xing and Xu Kaishan upstairs first, before he smiled wryly and said, Later on, I also will look for Shaoshuai to have a drink and a chat. And then, lowering his voice, he said, What I thirst the most right now is to ughter Liexia, this muddled-egg, with one saber strike. The two roared inughter at the same time. Theirughter was brimming with helplessness and bitterness. A moment ago they were either you die or I perish, but this moment a feeling of fellow sufferers empathize with each other feeling grew in their heart. Xu Ziling left Sheng Guang Si. A flock of migratory birds flew over the city, flying toward the setting sun, where only a few streaks of rose-tinted clouds remained before itpletely disappeared beyond the tnd. This scene seemed to stir up some kind of hard to describe emotion deep in his heart; it was neither joy nor sorrow. He took a deep and slow breath, his mind was excited to be able to touch the other side of Shi Feixuan, which was buried deep within her, but his mood was still so calm and tranquil. When facing Shi Feixuan, time seemed to pass in shaking one to the core moment; extremely thrilling. Furthermore, he had never imagined that he would have the audacity to offend and treat a fairy irreverently like this, but this feeling could turn him upside down and intoxicated him, made it difficult for him to be himself. For Shi Feixuan, the love between a man and a woman was only part of her cultivation, the Mozhang [Mara C the demon of temptation] along her way to immortality. But to him, there was a deep meaning of existence. Only by her side he could sense the true emperor [perhaps a typo] of life, he could feel the meaning of life. Simultaneously, he also understood deep in his heart that if he could not transcend the romantic love between man and woman in the vulgar world, he would never be able to reach the linked-spirit realm with Shi Feixuan like the blending between water and milk. It would be like one would know that one was stepping on an old eggnt, while the other thought that one was stepping on a toad. While he was sighing inwardly, someone called out, Xu Xiong! Xu Ziling halted his steps at the head of a bridge. Smiling, he said, Die Gongzi [young master butterfly], how are you? I never thought I would see you here. Yin Xianhe came to his side, he coldly said, Since Xu Kaishan is here, naturally I have to be here as well. Xu Ziling looked at him. Yin Xianhe was as cold and detached as before; it seemed like nothing in this secr world would be able to move him now, including Xu Kaishan. Xu Ziling asked, Is Yin Xiong about to assassinate Xu Kaishan? Yin Xianhe remained cold without saying anything, but he slightly hung his head. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, I wonder if Yin Xiong could do Xiaodi a favor, and postpose your assassination mission? Frowning, Yin Xianhe asked, What could Xu Xiong use me for? Xu Ziling said, I wonder if starting from now, Yin Xiong could secretly watch Xu Kaishan, to see what he is doing from this moment to daybreak tomorrow? Yin Xianhe stared fixedly on him for quite half a day, and then he slowly nodded and said, Xu Xiong wanted me to do this, there must be a deep meaning behind it. Xu Ziling smiled and said, I want to know whether he is a Da Ming Zun Jiao man. Yin Xianhe quietly said, Da Ming Zun Jiao? Didnt you guys say that Sao Niangzi and the wolf-bandits were incited by them? What else do you want to prove? Xu Ziling spoke with serious expression, I hope Yin Xiong is just like us; without obtaining conclusive evidence, we must not specte presumptuously. Because we received information that wolf-bandits are quite possibly Bai Zitings men. Bai Ziting! Yin Xianhe blurted out. Xu Ziling said, Hence the reason Xiaodi dares to ask Yin Xiong for this favor. Yin Xianhe nodded and said, I will not fail Xu Xiongs trust. After discussing the means to contact each other, Yin Xianhes ghostly appearance disappeared into the dark parts of the city where the colorfulnterns were beginning to be lit. Book 41 - 7 – Stepping on Eggplant, Stepping on Toad Returning to the courtyard house, he saw Kou Zhong and Bugunatai were discussing their strategy byying down rocks on the grassynd next to the hot spring pool; they were talking happily and excitedly. Xu Ziling found it difficult to get into their mood, because this moment his heart was filled to the brim with the touching feeling of love. Shi Feixuan finally admitted with her own mouth that he, Xu Ziling was the only man who could make her fall in love, the only w in her Jian Xin Tong Ming. Toward Shi Feixuan, he had always felt that he could not match her. She belonged to the world of the immortals, anymon people did not have the qualifications to match this fairy. At this moment, Shi Qingxuan became distant and fuzzy. She was the only other woman who could move his real feeling. Kou Zhongughed and said, Ling Shao came back just in time. Not speaking in Tujuenguage with Old Ba for one day, indeed instead of making progress, I am getting worse, when I started speaking again, it is so hard. And then, with sighing voice, wailing breath, he said, Enemies on a narrow road; not only I came across Du Xing and Xu Kaishan, those two fellows, I also saw Ke Dazhi, that kid at the same time; he was staring nkly, looking distracted on the street ... ay! Shaken, Xu Ziling said, You finally met Shang Xiufang? Kou Zhong signaled Bugunatai to please bear with me for a moment, and continued talking to Xu Ziling with a bitter smile, You dont need to worry that I would mess things up with Shang Xiufang. Ke Dazhi and I could only stare nkly as Liexia came to rob us of something that we cherish, by presenting his mothers something like mystical secret score. Her grannys! Come! Lets hear our brilliant scheme to destroy Da Ming Zun Jiao first. Thest sentence was spoken in Tujue. Bugunatais pig or horses mane like iron head was swaying, he excitedly said, The most advantageous point for us is that this mansion is located outside the vige. If wey out hidden troops in the valley and on the hill, we can seal off the entire mansion, and then when you release the signal, we can immediately attack using fast horse, killing the other side until not a single one remain. Did you scout the road? Xu Ziling asked, What kind of people live in the mansion? Kou Zhong replied, Under the sunlight during the day, it was very difficult to mix in and enter to go see the bottom of it, in order to avoid beating the grass to scare the snake. I was only watching from the top of a hill in the distance. Although the mansion is big, the people are not many. Turning to Bugunatai, Xu Ziling asked, About the search for Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, is there any progress? They should be in the city, Bugunatai replied. Pointing to the small stone surrounded by three pieces of rocks representing the mansions three sides, Xu Ziling asked, What is that? Kou Zhong replied, It is not too high of a valley, but various trees are growing as a thicket on the hilltop, this is just an entrance. Bugunatai exined, The mansion is located inside a valley, extremely hidden, a ce that is easy to guard, but hard to attack. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, In this area where there are ins, rivers andkes all around, dont you think that such terrain is very unusual? Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, You make a good point; if I were Bai Ziting, I would definitely not allow any outsiders to upy such a ce to establish a high-walled deep courtyard with military defense capability. My Niang! I was nearly swindled by the fake Laotan. Bugunatai nodded in agreement, he said, In that case, the mansion ought to belong to Bai Ziting, or perhaps someone with close rtionship to him. The strange thing is that Shuwen has been rolling about in Longquan for a long time, yet he did not know about the mansions existence. Kou Zhong hatefully said, Fake Laotan clearly wants to carryout the killing by borrowed knife move, but by doing so, wouldnt he expose his own identity? Xu Ziling said, This is not only killing by borrowed knife, but also luring the tiger from its domain in the mountains. That way, they could concentrate their strength to deal with Shi Feixuan. The master of Da Ming Zun Jiao is more despicable and crafty than we imagine. What they are using is an entirely fanning-the-wind-to-light-a-fire evil n to show dissension, acting like the more chaotic the better. It would be best if the Central ins orthodox path and the demonic school are massacring each other, then they would seize the opportunity to mingle in the water imitating the fish, to obtain the advantage from within. Kou Zhong hated it so much that his teeth were itching, How can we ruthlessly teach them a lesson? Bugunatai proposed, How about we attack the Xiao Hui Yuan [Little Hui Garden], going in to kill and burn, to give them a bit of color for them to see? Xu Ziling said, Creating disturbance in the city, the consequences are difficult to predict. We must wait for Old Bas return before we can discuss everything, otherwise we would just make a mess of everything [orig. the whole country in rebellion], to find Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, will be even more difficult. Bugunatai cheerfully said, Dage [big brother] told me to listen to your instruction; whatever you say, I will do it ordingly. Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around his broad shoulders and said with augh, We are all brothers, what do you mean who should listen to whom? Tonight we will make the fake Laotan clutching to his life first, your ambushing troops will be at the ready without making any move, wait for our good news as we will enter one step ahead. After the three discussed the details of their operation, Bugunatai left. Kou Zhongughed and said, Bai Ziting sent a female warrior, who is nearly as tall as you and me to stay close to and protect Shang Xiufang. This womans beauty is very special, extremely attractive. When you see her, I guarantee that you wont forget. Laughing and cursing, Xu Ziling said, Your lecherous heart is on the rise again! Kou Zhong shook his head and swayed his noggin, reciting, Appetite and lust are only natural [Mencius]; this is human nature. Ay! Quickly give me an ultimate n to put Liexia, that kid in order. He was just blurting out without thinking, he was not serious at all. And then he said, Howe Old Ba is not back yet? If he could give us good news before seeing Bai Ziting tomorrow night, we could immediately have Gunatai brothers rob his wealth for us, so that tomorrow night we could bargain splendidly with Bai Ziting. Seeing Xu Ziling was muttering to himself irresolutely without speaking, he asked, What new development you have with our Xianzi? Have you touched her fragrant hand yet? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, I really shouldnt tell you anything about this aspect, it would only fill your brains with dirty things. Kou Zhong suddenly cried out to Heaven for the injustice he suffered; he said, Whats so dirty about touching someones hand? Unless you have not washed your hand for more than ten days. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, I wont talk nonsense with you. Have you been to the south gate? Kou Zhongs countenance sank, he said, Where do I have the free time? Xu Ziling knew that he was upset with Duan Yucheng, suspecting that he forgot sentiment and turned his back on righteousness. Pulling Kou Zhong toward the main gate, he said, While we still have a bit of time, lets go around the south gate one more time, and then well look for Yuekepeng to eat some Xiangshui rice. Come on! The two left the south gate with nothing to gain. Duan Yucheng still has not left any secret markings. Seeing Kou Zhongs ill countenance, Xu Ziling tried to ease his anxiety, saying, At least he did not betray us. Otherwise he could cooperate with Da Ming Zun Jiao people toy a trap to secretly harm us, or perhaps supplying us with some false information to lure us, or some shady business like that. Thats exactly the problem, Kou Zhong said, If he really left a secret mark, telling us to meet somewhere, how would we know that its not a trap? Lets talk about it when the timees, Xu Ziling replied. The two strolled along the Vermillion Bird Boulevard in the direction of the foreign guesthouse. The colorednterns had just been lit, the big street was as bright as daytime. People and vehicles strived for the road, bustling with noise and excitement and flourishing. From time to time there were people staring at them, pointing at them and talking; obviously they knew who they were. Suddenly a man blocked their path; saluting, he said, Shaoshuai, Xu Ye, my humble master is asking two gentlemen for a meeting. The man was wearing Han attire, he spoke Hannguage, but with strong foreign tribe ent. His outward appearance did not have the Sumo Mohe peoples fine dexterity; strictly speaking, he looked like a straightforward man with a bit of craftiness. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Who is your honorable master? The man lowered his voice and replied, My humble master is Tiefuyou. This time asking to meet, definitely it is without malice. Hearing that, the two boys looked at each other. Tiefuyou was a big tribal chief of powerful tribe Heshui [ck river] Mohe, another branch of Mohe division which had enough strength to be apetitor to Bai Ziting, in control over Tong Wan, and was in support of Tuli. Outside Hualin, together with Shen Mohuan and Kunzhihuang of Qidan, they joined hands to ambush them, and now suddenly he acted so polite by sending someone to invite them for a meeting. Naturally there was a conspiracy somewhere. Using his eyes, Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling, asking for his opinion; seeing Xu Ziling slightly tightening his jaw, he said, Please lead the way! The man led them into an ironware shop on the left. The shop had already closed, but two big men opened the door for them, and invited them to go straight inside. Passing through a big atrium, they saw Tiefuyou came out from the rear hall alone to meet them. This short and stout, tyrannical Heshui big tribal chief was still wearing feathered crown and colorful clothes, carrying quite a kingly air around him;ughing aloud, he said, If Xiaodi has done anything offensive, I am asking two Daren to be magnanimous, to grant a lot of forgiveness. He spoke a very good Hannguage; the two boys already knew that all the leaders or royal figures of the various tribes beyond the Great Wall were proficient in Hannguage, hence they kept their calm in the face of the unexpected. Noticing that he dared toe out single-handedly to express his sincerity, Kou Zhong praised inwardly. Heughed and said, That was just a misunderstanding, we were only receiving someone elses trust as well, there is no intention whatsoever to support Old Bai in founding his country. Tiefuyou cheerfully said, Letse inside and sit down first before talking further. The inner halls arrangement was simple; they sat down on arge round table in the middle of the hall, and the servants immediately served them goat milk tea. Tiefuyou said, Two gentlemen must have not had dinner yet! Xu Ziling said, Da Wang [great king], no need to stand on ceremony, we still have to hurry to meet an appointment. Tiefuyous subordinates retreated out of the hallpletely, leaving only the three of them. Tiefuyou said, In that case, let Xiaodi will make a long story short. If two gentlemen are willing to give the Five-Colored Stone to Xiaodi, Xiaodi can guarantee that within one month I will deliver eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin to Shanhai Pass for the two gentlemen to check and ept. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Da Wang could hear the guilt on the jade annulus of your bosom. If the Five-Colored Stone is in Da Wangs possession, while admittedly you could have your prestige greatly rising among the eight divisions of Mohe, but you would also be the target of a multitude of arrows from the outside tribes, reaping disaster from obtaining a blessing. Have Da Wang considered this situation? Tiefuyou smiled and said, I have reached an agreement with your brother, Tuli Khan; he will fully support me in obtaining the Five-Colored Stone. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If Tuli and Xieli be reconciled, what will the situation be? Tiefuyous countenance changed slightly, he said, Did you obtain news about it? ording to reason, Tuli and Xieli have reached the ipatible-as-fire-and-water situation, there is no possibility for reconciliation. Kou Zhong calmly said, We have not received either rumors or news, it was purely spection. Although Tuli is a good man, he has no choice but to consider the huge tribes future prospect and interest. The internal strife between him and Xieli has changed the unstable situation in the northeast prairie, each division begins to stir, Bai Ziting founding a country is the most obvious example. Within this, there is still Yiwus Meiyan Furen and Huihes Da Ming Zun Jiao fanning the me, for fear than the world is not chaotic enough. In such fragile situation, if Bi Xuan is willing to take the initiative to mediate, what do you think the consequences will be? If when the timees Tuli advises you, Da Wang to return the Five-Colored Stone to Qidans Abaojia, you, Da Wang, will fall into no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat position. Either Xieli or Tuli, they will do whatever it takes to prevent anybody from unifying the eight divisions of Mohe by relying on the Five-Colored Stone. It was not false intimidation from Kou Zhong at all, because he had seen with his own eyes how after Tuli found out about the Five-Colored Stone, he immediately abandoned his n to attack Xieli. Clearly he absolutely would not allow the unification of the eight divisions of Mohe to happen. Tiefuyou stared nkly for half a day. He was, after all, an astute leader with outstanding ability and wisdom. Only because the temptation of Mohe unification was too great that it clouded his judgment, that he did not consider it thoroughly enough. Half a dayter he spoke in heavy voice, How do you intend to dispose of the Five-Colored Stone? Kou Zhong said, I want to ask Da Wang something: I wonder if Da Wang wishes to see Bai Ziting being destroyed? Tiefuyou was staring nkly for a moment, and then he shook his head and said, That would be an extremely serious blow to our Mohe, it would make it even more difficult for us to resist the Tujue peoples invasion, and would force us to see Xielis face before we could do anything. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, That will do then! Frankly speaking, until this moment, we still dont know what to do with the Five-Colored Stone. Bai Ziting and us are enemies and not friends at all, but we do not wish the people of Longquan City to be destroyed indiscriminately under the Tujues iron hoof; without any better option, we have to change ordingly to the situation, to see if there is any way to satisfy rival demands. The divine light in Tiefuyous pair of eyes ring greatly, he fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong and slowly said, Two gentlemen and Ba Fenghan fought Xielis Golden Wolf Big Amy at Helian Fort outside the city of Tong Wan. I thought it was because of personal glory. But now I begin to understand that two gentlemen are indeed true heroes who abandon self for others [idiom from Analects]. Hereby Tiefuyou wishes to make friends with two gentlemen. Patting his chest, he said, That eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin, leave it on to me, Tiefuyou. I wonder if Da Wang must pay ransom for those sheepskins? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong added, Is it Huyan Jin, or Ma Ji? Tiefuyou hesitated slightly; rolling his eyes, he said, Huyan Jin and Ma Ji and I dont have any friendly rtions, but the negotiation was through the Qidans Abaojia. Everything was done ording to the rules. The two boys were men with copious Jianghu experience; just by looking at his eyebrows, eyes and forehead, they knew that he was lying. All those wish to make friends with you, two gentlemen were entirely a ruse to build friendly rtions; there was not the least bit of sincerity in it. Because in the Central Earth Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were rebuking-Heaven-and-Earth figures [fig. all-powerful], and beyond the Great Wall they also had Tuli and Bielegunatai brothers, two big powers support behind them, while they themselves were top martial art masters, since they were unable to put them in order, naturally they must try to win the two boys favor. Kou Zhong no longer forced him. He did not pursue why Tiefuyou formed an alliance with Shen Mohuan and Abaojia to ambush them. To avoid Tiefuyou kept beating around the bush, he said, Da Wang does not need to intervene in this matter, because we will definitely not going to follow the rules of the prairies thieves dirty business deal. Not only we want them to vomit out the sheepskins that they robbed, we also want to kill them to pay for lost lives. The two bade farewell and left, to return to the crowded-to-the-bursting-point Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Just by looking at the situation before their eyes, they immediately understood why Tuli could not allow Bai Ziting founding his kingdom to be sessful; even more, they understood why Bai Ziting took the risk to found his kingdom. Longquan itself was blessed by heaven [idiom: enjoying exceptional advantages]; the climate was pleasant, the water and soil superior. If the founding of the kingdom was sessful, it could create an extremely attractive environment for people from various regions who wanted to get rich toe here one after another to open a business or to engage in business. Under this kind of circumstances, in terms of poption, revenue and national power, the Bohai Kingdom would continue to grow, and might be the biggest power of the northeast. Kou Zhong leaned over to Xu Zilings ear and said, If I am guessing correctly, there is a very high possibility that Tiefuyou knew where Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, are hiding. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement; he said, Han Chaoan, Huyan Jin, and Shen Mohuan are the three horse thieves with the most power in the prairie. This is called if the rabbit dies, the fox grieves [idiom: to have sympathy with a like-minded person in distress]; let alone they all are fellow travelers. You think they might shield each other? Kou Zhong replied, That possibility, if we say its big, its not big, but if we say its small, its not small either. In Longquan, how many ces are there? If nobodys sheltering Shen Mohuan, how could he dare toe here? My guess earlier was Bai Ziting, but now thinking about it, Han Chaoan is not without any possibility at all. We are here! Xu Ziling said. Building after building of foreign guesthouse stood in great number on either side of the street, all were high-walled courtyards, each one upying a wide area, enough to house a foreign delegation with one hundred and up members. All the main gates of the foreign guesthouses were open, people wereing in and out; it was very lively. The two boys searched from building to building. Suddenly with the corner of their eyes they caught a sh of white shadow; startled, they looked, and surprisingly saw the beautiful young martial aunt Fu Junqiang and the former chief of Gaoli kings imperial bodyguard Jin Zhengzong walking out of a foreign guesthouse to their left. The two sides came upon each other head-on. This time Fu Junqiang did not wear the hat to conceal her jade countenance. Seeing the two boys, immediately her apricot eyes grew big, she scolded tenderly, Stop! The two looked at each other with a wry smile on their faces; without any choice, they came to a stand. Jin Zhengzong sized Xu Ziling up, Is it Xu Xiong? he asked in heavy voice. Xu Ziling smiled and said, It is indeed Xiaodi. And then, turning to Fu Junqiang, he said, Xiao Shiyi, how are you? Fu Junqiang furiously stomped her feet; feigning anger coquettishly, she said, Still calling me that? Da Shijie [first martial sister] did not have you, two forgetting-sentiment-and-turning-your-back-on-justice beasts as sons. Kou Zhong mused that it was precisely because we are not forgetting-sentiment-and-turning-our-back-on-justice persons that we offended you, our Niangs little martial sister. Heughed and said, Xiao Shiyi does not want to recognize us, its all right; but there is a saying being a Niang for one day means being the Niang for a lifetime. There is an order in seniority, in our hearts and on our mouths, we always respect you by considering you our Xiao Shiyi. It was obvious that Fu Junqiang did not know what to do to him; she was so angry that her pretty face turned deathly pale, yet she was fully aware that relying on her and Jin Zhengzongs power, they were unable to put these two boys in order. Stomping her feet, she angrily said, Right now this Guniang does not have time to bicker with you blindly, I will settle the ount with youter. Jin Zhengzongughed and said, When there is a chance, I will definitely ask to experience Shaoshuais brilliance again. Fu Junqiang snorted, brushed her sleeves, and left. Jin Zhengzong hastily followed behind her. Watching the two disappeared in the stream of people, Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, This misunderstanding will only deepen, it wont lessen. I only hope that Shi Gong [martial grandpa] wont personallye to the Central ins like she said, otherwise we would have to pack our food and leave before finish easting. I would rather face Bi Xuans Chi Yan Da Fa [great method of naked me] that have to face Shi Gongs Yijian Technique. Pretty much Xu Ziling had the same sentiment. Against Bi Xuan, they could still stake it all, but against their Niangs Shifu, how could they fight a desperate life and death battle? The two were about to leave, a familiar and warm voice came from the guesthouse, calling out, It is really you! Stunned, the two looked back. Book 41 - 8 – Perfect and Flawless Song Shidao, as elegant as before, stepped out of the foreign guesthouse, still carrying the dignified air of an offspring of a famous family, the younger generation of a family influential for generations, heughed and said, The feeling of meeting an old friend in a foreignnd is certainly iparably moving. I have just arrived two sichen ago, Junqiang cursed you in front of me for at least a sichen. But whatever the case, Yuwen Huaji finally received his due, Junchuos spirit in heaven ought to rest in peace. Coming between the two boys, he wrapped his arms on both boys shoulders. They crossed the vehicle and horsesne toward a wine shop diagonally opposite to the guesthouse. Kou Zhong spoke with bitterugh, That was a very unjust misunderstanding. Hows Yu Yi [aunt Yu]? Xu Ziling asked. Song Shidao replied, Fu Dashi personally undertook the task to save and wake her up, but her body was very weak. ording to Fu Dashi, Junyu must rest until the autumn or winter in order to fully recover. Beforeing to Longquan, I was in Pingrang [Pyongyang] all the time to apany her. At first she was very cold toward me, but when I was leaving she wanted me to stay a little longer. The three sat down at a table in the corner of the wine shop and called for food and drink. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, I have more than a dozen questions Id like to consult you, the Senior, but I dont know where to start. Song Shidao blurted outughing and said, The Senior, this appetion I definitely am unwilling to ept; you are allowed to call me Song Xiong, nothing else is eptable. Meeting again after a long period of separation, it felt as if it were a lifetime ago. The three were extremely happy. Song Shidaos single-minded deep feeling toward love, his noble moral character and integrity in sending Fu Junyu back to Gaoli based on friendship C has earned the respect that was bubbling up from its source at the bottom of the two boys heart. Xu Ziling raised his cup to toast Song Shidao; casually, he sounded out, Why didnt Song Xiongply with Yu Yis request to stay in Pingrang for a while? Staring nkly at the empty cup, Song Shidao spoke slowly, She only regards me as a good friend. The man really upying her fragrant heart is Ba Fenghan and not me, Song Shidao. Besides, in my heart, other than your Niang, there is no ce for another. Hearing that, the two looked at each other. Unexpectedly Song Shidao was still infatuated with Fu Junchuo until this moment; wouldnt that mean Song Que was going tock male offspring? Kou Zhong said, I wonder if you, LaoGe misinterpret what you saw? Yu Yi was willing to speak to you, asking you to stay, naturally she has a bit of interest on you. Ay! You rejected her, perhaps she would be broken-hearted, or even shed tears. Seeing the more he spoke the more tant he was, the only thingcking was the big sunflower fan in his hand as the matchmaker matron, Xu Ziling fiercely kicked his leg under the table, and then said, Yu Yi and Qiang Yi both have some kind of temperament that is very much alike Niangs; looking at them feels like seeing Niang being reborn. Song Shidao nodded and said, That is precisely Fu Cailins temperament. He reminds me of my Die. Only martial art masters of their caliber can have that kind of transcending-generation grandmasters lofty quality. Kou Zhong forgot about Fu Junyu, his spirit greatly aroused, he asked, Exactly what kind of outstanding figure Fu Cailin is? Of the three grandmasters of the present age, he is the only one whom I have not seen. Aghast, Song Shidao said, Didnt you fight against Ning Daoqi and Bi Xuan? Just barely, Kou Zhong replied, Ning Daoqi only used one hand in his fight against me. It was after inflicting serious damage to Ba Fenghan did Bi Xuan sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat under the two of us joining hands. Turning toward Xu Ziling, he asked, Was I exaggerating it? Xu Ziling shook his head negatively. He exined to Song Shidao, Old Ba is all right! Song Xiong need not worry about him. Right now he has work to do outside the city, he ought to be back in a couple of days. Song Shidao said, Fu Cailin is a man in pursuit of perfection, everything rted to him is very much carefully selected for quality. Each of the three disciples that he epted is as beautiful as the immortal, with orchid heard and intelligent character. Yi Jian Ge [lit. graceful/abundant sword pavilion] is situated in the most beautiful part of Pingrang, its like paradise in the human world. His Yijian Method is so perfect to the point of terrifying. Ay! You have fought with him, the two boys spoke in chorus. Smiling wryly, Song Shidao said, I am the Heavenly Saber Song Ques son, how could he be willing to let me off? But in the end I am the benefactor who saved his beloved disciples life, hence he was only defending without attacking, which doesnt make any difference, I would rather he strike back at me. When your every sword strike is sealed off by him, that kind of unbearable and helpless feeling, only you alone know. In less than ten strokes, I vomited blood and received injury, and had to rest for more than ten days before I recovered. The most tragic thing is the blow to my self-confidence, which is carved deeper and more unforgettablepared to the bodily injury. The two boys were speechless. Song Shidao has received Song Ques handed-down teachings, his own aptitude was superior, yet unexpectedly Fu Cailin, purely using defense in ce of offense, was able to make him vomit blood and injure him. Such swordsmanship was indeed shocking and hard to believe. Hows Fu Cailins sword techniquepared to your Die? Kou Zhong asked. Shaking his head, Song Shidao replied, Its hard to say! Die is good at offense but not good at defense, yet Fu Cailins defense is wless. How good his offense is, I still have no opportunity to see. After a slight pause, he continued, He really cares about you and Ba Fenghan, many times he asked me in details about anything concerning you. Kou Zhong said, Listening to the tone of your, LaoGes voice, you and Shi Gong ought to be quite simr, right? Song Shidao smiled and said, Fortunately, I am a person who have always been meticulous and very particr about anything in life, hence I got along extremely well with him. Fu Dashi is certainly a very particr man. I dont know how to describe him. His appearance is a bit effeminate, yet there is no feminine quality about him. Probably because of his tall frame, the immortal air, and the Taoist bones out-of-the-dust bearing. Whether he was walking, standing, sitting or lying down, most of all, when his hand was grasping the Yi Sword, each movement was perfect and good-looking. He is worthy to be one of the three grandmasters of the world. Kou Zhong said, If Xiao Shiyis misunderstanding cannot be resolved, sooner orter there wille a day where Shi Gong woulde to settle the ount with us. Laoxiong, I was wondering if you could think of a way to recognize him? Song Shidao cheerfully said, Of course that is not a problem. Junqiang is a lovely girl, its just that Fu Dashi spoiled her a little bit. To me, she could still be considered respectful. So whats this misunderstanding really about? Kou Zhong exined it all the way through. Listening to that, Song Shidaos eyebrows were deeply furrowed; he said, Of course I understand you, but Im afraid it is very difficult for Junqiang to ept, simply because the three of them, martial sisters have always been very close. And the most crucial problem is that Junchuo taught you their schools xinfa for one night, which is a big taboo for Fu Cailin. None of the Gaoli people does not hate us, Han people. Until now, Fu Cailin still does not understand why Junchuo was very good to you. But, since things havee to this, the only thing I can do is to strive my hardest to mediate and defuse the conflicts for you guys. Have you ever met that fellow Han Chaoan? Kou Zhong asked. Song Shidao nodded and said, He and I stay at the same guesthouse, we even had dinner together; he is very polite and courteous to me. Kou Zhong happily said, At the guesthouse these past few days, have you seen some new faces? What he wanted to inquire was Shen Mohuan, husband and wife. Song Shidao shook his head and said, Not in my eyes at all, can you be a bit more specific? Ay! You seem to forget that I just got here. Kou Zhong thought he might as well narrated briefly the reason they came to the prairie and what happened afterwards to him. When Song Shidao heard that Shi Feixuan and Zhu Yuyan, because Shi Zhixuan, had graced Longquan with their presence, Song Shidaos mouth was agape from the shock. Finally, Kou Zhong said, There is something that I almost forget to tell you, I went to Lingnan to see your Die, the Senior, and received the favor of his promise to support me; furthermore, he also promised that if I could obtain the world, he would give Zhizhi to me. Song Shidao cheerfully said, Then I really should congratte you. In that case, I should have no problem in dying my return to Lingnan. Xu Ziling sounded him out, I wonder if Song ErGe is going to return to Gaoli to apany Yu Yi for a while? Song Shidao was slightly startled; shaking his head, he said, I just want to roam around the prairie, to experience the local conditions and customs of the peoples beyond the Great Wall, and then Ill return to the Central Earth to apany Junchuo. As for Dies wishes, I am afraid Xiao Zhong will have to aplish it. The two cried, Bad! inwardly. But there was nothing they could do. This mans passion was simply too deep, it already reached the point of infatuation. Song Shidao said, About Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, I will keep my eyes open as well. If I have news, I will immediately inform you. Is there anything else I might be of any use? Kou Zhong did not want to involve him in the dispute, hence he said that there was no other thing. And then after agreeing on a good way to contact each other, they parted ways and left. After a series of twists and turns, time did not allow them to look for Yuekepeng, they hastily rushed back to the courtyard house, changed into the nightwalker outfit that Shuwen prepared for them, and hurriedly went out of town. Using the forest as cover, the two boys flew over the barren hills; after making sure that no one followed them, they made half of a big circle to the hilltop south of the city, located right in the middle between Longquan City and the Jingbo Lake. They could see both the famous lighthouse outside Longquans south gate and Ma Jis camp, glittering withnterns, by the bank of Jingbo Lake. Jingbo Lake, which stretched for several dozen li C was like a boundless mirror, reflecting the gentle light of the bright moon in the sky above. They saw two additional boats moored by Ma Jis camp. Although they were far inferior to the huge ships and big vessels of the Central Earth, but because Jingbo Lake was connected to the river courses nearby, the ships provided an extremely convenient way either to retreat or to transport anything. For the first time, the two boys thought that there was a very good chance that the batch of bows and arrows was shipped via the water. You guys came early! Shi Feixuans voice came from the dense forest behind them. The two turned around to look, Shi Feixuan was standing gracefully, wearing aplete nightwalker outfit, which hugged her fine physique tightly. Her beautiful hair was tied above her head in a bun, the Color Empty Sword was hanging on her back. Her clothes fluttered in the night breeze, light and graceful, free and easy. Under the hazy moonlight, her beauty appeared out-of-the-world even more, full of female tenderness and beauty. They were both gasping in amazement and felt that it was eye-opening, while also recalling that this would be the first time that they were having an operation together; a bizarre feeling welled up in their hearts. The three retreated into the dense forest at the hilltop. Gasping theatrically, Kou Zhong said, I am so nervous! In the darkness of the dense forest, Shi Feixuan spoke in astonishment, Shaoshuai is a veteran of a hundred battles, what situation you had not seen? Why are you nervous? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Xianzis putting on the nightwalker outfit, not only this is the first time that Id seen it, before, not even in my dreams would I ever imagine it. Therefore, I am so afraid of saying the wrong words or do the wrong things, and then you, Feixuan would me me. Shi Feixuan spoke in displeasure, If Shaoshuai does not crack jokes, then you pretend to be nervous. Turning to Xu Ziling, she asked, Why did you choose this route? Xu Ziling was standing on her other side, smelling her fragrant scent, his mind turned tranquil, peaceful and in harmony. He exined, It was Zhu Yuyans idea. She pointed out that Jin Huanzhen is most likely hidden in the ship in a certain bay of the Jingpo Lake. From this ce, not only we have room to maneuver, it could also be an active reconnaissance station, and broaden the scope of our search. Kou Zhong praised, Ginger is, after all, the older the spicier. As I am standing here looking at Jingpo Lake, I begin to think about this possibility. Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, She is wholeheartedly looking for Shi Zhixuan, naturally her thinking is more thorough. Xu Ziling asked, Is there any movement on the fake Laotans side? Shi Feixuan said, That is precisely the reason I am asking the question. In his secret mark, the fake Laotan wanted me to meet him at the Jingpo Pavilion on the northwest corner of Jingpo Lake at the beginning of Zi hour [11pm C 1am], saying that he has an important information to report. Kou Zhong quietly said, Isnt it the same as the time he wanted to meet us? How could he, one person, split himself? Ling Shao did not guess incorrectly. They must be carrying out the luring the tiger from its domain in the mountains tactic. The real target is our Shi Xianzi. Slightly angry, Shi Feixuan said, Feixuan is not any Xianzi, watch out of Feixuan will really me you. Kou Zhongughed and said, Xiaojie, please calm down. Tonight well let the fake Laotan to wait in vain. Well look for Jin Huanzhen and her true husband and call it good. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Dont underestimate Da Ming Zun Jiao people. Merely Liexia is already not simple at all. If we did not fall into the trap, he would be rmed, and then it would be harmful without any benefit to them, husband and wife. Shi Feixuan agreed, Ziling Xiong is right. We will part to keep our separate appointments as nned, to see what trick they are going to use. Thats too dangerous! Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling said, I could escort Shi Xiaojie in secret, while you, Zhong Shao, keep the appointment by yourself. Ill say most probably you will rush at thin air, but if you do see the fake Laotan, just make your move to catch him, and if necessary, we can use him in prisoner exchange. Kou Zhong nodded and said, It can still be considered proper moving-an-army-and-send-a-general tactic; I have no choice but to be the small soldier. Ha! Huh? Someonesing! A dark shadow flew over from the direction of Longquan. The three focused their attention to look, and were all stunned. Unexpectedly it was Shi Zhixuan, who had not shown his face for a long time. How could there be such a coincidence? They nearly could not believe their own eyes. Dont rush indiscriminately into action, Shi Feixuan hissed. From their high vantage point, the three looked down, Shi Zhixuan, at astonishing speed that was faster than a speeding horse, shed by like a gust of wind scraping over the bottom of the hill, and in the blink of an eye they could only see his back in the distance, as he flew in the direction of Jingpo Lake, and disappeared in the dense forest region northwest of theke. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong said, My Laotianye, whats going on here? Were it not Shi Feixuan nearby, he would have at least explode into the phrase that he learned from Du Xing, his grannys bear. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, At least we confirmed that Zhu Yuyans intuition is correct, Shi Zhixuan is indeed in Longquan. Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, He is going to kill someone! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling quietly looked at each other; they did not understand where did Shi Feixuan draw such conclusion from? Tranquil, Shi Feixuan said, He hid the Sheli in the mud deep underwater, which is another way outside keeping it inside the mercury so that others cannot sense it. Now he went to get the Sheli out, to draw out Zhu Yuyan, who can sense the Sheli, or even Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotan, in order to cut shot future disaster, henceforth he will be able to absorb the Shelis demonic qi in peace. Kou Zhong did not understand, he asked, Zhu Yuyan has been chasing behind him; if he wanted to deal with Zhu Yuyan, he could just wait for a moment and that would work, why does he have to wait until they got here to make his move? Xu Ziling said, Your analysis makes a lot of sense, but it wont work with Shi Zhixuan. Most likely his split personality disorder only ur periodically. Each time it res, the Bu Si Yin Fa will reveal the w. Perhaps after leaving Tong Wan, his split personality disorder red out, he had no choice but to take the Sheli running away for a thousand li; this moment it is stabilizing, naturally he wants to strike back. Shi Feixuan spoke in astonishment, Ziling Xiongs remark is extremely prating and unique. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Because I have been in contact with another deeply-contrite Shi Zhixuan, so my perception is particrly profound. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he said, My troop disposition is in a mess, what do we do? Shi Feixuan spoke decisively, Things have slight or important, urgent or non-urgent differences, we will temporarily set Jin Huanzhens affair aside, and do everything we can to help Zhu Yuyan to strike and kill Shi Zhixuan, to get rid of this great evil of the human world. Xu Ziling nodded and said, It ought to be so. Kou Zhong nervously said, Zhu Yuyans good-self has arrived. Another dark shadow, like a phantom, flew out of Longquan; it was precisely Zhu Yuyan, whom they were expecting. Xu Ziling shed out of the forest and beckoned Zhu Yuyan across the distance to follow him, and then returned to the forest. Zhu Yuyan turned her head around to take a nce first before continuing flying forward, and circled around to enter the forest from the other side. Coming to them, she saw Shi Feixuan, and calmly said, Turns out its the disciple from Fan Qinghuis Cult. A famous teacher trains a fine student; my admiration, my admiration. Saluting her as the younger generation would to the older generation, Shi Feixuan said, Feixuan sincerely act on Shizuns [revered master] behalf to pay respect and send her regards to Yin Hou [Empress Yin]. If one did not know the opposition between Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Yin Gui Pai, which has been going on for a long time, a continuous fight for several hundred years, one might think that Shi Feixuans master Fan Qinghui and Zhu Yuyan have had friendship for many years. Turning to the two boys, Zhu Yuyan spoke with slight displeasure in her voice, Whats the matter? Kou Zhong replied, A quarter of an hour ago we just saw Shi Zhixuan walked past the foot of the hill. Immediately the strange light in Zhu Yuyans pair of eyes red greatly. Even though it was separated by ayer of muslin, plus the forest was as ck as thecquer, the three were still able to see clearly. Xu Ziling repeated his analysis just now for her benefit, and finally said, Whether our guess is correct or not, it will soon be revealed. Someonesing! Shi Feixuan spoke in low voice. Three human shadows, fast as an arrow, pursued over. Just by looking at their shenfa, it was obvious that these were first-ss martial art masters. Without stopping at all, the enemies were flying in the direction of the Jingpo Lake, and disappeared into the dense forest region where Shi Zhixuan was entering earlier. With a sharp intake of air, Kou Zhong said, These three fellows martial art skill is extremely high; I did not expect Da Ming Zun Jiao has arge number of such talent. Any three random persons they are sending out are already this formidable. Zhu Yuyan spoke heavily, These are not three random people that they are sending out, but Da Ming Zun Jiaos secret department Five Kinds of Demons Wave Fog, Extinguished Fire, and Vicious Wind. Humph! Da Ming Zun Jiao is really despicable, they even dare to scheme against me, Zhu Yuyan. Xu Ziling could not help asking, This morning when Zongzhu was talking about Da Ming Zun Jiao, why you didnt mention them? Zhu Yuyan responded indifferently, Da Ming Zun Jiao has Light and Dark, two big departments. The Light Department is under Shan Mu and Five Bright Sons, their specific responsibility is to preach their religion. The Dark Department is under Yuanzi and Five Kinds of Demons, their specific responsibility is to eradicate differences; they are the Cults executioners. At that time I hadnt had a falling out with them, hence I was unwilling to divulge their affairs. Ziling, please forgive me. A strange feeling welled up in the three peoples heart; the consider-oneself-unexcelled-in-the-world Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan apologized to someone else? Kou Zhong seized the opportunity to ask, I wonder if Zhu Zongzhu know that Zhou Laotan has a twin brother? Zhu Yuyan nodded and said, One of the Five Kinds of Demons is precisely Dark Air Zhou Laofang, Zhou Laotans twin brother, therefore, when Shan Mu sheltered Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, it was difficult for me to send punitive force. Kou Zhong wanted to ask further, Zhu Yuyan signaled him to stop talking. She was silent for half a day, and then said, You guys did not guess incorrectly, I am sensing the Sheli! Book 41 - 9 – Free and Unfettered Demolishing Qi Zhu Yuyan coldly said, Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife ought to sense the Shelis location as well, because the timing matches, Da Ming Zun Jiao people will mistakenly think that I am sensing the Sheli and pursue it outside the city, hence the reason they disregard everything in sending their martial art masters to pursue at full speed to get the fishermans benefit. We will let Da Ming Zun Jiaos idiots to take the lead. Lady and gentlemen, what do you think? Kou Zhong said, We will obey your, the Seniors instructions in everything. Zhu Yuyan sighed and said, Ay! Nature [as the mother of all things] is toying with people; who would have guessed that Zhu Yuyan unexpectedly might cooperate with Fan Qinghuis disciple to deal with Shi Zhixuan? Finished speaking, she flew out of the forest, leading the way at the front. The three followed closely behind. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling ran side by side, Shi Feixuan fell slightly at the rear. Kou Zhong lightly nudged Xu Ziling, signaling him with his eyes. Xu Ziling slightly tightened his jaw, indicating that he sensed the Relics presence. The mountain and fields flew backward rapidly under the four peoples feet. A short momentter they already passed through the forest and reached the Jingpo Lakes northeast shore. The lights from Ma Jis camp were on their right. Theke water, like an irregr big mirror stretched out into the distance under them. Other than Ma Jis two ships, there were no other vessels in sight. However, Jingpo Lake had many tributary rivers, the banks were full of trees on all four sides, so it was quite easy and convenient to hide a boat in the dark. Zhu Yuyan stood like an apparition in the dark of the forest, the three did not dare to disturb; they waited quietly behind her. Zhu Yuyan softly said, Shi Zhixuan is waiting for me. And then she sighed faintly and said, In all my life, only two men were able to move my true feeling, but in the end I have to think of a way to destroy them. Does fate always love to y tricks on people? This was the first time that Kou Zhong felt that she was just like an ordinary person, who also had seven emotional states [seven affects of traditional Chinese medical theory and therapy, namely: joy, anger, anxiety, thought, grief, fear, fright] and six desires, human sentiments; his pity grew greatly. He said, Zhu Zongzhus status is special, in everything, you have no choice but to attach most importance to your Sect, hence you cant enjoy the ordinary love between a man and a woman like ordinary women. It was as if Zhu Yuyan had turned into a mncholy and moody little girl; she spoke softly, The love between a man and a woman can really be some kind of enjoyment? Xu Ziling said, May I venture to ask about the men who were able to move Zongzhus true feeling? Apart from Shi Zhixuan, who is the other one? Zhu Yuyan looked up into the night sky. Smiling ruefully, she said, I dont know whether it is because I know that I am going to die that I cannot help revealing my true feeling. Hearing the four-character true statement revealing my true feeling [zhen qing liu lu], Xu Ziling could not help casting a nce toward Shi Feixuan, who was standing by his side. This fairys jade countenance was tranquil, the beautiful pupil of her eyes was flickering with pure and holy and intelligent bright light, but she was unwilling to meet his gaze. Xu Ziling immediately felt at a loss! But he quickly discharged this kind of disturbing state of mind outside his brain. The big battle is at hand; he must be in his peak state to deal with Shi Zhixuan. Zhu Yuyans voice turned gentle, she said, The other is Lu Miaozi. Ay! He was too haughty! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, What a pity! inwardly. If they could inform Lu Miaozi before his death, Lu Miaozi would certainly have a strange feeling. Zhu Yuyan was back to being tranquil, as if what they were talking about had nothing to do with her, she said, The most formidable aspect of Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa is any true qi entering his meridians will be converted for his own use. Feixuan has read the Image Scroll, I wonder if you have any thought on how to deal with it? Shi Feixuan said, The nature of our humble Zhais xinfa and Shi Zhixuanz demonic power are restraining each other. Although Shi Zhixuan also mastered Buddhist schools wonder power, but as long as Feixuan focus my true qi and limit it on the sword de, doing everything I can to injure his muscle and bones and vital acupoints, it will definitely pose a threat to him. That could still be considered a way, Zhu Yuyan said, Feixuan must be careful of his counterstrike relying on his Huan Mo Shenfa, which will make it difficult for you to adhere to the fixed tactics. How about you two? Kou Zhong replied, We have fought with him twice, we know how formidable he is. When the timees, we will change ording to the situation. Does Zongzhu still have other instructions? Facing a powerful enemy, they simply had to put aside all former gratitude and grudges, to work together in sincerity from their inner feelings in order to eliminate Shi Zhixuan. Zhu Yuyan slowly said, I will exploit Shi Zhixuans keenness in trying to kill me; I will fight him alone first, and then when my Tianmo Dafa ispletely unleashed, it will generate a qi field that will entangle him rigidly. If I gradually narrow the field of qi to a certain extent, then I can die in such a way that he also perishes, to break his Bu Si Yin Fa. Shi Feixuan asked, Does Shi Zhixuan know Yin Hous secret art of perishing together with the enemy? Fixing her gaze on the flickering light on Jingpo Lake from the reflection of the moon, Zhu Yuyan spoke heavily, Were it not for him having misgivings on this burning-both-jade-andmon-stone [idiom: to destroy indiscriminately] move, Yin Gui Pai would have acknowledged allegiance to him under his tyrannical abuse. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, In that case, Shi Zhixuan will certainly not allow Zongzhus Tianmo Dafa to be unleashed to the stage of burning both jade andmon stone. His shock was not without any reason. Listening to the tone of her voice, he knew that deep in her heart, this Empress Yin, who has always been acknowledged as the number one figure of the demonic school, admitted that she was inferior to Shi Zhixuan, and was relying entirely on the move burning both jade andmon stone, to make Shi Zhixuan not daring to rush indiscriminately into action, to do everything he could to maintain his throne as the head of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. Zhu Yuyan said, Hence the reason I need your help from the side. When he strives to break and destroy my field of qi, you must make your move with all your strength, so that it will be more than he can attend to. This is the crucial point. Because if he knew that I joined hands with you, he might flee far away. Only when he masters the holy qi from the Sheli will he dare toe out to the world. At that time, even if the three grandmasters of the world joined hands, I am afraid they would not be able to put him to death. When Zongzhu unleashed your Tianmo Dafa, will it affect us? Xu Ziling asked. Shaking her head, Zhu Yuyan said, Tianmo Dafa will only target Shi Zhixuan, one person. But when your true qi makes contact with his, he might exploit the field of qi to deal with you. This is precisely the most terrifying aspect of the Bu Si Yin Fa; practically he is unafraid of being under siege. Suddenly she cast her gaze toward the hilltop outside the forest to the left and said, Da Ming Zun Jiao people already fell into the trap and started to move! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they were well aware that they were still a notch inferior to Zhu Yuyan, because it was only after they heard Zhu Yuyans remark that they came to their senses and promptly applied their power to listen, and only then were they barely able to hear the sound of rustling clothes in the distance. Shi Feixuan was still carrying her peaceful, without-any-ripple moving demeanor; no worry no joy, which made them guessing that this might be the Swords Heart Brightly Lit realm. Shi Zhixuan, dignified, with a ruler-overlooking-the-world might C was standing with his hands behind his back on the vast in between two mountaintops. The strange thing was that his clothes did not appear to be wet the least bit, although a drenched small leather bag was hanging on his back. His expression was cold, without any emotion, as if he waspletely unconcerned about the enemying from all directions to surround him, the corner of his mouth even revealed a hint of disdainful and cruel smile. Zhu Yuyan and the three hid inside the thick forest on the hillside to Shi Zhixuans left side, watching the battle from afar. Da Ming Zun Jiao had thirty-two peopleing. Under the leadership of the Thick Fog Jiu Lingzhi, the Extinguished Fire Kuo Jie, and the Vicious Wind Yang Mo of the Five Kinds of Demons, they heavily besieged the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan, but did not immediately make their move. The subordinates of the three demons were entirely first-ss martial art masters. With such strength, they could indeed retain Shi Zhixuan. Too bad that with Bu Si Yin Fa plus Huan Mo Shenfa, Shi Zhixuan practically was not afraid of group warfare at all. The Thick Fog Jiu Lingzhi was thin, tall, and had long face; his appearance was a bit reminiscent of a Diaosigui [ghost of a person who died by hanging]. From time to time he rolled his two eyes, exposing the white of his eyeballs. His weapon was a heavy steel staff, which looked to weigh at least a hundred jin [1 jin ~ 1lb/0.5 kg]. The Extinguished Fire Kuo Jie was of medium-build; his shoulders were broad and rough, his appearance fiendish and ugly, his lion nose was full of red freckles. He was using a pair of sabers. His footsteps heavy and solid; it looked like he was a valiant general expert in assaulting a fortified position. Among the three demons, the Vicious Wind Yang Mos appearance could be considered the most pleasing to the eye, the skin on his face was fair and clear, his eyes looked awake, but not actually awake. There was also a bit of schrly, refined air around him. The long sword behind his back had note out of its sheath yet. Just by looking at their outward appearance, the three demons appeared to be between thirty, forty years old. But all qi practitioners can conceal their real age, just like Shi Zhixuan and Zhu Yuyan, that kind of masters; looking at them horizontally, looking at them vertically, they should not be more than thirty years old, while actually they were martial art masters of older generation who have made their names for nearly sixty years. Shi Zhixuans gaze swept across the three demons; frowning, he said, Why havent you made your move? A peal of tenderughter came from the opposite hilltop of where Kou Zhong and the others were hiding. Under escort of seven, eight people, a middle-aged but still attractive woman, whose seductive appearance grew without restraint, slowly appeared from the hillside. With a slightbored breathing, she spoke in Hannguage, Shi LaoGe, didnt you just meet your close friend? Howe only one persons shadow remains? Shi Zhixuan spoke with a coldugh, Turns out its Shan Mu, Sha Fangs holy-selfing in person, howe Da Zun did not wait upon you left and right? The Benevolent Mother Sha Fangs face was like a full moon, her figure was well-rounded and alluring, her manners grandeur; she wore brocade boots and sable scarf, her upper garment was purple gold and white phoenix, her skirt was apricot yellow gold coin, her hair was tied in a bun with a hundred treasured flowers. The front of her long skirt was brushing the ground, the rear part of the skirt was dragging about a chi behind her, she wore double-hanging red and yellow belt, yet strangely the impression she left on other people was that she was graceful and nimble. In her hands she was holding a short silver stick that looked like a highly decorated weapon, about two chi long, flickering with silvery light. A charming smile was hanging on her face, as she leisurely looked at Shi Zhixuan with seemingly deep emotion. Zhu Yuyan, who was watching quietly, said, The silver stick in Sha Fangs hands is called Yu Xiaoyao [free and unfettered jade]. Her Xiaoyao Chai [free and unfettered demolition] has a total of twenty-eight styles, but the changes are inexhaustible, even Shi Zhixuan does not dare to underestimate it. I never thought that unexpectedly she would undertake the task herself. From this, you can tell how much she values the Sheli. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling mused inwardly that the more formidable Sha Fang was, the better it would be; it would be best if she and Shi Zhixuan fought until both sides suffer, so that they could reap the benefitter. However, if Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan did not fight until they both perished, to whom the Relics would fall into would be another problem that would give them headache. The Benevolent Mother Sha Fangs attendants consisted of five men and two women, who dressed in Huihe warrior outfit, all were equipped with crossbow and powerful arrows; their murderous aura was very thick. With myriad bearings Sha Fang approached the perimeter of the siege. The warriors surrounding Shi Zhixuan parted to both sides, so that Sha Fang could look directly at Shi Zhixuan as they conversed. Restraining her smile, Sha Fang spoke seriously, On behalf of Da Zun, Sha Fang sincerely pays her respect to Xie Wang. If Xie Wang is willing to part with your cherished Sheng Sheli [holy relics], Xie Wang may read through our Da Ming Zun Jiaos canonical text Po Bu Luo Gan [it does not mean anything in Chinese, I think its a transliteration of some foreignnguage; po C grandma/matron, bu C cloth or to spread, luo C gauze or to collect, gan C dry/clean or to do something]. Shi Zhixuan was still maintaining his calm and collected Mount-Tai-copsing-in-front-of-him-his-countenance-wont-change demeanor. Rubbish! he spoke coldly, The Bu Si Yin Fa that I, Shi Zhixuan created absolutely transcends the ancient and modern times; if you dont believe me, just use the Xiaoyao Chai that you, Shan Mu developed from the Po Bu Luo Gan to give it a try. The numerous Da Ming Zun Jiao martial art masters surrounding Shi Zhixuan, no one snorted even half a humph; apparently they were intimidated by Shi Zhixuans imposing manner. The Benevolent Mother Sha Fang suddenly let out a peal of tenderughter and said, Xie Wangs heroic spirit is still like before. Ay! We all are of the same principle, massacring each other is too senseless! Sha Fang has a proposal: I want to experience several moves; may I venture to ask Xie Wang to allow it? Inwardly Kou Zhong and the others praised Sha Fangs brilliance; realizing the change of situation, plus Zhu Yuyan [sic, I checked various sources; I think it should be Sha Fang, but perhaps my understanding is incorrect] was not Shi Zhixuans match, immediately she changed strategy, from group warfare to attack from all sides to one-on-one duel. On the surface she appeared to be pompous, but actually she was giving thought to both herself and her subordinates, to avoid Shi Zhixuan borrowing her subordinates true qi and reversing it to deal with her, but also so that Shi Zhixuan could not break the siege and escape. However, she dared to fight one-on-one against Shi Zhixuan, she was an extremely daring person. Throwing his head back in a longughter, Shi Zhixuan said, Shan Mu is willing to fight with me one-on-one, this is something that Shi Zhixuan seeks, but fails to get; how could I refuse? With an enchanting smile, Sha Fang said, Xie Wang is fast, both the person and the tongue. Lets have the twenty-eight Chai [lit. tearing open/dismantling/demolition, I am starting to think that this is a martial art term, but I dont know what it is] as the limit. If Sha Fang is still unable to defeat Xie Wangs Bu Si Yin Fa, henceforth I will never show any interest in the Sheng Sheli. Shi Zhixuan responded indifferently, Its a deal. However, if before your twenty-eight Chai is over, you, Shan Mu, must not retreat. The murderous intent in Sha Fangs eyes ring greatly, she said with a cold snort, If you have the skill, then take my, Sha Fangs life within these twenty-eight Chai! Everybody, retreat to my side! Thest sentence was addressed to her subordinates. Without letting half a snort, the three demons and the other obediently retreated about two zhang behind Sha Fang. The five men and two women on Sha Fangs left and right also withdrew. The atmosphere immediately became tense. Two top martial art masters of major demonic ways stood opposite each other across a distance. Even without any wind, the gorgeous clothes and the ribbons on Sha Fangs body suddenly fluttered. Laughing tenderly, she said, I wonder if that thing behind Xie Wangs back is the Sheng Sheli? Shi Zhixuan reached back to pat the bag on his back, he smiled and said, Precisely! Kill me, Shi Zhixuan, and its yours. Over yonder, Zhu Yuyan spoke heavily, This is the Shi Zhixuan without any w, just like the Shi Zhixuan before meeting Bi Xiuxin. Xu Ziling mused that the Shi Zhixuan he met in Changan ought to be considered as the Shi Zhixuan with the w, because the mention of Shi Qingxuans name was enough to affect him adversely, ultimately it could even split out another kind ofpletely different personality. But perhaps using this kind of trick right now would not be effective at all. Kou Zhong said, I should have hoped that Shi Zhixuan would seed in killing Sha Fang, yet the fact is that I am quite worried about her. I wonder if this is the sympathizing-with-the-weak mentality? Zhu Yuyan said, Sha Fang is not the weak at all. Shi Zhixuan is using attacking-the-heart technique, so that Sha Fang will not dare to release her power to the greatest extent. From this, it could be seen that Shi Zhixuan is not without restraining fear toward Sha Fang. Hearing that, everybodys heart, Shi Feixuan included, was full of admiration, musing inwardly that Zhu Yuyan was worthy to be a figure of grandmaster level, certainly she had brilliant knowledge and experience. Sha Fang suddenly moved forward. Because the long skirt dragging on the ground was concealing the movement of her feet, she looked a bit like a ghost whose feet did not touch the ground, as she was floating toward Shi Zhixuan. A shadow shed, Shi Zhixuan was suddenly on Sha Fangs left side, his palm shed down toward the side of her neck. His movements were like moving clouds and flowing water; confident and at ease, pleasant to the eye. Sha Fang let out a cold snort, she spun backward to evade, silvery lights exploded from her hands to meet Shi Zhixuans slicing palm head-on. Two giants of the martial art study were finally in face-to-face confrontation. Bang! The palm and the stick shed. With the twobatants as the center, mud was exploding outward, scraping the grass. The momentum was astonishing to the extreme. Both sides retreated. Among the spectators, Xu Ziling was the one with the deepest impression, because he had fought many times against Shi Zhixuan, and was deeply aware of how formidable this gentleman was. Sha Fang was able to block this move without the slightest difficulty, he knew that she was, at least, better than Xu Ziling in Changan. Shi Feixuan sighed lightly and said, Our operation tonight fails! Zhu Yuyan revealed a thoughtful expression. Stunned, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. They had not yet fought, how could Shi Feixuan foresee the oue? Sha Fangs tenderughter was heard as she said, Ever since Sha Fang created the Twenty-Eight Chai, there has never been any opponent who could see it from head to tail; could Xie Wang be the only exception? Unleashing an amazing footwork, the Yu Xiaoyao in her hands deftly, in a hard-to-believe way, drew fantastic, dazzling-the-eyes light and shadow silvery discs. In Kou Zhong and the others eyes, they were able to see that she was using some rapid-beyond-humanprehension strange technique, from different angles, taking advantage before Shi Zhixuanunched his attack, to create fifteen points, releasing fifteen streams of fierce and severe qi power, some directly attacking Shi Zhixuans vital points, some seemed to be striking empty space, but actually she was sealing any changes in Shi Zhixuans evasive movements. Fifteen streams of qi power, like fifteen arrows of qi,pletely enveloped the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan in the middle. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never imagined that Sha Fangs Yu Xiaoyao would be this brilliant; they mused inwardly that if they were in Shi Zhixuans position, they would surely be in a very difficult situation. If Sha Fang had an unlimited supply of true qi, she could maintain her present power, and then no one in the world would be able to withstand her Xiao Yao Chai. This was certainly not possible, but to be able to hold out until the moment her true qi exhausted was surely very difficult. Shi Zhixuan let out a longugh, his body shed around like a ghost in a very narrow space! His two hands turned into palm shadows filling the sky; unexpectedly he fought speed with speed and met Sha Fangs Chai qi head-on. Momentarily the sound of qi power explosion filled the air, one after another, in rapid session, just like the firecrackers on the pagoda of Taiji Pce in Changan. Bang! The twobatants palms collided and separated, twice. Nodding her head, Zhu Yuyan said, Feixuan is right. Shi Zhixuan is attempting to steal a little bit of true qi from Sha Fangs body, so even if he wins, the wear and tear to his true energy would be considerable. Under this kind of circumstances, he will certainly not take the risk for a life-and-death battle with me tonight. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly saw the light; secretly they praised Shi Feixuan for her orchid kindly feelings and character, her eyesight was even more brilliant. As soon as the twobatants exchanged the first move, she already saw that even if Shi Zhixuan was able to strike and kill Sha Fang, the victory would be very difficult and exhausting, so he would not have any strength left to deal with Zhu Yuyan. In this kind of situation, the only way out was to run far away. With his Huan Mo Shenfa, practically no one would be able to catch up with him, hence Shi Feixuan came to the conclusion that tonights operation failed. The retreating Sha Fang made a spin of her body, it was as if she was turning into a thousand-hand Guanyin, the Yu Xiaoyao turned into hundreds or thousands Chai shadows, which was hard to tell which one was real, which one was false, putting her body tightly inside the light and shadow, going all-out to take the initiative to attack. Shi Zhixuan let out a cold snort. His movements seemed to slow down. He sent out a punch, which clearly was far inferior to Sha Fangs astonishing high speed. When Sha Fangs Yu Xiaoyao stabbed eight streams of qi arrow, his punch just hit the real target within the true and false mirage. Bang! The fist and the Chai shed. Sha Fangs tender body shook severely, she floated backward. Obviously she suffered hidden loss. Watching this, the group of her subordinates under the three demons leadership was stunned. Clearly there were at least three streams of Sha Fangs qi arrow that hit Shi Zhixuans vital acupoint, yet he appeared to be unaffected at all, even sending the most fierce and severe counterattack. Naturally Zhu Yuyan and the others could see through clearly that although Shi Zhixuan was unable to steal Sha Fangs highly concentrated demolition [Chai] qi for his own use, but to neutralize it using the Bu Si Yin Fa, it was still like handling a butchers cleaver with ease. Shi Zhixuan let out a longugh, from defense he turned into offense; suddenly he darted in front to Sha Fang and attack with all his strength. Whether it was a punch, a finger poke, a palm chop, or an elbow strike, each movement was very clear, appearing to be clumsy but was actually ingenious. Sha Fang was no longer able to shoot demolition qi, and could only counter every move. Although she did not appear to be defeated, but she was coping extremely strenuously. However, for Shi Zhixuan, it was also a move that required extraordinary amount of effort. Dang! Shi Zhixuans fingertip stabbed the tip of the Yu Xiaoyao, Sha Fang evidently could not match Shi Zhixuans finger power, she was severely shaken and was forced to retreat. Surprisingly, Shi Zhixuan did not follow up the victory and press home the attack. Standing with his hands behind his back, he loftily said, Shan Mu still wants to continue fighting? Sha Fang steadied her footing, the murderous intent in her pair of eyes red greatly, she stared fiercely at Shi Zhixuan and spoke slowly, word-by-word, Bu Si Yin Fas name is definitely not in vain. From this moment on, our Da Ming Zun Jiao will never again show any interest in Sheng Sheli. Lets go! Shi Zhixuan let out a long whistle, suddenly he flew sideways, like a ghost he floated more than ten zhang away, before soaring into the air and flew toward the dense forest area nearby. In the twinkling of an eye he disappeared without any trace. Book 41 - 10 – Insects Buzzing and Cicada Singing The four people hiding inside the dense forest watched as one after another Shi Zhixuan left and Shan Mu led her subordinates away, but they still undecided on which path to take. Kou Zhong fiercely said, If we follow behind Sha Fang, I am sure we could find the ship she is hiding in, and nine out of ten Jin Huanzhen is being held captive in that ship. Then why didnt Shaoshuai follow her track? Zhu Yuyanmented indifferently. Kou Zhong smiled and replied, Because following her track is the lowest priority. Even if we could find that ship, unless we immediately make our move to charge aboard the ship, by tomorrow the ship might weigh anchor and sail away, to go into hiding in some tributary or a hidden bay on theke somewhere, then following their track will only be a waste of time; quietly holding our move is a bit smarter. Frowning, Zhu Yuyan said, With your, Shaoshuais style of work, the internal injury Sha Fang is bearing is obviously not light, why do you let the good opportunity to attack the enemy and rescue people slip by? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its for your, the Seniors sake. If we followed behind Sha Fang, it would be strange indeed if Sha Fang cannot guess our rtionship. Zhu Yuyan was slightly startled, she no longer spoke. Shi Feixuan spoke gently, What does Yin Hou have in mind? Zhu Yuyan looked her up and down carefully several times, and then she nodded and said, Feixuan has any suggestion? Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling admired Zhu Yuyans broad-mindedness; she did not shame or treat Shi Feixuan condescendingly simply because she was an old enemys disciple or because of her status as a younger generation. Just now Shi Feixuan already had the foresight to predict that the operation tonight would not bring any result, she was showing remarkable wisdom, so that Zhu Yuyan lowered her air and asked for advice from her in low voice. Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling loved to listen to Shi Feixuan speaking, they loved to see her touching demeanor, so they concentrated their attentionpletely on her even more. Turning her gaze in the direction Shi Zhixuan was disappearing, Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Yin Hou did not pursue Shi Zhixuan relentlessly, this must be greatly beyond Shi Zhixuans expectation, which will make him overly suspicious, and difficult to feel at ease. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Theres something that I really dont understand. Currently, Shi Zhixuans top priority should be to absorb the Shelis demonic ... oy! No! It should be holy qi. Only after seeding will he return to the Central ins to unify the Two Sects and Six Ways. But why did he still take the risk to lure you, Yin Hou out? Could it be that he is really unafraid of your burning both jade andmon stone move? The corner of Zhu Yuyans mouth showed a hint of bitter smile as she said, If you asked me this question before seeing Shi Zhixuan tonight, I really did not know how to answer you with confidence, but this moment I can clearly tell you why Shi Zhixuan is using me. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, I get it! Shi Zhixuan is constantly absorbing the Shelis holy qi. My Niang! Zhu Yuyan sighed and said, Shi Zhixuan is exploiting the pressure I am giving him to spur himself on, just like people from ancient times sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall [in order to recall his humiliation (ref. King Gou Jian of Yue); fig. to maintain ones resolve for revenge], or that kind of critical circumstances, to give him the feeling of needing to advance gradually and entrenched himself at every step, to make him too busy to remember the broken heart of the past distracting him. Shi Feixuan said, Yin Hous analysis on Shi Zhixuan is very prating. If Feixuan did not guess incorrectly, tomorrow night Shi Zhixuan will resume his provocation toward Yin Hou, therefore, we definitely are not without any second opportunity to join hands to get rid of him. Kou Zhongughed and said, In that case, shall we go back to the city to have a good nights sleep? Shaoshuai seems to forget your appointment with the fake Laotan, Shi Feixuan scolded him. Kou Zhong sneered and said, How can the fake Laotan meet the appointment at two different ces but at the same time? Moreover, Sha Fang is injured; even if he wanted to deal with Shi Xiaojie, he only has the mind but not the power to do it. Its a bit more sensible for us not to go on two trips in vain. Knitting her brows, Zhu Yuyan asked, What are you guys talking about? After giving her brief exnation, Xu Ziling said, Zhu Zongzhu, please return to the city to rest first. Even if we know we are going to make one trip in vain, we still need to keep the appointment, so that the fake Laotan wont be suspicious. Zhu Yuyan slightly hesitated a moment before speaking decisively, Considering you, these two kids are giving thought to me everywhere, I will reveal to you some information that should not be passed on outside the demonic school. Pi Chen once told me personally that in addition to Da Zun and Yuanzi, whose depth is hard to fathom, within the Da Ming Zun Jiao, nominally Sha Fang has the strongest martial art skill. But Liexia of the Five Bright Sons and the Poisonous Water Wei Nuo of the Five Kinds of Demons, two persons have personally received Da Zuns handed-down teachings, hence they should not be under Sha Fang. If these two persons personally make their move, with the addition of the other people, you must absolutely not underestimate them. Very interesting! Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully. Laughing involuntarily, Zhu Yuyan said, I nearly forget that worrying for Kou Zhong is an unnecessary, senseless act. Ay! You are on your own! Finished speaking, she entered deep into the forest and swiftly went away. Quite naturally, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings eyes were set on Shi Feixuan, acting like they were waiting respectfully for her order and would listen and obey her instruction. Slightly crossed, Shi Feixuan said, Why are you looking at me? Arent you people who love to do everything for yourselves? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Xiaojie is turning over old ounts again. While inwardly, he mused that I, Xu Ziling loved to see your, this kind of a girls mood. Only when Shi Feixuan was revealing this kind of earthly mind would he have the intense feeling that she was also a human being with seven emotional states and six desires. Grinning, Kou Zhong said, Feixuan is getting more and more beautiful! Apparently Shi Feixuan was at a loss dealing with him; sighing lightly, she said, Shall we part ways and do it separately? Zhu Yuyan is right, Xu Ziling said, We must not underestimate the enemy and being careless. Kou Zhong said, The ces of these two appointments are only more than ten li apart; if you are slightlyte, as soon as I see that theres nobody there, I could immediately rush over to meet up with you. At that time, even if Da Ming Zun Jiaos whole nest came out, we could at least defend ourselves and break the siege. As long as we can slip back into the city, we will be safe and extremely lucky. Shi Feixuan said, They will surely have a way to retain you. Kou Zhong patted the Moon in the Well and said with a smile, Then they need to ask this old partner that is hanging on Xiaodis back. I will see the opportunity and act, to change ording to the situation. Lets do it this way then, Xu Ziling replied. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Copying Zhu Yuyan earlier, he entered the depth of the forest first, before making a detour to meet his appointment. When it was only Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan, two people remained, immediately there was a subtle change in the atmosphere, a strange kind of silence. Shi Feixuan seemed to want to dilute this kind of silence surpasses noise atmosphere; she spoke in low voice, Feixuan already surveyed the situation surrounding Jingpo Lake. This stone pavilion is built facing theke. One side facing theke, the other side facing a dense forest; it was quite hidden. Xu Ziling spread out his palm and stretched it toward her, he spoke softly, I wonder if Xiaojie could draw the location of the stone pavilion, and then we could take separate ways to go to the meeting. Shi Feixuan hesitated slightly, and then she stretched her delicate and beautiful jade hand, and using her fingertip she drew the shape of Jingpo Lake on Xu Zilings palm first, and then she tapped a few timed on the northern bank, saying, This is the location of Ma Jis camp. Afterwards she moved to the northwest and tapped once, saying, Jingpo Pavilion is approximately on this location, the terrain isparatively higher, not difficult to recognize at all. Finished speaking, she pulled her jade hand back. Xu Ziling was still staring nkly at his spread palm, a fantastic feeling welled up in his heart, he was fully aware that he would never forget the touching feeling of her fingertip drawing on his palm. This was his first intimate contact with Shi Feixuan. With slight displeasure in her voice, Shi Feixuan asked, Are you clear? Finally Xu Ziling pulled his palm back. He mused inwardly that if this moment he told her that he would never wash his hand anymore, how would she react to his brazen, frivolous remark? This, of course, could only be thought in his heart to find relief, he could never put it into action for real. Smiling, he said, Very clear. Xiaojies fine finger is as urate and stable as your Color Empty Sword. Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, Your palm is very unusual; did it be like this after you train the Long Life Qi? Confident and at ease, Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders; sketching it in light shades, he said, The fact is that I am not sure myself. I think it was after I learned some image method that my pair of hands started to change. Anyway, we still have time, I wonder if we could chat a little bit. Sighing lightly, Shi Feixuan said, Is it all right if I dont want to listen? Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart was swept away, but he secretly warned himself not to treat Shi Feixuan like ordinary worldly woman, which would make her despise Xu Ziling even more. Nodding his head, he said, Of course. Everything is up to Xiaojie. Shi Feixuan returned to her tranquil state, she spoke indifferently, Speak up! Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling suddenly had an urge to draw her into his arms. Scared to death, he hastily suppressed this longing down, and after taking a deep, slow breath, he said, I wonder if at this moment Xiaojie has a particr feeling? Shi Feixuan was silent for a moment. She spoke softly, Do you hear the cicada and the insects calling each other? Xu Ziling was slightly startled. He nodded and said, Now that you remind me, I suddenly realize that we are like in a vast ocean of the cicadas song and insects cry. The world that their voices make up is ample and full ofyered senses, so touchingly beautiful. The strangest thing is that before this, I waspletely oblivious of their existence. Shi Feixuan cheerfully said, I am not afraid to tell you that Feixuan really loves chatting with you. Toward this matter, what is Ziling Xiongs understanding? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, My understanding is too deep! One more lesson in separation, I might be able to ward it off. Problem is that love is just like a pitfall, once one falls into it, there is great possibility that one would never find a way to crawl out, to have a taste of other touching things outside the trap. Shi Feixuan blissfully said, Thatparison is very fitting; whether one can jump out of the trap is purely dependence upon ones determination and great effort; furthermore, it depends whether you see love as the ultimate goal of life. Everything that happens in the secr world is merely a part of the impermanence of the universe. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, If Xiaojie found that you fell into the pitfall of love, and then you were able to get out of the trap, I wonder if you could break and then immediately attain the Jian Xin Tong Ming [swords heart brightly lit] realm? A hint of gentle and soft smile floated from the corner of Shi Feixuans mouth, she rolled her eyes at him in a touching demeanor, as if to say that I knew you would ask this question to me. Casually, she said, I wonder if Ziling Xiong is still referring to the pure spirit of love between men and women? Xu Ziling was very excited, Shi Feixuans remark was the same as saying another kind of passionate love between a man and a woman with intimate contact at the same time, which meant that at least she was thinking of that perhaps that possibility existed between the two of them. However, he really did not have any intention of holding her fairy body; therefore, he would never take advantage of the situation to press closely. Smiling, he said, Of course. I wonder what good advice Xiaojie has? Pfft! for the first time, Shi Feixuan broke into a tender giggle and said, I am still thinking it over! Finished speaking, she gracefully went away. Kou Zhong arrived at the famous Moon Pool outside Longquans eastern gate. It was a natural hot spring pond, where the water was bubbling up from underground. Because the shape of the pond looked like a half-moon, it was called the Moon Pool. Hot steam was rising into the air, enveloping the forest tree near theke in water vapor. With the moon casting its light at an angle, it produced some kind of ghostly air that made people shudder, but not from the cold. Kou Zhong did not believe in ghosts, he simply enjoyed the dreamlike, as if in fantasy C atmosphere and beautiful scenery created by thebination of the hot spring and the moonlight. In the middle of the pond, bubbles were striving to be first and fearing to best, rising to the surface of the water, producing gurgling noise. The Moon Pool was only about two zhang wide, the overflowing water formed a hot water stream over the open in and through the forest, flowing toward Longquan City. Kou Zhong mused that he must take Xu Ziling some night toe here to soak in the Moon Pool; it must be delightful. Letting his imagination run wild, he wondered how intoxicating it would be if the one apanying him soaking and taking a bath was the national grace, divine fragrance Shang Xiufang. Suddenly he sensed something was not right; focusing his eyes to see, he saw a lump of darkish object bobbing up and down among the weeds at the edge of the pond. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly. He stood up and swept across the pond; hended on the bank closest to the object. Looking closer, his hair stood on its end. To his shock, it was a floating corpse wearing identical clothes to the fake Laotan he saw earlier that day. Because the body was facing down, he could not see the face. No matter what, Kou Zhong could not believe that the Dark Qi Zhou Laofang, one of the Five Kinds of Demons would be this easy to die, musing that could it be that this guy was faking his death to scheme against me? Laughing aloud, he said, The water in the pond is so hot, Laoxiong, how long can you endure it? While at the same time he listened to eight directions, to see if he had fallen into the trap, being surrounded by the enemy. After waiting a bit longer, he knew something was amiss; suddenly he reached down to grab Zhou Laofangs belt and lifted him out of the water. Zhou Laofang rolled on the grassynd by the pond, his face looked up to the sky, his two eyes wide open, he has already breathed hisst a while back. Kou Zhong never thought that such situation would arise; he stared nkly at the dead body without even half a breath of life before his eyes, momentarily his mind was in turmoil. He quickly took a deep breath to recover, and then after examining the cause of his death, he quickly left. Xu Ziling let out a secret signal in response. Kou Zhongs mood immediately turned better. Because Da Ming Zun Jiao was even more terrifying than their initial estimate, knowing that Xu Ziling was still alive, it could be inferred that the venerable fairy must also be safe and sound. Kou Zhong pounced into the forest; he entered three more zhang deeper, before leaping up andnded on a horizontal branch of an old tree near the top. Xu Ziling was sittingfortably on the branch, while Kou Zhong was squatting down nearby. From this angle looking down, the Jingpo Pavilion was standing quietly by thekeside. All around the insects were buzzing and the cicadas were singing; it was a harmonious, peaceful and quiet moonlit night. Inside the pavilion, not a soul was in sight. Casting a nce at Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling was emotionally moved, he said, Your skill in bnce has made great progress. The hardest toe by is that you are squatting like that on a young horizontal branch as thick as a childs arm more than five zhang above the ground, yet you appear to be asfortable and natural as squatting on the t ground. Leaning close to his ear, Kou Zhong asked, Wheres your fairy? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, The fairy has never been mine, and she will never be mine. As for why she did not appear inside the pavilion, this is called the immortal heart is difficult to fathom. You are asking me, whom should I ask? Do you think we havee in vain? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Zhou Laofang has turned into a floating corpse in the Moon Pool. He was hit on his back by a solid his grannys palm strike, his hearts meridians shattered and he breathed hisst, even Da Luo Shenxian would find it difficult to make him breathe one more breath. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If we think that Zhou Laofang is the real Laotan, we might be burning with rage and immediately go to that mysterious mansion to kill and burn. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Makes sense! This scheme is extremely sinister, both to borrow our knife to kill someone, and also to borrow someones knife to kill us. Kou Zhong spoke in distress, The master of that mysterious mansion cant be a benevolent man or trusted woman, I wonder if anybody can tell me what kind of hallowed figure he is? Staring fixedly at the Jingpo Pavilion, Xu Ziling said, I dare to bet my neck that very soon the fake Laotan is going to appear in the pavilion. Kou Zhong said, This is called heroes usually agree. The floating corpse in the Moon Pool is Zhou Laotan and not Zhou Laofang at all. Ay! Can Zhou Laofang still be considered a human? Even his own twin brother he harmed him mercilessly, although the real Laotan was not any benevolent elder, virtuous old man either. Xu Ziling said, Could it be that because Sha Fang promised to withdraw from the fight over the Sheli, hence Zhou Laotan, husband and wife no longer had any value to them, and thus they might as well destroy anotherpetitor, while at the same time making one move, two gains, to trick us into a battle to seek justice for them? Kou Zhong said, In that case, Da Ming Zun Jiao people might really be unaware that you can tell Zhou Laofang is a fake Laotan. ording to this logic, Xu Kaishan must not be a Da Ming Zun Jiao man. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Its still very difficult to say. When I saw Xu Kaishan at the Yanshan Winery gate for the first time, I already sensed that he belongs to the Xie Wang Shi Zhixuans rank. If he is smart and intentionally did not tell Zhou Laofang about this matter, thereby removing our suspicion toward him, its not entirely impossible, is it? Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, If he is that smart, then he is really too terrifying. Do you think Sha Fang would intentionally give up the fight over the Sheli to rx Shi Zhixuan and Zhu Yuyan, two sides vignce? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong was about to respond, Xu Ziling cried in low voice, Someonesing! Book 41 - 11 – Unexpected Gain Zhou Laofang appeared at the Jingpo Pavilion. With wooden expression he sat down dejectedly on a stone bench inside the pavilion, fixing his gaze on the gleaming reflection of the rippling bigke under the moonlight. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, This guy really knows how to y god and pretend to be a ghost. The rm suddenly went off in the two boys heart, they looked back. Shi Feixuan came under the tree, and then silently, as if she was treading on a cloud, she floated up the branch and sat cross-legged by Xu Zilings side. Her fragrant shoulder was less than a cun away from touching Xu Zilings upper arm. This was the first time that Xu Ziling was in such a close proximity to Shi Feixuan; an unbounded tenderness welled up in his heart. Watching Zhou Laofangs back attentively, she spoke gently, Howe his expression is so strange? Exhaling slowly, Xu Ziling said, He had just killed his own twin brother, probably why his demeanor is very unusual. What? Shi Feixuan blurted, her voice trembled lightly. Xu Ziling turned his head to look at her. Entering his eyes was her silhouette, spirited, pretty, and elegant beyondpare; her beautiful fair half covering her small, sparkling and translucent, and spotlessly white C ear. She even emitted healthy fragrance. Momentarily he felt as if he suddenly entered the fairnd. Naturally he leaned over and exined everything briefly in her ear in soft voice. Shi Feixuans pretty eyebrows were knitted lightly; it seemed like she was a bit ufortable of such close contact, yet she did not show any reaction to pull back. On the other side, Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Isnt Feixuan going to go down to see him? It would be very interesting to hear what treacherous scheme he is ying. Xu Ziling was sandwiched between Kou Zhong and Shi Feixuan; to his left was Kou Zhongs voice, to his right was Shi Feixuans fresh and clean, and brimming with vitality fragrant breath. A fantastic feeling grew in his heart, thinking that it was only after experiencing many things together that the three of them could perch together on a tree branch like this, ready to fight side by side. His exchanges with Shi Feixuan were by no means smooth sailing. At the beginning they even stood on the-two-cannot-exist-together opposite sides. The most amazing thing was that until this moment the situation has not changed. The Jade Annulus of He n was the prologue of their first encounter, and then the matter grew to be soplicated that even he felt that it was difficult to tell. In short, just like the real situation right now, he, Xu Ziling, has always been sandwiched between the two; it has always been difficult for him to conduct himself left and right. One was his brother. The other was the fairy setting foot on the mundane world worthy of his admiration and respect. My Niang! This ount was definitely very difficult to settle. Shi Feixuan finally spoke. This is the real Zhou Laotan, she said softly. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Then the dead one is Zhou Laofang? Thats impossible; when Ling Shao saw him, howe you did not seem to react the slightest bit? Xu Zilings pair of eyes lit up with refined light, he fixed his gaze on sitting-expressionless-inside-the-pavilion Zhou Laotans back. Smiling, he said, How could Feixuan be wrong? The things that we, mortals cannot see, naturally cannot be hidden from her. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, This is the first time I hear you call a girl by name. The feeling is very weird. Pretending to be annoyed, Shi Feixuan spoke with a slight displeasure in her voice, I want to warn you, two brothers, please restrain your mouth a bit more. Kou Zhong protested, I want toe to the aid of my good brother who is suffering an injustice, because it is too unfair; howe I can call you Feixuan, while my brother Ling Shao cannot? They were all using their qigong to condense their voice and focus it into a thread, hence they were not worried that Zhou Laotan would hear them. Shi Feixuans pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she glowered at him in displeasure, which nearly made him turn over and fall to the ground. I wasnt talking about that, she said, But the vile way he called himself a mortal. Got it? Kou Daxia [great hero] whosing to the aid of someone suffering an injustice? This was the first opportunity Kou Zhong had to chat with Shi Feixuan in such a friendly manner; he knew perfectly well that this fairy was broad-minded, knew how to distinguish right from wrong, and would never really me him for his unruly remarks. Immediately he felt his soul was melting; he really wanted to enjoy her feminine charm one step further, so quietly he patted Xu Zilings shoulder and spoke cheerfully, You can enjoy equal privilege as mer! Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, I am going down to talk to him. Kou Zhong pretended that his heart turned cold, Could it be that this is Zhou Laotans ghost? he said, Because he died without closing his eyes, hence he came here to seek us to avenge him. Ay! He is indeed an expressionless suffering-faced ghost. Shi Feixuan could not help smiling sweetly. With a wless, extremely touching somersault she flew toward the Jingpo Pavilion. Zhou Laotan remained absolutely still, he spoke in heavy voice, Is it Shi Guniang of Jingzhai? Hearing his voice, Kou Zhong quietly said, It is indeed the real Laotan. My Niang! Whats going on here? Shi Feixuannded outside the pavilion; she stood gracefully, and then unhurriedly and calmly she said, It is indeed Shi Feixuan. Is it possible for Zhou Qianbei to exin why from Laofang you changed back to Laotan? Severely shaken, Zhou Laotan turned around; greatly astonished, he said, Turns out Guniang already saw through that beast was an impersonator. Kou Zhong, on the distant tree branch, whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Very disappointing! If he were a real ghost of one who died unjustly, a malicious spirit who cannot find rest, it would be so much more interesting. Xu Ziling put his anger in check. Shi Feixuan spoke calmly, Qianbei still owe me an exnation. The vicious light in Zhou Laotans pair of eyes ring greatly, he hatefully said, I killed that beast, I personally ughter that brute. Whatever he did, I, Zhou Laotan would not me him, but he had the impertinence to seduce his own sister-inw, I definitely cannot let him get away with it, an abominable Listening to that, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other in shock. Listening to the tone of Zhou Laotans voice, apparently he and Jin Huanzhen were not Da Ming Zun Jiaos prisoners anymore. Obviously Shi Feixuan had simr thought, Are you trying to fool me from the start? she asked. The ominous glint in Zhou Laotans eyes turned into a nk expression, he sighed and said, We had no choice but to cooperate with Sha Fang. They are the only one with enough power to resist Zhu Yuyan. Huanzhen and I are thest two persons of Tian Xie Zong [heavenly demonic school]. Without drawing support from other power, how could we snatch the Sheng Sheli back from Shi Zhixuans hands? Only Sheng Sheli can revive the Tian Xie Zong. Shi Feixuan did not understand, Didnt Da Ming Zun Jiao want to harm you, husband and wife? Why do you still want to cooperate with them? she asked. Zhou Laotan fiercely said, That is entirely Pi Chen ying ghost in the dark. Ay! No matter how hopeless, as long as there is a shred of hope, I, Zhou Laotan, am definitely not willing to let it slip by. Calmly and indifferently Shi Feixuan said, I am leaving. Stunned, Zhou Laotan said, Guniang is leaving? I still have a lot to tell you. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were puzzled as well; Shi Feixuan ought to continue her questioning to find out the whole thing, such as why Zhou Laotan suddenly looked for two corpses to pass off fish eyes for pearls? Why did for no reason at all Zhou Laofang take Zhou Laotans ce? Who exactly were Da Zun and Yuanzi? And so on. ying it down, Shi Feixuan said, Because I dont believe anything you say anymore. Finished speaking, she simply left. From being puzzled, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Wonderful! inwardly. Shi Feixuan avoided the problem by walking away from it, it was akin to handing Zhou Laotan, this hot sweet potato scalding her hand C to the two boys hands. Inside the pavilion, Zhou Laotan stared nkly. His eyes were rolling continuously, as if he was pondering Shi Feixuans remarks and actions, his mind was in a big mess. Watching this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling shook their heads. Natural instinct cannot be changed. Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, were the best example. A good whileter, there was a gust of wind. Jin Huanzhen, whom they had not seen for a long time, appeared in the pavilion. She really went back into the city, she said. Letting out a cold snort, Zhou Laotan said, Thisss is too formidable; she could see through that we are using her. Laughing tenderly, Jin Huanzhen said, Fu Jun Daren [lit. husband lord, big man (title of respect toward superiors]! I already told you we cant fool her, but you were na?ve enough to believe that you can do it. Finished speaking, she took out a rocket and lighted it, and then she released it to send out a signal. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings spirit was greatly aroused; they looked toward the hazy, indistinct depth of Jingpo Lake. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, No matter whosing, his grannys bear, well go down to have fun a little bit, to stretch out muscles and bones. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. Zhou Laotan wanted to deal with Shi Feixuan, but because Shi Feixuan did not fall into the trap, naturally they need not be polite toward this kind of people who bit the hand that feeds them. A two-mast sailing boat sailed out from a bay on theke to their left, and slowly came over. On board, thentern was ck the fire dark. Under the moonlight, they saw faint shadows flickering on the bow. Kou Zhong spoke again, If you see that kid Liexia, get rid of him first before dealing with other people. Therge-scale sailboat arrived; it slowly pulled toward the shore, and four shadows leaped down from the boat andnded in front of Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen. Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were secretly watching in the dark, had their eyes and mouths wide open. The neers were not Da Ming Zun Jiao people at all, but the Demonic Commander Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, Kang Qiaoli, and Xiang Yushan, four men. They had never thought that these men had already reached Longquan; furthermore, that they were conspiring with Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, as viins collude together. From this, the two boys inferred that Zhao Deyan and Tian Xie Zongs rtionship must be very close; otherwise, he could not have cooperated with You Niaojuan in the past, and now Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, also joined hands with him, forming a gang. His eyebrows furrowed, Zhao Deyan said, What the hell is going on, that little b1tch was not fooled? Zhou Laotan dejectedly said, She said she did not believe me and just like that, she returned to the city. Ay! Laughing coldly, Tonyukuk said, As long as she is still in Longquan, she can forget about returning to the Central ins. Did those two kids fall into the trap? That is very difficult to say, Zhou Laotan replied, Because Shi Feixuan unexpectedly knew about Zhou Laofang. If she told the two kids about this matter, I am afraid they wont fall into the trap. Xiang Yushan nodded and said, We can consider this in failed. In the dark, Kou Zhong felt so much hatred that his teeth itched; leaning toward Xu Zilings ear, he said, I am going to kill him. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, The future is long, this risk is not worth taking. Merely Zhao Deyan and Tonyukuk, two martial art masters were enough to make them struggle to cope, to say nothing of the addition of Kang Qiaoli, Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotan, three people who were not easy to deal with. Zhao Deyan swept his gaze around, as if to see whether anyone was hiding nearby. He made his decision, Lets talk about it on board, he said. When the sailboat was far from the shore, Kou Zhong grabbed his head and said, This matter is getting more and moreplicated; whats going on here? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I had never understood why Da Ming Zun Jiao people dared to lure Feixuan to the grasnd, because if something bad happened to Feixuan, they would provoke Ning Daoqi and Ci Hang Jing Zhai people. But now I do! The one Xieli wants to deal with is Li Shimin. Once Li Shimin lose Feixuans support, it would be very difficult for him to fight Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, who receive Xielis support. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, But were it not for Jin Huanzhens help, how could Sha Fang find Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling said, That is perhaps just a misunderstanding. Maybe because Da Ming Zun Jiao people were chasing behind Zhu Yuyan that they identally came across Shi Zhixuan. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Thinking about it is giving me headache; how about we go home and sleep? Xu Ziling said, Im sorry! Most likely you wont have time to sleep tonight, look! Kou Zhong looked. He saw one of the boat docking by Ma Jis camp was setting sail, but they did not light anyntern; it appeared to be very mysterious. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I hope moving bows and arrows is a bit easier than supervising moving the ocean! The two boys dared to say that their underwater skill was unmatched in the world. They met the boat from Ma Jis side that was sailing near, and attached themselves to the hull, with their head out of the water. By using their keen senses to detect if anybody saw them, it would still be very easy to pull back into the water. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Chances are they are not meeting the ship carrying the bows and the arrows, otherwise they shouldnt use this kind of low speed boat; they only raised half his mothers sail. The sailboat slowly cut through theke in the direction of the southern bank of Jingpo Lake. Xu Ziling said, I dont care where shes going, Ill just hitch a ride. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This kind of ride, Id rather not take, becauseter on we still need to rely on our two legs to bring us back to Longquan, this ride cannot make up for that. Ha! Love indeed has unbounded magical power; it pushes all your, this kids passion and holy nature out, and the power to please the fairy is deeper than mine. I wonder if Xiaodi can learn a bit of skill from you to depend on. Xu Ziling responded in displeasure, Close your bird mouth. You keep saying one lifetime two brothers, unexpectedly youe to make fun of me. Assuming a righteous appearance, Kou Zhong said, I am serious. Just because I am so happy for you that I get too excited and made a bit offensive remark. Ling Shao, please be magnanimous, please dont haggle over every ounce with a junior schr. Ha! I have never thought that Shi Feixuan could be that captivating. Huh? Zhao Deyans sailboat appeared from the dark shadow of the dense forest ahead, and Ma Jis boat sailed straight toward it. The two boys hastily pulled back underwater, converting their outer breathing to the inner breathing, and stuck themselves to the bottom of the boat. Unless someone dived into the water, otherwise, even if Bi Xuan was on board, it would still be difficult to detect their presence. Ma Jis boat slowly pulled toward the shore and moored behind Zhao Deyans sailboat. The two boys emerged out of the water and focused their whole attention to eavesdrop. Ma Jis voice was heard; he spoke in Tujuenguage, greeting Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk and Kang Qiaoli one by one, and then he said, Finally gentlemen are here! You dont know how agitated those three kids made me. Tonyukuk said, Lets get inside the cabin and talk. The two boys quickly dove underwater and swam away to attach themselves onto Zhao Deyans boat. The two boys hearing ability was so effective and acute, they followed the enemys footsteps into the cabin, and were rejoicing inwardly; what could be more precious than this unexpected gain of being able to personally eavesdrop the enemysmander-in-chief discussion? After Zhao Deyan and the others sat down, Kang Qiaoli said with augh, How did those three kids agitate you? Ma Ji sighed and said, I dont know where they get the information, unexpectedly they knew that I have a batch of bows and arrows to sell to Bai Ziting. I exhausted everything to conceal it from them, but these three kids are well-known for possessing great magical power. I am most afraid that we might ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful, and in the end they still intercept the bows and arrows shipment. Did you notify Bai Ziting about this matter? Zhao Deyan asked in heavy voice. Ma Ji does not dare to take this risk, Ma Ji replied. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling eavesdropping in secret were stunned, they were confused even more, why would notifying Bai Ziting about this matter be considered taking a risk? Kang Qiaoli spoke indifferently, Ma Ji, no need to worry yourself about this. Great Khan already ordered to cancel this bows and arrows transaction immediately. Stunned, Ma Ji said, How am I going to exin to Bai Ziting then? Tonyukuk sneered and said, What is there to exin? You drag him for three more days, and then secretly withdraw. No need to worry about everything else. Zhao Deyan continued, If those three kidse to force you again, just find a way to return the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin that they wanted, we will pay the gold. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hearts were shaken at the same time. They were guessing that Tuli and Xieli have reached an agreement, one of the conditions was naturally Tuli demanded Xieli to return the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin to them. What? Ma Ji blurted out. A bit impatient, Zhao Deyan said, Dont ask what. Just do what Great Khan tells you to do and nothing can go wrong; its not difficult, is it? Theres a slight problem, Ma Ji said, First of all, the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin are currently in Bai Zitings hands and not in my, Ma Jis hands at all. Secondly, not only they want the sheepskin, they also want the batch of goods that Bai Ziting embezzled from the Pingyao merchants back. Finally, apparently, not only they want the goods, they also want me to hand over the men who robbed the goods. Ay! These three kids really take advantage of other people too much. Zhao Deyan spoke grimly, There wille a day I am going to make them regret of being alive, but not today. If they have the ability, let theme to Bai Ziting and Funantuo to settle the ount. Humph! You just try to get the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin; everything else has nothing to do with you. Very well! Ma Ji replied in distress, Based on Bai Zitings style of work, this could be a shocking amount of money, perhaps he would want his bows and arrows first. Ay! Tonyukukughed and said, Ma Ji, you shouldnt be that easy to be tantly eaten by other people. The bows and arrows must not be handed over to Bai Zitings hands; otherwise, you will have no choice but to present your head to the Great Khan, to let him use it as the target of arrow shooting practice. Understand? Understand! Ma Ji hurriedly replied. Where is the shipment now? Zhao Deyan asked. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hastily pricked up their ears; they did not dare to miss even half a sentence. Ma Ji replied, Tomorrow night it should arrive at the confluence point of Xiaoque [little sparrow] River and Jingpo Stream, and the night after tomorrow will reach this ce. Tonyukuk said, Immediately send someone to Xiaoque River to intercept them, then transport the goods bynd route. There must be no mistake. Underwater, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling struck their palms together and quietly sneaked away. They must immediately rush to ask Bielegunatai brothers to act, to grab the bows and arrows one step ahead. And then they would be able to meet wind with wind, rain with rain; they would be able to y Bai Ziting and Ma Ji in their palms, life would be even more fun. Book 41 - 12 – Anger Against A Common Enemy On his bed inside the bedroom in the west wing where he slept, Kou Zhong was awakened by the approaching sound of footsteps; struggling to open his eyes, he noticed the sky was bright the sun was white, but after several nights without any sleep, he still felt that he did not get enough sleep. Shuwens voice called from outside the door, Kou Ye! Shaoshuai! Wrapping himself inside the quilt, Kou Zhong sat up and said with a frown, What is it? Shuwen pushed the door and stepped in; looking a little nervous, he said, Ke Dazhi of Tujue is waiting to see Kou Ye in the south hall. Immediately Kou Zhongs spirit was aroused, musing that this kid was so belligerent,ing this early in the morning to fight with him? Wheres Ling Shao? he asked. Shuwen replied, Xu Ye just went out; he said that when Shaoshuai wakes up to wait for him a moment, he wille back to have breakfast with you. Kou Zhongughed and cursed, Good kid! He pays more attention to a lover than friends, early in the morning he already abandoned me, this good brother of his. Promptly he got up and freshened up, grabbed the Moon in the Well and went out to see Ke Dazhi. Ke Dazhi, with the Sandstorm Saber hanging on his waist, was standing proudly facing the window, enjoying the scenery of the round woods in the middle of the courtyard with nk expression on his face, but Kou Zhong dared to say that he had a heavy load on his mind, since he was looking but not seeing. Coming behind him, Kou Zhong followed the propriety by greeting him, Ke Xiong, how are you? Ke Dazhi slowly turned around. His gaze fell on the Moon in the Well in Kou Zhongs hand. His pair of eyes emitted sharp expression, he said, Shaoshuais Moon in the Well, not only you named it well, it is also a treasured saber rarely found in the world. I wonder if youd let Xiaodi admiring it? Without the slightest hesitation Kou Zhong handed the Moon in the Well forward. Ke Dazhi reached out to grab the saber hilt and pulled the de out of its scabbard. shing it three times horizontally, he spoke in astonishment, Really strange! Howe this saber only emit faint yellow light in Shaoshuais hand? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong replied, Im afraid youd have to ask Laotianye for that. The two looked at each other, and then burst intoughter at the same time. Ke Dazhi dly put the Moon in the Well back into its sheath and watched as Kou Zhong put the treasured saber on a small table by his side. Ziling Xiong has not woken up yet? he asked. Kou Zhong grumbled, I dont know where that kid got lost early in the morning? I am striking the gongs and beating the drums looking for him as well [orig. to order the arrest of somebody as criminal]. His remark made Ke Dazhiugh; he said in sincerity, Not only Shaoshuai is an enemy worthy of my respect, you are also an interesting friend. Until now, I still cherish the moment in Changan where Shaoshuai and I raised our wine cup and had a heart-to-heart chat. Kou Zhongughed and said, Im okay with not receiving your, LaoGes kind of respect; whod be more active than you to get rid of me? Stunned, Ke Dazhi blurted outughing and said, Shaoshuai is really forting. But I aming to you today as an interesting friend,pletely without any intention to move the weapons of war. Astonished, Kou Zhong replied, I was wondering about that, because right now you dont respect me too much, you dont regard me as an enemy. Ha! The murderous intent in Ke Dazhis pair of eyes red greatly, it flickered brightly, as he spoke heavily, I want to cooperate with you to do something interesting, which is to ughter that kid, Liexia. After staring nkly for a moment, Kou Zhong looked him up and down in surprise, and asked, In this kind of thing, based on the Sandstorm Saber in your, LaoGes hand, why do you still need to ask for someone elses help? Ke Dazhi dejectedly replied, The problem is that we must not let Xiufang Dajia know about this. Otherwise, I would have to pack my food and leave before finish eating. The fierce light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes burst forth, he asked, What happenedst night? Ke Dazhi sighed and said, Although its not like what Shaoshuai is thinking, but its not far from that! Xiufang Dajia spent the entire night with that kid, who is covered in demonic qi from head to foot C studying the musical score; he did not leave until morning. Humph! Liexia has the impertinence not to consider me, Ke Dazhi in his eyes, I am definitely going to have him nurse a grievance. Shaken, Kou Zhong asked, They havent done anything, have they? Ke Dazhi assured him, I can guarantee that they were only researching the musical score. If he dared to touch half a finger of Xiufang Dajia, I would have disregarded everything to charge inside and chop his stinky head. And then he asked, How did you know him? Liexia is a rising figure in the prairie in recent years, he loves to pick the flowers and trample the grass [idiom: to womanize] all over the ce, he doesnt care about anybody, but he really has a skill or two. I came across him in Hualin, Kou Zhong exined, He entangled us to have a meal with him. Does Ke Xiong know that he is one of the Five Bright Sons of the Da Ming Zun Jiao? Not that I am elevating his resolve, but killing him will not be easy at all. One thing goes wrong and we fail to kill him, he would lodge usation to Shang Xiufang, then we will be in trouble! Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, I am having a headache for this. Whatever the case, we must never let Xiufang Dajia be broken-hearted. Do you, Laoxiong have any idea how to do it neatly and cleanly? Turning over an old ount, Kou Zhong said, You ought to understand by now my angry mood that day when I advised you not to touch Sha Zhijing? Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, The fact was that when you, Laoxiong warned me, inwardly I already decided not to touch Sha Zhijing anymore. Not because I was afraid of your revenge, but because I respect you, I see you as a qualified opponent. Kou Zhongs animosity toward Ke Dazhi was greatly reduced. Heughed aloud and said, Thats more like it. His grannys bear, how are we going to get rid of Liexia without the gods knowing, the ghosts perceiving, and afterwards Shang Xiufang will not suspect us, at best she will only suspect Old Ba and Ling Shao doing it? Ha! By doing it this way, we seem to becking elegance, giving up the affairs of the heart [qing chang] and take the battlefield [zhan chang] to score a victory. Ke Dazhi coldly said, This is called one is called a king if sessful, but will be called a bandit if defeated [idiom: losers are always in the wrong]. That kid has quite a skill toward women. I am most afraid that he would use some despicable trick to obtain Xiufang Dajias body and mind. When that happens, it would be toote to talk about elegance! Kou Zhong sighed and said, Ke Xiong is very persuasive. I wonder if youd dare to have a free hand C once we do it, we wont rest, we might as well pull Da Ming Zun Jiao by the roots. Ke Dazhis pair of sharp eyes lit up, he said, If Shaoshuai has a good proposal, Ol Ke will definitely keep youpany. Kou Zhong said, For the time being, I can only think of three ways to deal with that kid. Ke Dazhi cheerfully said, Unexpectedly there are as many as three. Shaoshuai really makes Xiaodi pleased beyond my expectations. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Before we go further, Xiaodi has two things Id like to understand thoroughly. Stunned, Ke Dazhi asked, What two things? Kou Zhong raised a finger and said, The first thing is how do you know I am hiding in here? Xiaodi was extremely careful ining and going. Ke Dazhi replied, Whats the use of being careful? How big is Longquan? It was Zong Xianghua who told me. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong repeated, Zong Xianghua? Ke Dazhi exined patiently, Zong Xianghua is the captain of the female sword warriors under Bai Zitingsmand, which was the pretty Mohe woman by Xiufang Dajias sidest night. As if he had just found a treasure, Kou Zhong blurted out, Turns out her name is Zong Xianghua; she is indeed a very outstanding beauty. Ke Dazhi nodded and said, Very few women have such long legs; even in Tujue, they are rarely seen. Kou Zhongughed and said, I wonder if we can be considered kindred spirit, or is it partners in notoriety? When ites to women, I no longer feel like you are my enemy. Ke Dazhiughed in spite of himself; he said, Either one is all right. But I heard that Bai Ziting and Zong Xianghua are having an affair in the dark, hence the reason Zong Xianghua never give any time to other men. What is the second thing you want to know? Kou Zhong leaned over and deliberately lowered his voice, I wonder if you, this kid, cannot help but fall in love with Shang Xiufang? Xu Ziling met with Yin Xianhe in a restaurant near the south gate. The restaurant was noisy, it was crowded to bursting point with diners. In this kind of environment, the proud and aloof above the crowd Yin Xianhe appeared even more out of ce. The two talked in a corner. Yin Xianhe said, Beyond my expectation, after leaving Du Xings horse and mule shop at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard alone, Xu Kaishan went straight to a magnificent residence on the west side of the city to spend the night. The entire night he did not leave the residence half a step. Before I came here, he was still there. Xu Ziling was at a loss. If he were really a Da Ming Zun Jiao man, there was no reason not to look for Sha Fang and the others to discuss the situation. Unless there was a secret passage in the residence, from which he could sneak out anywhere. Yin Xianhe said, Is Xu Xiong thinking that there is a secret passage in the residence leading somece else? That possibility is not high at all. Not to conceal anything from Xu Xiong, in shadowing and tracking, I have quite an insight. Last night, not even movements underground can escape my eyes and ears. If he left via the tunnel, he shouldnt be able to hide it from me. Moreover, I found out that the magnificent residence belongs to Longquans famous courtesan Hui Shen; it should not have anything to do with Da Ming Zun Jiao. Xu Ziling felt quite lost; momentarily he was unable to figure out what kind of person Xu Kaishan really was. I have a proposal, Yin Xianhe said. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Die Gongzi [young master butterfly], please bestow your instruction. Yin Xianhe said, I understand that Xu Xiong is afraid to use Xu Kaishan wrongly, but toward the real murderer, you are free and unfettered toy out your, am I right? Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. Yin Xianhe said, As long as we can find the wolf-bandits, then it is possible to find out whether the mastermind behind them is Xu Kaishan. It would be better for us to temporarily let Xu Kaishan and Du Xing off, and concentrate our power to investigate and arrest the wolf-bandits; it will be prescribing the right medicine for an illness [idiom: to take appropriate steps]. Being reminded by him, Xu Ziling was happy, Good idea, he said, I now have 90% confidence that the wolf-bandits are Bai Zitings men, but the problem is that no one has ever seen Cui Wangs true face; how are we going to find him out? Laughing coldly, Yin Xianhe said, Supposing Cui Wang is really Bai Zitings man, this moment that the founding of the kingdom is at hand, even if Cui Wang is not in Longquan, he ought to be nearby. This matter is indeed inexplicable; Cui Wang and everybody who was killed in Yin Ma Yi are all Huihe people, Cui Wang himself is surely also a Huihe. How could a Huihe be willing to throw his life in for a Mohe? Xu Zilings heart was moved. He exined the location of the big mansion hidden deep in the valley outside the city, and then said, That ce is quite demonic, perhaps the wolf-bandits are hiding in there; otherwise, arge number of Huihe people appearing in Longquan will provoke other peoples suspicion. That is a clue, Yin Xianhe said, I dont believe that Cui Wang can hide forever. Xu Ziling said, If you find anything, you must never act alone. You ought to consider us as your brothers. Yin Xianhe revealed a hint of rarely-appeared smile on his face, Brothers? he said, That word is extremely novel to me. Dont worry! If I make any discovery, I will inform Xu Xiong and Kou Xiong first. After discussing all the details pertaining to their operation, the two went their separate ways. Xu Ziling took the opportunity to go to the south gate. He scanned the city walls with his eyes, and finally found some secret mark that Duan Yucheng left on the trunk of a big tree, which was made using a sharp de, indicating the time and ce to meet. Xu Ziling erased the secret mark and left in a hurry. Ke Dazhi was pacing back and forth in the hall, before he finally sat down dejectedly on the chair. Motioning Kou Zhong to sit next to him, he shook his head and said with a wry smile, Your question is even more difficult to block than your Moon in the Well. That day, when I received the order to escort Xiufang Dajia to Longquan, I made the decision in my heart that even if I had to pay with my life, I would definitely not allow Xiufang Dajia to receive any harm, because that would be my lifelong regret. You believe me, then its good; you dont believe me, I dont care, but I never had improper thought toward Xiufang Dajia, although toward her art and talent I prostrate myself in admiration. Ay! Xiaodi is not a man who keeps himself pure at all; in fact, I am quite loose. However, when I saw her, my heart only has esteem, admiration, and respect. Therefore, I cannot stand someone from the outside like Liexia get close to her, because he simply is not fit at all. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, I believe you. Because you are that kind of a person who is haughty and see anybody else as nothing, and you disdain to tell an untruth. Ke Dazhi stared nkly at him for half a day. Finally he spoke slowly, Thanks a lot! I did not expect you to understand me so well. And then he said, I havent figured out why Shaoshuai came to Longquan. Kou Zhong exined the wolf-bandits and the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin affair, and then he said with augh, Your Great Khan is dying to eat my flesh and drink my blood, yet you, LaoGe came to cooperate with me. Arent you afraid Great Khan might not be happy? Ke Dazhi calmly said, When the general is on the outside, the monarchs order may not be received. My mission is to protect Xiufang Dajia well, whod dare to me me? In the future, if I meet Shaoshuai on the battlefield, I will definitely not show any mercy. Likewise! Kou Zhong responded. The two looked at each other and burst into loudughter together. Gasping for breath, Kou Zhong said, All my three methods may not be too surefire, Ke Xiong must notugh at me. The first useless method is when the two of us are apanying Xiufang Dajia, we have Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling make their move to kill Liexia, then you and I can push the me away, neat and clean. Frowning, Ke Dazhi said, Dont get me wrong or think that I am making fun of you, but when Xiufang Dajia find out that it was Ba Xiong and Xu Xiong who made their move, how could you get away from responsibility? Hence the reason I said this is not too surefire, Kou Zhong said, But its not without any merit either. As long as no one knew it was Old Ba and Ling Shao, then it would work. The biggest problem is that Liexia, this kid appears and disappears unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, its not easy find him within a given time, while letting people know what time he was to be ughtered. Ke Dazhi said, If I cannot take that kids dog life with my own hands, it would be a great pity. Kou Zhong said, Then we wont choose this method. Ay! I am afraid you wont even want to hear the second method, I might as well jump to the third method. Why not just tell me? Ke Dazhi cut him off. Kou Zhong said, The second method is precisely me, Laozi put him in order, while you are not involved at all, you even pretend that you and Xiaodi cannot exist together, then Xiufang Dajia will never doubt that you, Ke Dazhi have anything to do with it at all. Finished speaking, he sighed inwardly; if he did that, then it would be akin to make a clean break [orig. two segments with a single cut] with Shang Xiufang, and henceforth he could only face a falling out with her. Ke Dazhi shook his head and said, How can this work? How about the third method? Kou Zhong secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He said, The third method is we are doing it in a big way. We attack Da Ming Zun Jiao people until they suffer a crushing defeat, forcing Liexia to undertake the task to strike back at us. We pretend we are under pressure and have no choice but to kill him. Xiufang Dajia shouldnt be able to me us. Ke Dazhi was muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, and then he nodded and said, This can be considered a viable solution. But if we kill Da Ming Zun Jiao people indiscriminately, plus until now Da Ming Zun Jiao has nevermitted any noticeable evil conducts, it will appear that our action is inexcusable. What brilliant scheme does Shaoshuai have? Leave this matter to me, Kou Zhong said, You will be in charge of monitoring Liexia well, dont give him any opportunity to be alone with Xiufang Dajia. Tonight well meet again for another discussion. Ke Dazhi smiled and said, Now my mood is a lot better! In Longquan, I also have a bit of influence. If theres something need to be done, Shaoshuai please dont hesitate to tell me. I, Ke Dazhi can use my Sandstorm Saber as a guarantee that I will definitely not mess up Shaoshuais affairs. Kou Zhong got up to walk him off the door, he spoke cheerfully, If theres something that I need you, LaoGe to make your move, I will definitely not be polite. Ke Dazhi had just gotten on the horse and left, Song Shidaos good-self arrived and said, That thing that you entrusted me with, I made a bit of progress. Book 41 - 13 – The Way of Nature Finished listening, Shi Feixuans pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, Zhao Deyan and Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, colluding in secret, I can still understand that, but why did Zhou Laotan kill Zhou Laofang? Even more puzzling is that Jin Huanzhen directly led me to Longquan, why should they change to Zhou Laofang midway? Unnecessary branches and knots grow without restraint, there must be some key points that we have not thought through. Xu Ziling loved to see Shi Feixuans thoughtful look. Her deep, unfathomable beautiful eyes would emit touching radiance, which evolved from the wisdom deep within her heart, her pretty face was like being shrouded by ayer of pure and holy sunset clouds brightness, forming a burst of austere invibility, transcending the vulgarity, shedding the dust C immortal disposition and beautiful appearance. The two were sitting inside the pavilion. Such a big monastery was dark and quiet without any human vestige, only from the direction of the main hall came voiceless consonant of the tapping of the wooden fish. Seeing Xu Ziling was silent without saying anything, Shi Feixuan asked in astonishment, Ziling Xiong, what are you thinking? Xu Ziling really wanted to say that he was stuffing himself with a pretty face, but naturally he did not dare to speak it out loud. Reaching out, he stroked the ice-cold tabletop lightly, and then said, I dont know if it has anything to do with the temple, but my encounters in the temple have always been out-of-the-worldly, which make my feeling of temples particrly profound. Just now when I stepped into the temple gate, suddenly I was awed by the scale of the magnificent temple hall, I feel that this temple hall is the embodiment of the universe. It has always been like this since ancient times, it wont change in the future. Upon entering the temple hall, its like the past and the future are connected, because I am precisely there now. Shi Feixuan revealed a contemtive expression. Sighing lightly, she said, Sometimes I really am a little afraid to chat with you, because you are always able to say something that will lead Feixuan to think deeply, that will generate subtle response in me, hence the reason I said you are Feixuans only w. If I can treat you with ordinary heart, perhaps I can really reach the Jian Xin Tong Ming realm. Xu Ziling smiled and said, If Feixuan is intentional, I am afraid it will never seed. The only way is to let things develop naturally. Based on Feixuans intelligence and many years of cultivation, there will be a certain instant that you will enter the Jian Xin Tong Ming realm. As quiet as still water, Shi Feixuan said, Very rarely did Ziling so openly speak out whats in the depth of your heart, but what you said still contains abstruse logic. Xu Zilings lingtai [top of the head] became clear and bright, welling up with a fantastic awareness that in the universe, other than Shi Feixuan, there was no him, no other matter. All other things, including Shi Zhixuan, the wolf-bandits, the struggle for survival of various tribes beyond the Great Wall, the power struggle among warlords vying for supremacy in the Central Earth, and so on C entirely lost their importance. What he wanted to explore the most this moment was the secret inside the fragrant heart of the fairy before his eyes. Putting his mind on anything else would be a total waste. This feeling was like the vast body of water, like the ocean drowning him, almost suffocating him, so intense that it was hard to believe. Suddenly, he realized that he finally tasted the feeling of pain and enchantment of love. Before, he had always been restraining himself, but after these past two days of closeness, the dam finally burst. Shi Feixuan spoke in a soft voice, Why do you pretend to be a mute? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Pretending to be a mute? No! Rather, sometimes Xiaodi is perturbed, sometimescking in words to express it, hence you, Feixuan misunderstood. Shi Feixuan appeared to be displeased, her expression was brimming with little girls air, she said, Those who handle cinnabar are stained red; those who work with ink are stained ck [idiom: you are the product of your environment]. You and Kou Zhong are hanging out with each other day and night, hence you are contaminated with not a few of his bad habits of speaking. I really want to give you a good beating. She spoke thest sentence with a rarely-seen, without-the-slightest-bit-of-wariness sweet, charming tender chuckle, as brilliant as a fresh flower blooming. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, It seems like very soon you will reach the Jian Xin Tong Ming realm. Your smile just now was certainlying from that realm descending into this mundane world. Strangely, the rose-tinted cloud color did not appear on Shi Feixuans jade cheeks, as she spoke indifferently, I want to revise myment just now. You, Xu Ziling, are the green that stems from the blue; you already surpassed Kou Zhong. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, Can that be considered vicious criticism like a tide? Slightly shrugging her fragrant shoulders, Shi Feixuan shook her head and said, Its not vicious criticism but apliment. Purely looking at you, Xu Ziling from any angle, its just like the tale about stepping on a toad or an eggnt. Xu Zilingughed to his hearts content. He said, Even if I can only be in contact with Feixuan for a few days more, no matter what the cost or the pain of separation, or perhaps the profound misery forever etched in my heart, it is still worth it. Shi Feixuan calmed down. Her pretty eyes were like two clear and deep, the-bottom-not-visible, but also limpid, without-the-slightest-bit-of-impurity deep water, profoundly concentrating her attention to him, she spoke softly, Can you do Feixuan a favor? Dont ride a mule to look for a mule, let alone after riding the mule you dont want toe down. Because the ten-sided world is void and purified of defiling illusion, originally there was not a single matter, where did the mulee from? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling asked, What kind of heart is a heart without a mule? Its an ordinary heart, Shi Feixuan replied, If Ziling could regard separation as meeting together, loss as gain, then Feixuan would have no cares to explore and pry into the heavenlyw. Otherwise, it would be better to abandon the clear cultivation, to developpanionship by the lords side, to avoid the torment of yearning. Hearing that, Xu Zilings tiger body shook severely, he could not believe his own ears. This was the first time since making acquaintance with Shi Feixuan that this fairy confessed that she fell in love with him, Xu Ziling, not just you are my only w, that kind of Dhyana talk that can be exined in any interpretation or example. Even more shocking was that Shi Feixuan was exposing her fragile side in front of his eyes, suggesting that if he wanted to be like men and women of the secr world, taking an oath to obtain her, there would be great possibility that she would abandon everything to give her heart to him. Naturally she did not encourage Xu Ziling to do that at all; otherwise, there was no need for her to use soft speech to ask him for a favor. Riding a mule to look for a mule, not at all knowing that the mule he was looking for was the one he was riding. Furthermore, not knowing how to get down the mule, ultimately, of course, he would acquire nothing. The entanglement of love and separation between men and women, unchanging life and death, no matter how much it turned people upside down and engrossed themselves in it, in the end it is still like the life itself, which is just a spring dream [short-lived illusion]. Shi Feixuans pursuit was a certain eternal goal beyond Xu Zilings understanding. After staring nkly for quite half a day, Xu Ziling slowly said, I suddenly feel extremely rxed and happy; I feel like no matter whats the load on my mind, I could tell it to you, and you, Feixuan would never me me for being rude. I, Xu Ziling, am just an ordinary man. Like an average person, because I feel the vagaries of life, I know that any beautiful thing that I miss will nevere back, thereupon after I suddenly heard Feixuan deciding to return to the Jingzhai, I disregarded everything to mention this request, which I myself feel unduly C to Feixuan. Ha! But I dont regret it. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Of course, no need for regret. Apart from Shizun [revered master], Xu Ziling, you are the most profound encounter in my cultivation of the Way. It was like that then, it is like this now, and it will be like this in the future. When Feixuan is leaving, I wont say goodbye to you, because Feixuan do not want to have any painstaking separation between us. Just like you said, let everything flow naturally, as if made by heaven. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Since we already separated once, naturally there must not be another one. I hope that I am not the man riding on the mule not knowing the mule he was riding, even more, not knowing that the one he was looking for was the fool he was straddling on. Feixuan, you are the most beautiful memory in my life. Without this memory, life is just a nk space. Shi Feixuan blissfully said, Zilings words are very moving, Feixuan will engrave it in my heart, just like the dhyana and gatha in Buddhist scripture. Do you still remember the cicadas and insects buzzing and singing? It could be both an eggnt or a toad, could be a mule, but could be not a mule at all. I wonder if Feixuan could be a bit more greedy and entrust Ziling with another matter? Xu Ziling had a faint feeling that Shi Feixuan had made a firm decision that she could bid farewell to this mundane world to return to Jingzhai any moment, and would not set foot on the human world anymore. He dly said, As long as you are not trying to force Kou Zhong to give up his great undertaking of contending for hegemony, I will definitely strive my hardest to do it for Feixuan. Shi Feixuans pretty eyes emitted a deep emotion that made Xu Zilings heart tremble; she spoke slowly, Please take a good care of Shi Qingxuan, dont let her suffer any harm. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Feixuan said so, do you believe firmly that with our and Zhu Yuyans power, we are still helpless to eliminate Shi Zhixuan? Shi Feixuans gaze slowly swept across the flowers and nts, and the trees in the surrounding forest casting a shadow on the ground under the nting beam of sunlight, the beautiful pupil of her eyes was rippling in extraordinary splendor, which made people associating it with her lofty, outstanding, out-of-the-dust inner world. She spoke affectionately, On the memorial arch at the monastery main gate of our humble Zhai, there is a rhyming couplet, saying Home is on this mountain, the clouds deeply unaware where to go. I dont know why Feixuan tells you this, but I feel like I wanted you to know. Or perhaps because Feixuan has nothing to tell you. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height. Raising his sped hands to salute, he said, Thank you Feixuan. I, Xu Ziling will not fail your trust. Anything that cant be aplished tonight, there will be a day that Xu Ziling will aplish it for you. Finished speaking, he calmly left. Shi Feixuans serene gaze followed his back disappearing into the end of the temples corridor. A hint of touching smile escaped from her fragrant lips. Kou Zhong invited Song Shidao into the south reception hall, while in his mind he was still thinking about Shang Xiufang. Although Xu Ziling repeatedly warned him, but after seeing Shang Xiufang, he could no longer control his mood, Liexia was just the spark that started the big fire on the prairie. Ke Dazhi was obviously as bad as he was, hence the two nned the cooperative operation to deal with Liexia. Thinking about it, he felt ridiculous. If he let Xu Ziling know about it, it would be strange indeed if he would not be scolded. He felt that he was treading on the edge of an arduous high cliff, one thing went wrong, he would lose his footing and drop down the ten-thousand-zhang abyss. Once they were seated properly, Song Shidao drank the fragrant tea Kou Zhong offered him, and said, I have spent my lips and tongue to the greatest extent and was barely able to persuade Junqiang. She is willing to talk to you, three mouths, six eyes C once. In my opinion, she is going to present her condition. You had better discuss it with Xu Ziling properly first before going to see her. Whats the time and the ce? Kou Zhong asked. Midday, foreign guesthouse, Song Shidao replied, I will attend to act as a buffer between the two of you. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, As long as she is not forcing us to kill ourselves, well only have agreeing obediently as our allotted share, how could we be entitled to bargain with her? Song Shidao sighed and said, If the problem is that easy to solve, naturally its to everyones delight and satisfaction. Its just that there is a very high probability that Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, whom you want to find, are seeking shelter under Han Chaoans wings. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, What did you, LaoGe find? Song Shidao said, I have always looked down on people who rob others relying on military force, hence I have nothing good to say about Han Chaoan. Last night I watched him secretly. There are indeed a number of strangers who do not speak Gaolinguage at the guesthouse where Han Chaoan is staying, among them was a quite elegant woman. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly. Shen Mohuan was one of the people that they could not let him get away. Under this kind of situation, how could they settle the dispute with Fu Junqiang? Sighing, he said, What exactly is the rtionship between Han Chaoan and Fu Cailin? With Fu Cailins reputation, how could he let his disciples breathe through the same nostril with a horse thief? Strictly speaking, Song Shidao said, Han Chaoan is not a horse thief at all, but a pirate [lit. sea thief]. Pirate? Kou Zhong was stunned. Song Shidao said, I need to start from the situation of the entire Korean Penins. There are three kingdoms on the penins, which are Gaoli [Goryeo], Xinluo [Si], and Baiji [Paekche or Baekje]. After Yang Guangs three disastrous military campaigns against Gaoli, the kingdoms on the penins themselves haveunched aplex struggle which changes were difficult to predict. The King of Xinluo, Jin Zhenxing is simr to Bai Ziting in that he is a monarch who is ambitious, powerful, talented, and has vision. He tries hard to unify the penins, hence he unceasingly tries to expand his territory. Xinluo is located at the southern part, toward the east, upying the advantage of the mouth of the Han River, therefore, they enjoy rapid development in maritimemercial trade, mainly doing big business with famous cities on the coastal area of the Central Earth, hence the nations power is greatly increasing, provoking the Baiji, which upies the southern part, leaning to the west, of the penins, and Gaoli, the strongest kingdoms upying the northern part of the penins C to join hands to deal with him. Han Chaoan is the man sent by the Gaoli King Gao Jianwu with specific mission to intercept and rob Xinluo merchants on the sea, with the aim of destroying Xinluos economy. It suddenly dawned on Kou Zhong, I understand! he said, Gaoli is supporting Bai Ziting like this, other than hoping to have a powerful Bohai Kingdom to act as the buffer between her and the Qidan and Tujue, but also as a seaport military base between Xinluo and the Central Earth for boat repair and supply station. Ay! It really gives people headache. Song Shidao analyzed, Xinluo has always had a close rtionship with the Central Earth, but now the Central Earth is in chaos, Xinluo lost its support. Were it not for Jin Zhenxing maintaining the general situation, it would have been divided up by Gaoli and Baiji who view Han people as the enemy. However, Gaoli itself is not without internal worries. In the recent years, a big tribal chief of arge region to the east of Gaoli called Ge Suwen, nicknamed Wu Dao Ba [five sabers/des hegemon] rises up. The King of Gaoli Gao Jianwu is somewhat wary of him. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong said, Wu Dao Ba! Could it be that no one can block his five saber strikes? Song Shidaoughed and said, It was just because he loves to carry five treasured sabers of different length, hence he is called Wu Dao Ba. This man is cruel and loves to kill, he considers human life like grassy mustard. His power in east Gaoli is huge, Gao Jianwu has no choice but to look at his face. Without Fu Cailin overseeing the situation, Im afraid Ge Suwen would have risen his army in rebellion. Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, The saying that all crows in the world are ck is definitely not wrong, where will there be a ce with peace and happiness and security? Patting his shoulder, Song Shidao said, You and Ziling discuss this matter carefully, you must never be hasty in deciding not to meet the appointment. Whether I am representing you or not is a small matter, but the difficulty to find the opportunity to sit down calmly and without stress to talkter on is a big matter. Reluctant to part, Kou Zhong asked, Where are you going? Why not wait for Ziling toe back and then well go eat something together? Standing up, Song Shidao said, I want to go see Xiufang Dajia; do you want toe along? Kou Zhong cried, Please spare my life! inwardly, and promptly declined; he sent him off the door. Xu Ziling, his heart was filled with some kind of feeling that he himself did not understand, rushed back to the courtyard house. Suddenly a horse-drawn carriage galloped over by his side, the hanging curtain was lifted up, revealing Meiyan Furens smiling pretty, flowery jade countenance, as she called tenderly, Xu Gongzi, how about getting aboard the carriage? Xu Ziling smiled wryly inwardly, knowing that before the first wave subsided, a new wave rose; trouble was lurking at the door, again. Book 42 - 1 – Returned to Its Rightful Owner From looking outside the window, Meiyan Furen turned her head around, smiled sweetly, and with a slight shrug of her fragrant shoulders, she said, Finally in Longquan! Very nice! From the time Xu Ziling boarded the carriage until he sat next to her fragrant body, he still could not figure out what medicine she was selling from her gourd. In fact, his mind was still tied up at the time he bade farewell to Shi Feixuan earlier, momentarily it was hard for him to think about anything else. Shi Feixuan was finally going to leave him to return to the immortal mountain. Home is on this mountain, the clouds deeply unaware where to go. These two Buddhist gatha [Buddhist hymn/verse] were the best portrayal of his romance with Shi Feixuan; which was both real and empty. It happened in the blink of an eye, it ended in another blink of an eye; no one knew how it started, no one knew how it ended. There was no beginning, there was no end, because the beginning and the end were fused together into one entity. My Niang! Who would not have his soul melted? Am I actually an idiot? Or am I the lucky guy who has experienced the highest realm of love? Perhaps he would never know for sure. Meiyan Furen asked in astonishment, Xu Gongzi has a load on your mind? Xu Zilingughed indifferently and said, Longquan is indeed an unforgettable fantastic city. May I venture to ask what instructions does Furen have? Driving the carriage was a tall and sturdy, well-built young man; looking at his bearing and expression, he was absolutely not a nobody. Such a figure was the personal bodyguard of this Yiwu beauty. This moment the young man slowly steered the carriage into a side street, heading toward the east side of the city, where the springs and the bridges were interwoven. This time Meiyan Furen was dressed in in and simple, clean yellow-colored dress,bined with a scarf that was wrapped around her neck and draped across her shoulders. The beautiful hair on her head was tied into a beautiful bun, with a jade hairpin pierced through it; a different kind of fresh and clean, beautiful appearance. However, her beauty was as different as ck and white with Shi Feixuans not-eating-the-food-ofmon-mortals beauty. Her beauty had some kind of appearing-from-beneath-the-surface foxy charm and implicit wild nature, which carried great incendiary and seductive power toward the male species. Suddenly Meiyan Furen pursed her lips and chuckled lightly; casting a nce toward him, she said, Xu Gongzi is very handsome. Nujia has never seen a man more cultured, handsome, confident and at ease than Gongzi. Which familys girl sees you and does not have her heart moved? Xu Ziling was taken aback. Although in the prairie the women were generally more unrestrained by convention, bold and passionate, straightforward in speech, but such a woman like her, without the slightest scruple making idle remarks about the opposite sexs appearance of a stranger with whom she had just made her acquaintance, even bluntly said that her heart was moved, it has indeed shocked him to the core. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Its because Furen has never met the Duoqing Gongzi [Passionate Prince] Hou Xibai. He is the real schrly, multi-talented, distinguished and aplished figure. Xiaodi could only be considered an inadequate substitute. Pfft! Meiyan Furen broke into tender giggles and said, Xu Gongzis remark is very interesting. Gongzi, you are sitting next to nujia, how could nujia have the time to think of someone else? The carriage left the road and stopped in the shade on the riverbank near a stone bridge. The driver sat quietly, as if he had turned into a stone statue. Although Xu Ziling was not in the mood to tease her, but in the bottom of his heart he had to admit that indeed this Yiwu beautys scowls and smiles were like the springtime, extremely captivating. His sword-eyebrows lightly furrowed, he said, Whatever it is that Furen wants to talk about, why not speak up forthrightly? Meiyan Furens wild-in-nature beautiful eyes were rolling like water ripples; with a smile on her face, she said, Xu Gongzi is getting impatient? Let nujia make a long story short: is the Five-Colored Stone still in Gongzis possession? Here ites! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. Sighing, he replied, What if it is? Slightly shrugging her fragrant shoulders, Meiyan Furen said, Why hasnt Gongzi handed over the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting? Xu Ziling calmly replied, We are going to see Bai Ziting tonight. At that time, just as Furen entrusted to us, we are going to hand over the Five-Colored Stone to him. Meiyan Furen held up her delicate, clean and beautiful, able-to-make-any-man-lost-in-wild-and-fanciful spotlessly white jade hands, spread it out and said, Nujia changed my mind! Would Xu Gongzi please return it to its rightful owner? Nujia will always remember three gentlemens upholding justice and lending a hand in my heart. Xu Ziling could not stop his eyes from looking at her touching jade palm; he saw the lines that were like carved with a de,plete and not random, the flowery vein lines on it were like words of praise. But at the same time he felt a big headache, because the Five-Colored Stone was one of the important bargaining chips that they were going to use against Bai Ziting. Returning it to her would not be right, but not returning it to her would be even more wrong. Momentarily he was trapped in no room to advance or to retreat situation. Noticing he was looking at her jade palm with nk expression on her face, Meiyan Furen spoke softly, If Gongzi is thinking of taking the Five-Colored Stone for your own, nujia definitely wont me Gongzi, I will only me myself for misjudging others. This remark was even more fierce and severe than raining curses on Xu Ziling. Xu Zilings mind was churning at the speed of light, he sighed inwardly, reached into the pocket of his outer robe to take the Five-Colored Stone out and put it on the hollow of her palm, yet he still used two fingers to hold on to it, and said with a smile, Is Furen the original owner of the Five-Colored Stone? Meiyan Furen revealed a touchingly sweet smile, her five fingers closed in to grab the Five-Colored Stone. The tip of her fingers lightly touched Xu Ziling, she spoke cheerfully, I wonder if Gongzi knew the origin of this Five-Colored Stone? Xu Ziling met her pair of emitting-wild-nature-and-extraordinary-splendor beautiful eyes, he smiled and said, Id like to hear the details. Meiyan Furen said, This is the symbol of the Persians orthodox Da Ming Zun Jiaos cult founder. Its original name was Heigennilei, which means the stone of light. Fifty years ago, it was brought to the prairie by the Guangming Shizhe [light messenger/emissary] Ramo. Afterwards a lot of things happened, it changed hands from person to person, until finally it fell into nujias hands. Without blinking Xu Ziling fixed his gaze on her. Frowning, he said, In that case, isnt the original owner Ramo? Meiyan Furen cheerfully replied, Ramo is precisely my Jiashi [lit. family master/teacher]. Stunned, Xu Ziling relinquished his grip. Meiyan Furen, with expression brimming with delight and appreciation, cast him a sidelong nce, took the Five-Colored Stone and put it inside her fragrant bosom, and spoke softly, Thank you Xu Gongzi, but also thanks to Shaoshuai and Ba Fenghan; nujia will never forget this. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I wonder if Furen can give Xiaodi a more satisfactory exnation? Why did you entrust us to deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting in the first ce? If the Five-Colored Stone had be the decoration on Bai Zitings kingly crown, how could it be returned to its rightful owner? Meiyan Furen tenderly and coyly said, It was Zun Shens [revered deity] instructions! Is Gongzi satisfied with this exnation? Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at her. How could that be considered an exnation? But the Five-Colored Stone has safely returned into her hands, it was an undeniable fact. Suddenly he just wanted to leave this headache-inducing beauty, the farther the better; she reminded him of Ji Qian. Compared to Ji Qian, the only thing Meiyan Furencked was the Jianghu air, but she had another kind of confusing temperament. Sighing, he said, Furen, please be careful. Huihes Da Ming Zun Jiaos whole nest ising out. Your situation now may not necessarily be better than in Tong Wan. Zaixia takes my leave! In the south wing, Kou Zhongs butts have not warmed up his chair, there was another knock on the door. Shuwen came out to answer the door. Kou Zhong went to the window and looked out with rapt attention, thinking that if it was Shi Zhixuan, should he simply escape, or should he just harden his scalp to fight? The door opened. Shocked, Shuwen saluted and said, Turns out its the Imperial Guard Captains good-selfing in person. Kou Zhong mused inwardly who the hell was this Imperial Bodyguard Captain? But quickly his tiger-body also shook, because he saw Shang Xiufang, under escort of the long-legged female sword warrior Zong Xianghua C stepped into the courtyard. This moment Kou Zhong wished that it was Shi Zhixuan who came instead, because at least he would have the strength to stake it all against him. But he was greatly surprised as well; didnt she spend all nightst night without any sleep? Yet she still had the vitality and strength toe to see him? Plus, wouldnt that mean Song Shidao was rushing at thin air? This time he really had to harden his scalp toe out to meet her. Heughed and said, Xiufang Dajia and Zong Yuwei Zhangs [imperial guard captain] phoenix-selves are honoring me with your presence, brightening up Xiaodis canopy. Ha! Please do me the honor toe in and drink a cup of hot tea, ha! Shuwen moved to one side, so as not to block the line of sight between Shang and Zong, two women, and Kou Zhong, who was stepping out, upright and unafraid C of the south [reception] hall door, which was directly opposite to the main gate. Shang Xiufang looked like she had juste out of a hot spring bath, there was not the slightest bit of cosmetics on her face, her dress waske water green skirt and gown, her beautiful hair was trailing over her shoulders, yet her beauty was still so intoxicating. Rolling her ten-thousand-kinds-of-flirtatious-expressions eyes at him, she asked, Wheres your good Xiongdi? Kou Zhong cried for help inwardly. Shang Xiufangs spearhead tactic was a lot more formidable than his. Only by using a couple of nces she already beat him that he was utterly defeated, everything broken and in disorder. If this situation continued, how would he end up? Smiling bitterly, he replied, I am looking for him as well;e in and talk inside! Zong Xianghua said, Xiufang Dajia has an appointment to meet; we just happened to pass by and wanted to say hello to Shaoshuai. Although her manners were polite and proper, there was still some kind of cold, icy feeling of pushing-others-a-thousand-li-away impression; moreover, it contained hostility. Kou Zhongs eyes casually swept down across her pair of long legs, purposefully trying to make her angry, before returning his gaze to Shang Xiufangs difficult-to-move-away-from beautiful face. Smiling, he said, Shall I see you tonight? With slight displeasure Shang Xiufang cast him a sidelong nce, and then she turned to Zong Xianghua and said, Zong Yuwei Zhang, please wait a moment, I have something to discuss with Shaoshuai. Just like that, she lightly moved her lotus steps toe to Kou Zhongs side. Pulling his sleeve a little bit, she took the lead toward the south wing. Kou Zhong followed obediently behind her as if he was bewitched. In daze, Xu Ziling walked among the tide of people in the street, returning to the courtyard house. From one day to the next, the ceremony of founding the country was getting closer. The delegations of various tribes of the prairieing to offer their congrattions and the people from various tribes wanting to enjoy the festivities from four sides and eight directions were pouring into Longquan. The mood and the atmosphere were rising higher and higher, but at the same time the crisis of disaster was brewing. Yet he found himself losing interest in thinking deeply and performing an in-depth investigation on everything before his eyes. Supposing this moment he rushed back to Seng Guang Si to beseech Shi Feixuan not to leave him forever, what would the future hold for him? But he immediately sighed inwardly, because he knew that would never put this delusion into practice. The biggest problem with Shi Feixuan leaving was that it made him feel that nothing to look forward to, nothing to do, so much so that the prairie had lost the charm that attracted him in the first ce. When he met Meiyan Furen for the first time in Tong Wan, he felt that she was a feast for the eyes; looking at her, not only he would not be bored, it warmed the heart and delighted the eyes even more. But a moment ago he just wanted to leave her as quickly as possible, which made him realize that no one or nothing could fill the void in his heart after Shi Feixuan left. He was not depressed; he only felt empty and senseless. No matter what he did, nothing could distract from the feeling of loss from the loneliness and regret in his heart. This was the sacrifice he had to pay to help Shi Feixuan aplishing her aim. Suddenly he realized that he had fallen into the pitfall of love that she mentioned, and that he had no strength to climb out! This was the loneliness after losing everything. It would be better if he disappeared as well, so that no one knew where he was, so much so that they might think that he was dead. This terrifying thought gave him a chilling shock and made him shiver all over. He quickly shook his head to clear his mind. In the past, although he was alone, he was never in a lonely mood. But now boredom and loneliness were attacking his mind. Shi Qingxuan suddenly appeared in his mind. Ay! Could it be that, as Shi Feixuan said, he was really unwilling to fight for his own happiness, to strive and to struggle? Everything will pass. Time will never make someone from not having a habit to change into having a habit. He even hated himself a little bit. Why couldnt he see through everything like Shi Feixuan? Everything on earth was like spring dream and autumn cloud; in a sh the fantasy changes, in the blink of an eye it will not leave any trace. And then he remembered the insects buzzing the cicadas singing. In an instant, the mor of the people and the vehicles and horse, like a tidal wave, burst into his eardrums. He changed direction to head toward the Sheng Guang Si. They barely stepped over the threshold, Shang Xiufang pulled Kou Zhong to a stop by the door, outside the line of sight of Zong Xianghua and Shuwen; her fragrant shoulders gently snuggled into his arms, she spoke tenderly, Does Shaoshuai still daydream about me? Kou Zhong smiled wryly in his heart, remembering the Helian Fort, when they were facing the Golden Wolf Armys magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, when he thought that he was going to die, he was indeed thinking about her. But the problem was that at that moment, he was also thinking about Song Yuzhi and Chuchu. Immediately he felt the pain as if his liver and intestines were about to break. This beauty with both looks and skill was like a zing me, which could melt him, but could also refine the steel in a soft object wrapped around the finger. He was suddenly aware that inside the tender, delicate and smooth skin and flesh of her fragrant shoulders, she was brimming with scorching life force and vitality youthfulness. His nostrils were filled to the brim with her captivating fragrant breath. The small ears in front of his eyes were sparkling and translucent and spotlessly white. The arch of her round and beautiful ears and the perfectly round earlobes created a wlessbination. Heaven and earth were spinning and dancing. Suddenly he found both of his hands were pulling her tightly into his bosom, and that he nted a heavy kiss on her fragrant lips. Intense feeling of ecstasy nibbling away at his bones sent him up straight beyond the ninth level of the clouds. Shang Xiufangs tender body trembled; her jade-hands seemed to refuse yet powerless to respond, as they were pressed against his broad shoulders. But her fragrant lips were responding passionately. It was quite half a dayter that she suddenly twisted her body and pushed him away. The lips parted. Shang Xiufangs breathing was extremely ragged, red clouds color descended upon her entire face, she angrily said, You ... Kou Zhong was as dumb as a wooden chicken, he has not recovered from enchanting feeling a moment ago; furthermore, he did not understand why he was so out of control, his mind was in aplete mess. Shang Xiufang raised her hands to tidy up the hair that he messed up, her expression gradually calmed down, she even cast him a ten-thousand-kinds-of-amorous-feelings sweet smile, but her clear facial expression revealed a ming-him-for-his-brazen-offense charm that could bewitch and turn all the men under the heavens upside down. Her right hand reached out to pat his cheek, as tender and soft as water she said, Dont say anything! Ill see you tonight! Along an easy drive on a familiar path, Xu Ziling passed through the forest and crossed the park toward Shi Feixuans elegant and secluded meditation room in Sheng Guang Si. Immediately he heard the sweet voice like the sounds of nature, speaking indifferently, Is there anything that Ziling forgot to tell me earlier? Xu Ziling smiled slightly. He sat down slyly on the second stone step outside the door with his back facing the quiet room; as if he was talking about mundane, day-to-day affairs, he said, Xiaodi had just met Meiyan Furen of Da Ming Zun Jiao. I dont know how, but I suddenly figured out something, which I really want to share with Feixuan. Shi Feixuan spoke cheerfully, Feixuan is listening attentively. Facing the depth of the forest shade that was not contaminated with the dust of the vulgar world of the serene backyard of Sheng Guang Si, Xu Ziling said, Feixuan mentioned that you did not understand why instead of directly luring you to Longquan, Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife had to pretend that both of them were killed, and then even drawing legs on a snake [idiom: to ruin the effect by adding something superfluous] by having Zhou Laofang selling a fake for the genuine article. Shi Feixuans voice came from inside the door behind him, but he still seemed to hear it next to his ear as she asked in soft voice, What does this matter have to do with Meiyan Furen? Xu Ziling replied, I have to start with Meiyan Furens history. Her Shizun was Ramo, who came from Persia fifty years ago. Ramo himself belonged to the orthodox Persians Da Ming Zun Jiao. He brought the Five-Colored Stone, which represents the Cult itself. The Five-Colored Stones original name was the stone of light, and it was the treasure of the founding of the Cult. Shi Feixuans voice was heard behind him again, Ramo carried this stone to the east into the prairie, naturally there was an important reason, right? Xu Ziling did not turn his head around, knowing that the exceptionally intelligent Shi Feixuan had already guessed his thought. He spoke in heavy voice, Ramo wanted to deal with one, maybe more, apostates that escaped from Persia and came to the prairie. But obviously Ramos mission failed, because those traitors put down roots in Huihe, and established another Da Ming Zun Jiao, while also scheming to invade the Central ins. Rong Jiaojiao and Shangguan Long were their vanguard troops. The current Da Zun ought to be either the traitor himself, or his sessor. Shi Feixuan came behind him. In a calm and rxed manner, she sat down on the stone step, just a step higher than him. She smiled and said, Zilings conjecture, if it did not hit the mark, it must not be too far off. But I have not yet seen the rtionship between this matter with Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife. Xu Ziling turned his head around to look at her and spoke indifferently, The key is on Zhou Laofang, because he was one of the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Five Kinds of Demons. This means that both Xieli and the Da Ming Zun Jiao, whether they are working together or acting separately, have amon goal, which is to put Feixuan to death by all means. Shi Feixuan revealed a touching expression of thinking deeply. Ignoring Xu Zilings gaze on her beautiful face, she said, Please continue. Xu Ziling cast his gaze back toward the courtyard, before moving it again to a clump of floating cloud over the temple. He said, Jin Huanzhen and Zhou Laotans mission was to lure Shi Feixuan toward Shanhai Pass to be killed there. The reason why the couple had to fake their death was precisely so that after the fact, they could be relieved from their responsibilities and escape the me. Who would have thought that through such a strange coincidence, we happened to appear in Shanhai Pass at the same time, and thus Xielis scheme was immediately destroyed? If Du Xing had been honest, he could have told us that very likely Xieli was hiding somewhere in Shanhai Pass; otherwise, how could he arrange the ambush so that the three of us nearly fell into the trap at Yan Yuan Ji? Shi Feixuan nodded and said, Your view on thisplicated affair is very prating, both urate and imaginative. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Slow and dumb would be a more apt description; it took me such a long time to understand that much. At that time, Jin Huanzhen, husband and wife, ought to be leaving Shanhai Pass in secret, to continue following Shi Zhixuans trail, hence the reason they had to rely on Zhou Laofang to do the trick, to lure Shi Feixuan toe to Longquan. Frowning, Shi Feixuan said, Zhou Laofang impersonated Zhou Laotan to tell me that Jin Huanzhen was captured by the Da Ming Zun Jiao, wouldnt that mean they were shifting the me onto their own sect? Xu Ziling glibly said, Empty is real, real is empty. Not to mention Da Ming Zun Jiao is practically not afraid to assume the me of killing Shi Feixuan, which would only make them famous. Just like Xieli, they are not afraid of any bad consequences. Shi Feixuan said, In that case, Ziling is thinking that Da Ming Zun Jiao is working together with Xieli in this matter? But why did Zhou Laotan kill Zhou Laofang? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, I am positive that Da Ming Zun Jiao is standing in opposition to Xieli. He could not help thinking about Liexia presenting music score to Shang Xiufang. Astonished, Shi Feixuan asked, Then how could Zhou Laofang cooperate with them so wlessly? Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, He was acting under the instructions of someone who had deep knowledge of Xielis n. Most likely this person has two identities, one public, one secret. The secret identity is either the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Da Zun or Yuanzi, the public identity is a heroic figure of the ck way [criminal/underworld] of the northeast, plus Du Xings sworn brother, someone who has the darkness and the light on his person. Exhaling lightly, Shi Feixuan said, Xu Kaishan! Xu Zilings pair of eyes lit up with refined light, he spoke slowly, The main reason Anle Bang suffered the cmity of having their entire family wiped out to close their mouth was because they discovered this secret. Book 42 - 2 – Who’s the Treacherous Villain? The unusual color of Shi Feixuans eyes was rippling, she asked softly, What did Meiyan Furen want from you just now? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, She came for the Five-Colored Stone. I already returned the Five-Colored Stone to her as she wished. Astonished, Shi Feixuan asked, Didnt she ask you to present the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting? Xu Ziling said, She was just borrowing us to escort the Five-Colored Stone to Longquan for her. At that time she had be the target of a multitude of arrows; Shiwei, Qidan, Tujue, every tribe wanted to get hold of this Stone. Her followers are numerous, her target was clear, she must not put herself in danger from the pursuing troops, so she used us to take her ce, shifting the target. Now that her goal has been achieved, naturally she wanted the Five-Colored Stone back. After a short pause, he continued, Meiyan Furen is in a fierce struggle for survival against the Da Ming Zun Jiao. But she seems to regard this matter as a family affair internal to the sect, and does not want outsiders to intervene, hence she is unwilling to disclose any further inside story. Pondering deeply, Shi Feixuan said, If Xieli wanted to deal with me at Shanhai Pass, he could have executed the n after you left. Xu Ziling said, Xieli could only deal either with you or with us, one at a time. And he has deep knowledge from history that no matter how rich and powerful his military force is, because of the great disparity in numberspared to the Central ins, purely relying on military force is not enough to conquer and govern such a vast area of the Central Earth. Therefore, he decided on the strategy to use puppets like Li Jiancheng as the conduit of his control, just like Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidou. And thus anybody or anything that stands in the way of their goal must be eliminated. Shi Feixuan nodded her head in agreement. Xu Zilings inference was conforming to reason. It could be imagined that if any harm came to Shi Feixuan, the power of the white way [righteous, opposite to ck way (seest chapter)] of the Central ins, with Ci Hang Jing Zhai as the spiritual leader C would suffer a big blow; the damage that Li Shimin suffered would be even more incalcble. Xieli could even shift the me to Yin Gui Pai. One stone, two birds, it would create huge waves within the Central ins Wulin. As for Kou Zhong, he had be the other biggest obstacle outside of Li Shimin for Xieli to invade the Central ins, simply because he had obtained Song Ques, the powerful hegemon of Lingnan C support, who, in himself, had enough power to rally supporters. Even if he seeded in eradicating Li Shimin, leaving behind Kou Zhong, this reliable agent to wreak havoc, there was still a chance that Xielis enterprise, his grandiose n, his tyrannical scheme C would be ruined for the sake of one basketful. Therefore, among the two choices, after considering the pros and cons, Xieli decided to get rid of Kou Zhong first, before looking for an opportunity to put Shi Feixuan in order. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Does Ziling have a good proposal on how to deal with this matter? Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and moved to stand in front of Shi Feixuan, who was sitting on the stone step, and calmly said, Presently, because of the ceasefire between Xieli and Tuli, Xieli definitely is not going to take the initiative to destroy the peaceful atmosphere with Tuli, hence he had to change tactics; temporarily he is not going to deal with the three of us, but he has no such misgivings to deal with Feixuan. Last night was definitely a trap to deal with Feixuan, its just that Feixuan did not fall into the trap. Thats all. Toy an ambush to kill such a top-quality martial art master like Shi Feixuan, the time must be right, geographical and social conditions must be favorable, not a single one is dispensable; they must lure her into the situation where it would be difficult for her to get out, only then would they have the chance of sess. It was quite possible that Zhou Laotan subdued Zhou Laofang one step ahead, and forced confession from his mouth on Da Ming Zun Jiaos n to deal with him and Kou Zhong, thereupon he wanted to beat them at their own game, hoping that the two boys, in their grief and indignation, in anxiety and anger, would recklessly charge into the mysterious mansion, and both they and the mansion people would fight each other until both sides suffer. As for leaving secret marks to notify Shi Feixuan, quite possible it was Zhou Laotans doing, which would also dispel the suspicion that Zhou Laofang could not do separate tasks at the same time. Xu Ziling continued, Zhou Laofang must have found out from Xu Kaishan on how Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, made contact with Feixuan, hence Zhou Laofang could impersonate his brother without revealing any w. Shi Feixuan stood up gracefully and spoke cheerfully, What do we do now? Extremely deferential, Xu Ziling bowed with sped hands and said, Xiaodi beseech Xianzis gracious permission to let me escort Xianzi until you arrived outside the gate with the Home is on this mountain, the clouds deeply unaware where to go engraved on it. Laughing involuntarily, Shi Feixuan said, This is the second time I really want to give you a beating. Xu Zilingughed to his hearts content and said, Feixuan need not take it too seriously, I am just joking with you, theres no harm in Feixuan giving it another consideration; just see it as another small lesson. Finished speaking, heughed aloud and left. Xu Ziling returned to the courtyard house. Kou Zhong was by himself, sitting antsily next to the hot spring pond. Seeing Xu Zilinge back, he struggled to arouse his spirit and pretended to be angry, saying, Good kid! Where the hell have you been? What time is it now? Our appointment with Song LaoGe to see Xiao Shiyi [young martial aunt] at noon is almost here. While we still have a bit of time, lets go see Yuekepeng immediately. Xu Ziling scrutinized him in astonishment, What happened? he asked in surprise, Howe your expression looks so weird? Kou Zhong stood up, wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders and pulled him to step out of the door and into the street; sighing, he said, Just now there were three noble guests dropping by our door, one of them was naturally Shidao Xiong, but can you guess the other two? Knitting his sword eyebrows, Xu Ziling said, There are so many possibilities, how can I guess? Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Xiufang Dajia was one. This time you really have to save me. Shaken, Xu Ziling asked, What happened? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong replied, Only if you promise not to scold me will I dare to tell you. Xu Ziling stopped right in front of the door. Under the bright sunlight, he looked closely at Kou Zhong. It was quite half a dayter that he sighed and said, Looking at your forlorn appearance, as a brother, how could I have the heart to scold you? Love is the most difficult thing to talk about, it can make people turn into an idiot, into a fool. Just tell me! Kou Zhong hung his head low, acting like a little boy who had done something wrong, I kissed her delicious little mouth, he spoke in a barely audible voice. What? Xu Ziling blurted out, Unexpectedly it is that serious? My Niang! Your Niang is also my Niang, Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, At that time I was so confused that I did not know what I was doing! The worst thing is that even now I am still looking forward to making the mistake over and over again. Ay! What do I do? How do I solve this problem? I cant simply tell her that I was so confused and thus kissed her on the mouth, asking her to be magnanimous not to remember this Xiaorens [little/small people, or lowly person] mistake. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Other than kissing her, did you, this kid, move your hands and move your feet? Of course not, Kou Zhong hastily replied, I have great respect toward her. I kissed her only because at that time she was leaning on my bosom, making Xiaodi momentarily could not control my emotions. Thats all! Xu Ziling sighed and said, Honestly, in this kind of thing, although I am your brother, it is very difficult to help you. I only know that if this affair with Shang Xiufang continues, it will be very difficult to exin to Song Yuzhi. This is because Shang Xiufangs status is different. On the contrary, it will be easier for Song Yuzhi to tolerate Chuchu, she might be willing to let you take her as your concubine. Overwhelmed with shock, Kou Zhong said, If you dont help me, who will? Quickly use your smart little brain to find a solution for me. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, I dont know whether its because this ce is so far away from the Central Earth that whatever you do, whatever mistake youmitted, it seems like you dont have to worry about responsibilities or consequences. But the matter between a man and a woman, who could possibly interfere in between? I can only advise you to rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice. Dont let anything develop further between you and Shang Xiufang. I hope that because she is engrossed in the music treasury of the area beyond the Great Wall, she will forget you, this kid. Grieved, Kou Zhong said, I am in so much pain! Who was the other one? Xu Ziling asked. Its that kid, Ke Dazhi, Kou Zhong replied, He came specifically to tell me thatst night Liexia stayed at Shang Xiufangs ce the whole night. Dont misunderstand, they were simply studying the secret musical score. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, If it is as simple as telling you about this matter, it does not look like Ke Dazhis style of work at all. Kou Zhong knew it was very difficult to conceal anything from him, therefore, even though he did not want to tell him, he would have to offer this matter on a tter. He said with a wry smile, He and I discussed how to put Liexia, that muddled egg in order, and afterwards Xiufang Dajia cant possibly put the me on us. Extraordinarily, Xu Ziling did not scold him. Thinking deeply, he said, Putting Liexia in order is not easy at all, one thing goes wrong, our boat will capsize in the ditch. The biggest problem is that Liexia has notmitted any obvious evil deeds. This is called its difficult for an angry fist to hit a smiling face. We cant simply consider his pursuit of Shang Xiufang as a crime, and catch him and give him a beating, can we? Kou Zhong agreed. Suddenly getting excited, he said, Not giving him a beating, but getting rid of him; once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Even more, we can weaken Da Ming Zun Jiaos strength. Xu Ziling said, Almost forget to tell you, Yucheng finally left a secret mark, telling us to meet in a restaurant at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard near the south gate at the beginning of Shen hour [3-5pm]. Kou Zhong happily said, Its a public ce, certainly not a trap. Count him in! Say, didnt you go out early in the morning to see Shi Feixuan? She agreed to marry you, didnt she? Less nonsense! Xu Ziling crossly said, Lets go! The two stepped into the street and headed toward the foreign guesthouse. I also saw three people, Xu Ziling said, Other than Feixuan, I also saw Yin Xianhe. Really strange though, I asked Yin Xianhe to follow closely and monitor Xu Kaishan secretly, yet he spent the whole night at a house belonging to Longquans famous courtesan called Hui Shen, without leaving at all. Its very difficult to guess whats true and whats false about this person. Kou Zhong said, You seem to think that Xu Kaishan is a greatly wicked and greatly evil man, but I feel confused about him. While walking, Xu Ziling narrated the analysis he made about Xu Kaishan in front of Shi Feixuan, without omitting anything. Finally he said, Perhaps Yucheng will be able to confirm this matter for us. A bean-sized raindrop fell on Kou Zhongs forehead, causing him to look up into the sky and shouting, There are too many things happening today, so that momentarily we forgot to look at the sky. There is his grannys ck cloud overhead, lets run. But less than ten stepster, the rain came crashing down. Helpless, the two boys ducked into a restaurant specializing in goat milk tea and baked cheesecake, both to take shelter from the rain, and to fill their belly, which had not had any breakfast yet. While eating, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Isnt it called the road to happiness is strewn with setbacks [idiom]? Every time we wanted to see Yuekepeng, something happened so that we couldnt go. He was just speaking casually. Immediately he lowered his voice and said, I wonder if my action toward Shang Xiufang could be considered a mistake, but I really feel somewhat unable to refuse her, that I am letting down her deep love and good intention. Ay! You did not see her somber appearance when she was mourning for her deceased mother at the beginning of Spring [i.e. New Years Day], which makes me dont have the heart to hurt her even more. Xu Zilings gaze was fixed on the street scenery under the heavy rain. A horse-drawn carriage was passing by, braving the rain. Listening to Kou Zhong, he recalled Shi Qingxuan, who was grieving as if her heart was dead due to her mother being murdered by her own father. Overwhelmed with emotion, he said, Actually, I dont really me you, because from any mans standpoint, Shang Xiufang is indeed a woman who is difficult to resist. But I only worry for you, afraid that after you sink deep into the mud, you are unable to choose. Right now, as soon as you take another step forward, you will definitely fall into the deep cliff. This is your only chance to rein your horse at the edge of the precipice. Once you have aplished it, well leave immediately, otherwise you will end up having an ident. The rain was beginning to break, there were only some scattered showers. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, But these past few days are the most trying! Each time Im thinking of her, my heart is pounding. Such a touching beauty. Ay! My Niang! Ling Shao, you must follow me closely to guard me, pull me, drag me, but dont let me fall into the abyss. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, How do I do that? Are you saying that when she wants to meet you in private, I can, indiscreetly, sit nearby, listening and watching? You have to have control over yourself; how can other people help? Kou Zhong said, If you were me, what would you do? Xu Ziling angrily said, In the end, you still dont want to part with Shang Xiufang! Song Yuzhi is not an ordinary woman, she is the thousand-jin-of-gold [i.e. daughter] of an honorable school, big n. Even if you want to take concubine you must obtain her permission first. Problem is that Shang Xiufang is a talented woman whom the world looks up to and venerates; in this situation, how could she be willing to be your concubine? Have you told her honestly about your engagement to Song Yuzhi? If you havent, then you are cheating. With pained expression, Kou Zhong said, It looks like ording to you, I am a cheater in the affairs of the heart, guilty of terrible crimes; is it really that serious? What happened today was so sudden! Ay! When I have a chance, following your advice, I will truthfully tell her, to let her deal with me ordingly. But Im afraid that in her anger, she would throw herself into Liexias bosom; if that happened, I dont know how to conduct myself in the future. Xu Ziling reached out to grab his shoulder; he sighed and said, I was indeed too heavy on you. Frankly speaking, when I was with Shi Qingxuan, I was not thinking about Shi Feixuan at all, and vice versa; therefore, I really dont have any qualification to me you. The great blessing in the midst of my misfortune is that neither one of them would marry me, and your problem is the exact opposite. You are right, if Shang Xiufang is obtained by Liexia, this evil man, it would be hard to endure. We have to discuss this matter carefully. Obtaining Xu Zilings understanding, which, in this aspect, was hard toe by, immediately Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused. He spoke excitedly, That kid Ke Dazhi and I have discussed a brilliant scheme called chasing the dog into the poor alley, which is carrying out aprehensive wipe out on the Da Ming Zun Jiao. We will make the surviving four of the Five Kinds of Demons sacrificial banner first, seeing one we kill one. Then we wont have to worry that Liexia and the others will not fight back. In which case we will send out our troops and easily eliminate the famous general Liexia. Xu Ziling said, Unless we can prove that the wolf-bandits are Da Ming Zun Jiao people, otherwise how could we send out troops? Kou Zhong replied, Based on the deep enmity and big hatred of Shangguan Long murdering Fuzhi and the others, three men alone, we can already send out the troops. Shangguan Long is Da Ming Zun Jiao man; this was confirmed personally by Zhu Yuyan. Dont think too much, as long as Ling Shao does not oppose me killing Liexia, that will do. His grannys bear, we are not government officials investigating a case, why do we need any evidence? After seeing Yucheng and asking a couple of questions, we can immediatelymence the big operation of sweeping away the devil. We still have half a sichen, lets say hello to Yuekepeng first. The two boys were about to pay the bill and leave, someone stepped across the door sill toe in and happily said, Finally I found two gentlemen! The two looked up in surprise, unexpectedly it was Liexia, the one they were just discussing how to get rid of. The kid, with a spring breeze across his whole face, came over to the two boys table and sat down. Last night was the happiest moment in this ignorant persons life, he spoke cheerfully, Not only I could see Xiufang Dajias immortal countenance, I could also hear the immortal sound of her wonderful hands ying music. Arent two gentlemen happy for me? Unexpectedly there is such a beautiful inside and outside woman with both appearance and skill. If she is willing to share music and poetry with this ignorant person, even if my life is reduced by ten years, I will be most willing to do so. Hearing that, the two boys looked at each other. Letting out a muffled snort, Kou Zhong said, Lie Xiongs remark is quite contradictory. If you really had your life reduced by ten years, wouldnt you lose a ten-year opportunity to be together with her? As if he had just been awakened from a dream, Liexia scrutinized his expression. Shaoshuai is not jealous because of this, are you? he asked in astonishment, I hear that Song Que was willing to give you full support because you agree to be his future son-inw. Ay! We are all brothers, we must not allow anything to damage a good rtionship. Having his vital point squarely hit by Liexia, immediately Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Lie Xiong, please answer my question first, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently. Liexia replied cheerfully, Ziling, please bestow your instructions. Xu Ziling spoke in a heavy voice, Are Shangguan Long and Rong Jiaojiao your Da Ming Zun Jiao people? Liexia calmed down. After staring fixedly at Xu Ziling for half a day, he revealed a smile, which in the two boys eyes seemed to be brimming with demonic air; nodding his head, he said, You can say that, but at the same time you cant say that. Strictly speaking, they belong only to our Central Earth branch, so they are not obligated to obey our instructions. Their only responsibility is toward Pi Chen Daozhang [Taoist Priest], the heir of the Central Earth forefathers. This is a secret of our Cult, but two gentlemen asked, how could I, Liexia, dare to conceal? Xu Ziling was at a loss. Unless Zhu Yuyan was willing toe out and prove otherwise, he had no basis to expose his lies. Kou Zhong fiercely said, You, this kid, can push the me neat and clean. I hope you are not lying, otherwise we will make you suffer. How could I dare to lie to you? Liexia cried out with an expression that said he had just received unjust treatment, If theres still doubt and misunderstanding, lets hear it, so that it will not affect our rtionship. Xu Ziling sighed and said, This is your own request. The Five-Colored Stone, what exactly is its significance to you? The more they came into contact with Liexia, the more they felt that it was difficult to deal with him. If Xu Kaishan was either Da Ming Zun Jiaos Da Zun or Yuanzi, then Liexia would definitely follow the exact same strategy, which was trying to avoid frontal confrontation against them. Smiling wryly, Liexia asked, Did Ziling see that s1ut Meiyan Furen, and is instigated by her? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; both were able to see the shock and fear in the other sides heart. Just based on one remark by Xu Ziling, Liexia immediately inferred that Xu Ziling had seen Meiyan Furen. Additionally, he guessed that Xu Ziling asked this question to verify the intention behind whether he was telling a lie or not. The quickness of his thought and his high level of intelligence indeed made others have a whole new level of respect for him. Xu Ziling felt that he had fallen into the disadvantageous position. He mused that if this situation continued, how could they send out their troops tomence the big operation of sweeping away the devil? He had no choice but to nod to indicate that yes, he had seen her. Lowering his voice, Liexia said, You must believe anything she said, because she is Funantuos woman, and she would help Bai Ziting in thousand ways, a hundred ns to found his kingdom, to steal, cheat, swindle, abduct, not stopping at anything. Ay! This woman is really hard to deal with, she is messing up my affair again. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you look at me, I gaze at you again, while recalling Guan Ping at the same time; they mused inwardly that Liexias words were not without any reason. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, Whats the animosity between you and her? Why does she insist on opposing you? Liexia slumped into the back of his chair, he helplessly shook his head and said with a wry smile, This is called hatred caused by love; before she is with Funantuo, she was my woman. Ay! This ignorant persons ugly deficiency will have to be shaken out! What? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling blurted out at the same time. Liexia leaned forward and spoke in a low voice, This woman is as lovely as a flower, but she is also as poisonous as viper and scorpion; you must not touch her. Her martial art skill may not match ours, but her skill in deceiving people, we certainly can see only the dust behind her and have no hope of catching up [idiom: far inferior]. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only smile bitterly in response, because they could no longer grasp Liexias handle [fig. information that can be used against someone]. Xu Ziling wanted to inquire of him about Zhou Laofang, but in the end he stopped himself to avoid exposing the secret of his own side. He said, We have an appointment to make, well drink and chat with Lie Xiongter. Liexiaughed, he stood up and said, In that case I wont disturb gentlemen anymore; see you tonight! Finished speaking, he cheerfully left. Taken aback, Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, See you tonight? What does he mean by that? Xu Ziling pulled him up and said with a wry smile, That means when we eat Xiangshui rice with Bai Ziting and Funantuo tonight, he will be one of the guests. Dont worry, he has a good n, I have adder to climb over the wall. Yucheng may be able to help us find a way to deal with Da Ming Zun Jiao. Kou Zhong sighed and said, How I wish that I was an irrational, rude and unreasonable man, so that I wont have to listen to so much nonsense of his. The wu hour [11am C 1pm, noon] arrived, the two had no time to look for Yuekepeng to say hello, they had to go to meet their appointment in a hurry. Book 42 - 3 – Despicable Assassination The two boys turned into the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, only to see the pedestrians were like sand perch; vehicles and horses were vying for the road, quite a crowded grand asion atmosphere where it was difficult to move a cun. The big ceremony of the founding of the Bohai Kingdom, which would hold the fate of the Mohe tribes, down to the entire peoples of the prairie C would be held three dayster, a meeting that as long as the sun is still rising and thend is still t, those who shoulde are alreadying. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling walked shoulder to shoulder, rubbing shoulders with everybody else enjoying the delight of the flourishing capital. All around were morous, as if they were at the gate of the market; it was such a magnificent and unprecedented event. People of different tribes spoke differentnguages, creating lively atmosphere of a big melting pot of various ethnicities. Leaning close to Xu Zilings ear, Kou Zhong said, You said that this morning you saw three people; one was Shi Feixuan, one was Yin Xianhe, who was the third one? It was Meiyan Furen, ay! Xu Ziling replied. Thest sigh was due to what Liexia told them, so that Xu Ziling was unsure whether Meiyan Furen was really evil, or like Liexia said, not only a big swindler, but also Funantuos woman. Kou Zhong understood his feeling, he himself was apprehensive and was quite edgy after listening to Liexia. Such a young woman with a thousand tenderness and a hundred charms, unexpectedly was a viper and scorpion beauty! It was such a pity. But of course this matter would have to be verified first. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly it was she. I wonder if it was a coincidence, or was she intentionally looking for you? While continuing his steps in the direction of the Wang Cheng [king city] and the foreign guesthouse, Xu Ziling replied, I was on my way home when she caught up with me and wanted me toe on board. She wanted me to give the Five-Colored Stone back to her, and I had no choice but to return it to her. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. After brief exnation, Xu Ziling said with a wry smile, Both the feeling and reason were on her side at that time, what could I do? This woman is really not simple, Kou Zhong said, No Five-Colored Stone then no Five-Colored Stone! As long as Gunatai brothers seed in seizing that batch of bows and arrows, we wont have to worry that Bai Ziting will not bend his head down. And then he said, Its been a long while, howe Old Ba has not returned yet? He must have a lot of reasons, Xu Zilingmented, Unless he came across Bi Xuan, no one can do anything to him. If he is not a match for someone, he could have just run away. No need to worry about him. A peal of childrens happyughter came from the left side, the two looked in the direction of the voice, turned out it was a group of about seven or eight children, about twelve or thirteen years old, ying in the crowded street, weaving left and right among the crowd, running and chasing each other, goofing off in their direction. Smiling, Xu Ziling said, In the past, we were also running through the crowd like this in Yangzhou, with only one target, which was someone elses money purse. I hope this group of innocent, lively kids are not like our disciples and grandchildren. Kou Zhongughed and said, They seem to take a fancy to our money purse! Before he even finished speaking, the children were already by the two boys side. One of them was hiding behind Kou Zhong, letting out a kids innocent, loud and clearughter, grabbing the back of Kou Zhongs outer robe, while gasping for breath and said with augh, You cant catch me! You cant catch me! The other kids swarmed around them, surrounding the two boys, you catch me, I chase you, going in and out the crowd. The situation was chaotic, plus the children constantly pulling their clothes. Crowded by the happy children, the two stopped. Their childish heart was aroused, they looked at each other andughed. Right this moment, they both felt something was not right. From ahead, behind, left and right, there were peopleing toward them. Murderous aura suddenly red up. The two boys were veterans of a hundred battles. Under such circumstances, although they had fallen into a heavy siege by mistake, they could always grab the initiative either to attack or to defend to deal with the enemies. However, currently there were seven, eight innocent children around them,pletely sealing their room to maneuver, so much so that leaping up might cause harm to the children, not to mention they practically did not have time to do so. The assassins pulled the weapon hidden inside their outer robe; in total disregard of the childrens safety, de lights sprang up from all directions to attack the two boys in perfect coordination. Since everything happened too quickly and too suddenly, the rushing along pedestrians did not know what happened; seeing the shing des, they instinctively scattered away in all directions, making the chaotic situation even more chaotic. Within this lightning-shes and sparks fly moment, the two boys realized that this was the enemies meticulously arranged trap, with despicable means of using children as distraction, telling them to entangle the two boys and to y around them, and thenunching their attack from four sides, eight directions. Some of the children suddenly felt the crisis, involuntarily they either threw themselves into the two boys embrace or held on to them even tighter in order to seek protection, so that even though the two boys had the power, it was difficult to move. They could only sigh inwardly. Saber light was shing continuously. Kou Zhong looked at one bright and shiny point of the saber deing from right ahead following an arc, stabbing at him right on his face, the saber qi was shrouding himpletely. If there was nothing impeding his movements, he could simply sh out of the way to the side, but now there were two kids holding on to his legs tightly. Unless he had the heart to shock and injure them, otherwise, even if he could get away from them, it would still slow him down. The face of attacker from straight ahead looked unfamiliar, but the saber technique has reached the first-ss saber master level. However, this saber strike still did not pose any problem for him. The problem was that there was another saber shing at his neck from the right, and a long sword stabbing at his back from behind. The most terrifying thing was that the swordsman behind him, which he could not see, was actually Kou Zhongs most formidable opponent. The sword de was still about a chi away from his back, but he felt as if his entire spine was immersed in cold, freezing iced water, a clear sign that even if this persons power might not be in Kou Zhongs level, the difference was hardly any. Due to the enemys attack, Kou Zhong did not have time to pull out the Moon in the Well. Sighing inwardly, he threw himself forward, bringing the two children with him to the ground. Xu Zilings situation was worse than Kou Zhongs. A panic-stricken child was holding tightly in his bosom, while two others were pulling the hem of his outer robe from behind. The remaining two children fell on their butts between he and Kou Zhong, while one kid rolled down to his left. Before his eyes, saber light was surging like rolling wind and violent cloud. The one attacking from the front had daggers in each hand, with the tip of the dagger gleaming red from the poison. This persons figure was not tall. Although she was dressed in mens clothing, Xu Ziling knew it was the second time that he fought with the opponent. Although she made her originally ought to be bewitching-beyondpare jade countenance appeared to be swarthy and rough, in just one nce, Xu Ziling could still recognize her from her technique as Shen Mohuans wife, Mu Ling. She was vicious and ruthless, in total disregard of the child in his bosoms safety. There were still three other men attacking him at the same time. Two were attacking from behind; he was sure that one of them, if it was not Shen Mohuan, then it must be a martial art master of his ss. He was using a pair of short-handled axes, in wheel-like movement, violent and ferocious without equal. If he got hacked, his muscles would split, his bones would shatter for sure, any true qi protecting his body would be unable to withstand. The other man, although his skill was few notches inferior, he could still be considered a first-ss martial art master. Wielding a double hook, he was attacking the side of Xu Zilings neck and the right side of his waist, consecutively. The remaining saber wielder was sealing his left side, aiming at his nk. Among the attacks from the front and rear, this attack posed the greatest threat to Xu Ziling. In a blink of an eye, both boys were forced into a cannot-advance-or-retreat desperate straits. The most unbearable thing was that certainly none of the innocent children drawn into this assassination assault would be able to luckily escape. The enemys cruelty made ones hair stand up in anger. Shen Mohuans operation this time could be said very thorough. Because they knew that the boys woulde to their meeting at noon, he executed the cruel trick of using children to pester them. By the time the children were ying around the two boys, they moved to the strategic position andunched the ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt sudden attack in order to put them to death by all means. Xu Ziling roared and unleashed his divine power. He was fully aware that under such circumstances he would undoubtedly be wounded, his hope was that he would only be injured but not dead, while also helped the children to avoid great catastrophe. The sheepskin robe shattered into pieces and shot toward the enemies. Ding! Ding! When he was falling to the ground, Kou Zhong suddenly twisted his body around so that he was facing up. Both hands waved and struck, he simultaneously hit the des attacking from ahead and from the right side, while also striving to evade the long sword stabbing from behind by a hairsbreadth. The children hanging on his legs rolled on the ground, so that even if he had a thousand-kind-of-consummate-skill martial art, momentarily he was unable to put any to good use. Two saber wielders let out a stifled grunt and fell back. The vortex of energy entering their sabers was the culmination of the power that Kou Zhong cultivated all his life, how could it be easy to withstand? Who would have thought that the sword wielder attacking from behind was very powerful? The ingenuity of the changes was greatly beyond Kou Zhongs expectation. Unexpectedly it flew up above Kou Zhong, and then without changing the swords original style it swiftly stabbed down, straight toward the vital part, his heart. Although the other side changed his appearance, even put on fake beard, but from the expression showing in his eyes, which could not be changed, Kou Zhong was 90% sure that this vicious assassin was Han Chaoan of Gaoli. Momentarily Kou Zhong did not have enough time to pull his hands back to block, plus because his legs were wrapped in the childrens arms, he could not use his martial art skill, and could only struggle to use the strength of his waist to twist his torso to the right. The long sword was piercing straight into his chest. The upper half of Xu Zilings sheepskin robe was shattered by his qi power and shot toward the enemies like bullets, each piece contained fierce and severe true power, enough to hurt the enemy. If it cut through the enemys eyes, nose, or other weak body parts, it could also cause permanent damage, hence he was not afraid that the enemy would not be without apprehension. The best part was that when the lower part of the robe fell off, it made the two children Bonk! fell to the ground, which also made them avoid the double axes and double hooks attacking from behind. The saber wielder and the hook wielder, whose skill was slightly inferior, hastily shed to the side to evade the sheepskin pieces, before changing their move to attack again. Mu Ling and Shen Mohuan still continued their attack without changing style. Relying on their qi power they used their mouth to blow away the pieces of sheepskin attacking their faces, while against the other pieces of sheepskin attacking the other part of their body, they relied on the true qi protecting their body to cope. It was a subtle change, but from the desperate straits, Xu Ziling found a ray of hope of survival. Xu Ziling secretly performed the Motionless Fundamental Image; twisting his body, he moved the child facing Mu Lings poisonous dagger out of the harms way, while his mouth spat out an incantation, Lin!, like an icy-cold snowball being cast into the zing-like-great-furnace battlefield, so that no matter how dauntless and ferocious Mu Ling and Shen Mohuan were, hearing that, they could not stop their mind from being greatly affected. Their body shook, their attacking hands slowed down a little. Xu Ziling was precisely fighting for this tiny gap. Mu Lings left and right poisonous daggers changed to attack his ear and sh down his rib, the style was exquisite, amazing, and mysterious. Even in one-on-one duel without any constraint he still had to be careful in dealing with it, not to mention Shen Mohuans double axes from behind changed direction to attack him like rolling wheel from the left side. Xu Zilings hands flew separately to meet the attack from both sides head on. And then relying on his right leg to maintain his bnce, his left leg curved up, fast like lightning it flew toward Shen Mohuans genital. In the blink of an eye the two sides made contact and suddenly separated. Mu Lings left dagger sessfully stabbed the vital part under his right nk, while Shen Mohuan used the axe handle to intercept the leg that could potentially send his old life away, while with the other axe he sealed Xu Zilings retreat path. Xu Zilings true qi burst out, so that before it was able to cause great harm, Mu Lings poisonous dagger ricocheted away from his nk, but he could no longer evade the single saber and a double hook that were attacking close behind. His blood sshed, the saber pierced his left arm, the hook aimed at his neck failed, but the other hook managed to sh a deep blood trace on the back of his left shoulder, his clothes were torn and shattered. This was due to Xu Ziling rapidly swayed his upper body in session so that he could avoid fatal wound. Mu Ling and Shen Mohuans second round of attack arrived. With a tragic scream, the saber wielder was swept on the shoulder by Xu Zilings palm counter strike, he was sent tumbling sideways, and thus the saber was pulled out before it had any chance to go deeper, carrying with it the blood sshing from Xu Zilings body. On the other side, Kou Zhong was also at the juncture of life and death. The enemys sword was still a chi away from touching his back, it suddenly changed direction to thrust straight into his chest. He put both hands together and was barely able to mp the enemys sword going about two cun into his chest, fully aware that if this swordsman, who presumably was Han Chaoan, shot his power inside his body, then Kou Zhongs heart meridian might be shocked and broken, hence he hastily sent out the true power from his hands, fiercely attacking the opponent. The enemys imposing body was severely shaken, he was unable to send out his inner power; seizing this opportunity, he pulled the sword and flew back. Kou Zhong used one hand to prop himself on the ground, while struggling hard to endure the bone-crushing-heart-breaking pain in the pit of his stomach. With his other hand he pulled the Moon in the Well. By the time he carried the two children to spring back into upright position, the treasured saber swept in a full circle. Ding! Ding! he swept away the second round of attack from the enemies two sabers. The Moon in the Well turned into yellow light, it swiftly shot toward Mu Ling, who was attacking Xu Ziling. Bang! One after another Xu Zilings double palms pped Shen Mohuans attacking double axe, shocking the opponents left and right, two axes so that he was unable to continue the attack. With his other foot he kicked sideways at the hook wielder, forcing him to retreat in panic. But Xu Ziling did not have time to deal with Mu Lings dagger. Fortunately, Qiang! with a clear noise Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well arrived and Mu Ling was forcefully pushed back. Kou Zhong recklessly rushed his true power out, blood immediately gushed out of the wound on his chest like a spring. The chaotic battle was like the waves rippling outside with the two boys as the center. Passersby raced each other to get away, some ran across the street, over the vehicles and horsesne, throwing the traffic into a great mess, with horses neighing and people shouting. A squad of patrolling troops shouted and galloped from the direction of the King City, heightening the already intense chaotic situation. With the blood flowing out freely from his left arm, the pain made Xu Ziling unable to raise his arm. His right punch shot out, the Treasured Vase Qi exploded. This move was sent out in anger. By the time the hook wielder sensed that something was amiss, the highly concentrated Treasured Vase Qi already hit the pit of his stomach, the hand holding the hook met the fist, he spurted blood and flew away,nded on the vehicles and horsesne. The swordsman, who was suspected to be Han Chaoan, immediately darted toward the hook wielder to help him up before letting out a shrill whistle. Responding to the whistle, the enemies scattered to escape, some flew to the roof, some fled into side alleys; in the blink of an eye they all disappeared, neat and clean. Xu Ziling felt the dizziness after a burst of blood lost and strength exhaustion. Only this moment the children were starting to wail, but he was relieved instead, knowing that they were not injured. Passersby gathered around them, pointing and gesticting. Some of the braver ones came over to pick up the children and took them away. Kou Zhong struggled hard to stand; he applied his inner power to stop the bleeding. He came over to Xu Zilings side and spoke in low voice, Any muscles and bones injury? Xu Ziling came back to his senses. He saw the wound on Kou Zhongs chest was still seeping out blood; if the wound were about a cun farther to the left, definitely his life would be gone. Shaking his head, he replied, Still wont kill me. Mu Lings dagger was dipped in highly toxic poison; if it were someone else, he would undoubtedly die. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, We definitely must not show weakness! Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. This moment, where the enemies were lurking around them, if any enemys side knew that they had been seriously injured, they would certainly lose their life before returning to the Central ins. Only Shi Zhixuan would never let them off. The onlookers were beginning to talk to them, they unanimously praised the two boys for their righteous deed in risking their life to protect the children. The patrolling troops arrived. The captain shouted loudly, Who dares to fight in the street? Kou Zhong put the saber back into its sheath, with powerful countenance heughed and said, We are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Even if there is any vition of thew, we will exin it personally to Da Wang tonight. The patrolling troops were intimidated by the two boys reputation, immediately they changed their attitude and asked them instead what they could do to help. Seeing himself and Kou Zhong were covered all over with blood, Xu Ziling smiled and declined the other sides good intention. Pulling Kou Zhong aside to continue their trip, he whispered in Kou Zhongs ear, Do you think Xiao Shiyi is involved in this assassination ambush? Enduring the pain on the pit of his stomach, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its difficult to say. Lets find a shop to buy new set of clothes first; this way, we will be presentable when we see the enemy. Looking at their covered-in-blood-from-head-to-toes appearance, anybodying in their direction immediately got out of the way in shock. Needless to say, the two boys felt even more upset. Since their debut, they had never experienced miscalction and a difficult situation like this. They suffered multiple injuries, with Kou Zhongs most serious injury on his chest, and Xu Zilings most serious injury on his nk and left arm. Even though they had the Long Life Qi, which had an extremely divine efficacy in healing, they could forget about recovering fully in a short period of time. All the opponents weapons were filled to the brim with destructive qi power, which invaded their meridians. External and internal injuries plus considerable blood loss, were it not for these two boys internal power was out of themon run, they would have copsed on the ground and were unable to get up early on. In this city, where danger lurks on every side, the days after the fight would definitely not easy to pass. Xu Ziling said, The enemy must be sending people to observe our current situation. If we reveal the inside information, the consequences will be too horrible to contemte. Kou Zhongughed aloud. Deliberately raising his voice, he said, This time it could be said that our boat is capsized in the ditch, fortunately its just skin and flesh injuries; we definitely must seek justice. Xu Ziling halted his steps in front of a ready-made garment shop. Outside the mouth of the street was precisely the foreign guesthouse where Fu Junqiang was staying. Laughing calmly, he said, After changing into new clothes, we will go seek them to give them bad luck. Kou Zhong took the lead to enter the garment shop, knowing full well that if Shen Mohuan and the others dared to strike at this moment, they would find that the two boys would be unable to withstand a single blow. Book 42 - 4 – Real is Empty, Empty is Real The two boys left the garment shop wearing new clothes. Except for their countenance, which was slightly paler than usual, their outside appearance did not show any sign that they were seriously injured. The boss, as well as the assistants of the garment shop, all knew what happened down the street just now. On one hand, they admired the boys righteous deed in risking their life to protect the children, on the other hand, they admired them even more as the heroes who withstood Xielis main forces; therefore, they were quite enthusiastic. Not only they refused to receive a single wen [lowest coin denomination] for the well-fitting clothes, they even let the two boys rinse the bloodstain from their body with the hot water from the well at the rear court. Because the sheepskin outer robe was sewed personally by Chuchus jade hands, although it was stained with blood and was damaged, Kou Zhong still refused to give it up. After retrieving the Extinguished Sun Bow and the Moon in the Well, he handed the robe over to the garment shop for repair and cleaning. The sky was still grey and hazy, just like the two boys mood at the moment. Kou Zhong sighed and said, When we left Shanhai Pass, we still had the mood to go on a scenic tour into the prairie, thinking that we could pass our days in leisure. Who would have thought that Old Ba nearly lost his life then, and we fell into dangerous situation now? We never thought that these matters could happen. Xu Zilings left arm was out ofmission. If he had to fight right now, only his right hand could be used, but it would still affect the wound on his nk. Therefore, only his two legs could do the deeds for him. Hearing Kou Zhong, he blurted outughing and said, Do you think this malicious scheme has anything to do with Xiang Yushan, who is masterminding it in the dark? This moment the two boys crossed the vehicle and horsesne and arrived outside the gate of the foreign guesthouse. Finished listening, Kou Zhong stopped and muttered to himself irresolutely, Your conjecture may be correct. Only that deserved-to-die kid understand our character very well; only he could think of this vicious move of using children to entangle us. Shen Mohuan has always been Xielis hunting dog, Zhao Deyan hates us to the bones, they put on disguise and came to ambush us, it must be because they did not want Tuli to know that it was their doing. His grannys; if we dont avenge this hatred, we are not gentlemen. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, If Han Chaoan came to probe the condition of our injury, for example, he is calling it by the glorified name of having a friendly match against us, what do we do? Kou Zhong subconsciously pressed his hand against the throbbing pain in his chest; he hatefully said, I wonder if we could simply me him directly for what happened just now? At that time, he could only quibble byying words, hence he cannot do anything to us. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, That can still be considered a way, but certainly not a wise one. First of all, with our usual style of work, we will surely have a falling out with him and stand ourselves in opposition to him, and thus we will invite trouble for ourselves. Secondly, and more importantly, we will make Han Chaoan know that we know that he and Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, are viins colluding together; as a result, he will be wary toward us. Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, I dont know whether my confidence has received a blow, but my mind goes nk, I cannot think of anything; do you have any good idea? Xu Ziling smiled and said, How about real is empty, and empty is real? Speaking about exaggeration and giving a false picture of the situation, Xiaodi feel ashamed at being inferior, naturally I must ask you, LaoGe to throw your cap in the ring. Hearing the singing to a string apaniment, Kou Zhong knew the valued advice;ughing aloud, he pulled Xu Ziling into the foreign guesthouse. Fu Junqiang received the two boys at the upper reception hall of the foreign guesthouse. Jin Zhengzong and Han Chaoan were apanying her on her left and right. Song Shidao was the mediator who arranged this peace talks; seeing the boys were nearly quarter an hourte, he frowned lightly as a way to scold them. The two boys swept the impatient Fu Junqiang, the grave-in-manner Jin Zhengzong, and the confident-and-at-ease Han Chaoan C with their gaze one after another. The three peoples demeanor was different from each other. Fu Junqiang puffed up her fragrant cheeks, acting as if she could not vent her resentment, but it was unclear whether she was ming them foringte, or because of the old hatred in the Yuwen Huaji affair. On the surface Jin Zhengzong did not reveal the emotion in his innermost being, but they could still feel the hostility buried deep within him. On the contrary, Han Chaoan, who has just carried out assassination operation against them C was warm, making people feel that he was trying to hide it only to make it more conspicuous, showing off fake mercy of a cat weeping over a mouse. Just by looking at this, it was still unclear whether Fu Junqiang and Jin Zhengzong knew or agreed with Han Chaoans conduct toward them a moment ago. Han Chaoan apparently did not know that the two boys had seen through that he was the criminal ringleader, the main offender of the assassination operation. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong began, Please forgive our guilt iningte. A moment ago we were ambushed at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, which inflicted heavy losses on us that we are nearly unable toe. Song Shidao was shocked, You are injured? he asked. His burning gaze looked them up and down. Laughing coldly, Fu Junqiang said, Who has the ability to injure you? Where are you hurting? I cant see it. Xu Ziling paid particr attention to Jin Zhengzongs expression; he noticed his startled look, apparently he was unaware of the assassination operation. If he was not wallowing in the mire with the assassins, then logically Fu Junqiang was not involved either. Kou Zhong ran his hand over the new clothes he was wearing, and said with augh, Originally we were so unsightly being covered in blood all over, so we rely entirely on this set of new clothes to cover our disgrace. Ha! Can we sit down? Right now my legs are weak, anybody can put us in order quite easily. Han Chaoans eyes were shing with bewildered, unsure look, apparently the two boys showing weakness to confuse the enemy strategy worked. Lets sit down first before continuing our talk, Song Shidao hastily said. Everybody seated around a big round table in the middle of the hall in host and guest order. Fu Junqiang, with Jin Zhengzong and Han Chaoan on her left and right, sat on the side facing the main door. The two boys were sitting on the side with their back toward the door, with the mediator Song Shidao positioned himself between the two parties; the situation was clear. Noticing Han Chaoan could not stop scrutinizing him, Xu Ziling was amused inwardly, knowing that because the other side knew that he was hit by Mu Lings poisonous dagger, logically the deathly poison would attack his heart and kill him, yet because his Long Life Qi was impervious to any poison, it was as if nothing happened, which made Han Chaoan suspect that their im of being seriously injured was actually a trap to lure Shen Mohuan and the others toe again to deal with them. This was indeed real is empty, empty is real strategy. Jin Zhengzong spoke heavily, Who actually did this? Can Shaoshuai be more detailed? Fu Junqiang pouted her mouth, implying that she disdained their dressing-up-as-god-y-the-devil antic, she said, You really have the ability, your body is seriously injured yet still able to talk andugh freely. Kou Zhong lowered his voice first to talk mysteriously to Fu Junqiang, Xiao Shizhis [little martial nephew] heart was stabbed, it is still bleeding inside, ha! Fortunately my Long Life Qi has the rising-from-the-dead power, so that I was able toe here albeit with difficulty, to let Qiang Yi [auntie] see me, probably for thest time. Talking andughing freely is just an act, in order to conceal the severity of our injury from the assassin that they mighte again to take advantage of it. As for the condition of Xiao Lings injury, let him report it himself. Xu Ziling was peeved because Kou Zhongs exaggeration was really excessive. Greatly displeased, Fu Junqiang said, Still babbling nonsense, whos your Qiang Yi? Han Chaoan, who was well aware that his sword failed to stab Kou Zhongs heart, finally could not endure it anymore, knitting his brows deeply, he said, Shaoshuai, please forgive Zaixia for talking too much, but until this moment, we and two gentlemen are still enemies and not friends. Shaoshuai spoke so freely, arent you afraid we might take advantage of two gentlemens precarious situation? Stunned, Kou Zhong spoke to Song Shidao, Didnt Song ErGe say that Qiang Yi is willing to forgive us? We are all on the same side, furthermore, we are of the same family, the same school; how could we conceal the truth? Seeing that all along he refused to give up his martial art nephew status, Fu Junqiang angrily said, Another senseless talk, I am not going to talk with you at all! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce, they were both happy inwardly, because from the tone of Fu Junqiangs voice as she listened to the exchange between the two sides, they knew that they still have room to resolve this animosity. Song Shidao rebuked him, Xiao Zhong, please dont anger Junqiang, I have already exined your difficulty in letting Yuwen Huaji taking his own life clearly to her. Jin Zhengzong spoke in displeasure, Shaoshuai has not answered previous question; currently, within the City of Longquan, who has the ability to ambush and inflict heavy losses to two gentlemen? Kou Zhong replied with a sigh, Its not that they have enough ability, but they are despicable enough. Immediately he narrated the ambush situation, adding some oil and replenishing the vinegar, telling the story with flying eyebrows and dancing countenance, not forgetting to mention that the level of their injuries should have killed them many times over, sending them to the Yellow Springs herworld]. Among the listeners, Han Chaoan was the one whose eyebrows were furrowed the deepest. Finished telling the story, Kou Zhong lowered his voice until it could not be lowered anymore, saying, Most probably these assassins are Da Ming Zun Jiao people, because the one who stabbed Xiao Ling was a woman who disguised herself as a man. Xu Ziling added, Also its possible that she is Shen Mohuans wife, Mu Ling. The silence continued. Fu Junqiang and Jin Zhengzong did not show any special reaction, but Song Shidaos tiger-body shook lightly. He faintly grasped the two boys tactics, because he knew Han Chaoans rtionship with Shen Mohuan, husband and wife. The two boys felt strange. The reason Xu Ziling intentionally mentioned Mu Ling was to probe Fu Junqiang and Jin Zhengzongs reaction. If they had nothing to do with the assassination, unless they practically did not know that Han Chaoan was wallowing in the mire with Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, they should have a bit unnatural reaction, such as looking at him or something like that, yet they were acting naturally. Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, These are all off-topic; we came here this time, it is to listen to any instruction Qiang Yi has for us. Everybodys eyes turned toward Fu Junqiangs beautiful face. This Gaoli beautys pair of eyes lit up, her gaze fixed on Kou Zhong, she said, If you dont want me to pursue you, you must agree to my three conditions. Kou Zhong respectfully said, Qiang Yi, please bestow your instructions. As long as it is something that we can do, we will definitely not disappoint Qiang Yi. These words came from the bottom of his heart. Due to Fu Junchuos rtionship, they were most unwilling to make enemies of Fu Cailin. Fu Junqiang swept her gaze over Xu Ziling first before returning to Kou Zhong. She spoke heavily, The first condition is that from now on, you can no longer im to be the disciples of our Yijian Men [lit. abundant sword school]; I am not your Shiyi even more. Kou Zhong helplessly smiled wryly and said, Without asking for Shigongs instruction Shiyi simply chased us out the wall? Ay, all right! From now on I wont dare to call you Qiang Xiao Shiyi, Ill simply call you Qiang Yi. Fu Junqiang angrily said, Still acting shamelessly and naughty? Jin Zhengzong smiled, together with Han Chaoan they shook their head andughed in spite of themselves. Song Shidao tries to smooth things over, Shaoshuai, can you be a bit more serious? Jianghu has a non-formal etiquette, young and old, overlooking years, anybody can call each other brothers. Ifter on you call her Fu Guniang, wont this problem be easily solved [orig. (bamboo) splits when it meets the knifes edge]? He was worthy to being from a family influential for generations, a big n, his speech satisfied both sides, making those who hear it feelfortable. Readily following good advice, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, The next condition, would Fu Guniang please bestow your instructions? Fu Junqiangs countenance cleared up a little, she said, The second condition is if Kou Zhong, you in the future unify the Central ins, you must never use soldiers against Gaoli. Kou Zhong dly said, Even if Guniang did not have this instruction, Xiaodi will never make any move against Niangs mothend. In fact, I am not a man who loves to move the weapons of war. Ha, Qiang ... oh ... Guniang looks at my countenance, do you think I have the good fortune to be the emperor? Arent you speaking too highly of me? Jin Zhengzong said with a sigh, Shaoshuai ought to know that you have be the Han man with the most influence in the prairie, there are plenty of people who think highly of you. Currently, the man Xieli is having the most misgivings is not Li Shimin, but you, Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly saw the light; the main reason of this peace talks with Song Shidao as the mediator was merely to facilitate one factor. Even more important was that Kou Zhongs reputation and power was expanding continuously. Not only Kou Zhong made it clear with iron-d facts that he was an unequalled martial art master, he was also the military counselor who devised battle n in a tent, who helped Tuli defeating the Golden Wolf Army. And now in the Central Earth Kou Zhong had the Heavenly Saber Song Ques support, whose fame intimidated inside and outside the Central ins, plus in the prairie he had Tuli, Pusa, and the Gunatai brothers as allies, who would dare to despise him? Therefore, Gaoli people did not want to be enemy with him; at least they did not dare to have direct conflict with him. Han Chaoan only dared to assassinate him in disguise, plus it was highly likely that he kept Fu Junqiang and Jin Zhengzong in the dark. Song Shidao spoke in delight, Two issues have been resolved, Junqiang, please state your third condition. Fu Junqiang spoke indifferently, The third condition is even simpler. I know the Five-Colored Stone is still in your possession, as long as you hand over the Five-Colored Stone, I can act on Shizuns behalf that your crime of stealing the Jiu Xuan Da Fa [great method of nine mysteries] and Yijian Technique will be written off at one stroke, afterwards nobody owes anybody anything. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling groaned inwardly at the same time. They looked at each other, unable to say anything. Who could have thought that the third condition was the Five-Colored Stone, which had nothing to do with her? What is the problem? Song Shidao asked in surprise, Howe both of you look like you are in trouble? Xu Ziling replied dejectedly, If the Five-Colored Stone was still in our possession, we would immediately hand it over to Qiang Guniang, only regretfully this morning Meiyan Furen came to see me, asking me to return the Five-Colored Stone to her. Now the Five-Colored Stone is back in her hands. Fu Junqiang, three people revealed a shocked expression at the same time; it seemed like the Five-Colored Stone returning to Meiyan Furens hands was the worst situation. How could there be such a coincidence? Song Shidao joined in. Turning to Fu Junqiang, he advised, I know their personal character well, since the Five-Colored Stone has been returned to Meiyan Furen, I wonder if Junqiang could skip this condition? Shaking her head, Fu Junqiang replied, This is the most important condition of the three, not to mention they always tell lies and cheat repeatedly; how do I know that they are not deceiving me? Han Chaoan said, To untie thetch of the door, one must connect thetch and the person. Two gentlemen only need to ask Meiyan Furen to return the Five-Colored Stone, then youplete the three conditions, afterwards everybody can coexist peacefully. If this remark was made by Jin Zhengzong, Kou Zhong might ept readily, but since it came from Han Chaoan, who used despicable method to put them to death by all means, his mouth did not agree with his heart, hearing that, Kou Zhongs heart was burning with anger. He coldly said, Who does Han Xiong think Meiyan Furen is to us? We could simply ask for the Five-Colored Stone and she would simply give it back? Hearing that, Fu Junqiangs jade countenance immediately sank. Listening to the smell of gunpowder between the two sides, Song Shidao tried to persuade using all possible arguments, What is this Five-Colored Stones usefulness to Junqiang? Do you absolutely have to have it? After you obtain it, are you going to give it to Bai Ziting as a present? If that is the case, why not let Bai Ziting deal with it himself? Jin Zhengzong sighed and said, We precisely dont want the Five-Colored Stone to fall into Bai Zitings hands. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly understood. Gaoli supported Bai Ziting founding his country was to act as a buffer between them and the Tujue and Qidan, two tribes, but they were unwilling to see Bai Ziting unifying the prairie, and thus became the powerful neighbor that would be a threat to Gaoli. Thinking about how tangled andplicated this matter was, it would be enough to give people headache. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to ask, Meiyan and Bai Ziting have no family rtion, no reason, she shouldnt give the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting for nothing? Letting out a cold snort, Fu Junqiang said, What do you know? Meiyan has always had close rtionship with Funantuo, hence at Hualin [sic, I thought it was Tong Wan?] she entrusted you, these two idiots, to deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting. Now that she saw that you are slow to hand over the Five-Colored Stone, she confronted you directly to get the Five-Colored Stone back. You infuriate me to the death! Being scolded by her, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling your eyes look at my eyes, while inwardly they were shaken at the same time, because it appeared that in term of Meiyan and Funantuos rtionship, Liexia did not lie to them. Song Shidao said, It was because they did not know the actual facts that they unintentionally made mistake; I was wondering if Junqiang could not take this matter too seriously? Her anger was difficult to pacify, Fu Junqiang said, If they cant do it then they cant do it. Looking at Song Gongzis face, I can give them a few more days. If they can bring the Five-Colored Stone to me before the ceremony of the founding the kingdom, I promise that I will not break my word. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Fu Guniang is aware than we are seriously injured, others donte to give us trouble, we are going to celebrate; how could we still have the ability to seek other peoples trouble? Greatly displeased, Fu Junqiang said, Still bbering crazy talk? Only an idiot believes that you guys are seriously injured. You have to fend for yourself, my conditions definitely will not change. Finished speaking, seething, she brushed her sleeve and walked away. The remaining five men you look at me I look at you. Song Shidao spread his arms helplessly, indicating that he gave up. Only Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that they had brought this trouble upon themselves; they had never thought that this real is empty, empty is real tactics that they were using to deal with Han Chaoan would have this counter-effect of deepening the misunderstanding between them and Fu Junqiang. Xu Ziling noticed Jin Zhengzongs helpless expression, he appeared to sympathize with them, but also seemed to regret that their rtionship with Fu Junqiang was deteriorating. A glimmer of hope grew in Xu Zilings heart, he said, I wonder if two gentlemen could help us to persuade Qiang Guniang, let her understand that even if Bai Ziting obtained the Five-Colored Stone, it will still be difficult for him to unify the prairie, because Tuli definitely wont let this happen. Jin Zhengzong sighed and said, This is the other situation that we do not wish to happen. Although Bai Ziting is astute, but he blindly put his trust in Funantuo. The reason is because Funantuo, using Tianzhu divine calction, already stated that he is the true master who would unify the prairie, among the most important sign is that the long-lost Five-Colored Stone will return to his hands. If this matter does happen, the consequences will be difficult to imagine. Only then did Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understand the crucial role the Five-Colored Stone was ying. If the Five-Colored Stone fell into Bai Zitings hands, how could Bai Ziting not believe that he was the true master chosen by Heavens? As a result, he would overestimate his own capabilities and raise the weapons of war. And then for Gaoli, who was too busy to deal with him, it would only bring harm without any benefit. Han Chaoan stood up, he said, Junqiang originally thought that because she could obtain the Five-Colored Stone, she would render great merit; who would have thought that unexpectedly two gentlemen handed the Five-Colored Stone back to Meiyan? Her disappointment could be easily imagined. Heaving a deep sigh, Kou Zhong said, Very well! We will see what we can do. Book 42 - 5 – The Master of Longquan Song Shidao saw the two boys off outside the door, he asked in low voice, Are your injuries as serious as you said? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, I was exaggerating a little. How about we take a walk and well talk at the same time? Song Shidao and the two boys turned into the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, heading toward the south gate. Then why did you talk so freely, adding oil and replenish the vinegar? Kou Zhong sighed and said, This is the empty city stratagem [Zhuge Liang, Three Kingdoms], so that others think that we deliberately exaggerated the fact while actually we seeded by luck. Who did it? Song Shidao asked. Xu Ziling replied, It was Han Chaoan in collusion with Shen Mohuan, husband and wife. Were it not for they knew we had appointment with Qiang Yi, how could they make such a proper arrangement? The murderous aura in Song Shidaos pair of eyes ring greatly, the refined light shing, he spoke heavily, Han Chaoan this son of a b1tch has the impertinence topletely disregard me. Do you think Junqiang gave her consent? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Until now we still dont know why Han Chaoan did what he did? Moreover, we are unclear whether Qiang Yi gave her consent or participated. Xu Ziling analyzed, Han Chaoan agreed to provide Shen Mohuan a shelter, it could be said that he already treated them, husband and wife, with righteousness and justice; there is no need to help them assassinate us. There must be a reason within it that we do not understand. Letting out a cold snort, Song Shidao said, I dont care what their schools logic is; murder must be paid by their life, owing money must be paid by money. What are you going to do? Kou Zhong said, Currently, our top priority is to recover quickly; otherwise, we wont be able to move a single step in Longquan. I wonder if ErGe could help us investigating what is true and what is false on Han Chaoan, that son of a b1tch C in secret? It would be best if you could also ascertain whether Qiang Yi is wallowing in the mire with them. The moment we are healed, great catastrophe will befall Han Chaoan and Shen Mohuan. Song Shidao sighed and said, How could I leave you? When you are recuperating, there must be someone standing on guard. Kou Zhongughed aloud and reached out to put his hand on his shoulder. He said with augh, Our healing method is different to others, it can even be carried out in the city center. After apanying us two more steps, ErGe must return, otherwise our empty city stratagem wont be effective. Xiao Ling, lets start the healing process. Xu Ziling pulled Song Shidaos left arm, as he felt Kou Zhong was transmitting his qi into Song Shidaos meridians, quickly he received the two mens true qi, which was surging after it merged, and slowly pulled it in, and then he circted it all the way around the Hundred Extraordinary Channels, two meridians and seven chakras, and then using Song Shidao as the bridge, he sent it back into Kou Zhongs body, to heal his severely injured meridians. [Trantors note: in other instances, it was Eight Extraordinary Channels and Three Meridians, instead of hundred and two (I checked other sources as well). Perhaps a typo, but being neither an expert in Chinese medicine nor Chinesenguage, I tranted it as written.] Song Shidao was a man with outstanding innate talent, plus he received Song Ques direct teachings; in the blink of an eye he already grasped the profound mystery within it. Greatly astonished, he said, Your healing gongfa is indeed unheard of. Ay! How did you do it? Turns out your injuries are that heavy, but you cant see it on the outside, except your countenance looks a bit worse. The qi went back and forth within the two boys body, circting endlessly. Drawing support from Song Shidaos refined, pure and profound piercing qi, naturally it was a hundred times superior if the two boys only relied on their own seriously injured self-healing power. Following the stream of people, the three talked andughed as though nothing had happened, striding freely, strolling among the endless stream of horses and carriages, along the long street bustling with noise and excitement. The two boys returning to the courtyard house, Shuwen, flustered and exasperated, intercepted them, saying, Biele Ye had just sent urgent message, saying that they were unable to find the fleet of ships carrying the bows and arrows to Longquan. If they still cannot find it before dusk, they will have to give up and go back. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The so-called misfortune does note singly, in the face of Bai Ziting tonight, we are indeed in the disadvantageous position ofpletely taking the beating, while also continue to pretend to be seriously hurt, so that his beautiful guard will feel awkward to challenge us for a duel, otherwise we will make a fool of ourselves on the spot. Perhaps things might take a turn for the better, Shuwenmented. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, We must have made a mistake somewhere, hence they, brothers could not find that batch of bows and arrows. Once the golden opportunity passed by, it wont return. This round, we have no choice but to admit defeat. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, The bargaining chips in our hands right now can only buy a little, see a little. If we want Ma Ji to redeem the sheepskin to us, where should we put our face? Shuwen was listening with nk expression, plus he had other important matter, hence he excused himself and left. The two boys went to the hot spring pool to sit down. Kou Zhong started to undress, while saying with augh, Even being poor we can act distinguished and aplished, even hungry we can be happy. I hear all hot springs have the magical healing efficacy of living shoulder, growing muscle. Wed better soak ourselves in his mothers hot spring for a moment, putting aside all worries first. Aghast, Xu Ziling looked at the sword wound on the pit of his stomach, saying, Turns out you, this kid, are hurting really badly. Its lucky that you can stillugh insincerely [orig. beating some haha]. Kou Zhong casually tossed his outer clothing away onto the grassywn in the courtyard. With a bitter face he said, For each haha, I have to pay the price, which is the pain nibbling away at my bones and bringing together my heart. But isnt not being dead enough for us? Ha! Ouch! A momentter the two were immersed in the warm pool water, revealing only their heads. The hot steam rising, Kou Zhong circted his qi and transferred his power, he said, If Yucheng is another trap, we will undoubtedly die. I am not afraid, but I havent let Han Chaoan and Shen Mohuan to breath theirst in peace yet, so I wont die with my eyes closed. What do you think? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, What I am worried the most is not this matter, but that tonight we wont be able to help [y on words; orig. yucheng C please help achieve something (formal), same characters as Duan Yucheng] Zhu Yuyan aplish the wonderful thing of dying in such a way that Shi Zhixuan also perishes. I dare say that before sunrise tomorrow, it will still be difficult for us to fight, otherwise we will have injuries on top of injuries. Kou Zhong said, Before immersing in the pool, I was as pessimistic as you are, but now my feeling is a different thing altogether; every cun of my skin is like full of life force passing through it, as if it is shouting in happiness because of the growth and changes of life. Ha! This is called the trouble of anxious heart, because you are afraid your fairy is going to face danger on her own. Xiongdi, throw away your distracting thoughts, only then you will be able to put the wonderful efficacy of Huan Ri Da Fa on disy. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Your insight is so prating. Ha, you said it well! But this is perhaps the proof that you are not as badly hurt as I am. Kou Zhong nodded and said, It was the enemys main force that attacked you, so it makes sense if your injury is worse than mine. My Niang, tonight may be the hardest night to deal with since our debut. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Whether Ma Ji can redeem the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin is still unknown, but Pingyao merchants goods, we already patted our chest guaranteeing that we would get the goods back; this matter certainly fizzles out. Ay, howe we cannot find that batch of bows and arrows? Could it be thatst night Ma Ji knew we were eavesdropping, and thus deliberately mentioned a random ce? Their original grand n was that after obtaining the batch of bows and arrows, they would be able to talk about conditions with Bai Ziting; even more, they could threaten Ma Ji to reveal the wolf-bandits secret, because if the bows and arrows fell into Bai Zitings hands, Xieli could not possibly let Ma Ji off, so they did not need to be afraid that Ma Ji would not obediently tell them what they wanted to know. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, How could Ma Ji know we are eavesdropping nearby? The only possibility is that he was lying to Zhao Deyan. Xu Ziling lightly stirred the water of the hot spring pool to increase the temperature; frowning, he said, How could Ma Ji dare to tell a lie that Xieli would be able to uncover? My thought is that the quick-footed climbs up first [idiom: the early bird catches the worm], someone already stole away the bows and arrows. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Your guess is not without a reason, but who has that ability? Xu Ziling analyzed, To be able to rob the bows and arrows, one must meet three requirements. First, he has to know that this batch of goods is on the way to Longquan. Second, he has to have a vastwork of spies, any wind blowing or grass moving everywhere in Longquan cannot be concealed from him. Finally, he has to have enough power to aplish this. Sucking in a mouthful of breath, Kou Zhong said, Bai Ziting! Xu Ziling closed his tiger-eyes, he circted his power to absorb the heat from the spring water, to stimte the mysterious power of the three meridians and seven chakras life; he spoke slowly, Isnt that Bai Zitings usual style of work? Supposing the wolf-bandits are really his men, then the one making the move must be the wolf-bandits. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, How could the wolf-bandits dare to touch Ma Jis things? Xu Ziling said, The wolf-bandits do not have any particr appearance, they can even pretend to be Gunatai brothers men to shift the me on us. Uh, someonesing! There was a knock on the door. From the east wing, Shuwen hastily came out to answer the door. The two stared at the door, neither of them could guess who might havee to visit. The door opened, they saw Shuwens body shook, took three steps back and even moved a bit to the side, and then saluted deferentially he said, Xiaoren pays his respect to Da Wang. Inwardly the two were severely shaken; they looked at each other. Turned out it was Bai Zitings dragon-self honoring them with his presence. More than a dozen men strode into the courtyard. The leader was a man with wide forehead and big ears, from which tworge earlobes were hanging, with lions nose, medium-sized, his bearing elegant, like a younger generation of a family influential for generations, of an honorable school or a big n of the Central Earth. Hidden within his modestly was a cut-above-others air of arrogance; moreover, he had a pair of intimidating-others-at-the-first-nce, astute eyes, with the pupils deeply lively and sharp, his shoulders and face mysterious and heavy, a heap of old, harsh, motionless smile across his face; his age seemed to be around thirty, only his imposing manner already gave a little overbearing impression on other people. The most unforgettable aspect was his clothing and adornments; his head was wearing a ck crown in the form of a horizontal board with hanging tassels, his clothes were dragon robe made of silk and ck satin sewn together, fully embroidered with cloud and dragon motif, as if Qin Shihuang Ying Cheng [259-210 BC, the first emperor of China] who unified the Warring States came back to life from the mausoleum and returned to the world of the living. Apanying him were more than a dozen Longquan warriors, including the beautiful Imperial Guard Captain Zong Xianghua. Bai Zitings sharp eyes swept around, seeing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling soaking themselves in the hot spring pool at the center of the courtyard, he signaled with his hand to tell the rest to wait in ce, while he himself strode toward the hot spring pool. Letting out a chuckle, he said, Shaoshuai and Xu Xiong, please forgive this king for his crime of not providing satisfactory protection, unexpectedly allowing some small treacherous viins treating two gentlemen rudely using some despicable trick in the marketce; also mistakenly believed the rumor that that two gentlemens injury was life-threatening. Fortunately now I see it with my own eyes that two gentlemen are happy and in harmony, so that the big rock pressing on my heart can be put down. Kou Zhong nodded, saluted, and said with a smile, It ought to be Da Wang ming us for not able to wee you respectfully, for rudely failing to venerate you. And then, lowering his voice, he said, I wonder if Da Wang could do us a favor by not spreading out this situation, even fabricating some rumor about the seriousness of our injuries, the heavier the better, hoping that we could lure the vicious disciples to attack us again. Standing proud by the pool with his hands behind his back, Bai Ziting smiled and said, If the sword on the pit of Shaoshuais stomach is half a cun too far to the right, Bai Ziting may not have the opportunity to see Shaoshuais manner and style inughing and chatting about the real is empty, empty is real logic. Kou Zhong casually rubbed the wound, he smiled bitterly and said, Frankly speaking, this sword nearly took my life, and now it is still giving me unbearable pain, but also stirring up my fighting spirit. Injuries also have injuries style, it could also be the most brilliant phase of the cultivation, it might leave a rich aftertaste in the future [fig. memorable]. Xu Ziling eximed in admiration in his heart; Kou Zhong had the air of martial art master more and more, while Bai Ziting was an opponent that must not be underestimated. The two had just met and already they fought a verbal battle. Youe I go, the danger within it was in no way inferior to life and death battle using real saber and solid spear; if Bai Ziting was able to see through what is true and what is false in his and Kou Zhongs condition, it was very likely that they would not see the sun rising from the prairie tomorrow. pping his hands, Bai Ziting said, Well said. In the prairie, the injured wolf is the most dangerous wolf. And then his countenance sank, he spoke with a cold humph, Who actually did it? Which hallowed figure actually dared to disy shockingly bad behavior in my, Bai Zitings territory? When he said that, he appeared to be looking disdainfully out of the corner of his eyes, possessing the imposing manner of a ruler overlooking the world, his body seemed to grow into the empty air, higher than the sky. The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke indifferently, This kind of trivial matter, how could we dare to inconvenience Da Wang? If this kind of bandits can live pass tonight, in the future my name, Kou Zhong, these two characters can be spelled backwards. While saying that, he looked directly at Bai Ziting; Bai Ziting happened to be also looking at him. Caught red-handed by Kou Zhongs gaze, the hair on his body stood on its end. Bai Zitings dragon-body slightly trembling, meeting Kou Zhongs shooting-like-lightning gaze without missing a beat, he nodded and said, Although Shaoshuais body is injured, your confidence is not damaged the slightest. Previously whenever someone said in front of me how exceptional two gentlemen are, I only felt that it was an exaggeration of the reality; but now I know that there is indeed such a figure in the world like two gentlemen. Bai Ziting ordered a feast especially setup to wash the dust from two gentlemens body, surely gentlemen wont be too busy killing people that you cannot attend? Thousandyers of giant waves were surging in Xu Zilings heart, he secretly cheered for Kou Zhongs move. Only bypletely discharging the thought about life and death would he be able to purely rely on emotion and expression to put Bai Ziting under control in all respects and put him in the disadvantageous position. Since the beginning of the battle, the two had been on par with each other, mutually seeking the hole and crack on the opponents defense line. On the surface both sides were polite and courteous, while actually it was a dagger hidden behind the smiles, neither one yielded to the other the slightest bit. Bai Ziting has been advancing step by step, until at the precise moment, with urate-without-missing-the-slightest-bit speed he caught the shooting gaze, which was the beginning of Bai Ziting falling into the disadvantageous position. It was akin to seeing through Bai Zitings move, grabbing his escaping-one. However, Bai Ziting was not someone easy to deal with either; he deftly changed the topic to tonights banquet, using defense to attack, to see how Kou Zhong would respond. Xu Ziling joined in, How could we fail Da Wangs kind offer? Tonight, we will attend the meeting on time. Bai Zitings gaze moved to Xu Ziling, he stepped back, saluted, and said, In that case Bai Ziting will no longer disturb two gentlemens quiet enjoyment, tonight I wait respectfully for two gentlemens good-self. Kou Zhong revealed an exhausted expression. Looking at the door, which was closed after Bai Ziting left, he spoke dejectedly, If he had stayed a bit longer, I definitely could not hold out. All along his imposing manner had been locked on me; perhaps one wrong word, he would make his move to have us killed. Fortunately from the beginning he has been unable to see what is true and what is false in me. Really strange, howe he did not mention the Five-Colored Stone even for half a word? Could it be because he already knew that Meiyan, that touching woman, already asked the Five-Colored Stone back? Xu Ziling stretched out his right hand, Kou Zhong met it with his left hand. The two boys same-origin-but-different true qi immediately blended together like water and milk, circting endlessly within the two boys body. Thinking deeply, he said, I always feel that Meiyan is not like Liexia made her to be, hence I do not want to make up my mind on her too quickly. And then he said with a sigh, I understand that just now you had no choice but to put on an act, but youid out everythingpletely, arent you afraid it might be difficult to exinter? Kou Zhong pair of eyes was shing brightly, his vigor has been restored; he said, I wasnt exaggerating on purpose, but I did indeed have that thought in my heart. Just like what I said, injuries also have injuries strategy and move [referring to a move in a game]. Supposing under this kind of disadvantage we seed in striking back to ughter Shen Mohuan, how touching would that kind of sess feel like? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, The fact is that you are only slightly better than me. If we fight with all our strength, the healing wound will crack and burst open, the bleeding alone will be enough to be unbearable, not to mention we do not have much blood left to be shed. Kou Zhong replied, Thats why I said injuries have injuries move. You should know that if we sink down to passive position, in this foreign ce, we, two outsider-dragons can neither escape nor evade; the empty city strategy can only work for a while, when the enemy finds out that we shrink our heads and do note out, as soon as they slightly test us, our original identity will be fully revealed. Therefore, the big-headed ghost must hold on to the end. Only when we can appear to be uninjured enough will we be able toe back to life from death. And then lowering his voice he said, Perhaps when Zhu Yuyan discovers that currently we are so easy to be eaten, we no longer have any value for her. She might as well get rid of us, these two cmities within Yin Gui Pais bosom, since we are useless anyway, why would she want to retain us? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Your remark is very reasonable. Listening to the tone of your voice, looks like you already have the injurys move, why dont you tell me? Kou Zhong said, After a round of healing, our wounded meridians are nearly recoveredpletely, the problem is our bodily injury and the residual effect of serious blood loss; therefore, as long as our outside injury does not get worse and we do not bleed anymore, we could use our skill of borrowing strength to defeat strength, then we wont bepletely without any confidence to face the enemy. Xu Ziling said, Its easy for you to say. The fact is that any intense movement, we already cannot bear it. Kou Zhong said, This is called exhausted then change, change then understand; if one person cannot do it, then two persons added together will be another matter altogether. Please speak a bit more clearly, Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong leaned and whispered in his ear, The inspiration came from the hot spring pool. Just now I applied my power to contend against Bai Ziting, the burning hot spring water, because I was applying my power and generating heat, the pain was greatly reduced; even more, my body maintain its vital force, the qi and blood flow unimpeded, so that Bai Ziting was unable to see through what is true and what is false in me. Your Long Life Qi is superior to the hot spring pool water, it will be a hundred times better to help me. As long as during the fierce battle you use the Long Life Qi to provide support for me, you lighten my injury during fight, I am sure we will shock people. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, This is indeed a brilliant move after injury. The only problem is that in a tangled warfare, I wont have time to take care of myself, I am afraid I wont have any strength left to provide assistance to you. Kou Zhong said, Therefore, we must coordinate the strategy to take the initiative and to attack, to make the enemy unable to create situation where they can attack together. Ha, thinking about it, if we can ughter Shen Mohuan, who would dare to think that our injury is so heavy that we cannot fight. Otherwise, Shi Zhixuan will be the first one who wont let us off. He would do everything possible to put us, two kids in order, so that he could calmly deal with Zhu Yuyan. Xu Ziling spoke in astonishment, Turns out you really want to kill Shen Mohuan. Letting go his grip on Xu Zilings hand, Kou Zhong climbed onto the edge of the pool, and said with augh, When did I, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong ever say something and it did not count? You, this kid, it is because your thought is on Shi Feixuan that your mind is unclear; quickly wake up and use your brains, think of how we can get rid of Shen Mohuan, that kid. This is the only way of survival. Come. Its time for us to see Yucheng. Book 42 - 6 – A Friend and An Enemy The two boys strode over the courtyard gate and stepped into the street. After the heavy rain, the sky was still overcast, the street was wet and slippery, there were umted water on the lower parts of the street. Evidently, this city, which mimicked Changan, had not finished apprenticeship in hydraulic engineering yet. Warning signal went off in Xu Zilings heart, but on his face he revealed a rxed expression. Actually, he felt dull ache on all the wounds on his body, big and small, so it was not pleasant at all. We are being watched, he spoke in low voice, One of them is that homeless beggar asking for money, sitting across the street. After casting us a nce, he immediately hung down his head. There two other groups. One is at the feed store catty-corner from us, on the first table leaning against the door on the left. The other one is hiding inside the horse-drawn carriage parked to the left of the pedestrianne on this side. I dont know how many men. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, You are getting more and more formidable! I only caught those three fellows watching us inside that shop. This is convenience dropping by our door. Well start with that beggar, by killing the chicken to warn the monkey [idiom: to punish an individual as an example to others] as initial show of strength [orig. disy of severity immediately on taking office]; otherwise, we will see Yucheng without our lives. Xu Ziling reached out to wrap his arm around Kou Zhongs broad shoulders, together they crossed the vehicle and horsesne, walking straight toward the homeless man with tattered clothes, who had his hat so low that it could not be pushed any lower. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I wonder how we are going to lure Shen Mohuan out, and then using the Extinguished Sun Bow take his dog life. His Flying Cloud Bow will be yours. Xu Ziling spoke with a sneer, His Flying Cloud Bow is stained full of innocent peoples blood, it is an ominous thing. We had better give it back to Jian Dashi as a sacrificial offering in front of his deceased wifes tomb! The two arrived in front of the beggar sitting on the ground. Kou Zhong fished out a copper coin, which was in cirction in Longquan, an imitation of the Sui Dynastys Tongbao currency; he tossed it into the air, the copper coin spun in the air like a gyroscope, beforending on the ground in front of the beggar, right next to his coin bowl. It was still spinning for quite half a day before it finally stopped, producing a light, clear and melodious noise as it touched the ground. Afraid that his disguise might be seen, the beggar did not dare to lift his head; he reached out to pick the copper coin, and with a hoarse voice he spoke in Hannguage, Thank you very much two Renye [master, as in master-servant rtionship]! His fingertips had just touched the copper coin, Kou Zhongs foot moved, which seemed to be fast, yet seemed to be slow as well, to step on the back of his hand. Xu Zilings arm on his shoulder sent out true qi, to give a small demonstration of ones impressive skills [idiom] to help him oveing the serious injury on the pit of his stomach. Otherwise, it would be strange indeed if by exerting such qi power, his wound would not burst open again. The tramp wanted to pull his hand back but found out that Kou Zhongs true qi was pressing down, so that his originally quick and nimble palm felt like it was under a thousand jin boulder, unexpectedly he was unable to move a single step. His soul flew away and scattered, his palm was pinned under Kou Zhongs foot. Naturally his other hand cut toward Kou Zhongs leg, but Kou Zhongs true qi already attacked. It flowed along the foot meridian to invade his body, so that the shing hand only moved halfway and it already went limp. The man looked up; his pair of eyes emitted vicious and cruel, as well as panic-stricken look. Applying his power, he jerked his hand away, who would have thought that he was unable to free himself at all? This struggle immediately stirred up a burst of stabbing-the-heart-splitting-the-lungs pain, so that cold sweats immediately appeared on his forehead, the bones of his hand felt like they were about to break. Not only Kou Zhong was indifferent to his pain, he also seemed to bepletely oblivious that his foot was stepping on someone elses hand. As if nothing had happened, he turned to Xu Ziling, who still had his arm around his shoulders, and said with augh, People say that the pain on the ten fingers is linked to the heart. If the palm is destroyed, wont it resolve the pain linked to the heart problem once for all? At most, the five-finger pain linked to the heart is not as bad as ten fingers pain. Xu Ziling was a bit unable to bear to do this to the man, he said, We are going to ask you a few questions, if you answer obediently and honestly, we will let you go immediately, I guarantee that your hands and feet will be intact. The two boys have been partners for a long time, since they were good-for-nothing delinquents, and had deep understanding of psychological warfare. Echoing one another, they destroyed the opposite sides willpower to resist,yer byyer. Kou Zhong acted as if he had just seen the man for the first time. Fixing his gaze on him, he said, Where is Kunzhihuang? When we get a chance, I have to sit down with him to drink Xiangshui Rice wine, to chat about recent developments. The man was shaken all over, apparently he was shocked that Kou Zhong had seen the actual facts. Only Xu Ziling knew that at most Kou Zhong only had fifty-percent confidence that he could control the enemy. But this kid was just like his Moon in the Well; he loved to win by surprise move the most, always acting with ample his mothers brazenness, as if he had a hundred-percent confidence. First of all, from his impure ent they could detect that he was a Qidan. Secondly, they knew that various Qidan tribes, none was not afraid of Tuli, only the Qidan grand chief Abaojia dared to disregard Tuli, together with Shen Mohuan and Tiefuyou, they ambushed them outside Hualin. Kunzhihuang was the high-ranking officer under Abaojiasmand in charge of this kind of affairs, so it was only logical that this man was sent by him to spy on them. Kou Zhongpletely loosened his foots pressure from the mans hand. Although the man regained his freedom, he did not dare to pull his hand back. Fear was bursting out of his pair of eyes, a clear sign that his defensive embankment was on the brink of copsing. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If you are a real man, you should just answer yes or no. As long as you speak out honestly, please say hello to Kunzhihuang for me. The man did not dare to pull [orig. to return the jade annulus to Zhao (idiom); fig. to return something intact to its rightful owner] his hand under Kou Zhongs sole even more. Nodding his head dejectedly, he said, Yes! Kou Zhong moved his big foot away, patted the man and the shoulder and said with augh, Wouldnt it be better if you speak up earlier? Pulling Xu Ziling back into the street, they walked over toward the group sitting at the feed store. Laughing in low voice, he said, I have a bit of feeling that we are back to the memorable years in Yangzhou, where we did not have enough skill, and had to rely on stealing, cheating, and swindling to make a living. Xu Zilingughed and said, Cheating and swindling have nothing to do with me. I am just a little pickpocket. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, I am afraid thinking of oneself as high and pure has be your chronic illness. I am an honest person, I can only speak honest words, please dont take offense. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, Thinking of oneself as high and pure chronic illness? In the end you are still pointing finger at me for being unwilling to help you strive for the world. Yet you still call yourself a brother! But everybody has his own aspiration. I do not me you, because I know how to respect other peoples aspiration. Kou Zhongughed freely and said, While there is still a time, how about we go to the Sheng Guang Si to see Zhenxian [lit. true/real fairy]. Only in front of Zhenxian will you, Ling Shao, reveal your real face. The two boys stood outside the feed stores door, looking inside. upying the first table by the door were three foreign tribes men, who were intimidated by their approach, unexpectedly they all averted their eyes. Xu Zilings gaze fell on the tattoo on the back of one of the mens hand; his heart was moved, he said, Cui Wang is well? The three men were lightly shaken at the same time. Although it was imperceptible, but how could they conceal it from the two boys? They cried what a pity inwardly, because if they could secretly follow these mens track, there would be a great chance that they would be able to find Cui Wangs nest. But now, although they had the will, they did not have the strength [idiom from Confucian Analects]. One of the men replied, Xu Ye misunderstood. We are Lie Yes men. That day at Hualin we saw two Daye from a distance. The two boys had no doubt even more. Only people who had stayed in the Central Earth for a long time could speak Hannguage like this; moreover, it carried a northeaster ent. Another Huihe man said, Lie Ye told us to wait here for his orders. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Lets speak less nonsense. Three Xiongtai, please! The three men you looked at me I looked at you, and then as if they had just received imperial amnesty they slipped away with their tails between their legs. Kou Zhong took Xu Ziling back into the street. The suspicious carriage already left far away. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, This could be considered an unexpected gain. What do you think? Xu Ziling pondered, Most likely Cui Wangs men are also Liexias men? After meandering all over the ce, we are always back to the original starting point. Not only Xu Kaishan is an important figure in the Da Ming Zun Jiao, he is also the mastermind behind the wolf-bandits. Kou Zhong spoke excitedly, As long as we have the proof that Liexia is rted to the wolf-bandits, we could publicly look for Liexia while wielding the banner. Ha! I wonder if it could be considered official authority used for private interests. But Old Ning [Daoqi] once said that in everything, we must attach most importance to the aftermath. After all is said and done, we can say that we rid the world of cmity. Xu Zilingughed and said, Whether inside or outside the Central ins, we must follow reasons. One day you have not found conclusive evidence of guilt, based merely on conjectures, it is still difficult to condemn Liexia. The two boys turned into a side street, cutting across toward the Vermillion Bird Boulevard ahead. Any idiot following our track? Kou Zhong asked in low voice. Xu Ziling shook his head and replied, Did not sense any. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, I have an idea on how to kill Shen Mohuan, but not sure if it is feasible? Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention, Xu Ziling responded indifferently. Kou Zhong slyly said, But it would take two assumptions to hold up before my assassination n could be carried out. The first assumption is that for personal reason, Meiyan Furen keeps the Five-Colored Stone in her possession and has not handed it over to either Funantuo or Bai Ziting. The second assumption is that Shen Mohuan wants to get hold of the Five-Colored Stone for himself. If these two assumptions became a fact, we could use Meiyan as a bait to lure Shen Mohuan, this big fish out, and bestow him death using the Extinguished Sun Bow. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Meiyan and us are neither a rtive nor a friend, how could she be willing to follow our arrangement? Besides, we practically do not know where she is hiding. Following Guan Pings track wont be of any use either, because he cant possibly go straight to her. They were still a couple of blocks away from the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, it was clear that the traffic volume was increasing, the atmosphere was bustling with noise and excitement. Kou Zhong pushed Xu Ziling into a side street and stood still. This moment, anybody following them would have rushed over and thus could not hide from them. Heughed and said, Leave the other things to me, but tell me first whether these two assumptions can be established. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, Very difficult to say; it really is hard to say. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Why is it so difficult? Just find Meiyan and ask; wont that work? If the Five-Colored Stone is still in her hands, it means she was not trying to get the Five-Colored Stone back for Funantuo or Bai Ziting, but for herself. If thats the case, I have seventy-, eighty-percent confidence that I could convince her to be the bait for the big fish. Xu Ziling said, Tonight, we still have Shi Zhixuan, this big problem that gives us headache. We dont have the time to deal with it, we dont have the power to defend ourselves even more. You still want to spare time to do this nearly impossible matter; dont you think you are rejoicing in grandiose deeds and perhaps overestimating your capabilities? Kou Zhong denied, I am just being proactive, he said, Who dares to harm my good brother Xu Ziling, I, Kou Zhong, will definitely not let him off. Besides, because Shen Mohuan and the others would never think that under this kind of inferior situation we could still take the initiative to strike back, this will be in deep agreement with the winning by a surprise move essence. You have to support me. Xu Zilings heart was touched; he understood that because his injury was more serious, Kou Zhong was really angry and thus did not hesitate to carryout a counterattack. Nodding his head, he said, All right! How do you want me to support you? The sound of rapid hoof beats was heard from the distance and wasing closer, a rider was flitted across outside the alley like a whirlwind. Immediately he reined the horse and turned back and rushed into the alley. Flying off the horse, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, Finally I found two Laoxiong. Surprisingly, it was the Tujue martial art master who shared the same fame as Ba Fenghan, Ke Dazhi. Kou Zhongughed and said, Was it because you heard that we are seriously injured that you rushed over to kill us? Ke Dazhi pulled his horse along toe to the two boys. He greeted Xu Ziling first, and then he looked at the two boys up and down, before eximing in surprise, On the surface I really cannot see it, except yourplexion is a bit pale. But Bai Ziting said that the sword stab on the pit of Shaoshuais stomach nearly took Shaoshuais life away. Who dared to do this? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong replied, It was the good deed of Shen Mohuan and Han Chaoan. His grannys bear, no matter what, this anger I cannot swallow. Ke Dazhi nodded and said, From the despicable, shameless way they carried out the operation, I guessed a little bit that it was Shen Mohuan. If Shaoshuai needs anything from Xiaodi, please do not hesitate to give your instructions. Han Chaoan, that kid, I already saw that he is not pleasing to the eye. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Didnt Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, always work for your Great Khan? Ke Xiong is unafraid that Great Khan might not be happy? Letting out a cold snort, Ke Dazhi said, Just by looking at how he wanted to fight over the Five-Colored Stone, and how he colluded with Han Chaoan in the dark, two gentlemen ought to know what kind of trash he is. And then he smiled and said, Havent we talked it over already? In Longquan, we arerade-in-arms who fight side-by-side. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other; this was indeed beyond their expectation, but they also had some kind of strange feeling of enemies and friends difficult to tell. Kou Zhong waited until a group of city residents walked past, and then he checked the streets outside both ends of the alley first, before speaking in heavy voice, We are going to kill Shen Mohuan. Is Ke Xiong interested? Ke Dazhi cheerfully said, Not concealing anything from two gentlemen, Xiaodi has just received order not to let Shen Mohuan returning to the Gobi Desert alive. Would you say I am interested or not? Inwardly, the two boys were shaken at the same time; waves and billows were surging in their hearts. Killing Shen Mohuan might possibly be one of the conditions in the peace talks with Tuli, but it could also be Xielis intention all along, because as a matter of fact, this was the top strategy to kill two birds with one stone. In the wake of Xieli and Tuli restoring their rtionship, Shen Mohuan, husband and wifes value in term of their usefulness has be lower and lower. The sly rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked. Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, who had bad reputation C would definitely bring great negative impact on Xieli, weakening his prestige in the prairie. To put them to death not only would win favor with Tuli and show his good faith, but it could also rebuild his positive prestige among the various tribes. Even more formidable, the Gunatai brothers, who were getting closer to sess, were not allowed to win the honor alone. Looking at it oneyer deeper, after his defeat at the Rushing Wolf in, Xieli promptly madeprehensive changes to his strategy; he selected the making-friends-with-the-near, attacking-the-far tactics. He unified all powers of the prairie first, and then forming a coalition force to go down south on arge-scale invasion into the Central ins. The beautiful name was that he wanted to support Li Shimin, but toward Tuli, he could say that he was helping Tulis brother, Kou Zhong to obtain the world. Able to adapt with current situation and make decision ordingly, no wonder Xieli was able to be an overlord in the prairie. In that instant, these thoughts shed through the two boys mind; they were both feeling helpless and awkward. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Killing Shen Mohuan was absolutely necessary, thereupon he temporarily set everything else aside to be considered again after this matter has been aplished. Nodding his head, he said, Very well! Ke Xiong is a man whose one word worth nine sacred tripods; I trust you. Ke Dazhi solemnly said, Dazhi will definitely not fail Shaoshuais confidence. How are we going to proceed? Is Bai Zitings side aware of our current rtionship with Ke Xiong? Kou Zhong asked. Ke Dazhi smiled and said, Such a secret plus a hard-to-believe matter, how could Xiaodi be willing to uncover? Just now he looked for me to talk, he deliberately let me know that you have received serious injuries, precisely due to kill-with-a-borrowed-knife conspiracy. Kou Zhong cursed inwardly, while also guessed that about Xieli and Tuli, uncle and nephews reconciliation, Bai Ziting was still kept inside a drum [fig.pletely in the dark]. Did he mention the Five-Colored Stone? Kou Zhong asked slowly. Ke Dazhi replied, That is the delusion that he yearns for even in his dreams, how could he pass it over and not mentioning it? Just now Shaoshuai did not immediately hand the Five-Colored Stone to him, he seemed to be very upset. But in the end he still did not want that after I get rid of you two, I would embezzle the Five-Colored Stone for myself. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling wiped their cold sweats, realizing that at the courtyard house earlier Bai Ziting did indeed have the intention to kill the people and snatch the stone. It was only because he was unable to see what is true and what is false in Kou Zhong, plus he still had deep misgivings toward the two boys rtionship with Tuli C that he did not dare to act blindly without thinking. What was Funantuos reaction? Xu Ziling interjected. Shaking his head, Ke Dazhi replied, Since arriving in Longquan, I have never seen him. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned. Ke Dazhi spoke in low voice, Funantuos action has always been secretive and unfathomable. My understanding is that his Tianzhu Mo Gong [Indian demonic power/skill] already reached the great height of transformation level, otherwise, with Bai Zitings headstrong, cruel, untamed character, how could he be willing to revere him as his master, to see, hear and obey him? Most probably this malicious n of borrowing my saber to kill two gentlemen came from his devious mind. Kou Zhong said, Ke Xiongs intelligence is very useful; at least we know that the Five-Colored Stone has not fallen into Bai Zitings hands, our grand n to kill Shen Mohuan can proceed ording to the original n. Stunned, Ke Dazhi asked, Isnt the Five-Colored Stone in your hands? Kou Zhong exined briefly and then said, Meiyan will be a key figure in our n to deal with Shen Mohuan, even that repulsive kid Liexia. For the time being, well let Liexia struggle on whilst at the deaths door for a few days. I wonder if Ke Xiong could find out clearly where Meiyan is staying? We have something that we need to do, lets decide on a time and a ce where we will meet again afterwards. Leave this matter to me, Ke Dazhi said, upright and unafraid, In fact, I have been watching this woman, hence this is merely the exertion of lifting my hand. Does Ke Xiong know Du Xing very well? Xu Ziling asked suddenly. Taken aback, Ke Dazhi looked at Xu Ziling, as if he wanted to see through whats inside his heart. Nodding his head, he said, You could say that. Ay! I have not been really honest to you! He and I have a very deep friendly rtion. Before I made my name, he had done Xiaodi a favor; it was he who rmended Xiaodi to the Great Khan. Ha! For some reason I unexpectedly do not want to deceive you; looks like I somewhat love to make friends with you. I wonder if this is called heroes attach importance to other heroes? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I hope we could be friends forever, but we all know that only in Longquan we will have this kind of good days. Ke Dazhiughed and said, No one can predict the future. Tomorrows worry, well think about it tomorrow. Turning to Xu Ziling, he asked, Why did Xu Xiong suddenly ask about Du Xing? Xu Ziling replied, Because we suspect Du Xings sworn brother Xu Kaishan is an important figure within Da Ming Zun Jiao. If you could hide from Xu Kaishan but ask Du Xing to have a happy and sincere chat with us, perhaps it will help things. Ke Dazhis tiger-body slightly shook. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he said, Ill try to see whether I can find Du Xing and have him see two gentlemen. But gentlemen had better have some more solid evidence, otherwise it will be difficult to persuade Du Xing. Wonderful! Kou Zhong cried inwardly; Xu Zilings move was indeed brilliant. He said, Although it was not a baseless conjecture, we have not really grasped any defect foundation on Xu Kaishan. However, to have a chat with Old Du will only bring benefit without any harm. Otherwise, if we are implicated by Xu Kaishan in the future, it is really not worth it. After agreeing on the time and ce to meet again, Ke Dazhi mounted his ride and left. Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said to Xu Ziling, We guessed wrong again. Xieli did not order Shen Mohuan to carry out the attack toward us. Xu Ziling said, Shen Mohuan did that, one, because of personal grudge, two, because of Han Chaoan. He himself wanted to unify Shiwei, hence he must get rid of us first, and then deal with Gunatai brothers with all his strength. It was because of this ambition that Xieli cannot let this hunting dog to go any further. Looking up at the sky, Kou Zhong said, Its almost time. We need to go see Duan Yucheng. Book 42 - 7 – Los t Duan Yucheng sat on a table at a corner inside the restaurant, his expression gloomy. When Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys sat on his left and right, respectively, his pair of eyes was still fixed on the Xiangshui rice wine rippling inside his cup. He still looked as handsome as before, with clear silhouette, only his a-bit-too-slim face looked like lifeless stone carving. Seeing his unusual bearing, the two boys felt something was amiss. Kou Zhong looked at him in consternation for half a day, and he still did not show any movement. After randomly ordered some food and drink, Kou Zhong leaned over and said, Yucheng! Do you have something on your mind? Because it was past busy lunch hour, and dinner time was still a couple of sichen away, out of the seventeen, eighteen tables in the restaurant, only three were upied, including theirs. The wine shop was in a tranquil,zy afternoon atmosphere. Duan Yucheng raised the cup and drained it in one gulp. Acting as if he finally made up his mind on some difficult matter, he put the empty wine cup upside down on the table, and spoke in heavy voice, Two Bangzhu, I want to separate myself from Shuang Long Bang. This is thest time Yucheng call you as Bangzhu. Hearing that, the two looked at each other. Out of all the guesses they made beforehand, they had never thought that the first thing he said would be to sever all rtions with them. The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke indifferently, Stay when there is an agreement, leave when there is disagreement. If this is your own decision, and not because Da Ming Zun Jiaos female demons deceiving and leading you astray, then I will respect everything, and definitely will not say another word. The lightning light in Duan Yuchengs eyes suddenly appeared, he met Kou Zhongs sharp gaze without yielding the slightest bit, and coldly said, I was once your subordinate, you want to beat me, you want to scold me, I have noints. But you cant insult them [feminine], and they are not female demons, but people who understand light very well in this turbid darkness world. Are they [generic/masculine] all dead? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I also hope that what you are telling is the fact. Yourst question, are you referring to Zhifu and the others? They are all no more! Ay! You ought to know who killed them. Duan Yucheng slowly said, You killed them. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. How did we kill them? Xu Ziling spoke softly. Duan Yucheng replied word-by-word, If you and us did not separate along the way, they did not have to die. Hearing that, the two you look at me I look at you, theycked the word to respond. If this was how hed like to think, then he would not listen to any reason. However, Duan Yuchengs remark indeed made the two feel a twinge of guilt, because if they had not selected the four of them to journey together, Bao Zhifu, three men would not be killed. Kou Zhong sighed and said, But isnt the one directly causing their death is your honorable Cults Shangguan Long? Letting out a cold humph, Duan Yucheng said, He is just a traitor; were it not for Xinnaya saving me, also putting her heart and soul to heal me, Im afraid it would be difficult for me to sit here today, speaking with two gentlemen. Thats all I have to say. Remembering your kindness of imparting your skills to me in the past, I only have one word for you, which is you must leave this ce immediately. He stood suddenly. Without even looking back, he hurriedly left, severing all rtions with them, leaving the two boys sitting nkly in the corner. The fine wine was on the table. Kou Zhong raised his cup and took a big mouthful. Smiling wryly, he said, His grannys! I am beginning to think that we should not dare to underestimate Da Ming Zun Jiao. Yucheng is definitely not a fool, among the four, his aptitude is at the top. My Niang! You see how radically he has changed; he is no longer the Duan Yucheng that I know. Laoxiong! Xu Ziling hissed, You seem to forget the key principle of wine and wound do not mix. Kou Zhong put down the cup, lowering his voice that it could not go any lower, he leaned close and said, This mouthful of wine, half is for the enemy to see, half is for myself. Ay! How did Yucheng be like this? Did you notice his eyes when he looked at us just now? This kids skill has advanced greatly, it wont be easy for us to put him in order. And then, knitting his brows, he muttered, Xinnaya! This name sound familiar. Searching the memory inside his mind, Xu Ziling said, Zhu Yuyan mentioned that name once. She is the Du Shui [poisonous water] of the Five Kinds of Demons. Together with Liexia, they are the outstanding figure within the Da Ming Zun Jiao who had received personal instructions in Da Zuns pinnacle skills, her martial art skill is not inferior to the Shan Mu [benevolent mother] Sha Fang. pping his forehead, Kou Zhong eximed, I remember now! Ay! Religion could be another form of aggression that is more difficult to block than saber, spear, sword and halberd. But Yucheng can still maintain a bit of clear spirit, at least he did not betray the secret of Zhandao and the others sneaking into Changan first, plus just now he advised us to leave immediately. Do you have a way to get him back to normal and recoverpletely from this kind of evil cult disease? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Both religion and love have iparable power over a lonely and losing-its-meaning spirit, they could make people blindly losing their reason to distinguish right and wrong. When both are added together, the power is even more without equal. Xiongdi, we are not immortals; in a lot of things, we are simply powerless. Kou Zhong nodded and said, You are right. Because his newly-wed wife was raped and murdered by the Sui soldiers, he had been living in great pain. And now, it seems like after many years of struggle drifting along in the sea of bitterness, he suddenly swam into a beautiful ind, he no longer cares about any other things. Ay, it hurts me deeply, a good brother suddenly bes an enemy. Footsteps were heard. Upright and unafraid, a man walked in. Unexpectedly it was Kunzhihuang, the valiant general under the Qidan Great Tribal Chief Abaojiasmand, wearing traditional Han attire, which had been enhanced with a thousand Longquan-specific styles that covered not only the entire person, but his eyes and ears as well. The two boys shivered inwardly. Just by looking at how quickly Kunzhihuang was able to find them and came here, then they knew that the Qidan had quite a power in this ce, their eyes and ears were numerous. Kunzhihuang calmly came to the table, smiled and spoke in Tujuenguage, Can I sit down? Inwardly Kou Zhong cried, Bad! but he had no choice but to brace himself and put on a smiling face as he said, Its not toote to wee you here. Waiter, more wine! Kunzhihuang cheerfully sat down and said, Perhaps a pot of tea would be a bit better; wine is definitely not appropriate for the two gentlemen. Inwardly, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Not good! even more, knowing that he did note with good intention, and he knew that their injuries were not light. Most likely his information came from Shen Mohuan, because they had joined hands in ambushing the two boys outside Hualin, hence it should not be surprising if they were still in contact. Since Kunzhihuang was here, then Huyan Jin, who had a deep enmity with them, should not be too far away. But they had not been caught in the disadvantageous position where they were powerless to strike back yet. Just now outside the courtyard house they put on a demonstration of their skill, scaring the group of three men keeping watch over them away. Therefore, although Kunzhihuang received confirmation from Shen Mohuan that the two boys were indeed seriously injured, he still did not know the current situation of their recovery, hence he came in to try finding the bottom. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You, LaoGe, are really strange; if we drank wine and disaster came upon us, wouldnt we fulfill the desire of your heart? Kunzhihuang was slightly startled. With a smile on his face, he said, There is no animosity between us and the two gentlemen. The conflict between us is simply because of the Five-Colored Stone. If two gentlemen agree to hand over the Five-Colored Stone, henceforth we will all be friends. This time it was the two boys turn to be surprised, and then inwardly they cursed Shen Mohuan for being despicable. Unexpectedly he did not tell Kunzhihuang that the Five-Colored Stone has been returned to Meiyan Furen. At the same time, they felt that they had no room to advance or to retreat; if they told him the truth, it might convinced Kunzhihuang even more that they were unable to fight because of their injury, hence they pretended that the Five-Colored Stone was not in their possession. This way, the consequences would be hard to fathom. If they had direct confrontation, even if they were lucky enough to escape, they would definitely add injury to their injury, then their recovery time would be greatly prolonged. Noticing that Kunzhihuangs eyes, seemingly carelessly, swept over the wine cup that he had just drunk more than half, Kou Zhong knew that he was checking whether Kou Zhong was really drinking the wine, or whether he was just pretending. Immediately his confidence soared; he calmly said, If based on LaoGes one word we agreed to hand over the Five-Colored Stone, Huyan Jin did not need to have us burn his camp and let him off; even more, there was no need to fight the battle in the wilderness outside Hualin. Kunzhihuang, dont you feel like you are talking in your dream? Under the table, Xu Zilings right foot was stretched out to touch Kou Zhongs foot. Internal energy immediately surged inside Kou Zhongs body, giving him the power to fight at any time. What they were most afraid right now was that Kunzhihuang would attack forcefully, so that without any support, Kou Zhong could not hide hisck of strength. Letting out a cold snort, Kunzhihuang said, I, Kunzhihuang, dare toe here to talk with two gentlemen, naturally I haveplete confidence. I just dont want people to say that I am taking advantage of someone elses precarious position, hence I am giving you good advice. I dont want the two gentlemen, instead of drinking the wine proposed in a toast, you insist on drinking the wine as the result of having lost a bet. These sentences were spoken in Hannguage, brimming with intimidation overtone, but the two knew that the other side had not had a good grasp on the condition of their injuries, hence he spoke those words to test their reaction. Obtaining Xu Zilings support in secret, the refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes red greatly. Suddenly he stretched out his finger to point across the table at the space between Kunzhihuangs eyebrows, creating a Chi! Chi! noise of finger wind splitting the air. Kunzhihuang had never expected that the wounded Kou Zhong would dare to take the initiative to attack. His countenance sank, he shouted, What do you mean by this? While speaking, his right palm shed urgently, the finger power and the palm wind shed, producing a clear Bang!, the upper part of Kunzhihuangs body swayed slightly, evidently he suffered some losses. Kou Zhong did not sway the least bit, yet at the bottom of his heart he actually shivered; he did not expect that in such a sudden move, Kunzhihuang was able topletely block his finger power. Both in terms of strength and skill, he was extremely brilliant. Kou Zhongughed and said, What I mean is of course to weigh whether you, LaoGe have enough weight and qualifications to say such words. Knowing that Kunzhihuang was proficient in Hannguage, he also responded in Hannguage. The finger turned into a palm, he caught Kunzhihuangs hand. Kunzhihuang knew that he must not withdraw his hand, otherwise Kou Zhong would seize the opportunity to pursue and attack; he promptly flipped his hand into a w. Two hands caught each other above the table. True qi directly shed against each other. Kunzhihuangs tiger-body shook violently, his countenance changed, he said, Your injury is fake. Kou Zhong smiled and said, You found out toote! Only Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong would not be able to hold out much longer; with arge amount of blood loss plus the damage to his meridians, if Kou Zhong rushed his true qi to press on, inevitably his injury would be more serious. Acting as the peacemaker, he said, Practically the Five-Colored Stone is not in our hands, I wonder if Kunzhihuang Xiong is willing to believe. Kou Zhong knew when to stop; taking advantage while he was upying the phony upper hand, he simply pulled his hand back and spoke indifferently, Laoxiong, are you aware that Tuli and Xieli have made peace? Even if you snatch the Five-Colored Stone, in the end I am afraid you would still be forced to hand it over, to avoid the Tujue using it as a pretext to move their troops against you. Kunzhihuangs tiger-body shook again. The two boys, you say one word I speak one sentence, each one was a formidable move in this psychological battle. This moment Kou Zhong was like an arrow at the end of its travel, his strength was spent, yet Kunzhihuang thought the other side was letting him off. Hurriedly letting go of his grip, he said, Are you telling me the truth? Kou Zhong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, crying Close call! inwardly. He spoke with serious expression, We see you as a good person, unlike Huyan Jin, who rapes, piges, does not shrink from any crime, hence we told you candidly. Have you ever heard anybody mentioning that I, Kou Zhong ever tell a lie? Kunzhihuang took a deep breath, his pale face returned back to normal, a clear disy of his deep foundation. Didnt Meiyan entrust you to deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Bai Ziting? Why did she ask it back? he spoke in heavy voice. Xu Ziling replied, I am afraid she is the only one who can answer that question. The two boys were very sure that Kunzhihuang was willing to beat the return drum. After all, between Abaojias n and the two of them, there was no real unsolvable enmity, but even if there was, so what? Kunzhihuang could only put aside any personal grievances and put the overall situation as the top priority. Tuli and Xieli renewing old cordial rtions, they no longer had any misgivings toward the various tribes of the northeast. If they saw somebody not pleasing to the eye, they could simply move their troops to teach them a lesson. In this kind of situation, if they killed the two brothers Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the consequences could be easily imagined. After his countenance alternated between clear and morbid indeterminately for a moment, Kunzhihuang nodded and said, Two gentlemen are heroes and outstanding figures, I certainly believe what you say. Ay, were it not for the Five-Colored Stone is the symbol closely rted to our Qidan peoples honor and disgrace, how could my humble superior be willing to be enemies with two gentlemen? And then, lowering his voice, he said, Watch out for Huyan Jin and Shen Mohuan; they are united to put you to death by all means. It was they who ambushed you today. Formidable! the two cried inwardly. Kunzhihuangs mind was able to move so fast that it was even beyond the two boys expectation. Not only he was able the grasp the whole situation after Tuli and Xielis reconciliation, but he was also able to grasp this only chance to express goodwill toward the two, in order to resolve the grievances of the ambush outside Hualin. Furthermore, it also contained the killing-with-a-borrowed-knife scheme, because Huyan Jin, whom Abaojia always loathed C had no more usefulness, thereupon he hoped that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling would be able to get rid of him, and thus removing a threat toward Abaojias territory. Not the least bit surprised, Kou Zhong asked, Where is Huyan Jin hiding at? Kunzhihuang swept his gaze around at the diners on the other two tables, the closest being six, seven tables away, hence they did not need to worry that they might hear their intentionally lowered voice; he spoke straightforwardly, Huyan Jin is hiding inside the dense forest region about five li north outside the city, but tonight he ising into the city to see Shen Mohuan. As for when and where, only those two know. How many men are with Huyan Jin? Xu Ziling asked. Only about a dozen men, Kunzhihuang replied, But none is not genuine martial art master. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Laoxiongs intelligence is very useful. Please! Kunzhihuang also knew that he should not tarry too long, he quickly said, Shen Mohuan already left the foreign guesthouse where the Gaoli people stay, should be because he wanted to hide elsewhere. If I receive further information, I will definitely notify gentlemen. Rising to his full height, he saluted and left. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Its only now that I understand what is called one side is happy, the other side is worried. Xu Ziling dejectedly agreed. The happy side was that their young martial aunt did not shelter Shen Mohuan, hence Shen Mohuan had to find a safehouse outside the foreign guesthouse. The worry side was that they did not know where Shen Mohuan was hiding. Holding his head in his hands, Kou Zhong said, This time we simply have to find Meiyan, that woman C to be used as a bait. Xu Ziling stood up and said, Looking for something that give us headache is not a bad thing, at least we wont have time to think about Yucheng. Come on, lets go see our good friend Yuekepeng, to see how he is doing. After saying hello, well go meet the appointment with Ke Dazhi and Du Xing. Kou Zhong leaned back into his chair. Spreading out his arms, he said, I am very tired, cant we take a short nap? Xu Ziling put the wine money on the table, he smiled and said, Frankly, that is exactly what I seek but fail to get. What I wanted the most right now is to steal a bit of time to see Shi Feixuan, to unload a few of whats in my heart to her. Kou Zhong sat up straight; looking at Xu Ziling in disbelief, he spoke in astonishment, Unexpectedly the power of love is his grannys huge. I never thought that you would speak more frankly than me, but now you do! Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Quickly get the hell out of here and stop talking nonsense. We dont have much time, lets go see Yuekepeng! Kou Zhong sprang up, wrapped his arm around his shoulders and stepped out the door, entering the endless stream of people and vehicles on the street. Straight ahead was the south gate, from which people from various ces who wanted to enjoy the festivities did not stop pouring in. Kou Zhong said, You go ahead to see your Xianzi, Xiaodi is the most fair and reasonable man in the world. In love, you are braver than I am. Usually once I stumble, I am unable to rise; yet you, LaoGe keep on fighting despite continual setbacks. My utmost admiration, my utmost admiration. Xu Ziling took Kou Zhong toward the foreign guesthouse at the northern end of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard; sneering, he said, You seem to forget how useless you are right now; do you think we can separate? pping his forehead, Kou Zhong said, Thats right! I am extremely happy that I forgot my shape! Ay! Yucheng! I really dont understand. He was still depressed because of Yuchengs sudden outburst. In order to distract him, Xu Ziling said, Do you think that in Shen Mohuan and Huyan Jins alliance, Xieli was behind them, acting as the middleman? The gentle and soft sunlight was shining on them. The sun, which had been hiding for nearly half a day, a bit shy, was appearing behind the thick and unevenyers of cloud. The long wind was blowing into Longquan from the northeast direction, but there was still arge area of dark rain clouds looming over the horizon, making people feel that a good thing wontst forever. Kou Zhong pondered, Very difficult to say; looking at Xielis appearance, he is an ambitious and ruthless character, he cant possibly lose the big for the sake of the small, causing damage to the still fragile rtionship with Tuli, plus taking the risk to offend Bi Xuan. What do you say? The fact was that Xu Ziling was only looking for something to say. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, What you said is very reasonable. Because Huyan Jin did not want Abaojia, who has acknowledged allegiance to the Tujue C as an ally, yet Shen Mohuan is Xielis hunting dog, both sides ought to be brimming with hostility, hence I was thinking that someone must have been threading the needle [fig. to act as a go-between], so that they can join hands to deal with us. Kou Zhongs divine light appearing, he spoke in low voice, Could it be that guy Ma Ji? Shaken, Xu Ziling said, That possibility is quite high. Ma Ji was the receiver of stolen goods with the biggest power in the prairie, plus he had close rtionship with both Shen Mohuan and Huyan Jin. Under the current circumstances, Xielis side detested Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan with passion, yet they could only swallow this anger. However, Ma Ji knew that Kou Zhong and the others definitely would not let him off; not only they wanted him to hand over the sheepskin, they also wanted him to supply the men who robbed the sheepskin, hence he was forced to strike first and gain the upper hand, by using Huyan Jin and Shen Mohuan to get rid of them. Huyan Jin and Shen Mohuan did not have any choice either. Ba Fenghan was their greatest threat. Coupled with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the situation became even more desperately serious. Gaining the initiative by striking first, movingter to control the opponent. In the matter of life and death, under the enormous driving force of new enmity and old hatred, even if previously Huyan Jin and Shen Mohuan did not have any animosity, they had no choice but to temporarily set everything aside to cooperate nicely in order to survive. The speaker did not have the intention, the listener was interested, the two boys suddenly came to see the truth. Leaning close to his ear, Kou Zhong said, I am sure they are going to make their move tonight, when we are leaving the Pce after the feast is over. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. It would just be like this morning, when they were ambushed on the way to their meeting, the enemy already clearly grasped their timing and their route; moreover, the enemy could not possibly miss the golden opportunity while Ba Fenghan was not with them, plus the two were seriously injured. As for Bai Ziting, he was wishing that someone would be able to get rid of these two brothers of Tuli, naturally he would not interfere. Suddenly a horse-drawn carriage galloped near the two boys, and then a voice came from inside the carriage, Two Dage, please get into the carriage. Book 42 - 8 – Unifying the Prairie The two boys got into the carriage and the carriage immediately set off. Ke Dazhi said with augh, Xiaodi have no choice but to use this method, simply because eyes and ears are numerous in here, if there are enemys spies mingled among the pedestrians on the street watching us, even immortals cannot detect them. Xiaodi has used all kinds of method to break away from the stalkers. It was after I think that its absolutely safe before I went to see Du Dage. Inwardly the two cried, Demonical!, they also felt that the road to happiness is strewn with setbacks; howe every time they wanted to see Yuekepeng, there was alwaysplication that preventing them from doing it? Even the time to just say hello wascking. The carriage turned into a side street. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, You, LaoGe, doing your task, of course I need not be worried. Have you told Du Ba Wang the reason why we wanted to see him? How did he react? Smiling bitterly, Ke Dazhi replied, He cursed me using unbearably vulgarnguage like a gale sweeping dead leaves for a moment first, saying that I falsely believe you guys lies in driving a wedge between them, sworn brothers. Fortunately he then muttered to himself irresolutely, muttering that you guys shouldnt be that kind of despicable lowly men. He said his grannys bear, using three mens power resisting Xielis several tens of thousands Golden Wolf Army, you should not do such a contemptible thing. Kou Zhong, that kind of kid, Ive seen a lot; loves to stir up waves without any wind the most, afraid that the world is not chaotic enough. Go find him, let me scold him to his face myself. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, That can be considered very good. My Niang! When Ke Dazhi was repeating Du Xings words, Xu Ziling could clearly and easily sketch and imagine in his mind the tone of Du Xings voice and his demeanor when he spoke those words. Ke Dazhis style in talking was indeed exquisite and vivid. The carriage galloped into a courtyard house, but without stopping at all it left through the back door. Ke Dazhi said with augh, He agreed to meet you in private, to show that he really does not attach importance to your words at all. Although this mans temper is not good, tyrannical and overbearing, he esteems good men with guts the most; he also esteems friendship a lot. Its just that you guys have not seen this side of him, thats all! Kou Zhong mused that Du Xings friendship was being used only toward Xielis side, hence the reason he nearly killed them. He asked, Have you found Meiyans whereabouts? Ke Dazhi replied, I handed that matter over to Du Dage; based on his rtions with other people and his power in Longquan, I am sure it will be very easy to find that information. I wonder if Ke Xiong have friendly rtions with Huyan Jin? Xu Ziling asked. Ke Dazhis pair of eyes was shing with cold light, he spoke with a cold snort, I have never seen him. I only know that he is more and more aggressive and arrogant; I am afraid he is already tired of living. Astounded, Kou Zhong said, Didnt Du Xing have quite a friendly rtionship with him? He mentioned that in order to find out who robbed our eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin, he had to ask Huyan Jin to mediate. Du Xing had both Tujue and Qidan blood, hence both tribes saw him as kin. Sneering, Ke Dazhi said, Who would really want to have friendly rtionship with Huyan Jin, that kind of horse thief whose stinky name spread far and wide? In the end, its a matter of whats at stake, hoping that he wonte to grab his goods or touch the people that they are protecting. The biggest mistake Huyan Jin evermitted was that he formed an alliance with Abaojia. In the prairie, anybody whose power suddenly grew will have to bear the consequences. Bai Ziting is precisely a good living example before our eyes. The carriage picked up speed, it turned to the left and bent to the right, but the two boys were still clearly aware that they were heading toward the northwest part of the city. Kou Zhong smiled and said, In that case, he is forming an alliance with Shen Mohuan, can it be considered another unwise move? Stunned, Ke Dazhi asked, Where did the informatione from? Sketching it in light shades, Kou Zhong replied, Kunzhihuang, Huyan Jins formerrade-in-arms. Ke Dazhi revealed a sudden Turns out its him understanding expression; he sighed and said, Abaojia is indeed a smart man, he understands when he should stir the wind and the rain, when he should quietly defend himself. In order to survive in the indeterminate changes, impermanence prairie, one must be able to seek opportunity in the midst of myriad changes, and quickly adapt before being washed out. Hey! Its raining again! The pitter-patter sound of sudden rain shower hit the roof of the carriage, sparse at first, but rapidly growing in intensity, the momentum was even more ferociouspared to the previous rain before the two boys were ambushed. Suddenly the carriage was like entering a water world. A peculiar feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Who would have thought that they would ride together in one carriage with this formidable opponent? Plus they were all going to fight side by side. Based on Xielis ambition and Tujue nomadic tribes aggressive nature, they and Ke Dazhi were already predestined to be enemies. There woulde a day where they would stake everything in life or death face off. Yet currently both sides were like people of talent appreciate one another [idiom], and avoiding telling lies as much as possible to show trust on the other side, not afraid that the other side might use it to strike them back. Ay! Isnt this called Nature is ying with people? The essence of cruel and unfeeling war, which made friends go against each other with naked de? Kou Zhong muttered aloud, This morning when I woke up, I looked up to the sky, but failed to see heavy rain looming in the horizon, immediately my confidence is shaken, toozy to look at the sky again. But thinking about it, the clouds floating in the sky just now must be cotton-wadding clouds. His grannys! How about getting rid of both of them at the same time? Ke Dazhis pair of eyes became as sharp as saber de; the barely discernible smile hanging on the corners of his mouth exploded into a bright smile, exposing his neat, snow white teeth, Deal! he said with augh. After staring nkly at him for half a day, Kou Zhong turned to Xu Ziling and said, I found out that whether in the battlefield or on the love field, I met the same formidable opponent. Xu Ziling also had to admit that Ke Dazhi was a man with character and charm very much; naturally he understood what Kou Zhong meant. Ke Dazhi spoke in displeasure, Our formidable opponent is Liexia; only after taking care of him will it be our, your and my C turn. Kou Zhong shot a quick nce toward Xu Ziling first before leaning over and whispered to Ke Dazhi, If we deal with ourmon enemy using force, would it be considered using the many to maltreat the few, and thus will becking elegance? Laughing involuntarily, Ke Dazhi said, This is precisely one of the reasons we, Tujue people, are superior to your Han people. Everything we have ising from the prairie. Here, we only have one truth, which could be exinedpletely in one sentence, the weak are prey to the strong [idiom]. When we get along well, we are more sociable than you are, but when we are being ruthless, we are more merciless than you are. Only the strong have the ability to survive; the weak will only be eliminated or reduced to be servants. Kou Zhong could not help thinking about the merciless situation where the pack of wolves killed a reindeer. He sighed and said, Since you, Tujue people, are superior to us, why is it that starting with the Xiongnu down to your Tujue, until today there has never been one prairie tribe able to make us acknowledge allegiance to you under your iron hoof? Good question! Ke Dazhi calmly replied, We never stop asking ourselves the very same question. There are quite differences of opinions; some people think that the Central ins territory is vast, the people numerous, plus the terrain isplex, also there are Yangtze River and Yellow River as natural strongholds, hence its easily guarded, hard to attack. Some others believe that your culture has deep roots and strong cohesiveness. But I believe those are not the crucial points. Xu Ziling could not help asking, Wheres the real problem then? Ke Dazhis pair of eyes exploded with refined light, he spoke slowly, word-by-word, The real problem is that there is still no single tribe beyond the Great Wall that is able to unify the prairie, to link all the tribes together. Only when that situation appear will we have no fears of trouble in the rear and be able to sweep the Central ins with momentum like ravaging dried up branches and dragging away rotten trees. However, this dream of ours will only happen under one condition; otherwise, to whom the deer falls still cannot be predicted yet. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, What condition? Ke Dazhi smiled and said, Which is among our opponents, there is no Junshi like you, Shaoshuai, who has talent made in Heaven. The battle of the Rushing Wolf in has made Shaoshuai the person we are most afraid of as well as the most respected. Otherwise I wouldnt have sat here and call you brother. In Tujue, only those with genuine power will be esteemed. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You are speaking forthrightly. I wonder if that is an indication that your honorable Great Khan definitely wont let me return to the Central ins alive? Should I be happy or worried? The carriage drove into a mansion and stopped. Footsteps were approaching. Two men holding umbres pulled the carriage door open. Ke Dazhi shouted in Tujuenguage, You move back, we are still talking. Following the order, the men retreated some distance away, the driver also left his seat and got off the carriage. Inside the quiet carriage, the three mens six eyes looked at each other, the atmosphere was heavy. Ke Dazhi looked at Xu Ziling first, before turning his gaze to Kou Zhong. Sighing, he said, At this moment, I really consider you as friends, hence I tell you the truth. After Bi Xuan personally made his move yet failed to return sessfully, the Great Khan changed his way of thinking. Due to his reconciliation with Tuli, he will let you return to the Central ins to strive over the world against Li Shimin, while we take this opportunity to unify the prairie, and then wait for the opportune time. Why cant we coexist peacefully? Xu Ziling asked. Laughing coldly, Ke Dazhi said, Can you? Hatred is not built in a day. Starting with Qin Huang Ying Zheng, every time the country is strong, your attitude toward our various tribes of the prairie has been obeying me you are flourishing, opposing me you are perishing. Yang Guang was the most readily avable example. The weak are prey to the strong, this has always been the way of the prairie, always appropriate at any ce and any time, only the strong will be called the mighty. Therefore, dealing with Liexia, this kind of crafty and fawning lowly man, why should we speak aboutpassion, duty, propriety and integrity [idiom] with him? Would he be willing to speak about peaceful argument with you in the same way? Shaoshuai must never, ever have excessive tendency to clemency [idiom], otherwise you will definitely be defeated under Li Shimins hands. Li Shimin is just like us, although he is righteous toward friends, he is absolutely ruthless toward the enemies. Kou Zhong said, Its not that I am excessively tolerant toward Liexia, Im just thinking why not convert the battlefield into the affairs of the heart [orig. love field], to have a fair decisive battle. Right now I am a bit happy with you, this kid. Even if in the end you will be big enemy, in the future I can still sleep soundly. Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, There are some things I really dont want to say, because thinking about it is enough to make my heart bleeding. This morning when Xiufang Dajia was nning on seeing Liexia off to the Pce gate, the tip of her brows, the corners of her eyes were pregnant with amorous feelings, which generated a very big crisis in my heart, otherwise I would have note to you to discuss the n to deal with him. I am sure Liexia is not ay practitioner of Buddhism [lit. benevolent man, trusted woman]. When he is dealing with you, he cant possibly speak about elegance. Shaoshuai must make up your mind quickly, otherwise lets just drop our cooperation. Kou Zhong reached out to lightly pat his shoulder, he said with augh, How can we drop it like it is a trifling matter? We are all adults who have been through the hardships of life! We are going to spin silk from cocoons [fig. to make painstaking investigation] to expose Liexias, this bad egg C true identity, starting with Old Xu. Ha! Its time to hear Du Ba Wang explode in vulgarnguage! The heavy rain was pouring down endlessly, giving people the feeling of being indoor was safe, cozy and warm. The four men sat down at therge round table in the corner of the hall. The attendants served fragrant tea and withdrew from the hall. Du Xing swept his copper bell like huge eyes across Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings faces several times, and then he said heavily, I hear you suspect that my Xiongdi Xu Kaishan is a Da Ming Zun Jiao man; furthermore, he is the mastermind behind the wolf-bandits. You had better be able toe up with reliable evidence, otherwise dont me me, Du Xing for being impolite. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If I had reliable evidence, I would have gone to confront Xu Kaishan early on, to cut off his eggs, why bother sneakily meeting you to talk? Du Xings countenance changed. He was about to explode, when Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, If we could exchange what we know with open heart and sincerity, perhaps there will really be an evidence that we could rely on. Ke Dazhi chimed in, They are willing to look for Du Dage to talk, they are showing their feeling and respect toward Dage. Du Xings countenance rxed a little bit, but the tone of his voice was still ice-cold. Snorting, he said, What is it that I dont know? The sound of the rain hitting the roof, the eaves and the window was getting louder. It was also changing continuously and was rich inyers. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Do you know that Zhou Laofang, one of the Five Kinds of Demons of Da Ming Zun Jiao, like a plum tree withers in ce of the peach tree [idiom: to substitute one thing for another] disguised himself as his twin brother Zhou Laotan to lure our Shi Xianzi toe to Longquan to try to bring harm to her? Du Xings expression unchanged, he said, What does it have to do with my sworn brother Xu Kaishan? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Ba Wang Laoxiong, you seem to have bad memory, or are you deliberately being forgetful? Unexpectedly you dont remember it was he who brought those two fake corpses of Zhou Laotan, husband and wife back to Shanhai Pass. Waving his hand, Du Xing sneered and said, My memory has not declined, thank you for Shaoshuais concern. Its not that I dont remember, but I fail to see any problem. You think there is a problem? Ke Dazhi was relieved, knowing that Du Xing was sincerely listening and understood very well, because up to this moment he still had not exploded even half a sentence of vulgarnguage. He himself was eighty-, ny-percent convinced, because he had deep understanding how formidable the two boys were; he had personally experienced it in Changan. Kou Zhong leisurely leaned back into his chair. Sketching it in light shades, he said, At that time he did two things. One was to bring back the fake remains of Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, the other was the dead body of Ma Jis subordinate. Three corpses telling two different stories, but all were done under Du Ba Wangs instruction. Did Xiaodi say it wrong? The lightning light in Du Xings pair of eyes was ring greatly, showing his deep and immeasurable qigong. A hint of smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, he spoke calmly, I am starting to understand a little bit why Xu Xiong spoke about open heart and sincerity earlier. All right! The affair of Ma Jis subordinate, it was indeed me, Du Xing, who arranged it, with the intention of luring the two gentlemen to Yan Yuan Ji to look for Ma Ji; it was not a good intention. Ke Dazhi pped the table and cheered, Dare to do, dare to admit. Du Dage is indeed outstanding. Kou Zhong pped his hands and said, Things are getting more and more interesting! You ought to know that were it not for the wolf-bandits luring us to travel in the direction of Yan Yuan Ji, we would never have fallen into Yan Yuan Jis trap. Isnt this his mothers coincidence? Du Xing blurted outughing, Since I, Du Xing, did it the first day [of the lunar month], naturally I dont care if others are doing it on the fifteenth. His grannys bear, you, three idiots were following me and Kaishan disguising ourselves as fake wolf-bandits. What coincidence? It was practically a deliberate arrangement. Kou Zhong pped the table and eximed in admiration. Laughing in spite of himself, he said, Unexpectedly you yed his grannys trick on us. From listening attentively to the sound of the wind and the rain outside, Xu Ziling turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Sketching it in light shades, he said, The most critical point is that Zhou Laotan, husband and wife are Zhao Deyans people, and only Zhou Laotan, husband and wife knew the technique and the secret mark to maintain close contact with Shi Feixuan. May I ask Du Ba Wang, did your sworn brother have the opportunity to obtain, either directly or indirectly, this secret information? Finally Du Xings countenance changed; he spoke heavily, Since Zhou Laofang was Zhou Laotans brother, most probably he was working for Zhou Laotan. His expression showed that Xu Kaishan indeed knew the information. Kou Zhongughed and said, Last night Zhou Laotan had just killed his younger brother; what do you think those two brothers rtionship look like? Shaking his head, Du Xing said, Thats not enough reasoning. The rtionship between people could beplicated and confusing. A few days ago I was racking my brains how to get rid of two gentlemen, but now we are talking like brothers. Perhaps in a few days we will all move the saber and y with the axe, staking our life against each other? In my opinion, the possibility of Zhou Laotan brothers being viins colluding together is still very high. Ke Dazhi said, In this aspect, I might know better than Du Dage. Twenty years ago, Zhou Laotan and Zhou Laofang, two brothers became enemies because they were fighting over Jin Huanzhen, so much so that they became like water and fire. Zhou Laofang even led his men to ambush Zhou Laotan, inflicting serious damage on him. Were it not for Yan Shuai [Commander Yan] lending him a hand, his life would have been gone early on. Du Xing spoke heavily, Dazhi, tell me honestly, do even you suspect my sworn brother Xu Kaishan? Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, I only discuss things as I see it! Du Xing spoke sternly, Answer me a bit sharper and cleared; since when did you be like a woman mincing her words? The refined light in Ke Dazhis pair of eyes red out greatly, he met Du Xings gaze and spoke resolutely, Yes, thats right! I suspect your brother Xu Kaishan, because I am sure Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are not despicable disciples who might frame other people. Dage, you know Xu Kaishan much better than any of us, naturally the final judgment ought toe from you. Du Xings breathing became ragged, a sign of the tumultuous emotion in his heart. It was quite half a dayter that he calmed down, turned to Kou Zhong, and said, How did you know that Zhou Laotan, husband and wife were working together with us? Kou Zhong replied, We identally obtained the information. This is called one hundred secrets one negligence. Zhou Laotan wanted to deceive us by doing foolish things, hence he revealed the cloven foot instead. Shaking his head, Du Xing said, Kaishan is not that kind of person. Ay! I need to investigate this matter one step further. Who exactly robbed that eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin? Xu Ziling asked, Du Ba Wang shouldnt see the need to conceal the truth from Huyan Jin? The two boys eyes were fixed on Du Xing, to see how he would respond. Inwardly they were a little nervous; if Du Xing frankly admitted that he did it, then they would have no choice but to have a fallout with him and fight him, to demand the debt of blood of Da Xiaojies brothers who had lost their lives. Under current circumstances, this would be the worst development, because Ke Dazhi would never allow them to harm Du Xing. But the problem was that the possibility that the development would go in that direction was extremely high. Du Xing smiled and said, Are you suspecting me? Ke Dazhi responded, I can guarantee that it was not Du Dage, otherwise I would not have arranged this meeting. But who actually did it? Kou Zhong asked, Had it not been for this batch of sheepskins, Ling Shao and I would not have sat at this table today. Du Xing said, At first nce it seems to be something that we did. The fact is, it was not until Da Xiaojie was injured and returning to Shanhai Pass that I knew about this matter and to take advantage of it. If it were me who did it, I wont be afraid to admit it to your face. Kou Zhong repeated the question, Who did it? Du Xing looked at Ke Dazhi, thetter nodded and said, Compared to Xu Kaishan problem, this is only a small matter. The rtionship between Du Dage and Xu Kaishan is too deep, its inappropriate for him to investigate it himself. Shaoshuai and Ziling Xiong are precisely the ideal candidate. Of course, it will still be up to Du Dage to make the final decision. Du Xing nodded slightly. After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, he said, All right! Telling you is not a big deal. The man who robbed the sheepskin was someone who did not know your rtionship with Da Xiaojie. By the time he knew that he had created a trouble, the sheepskin had already fallen into Ma Jis hands. Things were no longer under his control, but it was for us to manipte. After a short pause, heughed aloud and said, It was Han Chaoan, that kid. Are you surprised? What? the two boys blurted out together. Book 42 - 9 – Sinister and Deceitful Hear t Kou Zhong was puzzled, How could it be Han Chaoan? Isnt he specializing in robbing traveling merchants on the sea? Since when did he be a strongman blocking the way and intercepting goods onnd? he asked. Du Xing smiled and said, It wasnt Huyan Jin, that kid who revealed the information to me, rather, it was Ma Ji who leaked it out to me, so it must be true from many points of view. Your earlier guess, other than me, who else? Naturally it was Bai Ziting, Xu Ziling replied, He is the middleman; only he knew clearly the time and the ce Da Xiaojie received the goods, thereby he had a good grasp of the route that she took to transport the goods back to Shanhai Pass. Du Xing cheerfully raised his thumb in praise, saying, Outstanding! Just a bit more and you would have guessed it head-on. Ke Dazhi did not understand, Didnt Dage say it was Han Chaoan who did it? he asked, Howe now you seem to indicate that Bai Ziting cannot escape responsibility as well by saying just a bit more? Du Xing spoke indifferently, You were able to guess Bai Ziting; although it did not hit the mark, it was not far. Han Chaoan has be Funantuos believer. Kaishan told me this. Stunned, Ke Dazhi asked, Is that true? This is the first time I heard it. A man like Han Chaoan, how could he believe a demon monk from Tianzhu? Du Xing said, Which man does not like pretty face? Funantuo has a book Kama Sutra, specializing in exining the joyous and good way between man and woman. Han Chaoan wanted to learn Kama Sutra from him, naturally he must be the hunting dog. Ha! I am just joking. The real reason is that Han Chaoan wanted to draw close to the Wu Dao Ba [five saber overbearing] Gesuwen, and Funantuo has already colluded with Gesuwen, hence from time to time Han Chaoan bes Funantuos hawks and hounds [fig. running dogs]. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly its that guy who has five sabers hanging on his body without feeling that they are cumbersome? Overwhelmed with emotional stirring, Du Xing changed the subject, he said with a sigh, Were it not for Xieli and Tulis reconciliation, how could we chat without the slightest bit of ill-feeling today? Why did Funantuo want to rob Da Xiaojies eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin? Did all information concerning this mattere from Xu Kaishans mouth? Xu Ziling asked. Du Xing did not answer him. He spoke heavily, Xieli is willing to convert enemies into friends with you guys, there is another reason. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged eye signal, they spoke together, Please bestow instructions. Du Xing said, Three days ago, we received new information from the Central Earth. Song JinGang defeated Li Yuanji first, forcing him to flee back to Guanzhong in panic. And then as Song JinGang moved his army down south, Li Shimin led his troops from Longmen crossing the Yellow River to meet Song JinGangs attack. The Tang Army was engaged in battle several times, each time was defeated by Song JinGang. Finally Li Shimin adopted the fortify defenses and raze the fields [idiom: to leave nothing for the invader/scorched earth policy] strategy, he closed his camp and built rampart to resist JinGangs elite cavalry. He had seen urately JinGangs weak point in that he did not have enough army provisions and could not engage in prolonged war. Inwardly Kou Zhong was shaken violently; the military situation of the power struggle in the Central Earth, which he had not heard for a long time, finally entered his ears via Du Xings mouth. Song JinGang was an astutemander-in-chief, of course he understood that rapid movement to the south was unfavorable to him. The problem was that part of his army were Tujue men, so that it could be easily imagined that it was difficult for him to go against the Tujue generals advice, and had no choice but toply with Tujue peoples habit of swift battle and rapid victory, using battle to raise battle tactics. Therefore, as soon as he encountered Li Shimin, who was adept in defense, immediately he suffered big loss. Du Xing continued, In the end Song JinGangs provisions exhausted, he withdrew back to the north. Li Shiminunchedprehensive attack, he defeated JinGang at Luzhou first, and then followed up a victory and pressed home the attack, in one day and night he marched his troops more than two hundred li, engaging the enemy ten times in session, pursuing them straight toward Qiao Shu Gu [lit. freckled mouse valley], eight battles eight victories, he dealt a big blow to JinGang, capturing and killing tens of thousands of his men. JinGang retreated to Jiezhou, he lined up his troops disposition west of the city, with the city behind him, north-south distance was seven li. Li Shimin sent Li Shiji to battle, pretending to be defeated and withdrew. When JinGang pursued and attack, Shimin personally led his elite troops going around and attacking from behind. With pincer attack from both sides, JinGang was no match for them and was utterly defeated. Li Shimin recovered Jinyang. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly saw the light. They grasped the meaning behind Du Xings speech. If the one defeated was Li Shimins side, Song JinGang would force entrance into Guanzhong, then Xieli would disregard everything and move his troops to attack, he might even ask Bi Xuan to get rid of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, so that there would not be any powerful adversary in the Central ins. Unfortunately, things turned out contrary to the way he wished, the victor was Li Shimin, he had no choice but to change strategy. Not only he had to establish friendly rtions with Tuli, he even had to release Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to go back to the Central Earth to control Li Shimin; it would be best if both sides suffer. Otherwise, if he let Li Shimin sweep the Central ins like a hot knife through butter, the next one he was going to deal with would definitely be him, Xieli. Furthermore, the only thing Xieli had in his hands right now was a terrible mess. The two defeats, the Rushing Wolf ins and Song JinGang C had made Eastern Tujue lose, as well as greatly damaged their vitality. The bigger headache was that because he became enemies with Tuli, various tribes of the prairie began to stir, the situation became chaotic. Therefore, Xielis current top priority was, to the greatest extend, to act with urgency to unify the prairie first, before he could conspire against the Central ins. Under this kind of situation, naturally he was unwilling to take the risk to offend Tuli by dealing with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Jinyang was the Li ns home base of operations. Furthermore, it was a barrier into Guanzhong. If it fell, the Tujue main forces might go down south to Guanzhong at any moment. More importantly, this region was the source of grain to Guanzhong; its survival was the lifeblood of the Li n. Pingyao was precisely the economic hub of this area; its importance was very obvious. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Is Li Shimin currently in Jinyang? Ke Dazhi shook his head and said, Li Shimin dispatched his subordinate Li Zhongwen to guard the frontier, while he himself led his troops to rush back into Changan. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Luoyang is in danger! Du Xing spoke heavily, Whats Shaoshuais n? Kou Zhong shot a nce toward Xu Ziling, he sighed and said, What can be nned? Who would think that the brilliant divine-militarymander Song JinGang would be defeated that quickly, that tragically? Presently we could only take one step at a time. Ke Dazhi smiled and said, If Shaoshuai agrees, Xiaodi can make arrangement for Shaoshuai and Great Khan to sit together and talk properly. What? Kou Zhong was stunned. He looked at Xu Ziling, but then quickly he shook his head and said, This is not my, Kou Zhongs style of work; if I want to win, I should rely on my own strength, only then will the victory be meaningful. Thank you very much for Ke Xiongs good intention. Du Xingughed aloud and said, Good man! The fact is that Xieli already knew what kind of man Shaoshuai is. But if we all could sit down to use wine to rinse our mouth and chat andugh, it would not be a bad thing, would it? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Lets talk about thatter, shall we? Presently, the most important matter is how to get rid of Shen Mohuan and Huyan Jin, two kids, other things can wait till tomorrow to discuss. Old Du, you still have not answered Ling Shaos question just now. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Kou Zhongs judgment that Luoyang was in danger was not shooting without aiming at all. Li Shimin did not send Li Shiji, Li Jing, or other great generals with enough weight to guard Taiyuan, but only let Li Zhongwen, whose fame and position [or official rank] was not clear to stay behind to take care things, it was precisely because he wanted to concentrate his entire force to attack Luoyang, one of the three most famous and strongest fortified cities in the world, but also because he saw urately that for the time being Xieli was unable to personally take part in military expedition or supporting his other puppets to go down south. He hurriedly returned to Changan, it was to arrange preparation for the attack against Luoyang. The key to victory or defeat was whether Kou Zhong could help Wang Shichong defending Luoyang and made Li Shimin, who triumphed in every battle, to suffer defeat or not. The one thing that Xu Ziling was most unwilling to see was pressing in on his eyshes [idiom: imminent]. If Luoyang fell, even if Kou Zhong was able to survive, Li Shimin would definitely pursue him relentlessly to strike him, and would not stop until this formidable opponent was removed. In such a dangerous and inferior situation Kou Zhong still tly refused Xielis so-called with-neither-peace-nor-kindness assistance, it showed that Kou Zhong was a man able to persevere with national virtuous cause. Good man! Du Xing shouted again. Only then did he leisurely turn his gaze to Xu Ziling and said, The information mostly came from Kaishan. As for why Funantuo did so, my guess is that this man has enormous ambition that he unceasingly stocks up wealth using despicable means, thereby expanding his power. Ke Dazhi asked in astonishment, In the prairie, gold does not do much. Even if Funantuo has wealth equivalent to that of an entire nation [idiom: extremely wealthy], he is, after all, an outsider, he has no nsmen of the same bloodline to support him; what can he do? Shrugging his shoulders, Du Xing said, Its really hard to say. Perhaps he wants to bring the gold back to Tianzhu, to establish his demonic-monk kingdom? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Du Ba Wangs words are very reasonable. Back to the topic, I wonder if you, LaoGe have any information on Meiyan? Du Xing shook his head and said, I already told Dazhi, Meiyans whereabouts is secretive, although I spread my spies to find out, I am afraid it is still difficult to get any result today. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, Since thats the case, we might as well not think about her. Presently there is only one chance remains to kill Shen Mohuan and Huyan Jin. Greatly interested, Du Xing said, Id like to hear the details! Kou Zhong said, The fact that the two of us are injured has been known to everyone. Even more, Shen Mohuan knows better than anybody else that they had sessfully inflicted serious damage on us. Therefore, they will surelye again as quickly as possible to strike, and the best opportunity will be the moment we leave the Pce after the banquet tonight. Since they have Funantuo on their side, the timing and the route of our departure will also be graspedpletely in their hands. If you were in their ce, would you let this opportunity slip by? Du Xing shook his head and said, If I were them, I would never let go of this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. And then he smiled and said, Are you really seriously injured? On the surface I cannot see it at all, only your countenance is not as good-looking as before. Kou Zhong responded indifferently, Our injuries are indeed very bad. If you, LaoGe and Dazhi Xiong making your all-out move right now, there is a great chance that you would be able to kill us. Do you want to try? Du Xingughed involuntarily and said, The hundred-foot worm died without showing any sign of rigor mortis, much less Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling who are famous to be beaten-but-not-dead? Dont make a joke! Frowning, Ke Dazhi said, Shaoshuai seems to speak about this matter as if everything is easy. If tonight, the three most powerful horse thieves in the prairie carefullyid out the second round of the assassination operation, if you could hold out without losing, that would already be very rare. If Funantuo, whose martial art skills depth is hard to fathom, personally made his move, even with the addition of Du Dage and myself, at most we could only fight to a draw, and that will only work if the two gentlemens injury does not affect your martial art skill. Can Ba Fenghane back in time? The chance of Old Ba rushing back is very small, Xu Ziling replied. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is what makes this thing more interesting, the so-called to win by a surprise move. Our wonder troops [i.e. troops appearing suddenly (in a raid or ambush)] are precisely two gentlemen. How many men can you deploy? I want genuine martial art masters. Du Xing said, The number of men that we could use is between a hundred to a hundred and twenty; all are veterans of a hundred battles, elite troops with plenty of training. The problem is that the horse thievesbat fight is that one strike fails, they would immediately scatter away. Longquans streets and alleys are crisscrossing each other, pedestrians and vehicles are numerous; as soon as they see something is wrong, they will scatter to escape. I am afraid even if we have double the number of men, we still could not intercept too many men. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Therefore, we must narrow down the point of attack, focusing our effort to deal with Shen Mohuan, one person. If they scatter to escape, then they fall into Laozis trap. Ke Dazhis pair of eyes lit up, he said, To fight side by side with Shaoshuai is indeed a delight in life. Its just that Im a bit worried, under that kind of melee, how do we recognize Shen Mohuan? He will definitely disguise himself in some foreign official attire. Kou Zhong said, Reasonably speaking, Bai Ziting might use a horse-drawn carriage to take us, two distinguished guests back to our residence, which will also make us an obvious target of arrows and darts. Can Shen Mohuan refrain from using his Flying Cloud Bow? Ke Xiong, dont worry. pping the table, Du Xing said with a sigh, F*ck his eighteen generations ancestors, now even I feel that I am not without any aplishment at all. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Under those circumstances, to kill martial art masters like Shen Mohuan and Mu Ling is in fact still more difficult than ascending to the sky. But if Ke Xiong could pin him down, we could see in which cave he is going to escape, and then we could exhaust our manpower to heavily besiege him and attack him that he has no time to deal with it. Ke Dazhi cheerfully said, That is a small matter, leave it to Xiaodi. Du Xing frowned and said, If Shen Mohuan, husband and wife, flee into the Pce, and hide inside Funantuos Tianzhu Temple in the Pce, wont we gaze at the ocean andment our inadequacy [idiom: to feel powerless and ipetent (to perform a task)]? Kou Zhong said, Although that is one possibility, but the chance is not high. Unless Bai Ziting has a part in this matter and informs all the imperial bodyguards defending the Pceplex to allow those twoe and go freely, otherwise they will never escape into the Pce. No matter whether they seed or fail, they should escape out of the city in order to avoid retaliation or perhaps implicating Bai Ziting. Du Xing nodded to indicate that he agreed that it made sense; he said, If Bielegunatai brothers cane to lend their fists, our operation to kill Shen Mohuan will have even higher chance of sess. Kou Zhong cast a nce toward Xu Ziling first, and then he shook his head and said, We are not going to get any helpers. Because of the distance, I am afraid the Gunatai brothers will not be back before tomorrow. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly, and then a chill crept up in his heart. Why did Kou Zhong lie? They practically did not know whether the Gunatai brothers were on their way back; perhaps they could even reach Longquan before dusk, yet he spoke with such confidence. Kou Zhong would never lie to hisrade-in-arms, unless he had his doubt toward Du Xing or maybe Ke Dazhi. Where exactly had they revealed the cloven foot to make Kou Zhong be on guard against them? His mind was shing at the speed of light, immediately he acted in concert with Kou Zhong, saying, Too bad Shi Guniang does not wish to be drawn into the struggle and vendetta in the world, so that even if we tell her this, I am afraid it would only defile her immortal ears, otherwise she would be a tremendous help. Du Xingughed aloud and said, The four of us join hands, could it be that we still cannot put a trivial Shen Mohuan in order? Two gentlemen only need to be the bait in peace, Dazhi is in charge of following Shen Mohuans track, me and my men will be the link between you, I guarantee that Shen Mohuan will not be alive tomorrow. Ke Dazhi cheerfully said, Dage is willing to make your move to uphold justice, our chance of sess definitely increases considerably. Letting out a cold snort, Du Xing said, Evildoers who only know how to rape and loot, anybody can punish them. I already thought that they are unpleasant to the eye. Before, I regret that I had no chance, but this time, how could I be willing to let it slip by? After discussing the details, the four men broke up in order to pull the wool over peoples eyes. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took shelter from the rain under a bridge nearby to talk. Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, Luckily you cooperated. This time Du Xing is going to fall into the trap. Puzzled, Xu Ziling said, I was only following the tone of your voice, but until this moment I still dont know whats wrong. Kou Zhong replied, First of all, Du Xing should not show such enthusiasm in assassinating Shen Mohuan. We came to him mainly to ascertain Xu Kaishans identity, but he, intentionally or otherwise, became ourrade-in-arms instead. After a short pause, he continued, Second reason was his well-intentional exnation that due to Xieli and Tulis reconciliation, from being enemies, he and us be friends. He also performed in-depth analysis that because Li Shimin defeated Song JinGang, Xieli changed his attitude toward us. All kinds of actions, none conforms to his usual surly and unreasoning, overbearing, Laozi-will-do-whatever-Laozi-wants-to-do style. It was enough evidence that he himself is having a guilty conscience and is using deceit. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Your intuition is not without any reason. But if on the basis of these two points you determined that Du Xings mouth does not match his heart, its still a bit subjective. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Do you remember during the banquet at Xiao Taoyuan in Shanhai Pass, when we mentioned that the wolf-bandits were escaping into the prairie, we sensed the horror in Du Xing and Xu Kaishans heart? That was definitely not a fancy pretending. They were afraid that we would really overtake the unprepared wolf-bandits, hence they disguised themselves as wolf-bandits to lure us toward Yan Yuan Ji; it was one move, two gains. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, You begin to convince me. Recalling the situation just now, he was indeed trying to sense our foundation. Kou Zhong said, This is a different timepared to the past; the two of us did not have much bargaining chips to contend with the enemies. If we are not being careful and fall into heavy siege, we will undoubtedly die; therefore, there can be no mistakes. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Do you think Ke Dazhi has a problem? Kou Zhong replied, As far as I can see, Ke Dazhi is not that kind of person at all, the problem is entirely on Du Xing. He practically knows Xu Kaishans real identity; moreover, they are viins colluding together. Xu Ziling could not help recalling what Yin Xianhe told him; he said that Du Xing was a two-faced man. On the surface he was distributing money, fighting for virtue [idiom], upholding justice. Yet in the dark he did not shrink from any crime, conniving with Xu Kaishans Bei Ma Bang. Kou Zhong was getting more and more formidable, deceiving him was no longer easy. He said, In that case, shouldnt we make it clear to Ke Dazhi that we have our doubts about Du Xing? If Du Xing really worked together with Xu Kaishan to do bad things, there is great chance that he could also collude with Shen Mohuan, Huyan Jin, Han Chaoan, and the others. Unaware of these inner things, Ke Dazhi might be easily duped. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, There is kindness and friendship between Du Xing and Ke Dazhi, a rtionship that can be changed based on our few words; we could make aplete mess of this matter instead. Dont worry! Lets not mention that Ke Dazhi has enough ability to defend himself, with his position as Xielis trusted general, even if Du Xing had gargantuan guts, he would not dare to do anything to Ke Dazhi. Besides, having someone like Ke Dazhi by Xielis side to say good things on his behalf will only bring him benefit without any harm. Xu Ziling could not help sighing; he said, You, this kid, have be more and more astute and formidable. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, heughed and said, These are all forced by circumstances. In fact, ever since Du Xing was willing to tell us who robbed the sheepskin, I have already had doubt in my heart, and when he said that it was Han Chaoan, I really find it hard to believe. Why did Du Xing do that? To cut a long story short, the sheepskin should be robbed by the wolf-bandits. Ma Ji and Du Xing have very close rtionship, one is responsible to receive the stolen goods outside the Great Wall, the other distributes the goods inside the Pass. It is a big business with small capital but rich profit. Xu Ziling said, Is it possible that Du Xing really does not know Xu Kaishans identity within the Da Ming Zun Jiao? When we were talking about evidence, his shock was not fake. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Highly possible. And then his spirit greatly aroused, he said, The second round of assassination tonight must be exceptionally dangerous. We must seek other helpers. You go find Shi Xianzi and Yin Xianhe, that weird fellow. I go look for Yuekepeng and Song Shidao. And then well attend the banquet at the imperial pce together, to see whether Funantuo really has lustrous lotus flower tongue, his eloquence unimpeded. Ha! This is really getting more and more interesting! Looking up at the sky, Xu Ziling said, This heavy rain is our best cover; before the rain stops, we must quickly get things done. The two boys used the umbres that Du Xing presented to them, they parted ways to do their respective task. Book 42 - 10 – Enemies on a Narrow Road Kou Zhong slipped into the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Braving the rain, he proceeded toward the foreign guesthouse. On the street, the number of pedestrians was greatly reduced, all kinds of raingear were on disy, the ces under the eaves and canopies were crowded to bursting point by people taking shelter from the rain, wine shops and restaurants were full; it was a different scenery. Kou Zhong still felt dull ache from the wound on the pit of his stomach, fortunately, after the damaged meridians in his body recovered, it rapidly recovered his essence as well. Suddenly he remembered a problem and could not help wiping cold sweat inwardly. Du Xing was half Qidan, he ought to have close rtionship with Huyan Jin, who was a fellow Qidan, and Huyan Jin knew their rtionship with Yuekepeng. If he simply dropped by to see Yuekepeng like this, there was a good chance that he could not hide from Du Xings eyes and ears. He knew that just now he did not mention even half a sentence about Yuekepeng, yet Du Xing was already suspicious. Now that he, Kou Zhong hurriedly looked for Yuekepeng, Du Xing would definitely think that he had another conspiracy, and then tonights n would not work. Thinking to this point, he turned into a side street. Du Xing had ten million reasons to kill him and Xu Ziling. First of all, if the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin were robbed by him and Xu Kaishan, he would be afraid that the two boys might investigate, hence he would strike first and gain the upper hand. Secondly, perhaps even more important reason was that Du Xing and Xu Kaishan were afraid that the two boys would support Jing Kang and thus chased them out of Shanhai Pass. If Xu Zilings guess was correct, Du Xing was unaware of Xu Kaishans Da Ming Zun Jiao identity, so then Du Xing and Xu Kaishan, each man was harboring sinister design in their hearts. And so the Anle Bang tragedy was Xu Kaishans doing to conceal it from Du Xing, so that the Anle Bangs Gang Leader could not reveal Xu Kaishans Da Ming Zun Jiao identity. Roaming around, although their train of thoughts have gone astray, in the end they still went back to the first conclusion. Only under protection of Du Xing and Xu Kaishan would the wolf-bandits be able to go on the rampage without any scruples, their whereabouts remained a mystery. Also, only a man with such wealth and influence like Xu Kaishan would be able to bribe the Deputy Gang Leader Shu Dingtai. Thetter was finally murdered by Sao Niangzi at Yin Ma Yi to close his mouth, precisely because Shu Dingtai knew that Xu Kaishan was the real mastermind behind the Anle Tragedy. One truth revealed, a hundred truth became clear. He did not expect that one discussion with Du Xing would be this useful. But it was still a big bet. They did not have any real basis to conclude that tonight Du Xing might collude with Huyan Jin to harm them. Supposing they erred and Du Xing turned out to be innocent, then tonight, not only they would fail to kill Shen Mohuan, they would offend Du Xing and Ke Dazhi as well. After making sure no one was watching, Kou Zhong fetched the Divine Doctor Mo Yixin mask from his pocket and put it on. And then he turned into a garment shop and when he came out, he became another person. Inside the meditation room at the Sheng Guang Si, the atmosphere was serene and peaceful, isted from the rest of the world. Under the endless heavy rain, the sloping roof tiles created countless small waterfalls, gushing along the concave surface of the tiles and cascading down in torrents. Although he had an umbre to protect him from the rain, half of Xu Zilings body was still soaked. After the serious injury, there was a feeling that he had fallen into dire straits. However, looking at Shi Feixuans immortal face, everything became unimportant and irrelevant. This was the third time he saw the fairy after he got out of bed this morning. Shi Feixuan sat by his side. Examining his face, she spoke in astonishment, Is Ziling injured? Xu Ziling nodded and said, And I nearly lost my life. And then he briefly narrated this mornings attempt on his life. Shi Feixuan told him to hold up his hand, tenderly she put her slender finger on his wrist. While an infinite warmth was welling up in Xu Zilings heart, she spoke in shock, You are really injured very badly. In this short period of time, you must not fight with anybody. And then she frowned and said, Where is Kou Zhong? I must go with you immediately to find him; otherwise, if you are intercepted by any enemy who has deep knowledge of your injury, the oue might be disastrous. Xu Ziling really wanted to say that if Kou Zhong was ughtered, wouldnt that mean Li Shimin would have one less most formidable opponent? But naturally he must not say such a blot-on-thendscape words [idiom: to dampen spirits/to spoil the fun], while he was also grateful for Shi Feixuans concern toward them, brothers. He smiled and said, We are ying the Solid is Empty, Empty is Solid game, using guts to gamble against guts; at least until this moment we are still winning, hence the reason I can sit peacefully in here. Glowering at him, Shi Feixuan transmitted her refined and pure without equal true qi from her fingertips to help him heal, but the tone of her voice was extremely serene, as she spoke indifferently, If Kou Zhongs injury is close to yours, the two of you practically do not have the qualifications to y any game. If Kou Zhong wanted to show off, you should advise against it, rather than go along with him. Xu Ziling said, This is called putting everything to death and then live. Tonight, we have two targets, no matter how difficult, we must try to aplish it, which is to kill Shen Mohuan and Shi Zhixuan. Shi Feixuan spoke in displeasure, The most important thing you two should do is to hide and have a good rest. Shi Zhixuans affair, leave it to Feixuan and Zhu Hou [empress] to handle. Xu Ziling firmly shook his head and said, Feixuan, dont worry. Injuries also have injuries move; toward Shi Zhixuan we must make one move and he wont be able to escape, otherwise we would only waste our effort and forever lose the opportunity to encircle and annihte Shi Zhixuan. Shi Feixuan spoke in surprise, I dont understand; in your current condition, how are you going to deal with Shi Zhixuan, this kind of martial art master with unrivalled demonic power? Xu Ziling said, Time does not allow me to exin in details, but in simple terms, Kou Zhong and I have a set of self-created amazing method to join hands, even with serious injury like this we could still threaten Shi Zhixuan. I would like to ask Feixuan to contact Zhu Yuyan, tell her about the situation tonight, so that we all can cooperate with each other. This is greatly important. Feixuan must trust us. Shi Feixuan sighed and said, You guys always love to do things that exceed all expectations. All right! Whats going on tonight? Xu Ziling exined everything, about Du Xing, Ke Dazhi, Shen Mohuan, Huyan Jin, Han Chaoan, Funantuo, and the others, including the cause and effects [idiom: entire process of development], his and Kou Zhongs conjectures and judgments, nothing was omitted. And finally he said, Even if tonight we cannot sessfully get rid of Shen Mohuan, we could at least prove what kind of person Du Xing is. Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, If the enemy proceed with the assassination before you go to the banquet, not only your brilliant scheme will fail, you might also lose your life. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, We are indeed muddleheaded; we did not think about this possibility. Smiling, Shi Feixuan said, The person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear [idiom]. Ay! You, this man, really make me worry. Xu Ziling felt that her true qi gushing endlessly via his wrist into his meridians making his entire body feelfortable and peaceful, substantially reducing the pain that frequently arose from his injuries, while also stirring up the potential of the acupoints within his body. The immortal voice ringing inside his eardrums as she scolded and expressed her concerns was undoubtedly noting from this mortal world. Momentarily his spirit was intoxicated, he said, It seems like this moment my head is not too clear, Feixuan, tell me what should we do? Shi Feixuan replied, It depends on whether Du Xing really has secret ties and is colluding with Huyan Jin and the others. If that is really the case, they would strike only when they have a hundred-percent confidence that they will be able to ambush and kill you before you step into the Pces gate, otherwise, beating someone at their own game is still the best policy. Xu Ziling nodded to express his understanding. Du Xings beating someone at their own game would be using someone to impersonate Shen Mohuan with his Flying Cloud Bow to lead Ke Dazhi astray, and then Du Xing, this middleman, would lure the two into the danger zone, where theyid out another wonderful trap to kill them. Due to their injuries had not healed, plus they would be caught off guard, certainly they would not be narrowly and luckily escape. Shi Feixuan went on, As long as when you are going to the banquet you show a state of full alertness, such as walking separately, the enemy cant possibly abandon everything and easily fetch danger by taking unnecessary risk. So, Im not too worried about this. What I am worried about is that your calctions are all based on assumptions. And if one of these assumptions is a mistake of believing yourself infallible, you might potentially suffer serious setback. Showing tenderness, Xu Ziling looked closely at her attentive, deep-in-thought touching expression. Smiling bitterly, he said, Hence the reason I am asking Feixuan to make an exception to undertake the task of taking care of this struggle and vendetta of the mundane world. Shi Feixuan sighed softly and said, Feixuan has no choice but to make one more assumption: if Ke Dazhi received Xielis secret order to find an excuse to get close to you, and in fact he is working together with Du Xing to put you to dead at all cost, and then afterwards put the me on Shen Mohuan so that Tuli would not investigate Xieli, then even if I am willing to undertake the task, it would still be a loss for nothing, because within the enemies, there are Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, and other martial art masters. The difference in power between the enemy and us is simply too great. Of course, the problem is that you are still heavily injured, as soon as you fall into the siege, you wont have any power to break out and escape. Xu Ziling spoke with confidence, Ke Dazhi shouldnt be such a despicable fellow. Besides,st night we eavesdropped Zhao Deyan and Zhou Laotan, husband and wifes discussion, Xieli temporarily does not intend to deal with us, hence he forced Ma Ji to find a way to recover the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin from Bai Ziting and give it back to Da Xiaojie. Rolling her eyes at him, Shi Feixuan said, You, Ling Shao have not told Feixuan about this matter! Shi Feixuans demeanor in feigning anger coquettishly was amusing to the extreme point, Xu Ziling was overwhelmed with the urge to pull her into his embrace, its just that he did not dare to treat this fine woman irreverently, hence he could only suppress this thought. Smiling, he said, My apologies, Xiaodi neglected to do that. Ha! Feixuan unexpectedly called me Ling Shao, which sounded both fresh and exciting. Smiling sweetly, Shi Feixuan cast him another sidelong nce, and then lowering her cicada head, she spoke softly, Do you know? Xu Ziling, do you know? My wariness toward you is getting weaker and weaker! Xu Zilings heart was swept away, he spoke in astonishment, Until this moment you still have wariness toward Xiaodi? Shi Feixuan recovered her indifferent-like-still-water expression. Slightly shrugging her fragrant shoulders, she said, How do I know whether you speak one thing, but do another? Returning to the topic, you want Feixuan to help in what regard? Ay! This matter must be carefully discussed with Zhu Hou, to see how we can work together, so that we wont mistakenly miss the chance to get rid of Shi Zhixuan. Xu Ziling smiled and said, I want to be clear first, why do you criticize me of speaking one thing, but doing another? In Feixuans heart, am I a man who say one thing and do another? Pft! Shi Feixuanughed tenderly and said, Ling Shao, calm down, I was just looking for a way to step down the tform [i.e. extricate oneself]. But a heart that guards against other is indispensable. This is the third time today that you came to see Feixuan, shouldnt I be wary? Feixuan really loves to see you, to talk idle talk with you, but Im afraid its hard to maintain proper feeling, so that many years of painstaking cultivation would flow down the drain. Feixuan already reached the Xin You Ling Xi [a heart with mutual sensitivity/a meeting of minds, or there is a rhinoceros in the heart] realm recorded in the Ci Hang Jian Dian [Sword Canon of Ci Hang], my senses toward average person is keen and urate; however, toward a person that I like, it is extremely dangerous. Feixuan already talked very frankly, because I cannot bear to conceal it from you, but furthermore, because I trust you. I hope you can understand Feixuans state of mind. And then she sighed faintly and continued, Feixuan must not repeat Xiuxin Shishus [martial uncle] disastrous policy, to be forced to separate myself from my school. That will be the most serious blow to my humble Zhai. Moreover, I will fail Shizuns [revered master] expectation on Feixuan. Xu Ziling, do you understand? Emotionally touched, Xu Ziling said, I appreciate very much Feixuans favor in telling me this. It will leave me a rich aftertaste throughout my life. Feixuan, please dont worry, I definitely am not a man who says one thing but does another. But what exactly can be considered Jian Xin Tong Ming [the heart of the sword brightly lit] realm? Why cant it bepatible with love between man and woman? Shi Feixuans expression was as calm as still water, she spoke softly, Its precisely kan po [see through], two-word real secret. In the sword technique, not only it can see through the enemy, it can even see through oneself, nothing is overlooked, flexible and unrestrained. In the cultivation, it can see through the fa?ade of life and all things, straight to the bottom of Tathata [the ultimate inexpressible nature of all things (Buddhism concept)]. What kind of realm is this? Reaching to the bottom of whatyer? Only ones self will know. Feixuan still cannot see through your, Zilings joy and yearning, hence I know I am still one notch short. But it also makes me understand that I am trapped on the edge of the emotional cliff, any slight mistake will waste all my previous efforts. Xu Ziling could not help recalling the situation at Hualin, under the life or death threat of multiple arrows and des happening at the same time from Ku Ge with a group of enemies, he had reached the marvelous realm of the Moon in the Well, where he was both disengaged and having an iparably clear awareness of the enemies. But he definitely could not firmly grasp and maintain this kind of fantastic realm, especially after he arrived in Longquan and was having repeated encounters with Shi Feixuan, and intermingled with her in not-sure-if-it-could-be-called falling head over heels in love way, his mental state was even more moving up and down and difficult to pacify, difficult for him to maintain his cool-headedness, so much so that it was somewhat worse than before. Looking at it from his own experience, Shi Feixuans remark did contain the truth; hence she put the feeling between men and women back into various must-see-through links, yet not to be used to beat around the bush in refusal, but rather to speak about truth and facts. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, I implore you, Xianzi to remove all wariness toward Xiaodi, to raise the sentiment between uspletely to a higher level, thereby advancing into the Jian Xin Tong Ming realm. I dont know if it can be done, but I feel that it is possible. A hint of pained smile appeared on the corner of Shi Feixuans mouth, she spoke softly, Ziling ought to know that your pair of magic eyes dont easily reveal the deep feeling in your heart, so much so that the mood and the longing in your heart could generate reaction in Feixuan and make a rush of emotion. I am ming you for saying one thing but doing another is really not without any basis at all. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Xiaodi knows his guilt. But how do I know that your Xin You Ling Xi is this formidable? Shi Feixuans eyes suddenly emitted strange light, as she looked at him up and down carefully and attentively. Slightly astonished, she said, You are such a strange person. After listening to Feixuan saying everything in my mind without falseness and concealing anything, unexpectedly your state of mind can rise to empty spirit realm without a hint of earthly thought. It seems like I can really trust you. Xu Ziling contemted with all his mind, it was quite half a dayter that he changed the subject, saying, We dont have much time. I wonder if Feixuan can dress up as mysterious martial art master, on the side secretly helping us watching the enemy, because the variables are too many, hence we must set up the n in advance how to meet any contingency. Based on Feixuans ability and wisdom, we could change ording to the situation on the spot; it should be a sensible act. From his bosom he took out the mask that they obtained from the Duke Yangs Treasure and presented it to Shi Feixuan. Shi Feixuan removed her immacte, delicate hand from his wrist. Receiving the mask, she wondered, Ziling does not want Feixuan to follow the real Shen Mohuan for you? The image of solitary, lonesome Yin Xianhe appeared in Xu Zilings mind, he said, In this regard, I already have other candidate. We need Feixuans ... hey! Feixuans protection more! He exined Yin Xianhe and Yuekepeng, these two possible helpers situation in details to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding. Shi Feixuan said, I might meet you before you enter the Pce to exchange thetest information. Thereupon Xu Ziling said goodbye and left, to look for Yin Xianhe. Kou Zhong applied his power to alter his body shape, to change into the non-attention-getting Mo Yixin. Walking under the umbre, he headed toward the foreign guesthouse where Yuekepeng was staying. He and Xu Ziling have be experts in camouge techniques. Not only they were able to alter the expression showing in their eyes, their posture and walking gait did not reveal the slightest w either. When he was still a few steps away from his target, the main gate of the foreign guesthouse, suddenly the rm went off in his heart; he sensed a pair of sharp eyes was watching him from across the street. He could not help feeling greatly astounded, musing inwardly whether he had be as keen as Xu Ziling, able to generate reaction to something that was hidden from sight. He was about to turn his head to look, but promptly suppress this urge, while crying How dangerous! inwardly. This must be the surveince agents crafty scheme. Its not that he suddenly acquired Xu Zilings style of spirited senses; rather, the enemy was deliberately applying his power into his pair of eyes to gaze onto Kou Zhongs face, so that he would generate proper reaction as a martial art master. If he fell into the trap and looked, then it would show that he was indeed a martial art master, thereby they would guess that he might be Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling in disguise. He could not help shivering inwardly. First of all, the surveince agent was greatly not simple, he was able to test the authenticity of his identity in such an ingenious way. Secondly, it was extremely likely that Du Xing and Huyan Jin were in collusion, hence the reason they sent someone to watch whether the two boys would contact Yuekepeng or not. If the other side was really certain that he was Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling, perhaps when he left the foreign guesthouse, he would encounter a ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt surprise attack, because the opponent did have enough time to gather manpower to strike and kill him. The moment he was in Longquan, certainly danger lurked on every side. Hardening his heart, Kou Zhong walked past the door without entering, changing his direction toward the foreign guesthouse where the Gaoli people stayed, because he did not have qualifications to take this risk. The biggest problem was that if he sneakily lowering his voice on purpose to talk with the Jushi warrior guarding the door, he would only raise the enemys suspicion. When the foreign guesthouse where the Jushi delegation stayed was behind him, the gaze focused on him immediately disappeared, so that he knew that he had guessed correctly. Ay! It had never urred to him that such a simple thing as meeting Yuekepeng would unexpectedly have so many twists and turns that he could not seed. Now the entire building of Yuekepengs foreign guesthouse was under the enemys strict surveince, whether in the open or in the dark, he could not hide from the enemy. Looking for Song Shidao did not seem to be advisable as well. Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. He crossed the vehicle and horsesne to walk along the pedestrian path on the other side of the street. He wanted to find out which formidable figure was watching the main gate of the foreign guesthouse. Heavy rain was still falling incessantly. Any shop with canopy on the outside was full of people standing under it to take shelter from the rain. To find the surveince agent was really not an easy matter, but Kou Zhong had his own way. In this section of the big street so close to the King City, one side were more than a dozen foreign guesthouses standing in great numbers, on the other side were all kinds of shops. The pedestrian path on the foreign guesthouses side did not have any ce to avoid the rain, hence there were not many pedestrians. If there was a man with body shape simr to either his or Xu Zilings walking past the foreign guesthouse, the martial art master doing the surveince would repeat the technique he used earlier, and then he would certainly be unable to hide from Kou Zhongs senses. By the time Xu Ziling returned to the courtyard house, the heavy rain finally stopped. Kou Zhong was soaking inside the hot spring pool. Seeing Xu Ziling returned, he cheerfully said, I did not look for Yuekepeng, nor did I look for Song Shidao, but there is an interesting discovery. Whats your story? Xu Ziling sat down by the pool and said with augh, Speak up! Do you have to waste time by keeping the listeners in suspense? Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Your countenance has greatly improved; did Xianzi, using some immortal technique, personally treat her sweethearts injury? Xu Ziling crossly said, We are about to set off to enter the Pce, you still want to talk more nonsense? Kou Zhongs countenance tuned grave, he spoke heavily, I may have just seen Cui Wang. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, What? You can identify who Cui Wang is? Book 42 - 11 – Impossible to Unravel Kou Zhong closed his eyes, inside the steaming hot spring, he spoke as if he was in a dream, Were it not for the good rain, I would never have imagined that Cui Wang would run a bad errant outside Yuekepengs guesthouse. The heavy rain made half of his body wet. The clothes he was wearing was the traditional Han dress with Longquans enhancement, the material is flimsy, when it got soaked, I got a glimpse of a tattoo on his arm that is simr to the wolf-bandits. Ha! But the idiot still did not know. Were it not for it was not suitable for me to fight, I would have captured him just now. He also exined how from his high skill and deep power he guessed that this person was not regr wolf-bandit, but must be the head, Cui Wang. Finally he said, You think by appearing right here, right now, he is going to do something to us? Finished speaking he climbed out of the pool, dried up his body and put on his clothes. The wound on his chest has healed miraculously, leaving only a line of red scar about a cun and a half long. But if the wound tore again due to intense power application, the recovery time would be greatly prolonged. Xu Ziling pondered carefully back and forth for quite half a day before replying, In term of timing, it did not look like it was Du Xing who notified Cui Wang, unless when we were looking for Du Xing, Cui Wang was already inside Du Xings residence. Otherwise, the time would not allow Du Xing to go somewhere to notify Cui Wang; no matter what, he cant possibly be faster than you are. Also how could Du Xing know whether you already paid an official call to Yuekepeng before you met him? Finished putting on his clothes, Kou Zhong sat down next to him. After staring nkly at the door for a moment, he nodded and said, Things are bing more and moreplicated, even more impossible to unravel. Cui Wang is certainly cooperating with Huyan Jin, either direct or indirect, only then would he find out about our rtionship with Yuekepeng. We might as well make a bold assumption: since we suffered attack and were wounded this morning, because we cover it up very well, its hard for the enemy to really know how heavy our injuries are, hence they do not dare to act blindly without thinking. Plus, Longquan is, after all, Bai Zitings territory. Even though Bai Ziting might admit silently that we get killed in his territory, he could not possibly disy it ostentatiously; perhaps Bai Ziting would even restrain Han Chaoan and the others. Ay! The more I talk about it, the moreplicated it is! Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Notplicated at all. In a nutshell, since the enemys first assassination attempt failed, before our injuries arepletely healed, they must carry out the second ambush. And this time they must not fail, because if Old Ba or Gunatai Brothers are back, they would miss this golden opportunity. Kou Zhongughed and said, Ling Shao is still more to the point and clear. What I mean is the reason that Cui Wang was guarding outside the main gate of Yuekepengs foreign guesthouse is because they wanted to know whether we would ask for Yuekepengs help, thereby they could specte how heavy or shallow our injury is. Furthermore, they wanted to look at the situation to carry out another strike. If I go to Song Shidao, the same is true. Currently, although we do not know why Cui Wang was standing like a foolish-headed bird with eyes open wide over there, but at least we know that most probably Cui Wang has a bit rtionship with Han Chaoan, Huyan Jin, and so on. If he were an outsider, how did he know that our injury is so bad that we need assistance? Hows the situation on your side? Xu Ziling looked up to the sky; it was still overcast, but he felt that hidden behind the clouds, the sun was falling to the west. He said, Xianzi has no problem. But Yin Xianhe is not at the inn he is staying. Ay! I originally thought that we could ask Song ErGe to follow Shen Mohuans track for us, but it seems like we need to forget this desire. Before entering the Pce, Feixuan mighte to see us. She is the only one who could personally help us. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Relying on us, two wounded soldiers, even with the addition of Xianzi, plus even if Shen Mohuan and Mu Ling, husband and wife, are only the two of them, I am afraid we will still be unable to get rid of them, much less I am sure they have arge number of helpers? Xu Ziling said, I already told you, your scheme-within-a-scheme has a very big loophole. If Du Xing were indeed in collusion with Shen Mohuan and the others who want to kill us in the dark, then on one hand, they would want to pull Ke Dazhi away, while on the other hand they would want to lure us somece else. In this kind of situation, Shen Mohuan wont have any time to return to his hiding ce; he would simply join hands with Huyan Jin, Han Chaoan, even Cui Wang, Du Xing, Xu Kaishan, and so on toy out an ambush somewhere to kill us. Therefore, following Shen Mohuans track is simply meaningless. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, When I thought about that n, I did not think that Du Xing is one of them. My Niang, you are right, under this enemy-and-us-difficult-to-tell circumstances, our scheme-within-a-scheme is merely ying with fire; not only it might burn ourselves, it might even implicate Xianzi that she could suffer a loss. Supposing Xu Kaishan is really Da Zun whatever or his grannys Yuanzi, then his martial art skill must be a bit more formidable than Liexia. Merely he, one person, is already not easy to deal with. Xu Ziling said, I originally thought that having Yin Xianhe following Shen Mohuans track would be of no great matter, but my hope failed, I have to change n. Presently the most important thing is self-preservation. Otherwise, what I am most afraid of is that we save a little only to lose a lot, being unable to help Zhu Yuyan dealing with Shi Zhixuan to burn both jade andmon stone, then everything is not worth it. Shaking his head resolutely, Kou Zhong said, No! If we miss tonights opportunity, we are not going to have another chance to kill Shen Mohuan. Inwardly, Xu Ziling agreed. If he were Shen Mohuan, and he failed to kill the two boys tonight, he would have no choice but to flee as far away as possible, to hide in the Great Gobi desert that he knew very well, in order to avoid the two boys counterstrike after their injuries were healed. Moreover, the Gunatai brothers posed a serious threat to Shen Mohuan, not to mention there was also Ba Fenghan, the bane of the horse thieves. In that kind of situation, Shen Mohuan had no option other than to give up everything and run away. Xu Ziling sighed, Can we do it? he asked. Kou Zhong said, When everything is exhausted, one would change, and changes would clear the way. The enemys mistake is by giving us one day to catch our breath, so that our injury is greatly improving. Ha! This hot spring treatment is both cheap and convenient. His Niang! What do we do? I want to look for that kid Ke Dazhi to exin everything to him, to let him know that Du Xing is notpletely sincere toward Xieli, so much so that he wanted to destroy Xieli and Tulis reconciliation. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, It will be very difficult for Ke Dazhi to ept our baseless conjecture. Furthermore, how can you be sure that Ke Dazhi is standing on our side? Kou Zhong said, If Ke Dazhi wanted to kill us, we whould have died on the street, because even if we were not injured, fighting one-on-one against him, we still dont have a clear chance of winning. From this point of view, Ke Dazhi must be sincerely wanting to help us. I dont want to try to change Ke Dazhis view on Du Xing all of a sudden, but as long as we could sow the seed of doubt so that he wont bepletely without any suspicion, he could respond ording to the situation and see whether we used Du Xing wrongly. After all, Du Xing is half Qidan, and Qidan people cant possibly want to see Xieli and Tuli being reconciled. Carrying a gust of wind, someone was leaping over the wall. Surprisingly, it was Yin Xianhe, whom the two boys had been painstakingly looking for. Xu Ziling happily said, Did Yin Xiong see the message Xiaodi left at your inn and thus came here? Yin Xianhe still appeared to be lonely and deste, as if all gaiety in the world did not have the slightest bit of rtion with him; he spoke indifferently, Was Xu Xiong looking for me? Kou Zhong sprang up and said, Yin Xiong, please sit down; would you like tea or wine? Yin Xianhe revealed a hint of rarely seen smile; shaking his head, he said, Standing here is all right. This time I came here because there is something I need to report. The two boys spirit was greatly aroused, they were listening with respectful attention. Yin Xianhe looked up to the sky. He said, Just now when the rain was really heavy, I was following Xu Kaishans carriage. He left the famous courtesan Hui Shens house and went straight to the Dao Xiang Lou at Wei Chui Avenue, which is the most famous wine shop in Longquan. Using the heavy rain as my cover, I followed close behind his carriage, I thought it was absolutely safe; who would have thought that when we reached the Dao Xiang Lou, the carriage turned out to be an empty carriage? Frankly speaking, now I really believe that Xu Kaishan is Da Ming Zun Jiaos Da Zun or Yuanzi; otherwise, how could he be that formidable? It should be noted that Yin Xianhe was the most outstanding swordsman of the northeast Wulin, his skill did not differ much from theirs. Furthermore, this man was very proud of his own tracking and following skill, therefore, in any case, he must really have a skill or two in this regard. Yet not only Xu Kaishan knew that he was being followed, he was able to throw Yin Xianhe off seemingly at will, which demonstrated his terrifying ability and wisdom and skill, hence Yin Xianhe was unceasingly rmed and came specifically to warn them. Raising his eyebrows, Kou Zhong said, Why did Xu Kaishan not hesitate to reveal the foxs tail, while also use this kind of almost-showing-off way to throw Yin Xiong off? Humph! This fellow must have something more important to do. Xu Ziling said, What surprises me is that why he did not simply get out of the carriage to give Yin Xiong bad luck? It was a good opportunity to kill Yin Xiong. Yin Xianhe calmly said, Because he has extreme restraining fear toward two gentlemen. One day the two of you have not died, he does not dare to be excessively presumptuous. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I get it! It is because he will be able to dispose us very soon that he momentarily bears his anger. His Niang! Yin Xiongs intelligence is really useful, it helps us clear up many things. Old Xu went to Dao Xiang Lou, was anybody looking for him? Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Dont be so subjective; he could be doing other things. Yin Xianhe said, Only Du Xing came to look for Xu Kaishan. For whatever reason the two quarreled until their faces turned red, their ears hot. Because I was far away, I could not hear what they said. And then Du Xing rushed away, and then Xu Kaishan left, alone. The two looked at each other. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shaos guess is correct. Du Xing knew Xu Kaishans wolf-bandit connection, but he did not know Xu Kaishans Da Zun or Yuanzi identity, hence heshed out on him. This is in line with Du Xings fiery character. Yin Xianhe was at a loss, What are you talking about? he asked. Xu Ziling said, We will exin to you in a little bit, but wed like to ask Yin Xiong for another big favor. Yin Xianhe coldly said, The fact is that my destiny is already linked with yours. If you are killed, there is no way that I, Yin Xianhe would be able to leave alive. Death in Longquan has been a done deal. But this is not a bad thing. When he spoke thest two sentences, his eyes emitted a tender look, as if he had a certain strange emotion toward Longquan. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, To me, death in Longquan is a thoroughly useless death; I definitely must not allow such thing to happen. Now I am one hundred percent sure that we will be ambushed when we leave the Pce. His grannys bear, they want to kill me, I will return thepliment with an arrow piercing Shen Mohuans throat. When speaking thest sentence, the murderous aura in his pair of eyes was ring greatly, refined light was shing out like lightning. Knock! Knock! Knock! Someone banged the ring doorknocker. Yin Xianhe spoke indifferently, I dont want to see anybody. This way! Xu Ziling said, leading him to the south hall. Kou Zhong knew that Xu Ziling was going to take this opportunity to exin the details of tonights battle with the enemy, he hastily went to answer the door. When Kou Zhongs hand touched the courtyards door, he suddenly thought that if as soon as he opened the door several dozen powerful arrows were shot using strong crossbows, would he have enough time to evade and not breathe hisst? He could not help raising a mouthful of true qi to make adequate preparation, while slowly opening the door. Half a face appeared in the crack between the doors. And then when both sides of the main gate opened inward to reveal the full picture, Kou Zhongs spirit was violently shaken, but on the surface he did not dare to reveal the slightest bit of emotion. His grannys bear! Didnt this face belong to Cui Wang, whom he saw outside Yuekepengs guesthouse a moment ago? At first nce, he still did not dare to be certain, because the attire was very different. The Cui Wang before his eyes wore military uniform, remarkably alike the majestic attire of the valiant generals under Bai Zitingsmand. Behind him stood more than a dozen Bai Zitings imperial bodyguards. At that time, Cui Wang was wearing a rain cap that was pressed down to his eyebrows, but Kou Zhong still clearly remembered his slightly hawk nose, rough and swarthyplexion, and the grim, greedy expression exuded from his eyes. Whats going on here? There was a gorgeous horse-drawn carriage parked by the road. Looking at the situation, it appeared that Bai Ziting was sending a team of imperial bodyguards to pick them up and bring them into the Pce. The Cui Wang performed a military salute and spoke upright and unafraid, Mojiang [lit. lowest-ranking general] Gongqi, receiving Da Wangs order toe with a specific purpose in mind to take Shaoshuai and Xu Ye to the Pce for the banquet. Kou Zhong finally opened the door wide. His mind was shing at the speed of light, he thought of three possibilities. The first possibility was that Cui Wang impersonated Bai Zitings subordinate to pick them up, but it was actually a trap. When the carriage reached certain point, he would use ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum to attack and to put them to death. The second possibility was that the Cui Wang in front of him was the genuine-goods-at-fair-prices Bai Zitings subordinate Gongqi. This idea was not without any justification at all. At least Ma Ji said that currently the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin were in Bai Zitings hands. Liexia also mentioned that the wolf-bandits were Bai Zitings men. The third possibility was that the gentleman before his eyes was really Gongqi and not Cui Wang at all. Only because he happened to have a tattoo on his body that Kou Zhong mistakenly thought Feng Jing as Ma Liang. As for why Gongqi stood outside Yuekepengs door watching peopleing in and out, perhaps there was another reason. If it were the first possibility, if they refused the protection, perhaps the other side would turn hostile and, considering Kou Zhong was currently alone, they might immediately make their move, and then the situation would be very bad. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Ah! Turns out it is Gong Jiangjun. Da Wang is very kind. And then acted mysterious by lowering his voice, saying, Gong Jiangjun, please step aside to talk. Cui Wang hesitated slightly before stepping across the threshold. Following Kou Zhong into the courtyard, he respectfully said, What instructions does Shaoshuai have? Seeing his hesitancy, Kou Zhong was greatly excited, because it proved that there was a greater possibility that this Gongqi was actually Cui Wang, hence he was wary of Kou Zhong. Standing only two paces apart, Kou Zhong stared at the other sides as-sharp-as-an-eagle-targeting-jackal-and-wolf pair of eyes; pretending to be a bit embarrassed, he said, I am afraid Gong Jiangjun has made this trip in vain, ay! We ... Stunned, Gongqi said, Shaoshuai is not going to the Pce tonight? Da Wang will be greatly disappointed. Clearing his throat, Kou Zhong said, Jiangjun misunderstood! We just want to go to the banquet at the Pce on our own. Ay! How should I say it? We want to lure the people who ambushed us this morning out to teach them a good lesson. If we have you heralding our presence at the front and crowding behind us, this luring-the-enemy tactic wont be effective. Gongqis pair of eyes was shing with strange light, but in the blink of an eye it disappeared. Sweeping his gaze across the south hall, he nodded and said, Mojiang understands. Its just that Da Wang sent us here precisely for two gentlemens safety. I heard Da Wang mentioning Shaoshuais injury to be quite serious. If there is any mishap along the way, how could Mojiang bear this responsibility? Inwardly Kou Zhong was secretly happy, because from this mans reaction and attitude, he was more certain that this man was Cui Wang. Since other side could say that Bai Ziting knew about his injury, then he had no doubt about this Gongqi identity anymore. Therefore, if he could verify that this Gongqi frequently go inside the Pass to amass wealth and was not in Longquan for an extended period of time, then he could ascertain that he was both Gongqi and Cui Wang. The only remaining question was that Cui Wang and his men were all Huihe people, why would they listen to Bai Zitingsmand? Also, what was their rtionship with Xu Kaishan and Du Xing? Kou Zhong mused inwardly, How could Laozi dare to sit in your, LaoGes carriage? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Jiangjun, dont worry. I, Kou Zhong, may not have other skill, but I do know a thing or two about treating injury; otherwise, how could I be willing to gamble my old life against some despicable fellows? Jiangjun, please go back and tell Da Wang, we will surely arrive for the banquet on time. Gongqi muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment. Appearing to be helpless, he said, Naturally we will respect Shaoshuais decision. Mojiang will return to report the truth to Da Wang. Shaoshuai, please be careful. Finished speaking, he saluted and took his leave. It was not until the door was closed that Kou Zhong dropped his guard and heaved a sigh of relief. Just now, when Gongqi was muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong felt that the murderous intent in his heart was ring greatly, but then it faded away. Apparently, after some consideration, he abandoned his intention to immediately make his move. This moment, inside the hall of the south wing, on the opposite side of the main gate, Xu Ziling was exining tonights tangled andplicated situation briefly to Yin Xianhe. Kou Zhong, with excited expression, came in. Seeing the two were standing behind the blinds, heughed and said, Did you see that? Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly Bai Ziting has such a brilliant subordinate. When he was casting his gaze in our direction, I sensed that he saw us behind the blinds. Merely this skill is already greatly not simple. Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, This man is called Gongqi, one of the four valiant generals under Bai Zitingsmand; he has quite a reputation. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Is he really Bai Zitings subordinate? Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, You suspect him? Kou Zhong replied, You have fought against Cui Wang; dont you feel that he is a bit familiar? Xu Ziling stared nkly. He focused his attention to think deeply. Yin Xianhes eyes grew big, he said, How could Shaoshuai think that Gongqi is Cui Wang? Kou Zhong exined clearly. He spoke in distress, I wonder of theres a way for us to know when the wolf-bandits were inside the Pass, killing and burning, whether Gongqi was not in Longquan? This way we can be sure that Gongqi is Cui Wang. Yin Xiong seems to be very familiar with Longquans affairs, Xu Ziling proposed. Yin Xianhes pair of eyes emitted another tender expression. He nodded and said, This is my third visit to Longquan. I can take the responsibility of investigating whether Gongqi is Cui Wang. There should be some result tomorrow at thetest. Kou Zhong happily said, In that case, well have to trouble Yin Xiong. Hey! Yin Xiong has a special feeling toward Longquan. Yin Xianhe shook his head and said, Very rarely I stayed in one ce for a long time. Therefore, I go to different ce a lot more than anybody. The two boys knew that he was hiding something, but they did not have time to go to the bottom of this matter; furthermore, they knew that he would not easily reveal the load on his mind. Xu Ziling nodded and said, His appearance and body type are somewhat simr; your suspicion is probably true. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, If when we are leaving the Pce Cui Wang invites us to board the carriage, shall we ept or refuse? Xu Ziling also felt big headache. Leaving the Pce in a horse-drawn carriage was an important part if their n. It could make the target more obvious, but also make the two boys lianshou miao shu [marvelous technique of joining hands] easier to y. However, if Gongqi was Cui Wang, sitting inside his carriage would suddenly increase the unpredictability of the dangerous variables. Yin Xianhe acted as if he suddenly remembered a load on his mind; he said with wooden expression, Im sure two gentlemen will find a solution. While gentlemen are attending the banquet, I will try to investigate whether Gongqi has another identity. Finished speaking, he left the hall and leaped over the wall and disappeared. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Right now my head is swelling, I no longer have any confidence about tonights affair. Ling Shao, how about you? How much better do you think I ampared to you? Xu Ziling replied. The two looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Book 42 - 12 – Street of Longquan The two boys left the courtyard house. On the street, where thenterns were beginning to be lit, they advanced cautiously [orig. very scared and on edge]. Kou Zhong looked back at the courtyard door, heughed and said, Do you suppose this courtyard house might be a scenic spot that the tourists to Longquan would want to visit in the future? Because we, two fellows used to stay here. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, There are only three conditions before your wish could be realized. First, we dont die tonight. Second, you really be the emperor in the future. And third, the city of Longquan is not going to be trampled by the Tujue armys iron hoof so that the city broken, the wall shattered. Kou Zhong said, The difference between you and I is that I am more optimistic than you are. And dont you feel its strange that nobody dared toe to the courtyard house to give us bad luck? Across the street, a group of lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze [idiom: gorgeously dressed woman] Mohe girls saw the two boys, none of their pretty eyes was not brightening up; absolutely unrestrained, they pointed and talked among themselves, obviously they knew that one of the two boys was Kou Zhong, and the other was Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling said, I wonder if its because that ce belongs to the Gunatai brothers, hence no one dares to disy shockingly bad behavior. Paying no attention to the passersbys gaze, Kou Zhong blurted outughing and said, You are and will always be more modest than I am. But I believe that those who want to harm us are afraid of Xiaodis Extinguished Sun Bow. If I hide inside the wing hall, I have confidence that I will be able to shoot dead anyone who dares to leap into the courtyard. Only on this big street where people areing and going my Extinguished Sun Bow wont be able to show its full capabilities. Xu Ziling suddenly felt as if he was removed from this noisy street, just like his precious experience back in Hualin, his senses toward his surrounding was thoroughly clear; he knew that as he was under pressure of a life and death situation, he finally broke through the barrier that Shi Feixuan mentioned, and reached the Moon in the Well realm. At this point, if there was anybody tracking and watching them,ying out an ambush on them, certainly nothing would be able to hide from his spirited perception. Smiling, he said, You are more clear-headed than I am; you are right! For instance, Shen Mohuan would definitely not care about the Gunatai brothers, yet we did not see himing to offend us? Evidently, it was Shaoshuais divine bow that had made countless warriors beyond the Great Wall nursing a grievance that really makes the enemy scared out of their wits. Howe Ling Shaos mood is so good? Kou Zhong happily said, Unexpectedly you pat Xiaodis horses butts. Ha! While we are at it, I have another question. Xu Zilings attention was on a man sitting at a table outside a wine shop on the left side of the street. This person was dressed ordinarily, but his appearance valiant, his pair of eyes was shing with spirit. When he saw the two boys in the distance, he immediately hung his face down, as if he was afraid the two would see his appearance. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Are you looking at that kid? My guess is that he must be Huyan Jins man; do you want to bet? Lets see if you are du xian [gambling immortal], or I am du sheng [gambling sage]. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, Dont you have a question that you are dying to ask Xiaodi? Unless you want to bete on purpose, I advise you not to care about these little bandits. Raising his voice, Kou Zhong shouted to the man in Tujuenguage, Brother, please send my regards to Huyan Jin. Immediately that mans countenance changed, he appeared to be in predicament; it did not seem right to slip away, but not slipping away seemed to be more awkward. Fortunately, Kou Zhong, two boys quickly walked past. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other and burst outughing. That guys expression was the best answer. The former said with augh, We are starting to be able to distinguish Qidan, Mohe, and various tribes people; before, we could only tell them apart from their outward appearance, clothes and ornaments. The question I wanted to ask you is actually a bit discourteous, hence I find it hard to ask it. Actually, its not a big deal, lets just forget it. Unexpectedly there is such a question? Xu Ziling asked in surprise. Kou Zhongs gaze fell onto a man, who was walking straight toward them from the opposite side; looking at his attire, he must be a Mohe man from a different tribe, not of Suwei Mohe. Seeing the two, he saluted them respectfully from a distance. While returning the salute, Kou Zhong said, You and I both are not bloodthirsty persons. Strictly speaking, I want to fight better than you. But in the matter where Zhu Yuyan wants to fight Shi Zhixuan until both sides perish together, you have more positive outlook than me. I am not referring to killing Shi Zhixuan, but toward Zhu Yuyan sacrificing her own life, you, Ling Shao do not seem to show the least bit of pity. This does not seem to conform to your usual character of not wishing to see anybody perishes. Xu Zilings heart was a piece of tranquility; he spoke softly, Do you remember the Tian Kui [Pai] Dojo massacre in Nanyang [Book 28 Chapter 9]? At that time Zhu Yuyan personally led her people tomit the atrocity of killing anybody in sight. You happened to go out, hence you did not see for yourself that kind of daochang [dojo; lit. ce (field) of the Way] bing a tuchang [ughterhouse] spectacle! But I will never forget it as long as I live. This time I am willing to cooperate with Zhu Yuyan is apromisepelled by circumstances, hence I do not have the slightest pity on her life or death; much less this is also a way to help Xianzi, just consider it a way to make up for many offenses wemitted against her. Kou Zhong suddenly saw the light, So thats how it is, he said, You are right, people will continuouslypromise and exercise forbearance due to the changes in the situation. I remember way back when Wanwan ughtered Shang Peng and Shang He, two venerable Seniors in front of our eyes [Book 11 Chapter 2]; at that time I swore to myself that I would cut Wanwans dead body into ten thousand pieces to avenge the two Seniors, butter on, due to the circumstances I was also forced topromise with Wanwan. This is just like although Xielis hatred to us is as deep as the sea, he still has to force Ma Ji to return the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin to us. Xu Ziling said, Speaking about eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin reminds me of Old Ba; its been a long time, why hasnt hee back? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Actually, I have been worried about it all along, but Im afraid to bring it up A man was rushing out of the side street and came to the two boys side. The two boys four eyes, like shes of lightning, immediately looked at the man. The man was intimidated by the twos imposing eyes, he shook all over and put his hands by his side, indicating that he had no malice, nor he held any weapon. Saluting, he said, My humble superior, Huyan Jin, wishes to invite two gentlemen to meet and discuss something. The two were greatly astonished. Unexpectedly Huyan Jin wanted to talk to them? Would the sun rise from the west tomorrow? With his hands behind his back, Kou Zhong continued walking slowly, while speaking indifferently, Laoxiong is not a Qidan, but a Han. How would I know that you really are Huyan Jins man? Recovering his calm demeanor, the man caught up to Kou Zhongs side, and spoke in low voice, Xiaoren Liang Yong, has always been in charge of Huyan Yes business inside the Pass. When Du Ye and Xu Ye [Xu of Xu Kaishan] wanted to contact my humble superior, they also wanted Xiaoren to act as intermediary, please Shaoshuai note clearly. He then cleared his throat and said, On the contrary, no one in Longquan knows me, hence Huyan Daye sent Xiaoren to be the messenger. If Shaoshuai and Xu Ye [Xu of Xu Ziling] move your good selves a little bit to follow Xiaoren, when you see Jin Ye, you will know that Xiaoren did not lie. Walking on Kou Zhongs other side, Xu Ziling nodded and said, You indeed did not lie, because bing Huyan Jins subordinate is not something that you should be proud of. If you wanted to lie, you ought to find something else to say. Liang Yongs countenance changed slightly, but he did not dare to explode in anger. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, So what if you are lying? At most its a trap. What kind of situation that I, Kou Zhong, had not seen? The problem is that right now I do not have any mood to see your honorable superior, let alone the time to do it. Tell him for me, pleasee early tomorrow. The two boys grew up in the marketce, they knew well how to deal with people of the ck road [criminal world], hence they barely came in contact, they immediately applied verbal pressure to the other side, so that the other side was caught in passive position, and had no choice but to bring out some benefit to curry favor with them. Sure enough, Liang Yong said, This time Huyan Ye sends Xiaoren to invite your good selves, it will really bring hundreds of benefits without a single harm to gentlemen. Didnt two gentlemen experience a lot of ten thousand crags and torrents ining here to retrieve Zhai Da Xiaojies goods? Huyan Jin Ye precisely wanted to discuss this matter with two gentlemen, as well as to rify some minor misunderstandings between the two sides. Kou Zhong started to get confused; didnt Kunzhihuang say that Huyan Jin and Shen Mohuan have joined forces to deal with them? Howe now it appeared that Huyan Jin wanted to make peace with them? He could not help casting a nce to Xu Ziling, asking for help. Thetter slightly shook his head, indicating that he had no idea whats going on either. Seeing that Kou Zhong was not emotionally moved at all, Liang Yong leaned closer and lowered his voice further, saying, My humble superior also attaches a big gift, which is he can guarantee that Shaoshuai will be able to retrieve justice for this mornings ambush. Inwardly, the two boys cried, Despicable! Just from hearing this, they knew that Huyan Jin indeed formed an alliance with Shen Mohuan, and both parties already drew up a n. Therefore, Huyan Jin could, at any time, give this present by betraying Shen Mohuan and the other three people. Pretending to be highly interested, Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, A gift? Smiling apologetically, Liang Yong said, If Shaoshuai wants to know the details, as long as you agree to meet my humble superior, my humble superior will definitely tell you everything. He gave emphasis to thest four words [yan wu bu jin, lit. none of the words is iplete] in an attempt to persuade Kou Zhong. This moment the three were entering the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, which was even more bustling with noise and excitement and flourishing, brimming with the happiness-of-a-big-day-about-to-arrive atmosphere. Xu Ziling could not help but was overwhelmed by emotional stirring. Although they were walking shoulder to shoulder with the crowd on the street, and seemed to be a part of them, but actually they transcended over the masses, to a certain degree, they had control over their fate. This kind of power that one person may have over other people was precisely the target that ambitious kings, marquis, and hegemons since ancient times strived to pursue. Furrowing his brows, Kou Zhong said, Whats the reason he is willing to give such advantage to me? What are his conditions? Liang Yong respectfully said, My humble superior already stated it clearly, there wont be any conditions, it is purely a hero valuing other heroes, to have friendly rtions, to be friends with the two gentlemen. Kou Zhong suddenly halted his steps. Turning his head toward Liang Yong, he smiled and said, Go back and tell Huyan Jin! I, Kou Zhong, have never had any dealings with horse thieves. Finished speaking, heughed aloud, and then, along with Xu Ziling, continued their journey ahead, leaving Liang Yong C who was standing with nk expression on the spot, whose countenance had turned so unsightly that it could not be more unsightly C behind. Kou Zhong said with augh to Xu Ziling, whose countenance was tranquil, Did I do the right thing? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Huyan Jin is just like Abaojia, because he received the news about Xieli and Tulis reconciliation, he wanted to make peace with us. Pleased with himself, Kou Zhong said, By rejecting him, I am forcing him not to quit from Shen Mohuans operation to deal with us, much less he is one of the three men that Da Xiaojie wanted us to kill, we certainly must not fail to live up Da Xiaojies expectation on us. Xu Ziling suddenly pulled him to cross the vehicle and horsesne where vehicles and horses wereing and going, toward the pedestrianne on the other side. Astounded, Kou Zhong asked, Is there ambushing troop ahead? Xu Ziling did not answer him. It was only after they walked for more than twenty steps along the pedestrianne that he spread out his palm, showing a ball of paper inside, and said with augh, This is the newsing from the world of the immortals. Kou Zhong suppressed the urge to look back at Shi Feixuan after she changed her appearance; full of admiration, he said, Really formidable, even I could not see your secretmunication method, forget about other people! Ha! Xu Ziling had no time to mind him; using the crowd as his cover, he took a quick peek, and then he folded up the precious and important piece of paper full of Shi Feixuans lucid and elegant handwritten characters and put it in his pocket. He said, Feixuan cannot contact Zhu Yuyan, she did not leave any secret marking per our agreement in the room. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Zilings countenance turned grave, he said, Feixuan said that she must immediately go to look for Zhu Yuyan, telling us to leave the matter of dealing with Shi Zhixuan to her. She probably cannot get back in time, so she told us to stay in the pce, which is the safest ce in Longquan, as long as possible, because no matter how ruthless Bai Ziting is, he would not dare to let us die in the pce. Ay! This is the sincere advice of someone who knew the condition of our injuries. Momentarily, Kou Zhongs troop disposition was thrown into chaos. Without Shi Feixuans support, with only Yin Xianhe, one person, they really did not have enough strength to deal with the hard-to-fathom enemy. Currently they could only win by outsmarting the enemy. If they had to fight a hard battle in direct confrontation, not only two boys little life would be difficult to protect, they also had topensate for the Butterfly Princes life. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, I begin to somewhat regretting not epting Huyan Jins kind intention just now. Xu Zilings Moon in the Well realm vanished like smoke in thin air, Shi Feixuans safety created more serious pressure in his heart than his own life and death, but it also aroused his fighting spirit. You must find a way to convince Ke Dazhi, otherwise we will undoubtedly die, he spoke heavily. He originally opposed telling Ke Dazhi their baseless conjecture, but now that they had no other choice, he changed his mind. Kou Zhong agreed; he said, Right now we can only see the opportunity and act, to see whether Ke Dazhi is a dragon or a snake. Hows Shi Zhixuans side? Also the four-character true statement, see the opportunity and act [jian ji xing shi], Xu Ziling replied. Speaking to this point, they both felt that someone was approaching from behind. On the street, where people wereing and going, naturally oftentimes there were many people behind them, but this persons style in approaching was different from other, sometimes it was fast, other times it was slow, also the left and right position was constantly changing, hence it triggered the two boys alertness, knowing that there was a top quality martial art mastering at them. As soon as this person entered a certain distance and angle from them, he couldunch a ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt attack on them. The iing persons momentum locked on them tightly, only martial art masters of Kou Zhong, Xu Zilings caliber would not need to look back to see, yet they were able to detect the iing persons movements as clear as if they saw it with their own eyes. If it were before they were injured, they could easily deal with it; they could even wait until the enemy made his move before starting to decide on which method they were going to strike back ruthlessly. This moment, however, naturally they were unable to be that confident and at ease. The two boys shoulders lightly touched each other. Xu Ziling stepped closer toward the shops side. Obtaining the true qi that Xu Ziling injected, Kou Zhong controlled muscles and meridians around the wound and, like a whirlwind, turned around swiftly. Entering his vision was Liexia, who was rushing to catch up with them inrge strides, only to see his pair of eyes was shing with pleased-with-himself expression first, before a smile broke out on his face. Laughing aloud, he said, Two Dage, how are you? This ignorant person thought that I might arrivete and thus treat a beautiful woman irreverently. But now that I see two gentlemen, I feel relieved. All of us, brothers, are going to see the beauty together, isnt that a joy? Isnt that a joy [quotation from Confucius]? Inwardly the two boys rained curses on him, yet they were clearly helpless to do anything to him. Worse yet, they knew that by using some brilliant technique he had been able to grasp their foundation. If just now they were able to use the no-change-in-respond-to-ten-thousand-changes, they could still maintain the profound-mystery fake appearance. But now, although they had not exposed their difficult situation, but it had been tested that their internal injury had not healed yet; no wonder this repulsive kids eyes showed a pleased-with-himself expression. Suppressing the anger in his heart, Kou Zhong acted as if nothing had happened, saying, I wonder if Lie Xiong has just seen Da Zun? Hence you made a little error in term of timing. Liexia was slightly startled; quite possibly Kou Zhong had indeed predicted the load on his mind correctly. Soon after he came between the two boys, and said with augh, Shaoshuai is joking! It was because I was looking for a gift that I missed the time, hence I have to painstakingly catch up. Look at this! A long and narrow brocade case, about a chi and a half long, embroidered with dragon and phoenix motif, slipped out of his sleeve and dropped into his hand. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong gaze fell on the brocade box, in their mind was apletely different matter. Liexia joined them at thest leg of their journey before they entered the Pce; it appeared to be unintentional coincidence, but the two knew there must be an ulterior motive in this. Most likely it was showing that at least on the assassination n to kill these two boys, Du Xing and Xu Kaishan, this group of people, did not have quite an agreement with Shen Mohuan, Huyan Jin, Han Chaoan, the other group of people. The reason was very simple, because with Liexia apanying them on this segment of the journey, Shen Mohuan and his group would not be able tounch the surprise attack before the two boys entered the Pce, hence they could onlymence their operation after they left the Pce. If Liexia knew that the two boys were able to draw such a conclusion from his apanying them on this segment, he would be extremely regretful. Kou Zhong casually asked, Last time, the big gift was the Shenqi Mi Pu [magical/mystical secret (music) score, Book 41 Chapter 6], this time, what his mothers [music] score is it? Liexia cheerfully said, When we see Xiufang Dajia, this ignorant person will reveal it. Grinning widely, he put the brocade box back inside his sleeve. The pce gate was in sight. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; they both could see in the other eyes the feeling that this segment of the fake Vermillion Bird Boulevard was more difficult to walk than the real Vermillion Bird Boulevard in the far-away-across-ten-thousand-crags-and-torrents real Changan. Could tonight be theirst night? Book 42 - 13 – Forgetting Interest, Agreeing With One Another Jade steps threeyers deep pressing down on the Qin field; golden pce halls four hot-water bathing poolsforting the Zhou in. This was the rhyming couplet carved on the stone, painted in gold, at the entrance to the Qifeng [lit. perching phoenix] Pavilion located at the west garden of the inner pce where Bai Ziting received the guests for the banquet tonight. The rhyming couplet portrayed the scenery of the Central Earths Changans prestige in subduing the Guanzhong in [in Shaanxi, valley of the Wei River], while also showing Bai Zitings aspiration to make Longquan the strategic military stronghold, the city that would subdue and intimidate the Northeast in [dictionary added: also called the Manchurian in]. Upon arrival at the pce gate, they were met by protocol officer who took the three passing through the imperial city and entering the imperial pce, along a corridor paved with bricks in front of the pce hall, extending to the left and right, passing through gardens and courtyards, toward the quiet, serene and elegant Qifeng Pavilion. Qifeng Pavilion itself was built next to an artificial smallke, which was fed by a hot spring inside the west garden, connected by a long corridor looping around theke, surrounded by birch trees all around, which provide shade, cypress trees reaching high to the sky, dotted by shadows of bamboo trees. Under the gradually diminishing light in the sky, the crescent moon that appeared to be hiding behind the floating clouds, the scenery was extremely beautiful. Water vapor was rising from the hot spring pool, creating a wonderful scenery of spiraling rose-tinted colored steam, along the bent balustrade of the winding corridor, the water pavilion and terrace, enhancing the infinite poetry. Compared to the Taiji Pce of the real Changan, it exuded a different mood. They barely entered the west garden, Liexia shook his head and swayed his noggin, appearing to be unruffled by sentiment, he was half chanting, half singing, saying, Pce oriole dering the auspicious open mist, three birds and spirited fowl brush away the water and back. Raising and turning the rainbow to be the beautiful pce hall, on the balustrade floats a flower crane near Peni [one of three fabled inds in Eastern sea, abode of immortals]. He was not singing at the top of his voice, but it brought up some kind of warmth instead. Although the two boys did not like him, they had to admit that a bit of unbridled and frivolous intonation that he was carrying was extremely attractive, while also seemed to conceal some secretive and scheming heart, which was reminiscent of his unique and demonic, strange personality traits. Shang Xiufangs sweet and enchanting voice came from the terrace facing theke on the other side of Qifeng Pavilion, saying, Lie Gongzi is here! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces; they were both able to see the shock in the other sides heart. Shang Xiufangs voice exuded strong expectant and joyous emotion, revealing her frame of mind, which thirsted to see Liexia, so that for the first time, they were able to sense the crisis that Ke Dazhi was talking about. Shang Xiufang was the talented girl with both pinnacle appearance and skill that everybody in the Central Earth held in high esteem. Even though the fire of war set the heavens aze, she transcended above the struggle, wherever she went, she received the deferential treatment afforded to kings and marquis. Even beyond the Great Wall, the savage and tyrannical men like Xieli would still want to attend upon her like nobility for fear that the treatment was not satisfactory. She was, not just in name only, but also in reality C the guest of the state. If a demonic man of the Da Ming Zun Jiao like Liexia held her body and mind captive, it would be a matter of regret that no one would be willing and desiring to see. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling gained first-hand experience of this different kind of battlefield, which no military [or martial] force would be able to resolve. Liexias most formidable move was that he was a kindred spirit with Shang Xiufang in music, and now he was disying a Hou Xibai-style literary talent and romanticism. These two aspects were definitely not something that Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi could match, hence Liexia, as theter, was able to live above them, and force the two into passive and disadvantageous position. Liexias voice responded by the two boys side, Such a beautiful scenery, to be able to wander around the corridor with Xiufang Dajia, leaning on a parapet to admire the full moon, with River Han in the distance, talking about music and discussing art, life to this point, what else is there to seek? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling followed behind him, both were sighing for wanting to strike back but were powerless; he spoke with such poetic grace, could it be that they could simplye over and say, Xiufang Dajia, how are you? or perhaps, Xiaodi is here? Practically they were incapable to have a say in the matter, worse yet, they did not dare to invent crazy nonsense to put their disgrace on disy. Qifeng Pavilion was full of hanging colorfulnterns, originally it looked like a beautiful dreand, but suddenly it became an endless nightmare. Shang Xiufangs singing voice came, she sang [qingchang C singing opera music without staging or make up], The moon is the universe overlooking red [or cinnabar] earth, the cloud of wine like a of green jade muslin. Royal banquetys out cassia vinegar, heavenly wine pours pomegranate flower. The water flows straight toward the floating bridge, the city is linked to the dense sloping park. Bearing the kindness, abandoning restraint, bestowing happiness, the way back is full of misty red clouds. [Note: you guys know how much I love this kind of flowerynguage ... not! So, feel free to offer your help. It will be greatly appreciated.] The bright lyrics matched with her not-containing-the-least-bit-of-impurity, sprinkled beautifully, as well as having a slight sadness C voice, in such an evening, like a unique, exquisite white jade porcin, contained coldly condensed sense of beauty. Who among the listeners would not be emotionally moved? Liexia halted his steps in shock; standing outside the Qifeng Pavilions main gate, where four pce maids were waiting to wee them, he raised his voice in a chant, Bluish-green window curtain, hanging beads curtain, not only to shine, the clear song reproaching the s [a type of standing harp, with 5-25 strings], interdependent with each other. Liexia is hoping to be Xiufang Dajias intimate friend forever. Behind him, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only look at each other with bitter smile. Liexia simply walked the tiny section of the road like this, he already revealed his power to capture Shang Xiufang, sinking Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling down into supporting roles. The window curtain, hanging beads curtain, not only to shine, the clear song reproaching the s, interdependent with each other C was a brilliant move to show love, which the two boys could never think of, yet Liexia so effortlessly and casually spit it out artictely, casting him in a good light in front of Shang Xiufangs eyes. The protocol officer, who has been stepping aside respectfully among the three men, heralded, Kou Shaoshuai, Xu Gongzi, Lie Gongzi have arrived! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling wished they could find a hole where they would go into hiding. Compared to Liexia, they could only feel that in this regard, they were good-for-nothing material. Ah! Shang Xiufang eximed; with embarrassment in her voice, she said, Kou Shaoshuai, Xu Gongzi, please forgive Xiufangs guilt ofcking in manners, unexpectedly I did not realize two gentlemen areing together with Lie Gongzi! This exnation only made Kou Zhong unbearably sad, while Xu Ziling was sad for Kou Zhong. Showing off his elegance, Liexia retreated toward the opposite side of the protocol officer; bowing, he said, Two Dage, please! Kou Zhong really wished he could raise his hand to throttle the vital part on his throat, forcing him not to provoke Shang Xiufang anymore, yet the cruel reality did not allow him to have this pleasure. Also pretending not to care, he had to smile and said, Lie Xiong, no need to stand on ceremony, you go ahead to pay your respects to Xiufang Dajia, Ling Shao and I have something wed like to discuss in private. Liexia said, In that case, Xiaodi will be one step ahead. Finished speaking, without waiting at all he hurriedly entered the Pavilion. Again, the two could only look at each other with wry smile on their faces, before stepping across the threshold to enter the room. It was a very big hall. A table of grand banquet was arranged in the middle of the hall; the cups, dishes and chopsticks, none was not exquisite and carefully chosen. On the side near theke, there was a row of wine barrels. Outside was a tform overlooking theke with carved railings constructed of jade. Ke Dazhi and the long-legged female general Zong Xianghua were apanying the wearing-random-yellow-clothes, beautiful-like-a-fairy Shang Xiufang, leaning on the parapet, enjoying the touching beautiful scenery of the clouds and mist spiraling into the air from the hot springke. The winding corridor around theke was sometimes visible, another times hidden, so that Liexia, who was walking toward the tform, felt like he was throwing himself from the mundane world into the world of the immortals. It was the kind of beauty that was definitely unreal, yet precisely because it was unreal that it was particrly enchanting. There were no attendants inside the hall. After giving a couple of exnations the protocol officer withdrew from the hall, leaving the two boys alone. Casting his gaze toward the tform outside the Pavilion, Kou Zhong shook his head and spoke dejectedly, Ling Shao need not worry that I would have change of affection, shift of love. I am practically not that Lie kids match. Perhaps this kid is even more formidable than Hou Xibai. Shang Xiufangs sweetughter, like sweet smelling grass wind, blew in from the outside. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, For the sake of righteousness and justice to a friend, I wonder if you should warn Shang Xiufang? If she does not want to listen to you, then its her business. Kou Zhong recalled the touching scene this morning where, unable to restrain his emotions, he forcefully kissed Shang Xiufangs fragrant lips, yet right now he had to witness Shang Xiufang and his own enemy exchanging words andughter quietly; the unbearable pent-up frustration welled up in his heart indeed could not be described in words. He said, The matter between men and women, its very difficult for outsiders to interfere. If I became a lowly person for no reason, I would only provoke Shang Xiufangs dislike. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, But you are not an outsider at all? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, The problem is that I already lost the qualifications to pursue her. Otherwise you wont need to dissuade me many times on this matter. The cleanest and most proper way is still to ughter him with a de. This moment, perhaps because he thought that what the eye doesnt see, the heart doesnt grieve over [idiom], Ke Dazhi returned inside the hall. The murderous intent in his pair of eyes shing, he spoke fiercely, Did you see that? This kid openly banters flirtatiously [orig. to tease a woman by pretending to be displeased with her] with Xiufang Dajia, showing clearly that he does not see us worthy in his eyes, he is not giving us any face at all. Snorting coldly, Kou Zhong said, I want to see how long he is going to be smug like that. And then he took a nce toward the main gate. After making sure that there was no sign of Bai Zitings dragon-self, he spoke with serious expression, Do you know that after speaking with us, your Du Dage immediately went to see Xu Kaishan and quarreled with him until his face was blushing, his ears hot, before leaving in fury? What? Ke Dazhi blurted out. Instantly his countenance sank, You guys followed him? he asked. We did not follow him, Xu Ziling replied, But there is a friend watching Xu Kaishan in secret, and happened to witness the whole situation. At that time Xu Kaishan was at Hui Shens fragrant chamber, the most popr courtesan in Longquan. Ke Dazhis countenance turned clear and cloudy indeterminately, from time to time his pair of eyes emitted ominous glint. It was quite half a dayter that he suddenly became like a defeated rooster. Ay! he spoke dejectedly, How could it be like this? Unexpectedly Du Dage made such an unwise move. Peoples heart is difficult to fathom, Kou Zhong admitted candidly, But in our opinion, Du Xing really does not know Xu Kaishans identity. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Ke Dazhi said, We misjudged Du Dages fiery temper. He went to see Xu Kaishan just like that, it would only reveal the secret that you guys are working together with me. Beating the grass to scare the snake, why was Du Dage so unwise? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt big headache. This ought to be the limit that Ke Dazhi could ept; how could they convince him that Du Xing was a man who would do anything, by hook or by crook, for his own benefit? On the surface he appeared supremely honorable and righteous, but in the dark he would not shrink from any crime; worse yet, he might betray anybody, including Ke Dazhi. Surprised, Ke Dazhi said, Why do you appear like you wanted to say something but then hesitated? You dont suspect he might betray us to Xu Kaishan, do you? He definitely wont do such a thing. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Because we are afraid that if we tell you our thought, you, LaoGe wont believe it. Ke Dazhi was slightly startled; the refined light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he stared at Kou Zhong with displeasure, firmly shook his head, and said, I know Du Xing; he will never betray his friends. Zong Xianghuas polite but cold voice came from the exit of the tform, saying, Xiufang Dajia is inviting three gentlemen to the tform to have a chat. Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhis four eyes met, neither was willing to yield, clearly showing the differences in the two sides view on Du Xing. With a smile on his face, Xu Ziling spoke to Zong Xianghua, Zong Shiwei [imperial bodyguard], please inform Xiufang Dajia that we will go out immediately. How could Zong Xianghua know the reason behind Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhis swords drawn, bows spread out situation? She thought it was the case of old enemies meeting by chance, and conflict arising. She said, Shaoshuai and Ke Jiangjun, how about looking at Xiufang Dajias face and momentarily set your personal matters aside, and talk about itter after the banquet? Finished speaking she turned her tender body around and went back to the tform. This was the first time that Xu Ziling saw this as-cold-as-ice-and-frost Mohe beauty in such a close distance; he understood what Kou Zhong meant when he said that she had a unique sex appeal. Kou Zhong reached out to lightly pat Ke Dazhis broad shoulder; he said with augh, About Ke Xiong is going to help us tonight, lets forget it, because I am afraid it would harm the deep friendship between you and your Du Dage. His countenance changed, Ke Dazhi said, Who do you think I am, that I shoulde when you call, and go when you want? Inwardly Kou Zhong was angry as well; frowning, he said, Why cant you think about the good aspect of this matter? It is because I am giving thought to you that I ask you not to get involved. Ill have to trouble you to tell Du Xing, I wont need him lending his hand, helping with his fist. His anger suddenly red, Ke Dazhi said, You think I, Ke Dazhi would join hands with Du Xing to harm you? Seeing the more the two talked, the more they reached the deadlock, Xu Ziling was about to smooth things over when the sound of footsteps wasing from the main entrance. The three looked toward the sound, and all were stunned. Unexpectedly the neers were Han Chaoan and Jin Zhengzong, who were apanying their young martial art aunt, Fu Junqiang, on her left and right. Book 43 - 1 – Mad Monk of Tianzhu Kou Zhong shot a quick nce toward Fu Junqiang, Han Chaoan and Jin Zhengzong who were walking in, but immediately turned his head back toward the ill-countenanced Ke Dazhi, saying, Can we step aside to clear up this matter? Laughing coldly, Ke Dazhi said, What else is there to say? If you want to talk, just talk here to be very clear about it. In here? Kou Zhong suddenly exploded, Do you want me to reveal everything here and we all just break up and go our separate ways? Ke Dazhi was enraged as well, It is you who want to break up and go your separate way, not me! You should also know, between us, there is nothing good to say anymore. Led by the protocol officer, Fu Junqiang had just stepped across the threshold to enter the Pavilion, immediately she felt the zing atmosphere inside the hall; furthermore, she saw how Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi stood against each other with ring eyes. Just like Zong Xianghua, she mistakenly thought that the two had always been like water and fire, hence one word went wrong, conflict urred immediately. While she was a bit unsure how to act, Han Chaoan moved from the back to the front, he whispered something in her ear. Fu Junqiang nodded slightly, and then, with Jin Zhengzong and Han Chaoan, they moved to the doors side, taking the watching-the-fires-burning-across-the-river stance. Seeing the deteriorating situation, Xu Ziling was afraid the two would really quarrel, he spoke in low voice, There are guestsing! How about finding an opportunity to talkter? Ke Dazhi adamantly shook his head and said, No! Now its my turn to make things clear. Kou Zhong shot Xu Ziling a did you see that? look, and then he turned to Fu Junqiang, bowed with cupped fist from a distance, and said, Please forgive this kid for being rude. After settling the old ount with this Renxiong, I wille to beg the threes forgiveness. Finally, he turned to Ke Dazhi and said, I wonder if Ke Xiong would let me speak frankly with you, so that I will be free to speak whatever I want to tell you? Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing that in anger and with his rationale clouded, Kou Zhong already threw caution to the wind, and no longer cared about the consequences. And the reason why Kou Zhong was so angry toward Ke Dazhi was simply because both sides have regarded the other side as trustworthyrade-in-arms toward whom they had good opinion. It was therefore in this delicate enemy-friend rtionship that the situation was developing into the struggle of ideas. Letting out a cold snort, Ke Dazhi said, Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention. On the tform overlooking theke, Shang Xiufang and the others attention also moved into the hall, they stopped talking. This top beauty in both appearance and skill even had her pretty eyebrows tightly knitted, because both in terms of time and ce, this was not a suitable environment for a conflict, hence she looked unhappy. The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was shing brightly, he nodded and said, Very well! You, LaoGe answer my simple question first, which is: why is it there are so many people in the world can be deceived? Just by looking at their expression, one would know that Fu Junqiang and the others did not understand what they were talking about, they could not fathom why this pair of old enemies could be entangled on such an issue. Ke Dazhis countenance turned cold, he replied slowly, You think I am an ignorant three-year-old kid that can fall into your evil scheme, to be duped to scold myself? Those can be deceived by others are at best pathetic idiots; but those who nder others are extremely despicable lowly persons even more. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong raised his thumb and said, Ke Xiong is indeed a man who is not easy to be deceived. The truth that I want to draw from this is that only those whom you trust can deceive you. In fact, we have also mistakenly trusted other people, which caused us a gnawing regret for as long as we live. Therefore, we did not wish to see Ke Xiong follow the track of an overturned cart [idiom: to repeat a disastrous policy]. In their verbal exchange, they did not deliberately lower the volume of their voice, hence even Shang Xiufang and the others, who were standing some distance away, were able to hear everything clearly. However, with the exception of Xu Ziling, everybody was confused, no one understood what these two were fighting for. Xu Ziling was relieved, knowing that Kou Zhong had recovered his rationale, hence he suddenly became calm. Yet Ke Dazhi did not feel grateful at all; the vicious light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, his expression appeared grim even more, he spoke in heavy voice, Shaoshuai speaking back and forth, in the end you still continue insulting me and the man that I respect; Shaoshuai ought to know that in the prairie, no one put more emphasis on reputation than Tujue people. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If Ke Xiong wants to resort to force to solve this dispute, I, Kou Zhong, will definitely be honored to apany you. Xu Ziling cried Bad! inwardly. This moment, how could Kou Zhong have either the qualifications or the capital to keep Ke Dazhipany? It would not be much different thanmitting a suicide. However, he also knew that Kou Zhong was forced by Ke Dazhi that he had no other choice. He could not help casting a surreptitious nce toward Han Chaoan, and noticed that he was sizing up the position of the pit of Kou Zhongs stomach with full attention; it seemed like he wanted to prate Kou Zhongs clothes to examine in detail the real situation of his injury. In his heart, Ke Dazhi was still having misgivings toward Shang Xiufang; he cast a nce through the window toward her first, and then said, Is Shaoshuai teasing Xiaodi? Unless you practically did not sustain injuries. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, This is precisely the most exquisite aspect; it is called putting everything to death and then go back to live, to seek victory in the midst of defeat. It is an indispensable part of the Way of the Saber cultivation. Shaking his head, Ke Dazhi said, I wont receive your favor at all. If you want to fight, we must seek the time and the ce. Ill leave it to you to decide, since you alone know when you are going to be fully recovered. If we fight right now, the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world, would only end up nursing a grievance. His remark revealed a strong self-confidence, but was also brimming with martial art masters air and style. Kou Zhong was about to reply, suddenly a gentle, deep, elegant, extremely sweet-sounding, deep and low male voice came from outside the pavilion, I wonder if youll let me, Funantuo to be an unbiased judge? If two gentlemen immediately fight a decisive life and death battle, my guess is that the conclusion would be mutual destruction. My reasoning is based on this: lets suppose first that two gentlemen are evenly matched, but due to his injury, Shaoshuais power is greatly reduced, so it seems certain that he will be defeated. However, since in his heart Ke Jiangjun does not have murderous intent, also he has the fear of being ridiculed as relying on power to rise high over the injured, so at the beginning of the battle he would restraint his hands. Who would have thought that Shaoshuais Eight Methods of the Well attached most importance to momentum, plus at the critical juncture when facing the matter of life and death, once there is an opportunity, it will be unleashed to the greatest extent, even if the wound constantly dripping blood and bursting open, it could force Ke Jiangjun into dangerous position, only, at the deaths door it is incapable to support counterstrike to Ke Jiangjun, resulting in both sides defeated and die. His speech was methodical, his analysis was down to the smallest detail, plus his intonation was sonorous and pleasant to listen to, if thrown on the floor, it will make a sound [idiom: (of ones words) powerful and resonating/to have substance], brimming with powerful inspiration, also demonstrating the insight and intelligence with which he could see through and understand the two men thoroughly, hence although the person has not arrived, his speech already had the divine effect of gaining the upper hand by a show of strength. None of the listeners, including Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi who were being analyzed, was not emotionally moved. Although Ke Dazhi was painted at the slightly inferior position, but because Funantuo, this senior monk from Tianzhu [reminder: Indian subcontinent (esp. in Tang or Buddhist context)] did not say that his martial art skill was not as good as Kou Zhong at all, on the contrary, to certain extent he was secretly praised for his character, he did not feel ufortable. Everybody turned their eyes toward the main gate as three men appeared at the entrance. In the middle was the grave-looking Bai Ziting. On his right was a thin, tall, withered and dark-skinned, high-nosed, deep-eyed Tianzhu man, wearing orange-apricot-colored unique oversized wide robe. In terms of bearing and imposing manner, he was definitely not inferior to the dragon-walk, tiger-pace Bai Ziting. His hair was tied in a bun, wrapped inyer uponyer of white muslin, which made the bridge of his nose appeared even more high and erect. The expression showing in his eyes was even deeper and hard to fathom. In just a nce, it was very difficult to tell whether he was handsome or ugly, or how old he really was. But he had the charm that made people esteem and admire him, that made people feel that he was not an ordinary person. On Bai Zitings other side was surprisingly the big fat Zang Shou [stolen goods hand] Ma Ji, with a smile on his face that seemed toe from his sincere heart, but anybody who knew him would know that it was just a disguise. One after another everybody in the hall raised their hands to salute, to greet the host, so that the swords drawn and bows bent atmosphere between Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi was diluted. This moment, from the tform Shang Xiufang returned to the hall. With her tender and chirpy voice she paid her respect and greeted the three. This was the first time that she came across Ma Ji, Han Chaoan, Funantuo, and the others, hence Bai Ziting introduced everybody one by one. Just like Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ke Dazhi, three men, Liexia also paid particr attention to Funantuos each and every move. But it was as if Funantuo had turned into a stone statue standing respectfully by Bai Zitings side, only when he was being introduced that he nodded and smiled in response, giving up the impression that he was enigmatic. After some polite greetings, Bai Ziting turned to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, saying, I wonder if two gentlemen could stay over at the Pce for two days, to let this king act as the host a little bit? The crowd sang to a string apaniment, they knew the meaning behind this invitation, they understood that Bai Ziting wanted to provide a safe ce for the two boys to recover. Once these words were spoken, it was impossible for the battle between Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi to proceed immediately even more. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I wonder if Da Wang wanted to let people casually write my name backward? When he saw Bai Ziting this afternoon, he had made heroic speech that if he could not behead the assassins who made him sustain injuries tonight, he would let people write the name Kou Zhong, two characters, backward. Bai Zitingughed aloud and said, Shaoshuai is indeed heroic. But if this kings insight is notcking, Shaoshuais scheme of using your body to lure the enemy will not seed but you will die trying. I hope Shaoshuai will think thrice, to carefully consider this kings proposal. At this time, while still speaking, both the host and the guests were gathered near the door by the banquet table inside the hall. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; both were cursing inwardly. Although on the surface Bai Ziting appeared to show extreme consideration to them, to look after them in every possible way, the fact was that he was divulging the seriousness of Kou Zhongs injury, telling the assassins not to miss the opportunity while Kou Zhong was still injured. Afterwards, Bai Ziting could push the me neat and clean, by ming Kou Zhong for being eager to win and showing off. Bai Ziting, Funantuo, and Ma Ji, three meningte, it was most likely due to they were holding an emergency meeting because of Tuli and Xielis reconciliation, which exined why as Bai Ziting was stepping over the threshold and entering the hall, his countenance was so grave, he appeared to have his heart filled with worry. Ma Ji swept Fu Junqiang, three persons with his gaze, heughed without his skin and flesh moving, and said, What was the reason Shaoshuai is having a dispute against Ke Jiangjun? Is it possible to let Ma Ji overestimating his capabilities to be to mediator? Shrugging his shoulders, Ke Dazhi replied, Ma Xiansheng need not expend a great deal of effort and work with your brains for this reason. The matter between Shaoshuai and I intertwined since Guanzhongs Changan to here; it could only be described in four characters hard to exin in a few words [yi yan nan jin]. Kou Zhongughed and said, Ke Xiongs description is very fitting. The strange light in Ke Dazhis pair of eyes ring dramatically, he spoke in heavy voice, I wonder if Shaoshuai can step aside to talk? Immediately everybodys eyebrows were deeply knitted; evidently Ke Dazhi did not respect Bai Ziting at all, he still wanted to make agreement on the date and the ce for the decisive battle with Kou Zhong in private. It was indeed a bit excessive. Shang Xiufang spoke in displeasure, Ke Jiangjun ... Ke Dazhi respectfully said, Xiufang Dajia, please dont worry. Both Shaoshuais and my anger are gone, we wont do anything that will make Xiufang Dajia get angry! Isnt that right, Shaoshuai? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The two of us knew we were wrong! Xiufang Dajia, please be magnanimous, forgive our offense. Liexia roared inughter and said, In the world, I am afraid only Xiufang Dajia can make Ke Xiong and Shaoshuai admit an error and apologize to each other. It has indeed touched this ignorant persons heart. Kou Zhong noticed Ke Dazhi was looking down; he knew that he was afraid Shang Xiufang would be able to see the murderous aura in his eyes toward Liexia. Smiling, he said, Ke Xiong! Lets go outside to enjoy the hot spring atmosphere under the moonlight. He also apologized to Bai Ziting for the offense, and then with calm demeanor he led the way toward the tform. Upright and unafraid, Ke Dazhi followed him with his hands behind his back. All along Xu Ziling kept his attention on Fu Junqiang; he saw how she had her eyes fixed on Kou Zhongs back, the expression in the pupil of her eyes was a bit peculiar, unlike her usual gaze when she looked at Kou Zhong, loathing, with a bit of disdain. Instead, there was a bit of something in there, a different thing. Ma Ji suddenly approached Bai Ziting. Thetter understood that he had something to say in private; excusing himself, he and Ma Ji went outside the door. Han Chaoan knew Funantuo very well, hence he took Fu Junqiang and Jin Zhengzong over to chat with Funantuo. And thus only four persons left: Xu Ziling, Shang Xiufang, Zong Xianghua and Liexia. The atmosphere among this peculiar gathering of two men and two women suddenly felt weird. Shang Xiufang looked at Xu Ziling, who was averting her gaze; her expression looked intense, the mystical brilliance inside the pupil of her eyes was rippling. It was extremely moving. Watching this, naturally Liexia was dumbstruck. As the other female in the room Zong Xianghua also received his interest, hence his attention moved from Xu Ziling to her pretty face, which was capable of causing the downfall of a city or state. On the contrary, Xu Ziling seemed to bepletely oblivious; his eyes were following Kou and Ke, two men, who had reached the long railings at the edge of the tform. It was not until they came to a stand that he turned his head around, and just happened to meet Shang Xiufangs gaze head-on. Even with his level of cultivation, he still could not help being shaken. Shang Xiufang acted as if she already knew that Xu Ziling would have such a reaction; smiling sweetly, she said, Although Xiufang has had several predestined affinities to meet Xu Gongzi several times, this is the first time we have the opportunity to chat. Xu Gongzis injury is not as serious as Shaoshuais, is it? Xu Ziling mused that he has spoken with her face to face, only because at that time he was in his Yue Shan disguise that she did not know. He was about to answer, Liexia said, Xu Xiongs right hand does not look as natural as before, I wonder if your nk received an injury? Xu Ziling shivered inwardly; Liexia appeared to be concerned over him, but actually he was showing off his brilliant eyesight. Also, the reason why he was rambling like this and thus provoking Xu Zilings alertness was simply because Shang Xiufang showing interest to Xu Ziling had aroused his jealousy. This was perhaps Liexias weak point. Xu Ziling smiled calmly. Trying to raise his hand, he said, Lie Xiongs eyesight is very urate; slightly rising my hand like this is already very painful. Zong Xianghua cast her gaze to Xu Ziling. Within her polite look, she still maintained her usual cold, indifferent attitude; she said, We have a very good physician in the Pce, he could apply medicine for Xu Gongzi to treat your injury. After tactfully declined, Xu Ziling casually changed the subject by saying, Lie Xiongs mysterious gift, are you still going to keep it a secret? Laughing tenderly, Shang Xiufang said, Turns out Lie Gongzi is acting mysterious. Is it the Tianzhu Xiao [Chinese flute], an exquisite product of Gaochangs skilled artisan? I wonder if I could ask Xu Gongzi to aplish Xiufangs cherished desire? Xu Ziling watched as Shang Xiufang pulled out the long brocade case that Liexia presented to her from her wide sleeve. Astonished, he said, Xiufang Dajia has something to do, please feel free to bestow your instruction. Both Liexia and Zong Xianghua revealed a curious expression; they were wondering what cherished desire Shang Xiufang wanted Xu Ziling to aplish for her. Staring fixedly at the steam rising in spiral from the hot springke, Ke Dazhi spoke in heavy voice, I hope Shaoshuai will agree on one request of mine. Surprised, Kou Zhong said, What makes you, LaoGe to suddenly lower your voice and suppress your anger to make a request to me? I am afraid it will be something that is difficult for Xiaodi to ept. Ke Dazhi turned his gaze toward him, inside his sharp eyes, there was not the slightest bit of hostility anymore. He sighed and said, Supposing Du Dage is really as Shaoshuai said, I hope Shaoshuai can look at my face and let him go. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, This is not like Ke Xiongs usual style at all. You adamantly stood on your Du Dages side, so much so that you turned your spearhead around to deal with us. Ke Dazhi shook his head and said, Because not only you are the enemy that I respect, you are also the friend that I admire. Perhaps there wille a day where we will fight for life and death, but it definitely will not happen inside the city of Longquan. Ay! Just now, at the beginning I was really angry, hence I spoke some offensive words. Afterwards my anger dissipated and I came to my senses, thereupon I seized the opportunity to put on an act for Bai Ziting and the others to see. Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, Good guy! And then he frowned and said, Are you a little skeptical about Du Xing too? Ke Dazhi spoke heavily, Du Dage went to see Xu Kaishan just like that, it indeed raised my suspicion, but I still dont believe that he will betray me. Right now my heart is in chaos; Shaoshuai, tell me what should I do? Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, Looking at your, LaoGes face, there is no harm in us letting Du Xing off; the problem is that currently the one upying the upper hand is them and not us at all. You should know better than us how formidable Du Xing really is. Something goes wrong, Ling Shao and I are going to lose our lives; how could we have the qualifications to talk about whos going to let whom off? Do you trust me? Ke Dazhi asked. Without the slightest hesitation, Kou Zhong nodded and said, Absolute trust! Ke Dazhis pair of eyes brightened, he nodded and said, Good! I, Ke Dazhi use my reputation as a guarantee that I will definitely not fail to live up to Kou Xiongs trust. On how to meet a contingency tonight, Kou Xiong, please bestow instructions. Kou Zhongs heart was moved. Previously, in Changan, the impression that Ke Dazhi gave him was tyrannical and overbearing. But aftering in contact with him these past few days, he was beginning to see his passionate, attaching-importance-to-friendship side. Slightly muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Our vision of the enemy is like this: Han Chaoan, Shen Mohuan and Huyan Jin are one party, your Du Dage and Xu Kaishan are another party; these two groups of people do not have contact with each other, but they have identical goal, which is, before our injuries are healed, they want to get rid of us, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Just now, at thest leg of the journey, Liexia deliberately apanied us into the Pce, it was precisely to guarantee that the assassination operation will only happen after we leave the Pce. And your Du Dage knew our action n like the back of his hand, hence he could easily draw benefit from it. As if he had been sentenced by the judge, Ke Dazhi said, I really wish you had guessed wrong. But if you are right, Du Dage might pretend to lead you to Shen Mohuans nest, when in fact it will be the death trap that Du Dage and Xu Kaishanid out. Ay! I really am afraid to face this possibility, because I will most likely be unable to control myself and personally take Du Dages life. What I hate the most is being cheated and betrayed by a friend. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Did you not just plead with me to let him go? Ke Dazhi dejectedly said, How would I know that I would uncover the answer to this riddle so soon? I thought that it would take at least a year or a half, so much so that I will never find the truth. Kou Zhong sympathetically said, Let me think, perhaps I cane up with a way to satisfy rival demands, both to kill Shen Mohuan, but also temporarily avoid direct confrontation with Old Du. The lightning light inside Ke Dazhis pair of eyes shing brightly, he recovered his calm and confident manner. There is only one way, he spoke coldly, Well decide on another set of contact methods. I am sure that Shen Mohuan will shoot the arrow using his Flying Cloud Bow. I can guarantee that Shen Mohuan will not see tomorrows sunrise. Kou Zhongughed to his hearts content; he said, With your, this kids cooperation, I really save a lot of lips and tongue strength. We also have another helper, the same person who found out that your Du Dage was having a big quarrel with Xu Kaishan. He is known as Die Gongzi Yin Xianhe, an outstanding swordsman of Central Earths northeast region, quite an exceptional figure. Astonished, Ke Dazhi said, Where have I heard this strange name? Trying to help him, Kou Zhong said, Did you hear it from Du Xing? Ke Dazhi shook his head. But immediately his pair of eyes emitted a strange look, he said, I remember now! Once, Zong Xianghua mentioned this name to Xiufang Dajia. Kou Zhong could not help casting his gaze toward the brightly lit hall; his eyes fell onto Zong Xianghuas slender, graceful, healthy back, while in theke of his heart emerged the shadow of Yin Xianhe, the proud and aloof, rising-above-the-flock swordsman. What was his rtionship with Zong Xianghua? Book 43 - 3 – Brahma and I as One Ma Ji stared fiercely at Kou Zhong without blinking at all. His breathing gradually returned to normal: slow, long, fine; and then the corner of his mouth revealed a hint of coldugh, carrying a bit of disdain, as he spoke indifferently, I, Ma Ji, have been mingling in the prairie for so many years, there has never been anybody speaking like Shaoshuai, using life and death to threaten me, Ma Ji, because they all understand that I am just a businessman. If Shaoshuai wants my life, go ahead, do your worst; but if you want me to kneel and beg for forgiveness, youd better just forget about it. Finished speaking, he turned around and walked away. Have guts! Kou Zhong cried inwardly; moreover, he felt strange. Presently, the situation was disadvantageous to him, yet why did Ma Ji still want to stand on Bai Zitings side? ording to reason, if his life was concerned, Ma Ji ought to be the kind of person who would sell even his father and mother. Ji Ye, hold on! he shouted coldly. Ma Ji stopped about seven paces from him. Without even looking back, he said with a sneer, What else is there to talk about? Kou Zhong noticed that inside the hall, Bai Ziting was looking at their direction. He spoke softly, Ji Ye ought to know that Huyan Jin already beat the retreating drum, he is using Shen Mohuan as the bargaining chip in a peace talk with me. Ma Jis fat body shook; he said, What does Shen Mohuan have anything to do with me, Ma Ji? Kou Zhong knew he had hit Ma Jis weak point. Smiling, he said, How could it be that he has nothing to do with you? If Shen Mohuan fails to get rid of us, I am afraid henceforth Ji Ye wont have many good days to pass. Is it worth the trouble? Ma Jis amazingly nimble fat body swiveled around to face Kou Zhong. Laughing aloud, he said, I have never seen anybody more arrogant and conceited than Shaoshuai, who are also an intolerable bully. Those who want to kill me, Ma Ji, are more numerous than the stars in the sky, yet isnt Ma Ji still alive and well? Enough talking, my life is right here, if you have the ability,e and take it! Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, This is now, that was then. Before, you have Xieli as your backing; there are also Shen Mohuan, Huyan Jin, Han Chaoan, Du Xing, and the others ganging up with you, indeed not many people could do anything against you. Its a pity that right now the situation is seeing a fast change of scene. First of all, Xieli no longer needs Shen Mohuan, this hunting dog, because Shen Mohuan has be the biggest obstacle for Xieli to establish friendly rtions with various Shiwei tribes. Huyan Jins situation is not much better; the first person that Abaojia wants to get rid of is precisely he. As for Du Xing, Ji Ye, why dont you think about it yourself? Listening to that, Ma Jis countenance changed several times, alternating between clear and dark; a sign that Kou Zhongs remark has rendered a big blow and given him a big shock. Kou Zhong spoke in a rxed manner, As for you, LaoGe, your current position is ambiguous, plus you are hopelessly muddled with Bai Ziting, you are showing no understanding of the times, fully aware that Xieli did not spare any effort in repairing broken rtionship with Tuli, the purpose is to link all ethnic groups in the grasnd for the invasion to the south against the Central Earth, yet they still have outward devotion but inner opposition [idiom: to agree overtly, but oppose in secret], while having their eyes and eyebrowse and go [idiom: exchanging flirting nces] with Bai Ziting. Didnt Xieli tell you that no matter what, you must return the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin to me? Yet you y tricks in front of Laozi; arent you really tired of living? Ma Jis countenance became more unsightly than being unsightly, his fat lips quivering, he wanted to say something but then hesitated. Finally Kou Zhong dealt thest killer move; he revealed that he knew about Xielis order to return the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin to him. It should be noted that onlyst night Ma Ji received the order via Zhao Deyan, yet it was as if Kou Zhong already knew about this matter, certainly it could make Ma Ji suspect everyone, make him unsure about the current rtionship between Kou Zhong and Xieli, so much so that he had a feeling that he was being betrayed, and no longer felt safe with Xielis support. Finished ying hard, now he wasing soft. Several times Kou Zhong was sure that Shen Mohuan and Huyan Jin joining hands to deal with him, it was Ma Ji who threaded a needle between them; otherwise, there was no possibility that in such a short period of time both sides could meet and make an agreement. The only thing he did not understand was that Ma Ji was fully aware that the reason Xieli wanted to temporarily cease any operation to deal with him, Kou Zhong, was because he wanted to fix his rtionship with Tuli, yet Ma Ji still dared to try to put him and Xu Ziling to death by all means. Kou Zhong spoke softly, Whatever I, Kou Zhong said, whatever thing I agree, I have never not kept my words. It is also because I respect Ji Ye that I wasted my time exining it to you like this. Whether in the future we can be friends or enemies, Ji Ye can decide with one word. Ma Jis countenance gradually calmed down, his pair of eyes brightened considerably, and he shed his signature fake smile, as he calmly said, Shaoshuai has never been my friend, and in the future you will never be my friend, but I do not wish to be Shaoshuais enemy either. As to what Shaoshuai is thinking, I, Ma Ji, cannot do anything about it. The eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin no longer have anything to do with me. Excuse me, I must leave! And just like that he turned around and left. Funantuos pair of eyes was flickering with rays of wisdom light, his intonation resounding, every word was powerful, but his demeanor was calm, as he said, To understand what actually I is, one must first understand the different levels of I. The lowest level is matter, referring to our body. Slightly higher than that is senses, while the mind is higher than senses. Intelligence is higher than the mind, and the highest level is spirit. The meaning of the five levels of I is precisely the sum of the five levels of knowledge, using above to control below, using internal to control external. Spirit is the highest level, even more, it is the core. Shang Xiufangs pair of beautiful eyes lit up, he nodded and said, This is the first time Xiufang heard someone can make such a thorough analysis on the I. Guoshi speaking about spirit, isnt that the Buddha natures Tathata that Xu Gongzi just mentioned? This moment, the calm-and-collected-faced Ma Ji returned inside the hall, and spoke to Bai Ziting, Xiaoren must leave immediately, Da Wang, please forgive me. By saying so, none of the crowd was not aware that Ma Jis negotiation with Kou Zhong had failed, that they had shed all pretense of cordiality, no longer need to look at the other sides face. Bai Zitings gaze swept across Xu Ziling first, before casting it toward Kou Zhong who was on the tform some distance away, and finally it came back to Ma Ji. Nodding his head, he said, Since Ma Ji Xiansheng is this resolute, Bai Ziting does not dare to urge you to stay; let we walk you out a bit. Ma Ji shook his head firmly and said, I dont dare to trouble Da Wangs good self. And then he turned his fat body around and bowed with cupped fist toward Shang Xiufang, saying, Unable to listen to Xiufang Dajias immortal song is indeed Ma Jis lifelong regret. Finished speaking, he hurriedly walked away without even looking back. Everybody was stunned; no one knew what Kou Zhong and Ma Ji were talking about that made him act as if he had no choice but to flee from Longquan immediately. Inwardly, Xu Ziling was greatly shaken; he was guessing that Ma Ji defied Xielis order and had delivered the batch of bows and arrows to Bai Ziting; otherwise, how could Bai Ziting allow him to go as soon as he said he would go? Where in the world was Ba Fenghan? Watching Ma Jis back disappearing outside the door, the atmosphere inside the hall turned strange. Kou Zhong returned to the hall in leisure demeanor. Standing between Xu Ziling and Shang Xiufang, heughed aloud and said, Wasnt Guoshi in the middle of expounding thew? This kid is about to listen respectfully to benefit from the teaching. Funantuo smiled and said, We were just chatting. Fu Junqiangughed coldly and said, Shaoshuai offends people more andpliments people less. The banquet has not even started, two guests already walked away because of Shaoshuai. Cupping his fist to her, Kou Zhong said, Fu Da Xiaojie chides me well, however, the fact is that I did my very best to give thought to Ji Ye in all aspects, who would have thought that Ji Ye is worthy of the greatest admiration, he is unafraid to sacrifice his life? Thereupon Xiaodi is unable to do anything to him. Liexia blurted outughing and said, Shaoshuais talk is very interesting. Shang Xiufang cast a nce toward Kou Zhong in displeasure. Returning to the previous topic, she said, Guoshi was talking about the true meaning of I matter; he pointed out that I constitutes of five levels, from the bottom to the top, these levels are: matter, senses, mind, intelligence, and spirit, and the spirit is the core ruling it all. Kou Zhong blurted out, This idea is quite novel, but isnt spirit varied from person to person? Why is it that some peoples spirit is grand and venerable, while in some others it is despicable and deceitful? Funantuo responded indifferently, Spirit is like water, pure and clean. However, once it falls from the sky and touches the ground, it will be dirty. Spirit is just like that; humans desire may make the spirit covered in filth. Formidable! Kou Zhong cried inwardly; he had just experienced Funantuos unhindered aptitude in debate, unafraid of difficult questions. Bai Ziting said, Lets take the seat first before we continue talking. Although the warm atmosphere of the banquet has been obliteratedpletely, they had no choice but to go through the motions. Following the instructions, everybody took their seats. Bai Ziting and Funantuo were sitting on the two hosts position, facing the others, on the round tables north and south sides. Kou Zhong and Shang Xiufang sat on Bai Zitings left and right, respectively, while on Funantuos two sides were Xu Ziling and Fu Junqiang. Liexia was invited by Shang Xiufang, hence he was fortunate to sit by Shang Xiufangs side; followed by Jin Zhengzong, who sat between Liexia and Fu Junqiang. On Xu Zilings other side was Han Chaoan. Ma Ji and Song Shidaos bowls and chopsticks have been put away by pce maids, only Ke Dazhis set of bowl and chopsticks remained on the vacant position. Zong Xianghua was apanying Kou Zhong on his right side. The attendants served good wine and vegetable and meat dishes continuously like flowing water. After three rounds of wine, while on the surface Bai Ziting was showing polite hospitality, the atmosphere returned to be zing. Perhaps because he deliberately wanted to anger Kou Zhong, from time to time Liexia whispered in Shang Xiufangs ear; moreover, no one knew what string of witticism he spoke, it was enough to amuse Shang Xiufang that her flowery countenance was blooming, she was highly attentive, with ten thousand flirtatious expressions. Anyone of the male species could not help being jealous of Liexia. Kou Zhong knew that he had brought this suffering upon himself; to Shang Xiufang, who held peace in esteem, his conduct and deeds in Longquan was definitely unpleasant to the eye, hence he gave Liexia the opportunity to enter by exploiting a weak spot. After some idle remarks, Fu Junqiang suddenly said, I wonder if Guoshi could continue your discourse on the Brahma and I as One principle? The crowd stopped talking. All attention was back on Funantuo. Xu Ziling paid particr attention to Bai Ziting. Since the time he and Funantuo entered the hall together, Bai Ziting has never gone along with Funantuo; when thetter was expounding thew, he appeared to be preupied, unlike the rumor that he worshipped Funantuo. On the contrary, it had a little bit of the-appearance-of-unity-but-divided-at-heart impression, which made people wonder. Funantuo cheerfully said, Its rare that Fu Xiaojie shows interest, how could Funantuo dare to value the broom as my own [idiom: to attach value to something because it is ones own]? First of all, I want to exin clearly what exactly the spirit is. Liexiaughed and said, Guoshis Hannguage is really good; I wonder if before you came to the prairie, you already spoke so well? Funantuo smiled and said, Liexias guess is head-on. My understanding of Central Earthnguage and culture came from a Han man who changed his residence to Tianzhu. Liexia nodded with a smile on his face, but he did not continue the inquiry. However, everybody felt that his knowledge of Funantuos origin was deeper than anybody around the banquet table. Without the slightest care, Funantuo continued, Spirit is without any shadow, without any form, yet it is not something that cannot be felt at all. In fact, every night we all sensed the spirits existence. When we are dreaming, the body remains on the bed, but the I goes to some other ces, doing some activities that are fantastic oddities of every description. Thereby we make distinction between the I and the body. At night we forget the I of when we are awake. During daytime however, we forget about the I of when we are fast asleep. Thus, it is inferred that the real I is transcendental to the physical body. And this is precisely the spirit. The argument that Funantuo was speaking about was like the ancient great sage of the Central Earth Zhuang Zhou [same as Zhuangzi (369-286 BC)] said, In the past Zhuang Zhou dreamt that he became a butterfly, vividly like a butterfly. He referred to himself as having the aspiration of the butterfly. No longer aware of the Zhou. Suddenly he awoke, and was pleasantly surprised to be the Zhou. He wondered whether it was the Zhou dreaming of bing a butterfly, or was it the butterfly dreaming of bing the Zhou. The Zhou and the butterfly were definitely different. It could be said to be different tunes yed with equal skill. But Funantuo exined it more real and easier to understand. Funantuo continued, Our body is changing continuously, from infancy to adulthood, and then growing old and rotten. But this I, from beginning to end, never changes, because spirit transcends above the matter, beyond the scope of our physical senses, beyond the limit of our wisdom and intellect; it cannot be touched, cannot be measured. Life and death is merely one kind of transformation, just like the transformation from being asleep to being awake. The death that makes people afraid is just a gate opening up to another life, crossing to another space, to another heaven and earth. It is not the end; rather, its another opportunity. The question is whether we can grasp the way of Brahma and I as One, which is also the way of life and death. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Guoshis discourse on thew is really pleasant to listen to; moreover, it makes people think deeply. Since I began to understand things, I have never thought about this issue, I even thought that its not good to think too much about it, just like the man of Qi fears the sky falling [idiom: groundless fears]. This whatever Brahma and I as One is even more like some kind of formidable martial art xinfa; I wonder if the martial art that Guoshi trained also have such grandiose name? Hearing that, everybody did not know whether they shouldugh or cry; no one would think that after spitting out some words of praise, he suddenly changed direction to grope Funantuos foundation. However, Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, knowing that Kou Zhong could not find any w in his argument, and thus heunched the verbal Striking Strange in jest, to test Funantuos reaction. [Reminder: the word strange here can also mean sudden, as in sudden strike/ambush.] Aside from hostile rtionship, the teaching Funantuo was speaking about was indeed like the bright light in the dark and angry sea of life, so that a man who was lost his way at sea was able to see the heaven and earth with his eyes, which originally, although the eyes were open, but it was like he was blind. Laughing involuntarily, Funantuo said, My martial art xinfa is not enough to be talking about. Moreover, Brahma and I as One has nothing to do with martial art; it is a little bit like Oneness of Heaven and Humanity that your distinguished countrys famous thinker of antiquity Dong Chongshu was talking about, only the understanding of the Heaven is different. Brahma [fan] is Lord Brahma [the Hindu Creator, fan tian (same fan character), tian C sky/heaven; dictionary also says Nirvana], the power that creates various deities and the three boundaries in the void between the heaven and earth. Deities are not human, but some kind of force that transcends the material world but also has the power to control matter, the force to create, protect and maintain, but also to destroy. This thought originated from our countrys Vedas Sutra, which was passed on to Persia and developed into Da Ming Zun Jiao. As the head of Five Bright Sons of Huihe Da Ming Zun Jiao, Lie Gongzi ought to know more clearly about this matter than I. This was the first time that Shang Xiufang heard about Liexias identity, she looked at him in astonishment. Liexias eyes revealed a sharp light, he met Funantuos gaze head-on, smiled and said, Guoshis exnation missed something. Our Da Ming Zun Jiao has its origin in Persia. Zu Zun [venerable ancestor], Moni [Manes (3rd century AD), Persian prophet and founder of Manichaeism] founded the Er Zong San Ji Lun [two-school, three-boundary theory], which talks about two kinds of ultimate power treating the light and the dark. The cultivation method is by means of two types of opposing forces. From light turning to darkness, from darkness going back to light. Only by going through the struggle between light and darkness will one be able to restore the respective independent existence of the equilibrium to the original state, the absolute beginning of before the light and darkness opened. It has no simrity with the Fantian theory that Guoshi is talking about. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they began to understand the struggle of religious ideology between Liexia and Funantuo. At the same time, their suspicion also grew; how did Da Ming Zun Jiaos wolf-bandits Cui Wang be Bai Zitings subordinates? Without taking any offense, Funantuo smiled slightly, revealing his extremely deep subtlety. Remaining calm and indifferent, he said, Pure rainwater falling into different ces will be different things, yet it did not lose the origin of the rainwater. The Brahma and I as One is referring to the extrinsic aplishment of the ultimate universe of Fantian, which is identical to the intrinsic aplishment of mans essence or the spirits inherent quality. Therefore, only by going through the domination of matter, mind, senses and intelligence will we have the opportunity to point directly to Tathata, to go through thebination of spirit and Fantian. And the four levels of cultivation method under the domination of the spirit is precisely the Yoga cultivation. Apart from this, there is no other way. Although outwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not show any emotion, the fact was that both felt that Funantuos discourse was extremely attractive. Because the process through which they trained the Secret to Long Life was indeed different routes to the same destination [idiom] with the Brahma and I as One that Funantuo was talking about, only the system and transformation was not as orderly and clear like what he said. Furthermore, they knew that Huan Ri Da Fa was precisely one kind of Yoga cultivation style. From this, it could be inferred that very likely Funantuo was a martial art master of Shi Zhixuans level. Liexia was about to speak when they heard footsteps. Everybody looked toward the door. Ke Dazhi, who left earlier, entered the hall, upright and unafraid; his expression was solemn and respectful, he was holding a long wooden cylinder in his hands. Just by looking at his expression, the crowd knew that something unusual happened, they could not help stopping their gaze fromnding on the wooden cylinder in his hands. Coming straight to Bai Zitings side, he offered the wooden cylinder and said, Just received diplomatic document from Great Khan and Tuli Khan, ordering Mojiang to deliver to Da Wang for immediate review. The crowd was emotionally moved, Not good! they cried inwardly. Bai Zitings expression turned somber and heavy; reaching out with both hands, he received the cylinder, rose up to his full height, and spoke in heavy voice, Dare I ask Ke Jiangjun, has the Great Khans holy self arrived in Longquan? Ke Dazhi looked straight at Bai Ziting; he spoke slowly, This diplomatic document was personally delivered by our humble countrys Guoshi Yan Shuai. After delivering the document, he left immediately, without disclosing any other details. Da Wang, please understand. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Bai Ziting slowly opened the cylinder and drew out a scroll. The refined light in Funantuos pair of eyes red out greatly, disying a strong confidence. Bai Ziting showed a hint of smile, he opened the sheepskin roll and examined it carefully. The hall was so quiet that a falling needle would have been heard. Everybody held their breath and calmed their qi, they all tried to find the spiders thread and horse track inside the sheepskin scroll from Bai Zitings expression as he was reading it. In the heavy, suffocating atmosphere, Bai Ziting finally finished reading this sheepskin scroll, which nine-out-of-ten was a written deration of war. He slowly rolled the scroll back, suddenly he looked at Kou Zhong and spoke heavily, This letter is written jointly by the Great Khan and Tuli Khan, telling me that before sunrise the day after tomorrow, I must personally deliver the Five-Colored Stone to Jingpo in, twenty li south of the city, otherwise the Great Khan and Khans coalition army will raze Longquan to the ground. Ah! Shang Xiufang stood up and cried out in fear. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings scalp went numb. The Five-Colored Stone was the symbol of Bai Ziting founding his kingdom, and the sunrise of the day after tomorrow was precisely the moment of the great ceremony of the founding of the Bohai Kingdom. This diplomatic document was no more than an ultimatum to force Bai Ziting to abandon his desire to establish the Bohai Kingdom that could unify the Mohe tribes. This matter of founding the country was like an arrow already on the bow. The stored-up momentum had nowhere to go but to be released. If Bai Ziting sumbed to the Tujue, he could forget about raising his head and conducting himself, let alone proiming himself hegemon and dering his kingship. The more serious matter was that the Five-Colored Stone was practically not in Bai Zitings hands. Subconsciously Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cast their gaze toward Funantuo. The former said, Da Wang should not look at me. Just this morning, Meiyan, thatss asked the Five-Color Stone back from us. The harsh light in Bai Zitings eyes shing, his gaze moved toward Funantuo. Fu Junqiang, Liexia, and the others who knew the inside story also cast their gaze toward this demonic monk from Tianzhu, whose eloquence was unimpeded, to see how he would react. Book 43 - 4 – On All Sides, The Songs of Chu 1 Chapter 4 C On All Sides, The Songs of Chu[1] Funantuo was still acting as calm as usual, he smiled and said, The two Khans aspiration is not on the Five-Colored Stone, but on Da Wang. And then he turned to Ke Dazhi and asked, Am I right? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged a nce; both could see the dissatisfaction toward Tuli in the others heart. They were all brothers, yet in making a series of major decisions, first in the reconciliation with Xieli, and now in deploying the army to wipe out the Bohai Kingdom, which establishment was going to be proimed the day after tomorrow, unexpectedly not even a single word was offered toward the two boys, implicating the two that they were caught in the middle, both in the sense that the two could not bear to see the people of Longquan City in terrible situation, while also put the two in danger of being harmed by Bai Ziting at any moment. Bai Ziting straightened his back, revealing the consider-himself-unexcelled-in-the-world air of an overlord, he threw his head back and let out a longughter, saying, Since thats the case, I am asking Ke Jiangjun to report back to Great Khan, the Five-Colored Stone is not in my, Bai Zitings hands at all, I am afraid its difficult to fulfill the Great Khans wish. Very well! Ke Dazhi loudly responded, Mojiang will convey Da Wangs message without missing a word to the Great Khan. Turning to Shang Xiufang, he saluted and said, Xiufang Dajia, please pack up your luggage immediately, we must depart without dy. Bad! immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried in their hearts; based on Shang Xiufangs nature that loathed war and violence, how could she ept Ke Dazhis proposal? Sure enough, Shang Xiufang sighed faintly and said, This time I aming to Longquan is to present my art to the newly established Bohai Kingdom. Without singing and dancing on the stage, Xiufang will definitely not leave. Ke Jiangjun, please proceed as you wish. Ke Dazhi revealed an astonished expression; obviously, unlike Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he did not understand Shang Xiufang. His gaze swept over Liexia, who was sitting by her side with pleased-with-himself expression; he wanted to say something but then hesitated, in the end he simply saluted and said, Mojiang must report Da Wangs message to the Great Khan;ter on I will return to wait for Xiufang Dajias instructions. Bai Ziting did not seem to take Tujue Armys threat to heart; he casually said, If Ke Jiangjun wants toe back to see Xiufang Dajia, youd better do it during the day, because starting from tonight, Longquan will observe night curfew, which will go into effect immediately. Zong Xianghua shouted tenderly, Receiving the imperial decree, and then she turned around and left. From this moment on, Longquan was entering the state of war! Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were severely shaken. Unexpectedly Bai Ziting was unafraid of the Tujue Wolf Army, which was able to crisscross the prairie unmatched. Ke Dazhi also revealed a doubtful look. Bai Zitings current action was akin to dering war against Xieli and Tulis allied armies; what was it that he was relying on? He looked at Bai Ziting deeply, before nodding his head and said, Even if in the future I square up for a fight against Da Wang on the battleground, Mojiang admires Da Wangs valor very much. His gaze flitted across Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he retreated to the door. After saluting, he left, upright and unafraid. Kou Zhong was confused; didnt they agree to deal with Shen Mohuan together? But looking at Ke Dazhis demeanor now, it was clear that Ke Dazhi has received Xielis order to leave the city immediately; whats going on here? Because Xu Ziling was unaware of thetest development between the two, he was not as confused as Kou Zhong; hence he paid particr attention to the other peoples reaction. Funantuo was still calm and collected and natural, acting mysterious and unfathomable. Fu Junqiang, three people had different expressions. The young martial art masters pair of beautiful eyes was shing brightly; it appeared that her mood was excited by to the Tujue Armys threat. Jin Zhengzongs sword eyebrows were furrowed, his expression heavy. The corner of Han Chaoans mouth was pregnant with coldugh, giving up the impression that he had a card up his sleeve. The most unusual was Liexia. His countenance alternated between clear and dark, only the refined light in his eyes was shing brightly. It seemed like he was concerned about the survival of the not-yet-established Bohai Kingdom more than anyone else. Shang Xiufang hung her cicada head low; obviously her peace-loving fragrant heart has really been broken by the cruelty of men-dominated war. While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were burdened by their respective worry, Shang Xiufang stood up gracefully. Everybody, including Funantuo, who was still sitting, busily stood up to apany her. Evidently this top beauty both in terms of look and skill still upied majestic position in everybodys heart. Bai Ziting pulled back his gaze from looking outside the door and cast it onto Shang Xiufang, he spoke in astonishment, People say having wine this morning, lets get drunk this morning, tomorrows worry, well deal with it tomorrow, if the sky is falling down, let the top of the head block it. Why dont we drink tonight and wont go home before were drunk? Shang Xiufang shook her head and said, Xiufang suddenly feels a bit tired, I want to retire to my room to rest. Turning to Funantuo, she said, Guoshi said that the battlefield is the best ce to cultivate the Way to Live or Die, and now Xiufang finally understands the wonderful truth within in. Thank you for the instruction! She slowly left her seat. Liexia hastily pulled the chair for her and spoke softly, Let this ignorant person keep Xiufang Dajiapany for a couple of steps! Shang Xiufang cast her gaze toward Kou Zhong, her eyes showed an iparablyplex emotion. Shaking her head to decline Liexias good intention, she spoke indifferently, Xiufang wants to walk back quietly, alone. Under everybodys watchful gaze, she gently moved her jade steps, straight toward the main entrance, before looking back. Her face revealed a sad expression that broke everybodys heart, but the tone of her voice was still extremely serene, as she spoke to Kou Zhong, If Shaoshuai has time tomorrow, I wonder if you coulde into the Pce to see Xiufang? Kou Zhong promptly gave his words, musing inwardly that as long as he was still alive, tomorrow morning he would definitelye to see her lotus-self. Shang Xiufang saluted and left, the imperial bodyguards and the maids immediately escorted ahead and behind her. The banquet failed to be a banquet. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to take their leave. After the two boys refused Bai Zitings offer to send carriage under imperial bodyguards escort to go back to their mansion, Bai Ziting said, In that case, let Bai Ziting send two gentlemen off a little bit! The two were greatly astonished, they couldnt say anything to decline. Bai Ziting exined a little bit to Fu Junqiang and the others, he also asked Funantuo to take care of Fu Junqiang, Liexia, and the others on his behalf, before waving the guards to retreat, and then just like that, he apanied the two boys walking in the direction of the pce gate. They walked past the pce halls, terraces, and pavilions, which were as graceful and magnificent as the original Taiji Pce in Changan, but Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling werepletely in a different mood, thinking about all the beautiful sceneries before their eyes were about to be destroyed by man-made howling wind and torrential rain crisis. After walking quietly by Kou Zhongs side for a while, Bai Ziting suddenly said, If two gentlemen were in my, Bai Zitings situation, what would you do? Kou Zhong sighed and said, On this matter, Zilings and my answer will definitely not be the same; Da Wang wants to hear which opinion? Laughing involuntarily, Bai Ziting said, I want to hear both opinions. Shaoshuai, please tell me yours first! The faint sound of hoof beats was heard,ing from the direction of the Pce City. It looked like the female general Zong Xianghua was moving the army and sending her generals to execute the night curfew imperial decree and strengthen the city defense. The panic inside the heart of the people within the city could be easily imagined. When the city gate opened tomorrow, as long as Bai Ziting was willing to open the guarded entrance, those who were able to leave the city would leave to flee the cmity; only people who supported Bai Ziting would stay. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, This time Da Wang is ready to establish the kingdom, military intelligence is the number one priority on the battlefield. If I were Da Wang, if at this moment I still do not know the Tujue coalition armys position and military power, I would immediately abandon the city and flee for my life. As long as the green mountain still exists, no need to be afraid that there will be any shortage of firewood. Bai Ziting halted his steps; he looked deeply into Kou Zhongs eyes and said, Three days ago, their main forces were still thirty li west of Hualin, their military strength is around fifty thousand men, consisting mainly of the ck Wolf Army. But I really dont know where they are right now. However, as soon as they enter the limit of the area under my watch, I guarantee that they cannot hide from my eyes and ears. Kou Zhong said, Fortunately, this is a city and not an open space in the wilderness, otherwise their main forces mighte faster than your scout could return to report to you. In Tongwan, we have experienced the Tujue peoples tactics. Before they arrived, there was not the least bit of omen; by the time we found out, there was barely half a moment left before they arrived, swift like the wind, strong like the fire. Xu Ziling said, If Tujue people besiege the city, while with all their strength they seal off all passages leading to Longquan, cutting off water and mountain traffic,ying outyer uponyer of siege, turning Longquan into a lonely city, how long does Da Wang think you canst? A hint of what appeared to be a-card-up-his-sleeve smiling expression escaped from the corner of Bai Zitings mouth; he said, Two gentlemens knowledge of Longquan is not deep, hence you did not know that Longquan has always been self-sufficient; therefore, we are not afraid of a siege. What I am worried about is that in recent years, in order to march into your Central Earth, Xieli and Tuli had spent a lot of effort to study the tactics to besiege a city, and Zhao Deyan is precisely a famous expert in military strategy on besieging a city. With him presiding over the general situation, it is really not easy to withstand. Kou Zhong said, Has Da Wang ever considered postponing the establishment of your kingdom to seek for peace with the Tujue? Bai Ziting shook his head resolutely and said, That is impossible. Nothing can change my decision to formally establish the kingdom the day after tomorrow. Finished speaking, he led the way to continue walking with his hands behind his back, each step was so steady and powerful. Bai Zitingughed aloud again and said, In all my life I have been studying military campaigns, both of the ancient and modern times; whether it was big war or small battle, famous or obscure, I did not miss anything. From these, I drew out a principle, which is: there is no battle where victory is assured. There are endless variables on the battlefield. For example, the reason I chose the fourth month to found my country is because the fourth month is the season where we have the most rain, which is beneficial for defense but unfavorable for offense. Again Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt the need to re-estimate this person, thinking that if there were more rain like the downpour this morning, it would certainly paralyze the Tujue allied armies attack. Kou Zhong said, But Da Wang could never have thought that Xieli and Tuli would be reconciled and join hands to attack Longquan. The three men stepped out of the Pce gate and entered the Imperial City area, only to see team after team of cavalry squads galloping along the wide imperial road linking the Pce gate and the Imperial Citys Vermillion Bird Gate, and out of the Vermillion Bird Gate. Despite the sound of hoof beats shaking the heavens, the atmosphere was surprisingly calm, showing that the warriors and soldiers under Bai Zitingsmand, none was not well-trained elite squad; their formation intact, they were not at all affected by the Tujue armys threat that they were agitated and restless, or even excessively nervous. Bai Ziting halted his steps and said, Not that I have not considered it, in fact, we have considered all possibilities, only we did not think that two gentlemen mighte here. I want to ask two gentlemen a favor, hoping that two gentlemen would not refuse. Here ites! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried inwardly. The former said, We are listening with respectful attention. Suddenly more than a dozen riders galloped over. The leader was Zong Xianghua. Gongqi was one of them. All were in general-ranked uniform in full armor. The formation was orderly, they rushed to about a zhang away from the three before pulling the rein and the warhorses stood still. While the horses were rearing and neighing, Zong Xianghua and the others pulled the saber from their waist and raised it toward the bright moon in the sky, and shouted together. The movement was uniform and pleasant to the eyes. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not understand Mohenguage, but they could guess that they must have sworn an oath to die for Bai Ziting. The atmosphere was zing. Bai Ziting responded in a loud voice. The horses calmed down, one after another the group of generals dismounted their horses, and then without even a single nce toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, they entered the Pce Citys main gate in single file, while the imperial guards led the horses away. Obviously they were ready for a military meeting with Bai Ziting. Kou Zhong loved to look at Zong Xianghua the most, but this moment he had no choice but to turn his attention to Gongqi, noticing that his pair of eyes was zing with fanatical light, while thinking that if just now they stepped out of the Vermillion Bird Gate and suffered an ambush, it should have nothing to do with Gongqi, because due to the meeting that was about to start, he could not possibly spare time for a separate task. Xu Ziling, however, was thinking that if the army and people of Longquan had be Funantuos followers, they would think that death was just another kind of promotion rather than the end, then everybody would turn into a warrior unafraid of death. It would not be aughing matter. Bai Zitings voice rang out and entered the two boys ears, saying, Xieli and Tuli must not lose this battle; otherwise the history of the prairie will have to be rewritten. Kou Zhong had never thought that the Tujues Wolf Army that swept across the prairie would be defeated under Bai Zitings hands, but this moment he witnessed Mohe armys rainbow-like momentum and their rousing fighting spirit plus how astute and formidable Bai Ziting was, how he stood tall and saw far. For the first time he thought that this possibility indeed existed. Bai Ziting changed the subjectpletely, saying, That day at the Duba Vige relying on ruined army and wounded soldiers, utilizing the solid Jinglings city wall Shaoshuai repelled Du Fuweis Jianghuai imposing army outside the city. This battle has made Shaoshuai stand out as conspicuously brilliant, while also made Du Fuwei feel deeply thetter wave pushing forward the former wave, which resulted inter on he acknowledged allegiance to Li Shimin. Greatly surprised, Kou Zhong said, How could Da Wang know the Central Earths affairs as clearly as if you personally witnessed it? Bai Ziting led the two boys passing through the King City, to avoid the cavalry soldiers going back and forth along the imperial road, taking a detour along the corridor winding around the east side of the King City, heading toward the Vermillion Bird Gate. He spoke while walking, Every month on the first and the fifteenth, I receive the report concerning thetest development from the Central Earth. Just like Shaoshuai said, military intelligence is the top priority, right? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they both think that Bai Ziting was the other ambitious and ruthless character, apart from Xieli, who was having wild schemes toward the Central Earth. If he was allowed to proim himself hegemon over the prairie, he would bring even more far-reaching harm to the Central Earth! Because on the prairie, no one was more proficient in the Central Earths politics and culture than he. Xu Ziling said, Didnt Da Wang want to speak your mind just now? The Vermillion Bird Gate was in sight. More than twenty imperial guards at the gate stood respectfully to pay their respect, shouting out in Mohenguage together, which they guessed if not Long live my king, then must be my king will prevail, or something like that. The two were having more headaches over Da Xiaojies eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin and Pingyao merchants batch of goods. Presently, while the war was looming and the people were unafraid of even the Tujue Wolf Army, asking them to spit out those things was only a lunatic raving. Bai Ziting halted his steps again, he looked at the two up and down with rapt attention, and then smiled and said, Tomorrow morning after Shaoshuai sees Xiufang Dajia, I wonder if you could leave Longquan immediately? This person would be very grateful. Although he was speaking politely, it was actually an imperial decree to expel foreigners, hinting that were it not for he was giving Shang Xiufang some face, he would make them leave immediately. But it was difficult for the two boys to me him. They were both brothers of Tuli, while also figures with splendid military sesses, like celestial soldiers and immortal generals; not having them killed on the spot could be said that it was already extreme benevolence, utmost duty. Kou Zhong replied with a wry smile, If we are still alive tomorrow, certainly we willply with Da Wangs instruction. Its just Xiufang Dajia, she ... Bai Ziting threw his head back in longughter, heroic feeling aroused, and then theughter stopped, his expression became iparably grim, he spoke slowly, word by word, Xiufang Dajia is the woman that this person admires the most; even if Longquan is razed to the ground, I can guarantee that no one can harm the fraction of her hair. Even savages like Xieli, Tuli, will only show her utmost respect and courtesy. Shaoshuai, set your heart at ease. Please! Stepping out the Vermillion Bird Gate outside the King City Gate, the entire Vermillion Bird Gate and the entire Vermillion Bird Boulevard were as quiet as a ghost domain. Only the group of cavalry, which was following closely behind them, was turning around and going away, leaving the sound of their hoof beats moving farther and farther away. It was like a different universe that had nothing to do with the previous world of shaking-the-heaven noise, the people-and-carriagesing-and-going scene. Kou Zhong sighed and said, My anti-assassination grand n is definitely going down the drain. Later on, Laozi is going to be called Zhong Kou. In this kind of situation, assassination is just a joke. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. In situation like the present, without any cover at all, how could the assassination be carried out? They would only attract the patrolling troops intervention. Another squad of cavalry galloped out of the Vermillion Bird Gate and turned left to the main street; they even saluted the two from a distance. Who could have predicted that when they left the Pce, the situation would be like this? Xu Ziling breathed out long and slow breaths, he said, Bai Ziting will definitely not let us leave Longquan alive. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, It cant be that serious! Xu Ziling said, This morning when he came to the courtyard house to look for us, he already had the murderous intention, now he cant possibly let the tiger return to the mountain even more, because he is afraid we will help Tuli to attack Longquan. War has never spoken aboutpassion, duty, propriety and integrity; by fair means or foul, he wants to kill us. And tonight is the best opportunity. Kou Zhong did not understand, Since thats the case, why didnt he make his move at the Pce just now? he asked. Xu Ziling replied, Because he still does not have a hundred-percent confidence that he might be able to put Tuli in order, hence he does not want to have the criminal charge of killing us on his back. As long as we are not dead inside the Pce, he could push the responsibility away, neat and clean, to let Shen Mohuan and the others carry this ck pot on their back. Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, That kid Ke Dazhi has left, Xianzi also went out of town to look for Zhu Yuyan, most likely there are arge number of martial art masters waiting for us to walk right into the trap at the courtyard house. All the city gates are tightly guarded, we are like being trapped in arge cage, where can we go that is safe? Xu Zilings eyes swept across the roof on the buildings on both sides of the street; in each and every house, thentern was ck the fire dark, he wondered aloud, Howe we dont see Yin Xianhe? His scalp went numb, Kou Zhong said, For the first time I have the feeling that life and death is no longer under my control, but it is decided by other peoples hands. Now, as soon as the enemy from whichever sidees tounch a full-strength attack, we wont be able to hold out too long. He went on, Should we run away outside the city immediately, the farther the better? Xu Ziling shook his head firmly and said, Tonight not only we must survive, we must also kill Shen Mohuan and Shi Zhixuan. Injuries have injuries move; this is your distinguished selfs bold, visionary words. Kou Zhong took a deep breath. His pair of eyes exuded firm and persistent, unyielding expression, he said, You said it well. Greedy for life, afraid of death is absolutely not the way to face the enemy. Wed better look for Yuekepeng first; he is perhaps the only person who can help us now. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. The two boys quickened their pace, they strode along the street first before turning into a side alley. In the twinkling of an eye they disappeared in the deep darkness of Longquan city. [1] Chapter title: idiom: surrounded by enemies, isted and without help. Book 43 - 5 – Demonic Skill of Tianzhu Unlike the other foreign guesthouses, which were brightly lit, where human shadows were flickering, showing that the various delegations from foreign countries who came to congratte Bai Ziting reacted to him suddenly issued the imperial decree on the night curfew, and were overwhelmed with the tense atmosphere brimming with mountain rain about to arrive and the wind filling the building, only Yuekepengs Jushi Kingdoms foreign guesthouse was devoid of any human or horses movement and sound. A dim light leaked out from the lobby; the situation was very strange and chilling. The two boys were crouching on top of the lobby of another foreign guesthouse next door, watching for any movement inside the target guesthouse with full attention. Kou Zhong scanned the area with his eyes one more time before whispering in Xu Zilings ear, Is anybody following us? Xu Zilings eyes did not move from the only light prating from the Jushi Kingdoms foreign guesthouse, he replied, At the beginning I still had some feeling, but after ying hide-and-seek and taking roundabout route, we should be sessful in throwing the stalker off. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I have the same feeling. Ay! Really demonical; what exactly is going on? Kou Zhongs mind wandered to the earlier scene today where Gongqi, who was the embodiment of Cui Wang, was keeping watch across the street from the foreign guesthouse; a very ufortable feeling welled up in his heart, he wondered whether Yuekepeng and his more than a hundred brothers have all been murdered, or perhaps been detained by Bai Ziting? I wonder if it is a trap? he said. Its very hard to say, Xu Ziling replied, But I dont sense any hidden troops inside. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Right now I just want to turn around and leave. Your senses shouldnt be wrong. Ay! How about going down to take a look? It should be noted that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were martial art masters whose name shook the world, their military sesses were splendid, anybody wanted to kill these two, even if they were injured C must take advantage of the surroundings, the favorable location, and absolutely good arrangement, only then would they have the chance of sess. Therefore, Bai Zitings night curfew, which made the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, which was originally noisy and bustling, suddenly empty, swept away, without anybody in sight, Shen Mohuan and the others assassination operation suddenly copsed, hence the reason Kou Zhong was afraid that a trap was waiting for them down below. Xu Ziling said, There is something that is quite strange. Yin Xianhe was not outside the Pce gate waiting for us, it could be exined by him having discovered Shen Mohuans men, hence he went to follow their track. However, Du Xing has many men, a great force, even if he is trying to persuade us using all possible arguments, he should have sent someone to get in touch with us, or perhaps lead us into another trap; but why is he not making any move at all? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, There are too many things that we dont understand, but now that you mentioned it, I suddenly figure out a hard-to-understand thing, which is also our mistake, which potentially can make everything fall apart. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, What is it that is so serious? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its precisely the miscalction of Ma Ji and Bai Zitings rtionship. Actually, that fellow Guan Ping has alreadyid out clearly, but we did not take it to heart. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, You are right. Kou Zhong angrily said, Ma Ji practically put himself under Bai Zitings hands, thats why when Xieli forced him to cancel the bow and arrows transaction, he immediately notified Bai Ziting, telling him to snatch away the bow and arrow shipment, and thus Gunatai brothers rushed into thin air. By miscalction, he was referring to the fact that if the Gunatai brothers were still nearby, they would be able to obtain their help, and with strong people and robust horses, they could deal with any situation, unlike their present situation where there was no door to which they could seek help. Kou Zhong continued, Hence I pointed out to Ma Ji that I know he and Bai Ziting are wallowing in the mire together, which immediately scared this kid that he pissed in his pants and escaped without any trace. And Bai Ziting did not stop him, because the bow and arrows are already in his hands. His Niang! Isnt Ma Ji a Tujue? Yet for Bai Zitings sake he is willing to take the risk of offending Xieli, Tuli? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Because Ma Ji believes Bai Ziting will win this battle. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Thinking about it horizontally, thinking about it vertically, I still cannot understand how Bai Ziting is going to defeat Xieli and Tulis allied armies. If Xieli and Tuli were still involved in endless internal strife, Ma Ji and Bai Zitings brazen attitude could still be understood, but now that the two Khans are in agreement, Bai Ziting and the others should just pull back and acknowledge their mistake and be done with it. Xu Ziling said, The key could be in Funantuo. He is an extremely charming and persuasive man, able to influence Bai Ziting and his men that they be people who are fearless of death. The most difficult thing is that Bai Ziting is convinced that Fantian [Lord Brahma (the Hindu Creator)] is on their side. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, I understand Bai Ziting, Ma Ji, that kind of people better than you. They must have something that they rely on, hence they dare not to consider Xieli, Tuli worthy in their eyes. But what you said also makes sense. If we could get rid of Funantuo, I guarantee that instead of fighting, Mohe army will immediately crumble, and if that happens, how could Bai Ziting not surrender? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Although it is a very remote possibility, but I really wish to prevent the tragedy of having the entire city being massacred. If by killing Funantuo we could reach this goal, I definitely will do it, while aplishing Peng Xiongs cherished desire at the same time. Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. His mouth and teeth unbearably bitter, he said, Do you think our Jushi Kingdom brothers already met misfortune and have been murdered? Xu Ziling asked in return, Why did you want to turn around just now? Are you afraid that you might face the terrifying scene of the entire building full of lying down dead bodies? Did you sense Xiedi Sheli? Kou Zhong asked. With grave expression, Xu Ziling slowly shook his head. Kou Zhong knew he was worried about Shi Feixuan. That will do, he said, We go down to see whats going on here. Either the entire building is full of lying down dead bodies or there is nobody in sight, we will leave the city immediately, find a ce to hide and quietly wait for Shi Zhixuan to appear. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling might be young, but they were Jianghu veterans; instead of going to the guesthouse lobby, where they caught a glimpse of the faint light C first, they went around to the rear courtyard and climbed over the wall toe in, with Kou Zhong leading the way to find a path, while Xu Ziling stayed outside, living high and looking down to keep a close watch. Any ambushing troops surely could not escape his superhuman senses. Watching Kou Zhong disappearing into the dark courtyard, Xu Zilings lingtai was empty, wide, and crystal clear. There seemed to be nothing in the world that could evade his senses. Suddenly he sensed that someone was in the lobby. The feeling was very strange. It seemed to be there, but not exactly there. It must be a martial art master of Bi Xuans caliber, which, at this moment, was more than the injured Kou Zhong would be able to deal with. He was able to clearly sense Kou Zhongs position, but that person was like a supernatural force that was fused into one, hence it appeared to be fantasy, yet it also felt real. Brahma and I as one. Xu Ziling shivered inwardly. The Moon in the Well realm immediately melted like ice and broke like tiles, he could no longer sense the person in the lobby. And the reason for his panic was that Kou Zhong was groping his way from the rear courtyard toward the mystery person in the lobby. If he sent any warning or signal to tell Kou Zhong to flee, the mysterious big enemy might detect it, and would immediately attack Kou Zhong at full force to kill him, before Xu Ziling was able to rush to help, the injured Kou Zhong would certainly be unable to hold out until he arrived and give up his life. Just as he was the w in Shi Feixuans Swords Heart Brightly Lit, Kou Zhongs life and death could also break his Moon in the Well. The enemy in the lobby was definitely a martial art master of Bi Xuans caliber; he was clearly inside, yet Xu Ziling, who was losing his Moon in the Well state, was unable to detect his presence the slightest bit, as if it was a repeat of his encounter with Bi Xuan in the past. Xu Ziling had no choice. After swiftly circting his Long Life Qi one time through his body, he soared into the air andnded at the za in front of the steps of the lobby. This moment Kou Zhong was searching all halls and rooms, big and small, of the rear courtyard without finding anybodys shadow. Suddenly he realized that Xu Ziling had left his hiding ce and was heading toward the square inside the main gate. Knowing that the situation was far from good, he hastily darted toward the point where Xu Zilingnded, because the two of them must fight side by side, only then would they be able to deal with a powerful enemy. An extremely ominous feeling welled up in his heart; he felt caught in apletely passive and disadvantageous position. By the time Xu Zilings feet touched the ground, Kou Zhong already rushed to his side. After exchanging a nce, their eyes looked at the wide-opened door of the lobby. Thentern suddenly went out. Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook. It was only this moment that he knew there was an enemy inside the hall. He nearly wanted to pull Xu Ziling and flee in defeat. Such an enemy was indeed too frightening. But then he remembered that due to his injury, it was not advisable for him to run at full speed, since it would only make it more difficult for them to escape. He had no choice but to calm himself down and put his hope on the technique where the two of them joined hands, and fought the enemy to the death. He and Xu Zilings minds were interlinked; his pair of eyes emitted an advancing-courageously resolute look, he took the lead to climb the steps toward the main entrance. The beam of moonlight prated the window on the left side; a gentle and soft light enveloped half of the hall, while the other side was still in the dark. One person was standing with his hands behind his back, facing away from the door. He had the transcendental bearing of a monarch overlooking the world, looking at all living things disdainfully out of the corner of his eyes. He was still wearing the apricot-orange oversized long gown, and ayer of muslin wrapped around his head. Who else but the Demonic Monk Funantuo, who came from Tianzhu? Just by the fact that he was waiting respectfully for the two boys good-self toe here, it was clear that this person was able to know the two boys mind like the back of his hand. Funantuo slowly turned around. The withered, dark and thin, crooked face revealed a hint of unfathomably deep smile, he spoke glibly, Da Wang asked this person to perform onest religious ceremony for the two gentlemen. Your injuries can be concealed from anybody, but how could you hide it from a man who has reached Brahma and I as One realm like me, who has passed through the Fantian [Nirvana/Lord Brahma]. Not only I can see clearly the condition of injuries in your body, I can also see the fear in your heart. Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well. Throwing his head back inughter, he said, Until this moment you still want to delude people with your lies? I dare say that this time youe to kill us, Bai Ziting has no knowledge of it. How exactly did you put Yuekepeng and his men in order? Funantuos withered countenance did not reveal the secret in his heart the slightest bit, he calmly withstood the saber qi that Kou Zhong sent out and spoke indifferently, If you can kill me, Funantuo, it wont be toote to ask that question again. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, If you are dead, whom should we ask? Funantuo smiled and said, If you can kill me, the heart of the soldiers in Longquan will immediately be shaken, they will no longer have the strength to resist Tujues coalition forces. At that time, whatever you want, how could Bai Ziting not agree? Inwardly the two cried, Formidable! Funantuo reminded the two of this fact, it was to force the two boys to fight to the death, and would not make any n to escape. Otherwise, if the two escaped by running separately, one would be bound to break away from his demonic palm. The murderous intent in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he strived to push the murderous aura out of the saber de, but because he was worried over the internal injury in his body, he could at most use only 50% of his usual power; even he himself knew that it would not pose any threat toward Funantuo. Laughing coldly, he said, Guoshi may start expounding thew! Slightly nodding his head, Funantuo said, The essence of cultivation lies in internal view, that is, the so-called Zen [meditation] or yoga, viewing the selfs heart as the fulcrum of, as well as the pathway to C the universe, separating oneself from reality and all bewildering obstacles, putting the self into the absolutely unrestrained realm without any obstacles, achieving the true self, attaining the Brahma and I as One realm; only then one will be able to capture the truth about self, grasping the crucial point of resolving all problems. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, What you said is nice to hear, but if in real life youmit fornication and robbery, fundamentally you are not a person at all; even if your words are pleasant to listen to, it is no more than a rubbish. En garde! When he said En garde! [lit. look at the saber], he actually made no movement at all, he was simply increasing the saber qi that he was shooting out to lock the opponent firmly. Funantuo acted as if he already saw him through; unfazed by his words, he continued to be calm and collected, as he slowly said, The universe is still in the state of primal chaos, without light and darkness, without nothingness, there is no entity even more; there is only a unique ONE, which is precisely the Fantian, the seed from which all living things came into beings. If we do not recognize the existence of Fantian, its just like a person traveling far from home who lose his way and does not know the way back, he will never know where his hometown is. Although toward the person the two boys did not have any good opinion, they had no choice but to admit that his [religious]w was extremely pleasant to listen to and very attractive. Kou Zhong felt that his fighting spirit was being weakened continuously, while the opponent still did not reveal the slightest bit of w. Particrly frightening was that this demonic monk was really like he and Fantian have been fused into one entity, so that the ever-dauntless Kou Zhong unexpectedly was unable to take the initiative byunching the first saber strike. Such a demonic skill has indeed reached the astonishing level of Bi Xuan, Shi Zhixuan. Even if the two were not injured, in one-on-one duel, perhaps they would end up nursing a grievance. In this facing-life-and-death moment, Xu Zilings frame of mind gradually calmed down, his spirit slowly aroused; he smiled and said, Guoshis Brahma and I as One must have not reached absolute mastery level; otherwise, how could I detect that there is someone inside the hall? Funantuos countenance still did not show any emotion, but the pupil of his eyes shrank and narrowed, a clear sign that Xu Zilings remark has hit his vital part. Just now he originally decided to attack Kou Zhong first, to kill Kou Zhong before Xu Ziling came to help, with the intention of disturbing Xu Zilings heart, and only then he would take care of him. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling was so brilliant that he was able to see his scheme, causing his counting-his-chicken-before-they-are-hatched to fail? Immediately Kou Zhong responded. With a loud roar the Moon in the Well was transformed into yellow light, streaking across the approximately two zhang distance between the two, striking straight toward Funantuos face. Xu Zilings charged from Funantuos left side, both hands performed variations of image method, to help Kou Zhong by restraining Funantuo. Funantuo remained motionless, as if he did not consider the two boys pincer attack worthy in his eyes. Suddenly, without any wind, Funantuos clothes brushed away violently, the entire hall was immediately fell into a storm; the strangest thing was that all the furniture inside the room was not affected, yet the two felt as if they were going against the wind, difficult to advance. The gale was screaming in their ears, their body felt like it was being pricked by needles. Such demonic skill was indeed horrifying. The Moon in the Well hacked down. Like a b of wood, Funantuos body slightly fell back, Kou Zhongs saber strike immediately hacked empty air. While he was crying Not good! inwardly, as Funantuos back was only about a chi away from the ground, he suddenly twisted his body, using one leg as the pivot, his body bounced back, while fast as lightning the other leg kicked Kou Zhongs lower abdomen. Because the injury was weighing him down, Kou Zhong was practically powerless to change move, plus he never expected that Funantuos yoga skill was this formidable, it waspletely beyond the limitation of the structure of human body. The saber momentum carried him down, he was unable to evade; he was thinking that he was going to take Funantuos kick, which in all possibilities might take his life away C head on, when Xu Ziling shifted sideways and bumped his shoulder hard, sending him away from the danger. The Treasured Vase Image sealed down to block Funantuos killer move. Who would have thought that before Xu Zilings block arrived, in an impossible move Funantuo suddenly shrank back, and then his entire body sprang up and shrank, his knees were bent into his chest, both hands wrapped around the knees, his head was stuffed between his knees, he looked exactly like a human ball. Such a defensive move certainly still had formidable follow-up move; even with richbat experience and the flexibility to meet a contingency, Xu Ziling still lost his footing, momentarily he did not know whether he ought to attack or to pull back. While Xu Ziling was hesitating, Funantuo rolled above the two boys, and then his four limbs extended, his left and right feet kicked toward the side of Kou Zhongs right ear and Xu Zilings face. Inwardly Kou Zhong knew the situation was bad. Xu Zilings Treasure Vase Qi was sent out, but it was without any power, because it would certainly trigger the injury within his body. For the two, blocking Funantuos two kicks was not difficult at all, the problem was that Funantuo forcefully separated the two. At that time, as soon as he attacked one of them in full power, based on his terrifying demonic power and hard-to-predict move, he would certainly inflict heavy injury on one of them. And then the other one could only wait to be ughtered as well. Steeling his heart, Kou Zhong shifted sideways as fast as lightning, while at the same time lowered his body to avoid Funantuos left kick, and the Moon in the Well stabbed at Funantuos crotch. Upon seeing this, Xu Ziling hastily responded, he inwardly performing the Inner and Outer Bind Image. On the surface it appeared to be a double-palm slicing toward Funantuo, but as long as he was able to touch the opponents left foot, the most ideal would be if he could forcefully pull Funantuo down from the air, but in worst case scenario, he would be able to keep Funantuo in the air, so that Kou Zhong couldunch the saber momentum against him. Who would have thought that Funantuo let out a cold snort and shouted loudly in Sanskrit, which they did not understand, and then he pulled both legs into cross-legged position as if he was sitting in full concentration in the air, both hands reaching up in wing action, and then still in cross-legged position he somersaulted in the air andnded at the main entrance of the hall. The two boys turned around in shock. Funantuo calmly and leisurely blocked the door and said, Self is using anger as its character, life as its body, and light as its form, using emptiness as its nature, Brahma as its origin, covering everything, connecting everything. It is as tiny as a grain of millet, yet also as big as the sky. Empty heart is big, universal heart is big, but with regard to natural instincts there is no difference, simply because Brahma and I are not two. Hence the thought before death is the most crucial point. If you can return the Brahma to one, you will see the true me. It will be two gentlemens greatest blessing. Although he was talking about the same Brahma and I as One method, but after Funantuo disying his exceptional demonic skill, the two boys feeling was greatly different. In fact, the two had done everything they could, yet they were still unable to touch the hem of Funantuos clothes the slightest bit; it was extremely unbearable. Worse yet, the blood and qi in their injured bodies were surging that they nearly vomited blood. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes emitted unswerving determination, heughed aloud and said, Turns out you, LaoGe, has not reached the Brahma and I are not two realm; no wonder opening your mouth you speak about Brahma and I as One, closing your mouth you speak about Brahma and I as One. Clearly it was to find some constion for yourself. Xu Ziling struggled hard to raise his qi, very carefully as not to excite his injury, his mind entering the the Moon in the Well realm, immediately he sensed that the suffocating qi powering from Funantuo was prating the Three Meridians and Seven Chakras, passing through the lower abdomen, making them difficult to breathe, like a suffocating atmosphere before the storm. Laughing aloud, he bumped shoulders with Kou Zhong, and shouted loudly, Lower abdomen! Kou Zhong let out a long whistle. The man and the saber became one, receiving the true power injected by Xu Ziling, heunched the Striking Strange to attack Funantuo. The Moon in the Well, across the short distance of about two zhang, created subtle and mysterious changes,pletely enveloping Funantuo inside it. Funantuos pair of eyes lit up, his pair of sleeves brushed out to meet the attack. Life and death, victory or defeat, would be decided in this one saber strike. If Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling still could not snatch the initiative, they would be caught in the inferior position of only taking the beating until they were defeated and perished. Book 43 - 6 – Each One Displaying Strange Scheme Funantuos Tianzhu Mo Gong was brilliant and strange, greatly beyond Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings expectation. Moreover, his tactics and strategy were even more targeted at the two boys injury, engaging the two in such a way that even if they had the strength, it was difficult to use it, so that they were ovee with the useless feeling of exerting their strength in vain, in order to weaken the two boys intention to go all out and risk their lives, as well as their will to fight for their lifes sake. When martial art masters were fighting each other, especially martial art masters of Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings level, they must pay particr attention to the feeling of qi shing against each other and the confrontation of the momentum, in trying to lock the opponent with all their heart and their entire body, from which they fight for the initiative and strived to gain the upper hand, to decide whos going to win and be called the king, and whos going to lose and be called the bandit. But because their power was greatly reduced, the injured Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were unable to aplish this point. Funantuos formidabilityy in the fact that he was able to see through the brotherly love between the two that they were unafraid to sacrifice their life for the other; moreover, he understood how well these two work together, hence he adopted this war of attrition technique, leading the two boys by the nose, until they exhausted their strength and were unable to endure. Kou Zhongs current task was that as Xu Ziling injected the true qi to support him, he must reverse the situation that would make them undoubtedly lose. When Funantuos two sleeves were about to make contact with Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, Funantuo once again executed a weird move, his body seemed to be separated into two sections, upper and lower. The upper portion bent to the left, while two withered and ck hands slipped out from the inside. Just like two vipers that could go around a curve seeking for a gap, his ten fingers closed together into eagle beak shape, curving from the outside to strike on Kou Zhongs left hand, which did not hold the saber, and his left nk. From the lower section his left foot kicked out, swiftly taking the tip of the Moon in the Wells de. These strange movements were not something that human body could aplish, yet miraculously he seemed to be able to do it effortlessly. The wound on Kou Zhongs chest began to crack and bleed. The pain from this heaviest wound made the pain from the other wounds seemed to be insignificant. With not so much blood could flow, it was like he was facing two enemies at the same time; any attack from either one would be able to take his life. Kou Zhong cast everything out of his mind, he entered the Moon in the Well realm; no rm no fear, he evenughed aloud and retreated suddenly. Unexpectedly heunched the move No Attack. Previously, when heunched this move, it was always at the beginning of the battle, using this move to test the enemy, to lure the enemy. But using it when the battle was already in full swing, this was the first time. His Moon in the Well seemed to be attacking but was not really attacking; it seemed to be defending but was not exactly defending. Yet there was no gap could be found, he waspletely without any w. The changes were exquisite, wonderful and mysterious, everything was just right, so that Xu Ziling, who was watching from the sidelines, could not help gasping in amazement. Naturally Xu Ziling was not idle either; he was continuously amassing his power, ready to rece Kou Zhong any moment, prepared to fight war of attrition with war of attrition, because neither he nor Kou Zhong at this time had neither the qualifications nor the capability to engage a prolonged battle. In Funantuos eyes, when Kou Zhong was lightly bumped by Xu Zilings shoulder, he immediately shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones, and turned into another person; his saber qi flourished dramatically, immediately enveloping him in a tight seal, forcing him and leaving him without any option but to meet the attack head-on with all his strength. But this was also what he wanted. He could be considered to be the first- or second-best grandmaster of martial art study in Tianzhu, and was proficient in the Brahma and I not two yoga spiritual marvelous skill. Not only he understood clearly that Xu Ziling was injecting his true qi into Kou Zhongs body, he also knew that his previous brilliant strategy of not engaging the opponent in all-out battle already seeded in substantially weakening the two boys fighting spirit and confidence. Therefore, as long as he watched for the opportunity to defeat Kou Zhongs offensive, and then taking advantage of the time before Xu Ziling was able topletely amass his power, he could inflict heavy losses on Kou Zhong. Afterwards he could still grasp the chance to win. Too bad Xu Zilings shout Lower abdomen! destroyed his strategic n. First of all, Funantuo had a terrible feeling that Xu Ziling was able to see through him; secondly, he thought that Kou Zhong might use his lower abdomen as the target of his attack, hence his move was in response to this development. Who would have thought that it was apletely different matter? As a result, he repeatedly made unwise move and was falling into disadvantageous position instead. Marvelous changes happened repeatedly. Even with his ability, Funantuo could not help hesitating in his heart. Should he change move to attack again, or pull back to steady his footing first? All Funantuos movements ceased, as if he was nailed to the ground. But his body was swaying constantly, as if he might pounce forward, but also looked like he was about to fall backward; it was weird to the extreme point. Such move, this was still the first time that the two boys saw; a bizarre, strange, weird feeling grew in their hearts. Kou Zhong even felt that the opponent has really be the Fantian that he was talking about, the two entities fused to bepletely inseparable force; if he continued attacking him, it would be like challenging the totally mysterious, unfathomable Fantian. No Attack could no longer continue. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well swiftly hacked down on an empty air about four chi in front of Funantuos body. Using the person to y the sword, using the sword to y the enemy. It was a harsh and unreasonable y. The Moon in the Well brought violent storm, like a billow rolling toward both sides, the vortex of qi power separately rushing forth from the de of the saber, toward the terrifying enemy in front of his eyes. Laughing aloud, he said, This move probably should be called Brahma and I as One! Compared to the previous various Chess Abundant moves, he brought this one up a level. Not only it could confuse the enemy and control the enemy, control the initiative, it could also, in this particr situation, break the enemy. As long as he could force Funantuo to dump his remaining momentum backward, his Tianzhu Styles No Attack momentum would be broken. Sure enough, Funantuo stood firm; one palm in vertical position in front of his chest in a greeting posture, he neutralized Kou Zhongs saber qi, while speaking in a loud and clear voice, I am Brahma, you are him; you are Brahma, I am him. Brahma is me, I am him, but he is Brahma. Just like spiders thread, like a small spark jumps out of the fire, like a shadow thates from me. If two gentlemen can understand the meaning of this, then you will know what the Brahma and I as One is. The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, the bloodstain on his chest was starting to prate his clothes that it became visible. Laughing aloud, he said, Sure enough, its a weird demonic monk who, on one side is trying to kill people, on the other side is expounding religious teaching to help people crossing over, and both happen in the battlefield. Watch the saber. The saber turned into Striking Strange; it streaked across the empty space, curving to strike the opponents throat. If he had a choice, he would never use such a hasty move, the problem was that he did not have the capital to press on, hence he must fight for the initiative to finish it, the faster the better. At the same time Xu Ziling moved in concert with him; he pounced toward Funantuos right side to pin down the opponent, so that while he was distracted, he would have some misgivings and would be difficult to counter Kou Zhongs attack with all his strength. Who would have thought that as fast as lightning, Funantuo moved back? He retreated two steps outside the main entrance, so that Xu Zilings threat immediately lost its effectiveness, leaving only Kou Zhongs frontal assault, which pursued him relentlessly and was unwilling to let him off. All three sides were top-notch martial art masters. In addition to the battle of power and moves, they also had to pit themselves against each other in terms of strategy and in psychological level in exquisite, brilliant way that the eye could not take it all in. The tip of the Moon in the Well became a dot of refined light, like a shooting star streaking across the sky shing toward Funantuos throat, screaming in the air like sonic boom piercing the ears. The momentum was fierce and severe. Spiraling true energy pierced through the tip of the de, the sharp and powerful de, its momentum flourishing, no one dared to meet its sharpness head-on. Kou Zhong knew that this saber strike would decide his and Xu Zilings life and death; he must seed and not fail. If he could force Funantuo out of the door, he would be able to have a free hand in full assault. With Xu Ziling added into the equation, they could unleash the joint attack technique, then they would have some hope of victory. Funantuo was indeed too terrifying. Just when Xu Ziling was thinking that after retreating Funantuo did not have any way to attack, strange change appeared suddenly. Funantuos body was unexpectedly like a piece of withered, dark tree trunk turning over, so that the tianling acupoint on the top of his head was directly facing the tip of Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well stabbing over. Naturally Kou Zhong knew that Funantuo did not want to borrow his treasured saber to kill himself, rather, he was using the Tianzhu Wonder Skill to transform the weak point on the top of the head into the most powerful attack weapon. But this moment he was unable to make any changes. In fact, he very much wished to take a breather by changing advance into retreat, to see how ridiculous Funantuo would look when he pounced on the ground. If Funantuo still wanted to seize the opportunity to chase after him, then he would let Xu Ziling, who was like a tiger watching from the side, to use his hand image to take a good care of him. But the wound on his body plus the once-released-cannot-go-back saber momentum absolutely did not let him do as he wished. When the saber tip was about three cun away from stabbing Funantuos tianling acupoint, the legs of Funantuos tilting forward body suddenly bent, so that the distance to Kou Zhongs de deviates a little, and then both legs turned perfectly straight to meet the de again. Precisely this subtle change that made Kou Zhongs spit-out energy lost its timing and uracy; a hairsbreadth miss is as good as a thousand li. Bang! True power shed. Irresistible force, like an invisible iron pir, shook the saber de forcefully, and continued along the Moon in the Well directly attacking Kou Zhongs meridians. This head blow was the convergence of the power throughout the acupoints in Funantuos entire body; it was absolutely not aughing matter. The Moon in the Well in Kou Zhongs hand was buzzing, his entire body was severely shaken, he staggered back in utter defeat, all the wounds on his body, big and small, cracked open, he was in an extremely miserable state. Funantuos entire body was shaken as well, but he pressed both hands in the air against the ground, as if he wanted to take advantage of the situation to pursue and strike Kou Zhong, to take his small life. Funantuos Tianzhu Mo Gong certainly did not differ much from Bi Xuans Chi Yan Da Fa [great method of naked me]; strange moves more and more emerged. Meeting the attack head-on like this clearly showed that even if Kou Zhong was not injured, purely in internal energy duel, he was still a notch inferior to this demonic monk. However, Xu Ziling knew that although Funantuo sessfully added injury on top of injury on Kou Zhongs body, it was not without considerable price either; his body suffered fierce injury from Kou Zhongs reaction force. In this life and death moment, hepletely entered the Moon in the Well realm; he could both withdraw from the scene, but also overlook nothing on the scene, ten thousand li brightly lit. Both feet sprang off the ground, the fully amassed Treasured Vase Qi shot out to intercept Funantuo. The timing and the angle were amazing as if made by heaven,pletely invulnerable. Pow! Boom! First, Kou Zhong shattered a small table, and then his back heavily crashed against the wall on the other side. The impact was so intense that the entire lobby seemed to shake, the tapestry hanging on the wall came loose and fell down. The chaos of the situation could be easily imagined. Wah! Kou Zhong saw stars, his body hurt all over, his throat tasted sweet; fortunately he vomited a mouthful of fresh blood, so the pressure on the pit of his stomach lessened, he regained his consciousness. This moment, the only thing in his mind was before Funantuo killed Xu Ziling, he should recover his ability to fight. This time, even if he had to stake it all and lose his life, he wanted to pull this malicious and crafty demonic monk from Tianzhu along to apany him in burial. Soaring into the air, Funantuo was sighing inwardly. He calcted that it would be difficult for him to avoid Xu Zilings interception, especially against the fists umted-but-not-yet-released power, which did not give him any other choice but to deal with it with all his strength. Just before hurriedly meeting the contingency, he borrowed strength by pushing the frame of the main entrance door with his foot to change direction to meet Xu Ziling, who was leaping into the air toward him. Xu Zilings heart was as still as the mirror. Although Funantuos pair of hands were transformed into w shadows filling the whole sky that it was difficult to tell what is true and what is false, hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earthing to envelop him, he was able to clearly grasp which one was the opponents real killing move. What gives him the most peace of mind was that because he was able to see Funantuos real intention, Funantuo was no longer able to maintain his Brahma and I not two spiritual state, so that he was not without any opportunity to be exploited. Bang! The two men passed each other in the middle of the hall. The Treasured Vase Qi shot out, qi power exploded, the w shadows filling the air shattered. The hall was thick with murderous aura. In order to avoid triggering the wound on his right nk, Xu Ziling only relied on his left hand to deal with the pair of ws. Before making contact, using an exquisite hand image change, hepletely sealed Funantuos light and heavy, swift and slow indeterminately demonic w, until finally his fist hit Funantuos right w. The highly concentrated Treasured Vase Image Qi suddenly shot out, so that even if Funantuo had the spare time tounch countless sessive moves, he did not have the ability to put it into use, because Xu Ziling used the clumsy to break the skillful, he used concentrated power to control the scattering energy, hence he was unable to upy the slightest bit of advantage. Were it not for Funantuo had notpletely recovered from Kou Zhongs reaction force, perhaps it would be difficult for Xu Ziling to achieve such an impressive result. Even so, Funantuos attacking true qi was indeed deep with demonic, strange characteristic; cold but not cold, hot but not hot, appearing to use conservation to push, no gap not entered, extremely yin and damaging, so that it was extremely hard for his meridians, which were still far away from beingpletely healed C to endure. The two separatelynded on the opposite ends of the hall, while Kou Zhong was still leaning against the wall on the two mens side, still closing his eyes, regting his breathing. Xu Ziling swiftly turned around like a whirlwind, heughed in tranquil and calm manner, his right hand behind his back, his left hand stretched forward in half-fist shape, his thumb slightly erect, pressing into the air. One Finger Zen. The moment he touched the ground, Funantuo also spun around, his palms together, he stared at Xu Zilings thumb without blinking. For the first time, he revealed a grave expression. What shocked him was not Xu Zilings One Finger Zen at all, but Xu Zilings spiritual realm. He could no longer sense Xu Zilings state. Since his great achievement in the Brahma Power, this was the first time that he encountered such opponent, forcing him to re-evaluate his assessment on the two boys. Only Xu Ziling, one person, was enough to entangle him for a while; if he let Kou Zhong recover his ability to fight, he would no longer have the confidence to kill both of them. After a round of bloody battle, the tyrannical Funantuo finally had his confidence shaken. This moment Kou Zhong has sessfully pressed down his surging qi and blood, he was slowly circting his qi to raise power. The Moon in the Well was raised in difficulty, his eyes opened, exuding a risking-his-life-to-fight-with-all-his-might, advancing-courageously expression. Inwardly Funantuo was shivering greatly. He would never think that Kou Zhong was able to recover his qi this quickly. But he had already fallen into if-you-ride-a-tiger, its-hard-to-get-off situation. Staking it all would cause wear and tear to his true energy, plus he would risk being killed or injured, but he must get rid of these two no matter what; otherwise, after they werepletely recovered, his days would be extremely difficult to pass. Xu Ziling generated an induction; he knew that because Funantuo could no longer find any w on him, he might bepelled to take the risk to make his move with all his strength. Therefore, his lingtai was even more clear and bright, he tightened his troop disposition to wait, to use this golden opportunity to inflict heavy losses to the terrifying big enemy before his eyes. Funantuos mouth let out a shrill whistle, the robe on his entire body fluttered, and then both feet sprang off the ground, like a ghost whose feet did not touch the ground, he floated toward Xu Ziling, both hands stretched out in front of him in w shape. A storm suddenly arose. In this frightening moment, the image of Demonic Emperors Relics appeared in Xu Zilings clear, bright and prating frame of mind, followed by rushing-forth Shi Feixuans flowery jade countenance. The Moon in the Well realm immediately vanished like smoke in thin air. Unexpectedly, in this critical moment where a thousand pounds was hanging by a thread, Shi Zhixuan used the Demonic Emperors Relics to lure Zhu Yuyan into a decisive battle, tragically right at the moment where Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were powerless to defend themselves, forget about sparing the time to go and help. Naturally Shi Feixuan, whom they wanted to help, was facing a very grave danger. This thought immediately made him like someone suddenly threw a rock to the originally-without-any-ripple water in the well, immediately stirring up the ripple that disturbed his mind. Funantuo immediately sensed this, he increased his speed forward. While his qi was responding, he converted his right-hand w into a fist, which exploded toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling felt like from the ninth heaven, high in the clouds, he fell into the mundane world. Funantuos fist suddenly expanded, it became a punch that choked the heaven and earth. From nothing it came, to nothing it went. He could no longer grasp the follow-up changes. When martial art masters were in decisive battle, how could they allow the slightest amount of distraction? Inwardly Xu Ziling knew the situation was very bad, yet he had no choice but to take up the challenge. Striving to calm himself down, the One Finger Zen pressed out. The fist and the finger collided. In case Xu Ziling was able to clearly feel all the subtle changes of Funantuos punch, because One Finger Zen was even more concentrated than Treasured Vase Image Qi, it specialized in breaking the qi power of an expert in internal energy, hence there was no fear that the opponents power was more outstanding than his. However, naturally this time it was another matter altogether. Xu Ziling could only neutralized 70% of the opponents true power, the rest, he simply had to bear it. Letting up a stifled groan, Xu Ziling met the punch and flew backward like a kite with cut string. His old wounds burst open, his mouth spurted a mouthful of fresh blood, he fell heavily at the corner of the room under the window. Without saying a word, Kou Zhong pounced at the speed of lightning. Unleashing the full power of the Moon in the Well, he attacked Funantuo like howling wind and torrential rain. Funantuo groaned inwardly. He did not expect that Kou Zhong did not lose his cool-headedness due to Xu Ziling suffering heavy losses, plus Xu Zilings reaction force aggravated his internal injury. Without any chance to take a breather, momentarily he could only counter every move, and once again he fell into the disadvantageous position. Shua! Shua! Shua! Kou Zhong hacked more than a dozen times in session; yellow light ring greatly, the saber momentum gradually grew, each saber strike was heavier than the previous one, just like lightning strike, the spiraling qi power suddenly circled to the left, and suddenly spun to the right, the angle and the arc of the saber were all beyond anybodys expectation, each saber strike was using life to gamble against life, without the slightest regard of his own safety, like mercury flowing out swiftly attacking Funantuo, like raging waves crashing against the shore biting-cold, icy saber qi continuously attacked the enemy. He put the question of whether Xu Ziling was alive or dead outside the realm of his thought, he only knew how to make an all-out effort to perish together with the enemy. However, the blood seeping out from his wound slowly dyed his clothes red, the barely remaining true qi was quickly consumed. No matter how resolute his will was, no matter how high his fighting spirit was, he could not break through his physical limitations, gradually he entered the phase where he reached the peak and then declined. Funantuos amazing moves came out one after another, he strived to get back a little initiative, and was rejoicing inwardly, knowing that Kou Zhong was like an arrow at the end of its flight. Immediately heunched a set of strange, indescribable shenfa [pose or motion of ones body in martial arts] and shoufa [technique], his body performed all kinds of weird movements beyond ordinary human bodys capability, in order tobat Kou Zhongs gradually declining yet iparably fierce and severe saber momentum. Kou Zhong let out a cold snort, the Moon in the Well drew seven, eight circles of various sizes in the air. Each circle generated a vortex of spiraling qi, spreading-over-the-heaven-pressing-down-the-earth surprise attack thatpletely enveloped the opponent, so that even with Funantuos ability, he was coping with it extremely strenuously. Supposing Xu Ziling was watching from the side, he would be able to guess that this must be thest style of Kou Zhongs Eight Methods of the Well, the eighth style, Square and Circle [or perimeter]. In his vortex-of-qi-power-assisted offensive, Kou Zhong appeared to be retreating but not exactly retreating, he seemed to be advancing but not exactly advancing, suddenly his saber stabbed. It appeared to be simple, but there was a flexible qi like a circle within a square, and there was a square within a circle, profound to the extreme point. Unexpectedly Funantuo did not know how to block or to parry, he retreated in shock. The saber was stabbing straight, but the spiraling qi power was entirely square and circle, like a solid wall pressing down on the opponent, but the core was still circr vortex of energy. A saber technique that has reached such realm, it was indeed seizing the nature of the heaven and earth to the greatest extend, so how was he supposed to block? This move Square and Circle was created out of necessity. Previously, although Kou Zhong already thought about this possibility, he had not seeded in testing it, hence he never used it against the enemy. Yet in this critical moment, he finally seeded. Kou Zhong spurted a small amount of blood, he wascking strength to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. Like moving clouds and flowing water he floated backward, grabbed Xu Ziling in his arm, and broke the window and fled,nded on the side garden between the building and the high wall. Lightning fast, Funantuo flew out the window to pursue. Roaring inughter, he said, Shaoshuai, where do you think you can escape? Kou Zhong held Xu Zilings waist tightly in his left arm, he felt that there were still movements in his brothers blood vessels. Quickly he looked up to nce at the night sky and saw the moon and the stars filled the heaven, incredibly enchanting. A spell of exhaustion descended upon him, he mused whether we, two brothers, were going to lose our lives tonight under this crafty scoundrels hands. Right this moment, a streak of saber light shed down from the top of the wall, striking straight toward Funantuo, who was just attacking Kou Zhong from behind, carrying a fierce and severe saber qi, just like sandstorm brushing through the desert scorching from the drought. Bang! The internal injury Funantuo suffered was already not light, plus he never expected this to happen, and the person mounting a sneak attack was martial art master nearing his own level. Caught off guard, he let out a tragic groan, as the impact from the saber momentum sent him back through the window into the room. His move seeded, Ke Dazhi did not dare to pursue, he came to Kou Zhongs side and shouted, Come with me! Book 43 - 7 – Breaking the Cauldrons and Sinking the Boats 1 Chapter 7 C Breaking the Cauldrons and Sinking the Boats[1] Kou Zhong looked with concern at Xu Ziling, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, tending to his injury. How is it? he asked. This ce was Ke Dazhis secret hideout in Longquan. Without him needing to exin, the two already guessed that it was the hiding ce used by Tujue spies, an unremarkable single-story house located in a smallne on the eastern neighborhood of the city. Xu Ziling nodded slightly and replied, Its not going to kill me yet. They were wearing night-walker warrior outfit provided by Ke Dazhi. Other than their unsightly countenance, there was nothing unusual on the surface. Ke Dazhi spoke in astonishment, Zilings healing skill is indeed out of the ordinary, you are able to apply your power and raise your qi this quickly. But if you dont rest well for the night, you may suffer longsting effect in the future. Ay! Why sighing voice, wailing breath? Kou Zhong asked. Ke Dazhi replied, I am afraid in the future you, LaoGe must write your name backward. Kou Zhongs two eyes lit up, he asked, Did you find out where Shen Mohuan is? Still unknown, Ke Dazhi replied, The first time I left the Pce, I immediately sent my men to notify Du Xing, to tell him to cancel tonights n. Ay! I hope helle to his senses! Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Good kid! You, this kid, are really good toward your Du Dage that I have nothing to say. By doing this, Ke Dazhi was a bit like not wanting to face the reality, afraid that Du Xing might be just like Kou Zhong said, not only he was deceiving Kou Zhong, but deceiving him, Ke Dazhi, as well. Ke Dazhi patted Kou Zhong on the shoulder, and then he lightly put his right hand on Kou Zhongs broad shoulder, saying, Afterwards I found Yin Xianhe, who was lurking on the side. That fellow is more easily identifiable than I thought. I asked him to trail anybody who looked to be Mu Ling, because she is easier to identify, while I would be in charge to watch for your safety. Later on I sneaked out of the city, but actually it was only my men, while I turned back to follow behind you, to see who might deal with you in the dark. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Why didnt you show up earlier then? Perhaps the three of us could join hands, and then we could ughter that muddled-egg demonic monk who loves to expound religious teachings while the troops arriving, the saber going. Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, You dont say. You, two Dage shed away so quickly that you threw me off. Fortunately, from the smell of blood from your wound, I was finally seeding in following your tracks to this ce. I really never expected Funantuos Tianzhu Mo Gong to be that formidable. I tried out my saber strike and was still unable to retain him; otherwise, how could I let him escape alive? Kou Zhong hated it so much that his teeth itched; he said, Really a pity. Even if Yin Xianhe seeds in finding Shen Mohuans location, we simply have to stare nkly and miss him. Xu Ziling opened his eyes and said, You and Ke Xiong can just leave, dont worry about me. I have enough strength to defend myself, in such a short time, Funantuo has no way of finding me hiding here. He has not told Kou Zhong about him sensing the Demonic Emperor Relics, because he was afraid it might negatively influence his healing process. However, Kou Zhong has not forgotten this matter, Did you sense it or not? he asked. Although Ke Dazhi noticed the strange question, he thought Kou Zhong was inquiring about Xu Zilings injury. Untrue to his convictions, Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Everything is very good, dont worry, just go! But you must be very careful, your condition is not much better than mine. After hesitating for half a day, Kou Zhong nodded decisively and said, I wille back before dawn. You must not think about anything else, focus your mindpletely to heal. Finished speaking, he quickly left with Ke Dazhi. Xu Ziling knew that the two men would investigate thoroughly, far and near, until they were sure that there was no enemying here, and only then they would go in peace to do their things. Therefore, he urgently continued the healing process. After the time needed to drink a cup of small tea, he quietly set off in the direction where the Demonic Emperor Relics emerged. Ke Dazhi returned to the hiding-at-the-edge-of-the-woods Kou Zhongs side. They stood together gazing at the prairie north of Longquan City under the moonlight. If my guess is correct, Shen Mohuan ought to be hiding in the Wolong Bie Yuan [lit. hidden dragon (fig. emperor in hiding) other courtyard], he said, The reason is very simple, Shen Mohuan is relying on Han Chaoans protection, and Han Chaoans Gaoli is full support of Bai Ziting. From this, it could be inferred that Shen Mohuan is Bai Zitings man, or at least they formed a temporary alliance. Kou Zhong sighed and said, We cant find the secret marks Yin Xianhe is leaving, ay! This is really worrisome. This kid cant be that bad, can he? Ke Dazhi smiled and said, The more formidable the enemy, the more exciting it is; I am doubly excited. Do you want to take a look at the Wolong Bie Yuan? If Yin Xiong was killed by them, the two of us ought to wash it with their blood. Hearing that, Kou Zhong shivered inwardly. Ke Dazhi was adventurous and loved to take risk; if they became enemies, he would be a very dangerous enemy. He responded indifferently, That Wo something Bie Yuan, isnt that the manor located in the only valley north of Longquan? Astonished, Ke Dazhi said, You also know such ce? It was built only three months ago, an easily-guarded, hard-to-attack valley fort. Kou Zhong said, Do you know that when Ling Shao and I left the pce, Bai Ziting pulled us aside and made an exhibition of himself, acting like he has a card up his sleeve? What kind of enlightenment does it give you? Snorting coldly, Ke Dazhi said, Such a fellow who overestimates his capabilities, what enlightenment he might possibly have? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Seeing that you have just saved Xiaodis little life, I am going to point out a bright way for you to take. Bai Ziting is absolutely not a does-not-know-the-immensity-of-heaven-and-earth, ridiculous-self-importance fellow; rather, he is a standing-tall-and-see-far, with-rigorous-schemes-and-deep-foresight astutemander-in-chief. Just by looking at how he chose the rainy season to found his kingdom, we know that this person has brilliant insight. How could you despise such a person? Ke Dazhi obviously remembered todays pouring rain, he also felt the wet and slippery grass under his feet. He nodded and said, Bai Ziting is indeed a crafty old fox. I am looking forward to seeing what kind of tricks he is going to y. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, If you are holding to that kind of attitude, you will only be valiant general charging and breaking through enemy lines, but not amander-in-chief devising battle n in a tent. This is called know yourself, know your enemy [from Sunzis Art of War], you will emerge victorious in every battle. Tell me, under which circumstances will the unequalled-across-the-prairie Wolf Army might suffer losses? Knitting his brows, Ke Dazhi said, Little Changan is not the real Changan at all. The city wall is no more than five zhang. Just like us suddenly escape the difficulty a moment ago, we could simply jump over the wall. What does Bai Ziting rely on that might make us lose the war? Kou Zhong smiled and said, He is relying on precisely your miscalction of the situation of the enemy positions. The reason Bai Ziting has such a high confidence and not afraid of the battle is that he must have something that he could rely on. Shaken, Ke Dazhi said, Are you saying that there is another army that areing to help? But thats impossible. Right now, the only one dares to help him is the Gaoli King Gao Jianwu, but he is under our strict surveince; no troop movement can be hidden from us. The same is true of other Mohe great tribal chiefs; they are all under our close watch. Kou Zhong said, Have you forgotten Gesuwen that Du Xing mentioned? He also said that Han Chaoan is in collusion with him. If I am guessing correctly, Gesuwen is precisely Bai Zitings wonder troop [troops appearing suddenly in a raid]. Just think, the moment you are going all-out to attack Longquan and then suddenly a big rain ising. The Wu Dao Ba [five-saber hegemon] personally leads his elite troops braving the rain in sudden and violent attack on your back, and Bai Ziting seizes the opportunity toe out of the city to attack. Caught off guard, how do you think your situation will be? Ke Dazhi said, That is indeed a worrying situation. If Gesuwen ising in secret by boat from the sea, it would be the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive. We must pay attention to this aspect. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Dont bother. If I am guessing correctly, Gesuwen and his men have already arrived and are hiding inside the recently built mysterious manor courtyard Wolong Bie Yuan. Emotionally moved, Ke Dazhi said, Now I begin to understand why the Great Khan and Li Shimin have such a restraining fear toward Shaoshuai. I must report this matter to Great Khan immediately, to tell him to beware. Hey! Xiaodi is really grateful. And then he heaved a sigh and said, Thinking that in the future I might meet Shaoshuai in person on the battlefield, even Xiaodi is a little bitterly disappointed. Kou Zhong said, There are things that you hear but do not enter your ear. For the sake of Xiufang Dajia, also for the sake of the innocent people of Longquan, forcing Bai Ziting to give up his n of founding his kingdom, to tear down the city wall, and hand over the Five-Color Stone is not much different than beating him into total defeat of his army and razing the city of Longquan to the ground. Ke Dazhi was silent for half a day. He said, I understand what you mean. But this matter can only happen with the Great Khans nod. I realize that I do not have the ability to persuade him ording to what you said. In that case, let me persuade him, Kou Zhong said, But first, we must obtain urate intelligence, starting with the Wolong Bie Yuan. Aghast, Ke Dazhi said, Knowing full well that Gesuwen is keeping watch, yet we charge in, so whats the difference to throwing away our lives? Your, LaoGes honorable self is not up to par, even if you want to flee in defeat you cant do that. Kou Zhongughed and said, Didnt you say the more formidable the enemy, the more exciting it is. You dont want people to write my name backward, do you? Besides, Yin Xianhe is waiting for us to rescue him. His Niangs! I am more convinced than ever that Bai Ziting, Shen Mohuan, Ma Ji, Gesuwen, your Du Dage, Da Ming Zun Jiao, Huyan Jin, and the others men and horses have formed an alliance to reverse the situation of the prairie through the establishment of the Bohai Kingdom. Shen Mohuan and Huyan Jin, two muddled-eggs must have joinedter, because these two muddled-eggs are at the end of their rope, hence they are taking this risk in a gamble. Stunned, Ke Dazhi said, Reasonably speaking, Da Ming Zun Jiao and Funantuo should be the two cannot exist together due to their religious conviction, why are they willing to work together with Bai Ziting? Kou Zhong said, The reason is very simple. First of all, Gongqi, who is Cui Wang in disguise, must be Da Ming Zun Jiaos man. Next, Bai Ziting sent Gongqi to rob Da Xiaojies eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin, not only its a trap to lure me and Ling Shao toe here, it is also a means to eliminate Rong Fengxiangs businesspetitor, because Da Xiaojies rise is too quick, her business is growing bigger and bigger, perhaps one day she might even take Rong Fengxiangs position as the leader of the Northern Business Association. With great wealthes great power. Recruiting soldiers and buying horses need money. In order to seek wealth to build his kingdom, Bai Ziting has no choice but to be unscrupulous. Shaking his head, Ke Dazhi said, That is indeed hard to believe. What benefit will Da Ming Zun Jiao get for supporting Bai Ziting? Plus Ma Ji is a Tujue, Du Dage is at least half a Tujue. If Bai Ziting took the risk to be a hegemon, how could they have a ce to live. Arent you excessively dualizing things? Look at it from a different angle, Kou Zhong replied, ce yourself on the outside looking in. Dont you think your honorable Khan Xieli is too overbearing? Why did he be enemies with Tuli? How did the Tujue split up to be two Khanates? Ke Dazhis countenance alternated between clear and dark. He muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, before dejectedly said, Your remark is not without any reason. In order to expand his armed forces, our Great Khan indeed made a lot of requests to all the smaller Khans and those who must look at his face to conduct themselves. Ay! Even if he is not happy, I must remind him of these problems and the consequences. And then he snorted coldly and said, All these happen after Zhao Deyan bes the Guoshi. His grannys! Kou Zhong went on, Bai Ziting and Funantuo are two quite different things. In my opinion, they have the appearance of unity, but are divided at heart. The reason is quite possibly because Bai Ziting is in collusion with Da Ming Zun Jiao. Thatsplicated enough! If there is one more person, it might develop into error-on-top-of-error rtionship, not to mention it is many-sided men and horses, while also involving each partys benefit. Your Dage is quite possibly being dragged in by Xu Kaishan. Da Ming Zun Jiao originally wanted to borrow your honorable Great Khans hands to get rid of us, who would have thought that he failed to steal the chicken while already spent the rice? Instead, we facilitated his restoring his rtionship with Tuli. Just by looking at this point, Ma Ji, the one threading the needle in the middle, must be colluding in the dark with Da Ming Zun Jiao and Bai Ziting. Speaking to this point, Kou Zhongs entire body rxed. A lot of things that he could not guess before, this moment it became like a clear outline of the possibilities suddenly appearing. Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, Momentarily I still cannot digest your words, I will have to not think about it for the time being. I will make an arrangement so that you could meet with Great Khan to exin everything clearly. Patting the Moon in the Well in his back, Kou Zhong said, Come! We will act as the scouts, visit Wolong Bie Gong [pce] in the night, to see whether there is a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses hiding inside. If that is the case, as long as we break through the pce, Bai Zitings only share will be to obediently listen to our instructions. Xu Ziling somersaulted over the city wall andnded in the darkness by the wall. Fortunately Longquan city wall did not have any moat. Otherwise, in his currently injury-weary and worn-out strength condition, he must waste a lot of energy. Relying on his superhuman senses, he urately estimated the gap within the changing of the guards, in the-gods-did-not-know-the-ghosts-did-not-perceive way he jumped over the wall and went out. Otherwise, if he got entangled by guards, it would not be easy to get away. This moment he no longer sensed the location of the Demonic Emperors Relics. It was unclear whether it was due to his power was greatly reduced, or because of other reasons. Furthermore, he was not sure what would be the purpose of him rushing over, but for Shi Feixuans sake, he simply must disregard everything and go. Just as he was the only w in Shi Feixuans Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit, Shi Feixuan was the worry that he could not throw away. Just now he lied to Kou Zhong for the first time, because he did not want to drag Kou Zhong down, to let him to take this risk; besides, it was not suitable to let Ke Dazhi know about this matter. And just like Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi, he also vaguely guessed that Shen Mohuan has formed alliance with Bai Ziting, because the responsible party for the assassination attempt on them was Bai Ziting, hence the reason Shen Mohuan and the others did not appear. After regting his breathing and settling his qi, Xu Ziling headed toward Jingpo Lake, neither slow nor rushing. He must carefully take advantage of this journey to regte his breathing well, so that by the time he saw Shi Zhixuan, he would at least have the strength to stake it all, and if he had to die, he would die beautifully. Normally, under any circumstances, he did not have to worry about Shi Feixuan, but since the opponent was Shi Zhixuan, it was another matter altogether. No one knew whether Zhu Yuyans burning both jade andmon stone strategy would really work as she said, that she would die in such a way that Shi Zhixuan would also perish. In his heart, Xu Ziling suddenly felt ominous, which shocked him, knowing that this restlessness was not triggered by his injury at all. If whatever situation that was causing this continued, he might fall dead on the prairie any moment. Hastily throwing out all distracting thoughts, he focused his attention to guard one point of rity on his lingtai, and while rushing along, he also circted his qi to continue the healing process, relying on the Huan Ri Da Fa, which attached most importance to the Three Meridians and Seven Chakras to obtain divine efficacy. Under the magnificent, enchanting night sky, his mind slowly advanced into the Moon in the Well realm. Surprisingly, he still did not sense the Demonic Emperor Relics location. What exactly was going on here? Right this moment, he felt someone was approaching quickly from behind. From the other sides speed, Xu Ziling immediately knew that this neer must be a first-ss martial art master whose skill was not inferior to his normal state, but there was not the slightest bit of fear in his heart. He must try to throw off this person who was following his tracks with ill-intention, otherwise not only he could not reach the Jingpo Lake, he might even lose his life without knowing Shi Feixuans good or bad luck. The other person was still about two li away from him. Without the time needed to drink a small cup of tea, this person should not be able to catch up with him. Such a short period of time was enough for him to do a lot of things. He did not turn his head around to look back, he did not elerate either; he only deviated from his original route, toward a dense forest on his right side. Upon entering the forest, he headed to the northwest first, until he was out of the forest before turning back and hid among the thick branches and leaves of a big tree at the edge of the forest. A figure quickly arrived. Surprisingly, it was his old friend Liexia. Arriving at the edge of the forest, Liexia quickly scanned the surrounding area with his eyes, which were shing with demonic light, he also looked up to sniff the residual scent of blood from the wound on Xu Zilings body. Only then did he hurriedly enter the forest, without missing the slightest bit the route that Xu Ziling took a moment ago, to pursue into the forest. Close call! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. He did not know why Liexia was following behind him, but it could not possibly be a good thing. However, as soon as Liexia found out that he had been duped, he would turn back to pursue him, and the possibility that he would be able to catch up was quite high. Thinking about this possibility, Xu Ziling exerted himself to raise his qi to lighten his body, and soared into the air tond on the branch of another big tree about three zhang away. Only in the high altitude of the tree would an expert in following the tracks like Liexia not able to smell his scent. On the prairie, all outstanding hunters knew how to use their noses to seek and catch up with the enemy. Xu Ziling raised another mouthful of qi. He leaped continuously from tree to tree, until he was more than twenty zhang away from the original tree when he suddenly felt dizzy and nearly fell off the treetop. Promptly he wrapped his arms around the tree trunk. With a gust of wind, exactly like he expected, Liexia returned. Xu Ziling no longer had any strength to do anything. Holding on to the tree trunk, he slipped down to sit on a horizontal branch, while silently applying his power. Losing arge amount of blood has made his Long Life Qi to also lose the rapid divine efficacy in healing injuries. Another gust of wind. Liexia leaped onto the tree where he was previously hiding, naturally he could not find him. But there was no joy in his heart, because Liexia could look for him to this ce. This fellow was just too formidable. Therefore, the possibility was extremely high. Xu Ziling suddenly steeled himself. After circting his qi for three rounds, he somersaulted over a five-zhang distance andnded on an open space outside the forest. Since he could not escape, only by confronting the enemy would he have a sliver of the opportunity to live. [1] Chapter title: idiom, fig. to cut off ones means of retreat. Book 43 - 8 – Wonder Method of Healing Huh? Ke Dazhi eximed and elerated forward. He stooped down and picked a small, t and thin object from the ground, which looked like some kind of animal scale. This thin object was pointy on one end and wide on the other. Catching up with him, Kou Zhong asked, What is that? Ke Dazhi held the thin piece of scale in front of his eyes and turned it around to show the shiny side reflecting the moonlight from above, flickering brightly. This is the gadget that I gave that strange fellow Yin Xianhe, to be used outside the city, he spoke cheerfully, When it is thrown to the grass, if we climbed to a higher ce, we would be able to see its sh even from two, three li away. The pointy side is showing the direction; therefore, it looks like Yin Xianhe has not been harmed. But why did he not put the first piece near the city wall as agreed? Instead, he put it nearly five li outside the city. This is really puzzling. Kou Zhong swept the grasnd with his eyes. Ahead was a forest. He could hear the faint noise of water stream flowing inside the forest. His countenance turned grave, he said, I hope it wasnt the enemy searching and taking it from him and then tossing it to the ground to lure us! The murderous aura in Ke Dazhis pair of eyes shing, he said, It is also possible that Yin kid discovered the enemy was following behind his back, and was only able to throw off the enemy here, hence he had no choice but to drop the first piece in here. Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, I am not as optimistic as you are; another possibility is that Yin Xianhe was chased by Shen Mohuan, Han Chaoan, Huyan Jin, and their entire gang until he was out of breath, in his desperation he had no choice but to drop the scale so that we could follow the trail to save him. Ke Dazhi was slightly startled, but apparently he thought that Kou Zhongs remark was not without any reason. Yin Xianhe was precisely that kind of a freak, unless he absolutely had no other way, he would be unwilling to ask for help. Suddenly he rose up, relying on the strength of his pair of legs he shot vertically up into the air, until reaching an astonishing height of seven, eight zhang before he spun around, and then effortlessly dropped back by Kou Zhongs side. Excitedly pointing to the northwest, he said, I found the second piece. Just like we agreed, one piece per li, the pointy end indicating the direction. Looking at it, I am sure that the piece in my hand was dropped by his own hands. Then why do we have to talk more nonsense? Kou Zhong said, Lets go! Taking the lead, he rushed in the direction of the second piece. Ke Dazhi let out a shrill whistle and ran behind him. They no longer need to hide their tracks. Their top priority was to follow the scale pieces to pursue the enemy, to cut their tail and attack them while they had no time to deal with it until they were utterly defeated. It could be said that this time Xu Ziling made a big gamble, and the stake was his own life. He was betting that Liexia did not have a hundred-percent confidence and thus would not dare to make his move to kill him. It was based on the Brahma and I as One that he had just learned from Funantuo. It was the realm of the unity of man and nature, the boundary of oneness of heaven and humanity. It was also the goal being pursued all Buddhists who practice Zen. It could have different names, such as Brahma and I Not Two, The Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit, The Moon in the Well, and so on, but in the end they are all the same thing, the difference being personal experience, intelligence, and the cultivation to reach such realm. On the surface, the strategy that Da Ming Zun Jiao adopted toward the two boys seemed to be good in nature, but shady and harmful in the dark, because they did not want others to see through that they were colluding with Bai Ziting in secret. Moreover, if Bai Ziting was defeated, Da Ming Zun Jiao might suffer Tujues retaliation, and when that happened, although the prairie was big, there would not be any ce where they could set their feet on. If they were able to kill Xu Ziling, naturally all things would be solved. But one thing went wrong and they let Xu Ziling escaped, Liexia and Da Ming Zun Jiao would have to pack their bag and leave before they finished eating. How could Tuli let go of the foe who killed his brother? It was not aughing matter at all. This was the thought that went through Liexias mind, which Xu Ziling was able to see through. But he also knew that the chance to escape Liexias nose was very little, hence he took this dangerous bet. When Xu Zilings feet touched the ground, Liexia sprang out of the forest andnded about two zhang away in front of him, his pair of eyes shooting demonic light, his gaze was zing as he sized Xu Ziling up and down. Xu Ziling had one hand behind his back, while the other hand adopted One Finger Zen stance. He smiled calmly and said, Finally Lie Xiong cant help but exposing the foxs tail; presumably you want to take Xiaodis life. Lets talk less nonsense, let me see if you have this ability? Liexias tiger body trembled, his pair of eyes turned grave, he focused all his attention to assess Xu Zilings real condition. Shaking his head, he said, Ziling Xiong misunderstood. This ignorant person only wanted to catch up to see if there is anything I could do for you; how could there be any intention to bring you harm? Xu Zilings mind entered the Moon in the Well realm, he felt that he had merged together with the heaven and earth, that there was no longer any existence of self, there was no longer any intention of rm, of fear; furthermore, he was able to see Liexias movements like the back of his hand, knowing that under this kind of circumstances, the other side was totally unable to grasp what is true and what is false in him, unable to see that he really was unable to withstand a single blow. Suddenly, he felt that the true qi within his meridians was unexpectedly beginning to condense naturally, his physical condition was improving significantly, it blended in harmony; although he still felt dull ache from his wound, it no longer had direct corrtion with his desire to rise to a certain level of spiritual consciousness. He spoke indifferently, Since thats the case, Liexia Xiong, please go back immediately, right now I do not need anybody to follow me closely. Liexia took two steps forward; pretending to look around, he said, Howe I did not see Shaoshuai traveling together with Ziling Xiong? His two steps forward were extremely deliberate; knowing that Xu Ziling was waiting in tight troop disposition, he would automatically generate reaction toward his advance, and thus from the intensity of Xu Zilings qi field, he would be able to infer Xu Zilingsbat ability, which then determine whether he ought to advance or to retreat. Even though Liexia had both hands hanging by his sides to show that he had no malice, but anybody would know that this literary talent, distinguished and aplished, outstanding figure of Da Ming Zun Jiao couldunch ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt attack any moment. Xu Ziling stood still like a mountain. His pair of eyes was shing with refined light, but the tone of his voice was exceptionally tranquil as he said, Although I, Xu Ziling, am not abative person, but I no longer am interested in listening to you babbling nonsense. Make your move! Liexia hastily said, Ay! Ziling Xiong really misunderstood. I really have no intention to make my move. I wont stop Ziling Xiong then! Finished speaking, he flew backward, and an instantter became a ck dot on the prairie under the moonlight and disappeared inside a sparse forest on the right side. Xu Ziling was well aware that Liexia was still hiding in the dark, observing him, because under normal circumstances, anybody who was raising his qi and amassing momentum like that would definitely suffer considerable wear and tear of his true energy, something that no internally-injured person would be able to endure. Who would have thought that Xu Zilings Brahma and I As One was just some kind of spiritual realm, which did not need internal energy support, while also brought great benefits to his injury? If Liexia was using his qi power to confront Xu Ziling, it would be another matter altogether, even if Xu Ziling did not want to reveal the cloven foot, he simply could not. Fortunately, since Liexia was unable to grasp clearly the depth of Xu Zilings injury, he did not dare to act blindly without thinking. Taking advantage of the true qi that he had just gathered, Xu Ziling suddenly shed and entered the forest. And then he dropped to the ground. Ahead was a small brook winding through the forest. Only this time he disyed his shenfa by darting across for nearly eight zhang, enough to scare Liexia that he did not dare to follow his track anymore. A small price to pay to buy back his little life, in the end it was worth it! Kou Zhong was rushing at top speed behind Ke Dazhi. The strange thing was that not only his injury did not be more serious due to his raising his qi and using his strength, on the contrary, the more he was rushing, the more he felt improvement, his blood and qi were flowing more freely and circting without any blockage. Just like during the time he first trained the Long Life Qi, where he needed to walk while training. As early as when they set out, because Kou Zhong single-mindedly wanted to help Yin Xianhe together with Ke Dazhi, he threw out everything from his mind and entered the no-man, no-self realm. If he were alone, or perhaps he was with Xu Ziling, because he wanted to use his brains, his mind would then be distracted, unlike this moment where his heart was focused, his mind was put together. The best thing was that the responsibility to do the trackingy on Ke Dazhi alone, while all he needed to do was to follow closely behind Ke Dazhis back, hence everything was happening in his favor. Several times did Ke Dazhi turn his head back to look at him, afraid that he could not keep up, who would have thought that Kou Zhong was able to maintain his distance behind him? He could not help showing astonished look, since he could not figure out why Kou Zhong appeared not to be weighed down by the injury at all. Nevertheless, Kou Zhong was too busy to mind him; he clearly knew that in the Secret to Long Life, Jade Annulus of He n, and the Demonic Emperors Relics innate true qi, he had made another breakthrough. Under the life and death threat from Funantuo, for Xu Zilings sake, he seeded in developing thest style of the Eight Methods of the Well, the Circle and Square, which made his understanding of his own abilities progress one step further. In the moment he used the Circle and Square, in his heart, there was no longer life and death, victory or defeat, or any other distracting thoughts. The man, the saber, and the universe joined together into an indivisible entity. When he was using the saber, the qi essence of the heaven and earth poured onto the top of his head and going down, converting the impossible to be possible. This was probably the Brahma and I Not Two that Funantuo was talking about! Under his feet, the prairie was flying backward. His pair of legs seemed to be able to absorb the full, cohesive qi of the earth, and his innate refined qi was slowly pouring onto the top of his head and going down. The so-called Seizing the Essence of Heaven and Earth that the people of ancient times were talking about could not be more than this. With only a little bit of true qi, he felt as if he would be able to glide over the grasnds forever, until the end of the universe. It was like Kou Zhongs spirit was ascending to the infinite height of the outer space, where he was dancing and singing together with the moon and the stars. There was some kind of indescribable sense offort and satisfaction. The blocked meridians were clearing up one by one. Furthermore, the cracked wounds were healing quickly; it was a miracle that no one could believe. Ke Dazhi suddenly stopped. Kou Zhong was like being awakened from a dream and was returning to the real world before his eyes. Shaken, Ke Dazhi said, Its bad! We have fallen into a trap! Kou Zhong focused his attention to look. The two were standing on top of a sloping hill, ahead was a mountainous region with undting hills extending all the way across, covered in dense forests, while the sound of hoof beats shook the heavens, as several hundreds of warriors rushed out of the forest,ing to attack them like tidal wave. In a long-distance race on the t grasnd, no one could run faster than the horses four legs. This time they could not escape, they could not evade. If among the other side there were any martial art master of Shen Mohuan, Mu Lings caliber, they would undoubtedly die. Qiang! Ke Dazhi pulled out the Sandstorm Saber, his eyes emitted an undaunted expression, while the tone of his voice was so calm that it was almost heartless; he said, Even if I have to die, I will have Shen Mohuan to apany me in burial! The enemy riders were constantly getting closer, reducing the distance between them to be less than half a li, straight with rocking-the-mountain-shaking-the-peak astonishing might. Kou Zhong took a nce backward, he saw in the distance on the left rear side of the tnd there was a wide expanse of woods; tapping Ke Dazhis shoulder, he said, Follow me! No matter what, we will fight this battle. Xu Zilingy down on the muddy, wet meadow on the shore, circting his qi and regting his breathing with all his might. Suddenly the sound of someone going against the wind rose up again from the distanceing near; needless to say, Liexia must have changed his mind, he was unwilling to miss this golden opportunity bestowed by heaven to get rid of him without the gods and the ghosts knowing. This time, whatever scaring tactic he used would not work anymore. Sighing inwardly, Xu Ziling rolled into the ice-cold, bone-chilling river water. Diving down to the riverbed, he swam with the current downstream, at the depth of about eight, nine chi. Closing the breathing from his mouth and nose, internal breathing took over naturally. Xu Ziling felt his entire body, from head to foot C rxed, unexpectedly he even momentarily forgot about Liexia and just went with the current. The enemy riders wereing nearer and nearer, very soon they were entering the arrows range, the two were still running for their lives. The forest, their target destination, was still two li away, but that could be the ce that they might never reach. As soon as they entered the enemys arrows range, other than turning around to meet the enemy head-on, they practically did not have any other way. A fierce and full of hatred voice thundered in Tujuenguage from behind, You, two gutless ghosts are getting your just deserts; if you have guts, stop right now. Urging his qi to flow faster, he said to Ke Dazhi while gasping for breath, The kid who said that must be as na?ve as a child; those were the words I heard most often when I was a kid in Yangzhou. Ke Dazhi turned his head back to take a nce, he said with augh, That kid must be Shen Mohuan. Can you still go on? Zheng! Zheng! The twanging of the bow was heard, two powerful arrows split the air andnded about five zhang behind the two men. Suddenly the two remembered something at the same time; horrified, their countenance changed. With the Flying Cloud Bow, which range was twice the range of average strong bows, wouldnt they be a live target? Xu Ziling slowly swam deep in the water, not daring to make any noise of rippling water. The superhuman spirited senses enabled him to know that the enemy was chasing after him along the river. To martial art master of Liexias caliber, even in the dense forest, as long as he had a little bit of moonlight or starlight, he would surely be able to detect Xu Ziling inside the river. While groaning inwardly, he suddenly discovered arge rock at the bottom of the river leaning against the river wall, and there seemed to be a gap under the rock. Hastily he swam toward the rock. Sure enough, the Heaven did not cut short his, Xu Zilings wish, the gap under the rock was just big enough for him to fit inside. He had just hidden himself, the gust of wind was heard and suddenly stopped. Not good! Xu Ziling cried out inwardly; could it be that Liexia was so formidable and unexpectedly knew that he was hiding inside the gap under the rock? The gust of wind was heard again, followed by the sound of someone descending from the air to the grassy meadow by the shore. What did you find? Liexias voice was heard. A female voice, as pleasant to hear as the sound of silver bell, spoke in distress, Completely without any scent or traces; no wonder each time this kid was hunted down, in the end he could still escape. She spoke Hannguage with very articte pronunciation and vocalizing, with authentic northern [i.e. north of Yellow River] Han ent. Although this was the first time Xu Ziling heard her voice, he was very sure that she was a Han. Furthermore, if she was a Huihe, she ought to speak with Liexia using their ownnguage. Who could she be? Moreover, he realized that Liexia had left and then came back, it was because he had this helper. Even if he was not affected by his injury, he would still be unable to escape their treacherous assault. From this, it could be inferred that this womans martial art skill ought to be very close to Liexia, so much so that it might not be inferior to his. Could she be the Poisonous Water Xinnaya who had the strongest martial art skill among the Five Kinds of Demons, whom Zhu Yuyan mentioned before? Liexia said, I thought he escaped via the water, but chasing to this ce I still have not seen his trace. It appears that his injury is not serious at all. Where is he actually going? Why isnt that fellow Kou Zhong with him? Xu Ziling mused that it looked like Liexia did not now that they had fought Funantuo hand to hand; otherwise, he ought to know that his and Kou Zhongs injury was getting worse. The woman spoke heavily, Let them live one more day then. With Da Zun and Shan Mu personally came to preside over the general situation, how could we allow them to go on the rampage without any scruple? Lets go! The gust of wind left far away. Xu Ziling emerged from the gap in the rock. Reaching the surface, he flipped over to lie on his back, breathing the fresh scent of the forest, letting the river water carry him downstream. His heart and spirit entered the ten-thousand-transformations-fusing-into-one, he strived hard to use this opportunity to open his heart and apply the healing method, to recover his health at the fastest speed possible. Chi! The sound of arrow splitting the air. Kou Zhong exerted his strength to move sideways to avoid the killer powerful arrow shot from the Flying Cloud Bow. Thereupon his shenfa was slowed down a little bit, immediately he fell about half a zhang behind Ke Dazhi. At this point the two were less than a li from their target forest, yet it felt like a chasm that they would never be able to cross. If there were more than a dozen bows that could directly threaten them, coupled with the Flying Cloud Bow, even if they changed their mind to turn around and face the enemy head-on, perhaps it would still be difficult for them to avoid the misfortune of having the arrows piercing their bodies. Kou Zhong has not recovered his qi, Swish! fast as lightning, a Flying Cloud Arrow was shot. Kou Zhong thought, I am finished today. Before, I shot the enemy dead using the Extinguished Sun Bow, how much of a delight was that? But now Shen Mohuan was paying a tooth for a tooth, yet he had no way to fight back at all. Ke Dazhi suddenly retreated behind Kou Zhongs back, the Sandstorm Saber shed backhandedly. Dang! The de hit the arrowhead, blocking the powerful arrow and sending it flying away. With one palm pressed against Kou Zhongs back, Ke Dazhi helped him to speed up, while he himself, like an arrow, caught up with Kou Zhong, and thus increasing the distance with the enemy a little bit. It was no longer possible for Kou Zhong to run and circte his qi to treat his injury at the same time. Immediately he felt that he was straining. Hardening his heart, he said, Ke Xiong, you must avenge me. He was going to turn around to meet the enemy, who would have thought that Ke Dazhi pulled his sleeve and carried him leaping up into the air, crossing a nearly seven-zhang distance. This is not the time to y hero, he spoke angrily, If we have to die, well die together. Kou Zhongs heart was extremely touched, he never thought that Ke Dazhi, who on the surface appeared to be callous, a man who handled his affairs by fair means or foul, was actually this affectionate and true? The forest was only half a li ahead. But the two had expended a great deal of effort in rushing madly, while also strived hard to dodge and block the Flying Cloud Arrows, they were already like an arrow at the end of its flight. The enemy gradually caught up. They heard a shrill female voice shouted again and again in Shiweinguage; although they did not understand, they knew she was urging their men to overtake them. Ke Dazhi let out a shrill whistle, he pulled Kou Zhongs sleeve and exerted his strength to increase their speed. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, knowing that Ke Dazhi staked the wear and tear of his true energy to reach the forest. But even so, even if they really could escape into the forest, perhaps even whether they could stand firm would still be a big question, let alone to continue to escape. The forest was only forty zhang away. Suddenly from inside the woods the sound of battle cry shook the heavens, arge group of countless warriors rushed out to meet them. The two men cried inwardly, my life thus endeth. They never expected the enemy to be this brilliant by hiding an ambush on this side. Book 43 - 9 – Demonic King’s True Nature Xu Ziling left the small stream, went ashore and continued his journey; his entire person feltpletely new. There was no feeling of returning to the nature better than diving into the water. Just now when he was in total rxation, he entered the deep and clear-headed half-asleep state, but his thought and consciousness were still moving, yet his body was still in a resting state, the true qi within his body was moving along its course like the sun and the moon, circting around automatically, the innate qi rushed forth and poured out separately from his left and right yongquan acupoints; hot on the left and cold on the right, yin and yang blended together, so that immediately the condition of his internal injury saw considerable improvement. Facing the crisp and clear night wind, although his clothes were wet, he did not feel cold at all. Furthermore, because he was urging his qi to treat his injury, the water evaporated, so that by the time the Jingpo Lake was in sight, his clothes were already dry and clean. Albeit repeated setbacks, which caused injuries on top of injuries, his xinfa in healing method has advanced to a new level, pushing his lying-down-meditation to a new realm. Moreover, he had a faint feeling that after absorbing the essence of the Demonic Emperors Relics, it was only this moment that itpletely fused with the true qi within his body. He did not dare to think about Shi Feixuan, for fear that his heart might be impetuous and his qi impatient; he only wanted to ascertain the Demonic Emperors Relics location first before making any n. Xu Ziling cut through the forest. Wasnt this the site of Jingpo Pavilion located by theke? he mused. Involuntarily he touched the big and tall tree where he and Shi Feixuan and Kou Zhong were hidingst night watching the Jingpo Pavilion from a distance. Suddenly the beautiful image of Shi Feixuan sitting cross-legged on a big tree branch entered his eyesight. The fairy turned her head to look at him, her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, without she even needed to talk, Xu Ziling could understand her clearly, the You, this person! Why do you still want to rush over? that she spoke in her heart. Xu Ziling was pleased beyond his expectations, while was also at a loss. Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi were still maintaining their highest speed as they sprinted forward, they were afraid of Shen Mohuans Flying Cloud Bow. Kou Zhong pulled out the Moon in the Well, he let out a longugh and said to Ke Dazhi, Killing one, we recover our capital; killing a pair, we make a profit. This business is profitable! Casting a backward nce, Ke Dazhi revealed a puzzled look. Kou Zhong also felt something was different; turned out one after another the warriors on Shen Mohuans side reined their horses, so that the horses neighed and reared. The situation was chaotic. The two halted their steps. The warriors from the other side rushed out to fill the in, so that they could see a bit more clearly. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, They are my Xiongdi Gunatais men. A voice came, Shaoshuai, I trust you have been well since west met! Hearing the voice, Kou Zhong responded in great delight, Old Ba, where on earth have you been? You made us blindly anxious for many days. Leading the troops, other than Bielegunatai and Bugunatai, there was also Ba Fenghan, whose whereabouts was unknown for a long time. More than five hundred riders galloped over like a tornado in fan-shaped formation, putting themselves in face-to-face confrontation position with Shen Mohuans side of more than three hundred fighters in tight formation. In term of momentum, the strong and the weak were clearly distinguished. From desperation back to life, grasping back their two little lives, Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhis delight was indescribable. Ba Fenghan and the Gunatai brothers galloped toward the two men, the three men sized Ke Dazhi up and down with burning gaze. Kou Zhong promptly made the introduction. Ba Fenghan jumped down the horse, in Tujuenguage, which the Gunatai brothers understood, heughed aloud and said, Seeing face to face excels hearing the name. Even if I, Ba Fenghan think until my head burst, I would never expect that the two of you might walk together. But you can tell everything to meter, punishing Shen Mohuan is more important. Recognizing heroes value other heroes, although friend and foe are difficult to distinguish, Bielegunatai brothers were still very friendly toward Ke Dazhi. Ke Dazhi paid special attention toward Ba Fenghan; he said, When we have the opportunity, I definitely want to ask for guidance from Ba Xiongs Beheading Mystery Sword. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, That is what Xiaodi seek but fail to get. But this sword is no longer called Beheading Mystery, it has been changed to Stealing the Heaven. Moving to Kou Zhongs side, he happily hugged his shoulders and said, You, this kid, are really lucky. We are keeping watch in here was not because knowing you might be chased to kill at all, but to ambush and seize away Old Bais batch of bows and arrows. The task that you entrusted to me, Xiaodi will definitely aplish it for you. And then the murderous aura in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he cast his gaze toward the enemy ranks about a thousand paces away and spoke in heavy voice, This time, what tactics we should use to kill the enemy that not a single armor remains? Frowning, Bielegunatai said, Althoughpared to the other side we have more than two hundred men and that great victory can be expected, but Shen Mohuan is an expert in running away. If he escapes into the forest, it is very likely that we might ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Kou Zhong looked inside himself to examine his internal injury, and discovered that he had already recovered sixty-, seventy-percent of his power, while his wound had also more or less healed. Greatly delighted in his heart, he mused that this healing method while running along must be a Wonder Method of Healing, his own creation, which had never existed since the dawn of time until today. He said, Xiaodi has a proposal, I guarantee that Shen Mohuan will not refuse. But the problem is that I can only kill Shen Mohuan, while the others must be let go. Shaken, Ke Dazhi said, We cant do that. Shen Mohuan is not a woman who only knows how to do embroidery, plus your internal injury has not healed yet. Too risky! Stunned, Ba Fenghan looked at Kou Zhong, Who can hurt you? Wheres Xiao Ling? he asked. Kou Zhongughed and said, Start exining this matter and its a long story; Ill tell you, LaoGe everythingter on. And then, turning to the Gunatai brothers, he said, If I get rid of Shen Mohuan on your behalf, do you have any objection? Bielegunatai said, As long as you can kill him, that will work, other people do not matter. All along Mu Ling has never been able to convince the masses, she cannot do anything, but Dont worry, Kou Zhong cut him off, Do I look like I am stupid enough to offer my life to Shen Mohuans men? He patted Ke Dazhis shoulder first, telling him not to worry, and then he took tree steps forward before shouting loudly in Tujuenguage, Shen Mohuan, do you have enough guts to have a one-on-one duel against me, Kou Zhong? Tense and thick silence. It was quite a momentter that Shen Mohuans voice was heard, Kou Zhong, are you seeking death? Ha! Such a crafty trick, I can do the same thing as well. You just wanted to entangle me, and then youll move your troops to attack. Humph! Dont think that I am going to fall into your trap. If you have guts, give me all you got! Well fight with open saber open spear to see whos tougher. Kou Zhong cursed inwardly, Using lowly persons heart to measure my noblemans belly. Laughing aloud, he said, Are you saying you are determined to flee in defeat while having your men throwing away their life for you, and you yourself escape without any trace? Shen Mohuan angrily said, How could I be such a person? Bielegunatai chimed in, Since thats the case, he shouted, You and Shaoshuai fight to the death, if the victor is you, Shen Mohuan, I swear by the spirit of my ancestors, by my predecessors that even if you run away, I will definitely not interfere. Silence descended upon the in, only the night wind was whooshing. The men and horses of both sides quietly waited for Shen Mohuans response. Kou Zhong was not worried that Shen Mohuan would not agree. Shen Mohuan knew better than anybody else about the seriousness of his injury. This was precisely one in a thousand years golden opportunity to take Kou Zhongs life, while also allowing the entire army to withdraw safely. What could be more profitable than this? After whispering to each other with Mu Ling, who was standing by his side C for a moment, as expected, he shouted in response, Since you, Kou Zhong, dont want to live, I will be happy to help you aplish your desire. The warriors on both sides cheered at the same time, momentarily murderous aura condensed, decisive battle atmosphere enveloped the grasnd. As long as the fairy was nearby, it would be like he could leave this cruel reality brimming with hatred and murderous atmosphere, to reach the world of the immortals, the fairnd, the happynd. Turning his gaze in the direction of the pavilion, to his surprise, he saw Zhu Yuyan sitting quietly facing theke, with her back toward them. From the direction of Ma Jis camp, there was no light in sight; apparently this big fat man already withdrew in panic. Xu Ziling was confused, but he was relieved at the same time, because obviously they [feminine] have not encountered Shi Zhixuan yet. When he got close, Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Wheres Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling replied, He went to look for Shen Mohuan to give him bad luck; he did not know that I aming here. Shi Feixuans pretty eyebrows lightly furrowed, she asked, Then how did you know you were supposed toe here? I sensed Shelis demonic qi, Xu Ziling replied. Shi Feixuans eyebrows were furrowed even deeper, she spoke in astonishment, Could it be that Zhu Hou [Empress] lied to me again? She said she has not been able to sense the Shelis location. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly there is such a thing. But it was only at a certain moment that I sensed the Sheli, afterwards I did not sense it anymore. After muttering to herself irresolutely for half a day, Shi Feixuan sighed lightly and said, I suddenly have a very ominous premonition. Why are you two here? Xu Ziling asked. Shi Feixuan replied, When I found Zhu Hou, she received a note from Shi Zhixuan, asking her toe here tonight on the second watch of the night [9-11 pm] to settle the gratitude and grudges between them. Ah! Hes here! Xu Ziling focused his attention to look, a small boat was rowed slowly toward the Jingpo Pavilion. Holding his head high, the proud Shi Zhixuan was standing at the stern, effortlessly operating the scull, while singing, Life between the heaven and the earth suddenly be like a visitor from a faraway ce. Fighting over the wine to entertain each other, chatting profoundly instead of in indifferent manner; driving the carriage urging the horse, ying like the winding River Luo. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dazed; didnt Shi Zhixuane to kill Zhu Yuyan? Why did it appear as if he wasing to meet his lover? Zhu Yuyan remained absolutely still, as if she did not see Shi Zhixuans good self on the boat, she blocked her ears and did not listen to his brimming-with-deste-vor singing voice. Shen Mohuan was wearing full nightwalker attire; carrying his serpentine spear in his hand, he strode out and took his position right in the middle between the two troop dispositions facing off against each other. He shouted toward Kou Zhong in Tujuenguage, Kou kid, roll out here to receive your death! Ba Fenghan and the others stepped out to stand by Kou Zhongs left and right. Ke Dazhi leaned over and spoke in low voice, This fellow is full of confidence, you must be a bit more careful. Ba Fenghan spoke in astonishment, Ke Dazhi, since when did you be Kou Zhongs friend or brother? Gunatai brothers also appeared to be paying close attention; obviously they were at a loss of what had happened. Ke Dazhi sighed and said, This matter is really hard to exin in a few words, but our opposing stance has not changed, unless Shaoshuai is willing to pay allegiance to the Great Khan. Yet Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward Shen Mohuan, about five hundred paces away, not missing any tiny movement or any unremarkable expression. He spoke heavily, If within ten saber strikes I cant kill him, you guys immediately move the troops to attack, while trying to save my little life at the same time. Bugunatai blurted out, Ten saber strikes? Shaoshuai has enough confidence to kill him within ten saber strikes? Shaoshuai must not despise this man, the name of his serpentinence shook the Gobi Desert, otherwise he would not have been able to move unhindered for many years, no one can control him. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I bet that within eight saber strikes Kou Zhong will be able to get rid of him; who dares to bet against me? Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, If it was the Kou Zhong before the injury, I definitely would not dare to bet with you, but now I dont want to bet, because I dont want to win. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and spoke indifferently, Eight saber strikes then! If not sessful, theres no need for you toe save me, because it might make my resolution not firm enough. His Niang! Ill let you see the skill that Kou Zhong keeps at the bottom of his trunk! Upright and unafraid, he stepped forward. Looking at his back, the four great young martial art masters with the most famous reputation in the prairie all revealed an expression of respect. Kou Zhongs bearing indeed made people admire him from the heart. Shen Mohuan was only of a medium-sized build, his countenance malicious, giving up the impression that he was a cold, ruthless and heartless man. His pair of eyes was glowing with health and vigor, flickering lively. On his long, narrow face, which was quite terrifying, there was some kind of pride of being able to move unhindered for a long time. On the other hand, Kou Zhong knew that he had brought trouble to himself. He had talked big, saying that he was going to kill Shen Mohuan tonight; therefore, even if he had to gamble with his life, he simply had to behead the other side with the Moon in the Well. Not only that, because time was limited, he must rush back to the Central Earth as quickly as possible, to try to defend Luoyang to the death. But if he let Shen Mohuan escape tonight, if he did not do everything in his power to get rid of this fellow, how would he answer Jian Dashi? Fortunately, in the unique great method of healing by absorbing the essence of the heaven and earth that heprehended while he was rushing wildly to run for his life a moment ago, not only the barely remaining true energy he still had did not suffer wear and tear, he was even able to recover sixty-, seventy-percent of his normal level. The biggest problem was his excessive blood loss, which was not something that could be recovered and replenished in just a short period of time of one evening. Qi and blood were rted to each other, the outside and the inside were interdependent. He set the limit of ten saber strikes, it was precisely to force himself to adopt a blitzkrieg strategy, because he really could not afford to support a long and hard battle. The first saber strike was the most critical, he must grab the initiative first, before unleashing the sabers momentum with all his strength, so that the other side fell under his control and would be unable to strike back. Only then would he have the possibility of beheading someone with powerful martial art skill like Shen Mohuan within eight saber strikes. Ba Fenghans bet that he would seize victory within eight saber strikes was not a casual remark at all; rather, it was a reminder. He wanted to remind Kou Zhong that if he unleashed the full power of the Eight Methods of the Well, Shen Mohuan would nurse a grievance on the spot. Kou Zhong quickened his steps, the Moon in the Well pointed forward from a distance, appearing to be attacking but not attacking at all, appearing to be defending but not defending at all. Following his steps, the unceasingly increasing momentum of the de of the saber threatened the opponent. The first style, No Attack. When this move was executed this way, it was no longer a defensive style to entice a style, but a formidable move to advance in main assault. Evidently Shen Mohuan could not see Kou Zhongs empty move, his face revealed a grave expression. The long spear was moved in front of him, both hands held lightly one end of the serpentine spear, the tip of the spear shook, waiting for the opportunity to strike. By the time Kou Zhong entered a zhang and a half distance from him, he roared, fast as lightning the serpentine spear stabbed forward, straight toward Kou Zhongs throat, in an attempt to rely on the spears a-zhang-and-a-third length, ignoring Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, to stab dead the opponent one step ahead. Behind Shen Mohuan, Mu Lings shrill shout was heard, their men immediately shouted in unison to cheer their boss. Their shouts shook the earth. Shi Zhixuan, wearing Confucian attire, leisurely andfortable, pleased with himself, floated onto the shore, his left hand carried a jar of wine, he slowly stepped into the pavilion. Shi Feixuans tender body trembled lightly, she leaned over and whispered in Xu Zilings ear, This is the Shi Zhixuan before he encountered and set his heart on Xin Shibo [martial (older) uncle], capable of making his move to kill between chatting andughing. The more pleasant his words, the more ruthless and heartless his hands will be, before and after killing, he can keep a smile on his face. Hearing him, Xu Ziling was wide-eyed, mouth-agape; seeing him, he was also wide-eyed, mouth-agape. The Shi Zhixuan before his eyes was absolutely as different as can be from the Shi Zhixuan suffering from split personality disorder, the Shi Zhixuan he met in Changan. One was a cold-hearted demon without any human nature, who only know how to kill people; the other was a grieving gentleman with deep emotion and guilty conscience. But not the man with confident and at ease expression and manners he saw before his eyes. He saw a hint of smile on his face, as he went straight to the stone table inside the pavilion, and sat opposite Zhu Yuyan with his back toward theke. He slyly put the wine jar on the table and spoke softly, In order to take care of this good wine so that I could pour wine and admire the moon together with Yuyan, I have troubled Yuyan to wait for a long time. Shi Zhixuan is guilty. Zhu Yuyan was silent for half a day. Because her back was toward the two, they were unable to see her expression, only they were guessing that just like them, Zhu Yuyan was suspicious of Shi Zhixuans dramatic changes. Shi Zhixuan spoke in astonishment, Didnt Yuyan like to talk with me very much? We always had inexhaustible topic to talk about, I remember those warm and sweet days Shut up, Zhu Yuyan coldly cut him off. Not taking any offense, Shi Zhixuan said, Right! Right! Let bygones be bygones, everything start afresh from today. Let the Sheng Sheli be my first meeting gift, would Yuyan please kindly ept? The Holy Relics, which everybody from the demonic school yearned for even in their dreams, slipped out of his wide sleeve and rolled onto the tabletop. It suddenly stopped right in the middle of the table. The crystal stone still emitted clear yellow light, but Xu Ziling could no longer sense the strange power of the demonic qi stored up inside it. His heart felt like it suddenly sank into ten-thousand-zhang abyss; furthermore, he was ashamed for failing the fairy by his side. Shi Zhixuan seeded. The strange power of the demonic qi haspletely returned to his possession, has cured his schizophrenia [orig. split-mind illness], so that he changed back into the chatting andughing, the murderous evil spirit before he encountered Bi Xiuxin. His announcement of one-year exit from Jianghu was most likely a ruse to confuse the enemy. No! Even if I have to risk my life I must help Zhu Yuyan to get rid of him. Zhu Yuyans tender body shook, but the tone of her voice was extraordinarily calm, as if she already knew, as she spoke softly, Oh, Zhixuan! It was not because you wanted to take care of the good wine that you came herete; you arete because you wanted to absorbpletely the holy qi of the Sheli. Ay! Why do you still lie to me to this day? Xu Zilings tiger body shook. He suddenly realized that when he was sensing the Relics demonic qi during the critical junction in his battle against Funantuo earlier, it must be rted to this matter. Afterwards, because the Relics demonic qi was fused with Shi Zhixuan, he could no longer sense it. And the ce where Shi Zhixuanpletely absorbed the demonic qi, most likely it was in the depth of theke nearby. Shi Feixuan whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Zhu Hou is about to make her move! Lies? Shi Zhixuan spoke with bitter smile, Ay! In certain things, how could I not lie? Because lies are the most pleasant to hear and the most beautiful thing, hence everybody likes to hear it. People say that bing husband and wife for one night is a hundred nights of grace. Our lingering loving affectionst longer than only for one night. Remembering the sentiment of the olden days, why dont we relinquish prejudices and work together hand in hand, to rouse the Holy Schools prestige again to cover the whole earth? The Yang of Sui has fallen, the world is in endless turmoil, this is indeed a rare opportunity that our Holy Schools people have been waiting for nearly a thousand years. Zhu Yuyanughed tenderly and said, I already loathe your beautiful lies! Shi Zhixuan shot a casual nce toward the thick branches and leaves where the two were hiding. Being at the receiving end of his gaze, Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan, who thought that their hiding ce waspletely wless, shivered all over, knowing that they could not hide from him, yet there was nothing they could do about it. Naturally Zhu Yuyan understood Shi Zhixuans intention; she spoke softly, Theres nothing to be done! Xie Wang, you want to kill Yuyan, you ought to take risks, no matter what! One finger stabbed out, she pointed at the Relics crystal ball in the middle of the table. The battle was like an arrow escaping from the bow, there was no other option but to be released. Book 43 - 10 –Eight Saber Strikes Agreemen t Kou Zhong suddenly took a breath, he stopped the charging momentum and converted it into a sideway movement momentum to evade the spear stabbing toward his throat, the Moon in the Well chopped from the side at the extremity of the tip of the spear; if he missed just a hairsbreadth, he would have chopped the empty air in front of the spear. The most amazing thing was that he urately grasped the power behind the opponents spear; due to the stab hitting the empty air, the wielder was anxious to change its move, hence it was the precise moment the momentum reached its peak before the decline. Therefore, although the saber strike only used sixty-, seventy-percent or Kou Zhongs normal power, the result was no different to if he had used one-hundred-percent of his strength. It was precisely another style from the Eight Methods of the Well, the Striking Strange, using strange/sudden move to control victory [reminder: it could also mean sudden or ambushing strike]. Dang! Shen Mohuans entire body shook. Although the saber de hit the tip of the spear, it was supported by the qi and the blood, the meridians and the acupoints in his entire body, just like the spiraling qi turning into a big iron awl boring into the pit of his stomach, so unbearable that he nearly vomited blood and fell down. But he was outstanding and not an ordinary person at all; retreating hastily, the serpentinence shook and swayed, forming a spear, doing everything he could to make it difficult for Kou Zhong to follow up a victory and press home the attack. The side supporting Kou Zhong immediately burst into cheers and apuse, while on the other side everyone was as dumb as wooden chicken. Who would have thought that the injured Kou Zhongs saber technique could still be as exquisite, fierce and severe like this? Actually, Kou Zhong was also jolted by Shen Mohuans reaction force that his blood and qi were surging; it was not a good feeling at all. Moreover, this saber strike of his has vited a big taboo of the xinfa that the Heavenly Saber Song Que taught him, which was not to have any energy left to spare, because he practically had no strength could be spared. In the one saber strike just now he already used to the greatest extent the body intention method that Song Que was talking about, by purely relying on the transcendent state after the heart and the spirit united, to let the body produce the most profound response. His heart was still as calm as the water well under the illumination of the moon; no rm, no fear, getting rid of sess and failure, gains and losses. Pow! Pow! Pow! Taking three strides in session, under the multitudes of gaze of the crowd from both sides, seemingly unable to catch up with the speed of swiftly retreating Shen Mohuan, unexpectedly Kou Zhong was able to rush toward the empty space on Shen Mohuans spear momentums left side; brandishing his saber in swift chop, noiselessly he sliced toward Shen Mohuans left nk. Martial art masters like the Gunatai brothers, Ba Fenghan, Ke Dazhi, and the likes were all able to see that these three steps were extremely calcted. Not only the distance of each step differed, the speed also differed, the most formidable part was that it had the profound-mystery function to shrink the ground into a cun size, so that Shen Mohuan could not strike back in time. Shen Mohuan shrieked in anger, he twisted his body, the serpentine spear fantastically created strange light vibrating across the air,ing down to envelope Kou Zhong. But everybody knew that he was unable to see through Kou Zhongs saber momentum, moreover, he could not take advantage of while Kou Zhongs injury has not healed, to force him to stake everything in meeting the attack head-on. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Old Shen! This is called Using Scheme; you have fallen into a trap! While speaking, he spun his body around, the saber momentum did not change, but the direction changed so that it was chopping the back of Shen Mohuans neck, extremely shifting-shape, exchanging-shadow C amazing. From being noiseless, the Moon in the Well produced the whistling noise as it split the air, yellow light ring greatly. It was only this moment that everybody present knew that just now unexpectedly he was using a feign move, the real power was concentrated in this swiftly chopping saber strike with a spin of his body. Ba Fenghan and the others, none did not gasp in amazement. It should be noted that if the earlier saber strike was full of power, thetter saber strike definitely could not like right now, fierce and severe, astonishing, sudden change that could only give the enemy the opportunity to use it. In the final analysis, it was still his footwork that did the work, so that an empty move could be a deeply-threatening, must-kill saber strike, leaving Shen Mohuan with no choice but to react with all his strength. Also, it was precisely because the empty had be reality that the opponent was unable to see through, unable to grasp thoroughly. Dang! Shen Mohuan gave everything he had, he strived hard to use the tail of the spear to deflect the de of this must-kill saber strike. But the spiraling power again invaded his body. Shen Mohuan let out a miserable grunt and tumbled forward. Kou Zhongughed aloud again and darted behind him. The two exchanged position. Unless they could kill the opponent, it would be difficult to return to their own troop disposition. On the other side, Mu Ling rushed out of the troop disposition while repeatedly shouted in her shrill voice, giving direction to her husband from a distance. Blue veins exploded on her originally gorgeous jade countenance, so that she appeared malevolent and terrifying, but Kou Zhong did not understand her, since she was shouting in Shiweinguage. Shen Mohuan spun around while swinging his spear in blocking stance, trying to counterattack. Chess Abundant ising! Kou Zhong thundered. Just like that his saber chopped down on empty space, producing a hurricane of qi power, rolling up a cloud of dust, creating a qi-force field simr to Tianmo Da Fa. Shen Mohuan was ovee with a terrifying feeling as if he wanted to throw himself forward into the saber. Under Kou Zhongs fierce and severe saber technique, where the next move was more marvelous than the previous one, the next move was more beyond expectation than the previous one, only a little bit of his originally ample confidence remained. With a wild roar, the serpentine spear thrust forward, the target was Kou Zhongs upper torso, which was exposed due to the saber moving down. Scoffing, Kou Zhong said, All I said was Chess Abundant, how could you be confused? The saber swung upward. Qiang! Kou Zhong remained absolutely still, yet Shen Mohuan staggered back. This was not because even after he was injured, Kou Zhongs power was still stronger than Shen Mohuans, but it was because Kou Zhong was using amazing technique of deflecting force and borrowing strength to defeat strength, how could Shen Mohuan not suffer losses? The most wonderful thing was that Kou Zhong still retained some of the power he borrowed to be used in a killer moveter. So far Kou Zhong had made a total of four saber strikes; from eight saber strikes, he still had four saber strikes left. Without blinking at all his pair of eyes watched the opponent retreating. When the other side finally stood still, he shouted loudly in Hannguage, Not all those who must take are not outstanding, not all total victory are without exchange of troops, the fate of ten thousand deeds ten thousand actions, one battle decides them all. Finished speaking, he transformed theplicated into simplicity, one saber shed out. Under multitude of wide eyes and open mouths, Kou Zhongs person followed the saber, like a wisp of light smoke he floated across the distance separating him from the opponent, chopping the enemys head and face. Shen Mohuan was at a loss, not knowing that Kou Zhong had borrowed his qi power; he only knew that after exchanging one move, he felt his qi empty his strength depleted. The worst thing was that since the beginning of the fight, the initiative waspletely in the opponents hands, which forced him to advance or retreat at the opponents will. This seemingly simple saber strike from Kou Zhong, the saber momentumpletely enshrouding him, the qi momentum locking him tightly, so that he could not evade and could only stake out everything to meet it head-on. Previously he forced Kou Zhong without any choice but to stake everything in head-on attack, but this moment, in an absolutely unwilling state of mind he was led by the nose to stake everything to meet the attack head-on. The spear and the saber shed. Shen Mohuans imposing body shook severely, he was forced to retreat three more steps back. Pity! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. In his normal condition, coupled with borrowed qi power, at the very least he could make Shen Mohuan vomit blood, but this moment he could only jolt the opponent three steps back. Kou Zhongs posture in rushing toward Shen Mohuans left side carried a deep sense of power. Everybody, Ba Fenghan and the others included, thought that the moment this posture took shape, Kou Zhong was going to re-execute old technique to move to Shen Mohuans weak side andunch another group of offensive. Shen Mohuan had this misconception as well. But he was different from the observers, because his life was at stake, he had to act with urgency, he had to react one step ahead. Immediately he sidestepped and moved his spear, hoping to deliver frontal assault toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong mused that whether he could sessfully aplished his goal would depend on this move. Laughing aloud, he said, You fell into the trap! After Xiaodis Battle Decision, it ought to be Cheating Troops! His movement changed from sideways to straight ahead, his power passed through the saber de, it shed toward the side of Shen Mohuans neck. Across the battlefield, the crow and peacock made no sound. Anxious and angered, Shen Mohuan changed his move in panic, he lost the steady-as-the-mountain air of a martial art master he was disying before the battle began. Kou Zhong suddenly charged forward, as if he was throwing away his life by entering the of Shen Mohuans spear shadow. Yet contrary to expectation, his figure passed through the saber shadowpletely unobstructed, without any noise of saber and spear colliding, and arrived behind Shen Mohuan. The entire battlefield was so quiet that a falling needle would have been heard. Qiang! Kou Zhong returned the saber inside its scabbard. Suddenly his knees went soft, he dropped on his butts on the ground; gasping for breath he said, Old Ba wins! Only six saber strikes! Bang! Like overturning golden mountain, copsing jade pir, Shen Mohuans stiffly fell forward onto the ground, raising a cloud of dust, and then blood flowed over. Kou Zhongs side exploded in cheers that shook the heavens, more than five hundred riders set off at the same time to charge toward the enemy. Mu Ling cried out in grief, she was going to charge forward to stake her life, but her men forcefully pulled her back; they scattered in all directions and fled in defeat. The prairie was covered by the warriors, both fleeing and pursuing C like a swarm of locusts. The same instant that Zhu Yuyans fingertips touched the Demonic Emperors Relics, which had lost its strange power, Shi Zhixuans left hand, which movedter C lightly patted the crystal ball simultaneously. Pop! The exotic Holy Relic, famous throughout the demonic school, shattered. Zhu Yuyans tender body trembled. Suddenly she floated away like a specter, her movement appeared to be slow but was actually very fast, suddenly she was standing on the stone table, her pair of legs under her skirt sent out chain-kicks toward Shi Zhixuans face, her move was fierce, ruthless, rapid and fast, so that it was impossible to defend effectively. Xu Zilings heart dropped straight down, his entire body turned cold. He had fought hand to hand with Shi Zhixuan several times, hence he knew his power better than anyone else. The Shi Zhixuan in Changan, because of theplications of split personality disorder, inevitably there would be a gap that could be exploited. Moreover, during the fight, he appeared to be like a bowstring being pulled tightly, ultimately hecked martial art master air of Bi Xuans caliber. But the Shi Zhixuan before his eyes was like shedding his mortal body and exchanging his bones, bing another person who face the enemy calmly, his manner rxed, his movements confident and at ease and perfect. In the face of Zhu Yuyans thunderbolt and swift lightning offensives he still maintained a handling-a-butchers-cleaver-with-ease posture. As soon as Zhu Yuyan started, she already fell into the disadvantageous position. Her original idea was to gain the initiative by striking first, by destroying the crystal stone, shattering it into fine powder to attack Shi Zhixuan. The most ideal oue was naturally to disable his pair of eyes, or at least she could force him to leave the table to dodge, so that she could follow up the victory and press home the attack, to strike him that he had no time to deal with it. Who would have thought that he was able to neutralize it easily? The debris on the table, not even half a piece fell under the table. Evidently Zhu Yuyans Tianmo Zhi Jin [finger power] waspletely sealed and bound by him. Merely from this skill, it was obvious how formidable Shi Zhixuan now after sessfully absorbing the strange power of the Demonic Emperors Relics. Shi Zhixuan was sitting peacefully on the stone stool, his pair of palms flipped and flew, a hint of smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, he countered every move, blocking Zhu Yuyans endless-changes kicks. Letting out a longughter, Shi Zhixuan said, Yuyan, is it worth the trouble? Your real enemy is not the Ol Shi sitting right here at all, but the tiger and wolf in the middle of the road in the secr world outside. If we all can give up our prejudices, the world will be the thing inside our, your and my, bag. Zhu Yuyan rose up and made a somersault, straight to about three zhang altitude, so that her head was down her feet up, her pair of palms pressed down onto the top of Shi Zhixuans head, she shouted fiercely and said, I made the mistake of trusting you once, implicating Shizun [revered master] that she perished in grief; definitely I wont repeat the errors. Today, if you are not dead, then I perish. Shi Zhixuan revealed aughing involuntarily look; he soared up from the table, his pair of fists met Zhu Yuyans double palms head on. Even the hiding-in-the-dark Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan could also feel the changes in the qi flow, knowing that Zhu Yuyan was going all-out in unleashing the Tianmo Da Fa, doing everything in her power to rely on thest style, Burning Both Jade and Common Stone, to perish together with Shi Zhixuan. Shi Zhixuan, who regarded the martial art masters of the present age as nothing, also had no choice but to go all-out to deal with it. Zhu Yuyans seemingly simple palm strike was in reality the culmination of the power that she gathered all her life, without any change hidden within a change, fierce and severe without equal. Xu Ziling could imagine that if it was him at the receiving end of the strike, he would discover that the space in front of him was caving in, being enveloped and bound by the Tianmo force field, so that even if he had the strength, it would be difficult to apply. However, Shi Zhixuan did not seem to be affected, he simplyunched the counterstrike targeted at the most fierce and severe point of Zhu Yuyans palm momentum. Shi Feixuans sweet voice prated his eardrum, saying, Unless its thest juncture, you must, by all means, not make your move. Bang! The fists and the palms collided. Meeting the fist, Zhu Yuyan soared into the air, before making a somersault at an angle andnded on top of the pavilion. Shi Zhixuanughed and said, Yuyan fell into the trap! Beyond Xu Zilings expectation, receiving Zhu Yuyans palm power, not only Shi Zhixuan did not fall down, on the contrary, he still had enough strength to make a somersault in the air. Whoosh! he flew upward at an angle and flitted above Zhu Yuyan, who was standing on top of the pavilion, appearing like she was standing in the void, glowing with health and vigor. Fast as lightning, Shi Feixuan rushed out. First, shended on the horizontal branch near the top of a big tree about four zhang away, and then borrowing the reaction force, the person and the sword became one, turning into a streak of light, the Color Empty Sword stabbed toward Shi Zhixuan, who was still midair, going down to strike Zhu Yuyan. The timing, the angle, the speed, everything was exquisite, brilliant beyondpare. From inside Zhu Yuyans sleeves, left and right, the Tianmo Dai [ribbon] shot out. The left ribbon went straight to Shi Zhixuans pair of legs, the right ribbon appeared to be rippling as it wound around the side of Shi Zhixuans head. Momentarily the air was filled with the sound of gusting wind; even Xu Ziling, who was some distance away, could also feel the screaming wind piercing through his ears, irresolute like malicious spirit weeping with grief. Putting himself in Shi Zhixuans shoes, Xu Ziling secretly mused that even if he was not injured, under these two major martial art masters pincer attack, one old the other young, one demonic the other orthodox, other than escaping or sidestepping, he had no other way. Although Shi Feixuan was not as familiar with Bu Si Yin Fa as Zhu Yuyan, but Shi Zhixuan has always been her number one enemy, hence she had taken part in the effort to research the Bu Si Yin Scroll, to mull over [orig. to carve and polish jade] ways to attack and defend. Therefore, for Shi Zhixuan to deal with her Color Empty Sword was not an easy matter at all. At this critical moment, unexpectedly Shi Zhixuanughed calmly and said, Xian Zhinu [worthy/virtuous niece] cannot help making your move. Hows Qinghui Zhaizhu these days? From about half a zhang away, the Color Empty Swords astonishing and highly concentrated sword qipletely enveloped him, yet Shi Zhixuan was still calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos; seemingly casually he floated down, while at the same time the tip of his foot tapped the end of Zhu Yuyans ribbon. Not good! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. Based on his experience dealing with Wanwan, Tianmo Piaodai could mesh with Tianmo force field like seamless heavenly clothes. The ribbon controlled and bound the enemy, so that the enemy would be unable to break away from the qi field, just like spider web; when the prey is trapped in the web, its allotted share was only to be devoured. On the surface it appeared that Zhu Yuyan was going to meet and stab the arch of his foot with the ribbon, but actually the intent was to wind around his pair of legs, to make his Bu Si Yin Fa difficult to function, and ultimately the killer move was the brushing-upward ribbon style. This moment, the ribbon wrapping around his feet has been tapped by him, so that naturally the threat to him has diminished dramatically. However, Xu Ziling still could not think how, under this kind of situation, Shi Zhixuan was going to deal with Shi Feixuans sword strike filling the atmosphere. The answer came immediately. Suddenly, relying on the reaction force of his foot tapping the end of the ribbon, Shi Zhixuan swiftly spun around like a gyroscope, while slowly rising up. The situation was strange to the extreme point. Pow! Clearly the Color Empty Sword hit the spinning-like-a-tornado Shi Zhixuan, yet it inly failed to prate his wall of qi. The sword de slipped and slid outward, Shi Feixuan could only evade by throwing herself in the direction of Jingpo Lake. Zhu Yuyans Tianmo Piaodai attacking the side of his head also failed and returned in vain, being shaken forcefully and deflected outside. Two major martial art masters fierce and severe offensivespletely disintegrated. Shi Zhixuan let out a longughter shaking the heavens, he said, Yuyan ought to know that working together with Fan Qinghuis disciple to deal with Ol Shi is a deceiving-master-exterminating-ancestor matter. While speaking, he whirled to the right to evade, heading toward the open space next to the pavilion. Shi Feixuannded by the shore; Zhu Yuyan, as the shadow followed the body, pounced toward Shi Zhixuan from the top of the pavilion. The Tianmo ribbon fantastically created countless ribbon shadow, swiftly rolling toward this Demonic King, with whom her love and hate intertwined. Dust was rising, grass and trees were snapped. The ribbon momentumpletely enveloped Shi Zhixuan, the sound of qi power colliding with each other fell incessantly on the ear, the two very top figure of the demonic school were finally engaged in life and death battle. In the midst of ribbon shadow filling the air, just like a ghost, Shi Zhixuan turned into a wisp of light smoke, like rabbit rising and falcon swooping, he shed to the left and right. His range of movement was severely restricted by Zhu Yuyans violent attack, but all along he was always able to steadily defend his approximately half a zhang territory, using fingers, palms, fists and kicks to deal with the Tianmo ribbon attacking from four sides, eight directions. Zhu Yuyan disyed her brilliant skill as the chief of a demonic school, her true qi seemed to be inexhaustible, she pressed on with the terrifying offensive of swift, snatching-the-soul moves; suddenly moved to the left, suddenly shifted to the right, attacking upward, striking downward, in sly and strange changes, difficult to believe unless one saw it with ones own eyes. Shi Feixuan moved aside, outside the battleground; she did not intervene. She practically did not have the capability to intervene; all she could do was to wait in tight troop disposition, guarding against Shi Zhixuan escaping out of the battleground. It was only this moment that Xu Ziling understood why Zhu Yuyan said that only she could perish together with Shi Zhixuan. Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa was really the pinnacle of the fusion of the Buddhist school and demonic ways martial art study, which had never happened since ancient time until today, ordinary gongfa would not be able to pose any threat to him. Even facing martial art grandmasters like Ning Daoqi, Four Great Holy Monks, if he could not cope with it, he could always escape unscathed. Only Zhu Yuyans ribbon,bined with the force field of the Tianmo Da Fa could pin him down, all the way until finally both jade andmon stone were burned. As the name implies, in her move to make Shi Zhixuan wary, Zhu Yuyan must sacrifice her own life in order to perish together with the enemy. Needless to say, it was beyond even Shi Zhixuans capability to estimate its formidable power. Moreover, the only way Shi Zhixuan could kill Zhu Yuyan was to kill her before she fully used this move. However, by doing that he also risked the aforementioned burning both jade andmon stone move. In ordance with the current situation, once the full power of Zhu Yuyans Tianmo Piaodai was unleashed, even a powerful master like Shi Zhixuan would only be able to defend tightly without losing, it would be difficult to turn this situation around. Supposing Shi Zhixuan dared to withstand Zhu Yuyans burning both the jade and themon stone move and did not die, naturally there would be no doubt that he would rise to be the number one figure of the demonic school of the Central Earth, even more, he might be heretical demon of the outside way that no one could control. While watching this Xu Ziling was shaken to the core, Shi Zhixuanughed aloud and said, Yuyans skill is only to this level. Suddenly his left and right palms separately chopped down to strike the two ribbons. Zhu Yuyan tender body was severely shaken, the ribbon shadow slowed down slightly. Remaining totally silent, Shi Feixuan brandished her sword to attack. The tip of the sword vibrated, appearing to be in a circle but was going to turn square, the momentum was fierce and severe without equal, the person and the sword blended together to be one indivisible entity, resembling the nature itself. It appeared like it was going to stab the empty space behind Shi Zhixuan, yet it forced Shi Zhixuan to do everything he could to deal with it. Shi Zhixuans eyes revealed an astonished look, he shouted, Good! His right hand moved freely to draw a circle in the air, which looped around the de of the sword, while the other hand formed a fist to strike Zhu Yuyan. Xu Ziling knew that Shi Feixuan was entering the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm, she could see Shi Zhixuans follow up move, hence she was able to moveter to control the opponent, breaking Shi Zhixuans strike, which would have inflicted heavy losses to Zhu Yuyan, while giving her the opportunity to get away calmly. Xu Ziling knew the fortunate timing hase. Sliding down to the ground, he raised and gathered his power, and dove into the battleground. Book 43 - 11 – Burning Both Jade and Common Stone From Shen Mohuans dead body, Kou Zhong fetched the Flying Cloud Bow, which this strung-through-and-filled-with-evil person stole from Jian Dashi; only then did he feel a littlefort. After arriving at the area beyond the Great Wall, they seemed to be able to proudly move unhindered, their might spread to the eight directions. However, as far as their mission was concerned, it could be said that they have achieved nothing. Now that Shen Mohuans dead body was lying on the ground and his head was gone, he could finally answer Jian Dashi. Ba Fenghan and Ke Dazhi flew off their mounts andnded by his side. The formerughed and said, My Perished Moon Bow should be back to its original name, Shooting the Moon. Yours ought to be Piercing the Sun, right? Ha! Good kid! Good Eight Method of the Well. Ke Dazhi cheerfully said, Shaoshuais saber technique indeed broadens my horizons, my heart is itching badly. Too bad I cannot see thest two saber strikes. Kou Zhong pulled the Flying Cloud Bow open and yed with it. He sighed and said, Its best that you dont see it. Ay! If in the future I must stand face to face in battle with you, LaoGe, what do I do? Smiling ruefully, Ke Dazhi said, Let public matter remains public, private matter remains private. Some things are best if we dont think about them too much. After folding the bow, Kou Zhong looked at Ba Fenghan and said, Where on earth have you been these past few days? Ba Fenghan looked into the distance, where the Gunatai brothers were leading their men to pursue and kill the enemys scattering-in-all-directions, running-away-defeated army. Sidestepping the question, he said, If I did not see you sustaining injuries, even if I had to pursue relentlessly for a thousand li, I would behead Mu Ling and her men one by one; I wont leave even a cun of grass in order to avoid future cmity. Patting Kou Zhongs shoulder, Ke Dazhi said, Xiaodi must go immediately to see the Great Khan; I hope I can hurry back tomorrow before dusk to have a drink with you. Kou Zhong was slightly startled; immediately he realized what happened. He said, Ke Xiong is indeed a true friend. Great kindness does not need any thanks. Please! Ke Dazhiughed aloud and said, Tell Gunatai brothers I am borrowing this horse; tomorrow I will return it to its rightful owner. Flying to the horses back, he swiftly went away. Ba Fenghan followed this lone-rider with his eyes until it disappeared into the distance; shaking his head, he said, That is a hard-toe-by friend, but also an extremely terrifying enemy. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. Ke Dazhi understood and he was being tactful; he knew that Ba Fenghan did not want to reveal his whereabouts these past few days in his presence. Furthermore, he also understood that these men were going to intercept and robbed the batch of arrows and darts that Ma Ji bought from Xieli. Knowing that it would not be appropriate for him to be involved in this matter, he chose to leave immediately. Later on he could tell Xieli that he had no knowledge of this matter, which would be tantamount to doing them a big favor. Ba Fenghan moved behind Kou Zhongs back and pressed his hands on his back to transmit his true qi into Kou Zhongs body to help him treating his injury. He said, To make a long story short, these past two days I exhausted all my magic weapons, including torture and forced confession, only then I was able to track the bows and arrows whereabouts. Who would have thought that Bai Ziting was still able to move one step ahead by sending his men to snatch it away? I was just going to go back to help you, fortunately I came across the Gunatai brothers and wey out an inescapable. Who would have thought that the bows and arrows have not arrived, we already encountered you, this fellow whose flood of good fortune fills the heaven? It made me believe more and more in the unseen world of spirits, also that destiny is real. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Are we going to miss the opportunity to intercept and robbed the batch of bows and arrows? Ba Fenghanughed and said, You can rest assured. The bows and arrows are heavy; hence the enemys caravan transporting the goods is moving slowly. They ought to be still on their way. Just consider Mu Ling lucky, were it not for this important affair, the Gunatai brothers would never let her escape alive. They are back! The Gunatai brothers led their men in triumphant return; everyone was in high spirit. Kou Zhongughed and spoke in Tujuenguage, The bow is mine, the severed head is yours. Bielegunatai said, Only just now I really gained first-hand knowledge of Shaoshuais saber technique which name shook the heavens. It was indeed brilliant. Bugunatai sighed and said, Until now I still cannot believe Shen Mohuan was unable to block eight saber strikes. Did Mu Ling escape? Ba Fenghan asked in heavy voice. Bielegunatai cast his gaze toward Shen Mohuans dead body lying on the ground; he nodded and said, Our proper business is more important, so what if we let her go? How many days can she pass in peace? Kou Zhong remembered Yin Xiahe, whose life and death was still unknown. Sighing inwardly, he said, You are right, our proper business is more important. Well take care of it right away. The Color Empty Swords yellow light filled the sky, the sword light shing brightly, more than a dozen consecutive sword strikes, each sword strike left Shi Zhixuan with no choice but to focus his attention to deal with, each sword strike was simple, ancient, and clumsy, yet it carried an effective-rain-emptying-the-mountain, light, graceful and elegant feeling. Each move was aimed at the change in Shi Zhixuans figure, as if she could see him through, so that even with Shi Zhixuans capability, dealing with it was still extremely strenuous; he could no longer act freely and easily like before. This was not to say that Shi Feixuan was more brilliant than Zhu Yuyan; rather, she has been watching for urate timing and opportunity, hence as soon as she entered the battle, she immediately used the sword strike, which she had honed her strength for the big push C to seize the key moment, and thus she was able to control the initiative. Her elegant, out-of-the-dust jade countenance was still calm and graceful, unlike an average person, who, in a fierce stake-it-all battle, would raise his eyebrow, bulge his eyes, and grit his teeth. After all, a fairy is a fairy. The pressure on Zhu Yuyan was greatly reduced, sheunched another set of ribbon technique. The ribbon appeared to be a thousand jin heavy, she lifted the light as if it was heavy, and looking at Shi Zhixuans situation, it appeared that the ribbon posed a significant threat to him. Sword light and ribbon shadow separately assaulted him from two directions, but unexpectedly Shi Zhixuan was still standing motionless with focused attention, relying purely on the exquisite, marvelous, and abstruse technique to seal and block, without revealing the slightest sign of defeat. Just like raging tide and rapid waves pounding against giant reef in the deep sea, it still stood straight without copsing, forever. Qi power filled the atmosphere, it whistled again and again. Xu Ziling sneaked in from behind Shi Zhixuan. He stopped about three zhang away and stood still, while continuously raising and amassing his power, ready to use the Treasured Vase Image Qi to deal Shi Zhixuan a fatal blow. Both his person and his spirit entered the Moon in the Well realm, his Lingtai was clear and bright, nothing was missing. Zhu Yuyans Tianmo force field was constantly restrained; it was narrowing and shrinking, enveloping the area of about a zhang in diameter with Shi Zhixuan as the center. From assaulting the opponent from four sides, eight directions, the attack momentum was changing to direct attack. Because Shi Feixuans profound sword technique seeded in sealing off Shi Zhixuans retreat pathpletely, although this demonic man had the Huan Mo Shenfa in his arsenal, he had no way to put it to use. Zhu Yuyan and Shi Feixuans martial art approach waspletely different; the flow of qi through their meridians was even more distinct from each other, but as they joined hands, they disyed unique formidable power, which was exactly the correct response to Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa. Moreover, these two were deeply aware of Bu Si Yin Fas formidable power, their qi power was tightly controlled, so that he could neither borrow nor discharge, unless he was willing to take the risk of forcefully shaking either the opponents sword or ribbon, which was, of course, a tremendous risk. However, when all is said and done, Shi Zhixuan was Shi Zhixuan. Under the pincer attack from the two major top martial art masters, he was still able to defend as secure as a city protected by a wall of metal and a moat of boiling water; he waspletely unassable. The Tianmo force field was narrowed to half a zhang range. Xu Ziling curbed his qi and pulled back his mind. Step by step, slowly and steadily he moved toward Shi Zhixuan. He was an invisible but a qualitative threat, which generated response from Shi Zhixuan. His two hands opened and closed in move after move, exquisite and brilliant, more and more emerged, in dealing with the influx of attacks from both sides. Yet his feet were like being nailed to the grassy meadow at the bank of Jingpo Lake, going as deep as three cun into the ground. Only by relying on her Jian Xin Tong Ming plus Zhu Yuyans cooperation did Shi Feixuan seed in defeating Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa. However, Shi Zhixuan seemed to have no-edge-no-border potential and inexhaustible true energy. Were it not for Zhu Yuyan still had thest move of burning both jade andmon stone, there was a good chance that Shi Feixuan and Zhu Yuyan would be muscle-weary, strength-exhausted before they were able to put him to death. Under current circumstances, they were relying entirely on Shi Feixuans supreme intelligence and the xinfa of her out-of-the-ordinary swordsmanship to fight back. With Zhu Yuyan, one persons strength, she was really unable to trap and retain Shi Zhixuan up to the point of burning both jade andmon stone. In the world, there was practically no one able to trap Shi Zhixuan that he was unable to escape, that his Huan Mo Shenfa could not have any effect. Even Ning Daoqi and the Four Great Holy Monks failed to sessfully aplish that. But Zhu Yuyans Tianmo force field and Shi Feixuans Color Empty Sword were finally able to sessfully aplish that. Zhu Yuyan and Shi Feixuans lightning fast moves violently shook the stable-like-lofty-mountain Shi Zhixuan. Two were moving, one was standing still, the scene was extremely strange. The Tianmo force field was shrinking continuously. Xu Ziling approached gradually, he was careful not to invade Zhu Yuyans qi field, so as not to evoke unexpected changes and thus weaken the Tianmo force fields entanglement on Shi Zhixuan. Due to his internal injury had not healedpletely, he only had enough strength for one blow. Therefore, he had to be careful in executing the strike. Progressively the Treasured Vase qi power umted to its peak level, while at the same time he was grasping Shi Zhixuans situation; nothing was missed. He wanted to use the concentrated to defeat the scattered, to strike and defeat, as well as to cut down the true qi protecting Shi Zhixuans body, to allow Zhu Yuyan the opportunity that she could exploit. Zhu Yuyans eyes emitted strange light, the purple light of the pupil of her eyes ring out momentarily, the Tianmo Piaodai was getting faster and slower, but the whistling noise created by the ribbon was increasing constantly. Shi Zhixuan lost the smile hanging at the corner of his mouth, his expression was as cold as ice and frost, yet the movesing out of his pair of hands were still very much fierce, urate, exquisite, and marvelous, profoundly malicious. Shi Feixuans flowery countenance was as calm as still water, as she entered the no-man-no-self Brightly Lit realm. The Color Empty Sword came and went without any trace, every single style was wonderful to the very summit of the masterpiece. It seemed casual, but none was not a brilliant sword move that was the best response to the enemys move. Just when the fierce battle reached the forgetting-sentiment stage, Zhu Yuyan suddenly puckered her lips to whistle, producing the shrill Tianmo Yin [sound/noise]. Whether it was the enemy like Shi Zhixuan, orrade-in-arms like Shi Feixuan and Xu Ziling, everybodys eardrums were crammed to the brim by her startling-the-heaven-moving-the-earth sharp whistling noise, just like in the long and difficult trek on a barrennd, violent sandstorm suddenly arose, roaring and screaming angrily in all directions. In the beginning it came in powerful short bursts, piercing the eardrum. And then the Tianmo Yin became no-gap-not-entered, like sand and stones with real substance, in hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earth attack with no beginning, no end, and no essence. Xu Ziling felt that under the Tianmo Yins onught, even his line of sight became fuzzy and unclear, the heaven and earth appeared to be spinning, the demonic noise seemed like the gale, the angry billows drowning him. Even more terrifying was that the Tianmo force field suddenly contracted with Shi Zhixuan at the center, it shrunk and narrowed down into nearly a point, yet there was a potential that it might expand in an explosion. If this situation developed, not only Shi Zhixuan would bear the brunt, even he and Shi Feixuan might be affected as well. A hint of distressed, helpless smile escaped out of Zhu Yuyans jade countenance. Suddenly she raised the Tianmo Yin to its limit. Shi Feixuans pair of eyes emitted a determined look, still with honor-does-not-allow-one-to-nce-back attitude she sent violent attack toward Shi Zhixuan. Shi Zhixuan started to move by spinning his body, slow at first but growing faster. By the time he was turning to face Xu Ziling, it seemed like he did not see him at all, his pair of hands was still blocking and sealing the two major martial art masters Color Empty Sword and the ribbon. This was the most critical key moment. The moment before the Tianmo force field, using one point to burn both jade andmon stone, Xu Ziling suddenly came to realize something. Zhu Yuyans motive was indeed very vicious. The reason she sought Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs cooperation to deal with Shi Zhixuan, as well as her willingness to work together with her archenemys disciple was not due to her kind intention at all. It was a despicable evil scheme of one stone, several birds. First, it was to borrow their strength to trap dead Shi Zhixuan, to enable her to fully use the burning both jade andmon stone move, to die in such a way that Shi Zhixuan also perished. Furthermore, she could also pull them along on the journey. If she could eliminate Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Shi Feixuan, and Shi Zhixuan, even Ba Fenghan, in one move, naturally it would bring great benefit to Wanwan, who was going to lead Yin Gui Pai in the future, which would create apletely different situation from the current situation. However, even if she calcted a thousand times, counted ten thousand times, she still failed to anticipate that Kou Zhong would be absent, plus due to his injury, Xu Ziling could only make one blow. Therefore, this moment he was still outside the range of the Tianmo force field direct impact. Xu Ziling knew that he must make immediate decision, between protecting his and Shi Feixuans life or killing Shi Zhixuan. Otherwise, he and Shi Feixuan might have to apany Zhu Yuyan and Shi Zhixuan to be on their way together. Because all along Shi Feixuan has been trapped inside the Tianmo force field, although she was not directly targeted by the Tianmo force field, it was like falling down into a spider web, she was unable to get out. Due to Shi Feixuan, as well as Zhu Yuyan locking on him tightly without any letup, Shi Zhixuan could only doggedly withstand Zhu Yuyans burning both jade andmon stone move. Xu Ziling suddenly made up his mind. With a long whistle, he suddenly shed past Shi Zhixuan and pounced toward Shi Feixuan, who was thrusting her sword in straight stab. He was the only one outside the Tianmo force field influence. Toote! Zhu Yuyan shouted sternly. Astonishing true power, starting from one point, exploded out; with astonishingly high speed it exploded and expanded across the two-zhang radius space. Dust and grass sshed all over. There was not much that Xu Ziling could do, he could only retract the Treasured Vase Qi, and used his broad back to be a wall of qi to block the explosion. The whistling noise of qi power frantically increased in intensity, like he was being attacked by thousands and tens of thousands of flying arrows. Vaguely he felt that Shi Feixuan pulled the Color Empty Sword so that it turned direction toward him, but he threw himself toward her to embrace Shi Feixuans fragrant and soft tender body. The deadly qi power drowned everything. Boom! Zhu Yuyan exploded into extremely fine blood particles filling the whole sky, her body miraculously faded away, it disappeared without any trace. Xu Ziling no longer had the time to look at how Shi Zhixuan defused and held back Zhu Yuyans demonic great method of destroying her own body, he only knew that the moment both he and Shi Feixuan left the ground to soar into the air, a burst of refined blood particles, imbued with thick, concentrated qi power, like an iron hammer sted the qi wall protecting his back. He and Shi Feixuan were thrown by the explosion into the distance, like a pair of light, floating and powerless scarecrows blown by the storm, rolling around on the ground,pletely losing their orientation. And then he spurted out blood and passed out. No one knew how long, but finally Xu Ziling woke up and turned around. He found out that he was not dead yet, and that he was still lying down in Shi Feixuans fragrant bosom, his entire body was aching andcking strength. The sky was full of stars, the bright moon was falling in the horizon. He had never tried to be this close to Shi Feixuan, a strong desire to lie down just like this until the end of the universe welled up in his heart. Looking up from his angle of view, Shi Feixuans jade countenance looked like the night sky embedded with magnificent stars; peaceful, serene, quiet and calm. Her pretty eyes emitted deep emotion as deep as the ocean, she tenderly examined him, but the tone of her voice was t without any ripples, as she spoke softly, She is gone! Xu Ziling misunderstood her meaning, he asked happily, Did she put Shi Zhixuan in order? Shi Feixuan lightly shook her cicada head, she said, I was talking about Zhu Yuyan. She harmed others and harmed herself, only then she could inflict heavy losses to Shi Zhixuan. In my opinion, without a year or a half, Shi Zhixuan could forget about recovering. Its really disappointing, Xu Ziling spoke bitterly. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, There are countless things happening every day in the world, how could everything bepletely as we expect it to be? Fortunately, the nature of your Long Life Qi is simr to Zhu Hous Tianmo Gong; otherwise you would be killed without a doubt. Come! Sit properly, let Feixuan help you treating your internal injury. Xu Ziling sat up with Shi Feixuans help, to let Shi Feixuans pair of gentle and soft jade palms to press on his back. True qi pouring into his body, Xu Ziling felt a warm,fortable feeling. Less than half a dayter, he was already able to apply his qi and flow his blood; it was an indescribablyfortable feeling. Shi Feixuans voice rang lightly by his ear, The day Shi Zhixuan recovers his strength will be the day Shi Qingxuan meet with cmity; Ziling must not forget this. Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly, he realized that Shi Feixuan was telling him everything, so that after his injury was healed, she could say goodbye to Jianghu and return to Jingzhai to cultivate the Way of Heaven, hence she reminded him that Shi Qingxuan has be his responsibility. The ray of dawn appeared on the horizon where the water of Jingpo Lake met the sky. The long night was finally over. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan entered the city soon after the city gate was opened. It was obvious that Longquan city defense was strengthened, the streets were crowded with people leaving the city. The city guards have received instructions to politely let the two entering the city. Other people who wanted to enter the city had to go through strict interrogation. If they were not city residents, they were forbidden from entering the city. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, Not good! Ling Shao must have sensed the Xiedi Sheli and disregarded his injury to rush out to help. Ay! What do we do? Ba Fenghan calmly said, Things have already happened, even if you rush out, you wont make it. I am going out of town now to look for him, you go see Bai Ziting and act ording to n. Remembering his appointment with Shang Xiufang, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Ling Shao scares me out of my wits; how could Shi Zhixuan be easy to deal with? Recalling the state that Ling Shao was inst night, I am afraid he wont be able to stand Old Shis one finger. My Niang! What do I do? Just dont think about anything, Ba Fenghan replied, Do whatever you need to do with your feet firmly nted on the ground [idiom: realistic without flights of fancy]. You must be a bit more careful as well, because you have not returned to your usual state. Kou Zhong circted his qi one time through, he nodded and said, If Ling Shao met any unexpected misfortune, the first person Laozi is going to kill is Funantuo. His grannys bear, were it not for him adding injury on top of injury to Ling Shao, even if he was not at his best, he ought to have enough strength to defend himself. Patting his shoulder, Ba Fenghan said, Youd better stay here to regte your breathing for a while, wait until your mind is clear before you go see Bai Ziting toy your cards on the table. I am going ahead of you. After Ba Fenghan left, because of his concern over Xu Zilings life and death, not only Kou Zhongs heart failed to calm down, on the contrary, he became heart distracted, thoughts in turmoil [idiom] even more. Heaving a sigh, he left his ce. While passing through the streets and crossing the alleys in daze, unwittingly he cut through the Vermillion Bird Boulevard leading into the main entrance to the Pce City. The boulevard has be another situation altogether, there were no longer tourists taking advantage of the excitement, everybody was walking in a hurry, as if they wanted to rush somewhere. On the vehicle and horsesne, there was an endless stream of soldiers escorting covered mule or ox wagons carrying military supplies and grain, traveling in the direction of the Pce City. It was the tense atmosphere of a big war looming on the horizon. When the Pce Citys Vermilion Bird Main Gate was in sight, someone called out to him from behind, Shaoshuai! Shaoshuai! Please wait! Book 43 - 12 – She’s Gone Far Away Xu Ziling slowly opened his pair of eyes, the panoramic view of the tranquil Jingpo Lake under the brilliant spring sunshine opened up before his eyes. Jingpo Lake might not be as colorful-with-many-postures [i.e. beautiful] as the water viges and thekes in Jiangnan, but it carried the natural simplicity of the northeast prairie, with pure and unadulterated beauty revealed in the midst of the vast wilderness. A flock of geese flitted across the surface of theke, skimming the water and soaring into the sky, brimming with natures wild fun. Shi Feixuan was gone! He was not frustrated or depressed at all, instead, he felt an unprecedented fullness, his heart was filled with her gentle and soft taste, her fragrant breath was still haunting his tactile senses. This was the first segment of love in his entire life. There was no pledge of undying love, there was no whisper of sweet nothings to one another, yet he clearly sensed the taste of love that when the seas run dry and the stones go soft, this feeling would not change. Just like the bluish green waves and slightly swellingke water before his eyes, the green duckweed and floating aquatic grasses, the wind-borne ripples, the white clouds lining the blue sky above. In itself it was already a scroll of an amazing and exquisitely touching painting. Suddenly somebodys head popped out of the water and swam toward him. Xu Ziling was pulled back into reality. Focusing his eyes to see, he spoke in great surprise, I didnt know Xianhe Xiong have such interest in swimming leisurely in Jingpo Lake this early in the morning. Yin Xianhe, wearing dripping wet nightwalker outfit, leaped onto the shore, came to him, and copying him, he sat cross-legged in front of him. Smiling ruefully, he said, Do I look like someone who loves to swim early in the morning? Noticing his spirit-weary-strength-exhausted look, Xu Ziling apologetically said, I just woke up from regting my breathing, my mind is not too clear yet. What happened? Ke Dazhi said that Yin Xiong is following Shen Mohuans track. Yin Xianhe replied, I really wish I could tell Xu Xiong that fortunately I did not bring disgrace to myself by failing to carryout your order, but unfortunately the fact is not so; I even nearly lost my life. Where is Shaoshuai? Recalling what happenedst night, Xu Ziling felt quite a sense of being reborn; he replied, He and Ke Dazhi went out to look for you. Looks like their trip was in vain. What exactly happened? Yin Xianhe did not know that Funantuo has added injury upon injury on Kou Zhong, he thought that with him and Ke Dazhi around, Kou Zhong would be able to deal with anything. He thus said, I acted ording to n, I found and followed the targets tracks, all the way to outside the city. But now in retrospect, it was too easy. It is thus clear that the enemy intentionallyid down the trap. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, Not good! Wiping the residual water on his face, Yin Xianhe said in astonishment, Kou Zhong plus Ke Dazhi, we shouldnt be worried about them! Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Beforest night, I would have the same thought as Yin Xiong, but if you knew about various misfortunes that we encounteredst night, you would change your mind as well. Although Kou Zhong and I are injured, Funantuo certainly harmed us too seriously to believe. He made his move alone, but he nearly made the two of us losing our lives; we had to rely on Ke Dazhi to save us. But even he did not dare to go after the wounded Funantuo. From this, you could see how serious it is. The usually expressionless Yin Xianhe was emotionally moved; he said, Funantuo finally made his move! Hard to dispel the worry from his face, Xu Ziling said, What I am most afraid is that Xu Kaishan is making his move against them. I now have 80% confidence that Xu Kaishan is Da Zun. This persons martial art skill might be at Shi Zhixuans level. Xie Wang Shi Zhixuan? Yin Xianhe asked. You know Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling asked in surprise. Yin Xianhe nonchntly replied, This name, Shi Zhixuan, who in the world in the present time does not recognize? Who does not know it? The battle in Changan, Shi Zhixuan single-handedly fought the representatives of orthodox and demonic, two ways; it already made his name spread out all over the world. Those who know him for the first time now know that unexpectedly there is a figure in the world that can make both the White Way and the Demonic School afraid. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, This is perhaps what is called paper cant wrap fire, or even when the eggs are put together so closely, they can still hatch chicks. But I wonder if Yin Xiong know the reason behind Shi Zhixuans battle in Changan? Yin Xianhe replied, I am afraid not many people understand this aspect clearly. But I hear that at that time you guys were present. Remembering the Shi Zhixuan ofst night, suddenly Xu Zilings whole body shook severely, divine light appeared suddenly in his mind. Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa was simply invincible, the worlds three grandmasters joining hands, although they could defeat him, but they could forget about killing him. He only had one w. This time Shi Feixuan walking on the dusty earth, her ultimate goal was naturally the hope that the world would be unified, that themon people would not have to suffer the disaster of war anymore. But her mission was also to target the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. Bi Xiuxin and Shi Feixuan were Ci Hang Jingzhais most outstanding martial art masters of two different generations, and both haveunched a struggle against Shi Zhixuan that was unprecedented in history. Currently, who gained the upper hand was still difficult to foresee. Although Bi Xiuxin was killed by Shi Zhixuan, but she gave birth to a daughter for him. Furthermore, she had caused him, due to excessive guilty conscience, to suffer split personality. Shi Zhixuan singlehandedly facilitated the demise of the Great Sui. Last night he restored his power with the help of the Demonic Emperors Relics. However, Shi Feixuan, who had the nature of coumarouna odorata [ޥ] and the heart of an orchid also found his only w. Shi Zhixuans w was precisely Shi Qingxuan. Even though he changed back to the killing-people-while-talking-andughing Shi Zhixuan just like before he met Bi Xiuxin, Shi Qingxuan was still his w, his only w. Shi Feixuan has repeatedly mentioned Shi Qingxuan. It wasnt like she wanted to y matchmaker to them, rather, she saw Shi Qingxuans importance in their struggle against Shi Zhixuan. Furthermore, she knew that it was not appropriate for her to interfere in the delicate rtionship between Xu Ziling and Shi Qingxuan. As for how the eliminate Shi Zhixuan, perhaps Shi Feixuan herself did not have any firm n. She was merely relying on her special premonition, which surpassed ordinary people, which made her vaguely feel that the subtle rtionship between Xu Ziling and Shi Qingxuan might be the main crucial point in this matter. Shi Zhixuan ought to consider Xu Ziling as the man whom his daughter admired, hence the tour along the river channel in Changan and revealing the regret in his heart to Xu Ziling. Therefore, not only she pointed directly to Xu Ziling that Shi Qingxuan was Shi Zhixuans only w, but she also pointed out that Shi Zhixuan might murder his own daughter. Before leaving, she urged him a thousand times, ten thousand times that he must not forget this matter. She firmly decided to return to Jingzhai, it was actually some kind of action brimming with wisdom and self-sacrifice. If they had seeded in eliminating Shi Zhixuan the previous night, maybe she would have stayed to be hispanion longer. Ay! These myriads of thought shed through his mind at the speed of lightning or the spark from a flint, and finally it turned into a sigh. Noticing his countenance alternating between clear and dark, and that the load on his mind was filling his heart, Yin Xianhe asked in astonishment, What is Xu Xiong thinking? Xu Ziling mused that such aplex matter, even if he wanted to exin to Kou Zhong clearly, he would have to spend a lot of time and effort, not to mention Yin Xianhe had no clear understanding of the inside story. Changing the subject, he said, This matter is hard to exin in a few words. Lets talk about Yin Xiongs bitter experiencest night, shall we? Yin Xianhe gradually recovered from exhaustion, his spirit turned to the better, he said, Last night I pursued Mu Ling and the others, along with their men, outside of the city. Following Ke Dazhis instructions, I dropped the thin scale sheets that can reflect the moonlight. Who would have thought that soon afterward, I was chased and attacked by more than a dozen masked enemies who followed my tail? Fortunately I am familiar with the terrain of this region, and thus I sessfully got away by running toward the Jingpo Lake. This is precisely the case of the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind [idiom from Daoist ssic Zhuangzi: to pursue a narrow gain while neglecting a greater danger]. Not only I was unable to keep up with Mu Ling, I even nearly lost my life. If Kou Zhong were here, he would know that the enemy was able to see through their method of leaving traces by dropping the thin scale sheets, not only that, they even used it toy down a death trap to deal with Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Xu Ziling asked, Could it be that they are the men from Du Xings side? Shaking his head, Yin Xianhe said, I did not see Du Xings Ba Wang [hegemon] Axe; the only weapon style was chopping cavalry sword, the style is very much like the wolf bandits. Wolf-bandits? Xu Ziling asked. Immediately he recalled that when he left the pcest night, Gongqi was waiting for Bai Ziting, who was sending them off to the Vermillion Bird Gate, for military conference, hence he was certain that Gongqi was not among the men who chased to kill Yin Xianhe. But even after he exined it, Yin Xianhe was still convinced that he was right; he said, I have done some research on these wolf-bandits; I believe that the possibility of these sneaky men are wolf-bandits is very high. After a short pause, he said, What are we going to do now? I think whatever it is that was going to happen has already happened. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height. Suddenly feeling the cool breeze on his back, he realized that the clothes on his back were shattered. He said, Lets go back to the city to see the situation! The person who called him was the Pingyao merchant specializing in cloth, Cun Yi Gongs Ou Liangcai and Yu Sheng Changs Luo Yi. Looking terrified, they pulled him aside to speak inside. Luo Yi said, The situation is not good, we must leave immediately. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Bai Ziting is willing to let you go? Distressed, Ou Liangcai replied, His men forced us to sign an IOU, we are eager to leave, we have no choice but to do what they want us to do. Ashamed! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. Were it not for he did not do his best, Luo Yi and the others would not have be other peoples meat and fish like this. Also, he recalled that if Jing Kang did not y ghost in the dark, they practically would not havee to Longquan. Dont worry, he spoke with solemn expression, I know the whereabouts of your goods. I am now going into the pce to see Bai Ziting to get justice for you. I wonder if two gentlemen could advise the others to peacefully wait for the news. I wille back to see you soon, I guarantee that you will be able to leave safely. Luo Yi dejectedly said, Shaoshuai sees what is right and acts courageously [idiom from Analects], we are extremely grateful. But wealth is just something outside our bodies. We are people who go out to do business, we already anticipate unexpected losses and only pray for safety. Wed better just drop this matter at this point. Shocked, Kou Zhong said, Currently the situation is chaotic, the road is not safe. You are Han people, plus you do not have the capability to protect yourselves, such a long and difficult trek back to Shanhai Pass, it is really unwise. Trust me! Give me a couple of sichen, I could also plead my Xiongdi Tuli to escort you back safely. Ou Liangcai pulled Luo Yi aside to talk privately. When they were back, Luo Yi said, In that case, well have to trouble Shaoshuai. But it would be best if you dont use force. We are going back to wait for Shaoshuais good news; well leave at noon. Kou Zhong mused that currently he did not have any qualifications to use force anyway, unless it was to help Xieli, Tuli to capture Longquan, which was not what he wanted at all. After consoling the two men some more, he continued on his journey. Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe were hiding in the forest west of Longquan City, watching a group of nearly a thousand strong Mohe cavalry galloping out of the west gate, with hurried expression rushing toward the northwest. The leader was precisely the long-legged female general Zong Xianghua. Yin Xianhe fixed his gaze on Zong Xianghua without blinking at all, his pair of eyes emitted a strange light. Not paying attention to his expression, Xu Ziling knitted his brows and said, Where are they going? The ck Wolf Army shouldnt be here this quickly. Yin Xianhe was still unwilling to divert his gaze from sending off Zong Xianghua to the distance; he did not respond. In the direction of the south gate, the city was crowded to bursting point with vehicles and horses leaving the city. This was to be expected, hence they were not surprised at all. Suddenly Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, Do you still have the strength to run a couple more steps? Slightly startled, Yin Xianhe said, Whatever it is that they are going to do, even if we could catch up with them, its hard for us to do anything; we will only chase after them with our spirit weary, our strength exhausted. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement, he said, But I feel that this is an unusual matter, its going to be a pity if we let it slip by. Very well! Yin Xianhe replied, It might have something to do with Shaoshuai, we could follow them from a distance to see whats going on. Not daring to dy, the two flew out. Using the edge of the forest as their cover, they rushed at top speed. Kou Zhong arrived at the Vermilion Bird Gate. The civilian minister Kesubie, who also received him in the past, was waiting respectfully for his good selfs arrival. He spoke politely and courteously, Xiufang Dajia is waiting for Shaoshuai at the west garden of the inner pce. Da Wang ordered me to await your gracious presence and show the way. Kou Zhong was well aware of whats going on. On the surface Kesubie was receiving the visitor, but actually he was watching to make sure Kou Zhong was leaving Longquan. Since they could not kill him, they had no choice but to send him off like a gue [orig. (wen shen), demon personifying pestilence]. Last time it was also this well-versed-in-letters-and-military-technology man representing Bai Ziting to receive him. Evidently, even if he might not be Bai Zitings trusted aide, he must be someone that Bai Ziting have confidence in, also, he must have certain ability. Leading him into the King City, seemingly casually, Kesubie asked, Why didnt I see Xu Gongziing along? Having the load on his mind touched by him, Kou Zhongs internal organs tightened, but on the surface he did not dare to reveal any emotion. He said, He knew I was going to see Xiufang Dajia, hence he did not want toe with me. Ha! I wonder if I could see Da Wang for a moment, because there are a hundred thousand urgent matters that I need to consult with him. Putting on a fake smile, Kesubie said, What a coincidence! Da Wang wished to speak to Shaoshuai as well, to see if we could get back something that belongs to us. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly; he had a faint feeling that the turn of events was not too encouraging. Just by looking at Kesubies expression, he knew that Bai Ziting had some other bargaining chip, so Kou Zhong definitely could not gain the upper hand. Kesubie took him passing through the moon gate of the side garden inside the pce. Pointing to an elegant bungalow under the shade of dense flowers and trees, he said, Xiufang Dajia is over there. Shaoshuai, please! A small squad of men and horses separated themselves from the main body of the Mohe army traveling at high speed toward the northwest, and galloped to the northeast. The route they were taking was the sparse forest area. If Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe were following closely at the tail of the troops, perhaps they would be fooled. But because they were following far behind, plus they were advancing along the sparse forest region, they heard the sound of hoof beats of this small group leaving the main armying from afar instead. Xu Ziling leaped onto the top of a tree to look into the distance. To his surprise, he saw Zong Xianghua was unexpectedly among these more than a dozen riders. Leaping down to the ground, he cheerfully said, This is called if you dont want anyone to know, dont do it [idiom]. There must be something extraordinary, otherwise, with the Tujue main forces pressing down on their territory, how could Zong Xianghua have spare time to do something else? Yin Xianhe was a master in tracking. After listening carefully, he said, If I am not mistaken, they must be going in the direction of Xiao Longquan [little Longquan] by the Bohai Sea, which is the biggest harbor in Longquans vicinity, the most important strategic coastal defense town. What is Zong Xianghua doing in there? Xu Zilingughed and said, If we follow them and take a look, wont everything be very clear? Yin Xianhes pair of eyes emitted strange expression that Xu Ziling found it hard to fathom. He nodded and said, Let me, this old horse who knows the way home [idiom] lead the way! I guarantee she wont detect our presence. Book 43 - 13 – Commitment of Love Unexpectedly the sound of zheng [guzheng/long zither]ing out from the hall could be this moving. There was no extraneous ornament, just like a beautiful woman with natural beauty shedding the splendid clothes, all the more lucid and elegant, free from vulgarity. Originally Kou Zhong was irritable and his heart was covered in vulgar dust, but being washed by the sound of the zheng, unexpectedly, without him being aware of it, it was elevated to forgetting-worry-without-anxiety realm; he even nearly forgot about Xu Ziling. He mused that musical skill that was trained to such level, perhaps in all the world, only the sound of Shi Qingxuans xiao could bepared to it. He left the garden path and crossed the flowerbed, toe to the square window at the side of the hall, from which he looked inside, only to see Shang Xiufang, alone, sitting on a woven mat in the middle of the hall, stroking the zheng with full attention, ying a simple, yet iparably rich C notes,pletely unaware that Kou Zhong was feasting on her elegant countenance, to be her intimate friend. Frankly speaking, until today, music still has not even entered a single aperture of his, Kou Zhongs head [idiom]; in this aspect, his spiritual nature and interest were somewhat inferior to Xu Zilings. However, when he regarded the zheng and Shang beauty as an integral whole, immediately his soul melted, just like drinking the outstanding, the richest and the most mellow Xiangshui rice wine, there was an iparably cheerfulck of inhibition [from drinking] and light and airy feeling [again, after a few drinks]. In this time full of war, hatred, killing, no more happy ce and harmony in the world, this beauty who loathed conflicts C was like a stream of clear and pure spring in a seemingly irresolute drought and famine in the desert, transcending the vile environment, leisurely and contentedly pursuing her artistic ideals, to use her music to touch countless peoples withered heart and tortured spirit. For the first time, a feeling of inferiority, that he could not match her C welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. Song Yuzhi was also a peace-loving person. The reason why she would rather vite her heart to reject Kou Zhongs pursuit was because she was afraid Song Que and Kou Zhong would join hands to strive over the world, and thus would bring disaster to the people of Lingnan. Ay! Its not that I prefer war at all, but I want to use war to unify the world and achieve peace. The problem was Li Shimin. There were a lot of people who saw him as the bright lord who would unify the world, but in the end he was just an old courtier of the Great Sui; furthermore, he was not even the heir that Li Yuan appointed. If in the future the one bing the emperor was Li Jiancheng, wouldnt it be better if Kou Zhong was in charge of his own house [idiom]? Kou Zhong leaped through the window to enter, he slowly moved and sat down behind Shang Xiufang. Shang Xiufangs pair of hands yed a series of clear notes, and then suddenly stopped. Sighing lightly, she said, Finally Shaoshuaies! Kou Zhong sensed that in the tone of her voice, there was some kind of impression that she regarded him as an outsider, a stranger; sighing inwardly, he refrained himself from saying anything to tease her. Smiling wryly, he said, If I am not dead, naturally I wille to listen to Xiufangs admonishment. Shang Xiufang turned her tender body around, her lucid and elegant, free from vulgarity, exceptional jade countenance appeared to have hidden bitterness, secret grudge; her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she sighed again and said, Shaoshuais goal in life, other than defeating the enemy, is there anything else? Kou Zhong was slightly startled; with a sh of realization, he said, Turns out in Xiufangs eyes, I am merely a man who likes to fight. What else can I say? Shang Xiufang stared fixedly at him. Shaking her head, she said, Onlyst night I started to have that opinion toward Shaoshuai, before, the impression toward Shaoshuai in Xiufangs heart was not like that at all. Kou Zhong was shaken inwardly; he secretly wondered whether she really fell in love with Liexia, hence she changed her opinion on him; immediately a feeling of indignant sense of loss welled up in his heart, but he quickly threw the upsetting mood out of his mind. Its finished! he mused inwardly; due to his rtionship with Song Yuzhi, he already lost the qualifications to pursue this beauty. Since she had a change of affection, shift of love, he had no choice but to seize this opportunity to withdraw and retreat. The problem was: if she really fell in love with Liexia, he was certain that there would not be any good oue, and how could he allow such thing to happen to her? The contradiction in Kou Zhongs heart made him nearly want to cry, Help! Left with no other choice, he said, Xiaodi has never changed; all along I do not have the freedom to act independently but to y the role of Kou Zhong. Why did Xiufang see Xiaodi as a person who always fight and kill, who battle others until you die, I live? Rolling her eyes at him, she acted as if she was saying, fancy that you dare to ask me that question. She spoke indifferently, Anything that you, Shaoshuai dont want to do, whod dare to force you or provoke you to do it? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Xiufangs remark is very novel. I never thought about it like that. In that case, I ought to be the person who goes everywhere stirring up problems, the chief offender that causes the whole country in rebellion. Pfft! Shang Xiufang broke into tender giggle, like a fresh flower blooming. When she noticed that Kou Zhong was staring nkly, she cast him another sidelong thousand-tender-a-hundred-charms nce, and said, Shaoshuai is angry! All right! I will say something that youd like to hear. If Shaoshuai is willing to give up striving over the world, Xiufang is ready to always keep youpany by the lords side, to pluck the zheng and sing you a song to relieve your boredom. Kou Zhongs tiger-body was severely shaken; he stared in disbelieve at this remarkably beautiful woman capable of causing the downfall of a city or state, a woman with both beauty and skill. In that moment, even Song Yuzhi was forgotten. Shang Xiufang cast him a nce; her eyes, with hidden bitterness, secret grudges, seemed to say, What are you looking at? You, this big idiot! And then she hung her cicada head down, in that kind of extremely bashful, touching little girls attitude, which could melt even a man with the heart of stone and move him to pity. If one could stay the night and could live with her, enjoying the genuine music of the qin and the se [two string instruments that y in perfect harmony; fig. marital harmony], how could there be anything in the world more satisfying than this wonderful thing? Its a pity Ay! Its a pity that he has been caught in the of the world [lit. dust]. The Shaoshuai Army, which he single-handedly created, was waiting for him toe back, to lead them to partake in the struggle to unify the world. And then there was Song Ques expectation of him, as well as other personal entanglements, which even if he wanted to count, he was simply unable to count. How could he say that he was going to withdraw and simply withdraw? Not to mention there was also Song Yuzhi. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Smiling bitterly, he said, I wonder if Xiufang is aware that I simply am unable to aplish that, hence you say those things to tease me? Shang Xiufangs tender body trembled lightly, she met his gaze. The tone of her voice exceptionally tranquil, she spoke softly, Xiufang was wrong. Just consider Xiufang never said those things. Since I was little, Xiufang already set up my aspiration, to exhaust the time and energy in all my life to meticulously study music and theater with my heart and soul, so that I no longer have the leisure to pay attention to other things. Kou Zhong was able to catch the implicit resentment within her words, yet he simply was unable tofort her and offer exnation to her. Feeling ufortable to the extreme point, he had no choice but to change the subject by asking, The Tujue main forces areing, Xiufang has always disliked the war, why didnt you leave this trouble spot at the earliest possible time in order to avoid being drawn into the pitiless vortex of the war? Shang Xiufang responded indifferently, You practically do not understand me. Shaoshuai please feel free to mind your own business, all right? Xiufang has my own viewpoint. Sighing bitterly in his heart, Kou Zhong said, Although Xieli is not a good person, how could Bai Ziting be any better? I only give thought to Xiufang. Ay! Toward Xiufang, I Shang Xiufang cut him off; she spoke with a smile, Shaoshuai ought to know that just because someone says so, doesnt mean its true [lit. you cant rely on a verbal agreement (idiom)]? Pleasant words, Xiufang has already heard and loathed enough. Oh, Kou Zhong! Do you know what Xiufang admires about you? Kou Zhongs old face blushed, he said, Before, there might be some good points, but now it ought to bepletely obliterated, with only vile impression remaining. Shang Xiufang shook her head in displeasure, she said, Shaoshuai is wrong! Xiufang still admires you so much, because you are a hundred-percent idiot, a jerk, and a big muddled-egg. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs stared nkly with mouth agape. Although idiot, jerk, and big muddled-egg were cuss words, but being spat out of her fragrant lips, spoken in her touching voice, it sounded full of affection, captivating to the extreme point. Shang Xiufang turned her tender body around, both hands lightly caressed the zheng, she produced a series of clear notes. As if nothing had happened, she spoke unhurriedly, Never mind! I wont take any more of Shaoshuais time, go do your big things! Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he had no room to advance or to retreat, hecked the power to parry. Shang Xiufang pulled back her jade hands stroking the zheng, she sat quietly in front of the zheng; tender and soft as water, she said, Shaoshuai has a lot of free time? Unable to control himself, Kou Zhong stretched out his hand to stroke Shang Xiufangs fragrant shoulder, feeling her touching flesh and blood. Leaning over so that his face was close to the back of her elegant-as-the-swans fragrant neck, he spoke in distress, Xiufang! I am in so much pain. Shang Xiufang remained absolutely still, but she did not reject his offense either; she spoke softly, Xiufang does not have an easier time than Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong took a deep breath to fill his lungs with the fragrance from her hair, her body, but his heart was dripping blood. Suddenly he sat his tiger-body straight and released his hands; slowly, word by word, he said, I want to present a small gift to Xiufang, to repay the special favor Xiufang is showing me, Kou Zhong, which Kou Zhong will never forget. Shang Xiufangs jade countenance remained tranquil, a hint of pained smile escaped from the corner of her mouth, she shook her head and said, Forget it! Shaoshuai, please! Losing his rationality, Kou Zhong spoke emotionally, Xiufang, how could you drive me away like this? Shang Xiufang turned her pretty face around, she stared at him for half a day, before speaking softly, Is Xiufang driving you away? How could Xiufang be willing to part with you? And then she looked ahead, her beautiful eyes rippling with extraordinary splendor, as if she was falling into the past, where her soul was broken, her spirit wounded, she said, The first time I know Shaoshuai was at Wang Shichongs mansion in Luoyang. Shaoshuai is different from other people, you have the frank, straightforward character that they did not have; furthermore, it was as if there is no difficulty under the heavens that can stump you. You see, my vision is straightforward, there is nothing to hide, and it is still that way until now. Xiufang already said everything I have to say! Kou Zhong was speechless like a foolish-headed bird, with intense pain in his heart as if it was wrung through the mill. Shang Xiufang looked back again. Pursing her lips, she said with augh, What gift do you want to give Xiufang? Why dont you tell me? Although the contradiction in his heart was so painful that he felt like killing himself, he still could not help toppling over by her many-colors-many-postures flirtatious expressions; he said, If I can resolve this conflict in Longquan, Xiufang may be willing to kindly ept, while also postpone your judgment to sentence Xiaodi with supreme penalty. The colored light in Shang Xiufangs pretty eyes red out greatly, it was charming to the extreme point, she blissfully said, Shaoshuai coaxing words are really formidable; please dont lie to me, how are you going to aplish that? Kou Zhongs heart calmed down a little bit, but he secretly scolded himself for his offense. The problem was that even if he must sacrifice his life, he simply must not let Shang Xiufang be grieved and broken-hearted. Sighing, he said, It surely is more difficult than ascending the heavens, but definitely not impossible. People say that to cause a downfall of a city or state, one only needs a smile of a beautiful woman. I have no choice but to go from the opposite direction to save the innocent people of Longquan, so that Xiufang could expound immortal beauty and wonderful music in peaceful and happy environment. And then he leaned his big head over and tenderly nted a kiss on her creamy, tender and lovely, fragrant cheek. Heughed aloud and said, Just consider Xiufang is giving Xiaodi a reward and encouragement! Shang Xiufang cast him a sidelong nce and then shyly hung her head down, Kou Zhong rose up to his full height, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart. Before his eyes, this was clearly his beloved jade person [a beautiful person (term of endearment)], yet for various reasons, he could not put everything aside to make her blessed and happy. Xu Ziling was right, he basically must not see Shang Xiufang, but if time could be reversed and things could be repeated, he still could not help but seeing her, to get close to her. The situation before his eyes was indeed too touching. Kou Zhong turned around and left, straight toward the exit. Shang Xiufangs voice, like a cool breeze, brushed over from behind, saying, Shaoshuai, when are you going toeback to see Xiufang? Kou Zhong replied, As long as I am free, I wille; even if I have to charge in by crossing five passes and ying six generals [idiom], I want to see Xiufang before I let the matter drop. Ay! Its another struggle! Im sure Xiufang does not like to hear it, but its the truth, and I am not even exaggerating; I hope Xiufang will forgive me. Finished speaking, he stepped out in big strides. Coming to the garden in front of the hall, Kesubie went over to meet him and said, Da Wang is waiting respectfully for Shaoshuais good-self. Reluctant to part, Kou Zhong cast another nce backward, took a deep breath, and said, Please lead the way! Kesubie turned around and led the way. Kou Zhong looked up at the clear sky above, thinking about Xu Ziling, whose whereabouts was unknown, about Yin Xianhe, whose life and death could not be predicted, and the Tujue main forces, which were pressing down on the border, and his ownmitment to curry favor from the beauty. Sighing inwardly, he took the step to march forward. Book 44 - 1 – Difficult-to-Reverse Disadvantage Little Longquan was not really a city, it was only a vige east of Longquan with the wharf by the Bohai Sea and the shipyard as the center. Along the coast, there were seven, eight watchtowers. Traffic going in and out from and to the sea did not appear to be flourishing, even Xu Ziling, two men, only saw no more than twenty big ships, including one that was just going out to the sea, and several dozens of fishing boats. Compared to Yangzhou, such an important seaport in the Central ins, the difference was even more prominent. Its defensive powery on the stone fort, which was built about half a li offshore, which could amodate several hundred of soldiers, which were more than enough to deal with pirates or horse thieves. But facing the Tujue armys or foreign enemysrge scale invasion, they could only watch the scenery, just enough for the warm up before attacking Longquan. Northwest of the harbor, there was a row of army tents, their strength was approximately one thousand men. For this army to resist the Tujue invasion, it was nothing more than a praying mantis spreading its arms to block a cart. Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe were hiding inside a jungle to the west, looking at the situation from a distance. Every dock was active. A big ship moored at the pier had several dozen of workers loading goods onboard, a sign that it was ready to sail out to sea. Xu Ziling remembered the Five-Colored Stone in Meiyan Furens hands, and suddenly he gained clear understanding of the importance of the Stone. Since the time the Five-Colored Stone fell into their hands and they brought it here, until finally it was seized by the so-called original owner, Meiyan Furen, although he has had some thoughts about the Stone, but particrly during these past few days, where he fell head over heels in love with Shi Feixuan, everything became fuzzy. Only this moment, where he was facing life and death crises, he began to be clear-headed from the state of confusion. Now that Shi Feixuan has gone without a trace like a cloud, it was like he also woke up from a dream, his brain returned to its usual quick-witted and active state. When Tuli saw the Five-Colored Stone, he immediately canceled his n to pursue and attack Xieli; he even epted Bi Xuans suggestion to establish friendly rtions with Xieli. It was precisely because he saw the influence of the Stone on various Mohe tribes. If Bai Ziting was wearing the emperors crown[1] with the Five-Colored Stone embedded on it, both the Mohe tribes supporting him and his nsmen who were opposing him like Tiefuyou, no one could deny his legitimacy and status as the great monarch of various Mohe divisions. On top of that, with the neighboring country, Gaolis support, he would be the greatest power to challenge the Tujue. Triggering Xu Zilings train of thought was the harbor before his eyes. If this seaport developed to be another big city controlling the sea, Bai Zitings power would increase severalfold, materials and natural resources woulde. When that time came, Bai Ziting could expand his military power without the slightest scruple. The Great and Little Longquanplementing and helping each other, Bai Ziting, who had deep understanding of the Central Earths city war, might be the person across all the areas beyond the Great Wall most adept to exploit the circumstances. The reason Bai Ziting was amassing wealth by hook or by crook was that under these circumstances, he had no choice. On one hand, he wanted to lower taxes, to attract people toe here to do business and to break new ground for projects. On the other hand, he wanted to rapidly develop the citys seaport and build big ships formercial use. All these needed money. Since he could not get these by legitimate means, he had to seek it by despicable means. In itself, the Five-Colored Stone was, at most, a rare treasure, but its symbolic significance dominated the destiny of various tribes in the northeast. Therefore, even if Bai Ziting had the Five-Colored Stone in his hands, he would never obediently hand it over. Under careful nning, he already made up his mind to take this big risk. Yin Xianhe said, Zong Xianghua ising to meet a ship. I wonder what could be that important? Zong Xianghuas group of more than a dozen people came to one of the piers without any ship docking on it. Three big ships were appearing on the distant horizon, on the currently calm sea. On the pier, there was another group of more than twenty Mohe troops, led by another high-ranking military officer. This moment the high-ranking military officer was reporting to Zong Xianghua. Zong Xianghua was still appearing to be icy-cold; she was only listening without saying anything. Suddenly another group of men from the ship that was being loaded came toward Zong Xianghua in a hurry, the leader was surprisingly Ma Ji, who,st night, made announcement that he must leave. Xu Ziling suddenly realized, no wonder Ma Ji was so secure in the knowledge that he had backing. Turned out he already made good arrangement for his exit, which was by boat, so that Xieli and Tuli were helpless against him. He could go to Gaoli to seek temporary shelter, or he could go anywhere to hide, waiting for the situation here to settle before making decision on his next step. Bai Ziting, Ma Ji, Funantuo, even Han Chaoan, Shen Mohuan, Huyan Jin, Liexia, Du Xing, Xu Kaishan, and so on were all adventurers. They wanted to change the situation beyond the Great Wall, to challenge Xielis control over the prairie, to liberate it from the Tujues tyranny; naturally they must take the risk of being swept by Xielis army. At its root, the cause of this crisis was because Xieli adopted Zhao Deyan and Tonyukuks proposal, with the intention of killing Tuli, showing that he wanted to amass and gather all power in his own hands. Therefore, although Ma Ji and Du Xing and the others were Tujue, they still, in different degrees of participation, helped outsiders to resist Xieli. It goes without saying that they were attracting foreign tribes as well. His gaze fixed on Zong Xianghua standing on the far away pier, Yin Xianhes pair of eyes emitted bizarre expression. Noticing this strange look, Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, I wonder if Yin Xiong have friendly rtions with Zong Xianghua? Slightly shaking his head, Yin Xianhe coldly replied, I have never spoken with her. Xu Ziling wanted to say something but then hesitated, because he understood Yin Xianhes temperament, he did not dare to get to the bottom of this matter. Changing the subject, he said, I am sure Ma Ji knows the inside story of the wolf-bandits. If we could catch him, it would save us a lot of trouble. By this time Ma Ji had reached Zong Xianghuas side. He pointed to the three big shipsing to port and spoke something. Just by looking at his demeanor, it was clear that these three ships were closely rted to him. Yin Xianhe said, Among Ma Jis men, there is a martial art master called Tuoba Miefu. This man is loyal and devoted to Ma Ji. To catch Ma Ji, only this man, one obstacle, is already very difficult to pass. Based on our two mens strength, its still better not to entertain this thought. Besides, Ma Ji himself is definitely not easy to deal with. Xu Ziling recalled inside Ma Jis tent that night they saw the group of men like the young swordsman, he agreed inwardly. Moreover, he felt strange, I never thought Yin Xiong is very familiar with the affairs of the people northeast beyond the Great Wall, hemented. Instead of answering him, Yin Xianhe said, This moment, where the war is imminent, to be able to make Zong Xianghua and Ma Ji this nervous waiting for the ships, the goods carried by the ships must be closely rted to the survival of Longquan; if not foodstuff, then must be weapons, bows and arrows, or things like that. Longquans storehouses have ample grains, hence the possibility of thetter is greater. Xu Zilings pair of eyes lit up, he said with a smile, Yin Xiongs guess, even if it did not hit the mark, its not far off. I wonder if Yin Xiong could do Xiaodi a favor? Go back immediately to Longquan, find Kou Zhong and tell him what happened here. Stunned, Yin Xianhe asked, Whats Xu Xiong doing staying in here? Xu Ziling mused that this was his only chance to catch Ma Ji, how could he miss it? But naturally he must not be rash in speaking it out and have Yin Xianhe stay with him to take this big risk. He replied, I am staying to watch the development here. Kou Zhong will have a way to find me. Naturally Yin Xianhe had never thought that Xu Ziling was lying to him. He nodded in response and quietly slipped away. The ce where Bai Ziting received Kou Zhong was one side of the imperial pce, the east garden, which was as far away as possible on the opposite side of the west garden where Shang Xiufang was staying, located right in the middle of the west imperial garden, surrounded by grass, trees, small bridge, and hot spring; the scenery was quite beautiful. The atmosphere inside the pce was not much different than before; obviously everybody was already prepared mentally that sooner orter the Tujue main forces woulde to invade their territory, hence they did not appear panic-stricken or losing their mind. Kou Zhong was well aware that his rtionship with Bai Ziting has reached the stage that it was already on the verge of formally breaking off. Any moment one word could go wrong, and then they would stake it all in you die, I live battle, because Bai Ziting was not afraid of even Xieli or Tuli, not to mention a mere insignificant Kou Zhong, a lone palm [orig. its hard to p with only one hand (idiom)]; what could he possibly do? Coming in front of the white stone steps of the east garden, Kesubie politely said, Da Wang is waiting respectfully for Shaoshuai inside the Fantian [Nirvana/Lord Brahma] Pavilion. Shaoshuai, please! Kou Zhong smiled and said, The tale that mister storyteller in Yangzhou of the Central Earth loves to tell the most was outside the corridor, there were five hundred saber and axe wielders lying in ambush on both sides. I hope your honorable king will not imitate even the plot of the story, otherwise Xiaodi would rather stay here to soak in the hot spring! Kesubie responded awkwardly, Shaoshuai really loves to crack jokes. Da Wang said clearly that he is going to see Shaoshuai alone. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, The lord will not say any joking matter. In that case, Xiaodi feels reassured. And then he scanned the surroundings with his eyes and said, This imperial gardens perimeter wall is particrly thick and particrly tall, not suitable for ambushing saber and axe wielders, but its not bad for a hundred or so divine archers, in which case, even if I were a bird, I still could not fly out. Kesubie still did not get angry;ughing involuntarily, he said, Shaoshuai reminds me of Da Wang a lot. Wherever Da Wang goes, he would carefully examine the situation and put out somements in ordance with the art of war. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly. Bai Ziting definitely spent a lot of effort studying the art of war; at least he was a hard-working military expert, so if he ran into him in the battlefield, he must be very careful. This Kesubie was a brilliant figure as well, the way he spoke was neither haughty nor humble, but was just right to defuse Kou Zhongs verbal offense. Kou Zhongughed aloud; he set foot on the stone steps and walked toward the entrance, without forgetting to look back and wave, and said with augh, I wonder ifter on Ke Daren will also escort me out of the city? Kesubie was angry, but hecked the words to parry. Kou Zhong stepped across the threshold into the hall. Both sides were prismatic windows, the sunshine and the garden scenery appeared before his eyes. There was a Buddha statue in therge garden; the hall and the garden were no longer divided. Like Qin Shihuanging back to life, Bai Ziting was standing proud at the other end, opposite to the main entrance. Heughed aloud and said, Shaoshuai is indeed brave without any fear. You robbed my, Bai Zitings bows and arrows, yet you have the guts toe alone [orig. lone rider] to see me? With a smile on his face, Kou Zhong walked over toward him and spoke indifferently, You robbed me, I robbed you, the same thing happens even between countries. I dare toe, its not the question of whether I have the guts or not, but to see if there is any possibility of peaceful solution to this problem? Bai Ziting waited until Kou Zhong stopped about a zhang away from him, he smiled and said, Shaoshuai returns my bows and arrows, Ill send a small gift to Shaoshuai. Bad! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. What information that can be used against him could possibly fall into Bai Zitings hands, which made him acting like I am not worried you wont disobey? Immediately he remembered Yuekepeng and his brothers. Smiling wryly, he said, Da Wang is indeed formidable, Xiaodi steps down gracefully. What exactly is the gift that is this valuable? With his hands behind his back, Bai Ziting stepped over straight toward the prismatic window on the west side; gazing at the garden outside, he sighed and said, Why is it that Shaoshuai is not my friend but my enemy? Shaoshuai is indeed an extraordinary man. Kou Zhong moved to the table in the middle of the hall. He plopped his butt down and spoke indifferently, Frankly speaking, I also extremely admire Da Wangs standing-tall-and-seeing-far attitude. I wonder if because you are on the prairie that you are able to see things a bit farther away, and capable of seeing today things that is going to happen several years or even several decades in the future, but I wonder if consequently you fail to see the situation before your eyes? Bai Ziting proudly said, Shaoshuai need not be worry about that. Only by seizing today will we be able to n for tomorrow. Shaoshuai, please move your honorable self over here to see the small gift that this king has prepared for you. Kou Zhong cried inwardly that the opponent was using this action to taunt him, to tell him to his face the cruel reality before his eyes! Helplessly he moved over to Bai Zitings side and looked out. Song Shidao, his whole body trussed up [orig. to bind a persons upper body, with arms tied behind the back and rope looped round the neck], under escort of two valiant martial art masters imperial guards, appeared in the small alley by the wall about twenty zhang away, under the thick shade of the beautiful garden resplendent with blooming spring flowers. By his side there was also the Mad Monk of Tianzhu Funantuo, who was staring at Kou Zhong without showing any emotion on his face. Song Shidao had a number of bloodstains on his body, his expression dreary, obviously it was after going through a fierce battle that he was captured. He suffered internal and external injuries, but his attitude was still haughty and unyielding as he showed a bitter smile toward Kou Zhong. Anger welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. Bai Zitings means was indeed despicable! From this, he could deduce thatst night Funantuo making his move to deal with the two of them, he must have received Bai Zitings approval. Furthermore, they must have taken advantage while Song Shidao was on his way to attend the banquet in the pce to set an ambush and captured him. If he could kill Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, they would execute Song Shidao along, to catch everything in one, neat and clean. But now, because the two seeded in breaking the siege, while also seizing away the bows and arrows, they produced this bargaining chip in their hands to make a deal with Kou Zhong. After suffering untold hardships, they finally obtained the bows and arrows, yet he had to send it back to Bai Ziting for nothing! However, in order to save Song Shidao, this was the only way Kou Zhong could take. Bai Zitingughed aloud and said, It has to be like this, offense must be made, Song Gongzi, please understand. A hint of disdain appeared on the corner of Song Shidaos mouth, his eyes turned toward Funantuo, he shook his head slightly and then closed his eyes again. Kou Zhong understood what he was trying to say; it was Funantuo who personally made his move to subdue him. He also stated that Funantuo was extremely brilliant; he reminded Kou Zhong not to be presumptuous and trying to be brave. Recovering his calm, Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, When I have a chance I surely want to experience Guoshis [teacher of the state] Tianzhu secret skill. Perhaps even tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning. Ha! Thinking about it, I am excited already. Funantuo did not respond at all, he merely raised one palm to return the greeting, appearing like a holy monk who had attained the Way. This man was profoundly shrewd, he could not possibly be provoked by anybodysment. Until this moment, Kou Zhong was still unclear about the real rtionship between Bai Ziting and Funantuo. Bai Ziting turned to Kou Zhong and said with a smile, Whether Song Gongzi is alive or dead, Shaoshuai can decide with one word. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Da Wang seems to forget who Song Gongzis father is? If anybody dares to murder his son, even ten thousand li away, or even Tianwang Laozi [old man the king of heaven] himself, the final oue will only be losing his life under his Heavenly Saber! It was not an empty threat at all. If the Heavenly Saber Song Que disregarded his own life and death and with his heart and soul wanted to assassinate someone, there was a very high chance that he would seed. Bai Ziting blurted outughing and said, Just now Shaoshuai reminded this king not to just look to the future and ignore the present, but now there is this warning to attach importance to the future; arent before and after contradictory to each other? Losing that batch of bows and arrows, my Longquan Upper Capitals destruction is imminent, how could I have the leisure to consider the vast, with no clear boundary, unfathomable future? Besides, Song Gongzis life or death is not in my grasp at all, but its Shaoshuais responsibility to decide. Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, Until just a moment ago, I still consider you, Laoxiong as merely a trading opponent. But now you have be my, Kou Zhongs enemy; is the cause worth the trouble? But things have not yet taken a turn for the worst, as long as you, Bai Ziting, other than releasing Song Gongzi, also returning the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin and canceling those Pingyao merchants debt, we can still end everything amiably. This was Kou Zhongsst effort. If the negotiation broke down, everything would be resolved by force. Even without Tulis support, Kou Zhong still had a certain destructive power toward Longquan. Bai Ziting threw his head back in longughter; he said, I am afraid Shaoshuai is overestimating yourself too much! I, Bai Ziting, definitely wont do any losing business. Since one life can be exchanged with the bows and arrows, I cant possibly pay half a penny more. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, All right! Turning to Funantuo, he shouted, I wonder if Guoshi can answer one question from me: the Jushi diplomatic delegation, where are they? Funantuo calmly replied, Now is not the time. When its time to let Shaoshuai know, Shaoshuai will know. A deep hatred and humiliation that could not be washed clean by the fivekes and four oceans toward the two welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. Very well! he shouted coldly, Today at wei hour [1-3pm] we do business in the in twenty li north of the city. Both sides are limited only to five hundred people; one hand exchanges the person, the other hand exchanges the goods. Otherwise this transaction is voided. He sighed inwardly. If they could not save Yuekepeng and his men, they would be caught in apletely-passive and only-taking-a-beating disadvantageous position. Bai Ziting cheerfully said, Shaoshuais person is fast, your tongue is also fast. Its a deal. Shaoshuai must not y any tricks. This ce is my territory; one thing goes wrong, not only Song Gongzi will pay with his life, I am afraid it will also be difficult for Shaoshuai to have the luck to escape. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Thank you very much for Da Wangs reminder. Evil people, I have seen not a few, but none seems to be able to match Da Wang! Well wait and see! Turning around, he left in big strides. Reaching the entrance, he stopped and spoke indifferently, Forgot to tell the happy Da Wang a news. Shen Mohuan has been personally ughtered by me. Bai Ziting revealed a shocked expression before recovering his calm. He spoke heavily, In that case, I need to congratte Shaoshuai since you wont need to write your surname and given name backward. Patting the Moon in the Well hanging on his back, Kou Zhong proudly said, Da Wang must either give up, or go through to the end; you might as well retain me, Kou Zhong here, perhaps you can exchange me for a bit more gold and silver and jewels? Bai Ziting sighed and said, Its not that I dont want to, but I cant. Shaoshuai came here to meet your appointment with Xiufang Dajia, how could I not give Xiufang Dajia a bit of face? Kou Zhong let out a long whistle to vent the anger of injusticepletely out of his heart, and then he left in big strides. Kesubie appeared ahead, leading the way. Kou Zhongs mind returned to be crystal clear, like the still water of the moon in the well, without any ripple. Since his debut, he had never experienced falling into suchplicated,ing-together errors, while also in an absolutely passive, disadvantageous position, yet it aroused his fighting spirit instead, making him wanting to deal with Bai Ziting to the end, to do everything he could to retrieve the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin and the Pingyao merchants debt, to save his friends and brothers from being killed, while at the same time fulfilling his promise to Shang Xiufang to protect the lives of innocent people in Longquan City. This kind of difficult problem, how was he going to solve it? Later on, how was he going to exin to Ou Liangcai and Luo Yi? Time was an even more difficult problem to solve. Once the Tujue main forces pressed down on their territory, everything ceased to exist, it could only end with one of the parties beingpletely annihted. If there was Xu Ziling by his side to talk this matter over, it would be much better! Book 44 - 2 – The Road To Execution Ground Xu Ziling was hiding by a warehouse near the pier, behind a pile of junk. There were dozens of warehouses of all kinds and sizes near the pier, from open-style bamboo shed torge warehouse of wood construction in front of him; everything that should be here was here. And the reason he chose this particr closed warehouse was simply because Ma Jis men were constantly loading the cargo from the warehouse to the ship. The docks were so active, nearly three hundreds porters were busy loading and unloading the goods. Taking advantage while Zong Xianghua, Ma Ji, and the others attention was focused on the threerge cargo shipsing into the harbor, Xu Ziling had a free hand to act. He watched for a porter carrying a wooden box on his shoulders and calcted urately the moment his foot stepped out of the warehouse to shoot a burst of finger wind toward the porters vital point. The porter was hit by the finger and fell forward, throwing the heavy wooden box in front of him. Remaining calm and unhurried, Xu Ziling shot another burst of punch power, at the precise moment the corner of the box touched the ground, the force hit the wooden box. The wooden box was shattered instantly; immediately the contents original identity was fully revealed. Surprisingly, it was sheet after sheet of sheepskin. Ma Jis men supervising the works from the side could not see Xu Ziling ying tricks in the dark, they thought the porter lost his footing, and the nails on this wooden box just happened not to be fastened securely. They simply shouted to call the other men to pick up the dropped sheepskin from the ground. Xu Ziling nearly turned around to run after Yin Xianhe, but he could not help suppressing this idea down, because no one knew when Ma Jis ships were going to sail, hence he must deal with this matter alone. The fact before his eyes made him happy. Whether it was Ma Ji buying this batch of sheepskin, which belonged to Da Xiaojie Zhai Jiao, from Bai Zitings hands, or it was Bai Ziting who gave it to him or entrusted it to him to be shipped out somewhere to make big profit, in the end it was Bai Ziting who sent his men to rob the sheepskin. They no longer needed to guess on this. This batch of sheepskin was an enormous wealth; it could make Zhai Jiao lose her family fortune, while it could also make Ma Ji a big fortune. Amidst the rumbling noise of the sail being lowered on the mast, the three ocean-going ships slowly reached the shore. Xu Ziling watched with rapt attention. Although the ships did not fly any g, but looking at the sailors clothes and appearance, he was certain that these were Gaoli people. Xu Zilings heart was moved. He could guess that Ma Jis sheepskin was to be sold to Gaoli. In such a bitter cold ce like Gaoli, certainly highest quality sheepskin worth more than gold. Thinking to this point, no longer hesitated. He backed off and slipped toward the part of the harbor where he did not see anyone, and into the ice-cold seawater. Staying close to the bottom of the sea he swam toward Ma Jis big ship. Outside the Vermillion Bird Gate, there was a team of fully armed cavalrymen, more than twenty Mohe warriors, each one was cool-headed and grave in manner. Surely these were martial art experts, one chosen from a hundred, under Gongqis leadership, striding high on the horseback, waiting for Kou Zhong. Kesubie leaned close to Kou Zhong and said with a smile, Shaoshuai, please dont take offense, we as officials [in feudal court] can only carry out the imperial orders. Da Wangs wish is that Shaoshuai will leave the city immediately. Kou Zhong acted as if he did not hear anybody speaking to him, his eyes were fixed on Gongqi, sitting on the horseback, looking coldly at him. Acting rxed, he said, In the past year, how many days did Gong Jiangjun spend in this ce? The pupil of Gongqis eyes narrowed, the divine light was flickering, his hand pressed on the cavalry sword on his waist, he spoke heavily, What is Shaoshuai referring to? I wonder if you could speak a bit more clearly. Kou Zhonge over to about half a zhang away from the horses head and stopped, upright and unafraid. Indifferent and at ease, heughed aloud and said, Gong Jiangjun, please dont misunderstand. Just because hearing Gong Jiangjuns spoken Han carries a bit of Central Earths northeast ent, you reminded me of a very interesting person in Shanhai Pass. Other than that, there is no other meaning. He thought that if Bai Ziting wanted to kill him outside the city, his purpose was to raise the troops spirit. In the future, the storytellers would tell this segment of history as something like Bai Ziting yed Kou Zhong outside the gate of Longquan. By killing him, he wanted to announce to his original tribe, as well as to the other Mohe tribes, that this action was to break the cauldrons and sink the boats [idiom; fig. to cut off ones means of retreat], that he did not hesitate to fight to thest soldier, thest pawn, as well as to show his valor and determination to resist the Tujue. He wanted to rouse the generals and the soldiers will to fight to the death, to put everything to death and then go back to live. If by using this kind of not-sparing-anything spirit he could influence the entire Mohe division, plus the legend of the Five-Colored Stone, Gesuwens ambushing troops might really be able to create a miracle, so that Mohe division could take the Tujues ce to be the new generation of grasnd hegemon. Bai Ziting was familiar with Central Earths military campaign; naturally he could not possibly forget the famous breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats stratagem, which has been passed on throughout all ages. After killing Kou Zhong, he would no longer have any margin to redeem the situation with the Tujue. Kou Zhongs conjecture was really not because he was in critical circumstances that he suspected everyone; it was simply because escorting him out of the city was this gentleman, the vicious man who, in the open was Gongqi, in the dark was Cui Wang. And the men behind him, if they were willing to shed off their military uniform, he was sure that their entire body would be covered in the tattoo of Huihe wolf-bandits. Inside Bai Zitings territory, to remove him from Longquan, Kesubie and a random group of Mohe soldiers would be more than enough; there was no need for him to send out Gongqi and his wolf-bandits men. Listening attentively, the expression in Gongqis eyes turned harsh, he spoke coldly, No other meaning? This is not the first day that Shaoshuai mingle in Jianghu, you ought to know that you cannot speak ambiguously; if it pertains to other peoples clean reputation, you ought to exin clearly even more. His twenty-two men grabbed the hilt of their saber at the same time, putting on an act that one wrong word, they would immediately make their move. The atmosphere quickly turned tense, brimming with the smell of gunpowder. All the imperial guards at the Vermillion Bird Gate turned their eyes toward them, everybodys eyes revealed ominous glint, which heightened the murderous aura even more. Kesubie, standing by Kou Zhong, calmly said, Gong Jiangjun, please calm down a little bit. In this lowly officials opinion, this is just a misunderstanding. May I venture to trouble Shaoshuai to say a few words in order to dispel Gong Jiangjuns doubt? Hearing that, Kou Zhong was more convinced that his guess was correct, precisely because Gongqi and his mens guest status that Kesubie could only use this approach to advise Gongqi, to tell him not to act rashly, to wait until they were outside the gate before they made their move to kill Kou Zhong, because that was Bai Zitings order. Killing Kou Zhong at the pce gate concerned only Kou Zhong and Bai Zitings personal grievances; it would be difficult for Bai Ziting to exin to Shang Xiufang. But killing Kou Zhong at the city gate concerned the entire army and people of Longquan. There was a big difference in its significance and what it stood for. While Kou Zhong was pondering why Bai Ziting did not seem to be overly concerned about the batch of bows and arrows, two imperial guards led a horse walking toward him. When the horse saw Kou Zhong, immediately it reared its head and neighed, and skipped over joyfully. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly; he stepped over to pull his beloved horse Thousand-Li Dreams head down and embraced it tightly. Bai Ziting was really formidable; without making any sound, he had the whole situation under control. The Thousand-Li Dream was returned to his side at this moment, it was precisely to tell him that Shuwen and his Shiwei brothers have all been arrested and detained. Naturally he still had Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghans beloved horses. Laughing aloud, he said, What good exnation do I have? If Gong Jiangjun is totally innocent, why would he be concerned just because Xiaodi is making an associative connection? Finished speaking, he flew to mount the Thousand-Li Dream, while his eyes were fixed at Gongqi without blinking at all. Intense murderous aura flitted across Gongqis eyes, his grim countenance revealed a hint of smile brimming with anger, hatred, and ruthlessness. He said, In that case, please Shaoshuai be on your way. Kou Zhong understood that his hatred stemmed from arge number of his brothers was killed by them at Shanhai Pass. Blurted outughing, he urged his horse to trot slowly out of the Vermillion Bird Gate. The scenery before his eyes was so different from the one he was ustomed to see, which made him jump in fright. The entire Vermilion Bird Boulevard was devoid of any pedestrians, the shops were closed, Mohe soldiers were lining up both sides of the street, forming two long lines of men spreading out all the way to the south city gate. Seeing Kou Zhonging out of the Vermilion Bird Gate, they immediately shouted in chorus, Bohai will win, long live Da Wang. Their shout shook the whole city, their voice soared into the sky; the timid would certainly be startled and fell from the horseback. Kou Zhong suddenly felt that he had be a prisoner being escorted to the execution ground to be beheaded. If he could not change this situation, he would indeed end up being executed outside the city gate. Gongqi and his cavalry were riding on his left, right, ahead and behind him, pressing him in the middle. The clip-clopping sound of the hoof beats rang out along the Vermilion Bird Boulevard. Kesubie, staying at the pce gate, raised his voice and said, Shaoshuai, take care of yourself, please forgive this lowly officer for not sending you off! Kou Zhongughed bitterly in his heart. How could he ever imagine thatying his cards on the table with Bai Ziting would end up like this? He could not even talk with Luo Yi and the others. If he could see them again, the first thing he was going to tell them was for them to immediately go as far away as possible. Gongqi came to him to ride alongside him slowly. His expression grave, he closed his mouth without saying anything. Kou Zhong circted his true qi, while at the same time racking his brain, arousing the seeking-survival-in-the-midst-of-death fighting spirit. Since Bai Ziting wanted to eradicate mepletely, how could I, Kou Zhong, not reciprocate? The gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive, Xu Zilings head emerged out of the water. Clinging to the hull of the ship, he swiftly climbed up. One somersaultter, he slipped through a cabin window. Even in broad daylight, if one was not watching with full attention, even if he saw Xu Ziling shing in front of his eyes, he would think that he had blurry eyes. Xu Zilingnded in the cabin, which, most likely, was Ma Jis personal cabin. Sweeping his gaze around, immediately he knew that his guess was urate, so he was quite proud of himself. His starting point was the structure and architectural method, by seeking the cabin with the best view on the ship, the least affected by the wind and the waves, and determined that it must be Ma Jis room. This cabin must be thergest amodation on the ship; the anteroom and the rear chamber were separated by a bamboo curtain. The carpet and the hanging decorations were extremely exquisite, quite a dazzling sight [orig. gold and jade in glorious splendor]. It was precisely the kind of uncouth luxury that Ma Ji loved the most, as if Ma Jis tent was moved from thend to this ship. Besides, on the carpet of the outer hall, there was arge bowl of Ma Jis favorite fresh fruit. The bed was scented with sweet-smelling grass; the smell was so thick that Xu Ziling nearly wanted to close his breathing. Xu Ziling looked out via the hanging curtain. A row of threerge metal trunks was ced by the wall of the small living room, all the trunks were locked, he was certain that the contents must be some particrly valuable articles, otherwise, no one would want to put three of such unwieldy metal trunks in such an exquisite ce. Xu Ziling stepped through the curtain out to the living room. Without touching the threerge metal trunks, he focused his entire attention to detect any movement, far and near. This cabin was located on the top deck of the ship, at the stern, hence both the bedroom and the living room had windows. He entered the cabin via the window facing the sea. This moment he moved to the window on the other side to look at the pier outside. The three Gaoli merchant ships were docking, opposite to this, Ma Jis ship. Xu Zilings heart was moved; he thought that eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin could not be a small number. Ma Jis ship carrying twenty thousand would already be strenuous, therefore, it was very likely that after the Gaoli ships unloaded their cargo, they would transport the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin back to Gaoli, so much so that this whole business deal might be a barter transaction. Other than loading and unloading the cargo, the Gaolis seagoing ships have journeyed through the wind and the waves, they must replenish food and fresh water, plus performing the necessary maintenance; therefore, they could not possibly set sail today. Zong Xianghua, Ma Ji, and a Gaoli man, who appeared to be the director of the fleet, were talking in low voice on the side. From time to time they raised their head to look up at the sky. Because of the distance, even with Xu Zilings ability, he was unable to eavesdrop even half a sentence. Xu Ziling knew that these people were experts in observing the wind, the cloud, and the color of the sky [i.e. the weather]. Taking a look, he discovered that the clouds in the sky were moving faster than before; the white clouds were reced byparatively dull grey clouds, gradually covering the sunlight. This was precisely the prelude to the storm clouds approaching. Xu Ziling was amused inwardly, thinking that everything has its pros and cons. Bai Ziting picked the rainy season to establish his kingdom, undoubtedly it was advantageous to defending the city, but if the heavy rain suddenly came at the wrong time, it could hinder his progress in preparing for war. Sure enough, Ma Ji called out to his men, Its raining! Stop moving the goods. Xu Ziling mused, Its time to leave. When he came back, it would be a brutal and bloody asion, because if he wanted to get the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin back, that would be the only choice. Boom! On the distant horizon, the first lightning split the sky, followed by an ear-splitting p of thunder. Suddenly the horizon over yonder became a rolling, turbid band of ck clouds, spreading and covering the sky on this side. Immediately the docks were thrown into chaos. Under Ma Jis men shouting the order, the porters hurriedly brought the cargo that had not been loaded onboard back into the warehouse. Zong Xianghua and Ma Ji hurriedly followed the Gaoli man climbing aboard one of the Gaoli merchant ships. Xu Ziling swiftly left. While regting his breathing and circting his qi, Kou Zhong also thought about which martial art master could be waiting for him outside the city gate? Would it be Bai Ziting himself and the Tianzhu Mad Monk Funantuo? Bai Ziting himself was extremely crafty, he ought to learn from Huyan Jin that Kou Zhong loved his horse like his own life, therefore, he especially, under these circumstances, had the Thousand-Li Dream returned to Kou Zhong, so that it would be difficult for him to abandon his beloved colt and use his shenfa to escape into houses. If that was the case, even if ultimately Bai Ziting could find him and have him killed, he would waste a lot of manpower and time, not to mention he would lose the shock effect of the blitzkrieg operation. Therefore, if Kou Zhong wanted to escape with the Thousand-Li Dream, he would have to wait until they were out of the gate before making his n. Kou Zhong felt that the Thousand-Li Dreams flesh and blood was closely rted to his own. Asking him to abandon the horse, which selflessly loyal to him, and let it be caught in danger of being captured and killed by the enemy venting their anger, even if he could escape from the death and flee for his life, he simply refused to do so. If they had to die, they would die together. Ahead, the south gate was in sight. Gongqi, with wooden expression, was slowly riding by his side. The Mohe soldiers on both sides of the street stopped shouting. Everybodys eyes emitted staunch, fanatical expression. Kou Zhong had no doubt that they would be willing to sacrifice their lives for Bai Ziting. Kou Zhongs heart gradually calmed down. Putting life and death aside, he entered the Moon in the Well realm. Suddenly he felt that Gongqis body was wriggling restlessly, while looking up to the sky. Hastily Kou Zhong also looked up. Laughing aloud, he said, Da Wang is absolutely right. The fourth month is Longquans rainy season. The sky quickly turned dark. Gongqi looked at him. The ominous glint in his pair of eyes flickered. He also looked left and right to see the situation; obviously he was hesitating whether they ought to change n and kill Kou Zhong inside the city. If he let Kou Zhong go out of town, while another howling wind and torrential rain like yesterday came, Kou Zhong might break the siege and get away. Kou Zhong cried, Bad! inwardly. If he let Gongqi issued the order to close the city gate in time, he would undoubtedly die. Thereupon he busily said, Isnt Gong Xiong a Huihe? Why are you willing to work for Bai Ziting, while also disguise yourself as Cui Wang and help him breaking into a house for robbery [idiom], having no regard for human life [another idiom]? He was not trying to anger the other side at all, but simply wanted to divide his attention, so that before making decision, he temporarily forgot to issue the order to close the city gate. At the city gate, both sides of the city gate tower were densely packed, crowded to bursting point with archers guarding the city. The city gate itself was heavily guarded even more. Under normal circumstances, even for a martial art master of Kou Zhongs caliber, it would be difficult to crash through the barrier and escape. But if torrents of rain came, Kou Zhongs chance of fleeing for his life would increase significantly. As expected, Gongqis train of thought was disturbed by him, he suddenly exploded in anger, If Shaoshuai cannot produce any reliable evidence Kou Zhong did not let him continue. Ha! he said, By saying that, you, LaoGe, indicate that you have a guilty conscience. Otherwise, you would scold me directly for talking nonsense, or perhaps saying that you dont understand what Xiaodi is talking about. Ha! Just because in your heart you are wondering how did I see through that you are Cui Wang, hence as soon as you open your mouth you are talking about whether I have his grannys reliable evidence. Ridiculous! Totally ridiculous! He spoke nonstop, precisely not to give Gongqi any opportunity to think too much. Gongqis men all showed ominous glint in their eyes, but because Gongqi did not issue his order, they still held back their troops without moving [idiom]. Speaking about ability and wisdom, there was still a big chunk of difference between Gongqi and Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong was like the worm in his belly; every sentence was aimed at the thought inside Gongqis heart, so that he felt as ufortable as if he was standing naked in front of the crowd! Momentarily he forgot about the imminent arrival of the wind and the rain. He spoke coldly, Death is near at hand, you still show off your mouth and tongue skill. You This moment they reached the south gate. As long as they passed through the approximately three-zhang deep gateway, they would reach the world outside the city. The group of city guards, which originally crowded the city gate, moved to both sides to open up a passage. When the words Death is near at hand was finally spoken, Kou Zhong saw that sess was within sight, naturally he would not let the opposite site have spare time to think deeply; he interrupted again by inventing crazy nonsense, I wonder if Huyan Jin has a share in waiting for me outside? Its hard toe by that your Da Wang is willing to give Xiaodi this convenience. Xiaodi might as well cut his stinky head. Gongqi was stunned again. It was only this moment that he realized that Kou Zhong already saw through that he was going to be killed outside the city. Suddenly his imposing body shook. He looked up at the sky and shouted loudly, Close the gate! When he shouted his order, which would have sealed Kou Zhongs fate, a streak of lightning split the ck cloud densely covering the sky, followed by the ear-splitting, explosive p of thunder, whichpletely drowned Gongqis shout. Only Kou Zhong, one person, was able to hear him. Crash! The gale rolled over, heavy rain poured down, thunder and lightning came one after another, the earth turned dark, the sky hazy, the approaching momentum was violent, not inferior in any aspects to the thunderstorm the previous day. Kou Zhong thought that sess or failure, life or death, would depend on this moment. Taking advantage of the confusion, both his legs kicked out left and right, he fiercely pushed the belly of Gongqi and his mens horses, while at the same time injected his true qi into the Thousand-Li Dreams body, unleashing his man and horse as one technique, rushing toward the city gate, while yelling loudly, Rain! Get out of the rain! Gongqi on his left and a wolf-bandit on his right, both the men and horses fell outward. On top of that the thunderstorm and the gale threw the entire squad escorting Kou Zhong into chaos, no one knew what exactly was happening. Gongqi leaped in front of his falling down horse and shouted loudly, Stop him! Its a pity that another p of thunder drowned his voice once again. By this time Kou Zhong already urged his horse to rush into the city gate. Lightning light shed, blinding everybodys eyes that no one could see anything. Book 44 - 3 – Bloody Battle in the Rain The heavy rain swept across the boundless ocean, while covering the sky and nketing the earth at the same time, engulfing the entire Longquan ins. Violent thunder and lightning in the low pressured and heavy ck rain clouds roared in anger, in a rocking-the-mountain, shaking-the-peak, splitting-the-earth, and copsing-the-sky might, showing that only nature itself is the master of the universe. A lightning ripped through the murky, dark heaven and earth, illuminating the trees shaking violently and swaying randomly, beaten by the storming from four sides, eight directions. Boom! A streak of lightning struck an especially big and tall tree right in front of Xu Ziling. Immediately, as if it was struck by a whip of fire, its branches snapped, its leaves fell, and it was caught on fire, but was immediately quenched by the torrents of rain, leaving a charred and bald tree trunk. Xu Ziling waspletely drenched as he run wildly with all his strength, but the only thing in his mind was Shi Feixuan. In thest heavy rain, she was still here. This time it rained, she already went far away, shunning the world and would not reappear. Home is on this mountain, the clouds deeply unaware where to go. It was like his suppressed emotion was stirred up by the wind and the rain; it was no longer within his control, intensely attacking his mind and spirit, letting the mncholy of the pain and the sense of losspletely conquering him. He really wanted to stop and cry his heart out, to wash away the sharp pain in his heart, while also promising himself that after crying this time, he would follow Shi Feixuans instruction to see the loss as a gain, to view the nothing as possessing. Just one good cry. But he did not cry, for he must immediately find Kou Zhong, to exhaust their men and horses, to take advantage while Ma Ji was still here, to snatch the eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin back. Suddenly he remembered Shi Qingxuan. It has been a long time since he was alone and was thinking about her, because she was a wound deep inside his heart that he did not dare to touch. Until this moment, the wound has not healed. Shi Feixuan was not a wound at all; rather, she was a beautiful memory that made his spirit wounded, his soul broken. She apanied him ying a romantic game that was exquisite and brilliant beyondpare, a pure spiritual love, more intoxicating and turning a person upside down than any passionate love, carved in bones and engraved in the heart. He finally experienced the taste of love, the moving feeling of loving someone and being loved in return. Everything in the prairie wilderness was wrapped inside the thunderstorm, mixed together into a boundless, hazy mess. Xu Ziling felt he has been fused together and be one entity with the nature, there was no longer any difference between inside and outside, between you and me. The storm inside his heart was bound together with the wind outside to be one. Tears were gushing out, but were immediately dissolved by the rain, and spilled onto the big earth. Before the second streak of lightning, like an arrow, Kou Zhong and the Thousand-Li Dream, man and horse as one C flew out of Longquans south city gate. Inside the gateway, he knocked down at least five city guards, before disappearing outside the city where the wind and rain filled the whole sky. Boom! Lightning shed, followed by a thunder. Like a streak of golden arrow, the swift lightning shed overhead and disappeared. Howling wind and torrential rain came right at his face, followed by a loud rumble of thunder,pletely drowning the peoples shout and the horses neigh. Momentarily he could not hear anything, he could not see anything. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around. Close call! he cried inwardly. If currently he was detained by Gongqi and his men, or perhaps if he charged outside the gate before the sudden downpour of the thunderstorm, he would be trapped in heavy siege and had to fight with all his might until he died. In the violent rainstorm, which made everything be fuzzy, the heaven and earth be vague and chaotic like in the depth of a nightmare, hundreds of Longquan soldiers, who should have been in intact formation waiting respectfully for his good self to appear, now looked like an utterly defeated army. The g was leaning unsteadily from side to side, the riders were struggling to control their scared-stiff-by-thunder-and-lightning, jumping-and-rearing-in-confusion warhorses. Lightning and thunder came one after another; shes split the air, then darkness, then explosion. In this kind of nature-went-berserk-while-showing-its-power, human became tiny and insignificant. In the extreme chaos, Kou Zhong saw Bai Ziting, in full military uniform, and Funantuo, still wearing orange, oversized robe, leading a team of nearly fifty personal guards, charging toward him. Bai Ziting also opened his mouth wide to shout; it appeared that he was ordering his men to surround and intercept Kou Zhong, but his voice waspletely drowned by the thunderstorm, so even Kou Zhong could not hear what he was shouting about. Like a waterfall, the violent rain was ruthlessly whipping and wreaking havoc on the mother earth. Light and darkness alternately engulfed the heaven and earth. When lightning shed, the bright light blinded the eyes, but when the dark reigned, no one could see the shadow in front of him. Outside the city of Longquan, there were only the deafening and terrifying ps of thunder and the sound of pouring wind and rain. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Laotianye bless me! He urged his horse to turn left to avoid Bai Zitings group and ran away to the prairie. More than a dozen spear-wielding infantrymen were blocking ahead of him and attacking him. Kou Zhongughed aloud. The wind and the rain immediately poured into his mouth. Pulling the bridle, the Thousand-Li Dream, obtaining his power, which was transmitted to its four legs, leaped off the ground, like a deity on celestial horse, it flew across the air so that the enemies blocked empty air. Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled out the Moon in the Well, the treasured saber stretched forward and swiftly shed upward, two more spear-wielders blocking the path were hit, their spear broke, the person fell, and were thrown out to the left and right. In the vast and obscure wind and rain ahead, he vaguely saw arge group of riders in a straight line formation extending all the way across. Suddenly a burst of sharp qi power from upper left side, like a formless arrow and dart, came to attack. Without even looking, whatever his heart desire, his body moved ordingly, his saber shed upward as if it moved casually, while at the same time his legs pressed the horse belly. As the Thousand-Li Dream swiftly charged forward, Dang! Bai Zitings like-the-wind-and-the-rain-filling-the-whole-sky fierce and severe sword attack was blocked head-on, as if it was assisted by a deity. Roaring inughter, he said, Da Wang, no need to see me off! Vortex of energy shot out. Even with Bai Zitings ability, because he had no ce to set his foot, he was struck by Kou Zhongs upward sh and somersaulted backward, and thus he missed thest chance to intercept Kou Zhong. Kou Zhongs entire right arm was shaken by the impact force as well that it went numb. Formidable! he cried inwardly. A violent force rolled over from behind. Without even needed to look back, Kou Zhong knew that the attacker was Funantuo. He appeared to be attacking the person, but the real target was the horse. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong deflected the force downward. The Thousand-Li Dream was already sprinting forward. With the boost from Kou Zhongs power, it flew into the air. Kou Zhong moved his saber to his left hand, his body leaned backward, he stabbed violently to the back. The qi power rolled the wind and the rain up, like a tornado striking the pit of Funantuos stomach, who wasing over from the air. Laughing aloud, he said, You think I am still the Kou Zhong ofst night? How would Funantuo know that he had such a formidable move? Moreover, he miscalcted the horses swift movement. In haste, he raised both palms to block. Bang! Raindrops sshed out. Bearing the brunt of the contact with the opponents palm strength, Kou Zhongs entire body was jolted. He simultaneously deflected the force and neutralized the force, so that it was as if Funantuo was sent out by his own palm power, his body elerated across the nearly eight-zhang distance, and fell inside the enemys cavalry formation. Although Funantuos power was a notch above his, he still suffered setback; he fell to the ground and even had to take half a step back. It was a group of nearly two hundred cavalrymen; if it were under a sunny and cloudless weather, merely their arrows would be enough to prevent Kou Zhong from breaking through the siege. But in the vast and indistinct howling wind and torrential rain, they practically did not know that Kou Zhong had already left the city. Even when Kou Zhong, like an immortal general dropping down from the sky,nded in the middle of their formation, they still have not figured out whats going on, while Kou Zhong already charged to the left and dashed to the right, his treasured saber flipped over and flew, seeing a man he chopped the man, encountering an enemy he hacked the enemy, forcing his way out of the encirclement. Bai Ziting and Funantuo separately rushed over, shouting loudly, After him! He cant escape far. It was as if the crowd had just been awakened from a dream; they pulled the rein to chase after Kou Zhong disappearing into the depth of the wind and the rain. Kou Zhong urged the horse to flee for their lives; naturally he was heading toward Gunatai brothers hideout, while inwardly he was still pondering why Bai Ziting said that he could not escape far. In the end, his internal injury has not been healed, just now he exerted himself, using up his remaining energy, plus he was unleashing the man-and-horse-as-one wonderful technique, which was extremely taxing to his true energy, and separately blocking Bai Ziting and Funantuo, two major top martial art masters full-strength strike C head on, as well as forcing his way out of the encirclement, so he has reached the qi-exhausted-and-power-depleted situation, he was no longer able to help the Thousand-Li Dream, so he could only rely on his beloved colts legs power to carry him to escape to the sky. Kou Zhong also regted his breathing and circted his qi at the same time. As long as he could hold out until he could unleash the man-and-horse-as-one technique again, he would be able to cast away the pursuing troops. Fortunately, the Thousand-Li Dream was an outstanding divine spirited horse, which was not easy to be pursued. In the midst of the thunderstorm, the sound of hoof beats could faintly be heard from behind. Kou Zhong took a nce back, immediately he was shocked. The enemys several hundred cavalry divided themselves three ways. The group headed by Bai Ziting and Funantuo continued to pursue relentlessly from behind, the other two groups outnked from left and right, unexpectedly they were chasing closer and closer. While Kou Zhong was amazed at how Bai Zitings horse could run faster than the Thousand-Li Dream, to his shock, he discovered that his beloved colt was straining to show its divine ability; the enemy cavalry was running faster and faster, it was running slower and slower, while its eyes, ears, mouth and nose starting to seep out wisps of blood. Kou Zhong cursed the enemy for being contemptible; a feeling of hatred, grief and indignation toward a certain person, which he had never had before, welled up in his heart. No longer care about his own safety, he injected the entire remaining strength he barely had into the Thousand-Li Dream, to help the horse repel the poison and stay alive. It goes without saying that the iparably despicable Bai Ziting returned the Thousand-Li Dream to him, not only to make him unwilling to escape alone, he also had a follow-up n, which was administering slow-to-take-effect poison, which finally red up now. His biggest regret this moment was that he had bow, but no arrows. Otherwise Kou Zhong would have bestowed Bai Ziting an arrow. Bai Zitings group managed to reduce the distance to about two hundred or so zhang, and was continuously closing in. Kou Zhongs Long Life Qi continued to pour from its source into the Thousand-Li Dreams body, forcing the poison out of its skin and let the rain wash it away. The Thousand-Li Dreams mouth and nose no longer seeped out the terrifying wisps of blood, its speed was gradually increasing, but naturally it still could not reach its normal speed. The sound of pursuing hoof beats continuously grew in his eardrums, just like a magic spell pressing him to the death. Under the illumination of the lightning, the entire prairie was shrouded in boundless rainstorm; rainwater poured down in torrents, forming countless streams, big and small, flowing along the depressions on the grasnd. In the thunderstorm wreaking havoc furiously, the sky seemed to be copsing; it cascaded downpletely out of control, ruthlesslyshing the whole open country, human and animal alike. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, My life thus endeth! He fiercely gritted his teeth and somersaulted down the horseback. At the same time he jabbed his finger on the horses thigh, while he himself ran out to the side. Suffering the pain, the Thousand-Li Dream jumped forward. Kou Zhong said in his heart, Well meet again someday. Myriads of emotion filled his heart. The Thousand-Li Dream was a noble horse, it belonged to the nature, but because Kou Zhong was involved in the ugly struggle of the world, and now that Kou Zhongs little life was difficult to protect, he did not wish for the Thousand-Li Dream to apany him meeting with misfortune and being ughtered, hence he had no choice but to let it go alone, while he would lead the enemy away and bear everything himself. Kou Zhong raised his barely remaining strength; half-blind, he darted to the northwest, while his ear heard the sound of hoof beats pressing near. Kou Zhong looked back, he could only shake his head and sighed bitterly. Turned out the Thousand-Li Dream was turning around to chase after its master. Kou Zhong somersaulted andnded on the horseback. Laughing aloud, he said, Good horse, well die together then! This moment behind him was full ofyer uponyer of cavalry shadows, the enemies have closed to distance to within a hundred zhang. Kou Zhong turned toward the highest terrain nearby, which was a small hill. His spirit entered the Moon in the Well realm, he regted his breathing with all his strength, while secretly made up his mind to fight to the death. The moment he reached the top of the hill would be the moment he turned around and picked up his saber to meet the challenge head on. Killing one he would recover his capital, killing two he would make a profit. Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled out the Moon in the Well and rushed up the slope of the hill. Suddenly arge number of soldiers appeared up the slope, riding on horseback with bent bow and arrow at the ready, aiming the arrows in his direction. Focusing his eyes, Kou Zhong shouted in delight, Yuekepeng! Unexpectedly they were Jushi Kingdom brothers. Yuekepeng took the lead; his cavalry saber moved forward, lifted high, and chopped down, his mouth shouted the order. Hundreds of arrows flew up, over Kou Zhongs head, and prated the violently pouring down heavy rain, powerfully and swiftly rained down on Bai Ziting and his men. It happened so suddenly, Bai Zitings side did not have time to pull the shield to protect them from the arrows, coupled with the blurry line of sight, more than thirty riders at the front row were hit by the arrows, one after another they fell to the ground. Momentarily the men copsing, the horses neighing, the situation was chaotic to the extreme point. Kou Zhong urged his horse to gallop to the top of the slope. The second round of powerful arrows filled the sky like locust gue, flying toward the enemy ranks, shooting down another dozens of people. Bai Zitings side did not dare to push forward, they retreated in a flurry, leaving dead bodies, both human and horses, to fill the earth. The blood on the grass was quickly washed away by the rain. Coming back from the deaths door, panting for breath, Kou Zhong called out, Left side! Without waiting for him to finish, Yuekepeng already shouted his order, his men shot the enemy riders attacking from the left nk. The situation was still critical, as the other group of the enemy from the right nk already reached the foot of the hill. Kou Zhong took a deep breath and raised and amassed his power, the Moon in the Well was back into its scabbard. Leaning forward, he grabbed four arrows from Yuekepengs quiver, while his other hand pulled his bow. The string of arrows flew out of the Piercing the Sun Bow toward the enemy riders. The remaining riders did not dare to advance prematurely, they pulled back one after another. By this moment Bai Ziting regrouped his offensive, he took out the rattan shield to protect himself, as well as his horse. The moment the riders of the left and right wings retreated, he charged up the hill directly from the front. Kou Zhongughed aloud. The Piercing the Sun Bow shot another string of arrows. Like a piece of paper, the rattan shields were prated and broken, a lot of enemies were hit, falling backward and tumbling down, rolling to the bottom of the slope. The Jushi Kingdom warriors morale was soaring. Hundreds of arrows were shot, forcing Bai Ziting and his men to retreat down the hill. The sound of hoof beats came from a distance to the left. Gunatai brothers and a group of Shiwei warriors, more than five hundred riders, braving the rain, charged over. Bugle horn sounded. Finally Bai Ziting issued the order to retreat. Thunder and lightning finally abated, although the heavy rain was still falling endlessly from the sky. Xu Ziling passed through the hazy, dark like nighttime grassy forest, rushing in the direction of Longquan Upper Capital. His heart calmed down, it became a piece of tranquility. Two shadows appeared ahead. Xu Ziling focused his power into his pair of eyes and concentrated his attention to look. Immediately he was pleased beyond his expectations, while feeling relieved at the same time. Unexpectedly it was Yin Xianhe, apanied by Ba Fenghan,ing to meet with him. Still far away, Ba Fenghan alreadyughed aloud and sped up to rush over. Reaching out, he grabbed his shoulders in tight embrace and said with a sigh, Only now do I know what is called like a thing of the previous generation. This morning I went to town but did not see you. Kou Zhong and I were so worried that we wanted to cry for help. Xu Ziling reached out to grab him back; heughed and said, You were worried about me, I was worried for you. Where on earth did you go these past couple of days? Yin Xianhe came to the two mens side and spoke in astonishment, Didnt Xu Xiong stay at the Little Longquan to watch over Ma Ji? Xu Ziling cheerfully said, I came back because I want to recruit all brothers men and horses, on ount of Ma Ji is going to transport the sheepskin to Gaoli. And the goods that those three Gaoli merchant ships are bringing, I am sure they are weapons, bows and arrows, and the like; all war essentials. Shaken, Ba Fenghan said, Not good! The other two were startled; they looked at him in shock. Ba Fenghans expression became very ugly; he exined, This morning Kou Zhong went to see Bai Ziting toy his cards on the table. He wanted to make a deal with him by using the seized bows and arrows in exchange of the sheepskin and the Pingyao merchants long-term debt. Now that Bai Ziting has his supplies from Gaoli, naturally he wont be threatened by Kou Zhong. Just from the fact that you were able to see that Ma Ji is shipping the sheepskin away, I know that he is not going topromise the deal. The murderous aura in Xu Zilings pair of eyes ring greatly, he said, If Kou Zhong met unexpected misfortune, I definitely wont let Bai Ziting get away. We are going to Longquan at once. The two armies met at the top of the hill. After Kou Zhong introduced both sides to each other, Yuekepeng exined in Tujuenguage, Last night, after Longquan imposed the curfew, Bai Ziting sent out his troops to besiege our guesthouse and confiscate our weapons, bows and arrows. They used us of harboring malicious intent toward him and expelled us out of the city, telling us that we must return to our home country that very night. Fortunately we already made preparation; we had a batch of bows, arrows, and weapons buried outside the city. Pretending to go far away, we returned in secret, and by chance encountering Shaoshuai being hunted to be killed by Bai Ziting, hence we were able to vent this resentment. Bielegunatai did not understand, Could it be that Bai Ziting does not want his bows and arrows back? he asked, Why unexpectedly he wanted to put Shaoshuai to death? Fortunately our spies found out that Bai Ziting prepared troops outside the south gate. Realizing something was amiss, we immediately came to help. Kou Zhong looked up to the sky to let the rainwatershed on his face; he sighed and said, It was not until I came face to face with Bai Ziting that I really understood how despicable and shameless he is, how he would do anything by fair means or foul to get what he want. Ay! Not only Old Bai wanted to kill me to establish his prestige and announce it publicly, he also detained Shuwen and the Heavenly Saber Song Ques son. Bugunatai exploded in anger, Knowing very well that Shuwen is our man, Shaoshuai is our friend, Bai Ziting still dared to be this presumptuous? F*ck his Niang, we absolutely not going to let this matter drop. The lightning light in Bielegunatais pair of eyes shing fiercely, he said coldly, He is forcing us to stand on the Tujues side; I never thought that he would be this stupid. Kou Zhong felt big headache; he had patted his chest to make guarantee to Shang Xiufang that he was going to help the innocent people of Longquan Upper Capital to avoid the disaster of war. The problem was that Bai Ziting lit up the fire everywhere, showing clearly that he would not hesitate to sacrifice everything. How could he bring this matter to good conclusion? Yuekepengs lieutenant, Kezhuan suddenly shouted loudly, Look! Everybody turned their eyes following his finger. In the wind and rain filling the whole sky, three figures were rushing toward them. Kou Zhong eximed in delight. Mad with joy, he rushed down the hill toward the three men. Book 44 - 4 – Overcoming Bohai The wind and the rain fused all the scenery between the heaven and the earth into one entity. From the woods southwest of Little Longquan looking in the direction of the seaport, everything appeared hazy. Although the thunder and lightning have stopped, which somewhat reducing the heaven and earths prestige, but the grass and the trees, still straining to stand still in the wind, made people feel the violent side of nature. Pulling Xu Ziling aside, Yin Xianhe spoke indifferently, I want to ask Xu Xiong a favor. Inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly astonished; what could possibly make this haughty, had-no-regard-for-the-others to open his mouth to request help? He hurriedly replied, Yin Xiong, just tell me, Xiaodi will definitely exhaust my strength to carry it through. Yin Xianhe was silent for half a day. Finally, he spoke with wooden expression, I want you guys to let Zong Xianghua off. Xu Ziling was stunned, but he responded without the slightest bit of hesitation, Leave this matter to me, I can guarantee that she would not receive any harm. This moment, on the other side, Kou Zhong and the others leaped from the treetop back onto the ground. After sharing what they learned from observing the enemy, Kou Zhong called out loudly, Two Dage, why havent youe here to discuss battle strategy to ovee the entire Bohai? His Niang! I wonder if Yin Xiong speaks Tujue? Because Gunatai brothers dont speak Hannguage. Ba Fenghan replied on behalf of Yin Xianhe, he said with augh, Shaoshuai, dont worry, any Han who mingle in the Shanhai Pass region would more or less understand a few Tujue words, to say nothing of Yin Xiong is able to move unhindered inside and outside the border; how could he not be proficient in ournguage? Kou Zhong muttered, Its not that I dont know, but in one year, Yin Xiong only speaks a few words, I am afraid he is the only exception. Yin Xianhes face showed a weird expression; obviously he was not ustomed to be teased. He did not respond, only to Xu Ziling he spoke in low voice, Xu Xiong is indeed my friend. Xu Zilings heart grew warm, knowing that for someone cold and detached like Yin Xianhe, because Xu Ziling did not ask the reason, but readily epted responsibility on Zong Xianghuas affair, he was quite grateful. In a ruthless and callous war, to harm the opposite sides high-ranking military officer inmand was easier said than done, yet Xu Ziling agreed without the slightest bit of hesitation. Xu Ziling patted Yin Xianhes shoulder, and then he walked over to Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Gunatai brothers, Yuekepeng and Kezhuan. Coming to Kou Zhongs side, he whispered in Tujuenguage, Dont make a fuss about nothing, Yin Xiongdi has ordered us not to harm even half a strand of Zong Yudaizhangs [imperial chief?] hair. Except for Kou Zhong, everybody revealed an astonished look. There was a saying that to capture the thief, one must capture the king first. If they did not target the enemysmander-in-chief, how were they going to achieve aprehensive victory in this battle? Fortunately, Xu Ziling already said Dont make a fuss about nothing, otherwise everybody would voice their disagreement in chorus. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Yin Xiongs order, naturally Xiaodi does not dare to disobey. Although Bai Ziting is not righteous, we are not heartless at all. If the Mohe tribe is struck and copsing, there is absolutely no benefit to Shiwei and Jushi. Yin Xianhe stood alone far away from everybody else. Amidst the windswept and battered by rain weather, he cast his gaze in the direction of the seaport. Bielegunatai raised his hand to wipe the rain on his face. He nodded and said, Shaoshuai speak out the contradiction in our, two brothers heart. Frowning, Yuekepeng said, We dont even have any idea where Zong Xianghuas location is, how could we avoid the important and dwell on the trivial by not confronting her directly? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, How could we not confront her directly? If we try to capture her alive, and then we hand her over to Yin Xiong to be dealt with, wouldnt it be the same as fulfilling Yin Xiongs wish? Evidently Kou Zhong has already fully restored his usual fighting spirit and confidence. His pair of eyes shing, he looked at the big stone fort located between them and the docks, the emblem of Little Longquans safety and control and power; he said, I originally thought to take advantage of the moment while the enemies are blind and deaf because of the heavy rain tounch surprise attack and strike swiftly, capturing the Little Longquan in one move, so that even if Bai Zitings military strength is a hundred times our strength, this moment where the Wolf Army is pressing down on their territory, he would be helpless to deal with us, and would not dare to attack us. At that time, if we want Bai Ziting to kneel on the ground and call us Daye [big master], he could only obediently do our bidding. But now naturally we must change our strategy. Ha! I got it! Bugunatai cheerfully said, With Shaoshuai here, there is no problem that cannot be solved. Bielegunatai smiled and said, Since we cannot capture the thief by capturing the king first, perhaps we should control the enemies by capturing their ships first? Everybody immediately agreed. Kou Zhongughed and said, Biele LaoGe indeed knows my heart. The enemy force is around a thousand, a thousand five hundred, we are only half of the enemys strength. Although with troops appearing suddenly and surprise attack we could grasp it and victory is assured, it would be difficult for us to avoid injuries and deaths. Zong Xianghua is the high-ranking military officer that Bai Ziting put in an important position, she should have some real skill. On top of that, there are Ma Ji and the martial art masters from the Gaoli side. If we could only achieve victory tragically, we would not be able to withstand Bai Zitings counterattack, in the end the spoils of war could only be presented back with both hands. Therefore, we must avoid the important and dwell on the trivial by letting Zong Xianghua sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat, we only capture Ma Ji, that muddled-egg to dispose of the matter. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Dont forget that those three big ships came from Gaoli; they could be Gesuwens ship, or could be Gaoli Kings mens. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, That is another problem that gives us headache; we must not kill Xiao Shiyis [young martial aunt] men, otherwise Fu Dashi will never forgive us. Hearing that, Bielegunatai and the others were at a loss. After Xu Ziling exined it to them briefly, Kou Zhong said, If we could control Gaolis and Ma Jis several big ships, also attack and upy the stone fort, Zong Xianghuas army could only retreat, there is no other way. Xu Ziling said, Leave the docks to Fenghan Xiong, Yin Xiong, and me. If we have about a hundred brothers who are proficient in water skill, we could catch them off guard, the enemy will definitely be taken in. On the stone fort, you must be careful. If the enemy detects our presence first, we would have to pack our food and leave before we finish eating. Yuekepeng smiled and said, On that, Xiaodi can make some contributions. How about more than a dozen sets of Mohe army uniforms? This is our prop to assassinate Funantuo. Kou Zhong was pleased beyond his expectations; he said, Heavy rain plus disguise, how could the enemy not fall into the trap? This matter should not be dyed, when the heavy rain stops, it will be our turn to suffer hardship. The moment everybody, each man was making preparation, Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling and took him toward Yin Xianhe. When they reached his side, Kou Zhong exined the n of attack to Yin Xianhe, saying, I wonder if Die Gongzi agrees with this arrangement. If Die Gongzi shook your head, Xiaodi will think of something else. His gaze fixed on the stone fort in the wind and the rain, Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, What if Zong Xianghua is inside the stone fort, taking shelter from the rain? Kou Zhong unhurriedly replied, Xiaodi will personally capture her, and then Ill hand her over to Yin Xiong to be dealt with. Heaving a sigh, Yin Xianhe said, That is a way within no way. I always thought Shaoshuai is that kind of person, who disregard everything in striving for the world, but now I know that my assessment is wrong! Kou Zhong wanted to seize this opportunity to ask about his rtionship with Zong Xianghua, but in the end he restrained himself, and left to deal with other things. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Lets go find Old Ba first to discuss appropriate attack strategy. As long as we can catch Ma Ji, we could uncover the mystery of the wolf-bandits and the Anle tragedy. Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Bugunatai, and more than eighty Shiwei warriors proficient in water skill hid at the other side of the harbor. They only had to swim across about half a li distance to reach Ma Jis and the Gaoli peoples four big ships. The wind and the rain were still going strong, in the Little Longquans seaport, the waves were high, the sea was raging. Moored at the piers, over twenty big ships and the other nearly fifty mid- and small-size boats were tossed around by the waves like toys without the power to move independently. No one was in sight at the piers, everybody was hiding inside any shelter with roof over it. Although there were guards in the coastal watchtower, but all were hiding in the lower levels to take shelter from the rain. Yin Xianhe, in Tujuenguage, spoke in low voice, I am sure Ma Ji is not on board. Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and the others nodded in agreement. Onnd, Ma Ji was ustomed to live in luxury, although sometimes he might travel by boat, but it was limited to the calm river andke. Something like the angry waves and the ocean surging up violently before their eyes, he absolutely could not stand it; therefore, he must have hid somewhere on shore. Ba Fenghan said, Those who can get off the ship must have left to take shelter from the wind and the waves, therefore, after we climb on board, we should not encounter too much of a resistance. In this way, we might as well be a bit stringent to our own requirements. While the enemy are unaware, we seize control of these four ships first, and then go ashore to look for Ma Ji to give him bad luck. That shouldnt be any problem, Bugunatai cheerfully said, My brothers and I are best at sudden attack. Furthermore, everybody is only thinking about hiding inside the cabin to avoid the rain; as long as we seal all exits from the ship, using the ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt-momentum, we subdue everybody remaining on the ship in one move. Even if someone shout in time, it will be hard for his voice to rm the people on shore. Ba Fenghan said, The wind is blowing from the direction of the sea. Because these four ships carry heavy load, they are extremely deep into the water. If we unfold the sail and steer the ships away from the pier, we risk being turned over by the wind and the waves. Therefore, we only have to seize control over the spoils of war, in concert with the action on the other side. If we could defend the four ships firmly, we could make the enemy lose their mind, then the opposite side will be under our control. Remember not to harm anybody as much as possible, Xu Ziling reminded them. Bugunataiughed and said, Xu Xiong, dont worry, my brothers have prepared horse rope; they are equally expert in catching people or catching horses, it is very suitable. Go! Everybody entered the water and rapidly dove toward the target. Kou Zhong, Yuekepeng, Kezhuan, Bielegunatai, and more than thirty Shiwei n and Jushi elite warriors, wearing Mohe soldier attire, reined their horses waiting patiently in the forest, calcting the time. Bielegunatai said, The stone forts main defensive force is on the eight arrow towers on the upper level. As long as we could press our way nearby, we could pounce up the stairs and then from the staircase we attack into the fort, with all our strength we control the only entrance and exit of the stone fort. At that time the stone fort will be in our hands. Kezhuan said, Shaoshuai, be careful, I hear Zong Xianghuas swordsmanship is brilliant, you must not underestimate the enemy. Bielegunataiughed and said, If you have seen Shaoshuai beheading Shen Mohuan within six saber strikes, you would not have been this worried. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Underestimating the enemy is a big taboo in the art of war; not only me, but everybody must be careful. Its almost time! Brothers! Proceed ording to n. Everybody flew onto the horseback at the same time. Like a gust of wind they rolled out of the forest, entering the howling wind and torrential rain outside the forest at full speed. Behind, the more than four hundred Shiwei and Jushi warriors, divided into two groups, also pushed forward to upy favorable attack position, ready to provide assistance to the raid. Kou Zhong galloped at the head of the line, the Thousand-Li Dreams strong legs were like flying, carrying him toward the stone fort. How could he aplish hismitment to Shang Xiufang, to put an end to this conflict, which could raze Longquan to the ground and burn all living thing to charcoal? He no longer had the slightest bit of confidence, he could only take it one step at a time, to raise the bargaining chip in his hand as much as possible, to make Bai Ziting sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat. Relying on his influence on Tuli, he wanted to reach mutually eptable peace talk. Ay! What kind of difficult-above-difficult matter was this? Song Shidao and Shuwen and so on were still in Bai Zitings hands; on top of that, there were still the gratitude and grudges entanglement with his young martial aunt, as well as the shady rtionship between Bai Ziting and Da Ming Zun Jiao, while Huyan Jin, Du Xing, and the others were on the sidelines, and Gesuwen was probably lying down in ambush somewhere, and Funantuos influence, and so on, which wouldplicate the matter in a hurry, which were even more difficult to solve. And tomorrow morning was precisely the deadline that the Tujue demanded of Bai Ziting to present the treasure. He only had half a day plus one night of time. His promise to Shang Xiufang was really not a decision made on a whim; rather, he knew that it was Xu Zilings wish. Therefore, no matter how difficult, he simply must try to achieve it. The sound of hoof beats rmed the soldiers guarding the stone fort. They only saw the guards on two of the arrow towers appearing and looking in their direction. Yuekepeng sped up to pass Kou Zhong. Using Hannguage, with a little bit of Mohe Longquan local ent, which he imitated just enough to sound authentic, he shouted loudly, Tujue Wolf Armysing! Da Wangs order! Prepare for battle immediately! The bell tower, which was located right in the middle of the upper level of the stone fort, immediately sounded the rm. When the bell sounded, Xu Zilings side had just put the four target big ships under control. Due to the unexpected rm, they did not dare to move lightly to look for Ma Ji to settle the ount; they could only stay on board to quietly watch for any changes. Amidst the howling wind and torrential rain, which made everything mixed together and blurry, even with Xu Zilings, Ba Fenghans and the others eyesight, they still could not see clearly the situation at the stone fort nearly half a li away. They could only guess that the enemys warning bell would make the operation on Kou Zhongs side not proceeding smoothly [orig. with tail wind, flowing with the current]. The army camp, located north of the docks, was like a beehive as the soldiers sprang into action, men and horses rushed about to line up in formation, rapid, quick, without confusion, a clear sign that Mohe army was indeed the elite brigade of the northeast prairie. By the time the bell rang for the tenth time, the bugle horn sounded, the first squad of one hundred cavalrymen galloped out of the camp, heading in the direction of the stone fort. Watching this, everybody knitted their brows. Bugunatai made prompt decision; he leaped down and shouted loudly, Bugunatai of Mengwu Shiwei is here, little thieves of Mohe, quicklye out to receive your death. On the ships, his men shouted together, their voices spreading throughout the seaport area, momentarily even the sound of the wind and the rain could not cover it. On the camp side, as the Mohe soldiers heard it, they were thrown into confusion. Only this moment did the imperial bodyguards on duty on the watchtower realized that the four ships have fallen into the enemys hands. Hastily they also sounded the warning bells on the watchtower. Dang! Dang! Dang! The sound of the bells rose and fell in session, the sound traveled far to Little Longquan on the opposite side, sending it into the nightmare of enemies in front and behind them. The guards from the army camp dispatched only a small team to provide assistance to the stone fort, while the rest galloped entirely toward the piers on this side. Obviously themanding generals, after weighing the severity of the matter, still considered recapturing the four ships to be their top priority. The divine light in Bugunatais pair of eyes shing, he thundered, Brothers! Prepare to meet the enemy head-on! The numerous Shiwei warriors pulled their bowstrings with arrows at the ready, they all shouted in response. Ba Fenghan took out the Shooting the Moon Bow, he roared inughter and said, Coming one, we kill one,ing two, we kill a pair! Whoosh! The powerful arrow from the Shooting the Moon Bow swiftly flew across the more than a thousand paces distance, and hit the closest guard on one of the watchtowers, piercing his chest. The guard screamed and fell down the watchtower. Immediately the Shiwei archers morale was greatly aroused; they cheered in unison. Arrows and darts prated the wind and the rain, each one was aimed at the charging enemy, as if it was another gust of unruly wind and rain in the storm. Xu Ziling paid close attention to Yin Xianhe. He saw him, with wooden expression, running his eyes over the pier area, watching at the people rushing in and out of the shipyard and warehouses in a flurry to check on the situation; knowing that he was looking for Zong Xianghuas beautiful figure, he sighed inwardly. In this fiery moment where bloody battle was about to start, his mind flew far away into the Central Earth, into a small valley, the ce that he had never set foot on, hence he could only imagine. The ship he was on was bobbing up and down on the ocean, which connected him with the Great River of the Central Earth. If he wanted to, he could set sail and steer the boat south along the coastal area, straight toward the secluded forest in the small valley, where Shi Qingxuan lived in seclusion, shunning the world. Since leaving Chengdu, he had been downhearted; he strived hard to suppress his love to Shi Qingxuan. He did not want to think about her, he did not dare to think about her. But in Longquan, his spirit suffered the longing toward Shi Feixuan, like a flood bursting through the dike. Not only it ignited his fiery love toward Shi Feixuan, it also stirred up his longing and affection toward Shi Qingxuan. When Shi Feixuan was still here, his heart and spirit were entirely focused on her, the memory of Shi Qingxuan was only like floating cloud over the sky. Shi Feixuan finally left him, while also exhorted him three, four times to look after Shi Qingxuan, so that his heart, which has be like cold ashes toward Shi Qingxuan, has once again aze. Not to mention there was also the Tianzhu Xiao, wrapped tightly in oilcloth, which Shang Xiufang entrusted to him to be presented to her. Loss is the same as gain. Would he be the person who never strive and fight for his own happiness? Whoosh! A powerful arrow flitted across on the top of his head. Xu Ziling came to his senses, only to see the pier waspletely covered by Mohe warriors rushing up the ship to attack violently; despite the fact that they were suffering a crushing defeat under the Shiwei warriors of arrows, they were still dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety, charging over, one fell, the next followed. The bloody cruel war dragged him back from the depth of the tender, full-of-ecstasy world because of Shi Qingxuan. Bai Ziting was right, the heavy rain was indeed advantageous for defense but not for offense. Even if the opposite side had many times the number of men and horses, it was difficult to carryout an all-out attack. Xu Ziling shouted loudly, his pair of fists shot out together, striking two Mohe warriors, who had just pounced on the ship, sending them down the seawater. Ma Ji is over there! Yin Xianhe shouted loudly. Xu Ziling raised his leg to kick another enemy into the air; casting a nce, he saw Ma Ji and more than thirty of his men galloped out of the army camp, heading north. They must have seen that the situation was not good, hence they wanted to escape to the wilderness. Ba Fenghan shouted, Ziling and Yin Xiong go after Ma Ji, leave the situation here to me and Bugunatai. Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe pounced onto the pier, throwing the enemys troops disposition in great chaos, believing that these two went down the ship to strike back. After knocking down more than a dozen enemies like cutting melon and slicing vegetables, the two flipped over to seize two warhorses and pursued in the direction where Ma Ji had fled. In the wind and the rain filling the whole sky, the sudden and violent attack on Little Longquan was in full swing. One after another the otherrge and small vessels moored on the shore left the dock in order to avoid bringing disaster to the fish in the moat. The porters, who had been transporting the goods on and off the ships, could only hate their Die and Niang for giving birth to them with only one pair of legs; those who could get on the boat got on the boat, those who did not have time to get on the boat had no choice but to flee into the woods nearby. The bugle horn sounded again, the sound of battle cry and the wind and the rain mixed together. Book 44 - 5 – Clear Sky After the Rain Unexpectedly, the soldiers guarding the stone forts first reaction was to ring the warning bell. This was indeed beyond Kou Zhong and the others expectation. Fortunately, there was no arrow or dart being shot at them, otherwise, it would ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful; they would be stopped forcefully outside the stone fort. Because the Tujue main forces were about to invade their territory, the entire Mohe nsmen were like a piece of string pulled taut, any little wind blowing, the grass moving immediately triggered thempletely, but they did not see through Kou Zhong and the others disguise. The guards continuously swarmed up the forts arrow tower. Someone shouted down, Password! Kou Zhong overtook the crowd, heughed aloud and said, Forgot to ask Bai Ziting! He sprang up from the Thousand-Li Dreams back, the Moon in the Well turned into a circle of saber light protecting his front, he flew over to the stone forts upper level like a stone being shot by a trebuchet. Only this moment did the enemy find out that the iing people were enemies and not friends. Hastily the bent their bows and put on arrows, but they were one step toote. By the time the Moon in the Wells saber light was unleashed, one after another Bielegunatai, Yuekepeng, Kezhuan, and more than thirty of the most powerful Shiwei and Jushi warriors soared off their horseback and pounced the guards on the tower, who did not know what to do. At the same time, the two teams of warriors, which amounted to two hundred men C waiting to ambush inside the forest, charged out to intercept the enemying from the army camp to help. Their strategy was to make the Little Longquans defenders mistakenly think that it was the Tujue army invading their territory, so that they would feel in their heart that it was futile to resist and that the situation was hopeless. The violent attack, coupled with the howling wind and torrential rain, indeed felt like Tujue armys surprise attack. Everywhere that Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well went, the enemy was either dead or wounded. In just a few breaths, the stone forts upper levels city gate tower has fallen under their control. Bielegunatai took the lead. His left and right, a pair of axes whirled like wheels, pressing down and chopping the guards charging upstairs from the lower level. The blockers were swept by the wind. Stepping over the enemys corpses, he forcefully advanced down to the lower level. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong really had a taste of Bielegunatais fierce and severe axe technique; no wonder he was called the Mighty of the Erguna [Argun] River, and was praised as the unrivalled martial art master. Kou Zhong fought side by side with Bielegunatai. The Moon in the Well moved in concert with the double-axe, they killed every enemy they encountered, as they advanced step-by-step into the fort. Little Longquan was in total chaos, the sound of shouting and killing wasing from both the stone fort and the docks. Under the relentless and ruthless whipping of the wind and the rain, the panicked porters, shipyard workers, the merchants who had not had any chance to board the ships, as well as the soldiers who were losing their mind, scattered in all directions, fleeing in disarray, as if doomsday wasing. The earth turned dark, the sky hazy, Xu Ziling, with a long spear, which he conveniently snatched away, and Yin Xianhe spurred their horses in the direction where Ma Ji was escaping. Ma Ji was the key figure in the wolf-bandits incidents, as long as they could capture him, the truth might be like as the water recedes, the rocks appear. Suddenly a group of more than a hundred Mohe soldiers came from the side, breaking through the wind and rain to cut their way; surprisingly, the leader was Zong Xianghua, the chief imperial bodyguards under Bai Zitingsmand. She was brandishing a long sword, the braids of her hair flying, the pretty pupil of her eyes emitted fiendish light, she shouted sternly, Kill without mercy! Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. On the battlefield, it was either kill or be killed; but since he already promised Yin Xianhe not to harm Zong Xianghua, his only choice was to avoid this battle and stare nkly as Ma Ji escaped. Pulling the rein, he called out to Yin Xianhe, This way! He urged his horse to the left, heading for the stone fort instead. Yin Xianhe understood; he hurriedly followed. Zong Xianghua let out a tender shout and led her men to pursue relentlessly behind the two. In the heavy rain, which was like pouring down from the tray C covering up the sky, suddenly a group of riders came from ahead like a whirlwind; surprisingly, it was the Shiwei and Jushi coalition army,ing with rainbow-like momentum to attack. Xu Ziling had no other choice, together with Yin Xianhe they turned around to meet Zong Xianghuas pursuing troops head-on. Qiang! Qiang! Unleashing his spear technique, Xu Ziling cut the mad-tiger-like Zong Xianghua and engaged her in horseback battle. Although this beautiful woman was dashing bravely with no thought of personal safety, plus her swordsmanship was brilliant, she was still some distance away from Xu Ziling. By utilizing an ingenious usage of the length of his spear, he entangled her and did not let her go, so that she could neither advance nor retreat, and was trapped in a hard battle situation. Yin Xianhe understood his intention, he cooperated in one heart with the allied armiesing to help. In just a short time, due to their lofty spirit, morale and superior military strength, they beat Zong Xianghuas entourage that everything was broken and in disorder, and they fled everywhere and in all directions. From the stone fortress side, the sound of hoof beats shook the sky, the other team of the allied armies, in hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earth momentum, arrived. Taking the lead were precisely Kou Zhong, Bielegunatai, and Yuekepeng, three men. Anybody knew that the overall battle situation has already been decided. Zong Xianghua, leading a group of stubbornly-resisting warriors, was unable to hold out; the dead was dead, the wounded was wounded, some escaped to the wilderness, leaving this long-legged female general alone, still staking her life. Dang! The long sword fell to the ground. Xu Ziling sent out the Treasured-Vase True Power via the long spear, one was heavier than the previous, finally Zong Xianghuas palm [orig. the web between the thumb and the forefinger] was shaken and cracked, the treasured sword fell to the ground. Kou Zhong and the others left Xu Ziling alone to deal with Zong Xianghua, they continued toward the docks to pounce on the enemy. Yin Xianhe pulled the rein and came back to Xu Zilings side. Zong Xianghuas warhorse was still snorting and skipping, but she was sitting on the horseback like a wooden chicken, her expression looked sad. Xu Ziling heaved a sigh again and said, Shiwei Zhang [imperial bodyguard chief], please go back to notify your honorable superior Zong Xianghua shouted sternly, Ill stake everything against you! Spurring her horse, she charged toward the two men. The two sidestepped to the left and right, so that Zong Xianghua was pouncing on empty air. Reining her horse, she turned around called out in grief, Just kill me! Why dont you kill me? In the midst of the sound of the chaotic warfare under the blowing wind and pouring rain, her voice seemed to be near, yet far away, as if in a nightmare. From the bottom of his heart, Xu Ziling was weary of war and hatred and killing; recalling that justst night they were sitting around the same banquet table, raising their cups to toast one another, while talking andughing, yet today they faced each other in you die, I live manner, not willing to yield to one another. Smiling bitterly, he said, If your honorable superior did not wish to put us to death, how could we all meet on the battlefield? Victory or defeat ismonce in military operations. As long as we can agree on suitable terms, we could return Little Longquan back to you. Great ns can be ruined by just a touch of impatience. Zong Shiwei Zhang, please go back! Zong Xianghua was silent for half a day. Her gaze turned to Yin Xianhe, emitting a deep hatred. Good! Good! she shouted, and then, pulling the rein, she turned her horse around and let the sound of hoof beats disappear into the boundless wind and rain. Yin Xianhe slightly hesitated. He waved to Xu Ziling and ran after her figure. The wind and the rain gradually abated, but it has notpletely stopped; the remainder of its prestige still seemed to stubbornly stay as fine water droplets freely floating and flying in the empty sky, covering the entire bay area in thin-yarn-like cloud or fog, whitewashing the cruel truth of the battlefield. The attack came suddenly and it ended just as abruptly, leaving behind dead and injured men and horses everywhere. A beam of sunlight broke through the seams of the clouds, shining on the four ships, the spoils of war, moored on the shore. The ck clouds in the sky, like a curtain being pulled open, revealed the beautiful blue sky behind them, as if frantic storm just now hadpletely washed it clean. With nk expression on his face, Kou Zhong sat on a stone stump where the ship was tied, apanied by Xu Ziling, gazing at the ocean, which has been disappeared from sight for a long time, looking at the sunlight like a monarch overlooking the heaven and earth before its eyes C once again. They finally got back the eighty thousand sheets of highest quality sheepskin. The Gaoli ships were carrying a full load of bows, arrows, weapons, and a variety of city-defense equipment. Bai Ziting was really formidable. If these things fell into his hands,bined with the ambushing troops that was most probably under Gesuwens personalmand, they could really surprise the unrivalled and mighty Tujue army, so much so that they could even force them to fall headfirst. Ma Jis cabin on board was filled with priceless gold and silver and precious stones, enough for an average person to spend in wild living for ten generations. This wealth could be used topensate the Pingyao merchants. All of a sudden most of their problems were solved. Kou Zhong turned his head around to nce at the Shiwei and Jushi warriors cleaning up the battlefield behind him. Shaking his head, he smiled ruefully and said, I am beginning to be weary of war as well! Only I hate it that I have no other choice, I must resolutely continue. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Your resolution does not seem to be too resolute at all. I even think that you are a bit afraid to face the reality. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes revealed a contemtive expression; he spoke slowly, Reality is indeed extremely cruel, making it unbearable to see. I, Kou Zhong, whether I am the king or the bandit, it will depend on whether or not I can defend Luoyang and defeat Li kid. Ay! His Niang! Whether I am a king or a bandit, Laozi is clearly surnamed Kou [lit. bandit], so I am viting the taboo of my name. In the future, if my dead body lies in Luoyang, remember to ask my bones back from Li kid, and bury me in Niangs valley, let me obediently keep Niangpany. Ba Fenghan came behind the two. Hearing that, he said, Since thats the case, you might as well let Wang Shichong, that old fox, to emerge and perish on his own [idiom: to run its course], and then Shaoshuai can go all-out to capture the Eastern Capital, which is your hometown anyway; how could you give Li Haitong [I think its supposed to be Li Zitong], that outsider, the convenience to upy a favorable location? Kou Zhong said, If there is any choice, who would want apany Wang Shichong to be on his way together? Only I hate that the Li n already has an agreement with various powers in Bashu, big and small, that if the House of Tang can capture Luoyang, Bashu will bow before Li Yuan. If that happens, not only the Li Family will obtain Bashus copper, iron and grains, but can also take advantage of the rugged Yangtze River to quickly move their troops to attack enemies on both banks. With the addition of Ol Die Du Fuwei providing assistance midstream, in the world, who could challenge that? Therefore, Luoyang simply must not fall. This was the first time that Ba Fenghan heard about the important agreement that Shi Feixuan won over on behalf of the Li Family. After remaining silent for half a day, he sighed and said, Knowing that undoubtedly defeat is certain, why dont you disband Shaoshuai Army, and then we, three brothers devote ourselves to perfecting our art side by side, whistling and roaming the world? Wont that be a delight? The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes burst forth, heughed aloud and said, The problem is that in war, no victory is permanent. There is no such thing on earth as defeat is certain. Precisely because it is difficult that it also stirs up my will to fight. I, Kou Zhong, am betting my little life in thisrge-scale gambling. And then his gaze turned toward Ma Jis ocean-going ship that they captured, he spoke heavily, Tomorrow, whether Xieli is willing to let Bai Ziting off or not, after settling this matter, Ling Shao and I are going to the sea to deliver these eighty thousand sheets of sheepskin to Shanhai Pass first, afterwards I will travel at double speed to Luoyang, to see whether Laotianye wants me, Kou Zhong, to be buried with the city. Whats your, LaoGes n? Ba Fenghans gaze was fixed on the t line at the end of the ocean, his two eyes emitted unswerving expression. Tranquil, calm, and at ease, he said, Right now my only goal is to defeat Bi Xuan. I may give myself a year to train to beat Bi Xuan. Luoyang should be an ideal ce, but I definitely dont want to be buried with the city. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, With you, LaoGe, lending a hand, its going to be another thing, perhaps Ay! Youd better go elsewhere to train! I really dont want to drag you down. Ba Fenghan threw his head back inughter, he said, You are not dragging me down, I only dont want to give up on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to participate in the life-and-death-attack-and-defense decisive battle for Luoyang, which is unfolding between Kou Zhong, whose name intimidates the world, and the invincible Li Shimin, thats all! Turning to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong asked, Whats Ling Shaos n? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, What do you want me to do? Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, Even if you want to apany me to Luoyang, I wont allow you. If I really can defend Luoyang, so that Li Shimin suffers a real big defeat for the first time, then youe to see me, well drink and have a heart-to-heart chat. That should do it! Xu Ziling was silent for half a day; he sighed and said, Is there really no other choice? Kou Zhong resolutely shook his head and said, Its not that there is no other choice, but I am most willing to pick this path, and now there is no turning back even more. If the House of Tangs crown prince were Li Shimin instead of Li Jiancheng, I mayply with your suggestion, but now I can only persevere with my choice. This moment Bielegunatai and the others have finished their business, they came to have postwar meeting to discuss their next step with the three men; everybody changed to using Tujuenguage. Bugunatai reported, We have a total of 325 prisoners, 254 of whom are Gaoli Kings warriors and sailors. The rest are Mohe n soldiers and Mohe shipyard workers. All are locked up in one of the shipyard building. Kou Zhong felt a big headache. If these three ships belonged to Gesuwen, that would be much better. Its a pity that things turned out contrary to the way he wished. The old grievance with their young martial aunt Fu Junqiang has not been resolved, now they added a new enmity. Bielegunatai said, Bai Zitings main forces may arrive any moment, I already dispatch scouts and sentries. If that happens, we must decide now whether we ought to defend our property to the death or get on the ship and slip away? This ce had a stone fortress in which they could defend their property to the death; as long as they were able to hold out for one night, due to Bai Ziting having misgivings on the Tujue main forces invading their territory, he would pull the troops out of here. The question was whether they would be able to hold out that long. Yuekepeng said, If we want to slip away on the ship, we must move immediately. Otherwise, if the opposite side block the seaport using warships, even if we grew wings, it will still be difficult to fly. Everybody could not help casting their gaze to the exit of the seaport. With the mountain ridges stretching to the left and right, the ocean was encircled, forming a deep and wide natural harbor. The width of the seaport was approximately a hundred zhang, if the enemy had about a dozen warships, they could easily seal off the harbor. Seeing Kou Zhong was muttering to himself irresolutely without speaking, Ba Fenghan knew that he was deep in thought. Where is Yin Xiong? he asked. Noticing that everybodys eyes were on him, Xu Ziling said with a wry smile, He chased after Zong Xianghua. What exactly is his rtionship with Zong Xianghua? Ba Fenghan wondered aloud. Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he had no idea. Kou Zhong finally spoke up, If our goal is just to get the people whom Bai Ziting imprisoned, the best course of action is to take the ship away and use it to bargain with him. Its just that our purpose is more than that. First of all, nobody wants to see the entire Mohe tribe exterminated. Secondly, Peng Xiong bears the heavy responsibility to kill Funantuo to wash away the deep enmity. Therefore, we definitely cannot give up defending the Little Longquan. I have ny-percent confidence that Bai Ziting wont dare to invade our territory. Gentlemen, please see whether Xiaodi is guessing incorrectly, Xielis strength is much higher than his, yet there was that defeat at the Helian Fort. Old Bai is proficient in the art of war, he definitely will not repeat Xielis disastrous policy. Bielegunatai agreed, he said, Shaoshuais remark makes sense. If I were Bai Ziting, I would not dare to take this risk either. We are afraid of Bai Ziting, Bai Ziting is afraid of the Tujue main forces, it bes mutual restraint, no one can move a single step. Having a headache, Ba Fenghan said, I am a Tujue, I understand Xieli and Tulis way of thinking better than you do. Since they already issued written war challenge, telling Bai Ziting to hand over the Five-Colored Stone before sunrise tomorrow, if they could not obtain this demand, the only way is to put Longquan in blood bath, otherwise, the hard-earned reputation that they built in the prairie will be obliteratedpletely. The Five-Colored Stone was in Meiyans hands. Whether they could find Meiyan in such a short period of time was still a big question, while whether they could retrieve the Five-Colored Stone from her hands was another question. Whats more, if Bai Ziting refused to surrender, even if out of their good intentions they handed over the Five-Colored Stone on Bai Zitings behalf, it would be no more than a superfluous action. Yuekepeng sighed and said, Killing the demonic monk is really not an urgent matter, it could be dealt withter. Holding his head in his hands, Kou Zhong said, Who can tell me what is the real rtionship between Meiyan and Funantuo? Naturally no one could provide him with an answer. Xu Ziling calmly said, All these difficult problems are in fact rted to each other. As long as we could make Bai Ziting feel that he ispletely without a chance to seed, he could only surrender, so much so that he might even help us find Meiyan. Bugunataiughed and said, We confiscated these two batches of bows, arrows, and weapons supply for him, how could Bai Ziting not surrender and admit defeat? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Bai Ziting is a natural adventurer, although losing his supply could be a serious blow to him, it is not fatal. Unless we could capture the Wo Long Bie Yuan, so that Bai Ziting bes isted and without help, only then would he be willing to listen obediently. The most ideal is, of course, if he is willing to hand over Funantuo, so that Peng Xiong could bring his severed head back to Turfan. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Whether Gesuwen is deep or shallow, it is hard to fathom. Moreover, we know nothing about his military strength. However, as long as we let Bai Ziting know that we are aware of these wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly (in a raid or ambush)], the existence of Gesuwens army may lose its role. Shaking his head, Bielegunatai said, Bai Ziting could notify Gesuwen to move his troops elsewhere, they could still pose a threat. Kou Zhong pped his thigh, I got it! he said. Everybody knew that he had a hundred wisdom and scheming ability, all eyes were cast on him. Kou Zhong rose to his full height, his gaze swept across his clothes, which had notpletely dried, he said, I am going to see Bai Ziting for a drink and a heart-to-heart chat. Along the way, I am going to see Du Xing and Xu Kaishan. Who wants toe with me? Ba Fenghanughed and said, If its not dangerous, you cant possibly do it. How about Ling Shao and Ie with you to gain first-hand experience of it? So we decide to keep Little Longquan and hold on to it, right? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Not only we are going to defend Little Longquan to the death, we are also going to get that batch of bows and arrows that we hid somece else and bring them here, to be stored inside the stone fort. At the same time, well send our men to watch Wo Long Bie Yuan. My tactic is empty is real, real is empty. As long as Bai Ziting fell into the trap by moving Gesuwens hidden troops elsewhere, well call it a sess. And then he turned to Xu Ziling and asked, Who would be the most suitable person to pass on this information for Bai Ziting? Xu Ziling nodded in agreement, he said, Most likely its going to be Funantuo. If Du Xing did not tell us a lie, Funantuos rtionship with Gesuwen ought to be closer than Bai Ziting. Yuekepeng and Kezhuans two pairs of eyes lit up at the same time. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, For the first time we have more bargaining chips in our hands than Bai Zitings. Ay! I hope Pingyaos various gentlemen Dage have not left Longquan. The sound of hoof beats came from the west, rapidlying near. Looking at the direction of the sound, Kou Zhong was shocked, he said, The person that is more difficult to deal with than Bai Ziting has arrived! My Niang! Book 44 - 6 – Grand Gamble of Life and Death Apanied by Jin Zhengzong, Fu Junqiang, full of anger, acting like she was going to look for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to settle an ount C came. However, whether it was beautiful and sweet smile, light scowl or slight knit of the brows, or perhaps like this moment, swelling cheeks due to anger, her pretty eyebrows carrying fiendish light, their young martial aunt was still so much steeped in beauty, brimming with that kind of youthfulness, fresh and clean vor, she was still that touching and adorable. Ba Fenghan said, I admire Jin Zhengzong. Everybody understood what he meant. Ba Fenghan was admiring Jin Zhengzongs guts. It should be noted that on Kou Zhongs side, martial art masters were numerous like a cloud. One wrong word and fight broke, the side suffering losses would undoubtedly Fu Junqiangs. Fu Junqiang was Yijian Dashi Fu Cailinsst disciple. Unless one was unafraid Fu Cailin mighte to give him bad luck, no one would dare to provoke her. But toward Jin Zhengzong, no one would give him preferential treatment. Merely being captured and used as a hostage would be enough to make Jin Zhengzong greatly ufortable. The crowd of warriors knew they were noting to fight, but their chiefs did not have any indication that they were going to let them march straight in unchallenged either. From a distance, Fu Junqiang gazed intently at Kou Zhong. Spurring her horse, she galloped and stopped in front of him, and shouted tenderly, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, roll over here! This was the second time Ba Fenghan saw Fu Junqiang. The first time at Shanhai Pass, it was just a glimpse. While carefully admiring her appearance and mannerism, he said, Why dont you let me deal with her? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, You, LaoGe, wont be able to stand her temper, let me and Ling Shao go! He stepped forward in big strides. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling followed behind him. Fu Junqiang and Jin Zhengzong jumped off their horses. The former pointed her halberd-finger at them and spoke angrily, Although you two are trying to build your words to quibble, I can already see through that you guys are heartless, despicable disciples with meager righteousness. You have gone too far. You have the cheek to kill my people and rob our ships. Kou Zhong came before her and raised his cupped fist to salute, naturally while secretly guarding against her move; he respectfully said, Xiao Shiyi, please calm down for now. We did not kill even half of Xiao Shiyis nsman, nor we robbed Xiao Shiyis ships, they are still sticking unmoving from the original spot! Unable to restrain her fury Fu Junqiang put her hands on her hips and scolded, You still dare to call me Xiao Shiyi? My Yijian Men [School] has no such unworthy disciples like you, Shizun will definitely not let you off. Xu Ziling moved to Kou Zhongs side and spoke indifferently, Fu Guniang, please calm down. This time the situation forced us to do what we did, but our hands were very measured, your honorable nsmen are all safe and sound and in good health. Guniang, please understand. Sweeping her gaze around, Fu Junqiang asked, Where are they? Kou Zhong replied, They are resting in one of the shipyards. You only need to say the word, we will immediately return them to you. Jin Zhengzong joined in, What about those three ships and their cargo? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Gentleman and Lady must know that Bai Ziting wanted to kill me? Fu Junqiang ruthlessly said, Serves you right! Who told you to be the Tujues hunting dog? Toward the deeply prejudiced Fu Junqiang, what exnation could Kou Zhong give? Turning to Jin Zhengzong, he said, I wonder if Jin Xiong know about Bai Ziting, using despicable means, is detaining Song Er Gongzi? Stunned, Jin Zhengzong said, Is there such thing? We thought Song Er Gongzi was with you. Rubbish! Fu Junqiang spoke heavily, How could Bai Ziting dare to be this presumptuous? Remaining tranquil and even-tempered, Xu Ziling said, What good would it do to us to speak a lie that would be so easily exposed? Inwardly, Kou Zhong was starting to get angry, he coldly said, Your goods have been delivered, and Bai Zitings men already personally received it. We only snatched it away from Bai Zitings hands, it no longer has anything to do with Fu Guniang. Fu Junqiangs almond eyes grew big and round; glowering at Kou Zhong, she said, How dare you chew your tongue to speak that kind of beating-around-the-bush remark to me? Smoothing things over, Xu Ziling said, May I venture to trouble Fu Guniang to notify Bai Ziting, if he is willing to release all the people that he is holding in custody, we will return the goods to him? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Let me present a big gift to Xiao Shiyi first. Turning to Bielegunatai and the others, who were standing at the dock, he called out, Please ask all the guests toe out, let them go back to Longquan with Fu Guniang! Fu Junqiang flew onto the horseback, her angry look suddenly disappeared, she spoke with a smile, Oh, Kou Shaoshuai! Well wait and see. You owe us, and one day we are going to demand payment from the two of you, both the principal and the interest! Pulling the bridle, she shouted to Jin Zhengzong, Well return to Gaoli, dont bother with them here, also dont worry about Bai Ziting, that kind of person. Pressing her legs on the horses belly, she left. Jin Zhengzong mounted his horse and ran after her. Waving his hand, he raised his voice to say, Shaoshuai, if you really release our people in good faith, let them go home on the ship by themselves! In the blink of an eye the two went far away. Kou Zhong sighed helplessly and spoke to Xu Ziling, Did you see it? Our enmity with Shigong has been decided! Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, We only need to see how Laotianye is going to arrange it. Ba Fenghan came to the two boys side, his eyes were still following Fu Junqiang and Jin Zhengzong, which soon became two small dots in the distance. Heughed and said, How to keep from either winning or losing under Yijian Dashis sword, I am afraid it will be more difficult than defeating him. This might be the biggest test for the two gentlemen. How are we going to handle those prisoners? Bielegunatai asked. Kou Zhong replied, Deal with the Gaoli people differently than the Mohe people. Let the Gaoli people crowd into one ship and have them return to their country. Since we are going to offend Yijian Dashi anyway, we might as well either give up, or go through to the end. Well borrow their two ships to transport the sheepskin. As for Mohe n people, let them go back to Longquan. This way, it will be more difficult for Bai Ziting to specte on our movement. ept the order! Bugunatai responded in loud voice. Kou Zhong blurted outughing and said, You, this kid, are teasing me as well? We all are brothers! Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling reined their horses to stop at the edge of a forest southwest of Longquan. They intentionally traveled in big circle to avoid the Longquan Armys spies and sentries. The famous lighthouse [note: the original text has this word in quotation marks] outside Longquans south gate was still standing tall and erect, reaching through the clouds [idiom]. In this clear-sky-after-the-rain afternoon, the lighthouse was giving up an idylliczy impression. Xu Ziling said, Last night, it was right here that I encountered Liexia and the woman, who is most probably the Poisonous Water Weinaya. [Note: previously, it was Xinnaya.] The two listened as Xu Ziling recounted his experiencest night. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Liexia is mine, two gentlemen must not argue with Xiaodi. Kou Zhong fixed his eyes on the south gate, from which no traveling merchants either came or went, he said, I am afraid you will have to discuss it with Ke Dazhi first. In this time of soldiers mutiny and troops rebel [idiom: turmoil and chaos of war], based on his style and conduct, he is definitely not going to let Liexia get away. Xu Ziling said, Bai Ziting is indeed something. He suffered such a big loss at Little Longquan, yet he is still acting as if nothing had happened. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, When the released prisoners are returning en masse, paper cannot contain fire, it will render a serious blow and sway the confidence of the troops and civilians inside Longquan. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Turns out your releasing the prisoners has such a wonderful purpose. Shaoshuais fame of wisdom is indeed not in vain. Hows Shaoshuais condition? Xu Ziling asked. Upright and unafraid, Kou Zhong replied, Very brave, of course. After chopping down Shen Mohuan to death within six saber strikesst night, my confidence has returned 100%, even more formidable than before the injury. How about Ling Shao? Flexing up his left hand, Xu Ziling smiled and said, I dont know what magic Shi Xianzi performed on me, but my internal and external injuries have recovered eighty-, ny-percent. Just now while urging the horse toe here, I took the opportunity to regte my breathing. Now I should be ready to deal with any situation. Kou Zhong leaped down from the Thousand-Li Dreams back, he roared inughter and said, In that case, let us, three brothers, charge into Longquan, I want to see what trick Bai Ziting is going to y on us. This morning he nearly killed me through and through, the anger choking me is really too unbearable for me. The three men walked side by side to the city gate, making the high-ranking military officer on guard duty very nervous. On the arrow tower of the city wall, the guards bent their bows and put on their arrows, taking aim at the three. More than a hundred soldiers swarmed out of the city gate. The leader, a Sumo general, shouted loudly, Stop! From a distance, Kou Zhong shouted back, Go tell Bai Ziting, I want to talk face-to-face with him about a business deal. The guarding general did not dare to be negligent, he ordered one his men to fly back into the city to report to Bai Ziting. The three walked over to a grassy slope some ways away on the side and leisurely sat down and rest, to preserve and nurture their spirit, ready to cope with any danger that might arise. Striking a conversation, Ba Fenghan asked, Ziling has not told us where you are going after Longquan? Xu Ziling replied, I might make a detour to Bashu, to aplish the task that Shang Xiufang entrusted to me, to deliver the Tianzhu Xiao to Shi Qingxuan. Kou Zhong made an ambiguous eye signal toward Ba Fenghan; with brows raised in delight and eyesughing [idiom: all smiles], he said, It looks like if we want to visit Ling Shaoter on, we must go to the secluded forest in the small valley. Displeased, Xu Ziling said with a sneer, How about indulging in flights of fancy a bit less? Kou Zhong roared inughter; and then he asked, Just now you said I dont dare to face reality, what do you mean by that? Calmly shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Nothing. I was just referring to you insisting oning with me to visit Da Xiaojie, instead of properly training and giving leadership to Shaoshuai Army currently in Pengliang. Hence I feel that you are afraid to face the reality, acting like you are dragging on a momentary escapism mentality. Crying out for the injustice he suffered, Kou Zhong said, I just did not want to partpany with you that quickly. Besides, I derived considerable benefit from this trip, not only I learned how to look at the weather, I obtained the man-and-horse-as-one technique even more, while also experiencing the formidability of equestrian archery battle beyond the Great Wall. It could be called a return from a rewarding journey. Ba Fenghan said, Your biggest gain, as far as I see it, really is not any of those things, rather, in the prairie you established contacts with people. Take the Gunatai brothers as an example. They are both arrogant and obstinate people, were it not for you making them admire you from the heart, how could they be willing to help you with all their strength? Kou Zhong smiled and said, It was because I considered them as brothers first, and then I also risk my life to get rid of Shen Mohuan for them. Being emotionally touched, naturally they support me. Ay! I always feel that this man, Bielegunatai, is quite ambitious and profoundly shrewd, unlike his younger brother Bugunatai, who is straightforward and honest. Ba Fenghan sneered and said, Able to be the head of a tribe, not only one must speak about strategy, one must speak about character and self-cultivation even more. What about Tuli? We fought life and death battle for him, yet he turned around and go to Xieli to make peace and establish friendly rtions with him. Did he consult and ask for our opinion beforehand? Henceforth I, Ba Fenghan, no longer consider him a brother! Stunned, Kou Zhong said, I understand how you feel, but my reaction is not as intense as yours, LaoGes. I might put myself in his shoes, imagining that he could not, because of giving consideration to his personal problem, disregard the interest of his enormous nsmen, could he? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, You will never understand how I really feel, because you dont have my experience. Besides, you have been in life and death situation together with him, your sentiment toward him is much deeper than my sentiment toward him; therefore, you are more likely to try to justify him. But you and I are different. Tuli and I came from different social sses that are hostile to each other. He has plenty of power, what I have is just a sword that wants to steal the heaven. Xiongdi! Dont say that I have not warned you, there wille a day Tuli and Xieli may join forces and deploy their troops to the south. Youd better have adequate preparation. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling sighed and said, One day Bi Xuan is not dead, this possibility also exists one more day. The divine light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes ring greatly, he groaned in low voice, Bi Xuan! Kou Zhong did not want this debate to deepen Ba Fenghans resentment toward Tuli, he changed the subject, Ling Shao, didnt you say you wanted to be as far away from the Central Earth as possible, because you do not wish to hear any news about me, otherwise you might be unable to bear ande to help me? Remembering Shi Zhixuan, Xu Ziling smiled wryly without saying anything. A rapid sound of hoot beats faintly came from the depth of the city gate. Kou Zhong looked toward the city gate, he spoke indifferently, Funantuo is mine, you guys must not argue with me. Ba Fenghan roared inughter. Copying him earlier, he said, I understand how you feel. The sound of hoof beats stopped. Stunned, the three men looked at each other. They saw Kesubie galloping out of the city gate,ing near the three, and reining his horse and dismounting. He spoke calmly, Da Wang respectfully invites three gentlemen to enter the city to meet with him. Kou Zhong and the others did not expect Bai Ziting to have this move. Meeting inside the city and meeting outside the city were naturally twopletely different things. If they did not dare to enter the city to see Bai Ziting, no matter what, in term of momentum, they would lose one big chunk. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Da Wang is really hospitable. He shot a quick nce toward Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling. Ba Fenghan slightly tightened his jaw, Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders, indicating that he did not care. Patting the Moon in the Well on his back, he rose to his full height and said, I still have a sheepskin robe in the city for repair, even if I dont want to enter the city, I simply cant. Although the south gate was heavily guarded, the city gate tower and the city wall were packed with standing Sumo soldiers, but the atmosphere in the city was not tense at all. Other than the increasing number of patrolling troops, there were also sparse pedestrians dotting the wide Vermilion Bird Boulevard. Shops and markets were doing business as usual. It could clearly be seen that until this moment, Bai Ziting was still full of confidence. Doing negotiation with people with this kind of mentality was certainly not an easy matter. If inside the city they were met with magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, they would have felt calmer and more assured instead. Kesubie took them through the deep and long archway of the city gate, and toward the door of a restaurant closest to the gate. He said respectfully, Da Wang is waiting respectfully inside for three gentlemens good-selves. Kou Zhong quipped, I wonder if Daren is busy with leading the troops to surround us heavily, hence you dont have time to apany us inside? Clearing his throat, Kesubie spoke awkwardly, Shaoshuai really loves to crack jokes. And then he lowered his voice and said, Receiving the lords sry, bearing the lords worry; I hope Shaoshuai understands Xia Guans [low/lowly officer] plight. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he asked, What is Ke Darens official position? Slightly startled, Kesubie replied, Xia Guans official position is You Chengxiang [right prime minister/the most senior minister of many kingdoms or dynasties (with varying roles)]. Kou Zhong was emotionally moved, That is a very high official position. The three knew it was not appropriate to continue talking with Kesubie, they lifted their feet to step into the shop. Inside the restaurant, the hall was spacious but shabby; there were nearly twentyrge round tables, and Bai Ziting was in the table right in the middle of the hall. His expression tranquil, he looked at the three men walking in. The Tianzhu Kuang Seng [mad monk] Funantuo sat on his right-hand side, still carrying that profound-mystery air; Gongqi upied the left seat. Exactly three against three; there was no other person. Six wine cups and a jar of Xiangshui Rice Wine were ced on the table. Bai Ziting stood up suddenly, chuckled, and said, Shaoshuais art is brilliant, your guts is big; surely your name is not in vain, my admiration, my admiration. Please sit down! As he spoke, he personally poured wine into the six empty cups. Kou Zhong, three men sat down, upright and unafraid. The aroma of the fine wine, filling the six cups to the brim, permeated the whole ce. Bai Ziting sat down and raised his cup to propose a toast, saying, With Ba Xiong, this is my first meeting. This cup is for Ba Xiong defeating Bi Xuan in the future. Six men raised their cups to drink. If there were people who did not know the fact watching the scene, they would think that these were old friends reminiscing about the past over wine. Kou Zhong wiped the wine stain off the corner of his mouth, his gaze fell on Gongqis face first, and then smiling slightly, he moved to Funantuo, while speaking cheerfully, Guoshis Brahma and I not two has indeed broadened Xiaodis horizon; too badst night this persons condition was far from good, hence I failed to enjoy myself to the full. Ha! Funantuoughed calmly and said, Its rare that Shaoshuai has such interest, I hope this person will not disappoint Shaoshuai. Bai Ziting put down the wine cup and spoke indifferently, Shaoshuai, please state your conditions. Kou Zhong threw his head back inughter, he said, Very well! Finally Da Wang has the interest to talk business. But I wonder if I could ask Da Wang one question first: in the battle against the Tujue Wolf Army, how much confidence does Da Wang currently have? Keeping his demeanor calm, Bai Ziting replied, Before the two armies sh, who could foresee victory or defeat? We already knew early on that Little Longquan cannot be defended, hence the loss of Little Longquan is not something that we take to heart. As for the loss of supply, it merely makes us cannot add flowers on brocade [idiom: to decorate something already perfect], but its not a big blow to the sess or failure of our city. Since three years ago this king has vowed to establish my kingdom, all along we have been preparing for this war; otherwise today, I, Bai Ziting, can only try with thousand ways, a hundred ns, to get the Five-Colored Stone back, and kneel before Xielismand tent to offer it with both hands. The speech was spoken with heroic spirit soaring to the sky, in a not-afraid-of-any-threat manner, indeed the boldness and poise of a master in negotiations. Gongqi added, Shaoshuai has the goods in hand, we have the people in hand. Exchanging the goods with the people, we settle it in a straightforward manner, we save everybody unnecessary trouble. Kou Zhong acted as if he did not hear Gongqi at all, smiling to Bai Ziting, he said, Da Wangs so-called three-year war preparation, I wonder if that includes the wolf-bandits looting and umting wealth, seizing and extorting traveling merchants from various regions? The murderous intent in Bai Zitings pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke coldly, Shaoshuai ought to know that misunderstanding caused by gossip can provoke discontentment and dread. I, Bai Ziting dare not to consider the Tujue worthy in my eyes, I already have the intention of rather be a broken jade than a whole roof tile. Bang! Ba Fenghan pped the table with his palm, six wine cups, as if they were flung to the floor, shattered into smithereens, but the wine jar was miraculously intact without any problem. Throwing his head back in longughter, he said, Such heroic spirit. What I, Ba Fenghan, like the most is an unyielding, tough guy like you, LaoGe. Da Wang does not care about losing Little Longquan, I wonder if you also dont care if you cannot keep Wo Long Bie Yuan? Bai Ziting, three mens eyes narrowed at the same time, their countenance changed slightly. Good! Kou Zhong and the others cried inwardly. Ba Fenghans sudden-strike move put the refined and pure neigong [internal energy], which had been brought up a level after being transformed by Huan Ri Da Fa C in full disy, intimidating the opposite side first, and then uncovering the other sides fatal weakness, hitting the opponents vital part. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Xiaodi has a very interesting proposal. Stunned, Bai Ziting turned his gaze toward him, Speak up! he spoke in heavy voice. The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he stared fixedly at Funantuo, but the tone of his voice was calm andposed; he spoke softly, How about we make a bet? I am asking Da Wang to allow Xiaodi and your distinguished countrys Guoshi to have a life and death decisive battle. If the one ending up dead is me, Kou Zhong, my brothers will definitely not bother you anymore, they will immediately exchange the goods for the people, we even throw Little Longquan as a bonus. However, if the one defeated is Guoshi, other than exchanging the goods for the people, you must alsopensate Pingyao merchants debt. Da Wang, what do you think? Book 44 - 7 – Decisive Battle Against the Demonic Monk Marvelous! Ba Fenghan cried inwardly. If they wanted to kill Funantuo, indeed there was nothing more brilliant than this move. Earlier, although Kou Zhong carried out the tactic of luring Funantuo toward Wolong Bie Yuan, on one hand, even if the opposite side fell into the trap, based on Funantuos Tianzhu Mo Gongs endless variation, in the wilderness, if something went wrong and he was allowed to escape into the woods, no one would have any confidence to stop him. Tranted by foxs But at present, as long as Bai Ziting gave his nod, Funantuo would have no choice but to rise to the challenge, and would not rest until death. Of course, this was an even more brilliant, more dependable than any other stratagem. However, Xu Ziling was shocked. Other than Kou Zhong, no one knew more clearly than he did how terrifying Funantuos strength was. Even after going through one night and half a day of regting his breathing, plus Kou Zhong had his Life Long Qis miraculous efficacy in healing internal and external injuries and restoring primary energy, but the lost of blood was not something that could be replenished in a short period of time. This moment, when they had just recovered from serious injury, to have a decisive battle with Funantuo, the risk was just too great. Ever since he was little, Kou Zhong has always been a risk-taker. Since yesterday morning, after sustaining injuries, he suffered all kinds of setback, so that he had pent-up frustrations; his belly was full of grievances of injustice. And now that he saw Bai Ziting and Funantuo, he could not help exploding, plus there was not much time; only by killing Funantuo he would be able to make Bai Ziting and Longquan lose confidence, so that he took the most crucial step to fulfill his promise to Shang Xiufang, while also to allow Yuekepeng to happily return to his country and report back to his superior. Its not that he did not know Funantuos formidability, but he simply had to take this risk. foxswuxia.wordpress Hearing that, Funantuo threw his head back in longughter, and then he solemnly said, Da Wang, please grant permission for this battle. His eyes shing, Bai Ziting sized Kou Zhong up; obviously his dragon-heart was greatly moved. He nodded and said, Shaoshuais guts indeed surpass others; you dont consider life or death worthy in your eyes. Very well! This battle can proceed on the street outside. But why use life or death distinction? As long as victory and defeat is clear, we will make the transaction ording to the agreement. Shaoshuai, please! At Bai Zitings order, the city soldiers blocked this section of the Vermilion Bird Boulevard at both ends, plus all shops within the restricted area were immediately ordered to close. The soldiers guarding the south gate were in uproar, the city wall, above and under, were so packed that not one drop could trickle through, they all strived to watch this big battle, which pertained to whether Longquan would exist or perish. One side was the spiritual advisor of Mohe people, the great master from mysterious school,ing from Tianzhu, proficient in yoga, known as the Mad Monk of Tianzhu, Funantuo. Tranted by foxs On the other side wasing from the Central Earth, his name intimidated inside and outside the Great Wall, even Xieli and Bi Xuan were not considered worthy in his eyes, the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong stood in the middle of the street. His manner rxed, he spoke to Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, who were still apanying him on his left and right, No need to worry. In my opinion, he still has not recovered from the battlest night. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, My Daye, dont forget that Huan Ri Da Fa precisely came from Tianzhu; do you think other peoples healing method is inferior to yours? Letting out a cold snort, Ba Fenghan said, Although Ziling is right, because yogas pursuit is precisely to surpass human bodys limitation, this mad monks physique is definitely different than ordinary people. It is both not easy to sustain injuries, and if it does, the recovery is faster than other people. However, it does not matter whether he haspletely recovered from his internal injury or not,st night, while he was confident of sess [orig. ten takes nine steady], he still could not do anything to you, plus Kou Zhong dares to challenge him in a duel this quickly, his confidence must have suffered big blow. As long as Shaoshuai can grasp this point, he can control his demonic heart, and his chance to win this battle is very high. Kou Zhongs gaze was fixed on Bai Ziting, who was apanying Funantuo stepping into the middle of the street on the opposite side, he smiled and said, This is called heroes usually agree; to kill Funantuo, this is indeed one in a thousand years opportunity. foxswuxia.wordpress Suddenly he recited an ode, Essence is the origin of the body, two essences fighting each other designate the spirit; following the spirit going back and forth is called the soul [hun, immortal soul]. Furthermore, essence going in and out is the soul [po, mortal soul], the ce where the heart is depending on is designated as the intention; the ce where the intention is stored is designated as aspiration. Heaven and Man intersect in senses, yin and yang correspond in form. Hearing that, the two were emotionally moved. Kou Zhong smiled and said, That was Ning Daoqis speech before he left, that time he undertook the task to give lesson to Xiaodi. All along Xiaodi only knew one and understand half, seemingly understand yet do not understand. Untilst night when Funantuo knocked down Ling Shao, wanting to take his life, I suddenly understood his Niangs Heaven and Man intersect in senses, yin and yang correspond in form, and sessfully unleashed the Eight Methods of the Wellsst style, the Square and Circle, and thus the saber technique really reaches great sess; hence the magnificent feat of wounding and beheading Shen Mohuanst night. His grannys attitude; thinking about how Xiao Ling was nearly ughtered by him, Laozi definitely will not let him get away. Xu Zilings heart was greatly touched. Even when they were little, Kou Zhongs build was more thick and solid than his, each time Xu Ziling was bullied, Kou Zhong would always straighten his back and stick out his head. Even if he knew he was no match for the opposite side, he would in no way shrink back. What happened now was just history repeating itself. Tranted by foxs This moment, Zong Xianghua and a group of high-ranking military officers arrived on galloping horses, evidently they heard the news and rushed over to watch the battle, so that people felt the importance of this battle even more. Bai Ziting took three steps forward and spoke in loud and clear voice, Is Shaoshuai ready? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You can make your move any time. He also spoke to Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan in low voice, I will not die before Funantuo. Dont worry! The two retreated to the side. Bai Ziting took another five steps forward toe to the middle between the twobatants. Slightly moving to the side, he took the position from which he could see the two sides at the same time. Sweeping his gaze around, he shouted, Begin! And then he stepped back until he reached the pedestrianne and stopped, opposite from Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan on the other side of the street. One end of the section of the street where the decisive battle was going to happen was the south gate, which was crowded to bursting point, where several hundreds Mohe soldiers were standing on top and below the city gate tower. The other end was where Zong Xianghua, Gongqi, and so on, more than a dozen high-ranking military officers were standing. On the pedestriannes left and right of the street were, respectively, Bai Ziting and Xu and Ba, two men. Everybody was silent, the atmosphere was stagnant with tension. Funantuo was still wearing his trademark yellow-orange oversized robe, his two hands were hidden inside his sleeves. His expression calm and natural, he stood proud like a mountain, like a peak. Although he did not adopt any meeting-the-enemy-head-on posture, he did not reveal the slightest bit of w either, as if he had fused with the heaven and earth and be one entity, beyond the limitation of man and heaven. foxswuxia.wordpress This was the first time that Ba Fenghan experience his Brahma and I as One realm. For the first time, he was worried. This fellows confidence seems to be unaffected, he spoke in low voice. Xu Ziling sighed and said, This battle will be the most difficult battle since Kou Zhong made his debut. Kou Zhong opened his eyes big and round as a ball first, the divine light shot out as he stared fixedly at the opponent, and then he narrowed his eyes so that only a couple of slits remained, as if floating clouds in the sky suddenly cover the sunshine. The changes were mystical to the extreme point, while also giving those who witness this scene, such as Zong Xianghua and the other high-ranking military officers C a shock. At the same time, Kou Zhongs spine straightened up and his shoulders broadened, the upper part of his body slightly leaned forward, immediately there was a burst of biting cold qi momentum crossing over the nearly three zhang empty space, rushing forth and pressing down on the unfathomably mysterious Funantuo. Funantuos orange robe immediately fluttered from the stream of energy, so that the observers knew that he was taking the pressure from Kou Zhongs astonishing qi power. When martial art masters fought each other, without needing the sabering and the sword going, it was enough to make people unable to see the flow of qi, even more, unable to guess what the next move would be, who would make the move first. Tranted by foxs Among the crowd, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, who could be said that they understood Kou Zhong the best, were still a bit unable to guess the level of Kou Zhongs martial art skill progress, because the qi power he projected out was really not just a burst of true qi, rather, it was like a block of qi wall with real substance, evenly distributed over an area, so that it was difficult for the opponent to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial by neutralizing the attack;pared to before, naturally he was even more brilliant. Heaven and Man intersect in senses, yin and yang correspond in form. At first Kou Zhongs face was covered in cold frost, and then his countenance rxed, a hint of smile escaped out of the corner of his mouth, he spoke indifferently, Dashi may start expounding the religious teachings! Qiang! The Moon in the Well left his back and pointed to the opponent from a distance. From the tip of the saber, a column of round and thick saber qi, in a fantastic spiraling manner, rose dramatically like a river bursting violently to attack Funantuo. The qi wall was square, the saber force was round, unexpectedly, he released thest style of the Eight Methods of the Well, the Square and Circle from three zhang away. At this point, the saber technique has indeed reached the celestial-being-joined-the-man level. foxswuxia.wordpress The square was yang, the circle was yin; the yin was square, the yang was round. Yin and yang corresponded in form, celestial being joined the man, there was no longer any distinction. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce, both could see the amazement in the others heart. Kou Zhong has shown clearly that as soon as he made his move, it was with ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt-momentum, to distinguish victory or defeat against Funantuo within several saber strikes, to avoid dealing with Funantuos exceeding-all-expectations, more-and-more-emerge Tianzhu yoga marvelous technique. It was difficult for Funantuo to maintain his heaven-and-earth-fusing-into-one-entity Brahma and I not two. His left and right sleeves circled out and rose up to block Kou Zhongs Square and Circle strange move. Bang! Two streams of qi collided, the explosion reverberated throughout the battlefield. Funantuo was no longer invulnerable. Tranted by foxs Bai Ziting had never thought that Kou Zhong would be this formidable, his countenance immediately turned gloomy. Kou Zhong was jolted by Funantuos counterattack that the upper part of his body slightly swayed backward. Heughed heartily and said, The way to live and die is not to be absorbed in self, rather, it is transcending and forgetting self; did I say it wrong? Would Guoshi please give direction? Funantuo let out a cold snort and strode forward. The left sleeve of his robe looked as if it casually drew a square circle, his withered and ck right hand from inside the robes sleeve stretched out, it grabbed Kou Zhong from a distance. He said, If it is not absorbed in self, why stand aloof? Shaoshuai must not have unclear train of thought. Kou Zhongs mind entered the Moon in the Well realm, he sensed that Funantuo seemed to be casually brandishing circles, but actually he was deflecting his wall of qi to the side, while also pulling him forward, giving him the feeling that he was about to fall; it was extremely formidable. Plus his w attacking from a distance, all five fingers separately produced qi power, wrapping Kou Zhong tightly in the middle. If he did not deal with it properly, the opponent would immediately follow and attack him until he had no time to deal with it, and would not stop until he was dead. Nevertheless, instead of startled, Kou Zhong was happy. Yesterday he and Xu Ziling faced the enemy while sustaining injury, seeking life in death, it was indeed an iparably precious experience in their self cultivation. The threat of life and death forced them to exhaust their wisdom and do their utmost to release their hidden capability in contending with the enemy. For example, in observing the enemy, although previously he, Kou Zhong was not careless at all, but he was not as attentive as when he was injured. foxswuxia.wordpress Because he had no bargaining chips to make mistake, and he did not have the capability to remedy the situation even more; therefore, every move to advance and attack or to retreat and defend must reach one-hundred-percent uracy. Now his injury had more or less healedpletely, but from this facing the enemy while sustaining injury, practicing what he preached, he understood the wonderful truth, which had be a part of him. Kou Zhong let out long whistle, his body spun, the Moon in the Well merged together with him, so that it was no longer clear where the person was, where the saber was. He whirled toward the Tianzhu Kuang Seng Funantuo. Bai Ziting, Zong Xianghua, Gongzi, Kesubie, and the others, along with the group of high-ranking military officers and soldiers, because they had deep understanding of Funantuos ability, no matter how resounding Kou Zhongs reputation was, before the twobatants started the battle, they still had a hundred-percent confidence in Funantuo; they never thought that there would be any possibility that Funantuo would be defeated. However, as soon as the experts made their move, they knew there was no such thing as no possibility. Kou Zhongs saber technique was like heavenly steed soaring across the skies, like swallow gliding, fish diving. As soon as he began, he already seized the initiative. Atst they started to be worried for Funantuo. Tranted by foxs Longquan Armys confidence was mostly built on Funantuo. If he suffered defeat and died, how could Bai Ziting and others not be worried? Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, however, gasped in amazement. They never thought that Kou Zhong could use Square and Circle style from a distance to break Funantuos originally no-crack-to-be-exploited Brahma and I as One; otherwise Kou Zhong would fall into the inferior position where he could neither advance nor retreat. Moreover, the offensive that followed the full use of this move was even more fierce and severe; the person spun the saber revolved, light and easy he got away from the opponents deflecting the power, while also neutralizing the w power, and still maintained the momentum of the main assault. By the time Kou Zhong spun to the right distance, the Moon in the Well could hack from any angle; how could it be easy to block? Under the nervous yet excited gaze of the spectators from both sides, Kou Zhong spun like a tornado to within a zhang from Funantuo, a dangerous range where the saber could strike any time. foxswuxia.wordpress Without blinking, Funantuo watched attentively at Kou Zhongs approaching. He was one of the very few people in the arena who could see the real formidable point of this move. Kou Zhong seemed to be spinning at full speed, but actually at each turn, the speed at which he was spinning forward slightly differed. Such ingenuity, his shenfa already reached extremely skillful [orig. skill of the immortal] level. Letting out a coldugh, Funantuo sidestepped, both hands were pulled back into his sleeves, the sleeves suddenly swelled open and then copsed, just like the frogs cheeks, swelling and copsing in quick session, brushing away toward the attacking Kou Zhong. The two men rapidly approached each other. While it looked like Kou Zhong was about to hack Funantuo, suddenly, the saber de unexpectedly became the saber hilt, it heavy knocked Funantuos right-hand brushing-away-and-swelling-open sleeve of the robe first, producing a Bang! explosion of qi power shing against each other, and then the saber dragged on to sh Funantuos string of attack in rapid session. The sleeve of the robe copsed and stuck onto his left palm, creating another explosion. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Where did Guoshis yoga technique go? He was about to stagger away, the lower half of Funantuos body was still maintaining its forward momentum, but the upper part of his body was like moving in opposite direction to his lower body, totally beyond everybodys expectation, it suddenly snapped backward. The originally impossible thing became possible. Both hands stretched out from inside the sleeves, one took Kou Zhongs left cheek, the other one swiftly swept Kou Zhongs back. It was weird and indescribable, while also devious and sinister to the extreme point. Tranted by foxs Longquans officers and soldiers finally exploded in earth-shattering apuse. Kou Zhong already experienced his marvelous yoga skill, which others could not achieve, yet he still had the time to call out, Guoshi fell into the trap! Suddenly, changing a mouthful of true qi, he converted his shifting away momentum into moving closer, and from spinning to the left to spinning to the right, so he wasing back from the opposite direction. The Moon in the Well stayed close to his body, momentarily saber light radiated all around, like a yellow snake wrapping itself around his body, his entire body was wrapped tightly inside the refine light, dazzling-to-the-eye saber light. Everybody watching was shaken to the core, while also could not help admiring Kou Zhongs exceed-all-expectations shenfa, as well as his guts, which convinced everybody. In the world, except for Xu Ziling, perhaps only Kou Zhong was able to convert the true qis marvelous power to deal with Funantuos Tianzhus yoga technique. This was the first time that Funantuo experienced the consummate skill of altering the true qis direction of flow in a split second. He sensed that Kou Zhong was merely using the change in position, not only to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial, to cause Funantuos killer move to be a scratch that could not reach the itchy ce, but if he inserted himself into Funantuos line of defense, due to him exhausting his strength to attack and thus revealing an opening, the aftermath would be unbearable to imagine. Thereupon he shouted loudly and bent his upper body back to return to normal body position, while his two legs swiftly floated sideways, striving to evade far away. foxswuxia.wordpress The initiative has really fallen into Kou Zhongs hands. Surprisingly, Kou Zhong did not follow up the victory and press home the attack. He stopped spinning and stood firmly, the Moon in the Well pointed to the retreating Funantuo, while preserving and condensing the true qi within his body, gradually pushing it to the peak condition. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan cried, Brilliant! inwardly. It should be noted that purely based on power, Kou Zhong was still a notch inferior to Funantuo. Based on self-cultivation, Funantuos Brahma and I not two could leave Kou Zhong in the dust even more. The worst thing was that in terms of style and variations, Funantuos marvelous yoga skill was even more difficult to guard against, more difficult to blockpared to Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well. In this kind of adverse situation, Kou Zhong was relying on strange to control strange, on brilliant strategy to strive for victory. Just like two armies facing off against each other, although the opposite side has superiority in terms of troops quality and number, a superior strategy would even up the differences between the two sides. Kou Zhong unleashed thest style of the Eight Methods of the Well, the Square and Circle from a distance first, forcing Funantuo to strike back, and then during the exchange in close distance he relied on the rapid changes of the true qi within his body to make Funantuo change his move and withdraw. Tranted by foxs However, if he were to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack, anybody could see that the proficient-in-yoga-technique Funantuo might use some strange technique to counterattack. Therefore, Kou Zhong then used the not-changing to deal with ten thousand changes, to let the opponent retreat, while he himself went all-out in deploying the next wave of offensive. In the I-am-growing-the-other-decreasing situation, using the optimum state to forcefully shake the passive Funantuo, he closed the power disparity between the two sides. His saber qi locked Funantuo from a distance. The moment the opponent stopped, he would have to confront the saber strike, which carried the qi momentum that has been stored up to peak. foxswuxia.wordpress None of the spectators was not overwhelmed with hard-to-breath nervous feeling; they all calmed their spirit to wait for the development of the battle. Funantuo suddenly stood firm, as if he was nailed to the ground at an approximately three-zhang distance from Kou Zhong. When everybody was thinking that Kou Zhong was about to send out a saber strike, unexpectedly, like little grass being blown and brushed away by the gale, he swayed violently to the left and right. The most terrifying thing was that his body became as pliable as the long grass on the prairie; he was swaying in a way that only long grass in the wind would sway. Unable to see through the opponents unheard of defensive style, although Kou Zhongs saber carried stored-up-to-the-limit power, unexpectedly he was unable to unleash it, because he practically did not know where to attack, at which point the saber would fall. Bai Ziting was the first to apud loudly, arousing his side that the sound of cheers shook the heavens. Watching this, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were dumbstruck. This was Funantuos real skill, the ultimate yoga technique, the natural method to control the enemys strange move. It made the other side could not attack, it made the other side did not know where to defend even more. Kou Zhong was immediately caught in the biggest crisis since the decisive battle started. If his judgment was slightly off, he might provoke Funantuos toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas like counterattack. Kou Zhong felt he might lose to Funantuo. This grandmaster of the martial art study from Tianzhu was still standing alive in front of him, but he already became one with Brahma. Fortunately, Kou Zhongs mind was still clear and bright, empty like clear water, without any hint of distracting thoughts. The heart was aware that it was stopping yet the spirit wanted to move. Laughing aloud, he took a step forward, his saber chopped on an empty space, it was precisely the Chess Abundant of the Eight Methods of the Well. The qi power, umted to the peak, from the saber de, like mountain sh flood breaking out the dam, suddenly burst forth, forming wave after wave of qi power, like raging waves splitting the shore, hiding the sky and covering the earth C toward this terrifying opponent. Tranted by foxs Funantuos swaying was growing more urgent and faster, just like the little grass unable to stand the storm, blown into destruction. But such violent sway and random swing movement no longer had any trace to be sought. Under the rolling-wave like saber qi, it was as if Kou Zhongs saber was able to see through what is true and what is false in Funantuo, which no discerning eye could distinguish, following a certain intuition that surpassed ordinary senses, as it moved on its own to attack Funantuo. Book 44 - 8 – The Art of War Approach to the Saber Watching this, everybody on Bai Zitings side was greatly bewildered, simply because based on the direction of Kou Zhongs current strike, the point of attack could only be within the approximately three chi empty space on Funantuos left side, yet watching the momentum of Kou Zhongs advancing-courageously-and-charging-forward direction, there was no possibility that he would be able to change move or change direction midway. Finally Funantuo stood still, concentrating his attentionpletely on Kou Zhongs approaching momentum. The difference between he and the other spectators was that he could not see that he was about to suffer losses. When martial art masters poised for battle, what they were most afraid of was that they could not clearly grasp what is true and what is false from the opponent. From Tianzhu to the Central Earth, he has always been relying on his xinfa, which was difficult for others to fathom what is true and what is false in him, the Brahma and I not two C to go on the rampage without anybody able to control him. Who would have thought that he encountered the crafty-with-hundred-changes Kou Zhong? With the other sides Way controlling his body, unexpectedly he seeded in making him losing his grasp on the opponent. Furthermore, it was a superior xinfa, which made him both able to confuse the enemy and adept at observing the enemy. In the end he would open a gap and expose a w. Tranted by foxs For the first time, a feeling of uneasiness from not knowing what to do grew in Funantuos heart. Without any better option, he tightened his troop disposition in waiting, to see what trick Kou Zhong might y next. In the blink of an eye, the three-zhang distance was reduced in half. Kou Zhong took a breath high up in the air, he fully used the flying backward technique that heprehended from Yun Shuai. The saber following the person, it drew a beautiful arc in the air, swiftly chopping down toward Funantuo, the strong wind it carried was focused and not scattered, increasing without any letup, and was about to lock the opponent tightly and rigidly. The crowd was like crow and peacock make no sound. Bai Ziting and the others, none did not show rmed expression. Between the heaven and the earth, unexpectedly there was such a magical shenfa and such a fierce and severe saber move? This was the first time that Kou Zhongunched the Striking Strange of the Eight Methods of the Well using the backward flying method. Moreover, with his momentum being umted to the peak, there was indeed a three-army-developing-easily, impossible-to-resist threat. Facing the de of the saber, Funantuo finallyprehended Kou Zhongs saber momentum; unexpectedly it was rushing straight toward him, instead of using circuitous route in deceit, but he was already a hair toote. Even if he could exert himself to block, under the I-am-declining-the-other-is-growing situation, he would inevitably suffer losses, and then the next saber move might be more difficult to parry. foxswuxia.wordpress The moment the saber de was about to make contact, all the joints in Funantuos body made a string of crackling noise, just like the explosion of firecrackers tightly strung together, and then his entire body snapped backward, bing a human loop like object, which rapidly rolled backwards. Such a strange move, no one, Kou Zhong included, has ever thought that it could happen during the battle. But Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well was already like an arrow being released from the bowstring. Pulled by his qi, it swiftly elerated, at the astonishing speed that naked eyes would doubt whether it was a reality or just a fantasy, it rapidly caught up with Funantuos human loop. Tranted by foxs Dang! When it looked like Kou Zhong was about to sh Funantuo, from within the human loop Funantuos leg suddenly kicked out, the tip of his foot tapped the tip of the Moon in the Well, a burst of powerful-without-equal force prated the saber and invaded in, shocking Kou Zhongs offensive that it dissipatedpletely. His qi and blood surging, he was severely shaken and retreated away. From human loop, Funantuo straightened his body and he flew in horizontal position close to the ground, until he was over three zhang away before in an amazing movement he once again stood up steadily. A burst of deathly white color flitted across his dark-skinned face before it returned to normal. The demonic light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he firmly fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong. Watching the atmosphere, the crowd did not dare to breath out loudly. For the first time Bai Ziting regretted his decision to approve this battle. He originally thought that it was a golden opportunity to kill Kou Zhong openly and with honor, thereby establishing their prestige and arousing their troops morale. Who would have thought that Kou Zhongs formidability greatly surpassed his expectation? Funantuo unexpectedly suffered losses and sustained injury. But his eyesight was brilliant; he was able to see that Funantuo was staking everything to avoid being injured by the saber qi, while doing everything he could to even up Kou Zhongs upying the upper hand and his superiority. Otherwise, if this situation continued, Funantuo would surely be defeated. Kou Zhong stood holding the saber across his chest. Laughing aloud, he said, At the moment Guoshi is facing death. I wonder if you have new understanding on the Way to Live and Die? Why dont you exin it so that we could share what you have learned through this experience? Spoken at this moment, the remark was brimming with cynicism. Watching the battle from the side, Ba Fenghan whispered in Xu Zilings ear, Old Fu is angry! He can no longer maintain whatever his grannys Brahma and I as One state. foxswuxia.wordpress Funantuo revealed a hint of smile full of murderous intention, so that people felt that this was his real face. Shaking his head, he said, Young people must not becent, because death can change to be life, life can be death. Life and death are originally impermanence, victory and defeat are also impermanence, battles not necessarily yield victory. If Shaoshuai has anyst words before you die, you better speak up clearly now. Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, I have a big basketful of thest words of the dying, but there is no need to speak it out today, because your foundation has been grasped very clearly by me, you still have no qualifications to kill me. Ha! Guoshi seems not to take Da Wangs instruction to heart. Da Wang has said that as long as victory and defeat are clearly distinguished, that should do it. But Guoshi, you, the Senior just now said that you want to take my life, treating Da Wangs words as the wind past your ear. This is really strange. Tranted by foxs Hearing that, Funantuo was slightly startled, but at the same he realized that because he was really angry, he was unable to maintain the Brahma and I as One mental state. But he was already a step toote. Kou Zhong appeared to be talking cheerfully and wittily, but he was actually constantly looking for the golden opportunity to attack as well as the opponents w. Having his vital point hit by his words, Funantuos mind was slightly distracted, he immediately sensed it; how could he be willing to miss it? He shouted, Victory first, and then seek the battle. Keep oneself concentrated while the enemy is divided. Work out the victory in rtion to the foe. Guoshi already suffered a painful loss, whatst words do you want me to leave behind? Brandishing his saber he chopped swiftly. What he recited was the number one great expert on the art of war in the world since the dawn of time until today, Sun Wus thesis. Although he pulled one sentence from the east, tore one verse from the west, butbined together, it was the most urate portrayal of Funantuos current condition. Although Funantuo was fully aware that Kou Zhong deliberately wanted to divide his concentration, but every word turned out to be true, hence he could not help being affected, and so it was difficult for him to respond. Finally Bai Zitings countenance changed. This kid Kou Zhong could move unhindered inside and outside the Pass, not only due to his unrivalled saber technique, but more than that, it was due to his brilliant ability, wisdom, and insight. Sunzis Art of Wars thirteen chapters only have about five thousand nine hundred characters, but it was wide-ranging and profound, the substance is exquisite and brilliant. Kou Zhong randomly picked some words, and the results were just perfect. Evidently he had fully grasped these thirteen chapters; holding the pearl of wisdom, he even integrated it within the saber technique. In the air, the Moon in the Well drew a hard-to-describe abstruse trajectory, appearing to be average without anything amazing, but also appeared to be ever changing. His feet moved two, three steps as if very casually, yet the illusion he was producing was like he shrank the nearly two-zhang distance into mere cun. Combined with his profound mystery saber technique, both thebatants in the arena and the spectators on the side all felt that this saber strike was as wonderful as if made by heaven, while having the astonishing might that make the heaven and earth change color. foxswuxia.wordpress Good! Ba Fenghan shouted suddenly. His shout contained power that was spitted out, as if the explosion of thunder on the in, making everybodys heart who heard it pounding, while also reminding the enemy that he and Xu Ziling were bold and powerful men of equal standing with Kou Zhong. Ba Fenghan was also a martial art master whom even Bi Xuan failed to kill. Immediately it increased Kou Zhongs saber strikes imposing manner, which its might originally already intimidated the world. Perfect and extraordinary, endless like the heaven and earth, inexhaustible like the river, striving and leaving, merging and striking. Although it was still the Striking Strange of the Eight Methods of the Well, just now it wasunched inbination with flying backward technique, and now in the sess of taking advantage of the striving and leaving, using the ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum it went straight to take on the enemy. At this point, it was clear that the Heavenly Saber Song Ques influence on Kou Zhong was very big. Were it not for Song Ques personal directions, using himself as an example, Kou Zhong would never be able to create the Eight Methods of the Well, which was able to make heaven and earth changed color, the ghosts cry and the gods roar. But it still had to undergo countless life and death bloody battle, one-on-one duels and tangled warfare, struggling and seeking survival on the fringe of death, only then would his saber method be able to reach this ghost-and-god-unable-to-fathom realm. Tranted by foxs But ultimately Funantuo was of a grandmaster level. Right in this life and death crisis, he swiftly calmed his mind. In such a narrow space his body changed irregrly into countless hard-to-tell-whether-it-was-real-or-sham positions. The middle finger of his right hand stretched out, as if it was going to stab but not exactly stabbing, what is true and what is false was difficult to fathom, those who watched were dazzled. If Kou Zhong made a mistake, if he failed to grasp what is true and what is false, the upper hand position he upied would immediately flow down the drain, as if he would just offer it to the other side with both hands. Martial art masters in a duel, they strived for precisely this one stance, half a stance. Attack well, defend even better. Pleased beyond their expectations, Bai Ziting and the others cheered in chorus. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, who had just encouraged Kou Zhong, also could not help admiring the brilliance of Funantuos defensive style. The most formidable aspect of the Striking Strange of the Eight Method of the Well was its ability to force the enemy to forcefully shake the fire; the only way to break this move was precisely not to forcefully shake it. In this kind of situation, he must first make Kou Zhong unable to attack, to force him not to change move midway, so that Kou Zhongs momentum tragically suffered devastating setback. Funantuos defensive style precisely contained this marvelous function, what is true and what is false was difficult to fathom, so that Kou Zhong would be unable to find the spot where the saber de should fall. When both men were crying Bad! inwardly, unexpectedly Kou Zhongs rushing momentum disappearedpletely, he stared fixedly and suddenly stopped, loftily standing about a zhang away from Funantuo, the Striking Strange turned into No Attack. foxswuxia.wordpress Appearing to be attacking but not exactly attacking, appearing to be defending but not exactly defending. It was a feeling of movement changing into extremely still, brimming with dramatic shocking power. The crowd from both sides immediately quieted down, with no noise whatsoever, substantially enhancing this kind of weird feeling. The Moon in the Well pointed at Funantuo from a distance, creating a shivering cold, suffocating saber qi, enveloping the opponent. The pupil of Funantuos eyes contracting, it emitted concentrated and intense demonic light. Apparently, receiving more shock than the other side, his heart and spirit were snatched away, he was no longer able to maintain his connection with Brahma. Tranted by foxs He no longer maintained the defensive position, he could not grasp the changes of the momentum of Kou Zhongs move, and he attacked in panic. Watching this Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were dazzled and stunned; they never thought that Kou Zhongs Striking Strange and No Attack unexpectedly could be reversed, because previously he alwaysunched No Attack first before the Striking Strange. The No Attack was precisely to force the opponent to change from defense to offense, or from offense to defense, to turn the battle situation around. One moves difference, Kou Zhong once again put Funantuo in the disadvantageous position, without giving him any chance. Not relying on No Attack was relying to some extent on No Attack. Bai Ziting, Zong Xianghua, and the others withparatively superior eyesight appeared to have shocked expression. Funantuo soared into the air, he flew over Kou Zhongs head. His two hands and two feet, as if they lost normal contact with the bones of the body, like flowing-mercury-no-gap-not-entered violently attacked Kou Zhong under him, fierce and severe to the extreme point, as if four different weapons working together as one, attacking Kou Zhong at the same time. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Where did Guoshis Brahma and I not two go? Did you scare it away with your fear of death? The yellow light of the Moon in the Well suddenly burst, the saber momentum unfolded, it chopped upward in lightning speed, appearing to be casual, but also appearing to be intentional, great skill appearing to be clumsy, seeming to be simple but was actually ingenious, that kind of light rain sprinkling freely between intentional and unintentional, just like increasing wind brushing the prairie, rolling back and sweeping away. The saber light swiftly shing, it met the opponents howling-wind-and-torrential-rain like intense offensive. It was precisely not absolutely sure to get means it is not outstanding, not absolutely sure of total victory means do not sh with the troops, the predestined affinity is ten-thousand times acting, ten-thousand times blocking; one battle decide it all, the sixth method of the Eight Methods of the Well, the Battle Decision. The difference from the past was that each saber strike was deeply in line with Song Ques Heavenly Sabers saber method; the saber momentum leaving or staying without any trace, always in between acting with intention and without intention, also like Ning Daoqisw, yin and yang correspond in form, Heaven and Man intersect in senses. The Moon in the Well collided with Funantuos hands and feet, producing the sound of qi power shing against each other, like a string of explosion in rapid session. Funantuo disyed his yoga technique to the extreme, he moved up and down, raising and pressing C in the air, tounch a powerful attack from above, down toward Kou Zhong. Yet on the top, Kou Zhongs saber light was shing fantastically, while on the bottom his feet were performing strange steps, each shift in position could avoid the important and dwell on the trivial, the shing was empty but the strike was real, it handled matters with ease. Tranted by foxs The Longquan Army, which was unaware of the inner working, still thought that Funantuo had seized the upper hand and was taking the initiative, they hurriedly cheered for Funantuo, their shouts shook the heavens, which attracted the city residents to rush over and stand in a circle and watch. Ba Fenghan spoke in low voice, Old Fu is already like an arrow at the end of its flight, he wontst too long now. At the beginning I was still a bit worried for Kou Zhong! Xu Ziling nodded his head in agreement. The strike from high up in the air that Funantuounched showed clearly that he wanted to force Kou Zhong to meet force with force, hoping that relying on his power, which wasparably more profound than Kou Zhongs, plus his yoga technique, which surpassed what ordinary people could do, with more and more strange moves emerging C to destroy Kou Zhong in one move. foxswuxia.wordpress Who would have thought that Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well had already reached the follow-his-hearts-desire level? It appeared to be careless, but actually, whether deflecting or sticking, whether empty or real, in a moment chopping forcefully and sweeping violently, in another moment avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial, getting through a daunting experience without mishap, it blocked Funantuos offensive with momentum like a rainbow, taking advantage of having his feet firmly nted on the ground, in a progressing-step-by-step manner to manipte the striking-down-from-high-up-in-the-sky Funantuo, so that he consumed his true energy and physical strength, which, in turn, made Funantuos internal injury deepened and getting heavier. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, over and above the sound of the crowd cheering for Funantuo. He recited, Thew of using the troops is: use scheme as the capital, therefore, use scheme to clear away disposition of troops, seek favorable location first; use scheme to score victory, seek to strengthen self first. What does Guoshi think after tasting Laozis move in using scheme? On Bai Zitings side, from top to bottom, all were listening with heart rmed, body leaping. Kou Zhongs Eight Methods of the Well was profound mystery, exquisite and wonderful, as well asbined with Central Earths military experts theory, the art of war that use magnificent army with thousands of men and horses to determine victory on the battlefield C blending and dissolvingpletely into the saber technique. In itself it already possessed mystery, unfathomable and imprable through the heaven and earth. At this time, seeing himunching another move with scheme, which he already announced openly beforehand, how could they not be worried for Funantuo? No one either shouted or spoke, there was only unconscious nervous gasp and heavy breathing. Tranted by foxs Funantuo was well aware that his strategy of striking down from high in the air was difficult to show results; one thing went wrong, he would be locked in the upward position by Kou Zhong and would not be able to get away. Suddenly he curled himself like a ball to strike against Kou Zhong, thinking that I dont care whether you use scheme or not, this move, which has holes everywhere but be without any w instead, you will be like having the strength but unable to use it. Kou Zhong suddenly moved aside to evade, to let him fall to the ground. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, Guoshi fell into the trap again! This move of mine is already named Using Scheme, even more, I already steadily upy favorable location, why would I want to use any shady move? I was just stating it verbally! None of the spectators was not stunned. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling knew that this battle has reached its final stage, because not only Funantuos Tianzhu xinfa Brahma and I not two was already broken, but even more, his will has already been snatched away, his mind was thrown into disorder, he was caught in apletely passive inferior position where he could only take a beating. Victory or defeat was no longer for him to decide, hecked even half a momentum to strike back. Finally Bai Ziting could not bear it anymore, Stop! he shouted loudly. Funantuo let out an earth-shattering angry roar. Stretching out all four limbs, he tapped the ground with the tip of his left foot, his entire body spun around like a gyroscope, both hands created fantastic palm shadows filling the whole sky, he rolled toward Kou Zhong like a tornado. The same instant that the tip of his foot tapped the ground, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well spat out a snatching-the-soul-shocking-the-heart terrifying yellow light; he shouted, This is the second time Guoshi is defying Da Wangs order! Watch for Laozis blitzkrieg strategy. foxswuxia.wordpress While speaking, the yellow light exploded, carrying with it the saber stabbing swiftly. The timing, the angle, all were grasped urately without equal, the entire bodys power and emotion seemed to be concentrated on the saber de, brimming with once-released-no-return desperate momentum. All the spectators were ovee with breathless feeling, they sensed that victory or defeat would be decided in an instant before their very eyes. Just before the two men made contact, unexpectedly, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, within the no-possibility-to-change situation, suddenly changed. From the Rapid Battle of the Eight Methods of the Well, he changed to Feigning Troop Movement. The long saber was pulled backward; he spun his body around while dragging the saber brushing past Funantuo. Nobody, including Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, saw what happened between the two men. They only heard the sound of shing qi power, followed by the two men spinnning away in the opposite directions. Tranted by foxs The entire arena was so quiet that a falling needle would have been heard. Kou Zhong was the first to stand still. The Moon in the Wells saber de pointed from a distance at the still-spinning-at-five-zhang-distance-on-the-end-of-the-Vermillion-Bird-Boulevard-near-the-south-gate opponent. Laughing aloud, he said, Moving troops without using a scheme is like having a bow without any arrow, or a ship without a rudder. Although Guoshis martial art skill is outstanding, your xinfa unique, its a pity that you dont know the way to use troops, you dont understand the principle of bravery or cowardice to care about thew, of sess or failure to care about knowledge. Brave or timid in scheming, strong or weak in momentum. The ability to achieve things is the courage of the terrified. The scheming to seize the losing momentum is the courage of the timid. These words were spoken at this moment, when his sabers prestige was spread in all eight directions, there was some kind of only-me-holding-the-supremacy, sess-or-failure-is-within-grasp impression. Funantuo finally stopped spinning and stood facing Kou Zhong. The single palm of his left hand was held vertically in front of his chest in a greeting posture, his right hand was behind his back; on the surface, there was not any sign of his injury. But martial art masters of Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Bai Zitings caliber all knew that he lost this battle. foxswuxia.wordpress Both sides eyes shed, they fixed their gaze on each other without blinking at all. Kou Zhongs speech was not to brag about himself, but to strike Funantuos will to fight one step further, so that he would be powerless to make a killer counterstrike. Although separated by over five-zhang distance, the spectators, regardless of their martial art skill level, all felt that Kou Zhongs treasured saber already locked Funantuo tightly, that at any moment he could traverse this five-zhang distance at the speed of lightning to deal a strike that would seize Funantuos life. Funantuos body suddenly shook, the clothes on his chest shattered, a line of blood from the saber cut appeared at the location where his heart was, the blood was seeping out, but the strange light in his pair of eyes was ring dramatically. Letting out a cold snort, he said, Good saber technique, but you still dont have enough qualifications to kill someone who is proficient in yogas life and death method. This saber, there will be one day I will have you pay it back. Da Wang, well part now! Suddenly he flew back in the direction of the south gate. Surprisingly, Bai Ziting did not call out to stop him. Qiang! Kou Zhong also returned the saber back into its scabbard, producing a clear and melodious ring. Everybody present, none did not feel as if a heavy hammer was striking at their heart, producing different degrees of difort and uneasiness. Hearing that, Xu Ziling understood thoroughly. This was called living near a temple, one knows how to worship the deity. This move of making the scabbard ring was indeed a variation of his Incantation Image Method, the difference was that it was brimming with destructive power. Tranted by foxs It looked simple, yet it evolved from Kou Zhongs whole heart and whole spirit; furthermore, he was really pouring his heart, mind, and body into it, not just to make some clear noise to awe the whole arena. When Funantuo heard the sound, he was severely shaken, an extremely strange expression appeared on his face. Bai Ziting heaved a deep sigh, he said, Guoshi may go in peace. Bai Ziting will definitely not fail to live up to Guoshis expectations. Longquans army and civilians were shocked. Only this time did they know that not only Funantuo suffered a crushing defeat by being hit by the saber, he was also seriously injured to the point of death. Funantuo was still staring ferociously at Kou Zhong. And then his eyes darkened, a trace of terrifying blood flowed out of the corner of his mouth, and dripped to the ground. foxswuxia.wordpress Under the gaze of hundreds and thousands pairs of eyes, this grandmaster in martial art study from Tianzhu dejectedly fell to the ground. All army and civilian of Longquan, Bai Ziting included, everyone was as dumb as a wooden chicken. They watched in disbelieve as Funantuos dead body was falling onto the Vermilion Bird Boulevard of the Little Changan. Book 44 - 9 – The Whole Truth Is Revealed A shadow shed. Bai Ziting, on the street where Funantuo dropped dead, picked the corpse and hugged it tightly. The old tears fell unhindered, he cried bitterly, Three years ago Guoshi said that before the Bohai Kingdom is established, you would encountered death; I never thought the prophecy would really happened. Guoshi is not dead, you will forever live in our hearts. Sumo tribe definitely will not fail to live up to Guoshis expectations. Hearing that, Kou Zhong, three men looked at each other. This was clearly Bai Ziting seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, being quick witted, he concocted a lie to raise his mens spirit by pushing everything to Laotianye. Laotianye wanted him to die, surely Funantuo would not escape cmity; it was the same as Laotianye wanted Sumo tribe to rise suddenly, Tianwang Laozi [lit. old man king of heaven] could not stop it. Whats rare was that he was speaking so emotionally and eloquently, so full of expression. Kou Zhong suddenly staggered two steps, opened his mouth and vomited a spurt of fresh blood, showing that in order to kill Funantuo, it was not that he did not pay the price. Tranted by foxs Hundreds of high-ranking military officers, army and civilian of Longquan city were crowding the top the city wall and both sides of the streets, yet it was still so quiet that a falling needle would have been heard. No one could ept the cruel reality that Funantuo, whom they viewed as man of heaven, would die by violence on the street. The atmosphere was heavy to the extreme. Ba Fenghan signaled with his hand, telling Kou Zhong toe to them. Dangerous situation could happen at any moment, it was no longer within their control. If the City of Longquans army and civilian were furious and staked their life to rush over, they could pound the three into mincemeat, any martial art skill would be useless. However, Kou Zhong did not dare to act blindly without thinking. He stood still, not even daring to move his finger the slightest bit. Holding Funantuo by the waist, Bai Ziting roared, Longquan will prevail! Bohai will win! foxswuxia.wordpress Longquans army and civilians roared in response, their shouts soared straight up to the sky over the City of Longquan. Bai Zitings round-like-copper-bell eyes shot at Kou Zhong, he shouted sternly, We will use their, three mens blood to offer sacrifices to the soul and spirit of Guoshi in heaven. All around battle cry shook the heavens and reverberated along the entire length of the Vermilion Bird Boulevard. Whether they had weapon in their hand or not, the soldiers, generals, andmon people, as if they were mad, all swarmed around from everywhere to attack. Kou Zhong and the others already guessed that this might happen. Other than thinking about how to wash and disperse Longquans army and civilians grief and indignation and resentment, they had no time to haggle with Bai Ziting for not keeping his promise. Ba Fenghan shouted loudly to Kou Zhong, Into the shop! While shouting, he and Xu Ziling were already retreating toward the restaurant where they had negotiation with Bai Ziting and the others a moment ago. Dense rain of arrows and darts arrived. Kou Zhong leaped up to evade. The moment before Zong Xianghua, Gongqi, and the other high-ranking military officers rushed to intercept, he darted toward the restaurants door as well. Gongqis cavalry sword and Zong Xianghuas sword followed closely behind. Like a tide, the crowd, with zing hot hatred, surged over; mob mentality burst forth. This moment, even if Bai Ziting changed his mind, he would be unable to stop it. The sound of shouting and yelling drowned everything else, the noise was so loud that no one could hear anything else. Tranted by foxs Tworge round tables spun out of the shop, leaving a gap between them just enough to let Kou Zhong pass through. Kou Zhong roared wildly, he took a breath and elerated; evading a spear thrown from the left side dangerously closely, he swiftly darted into the shop. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were constantly throwing spinning tables to the outside, to block the swarming enemies; otherwise, they would be trapped and would undoubtedly die. Kou Zhong threw thest tabletop, squarely hitting more than a dozen people, sending them falling to the east and rolling to the west. Get out from the back street! he thundered. foxswuxia.wordpress Without waiting for his order, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling already stuck close behind him and rushed out through the back door. Right that instant, the restaurant filled with Longquans army and civilians, who, as if they were insane, wanted to devour everything and were simply smashing everything that could be crushed. The three men bolted through houses and leaped over buildings, until they reached a two-storied building and crouched behind the roof ridge. They discovered that the east gate was only a street away. Although there were guards on top of the city wall, but if they rose up to make trouble, they were certain that it would be easy to leap over the wall and leave the city. On the other side, themotion at the south gate was still shaking the heavens, and it was gradually spreading to the entire city. But presently, across the street from where they were, the ce could still be regarded as quiet; there were barely any pedestrians on the street. Kou Zhong pulled his big head back from looking at any sign of activity in the direction of the city wall; he sighed and said, We definitely cannot simply p our hands and leave. If we did, we may not be able toe back. Leaning against the roof ridge, Xu Ziling turned his head toward him and nodded his agreement, Without Song ErGe, Shuwen and his brothers, as well as our two horses, we definitely must not leave, he said. Kou Zhong spoke in distress, Why did it be like this? Was I wrong in killing Funantuo? Could it be that Bai Ziting is not in a hurry to expel us and guard the city, which is actually more important? Tranted by foxs Lying down on his other side, Ba Fenghan coldly said, You have done nothing wrong, because when Bai Ziting invited us into the city, he already decided not to let us leave alive. This man, Bai Ziting, is not only proficient in the art of war, he is also a warmonger; we cant measure him withmon sense. Xu Ziling agreed, The reason why we repeatedly suffer losses is because we are normal people, while he is a madman. Kou Zhong took a deep breath. He was about to speak when suddenly there was a gust of wind, someone was leaping to the roof tile from the side alley below. The three were shocked. After looking clearly, unexpectedly it was the Hegemon King Du Xing. They all were unsure whether they ought to continue to be nervous or to feel relieved. Du Xing shouted, His grannys bear, if you still want to live,e with me! Kou Zhong signaled the other two with his eyes, Come with him and see, before taking the lead to ran behind Du Xing; thereupon they all left. Du Xing put his famous long-handled Hegemon King Axe horizontally on the table. Smiling in distress toward the three, he said, This ghost thing is clumsy and heavy. When I had it made, I only told him to put enough material, the result is that the weight reaches 108 jin. Carrying it on my back is so inconvenient, normally I just have my pageboy carried it for me, but in situation like this, I have no choice but to work hard myself. If I had known earlier, I would have picked something a bit lighter to train. foxswuxia.wordpress Although the three men regarded him as the enemy, they could not help but were amused. This was another one of Du Xings hideouts, located in a smallne at the neighborhood opposite to the imperial pce, it could clearly be seen that this big boss of the dark road [criminal ways], who proimed himself hegemon in Shanhai Pass, has already taken root in Longquan. Bang! Du Xing pped the table with his palm, his spittle flew all over, he said, His grannys bear, Funantuo unexpectedly got killed by Shaoshuai. I am afraid before this thing happened, no one in the entire prairie would have thought of it. Now that Little Longquan and arge quantity of Old Bais supply have fallen into your hands, Old Bais great momentum is gone, its difficult for him to seed. Kou Zhong said, We also have our people and horses in his hands. I wonder if Du Ba Wang has any good suggestion? Having a card up his sleeve, Du Xing smiled and said, As long as you say Da Zuorong, three-word magic spell to Bai Ziting, I guarantee that Bai Ziting will surrender obediently. Tranted by foxs Knitting his brow, Ba Fenghan asked, What thing is Da Zuorong? Du Xingughed aloud and said, His grannys bear! What thing is Da Zuorong? Da Zuorong is not a thing at all, rather, he is Bai Zitings beloved five-year old son, the heir to the Sumo n Chief position, Bai Zitings darling and lifeline, whom the imperial concubine Bai Zitings most doted on gave birth to. Furthermore, this beloved concubine died of childbirth, so that Bai Ziting regards Da Zuorong as a pearl, as a jewel even more. This moment Da Zuorong is safely in Wolong Bie Yuan, under protection of his trusted warriors; even if Longquan fell, Da Zuorong will be able to leave safely, so that in the future he will avenge Bai Ziting. This is Bai Zitings real vital part; as long as you could make Bai Ziting sense the crisis that his son is no longer safe, three gentlemen Dage will be able to y with Bai Ziting in the palm of your hands. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Ill go to Bai Ziting immediately. Pleased with himself, Du Xingughed and said, Shaoshuai keep calm, dont get excited. I already sent my men to pass on a letter to Old Bai; the letter only says, Wolong Bie Yuan Da Zuorong, presented by Shaoshuai, very few characters, enough to make Old Bai not daring to act blindly without thinking. Just consider this a small gift that I, Du Xing present to three gentlemen. Hearing that, the three looked at each other. Why did Du Xing suddenly be this cooperative and wanting to help? foxswuxia.wordpress What is this all about? Xu Ziling wondered aloud. Snorting coldly, Du Xing said, Brothers can be enemies, enemies can be friends and brothers. Going out and mingling in Jianghu, naturally one must see situation and change ordingly. Dont me me for speaking frankly. His grannys! Your Da Xiaojie wants to do business outside the Pass in the future, she still has to look at my, Du Xings face. Jing Kang can be considered an old character. Were it not for Gao Kaidao is watching for him, Laozi would have sauted his skin and torn apart his bones. Tell me, afterpletingst nights sheepskin business, will Da Xiaojie wash her hands on golden tray [i.e. retire] and hide at home and bear child? Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Im beginning to like you a bit! Because you are really fascinating. Patted his chest, Du Xing said, This is what you earn back. People always have different sides. Toward friends, even if sabers are piercing my two nks, I, Du Xing, will endure it dly. Toward enemies, I will be more ferocious, ruthless, without any mercy C than anyone else. If not, how am I going to survive? However, I am not here to argue with you; you need not argue with me either. Whether we are friends or foe, its entirely your decision. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong asked, Can we make something clear first? Of course, Du Xing replied, Otherwise, Laozi would suspect that you dont have the sincerity to be brothers instead. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong said, Why did you, right after talking to Ke Dazhi and us, immediately go to Xu Kaishan and tell him about this matter? Slightly startled, Du Xing cursed, Your grannys bear, unexpectedly you have the guts to have someone follow me. His Niang! Whatever I want to do, thats my business. Xu Kaishan dares to deceive me, naturally I want to f*ck his eighteen generations ancestors on his face. His grannys, clearly he is Da Ming Zun Jiao evildoer, yet he pushed it away neat and clean. From now on, Xu Kaishan is no longer my brother! Do you hear that? Xu Kaishan is no longer my Ba Wang Du Xings brother. Even if someone chop his dead body into five pieces, I wont give it a fart. While speaking, the blue veins on his forehead were bulging, his big, copper-bell like eyes looked like they were spouting fire, his expression extremely excited, giving up the impression that the fire of hatred really came from his heart, and not an act at all. Seeing this, Kou Zhong and the others were staring nkly; momentarily they were speechless. Du Xing was panting heavily. After calming down somewhat, he sighed and said, You are in Longquan for only a few days, naturally you cant understand the real situation clearly in just a short period of time, but I am one of the key yers here, I know a lot of things that you dont know. The three began to believe that Du Xing indeed had the good faith to reconcile with them, the key was still personal interests, because, just like he said, Bai Zitings great momentum has gone, Du Xing must make ns for himself. Ba Fenghan asked in astonishment, Arent you half Tujue? Howe you help Bai Ziting to go against Xieli and Tuli? foxswuxia.wordpress Laughing coldly, Du Xing said, But I am half Qidan as well. All along Xieli is looking for someone to rece me, to be his steppingstone in his endeavor to invade the Central ins. As for the details, I dont want to talk about it. You guys already know that much, its enough. And if Bai Ziting can control Xieli, thats also enough; then the coastal business will be the thing in my, Du Xings bag. You also know that there are ten thousand people working for a living under me, so even if I dont think of myself, I still have to think about them. Xu Ziling asked, What is it that we dont know? Revealing a hint of strange smile, Du Xing said, Do you know Meiyan, whom you entrusted me to find her fragrant tracks, whose daughter is she? The three were startled. Du Xing pped the table and said with augh, Ha! Very funny! Such a fat pig like Ma Ji unexpectedly has such a cute daughter. What? the three blurted out together. Tranted by foxs Laughing heartily, Du Xing spoke with glee, What do you mean what? Meiyan is Ma Jis little girl, Funantuos little sweetheart. Funantuo personally taught her Tianzhus Kama Sutra in bed. All those stories about Persian Da Ming Zun Jiao Ramos direct disciple or what have you are mere nonsense; only fools would believe that. Its not that Ramo did not have any direct disciple, but I hear that early on he had been hunted to be killed, and his entire family exterminated by the Huihe Da Ming Zun Jiao, so that he was forced to flee into the Central ins. Do you understand? The three men you look at me I gaze at you, they felt all this was difficult to ept. Du Xing sighed and said, Do you know that by killing Funantuo, you are actually doing Bai Ziting a big favor? The more the three listened, the more they were confused. They felt that their conjectures, which were based on what they saw on the surface C were very different from the facts. However, they only needed to look at Guan Ping, the fraudster, who worked for Bai Ziting but he himself was Meiyans man; from this, it was clear that Meiyan was definitely problematic. Its just that they were bewitched by her outward appearance that they did not think too deeply. Du Xing did not keep anything at all, he went on, It began five years ago when Funantuo arrived from the west to pass on his teachings. At that time Bai Ziting was still quietly became the Big Chief of his Sumo tribe. Year after year he endured Xielis severe demand on him, until Funantuo, by his famous divination, told him about founding his kingdom; not only his fate changed, the entire Sumo tribes fate also changed. foxswuxia.wordpress Ba Fenghan shook his head and said with a sneer, Bai Ziting is a shrewd man, unexpectedly he did not think that this was a divine-stick cheating technique, and just like that he put the entire tribes life and property at stake? Du Xing impatiently said, You listen to me first. Naturally Funantuos trick did not stop there. Not long after his divination on the founding of the kingdom, the news arrived that Qidans Abaojia lost the Five-Colored Stone, which he had kept for many years, by theft. This matter increased Bai Zitings confidence even more, believing that it agrees with the divination. Plus, a lot of things happened between Tuli and Xieli that caused friction. And then Xieli put Zhao Deyan in an important position, his demand became without limit even more, alienating the people who had always been close to Xieli. Under all kinds of circumstances like these, Bai Ziting thereupon carried outrge-scale construction and built Longquan, expanded his armed forces and prepared for war. His Niang, it was actually Funantuo who had wild ambition; Bai Ziting was just his pull-string puppet. Our guess is that even if Bohai seeded in establishing the kingdom, Funantuo might kill Bai Ziting and set up Da Zuorong as his puppet emperor, while he himself would be Taishanghuang [father of the reigning emperor, fig. puppet master]. When the time is ripe, he would remove and rece him. If you look at the mob on the street, you would see Funantuos sacred-divine-invibility position in their hearts. When did Bai Ziting find out Funantuos threat toward him? Kou Zhong asked. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Du Xing said, Its really hard to say. My guess is that only after more than two years ago, when Funantuo began to have dealings with Gesuwen of Gaoli C that he started to be on guard, and so he wooed the Da Ming Zun Jiaos whose ambition is thriving C in the dark to counter Funantuos steadily increasing power. As for when Ma Ji and Funantuo started to hook up, it should be before Funantuo arrived in Longquan. But the rtionship between Funantuo and Bai Ziting deteriorated. It should be the reason why Meiyan entrusted the Five-Colored Stone to you to be brought to Longquan. You should know that were it not for the Five-Colored Stone appearing, Xieli and Tuli might not necessarily make peace that quickly, Longquan would not need to face the bad luck of the Wolf Army pressing down on their territory either. Kou Zhong did not understand, By doing that, what benefit was there for Funantuo? Tranted by foxs Du Xing spoke heavily, That is a grand gamble nned by Funantuo. The most ideal would be Bai Ziting died in battle, Funantuo acted on his behalf to lead the troops to repel the Wolf Army, Gesuwen would seize the opportunity to take over Gaolis king Gao Jianwus position. In the end Funantuo and Gesuwen would divide the gold, silver and jewels that Bai Ziting umted over many years, pat their butts and return to their respective home country. The only one dying would be the Sumo people, while they did not evenck half a strand of hair. If they seeded, the benefits would be difficult to estimate. The three finally understood why ughtering Funantuo was unexpectedly doing Bai Ziting a big favor, because Funantuo had be the god-among-the-people in Sumo peoples heart, just like Bi Xuan to the Tujue and Fu Cailin to the Gaoli, so that even Bai Ziting was also incapable to move him. Moreover, they recalled the three big chests of gold and treasures on Ma Jis ship; most likely those were Funantuos private property. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong could not help asking the most crucial question, What is actually the rtionship between the wolf-bandits and you, LaoGe? Immediately the murderous aura in Du Xings eyes red out. Gnashing his teeth, he said, All along I only knew that wolf-bandits are Bai Zitings men, all the stolen goods are handed over to Ma Ji to be dealt with. As long as he did not vite me, I, Du Xing can have one eye open while the other eye closed; killing a few Han people is not a big bird deal. It was not until the Anle Tragedy urred that I realized things are not like they appear. Plus you guys revealed that the wolf-bandits are rted to Da Ming Zun Jiao. That was the first time I was alerted. F*ck his grannys ancestors. When you guys told me that Xu Kaishan is either Da Ming Zun Jiaos Da Zun or Yuanzi, I began to realize the truth of the matter. Xu Kaishan is not the only one covering up for the wolf-bandits, there is also Jing Kang, that old fellow Sha Qian Dao [lit. killer thousand sabers]. Only because Anle Bang discovered the rtionship between Jing Kang and the wolf-bandits that the Bangzhus entire family met treacherous assault. This matter I absolutely did not guess wrong. In fact, I am very grateful to you guys, otherwise, even if someone killed me, I would not know whats going on, and then when I died, I would be a confused ghost. The truth was certainly bizarre and winding. Were it not for the three men already knew that when the Pingyao merchants came to Shanhai Pass they were met by Jing Kang, that even Ren Jun was unable to stop Pingyao merchants froming to the north, they definitely would not be able to ept Du Xings exnation, at least for the time being. Four mens eight eyes met each other. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong blew a mouthful of air, he said, If the wolf-bandits really have nothing to do with Du Bazhu [overlord/hegemon], henceforth we are friends. Du Xingughed aloud and said, The reason Xu Kaishan and I became sworn brothers was entirely due to Bai Ziting threading the needle in the middle. My real brother is Huyan Jin. I hope three gentlemen would look at my face and speak a few good words in front of Xieli and Tuli; dont give him any trouble. The three had a sudden realization; they began to understand that the reason Huyan Jin wanted to make peace with themst night was due to Du Xings influence. Ba Fenghan said, That warning letter that Du Ba Wang sent to Bai Ziting on our behalf is beating the grass to scare the snake. Is it possible that Bai Ziting would immediately move his son away? foxswuxia.wordpress Du Xing said, That is not possible. Gesuwen is not a benevolent-man-trusted-woman; only with Da Zuorong in his hands will he not be afraid that Bai Ziting would betray him. This is a business deal, Bai Ziting has no choice but toe! Book 44 - 10 – If It’s Wrong, It’s Wrong The three men changed their clothes, put on their masks, and then, upright and unafraid, they walked across the street toward the foreign guesthouse. The streets were still in chaos as before, group after group of ferocious soldiers and confused citizens, their eyes revealed ominous glint, their hands carried weapons, went around everywhere looking for the three mens trace, but it actually made things easy for them instead, since they need not worry that the soldiers would check them; because the enemys target was specific, they ignored the three men instead. In ordance with the n they discussed, Du Xing was going to find three men to impersonate them, leaping over the city wall and escaping out of Longquan. When the enemy mistakenly believed that they were not in the city, they could then set their n in motion. Tranted by foxs The three followed behind a group of people along a section of the Vermilion Bird Boulevard, and then turned into a sidene. What do you think of Du Xing? Ba Fenghan asked. Spreading his arms, Kou Zhong replied, I did not hear any w in what he said, because he did indeed have a big argument with Xu Kaishan. After we are done here, well go look for Xu Kaishan to settle the ount. There are also Liexia and Han Chaoan; we must not let any one of them get away. Humph! Xu Ziling looked at the foreign guesthouse across the street, which was the hotel where the Pingyao merchants stayed. It was difficult to see whether they had good or bad luck. The most ideal thing would be Ou Liangcai and the others already left the city, the worst-case scenario was if they were put in prison. Ba Fenghan said, Currently we have no other choice but to ce our heavy bet on Du Xing. If he dares to deceive us, I will not let him get away. Kou Zhong said, Dont look at how his mouth is full of vulgarnguage, actually, there is a refined and extremely measured person within the vulgarity, moreover, he has a clear view of things. Unless he does not hesitate to give up the business empire that he built through untold hardship in Shanhai Pass, he must cooperate with us nicely and render meritorious service to pay for his crime. Ha! Fixing his gaze on the foreign guesthouse main gate, Xu Ziling said, This time, the vanguard troopsing here are not the Tujue Wolf Army but Pusas Huihe elite troops; I wonder what kind of psychological impact will it have on Bai Ziting? Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Ling Shaos thought is very thorough. The impact can be categorized in several aspects. First of all, its the situation concerning Huihes original tribe. With Tulis full support, Xieli also gave him a nod of approval, plus with his prestige, which is like the sun in the middle of the sky due to the battle of Helian Fort, he regained what he lost in his original tribe; therefore, he is able to lead his troopsing to the west. This matter also represents Da Ming Zun Jiaos losing their momentum in Huihe, which also substantially weaken Da Ming Zun Jiaos influence on Bai Ziting. foxswuxia.wordpress Ba Fenghan sighed and said, At longst Tuli is doing the right thing. Kou Zhong continued his analysis, Secondly, Xieli and Tuli let Pusa leading the vanguard troops, it shows clearly that they wanted to increase the pressure on Bai Ziting, a sign that those who oppose Bai Ziting founding his kingdom are not limited to Tujue people, but other tribes in the prairie as well. If I were Bai Ziting, I wouldnt be able to sleep tonight. This moment, Xu Ziling suddenly shouted, Look! Hearing that, the other two turned their eyes toward the foreign guesthouse, only to see Guan Ping, shing and hiding, exited the main gate, looking to the left and ncing to the right. Tranted by foxs The three quickly moved back to avoid his surreptitious gaze. Kou Zhong happily said, Ou Liangcai and the others must be unable to leave because the city gates are closed! shing out of the main gate, Guan Ping walked toward the south gate. Kou Zhong made prompt decision, Ling Shao and Old Ba go follow him, Xiaodi is going into the hotel to visit old friends. Guan Ping sat on a small boat that was hidden under the bridge and rowed it in the direction of the southwest part of Longquan City. Xu Ziling was about to follow him along the riverbank, Ba Fenghan pulled his sleeve and said, Theres another small boat under the bridge; taking waterway is always better than walking onnd. Who would have guessed that we still have the interest to take a tour along the river? The two quickly get down to get on the boat. Xu Ziling took the paddle and quickly rowed the boat to tail Guan Ping ahead, which sometimes was in sight, other times was hidden. foxswuxia.wordpress Guan Ping was in high alert; he constantly looked at the banks and also looked at them, obviously he was suspicious. The two cried, Bad! inwardly. Ba Fenghan spoke in low voice, Looks like abandoning the boat and following him onnd is a bit safer. Although the difficulties will double, its still better than following him with bright eyes, open guts, on the river, circling to the left and turning to the right. Xu Ziling leisurely operated the paddle; he smiled and said, I dare to bet that he is going to Da Ming Zun Jiaos nest, Xiao Hui Yuan [little Hui (tribe) garden]. This is the same waterway that Kou Zhong and I took the other day going to the Xiao Hui Yuan. This moment Guan Ping turned left, paddling into the north waterway. If he is taking this direction, then he definitely was not going to the Xiao Hui Yuan in the southwest. Ba Fenghan already heard the story about Xiao Hui Yuan from the two boys. Laughing coldly, he said, Good sly fellow, he wanted to test us! And then he frowned and said, If Du Xing is telling the truth, Meiyan should be Funantuos woman, then she ought to be standing in opposition with Da Ming Zun Jiao; why would Meiyans man go to Xiao Hui Yuan? Xu Ziling did not follow Guan Ping into the same waterway, he went straight to the west. He said, This matter is indeed puzzling. But Du Xing really does not know everything. Meiyan and Da Ming Zun Jiaos real rtionship, I am afraid even he did not know. Liexia said that Meiyan was once his woman, I think he did not lie, and his enmity toward Funantuo is also real. Tranted by foxs Sheng Guang Sis pagoda was towering ahead, a scene that recalled past memories in Xu Zilings heart, so that he could not help sighing. Ba Fenghan asked in astonishment, Whats the load in Zilings mind? Xu Zilings mind galloped through time and space, back to the touching and the melting-the-spirit-snapping-the-soul memory where he spent time with Shi Feixuan. Where could her fragrant footprint be now? Could it be she was on the way returning to the unknown-depth of the Jingzhai? Regarding the future, he no longer had any expectation and hope. Suddenly he also remembered the Tianzhu Xiao in his bosom that Shang Xiufang entrusted to him to deliver to Shi Qingxuan. Shaking his head, he said, Nothing! After our business is done here, are you going toe with us back to the Central Earth? Ba Fenghan was silent for half a day. Finally he spoke casually, No! I want to see someone, andter on I am going to Luoyang to look for Kou Zhong. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, Badaier? Raising his consciousness, Kou Zhong circled around the foreign guesthouse one time through. After making sure that no enemy was watching, he climbed over the rear courtyard wall and entered in. He was still afraid that Bai Ziting might be so brilliant as to hide ambushing troops in here. He went through the buildings, halls, and rooms, one by one, to get clear understanding of the situation, until finally he was certain that the more than a dozen Pingyao merchants were gathered in the main hall, and then he pulled down his mask and entered via the backdoor into the hall, saying, Gentlemen, I trust you have been well since west met, Xiaodi is very pleased to see you all. foxswuxia.wordpress Ou Liangcai, Luo Yi, and the others were sitting facing each other, worrying about the city, anxious over their own fate. On top of that, the riot on the street quite frightened them that a third part of their soul scattered. Suddenly seeing Kou Zhong appearing, they were all pleasantly surprised. Turned out this morning they waited until noon per their earlier agreement, but still did not see Kou Zhong, they knew in their hearts that the situation was far from good, hence they wanted to leave the city in haste. Who would have thought that all city gates were locked down, no one was allowed to enter or exit? Without any choice, they had to return to the guesthouse. Kou Zhong sighed and said, And now we must leave immediately, otherwise sooner orter Bai Ziting woulde to pick you up. Currently he is losing his mind, he is full of evil tendencies, he will not let anything get away. Luo Yi sighed and said, Shaoshuai has the ability toe and go at will, as soon as you said you wanted to go you can just go. But how are we going to leave? Kou Zhong said, I am not asking you toe with me charging through the city gate, but I want to move you to safety first. I have a very capable friend in here, he will watch for an opportunity to send you to a safe ce. Tomorrow you might be able to take a boat back to Shanhai Pass. I also have a solution for your debt. Dont worry! I will protect you, no matter what. Tranted by foxs The crowd was overjoyed at the unexpected good news. They hurriedly picked up their simple luggage, which had already been prepared properly for a long time. Right this frightening moment, Bang! Bang! Bang! Someone was banging on the outer courtyard door, making such an earth-shattering ruckus. Each bang was like a bolt of thunder striking the vital part in Kou Zhong and the others heart. Three of the merchants knees went weak, they fell on their butts on the floor in horror. Luo Yi and the others also had their countenance devoid of any color. Gongqis shouting voice came, This ce has been heavily surrounded, get the hell out for me! Even with Kou Zhongs valiant and confidence, he could not help breaking into cold sweat. He simply could not leave them here and escape alone. What should he do? Gongqi could be considered outstanding as well, unexpectedly he knew that Kou Zhong was here. foxswuxia.wordpress Gongqi shouted again, Still havent opened the door for me? Kou Zhong was greatly astonished; if Gongqi wasing to deal with him, he would definitely force the door open or leap over the wall to attack, to catch him off guard, how could he call for them to open the door? Suddenly it dawned on him, Gongqi really did not know that he, Kou Zhong was in here; rather, he came to arrest Luo Yi and the others. Bright idea appeared in his mind, immediately his brain was churning. Under the illumination of the setting sun, steam was curling up. Even on the eve of big war looming in the horizon, the river, the bridges, everywhere they looked, the scenery was still so enchanting. The water of the river, which has turned golden and bluish-green, was flowing lightly and quietly. The evening mist enveloping the hot springs, the rising steam shrouding the boat all around, following it along, created an ever-changing misty heaven and earth. After the thunderstorm, the sky was clear, with a smear of gorgeous rose-tinted clouds over the western horizon, blending perfectly with clump after clump of floating clouds rolling leisurely in the sky. Do you know why I partedpany with Badaier? Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently. Xu Zilings heart was touched. It was because Ba Fenghan was considering him as a close friend that he revealed the secret and the emotions buried deep in the bottom of his heart. Tranted by foxs Ba Fenghan revealed a brimming-with-helplessness and pained expression. Looking at the river, he sighed and said, The biggest problem was that we belong to two different social sses, and have been destined like this since birth. Whether in terms of lifestyle, habit, way of thinking and lifes goal, we are as different as can be. At the beginning, we could still rely on our love to ovee the obstacle and break all taboos, the kind of hatred-turning-into-love, which was exciting and unruffled by sentiment, able to cover everything. However, when I could not make her to be like me, and she was also disappointed that I had not made the slightest change for her, the friction grew, until finally it developed to the point of hard to endure. Although Xu Ziling did not know what really happened between them, he could imagine that for such a noble woman like Badaier, who was born in aristocratic Tujue family, being carried in Ba Fenghans C who had revenge in mind C arms, and was taken prisoner, both her body and mind, such an imbnce in her way of thinking, which made her betraying her social ss and throwing herself to Ba Fenghan, certainly put her under a huge pressure. Smiling bitterly, Ba Fenghan said, That morning she left on her own. When she left, I pretended to be asleep. And she knew that I was pretending to be asleep, yet I did not ask her to stay. This was the reason she hates me to the bones. The past can no longer be restored; furthermore, we cannot revive old dreams. Over thest few years, I have be increasingly indifferent to the feeling between men and women, unlike in the past. However, in my heart, I still have sincere remorse toward her. For many years I had been unwilling to think; I did not dare to think even more. But on top of Helian Forts wall, when I was face-to-face with death, I suddenly realized that upon examining my heart and thought, this is the only matter of regret. At that time I already made up my mind, if I luckily did not die, I would see her one time, to express the remorse in my heart to her. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, But what she wants is probably not your confession or apology. foxswuxia.wordpress The boat slowly stopped under the bridge. Xiao Hui Yuan appeared at the far left in the depth of the rose-tinted fog. Any boat approaching the pier behind the Garden would definitely not escape their watch. Ba Fenghan said, She might. No one understands me better than she; also no one loves me deeper than she. As long as she knows that she is the only woman in my, Ba Fenghans heart, and she still is even today, she might let me go. Ay! My Niang! A small boat emerged from the mist on the other side of Xiao Hui Yuan, and was slowly approaching. Kou Zhong made prompt decision; he said to Luo Yi and the others, Dont be afraid! They definitely wont dare to harm you, I will evene with you into the prison. Finished speaking, he rushed toward the door, while taking out his mask and put it on. Fortunately, in order to avoid other peoples eyes and ears, he had hidden his saber and bow inside his outer robe. Unless the other side did a body search, he would not have to worry that they might find the weapons. He was hoping that in this moment of soldiers mutiny and troops rebelling, the other side might be careless and would not maintain their usual cautious style. As he reached the za between the outer courtyard gate and the main hall, he suddenly remembered something. Crying Bad! inwardly, he was about to get the other mask to change, when Bang! the door bolt broke, the outer courtyard gate was smashed open. Tranted by foxs Wearing the ugly divine doctor mask, Kou Zhong pretended to have his legs turned soft, he fell on his knees and changed his voice, pretending to lose his head in fear, he blurted out, Daren, please spare my life! Daren, please spare my life! The demonic, fiendish Gongqi, apanied by arge number of Sumo soldiers crowding around him, burst in. His eyes revealing ominous glint, he stared at Kou Zhong sitting on the ground, and shouted coldly, Go in and search! Dont leave out even half a person. Like wolves and tigers, the warriors swarmed around Kou Zhong and rushed like a tide into the main hall. Gongqi, with six or seven attendants by his side, walked over to Kou Zhong; staring fiercely at him, he said, Whats your name? A man, who looked like a civil officer, by his side, took out a scroll from his bosom and open it up to look at it. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly; he did not expect the other side to be this meticulous, unexpectedly they checked for identities. How could he reveal his original identity? With no other choice, he braced himself and said, Xiaoren is Guan Ping! Daren, please spare my life! while thinking inwardly about how to put this muddled-egg to death in one fell swoop with the most fierce and severe means. The civil officer nodded and said, His name is on the list. But the ominous glint in Gongqis eyes was ring even greater, his hand pressed on the sabers hilt, he looked coldly at Kou Zhong and said, I seem to have seen you somewhere. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhongs entire body rxed. At least this group of people, Gongqi included, did not know that Guan Ping was Meiyans man and that he was working for Bai Ziting. Evidently Longquan was in a great mess, the way they handled their business was a lot less efficient than before. He replied in trembling voice, This is the first time Xiaoren saw Daren; I wonder if we met on the street? Gongqi seemed to remember that time he saw him from across the street; it dispelled his doubt instead. No longer looking at him, he cast his gaze toward the main hall, where one of his men rushed out and reported, There are only sixteen men, one is missing. Gongqi coldly pointed to Kou Zhong and said, Have you counted this gutless fellow? The man was stunned; losing his spirit, he spoke in terror, Jiangjun Daren, please forgive me, Xiaoren is being careless. Kou Zhong was delighted inwardly. Funantuos death, the loss of Little Longquan, and Pusas vanguard troops pressing down on their territory have definitely rattled the heart of Longquan Army, so that from top to bottom, everybody was losing their mind, hence this kind of joke happened. Naturally this kind situation would make his operation a lot easier. Tranted by foxs Gongqi was furious, Idiot! he bellowed, Quickly take the prisoners back to the pce and put them in prison. The two men focused their eyes to look, and both were stunned. On the boat was not Guan Ping at all, but the chief of Da Ming Zun Jiaos Five Bright Sons, Liexia. Xu Ziling applied his power to move the boat backward, to avoid being seen by the other side. Liexia moored the boat on the dock, and then he left the boat and went ashore. The two men waited for a moment, but they still did not see Guan Pings boat appearing. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Du Xing did not lie, Guan Ping practically did not go to Xiao Hui Yuan, so we might miss the chance to find Meiyan. But knowing that she is still in this area of the city could greatly narrow the range of the search for her. Shall we go back to rendezvous with Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling asked. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, This is called since they havee, we should make themfortable [idiom], also if its wrong, its wrong [idiom]. Last night this kid, Liexia wanted to take your life, how can we let him easily andfortably and leisurely keep on living. foxswuxia.wordpress Frowning, Xu Ziling said, But we do not know the strength inside the Garden at all; moreover, if we make a disturbance, it wont be beneficial to us. Ba Fenghan cast his gaze toward the faint lights, which could be seen over the south wall at the back of the Xiao Hui Yuan. Smiling, he said, This ce, whether to fight or to escape, is very convenient. Besides, the bigger the disturbance the better. The most marvelous would be if the soldiers of the whole city are flocking to this ce. But in my opinion, Da Ming Zun Jiao absolutely do not wish to rm Bai Ziting, because they are not willing that we find out their rtionship with Bai Ziting, to say nothing of we have not yet torn our face. Remembering Duan Yucheng, Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Ba Fenghans style was surly and unreasoning, one thing went wrong he would immediately move the saber, move the sword. As hisst resort, he said, If Xu Kaishan is inside, I am afraid it will be difficult for us to get away. Astonished, Ba Fenghan said, How could Ziling be afraid of anybody? Is there another reason? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling told him about Duan Yucheng. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, So whats the problem if we kill less people? Lets go! Tranted by foxs The boat pulled out from under the bridge and glided toward the dock outside the back garden of the Xiao Hui Yuan. Ba Fenghan pulled down his mask, he said with augh, Each time I put on the mask, I cannot help eximing in admiration toward Lu Miaozis miraculous hands snatching-the-heavens craftsmanship. Lu Miaozis voice and features appeared at the bottom of Xu Zilings heart, he could not help remembering Shang Xiuxuns touching demeanor when she was eating the culinary delicacy. A hundred and one emotions in his heart, he followed Ba Fenghans lead by taking off his mask. Suddenly rm went off in the two mens heart, they turned their head to look. A speedboat was rushing over; there was a man and a woman on the boat. Both sides looked at each other from a distance, and both sides were shocked. The man was actually the Right Deputy under Bai Zitingsmand, Kesubie, the woman was the Imperial Bodyguard Chief Zong Xianghua. The two persons came to Xiao Hui Yuan at a critical time where Longquan was caught in deep water and scorching fire, naturally there must be an important thing to discuss with the leaderships of Da Ming Zun Jiao. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling cried Not good! inwardly. Very quickly the speedboat was only three zhang away. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling sighed inwardly and moored his boat next to Liexias boat. Zong Xianghua and Kesubies speedboat was approaching rapidly. The formers hand was pressing on her swords hilt, her pretty eyebrows were thick with frost, but the expression emitted by her pair of eyes was not pure hatred; rather, it was quite aplicated emotion. Ba Fenghan slyly said, Lady and gentleman, how are you? Extraordinarily, Kesubie did not reveal any hostility; he slowly moored the speedboat next to their boat. Smiling bitterly, he said, Gentlemen ought to know better than anybody else how we are? Book 44 - 11 – Killing to Shut Mouth Zong Xianghuas long and slender hand left the sword hilt. With a bit of every-hope-turns-to-dust impression, she appeared to be stupefied as she said, You guys should leave immediately, as far away as possible, and afterwards must not appear before my eyes again, otherwise dont me us for being impolite. Hearing that, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling you look at me I gaze at you, they were both at a loss. Zong Xianghua did not immediately pull her sword to fight them, or summon Da Ming Zun Jiao people to help her, it was already greatly beyond their expectation. And now unexpectedly she even let them leave. It was indeed extremely strange. Tranted by foxs Kesubie, who had always been mild-mannered, sighed and said, Zong Shiwei [imperial bodyguard] learned from Xiufang Dajia that Shaoshuai has personally promised to protect the people of Longquans life and property, also saw how at Little Longquan you let her go; therefore, she does not wish to be enemy with you. Ay! We ... we ... The two men understood. Moreover, they understood that the reasons Kesubie mentioned was not the most important; the real reason why Zong Xianghua was unwilling to make her move was that she already lost the will to fight, as well as any hope C for the iing battle, that she could only stare nkly and wait for the misfortune of extermination of an entire family [ancient Chinese punishment], for the massacre of everyone in the captured city. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Zilingspassion arose greatly, he spoke softly, Things are still not at the turning point yet. As long as we can find the Five-Colored Stone, and your honorable superior is willing to give up the establishment of the country, we can try to persuade Tuli, and then he could go to advise Xieli. Zong Xianghua shook her head dejectedly and hung down her cicada head. Kesubie swept his gaze all around at the tranquil and beautiful scenery of the river and the bridge. Revealing a feeling-as-if-having-his-heart-cut-out expression, he spoke in great distress, Lets not talk about Da Wang is obstinately clinging to his course, that he is determined to fight to the death, even if we are willing to give up the establishment of the kingdom and offer the Five-Colored Stone, the Tujue still will not let the matter drop. Ba Xiong ought to be clear of Xielis killing-to-thest-one style. Xu Ziling recalled the prosperous situation of the Vermilion Bird Boulevard when they first arrived, he thought about the horrible scene of women and children and the old and the weak under the Tujue Armys iron hoof trampling all living things and turned them into charcoal. Righteous indignation bubbling up deep within his heart, he resolutely said, I definitely will not let the Tujue massacre everyone in the captured city. Zong Xianghua raise her head to look at him; she wanted to say something but then hesitated, in the end she did not speak, but the beautiful pupil of her eyes no longer showed the slightest bit of hostility. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, How could the situation get to this point? Could it be that you have never thought that relying on the meager strength of one tribe at the remote corner of the prairie to challenge the powerful tyrant of the grasnd, the cowering-the-Central-Earth-by-their-military-force Tujue Wolf Army C is merely striking a stone with an egg? Even if Gesuwen is your wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly], at most he could somewhat dy the fate of the perished tribe. Tranted by foxs Revealing a sad regret-is-already-toote expression, Kesubie spoke with hatred, This is called Da Wang is repeating errors, but in the end it was Ma Ji who led him astray. Under his rmendation, he revered Funantuo as his master, he spared no effort in umting wealth and expanding the armed forces, moreover, he made contact with Gesuwen, having the superstition belief that Funantuo pointed out, the so-called Mandate of Heaven. And now that Funantuo is powerless to defend himself, he finally came to his senses. But once he took a wrong turn, its very difficult to turn around. At that time I implored him not to trust Ma Ji and Funantuo, but I was reprimanded severely by him; henceforth I distanced myself from this matter and only do some work for him taking care of foreign guests. Yesterday Zong Shiwei and I admonished him strenuously not to capture that Song Gongzi, but he resolutely refused to listen to us, inciting you guys to capture the Little Longquan, while also angering Fu Dashis disciple Qiang Xiaojie and losing Gaoli, this powerful ally, and finally Funantuos life was gone under Shaoshuais hands. Ay! I dont know either how the situation could get to this point. Zong Xianghua recovered her cold and detached demeanor, she spoke indifferently, Stop talking! Gentlemen, just consider it a favor to us: immediately leave the city, otherwise it would be very difficult for us to exin to Da Wang. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Lady and gentleman, please dont underestimate Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling; they said they are going to resolve the massacre in Longquan, they must have a way to do it, moreover, they will need your cooperation. Even if you do not consider your own life or death, you ought to consider the innocent civilians, themon people in the whole city. foxswuxia.wordpress Sneering coldly, Zong Xianghua said, Isnt Ba Fenghan famous for having a heart of stone? Why suddenly be like a knight-errant that bemoans the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind? If you really give thought to us, just give back the things that you robbed, I guarantee that Da Wang is going to hand over the people to you. Ba Fenghan understood her mood; although he was rebuked, he did not get angry. He signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, telling him to speak. Xu Ziling understood what he meant, he calmly said, I am askingdy and gentleman a question, but please think thrice before answering: aredy and gentleman loyal to Bai Ziting, or are you actually loyal to Sumo tribe? Please dont answer in haste, I want to know your true intention. Sumo tribe is at the life and death juncture of the extermination of the entire family, perhaps your answer will determine its future fate. Zong Xianghua and Kesubie revealed a shocked expression at the same time; they looked at him. Kou Zhong and Pingyao merchants, seventeen people altogether, were taken to the mule carts, which were originally prepared to carry goods, under escort of Gongqi and nearly a hundred guards, paraded ostentatiously across town like convicted criminals C galloping toward the imperial pce. The mob on the streets anger has not diminished; although they were being prevented from taking these Han people down from the cart to beat them up fiercely, they still continuously hurled insult or threw rocks at them, scaring Luo Yi and the others that their face was devoid of any color, so that they huddled into a pile and only knew how to tremble. Tranted by foxs Naturally Kou Zhong also put on the same act and scared expression like them, but inwardly he was actually very happy; he even beseeched God and worshipped Buddha that Gongqi would put them in the same jail that Song Shidao and the others were imprisoned. This possibility was quite high, considering putting the hostages in one central location would both be convenient to defend, also to facilitate ease of transport. Right this moment, rapid sound of hoot beats was heard. Seven or eight riders were galloping from behind, the leader was surprisingly Han Chaoan. Kou Zhong almost reached for his saber. This is called enemies meet bringing red to the eyes; after getting rid of Funantuo and Shen Mohuan, the one he wanted to kill the most was this abominable fellow, and next in line was Liexia. foxswuxia.wordpress Looking back, Gongqiughed and said, Han Xiong is back from Bie Yuan! Han Chaoans face was calm and collected; not even looking at Kou Zhong and the other prisoners, he went straight to Gongqis side and rode side by side with him. Furious, he said, How did things happen, and how could it happen? You let Kou Zhong, that kid attacked Little Longquan and robbed three ships worth of goods that are extremely important. That already made Bohai lost its face entirely. The more nonsensical thing was that while the entire city was staring nkly to watch, you let Kou Zhong struck and killed Da Guoshi, and afterward unexpectedly he escaped without any trace. Tell me, what is going on here? How are we going to fight the battle tomorrow? Merely Kou Zhong is enough to cause Longquans destruction. If Gongqi was a Sumo man, he certainly would not be able to bear it. Gongqi spoke in low voice, Han Xiong must not get angry, how could things of the world always follow peoples expectations? We made a mistake by underestimating Kou Zhongs ability to escape, but were it not for us receiving Han Xiongs suggestion to plot against Song Shidao, the situation might not escte to this level! Han Chaoan also lowered his voice, but he still could not conceal the hot anger in his heart; he said, Clearly it was you who mucked things up, yet you are ming me? Have you put Song Shidao to death? Kou Zhong was shocked. Immediately he was able to recreate the chain of events in his mind. Not only Gongqi said that capturing Song Shidao was Han Chaoans proposal, he even used the phrase plot against; it could be imagined that at that time Han Chaoan was the first to make his move, so that Song Shidao, who did not guard against him at all, was taken in by surprise, and then with Funantuos help they attacked Song Shidao that he had no time to deal with it. Otherwise, with Song Shidaos martial art skill, or it might be that he fought with all his might until he perished, he could not possibly be so useless as to suffer the humiliation of being captured. Tranted by foxs Why would Han Chaoan do this? It could be inferred from this that if his n seeded, such as Song Shidao and Kou Zhong were killed, Bai Ziting would be joined by Gesuwens wonder troops, using ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum to recapture Little Longquan and to annihte Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Gunatai brothers in one move, and then the officers and soldiers morale would be aroused, their will to fight resolute. That would be the immediate result. The further objective was to roll Gaoli King and Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin into this matter. To have both his future son-inw and his son die in Longquan at the same time, as Bai Zitings partner, it would be hard for Gaoli to escape the me, so that when Fu Cailin came to the Central Earth in the future, Song Que would definitely fight a life and death decisive battle against Fu Cailin. And Song Que was one of the very few persons in the world who had enough qualifications to challenge Fu Cailin. To Han Chaoan and Gesuwen, Fu Cailin was the biggest obstacle for them to ascend the throne of Gaoli, hence they wanted to aplish it sooner rather thanter. These thoughts flitted through Kou Zhongs mind like lightning sh or a flints spark, but then he immediately thought of another imminent serious problem. After receiving the news, Han Chaoan hurried back, it could not be just because of bad temper, but because he wanted to kill Song Shidao to shut his mouth, so that Gaolis side would never know that he had a part in capturing Song Shidao. Otherwise, he would be the first person that Fu Cailin was unwilling to let go. Kou Zhong wiped his cold sweat inwardly; fortunately he identally came across this matter. Otherwise it would be a matter for regret throughout his life; moreover, he would be unable to exin to the Song Family. foxswuxia.wordpress Gongqi replied indifferently, Concerning Song Shidao, it would be best if Han Xiong personally ask Da Wang. We as his subordinates can only carry out his orders. Kou Zhongs heart was moved; he guessed that Han Chaoan did not know that Gongqi belonged to Da Ming Zun Jiao. Han Chaoan turned his head around to nce at Kou Zhong and others, crowded into a pile on the mule cart, Who are these people? he asked. On the horseback, Gongqi suddenly leaned toward Han Chaoan, he focused his voice into a thread and whispered a few words toward Han Chaoan. Although he focused his power into his pair of ears, Kou Zhong was still unable to hear a sentence or half a word; he cried, Not good! inwardly. Sure enough, Han Chaoans spirit greatly aroused, heughed evilly and said, Since Xiaodi has time, I might as well apany Gong Jiangjun to the inner pce to tour the inner prison a little bit. Ha! Gong Jiangjun is a true friend indeed. Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down, thinking about what he could have missed from being unable to hear. Gongqi practically had bad intentions; he wanted to borrow Han Chaoans hands to kill Song Shidao, and this could make Kou Zhong fall into a no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation. In the Imperial Pces Inner Garden, even if he, Kou Zhong had three heads and six arms, it would still be difficult for him to have it both ways: to rescue the people and save his own life. Whats more, the sixteen Pingyao merchants allcked the strength even to truss a chicken. If fighting broke, the first to suffer cmity would be them. But how could he stare nkly at Han Chaoan killing Song Shidao? Tranted by foxs Suddenly the color of blood receded entirely from Zong Xianghuas face, unconsciously she shook her head slowly. Kesubies countenance alternated between clear and dark, revealing the conflicting different thoughts in his heart. Letting out a cold snort, Ba Fenghan said, One persons mistake, the entire tribe should not bear it! Out of character, Zong Xianghua screamed, Stop talking! Lowering his voice, Kesubie spoke to Zong Xianghua, Zong Shiwei, please calm down, their words are not totally unreasonable. Shaken, Zong Xianghua said, You want to betray Da Wang? Smiling wryly, Kesubie said, I am just hoping to save Longquan. Zong Xianghua leaped off the boat, she made a somersault in the air andnded on the shore. She skipped over the Xiao Hui Yuan without entering, and rapidly went far. foxswuxia.wordpress Regaining his gaze from the direction she was disappearing, Kesubie spoke helplessly, Gentlemen, please dont worry, Zong Shiwei Zhang is a person with deep understanding of reason, I am confident she will never report this matter to Da Wang. Xu Ziling was actually afraid that someone from Da Ming Zun Jiao mighte out to get the boat and catch them head-on; he said, Lets move to a secluded ce and discuss this further! Vermilion Bird Gate was in sight. Even after wracking his brains Kou Zhong was still unable toe up with any brilliant scheme, he had no choice but to gamble. He spoke with trembling voice, This Jiangjun Daren, is it possible for Xiaoren to make a proposal on behalf of everybody else? Riding side-by-side at the front, Gongqi and Han Chaoan impatiently turned their head around to look at him. Luo Yi and the others heart was pounding inside their chest, they also looked at him. Kou Zhong already restrained the expression showing in his eyes. Pretending to be panic-stricken, with ten thousand acting, he hung his head low and said, We all are businessmen who have prestige in Pingyao, as long as ... Shut up! Gongqi barked. Kou Zhong still pretended to be terrified as he made hisst effort, We can guarantee not to tell anybody. Tranted by foxs Gongqi angrily said, One more word, I will cut off your tongue. While Luo Yi and the others did not understand, Han Chaoan was reminded by Kou Zhong; he hurriedly whispered in Gongqis ear. Kou Zhong sniggered inwardly, knowing that Han Chaoan fell into his trap, realizing that if afterwards information was leaked that he, Han Chaoan entered the Inner Pces jail and Song Shidao was reported to die tragically, anybody would suspect that it was Han Chaoan who rendered the deadly blow. At least Gongqi would not want to take this responsibility on himself. Bing the Heavenly Saber Song Ques personal enemy who killed his son was not aughing matter, not to mention he would also be Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings mortal enemy. Therefore, not only the two must not let the Pingyao merchants to know about this matter, they must also conceal it from the other Sumo soldiers, so that the number of people that Kou Zhong would have to deal with was greatly reduced. The only problem was how he could get away to prevent this tragedy from happening; without any better option, he had to wait for the opportunity and act ordingly. foxswuxia.wordpress The mule cart, under escort in front and behind, passed through the Vermilion Bird Gate to enter the imperial city. Sure enough, Gongqi pulled the rein to stop. He issued his order to transfer the Sumo and Mohe soldiers within his team to the lower-rank general in charge of guarding the gate, leaving only a dozen or so personal guards, which, looking at their appearance, were clearly wolf-bandits, plus Han Chaoans seven men. Gongqi spoke to the general at the gate, Report to Da Wang immediately, Pingyao merchants are all caught in the, they are going to be detained at the Inner Pce jail. And then he gave another order to have the mule cart galloping toward the Inner Pce gate. Kou Zhong cheered inwardly. Gongqis next move would be to temporarily send them to a secluded ce; only after they have done the deed would the merchants be sent into the prison. He beseeched God and worshipped Buddha to focus his power into his pair of ears, to concentrate his attentionpletely to listen to the dialogue between the two men, his mind entered the Moon in the Well realm. Not far off his guess, upon reaching the Inner Pce gate, Gongqi leaned over to speak a few words into Han Chaoans ear. Kou Zhong smiled wryly in his heart, because he could not hear even half a sentence. Entering the Pce City, Gongqi deliberately fell back. He passed on some orders to one of his men, and then he said, Han Xiong, please go see Da Wang by yourself, Mojiang still have other important affair, forgive me for not apanying you. Han Chaoan cheerfully replied, Gong Jiangjun, no need to stand on ceremony. With the wolf-bandits, Gongqis men leading the way, Han Chaoan and his entourage galloped in the direction of the main pce hall. Other than Gongqi, only Kou Zhongs hand knew and his belly understood that the two already agreed to meet again outside the Inner Pce jail to take Song Shidaos life. Tranted by foxs Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling left the boat and went ashore. They went around to the main entrance of the Xiao Hui Yuans outer courtyard. The former smiled and said, I really wish we could break the door down and enter, kill anybody in sight, wiping them all neat and clean to our hearts content. Its a pity Ziling does not like this kind of style. If it were Kou Zhong, he would surely raise his hand in approval. Xu Ziling said, The only thing I want to do the most right now is to rush into the pce to rescue people. But acting rashly like that would only make Kesubie unable to proceed with his difficult and heavy responsibility to lobby the other high-ranking military officers. Theres not much time, we have to restrain ourselves for the time being. They learned from Kesubie that Bai Ziting sent them here to have a feel on Da Ming Zun Jiaos real intention, to see if in the circumstances that developed rapidly after the abrupt turn, they were still willing to support him. This time Da Ming Zun Jiaos whole nest came out to fight, the original idea was to take over the control from Funantuos Tianzhu Jiao. ording to Kesubie, they were hoping tobine the Sumo and Huihe, two tribes power, taking advantage of while the internal strife between Xieli and Tuli was at the peak C to fish in troubled water, to expand Da Ming Zun Jiaos influence in the political arena. Who would have thought that man proposes but God disposes, feeling that crisis was brewing, Funantuo yed the Five-Colored Stone card to force Bai Ziting to stake all on one throw by confronting the Tujue Armys invasion head-on. Also, left with no other option, he had to show the wolf into the house by inviting Gesuwen, the assisting troops, which harbored some other evil intentions. Even if he beat back the Wolf Army, not only Bai Ziting might be suppressed or even harmed C by Funantuo and Gesuwen acting together, Da Ming Zun Jiao would also have no ce to set foot in Longquan. foxswuxia.wordpress Da Ming Zun Jiaos inferior position did not stop here; if Pusa seeded in taking back his lost power and position within the Huihe tribe, it would also seal Da Ming Zun Jiaos fate even further. Kesubies information also verified that what Du Xing told them was the truth. Ba Fenghan picked up the doorknocker and heavily banged it against the door. The sound reverberated across the Xiao Hui Yuan, which upied quite arge tract ofnd. He calmly said, Remember, Liexia is mine. The sound of footsteps came, a female voice was heard, Which noble guest is it? Ba Fenghan responded indifferently, Is Liexia Gongzi in? Please let him know that Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling areing to look for him. The woman at the other side of the doors breathing immediately became hurried. Two gentlemen, please wait a moment, she said. The footsteps went away. Tranted by foxs Ba Fenghan reached out to caress the door, he said, This door is very sturdy, do you think I can shock and shatter it with one palm? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, No need to be so intense! Astonished, Ba Fenghanughed in spite of himself; he said, I heard Kou Zhong said that in Changan you disguised yourself as Yue Shan, went to Huang Gongcuos mansion to look for him to give him bad luck, without saying anything further you simply break the door down and enter. Where did that kind of heroic spirit go? Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a sigh, I give up! Perhaps evil people must be pestered by evil peoples ways. LaoGe, be my guest, Xiaodi will give you my full support. Laughing aloud, Ba Fenghan said, How can I give Ziling any trouble? Someonesing! Creak! the main gate was opening to the inside, left and right, Liexias smiling face appeared. But before he had any chance to speak, Ba Fenghans leg flew out, it swiftly kicked toward the right side of his chest. foxswuxia.wordpress Liexia cried out in rm, he hastily flew back to evade, andnded on the open space in front of the stone steps of the main building. As if nothing had happened, with his hands behind his back, Ba Fenghan stepped over the threshold and entered, heughed aloud and said, Good skill, you are not ashamed to be the chief of Da Ming Zun Jiaos Five Bright Sons. Xu Ziling followed behind him into the garden. Looking like he had just received unjust treatment, Liexia protested, Ba Xiong, even if you wanted to test this ignorant persons skill, no need for you to assault while the door had just barely opened; what if you take someones life? Ba Fenghan swept his gaze around. Other than Liexia, there was no one else. Heughed slyly and said, How can I have the leisure to test your skill? I aming today to give you bad luck. Whether you survive or not, it will depend on whether you, Liexia have the skill. Book 44 - 12 – Substitution Gongqi and the wolf-bandits men, escorting the mule cart, taking the horsene on the left side of the main pce hall C galloped in the direction of the west courtyard where Bai Ziting received Kou Zhong this morning. At that time, Kou Zhong only gave thought for his own little life, hence along the way he paid particr attention to the route he was taking. In the west courtyard, he even surveyed the surrounding environment. He was certain that the Inner Pce jail was located north of the west courtyard, at the northwest corner of the park behind the imperial pce. Because, ording to reason, this kind of unpleasant ce would not be built between the pce and the courtyard residence, it would be located in the secluded corner. Tranted by foxs Now that the men following Gongqi only numbered twelve men in total, if Gongqi left, if Kou Zhong rose in revolt and caught them off guard, he was sure that he could put them in order. The most difficult problem was that during his action he must not rm anybody else. Besides, until now Kou Zhong still did not have any good n to properly settle these sixteen no-guts-no-power Pingyao merchants. Compared to this morning, the atmosphere inside the imperial pce was notably different. Perhaps it was because arge number of troops were being transferred to guard the city walls to take precautions. Other than massive military force inside and outside the pce gate, inside the pce itself they only encountered patrolling soldiers and guards being stationed at the main pce hall and other important ces; practically there was no other pce guards. The more likely reason was to ensure public security. The pce maids and inner attendants all stayed at the rear pce, hence even if the darkness fell, other than the main passageways, most of the imperial pce were trapped in the dark without anynterns, giving up the deste, declining impression of great catastrophe about to befall. The atmosphere was heavy. foxswuxia.wordpress Gongqis bosom was full of worries; sitting on the horseback, he hung his head in contemtion. Arriving outside the west courtyard, Gongqi reined his horse and called for a stop. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around, everywhere he looked, there was no one in sight. The west courtyard was pitch-ck, only the northwest corner had a dimntern light. Tchak! Tchak! Two wolf-bandits lighted fire sticks, illuminating the tightly closed west courtyard gate and the thick and high wall extending to the left and right. Open the door! Gongqi ordered. Two wolf-bandits flew off their horses and pushed the door open. The mule cart was driven into the garden inside the courtyard. Luo Yi and the others looked around and saw that this ce did not look like a prison, immediately they were shocked; they thought Gongqi and the others were going to execute them in private. Were it nor for they had Kou Zhong in their midst, this moment they would, one after another, beg for mercy or sob in fear. Kou Zhong still had a headache. Suddenly a more brazen idea flitted across his mind, he could not help cursing himself stupid for not thinking about an even easier solution, but racking his brains to think about an idea that only an idiot would do it. Thinking to this point, he hastily groaned loudly. Luo Yi and the others, their heart hanging, their guts strung together C all looked at him; contradicting thoughts filled their hearts, they wanted Kou Zhong to make his move, but were afraid because the opposite side had many men. Even more worrisome was that even if they escaped the forbidden park deep within the pce, it would still be difficult to leave the city. Tranted by foxs Gongqi was flying off his horse; hearing the groan, he was unconcerned, p him for me! he said. Two wolf-banditsughed nastily and walked over toward the mule cart parked right in the middle of the garden. Kou Zhong pretended to piss in his pants in terror, he struggled hard to crawl up, but his legs went weak and he fell of the cart, and heavily dropped down on the grassywn, and then rolled in pain in the direction of Gongqi. The crowd of wolf-bandits roared inughter, brimming with the cruel overtone of taking joy in cmity and delight in disaster. Gongqis pair of eyes was shing with ominous glint, he walked over to Kou Zhong and spoke coldly, This fellow loves to cause trouble the most, grab him and pick him up. foxswuxia.wordpress Two wolf-bandits pounced forward, one grabbed Kou Zhongs armpit and the other grabbed his upper arm, and lifted him up to let their boss handle him. Strange change happened suddenly. Bang! Bang! Shooting from both sides, he punched the two wolf-bandits that they spurted blood and were thrown down. And then saber light shed, yellow light red greatly, fast as lightning the Moon in the Well was thrust toward Gongqi, who waspletely caught off guard. This moment, from the Moon in the Well, Gongqi started to realize that this fellow who loved to cause trouble the most was unexpectedly Kou Zhong in disguise. His soul flew away and scattered, he retreated and pulled his cavalry saber at the same time and held it across his chest to block. The other ten wolf-bandits, including the cart driver, who were not injured C were so scared that they were as dumb as a wooden chicken, momentarily they did not have enough time to react. Whoosh! Two sabers shed, but the collision only produced a muffled sound. Turned out Kou Zhong used a technique to avoid rming other people in the pce as much as possible. Hit by the saber, Gongqi, the person, as well as the saber, staggered three steps back; his heroic spiritpletely gone, he was in an extremely sorry state. However, he could be considered outstanding as well. Under this kind of situation he still had the ability to block Kou Zhongs full-powered saber strike. This moment the other wolf-bandits were like being awakened from a dream, one after another they pulled their weapon to charge toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong, right in the middle, made up his mind. Tranted by foxs The fire sticks were thrown down to the ground and went off. With the weakntern light from outside the gardens gate, Luo Yi and the others could only see shadows leaping and moving, and saber light shing. They could not tell who won and who lost, they could only ask Laotianye to bless and protect Kou Zhong to triumph over the opponent, and that other people would not hear the sound of fighting and rush over. Kou Zhong repeatedly chopped Gongqi three times, the next saber strike was heavier than the previous one, the next saber strikes angle was trickier than the previous one, he attacked Gongqi until he was sweating profusely, and waspletely without the power to hit back. He met the saber strike and spurted, no more and no less, three mouthfuls of blood. The situation was severely tragic to the extreme point. Bang! While a wolf-bandit was hit and was sent flying away, Kou Zhong moved the saber back and sliced another enemys throat. foxswuxia.wordpress Even if the other side was not the wolf-bandits that he hated with passion, under this kind of situation, he could not be lenient. The Moon in the Well struck again. Taking advantage while with his right hand he chopped and deflected Gongqis cavalry sword, he forcefully opened a crack in the opponents line of defense and an instant he hacked the saber inside, so fast that even Gongqi himself could not see clearly. Gongqi groaned tragically, his cavalry sword fell down to the ground, he was thrown backward. Kou Zhong swiftly retreated, he forcefully knocked against an enemy on his chest, immediately the cracking sound of breaking bones was heard. The Moon in the Well wasunched at the same time, one after another the enemies cried and fell down, no one could crawl back up alive. Qiang! The Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard, all the enemies were disposed of. Pulling off his mask, Kou Zhong came over to Gongqi, who was lying on his back on the ground. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, Do you want me to recite the scripture from your honorable cult to help your soul find peace? Gongqis breathing was already as thin as soft silk, blood was seeping out of the corner of his mouth, but there was not any scar on his body, because Kou Zhong deliberately used yin power in his saber qi to break his heart meridian. Gongqis pair of eyes emitted zing hatred; gasping for breath, he struggled to speak, Da Zun will definitely avenge me. At this point he stopped breathing. Kou Zhong quickly took off his military uniform and helmet, with which he assumed Gongqis outward appearance, before returning to the cart. Frightened and still in doubt, Ou Liangcai spoke on behalf of everybody else, What do we do now? Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong calmly said, No one knows that you are here, so before dawn, you should be safe in here. I must do something extremely urgent right away; I will be back within half a sichen to get you out of the city. Smiling wryly, Liexia said, Dage, you want to kill, you want to ughter, of course its your decision. But from the beginning we have sat on the same table eating mud-baked fish and raising our cups to drink wine. ording to the rules of the prairie, no matter what you must exin everything clearly to this ignorant person! Ba Fenghan pulled the Stealing the Heaven Sword; tranquil, calm and at ease, he stared at Liexia, and said with a smile, When I, Ba Fenghan, want to kill someone, I never have to exin anything to the other side; why should you be an exception? Swinging the Stealing the Heaven Sword, he pointed at the opponent from a distance. Immediately a burst of biting cold, concentrated sword qi rushed forth. Liexia did not dare to be careless; from his boot he pulled a dagger, about a chi and a half long, shiny and bright, and slightly curved. Holding it across his chest, he met Ba Fenghans sword qi head-on, without the slightest bit of unable-to-endure appearance. Toward Xu Ziling, who was standing behind Ba Fenghan, he cried for help and shouted, Ziling, how could you see-death-but-not-helping? [Side note: in Jin Yongs Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, the same phrase, jian si bu jiu, was tranted as The One who Ignores the Dying (Hu Qingnius nickname).] I have never done anything to let you down, and now I dont want to fight even more. As if nothing had happened, Xu Ziling said, Who was the woman who came with you to chase mest night? foxswuxia.wordpress Liexia was slightly startled. Ba Fenghan let out a cold snort, the Stealing the Heaven Sword stabbed toward his face. Within the fierce and severe without equal, there was a hint of emptiness, effective and elegant vor, so that people felt that it was difficult to block, but even more difficult to dodge. Although it was a simple and nimble sword strike, but within the angle and the arc that was drawn in the air, there was some kind of mystery within a mystery, ingenious as if crafted by the heaven C feeling, demonstrating the changes happening to him from his hard work and refinement after he came back to life. Dang! With a clear ring, Liexias curved dagger generated subtle changes, unexpectedly he blocked Ba Fenghans sword strike head-on with a hard technique. And then he flew backward to retreat, passed through the open wide main gate, and disappeared into the main hall of the Xiao Hui Yuan. The two men already knew that his martial art skill was outstanding, but they never thought that his skill in borrowing strength to escape was this brilliant; unexpectedly he was able to get away and escape from Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven Sword. Just like a shadow following the shape, Ba Fenghan, swift as sh of lightning, chased after him into the building. Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling was afraid there was another ambush inside the building, he followed closely behind Ba Fenghan. By the time he passed the door and was inside, Ba Fenghan was already chasing into the inner hall. Such a big hall was absolutely empty, not even half a shadow was in sight. Xu Ziling cried, Not good! inwardly, and darted inward. A momentter he met Ba Fenghan, whose sword had already returned to its sheath. Thetter was standing next to a well, he sighed and said, We are one step toote. If just now we burst through the door and attacked inside, the enemy would not have the time to slip away. Xu Ziling cast his gaze down the well, only to see a room down below; unexpectedly there was a tunnel, which extended to God knows where. Ba Fenghan said, I dare say that this tunnel is leading to outside the city. Da Ming Zun Jiao is scheming against other people all day long, naturally they are also afraid that others would scheme against them. Therefore, they must have prepared this secret tunnel to escape during critical situation, to avoid being caught in one by the enemy. foxswuxia.wordpress Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Da Ming Zun Jiao has many men, a great force; how could they be this useless that the two of us can scare them away like this? Ba Fenghan said, First of all, they did not know whether we still have reinforcement behind us; at least they did not see Kou Zhong. Secondly, they already gave up their heart on Bai Ziting and Longquan; its simply not worthwhile to take this risk. Just consider them lucky this time. And then he put his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders and said, Good brother! I still cant stand it! Lets immediately sneak into the Pce City; depending on the situation, well decide on how to rescue Song ErGe out. He is the person that I, Ba Fenghan admire the most. Like a bird escaping from its cage Kou Zhong flew across and soared over the rear pce. He evaded three teams of patrolling troops and two checkpoints in session, and arrived at the courtyard in the northwest corner, only to see that one corner of the pce wall had a single-story, about ten zhang across C structure that looked like a stone fort, with iron-bar gate, and was strictly guarded. Just outside the gate alone there were close to ten pce guards. Knowing that he has arrived, he hurriedly looked for any sign of Han Chaoan. Inside the courtyard, there were only a fewrge trees to provide shade, the rest were low bushes of flowers and nts. Seeing all these at a nce, he could not help groaning inwardly. This could not be the ce where Gongqi and Han Chaoan agreed to meet. Kou Zhong scanned the surrounding area. He thought that since Han Chaoan was not familiar with the situation of the rear pce, Gongqi could not possibly ask him to meet at a too-difficult-to-find ce, most likely it was somewhere nearby, for instance, the inner pce jails east or south sides. Thinking to this point, he hurriedly flipped down, rounded the inner pce jails partition wall, and sneaked toward the south. He chose this ce first, because the south side of the inner pce jail was the rear imperial garden with no structure; there were only garden rockery and a pond, a pavilion, a bridge, and grass and trees. The surroundings were quiet and secluded, the most suitable ce to pull the wool over peoples eyes. After the thunderstorm, the night sky outside was bright and clear. Fortunately it was a moonless night. Although the vast sky was full of stars, thentern light from the inner pce jail could not reach this side; it was gloomy, dark, and hazy, greatly beneficial to the brilliant scheme in his heart. Imitating Gongqis walking gait, he went to the small pavilion in the middle of the garden, while at the same time imitating Gongqis voice and intonation, he called, Han Xiong! Tranted by foxs At first there was no detectable movement, and then a shadow appeared from a row of bamboo trees at the north side of the garden, moving toward him. Kou Zhong pretended that he did not see, he did not turn his tiger-body around, so his back was facing the approaching Han Chaoan, he did not allow him to see his august countenance. Han Chaoan set foot on the stone step of the small pavilion, he lowered his voice to say, Gong Jiangjun is indeed a trustworthy person, I guarantee that when Jiangjun arrive in Gaoli, you will enjoy riches and honor, glory and splendor to the utmost. Kou Zhong suddenly understood; Gongqi was harboring evil intentions, he wanted to borrow Han Chaoans hands to kill Song Shidao, naturally he had to find an excuse why he was willing to do Han Chaoan this favor. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong suddenly turned around, his right fist, swift beyond humanprehension, delivered a heavy blow toward the enemy. Han Chaoan, wearing army uniform of Gongqis men, disguising himself as a pce guard, groaned miserably and staggered backward. But he was worthy to be a martial art master, unexpectedly, under these circumstances, he was still able to evade so that his vital part was not hit, he used his left shoulder, moving rapidly, to take Kou Zhongs full-strength punch head-on. Not only he deflected nearly half of Kou Zhongs qi power, he even returned a palm strike, so that Kou Zhong was unable tounch sessive moves; however, he received heavy injury. Lightning fast, Kou Zhong pressed forward again. Finally Han Chaoan was able to see who he was. Hold on! he shouted in low voice. Kou Zhongs five fingers were held open, his single palm took aim at the retreating-to-about-a-zhang-away, standing-still Han Chaoan, his momentum was enveloping and locking Han Chaoan tightly. If heunched another strike, he would surely be able to take Han Chaoans dog life. However, he did not have the slightest feeling of delight at all, instead, he felt so useless for being unable to kill the enemy in one move, so that the other side could still shout a warning, and thus destroying his grand n. Tranted by foxs Without any better option, he tried to divide Han Chaoans mind byughing mischievously and said, Yesterday you plotted against me, today Laozi is plotting against you, lets consider we are even. Now we can have a fair fight for three hundred rounds. Blood was seeping out of the corner of Han Chaoans mouth; his handsome face was twisted like malicious spirit from the pain. Smiling sadly, he said, Shaoshuai indeed proved yourself to be a wonder troop, so that I have no choice but to submit. However, if I shout a bit louder, Shaoshuai wont have an easy time as well. Having his vital part hit by the opponent, naturally on the surface Kou Zhong did not want to admit; while continuously increasing the pressure of his momentum, heughed and said, Whether I, Kou Zhong, will be well-off or disappointed, I am afraid Han Xiong wont have the opportunity to witness it; am I right? Gasping for a couple of breaths, Han Chaoan said, It depends on whether Shaoshuai is willing topromise. Not concealing anything from Shaoshuai, this time I came here to make a turn; I am going to immediately leave Longquan to return to my home country. If Shaoshuai agrees to let Xiaodi go, Xiaodi will definitely pay you back. Kou Zhong knew that what he said was not empty talk. Funantuo was dead, Gesuwen and Han Chaoan no longer had ill-gotten gains that they could benefit, why would they be willing to fight life and death for Bai Ziting, to challenge the Tujue mighty army division, which proimed themselves hegemon in the prairie for many years? foxswuxia.wordpress Sneering, Kou Zhong said, You think I am a three-year-old kid? After I let you go, Han Xiong will raise up your tail and go to notify Bai Ziting, and then wont I have to pack my food and leave before I finish eating? Id rather gamble over you, LaoGe screaming before your death so that the men at the prison had no choice but to hear it, and then Xiaodi would stake everything, to try to kill as many as possible. At least I would still have a chance of sess. Smiling wryly, Han Chaoan said, Shaoshuai is underestimating Xiaodis scream before my death too much; I guarantee that it will directly enter Bai Zitings ears. Ay! Xiaodi has a proposal that will satisfy rival demands; I wonder if Shaoshuai will be interested to hear it? Kou Zhong was at a loss against him; heughed and said, Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention. Han Chaoans spirit greatly aroused, he said, If Xiaodi leaves ording to our agreement, without rming anybody in the pce, I am asking Shaoshuai to ask Song Gongzi not to reveal that I plotted against him. Otherwise, what would Shaoshuai think? Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Wont that mean you are taking advantage of us to the fullest? Not only you want me to spare your life, you also want to beg Song ErGe to keep your secret. Han Chaoan hastily said, Hence the reason I said I would pay you back earlier. First of all, the secret password to enter the pce prison. Gongqi told me. It will save Shaoshuai a lot of trouble. Secondly, Xiaodi still has some important intelligence concerning the Five-Colored Stone and Wang Shichong, respectively. It will be extremely useful for Shaoshuai. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly you know something with regard to Wang Shichong. You must now invent crazy nonsense to deceive Laozi. Han Chaoan sighed and said, Someone that under these circumstances still dare to deceive you must be a big idiot [orig. stupid egg; didnt I mention that Chinese have certain fascination with birds and eggs?] who does not know how to write the word dead. If I have one false word, let me, Han Chaoan not die a good death in the future. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong nodded and said, Speak up then! He pulled back the true power that enveloped and pressed hard on Han Chaoan that made him unable to move a single step. Han Chaoan rxed and circted his qi, he said, The password to open the prison is different from military order; only Bai Ziting and Gongqi, two men knew, hence it is very useful, because the prison guards do not recognize their own parents; they only recognize the password. Kou Zhong felt it made sense. Because Bai Ziting did not trust Funantuo, moreover, he was afraid Funantuo would kill Song Shidao and the others, he used passwords to put the inner pce jail under his own control. He also thought about how Bai Ziting repeatedly disregarded everything to deal with him, it was only because Funantuo threatened him so he had no choice, because his son Da Zuorong was in Funantuos partner, Gesuwens hands. His heart was moved, he said, Dont tell me the password yet, I have one condition; if you ept, then Ill consider the pros and cons, plus I will guarantee that if someone ask Song ErGe in the future whether you are really that kind of despicable vile character, he will deny it on your behalf. Ridiculed by Kou Zhong, Han Chaoan did not know whether he ought tough or cry; helpless, he said, Other than epting the condition, would Xiaodi have any choice? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong spoke with a sneer, Dont worry! Although you have been heartless toward me, I definitely will not treat you unjustly, I wont force people too much. Otherwise, I could join hands with the Gunatai brothers and Pusa to besiege Old Ge heavily until daybreak. What do you think the consequences be? Immediately Han Chaoans countenance changed. Xiaodi surrender! he said dejectedly, Shaoshuai, please state your condition. Its just a small thing, Kou Zhong said, You guys hand over Da Zuorong to me. Han Chaoan was greatly startled. Obviously he did not think that Kou Zhong knew about Da Zuorong being in their hands. After staring nkly for half a day, he nodded and said, Not a problem. Kou Zhongughed in low voice and spoke cheerfully, The deal can proceed then! Book 44 - 13 – Magnificent Jailbreak Fea t Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, relying on their outstanding acute spirit and extraordinary shenfa, taking advantage of the split-second gap while the guards on the watchtower on both sides were looking elsewhere, they flipped over the rear pces outer wall. Quietly, without making any noise, they sneaked in the direction of the inner pce jail at the northwest corner. Tranted by foxs The two leaped onto a big tree outside the partition wall on the east side of the inner pce. The main gate of the inner pce jail appeared before their eyes. Looking at how tight the security of the inner pce jail was, with the iron-bar gate and the eight guards outside the door, their eyebrows were deeply knitted. They thought that Kou Zhong was attempting to get the Pingyao Merchants out of Longquan with Du Xings help, plus they were afraid that they already missed him, hence without looking for him first, they took the initiative toe over here. Ba Fenghan said, Each of the iron bars making up the iron gate is as thick as a babys arm; even using tools, I am afraid we will need three quarters to an hour before we could cause any damage to it, the guards inside will have enough time to sound the rm. If that happened, not only we could not save our people, we would also beat the grass to scare the snake. He added, Do you think Kesubie knew the password but he did not tell us, for fear that we might immediately go to save people? foxswuxia.wordpress From Kesubie, they learned that a secret password was required to open the jail, and Kesubie said that even he did not know it, hence the suspicion. Xu Ziling said, That is very difficult to say, people always have selfish motives. Presently, the only way is to keep watch for Song ErGe in here, we make our move only when necessary. Hey! Someonesing! Dressed in generals attire, but wearing the ugly divine doctor Mo Yixins mask, Kou Zhong strode through the courtyard gate. Acting like he owned the world, he walked straight toward the inner pce prison, immediately attracting the guards attention. Watching this, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were dumbstruck; they suspected that either they had dimmed eyesight, or that they were dreaming. Because Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan did not try to conceal that they were watching him at all, Kou Zhong immediately sensed it; he cast his gaze toward the big tree outside the wall where they were hiding. Ba Fenghan stuck his head out of the braches and leaves and signaled him with his hand from a distance. Kou Zhong was confused as well, thinking that all the bizarre things in the world, surely nothing could surpass this. How could these two kids appear here in such an appropriate time? This moment he did not have time to think too much, one of the pce guards at the gate, presumably the captain, shouted, Password! What he requested was the regr password to go through the pce. Kou Zhong unhurriedly walked over toward the captain and the rest of the pce guards, while behind his back he signaled the two men to take care of these guards. He spoke with serious expression, The stone produces five colors. Staring nkly, the captain said, And this Jiangye [master general] is Kou Zhong leaned closer and whispered in his ear, I am Gongqi Jiangjuns man, I am usually outside all year round, hence very few people know me. This time I am here on Da Wangs order to ask Song Shidao a few questions. After I am in, it is very important that you lock the pce jail again, and dont open the gate before Ie out. This is Gong Jiangjuns order. Tranted by foxs The little captains suspicion waspletely gone. First, Gongqi and his troops indeed often worked on the outside for a long period of time, so not recognizing his men was proper and to be expected as a matter of course. Next, the other side took the initiative to have the door locked after he went in, hence they shouldnt be afraid that the prisoner would escape. Thereupon he shouted, Open the gate! The imperial bodyguard inside the gate received the order and opened the lock. This gate must be opened from the inside, therefore, even if Lu Miaozi came back to life and came in person, toward such gate, he would have his hands tied without any n. The iron gate moved inward, the prison door was an unobstructed passage. Under the watchful eyes of the guards, Kou Zhong entered the prison. He hung his hands down and waited patiently for the guard to lock the gate and handed over the key to the captain outside the door, before speaking with augh, Where is Song Shidao? I want to talk some private matters with him; Da Wangs order: no one is allowed to eavesdrop. foxswuxia.wordpress The captain hurriedly ordered, After taking Jiangye to the prisoners cell, everybody retreat to the main gate this side. Kou Zhong was amused inwardly, but immediately he was shocked. He saw behind the entrance, on the left side, there was a stone room about two zhang square, leaning against the wall were row upon row of wooden frameworks, full of cast iron stocks and chain and other thingsmonly seen in a prison, plus weapons, bows and arrows, even military uniforms. But it was not all these things that shocked him, what gave him headache was that right in the middle of the room was a big copper bell, as well as the bell hammer. If the bell was sounded, even if Bai Ziting was asleep, he would wake up immediately. He had just signaled Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling to undertake the task to put the guards outside the door in order, without giving them the opportunity to raise the rm, but now, naturally it was not feasible. Able to think fast in an emergency, he retreated toward the iron-bar gate and raised his voice to call outside, Nearly forget, Da Wang has another instruction: Da Wang pointed out that if you see any suspicious person, instead of thinking about fighting, sound the bell inside the prison first, understand? The little captain could only stand in attention to receive the order, while thinking inwardly, Do I need your instruction for that? Outside the wall, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling received the warning; naturally they could not possibly act blindly without thinking. But even after thinking until their brains burst, they could not figure out how Kou Zhong could obtain the password to open the prison, which, ording to Kesubie, only Bai Ziting, one person, knew. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Ay! That kid can disguise himself so convincingly; if I were a guard, I would be totally deceived by him as well. Xu Ziling looked at the starry sky above, the moon had just risen over the eastern horizon, he pondered inwardly: under the starry sky tomorrow night, would the magnificent pce halls, buildings and tforms before his eyes turn into zing ruins and shattered roof tiles? Rescuing Song Shidao and the others have turned from an impossible thing to something possible, however, the fate of Longquans army and civilians, no one could predict. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong followed behind the guard along a long corridor. The corridor was lined on both sides with prison cells standing in great numbers. By this time he already gained understanding on theyout of the prison. Inside the iron-bar gate, there were twenty jail guards. If his hands and feet moved a bit faster, plus he was at the right position, he could put the lowly prison guards inside in order before anybody had any chance to sound the rm. As for the guards outside, naturally they were Ba Fenghan and Xu Zilings responsibility. Thinking to this point, his mood was improving tremendously, he nearly whistled a tune. These past few days he suffered too much injustice, making reprisals would be especially delightful. Shuwen and his brothers, twenty-five men in total, were scattered around inside the cells on his left and right, their entire body was in heavy stock and their feet in chains, their expression disheartened and losing hope. Arriving at the end of the corridor, inside the prison cell on the right was Song Shidao. Other than the stocks and chains on his hands and feet, his upper torso was bound, with his arms tied behind his back and a rope looped around his neck, all with ox-tendon ropes. Obviously they were afraid of his refined, pure and profound internal energy, so that ordinary iron shackles would not be able to restrain him. Song Shidaos countenance was much better than when he saw him this morning. He sat against the wall, his eyes closed and he did not say anything, his expression was proud and unyielding. foxswuxia.wordpress The lowly prison guard opened the iron-bar gate and said, Jiangye, pleasee in, subordinate will lock the door in ordance with the rules. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Naturally you must do it ording to the rules. Hearing that, Song Shidao opened his eyes and looked at him in shock; he recognized his voice. With the guard behind his back, Kou Zhong winked at him. The cell door was locked behind him, and the lowly prison guard returned to the main gate. Kou Zhong rushed forward and kneeled down; while looking into how to remove the shackles, he said, His Niang, Bai Ziting has the cheek to offend you, I will definitely make him pay both the principal and the interest. Funantuo has just been ughtered by me, and Han Chaoan, that kid, I promised him that I wont reveal his despicable behavior. Tranted by foxs Hearing that, Song Shidao was muddled andpletely copsing [idiom]; he did not know how to respond, he only knew that the restoration of his freedom was an undeniable fact. He said, If the prison guard sees my shackles are off, how could he be willing to open the gate for you? Kou Zhongughed and said, Thats not a problem. I still need ErGes help; we must not let them sound the rm. Pulling out the Moon in the Well, he picked and cut the ox-tendon rope first, and then taking out the needle case, he selected a silver needle and inserted the tip of the needle into the keyhole, in just a short time he already unlocked the shackles binding his hands and feet, demonstrating the skill he learned from Chen Laomou and Lu Miaozi. He said, You sit still and dont move, Ill call the guard to open the gate. Open the door! he shouted at the top of his voice. The lowly prison guard rushed over in a flurry. Kou Zhong deliberately blocked his line of sight. The lowly prison guard did not suspect a thing, he concentrated his thoughts and efforts to unlock and open the iron-bar gate. Kou Zhongs right hand reached out, he grabbed the pit of his stomach and sent his true qi at the same time. Without a single groan the lowly prison guard fainted and slumped down on the ground. Kou Zhong pulled him into the cell. Kou Zhong immediately took off his outer clothes and boots, and said to Song Shidao, Quickly disguise yourself as him, and then stoop your back and follow behind me, I guarantee no one will find out. And then raising his voice, he shouted, Da Wang said to be a bit polite to this prisoner, because his Lao Die [old man/father] is a man with much prestige in the Central Earth. foxswuxia.wordpress This was spoken for the benefit of the lowly prison guards on the outside. While circting his blood and qi, Song Shidao quickly put on the disguise. In a shake of his body, he became the lowly prison guard, following behind Kou Zhong out of the cell, while also putting on an act to lock the prison cell. Kou Zhong strode toward the long hallway; raising his voice, he said, Da Wang said that if you watch these prisoners well, after the Tujue thieves are beaten back, everybody will be promoted one rank, plus five taels of gold reward. All the guards took it to be true, they all cheered together. Song Shidao followed behind him. Outside, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were focusing all their power to listen to the movements inside the prison. Hearing thest sentence, they knew it was time to act, so they simply leaped over the courtyard wall, like a big bird soaring into the air they pounced toward the guards outside the door. The guards attention waspletely attracted by Kou Zhongs sweet, thick lies. By the time they realized what happened, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghans qi power was pressing down on their head. Tranted by foxs Naturally the guards inside the prison turned their eyes outside the gate. While they were aghast and turning pale, Kou Zhong and Song Shidao moved at the same time, sealing their acupoints one by one, so that in a few blinks of the eye all the guards inside the inner pce jail were subdued. Ba Fenghan took the keys from the captains body. He was about to hand it to Kou Zhong to open the iron-bar gate, when suddenly they heard the sound of hoof beats from the distanceing near, more than twenty riders were rushing toward the courtyard gate. Kou Zhong and the others, none did not have his countenance changed. Shuwen and the others were still locked inside the prison; could it be that this magnificent jailbreak feat from then on would be ruined for the sake of one basketful? Book 45 - 1 – The Front Line of Life and Death Like a whirlwind, more than twenty Sumo warriors charged into the courtyard of the inner pce prison. The leader was the long-legged female general Zong Xianghua. The first to meet them face-to-face were Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, who were standing outside the door. Zong Xianghua shouted tenderly, she pulled the rein of the extremely divine spirited warhorse she was sitting on that it reared on its hind legs. The warriorsing with her hurriedly reined in their horse, so that momentarily the horses were neighing repeatedly. Merely thismotion was enough to rm the other guards in the pce. Tranted by foxs If Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling did note into contact with this long-legged female general outside the Xiao Hui Yuan just a moment ago, this moment their only choice would be to take the risk to fight, hoping to rely on thunderbolt-reaching-the-ear rapid action to take care of the other side, and then waited for an opportunity to escape. Naturally this would be their least preferred choice; forget about Zong Xianghuas swordsmanship would enable her to fight for at least eight to ten styles, her more than twenty personal guards could also entangle them for a period of time. The worst part was that they would need some time to free Shuwen and the others from their bondage. By the time they were able to leave the inner pce, the other warriors would have heard the sound of fighting and rushed over. Perhaps the four of them would be able to get away, but Shuwen and the others definitely would not be lucky enough to escape. Qiang! Qiang! One after another the warriors drew their weapons. ck The lock of the prison iron-bar gate was opened, but since Xu Ziling signaled him with his eyes, Kou Zhong did not dare to open the gate. Four mens, separated by the iron-bar gate C eight eyes met, they did not dare to move half a finger. foxswuxia.wordpress The front legs of the horse Zong Xianghua was sitting onnded back to the ground. She stretched both arms to stop her men from making their move. Her eyes swept across the eight guards who sprawled in disorder outside the inner pce prison door because their acupoints were sealed, and then she nced at the four men separated by the door, standing and staring nkly. Her face showed an exhausted expression, as if she was overwhelmed by the unbearable burden before her eyes. She sighed and said, What are you guys doing in here? As soon as she started speaking, Xu Ziling immediately knew very well that she did not rush over here specifically to stop them from breaking into the jail, he hurriedly replied, We just want to rescue our innocent brothers who are held prisoners here, definitely no intention to harm people. Kou Zhong and Song Shidao felt that the rtionship between Xu Ziling and Zong Xianghuas was not purely as enemies, hence they knew not to interrupt. The atmosphere was fantastic but weird. Zong Xianghuas pretty face alternated between red and white, evidently two different thoughts were fighting in her heart, it was difficult for her to make up her mind. Tranted by foxs All her men were waiting for action after having umted power; as soon as their chief issued the order they would immediately charge toward Ba and Xu, two men. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, Shiwei Zhang [imperial bodyguard chief] came here for what? Ayer of cold frost appeared on Zong Xianghuas pretty face, she spoke coldly, Where is Gongqi? Wasnt he going to send the Pingyao merchants to the pce jail? Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were stunned; they were beginning to understand a little as to why Kou Zhong suddenly appeared at this moment. Kou Zhong chuckled and said, I saw that all year long Gong Jiangjun disguised himself as the wolf-bandit, breaking into houses for robbery, killing and burning. When he was back at the pce, he was working nonstop day and night, with no time to rest, so I had to ask him to take a nap elsewhere, ha Nonsense! Zong Xianghua furiously said. foxswuxia.wordpress The murderous aura in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes was ring greatly, obviously he was very angry and would not hesitate to fight. He spoke heavily, Shiwei Zhang ought to know that we are not shameless people who make false usations against others. Shiwei Zhang, please tell me whether Gongqi was really outside all year round? Whether he and that bunch of personal guards of his belong to Huihe Da Ming Zun Jiao? Whether his rtionship with Ma Ji is especially close? If all the answers are not negative, Shiwei Zhang ought to know that we are not shooting without aiming. Longquans tax is very low; exiting and entering the city, people do not need to pay taxes. Your honorable Da Wang establishing his army and building ships, where did the fundse from? Not to mention that merely dealing with the Tujues harsh demands have already made you extremely destitute. What happened to the Pingyao merchants who were unfortunate to encounter bitter experience, Shiwei Zhang ought to have heard? Tenderly gasping for breath, Zong Xianghua shouted, Stop talking! Everybodys eyes were focused on her, waiting for her to make the decision. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Presently, in the city of Longquan, only Bai Ziting, one person does not believe that the great momentum has already gone. I cannot bear to conceal it from you either, Han Chaoan and I have just reached an agreement; not only he is going to hand over Da Zuorong to Xiaodi, he will also immediately withdraw from Gesuwen and return to Gaoli. Shiwei Zhangs enemies are outside the city and not here at all, killing us will only make the Sumo tribe no longer have any leeway to turn around against the Tujue. Would Shiwei Zhang please give thought to themon people in the entire city of Longquan? Zong Xianghuas jade countenance turned gloomy, her men were also affected by this speech, perhaps they were thinking about their father and mother, wife and children at home? The hands that held the weapons were no longer firm and powerful, the de of their weapons was sagging. Tranted by foxs Ba Fenghan said, Shiwei Zhang did note here by chance, did you? As if she had just been awakened from a dream, Zong Xianghuas tender body slightly shook. Hanging down her cicada head, she spoke in low voice, I promised Xiufang Dajia to see Song Er Gongzi off. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Zong Shiwei Zhang is not afraid Da Wang will me you? Zong Xianghua revealed a determined expression; she spoke coldly, How Da Wang is going to punish me, thats his business; I only do what I think I should do. And then she issued an order to her men, Get two horses for Shaoshuai. Four of her men hesitated for half a day, but they finally epted the order and left. Heaving a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong asked, Can wee out now? Zong Xianghua sighed and said, Da Wang is inspecting the city defense. I can guarantee you safe passage in leaving the Pce City, but the hurdle outside the city, how are you going to pass it? foxswuxia.wordpress Ba Fenghan smiled and said, As long as we can leave the pce, we have a way to depart. Da Ming Zun Jiao people already evacuated the city via the secret tunnel, I wonder if Shiwei Zhang has any knowledge of it? While Song Shidao went back inside to release Shuwen and the others, Kou Zhong opened the gate and came out of the jail. Together with Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, he came over to Zong Xianghua and spoke in low voice, Pingyao merchants, sixteen men, are at the west garden waiting for Xiaodi. I wonder if we could get a batch of warhorses and army uniform to facilitate our movement? Zong Xianghua pondered for a moment. She first summoned her men, ordering them to bring Pingyao merchants over, and then she spoke resolutely, Da Wang is not here, I am in charge in the pce. I want to send anybody out of the pce, who would dare to stop me? Ay! Xu Ziling said, But by doing so, first of all, it is tantamount to Zong Shiwei Zhang is betraying Da Wang. The heavens might is hard to fathom. Zong Xianghua revealed her proud character, she coldly cut him off, On that, no need to worry for me. Whatever I already decided to do, I will do. Humph, the extermination of the entire Sumo tribe is at hand, even if I, Zong Xianghua will have to die, I will die an honorable death; I wont give people any pretext for gossip. Kou Zhong asked in low voice, Xiufang Dajia, she Zong Xianghua resolutely said, I advised her, but she refused to listen. She believed firmly without any doubt that you, Shaoshuai will be able to save Longquan. Kou Zhong could only respond with a wry smile. Bai Ziting has lost his mind, tomorrows battle was like an arrow off the bowstring, even immortals would be hard to alter it. The only hope remaining now was Da Zuorong. Tranted by foxs But Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were thinking about Kesubie. In such a short period of time, could he persuade the other high-ranking military officers to rise in mutiny? Xu Ziling asked another question, When Zong Shiwei Zhang left Longquan this morning, my friend Yin Xianhe was following behind Shiwei Zhangs horse, he Apparently Zong Xianghua was in a very bad mood, once again she impatiently cut him off, That friend of yours brains must have some problem; at that time I wanted very much to cut your dead bodies into ten thousand pieces, yet he chased after me to ask whether I can remember who he is? Whether I have any impression on him? I told him to get lost, and then he stopped following me! Hearing that, the three men looked at each other in surprise. They guessed that because Yin Xianhe came across this long-legged beauty in Longquan, he was, startling the heaven and men C secretly in love with her. But listening to the tone of Zong Xianghuas voice, naturally there was another inside story. Kou Zhong knew a bit more than Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, so he asked, How could Shiwei Zhang not remember him? Didnt you mention his name to Xiufang Dajia? Zong Xianghua spoke in displeasure, Thats why I said he is not normal. Many years ago, for more than ten consecutive days, each time I went out of the pce to patrol the city in the morning, he always stood at the pce gate like a specter, staring nkly at me. I sent someone to drive him away and hit him, but he did not hit back. The day before yesterday I saw him again, thereupon I mentioned him to Xiufang Dajia. Ay, I dont want to talk about this man anymore. This moment Song Shidao and Shuwen and the others came out from inside the prison. Everybody seeing each other, there was joy all around. Soon Luo Yi, Ou Liangcai, and the other Pingyao merchants were brought in. Everybody felt the delight ofing back into the world of the living. foxswuxia.wordpress The horses neighed in joy. Ten-thousand-Li Spot and Tamakan saw their masters, they rushed over affectionately toward the two men. Ba Fenghan wrapped his arms around the horses neck, he sighed and said, My darling, if you met unexpected misfortune, I would definitely open wide the monastic discipline against killing. Looking back, he noticed that Xu Zilings, who was doing simr thing to his horse C expression was heavy; he could not help asking, Howe your expression is so weird? Now that everything has, more or less, been resolved, dont you think it worth rejoicing? Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Things are developing favorably, which is beyond our expectation. But for some reason I feel ominous premonition instead? At first nce it looks like Laotianye ingeniously arranged for everything; suddenly all things are like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. When adversity reaches the extreme, it will transform into prosperity; when happiness reaches the extreme, it may produce grief. I am a bit not daring to believe that we are this lucky. Tranted by foxs Do you suspect Zong Xianghua? Ba Fenghan asked in low voice. Xu Ziling shook his head. Ba Fenghan said, Another possibility is Han Chaoan is betraying us? But by doing that, it would bring him more harm than good; he cant possibly be that stupid? Xu Ziling shook his head again. He sighed and said, Perhaps I am worrying too much. This moment Kou Zhongs voice was heard, Brothers! Lets go! Because of Xu Zilings ominous premonition, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong persuaded Zong Xianghua to change the n, so that everybody was wearing military uniform and riding on warhorse, disguising themselves as the pce guards under hermand, as they galloped out of the imperial pce. When the Vermillion Bird Gate was in sight, Kou Zhong, whose face was covered by his helmet, said to Xu Ziling, Do you feel like someone is watching us in secret? On the other side, Ba Fenghan spoke in displeasure, This is a strategic location, the main entrance to the imperial city, the only passage to the outer city, both covert and undercover officers are keeping watch over the entire area. It would be strange indeed if no one is paying attention. Kou Zhongs gaze fell on the four arrow towers standing on the left and right of the Vermilion Bird Main Gate, and then it moved to the heavily guarded, about three-zhang long, gateway to the city; he sighed and said, This is called I am panicking that I dont select my words carefully, but if there is any mishap, the four of us might be able to force our way out of encirclement, but our old friends, at least half wont be protected, our horses may also suffer cmity. Thinking about it makes my heart rmed, my body leaping. Ling Shao, do you still have that ominous feeling? Before Xu Ziling had any chance to answer, they heard the sound of drum, followed by several hundred Sumo warriors charging wildly from the main gate, while at the same time countless archers appeared on the arrow towers; suddenly their only way out was sealedpletely. foxswuxia.wordpress Song Shidao, who was bringing up the rear, shouted loudly, Watch out! Kou Zhong turned his head to look, another crowd of warriors, like tidal waves, rushed forth from two of the official buildings behind them, blocking their retreat path. Everybody had bent bow and arrow on the string, ready to shoot at them any moment. Zong Xianghua was exceptionally calm; reining her horse, she shouted tenderly, Everybody, dont move. The crowd had no other choice but to obey her. Two of the Pingyao merchants groaned, unexpectedly they were so scared that they passed out and rolled down the horse. In an instant, everybody found that they had fallen inside a heavy siege, with thousands of arrows aimed at them. The situation developed into a thousand-jun, it could elevate into bloodshed phase any moment. Tranted by foxs Amidst a loudughter, Bai Ziting, with four, five high-ranking military officers crowding around him, urged his horse out of the Vermilion Bird Gate. And then hisughter stopped, his countenance sank, he shouted, I never expected that the woman that I, Bai Ziting, trust the most is unexpectedly the first person to betray me! The number of warriors surrounding them reached five thousand, but no one uttered the least bit of noise; however, the pressure generated from such silence was enough to make peoples heart trembling, their guts turned cold. Zong Xianghuas jade countenance remained cold and detached; she slowly dismounted the horse. She kowtowed to Bai Ziting three times first, before rising to her full height and coldly, yet calmly said, Zong Xianghua is not the person Da Wang trusted the most at all. The one you trusted are Ma Ji and Gongqi, who were able to umte wealth for you, or maybe Funantuo in the past. Da Wang, just order the arrows to be released! I will definitely not retaliate. Going one step quicker or one stepter, the difference is just an instant. Bai Ziting was so furious that his countenance was deathly pale. Suddenly he pointed his finger in anger and said, In vain I painstakingly cultivated you; look what you have be now. Not only you dare to disrespect your superior, you even stealthily released our Longquans public enemy and help them to escape. Kou Zhong could not stand it any longer. Pulling off his helmet, he urged his horse to Zong Xianghuas side, and shouted angrily, Bai Ziting, clearly you know that you are the most stupid person in the world Bai Ziting cut him off with a cold sneer, Who is the fool? I already guessed that you guys were only pretending to leave the city, and then ceaselessly determined toe back to rescue your people. Therefore, I deliberately pulled out the guard while sending people to monitor from the distance. Only I never thought that she might betray me. Speaking thest sentence, his voice and countenance were stern, he pointed his finger to Zong Xianghua. foxswuxia.wordpress Zong Xianghua proudly looked at him face to face, but the tone of her voice was tranquil without any ripple; she said, Who dare to face the Golden Wolf Armys magnificent army with thousands of men and horses [orig. thousands army ten thousand horses] and not afraid? Who can disregard life and death only because they dont want disaster to reach innocent children? They never wanted to be our enemy; they just wanted to retrieve their lost belongings. Yet hoodwinked by Funantuo and Gongqi, Da Wang dealt with them unscrupulously. Sumo warriors, listen to me. Even if we have to die in battle and be buried with the city, we will die like them, brave hero. Ba Fenghan and the others, who did not dare to move half a finger, raised their eyes to sweep over the enemies surrounding them. Although they remained silent, but some of the arrow tips were no longer aimed at them, instead, they were tilted toward the ground. In fact, the situation was still as precarious as a pile of eggs; if one identally released the arrow from the bowstring, the consequences would be too horrible to contemte. Tranted by foxs Hearing their boss speech, the more than twenty personal guards who came with Zong Xianghua shouted in unison, We are going to die like heroes! Their shout reverberated across the spacious za inside the Vermilion Bird Gate, causing the peoples blood to be boiling. The two fainted Pingyao merchants were still curling on the ground, but no one dared to look at them, for fear that they might provoke terrifying misunderstanding and consequences; they could only hold their horses to stand still so that they would not trample the fainted men. Bai Zitings anger was ring even greater. The moment he was about to disregard everything and issue the order to release the arrows, Xu Zilings gentle voice rang, Da Wang should know that Han Chaoan and Gesuwen are withdrawing back to Gaoli, Da Ming Zun Jiao has secretly left the city via the secret tunnel in the Xiao Hui Yuan, Longquan has be a lone city; has Da Wang given thought to the life of the innocent people here? Kou Zhong seized the opportunity to shout loudly, Therefore, we are your only hope. If you still want to fight, I know that a lot of us cannot survive, but I can assure you that those who survive will stake everything and fight to thest drop of blood, lets see how many of you we will be able to kill! And your darling little boy Da Zuorong will surely be brought in as sacrificial offering for our burial. If we died, even if you kneel and offer the Five-Colored Stone or even your, LaoGes head, Tuli will surely massacre everyone in the captured city to make reprisals. Tell me, dont you think you are the most stupid person on earth? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling did not give Bai Ziting any chance to speak, he continued on, Shaoshuai already promised Xiufang Dajia that he wants to put an end to the disaster of the entire city of Longquan being exterminated. If you dont believe me just invite Xiufang Dajia toe over here and ask her clearly. This was precisely the usual tactic that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling used to deal with other little ruffians of Yangzhou since they were little; they echoed one another, one acted as the good guy, the other as the bad guy. And the moment they could no longer withstand, they would unleash their marvelous lotus tongue skill, hoping to persuade Bai Ziting to escape the great catastrophe. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, If Da Wang still ready to go to war, I swear that I, Ba Fenghan, will not leave before I kill the whole city clean. The za was quiet without any noise. The only thing that could be heard was everybodys heavy breathing. The atmosphere was extremely heavy and tense. On top of the city wall, the torches were crackling. Bai Ziting was staring fixedly at Kou Zhong, a hint of disdainful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Kou Zhong and the others cried Bad! inwardly. They were about to rush to make the move first, the sound of hoof beats suddenly rang out from outside of the Vermilion Bird Gate,ing near. The warriors moved aside to give way. More than a dozen riders, led by Kesubie, rushed in. Kesubie shouted loudly, Tujue Wolf Army areing! The warriors were in uproar. Although they knew very well that the Tujue would arrive tonight, but they came in such a way that the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive, naturally it created a tremendous pressure. Tranted by foxs Kesubie and the thirteen generals who came with him stopped their horses and dismounted, they dropped on their knees to salute Bai Ziting. Bai Zitings countenance turned uglier than ugly; it alternated between red and white, obviously his mind was in chaos. And then Kesubie and the crowd of generals stood up, and then with their back toward Kou Zhong and the others, who were surrounded in the middle of the za, they retreated to within their midst. Stunned, Bai Ziting asked, What are you guys doing? While walking backward, Kesubie said, Da Wang was confused by Tianzhu demonic monks deceit, you have your feet deep in the mire, dragging our tribe into thend consigned to eternal damnation. Now it should be the time to wake up from your dream. Even more peoples bows and arrows drooped down, but there were still nearly half of the men holding their bows as firm as before. It could be seen that Bai Ziting still held strong prestige in their hearts, a sentiment that not one morning and one evening could change, not a few words could erase. Severely shaken, Bai Ziting said, Rebellion! Rebellion! Even you are betraying me at this moment? foxswuxia.wordpress Kesubie and the others retreated to Kou Zhong and Zong Xianghuas left and right. Kesubie shook his head and said with a sigh, Loyal advice jars the ears. Not only today did Weichen [this small official/humble servant] speak these words, but before, they were always met with reprimands. Whos our Sumo peoples enemy, whos our Sumo peoples friend, this moment Da Wang ought to be able to understand clearly. I hope Da Wang will calmly think about it. If in a period of anger you rush to kill Tulis brothers, what would the oue be? Another long and heavy silence ensured. Thousands of pairs of eyes across the field, all were focused on Bai Zitings face, quietly waiting for him to make decision on the life or death of Kou Zhong and the others, as well as the survival of the Sumo tribe. Bai Zitings countenance turned dark and sank down. Suddenly he threw his head back and let out a longughter, saying, If I, Bai Ziting, am scared of anybody, afraid of any threat, I would never have decided that tomorrow morning is the time to establish my kingdom. No one can delude me. I, Bai Ziting, did not be the Bai Ziting of today by receiving other peoples influence. Kou Zhong, your Central Earths sessive generations various kingdoms, which one was more powerful than Qin Shihuang? However, although Chu has three households, but the death of Qin will be Chu [idiom[1]]. Too bad you will not be alive to witness me, Bai Ziting, beating back the Wolf Army; otherwise you would me yourselves for being shortsighted. His expression apathetic, Ba Fenghan said, If I dont kill you, Bai Ziting, I, Ba Fenghan is not a human. His voice exuded an advancing-courageously determination and self-confidence. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Song Shidao, none did not sigh inwardly, knowing that it was difficult to escape cmity; Xu Ziling ominous premonition has indeede true. The murderous aura in Bai Zitings pair of eyes ring greatly, he nodded and said, Good! Good! Well see whether you have that ability. Anybody would know that Bai Ziting undoubtedly would issue the order for the bloodbath. [1] The ssical quotation of three households will be the death of Qin originated from the famous saying of the Qin Dynasty, referring to the resistance against the Qin Dynastys unification of the world (i.e. China). It came from Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynastys Shi Ji, Xian Yu Ben Ji [lit. Records of the Grand Historian, the biographical sketch of the emperor Xiang Yu]. It means that even if the State of Chu only has three ns left, they can still destroy the State of Qin. Figuratively: even though small and weak, unity can seed. It represents one kind of emotional and firm belief. The King of Chus n surname was Mi, but originally he was of the Xiong n, which was divided into Zhao (Zhaoyang), Qu (Quyuan), and Jing (Jingchai), three ns (three households). It was really not just a few households and a few people thatter generations are referring to. (Source: Baike Baidu) Book 45 - 2 – The Ambitious and Ruthless Character’s End of the Road Just as the tragedy was about to happen in the blink of an eye, a shout, Hold on! came from the roof of an official building behind and outside the heavy siege Kou Zhong and the others were in. The shout cowered everyone present, so that none of the several thousand men on the field did not raise their head to look up. Tujue tribes Ke Dazhi, whose fame as the martial art master of the same generation was equal to Ba Fenghan, was sitting leisurely at the edge of the roof ridge of the building, his pair of legs was dangling in the air, his pair of eyes was shing brightly, attracting everybodys gaze. Laughing aloud, he said, Bai Ziting, you really have guts! I have a simple proposal that I am sure you, LaoGe will ept, that will solve your problem in one move. Tranted by foxs Knowing a good opportunity, Kou Zhong responded on Bai Zitings behalf, What good proposal does Ke Xiong have? Snorting coldly, Bai Ziting said, Other than using military [or martial art] force, what proposal can you offer? Ke Dazhi coldly said, Naturally it is still the way to settle the dispute using military force. Great Khans order, as long as you can surpass the Sandstorm Saber in Xiaokes [lit. small/unimportant/(polite) my humble person, but it could also mean Little Ke, which is Ke Dazhis surname] hand, we will immediately withdraw, and will give you one year to temporarily prolong your remaining breath. Well see whether you really have the guts? Bai Zitings dragon-body shook, his pair of eyes revealed a fierce and severe expression. foxswuxia.wordpress Ke Dazhi went on, Dont miss this golden opportunity; were it not for considering how Shaoshuai wholeheartedly want to resolve the disaster of massacre of the whole city this time, and going through Tuli Khan and I arguing needlessly with the Great Khan Xieli, he would never agree to allow such a convenient arrangement for you. If you suffer defeat and die in battle, naturally the establishment of the Bohai Kingdom is ruined for the sake of one basketful, but as long as Longquan is willing to tear down the city wall, we will not damage one de of grass or one tree in Longquan. Such a worthwhile arrangement, whether Da Wang epts or not, you can decide in one word. Kesubie seized the opportunity to shout loudly, Da Wang, please give your order to put away the bows and arrows first! Without blinking at all, Bai Ziting stared at Ke Dazhi. It was quite half a dayter that he signaled with his hand to put away the bows and the arrows. Both sides of the standoff breathed a sigh of relief. The arrows went back to the quivers, the bows were hung down. Ke Dazhi threw his head back in longughter. Nodding his head, he said, Good! After all, a dragon king is a dragon king. Let me see if your dragon sword is sharp, or if my Sandstorm Saber is outstanding. He flipped over forward and made three somersaults in session high in the air, before his feetnded on solid ground. The warriors surrounding Kou Zhong and the others on the rear automatically stepped aside to open up a path. Hold on! Bai Ziting suddenly shouted. Everybody on Kou Zhongs side shivered greatly, thinking that he changed his mind on thest moment. Tranted by foxs Ba Fenghan spoke in low voice to Xu Ziling and Song Shidao closest to him, If he back out of the agreement, well make our move immediately! The two nodded their agreement. Ke Dazhi stood still, his hand was pressed on the Sandstorm Sabers hilt. Acting like he considered himself unexcelled in the world, heughed coldly and said, Whatever trick you are thinking, dont make me look down on you. The murderous intent in Bai Zitings pair of eyes red severely, but he immediately restraint it. Revealing aplicated, hard-to-understand expression, which looked like wounded emotion of a heros end of the road, but also appeared to be determination to fight without sparing anything, he turned his gaze toward Kou Zhong and spoke in heavy voice, I wish to speak privately with Shaoshuai for a moment. Everybody understood suddenly; they knew that it must be rted to his son, Da Zuorong. Such matter really should not be publicly discussed before the decisive battle against Ke Dazhi, since it would show weakness. Kou Zhong stepped out of his troop disposition and walked forward toward the empty space ahead and to the left, where Bai Ziting was also heading. When the two men met, they became the target of multitude of arrows of everybodys eyes across the field. foxswuxia.wordpress Bai Ziting leaned closer and spoke to Kou Zhong in low voice, Shaoshuai thinks in this battle against Ke Dazhi, how much chance of victory do I have? Kou Zhong had never expected that he would ask such question. Sighing lightly, he replied, I have no doubt that Da Wang will be defeated. Ke Dazhis Sandstorm saber technique is not only sharp and difficult to block, his fighting spirit is even more imposing as the rainbow. On the other hand, due to the Wolf Army is pressing on your territory, your son has fallen into other peoples hands, plus people rebelling and friends deserting, Da Wangs mind is disturbed. The oue of this battle, Da Wang should be the person who understands it the clearest. Bai Ziting nkly said, I really dont have any chance? Kou Zhong smiled wryly and shook his head. He deeply felt that this ambitious and ruthless character has really lost his usual confidence; otherwise, how could he ask him, an enemy C this question? Bai Ziting revealed a hit of pained smile, his pair of eyes recovered its clear and calm expression; it appeared that he already made up his mind, hence his spirit and mind were no longer shrouded by the haze and dense fog. He slowly nodded his head and said, Shaoshuai and I should be men who understand the other side the most. Kou Zhong had no choice but to reply with a bitterugh. We must be! he said, Whatever it is that Da Wang has in your heart, do not hesitate to speak up, I will definitely aplish it for you. Tranted by foxs Bai Zitings remark was definitely not spoken casually; he was referring to both of them had the ambition to proim themselves hegemon and be the king, and the main enemy they were facing was more powerful than themselves, hence there was a fellow-sufferers-empathize-with-each-other sentiment between them. Lowering his voice, Bai Ziting said, After I die, please deliver my dead body to Xieli. I only ask Shaoshuai to preserve Da Zuorong, my blood line. Finished speaking, he smiled sadly, as if he suddenly aged for many years. Kou Zhong already guessed that he had made this decision, and this was the most sensible act, the most heroic approach, because rather being defeated and killed in public by Ke Dazhi, it would be better to leave behind a little bit of space for people to think of, by personally finishing his own life in exchange for the safety of the army and civilians of Longquan. Kou Zhong replied in low voice, Da Wang, rest assured that I, Kou Zhong, will definitely not fail Da Wangs trust. Finished speaking, he walked toward Ke Dazhi. While Bai Ziting was summoning Zong Xianghua and Kesubie to talk to them, he went over to Ke Dazhi and said with a sigh, Was it all random talk? Ke Dazhi smiled and said, Other than that, do you have a better idea? Besides, the lie will never be exposed, because the one who is going to die is definitely not me. And then he said, Did he entrust Da Zuorongs safety to you? I hope you did not promise him, because Great Khan definitely will be unwilling to let Bai Zitings son get away. Ay! He wont let Longquans army and civilians get away either; tearing down the city wall still cannot change anything. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, I will make him change his mind, and you will help me aplishing this wish. foxswuxia.wordpress The harsh light in Ke Dazhis pair of eyes ring greatly, his face was covered in ayer of cold frost, he said, Why would I, Ke Dazhi want to help you to offend Great Khan? Kou Zhongughed and said, Stop putting on an act! Dont forget that in here we arerade-in-arms; besides, you ought to know that this is also Xiufang Dajias wish. If you dont want to help, I will lodge an usation against you in front of Xiufang Dajia. Ha ha! Because Bai Zitings determination to kill himself has affected his mood, hisughter sounded dry and heavy, not to mention forced. Ke Dazhi dejectedly said, I never win against you! Ay! This does not seem to be consistent with Xiaodis usual style. Bai Zitings voice rang out, Brave warriors of Sumo Tribe, listen up. From this moment on, all the tribes affairs will be under the Right Prime Minister Kesubie and Chief Imperial Bodyguard Zong Xianghuas full authority. Their orders will be the same as my orders; those who disobey will be executed. Tranted by foxs Da Wang! Zong Xianghua cried out in grief; tears were flowing down her face. Across the field, several thousands of warriors were as dumb as wooden chicken. Only by looking at Zong Xianghuas expression, they knew what was going to happen. Turning toward Ke Dazhi, Bai Ziting spoke solemnly, Would Ke Jiangjun please tell Great Khan, Bai Ziting admit defeat! And then he threw his head back and let out a long, loudughter, and then upright and unafraid, he calmly walked alone in the direction of the main pce hall. The sound of wailing shook the heavens. The faintly discernible sound of Shang Xiufangs zheng wasing from the cold and deste east garden, as if it was performed by someone whose heart was brimming with intense feeling, yet was able to use the grave and stern, as well as deste C manner to develop and interpret the human worlds joys and sorrows in music, rising abruptly and falling sharply. Perhaps it was because of the flourishing then declining shift in the trend of events that have been happening in Longquan these past few days, or perhaps he was affected by Shang Xiufangs bemoaning the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind frame of mind, Kou Zhong felt that more and more he was able to understand the meaning behind the sound of Shang Xiufangs zheng. Shang Xiufang was sitting alone in the middle of an empty and spacious hall, stroking and plucking the strings of the zheng. foxswuxia.wordpress When he entered the main hall, the sound of zheng suddenly changed, just as if this section was disying the poignant circumstances of the turmoil under the heavens where human life was as cheap as the grass or a mustard seed. The timing, rhythm, the dynamics were grasped to precision. At times the rich variation of the zheng was like ten thousand stampeding horses, thousands army poised for battle, another time it was like the city broke down the people perished. The flourishing scene was turning into deste, scorched earth situation. Everything was conveyed by the sound of rising-in-spirals zheng. Her extraordinary skill in ying the zheng has evoked the vision inside Kou Zhongs mind, just like the predestination of the war that was tightly entangling him. The sound of zheng suddenly stopped. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong stood by the door. Shang Xiufang looked at him without showing any emotion, she did not seem to be the least bit surprised by his sudden appearance. Veryte at night, Shaoshuai still has not taken a rest? she spoke indifferently. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong came to her side and sat down on the woven mat next to her. Gazing at her elegant exceptional countenance, he sighed and said, This is precisely the question I was going to ask Xiufang, but Xiufang asked me first. Tranted by foxs Shang Xiufangs eyes moved to her lily-white hands, which were still stroking the zhengs strings. Remaining tranquil, she said, Who can sleep peacefully tonight? What had just happened, Xianghua already send someone to notify me. What is Shaoshuais n now? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong replied, What n can I possibly have? If Xieli, Tuli refuse to grant my request, Xiaodi has no choice but to defend Longquan to the death, until I am buried under the city walls; otherwise, it will be a matter of lifelong regret for me. Shang Xiufang shook her head and said, Shaoshuai definitely will not be buried under the city walls, because it is very difficult for Xieli and Tuli to pass you, this obstacle. Furthermore, it is not worthwhile for Xieli to risk having fallout with Shaoshuai over the Sumo tribe, who has no power to resist them. Xiufang just want to ask, what is your n after Longquan? Kou Zhong called for his Niang inwardly, while his heart was dripping blood; with difficulty to enunciate, he asked back, What is Xiufangs n? Shang Xiufang turned her pretty face to gaze at him for a moment. Suddenly she stretched out her slender jade hand to caress his face and said with a smile, Xiufang is about to wander around the prairie for a period of time, to experience the touching local conditions and customs beyond the Great Wall. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. foxswuxia.wordpress Shang Xiufang withdrew her slender hand, which made him losing his mind and confused his emotion, which nearly melt him. She spoke faintly, Why make a fuss about nothing? Since you dont want to apany me, are you saying that I should wait all day long for the news of Shaoshuai killing people or be killed? That I will be constantly tormented while still alive? Shaken, Kou Zhong said, I Shang Xiufang reached out and put her jade finger up to his lips, Shh, she said, shaking her head, Dont say any word that is untrue to your heart to deceive me. Xiufang is your close friend, naturally I understand the load on your mind. Dont say anything about the area beyond the Great Wall is dangerous and inadvisable to travel, from an early age Xiufang already know how to protect myself from injury and harm. Go on! Xiufang wants to be alone to think; dont Shaoshuai have a lot of things need to be done? Although Kou Zhong had thousands of words, he could not even utter half. Kou Zhong climbed to the top of the south city wall; on his left and right, there were Ke Dazhi, Xu Ziling, Song Shidao, and Zong Xianghua. As far as his eyes could see, outside the city, there were campfires everywhere across the Jingpo in, covering the ground to the end of the in, the mes illuminating the sky, so that the moon and the stars in the sky lost their splendor. Zong Xianghua pointed to the camp on the west, she said, That is Pusas Huihe army, about five thousand men strong, just to the south is Tujue Wolf Army camps, their strength is continuously increasing. Abaojias Qidan Sparrow Hawk army pitched their camp east of the city. Only the north route toward Little Longquan and Wolong Bie Yuan has not been blocked. Tranted by foxs Ke Dazhi said, That is to show our respect to Shaoshuai. Currently, only our vanguard troops have arrived, Great Khan and Tuli Khan will arrive before dawn. Xu Ziling reported, Shuwen and his brothers, as well as Pingyao merchants, have been sent to Little Longquan under escort of Ke Dazhis men, so that they can join the Gunatai Brothers and report thetest developments to them. In addition, Ba Fenghan personally went to Pusas camp. If Han Chaoan and Gesuwen handed over Da Zuorong per our agreement, he will be brought back. Due to Shang Xiufangs affair, Kou Zhongs mood suffered from pent-up frustrations; feeling a little bit every hope turns to dust, he spoke in distress, Other than waiting, what can we do? How about drinking two cups of wine? Ke Dazhi proposed. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Have you found Meiyan? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, Following the direction that Han Chaoan gave us, we looked for her, but the people are gone and the ce is empty. There is only a note that she left behind, saying that she will never forget our great kindness, great favor, et cetera. pping Kou Zhongs shoulder, Song Shidao said, You better go to rest or rx for a moment! Strict night curfew was imposed in the city of Longquan; other than patrolling troops, no one was allowed outside. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling took the Thousand-Li Dream from the woods outside the city into Longquan, to let it be reunited with its master, Kou Zhong. This moment, the horses were like being out there on the prairie as they were let wandering along the Vermilion Bird Boulevard, but they were only pacing back and forth outside the wine shop where their masters were staying and talking. Kou Zhong naturally knew that Ke Dazhi wanted to talk to him about something. Sure enough, after two cups of wine went down their belly, Ke Dazhi cast a nce toward Song Shidao, who was sitting on the corner, meditating to treat his injury C first, before lowering his voice and spoke with a wry smile, To be quite honest, Xiaodi approached you on the pretext of Liexia that day, it was simply because I received Great Khans secret order to do everything I could to protect Shaoshuai so that you can return to your home country safe and sound. I dont need to tell you the reason, but two gentlemen ought to know why. Stunned, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. After half a day of creased eyebrows, he said, Is it because Li Shimins great victory over your and Song JinGangs allied armies, hence he is hoping I could return alive to help Wang Shichong to defend Luoyang? But what made you decide to tell us this? Ke Dazhi sighed and said, Because in the end the pretense turned into reality, I regard you asrade-in-arms. Frankly speaking, in the Bai Zitings affair, you have done me a big favor. Therefore, whatever the case, I also want to help you to save Longquan. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong said, This is called due to an unexpected turn of events [idiom]. Ay! Forget it! The past is no longer a matter of concern. You know Xielis intention much better than we do, what advice can you offer us? There is only one piece of advice, Ke Dazhi spoke seriously, Which is try to show a bit friendliness to our Great Khan as much as possible, then everything can be discussed. Compared with Li Shimin, Longquan is a negligible trivial matter. Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Turning to Xu Ziling, he sought his advice, Ling Shao, what do you think? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, To be a bit friendly to him really isnt you betraying yourself. If we could make the Sumo tribe lucky enough to avoid the disaster, there is no end of virtuous achievements. Didnt you say that politics do not talk about real intention, but only discussing the consequences? Ke Dazhi cheerfully said, Two gentlemen have a high notion of your duty; this is very good. The other problem is Da Zuorong. Great Khan might follow usual practice by holding him up as a hostage, you guys must be prepared mentally. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, How can we allow that to happen? How am I going to exin to Zong Xianghua and the other generals and ministers? Having a headache, Ke Dazhi said, In my opinion, on this matter, Great Khan wont concede. Kou Zhongs eyebrows deeply knitted, he said, I must think about it first. He casually mentioned about Shang Xiufangs desire to tour the various kingdoms outside the border. foxswuxia.wordpress Hearing that, Ke Dazhis countenance changed; he said, Will she have that good-for-nothing Liexia keeping herpany? Kou Zhong has never thought about that, Cant be, can it? he said. Ke Dazhi suddenly stood up and said, I will ask her myself. Finished speaking, he left in a hurry. Kou Zhong dejectedly poured wine for Xu Ziling, he said, Do you know that Wang Shichong has Da Ming Zun Jiao background? He was the previous generations Yuanzi. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling asked, Where did you hear it from? Kou Zhong replied, It was Han Chaoan, that kid who told me. And he heard it from Funantuo. At that time, in order to survive, he would even sell his ownodie [old man, father], so he could not possibly invent crazy nonsense to deceive me. Besides, the more I think about it, the more I feel it seems to be the truth. Ke Feng was clearly incited by Rong Fengxiang to harm him, yet after the fact, instead of investigating Rong Fengxiang, they seemed to be cooperating happily even more. From this, it could be seen that the rtionship between the two men is warm. After a short pause, he went on, Han Chaoan said that Wang Shichong was sent by Da Ming Zun Jiao to infiltrate the Sui imperial court as a spy, but afterwards he had a better chance to be the emperor, hence he no longer obey the Cults order. This is indeed very much like Wang Shichong, this old foxs situation. There is another thing: there is a very high possibility that the Qiuci beauty Linglong Jiao also belongs to Da Ming Zun Jiao; she was sent to the Central Earth to lend a hand to Wang Shichong. Tranted by foxs The horses neighed happily. Listening to the sound, the two boys knew that the Thousand-Li Dream and Ten-thousand-Li Spot saw Ba Fenghans Tamakan, hence the friendly response. Greatly delighted, they went out the door to wee him. Song Shidaos healing process was at a critical juncture, he was still sitting with closed eyes. Carrying someone in his arms, Ba Fenghan jumped off the horse. The two fixed their eyes on him; to their surprise, it was Yin Xianhe, whose whereabouts was unknown. Thinking that he was seriously hurt, they were shocked. Ba Fenghanughed and said, He just drank too much that he is as drunk as mud; nothing serious, ha! I am just wondering where did he get that much wine to drink? Its really puzzling. foxswuxia.wordpress The two boys took the covered-all-over-with-the-stink-of wine Yin Xianhe from Ba Fenghans hands; feeling at a loss, they carried him inside the shop. Thetters face was full of mud, his clothes were tattered and filthy, it was as if he had turned into someone else, no longer the icily arrogant lone swordsman wanderer with a single sword. His pair of eyes was half-closed, he was constantly gasping for breath. They never thought that he would be like this, so they felt that whatever happened was greatly unusual. They put him in the chair, Yin Xianhe slumped down on the tabletop. pping the table, he said, Wine! I want wine! Spreading out his hands, Ba Fenghan said, When I encountered him on the road, he was like this. By the way, we get Da Zuorong back! After finishing up some business, Pusa ising into the city to meet with us, and then together, you guys are going to see Xieli and Tuli. Kou Zhong put down half of the load of his mind due to Da Zuorong, thinking that Han Chaoan could be considered sensible; he did not y any trick in this regard. You are noting? he asked in surprise. Ba Fenghan sat down and picked up the wine pot. Taking a big swig of wine, he said, I dont want any conflict with Tuli, so its better for me not toe. The two boys had nothing to say, because Ba Fenghan did indeed have reason to be resentful toward Tuli. Tranted by foxs Yin Xianhe pped the table asking for drink again. Xu Ziling reached out to rub his back, while injecting the true qi into his body. He spoke gently, Yin Xiong, what is the load on your mind? Why dont you tell us? Perhaps we can think of a solution for you. Yin Xianhe suddenly sat his slim body straight up, his pair of eyes staring straight ahead, the two eyeballs seemed to be empty, he spoke as if he was talking in his sleep, She is not Xiaomei [little sister]! She is not Xiaomei! Over yonder, Song Shidao opened his eyes. Unable to make any sense of the matter, he joined them in fixing his eyes on him. Book 45 - 3 – Grief And Regre t Afraid that his spirit was hurting too much, Xu Ziling secretly performed image method and called next to his ear, Xiaomei! Hearing that, Yin Xianhe was severely shaken and came to his senses. With nk expression on his face, he swept his gaze around, at Kou Zhong sitting right in front of him, at Ba Fenghan on his right side, and at Song Shidao on the far corner, whom he met for the first time, andstly he realized that Xu Ziling was behind him, injecting the qi onto his back. Stunned, he said, Whats going on here? Ba Fenghan exined to him, also introduced Song Shidao to him, and then he asked, When Yin Xiong was drunk, you called Xiaomei, this name. I wonder if she is Yin Xiongs close rtive? Tranted by foxs Revealing a strange expression, Yin Xianhe sighed and shook his head; like a defeated rooster, he dejectedly, and appearing to be at a loss C said, Past events are too unbearable to mention, ay! I am leaving! He struggled to get up. Xu Ziling grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back into the chair. He spoke earnestly, Yin Xiong must have a sad past. If you consider us as brothers, then you will tell us. Five persons head is always better than one persons. Kou Zhong was a very smart man, he already guessed that Yin Xianhe was not like they originally guessed that he was secretly in love with Zong Xianghua, but that he just mistook her for his little sister. After Zong Xianghua denied it, he could not take the pain from the heavy blow and the lost of hope, hence he used wine to dull himself, which led to this abnormal situation. Yin Xiong is looking for your Xiaomei? Kou Zhong spoke gently, We all are brothers, your trouble is ours as well; with many men working on it, no matter what, it would be better than if you are trying your luck alone. Ba Fenghan chimed in, Outside the Great Wall, Shaoshuai has a certain influence, it will be a bit more convenient for him to do things, certainly surpass Yin Xiong trying your luck alone. Xu Ziling came to his side and sat down, How about you trust us? he asked. Yin Xianhes gaze moved toward Xu Ziling. After staring nkly at him for half a day, his body suddenly trembled, he spoke dejectedly, Xiaomei is the only family I have in the world, she ay! foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling shot out a look of encouragement, he softly said, How did you separate from your Xiaomei? The strange light in Yin Xianhes pair of eyes ring greatly, he revealed a hatred that even exhausting all the water from fivekes and four oceans still cannot wash it down, as he spoke heavily, It was Guaizi Bang [lit. crutch gang (Guaizi could also mean kidnapper orme person, so it could just be gang of kidnappers)] who abducted her; not only that, they beat me until I only had half a life left. Kou Zhong hurriedly asked, How old was Yin Xiong at that time? Yin Xianhe replied, At that time I was only twelve, Xiaomei was seven. Afterwards I heard that at that time Guaizi abducted more than a dozen local girls not older than twelve years old. Ay! I dont want to talk about it! His eyebrows wrinkled, Ba Fenghan said, That was more than a decade ago. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling both had big headache; more than a decade ago, a little girl was abducted by devoid-of-conscience child traffickers, in the boundless sea of people, how could they search for her? Zong Xianghua must look a bit like Yin Xianhes little sister, hence his misunderstanding. He repeatedly appeared before her eyes, it was because he was hoping to evoke her childhood memory, so that she would recognize him as her elder brother. Tranted by foxs This was certainly a tragedy of the human world! No wonder Yin Xianhe often appeared mncholy, as if he had been abandoned by everybody in the world, because of the childhood tragic memory of seeing with his own eyes his sister being abducted has made him unable to live like normal people. Song Shidao rose up to his full height and said, Fortunately Yin Xiong is willing to tell us this matter, because I have also heard about this old matter, the Han Family even sent people to investigate it. Severely shaken, Yin Xianhes pair of eyes emitted red-hot longing, but he could not utter single word, and could only gasp with his mouth wide open. Song Shidao moved to the table and sat down; he said, ording to our investigation, the main culprit in this matter was actually that tyrant Yang Guang, and the hunting dogs carrying out his order was Baling Bang. My understanding is that one day Yang Guang suddenly got an idea, he wanted to use underage girls as the pce maids in his several temporary imperial residences, thereupon the ttering ministers on his left and right notified Baling Bang to implement it. At that time, Baling Bangs Da Longtou [big boss] Liu Kangshou knew that this matter would definitely provoke multitude of anger, hence he ordered his subordinates to secretly go to all parts of the country to collect, kidnap, and capture pretty, delicate, spirited girls, and then release a diversion. The rumor was that the girls were sold outside the Great Wall. foxswuxia.wordpress His voice trembling, Yin Xianhe said, So which temporary imperial residence was that group of girls sent to? Song Shidao said, Yang Guang turned a blind eye on this and forget everything, and then he went on the military expedition to Gaoli. That group of girls must still be in Baling Bangs hands. Enraged, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly its that Xiang Familys father and sons fine thing indeed! His Niang! I hope that Xiang kid ising with Xieli, so that we can question him to his face. Yin Xiong, dont worry, well take care of this matter. As long as your honorable younger sister Oh! No! We will definitely find your honorable younger sister. Yin Xianhe muttered softly, Baling Bang! Baling Bang! Isnt Xiao Xian Baling Bangs Da Longtou? Yin Xiong must not act blindly without thinking, Xu Ziling said, Because this matter is not something that military [or martial] force can solve. We must have a thorough n; we cannot beat the grass to scare the snake and thus spoil the whole thing even more. We have an old friend called Lei Jiuzhi; he has been thinking of a way to deal with Baling Bang, he is very familiar with the Xiang Familys father and sons movements, he will be the most ideal good helper. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, I remember something else. Logically speaking, Zhao Deyan and Xiang Yushan ought to be two poles-apart [orig. southern sky northern earth], even-big-cable-cannot-pull-together C men, howe Xiang Yushan all of a sudden did obeisance to Zhao Deyan as his master? I wonder if Zhao Deyan and the Xiang Family, or perhaps Baling Bang have always been closely rted? Because Baling Bangs conduct and deeds definitely follow demonic schools by-fair-means-or-foul, making-all-gods-and-men-indignant style. Recalling past events, Xu Ziling said, The root of your analysis makes sense. I remember Xiang Yushan said that his qigong took a wrong turn; he was harmed by an elder of Yin Gui Pai. If half of that is the truth, then his rtionship with the demonic school is not simple. Tranted by foxs The murderous aura in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he said, Because the demonic school knew that they provoked public anger, they turned from light to dark [or from open to secretive]. On the surface it seems to have nothing to do with them, yet the fact is its their people. Lin Shihong is like that, Fu Gongyou and Qian Duguan are also like that. And now it seems like we need to add Xiao Xian to that number. Yin Xiong, rest assured, your enemy is my, Kou Zhongs enemy. His Niang, Baling Bang is our mortal enemy from the start. Yin Xianhes pair of eyes emitted brimming-with-hope expression, his spirit was greatly aroused. Comforting him, Xu Ziling said, When we return to the Central Earth, I will take Yin Xiong to look for Lei Jiuzhi. Your honorable sisters matter will be resolved satisfactorily. The sound of footsteps was heard. Ke Dazhi and Du Xing arrived together. Seeing Du Xing, Yin Xianhe revealed a look of disgust. He got up and said, Ill take a walk outside! Without saying anything else, he brushed past the two men, and on to the street, recovering his lone and cold natural color. Du Xing turned his head around to look at his back, he asked in surprise, Isnt that Die Gongzi? foxswuxia.wordpress Ke Dazhi was dissatisfied, Whats wrong with him? he said, Meeting someone he did not even say hello. Dont mind him, Kou Zhong said, He is just like that. Sit down and have a drink first, and then well talk. At the same time he introduced Song Shidao to Du Xing and vice versa. Finding out that he was the son of the Heavenly Saber Song Que, whose name shook the world, thetters attitude differed greatly. After two rounds of wine, Ke Dazhi said with a dejected sigh, Xiaodis guess is indeed unmistaken. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he blurted out, So its really Liexia, that kid? Although Xu Ziling did not have the slightest wild schemes toward Shang Xiufang, he was feeling deeply ufortable as well. His sword-shaped eyebrows deeply knitted, he said, How could Liexia have the spare time to apany Shang Xiufang? Letting out a cold snort, Du Xing said, What kind of thing is Liexia? Lets join hands and kill Da Ming Zun Jiao people until not even half remains. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, Shall we start with Xu Kaishan? I wonder if he is still in the city? Tranted by foxs Du Xing was slightly startled. Displeased, he cast a fierce stare at Ba Fenghan, and spoke heavily, I call one as one, two as two. I already said I dont regard Xu Kaishan as a brother, then I dont regard him as a brother. How many more times do I have to say it before its enough? His grannys! I dont even know where he is now. If you have the skill, then you, Ba Fenghan go take him out, see how Laozi is going to do to him. A burst of vexing, loathing feeling appeared in Xu Zilings heart, he stood up and said, Ill go see Die Gongzi. Leaving his seat he walked out to the street. The clear, cold and empty Vermilion Bird Boulevard extended to the left and right. Seeing Xu Ziling, the horses excitedly came over to be petted. Standing alone outside the door, Yin Xianhe coldly said, The Xiang Family father and son, who are they? What connection do you guys have with them? Xu Ziling understood his frame of mind; he always wanted to know, the more the better. He raised his head to look at the brilliant starry sky over this marvelous city beyond the Great Wall, which fate was difficult to divine. He sighed and said, I really am a bit loss as where to start. At that time our experience was still shallow, we did not understand the danger of the human world, thinking that when we treated people from inside our heart, people would treat us the same in return. Who would have thought that it was entirely different from as-it-should-be-by-rights matter? From then on, we no longer trust people easily. Yin Xianhe spoke indifferently, I never trust people, you are the only exception. Xu Ziling dly said, Yin Xiong makes Xiaodi feels overwhelmed by favor from superior. And then, muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, I have a question: I wonder if when thest time Yin Xiong came to Longquan, you already suspected that Zong Xianghua was not your honorable younger sister? foxswuxia.wordpress Yin Xianhes countenance turned gloomy, he nodded and said, Xiaomei would never send people to chase me away and beat me. Since the thief soldiers started a rebellion and harm us that our family bankrupt and the people perished, the two of us, brother and sister wandered to the end of the world, relying upon one another for survival. If she was really my Xiaomei, she would certainly be able to recognize me. I still remember her eyes when she was taken away. At that time I was lying in a pool of blood. I will never forget that as long as I live. Even when she was little, she was already very strong, I knew she would definitely survive. Xu Ziling was dying to ask him how did he learn the sword technique with which he fought his way throughout the northeast, but in the end he restrained himself from asking. Responding to his earlier question, he said, The Xiang Family father and son are in charge of Baling Bangs brothel and casino operation. It is rumored that human trafficking is also under their responsibility. It is also extremely possible that Changans Six-Happiness Casinos boss Chi Shengchun is Xiang Guis oldest son. Ay! Shaken, Yin Xianhe said, Brothel? Xu Ziling understood his feeling; changing the subject, he asked, What is Yin Xiongs Xiaomeis name? Tranted by foxs Obviously Yin Xianhe thought that there was high possibility that his little sister was sold into a brothel; his countenance turned deathly pale, his breathing ragged, he said, If I dont kill Baling Bang dog thieves, I swear I am not a human. Xu Ziling could no longer find any word tofort him. Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, I want to take a walk outside the city, alone. Tomorrow morning I will be waiting for you at Little Longquan. Finished speaking, he strode toward the north city gate. Looking at his lonely, slender back, Xu Ziling secretly determined to pull up Baling Bang, that devoid-of-conscience evil organization C by the roots. Yin Xianhe suddenly halted his step and spoke softly, My Meizi is called Yin Xiaoji. Finished speaking, he continued his strides. Xu Zilings heart was moved C Yin Xiaoji. The jade countenance of Changans chief famous courtesan Ji Qing [in Book 35 Chapter 10 it was Ji Qian] appeared in his mind; her pair of continuously changing nimble eyes, as if every moment might spurt out new idea, new n. She also had a pair of long legs, which looked pleasing to the eye when she was dancing; her reason for wanting to learn gambling technique from Xu Ziling was intriguing. foxswuxia.wordpress He nearly wanted to catch up with Yin Xianhe to tell him about this matter, but he was afraid that it might just be a misunderstanding on his part, and thus would only add to his trouble. The sound of hoof beats suddenly arose, a single rider was speeding along from the direction of the south gate. The rider was rapidly approaching, the sound of hoof beats shattered the thick silence of the Little Changan, Longquan Upper Capital. Xu Ziling recognized the rider as one of the personal guards who came with Zong Xianghua when they were breaking through the pce jail. This moment he appeared to be in panic; he nearly rolled down the horse as he shouted, Not good! Tujue Wolf Army is starting to advance here. What? Xu Ziling blurted out asking. Zong Xianghuas personal guard replied, Great Khan Xielis main army had just arrived, the besieging army thus quietly started to move, to press down toward us. Xu Ziling was stunned. Kou Zhong, Du Xing, Ke Dazhi, Ba Fenghan, and Song Shidao, five men rushed out of the shop; receiving the news, none of their countenance did not change. Unexpectedly Xieli arrived one step ahead of Tuli. If Tuli intentionally arrivingte, then he must be harboring unfathomable motives, allowing Xieli to have a free hand in massacring everyone in the captured city. Or perhaps Xieli was rushing ahead to besiege the city. Once the battle started, both sides would have casualties, which would then inme the hatred between the tribes, to such an extent of going out of control and difficult to curb. Tranted by foxs Various tribes of the prairie have always been fighting the war of attrition, where the victor would massacre and loot the defeated side as much as they like; unless they did not have enough strength, they would always want to put the other side in the extermination-of-the-entire-tribe ending. For Tuli, he must treat any disobedient tribe without mercy and uproot thempletely. All eyes fell onto Ke Dazhi, since thetter was a representative of the cold-hearted Tujue warrior, while also one of most outstanding figures of their younger generation. Were it not for his rtionship with Kou Zhong and Shang Xiufang, he might, without the slightest hesitation, endorse the massacre. This moment however, he appeared to be helpless as he said with wry smile, Let me go out of the city to see Great Khan to understand the situation. Shaking his head, Song Shidao said, Ke Jiangjun must not do so; otherwise it will cause no end of trouble in the future. You may return to your Great Khans side, but you must not speak any good word on Longquans behalf; you can only report things as they really are. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong and the others all nodded in agreement. If Xieli found out that Ke Dazhi was standing on their side, he might be regarded as a traitor by Xieli. Du Xing said, In my opinion, this is more of a military show of force rather than real attack. I dont believe he does not know that Tulis brothers are inside the city. Kou Zhong asked the Sumo imperial guard, Did you see any movement on Pusas troops? The imperial guard replied, Pusas Huihe Army and Abaojias Sparrow Hawk Army are still not moving, only the Tujue Wolf Army is approaching the south gate. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Ke Xiong, please return to your unit immediately, leave the matter here for us to handle. Remember Song ErGes words, we cant possibly me Ke Xiong under any circumstances. Ke Dazhi sighed and said, This is the first battle that I am unwilling to fight. But I still dont believe Great Khan would really besiege the city, he just want to strengthen his bargaining chip in the negotiation with you. Gentlemen, please take good care of yourselves! Ke Dazhi is leaving. Finished speaking, he summoned his warhorse and flew onto the horseback. With a shout, the warhorse started to move its four legs and rapidly went far away. Song Shidao said to Du Xing, It is not suitable for Du Ba Wang to get involved in this matter, it would be best if you take your honorable gangs brothers to leave the city via the north gate, to show your position. Du Xing hesitated for half a day. Ay! he finally said, I, Du Xing, have made friends with you, three gentlemen. In the future, I will definitely keep an eye on Da Xiaojies business, I wont neglect it. Anything happen, you cane to me and hold me ountable. See you in Shanhai Pass! Tranted by foxs After only the four men plus the imperial guard remaining, Song Shidao said, Ke Dazhis analysis on Xieli certainly does not miss much. Xieli currently only adopts the stance of besieging the city, to increase the psychological pressure on us. The people of the prairie attach most importance to trust and promise; since they already fixed sunrise as the deadline, they would definitely notunch offensive before sunrise. The problem is that we are caught in passive situation; if we cannot reverse this position, we would be in the disadvantageous position during negotiation. Xu Ziling nodded and said, He can use the Sumo tribe unable to hand over the Five-Colored Stone as an excuse to besiege the city, which is very difficult for Tuli to me him. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Lets go to the south gate to see the situation clearly before deciding our next move. Outside the south gate, rows upon rows of orderly torchlights were covering the mountains and the ins, so that the moon and the stars lost their splendor, the night sky was painted red. foxswuxia.wordpress The nearest vanguard unit was advancing toward the south gate until they were only about half a li away. Xielismand banner was on top of a hill about a li away. At a nce, their military strength was approximately twenty thousand men, all were cavalry of the same unit. No war machines to besiege a city were seen; most likely they were kept inside the dense forest some distance away, it looked like they were relying on strong men and robust horses, the morale was like a rainbow. Pusas Huihe Army stayed in ce without moving. Kesubie, Zong Xianghua, and the others, a group of Sumo high-ranking military officers, were congregating on top of the south wall, everybodys countenance was heavy. At the present time, under the low morale circumstances, while the enemies were unleashing their offensive from four sides, eight directions, if Longquan could hold out for half a day, it could already be considered not bad at all. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around to look at the enemys momentum. Suddenly he revealed a hint of smile as he said, Xieli is forcing us to go out of the city and kowtow to him, begging for mercy. Good kid! He is really worthy to be the ambitious and ruthless character who is able to move unhindered across the prairie. Ba Fenghan pointed to the dots of lights on Pusas right-hand side a bit to the north; frowning, he asked, Whose troops are those? Zong Xianghua replied, Those are Tiefuyous ck River Mohe warriors, which are of the same root as Xieli; their strength is around eight thousand. Within our Mohe divisions, Tiefuyou is the most intense opponent to us establishing our kingdom. Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart sank down. The strength of the enemys allied armies was several folds of Longquan army; how could they fight this battle? Regaining his self-confidence, Kou Zhong calmly said, Ke Xiang [(prime) minister] and Zong Weizhang, is it possible to give me and Ziling the full power to negotiate with Xieli? Tranted by foxs Zong Xianghua and Kesubie you look at me I gaze at you, because this matter was of great importance, and all along Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were outsiders; once they agreed on the terms with Xieli, their allotted share was only toply with the agreement. Song Shidao said, Lady and gentleman, please discuss this matter with your colleagues in private, when you have the answer, you may tell us. Xu Ziling earnestly said, Everybody, please trust us. While waiting for Zong Xianghua and the others talking on the side, Kou Zhong spoke to Song Shidao, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling in low voice, The present situation is very obvious, which is Tuli puts his peoples interest above brotherly sentiment; therefore, we cannot rely on him, we must find a way to reverse this situation ourselves. foxswuxia.wordpress Although Ba Fenghan had ample confidence in Kou Zhongs ability to lead military operations with extraordinary skill, seeing the Sumo soldiers guarding the citys look, where everybody was hanging his head dispiritedly, he could not help smiling bitterly and said, How are you going to turn this situation around? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Whoever hung the bell on the tigers neck must untie it [idiom: fig. whoever started the trouble should end it]; I wonder if this remark can describe the situation aptly? This moment Kesubie came back and said, We decided to have Shaoshuai and Xu Gongzi as our plenipotentiary; there is only one condition: if Xieli demands that we hand over the heir apparent, we would rather choose fighting to the death and be buried with the city. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, That will do! The more that you can show that you do not hesitate to fight to the death and be buried with the city, the more I have the confidence that I can win favorably condition for Xieli to withdraw his troops. Boom! Boom! Boom! The unequaled-in-the-prairie Tujue Wolf Army just started to beat the battle drums; each strike entered deep into the heart of the warriors guarding the city. Book 45 - 4 – Tujue Mighty Army Dang! Dang! Dang! The five bell towers, located inside the pce and the four city gates, respectively, were sounded at the same time. The melodious sound contained a hidden moving and tragic, deste feeling, because this was the death knell to mourn the demise of Bai Ziting, the emperor, hence only after it was sounded forty-nine times that it finally stopped. Tranted by foxs Amidst the stately knell, the hearse carrying the remains of Bai Ziting who killed himself, pulled by eight warhorses, escorted before and after by a hundred imperial bodyguards, proceeded in a heavy pace, leaving the Vermilion Bird Gate, stepping into the Vermilion Bird Boulevard, heading toward the south gate. Along the sides of the road, the military and civilians lined the street to say goodbye, the sound of wailing shook the sky, not only to express their inner pain for the tragic end of the leader who once gave them the hope for the future brimming with vision, but even more, to weep with grief over the imminent great disaster of the extermination of their entire tribe. Although the knell failed to drown the sound of earth-shaking battle druming from outside the city, it provided food for thought and provoked the voiceless sound of reflection over the essence of death. It did not fit with the murderous noise of the battle drums at all; on the contrary, the murderous noise of the battle drums was substantially cut down, until the drums suddenly stopped, leaving only the remaining of the knell floating into the vast night sky outside the city. The Tujue Armys vanguard unit stopped more than a thousand paces outside the south gate and lined themselves up in battle array, no longer advancing forward. The south gate was wide open. The fire in the lighthouse, representing the honor and disgrace of the Longquan Upper Capital C was zing, illuminating the area outside the city as bright as daytime. However, infected by the sound of the bells, behind the glorious ze was an atmosphere thick with a declining and deste feeling. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Song Shidao, and a group of Longquans high-ranking military officers assembled outside the south gate, silently waited for the arrival of the hearse. foxswuxia.wordpress None of Zong Xianghua, Kesubie, and the others shed tears. The knell has transformed their humiliation and grief and indignation into strength. This moment, no one was willing to show their weak side to the enemy. This was precisely Kou Zhongs tactic in using psychological warfare against psychological warfare, in using Bai Zitings fantastic funeral to unite the state of mind of Longquans army and civilians, to turn the Sumo warriors intomenting troops, which the enemy would not dare to despise, to send a message to Xieli that Sumo people might fight until thest soldier, thest pawn, but they would never surrender, assuming that the conditions of surrender were uneptable. The hearse drove through the deep and long gateway, and stopped outside the south gate. Dang! Dang! Dang! After the forty-ninth knell, the solemn stillness, which weighed down the humans heart like a chunk of lead C ensued. The drivers of the hearse left their seats and were reced by Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Tranted by foxs Kesubie shouted, Respectfully seeing Da Wang off! All officers and soldiers immediately kneeled down, hot tears could not stop bursting out of their eye sockets; indeed it was bitter tears brimming with resentment, indignation and humiliation. Kou Zhong raised the whip, it whistled as it circled in the air, and when it fell back, it lightlyshed on the horses buttock. The warhorse neighed and pulled the hearse, galloping toward the enemy ranks. Kou Zhong took a backward nce, his heart ached, he said with a sigh, This time I really have no assurance; Ling Shao, what do you think? From the enemy ranks, the bugle horn sounded, suddenly nearly a thousand riders left the formation and galloped like a whirlwind toward the two boys driving the hearse, straight with hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earth, swaying-the-mountains-and-rocking-the-peaks astonishing might. Xu Ziling, however, acted as if he did not see it. Smiling wryly, he said, Since Xieli hase prepared this time, he definitely wont want to return empty-handed. Negotiation will be very difficult, and Da Zuorong will more likely be the tight knot in the negotiation. foxswuxia.wordpress The horses neigh shook the heavens. As if they were performing fancy tricks, the Tujue warriors rushed until they were close, before pulling the rein and shouting at the same time. The warhorse reared on their hind legs, like a wave sweeping across the grasnd, and then separated left and right. It was an exquisite equestrianism, a perfect disposition of troops, making people gasp in amazement. By this time, the Sumo warriors and Ba, Song, and the others had returned into the city and closed the gate behind them. Hearing the loud beating of the horses hoof on the left and right shaking the heavens, the two groups of a thousand troops each separately charged from both sides toward the hearse, as if they wanted to turn over and crush both the people and the carriage, the warhorses pulling the cart were frightened, they were jumping continuously, making it extremely difficult for Kou Zhong to control. Kou Zhong spoke hatefully, Tuli, that kid, iscking yiqi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice/code of brotherhood] too much; unexpectedly when we need him the most, he did not appear. His grannys bear! Xu Ziling spoke heavily, He has his own difficulties. The leaders of the tribes and societies in the prairie are different from the emperors and masters of the Central Earth; they must listen to the other tribal chiefs opinions. Two teams of Tujue riders galloped almost a zhang away from both sides; when it looked like they were about to knock the hearse over, suddenly each group divided itself into two, and flitted past in front and behind the cart, bing a big, flowing fork, with the hearse located right in the middle of the intersection. A momentter, the cavalry went away. Tranted by foxs Shaking his head with a wry smile, Kou Zhong said, Even if we trained for ten lifetimes, we wont be able to train to such a formidable cavalry team level. Although knowing perfectly well that they are just showing off, I am still scared that I am having cold sweats all over. Xu Ziling kept his gaze forward, They areing again, he spoke heavily. The covering the mountains and the ins Tujue cavalry emerged from the top of the small hill where the Khan banner was, like a tide sweeping over toward them. It reminded them that were it not for solid city walls of the Central Earth, each cun of thend would have been trampled by the Tujues iron hoofs early on. As the two boys scalp went numb, front and back, left and right, were all valiant Tujue cavalry, just like a raging ocean about to drown the field all around them. Two Tujue soldiers took the bridle of the first two horses at the front, leading the hearse forward. The enemys morale was like a rainbow; everybodys spirit was trembling with excitement, their eyes revealing ominous glint, they stared and shouted at Kou and Xu, two boys. foxswuxia.wordpress If the other side used violence, even if the two boys martial art skill was doubled, they would still be dead. No doubt about it. With the thousands of Tujue warriors crowded around them, the hearse continued to speed up, winding around the small hill, toward arge open space in the midst of the army tents standing in great numbers. Several thousands of warriors were assembled there. More than a dozen arrow targets were set up on the far end of the open space. Xieli and Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, Kang Qiaoli, and so on, a group of more than twenty high-ranking military officers, under escort of their personal guards, were having fun in archery practice, but Ke Dazhi and Xiang kid were not among these people. As the two boys saw such scene, they knew that the turn of events was far from good. The other side was deploying their troops while chatting andughing, steadily upying the upper hand. Yet they were going to offer Bai Zitings remains to seek peace. The difference in position was clear and easy to see. Swish! Xieli pulled the big bow into a full moon, he shot the powerful arrow across the distance of nearly five hundred paces, hitting the bullseye, instantly provoking the over ten thousand warriors around him to cheer excitedly. Their shout rushed straight to the heavens. The zing torches painted everything blood red, showing clearly even before the outbreak of the war that violence and injuries and death could happen any moment; the atmosphere made peoples blood boiling. The hearse stopped. Reluctantly Xieli handed the big bow over to his subordinate, he beckoned the two boys and said, Shaoshuai, Ziling, pleasee over! Swish! Swish! Swish! Tranted by foxs More than a dozen arrows were shot by the crowd of generals, none did not hit the bullseye on the target faraway, provoking another round of shaking-the-heavens cheers. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling jumped down the carriage and walked over toward the ce where Xieli and the others were standing. The former raised his spirit,ughed aloud and said, Great Khans elegant manner is still as before, it is worthy of celebration. At first, Xielis countenance sank, but then he smiled. Roaring inughter, he said, Thanks to you! Thanks to you! I wonder if Shaoshuai is delivering the Five-Colored Stone for them. Ha! Even Xu Ziling did not understand why as soon as Kou Zhong opened his mouth, he said elegant manner is still as before. This remark was actually apliment, but being used on Xieli, who had suffered defeat in the battle of the Rushing Wolf in, it became frigid irony and scorching satire. Infuriating Xieli like this, what benefit could it be for their negotiation? But taking a deeper look, he knew that even currying favor with him would not necessarily bring any benefit either. Acting like an old friend, Kou Zhong came to Xielis side, whose shiny baldhead reflected the torchlights all around, and spoke lightly, This time Xiaodi is delivering a person and not a stone; I wonder if Great Khan can put up with it a bit. The two mens sharp gaze shed with each other, neither one gave way to the other. foxswuxia.wordpress Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, and the others, more than twenty high-ranking military officers and tribal chiefs, each and everyone revealed a proud look on their face, adopting a grasp-it-and-victory-is-assured air. From the corner of Xielis mouth, a hint of smile started to appear, which gradually exploded into a loudughter as he said, Easy to raise an army of one thousand, but hard to find a good general [idiom]. As long as Shaoshuai gives me a nod, I, Xieli will go all out to help you hunting the deer in the Central in [idiom; please see Deer and Cauldron, Chapter 1, tranted by yours truly for more on this idiom]. You want men, you will get men, you want horses, you will get horses. This moment Zhao Deyan bent the bow and shot an arrow, which hit the distant target. Kou Zhong pped his hands and said, Good arrow technique. Why dont Yan Shuai demonstrate your prairie equestrian archery skill to broaden our horizon? Xu Ziling began to understand Kou Zhongs strategy a little bit, which was to create diversions, to chatter some random remarks as much as possible to divide the enemys attention, not to allow the opposite side to follow the prescribed order of proceeding ording to their drawn up n, which was practically seeking a way in the midst of no way. Zhao Deyan was extremely shrewd, he did not get angry at all that Kou Zhong was secretly mocking him that he was pretending to be a Tujue. Looking at Kou Zhong, he smiled and said, This time Shaoshuai came to the prairie, if you only want to see me practicing equestrian archery, I guarantee that you will return in disappointment. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhongughed and said, What I want to see more is your virtuous disciple, Yushan Xiongs mighty disposition on horseback, to see if he is more imposing than Yan Shuai. We are indeedte-to-know,te-to-realize; it was not until tonight that we found out about Baling Bangs rtionship with Yan Shuai. No longer paying attention to Zhao Deyan, whose countenance changed slightly, he turned toward Xieli and said, Great Khan is willing to supply men and horses, that is what I, Kou Zhong, seek but fail to get. However, Niang had taught me not to covet convenience; there is also an adage from the ancient times about the rabbit is dead the dog is boiled alive. How would Great Khan assuage my misgivings? Xu Ziling stood silently on Kou Zhongs other side; what he saw shocked the eye, astonished the heart. ording to his assessment, this time the Golden Wolf Army certainly came to the east in full power, the number of men nearly doubled the battle of the Rushing Wolf in; the military strength was over fifty thousand men. In addition to the ten-thousand-man vanguard troops threatening the Longquans south gate, the rest were bustling incessantly around the camp, cutting down trees to build all kinds of equipment to besiege the city, demonstrating to them their preparation and determination to attack Longquan. foxswuxia.wordpress The City of Longquans force was between fifteen to twenty thousand men. Even though everybody was determined to fight to the death, but in term of scale, the city of Longquan, which was acimed as the Little Changan, was still far inferior to Luoyang and Changan. If Zhao Deyan was indeed an expert in besieging a city like the rumor said, Longquan definitely would notst too many days. Xieli cheerfully said, Shaoshuai is a very unusual Han man; your person is fast, your tongue is also fast, you are straightforward and honest, unlike other Han people whose mouth does not agree with their heart. All right, Ill be frank. If I can help Shaoshuai defeating the Li Family of Guanzhong, I want Shaoshuai to give me Youzhou [ancient province in north Hebei and Liaoning]. Returning politeness for politeness, we no longer owe each other, hereafter whether we want to fight or we want peace, it will depend on your respected opinion. Youzhou was precisely Gao Kaidaos territory, which included Shanhai Pass. If it fell into the Tujues hands, then the Tujue would upy a major military foothold northeast of the Central ins, they could progressively expand and nibble away at the other territories, unlike before, a lone army prating the enemys territory deeply, after looting for a bit they had to retreat immediately. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Youzhou is not mine, Kou Zhongs, how could I give it to Great Khan as a present? Tonyukuk, who had been listening attentively together with the other Tujue big tribal chiefs, spoke indifferently, If Shaoshuai could wipe out the Li Family, the world would be the object inside Shaoshuais bag; such an insignificant Youzhou, naturally Shaoshuai would be able to be the master. Xieli spoke with serious expression, During your distinguished countrys Western Wei [of the Northern dynasties (535-557AD)] period, our Tujues Rouran was defeated and forced to move to the northern wilderness. His troops defeated, Rouran Khan Anaxiang killed himself. My ancestors Ashina Tumen [or Bumin Khan (-553), founder of G?ktrk khanate] established the Tujue Khanate, proiming himself hegemon over the prairie, their territory was more extensive than the Xiongnu of the ancient times, their scale was even more unprecedentedly huge. Its a pity thatter on it split up into the East and West, two Khanates. When Yang Jian unified the Central in, time and again he invaded our territory, while also employed driving-a-wedge scheme to split us apart, causing the various tribes of our prairie fall into endless civil war. The East and West Khanates areplex and reaching far into the indefinite future; left with no choice we had to deploy our troops to the Central Earth. But our national policy has always been attempting to unite first before speaking about others. Shaoshuai, do you understand what I mean? Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong began to feel that Xieli was able to be the supreme leader of the Tujue, it was due to his set of skills; his speech was powerfully persuasive, he was able to set aside his hatred toward Kou Zhong, and only asked for long-term benefit. Xu Ziling however, had a different feeling. He mused over the differences between he and Kou Zhong. If the one negotiating with Xieli was he instead of Kou Zhong, perhaps he would have categorically rejected Xielis proposal early on. But it would only mess and destroy things up, the oue would be the cmity of the massacre of everyone in the city. In politics, it does not matter whether the intention is good or bad, what matters is the oue; even more, in politics, there is no eternal enemy, there is only eternal benefit. Xieli was precisely this kind of person, and Kou Zhong understood the rules of the game. Although he, Xu Ziling understood, he could not possibly do it; therefore, it was absolutely inadvisable for him to touch politics. Sun Tzus Art of War says, All warfare is based on deception, in other words, strategy was precisely some kind of brilliant deception. After one urately grasps the objectivity of the situation, the enemys and our strength and way of thinking, one would start moving after the n is decided, able but showing inability, near but showing distance. After taking unfair advantage of the enemy, deceiving the enemy, swindling the enemy, then one can subdue the enemy. foxswuxia.wordpress The reality of the world was cold and heartless. All that current virtuous cause was merely an excessive emphasis on ideals and moral quagmire, which could not stand the test of time. Just like the Tujue Army before their eyes, it could only be considered from the interests of ones own people; obeying me you live, opposing me you die. Kou Zhong must begin from pros and cons, only then would he obtain the maximum benefit at the cost of minimum sacrifice. Therefore, Xu Zilings allotted share was only to listen. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Great Khan thinks so highly of me, how could I not be overwhelmed by the favor from superior? We could take our time in making decision on this matter; this time I came Xieli waved his hand to cut him off, If Shaoshuai immediately withdraw from our dispute with the Sumo tribe, I, Xieli, will definitely pay you back. In the end, not only Bai Ziting and you are neither rtive nor a friend; furthermore, he was a despicable and shameless enemy, why does Shaoshuai think its worth sticking out your head for this not-knowing-his-own-capacity idiot? Zhao Deyanughed evilly and said, This time the one provoking the weapons of war was Bai Ziting and not us at all; even in ordance with Central Earths Jianghu rules, we are toiling our army in a military expedition, we cant simply go back empty-handed; dont two gentlemen think so? Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong smiled and said, Can Xiaodi ask gentlemen a question? Tonyukuk slyly replied, We all are people of reason; Shaoshuai, please bestow your instruction. Xu Ziling felt big headache; the opposite sides strategy was to adopt talking-reason everywhere, instead of using their strength to mistreat people, which made it harder for Kou Zhong to ward off. Looking at the starry sky above, it was quite half a dayter that Kou Zhong finally said, I wonder what is gentlemens impression on Song JinGang and Li Shimins battle of Baibi [lit. cedar wall]? Xieli was slightly startled; showing displeasure, he snorted coldly and said, If Shaoshuai is only interested in this aspect, do we need to waste valuable time in here? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling was unable to make any sense of the matter either. Song JinGang and the Tujue allied forces attacked Taiyuan, suffered crushing defeat and returned, it was Xielis serious setback in his attempt to invade the Central Earth. Kou Zhong forcefully exposing his scar, it would only provoke Xielis unhappiness; why did he do that? Kou Zhongughed and said, Great Khan, please dont get angry. We Han people have a saying, dont forget past events, they can guide you in the future [idiom]. Post-war review is surely beneficial without any harm, it could prevent following the track of an overturned cart in the future. Xieli struggled hard to suppress his rage, he coldly said, I am listening. Kou Zhong calmly said, The reason Song JinGang suffered a crushing defeat at Baibi was not because his strength could not match the enemys, but because his strategy was wrong. If it were a frontal decisive battle, Li Shimin would undoubtedly be defeated; but Li Shimin carried out the being first does not result in victory, using waiting for the enemy to seize victory brilliant strategy; he urately saw Song JinGangs lone army prating deeply, hence although his troops were exquisite and his generals fierce, the overall direction was still, at thest moment, looting rations and fodder to support the huge army; without being able to employ blitzkrieg strategy, he had to pack his bag and leave before he finished eating. Thereupon when the number onemander-in-chief expert in defense of the present age Li Shimin implemented the fortifying-defense-and-razing-the-fields focused strategy, plus carrying out the gueri warfare by using smaller teams in sudden and violent attack to disturb the enemy, by the time Song JinGang exhausted his provisionspletely, when he was forced to retreat, Li Shimin cut his tail and delivered a punishing blow. Does Great Khan understand what I mean? Xieli, Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, Kang Qiaoli, and the others, none did not show angry expression, the murderous aura in their pair of eyes red greatly. Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong was gambling by taking this risk, by using the battle of Baibi metaphor to describe the current situation, striving for the capital for negotiation. The most extreme point was to demonstrate that he could see through the allied armies circumstances. Xielis army was indeed not something that the insignificant Longquan army would be able to withstand. But if they had Kou Zhong, who was adept in defending a city just like Li Shimin C in charge, perhaps it would not be easy for Xieli to carryout his blitzkrieg strategy. Tranted by foxs Under this kind of circumstances, Tulis support would be the decisive factor. Would he be willing to attack the city guarded by the brothers with whom he had undergone life and death together? Even greater possibility was that he might watch with folded arms. Besides, Tulis attitude might influence Pusa, Tiefuyou, and Abaojia. In this case, Xielis risk in besieging the city would rise substantially. In case they were caught in a stalemate, the Golden Wolf Army would be the lone army prating deep into the enemys territory. In case they were caught in no room to advance or to retreat situation, his position would most likely be taken over by Tuli. Because Xieli and Tulis reconciliation was merely based on mutual interest. The trust between the two sides was conditional and limited. Sumo warriors were well known to be brave and good at fighting in the northeast, otherwise Xieli would not need to personallymand the armying to the east. And now that they even became the grieving army, no one would dare to underestimate their strength. foxswuxia.wordpress With this speech, Kou Zhong immediately pulled back a little bit of upper hand, plus he did not directly make Xieli losing face. Rolling his crafty eyes, Zhao Deyan pretended to be surprised, saying, I did not expect Shaoshuai being this far away in the prairie, yet toward events that have been happening in the Central Earth you still know as clearly as if you witness it yourself. I wonder if Shaoshuai also know about Li Shentong pressing against Liyang to help Li Shiji? Laughing calmly, Kou Zhong said, I seem to have heard of such his mothers thing. However, Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, are still healthy and alive. Yuwen Huaji was defeated, there are no more links between the three sides, Liyang became a House of Tangs lone, baseless military strategic city outside the Pass, which Dou and Wang, two men both want to obtain it. The ones who should be worried are the two gentlemen and Old Li, and should not be me, Kou Zhong? Laughing involuntarily, Zhao Deyan said, Shaoshuais insight is prating. Precisely because Liyang is lone and baseless outside the Pass that defending it to the death bes lower priority. Li Shimin dealing big defeat on Song JinGangs remaining might, he must be greatly spreading out his fist and feet this moment by protecting Liyang. The three sides are fighting, the circumstances critical, making one wonders why is Shaoshuai still seems to have endless time to spend, disregarding the newly-formed Shao Shuai Army and the task of establishing and maintaining hegemony in the Central in, exhausting your energy in messing around with chicken feather, garlic skin little matters beyond the Great Wall that have nothing to do with you? It is puzzling indeed. This remark indeed hit Kou Zhongs vital part, rendering him almost dumbstruck and unable to reply. Tranted by foxs Finally Xu Ziling was unable to bear it, he spoke heavily, Shaoshuai is not doing this for Bai Ziting, but for Longquans innocent people and for Xiufang Dajia. Perhaps Great Khan will not listen to this, but Bai Ziting hasmitted suicide, supposing the Sumo tribe dismantle the city wall ande up with reasonablepensation, I wonder if Great Khan could give favor so that Longquan wont need to fall into rivers of blood situation. Great Khans benevolence will only win back an even higher reputation for Great Khan, it wont damage Great Khans fame for fighting prowess the least bit. Startled, Xieli said, Xiufang Dajia? At this point, the negotiation was finally entering the critical phase. Book 45 - 5 – Satisfying Rival Demands Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling echoing one another was actually the skill that they developed since they were mingling in Yangzhou in the past; finished ying hard, they yed soft, giving the other side the opportunity to step down the stage and save some face. If the opposite side was forced until if you take this step, there will be no death [not sure], no matter how reasonable you are, in the end the only way remaining is to solve it by force. This moment Kou Zhong was ying old friend trick; he leaned closed to Xieli and spoke in low voice, Great Khan, please dont take offense. I hear it was you who invited Xiufang Dajia to Longquan, but the one who wants to change Longquan into ruins is also you. Xiufang Dajia is a person who loves to sing a song and pluck the zheng, not war [in Chinese, pluck the zither (tanzheng) and war (zhanzheng) rhyme], and I also respect and love Xiufang Dajia. Ha! Surely Great Khan does not wish for Xiufang Dajia to grieve to the point that she follows Old Bais trailing dust [fig. footsteps/course in life]? Tranted by foxs Xieli revealed an angry, but also slightly awkward expression. Speaking in low voice, he said, I will personally exin and apologize to her. At thest moment, all activities in the shooting range were temporarily suspended, all the generals were listening attentively to the two mens exchange. Kou Zhong said, The best apology is to exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk [idiom: to turn hostility into friendship]. In that case, tomorrow morning Xiaodi is going to take the boat to return to my home country, to see what I can do, for instance, not to allow Li kid to prevail over Luoyang, and so on. Great Khan is not going to send troops to help Wang Shichong defending Luoyang? Then leave it to Xiaodi to do it in your ce! foxswuxia.wordpress Xieli roared inughter and said, Shaoshuai is a very good lobbyist. Looking at Xiufang Dajias face, I, Xieli will make exception by conceding to you. Other than demolishing the city wall, the Sumo people must offer fifty thousand warhorses, a hundred thousand cows and sheep, twenty taels of gold, andstly, the most important condition is Da Zuorong will be detained as a hostage. This is my lowest request; there is no possibility to concede. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other. How could the Sumo people be willing to hand over Da Zuorong? Even the two boys could not bear to treat such a weak child like this. Laughing bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Great Khan makes our life very difficult. After his death, Bai Zitings remains cannot be protected, it must be delivered to Great Khan to be dealt with, this is already causing iparable resentment, indignation and humiliation to the Sumo people; therefore, they wish to preserve Old Bais bloodline. Da Zuorong is a child who does not know anything, Great Khan taking him away, the significance is only symbolic, but the substance is not too much; losingrge quantities of warhorse, cows and sheep will immediately empty out Sumos state treasury, in eight years, ten years, they can forget about recovering, not taking into ount the annual tribute. Can Great Khan give Xiaodi a little bit of face and let go of Da Zuorong? Letting out a stifled snort, Xieli said, Your Central Earth has the Central Earths rules, our prairie has the prairies rules. Its always when you enter a vige, follow the local customs; theres no custom that must be changed because of the guest. If you dont believe me, just ask your brother Tuli, go consult Pusa or Gunatai brothers, or even Abaojia, Tiefuyou. Ask them whether I, Xieli taking Da Zuorong away, is excessive or intolerant. Humph! Those who oppose me, all the men will be killed, the women will be ve. This time it is exception within the exceptions; otherwise, how could our Tujue tribe establish our might in the prairie? Zhao Deyan spoke with a sinister smile, Shaoshuai must not regard the fake Changan as the real Changan. Although Longquan is the Sumo peoples upper capital, in term of scale, it is actually far inferior to even Jingling. Plus Du Fuweis Jianghuai Army cannot bepared to us. Forcefully sticking out your head simply because of worries, even if Shaoshuai dont give thought to yourself, you should think about Shaoshuai Army or Da Xiaojie. Tranted by foxs Listening to that, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart was on fire. While admittedly Xieli was unwilling to yield, Zhao Deyan was pushing the wave and adding to the billows, his words contained threat, he even implicated Zhai Jiao. Kou Zhong spoke with solemn expression, If Great Khan is willing to make an exception and make allowance, I, Kou Zhong, will be very grateful. Knitting his brows, Tonyukuk said, Great Khan has been particrly lenient toward Shaoshuai, why dont Shaoshuai go back and take your time in making a decision with the Sumo people. Give Great Khan an answer before dawn. Kou Zhong threw his head back in longughter; heroic feeling gushing out, he said, Why wait until daybreak? Right now I can immediately give Great Khan an affirmative answer. foxswuxia.wordpress The murderous intent in Xielis pair of eyes ring greatly, the lightning shing, he nodded and said, Very well! I, Xieli wash my ear and listen respectfully. Kou Zhong took three steps forward, his pair of eyes swept across the arrow targets setup at the other end of the open field, he calmly took out the Piercing Sun Bow from inside his outer robe, and exerted his strength to open it up. Twang! when the bowstring straightened, he shouted, Get me an arrow! You cant rely on a verbal agreement [idiom: just because someone says so, doesnt mean its true], let this arrow decide the City of Longquans fate. Behind him, a group of Tujue high-ranking military officers led by Xieli, along with several hundred Xielis personal guards lining up both sides of the field watching the archery, the Tujue warriors far and near preparing against the war, none was not attracted by his exceeding-all-expectations action, they all stared fiercely at him. Xieli personally took an arrow from his attendants quiver and handed it over to Kou Zhongs left hand stretched out behind him. Without the slightest hesitation Kou Zhong took the arrow and put it on the bow, lightly and effortlessly he pulled the Piercing Sun Bow into a full moon. Xieli and the others eyes were fixed on this famous folded bow, which had made countless Tujue warriors nursing a grievance; no one knows what they felt inside their hearts. Across the arena, only Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhong was going to shoot this arrow using vortex of energy, to st the arrow target into smithereens, both to establish his might, also to state clearly his determination and standpoint of rather be a broken jade than an intact roof tile. Under the tens of thousands watchful eyes, the bowstring exploded, the powerful arrow on the string shot out, at a naked-eye-difficult-to-see-clearly high speed, fast as lightning it traversed the hundred-pace distance. The moment it was about to hit the bullseye, suddenly it froze midair, because a wide and thick hand that seemed to appear from nothingness and from another world stretched out and pinched the arrowhead using two fingers, the thumb and index finger. It was as if time suddenly stood still. Tranted by foxs Bang! the powerful arrow shattered into cun--size pieces. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were astounded; they looked at each other, while the Tujue warriors burst into ear-splitting cheer. Unexpectedly it was one of the three major grandmasters of the world, the Wu Zun [martial art venerable] Bi Xuan. No one knew where he shed out from! The instant just before the powerful arrow hit the target, with hard-to-believe speed and uracy he pinched the arrowhead. Due to the powerful arrow was imbued with spiraling power, the two streams of energy collided, the long arrow vanished into the thin air. foxswuxia.wordpress Even with Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings Mount-Tai-copsing-in-front-of-their-eyes-their-countenance-will-not-change cool-headedness, their countenance still changed. They were both rmed and shocked by Bi Xuans startling-heaven-and-earth-making-ghosts-and-deities-sob unfathomable skill of catching the arrow, but moreover, they did not expect Bi Xuan toe in person with the army. No wonder that Tuli was deliberately arrivingte, while also greatly increased the variable of the coalition troops attacking Longquan. Bi Xuan evidently did not expect that he would be unable topletely neutralize the true power inside the arrow, so that he failed to save the long arrow. Slightly stunned, he said, Shaoshuais internal power has advanced oneyer deeper. Congrattions. Greatly disappointed, Kou Zhong put the Piercing the Sun Bow away, he saluted and said, I did not know Wu Zun hase in person, please forgive my guilt of being rude. Wu Zun Bi Xuan was still wearing the in and simple wild hemp outer robe, but still possessed some kind of considering-himself-unexcelled-in-the-world, looking-disdainfully-out-of-the-corner-of-his-eyes-at-the-world lofty quality like the Heavenly Saber Song Que. With two hands behind his back, he took a stride toward Kou Zhongs side, with dragon-gait-tiger-step, walking slyly, with rxed and free demeanor, but with grave and stern, deep and immeasurable expression in his eyes, as if nothing in heaven and earth could hide from him. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce, they both had a very bad feeling. Reportedly, for over nearly several decades Bi Xuan has never participated in Tujue tribe war, but today he, the Senior came in person. Naturally it could not be as simple as he was merely watching from the side. Rather, it must be an operation to target them. Whats more, he had already warned the two boys to roll back into the Central Earth; therefore, his intention ining could not be good. With Bi Xuan here, immediately he brought changes to the situation, which were absolutely disadvantageous to them; they no longer had any confidence in the future development. Tranted by foxs Suddenly Bi Xuan walked across the five-hundred-pace distance; he appeared to be slow, but was actually fast, his being was brimming with a crafty,pletely inexplicable feeling. Far and near, all the warriors stood in solemn respect. To them, Bi Xuan was not only the supreme spiritual leader, but more than that, he was the martial art giant master that they worshipped like a deity. There was only the sound of whistling night wind and the sound of crackling torches adorning the silence that suddenly arose. Bi Xuan stopped about ten paces away from Kou Zhong. He smiled and said, This person has a proposal that would satisfy rival demands, that would resolve the dispute between the Great Khan and Shaoshuai. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong took a deep breath. Pressing down the fluctuating mood in his heart, he spoke seriously, Wu Zun, please bestow instructions! Tranquil and calm and at ease, Bi Xuan said, Military affairs is one kind of extreme form of politics, a bloodshed politics; once anybody resorts to military force, ultimately it can only be settled by life and death. The matter between countries is like this, the matter between persons is also like this, hence the strong is called the king. This time Bai Ziting and Funantuo stirred up dispute, their desire was to take and rece our tribe. If there were no Shaoshuai sticking out your head for them, their only ending would be extermination of the entire n. Why not from therge-scale attack and defense battle, we change into life and death duel between two persons? If the victor is Shaoshuais side, we can make an exception by canceling the condition of taking Da Zuorong as a hostage. Shaoshuai, what do you think? Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried for their Niang in their hearts. If Bi Xuan personally made his move, no matter who they were going to deploy, he would only be throwing away his life in vain. They were deeply aware that Bi Xuans martial art skill was something that made Ba Fenghan decided to devote himself in training for one year before he was going to battle him again, evidently Ba Fenghan knew in his heart and saw clearly in his belly that he was still unable to defeat Bi Xuan. Martial art skill of Bi Xuans level no longer has any weak point to be exploited. Xieli and the others were also stunned, with Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, and so on, they you look at me I gaze at you. Tonyukuk was Bi Xuans younger brother. Compared to Xieli and the others, it was more convenient for him to speak up. Clearing his throat, he said, I am afraid this is in conflict with the agreement between us and Tuli Khan. Wu Zun, please note clearly. Bi Xuan glibly said, Any agreement can be revised ording to the situation. For example, Tuli has never thought that Shaoshuai would stand on the Sumo peoples side, he thought that by sending the troops to the east, he might help Shaoshuai venting his resentment. Tranted by foxs And then with a deep and immeasurable flicker he looked around until his mighty and divine-splendored eyes were fixed on Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. He smiled and said, To make a long story short, this person will put a limit of ten moves. As long as Ba Fenghan could get through without dying, it will be like my previous suggestion. Does Great Khan have any other thought? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both shocked and happy, the contradictions in their heart were frightening. However, Xielis eyebrows were deeply knitted, he revealed a deep-in-thought look. All around, the crowd stood in silence, waiting for Xielis response. All along he was the master of Tujue, Bi Xuan must obtain his approval before he could represent the Golden Wolf Army in a decisive battle against Ba Fenghan. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce. They both knew the reason behind the other feeling terrified and happy at the same time. Happy because Bi Xuan did offer a solution to the deadlock in the negotiations. Upon self-examination, the two boys knew that either one of them went down the arena, they were sure that they could withstand Bi Xuans ten moves, at worst they would only suffer a bit of internal injury. From this, the reason Bi Xuan was so sure that he could kill Ba Fenghan within ten moves was based on an error in judgment; he thought that Ba Fenghan was still suffering from serious internal injuries, he never thought that there was such amazing technique of healing in the world called the Huan Ri Da Fa, which made Ba Fenghan shed his mortal body and exchange his bones. Not only his internal injury waspletely healed, he even rose one level in his martial art skill; he was no longer the same Ba Fenghan who was nearly ughtered by Bi Xuan earlier. foxswuxia.wordpress Terrified because of Ba Fenghans forceful style. From what the two boys knew about him, they were certain that he would dash on bravely with no thought of personal safety, doing everything he could to exonerate the previous disgrace within these ten styles, which waspletely different from trying to withstand the ten moves. He would used all moves to advance, and when that happened, no one would dare to be sure that life or death, victory or defeat, could be decided within ten moves. Xielis concern was naturally Tuli. It could be inferred that the agreement between him and Tuli was that he must not harm Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan. If Bi Xuan killed Ba Fenghan, it would be difficult for him to answer Tuli. As expected, Xieli sighed and said, Wu Zun, please dont take offense, I still have a difficulty. I wonder if Shaoshuai has a better proposal. Inwardly Kou Zhong rained curses on Xielis craftiness. In short, he wanted to push the me entirely on Kou Zhong. If he agreed, then it would be very difficult for Tuli to me Xieliter. Tranted by foxs He turned to look at Xu Ziling, asking for help. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Can one of us take up the challenge on his behalf? Bi Xuan smiled and said, Two gentlemen will have this opportunity one day, but its not going to be in this touching starlight-studded night. Looking up to the sky, his pair of eyes emitted a profound emotion, he spoke slyly, Because between the two gentlemen and I there is no hatred of murdering the disciple. Kou Zhong said, Since it concerns human life, moreover, it is our close friends life, I wonder if we could talk a few words in private? Xieli nodded his agreement. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling to the side. Using his internal energy he focused his voice into a thread, saying, This is a real headache; what do we do? Having a headache, Xu Ziling said, If we refuse on Old Bas behalf, I am afraid he would get rid of us in anger. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, I understand! Old Bi took the initiative by issuing the challenge, we practically dont have any choice. Old Ba has no choice either. Upright and unafraid, he walked back and said, We have decided to ept Wu Zuns special favor, with only one additional condition, which is after Great Khan verifies Bai Zitings remains, we will be able to take his body back to Longquan for burial. foxswuxia.wordpress Frank and straightforward, Xieli said, Two gentlemen are men whom I, Xieli respect. This bit of face, I must give you, no matter what. We have a deal! The cheer exploded again, which spread widely across the Jingpo ins. Zong Xianghuas flower countenance lost its color, she said, How could we do this? Her reaction represented the mindsets of Longquans high-ranking military officers, because the Martial Art Venerable Bi Xuan was synonymous to unequalled in the prairie. Since he set the ten-move limit, no one dared not to believe that he did not have that ability. In other words, Da Zuorong would be unable to escape the tragic fate of being taken prisoner by the Tujue Army. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could not help feeling big headache as well; just now they already agreed to Bi Xuan, but after putting the words in full, they never thought about Longquans various generals reaction, which was actually reasonable. Kesubie shook his head and said, We would rather fight to the death and buried with the city. Four gentlemen have done utmost mental and physical efforts for us, our Sumo tribe will never forget. Ay! Xieli has never been willing to let those who oppose him off. Your brother Tuli is really scheming with the tiger for its skin. Ba Fenghans pair of tiger-eyes lit up, but surprisingly he did not speak. Burst by burst the long wind brushed and rolled over the people negotiating on top of the city wall. Outside the city, the free wilderness was full of the enemies and their torches. The atmosphere was heavy. Tranted by foxs Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, Lady and gentlemen, please listen to Zaixia, if my brother Ba Fenghan is willing to agree that rescuing Da Zuorong back is his highest goal, this will be the best way to save the City of Longquan. Stunned, Zong Xianghua said, But Bi Xuan has fought with Ba Xiong once, he ought to know very well and could see through Ba Xiongs martial art way, hence the confidence that he could kill Ba Xiong within ten moves. How could this battle be fought? The stakes are high; four gentlemen, please dont me me for speaking candidly. Kesubie and more than a dozen high-ranking military officers nodded their head in agreement to Zong Xianghuas view. A hint of smile appeared on the corner of Ba Fenghans mouth, but he still did not say anything, giving up the impression of profound mystery. Kou Zhongughed cheerfully and said, That is the most brilliant point. As long as Old Ba is willing to do just like Ling Shao said, he will surely be able to sessfully cross the barrier and resolve this matter. In the future he will be able to distinguish life and death with Bi Xuan. Because the Ba Fenghan now is no longer the same Ba Fenghan who fought with Bi Xuan for the first time. He also knows very well and could see through Bi Xuan. Ha! You must continue to trust me. Just think about it! With my, Kou Zhongs personal character, how could I push my own brother out of the city to throw away his life? foxswuxia.wordpress Ba Fenghanughed calmly and said, No one knows me better than Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong. But have you ever thought that if I only hold on to the withstanding-ten-move mentality to go to battle, I might really be throwing away my life? Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, Of course its not that passive; rather, when you ought to attack you must attack, when you should defend you must defend. Relying on your, LaoGes Stealing the Heaven Sword, you will give Old Bi a nice surprise. Noticing Kesubie, Zong Xianghua, and the others skeptical expression, Xu Ziling spoke earnestly, Rather than burning both jade andmon stone, why not take a gamble? Last time Bi Xuan could not kill Ba Fenghan dead, this time theres a ten-move limit, how could it be different? Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, No matter what you think, the battle between Bi Xuan and I is already like an arrow on the bowstring, there is no other way to go but to be released. This was precisely Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings biggest worry. With Ba Fenghans temperament, there was practically no need to have the ten-move limit. Therefore, they must stressed that helping the Sumo to get away from despair was his ultimate goal, only then would they be willing to let him go out to battle. Song Shidao was able to see the crucial point in this matter; he spoke to Zong Xianghua and the other Longquans high-ranking military officers, The lives of Longquans more than a hundred thousand people are in your hands. I trust Shaoshuai and Zilings judgment. If you and I stand on the opposite side, you will miss the gargantuan golden opportunity of your distinguished tribe able to roll the dust in the future to start over. Tranted by foxs Zong Xianghua came over to Ba Fenghan. Stretching out her slender jade hand, she spoke with grave expression, Ba Xiong, please dont take offense, I just want to know Ba Xiongs condition. Kesubie and the others nodded and praised her, because ording to rumor, Ba Fenghan has been heavily injured by Bi Xuan. If at the moment his internal injury has not been healed, there was no doubt that he would be defeated in this battle. Ba Fenghan revealed a look of displeasure. When it seemed like he was about to refuse, Xu Ziling sighed and said, LaoGe, can you look at Xiufang Dajias face and make exception just this once? Ba Fenghan was slightly startled. He looked at Xu Ziling, and then he turned his gaze to Kou Zhong. Smiling bitterly, he said, You two certainly force me too much, but I am still happy in my heart. Finished speaking he held out his hand to grasp Zong Xianghuas hand. Her tender body shook, Zong Xianghua said, This is impossible, Ba Xiong unexpectedly does not show the slightest sign of internal injury. Kesubie came over and spoke in great astonishment, Could it be that the rumor is wrong? foxswuxia.wordpress Letting go of Zong Xianghuas hand, Ba Fenghan sighed and said, There is the first of the month, then there is the fifteenth. He then grabbed Kesubies extended hand. Kesubie immediately released his inner qi, only to feel Ba Fenghans hand was as firm as an iron hoop, the true qi within his body was deep and wide like the vast body of water and ocean, deep and immeasurable. Aghast, he said, I understand! What he understood was not that Ba Fenghan was not injured in his decisive battle against Bi Xuan, but he understood the reason behind Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings strong advocacy that Ba Fenghan went out to battle. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I did not expect Ke Xiangs [(prime) minister] inner power to be this exquisite and pure. Kesubie pulled his hand back and withdrew. Kou Zhong pped his hands and said, Ha! Its decided then. Old Ba, please remember this ten-move limitation. If you continue to fight, we will make our move to wreck your being meddlesome. Ba Fenghan restraint his qi and said, My good brother, indeed. Book 45 - 6 – Ten Moves to Save the City The city gate was opened wide. Upright and unafraid, Ba Fenghan, under escort of Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Song Shidao, Zong Xianghua, Kesubie, and other high-ranking military officers of Longquan, went out of the city to take up the challenge. The other three leaders of the coalition forces besieging the city: Pusa of Huihe, Tiefuyou of ck River Mohe, Abaojia of Qidan, all had heard the news and rushed over. On invitation, thetter two entered Xielis crowd watching the fight, only Pusa was showing brotherhood sentiment toward Kou Zhong, three men. Along with his personal guards, he watched the battle from the west side. Tranted by foxs Under the illumination of the lighthouse [see note near the beginning of Book 44 Chapter 6] and the torches, the arena of the decisive battle was as bright as daytime, everything could be seen clearly. Ke Dazhi appeared and took his position behind and to the side of Xieli, but Tuli was still nowhere to be seen. The allied armies outside the city, the Sumo warriors on top of the city wall, the two groups of people standing in confrontation on the arena of the decisive battle all stood in solemn silence. In the dark night just before the light of dawn was about to appear, the heavy atmosphere was like a stretched-taut bowstring about to snap. Bi Xuan was the first to step out of the troop disposition, each movement was elegant and immacte, without revealing the slightest bit of w, the leisure-and-at-ease, like-a-soldier-that-did-not-go-to-battle-but-was-wronged-by-others air of a grandmaster, immediately provoking the Tujue warriors, who regarded him as a deity C exploding-the-heaven-shaking-the-earth shouts and cheers, which also elevated his already suffocating, making-people-breathless astonishing momentum. Both sides, the enemy and us, whether they were hoping that Bi Xuan would seed or would fail in ten moves, they all deeply felt that to be able to witness this number one martial arts C who had hung his name over the prairie for nearly sixty years C elegant manner, they would die without any regret. foxswuxia.wordpress Ba Fenghan was still as cool-headed as usual, the corner of his mouth carried a hint of smile emitting strong confidence and fighting spirit. Upright and unafraid he went down the arena. First, he threw his head back in longughter, and then he looked around proudly and spoke coldly, This is the second mistake that you are making. The first mistake was to use up all your strength but still failed to kill me. The second mistake is underestimating me tonight. Oh, Bi Xuan! Your days to proim yourself hegemon in the prairie can be counted on ones fingers. The warriors on the Sumo side, infected by his defying-authority heroic feeling and powerful air, immediately burst into apuse filling the air. On the Tujue side, however, everybody was greatly surprised; they never thought that Ba Fenghan, the general of the defeated army under Bi Xuans hands, was not only without the slightest big of stage fright, but his guts and aggressiveness could make him im as an equal to the intimidating-the-prairie Bi Xuan. At least, in term of the battle in momentum, he was not inferior in any respect. Bi Xuan revealed an appreciative expression. Smiling, he strode several steps forward, reducing the distance between the two men to about five zhang, and spoke glibly, Defeated yet not discouraged, it is indeed hard toe by. Less nonsense, let Laofu see what progress you are making. Tranted by foxs The two men spoke to each other in Tujuenguage, opposing each other with equal harshness, without yielding the slightest bit. Although they had not fought for real, the spectators all around were already greatly excited but nervous at the same time. The instant Bi Xuan halted his steps, Ba Fenghan suddenly took three steps forward, shrinking the distance between the two men to four zhang, his right hand pressed on the hilt of the Stealing the Heaven Sword, although the sword was still inside the sheath, yet the person already became as sharp as the sword de, fierce and severe sword qi burst forth, it surged powerfully toward this fellow nsman, a grandmaster of the martial art study. His countenance became iparably cold, his pair of eyes flickered with focused gaze as if it had substantial powerful self-confidence, his body was like the proud pine and ancient cypress pulled up by the sky that no matter what storm it encountered in its life, he would still stand tall without falling over. Behind him, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt relieved at the same time, knowing that his self-confidence hadpletely recovered from the previous crushing defeat, and had returned to high fighting spirit. An astonished look shed through Bi Xuans eyes. Under the attack of the sword qi, at first the clothes on his entire body was rolling up, brushing away and fluttering like waves, but suddenly became absolutely still, without neither motion nor noise. He neutralized the opponents sword qi in an understated way, immediately arousing the warriors on his side to cheer for him. foxswuxia.wordpress A hint of smile brimming with fantastic charm escaped from the corner of Ba Fenghans mouth, his eyes were fixed on the sword hilt, he spoke softly, This sword is no longer called the Beheading Mystery, but Stealing the Heaven. Finished speaking, his right shoulder swayed backward, his left foot took a step, and then he moved his left shoulder, his other foot step forward. When his right shoulder barely move backward, Qiang! with a clear ring, his right hand pulled the Stealing the Heaven from the sheath,pletely without stopping or hesitation the qi pierced through the sword de, man and sword became one and transformed into long rainbow, traversing the four-zhang distance, grasping the various movements and stringing them into one simple entity, giving people the mystery-within-a-mystery feeling. Perfectly straight, the man and sword as one shot toward Bi Xuan. In this sword strike, not only the hand, the eyes, and the steps matched perfectly like seamless heavenly clothes, it also made people feel that his sword contained the condensed power of his whole body, his whole being, and the intention passing through, the spirit gathered together. No one, unless in terms of power and eyesight all far surpassed others, would dare to meet the de head-on, and would only opt to withdraw. Nevertheless, Bi Xuan was standing still, his pair of eyes emitted abstruse, boundless, unfathomable secret refined light enveloping the opponent. Letting out a cold snort, his right hand went behind his back, the other hands fingers gathered together in a palm chop, he hacked sharply straight ahead. It appeared to be a simple palm strike, but all martial art masters of Kou Zhongs caliber could see that it indeed contained mysterious power that prated heaven and earth and nature; there was no trace to be found, there was no crack to be exploited even more, it did not matter how Ba Fenghans sword move changed, in the end the only way left was to shake it head-on. Tranted by foxs For Ba Fenghan, who was right in the midst of it, there was another feeling altogether. He did not sense Bi Xuans Yan Yang Qi Gong at all, yet he knew that Bi Xuans Yan Yang Da Fa was in full swing, hence he was not affected by Ba Fenghans rushing-out sword qi. Last time Bi Xuan was using changes to control his changes; but this time he was using no-changes to deal with his many changes. It was just a simple and direct chopping palm, yet it was in to see that it could enshroud every possible attack point of his Stealing the Heaven Sword, so that the sword, which originally had the stealing-the-heaven wonder immediately became nothing-extraordinary anymore. In Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings eyes, actually Ba Fenghan had made remarkable progress, because his shenfa, bufa [footwork] resembled nature itself, so ingenious that Bi Xuan did not dare to use changes to face changes, and changed into using stillness to control movement, to using clumsy to defeat skillful, to force Ba Fenghan to meet the move head-on. From this, they knew that this moment Bi Xuan could no longer see through, could no longer understand thoroughly the reborn Ba Fenghan due to the Huan Ri Da Fa. foxswuxia.wordpress Thump! Like a muffled thunder, the sound of qi power was barely heard. shing with the palm, Ba Fenghan was jolted backward. While retreating, the Stealing the Heaven Sword produced a subtle change, emitting burst after burst of sword qi, so that the standing still Bi Xuan, due to the obstruction of the sword qi, was unable to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. There was no cheering, but the breathing of the warriors from both sides became heavy and hurried; no one ever thought that unexpectedly Ba Fenghan could take Bi Xuans move head-on without showing the slightest sign of defeat. Ba Fenghan felt that the space he was in became burning hot and boiling, the other sides Yan Yang [me and yang in nature] true qi was locking him tightly and trapped him securely. Fortunately, each time he sent out a burst of sword qi, it made the opponents terrifying true qis temperature to drop a little bit. Otherwise, if he let the Yan Yang true qi to continue until its peak, then even Dai Luo Jin Xian would not be able to help him escaping from Bi Xuans hands. He retreated to his original spot about four zhang away, only then did he stop. The Stealing the Heaven Sword pointed at the opponent from a distance, both sides returned to their previous position opposite to each other. Bi Xuan went back to his previous position, keeping his right hand behind his back and his left palm chop in front. Laughing cheerfully, he said, Delighted! Delighted! Ba Fenghan, not only your internal injury haspletely healed, your skill [the same Chinese character can also mean power] is especially advancing, making one feel that the younger generations will surpass us in time; if you are not eager to seek victory, I really cannot send you to your death within ten moves. At first the people on the Sumo side were stunned, but then they burst into ear-splitting cheer. Whether in term of insight or bearing, Bi Xuan really made them full of admiration from the heart. Just in one move he already saw that it was difficult to take Ba Fenghans life within ten moves, yet he was magnanimous enough to admit that his original estimate was wrong, which precisely represented the broad-minded air, the reason why he could ascend to the grandmaster position of the martial art way. When even the men on Xielis side also thought that Bi Xuan was about to give up and withdraw troops at this point, Bi Xuanughed calmly and said, There are still nine moves. Ba Fenghan, youd better be careful, so as not to incur injury that will never heal. Tranted by foxs Unexpectedly the sound of deafening cheer could not conceal his soft voice; everybody heard it very clearly, so that the decisive battle arena quieted down abruptly. Ba Fenghan was rushing out his sword qi to resist Bi Xuans Yan Yang true qi, to forcefully press down the constantly climbing temperature. Furthermore, he knew that Bi Xuans qi was locking him tightly, so that he was caught in an absolute-passive position and could only watch for an opportunity to counterattack. But he still had not the slightest bit of fear; he smiled and said, Stealing the heaven begins to be able to exchange the sun, I, Ba Fenghan, am waiting with all my strength. Finished speaking, the Stealing the Heaven Sword moved slightly to the left, and then he dropped his elbow and pulled it back. All the spectators were ovee with an extremely strange feeling; this series of micro movements should not be a threat to Bi Xuan, who was four zhang away, yet no one did not feel that there seemed to be an invisible link between these two martial art masters, that even by moving a finger one could affect the development of the battle. foxswuxia.wordpress As a result, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Song Shidao, Xieli, and so on started to really understand Ba Fenghans brilliance, because if he let himself caught in a passive position, due to his power and self-cultivation was still some distance away from Bi Xuan, in such a true qi stalemate, the situation would only get nasty really fast for him. His movements represented his counterattack, pulling away and washing and discharging the changes in Yan Yang Dafa field of qi, forcing Bi Xuan to take the initiative to make his move. Although it was extremely risky, but it was the only way to get out of the current range of the wonderful method. As expected, under the pull of the qi, Bi Xuan let out a cold humph and took a big stride forward. His left hand dropped down, the hand behind his back sent out a punch, both feet sprang up about a cun off the ground, and he seemed to be floating like that. His posture was elegant, to the point of no gap could be stricken. Ba Fenghan suddenly felt his tiger-body lightened, the qi power pressing down on his body disappeared with not even a drop remaining. His whole body empty and fluttering, with no ce to set his foot, making him nearly wanted to vomit blood. Following the opposite sides punch, a column of hot energy, like an iron pir C rushed in. If he let it reaching his body, it would be like he was taking a solid, heavy blow, so that any true qi protecting his body would not be able to save his little life. Ba Fenghan let out a long whistle, the Stealing the Heaven Sword creating buzzing noise, it pierced at an angle, while at the same time he sidestepped to the left. The qi power exploded, creating a loud noise like a muffled thunder. When Ba Fenghan was slightly staggering backward, Bi Xuan, in a ghost-and-deitys unfathomable speed C traversed the more than three-zhang distance, darted toward Ba Fenghans right side, raised his elbow and chopped with his palm, horizontally shing the right side of Ba Fenghans neck. His movements were like moving clouds and flowing water, as if made by heaven. Tranted by foxs The two men finally fought at close quarters. Ba Fenghan suddenly twisted his imposing body, the Stealing the Heaven Sword in his bosom burst into a ball of moving and rotating sword light, which, because it reflected the light from the light tower and the torches, looked like fantasy but actually a reality as it met up with Bi Xuans chopping palm. Bi Xuanughed aloud. His palm turned into fingers, he executed an abstruse beyond humanprehensions move, piercing through the originally without any crack of sword light, using an extremely skillful technique to jab the space between Ba Fenghans eyebrows, as if Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven Sword was impressive-looking but useless, a false pretensepletely without any power to defend himself. However, facing death, Ba Fenghan did not panic. Right the instant where on Kou Zhongs side everybody was unwilling to witness the oue, the Stealing the Heaven Swords light withdrew, the sword hit back, at thest moment it met and sealed Bi Xuans able-to-snatch-heaven-and-earth-and-nature finger jab. Boom! foxswuxia.wordpress The sword light red again, it turned into a hard-to-tell-if-its-real-or-sham mirage filling the whole sky, like mercury flowing out swiftly to the ground, no-hole-was-not-entered, attacking toward Bi Xuans rapidly withdrawn finger. It was a passive defense and not an active offense at all, but because the two men were moving too fast, it created that illusion to the naked eye. Bi Xuan shouted coldly, Fourth move! Both hands rose up like holding a tray, a strong qi power rolled out like a cyclone, rushing forth to envelope Ba Fenghans head and face, as if his Stealing the Heaven Sword was nothing. Ba Fenghan felt as if he was in the middle of an ocean of fire and heat wave. He was well aware that he was facing the power that Bi Xuan had amassed his entire life. If he met the attack head-on, even if he did not die, he would surely be injured. The question was that if he continued to withdraw, it would be difficult to strive for the initiative. And then whether he would be able to withstand the remaining six moves, perhaps nobody, himself included C had the answer. The refined light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes ring greatly, he shed swiftly sideways. The filling-the-whole-sky-threading-and-moving-fiery-snake-dancing-wildly sword light turned back into the Stealing the Heaven Sword, a in and simple sword sweeping horizontally across. The originally ordinary, even somewhat clumsy-looking sword strike, yet it could make the spectators felt like they were witnessing the bloodbath of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses fighting at close quarters, dead bodies scattered over the wilderness, the sun and the moon lost their lights C that kind of tragic feeling. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could not help cheering in unison. Now, this was Ba Fenghans true skill. Tranted by foxs Bang! The sword de swept the edge of Bi Xuans holding-tray qi power, true qi collided, Ba Fenghan suddenly spurted out a mouthful of blood, unexpectedly instead of retreating he was advancing. Swish! Swish! Swish! he even sent out three sword shes! Bi Xuan casually swept with his hand. It looked casual, but it actually sealed the Stealing the Heaven Swords offensivepletely, and finally it even jolted Ba Fenghan three steps back. Bi Xuan did not pursue and attack. Spreading out both hands, heughed indifferently and said, These several sword strikes are not bad at all, enough to enable you to move unhindered across the prairie. There are two more moves. Ba Fenghan stood with the sword across in front of him, he did not look like someone who had just spurted blood and injured at all. His countenance was tranquil without any ripple, the divine light in his pair of eyes deep and clear, he fixed his gaze on Bi Xuan and spoke heavily, This is Wu Zuns only chance to kill me. Bi Xuan threw his head back in longughter. He nodded and said, Good! The newly grown grass is thriving and tender green. If within the remaining two moves I fail to take your life, the next time you can pick the day and time. The crowd even nearly forgot to breathe; they admired Ba Fenghans guts and valor of viewing death as a return home, but also revered Bi Xuans broad-minded bearing. Furthermore, anybody would know that they were about to see the real skill that Bi Xuan kept at the bottom of his trunk. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling put down at least half the load on their mind, because Ba Fenghans speech indicated that he was determined to save his life with all his strength, and would not let Wu Zun to prevail in the remaining two moves, hence his remark that these two moves were the only chance to kill him; afterwards, he could prepare with all his strength for the next decisive battle against Bi Xuan. Furthermore, he had the confidence that he could wash away the disgrace of the previous two battles. And Bi Xuan was able to see through this young opponents way of thinking, hence the heroic, grandiose remark. The fact was that he was also forcing himself to make the impossible possible. On Zong Xianghuas side, everybodys countenance changed. Previously Ba Fenghan spurted out blood and was injured; it was an irond fact. Whether the injured Ba Fenghan would be able to safely withstand the remaining two moves, it suddenly became a question. Most of the people were at a loss; at the beginning of the battle, Bi Xuan already stated his judgment that due to not only Ba Fenghans old injury has been healedpletely, but also his skill has made substantial progress, he would be unable to kill him within a short ten-move limit. However, now it appeared that he was going to aplish it by all means, so that people were unable to make any sense of the matter. Tranted by foxs The two men stood opposite to each other, separated by less than ten paces. Like lightning, two pairs of eyes shed; whether in terms of momentum or spirit, neither one yielded the slightest bit. Bi Xuan again revealed a hint of indifferent smile. Spreading out his hands, he shook them in the air. Immediately Ba Fenghan felt the air around him was burning, so he knew that Bi Xuan was raising and gathering Yan Yang true qi. If he let Bi Xuan to amass the qi to its peak and let him make his move in full power, it would be irresistible momentum. Heughed coldly in his heart, thinking that how could he allow Bi Xuan to attack under these circumstances? But then the divine light shed in his mind; with the opposite sides cultivation in martial art study and his intelligence, how could he have an opening to allow him seizing the opportunity to send a sword strike? Obviously it was scheme to lure him to make his move. Thinking to this point, he let out a roar, the Stealing the Heaven Sword slowly stretched out straight, and then he raised it high overhead, his other hand also grabbed the handle of the sword, so that it became a double-handed sword momentum. However, he was holding the light thirty-jin- treasured sword as if it was heavy, as if he was concentrating the strength in his entire body, carrying a burst of powerful, fierce and severe, focused and not scattered sword qi. The heat wave was rolling endlessly on both sides of him like a tide. foxswuxia.wordpress Ba Fenghan let out another loud shout. This shout made those watching-the-battle-withparably-lower-powers heart cold and their guts trembled. When the Stealing the Heaven Sword looked like it was about to swiftly hack down on Bi Xuans head, the Yan Yang true qi suddenly disappeared without any trace. Immediately Ba Fenghan was ovee with a feeling that he was about to fall forward, an unbearable feeling that he had no ce to put down his strength. Were it not for he already had a premonition early on, he was able to see through Bi Xuans trick in trying to lure him, the only option this moment was to risk his life in frontal attack, and then he would fall into Bi Xuans carefullyid scheme. As a result, instead of being rmed, he was delighted. The Stealing the Heaven Sword moved forwards a bit to hack, but promptly changed direction, reversing the sword momentum overhead, drawing a perfect circle in the air. The movement appeared to be slow, but appeared to be fast, the intention seemed to be clear, but mysterious, so that the spectators failed to understand the reason. Song Shidao, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cheered at the same time. An astonished look shed in Bi Xuans pair of eyes. He discovered that all of a sudden the sword qi that the opponent was urging and forcing over was entirely concentrated into the narrow, small-ranged sword circle above his head, building up but not scattered, prominent but not easy. It should be noted that when martial art masters are vying against one another, they rely entirely on the interaction of the qi. This moment, Ba Fenghans technique in focusing his qi power was of different tunes yed with equal skill, as amazing as Bi Xuans revoking the Yan Yang qi field, which was the tactic of not letting the opposite side determine the advance and attack or retreat and defend from the momentum distribution, the changes of its strength and weakness. If there were no ten-move limit, most probably Bi Xuan would use all kinds of techniques to force Ba Fenghan to expose a w. But since they barely had two moves left, it was difficult for Bi Xuan to stay calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he had no choice but to make his move with all his strength. Tranted by foxs From this, it could be seen that Ba Fenghan was no longer the General L Meng of the southern state of Wu [idiom: model of self-improvement by diligent study] of when he battled Bi Xuan for the first time. When the battle started, he had the power but was difficult to carryout, and he showed mistakes. But now he had the way, as well as the capability, to make ims as an equal with Bi Xuan. At least he still had the strength to fight back, unlike a good-for-nothing marite, which Bi Xuan wanted him to go east he would go east, he wanted him to go west he could not move to the south or to the north, or like a pawn in the game of chess, having his hands and feet bound. Letting out a cold snort, Bi Xuan soared into the air. foxswuxia.wordpress The true qi in Ba Fenghans entire body was focused into the sword circle above his head. Bi Xuan was sweeping above him, as long as he took advantage of his momentum by sending out a strike with the sword qi umted to its peak, it was akin to Bi Xuan voluntarily sacrificing his own life to meet the sword head-on. However, naturally there was no such convenience on earth, especially since the other side was the grandmaster of this generation. Moreover, he knew that there was still some distance between him and Bi Xuan. Therefore, Ba Fenghan, who wholeheartedly try to save his life and pass this obstacle, let out a longughter and said, I get to choose the day and the time, right? Lightning fast, the long sword shed down, but it suddenly stopped in front of his chest and abdomen, and pointed at an angle toward Bi Xuan, so that it was unclear for the spectators whether he was attacking or defending. But all felt that this move had both offense and defense aspects; marvelous and unfathomable. Bi Xuan let out a long whistle. Unexpectedly he dropped down from midair, until the instant he was only about a cun from the ground, and then suddenly his fist exploded out. Book 45 - 7 – Psychic Falcon Bi Xuan suddenly swayed rapidly to the left and right, creating several shadows that were difficult to tell what is true and what is false, as if he was transforming himself into ten million. Even Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa could not possibly more than this. Tranted by foxs Ba Fenghan immediately stopped. The Stealing the Heaven Sword was stretched out horizontally, the tip of the sword pointed at Bi Xuan, about two-zhang away from him. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Bad! at the same time, knowing that Ba Fenghan was unable to see what is true and what is false of the opposite side. Bi Xuanughed aloud, both hands closed in to form a punch, sending out a fiercely st toward the empty space in front of him, Pow! producing a loud muffled explosion. But Ba Fenghan, standing two zhang away, was like being struck by a thunder; severely shaken, he staggered half a step back, the Stealing the Heaven Sword created a Qiang! sound. Bi Xuanughed calmly and said, Lets conclude thest move here! You go back and train well, next time dont let me kill you. The warriors on both sides exhausted their strength to shout and cheer loudly. For the officers and soldiers on the Sumo side, it was because Ba Fenghan seeded in crossing the barrier, in protecting their young master Da Zuorong; for the other side, it was because while upying the upper hand, Bi Xuan let Ba Fenghan off, plus anybody would know that if they were fighting without any limitation, there was no doubt that in the end Ba Fenghan would die. Because Bi Xuan did not use the tenth move in full, not only it did not damage his fame for fighting prowess, it also showed his magnanimous broad-mindedness as a grandmaster. Amidst the sound of shouting passing through inside and outside the City of Longquan, the sky gradually turned white. The long and treacherous night was finally over. foxswuxia.wordpress Apanied by Zong Xianghua, Kou Zhong, with stupefied expression, urged the Thousand-Li Dream to gallop out of the Vermilion Pce Gate, heading toward the east gate. Shang Xiufang politely declined his offer to return to the Central Earth together by boat. She persisted in spending a period of time to roam the area outside the Great Wall, she even did not take his criticism on Da Ming Zun Jiao to her fragrant heart, showing that she must have adoration and favorable impression on this demonic man who was adept in both pen and sword. Kou Zhong knew that it was difficult for him to match. Liexia was proficient in music, plus he had spent some time to study the music of various ethnic groups outside the Great Wall; he had such a strong attractive force toward her. Zong Xianghua spoke in low voice, Shaoshuais benevolence to Sumo people, we will never forget. In ordance with the agreement, Xielis main forces withdrew immediately, leaving Pusa, who was trusted by both sides, to be in charge of supervising the Sumo people dismantling the city wall and handling over the debt, which Pusa also had to deliver to the Tujue. Tranted by foxs The entire Longquan was still mourning the passing of Bai Ziting and Funantuo, the citizens of the city followed the orders to stay inside their homes as much as possible, hence the pedestrians on the street were sparse, quiet, cold, few and far between. Looking at Zong Xianghua, Kou Zhong said, I wonder if Zong Shiwei Zhang is aware that Yin Xianhe mistook you for his little sister, who has been missing for many years? Zong Xianghua was slightly stunned. Kou Zhong exined one time through. Noticing that she was listening absent-mindedly, he knew that she was in a vile frame of mind. Comforting her, he said, In the end Da Wang made the most intelligent choice by sacrificing his life to save his nsmen, and thus he won everybodys respect. Therefore, as long as you support Da Zuorong well, there wille a day where you will return to the office after living as a hermit on Mount Dong [idiom: making aeback]. Zong Shiwei Zhang must not take temporary gains and losses to heart. foxswuxia.wordpress Zong Xianghua sighed and said, This time our losses are disastrous, and afterwards we still have to deal with Tujue peoples harsh demands. Only because of your rtionship with Tuli, Pusa and Gunatai brothers that Xieli let us off for the time being, but he could still support others in the dark to oppress us, making it difficult for us to find a ce where we can fit in in the northeast. Kou Zhong spoke seriously, That is precisely one of the reasons I said that you could return to the office after living as a hermit on Mount Dong. In order to survive, you must strive unremittingly. Previously, Da Wangs approach was indeed correct, but his means was incorrect, plus he falsely believed in a demon. Your ce in the prairie is actually blessed by heaven, Bohai Bay has so many seaports and wharfs, which give you control over the lifeline of sea transport. As long as you are willing to run a big shipping business, you certainly can continue to revive. When I go back, I will let Da Xiaojie know. Under mutually beneficial agreement, she could bring you great amount of profits. With wealthes influence, why would you be afraid of Abaojia, Tiefuyou, and the like? As for Tujue people, currently their main objective is unifying various tribes of the prairie, and thenunchingrge-scale invasion to the Central Earth. If you could make full use of this golden opportunity bestowed by heaven, you will surely aplish great things. The east gate was in sight. Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Song Shidao, leading along their horses, were waiting for him. Listening to him, Zong Xianghuas spirit was greatly aroused. Her pretty eyes brightened up, she nodded and said, Thank you very much for Shaoshuais directions. We will definitely not fail Shaoshuais hope. Kou Zhong patted his horses buttocks to speed up;ughing heartily, he said, Zong Shiwei Zhang, no need to see me off! If I dont die in the battle at Luoyang, when Zong Shiwei Zhange to the Central in on a scenic tour, make sure youe visit me. Tranted by foxs Zong Xianghua reined her horse and cupped her fist to bid him farewell. She watched as Xu Ziling, three men, flew onto their horses and then together with Kou Zhong, they galloped out of the east gate like a whirlwind, and disappeared in the prairie under the bright afternoon sun. (Authors note: Sumo people were the ancestors of Manchu Jurchen people. Later on Da Zuorong [Dae Joyeong], indeed like Kou Zhong predicted, established his kingdom. During Xuanzongs reign, he received the title Hu Han Zhou Dudu, Zuo Xiao Wei Dajiangjun, Bohai Jun Wang [lit. Hu Khan (or Huhan?) prefecturemander-in-chief, left brave protector great general, king of Bohai] bestowed by Tang Xuanzong [685-762, also known as Emperor Ming of Tang, seventh emperor of Tang, reigned 712-756], thereupon he changed the official name of his kingdom to Bohai, and thus he aplished Bai Zitings great aspiration.) The four men urged their horses at full speed, galloping toward the Little Longquan. Under the hoofs of their horses, the prairie was flying backward swiftly, all four of them felt their spirit rxed, their mind free from worry; they were delighted that the trip has not been made in vain. Song Shidao shouted loudly, Are you going to really go immediately and dont want to even say hello to Tuli? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong spoke hatefully, It would be better not to meet; I am afraid I wont be able to bear not to quarrel with him. Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, Is there anything good to quarrel about? Even if you do, what might possibly be changed by quarreling? Xu Ziling was the first to reach the top of a small hill. He reined in his horse to stop and looked into the distance at the direction of Little Longquan. Yesterday morning, it was precisely on this higher ground at the edge of this forest that they were discussing the grand n to attack Little Longquan. One after another the three pulled the reins and came to Xu Zilings left and right. Thetter sighed and said, Unless we change n to return to Shanhai Pass bynd route, we cannot but see Tuli. The three fixed their gaze and realized that they had no choice but to agree. Turned out the ins all around Little Longquan and the stone fort were full with newly erected army tents. Under the illumination of the setting sun, the ck Wolf Army banner was flying high in the air, creating pping noise as it was blown by the straight winding from the gulf. Unexpectedly Tuli was waiting respectfully for their good-selves in here. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Looks like even though I wanted to stay with you a bit longer, I cant. Please send my regards to Da Xiaojie, well meet again in Luoyang! Shaken, Kou Zhong said, You simply say you want to leave and you leave immediately? Ha! His grannys bear, our trip to the prairie this time is certainly extremely delightful. In my opinion, Bi Xuan did not fully use the tenth move simply because he wanted to hide his disgrace. Ba Fenghan let out a cold snort, I hope the battle to defend Luoyang will not disappoint me. As long as I have another year to train, I will make Bi Xuan regret his heroism. Tranted by foxs Song Shidao cheerfully said, Choosing martial art way as self-cultivation is indeed brilliant. This time you all devoting yourself to self-cultivation in the prairie, it will establish your lofty status inside and outside the Great Wall, but the most impressive thing is still the ten-move decisive battle between Fenghan and Bi Xuan. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, But the happiest one is neither me nor Kou Zhong, but Ling Shao. He fell into the river of love together with Shi Xianzi, and now he is going to step into another happy journey through ten thousand crags and torrents to deliver the jade Xiao to another Shi Xianzi. I am the happiest? Xu Ziling blurted out. Song Shidao expressed his feelings, One who is at home wherever he is, one who does not take gains and losses to heart, one who does notpare oneself with others C will be able to pass his time a bit easier. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, ErGes remark contains deep philosophic theory and provide food for thought. I wonder if after all these things ErGe is going to go back to Lingnan? foxswuxia.wordpress Shaking his head, Song Shidao said, If I go home, I am afraid Ill never be able to step out of the house again. Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, asking him to think of something. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, I wonder if ErGe could help me to deal with human traffickers first before going back to the small valley to apany Niang? Heaving a sigh, Song Shidao spoke indifferently, I understand your intention. Ay! Let me think about it! You guys really understand me. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Brothers! I am leaving! Pulling the rein to turn horses head, he let out a whistle, and spurred his ride to start moving. Kou Zhong looked on as his figure was disappearing inside the forest. He asked Xu Ziling, How heavy is Old Bas injury? Xu Ziling said, For someone with Huan Ri Da Fa, as long as he is not dead, any injury will not pose any problem. When you went into the pce to see Shang Xiufang, I already helped him treating his injury, he is about seventy-, eighty-percent recovered. No need to worry. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, In that case, lets go! The three passed through the camp entrance. When Tulis personal guards saw them, none did not call out and salute; their manner was respectful and amiable. They went straight to the open space in front of the main tent. Tuli was talking with the Gunatai brothers, Yuekepeng, Ke Zhuan, and so on. Seeing the threes arrival, immediately his pair of eyes lit up. Laughing heartily, he said, My good brothers areing! Tranted by foxs Song Shidao had met him in Luoyang, so they were old acquaintances as well. The three flew off their horses, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling both felt that the muscles on their faces suddenly became stiff, they were unable to squeeze even half a smile in response. Tuli ushered the crowd toe inside. From his posture, it appeared that he originally wanted to embrace the two boys, but seeing their wooden expression, he hurriedly stopped and change his tune, Wheres Fenghan? he asked. Hes gone! Kou Zhong replied coldly. Gunatai brothers, Yuekepeng and the others felt the peculiar mood between the two sides, they stepped aside to give them some space to speak. Tuli sighed and said, You are ming me? After greeting him, without saying anything else Song Shidao walked over toward the Gunatai brothers and the others to introduce himself, leaving the three you look at me I gaze at you. The atmosphere was heavy and awkward, an ufortable feeling where nobody knew what to say. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong spread out his hands and said, How do you think we ought to treat you? Painstakingly you and us defeated Xieli, yet you swing your tail and go to establish friendly rtions with Xieli. Last night we were relying on you to help us negotiating conditions with Xieli, yet you hid yourself and took a rest in Little Longquan, letting us emerge and perish on your own. Opening your mouth you say brother, closing your mouth you say brother; what kind of his grannys brother are you? Smiling bitterly, Tuli replied, In this world, I am afraid only you, Kou Shaoshuai can curse me like this and I, Tuli am not angry. Ay! His Niang, you should know the pressure I am in. Bi Xuan personally came to see me, he wanted me to make a choice between wars, indicating that if I did not want to make peace, Xieli would fully support Bai Ziting, that blockhead. Do you think I can afford to fight a full-scale war on two fronts? One thing goes wrong, Bai Ziting would seed in unifying various divisions of Mohe, if that happens, which side I must deal with? If I fought Bai Ziting until both sides suffer, the one reaping the benefit will surely be Xieli. Xu Ziling did not want he and Kou Zhong to be too rigid, while Tuli was so amodating, he even suppressed his temper and exined patiently. Nodding his head, he said, We did not think that thoroughly. Tuli sighed and said, Supposing the victor of the Hulunbuir battle was Ba Fenghan and not Bi Xuan, I would definitely try to persuade my nsmen and Xieli to fight to the end. But the fact was exactly the opposite. My conditions in negotiating peace with Xieli, first of all, he must not deal with you guys. Even if you dont consider me your brother, in my, Tulis eyes, you will always be my good brothers. Kou Zhongs eyelids and countenance slightly rxed; with only a little bit of anger that was hard to pacify, he said, Then why did you, fully aware that we were in Longquan, still move your troops together with Xieli to attack, nearly implicating us to death? Tranted by foxs Not knowing whether tough or cry, Tuli said, Please excuse my ignorance. Your grannys, how would I know that you guys wanted to save Longquansmon people? I thought you wanted to fight against Bai Ziting until you die, I live. I came to besiege the city was precisely to help you guys. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Very well! You pass this ordeal, butst night you, LaoGe intentionally did not show yourself, what do you say? With bitter expression on his face, Tuli said, You should know that another condition in my reconciliation with Xieli was that Longquan must be razed to the ground, and Bai Ziting and Funantuos body would be split apart by five horses. This was agreed in front of all Tujue big tribal chiefs. The words that I, Tuli speak, cannot be without mouth and teeth; if you stand in my position, what would you do? Without any better option you had to ept Bi Xuans proposal, let Xieli personally deal with this matter. If he did not do well, then I would havee to discuss it with you. Frankly speaking, I am trying to temporarily stay out of the way; you dont know how contradictory and painful it is in my heart. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong was silent for half a day. Spreading out his hands, he said, All right! We all are still brothers, I ept your difficulty. He hugged Tuli tightly. All around, the ck Wolf warriors and Gunatai brothers and the others, who had been watching the course of events quietly, immediately burst into apuse shaking the entire coastal area. Tuli then embraced Xu Ziling, before speaking cheerfully, Shaoshuai, please see the gift Xiongdi [brother] has brought for you. And then he pped loudly. An imposing-looking Tujue big general, with a smile across his whole face, went out of the main tent. The two boys recognized him as the first vanguard general under Tulismand, Li Mingshe. They saw a young falcon standing on his outstretched arm, its head covered in leather helmet, a chain pinned on its leg, tying it onto the leather wrist protector. Because its head was covered, it could only lean its head to the left and right to listen to the changes in the surroundings; it looked strangely pitiful. Upon seeing this, Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, Is that for me? he asked. Bielegunatai and the others crowded over to look at the young falcon. Tuli wrapped his arm around Kou Zhongs shoulder, he said, This is a one-in-a-thousand-one-in-ten-thousand excellent quality falcon, only eight months old. If you can train it ording to our method, it will faithfully help Shaoshuai conquer the world and unify the Central ins C throughout its life. Li Mingshe pointed to the helmet and said, Dont look down on this leather helmet. Not only it is soft, but its also strong and fit perfectly. There is some space inside, so that it does not press on its eyes and face, the measurement cannot miss even a little. Tranted by foxs And then he lifted out the helmet. None of the crowd did not sigh in praise. Bugunatai cheered, Just one look and I know this is a psychic, excellent quality falcon. Look at its eyes! How sharp, exquisite and fierce. The falcon pped its wings, raised its head and swept its gaze over everyone without any sign of fear; it had a heroic beauty of mightily looking at the mother earth. Tuli cheerfully said, Training it is not an easy matter at all. First of all we must make it understand what is good for it, what is harmful for it. Look at the fine chain on its leg; just to train it not to peck on it, it already consumed I dont how much effort and training. Our secret is patience and kindness; to make it feel that you love it dearly, only then it will be loyal to you. Tickling it, Kou Zhong asked, Will it obey me? Li Mingsheughed and said, I will pass the secret tomunicate with falcon to Shaoshuai first, and then Ill teach Shaoshuai how to train the falcon. One nights work should be enough. Tuli suddenly pulled Kou Zhong to the side and said in low voice, We all are brothers, so lets talk straight. This time giving you the falcon, for our tribe, this is a very unusual thing. Its not a problem to tell other people about any ordinary method of raising the falcon, butmunicating with the falcon and special training method, I wonder if Shaoshuai could promise me not to tell anybody else? Of course Ziling is exempt. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong was already full of joy, he vigorously patted Tulis shoulder and said, I give you my word! All around suddenly the crowd was pping and cheering. Turned out Li Mingshe untied the leg chain and let the falcon soared into the air. The falcon spiraled in the air at about sixty-zhang elevation. Kou Zhong looked up to watch; the more he watched, the more he fell in love, thinking that in the future, in the sky over Luoyang, the falcon would spiral like that, and would report to him the situation of the Li ns main forces. A hard-to-describe feeling welled up in his heart. Laotian [God/Heavens] sprinkled another fine drizzle, so that the lights on the stone fort, around the camp, the docks, the shipyard, and the big ships moored on the pier were hazy and dim. There was some kind of grim and cold feeling of parting sorrow. It was still a couple of sichen before daybreak. At dawn, Kou Zhong and the others would embark the ships to return to the Central Earth. The sheepskin goods were stored inside the hold of the three ships. Ma Jis three chests of treasure were divided between Gunatai brothers, Yuekepeng, and Kou Zhong, three parties, as the spoils of war. Xu Ziling and Tuli went to the farthest dock, away from everybody else, to speak in private, to discuss Badaier and Ba Fenghan. Tranted by foxs Tuli said, Ziling rest assured! Nobody understands Ba Fenghan better than Badaier. She is just upset that Ba Fenghan did not even look for her for many years; too many years! Any feeling could die after that long. This moment, carrying his pet falcon, Kou Zhong came to look for them. With a face full of excitement, he blurted out, Turns out raising falcon is such a profound and challenging subject, and female eagle is more robust, stronger and more ferociouspared to male falcon, and this falcon is precisely female; I wonder ifter on I could bring her back to mate, so that she could produce a flock of his Niangs chicks. See how bright and glossy her feather is, and her ws are as strong as iron. Ha! While speaking, he sat down on Tulis other side. What are you guys talking about? he asked absent-mindedly. After seeing Shang Xiufang without sess, this was the first time that he returned to his bold, uninhibited natural color. Tuli said, We talked about a lot of issues. I will watch over Xielis side, to ensure Longquans safety. After you leave, I will hand over Little Longquan to the Sumo people. You may go back to the Central ins in peace! And then he said, If you cannot defend Luoyang, you must not let yourself apanying Wang Shichong to be buried with the city. You have Song Ques support, you still have great prospects for the future in the south. After gaining steady foothold, you may make a n to go up north again. This is the most sensible act. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong sighed and said, No, I will defend Luoyang to the death. Otherwise, once Bashu is lost, even Da Luo Jin Xian will find it difficult to stop Li Shimins army from going down south. And then his heart moved, he asked, Howe we havent seen Yin Xianhe, that kid? I wonder if he is as drunk as mud again and forget about the world of the living! Xu Ziling could only look at him with wry smile. Stunned, Tuli asked, Whos Yin Xianhe? Suddenly they heard the sound of hoof beatsing from afar. Three men focused their eyes to look; unexpectedly it was the other Tujue young martial art master who shared the same fame as Ba Fenghan, Ke Dazhi. Book 45 - 8 – Returning to the Central Earth Ke Dazhi and Kou Zhong went to the other end of the bay. The lights of Little Longquan were flickering on and off inside the hazy clouds, the air was filled with moisture, the coastal area was gued endlessly by the drizzle. The two sat on a pile of rocks, facing the sea. Ke Dazhi spoke softly, Another pre-dawn moment. Time is flying-by ruthlessly with total disregard of everything, tomorrow morning Xiufang Dajia is going to y a tribute in Bai Zitings funeral, and then she will immediately leave the city. The first stop is Gaoli, Fu Cailin is going to personally wee her. I hear Gesuwen also invited her to be his guest. Liexia already made arrangement for her to go up north on a seagoing ship. Tranted by foxs Shaken, Kou Zhong said, In that case, Liexia should still be nearby. Ke Dazhi sighed and said, So what if he is still nearby? Are you saying that I can kill him in front of Xiufang Dajia? The task that you entrusted to me, to investigate Xu Kaishan C already began to take shape. The previous night when you killed Funantuo, he and his men left in a hurry. Looking at the direction they were going, they cant possibly go to Shanhai Pass, but seeing how crafty he is, it is also possible that that was a diversion. foxswuxia.wordpress Where is your Du Dage? Kou Zhong asked. Ke Dazhi replied, He and Huyan Jin went to see Great Khan together to exin what happened recently. On the surface, Great Khan is very polite to them, but what he is thinking in his heart, only Great Khan himself knows. Really strange, Great Khan, in front and behind everybody, stated that he admires you very much; he even said that he definitely will help you to defeat Li Shimin. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, For the Central Earth, that is not a good thing at all. It shows that in the future he might use helping me as a pretext to make his name, to unify various divisions of the grasnd on arge-scale invasion to the Central ins. Ay! I shouldnt talk to you about this matter, should I? Smiling ruefully, Ke Dazhi nodded and said, Indeed you shouldnt. In the hostility between one country and another, personal friendly rtions dont have any ce at all. As for Ma Ji, there is no news yet. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, I have a very rude question: what kind of position does Shang Xiufang upy in Ke Xiongs heart? Shaking his head, Ke Dazhi said, I dont know how to answer that question. Before meeting Xiufang Dajia, women were merely embellishments in my life, something to make life more beautiful. But I never believe in eternal love; this is the conclusion I reached from my own life experience. No matter how infatuated you are with her at first, so much so that it was difficult for you to free yourself, there wille a day where your passion may lose its taste and disappear, so much so that you dont want to see her again, and she can no longer bring about or stir up the feeling of excitement for you. For men, the real evesting matter is establishing great undertaking, persevering to achieve a certain far-reaching ideal and goal, while not considering life and death worthy in the eye. Tranted by foxs Dejected, Kou Zhong said, In that case, just forget that I asked you this question! Astonished, Ke Dazhi asked, Whats on your mind then? What is Xiufang Dajias weight [importance] in your heart? Strictly speaking, not only we are foreordained to be mortal enemy, at the same time, we are also rivals in love. However, I dont have the slightest feeling that you are my enemy. At least for now. Kou Zhong wobbled hard to stand up, indicating a heavy heart. He sighed and said, With heart and soul achieving goals, this is called a real man; I wonder if that means we have to miss the best things in life? Its going to be dawn soon! I want to get on the boat to go back home. I hope that by the time we meet again, we will still have the excitement to chat and drink together! Three huge ships, their hulls extremely deep in the water, carrying the sheepskin, treasure chests and weapons and bows and arrows, entered the breeze-is-still-the-waves-are-quiet ocean, side by side. During the more than ten days voyage, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling spent their time, which slipping away very quickly, training the falcon and chatting and joking. The touching natural beauty of the ocean, the enchanting mountains and rivers scenery of the coastal area, deeply attracted their interest. The heavy responsibility of steering the boat fell onto a warrior, sent by Tuli C who was familiar with the wind and the waves. foxswuxia.wordpress Perhaps because during their trip to the prairie they had experienced too much bloodshed that the two boys never talked about martial arts at all; however, when Shanhai Pass was in sight, it was as if they gradually woke up from a beautiful dream to face the reality, which was about to meet them on the face. Kou Zhong carried the young falcon with him. While feeding her meat, he walked over toward Song Shidao, Xu Ziling, and Ou Liangcai, who were chatting idly at the bow. Lightly flicking his wrist, he let the little falcon soared into the sky, to fly toward the t sea far away. Gasping in amazement, Ou Liangcai said, At Pingyao, I have seen hunters relying on sparrow hawks to find their prey, but they are far inferior to this falcon, which is good at understanding people! Look! Her grey-ck feather is suffused with golden yellow, which dazzles under the light of the sun. How formidable! Song Shidao nodded in agreement, saying, Lingnan hunters also raise eagles, butpared to this falcon, the quality differs far away. Have you thought about changing her name? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, What should I change her name to? His gaze fixed on the falcon, which had be a ck dot in the distance, Xu Ziling blurted out, Dont you have to shout to call her? Why do you need any name? Might as well dont change her name. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, In that case, Ill call her Wuming [lit. no name]! Its just for our convenience, so that we wont have to call her this falcon or that falcon, showing no respect for her at all. Ay! Where did that kid Yin Xianhe roll to? I hope he did not meet any mishap! Tranted by foxs Song Shidao analyzed calmly, Such a reclusive swordsman like him, he must be more trustworthy than average people. He wont make any promise, but once he does, he will keep his words. Therefore, something must have happened to prevent him from reaching Little Longquan before dawn. The divine light in Xu Zilings eyes suddenly shed, he nodded and said, Song ErGe is right, and it should have something to do with Xu Kaishan. This time Yin Xianhe came to Longquan, his objective was to assassinate Xu Kaishan. Kou Zhong anxiously said, That is very dangerous. Since Xu Kaishan knew that his identity has been uncovered, plus he had a falling out with Du Xing, he no longer has any misgivings, he might turn around to devour anyone who is a threat to him, just like a vicious dog being chased into a dead-end alley. Shaking his head, Song Shidao said, You are overstating the facts somewhat. The fact is that his identity has not been uncovered at all, he could still push it away neat and clean. Xu Kaishan is plotting actively in the northeast by establishing the Beima Bang, he will not give it up easily. He might only lie low temporarily to avoid the intensity of the fire. We cant let him stay in Shanhai Pass, because then he would have big opportunity to revive his banner and drums. Under this kind of situation, he shouldnt make his move to deal with Yin Xianhe to avoid exposing his true color; even more, to tie an unsolvable enmity with us. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, Shaoshuai needs to be a bit more open-minded to receive instruction! Song ErGe understands worldly wisdom more than we do. Kou Zhongs old face blushed slightly, he said, Its just that because Yin kid did note in time to get on the boat that I made such guess. Ay! If Xu Kaishan did not get rid of him, why did this kid miss the appointment? Didnt Ling Shao promise him to go look for his Xiaomei? What could possibly be more important to him that that? Song Shidao said, Yin Xianhe is the kind of person who does not want to receive other peoples favor. Although he is willing to be friends with you, he still does not want to inconvenient you. Or perhaps he thinks that his predestined affinity to be with you was enough, hence he deliberately missed the appointment. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Listening to Song ErGe, its indeed like murky darkness suddenly opens. Yin kid cant always stand at the corner of the boat, ignoring other people, hence he opted to travel alone. Aiyo! This is really bad; I am sure he is going alone to look for the Xiang Familys father and son to give them bad luck. Xiao Ling, what information did you reveal to him? While saying that, he signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes. Xu Ziling understood. He said, I only told him that Chi Shengchun of Six-Happiness Casino of Changan may be Xiang Guis eldest son. But this is the only clue to investigate the Xiang Family. Knitting his brows, Song Shidao said, The Li Family of Changan is not friendly to us at all. Whether we can enter the city, its already a question mark. Even if we could catch Chi Shengchun, I am afraid even if he died, he would still refuse to reveal his familys secret. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong immediately beat the snake following the stick by bringing up the old subject, Hence the reason we are asking Song ErGes help, he said, Your life experience is more abundant than ours, hey He made a show of there was no point in speaking, so he did not continue. Smiling wryly, Song Shidao said, How can I help? Kou Zhong hastily said, Song ErGe can help in a lot of things. Ay! I am unable to spare time now, only Xiao Ling, one person, is going to deal with Chi Shengchun; it worries me to the death. And then he pped his thigh and said, I got it! Xu Ziling, Song Shidao and Ou Liangcai, three men looked at him with nk expression on their faces; they could not figure out what brilliant scheme he was thinking of. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong made a show of being very much in earnest, saying, The kind of people that casinos revere the most are rich merchants and big businessmen from reputable families. Therefore, if Song ErGe disguise yourself as such person, Xiao Ling bes his attendant, then you guys could sneak into Changan to get close to Chi Shengchun. You can act ording to the situation to see how you can uncover his secret. Xiao Ling has always been destitute and living a simple life, having him disguised as a rich person will show one hundred splits [idiom: full of mistakes], but for Song ErGe, its not out of question at all. Only now did Xu Ziling realized that he was talking random nonsense, his goal was to stop and dy Song Shidao from going to the small valley to spend hisst years apanying the grave. However, this idea of his was actually analogous to Lei Jiuzhis original thought, it was even more perfect and more feasible. Laughing involuntarily, Song Shidao said, If someone is really rich anding from a reputable family, wont people be able to recognize him at a nce? How are we going to impersonate these people? Only newly rich wont be recognizable by other people, and that means it does not have to be me, right? Kou Zhong himself could not helpughing; he said, Xiao Ling disguises himself as a newly rich, ay! My Niang! Ou Liangcai said, If you want to disguise yourself as a newly rich, Zaixia has a suitable candidate that can be considered. Song Shidao smiled and said, Is it the number one rich man in Pingyao, Situ Furong, who grew his enterprise beginning with a pawnshop? Ou Liangcai nodded his head in delight, Precisely that man, he said. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were dumbstruck; they never thought that only one guess and Song Shidao already hit the mark. From among hundreds and thousands newly rich people, he guessed correctly that it was this gentleman. Song Shidao exined, First, its because Ou Gongzi is from Pingyao, hence it was very easy for him to recall his fellow townsman; but more importantly, Situ Furong is a man who is greedy for life, afraid of death, he rarelyes into contact with other people, his only indulgence is gambling. Its just that his gambling is limited tomunal gambling, with the people that he trusts. But to impersonate him, this newly rich, is not easy at all. All casino operators have close rtionship with pawnshops; they are familiar with pawnshop system and operations. A few words are all they need to know whether you are an expert. Another problem is that Situ Furongs pawnshops are all over the world. If he also opens a pawnshop in Changan, we would definitely reveal the cloven foot, and when that happens, we could only pack our food and leave before finish eating. Tranted by foxs Ou Liangcai said, Situ Furongs pawnshops unique feature is that all of them have either Fu [good fortune, luck] or Rong [glory, honor], these two characters in their names. For instance, Pingyaos main shop is called Furong, others are called Fusheng, Fuyong, Rongman, Rongde, and things like that. Changan Beiyuans [lit. north park] Rongda big pawn is precisely his Changan branch, which is also Changansrgest pawnshop. The manager, Chen Fu, is my [maternal] uncle, he could conceal gentlemens identity. foxswuxia.wordpress Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, How will it work? Behind Chi Shengchun, there is Li Yuanji giving him support, one thing goes wrong, disaster would fall onto your honorable rtive, how could our heart be at peace? Ou Liangcai spoke with serious expression, Human traffickers, everybody has the right to punish them, not to mention gentlemen have shown great kindness to our Yu Sheng Chang, furthermore, I believe that gentlemen must have a way to cross the sea by a trick [idiom], you cant possibly implicate my humble uncle. None of the three men was not emotionally moved; they did not expect Ou Liangcai to have not only yiqi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice/code of brotherhood], but also zhengyi [sense of justice, same yi character]. Frowning, Song Shidao asked, I wonder what your honorable uncle, Chen Xiansheng would think? Ou Liangcai smiled and said, I know clearly Er Jius [second maternal uncle] conduct; there shouldnt be any problem. And then, lowering his voice, he said, We belong to the group of people who support Qin Wang. If by this we could strike the princeling faction, we would be grateful, so whats one pawnshop worth? What I fear the most is that the Xiang Family is going all-out to support the princeling faction, they might disturb the wind and stir up the rain, then it would be really bad. The three came to realize that because if they let Li Jianzheng ascend the emperors throne, all the people who supported Li Shimin would be ostracized, it also meant that Ou Liangcai was giving thought to his own family. Politics was indeed a veryplicated game. Helpless, Song Shidao heaved a sigh. Puzzled, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at him, but Ou Liangcai went on, Situ Furong has a very capable assistant, who is frequently by his side, helping him assessing the value of treasure, curios, valuables and goods being pawned, his name is Shen Wenjiang, a younger generation of a declining aristocratic family. Impersonating either him or someone of Situ Furongs choice is not something that Song ErGe cannot do. Tranted by foxs Kou and Xu understood. The former muttered, This matter is more and more interesting. Ay, too bad I really dont have time to participate. Do I have the good luck of not enjoying the trouble that I brought to myself? Wuming made a circle in the distance before flying back toward them. The docks east of Shanhai Pass appeared ahead. They finally reached their destination. They saw a big ocean-going ship, which was moored by the dock C was about to sail out to sea. Kou Zhong focused his eyes to look, Isnt that Da Xiaojies ship? he blurted out, Do you see that? The banner has Yi Sheng Long, threerge characters; those are Da Xiaojies trademark. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling nodded and said, Its Da Xiaojieing in person! Based on Zhai Jiaos temperament, as long as she could walk, then she would go to Longquan at the first opportunity to meet with them. A strong gust of wind overhead, Wumingnded on Kou Zhongs broad shoulder and slowly folded down its wings. Bang! Zhai Jiao pped the table. Ignoring Song Shidaos presence, whom she had just met C in the cabin, she swore without restraint, You two, what do you say for yourselves? I told you to kill Han Chaoan, Du Xing and Huyan Jin, but you cant even kill half a person, yet you still brag about being unequalled under the heavens. In my opinion, you dont even fit to be my little servant sweeping the floor for me. Humph! Ren Jun, standing behind her, could not help speaking in low voice, Kou Ye and Xu Ye never said that they are unequalled under the heavens; moreover, the eighty-thousand sheets of sheepskin Shut up! Zhai Jiao angrily said, When did I give you permission to interrupt? Its not that I hate them, but I am doing it for their own good, I dont want them not to make any progress. Bowing and bending his knee [idiom: bending and scraping to curry favor], Kou Zhong nodded and said, Da Xiaojie is cursing us well, we certainly did not do our best. Xu Ziling understood Zhai Jiaos temperament very well, he obediently hung his head while receiving the instruction, without daring to argue even for half a sentence. Breathing heavily, Zhai Jiao said, Naturally theres a reason that I cursed them. You, these useless kids, tell me, what do I do now? The one controlling Shanhai Pass is still Du Xing, how am I going to exin to Jing Dangjia [chief]. Theres also that Beima Bangs Xu Kaishan, who will only mess up our Yi Sheng Longs affairs; can I still run this line of business in the future? Song Shidao spoke out to help them out of trouble, I wonder if Da Xiaojie could hear a bit of Zaixias humble opinion? Tranted by foxs Naturally Zhai Jiao did not dare to throw a temper toward him; she cheerfully said, Song Gongzi, please give directions, I, Zhai Jiao, am one who understands reason! Song Shidao said, Shanhai Pass situation is extremely delicate, the mutual struggle among various powers is leading toward equilibrium instead. In my humble opinion, this is not the suitable moment to act blindly without thinking, otherwise, hard-to-fathom variable might arise. If Gao Kaidao and the Tujue or perhaps the Qidan are in direct conflict, an even worse situation might arise. Right now, the wolf-bandit disaster has been resolved, Xu Kaishan and Du Xing are having a falling out, plus anybody would know Da Xiaojies rtionship with Xiao Zhong, Xiao Ling Do I need to rely on these two useless kids? Zhai Jiao spoke in disdain. Restraining himself fromughing, Song Shidao said, Although these two are useless, but they are Tulis brothers. Even if people dont give them any face, they would give Tuli some face. Therefore, Da Xiaojie, please dont worry, this line of business will only get bigger and bigger. Zhai Jiaos countenance clearing up somewhat, she said, All right, I will only think about this good aspect! I will now immediately rush back to Leshou to have these sheepskins delivered to various regions. Are you, two kids going toe with me to see Little Lingzhong? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong sighed and said, We really want to, but Zhai Jiao pped the table again and said, You dont want to go then dont go; who cherish you anyway? And then she could not helpughing. Afterwards, she spoke in an amiable manner, I dont know why, but each time I see you, these two kids, I cant help cursing you. Forget it! When youre done with your important matter, get the hell out here to see me. Remember not to spend your day caring only about fighting for life and death, only by keeping your little life will you have the chance to live a happy and prosperous life. Those weapons, bows and arrows, I will send someone to deliver those things to Pengliang for you. Dont worry! And then she said, Take Xiao Jun with you! Train him for me a few more months, so that if something happens in the future, I wont need to seek you. Ren Jun was overjoyed at the unexpected good news. How could Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling dare to say no? Their allotted share was to nod their heads to agree. Turning to Ren Jun, Zhai Jiao ordered, Bring those Pingyao merchants here, I want to see if there is any readily avable business to talk about. Ren Jun epted the order and left. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Song Shidao seized this opportunity to slip into the deck to take a breath of fresh air and to talk. Wuming was still circling freely above the piers. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong said, After partingpany with Da Xiaojie, shall we go to Yuyang first to hand over the Flying Clouds Bow to Jian Dashi? Of course, Xu Ziling replied, Afterwards you are going straight to Luoyang, am I right? Kou Zhong said, I am also thinking that I ought to hand Xiao Jun over to you to be polished; I dont want him toe with me to Luoyang to throw away his life. Displeased, Song Shidao said, How could you be so pessimistic? Luoyang is an even stronger military strategic town than Changan; even without you, Kou Zhong in charge, its still not easy for Li Shimin to capture it. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The problem lies in Wang Shichong unwilling to let me be inmand of the city defense. I can only be a monk for a day, striking the bell for a day, to see how long I will be able to strike the bell! Muttering to himself irresolutely, Song Shidao said, I have a proposal. Before going to Luoyang, if you could say hello to Dou Jiande first, perhaps the whole situation can be turned around, Wang Shichong could also be a bit more polite toward you. Kou Zhongs pair of tiger-eyes immediately lit up. foxswuxia.wordpress Book 45 - 9 – Meticulous Planning Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Song Shidao and Ren Jun spurred their horses as they turned into the official road, to gallop toward Yuyang. Wuming was following them, circling in the sky. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhongughed and said, Looking at Xiao Juns entire being seems to be full of spirit, evidently your saber technique has made good progress, unlike me and Xiao Ling, who are just two useless kids. Yet the thickness of the skin on Ren Juns face did not make any progress at all; immediately his face turned beet red as he stammered, Kou Ye, please dontugh at me, you instructed me to practice well, how could this kid dare to be negligent? Xu Ziling asked Ren Jun, You are sure that Yin Xianhe did not return to Shanhai Pass? Ren Jun replied positively, Because we were expecting two Yeer to return any moment, we sent people to watch the gateway day and night, anybody entering the Pass cannot hide from us. Xu Kaishan was a day earlier than you, but Du Xing is still nowhere to be seen. Song Shidao said, If we stayed at Shanhai Pass for two more days, we might be able to meet Yin Xianhe. Kou Zhong sighed and said, How could we have the time? Huh? Arent those our old friends Zhang Jinshu and Qiu Nanshan? The four men reined their horses to stop. foxswuxia.wordpress Under the illumination of the setting sun, a big cloud of dust was rising ahead. Zhang Jinshu and Qiu Nanshan, under escort of more than a dozen riders, were rushing toward them. The former has had a predestined affinity to meet with them once; he was the great general under Gao Kaidaosmand, who was sent to scout the situation on the warlords vying for supremacy [Book 37 Chapter 4]; thetter was Gao Kaidaos chief constable, they got to know each other at the Yin Ma Yi, and fought against the wolf-bandits together, hence they could be consideredrade-in-arms who had gone through trials and tribtions together, although only barely [Book 38 Chapter 4]. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Unexpectedly its the friend who is a dog lover. The other side slowed down rapidly. Zhang Jinshuughed aloud and said, Shaoshuai, Xu Xiong, you are still as svelte as before; it is worthy of celebration. This time two gentlemen raised our Han peoples fame for fighting prowess beyond the Great Wall, the news already exploded across the Jianghu. Ha! Qiu Nanshan pulled the rein to stop the horse. He saluted Song Shidao and greeted him by saying, This Xiongtais bearing is out of the ordinary, you must be the Song Familys Er Gongzi, we, as northeast wilderness people C already heard your fame for a long time. Just by listening to this remark, they knew that they did not run into each other by chance, rather, the other side intentionally came to meet them. After exchanging some pleasantries, Zhang Jinshu said, Lets find somewhere we can talk. Tranted by foxs Inwardly, Kou Zhong and the others were greatly astounded, realizing that the other side came not to wee them into town, but that they had something else to talk about. Zhang Jinshu urged his horse to enter a sparse forest by the road, everybody promptly followed. Wuming dove down from the sky andnded on Kou Zhongs shoulder, which provoked a round of admiration and inquiry. They stopped at the top of a hill, dismounted their horses and watched thest streak of sunlight disappearing beyond the t line at the end of the ins, turning the heaven and earth hazy and dark. Starlight gradually appeared, the cool night breeze was blowing gently to rece the blistering heat of the day. By the time Kou Zhong finished exining the wolf-bandits affair, the sky was full of stars, the night sky was glorious. foxswuxia.wordpress Letting out a cold snort, Qiu Nanshan said, Since Xu Kaishan already lost Du Xings support, we no longer need to be polite to him. Shaking his head, Zhang Jinshu said, Things are not that easy to solve, Xu Kaishan could rely on Luo Yi of Youzhous support. Although on the surface Luo Yi acknowledge his allegiance to Gao Ye, the fact is that he is proiming himself hegemon over Youzhou. Temporarily we still cannot do anything to him. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, What kind of fellow is Luo Yi? Song Shidao said, Luo Yi is the most powerful local tyrant and hegemon of the dark road in Youzhou. I hear that he had been exchanging information with the Li Family in secret. If Li Shimin seeded in capturing Luoyang, he would probably be the first person to surrender to the Li Family. Having the load on his mind evoked by him, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Ay! Its Luoyang again. Zhang Jinshu asked, I wonder if gentlemen are intending to enter the city to see Jian Dashi? Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Unexpectedly Zhang Xiong knows about this matter? Qiu Nanshanughed and said, Zhang Xiong is Jian Dashis only close friend, naturally he knew Shaoshuais promise to Jian Dashi; therefore, when we heard that from Shanhai Pass gentlemen are about to honor us with your presence, we immediately came to wee you. The tone of his voice tranquil, Zhang Jinshu asked, I wonder if this time Shaoshuai has the Flying Clouds Bow with you? Kou Zhong responded cheerfully, Without the Flying Clouds Bow, how could we dare to see Jian Dashi? Tranted by foxs Shaken, Zhang Jinshu said, Heavens! You have indeed aplished it! Because they only beheaded Shen Mohuan several days before they left Longquan, the news has not reached the Central ins yet. Kou Zhong thought he might as well take out the Flying Clouds Bow and handed it to the two to look over; he said with augh, Turns out you are here for this; I thought Zhang Xiong did not want us to enter the city. Zhang Jinshu gently caressed the two characters Flying Clouds engraved on the divine bow, revealing deep emotion on his face, he said, Shaoshuai did not guess incorrectly, you really should not enter the city. Why? Song Shidao asked in astonishment. Zhang Jinshu passed on the Flying Clouds Bow to Qiu Nanshan, he said with a sigh, Because Gao Ye is about to realign his allegiance to the House of Tang. If Shaoshuai entered the city, it would make us feel awkward. Kou Zhong was shaken inwardly; he immediately understood. That time he encountered Zhang Jinshu, he already guessed this possibility. Gao Kaidao sent Zhang Jinshu to scout Li Shimins decisive battle against Song JinGang, it was because he wanted to decide whether he should surrender and pay allegiance to the Li n at the earliest possible time. Now that Li Shimin has defeated Song JinGang and the Tujue coalition forces, Gao Kaidaos reaction was only to be expected. foxswuxia.wordpress Hows the current situation? Song Shidao asked. Zhang Jinshu obviously considered them friends rather than enemies; he replied without the slightest hesitation, Qin Wang has now returned to Guanzhong, preparing to go all-out in attacking Luoyang. Tang Emperor Li Yuan dispatched Li Shentong to lead another army of ten thousand to Liyang to rendezvous with Li Shiji, and thus increasing the military strength in Liyang to withstand the Xia Wang Dou Jiande and Zheng Wang Wang Shichong. Kou Zhong frowned; he said, How will Li Shiji and Li Shentong deal with the two armies? Zhang Jinshu spoke heavily, The Tang Army in Liyang does not have this power, but Li Shiji is proficient in military matters and the art of war, he can see clearly the mutual suspicion between the Xia Army and the Zheng Army. Ignoring Wang Shichong, he opted the attacking-the-north-defending-the-west strategy, both to take the initiative to fight in the valley, while also not to leave Liyang empty. Liyang was located northeast of Luoyang, southwest of Xucheng, hence the defending-the-west was referring to dealing with Wang Shichong, and the attacking-the-north was focusing on Dou Jiande. Qiu Nanshan joined in, Li Shentong first led the army to capture Dou Jiandes Zhaozhou, due north of Liyang. Greatly angered, Dou Jiande personally led fifty thousand elite troops going down south to recover Zhaozhou. Li Shentongs loss was disastrous, he retreated back to Liyang in panic, leaving Li Shijis attacking-the-north-defending-the-west strategy a mere illusion. Now Dou Jiande is keeping the gong close and tightening the drum to attack Liyang. Once Liyang is trapped, the other cities that the Tang Army upies, such as Weihui and the others, could no longer be defended. Dou Jiande can expect to clear up all the routes to enter the Pass in a short period of time. The situation is extremely critical. Kou Zhong sighed and said, That is akin to forcing Li Shimin to go out of the Pass sooner than nned. Tranted by foxs Zhang Jinshu said, Li Shiji is not that easy to be eaten, plus Liyang city defense is strong, Dou Jiande wants to capture it, it is absolutely not an easy matter. Xu Ziling asked, Are you guys adopting the wait-and-see stance? Zhang Jinshu smiled and said, Xu Xiongs guess is right on. For the time being, lets not talk about these disturbing things. It would be better for us to find a ce to drink and chat, and then well send someone to invite Jian Dashi toe out of the city, let him hear with his own ears Shaoshuais glorious experience in beheading Shen Mohuan. foxswuxia.wordpress Speaking about big powers in the world at that time, since Zhi Shi Lang Wang Bo first opened the pole and gathered the crowd in an uprising, great heroes have been pursuing the deer in the Central ins, each onepeted in wisdom and courage C until Yuwen Huaji started a mutiny in Jiangdu by murdering his superior, that is, by assassinating Emperor Yang; the Central Earth thereupon became and without a master. In various regions, one after another tyrannical warlords, using uprising as a pretext, cutting thend apart and proiming themselves hegemon C in different scales,rge and small, but most were people who look-at-the-wind-and-steer-the-rudder, those who attached themselves to the strong, hoping to cast their lot to a bright lord who someday would unify the world, and then they would be conferred the title marquis and rise through the nobility, to enjoy endless riches and honor, glory and splendor. Therefore, they split and then joined again, the situation changed dramatically. Defeating Yuwen Huaji has made Li Mi, who was originally the most powerful and was regarded as the foremost C climb to the pinnacle of the task of establishing and maintaining hegemony. Unfortunately, he also nted a root of the trouble, leading to his crushing defeat at Yanshi, and was forced to surrender to the Tang, which made him losing his standing even more, and could no longer exist. All four of the major ns, both in the political world during thest years of the Sui dynasty and in Wulin world, were tower of strength, the powerful warlords of the old Sui with the highest chance of taking over the Sui pce courtyard. Yuwen Huaji was annihted, the Dugu n was defeated in their struggle with Wang Shichong and ran away into Guanzhong to attach themselves to the Li Family. Gradually the situation became clearly divided, it was turning into Guanzhong-based and Lingnan-based Li n and Song n; north and south standing opposite to each other. This moment, among the various overlords of the north, Liu Wuzhou and Xue Ju were defeated by Li Shimin at Baiju and Qianqhui Yuan, respectively; the powerful hegemon Jianghuais Du Fuwei surrendered without a fight. In the Central ins, only Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong, two major forces barely had the power to resist the Li n. Tranted by foxs Among the various overlords of the south, Li Zitong and Shen Faxing, because of long-term war, did not have time to look after themselves, their allotted share was to wait to be annihted, they no longer had any strength to go up north to contend for hegemony. Only Balings Xiao Xian and Yuzhangs Lin Shihong barely had the remaining power to contend for hegemony. Also, because of mutual restraint, they were powerless to join the decisive battle, with the Yellow River at the center of the most critical battlefield. In this gradually clearing up situation, Kou Zhong became the sharp de that the Song n from the distant south stretched out toward the Yellow River, the battlefield in the fight for supremacy. Although the Shao Shuai Armys wings had just grown and they barely have enough power to defend Pengliang, their base of operations, they are fairly indispensable. First of all, Shao Shuai Army had control over the seaport on the north side of Pengliang, they could operate big maritime trade, while also obtaining the Song ns unending support. But more importantly, not only the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong himself was one of the most outstanding martial art masters of the younger generation whose name shook the world, moreover, his military aplishment splendid, he was an expert in using the weak to defeat the strong, using the few to win over the many, no one dared to doubt his military talent, not to be outdone [orig. to have no time for civilities (idiom)] by Li Shimin, whose merit in military service was unrivalled, and has be the formidable opponent that Li Shimin had the most apprehension toward. foxswuxia.wordpress Furthermore, the Li n themselves was not without internal worries. The struggle between Li Shimin and the Princeling and Imperial Concubines factions, plus the intervention of the Tujue people, who red like a tiger watching its prey from the northern territory, who might go down south any moment, greatly increased the hard-to-predict variables. It was precisely under this kind of situation that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling partedpany. Bringing along the little falcon Wuming, he went alone to Zhaozhou to see Dou Jiande. As long as he could make Dou Jiande forming an alliance with Wang Shichong, whom he despised, then they had the opportunity to make Li Shimin, who triumphed in every battle, to suffer the first big defeat, as well as to preserve Luoyang, which would give the Shao Shuai Army the space and time to strive for a breather, also for the little falcon, whose wings and feathers had just grown, to be a bold and powerful falcon able to move unhindered across the cast sky. After three days and nights of nonstop journey, Kou Zhong arrived in Zhaocheng at dusk. The high-ranking military officer guarding the gate immediately flew to notify Dou Jiande. Liu Heita personally came out to wee him. The two men met in person, naturally they were extremely happy. Liu Heita had already heard the news about Kou Zhong propagating his prestige beyond the Great Wall. Seeing the falcon perching on his shoulder, he sighed in praise, The people of the prairie beyond the Great Wall have always looked down upon us. In his military campaign to Gaoli, Yang Guang, that muddle-headed ruler, suffered defeat in every battle, he even became theughingstock of the outer tribes. This time Shaoshuai can greatly change their impression, they no longer dare to say that our Central ins have no one in it. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong said, Li Shimins battle of Baiju also caused sensation across the prairie, whod dare to say that our Central ins have no one in it? Amazed, Liu Heita said, Shaoshuais bosom is indeed different from ordinary people, even toward the enemy you think so highly like this. Riding side-by-side with Liu Heita toward the Dudu Fu mander-in-chief official residence] at the center of the city, which Dou Jiande used as hismand headquarters, Kou Zhong noticed that the situation on the street was like before, the shops were still open for business, peoples livelihood did not seem to be affected in the slightest, he was full of praise inwardly. Laughing, he said, Underestimating the enemy is a big taboo in the art of war. Hey! Can you not Shaoshuai this and Shaoshuai that to me? I am still that same Xiao Zhong. Perhaps because Kou Zhongs remark was invoking Liu Heitas wounded heart due to Susu, this iron man let a low sigh, but did not respond. foxswuxia.wordpress In order to divert his attention, Kou Zhong asked, Hows Liyangs recent situation? Liu Heitas spirit was aroused, he said, Li Shentongs troops retreated in defeat back to Liyang, along with Li Shiji they closed the door and hold fast to it. Attacking is not right for us, but not attacking is not right even more. Xia Wang [king of Xia] is having a headache because of this. Is there any movement on Wang Shichongs side other there? Didnt you form an alliance with him? Kou Zhong asked, If he is willing to send troops up north to drag Li Shijis hind legs, even if he is as good in city defense as Li Shimin, Im afraid he would still unable to turn around a hopeless situation. Letting out a cold snort, Liu Heita said, Even mentioning this persons name already brings anger in our hearts; ording to our intelligence, Wang Shichong is holding Yang Dong prisoner in Han Liang Dian [lit. containing cool pce hall], forcing him to abdicate so that he could proim himself emperor in a way that justifies the use of the term [idiom: proper, legitimate]. Tell me, how could we cooperate with someone who does not understand the situation like that? Astonished, Kou Zhong said, I thought he already murdered Yang Dong and ascended the emperors throne by now, turns out he is still only Zheng Wang [king of Zheng]. Liu Heita replied, This is the agreement between Xia Wang and him, which is to preserve Yang Dong and dy his promation of himself as the emperor, until we defeat the Li ns army, and then we will see how we are going to divide the oue of the war. Who would have thought that Wang Shichong is so not tactful? If he really proims himself the emperor, it shows clearly that he wanted us to acknowledge allegiance to him. This is called the contract of alliance ceases and it bes empty promises. After a short pause, he said, Lets talk some more after we see Xia Wang! He is very happy that you are willing toe to see him. The two galloped into the Dudu Fu. Tranted by foxs By the time Kou Zhong entered the Zhaochengs city gate, Xu Ziling, Song Shidao and Ren Jun had also found Lei Jiuzhi, who was recuperating in a small town southwest of Luoyang. Lei Jiuzhis spirit has been recoveredpletely, but from time to time he still felt tired; it is thus clear how malicious and deeply harmful the Seven Needles to Control the Mind was. Using the Long-Life true qi, Xu Ziling helped him stretching his tendon and invigorating his channels. Afterwards, Xu Ziling, Song Shidao and Lei Jiuzhi, three men sat down in the small living room to have a meeting, while Ren Jun was responsible to light the fire and cook the meal. Stretching out his four limbs, Lei Jiuzhi spoke in astonishment, I did not see Ziling only for two, three months, yet your neigong already made remarkable progress, the incredible pace of advancement is really hard to believe. Now my body feels rxed, like the disaster has totally gone. I thought I would never recoverpletely. Hearing that, the two were extremely happy. foxswuxia.wordpress Song Shidao said, Since this man who knows how to use the Seven Needles to Control the Mind is on Zhao Deyans side, he must belong to the demonic school. If we have the opportunity, we must rid the world of cmity. Xu Ziling could not help respectfully offering his opinion, If I could hear him speaking again, Im sure I can identify him. Lei Jiuzhi said, If you can really impersonate Situ Furong, it will be more perfect than my original idea, because pawnshop business is not easy to do at all, reputation is especially important. If the Xiang Family could win Situ Furongwork of pawnshops covering the whole world on the gambling table, they would be like a tiger that has grown wings. After a short pause, he went on, However, the chance that we would reveal the cloven foot is also very high, because Xiang Gui and the others will not have time to personally make their move. If he is forced to go out and determine victory and defeat on the gambling table with us, based on their usual style, they would investigate first, which, for them, is merely the exertion of lifting their hand, because the Xiang Familyswork of intelligence also cover the whole world. If they found out that Situ Furong is still in Pingyao, our scam will immediately be exposed. And if that happened, whether we could escape alive will be a question. Song Shidao smiled and said, I hear that he is a man greedy for life, afraid of death. We could exploit this point; we force him to leave Pingyao to avoid disaster. Under this kind of situation, naturally he would conceal his whereabouts, and then we would appear at this moment in Changan. It will be like seamless heavenly clothes. It was as if Lei Jiuzhi had just known Song Shidao for the first time; he stared at him nkly for half a day before pping the table and said, Not only Er Gongzis mind is very quick, but also daring, experienced and careful. But how are we going to force him to leave Pingyao? Tranted by foxs Song Shidao slyly said, Leave this matter to me. For the past few years, Situ Furong started to expand his pawnshop business to the south. Due to his secondary business in providing loan with an extremely heavy interest, he implicated a lot of people and made them lose their family fortune. I could use this pretext to write a letter to Situ Furong, stating clearly that I wille to Pingyao to settle the ount with him. With no one to help him, he will only have one choice, which is the choice we want him to pick. Ren Jun, who was bringing the dishes to the table, spoke excitedly, Song Er Ye is really formidable. Finished speaking, he turned around and went inside. Lei Jiuzhi cheerfully said, Forget about Situ Furong, anybody who discovers that the Song Family of Lingnan ising to give him bad luck will also look for a hole, the deeper the better C to hide in. This problem is solved! The remaining problem is what is Situ Furongs appearance look like? What are his particr preference and habit? How does he like to dress? What kind of person is hispetent partner Shen Wenjiang? The more detailed we know the better, the more we can avoid being uncovered. foxswuxia.wordpress This aspect ispletely without problem, Xu Ziling said, We could learn about everything that we need to know from Ou Liangcais mouth. The most wonderful thing is that Situ Furong never met stranger, and that he had never been to Changan, which is very beneficial to us. Lei Jiuzhi said, Not that I want to pour cold water on you, but you ought to know that in a hundred secrets, there might be one loose end. Such a rare opportunity, we simply must win and wont allow any failure. Not only Pingyao is the most populous and affluent big city in the Li ns Taiyuan, it also have an extremely closemercial tie with Changan. We only need one Pingyao merchanting to Changan who knew Situ Furong, then there will be a possibility that we could reveal the cloven foot. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Song Shidao said, This matter is indeed beyond our control. The only way to reduce the possibility of error to the lowest point is to ask Ou Liangcai to find a Pingyao merchant who has been living and doing business in Pingyao for a long time, but is also very familiar with Changan business world C to go one step ahead of us to investigate Pingyao people doing business in Changan. Thereupon we can gain the initiative by striking first, we use all kinds of feasible means to prevent this kind of people froming across us. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, Da Dao She might be an ideal choice. Their specialty is escorting goods for Pingyao merchants; they ought to know very well who goes to Changan often. But to obtain their cooperation is not easy at all, this kind of thing cannot be forced. Lei Jiuzhi was silent for half a day. He spoke heavily, I wonder if you could contact Li Jing to find a way. Most of the Pingyao merchants support Li Shimin, Da Dao Shes Qiu Qipeng also has no choice but to look at Li Shimin and give Li Jing a little bit of face. Lifting his head to look at the beam of the house, Xu Ziling sighed and said, I dont want to involve Li Jing in this matter. Ay! Tranted by foxs Song Shidao said, It would be better if you see Li Shimin directly, so that things can be a bit simpler. If we could eliminate the Xiang Family, to Li Shimin it would have many advantages and no disadvantages. Li Shimin might even cover up for us. The only problem is that it might make this deal even bigger than it is. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, The bigger the deal, the more Chi Shengchun will not suspect it; that is even more brilliant. Very well! Xu Ziling dejectedly said, Looks like there is no other choice, right? Book 45 - 10 – Execution of the Plan Dou Jiande was standing in the main hall without any attendant apanying him. Alone, he had his eyes fixed on the y model on a round table in the middle of the hall. Tranted by foxs Hearing the two mens footsteps, this hegemon, who time and again went to battle and time and again achieved victory C revealed a smile, his pair of eyebrows rose up, he calmly said, Xiao Zhong,e here and take a look; think for me how I can break through Liyang, to cut off the arm with which Li Yuan explore the area outside the Pass. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, knowing Dou Jiande has not put his heart C the desire to have him, Kou Zhong, surrendering and paying allegiance to him C to death. He hurriedly stepped forward and concentrated his attention to look. Turned out the model on the table was of the City of Liyang,plete with the mountains and streams of the surrounding area. The roads, cities and towns were spread out and were clearly depicted, absolutely not some ordinary military map couldpare with; it was detailed and fine, with proper depression and elevation, so that in just one nce everything could be seen very clearly, saving a lot of time and effort to exin. Sighing in praise, Kou Zhong said, This three-dimensional topographic map is very exquisite. foxswuxia.wordpress Standing on the other side, Liu Heitaughed and said, This model was built by Dou Ye himself. Kou Zhong was amazed, thinking that you cant gain knowledge without practical experience; to personally build this kind of model, first he must spent a period of time to do an on-site survey, and then to use both hands to knead the y to make the model, he must have the thought process and passion to throw himself into the project, to reach the highest requirement of knowing the enemy from the art of war. From this, it could clearly be seen the importance of Liyang to Dou Jiande. Dou Jiande slowly said, To the south, Liyang is connected to Jiang Huai, to the west it is connected to Xiangluo, to the north it joins Youyan. Whether I want to march toward Guanzhong or perhaps deploy troops to Luoyang, this is a strategic hub that must be vied for. Kou Zhong carefully checked theyout of the model of the City of Liyang. The wall was thick, deep ditches were dug around the city, drawing its water from the Yongji Canal. It could even be said that it was as secure as a city protected by a wall of metal and a moat of boiling water [idiom], easily guarded, difficult to attack. Pointing to another city southwest of Liyang, he asked, What city is this? Dou Jiandeughed aloud and said, Xiao Zhong is indeed out of the ordinary, you are able to see the key ce from which Liyang can be attacked. This city is called Weihui, together with Liyang, they have the momentum of horns. In the past, Yuwen Huaji led a hundred thousand old Sui elite troops going up north, Li Shiji abandoned Liyang and defended Liyangcang [lit. Liyang granary], while Li Mi led his troops to be stationed at Qingqi. Everyday theymunicated via fire beacon. Whenever Yuwen Huaji attacked Liyang, Li Mi would dispatch his troops to attack his tail, causing Yuwen Huaji to face the enemy in front and behind him. Today Liyangcang has been broken by me and turned into ruins, its difficult for Li Shiji to carryout the retreat and defend Liyangcang tactic. But if Weihui corresponds well with the Tang Army, it is still greatly disadvantageous for our army to attack Liyang. I wonder if Xiao Zhong has a brilliant scheme to break the enemy? Tranted by foxs Without thinking the matter through, Kou Zhong responded, Since you have this consideration, why not attack and seize Weihui, which defensive capability is far below Liyangs C first, and then cut off all sea andnd connections to and from Liyang, so that Liyang will really be a lone city. At that time, whether you want to kill, you want to ughter, Dou Ye can fulfill your desire. Liu Heita sighed and said, Its not that we did not think about this strategy, but we are afraid that when we are going around Liyang to go straight to Weihui, Li Shiji would lead his troops behind us and attack suddenly. Li Shiji is indeed the most outstanding great general under Li Shiminsmand, he absolutely must not be underestimated. Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day. And then heughed and said, Since thats the case, why dont we beat them at their own game, pretending to send the troops to Weihui, we lure Li Shiji toe and attack, and then we turn around to devour him. Dou Jiande frowned and said, We have also thought about that strategy, but there are two problems: first, Li Shiji is proficient in the art of war, he cant possibly be falling into the trap that easily; second, even if Li Shiji is willing to send troops and attack, although the distance from Liyang to Weihui is only a little more than a hundred li, but the topography of the mountains and streams isplicated, we will be marching in scattered formation, Li Shiji, who is familiar with the local terrain, could concentrate his military strength,unch a sudden attack using the night as his cover, and ambush any point on my army. If that happens, our allotted share is only to take a beating. foxswuxia.wordpress Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong smiled and said, I am not worried that Liyang would not send troops. If the person in charge in Liyang is only Li Shiji, one man, then whether this strategy is feasible or not is still difficult to predict. Fortunately, there is also Li Shentong. Li Yuan entrusted him with heavy responsibility, but he suffered big defeat at Zhaocheng. While feeling his face and eyes are without any light, while he is eager to seek victory, he definitely will not want to miss this golden opportunity. Dont worry! I guarantee Liyang will send troops to attack. And then he slyly said, This time I went outside the Great Wall, it really opened wide my horizon. All Tujue people are of the same suit, which is cavalry; theye and go like the wind, never afraid of sudden and violent attack and not afraid to mount a sneak attack. Although we cannot copy the style they are moving their troops, we could put it to use differently in different situations. Greatly interested, Dou Jiande and Liu Heita promptly asked a lot of questions. Kou Zhong said, This is called there can never be too much deception in war. Not only we want to lure them to attack, but we must not be afraid of being attacked either. Furthermore, we must counterattack and hit it hard, to establish the prestige of our troops, to seize their resolve. But I wonder hows the strength of both sides, the enemy and us? Without the slightest hesitation, Dou Jiande replied, Coming with me this time are my most elite troops. Not including the construction battalion, there are altogether five divisions; each division is ten thousand men. In the city of Liyang, the number of military personnel and civilian is between sixty to seventy thousand people, but the soldiers who are truly trained and havebat experience are no more than thirty thousand. Tranted by foxs Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, I have always been ustomed to using the weak to defeat the strong. If this time, using the strong to face the weak C is still not sessful, I should obediently pack and quit and return home. But I still have one thing Id like to speak forthrightly with Dou Ye. I want to know, after Dou Ye capture the city, what do you usually do? Dou Jiande revealed a look of admiration, because the question that Kou Zhong asked was indeed the words of an expert. It should be noted that the reputation of the attacker had a decisive influence toward the people being attacked. For example, Tujue people were ustomed to massacre everyone in a captured city, so that the army and civilians in the city knew that horizontally, theyd be dead, vertically, theyd also be dead; therefore, they would rather fight to thest drop of blood, to hold out against the enemy to the very end. foxswuxia.wordpress Liu Heita replied on his behalf, Dou Yes treatment of the enemy is so good that no one can speak against it. Take defeating Yuwen Huaji for example; we acquired beautiful women in the imperial pce by the thousands, but Dou Ye immediately disband them. The enemy generals who wished to stay were all put in important positions. Therefore, the civil court officials and military generals of the old Sui, none was not happy to be employed by Dou Ye, such as the former Suis assistant minister of the Ministry of War Cui Junsu serving in the same capacity, the Minor Treasurer [one of the Nine Ministers in imperial China] Ling Hechou as the Shangshu [high official] in the Ministry of Works, Yu Shifu as the assistant minister of Huangmen [lit. yellow gate, dont know what it is], Ouyang Xun as the high ranking official in the Minister of Ceremonies; as for those who did not wish to surrender, we respected their aspiration, and properly sent them out of our territory. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, That should do it! Liyang is going to be the object inside Dou Yes bag. Dou Jiande stared deeply at him; he spoke with solemn expression, If Xiao Zhong is willing to work together with Heita, an insignificant Liyang city wont be anything difficult, even the world will be the object inside my, Dou Jiandes bag. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Can this matter be talked aboutter? The immediate priority right now is to seize Liyang first, and then dampen Li Shimins Great Tang Armying out of the Pass to the east. Dou Jiande cheerfully said, Xiao Zhong evidently know why I, Dou Jiande particrly think highly of you, not only because you are both wise and brave, but the more important reason is that we all were born of low social strata [note: the dictionary says social stratum below the level of ordinary people/untouchable/dalit (India caste)]. Although my circumstances are a bit better than yours, but when I was little, my family was very poor, so I cant stand those corrupt bureaucrats aristocratic, rich and powerful family who think that they are above everybody else C the most. Only people like us, who came from among the people can understand the suffering of the people. Throughout history, whose military aplishments and his task of establishing and maintaining hegemony canpare to Ying Zheng, the first imperial emperor? However, the Great Qin perished only in the second generation, precisely due to the cmity of not showing concern to the circumstances of the people. On the contrary, Han Gaozu Liu Bang came from rough background, yet he was sessful in establishing the throne of the Han Family. After that Wen Jing ruled, merely using military to recover, it was the period where our Central Earth was at its peak, since the dawn of time until today. Therefore, all ambitious schrs are unwilling to let Li Yuan and the likes to prevail. This is called united the power is strong, divided the power is weak. Xiao Zhong ought to give thought to big matters. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Dou Yes words went straight to the bottom of my heart, hence in term of cooperation, there is absolutely no problem. Although I have the intention of unifying the world, I do not have the ambition to be the emperor. I only hope that there will be someone in position to allow themon people in the world to pass the days in peace and happiness. Tranted by foxs Greatly delighted, Dou Jiande said, That should do it! Xiao Zhong, please tell us your brilliant scheme of using Tujue peoples style to defeat Liyang troops. Kou Zhong took a deep breath. When his train of thought was back to clear, he spoke with serious expression, The reason the Tujue are acimed as invisible wonder troops, able to appear and disappear unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost in the prairie, is simply because they are able to unleash the flexibility of the cavalry to the extreme saturation; they value exquisiteness, they dont value number. Of course we cannot be as formidable as the Tujue wolf army in such a short period of time, but from the fifty thousand soldiers we could carefully pick two, three thousand warriors with brilliant equestrian archery skill, to act as our vanguard troops to open up a path. As long as they could evade the enemys scouts eyes and ears, this cavalry unit could be like the Tujue Wolf Army, appearing and disappearing unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, plus they could be the invisible wonder troops. Dou Jiande and Liu Heita listened with full attention, they repeatedly nodded their heads. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong was radiant with delight, his voice projected a very strong self-confidence, he went on, And then our troops will split up five ways, one unit protects the military supply wagons convoy and the construction battalion, taking position in the middle. The other four split front and back, left and right, protecting from far away, keeping a three-li distance with the middle army. We set out early in the morning, travel forty li during the day, by nightfall we can pitch camp and rest about thirty li away from Liyang. The enemy might take the opportunity to strike at night, to burn our rations and fodder, and military supply wagons, we could deliver a frontal assault ording to n, attack his Niangs so that they are in a sorry state. Knitting his brows, Dou Jiande said, If I were Li Shiji, I would also use fast-moving cavalry in the surprise attack, utilizing the dark night and the terrain as my cover, plus I could attack from any direction, so that the enemy cant guard against it. There is a great possibility that we would really suffer losses. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, That is precisely the most brilliant point. Rising to his full height, he walked over to the window facing the garden. Pursing his lips, he let out a shrill whistle. The little falcon Wuming, spiraling high in the sky, heard her masters call and swooped down, entered in andnded on Kou Zhongs outstretched wrist. Since his power was profound, he did not need any wrist guard, also he did not need to worry about being injured by the falcons iron ws. Kou Zhong made a big turn,ughed happily, and said, With this little darling of mine keeping an eye in the sky, the enemy wont be able to hide from us; one persones we kill one person, a couplee we kill a pair. What other misgivings might Dou Ye have? Tranted by foxs Dou Jiandes pair of eyes lit up, heughed loudly and heartily and said, This is called the Heaven helps me, otherwise, how could you, Xiao Zhonge so timely like this? Three more days, early morning, we will march our troops to Weihui, to pull a snake from its hole. Once Liyang falls, other than sending Li Shimin out of the Pass to the east, Li Yuan wont have any other choice. After three whole days of traveling by fast horse, Xu Ziling, Song Shidao, Lei Jiuzhi and Ren Jun, four men reached Taolin on the southern bank of the Yellow River west of the Pass. They checked in into the hotel in which a reservation has been made. Ou Liangcai was already waiting respectfully for them. This inn was not casually picked, the boss, Zheng Jiahe, was Zhai Rangs former subordinate. Over the years Zhai Jiao did business inside and outside the Great Wall and made her fortune, thereupon she used her wealth to support their old subordinates to change profession and do business, so that they lived a somewhat stable life. foxswuxia.wordpress Zheng Jiahe arranged for them to stay at the rear of the hotel, downstairs was the hall, upstairs were guest rooms, tranquil yet hidden. Everybody sat down around the table, Zheng Jiahe leaned into Xu Zilings ear and spoke in low voice, The chest that Xu Ye wanted, Da Xiaojie already sent it here, I put it inside the wine cer downstairs. Thecquer seal on the chest is still intact, it has been left unopened. This chest of gold and silver, money and valuables was the spoils of war they obtained from the battle of Little Longquan. Less than half of the gold in the chest was given to Ou Liangcai and the other Pingyao merchants as fullpensation of the goods that were robbed from them, the remaining money and valuables was still enough to be used as the capital to gamble against Chi Shengchun. After Xu Ziling expressed his thanks, Zheng Jiahe and his trusted attendants withdrew. Ou Liangcai cheerfully said, First of all, on behalf of my father and Pingyao merchants, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to gentlemen. Were it not for you seeing what is right and acting courageously, the loss of property would be disastrous, even more, theres the possibility that we might not be able to protect our lives. When my father found out that you are going to deal with Baling Bang, whom everybody absolutely detest, plus this matter will be advantageous to Qin Wang, he is determined to give you his full support. My Er Jiu [second (maternal) uncle] absolutely has no problem, my father already sent someone into the Pass to notify Er Jiu. Song Shidao said, We have a more detailed n. And then he exined the scheme to scare Situ Furong away from Pingyao. Tranted by foxs Ou Liangcai happily said, In this respect, we could offer our cooperation. When Situ Furong is leaving Pingyao, we could prepare a ship to enter the Yellow River from the vicinity of Pingyao, gentlemen could embark this ship toward Guanzhong. This way, when someone really investigates, they would think that Situ Furong is indeed going to hide in Guanzhong. We could even spread the information that because he offended the Song Family, Situ Furong could only run away from disaster to Guanzhong, where the Song Familys power difficult to reach. We even have our people within the Pingyao government, I guarantee that all the documents to enter the Pass will be prepared, no one will doubt your identity. What does Situ Furongs build and appearance look like? Lei Jiuzhi asked. Ou Liangcaiughed and said, The reason why I remembered Situ Furong in the first ce was precisely because his build is big and tall, with thick eyebrows and full beard. If Xu Ye impersonates him, unless youe across someone who is very familiar with him, you will be able to pass off fish eyes for pearls. When I got back to Pingyao, I had someone drew two scrolls of portrait, Situ Furong and his assistant Shen Wenjiang, respectively, for gentlemens perusal. Lei Jiuzhi raised his thumb in praise, saying, Ou Gongzis thought is very thorough, you are saving us a lot of work. However, there are still three issues to be solved, starting with creating the atmosphere. foxswuxia.wordpress Listening on the side, Ren Jun was overflowing with interest, he asked, What do you mean creating the atmosphere? Immensely proud of himself, Lei Jiuzhi said, Speaking about deception, not that I am bragging, but not many in Jianghu can be more brilliant than me. The most brilliant trick is to have the person being deceived to walk right into the trap, to be delighted to bite the bait. If we simply drop by the Six-Happiness Casino asking for Chi Shengchun, no matter what, he would be a bit suspicious. Only by having himing to look for us, falsely believe that he is in full control of the initiative, will we be able to y him on the palm of our hands. Song Shidao smiled and said, Lei Dage, please be generous with giving us directions. Lei Jiuzhiughed aloud and said, This is actually a matter of where the water flows, a canal is formed. The Xiang Family is doing everything they can to expand their pleasure quarters and casino business; if they could swallow Situ Furongs pawnshop enterprise, their power will multiply many times over. If my conjecture is correct, we could leak out information in Pingyao, indicating that because in his pawnshop business Situ Furong offended you, Song Er Gongzi, no one dare to provoke your Ol Dad the Heavenly Saber Song Que, thereupon his interest in continuing the pawnshop business is waning, and he has the intention of washing his hands over the golden tray. Under this kind of circumstances, Chi Shengchun would find out from his informers in Pingyao that Situ Furong is taking refuge in Changan, and that he is thinking of giving up his pawnshop business; he will, in thousand ways, a hundred ns,e to find us. And then we could act ording to the situation. None of the crowd did not gasp with admiration. Tranted by foxs Lei Jiuzhi has fully recovered from the Seven Needles to Control the Mind, he vigorously said, The second issue is that we must learn Pingyao ent; otherwise, as soon as we open our mouth, we will immediately expose our identity. Leave this matter to me, Ou Liangcai cheerfully said, What is the third issue? Under everybodys attentive gaze, Lei Jiuzhi calmly said, The third issue is entourage. We must have native Pingyao as our tails; the number does not have to be too many, but young maids and servants, we must have seven, eight people. I could dress as the Guanjia [housekeeper, butler], Xiao Jun is the family bodyguard. These people must be absolutely loyal and trustworthy. Ou Gongzi, can you handle it? Ou Liangcai replied, I have to go back and discuss it with my father, but there shouldnt be any problem. Song Shidao said, Ou Gongzi, please tell your esteemed father, we are going to see Qin Wang to send our regards first. We will wait for him to give us a nod before we proceed with this definitely risky n. Greatly delighted, Ou Liangcai said, In that case, there wont be any problem at all. It will also be much easier for us to get things done or to get help from others. Pointing to Xu Ziling, Lei Jiuzhi said, Ziling, when are you going to enter the Pass to see Qin Wang? I need to get you a set of household registration documents to get you into the city. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; his own brother was going to fight to the death against Li Shimin, yet he was going to ask for Li Shimins cooperation, what kind of his Niangs matter is this? Tomorrow then! he answered. It was still about a sichen of darkness before dawn, Zhaochengs west gate opened wide, apanied by the rumbling noise of hoof beats, three thousand elite cavalry galloped out like a whirlwind, and disappeared into the sparse forest region outside the city. Wuming was circling freely in thecquer-dark starless, moonless night sky; unless one had acute eyesight like Kou Zhong, they could forget about seeing Wuming, which had be a small dot in more than a hundred zhang altitude in the sky. The cavalry stopped in the depth of the forest. Liu Heita and Kou Zhong leaped up onto a tree branch, watching for the information that Wuming was passing on to them on the ground. Liu Heita sighed and said, Now I understand why the Tujue could make their name as the mighty beyond the Great Wall, merely this secret skill of using the falcon to spy on the enemy is like having a pair of eyes in the sky; they wont be afraid of sneak attack and encountering ambush, but moreover, they can understand the enemys situation well. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong said, But the eagles eyes wont y a big role in besieging a city; therefore, although the Tujue are able to sweep across the prairie, they can only carry out rapid-attack-and-swift-retreat plundering warfare toward our Central Earth. Its just that this situation is gradually changing. Not only because they have Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidou, and the other hunting dogs and ves attaching themselves to them, but even more, its because Zhao Deyan is an expert in besieging a city, so that the Tujue gradually master the tactics of besieging a city. Letting out a cold snort, Liu Heita said, One more day we dont get rid of Zhao Deyan, one more day he will be the cmity within our Central Earths bosom. Kou Zhong nodded and said, That is precisely the main reason Xiao Ling set everything aside to deal with the Xiang Family. The Xiang Familys intelligencework covers the entire world, Xiang Yushan, that scum is both crafty and very smart;bined with Zhao Deyans besieging a city technique and the valiant Tujue Wolf Army, sooner orter they will bring great disaster to the Central ins. Therefore, we must gain the initiative by striking first, to pull the Xiang Family by its root, afterwards it will be Xiao Xians turn to face trouble. Knitting his brows, Liu Heita said, I wonder if Tuli would consider his brotherhood with you and not join forces with Xieli to invade us? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, I dont know. I really dont know. Tuli could even refuse to help me deal with Li Shimin. Looking at the development beyond the Great Wall, the other tribes allotted share is just to obey Xielis words. The coalition forces beyond the Great Walling to invade our territory is just a question of when. Liu Heitaughed and said, Tomorrows problem, let us consider it tomorrow! What are we going to do now? Kou Zhong concentrated his attention to observe Wumings flying pattern and its attitude high in the sky; he said, The Tujue call this eagles dance; it could point out the position of the enemys scout, as well as whether the main forces are stopping or moving, and the route of their movement. ording to the falcons attitude right now, she has not discovered any enemys trace yet. However, this is not one-hundred-percent certain yet, because she is still very young, there are plenty of opportunity to make a mistake. Liu Heitas countenance changed, he said, She might make a mistake, wont it mean that its very easy to mess up things? Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, That is only one possibility. Xiaodi also learned from Old Ba the technique to listen to the ground. If there is any movement of arge number of cavalry within several dozens li, I guarantee that they wont escape my hearing. Come on! Well continue along our originally nned route. The two mounted their horses and led the cavalry through the forest and across the wilderness. Book 45 - 11 – Returning to Chang’an Due to the world was split up, military campaigns have been dragging on for years, in various regions, all hegemons and warlords developed their own unique method to deal with the enemys reconnaissance and infiltration. Since it was impossible to stop businessmen and travelers promotingmercial trade to pass through, while at the same time they must not let harmful characters to enter, how to strike a bnce became a representation on how sessful they implemented their policy. [Reminder: in wuxia context, the world (tian xia C lit. under the heavens) always refers to China.] Tranted by foxs Due to geographical and topographical superiority, in term of controlling the flow of people, the House of Tang of Guanzhong had shown the most outstanding sess. Since entering and taking control of Changan, the House of Tangs Li Family has strengthened the Pass defense. [Another reminder: Guan of Guanzhong literally means the Pass, see also Book 30 Chapter 5.] They put massive military force and installed government offices at Tongguan, which was an important stronghold to enter the Pass, as well as along the waterway of the Yellow River. People who wanted to enter and leave the Pass, not only must have household register document, they also need to have travel approvals issued by the local authority of various regions. Outsiders who wanted to enter Guanzhong to do business, much less migrants and refugees, must obtain approval of their resettlements from the official institution. There were also stringent restrictions and strict regtions concerning relocation and migration in general. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling, carrying the official approval forged by Lei Jiuzhis magical hands, wearing the mask from the Duke Yangs Treasure, which was originally meant to be used by Yang Su in his escape attempt, embarked on a passenger ship and safely entered the Pass. After three more days and nights, he finally reached the City of Changan. His beloved horse Ten-Thousand-Li Spots was left in Taolin, under care of Ren Jun and the others. Revisiting old haunts, he was ovee with emotions, especially since he had just returned from the Little Changan outside the Great Wall. Facing this real Changan of the Central Earth, he recalled the person [usually female] that already left far away; how could he not be sad and depressed! Upon entering the city, he went straight to Hou Xibais Passionate Nest. ording to Lei Jiuzhi, when Hou Xibai was visiting him, he told him that he would return to Changan; taking advantage while Shi Zhixuan was not around, he wanted to give Yang Xuyan bad luck, to see what kind of wonderful skill Yang Xuyan was able to train from the half volume of the Bu Si Yin Fa. Even if Hou Xibai was not in, he could use the Passionate Nest to stay for a time. In an easy drive on a familiar path, he leaped over the rear courtyard wall and into the house, only to hear Hou Xibais voice singing, Calm and solemn cool breeze is blowing my gauzed clothes and skirt; the gauzed clothes floating about, lightly moving to and fro in the wind. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, Who could possibly be more passionate than Hou Xibai? Hou Xibai swiftly flew out, grabbed both of his hands, and spoke in great delight, Zilings honored self suddenly arrive, it really pleases Xiaodi beyond all expectation. These past few days I keep hearing people talking about you and Ba Fenghans mighty deeds on the eight sides of the area beyond the Great Wall. It made me regret that I did not attach myself to your tail, and so I missed the fascinating local conditions and customs beyond the Great Wall for nothing. Wheres Shaoshuai? Lets go inside and talk! Xu Ziling said. Tranted by foxs Entering the hall and sitting down, Xu Ziling recounted their experience beyond the Great Wall in general all the way through, he also exined the purpose of his trip to Changan this time before asking, Didnt you tell Lei Dage that you came here to decide victory and defeat against Yang Xuyan? Yet I see that you are singing and painting in a totally rxed manner. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai responded, I was just finding joy in sorrows. I cooperated with you in dealing with Yang Xuyan, Shi Shi certainly regarded me as a traitor. Just now you even told me that Zhu Yuyan is dead, Shi Shi seeded in absorbing the demonic qi of the Sheng Sheli, so that his demonic power is greatly advancing; it looks like Xiaodis time is limited, if I dont draw a couple of paintings of beautiful women to be handed down to theter generations, what am I waiting for? Currently Xiaodi has be the most weed influential figure in Changan after the Divine Doctor Mo; yesterday Li Yuan personally saw me to hire Xiaodi to paint a scroll of a hundred beauties of the imperial court. I see that before the painting is done, even Shi Shi will not dare to lightly make his move against me, let alone Yang Xuyan. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Why is Li Yuan this muddleheaded? Knowing that Yang Xuyan is Yang Yongstter generation, hes still willing to treat Yang Xuyan well? Maybe Ziling does not know it, Hou Xibai replied, But Li Yuan is a man who remembers old affection the most. In the past, his friendly rtion with Yang Yong was extremely sincere, how could he be willing to kill his barely remaining flesh and blood? Besides, Yang Xuyan already swore an oath that he would sever his rtionship with Shi Zhixuan, and he deceived Li Yuan that he conferred the title of Sui Guo Gong [lit. duke of Sui kingdom] to him. Ay! Although its hard to avoid the battle between he and I, but presently each side has misgivings toward the other, we have to temporarily act like river water does not interfere with well water. I wish to see Qin Wang, Xu Ziling said. foxswuxia.wordpress Hou Xibai replied, On this, I can make arrangements, plus we have to do it very soon, because currently Liyang is heavily besieged by Dou Jiande, who attacks night and day. The Li Family is amassing an army, ready to go out of the Pass to help. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Liyang has Li Shiji and Li Shentong strongly defending their position, it shouldnt be easy to capture? It should be like that, Hou Xibai replied, But the fact is just the opposite. The situation on Liyangs side is critical. ording to what I heard, Li Shiji and Li Shentong mistakenly fell into Dou Jiandes luring-the-enemy tactic. When Dou Jiande was leading his troops around the city to attack the neighboring Weihui, Li Shentong led his troops to mount a sneak attack, who would have thought that he fell into the ambush, Dou Jiande attacked him so that tragically Li Shentong could only take about a dozen of his personal guards to escape. Dou Jiande then took his forces back to attack Liyang. Urgent military dispatches have been flying back here like snowkes. And then, lowering his voice, he said, Reportedly Zhong Shao has joined Dou Jiandes camp. This matter has shaken all levels of society in Changan, in which Xiaodi has the honor to take part. At the Helian Fort, Rushing Wolf in, Hualin, and Longquan, four battles, you guys have demonstrated your divine might, so that at the top of the streets and the bottom of the alleys people are talking about it endlessly. This time Li Shimin is meeting his match! Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Kou Zhong definitely wont surrender and pay allegiance to Dou Jiande. This must be a misunderstanding. After a short pause, he continued, There is one thing that I need your help with. I wonder if Xibai Xiong could investigate for me whether there is a northeastern swordsman called Yin Xianheing to Changan. Hou Xibai asked clearly about Yin Xianhes age, distinctive features, and appearance. And then he patted his chest and said, For me, to investigate one person is surely as easy as a hands turn, you can leave it to me. In Changan, there are a lot of people who want to sell their face [idiom: to show deference to someone by obliging them] to me, Hou Xibai. Ziling may take a good rest in here; in the study room, there are books ranging from the Book of Changes all the way to the Crown Princes chamber paintings [lit. Spring Pce, allusion to erotic picture], none is not avable, Ziling wont be lonely. Hearing that, Xu Ziling did not know whether he shouldugh or cry. Shaking his head, he said, I still need to go see Ji Qian, she might be Yin Xianhes long-lost little sister. foxswuxia.wordpress Stunned, Hou Xibai said, Unexpectedly there is such thing. In what capacity are you going to see her? This pretty womans position is ambiguous; her rtionship with the Princeling Faction is even closer. One thing goes wrong, I am afraid your identity might be uncovered by her, and that would attract disaster. Xu Ziling smiled and said, I have proper measure! I wonder if Ke Dazhi mighte back? Hou Xibai replied, On that, I am not too clear. My way of protecting myself in Changan is by talking only about the wind and the moon [i.e. petty talk], and never talk about politics. It would be a bit safer if Ziling go to see Qin Wang first before thinking about other things. Xu Ziling finally epted Hou Xibais advice. After Hou Xibai left, he sat cross-legged in meditation on the chair, to rx the exhaustion of several days of nonstop traveling. In the blink of an eye he entered the Man and Heaven intersect in senses realm, the true qi within his body mixed in harmony, he felt unspeakablyfortable and entirely free from worry. No one knew how much time had passed, suddenly an omen moved his heart;ing to his senses, his mind went beyond the natural, as a vivid image of an exceptional beauty appeared before his eyes. He was quite certain that the was not awakened by any noise or any changes in the airflow; rather, it came from some kind of mysterious and hard-to-describe subtle reaction that transcends normal senses. And this was not the first time that it happened; there have been simr reactions before, but none was more distinct and clear than this time. Tranted by foxs The neer floated like a ghost or a demon from the rear section of the building into the hall. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing that he could not escape; he barely arrived in Changan and already his track was exposed. He spoke gently, Wanwans holy-self honors me with your presence, I wonder what is the reason you are looking for Xibai Xiong? Wanwans sweet voice spoke in pleasant surprise, Unexpectedly its you, Ziling! This is really beyond my expectation. This is the first time that you are affectionately calling me Wanwan! While Xu Ziling was slightly startled, Wanwan already sat down on the chair opposite him. Without him realizing it, the day already faded away. He entered the city in the afternoon, yet this moment the sun was setting over the western hills, the hall was dusky, he had been sitting in meditation for over two sichen, his spirit has recoveredpletely. Two persons four eyes met, no one knew what feeling was in both sides hearts. Although Wanwan was still wearing white clothes and was still barefooted, but Xu Ziling clearly felt that her temperament was vastly different from before; however, as for what exactly was the difference, he could not to pinpoint it. He just felt that she was even more deep and hard to fathom than before, that she was hard to grasp and made sense of. foxswuxia.wordpress His heart was moved, he said, Congrattions, you have finally achieved great sess in Tianmo Gong! Her pretty eyes shing, her interest overflowing, she looked him up and down, but the tone of her voice was still as cold and detached and serene as always, she said, I received Shizuns order to stay in Changan to cultivate the Dafa in secret, naturally there will be some achievement. Ziling, what about you? Havent you also made great progress? You did not need to turn your head around and already knew it was me. It did not matter what kind of tone she was speaking with, there was always a feeling that it went straight into the bottom of ones heart, carrying with it great attractive force. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Your virtuous master, in the decisive battle against Shi Zhixuan, because she fully used the burning both jade andmon stone move, her cloud scattered her smoke disappeared. I saw it with my own eyes. Extraordinarily, Wanwans expression did not change at all, she merely spoke indifferently, Did Shi Zhixuan apany her, the Senior, on her journey? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, He was injured and fled far away, your virtuous master ruined the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. His heart was kind and honest; his lips sealed and he did not say anything about it was because Zhu Yuyan wanted him and Shi Feixuan to apany her in death but he discovered it in time, which made him eager to save Shi Feixuan that Shi Zhixuan obtained a sliver opportunity to escape. Otherwise, history might have to be rewritten. Tranted by foxs Without blinking at all Wanwan stared fixedly at him. Suddenly she sighed lightly. The tone of her voice turned ice-cold, so serene that it made other peoples heart pounding, she asked, Did he obtain the holy qi inside the Shelipletely? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I am afraid so! Actually, he and Kou Zhong had already obtained most of the strange qi inside the Relics one step earlier, but of course he would never reveal this secret to Wanwan. Wanwan sighed again. The beautiful pupil of her eyes emitted aplicated, hard-to-discern emotion, she spoke in soft voice, From now on the world will have a lot more troubles! foxswuxia.wordpress And then she said, Can Ziling work together with me to deal with Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling heaved another sigh of surprise. Previously, in the so-called cooperation with her, each time it always happened when he had no strategy left to try, he was being threatened by her. Ever since the battle of Jingling, where two great elders of the Flying Horse Ranch died tragically under Wanwans hands, there was a deep, unresolvable enmity between them, which developed to the present time, which, even he himself was unclear of what kind of rtionship there was between he and Wanwan. Logically speaking, he and Wanwan ought to fight until you die, I live; however, confronting the pure-and-holy-like-an-immortal Wanwan, he could not generate any murderous intent. Smiling wryly, he said, Is there any possibility of cooperation between us? Dont threaten me, I could leave Changan at any time. Laughing tenderly, Wanwan said, When did I want to threaten you? But if you are unwilling to help Waner, Waner will have no choice but to obediently marry down Shi Zhixuan [i.e. to marry a man of lower social status], see if he has the ability to lead the holy school in this struggle over the world to be the big winner. Its not that I am forcing you; rather, there is no other choice. And then theres that close female friend of yours who is an expert in ying the Xiao, perhaps she would be a sacrificial victim, because she is the root of the trouble that Bi Xiuxin left behind. Only by personally killing her will Shi Zhixuan be able to win the respect of various sects of the holy school. She hit Xu Zilings vital part right on. He sighed and said, You still say its not a threat? Thinking about it, his heart turned cold. Various sects of the demonic school might take advantage while the whole country was in rebellion, to expand their power in various aspects in the dark; Lin Shihong, Qian Duguan, Fu Gongyou, and the others set up independent regimes and became big and small warlords. Wang Shichong had a close rtionship with the demonic school, Zhao Deyan was the imperial strategic adviser that Xieli trusted. The rest, like Pi Chen, An Long, and so on had control over economic lifeline. If these people acknowledged their allegiance to, and fell under control of, Shi Zhixuan, how big his power would be, how intense the disaster would be, perhaps no one would be able to estimate. The immediate problem was that Wanwan could easily discover, as well as destroy, their operation to deal with the Xiang Family. Since Wanwan knew that he came to Changan, it did not matter what disguise he was going to use, she would be able to recognize him in just a nce. Tranted by foxs Pfft! Wanwan giggled and rolled her eyes at him, she said, Am I that horrible? Before, I did do a lot of things that offended Xu Gongzi, but it was only because a masters order cannot be disobeyed. Now I can be in charge of my own house, naturally its another thing to make Xu Gongzi satisfied with new affairs and new style. I will never force you to do anything you dont want to do, I only hope that you would join hands with Wanwan to kill Shi Zhixuan, to rid the world of evil; isnt this the chivalrous, the warriors honor that does not allow you to nce back, which you make it your business and the way that you should go, acting on behalf of Heaven? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, I do not have the qualifications to do any chivalrous, warriors honor things; I am merely passing my days seeing one step, walking one step. About dealing with Shi Zhixuan, can we put a hold untilter? He still needs some time to recover; we still have time. Wanwan shook her head and said, How could Ziling be such a short-sighted person? If we wait for him to return to the fray after a period of inactivity, everything will be toote! foxswuxia.wordpress Frowning, Xu Ziling said, If he stays outside the Great Wall, how are you going to find him? Wanwan said, Why should I go to look for him? I have a way to lure him out. And then,ughing sweetly, she said, So, Ziling is willing to cooperate? Wouldnt it be better if you marry me? I will be the most obedient and most behave good wife for you. Xu Ziling was shocked. Wan Dajie, please dont joke with me, he said in embarrassment. With hidden bitterness, secret grudge Wanwan cast him a sidelong nce, and then she said, You dont want me to say it, then I wont say it. But would you be interested in listening to my n, so that you can protect that beauty from You Lin Xiao Gu [the secluded forest in the small valley]? Helpless, Xu Ziling replied, I am listening. Remaining tranquil and calm, Wanwan said, ording to the holy schools ancestors wishes, the demonic schools Two Sects and Six Ways must hold an assembly once every twenty years to elect the leader. In thest assembly twenty years ago, Zhu Shi [master] was elected the Chief of the holy school; its a pity that because the world is in chaos, although Zhu Shi became the revered head of the holy school, the fact was she only had a name but no reality. Currently the opportunity of unification appears, Ci Hang Jingzhai, by way of the Li Family, upies the upper hand, this moment the Two Sects and Six Ways are no longer united. By the time the Li Family unify the world, we will be trapped again in the danger of perishing. Under this kind of circumstances, the various sects of the holy schools twenty-year assembly will once again be a necessity. Zhu Shi is gone, currently Wanwan is the only qualified organizer, Shi Zhixuan muste to participate, and then we will have the opportunity to kill him, to break his Bu Si Yin Fa. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, You know that on breaking his Bu Si Yin Fa, I do not have the slightest bit of confidence? Tranted by foxs Wanwan spoke softly, If we could put together the broken-into-two-sections Bu Si Yin Scroll, perhaps we would be able to find a way to break Bu Si Yin. Xu Ziling began to gain a little bit of understanding the reason Wanwan was looking for Hou Xibai. Shaking his head, he said, Shi Xiaojie has read the entire Bu Si Yin Scroll, yet she still has no way to break it. Wanwans beautiful eyes lit up, they flickered with intelligent bright light, so touching it made peoples heart trembling, yet it was also heartbreaking! Such a beautiful woman with natural good looks, yet she was Yin Gui Pais new generation greenes-out-of-the-blue leader [from the idiom: green is born of blue, but beats blue; fig. the student bes superior to the master], able to master the Tian Mo Da Fa in her young age, surely not even in the demonic school there has been anybody like her; moreover, she was the only person in the demonic school who had deep knowledge of their Long-Life Qi, which made her Tian Mo Gong even more ghost-and-deity-cannot-fathom deep. foxswuxia.wordpress He heard her purple-red lips opened slightly and spoke softly, Its Shi Feixuan again; how could nujia be the same as her? Her knowledge is based on mysterious thought of the orthodox school; Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa, which was created based on mysterious school and holy school, no matter how smart and intelligent she is, at most she could only understand some. But if nujia and Ziling work together to cote and examine critically, it will be another matter altogether. Xu Ziling said, Even if Hou Gongzi has no problem, but Yang Xuyan is Shi Zhixuans sessor, he wont be stupid enough to deal with Shi Zhixuan, because that is akin to make his own life difficult. Actually, Yang Xuyans half-section of Bu Si Yin Scroll has already been stolen by Hou Xibai, which, after memorizing the content, he destroyed it. However, he thought that for the time being he should not let Wanwan know about it, because only God knows that if Wanwan knew about the secret of the Bu Si Yin Fa, what would the consequences be. Smiling sweetly, Wanwan said, If we cannot borrow it, we can steal it, we can even kill him in passing. In this regard, Xu Zilings, Hou Gongzis, and my desire shouldnt be different, right? Stalling for time, Xu Ziling said, We must discuss it nicely with Hou Gongzi first. Her seductive appearance grew without restraint, Wanwanughed tenderly and said, I never force you to make decision right away, our twenty-year assembly will be held in three months, on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival in Chengdu. Xu Gongzi, what do you think? Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Among thousand options, ten thousand choices, why pick Chengdu? Tranted by foxs Unconcerned, Wanwan replied, Because its convenient! Xu Gongzi can take the opportunity to visit Shi beauty, while also putting everything to death and thening back to life, giving Shi Zhixuan the opportunity to strike treacherously. Xu Gongzi then will not pretend to agree with me, while inwardly you decided to miss the appointment. Ay! I have no choice either, hence I am forced to use a little bit of scheme against you, so you ought to forgive me! Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, When will you change your habit of bringing harm to people? Wanwan revealed another hidden bitterness, secret grudge expression; half true and half false, she sighed and said, I really cannot harm you anymore. Ziling believe it, good, you dont believe it, its also good. How long are you going to stay in Changan? Xu Ziling was dying to ask her whether Xiao Xian belonged to the demonic school, but he was afraid to beat the grass to scare the snake, hence he had to restrain himself not to ask. He said, As long as you can find Hou Xibai, you will be able to find me. foxswuxia.wordpress Suddenly Wanwan rolled her eyes, she said, Someonesing! See you tomorrow. Floating away from the chair, her bare feet touched the ground, and she flew out the window like a specter, and disappeared outside, leaving Xu Ziling standing alone in the hall, which had already turned pitch-ck. Xu Ziling and Wanwan sensed at the same instant that someone wasing into the house from the rear courtyard. Only from this, it could be seen that Wanwans acute senses were definitely not inferior to his. Li Shimins voice rang from behind Xu Ziling, speaking heavily, I am just looking you guys. Xu Zilings heart was moved, knowing that something that could make Li Shimin losing his mind had happened. What might this grave matter be? Li Shimin sat down opposite him, taking Wanwans ce. His countenance was gloomy and dark, his sword-shaped eyebrows deeply furrowed, he spoke with solemn expression, Liyang is going to fall in a few days, Wang Shichongs troops are pressing against Cijian [lit.passionate mountain stream], making us unable to move a single step, we want to help but its beyond our capability. Does Ziling know who is still in Liyang City? Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at him. Book 45 - 12 – City Under Siege Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns; the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemys forces; the next in order is to attack the enemys army in the field; and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities[1]. In all cities, the factors that hold strategic significance include thick and high city walls, deep moat to protect the city, easy to guard, difficult to attack, and the ability to use the few to defeat the many; therefore, even Sun Tzu, who was able to lead military operations with extraordinary skill, still said that besieging a city was to be thest resort. Tranted by foxs Oftentimes these few famous military quotes were hanging on the edge of Kou Zhongs mouth, he even hadprehensive and profound experience on it. In the battle of Jingling, he was the defender of the city, but in this battle of Liyang, he was on the attacking side. If he had a choice, he would advise Dou Jiande to only besieging without attacking, but the problem was that Li Shiji was well prepared, the city had enough provisions tost for a year or a half. The next problem was that if the enemys reinforcement came to help them, with the enemies inside and outside the city mping down on them, they would sink down from taking the initiative to bing passive. After researching the situation and deliberating, they decided to adopt the strategy of surrounding the city from all sides, taking turn day and night to attack violently, in order to break the enemys fighting spirit and physical strength. In the luring-the-enemy surprise-attack battle outside the city of Liyang, they wiped out up to ten thousand men of the enemy troops, which greatly weakened the strength of the standing army guarding the city. Their remaining number was no more than twenty thousand men. To firmly defend a city of such size, Liyang must deploy all its soldiers. In other words, Dou Army could rest, while Tang Army did not have this good luck. Thus the crucial nature of the battle outside the city was clear. This time Dou Jiande was determined to capture Liyang. Reinforcement troops were continuouslying from Shouchun and Xucheng. Up to this moment, the total military strength already surpassed one hundred and fifty thousand men, constantly increasing the pressure on Liyangs defenders. foxswuxia.wordpress All heavy equipment was well prepared, because to make a breakthrough over the enemys deep moat and tall rampart, it would be absolutely impossible to rely only on infantry, cavalry, and regr saber, sword, bow and arrows. Therefore, they must rely on siege equipment. In terms of supplies and organization, the preparation must be adequate, especially since they wereunching round-the-clock offensive, all aspects of the requirement were more stringent. In the first ce was the construction of a moveable observation tform, the nest car and the tower car, which enabled them to see the situation inside the city from higher elevation, or to release arrows to aid the offensive. After understanding the enemy clearly, the attack must follow. The first step in the siege war was crossing the trench. Only by sessfully crossing the city of Liyangs moat would the siege equipment, as well as the suicide squad C had the chance to approach the city wall and unleash the siege battle. Both Dou Jiande and Liu Heita were old hands in besieging a city. As soon as the battle started, they immediately cut off the water source to the moat, to carryout the stopping up the water source, opening the sluice gate when the water is shallow method. After the water became shallow, they bagged dirt and transported stones, by filling up carts with dirt and rocks and pushed it directly into the moat, to let thesemonly referred to as shrimp toad carts forcefully filled the moat and made it t. Filling the trench was followed by taking over the city walls battle, and in this kind of situation, wooden donkey was essential. Wooden donkey was arge cart on four wheels, the roof was pointy and nting, forming a roof-ridge-like huge wooden structure, unafraid of bows and arrows, and did not fear stone strike either. It was covered in chemically treated cowhide, not easy to burn, under which nearly a hundred soldiers could hide. It has an amazing efficacy as a shield in besieging a city. Tranted by foxs As they got close to the city walls, it was the moment where all kinds of siege equipment woulde handy: flying tower, ramming vehicle,dder cart, battlement cart with hook, fire car, skyscraper, clouddder and giant wooden log to batter the city gate, all with ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt momentum, to climb the city walls, to knock against the wall, to ram the gate, to climb over the city wall by all means, and then when they obtained steady foothold on top of the city walls, they would progressively expand the gap to make a breakthrough, to consume the enemys willpower and defensive strength. Kou Zhong and Liu Heita rode side by side at the front line conducting this bitter besieging-the-city battle, Dou Jiande stayed on amand tform, a temporary structure that was builtparably far from the city, conducting the overall situation of advance and attack and retreat and defend using bugle horns and battle drums. The difference between this battle and the battle of Jingling was that in the past, Du Fuwei carried out the opening one corner strategy, by keeping one way out of the siege, to give the army-civilian inside the city an opportunity to escape. This time, however, Dou Jiande heavily besieged the city, in an attempt to wipe out all officers and soldiers inside the city, to prevent Li Shiji and Li Shentong from running away to Weihui and reorganizing their forces. foxswuxia.wordpress However, no matter how adequate Dou Jiandes preparation was, their resources were, after all, limited; therefore, Dou Jiande concentrated his main force to attack the east gate, so that the scale of the attack on the three other gates was much smaller; their goal was only to control the enemy, to prevent them from breaking out the siege and run away. Under the illumination of the torches inside and outside the city, Liyang defenders, who had been enduring several days and several nights, never-stopped violent offensive C were already weary, and it showed. Three times Kou Zhong had personally charged up the city walls, beheading over a hundred of the enemies, but in the end he was still forced to get out of the city again by Li Shentong, Xu Shiji [sic], and a group of martial art masters on the enemys side who risk their life to fight him. Just now he returned to the camp to rest for two sichen, this moment his spirit and physical power has recoveredpletely, so he donned his armor and got on his horse, waiting for the moment the city would be broken. Tranted by foxs He sat high on the Thousand-Li Dreams back, Wuming was perching proudly on his left shoulder, his tiger-eyes were shing brightly, yet his mind was tranquil like the moon in the well, as he swept his gaze over the enemy and us, two sides you die, I live desperate attack and defense battle. Boom! Boom! Boom! The battering ram crashed against the city gate, one strike at a time, seemingly representing the strength of Liyangs troops being eroded one bit at a time, while for the each bit of weakening of the enemy, the attackers also had to pay a heavy price. Outside the city, several wooden donkeys and tower cars have been burned to ashes by the enemys fire-arrows, some were still zing, sending out clouds of thick smoke covering the sky and screening the air. Inside the city, many ces caught fire as well; smoke and fragments of fire filled the atmosphere, to pay tribute to the fireballs shot by the stone-throwing machines, which made the soldiers and people inside the city rushing about endlessly trying to deal with it. foxswuxia.wordpress Arrows and stones were flying like locusts back and forth from both inside and outside the city, continuously increasing the number of the departed spirits who sacrificed their life in this pitiless war. In here,passion and mercy practically had no ce to stand. Kou Zhong more and more felt that war is just like a game of chess, and that it must be in this kind of callous mind that one could achieve results, to have the right frame of mind to conduct the advance and retreat of his sides men and horses. The Dou Army besieging the city was like arge number of ants ignoring their own life and death, climbing thedder, scaling the wall, to attack the enemy at the top of the wall. The defenders were relying on the high walls to stake their life to hold back the enemy, to put the enemies trying to climb the wall to an end in the battlements or under the wall. The close-rangebat showed that the attack and defense battle was entering its climax. It was the third wave of offensive that the Dou Armyunched tonight. In the previous two, the Tang Army defending the city cast lime, slugs, boiling oil, and rocks toward the Dou Army, crushing their desire to break the city. This time evidently their resources and supplies were depleted, so that the defensive force greatly differed from the previous ones, they were no longer able to move one step ahead to prevent the battering cart to directly strike the east gate. Before each attack, Dou Jiande always offered Li Shiji and Li Shentong a chance to surrender, but each time he was categorically refused. Shaking his head, Liu Heita said with a sigh, Li Shiji is lost! Kou Zhong looked up to where Li Shijismand banner was standing, indeed he did not see Li Shiji and Li Shentongs figures anymore. Nodding in agreement, he said, Watch out, they might take advantage of the moment when the city is broken is break the siege and escape. Tranted by foxs Liu Heita looked back at the thousand-man elite cavalry waiting behind him in tight formation. Laughing coldly, he said, How could it be that easy? And then he shouted his order. The remaining more than a hundreddder carts, battering cars, and two units of troops armed with huge shields, bows and arrows, standing on either side of the cavalry, each unit numbered five thousand infantrymen, started to move toward the east gate under themand of the battle drums. Boom! The sturdy east gate finally gave in, it copsed inside into the gateway, raising a cloud of dust and wood fragments covering the gate. On the besieging troops side, the morale was greatly aroused, their shouts shook the heaven,pletely drowning the noise of the battle and the sound of shing weapons. foxswuxia.wordpress Liu Heitas countenance changed, he shouted, Back off! The bugle horn was sounded, the squad in charge of the battering cars pulled back in panic, but they were already a step toote. Only Kou Zhong understood the reason why Liu Heitas countenance changed; it was because they made a mistake in estimating the timing of the breaking of the gate. It goes without saying that the enemy was secretly moving away the sand and stones and iron carts blocking the gateway and strengthening the resistance of the city gate, so that the gate was easily broken. It should be noted that ording to the original n, the moment the city gate was broken, the battering cars must withdraw immediately, the construction battalion was in charge of clearing away the obstacle inside the gateway, to let the infantry charging into the city first, and finally Liu Heita and his cavalry troops would march straight in unchallenged to attack. But this moment the fact appeared to be inconsistent with their estimation, so that although the Dou Army side upied the superior position, in term of time they still had no room to advance or to retreat. Sure enough, inside the city the gongs were struck, arge number of enemys cavalry charged out from inside the city, killing everybody in sight indiscriminately; they divided themselves into several groups, breaking the siege toward four sides, eight directions. The wailing of the construction battalion responsible for clearing the fortifications of the gate shook the heavens, as they scattered in all directions to run for their lives, which increased the opportunity for the enemy riders to escape even more. The battlefield situation outside the east gate was in total chaos, enemy and us difficult to tell. Making prompt decision, Liu Heita bellowed, Brothers! Charge! Together with Kou Zhong at the front, he paid no attention to the enemies swarming violently out of the city; concentrating the forces, the sound of the one-thousand-man cavalry hoof beats rumbling, they charged straight into the open east gate. Kou Zhong let out a shrill whistle. Hemanded his darling Wuming to fly up to the sky, while unleashing the man and horse as one technique, spurring his beloved colt Thousand-Li Dream to charge ahead rapidly. Tranted by foxs Behind him, Dou Jiande promptly transferred the troops to encircle and intercept, to prevent the enemy from breaking the sieges and running away. The infantry on both sides, under themand of two other high-ranking military officers, surged toward the east gate like two waves of raging tide. The battle was intense. Kou Zhong was the first to arrive. The Moon in the Well chopped to the left and hacked to the right, the vortex of energy shot out, those who blocked him, none was not hacked by him that both the weapon and the person were thrown out and fell to the ground. He was valiant and unstoppable. With the cooperation of Liu Heita and the elite troops, the enemies who were rushing out of the gate were forced back into the city. After killing even-he-did-not-know-how-many men, suddenly he felt the pressure was greatly reduced. Turned out he had sessfully passed through the gateway and was already inside the city. He saw in the city the crying and the shouting were ear-splitting, with mes springing up everywhere, dense smoke and fire fragments covering the air and illuminating the sky. The City of Liyang was like a jar of blood of the Asuras hell, soldiers and civilians, mixed with the old, the weak, women and children scattered in all directions. The tragic and severe atmosphere was like doomsday approaching; a spectacle too horrible to endure. On top of the city wall, inside the city, even more intense close-range, hand-to-handbat was unfolding. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong and Liu Heitas mighty cavalry division stepped into the main street of the east gate, without yielding a singe cun, they attacked the enemy defending the city and went deeper into the city. Behind them, Dou Armys infantry burst in like a tide. The enemys great momentum has already gone. The cruel city battle was in full swing all-around, the thick city wall haspletely lost its function to defend the city. Suddenly a group of nearly three hundred Tang soldiers wasing straight at them. The leader was precisely Li Yuans younger brother, Li Shentong, whose martial art skill was considered to be the first or second best among the Li n. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Why dont I see Shiji Xiong? He is not scared and went into hiding, is he? The Thousand-Li Dream carried him lurching forward, the Moon in the Well shed like a sh of lightning. Li Shentongs pair of eyes was bloodshot, the long sword in his hand swiftly poked forward, he roared, Even if I die, I will have you, Kou Zhong, apany me on the road. Tranted by foxs Dang! The saber and the sword shed, the two were severely shaken at the same time. In the blink of an eye the two sides men and horses crossed weapons in a tangled battle. Li Shentongs men were like being swallowed by a tide by Kou Zhongs side, they were no longer able to maintain their formation. Knowing that he was going to die, Li Shentong unleashed his swordsmanship; divinely brave, difficult to block. In that blink of an eye, he alreadyunched more than a dozen sword strikes toward Kou Zhong from the horseback; each sword strike was a mutual-destruction move. Even with Kou Zhongs ability, it was still quite strenuous to parry. Although fighting at close quarters in the midst of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, Kou Zhongs mind was still as tranquil as the moon in the well; he was well aware that after the fierce battle defending the city for thest several days, Li Shentongs wear and tear was substantial, he was like an arrow at the end of its flight. Suddenly the personal guards behind Li Shentong were thrown into aplete mess. Liu Heita appeared from behind Li Shentongs back, the long saber, emitting powerful whistling noise, swept across the back of his neck. If Li Shentong was hit by the de, surely his head would be separated from his body. Kou Zhong flipped his strong wrist, he added more power to shock Li Shentongs sword and sweep it away, so that he was unable to move his sword to block the attack behind him. But Li Shentong was outstanding as well; he hurriedly dropped down to crouch by the horses neck, evading Liu Heitas sure-kill saber by a hairsbreadth. foxswuxia.wordpress Liu Heita shouted coldly, his broadsword made an about-turn, using the back of the de he fiercely knocked the horses head. Without uttering a single groan, the horses four legs went weak, it dropped on its knees on the ground, and then copsed on its side, so that Li Shentong and his warhorse rolled on the ground together. Just the instant he lost his bnce and fell to the ground, Kou Zhong leaned over and stretched out off the horseback, fast as lightning the Moon in the Well pricked out, it hit the vital acupoint on Li Shentongs nk. Li Shentong jerked back as if he was struck by lightning. In one fluid motion Kou Zhong grabbed the armor on his back, and picked him up from the ground. Kou Zhongs tiger-body sitting straight on the horseback, he shouted loudly, Li Shentong has been captured alive by me; those who surrender will live, those who resist will die! The shout was drowning the sound of battle all around, it spread widely throughout the entire battlefield at the eastern part of the city. Coming to Kou Zhongs side, Liu Heita shouted in support, Those whoy down their weapons and surrender will not die. The sound of shing weapons gradually subsided. The Tang Army in the city saw theirmander-in-chief being captured, their will to fight disappearedpletely, one after another they abandoned their weapon and surrendered. The Dou Army unceasingly flooded into the city, putting the City of Liyang under control. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong put Li Shentong, helpless and humiliation across his face, his acupoint was sealed C down, and handed him over to a Dou solder to be bound and taken into custody. How could he not sigh with sorrow inwardly, thinking about how in the past Li Shentongs awe-inspiring authority spread to the eight directions, yet today he was reduced to be a prisoner? Under Liu Heitas direction, the high-ranking military officers entering the city split up to lead their respected soldiers to go deep into the city, to call the other defenders of the city to surrender. Under escort of a group of warriors, Kou Zhong and Liu Heita rode slowly side-by-side into the main street of the east gate, heading toward the Dudu Fu mander-in-chief mansion/seat of government] in the middle of the City of Liyang. Group after group of cavalry and infantry walked past them on both sides, clearing the way for them. Liu Heita excitedly said, This time we can capture Liyang, it all thanks to Xiao Zhongs skillful execution of the wonderful strategy, by wiping out the enemys main force, ruthlessly dampening the enemys morale. The next target we want to capture the most is not Luoyang, but the Li Familys stronghold Tongguan. Not only it is the thoroughfare into the Guanzhong in, as well as the barrier east of Changan, it also controls the Yellow Rivers Feng Ling Du. If Tongguan fell, Li ns days of showing off their might can be counted on ones fingers; I want to see how far Li Yuan can spread his might? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong sighed and said, Dont Li Dage feel that this time we won a very tragic battle? Stunned, Liu Heita said, Why is Xiao Zhong thinking about this aspect? Since ancient times, in any battle where a city is being besieged, injuries and deaths are hard to avoid. Liyang is Li ns most important strategic point outside the Pass. Liyang fell, Weihui is difficult to protect. Li ns only choice right now is to attack Luoyang, while advancing we could attack, retreating we could defend. Kou Zhong was about to respond, a group of riders galloped over, the young general leading the troops reported, The remnant of the enemies retreated and are defending the governors mansion, they determined to resist stubbornly. Enraged, Liu Heita said, Those guys are unable to differentiate good from bad; surround the Dudu Fu heavily for me, I want to see how long they canst. The young general added, ording to the surrendering soldiers, Li Yuans youngest daughter Princess Xiuning ought to be inside the Dudu Fu. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. [1] Giles, Lionel, M.A. (trantor), Sun Tzu on the Art of War, Andale Online Publishing, 2000, Ennd. Book 45 - 13 – Meeting Beautiful Woman Again Xu Zilings countenance changed; he could not help thinking about Shen Luoyan, wondering whether she came with Li Shiji to defend Liyang together. If she died in battle and was buried with the city, wouldnt Kou Zhong more or less bear some responsibility? How could he, Xu Ziling face this cruel reality? All along, beginning with Kou Zhong wanted to contend for hegemony over the world with his heart and soul, they have been strolling around like in a dream that exist only in fantasy, that was so far away from the real world. However, listening to Li Shimin, it seemed like these two worlds unexpectedly merged into one, bing a real, live event before his very eyes, no longer a distant dream. Kou Zhongs road to supremacy had caused him and this person, who was originally a friend, a brother that he admired, to be mortal enemy on the battlefield that could only resolved by the demise of one side. Tranted by foxs Li Shimin sighed and said, Two days before Dou Jiandeid siege to the city, Xiuning Gongzhu arrived in Liyang; because he has other matter, Fuma [emperors son-inw] did not apany her. Ay! His love and concern for Li Xiuning was clearly exhibited in his speech. Xu Ziling asked in heavy voice, What is Shimin Xiong going to do? Intense murderous aura shed through Li Shimins pair of eyes, he said, Due to Wang Shichongs malicious mobilization, the n toe to Liyangs aid is already not feasible. I have no choice but to disregard everything and attack Luoyang with all our strength. There wille a day where I will have to fight to determine victory on the battlefield with your good brother. That is what I, Li Shimin most unwilling to see, but other than that, I dont see any other choice. Xu Ziling felt that Li Shimin regarded Kou Zhong as the only opponent who could match him; others such us Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, and the likes were still considered nothing in his eyes. Sighing inwardly, he said, If Kou Zhong knew that Xiuning Gongzhu is inside the City of Liyang, he would do everything he can to protect her, he will not to let anybody harm her. foxswuxia.wordpress Smiling bitterly, Li Shimin said, I absolutely believe that Kou Zhong would do that. But the fire of war is pitiless, no one can predict what will happen. Ziling arrived in time, if you were one dayte, you would not have seen me. Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, knowing that tomorrow Li Shimin was going to lead the main forces out of the Pass, heading for Luoyang. This would be the most crucial in nature of the grand military campaign in the power struggle over the Central Earth; the effect would be profound and longsting. Li Shimin spoke seriously, No matter what will happen between me and Kou Zhong in the future, I still esteem Ziling, whatever it is Ziling has in mind, please speak up, as long as it is within my, Li Shimins powers, I will certainly carry it through for Ziling. Xu Ziling felt his thoughts in a whirl;pared to the tragedy that might be happening at Liyang right now, other things suddenly became insignificant, but he had a faint feeling that the facts were not like this at all; from this, it was clear that he was deeply concerned of Kou Zhong. Because if any mishap C indirectly caused by Kou Zhong C happened to Li Xiuning, it would be a matter of regret, which would be an extremely cruel and severe blow to Kou Zhong. Based on his character, there was a very good chance that it might cause him to embark on the road of self-destruction. Struggling hard to suppress all kinds of emotions, he exined his purpose ining. Tranted by foxs Li Shimin pondered for a moment, he nodded and said, Zilings suspicion of the Xiang Family, I have lots of simr feeling, only I did not know that Chi Shengchun might be Xiang Guis eldest son. This matter is extremely important. If Qi Wang knew clearly Chi Shengchuns real identity yet he is still covering him, it is possible that he is not as he appears on the surface, giving his full support to Taizi [crown prince], but there must be another intention. Xu Ziling said, Demonic schools influence is far greater than we originally thought. Yang Xuyan is Shi Zhixuans sessor; they also have Dong Shuni, this formidable chess piece, which they nted by your esteemed fathers side. Shi Zhixuan is a demonic school figure with the most outstanding ability, wisdom and demonic power in thest several hundred years, Shimin Xiong simply cant not guard against him. Li Shimin revealed a helpless expression; his belly full of bitter water [fig. bitterint], he said, The one that Yang Xuyan, this chess piece harms the most tragically is precisely Xiaodi. First, with thousand ways, a hundred ns they made Fuhuang [father emperor] interested in Dong Shuni, and then they instigated Fuhuang to send me to go to Wang Shichong to propose marriage, so that two Furen [madam] thought that weing Dong Shuni back to strive for favor against them was my crafty idea, and now she is the one talking by Fuhuangs side entirely on Taizis behalf. You have seen it with your own eyes, in Yang WenGans incident, Taizi made a big mistake, yet in the end he only took a few words of me and thats the end of it. Fuhuang still listened to their instigation by not sending me, but dispatched Qi Wang toe to Taiyuans aid instead; how could my heart not lose hope? Were it not that Shi Xiaojie has high expectations of me, perhaps I would have abandoned everything and go with Ziling to roam the mountains and cross the forest to pass enjoyable days and be done with it. foxswuxia.wordpress The contradiction in Xu Zilings heart was excruciating; he did not know how to persuade him. If he advised him to pull himself together, wouldnt it be encouraging him to deal with his own brother, Kou Zhong? Without any better option, he changed the topic by saying, Has Shimin Xiong considered that by attacking Luoyang, you might introduce a lot more hard-to-fathom variables in the City of Changan? The lightning light in Li Shimins pair of eyes shing, he stared at him deeply for a moment, and then he said, This is precisely the reason behind the dy in sending the troops in a punitive expedition to the east to Luoyang. If Liyangs fall is not imminent, dont think that tomorrow I will be able to start. Only one sichen ago I received themander seal to lead the troops from Fuhuangs hands; Ziling, do you understand? Xu Ziling said, I wonder if someones afraid that after Shimin Xiong capture Luoyang, you might establish yourself as the emperor outside the Pass, and set up a separate kitchen [idiom: start of on a new path]? Astonished, Li Shimin said, Zilings view is very prating. This is indeed Fuhuang and Taizis greatest fear. Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling returned Li Shimins sharp gaze, yet the tone of his voice was casual, as he asked, Will Qin Wang do such thing? Laughing involuntarily, Li Shimin replied, I want it so bad, but I know that I definitely wont do such a thing. This is the first time I am going against the norm by revealing the feeling in my heart to anybody, because I really and fully trust you, Xu Ziling, also trust Kou Zhong. Because you guys have never told me, Li Shimin, even half a word of lies. Even more, the things you promised, none does not count. If you were my loyal followers, such performance is not the least bit strange, because we all havemon interest. But the two of you have never relied on me, Li Shimin; you won your reputation by relying on your own hands. Xu Ziling was really touched from the bottom of his heart. This was precisely the reason of Li Shimins sess and his charisma; the spirit in his bosom was not something that ordinary people could match. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, Xiunings affair, I do not dare to think about; I can only entrust her to the Will of Heaven. As soon as I received your oral message brought by Hou Xibai, I threw everything aside and came to see Ziling. After I leave tomorrow, Li Jing will give you full support. If you couldpletely uproot the Xiang Familys hidden power in Changan, I will be very grateful to Ziling. Finished speaking, he rose to his full height and was gone. The City of Liyang fell into Dou Jiandes hands, the number of defeated Tang soldiers who surrendered reached eight thousand men, only Li Xiuning and about one thousand of her personal guards defended their property to the death inside the Dudu Fu at the heart of the city. foxswuxia.wordpress Li Shiji sessfully broke the siege and escaped; the number of his personal guards who were able to leave with him was no more than a hundred men. Their defeat was dismal and tragic. The loss on Dou Jiandes side was also disastrous; injuries and deaths among his warriors reached thirty thousand men, which definitely impacted his strength. Kou Zhong and Liu Heita arrived outside the Dudu Fus main gate. The two men looked at each other, the former revealed a pained expression. Liu Heita patted his shoulder and spoke in low voice, While Dou Ye has not entered the city, settle this matter quickly, I will support any decision you make. Kou Zhong gratefully nodded his head. Leaping down from the Thousand-Li Dream, he walked over toward the Dudu Fus main gate. Immediately numerous-and-close-together archers appeared on top of the wall surrounding the Dudu Fu, taking aim at him as the target. Kou Zhong untied the Moon in the Well and tossed it toward Liu Heita, who was still sitting on horseback. This action was purely some kind of goodwill gesture. With his martial art skill, with or without weapon, the difference was not much. He took two more steps forward, raised both hands into the air, and said, Xiuning Gongzhu, Kou Zhong is asking for an audience. His voice was imbued by his power, so that it went straight into the mansions hall behind the wall. The Tang soldiers knew that he should not have any ill intention, but knowing about his unrivalled martial art skill, they did not dare to ck off the slightest bit. These eight hundred personal guards were personally chosen by Li Shimin for Li Xiuning from among the younger generations of his own troops; both in terms of loyalty and martial art skill, they definitely had no problem, everybody was ready to lie down their life for her. Tranted by foxs Li Xiunings quiet voice came out, saying, Kou Zhong, just go away! As long as you dont participate in the attack against us, Xiunings heart is grateful. Kou Zhong already guessed that her reaction might be like this. He responded, In that case, Gongzhu might as well give your order to have me shot dead! I simply must speak face to face with Gongzhu, no matter what. Finished speaking, he strode toward the main gate. This showed how smart Kou Zhong was; he made the ready-to-die soldiers guarding the governors mansion not daring to release the arrow toward him without Li Xiunings order. foxswuxia.wordpress Under the gaze of the warriors from both sides, Kou Zhong went straight to the door of the governors mansion, picked up the doorknocker, and lightly knocked it only once. Knock! Creak! The main gate opened inside a little; a young high-ranking military officer spoke to Kou Zhong in low voice, Shaoshuai, pleasee in! The tone of his voice was surprisingly full of respect and polite. Kou Zhong shed inside, only to see the guards were everywhere, each one had a determine-to-meet-death expression on their face, the atmosphere was heavy and dignified. Patting the high-ranking military officers shoulder, he spoke indifferently but calmly, Dont worry! Gongzhu is going to go back to Guanzhong safely. The high-ranking military officer spoke softly, Mojiang Li Laifu, I have seen Shaoshuai when I apanied Qin Wang in Luoyang, afterwards I also met Shaoshuai at the Flying Horse Ranch. Gongzhu is in the main hall, please follow Mojiang. So thats how it is, Kou Zhong mused; Li Laifu was willing to think for himself and act ordingly [idiom] to open the door for him, it showed that he more or less knew Kou Zhongs rtionship with Li Xiuning, he knew that right now Kou Zhong was Li Xiunings only chance of survival. Ay! Laotian [Heaven] really loves to y tricks on people. The first time he crossed swords with the Tang Army, unexpectedly he came across his first love, his sweetheart Li Xiuning. Overtaking him, he spoke in low voice, Is Chai Jiangjun here? Li Laifu shook his head and said, Fuma Ye did note. Just now we attempted to break the siege, but were unsessful, so we were forced to retreat and take our stand here. Tranted by foxs Fuma Ye These three characters were like a sharp needle piercing Kou Zhongs heart, he could not hear the rest of Li Laifus words. Wearing military uniform, with majestic heroic spirit, Li Xiuning sat calmly in an imperial tutor chair facing the halls door. Standing on her left, right, and behind were more than a dozen personal attendants, which in just one nce it was obvious that they were martial art masters as well. Li Xiuning angrily said, Laifu! How dare you think for yourself and act ordingly; do you want me to chop your head first? Li Laifu dropped on his knees on the ground, the tone of his voice remained tranquil as he said, Mojiang is willing to ept any punishment. Afraid that he might pull his sword to kill himself, Kou Zhong hastily pressed his shoulder and said, Its my fault! foxswuxia.wordpress Li Xiunings eyes fell on his face, making contact with his burning gaze, and immediately she turned her head around to look at the garden outside the window. All of you, get out! she spoke in low voice. All around her, the personal guards were stunned. One of them spoke in terror, Gongzhu, he Li Xiuning spoke indifferently, I want you all to withdraw immediately. This is an order. Kou Zhong spread out his hands and said, If I want to harm Gongzhu, I could do it any moment, there is no need to use contemptible deceit. Without any choice, the personal guards withdrew to the back. You too! Li Xiuning said. Kou Zhong was stunned. Pointing to his own nose, he spoke in doubt, You want me to go too? Feigning anger coquettishly, Li Xiuning said, Not you. Laifu! It was as if Li Laifu had just received the imperial kindness, an amnesty from the emperor; he crawled up and withdrew to the main entrance with head hung low. Li Xiuning sighed and said, Ay! Kou Zhong, what are you doing here? Since that day you rejected Wang Xiong [brother king], you should know that a day like today woulde. The question is whether you kill me or I kill you! A hard-to-suppress tenderness welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; he walked over toward her, went down on one knee by her chair, and looked up to carefully examined her clear, wan and sallow, but was still lucid and elegant like in the former times C graceful jade countenance. He spoke gently, Gongzhu, please make prompt decisions, let me immediately escort you and your personal attendants to leave from the west gate. As long as you could reach Weihui, you could immediately return to Guanzhong. Tranted by foxs Li Xiunings beautiful eyes emittedplicated, profound expression; meeting his gaze, she said, How are you going to deal with the innocent people of Liyang? Patting his chest to give her guarantee, Kou Zhong said, Dou Jiande has never been someone who loves to kill; his reputation is this regard is good, he will certainly treat the people of the city well. Hanging her head down, Li Xiuning spoke softly, Are Li Jiangjun and Wang Shu [uncle king] dead? Kou Zhong replied calmly, Li Shiji managed to break the siege and escaped. As for your Wang Shu, ay! He was he was captured by Xiaodi! At first Li Xiuning showed a happy expression, but she quickly turned sad; she spoke in low voice, Kou Zhong, youd better kill Xiuning! Naturally Kou Zhong understood the beautiful womans heart, but at the same time he sensed a great difficulty, because Li Shentong had already been sent to Dou Jiande outside the city to be dealt with. Asking Dou Jiande to hand over such a valuable spoils of war, he himself felt that it was asking too much. If he were in Dou Jiandes ce, he certainly would not hand the prisoner over. In fact, by setting Li Xiuning free like this, he and Liu Heita would have to face unfathomable consequences. foxswuxia.wordpress Sighing bitterly, he said, Is it possible for Xiuning to give Xiaodi a little time, let me try to ask for your esteemed Wang Shu back. Li Xiunings tender body severely shaken, she blurted out, Oh, Kou Zhong! Kou Zhong stood up. Suddenly he was brimming with confidence. Forget about asking Dou Jiande to release Li Shentong, even if he had to face magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, he would throw his head and sprinkle his hot blood for Li Xiuning without the slightest hesitation. With tears in her pair of beautiful eyes, Li Xiuning looked at him; she raised her jade countenance, which could cut Kou Zhongs liver and guts to pieces, and sorrowfully said, What was the reason of all these? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong replied, I am afraid only Laotianye knows! He could not help reaching out to gently pat her face twice, his hand went soft, a burst of grief welled up in his heart, he wanted to speak, but nothing came out. This was the closest and the most intimate contact with Li Xiuning since he knew her. And then he turned around and left. Li Xiunings voice came like a wind blowing from behind, Have you read the letter I wrote to you? Tranted by foxs It was as if Kou Zhong had his acupoint sealed; he stopped abruptly. Embarrassed, and his mouth felt like it was full of bitter and astringent taste, he dejectedly said, I did not dare to open and read it, I only put it inside a waterproof oilcloth bag and keep it with me; I hope its not destroyed for being underwater! Finally Li Xiuning could not restraint the tears from flowing out of her eye sockets. Waving her hand, she said, Please take good care of yourself! Book 46 - 1 – Style of Benevolence and Righteousness After Li Shimin left, the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai, who was responsible for threading the needle between them, hurriedly came back, asking, How was your chat with Qin Wang? Did you get along well? Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling nodded and said, He agreed to give me his full support. Hou Xibai sat down next to him. Scrutinizing his countenance, he asked in surprise, But why is your expression so unsightly? It appears that you have a heavy load on your mind? Xu Ziling did not want to worry him about Li Xiuning, he said, Nothing, just thinking that in the future Qin Wang and Kou Zhong will be poised for battle on the battleground. I ay! Is Shen Luoyan still in Changan? Ha! Hou Xibaiughed and said, Are you talking about that romantic beauty? Not only she is in Changan, she has had a drink with me, alone, once. And then lowering his voice, he said, The Li Family has notpletely trusted her Fu Jun [husband lord] Li Shiji, afraid that he still thinks fondly of Li Mi, his old master, therefore, they did not allow Shen beauty toe with her fuxu [(literary) husband] going into battle. foxswuxia.wordpress Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Romantic? [Note: fengliu can be tranted as distinguished and aplished/outstanding or romantic/dissolute/loose, hence the connotation could either be good or bad.] Hou Xibai hastily exined, Ziling, please dont misunderstand, although I, Passionate Prince, am passionate [or affectionate/emotional/sentimental], but I would never touch and provoke other peoples tender wife. Romantic was only referring to her touching elegant bearing and rxed, leisurely manner, which makes her the best among women, a beauty with unique style. We are all old friends, I am not afraid to let you know that for the past few years, my attitude toward beautiful women has changed a lot. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Unexpectedly you have no interest toward pretty females? Wagging his hand, Hou Xibai said, Of course its not like that, but its unlike in the past, where I always wanted to be intimate with fragrant pond [not sure, perhaps an idiom]; rather, I now only want to repeatedly look at them with pleasure. Only this way I can retain the most touching mysterious feeling between men and women. And then taking out the Fan of Beauty, Swoosh! he opened it in his hand; leisurely and naturally he shook his head and swayed his noggin as he recited, Throwing oneself in somebodys arms, although touching, how could itpare with desiring to resist yet still meeting? And desiring to resist yet still meeting cannotpare with hoping yet unable to obtain. Unable to obtain and loving without any future is the most touching. Xu Ziling could not help being reminded of her longing toward Shi Feixuan; he deeply felt that Hou Xibais words were really not without any basis. Hou Xibai started his lecture, This is the logic that I learned from all kinds of different types of women; by the time you be her man, her attitude might change a lot. For example, bing totally submissive, or perhaps will haggle over every ounce. Also, as a result losing contact with people whom you know before you obtained her, like martial art masters exchanging blows, the delight of youe and I go; furthermore, losing the other side is a mysterious feeling that cannot be disrespected and vited upon. Ha! You dont seem to have any interest in listening? Tranted by foxs Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Xibai Xiongs words are highly interesting, its just that my mood is the problem! Hou Xibai did not take offense at all; he changed the topic, I have my people investigating Yin Xianhes track for you; I can give you a definite answer tomorrow. Tonight, wed better go to Shang Lin Yuan to visit Ji Qian, to verify whether she is Yin Xianhes little sister, while we wash the dust off your, Xu Gongzis feet along the way. Xu Ziling jumped in fright; frowning, he asked, What identity I am going to use to see her? foxswuxia.wordpress Hou Xibai smiled and said, Just use your Mo Weis identity and appearance! A few days after you guys unearthed the Duke Yangs Treasure, an unprecedented chaos appeared in Changan, Qin Wang cleverly arranged for you to leave, therefore, your identity has not been uncovered yet. Only now you are back! Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, How can that work? Mo Wei has had martial art contest against Ke Dazhi in the Lunar New Years Eve banquet at the imperial court, ten thousand eyes witnessed it, and then he suddenly disappeared? Anybody would be able to guess that Mo Wei is either Kou Zhong or me, Xu Ziling. Shrugging his shoulders, Hou Xibai said, So what if they knew? Provoking Mo Wei is tantamount to provoking Qin Wang. The current situation is delicate, Qin Wang has just beaten back Liu Wuzhou and Tujues coalition forces, tomorrow he is going to lead the troops to Luoyang. For the time being, nobody, Li Yuan included, dares to provoke him, hence the smartest people will pretend that they dont know who you, Mo Wei, really are. Li Jiancheng is implicated in the Yang WenGans rebellion incident, Li Yuanji met with the disgrace of his troops being defeated. The two men are fellow sufferers empathizing with each other, they have no choice but to momentarilyy down the g and still the drums, not daring to raise any problem. Xu Ziling still shook his head and said, Mo Wei disguise is still very inappropriate. I am most afraid that we might beat the grass to scare the snake, by letting Chi Shengchun to be on guard, and then our work will be in vain. Hou Xibai was puzzled, he asked, Our side is solid, plus we have people from Qin Wang Mansion supporting us, we might as well prepare an ambush and capture him alive, torture him severely to extort his confession, well take a good care of him, why be afraid that Chi Shengchun wont tell us the truth? Xu Ziling replied, Lei Dage has the deepest understanding of the way the Xiang Family do their business; ording to him, the Xiang Family has a set ofmunication method, just like a chain, if we take off one of the link, the chain will be broken. This is exactly to guard against one of the family or n member being extorted to confession. Therefore, unless there is no strategy left to try, its not advisable to use such a stupid method. Suddenly he reached inside his bosom and took the Gong Chenchun/Mo Wei mask and put it on. Tranted by foxs Hou Xibai asked in astonishment, Didnt you say you dont want to dress up as Mo Wei? Xu Ziling smiled and said, I am thinking of a way that will satisfy rival demands. Did Lei Dage leave some leftover disguise material here? Hou Xibai had a sh of understanding; pping this thigh, he said, Wonderful! You will let Ji Qian know who you are, but others wont be able to recognize you without paying attention. Please wait a moment. When Hou Xibai came back, he brought a pair of fake beard, which he stuck onto Xu Zilings face, and he said with augh, This is my own treasure, to ensure that no one can see through. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Do you know that just now Wan Meier [beauty] came to have a heart-to-heart chat with you? Wanwan? Hou Xibai blurted out. Xu Ziling recounted his meeting with Wanwan and said, I have a question that I want to ask you, but if it is not convenient for Xibai Xiong to answer, I will not me you. foxswuxia.wordpress Hou Xibai asked in surprise, What could be so serious that you have to warn me in advance? Xu Ziling said, Does Xiao Xian belong to demonic school? Hou Xibai shook his head and said, I really dont know. Why do you have such suspicion? Xu Ziling said, Because of the rtionship between Xiang Yushan and Zhao Deyan. You came from demonic school background, you should know more clearly about demonic school matters than I do. Hou Xibai thought deeply for half a day; he spoke with grave expression, Your suspicion is not without any reason. Compared to ordinary gangs and sects, our recruitment of disciples is a hundred, a thousand times more stringent, so much so that some even do not hesitate to kill their close rtives to sever rtionship with six close rtives [namely: father, mother, older brothers, younger brothers, wife, male children]. Xiaodi could very well be one of those victims. However, Xiao Xian is a descendant of the demise Liang dynasty, he himself should not be a demonic school disciple, but Xiang Gui is very difficult to say, otherwise Xiang Yushan would not suddenly be Zhao Deyans disciple. However, Xiang Guis sons as a group could not possibly be demonic schools direct disciples. He also said, If the Xiang Family belonged to the demonic school, or perhaps one of those left-way side branches, the highest possibility is Mi Qing Dao [lit. extinguishing emotion/love way], because this sect specializes in the way of -yin and yang cultivation to bewitch women. If we investigate Chi Shengchuns lifestyle, perhaps we could uncover the spiders thread and horse track. Xu Zilings spirit greatly aroused, he said, Xibai Xiongs suggestion is very useful. Standing up, he said, I want to go to the Six-Happiness to stroll around, to see if perhaps I am lucky toe across Ji Qian, which is a bit more proper than looking for her in the pleasure house, plus you wont be implicated in this. Because his mind was in chaos, unexpectedly he did not remember that the Dulin [gambling forest] master that Ji Qian wanted to take as her master was Yong Qin rather than Gong Chenchun. Tranted by foxs When Kou Zhong was walking out of the Dudu Fu, Dou Jiande, who had just entered the city, was talking to Liu Heita, both were still on horseback. He had no choice but to brace himself and walked over toward them. He thought that if Old Dou firmly refused to let the people go, what should he do? Seeing him showing up, Dou and Liu, two men stopped talking, their gaze fell on his face. The Dou soldiers surrounding the Dudu Fu were more than ten thousand men, yet everybody was holding his breath and calming his qi, waiting in strict formation, like a stretched-taut bowstring. foxswuxia.wordpress The fires throughout the city had ben extinguished, only the remaining steam lightly rising in spirals into the sky, a reminder of the intense fighting of the city under siege that had just urred. Kou Zhong went in front of Dou Jiandes horse. Rousing his spirit, he said, Dou Ye, I wonder if youll give me permission to speak? Dou Jiandeughed aloud and said, Of course! He flew off his horse. Liu Heita and the men on his left and right understood and moved away, to give the two men some privacy. Kou Zhong walked over to Dou Jiandes side and said with a bitter smile, I have a presumptuous request, hoping for ten thousand times that Dou Ye would ept. Dou Jiande smiled and said, I did not expect Xiao Zhong to be such a romantic and passionate man. I heard from Heita that Li Xiuning is your first love sweetheart; it really never urred to me. Kou Zhong sighed and said, What first love sweetheart? Its just an incurable disease of unrequited love, which came from my wishful thinking. For this reason I hardened my heart toward anybody within the Li Family, she is the only exception. Dou Jiande calmly said, We are of the same side, why cant I be happy seeing you speaking so sincerely? This time we captured Liyang, Xiao Zhongs meritorious service is at the top of the list; are you asking me to let Li Xiuning, Li Shentong, and the others go? Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, There is no problem? Dou Jiande reached out to put his arm around Kou Zhongs shoulder, and then he pulled him walking along the main street leading toward the east gate. Seeing one after another his men stepping aside to make way, heughed involuntarily and said, I, Dou Jiande, was born in a vige in Wucheng [county in Dezhou], Shandong; I followed Gao Shida of Qinghe in the uprising of Gaoji Lake. Because Gao Ye thought highly of me, he handed over themand of the militia to me. With seven thousand militia with mix-and-match equipment, I defeated the Sui general Guo Xuans more than ten thousand elite troops, hence establishing my, Dou Jiandes fame for fighting prowess. Afterwards, Gao Ye was killed by Sui dynastys famous general Yang Yichen, I was forced to run away in panic with only a hundred or so men. Hereafter I worked hard to run the army, and today, not only I subdued Xu Yuang and destroyed Yuwen Huaji, I even captured Liyang, what am I relying on? Its the two characters ren yi [benevolence and righteousness]. To the surrendered Sui dynastys generals, those who are willing to stay, all are treated sincerely and put in important position; those who are not willing to stay, they are given freedom toe and go freely. Each time we besiege a city and seize a territory, what we obtain is divided equally among the officers and soldiers under mymand, while I myself only have green tea [fig. only tea without food] and tasteless rice, with the lowest soldiers I am going through the good times and hardships, experiencing life and death together. Before capturing Liyang, didnt I tell you to treat the surrendering people well? Could it be that now I immediately break my word? People who cannot be trusted wont stand, much less this is Shaoshuais cherished desire. And then he turned around and shouted to his men, Bring Li Shentong here, and be polite to him. Tranted by foxs His men epted the order and left. Kou Zhongs heart was welling up with gratitude. Compared with Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande was a real talent. foxswuxia.wordpress Dou Jiande stopped, he took his arm off Kou Zhongs shoulders, his pair of eyes shing with power, he spoke heavily, This time, although our casualties are heavy, we ought to still have enough power to go west to attack Ho, to give Wang Shichong a shock. Will Xiao Zhong be willing to help me? This time Kou Zhong was really shocked. What? he blurted out, We absolutely must not do this. Ho is a military strategic town east of Luoyang, Wang Shichong will definitely defend it, if we fail to capture Ho within a few days, we will be attacked from two sides by both the Hos defenders and Wang Shichong. This is not the problem, but the biggest problem is that Li Shimin might take advantage of the void and enter in. Once he seizes Liyang back, we will have no way to retreat. Dou Ye, please think thrice. Dou Jiandeughed aloud and said, As long as you are willing to help me, using the ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt momentum, we couldunch surprise attack to Ho. If not sessful, we could return to Liyang before the Wang Army arrive; if sessful, under threat from the Li ns main forces, Wang Shichongs only way out is to ept being a subject to me. This was the first time that Kou Zhong discovered Dou Jiandes weak point, which was because he had never met formidable opponent like Li Shimin, plus recently he achieved victory several times in session, he grew arrogant and willful. He sighed and said, To attack and capture Ho, we must take the three cities in its vicinity, namely Guanzhou, Bianzhou, and Xingyang. Such aplex military operation, its impossible to aplish before Wang Shichongs main forces arrive, it will only be in vain. Tranted by foxs In the past, his battle against Li Mi made him research the terrain all around Luoyang, so that he knew it like the back of his hand, hence he was able to put forward strong facts, in order to persuade Dou Jiande to dispel his intention of attacking Ho. Dou Jiande muttered to himself irresolutely without speaking. Kou Zhong roused his glib tongue [orig. a tongue like a reed] to continue, Li Shiji sessfully escaped to Weihui; although momentarily he is powerless to counterattack, he is definitely ring like a tiger watching its prey, waiting for an opportunity to move. This time more than half of Dou Yes siege equipment are either broken or damaged, it is not possible to attack Ho Liyang-style. Presently the top priority is to consolidate the results of the war, to build up the military power; then advancing we can attack, retreating we can defend, in call cases Dou Ye will be able to do as you wish. Finally Dou Jiande was persuaded. Nodding his head, he said, Yourment is not without any reason. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, I still have a proposal, only Im afraid Dou Ye wont want to listen to it. His eyes shing, Dou Jiande looked him up and down; shaking his head, he said, As long as ites from you, Kou Zhong, whod dare to lightly ignore it? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Because I know Dou Ye despise Wang Shichongs conducts; however, under current circumstances, the best strategy is to join hands with Wang Shichong to beat back Li Shimins main forces. Dou Ye could seize the opportunity to wrest control of all the cities that the Tang Army possess outside the Pass, and then you could behead Wang Shichong. At that time, the world will be the object in Dou Yes bag. Dou Jiande spoke heavily, I dont like Wang Shichong, how could he show respect for me? Those descendants of emperors rtives of the old Sui has never been in agreement with us, militia who started out from the viges, it is very difficult for us to cooperate in sincerity. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, That is precisely the problem spot; if Wang Shichong feels that he would be defeated without any chance of victory, would you say he might acknowledge allegiance to the Li Family, or surrender to you, Dou Ye? Emotionally moved, Dou Jiande said, That is certainly the problem. Kou Zhong said, Therefore, Dou Ye should write a letter, let me personally deliver it to Wang Shichong, to pacify his heart, so that he feels confident to withstand the Li ns main forces attacking to the east; then Dou Ye would be able to strive for valuable time, to calmly reorganize your troops, to split the mountain and watch the tigers fight first, and then sit to collect the fishermans benefit. Finally Dou Jiande was moved;ughing aloud, he said, My mind is blinded by the victory, fortunately you reminded me. So be it! Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling, mingling among the crowd in the ordinary-people-bing-the-master [not sure] main hall of the Six-Happiness Casino, yed a couple of small hands as if he was just enjoying the excitement. He was quite hesitant whether he ought to try to go into theparatively higher level gambling hall to look for Ji Qian. Whenever he went to the casino in the past, he always had Lei Jiuzhi giving him directions. Just like Lu Miaozi, this man was erudite and multi-talented, his interests were wide-ranged, and every single one was carefully researched, plus he was familiar with the customs of the gambling industry. Now he was alone, plus he must not attract any attention. After calcting the gains and losses, he decided to stop at this point and leave the not-one-drop-can-trickle-through crowded gambling hall. He had just returned to the street when he saw at the Ming Tang Wo across the street the back figure of a woman, graceful with many postures, was disappearing into the main hall. Her build seemed to be simr to Ji Qians. A familiar, happy feeling welled up in his heart; therefore, he strolled normally across the vehicles and horsesne and entered the Ming Tang Wo. In the outside hall, the number of people, as well as the level of excitement, was in no way inferior to the Six-Happiness Casino, but the woman, whom he suspected to be Ji Qian, was nowhere to be seen. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly, because he encountered the same problem as in the Six-Happiness Casino, i.e. whether he should exchange a bronze medal to enter the VIP hall, or he should just wait outside the main gate. If he opted for thetter, he did not know how long he would have to wait. foxswuxia.wordpress While hesitating, a group of people was entering the gambling hall. Xu Ziling retreated to one side to observe; seven, eight big men, whom in just one nce he knew that they were martial art masters and experts, like a crowd of stars around the moon, were escorting a middle-aged man in gorgeous dress, acting high and mighty, stepping into the hall. The man was of medium build, in a calm and rxed manner holding a tobo pipe in his hand, with his attendants eagerly attentive to serve him, he calmly walked while swallowing clouds and blowing out fog at the same time; his bearing was leisurely, but was extremely lordly. However, his pale countenance gave up a bit of indication that he indulged excessively in wine and women. At first nce there did not seem to be anything special in his appearance; if his gorgeous dress and his entourage were removed and he sneaked into the gambling hall to mingle among any crowd of gamblers, it could be guaranteed that he would not attract any attention. But Xu Zilings eyesight was brilliant; from examining his spirit and watching his attitude, he was certain that this man was not an ordinary idle person, that he could be described using four characters shen bu ke ce [deep, unfathomable]. Changan was the cultural gathering ce of the Guanzhong in, there has always been crouching tiger, hidden dragon; seeing such person was not extraordinary at all. Xu Ziling was preupied, he had no time to pay attention, but as he was about to go to the exchange booth to get some gambling chips, to follow the procedure to enter the VIP hall, suddenly a voice came into his ear, What auspicious day is today? Both casinos are like mountain of people, sea of people? In his heart, Xu Ziling was shocked; he recognized this voice as belonging to the person who used the Seven Needles to Control the Mind against Lei Jiuzhi, which he heard outside the city of Changan from his hiding ce. Tranted by foxs He quickly looked back, and caught in time that the speaker was the gorgeously dressed middle-aged man, who was talking to his attendants on the left and right. Although at the outer hall the noise shook the heavens, yet not a single word could escape his spirited ears. The man was indeed a martial art master; as soon as Xu Ziling turned his head to look at him, he immediately reacted, his burning gaze was shooting toward Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling cried Bad! inwardly. Fortunately he was quick witted; without stopping, his gaze swept past the gorgeously dressed middle-aged man, while he also raised his hand as if he was greeting someone on the other side of the hall, and then he strode across in front of the gorgeously dressed man, pretending to be looking for an acquaintance at the other side. foxswuxia.wordpress Brushing past Xu Ziling, a casino executive-level figure came over to meet the gorgeously dressed man, he saluted the gorgeously dressed man and said, Yin Guo Gong [grand duke], we are honored by your presence; this is our Ming Tang Wos glory. Da Xian [great immortal] is in the Tian Huang Tang [emperor of heaven hall; see Book 31 Chapter 6], please let Xiaoren show the way. By this time Xu Ziling was squeezing his way among the crowd, a huge overflowing-the-heaven billow was surging in his heart; he knew who this person was. He was Yin Zuwen, the father of Li Yuans beloved concubine Yin De Fei [reminder: fei means imperial concubine]. Relying on his power, this person was running amuck in Changan. Xu Ziling had heard that one time Yin Zuwen had his men break the King of Qin, Li Shimins Heavenly Policy chief imperial strategic adviser Du Ruhuis finger, and afterwards he even used Du Ruhui falsely, saying that Du Ruhui started it, so that Li Yuan was angry and med Li Shimin, scolding him for indulging his subordinates to bully his beloved concubines family. As a result, his rtionship with Li Shimin became even more distant. At that time Xu Ziling heard about it, but did not think about it too much; but now, naturally he knew that this thing was not as simple as that. At least he was sure that other than Yang Xuyan, the demonic schools influence has prated deeply into the Li ns royal family, the consequences were difficult to fathom. Xu Ziling passed through the crowd of people. Thinking that looking for Ji Qian was not an urgent matter, he wanted to see Li Jing first, to inform him about Yin Zuwens secret. Hurriedly heading toward the main gate, he had not even crossed over the threshold when a burst of fragrant breeze assaulted his face. Xu Ziling looked up, and knew that things had turned bad; however, unable to evade, he had no choice but to hang his head low while walking briskly, hoping that the other side might be careless enough not to pay him any attention, or perhaps his fake beard provided enough cover so that she would not recognize him as Gong Chenchun. The iing person was precisely Hu Xiaoxian. Tranted by foxs While the two were brushing past each other, Xu Zilings sleeve tightened, she caught and pulled it head-on, and then her silver-bell-like voice rang by his ear, Why dress up like a god and disguise as a ghost? If you are tactful, you wille with me at once. Xu Ziling finally regretted not epting Hou Xibais proposal. Even going to Shang Ling Yuan to drown his sorrows would be better than having Hu Xiaoxuan uncovering his identity. Book 46 - 2 – Bidding Farewell to Nightmare Inside the quiet VIP guest lounge of the Da Xian Tang, where no one else could disturb them, Hu Xiaoxian and Xu Ziling sat across the table from each other. Pfft! the former giggled, her beautiful eyes revealed a triumphant look, her demeanor rxed, she said, So, are you Xu Ziling, or Kou Zhong? Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling was shocked inwardly, but he calmed down as quickly, because his guess was that the other side really did not want to expose his identity, so her question was just probing in nature. Knitting his brows, he said, Whatever you want me to be, than Ill be that person! Hu Xiaoxian shook her head and said with augh, You still act dumb in front of this Guniang [Miss]? You can deceive others, but dont even think that you can deceive me. Whether you dress up as Gong Chenchun or Yong Qin, I admit that your disguise is really authentic and amazing; you look like totally two different persons. However, your gambling style and manner actually betrayed you, so that I knew that you are not only Yong Qin, you are also Gong Chengchun, as well as that guy called Mo Wei or something, who greatly disyed his might at the imperial court. Since all three persons are you, then all three persons are not you. Quickly confess, are you really Xu Ziling or Kou Zhong? What are you doing back in Changan? Arent you afraid people might surround and catch you alive in a? Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; he barely arrived in Changan, already his identity was exposed, first by Wanwan, and now by Hu Xiaoxian. How was he going to continue mingling in the city? He sighed and said, Isnt Hu Xiaojie a bit too trusting? If I were either Xu Ziling or Kou Zhong, in order to conceal my identity, I had no choice but to harden my heart and kill you to shut your mouth. Hu Xiaojie is not afraid? Hu Xiaoxianughed tenderly, like a trembling sprig of flower; shaking her head, she said, Not afraid! I really am not afraid! Because Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong have never been known as vicious and merciless men. Behave and be a bit tactful! Which one is Gexia? foxswuxia.wordpress Dejected, Xu Ziling said, I am Xu Ziling. Is Xiaojie satisfied? Fortunately, I came here just for a quick visit, I will immediately leave the city and forget about it. Annoyed, Hu Xiaoxian said, Is Nujia that horrible? Even if you want to leave, youll have to wait until tomorrow morning when the city gate opens! Humph! A bunch of random talks and nonsense, treating me like this is the first day I am mingling in Jianghu. Quickly take off your mask for me, I hear Xu Zilings looks is schrly, distinguished and aplished, a famous attractive and intelligentngjun [there is no concise English equivalent; lit. my husband and master (archaic)/yboy of rich family]. She yed with him that Xu Ziling did not know whether tough or cry. Fortunately he sensed that she had no malice. Bracing himself, he gave in and pulled the mask, revealing his real face; smiling, he said, Xiaojies evaluation, if you used it against Hou Xibai, it would be iparably suitable. For me, Xu Ziling, the name does not correspond to reality, I am just a crude person. Staring fixedly at him, her beautiful eyes lit up; as if she did not hear what he said, she blissfully said, Oh, Xu Ziling! Would you be Xiaoxians boyfriend? Just for a few days is fine! Xu Ziling was bbergasted; such beauty with brazen words, unrestrained style, even Ji Qian was somewhat inferior. Smiling bitterly, he said, Hu Xiaojie must not crack jokes! Tranted by foxs Pursing her lips, Hu Xiaoxianughed tenderly, she looked to be very proud of herself. Rolling her eyes at him, she said, I want you to uphold justice and do me a favor; nujia is in extreme distress! Xu Ziling felt that things have taken a big turn for the better, naturally he did not dare to offend her. Following the tone of her voice, he asked, What is troubling Xiaojie? Hu Xiaoxian revealed a worried look; sighing lightly, she said, Precisely because I cant find the ideal husband. Whose familys young woman [Guniang] is not troubled by this? Hee Nujia is joking. My real trouble is because some people think they are my ideal husband, but when I see him, my heart is disgusted. Can you think of a solution to this problem? Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Who dares to force Hu Xiaojie to do something that you are unwilling to do? foxswuxia.wordpress Acting like a little girl, Hu Xiaoxian put up her hand, and then counted one finger at a time, saying, The first one is that who thinks that his gambling technique is better than mine, that he has the most qualifications to be my Dies son-inw. Number two is Qi Wang Li Yuanji; the one proposing marriage is he. The third man is the most despicable; I thought he was showing special consideration to our Hu Family, who would have thought that unexpectedly it produced the opposite of the desired result. In addition to this, the fourth is my own Ol Die. Ay! But he is actually under pressure and has no choice; who told him to choose Changan as his territory, dreaming that in the future the Li Family would obtain the world, and then he could vigorously expand his gambling business? Tell me! Isnt my situation right now on all sides, the song of Chu [idiom: surrounded by enemies, isted and without help], without the freedom to act independently? Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, The third person who is forcing Xiaojie, is it Yin De Feis father Yin Zuwen? Hu Xiaoxian replied in amazement, How did you do that? One guess and its right on target. Xu Ziling understood. This business of forcing Hu Xiaoxian to marry was precisely the reason he came this time to Changan to deal with Chi Shengchun. This was the Xiang Familys wonder troop to expand their gambling business. It should be noted that the Xiang Familys evil reputation has spread far and wide, the White Way Wulin could not tolerate them, so if the Lis Tang unified the world, they certainly would wipe out the Xiang Familys business. However, if the Xiang Family could, by way of marriage, merge the Great Immortal Hu Fos gambling business, they could be reincarnated into someone elses body in a way that justifies the use of the term [i.e. legitimately], then under this situation they could greatly spread out their hands and feet, using another name and another kind of outer appearance to continue the Xiang Familys enterprise. Looking from this angle, Yin Zuwen and the Xiang Family ought to be colluding in secret; their support on Ming Tang Wo was just another evil intention. How can I help you? Xu Ziling asked. Tranted by foxs Delighted, Hu Xiaoxian said, I knew you are a hero who sees what is right and act courageously! Helping me is simple, as long as you can win the Six-Happiness Casino, that will do. What? Xu Ziling blurted out, How is that possible? Pouting, Hu Xiaoxian said with a sneer, Whats not possible? Chi Shengchun is viting a big taboo in running a casino, which is he himself is addicted to gambling; oftentimes he cannot helping down to the arena himself, and his gambling is getting bigger and fiercer. Its just that because nobody can beat him, so far he has not met any mishap. You, Xu Daxia have exquisite gambling technique, plus you are not afraid of his contemptible trick, this time he is meeting his nemesis! Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Did your Die agree to Li Yuanjis marriage proposal? Hu Xiaoxian yfully said, Nujia is against it! Naturally Die must stall for time, while spending a bit of lips and tongue to persuade me. Ay! Too bad we dont have much time, next month Qi Wang is having a birthday banquet, Die must give Qi Wang an answer no matter what. If you dont save me, Xiaoxian will have no choice but to kill myself. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling was having a big headache; if he was not involved in an even bigger conspiracy to deal with Chi Shengchun, helping Hu Xiaoxian was not a problem. But now new branch grew out of a knot, and it was very difficult to exin to Hu Xiaoxian clearly. He had no choice but to say, Hu Xiaojie, do you trust me? Her seductive appearance in full disy, she cast him a nce and spoke coyly, If you are Gong Chenchun, I will at most trust you half. But you are Xu Ziling, Xu Daxia! Naturally Xiaoxian trusts you. Furthermore, if you are willing to let Xiaoxian apany you tonight, to win favor from you, I will be even more unswerving toward you. Oh, Xu Ziling, Xiaoxian admires you! Xu Zilings tender face turned red, he spoke in embarrassment, Xiaojie, please do not make a joke on this kind of things. Tell me first, currently, between you and Chi Shengchun, what kind of rtionship do you have? For example, do you deliberately pay no attention to him, or do you feign civility toward him? Sure enough, he managed to lead Hu Xiaoxian into another topic. Smiling sweetly, she said, I am confusing him. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Like a sprig of flower trembling randomly, Hu Xiaoxianughed and said, Why make a fuss about nothing? I am the sessor of the Da Xian Mens [great immortal school] of this generation, skilled in deception, how could Chi Shengchun easily see through the real intention in my heart? The most wonderful is that Heaven never bars ones way; I came across you, this destined love [in opera]. Hereafter I willpletely listen to you, all right? Xu Zilings mind entering the Moon in the Well realm, he smiled and said, If you really want topletely listen to me, I can make an oath to help you breaking away from Chi Shengchuns clutch, but not by using your scheme, rather, my scheme. Tranted by foxs In great delight, Hu Xiaoxian said, Whats the scheme? Tell me, tell me. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Hu Xiaojie seems to forget whos listening to whom? Pfft! with an enchanting smile Hu Xiaoxian said, I didnt know you are so strict with the rules. Ah! You dont want me to ask then I wont ask. So how should the first chess piece be yed? Xu Ziling responded indifferently, First of all, you must keep the secret; regardless the circumstances, you must not reveal the rtionship between you and me to the third person, otherwise Hu Xiaojie will have no choice but to give yourself to Chi Shengchun in marriage. Hu Xiaoxian smiled and said, Xu Daxias warning is received! Dont worry! This is more urgent for me than for you. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling felt that he was starting to warm up to her, he was happy that she was good at understanding others, quick-witted, sharp, and skillful. As if nothing had happened, Xu Ziling said, I want you to confuse an unromantic man; as for who this man is, I will let you knowter. Hu Xiaoxian adopted a cute, pitiful touching manner, putting the charming skill and wonderful method of the Da Xian Men in full disy; she spoke in anger, Do you think nujia is so stupid? That I really cannot think that your scheme has nothing to do with Xiaoxians major turning point of lifelong importance [especially marriage]? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling spoke calmly, Of course it does. Because after Chi Shengchun, he will be the other man who will propose marriage to Da Xian, your Old Die. Emotionally moved, Hu Xiaoxian said, I really begin to admire you. Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted sharp expression, he calmly said, Just now all your admiration was fake, am I right? Hu Xiaoxian sighed faintly and said, Xu Ziling, you should know that our Da Xian Mens firstmandment is to guard against getting excited [or aroused to passion/fall in love]. Emotion may blind reason; it is called ck cloud concealing the sun. Gambling technique is one kind of brilliant deception; psychology tactics are especially important. As long as the other sides spirit and intelligence is deceived, then one hundred shots will result in one hundred hits. No matter how strong a man on the surface is, inevitably there will be a crack that can be exploited. For example, a man with excessive confidence, thinking that all the women in the world should fall head over heels because of him, attracted to him; I can exploit this weak point to make him suffer a big loss. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, The promise of yours to listen to all my instructions, that better be not fake. Otherwise, not only I wont help you, I will treat you as an enemy. Tranted by foxs Hu Xiaoxian cast him flirtatious sidelong nce; she coyly said, I may deceive anybody else, but I wont dare to deceive you! I have fully used my charming technique, with some fake elements in it, but also real elements in it, really want to find a stage, put on aedy [idiom] to tangle you for a period of time, who would have thought that you have a heart of stone, and are not seduced at all? Whats not good in me? Not knowing whether tough or cry, Xu Ziling said, Currently we are carrying out a big scam, the target is the entire Six-Happiness Casino. If you want to seed, theres only four-character sentence zhong cheng he zuo [inner feelings sincere cooperation]; you must act ording to my instructions, otherwise well drop everything. Hu Xiaoxian stared at him for half a day, she spoke solemnly, Since you are not interested in me, whats in it for you? Xu Ziling responded indifferently, Hu Xiaojie does not understand my, Xu Zilings personal character too much. foxswuxia.wordpress Hu Xiaoxian lightly shook her cicada head, she spoke softly, No! This is perhaps womans intuition. Ever since meeting you for the first time in Jiujiang, I always feel that you are a good man who attaches extreme importance toradeship, now I feel that I can trust you without reservation even more. But there are also some worries, afraid that you are underestimating Chi Shengchuns craftiness. Xu Ziling noticed that she went on a roundabout way, but in the end still took an indirect approach to find out about his n. Laughing involuntarily, he said, I give you three days to figure it out. After three days, I aming to look for you. Finished speaking, he rose up to his full height. Hu Xiaoxian anxiously stood up; feigning anger coquettishly, she said, I still have no idea about anything, what do you want me to figure out? Xu Ziling raised his finger and pointed it at her from a distance, twice, and then he smiled and said, Hu Xiaojie seems to forget again who should listen to whom! Hu Xiaoxian dejectedly sat back down. Her elbow on the table, she propped her fragrant cheek with her hand, her pretty eyebrows tightly knitted, she spoke gloomily, Very well! I will obediently listen; but at least you should tell me how to get in touch with you! Xu Ziling replied, I will get in touch with you, not you get in touch with me. Smiling sweetly, Hu Xiaoxian said, Very well! Xu Daxia! Is there any other instruction? Kou Zhong led the horse and stopped on the road, following Li Xiuning, Li Shentong and the others riding into the distance with his eyes, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart. Wuming dove down from the starry sky andnded on his shoulder. Kou Zhong reached out and gently stroked her feather. Heaving a sigh, he stepped down the horse and walked slowly in the direction of Luoyang. Tranted by foxs The affair between him and Li Xiuning, how it would end, this moment he did not dare to think, moreover, he did not want to think either. On parting, the expression showing in Li Xiunings eyes could hook his soul out, could cut his liver and guts to pieces. Since he had chosen the path to go against her, their part would only diverge farther and farther away. Furthermore, the battle of Luoyang would be an open confrontation against Li Shimin, the elder brother that she respected and loved the most. Its finished! Kou Zhong let out a shout, and then he spurred his horse to speed up. They rapidly disappeared in the boundless depth of the night. Leaving the Ming Tang Wo, Xu Ziling stepped into the street. He took a deep breath to push away Hu Xiaoxians captivating beautiful image, which could bewitch any man and make him confused and disoriented, unable to recognize things C from the realm of his mind. Hu Xiaoxian was like Wanwan, able to exploit her beauty to the fullest, so that it was not easy for anybody to resist. foxswuxia.wordpress This moment he already changed back to the full-bearded Gong Chenchun, wandering along the street. When he passed the still-opened-for-business Rong Da Da Ya [glorious attainment big pawn (shop)], he could not help taking a couple more looks, and nearly wanted toe in to look for Ou Liangcais maternal uncle Chen Fu. But he quickly suppressed this impulse, thinking that it would be better if he came in contact with Li Jing first beforeing back to look for him. Only when Chen Fu knew that he had Li Shimins full support behind his back would the other side cooperate with him without any misgivings. After going through so many things, he could not lightly trust anybody anymore. Following his feet he strolled along the bank of Yongan Canal, which was a big canal connected to the Wei River outside, north of the city. Under the sparse illumination of the specks ofntern lights along the bank, the torrent was flowing to the south. Under the glittering starry sky, the shadows of the boats and ships moored on the docks were dancing. Along both banks pedestrians were sparse. He could not help recalling the touching memory of going boating along the canal with Shen Luoyan and also remembering the situation in Liyang; he sighed in his heart. Suddenly a small boat was gliding speedily from upstream. Xu Ziling casually nced at it, immediately his scalp went numb, while murderous aura rushed forth in his heart, yet he knew that he definitely must not make his move. First of all, because there was a much greater chance of defeat than victory, while it would also reveal his identity. The boat was steered toward the bank where Xu Ziling was standing; the man spoke softly, Such a coincidence! Ziling, please get on board, what do you say? Unexpectedly, it was the top demonic lord of the generation, the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan, whom even the number one martial art master of the demonic school, the Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan would have to lose her life under his hands. All his disguise, yet Shi Zhixuan was able to see through at first nce; what should he do? This moment, walking away was not right, but staying was not right even more. With no room to advance or retreat, he had no choice but to steel himself and leaped onto the stern of the boat and sat down facing him. Tranted by foxs Shi Zhixuans expression appeared to be normal, without the slightest sign of injury. His look was natural andposed, his eyes emitted amiable expression, as he gazed at him and said with a smile, Actually, our meeting was not coincidental at all; I have been following you since you left Xibais residence, I just did not expect Ziling to go inside the casino. I wonder if you have been infected by Lei Jiuzhi? Xu Ziling felt his entire body turned cold, not only because Shi Zhixuan has been following his tracks yet his senses did not generate any reaction, but even more, because he could not figure out whether the Shi Zhixuan before his eyes was the evil demon who kill while chatting andughing, of the affectionate man guilt-ridden throughout his life due to Bi Xiuxins death. It was as if Xu Zilings spirited senses, like his martial art, were being crippled. This was the most terrifying demonic power. Finally Shi Zhixuans demonic skill was advancing greatly. Perhaps it would be difficult to find anybody in the world who could control him. Not even the three great grandmasters. Because Shi Zhixuanpletely belonged to their level, enough to make ims as an equal to any of them, or even surpass them. foxswuxia.wordpress Meeting his abstruse, unfathomable gaze, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Did Qianbei just arrive in Changan, and determined to look for Xibai to settle the ount, and now you change your mind to kill me? Shi Zhixuan blurted outughing. His bearing was calm, rxed, and pleasant to look at. Shaking his head, he said, People say that even cruel tiger will not eat its own child; Xibai is just like half a child to me. Sometimes he is a bit naughty, but all along its not unforgivable, because the fault lies in me for oftentimes unable to be by his side to give him directions. However, this is also my way of training my sessor; not only to give him personal freedom, but also hoping that he would have independent mind, not merely bing another version of me, Shi Zhixuan. In this aspect, he has performed exceptionally well. Xu Ziling called for his Niang inwardly; not only Shi Zhixuans temperament has changed, his method has changed as well. The sharpness of his words already surpassed his Bu Si Yin Fa. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I would rather Qianbei is forting like before, because I cannot decide whether you praise Xibai Xiong sincerely, or you are making sarcastic remark? Shi Zhixuan crossed the two oars and struck them against each other; he rowed the boar into the water of the Yongan Canal, reflecting thentern light on both sides. Light and shadow were smashed to pieces, the small boat glided off the bank, floating along the current downstream. After staring fixedly at Xu Ziling for half a day, he smiled and said, The past fifteen years have been like a long nightmare, and now I finally seeded in waking up. And then his gaze turned toward the water, his face softened, and quickly revealed a pained expression, as he spoke in distress, I am eating my own fruit [idiom: reaping what he has sown]! Who could be so stupid as to kill the sweetheart that he loved most dearly? These fifteen years were the price I had to pay for my own stupidity. Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at him, not daring to believe his own eyes. Was he dressing up as god, ying the devil [idiom: scamming], or the demonic qi inside the Demonic Emperors Relics, under the curing-ailment-with-poison situation, has transformed Shi Zhixuan into a good person instead? Tranted by foxs He really did not know what to say. He no longer understood Shi Zhixuan, no longer able to grasp his inner world. My Niang! This was precisely the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan without the slightest w. Shi Zhixuan moved his gaze to look at the boundless starry sky, while at the same time he spoke gently, Ziling, just go to You Lin Xiao Gu [the secluded forest in the small valley; I know its long overdue, but I believe its a ces name, not just a description]! Let my daughter have a happy home. Please tell Qingxuan, over the years I have not visited her, it is because I do not dare to see her, Ick that kind of courage. Tell her, she and I belong to two different worlds, there is definitely no chance that these two worlds can meet, absolutely not. Ay! Xu Zilings heart and mind were severely shaken. foxswuxia.wordpress Feixuan was right; Shi Qingxuan was still Shi Zhixuans only w. Shi Zhixuan was afraid to see Shi Qingxuan, precisely because he knew that it was difficult for him to strike treacherously and kill her; furthermore, he was afraid to incur another fifteen years of terrifying nightmare, therefore, he was unwilling tomit another stupidity. If he was allowed to see Shi Qingxuan, what would the consequences be? Book 46 - 3 – Sharing Bed and Couch Kou Zhongy down in the mountain wilderness, using the sheepskin outer robe as his bed and the starry sky as his quilt. He could hear the sound of Thousand-Li Dream drinking water in the stream about a dozen steps away, while Wuming was using his chest as its nest, curling her head up and was sleeping peacefully. Tranted by foxs His hand lightly stroked the sheepskin robe, which every needle, every thread, was sewn by Chuchus own hands. The robe has been mended by a Longquans skilled workman, and has been restored to its original condition. On the surface, he could not see any traces, but just like his heart, the scars abound. Shang Xiufang should have arrived in Gaoli by now. He wondered if because she attached her passion to the music world, he was fading from her memory? Song Yuzhis feeling toward him, was it love more, hate less, or was it hate more, love less? He did not dare to think about it, yet he could not help thinking. He, Kou Zhong, passed through Shouchun without stopping by to see Chuchu, would that person [usually female] thus have her liver and guts cut to pieces, and me him for being heartless? Ay! The feeling between men and women, not only it makes people deeply worried, it would also injure the spirit and break the soul! Even more, it was a heavy burden pressing on people and making them unable to breathe. However, if he died in battle and was buried with the city in Luoyang, they [feminine] would surely be grieved and broken-hearted for him. But just like everything else, it would be diluted and healed with time. foxswuxia.wordpress Suddenly he felt extremely lonely. If either one of them were by his side this very moment, he would surely disregard everything to love her, to seek forgiveness from her. When Xu Ziling returned to the Passionate Nest, Hou Xibai was reading a book, shaking his head, swaying his noggin, taking pleasure in doing so. Xu Ziling dejectedly sat down across the small table from him; he sighed and said, I have just met your Shizun [venerable master]. Hou Xibais both hands trembled, he nearly dropped the book to the ground. Stunned, he looked at him and blurted out, Really? You are not joking? Xu Ziling responded in displeasure, If I am joking, I would joke about another matter. My guess is that quite possibly he came to deal with you, but seeing me slipping out of the house, he changed his mind and followed me instead. He took me on a skiff along the Yongan Canal. His countenance changed, Hou Xibai said, How can youe back alive and did not receive the least bit of injury? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Oh, Hou Gongzi! Your Shi Shi is no longer the Shi Zhixuan like before, rather, he is the Shi Zhixuan who seeded to fuse together two distinct extremes into one. You would never know which sentence he is saying is true, which one is false. I no longer have slightest bit of confidence in observing him. When we parted, he gave me a word of advice, which quite possibly wasing from his heart, which is he is hoping that I would leave Changan immediately and go to Bashu to visit his daughter. Tranted by foxs Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Hou Xibai said, Thats not an advice, its a warning. What do we do now? Xu Ziling could feel the reverence and fear toward Shi Zhixuan from deep within Hou Xibais heart, he knew that if he could not rouse his fighting spirit, the consequences would be worrisome. Smiling, he said, In his mouth, Xibai Xiong is merely a naughty child with independent ideas; he also praises you as extremely outstanding. Stunned, Hou Xibai said, Unexpectedly he said such things? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, That is the point that gives me the most headache. He can see us through and through, but we arepletely in the dark as what his intention is. We must turn this situation around; if we really cannot think of a way, we have no choice but to pack and quit and leave Changan tonight. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai thought hard; he said, Why did he let you go? Or perhaps let me go? Could it be that he has misgivings because the two of us are together? If so, that means he has other more important things to do, hence he does not want to deliberatelyplicate the issue. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling praised him, Xibai Xiongs mind is beginning to return to normal; that is the best. I have an even brazen thought, which is that at least half of what he said is true, which is up to this point, he is still unable to strike his daughter treacherously, so much so that he is afraid of this idea. Therefore, because of my rtionship with Qingxuan, he let me off, and while he is at it, he postpone his intention to deal with you. Hou Xibai nodded and said, Although this thought is a somewhat abstruse, but certainly its a little logical. Didnt Feixuan say that without a year or a half, Shi Shi could forget about recovering? Could it be that because he has not recoveredpletely, he is coaxing us to wait until he is recovered before starting to make his move against us? Xu Zilings expression grave, he shook his head and said, Not only he haspletely recovered, his power is even more refinedpared to when he was in the Little Changan, it already reaches the Heaven and Man Be One level. He did not make his move, it was absolutely not because he does not have any confidence to put me in order. Holding his head in his hands, Hou Xibai lowered his voice and said, I would rather he showed the cart and the horse clearly bying to kill me. We, demonic school people, never pay attention to the order of whos older and whos younger, or the rtionship between master and disciple. If my life is under threat, I will take a stand and fight to the end. But now I am confused by his action. Oh, right, have you found Ji Qian? Xu Ziling took off his Gong Chenchuns mask, still with the full beard glued onto it. He held it in his hand and stared nkly at it for half a day. Laughing involuntarily, he said, I dont know whether it was because of your Shi Shi was watching in the dark nearby, although my consciousness did not sense it, yet my primordial spirit had responded, so much so that I was perturbed, hence I made a mistake; because I practically should not disguise myself as Gong Chenchun. To see Ji Qian, I should have dressed up as the yellow-faced man Yong Qin. Ji Qian wanted to learn gambling skills from Yong Qin instead of Gong Chenchun. Fortunately, mistake has a mistakes benefit, which made me building a rtionship with Hu Xiaoxian. Her charming technique is indeed captivating. Thinking about it, my heart is still thumping inside me. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai said, What are you talking about? Listening to you, I am even more confused. Tranted by foxs After listening to Xu Zilings clear exnation, Hou Xibai proposed, Since we cannot sleep anyway, why dont we go to Shang Lin Yuan to look for Ji Qian? If we cant see her, then we go to the casino. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Whether I am Gong Chenchun or Yong Qin, its not appropriate to be seen by Ji Qian that we are together. You should take advantage while you still have the good fortune to go to bed and sleep peacefully. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Shi Shi maye for me to give me bad luck any moment, how can I sleep peacefully? Just like Ji Qian, the deeper the night, the more my spirit is aroused. Perhaps you practically should not meet Ji Qian, let me sound her out! foxswuxia.wordpress Astonished, Xu Ziling said, You are not afraid Shi Zhixuan might be waiting for you outside the door? Shaking his head, Hou Xibai replied, He is already recovered, and now is the time to aplish the unification of the Holy Schools Two Sects and Six Ways, instead of eliminating me, the only direct disciple of Hua Jian Pai C in a hurry. I wish hede to see me, I want to know what he has to say. Finished speaking, he returned to his usual calm, rx, free and easy manner, and left while humming a tune. Leaving the small hall, Xu Ziling passed through the courtyard separating the front and rear sections of the house. He had just stepped into the veranda of the rear section when he stopped in shock. Unexpectedly he heard a woman weeping with grief, and the intermittent sound of weeping wasing from the far end of the corridor to his left, where Hou Xibais bedroom was located. My Niang! What the hell is going on here? Whose familys girl coulde in C the gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive C and what made her weeping endlessly and grieving like this? He barely arrived in Changan, the things that happened were always beyond his expectations. Suddenly, he no longer had the least bit of confidence in the operation that he was about tounch. He started his steps again and came in front of the closed door of supposedly empty Hou Xibais bedroom, and lightly pushed the door open. Tranted by foxs The gentle and soft moonlight came from the east-facing window, illuminating half of the bedroom, while the other half was still trapped in the dark. The exceptional beauty Wanwan, like raindrops on a pear blossom, was sitting on the head of the bed, her fragrant shoulders was shaking continuously, as she was crying until the sky turned dark, the earth hazy; her expression was sorrowful. Not even in his dream would Xu Ziling think that female demon Wan could be like this. Staring nkly, it was as if he was nailed on the spot. It was quite half a dayter that he moved toward the bed and sat down. What happened? he asked with a sigh. It was as if only this moment that Wanwan realized that he hade by her side. Crying out in sorrow, unexpectedly she threw herself into his bosom and sobbed, My Shizun [revered master] is dead! How could Xu Ziling expect that Wanwan would react like this? Naturally he could evade in time, but under the circumstances, he simply could not harden his heart; immediately the tender, fragrant, and soft jade was filling his bosom, while arge area of his cor was dampened by her hot tears. Wanwans pair of hands wrapped tightly around his waist, her tender body trembling and shaking, shepletely lost her usual calm, self-controlled manner;pared to the cold and detached demeanor in which she received the news of Zhu Yuyans death, it was like a different world altogether. Xu Ziling felt that her grief and pain wasing from her heart; he could not help feeling sorrowful as well. He sighed and said, The dead cannote back to life, there wille a day when we will also die; its just a question of when. Wanwan buried her pretty face in his bosom, while she desperately hugged him even tighter; she spoke in distress, Shizun was Waners only family; only she genuinely cherished me, cultivated me. But now she is gone, leaving me all alone in this world. foxswuxia.wordpress And she cried again. The clothes on Xu Zilings chest were drenched, he was at a loss on where he should put his pair of hands; without any better option, he lightly patted her fragrant shoulder and said, A moment ago you appeared to be very strong, howe this moment you suddenly lost control like troops in defeat like andslide [idiom]? Not only that, you hide in here and cry? Wanwan twitched. I dont know, she said, After leaving this ce, I continuously thought about past cause and future effect, and then I was unable to bear, I only wanted to cry my grieve out in your bosom. I definitely must not let the people in my Sect to know that I am so sorrowful that I lost control. Xu Ziling was left speechless. His gaze fell onto her pair of beautiful bare feet curling on the side of the bed, emotional stirring welled up in his heart. No matter how advanced and exceptional the training that the demonic school people had to undergo to obliterate their human nature so that their disciples were turned into vicious and merciless, cold-hearted people, in the end a human is a human, they would still possess humans seven emotional states and six desires. Shi Zhixuan was like this, Wanwan was also like this; it all depends whether you can touch their human nature side or not. Tranted by foxs He spoke softly, How long have you been here? Did you hear my dialogue with Hou Xibai? The sobbing subsided somewhat; her voice hoarse from crying, Wanwan said, When I came, you were alone; I thought you might generate reaction, who would have thought that you werepletely unaware. It was not until I cried that you heard me and came tofort me. Xu Ziling knew his personal affair was his personal affair, he realized that because of his encounter with Shi Zhixuan, his troop disposition was in chaos, causing him to be in a daze. Sighing, he said, Do you know whom I ran into just now? Wanwans tender body shook, finally she stopped sobbing. Unconsciously, Xu Ziling gently stroked her back, saying, Its Shi Zhixuan! Wanwan sat her tender body up straight. Wiping away her tears, she sadly said, I never knew that Zhu Shi held such an important position in my heart. She was actually a very pitiful woman, Shi Zhixuan harmed her very terribly. Debt of blood must be repaid with blood. Shi Zhixuan is a sinner of the Holy School, but now he is the one most likely will unify the Holy School. If he kills me, Yin Gui Pai will fall into his hands. Furthermore, I can only fight him alone, because only by doing this I will be able to prove that I am a qualified sessor, only then will I be able to sit on the throne that Zhu Shi left vacant. At that time the people in the Sect will begin to be willing to throw their life in for me. This is the session rule that the forefathers of our humble school decided since the beginning. Before taking over the Pai Zhu [master of the Sect] position, one must devote oneself to spiritual development for three years. This moment Ziling ought to understand why Shi Zhixuan ising to Changan. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling called for his Niang inwardly. This is called before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises. Compared with dealing with Shi Zhixuan who only had one w left, the Xiang Family affair immediately became rtively uplicated and easy. Although he regarded Wanwan as an enemy, but aftering in contact with her many times, he could not help having a bit of affection; both in terms of feeling and reason, he could not watch Shi Zhixuan killing Wanwan. Otherwise, if Shi Zhixuan really unified the demonic school and gathered the scattered ancient scrolls back as one, he did not dare to even think about the grave consequences. Wanwans beautiful eyes gazed deeply into his, she spoke softly, Will you help me break his Bu Si Yin Fa? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, In Changan, his Bu Si Yin Fa practically has no w. Even if we join hands to deal with him, it will be useless. I have a proposal. Right now I will immediately send you off by climbing over the city wall and leave, and then you must immediately rush over to Bashu. When my job here is done, I will look for you at the ce where you are shunning the world. A strange light of intelligence floated inside the pupil of Wanwans pretty eyes, she spoke softly, Are you suggesting that he still has a w in Bashu? Xu Ziling shook his eyes and said with a wry smile, That is what he said with his own mouth. I asked myself but I still cant see whether he is telling the truth or a lie. Tranted by foxs Wanwan calmly shrugged her shoulders; totally unconcerned, she said, Its always better to have one more thing to control him. You, Xu Gongzi came to Changan, what exactly is the noble errand that brings you here? Whatever it is, I will keep the secret for you, so much so that I am willing to undertake the task to help you. How could Xu Ziling dare to trust her? He resolutely said, My affair, please lift your honorable hands off; it would be best if you dont hear, you dont question. With hidden bitterness, secret grudge, Wanwan rolled her eyes at him, putting the displeasure in her heart on disy. But an instantter she returned to her usual cold and detached and confident bearing, as if she was apletely different person from the Wanwan who was grieving and in tears just now. Can I stay the night in here tonight? she spoke indifferently. Stunned, Xu Ziling replied, This is Hou Xibais residence, reasonably speaking, you ought to ask him. foxswuxia.wordpress Wanwan looked deep into his eyes, she spoke gently, Do you know why my humble master lost in Shi Zhixuans hands? Inwardly Xu Ziling said that naturally it was because she intended to drag him and Shi Feixuan along to die, yet on his mouth he was unwilling to speak it out, hence he slowly shook his head. Wanwan sighed and said, A woman who train Tianmo Da Fa is absolutely forbidden to have any physical rtionship with the man that she loves. It was precisely because Shizun was unable to restrain emotions that she was tricked by Shi Zhixuan for a joyous union in bed that even after the seventeenth level she could no longer advance for a cun, all along she failed to reach the eighteenth level, the highest realm. Without any better option she used the burning both jade andmon stone move to die in such a way that Shi Zhixuan would also perish. Its a pity that she still failed. Xu Ziling spoke awkwardly, That is not the reason I refuse to let you stay the night; rather, I cannot act on Hou Xibais behalf to allow you, because you did not ept my advice to leave Changan immediately. Smiling wryly, Wanwan said, Before fighting, I already run away in panic, what qualifications do I have to inherit the Pai Zhu position? Dont be overly sensitive, all right? Based on our Hou Gongzis habit of music and song every night, chances are he wont return home before daybreak. I dont care about you anymore! I am exhausted from crying, I want to sleep! Finished speaking she simplyy down on the bed and closed her beautiful eyes. From her lying down tender body moving up and down following her breathing, her snow white bare feet, up to her beautiful jade countenance, even with Xu Zilings self-control, he still felt a rush of excitement. He called for his Niang inwardly, and was unable to do anything to her even more. A sweet and charming smile escaped from the corner of Wanwans mouth; lightly patting the bed next to her, she spoke gently, How about lying down and rest for a moment? Tranted by foxs Scared, Xu Ziling stood up and spoke awkwardly, Absolutely not! Wanwans beautiful eyes were still closed, her manner serene, she said, Just now you were not afraid to hug me, so whats the problem in sleeping together? Ah! Xu Zilings mind was severely shaken, he saw Wanwans face revealed pained expression, her flowery countenance turned dark, with bursts of red and bursts of white alternated indeterminately, an obvious terrifying sign of fire deviation. Could it be that Zhu Yuyans death excited her true emotions to such an extent that it was difficult for her to ovee her distress? In his big shock, he forgot that they were enemies, he pounced onto the bed. Wanwan was still trembling and shaking endlessly. Reaching out to him, she pulled him tightly into her embrace, so that she and Xu Ziling rolled around together. Ziling, help me! she spoke in trembling voice. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling pressed both hands on her back and injected his true qi; shocked, he suddenly realized what happened. The Tianmo Qi in her body was fleeing in disarray and flowing wildly, just like a wild horse that refuses to be bridled, uncontrobly soaring and rushing, fleeing and charging through her meridians and acupoints. If this dreadful situation did not change, she definitely would not be able tost too long. Having no other choice, Xu Ziling selflessly poured his true qi into her system, to support the qi ocean on her dantian first, and then going out from there, along the Twelve Regr Channels, to bring order out of chaos. Because he was familiar with the situation inside Wanwans body, it was an easy drive on a familiar path for him to lend her a hand. The Long-Life Qi circted around her system countless of times, until Xu Zilings spirit weary, his strength exhausted, the wear and tear to his true energy was substantial, and only then did Wanwan calm down; her hands embracing him came loose, shey down on the bed, as if she was falling into deep sleep. Still feeling uneasy, Xu Ziling stretched out his hand and pressed it on her fragrant forehead, and he was shocked, feeling that her body temperature was climbing uncontroble. He wanted to inject his true qi again to get to the bottom of this matter, unexpectedly her abundant, surging Tianmo Qi rejected it. At this point, something even more bizarre happened! When she became so hot that his hand was scalded, suddenly her body temperature dropped, to be ice-and-snow-like freezing cold. Strangely, her expression did not show any changes. Such sudden heat and sudden cold, Xu Ziling waspletely at a loss, he did not know where to start. A burst of fatigue attacked his whole body. Without the freedom to act independently, Xu Ziling had to close his eyes and regte his breathing, andy down next to her. He knew that if he forced himself to continue, perhaps he might cause permanent damage to himself. Tranted by foxs Just rest for a little bit, just rest for a little bit By the time he opened his eyes again, the morning sun appeared before his eyes. Xu Ziling sat up in horror, Wanwan was still lying down next to him, breathing gently. Xu Ziling heard Hou Xibais footsteps,ing straight toward the bedroom; he knew that if Hou Xibai did not wake him up, perhaps he would still be sleeping. Reaching out to touch Wanwans forehead, strangely it was not that cold. This moment he had no time to pay attention, he jumped out of the bed to intercept Hou Xibai, whose whole body was covered in wine smell C on the door. Hou Xibai craned his neck to peek inside, he was surprised and was unable to conceal his amazement; he looked at Wanwan on the bed, and then he looked at Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling knew that he misunderstood; caught in difficult situation and embarrassment, he busily pushed Hou Xibai toward the outer hall and exined the matter clearly. Hou Xibai revealed a grave expression. He said, Ziling had fallen into her evil schemes! foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Zilings countenance changed, What evil schemes? he asked. It was as if Hou Xibai suddenly sobered up from his hangover; his pair of eyes shing brightly, he said, Although I dont really know what kind of trick she is ying, but looking at her current condition, she must be borrowing Zilings Long-Life Qi to help her breaking through the limitation of the Tianmo Da Fa, to advance into, or even to surpass C the eighteenth level, which, ever since the forefather of the Yin Gui Pai, the sessive generations Pai Zhu have never been able to reach. Inwardly, Xu Zilings heart was in a great mess; he did not know whether he ought to be frightened or to be happy. Hou Xibai said, There is only one solution now, which is to make our move to get rid of her. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, How could we do that? Hou Xibai stood up suddenly and said, Let me make my move. Finished speaking, he walked over toward the inner section. Xibai Xiong! Xu Ziling called out. Hou Xibai turned around and came back to him. Sitting down dejectedly, he gasped for breath, shook his head, and said with a sigh, You dont need to stop me. I simply dont have the heart to strike treacherously and destroy a flower, not to mention a great beauty like an immortal, ay! The two men looked at each other and smiled bitterly. Bang! Someone was knocking on the door. Book 46 - 4 – A Whole Lifetime Hou Xibai took Li Jing into the small reception hall. After sitting properly, Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Wanwan is inside the room, we need to be a bit more careful. Li Jing was stunned. Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling exined briefly, while also calmly told him that Shi Zhixuan has returned to Changan, as well as the purpose of his trip to Changan this time. Knitting his brows, Li Jing said, We thought that after Jingzhao Lian was disbanded, the situation in Changan would be simple and clear. After listening to Zilings analysis, it seems like it is apletely different matter. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I have not told you, Yin Zuwen was the person who used the Seven Needles to Control the Mind to Lei Dage. What? Li Jing and Hou Xibai blurted out together. Subconsciously Xu Ziling turned his head to nce in the direction of the room where Wanwan was sleeping. Focusing his voice into a thread, he said, Yin Zuwen must be in collusion with Yuanji and Chi Shengchun in the dark, to secretly expand their power. On the surface Yuanji is supporting Jiancheng, but actually he is harboring other intentions, hoping to borrow the demonic schools power to help him to ultimately ascending the true Son of Heaven, ordain by heaven C the emperors throne. Li Jing looked at Hou Xibai and said, As a demonic school person, what is Hou Gongzis view on this? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling knew that due to Hou Xibais background, Li Jing did not trust him. If he did not dispel Li Jings doubt, their cooperation would be a problem; he said, Xibai Xiong is a different kind of demonic school person, Li Dage cannot understand why the disciple trained by Shi Zhixuan unexpectedly could be a trustworthy person, but it is actually very logical. Ay! The reason within it is indeed beyond ordinary imagination, its very mysterious. This time, even Hou Xibais interest was piqued; he cheerfully said, Zilings remark has a point. Ha! The fact is that I dont understand it myself; what is it? Xu Ziling smiled and said, This is called the person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear. The issue stems from the split personality disorder that Shi Zhixuan suffered for thest dozen of years. One side is a cold-hearted, murdering-without-blinking-an-eye demonic lord; the other side is deeply-regretful, guilt-ridden passionate person. Therefore, when he imparted the Hua Jian Pais martial art to Xibai Xiong, probably due to the influence of Hua Jian Pais xinfa, he was more inclined to be that passionate person. But then when he trained Yang Xuyan, he was also influenced by Bu Tian Pais xinfa, so that Yang Xuyan, Yang Yongs orphan, became cold-hearted assassin. The result is that Xibai Xiong and Yang Xuyan be two extremely different persons. pping the table, Hou Xibai said, Brilliantly exined! So Yang Xuyan and I standing opposite to each other, unexpectedly it was facilitated by Shi Shi, one person, representing the struggle between good and evil in Shi Shis innermost being. If I defeat Yang Xuyan, what would Shi Shi think? Li Jing spoke heavily, Yang Xuyan is an important chess piece in Shi Zhixuans hands, he can bring out hard-to-predict consequences. Among the old Suis civil ministers and great generals, those who supported Yang Guang are few, those who supported Yang Yong are many. Once the person ascending to the Son of Heaven position iscking the virtue and the hope to suppress and subdue the world, Yang Xuyan could raise Yang Yongs orphan military banner to call their former subordinates. Do you understand what I mean? Tranted by foxs The two nodded to express their understanding, knowing that he was referring to Li Shimin being defeated and rejected, or perhaps being killed, and if the people could not ept that, perhaps cmity and chaos and division might continue, and then the people might remember the Sui dynasty when Yang Jian held the political power in his hands. Yang Xuyan could bring about this expectation and delusion. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, In that case, Shi Shi killing me is absolutely necessary [orig. circumstances that require action], because I am representing his good and honest side, the product of his split personality, hence he will not allow me, this different kind of demonic person, to live in front of his eyes. Feeling a headache, Li Jing asked, Where exactly is Shi Zhixuan hiding ce in Changan? If we could grasp his whereabouts, we could focus our strength to make arrangement to have him killed, to break his Bu Si Yin Fa, to rid the world of evil. Finished speaking, he looked at Hou Xibai to see his reaction. foxswuxia.wordpress But Xu Ziling was ovee with emotional stirring; with Kou Zhong, he never needed to conceal anything, everything could be revealed and discussed in the open. But facing Li Jing and Hou Xibai, which could be considered brothers, due to everybody was burdened with different background and standpoint, he did not dare to casually reveal something like Holy Monk Dade was Shi Zhixuans other personification, for fear that he might stir up unexpected consequences. Simrly, because of Hou Xibais position as Shi Zhixuans direct disciple, from the beginning Li Jing has always been suspicious toward him. Hou Xibais handsome countenance revealed a nk expression; shaking his head, he said with a sigh, I dont know. Ay! He is the person who singlehandedly trained me; although I cant possibly take the initiative to deal with him, but if he wanted to kill me, I would do everything possible to save my life. This is our humble schools rule. Hearing that, Li Jing was relieved instead. Nodding his head, he said, I understand Hou Gongzis position! Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, I wonder if Ziling has any thought about Shi Zhixuan? Hou Xibai stood up. Lacking vitality, he said, Ill go see Wan Jieer [elder sister]. He left because he wanted to avoid arousing suspicion. The two followed his figure as it disappeared into the rear section, both were feeling heavy. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, What we are facing is probably the most formidable figure of the demonic way since the beginning of history; any method that we think will usually yield results will not work. In Changan, this kind of densely popted city, relying on his Bu Si Yin Fa, its definitely easy for him to kill anybody and then calmly get away. Even more, this mans intelligence is outstanding, his alertness is high, I wonder if Li Dage can momentarily hold back your troops without moving, to calmly watch for any changes? Tranted by foxs Li Jing shot a nce toward the door behind which Hou Xibai was disappearing; frowning, he said, Arent you worried for your good friends life? Xu Ziling replied, My intuition says that one day I am still in Changan, Shi Zhixuan still wont make his move to take care of his disciple. Stunned, Li Jing asked, Why is that? Xu Ziling briefly exined his rtionship with Shi Qingxuan and Shi Zhixuan, but he did not mention that Shi Qingxuan was Shi Zhixuans only w aspect, because he felt that this was a personal matter between Shi Qingxuan and Shi Zhixuan; it was not appropriate for him to make it public. Blowing a mouthful of cold air, Li Jing said, Even if I wanted to deal with Shi Zhixuan, it is simply beyond my capability. All right! Qin Wang ordered me to give you full support, what exactly can I do for you? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling stared fixedly at him for half a day. He spoke heavily, This time I aming to Changan, the main objective is to ruthlessly kill every member of the utterly heartless Xiang Family to thest one, to pull them up by the roots. He rarely spoke like this, but because of Susu and his personal encounter with the Xiang Family, father and sons evil conduct, he finally hardened his heart and decided to carry out the ruthless extermination of the Xiang Family. Li Jings tiger-body shook, his pair of eyes exploded in refined light, he coldly said, Even without Qin Wangs order, I, Li Jing will definitely help you with all my strength. After Li Jing left, Xu Ziling went to the bedroom to look for Hou Xibai, only to see Hou Xibai was sitting on the bedside with nk expression on his face, while Wanwans fragrant footprints had gone without a trace. Xu Ziling sat down next to Hou Xibai; deeply concerned, he asked, Xibai Hou Xibai handed him a letter and said with a bitter smile, When I came in, she already left, leaving this note, which ought to be for you. Xu Ziling took the note and read it. There was only one line of lucid and elegant, rxed and leisurely characters written on it, saying, Love you, hate you, a whole lifetime, eight characters [ai ni hen ni, yi sheng yi shi]. The addressee was Ziling, and the signature on the bottom was unexpectedly a faint print of her lips. Hou Xibai leaned over to look, he said, A romantic note. It must be because of her Sheng Fa [holy method] has advanced greatly that her mood was particrly good, momentarily she revealed her true feeling. Otherwise, she might just write Love you, two characters. Tranted by foxs Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Where did the letter papere from? Hou Xibai replied, She went to Xiaodis little study room on the opposite side and helped herself to some paper. Really strange though, I have been paying attention to her, but I did not hear anything. Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air, he nodded and said, Your guess is not incorrect, I was paying attention to any movement from her, yet unexpectedly I did not sense her at all. Ay! Very crafty, unexpectedly she had taken advantage of me! Hou Xibai sighed and said, In this matter, disaster and happiness are difficult to anticipate, at least, as far as Im concerned, it is so, because one day Shi Shi is unable to put her in order, he may put off putting me in order. Xu Ziling looked at him for quite half a day, Why is this morning Hou Xiong suddenly be this negative and passive toward your honorable master? Hou Xibai returned to his rxed, natural self; he smiled and said, Ziling must be referring to what I told Li Jing just now. Ha! Li Jing does not trust me, why should I, Hou Xibai tell him the truth? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Zilingughed and said, So thats what happened. Hows your progress in your Bu Si Yin Fa training? Hou Xibai shook his head and said, The more I trained, the more confused I became, the more I am losing my confidence. Bu Si Yin Fa and Hua Jian Pais xinfa are entirely different; it speaks about harming others for ones personal benefit; it does not fit very well with my character. Xu Ziling said, Exhausted then change, changing then understanding. Based on my experience, the process in martial art training is by using the shape of the wave to carry on; sometimes you climb to the top of the wave, sometimes you sink to the bottom of the wave. When you are at the bottom of the valley, there is a high possibility that you are about to climb to another peak. Hou Xibai agreed. He said, Yourment is very reasonable, perhaps it would be better if I recite the Bu Si Yin Fa mnemonic to you, maybe you can find a way to break the Bu Si Yin. Surprised, Xu Ziling said, Isnt it akin to you helping me to deal with your honorable master? Without any care Hou Xibai shrugged his shoulders and said, So whats the problem? He wants to kill me, could it be that I must sit quietly, waiting for death? The two mens eyes met, they burst intoughter at the same time. The heavy atmosphere waspletely gone. Xu Ziling said with augh, Lets put studying Bu Si Yin Fa on hold; can we assume that because of Xiaodis matter, your honorable master temporarily will note to deal with you? Hou Xibai nodded and said, It should be. Last night I deliberately gave Shi Shi a chance, but he did not make the slightest move. Tranted by foxs Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, But if he thought that I left Changan, wont it be terrible? Dont worry, Hou Xibai said, Because Shi Shi had just arrivedst night, he did not know my current situation. But if he saw Yang Xuyan, he would find out from him that I am creating the Hundred Beauty Picture for Li Yuan; killing me would be beating the grass to scare the snake, it would affect his grand n of unifying the demonic school. Therefore, when I said that Wanwan is borrowing you to master the Sheng Fa, disaster and happiness are difficult to anticipate, this is what I am talking about. Whats your n for today? Xu Ziling responded indifferently, These days, I will be very busy; I have to go to the pawnshop to attend a ss, not only I must learn the ins and outs of running a pawnshop, I also have to learn how to speak with Pingyao ent. Finished speaking, he stood up, put one hand on Hou Xibais shoulder, and said with a smile, Get a good sleep! Ill be back tonight to eat with you and study the Bu Si Yin Fa. If by the time you recite halfway I do not vomit blood and sustain injuries, I would thank the Heaven and thank the Earth. foxswuxia.wordpress Hou Xibai climbed into the bed, kicked off his boots, and said with augh, This is the bed that the beauty has slept on, most probably Xiaodi will have a sweet and terrifying, love and hate intermingle C dream, ha! Xu Ziling left the Rong Da Da Ya of Beili [reminder: glorious attainment big pawn (shop) and northern neighborhood/district, respectively] just as the decoratednterns were lit. Endless stream of horses and carriages was flowing along the main street of Beili, where the famous pleasure houses and casinos were located; the atmosphere was very lively. He was now the yellow-faced Yong Qin plus fake beard; even Kou Zhong would have to take second look before he could recognize Xu Ziling, other people need not be mentioned. Chen Fu of the Rong Da Da Ya shop himself was a trustworthy man, and then Li Jing personally paid him a visit, to let him know that this matter had obtained the Heavenly Policy Mansions full support, so he was willing to cooperate sincerely, and thus Xu Zilings burden was lessened somewhat. Hu Xiaoxian gave him an inspiration so he came up with a wonderful, as if it was opened by the Heaven itself C way to disguise himself as Situ Furong, and made him Chi Shengchuns rival in love, and thus he held the initiative in his hands, rather than passively waiting for Chi Shengchun to take the bait. The problem was how to have Situ Furong to be a threat to Chi Shengchun proposing marriage. If he came across the Da Xian Hu Fo only one time and was immediately turned into dust, it would only be a joking matter. Moreover, this matter involved offending Li Yuanji and Yin Zuwen; how could Situ Furong, who only had money butcking powerful backer,pete for Hu Xiaoxians hands in marriage without raising any suspicion? All these were the problems that must be addressed. While thinking about it, he found himself standing in front of the Ming Tang Wos main gate. While he was hesitating whether he ought toe inside to pay a visit, but was also afraid he mighte across Hu Xiaoxian, a group of men wasing straight in his direction and entered Ming Tang Wo. One man in the middle was a cut above others, yet he was still wearing a tall hat, hence it was very conspicuous; to his surprise, it was his and Kou Zhongs Ol Dad, Du Fuwei, walking under escort of five martial art masters, looking quite impressive. Tranted by foxs He looked at Du Fuwei, Old Du was also looking at him. The two mens eyes met, Du Fuweis expression was still wooden, looking like a Diao Si Gui [ghost of someone who died of hanging], but Xu Ziling knew that Du Fuwei recognized this son of his, because he did not conceal the expression showing in his eyes at all. Du Fuwei suddenly stopped; the four personal attendants promptly stopped as well. Xu Ziling knew he was giving him a chance, hence he slowly walked by his side, to listen to his instructions. Sure enough, Du Fuwei said, The vegetarian shop across the streets outward appearance does not look too bad, after we pay a visit to Da Xian, lets go see if their vegetarian dishes are as outstanding as their shop front. Xu Ziling understood tacitly; a warm, familiar and trusting feeling of joy welled up in his heart, he kept moving forward. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong sat alone on top of a small hill, gazing into the distance at thenterns inside the City of Ho at the end of the in in front of him. The Thousand-Li Dream was quietly nibbling on the grass behind him, while the falcon Wuming was circling in the sky on reconnaissance duty, performing her eagle dance, indicating that someone was approaching. The City of Ho under the moonlight represented the strongest military stronghold in Wang Shichongs eastern battlefront; if Ho fell, then the neighboring Guancheng, Xingyang, and Zhengyang could not be protected either. If he could defend Ho firmly, even though all lines around Luoyang fell, his Shao Shuai Army would still have the opportunity to have their provision and supplies delivered to Luoyang via Ho, to help Wang Shichong resist the Li ns main forces; therefore, it was of a great importance. Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong suddenly rxed, thinking that as long as he could defend Ho and Yanshi, two cities, there would be a great chance that he could make Li Shimin suffer a big defeat, and reverse the momentum of the current Li ns hegemony over the world. The sound of hoof beats was getting nearer. Kou Zhong sprang up and said with augh, I was afraid you guys missed the appointed time and ce, and would have me waiting here three days and three nights in vain; that would be terrible! The newers were six of his eight Zhen Dajiang [garrison great general, see Book 37 Chapter 1]: Xuan Yong, Bai Wenyuan, Jiao Hongjin, Bu Tianzhi, Gao Zhandao, and Chen Changling, the Six-Ministry Supervisor Xu Xingzhi, and Chen Laomou. Sitting on horseback, Chen Laomouughed and said, We received Da Xiaojies pigeon-post message, and were afraid we might arrive early! The ones waiting in vain would have been us. Tranted by foxs Xuan Yongughed as he dismounted from his horse and said, Ren Dajie must remain in Pengliang, because she cannot stand the weather here. Bu Tianzhi was the first to pull Kou Zhong into a hug whileughing heartily and said, Although Shaoshuai traveled far outside the Pass, but the news concerning your military sess in spreading your might in the prairie were flying in like snowkes. Furthermore, it was exaggerated and twisted so far that it was hard to believe. Coming to the two mens side, Gao Zhandao cheerfully joined in, For example, they said that each of the three of you fought ten thousand enemies, killing the Tujue until they were in a sorry state, as well as you pursued and attack the enemy for a thousand li, even Xielismand tent was pulled off the ground. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Xingzhi said, However, it was a great help to rouse the Shao Shuai Armys morale; towering figures of various ways came to throw their lot with us, so that we are growing rapidly. Letting Gao Zhandao go, Kou Zhong asked in great delight, So how manybat-ready men do we currently have? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Xingzhi replied, We now have a total strength of thirty thousand men, but those could be called well-trained elite troops are only about ten thousand men. Bai Wenyuan said, Shaoshuai only needs to give your order, we could deploy these ten thousand men into the battlefield any moment, I guarantee they wont bring disgrace to Shaoshuais prestige. Kou Zhong excitedly said, You guys do all the work, naturally I have nothing to worry about. Hows our Shao Shuai Army base camp situation now? Jiao Hongjin replied, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, and the others are busy with their own problems, hence nobody has the time toe to provoke us. Therefore, after obtainingrge quantities of wealth that have been brought back from the Duke Yangs Treasure, not only we rebuilt Pengcheng, we also lower the taxation to stimte workers, peasants and merchants, all kinds of businesses. Plus we have the full support of Da Xiaojie, Long You Bang and the Song n of the south, so Pengliang is bing more and more prosperous, and is being established as the foundation of Shaoshuai striving for the world. Chen Changlin said, Mo Lao and I, following the instruction from Lu Da Shuais [greatmander] treasure trunks [for books] that Shaoshuai handed over to us, built a fleet of mobile and powerful-inbat navy, the number of warship is increasing steadily. One more year, and then we wont be afraid of the Li ns enormous fleet of ships. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, All good news; it seems that my good luck has finallye. Xu Xingzhi said, Everything is inside the secret gong and tight [battle] drum, waiting only for Shaoshuaismand. Tranted by foxs Xuan Yong said, ording to our spies, Li Shimin assembling his army in Guanzhong and moving this troops to Luoyang is just like an arrow on the bow, this is the crucial point of sess or failure. If we could help Wang Shichong beat back the Li Army, then it will be Dou Jiande and Wang Shichongs turn to unfold the struggle over the various cities on both banks of the Yellow River. We could go down south to attack Li Zitong, if we acquire Jiangdu, we will greatly increase the bargaining chip to contend for hegemony. Kou Zhong waved and sent out a whistle to the sky. Under everybodys astonished gaze, Wuming swoop down through the clouds, smoothly and steadilynded on his shoulder. Kou Zhong reached out to stroke Wumings feather, while exining the origin of his darling. He said, I will teach you some basic methods of training and raising falcon, I will also have to trouble you to bring it back to Pengliang and take a good care of her. My precious horse will also have to be taken away together. Stunned, Xu Xingzhi said, Shaoshuai decided to go to Luoyang alone? Kou Zhong nodded and said with a sigh, If I led you and more than the ten-thousand-man Shao Shuai Army to Luoyang, it would only provoke Wang Shichongs jealousy, therefore, even the nice little Wuming, I do not dare to take along and disy her ostentatiously. Ay! This man Wang Shichong came from mysterious background, he hasplicated powerful backer, it is really hard to exin in a few words. The best policy right now is for me to go alone to Luoyang to see what we can do. You guys make full preparation to go to war and listen to my news. Again he cast his gaze toward Ho, his heart was burning with hope, thinking inwardly that as long as Laozi could help Wang Shichong defend this battlefront on the east side of the Yellow Rivers southern bank, Li Shimin would undoubtedly lose this battle. This was something that he could, as well as had the ability to aplish. Book 46 - 5 – Evening Drum, Morning Bell 1 Chapter 5 C Evening Drum, Morning Bell[1] In the vegetarian shops main hall, all the more than twenty tables were upied. Xu Ziling gave generous tip to the waiter, yet he still had to wait for nearly half an hour before he got a square table in the corner. After he ordered some vegetarian dishes, Du Fuwei arrived, alone. He took off his tall hat, bending his waist and stooping his back, so that he appeared to be like someone else. He took the seat next to Xu Ziling. Thetter hastily poured tea for him, while also called him in low voice, Gandie [adoptive father (dictionary adds this information: traditional adoption, i.e. without legal ramifications)]. Du Fuwei revealed a rare benevolent smile; cheerfully lowering his voice, he said, I can hear you call me Die, my old bosom is greatlyforted. Ay! Xiao Zhong still persists in scheming with the tiger for its skin, in helping Wang Shichong to defend Luoyang? Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling smiled helplessly; changing the topic, he asked, Gandie this time came to Changan, is it just for a visit or are you going to stay for a long time? Du Fuwei sighed again. A little at a loss, he said, I dont know. The problem is that my so-called neck is intertwined with Fu Gongyou. He and that demonic schools demon Taoist Zuo Youxian upy Danyang and take a good hold on it; moreover, he refused to talk to me. The Li Familys father and son, from top to bottom, treat me very well, I really want to stay here to enjoy a little bit of quiet and happiness, but I also cannot bear to stare nkly at Old Fu continues to sink down. Only after suffering untold hardship we could sever rtionship with the demonic school, but now he again threw himself into their bosom; surely it is impossibly stupid. He raised his cup of tea as if he was toasting with wine and drank it up. Xu Ziling poured him another cup of tea. With the colorful and aromatic well-prepared vegetarian dishes on the table, Xu Ziling could not help thinking about Shi Feixuan; if he were with her in this corner of the vegetarian restaurant enjoying vegetarian dishes together, what would it feel like? foxswuxia.wordpress Sweeping his sharp gaze around at the other diners inside the hall, Du Fuwei asked, Ziling came to Changan for what business? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Can Child ask Gandie a question? Between Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng, which one do you wish would seed the position of the master of the Tang? The refined light in Du Fuweis pair of eyes suddenly shing, he said with a coldugh, I, Du Fuwei, started my career in Huainan [prefecture, Anhui], with war on all sides, but never suffered defeat, my undertaking was built on horseback. You think what kind of person I would esteem? Xu Ziling cheerfully said, That will do! I aming to Changan this time is to deal with Chi Shengchun, because he is most likely the eldest son Xiang Gui of Baling Bang, the older brother of Xiang Yushan. Between the Xiang Family and us not only there is a personal grudge, but we hate their breaking-thew-andmitting-crimes shady business of human trafficking and so on to the bone even more. Knitting his brows, Du Fuwei said, Dealing with him is not easy. With Zilings current skill, although you have a heart but consider it as without a heart, taking his dog life is as easy as a hands turn. Tranted by foxs Leaning a bit closer, Xu Ziling sighed and said, The problem is that from Chi Shengchun, we want to force Xiang Gui toe out, hence we have no choice but to use some sophisticated scheme. And then he exined it one time through. Toward this Old Dad, he had absolute trust, but even he himself did not understand why he had such attitude of the heart. Finished listening, Du Fuweiughed involuntarily and said, Zilings n is indeed marvelous as if opened by the Heaven itself, but I really cannot tell whether it will work. Ive heard about this kid Situ Furong, my understanding is that he is a man who always haggles over every penny, but Ive never heard that he is a lecherous man. Furthermore, fierce tiger is not as good as local worm; if he ising to Changan to flee misfortune, how could he dare to offend Yin Zuwen and Li Yuanji at the same time, unless he dislikes living a long life? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling mused that indeed ginger gets spicier as it gets older [idiom: the older, the wiser]; he did not even think that thoroughly; he responded, Supposing Hu Xiaoxian herself took a fancy on Situ Furong, would the situation be any different? Stunned, Du Fuwei asked, How could that happen? After putting everything about Hu Xiaoxians affair out including the tray [idiom: revealing everything, leaving nothing], he said, Now what Situ Furongcks is a powerful backer [orig. kao shan C a mountain that one can lean on], and this powerful backer must be so strong that Chi Shengchun would not dare to use any other method to deal with him, but could only strive for long or short on the gambling table. Du Fuwei understood. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he said, I have to go back and think about this. How can I find you? Xu Ziling told him about Hou Xibais Passionate Nest, and then he partedpany with Du Fuwei and returned home. Hou Xibai was inside his study room, happy and excited, painting his Hundred-Beauty Painting Scroll. Seeing him back, he cheerfully said, Tonight we are going directly to Shang Lin Yuan to look for Ji Qian, no matter how busy she is. If she knew that it was me looking for her, she would definitely spare time to see me, and then Ziling could ask her directly. Xu Ziling sat down on the side; frowning, he asked, Any information about Yin Xianhe? Hou Xibai put down his brush; moving back to sit down in the chair next to him, he shook his head and said, He shouldnt have arrived in Changan yet, because nobody has even seen such a character. Tranted by foxs Xu Zilings heart sank. What time did you wake up? he casually asked. Hou Xibai dejectedly said, I was practically unable to sleep, so acting on your, Laoxiongs behalf, I went out to rush about to work. I went to see a trustworthy gang and society figure in Changan to check on Chi Shengchun; I learned that indeed there is a high possibility that this man belongs to the Xiang Family, because before Li Yuan entered the Pass, no one knew him. Chi Shengchun suddenly appeared, and then with Li Yuanjis support he runs the Six-Happiness Casino; no one knows his ss origin and background, we only know that he has a strong and solid capital. First, he skillfully acquired and heroically seized the casino, taking possession of the Six-Happiness Casino from the original owner, and then in just a short period of a few years he won an initial sess in building a famous hall, turning the Six-Happiness Casino into a big casino that canpete with Ming Tang Wo. And then he sighed and said, Not that I want to pour cold water on you, but that gang and society friend of mine said that Chi Shengchuns natural disposition is suspicious, and he is extremely astute;pared to anybody, he deeply understands how to take small advantages but not greedy. If, following your n, you impersonate Situ Furong,ing with big gongs and big drums to determine superiority on gambling table, even more, to fight for the Da Xian Hu Fos daughter, it would be strange indeed if he is not suspicious. Everything that the Xiang Family do is a bad thing, so they must have higher vignce than ordinary people, Xiaodi thinks your n is not going to work. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling spoke unhurriedly, You seem to be very popr in Changan. foxswuxia.wordpress Hou Xibai cheerfully said, In here, I am a man with broad face; on the top is the imperial pce, in the bottom is the marketce, I can always find my way. Ay! Im just worried for you! Xu Ziling smiled and said, Not concealing anything from you, Laoge, Kou Zhong and I came from little pickpocket origin; encountering a particrly tight money bag, or even people who walk with their hands pressed on their money purse, we could use threatening to the east and striking to the west [idiom: creating diversion] method, for example, knocking him hard to divide his attention, while the other one seized the opportunity to unleash the empty miraculous hand. No matter how secret his money purse is hidden, one little knife could then pluck the pearl from the ck dragon [idiom from Zhuangzi: to pick up the salient points from a tangled situation]; one hundred shots, one hundred hits, we never missed. Hou Xibai was slightly startled. His sword-shaped eyebrows lightly knitted, he said, This threatening to the east and striking to the west method, how are we going to use it against Chi Shengchun? I havent thought about the details yet, Xu Ziling replied, But Xibai Xiongs intelligence is extremely useful, it gives me even more confidence. As long as we could nt the seed of doubt in his heart, it would grow into the gap to set our hand into, or it might be a way that would lure him in, because here is an opportunity that someone is willing to put his family wealth in his door, how could he be willing to miss it so easily? Tranted by foxs Emotionally moved, Hou Xibai said, If you say it that way, looks like this matter is not absolutely not feasible at all; we have think it through. Ha! How about going to Shang Lin Yuan to down two cups of yellow soup? In the pleasure house, my creativity in artistic endeavor always burst out like a spring. Xu Zilingughed and said, The one going will be only you. I also want you to find a way to get Ji Qian go to the Ming Tang Wo, so that she will identally run into me, this full-bearded Yong Qin. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, That is not possible. You dont seem to know that even until tonight, Ji Qian is still the most popr famous pleasure house courtesan in Changan, the chief party guest of the Ming Tang Wo, and this Jieer [elder sister] loves to throw a fit and loves to get angry randomly. In a good day, she might be totally submissive to you, but she could blow you off Ming Tang Wo at any moment. This kind of thing has happened to me once. Ha! Now every man in Changan has had the honor of being expelled by her, or at least could show that they could make her angry. But for Xiaodi, it only brought disgrace. The pair of Ji Qians shining and varied many colors beautiful eyes floated in Xu Zilings heart, thinking quietly that thest time he went to Changan, were it not for she needed something and came looking for him, perhaps he would have received the same treatment. His heart was moved, he asked, Do you know what kind of rtionship she has with Chi Shengchun? Hou Xibai replied, How could Chi Shengchun dare to touch Ji Qian? Because Li Yuanji is precisely one of the turncoat officials who prostrates himself under Ji Qians skirt. foxswuxia.wordpress Astonished, Xu Ziling said, With Li Yuanjis power and influence, wont obtaining Ji Qian be as easy as a hands turn? How could it be that simple? Hou Xibai replied, Ji Qians situation a bit like Shang Xiufang; in Changan, she is the person that the streets know the alleys hear, no one does not know. Even Li Yuan will not allow Li Yuanji to force Ji Qian toe, to avoid incurring damaging words toward the Li Family. Besides, Li Yuanji still needs to take his own image and reputation into consideration, plus most of the members of the monarchs inner ministerial circle by Li Yuans side have good rtionship with Ji Qian; therefore, just like other officials under her skirt, Li Yuanji can only painstakingly fight for Ji Qian, with all the love, hate, pain and joy in it; it should be very touching. An enchanted look appeared on his face. Xu Ziling suddenly remembered something; he asked, Isnt Li Yuanji a close friend [with romantic connotation] with Qingqing Furen [madam] of Feng Ya Ge? Hou Xibai replied with a sneer, Qingqing Furen is just one of Li Yuanjis numerous women. Li Yuanji has always been romantic [see my note in Chapter 1], he loves to pick the flowers and trample the grass [idiom: to frequent brothels] all over the ce. Patting Xu Zilings shoulder, he said, All right! Do you want to go to Shang Lin Yuan to try your luck? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, The only thing I am going to run into at the pleasure house is bad luck. More importantly, I must not take the initiative to look for Ji Qian, I can only have her running into me. Fortunately this is not an urgent matter at all. Tonight I am going to have a good nights sleep, to raise enough spirit; Ill think about it tomorrow. Do you know that turns out running a pawnshop is such a profound andplex knowledge and skill? In order to pursue this knowledge, my muscles are weary, my strength exhausted. Youd better stay here nicely to continue your Hundred-Beauty Painting; when you are tired of painting, go to bed and rest. Dont forget that your Shi Shis heart is hard to fathom. Last night you did not sleep well; please listen to me! Tranted by foxs Hou Xibai spoke dejectedly, No need for you to remind me. Right now, only writing, painting, and visiting the pleasure house can make me forget everything. This is perhaps the difference between men and beasts! They only know the struggle for survival, but we know how to live, how to love, as well as the wind and the moon [romance/beautiful scenery/trivial matters], while forgetting the threat of survival. This is called an escape. Xu Ziling pondered, Sleep is precisely one kind of escape, therefore, beasts also use sleep to escape reality; this is an inherent method. His interest abundant, Hou Xibai asked, In that case, what is the biggest difference between men and beasts? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling thought deeply for a moment, he said, I think the biggest difference ought to be the will to ponder about our own existence; for example, why do we exist? What is the meaning and the purpose of the existence itself? Is there a master of the dark underworld? Is each person like a marite at the mercy of fate? When we came to life, where did wee from? When we die, where do we go? What exactly is the affair between life and death? Hearing that, Hou Xibai could only stare nkly. Xu Ziling recalled Funantuo, who loved to talk about the Way to Live or Die; without the enlightenment from him, perhaps he would never think so pratingly about the mystery of life, which enabled him to understand better why Shi Feixuan would give up this mundane world and devote herself to spiritual development of the Heavenly Law, which was precisely the exploration of ones own physical existence. Immediately he also recalled Shi Qingxuan, who, due to entirely different reasons, was able to see through and see clearly the cruel reality and the gratitude and grudges of the secr world, and thus chose the way of life of shunning the world and living in seclusion. But he himself was unfortunate to be drawn into the big vortex of the mundane world, from which it was difficult to withdraw, to retreat, to get away. He could not help sighing inwardly. Nodding his head, Hou Xibai said, These words are like evening drums, morning bells; very thought-provoking. Right now I only want to get drunk and lose consciousness, to forget the pain in my heart. An intense urge to go see Shi Qingxuan burst forth in Xu Zilings heart, he suddenly felt that he understood her better than any other moment in the past. But the Hou Xibai in his presence was the other person that he cared about. He said, Why dont Xibai Xiong talk about the pain in your heart? It might make you feel better. Hou Xibais pair of handsome eyes turned red. After casting a nce toward Xu Ziling, he hung his head and said with a forced smile, I became a person who is worthy of respect due to Shi Shi single-handedly trained me; if I say that I do not have any feelings toward him, I am lying to you. Sometimes he was really good to me. Ay! How should I settle the ount between him and me? Now I only want to meet him face-to-face to understand everything clearly. Last night I went to the pleasure house alone, it was exactly because I wanted him toe to me, whether he wanted to kill me or to cut me to pieces, let him do as he wished. It would be better than like right now, as if I am falling into the fog, not a single thing is distinct. Death is not that terrifying, is it? Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling finally understood Hou Xibais real feeling toward Shi Zhixuan, he cried Bad! inwardly, because Shi Zhixuan was no longer the previous split-personalities Shi Zhixuan; in the case that he thought there was such a need, he would show no quarter in executing this product and disposing of him. foxswuxia.wordpress He spoke in heavy voice, Didnt you say that ording to the rules that your masters school passed down to you, he made an oath the year when you were eighteen that the year you are turning twenty eight, only if you cannot block his Hua Jian Shier Zhi [lit. the twelve branches among the flowers] will he kill you? You should be twenty-seven now! You have one more year of time. Hou Xibai spoke dejectedly, Twenty-eight years is just the deadline that he has set. I could ask for an early meeting any moment; what I really want to know is whether if he really kills me and turns me into a ghost [of one who died unjustly], would Shi Shi be grieving and has regret? Ay! The Hua Jian Pais rules and ancestorws have been established from the heart since I was little, and now have be a deep-rooted ideology; therefore, I definitely will not let you, Ziling interfere in this matter, I can only rely on my own strength to cross over this difficulty. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, With your current condition,pletely without any fighting spirit, in a moment you said you have your hands tied and surrender to others will to be punished, in another moment you said you want to contend strongly to cross the barrier, all are showing negative attitude; you really make people worried. Returning to his confident and at ease nature, Hou Xibaiughed and said, This is called contradicting frame of mind; if one could not die, who would be willing to breathe onesst while there is still plenty of time avable? At least not until I finish this Tang Pces Hundred-Beauty Painting before we talk about it. Ha! Xu Ziling said, In my opinion, unless your Shi Shi has no other choice, he will not get rid of you with his own hands. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai asked, What makes Ziling think so? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, People are not nts, which are without any feeling. Even Shi Zhixuan, who thinks of himself as having a heart of stone, because he caused Bi Xiuxins death, he also passed thest fifteen years brimming with pain and contradiction, otherwise this world might be in a different situation. Now that he had woken up from what he called nightmare, not only he does not dare to meet with Shi Qingxuan, this lethal point, he shouldnt be willing to personally execute the disciple that he personally cultivated; therefore, my guess is that he is going to use Yang Xuyan to deal with you. Tranted by foxs Hou Xibais spirit greatly aroused, he said, This is going to be apletely different matter; I wont let Yang Xuyan prevail, no matter what. Seeing his fighting spirit was aroused, Xu Ziling was greatly reassured; he said, Your Shi Shi only has two direct disciples; if the one dying is Yang Xuyan and not you, he has no reason to destroy his only direct disciple. Otherwise, Hua Jian and Bu Tian, two Sects would not continue. The more conceivable thing is that your Shi Shi might fully support Yang Xuyan to be the victor. If you dont bestir yourself, you might nurse a grievance under Yang Xuyans Shadow Sword. Snorting coldly, Hou Xibai said, How could I easily give Yang Xuyan any advantage? Fortunately Zilings direction has sobered me up. Ha! Now I can sleep with the peace of mind! foxswuxia.wordpress Since Li Shimins big victory by acquiring Baibi, those who still had barely enough power to oppose him in the world remained only three major military groups headed by Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, and Xiao Xian, respectively. Kou Zhong had just sprouted his wings, momentarily it was not his turn yet. The Song ns base was in the remote Lingnan. Although they had more than enough power to cut thend and proim themselves hegemon, but if they only relied on their own ns strength, plus the southerners could not withstand the bitter cold in the north, they could only sigh for their whips inability to reach [idiom: beyond ones influence]. Song JinGangs defeat at Baibi was indeed far-reaching; not only it caused Liu Wuzhous fame and power to turn from strong to weak, it also made the Tujue, before they could unify various tribes beyond the Great Wall C not daring to act blindly without thinking. Without the support of the Tujue people, the other hegemon who attached himself to the Tujue, Liang Shidou, did not have any choice but to hold back his troops without moving, adopting the watching-the-fires-burning-across-the-river attitude, sitting and watching decisive battle for supremacy with Luoyang as the center. Among the three major military groups, Xiao Xians situation was the most unfavorable. The keyy in Du Fuwei surrendering to the Tang; not only it pressed down on Xiao Xian that he was unable to move a single step, it also made Zhu Can, Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, and so on had no alternative but to tuck their hands inside their sleeves and quietly watching the turbulent situation. Lin Shihong was sandwiched between two major formidable opponents, Xiao Xian and the Song n, it was difficult for him to do anything. In this gradually clearing up situation, the world became the target of the struggle between the Li n, Wang Shichong, and Dou Jiande, three sides, and Kou Zhongs only hope was to pull Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande together to crush Li Shimins undefeated myth. After rushing on at top speed all night long, Kou Zhong arrived in Luoyang early in the morning. Among the troops guarding the gate, who did not recognize him? Immediately they flew to report to Wang Shichong. The oneing to meet him was Wang Shichongs second son, Wang Xuanshu, on whom Kou Zhong had quite a good impression; when they met, there was happiness all around. Tranted by foxs Escorted by their personal guards, the two galloped side-by-side toward the imperial pce. Any movement from Li Shimins side? Kou Zhong asked. Wang Xuanshus expression turning grave, he responded in heavy voice, ording to the intelligence we received, Li Shimin is going to personally lead the main forces out of the Pass anding to the east within these few days; we have been making adequate preparation to deliver him a frontal assault by all means. Ay! Indeed like Shaoshuai anticipated in the past, Li Shimin drew a lesson from Li Mi failing to attack Luoyang after a long time, he takes the strategy of gradually purging the surrounding strongholds to sever the food transportation route in order to iste us. With exuberant mood, Kou Zhong ran his eyes over the prosperous-as-ever scenery of the City of Luoyang. Astonished, he asked, Li Shimins main forces are still far away in Guanzhong, how do you know what strategy he is going to adopt? Wang Xuanshu replied, Because after the battle of Baibi, the Li Family sent out four great generals one after another to build up military strength all around us. They are, consecutively, Shi Wanbao to establish his presence in Longmen, to cut our southern aid route; Liu Dewei to station his troops at Taixing, if they attack to the east via the River, potentially our northern route will be sealed; Wang Junkuo is ring like a tiger watching its prey toward Luokoulun; and the other high-ranking military officer Huang Junhan is stationing his troops at Mengjin, once they cross over the Great River, the route back to Luolun will be difficult to protect. Kou Zhong secretly mused that this was indeed the so-called the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns; without wasting a single soldier, a lone troop, only by relying on maneuvering troops and horses, Li Shimin already created enormous pressure onto Wang Shichong. Under such circumstances, if Li Shimin wanted to persuade the high-ranking military officers under Wang Shichongs banner to surrender, to force them to leave and realign their allegiance to him, it would be like where the water flows, a canal is formed [idiom: when conditions are right, sess will follow naturally]. foxswuxia.wordpress Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Luoyang is located on the confluence of the rivers, to really iste Luoyang is easier said than done. In the past, in order to convince your esteemed father, naturally I was exaggerating a little bit. No need to worry, I dont care if Li Shimin is releasing his horses toe over [i.e. giving everything he has], as long as we could defend Yanshi and Ho fronts firmly, when Li Shimin besiege the city, Dou Jiandes main forces wille to help, they will surely attack Li Shimin until he is in a sorry state; even whether he could escape back to Guanzhong will still be questionable. Revealing an awkward expression, Wang Xuanshu spoke in low voice, Fuhuang [father emperor] is unwilling to listen to my advice, he vited his agreement with Dou Jiande, he already ascended the imperial throne yesterday. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, What? he blurted out. The men and horses galloped into the imperial pce. [1] Chapter title C idiom: Buddhist monastic practice / the passage of time in a disciplined existence. Book 46 - 6 – Crossing Verbal Swords In the quiet inner hall of the Rong Da Da Ya, Xu Ziling was receiving his second lesson after his arrival in Changan. Yesterday he was mainly listening to Rong Das manager Chen Fu exining Pingyaos local conditions and customs, their livelihood and habit, while also learning his Pingyao ent. In term ofnguage, both Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong had innate talent, they could quickly speak Tujuenguage, learning a bit of local ent naturally did not pose any problem for him. The round table in front of him was full of things such as pawn-money card, money ticket, ount book and so on, itemsmon to the pawnshop business. When Xu Ziling was dazzled upon seeing all these things, Chen Fu, sitting on the other side of the table, said, Our pawn industry could be described in four words, which are yi cai sheng cai [using money to make money]: to use wealth to provide loans and make a profit, to earn money on the basis of high interest, using trust to borrow or lend money, or using coteral to provide loans. The security could vary from moveable property, for example pearl and jewel, jade and stone, to immovable property like real estate: house andnd, so much so that a person could be used as coteral. Tranted by foxs Stunned, Xu Ziling said, How can a person be a coteral? If there is no money to pay back, are you saying we can sell the person? Chen Fus build was slim, he was gifted with a horse face, around fifty years of age, his considerably high sideburns were somewhat grizzled, his manner was friendly and warm; hearing the question, he revealed a vague smile and responded in low voice, Debt must be paid with money, if no money, then they can work to pay the debts; if the coteral is a pretty woman, she could be sold to the pleasure house. But our Changan Rong Da will never do such things; however, in the viges or some remote areas, I do not dare to guarantee that such things will not happen. Since it is a mutual consent, its very difficult for government authorities to interfere. Whats more, we open a pawnshop, the first critical phase is open ess to the government officials; one side keeps a low profile, the other side has one eye open, the other eye closed, everybody lives together in harmony. foxswuxia.wordpress Hearing that, Xu Zilings confidence increased steeply; merely this aspect of using person as coteral, it should be greatly attractive to the Xiang Family, tantamount toter on they could openly buying and selling people. How did the pawn industry begin? he asked with a frown. Sketching it in light shades, Chen Fu replied, The pawn industry was rampant during the Northern and Southern dynasties [420-589], it originated from the Buddhist temples storehouse system. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, How could it rte to the Buddhist temple? How could Buddhist temple do shady business to umte wealth? Wouldnt it go against the people-who-left-their-homes principle of four elements are vanity? Chen Fu smiled and said, Dont the people-who-left-their-homes need to eat? Monastery, via various social sses Dana [Buddhist practice of giving], amasses great amount of wealth, in order to maintain numerous monks livelihood, to carry out all kinds of religious activities, to maintain and extend the monastery. All these are not possible without money; therefore, they thought about this religious way of using money to make money, to rely on providing loans to make a profit. After a short pause, he went on, As for whether it goes against the original idea of Buddhism, as far as I know, it does not. However, at least in the Buddhist scripture andw, there are records of endless storehouse, also continuous habitation, inexhaustible benefit, at that time, there were all kinds of prosperity of the six congregations, either taking, or with, or raw, or qualitative [sorry, no idea ... I can only deduce from Google that this passage is from Tripitaka], so that the monks could feel at ease in providing loans to obtain profit as sacrificial offering to be used by Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, the Three Precious Treasures. Tranted by foxs Listening to that, Xu Zilings horizon was greatly broadened; he asked, Such a profitable business, thepetition must be very fierce, how did Situ Furong distinguish himself and be the boss of the nations biggest pawnshop business? Chen Fu cheerfully said, In this aspect, anybody would admire Da Laoban [big boss]; the reason he can be so sessful was simply because of the introduction of grain pawn and the issuance of money ticket, two new businesses. Grain pawn is not limited to grains of rice, but numerous other grain goods. This is particrly popr in rural areas and viges. Just think of exchanging grain goods for money. Although the price is substantially lower than direct selling, but in terms of convenience and meeting a contingency, no othermercial method canpare. As for money ticket, it could be said as some kind of favor to business people. The method is the pawnshop issued vouchers to take the ce of currency in cirction in the market, which could be cashed in at any time, and thus we make a profit by charging premium for the exchange. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling understood. No wonder it was said that the pawn business attached most importance to reputation of thepany; therefore, although in term of financial resources the Xiang Family surpassed Situ Furong, but because of their pleasure house and casino trademarks, plus they had background in human trafficking, they could meet misfortune any time by being wiped out and closed down by the government, so who would put their trust in the money ticket that they issued? The more he gained understanding of the pawnshop industry, the more confidence he had that the Xiang Family would take the bait, that the Xiang Family would seize this once-in-a-thousand-years golden opportunity to fully use their changing-the-sky-exchanging-the-sun big method. All right! Chen Fu said, Now its Gongzis turn to gain an in-depth understanding of our operation and business practices. Inwardly Xu Ziling smiled bitterly, he had no choice but to pull himself together and rouse his spirit to focus his attention to listen, in order to be the best Situ Furong impersonator. Inside the imperial pces study room, finished reading Dou Jiandes secret letter, Wang Shichong, wearing full dragon robe, handed the letter to Wang Xuanying, sitting on the lower right sides head seat, to have him take a look as well. Frowning, he said, Why would Dou Jiande want to help me to deal with Li Shimin? Before Kou Zhong had any chance to respond, Wang Xuanying, while still reading Dou Jiandes letter, without even looking up,ughed coldly and said, Perhaps its beating a tiger from the front door, only to have a wolfe in at the back! Immediately Kou Zhongs anger red up; he was about to brush his sleeve away and rise up, Wang Xuanshu, sitting next to Kou Zhong, hurriedly interjected, Currently Xia Wang and our Great Zheng are as close as lips and teeth; if Luoyang fell, the next one ... Tranted by foxs How can Luoyang fall? Wang Shichong cut him off, Li Shimin has always been good at controlling people by movingter; that was how Xue Ju, father and son, and Song JinGang were defeated in his hands. This time I am going to use that same method to control him; by the time he attacks for a long time without sess and move his troops back, that will be the moment he suffers total defeat of his army. Although Kou Zhong absolutely had no good impression toward Wang Shichong, he had to admit that this was the proper strategy to deal with Li Shimins main forces. The question was whether the Zheng Army could hold fast to that moment. His eyes flickering, Wang Shichong stared fixedly at Kou Zhong, but he did not immediately speak. Without the least bit of respect, Wang Xuanying carelessly tossed Dou Jiandes letter on the small table by his side; with a hint of cold smile in his face, he looked at Kou Zhong, who was sitting in the head seat on Wang Shichongs left. Wang Xuanshu revealed a helpless wry smile, but he kept silent. The air inside the study room was thick with awkwardness. foxswuxia.wordpress Suddenly Wang Shichong threw his head back in longughter and said, Shaoshuai is so concerned over my Great Zhengs affair, I am very appreciative; if Li Shimin attacked one year sooner, I might act with confusion, but after a whole year of preparation against war, I haveplete confidence in fighting this war. Now our Luoyang has elite soldiers, ample provisions, as long as we could hold out until the winters Great Snow [21st of the 24 sr terms], how could Li Shimin press on? Inwardly Kou Zhong was greatly astonished; thest time he saw Wang Shichong, at least on the surface, this old fox was giving him very deep deferential treatment, but this time obviously there was a major change in attitude, what exactly was he relying on? Or just like he said, why did he haveplete confidence to win this battle? Kou Zhong was ovee with a having-nothing-to-say dejected feeling; smiling wryly, he said, I wonder if Shengshang [courtiers or ministers form of address for the current Emperor] is asking me to leave? Shaken, Wang Xuanshu looked at his father. Wang Shichong sighed and said, Shaoshuai is truly a figure that I admire very much, but unfortunately you cannot be used by me, Wang Shichong; the bigger problem is that Shaoshuai has already be the Song Family of Lingnans man. Song Que has always regarded people of foreign background as the enemy, he and I are as ipatible as fire and water. Shaoshuai, please tell me how am I supposed to trust you? Kou Zhong said, Things have slight or important, urgent or non-urgent distinction; if you, Shengshang haveplete confidence to put Li Shimin in order on your own, naturally this kid has nothing to say. But the fact before our eyes is that in the end, everybody who hadplete confidence to put Li Shimin in order has been proven to be wrong. If I were Shengshang, I would not cut my escape route before starting the war. That is all I have to say! As for how to do it, would Shengshang please make your decision? Tranted by foxs Wang Shichong smiled and said, We have worked together to bring Li Mi down, this time naturally we could join hands to make Li Shimin suffer a big defeat, Shaoshuai must not be paranoid, but we must all speak out the words in our heart. Wang Xuanying spoke indifferently, Beating back Li Shimin, what benefit will it bring Shaoshuai? Kou Zhong really wanted to punch Wang Xuanyings face, to see what would his pale little face look like afterwards. This person failed to see therger issue, just because he suffered disgrace by being captured twice, he still harbored hard feelings toward Kou Zhong. After taking a deep breath, he spoke in heavy voice, How about we make an about-turn? If Li Shimin capture Luoyang, what harm will it bring me? Wang Shichong revealed displeasure; letting out a cold snort, he said, Shaoshuai, please exin your wise opinion. Kou Zhongs gaze moved from Wang Xuanyings face to Wang Shichong; he said, If Luoyang falls, then Dou Jiande will be forced to retreat and defend Hebei. At that time, Li Shimin could send any great general from his Tian Ce Fu, he would be able to defend Luoyang as securely as a city protected by wall of metal and a moat of boiling water. At that time, the first person Li Shimin is going to kill will not be Dou Jiande, but me, Kou Zhong. foxswuxia.wordpress Wang Xuanying sneered and said, Perhaps Shaoshuai overestimates his own importance in Li Shimins heart? The mighty army division under Dou Jiandesmand reaches four hundred thousand men, Shao Shuai Army is merely several tens of thousands, plus there is no solid city wall and rugged terrain to defend. Kou Zhong returned his mocking gaze, he smiled and said, This is not a question of who is a bit more important, but a question of strategy. If Li Shimin attacked and captured Luoyang, the Li ns House of Tangs prestige would rise greatly, so that some people who are watching the wind and steer the rudder ordingly [i.e. on the lookout] like Gao Kaidao, Luo Yizhi, and so on would have no choice but to rush to surrender to the House of Tang, which would make Dou Jiande facing the enemy in front and behind, unable to move a single step. Li Shimin is not a fool, he might lure Dou Jiande to toil his army in military expedition to attack him, while he himself calmly deploy his army to the south. Once I am eliminated, he would establish his navy fleet in Bashu. On top of that, theres Du Fuweis Jianghuai Army ready to respond, then the various hegemons of the souths allotted share is to be ughtered. At that time, Dou Jiandes only way to survive is to attack Luo, to meet the worlds best in city defense, Li Shimin. With Guanzhong ready to support him, what would the oue be? There seem to be no need for Xiaodi to exin! Wang Xuanying was dumbstruck and unable to reply, because what Kou Zhong said was entirely the truth, and Wang Xuanying had never thought about any of it. Wang Xuanshus pair of eyes emitted an esteeming, admiring expression, he repeatedly nodded his head. The refined light in Wang Shichongs two eyes was ring greatly, he had no choice but to nod his head in agreement. He said, Shaoshuais view on the current political situation is extremely thorough; however, Luoyang definitely wont fall. Kou Zhongughed and said, Since Shengshang already indicated that we ought to speak forthrightly, then I will be blunt as well; Shengshang, why are you so confident? Tranted by foxs With a card up his sleeve, Wang Shichong replied, Because even though Shaoshuai calcted a thousand times, considered it ten thousand times, you still leave out the internal variable of the Li n. If Li Shimin can conquer Luoyang in one move, naturally there wont be any problem. But if he attacks for a long time without sess, the other big enemies will begin to stir. Li Yuan might change his mind and order Li Shimin to retreat. Shaoshuai understand what I mean? Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly; he suddenly understood the reason Wang Shichong was this secure in the knowledge that he had backing, all because he secretly obtained the support of the Tujue people. Precisely because of this that he did not consider Dou Jiandes help worthy in his eyes. When Li Shimin besieged Luoyang, if Xieli helped Liang Shidou or the likes toe again to attack Taiyuan, since it would be difficult for Li Shimin to look after his head and tail, he had no choice but to pull his troops to defend Guanzhong. After staring fixedly at each other with Wang Shichong for half a day, heughed aloud, leaned back into his chair, and said with a sigh, If Shengshang really thinks like that, you have fallen into the Tujue peoples evil scheme. For the first time, Wang Shichongs countenance changed; he spoke in displeasure, What rtionship do the Tujue people have with me? How did I fall into the Tujue peoples scheme? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong smiled and said, What rtionship Shengshang has with the Tujue people, naturally I do not know. I just hope that its not a rtionship with Zhao Deyan or Da Ming Zun Jiao building the bridge. There might be the day where Xieli will be able to unify the various tribes beyond the Great Wall ande to invade our territory, but definitely it will not happen in a few months. I have juste back from beyond the Great Wall, I should understand the situation beyond the Great Wall a bit better than you do. Wang Xuanshu could not help asking, What is the current situation beyond the Great Wall? Kou Zhong replied, It could pretty much be described with one word chaotic. Tuli, under pressure from Bi Xuan, had to restore his rtionship with Xieli, but both sides, because of the battle of the Rushing Wolf in and the establishment of the Bohai Kingdom, their army is strained, the troops weary. Before they could reorganize their troop disposition and establish new rtionship with the other various tribes, they definitely will not dare to act blindly without thinking. If I am guessing correctly, Xieli expressing his support to your Great Zheng, I am afraid he only wants you to fall without even fighting, so that Li Shimin, without wasting a single soldier a lone troop C would seize control of the Yellow River. At that time, he could conveniently stretch his hand and snatch the world. For Xieli, the most ideal situation would be because of his attack to Luoyang, Li Shimins strength suffers great harm, so that when the Tujue allied armies seize the opportunity to strike to the south, with the Li n powerless to strike back, he would upy the Great in first, to get a firm foothold, and then gradually nibble away to aplish his beautiful dream of engulfing the Central ins. Tranted by foxs The study room was silent as if it was weighed down by a piece of lead. Wang Shichong stared at Kou Zhong, and then he took a deep and long breath, and said, Xieli did not make anymitment to me. He spoke those words feebly andcking strength, clearly he said it without meaning it, which convinced Kou Zhong even more that his guess was spot on. Wang Xuanying spoke heavily, Just now Shaoshuai said something about Zhao Deyan or Da Ming Zun Jiao paving the way, what do you mean by that? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Nothing. Zhao Deyan has a close rtionship with Rong Fengxiang, and Rong Fengxiang himself is a Da Ming Zun Jiao man, yet you guys showed particr tolerance toward him, so I made a guess following the line of reasoning; it should be a fair guess! Wang Xuanying was at a loss for words; in this verbal battle, Kou Zhong opposed him with equal harshness; how could he be Kou Zhongs match? With his thoughts wandering, Wang Shichong said, Lets not argue over these little things, what good proposal does Shaoshuai have? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief secretly; after wasting that much lips and tongue, this was the response that he strived for from Wang Shichong. He spoke with serious expression, My proposal can be summed up in three sentences, which are: defense as the top priority, form alliance with Dou Army, and solidify Ho. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Wang Shichong said, I thought Shaoshuai would have some previously unimagined proposal; these ... hey! These are the strategies that we have already formted. Kou Zhong cursed him inwardly; at least forming alliance with the Dou Army was not the strategy that he already established. He said, Defense as the top priority strategy is easy to say, but the implementation is surely difficult. The second item of forming alliance with the Dou Army, Shengshang must postpone your self-promation as the emperor, only then will we have discussion. Wang Xuanying finally found the opportunity to strike back, he spoke in displeasure, If the name is unfavorable, then the words will be unsatisfactory. Currently the old Suis deposed monarch abdicate to Fuhuang, which made the heart of our Great Zhengs Army greatly aroused; what does it have to do with Dou Jiande? If he like, he could change his title from Xia Wang [King of Xia] to Xia Di [Emperor of Xia], this is the issue of title; otherwise, Fuhuang will appear that he yields to Li Yuan. Wang Shichong remained silent without saying anything; he seemed to agree, but he also seemed to be thinking deeply about the emperor title. Whether Wang Shichong had the dialogue with Dou Jiande in his capacity as Zheng Wang or Zheng Di, naturally there was a great difference. If he chose thetter, it would be very difficult for the two sides to have amon basis for cooperation. Wang Xuanshu wanted to speak, but decided to remain silent. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This is the Great Zhengs business, its up to you to decide. Any battlefront can be lost, but we definitely must not lose Ho and Yanshi, these most important battlefronts on the east side. Not only that is the route Dou Jiande has to take to help, it is also the life and death line to enable my Shao Shuai Army to provide endless supply of army provisions and equipment. I have a brazen proposal, hoping Shengshang to trust me and give your consent to appoint me the defender, to give me your absolute trust. Tranted by foxs Shaken, Wang Shichong said, Shaoshuai wants to defend Ho for me? Kou Zhong spoke slowly, word by word, This is of course the most ideal; nevertheless, it would put Shengshang in difficult position. I only hope that I can have Yang Gongqing, Zhang Zhenzhou, and perhaps Xuanshu Gongzi as my principals, and then Ill have my men to run errands. In that case, I dare say that even if Li Shimin has three heads and six arms, he cannot iste Luoyang, and I can say that we will have 90% chance that we will fight a big victory. You cant do that! Wang Xuanying blurted out. But Wang Shichong stretched out his hand to stop Wang Xuanying from continuing. He said, Let me give it a careful thought. foxswuxia.wordpress Disregarding Wang Xuanyings eye signal, he turned to Wang Xuanshu and said, Shaoshuais amodation in here, let Xuanshu make the arrangement. Tomorrow morning we have an important military meeting, Shaoshuai pleasee on time. Book 46 - 7 – Making an Oath with the Devil Kou Zhong and Wang Xuanshu rode side by side out of the imperial pce and stepped into Luoyangs Heavenly Street; how could he not sigh with sorrow? An arrogant army is bound to lose. Tranted by foxs Wang Shichongs current momentum was entering its peak period, the main reason was that he just defeated Li Mis Wagang Army, plus he was upying the central strategic position in the contention for hegemony over the Central ins, the eastern capital Luoyang. The second reason was that in the struggle within the little imperial court of the eastern capital, he won; he drove the Dugu n away, and now he even forced Yang Dong to abdicate his imperial throne to him. External cmity and internal worries, all of a sudden everything was resolved. But his self-promation as the emperor was not strategically smart, because it might generate antipathy on Dou Jiandes side, which would potentially overturn the covenant of joint efforts. However, it was indeed the general mood, the current trend; one after another, Lin Shihong, Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidou, Li Yuan, Xiao Xian, and the others, various overlords of various localities, proimed themselves the emperor. If he, Wang Shichong, raised the Yang Sui banner again, it would be difficult for him to have the power to rally supporters. Since he had just defeated Wagang Army, his fame and power was like the sun at noonday, plus Wang Xuanying and the others instigated him; his heart was unbearably itching, he embarked on this wrong path. foxswuxia.wordpress At this time, the area south of the Yellow River has entirely be his Great Zhengs territory. If he was able to beat back the Lis Tang Army on the punitive expedition to the east, he would potentially dominate the Central ins. No wonder his ambition clouded his reason, even Kou Zhong, who single-handedly facilitated his current prestige C was not considered worthy in his eyes. But Kou Zhong was convinced that in the decisive battle between Wang Shichong and Li Shimin, the ultimate loser would definitely be Wang Shichong. The reason for the defeat was Wang Shichongs own character; on the surface, although this mans words were pleasant to hear, the fact was that he was deceitful over and over again, narrow-minded and unable to tolerate people. He was not in the mood to give any consideration to anybody other than to the people of Wang family name and his fellow nsmen. Such a person, how could he achieve great undertaking? With such character dominating him, he was practically unable to treat people with sincerity; it would be even more difficult to make other people willing to die for him. Encountering an open-minded, magnanimous, an expert at appointing people ording to their abilities [idiom] like Li Shimin, the end result could easily be imagined. Otherwise, if his people were willing to fall over each other in their eagerness to throw their lot to him, to whom the deer falls would still be unknown. Failing to fairly evaluating the merit of his subordinates and bestowing rewards ordingly, not to mention difficult to look outside to be on the lookout for people who might want to realign their allegiance to him, even worse, forcing his subordinates to throw their lot into the enemy camp, all these were Wang Shichongs biggest miscalctions. Men and horses galloped up the Tianjin Bridge. Tranted by foxs Wang Xuanshu cleared his throat, pulling Kou Zhong from his contemtion back to the reality before his eyes. Shaoshuai, what are you thinking? he asked. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong replied, Im wondering whether I havee in vain. Wang Xuanshu was shocked, Shaoshuai must never think like that, he said, Didnt Fuhuang just say that he admires you very much? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I also admire Li Shimin very much, so what? Ay, lets not talk about these frustrating matters. I wonder if I could stay at the same ce asst time? That house is not bad at all, I particrly love the peace and quiet of that ce. What he wanted to ask the most was actually Yang Gongqings current situation. But even to Wang Xuanshu, to whom he had quite a good impression, he knew that it was unsuitable to ask in haste, otherwise, if this matter came back to Wang Shichongs ears, it would be strange indeed if he did not grow suspicious of the two mens rtionship. Thats not a problem, Wang Xuanshu readily agreed. I dont need anybody to wait upon me, Kou Zhong hastily added, Ah, right! How are my oldrade-in-arms in here? Wang Xuanshu cheerfully replied, This moment, both Yang Lao and Zhang Lao, two great generals are in Luoyang. After helping Shaoshuai settling down, Ill send someone to notify them. Im sure they will be very happy to meet and reminisce about former days with Shaoshuai. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong was relieved; he thought that as long as he could see Yang Gongqing, then he could fully grasp the situation on Wang Shichongs side, and then he would be able to see how he could turn things around [orig. to upend heaven and earth], to let Wang Shichong obtaining tragic victory in this hard battle, which would determine the fate of the world. Xu Ziling stepped into the courtyard of the Passionate Nest. For the first time he regretted his decision to choose the Passionate Nest as a ce to stay, because since Hou Xibai became a celebrity, the Passionate Nest no longer had any secret to speak of. It was precisely because of the Passionate Nest that one after another Wanwan and Shi Zhixuan found out that he hade to Changan. Hereafter, whether disaster or happiness, the situation would be even more difficult to foresee. A faint residue of the scent of a woman still lingered in the air. The image emerging in Xu Zilings mind was the enchanting scenery of going boating along the river with Shen Luoyan. Heaving a sigh, he tore off his mask, pushed the door, and stepped into the front hall. Shen Luoyans touching back greeted his eyes; she was leaning against the window, looking out. My heart is very troubled, she spoke softly, I wantpany to relieve my mncholy. Xu Ziling knew she mistook him for Hou Xibai; he slowly walked over and stopped around five chi behind him, and spoke indifferently, Shen Junshi [military adviser], what troubles your heart? Tranted by foxs Shen Luoyans tender body was severely shaken; turning around abruptly, she cried tenderly in disbelief, Ah! Ziling. She did not try to cover the pleasantly surprised expression appearing on her delicate-and-pretty, bright-and-beautiful-as-in-former-times jade countenance. Xu Ziling had thought about turning around and leaving, but in the end he could not bear to be so heartless toward this close female friend, who was married and be a wife. Xu Ziling sighed and said, It is Xiaodi. Is Shen Junshi troubled because of Liyang? Ay, I am having a hard time as well. Shen Luoyan revealed a thousand-words-ten-thousand-speeches-but-do-not-know-where-to-start expression, the unusual light in the pupil of her eyes was rippling, she was touching to the extreme point; it appeared as if she wanted to throw herself into Xu Zilings bosom, but also seemed like she fought hard to restrain herself. Suddenly dropping down her cicada head, she spoke softly, Ziling guessed incorrectly! At Liyang city, Shiji managed to break the siege and escape, Xiuning and Li Shentong were taken prisoner but under Kou Zhongs mediation they were released by Dou Jiande, you can temporarily set your mind at rest. Temporarily set your mind at rest, these four characters [zan shi an xin] were remarkable, showing that this beautiful woman, who was good at understanding others, urately grasped Xu Zilings frame of mind. Hearing that Li Xiuning was safe and sound, immediately Xu Ziling felt as if a weight was off his mind. Knitting his brows, he said, In that case, what makes Junshis heart troubled? foxswuxia.wordpress Shen Luoyan turned her fragrant body around, once again her gaze was on the beautiful scenery of the rear garden outside the window, she spoke gently, I havent been a Junshi for a long time! Why do you still call me Junshi? Could it be that calling me Luoyan is a problem for you? Laughing calmly, Xu Ziling said, In our hearts, Luoyan will always be that Meirener [beautiful woman] Junshi. Still facing away from him, Pfft! Shen Luoyan broke into a giggle and said, Meirener Junshi, only you can say such thing; this honorary title reminded me of Kou Zhong. I did not misjudge him; he is probably the only one who can make Li Shimin suffer defeat. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, But that definitely wont happen in the battle of Luoyang. Kou Zhong himself knows this fact better than anybody else, because we understand what kind of a person Wang Shichong is. Shen Luoyan spoke in disdain, Narrow-minded and deceitful, paranoid, contentious and fake [pian xia jue zha, duo yi jiao wei]; its difficult for him to aplish great things. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, Shen Junshis eight-character description is extremely fitting. Tranted by foxs Shen Luoyan turned around again. She recovered her usual distinguished and aplished, charming tender disposition and beautiful attitude; she spoke blissfully, Seeing Ziling, all troubles disappear without any trace. You really dont care about Kou Zhong? I dont know, Xu Ziling replied dejectedly, My biggest wish right now is that Kou Zhong can withdraw from this war against the eastern capital in time; otherwise, after Luoyang fell, the next in line would be him and his Shao Shuai Army. Shen Luoyans pair of eyes was shing with intelligent rays of light; she said, This is called you are so worried that you be confused; how could Kou Zhong be easily put in order? Or more urately, I should say how could the Heavenly Saber Song Que be easily dealt with? Once Song Que is provoked, nobody will be able to predict the development of the situation. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Unexpectedly Song Que might personally lead the troops into battle? Casting a sidelong nce toward him in displeasure, Shen Luoyan spoke in slight anger, Why would Ziling think that he might not? All along Li Shimin has barbarian lineage, he definitely wont let this kind of person to unify the world. To revitalize the unification of Han, this is a once-in-a-thousand-years golden opportunity. Li Family has misgivings toward Kou Zhong, but toward Song Que, they are even more fearful. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling spoke in astonishment, I only know that in the south, the Song Family has wealth and influence, but I did not know that they also upy such a critical position in military matters. Shen Luoyan said, If we say that Kou Zhong is a natural outstandingmander-in-chief, then Song Que is an expert in military strategy with the highest vision and farthest insight in the Central Earth, with extensive understanding of ancient and modern battlefield changes. Therefore, he can hold back his troops without moving continuously, until the rise of Kou Zhong, who fit the intention of his heart, and only then will he dere his support. Song Que matches Kou Zhong; one is skillful in creating deployment strategy of the overall situation, the other is an unequalledmander-in-chief on the battlefield; what do you say the Li Familys impression on this? Obtaining Shen Luoyans wake-up call, Xu Ziling began to look at Kou Zhongs great undertaking from another angle, but he felt even more headache. No matter who would win or who would lose, the impact to the Central Earth would be sky-and-earth-turning-upside-down, rolling-the-south-sweeping-away-the-north, no one could stay virtuous alone. Shen Luoyan continued, Even with Song Ques power, unexpectedly Xiao Xian could suppress Lin Shihong; this fact represents Song Ques desire to conserve his strength, to quietly wait for the opportune time to contend for hegemony over the Central ins. If Mi Gong could learn ten-, twenty-percent of his skill, he would not have to suffer defeat. Ay! After Li Mis tragic victory over Yuwen Huaji, without waiting for the recovery of his vital energy, he immediately sent his troops to deal with Wang Shichong; this was precisely the main cause of his defeat. Tranted by foxs Shen Luoyan also said, Lingnan Army relies mainly on Li Liao [tribes], the peoples lifestyle is simple, they are hardworking and adept in battle, plus they regard Song Que like a deity. Therefore, although they are only about a hundred thousand men strong, but they are well-trained; with the Song ns financial support plus Kou Zhong, this kind of talent, even Li Shimin will not dare to speak about victory lightly. Therefore, you do not need to worry about Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling smiled wryly but did not say anything. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he asked, Junshi has not told me what troubles you? Shen Luoyans tender body shaking slightly, she slowly turned around to cast her gaze toward the azure, limpid sky. Sighing, she said, What else but thinking about my former masters situation? Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly, unexpectedly she was troubled because of Li Mi; what exactly was going on? Yang Gongqing, Zhang Zhenzhou and Kou Zhong sat down around the table in the inner hall, these two most famous generals under Wang Shichongsmand had a windblown dust [vicissitudes of life] look on their faces, apparently they were tired from being constantly on the move. Due to the imminent war, they seldom took a rest. Skipping the idle talk, Zhang Zhenzhou went straight to the point, Does Shaoshuai know that Wang Shichong secretly formed an alliance with Zhu Can? What? Kou Zhong blurted out. foxswuxia.wordpress Among the various hegemons contending for supremacy, in term of notoriety, no one could surpass the Garuda King Zhu Can. Both he and his daughter were persons with bad reputation, Zhu Can was even known as the devil king who killed people and ate their flesh. For the past few years, internally, Zhu Cans momentum was gaining ground, but externally, he was under pressure from Xiao Xian and Du Fuwei, hence looking for a powerful backer was a matter that was as it should be by rights; the question was why did Wang Shichong amodate him? This move was bound to lose him the peoples support. Kou Zhong had a feeling of history repeating itself; no matter how evil Zhu Can was, the thief troops under hismand amounted to several tens of thousand men, he and Wang Shichong were like the Five-Saber Hegemon Gesuwen and the Dragon King Bai Ziting, i.e. they could be the wonder troops that could turn the situation around. No wonder Wang Shichong could be this secure in the knowledge that he had backing. Because the situation with Kou Zhong was different, Li Shimin made a firm resolution to destroy Wang Shichong, and he, Kou Zhong, must help Wang Shichong to defend Luoyang, to repel the Great Tangs mighty army; he could no longer be like in Longquan, having flexibility to meet a contingency, free and unconstrained. Shaking his head, Yang Gongqing said, I dont understand why Wang Shichong is repeating his errors, unexpectedly he attracted this vicious demon whom everybody gnash their teeth and detest. Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong mused inwardly, Xiaodi understands, but it was inappropriate for him to speak up, simply because Zhang Zhenzhou was not a man he could trust, it was inadvisable for him to know too many secrets. Looking at Zhu Cans style, it was extremely likely that he had demonic school background; forming an alliance with Wang Shichong, who was linked in countless ways and had close rtionship with the demonic school, it was like where the water flows, a canal is formed. In fact, Wang Shichongs character of not trusting outsiders was also the characteristic of demonic school people, they did not even trust people of their own school, much less outsiders? Opening their mouth, Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqing talked about Wang Shichong, closing their mouth, they also talked about Wang Shichong, all without any trace of politeness, not only they did not regard him as the emperor, they did not even respect him as their master. Lowering his voice, Zhang Zhenzhou said, Shaoshuaising this time, is it to help Wang Shichong to deal with the Li ns main forces? Kou Zhong sighed and said, You could say that. What good n do you, the Senior have? Zhang Zhenzhou responded indifferently, What good n? I have no choice but to go on tolling the bell as long as one is a monk [idiom: do ones job perfunctorily]. Both Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing knew that he said that without meaning it, because with his shrewd, resolute and daring character, plus Wang Shichong already caused grief to him, there was no way he would be willingly throw away his life with Wang Shichong. foxswuxia.wordpress Zhang Zhenzhou also said, In todays situation, what reversing-the-rotation-of-the-sky strategy does Shaoshuai have? Kou Zhong was suddenly on guard, thinking that if Zhang Zhenzhou secretly surrendered to the Tang, he might coordinate outside and inside offensives with Li Shimin to topple Wang Shichong, and now he was prying for some intelligence. Shaking his head, he smiled bitterly and said, Unless Wang Shichong is willing to hand over some of the military power to me, theres nothing I can do. And then he frowned and asked, How did you guys know that Wang Shichong is secretly in alliance with Zhu Can? Yang Gongqing replied, This information was originallying from an insider in Zhu Cans camp, hinting that Wang Shichong is incorporating Zhu Cans troops into his own, he even promoted Zhu Can as the Long Xiang Da Jiangjun [lit. the dragon running friskily great general]. Although Wang Shichong denied it many times, but Du Zhu [venomous spider] Zhu Mei hase to Luoyang to see Wang Shichong, twice, is an undeniable fact; therefore, we know that Wang Shichong was lying with his eyes open wide. Kou Zhong said, In that case, Zhu Can cannot be the wonder troops anymore; at most he could only be the troops to restrain Li Shimin. Tranted by foxs Snorting coldly, Zhang Zhenzhou said, Just by looking at how Li Shimin maneuver his troops, you can see that his strategy is to seal off all routes for providing foodstuff from the outside into Luoyang, to iste Luoyang. The army and civilians in Luoyang number several hundred thousand people, every day we are consuming arge amount of food, even if all the granaries inside the city are full to overflowing, at most they could only be prolonged to half a year. Therefore, in term of strategy, Li Shimin is doing the right thing. Yang Gongqing said, Now we are going to see whether Li Shimin has the ability to surround Luoyang that not one drop can trickle through, we will also see whether Dou Jiande will deploy his army to help. Therefore, Ho battlefront is the most important, we must not lose it. Zhang Zhenzhou sighed and said, Great Zhengs sess or failure will depend on the meeting tomorrow, on how Wang Shichong is going to assign military leadership. If he is willing to use any one of the three of us to defend Ho, Li Shimin will most likely be going to suffer defeat. Laughing coldly, Yang Gongqing said, As matters stand, if he still obstinately persists in going about things the wrong way by appointing his nsmen and rtives, it means he is digging his own grave. Listening to the discussion, Kou Zhong had a lot to think about, it was only then did he realize that the military meeting tomorrow was so important; whether Wang Shichong would be able to retain the hearts of the various generals of different surnames, it would be decided tomorrow morning. foxswuxia.wordpress Yang Gongqing said, I have not eaten anything since I got out of bed this morning, my tummy is so hungry that it is rumbling loudly, why dont we go to the House of Dong restaurant at the head of the Tianjin Bridge to appease our belly and satisfy our intestines, while washing the dust off Shaoshuais feet at the same time? Zhang Zhenzhou apologized, I still have some business to do, Yang Gong, please toast Shaoshuai with a couple more cups of wine for me! With her back toward Xu Ziling, Shen Luoyan sighed lightly and said, Until now I still dont understand why Mi Gong surrendered to the Tang, from being the leader of a militia army to be a bureaucrat in the House of Tang, the twenty thousand Wagang soldiers who wereing with him into the Pass be the House of Tangs official troops,pletely degenerating the militia [or righteous] army, which once the world looked up to for suppressing the cruel Sui dynasty. And now he finally regrets it! And then she spun around like a whirlwind and said, What should I, Shen Luoyan do? Xu Ziling understood. Upon entering the Pass, Li Mi was not proud of himself at all. He was bestowed several empty titles, but the fact was that he was left idle and was sacked; on the contrary, it was the great general under hismand, Li Shiji, who was put in an important position. How could he be happy? What can he do? Xu Ziling responded gently. Tranted by foxs Shen Luoyans fragrant lips revealed a hint of pained smile, she said, Naturally he thought that he could return to office after living as a hermit on Mount Dong. After a short pause, she sighed and said, Although in name Wang Bodang was conferred the title Left Military Guard Great General, simrly, he has no authority, hence he is having presumptuous ideas, he often said to Mi Gong that Li Shiji is upying Liyang, he could spread his virtue to Luokou by mutually keeping watch of each other. Mi Gongs former subordinates in the Central ins who are still loyal to him are many men, a great force; during this Tang-Zheng war, if he left Changan and go out to Shandong, he could recruit his former subordinates, he would surely be able to start new situation, to once again arouse Wagang Armys prestige. Ay! Loyal advice jars on the ears; I have gone out many times to advice Mi Gong to dispel these thoughts, but always failed to move him. Tell me, what should I do? Hearing Wang Bodangs name, a hard-to-describe feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, but Su Jie already passed away, his hatred due to Wang Bodang viting Su Jie has already gone like scattering clouds and vanishing smoke. Seeing Li Mi and Wang Bodang, two men who had once stirred the wind and the clouds C fell into such plight, he no longer had the mood to bicker with them. He asked, In the Pass, how many of his former subordinates are willing to follow him? Smiling bitterly, Shen Luoyan replied, Even I am unwilling to follow him courting disaster, how many do you think are willing toe with him? Does that mean you already decided to draw clear dividing line with him? Xu Ziling asked. foxswuxia.wordpress Shen Luoyan said, If I were really such a heartless person, right now I dont need to worry about him. And then she coquettishly rolled her eyes at him and said, I feel much better now, I shouldnt have told you about these troubles. Right! What noble errand brings you to Changan? I hope its not because you still refuse to give up those piles of junk that they called the treasure? After getting those inconsistent-with-the-fact money and valuables, Li Yuan let those wholesale scrap weapons remain down there. Now, no one has any interest in talking about the Duke Yangs Treasure, unless they are talking about it as a joke. Xu Ziling said, I came to Changan is to deal with someone;ter on, when things are a bit more settled, I will exin everything clearly, all right? He intentionally spoke vaguely, because he did not want new branch to grow out of a knot. Shen Luoyan did not give it much thought; she said, Able to rm our Xu Gongzi, definitely this person is not to be trifled with. Almost forget to tell you something, your good friend Shang Xiuxun Changzhu [ranch master] may arrived in Changan these couple of days, Yin De Fei especially invited me to be herpanion. I hear Li Jiancheng is very interested in her. Shaken, Xu Ziling blurted out, What? Book 46 8 – Cold Forest, Clear and Far

Book 46 Chapter 8 C Cold Forest, Clear and Far

Inside the side room with the best view on the fourth floor of the House of Dong restaurant, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Wang Shichong wants to harm me! Stunned, Yang Gongqing said, Cant be! Last time Wang Shichong reaped the consequences of his words [idiom from Mencius] by wanting to kill Shaoshuai, and he lost a great amount of popr support, provoking enormous antipathy from the military, from top to bottom. Now is the time of the wind and the cloud [i.e. unstable situation] with fantastic changes, plus Shaoshuai is not a benevolent-man-trustworthy-woman at all, how could Wang Shichong dare to act rashly? Kou Zhong raised his cup to offer a toast. After both sides enjoyed a cup to the full, heughed and said, This is called talking from experience. Because Wang Shichong is confident that he is going to win this battle, plus I am dropping by his door to offer myself, how could he be willing to miss this golden opportunity send a saber strike in passing and finish Xiaodi? And then he revealed Wang Shichongs identity and said, The demonic school peoples conduct is vicious and merciless, they kill to thest one, and do not talk about Heavensw and human emotions. Time and again I messed up their n, I am sure I have be their public enemy. If they could eliminate me and Li Shimin in one fell swoop, their chance of sess will be greatly increased. Wang Shichong sent Wang Xuanshu to meet me, precisely because he wanted to pacify my heart. Frowning, Yang Gongqing said, Demonic school people always see everything for self and selfish profit, they are like a tray of loose sand. Based on Wang Shichongs character, he will only do things that are beneficial to himself, dealing with you is really an unwise move. Ay! If you did not tell me, I would never believe that Wang Shichong is a demonic school person. However, only Wang Shichong belonging to the demonic school will exin the shady rtionship between him and Rong Fengxiang. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, As I see it, the current development of the various factions of the demonic school, which were originally like a tray of loose sand, fighting against each other until you die, I live C is that they are leaning toward unification, because this is a matter of life and death. And at this moment, Wang Shichong has be their greatest hope to seize the world. Just now when I saw Wang Shichong, he hinted that internally the Li n is unstable; evidently the demonic school has their people in Changan doing their trick. If Zhu Can is rted to the demonic school, with Zhu Can realigning his allegiance to Wang Shichong, it shows that the demonic school is united into one, so that they could rise above others in this struggle over the world. Yang Gongqing nodded and said, If you defeat Li Shimin, at least half of the world will fall into Wang Shichongs pocket. If he could eliminate you and Li Shimin in one fell swoop, then the whole world will fall into Wang Shichongs pocket. Whats Shaoshuais intention on this? The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he smiled and said, Naturally its to beat them at their own game. First, I have to help Wang Shichong win this battle, and then Ill think of other thingster. Stunned, Yang Gongqing said, But didnt you say Wang Shichong is going to kill you? Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, This time its different from the past. Wang Shichong will no longer dare to deal with me openly, because he is afraid it might affect the troops heart, so he can only have other demonic school people to kill me, while he is staying out of it. Then Ill regard it as someone dropping at my door for me to practice my saber skill! Yang Gongqing said, In that case, what good is it for Shaoshuai to stay here? Its better for me and my men toe back to Pengliang with Shaoshuai to split the mountain and watch the tigers fight. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I have been painstakingly thinking about your proposal, but unfortunately right now, against the Li n Army, my Pengliang Army is still unable to withstand a single blow. Besides, Luoyang tends to involve Bashu, it is of a very great importance, so it must not fall; otherwise, who would want to exert himself for a man like Wang Shichong? Yang Gongqing said, The problem is that Wang Shichong will not use you; you are staying here will only be left unused, while you will still have to deal with the harm Wang Shichong is nning on you. Letting out a cold snort, Kou Zhong said, When he is in a tight spot, naturally he wille to ask for my help. I know his shameless character too well. Taking a deep breath, Yang Gongqing spoke slowly, What does Shaoshuai think Wang Shichongs chance of sess is? Evidently Kou Zhong has repeatedly mulled over the very same question in his mind, hence he was able to respond quickly without thinking, At most only ten-percent chance, and that is still dependent upon whether the Li n can turn their internal strife around or not. Wang Shichong is basically not Li Shimins match. Ay! If currently Luoyang were mine, Kou Zhongs, Li Shimin would surely suffer a big defeat. Yang Gongqing spoke in heavy voice, If it were the case, what would Shaoshuai do? Kou Zhong smiled and said, If I were Wang Shichong, I would face the attack with all my strength, to engage Li Shimin in a few hard battles, to inspire the troops heart, to do everything in my power to make the various generals of different surname with disloyalty in their heart not daring to act blindly without thinking. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, Its a pity that Wang Shichong is not Shaoshuai; facing Li Shimin, who leads military operations with extraordinary skill on the battlefield, he would only be defeated faster and more urgently. Only if Wang Shichong is isted in Luoyang will he ask for Shaoshuais help. What reversing-the-rotation-of-the-sky n does Shaoshuai have? Kou Zhong knew that Yang Gongqing was a steady,posed and distinguished man, if he only showed off the bravado of an ignorant person, he would surely be spurned by him. He spoke seriously, My original concept is extraordinarily perfect, that is, when Li Shimin attacks Luoyang, Dou Jiande would cross to the south of the river ande. As long as the Zheng Army is in the vicinity of Ho, the Li Army will not dare to offend Ho, hence we keep the east route toward Luoyang free, so that Luoyang will neverck foodstuff, the battle to siege the city will turn into the battle to seize provisions, then Li Shimin will find it difficult to sleep peacefully. Too bad Wang Shichong is eager to proim himself emperor, so that its difficult for Dou Jiande to work with him. With no other choice, I have to put up with him a little bit, by using my Shao Shuai Army to make up for it. As long as I can maintain the vitality of Ho, this front line, Li Shimin will never be able to iste Luoyang, its even possible that he will lose this decisive battle. After Shen Luoyan floated out, Hou Xibai came back, intoxicated and full. Seeing Xu Ziling at home, he was greatly surprised, Dont you have a ss to attend? Why did youe back so early? Sitting down by Xu Zilings side, he went on, I still have no information about that friend of yours, Yin Xianhe, but the rumors about the military campaign to the east are flying everywhere. What are the rumors? Xu Ziling asked. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Hou Xibai said, No need to waste time on those that areplete nonsense, but there are three information worth pondering, and the credibility is quite high. Xu Zilings curiosity was piqued, heughed and said, Are you going to keep me in suspense? Tell me quickly, otherwise severe penalty is waiting for you. Hou Xibai blurted outughing, he said, With Ziling keeping mepany, the depressing days can be interesting. The first information is that Li Yuan is considering whether he ought to appoint Yuanji as Li Shimins deputy. Frowning deeply, Xu Ziling said, No way! Li Yuanji had just suffered defeat, and it was Li Shimin who cleared up the mess and thus turning defeat into victory. Luoyang is such an important military campaign, how could Li Yuanji have a share in it? When you think about it, its not impossible, Hou Xibai analyzed, Li Yuan is sending Li Yuanji to Luoyang, it really is not to win the battle, but to keep a close watch over Li Shimin, for fear that after capturing Luoyang, he might upy thend and use it to threaten Changan. Li Yuan might not think so, but as long as Li Jianchengs Princeling Faction and the Imperial Concubine Faction have this misgiving, it is tantamount to Li Yuan also has this misgiving. Xu Ziling remembered that Li Shimin once mentioned that Li Yuan was afraid that he might upy Luoyang and proim himself the emperor. Sighing inwardly, he asked, And the second information? The second information is even more astonishing, Hou Xibai replied, Its the man-eating mad demon Zhu Can unexpectedly surrendered and paid allegiance to Wang Shichong; I never thought that Wang Shichong would be that stupid. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly there is such thing? Hou Xibai said, The wind from an empty cave is not without any cause. Zhu Can has worked together with Xiao Xian and Cao Yinglong, he must have a close rtionship with our holy school. As it turns out, Wang Shichong and the holy schools Laojun Temples Pi Chen have dubious rtionship, hence if the two are having an affinity with each other, and if because they are facing a powerful enemy they join hands to fight on the same front, its simply a where-the-water-flows, a-canal-is-formed matter. The question is how did this matter leak out? Xu Ziling understood what he meant. If there were no inner ghost [i.e. rat/traitor], this kind of afraid-others-might-find-out matter was not something that either Wang Shichong or Zhu Can would want to announce; this matter was of great importance, and now there was another variable in Kou Zhonging to help Wang Shichong to defend Luoyang, the situation became even moreplex. He said, It should be rted to the struggle within your honorable schools and sects. From the beginning, Wang Shichong is Da Ming Zun Jiao man, he does not belong to the Two Sects, Six Ways. And now a certain group within the holy school of the Central Earth is supporting Wang Shichong, perhaps some other groups of the holy school are opposing it, so they are trying to destroy it from the inside. Lets not waste time in trying to analyze this matter, Hou Xibai said, Thest information pertains Chi Shengchun. Didnt you say that you want to deal with him using threatening the east and striking to the west strategy, to fish in troubled water? Turns out his opening a casino in Changan was not a smooth sailing at all. The Six-Happiness Casino originally belonged to someone called Wen Yusheng. This mans nickname was Guo Shan Wu [lit. over the mountain crow/ck/dark], a vicious and merciless man, otherwise, he would not have earned that nickname. Guo Shan Wu [Chinese Wikipedia says king cobra (Ophiophagus Hannah)] was one kind of extremely poisonous snake, its temperament violent, not at all like the great majority of snake, which when it sees people, it would get away, rather, it will take the initiative to attack people. Xu Ziling nodded and said, When the Li n entered and took control of Changan, as it should be rights, they wouldpletely eradicate Baling Bang and the Xiang Familys old power. Thereupon Chi Shengchun received the order to change his surname and sneak into Changan, to assume new identity and reenter the gambling industry. Furthermore, he connected with Li Yuanji and grew his business to todays level. Swallowing the Ming Tang Wo is his next step in expanding his gambling business. Hou Xibai said, Chi Shengchun won the Six-Happiness Casino from Wen Yusheng. ording to Jianghu rules, if you agree to bet, you must ept to lose, Wen Yusheng shouldnt have nothing to say, but Chi Shengchun vited a big taboo; unexpectedly even Wen Yushengs beloved concubine was snatched away by him. Rumor has it that for this reason Wen Yusheng dropped by to give Chi Shengchun bad luck, but since then his track was lost; presumably he was killed by Chi Shengchun. Finally this matter became a cold case [orig. settled by leaving it unsettled]. Xu Ziling was stunned, Unexpectedly Wen Yusheng is dead! he said, How are we going to exploit this matter? Hou Xibai cheerfully said, This is the most brilliant part: Wen Yusheng had a sworn brother with even better reputation than him, surnamed Cao, given name San, nicknamed Duan Ming [lit. short-lived], who loves to wear long hair, adept in using flying dagger, a serious bandit whose stinky name spread far and wide. One time he ran amuck in Bashu, afterwards he was killed by Xiaodi, because he was also a brutal picking-flower evil thief [i.e. rapist]. Ha! Dont you think its brilliant? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, You want me to impersonate Duan Ming Cao San to seek revenge for Wen Yusheng against Chi Shengchun? Have you ever thought that if it was really Cao Saning to settle the ount with Chi Shengchun, with Chi Shengchuns power, even the root of a tree cant possibly be worthy in his eyes? Much less Cao San is a picking-flower lecherous thief, withoutmitting one or two cases of rape, wouldnt it appear out of his style? Hou Xibai blurted outughing and said, Other than Xiaodi, no one knows that Cao San is a lecherous thief. The way I see it, on the one hand, due to his outstanding martial art skill, this man had enough qualifications to bring disaster to Chi Shengchun; on the other hand, because the news that I went to hunt and kill Cao San was known to everybody in Bashu, only I have never told anybody about the oue. Therefore, when Chi Shengchun is helpless against Cao San, he would definitelye to borrow Xiaodis folded Fan of Beauty to deal with him, then Xiaodi could build rtionship with Chi Shengchun. This is an alternate threatening the east and striking to the west strategy. The real threatening the east and striking to the west strategy is your Situ Furonging to hollow out Ming Tang Wo. That will be irresistible to Chi Shengchun; it would be strange indeed if Chi Shengchun wont bite the bait. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, Xibai Xiong has given my business a lot of thought. Hou Xibai said, What I hate the most is picking-flower thief, not to mention the Xiang Family is trafficking women? Your, Xu Zilings business is my, Hou Xibais business, otherwise, why would we call each other brother? Tonight, you let your long hair loose ande to wreak havoc to the Xiang Family, kill a few people and have fun. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I cannot kill people recklessly like that. Hou Xibai said, Then change it to injure a few people. In short, make Chi Shengchun panic at the slightest move [orig. wind sighing and crane calling], to make him lying down and eating in restlessness, only then will we achieve the goal. After a short pause, he said, There is another benefit to this scheme, which is we could openly grope Chi Shengchuns foundation, to see when he had no other way, what kind of people he is going to beg to stick out their head for him. For example, if the one helping him is Wanwan, then we know that he has the support of Yin Gui Pai behind him. Cao Sans role is to make Chi Shengchun feel his life is under threat, thereupon he is forced to reveal the cloven foot. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Cao San is that formidable? Hou Xibaiughed and said, You dont know how hard it was for me to kill him. This man, speaking high, speaking low, his lightness skill was the top in his time, otherwise he could not be a famous lone bandit. You dont need to pick flowers, just do a few thefts, then everybody would know Cao Sans honorable self has arrived in Changan. Xu Ziling smiled and said, All right! Ill do it ording to what you said, I will be a temporary thief. Actually, I have wanted toe at night to explore the Chi Mansion, only I was afraid to beat the grass and scare the snake. But now with Cao San identity, I can easily proceed. Greatly delighted, Hou Xibai said, Finally I am able to do a bit to help. Now you rest for a moment, wait for me secretly preparing some tools for you to impersonate Cao San, at least you need some flying daggers to look like him. Ha! Things are getting more and more interesting! After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Yang Gongqing said, What do I do now? Kou Zhong asked, Tell me, currently, other than you, Yang Gong, and Zhang Zhenzhou, who else does Wang Shichong most afraid of that they might surrender to the Tang? Sketching it in light shades, Yang Gongqing responded, Tomorrow morning we will be very clear about it. Kou Zhong understood. In the military meeting tomorrow, Wang Shichong woulde up with global deployment in meeting Li Shimins main forces head-on; just by looking at how he mped down the various generals of different surnames, the content of his heart could easily be inferred. Kou Zhong asked, Is Xiangyang still under Qian Duguans control? Xiangyang was the most important military strategic city at the south side of Wang Shichongs Great Zheng. If Xiangyang fell into Li Shimins hands, it would be difficult for Zhu Cans army to advance a single cun, so it was the ce to be contended by the Great Zheng and the Great Tang. In the past, when Wang Shichong was battling Li Mi, he had personally gone to Xiangyang to lobby Qian Duguan. Thus the importance of Xiangyang was clear. Kou Zhongs inquiry about the situation in this aspect had some deeper meaning, because he knew Qian Duguan was a Yin Gui Pai man. Yang Gongqing said, This matter is quite strange. If I were Qian Duguan, I would definitely refrain from expressing my support to certain side; rather, I would see the situation clearly before calmly making decision. However, the fact is not so. Qian Duguan already made clear that he is supporting Wang Shichong, which makes Wang Shichong full of confidence even more. Kou Zhong pped the table and said with a sigh, Finally the situation is clear to me. Wang Shichong at least receives Da Ming Zun Jiao and Yin Gui Pais support, hence he is so sure he will win this battle. His Niang! Tonight I must go to give Rong Fengxiang a surprise, to gain the initiative by striking first. You are not afraid of angering Wang Shichong? Yang Gongqing asked. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I will see the opportunity and act ordingly. Now the most important thing for you, Yang Gong, is to do everything in your power to conserve your energy. As long as Wang Shichong does not dare to send you out with the vanguard troops, it will do. Theres one more thing I nearly forget to ask you: is Linglong Jiao in Luoyang? Shaking his head, Yang Gongqing replied, I am not clear about that. This woman is Wang Shichongs trusted aide, specializing in spying the enemy for him. It would be best if Shaoshuai not telling her the truth; Wang Shichong is willing to trust her, there must be a certain reason. Kou Zhong patted his stomach as he stood up and bade goodbye, he said, I am going home to get a nice sleep. After raising my spirit, Rong Fengxiang will meet some trouble! Ha ha! The sun was setting in the west, it was early evening when thenterns were first lit. Inside Hou Xibais Passionate Nest, Hou Xibai helped Xu Ziling putting on a belt with eight flying daggers hanging on it. Laughing aloud, he said, Hair draped over the shoulders, ck clothes, flying daggers hanging from the waist, plus malevolent devil mask on the face, you look like the Duan Ming Cao Saning back to life; looking at you, even I, who put him to his end, am shivering all over though not of cold and am overly suspicious. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Although I have been a small thief, dressing up as a big bandit is still the first subject in the exam; I wonder if this can be considered an upgrade? Hou Xibai said, It could be considered a several-level upgrade, because Cao San is not any ordinary small thief at all, rather, he is a solitary big bandit who carefully selected fat victim and devoured it. It would be best if you could pick Chi Shengchuns most precious familial property clean, so that Cao San will be famous in one move, and the rich people in Changan will be anxious and unable to carry on even for a single day. Xu Ziling walked over to the window of the study room, peeking outside at the floating clouds dyed red by the setting sun in the sky, heughed and said, Then you need to prepare a team of mule carts for me. Eagerly attentive, Hou Xibai helped him putting on the outer robe to conceal the nightwalker outfit and the belt with eight flying daggers he wore on his waist, and then Xu Ziling tied up his long hair into a bun on the top of his head. When the time came, he only needed to let the hair fell and he would immediately be the Duan Ming Cao San. After putting away the terrifying mask in his pocket, Xu Ziling put on the other mask to be the full-bearded Yong Qin. Talking andughing, Hou Xibai said, Too bad Ziling is not a spy, it is indeed a waste of talent. All outstanding spies, none is not well versed in disguising skill and altering their appearance; they could incarnate to millions different personalities, they could be anybody they are impersonating. Ziling indeed has this ability. Dont joke around, Xu Ziling said, Since this morning, not even half a grain of rice entered my belly, I am so hungry that my legs went soft, if someone overtook me, I might really be my nickname, Duan Ming [reminder: short-lived]. What good proposal do you, LaoGe have? Hou Xibai said, Beili [reminder: northern neighborhood/district] and East and West, two marketces have eateries like a forest, which gentleman is free to choose. Do you like spicy food? Beili has Sichuan Cuisine restaurant that Xiaodi frequented. Xu Ziling said, Now even I cannot figure out whether you are really confused or just pretending. How could I walk together with you, this famous person? If youe across an acquaintance, how are you going to introduce me? Xiaodi only need you to point the way, I can go on my own to seek cure for my hungry stomach. Hou Xibaiughed to his hearts content; he said, I misunderstood then, simply because both you, LaoGe and Kou Shaoshuai love to win by a surprise move, so Xiaodi thought that going together to the restaurant is another surprise move, and if I delve deep into the bottom of it, you might think that Zaixia is dull-witted, therefore, I had no choice but to speak following the tone of your voice. Xu Ziling felt that he liked this person more and more. He said, Where are you going tonight? Are you going to Shang Lin Yuan again? Spreading out his hands, Hou Xibai said, Without going to Shang Lin Yuan, how am I going to pass my days? Beilis Qing Cheng Caiguan [Green City Restaurant] near Ming Tang Wo is the ce Ji Qian loves to go. My first visit there was with her. Understood! Xu Ziling said. As he was leaving, Hou Xibai pulled his sleeve and said, Have you ever heard of Guan Tong? Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Whos Guan Tong? Lowering his voice, Hou Xibai said, Jing, Guan, Dong, and Ju, respectively, are the Four Great Masters of the painting world of the previous generation. Guan is Guan Tong; it is rumored that Chi Shengchun, usingrge amount of gold, acquired Guan Tongs Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu [lit. Cold Forest, Clear and Far Painting], which is regarded as a rare and valuable item. I heard this from Li Yuans own mouth, only then I found out that this rare treasure has fallen into his hands. If you steal this painting, I could take a quick look at it so that even if I die, I wont have any regret. Xu Ziling was disappointed; from this aspect, he knew that Hou Xibai was racking his brains for schemes to have him impersonate the Duan Ming Cao San, at least half of it was for selfish reason. Yet Hou Xibai still yfully winked at him, smiled and said, Now you should understand why I have to stay overnight until daybreak at the Shang Lin Yuan! This is called creating an alibi. Book 46 9 – Walking Right Into The Trap

Book 46 Chapter 9 C Walking Right Into The Trap

With the Moon in the Well on his back, Kou Zhong slipped out the window, unleashed his shenfa, and immediately the wind was whistling across his ears, as he entered the nightwalkers world. The streets of Luoyang were still full of endless stream of horse and carriages, still bustling with noise and excitement. But Kou Zhong was very clear that disaster was imminent. Even if Wang Shichong could defend Ho and Yanshi, two lifelines, Li Shimin will surely dispatch his troops in thousand ways, a hundred ns to intercept and plunder the army provisions in transit to Luoyang, to plunge the army and civilians of Luoyang into the years of besieged city. Luoyang residents were not in high alert upon the looming war, because in the past, none of the battle besieging their city was not like a scratch on the outside of the boot, unable to affect the livelihood inside the city walls. The City of Luoyang, which had never undergone baptism of the fire of war, made the people inside the city have some kind of misconception that Luoyang would never be broken. The fact was that Luoyang, which mightily upied the southern bank of the Yellow River and north of Pingqiu Mountain, at the confluence of the Yi, Luo, Chen, and Jian, four rivers, the city was solid, the wall was thick, the circumference of the city exceeded fifty li. To have the city of Luoyang heavily besieged like Dou Jiande besieging Liyang, it was practically impossible. In terms of strategy, it was even more unrealistic. It could only be achieved by stationing massive military force to seal off Luoyang. Under such circumstances, if the strategic towns in the vicinity were still in the Zheng Armys hands, it would be akin to an open wide gap; not only they could still break through Li Shimins blockade, it could also threaten the life or death of the besieging troops, so that Li Shimin did not dare to scatter his military force to surround Luoyang. In other words, they could not iste Luoyang, but that was the only way to capture Luoyang. Like an old horse knowing the way home, Kou Zhong passed through houses and leaped over buildings, the true qi within his body was cycling through and climbing into its apex, escting his senses to iparably sharp. By the time he leaped over the external wall andnded into Rong Mansions rear courtyard, the enemys sentry, both covert and undercover, none could hide from his eyes and ears. His visit to the Rong Mansion was not a spur of the moment decision, but he wanted to confirm the thought that has been brewing in his mind, about the Da Ming Zun Jiao, which had suffered serious setback beyond the Great Wall, whether they moved their troops to the Central ins, and whether they have chosen the Rong Mansion as their ce to stay. Suddenly he pressed himself against the wall and slid toward the left to evade the sentry looking at his direction, and then using rapid-as-a-ghost shenfa, using the trees and flowering shrub as cover, he soared up toward the roof of a building, which seemed to be the lodging house for the lower-ranked members of the household. Sweeping his gaze around, he sawyer uponyer of courtyards, ancient trees reaching high to the sky, and all kinds of winding corridors around the buildings, which looped back through the rock gardens, ponds, and small pavilions; everything was arranged in an orderly manner. Lantern lights leaked out from inside the buildings, the corridors were brightly lit by hexagonal pcenterns. If it were an ordinary martial art master, in this kind of situation, it was indeed difficult to move a single step. But to a martial art master of Kou Zhongs caliber, the Rong Mansion was no different to an unguarded ce. Unfolding his shenfa, Kou Zhong leaped high and crouched low, he reached the circr wooded area from which he could look straight at the area surrounding the main courtyard. He encountered the same problem that night when he and Xu Ziling were scouting the Rong Mansion at night. Because the main hall was surrounded by arge, without any cover C open area, under the illumination of thenterns, no matter how brilliant his shenfa was, to cross over the nearly a hundred paces of open space without being detected was simply impossible. At this time the sound of clinking cups and tes wasing out from the main hall, interspersed with the sound of drinking and finger-guessing game; evidently a dinner party was being held inside, which gave Kou Zhong even more itch toe nearer and take a nce. Kou Zhong waited for a group maids and servants delivering trays of dishes to walk past, and then he leaped onto the second floor balcony, the same ce they chose to hide in the past. He could not help being ovee with helpless feeling of gazing at the ocean andmenting ones inadequacy [idiom: feeling powerless and ipetent]. If there were Xu Ziling, with the two boys joining hands, they could easily cross this insurmountable chasm, avoiding the sentries eyes and ears, and the gods-did-not-know-the-ghosts-did-not-perceivending on top of the main hall. But now with no felt no fan, even immortals will find it hard to change [idiom: insufficient conditions, no matter how good the technology is]. Right this moment, the rm went off in his heart; he looked back quickly, and saw a shadow, as light as smoke, was rushing toward him, staying close to the back of the roof ridge. He had just stepped into the Qing Cheng Chuancai restaurant, Ji Qians sweetughter entered his ears, which gave Xu Zilings heart a bigfort, a feeling that the trip had not been made in vain. Quick nce around, he saw Ji Qian sat on a table in the corner, surrounded by four, five characters that looked like pampered son of wealthy families, just like the stars crowding around the moon. She was listening to something and wasughing like a quivering sprig of flower, attracting the gaze of all the diners around her. Although there was no shortage of well-dresseddy diners inside the restaurant, butpared to her mor, immediately they appeared dull without any splendor. Suddenly someone was blocking his way. Turned out because the restaurant was full, he was politely asked toe backter. Ji Qians attention finally moved to him. Xu Ziling met her shiny gaze, he gave her a slight smile, before turning around and left unhurriedly. Stepping into the main street of Beili where people were rushing to and fro, he only walked for a few steps when the breathless Ji Qian caught up with him from behind. Dead ghost! she scolded, You havent left yet? Consider yourself lucky. Yang WenGans Jingzhao Lian is like their trees copsed, theirkes dried out and scattered; otherwise, they would skin you alive and tear your bones down. Xu Ziling kept walking forward as he said, I came back just yesterday, the purpose is to look for a friends long lost little sister. Ji Qian unceremoniously pulled the sleeve of his outer robe and half-forced him into aparatively less crowded side street. Her smiling face like a flower, she said, Are you asking me? Otherwise, how could you be this straightforward, not deliberately mystifying like before? Hee take me for a drink; anybody knew that drunken Ji Qian might do things that I would normally not do. Looking at her sparkling and translucent, crystal clear and bright and beautiful big eyes, hearing her brimming-with-seducing words, Xu Ziling was ovee with amiable, familiar touching feeling. He smiled and said, It would be best to find a more secluded Before he even finished speaking, Ji Qian already pulled him, so that his body did not obey its master C into the depth of the side street. The other side and Kou Zhong met face to face, both sides were stunned. Unexpectedly the neer was the Qiuci beauty Linglong Jiao, dressed in nightwalker outfit. She pounced and crouched down by his side. Craning her neck, she looked over the roof ridge at the direction of the main hall, and spoke in low voice, What are you doing here? Kou Zhong sniffed the fragrance emitted by her tender body, and immediately felt that the night break-in into the Rong mansion suddenly became romantic, charming and gentle. He smiled and asked back, What errands brought Jiao Xiaojie here? Linglong Jiao turned to look at him; her expression solemn and respectful, she spoke indifferently, Naturally on Huangshangs [His Majesty the emperor] order to scout any movement on Rong Fengxiangs side. Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, You are lying! Linglong Jiaos tender body shaking lightly, she spoke crossly, Why would I lie to you? Kou Zhong turned around, he looked up to the starry sky above, with a smile on his face he said, Wang Shichong and Rong Fengxiang are breathing from the same nostrils, they are a sable of one hill even more, presently they share amon interest, neither one is guarding against the other. If Jiao Xiaojie was not lying, then what are you trying to say? Linglong Jiaos pair of eyes emitting sharp expression, she stared fixedly at him for quite half a day, finally she appeared to be softening as she lowered her tender body and turned to lie on her side. How much do you actually know? she spoke softly. Kou Zhong twisted his body around, so that he looked at her eye to eye. Immediately he was ovee with the enchanting feeling of having the roof as the bed, the starry sky as the quilt, as he shared a bed andy together with this beauty. Do you trust me? he spoke gently, I dont care about Jiao Xiaojies rtionship with Wang Shichong, but I, Kou Zhong, am standing on Jiao Xiaojies side, I definitely wont reveal Xiaojies matter with the fourth person, Xu Ziling is the only exception. Sighing lightly, Linglong Jiao said, If I dont trust you, I would not have talked with you. You havent told me how much inside story you know. Kou Zhong said, In Longquan I have had some shes with Da Ming Zun Jiao people; furthermore, I learned that Wang Shichong is a Da Ming Zun Jiao person who was sent to the Central Earth, the previous generations Yuanzi. May I ask Jiao Xiaojie, what is your rtionship with Ramo? Linglong Jiao was shaken, How did you know this secret? she asked, Ay! My Niang was Ramos disciple. With Wang Shichong giving her shelter, she fled to the Central Earth, andter on secretly returned to Qiuci. This time I aming to the Central Earth is under Niangs order to pay a debt of gratitude to Wang Shichong, only Kou Zhong continued for her, Only under consideration of interests, plus Wang Shichong is renewing old cordial rtions with Da Ming Zun Jiao, Jiao Xiaojie does not know where you stand, am I right? Linglong Jiao cast a nce to him, she said, You are smarter than nujia, naturally nujias matter cannot be hidden from you. Kou Zhong asked, The guests that Rong Fengxiang is entertaining right now, are they Da Ming Zun Jiao people? I dont know, Linglong Jiao replied, Thats why I came to find out. When did you arrive in Luoyang? Did Huangshang know? Kou Zhong asked in surprise, I came to see Wang Shichong with big gongs, big drums; unexpectedly you did not know? Linglong Jiao replied, I was at Cijian [lit.passionate stream] scouting the enemys position and I came back in secret; how could I know what happened in Luoyang? What should nujia do now? Kou Zhong understood. He spoke with serious expression, Jiao Xiaojie, please tell me first, what is your greatest wish? Linglong Jiao wanted to say something but then hesitated. Soon after she spoke sadly, That is not possible. What is not possible? Kou Zhong asked, Why dont you tell me first. Linglong Jiao muttered to herself irresolutely for a moment, and then she met his gaze and spoke softly, Niangs greatest wish is to send the Five-Colored Stone back to Persia. Have you ever heard of the Five-Colored Stone? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Not only I have heard, I have even seen it and touched it. Linglong Jiaos fragrant body severely shaken, she blurted out, What? Sitting at the table by the wine shop door, Ji Qian took the fine wine delivered by the waiter, she personally poured a cup for Xu Ziling, before pouring another cup for herself. Smiling happily, she said, Did you intentionally show yourself in front of Xiaomei [little sister]? What is the secret that you dont want anybody to know? Quickly own up to the facts to this Guniang, otherwise Ill tell the authorities and have you locked in jail. In here, I, Ji Qian have lots of resources. Xu Ziling knew that she was very happy because she had caught him, this big fish, hence she was sparkling with wit. Smiling, he said, Have Xiaojie heard this name Yin Xiaoji? He went straight to the point [orig. open the door and see the mountain] in telling her the purpose of his visit, because he did not have much time, he still had to steal the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu for Hou Xibai. Ji Qian stared nkly, Yin Xiaoji, this name sounds familiar, she muttered. Xu Ziling was stunned, Very familiar? he said. Shrugging her shoulders, Ji Qian said, Whats so strange about it? Before I came to Changan, I have wandered everywhere north and south sides of the Yangtze River [idiom: all over China], and have met so many people. Its verymon to hear something and then forget about it. Is Yin Xiaoji the name of your friends long lost sister? Because this family name is notmon at all, hence the reason I remember that I seemed to have heard it somewhere. Xu Zilings heart sank down straight to the bottom, the hope filling his heart vanished like a smoke, but he also suspected that Ji Qian was speaking randomly following his lead, so that she had more capital to haggle over the price with him. He spoke dejectedly, I noticed Xiaojies stage name has the character Ji in it, I thought ay! Never mind. Ji Qian raised her cup to toast him, with exuberant mood she said, My God! You unexpectedly thought I am Yin Xiaoji. Quickly tell me the truth, you cant possibly think that I am Yin Xiaoji just based on one Ji character, there must be other reasons. Quickly tell this Guniang the truth. Xu Ziling began to fell that he had walked right into the trap. Feeling big headache, he said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly. Dont Ji Xiaojie need to return to Shang Lin Yuan tonight? Ji Qian replied, Whats the big deal in earning one-evening-less silver tael? Plus I never promised anybody that I woulde back for sure. You are such an insensitive foe [sweetheart or destined love (in opera)]! How about passing on a couple of your unique skills to me tonight? You want money, you want me, name your price. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he casually asked, The person that Xiaojie wants to deal with, is it Chi Shengchun? Ji Qians pretty face changed slightly, the beautiful pupil of her eyes stared fixedly at him, it was quite half a dayter that she spoke, If I give you a positive answer, will you agree not to investigate further, to teach your unique skill entirely to me? Naturally you can no longer take up the utmost convenience of wanting the money or me. Xu Ziling understood that in the end, she was unwilling to sacrifice her body to him; a feeling of pity suddenly grew in his heart. Lowering his voice, he said, Can Xiaojie put your right hand out? Ji Qian was slightly startled, her pair of eyes emitted suspicious look, but in the end she still obediently follow his order by spreading out his palm on the table. Xu Ziling stretched his hand out. Seeing Ji Qians astonished expression as she noticed his translucent-like-jade right hand, he cried Bad! inwardly, because his palm and his face differed so greatly. But this moment he had no time to think too much; he said, If Xiaojie can tell with which finger I am pressing the hollow of your palm, I will do as you say. Ji Qian spoke cheerfully, Isnt that easy? Bring it on! Let this Guniang and you see who is right. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around, making sure no one was paying them any attention, and then his five fingers began to move, from slow to fast, up and down, like the wave. Suddenly his fingers no longer moved in session, so fast that it was as if he was performing some magic tricks that Ji Qian was dazzled. Ah! the beauty cried out, as she stared nkly at Xu Ziling pulling his hand away from her bright and clean, slender and long palm, as dumb as a wooden chicken. Which finger? Xu Ziling asked. Ji Qians pair of eyes turned red, and then two drops of sparkling and translucent tears flowed out of the corner of her eyes. Standing up abruptly, she ran to the door, crying. Now it was Xu Zilings turn to stare nkly, not knowing what to do. Kou Zhong crawled up from the roof tile, he cast his gaze over the roof ridge toward the main hall and said, Jiao Xiaojie ought to understand the gratitude and grudges between me and Da Ming Zun Jiao. Coming to his side, Linglong Jiao said, All along Wang Shichong has been showing great kindness to Niang and me; I could leave him, but I cannot betray him. Kou Zhong still did not know the real rtionship between she and Wang Shichong, but he did not want to force her to tell him either; he said, I want to go over to see. Knitting her brows, Linglong Jiao asked, Do you have a way to get close? Kou Zhong smiled and said, As long as my two legs do not fail me, I can always go in to see what kind of people Rong Fengxiang is taking care of, right? Linglong Jiao was shocked. You have not yet figured out what is true and what is false of the enemy, yet you are going to charge in just like that? Patting the Moon in the Well on his back, Kou Zhong chuckled softly and said, This is called in order to seek the goal, do whatever it takes. For example, when two armies are facing off against one another, it does not matter whether they knew what is true and what is false of the enemy, the battle still has to be fought. No matter what happens next, you must never show up to help me. Among the Thirty-Six Stratagems, I am most adept in thest move: if everything else fails, retreat. Even if Da Ming Zun Jiaos Da Zun, Shan Mu, Yuanzi, Five Bright Sons, Five-Kind of Demons, all are present to eat and drink to their hearts contents, I, Kou Zhong, still have enough ability to go home and go to bed. Spying fails, immediately put his Niangs power in disy. This is called being flexible and pragmatic. Finished speaking, he shed her his brilliant smile. Linglong Jiao revealed a helpless expression of not knowing whether she should be angered or amused, but she immediately spoke in low voice, I like it that you dont seem to care about anything, but I hate that look. Go on then! Kou Zhong quietly moved backward and slipped down from the roof,nded on the ground, and then he left the dark ce and swaggered toward the main entrance of the main hall. Xu Ziling took off his outer robe and his mask, and hid them inside his bosom, and then he tore off his hair, and put on the ghost-face mask. After changing shape in a single shake to be the Short-lived Cao San, light and easy he flipped over the rear courtyard wall of Chi Shengchuns big residence, which was located at the Yongfu [lit. fortune forever] Lane on the northeast side of the city. Immediately he restraint all the pores on his body to prevent his body odor from leaking, because he had just heard the sound of dogs moving around the courtyard. Ordinary Jianghu rats and thieves could forget about concealing their presence from his sense of smell and sense of hearing, which were a hundred times sharper than ordinary person. The ce where he stood was the southeast corner of the rear garden. His toes lightly tapped the ground, he soared onto the nearest building andnded on the roof without making any noise at all. From behind him came the sound of dogs walking around on the ground, he could not help crying inwardly, Close call! If he waste ever so slightly, he would certainly be discovered by the vicious dogs guarding the courtyard. Crouching low on the roof, he scanned the situation around. Relying on his understanding of architecture, he quickly decided the difference between the guest and the host structures among theyer uponyer of courtyards, and decided on a building located at the center of the courtyard manor as his target, and then passing through rooms and leaping over buildings, he stealthily went toward it. The building was divided into front, middle and rear, three sections, joined by long corridor and atrium, surrounded by gardens all around, the scenery was extremely fine. The flowers and trees, the ponds, the rock gardens, pavilions and gazebos, were very different from other ces. It ought to be the master of the houses ce of residence. He and Kou Zhong had learned the skill to steal from Chen Laomou, at that time it was for the ount book in Madame Dongmings hands, but now it was for thendscape painting grandmaster Guan Tongs Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu. ording to Chen Laomous instruction, all treasures must be kept by the masters side, because only then would he feel at ease; therefore, the most likely ce was either the bedroom or a vault built near the ce where hey down. This moment it was just past the first watch of the night [19:00 C 21:00], most of the people in the Chi Mansion had already gone to bed, leaving only a few buildings withntern lights leaking out of them, not a sound to be heard, it was a piece of tranquility. After making sure there were no signs of vicious dogs nearby, he swept into the garden without any hesitation. At the same time, he focused his power to his pair of ears to listen to any sounding out of the building. There were voices from straight ahead, it sounded like a man and a woman, but since it was quite some distance away, plus it was behind the wall, he could not hear what they were talking about. The middle section waspletely silent, the rear section ought to be where the bedrooms were. There were also faint lightsing out, coupled with drawn-out and even breathing noise; it appeared that the people in the room were fast asleep. Xu Ziling wanted to go to the front section very much to eavesdrop the people talking, because it was quite possible that one of them was Chi Shengchun, but he was also afraid that Chi Shengchun might go back to the rear section to his bedroom to sleep, and then he would miss the opportunity to find the treasured painting. Finally he made up his mind to find the treasure first and eavesdropter, thinking that ordinary, day-to-day casual conversation, probably missing it would not give him enough reason for regret. Putting the n into action, Xu Ziling flew out from his hiding ce, pressed himself against the wall next to the window where thentern light was leaking out, and took a nce inside. As soon as he took a nce, he was dumbstruck, since he had never thought that he would see such a scene in here. Book 46 10 – The Art of War Into the Saber

Book 46 Chapter 10 C The Art of War Into the Saber

Kou Zhong walked over toward the main entrance of the main hall, immediately he knew that something was not right, because after crossing nearly half of the open space, there were still no Rong Mansion people stopping him; it extremely did not make any sense. The only exnation was that Rong Fengxiang already knew that he would drop by to cause trouble, thereupon he prepared a Hongmen Banquet in the main hall to wee his honored self. [Note: I believe there have been a couple, if not more, references to the Hongmen Banquet, but if you dont remember, simply Google it.] A deep hatred welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, from Duan Yucheng, who was supposedly throwing his lot into Da Ming Zun Jiao, Bao Zhifu, Shi Jie and Ma Gui, three men being murdered. His heart was burning with high fighting spirit and heavy murderous intent. Snorting coldly in his heart, he set foot on the long white jade steps of the main hall. The hall was brightly lit, from time to time, there were happy sounds of people toasting each other and drinking andughing, but suddenly it grew so quiet that a falling needle would have been heard. Obviously they just discovered that he, Kou Zhong, has appeared in the flesh. Kou Zhong strode into the hall. Six pairs of sharp, brimming with hostility C gaze immediately fell on him at the same time. A set of banquet tables was arranged at the other end of the door of the empty and spacious hall, where all six people of all kinds of shapes and sizes were sitting facing the door. In front of each man was a set of bowl, chopsticks, and wine cup. Just by looking at this kind of arrangement, Kou Zhong knew that his guess was unmistaken. Sweeping his gaze around, out of six people, he recognized five of them. Rong Fengxiang, who was the embodiment of the demon Taoist Pi Chen, taking his position on the left, revealed a hint of cold smile on his face, his pair of demonic eyes narrowed as he carefully sized Kou Zhong up. On the other side was the former boss of Luoyang Bang, Shangguan Long, who had been heavily injured by Kou Zhong. His countenance did not look too bad, he ought to bepletely recovered already. His pair of eyes shot profound hatred, like a vicious beast that wanted to devour Kou Zhong whole. The two persons in the middle were the Ziwu Jian [Meridian Sword] Zuo Youxian and Yunyu Shuang Xiu [Cloud and Rain Double-Cultivation] Pi Shouxuan, respectively; both were elder-level figures of the demonic school. The former was closely rted to Fu Gongyou, thetter, in term of position within Yin Gui Pai, was second only to Zhu Yuyan. The person sitting by Rong Fengxiangs side, Kou Zhong had to think for a while before remembering who he was. This man was Wang Bos subordinate, known as Bing Shusheng [Sick Schr], Jing Zhaoning. In the past, Kou Zhong had met him once in Luoyang. At that time he already felt that this person was not to be trifled with, who would have thought that tonight he came across him again under this kind of situation. The person he did not recognize was a big middle-aged man with one eye, robust, tall and sturdy, thick jaw, slightly bald, and a bit shifty-eyed; the impression was that he was valiant but ruthless. The thing that captured Kou Zhongs attention the most was that leaning against the back of his chair was a heavy Guan saber [from Guan Yu, Romance of Three Kingdoms], about eight chi long, so that people would feel that the weapon never left his side, that he might stake everything in a you-die-I-live battle at any moment. Kou Zhong cried for his Niang inwardly, because any one of the men here, in a one-on-one duel, he still had enough confidence that he would prevail C they could not possibly more difficult to deal with than Funantuo, could they? However, if any two of them joined hands, there was a great chance that he would suffer defeat and be humiliated. Since the other side specifically set up thisyout to deal with him, naturally they would not speak about Jianghu rules and would use anything, by fair means or foul. Six men joining forces was not aughing matter, perhaps even a powerful man like Shi Zhixuan could only stake everything in order to escape. He could not help scolding himself for being too daring; it could be imagined that the enemy still had ambushing troops under Rong Jiaojiaos, who had not showed herself C leadership, to have the main hall heavily surrounded, hence the reason they were not afraid that he might break the siege and escape. This was not the first time that Kou Zhong fell into a dangerous spot. Discharging all distracting thoughts from his mind, heughed aloud and walked over toward the table where the six men were sitting. Im sorry for troubling gentlemen to wait for a long time! he called out loud and clear. Rong Fengxiang smiled as he stood up and saluted, saying, We were waiting for Shaoshuais honorable self while drinking and chatting, so it was quite delightful. Shaoshuai, please sit down, let Ol Rong introduce these several friends to Shaoshuai. Zuo Youxianughed proudly and said, Shaoshuais fame is already like thunder piercing the ear, Pindao [impoverished Taoist] Zuo Youxian has met Shaoshuai before. Kou Zhong swaggered and sat down opposite to the six. The Sick Schr Jing Zhaoning stood up and leaned over to pour wine for him; heughed and said, Shaoshuais guts indeed surpass others; you have just arrived in Luoyang and immediatelye to the meeting. Jing Zhaoning is full of admiration. Kou Zhong stared at the steel-boned umbre hanging on his back; pretending to be puzzled, he said, Was it raining just now? The one-eyed manughed aloud and said, Shaoshuai talks cheerfully and wittily; meeting in person is indeed better than hearing about your fame. Jing Laoshis [teacher] umbre is not used to protect him from the rain, but to kill. Kou Zhongs gaze fell on him; smiling, he said, And this Dage is Snorting coldly, Shangguan Long said, Shaoshuai is not from Guanxi [western Pass, see also my earlier note on Guanzhong (middle Pass) and Guandong (eastern Pass)], no wonder you cannot tell from Zong Xiongs Guan Saber who the master is. Kou Zhong still could not think of any martial art master from Guanxi who used Guan Saber; letting out a hollowugh, he said, The farthest ce Xiaodi has visited is Changan; as for what west of Changan looks like, please forgive Xiaodi for being ignorant and inexperienced. The Cloud and Rain Double-Cultivation Pi Shouxuan said, The Guan Saber users in the world, who could surpass Zong Luohou? Even without going to Guanxi, you ought to hear about him! Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly; of course he had heard about Zong Luohou. This man was the unequalled great general under Xue Jusmand, he had repeatedly defeated the Tang Army, his military aplishment was magnificent. Afterwards Xue Ju, father and son, were defeated by Li Shimin at the Qianshui Yuan [lit. shallow water in], so that the situation developed into Guannei [inside the Pass] domination. He thought Zong Luohou had been ughtered by Li Shimin; who would have thought that unexpectedly he was sitting in here? Needless to say, he must being for revenge toward Li Shimin. Laughing aloud, he raised his cup and said, Turns out its Zong Xiong; let me toast you a cup. All right! Zong Luohou shouted and raised his cup to drink together with him. Rong Fengxiang smiled and said, This time Shaoshuais honoring my humble residence with your presence, I wonder if its as simple as just to drink a couple cups of watered-down wine? Kou Zhong put down his wine cup and said with a nod, Thats right! Consider this as peaceful measures before using force! Xiaodi ising to settle old debts, whether you will move together or one by one, Xiaodi will be extremely pleased. And then he turned toward Pi Shouxuan and said, Due to using the burning both jade andmon stone move to the fullest in dealing with Shi Zhixuan, instead of rendering merit, Zhu Hou perished; I thought Id let Pi Lao know. Immediately Pi Shouxuans countenance changed; he wanted to speak but was at a loss for words. Rong Fengxiang, Shangguan Long, and Zuo Youxian revealed a shocked expression at the same time. Their reaction confirmed Kou Zhongs suspicion that these people have joined hands with Yin Gui Pai, they were unwilling to acknowledge allegiance to the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan. The only thing he did not understand was Yang Xuyan and Rong Fengxiangs close rtionship. Zong Luohou pushed the table and stood up, he said, Let Ol Zong to be the first to experience Shaoshuais Eight Methods of the Well, which fame shook inside and outside the Great Wall! The room was furnished gorgeously. There was a big bed in the middle. Under the illumination of antern on a small table by the bed, a beautiful woman was seen, sitting cross-legged on the bed in meditation, circting her qi and flowing her power. What stunned Xu Ziling was that this woman was Zhu Yuyans other female disciple, Bai Qinger, Wanwans younger martial sister. Three golden needles stuck on her head, which reminded him of the Seven Needles to Control the Mind C suddenly filled his mind with doubts. Why would Bai Qinger appear here? Reasonably speaking, Xiang Yushan should be leaning on Zhao Deyans side, but due to the Demonic Emperor Relics affair, Zhao Deyan and Yin Gui Pai ought to be like water and fire, Bai Qinger should not be in Chi Shengchuns bedroom cultivating her energy. Secondly, the three golden needles on Bai Qingers head apparently came from some technique simr to the Seven Needles to Control the Mind. Could it be that Yin Zuwen hade to Chi Shengchuns house to treat Bai Qinger with the needles? Momentarily Xu Ziling was unable to figure out what was happening. Warning sign went off in his heart. Actually, he could not hear the slightest bit of footsteps, only he felt that someone wasing. He shivered inwardly, thinking that if the neer was Chi Shengchun, then his martial art skill was definitely much more superior than Xiang Gui or Xiang Yushan. No longer dared to peek inside, he stood against the wall, restraint his essence and qi, and changed from external breathing to internal breathing. A momentter, a male voice was heard from inside the room, Qingers progress is better than my expectation. Next step we can increase the number of stimted acupoints to five. When all ten needles can be used together, we can expect the Chanu Xinfa [lit. beautiful girl heart/center/core method] to be sessfully aplished. Hearing that, Xu Zilings eyebrows were deeply knitted. Just by hearing the name Chanu Xinfa, he knew that it must be some kind of strange method of the demonic school, and the practicing technique was so heretical and overbearing, so definitely it was not a good martial art method. It seemed to be very dangerous, why would Bai Qinger want to take this risk? The mans voice sounded so familiar, it seemed that he had heard it before, but momentarily he could not think of who he was. Another voice, a womans, said, This risk is worth taking; only by mastering the Chanu Xinfa will we have the full confidence of being able to kill without a trace and without a form. This time its all thanks to our Yin Gui Pai and Mi Qing Dao [lit. exterminating refinement way], two schools scriptures joined together before we could obtain theplete appearance of the Holy Schools secret method that has been lost for nearly a hundred years. Xu Ziling recognized the voice as Wen Caiting, an elder-level figure of Yin Gui Pai. He mused, wasnt Mi Qing Dao the school/sect belonging to the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, whom he already killed? In that case, the man inside the room ought to be an important figure of Mi Qing Dao proficient in applying needle technique on the acupoints on top of the head, just like Yin Zuwen. It was also highly likely than Yin Zuwen himself belonged to this faction of the demonic school. Laughing coldly, the man said, Perhaps we ought to be grateful to Yue Shan. Were it not for him striking and killing Xi Ying at Chengdu, our alliance might be blocked by him. Only an outstanding talent can recognize current trends [idiom]; the current situation of the world is one in a thousand years golden opportunity for our Holy School to unify the world. If the various Ways of our Holy School are still like a tray of loose sand, we would suffer the painful loss of this golden opportunity. Wen Caiting said, Xu Xiong is right. [Trantors note: not Xu Zilings Xu.] The man surnamed Xu said, Wen Shimei should stay here to guard Qinger, its time for me to return to Six-Happiness! Hearing that, Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; if Wen Caiting was keeping watch inside the room, wouldnt his grand n of stealing the painting tonight go down the drain? Lifting the Guan Saber with both hands, Zong Luohou took a stance. The other five men spread out around the main hall, vaguely forming a siege with the two men, who were going to fight, in the middle of the hall. Guarding the main entrance was the Ziwu Jian Zuo Youxian, one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way. Kou Zhongs mind was moving at the speed of light, he understood. Formidable! he cried inwardly. On the surface, the opposite side appeared to be following Jianghu rules by only sending one person into the arena. However, it was actually a brilliant strategy. He could imagine that when he and Zong Luohou were engaged in fierce battle that was difficult to stop, like a tiger watching its prey, the enemy on the side watched for fortunate timing, taking advantage of the person on the spot is baffled, the onlooker sees clear situation, they waited for a gap to make their move; and if they attack in rotation, how long would he be able to cope? Figuring out the enemys crafty scheme, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Excuse me, I must leave! When the enemies heard it, none was not stunned. The Moon in the Well left its scabbard on Kou Zhongs back, turned into a long rainbow, and swiftly hacked toward Zuo Youxian guarding behind him. Zong Luohou was the first to roar in anger. Both feet left the ground, he pounced from the air, the Guan Saber was thrust toward Kou Zhongs back. Immediately strong wind was whistling with ample momentum. If Zuo Youxian was able to block Kou Zhong, then he had confidence that he would be able to put Kou Zhong to death within a few moves. Bang! The Sick Schr Jing Zhaonings steel-boned umbre opened up, but immediately closed down. It swept toward Kou Zhong from the left side. From different directions, Pi Shouxuan, Rong Fengxiang, and Shangguan Long, separately pounced toward Kou Zhong, none was not making his move with all his strength, to do everything they could to stop Kou Zhong from escaping out of the main hall. Kou Zhongs move has affected and altered the original situation. Zuo Youxian let out a cold snort, he pulled the Ziwu Sword, and pointed the de to the fast-approaching Kou Zhong. Immediately sword qi red out, the positive Ziwu Qi shot out following the sword to strike toward Kou Zhongs chest. Even Kou Zhong did not dare to doubt that Zuo Youxian did not have enough skill to prevent him from charging out the door. If Kou Zhong came to Luoyang only to cause trouble and show off, right now he would give everything he had to break the siege and flee; too bad he had a more far-reaching target, which was to help Wang Shichong to beat back Li Shimin. If he simply executed the if everything else fails, retreat move and slipped away,ter on he still had to deal with this bunch of people who wholeheartedly wanted to put him to death, plus Wang Shichong might secretly agree to support their operations, then he would have many powerful enemies creating troubles for him that he could not guard against. Therefore, the moment he pulled the Moon in the Well, he hardened his heart and determined to establish his might, to do everything he could, relying on an even more brilliant strategy, to contend with the enemy to the end, to subdue and intimidate the enemy. Kou Zhong entered the Moon in the Well realm; in that split second he already calcted the enemys distance and the next position. Suddenly the true qi within his body changed rapidly, beyond enemys expectation, unexpectedly he changed direction and forced Zuo Youxian to swiftly retreat. With a spin of his body, he effortlessly escaped from the dangerous spot of the enemys siege. With the Striking Strange style, he met Zong Luohous chopping-from-the-air Guan Saber instead. None of the enemies did not have his countenance changed, because nobody expected that the moment he was attacking Zuo Youxian at full strength, unexpectedly he was able to change style in a nearly impossible yet extremely brilliant manner. Amidst the angry shouts and cold snorts, one after another the enemies changed their moves and altered their directions to strike Kou Zhong, yet all were a tad toote. Zong Luohou did not have time to change move to meet the attack head-on, he could only stare nkly as Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, following a mysterious trajectory, in ordance with the naturalw C in the air, shed toward his Guan Saber. It appeared to be premeditated, but at the same time seemed to be fortuitous as well, the momentum carried some kind of mystery within a mystery, an unfathomable secret sensation. The hard cultivation during the trip outside the Great Wall was a very important stage in Kou Zhongs saber technique cultivation. Under the life and death threat, his Eight Methods of the Well have beenpletely fused together with the Art of War, turning it into an absolutely unique saber technique since the dawn of time to today. Dang! The Moon in the Well chopped at an angle at the sharp de of the Guan Saber, Zong Luohou felt as if the pit of his stomach was shaken by a sledge hammer, the difficult-to-resist vortex of energy carried the Guan Saber, along with the wielder, and pulled it to the side. It was indeed the first time in his life that he encountered that kind of ufortable and a having-the-strength-but-difficult-to-use helpless feeling. Wah! he spurted a mouthful of fresh blood, staggered aside, and fell. Zong Luohou himself was certainly a martial art master. Kou Zhong inflicted a heavy loss on him that made him feeling useless and under impossible situation, the problem was that he did not have time to change his move, thus the originally full of momentum move became old-army-division-without-merit and mistakenly-grasping-what-is-true-and-what-is-false-of-the-enemy losing move. While on Kou Zhongs side, his calction was urate, with enough stored-up momentum; hence he was able to subdue the enemy in one strike. When martial art masters fighting each other, it was precisely this hairsbreadth difference that affect the oue. A powerful opponent like the Tianzhu Kuang Sheng [mad monk] Funantuo also nursed a grievance under Kou Zhongs saber because of this, let alone Zong Luohou, who was unfamiliar with Kou Zhongs style. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, This is called the Number One Guan Saber Expert in the World? Watch for Laozis Cheating Troops. While speaking, his body swayed in all direction for a moment, as if he wanted to escape from a certain direction, but in the end he still stood on the original spot. This move was a variant of the Cheating Troops, which he copied from Funantuos unique skill, so that the enemy did not know where he would attack, they did not know where to guard even more. Sure enough, the enemies were fooled, none did not slow down a hairsbreadth, no one dared to attack recklessly. This moment, Zuo Youxian, Rong Fengxiang, and Shangguan Long took their position by the door behind Kou Zhong, quite some distance away. Jing Zhaoning and Pi Shouxuan separately took position to the left and right of Kou Zhong, but Jing Zhaoning was the closest. Kou Zhongs body swayed again, as if he was about to pounce on Pi Shouxuan on his right. Rong Fengxiangs eyesight was brilliant; he shouted loudly, Jing Laoshi [teacher], watch out! Kou Zhongughed and said, Toote! Unexpectedly he swiftly darted to the side and sent backhanded saber strike to sweep across the umbre-wielding Jing Zhaoning, whose attack was the first to arrive. His strategy was that he absolutely would not allow the opponents to form a siege where they could attack together. If his tactic worked, then he could strike and break the enemies one by one, otherwise he would be undoubtedly dead. This moment Zong Luohou was struggling to steady his footing. When Kou Zhongs taunting remark entered his ears, he remembered the illustrious name that he built his entire life haspletely gone under Kou Zhongs saber, he spurted another mouthful of blood and was no longer able to continue fighting. The abstruse, exquisite and marvelous changes in battle situation between the two sides were indeed not something that onlookers would be able to understand. At this time, if someone was watching the battle from the side, they would only see that everybodys position was changing continuously, speed against speed, without the slightest bit of dy. Jing Zhaoning let out a cold snort, the steel umbre suddenly opened, it was spinning to meet Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well head-on. Inwardly Kou Zhong knew that this kind of heretical ambushing troops would certainly have strange techniques and moves; if there were only the two of them in decisive battle, he would be happy to carry out all kinds of technique to test the enemy, to measure the enemy, to see what kind of trick the other side was ying. But this moment powerful enemies were waiting around him, he did not have such leisurely frame of mind. Suddenly he flipped over to the side and came above Jing Zhaonings head. Jing Zhaoning was worthy to be called a martial art master; immediately he changed his move to meet the attack, the edge of the umbre was slicing the lower part of Kou Zhongs body; it was fierce and severe to the extreme. The tip of Kou Zhongs foot tapped the edge of the umbre, creating a muffled Pop! while at the same time he soared into the air andughed aloud, No attack! Jing Zhaonings entire body was severely shaken. Although he was not like Zong Luohou who vomited blood and sustained injuries, but his qi and blood were surging; it was ufortable to the extreme point. The spiraling true qi that Kou Zhong sent into his body was thebination of the Long-Life Qi, the Jade Annulus of He n, and the Demonic Emperor Relics; it was indeed not an ordinary qi. Although Jing Zhaoning was a martial art master of one region,pered to Kou Zhong, a figure whose name shook the world, he was still some distance away. Zuo Youxian, Shangguan Long, Pi Shouxuan, and Rong Fengxiang, knew inwardly that the situation was far from good, they were afraid Kou Zhong might break through the roof and escape; one after another they leaped to pursue him, so that now it became every man for himself, they no longer had the momentum of a siege. Kou Zhongs cry no attack was precisely to y such a trick on the enemy. With one somersault, the tip of Kou Zhongs foot tapped the beam, man and saber became one, he swiftly dove down toward Shangguan Long, the defeated-under-his-hand general. Although three of hisrade-in-arms were midair in the main hall, Shangguan Long felt that he had be isted and without help, and could only rely on his own power to deal with Kou Zhongs startling-the-heaven-moving-the-earth strike. Previously, he was not Kou Zhongs match, and now Kou Zhongs power has advanced greatly,pared to before, he was a different person. Before the saber arrived, the biting cold saber qi already enveloped and locked Shangguan Long tightly. His courage entirely gone, Shangguan Longs dragonhead steel staff changed from offense to defense; other than trying to save his life, he was asking for nothing else. Qiang! Kou Zhong and Shangguan Long collided. Thetter was thrown to the side like a kite with cut string, while Kou Zhong, borrowing the impact force, flew sideways to catch up with Rong Fengxiang, who was changing direction to drop straight down, his saber shed. After all, Rong Fengxiang could not bepared to Shangguan Long. His long sword swiftly poked upward, Dang! it hit the Moon in the Well squarely. Kou Zhong let out a longughter; unleashing his deflecting force skill, he forced Rong Fengxiang to fall down, while he himself borrowed the reaction force to soar some more. This moment Zuo Youxian and Pi Shouxuan already used up their true qi, so they could only continue falling down to the ground, helpless to stop him. Bang! Shangguan Long fell onto the floor. The dragonhead staff left his hand and rolled to the side, creating a loud grinding noise, while the blood on the pit of his stomach felt like gushing. Even without examining him carefully, everybody knew that he only had a few mouthful of injured qi left. It looked like Kou Zhong was about to break through the roof and escape, but heughed aloud again, the tip of his foot tapped the beam again, and he changed direction to pounce onto Zuo Youxian, whose feet had not touched the ground yet. His guts and brilliance were not something that the enemies had ever dreamed of before the battle. Book 46 11 – Grand Plan to Change the Sky

Book 46 Chapter 11 C Grand n to Change the Sky

When Xu Ziling was crying, Im done for [heres another one of those birds and eggs, orig. finished egg], the man surnamed Xu went out in the direction of the middle section. Wen Caiting suddenly called out in low voice, Xu Shixiong, please wait. And then she ran after him into the atrium connecting the middle and the rear sections. Xu Ziling cried inwardly, Heaven helped me, and took a peek into the bedroom. Bai Qinger was still circting her power with her eyes closed; she waspletely oblivious [orig. not to hear, not to question] of everything going on outside her body. Wen Caiting apanied the man in the direction of the middle section. They were walking and talking at the same time. Xu Ziling had no time to eavesdrop, he slipped through the window into the room, and immediatelyunched his search operation. A momentter he was positive that there was indeed an underground storehouse down below, only he had not been able to find the entrance yet. His mind shing at the speed of light, his gaze fell on a group of three wooden cabs, as tall as an average man, leaning against the south wall of the room. He was about toe over to investigate when he heard footsteps and voices outside the door. Xu Ziling knew that because his mind was focused on searching for the entrance, he became careless. Fortunately, there was a screened area on the corner nearby for the upant of the room to relieve himself, hence he hastily hid inside. An unfamiliar male voice spoke outside the screen, Everything went well with Qinger Xiaojie? Wen Caiting replied, ording to your Xu Shu [uncle], Qingers progress is better than his expectation, Shengchun shouldnt be worried. Unexpectedly it was Chi Shengchun who came back, the man surnamed Xu was not here. Xu Ziling rxed at once, thinking that even if he was found out, he could still easily charge his way out. Wen Caiting added, I thought you wont be back at least until the third night watch [23:00 C 01:00]? Chi Shengchun said, I just received some important information, I have to trouble Wen Zhano [elder] to transmit it to Luoyang, to let them make adequate preparation. Xu Ziling slightly shivered inwardly. He finally knew for sure that the demonic school has joined hands to help Wang Shichong to deal with the Li ns main forces, and that if Chi Shengchun was really Xiang Guis eldest son, then the Xiang Family must have a close rtionship with Mie Qing Dao. Chi Shengchun continued, This time the Li n is making an all-out effort. Following Li Shimin in the punitive expedition to the east to Luoyang are seven Zongguan [general manager] and twenty-five high-ranking military officers, their military strength exceeds a hundred thousand men. It is said that it was dragging for so long, because they are setting up water andnd transit centers along the Hua River and the Yellow River, to guarantee the military supply at the front line. However, the fall of Liyang has given Li Yuan a lot of headache, he is straining hard to dispatch the troops. How is Li Yuan going to deal with it? Wen Caiting asked. Chi Shengchun said, I hear Li Yuan is considering sending Liu Shirang to lead the troops into Tumen. If Dou Jiande makes any move, he will rush to attack the Xia Armys Mingzhou in order to restrain Dou Jiande. Laughing coldly, Wen Caiting said, Dou Jiandes Hebei Army is a powerful fighting force; how could the insignificant Liu Shirang restrain him? Chi Shengchun said, That is only an interim step, the important keyes from Li Jiancheng volunteering to lead the army to go up north to defend Pubei, to consolidate the northern battlefront. Clearly it is to stop the Tujue from going down south. Li Yuan already agreed to his request, he even sent Zongguan Duan Decao to march and enter Yanzhou to defend it, to guard against Liang Shidou. This is beyond our initial expectation, it will have great impact on our n. After a short pause, he went on, It must be because he had no alternative that Li Jiancheng must convince Li Yuan that he is drawing a clear dividing line with the Tujue, while also want to prove to the high-ranking military officers and the cab ministers of the House of Tang that he does have military talent. I will tell other details to Zhanoter, I now have to deal with Wang Bodang. It was only then did Xu Ziling understand the reason Chi Shengchun returning earlier to this bedroom to talk to Wen Caiting; it was simply because Wang Bodang was in the inner hall of the front section, waiting for him. Needless to say, Wang Bodang wanted to use Chi Shengchuns rtionship with Li Yuanji to ask him to persuade Yuanji to support the conspiracy of Li Mi finding an excuse to leave Changan. The cab door was pulled open, and then there was the rustling noise of someone changing his clothes. This was perhaps Chi Shengchuns excuse to go to the inner room, which was to change his clothes. Laughing tenderly, Wen Caiting said, You have a very good physique! Any normal man would know that her praise carried a provocative overtone. Obviously Chi Shengchun had no interest in her; changing the subject, he said, Wang Bodang said that Li Mi wanted this very moment to use up his somewhat limited power to persuade his old generals who surrendered to the Zheng to rebel against the Zheng and realign their allegiance to the Tang. Does Zhano believe it? Only ghosts will believe him, Wen Caiting replied. While heading out, Chi Shengchun asked, Any news about Xu Ziling? Hearing his great name being mentioned, Xu Ziling hurriedly roused his spirit to listen attentively. Wen Caiting walked him off outside the door, she said, After he and Kou Zhong partedpany, we lost his track. Our guess is that he is going to Bashu to look for Shi Qingxuan. The voices went farther and farther away. Xu Ziling cried inwardly, If I dont leave now, what am I waiting for? and shed out of the screen and slipped out of the window. In one breath, while he was still in the air, as well as after he touched the ground, Kou Zhong, with momentum like a rainbow, consecutively sent more than a dozen saber strikes without the least bit of hatchet and chisel traces, to hack the Ziwu Sword Zuo Youxian, who ranked among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way; not only each strike carried ample power, the angle was strange and crafty,pletely without any w and gap in between that would enable the enemy to counterattack, before Rong Fengxiang, Pi Shouxuan and Jing Zhaoning were able to pounce over to help, attacking Zuo Youxian that he was struggling hard to cope, and was forced to retreat step by step. But Kou Zhong was well aware that Zuo Youxian, this kind of elder-level martial art master of the demonic school, had prolonged qi and meridians, even without anybody intervening or disrupting, killing him was not easy at all, hence he decided to quit while he was ahead. Fast as lightning he shifted sideways to meet Jing Zhaoning, whose blood and qi had not recovered, hacked him down that both the person and the umbre staggered back and fell down. And then he converted retreat to advance, to enter the gap between the charging forward Pi Shouxuan and Rong Fengxiang. With a spin of his body, he brought the Moon in the Well flying in a circle, striking the two mens long sword one after another. First, he ingeniously absorbed part of Pi Shouxuans true qi, and then using the discharging power he deflected him away, and when he was chopping Rong Fengxiangs sword, with all his strength he released his power to meet the attack head-on. Dang! The vortex of energy, like seawater breaching the dike, like sh flood breaking out the mountain C was rushing forth to attack Rong Fengxiang. It was as if thetter was taking Kou Zhong and Pi Shouxuansbined strike head-on, so how could he withstand it? Letting out a muffled grunt, he tumbled backward. Cha! Cha! Cha! Just before Zuo Youxians Ziwu Sword came to attack, Kou Zhong consecutively sent three saber strikes, brimming with desperate overtone, so that Pi Shouxuan could only block extremely strenuously, and had to hurriedly get away. Up to this point of the hard fighting, Zuo Youxian, Rong Fengxiangs side not onlypletely revised their view on Kou Zhong, they even started to be frightened by him. Because right from the start the initiative has always been in Kou Zhongs hands, not only they were unable to form besieging momentum, Kou Zhong was leading them by the nose. From the six men, after one died and one was injured, they were still in the disadvantageous position. Kou Zhongughed aloud, his feet moved in strange footwork, suddenly he was already on Zuo Youxians left side, so that Rong Fengxiang, who was on Zuo Youxians other side and was still retreating back, was unable to coordinate his position to surround the enemy. The Moon in the Well seemed to be sweeping toward Zuo Youxian at random. Zuo Youxians resolution had already been snatched away by his more than a dozen saber strikes just now, this saber strike from Kou Zhong appeared to be nothing formidable, butbined with his shrinking range of motion to be only one cun, plus with mystery within a mystery bufa [footwork] and shenfa [body motion in martial arts], it clearly posed a serious threat to him. Unexpectedly he did not dare to parry and swiftly retreated instead. Kou Zhongs saber momentum did not change, with a spin of his body he moved toward Pi Shouxuan, who had not steadied his footing, the Moon in the Well swiped toward his neck, ingenious as if made by heaven, exquisite and brilliant that not one in ten thousand words could describe. Pi Shouxuan had never imagined that Kou Zhongs saber attacking Zuo Youxian could change direction to sh toward himself, naturally he did not dare to block, and flew backward to evade instead. All of a sudden, three formidable opponents surrounding him were attacked by him that they scattered in all directions to run away. This moment, the sound of people shouting and the crackling noise of zing fire were boiling outside. Naturally Kou Zhong could guess that Linglong Jiao was helping him by lighting fire everywhere around the Rong Mansion. Rong Fengxiang and the others, none did not have his countenance changed. Kou Zhong was afraid Linglong Jiao might not be able to bear ande inside to help him. Abruptly stopping his offensive, he stood with the saber across his chest, and said with augh, Lets end this battle here. If you guys still want to kill me, Kou Zhong, I would be happy to apany you anytime. Finished speaking, he soared straight up, broke through the roof, and evaded the several hundred arrows, which were shot nearly blindly from four sides, eight directions, took a breath midair to shift his form and change direction just like that, and broke the siege and escaped without any trace, leaving only the sound of his longughter behind. Xu Ziling was hesitating slightly, before curling his finger to knock the window ording to the secret signal that he and Shen Luoyan agreed. It was nearly the third watch of the night [23:00 C 01:00], Li Shiji was in the Jiangjun Fu [generals mansion] at the Buzheng Lane, west side of Changans Imperial City, separated only by one street, Anhua Avenue. It was the dead of the night, where the bright moon was casting its light from an angle. Xu Ziling originally wanted to wait for tomorrow to contact Shen Luoyan, but was afraid he might miss the fortunate timing, so he had toe to look for Shen Luoyan following the agreed method. Creak! The window was pushed open, revealing Shen Luoyans beautiful jade countenance. She had just gotten up from the bed, not wearing any makeup, her hair was in a mess, carrying another kind of free and at ease, casual touching amorous feelings. Get in, quick! Shen Luoyan spoke in low voice. He had just entered the room, Shen Luoyan already lightly pulled his sleeve, and took him sitting on a chair in the corner of herdys chamber. Unexpectedly she was blushing and spoke with a tenderughter, Is my appearance now very scary? Xu Ziling did not dare to look at her body inside her thin clothes, so that all the beautiful lines werepletely exposed. A bit embarrassed, he said, Please forgive me for presumptuously paying a visit, simply because I had just heard an information pertaining to Mi Gong. And then he told her about Wang Bodang looking for Chi Shengchun. Listening to him, Shen Luoyans eyebrows were deeply furrowed, she said, How could Mi Gong be this stupid! To move his former subordinates to betray the Zheng and surrender to the Tang, only Wei Zheng [(580-643), Tang politician and historian, notorious as a critic, editor of History of the Sui Dynasty] is more than enough. Didnt he know that he surrendering to the Tang has already made people disappointed at him thoroughly? And then, her eyes flickering, she looked at Xu Ziling up and down and asked, Why did you go to search around Chi Shengchuns mansion house? Xu Ziling knew he could not conceal it from her, yet he was unwilling to tell her; without any better option, he said with a wry smile, Can we wait a bitter for that? The matter of vital importance right now is to advise Li Mi to dispel this idea, to stay in Changan peacefully, keeping watch over himself, otherwise I am afraid he will never be able to get out farther than Tongguan. Distressed, Shen Luoyan said, To ask Li Yuan to release the tiger back to the mountain is Mi Gongs delusion. I cannot advise him, let him ask Li Yuan himself, so that Li Yuan can reject his request and be done with it. Xu Ziling pondered for a moment, What if Li Yuan agrees? he asked heavily. Slightly startled, Shen Luoyan said, That means Li Yuan has the intention to kill him. This time it was Xu Zilings turn to stare nkly. It was quite a whileter that he said, I dont understand! Shen Luoyan sighed and said, The reason is very simple, Li Yuan would never let Mi Gong return to the base of operations where he started out, because it would ce Shiji in some no room to advance or to retreat situation. Since this is the critical moment in the attack on Luoyang, Li Yuan definitely will not allow other variables to appear. Therefore, if Li Yuan agrees to Mi Gongs request, it would be an insincere approval. Later on he would pry him out, to let him reveal the cloven foot, so that when he kills him, there wont be anybody in the world dares to use Li Yuan of wrongdoing. Xu Ziling suddenly saw the light. He nodded and said, Therefore, the best policy is still to persuade Li Mi to dispel this thought, because once he put it forward, there will be no return. Shen Luoyan shook her head dejectedly, Its useless, she spoke in grief, I advised him not to surrender to the Tang, he refused to listen; and now I advise him not to rebel against the Tang, he wont listen either. And then her pair of eyes emitted an unusually brilliant color, she spoke gently, Luoyan really appreciates Zilinging to pass on this information. Ziling need not care about this matter anymore, at the end of the day, Mi Gong is still your and Kou Zhongs enemy. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Looking at his currently down and out circumstances, my hatred to him had already vanishedpletely early on. We are friends, arent we? Junshi must be careful; because Li Mi is offending Li Yuan, Shiji Xiong might be caught in unfavorable situation. Shen Luoyan nodded and said, I know what to do! The one you really need to worry about is Kou Zhong. I hear that the great generals under Wang Shichongsmand, Li Junxian and Luo Shixin already surrendered to the Tang. They, and Shiji, are Mi Gongs former subordinates who realigned their allegiance to the Tang due to Wei Zhengs lobbying. If Kou Zhong had a clear view of things, he ought to leave Wang Shichong immediately, turn to the south to grow, otherwise it will be difficult to escape the troops-defeated-the-people-perished situation. Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart distracted, his thoughts in turmoil, he shook his head without saying anything. Shen Luoyan also said, After capturing Liyang, Dou Jiande dered the relocation of his capital to Mingzhou. Within Changans imperial court, it has spread widely that very soon he is going proim himself emperor, in order to counter Wang Shichongs proiming himself emperor. Currently, Luoyangs only hope is Dou Jiandes saving army, but Wang Shichongs ridiculous self-importance has made the foundation of the cooperation between him and Dou Jiande go up in smoke. Kou Zhong wanted to use Wang Shichong and Luoyang to beat back Li Shimin, this is precisely climbing a tree to catch a fish [idiom: to attempt the impossible], there is no possibility of sess. Xu Ziling wanted to say something but no words came out. Shen Luoyan spoke indifferently, Supposing Wang Shichong surrendered to the Tang, what kind of situation do you think your Kou Zhong will be trapped in? Shaken, Xu Ziling said, That is extremely unlikely, right? Otherwise, he would not dare to proim himself emperor. Slightly shrugging her fragrant shoulders, Shen Luoyan said, In this era of chaos, nothing is impossible. Who could have predicted in advance that Du Fuwei was willing to surrender? Otherwise, the situation would not have developed into what it is right now. Xu Zilings heart was distracted, his thoughts in turmoil even more; he said, Junshi, have a good rest, I want to go back and think quietly about it. Kou Zhong returned to the courtyard house where he stayed in Luoyang. Unexpectedly Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou were waiting for him, both men had grave expression on their faces. After seated properly, Zhang Zhenzhou was the first to ask, Where did Shaoshuai go? As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong replied, Coming to Luoyang, naturally I had to visit my old friend Rong Fengxiang, while ughtering Shangguan Long along the way. So whats the important matter that troubled two gentlemen that instead of going to bed you came over here to apany me to spend the night? Staring nkly, Yang Gongqing asked, You ughtered Shangguan Long? Kou Zhongughed and said, Its just a small matter of a new branch growing out of a knot. I also met Zong Luohou, my saber strike made him discarding his armor, dragging his dagger-axe; I am afraid he wont have any countenance left to mingle in Luoyang. Right! What is actually going on? Zhang Zhenzhou said, At dusk, we received information that Li Shimins vanguard troops have arrived in Xinan [county, in Luoyang, Henan]. Kou Zhong was stunned, Isnt Xinan the city west of Cijian? It ought to belong to Wang Shichong, why did Yang Gong seem to say that the Tang Army could establish their presence in there any moment? Yang Gongqing replied with a bitterugh, The reason is very simple: because the General and the Deputy General Luo Shixin and Li Junxian in charge of defending the city already led the army and civilian of the whole city to surrender to the Tang. Cijian is in danger of facing a frontal attack. Cijian was Luoyangs west battlefront, just like Ho was Luoyangs east battlefront. It should be noted that on the north, Luoyang was leaning against the Mount Mang, which terrain was strategically situated and easy to defend. Then there was the Yellow River. The mountain range and therge river became the natural barrier on the north. River Luo was the Yellow Rivers tributary, flowing from the northeast to the east of Luoyang, where it branched into the Luo and Yi, two rivers. After flowing through Luoyang, River Luo turned west, while River Yi flowed to the south. Shouan and Yique, respectively, were the most important cities by the Rivers Luo and Yi, south of Luoyang. Li Shimins main forces came to the east, the first to bear the brunt would be Cijian, which was the must-be-acquired ce to attack Luoyang. If he could capture Cijian, Li Shimins main forces could split two ways; one establishing their presence at Mount Mang, to attack the Luo city walls on the south bank of the Yellow River, so much so that they could even advance to the east to attack Ho, the other marching to Shouan. After capturing Shouan, they could attack Yique. Therefore, the survival of Cijian upied critical ce in the entire attack and defense battle for Luoyang; it simply must not fall. Zhang Zhenzhoumented, Xinan city defense was very tight, plus there is Cijian on the east ready to respond, it should have been as steady as Mount Tai, even if Li Shimin had the ability to capture Xinan, he would have to pay an enormous price. But now, without wasting a single troop or half a pawn, he put Xinan inside his bag. Wang Shichongs counting-ones-chickens-before-they-are-hatched n to use Xinan to hold the Tang Army back went up in smoke, so that he is more wary toward the high-ranking military officers of different surnames. Kou Zhongs only constion was in knowing that Zhang Zhenzhou has not yet had the intention to surrender to the Tang, otherwise he should be happy for Li Shimin, rather than grieving andmenting over this matter. Yang Gongqing said, Just now Zhenzhou and I discussed it carefully: to beat back Li Shimin, there is only one way. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, I still have not found any way to beat back Li Shimin; tell me quickly. Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou you look at me I gaze at you, as if they had the mouth but difficult to speak; also, it appeared that they were hoping that the other would speak up first. Kou Zhong was greatly baffled, but soon afterwards he came to realize something; severely shaken, he said, You are not thinking of bringing Wang Shichong down, are you? Zhang Zhenzhou sighed and said, Is there a better way? Smiling wryly, Yang Gongqing said, This is the only viable way for now. Wang Shichong appointing men of the same n, hepletely lost the peoples hearts! If Shaoshuai takes his ce, you could greatly rouse the heart of the troops; who did not know that Shaoshuai is the greatest minister who has given outstanding service in defeating Li Mi? Furthermore, the only person that Li Shimin is afraid of? Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, The problem is that currently important military authority and control over the cities are all in the hands of Wang Shichongs royal rtives; if Wang Shichong had any unexpected misfortune [orig. three longs two shorts], the entire Zheng Kingdom would be in chaos and the army will copse, which would only give convenience to Li Shimin. Laughing coldly, Zhang Zhenzhou said, No poison, no great man [idiom: a great man has to be ruthless]; as long as we n carefully, act fiercely, ruthlessly, and swiftly, by killing all the Wang n people in the city in one move, while also sealing off the news from leaking out, we could forge Wang Shichongs handwriting to issue imperial decree, to take over the other cities one by one, to remove the high-ranking military officers with Wang surname one after another. At that time, why worry that the big n wont seed? Because he knew that the demonic school and the Tujue people were fully supporting Wang Shichong, Kou Zhong knew that to bring Wang Shichong down in one move appeared to be easy but was actually difficult. At the same time, he understood even more why Wang Shichong had so much misgivings toward him; most probably it was because he was afraid that this kind of situation would happen. Yang Gongqing said, It was not Zhenzhou and I who thought about this matter first. Just now, Libu Shangshu [Director of Board of Rites] Pei Renji, Zuofu Dajiangjun [Left Auxiliary Grand General] Pei Xingyan, and Shangshu Zuocheng [Minister Left Deputy] Yuwen Rutong have jointlye to see me to raise this issue to me, hoping that I could discuss it with Shaoshuai, asking Shaoshuai to undertake the task to assassinate Wang Shichong. Its just that their objective is to have Yang Tong, who was deposed by Wang Shichong, to ascend the emperors throne again. However, it triggered such an idea in my mind, so that after discussing it with Zhenzhou, we both came to the same conclusion that this is definitely not unfeasible. Feeling big headache, Kou Zhong said, Let me think about it first. Shaking his head, Zhang Zhenzhou said, If you want to make your move, we must do it tomorrow, otherwise, if we let Wang Shichong lead the big army to defend Cijian, we will lose this golden opportunity. Kou Zhong steeled himself and spoke resolutely, Very well! You make preparation immediately, tomorrow will be the time of Wang Shichongs death. Book 46 12 – Fighting Side by Side

Book 46 Chapter 12 C Fighting Side by Side

When Xu Ziling returned to the Passionate Nest, waiting for him was Wanwan, who had already left but came back. She still looked so beautiful that make peoples heart trembling, but she also returned to her usual cold and detached, confident demeanor, as if there was nothing on earth could move her. However, Xu Ziling also felt that she was different from the past, only how different, he could not tell. It was not until he stepped into the inner hall and saw her sitting on the chair by the window that he found out that her fragrant self was here, and that he did not have reaction in advance. The biggest reason of him being this not good was that he was worried for Kou Zhong that his mind was somece else. Wanwan looked at him coldly, her cherry lips lightly opened, she said, Its veryte, where did Ziling stroll to? Xu Ziling sat down by her side and spoke heavily, Didnt you exploit mest night? Frowning, Wanwan said, Can you not say something so unpleasant like that? Currently I am isted and without help, shouldnt you uphold justice and lend me a hand? Xu Ziling shook his head and spoke in displeasure, If you want me to help you, why didnt you deal sincerely and fairly [idiom] by asking me openly? Unexpectedly you came to deceive me! All those weeping endlessly, grieving for your Shifu, those are all lies. Your intention was to arouse my sympathy first, and then you used your understanding of my Long-Life Qi to help you sessfully reaching the highest level of your cultivation of the Tianmo Da Fa; did I say it wrong? Wanwan was silent for half a day. Tranquil and even-tempered, she said, When did Ziling realize that? Xu Ziling did not expect her to be so bold as to calmly admit it, a warning signal of danger echoed in his heart instead! Struggling hard to suppress the indignant feeling in his heart, he spoke indifferently, I am too stupid! It was not until I saw you just now that I dare to be certain that I had fallen into your evil schemes. Wanwans eyes were fixed on the empty space in front of her, her voice turned cold, she said, Ziling must not insult me anymore. I am now struggling to survive, otherwise my only way out is to acknowledge allegiance to Shi Zhixuan. You help me to be the new master of Yin Gui Pai, I help you to get rid of Shi Zhixuan. Each side derives benefit, wont it satisfy rival demands? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, You have thought about this very thoroughly and properly. You ought to want to get rid of Shi Zhixuan more than I do! He is the biggest obstacle to your desire to unify the demonic way. Wanwan let out a silver-bell like touching tenderughter, she shook her head and said with a sigh, Ziling is wrong! Not only that, you are really wrong. As long as Im willing to bow before Shi Zhixuan, he would love and protect me, and even fear that he is not good enough for me; perhaps he would even take me as his woman and let me to be his left and right arms to help him. However, you and Kou Zhong are the thorn in his side. Kou Zhong, he can still tolerate, because he could exploit him to control Li Shimin. But the rtionship between you and Shi Feixuan is something that he cannot tolerate. The bigger issue is that your cultivation, both of you, is advancing by leaps and bounds every day; some day you might be some figures like Ning Daoqi or Song Que, which will pose a deep threat to the existence of our Holy School. You believe me, thats good, you dont believe me, its all right too. Shi Zhixuan will definitely not miss the opportunity to kill you. Listening to that, Xu Ziling was confused. Undoubtedly Wanwans remark was the truth, but when he was confronting Shi Zhixuan, he did feel that due to his rtionship with Shi Qingxuan, at least for now, he did not have the intention to kill him yet. However, Shi Zhixuans real intention, nobody could fathom; this was an indisputable fact. Wanwan finally looked at him. The originally ice-cold expression in her eyes was reced by aplicated, difficult to understand look, as she spoke gently, Can you trust me just this once? Last time Shi Zhixuan was letting you off, it was because he had received injury from Zhu Shis burning both jade andmon stone move, to this day, his internal injury had not yet healed, therefore, he borrowed Shi Qingxuan to pacify you. Once his internal injury ispletely healed, not only you will suffer cmity, Shi Qingxuan will also meet his deadly blow. Shi Zhixuan is a person without human nature, he definitely cannot be measured with ordinary humans heart. Inwardly, Xu Ziling broke out in a cold sweat, because Wanwans analysis carried a persuasive power, what she said was very likely to be the real situation, plus Shi Feixuan had also said that after Shi Zhixuan recovered, the first person he was going to kill was his own daughter. Such saying like cruel tiger wont eat its own cub and a savage person like Shi Zhixuan were twopletely different things. He could choose not to believe Wanwan, but he could not but believe Shi Feixuans prediction, not to mention he had personally promised Shi Feixuan that he would strive his hardest to eliminate Shi Zhixuan. That night clearly Shi Zhixuan wasing to deal with Hou Xibai, but changed his n because of Xu Zilings intervention, so he pretended toe specifically to see Xu Ziling, even advised him to go to Bashu to look for Shi Qingxuan. Perhaps it was all because he did not want Xu Ziling to block his hands and hinder his feet in here, to obstruct his grand n to unify the demonic school. Wanwans speech came word by word into his ears, To kill Shi Zhixuan, now is thest chance. Otherwise, if you wait until he is fully recovered, then even if the three grandmasters of the world join hands to deal with him, he would still have the ability to escape unscathed. Xu Ziling still held fast to hisst line of defense by not telling her that Shi Zhixuan was Holy Monk Dade, who was sitting in meditation; he spoke heavily, Even if we have the intention to kill him, but where are we going to find him, and how are we going to make our move? Wanwan replied, About that, leave it to me, as long as you are willing to agree to fight side-by-side with me, thats enough. Oh, Ziling! For your own sake, you must not miss this once in a thousand years golden opportunity. Xu Ziling turned his head to meet her eyes, Wanwans gaze suddenly became as sharp as de, as if she was able to see through inside his heart. Xu Zilings heart trembled; he could clearly feel Wanwan, in terms of essence, qi, and spirit, none was not greatly advancingpared to before; she was no longer Wanwan of the past. Yet the tone of Wanwans voice was extraordinarily calm and gentle, as she spoke indifferently, With one sentence, you can decided the future fate of our Holy School. Thump! Thump! Xu Ziling felt that his own heart was jumping rapidly; he drew out a long, long breath, fighting hard to calm himself down. It was quite a whileter that he made up his mind, Very well! Kou Zhong woke up naturally from his meditation. The first light of dawn had just prated from outside the window, a new day has just begun, thereupon new troubles would follow. The assassination of Wang Shichong, practically it was impossible to n and prepare, they could only see the opportunity and act. At the time where the war was looming, inside the city of Luoyang, any wind blowing, any grass moving, nothing could be concealed from Wang Shichongs, as well as Rong Fengxiangs eyes and ears. Therefore, Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou could not mobilize the troops and horses, moreover, they did not dare to notify other high-ranking military officers who harbored disloyalty in their hearts; they could only, out of the kindness of their hearts, even though it was inappropriate, to make mental preparation with the trusted aides under theirmands. Killing Wang Shichong, they only had one shot; one failed strike, they would incur Wang Shichongs personal guards counterattack, there would be no second chance. Wang Shichong himself was a genuine-goods-at-fair-prices martial art master; although he could not bepared to Du Fuwei, Huang Gongcuo, that level of experts, but if he was alerted on time, surely to withstand several moves of Kou Zhongs all-out strike would not be a problem. Therefore, Kou Zhong must create the most favorable situation, he must grasp the fortunate timing to render him a fatal blow. As far as what would happen after the sessful assassination, only Laotianye would know. Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. He had a faint feeling that this assassinating Wang Shichong operation was a dangerous military mission, a grand gamble of life and death. The sound of hoof beats was heard from the outside, it came from afar but quickly got near. Kou Zhong focused his power into his ears, and he was immediately shocked. The courtyard house where he stayed was located at the southern part of the city, near the Tongjin Canal, so in front of the house was a street, behind the house was the river. Now, not only from both ends of the street several dozen of riders were galloping over, there was also the sound of many swift boats splitting the water on the canal. All of a sudden this small courtyard house was heavily surrounded. Could it be that the assassination n already fell through and stood exposed? Reaching out, he grabbed the Moon in the Well lying on the side of the bed. Wang Xuanyings voice shouted from outside the door, Shaoshuai, open the door. And then came the sound of someone banging on the door. Hou Xibai, his entire body was covered in the stink of wine, came back. Xu Ziling was still sitting on the chair, staring nkly. The former sat down next to him and asked excitedly, Did you steal it? Xu Ziling responded crossly, Fancy that you still have this kind of leisurely frame of mind. Among the martial art masters of Mi Qing Dao, which one is surnamed Xu? Hou Xibai shook his head in disappointment, he said, I only know one Tian Jun [heavenly lord] Xi Ying of Mi Qing Dao. Among the Holy Schools Two Sects and Six Ways, this Way [dao of Mi Qing Dao] conducts are secretive. However, listening to the tone of Shi Shis voice when talking about them, his rtionship with them should be quite good, on ount of Mi Qing Dao is always in favor of unifying the various Ways of Holy School into one. Did you encounter this manst night? Xu Ziling told him in details about his experiencest night. Immediately some of Hou Xibais tipsy feeling disappeared, his countenance changed, he said, Unexpectedly Mi Qing Dao is willing to join hands with Yin Gui Pai without Shi Shi supporting it from behind? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Whats so strange about that? In Bashu, didnt Yin Gui Pai worked together with Xi Ying to lure Song Que toe to Bashu? Hou Xibai replied with grave expression, How could that be the same? At that time, Zhu Yuyan was still alive, at least she was still the official leader of the Holy School, plus Shi Shi was still suffering from strange illness. None of the various factions of the Holy School would submit to each other, moreover, they would not easily form an alliance. Now, only Shi Shi has enough qualifications to unite the various like-a-sheet-of-loose-sand factions of the Holy School into one. Xu Zilings heart was moved. He began to have some understanding that Wanwans remark that she was isted and without help was not false assertion at all. Hou Xibai apanied Xu Ziling staring nkly for half a day. Heaving a deep, deep sigh, he said, If Shi Shi forced me to dere my position, what do I do? Xu Ziling reached out to grab his shoulder. With meaningful and heartfelt words he advised him, How about finding some remote and faraway ce to lie low until the fuss dies down [orig. to avoid the wind] for a little bit? As if his dream was shattered, Hou Xibai asked, What do you do then? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling replied, I want to throw out everything, to immediately set on a journey to Luoyang to find Kou Zhong, to force him to disband Shao Shuai Army and renounce his vain attempt in contending for hegemony over the world. Severely shaken, Hou Xibai looked at him. Shaking his head, he said, You are not joking? Kou Zhong is that kind of person who was born to gallop fast on the battleground, no different from a person like me who love to go to the pleasure house to cuddle on the red and leaning on the green jade. Letting go of his hand on Hou Xibais shoulder, Xu Ziling spoke feebly, Recently he has repeatedly indicated that he is fed up with wars, now that Luoyang is a dead end road, perhaps I could seize this fortunate timing to convince him. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Sometimes I might also be fed up with the life rolling about the pleasure houses, but am I not still inevitably linked to those ces? Because there is nothing that appeals to me more. All my unique skill that I am expert in, like reciting poetry and creating couplets, the four arts, zither, Go, calligraphy, painting, only in pleasure houses I can find people who appreciate it, people who can give sympathetic response to it. Kou Zhong is just like that, battlefield is the best ce that can put his strong points on disy. You want him to be like you, to live a leisure-cloud, wild-crane life, our Shaoshuai absolutely cannot handle it. Xu Ziling dejectedly said, You seem to know him better than I do. Hou Xibai struggled to rouse his spirit, he said, Ha! I decided not to go! Even if I want to go, I will have toplete the Hundred-Beauty Painting Scroll to be left for the fragrantter generations before Ill think about it. Ha! I am thinking of writing a hundred verses on the scroll, each verse describes one beauty. No one has ever aplished this feat before. If you could continue to work hard on stealing the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, it would be even more perfect. Xu Ziling could not help sshing cold water on him, saying, When your Shi Shie to look for you, what do you do? Hou Xibais mood suddenly rising, heughed and said, Ill simply contend with him on strong grounds! Who told him to train me to be such a person who loves wind, flower, snow and moon, trite poetry subject [idiom]? Shaking his head with a wry smile, Xu Ziling said, You seem to havepletely lost your fighting spirit. Could it be that my encouragement to you has no effect at all? Hou Xibai dejectedly said, Even if I master Bu Si Yin Fa and defeat Yang Xuyan, so what? If Shi Shi wholeheartedly wants to kill me, in the end it would still be difficult for me to escape his vicious attack. Xu Ziling said, Every morning when you, LaoGe came back from the pleasure house, you seem to be just like this, disheartened like a defeated rooster,pletely without the will to fight! But as soon as the nightes, you are like shedding your mortal body and exchanging your bones, to be another person altogether. Have a good sleep! Ill see you at dusk. With nk expression on his face, Hou Xibai watched him standing up, and asked, Are you going to Chen Fu to learn how to run pawnshop business? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Perhaps Ill go to visit Ji Qian first. Where is her fragrant residence? Kou Zhongs mind moving at the speed of light, he quickly analyzed the situation before his eyes. This matter concerned his own life and death, also his grand n whether he ought to help Wang Shichong to defend Luoyang or not. If Wang Shichong really made up his mind to kill him, his smartest move would be to break the siege and escape, and no longer paid attention to Wang Shichongs business. But unless Wang Shichong knew about his subordinates operation to assassinate him, killing Kou Zhong was a really unwise move. It would both break down his rtionship with Dou Jiande and would make him the mortal enemy of the Shao Shuai Army located southeast of him. There would be a hundred harms without a single benefit. Therefore, the current problem was probably just Wang Xuanyings private operation, outside of Wang Shichongs knowledge. Even though it was not easy to deal with, it would still be better than if Wang Shichong exhausting his martial art masters to besiege and kill him. While responding, Taizi [crown prince] keep calm, dont get excited, Xiaodi ising to open the door and wee you, Kou Zhong strapped the Moon in the Well to his back, and concealed the Piercing the Sun folding bow on his left shoulder inside the outer robe that Chuchu made for him, and unhurriedly walked to the front section. He had just pushed the front halls main door open, and has not set his foot on the steps yet, Bang! the door bolt snapped, the outer courtyard door was smashed open, Wang Xuanying urged his horse to charge inside; following tightly beside him was Rong Jiaojiao, with murderous intent across her whole face, her almond eyes were opened wide. In the blink of an eye, the courtyard was full of sitting-high-on-horseback, murderous-looking warriors of the Zheng Kingdom, the martial art masters, Wang Xuanyings personal guards, everybody was ring at Kou Zhong, their hands were pressed on their weapons. Kou Zhong understood what happened. Chuckling, he said, If Taizi is using this kind of frame of mind where you cant even wait for the door to open to fight Li Shimins Xuan Jia [ck/mysterious armor] warriors, you will undoubtedly lose. Pointing his halberd-fingers at him, Wang Xuanying angrily said, Shut up! Let me ask you, our Great Zheng regards you as an honored guest, why did you unexpectedly go to the Rong mansionst night, killing and burning? Are you not considering our Great Zheng worthy in your eyes? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong asked, Do you want me to shut up or to answer you? Wang Xuanying was even more enraged. Rong Jiaojiao shouted tenderly, Still want to build sentences and exchange words? Today, if you exist then I perish. Charge! Hold on! Kou Zhong thundered, Let Xiaodi ask clearly first; is Taiziing here this time on imperial orders? Wang Xuanying was slightly startled, but immediately roared in anger, To kill you, the insignificant Kou Zhong, do I need to ask for Fuhuangs instructions? The men who came with Wang Xuanying started to realize that Wang Xuanying did not receive Wang Shichongs order toe to kill Kou Zhong, none did not reveal a hesitating expression. If because of this Wang Shichong extended the me, at most Wang Xuanying would only be scolded, but they, this bunch of attendants on his left and right, might have to bear serious charge. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, I nearly misunderstood! I thought Taizi is using public office to avenge private wrongs, turns out it has nothing to do with the public at all, its purely for personal grudge, you are sticking out your head for the sake of a secret society woman. Humph! This time Xinan is lost, the Li n main forces just about to arrive at Cijian, Taizi still has this kind of leisurely frame of mind and lose your head. What benefit killing me will bring to Great Zheng? Unless you, Taizi think that your Fuhuang dont have enough enemies, go ahead and enjoy yourself to the full. Otherwise, we should not be fighting. Wang Xuanyings countenance alternated between red and white indeterminately, apparently, after listening to Kou Zhongs reminder, he began to think about the serious consequences of killing Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong knew that it was difficult for Wang Xuanying to step down the stage, he turned toward Rong Jiaojiao and said, How is Xuyan Xiong doing? Without Rong Da Xiaojie in Changan to apany him, his days must be unbearably lonely. Shaken, Wang Xuanying looked at Rong Jiaojiao, his pair of eyes shot a look of hatred. Rong Jiaojiao was so angry that her pretty face turned deathly white, she spoke angrily to Wang Xuanying, Dont listen to him babbling nonsense out of nothing [orig. , ording to Baidu, this is a Cantonese ng: indiscriminately creating incidents in a stable environment]; why havent you made your move? Adding fuel to the fire, Kou Zhong said, If Taizi is willing to step aside and calmly listening to several words from the bottom of Xiaodis heart, you will know whether Xiaodi is framing others out of nothing [another exnation of the aforementioned ng]. And then he shouted to the men on Wang Xuanyings left and right, You guys judge and consider it yourselves, I, Kou Zhong, am unafraid to face Xielis Golden Wolf Armys ten thousand horses and a thousand troops, do you think at this moment I would nder others to save my own life? Naturally on Wang Xuanyings left and right, none dared to respond, but looking at his expression, they knew that not only his words had threatening power, they were convincing as well. The murderous intent in Wang Xuanyings pair of eyes was ring greatly, to such an extent as to give the impression that he had turned insane. Glowering at Kou Zhong, he spoke heavily, Today, no matter how splendidly your tongue links the flowers, it will be difficult for you to escape death. Throwing his head back, Kou Zhong let out a longughter and said, If I had known that Taizis mind is already made, there is no need for me, Kou Zhong, to waste so much lips and tongue. If you are a hero, takeozis three saber strikes. If within the three saber strikes I cannot capture you alive again, I will kill myself on the spot. Wang Xuanyings pair of eyes revealed a zing hatred mixed with shame; he roared, F*ck your Niang! Charge! Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. This fool created such a mess, potentially the big n to assassinate Wang Shichong would fizzle out. If this moment he kill or injure arge number of Zheng Kingdom warriors, perhaps even Laotianye would not know how to tidy up this desperate situation. Book 46 13 – Wishing To Go But Difficult To Leave

Book 46 Chapter 13 C Wishing To Go But Difficult To Leave

Stop! Stunned, the enemy and us, two sides looked up, Wang Xuanshu appeared on the top of the wall and jumped down at an angle; he stood in front of Kou Zhong to shield him, spread out his arms, and spoke, while trembling in anger, We all are of the same side, Huangxiong [emperor brother] must not fight. Staring fiercely at his younger brother, Wang Xuanying spoke heavily, What are you doing here? You have the cheek toe meddling in my affair, helping outsider not helping your own [from Baidu; orig. hand finger bends outside not bends inside], are you rebelling? Wang Xuanshu did not back down at all; he said, I am on Fuhuangs order toe here to pick up Shaoshuai into the pce. Inside his eye socket, Wang Xuanyings eyeballs were rolling in to the left and right randomly, it was quite half a dayter that he waved his hand and said, Lets go! Finished speaking he angrily led his men to leave. Rong Jiaojiao helplessly followed the troops out. Before leaving, she cast a nce to Kou Zhong, her eyes were brimming with bitter resentment, Kou Zhong merely sent her off with a smile. Wang Xuanshu waited until his older brother left, his entire body, like the air inside him was deted C trembled; breathing rapidly, he said, How dangerous! Grateful, Kou Zhong put his arm around his shoulder and said, You came in time, if not, I would be forced to open wide the prohibition against killing. Having just recovered from a shock, Wang Xuanshu said, Seeing Rong Jiaojiao wasing to see Huangxiong, I knew things were far from good, hence I immediately galloped over; if I missed it, it would have been toote. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Didnt your Fuhuang send you here to pick up Shaoshuai into the pce? Smiling bitterly, Wang Xuanshu said, If I did not say that, how could Huangxiong be willing to give up and leave? Other than Fuhuang, Huangxiong does not give a damn about anybody else. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs brows were deeply furrowed. Wang Xuanshu wholeheartedly supported him, yet he was going to assassinate his old dad. Ay! What the hell is going on here? He said, You offended your Huangxiong for my sake, Im afraid in the future your days will be very difficult to pass. Wang Xuanshu shook his head resolutely and said, I am not afraid! Currently in the pce I am the only one who understand that Shaoshuai really wants to help us to repel the Li Familys armys punitive expedition to the east. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Have you ever thought that after repelling the Li Army, we might be enemies? It is precisely because he is thinking like this that your Die is not willing to trust me. Wang Xuanshu helplessly replied, Shaoshuai is the kind of hero and warrior who refuses to acknowledge allegiance to anybody, we all understand. The matter of the future, we will talk in the future. If I were not Fuhuangs son, I would definitely throw my lot to Shaoshuai. That experience of defeating Li Mi in the past, Xuanshu never forget even for a moment. For the first time Kou Zhong regretted that he agreed to Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou to assassinate Wang Shichong. If he followed his original n of assisting Wang Shichong to beat back Li Shimin, when the war to contend for hegemony against Wang Shichong broke out in the future, his heart would be much morefortable. If he assassinated Wang Shichong, how could he face Wang Xuanshu, the gentleman who revered him before his eyes? Thinking to this point, he really did not dare to continue his train of thought. Wang Xuanshu said, Its almost time for morning imperial court! We must immediately rush into the pce. The contradiction was too painful that Kou Zhong nearly wanted to leave immediately, yet he knew that he must not do that. Sighing inwardly, he followed Wang Xuanshu. Xu Ziling reported his name as Yong Qin. After a short wait, Ji Qian came out to meet him. The somewhat unique courtyard residence of the most popr famous courtesan in Changan was located at Taiping Lane, on the eastern bank of Qingming Canal. There was a sparse forest inside the courtyard, quiet, secluded, and elegant, disying her status and dignified air, which surpassed ordinary courtesans. Ji Qian received him in the inner hall. She was wearing a downhearted expression, an exhausted look as if she had just spent a sleepless night, so that Xu Zilings heart broke just by looking at her. After serving the tea, she dismissed the maids from the hall. The two were sitting across each other around the table. Dispirited, Ji Qian said, What do you want? I would never learn that kind of technique of yours in this lifetime, and now I have not the slightest bit of interest in you. Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, In that case, why was Xiaojie willing to grant this interview? Ji Qians expression turned grave, she spoke heavily, Because I want to understand one thing. This name, Yin Xiaoji, where did you hear it from? Why did you unexpectedlye to me to inquire about it? It cant be as simple as because both of our names have this Ji character in it? Ji Qian is simply my stage name in the pleasure house, you know that, right? Xu Ziling calmly said, I really did not lie to you. Yin Xiaoji is the name of my friend, who is called Yin Xianhes long-lost Meizi. I wonder if Xiaojie has any impression toward this name, Yin Xianhe? Ji Qian replied impatiently, This is the first time that I heard such a strange name. Quickly answer me, Changan has people by the thousands and tens of thousands, yet you clearly came to me to ask about this person, Yin Xiaoji. Steeling his heart, Xu Ziling replied, Because of Xiaojies upation and your desire to learn gambling skills, which seems to be to deal with a certain person. Zaixia will no longer hide anything. Yin Xiaojis disappearance was closely rted to certain Jianghu secret society. When Yang Guang was still alive, this secret society was his hunting dog, specializing in the shady business of abducting women, running casinos and pleasure houses. Does Xiaojie understand what I mean? Ji Qians breathing became urgent, she looked at him in a daze for a moment, but she remained speechless, a clear sign that Xu Zilings words have stirred up a great shock echoing inside her fragrant heart. Xu Ziling candidly said, If Xiaojie has any load on your mind, do not hesitate to speak it out, as long as it is within my capabilities, I will surely aplish it for Xiaojie. Shaking her head, Ji Qian said, I never trust gamblers. Arent you a gambler? Not only that, you are the most brilliant gambler that I have ever seen. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You might not believe it, but I do not have the slightest interest in gambling. I learn how to gamble because I want to deal with someone from this secret society. How could I make Xiaojie to trust me? He had a faint feeling that somehow Ji Qian had information pertaining to Yin Xiaoji, she might even know her; therefore, he was hoping that he could persuade Ji Qian. Ji Qian spoke with a coldugh, How would I know that you are not someone sent by that secret society to sound me out? You are such a secretive person, from the beginning I never trust you; I loathe you. Feeling big headache, Xu Ziling frowned and asked, Who is the person that Xiaojie trust? Why should I tell you? Ji Qian responded in displeasure, The coincidences in this matter are chilling! Get lost for me! I dont want to see you again. Xu Ziling was greatly interested instead; he smiled and said, Xiaojie, please do not casually ask me to leave, everything can be carefully discussed. Who actually Xiaojie can trust? For example: Li Jiancheng, Li Shimin, or perhaps the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai? Ji Qians tender body slightly trembled, she looked him up and down again, as if she had just met him. Her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she asked, Do you know them? Xu Ziling replied, I just casually gave you a few examples, if Xiaojie is willing to tell me whom you trust, and by chance Zaixia knows them, then you could verify with them whether I am really a person that you can trust. Letting out a cold snort, Ji Qian said, You are not talking drivel casually. At least Hou Xibai cant possibly talk drivel casually. Very well! Go find Hou Xibai for me to verify that you are indeed innocent! Other things, I dont want to continue listening to you. Kou Zhong and Wang Xuanshu rode side-by-side up the Tianjin Bridge. At the bottom of his heart, he waspletely at a loss. Coming to Luoyang this time, was it a mistake? He originally thought that the useless Wang Shichong would, because he was facing a powerful enemy, ept his proposal, just like thest time they were dealing with Li Mi. Who would have thought that the actual situation was not so? He was also being drawn into Luoyangs own political struggle, so that he fell into the present no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation. Demonic schools attitude in wanting to deal with him, plus they want to deal with him quickly C was another worry, so that he could not focus his mind to deal with Li Shimins main forces pressing down on their territory. However, he already had his feet deep into the mud, so that he was without the freedom to act independently. The still-have-not-shown-themselves Da Ming Zun Jiao from outside the Great Wall was another secret concern; it could catch him off guard that he might fall into the danger of having himself killed. If right now he turned back and galloped out of Luoyang, what would happen? This idea generated huge attractive power in his heart, but he also knew that by doing this, it would be akin to giving up the struggle against Li Shimin, which would give his reputation an even graver blow. The pce gate was in sight. Clearly the guards were reinforced, the soldiers copper saucepan [used for cooking food by day and for sounding the night watches during the hours of darkness (in ancient times)] was tightened, brimming with tense atmosphere of mountain rain about toe. Wang Xuanshu leaned closer and spoke in low voice, Ifter on Fuhuang mes Shaoshuai for breaking into the Rong Mansionst night, I wonder if Shaoshuai could make a concession or two? I know that in his heart, Fuhuang is still relying heavily upon Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Relying heavily? Wang Xuanshu spoke seriously, I did not build words to curry Shaoshuais favor, since Shaoshuai honors us with your presence, our Great Zheng Armys morale is better than before, therefore, Fuhuang ignored Huangxiongs opposition and decided to have Shaoshuai participates in this mornings swearing-in ceremony. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Isnt it a military meeting? Howe it suddenly turns into a swearing-in ceremony? Wang Xuanshu spoke awkwardly, After the news of Xinan has fallen, the meetingst night has already reopened! Therefore, this morning it is only moving an army and sending a general [idiom], to set up their duties C meeting. Kou Zhong mused wouldnt it mean that even Yang Gongqing and Zhang Zhenzhou were rejected outside the Wang ns family and rtives meeting? With such an attitude, it would be strange indeed if the various generals of different surnames did not surrender to the Tang. What else could he say? As he followed Wang Xuanshu into the Imperial City, he began to realize that he had missed thest opportunity to storm off in a huff. Could he assassinate Wang Shichong? Xu Ziling hurriedly returned to the Passionate Nest. As he stepped into the halls door, not only his excited mood immediately cooled off, it even sank to the bottom. Shi Zhixuan, with his back to him, was leaning against the window, gazing at the small garden plot at one side of the courtyard, as if he did not know that Xu Ziling hase back. Xu Zilings scalp went numb, he stood by the door, and asked in heavy voice, Wheres Xibai? Shi Zhixuan replied indifferently, My disciple is very good, thank you for Zilings concern. Xu Ziling could not hear any sound from the inside, rage was welling up in his heart, he took a few steps forward and stopped behind Shi Zhixuan. Did you execute him? he asked coldly. Shi Zhixuan slowly turned around, the strange light in his pair or eyes was flickering, he looked at Xu Ziling up and down and said, You are very concerned about your friend, why arent you concerned about yourself? Xu Ziling secretly gathered his power and focused his spirit, so that his mind returned to its tranquil state. He said, Qianbei has not answered my question, is Xibai dead? Shi Zhixuan looked up to the sky andughed calmly. With his hands behind his back, he walked over toward Xu Ziling, straight toward his left side, as if he wanted to study the lines of Xu Zilings profile from the side; he said, I told you to go to Bashu to see Qingxuan, why didnt Ziling respect my feeling? Xu Ziling remained silent. Shi Zhixuan let out a cold snort of displeasure. He took several steps forward, so that back to back, the two were separated only by about a five-pace distance. Shi Zhixuan calmly halted his steps and spoke heavily, This is called wedding toast you dont want to drink, you drink as the result of having lost a bet. I, Shi Zhixuan, am able to move unhindered across thend under heaven, I have never been lenient to anybody I want to kill; however, remembering Qingxuan, I am giving you, Xu Ziling onest chance. You have to leave Changan within three days, otherwise, dont me me for being ruthless. Xu Ziling spoke slowly, word-by-word, Where is Xibai? Shi Zhixuans voice turned cold, he also spoke slowly, word-by-word, Idiot! Xu Ziling shouted coldly, spun around and sent out a punch to take the initiative to attack this most outstanding martial art master of the demonic school since the beginning of history, because he had no other choice; even if he had to die, he wanted to die in a powerful way, knowing full well that it was impossible but he still had to do it [Baidu says it was from Analects of Confucius]. Only by doing this he would not be ashamed to face his close friend, the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai in the Nine Springs [the underworld of Chinese mythology]. Book 47 1 – Seven Illusions of the Undead

Book 47 Chapter 1 C Seven Illusions of the Undead

Under the banner covering the sky, Wang Shichong, under escort of a group of high-ranking military officers with the same family name and generals and trusted aides who had been with him for many years C climbed onto the temporary structure to inspect the troops, which was built at the southern end of therge public square between the Imperial City and the Pce City. It was a wooden tform erected outside the Chengtian Gate to be used by themander-in-chief to personally move an army and send a general, to confer soldier tally1 andmander seal. On the public square, the number of Zheng Army participating in the swearing-in ceremony reached ten thousand, all were Wang Shichongs personal guards, the core force supporting Wang Shichong to be the emperor, hence everybodys morale was high, their fighting spirit was intense. Civil and military officials separately took their position on the appointed general tforms on either side, the total was more than three hundred men. With Wang Xuanshu eagerly leading him, Kou Zhong came to Zhang Zhenzhou and Yang Gongqings side. The three men looked at each other and smiled bitterly, knowing that under such circumstances, they could forget about assassinating Wang Shichong. After settling Kou Zhong down, Wang Xuanshu moved to the other side of themander-in-chief tform to join the ranks of his rtives, who were mostly from the Wang n. Sweeping his gaze around, Kou Zhong saw that the men who knew him, such as Tian Zan, Yang Qing, Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu, and the others were smiling and sending their greetings toward him; those who did not know him also nodded politely at him, which showed that among Wang Shichongs generals, Kou Zhong was no-one-did-not-know and a highly-valued figure. Zhang Zhenzhou leaned over and whispered in his ear, After the swearing-in ceremony, Wang Shichong might immediately send the army to Cijian, we must look for another opportunity. Although there were more than ten thousand people gathered at the public square, it was the crow and peacock make no sound; the atmosphere was stately, solemn and respectful. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward Wang Shichong, sitting quietly on the Dragon Throne on the stage. Standing behind him were more than a dozen martial art masters, his personal guards, with the honorable crown prince Wang Xuanying standing on his right side. What is Wang Shichong waiting for? he asked in surprise. Zhang Zhenzhou replied, He is waiting for the auspicious time, the good chen hour [7-9am]. He had not finished speaking, from the tower of the Chengtian Gate came the sound of the bell. The officers and soldiers cheered at the same time, their shouts rose straight up into the clear sky above the Pce City. Fully content with his achievements [idiom], Wang Shichong rose up to his full height, raised up his hands, waited for the cheers of the officers and soldiers to gradually subside, and then he loudly presented his oration, saying, Since the House of Sui copsed, the Tang rises up in Guanzhong, and the Zheng Emperor reigns in Henan, I, Wang Shichong, have never had any intention to invade the north. Nowadays Li Yuan orders his second son Shimin to invade our territory, desiring to destroy our homnd, they are indeed bullying us too much. Zhen [I (imperial use)] ept abdication and ascend to the throne and then he enumerated and sang praises to his own achievements and virtue. Listening to that, Kou Zhong shook his head. Just by listening to Wang Shichongs opening remarks, it was obvious that he still had the mentality of wanting to set up an independent regime and proim himself hegemon;pared to the Li n who made unifying thend under heaven their business, he was far inferior. No longer in the mood to listen further, he leaned over and whispered in Yang Gongqings ear, asking, Hows Cijians situation? Yang Gongqing also responded in low voice, The situation is critical, Li ns vanguard troops under themand of Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie already reached Xinan. They linked up with Luo Shixins rebel army and could advance toward Cijian any moment. All three of them were serving together under Li Mi, so working together is just like a fish back in the water. Luo Shixin also has deep understanding of what is true and what is false in our troops; therefore, this hard battle of Cijian is by no means easy to fight. A burst of grief welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; the first battle, and he already had to face his own friends Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin. Certainly Nature [as the mother of all things] was ying tricks on human beings. Smiling ruefully, he said, Why would Luo Shixin rebel against the Zheng and surrender to the Tang for no reason? At least he ought to wait until the Zheng Kingdom send out the troops under hismand unfavorably before surrendering; it wouldnt be toote, would it? Yang Gongqing replied helplessly, Why else but for Wang Shichongs paranoia repeatedly wearing him out? Originally Wang Shichong treated Luo Shixin extremely generously; afterwards, he saw other Li Mis former high-ranking military officers surrendered one by one, he no longer paid attention to Luo Shixin, he even ordered Luo Shixin to return to Luoyang, an obvious sign that he was going to send other high-ranking military officer to rece him in guarding Xinan. Thereupon Luo Shixin surrendered to the Tang in anger, resulting in Cijian being caught in critical situation. This moment Wang Shichong finished his oration. Led by the generals of Wang n, the Zheng army cheered together, Long live our Emperor! Great Zheng will prevail! Their shouts drowned the two mens conversation. The important moment of assigning military authority and functions has finally arrived. Xu Ziling finally understood what the without-any-w Shi Zhixuan really look like. Moreover, he directly experienced Shi Feixuans painstaking effort in thousand ways, a hundred ns to prevent Shi Zhixuans full recovery. In the Shi Zhixuan of the past, his shenfa remained a shenfa, his Bu Si Yin only cared about his Bu Si Yin, only both aspects were working together seamlessly. However, in the Shi Zhixuan now, the two different gong fa [skill/power method], which had been separated for a long fifteen-year period, finally converged again, forming one perfect and without blemish entity, no longer had the least bit of hole or w. Shi Zhixuanughed involuntarily. He appeared to bepletely oblivious of Xu Zilings punch directly attacking his face; he said, I wonder if Ziling knew that Bu Si Yin is merely one kind of brilliant illusion technique. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly, he secretly mused that if I, someone who has had many encounters with him, still could not see through his illusion technique, other people would not be able to see it even more. The Demonic King Shi Zhixuan was still standing in a rxed manner approximately half a zhang away from him, and it appeared that very soon Xu Zilings fist would st a big hole on his face, yet he waspletely unable to see how Shi Zhixuan was going to meet this contingency. Shi Zhixuan seemed to be there, but he did not seem to be there either; he seemed to be floating in and out between existences, where stillness contained within movement, and movement born inside stillness. Xu Ziling waspletely unable to grasp his next step. The without-any-w Shi Zhixuan ought to be like this. He no longer dared to continue his punch; pulling his fist back, he converted it into a palm facing outward, the other hand moving forward to meet it, two hands folding together to form a lotus flower, and then all ten fingers trembled like a wave, like a newly-bloomed lotus flower, quite like a mysterious strange posture that could release some kind of abstruse mysterious inner essence. In itself, this kind of alive lotus flower, simted with both hands C was also wless, it could simrly be considered Xu Zilings style of No Attack. Highly interested, Shi Zhixuan looked closely at Xu Zilings lotus flower hand image, which true or false was difficult to tell; emotionally moved, he said, I have never thought that this method can deal with Ol Shis Bu Si Yin, but it also makes me jealous of your talent, afraid that one day you might really seed. Ziling, dont me me for being ruthless, I have no other choice. His left hand stretched out forward, with a rapid-beyond-humanprehension technique he continuously drew nearly ten circles in front of his chest, big and small, in different angles and nes, odd and strange to the extreme point. Immediately the qi power sucked the air. Xu Zilings mind entered the Moon in the Well realm, his pair of eyes was fixed to Shi Zhixuans movements without blinking at all, he did not dare to miss the tiniest detail. Smiling, he said, If from the beginning Xie Wang [demonic king] is this straightforward, wont we need to waste so much lips and tongue? Shi Zhixuanughed calmly. He pulled the power from his left hand as if he wanted to put it behind his back, while at the same time the fingers on his right hand closed together to be a palm chop, following a certain mysterious, strange trajectory, like a spirit snake bored through a hole, urately passing through the center of each qi ring that he had just drawn in the air, with divine energy so marvelous that it was difficult to believe. Such an amazing move, Xu Ziling had never thought about, not even in his dream. More than a thousand brimming-with-destructive-power qi rings, all were hanging by Shi Zhixuans wrist. The edge of his right palm swiftly stabbed toward Xu Zilings lotus hand image, the target was the stamen at the center of the flower. This was the strongest point, but was also the weakest point. Xu Ziling had full confidence that he could take Shi Zhixuans palm strike head-on, but he was well aware that he could not cope with the more than a dozen brimming-with-destructive-power qi rings attack that would follow; therefore, the strongest point immediately sank down to be the biggest weak point. No one understood how formidable Shi Zhixuan was more than Xu Ziling; he has had many confrontations against him. Moreover, he had witnessed how he went all-out in dealing with Shi Feixuan and Zhu Yuyans joint attack. But that was still the Shi Zhixuan with the w, where the Bu Si Yin and the Huan Mo Shenfa had not merged like water and milk,pletely homogeneous like right now. Xu Zilings hands separated, but were swiftly closing together again. By the time the distance between the hollow of the palms was approximately half a chi, left and right palms separately shot a roll of qi power, which closed together to be spiraling sphere of qi, to meet the edge of Shi Zhixuans stabbing-over palm head-on. He was forced tounch this counterattack under no-strategy-left-to-try situation. Bang! Bang! The sound of shing qi power lingered on faintly. The qi power from the edge of Shi Zhixuans palm shocked Xu Ziling three steps back first, and then each qi ring jolted Xu Ziling one step back, while Xu Ziling continuously released more than a dozen spiraling spheres of qi, and by the time he blocked thest qi ring, Bang! His back hit the western wall of the hall. His throat tasted salty, he suddenly spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood. Surprisingly, Shi Zhixuan did not follow up a victory and press home the attack. He threw his head back inughter and said, Good! You used circles to defeat circles; fancy that you have this kind of ability. Since I woke up from the nightmare, I have brought together and integrated all the skills I learned my whole life, transforming theplicated into simple seven styles, which I call Bu Si Qi Huan [seven illusions/fantasy of the not dead]. This was the first huanfa [fantasy/illusion method], yi xu huan shi [using empty to respond to solid], taking its meaning from creating countless changes without attaching any importance to reality. You are able to only suffer injury without dying, it is extremely rare. Hearing that, Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air. After spurting out blood, the pressure of his internal injury was greatly lessened; also by relying on the Long-Life-Qis miraculous healing nature, he was able to maintain a strong fighting power. Shi Zhixuans remark entering his ear, he knew that not only Shi Zhixuan has recovered his original state before suffering the split-personality disorder, he even made a breakthrough by creating the marvelous skill of Bu Si Qi Huan. Just to block the first illusion, he was already straining; how was he going to withstand the other six illusions? However, he also had a vague feeling that it was part of Shi Zhixuans psychological warfare, he wanted to do everything to break his fighting spirit. If Xu Ziling was having the thought to run away, then he was falling into Shi Zhixuans trap. He definitely could not run away from Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Qi Huan. Shi Zhixuan appeared to be calm, confident and at ease, but the fact was that his qi power already enshrouded and locked him. Furthermore, Xu Ziling also understood that Shi Zhixuan had the ability to borrow the qi to look inside the enemy. Any changes of the true qi within his body, nothing could be hidden from him. Any changes that Xu Ziling made, whether to strike back or to escape, would only attract Shi Zhixuans focused deadly attack. Unfortunately, he could no longer peek into the opponents movement and stillness from the qi power contact, because in the without-any-w Shi Zhixuan, there was no longer any gap that he could find, there was no void that he could pry into. If he could not change this kind of situation, then today next year would be the anniversary of his death. Xu Ziling would rather face Bi Xuan than facing Shi Zhixuan. He quickly brought and maintained the true qi within his body to its peak state. Heughed calmly and said, Xie Wang, please bestow instruction! Shi Zhixuan revealed an astonished look. Frowning, he said, Ziling is this brilliant, you indeed exceed my expectation. Ay, you clearly know that if I cannot produce qi in a heartbeat, I practically cannot act ruthlessly. The qi power suddenly disappeared. Xu Ziling only felt empty and fluttering, an unbearable sense that he had nowhere to apply his power. Bad! he cried inwardly. It was as if Shi Zhixuan turned from being existing to being nothing, and then from being nothing he suddenly appeared five chi in front of him, with his right hand stretched out, the middle finger was jabbing at the space between his eyebrows. Within this short distance, Shi Zhixuans technique changed millions of times, he was creating a subtle, refined and amazing change every single instant. If he failed to see through any of these changes, he would be hit by the finger, and that would mean tragic ending of being defeated and perishing. And each change brought about an illusion, so that others could not tell which one was true, which one was false. Kou Zhong set off with Yang Gongqings troops heading for Cijian. Yang Gongqings original division had more than five thousand men, all were the soldiers and their younger generation who had been with him for many years. Even though Wang Shichong was mistrustful to everybody, he did not dare to shake Yang Gongqings force, such as recing Yang Gongqing with someone else, or other initiatives, because it would only provoke immediate mutiny. Yang Gongqing was originally a famous militia leader, whoter on defected to Wang Shichong; therefore, his status was special. This well-trained division, this army unit that has been through battles for a long time C was stationed at the east bank of Luo River, west of Luoyang. Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing rode lightly out of the city, struck the camp, and started moving immediately, to be Wang Shichongs vanguard unit heading for Cijian. Zhang Zhenzhou had another assignment; he was sent to defend Shouan, due south from Cijian. If Cijian fell, Shouan was the other strategic town most likely to be attacked. It was clear that in order to pacify these two most important high-ranking military officers, Wang Shichong, fully aware of the deep rtionship between the two, arranged to have Yang Gongqing nearby, so that if Zhang Zhenzhou was thinking of rebelling, he must think thrice. He was willing to let Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing be together, it was another brilliant move, because Kou Zhong was definitely someone who would never surrender to Li Shimin. Only it had never urred to him that Yang Gongqing was already considering serving under Kou Zhongsmand. In assigning military leadership duties, Wang Shichong was still relying heavily on the high-ranking military officers of the same family name, with the high-ranking military officers of different surname as deputies, with the Prince of Chu, Wang Shiwei, the Crown Prince Wang Xuanying, the Prince of Qi, Wang Shiyun, the Prince of Han, Wang Xuanshu, the Prince of Lu, Wang Daoxun, five generals defending Luoyang. The most important Ho on the east was the responsibility of the Prince of Jing, Wang Xingben. As for the neighboring important cities, Yang Qing was defending Guanchuan, Wei Lu guarding Rongyang, Wang Xiong guarding Zhengyang, and Wang Yaohan defending Bianzhou. Most of these high-ranking military officers were from the old Sui who came with him and became rted to him. For example, Yang Qings wife was Wang Shichongs niece. Another more special arrangement was to send the Prince of Wei, Wang Honglie to Xiangyang. Together with Qian Duguan, they jointly defended this Luoyangs most southerly military strategic city, which could correspond well with Zhu Can. The other powerful great generals, such as Duan Da, Shan Xiongxin, Bing Yuanzhen, Chen Zhilue, Guo Shancai, Ba Yegang, all were bestowed titles as various great generals C were serving directly under Wang Shichong. Even more formidable move was that Wang Shichong announced that only Lang Feng, Song Mengqiu, and another trusted aide, the high-ranking military officer Zhang Zhifang were the envoys qualified to transmit imperial order from him. This move showed Wang Shichongs rigorous schemes and deep foresight [idiom], to avoid the disaster of his defecting subordinates transmitting fake imperial orders. Yang Gongqing was proficient in the art of war, he divided his five-thousand-man division into front, middle, and rear, three armies, to correspond with each other. He also sent fast horses first to upy all high points along the way to Cijian, to ensure the safety of the marching army. Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing were riding side-by-side with the middle army, they both felt their enthusiasm waning, they were not in the mood to chat and joke around. Kou Zhong sighed and said, How much do Yang Gong know about this man, Wang Shichong? Knitting his brows, Yang Gongqing asked back, Which aspect are you talking about? Looking straight ahead, Kou Zhong was unable to see the head of the long line of troops and horses; he sighed and said, I am referring to his origin. Since he is a barbarian, why did Emperor Yang still put him in important position? I am not quite sure, Yang Gongqing replied, I only heard people say that his original surname was Zhi, but as for which Xiyu [western region] tribe he belongs to, I am afraid no one knows. When his Ol Die was little, he followed his mother who married a hegemon with the surname Wang, hence they changed their surname to Wang. As for why Emperor Yang still put him in important position, it should be rted to his skill in patting the horse buttocks [tter], right? Ha! Kou Zhong could hear the hatred and contempt for Wang Shichong in the tone of his voice, he sighed and said, In that case, why were you, Yang Gong willing to serve him? Yang Gongqings countenance sank; emotional stirring filling his heart, he said, He was not like this before, but since defeating the Dugu n, and then driving you away, furthermore, the big victory over Li Mi, his whole personality changed, and be even more hard to believe. If he had been like this in the past, I would rather kill myself than surrendering to him. And then he looked at Kou Zhong; his eyes shing, he lowered his voice and said, Is Shaoshuai saying that I need to save my strength as much as possible? Inwardly, Kou Zhong was shocked; he spoke in low voice, Are you thinking of turning around and slipping away now? This is ourst chance, Yang Gongqing replied, Shaoshuai just say the word. Thump! Thump! Kou Zhongs heart was leaping wildly, but then he shook his head in distress and said, If we slip away like that, I guarantee that Zhang Zhenzhou will be the first to open his city to wee the Tang Army, which would throw Wang Shichongs troop disposition into a big mess, he would be swept away by Li Shimin like bamboo split upon meeting the knife, and then how long is our Pengliang going to survive? Smiling bitterly, Yang Gongqing said, Its not that I did not think about these problems, its just that you want me and my brothers to throw our lives in for Wang Shichong, this despicable lowly man, its just too unworthy! Kou Zhong shook his head and said, We are not fighting for Wang Shichong, but for our own survival. I have another proposal that will take Yang Gongs feeling into ount better, which is, if we could force Li Shimin back to Xinan, we and Wang Shichong will take our separate way, separate route; what do you think? Have you been to Cijian? Yang Gongqing asked indifferently. Kou Zhong heard the singing to a string apaniment [i.e. education (a reference to teaching the people Confucian values by means of song in ancient times)], he knew Yang Gongqing was offering valuable advice; astonished, he said, Isnt Cijian the most important military strategic city south of Luoyang? Yang Gongqing sighed and said, Wang Shichong has always wanted to ally himself with Li Yuan to deal with Dou Jiande, hence he sent Dong Shuni to marry into Guanzhong to be imperial concubine, as well as to express his goodwill. Therefore, he did not build big defensive structure in Cijian. Strengthening the military defense between Cijian and Zhucheng was done after defeating Li Mi, therefore, the city defense of Cijian is far inferior to Ho and Xiangyang, its even not as good as your Pengliang City. The citys perimeter is only about a dozen li, it is located on a hilly in, without any natural barrier. If we want to beat back Li Shimin, we can only fight a decisive battle with him outside the city. Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air, musing that this time the number of troops Wang Shichong could send to Cijian, including Yang Gongqings soldiers, was only around thirty thousand men, the other troops must defend all other strategic points, to guard against the threat of the other four armies, not including Li Shimin, invading their territory. It was only then did he deeply felt Li Shimins brilliance in deploying his army; he was forcing Wang Shichong that he was unable to concentrate all his strength to face Li Shimins main forces attack. Yang Gongqing spoke heavily, The various generals of Li Shimins Tian Ce Fu are valiant beyond humanprehension, although the Dark [ck/mysterious] Armor Cavalry [the term here suggests that even the horses are wearing armor] under hismand is only around three thousand strong, they won the de as being the Celestial Soldier; mixed within the Tang Army, they often disy hard-to-estimate breakthrough power, Xue Ju and Liu Wuzhou suffered big loss because of this. In the battle of Cijian this time, Li Shimin has an overwhelming military strength. Also, due to Luo Shixins surrender, they know Cijian and our situation like the back of their hand. And then there is Xinan as reinforcement and supply source, Shaoshuai, what do you think our chance of sess is? Kou Zhong remembered his own Spearhead Battle Formation; if he let Li Shimins brave generals and Celestial Soldiers carryout the Spearhead Battle Formation toward the Wang Army, not only Cijian would be difficult to protect, out of the thirty thousand troops, how many would be able to escape back into Luoyang would also be a problem. Yang Gongqing continued, Therefore, if right now we immediately turn toward Pengliang, and then make an attempt before Li Shimins main forces pressing down on our territory to move one step ahead by capturing Jiangdu, it ought to be a sensible act. Kou Zhongs breathing turned heavy, it was quite a whileter that be spoke resolutely, We definitely cannot abandon Luoyang like this, because not only it will affect Bashus future, it would also give me the feeling that I am inferior to Li Shimin. In my opinion, the battle of Luoyang might be the only chance to make Li Shimin suffer defeat. In critical situation, I have confidence that I can persuade Dou Jiande to move to the south to help. My Shao Shuai Army can also use this opportunity to y a role. In the battle of Cijian, we must not shrink back; otherwise, if we take this one step back, there wont be a ce for us to die. What we are fighting is a war of attrition; Li Shimin put his troops into trouble by marching to remote regions. No matter how well developed his supply system is, his men will eventually be weary. And thus I, Kou Zhong, in this battle of Cijian, can prove to Li Shimin that I am not easy to deal with. Didnt Wang Shichong bestow me the title of some his Niangs Hu Jia Junshi [protector of ones good self military advisor]? Although Ick military power, on the battlefield, among thousands of army and ten thousands of horses, how could he not listen to me? Yang Gongqing threw his head back inughter and said, Very well! Everything will be done ording to Shaoshuais words. If your way of thinking is the same as mine, then you wont be the Kou Shaoshuai, whose name shook the world, whom nobody does not know. 1 From dictionary: tiger tally, a two-piece object made in the shape of a tiger, used in ancient China as proof of authority. One half of a tally could be issued to a military officer and this would be matched with the other half when verification was required. Book 47 2 – Seeking Life in Death

Book 47 Chapter 2 C Seeking Life in Death

Looking at Shi Zhixuans changing-endlessly finger jab arriving, the finger windpletely enveloping him, the strong and weak variation of the qi power in it continuously changing in a subtle way, which made it impossible to defend effectively, impossible to block, the first thought in Xu Zilings mind was to stick close to the wall and slipped away to evade. But was he going to deal with Shi Zhixuansing-one-after-another offensives? Now, looking on helplessly at Shi Zhixuans finger attack arriving, he still found it difficult to grasp the changes, much less when he retreated in panic. These thoughts flitted across his mind as fast as lightning or the spark from a flint. Xu Ziling sent out a palm strike, the angle was also changing continuously to cope with Shi Zhixuans ghostly, unfathomable mysterious technique. On the surface, the two men seemed to be two armies with equivalent banners and drums [idiom: evenly matched], but Xu Ziling knew he was led by the nose by Shi Zhixuan, because every single one of his changes was in response to Shi Zhixuans new changes, he was in an absolutely passive and disadvantageous position. When the finger and the palm were about to sh, Shi Zhixuan, under a near-impossible condition, waved and swept his long finger, but by the time Xu Ziling wanted to change in response, he already had no time. The fingertip swept the edge of the palm. Xu Ziling felt as if he was pounded by a ten-thousand-jin giant iron pestle, his entire arm, from the shoulder down, immediately went numb that he did not feel any pain. It was only then did he know that Shi Zhixuans one finger contained the concentrated demonic power of his entire body. He was forcefully swept that he tumbled to the right along the wall, while spewing the second mouthful of blood. Xu Ziling knew in his heart that he was in a bad spot; if he continued falling with the current momentum, it would be impossible, moreover, powerless C to parry Shi Zhixuans following up the victory and pressing home the attack. In critical situation, he was able to think fast, hurriedly he reversed the true qi within his body, which was driven by Shi Zhixuans finger power, unexpectedly, instead of falling, he rose up along the wall, his foot fiercely pushed back, he leaped diagonally from the wall toward the position of the main beam of the small hall. Shi Zhixuan moved his palm to chop horizontally, but he hit the empty space where Xu Ziling was standing just now, and stopped when it reached the wall, while still maintaining the same posture; it looked weird to the extreme, obviously Xu Zilings move was greatly beyond his expectation. Xu Ziling somersaulted three times in session, beforending in front of the window on the wall on the other side, with his back toward Shi Zhixuan. With each somersault, the Long-Life Qi in his body turned one cycle to treat his internal injury, so that by the time his feetnded on the ground, his right arm recovered its senses; it was now throbbing with pain. Outside the window, sunlight filled the whole sky, brimming with life and light. Compared to the murderous-aura-pervading-the-air inside the hall, it was like a totally different world. But it generated an enormous attractive power to Xu Ziling. If he bored through the window to escape, would Shi Zhixuan dare to chase and kill him on the thoroughfare, the big street, under the gaze of ten thousand eyes? Surprisingly enough, Shi Zhixuan did not attack; he just stared at his own right palm chopping an empty air. Laughing aloud, he said, The rear waves of the Yangtze River drive on those before [idiom: the new is constantly recing the old], even if Ol Shi does not want to admit that he is getting old, he simply cant. Ziling, do you think that you still have a chance of sess? Finished speaking, he pulled his palm back and put his hands behind his back. Turning around, he cast his gaze toward Xu Zilings back, who was standing facing the window. Xu Zilings divine light suddenly shed, Shi Zhixuan clearly gave him the opportunity to escape, and then, relying on his Bu Si Huan [undead illusion], before Xu Ziling leaped over the outside wall to escape, he would cut him off and kill him; otherwise, he would have continued to make his move. But why did he adopt such strategy? The only exnation was that due to the burning of both jade andmon stone, he had notpletely recovered from his injury, hence each time he made his move at full strength, he had to have a short period of time to gather his demonic power beforehand, otherwise it might affect his injury. This was perhaps Xu Zilings only chance of survival. Xu Ziling slowly turned around, remaining tranquil and calm, he spoke indifferently, That finger of Xie Wang, I wonder if it has a famous name? Still with his hands behind his back, Shi Zhixuan moved forward. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos he walked over to the round table in the middle of the hall and sat down. Casting his gaze toward Xu Ziling, he cheerfully said, That is the taking a part for the whole from the Seven Illusions. Ziling was forced to face ingenuity with ingenuity, exactly because you could not see through the logic behind the whole from the part. And then he sighed lightly and said, Ziling! Why dont you immediately embark on a journey to Bashu? As long as you are willing to make an oath that from now on you will live in seclusion in You Lin Xiao Gu [secluded forest in the small valley], and no longere out to the world, I, Shi Zhixuan will make an exception by letting you go. Xu Ziling sensed that Shi Zhixuan was speaking without meaning it; moreover, this was the first time he caught Shi Zhixuans real intention. Because based on Shi Zhixuans intelligence and wisdom, he ought to know clearly that Xu Ziling was not the type of person that could be intimidated by other people; if he really wanted Xu Ziling to go to You Lin Xiao Gu to apany Shi Qingxuan forever, he should not need to say thest sentence. Was it a sign that Shi Zhixuan was indeed stalling for time, so that without being affected by his injury, he could raise his power tounch another fierce offensive to kill Xu Ziling? The corner of Xu Zilings lips revealed a hint of disdain, the clothes on his entire body suddenly made rustling noise, it fluttered without any wind, his pair of eyes opened wide, bright and clear, he fixed his gaze on Shi Zhixuan, unwilling to miss any subtle movement, and spoke heavily, Is Xibai Xiong no longer in the world of the living? While speaking, he had one hand behind his back, the other hand stretched out in front, the hollow of the palm facing outward, while he continuously amassing and concentrating his power. Shi Zhixuan threw his head back inughter and said, I, Shi Zhixuan need not answer such a rude question. Although your talent is high, its a pity that your martial art skill has not reached the down to the smallest detail level,pared to Shi Feixuan you still fall short. I have nothing to say, give me all you got! Xu Ziling let out a cold shout, his right palm swiftly pushed, a sphere of spiraling qi power shot out from the hollow of his palm, traversing the approximately a zhang distance at thunderbolt-stimting-lightning speed, smashing directly toward Shi Zhixuans face. This was one-step advancement to his Treasured-Vase Image Qi, from one beam to one sphere, smaller than a fist, but more concentrated, even more difficult to withstand. This was hisst-moment creation being forced by Shi Zhixuan. After undergoing the cultivation beyond the Great Wall, whether in terms of xinfa and power, Xu Ziling had made remarkable progress. The Long-Life Qi plus the Jade Annulus of He n plus the strange qi of the Demonic Emperors Relics mixed and fused together into an integral whole, bing the true qi that never existed in ancient and modern times, which could follow his hearts desires, able to create myriad of changes. Shi Zhixuans words convinced him more that after repeatedlyunching killer moves toward him, it was very likely that this Demonic Kings internal injury had already been affected; therefore, he deliberately belittled Xu Zilings martial art skill, hinting that he was inferior to Shi Feixuan, but actually he just wanted to make Xu Ziling angry. Shi Zhixuan let out a cold snort, but he was still sitting motionless. Opening up his mouth, he spat out a beam of qi arrow to pierce the sphere. Xu Zilings right palm moving slightly, unexpectedly the Treasured Vase sphere changed direction. It curved outward first and barely evaded the qi arrow, and then it shot toward Shi Zhixuans left cheek. So brilliant that people did not dare to believe. Apparently Shi Zhixuan had never thought that after receiving injury twice in a row, Xu Ziling still had this extremely shocking capability. Finally he was unable to keep his chair steady, suddenly his body leaned backward, he made a flip and evaded the Treasured Vase sphere by a mere hairsbreadth, andnded on the other side of the hall. The Treasured Vase sphere stopped midair. Xu Ziling barely missed the qi arrow splitting the air, using a ghost or demon-like speed shenfa, he caught up and waved his palm, as light as a feather, seemingly without any strength at all, to smack the Treasured Vase sphere still floating in the air. The Treasured Vase sphere, as if it had substance, whistling through the air like a shadow attached to the form, also like a ghost who died of injustice and refusing to leave, chased after Shi Zhixuan, who was just about tond on the ground. The timing and the angle were grasped to perfection like seamless heavenly clothes. The moment Shi Zhixuan touched the ground was the precise moment the qi power attacked his body. Since the start of the battle, this was the first time that Xu Ziling was able to seize the initiative and the upper hand, but it definitely did note easy. If he had not seen through that Shi Zhixuans internal injury had not been healed, there was no way he would dare to stake all on one throw by condensing the power in his entire body into this Treasured Vase sphere and throw his life and death into this grand gamble move. The murderous aura in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes ring greatly, he let out a cold snort, and stretched out his finger to stab swiftly. The sphere of qi no longer flew in a straight line, it drew an arc in the air and mmed toward Shi Zhixuan. Pow! The qi power exploded, violent qi wind rolled out. No matter how formidable Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa, he was still incapable to neutralize such a highly concentrated and spiraling, itself became one entity, capable to repel outside qi, carrying extremely strong destructive force C qi power; therefore, he could only meet force with force, to stake it all in one move against Xu Ziling. It seemed like Xu Ziling was finally able to find a way to break the Bu Si Yin Fa, too bad it could only be used while Shi Zhixuans internal injury had not beenpletely healed, because with Shi Zhixuans exceptional demonic power, under normal circumstances, he would be able to easily block his sphere of qi head-on. And then, due to excessive wear and tear in his true qi, he would be unable to continue, and his defeat woulde even quicker. Meeting the finger, Xu Zilings, standing nearly two zhang away from Shi Zhixuan, entire body was severely shaken, and he spewed out the third mouthful of blood since the battle started; he staggered and fell backward. Shi Zhixuan also let out a miserable groan, his countenance turned white, he flew at angle backward, and Whoosh! he slipped through the window and shed into the sunlight-shines-over-all-things world outside. Bonk! Xu Ziling fell on his butt on the ground, his entire body lost its strength, he spurted out another mouthful of blood. Xu Ziling was awakened by the sound of the door opening. By this time the boiling true qi within his body has calmed down, he was entering the gradual recovery process. Hearing the noise, his entire body rxed, because he recognized Hou Xibais, whose life or dead was unknown, unique footsteps. Pushing the door open, Hou Xibai caught sight of Xu Ziling sitting cross-legged on the ground, while there was blood everywhere in the hall. Shocked, he pounced behind Xu Ziling and pressed his palm to his back, injected his true qi, and asked in horror, Who was so formidable that unexpectedly he was able to beat Xu Ziling and make you look like this? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling replied, Who else but your Shi Shi? Hou Xibai said, If it were Shi Shi, Im surprised that you can still breathing here, alive. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Wanwan guessed correctly. Your Shi Shis internal injury has not yet recovered, otherwise, I would be lying on the ground instead of sitting on the ground. We dont have much time. Once his power recoverspletely, you and I will not leave Changan alive, therefore, the grand n condemn the Xiang Family must proceed at top speed. Hou Xibais handsome countenance sank, he spoke with a frown, ording to your estimate, how long will it take Shi Shi to recover? Xu Ziling replied dejectedly, Your Shi Shi is like a deep and immeasurable well; knowing full well that his internal injury has not healed, I still failed to grasp his foundation. Obtaining Hou Xibais true qi helping him treating his injury, Xu Zilings countenance and the condition of his injury were improving greatly. Xu Ziling said, This is called mistakes have mistakes move [referring to a move in a game]. I thought you were ughtered by him, hence disregarding the consequences, I took the initiative to attack first, otherwise I do not dare to imagine the situation even more. Touched, Hou Xibai said, You should have taken the initiative to escape instead, Shi Shi definitely did not wish to rm the Li ns people, hence fleeing to the street would have been a lot safer. Before, I was an expert in sleeping, I could fall asleep as soon as I climbed into the bed, but now I lost that ability, so I had no choice but to go everywhere looking for information, in order to pass the time that I should have used for sleeping. Hey! I suspect that Yang Xuyan already left Changan, but I dont know where he got lost to. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, This kid appears and disappears unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, his tracks secretive, you did not see him does not mean that he is not in Changan. Hou Xibai took his hands off Xu Zilings back, he moved in front of him and sat cross-legged. Smiling, he said, The man of the mountain has his own brilliant scheme. In Xiao Yangs [little Yang] garden, there are several tree stumps that he personally sprinkled with water to grow poisonous flowers and grass. These past couple of days, it was his servant doing it for him. Can you guess where this kid went? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, How would I know? Hou Xibai spoke with serious expression, My guess is he is going to Luoyang. Shocked, Xu Ziling echoed, Luoyang? Hou Xibai said, I have a very high confidence that Xiao Yang is going to Luoyang, and that he is under Shi Shis order to go to Luoyang to assassinate our brother, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, because you havee to Changan. If you are by Kou Zhongs side, Yang Xuyan absolutely have no opportunity he could exploit. Xu Ziling spoke confidently, In the trip outside the Great Wall this time, Kou Zhong made major breakthrough in his saber technique, Yang Xuyan wanting to kill him, hes just being carried away by his wishful thinking. Hou Xibai said, I dont have full confidence like you. Yang Xuyan is the best assassin in the world today, and assassins sess is by seizing the fortunate timing. Under normal circumstances, naturally he cannot do anything against Zhong Shao, but imagine the following scenario: all the cities surrounding Luoyang have been captured, Li Shimin is leading his troops in violent attack against Luoyang. Dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety, day and night Zhong Shao is defending the city, in the end his muscle is weary his strength exhausted. And the preserving-and-nurturing-his-spirit Yang Xuyan took the advantage while the city is in chaos, the moment where the fire beacon is covering the sky, to dress up as a city guard, he gets close to Zhong Shao Gasping for breath, Xu Ziling said, No need to continue, turns out you, this kid, can tell a story with vivid image and living sound. But why would Shi Zhixuan want to kill Kou Zhong? Shao Shuai Army and Wang Armys copsing, what benefit is it to him? Hou Xibai sighed and said, Shifu is an expert in crisscrossing the world unhindered; oftentimes his speech and intelligence are more formidable than magnificent army with thousands of men and horses. Although his nature dictates that he is not a talent to crisscross the battlefield unhindered, but talking about tactics and tricks, not many can match or even surpass him. The past few days I constantly ponder what he said to me before, presumably he was giving me the outline of his strategy. In my opinion, even if I did not hit the target spot on, I shouldnt miss too far, hence the reason I was able to guess that Yang Xuyan is going to assassinate Kou Zhong. Just now he was trying to kill you, this has confirmed my thought. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, How are we going to solve this problem? Hou Xibai muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, his expression showed that he was deep in thought. He spoke slowly, Shi Shi is a person with deep ns and distant thoughts [idiom: to n far ahead], in the past he used scheme to topple the Great Sui, it is inconceivable that he did not have any follow-up move, and his follow-up move is precisely Li Yuan. Moreover, he already grasped Li Yuans character and weak points, thus he consecutively nted two important chess pieces by his side, which are Yang Xuyan and Yin De Fei. Xu Ziling nodded and said, His assessment on Li Yuan is very urate. Li Yuan has now be the hegemon most likely to unify the world. The only obstacle is Li Shimin. If Li Yuan is not going to go against his promise to establish Li Jiancheng as his heir, your Shi Shis heart and blood willpletely flow down the east stream. That being the case, since there is Yin De Fei, why did he want Dong Shuni to enter the Tang Pce? Hou Xibai spoke heavily, Because Yin De Fei failed to give Li Yuan a son in his old age, the child that Dong Shuni is about to give birth precisely filled this gap. As for whether the baby is really Li Yuans child, only Dong Shuni knows. Yang Xuyans attempt to kill Zhang Jieyu was precisely his means to help Dong Shuni striving for favor. Xu Ziling was still somewhat puzzled; frowning, he said, These spections of yours are reasonable and fair, but what does it have to do with eliminating me and Kou Zhong? Naturally they are closely rted, Hou Xibai replied, The sooner the Li n obtain the world, the more favorable it is for Shi Shis plot. The most ideal scenario is that during the battle to capture Luoyang, Li Shimin died in battle, so that Li Yuanji would receive the benefit of Li Shimins outstanding military service, because if the battle for the unification of the world drags on for a long time, Li Shimins importance might continuously grow. If Shi Shi can control Li Yuan, the remaining Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji would turn to fight each other, and then Shi Shi would have the opportunity that he could exploit; he could fish in troubled water and be the recipient of Lis Tangs world. At that time, if he supports Dong Shunis son as a puppet emperor, puts the imperial wives and concubines in the government,bined with the Holy School as powerful backing, who could resist him? Xu Ziling had no choice but to nod and said, That is certainly not impossible. Hou Xibai was excited; he said, Although there are still a lot of details that we havent figured out, but what really happens should be more or less like this. Therefore, the person that Shi Shi has misgivings the most should be Kou Zhong; first, because his saber technique is unrivalled, under normal circumstances, unless Shi Shi personally makes his move, no one can put him in order. Furthermore, because he has the support of the Heavenly Saber Song Que, one of the people Shi Shi has most misgivings. Even if Shi Shi, via Jiancheng and Yuanji, seeds in eliminating Li Shimin, Kou Zhongs power to strike back must not be lightly underestimated. Also imagine the following situation: the fight between Shimin and Jiancheng, Yuanji bes a fight between Yuanji and Jiancheng, and then Kou Zhong, acting on Li Shimins behalf, being outraged by injustice C would send a punitive expedition against the Li Family, which he consider it the call to fight the Holy School. Since he obtains Ci Hang Jing Zhai, Song Que, Tuli, and the others full support, what do you think the situation will be? In the first ce, various generals of Tian Ce Fu would all rally on Kou Zhongs side, right? Xu Ziling sighed and said, I want to stop by Luoyang. Ay! Should I advise Kou Zhong to withdraw from this strive for the world, or should I ask him to continue? Will you tell me? Hou Xibai shook his head to indicate that he was powerless; he said, Why dont you be the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan again to enlighten Li Yuan, this sentimental and stubborn old man? Xu Ziling said, This matter, we must not act blindly without thinking; lets not say that Li Yuan might not necessarily want to listen to Yue Shan, this kind of minding other peoples business is not Yue Shans character at all. Reasonably speaking, Yue Shan ought to be on his way to Lingnan to challenge Song Que. Hou Xibai said, If you are going to look for Kou Zhong, what happen to our mission here? Are you saying that I should pretend to be the missing Situ Furong? Unlike you, Xiaodi is not as eager to study pawnshop business. Xu Ziling said, If I hasten on with the journey and travel day and night, round trip ought to take about five, six days, and when I am back, I will no longer be Xu Ziling but Situ Furong; so whats the problem? You really have the confidence that you will be able to leave Kou Zhong in Luoyang and disregard him? Hou Xibai asked. Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted abstruse emotion, but the tone of his voice was extremely tranquil as he said, Now is not the time to attend to personal gains and losses; since Kou Zhong already made his own choice, he will have to face his destiny due to the said choice. What I am most concerned about now is the well being of themon people of the world. They have had enough suffering; they can no longer withstand destruction. If we let your Shi Shis plot to prevail, the world will continue to be in chaos I dont know until when? I must stop this from happening, and I hope to be clear about your position. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, I alreadyy the contents of my heart on the tray, yet you are still unclear about my position? Ay! Honestly, only until just now, when I knew you, LaoGe, disregarded everything for my sake in life and death bloody battle against Shi Shi C that I made this decision. Before, I made up my mind not to get involved in Shi Shis affairs; he wanted to kill me, thats enough! Xu Ziling reached out to grab his shoulder, saying, I must now immediately rush to Luoyang. Other things, such us contacting Li Jing and Chen Fu, I am asking you to do it for me. Remember, this is no longer for personal honor and disgrace, but it is concerning themon people of the world. If the chaos in the Central ins continues, the day when the Tujue main forcesing to the south will be the moment our nation destroyed, its people reduced to be ves. Hou Xibais pair of eyes emitted resolute expression, he nodded with firm determination and said, Zilings word is mymand. Recalling Ji Qian, Xu Ziling thought that this matter would be dealt with when he came back. Book 47 3 – Friends and Foes Difficult to Tell

Book 47 Chapter 3 C Friends and Foes Difficult to Tell

Marching must be prepared for war, stopping must establish strong camp. After three days of marching, Yang Gongqing and Kou Zhongs five-thousand-man vanguard troops finally reached Cijian. The defending general of Cijian, You You Ji Da Jiangjun [the Right Gueri Warfare (lit. roaming strike) Great General] Guo Shancai went out to meet them in great delight. After some discussion, they decided to build the camp leaning against the city wall, in order to strengthen the defensive power of Cijian, but also because with their back on the strong city walls, they could defend against danger. Thereupon they selected the lying-supine moon camp, which was offensive in nature; themand unit was located in the middle army position, their strength was two thousand men, and then the left and right, two wings, each had one thousand five hundred men, were positioned facing the in. They dug trenches in front of the lying-supine moon camp, a zhang and a half deep, two zhang wide at the mouth, a zhang and a half at the bottom. Because the mouth was wide and the base narrow, the enemys troops and horses falling inside would suffer greater injury. At this time the Tang Army has not begun to besiege the city, they only set up wooden stockade on the higher ground, on the hills about two li outside the city. They carried outrge-scale construction in preparation before Li Shimins main forces besiege the city; the estimated strength was between ten to fifteen thousand men. Yang Gongqing and Kou Zhong led their personal guards to the front line to observe the enemy. They stopped at the top of a small hill about half a li away from the enemy camp to look into the distance at the enemys strongholds situation. The sun was setting over the western hills, the heaven and earth was hazy. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, Just by looking at the enemy campsyout, we can tell that Luo Shixin, Qin Shubao and Cheng Zhijie are talents in the art of war. Its a pity they defected to Li Shimins side, otherwise, if they were willing to work for me, the odds of sess would be greatly increased. Kou Zhong nodded his agreement. The key to the setting up the camp was to achieve the two major military objectives, namely strong self and holding the enemy at bay. Not only it must be a military stronghold where the campsite and themand center, the supply station for army provisions and weaponry were shielded and their security was ensured, it must also upy strategic point to control the enemy, to block the enemys entry. The opponent was able to upy the higher ground and to pick the strategic pass, building their stronghold among the four passages of Cijian and Xinan, two cities; not only it posed a threat to Cijian, it also made them unable to advance toward Xinan to recover their lost territory, precisely in deep agreement of the method to build the camp: select the location first essence. On Yang Gongqings other side, his number one trusted aide, the young great general Ma Chang said, They are setting up square camp arrangement; looking at theyout, it should be able to withstand attack from any direction, moreover, within itself, it is able to provide assistance to each other, reaching the key points of a camp within the camp, a troop within the troops. If weunched offensive to them, we would fall into their trick and certainly would be extremely weed. Kou Zhong examined the enemy camp, which extended on a higher ground, continuous for nearly half a li. Inside the camp, cooking smoke sprang up everywhere. He faintly saw enemy riders galloped out of the forts gate, pointing at them from a distance and talked among themselves. He smiled and said, Attacking the camp is a bit better than attacking the city. Huh? Arent those Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin? Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang focused their eyes and indeed they saw that surprisingly, among the ridersing out of the forts gate, there were Qin and Cheng, two men. All kinds of emotion welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, thinking secretly that if these two brothers led their troops to attack, would he turn his head and walk away, or would he rely on his skill and saber technique to take this opportunity to kill these two fierce generals within their magnificent army with thousands of men and horses? Thetter thought made him shiver all over though not of cold; how could he harden his heart to have this intention? Ma Chang shouted in low voice, They areing! Far away at the gate of the stronghold, Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin stepped out of the crowd and urged their horses to gallop down the hill, they spurred the horse to full speed and rushed straight toward the small hill where they were standing, without taking even half of their attendants. Yang Gongqings team of nearly a hundred personal guards immediately tensed up, their hands pressed on their sabers, swords, and bows, only waiting for their leader to issue the order. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly; he spoke in heavy voice, You must not make your move. They trust me, Kou Zhong; I am going to see what they have to say. Pressing the horses belly, he ran down the slope to meet them. Yang Gongqing and the others stayed behind. The two sides rapidly approached each other. From a distance, Cheng Yaojin already shouted, Good kid! Unexpectedly you lower yourself to be the vanguard of Wang Shichong, that [emailprotected] You still have the face to see us? When the two sides got near, they reined their horses to stand facing each other. From the horseback, Qin Shubao leaned over to grab firmly Kou Zhongs both hands; his expression grave, he said, Good brother,e to our side! Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, It seems like you recognized me only today? Cheng Yaojin urged his ride toe to Kou Zhongs other side, his right hand reached out to grab his left shoulder, and spoke angrily, Believe it or not, I am going to waste you, his Niangs! At that time you told us how to rebel against Wang Shichong, and now you stick up your butts to surrender to and work for Wang Shichong, what kind of hero or real man are you? Frowning, Qin Shubao said, Old Cheng, let go of your dirty and stinky hand. We all are brothers, how could you use violence as soon as we meet? If you provoke Shaoshuai, I guarantee thatter on you would go to the battlefield with only one arm, when you visit a prostitute, you wouldnt be able to show off your fancy move like before. Kou Zhong blurted out in loudughter; he said, Dont speak that seriously, I will definitely not hit back. Still angry, Cheng Yaojin pulled his big hand back, but he could not refrain from shouting another round of vulgarnguage. Qin Shubao sighed and said, Its not that Old Cheng and I dont understand your situation, its just that working with Wang Shichong, that kind of despicable lowly man, there cant be any good oue; we are worried for you. Cheng Yaojin spoke indignantly, Relying on your insignificant several tens of thousand Shao Shuai Army, of which at least half are children who only fit to suck their mothers breast at home, you want to shake our Great Tang Army head-on, you are practically overestimating your capabilities; if you dont believe me, juste to our camp to take a look. Although Kou Zhong was constantly being chewed-on, even insulted by Cheng Yaojin, not only he was not offended, a warm friendly feeling welled up in his heart instead; smiling ruefully, he said, Since that is the case, why didnt you guyse to help me stirring up my Shao Shuai Army, but went to throw your lot with Li Shimin, that kid, and now you came to tell me I am in the wrong? Qin Shubao spoke in displeasure, How can you me us? At that time your Shao Shuai Army was not really an army, the situation was unfavorable, plus we respect deeply Li Jing as a good man with the high aims of saving the nation and relieving the people, a man of character who stands up in the world, who wants to do something big and powerful. Cheng Yaojin let out a cold snort, he continued with heavy voice, Looking around the Central Earth, who could surpass Qin Wang as an expert at appointing people ording to their abilities [idiom], open-minded and magnanimous. If you recognize the opportunity, you would roll over toe to our side; together we will smash Wang Shichongs eggs. Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, If the Great Tangs Taizi is Shimin instead of Li Jiancheng, Xiaodi might consider two LaoGes suggestion, because after all, Xiaodi has been a brother to Li kid. However, the one who really has the authority to make decision in the House of Tang currently is Li Yuan, and the legitimate heir is Li Jiancheng, that scoundrel [orig. muddled egg]. Dont me me for scaring people with frightening words, once your master lose his value, that will be the moment the birds are gone, the bow is put away. If you dont believe me, set your insight far into the future, see if I am guessing incorrectly. Qin Shubao sighed and said, We already know you cant be persuaded! But I wonder if you could withdraw from this battle of Luoyang, because Wang Shichong practically has no chance. Luo Shixin and Li Jinxian already surrendered to the Tang, could it be that it still fail to give you a clear enlightenment? Cheng Yaojin turned around, he grabbed the bridle of Kou Zhongs horse, panting with rage, he said, Come! Lets go to our ce and take a look. This is not the first day that you, little Kou Zhong, mingle among the army, you should have eyes to see who has a better chance. Kou Zhong was shocked; pulling the rein, he said, Old Cheng, you seem to forget that I am the enemy that your Tang Army want to behead? Cheng Yaojin angrily said, Who do you think I am? Since I dare to invite you back into the camp, naturally I can guarantee your safety. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, You are not afraid Li kid might me you for having secret ties with the enemy? Qin Shubaoughed aloud and said, If Li Shimin were that kind of failing-to-see-therger-issue [idiom] muddled-egg, we would not have swallowed and ept wholeheartedly [orig. submitting on the mouth and in the heart] and threw our lives in for him. His Niangs! You, Kou Shaoshuai obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way, well settle this matter on the battlefield then! But brothers are brothers, at least we must drink and eat our fill of yellow soup first before staking it all in you die, I live battle. Kou Zhongs heroic spirit rushed forth violently, he said, Very well! But let me go back first to speak to Old Yang, and then Ille with you to see whether everybody in the Great Tang Army actually has three heads and six arms, and impervious to sword and spear. Ha! The earth gradually darkened. Xu Ziling sat on the southern bank of a section of the Yellow River on the Guanzhong in, staring nkly at the sun disappearing below the horizon, his heart was filled with his thoughts and feelings. He could still see the faint shadow of the sails of the three big ships that have gone far, one of the fleets bringing the army provisions and other resources, unendingly delivering them out of the Pass to supply the huge army. No matter how abundant the Li ns state treasury was, how full to overflowing their granary, in a war that wouldst over many years, with the most recent being the battle of Baibi C it would definitely consume most of the Li ns grain storage. The House of Tangs military system was recruitment of able-bodied men in time of war, which removed their armor and returned to the farm in peacetime, to engage in productive activities. Other than personal guards of various aristocracy and great generals who were in active service throughout their life, other people served in rotation. For example, this time they dispatched more than a hundred thousand men on military expedition outside the Pass, that means in term of production capability, they also lost more than hundred thousand able-bodied men; naturally there would be a great impact to farming and harvesting. Moreover, if these soldiers, who would be too busy to support production, had to support years of war, the impact on peoples livelihood would be too extreme. Even though Guanzhong was rich, its people would inevitably had to pass tight days where they had to save on food and clothing, and in those areas far from Guanzhong, peoples livelihood would wither even more, on top of that, there would also be loss of life, destruction from the fire of war, and the defeat and dispersion ofw and order. Indeed the damage of war made people not daring to think too deeply. When would all these things stop? Xu Ziling suddenly had an intense feeling of wanting to see Shi Qingxuan. Shi Zhixuan wanted to kill him, it was in order to unify the demonic school, but would he be heartless enough to kill his own only daughter? On this, he was no longer certain. One after another touching scenes of his first encounter with this beautiful woman, the time when he first made friends with her C emerged in the ocean of his mind; her beautiful rear figure at the ancient temple, their dialogue over the screen partition at the deste mountain hut, the breathtakingnterns along the long street during the Mid-autumn festival in Chengdu, her Xiao ying near the window at Duzun Fort. He really wished he could just discard everything and rush to You Lin Xiao Gu to protect her, to nicely guard her standing-aloof-from-worldly-affairs heaven and earth, and no longer pay any attention to the continuous ugly killing and fighting in this secr world. But right now he simply could not spare his time for a separate task. There were simply too many matters before his eyes that urgently needed to be settled. Fortunately, Shi Zhixuans serious injury had not healed; moreover, he had to deal with the demonic schools affairs, so he, Xu Ziling, still had some time. After all these things were settled, he would immediately rush to the You Lin Xiao Gu. But would he really be able to resolve all kinds of implicating, extensive, tangled andplicated difficult problems that entangled him? Looking from the outside, it was already a solemn and deep ambience, the appearance of an army at its peak; entering the strongholds gate, the strong defensive power of a solid army camp could be felt even more. They used wooden fence as partition, higher elevation as natural barrier, trench and moat opened up on the outside, ramparts were set up in the inside, equipped with caltrop [Tribulus terrestris], weeds [Chenopodium album] and bamboo sticks, deeply grown deer horn, reinforced by powerful crossbow. As long as there was no shortage of food and water, even if Wang Shichong exhausted his main forces to attack this army camp, he would still have to spend a great deal of time and effort, as well as to pay a very heavy price. The Tang Army inside the camp found out that theirmander-in-chief invited the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world, back into their camp, immediately the entire camp was in an uproar, but due to the extremely strict discipline of the Tang Army, no one dared to leave their post or the work at hand; they only could not help looking at him from afar, both in awe and with strong hostility. Merely this situation has made Kou Zhong feel apprehensive;pared to this, his former Shao Shuai Army was only like a sheet of loose sand. Without any better option, he hoped that under continuous training from Xuan Yong, Bai Wenyuan, and the other high-ranking military officers proficient in the art of war, they would now look more like it. Stepping over the fort gate and into the main troops-and-horses road leading directly to the centralmand tent in the middle of the camp, Qin Shubao spoke in low voice, A month ago Old Cheng and I already sneaked here to survey the terrain and make advance preparation for our Great Tangs Army. Qin Wang entrusted the two of us the heavy responsibility; one, because we are familiar with the Wang Army, two, because we have friendly rtions with Luo Shixin, but more importantly, because Qin Wang has absolute trust toward us. Such a bright ruler is worthy for us to repay by offering our life in sacrifice. Inwardly Kou Zhong was grateful. Without trying to avoid suspicion at all, these two invited him into the camp to look around, it was because they wanted to make ast effort in persuading him to surrender to the Tang. But each family has its own familys problem, he had no choice but to steel himself to reject their good intention. Tonight, everybody was still a brother, but tomorrow they would be enemies who wanted to put the other side to death by all means. On the other side, Cheng Yaojin said, Merely selecting this location we had to go through deliberations over and over again. It must not be too far away from Cijian, but too close would be vulnerable. The so-called chosen location to station the troops cannot seek benefit while avoiding harm, a ce to drive away ten thousand crowd while throwing oneself to death, not a ce where disaster would pass over naturally. This is not the first day that Shaoshuai came out to mingle and roam, looking at our hands and feet [i.e. subordinates], none is not a carefully selected outstanding warrior. As for Wang Shichongs subordinates, no need for me to say it, everybody knows what kind of trash they are. Qin Shubao continued, In the punitive expedition to the east this time, Qin Wang personally supervise the selection process. The troops selected by Qin Wang have a set of criteria. First, they must have a spirit of courage, second, must have physical strength and speed. Those who are intelligent without guts, when facing the enemy would seek their own benefit. Those with skill without guts, when facing the enemy would forget their skill. Those with strength without guts, when facing the enemy would be timid, and those men will lead the way to defeat. The three were talking and walking at the same time, wherever they went, none of the Tang army in the camp did not cast sidelong nces. Cheng Yaojin said with a sneer, All of Wang Shichongs soldiers are conscripted and surrendering troops, their hearts are on their separated family, they only look after their own interest. Our Great Tang adopts governmental military system, everybody has a family and a job, their household register is clear-cut, they fight for the protection of their homnd. Not only they will fight bravely, they will also obey military discipline. Laodi [ol younger brother] is proficient in the art of war, naturally you know soldiers, its a pity that you are standing by the side of Wang Shichong, that idiot who does not know soldiers. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Wang Shichong couldnt be that bad, could he? The three came to the open space in front of the main tent. The guards shouted their salute together, in a neat and uniform manner. Qin Shubao stood still and spoke with a cold snort, How can Wang Shichong be considered someone who knows soldiers? Sun Tzus Art of War has sayings: use soldiers to achieve victory, use control to achieve victory. And it must govern powerful and vigorous army. Knowing soldiers, one must understands how to use people. There are a total of six writings: who talks about assigning virtuous person and not the chief among the troops? Among the talents in the world, there are enough people to be useful in one generation. No one does not suffer in life, and suffering does not know people; not suffering means does not know people, yet suffering and knowing people are useless. Knowing but not put it to good use is akin to having none at all. This way one can throw himself in the right direction, just like the hand is using the fingers. If Wang Shichong really knows people and put them in good use, Old Cheng and I might stay by his side and fight side-by-side with you, Luo Shixin also would never offer the city and surrender. His grannys, how much more do you, this kid, want us to talk before you wake up from your dream? Kou Zhong noticed that all the Tang Army that he encountered, everyones morale was high, their fighting spirit flourishing, inwardly he was already apprehensive, plus the more the two men talked, the more they were speaking bluntly. However, he knew that all good medicine tastes bitter, each sentence was the truth. Sighing, he said, Governmental military system is really not without any weak points. At least for Qin Wang, there is one extremely unfavorable point, which is the generals are not specialized soldiers. Once the war is over, generals andmanders go back to the imperial court, governmental soldiers go back to the government. Governmental soldiers cant possibly serve under a fixmander-in-chiefsmand, it is even more difficult to vow loyalty and devotion to a certain person, so they can only take responsibility for the country. Therefore, it does not matter how unrivalled your bright ruler Qin Wangs military service is, how unequal he is on the battlefield, once he is no longer a general, it will be difficult to resist Li Yuan. If Li Jiancheng cast his to obtain martial art masters from the inside and outside, he will be ughtered regardless. I wonder if two LaoGe have ever thought about this aspect? After a short pause, he went on, Its not that I want to be Wang Shichongs hunting dog, but I want to borrow him to let my Shao Shuai Army buy some more time. How many times you want me to tell you so that you will understand my difficulties. Scolded by him, Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin looked at each other with bitter smile, they shook their heads helplessly. There was the sound of a team of men and horses galloping over from the other side of the camp. The leader was a well-built high-ranking military officer, his countenance handsome and grand, brimming with self-confidence. Still some distance away, heughed aloud and said, Shixin ising to see Shaoshuai, I have the honor to meet you atst. Finished speaking, he, along with the various generaling with him, leaped off their horses and came over toward the three. Cupping his fist, Kou Zhong said with augh, Turns out the great famous Luo Shixin Jiangjun; Xiaodi has already heard your distinguished name. Noticing that Kou Zhong did not say anything about him rebelling against the Zheng and realigning his allegiance to the Tang, good impression grew in Luo Shixins heart. Rushing over, he grabbed Kou Zhongs hands and spoke in sincerity, Working together with Wang Shichong is like scheming with the tiger for its skin, plus Shaoshuai is the man Qin Wang holds in the highest regards, if you could change your mind to help us, certainly you would receive deferential treatment; Shaoshuai, please think thrice. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Your good intention is much appreciated. Its a pity that Xiaodi has different way of thinking. As for the details, you could inquire of these two brothers of mine, whom up to this point are still my brothers. Luo Shixin let go off his hands in disappointment. He looked at Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin, but the two could only respond with helpless, bitter smile. Frowning, Luo Shixin said, Please forgive me for speaking frankly; war is two sides military power pitting oneself against the other, city defenders against the troops assaulting a fortified position, approaching the front line to kill each other, everything depends on the morale of themander-in-chief. Now Wang Shichong appoints member of his own clique, only putting the high-ranking military officers of the same family name in important positions, the soldiers have no fighting spirit, Kou Shaoshuai is a smart man, how could you throw away your life together with him? Qin Shubao spoke indignantly, Those who dont get along well with the country must not send troops; those who dont get along well with the troops must not send troops disposition; those who dont get along well with the troops disposition must not go to war repeatedly; and those who dont get along well with the war must not fight decisive battle. How much more lips and tongue Shaoshuai wants us to spend? Cheng Yaojin spoke heavily, Wang Shichong is not fair, theres no integrity that can be said. Without integrity, there cant be harmony with the people, ultimately he will only end up nursing a grievance. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Are you actually inviting me to drink wine, or to mock me and chide me? From among the generalsing with Luo Shixin, a man stepped forward; he came behind Luo Shixin, pressed his hand on his sword, and shouted, No more good words to speak about, Shaoshuai still shows no understanding of the times, let Xiao Jiang [little general] ask advice of your brilliance, to see if Shaoshuais fame is the same as the reality. Everybody, Luo Shixin included, was stunned by this mans recklessness. With angry look on his face, Qin Shubao scolded him, Ruan Qing, get the hell out of here, roll away as far as possible. I am not defending my own brother, but I want to protect our Great Tang Armys morale; I dont want to give Shaoshuai the opportunity to perform for no purpose at all, and thus throw our armys heart into disorder. Get lost! Ruan Qing was greatly startled; he looked at his chief, Luo Shixin, his face alternated between red and white, extremely awkward. All eyes were focused on Luo Shixin, they wanted to see how he was going to handle this situation. Luo Shixin spoke indifferently, Qin Jiangjuns order is the same as my order. I dont want to see you again. The blood on Ruan Qings face was drainedpletely; ashamed with no ce to set his foot, he saluted, turned around and went away. Luo Shixin acted as if he had done an insignificant thing; unconcerned, he said, Disrespecting ones superiors, not knowing ones own capability, any one of these is already viting thew of heaven. This kind of person does not need to be minded. Kou Zhong had no choice but to revise his estimate toward this future enemy. Cheng Yaojin reached out to put his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder, he said, The skys falling is tomorrows problem, tonight we drink until his Niangs delight. The most ideal will be to get you so drunk that you lie down on the couch and miss the battle of Luoyang. Ha! Happy and excited, they all went into the tent. Book 47 4 – Cutting Weeds and Eliminating the Roots

Book 47 Chapter 4 C Cutting Weeds and Eliminating the Roots

Kou Zhong returned to the camp. The top and under the city walls were brightly lit, defensive works, such as digging the trench and so on, were still progressing under the illumination of torches, it did not stop due to the arrival of the night. The most eye-catching was the construction of eight wooden guard towers surrounding the camp, each about five zhang high, the top had two floors, with eight archers standing guard on each floor. Ma Chang was directing his men in doing the work, seeing Kou Zhong returning, he could not help asking, Did you fight with them? Huh? Did Shaoshuai just drink wine? Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around his shoulder and pulled him toward the main tent. He said, The fight will happen sooner orter, but not tonight. Your nose is very good, I only drank three cups! Astonished, Ma Chang said, Li Shimins militaryw has always been extremely strict, no alcohol in the army, where did the wine supplye from? Kou Zhong cheerfully replied, It was Old Cheng, that fellow, who buried thest jar of his wine collection in the ground before they built the camp, ha! His Niangs! Therefore, during the erection of themand tent, this fellow had to personally supervise it, it must not miss even a hundredth fen [unit length, approx. 1/3cm]. Me and Old Qin, Old Cheng, and Old Luo, four men hid inside the tent, drinking wine in secret, it was so much fun and exciting. Ma Changs emotion was touched, he said, Should be simr to when I was young, hiding in the room at night, reading banned books. I wont see you off! Da Jiangjun [great general] is in themand tent, tonight we must be 120% alert, based on Luo Shixins usual style, he would mount sneak attack tonight and burn several tents just as a military show of force, to demonstrate that our military strength is a notch below his. Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont worry! Old Luo must give me a bit of face, no matter what. Not that he and I have any kind of friendly rtions, strictly speaking, he ought to look at my Moon in the Well, small-scale attacks will only give me small advantages for nothing. Ma Chang showed a look of deep reverence; he saluted in respect and said, Shaoshuai is right, Mojiangpletely agree. Kou Zhong lifted the tents curtain and went in. Yang Gongqing, his body armor and helmet were removed, was sitting on the ground with a small table on both his left and right; the small table on his left had a sandalwood burner, so that the entire tent was full of fragrance, on the table on the other side, there was a pot of hot tea and several cups. The great general was rxing. Seeing Kou Zhong came back, he smiled and said, Come! Have a cup of hot tea first! Kou Zhong sat down by the tea table, he epted the cup that Yang Gongqing poured for him and said with augh, I never thought Yang Gong still know how to enjoy life on the battlefield. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, Sandalwood and fragrant tea are my unique secret recipe to eliminate tension. For me, sleeplessness is the real big taboo for military experts. Later on I will have to relieve Ma Chang for the next shift, how can I do that if I do not rest and rx a little? Kou Zhong said, Yang Gong, please feel free to sleep his Niangs until the sun is three-pole high; about the next shift, let me take it on your behalf. Yang Gongqing shook his head and said, Outside are the younger generations and soldiers who have been with me for many years, if they found out that I amzing around and did not share the delight andmon hardships with them, their hearts will be very uneasy. Anyway, whats the result of your talk? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, What could be the result? The House of Tangs leader is Li Yuan, the Crown Prince is Li Jiancheng. Letting out a cold humph, Yang Gongqing said, Li Jiancheng! Noticing the zing hatred shooting out of his pair of eyes, Kou Zhong knew that he was recalling old enmity; changing the subject, he said, But Luo Shixin is indeed a talented fieldmander with both courage and intelligence, he is not easy to deal with. His gaze fell into the deep green tea inside his cup, inwardly he was severely shaken, because he had just realized that he was in an extremely dangerous situation, because he had just lost his confidence to ovee Li Shimin. Wang Shichongs ignorance and stubbornness in thinking that he was clever was really beyond Kou Zhongs expectation. His falling out with Dou Jiande disrupted Kou Zhongs troops disposition even more, and then after Li Shimins victory at Baibi, he still had enough strength toe to the east. Xinan was lost due to Luo Shixin surrendering to the Tang, coupled with various generals of different surnames plotting to assassinate Wang Shichong. The Zheng Kingdom was beset with difficulties inside and outside, it was just like a sinking ship, giving Kou Zhong the dejected feeling like he was a lone log of wood trying to support everything. On top of that, earlier Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin were doing their best to pull him into the Tang camp, he deeply felt the strict discipline, as well as the high morale of the Tang soldiers, how the Tang generals worshipped and were willing to die for Li Shimin, which destroyed his barely remaining fighting spirit even more. If he kept this kind of mentality, the battle of Cijian would be undoubtedly lost. Inwardly Kou Zhongs entire body was covered in cold sweat. In the past, whether it was great battle among magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, or a one-on-one duel against powerful enemy to determine victory, he could use the weak to defeat the strong, entirely relying on his own confidence and enormous will to fight, with which he was able to maintain his Moon in the Well realm, fusing the art of war strategy and saber way into one, and bringing it out to the extreme saturation to strive for victory. Therefore, he must now recover his confidence to bring about impossible result within the impossible, disadvantageous situation, to regard the battle among magnificent army with thousands of men and horses as a game of chess, only then would he have the hope of victory. Yang Gongqings words entered his ears, Naturally Luo Shixin is not easy to deal with, but how could Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin be easy to deal with? Tomorrow, when Wang Shichongs main forces arrive, if I do not guess incorrectly, Wang Shichong will force us to attack their camp for him, sacrificing arge number of our men for nothing. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, What a big idiot! He was about to continue, Ma Changs voice came from the outside of the tent, Mei Huji [beautiful Hu (barbarian) woman] seeks audience with Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing exchanged a nce. Please let her in, he responded. Ma Chang said, She wishes to see Shaoshuai outside the tent. Knitting his brows, Yang Gongqing spoke to Kou Zhong, Go see what she has to say. Be careful, she has always been Wang Shichongs people. Kou Zhong patted Yang Gongqings shoulder, telling him not to worry, and then he lifted the tents p and went out. Ma Chang said, Shaoshuai, please follow me. And then he turned around to lead the way. Ling Longjiaos beautiful shadow appeared at the perimeter of the camp. Kou Zhong reached out and lightly patted Ma Changs shoulder, saying, Ma Jiangjun, go back to work, let me deal with her. After Ma Chang epted the order and left, Kou Zhong walked over toward Ling Longjiao. Since that night, where she set the Rong Mansion on fire to help him escape, he had not had any contact with here. But for some reason, this moment unexpectedly he felt a bit strange feeling like there was some distance between them. Possibly because he was affected by Yang Gongqings remark, or perhaps because of the expression showing on her eyes as she looked at him. The two finally stood face to face. The light from the stars and the moon added some mystery to this beautiful womans smart and pretty jade countenance. Come with me! Ling Longjiao spoke in low voice. Unleashing her shenfa, she darted into the darkness outside the camp. Immediately Kou Zhong followed closely behind. They rushed toward the mountain wilderness along the rolling hills more than a dozen li northwest of Cijian. There was a stream inside a dense forest, quietly reflecting the moonlight in the sky above. Ling Longjiao sat down on a big t rock by the stream, she also motioned him to sit next to her, before speaking indifferently, Li Shimin already disembarked from the Yellow River. If they march all through the night, they will be here tomorrow. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, That kid ising so fast. Turning her head at him, the strange light in Ling Longjiaos pretty eyes flickered, she said, His fleet consists of eighty big ships, but only forty-threended on the shore, the other ships continued to sail eastward. My estimate is that Li Shimins strength is between thirty to forty thousand men, possibly the other group is going to attack Luoyang. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, The troops on the other forty ships wont go straight to Luoyang; rather, they are deployed to attack the outlying cities around Luoyang, most likely Huiluo city on the south bank of the Great River, northeast of Luoyang. Not only it supplies Luoyang with the much-needed grains, it is also the fort connecting Luoyang with the Great River. If they capture Huilou, they could link the city with Heyang on the opposite bank to seal the Great Rivers waterway to the west, and thus seize control over the Great River. Moreover, they could use it as the reinforcement base to attack the other granary, Luokou. From there, they could advance to Ho. Li Shimins move this time is really formidable. Casting her gaze toward the flowing water of the stream, Ling Longjiao spoke softly, I only hope that this battle of Luoyang will end quickly. Surprised, Kou Zhong asked, Are you hoping Wang Shichong would win, or lose? I dont want to think about it, Ling Longjiao replied impatiently. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Have you talked with Wang Shichong about the Da Ming Zun Jiao? Ling Longjiao was suddenly emotionally moved, her breathing grew faster, she shook her head and said, Dont ask me. The battle of Luoyang, no matter who wins who loses, I have aplished Niangs instructions. Now I just want to go back to my hometown, no longer pay anybody any attention, I wont care about the Five-Colored Stone even more, since it is beyond my ability anyway. Kou Zhong knew that she must have had a big quarrel with Wang Shichong, hence she became this downhearted and frustrated; he spoke softly, If Jiao Xiaojie wants to leave, why dont you leave immediately? As long as I, Kou Zhong, dont die, one day I will get the Five-Colored Stone for Xiaojie, and deliver it into Xiaojies hands. Ha! I also want to visit Qiuci. Sighing lightly, Ling Longjiao said, This is not the time for me to leave yet. Finished speaking, she rose up to her full height. Kou Zhong apanied her standing up. He asked in surprise, Is that all you wanted to tell me? Shrugging her shoulders, Ling Longjiao replied, Isnt that enough? Originally I was looking for Yang Gongqing, but since you were there, I could not help speaking with you a little bit. Just tell it to Yang Gongqing for me, all right? I am leaving! Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, Where are you going? Ling Longjiaos beautiful eyes emitted nk expression, she shook her head and said, I dont know. Be careful, Wang Shichong is harboring malicious intention toward you. Kou Zhong watched as her figure disappeared into the depth of the dense forest. Sighing inwardly, he was positive that Li Shimins main forces were heading toward Cijian. Tomorrow would be a difficult day. Under cover of the night, Xu Ziling attached himself to the hull of arge ship transporting military supplies, to sneak out of Tongguan via the waterway. When he was out of the Pass, he abandoned ship and went ashore to rush toward Cijian. His original destination was Luoyang; fortunately he eavesdropped the guards on board and found out that Li Shimin was leading his main forces to attack Cijian, hence he changed direction. Shi Qingxuans beautiful image continuously appeared in his mind, while Shi Feixuan seemed to be an unattainable distant ce. The reason could be because he was afraid of Shi Zhixuan, but the higher possibility was because of his concern and his longing for Shi Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuan was the first woman that he fell in love with. Not that he was without affection toward Shi Feixuan, but due to her special status, he had no choice but to intentionally suppress any feeling involving love between a man and a woman, hence his reverence to her has always been greater than the romantic love between a man and a woman. It was not until Longquan, a ce brimming with exotic vor C that his painful longing toward Shi Feixuan erupted like uncontrobleva and nearly got out of hand. With Shi Qingxuan, however, there was no obstacle like Shi Feixuan. Moreover, this good-looking and intelligent beautiful womans attractive power was not inferior in any respect to Shi Feixuans. Plus she seemed to treat him favorably, and was willing to perform her Xiao art for him, letting him to watch her flowery jade countenance. On top of that, Xu Zilings pained and bewildered life experience also made it difficult for him to control his emotion. But when Shi Qingxuan clearly stated her true feelings, it was like a bucket of cold water being poured onto his head, so that he made up his mind at that moment to do his best to forget her; otherwise, he would not have the love he felt toward Shi Feixuan in Longquan. Shi Feixuan already retuned to Jing Zhai, it was extremely possible that she would never set foot on this mortal world anymore. Longquan has be a memory, which he would never forget for the rest of his life. After returning to the Central ins, especially when he was in Changan, when he was facing the threat from Shi Zhixuan, he constantly remembered Shi Qingxuan, as if his heart, like a withered tree, dead and became ashes, wasing back to life. Would he ever fight for himself? If he strived hard, would he be able to move Shi Qingxuans fragrant heart, to let her put down her intention to spend herst years at the corner of the world somewhere? Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, he smiled bitterly in his heart. Each family has its own problem. He was well aware that in the affair between men and women, he would never grab the initiative to strive for anything. That day in Longquan, if Shi Feixuan has uttered the word to sever all rtions with him, there was no way that their spiritual love would continue. He did not want to force anybody to do anything; even if he had to bear the greatest pain, to pay the heavy price of only having a shadow in his heart for the rest of his life, he would still bury the pain deep at the bottom of his heart. This was his at-home-wherever-one-is [idiom] character. Shi Feixuan was able to see this spot on. Ay! Why couldnt he change for the sake of a woman that he admired? Was he really an idiot? The first light of dawn appeared on the eastern horizon, a new day finally descended on the mother earth. Right this moment, he heard the sound of a womans tender shout and the shing weapons,ing from the forest about a li away to his left. Hurriedly he raised a mouthful of qi and rushed over at top speed. In the dim early morning light, Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing climbed the arrow tower in their camp to look at the enemys situation from a higher elevation. Li Shimins main forces wereing continuously from the northwest to enter the big camp. Luo Shixin, Qin Shubao, and Cheng Yaojin divided their troops three ways and advanced toward Cijian, where theyid out defensive battle array to prevent the enemy fromunching an attack, taking advantage while Li Shimins main forces disposition of troops had not steadied their footings. Kou Zhongmented, Were it not for Luo Shixin and others building the fort in here and be an obstacle,st night we could haveunched surprise attack to Li kid, to give him a shock. Shaking his head, Yang Gongqing said, Li Shimins style of work has always been stable and steady, he always thinks everything through with meticulous care, he would never give the enemy the opportunity to mount a sneak attack on him. Looking at it now, we are already caught in the passive position that can only wait for him to attack, to see how long we canst. Kou Zhong was shocked; he knew that Yang Gongqing has lost his confidence and his will to fight, just like he himselfst night. If he could not arouse his fighting spirit, most probably before Wang Shichongs main forces arrived, Cijian already could not be defended. Laughing calmly, he said, How could that be the way to achieve victory? Offense is the best defense. Currently Li Shimin is sending the remainder of his strength after the battle of Baibi to the east, their morale is high. If they feel that we are timid, it will only increase their haughtiness, so that they will be even more unstoppable. Now Yang Gongqing was really shocked. He looked at him, and spoke in astonishment, Shaoshuai is not thinking of relying on my five thousand soldiers to take the initiative to challenge the opposite sides more than fifty thousand military power, is it? Kou Zhong burst into loudughter; revealing a strong confidence, he nodded and said, Why not? Li Shimins main forces barely got here, plus they were jolted and bumped on the waterway, plus they traveled at double speedst night, they have not even had time to eat breakfast yet. This moment, only Old Luos troops are able to meet the enemy head-on. We are not without a chance. As long as we fight his Niangs hard battle, we can prove that the Tang Army is not terrifying at all. Only then will we be able to suppress the enemys haughtiness while stirring our sides morale at the same time. Otherwise, if we give the Li Army one day to recover, and Wang Shichongs reinforcement will arrive only tonight, it will be very difficult for us tost until tomorrow. Smiling wryly, Yang Gongqing said, Shaoshuais analysis makes a lot of sense, but just the number of Old Luos troops is already three times ours; if we could not withstand their military power and had to retreat to Cijian, the consequences will be even more unimaginable. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns. Currently, Old Luos troops only deployment is to defend against our attack on Li kids body weary, strength exhausted expeditionary force; furthermore, they never expect that we dare to dispatch our troops to attack him. Therefore, if we dare to send troops, we already be the wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly (in a raid or ambush)]. In frontal confrontation, naturally we would have to pack our food and leave before finish eating. But openly, our target is the Li Army, yet in the dark, it is a tactic against the Luo Army. As long as we follow my brilliant scheme, we could avoid the important and dwell on the trivial, and lead the enemy by their nose. Although big victory is not possible, small victory can be expected. As long as we could give Li kid a shock, our goal is already achieved. Expressionless, Yang Gongqing thought for a moment. He nodded and said, Shaoshuais battle strategy is indeed different from others, it is extremely daring even more. Lets do it. Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in Yang Gongqings ear his marvelous-like-the-heavens-opening n. The moment he was facing Li Shimins main forces pressing down on his territory, hepletely recovered his usual self-confidence. The two men and one woman fighting fiercely on the open space outside the forest were all known to Xu Ziling. The two men were the Extinguished Fire Kuo Jie and the Vicious Wind Yang Mo of the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Five Kinds of Demons. The woman was the Beautiful Barbarian Woman Ling Longjiao. She was under attack from both sides, who carried out killer strikes, so that she was forced to block to the left and evade to the right, danger seemed to grow without restraint, her tender body already bleeding in many ces, it looked like it would be difficult for her tost longer. Anger welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he increased his speed while umting the power in his entire body. The Extinguished Fire Kuo Jies double sabers and the appearing-quite-schrly-and-handsome Yang Mos long sword were interweaved into an inescapable, so that no matter how Ling Longjiao strived to break the siege, the sword momentum still forced her inside the narrowing space, rendering her unable to escape. She could only rely on her superior lightness skill to repeatedly escape the opponents killer moves. Kuo Jie was the first to catch a glimpse of Xu Ziling approaching the battle arena with astonishing speed. He had never met Xu Ziling; although he knew that the other side was not easy to deal with, he still did not show any fear as he said, Go deal with him! Yang Mo pulled his sword and pulled back, he turned to meet Xu Ziling flying out of the dense forest. The night is long, the dreams are many, quickly take her down, he cried out. Kuo Jie let out an evilughter, his double sabers moved like rainstorm to attack Ling Longjiao. Thetter saw the neer was Xu Ziling, immediately her spirit was greatly aroused, unexpectedly she took the opponents offensives one by one. The sword in Yang Mos hands turned into a violent lightning shooting toward Xu Ziling; his power abundant, he was worthy to be a figure within the Five Kinds of Demons. If even Shi Zhixuan was unable to do anything to him, why would Xu Ziling take Yang Mos attack to heart? He stopped abruptly, as if his body was nailed onto the meadow. Immediately Yang Mos countenance changed. Not even in his dream did he ever imagine that somebody could, brought by his momentum while dashing swiftly,pletely without any warning, stop as soon as he wanted to stop. Therefore, hepletely missed his calction, while there was not enough time to change move, and the only thing he could do was to brace himself to continue his momentum to stab toward the enemys chest. Suddenly Xu Ziling charged forward again, as if he wanted to use his chest to meet the sword. But suddenly he pressed on to Yang Mos left side and waved his palm to sweep across the de. A burst of irresistible force pulled Yang Mo forward that he staggered and fell. By the time he realized that the enemy was using borrowing-force-to-discharge-force technique, it was already toote for regrets; he lost his bnce and could only stare nkly as Xu Ziling spun around andunched a surprise and violent attack toward Kuo Jies back. Yang Mo knew better than anyone else that Kuo Jie definitely was not going to see tomorrows sun. This thought arose in his heart, he immediately converted his falling down momentum to continue rolling forward, he wanted to run away as far as possible, to leave as fast as possible, to flee for his life, leaving Kuo Jie behind. Book 47 5 – Win a Victory on Raising the Flag

Book 47 Chapter 5 C Win a Victory on Raising the g

Amidst the sound of the battle drums, Yang Gongqing personally led his main forces of three thousand men out of the camp, swiftly entering the battlefield of the enemys camp on the in west of Cijian, forming the situation where they were face to face with the enemy. Just like Kou Zhong expected, Luo Shixin of the middle army immediately raised his banner, the drums and the bugles were sounded at once, the atmosphere grew tense. At the same time, on the two wings, Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojins armies were also moving, carrying with them the overwhelming military strength superiority, like a wheel rolling over on a praying mantis, taking advantage while the Yangs army has not steadied their battle formation, they rushed forth toward the luring enemy. Both armies had infantrymen with spear and shield at the front, with the archers at the rear, followed by mobile cavalry. If the infantry could impede the enemys offensive, then the cavalry would be able to attack from any direction. This moment the wings were spreading out at the same time to attack. By the time they were shing with Yang Gongqings advancing army of three thousands men, Luo Shixins middle army would strike directly from the front, relying on superior number to smash Yangs army in one move, and then they would proceed to force the defeated Yangs army back into the camp, and they would then destroy the camp, and straight toward the city of Cijian; perhaps they would be able to capture Cijian just like that, as easy as blowing off dust. They were not afraid that in this luring-the-enemy tactic Luo Shixin would not fall into the trap. This moment, Yang Gongqings three thousand strong army stood outside the camp in squads of five soldiers each, arraying themselves in ranks, along the length and the breadth, adopting the crescent moon formation, where the halberd and shield wielders at the front and the bow and crossbow wielders at the rear. The crescent moon shape had its sharp points facing the opponents middle army. Except for Yang Gongqing and his eight generals conducting the troops from horseback, the rest were uniform infantry, all wielding big shields, which were taller than them. The bottom of the shields was shaped like a sharp awl, which could be inserted into the ground three chi deep. With the aid of spear, halberd, arrow, and dart, they were unafraid of the enemys warhorses smashing against them. Two armies fighting each other, there were four crucial factors to victory, which were troops disposition, momentum, changes, and power, with battle array at the top of the list. In a two-person duel, which side has more brilliant skill would be able to score a victory. Two armies battling each other, the emphasis was the strength of physical cooperation, which dependent upon the method of troops disposition, to achieve producing endless changes, either lying low or rising up, appearing to be whole but actually iplete, appearing to be in disorder but is actually orderly;ing together bing a troop formation, scattering around also bing a troop formation, marching also bing a troop formation, hence the enemy do not know why we are retreating, restraining they do not know why we are advancing. Only then would they be able to put their strength in full disy. Therefore, on the battlefield, the key element was not individual courage and strength, but it depended whether the troops had controlling power, themands from the high-ranking military officers became the crucial point of victory or defeat even more. Yang Gongqing was a famous general, veteran of a hundred battles. As soon as he agreed to Kou Zhongs n, he immediately set aside the fear of the enemys overwhelming military strength, and put out the battle array most able to deal with the situation before his eyes, to unyieldingly and obstinately meet the enemy head-on. Kou Zhong and Ma Changs cavalry took advantage of the gap while the enemy had not yet finished their deployment, to move out of the two exits from the camps left and right nks, and positioned themselves as Yang Gongqings left and right wings, forming an advancing-could-attack-retreating-could-defend, brimming-with-mobility threatening force, coordinating well with Yang Gongqings full-defensive position like the sun and the moon corresponding each other, reflecting each other. Kou Zhong led one thousand strong elite cavalry unit as Yang Gongqings right wing. His mind entered the Moon in the Well realm; he observed the Qin Army and the Cheng Armys advance and approach with cold eyes. Guo Shancai, on top of Cijians city wall, ordered the city guards to get ready, with trebuchets and crossbow vehicles disposition in waiting. If the Yang Army was no match for the enemy, they would retreat back into the camp in an orderly manner, and then they would be able to put their huge supporting force in full disy. But if they were beaten by the enemy and scattered in a great mess, naturally it was a different matter altogether. The moment when the men and horses of the two sides were approaching each other, the atmosphere on the battlefield was like a stretched-taut bowstring, the battle could happen at any moment. Last night, Qin Shubao, three men were not tooting their horn. The Tang Army was indeed well trained elite soldiers. Just by looking at the battle array method with which they were advancing, able to allow disposition of troops among disposition of troops, squads among the squads, the corners andgging-behind parts linked together in good order and not in confusion, everybodys pace was uniform, generating a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses momentum C it was enough to make the enemys guts trembling. Amidst the sound of the battle drums, the enemys two forces advanced to a distance of two thousand paces. The bugle horn from the middle army showed that Luo Shixins middle army was beginning to move, corresponding to Qin and Cheng, two armies approach, increasing the pressure and threat toward the Wang Army. Nevertheless, Kou Zhong remained calm without any fear. Since one sichen before daybreak, Li Shimins main forces were starting to arrive, during this same one sichen of time Luo Shixins vanguard army had begun to organize their perimeter defense to guard against the enemys surprise attack. By now, it has been nearly three sichen; not only theycked sleep, they had been working hard, plus they had not had any breakfast. Meanwhile, although Yang Gongqings troops took turn to dig the trenches and set up defenses, but the work waspleted before the third watch of the night [23:00 C 1:00]st night, so they have had enough rest. Therefore, they were now the troops that had preserved and nurtured their spirit, and had eaten until they were full. Dealing with the other sides weary-and-hungry-from-the-journey troops, as long as they could withstand their first round of offensive, as soon as the opponents lost their acute edge, he, Kou Zhong, would immediately seize the favorable situation. Therefore, currently he used defense in ce of offense, but when the time came, he would turn to offense in ce of defense. It was simr to from No Attack he changed to Striking Strange. The art of war and saber technique were really not two different things. The drumbeats grew in intensity. Qin and Cheng, two armies shouted in unison, from advancing slowly they changed into walking forward swiftly along with the rhythm of the drum, from both wings they charged toward the enemy. Immediately the wind and the cloud [fig. unstable situation] changed color, murderous aura filled the atmosphere. When the two armies were rushing to more than eight hundred paces distance, the bugle horn was sounded again. From behind, a team of nearly two-thousand-man cavalry rushed out, circled around the outer side, and then from the outside they coordinated with the infantry to attack together, the rise and fall of the hoof beats rumbled over the whole in, the momentum was terrifying. Far behind the enemy ranks, Li Shimins main forces stopped the process of entering the camp to rest, they turned left to the in in front of the wooden stronghold to set up their troops disposition. Only by looking at the rising high, pping in the wind, flyingmander banner, they knew that Li Shimins good self has arrived to boost the morale of the troops and horses from his side. Throwing his head back, Kou Zhong let out a longughter and said, Its time! Sound the horn! Ma Changs one-thousand-man cavalry responded to the bugle horn, they galloped toward Kou Zhongs troops. The middle gate of Cijian city was opened wide, the drawbridge was lowered, Shang Zis defending troops rushed out. Inside the camp, defensive lines were set up around the arrow towers and around the trenches. The shouting and killing noise intensified, the drumbeat turned urgent, the enemy troops changed from fast walk to running urgently, like two waves of tide, with shield-wielding soldiers at the front to cover, they charged and broke through enemy lines. The enemys riders from outer left and right sides sprinted toward the nks of their own infantrymen. The theater of decisive battle over Cijian finally raised its curtain. After nearly a sichen of Xu Zilings treatment using Long-Life Qi on Ling Longjiaos injury, Ling Longjiaos internal injury waspletely healed. She just expressed her gratitude in low voice, and then she fell silent; apparently she had a lot of loads in her mind. Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward Kuo Jies dead body lying face down on the ground. The one inflicting heavy injury was he, Xu Ziling, but the one killing him was Ling Longjiao, who struck back with hatred. Da Ming Zun Jiao people had done bad things to the extreme; Kuo Jie had only himself to me, even his death could not wipe out his crimes. By this time, he had already guessed Ling Longjiaos lot in life seventy-, eighty-percent, he knew that she was unwilling to reveal the load on her mind to him, yet he could not help feeling pity. He asked, Guniang has always beening and going alone, your whereabouts is hidden, yet they must have real skill to be able to connect the dots. Guniang must double your vignce against their follow-up moves. Ling Longjiao spoke coldly, Only because they knew that I was going to see Kou Zhong that they were able to lie in ambush outside the camp to wait for me. Next time they can forget about getting this kind of opportunity again. And then the tone of her voice turned gentle, she cast him a nce, and then said, Can we go into the woods to continue talking? Her voice carried a bit of beseeching overtone, so that Xu Ziling could not bear to brush her off, he nodded his head to indicate his agreement. The two sat down at the edge of the dense forest, leaning against a tree. The scorching sun outside the forest was like fire illuminating the mother earth, but they were hiding under the dense shade, enjoying the cool and moist air of the forest. Ling Longjiao broke the silence, but she was speaking absent-mindedly, How could it be so coincidental? Xu Ziling knew she had a load on her mind, and that she was hesitating whether she should reveal everything to him, thereupon he said, I was going to see Kou Zhong, and Guniang had just seen him, therefore, we came across each other. Ling Longjiao revealed a both-mentally-and-physically-exhausted expression, which provoked his pity. Lightly shaking her small cicada head, she said, This is not a coincidence, rather, it was dictated by fate, because Niang in another world bless and protect me. Ay! I wonder if falling in love could be very hard, love could be very exhausting! Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly. He replied, On this, my personal experience is not deep, I do not have the ability to answer this question for Guniang. Ling Longjiaos beautiful eyes looked deep into his eyes, she spoke solemnly, I want to tell you something, but only you alone may know, you are not allowed to tell Kou Zhong. Inwardly Xu Ziling was shocked again, realizing that the man she took a fancy to was precisely that kid, Kou Zhong. Smiling wryly, he nodded his head and said, If it is Guniangs private matter, is it all right if Xiaodi is excused from getting involved? Ling Longjiaos two eyes turned slightly red, she hung her head down, and then with voice as tiny as a mosquitos she said, You already guessed who that person is! I feel that he likes me a little, but even if he does, so what? He is engaged to the Song Familys Xiaojie, and Song Family has always rejected foreign tribes. For this reason, no matter how much pain I have to suffer, I definitely must not give him any trouble, to cause damage to his grand undertaking. Originally I still did not want to leave him, but now that Wang Shichong is inciting evil cults traitors toe and kill me, I already made a clean break [orig. two segments with a single cut] with Wang Shichong, so I must leave immediately. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. This was the first time he heard a woman revealing her inner feeling, acknowledging frankly that she was in love with another man. Furthermore, he deeply felt that her secret love inflicted contradictions and pain upon herself! Yet she was so delicate, pretty and adorable; he could not help feeling deeply sorry for her. He asked, How did Guniang know that Wang Shichong incited people toe and kill you? Ling Longjiao spoke with hatred, The day before yesterday Wang Shichong and I had a big argument, I have always regarded him ay! I dont want to talk about it! He is the only one who knows clearly where I am. Remembering Niang, I did not argue with him. I am very tired, I just want to rush back home immediately and no longer pay attention to anything. And then she rose up to her full height, smiled and said, Kou Zhong and you are the best Han people that I have ever met, you are true heroes and real men. You have to watch for Da Ming Zun Jiao, I hear that among their new generation of people finally there is someone who mastered and understands thoroughly the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing [lit.pletely resisting ten thousand methods of origin of wisdom scripture], and has been conferred the rank of Yuanzi of the new generation. You and Kou Zhong have be their archenemy. Based on their usual style of conduct, they might employ thousand ways, a hundred ns, by fair means or foul, to harm you. After saying this, I feel much morefortable! Thank you! Tell Kou Zhong I am going back to Qiuci! Finished speaking, she floated into the depth of the forest. Xu Ziling stood up and called out, Who is Da Zun? Ling Longjiao replied, Its Huihe man by the name of Xiugusidu, the proud disciple of Mo Wang [Devil King] Zheluo, who stole away the Persians Ming Zun Jiaos secret canon and fled to the east, also the first person in the eastern evil cult to see through the Zhi Jing [wisdom scripture]. If youe across him, you must never underestimate the enemy and being careless. Looking at her sweet, fair, and graceful, petite figure disappearing into the depth of the forest, Xu Ziling sat down dejectedly. The taste of bitter longing, he knew better than anybody else. Leading more than a dozen young generals under hismand galloping out from inside the city, conducting most of his men stationed at the camp to rush out along the southern wing, lining up the shield and arrow troops disposition to face an attack from the enemy riders dashing over from other side C has enabled Yang Gongqing to concentrate his force to cope with the enemy soldiers charging from left and right, two ways. The sound of drums from Luo Shixins middle army changed again, not only the entire army increased their speed forward, two thousand strong cavalry rushed out from the rear even more, to cut the middle section of Kou Zhongs cavalry unit. If Kou Zhongs cavalry unit were cut off, it would be head-and-tail-difficult-to-look-after-each-other situation. Since the enemy had double military power, it could easily turn into total defeat of the whole army. Both sides unleashed their marvelous schemes, just like martial art masters facing off against their adversary, relying not only on the strength of the military force, but also whose strategy was more superior. The sound of shouting and killing shook the entire battlefield. From Yang Gongqings troops disposition, a thousand arrows were shot at the same time, flitting across the vast sky, like flying locusts filling the whole sky and cover thend, shooting toward Qin and Cheng, two armies. The remaining nearly one thousand defending troops in the camp pushed the trebuchets behind Yang Gongqings battle formation, waiting for action after having umted power. As soon as Luo Shixins middle army entered their shooting range, more than a dozen stone throwers would be able to bring enormous casualties to the enemy, because the huge rocks, weighing several dozen jin each, were not something that shields and armors were capable to withstand. Kou Zhong took the lead, one by one powerful arrows were shooting like a string of pearls from the Piercing the Sun Bow. The arrows did not even miss a hairsbreadth, they pierced the enemys armor, those who got hit produced a spurt of rain of blood and fell backward from the horseback, as if they were swept by the wind. Both his saber technique and his archery skill were cultivated in the battlefield until they reached the realm of sess. Saber technique [dao fa] was the art of war [bing fa, lit. soldier technique/method]; returning to the battlefield was like a fish returning to the ocean, like a bird soaring into the clear sky. His mind was as tranquil as the moon in the well, hepletely grasped the situation as far away as every corner of the battlefield, he knew even more clearly that if the enemy riders, which were only more than nine hundred paces away, managed to intercept him, then when Luo Shixins middle army of two thousand strong cavalry charged over, surely they would be able to cut his own troops and break them away. The crucial point was whether his own troops could rout the enemys troops in a short time, whether they could break through the opponents intercept, before Luo Shixin armys cavalry cut them, to charge toward the empty space on the enemys right side, and then the would be able to directly threaten Li Shimins main forces at the rear. The enemys riders blindly returned the arrows in Kou Zhongs direction, yet the arrows could only reach a little more than half the distance between the two sides before losing momentum and fell down to the grasnd; however, already more than a dozen of them hit by the arrows and fell to their death. Kou Zhong hardened his heart. When the distance between two sides was only about six hundred paces, he swiftly released arrows toward the enemy riders again, immediately men fell face up, horses flipped over, implicating the enemys riders charging from behind so that one after another the horses stumbled and threw their riders into chaos. The cavalrys front formation broke down in disorder, the effect rippled like a wave and spread to the entire troops disposition, so that they were no longer in formation, but scattered to both sides. Seeing how formidable theirmander-in-chief was, how divine his archery skill, only relying on one persons strength he was able to inflict heavy losses on the opponent, which could only bepared to celestial soldier, heavenly general, immediately the cavalry following behind Kou Zhongs morale received a big boost. Their momentum like a rainbow, everybody on horseback bent his bow and put on an arrow, the enemy barely entered their shooting range, the arrows were released at the same time like rain, so that the disorderly enemy became even more utterly defeated. Kou Zhong reached into his quiver and found it to be empty. He had two quivers each on his left and right, a total of four quivers, one hundred and twenty arrows were all shot. With a roar he pulled the Moon in the Well, which fame shook the area inside and outside of the Great Wall, squeezed the horses belly with his legs, and bravely and irresistibly it leaped over a dead warhorse on the battlefield, and charged straight into the enemys cavalry formation. On the battlefield, all those luring the enemy and confusing the enemy tricks were just childs y and a joke, each saber chop was about efficiency, meeting force with force, strong power and fast saber would win. Dang! An enemy was hacked by him, the person, as well as the spear, were thrown off the horseback, shaken by his heavy technique that he died on the spot, unable to withstand even one move from him. Kou Zhong unleashed his saber technique, he chopped everybody in sight, under his hands, not a single one could survive. Following behind him, his men matched his no-stronghold-he-cannot-ovee momentum, they fiercely charged straight into the enemy riders losing their battle formation, killing the enemy that they suffered a crushing defeat and scattered everywhere to evade. At this time, the Luo Armys reinforcement cavalry was still rushing over from seven hundred paces away. Due to the enemy and us, two sides cavalry were in a melee, they could not release arrows and could only rush over for close-ranged hand-to-handbat. Ma Chang was Yang Gongqings trusted lieutenant, a veteran of a hundred battles; upon seeing this, he knew that Kou Zhongs one-thousand-man cavalry had enough power to deal with the everything-broken-and-in-disorder enemys riders, hurriedly he led his one thousand men to leave the main army and changed direction to meet the Luo Armys reinforcement cavalry. This moment Kou Zhong reorganized his formation, they no longer pursued and attacked the fleeing-in-disorder enemys riders, but also changed direction to attack the reinforcement cavalry. Luo Shixin, in the middle army overseeing the general situation, was shocked; he never thought that under Kou Zhongsmand, the enemy troops could be this valiant. If he let Ma Changs cavalry meet his army head-on, Kou Zhong coulde again to strike squarely in the middle, and then his own military force might suffer the same fate as the previous team, and it would affect the entire battle situation. Thereupon he hurriedly issued his order, the middle army changed from offense to defense, they stopped advancing. The bugle horn sounded again, ordering the cavalry to withdraw the middle formation. Upon seeing this, Yang Gongqing, who was unable to fight Qin Army and Cheng Armys all-out attack C was greatly delighted. The trebuchets, which were originally going to face Luo Shixins middle armys attack, changed their target. They began tounch the stones toward the enemy troops attacking from both sides. Human life on the battlefield became not worth half a penny; on both sides, men were continuously either losing their lives or wounded, but nobody paid any attention, the battle continued heartlessly. Looking at the enemy riders returning to their own formation, Kou Zhong cried, What a pity! inwardly. If the situation continued to develop like a moment ago, perhaps he would be able to inflict heavy losses to the Tang Army on the battlefield. This moment Ma Chang came to his side, their cavalry regrouped. Ma Chang excitedly said, We immediately return to our army division andunch pincer attack, certainly we can kill the enemy to be in a sorry state [orig. falling flowers, flowing water]. Kou Zhong watched Qin Shubaos main forces, which were carrying fierce offensives toward Yang Gongqings troops defending their position outside the camp C with rapt attention; he smiled and said, Old Qin is indeed proficient in the art of war. Dont look at how they appear to be disregarding everything in violent assault against Yang Gong, the fact is that he already made adequate preparation; he could divide the majority of his force at any moment to face our attack. And if we dare to attack them, as long as they could hold out for a short time, Luo Shixin would lead the main forces from the rear to press down on us, I am afraid in the end it would be you and I who would run away back to our camp. Ma Chang observed the enemy ranks carefully; he nodded in agreement and said, Shaoshuai is indeed cool-headed; their troops at the rear are indeed starting to pull back their formation. He had not even finished, the bugle horn sounded again, Qin and Cheng, two armies started to slowly pulling back in an orderly manner, the dead and wounded were carried away, and Luo Shixins middle army was moving forward to push on, while the two teams of cavalry reorganizing their formation split up to both sides. If Yang Gongqing seized the opportunity to pursue and attack, or perhaps Kou Zhong wanted tounch surprise attack by cutting in the middle, Luo Army had enough capacity to cope. On the horseback, Kou Zhong, whose troops disposition took position on the north side of the battlefield, stretched his limbs and spoke calmly, Todays fighting is finished. This battle will greatly arouse our troops morale, while also teach Li kid not to dare to regard me, Kou Zhong, as nothing. Ma Chang watched the retreating enemy with full attention, he submitted cheerfully, saying, If we really could assassinate Wang Shichong and have Shaoshuai in his ce, Li Shimin will undoubtedly lose this battle. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Assassinating Wang Shichong in Cijian, you must be joking! Luoyangs defending generals are all his people; everything will have to wait until we get back to Luoyang. Ay! I hope we wont have toe back to Luoyang to solve everything. If we could ruthlessly repress Li Shimin in here, his grand n of punitive expedition to the east will be done for, I am afraid he wont even be able to protect his king [prince] position. If Li Yuan, in his anger, send Li Jiancheng in his ce, the world will be mine, Kou Zhongs! Book 47 6 – Night Talk On The Battlefield

Book 47 Chapter 6 C Night Talk On The Battlefield

Xu Ziling reached Cijian at dusk, Wang Shichongs army of twenty-five thousand men entered the garrison in session and pitched camp on both sides of the city. On the other side, Li Shimin set up his stronghold outside Luo Shixins wooden stronghold, on the high hill where Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing stood yesterday to observe what is true and what is false on the enemys camp, so that the two stockades were corresponding to each other. This moment the work to fortify their camp on both sides was proceeding in furious pace that the sky turned dark and the earth ck. Xu Ziling reported his name and his purpose of visit at the main gate of the middle army camp, the soldier guarding the gate immediately flew to report to Kou Zhong, who was in a secret meeting with Wang Shichong and various great generals. Kou Zhong weed the report in great delight. The two boys met at the strongholds gate, both felt as if it was a lifetime ago. Sweeping his eyes around, Xu Ziling saw that the guards, far and near, none did not have their gaze focused on the two of them; he spoke in low voice, Lets go outside to talk. Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders, pulled him out of the camp, and said, I had just won a small victory today, killing the enemy nearly a thousand men, so that Wang Shichong, that old fox is so happy that he is unable to close his mouth. I am now more and more confident that I can beat back Li kid; if you are willing to help me, this battles odds of sess will increase. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, This time I aming not to help you fight the battle, but for another important matter. Ay! Toward Li Shimin, you must never, ever underestimate the enemy, otherwise next time I mighte back here only to collect your body. Kou Zhong helplessly said, I also know that Ling Shao, you, the Senior, cant possibly change your mind, its just that I cant help expressing the desire in my heart. Without you by my side to chat andugh and toot my horn, my days are very difficult to pass. One lifetime, two brothers, but each one take his own way, certainly fate is toying with people. Arent you supposed to impersonate Situ Furong to swindle Chi Shengchun? Howe you have the spare time toe for Xiaodi? Xu Ziling smiled wryly without saying anything. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, You are noting to persuade me to withdraw from the contention over the world, are you? Scoffing, Xu Ziling said, I dont need to waste my time exining, you are a pigheaded fellow. Come! Unleashing the power of their feet, they ran fast to the north. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, We haventpeted in leg power for a long time, lets see who can run a bit faster. He ran after Xu Ziling. The two boys, one in front of the other, swept swiftly as if they were flying, like shooting stars toward the depth of the darkness where the light from the camps on either side could not reach. When Xu Ziling reached a small hill that was over three li away from both camps, he suddenly stopped at the top. Kou Zhong came to his side and said with augh, Good kid! Just a little bit more, and I wont be able to catch you. Xu Ziling replied cheerfully, I cant throw you off either. Kou Zhong reached out and put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, he pulled him forcefully into a hug. Pointing to Li Shimins camp, he said, Tang Armys training is excellent, their discipline is strict and impartial, something that I have never encountered in the Central Earth. Tomorrow I might stake it all against the Li kid until you die, I live on this vast battlefield, I want to see how formidable is his Dark-Armored celestial soldier? Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Didnt you say that you just won a battle against him? Why did you sound like you havent fought hand to hand against the Li kid? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Today I only waged war against Old Qin and Old Chengs vanguard units, plus the victory was by luck, all because Luo Shixin has just surrendered to Li Shimin; in his eagerness to render meritorious service, he gave Xiaodi small advantages. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling asked, Old Ba has note to you? Kou Zhongughed and said, He went to see his first love, I am afraid whatever happens, he would linger for a while, ha! I hope the tender sentiments are not going to guide him back to the right path. It would be great if he does noty down his Stealing the Heaven Sword and live the mandarin duck life, in which he does not need to envy the immortals! Xu Zilingughed and cursed him, Turns out you, this kid, are selfish and harboring bad intentions. Old Ba is willing to settle down with a woman, you should be happy for him instead. Kou Zhong sighed and said, You ought to know that I am just joking. What kind of a man Old Ba is, no one knows better than you and I. Ha! Less nonsense talk; the Yin kid, that strange guy, did hee to Changan to seek Chi Shengchun to give him bad luck? Xu Zilings face clouded over, he spoke dejectedly, There is still no trace of him; I am worried. Kou Zhong said, In this kind of matter, worrying is useless, without any better option, we can only hope that Heaven helps the worthy. What important matter brought you here this time? Xu Ziling said, This matter is hard to exin in a few words; lets sit down and talk. The two sat down. Xu Ziling cast his gaze at the brilliant sky above the Cijian City in the distance on his left, he spoke indifferently, I came across Shi Zhixuan in Changan, I even fought with him. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling narrated his encounter by count of fives and tens [idiom: systematically and in full details], and finally said, If we wait until Shi Zhixuan is fully recovered from his injury, when you and I meet him, we will undoubtedly die. Shi Zhixuans demonic power already reached perfection, even Zhu Yuyan was still some distance away from him. Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong said, That is only natural, otherwise Zhu Yuyan would not need to use the move burning both jade andmon stone to kill herself. You are most familiar with Shi Zhixuan, is there a way to break his Bu Si Yin? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, I only felt some slight clue, but I do not dare to be certain whether it will be effective or not. The problem is that his Huan Mo Shenfa and Bu Si Yin have fused into one; there is practically no gap to find, not a void to exploit. Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, I dont believe he could really be an invincible demon; as long as he is still a human, there will be weaknesses. For instance, Zhu Yuyans burning both jade andmon stone could inflict heavy losses on him. Now that his internal injury is not healed yet, theres greater possibility that your fierce battle against him affected his internal injury. This is a one in a thousand years opportunity to kill him, plus we know where he is hiding. Xu Ziling stared at him hard, he spoke heavily, Can you spare time for a separate task? Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward Li Shimins camp, he said, If my brother Xu Ziling has difficulties, I, Kou Zhong, can put anything aside. Xu Ziling said, Things have slight or important, urgent or non-urgent [idiom]; if you just leave like this, you will let Yang Gongqing down. Moreover, when I get back in Changan, I may be transformed into Situ Furong, so for the time being, there wont be any danger. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, You are right. I really should see how the battle here is progressing, before I can decide when to get away and return to Changan to join hands with you to ughter Shi Zhixuan. Once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. The longer we havent wiped out Shi Zhixuan, the longer it will cause no end of trouble. Xu Ziling also told him about Ling Longjiao being pursued and attacked by Yang Mo and Kuo Jie, two men, and that he made his move by rescuing her. Naturally he skipped the part where Ling Longjiao revealed the load on her mind, because he had to keep his promise. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day before saying, Its good that she went home; it shows that she finally saw through Wang Shichongs malevolent true identity. In that case, Da Ming Zun Jiao people are already in Luoyang. His Niangs! Who could be the new Yuanzi? I hope its not Yucheng, that idiot! Xu Ziling said, I definitely wish that you did not guess correctly, but the likelihood is very great. Yuchengs aptitude, you and I are very clear about it, his good foundation need not be mentioned even more. This matter really gives us headache. Not only you must be careful of Da Ming Zun Jiao, you also must be careful of Yang Xuyan. Hou Xibai and I both guessed that he is using public office to avenge private wrongs, by epting Li Yuans order toe to assassinate you. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, Should I be afraid of him? Xu Ziling said, Dont be so sure; under normal circumstances, naturally he cant do anything to you; however, if Cijian is lost, you will be forced to retreat to Luoyang, and then Li Shiminunchesrge scale attack to besiege the city, you, Zhong Shao, will be weary from prolonged war, so that the preserving and nurturing his spirit Yang kid will have the opportunity to exploit. Dont forget that he inherited Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa, while he himself is also a first-ss assassin. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, The battle of Cijian, I will not lose. With meaningful and heartfelt words, Xu Ziling said, Dont be overly self-confident, because more likely than not, the problem lies with Wang Shichong. I have said everything I need to say! I still want to see Li Shimin. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, Why make a fuss about nothing? Demonic schools influence has taken root inside his home, we all are old friends, whether its due to emotion or reason, I have to warn him, right? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao already thought about it, how could I find fault? Ay! If I get down on my knees and beg you, will you stay and help me win this battle? And then everybody will happily go to settle the ount with Shi Zhixuan, we join hands to break his Niangs Bu Si Huan [not dead fantasy], Long Life versus Not Dead, we all should be two armies with equivalent banners and drums, but our military strength is twice his; we have a total of two strong and courageous persons. Xu Ziling turned around, he spoke with displeasure, Will you really do that? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Of course not. Currently Laozi has a head, has a face [i.e. someone important], ha! Whats so funny? Go see Li kid, your good friend! Laughing calmly, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Tell me, do you really want to be another Yang Jian, after unifying the world, you be the emperor? Kou Zhong stared deeply at him, he spoke slowly, word by word, Is it possible that after I answer your question, you will no longer doubt me? I can tell lies to anybody, but I will never lie to my good brother Xu Ziling. On bing the emperor, even half a nail of interest I amcking, but unifying the world is to make themon people passing their days in peace and security. That is the dream that in order to pursue it, I am willing to pay it with my life. The art of war [bing fa] is the saber technique [dao fa]; to me, Kou Zhong, the highest experience in the martial art way is precisely the practicing-what-one-preaches of using military force to obtain the peace and security of the world. I believe firmly in this conscience with which I am living. If the one Shi Feixuan chose were me instead of Li kid, Ziling would not have found things this difficult to manage. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Good kid, you finally cannot help revealing the discontentment in your heart. If you, Dages objective is merely to wish for the whole world at peace, then everything can be discussed well. Your grannys! Kou Zhong embraced Xu Zilings shoulders, he smiled and said, The most sincere part is that I, Kou Zhong, want to win. Not only I want to win this Cijian battle, I want to win every battle in the strive for the world, just like Old Bas using battle to raise battle cultivation style. The moment I unify the world and set up the task of establishing and maintaining hegemony will be the moment of sessful achievements and virtue. At that time, the troubled Ziling can go to invite Feixuan Xianzi toe down the mountain to select his mothers emperor for us. In this aspect, she is a lot more adept than we, two brothers. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, I hope you wont be muddled in the brain [idiom: excited and unable to act rationally] by victory. You have not even fought against Li kid, you already act like the victory certificate is within your grasp. Li Shimin is not an ordinary hand, at least in term of managing high-ranking military officers, he is way above you. As for the art of war and strategy, only after fighting the battle we will know for sure. Kou Zhong let go of Xu Ziling, he spoke with serious expression, Brother! Go! We are brothers forever, I will definitely not dare to underestimate the enemy. Li kid is formidable, I know it better than anybody. Kou Zhong returned to the camp, but in his heart he was still thinking of Xu Ziling, while also feeling a little regret. It was the first time he spoke such a heavy words toward Xu Ziling, because this moment Xu Ziling was going to see Li Shimin, making his heart feel so uneasy. Now the uneasy feeling already vanished like smoke in thin air, thereupon he was able to empathize with the contradiction and secret trouble in Xu Zilings heart. He understood Xu Ziling better than anybody, who was closer to him than a brother. Xu Ziling had the good heart and intestines that bemoaned the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind, which at this moment was giving thought to themon people in the world. Were it not for him, Kou Zhong, maybe Xu Ziling would help Li Shimin with all his strength to unify the world, up to the point of ascending the emperors throne, to aplish Shi Feixuans expectation of Li Shimin. However, because of the conflict between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin in contending for hegemony, Xu Zilings only choice was to stay out of the way. The pain and contradictions in his heart could easily be imagined. If right now Kou Zhong were still without worry, without any involvement, then everything would be better. Unfortunately, he already had his feet deep in the mud, even if he wanted to withdraw, he simply could not. Shao Shuai Army, Yang Gongqing and his officers and soldiers, Song Ques support and expectation, these were all things that he could neither throw away, nor he be willing to give up. Not to mention at present Li Shimin was still not Li Yuans heir. He had just stepped into the gate of the stronghold, Ma Chang already came to meet him and said, Wang Shichong wanted to see Shaoshuai as soon as possible, he is at the city gate tower. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, wondering in his heart what kind of trick this old fox was going to y next. Li Shimin dismissed everybody on his left and right. When only he and Xu Ziling, two men remained inside thergemand tent, he pulled Xu Zilings hand to sit in the middle of the tent. Letting go of Xu Zilings hand, he cheerfully said, They nearly wanted to disobey by refusing to leave, because they are afraid you areing to assassinate me for Kou Zhongs sake, ha! Who is Xu Ziling? They dont understand too much. Tonight we are going to chat to our hearts content. The image of various generals under Li Shiminsmand, Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Pang Yu, and the others unwilling facial expression when they were leaving the tent appeared in Xu Zilings mind. Smiling wryly, he said, Just now, when Kou Zhong and I partedpany, his words just before I left was that we are brothers forever, the implication is that no matter how I treat him, even betray him, he still treats me as brother. Li Shiminughed aloud and said, Xu Ziling is betraying friends? I, Li Shimin, will be the first not to believe. Ziling this time came from afar to separately see Kou Zhong and Xiaodi, what actually is the urgent matter? Xu Ziling passed on Hou Xibais words, and finally he said, Your Old Die has beenpletely deceived by the women and lowly people who harbor evil intentions, treating you as Yang Guang and Li Jiancheng as Yang Yong; there is no logic in it. Hows Shimin Xiong going to deal with it? Li Shimin was silent for half a day. He sighed and said, I never thought demonic schools tactic is this formidable. Humph! But as long as the world has not been unified, I, Li Shimin still have a value to exploit. Ay! Frankly speaking, I dont know how I am going to deal with it. Ziling, do you have any advice for me? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, As long as Shimin Xiong is not back in Changan, no one can do anything to you. Shaken, Li Shimin said, Is Ziling suggesting that I must stand on my own feet outside the Pass? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, The general on the outside, to some extent he is not subjected to the lords order. Unless Shimin Xiong has full confidence, when you return to Changan, you will be caught in apletely passive situation, the inferior position where people are fish and meat; now Shi Zhixuans demonic power is advancing greatly, there is no more w, I am afraid theres no one in the world able to control him. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, To be quite honest, what I am worried about the most right now is not the struggle within my family, or even the demonic schools conspiracy, but the threat of Kou Zhong plus Song Que, which is the nightmare of everybody in Changan, from top to bottom, but also Feixuans nightmare. If we cannot take advantage while Song Que has not advanced up north to thoroughly strike and break down your brothers Shao Shuai Army, the world will once again fall into north-south division. At that time, if the Tujue invade, we wont have the ability to fight back. Xu Ziling muttered, Kou Zhong plus Song Que. His expression turned grave, Li Shimin said, Shimin is not talking frightening words to scare people; I have just received intelligence report from the south, Song Que is assembling military strength in Lingnan, Liliao fighters plus Song Familys children and warriors, the military strength could reach a hundred thousand. It is estimated that the recruitment and assembly process will take two to three months, and then three months to half a year on top of that for training and maneuvering, and then Song Que might personally lead the main forces to the east. If Kou Zhong and his Shao Shuai Army are added to the equation, who in the world will be able to oppose their sharp de? Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, Song Que begins to mobilize his army? Li Shimin said, Hence the reason I only have, at most, about half a year to attack Luoyang and pacify the north, otherwise, no one can foresee the turbulent situation in the future. Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Song Que plus Kou Zhong, ay! How much does Shimin Xiong understand this person, Song Que? Li Shimin sighed and said, This man is a person having great power and influence, multi-talented, well-educated in heaven and men ways; not only he is amander-in-chief proficient in the art of war, he also has deep understanding of the terrains of the mountains and rivers under the heaven, an unequalled fierce general on the battlefield. His men regard him as a deity, their loyalty to him, no one dares to doubt. If theres Kou Zhong assisting him, it would be like a tiger that has grown wings. Facing them on the battlefield, who would dare to boast that he has the odds of sess? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhong said that he only has the interest to contend for hegemony over the world to allow themon people to live in peace and security, but he has no ambition to be the emperor. Ay! How can I exin this? Li Shimin silently gazed at him. Quite a whileter he suddenly asked, Our rtionship bing like it is now, does it have something to do with Xiuning? Xu Ziling was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Helpless, Li Shimin said, Xiuning did not tell me anything, it was me who guessed it based on my recollection of what happened that day. We were good, but suddenly Kou Zhong rejected my proposal, even took the ount book away and left. From then on my rtionship with him deteriorates, and now we even have to stand face to face on the battlefield. If one day Kou Zhong is unfortunate and lose his life in my, Li Shimins hands, how would Ziling treat me? Remaining tranquil, Xu Ziling replied, I will ask you, Qin Wang to let me collect his remains and take him back to the small valley for burial. Li Shimin sighed and said, Or the one dying is me, Li Shimin. I believe Kou Zhong will also treat my remains well. The world will fall into Kou Zhongs hands. No matter what, it is going to be better than if it fell into Shi Zhixuans hands. Xu Ziling understood that it was because Li Shimin heard about Li Yuan was tossing and turning in bed due to the demonic schools influence that he had this feeling, ergo that kind of speech. https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 Li Shimin again looked deep into his eyes and spoke softly, Ziling should know that before Feixuan returned to Jing Zhai, she hade to Changan to find me. We chatted in details for nearly two sichen, she had given me a lot of useful instructions. A feeling, which Xu Ziling himself did not understand, welled up in his heart, as if Shi Feixuans fragrant footprint reemerged in the human world. Of course he knew that it was not the actual situation, only because she had made a firm resolution not toe out to the world again that she wanted to see Li Shimin for thest time. What did Feixuan say? he asked with difficulty. Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, She mainly asked me about our Li Familys situation. Ay! Only now do I understand why outstanding figure of the previous generation, after Bi Xiuxin was harmed by Shi Zhixuan, was so heartbroken and in pain! Because presently there is Shi Feixuan, this good example. Who would, due to her noble broad-minded and open moral character, her immortal-descending-to-the-world like elegant intelligent C not give rise to heartfelt adoration? But this love can only be hidden at the bottom of the heart, without the courage to reveal it the slightest bit, for fear that it would only bring disrespect and irreverence toward her. Xu Ziling was shaken, Shimin Xiong! he said. Li Shimin smiled bitterly and said, This is the first time I ever reveal my inner voice, because Xiaodi knows that Ziling understands my feeling better than anybody. Ha! I feel much better after saying it out loud. Xu Ziling wanted to say something, but he did not know what to say. To a certain degree, he felt that he was lucky, at least he and this touching fairy have tasted the intoxicating feeling of trying to get into a romantic rtionship [orig. murmuring endearments (idiom)], Shi Feixuan Style. Li Shimin went on, When she was leaving, she said something strange concerning you. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What did she say? Book 47 7 – Timidity In The Face Of Battle

Book 47 Chapter 7 C Timidity In The Face Of Battle

Kou Zhong entered Cijian city and climbed onto the city gate tower. Wang Shichong was gazing into the distance from the higher elevation to observe the situation on Li Shimins side. Under the night sky full of stars, Wang Shichong was apanied by his trusted aides, the great generals Chen Zhilue, Guo Shancai, Ba Yegang, Zhang Zhi, Di Feng, Song Mengqiu, and Li Mis former generals who sought refuge under him, Duan Da, Shan Xiongxin, and Yu Yuanzhen. But Yang Gongqing was not one of them. Seeing Kou Zhong came, Wang Shichongs face bloomed with a smile; he said, Shaoshuai, quicklye to Zhens [I (imperial use)] side. Turning to the other high-ranking military officers, he said, Zhen would like to speak with Shaoshuai in private. The generals moved as far away as possible to both sides, leaving Wang Shichong alone on the city gate tower. Kou Zhong came to his side. The first urge in his heart was to ask him why he was so cold and heartless toward Ling Longjiao, but in the end he suppressed this impulse. What order do Shengshang have for me? he asked indifferently. Wang Shichongs countenance turned grave, he spoke heavily, Li Shimin is worthy to be a famous general of the present age, he came a solid three days earlier than my estimate. Were it not for Shaoshuai this morning making prompt decision and taking the initiative to attack, when our main forces arrived, we would have been attacked by him with no time to deal with it. Although it might not decide victory or defeat just yet, but it could surely sway our troops morale. Although the enemy has nearly twenty thousand men more than us, but we do have a city wall that can help us in defense, so the situation is still much more beneficial to us. Without Wang Xuanying nearby to be a hindrance, the mood of the conversation between the two men was fairly harmonious, they were both men who knew soldiers, so they could dispense with a lot of unnecessary anger and arguments. Kou Zhong did not respond, because he knew Wang Shichong was not done yet. Wang Shichong pondered silently for a moment, he lowered his voice and said, Where did the other fifty thousand men go? Kou Zhong said, I have some sincere opinion, which I hope Shengshang would listen. Wang Shichong turned his head to look at him, Speak up! he said. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Lets talk about thatter. Shengshang is summoning me, is it because you want to know why Ziling wasing to see me? Wang Shichong said, Secret conversation between the two of you, brothers, even if you wont tell me, Zhen definitely will not me you. Remaining tranquil and calm, Kou Zhong said, Although it was a secret conversation, it is very closely rted with Shengshang. Ziling told me: Shi Zhixuan is once again doing evil in the secr world, his objective is that I will not leave Luoyang alive, and that Li Shimin will not return to Guanzhong alive, so that the world will very likely be the object in Shi Zhixuans bag. Wang Shichong revealed a shocked expression, but he immediately calmed down. His countenance solemn, he said, What does Shaoshuai mean? Kou Zhong said, If Luoyang is broken, as soon as Shengshang tell Li Yuan you surrender, Li Shimin definitely will not dare to move a single strand of hair of yours, which is due to of your rtionship with Shuni. But Li Shimin will definitely not allow me to live. Since Luoyang is already fallen into Li Yuans hands, it could correspond well with Guanzhong, and then Dou Jiande can no longer make any move. At that time Li Shimins value and usefulness will be done for. My thought is really that simple. Wang Shichong spoke with a coldugh, That Shi Zhixuan is counting his chickens before they are hatched. Luoyang will not fall! Never. Kou Zhong said, My sincere opinion is precisely to focus on Luoyang defense and whether or not going out to attack. If Shengshang could throw all misgivings aside, not paying attention to how Li Shimin deploys his troops to attack other strongholds and military strategic cities, and defend Cijian to the death, then there will be great opportunity to protect Luoyang. Wang Shichong spoke heavily, Do you know Li Shimins overall battle strategy? Kou Zhong replied, That is not difficult to guess at all. In addition to the main forces of approximately fifty thousand mening to attack Cijian, Li Shimin divided the rest of his military strength four ways, including the main feature crossing the Great River from Heyang back to Luo. The other three ways are simply harassment in nature; their function is to hold up Shengshangs main forces, so that Shengshang would not dare to reduce the military strength in Luoyang. Its difficult for the other cities armies to be transferred to Cijian to engage in the battle. Wang Shichongs gaze moved back toward the enemy camp far away outside the city, he muttered twice, Return to Luo City! Return to Luo City! Kou Zhong said, Now the generalmanding the Tang Army at Heyang is Huang Junhan. As long as he is guarding Heyang, he could hold up our reinforcement so that we cant advance or retreat, while on the other hand, we cannot defend Cijian. The only strategy right now is to let the other cities fall, but if we can defend Cijian, Luoyang will be as steady as Mount Tai. At that time it will be Li Shimins turn to have his feet deep in the mud, unable to advance or retreat. If Li Shimin is driven back to his hometown, wont we be able to recover the lost cities back into our hands? Wang Shichong turned his eyes back to him again, it was quite half a dayter than he began to speak, Can we firmly defend Cijian? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I am afraid only Laotianye is qualified to answer Shengshangs question; furthermore, it depends on Shengshangs judgment and determination. Cijian is of a great importance. Once its lost, the blow on the troops morale is incalcble. I am most afraid that there will be many more Luo Shixin, and then Shenghang will not be able to endure. Very well! Wang Shichong made up his mind, I will follow Shaoshuais suggestion, well defend Cijian with all of our strength. Casting his gaze outside the city, he spoke slowly, word by word, If I handed the full power of the army to Shaoshuai for you tomand, how much odds of sess would Shaoshuai have? Hearing that, Kou Zhong was both surprised and happy, knowing that after witnessing the Tang Armys appearance and battle array, he lost confidence, hence he felt that he needed to rely on Kou Zhong. Wang Shichong was well aware that if he were in Kou Zhongs ce, today he would not have dared to fight the enemys main forces, which had several times the number of menpared to his own side, yet Kou Zhong was able to, from the disadvantageous position,unch an attack and win a small victory; as a result, he won Wang Shichongs and various high-ranking military officers favorable impression and respect. Otherwise, Wang Shichong would not have spoken that sentence. Sweeping his gaze over the flickering lights from the enemys camp, which extended continuously, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Then this time Li kid will have problem! Muttering to himself irresolutely, Li Shimin said, Sometimes I really dont understand how could you and Kou Zhong be together, just by looking at your eyes, I know that you two have entirely different characters. Kou Zhong seems to be on the move all the time, looking for novel experience, for adventures and excitement, for opportunities to defeat the opponent and conquer the adversaries, yet you, Ziling, stand aloof from worldly affairs, as if you are living at home wherever you are. Does Ziling agree with my evaluation on you two? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, I never thought that you would see Kou Zhong like this. It is true that he is a person brimming with curiosity of fresh things, but he is notpletely unreasonable, its just that he has his own set of views and ideals, which no one, me included, can change. Li Shimin cheerfully said, That is exactly what Feixuan thinks of Kou Zhong. After she asked me what I think of the two of you, she then told me what she thought of you. She pointed out that unless I can defeat, even kill, Kou Zhong at Luoyang, the situation in the future will be North-South confrontation; at that time, there will be only one person who can resolved this impasse, and that person is you, Xu Ziling. Stunned, Xu Ziling stared nkly for a moment, and then he spoke painfully, Did she say that? Feixuan thinks too highly of me! Ay! The problem is that when the North-South confrontation takes shape, it wont involve only Kou Zhong, one person, rather, it also implicates Song Que, as well as the Song n and the entire southern people who support Han unification. In this situation, I am afraid Xiaodi is powerless. Li Shimin sighed and said, I said the same thing to Feixuan, but she did not answer me in a straightforward manner. She only said that when themon people in the world need Xu Ziling the most, Ziling will be unwilling to pass on your responsibilities to others. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, This is called the fairys heart is hard to fathom; do you think she wanted me to go challenge Kou Zhong in a duel? Li Shimin spoke heavily, Ill be very honest with Ziling! I will try my best not to be mortal enemy with Kou Zhong. But if I fail, I will throw everything aside and will exhaust all my strength to deal with him. Otherwise, if we let Song Que and Kou Zhong join hands, the consequences will unbearably hard to imagine. After a short pause, he went on, Shimin is really grateful to Ziling for informing me about Shi Zhixuans plot inside the Pass. Ill deal with it carefully, I will not let the crafty scoundrels prevail, so that I will not follow the Old Suis Yangs trailing dust. As Kou Zhong was stepping out the city gate, Yang Gongqing came up to meet him, asking, What did he say? Kou Zhong responded in low voice, How about we take a walk outside the camp? Yang Gongqing called one of his men to get them warhorses. The two men rode side by side out of the camp, they ran into Ma Chang on the way. Ma Changughed and said, Were it not for Shaoshuai keeping youpany, Xiaojiang would definitely stop Yang Lao from going out the camp. Shaoshuai should know Tian Ce Fus habit of repeatedly sending men from the enemy camp veryte at night to challenge the other sides camp for a battle. It is both to disturb the enemy, and if the other side shrinks back and noting out, it would raise their prestige and glorious military prowess, but if you send the troops out of the camp to chase to kill, you might fall into an ambush. Ha! But this time they wont dare to repeat this trick, simply because we have Shaoshuai helping our troops disposition. Offending Shaoshuai, they will have to pack their bag and leave before they finish eating. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You, LaoGe really know how to make me bursting with joy; you are indeed an expert in patting the horses butts. After leaving the camp, Kou Zhong said, This man Ma Chang is really not bad; he is both brave and scheming. Furthermore, seeing how at the moment he can still joke around with ease, it shows that he does not take life or death to heart. Yang Gongqing said, This man is certainly a talent. Right! So what trick is Wang Shichong ying this time? Kou Zhong galloped with him up a small hill. He also swept his gaze around to watch the situation far and near. Smiling, he said, Wang Shichong is afraid of war! Stunned, Yang Gongqing said, Not yet formally crossing swords against Li Shimin, unexpectedly he is already scared? How could he mingle on the outside? Sneering, Kou Zhong said, What great battle did he fight? That battle with Li Mi, it was Yang Gong and me who won it for him. Previously, his so-called victory was merely serving the powerful and maltreating the weak, suppressing the militia with minor prestige for Yang Guang. Li Shimin is numbered among the famous world-ss masters, his military power is stronger than ours, their training is better than ours, the fierce generals under hismand are as numerous as the cloud, the strategic experts are as thick as the rain. Hiding behind Luoyangs tall city wall, defending his property to the death without going out, perhaps he might a bit better. But having a decisive battle on the field, how could he notck in confidence and be discouraged? His Niangs! Puzzled, Yang Gongqing asked, Even if inwardly he is scared, he cant possibly tell you? Keeping his gaze fixed on the brilliant lights of the enemy camp some distance away, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Naturally he cant possibly reveal his inner thoughts to me, but he asked me to offer him advice by his side tomorrow. Its just like he is indirectly asking me tomand the army for him. Based on his conduct, if he is not scared of the war, how could he make such arrangement? Tomorrow? Yang Gongqing was startled, But Li Shimins feet is not steady yet, he wouldnt attack that quickly! Kou Zhong spoke heavily, That is precisely my strategy. Tomorrow, if Li Shimin ising to attack, good; if he does not, thats fine too. But we have to send troops disposition as a military show of force, to lure Li Shimin toe to do a small test of what is true and what is false on our side. If he holes up and refuse toe out, we will consider it a rehearsal. If he dares to meet the enemy head-on, we will lead them by the nose. Yang Gongqing drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, Arent Shaoshuai overestimating ourbat ability too much? On this hills and ins wilderness terrain, to achieve victory, we must press on and advance directly for a prolonged period, otherwise it would be like troops in defeat like andslide. If we are defeated, the whole army could be easily wiped out. Li Shimins troops in the punitive expedition to the east this time are carefully selected from among the House of Tangs about 600,000 soldiers, they are the elite of the elites. If we fight without relying upon the city walls, it is unwise. Shaoshuai must think thrice. Laughing calmly, Kou Zhong said, I do not have the excessive expectations of being able to defeat Li Shimins main forces tomorrow, but to win this war, how could we not take some risks? Rather than waiting for the House of Tangs army to show off their proficiency and stored up their sharpness toe to attack, we might as well gain the initiative by striking first. Tomorrow, if we can fight evenly and show off the colors of spring, our troops morale will be greatly aroused, while to enemy, its just the opposite. And then, lowering his voice, he said, Yang Gong, please do not me me for speaking forthrightly. Our side, from themander-in-chief at the top, to the soldiers at the bottom, most people have the same view toward the Tang Army as yours, Yang Gongs, in your hearts you areing to Cijian, you are merely going through the motions, ultimately you still want to return and defend Luoyang. But I do not share that view, I want Li kid to experience my, Kou Zhongs means in here. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Yang Gongqing sighed and said, I now understand more and more the difference between Shaoshuai and us. But will Wang Shichong, that coward, be willing to take this risk? Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, Who told him to be the emperor? Of course he will have to take out his stake and gamble it on the table! Come! Lets look around, so that we have enough effort for the general battle assembly tomorrow. Li Shimin personally walked Xu Ziling off outside the camp, apanied by Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Pang Yu, Luo Shixin, and more than a dozen personal bodyguards. Feeling embarrassed, Xu Ziling said, Shimin Xiong need not see me off! Li Shimin cheerfully said, Im just going down the road! As usual, I am going to inspect the battlefield and do some homework. How about I send Ziling a horse for your convenience in getting around? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I still prefer to use my two legs to get around, Shimin Xiong need not stand on ceremony. Li Shimin looked back to address his various officers and soldiers, You stay here. And then he pulled Xu Ziling more than a dozen paces forward, and spoke in low voice, Do you still remember Chang Shan Ni [lit. ever-benevolent (Buddhist) nun] of Yu He An [jade crane nunnery] in Changan? You can send messages through her to Feixuan at Ci Hang Jing Zhai. Ay! About Shi Zhixuan, do you think we need to let her know? Xu Zilings heart and spirit were severely shaken, suddenly he felt that Shi Feixuan was not as out of reach as before, at least there was a way to contact her! Li Shimin said, Ziling, do as you see fit! And then, a bit too embarrassed to mention it, he said, When Ziling is back in Changan, can you do me a favor? Calming his heart, Xu Ziling replied, As far as my capabilities extend, I will definitely carry it through for Shimin Xiong. The refined light in Li Shimins pair of eyes shing suddenly, he spoke heavily, Try to get rid of Yin Zuwen and anybody who is proficient in the Seven Needles to Control the Mind. This kind of sorcery is a very great threat to me. Xu Ziling agreed inwardly, this kind of terrifying torture, even the hardest man would not be able to endure it. If Li Shimins trusted aide was captured and tortured, perhaps he would reveal all Li Shimins secrets. Just imagine if Li Shimins n on dealing with Jiancheng, Yuanji, and so on was uncovered, how would Li Yuan deal with Li Shimin? Thereupon he spoke indifferently, Leave this matter to me. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, On one hand, I am asking you to do something for me, on the other hand, I want to kill your brother! I wonder how would Ziling see me, Li Shimin? Xu Ziling also smiled wryly with him, he said, We must not confuse one thing with another. I have no choice but to think like that. Li Shimin added, Theres also Yang WenGan. Although Jingzhao Lian is melting like ice and breaking like tiles, but Yang WenGans influence is still there, its just that from above ground they move to underground. The longer we dont eliminate him, ultimately there will be endless misforter. Under the circumstances, Yang WenGan cannot y any role, but inside Changan, when Fuhuang is standingpletely on Jianchengs side, Yang WenGan and his men will y a critical role; they will be a power that cannot be neglected. Xu Ziling said, I will think of a way to dig him out, to ease this load on Shimin Xiongs mind. Li Shimin reached out and grabbed Xu Zilings hands tightly, he said, Ziling, please take a good care of yourself! Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing made a big circle and entered the forest from the north side. When they reached the edge of the forest, they reined in their horses to stop. Yang Gongqingughed and said, I wonder if Shaoshuai already has a card up your sleeve? Kou Zhong nodded and said, I have a bit more confidence now. And then, pointing to a small hill in the middle of the two opposing camps, he said, If I were Li Shimin, I would use this hill as amand tform. From there, he could bothpletely see the overall situation and would not be afraid of the enemys surprise attack. Yang Gongqing said, What if we take possession of this small hill first? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, We cannot force ourselves to do it, we can only do it like this morning: set up our troops disposition leaning against the city wall, where it will be convenient to advance and attack and to retreat and defend. Unless Li Shimin does not dare to meet the enemy head-on, then we climb over the small hill to show off our military strength, and retreat after making a scene a little. Ha! The scene of the battlefield. Huh? Yang Gongqing also saw more than twenty riders appearing on the top of the hill. Kou Zhong focused his power into his pair of eyes, he looked with rapt attention, and then, severely shaken, he said, Li kid cant possibly be giving me such convenience! It seems that one of those men is precisely he. Shocked, Yang Gongqing said, If it is really Li Shimin inspecting the battlefield, then those other men must all be first-ss martial art masters, with just the two of us, I am afraid we will suffer losses. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Not the two of us, but just me, one person. Yang Gong could hold your troop disposition in here for me. If I can harden my heart to behead the Li kid, tonight we can get away from here to return to Pengliang. His Niangs! I wonder whether I can really make my move under the circumstances; after all, Li kid and I have a friendly rtionship. Yang Gongqing said, On the battlefield, its either you die or I perish, how could there be any friendly rtionship to speak of? Furthermore, it has to be by fair means or foul. The question is whether Shaoshuai really has the confidence to deal with that many men. It would be a bit more dependable to wait for me toe back and deploy a group of martial art masters to help. Kou Zhong said, Once the fortunate timing is gone, it wont return. Not to mention that if arge number of men and horsesing to attack with vast and mighty momentum, it would only beat the grass to scare the snake. Watch me. Finished speaking, he flew off the horse. Yang Gongqing was shocked; he leaned forward to grab his shoulder. Too dangerous! he advised. Kou Zhong looked up at the starry sky, he smiled and said, Yang Gong seems to forget that confronting Xielis magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, I was not afraid. Merely twenty something elite troops and fierce generals, it may be enough to scare other people, but they are still unworthy in my, Kou Zhongs eyes. Yang Gongqing was infected by his powerful self-confidence, he could not help letting his hand go. Kou Zhong, as swift as light smoke, shed out of the forest, using the tall grass and thick bushes as cover, he sneaked like a ghost toward the enemy riders. Book 47 8 – Failure Within Sight Of Success

Book 47 Chapter 8 C Failure Within Sight Of Sess

Xu Ziling flew over the grasnd, forging ahead in the direction of the Great River, hurrying back to Changan, his heart was in chaos. If two tigers fight, one will get injured [idiom], yet he was incapable to prevent this matter from developing. Nature [as the mother of all things] is ying with people. Why was Shi Feixuan so sure that he would be able to alter what seems to be a pre-ordained destiny? The fact was that he had always felt powerless. He felt that Li Shimin might harden his heart to deal with Jiancheng and Yuanjis persecution, but he was still unable to disregard the father-son emotion with Li Yuan. Li Shimins calm and cool-headed reception was beyond his expectation; furthermore, his reaction was not as impulsive and intense as he anticipated, rather, he resolutely decided to set aside everything that has been going on in Changan at the back of his mind, and concentrated his heart and mind to deal with Kou Zhong. If there was no Song Que in the mix, even if he did not look at Xu Zilings face, after defeating Kou Zhong, he might offer Kou Zhong a horse; he would not have tried to put him to death. However, Song Que might make things go another direction. Li Shimin exined this matter to him, precisely he was indicating that that was the only choice within no choice at all. How he wished that he could get far away from everything that was quickly about to happen, and no longer hear any news pertaining to this cruel attack and defense battle. However, it was already hard for him not to get involved; would he be able to live after seeing Kou Zhong got killed? Kou Zhong pounced out from behind the underbrush and tree, and darted toward the hill slope like a shooting star, sweeping over toward Li Shimin. Pang Yu and two personal bodyguards, who were facing this side, were alerted at the same time; they shouted loudly, and after finding out that the neer was Kou Zhong, they hurriedly leaped off the horseback and drew their weapons, one sword and two sabers intercepted Kou Zhong head-on. On the top of the hill, Li Shimin, Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Luo Shixin, and sixteen martial art masters personal bodyguards were not thrown into confusion like Kou Zhong expected. Li Shiminughed aloud and said, Shaoshuai, I trust you have been well since west met! One after another Zhangsun Wuji and the others pulled their weapons and formed a ring around Li Shimin to protect him, five martial art masters personal bodyguards flew off their horses to deal with Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, What a pity! if he could sneak up the hill slope without being detected, or perhaps the other side spurred their horses to intercept, he could rely on his shenfa, which was a lot more nimble than the horses, to grasp the opportunity tounch a close-range violent attack toward Li Shimin. But now it has be a two sides fighting with all their might situation. His mouth responded, Shimin Xiong is also as elegant as before, it is worthy of celebration. Zheng! The Moon in the Well left his back and swiftly poked forward to hit Pang Yus attacking sword head-on, and then his body shifted slightly to the right to dodge the saber chopping at his neck by a hairsbreadth. The Moon in the Well swept out, it firmly met the back of the saber of the martial art master on his right hacking from the side. Pang Yu was the first to let out a stifled grunt; his right hand, which wielded the sword, felt empty and fluttering, his umted force had nowhere to go; it was ufortable to the extreme. Previously he had fought with Kou Zhong in Luoyang, but the Kou Zhong before his eyes this moment seemed to have shed his mortal body and exchanged his bones to be another person. The power was deep and immeasurable, the saber technique was hard to fathom. Overwhelmed with shock, he retreated to regroup his troop disposition. Dang! Unexpectedly the martial art master personal bodyguard on the right was swept by him that the saber, as well as the person, staggered across and tumbled away; turned out Kou Zhong borrowed some of Pang Yus inner power and used it against him, how could this gentleman not immediately suffer losses? At the same time that Kou Zhong swept away the enemy on the right side, his left leg flew out, the tip of his boot hit the de of the enemy on the left, who was changing his move upward, the man could only look on helplessly as Kou Zhongs kick arrived without being able to avoid at all. The vortex of energy shot out, the man spurted out blood and fell back. When Pang Yu retreated swiftly, five spear-wielder martial art master personal bodyguards crossed over Pang Yu and dashed on bravely with no thought of personal safety to attack Kou Zhong. Watching this, Li Shimin and the others on the top of the hill drew out a mouthful of cold air. Kou Zhong unexpectedly became this formidable, he was no longer the Kou Zhong that they knew well. Kou Zhongughed aloud and shot up into the sky, five long spears struck to the air. Kou Zhong was quite astute; seeing the five men with one spear style, he determined that these five martial art master personal bodyguards must be proficient in some kind of formation that could disy the strong points of their spear technique, naturally he did not dare to be entangled by them. Pang Yu, who swooped down back from the hill slope, was at a loss. Kou Zhong shot straight up into the sky, when the force exhausted, wouldnt he fall straight back down to the ground? How could he deal with the five long spears waiting for him? Since it was hard to guess, he could only hold his troop disposition on the side and wait. On top of the slope, Li Shimin and the others were too busy to think too much. Except for Li Shimin, everybody put away their weapon, their right hand fetched the bow, the left hand picked the arrow, they pulled the bow to a full circle and aimed it at Kou Zhong, who was still soaring in the sky. The twanging of the bowstring burst one after another, fourteen powerful arrows left the bow and were woven into an arrow, swiftly shooting toward Kou Zhong. None of the archers was not an expert, the point of their aim, as well as the angle, all were impable. If Kou Zhong continued his ascend at the current momentum and speed, he would surely be a target for the arrows. Even if his martial art skill were higher, he wouldnt, under such circumstances, be able to block fourteen powerful arrows at the same time. Li Shimin could not bear to see it happening, but he also vaguely felt that Kou Zhong would not be that easy to kill. Sure enough, Kou Zhong let out a longughter, his true qi changed direction, unexpectedly from straight up he dashed sideways; not only he missed the powerful arrows that could seize his life away, he also flew over Pang Yu to pounce directly toward the men on the hill. Pang Yu shouted loudly, he leaped at an angle, the long sword chased directly behind Kou Zhongs back. Kou Zhong increased his momentum, he rapidly pulled away from the tip of Pang Yus sword, while throwing himself toward Li Shimin at the top of the hill. Yuchi Jingde and the others had never thought that Kou Zhong had this unique skill to reverse the true qi and change the shenfas direction, none did not miss their calction by a substantial margin. Toote to draw their usual weapons out, one after another they jumped off the horseback into the air to meet Kou Zhongs attack using the big bow in their hands to deflect the strike and meet the attack head-on. All of them were fierce generals and warriors, veterans of a hundred battles; facing death, they did not panic. Not only they did not crash into each other in the air, they even worked well with each other. They split up with half forming a human to attack and intercept, while the other half stayed where they were, putting their bow away and drawing their weapons in strong defensive position. From the time Kou Zhongunched his offensive to this moment, it was only about a few blinks of the eye; from this, the tight and intense battlefield situation could clearly be seen. Li Shimin pulled the sword from his waist. He himself was a powerful martial art master as well, although he could see that Kou Zhong was brave and unstoppable, sending out wonderful moves one after another, he was still fearless. Pang Yus sword chased directly behind Kou Zhongs back. Five spear wielders also counterattacked. If Yuchi Jingde, Luo Shixin, and the three martial art master personal bodyguards seeded in intercepting him, Kou Zhong would fall into a heavy siege, with only death without any chance of living. Zhangsun Wuji was guarding by Li Shimins side, unable to take his eyes off as he watched attentively at Kou Zhongs approaching momentum. Among the generals, he and Yuchi Jingde had the highest martial art skill. Furthermore, he was cool-headed and very smart; he would not suddenly be careless just because his side seemed to have the situation under control, plus he had been considering all kinds of measures to meet a contingency due to the change of situation. The first to meet Kou Zhong was Yuchi Jingde. Such a martial art master of his caliber, although it was a long bow instead of the Gui Zang Whip, which he was ustomed to using C in his hand, his move was still fierce and severe, with ample power and ferocious momentum. When it looked like he was going to sweep the other sides Moon in the Well squarely, who would have thought that the Moon in the Well, which clearly was chopping swiftly down, unexpectedly changed suddenly? When he was crying Bad! inwardly, the long bow did not have time to change move, Kou Zhong picked the bowstring with the de of his saber. Laughing heartily, Kou Zhong said, This is called Cheating Troops! It appears real but actually empty, on the contrary, empty bes real. Twang! The bowstring was cut, the bow snapped straight. The most ingenious point of this saber strike was in avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial, by not forcefully staking everything with Yuchi Jingde, but by striking the weakest point of the long bow, neutralizing the enemys offensive. Imagine that when the bent bow became straight wood, plus when snapping straight it generated force, no matter how outstanding Yuchi Jingde was, momentarily it was difficult for him to change move and counterattack, while he was also afraid that Kou Zhong mightunch a killer strike; without any better option, he dropped down. However, he was not worried at all, because Luo Shixins saber and the other three martial art master personal bodyguards swords could make Kou Zhong struggling to cope with. Who could have thought that Kou Zhong borrowed however little of the springing force of the bowstring to rise up, made a somersault, unexpectedly hepletely evaded the intercept in the air, and threw himself toward Li Shimin, under the protection of Zhangsun Wuji and the remaining three martial art master personal bodyguards, on the hill. Whether in terms of strategy and saber technique, Kou Zhongs execution had reached perfection, exquisite and brilliant beyondpare. After failing to catch up from behind, Pang Yu fell back to the ground, his heart filled with regret; if just now he used stillness to control movement, strongly defending his position on top of the hill, he would not be caught in such current situation. If he let Kou Zhong directly attacked Li Shimin, even if afterward not a single hair of Li Shimin was harmed, it would be difficult for them to escape the guilt of unsatisfactory protection. Zhangsun Wuji made a prompt decision; seeing Li Shimin was going to brandish his sword to meet the enemy, he roared, Stop him! Grabbing the bridle of Li Shimins mount, he pulled and turned the horses head to run in the direction of the camp. The three guards, with saber in their right hand and shield on their left, pounced toward Kou Zhong, who was dropping from the sky. Pow! Like lightning, the Moon in the Well struck one of the shields. He borrowed the reaction force to bounce up, and then taking a breath in the air, swift like an arrow he shot toward Li Shimin and Zhangsun Wuji. Li Shimin and Zhangsun Wuji have just started rushing down the hill slope. Although their rides were extremely divine spirited horses, they still failed to take advantage of their four legs to the utmost, by the time they reached their top speed, Kou Zhongs alreadyunched his shenfa to the fullest, swift like a shooting star; he startedter but was arriving first. Zhangsun Wuji already waited with umted power, with a flip, he leaped from the horseback to the ground, the jade Xiao in his hand turned into hundreds and thousands points of light reflecting the moon and the stars in the sky, storming toward Kou Zhong, whose feet were about to touch the ground, like howling wind and torrential rain. His calction was extremely precise, he made his move before Kou Zhong touched the ground, which was the awkward moment when Kou Zhongs old force was at the end of its stage and the new force has not been generated. Kou Zhong thundered, the tip of his feet swiftly stretched out, he touched the ground one step ahead of Zhangsun Wujis estimate, and then, like a spinning top he whirled toward him, the man and the saber became one entity. Ding! Ding! The sound lingered in the air, Zhangsun Wuji gave everything he had, the jade Xiao stabbed more than a dozen times in session, all jabs was aimed at the body of the Moon in the Well, yet he still failed to hold back the violently striking saber momentum; he had no choice but to fly back. Otherwise, if he let Kou Zhong, the man and the saber, entered his defense and knocked his chest, he would be chopped into multiple pieces like having his head and his limbs pulled apart by five horses. Kou Zhong, however, heaved a deep sigh inwardly. He secretly praised Zhangsun Wujis outstanding martial art skill. With him doing everything he could to block him using these several moves, Kou Zhong missed the golden opportunity bestowed by heaven to eliminate Li Shimin, this formidable opponent, for nothing. He failed within sight of sess. Letting out a longughter, he said, Shimin Xiong, take care! I am not seeing you off! Li Shimin was already rushing to the bottom of the hill slope; looking back, he said with augh, A bitter I will look for Shaoshuai to raise our cups and have a heart-to-heart chat, what do you think? Before the enemy crowded around him, Kou Zhong swiftly slipped away. Xu Ziling reached the Great River, and then he rushed along the river westward for about a sichen, by the time it was almost daybreak, the terrain turned t, a ferry crossing point appeared ahead. In the dark before dawn, it was tranquil with no one in sight. Xu Ziling thought he was at the wrong ce, until he saw the small stone tablet with Weng Shan Gu Du [ancient ferry crossing of Mount Weng] inscribed on it, he was certain that this was the appointed ce where Lei Jiuzhi, Song Shidao, and the others agreed as the entry point to Changan; thereupon he sat down at the ferry crossing point, staring nkly at the water of the Great River surging on to the east. Chen Fu was responsible to inform Lei Jiuzhis side, he and Ou Liangcai had establishedmunication channel using speedboat, so that information could be passed on rapidly. Lei Jiuzhi and the others ought to be waiting for him here, but until now he has not seen the ships shadow. While he was hesitating whether he should stay and continue waiting or leave to look for Lei, Song, and the others, a shadow of a sail appeared upstream, a small sailboat was rapidly approaching following the stream. Xu Ziling felt something was not quite right, the boat that Situ Furong personally rode on could not possibly be a small, single-mast sailboat; it should be a huge three-mast or even five-mast ship. Hastily he hid himself in the woods next to the ancient ferry crossing. The sailboat cast anchor by the shore, Ou Liangcai appeared on the boat and looked in all directions. Still unclear of what was going on, Xu Ziling shed out of the woods. Ou Liangcai saw him and called in great delight, Ziling, quickly get on board. Xu Ziling climbed aboard, Ou Liangcai ordered the boat to turn around and sail westward, in the direction of the Pass. He said, This is Lei LaoGes idea; he said that while everybody in the world knew that you went to see Qin Wang, he found someone with simr body build as yours to impersonate Situ Furong and entered the capital. This way, no one would suspect that you and Situ Furong are rted. However, Ziling must now rush to get to Changan as quickly as possible, otherwise, if we let the fake Situ Furong open his mouth and socialize with other people, when you, the real Situ Furong appears to rece him, you might reveal some ws. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly I am the real Situ Furong? So hows the situation of the neither-real-nor-fake Situ Furong? Ou Liangcai cheerfully replied, Situ Furong fled outside the Great Wall, to a ce where he believed the Song Familys influence cannot reach. Without a year or a half, I am afraid he wont dare toe back. At the same time, we sent out a big ship from Pingyao, and also spread rumor that he is going to lie low in Changan; all Pingyao merchants are on our side, everybody agrees that if anybody investigate this, they would confirm that there is no suspicious information on the surface. Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the horizon, where the first light of the dawn started to appear, a burst of emotion welled up in his heart, the battlefield where Kou Zhong and Li Shimin were contending for supremacy were farther and farther away from him, but would he be able to cast the battlefield away from his mind? The sound of shing weapons was ringing continuously. On top of the city wall, as well as below it, arge number of soldiers stood in a circle and watch amidst the sound of cheering. Kou Zhong, bare-chested, and twelve of Yang Gongqings elite personal guards, personally selected by Ma Chang, were having a match as part of their training. The elites took turns on the arena, provoking unending cheers from the spectators; the atmosphere was zing. Cha! Cha! Cha! Kou Zhong unleashed his strange footwork, he suddenly escaped the heavy siege. Raising the saber high, heughed and said, Today we stop at this point. We need to preserve a bit of strength to grab Li Shimins eggs! Kou Zhong came to Yang Gongqing, who was watching from the side, with a smile on his face. The personal bodyguard who was looking after his clothing and other personal items quickly wiped his sweat and helped him putting on the clothes. Yang Gongqingughed and said, Shaoshuai is showing off your ability like this, arent you afraid you might incur Shengshangs jealousy? Kou Zhong had the Piercing the Sun Bow carefully tucked away [note: thest couple of times, the text actually says Shooting the Sun, but since during the prairie arc it was Piercing the Sun, I took the liberty of changing it back]. He spoke indifferently, He ought to be grateful to me. Looking at the city guards on top of the wall, who were still continuously saluting him, he said, This is the best way to motivate their morale, which is to preach using myself, to disy my strength using practical action; it will bring out unexpected efficacy on the battlefield. I learned this move from Xieli. Before attacking Longquan, Xieli and a group of officers and soldiers were having fun in archery practice behind the camp. This is the genuine style of great generals. Yang Gongqing cheerfully said, In here, the one respecting your saber technique the most must be me. Other than Shaoshuai, who could regard Li Shimins personal guards and fierce generals as nothing, who could attack him that his only way out was to spur his ride and run for his life? No need to mention it! Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Just a little bit more, and then I would not need to get up early in the morning to perform a monkey trick show. The sound of hoof beats suddenly rang, a rider was rushing out from inside the city. The two looked, unexpectedly it was great general Zhang Zhi, who was officially appointed to pass on Wang Shichongs order. Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing you look at me I look at you, they were both puzzled and felt that the turn of events was not too encouraging. Zhang Zhi dismounted in front of the two men, he said, Lets get in the tent to talk. Kou Zhong remained motionless. Knitting his brows, he said, Did Zhang Da Jiangjun receive Shengshangs order? Letting out a cold snort, Yang Gongqing said, What is Shengshangs instruction? Awkwardly Zhang Zhi lowered his voice and said, Shengshang told me to pass on a verbal order, cancel todays initiative to attack, changed into wait and see for any changes. What? Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing blurted out at the same time. Even though originally Yang Gongqing did not agree on going out to battle today, but Wang Shichongs issuing order at dusk and changing it in the morning actually vited a big taboo of the School of the Military. Now everybody was ready, the morale was like a rainbow, yet Wang Shichongs foolish and cowardly action was just like pouring a bucket of cold water onto their heads, how could he not make people to be discouraged? Zhang Zhi spoke with wry smile, Shengshang thinks Kou Zhong raised his hand to stop him from continuing; flying onto the horse, he shouted, Ill talk to him. No longer paying attention to Zhang Zhi, he spurred his horse straight into the city gate and toward Cijians Zongguan Mansion, which was used as temporary imperial residence for Wang Shichong. Kou Zhong charged directly into the Zongguan Mansion, all the guards did not dare to stop him, he went straight into the main hall and only then did Wang Shichongs personal guards stop him outside the door. I want to see Shengshang, Kou Zhong yelled. Wang Shichongs voice came from the inside, Let Shaoshuai in! Furious, Kou Zhong stepped into the hall. Knowing what happened, Song Mengqiu and Lang Feng, who were talking to Wang Shichong, withdrew from the hall, leaving Wang Shichong alone sitting on the grandmander chair at the southern end of the hall, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, sipping fragrant tea. But he signaled Kou Zhong to sit down on the first seat on his right. Kou Zhong, however, went straight in front of him and asked in heavy voice, What is this all about? Wang Shichong responded in displeasure, Whats the matter? I could not sleep soundlyst night, thinking over this matter over and over, finally I decided that it would still be inappropriate to send troops out today. The reason is very simple, the fortifications are still not finished, hurriedly sending the troops out, once lost, the cities left and right will be impacted, the consequences are too risky. Kou Zhong spoke in displeasure, But have Shengshang thought that onlyst night you gave the order for all-around preparation for battle, determined to attack today, yet you suddenly change your mind. This will have negative impact on morale. Moreover, our strategy is to gain the initiative by striking first, to show that our troops are without any fear toward the Tangs troops. If we let Li Shimin takes the lead, our passive counterattack and actively taking the initiative to attack are two quite different things. Wang Shichong snorted coldly and said, Shaoshuai must not get angry, I am only dying the attack by one day, after the trench defense ispleted, we go out to battle, confident of sess [orig. ten picks nine stables]. On the battlefield, not only we fight with courage and strength, but also with wits and schemes. Advancing impatiently is a taboo of the School of the Military. It is a mere one day. Currently Li Shimins troops disposition is not stable yet, they will need several days to rest and make preparation. Tomorrow or today, there wont be any difference. Kou Zhongughed angrily, If it were so easy for others to correctly guess Li Shimins movements and strategy, he is unworthy to be called the unrivalledmanding general of the present age. He could arrive three days earlier than Shengshangs prediction, how can we now guess when he is going to invade our territory? Li Shimins military strategy and tactics can be steady can be strange, strange and straightforward changes are endless. If we regard him using ordinary military regtions, certainly we wont have good result. Angry look appeared on his face, Wang Shichong said, Zhen have stated my position, there is no need for you to lecture me. Kou Zhong could no longer suppress his rage; throwing his head back inughter, he said, Since thats the case, I, Kou Zhong have no choice but to return to Pengliang as soon as possible to enjoy a bit of quiet and happiness. Wang Shichongs countenance sank. He was about to speak, Song Mengqiu and Lang Feng, with flustered expression, burst in and blurted out together, Li Shimins main forces are starting all-around maneuver, they are pressing down on our army. Book 47 9 – Decisive Battle of Cijian

Book 47 Chapter 9 C Decisive Battle of Cijian

Wang Shichong and Kou Zhong climbed over the city gate tower to look at the enemys situation in the distance. The Tang Army started to assemble outside the two camps, their maneuver was clear and in good order, fast, nimble and agile; certainly it was the appearance of a military unit at its peak, their morale was like a rainbow, well-equipped and well-trained. Although it was still in the initial stage of assembly, it was already visible, so that people could see the entire battle formation taking shape. Wang Shichong spoke next to Kou Zhongs ear in low voice, Zhen is wrong. Shaoshuai, what can you do to remedy it? Shall we hold fast or meet the enemy head-on? Inwardly, Kou Zhong was shaken. Wang Shichong was really afraid of the war; he lost his confidence, hence in his agitation he lowered his voice and lowered his pride to ask advice from Kou Zhong. Wang Shichongs repeated indecisiveness made the situation extremely dangerous, it might cause him to make wrong judgment when he was confronted with options. Kou Zhong sized the enemy ranks up with rapt attention, the military strength was around fifty thousand, the other five thousand should be staying behind to take care of the camp. In the middle was the uniform infantry unit, the two wings and front and rear troop dispositions were all cavalry. The central unit was further divided into nine groups, each group about three thousand men, consisted of troops from different military branches, each one was equipped with crossbow, bow, spear, saber, sword, shield, Frisian horses [Cheval de fries], and other weaponry. It could be imagined that duringbat under Li Shiminsmand, the troop disposition would have countless changes, targeted at the enemy at any time, and would be able to deliver the most effective response. Seeing how mighty the Tang Army was, Kou Zhong could not help feeling a chill in the air, which was also exuded by Wang Shichong and the other people around. He could not help hating Wang Shichong; if Wang Shichong was willing to listen to his advice and sent the troops one step earlier than Li Shimin, they would not have to be forced by Li Shimin to eat this soup, to be such in a bind that even he, Kou Zhong, felt that there was no room to advance or to retreat. If Cijian were a strong city like Luoyang, Changan, or the like, or even a second-level city like Liyang or Ho, he would not even need to think to propose to firmly resist and noting out, to rely on the solid city wall and strong defensive force to weaken and inflict wear and tear to the Tang Armys strength. Too bad Cijian was just a small town unable to withstand arge armys assault. Moreover, it was practically unable to amodate the more than twenty thousand Zheng Army, so they had no choice but to set up their camp relying on the city wall to resist the huge enemys army. Yang Gongqing and various other generals came to Wang Shichong and Kou Zhongs left and right, to wait for Wang Shichongs instruction, while Wang Shichong was waiting for Kou Zhong, this hu jia junshi [military advisor protector or (one)-self] to speak. The great general, Wang Shichongs trusted aide, Ba Yegang, a short and stout, surly and unreasoning man, with straightforward countenance and with barbarian lineage, analyzed, The enemy mobilization is nearing itspletion stage, if we now hastily go out of the camp to meet the enemy head-on, before our battle array isplete, the enemy would press their formation ande to attack, once we fail to resist, we are going to suffer a big loss. In Chenxias [official in feudal court] opinion, relying on the trenches and city wall in firm defense will be the most dependable. Nearly half of the more than a dozen high-ranking military officers on top of the city wall nodded their head in agreement. Even Yang Gongqing also sighed and said, We have lost the opportunity to fight the decisive battle outside the camp. Kou Zhong knew that Yang Gongqing said those words for his benefit, he wanted to state that under this kind of situation, he did not support facing the attack from the enemy. Taking a deep breath, his mind entered the Moon in the Well realm. If even he lost the will to fight, then they would undoubtedly lose the battle. Laughing calmly, he said, If we hold fast and noting out, how would Li Shimin react? Would hemand his troops to forcefully attack? Or would he withdraw the troops and be done with it? Wang Shichong suddenly frowned and said, Really strange, they do not prepare any equipment to cross over the trenches. ttering him, Lang Feng said, Clearly Li Shimin is only want to demonstrate his power, to show off his military strength. We can just ignore them. The Great General Chen Zhilue spoke heavily, All Li Shimins outstanding work and battle vestige are from defending cities, he is not adept at besieging cities; therefore, if we decide to defend the city firmly, Li Shimin will be helpless to do anything to us. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Since Li Shimin was an expert in defending a city, naturally he understood better than anyone else the strengths and weaknesses of a city; he knew how to guard and knew how to attack. The fact was that Wang Shichong and the great generals under hismand were scared by Li Shimins fame for fighting prowess and now by his disy of power, so that they did not dare to meet the enemy head-on. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Gentlemen have not answered my question; will Li Shimin move his troops to attack, to batter our camp, or will he, after showing off his strength, withdraw the troops and be done with it? Guo Shancai asked, How would Shaoshuai look at it? Everybodys eyes were fixed on Kou Zhong, waiting to hear his answer. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Li Shimin is worthy to be called the unrivalledmander-in-chief able to move unhindered; what is true and what is false engender each other, so that other people cannot see through his goal. We cant even figure out whether he ismanding his troops to invade our territory, or just want to show off his strength a bit. Turning to Wang Shichong, he said, Li Shimin is testing our reaction. If I were Li Shimin, if Shengshang shrinks back and do note out, he would dispatch one unit to circle around behind Cijian and select a strategic ce somewhere over there to set up a camp that can be firmly defended, to cut our link to Luoyang, to intercept our rations and fodder. And then when he seeds in establishing this kind of army camps all around Cijian, Cijian will be severely sealed off, we will copse even without fighting, we will, in the most stupid and cowardly way, lose this great battle, in which to whom the deer falls is still unknown, which we should have won in the most glorious way. Shaken, Wang Shichong said, Shaoshuai is advocating the battle? Kou Zhong said, We have no choice, the initiative already fell into Li Shimins hands; by the time the battle array ispleted, they will advance toward our army, and when they suppress us until we are unable to move a single step, we will be like the fatty meat on the chopping block, just waiting for him to ughter us. Shengshang must make prompt decision, otherwise, any dy in the troops deployment might be toote for regrets. Yang Gongqing nodded and said, Shaoshuais remark is very insightful, Shengshang, please make immediate decision. Wang Shichongs breathing grew urgent, he suddenly shouted, Just like Shaoshuai proposes, immediately deploy the army to meet the enemy. At this moment, the sound of shaking-the-heavens shouting and cheering exploded from the enemy ranks, and it continued to rush forth like a tide. They saw Li Shiminsmander-in-chief bannering out of the camps gate, the Commander-in-Chief Li Shimin, under escort of various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion, entered the Tang Army formation. Throwing his head back inughter, Kou Zhong said, Oh, Li Shimin! Let us gain first-hand experience of your true skill. The Zheng Army, from inside the city and the camp, flowed endlessly into the battlefield. The Tang Army also began to advance. As Kou Zhong expected, Li Shimin chose the small hill between the two sides as his temporarymand stage, using g signal, battle drum and bugle horn to conduct the overall situation in advancing to attack, and in retreating to defend. The Zheng Army was taking a half-moon-shaped formation, relying on the city walls of Cijian to reduce the defensive line as much as possible, to tighten and concentrate the formation, to form organic defensive system as much as possible, in order to counter the Tang Armysparatively more scattered assault of its phnx formation. The twenty thousand strong Zheng Army was divided into left, middle and right, three divisions. The left and right divisions consist of five-thousand-man cavalry each, with the infantry positioned between two sides. The right side cavalry was under Yang Gongqing and Ma Changsmand. The left side cavalry was under Chen Zhiluesmand with Ba Yegang as his deputy. The middle infantry was divided into fourrge units, each unit consisted of five thousand men, under themand of Yu Yuanzhen, Shan Xiongxin, Duan Da, and Guo Shancai, respectively. Song Mengqiu and Lang Feng stayed behind to guard the city. Kou Zhong and Zhang Zhi apanied Wang Shichong and his two thousand strong personal guard regiment positioned themselves in the middle of the middle army, tomand the troops and were in charge of the overall situation. The phnx-formation Tang Army and the half-moon-shaped-relying-on-the-city-wall-formation Zheng Army, the two sides troops and horses were standing opposite of each other over a distance. The war could happen at any moment. Actually, the Tang Army had only about twenty thousand more than the Zheng Army, but because the Tang Armys offensive formation was scattered, while the Zheng Armys defensive formation was concentrated, at a nce, the covering-the-mountains-and-the-ins Tang Armys, with their banners flying in the wind C military strength appeared to be several times the Zheng Armys. From Kou Zhongs angle of view, ahead, extended to the left and right, were all types of the Tang Armys military branches, the momentum was terrifying to the extreme point. It was certainly the appearance of the army with valiant generals and brave soldiers at its peak. By contrast, because their earlier momentum was snatched away, his side was being led by the nose by the enemy troops, everybodys countenance was heavy, none was not taking the passive attitude of if they were able resist the assault of the enemy troops, it would be extremely amazing. Kou Zhong threw away all distracting thoughts,pletely without fear he watch the enemy and examined the enemy, trying to look for the enemys weak point and gap. Dong! Dong! Dong! The enemys battle drums were sounded together. The middle armys three forward groups, consisted of the infantry and the vanguard cavalry, started to advance, to press on toward the enemy. When they were about a thousand paces away from the Zheng Armys center infantry formation, they stopped suddenly. The formation stretched out to both sides, to take the shape of elongated phnx, the movement was uniform, fast and efficient, putting their well-trained performance in full disy. Although they have not really attacked, it already put huge pressure on the Zheng Army. They still maintain the formation where the cavalry took the forward position, and the infantry took the rear position. Kou Zhongughed happily and said, Good Li Shimin! I, Kou Zhong, am nearly deceived. The bugle horn sounded, the cavalry at the Zheng Armys two wings spurred their horses to slowly advance, and gradually disperse outward to block, like a pair of giant palms stretching out to mp on the enemy. His expression grave, Wang Shichong asked, What Li Shimins crafty plots and machinations did Shaoshuai see through? Kou Zhong replied, The cavalry on the right side has a total of five groups, each group has a thousand men, the group in the inside is precisely Li Shimins most elite Xuan Jia Tianbing [dark-armored celestial soldiers], which is also the wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly] that can bore through the enemy formation, the one that Li Shimin rely on to subdue big enemy, again and again. If we cannot decide the n to deal with them early on, this battle will, no doubt, be lost. On Wang Shichongs other side, Zhang Zhi spoke in astonishment, Its not that we have not heard Li Shimins Xuan Jia Qin Bing [personal troops], but on the surface this cavalry is not the least bit different from the other cavalry; how did Shaoshuai judge that this squadron is precisely Li Shimins Xuan Jia Tianbing? Wang Shichong nodded to indicate that he had simr doubt. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong replied, Look at their rides. The warhorses are more serene and orderly than the other groups. This is the Tujues people secret technique of observing the horses. Horses have keen sense of touch, if their masters are nervous and uneasy, they would clearly sensed it; furthermore, it will be reflected in their movement and bearing. It is precisely because this team of men and horses are the elites of the elites, they have been through battle disposition for a long time that everybodys mind and intention is rxed, unlike other peoples nervous thought. Thereupon it is reflected by their horses. Zhang Zhi concentrated his attention to examine carefully, he gasped with admiration and said, Indeed that is so. Shaoshuais eyesight is really brilliant. How should we deal with it? Wang Shichong asked. Kou Zhong responded indifferently, The enemys strongest point is precisely the weak point, the ce where the w is. If we can withstand them, in todays battle, Li Shimin will have no ce to carry out his usual scheme. As for the next battle, well think about it in the next battle! Looking at Wang Shichong, he spoke in heavy voice, Shengshangs most elite troops, are they the personal corps standing behind us? Without any choice, Wang Shichong nodded and said, Should be so! Kou Zhongughed and said, Without any sacrifice, how can there be any gain? If Shengshang gives me five hundred men under mymand, I can meet this group of Li Shimins wonder troops with prating power like a nail C head-on, kill his Niangs until they are in a sorry state. Otherwise, if we let this team, from the front formation, attack toward our sides rear formation, and then turning around and charge from behind, our formation will no longer be a formation, our army will no longer be an army! Dong! Dong! Dong! The battle drums sounded together, battle cry reached the sky, the Tang Army finallyunched their assault, covering the mountains and the ins, yet with the shape of the formation intact, they rushed to kill. The two sides main forces finally shed against each other. Xu Ziling entered the City of Changan by nightfall. This time he roused all his twelve consciousness, unleashing all kinds of trick to throw off the enemy, in order to prevent martial art masters like Shi Zhixuan or Wanwan from following his track from behind, as he sneaked into Hou Xibais Passionate Nest. Seeing him back, Hou Xibai spoke in delight, I already guessed that you wouldeback around this time tonight, hence I did not dare to go to Shang Lin Yuan. Hows the situation? Was Kou Zhong willing to listen to you? Xu Ziling sat down in the corner of the study room. Looking distracted, he asked, Listen to what? Smiling apologetically, Hou Xibai said, I dont know what to ask you, so I randomly asked a question. As long as Kou Zhong raises his vignce, it should be difficult for Yang Xuyan to carry out his wicked scheme. Whats Li Shimins n? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, His n is precisely to mind what is going on in Changan; he wants to get rid of Kou Zhong first before dealing with other things. Stunned, Hou Xibai bird-headedly sat down next to him, he asked in confusion, What kind of n is that? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Thinking about this matter too much is useless, wed better put it aside and not think about it. Have you made contact with Lei Dage? Hou Xibai nodded and said, They entered the city yesterday. They are staying in a magnificent residence at Chongren Li [neighborhood/district]; everything appears to be going quite smoothly. Lei Dage and the others make every effort to keep a low profile, but the news that Situ Furong ising to Changan is already secretly spread out. Only because of the war between the Tang and the Zheng, plus Kou Zhong is involved C attracted the House of Tangs attention, currently, the topic touching the mouth and bumping into the face are all rted to this matter, nobody has the leisure to pay attention to a newly richsing and going. Have you seen Ji Qian? Xu Ziling asked. Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, The past few days, she has not returned to Shang Lin Yuan, with the excuse of being sick. As for Yin Xianhe, theres still no news. Could it be that he encountered some mishaps? Xu Ziling sighed and said, No need to make random guess, so that we wont be heart distracted, thoughts in turmoil [idiom] for nothing. Hou Xibai said, Wanwan came to look for you, twice; how do you think I should deal with her? Xu Ziling said, If she ising again to look for me, please meet her for me here, I need to go find Hu Xiaoxian, plus there is still that Han Lin Qing Yuan Scroll of yours, right? Hou Xibais spirit greatly aroused, Absolutely! he replied in delight, Zaixia was afraid Ling Shao might forget this matter. Whenever you want to steal it, I will have to go to Shang Lin Yuan to make an alibi. And then, lowering his voice, he said, Shi Shi ispletely without any detectable movement, looks like you really aggravated his injury, so that he must hide to treat the injury. I hope these good days will stretch a bit longer. Recalling Shi Zhixuan, immediately Xu Ziling had a headache. Hows the progress of your Hundred-Beauty Painting? he asked. Hou Xibai replied, Only about a dozen more beauties to go. Painting the beauties is not difficult at all, the difficult part is inposing the hundred poems to go with the beauties, a hundred different verses; it wears me out that I nearly wanted to give up. Xu Ziling patted his shoulder and said, Go spend your time in drinking and pleasure at the Shang Lin Yuan tonight! I am going to see Lei LaoGe and Song ErGe to find out the situation before proceeding with our n. Tonight will be a very busy night. The intense attack and defense battle continued from morning to nightfall. The Tang Army was mainly attacking, the Zheng Army was mainly defending. Under Li Shiminsmand, the Tang Armys officers and soldiersunched continuous, wave after wave of violent attacks and fierce strikes toward the Zheng Army, from long-distance arrows to hand-to-hand closebats, this side was rising the other side was continuing, they were fighting nonstop. The dust being kicked by the horses hoofs and the soldiers boots was hiding the sky and covering the earth, both sides suffered injuries and deaths, blood dyed the grasnd red, dead bodies were scattered everywhere on the wilderness, the battle was desperate. Kou Zhong, using Yijian Techniques frame of mind faced this severe battle as if he was inmand, Wang Shichong became his general transmitting his order instead. At this moment, he became the conductor that only sought sess, every single general was a chess piece that he put on the chessboard, he made his judgment with cold eye, which piece should stay, which piece ought to be thrown away, in order to strive for the final victory. If it were not so, the Zheng Army would have not been able to withstand the Tang Armys shocking strike early on, and would have been forced to retreat to the camp inside the city. The bugle horn sounded. The Tang Army on the battlefield retreated like a tide. Kou Zhong gave the order to pursue and attack, but was forced back by the Tang Armys strong bows and powerful arrows, which rapidly closed the gap. The two sides fell into standing in opposition to one another again. Kou Zhong inwardly med himself for being careless. The Tang Army retreated but not in confusion, even the dead and wounded were entirely sent back behind the front line. Clearly it was an orderly retreat, not advisable for pursue and attack. Just this momentary slip cost him more than a hundred lives lost at the enemys hands; as themander-in-chief, it was indeed a great responsibility. The enemy and us, two troops dispositions lit up hundreds and thousands of torches, the day battle has turned into night battle. It was a different scene and another atmosphere. Wang Shichong spoke heavily, What crafty idea does Li Shimin still have? This was exactly the question that everybody in the Zheng Army was anxious to know. Li Shiminsmand on the battlefield seemed to be determined, but his tactics changed endlessly. Were it not for Kou Zhong, this junshi [military advisor], whose talent was made in heaven C dealing with it calmly, neutralizing the attacks one by one, the Zheng Army surely would not be able not to lose a single cun of soil like right now. Both sides regrouped their disposition of troops and moved away their dead and injured. Kou Zhongs body had a lot more wounds, but he was unconcerned at all, as if nothing happened to him, he even refused to have his wounds bound up and treated. Others thought that he was an exceptional hero, unafraid of any pain from the wound, but he knew his own condition, the Long-Life Qi had more healing efficacy than any sacred elixir. He and the five hundred personal guards that Wang Shichong assigned to himunched attacks many times, repeatedly crushing the enemys assaults. His Piercing the Sun Bow [see my previous note, original text says shooting] released strings of arrows, which made the enemy even more heart-turned-cold-guts-perishing; otherwise, the battle might develop into the situation where the Tang Army was having a full control over it. The two thousand elite troops, Wang Shichongs personal guards, were divided into four groups that Kou Zhong could dispatch andmand at will, hence each time they were able to strike back at the Tang Army with powerful-and-brave-and-irresistible attitude, time and again they rendered amazing meritorious service. Really strange, Zhang Zhi said, Howe Li Shimin has not dispatch his celestial soldiers yet? Up to this moment, that one thousand horsemen, which Kou Zhongs discerning eyes were able to see through that they were the celestial soldiers, had only pretended to attack twice; they were still preserving and nurturing their spirit, waiting for the fortunate timing. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Is Da Jiangjun tired? Zhang Zhi sighed and said, Unless you are made of iron, how could you not be tired? Therefore, Kou Zhong replied, Everybody is tired! Li Shimin is precisely waiting for this moment. Only then will his celestial soldiers be able to disy their greatest effectiveness. He had not finished speaking, the Tang Armys staying-behind-and-had-not-participated-in-the-attack team of cavalry was starting to move, and the celestial soldiers cavalry was precisely part of this group. The twenty thousand cavalry was pulled back to regroup, to hold back their troops without moving. But if Li Shimin gave the order, they could throw themselves back into the battlefield at any time. The enemy was pressing in continuously. Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well and shouted to the five hundred cavalrymen, who have had good rest behind him, Sess or failure, it will depend on our ability. The five hundred fighters responded with a roar. In their hearts, Kou Zhong had already established an unequalled leadership position; everybody was willing to follow him, to die for him. Although this matter incurred Wang Shichongs jealousy, Kou Zhong was already unable to change much, otherwise his dead body would lie in this ce. Luoyang, Shao Shuai Army, and everything else no longer be any concern of him. Ahead, the middle armys infantry, following the direction of the battle drums, gs and bugle horns, moved to both sides to open up a gap, so that the troops under Kou Zhongs leadership could rush out to be the first to meet the attacking Dark-armored Celestial Soldiers and the tens of thousands of Tang Army. Book 47 10 – The Masterstroke of Driving A Wedge Between Allies

Book 47 Chapter 10 C The Masterstroke of Driving A Wedge Between Allies

From the rear wall, Xu Ziling entered the magnificent residence at the Chongren Li. Lei Jiuzhi, Song Shidao, two men who were in disguise, were talking inside the rear hall. Seeing Xu Zilinging to see them, naturally they were very happy. After both sides more or less exined what happened after they parted, Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Why dont I see any attendants here? Where is Xiao Jun? Lei Jiuzhi said, Xiao Jun is putting on disguise; after some deliberations, we made a bit of change to our original n, but its even more perfect, actually. Perhaps Xu Ziling still had some doubts about Lei Jiuzhi, but he had full confidence in Song Shidao; he cheerfully said, Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention. Song Shidaoughed calmly and said, Actually, we only made two changes. The first is in response to the changes in the situation. Turns out Situ Furong is even more a coward than we thought. After receiving our warning letter, he and Shen Wenjiang, two men left Pingyao on that very same night to avoid disaster, leaving the business in care of his younger brother. Therefore, we cannot have arge group of maids and servants to follow us along. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Is there such a coincidence? Why didnt he take other people, but only this Shen Wenjiang to flee together? The two have such a close rtionship? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, You can call this being smart the whole lifetime, being stupid for a short while. Naturally it was Song ErYe mentioning something in the letter, so that we wont have to worry that Shen Wenjiang would not dare not to follow his Laoban [boss] to flee to the other end of the world. Xu Ziling obtained a sudden understanding; he said, Certainly Song ErGe has thought of everything. Song Shidaoughed and spoke to Lei Jiuzhi, I am not Song ErYe, but Shen Xiansheng [mister]. When will Su Guanjia [housekeeper/butler] start to change your tune [to change the way one addresses somebody (as when one marries and starts to call ones husbands parents Papa and Mama)]? Lei Jiuzhi brought his palm to his own mouth; pretending to be in fear and trepidation, he said, Xiaoren knows his guilt! Xiaoren knows his guilt! Shen Ye Daren, please be magnanimous, please dont argue with Xiaoren. He spoke in Pingyaos local ent with exaggerated intonation, provoking the whole room in a roar ofughter. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If Shi Zhixuan, Wanwan, or any martial art master their caliber were here, our hearts blood would entirely go down the drain. Song Shidao nodded and said, Ziling is right. Su Guanjia, you ought to be a bit more careful, otherwise, if Wenjiang speak something in front of Furong Ye, you, Su Guanjia, would have to immediately pack and quit [to be sacked] and return to your home vige to till the fields. The three roared inughter again. Xu Ziling leaned back against the chair, a burst of sadness welled up in his heart. If Kou Zhong were here, it would be much better. They all couldugh together to their hearts contend, to talk about their grand n to deal with the crafty scoundrel. A voice, old and decrepit, came from the back door, saying, What offending-superiors mistake did Su Guanjiamit? Huh? Unexpectedly its Xu Ye! Xu Ziling took a nce, immediately he cried, Wonderful! inwardly. Walking into the room was Xiao Jun, disguised as Situ Furong, honoring them with his good-selfs presence, enough to resemble the build and appearance of the original Situ Furong he saw in the painting. Lei Jiuzhi sprang up and grabbed Ren Juns shoulders, reaching out, he pinched his cheek and said, This mask, although cannot bepared to Lu Shis miraculous hands skillful-snatching-the-heaven work, but at least it seventy-, eighty-percent close. I guarantee that when Situ Furong saw him, he would think that he was looking in the mirror. Xu Ziling could not help smiling. He said with augh, You should have said that even Lu Dashi would think that this mask was made by him. Lei Jiuzhi cheerfully released his pinch on Xiao Juns face, heughed and said, Good kid! When did you learn how to pat the horses butt? Song Shidao said, And this is our second change. Because to have you, Xu Ziling, disguising yourself as Situ Furong and sit in here all day long is really too much of a waste, hence in normal times we have Xiao Jun taking your ce, until when you have to show your talent on the table. Based on your skill, imitating Xiao Juns voice should be easy. Ren Jun spoke with straight face, in Pingyao ent, Opening a pawnshop is not just a business, it is also the door to knowledge. To make money, one must speak about reputation first. Whether I, Situ Furong earn one penny more or one penny less, it is definitely not a problem, the most important thing is that when gentlemen and friends hear the four letters of my name, Situ Furong, you will have confidence. The tone of his voice, the inflection, the stato, everything had certain characteristic that once people hear it, it would be difficult to forget. Precisely because of this distinctive feature and other differences that it was easy to grasp and imitate. Lei Jiuzhi said, This the way that Ou Liangcai taught us. Situ Furong really speaks with this kind of intonation. ording to Ou Liangcai, Xiao Jun already mastered it to 70, 80% simrity. Xu Zilings confidence greatly increased, he said, Sit down and lets talk! After all four have been seated, Song Shidao said, We already paid a visit to the authorities; we also asked them to look after our desire not to publicize our arrival. Tomorrow Chen Fu is going to send several maids and servants to wait upon Furong Ye, as for protector of the courtyard, bodyguards and the like, Chen Fu is going to secretly recruit some for us. If Chi Shengchun really has wolf-heart toward us, he should seize this opportunity to have his men infiltrate our ce, and then we could beat them at their own game. Ren Jun said, I am most afraid that Chi Shengchun does not even know that our good-selves have arrived. Xu Ziling pondered quietly for half a day. Turning to Lei Jiuzhi, he asked, Has Lei Dage passed on a unique skill or two to Xiao Jun? Before Lei Jiuzhi could answer, Ren Jun already stretched out his hand and spread out his palm, three dice appeared in the hollow of his palm as if by magic. Heughed and said, Now, even in my sleep I dream about gambling; but in my dream I always lose more than I win. Xu Ziling spoke cheerfully, That will save a lot of work. How old is the real Situ Furong, and what about his wife and children? Lei Jiuzhi replied, The real Situ Furong should not be more than forty years old. He does not seem to be lecherous, up until now he is still unmarried, hence a lot of people spected that he has other passion, that he is having an affair with Song ErYe. Laughing involuntarily, Song Shidao said, Lei LaoGe is joking with me again; he is having an affair with Shen Wenjiang, not with some ErYe or SanYe. Turning to look at Ren Jun, Xu Ziling asked, Is Xiao Jun scared? Ren Jun shook his head firmly and said, With Lei Ye and ErYe by my side giving directions, not only I am not afraid, I feel excited. Lei Jiuzhi spoke seriously, Xiao Jun is very quick to learn, his talent is very high, Ziling need not worry whether he is up to the task or not. That will work! Xu Ziling said, My only worry is that Xiao Juns eyes might leak the secret, because those with a bit of eyesight will be able to see that he is an expert. Song Shidao said, Dare to open a pawnshop, how could his background be that simple? Situ Furong came from the dark road, himself is a longtou dage [big brother the boss] of a famous underworld gang in Pingyao. I, Shen Wenjiang, am also from a family influential for generations background with martial art training from childhood. Therefore, there shouldnt be any problem in this aspect. Lei Jiuzhi said, The Su Guanjia I am impersonating is a real person, he is another trusted aide of Situ Furongs, he has quite a reputation among Pingyao Wulin. Situ Furong and Shen Wenjiang escaped from Pingyao, he went down south and disappeared without a trace. He should be under Situ Furongs order to investigate the situation in Song ErYes home. Xu Ziling deeply felt the benefit of group nning and group efforts, which made his life a lot easier. He said, I want you to have a good rest today. Wait until I finish making arrangement, tomorrow we canunch our grand n of luring the Xiang. Song Shidao asked in surprise, What arrangement Ziling need to make? Rising to his full height, Xu Ziling said with augh, First of all, I need to make arrangement with a remarkably beautiful woman. A snake has a snakes way, a rat also has a rats way to fall for Xiao Jun, this Situ Furong, who is definitely not a pleasant man, to make him change his passion so that he will like women. My Niang! Whats going on here? Finally the battle came to a temporary end. While the Tang Army attacked repeatedly, Li Shimin beat the gong to recall the troops; the Great Tang Army, which took control of the initiative, retreated to their camp in an orderly manner. The crucial point in this battley in Kou Zhong desperately resisted Li Shimins spearhead celestial soldiers [orig. chisel through, see my note in Book 39, Chapter 12], so that the Tang Army was unable to break through the Zheng Armys defense line. The casualties both sides suffered were quite heavy, the dead and injured reached several thousands men, it was indeed a desperate battle. Kou Zhong suffered countless wounds, hisbat robe was stained with his own blood, as well as the enemys, so that it looked terrifyingly mottled. After going through the using-battle-to-raise-battle cultivation outside the Great Wall, he had fully mastered the way to preserve his life in the bloody battle involving magnificent army with thousands of men and horses. But injuries were inevitable. No matter how superior your martial art skill is, no matter how exceptional your saber technique, in the tangled battle where no one could dodge, where men were crowding each other, enduring saber anding in contact with sword is something that cannot be avoided. But how to minimize the damage from the enemy, this was the out of the ordinary skill that Kou Zhong developed from countless military campaign. When the soldiers were cleaning up the battlefield, Yang Gongqing and he spurred their horses around the city walls and the camp, to a small hill on the other side of Cijian. From here, using fast horse along the official road, if one was hurrying toward the east, one could reach Luoyang in about two days. Kou Zhong said, Later on I am going to speak to Wang Shichong, we must set up a camp here to ensure a smooth flow of food and supplies. Otherwise, if Li Shimin sent a small troops of men and horses to attack and rob the caravan delivering provisions, we would be struggling to cope with the situation. Yang Gongqing said, In that case, we might as well build a stone fort, which could correspond well with Cijian over a distance. The tools and craftsmen can be transferred from Luoyang. This way, even if Cijian is lost, Li Shimin cannot press on straight to Luoyang. Moreover, if we have no alternative but to retreat back to Luoyang, we need not be afraid that Li Shimin would cut our tail in pursue and attack. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, We have just fought a beautiful big battle today, which make Li Shimin not daring to despise us, Yang Gong still have no confidence whether we can defend Cijian steadily? Yang Gongqing sighed and said, Of course I have full confidence in Shaoshuai, but toward Wang Shichong, its a different matter altogether! Who knows what stupid idea he wille up with tomorrow? Kou Zhong felt that he very much had simr sentiment; he said, To build a suitable stone fort like that, how much time will we need? Yang Gongqing said, In order to resist the Tang Armys attack on Luoyang, we already stockpiledrge quantities of rocks already cut to square in the city, to mend the damaged city wall when necessary. If some of those stones are brought in and built into a fort, plus we have enough manpower, within about ten days we will be able to build a stone fort with defensive capability, plus it can amodate several hundred garrison soldiers. Kou Zhong was astonished, A stone fort can be built that quickly, it is really unimaginable. In that case, why not build two stone forts on both side of the road? Their defensive power will be doubled. Good idea! Yang Gongqing cheerfully said, But it would be best if the proposal does note from us. Let me speak privately with Ba Yegang. He has been with Wang Shichong for close to ten years, he is a high-ranking military officer with different surname that Wang Shichong trusts the most, it will be easier for his proposal to enter Wang Shichongs ears. Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong said, Ba Yegang and Wang Shichong are both barbarians, they might even have blood rtionship, or perhaps both are connected to Da Ming Zun Jiao; he must be an ideal candidate to speak with Wang Shichong. Yang Gongs thought is really thorough! Thorough? Yang Gongqing said with a wry smile, Ay, exhausting is more like it. On the battlefield, if you have an idea and something goes wrong, even deities and immortals wont be able to save you. Kou Zhong said, After fighting todays battle, my view on the whole situation has changed from pessimistic to optimistic. Now everybody should know that I am helping Wang Shichong to repel Li Shimin in good faith. Now if I can persuade Wang Shichong to ept Dou Jiandes offer, while to the other side thoroughlyy out the pros and cons, to ask him to send troops to help, Li Shimin would have no room to advance or to retreat, and would be trapped in inferior, passive position. Muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Yang Gongqing spoke heavily, What kind of person Dou Jiande actually is? Kou Zhong was slightly startled; it was quite a whileter before he answered, Honestly, until this moment I still cannot figure out what kind of person he is. He speaks properly, he only says what he ought to say, smooth and evasive enough not to be offensive. But his weakness, which is also very likely his strength, is his overly self-confidence. For example, after capturing Liyang, he was thinking of deploying his troops to cross the river and attack Ho. It goes to show that not only he does not consider Wang Shichong worthy in his eyes, he also underestimates Li Shimins threat. Yang Gongqing said, Its no wonder that Wang Shichong is afraid of him. Dou Jiande captured Liyang, it poses great threat to Wang Shichong. Under current circumstances, definitely there is no possibility for the two to join forces against the Tang. This moment, Ma Chang and more than a dozen of his men were rushing over horseback, saying, Shengshang requests the pleasure of seeing Shaoshuai! Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing exchanged a doubtful look, they both could not guess why Wang Shichong wanted to see Kou Zhong this urgently. Xu Ziling put on the Yong Qin mask plus the beard from Hou Xibais collection. As he entered the outer main hall of the Ming Tang Wo, it was nearly the first watch of the night [7-9pm]. The brightly lit main hall was swelling with the crowd, the noise of the people surrounding the gambling tables was ear splitting. Xu Ziling exchanged his money for a small number of gambling chips, and then he strolled leisurely among the gambling tables, but his mind was upied by Hu Xiaoxian. If he left a secret mark in the corner of the gambling hall, tomorrow he would get in touch with Hu Xiaoxian. His only worry was that because he had to rush to Cijian, he already missed the deadline of making contact that he agreed with her, hence he was unsure whether there was any change in the n. Finally he made up his mind. While no one noticed, he left the secret mark using the method that only he and Hu Xiaoxian understood, indicating the time and ce of meeting. Afterwards, he casually yed a couple of hands in one of the gambling tables, and lost nearly half of his chips. As he was about to leave, a fragrant whiff assaulted his nostrils, Ji Qian was brushing past him, saying, I am going to wait for you in that Sichuan cuisine restaurant. Wang Shichong was sitting on the Dragon Seat located at the southern end of the Zongguan Mansions main hall. Various great generals, Duan Da, Shan Xiongxin, Xing Yuanzhen, Zhang Zhi, Chen Zhilue, Guo Shancai, Ba Yegang, and the others separately sat on either side. The atmosphere was solemn. Seeing Kou Zhong walked in, all the generals greeted him with a smile, their manner respectful. It was a sign that Kou Zhong has established a certain position in their hearts and has earned their respect. Wang Shichong had the letter in his hand handed over to a personal guard standing behind his chair and spoke indifferently, Give it to Shaoshuai to look over. Kou Zhong was greatly confused and was stunned. Wang Shichong snorted coldly and said, This is the letter that Li Shimin had his man shot into our camp. The letter is addressed to Zhen, but the words are directed at you. Kou Zhong took the letter, unfolded it, and read it one time through. Other than Wang Shichong, obviously everybody else did not know the contents of the flying arrow letter, they all revealed a curious expression. Based on Li Shimins style of work, the content of this letter could not possibly be just some senseless words. Finished reading, Kou Zhong folded the letter. Laughing involuntarily, he said, Good Li Shimin. In just a few simple words, he can make Shengshangs heart ufortable, while putting me in a no room to advance or to retreat position. Great General Chen Zhilue could not help asking, What kind of tricks did Li Shimin actually y in the letter? Wang Shichong angrily said, How could Zhen be ufortable over this? Shaoshuai can decide for yourself what to do. Everybody was even more unable to make any sense of the matter; yet everybody knew that when Wang Shichong said that he was not concerned, the truth was the opposite, otherwise he would not speak those angry words. Kou Zhong sat down on thest chair of the row of chairs on the right side. Putting the letter on the small table, he patted the armrest andughed aloud and said, In the letter, Li Shimin is inviting me to meet with him in his camp at the third watch of the night [11pm-1am, or midnight]. Shall I go or not? The various generals suddenly understood. Li Shimins move was very formidable. The letter was sent to Wang Shichong, but the content was directed at Kou Zhong. He was referring to the biggest contradiction between Wang Shichong and Kou Zhong. Moreover, it showed clearly that he did not respect Wang Shichong at all; it stated explicitly that in Li Shimins heart, only Kou Zhong was worthy to be his opponent, Wang Shichong practically was not worthy in his eyes. Zhang Zhi cleared his throat and said, Shangsheng must be careful, this is likely to be the trap that Li Shiminy out to deal with Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong praised him inwardly. Zhang Zhis remark was extremely fitting, he was handing over the authority back into Wang Shichongs hands. Yu [sic. it was Xing above] Yuanzhen sighed and said, This letter is an extremely brilliant scheme to drive a wedge between allies. Shengshang must not fall into Li Shimins trap. Just by listening to two great generals under Wang Shichongsmand striving to say good things on his behalf, Kou Zhong knew that the numerous generals already grew a feeling that they were relying heavily upon him, Kou Zhong. The problem was that Wang Shichong was petty-minded, intellectually he might understand that his various generals were right, but emotionally it was still difficult to ept. His brows furrowed, Shan Xiongxin said, What does Li Shimin want to discuss with Shaoshuai? If Shaoshuai were someone who could be easily swayed, today he would not be here to go through fire and water with us to fight the Tang Army together. In his heart, Kou Zhong was greatlyforted, yet he also knew that the more the various generals speak good words on his behalf, the more they might attract Wang Shichongs jealousy. However, he clearly could not take it another way. Indeed Wang Shichongs expression still did not look good; he spoke coldly, In that case, all gentlemen Qingjia [from the dictionary: (from the Tang Dynasty onwards) term used by the emperor for his subjects] think that Shaoshuai should not go to the meeting, is that right? Ba Yegang, who, all along, has not uttered a single word, said, In my opinion, based on Li Shimins style of work, this meeting should not be a Hongmen Banquet at all. Moreover, even if it is indeed a trap, based on Shaoshuais skill, if he wanted to break the siege, who would be able to stop him? Perhaps after the battle today, Li Shimins sounding out the difficulties and retreating to avoid defeat can also be a possibility. Letting out a cold snort, Wang Shichong said, If he is sounding out the difficulties and retreating to avoid defeat, he ought toe and put forward his proposal directly to me. Guo Shancai said, I also think of another possibility, which is Li Shimin wants to find out Shaoshuais intention, and then decide whether he should withdraw his troops. For Wang Shichongs various generals, whether it was the old troops under hismand who had been with him for many years, or like Duan Da, Shan Xiongxin, Yu Yuanzhen, and the other high-ranking military officers who surrendered from Li Mis camp, everybody knew that Kou Zhong was the minister who rendered great merit in defeating Li Mi. Todays battle was entirely due to him supporting the general situation. Therefore, everybody felt that Guo Shancais analysis was as it should be by rights. Only Wang Shichong, the more he heard it, the more he felt it was not to his liking. Wang Shichong could see that almost everybody nodded their head in agreement with Guo Shancais opinion; his countenance sank, he spoke to Kou Zhong, Shaoshuai understands your own rtionship with Li Shimin better than anybody else. In the end, Shaoshuais status here is a guest-subject [orig. qing, see above], you are not directly under Zhensmand. Therefore, this matter should be decided by Shaoshuai yourself. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, but on the surface he remained calm andposed. He spoke indifferently, Thank you very much Shengshang! Since Li Shimin dares to invite me, I, Kou Zhong, also dare to go see him. Whatever it is that he says to me, I will pass on without missing a word to Shengshang. Shengshang, please trust me. My only goal now is to defend Cijian steadily, other things I have no time to pay attention to, but I also have no time to think about. He was saying all good things to Wang Shichong to give him enough face. If Wang Shichong still could not figure it out and still could not see it through, then he was digging his own grave. In which case, what could he, Kou Zhong do? Book 47 11 – Military Tactics On Paper[1]

Book 47 Chapter 11 C Military Tactics On Paper[1]

Xu Ziling entered the Sichuan Cuisine Restaurant. Ji Qian was sitting with her back to everybody else in a rather secluded corner, waiting for him. The restaurant was about to close, so they no longer eptte diners, only three tables still had guests around them, the atmosphere was tranquil and serene. Xu Ziling sat down across the table from Ji Qian, Ji Qians beautiful eyes floated over toward him. It appeared that she had recovered her usual vitality; shing and flickering, she sized him up with keen interest, waiting for him to open his mouth. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Xiaojie, please forgive Zaixias guilt of missing the appointment first, simply because there was an important matter that required me to leave Changan that very same day. I only came back this evening. Ji Qian put one hand up to prop her fragrant cheek, while with the other hand shezily poured a cup of tea for him. She spoke without any care, Was it one of those secret things? Xu Ziling smiled calmly and said, Xiaojies guess is spot on. Ji Qian put down the teapot. Pft! she giggled tenderly, cast him a nce, and said, You are quite frank. This time you made great change, not only your voice is a lot more pleasant to hear, your speech and expression are even like two different persons. Oh! I nearly forget to tell you, I remember who Yin Xiaoji is! Really? Xu Ziling asked in great delight. Ji Qian replied in displeasure, Am I, Ji Qian, a liar? But if you want me to tell you, there is one condition. Xu Ziling already knew that she would not be so tame; thereupon he smiled and said, Xiaodi is listening with respectful attention. Ji Qian spoke word-by-word, You must tell me why you want to deal with Shi Shengchun, and then it will be up to me to decide whether I want to participate. If what you say does not interest me, I wont reveal anything about Yin Xiaoji. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, That is a very reasonable request. If you have the opportunity, Xiaojie could also inquire Hou Xibai whether I can be trusted, he will give Xiaojie a definite answer. Pursing her lips, Ji Qianughed softly and said, No need to be nervous, if I do not trust you the slightest bit, tonight I would not be here, sitting and talking to you, this destined love [in opera]. I could also have my friend in the government to arrest you head-on at the Ming Tang Wos gate and lock you up in prison. At that time, whatever I want to know, I could personally question you via torture. Hearing that, Xu Ziling did not know whether he shouldugh or cry, knowing that she was still resentful toward him for puncturing her beautiful dream of learning and mastering extraordinary gambling skill. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, Returning to the topic, the one I want to deal with is not surnamed Chi, but surnamed Xiang. Xiaojie is beginning to be interested, am I right? Ji Qian sat her tender body up straight, the pretty pupil of her eyes flickering, she spoke softly, Tell me first, are you Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling? I have asked Xibai many times about you, Xibai simply smiled without saying anything, but he did admit that he has life-long friendly rtions with you. Xu Ziling understood. Because thest time he mentioned Hou Xibais name, Ji Qian was able to guess who he was, therefore, her attitude changed greatly. Gently leaning forward, he met her expectant eyes head-on, and then spoke softly, I wonder if I could speak a couple of Jianghu saying first, for example, something like walking I dont change my given name, sitting I dont change my surname, and then I tell you that I am Xu Ziling? Ji Qian could not help letting out a touching silver-bell-likeughter; covering her mouth, she red at him and said, Dont tease me and make meugh! I want to be serious now! Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. It could be said that Changan was another battlefield, only this battlefield was really much more interesting than Kou Zhongs battlefield in Cijian. Could it be that Kou Zhong was bringing trouble to himself? Ji Qian lightly waved her lily-white hand in front of his eyes to get his attention, What are you thinking? she asked. Xu Ziling calmly replied, I am thinking about Kou Zhong. I hope that this moment he is still alive and well. Ji Qian blissfully looked at him and said, Do you really regard me as your friend and are not afraid that I might harm you? Xu Ziling replied seriously, I never thought that Xiaojie might harm me. Ji Qian leaned close to him and spoke in low voice, Let me tell you a secret. These several nights, I have been waiting for you outside the Ming Tang Wo gate, because I knew you woulde back. Xu Ziling sensed that something was not right. Ji Qianughed and said, Your disguise as Xu Ziling is very good. If I did not know that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are in Cijian fighting life and death battle against Qin Wang, I would have beenpletely deceived by you. But now? Hee hee Not good! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. Ji Qian nimbly leaped backward to get away, the guests on the other three tables, seven men in total, pulled their weapons at the same time and rushed forward to seal him dead in the corner. Xu Ziling did not know these men at all, but looking at their faces, they looked like the pampered sons of wealthy families, Ji Qians admirers, whom Ji Qian recruited to be her ragtag army. Standing far behind the frontline, immensely proud of herself, Ji Qianughed tenderly and said, You, this liar, who do you think you are? You dare to deceive this Guniang. If you are really Xu Ziling, show a couple of hands and let me gain first-hand knowledge of it. One of the young Gongzi wielding a sword roared inughter and said, So what if he is really Xu Ziling? Just let us, Changan Qi Gongzi [seven young masters of Changan] teach him a lesson that there is a sky outside the sky, there is a man outside the man [idiom: in the wider world there are people more talented than oneself]. How could Changan be a ce for a random man to disy shockingly bad behavior? de light suddenly shed, two swords, from two different angles, shed directly toward his neck and cheek, ruthless and swift; these two had quite some skills. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. If these some his mothers seven young masters of Changan exposed his track, so that Li Yuan and the others know that he, Xu Ziling was in Changan, then he would suffer injustice for nothing. A table of wine and vegetables was setup in front of the Tang Army camp, with only two seats on it, Li Shimin was sitting leisurely on the seat by the camps gate. Standing behind him were Yuchi Jingde, Pang Yu, Qin Shubao, and Zhangsun Wuji, a group of great generals, his trusted aides. Under the illumination of the torches of the camp, Li Shimin, with grand and heavy expression, was waiting respectfully for Kou Zhongs good-selfs arrival. Kou Zhong, riding alone, galloped over from the direction of the City of Cijians gate, straight toward the banquet table. Rxed and effortless, he swung off the horse and let a Tang soldier, who was rushing over to take the rein, to wait upon the horse. Laughing, he said, Shimin Xiong is indeed a trustworthy person. At first Xiaodi thought that drinking and chatting merrily was just a casual talk, but now I know that you were serious. Li Shimin rose up to his full height and calmly said, We are, after all, intimate friends. Even if very soon we will have to fight life and death battle on the battlefield, whenever possible, we shoulde to talk about former times. Shaoshuai, please take a seat! The various generals behind him, none did not fix their eyes at Kou Zhongs every movement with burning gaze, their eyes were full of hostility, yet they also implied respect. Kou Zhong came to he seat on the other side and sat down ostentatiously. Li Shimin personally poured a cup filled to the brim for him, before sitting down and raising his cup, he said, Our Great Tangs army camp has a strict rule against drinking alcohol, vitors are punishable by beheading, hence tonights banquet has to be held outside the camp. The wine is rice wine that we procured from a nearby vige, brimming with local style and vor. Let me toast Shaoshuai a cup first. The two raised their cups and drank together. Li Shimin turned his head around and spoke to the various generals under hismand, Go back to the camp, this King has some confidential matter Id like to discuss with Shaoshuai. All the generals revealed stunned expression, yet they knew that Li Shimins order must be obeyed. Military orders are like mountains [idiom], helplessly they withdrew until no one remained, leaving only the two men sitting across the table outside the camp. Kou Zhong estimated that the banquet table was about two hundred paces away from the camp gate; he spoke with astonishment, Shimin Xiong is not afraid I might suddenly give you trouble? Although Shimin Xiongs martial art skill is superior, but if I am willing to trade my life with yours, disregarding everything and striking Shimin Xiong forcefully, maybe before Shimin Xiongs men came to your aid, I would be able to inflict heavy damage on Shimin Xiong. Li Shiminughed aloud and said, If Kou Zhong is such a person, I, Li Shimin, practically disdain sitting together with you and having a heart-to-heart chat. I, Li Shimin trust you absolutely; moreover, I believe that I did not misjudge you. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I definitely cannot be that shameless. Ay! You, LaoGe have already harmed me disastrously, increasing the sore point between Wang Shichong and me. What else is there to say? Li Shimin poured another cup of wine for him, he smiled and said, Previously, I strenuously advised Shaoshuai to no avail, this time I want to thoroughlyy out the pros and cons. Shaoshuai, please dontugh at me, because from the beginning to the end, we all are brothers and good friends. Kou Zhong raised his cup to offer a toast, he said, This toast is for our previous brotherhood sentiments. After we drink this cup, previous brotherhood sentiments will disappear in one stroke of a pen. If I, Kou Zhong lose my life under Shimin Xiongs hands, even bing a ghost I cant possibly me Shimin Xiong; I will only me myself for overestimating my own capabilities, for trying in vain to set myself against Shimin Xiong. Good! Li Shimin shouted, and then both sides emptied their cups again. Setting down the wine cup, Kou Zhong spoke slyly, What pros and cons Shimin Xiong wants toy out thoroughly to Xiaodi? I hope it is something new. If it is some old things that I already knew, we wont need to waste our time, we could go back earlier and have a his mothers good sleep. Li Shimin leaned forward slightly, his pair of eyes flickering brightly, he fixed his eyes on Kou Zhong, smiled, and said, I want to make a big bet against Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong was sweeping his eyes over to look at the camp gates situation; pulling his gaze back, he met Li Shimins sharp gaze, which seemed to be able to prate any secret. Caught by surprise, he asked in astonishment, Big bet? What are we betting on? Li Shimin said, Naturally we are betting on Luoyang. If I, Li Shimin, cannot capture Luoyang within half a year, from now on I, Li Shimin, will no longer mind any military and government affairs. But if I seed, Gexia [Sire] must give up your great undertaking of contending for hegemony. I will allow you to disband Shao Shuai Army, or perhaps have the Shao Shuai Army surrender and pay allegiance to me. I, Li Shimin guarantee that I will treat well every single one of Kou Zhongs subordinates. The refined light in Kou Zhongs tiger-eyes suddenly shing, he spoke glibly, Half a year, if we say its long, its actually not, if we say its short, its not short either. Shimin Xiong is not afraid to spin cocoon around yourself [idiom: enmeshed in a trap of ones own devising]? Li Shiminughed and said, If I say one year, would Shaoshuai still be willing to take this bet? Any bet, if there is no risk involved, it wont be fun. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Shimin Xiongs guts is bigger than mine. If Xiaodi were you, LaoXiong, since victory or defeat in this Cijian has not been decided, how could you dare to say big bet, these grandiose words? Li Shimin looked up to the starry sky above, he spoke slowly, Let Shimin also offer a hypothesis: if the master of Luoyang were Kou Zhong instead of Wang Shichong, I, Li Shimin definitely would not dare toy this heavy bet. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Your thoroughlyying out the pros and cons is indeed different. You are not afraid that I might advise Wang Shichong to defend Cijian to the death. Because we have Luoyang as a back up, we might be able to persevere for about a year. At that time, wouldnt Shimin Xiong have to stare nkly as the bargaining chips in your hand are losing one and all without being able to do anything? On the surface the two men were courteous and friendly, but they were actually opposing each other with equal harshness, neither side was yielding. Li Shimin blurted outughing, he said, Isnt Shaoshuai overestimating Wang Shichong too much? The more Shaoshuai is showing outstanding performance, the more you are incurring Wang Shichongs jealousy. Inside and outside, the Zheng Kingdom is beset with difficulties, factional struggle and attaching importance to the high-ranking military officers of the same n are even more unpopr. Shaoshuai can have your good wishes, its a pity that the fact is cold-hearted. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Wang Shichong has always been a man who carries the troops and fights the battles. On the battlefield the saberes and the arrow goes, how could he have the time to y with dirty trick? Li Shimin spoke indifferently, In that case I will simply force Wang Shichong to return to Luoyang, to give him a bit more time to consider his own situation. Not concealing anything from Shaoshuai, I already ordered Huaizhous Zongguan Huang Junhan and valiant general Zhang Yecha at Heyang to assemble an army of thirty thousand men. If they are sessful, Ill send them to cross over Mengjin, then they could subdue and capture Huiluo. No need for Shimin to warn Shaoshuai, Huiluo and Luokou are the two big granaries supplying Luoyang with provisions. If Huiluo fell, I am afraid the supply of army provisions to Cijian will be more or less impacted! Immediately Kou Zhong was put in the disadvantageous position; smiling wryly, he said, Fortunately there is still Luokou. One day Ho still stands, Luokou can provide endless supplies from its own storehouse to Luoyang via River Luo, in order to guarantee that Luoyang will notck provision, and to provide assistance to the Zheng Army in Cijian, while it could also buy provisions from various cities on the lower reaches of the Great River. Besides, currently Huiluo already strengthened their defense, I wonder if it is too early for Shimin Xiong to make that im? Li Shimin let out a longughter; he said, Ho! Ha! Ho! And then his eyes looked deep into Kou Zhongs, he smiled and said, For Ho, Shimin dispatched three other armies, ten thousand men each army. One army is under themand of infantry Zongguan Shi Wanbao, from Yiyang marching toward Yijue. Another army is under Liu Deweismand, from Taixing to the east around Henei. Henei is currently the Zheng Armys only stronghold north of the Great River, if this garrison is lost, the northern bank of the Great River will entirely fall into my hands. Based on our Great Tangs navy strength, would Shaoshuai still doubt if we could put the Great River under our control? After a short pause, he went on, The Great River already provide me with the means to move unhindered, thest army is under Shang Gu Gong [duke of upper valley] Wang Junkuosmand, after crossing the river and rest the troops at Luokou, they will cut thest route for providing foodstuff to Luoyang. At that time, if they want to transport the army provisions from Luokou to Luoyang, they must ask my, Li Shimins permission first. Recovering his cool-headedness, Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, I did not expect Shimin Xiong to have such a high interest in military tactics on paper, Xiaodi will try to keep youpany to the end. Shimin Xiong seems to think that capturing Yique is like having a card up your sleeve, which Xiaodi find it hard to understand. Shouan, Yique, two cities, one is located south of River Luo, the other is west of River Yi. The two is separated by less than one-day journey by horse, they are as close as lips and teeth [idiom: interdependent]. Shouan has the experienced and an old hand Zhang Zhenzhou as themanding officer, as long as he dispatches an army in response, what ability does Shi Wanbao have that he would be able to capture Yique? Outside the city of Yique, theres still Longmen Fort; moreover, if Qian Duguan of Xiangyang and Zhu Cans allied armies go up north, Shi Wanbao will face the enemy on all sides; whether he would be able to escape back to send his regards and pay his respects to Shimin Xiong will be a question. Li Shiminughed but did not answer; he said, On this, please forgive Shimin for keeping the climax of the story; how about if I let Shaoshuai to figure it out by yourself? Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, Is Shimin Xiong hinting that Zhang Zhenzhou is surrendering to you? He was not making a fuss about nothing at all, because if Zhang Zhenzhou surrendering turned out to be true, not only the blow to the Zheng Armys morale would be extremely hard to measure, the consequences are even more unimaginable. First of all, if they failed to keep Yique, furthermore, if the connection to Luoyang was cut off, the Great Tangs Army would then be able to nibble away all the cities and towns south of Luoyang like locust, and then the area north of the Great River would fall into the Tang Armys hands. If they also lost Cijian, Luoyang would only have Ho, one hole with which they could breathe, on the eastern front. Changing the subject, Li Shimin said, I wonder if Shaoshuai understands the game of Go. As far as Im concerned, Wang Shichong and his army are one big dragon, in direct confrontation, even if I win, the injuries and deaths will be disastrous. Therefore, we have to take the strategy of hemming them in and chopping them off, blocking his every living mouth, and then restrain his breathing holes one by one, leaving him only Luoyang, one small hole. With just one small hole, how is he going to survive? Shaoshuai, please give advice. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Xiaodi has never learned to y the game of Go. If he cannot live with one hole, can he live with a pair of holes? The other living mouth is precisely Ho, which is also another living dragons iing road. Li Shimin smiled and said, If Shimin did not have a way to control Dou Jiande or your Shao Shuai Army, I wouldnt have dared toe to the east; I would rather sit in Guanzhong looking at Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong butt heads until their forehead split. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, My Shao Shuai Army? Unconcerned, Li Shimin said, Du Fuwei already surrendered to Tang, what could Li Zitong do? Surrender to my Great Tang, perhaps being conferred the title Marquis or respected as a general, living his life in style. Although Shao Shuai Armys vitality is thriving, the morale is high, but its wings have not grown; to defend themselves, perhaps they have enough power, but if Li Zitong took a position of going up north to attack, Shaoshuais Pengliang Army wont be able to move a single step, you wont be able to send one soldier, half a pawn to help Ho. Kou Zhongs entire scalp went numb. It was only now that he gained first hand experience on Li Shimins god-like art of war, his urate calction and nning. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Li Shimin spoke slyly, As for Dou Jiande, on one hand, he must retain part of his military strength to suppress Gao Kaidao and Luo Yi, who are beginning to stir in the north, while he also have to cope with the challenge of another militia on the east side. This militia is under themand of Meng Haigong of Shandong, who is equally famous with Xu Yuang. If Dou Jiande wanted to put him in order, I am afraid he will have to spend some efforts. Kou Zhong was like a gambler who was gambling until the sky turned hazy, the earth turned dark, only to find that as he wanted to ce hisst bet, he suddenly discovered that he had lost all the gambling chips in his hands. The saddest thing was that he knew Li Shimins strategy perfectly well, yet he was still unable to deal with it or change it. Taking a deep breath, he said, What if Shimin Xiong lose this battle of Cijian? Laughing involuntarily, Li Shimin said, Whatever the case, I will not lose this battle. Starting tonight, my army will resolutely stay inside the fort and wonte out, waiting for the good news of the other four armies separately capturing Huiluo, Luokou, Henei, and Yique. If this is still not enough, Shimin could leave about ten thousand men to defend the camp, while I myself will lead the rest of my men to go down south along the Great River to personally capture northern hills and southern mountains, the Jintang City northeast of Luoyang. At that time, I want to see whether because of Cijian, Wang Shichong would pay no attention to Luoyang, and apany Shaoshuai in here admiring the full moon and gazing upon the stars? Kou Zhong pped the table and said with a sigh, Good kid! Your grannys bear! Its only now that I understand about that thing called thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns, I also understand why Xue Ju, father and son, and Liu Wuzhou, Song JinGang, so lost and became his mothers muddled andpletely copsing. You, LaoGe make me have power but difficult to use it. You invited me tonight toe and drink wine, you wanted to embarrass me and make me unable to step down the stage, right? Li Shimin responded solemnly, Exactly the opposite. I invited you toe to drink and have a heart-to-heart chat, it is because I, Li Shimin always consider you a brother. You, Kou Zhong, are a hero, just ept my bet. I, Li Shimin decided on the half a year period, it is precisely to pay back my debt of gratitude to you. https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was shing, he fixed his eyes on Li Shimin, but did not say anything. Li Shimin spoke heavily, Dont raise any hope on Ho. I already dispatched Li Shiji with full authority to be in charge of capturing Ho. This man, whether within Li Mis army or among our Great Tangs various generals C is a first-ss talent. I have full confidence that he can easily take Ho. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said with a sigh, The battle of Luoyang is too unfair for me! War is just like that, Li Shimin replied, Jianghu has Jianghu rules, war has wars rules, which is one is called a king if sessful, called a bandit if defeated [idiom]. When you enter a vige, follow the local customs [idiom], how could Shaoshuai unexpectedly spoke those words? Kou Zhong stood up suddenly. Looking up at the starry sky, he spoke slowly, I, Kou Zhong, have my, Kou Zhongs rules. From this moment on, Qin Wang need not remember old affection fondly. You should onlyply with your wars rules to treat me and my Shao Shuai Army like chopping the grass and pulling the root. If my skill is inferior to yours, I, Kou Zhong will die without regret. Li Shimin sighed and said, In that case, Shaoshuai is unwilling to ept my bet; I wonder what is the reason behind it? Laughing heartily, Kou Zhong said, Because more and more I feel that with an opponent like you, LaoGe, my life is not in vain. Thest negotiation between the two men finally broke down. 1 Chapter title: idiom, fig. Theoretical discussion that is worse than useless in practice. Book 47 12 – The Last Hope

Book 47 Chapter 12 C The Last Hope

The lights suddenly went out. The Seven Young Masters of Changans all kinds of weapons either hacked the chair or chopped the table, while Xu Ziling himself already disappeared without any trace. Ji Qian and the others were still groping about in panic inside the restaurant, which had turned intoplete darkness, while Xu Ziling stealthily slipped out from the back door. This was the best way to deal with the situation that he could think of, and only he could put out all eight pcenterns around the restaurants in the blink of an eye, and then the moment the light suddenly turned dark, he seized the opportunity to easily slip out of the siege, the Seven Young Masters of Changan could not even touch the corner of his garment. Since they were so useless, naturally the pretentious Seven Young Masters of Changan could not possibly broadcast it; they might even brag to be the hero that scared Xu Zilings Yong Qin that he fled in defeat, hence it was unlikely that they would rm other people. As for the deterioration of his rtionship with Ji Qian, he was helpless to do anything about it, hence he had no choice but to temporarily ignore it with the intention of clearing up the misunderstanding when he had the fortunate timing in the future. When he turned into a side alley, he immediately flew up to the roof of a building on the side of the alley. Shaking his body, he transformed himself into the vicious-shaped-evil-appearance-and-ghost-like-face Duan Ming Cao San, and then he rushed at full speed in the direction of Chi Shengchuns magnificent mansion. Before his meeting, Kou Zhong already stated that he would pass on everything that Li Shimin said without missing a word to Wang Shichong. However, when he was about to do so, Kou Zhong began to realize that it was not possible. Not only he had to carefully select suitable things to say to Wang Shichong, he also had to change the tone of Li Shimins original voice and remove all insulting words altogether. Inside the inner hall of Cijians Zongguan Mansion, Wang Shichong dismissed all his attendants, and he listened to Kou Zhongs report with all his attention. Kou Zhong finally said, This time Li Shimin wanted to see me to talk, the main reason was to make me sounding out the difficulties and retreating to avoid defeat [idiom]. But Shengshang please rest assured that I am now more confident than ever that I will be able to defend Cijian steadily. If Li Shimin really goes around to attack Luoyang, we will raze the camp he left behind to the ground, and then weunch pincer attack to his troops attacking Luoyang. Such a strong big city like Luoyang, how could he capture it in a year or a half? He did not mention even for half a sentence Li Shimins proposal, as well as that he did not dare to ept his bet. He did not mention anything about Zhang Zhenzhou either, because quite possibly it was only a scheme to drive a wedge between them anyway. Naturally, it was also possible that it might be true. As for Li Shimins strategy, he reported it truthfully. Wang Shichongs face was cloudy, he spoke in heavy voice, If we cannot conquer his city stronghold for a long time, wont that mean our thirty thousand troops will be pinned down by his mere ten thousand men in here? If Li Shimin can capture Huiluo, or even control the North Mang Mountain, he could easily cut off the grain transport route from Luoyang to Cijian. Moreover, because he gains control over the Yellow River, plus he obtains the support of Guanzhong via the waterway, in term of the foodstuff supply, he does not have any problem at all. This side is declining, that side is growing, it is going to be greatly disadvantageous to us. Kou Zhong was shocked; he hastily said, Shengshang must never give up Cijian. If Cijian is lost, Shouan and Yique will be without protection, the blow to our morale will be heavy and difficult to estimate. The sea on the northern side already fell into Li Shimins hands, if we let the Tang Army sweeps various cities in the south and cuts off connection with Xiangyang, we will barely only have Yanshi and Ho on the eastern front, we will be caught in apletely passive position. Letting out a cold snort, Wang Shichong said, I am not as pessimistic as Shaoshuai; Ho and Luokou, Xingyang, Guanzhou, Zhengyang, Bianzhou and Yanshi, each city corresponds to the other. All these cities on the frontline are guarded by great generals who arepletely loyal and devoted to me, Wang Shichong. Li Shimin wanted to break my eastern side, how could it be easy? If Li Shiji dares to attack Ho, it will be akin to digging his own grave. As long as I concentrate the military strength in Luoyang, any problem on the east, I will simply transfer troops from Luoyang to help, how long will Li Shimin be able to endure? By the time of Great Snow in the winter, he will have to return to Guanzhong, at that time, the world will be my, Wang Shichongs world. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, But have Shengshang ever thought that our sess or failure is linked to Ho? Isnt this called staking all on one throw, that everyday we could only ask God and worship Buddha, hoping that Ho will not fall? Wang Shichong shook his head and said, Zhens mind is made up. Starting tomorrow, we will withdraw our troops in stages to return to Luoyang. Huiluo is one of our two big granaries, its impact on Luoyangs sess or failure is greater than Cijian. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was enraged. He stood up abruptly and spoke heavily, There wille a day where Shengshang will regret this decision. Troops in defeat like andslide [idiom], although retreating army does not mean losing a war, but the lost of Cijian will affect all officers and soldiers confidence in Shengshang, as well as affect their loyalty to Shengshang. I wonder if Shengshang could give me ten thousand men, let me, Kou Zhong, be in charge of defending Cijian to the death for Shengshang? Wang Shichong looked at him coldly for half a day. Finally he slowly shook his head and said, Zhen must preserve the military strength to defend Luoyang. Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh and made a helpless expression; and just like that, he walked over toward the exit. Wang Shichong shouted angrily, Where are you going? Without looking back, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Going back to Pengliang, naturally. I want to see if there is any chance for me to snatch Jiangdu away from Li Zitongs hands. Jiangdu is another Luoyang. If it falls into my hands, the boundless ocean will allow me, Kou Zhong, to go on the rampage. If Li Shimin ising to attack Pengliang, I will have the bargaining chips to contend with him. Wang Shichong softened down. He sighed and said, Zhen have my own difficulties, why dont you sit down, we can discuss a strategy to satisfy rival demands. Shaoshuai has consideration for Cijian, I am giving thought to Luoyang. For example, we could build two stone forts on either side of the road between Cijian and Luoyang; it will both reinforce the defensive power west of Luoyang, also we need not worry to painstakingly defend Cijian as if it is too far to be able to help [orig. the whip cannot reach (idiom)]. Kou Zhong knew that Zhang Zhi raised his and Yang Gongqings earlier ideas to Wang Shichong, yet in the end because Wang Shichong was still afraid, he decided to give up defending Cijian. Shaking his head, he said, Only if Cijian still stand will this kind of stone fort can y an active role. Ay! I really do not wish to leave Shengshang, its only because I have no other choice; I do not want to be ughtered by Li Shimin that easily! Wang Shichong rose up and left his seat, he went straight to Kou Zhongs behind, and spoke in displeasure, What does Shaoshuai want that you will be willing to stay to help Zhen? Other than Cijian, which is difficult for Zhen to give you a nod, in other things we still have room for discussion. Kou Zhong spun around like a whirlwind and spoke resolutely, Very well! As long as Shengshang agrees to let me have the full authority to take the heavy responsibility to defend Ho, I, Kou Zhong will live or die with Shengshang, I will absolutely not abandon you midway. In an easy drive on a familiar path, Xu Ziling sneaked into Chi Mansion. He evaded the patrolling dog protecting the courtyard and entered the inner residence. Furthermore, he roused all his twelve consciousness [i.e. 120% alert (Courtesy of Akw)], all because he might meet a demonic school martial art master at any moment. Of the three sections of the inner courtyard, only the front hall was brightly lit, from which he also heard voices. The middle and rear sections were dark without any light. Xu Ziling cried inwardly, Heaven helps me, following the familiar path he peeked into Chi Shengchuns bedroom. Bai Qinger was not there, the bed was empty, the beddings were folded neatly, evidently Chi Shengchun has not yet gone to bed. He mused inwardly whether Bai Qinger already seeded in mastering that Chanu Xinfa or whatever [see Book 46 Chapter 10], and thus she went out to harm people. He swiftly entered the bedroom. Using his professional insight and skill, in less than half a quarter hour he already discovered the entrance to the underground room to be inside one of the cabs leaning against the wall, concealed behind clothing and other personal items, plus it did not require any special mechanism to open. Grabbing the handle and lifted it up, he saw wooden stairs extending at an angle into the underground room. Its so easy, he mused. After making sure that there was nobody around, he lighted the paper fire, and slipped into the underground room. The underground room was approximately a zhang square, and was absolutely empty. On one side, there were three wooden cabs, on the other side were three sturdy sandalwood chests. Xu Ziling opened the cabs one by one. Stored inside were weapons, medicaments and all kinds of gambling equipment. The wooden chests were entirely filled with gold ingots. Three boxes full of gold ingots, the total amount ought to surpass ten thousand gold ingots, enough to buy the entire Ming Tang Wo, assuming the Great Immortal Hu Fo was willing to give his nod of approval. Not good! Xu Ziling cried inwardly, and then he turned his attention to the underground rooms walls, floor and ceiling, to carry out a cun-by-cun investigation. Very soon he was certain that the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu that Hou Xibai was dreaming of acquiring was not stored inside this secret room. Immediately he had big headache. He began to realize that bing an elegant thief was not easy. Such a big mansion house with a continuous row of building after building, searching for a scroll of painting would be like fishing a needle from the sea. Suddenly his heart was moved; painting was to be seen, Chi Shengchun must have had the painting hung in the hall for the eyes to see, yet like an idiot he was looking for it inside a secret room? Thinking to this point, Xu Ziling, extremely quietly, withdrew. After putting everything back to its original state, he passed through study room and inner hall of the middle section, and headed toward the brightly lit front hall. Furious, Kou Zhong passed through the city gate. The guards on duty saluted respectfully, the morale was high. Already waiting for him, Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang came over to meet him. Kou Zhong signaled them not to ask anything; without stopping, he said, Li kid is really formidable. One meeting plus a few words, he already struck me, Kou Zhong down. His Niangs! Im sure he wanted to pay me back for the wrong he suffered the other night when I was going to kill him! Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang noticed his ill expression, they knew something was wrong. The former asked with a frown, Whats the matter? Kou Zhong halted his steps about a dozen paces from the camp gate, he cast his gaze toward the enemy camp, resplendent inntern lights, in the distance; he spoke dejectedly, Wang Shichong wants to withdraw the troops to defend Huiluo and Luoyang! What? Ma Chang blurted out, Wont that mean we simply hand over Shouan and Yique on a tter to other people? Horrified, Yang Gongqing said, That is akin to forcing Zhang Zhenzhou to surrender and pay allegiance to the House of Tang. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. He and Yang Gongqing understood Zhang Zhenzhou better than anybody else, including Wang Shichong. He was alreadypletely disappointed at Wang Shichong; if they could assassinate Wang Shichong, he would definitely stand on Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqings side. But in the case of Wang Shichong abandoning Cijian, naturally he was unwilling to sacrifice his life for Wang Shichong, this kind of despicable through and through, using people for selfish gain, lowly person. Surrendering in exchange of official position or feudal nobility from the House of Tang was indeed a sensible act, no one would be able to impeach him even for half a sentence. If Li Shimin could predict that his words could make Wang Shichong withdraw his troops and abandon Cijian, and one of the oue of this operation was to make Zhang Zhenzhou, one of the two famous great generals of the Zheng Army, angry and surrendering to him, Li Shimins scheming was indeed terrifying. Smiling wryly, he replied, Thats the reason I said Li kid is formidable. And then he briefly told the two everything about the strategic deployment that Li Shimin stated in advance. Yang Gongqing blew a mouthful of air, he said, Li Shimins warning is actually very timely, because we had just received news from Luoyang, our navy suffered a crushing defeat at Mengjin, the Tang Army assembled at Heyang is making preparation tounchrge scale invasion by crossing the river to attack Huiluo, and that Li Shijis main forces of twenty thousand men are already disembarking on the southern bank of the Great River, they captured Heyin, and are threatening Ho, Xingyang, Guancheng, various garrisons. Li Shimin is using facts to prove that he was not making empty threat. What should we do? Ma Chang asked. Yang Gongqing said, Li Zitong still has some strength, enough to threaten our brothers in Pengliang. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I must leave to Changan now to help my good brother dealing with Shi Zhixuan. Wang Shichong withdrawing his troops will take about ten days. After he is back in Luoyang, he will have no other choice but to send you back to help Huiluo, with Wang Xuanying, or somebody like him, to supervise you and the troops. You must seize the opportunity to go to Pengliang to join our brothers there. After my business in Changan is done, I will immediately rush back to Pengliang. Try to see how we can preserve our strength and to take down Jiangdu. At that time, we will still have a sliver of hope to survive. Ma Chang asked, If Wang Shichong personally supervise the army to help Huiluo, what do we do? Kou Zhong shook his head firmly. Patting Ma Changs shoulder, heughed and said, Dont worry! If Li Shimin could let Wang Shichong to have spare time to save Huiluo, then he is not the Li Shimin that I know. Wang Shichong withdrawing his troops in orderly manner, Li Shimin definitely will not take the risk to pursue and attack. He would split his troops in two ways, one way toward Shouan and Yique, to rendezvous with Shi Wanbao, to cut off the link between Xiangyang and Luoyang; the other way will follow Li Shimin advancing to the east, to have his back against North Mang Mountain and press down against Luoyang. Do you think for Wang Shichong, Luoyang is more important, or Huiluo is more important? Yang Gongqing said, Fortunately, our armys home is in Yanshi. The defending general of Yanshi is also one of my men. From there escaping away to Pengliang is very convenient, as long we have enough time to prepare. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, That might be one big w in Wang Shichongs control over the generals and soldiers under hismand. If he let his troops entire family members to stay in Luoyang, to betray him would involve a lot more apprehensions. Yang Gongqing replied, But the implementation will be greatly difficult, plus it is harmful to the economy. In Luoyang, there are thirty thousand households, the poption reaches seven hundred thousand people, plus the army. It already reaches the saturation point. If we add the officers and soldiers wife and children, in food supply aspect, certainly they cannot cope. Therefore, the wives and children are settled near the officers and soldiers encampment. This is also a way to pacify the troops heart. Otherwise, to make arrangement to furlough the officers and soldiers to go home and visit their family is already a big headache. Do Shaoshuai absolutely have to leave? Ma Chang asked, Perhaps you could wait until tomorrow to contend against Wang Shichong on strong grounds? Cant say for sure, but he might change his mind. If Shaoshuai leave just like this, its too much of a pity! Yang Gongqing also said, I could lobby the other great generals who understand the art of war and strategy, tomorrow morning we could thoroughlyy out the pros and cons to this idiot, to make him no longer obstinately clinging to his course and court disaster. Kou Zhong responded with a sigh, I know this person Wang Shichong too well. He only believes in himself, which is also the characteristic of the demonic school people. Myst request was to defend Ho to the death for him, but he perfunctorily responded by saying that he needed some time to think it over. His Niangs! I dont want to waste my time for this kind of man. My only chance now is, before Li Shimin captures Luoyang, I must capture Jiangdu first, and then Id ask my future father-inw to provide assistance via the sea. At that time I will be able to put on a good show for Li kid to watch. Finished speaking, he stepped toward the camp gate. Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang blindly followed behind him; they wanted to say something, but did not know what to say. Toward Kou Zhongs resourcefulness and intelligence, the two already submitted cheerfully, his decision must be the best choice. Kou Zhong suddenly halted his steps and said, My other brother Ba Fenghan mighte to look for me in Luoyang these next few days. He knows our rtionship very well, if he cannot find me, he will naturally look for Yang Gong. Ma Chang said, I will have my men to pay attention. Currently Luoyangs city defense is extremely tensed, I am afraid it will be very difficult for him to enter the city without making any noise. Kou Zhongughed and said, This kid is even more resourceful than me. Youd better not leak out any rumor, because he also ranks as one of the big enemies that the demonic school wants to catch. Dont worry! He will have a way to get inside the city. Shaoshuai may set your heart at ease, Yang Gongqing said, Shall we invite him toe to Pengliang to inquire after Shaoshuai? That way we only waste his talent! Kou Zhong replied, I am asking Yang Gong to tell him on my behalf, ask him to personally protect Yang Gong until you arrive in Pengliang. With his Stealing the Heaven Sword nearby, even if you are trapped in magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, you will still have a chance to break the siege and leave. Yang Gongqing was shaken, he said, Thank you very much Shaoshuai! Kou Zhong said, We simply must guard against other peoples heart. If Zhang Zhenzhou surrendered to the Tang, Wang Shichongs suspicion toward Yang Gong will increase greatly, therefore, in any case, you must guard against his hands. Under current situation, preserving our strength is the only feasible thing, as well as the only thing that we can do, And grabbing Ma Changs shoulders, he said, Yang Gong is one of the Seniors that I, Kou Zhong respect and love the most. Ma Chang, you must rouse your consciousness for me, take a good care of Yang Gong, I am sure in the future we will be able to move unhindered across the world, to wipe out the disgrace that Li Shimin impacted on us tonight. Tears rushing forth from Ma Changs two eyes, hanging his head down, he responded resolutely, Even if I have to go trough water and tread on fire, I will definitely give Da Jiangjun the opportunity to see Shaoshuai again. Kou Zhongughed aloud and walked toward the camp gate. Looking at his back going farther and farther away, both of them felt that he was taking away theirst hope of defending Luoyang. Book 47 13 – Coincidental Gain Grand Theft

Book 47 Chapter 13 C Coincidental Gain Grand Theft

From the front hall came the voices of Chi Shengchun and that martial art master surnamed Xu from the demonic school, but he did not hear either Wen Caiting or Bai Qinger voices. Up to this point Xu Ziling was still unclear the rtionship between Chi Shengchun and this Xu Shishu [martial uncle], he only know that Martial Uncle Xu was openly helping Chi Shengchun to run the Six-Happiness Casino. He sneaked into the big atrium separating the front and middle sections and stopped in the darkness by the entrance where thentern light could not reach. Focusing his power to his ears, he caught the conversation that the two men spoke in low voice, without missing a single word. Chi Shengchun sighed and sighed, I dont know who leaked the news out, unexpectedly it entered Li Yuans ears, so that I have no room to advance or to retreat. Letting out a cold snort, Martial Uncle Xu said, Could it be Dugu n people intentionally framing Shengchun up? Xu Ziling shivered inwardly, unexpectedly the Dugu n had some connection with Chi Shengchun? This matter was indeed beyond his expectation; fortunately, listening to the tone of Martial Uncle Xus voice, obviously the rtionship between the two sides was without mutual trust, without sincere cooperation, otherwise, merely You Chuhong one person was enough to deal with them. ording to Kou Zhong, with You Chuhongs power, after she received treatment from his needles, it was extremely possible that she would fully recover from her asthma, thereupon she might make breakthrough in her power. The You Laopo [wife/old granny] without asthma was really not aughing matter. Smiling wryly, Chi Shengchun said, I dont know. ording to reason, they are willing to sell their stuffs to Shengchun, so Shengchun treat them well as my customer, helping to temporarily relieve them from their desperate situation in Changan, where their money is in short supply. Shengchun is their benefactor, not their enemy. By harming Shengchun like this, what good will it bring them? Their expenditures are enormous, plus they are eager to rebuild their former fame and power; arent they afraid that I might be unwilling to do business deal with them in the future? Xu Ziling understood, while at the same time he sighed inwardly. The Dugu n was fleeing to Changan in panic, they could only carry some of their wealth and valuables. Their properties and wealth in Luoyang have been confiscatedpletely by Wang Shichong. Now they were residing in Changan, if they wanted to maintain their former lifestyle, they had no choice but to sell off the valuables they had in their hands, in order to purchase their necessities, as well as the capital they needed to do a business to make money. Not that Xu Ziling was rich, but he did not worry about food and clothing; however, Chi Shengchuns remark reminded him when he and Kou Zhong were little pickpockets in Yangzhou, without enough food to keep them full, without enough clothes to keep them warm, a hard to describe feeling welled up in his heart. Were they happier then, or were they a bit happier now? Perhaps neither he nor Kou Zhong had a definite answer. Martial Uncle Xu asked, Who else knows that you, Shengchun have Zhan Ziqians Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu scroll in your hands? Immediately Xu Zilings spirit was greatly aroused, Lucky! he cried inwardly. Turned out the object that the Dugu n sold was precisely this treasure. But thinking about it, it seemed logical; only a family influential for generations, a big n who held core power within the Sui imperial court for a long period of time like Dugu n would be able to obtain this unusual treasure, which, those who knew its value, none did not have his heart moved. Furthermore, it was possible that they led away a goat while passing by [idiom: to opportunistically pocket off someone elses possessions and walk off] from the deposed emperor Yang Dong and brought it to Changan. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Chi Shengchun said, This kind of things, how could I talk randomly? Those who are in the know of this matter, other than the Dugu n people themselves, there is also the Da Xian Hu Fo, because I wanted to rely on his, the Seniors insight to verify the authenticity of this painting. To spend ten thousand taels of gold for a treasured painting, naturally Shengchun is unwilling to undertake lightly. However, I am convinced that Da Xian will definitely not disclose this matter, because I stated clearly that if the marriage is decided, then this treasure would be the betrothal gift. Xu Ziling has never thought that this Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu had aplicated rtionship with Hu Xiaoxian. Since the Great Immortal Hu Fo was an expert in valuating ancient paintings, he himself ought to be a person who loved paintings like his own life like Hou Xibai. From this, it could be seen that Chi Shengchun considered his marriage to Hu Xiaoxian to be very important, hence he used coercion and gain as a lure, actingpletely unscrupulous. It also made Xu Ziling feel the urgency of this matter even more. Jianghu has Jianghu rules. Once Hu Fo opened his golden mouth to agree to the marriage, even Hu Fo himself could not change his tune without adequate reasons. Martial Uncle Xu agreed; he said, Hu Fo is not that kind of people who talk randomly. Hu Fo only has one daughter, he has no sessor, if he obtains you, Shengchun to be a member of his family, that would be the result of his cultivation over several lifetimes, divulging the existence of the treasured painting will only be harmful without any benefit to him. Chi Shengchunughedsciviously, After tasting Shengchun, I guarantee that Hu Xiaoxian will understand what cultivation over several lifetimes is. This was the first time that Xu Ziling realized the seriousness of this matter, to the extent that he now fully understood the consequences of the failure. Demonic school people had some secret method to charm and pleasure women in bed, perhaps Hu Xiaoxian still could not be considered dissolute girl or s1utty women, but all along she was not a decent maiden either. If Chi Shengchun used his trick to gain the upper hand, she might change from hate to love, both sides were happy, there would be a good chance that she might reveal Xu Zilings secret, and that would truly be having given away a bride, to lose ones army on top of it [idiom: to suffer a double loss after trying to trick the enemy], or having his boat capsized in the ditch. Laughing evilly, Martial Uncle Xu said, What ability does Hu Xiaoxian have that she will be able to fly away from the hollow of Shengchuns palm? Not to mention Zuwen and Li Yuanji are both the men that they, father and daughter, do not dare to offend. As for the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, Shengchun need not worry too much about Li Yuan, he only loves women and does not love painting and calligraphy, furthermore, he has to speak about the emperors elegant demeanor, Shengchun only needs to pretend that you dont know, and then after two days you send the painting to Hu Fo as betrothal gift, let Hu Fo has a headache because of this; what does it have to do with you? Ha! Just by listening to his speech, one could tell that his mans heart was extremely bad, he took joy in cmity and delight in disaster, putting the inferior everything-for-self-and-selfish-profit character of the demonic school people in full disy. Chi Shengchun sighed and said, The problem is that this morning Li Yuan sent Liu Wenjing toe to talk to me, saying something like among the collection of the four families of the previous generation, Zhang Jieyu onlycks Zhan Ziqians authentic hand brush, the implication was that he wants Shengchun to be sensible and obediently present the treasure. Ay! Honestly, if I havent told Hu Fo that the painting is a betrothal gift, I would, without the slightest hesitation, take the painting to win Li Yuans favor, to let him curry the beautys favor. Presently, however, I have no room to advance or to retreat, afraid that Hu Fo might fly into a rage out of humiliation, and thereby use this matter as an excuse to decline the engagement. Shishu, please tell Shengchun what to do; it wearies me out that I dont even feel like eating rice. It was only then did Xu Ziling understand well the crucial point of the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu; no wonder Li Yuan mentioned this painting to Hou Xibai. Perhaps he wanted to use Hou Xibais mouth to force Chi Shengchun to present the treasure, who would have thought that Hou Xibai saw others go hunting, he was excited by memories of the thrill of the hunt [idiom], he wanted to take it for his own. Li Yuan waited several days, but Chi Shengchun has not made any movement, thereupon he could not help sending Liu Wenjing, with open saber, open spear, to raise his request to Chi Shengchun, harming Chi Shengchun that he did not have the heart for tea and rice, and fell into a dilemma. Martial Uncle Xu suddenly understood. He said, Turns out this matter has be so thorny, no wonder you are sitting here with sighing voice, wailing breath. Liu Wenjing already spoke up, if Shengchun does not immediately offer the painting, you will offend Liu Wenjing and Li Yuan at the same time. Im afraid this matter will be extremely unfavorable to our grand n. Chi Shengchun said, Naturally Shengchun does not dare not to give Liu Wenjing any face publicly, therefore, I honestly told him about the painting as betrothal gift, hoping that he would say a couple of good words in front of Li Yuan, after the wedding is set, I will find a way to take it back from Hu Fos hands and present it to Li Yuan. Shaken, Martial Uncle Xu said, Thats bad! Shocked, Chi Shengchun asked, Whats the problem? Martial Uncle Xu sighed and said, Of course theres big problem. Whether in Changan or in Jianghu, Da Xian Hu Fo is a person or virtue and prestige, Li Yuan is, after all, half a Jianghu man, he cannotpletely disregard Jianghu rules. If Li Yuan, for the sake of his imperial concubines pleasure, forces Hu Fo, this kind of old uncle with such a status, to offer his only daughters betrothal gift, he would be despised by the Jianghu. Li Yuan loves to speak about face the most, how could he be willing tomit this kind of offending the public anger thing? Chi Shengchun was unable to respond. Xu Ziling quietly returned to the middle sections study room. Now, even if there was no request from Hou Xibai, he would spare no effort to steal the treasured painting, to escte Chi Shengchuns difficult problem from painful to deadly, to throw his troop disposition into chaos, not only to destroy his rtionship with Li Yuan, but also to make Hu Fo resentful to him. Kou Zhong was rushing at top speed along the vast wilderness nketed by the starry sky above, heading to the west, leaving the battlefield farther and farther away, feeling that the bottom of his heart was at a loss. Could it be that he had to helplessly let Wang Shichong lose Luoyang, so much so that he would also lose his engagement with Song Yuzhi, lose Song Ques expectation and support, lose Bashu, even lose the entire struggle of contending for hegemony over the world? His break-up with Wang Shichong would bring about adding-hail-to-the-snow blow to the heart of Wang Shichongs troops, many high-ranking military officers of the Great Zheng, who originally did not have disloyalty, would now have to reconsider this matter from their own interest. He was certain that Li Shimin would seed in isting Luoyang; it was just a matter of time. When Luoyang fell, his Shao Shuai Armys survival will also be impacted. With his current strength, it was impossible to snatch Jiangdu away from Li Zitings hands using open saber and open spear; he could only employ stratagem. If time permitted, he could use the Zhuhua Bang from the inside to crumble Li Zitongs defensive power, which momentum appeared like rivers pouring away by the day [idiom: going from bad to worse]. Since he began to make up his mind to contend for hegemony over the world, he had never experienced all-ns-used-up-all-strength-exhausted like right now. Li Shimin regarded him as his only formidable opponent. It was only this moment that he really understood that Li Shimin was indeed his greatest obstacle and threat. He now just wanted to quickly find Xu Ziling, to confide with him the indecision, the resentment and indignation in his heart. He did not lose his heart per se, although it was hard to avoid the sense of loss and frustration, but deep in his heart, his fighting spirit was still like a spark that gradually spread and started a prairie fire. His struggle with Li Shimin could only be settled with one side defeated and dispersed. Xu Ziling was hiding inside one of the cabs for nearly the entire sichen, before he heard Chi Shengchuns footsteps as he returned to the bedroom. And then Chi Shengchun cried out in rm. Xu Ziling did not need to look, he knew that Chi Shengchun had seen the letter that he put on the pillow. He feigned Duan Ming Cao Sans signature on the letter. It said, To Chi Guanzhu [establishment master/owner]: temporarily borrow the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu in order to fulfill life-long wish. Cao San kowtows, very few characters. A gust of wind flew away. Xu Ziling cheered inwardly, but he did not immediately push the cab door open and go out, because Chi Shengchun was a Jianghu veteran, he would not be stupid enough to immediately go see whether the treasured painting was really stolen. Only when he was sure that Cao San was not around would he really suspect whether Cao San really stole the treasure or not. Focusing his power into his ears, he tracked Chi Shengchuns movements. Sure enough, he sensed that Chi Shengchun was only searching everywhere in the two sections of the residenceplex, which also showed the speed of his shenfa. The sound was getting farther away. Xu Ziling was still waiting patiently. Less than half a dayter, Chi Shengchun came back to the bedroom. This time that Martial Uncle Xu wasing with him. Martial Uncle Xu spoke heavily, Didnt Cao San die? I have not heard anything about him for so many years, why did hee precisely this moment? Chi Shengchuns agitated voice replied, He is looking for death. He has the cheek to provoke me, Ill f*ck his eighteen generations of ancestors. If he really dares to take my Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, I dont care if he hides to the ends of the earth, I will make him suffer enough from my supreme penalty until he die. Martial Uncle Xu said, Less talking nonsense, checking the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu is the most important business now. The sound of cab door being pushed, followed by the revealing of the entrance to the underground room was heard. Hiding inside the other cab next to the cab where the entrance was located, Xu Ziling was greatly astonished; he mused whether the treasured painting was really hidden in some secretpartment inside the underground room, only he overlooked it? Thinking further, he believed it could not be so; if there was any secretpartment, unless it was designed by Lu Miaozi himself, how could it be hidden from him? From the underground room came Chi Shengchunsughter; he said, Turns out he was just bragging; the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu is still safe and sound. His Niangs! We were nearly deceived by this short-lived [duan ming] kid. And then he heard the sound of Chi Shengchun climbing back up and the cab door being closed. Xu Ziling nearly lost his confidence, he wanted to rush out and snatch the treasured painting away. But then he immediately suppressed his impulse, because he realized something was not quite right. Because he did not hear any unusual noise of the mechanism to open the secretpartment, furthermore, he did not hear any noise of a scroll of painting being opened to be examined. It did not make any sense. The only exnation was that the two crafty scoundrels outside suspected that he was ying a trick on them, hence they wanted to beat him at his own game, by luring him out. He heard the sound of the two mens footsteps going away. Suddenly the situation became apetition of strange scheming and endurance between the two sides. While Xu Ziling was doubting his judgment, the sound of footsteps came back. Chi Shengchuns voice was heard outside the door, I have a very ominous feeling. Martial Uncle Xu said, We have guessed wrong! Cao San did note, otherwise his footprints would appear on the powder we sprinkled on the ground, plus we would be able to dig him out from the scent of the ding xing fen [determining-shape powder]. Close call! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. If just now he could not stop himself froming out of the cab, he would certainly be fooled without realizing it. Chi Shengchun spoke with trembling voice, I want to go see it! Martial Uncle Xu said, I will hold my troop disposition nearby for you. I dont believe Cao San possesses such a great magical power, unexpectedly knowing where you hid the scroll of painting. Sorry for troubling Shishu, Chi Shengchun said. Suddenly he blurted outughing, saying, It was because this scroll of painting is too important that we worry about personal gains and losses like this. Who does Cao San think he is? Even if the scroll of painting is delivered into his hands, he wont have the ability to take the painting away alive. Martial Uncle Xu said, Its always better to be careful. The sound of footsteps moved away. Xu Ziling pushed the cab door opened and shed out. His feet did not touch the ground, he traversed the bedroom and flew out of the window. From stealing, he had to change it into robbing. Although it was not ideal at all, but he had no other choice. (Authors note: in the previous book, the painter of Han Lin Tu was Guan Tong; it was indeed the authors mistake, because Guan Tong was a figure after the Tang dynasty. Therefore, the creator the scroll is corrected to Zhan Ziqian. Ladies and Gentlemen the readers, please forgive me.) Book 48 1 – The Quick-footed Climb Up First[1]

Book 48 Chapter 1 C The Quick-footed Climb Up First[1]

Hearing Chi Shengchuns footsteps as he flew toward the middle section, Xu Ziling, who was stepping into the side garden, secretly scolded himself for being stupid; why didnt he think that the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu was hidden at the ce where it ought to be hidden the most, which was inside the study room. Collecting this kind of original painting required special skill, one must pay particr attention to cold and hot, dry and humid, otherwise if it was moldy or damaged by moths or worms, the treasure would turn into trash. Hence dark and damp dungeons were not suitable at all. It seemed like to be a cultured thief was not an easy matter, one must have general knowledge in this regard. That Martial Uncle Xu leaped to the roof of the study room; he took the responsibility of keeping watch and holding his disposition of troops. Xu Ziling shed to a dark ce by the wall at the corner of the house, he focused his power into his ears, both to avoid being detected by that Martial Uncle Xu above, also to listen to the movements at the other side of the wall. Relying on his effective and sharp sense of hearing, he monitored in every possible way Chi Shengchuns every movement inside the study room. Chi Shengchuns breathing was rapid and shallow, obviously he was worried about personal gains and losses; he was nervous. And then there was the noise of mechanism being activated, the lock being opened and a series of other noises. Apparently there was some kind of secretpartment in the study room to be used to keep precious painting and calligraphy or documents or something like that. Martial Uncle Xu shouted in low voice from above, Is it there? Chi Shengchun blew out a mouthful of air very slowly, and then there was a noise of the picture scroll being pulled open to be examined, while he replied at the same time, That stinky kid was really only ying a joke, Xu Shishu, please be careful! Martial Uncle Xu snorted coldly and said, I wish he really dared toe out of his hole and steal the treasure. Xu Ziling was continuously amassing his power in order to seed at the first attempt; hearing that, he snickered inwardly, musing that it would happen as you wish. But when he was about to act, unexpectedly Martial Uncle Xu above let out a cry of rm, followed by a string of firecracker-like noise of shing qi power. Unexpectedly there was another elegant thief trying to steal the treasured painting? This person should have been lying in wait on the side and only made his move at this moment. Furthermore, based on Xu Zilings power in this day and age, unexpectedly he did not detected his presence, therefore, the neer must be a martial art master of Shi Zhixuans caliber. Things happened too fast, Xu Ziling was shocked; while he was unsure whether he ought to immediately join thispletely-without-any-warning, suddenly-happened struggle over the treasured painting, Martial Uncle Xu was already blown off the roof by a punch, and then the lights inside the study room turned dark, followed by Chi Shengchuns miserable groan and unending cry of rm, the sound of chair overturning and objects falling, and then the gust of wind was moving far away. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly for his bad luck, but he was also greatly curious; who might be this formidable? That Martial Uncle Xu was evidently a first-ss martial art master of the demonic school, yet in just a moment of face-to-face confrontation he was already beaten. And then he also calmly snatched the treasured painting from Chi Shengchuns hands. The gust of wind had gone far, Xu Ziling had no choice but to follow. Kou Zhong stopped suddenly. On the official road ahead, one person was standing proudly,ughing aloud, and said, Didnt Shaoshuai want to be Wang Shichongs hunting dog? Howe you have the leisure to take a walk away from the camp? Kou Zhong stepped forward in big strides and stopped when he was about ten paces away from the man blocking his way. Blurted outughing, he said, Turns out its Xuyan Xiong; Huan Mo Shenfas name is indeed not in vain, unexpectedly you are able to be a little feathered thief rushing ahead of Xiaodi to block the road to way and rob. Currently Xiaodi is penniless; however, a cheap life, I do have one. If you want to take it, then well have to see whether Xuyan Xiong has the ability? Unexpectedly it was the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan. Needless to say, he must be waiting secretly outside the camp, seeing Kou Zhong leaving the camp, he followed behind him and then showed himself here to intercept. Because Kou Zhongs mind was in chaos, he was indulging in flights of fancy, plus Yang Xuyan was an expert in concealing his track, in a moment of losing consciousness, he was unaware that this formidable opponent was following behind him. Yang Xuyan wore ck hood to cover his head and a set of nightwalker attire on his body, his build was imposing yet nimble. His pair of eyes emitted a fierce and severe expression, he spoke indifferently, The name of Shaoshuais Eight Methods of the Well shook the heavens, whod dare to boast that he could take Shaoshuais life? However, Xuyan saw Shaoshuai and Qin Wangs fierce battle for a long time, I couldnt help getting unbearably itchy, moreover, I do not want to miss a good opportunity for no reason, hence I simply must try to decide the high and low between us. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Xuyan Xiong has seen it very urately. To be honest, today I have not stopped at all, the wear and tear to my true energy is substantial. Ay! Could it be that Xuyan Xiong has a lot of time? There is no need to talk nonsense, make your move immediately to see whose real move is the right thing. Qiang! Yang Xuyan pulled the Shadow Sword, which has stabbed countless targets that they nursed a grievance without knowing what hit them, and shot out a powerful sword qi, pressing down on Kou Zhong. In that case, Xuyan will no longer be courteous! he spoke coldly. Kou Zhong took a step back, he drew the Moon in the Well from his back, and pointed it to the opponent from a distance to contend against the other sides overbearingly fierce and severe sword qi. He spoke in great astonishment, No wonder Xuyan Xiong is so secure in knowledge that you have backing. Turns out your swordsmanship has made great progress, there is indeed the possibility of putting Xiaodi in order, so that Xiaodi immediately feel greatly excited and Im sure it will be satisfying. The sword qi Yang Xuyan was shooting out was continuously growing in intensity, as well as bing more and more concentrated, yet the tone of his voice remained tranquil without any ripple as he spoke coldly, That time I suffered disgrace from Shaoshuai, how could Xuyan dare to forget so soon? Shaoshuai must not me Xuyan for taking advantage of someones precarious position, because this has always been Xuyans style, but also the natural color an assassin should have. En garde! Without creating any noise at all Xu Ziling sprang up to the top of a tree; he barely caught the persons shadow shing into a small two-storied building at the side of the rear garden of another magnificent residence inside a high wall. This grand residence was located at Buzheng Lane on the eastern bank of Yongan Canal, those who were able to live in thisne must be wealthy and respectable people, it was only separated by one street, the Anhua Street, with the imperial pce. Since it was in the dead of the night, inside the residence themp was ck and the fire dark, evidently everybody inside already entered thend of dreams early on. Xu Ziling was able to follow to this ce, it could be said that he exhausted everything he had. This qianbei [Senior], who seemed to luckily pick up big convenience, had an exceptionally high martial art skill. Upon self-inspection, Xu Ziling did not have any confidence that he could grab the treasured painting back from his hands; thereupon he temporarily changed his mind and only intended to steal the thing back from his hands. In order to achieve this goal, he definitely must not let the other side discover that someone was following quietly behind him; consequently, Xu Ziling had to rely on his spirited senses, which surpassed ordinary person, to trail him from far behind, and only this moment that he caught a glimpse of his back. A strange feeling of familiarity floated in his mind; he seemed to have seen such body build and bearing somewhere else, but momentarily he could not remember who this person was. At the same time, he felt at a loss. From the architectural point of view, the site of this rear garden was far from the magnificent residences mainplex, like a small two-storied building that the world has forgotten; why would they design it so that it appeared to be more tastefully chosen and exquisite than the main residence? It really did not make any sense; unless the master of the residence was an entric and elegant schr, who loved to hide in here to enjoy the peaceful and quiet atmosphere of the rear garden. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. He had never thought that the scroll of painting theft unexpectedly had so many twists and turns [orig. calligraphic flourish with many twists]. Tomorrow, Hou kid would be extremely disappointed. What should he do now? The most ideal would be if the other party immediately brought the treasured painting out of the small building, then he would be able to see where that person was hiding the painting; the moment the other side stepped out, in the next moment he would enter in, to be a Papa thief to steal the painting away. It was just a pity that after that person entered the building, it was like throwing a stone and seeing it sink without a trace in the sea, he no longer made any movement. If as soon as he got here, this person simply lie down and sleep, would he have to wait until he woke up at daybreak before he could peek for any movement? But tomorrow morning, Anhua Street would be busy with peopleing and going, this big tree by the street would no longer be a ce where he could hide. Very well! He had no choice but to wait until daybreak, to see if Laotianye would be willing to bestow him a good chance tonight! Kou Zhong had deep regret in his heart; Yang Xuyan, this bad guy really knew how to select the best of time. Speaking about frame of mind, Kou Zhong could not be more inferior than this; he had just a big fallout with Wang Shichong, they parted on bad terms, he was both frustrated and at a loss. Speaking about situation, he has had hard battle all day long, he was physically and emotionally exhausted, while more than a dozen wounds on his body, big and small, had not healed yet. This kid was clearly taking advantage of someone elses precarious position, only from his usual style of secret assassination, he changed it into killing openly; cursing him for his despicable means would only be senseless and superfluous. Kou Zhong stirred up an enormous will to fight, he struggled hard to amass his power, and discovered that in that moment, he could, at most, use only fifty- to sixty-percent of his normal power. If the opponent were not Yang Xuyan but someone else, even if he could not beat him, he could still think of a way to flee in defeat. But Yang Xuyans Huan Mo Shenfa, which he inherited from Shi Zhixuan, simply cause him to kill this thought; merely by looking at how from the camp he pursued to this ce, plus he rushed in front of Kou Zhong to intercept, unless he was an idiot, he knew that there was no way that he could run away from Yang Xuyan. Standing ten steps away, Yang Xuyanughed aloud, the Shadow Sword in his hand suddenly turned into ten million sharp lights, reflecting the starlight and moonlight in the sky above, filling the air and sprinkling toward him, like a wall, like the blocking qi power was turning into countless points of qi power like sharp needles pricking his skin, along with no-hole-not-prated sword move with myriad changes, attacking violently toward him, clearly taking unfair advantage of Kou Zhongs body-weary-strength-worn-out condition, using ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum seeking a spurt of energy to put him to death by all means. This was the second time he fought hand to hand with Yang Xuyan, he knew that Yang Xuyans creation, the Shadow Sword Technique specialized in strange danger method, a trick where the tip of the sword was turning into beautiful sharp lights to confuse the opponent, like a serpent or a scorpions beauty, which concealed fatal murderous move inside her beautiful external appearance. Kou Zhong stood straight and motionless. Narrowing his pair of eyes, without blinking at all he fixed his gaze on the bright dots of light hiding the sky and covering the earth like exploding fireworks, purely relying on the true qi protecting his body to withstand the opponents bits of qi power, which were as sharp as saber de. The sharp points attacked to about five chi in front of Kou Zhong, but suddenly pulled back and turned into a ball of bright light, about a chi in diameter, consisted of sharp dots; so brilliant that it made people could not believe their own eyes. What Kou Zhong saw was no longer the Shadow Sword, but a spirited object that was beyond any words could describe. Now, this was Yang Xuyans true skill. Qiang! The Moon in the Well suddenly changed move; raised high above his head, it seemed to be chopping, but not exactly chopping. It was precisely the No Attack variant. Laughing heartily, Yang Xuyan said, Shaoshuai is tired! He did not seem to be moving either, but suddenly he was already by Kou Zhongs left side. The sharp lights, like a pir of waterfall, rushing out toward his cheek, the qi power creating an ear piercing whistling noise, pressing down on Kou Zhongs eardrums. The Shadow Sword Technique was designed to target the opponents senses; even with Kou Zhongs capability, under Yang Xuyans unique schools sword styles all-around assault, his usually acute spirit was greatly affected. Kou Zhong shifted sideways, he seemed to be casually brandishing the Moon in the Well to attack, to hack into the center of the circle of light. Ding! The dots of light dissipated. The Moon in the Well hit the sword de head-on. Immediately half of Kou Zhongs body went numb, he cried Bad! inwardly, knowing that because the wear and tear to his true energy was excessive, he could no longer overpower this vile opponent in term of internal strength. Yang Xuyans face revealed an astonished look, he said, Shaoshuai has made a lot of progress! The sword de vibrated, it turned into three dots of refined light in triangr shape stamping toward Kou Zhong. Simultaneously, his feet moved in strange steps, altering shape to change shadow, suddenly he shifted behind Kou Zhongs back. The offensive from Kou Zhongs left side changed into an attack from the rear, rapid like a ghost, so that fantasy appeared to be reality. Forck of better option, Kou Zhong spun around and brandished his saber to sweep backward. Although fully aware that by moving around like this he would aggravate the wear and tear to his true energy and qi, but he was unable to take back the initiative from Yang Xuyans hands, he could only counter every move, and was led by the opponent by the nose. If this situation could not be reversed, Kou Zhong would end up nursing a grievance. Dang! Dang! Dang! The sound of saber and sword shing against each other rang unendingly. Kou Zhong was constantly spinning outside to evade, while Yang Xuyans Shadow Sword was like a maggot stuck to the bone, like a rainstorm attacking Kou Zhong head-on, not giving him any chance to breathe. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Help! even more, knowing that if this situation continued, if he was forced to fight speed with speed, then the one to suffer losses would be him. In this life and death crisis, Kou Zhong suddenly stopped. The Moon in the Well moved forward and swiftly poked upward. This move was greatly beyond Yang Xuyans expectation; he never thought that Kou Zhong could reverse his true qi and convert movement and stillness, that he could stop as soon as he wanted to stop. The most formidable part was that this saber strike was a move to die in such a way that the other side also perished,pletely ignoring his sword attack, the saber de swiftly attacked the vital part on his throat. The blood sshed. On Kou Zhongs left shoulder, the skin was opened and his flesh was cut, his clothes shattered. On the other hand, just as the de of Kou Zhongs saber was only a hairsbreadth away from his throat, Yang Xuyan flew two zhang back, and returned to standing-opposite-of-each-other position. Severe pain spread from the wound to the entire body; fortunately, in order to evade the saber de, the other side could only spit out true power for a short period of time, so that the wound was only skin and flesh. However, the pain seemed to wake Kou Zhong up from the nightmare; he discharged the vile moodpletely out of his brain, and drove his mind into the Moon in the Well realm. Yang Xuyans sword de pointed at Kou Zhong from a distance, heughed indifferently and said, How did this sword taste like? Smiling, Kou Zhong replied, Very good! Watch the saber! Suffering untold hardships [idiom: after some effort] he disregarded his injury to equalize the inferior situation, which was clearly leaning toward the opponent, naturally he did not want to miss the opportunity to take the initiative to attack. But it was not like Yang Xuyan was deliberately giving Kou Zhong the opportunity to take a breather; rather, the Moon in the Well in Kou Zhongs hand appeared to be attacking, but not exactly attacking, it appeared to be defending, but not exactly defending, so that he was unable to see through, unable to figure it out, hence he did not dare to take the risk to advance. This was the first time Yang Xuyan encountered an opponent that after receiving his stab, he became even more unfathomably formidable instead. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well seemed to be splitting an empty air, it appeared clumsy but was actually skillful, it shot perfectly straight toward Yang Xuyan. Emotionally moved, Yang Xuyan eximed, Good saber! The Shadow Sword drew aplete circle, creating the illusion of light and shadow, enveloping the Moon in the Well. Kou Zhongughed aloud. The saber momentum elerated, it hit right in the center of the circle. Zheng! The Shadow Sword twisted around the Moon in the Well, and then it exploded into sword rain filling the air. The two men retreated back to their original positions, the saber and the sword pointed at each other over a distance. Although Kou Zhong did not upy any advantageous position, but he was delighted instead of being rmed, simply because he knew that he seeded to equalize his inferior position, and was no longer under Yang Xuyans control. Quick as lightning Yang Xuyan darted forward, the Shadow Sword turned into dots of sword rain again, burst by burst, it attacked Kou Zhong from different angles. Combined with his Huan Mo Shenfa, each change he made to his position was beyond other peoples expectation, violent attacks and fierce strikes wereing straight toward Kou Zhong from four sides, eight directions, carrying with it rocking-the-mountain-shaking-the-peak momentum. Kou Zhong stood straight like a mountain. Using the Battle Decision of the Eight Methods of the Well, he met the opponents mercury-flowing-swiftly style of offensive head-on. The Moon in the Well opening and closing vertically and horizontally, free, unconstrained, and smooth. Using strange to oppose strange, using danger to control danger, from time to time he used risky move of mutual destruction, enduring and blocking the Shadow Sword Technique, which could scare people all over the world out of their wits. The qi power screamed, the heaven and the earth lost their color. Suddenly Kou Zhongs saber hacked down on an empty space, it was as if Yang Xuyans Shadow Sword obediently moved to let itself be chopped down by the saber. Chess Abundant! It was only this moment that for the first time Kou Zhong was able to see through Yang Xuyans sword momentum, while also able to save his own little life. Otherwise, if he let Yang Xuyan disy his full power continuously like this, the one copsing would definitely be him, Kou Zhong. Dang! Severely shaken, Yang Xuyan pulled back, all his style-changes werepletely sealed by Kou Zhong, without any possibility to continue. The stream of Kou Zhongs vortex of energy was even more unbearable, leaving him no choice but to withdraw. Kou Zhongs saber light red out severely. His condition was already nearing themp-with-the-oil-drying-up level, he was not able to hold up much longer, how could he be willing to miss this golden opportunity? Unleashing the Rapid Battle of the Eight Methods of the Well, heunched counterattack at full strength. Momentarily a string of ringing noise was heard. The Moon in the Well transformedplexity into simplicity, in a straightforward manner saber strike after saber strike chopped down on Yang Xuyan, each saber strike was lightning fast, nimble like fireworks. The angle and the timing were urate beyond humanprehension, not one was not aimed at Yang Xuyans weak point. Sometimes it appeared to shake powerfully, sometimes it appeared to be looking at a weakness and attacked that position. Even with Yang Xuyans ability, under Kou Zhongs overbearing offensive, he could only block and retreat to the other side of the official road. However, he was not retreating because he was no match for the enemy; rather, he was evading the sharp de of the saber while looking for the opportunity to strike back. Ding! The Shadow Sword poked the tip of the Moon in the Wells de from below. Kou Zhong was severely shaken and retreated swiftly. https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 Surprisingly, Yang Xuyan did not seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. He stood still holding the sword horizontally across his chest, and threw his head back in longughter and said, Speaking about saber technique, I am afraid that after the Heavenly Saber Song Que, it will be your turn, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong! Standing two zhang away, Kou Zhong regrouped his troop disposition, adopting a battle array. Greatly astonished, he said, Didnt you, LaoGe want to kill me? Why miss a great opportunity? Yang Xuyan said with a sigh, I already tested what is true and what is false in Shaoshuai, I spected that Id probably be able to put Kou Xiong to death; however, it will definitely be difficult to avoid Kou Xiongs counterattack before your death. Ay! The fact is, Xiaodi has an important matter to attend to, I cant suffer any injury. Therefore, I have no choice but to end this battle at this point. Kou Zhong still felt Yang Xuyans sword qi tightly locked onto him, naturally he did not dare to naively believe him and rx his defense. Heughed and said, Honestly, it was only a bit more and Yang Xiong would be able to take my, Kou Zhongs little life away. Why dont you try again? Otherwise youd miss tonights opportunity, and afterwards the one who must be worried will be you, LaoGe, and not Xiaodi. Yang Xuyan returned the sword into its sheath, and slowly opened his hood, revealing a handsome, noble countenance. His straight and erect nose bridge, and firm and persistent corner of his mouth formed a distinct contrast to his pair of sharp-like-an-eagles, cold-hearted eyes, which was fixed on Kou Zhong without blinking at all. His high, t and broad forehead seemed to contain infinite confidence and intelligence, his jet-ck hair wasbed toward the back of his head, ended in a bun on top of his head. Greatly surprised, Kou Zhong said, Why do Yang Xiong show me preferential treatment? Yang Xuyan replied indifferently, We are on the same ce, and we both have the same objective, that is, Shaoshuai wants to obtain something that does not belong to you, while I want to retrieve something that should belong to me. As for why I did not dare to take risks, its all because I am not used to take risks. Every time I assassinate my target, I always have a thorough and detailed n, plusplete confidence; it appeared to be risky, but its actually not risky at all. Shaoshuai could dodge two times, that does not mean that you will be able to dodge the third time. Shaoshuai, please! Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he looked at Yang Xuyan disappearing inside the forest by the road; inwardly he felt something was greatly amiss, yet he was clearly unable to do anything about it. Without any better option, he continued his journey to go see Xu Ziling. 1 Chapter title: idiom: the early bird catches the worm. Book 48 2 – Hard-to-Solve Riddle

Book 48 Chapter 2 C Hard-to-Solve Riddle

After eating breakfast, Xu Ziling returned to the Passionate Nest. Surprisingly, Hou Xibai had not returned yet, without any choice, he sat dejectedly in the small hall, sighing inwardly atst nights misfortune. Both because others had shifted the me to him, but also because on top of that tree he ate the northwest wind all night long, yet the result was still nothing. Since entering the small building, that person did not show any movement until daybreak, forget about him stepping outside the buildings door. This moment, happy and excited, Hou Xibai came back; stepping across the threshold, he immediately strode forward, came by Xu Zilings chair, leaned over, and spoke in low voice, Ziling is awesome; you said youd steal and you immediately stole it. I am afraid even the real Cao San was not as good as you. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, How do you know that thing is stolen? Sitting down on the chair next to him, Hou Xibaiughed and said, Before daybreak this morning, Chi Shengchun went to Shang Lin Yuan to look for Xiaodi, begging me to paint Cao Laoxiongs real face, so that he could hand it over to the authorities and list Cao San as a wanted criminal. Listening to the tone of Chi Shengchuns voice, he would offer no less than a thousand taels of gold as a reward; its really arge amount of money. Huh? Howe your countenance is so unsightly? Meeting his inquiring nce, Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, That thing was not stolen by my Cao San; rather, it was another Cao Sans doing. Severely shaken, Hou Xibai blurted, What? Thereupon Xu Ziling narrated what happenedst night in detail. And then he said, That magnificent residence is located in the middle of Anhua Street, more or less opposite to the Imperial City. There is a pair of lions on the gate, the lions head has antlers on it; it is very easy to recognize, very elegant. I wonder whose official residence is it? Hou Xibai was listening with opened eyes and tongue-tied; drawing out a mouthful of cold air, he said, This persons martial art skill is high, he made Ziling does not dare to recklessly charge in and seize that thing away; its really horrifying. Xu Ziling pursued on, Do you have any recollection on such a pair of strange lions? Muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Hou Xibai said with a frown, I will have to investigate it. My recollection is that the main gate of Yin Zuwens mansion house has a pair of beasts guarding the gate like ones Ziling described. But it does not make any sense! Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, Wouldnt that mean Yin Zuwen is making life difficult for himself? Whats more, if the one making the move was Yin Zuwen himself, he will never be able to hide from Chi Shengchun and that Martial Uncle Xu. Hou Xibai said, Our holy schools people have never crossed a river in the same boat [idiom: havingmon interests/obliged to coborate towardsmon goals]; they might join hands for personal benefit, or perhaps fight and scheme against each other because of personal benefit. If Yin Zuwen did steal the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, Xiaodi wont be surprised! Ay! This matter really has many twists and turns; it is really frustrating. I am going to start on Cao Sans wanted posters! Five taels of gold per poster, the mary reward can be considered not bad, right? Rising up to his full height, Xu Ziling said, I am going to see Hu Xiaoxian; if Ji Qian ask you about me, tell her you dont know anything. Astonished, Hou Xibai said, Ziling is going to ignore her? Xu Ziling said, I only hope that things can be a bit simpler, at least for the time being. After disposing Chi Shengchun,ing back to see her to rify everything shouldnt be any problem, should it? Kou Zhong sat on top of a high, steep cliff on the Yellow Rivers south bank, overlooking the Great River rolling endlessly about a hundred zhang down below, while myriads of thoughts surging in his mind. Yang Xuyans so-called important matter to attend to was certainly an excuse. No matter what price he had to pay, he should have done everything in his power to seizest nights golden opportunity to eliminate him, Kou Zhong. Because Kou Zhong plus Xu Ziling have be Shi Zhixuans biggest threat. One of the exnations would be Yang Xuyan deliberately letting him off so that Kou Zhong could go to Changan to rendezvous with Xu Ziling, to eliminate Shi Zhixuan, the person who was controlling Yang Xuyan in the dark. Because Yang Xuyan no longer wanted to be a puppet under Shi Zhixuans control. Another exnation would be Yang Xuyan, by way of flying pigeon post, notified Shi Zhixuan toe and intercept him on the way to Changan. Ay! What a headache. If it was thetter possibility, it could be the most interesting. But he must make adequate preparation, so that he could have decisive battle against Shi Zhixuan at his peak condition, to decide victory or defeat. Whether he could be considered a hero or a fool, even he himself was unclear. Because Xu Ziling already said that facing Shi Zhixuan, any one of them would surely die. But he already made up his mind to do it anyway, betting that Shi Zhixuans internal injury had not been healed yet. Xu Ziling met with Hu Xiaoxian by the famous Fangsheng Chi [lit. releasing life pond] at the northeast corner of the East Market. This was the ce they had agreed to meet. If Hu Xiaoxian saw the secret mark left by Xu Ziling indicating the time, she woulde at the appointed time to meet him. This way, even if others could figure out the time by interpreting the marking, they would not know the location of the meeting. Fangsheng Chi was a must-see ce for people who toured the East Market. The trees were swirling about, the width of the irregr shape of theke in all direction reached a thousand paces, there were lotus flowers everywhere on the surface of the water, carps were leaping, fish were swimming, it was brimming with vitality. Hu Xiaoxian, wearing mens clothes, hiding her beautiful hair inside the hat, was standing quietly by theke. The beautiful pupil of her eyes was flickering as she watched the activities inside the pond, her excitement overflowing, she found amusement in her own way. Only when Xu Ziling sat down by her side did she C a bit reluctantly C turn her eyes away, and said with a sigh, Xiaoxian never realized that the fish in the pond are so touching. Thinking that nobody dares to harm them, Xiaoxian is happy for them. Xu Ziling met her gaze. This was the first time he felt the inner good and honest nature of this beautiful woman; he spoke cheerfully, The world is actually brimming with beautiful aspects, only we usually overlook it because of our own worries! Hu Xiaoxian cast her gaze back onto the water. After thinking deeply for a moment, she said, I wont need you to uphold justice and help me anymore! But Xiaoxian is still very grateful. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, You dont need my help in which aspect? Casting him a nce, Hu Xiaoxianughed tenderly and said, Naturally its about Chi Shengchun, that fellow; is there anything else? However, you can rest assured that I, Hu Xiaoxian am a person who value loyalty, I definitely will not reveal any secret about Xu Daxia. Xu Ziling suddenly understood. He nodded and said, Turns out the news of Chi Shengchun purchasing the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu from the Dugu Family was leaked out from Xiaojies mouth. Hu Xiaoxian was shaken. She looked at him, the pretty pupil of her eyes emitted a hard-to-believe, amazed look. Greatly astonished, she said, You really possess great magical power; how did you know about this matter? Xu Ziling elegantly shrugged his shoulders, he said, How did Xiaodi know about this? Please forgive Xiaodi for holding off the climax. I dont know whether Xiaojie will believe this, but Chi Shengchun wanting to marry Guniang is absolutely necessary [orig. circumstances require action (idiom)], because he has Yin Zuwen and Li Yuanjis full support behind his back. There wille a day your esteemed father will sumb. Her eyes burning, Hu Xiaoxian sized him up for quite half a day, she spoke indifferently, It was Chi Shengchun who broke his promise to us, whom can he me? This morning Chi Shengchun paid us a visit, informing Die that the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu was stolen by his enemy, the Duan Ming Cao San. Die immediately seized the opportunity to raise a difficult issue, he stated clearly one day he has not found the scroll of painting, the issue of marriage must not be mentioned. I am afraid that by now Cao San already brings the painting far way to his ce. In the vast world, I would like to ask, what does Chi Shengchun have that he will be able to recover the painting? Ay! Tell nujia, please, how did Xu Daxia know about this matter? It was only before nujia went out the door that Die told me about this. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Has Xiaojie thought about it? How did Cao San know that Chi Shengchun had the treasured painting in his hands? Furthermore, how did he know that this painting is of a great importance? One possibility is that the chicken in the coop is rebelling. Chi Shengchun was taken advantage of by his own people, when the matter is settled, perhaps the treasured painting will return to Chi Shengchuns hands. At that time, because of your esteemed fathers words, wont Xiaojie have to marry Chi Shengchun even more? His remark was absolutely not shooting without aiming. The reason was that in the end, the painting thief came back to Yin Zuwens residence. Even if it was not Yin Zuwen himself, his rtionship with Yin Zuwen could not be shallow. There was also the possibility that it was rted to the internal struggle among the demonic school factions. What really happened inside was not something that outsiders could specte. Her countenance changed, Hu Xiaoxian said, Are you saying that this is only some kind of in order to capture, one must let loose trick that Chi Shengchun is ying? Or perhaps this is just his way to discourage other people who wanted to rely on their power to seize the painting away. Xu Ziling spoke calmly, This move of Xiaojies is really formidable; you deliberately leaked the information about Chi Shengchuns treasured painting to Li Yuan. The problem is that this time, the person who made his move to steal the painting is the so-called Duan Ming Cao San, and not the Great Tang Emperor Li Yuan at all. Has Xiaojie thought about the difference between the two? Revealing a grave expression, Hu Xiaoxian said, Are you implying that this is a farce that Chi Shengchun arranged himself, so that everybody in Changan knows that the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu is the dowry that he had to buy back with arge sum of money, so that Li Yuan will feel awkward to make a strong im against him? Xu Ziling could not bear to deceive her. Shaking his head, he said, The inside story isplicated; I am afraid Chi Shengchun is not that smart. But, the chance that he would obtain the treasured painting back is quite high. If Xiaojie really does not wish to be the sacrificial victim in Chi Shengchuns attempt to acquire your esteemed fathers Ming Tang Wo, your current way of handling this matter is akin to sit and wait for death. With bewildered and indeterminate eyes Hu Xiaoxian looked him up and down for quite a while; she spoke heavily, What kind of person Chi Shengchun really is? What did he do to provoke you, Xu Ziling toe and deal with him? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, This aspect, it would be best if you dont mind it. As long as you do what I tell you to do, I will make Chi Shengchuns evil n difficult to seed. Hu Xiaoxian unleashed her charm again; revealing a hurting expression, sheined, Arent we working together in sincerity? Why do you have to conceal anything from me? If something happens in the future, the one suffering damage will be Xiaoxian and not you, Xu Daxia. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, This is for Xiaojies own good! Because this matter involves the internal power struggle within the Li n, knowing about it will not be helpful. The more Xiaojie is unaware, the less chance that you will be drawn into this matter. Didnt you say that you trust me? Now is the chance to prove your trust to me with your action. Otherwise lets drop everything, we wont have any cooperative rtionship anymore. Pfft! Hu Xiaoxian giggled tenderly and said, All right! I willpletely listen to you; destined love [in opera], what is your instruction? By the time Xu Ziling reached the magnificent residence at the Chongren Li, where Lei Jiuzhi and the others were staying, Ren Jun was bending over the table, practicing Situ Furongs signature, while immensely proud of himself, Lei Jiuzhi picked up the fake seal and said with augh, This is the counterfeit seal of Situ Furong that I refined; even Situ Furong himself will find it difficult to tell between the real and the fake. Song Shidao on the side added, Situ Furong always carried his personal seal with him, so that he could stamp the money ticket that the pawnshop issued at any time. It is very easy for these bits and pieces to reveal the ws, hence we must handle it very carefully. Is there any visitor? Xu Ziling asked. Lei Jiuzhi replied, Currently we politely refuse any visitor, Xiao Jun only sees the employees of the pawnshop. Xu Ziling told them about Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu in details first, but also exined clearly its significance to Hu Xiaoxian. He said, Now, the first stage of our n is to pull Da Xian Hu Fo into this matter, so that Hu Xiaoxian and Situ Furong can meet. Only then will our grand n be carried out. Song Shidao said, If Hu Fo has the ambition to grow his gambling enterprise, he would not miss the golden opportunity to make friends with Situ Furong. Therefore, if we say this is difficult it actually isnt, but the difficulties lie in we must not leave any traces, so we want Hu Fo toe to see us, rather than we are showing goodwill by seeking contact with him to curry his favor and to climb the friendshipdder. Lei Jiuzhi was still pondering about the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu; his brows were knitted, he asked in wonder, Why would Yin Zuwen want to steal Zhan Ziqians famous painting? This matter is really hard to understand. Song Shidao said, Thinking too much is useless. We must be the Papa thief, to steal the treasured painting back from Yin Zuwens hands. Otherwise, if Yin Zuwen handed the painting back to Chi Shengchun, Hu Fo will not have any excuse to refuse the marriage proposal. Ziling, do you have enough confidence? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling replied, I can only do my best. Thinking hard, Song Shidao said, How in the world are we going to pull Hu Fo into this matter? Xu Zilings heart was moved, he said, Perhaps we could have my Ol Die Du Fuwei to facilitate this matter. In the first ce, we must let Hu Fo knows that Situ Furong ising here to seek refuge. Secondly, we must let Hu Fo knows that Situ Furong is interested to get into gambling business. Because Situ Furongswork of pawnshop covers the whole world, if Hu Fo has the ambition to grow his gambling enterprise, he would understand Situ Furongs usefulness to him. This moment Ren Jun suddenly cheered, I got it! The three men moved behind him to watch. Ren Jun gave them a demonstration, his brush moved like flying on a pawnshop document; sure enough, it was very simr and as amazing as the real version provided by Ou Liangcai, it seemed almost genuine. The three men eximed in admiration endlessly. Tossing the brush and the paper full of signatures, Ren Jun rose up and said with augh, I practiced for nearly ten days, and only now I can make it close to the original. Xu Ziling said, Theres no time to lose, I must now immediately try to contact Du Fuwei and proceed with our grand n. How is Xiao Zhong doing? Song Shidao asked. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, Tell me how to answer Song ErGe? The only thing I can do right now is not to think of him. Finished speaking, he left in a hurry. Back at the Passionate Nest, Hou Xibai was not sleeping at home. It was a quiet afternoon in the hall, Xu Ziling went to the study room to lie down, he closed his eyes to raise his spirit. Suddenly he remembered Yu He An [jade crane nunnery]; he mused that if he wrote a letter to Shi Feixuan, would the manager, Chang Shan Ni [eternal virtue (Buddhist) nun] really deliver the letter to Shi Feixuan? And then he smiled bitterly in his heart, because he knew that he would never write the letter; moreover, he did not know what to write. Everything that needed to be said had been said not in a letter; any word, any character would be unnecessary. This was the real meaning of everything that needed to be said had been said not in a letter. He wondered whether Shang Xiuxun already arrived at the Capital? This matter, he ought to ask Hou Xibai to get a dependable answer. Naturally the most direct would be to ask Shen Luoyan. But he was a bit afraid to see Shen Luoyan; he was afraid of her scorching gaze. What has actually happened between Yin Zuwen and Chi Shengchun? What was the rtionship between the two? Perhaps he could make discreet inquiries from Wanwan? Finally Hou Xibai returned at dusk. Xu Ziling already woke up from a satisfying and rxing afternoon nap, his spirit was fully recovered. Meeting Hou Xibai at the corridor, he said with augh, I wonder if Xibai Xiong has five more taels of gold in your purse? Full of joy, Hou Xibai replied, Actually, its fifty taels of gold. Xiaodi drew ten portraits of Old Cao today, five taels of gold per portrait, I made a lot of money from Chi Shengchun, which is a great help to Xiaodis financial situation. In order to work on Li Yuans Hundred-Beauty Painting, I hardened my heart to refuse all other businesses, Xiaodi is quite generous with my expense, so a bit more gold in hands is always better. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, This is practically an extortion. In order to save time, Xiao Chi [Little Chi] has no choice but to bear the pain and pay the bill; didnt you say he originally only wanted you to paint one picture? Sneering, Hou Xibai said, Today, before the Wei hour [1-3pm] he hung Cao Sans wanted poster on every major city gate, all are the meritorious service of my quick brush. So with these fifty taels of gold I really did not treat Xiao Chi unjustly. Can you guess how much does Cao San worth this time? Xu Ziling said, Xiao Chi is indeed resourceful; only government authorities are entitled to issue a reward, yet he was able to arrange such aplicated matter via the government authorities only in one morning. It is indeed not simple. Wrapping his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders, Hou Xibai pulled him into the study room and said, How about you and I go to Yin Mansion tonight for a treasure hunt? If I dont see Zhan Ziqians authentic work, I definitely refuse to give up. Sitting down dejectedly, Xu Ziling said, I have a very bad feeling about this, the treasure hunt cant possibly proceed smoothly. I always have a feeling that we made mistakes somewhere but we dont know it. Hou Xibai sat down next to him across the small table; he said in astonishment, How could Ziling Shao have no confidence in this? Treasure hunt does not necessarily mean that we have to obtain the treasure, just the course of events itself is already very exciting. Xu Ziling came back to the previous topic, he asked, How much does Cao San worth? Or to be precise, how much does the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu worth? Hou Xibai sighed and said, Its ten thousand taels of gold. More and more I do not dare to belittle this fellow. Xu Ziling nodded and said, There will be brave men under heavy reward. Perhaps there will even be people who would sell their friends for glory. Its impossible that Cao San does not have any aplice, otherwise how did he know that Chi Shengchun had the painting in his hands. For example, for me, this fake Cao San, my aplice is you, the white dog that will face the disaster together! Hou Xibaiughed and said, The most miserable person is neither you nor me, rather, its Chi Shengchun. Even if he split his skull, its still difficult to understand why Cao San, instead of stealing a thousand or ten thousand, had to steal this painting of a very great importance, harming him that it feels like he has ants all over his body, throwing his troop disposition into a big mess. This threatening the east and striking to the east stratagem can be considered formidable! After a short pause, he continued, When the first watch of the night [7-9pm] is sounded, I will wait for you here. https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, What are you doing before the first watch of the night? Radiant with delight [orig. eyebrows flying, countenance dancing], Hou Xibai replied, Tonight I am going to see a famous beauty with unique style, hoping to add a beautys portrait to this Fan of Beauty. Shang Xiuxun? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently. Stunned, Hou Xibai asked, How did you do that? One guess and spot on. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, Dont ask, all right? The memory of the night of the Helian Fort battle in the prairie beyond the Great Wall floated in his heart; when he was facing the Golden Wolf Army, which was ten million timesrger that their side, when he was wondering whether he would die, unexpectedly he recalled Shang Xiuxun. Could it be that unexpectedly he secretly fell in love with her, but did not realize it? Thinking about it, he felt that there really was no reason. All along, he only had admiration toward Shang Xiuxun, but he was never lost in wild and fanciful thoughts toward her. On the other hand, toward Shi Feixuan and Shi Qingxuan, time and again he had the urge to go out and see them. For the first time Xu Ziling felt that he did not understand himself. After staring nkly at him for quite half a day, Hou Xibai said, Does Ziling want Xiaodi to pass on a message to Shang Changzhu on your behalf? Xu Ziling muttered to himself irresolutely for a long time. He sighed and said, Just tell her I am at your house! Book 48 3 – One Heavenly Mysterious Power

Book 48 Chapter 3 C One Heavenly Mysterious Power

By the third watch of the night [11pmC1am], Kou Zhong, by means of rope and hook, climbed over the nearly thirty-zhang high city wall and sneaked into Changan. Because arge number of the troops had been deployed outside, the Changan city defense was far less tight than thest time they came here to search for the Duke Yangs Treasure. Kou Zhong swam over the moat, watched for the gap during the changing of the guards, and then without rm, without danger he was inside the city. Slipping across houses and leaping over the buildings he rushed toward the Passionate Nest. Unexpectedly he found that he was not alone. From time to time, there were Jianghu characters wearing nightwalker outfit flitting across the roof, or were crouching in the dark, forcing him to put on his mask to avoid identallying across someone who recognized him as the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world; if that happened, he would suffer injustice for nothing. Several times some nightwalkers wanted to stop him, Kou Zhong also nearly wanted to stop to ask what was going on, but in the end he was afraid of a new branch grew out of a knot, he broke away from the other side and went to the Passionate Nest. This small nest of Hou Xibais, the people were gone, the house was empty. These past several days Kou Zhong had been tossed from side to side by rushing about, working hard, and repeated bloody battles, he was already weary and could not arouse his spirit; furthermore, he was ufortable from being many days without taking a bath. Remembering this, he roused himself to get the bath barrel from the bathroom and moved it to the rear atrium. Drawing water from the well, he filled the barrel to the brim. And then, setting the Moon in the Well by the barrel, he stripped naked and immersed himself into the barrel to enjoy the unlimited delight of the cold-water bath. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, those two kids, where the hell did they go? He really wanted to see their expression when they came back and saw him sleeping soundly on the bed. Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong felt very pleased with himself. Momentarily forgetting the frustration of the battlefield, he softly hummed a folksong from Yangzhou. With that tune, Shaoshuai is not afraid of boredom? Kou Zhong shivered inwardly. Xu Ziling was right, Wanwan was indeed a lot formidable than before. Unexpectedly her fragrant-self honoring him with her presence, yet he did not generate any reaction at all. Smiling wryly, he said, Wan Dajie seems to be particrly interested in me taking a bath, you clearly picked this time toe. Like a specter, Wanwan floated out of the middle section and came over to the barrel. Smiling sweetly, she said, I have never concealed my admiration toward Shaoshuais physique. However, this time it really just happened to coincide with the asion [idiom]. Didnt Shaoshuai want to have a decisive battle against Li Shimin over Luoyang? Howe you unexpectedly have the leisure to visit Changan to take a bath? Resting his elbows on the rim of the barrel, Kou Zhong scrutinized Wanwans elegant jade countenance. He spoke in astonishment, Wan Dajie is even more beautiful than before, I wonder if it is due to the Tian Mo Da Fas efficacy? I seem to remember that we have never been able to beat you. This time, how are you going to harm us? Wanwan leaned over, she lightly kissed his cheek, as light as the dragonfly touches the water, her fragrant, soft red lips melt Kou Zhongs soul, and only then did she moved away a little. With their faces only a few cun apart, her breath smelled like orchid, she spoke softly, How can I bear to harm you guys? Before, it was a case of masters order difficult to disobey, but now I do not have any misgivings. Tonight I actually wanted to see Ziling;ing across you was even more unexpected nice surprise. Kou Zhong was still thinking about the touching feeling of her fragrant lips kissing his cheek. The contradiction was that he knew she had honeyed words but with a sword in the belly [idiom: hypocritical and murderous], yet he was clearly unable to generate any feeling of disgust toward her, so much so that he was unwilling to recall her previous evil conduct. Sighing, he said, Ay! You cannot bear to harm us? Fancy that you can speak up such a lie! You just want to use us to deal with Shi Zhixuan, so that you can sit on Yin Gui Pais Paizhu position, and aplish your masters dream of unifying the demonic way, or even unifying the world! Did I say it wrong? Wan Dajie, please bestow your advice. Wanwan slightly hung her head down and spoke softly, Would you like to hear the truth? Kou Zhongs heart softened, he spoke dejectedly, I am listening. Wanwans deep, unfathomable gaze was fixed on him, she recovered her usual serious, still, cold and detached manner, the tone of her voice was tranquil like still water without any ripple, she said, Whether its Shi Zhixuan, or anybody from our holy school, even Xieli or Li Yuan and the like, everybody is waiting for the day you and Xu Ziling part ways and scatter the goods you are escorting, because the fact has confirmed that when the two of you are joining hands and working together, no one in the world has the ability to kill you. It does not matter whether you are dealing with many men, a great force; when you cant handle it, you simply flee in defeat. But this time you, Shaoshuai, came to Changan, there is a very high probability that this will be thest time the two of you are together. Afterwards, you will be scattered to the east and to the west, because you, Kou Shaoshuai cannot ignore Luoyang and your Shao Shuai Army. Therefore, if we want to kill Shi Zhixuan, to break his Bu Si Yin Fa, this is perhaps thest chance. Shaoshuai is a smart man, I am sure you know Shi Zhixuans threat against you. He will definitely not let you and Xu Ziling alive in the world at the same time. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Your words are not without reason. However, killing Shi Zhixuan is easier said than done. The Four Great Holy Monks cant do it, what makes you think we can? Wanwan said, There is no such thing in this world as absolutely certain [orig. ten grabs ten steady (or firm)]. If we have fifty-percent chance of sess, or even half a thread hope, we cannot but to try it. I am mastering the Tian Mo Da Fa, Shi Zhixuan is still not aware; we might be able to give him a nice surprise. Suspicious, Kou Zhong said, You are not repeating an old trick, are you? Copying your esteemed master carrying out some burning both jade andmon stone to have us apanying Shi Zhixuan on his journey? You, Dajie are reaping the most benefit, while Ziling and I be the idiots to be buried with the dead. Wanwan asked in heavy voice, What did actually happen then? How did Shi Zhixuan withstand Zhu Shis burning both jade andmon stone move? Kou Zhong was unwilling to answer; he did not want to answer her even more. Offering excuses, he said, In this matter, your sweetheart knows better than I do, because he was one of the persons involved, while I was busy ughtering Shen Mohuan. Sighing faintly, Wanwan said, I will try to talk to Shi Zhixuan. Are youing or not? Kou Zhongughed and said, We only have one chance to kill Shi Zhixuan, if we waste it on you, wont that be a pity? Wanwans pair of pretty eyes lit up; fixing her gaze on him, she spoke softly, It seems to me you already have the overall n mapped out; will you let me participate? Trust me, all right? I really will not harm you, otherwise, let five thunders strike me on the top of my head and kill me. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I am afraid its very rare that Laotianye would use this kind of five thunders striking on the top of the head as a punishment for people who dont keep their promise. Waner, you really know the trick to swear an oath. Its too early to talk about the overall n, I only have a little bit of the first draft. However, I want to discuss it with Ziling first before I can give you an answer. How about tomorrow night we all eat some home-cooked meal in here? Compared to Xiaodis Eight Methods of the Well, my culinary skill is not too far behind. Hey! I am right in the middle of taking a bath! Wanwan cast her gaze toward the water inside the barrel, wrinkling her charming tiny nose, she smiled and said, Dirty and smelly! I am going inside to sleep. After you wash yourself clean, you maye to get intimate with me! Ignoring Kou Zhongs protest, she went to the bedroom. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai returned before daybreak, spiritless and beaten. Seeing Kou Zhong moved all Hou Xibais collection of rations, cakes, fine wine, and the like, to therge round table in the middle of the hall, with a wine cup in his left hand and a piece of pastry in his right, eating to his hearts delight, they were both pleasantly surprised, momentarily they could not speak. Kou Zhong noticed that when Xu Ziling suddenly saw that he was still alive, he revealed a joyous expression that came from his innermost being; his heart was touched. He put a finger on his lips first to indicate that they should remain quiet, and then using his thumb he pointed toward the inner section and said, Hou Gongzis bed has a sleeping beauty waiting for him, we need to speak carefully. Ha! Hou Gongzis luck with women surely reaches the heaven. Stunned, Hou Xibai said, Unexpectedly there is such thing? Xu Ziling realized what happened, he spoke in low voice to remind him, Dont listen to his crazy nonsense, its Wanwan! Hou Xibai took out the Fan of Beauty, unfolded it, and lightly waved it twice, and then he calmly said, You two brothers should speak in private first. Luck with women flying in, it would be impolite to refuse, Xiaodi is going to bed. Finished speaking, he shook his head and swayed his noggin as he strode toward the inner section. Xu Ziling sat down happily across the table from Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong pulled back his eyes from following Hou Xibais back, heughed and said, This kid is getting more and more interesting. Over the years, although we made enemies everywhere, but we also made a group of brothers and friends who treat each other with absolute sincerity. Xu Ziling could not help asking, How can you be here? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Luoyang is done for! Li kid is really formidable, without using any battle, he could bend people and soldiers. He only invited me to drink a round of wine, and already he scared Wang Shichong that he pissed in his pants in terror and blurted out that they should withdraw back to Luoyang. His Niangs! This kind of person, facing him a moment longer means receiving a moment more hardship. Therefore, I might as welle to Changan to drink with you, and ughter Old Shi along the way. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Losing Luoyang is akin to losing Bashu, also akin to losing the betrothal gift for Song Yuzhi. What are you going to do? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, You should know that I am an idiot who will not admit defeat even to the death. If the horse dies, I will dismount and walk [idiom: losing ones advantages and is forced to get through an adverse situation with difficulty (Courtesy of Akw)]. After getting rid of Shi Zhixuan, I will immediately rush back to Pengliang to see if there is a way to drive Li Zitong away from your hometown, Yangzhou. Even if we fight until thest soldier, thest pawn, I, Kou Zhong, definitely will not bend my head to admit defeat. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day, suddenly he spoke the earth-shattering words, Let me help you capturing Yangzhou! Kou Zhong was severely shaken. His pair of eyes shot a disbelief expression, he was so touched that his eyes turned very red. It was quite a whileter before he firmly shook his head and said, With Ling Shaos promise, even if I lose the war and die, I will go down to the nine springs with a smile on my face. But I definitely cannot ept your kindness. Ay! Frankly speaking, for a long time now, my heart is a little ufortable, thinking that you treated Shi Xianzi better than you treated me. But now I know that I was very wrong. Precisely because we are brothers, how could I let you fall into injustice, to let you mingled in this deep pool of muddy water? Ha! How could I, Kou Zhong, be easy to eat? Ling Shao, you go pass your whistling-proudly-over-the-mountains-and-forest days in peace! Xu Ziling heaved a deep sigh; he wanted to speak, but there was nothing to say. Changing the subject, Kou Zhong asked, Where did you and Hou kid muddled around all night long just now? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, We indeed muddled around, moreover, we were busy all night long for nothing. We searched everywhere in the Yin Mansion and still could not find the thing that Xiao Hou wanted. Thereupon he told Kou Zhong the whole story about the Han Ling Qing Yuan Tu. Kou Zhong remained puzzled after pondering over it a hundred times; racking his brain, he said, Yin Zuwen unexpectedly stole Chi Shengchuns thing. This does not make any sense. Ha! No wonder there are nightwalkers all over the city, turns out it was for ten thousand taels of gold reward money that they are looking for Cao San everywhere. The joke is killing me! Unexpectedly there are so many idiots in the world. And then he shouted toward the inner section, Hou Gongzi, are you done? Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, It seems like losing Luoyang has nothing to do with you. Kou Zhong downed another cup; shaking his head, he spoke dejectedly, This is called finding joy in sorrows. Li Shimins most remarkable aspect is precisely Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns. Even if you are fully aware how he is going to fight this battle, you can only watch helplessly as he is beating you,pletely without any way to deal with him. This moment Hou Xibai returned to the hall, sitting on the table, he said with a wry smile, Meirener wants to freshen up and change clothes. She even brought a change of clothes! She seems to be ready spend the night and stay with us; I wonder if two gentlemen have any opinion? Kou Zhong leaned forward and spoke in low voice, Before she went to bed, I wonder if she washed her pair of little feet clean? Smiling, Hou Xibai replied, Very soon you will know very clearly. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling, who had his pair of eyebrows deeply knitted; he spoke in astonishment, This is supposed to be a joke, why is Ziling so stingy with a smile? Xu Ziling replied, Because I know something that you dont know. This moment Shang Changzhu is in Changan; if when shees here they meet each other, what do you say the oue will be? His countenance changed, Hou Xibai said, Last night, when I secretly informed her that Ziling is at my house, she said she woulde to see us this morning. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, Its certainly a big problem, we are unexpectedly live together with her mortal enemy; if she knew, it would be strange indeed if she still pay attention to us. Standing up abruptly, he spoke resolutely, I am going to drive her away. How could she be that easy to deal with? Xu Ziling said, Dont cause trouble, let me talk with her. Kou Zhong sat down dejectedly; with pained expression on his face, he said, Actually, we have no excuse either, so we have no way of answering Changzhu Meiren. Just let Ziling persuade her then, in order to deal with Shi hey! She ought to agree to anything, right? Hou Xibai sighed and said, Dont hum and haw. Xiaodi understands what you are talking about. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes emitted sharp expression, he said, When I was rushing from Cijian to Changan, along the way I was intercepted by Yang Xuyan. This kids Shadow Sword Technique has indeed made exceptional progress. He took advantage of me when my strength was weary due to prolonged battle. Fortunately, I saw thru that he still cherished his emperors life, so each move of mine was a mutual destruction; I managed to force him to sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat. But it is also possible that he was deliberately letting me toe to Changan to deal with your esteemed master, which is also his revered master. More likely he wanted your esteemed master to personally kill me. But no matter which possibility, your Shi Shi no longer regards you as his disciple. What is Xibai going to do? At a loss, Hou Xibai replied, What can I do? Xu Ziling said, If Yang Xuyan kill you in a decisive battle, consequently Shi Zhixuan will pass on the Bu Si Yin Fa to Yang Xuyan. Will it be considered against your honorable Sects rules? Shaking his head, Hou Xibai replied, Naturally it cannot be considered viting the founders rule andw. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, I understand! The other night Yang Xuyan said that he had an important matter to attend to, I thought he was just making an excuse to step down the stage, turns out it is true. If he is injured, in the short term, it will be difficult for him to strive against you, Xiao Hou. Scratching his head, Hou Xibai said, Now Im so confused! Will Shi Shi personally deal with me, who is still unclear whether I am a renegade disciple or not, or will he let me and Yang Xuyan decide on victory or defeat? Xu Ziling sighed and said, This is a confusing ount that even your Shi Shi is unclear about. It has its origins in his split personality, plus because of the contradiction in his character, he is incapable of solving it himself, hence the reason he wrote the Bu Si Yin Fa, hoping that the two of you would bring it to a conclusion. But now that his personality has returned to be one, in all things he is considering the fact of the present situation, naturally he gave you up and chose Yang Xuyan instead. Letting out a cold snort, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Hou, you have to thoroughly make up your mind, whether you will sit and wait for death, or fight hard to save your life? Hou Xibai spoke resolutely, If it is only to deal with Yang Xuyan, then its easy. But if Shi Shi personally make his move, Xiaodi ay! Xiaodi Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Just hand Old Shi over to me and Xiao Ling to be dealt with, but Yang Xuyan is yours, LaoGes; that should do it! You also have nujia! The three men greatly shivered inwardly; they looked toward the inner section. The beautiful like an immortal descending to the world, bizarre like a specter C Wanwan, barefooted and wearing white clothes, was standing at the door, the strange light in her pretty eyes was rippling. It was only when she started speaking that the three men were aware that her fragrant self has honored them with her presence. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Wan Dajie is getting more and more formidable. Wanwanughed indifferently; like a specter, her feet did not touch the ground, she floated over, calmly sat down, and said, If I join hands with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling yet are still unable to put Shi Zhixuan in order, there wont be anybody else in the world that can do it. Hou Xibai spoke with a wry smile, He is, after all, my Shifu, cant you not speak that forthrightly? Casting her gaze toward him, Wanwan spoke slyly, Hou Gongzi must face this cruel reality. You are one mistake of Shi Zhixuans, and now its the time for him to correct that mistake. Bu Tian Pais way of training its sessor has always been discarding the weak and retaining the strong. Nowadays Shi Zhixuan is showing clearly that he wants to cultivate Yang Xuyan with all his strength; if you are still fainthearted, still have your mouth exclusively filled with some master and disciples affection, you might as well kill yourself and be done with it. You will both avoid making an exhibition of yourself, and you wont implicate your friends. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, How can you say such thing? Wanwan coldly said, This is not only the internal struggle within our holy school, but it also rtes to the future fate of the world, just like the battle for hegemony that is taking ce in Luoyang right now. On the road to be the master of the world, father might kill his son, a son might kill his father; friends could have a fall out, brothers could destroy each other. I am just speaking the truth, Hou Gongzi must wake up from your dream. One possibility is to go far away from him, to hide forever; the other is to fight bravely to the end. The third option is to be the pig and sheep in the ughterhouse, waiting for your fate of being ughtered. Hou Xibais breathing became ragged, it was quite half a dayter that he spoke dejectedly, Even if I know it is so, but to deal with Shi Shi for real, it is still difficult for me to make up my mind. Hows this: Yang Xuyan, leave him for me to deal with, as for Shi Shi, ay! If I dont hear it, I wont question it! Xiaodis natural disposition is like this, theres nothing I can do. Wanwan spoke indifferently, You are practically not Yang Xuyans opponent. Hou Xibai appeared to be unconvinced, but he did not refute her. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, How could you make such judgment? Wanwan slowly said, Shi Zhixuans two major skills are the Huan Mo Shenfa and Bu Si Yin Fa that he created himself. And these two types of ultimate skills are dependent upon the Tian Yi Xinfa [lit. one of heavens heart method], in which Shi Zhixuan fused the Hua Jian and Bu Tian, two ways, in order to reach the extreme realm of the peak. Yang Xuyan has mastered the Huan Mo Shenfa, its only natural that he also received the handed-down teachings of Tian Yi Xinfa, which is thebination of Bu Tian and Hua Jian, two ways wonderful skill, while Hou Gongzi only obtained Hua Jian, one Sects skill. Rtive superiority can be immediately determined, therefore, my analysis is not frightening words to scare people at all, but it is based on fact. After a short pause, she went on, Hou Gongzi and Yang Xuyan each got half of the Image Scroll, but because Yang Xuyan already mastered Tian Yi Jue Xue [ultimate skill], training Bu Si Yin will be where water flows, a canal is formed, while for Hou Gongzi, it will be scratching the outside of the boot [idiom: ineffectual]. Even if Hou Gongzi could obtain the full volume, in training the key point, you could easily suffer fire deviation, it will only be harmful without any benefit. Hearing that, the three mens countenance changed at the same time. Wanwans tender body shook, she said, Could it be that you guys have taken possession of Yang Xuyans half of the Image Scroll as well? Pointing to his head, Hou Xibai spoke with a wry smile, Its all in here! The strange light in Wanwans beautiful eyes was shing. Without she needed to tell them, they knew that she had the thought to obtain the Bu Si Yin scroll. Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, Left is not right, right is not right either. Where should Zaixia ce myself? Xu Ziling said, Heaven never bars ones way [idiom: never give up hope], as long as Xibai Xiong is determined to fight to the end, there will always be a way to resolve this matter. Laughing coldly, Kou Zhong said, I already saw that Yang kid is not pleasing to the eye, just leave him to me, Ill get rid of him. Wanwan said with a sigh, Based on Shaoshuais Eight Methods of the Well, you could perhaps defeat Yang Xuyan; but if you want to kill him, even if he did not have Li Yuan or Shi Zhixuans support behind his back, I am afraid it is not going to be easy at all. Kou Zhong was about to retort, they heard knocking on the door. The three mens countenance changed again, they cried Not good! inwardly. If Shang Xiuxun wasing, wouldnt it be terrible through and through? Book 44 4 – Hard-to-solve Misunderstanding

Book 44 Chapter 4 C Hard-to-solve Misunderstanding

The three looked at Wanwan at the same time. Wanwan revealed her snow white, neat and orderly beautiful teeth, as she smiled sweetly, as if she wanted to leave an indelible impression in their hearts. Only then did she gracefully and charmingly stand up and said, Well meet again tonight. I hope by that time you will have aprehensive n. With each passing moment, we lose a fraction of the chance of sess. Remember that! She was so understanding and tactful, they all felt that the favorable impression in their hearts toward her had just gone up a notch. Hou Xibai sprang up and said, Let me wee the guest! he darted out of the room like a whirlwind, he seemed to be more excited than the two, so that, looking at him, the two boys looked at each other with a smile on their faces. The two automatically focused their power into their pair of ears to listen to Hou Xibais situation from a distance, because if the neer was not Shang Xiuxun, they must immediately hide. The door was opened. Bowing and uttering polite phrases, Hou Xibai said, It sure is Shang Changzhu honoring us with your presence, which brings light to my humble dwelling. Wee, wee! The two boys breathed a sigh of relief, a warm and touching feeling welled up in their hearts. Shang Xiuxuns pleasant voice was heard, Hou Gongzi, no need to stand on ceremony. Is Ziling home? Inside the hall, Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, Unexpectedly she ising alone to see you! Shall I temporarily withdraw? Xu Ziling answered with a sneer, You think she might pull arge group of entourage parading herself ostentatiously around the city toe here? Go to your Naynay! Outside, Hou Xibai replied, Not only Ziling is here, Kou Zhong is also waiting respectfully for Changzhus good self. Changzhu, pleasee this way. The two boys hurriedly stood up; they were about to leave the table and head toward the door when their countenance changed at the same time. Earlier, their mind was focused on Wanwans departure, and then it shifted to their ears to listen; only this moment it returned to its normal state. They suddenly sniffed that Wanwans unique fragrant was still lingering around the ce where she sat. A hundred secrets cleared away, Kou Zhong promptly remedied the situation. Using his sleeves, he brushed away the chair where Wanwan was sitting, hoping to disperse the remaining scent. For a martial art master of Shang Xiuxuns caliber, her senses were acute; if she smelled the scent of a woman, if would be strange indeed if she did not grow suspicious. Moreover, girls are usually exceptionally sensitive to other girls; perhaps she could even recognize the scent of her foe. This moment, Hou Xibai and Shang Xiuxun were climbing up the steps to the entrance, the two did not dare to be negligent, they weed her with a smiling face. Shang Xiuxun was wearing mens clothing, presumably she wanted to hide from peoples eyes and ears, but the bluish-green warrior outfit she wore was made of famous and valuable material, the craftsmanship was exquisite; on her, it made her heroic spirit exuberant, her vigor more impressive. Her facial features were picturesque, the outline of her pretty face was clear as if it was pared with a knife. Forget about Hou Xibai, a passionate guy who was very fond of women, even the two boys also had their heart bewildered, their spirit intoxicated. Seeing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, a smile, which evolved from a heart brimming with delight, bloomed on the beautys face, but the tone of her voice feigned coldness, as she said, Good kids! Where the hell did you go; year in, year out, there was not the least bit of message. Hou Xibaiughed calmly and said, If they are not chasing people to kill them, then they are being chased to kill; it should be pardonable. Shang Changzhu, please sit down and well continue talking. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling originally wanted to intercept Shang Xiuxun and talk with her outside the hall first to stall for time, to let the fragrance dissipate, but Hou Xibai destroyed their n with one sentence. Without any better option, they echoed him in asking her to take a seat. Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in her ear, Meirener Changzhu is getting more and more beautiful! Shang Xiuxuns capable-of-absorbing-the-soul-and-hooking-the-spirit [note: the first soul was mortal, the second, which I tranted as spirit, was immortal soul] beautiful eyes cast him a sidelong nce, she spoke in displeasure, Please behave for me, otherwise familyw [the rules and discipline that apply within a family] awaits. Xu Ziling took the initiative by rushing to pull away the chair he was sitting in and spoke respectfully, Changzhu, please sit down! Perhaps it was Nature [as the mother of all things] toying with people, Shang Xiuxun rolled her eyes at him and said, Since when did Xu Ziling be this good at waiting upon girls? Ill sit here, you can sit there yourself! Unexpectedly she sat on the chair that Wanwan was sitting just now; immediately her jade countenance changed slightly. Thump! Thump! Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart was thumping wildly, while crying Not good! inwardly, because even from their position, they could still smell Wanwans fragrance. It really did not make any sense; Kou Zhong sleeves ought to be able to disperse the scent. This moment, he had a faint feeling that it was possible that Wanwan intentionally wanted to harm them by destroying their rtionship with Shang Xiuxun. The question was how did she know that Shang Xiuxun was going to pay a visit? Hou Xibai was oblivious of what happened, heughed aloud and said, Why dont Shaoshuai and Ziling sit down? Naturally pouring tea and serving water will be Zaixias domestic duty. Steeling themselves, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling took their seat under Shang Xiuxuns growing-grave-mixed-with-suspicious gaze, just like two serious criminals being pushed out to the execution ground. Finally Hou Xibai sensed the peculiar atmosphere between the three; he spoke in amazement, Changzhu Disying the dignified air of a Ranch Master, Shang Xiuxun signaled him to stop, her eyes shifted between Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings faces, she spoke heavily, Do you know why I took the long and difficult trek to Changan? Hou Xibai sat down with nk expression on his face, but then his body shook; he realized where the problem was. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he respectfully said, Changzhu, please exin. Shang Xiuxuns lucid and elegant, intimidating countenance no longer had the least bit of smile, her pair of beautiful opened eyes emitted deep hatred, the tone of her voice tranquil and resolute, she slowly said, Qin Lao and He Lao were tragically killed by Yin Gui Pais female demon in the past, our Flying Horse Ranch, from top to bottom, no one dares to forget that even for a moment. These past few years, we made open enquiries and secret searches, before we finally discovered some spiders thread and horse track. We are positive that since the Sui dynasty founded the country, the Yin Gui Pais old nest has always been hidden in Changan. This time I aming to Changan for only one purpose, which is for the female demon to pay the debt of blood with blood. This matter does not concern Hou Gongzi, but Xiuxun has always regarded the two of you as my own people; which side are you actually standing on? Sure enough, their prediction hase true, unexpectedly Shang Xiuxun identified the scent that extremely likely Wanwan has deliberately left behind to harm them. It should be noted that warriors with qi training, because their physique was different from ordinary people, they all have distinctive scent. For this kind of martial art master who cultivated innate true qi, were it not for they deliberately restrain and conceal it, they would automatically emit some kind of distinct scent. And someone with acute senses like Shang Xiuxun would be able to identify the person based on the scent. In his heart, Xu Ziling agreed with the result of Shang Xiuxuns investigation. In Luoyang back then, Song Shidao, from the utensils and the tealeaves that Yin Gui Pai people used C had pointed out that they paid particr attention to their lifestyle, unlike people who had lived in seclusion deep in the mountains or destitute valley, or even some destitute vige for a long time. Furthermore, Yin Gui Pai had the intention of contending for the hegemony over the world, so they should live in big city or big metropolitan where the transportation andmunication were convenient; only then would they be able to grasp thetest and the truest situation. Moreover, it would also be convenient to do business and make money. Therefore, Shang Xiuxuns guess that Yin Gui Pais secret nest was located in Changan, even if it wasnt urate, it should not be far from it. In addition, Zhu Yuyan and Wanwan were able toe and go in here unobstructed; not only they must know Changan well, they also had to have good identity as a cover. Weakly and without strength Kou Zhong said, Of course we stand on Changzhus side; we all are on the same side! Hou Xibai could only worry about the two boys for nothing, but he could not butt in. Shang Xiuxuns eyes moved to Xu Ziling, she said, Since thats the case, please tell Xiuxun, did you or did you not just see that female demon? Bracing himself, Xu Ziling replied, We did indeed see her; she Shang Xiuxun angrily said, Why did you allow her to leave alive? Kou Zhong said with a sigh, This matter is hard to exin in a few words. Changzhu, please allow us to exin in details, because currently Shang Xiuxuns countenance turned as cold as ice; standing up abruptly, she furiously said, I do not want to hear your graceful words, flowery speech. Starting from today, we are two segments with a single cut [idiom: to make a clean break]. Our Flying Horse Ranchs affair, theres no need for you to care about. Finished speaking, she stormed out in a huff. The two boys you looked at me I gazed at you, they remained silent in distress. It was quite half a dayter that Kou Zhong sighed and said, I wonder if this time it is a disaster without being presumptuous, or Wan Yaonu is intentionally harming us, to make us and the Meirener Changzhu have a falling out, so that we wont seek revenge on her on behalf of the Flying Horse Ranch. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, How could this matter be described as disaster without being presumptuous? Our exnation is practically groundless, because Wanwan is certainly a female demon whose death cannot wipe out her crimes. Furthermore, due to various circumstances, we spare the rod and spoil the child [orig. to tolerate is to nurture an evildoer (idiom)], so being repeatedly ced in the harms way, we only have ourselves to me. Hou Xibai said, If this time Wanwan intentionally left her scent, then she is indeed so brilliant that it chills people heart; but how did she know that Shang Meiren was going toe? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, That is precisely the key whether Wan Yaonu was actually intentional or unintentional. Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling spoke slowly, word-by-word, She was intentional. Otherwise, you used true qi to brush away her scent, the scent ought to be dispersed instead of lingered in. Turning to Hou Xibai, he asked, What was the asion when you saw Shang Xiuxunst night? Hou Xibai replied, It was the banquet with Zhang Jiehao [sic] and Yin De Fei acting as the hosts. Hu Xiaoxian was present as well. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, Thats it! Most probably ay! But ording to reason, Yin De Fei shouldnt have told this matter to Wanwan. Otherwise, what Wan Yaonu told us about training alone was all a lie. His countenance changed, Hou Xibai said, In that case, wont all those joining hands to work together be just a trap? Xu Ziling said, In a word, we can no longer trust this female demon. How about Ling Shao go to exin and apologize to Meirener Changzhu? Kou Zhong proposed, Tell her our secret trouble, tell her that from now on we will wash our heart and renew our face [idiom], topletely correct our former misdeeds [idiom]. Ay! His Niangs Wan Yaonu. Meirener Changzhus favorable impression toward you has always been a bit better than toward me. With you exining it, it would have more power. Shaking his head to indicate his disagreement, Hou Xibai said, The higher the favorable impression, the more uneasy it is. Especially since it involves the feeling between a man and a woman. This is called the deeper the love, the deeper the hatred. Moreover, her anger is in the head, if you look for her now, you will definitely hit the wall ande back. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, What nonsense are you talking about? She and I are just friends! Kou Zhong said, You are in the game, naturally you are confused, while as outsiders, we can see things more clearly. Ah, right! This time, the person exining to her must be a bystander, otherwise, if either me or Ling Shao is going to see her, we will only suffer the tragic, dismal fate of being driven away. In that case, Xiaodi is not going to pass my responsibilities to others, Hou Xibai volunteered himself, Let me go as the mediator. Such a good-looking and intelligent Meirener like her, she ought to understand reason. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Hou Gongzi acted as if you havent had sharing-the-stage rtionship with Wanwan? How could you be considered a bystander? All three of us are out of question. To find Lu Zhonglian [Lu Zhonglian B, also called Lu Lian B, was a political advisor during the Warring States period (5th cent-221 BCE) C ChinaKnowledge.de, famous lobbyist and strategist that help solve problem for two parties (Courtesy of Akw)], it must be someone outside the three of us. Ay! Who might be the suitable candidate? His haze turned toward Xu Ziling, just at the same time as thetters gaze was also turning toward him; both of them had their hearts moved at the same time. Shaken, Hou Xibai said, Naturally its the Song Familys Er Gongzi, right? Kou Zhong exhaled slowly, as if he has solved the matter, and said, Even if we look around the world beating the gong and beating the drum, we may not necessarily find anybody more suitable than Song ErGe. Well immediately go to ask him to throw his cap in the ring. This matter should not be dyed, if we are toote, I am afraid there will be other changes. Pressing the table and standing up, Kou Zhong said, Get a good sleep! Tonight we are going to visit Yin Mansion again; even if we cannot find the picture scroll, well grab Yin Zuwen and torture him for his confession, and then well kill him to shut his mouth. His Niangs! Right now I really want to kill and burn to vent the hatred in my heart! Each of the two boys wore the new mask that they obtained from the Duke Yangs Treasure and stepped into the bustling-with-noise-and-excitement streets of Changan. Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders, he was overwhelmed with the touching feeling of brothers-meeting-again. He said, Dealing with Shi Zhixuan this time, we cant rely on Wanwan, and we cant implicate Hou Gongzi even more; we can only rely on our own strength. Xu Ziling said, If we join hands, we shouldnt lose to him too much, but to kill him is absolutely impossible, unless he is willing to determine life and death against us. Proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns; naturally I have a detailed n. Shi Zhixuans Dade Shengseng must be inside Wu Lou Sis meditation room to recuperate from his injury. If we could create a situation that will force him to escape that tiny room via the underground tunnel, then we could ambush him over there, to kill him that he has no time to deal with it, plus there is no way out. Although fighting a trapped beast is a bit more dangerous, but we could use the many to take advantage of the few, no matter what; we will upy a bit more advantageous position. Muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, Xu Ziling said, Who will have the ability to force him to flee the underground tunnel? We only have one chance to try this, to uncover his Shengseng [holy monk] identity; afterwards it will be difficult for us to grasp his movement and his hiding ce. Kou Zhong said, Xiaodi can be considered without a n; how could I miss this crucial point? In Changan, only one person has that ability, which is Li kids Ol Die, Li Yuan. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, You are ying with fire; one thing goes wrong, even we have to pack and leave before we finish eating. Kou Zhongughed and said, This matter still needs detailed deliberation. In brief, the n is more or less like that, the details have yet to be studied and deployed. We are here! Finished listening to the two boys request, Song Shidao said, Afterwards, are you nning on drawing a clear dividing line with Wanwan? Or perhaps you will help the Flying Horse Ranch avenging this profound hatred? These two points are extremely important. Otherwise, even if my tongue is as lustrous as lotus flower, I wont be able to move Shang Xiuxun. She and I had the predestined affinity to meet once, hence I rather understand her. Lei Jiuzhi asked, What kind of a person is she? Song Shidao replied, She grew up in a very unique environment. In the Ranch, everybody treats her as a deity, and she manages the Ranch ording to the Jiafa [lit. house rules; the rules and discipline that apply within a family] that is passed on from her ancestors, eternally keeping a distance from, and associating with, people outside the Ranch. The two of you are perhaps the only outsiders that she rarely trusts, hence the incident hurt her particrly badly. Blowing out a mouthful of air, Kou Zhong said, We naturally stand on her side. However, due to Zhu Yuyans death and Shi Zhixuan recovering from his injury, the situation within the demonic school turnedplicated and delicate, hence the top priority is to deal with Shi Zhixuan first before we turn to everything else. We precisely ask ErGe to exin our miserable plight to Shang Xiuxun. Ay! What should we say? Song Shidao nodded and said, I understand, but all of us have different standpoint, Im afraid it wont be that easy to approach her. Xu Ziling noticed Ren Jun, who was sitting on the side, disguised as Situ Furong, seemed to want to say something but then hesitating; knowing that he did not dare to interrupt, he said, Situ Laoban has something to say? Ren Jun bashfully said, Xu Ye is also teasing me? I just want to remind Song Ye that a guest is going to pay a visit, Song Ye must go back quickly. Lei Jiuzhi also said, Almost forget to tell you, yesterday Xiao Yu sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that today at noon he is going to pay a visit to our Situ Da Laoban. It could be said that Li Yuan is giving Furong Ye enough face. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were emotionally moved. Xiao Yu, just like Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing, was the cab minister closest to Li Yuan, while also the old Sui emperors wife maternal uncle. Among the Tang ministers, he was a person of virtue and prestige, his status was special. He casually gave honor and dropped by to see a newly rich like Situ Furong, he must have done it with Li Yuans consent, he might even received order toe here. Ren Jun stammered, Hey, I was wondering if Xu Ye should disguise yourself back as Situ Furong. Xiaozi [kid], hey! Xiaozi It was only then did everybody know the real reason he wanted to say something but then hesitating. It was simply because he grew timid as the battle approached, and wanted to avoid this military service. Xu Ziling teased him, If Xiao Yu ising to plead you, Da Laoban, to write out a banknote for him, how am I going to deal with it? Ren Jun smiled bitterly but did not say anything. Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, This is precisely the opportunity to learn through experience. It is called jade will not be what it is without any cut [the word refers to cutting gems]. If Ling Shao deal with Xiao Yu on your behalf, Xiao Jun is going to miss this opportunity. Ren Jun respectfully replied, Kou Yes lesson is right; Xiaozi understands! https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 Standing up, Song Shidao said, Xiao Jun spoke well. Where is Shang Xiuxun staying? Kou Zhong and the others busily stood up as well. Xu Ziling replied, ording to Hou Xibai, she has a property at the Wang Xian [lit. gazing toward the immortal] Street north of the Sheng Ye [lit. sessful business] of the East Market. Its the ce she is staying whenever she is here. And then he gave him the detailed address. Song Shidao said, Just to see her will entail some effort on my part, but I will think of something. Are you going to wait for my news here? Xu Ziling replied, I have an appointment to meet with Du Fuwei in Beiyuan [lit. north park]; after our meeting, I wille back to see the situation. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, You are going to see Ol Die? Lei Jiuzhi said, Its not suitable for you to leave together, it wont be good if you are seen by others. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Naturally ErGe is leaving from the main entrance. Since we must not be exposed to the light, we came here climbing over the wall, we must also leave climbing over the wall; wee and go freely. Song Shidao smiled and said, Dont worry, Shang Xiuxun must give me a bit of face no matter what, at least she will listen to me until I finish. But my record acting as the peacemaker for you guys is not too splendid, I failed to resolve the gratitude and grudges between you and Junqiang. Kou Zhong sighed and said, We have had enough! We no longer have too much hope with Meirener Changzhu. Book 48 5 – Mistakenly Hitting the Secondary Vehicle

Book 48 Chapter 5 C Mistakenly Hitting the Secondary Vehicle

Lei Jiuzhi sent the two boys off passing through the rooms crossing over the buildings toward the rear garden. This magnificent residence upied arge parcel ofnd, the buildings continuous; if the previous owner was not rich, then he must be a nobility, that it ended up as a coteral and became Situ Furongs property, it really made people sigh inmentation. The three walked along the gravel path of the rear garden. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Such a big courtyard house without any maid or servant to clean, it feels quite strange. Lei Jiuzhi said, We intentionally do it this way. The cleaning crew is sent by Chen Fu; they leave after half a morning of work, only the kitchen crew stays longer. All are trustworthy people of our own. We are here to take refuge! Nobody will suspect us for hiding our track. Hows the progress of getting some martial art teachers as the guards? Xu Ziling asked. Lei Jiuzhi replied, From time to time within these past couple of days, someone dropped by to apply for the job, but I deliberately made things difficult. Without deciding whos going to be employed, I only asked them to leave their detailed information, and then sent it to Chen Fu to verify their identity. This method is reasonable and fair. Otherwise, how do we know that those people are not rted to Chi Shengchun? Kou Zhongughed and said, If they are really Chi Shengchuns people, they must be demonic schools people; how could you, LaoGe easily see through their identity? Proud of himself, Lei Jiuzhi said, Dont forget that I and your Song ErGe are Jianghu veterans, not easy to be deceived. Besides, I can turn your concern around: each time we encounter someone with unclear identity, it is extremely possible that he is a crafty viin of the demonic school, and we precisely want to hire such person. Ha! The three reached the outer wall of the rear court. Outside the wall was the small alley that separated this residence with the neighbor. For Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, climbing over the wall to get in was very easy, because they could see first the situation of the surrounding area before starting their operation. However, climbing over the wall to get out would pose a greater problem, because it was not easy to grasp the situation outside the wall. Xu Ziling was listening attentively to any sound in the alley on the other side of the wall. Kou Zhongughed and said, I dare to make a bet that there are people being sent by certain power to watch the main entrance and the front door, and there must be government officials among those, because Furong Ye has aroused the attention of various parties. After a short pause, he said, Supposing Ling Shao and I swagger out of the back door, what might happen? Xu Ziling replied with a sneer, Our grand n of punishing the Xiang might be dead on arrival, all is lost. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, The difference between this time andst time is thatst time everybody knew that we wereing to Changan for the treasure hunt. This time, no one did not know that I was at Cijian in a hopelessly muddled rtionship with the Li kid; therefore, the chance of being discovered is quite slim. Besides, we could design our own identity;ing and going will be a bit more convenient. Lei Jiuzhi cheerfully said, We already thought about the problem you are thinking about. Xiao Zhong will be called Cai Yuanyong, Xiao Ling bes Kuang Wentong, both are martial art masters of Taihang Bang [Taihang Gang; Taihang Mountains on the border between Hebei and Shanxi], jointly known as the Taihang Shuang Jie [twin outstanding men of Taihang]. Taihang Bangs Da Longtou [big boss] Huang An has always had friendly rtions that surpasses life itself with Situ Furong. Situ Furong in trouble, he sent two capable hands toe to protect Situ Furong; this is as it should be by rights. Xu Ziling was puzzled, There seems to be a hole in your n. Xiang Familys spies are all over the world, as soon as they investigate, they would immediately know that those Taihang Shuang Jie are still by Huang Ans side and have note to Changan; wouldnt our original identity be fully revealed then? Lei Jiuzhiughed aloud and said, That is precisely the brilliance of this n. ording to our spies, Huang An indeed dispatched these two fes to protect Situ Furong, only they are noting to Changan. I originally thought I would discuss this matter with youter, but now that I see Xiao Zhong wants to go out of the back door in style, I might as well mention it! Running his eyes over his own clothes, Kou Zhong asked, What do these two guys look like? What weapon did they rely on to make their name and establish their prestige? Lei Jiuzhi proudly said, I already took care of that, you guys please feel reassured. Come with me! I guarantee that by the time you step out of the door, those with a bit Jianghu experience will know that you guys are Shuang Jie and not Shuang Long [twin dragons]. Ha! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well became a strange looking saw tooth saber, while Xu Ziling had a long sword hanging on his waist, their hair ornaments and their clothes were slightly altered to match the Taihang Shuang Jie Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentongs outside appearance. Stepping out of the back door, the moment Xu Ziling was closing the door behind him, Kou Zhong swept his gaze around. He sighed and said, Usually it happens just like this: when you wanted to be discovered, contrary to expectations, nobody paid you any attention. It would be best if no one pay any attention, Xu Ziling replied, I am most afraid that Lao Die has been waiting too long so he became impatient and left. Lets go! The two boys walked side by side. Kou Zhongughed and said, I wonder when are we going to be able to wander on the streets of Changan ostentatiously in our original appearance and identity? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, One, when you are willing to surrender and pay allegiance to the House of Tang, two, when you seed to put Li Shimin in order. Other than these two options, there are no other possibilities. From the long alley, they cut into a rather more spacious side street in the neighborhood [or district] block. Walking to the left, they would leave the neighborhood block. Suddenly there were shoutsing from left and right, from both ends of the street, more than a dozen big men were rushing toward them; everybody looked menacing, clearly they wereing for them. The two boys looked at each other in astonishment with hundreds of questions in their hearts. ording to reason, if anybody could see through their real identity, the onesing to get them would be martial art masters, Li Yuans personal guards, rather than these twenty something men who appeared to be from the local gangs. At least the roof, far and near, should be full of ambushing archers to prevent them froming and going from above to break the siege and escape. If they did not know that they were Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world, it did not make any sense even more. Could it be that as soon as they left Situ Furongs Changan residence they already offended these people? In the blink of an eye, all around them, both ends of the street were blocked by these murderous-looking men that not one drop could trickle through. The passers-by in the vicinity scattered in all directions to avoid trouble. In front of them, one of the men stepped out of their ranks, pointed his halberd-finger at them and shouted, This is called heaven has a way you dont take, hell has no door you charge inside. Persisting in evil brings about self-destruction [idiom]. You two, give your life to me. Xu Ziling focused his eyes to look, wasnt the speaker Guanzhong Jian Pais Xiao Xiuming? Last time when he joined Xing Chang Long as Mo Wei, he has had some contact with him. Xiao Xiumings Da Shixiong [oldest martial art brother] Duan Zhixuan was one of the core generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion, who had been put in a very important position by Li Shimin. This time, perhaps there was a flood rushing into the Dragon King Temple, people of the same family were beating people of the same family. Changing his voice, Kou Zhong said, This Renxiong must be mistaken. Between you and us, there was noin in the past, there is no animosity at the present. Blocking our way, shouting about beating, shouting about killing, what kind of behavior is that? Another man from the back shouted, Of course you dont know us. Otherwise, even if you have guts as high as the heaven, you wouldnt dare toe to Changan to disy shockingly bad behavior. We already received the news that you, these two kids who dont know life and death [acting recklessly (idiom)] wille to throw away your life. If you are tactful,y down your weapon to save us some work. Without needing to look back, Xu Ziling immediately recognized the speaker as Xiao Xiumings younger martial brother Xie Jiarong. Both Xiao and Xie were Xing Chang Long people, they belonged to the same Guanzhong Jian Pai with Xing Chang Longs big boss Bu Wannians son, Bu Ting. Kou Zhong groaned for the big headache; holding his temper in check, he said, Hands tied and waiting to be captured is not a problem, but at least you should make us understand, how exactly did we offend gentlemen Xiongtai? Revealing an unashamed look, Xiao Xiuming cursed, All right, let me exin to you, these two little thieves, ording to Jianghu rules. If you remember the Xiuwu Citys Lu Yans daughter Lu Zhier, what good thing did you guys do to her, theres no need for me, Xiao Xiuming, to waste too much lips and tongue! From behind, Xie Jiarong angrily shouted, Swindling money and swindling countenance [i.e. tricking someone into having sex], you implicated ady of respectable family to nurse a grievance andmit suicide, Cai Yuanyong, Kuang Wentong, can you two be considered human? You are really beasts worse than a dog or a pig. Xiao Xiuming continued, Fortunately we knew that you wereing to Changan to see that bloodsucking vermin, hence we are waiting here day and night. If you donty down your weapons, we are going to chop your dead bodies into pieces. The two understood, musing that Lei Jiuzhi really had a good ability, instead of disguising themselves as anybody, they had to disguise themselves as these two swindling-money-and-swindling-countenance depraved thieves. In the matter before their eyes, fighting was not right, not fighting was not right even more. Even if they slipped away, they could only slip away momentarily; they really did not know how to resolve this matter. Seeing the two did not show any reaction, Xiao Xiuming angrily said, Charge! The two boys sighed inwardly. Exchanging a nce, they made up their mind to slip away. Their only hope was that this matter would not reveal even more inside information; other than that, they did not ask for anything else. Hold on! Xiao Xiuming looked toward the voice, immediately his brows were deeply knitted, he was rooted on the spot with nk expression on his face. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried inwardly that this big matter has turned even worse, because the neer was Er Wenhuan of Chang Lin Army, a trusted aide under Li Jianchengsmand. Next to him, there was another tall and slim man wearing military officers uniform, followed by more than a dozen city guards. If he saw through their identity, their only way out would be to forcefully charge through the city gate. Naturally the grand n to deal with Chi Shengchun would fizzle out, Chen Fu and the others would be implicated, the consequences would be extremely grave. With his hands behind his back, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Er Wenhuan pressed down straight toward Xiao Xiuming and the others. Wearing a sinister smile on his face, he said, Xiao Xiong does not seem to be aware that Huangshang strictly prohibit personal fight. In the full light of the day you publicly going on the rampage, fully armed, on the street, I wonder if you are acting under your Da Shixiong Duan Zhixuan of Qin Wangs Mansions order, hence you consciously going against the rules [orig. to know thew and break it (idiom)]? Xiao Xiumings countenance slightly changed, he ordered his men to put away their weapons first before responding, I wonder if Er Jiangjun know who these two men are? Er Wenhuan signaled his more than a dozen city guards to stay outside the encirclement, while he himself, along with the tall and thin military general went straight toward them. Xiao Xiuming and his Guanzhong Jian Pai brothers had no choice but to step aside to let the two men pass through, and came to Xiao Xiumings left and right. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were somewhat relieved, because they knew that Er Wenhuan has not seen through their disguise. Er Wenhuan turned his gaze to size up Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, seemingly without any malice; he even had a smile on his face as he nodded his head to greet them. But his words was still directed to Xiao Xiuming, Who they are, would Xiao Xiong please give advice? Xiao Xiuming said, These two men ran amuck without any scruples in the Taihang Mountains region,mitting multifarious evil, swindling innocent women of their money and body, harming thedy of respectable families that they took poison to kill themselves. The tall and thin military general with long face like a horses and sloping eyebrows [orig. shaped like the character eight ()] squinted his eyes until they became a pair of slits and shouted, That being the case, Xiao Xiuming, why didnt you make a report to me, City Guards, but took the matter into your own hands in a private fight? Are you regarding my City Guards as nothing, and do not consider me, Yao Luo to be worthy in your eyes? Er Wenhuanughed aloud and said, Turns out its really Cai Xiong and Kuang Xiong whose name shook the Taihang Mountains. And then he respectfully said, Cai Xiong and Kuang Xiong, what do you say about Xiao Xiongs usation? Anyone who is not a fool would know that Er Wenhuan was trying to exonerate the two boys. Although Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling a thousand times unwilling, ten thousand times disinclined to ept Er Wenhuans good intention, they hated it that they had no other choice. Clearing his throat, weakly and without any strength, Kou Zhong spoke up, Hey! How could we, Taihang Shuang Jiemit that kind of viting-Heavensw thing? He, Xiao Xiuming, clearly makes false usations against us for some purpose. Er Daren and Yao Daren, please preside over justice for us, two brothers. Er Wenhuan sent a Please dont worry signal to the two boys with his eyes, plus a slight nod of his head, before speaking coldly, Whether its government official or Jianghu matters, we speak of nothing but of one word reason. Xiao Xiongs usation toward Cai Xiong and Kuang Xiong is extremely serious; I wonder if you have any witness or material evidence? Xiao Xiuming was stunned, he was dumbstruck and unable to say anything. Putting on big government officials air, Yao Luo said, Since there is no reliable evidence, forcefully using others, ignoring our Great Tangsw and order, Xiao Xiuming, how brazen you are! Guards! Arrest these rebels and bring them back to the City Guards. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling your eyes look into mine, they thought that this was an outrage, framing Xiao Xiuming and his men who upheld justice; how could their heart be at peace? Fortunately, while the City Guards were shouting and started to move, Er Wenhuan suddenly turned into a good person; he said, In my opinion, this is just a misunderstanding. As long as Xiao Xiong agree from now on you wont harass Cai Xiong and Kuang Xiong anymore, we all can end this matter politely. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly surprised, but they quickly thought that this might be the order that Li Jiancheng passed on to his men, not to provoke the King of Qins people in a very unusual period, hence he could easily speak to Yao Luo of the City Guards, which were directly under Li Yuans control. Everybodys eyes were on Xiao Xiuming to see how he would react. Xiao Xiumings countenance turned red and white indeterminately, obviously the anger in his heart was difficult to pacify, yet he clearly had no choice. It was quite half a dayter that he dejectedly admitted defeat, saying, This time we were reckless, hereafter we wont offend the two gentlemen anymore. Completely upying the upper hand, Er Wenhuan let out a longughter and said, Xiao Xiong is really understanding. Xiao Xiuming angrily shouted to his own troops, Lets go! After the group of Guanzhong Jian Pai men left, Er Wenhuan spoke cheerfully, Your name has been known to me for a long time [idiom], its hard toe by that the two gentlemen areing from afar to Changan, please let Xiaodi act as the host a little bit by inviting the two gentlemen to enjoy some ordinary meal; what do you think? How could the two boys refuse? Although they would not be able to keep their appointment with Du Fuwei, but looking at Er Wenhuans cordiality, as if he was harboring some other scheme, it was indeed an unexpected delight; thereupon they hurriedly agreed with simr enthusiasm. This trip to Changan, the situation has be even more tangled andplicated. After three rounds of wine, sitting around the table by the east window overlooking the Yuema Bridge on the third floor of Fu Ju Lou, the most famous restaurant in Changan, the four men were drinking and chatting merrily, the atmosphere was friendly. After some polite remarks, Yao Luo turned into the main issue, About Cai Xiong and Kuang Xionging to Changan, we already received the information, hence early on we paid particr attention to the people entering the city, to see whether two Xiongtai are among them; who would have thought that it was not until two gentlemen were intercepted by Guanzhong Jian Pai that we realized two gentlemens good-selves are already inside the city. Two gentlemen are really resourceful. He was speaking politely, but he was actually interrogating Kou and Xu, two boys. Kou Zhongughed aloud first in order to strive for the timing of the interrogation; he spoke in astonishment, Our trip to Changan this time, we actually deliberately keep it a secret, howe it looks like everybody in Changan already knew about it? Er Wenhuanughed and said, Anything pertaining to Situ Da Laoban currently be something that no one is not concerned. Song Que is so brutal and overbearing, he openly persecutes Da Laoban, no one in Jianghu can overlook it. Fortunately Da Laoban made the right decision toe to Changan. I, Er Wenhuan dare to pat my chest to guarantee that Changan is the only ce where Song Que will not dare to disy shockingly bad behavior. Answering Yao Luos previous question, Xu Ziling lowered his voice and said, To be quite honest, Furong Ye did not wish for us to see the light, hence we were hiding inside firewood cart to sneak into the city, hoping that two Daren would forgive us. Frank and straightforward, Er Wenhuan said, Thats not a problem. Yao Daren couldplete the formalities of two gentlemen entering the city. Come! After drinking this cup, we all will be brothers. The four men toasted each other loudly. Pretending to be curious, Kou Zhong looked around at the other guests on the third floor, some of whom he even recognized, like Li Mi, Wang Bodang and Huang Gongcuo, who sat on two separate tables. These three ought to be Fu Ju Lous regr customers. Seizing the opportunity, Xu Ziling said, Isnt that Mi Gong of the Wagang Army? Revealing a look of disdain, Er Wenhuan spoke indifferently, Although Wagang still exists, Wagang Army is already like scattering cloud, vanishing smoke. And then heughed and said, I hear Situ Da Laoban is extremely suspicious of others, he rarely trusts anybody, is that true? Kou Zhong knew that he was fishing for information, to assess how much value would Taihang Shuang Jie worth for him. He nodded and said, Da Laoban is indeed very cautious, the only person he trusts is precisely our An Ye, each time he made a business inspection trip to various parts of the country, An Ye always sent us to apany him as his escorts. Not concealing anything from two gentlemen, we have repeatedly gone through fire and water for Furong Ye, hence the reason this time Furong Ye has difficulties, his first thought was us, two brothers. Er Wenhuans eyes revealed a happy expression, it looked like his heart was d that he did not make mistake in finding the right helpers, the right people. Yao Luo said, I hear Da Laoban wants to engage local martial art teachers as protector of the courtyard, two gentlemens martial art skill is outstanding, there is no need to hire other staffs, he is not afraid that people with other intentions might infiltrate inside? Kou Zhong said, We have only arrived today and have just met Furong Ye; listening to him, the Senior, he was afraid that we might not be able to rush over due to other matters, but now naturally there wont be any problem in this regard. Xu Ziling was afraid he might reveal everything, he said, However, if we could engage several reliable men to be in charge of patrolling the courtyard, it would ease our burden. We came to Changan, it would be wonderful if we could spare a little time to go sightseeing all over the ce. Yao Luoughed and said, Er Daren knows Changan well, plus he is a frequent visitor of pleasure houses and casinos. With him as your guide, I guarantee that two gentlemen have not made the trip in vain. Patting his chest, Er Wenhuan said, You can leave it to Xiaodi, but no need to speak Daren this, Daren that! From now on we call each other Xiongdi, it will be a bit more fun to y! His heart was moved, Kou Zhong spoke with evil smile, The two of us have no hobby, at most when we are idle, we like to gamble a couple of hands. Too bad right now we have heavy responsibility and have to give up this only hobby. Immediately Er Wenhuans pair of eyes lit up. Lowering his voice, he acted mysteriously and said, Gambling a couple of hands, who would find out? As long as I, Er Wenhuan make the arrangement, I guarantee that not even half a rumor will enter Situ Da Laobans ears. Just leave such a trivial matter to me, I guarantee two gentlemen will be able to satisfy your craving in gambling. Xu Ziling secretly praised Kou Zhong, in just a sentence he tested out that it was very likely that Er Wenhuan was somehow rted to Chi Shengchun. Now it was clear that Er Wenhuan wanted to control them, by fair means or foul, including by beguiling them, luring them with gain, intimidation, all the way to using fairy trap. Only through them, this pair of Taihang Shuang Jie, the Xiang Family would obtain urate intelligence pertaining to Situ Furong. Yao Luo spoke seriously, Somehow, with two gentlemen, I feel familiarity at first sight. This is perhaps some kind of destiny. Cai Xiong, Kuang Xiong, please dont me Xiaodi for talking intimately while beingparative strangers [idiom]. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Toward two gentlemen Daren, we also feel like we are kindred spirits very much, to the point of feeling a bit overwhelmed by favor from superior [idiom]. Yao Daren, please bestow more instruction. This time it was Kou Zhongs turn to secretly praise him. This move of Xu Zilings was called desiring to capture indulgence first. With one sentence overwhelmed by favor from superior he indicated that he was a Jianghu veteran, that he was notpletely without wariness toward Yao Luo using respect and speaking about honor to fawn on the two boys. Er Wenhuan was about to speak, a city guard was climbing the stairs and heading straight toward their table, immediately attracting all the third-floor guests attention that they turned their eyes toward Kou Zhong and the others table. Book 48 6 – Willing To Be A Thief

Book 48 Chapter 6 C Willing To Be A Thief

Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong cheered inwardly. Such an exposure would dispel other peoples doubt instead, they could not possibly link the Taihang Shuang Jie to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, because apanying them was Li Jianchengs Chang Lin Armys trusted aide Er Wenhuan. Moreover, everybody in Changan, from top to bottom, thought that they, Kou and Xu, two boys were still at Cijian. The City Guard headed straight toward their table. He cupped his hands in salute toward Er Wenhuan and Yao Luo first, and then he stooped down to whisper in Yao Luos ear. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were afraid that those with brilliant eyesight like Li Mi, Huang Gongcuo, and so on would see through if they applied their power to eavesdrop; without any better option, they had to miss this secret talk that was being dropped at their front door. Finished speaking, the City Guard saluted and left. The atmosphere in the restaurant was back to its original state. Er Wenhuan said, If it is not convenient to say, no need to say it. Smiling bitterly, Yao Luo said, Whats not convenient to say? Its just a troublesome affair of that short-lived ghost. At the city gate we detain the so-called Cao San, whom men from all sides who wanted to get rich handed over to us; it appears that we now have a total of thirteen. They want me to spend the entire afternoon to identify whether they are real or fake. This short-lived ghost really caused a lot of trouble. Er Wenhuan blurted outughing and said, If Cao San is really that easy to be caught by those ordinary hands, then I am sure he is not Cao San; without even looking, I know that they are all fake. Pretending not knowing anything at all, Kou Zhong asked what happened. After giving him exnation, Er Wenhuan said, Yao Xiong is the head of the City Guards. Whenever there is any extremely sensational theft case in Changan, he will be the one who gets busy! Yao Luo sighed and said, Only too bad I am not the real head. The real head is Lu Gengcheng, Wang Daren, at most Xiaodi is only running errands, naturally everything that needs running around will be my responsibility. His Niangs! If Cao San really fell into my hands, I will make him begging for life but he wont get it, begging for death but he wont get it either. Kou Zhong put on a greedy air as he ughed nastily and said, I hear that over the years Duan Ming Cao San stole countless treasure; if hes really caught in the, Yao Xiong could ruthless scrape a deal with him! Seeing his greedy appearance, Er Wenhuans heart was moved as well. Smiling, he said, This time Cai Xiong and Kuang Xiong are working for Situ Laoban, the mary reward ought to be generous, right? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Its pretty good. For our Furong Ye, it could be considered extravagant. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I just hope its enough to pay the gambling debts we owe! Lowering his voice, Er Wenhuan said, I hear in his spare time Furong Ye loves to gamble a couple of hands, I wonder if that is true? Here ites! Kou Zhong cried inwardly, but he replied indifferently, Furong Ye does not gamble especially hard, but when he does, it will be bigger and fiercer. However, he never entered a casino, he only gamble with people that he knows well. Xu Ziling did not want to waste time with these two much longer, he made an excuse that they need to do something for Situ Furong, so they bade farewell and wanted to leave. Er Wenhuan insisted that he wanted to be their tour guide in Changan, so after agreeing on the time and ce to meet again in the evening, he finally let the two go. Er Wenhuan thought that it was the Taihang Shuang Jie who took the bait, but only Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understood who had really been hooked by the bait. Rushing over to Beiyuan, Du Fuwei already left, leaving only a secret marking, telling Xu Ziling to meet at the original spot by dusk. The two boys had to go back home to see if Song Shidao had good news. But in order to dispel peoples suspicion, they deliberately paid a visit to Rong Da Da Ya. Kou Zhong had his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders as they walked slowly along the street. With the Taihang Shuang Jie identity, naturally they looked more impressive than before. Xu Ziling said, Do you have any feeling of being followed and watched? Kou Zhongughed and said, It should have been me asking you the question. Xu Ziling replied, I just want to confirm my feelings. Since leaving Fu Ju Lou, someone has been following us from a distance, and his technique in following somebodys tracks is quite brilliant, not at all like ordinary hands. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I am sensing that too. Only its a pity that we are now Old Cai and Old Kuang, otherwise we could follow his tracks in return, seize the other side and beat him up to force his confession, ha! Xu Zilingughed and said, Old Cai, Old Kuang also have Old Cai, Old Kuangs way of doing it. For example, if we split up, how would the other side react? Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, The stalker could be Er Wenhuan, that kid. He wanted to see where we are going, why bother taking the trouble for them? All right, Xu Ziling replied, Lets go back and talkter. For the first time the two boys entered Situ Furongs temporary dwelling from the front gate. After closing the door, Lei Jiuzhi led the two boys aside and said, Laoban is still seeing the guest. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already saw a carriage and a group of attendants waiting at the za of the front courtyard, Xiao Yus men, who were sizing them up with their burning gaze. Come with me! Lei Jiuzhi said. The two boys followed him winding around the main hall to walk in the direction of the inner courtyard from the side pathway. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Did Xiao Yuete? Howe until now he has not left yet? Snorting, Lei Jiuzhi said, He wasntte. Verifying ancient paintings naturally take a lot of time. What? the two boys blurted out. Lei Jiuzhi stopped at the middle courtyard; he smiled and said, Werent we confused that Xiao Yu, this kind of extremely senior figure, a cab minister of the House of Tang would pay a visit to a newly rich person? Now the mystery is finally revealed. Xiao Yu did note here to see our Furong Ye, but to see our connoisseur in antiques and curios, Shen Wenjiang, Shen Daye. Lao Xiao was bringing four, five scrolls of ancient paintings; clearly he wanted to test Shen Yes skill. Some are genuine, some are fake, and some are reproductions. Fortunately, Song Ye, who is disguised as Shen Ye, possibly has more real knowledge than the real Shen Ye. Otherwise, this time would definitely fall head first to the utmost degree. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, a strange feeling welled up in their hearts. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, How could there be such a coincidence? Changan has just been disturbed by the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu that the wind and the rain sweeping through the town [idiom: a big scandal], and Xiao Yu came to test Shen Yes eyesight in distinguishing ancient paintings. Did Old Xiao say where his paintings came from? He did not say, and we did not dare to ask, Lei Jiuzhi said, You guys go to the inner hall first, I still have to run errands pouring tea and delivering water. The two went to the inner hall and sat down. Kou Zhong pped the table and said, I dare to bet the entire familial property on the table, that batch of painting must be Li Yuan who ordered Xiao Yu to bring it over. After they verify that Shen Wenjiang is indeed a connoisseur of great schr respected for learning and integrity level, Li Yuan will invite Shen Ye into the Pce to assess another batch of famous paintings. The divine light in Xu Zilings pair of eyes shing brightly, he spoke slowly, word by word, Its another priceless ancient painting. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Its not like that, is it? Xu Ziling looked at him;ughing involuntarily, he said, This is called understand one li, then ten thousand li will be clear. His Niangs! The sheep nearly perishes for going astray, fortunately we can mend the pen after the sheep are lost [idiom: betterte than never]. Its not toote yet. Previously, didnt we fail to understand why Yin Zuwen wanted to steal the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu from Chi Shengchun? We were groping blindly, taking it at face value, unable to understand, because the thief was basically not Yin Zuwen, but the Great Tang Emperor, the master of the Li n, Li Yuan. In order to curry favor with his beloved imperial concubine, he was willing to be a thief. The wrinkles on Kou Zhongs eyebrows were rxing one by one. Roaring inughter, he said, This is really unexpected. That means under Yin Zuwens strange small building, there must be an underground passage under the street into the Imperial City, to provide secret ess for Li Yuan. Do you want to enter the Pce to steal the painting back? Its going to be extremely thrilling and fun. Sneering, Xu Ziling said, Tell me, whats the interesting point? Would you rather have the treasured painting stays by Li Yuans side, or would you let Hou kid hide the stolen goods inside the Passionate Nest? Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, Ling kids words areparable to the Old Li, namely, Xiaodi is decreed by fate to be Li Shimins nemesis. Changing the subject, he said, I dont know how long we will have to wait, because I really want to know the result of Song Yes meeting with Meirener Changzhu. At this time Song Shidao came alone; he calmly sat down, but did not say anything. Kou Zhongughed and said, Among the paintings that Old Xiao brought here, is there at least one reproduction of Zhan Ziqians work of art? Staring nkly, Song Shidao said, Not just one, but two. How did you guess? And both paintings are the handiwork of a master in this reproduction work business. And then, shaken, he said, Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu? The two boys nodded with a smile on their face. Song Shidao drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, The thief stealing the painting is unexpectedly Li Yuan. Xu Ziling said, This is the only most reasonable exnation. Since ordinarily imperial pces must have secret tunnels to escape, when they dont need to escape, it could be used for secret ess. The exit is precisely in a secluded ce inside Li Yuans trusted aide Yin Zuwens mansion. Therefore, the small buildings decoration is exquisite and elegant, the bedroom is on the lower level and not on the upper level at all, but there is no sign that anybody lives there. Because under the bed is precisely the entrance to the secret tunnel. If the bed is removed, we can find the exit. Because Xiao Hou and I had never thought about this possibility, we were being negligent and unexpectedly overlook this aspect. Song Shidao nodded and said, Also, only someone with Li Yuans skill would be able to forcefully snatch the treasured painting from Chi Shengchun, two mens hands. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes brightened, he excitedly said, Tonight, let us charge into the secret tunnel to see where it leads to? If the other exit is inside Li Yuans bedroom, we could even assassinate Li Yuan, then the siege of Luoyang will fall apart, the House of Tang will be trapped into civil war situation. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, What kind of nonsense is that? Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, I was just fooling around. You dont know how miserable I have been bullied by Li kid. Song Shidao said, If Li Yuan met with any mishaps, Changan will be thrown into a great mess. Our n to deal with Chi Shengchun will be even more impossible to proceed. Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, I was really talking drivel without thinking the matter through, ha! Song ErGe went to see Shang Meiren, how was it? Song Shidao said, I did not dare to mention you guys even for one sentence, I was only chatting idly with her the entire sichen, because she knew the reason I came to see her, and I knew that if I mentioned you guys for half a sentence, she would shoo me away outside the main door. Hearing that, the two boys looked at each other, unable to say anything. The unusual light in Song Shidaos pair of eyes flickering, he spoke gently, Shang Xiuxun is a woman with extreme good taste and unique emotion and character, but she is very lonely. Her heart is filled with a load on her mind, but there is nowhere to confide, hence she acquired the lone flower admiring itself character. People with this kind of temper, one day that she is of the firm opinion that a certain matter is not false, its absolutely not a few words, or perhaps your so-called exnation, could change. In Junqiang affair, I already failed one time, this time I dont want to fail again, hence I have to proceed extremely carefully. I told her some interesting facts of life and what I have seen and heard and learned through experience, to strive for her friendship and favorable impression first. After she has a certain trust and understanding of me, I will begin mentioning you guys to her. The two boys recalled his ability to write a book on a piece of tea leaf, naturally they did not doubt that he could make someone who was particr about high quality lifestyle to listen with relish as if she was bathed in spring breeze. Song Shidaoughed and said, No need to worry, leave this matter to me. She and I agreed to meet again tomorrow. Later on I will go to Changans two markets to see if there is any appropriate gift that I can bring for tomorrows meeting. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong you looked at me I gazed at you, their hearts were bursting with unexpected joy. For a long time now, they were constantly worried that Song Shidaos infatuation would bring him back to spend the rest of his life at the small valley where Fu Junchuo was sleeping peacefully, but now it appeared that unanticipated good oue had let Shang Xiuxun stir up his admiration and interest of a woman other than Fu Junchuo. Song Shidao might think that he was only working for the two boys, but in the process of striving for Shang Xiuxuns good opinion, he would find many touching things about Shang Xiuxun. Furthermore, both of them came from families influential for generations,rge ns that paid particr attention to everything, which would enable them to get along and would be easier to resonate with each otherpared to Song Shidao and Fu Junchuo. Song Shidao did not appear to notice the two boys expression, his pair of eyes was fixed on the bright red cloud dyed by the setting sun; he slyly said, Just buy a bolt of first-ss fragrant cloth from Persia, dyed with tulip decorative design! I am sure it will look very nice on her. Lei Jiuzhi and Ren Jun came. Thetter, because his first role as Situ Furong was a sess C was excited and confident. Kou Zhong told them about Li Yuan stealing the painting, he also told them in details about how Er Wenhuan was trying to win them over. Currently, everything is going smoothly, he said, Therefore, we must be even more careful. Lei Jiuzhi said, We arepletely relying on Song Laodis disguise of Shen Wenjiang. In just a nce you were able to see that painting was a fake Zhan Ziqians work of art, you were even able to infer whose imitation it was; in my opinion, not even the real Shen Wenjiang would have this ability. Song Shidao responded modestly, I just happened toe across this matter head-on. First, it was because my humble family has Zhan Ziqians authentic You Chun Tu [to go for a trip in spring painting] in their collection. Secondly, northern Dong, southern Zhan. The Dong is Dong Baren, the Zhan is Zhan Ziqian. Both he and our big family are southerners, naturally we are a bit more familiar and intimate with his works. Although Zhan Ziqian is famous for his character painting, his greatest achievement isndscape painting. Prior to him,ndscape was only the background lining the character painting. Under his brush, thendscape became the main theme, the character became embellishments instead. It is said that the Han Lin Qing Yuan was purely andscape work, therefore, in the history of painting, it is of great significance. If it were the genuine work of a famous artist, to be known as a rare treasure would be fully deserving, without any reservations [idiom]. Kou Zhong nodded and said, No wonder Li Yuan seized this painting by fair means or foul to be offered to Zhang Meiren. Letting out a strangeughter, Lei Jiuzhi said, Perhaps Shen Ye will have an audience with the Emperor at the Pce tomorrow. Too bad you guys did not see the situation just now. For every sentence that Shen Ye said, Old Xiao nodded his head once. After hes back, I guarantee that he will have to endure the neck pain to report to Li Yuan about Shen Yes extraordinary insight. Song Shidaoughed and said, Lei Dage is exaggerating too much. Ren Jun could not help asking, What do we do next? We must wait patiently, Xu Ziling replied, Next should be Kou Zhong going to see Lao Die, while I am going to see Hou Xibai. And then the two of us, using Taihang Shuang Jie identity, will hang around Er Wenhuan. Only after grasping the entire situation will we decide the next action. After making sure that no one was following him, he moved forward and stepped into the restaurant. Du Fuwei, with his cloth hat pressed down to his eyebrows, was sitting alone in a corner, his sharp eyes were shot toward him. Kou Zhong sat down next to him, his heart was glowing with warmth, he said, Die, its me, its Xiao Zhong! Severely shaken, Du Fuwei said, Its really you. His hand reached out under the table, two hands were sped firmly. Kou Zhong felt a lump in his throat, it was difficult to speak. A profound emotion battered his heart and mind. Nodding, he said, Its really me, Die! Du Fuwei tightened his grip on Kou Zhongs hand, he spoke in low voice, How did youe to Changan? I was afraid I might lose you forever. Only then did he let his hand go. Kou Zhong briefly exined the situation. Smiling bitterly, he said, Luoyang is finished. Now I have no choice but to see if I can seize Jiangdu away, otherwise everything will cease. Du Fuwei heaved a dejected sigh and said, Why did you refuse my good intention in the past to inherit my Jiang Huai Army? Then I would not be downhearted and rely on help from the Li n, you would not be in such a plight like today either. Kou Zhongforted him, One day I, Kou Zhong, have not died, Li Shimin wont have any victory to speak about. Du Fuwei muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day. He said, That thing that Ziling entrusted me to do, I made a little progress. You guys know this person, and he also has good opinion toward you. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, I really cant imagine there is such a person in Changan. Du Fuwei said, He is not someone from Changan, but a former Jianghu friend of Li Yuan; moreover, someone that the Da Xian Hu Fo respect. Even the thoroughly vicious and extremely evil people in Jianghu would more or less give him a bit of face. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong asked, Who actually is he? Its Ouyang Xiyi! Du Fuwei replied. Shocked, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly it is he. Didnt he, the Senior, live in seclusion on some famous mountain and no longer go out to the world? How could hee to Changan? Du Fuwei said, He did note to Changan by himself, rather, it was Li Yuan who specifically and sincerely asked him to leave the mountain to talk to your father-inw, to ask him to renounce his support to you; furthermore, theres another stiption, as long as Song Que is alive, no one from the Li Family can set foot in Lingnan for even half a step. Furthermore, Song Que does not need to be a minister of Li Yuan. When Song Que pass away, the House of Tang will continue to bestow his sessor the title of Zhen Nan Gong [subduing the south duke]. Other stiptions naturally involve the House of Tang will continue to continue to unify the Han, that we will draw clear dividing line with the Tujue, and things like that. Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, That is a very generous condition. Du Fuwei said, Who in the world is not afraid of Song Que? Song Que plus my Zhonger, ha! Recalling his present situation, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Die need not boost childs morale. Ay! After a short pause, he knitted his brows and said, Ouyang Xiyis status is lofty. Even if he agrees to be Situ Furongs backing, it would only incur peoples suspicion. Ouyang Xiyi and Situ Furong are two persons that a big cable cannot pull together. Laughing involuntarily, Du Fuwei said, When thing is exhausted, it will change, and change will lead to sess [from Baike-Baidu: it means that when things develop to the extreme, they must change, so that the development of things will not be blocked, and things can develop continuously]. As for how to do it, it must be thought by you. The rtionship between Ouyang Xiyi and Hu Fo is not usual at all. Whatever Ouyang Xiyi say, Hu Fo will see, hear and obey. For example, if Ouyang Xiyi exposed Chi Shengchuns identity, even if Hu Fo will provoke disaster of having himself killed, he would never give his daughter in marriage to him. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If the problem develops into that situation, our grand n to deal with Chi Shengchun will definitely go down the drain. If Hu Fo notifies Li Yuan, the situation will be even more out of hand. Therefore, Du Fuwei said, You guys must think of a suitable solution. The day after tomorrow Ouyang Xiyi will set off to the south. I can make arrangement for you guys to meet in secret. Suddenly divine light shed in Kou Zhongs mind, he said, I got it! Book 48 7 – Waking Up From Undead Dream

Book 48 Chapter 7 C Waking Up From Undead Dream

When Xu Ziling returned to the Passionate Nest, Hou Xibai was sleeping soundly, leaning against a chair. It was only when Xu Ziling nearly sat down by his side that he opened his eyes and asked, What time is it? Xu Ziling caught the setting sun out of the corner of his eyes, which stirred up the mncholy and the tranquility and harmony in his mind due to the fading time; he spoke indifferently, Its already dusk. I have something that I have always wanted to tell you, but all along I restrained myself from telling you, afraid that I might hurt your feeling. But today it finally reached the stage where it is more than I can bear, I have to pour out whats on my mind. Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, Without you needing to tell me, I myself know what it is. Are you thinking that I will never master the Immortal [Undead, see title chapter] Image Method, because Shi Shi and I are fundamentally two persons with greatly different innate character? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Hou Gongzi, you are indeed good at understanding peoples heart. Puzzled, Hou Xibai said, Ziling, you shouldnt be a person who take joy in cmity and delight in disaster, why is it that when you hear or confirm a grievous news, you still look like you are that happy and excited? Xiaodi indeed remain puzzled after pondering over it a hundred times [idiom]. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling calmly replied, I wonder if currently Xibai Xiong feel very nervous, your entire being is like a bowstring pulled tight, every moment you are living in a tensed, always on guard C feeling? Xu Ziling suddenly signaled him not to answer; he spoke cheerfully, Before you answer this question, let me tell you the good news first. Hou Xibais spirit greatly roused, Hou Xibai said, Is there still good news in the world? Tell me quickly to wash down my bad luck. Xu Ziling said, Xiaodi know the location of another authentic work of Zhan Ziqian. Severely shaken, Hou Xibai said, That is indeed good news as big as the sky. Dont keep the listeners in suspense! Tell me quickly. Xu Ziling said, As long as you are willing to plead with Song ErGe, he can take you back to Lingnan to see Zhan Ziqians You Chun Tu. Emotionally moved, Hou Xibai said, You Chun Tu and Han Lin Qing Yuan are both representative work of Zhan Ziqian, handed down from ancient times, which brought him to be the forefather ofndscape painting. I never thought that unexpectedly it fell into Song Ques hands. However, it seems like Id better ask Kou Zhong to write me a letter of introduction, isnt Song ErGe and his old dad have bad disagreement? Xu Ziling said, This is now, that was then. It is most likely that Song Er Ye has met another bane in his life. His expression after he saw Shang Xiuxun, when you see it, you will understand. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai said, Is there such thing? But its also difficult to me him; between man and woman, simrity [or closeness] and dissimrity both can be enormous attractive force. Song ErGes taste, personality traits, elegant manner, which are cultivated out of honorable school and world-ss powerful family, certainly match very well with Shang Meiren. Xu Ziling emotionally said, To be honest, Kou Zhong and I do not deserve her, only Song ErGe can give her a life in happiness. If our wishese true, it will be the most ideal ending. And then he smiled and asked, How is Hou Xiong feeling right now? Staring nkly, Hou Xibai said, Turns out Ziling was trying to ease my anxiety. But this moment I certainly feel a lot more rxed and tranquil! Thinking about You Chun Tu, whether I can master Bu Si Yin Fa or not bes a small matter. Ay! How can I also see the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu? Xu Ziling spoke with serious expression, I was not trying to ease your anxiety, but I am reminding you, it would be best if you forget about Bu Si Yin Fa, otherwise, your spirit might suffer serious damage, in the end even the Hundred-Beauty Painting that Li Yuanmissioned might be difficult to submit. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, Its not that serious! Xu Ziling asked, On your Fan of Beauty, do you still need to add one Shang Meiren? Shivered, Hou Xibai replied, You have seen it very urately. I really do not dare to move my brush, I have no confidence to be able to grasp her enchanting elegant manner and charm; could it be that it is the result of painstakingly studying the Bu Si Yin Fa? Xu Ziling said, This is called abandoning the long to obtain the short. If you could integrate the writing and painting realms into the martial art way toe up with another key point, wont it surpass learning your honorable Shi Shis harming-others-for-ones-personal-benefit Bu Si Yin Fa? Self-creation is the only way out; furthermore, it is your way to make a living. The refined light in Hou Xibais pair of eyes ring greatly, he pped the armrest and spoke excitedly, Thats right! When I write and paint, my intention [or thought] is on the tip of the brush, no-man, no-self, where the mind goes, the brush follows, without the slightest amount of obstruction, in my heart, other than the world inside the painting, there is nothing else. Ha! Fortunately I receive Zilings reminder. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, You have finally wakened up from the Bu Si Yin Fa nightmare. By the way, let me tell you another information, Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu should have fallen into Li Yuans hands. What? Hou Xibai blurted out. After exining to him, Xu Ziling smiled and said, If you want to personally see the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, you must take Song ErGes ce in disguising yourself as Shen Wenjiang to enter the Pce to examine the painting. This matter, if you say its difficult its actually not difficult, but if you say its easy its actually not easy, you must master the skill to imitate other peoples work. This moment Kou Zhong climbed over the wall and came in, and sat down on Hou Xibais other side. He asked in astonishment, Why does Hou Gongzi look like you have be another person, full of vitality and fighting spirit, no longer lifeless? Hou Xibaiughed and said, Its entirely bestowed by Ziling. He reminded me to put painting into martial art, to no longer climb a tree to catch a fish with Bu Si Yin Fa, and thus wasting my spirit and time. Any good news? Xu Ziling asked. Its the good news as big as the sky, Kou Zhong replied, Now the overall n is up in my sleeve, I guarantee it will work. He exined about Ouyang Xiyi first, and then said, In this matter, we have to proceed by painting using two brushes [idiom: two-pronged approach]. First, we ask Yi Lao to personally throw his cap in the ring, to warn Da Xian Hu Fo by pointing out that it is very likely that Chi Shengchun is rted to Baling Bang and Xiang Gui, so that he should find an excuse to dy the forced-engagement with Chi Shengchun. Xu Ziling said, Dont you think you are doing more than is required? Because Hu Fo already told Chi Shengchun clearly that only when the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu is among the betrothal gifts that he will agree on the wedding. Kou Zhong calmly said, I am afraid that under Yin Zuwen and Li Yuanjis pressure, Hu Fo might relent. Besides, I dont know whether Ling Shao has thought about another possibility. Supposing Yin Zuwen, via Yin De Fei, asks Li Yuan to propose the marriage on Chi Shengchuns behalf, it will be difficult for the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu to be a barrier. Hou Xibai nodded and said, This possibility is quite high. One, Li Yuan might be ashamed inwardly, two, toward Yin De Fei, he sees, hears and obeys. Furthermore, maybe Yin De Fei is also in the know that the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu is in Li Yuans hands. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, But in that case, the only way Hu Fo can refuse is to y Yi Lao, this card, by revealing Chi Shengchuns identity to Li Yuan. At that time, our grand n will undoubtedly fizzle out. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Hence the reason I said two-pronged approach. First of all, we cant let Yi Lao revealed to Hu Fo too many things about Chi Shengchun; we only say that this person is closely rted to the demonic school. Merely this point should be enough for Hu Fo to show respect to Chi Shengchun from a distance. On the other hand, Ling Shao need to try to persuade Hu Xiaoxian. There is no harm in telling her that Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu has already fallen into Li Yuans hands, so that her heart will beforted. At that time, as long as she put on an air of a filial woman, also announce to the world that whoever can kill Cao San and retrieve the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu to be presented to her Die, she would give herself wholly to marry down that person. This is the move of using the treasured painting to invite the groom [to live with the brides family] that will thoroughly solve the problem. This matter will definitely spread that everybody on the street will know, everybody in the alley will hear. Li Yuan will not be able to stick out his head for Chi Shengchun even more. Xu Ziling said, Although your so-called brilliant scheme is outrageous, but it could indeed solve Chi Shengchuns forced-engagement problem. Because Cao San had be empty, nonexistent character, even deities and immortals descending into the world wont be able to kill him one more time. However, it seems like it will only be harmful without any benefit toward our grand n. At least, in the future, Hu Xiaoxian no longer needs to listen to our instruction. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is precisely the brilliance of this n. Xu Ziling Daxia at this moment retreat after sessful meritorious deed, and change to be Situ Furong and Taihang Shuang Jieing on the stage, at certain his Niangs ce bump into Hu Xiaoxian, startling man and heaven, with arge sum of money politely hiring Hou Gongzi, who has the most qualifications in Changan to kill Cao San and retrieve the treasured painting, to throw his cap in the ring Hou Xibai cut him off, You really confused Xiaodi. Isnt this a new branch growing out of a knot, adding more unnecessary trouble? Pointing to his own head, Kou Zhong said, This is because I have a lot of imagination, naturally I figure out the brilliant scheme of a new branch growing out of a knot. My goal is to destroy Chi Shengchuns evil n of acquiring Ming Tang Wo first, and Situ Furong, because he takes a fancy to Hu Xiaoxian, will change his low-profile into high-profile, in the end he directly pits himself against Chi Shengchun, while also luring the master of the Xiang Family Xiang Gui toe out. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Your proposal can still be considered a brilliant scheme. Its almost time! We still have to meet Er Wenhuans wine and meat appointment. Tonight we will definitely win big, but tomorrow night, its hard to say. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai said, Er Wenhuan? Kou Zhong exined to him. Disappointed, Hou Xibai said, In that case, wont that mean I dont have any share tonight? Kou Zhongughed and said, Gongzi, dont worry, how could we dare to treat you coldly? Tonight, the second watch of the night [9-11pm], we will meet again here. Together we will visit Yin Mansion to look for the entrance to the secret passage, to see whether this secret tunnel will lead to which corner of the Imperial Pce. This matter is of utmost importance, we cannot miss it. Frowning, Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, You again harbor malice toward Li Yuan. Kou Zhong raised his hand to swear, Emperor of Heaven above, if I, Kou Zhong, have that intention, let me forever cannot find a wife. Xu Ziling spoke apologetically, I was ming you wrongly. Hou Xibai spoke frankly, I ought to apologize to you too, because I had the same thought as Ziling. Kou Zhongughed and said, We are all brothers, we can say anything to anybody. As a matter of fact, I was well intentioned to invite two Dage with me to appreciate and enjoy life. What is life anyway? Its precisely the touching personal experience. Imagine how touching is the Great Tangs Imperial Pce deep in the night, the towering pce hall, pavilions and balconies cutting across the magnificent za, dark and serene imperial gardens, which is the most dangerous ce in Changan for us. We could listen to the Emperor and the beloved imperial concubines discussion in whispered tones, and dont forget that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji both live in the pce. Without entering the tigers cave, how could we catch the tigers cub? He has not finished speaking, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai already roared inugher, yet Kou Zhong still continued to vehemently present his statement until the end. As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong said, Tonights program, the two gentlemen shouldnt have any objection, right? Suddenly it began to drizzle. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, dressed as Taihang Shuang Jie, met with Er Wenhuan at Beiyuan. Yao Luo did not show up, but they had Qiao Gongshan keeping thempany. The four of them drank and chatted merrily in a restaurant. During the banquet, Er and Qiao, two men were echoing one another, in an old-fashioned way they tried to pry information concerning Situ Furong, while along the way they tantly interrogated the two boys. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling dealt with it one by one, giving Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan the initial impression that Situ Furong was having some ambition on casino business. After the meal Qiao Gongshan proposed that they went to Shang Lin Yuan; he even bragged that he could invite Ji Qian to sing a couple of tunes for them. But Kou Zhong did not want to waste valuable time; he spoke forthrightly that his hands were itching to satisfy his gambling addiction, so Er Wenhuan apanied them to the Six-Happiness Casino. So far, the two boys were more certain that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, in order to strike Li Shimin, were still in close cooperation, so in Chi Shengchuns affair, Li Jiancheng could only have his trusted aide providing assistance from the side. As for whether Li Yuanji or Li Jiancheng knew that Chi Shengchun and Yin Zuwen were demonic school people, it was difficult to confirm. Er Wenhuan even found other gamblers, so that they formed a gambling party in one of the Six-Happiness Casino VIP rooms. These several men gambled until the sky turned hazy, the earth turned dark. The oue was as expected, with the other party deliberated yielded to them, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling made quite a ughter, each one won nearly a hundred taels of Tongbao [see Book 31 Chapter 6], which was a considerable wealth. After leaving the Six-Happiness Casino, Er Wenhuan still wanted to take them to a pleasure house for more fun, but they declined with the excuse that they had to go back to protect Situ Furong. After parting ways and scattering the escorted goods, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling walked in the direction of Situ Mansion. The drizzle still continued unabated, so that the city of Changan was shrouded in dense fog. Kou Zhong spoke with a sneer, Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan are both non-professional swindlers, they are over-enthusiastic. Okay! I am going to see Yi Lao now, are youing with me? Didnt you want me to go see Ji Qian? Xu Ziling asked, I now have to go to Ming Tang Wo to leave some secret marking, to make an appointment to meet with her tomorrow. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Theres not much time, we have to split up and do our tasks separately. Remember tonights splendid program, the first to arrive must wait. After partingpany, Xu Ziling became the full-bearded Gong Chenchun. He turned around to go back to the Beiyuans Ming Tang Wo to leave secret marking. And then after gambling a couple of hands, he hurriedly left. But as he was walking along the street, not even for ten steps, the rm went off in his heart. Turning his head around, he could not help groaning inwardly. Shi Zhixuan, seemingly moving slowly, but was actually very fast, caught up with him from behind, with a smile on his face he spoke calmly and indifferently, Ziling hurried back from Cijian, what exactly is the matter? Kou Zhong went to see Ouyang Xiyi inside Du Fuweis office [orig. working/business mansion] in Changan. This was Du Fuweis arrangement, other than a few trusted aides, the rest of the people in the Mansion did not know that Kou Zhong was meeting Ouyang Xiyi. At the inner hall of the rear court, Ouyang Xiyi, who had never thought that he would meet Kou Zhong, was greatly surprised. After some pleasantries, Du Fuwei said, Ill leave Xiyi Xiong and Xiao Zhong to speak in private in here. Although I arranged your meeting, that does not mean that Xiyi Xiong needs to consider my sentiment and face, everything can be decided by Xiyi Xiong yourself. Finished speaking, he left. Ouyang Xiyi heaved a sigh and said, Xiao Zhong, you really should not havee to see me, because I already promised Ning Daoqi that I am determined to help Li Shimin with all my strength to unify the world. Strictly speaking, we are enemies and not friends at all. Kou Zhong respectfully said, I understand Yi Laos position, but let me tell you first the reason we require Yi Laos help, and then Yi Lao can decide whether you want to help me or not. Without concealing anything at all he exined the purpose of his trip to Changan, and then he said, This time we want to deal with the demonic school people, for the Li Family, it will only be beneficial without any harm, plus the biggest beneficiary could possibly be Li Shimin. Even more, Li Shimin is aware of this matter. Ouyang Xiyi revealed a shocked expression. Knitting his brows, he said, Unexpectedly even Yin Zuwen, father and daughter are evil spies of the demonic school infiltrating the House of Tang. This is a very serious matter, I must exin to Li Yuan clearly. Absolutely not, Kou Zhong said, First of all, we do not have any evidence, and secondly, if Li Yuan asks Yi Lao where the information came from, could it be that you tell him that it was me, Kou Zhong who told you? If Li Yuan thinks that Yi Lao nders Yin De Fei on behalf of Li Shimin, things will be even worse. Finally Ouyang Xiyi was moved, How can I help you? he spoke heavily. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Hearing Yi Lao said that, I am both grateful and happy. Yi Lao can help me in two ways; first, to warn Da Xian Hu Fo, suggesting that Chi Shengchun has a close rtionship with the demonic school, telling him that the information came from Ning Daoqi, so that Hu Fo cannot but believe. Ouyang Xiyi said, I am a man who has never lied to a friend. Kou Zhong said, In that case, you might as well not tell him where you heard the information from, but when you are speaking, you must describe it perfectly; if Hu Fo is angered that he wants to take Li Yuan to court, our grand n wille to an end. Ouyang Xiyi said, I wonder if we could disclose to him that the information is from Li Shimin. This really is not all lies, because Li Shimin indeed knew about this matter, plus it will make Hu Fo not daring to pass on to Li Yuan. Delighted, Kou Zhong said, Ginger is, after all, the older the spicier. This move is certainly wonderful. Laughing involuntarily, Ouyang Xiyi said, No need to pat the horses butts, I have liked you since the first time I saw you and Ziling, convincing Hu Fo is just the exertion of lifting ones hand. So, whats the other thing that you need Laofus help with? This matter is a lot moreplicated! Kou Zhong replied, I wonder what Yi Lao knows about Shi Zhixuan? Immediately Ouyang Xiyis eyebrows were deeply knitted. He nodded and said, I heard he sessfully extracted the primordial essence from the Xie Di Sheli, not only his power recovered fully, it even surpasses the previous level. Furthermore, Zhu Yuyan died tragically under his hands. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, This moment Shi Zhixuan is in Changan, carrying out his great undertaking of unifying the Two Sects Six Ways. Moreover, the chance of sess is very high. Ouyang Xiyis countenance changed, he asked, Have you guys fought against him? Kou Zhong replied, I have note across him, but Ziling was almost killed by him. Ouyang Xiyi spoke heavily, This matter, I certainly cannot sit back. How can I help? Kou Zhong pushed down his voice a bit more, focused it into a line and transmitted it into Ouyang Xiyis ears, saying, We know where he is hiding, but Shi Zhixuan is not aware that we already grasp his whereabouts. Emotionally moved, Ouyang Xiyi asked, Where is he hiding? Kou Zhong replied, Yi Lao, please forgive me for holding the climax of the story here, when the timees, I will ask Yi Lao to notify Li Yuan, to put his hiding ce in heavy siege, leaving only one way out, and Ziling and I will ambush him there. Shall we invite Daoqi Xiong here? Ouyang Xiyi asked. The night is long, the dreams many, Kou Zhong replied, This matter must be carried out within these few days. I wonder if Yi Lao can stay one or two more days? That is not a problem, Ouyang Xiyi replied, When do you want me to talk to Hu Fo? The faster the better, Kou Zhong replied. Tonight then! Ouyang Xiyi said, It would be best if we do not involve Du Fuwei to get in touch with each other, so that we can be a bit more flexible. Moreover, I do not wish to get him involved. Kou Zhong knew that he was afraid that if Du Fuwei and Kou Zhong had a lot of contacts, Du Fuwei might rebel against the Tang to help him, Kou Zhong, instead. After discussing the method of exchanging information, Kou Zhongs mood entirely free from worry, he bade his farewell and left. Book 48 8 – Jade Woman’s Fragrant Heart

Book 48 Chapter 8 C Jade Womans Fragrant Heart

Changan has turned into a world where the rain filled the whole sky. Far and near, the streetscape seemed to appear, but seemed to be hidden as well, blurry, full with abundant-water-droplets-in-the-air feeling. On such night, two excelling-themon great martial art masters, one young, the other old, respectively representing their own generation, were strolling harmoniously along the YongAn Canal under the night rain. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I wonder if Xie Wang ising to kill me again? Shi Zhixuans countenance was tranquil and peaceful, the air of a martial art master of a great schr respected for learning and integrity of a respectable Sect. He spoke indifferently, I have made a mistake, how can I make another mistake? Last time fortunately I reined the horse at the edge of the precipice, ay! Ziling evidently know my every move. Everything must go through the intense struggle in my innermost being. But it is fortunately so, hence it did not cause a serious mistake. Hearing that, Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold qi. If what he said turned out to be true, thenst time he was able to preserve his little life was really not because Shi Zhixuan had not recovered from his injury, but because of Shi Qingxuan, his only w. However, how could he know whether just now Shi Zhixuan was telling the truth or a lie? The one he was facing could be the Shi Zhixuan with a w, or it could be the Shi Zhixuanpletely without any w. Revealing a hint of smile, Shi Zhixuan said, Ziling must have a very important business in Changan that you put Qingxuan out of your mind and reluctant to give up your task here to go to her. Help! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. Shi Zhixuans intelligence was higher than the sky; if he was able to see through their Zhu Xiang Daji [grand n to punish the Xiang], the consequences would be utterly unimaginable. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling said, There is something that all along I fail to understand, Id like to ask Qianbei to give advice. Shi Zhixuan nodded and said, Feel free to ask, we still have time anyway. Tonight is certainly not an ordinary evening, someone is going to shed blood. A burst of chill assaulted Xu Ziling. Shi Zhixuan spoke about other people shedding blood was like an ordinary,mon topic like he was speaking about the daily life of a family, a clear sign of his cold-blooded natural instinct. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Does Xie Wang derive pleasure from killing people? Shi Zhixuan spoke in astonishment, You are puzzled over this matter? Xu Ziling sighed and said, I am puzzled over other thing, which is why are you so sure that your honorable thousand-jin [lit. thousand pounds of gold, i.e. (honorific) daughter] Qingxuan Xiaojie and I are a couple of lovers who are going to talk about marriage and discuss a family? The fact is that Qingxuan Xiaojie and I are purely ordinary friends. Shi Zhixuan halted his steps. He stood with his hands behind his back by the Yongan Canal, fixing his gaze on the dreary and fuzzy nightscape in the misty rain on the opposite bank. A profound emotion gushing out of his pair of eyes, he spoke slowly, I, Shi Zhixuan, am a person with experience, how could I misinterpret what I see? You are just like me when I encountered Bi Xiuxin in the past, repeatedly deceiving myself. Only if you can harden your heart by not going to You Lin Xiao Gu for the rest of your life will I, Shi Zhixuan, have no choice but to admit that I have seen this matter wrong. Casting his gaze toward Xu Ziling, he spoke softly, I have been watching her in secret; she is precisely the embodiment of her Niang. And when you saw Qingxuan, it was just like me seeing Xiuxin. Your feeling, how could I not understand? Tell me, Ziling, when you see Qingxuan for the first time, how do you feel? Can you be a bit honest and tell me about it? Not even in his dream would Xu Ziling ever think that Shi Zhixuan unexpectedly wanted to talk about the load in his mind with him, in such a rainy night. The clothes on their bodies would soon be drenched, the slightly cold raindrops fell on his cheeks, but it was quitefortable. His first encounter with Shi Qingxuan was a muddled ount; after all, which could be considered the very first time that he saw her? Was it the first time that he had a sudden glimpse of her back? Or how about the Mid-Autumn night in Chengdu, when he caught a glimpse from across the street of her unmasking half of her face? Shaken, Xu Ziling said, It was at ourst meeting that she was willing to let me see her real countenance, therefore, I am not sure if that can be considered the first time I saw her. Smiling wryly, Shi Zhixuan said, Oh Qingxuan! You clearly know all men in the world are slow and stupid; who could understand your kindly feelings? Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What does Xie Wang mean? Kou Zhong went back to Situ Mansion first to retrieve his Moon in the Well and changed into nightwalker outfit. It was still a quarter of an hour to the first watch of the night [7-9pm], he was d that there was still some time before Hou Xibai was back to discuss the big n to kill Shi Zhixuan with Xu Ziling, because with Hou Xibai nearby, it was inconvenient to talk. Who would have thought that instead of Xu Ziling, who ought be back earlier than he did, it was Wanwan who arrived first. Kou Zhong took off his mask before entering the house to see her. This barefooted, crafty, mysterious and hard-to-fathom beautiful woman was sitting by the window, her jade countenance contained springtime charming expression, those who did not know her must have been dazed by her; Kou Zhong, however, was breathing out fire. Wanwan noticed his ill expression, she could not restraint her jet-ck eyebrows from being knitted lightly, as she spoke faintly, What did I do to offend you, Shaoshuai Ye? Kou Zhong sat down next to her, separated by a small table, he spoke heavily, How did you know that it was Shang Xiuxun who came here this morning? Wanwans jade countenance turned cold as she spoke in displeasure, Why did you say that I knew it was Shang Xiuxun? Kou Zhong angrily said, You still want to argue? If you did not know Shang Xiuxun wasing, how could you deliberately leave behind your fragrance, implicating me and Ling Shao that we were in a mess. Wanwans countenance changed slightly, she revealed a thoughtful look, but quickly returned to her calm and cool manner; she spoke softly, I wont argue with you over such meaningless things. So you no longer want to cooperate with me? In his heart, Kou Zhong was still thinking about her thoughtful look just now, which had never appeared on Wanwans jade countenance before. What could possibly produce such a big shock to her? Was it rted to her Tianmo Da Fa? Perhaps there was a problem with her cultivation that she left behind the scent? Could it be that they really me her wrongly? He spoke heavily, Really sorry! There is no possibility that we can continue to cooperate. You and us have repeatedly worked together, not a single time it ended well. How can this time be the exception? Wanwan lightly said, Shaoshuai, do you know something? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Say it! What trick are you going to y? Wanwan turned her gaze to the rainy night outside the window, she spoke tenderly, Waner is already at the end of my patience toward you, Kou Zhong. I decided to kill you. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Come with me! Shi Zhixuan said. He flew along the canal and suddenly jumped down on a skiff moored at the shore. Helpless, Xu Ziling followed closely behind, hended on the stern and sat down. Shi Zhixuan seemed to have a particrly good impression on Yongan Canal. This was the third time that Xu Ziling toured the Yongan Canal with him, but intuitively he sensed that for the time being, the other party did not have any malice. With this supposedly number one top martial art master of the demonic school gently rowing the boat, the skiff slowly glided in the direction of the Yue Ma Bridge and Wu Lou Si. The drizzle was still falling like strings of silver thread, floating freely in the night sky. The river and canal appeared like flickering ashes, the trees along the bank became hazy shadows, the lights on both banks turned into circles of halo brimming with water droplets, which dissolved into the wind and the rain to be an integral whole. In meaningful and heartfelt words, Shi Zhixuan said, Because Qingxuan was afraid to stir up menfolk to indulge in flights of fancy, she did not want to reveal her true identity to anybody. Last time in Chengdu, not only she let you see her countenance, she even personally yed a song by your side. Her affection to you is abundantly clear, tell me Ziling, arent you slow-witted? In his heart, Xu Ziling shivered greatly; he never thought that Shi Zhixuan was this clear about the affair between his daughter and Xu Ziling. On the other hand, in his heart, Xu Ziling did not take his words to heart. In his mind, Shi Qingxuan was only expressing her gratitude because of Xu Zilings help in upholding justice. On top of that, it was theirst meeting, hence she was showing special favor to him. Perhaps there was a hint of favorable impression between a man and a woman involved, but it was not like Shi Zhixuan said, an action of showing affection. Yet failing to live up to his expectations, his heart was jumping wildly, without him being able to control it, it already galloped toward the enchanting scene of that day, where he came in contact with Shi Qingxuan. Time seemed to fly in abnormal speed, it passed quickly, but her every graceful facial expression, he could still picture it clearly in his mind. Shi Zhixuans sad voice entered his ears, saying, I chose to train Xibai in Chengdu, it was so that I could get close to Qingxuan, so that I could secretly go to see her from time to time. Whenever there was evil thought in my heart, I would leave immediately. But when I miss her, I cant helping to Chengdu again. Ay! That kind of pain, its really no use to tell others. Xu Ziling looked at him nkly. It was only now that he understood why he turned Hou Xibai into the Passionate Prince, because every time he came to Chengdu, he was precisely the Shi Zhixuan who med himself in his deep love. He could not help speaking, You have been through so much. Why is it that Qianbei is still unable to wake up from the nightmare of the struggle of hatred and killing? Qianbei said that you might have evil thought in your heart, that means Qianbei can still distinguish good and evil in your heart. Since thats the case, why not renounce evil and turn to virtue? Laughing involuntarily, Shi Zhixuan said, I, Shi Zhixuan, since my debut to this day, there has never been anybody like Ziling who lecture me on my face. The evil thought I was talking just now was targeted at Qingxuan. The struggle of hatred and killing has existed since the ancient times, it is never been interrupted, and it will continue to the future. This is human nature, you cant consider it evil thoughts. This is the world where the weak are prey to the strong. You are advising me, but why dont you advise Kou Zhong and Li Shimin? They have their own ideals, I, Shi Zhixuan also have my own ideals, as well as a mission, toward our holy school. Over thest several hundred years we constantly suffer the bullying and eliminating attempts by the so-called orthodox Wulin people, so we could only live our lives in all ck, no daylight [idiom]. But now the opportunity is finally here; since I have the aspiration, how could I be willing to miss it in vain? And then he casually added, I wonder if Ziling is interested to see me killing a few people? Stunned, Xu Ziling replied, You ought to know my answer. Xie Wang is not afraid that I will stop you? Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, You should be happy to see me kill these people, even more, you will not want to stop, because in your heart, they are all people who deserve to die, and likewise in my heart. Who? Xu Ziling asked in heavy voice. Shi Zhixuan spoke slyly, Da Ming Zun Jiao people. I have high interest toward their Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing [lit. imperial utmost ten thousand methods origin (or root) wisdom scripture]. If I dont kill them, do you think they would obediently offer it for me to look over? Xu Ziling was shocked inwardly; he had not expected that Da Ming Zun Jiaos people had already reached Changan. Furthermore, he knew that his only choice was toe with him, because he was afraid that Duan Yucheng might be among the people he was going to kill. Wanwan stood up and walked toward the rear section. Kou Zhong sprang up behind her and spoke in surprise, Didnt you say you wanted to kill me? Why are you going to the bedroom to sleep? Wanwan stopped; with her back facing him, she sighed and said, I am not going to sleep, I am leaving. Those words, I have said it in my heart too many times, and now that I finally say it out, I feel much morefortable! Frowning, Kou Zhong said, You finally confess that all those cooperation and stuffs are lies? Wanwan still had her ky back toward him, she spoke indifferently, Thats right! All are to deceive you. Ay! Kou Zhong, you should know that you have be our holy schools biggest enemy. Once we let Song Que and your Shao Shuai Army merge, the result of our many years building up an enterprise through painstaking efforts will most probably go down the drain entirely. I want to kill you, Shi Zhixuan also wants to kill you. The difference between Shi Zhixuan and me is that I have a special feeling for you, hence I deliberately let you speak insulting words. When I am at the end of my patience, I will make my move to kill you. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Thatst sentence, if it were uttered by Shi Zhixuan, it would be as it should be by rights, but you? You stillck a bit of qualifications. Wanwan let out a silver-bell like tenderughter, as if she was mocking his self-confidence, also as if she wasughing at his ignorance. She spoke calmly, Without Kou Zhong, the world is not going to be interesting, but I have no other choice. In the future, I can only rely on my own strength to deal with Shi Zhixuan. Qiang! The same instant the Moon in the Well came out of its scabbard, Wanwan turned her tender body around like a whirlwind, one finger poked out. Kou Zhong has not even had the opportunity to swing the Moon in the Well, unexpectedly he had a terrifying feeling as if he was about to copse to the left, so that even with his cool-headedness and self-confidence in facing the enemy, he was still shocked, knowing that he barely fought and already he fell into the disadvantageous position. Just like Xu Ziling said, Wanwan already mastered the highest level of Tianmo Da Fa. Even facing Zhu Yuyan in the past, he did not have this kind of without-the-freedom-to-act-independently terrifying situation. Before she pushed out her finger, her Tianmo qi field has already shrouded himpletely, so that before he really cross swords and strive for victory with the opponent, he already had his hands bound and his feet tied, having power but nowhere to use it. Kou Zhong flew backward to evade, the Tianmo qi field suddenly turned into more than a dozen streams of qi power, like formless but real Tianmo Piaodai [floating ribbon], winding around him from four sides, eight directions. Such demonic skill was terrifying to the extreme point. Wanwan was like performing Tianmo Miao Wu [wonderful dance], matched by her impossible-to-fault flowery countenance and physique, she stretched out her fingers and strode her steps, none was not brimming with the touching feeling of a dance, and each movement was wonderful to the extreme, hiding within it killer moves, so that the beauty and the evil formed a cohesive whole. Kou Zhong spun around. Relying on the true qi protecting his body, he struggled to break free from the entanglement of the ribbon of qi, adopting the No Attack style. The jabbing finger sealed all his attack routespletely, so that he could not attack at all and could only retreat and defend. Wanwan smiled and said, Whether the strength has enough qualifications for the optimal solution, our holy schools top skills are extensive and profound, its not something that you, Kou Zhong, are capable to conceive. The fingers turned into a palm, the other hand stretched out from inside the sleeve, the palms of the two hands facing each other, and then flipped over to fly like a butterfly, twisting and chasing each other in a narrow space, from beginning to end was the hollow of the palm facing the hollow of the palm, the movements were wonderful and exquisite, more and more changes emerged, dazzling the onlookers. But Kou Zhong took precautions with all his spirit. The Tianmo qi field continuously pressing in, enveloping him C was increasing in a frantic rate, yet he was still unable to see through her technique. Wanwan was finally like the green thates out of the blue, she surpassed the Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan, bing the other formidable opponent to them, apart from Shi Zhixuan. Suddenly his whole body tightened. Turned out the No Attack move, which appeared to be defending but was actually attacking, where attack and defense existed together, tragically turned from a living move to a dead move. Just like that, using the force field, Wanwan was able to break through his No Attack. When Kou Zhong was crying Bad! inwardly, that pair of delicate and beautiful, tender jade hands vanished without any trace, disappearing back inside the sleeves. The sleeves suddenly swelled and ballooned to brush away toward Kou Zhongs face; it appeared like a straight-line attack, but it also appeared like a curved strike; hard to fathom, hard to block. At the same time, the Tianmo qi power all around suddenly shrank back into the hollow of the palm, pressing down on him that the true qi protecting his body felt like it was about to shatter, his eardrums were assaulted by the terrifyingly shrill noise of whistling qi power, as if he was in the middle of the fierce storm, he was no longer able to move unobstructed like usual. Kou Zhong roared, the Moon in the Well swiftly struck forward. Xu Ziling followed Shi Zhixuaning across the houses and over the building; after leaving the boat and going ashore, they went to the front door of arge residence at Qinglong [Azure Dragon] Lane in the southeastern area of the city. Shi Zhixuan carried aid back attitude, he smiled and said, Da Ming Zun Jiao people are extremely vile, they have the impertinence to take advantage of the time when I was seriously ill to invade the Central ins, so much so that they drove a wedge between me and Xuyan. They deserve to die for their guilt; right? Xu Ziling seized the opportunity to ask, Who is the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Da Zun? Instead of answering, Shi Zhixuan asked him, Who does Ziling think he is? Is it Xu Kaishan? Xu Ziling replied. Shi Zhixuanughed, but did not answer. He went straight to the main entrance, as if nothing had happened, he said, After breaking the door, I will kill anybody in sight, not leaving even the chicken and the dogs alive. What does Ziling think? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Has Xie Wang ever thought that there are innocent people involved? For example, the maids that they hire in Changan, or perhaps some bandits running errands for them that are not worth Xie Wang making your move? Shaking his head, Shi Zhixuan said, Hence the reason the one striving for the world is Kou Zhong and not you, Xu Ziling. Da Ming Zun Jiao definitely wont allow any outsiders to mingle in their mix, and this time the onesing to Changan ought to be the core figures of the Cult. Do you know why they came to Changan? It was beyond Xu Zilings capability to guess, so Xu Ziling simply shook his head to indicate that he did not know. This moment, the first watch of the night had just passed, the drizzle was still swirling in the air, great streets and small alleys were devoid of people, in each and every household thentern was dark, the fire ck, most people were in some state where they were looking for good dreams. Shi Zhixuan spoke softly, Pusa once again holds the power in his palm, Da Ming Zun Jiao offended Tuli and Xieli in Bai Ziting affair, the area beyond the Great Wall no longer have any ce from them to fit it, now their only hope is to establish a bit of foundation in our Central Earth. Pi Chen, that idiot, does not know self-respect, he wants to borrow Da Ming Zun Jiao to expand his power, he is letting Da Ming Zun Jiao to grow in the Central Earth; that is impossibly stupid. To clear away the weeds, we must pull the grass by the roots. If I start off leniently, ultimately the one suffering damage is not only our holy school, but themon people of the Central Earth as well. At this moment, Xu Ziling could not feel the sinister character of Shi Zhixuan, he was simply an ambitious person, all his actions were rational, after careful deliberations. He said, Xie Wang has not told me the root cause they areing to Changan. Shi Zhixuan spoke with a sneer, Naturally its to preach their religion. Their purpose is to establish a Da Ming Si [Temple Of Great Light] in Changan, so that Shan Mu Sha Fang can have a footing and grow roots in here in a way that justifies the use of the term [idiom: perfectly legitimate], to expand their influence via religion. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, How could Li Yuan let them running amok? Shi Zhixuan replied, In the Central Earth, Da Ming Zun Jiao is not without manifestation of evil conducts, their doctrine is simple and notplicated, easy to absorb new blood. On top of that, with someone threading the needle, their chance of sess is very high. Therefore, I must use thunderbolt method to destroy Da Ming Zun Jiao in one move. At that time, I, Shi Zhixuan, will be able to issue warning to every faction of the holy school: obeying me you will flourish, opposing me you will perish. Who is going to thread the needle? Xu Ziling asked. Shi Zhixuan replied indifferently, The one threading the needle is not just one person. I can tell you that it is Li Yuans current favorite, Dong Shuni, the mother who relies on noble child. Therefore, this is also a warning to Xuyan. Finished speaking, he pressed both hands onto the main gate, while silently amassing his mysterious power. Xu Ziling said, In that case, Xie Wangs great undertaking to unify the holy school is not going smoothly at all. Shi Zhixuan calmly replied, Exactly the opposite, things are going more and more smoothly. Our holy school people speak only of interests, and when they see clearly that acknowledging allegiance to me is in their best interest, the great undertaking of the unification of the holy school will be more than half aplished. Appling his power, he pushed. Snap! the gate lock broke off and fell onto the ground. Since it was in the dead of the night, it created two sharp and clear striking noises. The door parted. With his hands behind his back, Shi Zhixuan burst inside the door inrge strides, just like the devil king arriving home to demand peoples life. Xu Ziling remembered what he said earlier. Tonight, someone is going to shed blood. Book 48 9 – Ruthless, Unfeeling Hands

Book 48 Chapter 9 C Ruthless, Unfeeling Hands

Kou Zhong had a big headache, not because he was helpless to deal with the great sess of the Tianmo Gong. Admittedly, the formidability of the offensive was greatly beyond his expectation, but he was a man who would grow stronger when he was facing strong opponent, he could not possibly be intimidated and shrink back in fear. The problem that gave him headache was that he did not want to kill Wanwan. Kou Zhong relied on the Art of War entering the saber technique, and what is the Art of War? Its precisely the method of striving for victory by fair means or foul in the cruel and unfeeling battlefield, ofmitting all manner of crimes to put the enemy to death by all means. This was precisely the pure and concise essence and the spirit of the Eight Methods of the Well; therefore, some of the moves basically cannot be used by Xu Ziling. Only when he wholeheartedly wanted to kill, just like the situation where he was facing Shen Mohuan and Funantuo, his Eight Methods of the Well would disy its pinnacle of the realm to the fullest. The Art of War was the saber technique, the saber technique was the Art of War. How could there be any ce for benevolence on the battlefield? But now he felt benevolence toward Wanwan in his heart, which was really a big taboo to his saber technique. [Note: the Art of War and saber method/technique, bing fa (lit. method to use soldiers) and dao fa.] Pow! Qi power flowed across to each other. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well was blocked squarely by the intersecting sleeves first, forcefully shaking him that he took three steps back. Thetterughed tenderly and said, If Shaoshuais Eight Methods of the Well is just like this kind of three-legged cat trick, next year tonight will be the anniversary of Shaoshuais death. Her voice had not dissipated, the sleeves shadow exploded in the air, it was difficult to tell which one was real, which one was an illusion. Like howling wind and torrential rain it sshed onto Kou Zhong; each move was indeed a killer move, acting like she would not stop before she took Kou Zhongs life. Kou Zhong was still unable to raise the thought of killing her. Her Tianmo Piao [I think it should be piao dai (floating ribbon)] was indeed formidable, but her Tianmo Lichang [force field] was even more formidable. If previously Zhu Yuyans force field was dead, then Wanwans force field was definitely alive, with myriad of irregr changes, which could bepared to rolling gale, or could be imagined like an angry wave surging up violently, or like a formless covering the heaven and capsizing the earth, so that you would be overwhelmed with powerless feeling of being unable to get away from it. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, After killing me, tooting your horn will not be toote! Applying his power to brandish his saber, unexpectedly heunched the Sweeping a Thousand Armies [total annihtion] in a straightforward manner, as if he could not see the sleeve shadow filling the sky,ing directly to attack him head-on. The heroic scenery of the field outside Cijian, where he battled Li Shimins main forces, where dead bodies were lying down on the wilderness everywhere, where blood was flowing like a river C welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. In the fight within magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, you would not be able to see clearly how many arrows, darts, huge axes, sabers and swords, spears andnces were greeting your body. You could only purely rely on the hearts intention to intuitively react and charge and break through the enemy lines. There was no opportunity to show off fancy move at all, you could only hope that each style would achieve the effectiveness of subduing the enemy, either kill or be killed. His mind was fully focused on brandishing the saber to sweep across, this one simple movement. The spiraling energy shot out, immediately it generated desperate, solemn and stirring momentum that could only ur on the battlefield. The vortex of qi power followed his saber momentum, it surged violently to four sides, eight directions, finally it made his entire body lighter, he forcefully broke free from the entanglement and the pressure of the Tianmo force field. Kou Zhong was like a bird breaking free from the cage, recovering his freedom. From sweeping across, the Moon in the Well changed to straight thrust; it turned into a yellow light piercing straight into the sleeve shadows filling the sky. Bang! The saber and the sleeve collided, bothbatants drew back at the same time. The Tianmo force field entangled him tightly again, but this time he was not caught in absolute passive situation anymore, rather, he was able to feel the state of the force field Wanwan was releasing, the strong point, the weak point, even the changes and the directions of the increasing power and the decreasing strength. Wanwans pair of snow white, slender jade hands stretched out from inside her sleeves, the hollow of her palms were aimed at him from a distance, her expression cold and detached but calm; she spoke softly, Only my Tianmo Dafa has a chance to entangle Shi Zhixuan and lock him firmly, and then you and Ziling could have a free hand in attack, without giving him any opportunity to take a breather. Therefore, only by full cooperation will we have the chance to break Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa. There is simply no other way. Kou Zhong pointed his saber de at her from a distance, saber qi burst forth to oppose the entire qi field head-on, while locking it tightly, striving to gain a bit of initiative back. Didnt you want to kill me? he asked in astonishment. A hint of smile escaped from the corner of Wanwans mouth, she said, How could I be willing to kill you? You and Ziling are men with whom Wanwan will not hesitate to lie down together, but if I did not say that, how could I let you experience the Tianmo Da Fas formidable power? I wonder if Shaoshuai is willing to change your mind? Kou Zhong felt he was put in a greatly difficult situation. The main reason he refused to work together with Wanwan was because he did not want to provoke Shang Xiuxuns misunderstanding, but now that he has personally experienced Wanwans formidability, he knew that her Tianmo field was indeed the effective magic weapon to deal with Shi Zhixuan, so that their chance to kill Shi Zhixuan was greatly increased. Giving thought to the general situation, he ought to ept Wanwans good intention. Sighing, he said, I wonder if you could wait for me and Ziling to discuss this matter before I can answer Dajies question? Wanwan replied indifferently, Ziling already promised me! Ick only you, this idiot who loves to show off your heroism. Time is limited, the sooner we deal with Shi Zhixuan, the better our chance is to break his Bu Si Yin Fa. I am giving you one more day. By noon tomorrow, you must give me a definite answer. Finished speaking, she floated away like a ghost. The drizzle finally stopped falling. The moon and the stars reappeared in the sky. By the time Xu Ziling entered the main gate of the courtyard residence, Shi Zhixuan already started his killing action. Using his shoulder, he smashed open the front halls main door and shed into the hall. While Xu Ziling was shocked inwardly, he heard the sound of intense fighting, the shouts and the whistling qi power C from inside the hall. Obviously the people in the residence were already alerted, they rushed out from the inner section into the front hall to intercept and fight back. Recalling You Niaojuans bitter experience, Xu Ziling cried, Bad! inwardly. Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa practically made him unafraid of the enemys assault, hence he was able to use danger to fight danger, to take the enemys life in face-to-face meeting. If Duan Yucheng was inside the hall, even if he wanted to block, he would already be one step toote. Not daring to slow down, Xu Ziling rushed up the steps, through the door and into the room, entering the vast dark hall. The fighting had just ended, he caught sight of Shi Zhixuans back as he disappeared into the darkness outside the main halls back door. Sweeping his gaze around, Xu Ziling saw dead bodies, two male and one female, lying on the floor, all died from just one strike, he could not see any bruises on the surface, so he was sure that Shi Zhixuan used a ruthless, overbearing technique to shock and shatter their internal organs, so that even if Da Luo Jin Xian graced them with his presence, he wouldck the skill to return their soul to their body. He had no time to be horrified by Shi Zhixuans ruthless method. He rolled one of the male corpses over. When he saw clearly that it was not Duan Yucheng, the sound of fighting came from the direction of the inner hall. Xu Ziling heaved a sigh inwardly, and then he rushed over at full speed. The inner hall has not only be a desperate battlefield, it has be a terrifying ughterhouse even more. By the time Xu Ziling reached the entrance, there were already a number of dead bodies of Da Ming Zun Jiao people, male and female, lying on the floor. Still besieging Shi Zhixuan were more than a dozen people, including the Benevolent Mother Sha Fang. The others were Da Ming Zun Jiaos disciples withparatively outstanding martial art skill, but he did not see any figures from the Five Bright Sons, neither did he see Duan Yucheng. Da Ming Zun Jiaos supreme leader Da Zun has never shown his face, he only presided over their affairs in secret; therefore, general Cult business was managed by Sha Fang, together with the Five Bright Sons and Five-kind of Demons, assisted by arge number of blindly loyal disciples. Yuanzis identity was mysterious, simr to Da Zun, unknown to the outsiders. The head of the Five Bright Sons was Miao Kong Mingzi [lit. wonderful air/empty bright son, see Book 40 Chapter 7] Liexia. Together with the Five-kind of Demons Du Shui [Poisonous Water, Book 42 Chapter 7] Xinnaya, they were Da Ming Zun Jiaos most outstanding figures. ording to Zhu Yuyan, the two persons martial art skill was not inferior in any aspects to Sha Fang. Too bad neither of them was here tonight; otherwise, perhaps Shi Zhixuan would be unable to go on the rampage without any scruple like this. The Five-kind of Demons were already broken and in disorder. First, the An Qi [Dark Air] Zhou Laofang was murdered by his older brother Zhou Laotan. And then the Xi Huo [Extinguished Fire] Kuo Jie lost his life under Ling Longjiaos hands due to Xu Zilings interference. So out of Five Demons, only three left, their strength was greatly reduced. If this time Shafang was killed by Shi Zhixuan, the blow to Da Ming Zun Jiao will be too heavy to bear, and their advance into the Central Earth would suffer a severe setback. In the dark inner hall, the Benevolent Mother Sha Fang moved her Yu Xiaoyao [free and unfettered jade, see Book 41 Chapter 9] with everything she had, staking everything to face most of Shi Zhixuans toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas assaults. Were it not so, perhaps none of the other disciples would be able to survive until this point. With his brilliant eyesight, in just one nce Xu Ziling could immediately see that other than Sha Fang, one person, although the rest of the peoples attacks appeared to be fierce and severe, not a single one could pose a threat toward Shi Zhixuan; on the contrary, they were being exploited to deal with Sha Fang, so that from time to time she had to divide her attention to look after them, hence increasing theplications and the pressure that she had to deal with. On the surface, Sha Fang appeared to be calm and indifferent, but Xu Ziling intuitively felt that there was fear at the bottom of her heart, and that she was contemting whether she ought to abandon her pathetic followers and just escape alone. However, how could Shi Zhixuan, who, in terms of intelligence and martial art skill was more than one level higher than her C let her satisfactorily fulfill her wish? Xu Ziling saw Shi Zhixuan was borrowing the true qi of one of the enemies, his finger heavily jabbed the front end of the Yu Xiaoyao. When Sha Fang was jolted and flew back, Shi Zhixuan, ignoring the swording to attack him from the side, forcefully charged inside the enemys defense line, straight toward his chest, smashing his bones and sending him flying away, crashing against the wall and copsing to the floor. Shi Zhixuan immediately shed to the other side, his palm passed through the opponents sword, pping another enemys face. The robust-looking Huihe man was immediately hit by the palm and was thrown away; he already breathed hisst even before his bodynded on the ground. Including Sha Fang, there were nine people remaining on the Da Ming Zun Jiaos side. Shi Zhixuan dodged the weapons attacking him from four sides, eight directions; movingter but arriving earlier, he darted toward Sha Fang, who was moving toward the back door of the inner hall. His hands created millions of fantastic palm shadows, like a galeing directly toward Sha Fang. Sha Fang was fighting and retreating at the same time, she fled toward the back door. Two disciples, their eyes bloodshot, wildly ran after her. Who would have thought that Bang! Bang! somehow, Shi Zhixuan struck them that they fell to the ground backward, and they too, breathed theirst breath. Watching this, Xu Zilings scalp went numb. Not knowing what to do, he shouted loudly in Tujuenguage, If you want to stay alive, quickly run away! The remaining four women and two men acted as if this was the first time that they realized Xu Zilings, this outsiders presence. Stunned, they looked at him. Behind the door, the sound of qi power against each other rang continuously, indicating that Shi Zhixuan and Sha Fangs fierce battle was underway like wildfire. Xu Ziling continued in Tujuenguage, You may help, you may hurry, but if you treasure your own life, you will leave immediately; if you are dyed, I am afraid it will be toote. Who would have thought that the six people only hesitated a little, unexpectedly they no longer paid him any attention, like a swarm of bees they flocked into the door? Unending sound of blood-curdling screech was heard. Xu Ziling smiled wryly helplessly; he tried his best, yet it was like the crowd of Da Ming Zun Jiao people viewed death as a return home, he was helpless to prevent the massacre from progressing further. A quarter of an hour before the second watch of the night [9-11pm], Hou Xibai came back calmly. Seeing Kou Zhong standing leaning against the window, looking pensive, he came to his side and said, The rain has stopped! I love this kind of drizzle, it made the streetscape blurred and enshrouded in a mist, bringing about its beauty. Hey, howe Ziling is not back yet? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I was worried about him; he should be back before I did. Frowning, Hou Xibai said, What could possibly entangle him? Kou Zhong said, Well wait a bit longer; if he has note back, we will go up to heaven and down the earth to look for him. Ay! It would be better if Changan is a bit smaller! Hou Xibai said, I received thetest news; Zhang Zhenzhou led the army and civilians of ShouAn to surrender to the Tang. Wang Shichong is beginning to pull batch after batch of his troops back into Luoyang, a clear sign that he is giving up Cijian. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, I really dont want to hear anything about Wang Shichong at the moment. Zhang Zhenzhous surrender represented one sessful step in Li Shimins grand n to iste Luoyang, and the heart of Wang Shichongs army was in chaos, one after another various generals of different surnames have surrendered to the Tang, some could even be predicted. Hou Xibai said, Something that you cant do, you have to give up. With Shaoshuais talent, you could crisscross the world at will, there is no need to throw your life in for Wang Shichong. Kou Zhongughed and said, As far as Im concerned the great undertaking of contention for hegemony over the world has just begun. Not concealing anything from you, the more formidable Li Shimin is, the more I, Kou Zhong feel that he is interesting. If Li Shimin is unable to withstand a single blow, where is the fun in it? I know I will suffer for this, but as long as I think that the one ascending the emperors throne in the future might be Li Jiancheng or Li Yuanji, and the one in control behind their back is your holy schools people, or perhaps your honorable master Shi Zhixuan, or the Yaonu [female demon], or Yang Xuyan, I will never give up. Hou Xibai said, If that is your only goal, why not simply helping Li Shimin with all your strength to make him ascend onto the emperors throne by all means? Kou Zhong said, Lets not talk about whether Li Shimin can harden his heart, not only to deal with his flesh and blood brothers, but also to publicly defy Li Yuan, even to depose Li Yuan, the fact is that the government and military system of the House of Tang practically prevents Li Shimin from using the troops to establish his independence. Once he loses his worth and usefulness, when he returns to Changan, he will be other peoples fish and meat, leading to a dead end. If we add the Tujue people and your holy school supporting Jiancheng and Yuanji from behind, even with the three of us helping Li Shimin, we will end up suffering losses for nothing. Hou Xibai nodded and said, Shaoshuais remarks make sense! Ay! I dont have any expertise in this aspect. Ha! If we can sessfully steal the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu from the pce, what would Li Yuans reaction be? Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, You, this kid, in the end you just want to get hold of the treasured painting. Hou Xibai calmly said, Your lifes goal is to win the world, but Xiaodis is only to enjoy the worlds famous paintings and beauties to the utmost. You have to help me, no matter what, to convince Ziling. This moment, hearing Xu Zilings name again, Kou Zhongs countenance sank, he said, Lets wait until we see Ziling before talking about this matter; why havent you changed into nightwalker outfit and put on a hood? You think we are going to tour the imperial pce? Xu Ziling rushed toward the rear court. The fighting hase to an end, Shi Zhixuans right hand stretched out straight, he pinched the Benevolent Mother Sha Fangs neck and lifted her up so that her feet were dangling above the floor, squeezing her life away, bit by bit. Where is the Yu Jin Wan Fa Genyuan Zhi? he spoke coldly, If you want to be happy, then you will tell me immediately. The corpses of the six men and women disciples who pursued in were lying everywhere, the way they died was fantastic oddities of every description [idiom], frightening those who saw it. Clearly Shi Zhixuans method was ruthless, when he made his move, he never showed mercy. Blood was oozing from Sha Fangs seven apertures, the divine light in her pair of eyes was fading away, she spoke with difficulty, Da Zun will avenge me! Severely shaken, with her remaining strength she broke her heart meridian and perished. Xu Ziling stood with nk expression behind Shi Zhixuan; he wanted to say something but nothing came out. Shi Zhixuan relinquished his grip to let Sha Fang slumping down to the floor. The tone of his voice returned to gentle and serene, as ifpletely nothing had happened, or that killing more than a dozen people in cold blood was just a trivial matter C as he spoke unhurriedly, I wonder if Ziling knows who the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Yuanzi is? A feeling of disgust toward his unfeeling attitude welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he replied coldly, I am listening. Shi Zhixuan acted as if he was unwilling to turn his head back to look at Xu Ziling, he spoke in heavy voice, Its precisely my darling disciple Yang Xuyan. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Whats so strange about it? Shi Zhixuan said, Da Ming Zun Jiaos scripture, which is called Suo Bu Luo Qian [no idea, maybe a transliteration of some foreignnguage] contains many volumes, one is the Yao Wang Jing [lit. medicine/drug king scripture], which specializes in using poison, and the Guang Ming Jing [lit. light/radiance scripture] as the ultimate. The difference isparable to our holy schools Tianmo Ce [demonic policy/scheme] after all the ten volumes arebined into one. The mystery is unfathomable, hence within the sessive generations of Da Ming Zun Jiao people, very rarely did someone seed in cultivating it. Xuyan has received my handed-down teachings, hence he had the desire to dip his finger into the Yu Jin Wan Fa Genyuan Zhi, so he was willing to join Da Ming Zun Jiao. I hope that after seeing my warning this time, he could rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice, and go back into my school. Otherwise, next time it will be his turn. After a short pause, he went on, Ziling, you may go! Leave before I change my mind. No matter how many important business you have in here, it will be best if you leave immediately. I dont know how long am I going to be able to tolerate you. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Xie Wang wants to kill me, please make your move immediately. Finally Shi Zhixuan turned around, his pair of eyes emitting aplex, difficult to understand expression, as he spoke softly, Just consider it doing me a favor, all right? Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai flew across the roof. By the time their vision adjusted and they were able to see clearly the situation near and far, a dark shadow was fleeting from a distance,ing near. The two saw clearly that it was Xu Ziling, they rushed to meet him in great delight. Kou Zhong whined, Good kid, where did you hang out? The three met on top of the roof of another building, they crouched down to speak. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Not only did I encounter Old Shi, I also saw him killing Da Ming Zun Jiao people, including Shan Mu Sha Fang. None of the other two was not emotionally moved. Xu Ziling exined to them what happened. Aghast, Hou Xibai said, Unexpectedly Yang Xuyan could be Da Ming Zun Jiaos Yuanzi. If it were not Shi Shi personally telling you, I would never believe it. Puzzled, Kou Zhong said, But when we were in Longquan, we clearly received the news that both Da Zun and Yuanzi were there, while a few could affirm that at that time, Yang Xuyan was in Changan. Could there be two Yuanzi? Xu Ziling said, I hope one day this matter will be as the water recedes, the rocks appear. I have a faint feeling that because Yang Xuyan is Shi Zhixuans disciple, he could never receive Da Ming Zun Jiaos full trust, hence they cultivate another Yuanzi in secret. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Are you talking about Yucheng? Whos Yucheng? Hou Xibai asked in astonishment. Dont think about this too much, Xu Ziling said, Are we going to set off to the imperial pce? Kou Zhong said, The correct ce should be Yin Zuwens old nest. Lets go! The three soared into the air and swiftly flew toward the location of the Yin Mansion. Book 48 10 – Unexpected Finding

Book 48 Chapter 10 C Unexpected Finding

One after another the three men leaped onto the big tree overlooking the small two-storied building at the Yin Mansions rear courtyard, and looked in the direction of the main building within the mansion. Thenterns in the main hall were brightly lit, they could faintly hear the sound of woodwind and string, traditional musical instruments. Kou Zhongughed and said, Yin Zuwen certainly have music and song every night, he enjoys the flourishing riches and honor of the secr world very much. I hope he can forget his roots, and then the whole world will be at peace. Xu Ziling said, In the pursuit of power and wealth, there will be no end, it will only lead to coveting Sichuan once Gansu has been seized [idiom: insatiable desire]. All holy school people have the holy schools life-long mission to unify the world. Hou Xibai sighed and said, I am afraid I am the only exception. I do not have the slightest interest in power and position [or politics], wealth and official post. If you want me to be the emperor, it will be the same as having me tortured. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, If you are not that kind of person, we would not have gone exploring the imperial pce, to tour the Tang pce under the moonlit night together tonight. Hou Xibai said, Just now I went around to inquire the inside situation of the imperial pce. It is reported that starting approximately half a year ago, Li Yuan unceasingly invites renowned experts, martial art masters like Ouyang Xiyi to leave the mountain [of a hermit: toe out of obscurity to a government job] ande to Changan and take residence here. These powerful Qianbei Dajia [great expert], none is not able to withstand the test of time, they are the founding-the-school-establishing-the-sect figures. As for which martial art masters, please forgive Xiaodi for being unable to investigate even half a name. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You can put all the me on my Yue Shan, for making him feel your Shi Shis threat. I dare say that he recruiting martial art masters with enough power is in order to withstand your Shi Shi. Therefore, it is extremely possible that tonight we might meet unexpected disaster. Kou Zhong responded cheerfully, Without danger, where will the delighting from? Life and death are ruled by fate, riches and honor are from Heaven, I, Kou Zhong, believe in fate more and more. Since it is foreordained by fate, whether it is disaster or good fortune, neither can be avoided, so why do we have so much misgivings? Hou Xibai agreed, he said, Shaoshuai is right. We might as well have a free hand and go all out to steal the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu back, and then well leave behind the Duan Ming Cao Sans swallow mark. Kou Zhong reached out and put his hand on his shoulder, he grinned and said, Xiao Hous thought seems to put us two to one! Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, What good would stealing the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu bring us? Hou Xibai shot a please help me look at Kou Zhong, which Kou Zhong responded by a dont you worry look. Leaning closer, he focused his voice into a thread and pierced it through to Xu Zilings ear, Currently Old Shi is restless in his room. Only under one circumstance will he return to Wu Lou Sis meditation room and disguise himself as Da De Shengseng, which is when the whole city is out to hunt the Duan Ming Cao San, because that is the time where it is not suitable for Old Shi to be roaming outside, especially when the search is concentrated around the Yue Ma Bridges Wu Lou Si. Old Shi definitely will not let anybody to discover that the meditation room is empty. Therefore, if during this critical moment Yi Lao is notifying Li Yuan that Old Shi is the Da De Shengseng, then Li Yuans target will be shifted to this formidable opponent, which is ten million times more important than Cao San, while we will be at the other exit waiting for Old Shi, this big fish. Therefore, the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu simply must be stolen, because only by doing this we will be able to provoke Li Yuan to fly into a terrible rage, but also to make Old Shi like a fish entering the. But the timing of the theft must be carefully considered. How about we investigate the situation clearly first? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Even when we were little I could never out-speak you, hence the reason most of the time the responsibility of asking for steamed buns fell into me. Very well! I have no more objection on your preposterous argument, which apparently right but is actually wrong. Greatly astonished, Hou Xibai said, What preposterous argument did Shaoshuai say just now? So far, the efficacy is actually magical. Kou Zhong smiled and said, What he and I were talking about is actually the profound theory and mysterious reasoning of destiny. Ling Shao is a person with perception; due to the deeply felt enlightenment and touched emotion, he had no choice but to change his original thought in order to aplish Hou Gongzis dream. Greatly delighted, Hou Xibai said, Please dont think that I have absurd greedy thought, its just that I hope that this exceptional work of art will be in the possession of the person most qualified to own it; thats all! Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, You guys, one is a muddled-egg, the other is a silly kid; with lone momentum and meager strength, how could I fight you? Huh? Someonesing! They saw three men walking along the gravel path between the forest tree inside the park, chatting and joking happily, strolling toward the small building. Kou Zhong and the others focused their eyes to look. Their first reaction was to narrow their eyes and close their pores in order to avoid the opposite side detecting their presence. The one in the middle was dignified and formidable. Although currently he was wearing civilian clothes, he still carried the heroic and imposing emperors bearing and might. Unexpectedly it was the master of the Great Tang imperial court, the Li ns Li Yuan. On his left, the man was about of the same height as him, with eagle eyes and hook nose, the hair on his temples grizzled, his appearance bold and powerful, on the surface his age appeared to be around forty, but Kou Zhong and the others dared to say that this mans age could not be below Li Yuan; he was at least more than sixty years old. Both Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong felt that they had seen this man somewhere before, but they could not remember who he was. Thest person slightly fell half a step back; it looked like he realized that his status was not high enough to walk side by side with the other two. Surprisingly, it was Yin Zuwen. Li Yuanughed and said, Tonight is really brilliant, Yin Guo Yue [lit. state father-inw] arranged it so well that I have nothing to say: top quality beautiful women, top quality dancing. The old man with hook nose smiled and said, The more brilliant point was that they [feminine] did not know that Xiandi [worthy little brother] is the Great Tang Emperor Li Yuan. Using power, we can only obtain their body, but we would never be like just now, allowing Xiandi to obtain that Meireners admiration, which evolved from her true heart. The two men looked face to face and roared inughter, while Yin Zuwen apanied themughing from behind. The three men on the tree understood immediately. Li Yuan was ustomed to being the emperor, hence he wanted to satisfy his not the emperor craving, he slipped away from the secret tunnel, disguising himself in in clothes, using his other identity, and asking Yin Zuwen to arrange some entertainment for him. Since Li Yuan was a womanizer, naturally the program did not deviate far from female charms. The question was that good or bad, Yin Zuwen was Li Yuans father-inw; asking Yin Zuwen to provide women for his son-inw seemed to be inexcusable. However, when they thought about Li Yuans status as the emperor, it was not surprising for Yin Zuwen to tter and curry favor with him. In his heart, suddenly Xu Ziling felt something was not quite right, he seemed to capture a certain crucial point, but momentarily he was unable to grasp anything specific. As for this hook-nosed old man, he must be someone who had profound friendship with Li Yuan, so that even now that Li Yuan rose in nobility to became an emperor, the man was still on an equal footing with him, calling each other Xiong and Di [older and younger brother, respectively], even addressing each other directly by name. It was thus clear that he was both his ymate and bodyguard. Affirming his identity, status, and martial art skill were all extremely important, but they could not figure out who he was; perhaps he was one of the martial art masters of the older generation that Li Yuan invited to deal with Shi Zhixuan. Li Yuan, three men, arrived at the small building and stopped in front of the steps. Li Yuan nodded and said, Only encounters with precious experience will bring true delight; merely watching a beautys manner when she gets angry and swearing cannot be bought for one thousand in gold. Tomorrow night I will have to entertain Flying Horse Ranchs Shang Xiuxun, how about the day after tomorrow we have some more fun? Or perhaps we go somece else? Yin Zuwen hastily replied, Everything can be arranged ording to Huangshangs decision, Huangshang, please bestow your instruction, Chenxia [official/subject] will make appropriate arrangement. The hook-nosed old man knitted his brows and said, For the time being, Xiandis movements should be limited inside Yin Guo Yues mansion. Wait until we eliminate Shi Zhixuan, at that time, you can go anywhere you like. Smiling bitterly, Li Yuan said, Your, LaoGes words, how could Li Yuan dare not to follow? Yin Zuwen changed his tone to a more ttering manner, he said, Fa Zhu [n master] is giving thought to Huangshangs safety! Furthermore, you are giving thought to themon people of the world. Li Yuan sighed emotionally, he said, Ay! Bing the emperor is really not easy. Yin Zuwen climbed up the steps and pushed the door open. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, three men you looked at me I gazed at you, they finally knew which divine figure the hook-nosed old man was, and why he dared to exercise control over Li Yuans activities. The four surnames of the most illustrious school and n of Wulin were the Li n, Dugu n, Yuwen n, and Song n. The first three ns were the big ns of the north [of the Yellow River], who had vowed loyalty and devotion to the imperial court of the sessive generations for a long time. Therefore, although these three ns continuously fought for power and position, they were still linked in countless ways with each other, in impermanence separation and reunion. In the struggle after the copse of the Great Sui, one after another the Dugu n and the Yuwen n fell from power. The remnants of these two ns, relying on their rtionship, came to seek shelter under Li Yuans wings. The person before their eyes was precisely the n Master of the Yuwen n, Yuwen Shang. In term of martial art skill, among the four great school and ns, surely the Heavenly Saber Song Que firmly upied the chief position, followed by Yuwen Huajis uncle [fathers elder brother] Yuwen Shang; he was outstanding, even above Li Yuan. Although Dugu Feng shared the same seat, but his martial art skill was not at the top among the Dugu n people. The number one martial art master of the Dugu n was You Chuhong. With Yuwen Shang, this level of martial art master as his bodyguard, although Li Yuan could slip out to y around without any worries, but he did not know that Yin Zuwen was a demonic school people. Yuwen Shangughed and said, Although demonic way disciples praise Shi Zhixuan to the skies, saying how formidable he is, I still have some reservations. It would be best if hees to charge into the forbidden park, You Lao and I will definitely make him able toe but unable to leave. If we knew where he is, that would be even better! Li Yuan spoke cheerfully, Good thing that you, LaoGe reminded me, I invited You Lao to personally protect Zhang Guifei [imperial consort]. On the basis of her nearly a hundred years of experience, she suffering harm under peoples hands will definitely not happen again. Hearing that, the three looked at each other, crying Bad! inwardly. The most likely ce to hide the Han Ling Qing Yuan Tu was Zhang Jieyus fragrant chamber. If it was under You Chuhongs guard, how were they going to make their move? Yuwen Shang said, She, the Senior has been recoveredpletely from her old illness, her martial art skill went up a notch even more, perhaps she even surpasses the Tian Dao Song Que and be the number one among our four great ns. With her inside the pce, Xiandi can feel reassured. Li Yuan sighed and said, Its a pity Mo Shenyi is wandering far away; a strange man with strange actions, truly admirable. This man not only possess outstanding medical skill, himself is a very interesting person. Yuwen Shangughed and said, I hope he will be back sooner! Its time for us to return to the Pce! After Yin Zuwen left, Kou Zhong blew a mouthful of air slowly said, I regret it very much! Puzzled, Hou Xibai asked, Regret what? Xu Zilingughed and said, He regrets curing You Lao Pozis [old woman] asthma. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, This is called reaping what one has sown, doing good thing to get bad retribution. His Niangs! One Yuwen Shang is enough to give us headache, now there is also You Lao Pozi. If something bad happens, it wont be easy for us to get out. Xu Ziling said with a sneer, Didnt you just say to submit to the will of heaven and have a free hand to act? Now it seems like you dont believe in fate at all. Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, Because fate seems to be warning us, to let us know that at the ce where we want to y, You Lao Pozi is waiting respectfully for our good-selves. Hou Gongzi, what do you think? Hou Xibai sighed and said, What do you want me to say? Although I love paintings as much as I love my life, but in the end I cannot ask you to apany me throwing away my life. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, I dont have any thought. Dont look at me like that, I really dont have any thought, Ill leave itpletely up to you, Kou Shaoshuai to decide. Kou Zhong was still gazing intently at him, a hint of smile escaped out of the corner of his mouth, he said, Its time to put on the mask! The attractiveness of the imperial pce should be a lot greater than You Lao Pozis threat, am I right? Kou Zhong pushed open the bed inside the room at the ground floor of the small building. Using enough power in their eyes, the three were able to see the faint seam of the square lid of the tunnel entrance, which was flush with the floor. Because the floor was tiled with square bs of stone, if they did not pay attention, it would be difficult to see, it would appear just like another square floor b. With the air of an expert, Kou Zhong stopped Hou Xibai from using his palm strength to suck the floor up, he said, Previously, we could not hear the slightest noise of the tunnel being opened, so clearly the design of the entrance is ingenious. If we dont know the method to open it, it is extremely possible that we will trigger the rm system, so that when we emerge from the other end, the imperial bodyguards in the entire pce might be waiting for us to drop by. Xu Ziling did not have enough confidence in Kou Zhongs knowledge in mechanism, he frowned and said, You made it sound so dangerous; how are you going to do it? Kou Zhong said, My way is to have a clear view first and then solve the difficult problem. Come! I need Ling Shaos support. Without saying anything further, Xu Ziling pressed his palm on Kou Zhongs back. Hou Xibai watched curiously from the side; he spoke in astonishment, I am now starting to believe the rumor circting in Jianghu. Kou Zhong dropped down on one knee, his pair of palms was pressed into the stone b. What rumor? he asked, What does it have to do with what we are doing now? Hou Xibai replied, The rumor says that if Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling join hands, even the three grandmasters would also have to stand aside. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, They certainly have never seen our sorry state when we go through the danger of death ande out alive under Bi Xuan and your honorable masters hands, and that time we even had Ba Fenghan with us. Hou Xibai said, Thats why I always thought it was busybodies exaggerated remarks, until tonight I see the amazing technique you are using true qi together, thinking that if this method could be developed one step further, who in the world would be able to withstand the strike from this kind of cooperation? Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shaken, the formers pair of palms even left the surface of the stone cover. Stunned, Hou Xibai said, Howe your reaction was this intense? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, they both realized that Hou Xibais remark had awakened them from the dream; previously, they had many times relied on mutual use of their true qi to deal with enemies who were more brilliant than they were, even relied on this method to fight Funantuo with all their might while their internal injury had not recovered yet. However, it was all an effort to meet a contingency when they were facing death; they had never really researched how to, from this foundation C develop a set of technique to be used in fighting together. This time, while their schemes were drained their strength exhausted in dealing with Shi Zhixuan, this was perhaps a feasible method to break Shi Zhixuans ultimate-since-the-dawn-of-time Bu Si Yin Fa. But naturally it was not appropriate to discuss this matter in front of Hou Xibai. Changing the subject, Kou Zhong said, Xiaodis guess is indeed not wrong. If we attempted to suck this stone b using internal energy, the stone lid raises one cun, it will immediately pull and trigger the rm bell. The designer is clearly an expert in mechanism, his understanding of human psyche is very urate. Hou Xibai was eager to get the treasured painting, he forgot what they were talking about earlier. He said, In that case, will it work if we push it in a certain direction? Kou Zhong replied, If we push inside, it might be absolutely still, because it is locked rigid by an irontch as big as a babys arm on one side. Disappointed, Hou Xibai said, Wont that mean we call it a day tonight? Looking at the entrance, sighing in despair. Sitting on the floor, Kou Zhongughed and said, If I am not a friend enough, perhaps I might mislead you by saying we do not have this ability. But we all are brothers; tonight, I simply must help you into the pce, no matter what, to let you go into Zhang Meirens room to steal fragrance and pilfer jade [idiom: secret illicit sex]. Astonished, Hou Xibai said, This mechanism can only be opened from the inside, what can you do? Kou Zhong moved forward and pressed his pair of palms on the surface of the lid again. When Xu Ziling pressed his palms onto his back, Kou Zhong, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, said, This is called striking the ox across the mountain; while the strength of the internal power is important, the more important factor is the level of mastery on the mechanism knowledge. Either onecking, it wont work. His Niangs! Look at my unrivalled-under-the-heavens Ge Gai Qi Guan Da Fa [great method of opening the lock across (separated by) the lid]. Open! From under the lid came the sound of thetch moving. Hearing that, Hou Xibai was dumbstruck. He sighed and said, No wonder you guys are able to move unhindered across the world, no one can do anything to you. Sessfully aplishing their task, Xu Zilingughed and said, You honor us with yourpliments too much! It ought to be: running away across the world, surviving with difficulty. Kou Zhong reached out to press one side of the lid, hard. The stone lid tilted downward, revealing stone stairs seven or eight steps deep. Greatly delighted, Hou Xibai said, Sess! Even if we tell Li Yuan that we enter the pce via the tunnel, he will never believe it, because this is practically impossible. Yet you guys seem to be aplishing it effortlessly, as easy as blowing off dust. Kou Zhong smiled and said, All right! Entering the pce looks promising, but lets talk about conditions first. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai asked, Talk about what conditions? Sitting down by Kou Zhongs side, Xu Zilingughed and said, The condition is that we must not steal that thing tonight, we cant rm anybody. If we are unfortunate and are found out, we definitely cannot leave from his secret tunnel even more. Hou Xibai squatted on one knee, he spoke in bewilderment, If we are not stealing the painting, then why are we going into the pce? Kou Zhong reached out and wrap his arm around Hou Xibais shoulders, he said, The painting must be stolen, but it must be carried out another lucky day. We are going in tonight is to scout the path, to figure out the imperial pces open sentries and hidden guards, the way inside and the route outside. Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, I still dont understand. This is called the night is long the dreams are many; supposing we found the treasured painting, if wee again next time, the treasured painting might be hidden in a different ce. Unless we cannot find it tonight, then naturally well have toe back another day. And then he knitted his brows and said, You seem to be hiding something from me; I wonder if you still consider me as an outsider? Kou Zhong opened his hood; smiling wryly, he said, Ling Shao! Help me here; Hou Gongzi misunderstood us! Xu Ziling spoke frankly, We are indeed hiding something from you, because we dont want to put you in a difficult situation; we want to quietly eliminate that disaster of having you killed on our behalf. https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 Shaken, Hou Xibai sat down. Is it rted to Shi Shi? he asked. Precisely so, Kou Zhong replied, As long as you do what we told you, not only you can get the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, it is also extremely possible to break your honorable masters Bu Si Yin Fa, so that you can happily continue looking at the famous painting and hanging around with beautiful women from all sides. Hou Xibai muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day. Very well! he spoke heavily, I trust you. Ay! I really cannot take the initiative to strike Shi Shi. But if he wants to kill me, naturally I will fight him to the end. Xu Ziling said, The problem is that until this moment, your honorable master has not made any move against you, hence you ought to listen to me. Kou Zhong put on his hood again and leaped down the stone steps. Lighting up a fire stick, heughed and said, You see how well the venttion of the underground tunnel is? Following his lead, the two put the couch back to its original position, and then stepped down the stone steps, closed the stone lid above them and reengaged the lock properly. Under the illumination of the fire stick, they could see that the long and narrow underground tunnel, which was high enough to let a seven-chi man to pass throughfortably, extended to the east, which was the direction to the imperial city. Xu Ziling said, In this direction, the exit at the other end of the underground tunnel must be in the imperial city and not in the imperial pce. Kou Zhong spoke with confidence, This great master of mechanism and civil engineering dare to say that there must be a turning point in this tunnel somewhere. The final exit must be in the inner park of the imperial pce; furthermore, it cant be too far away from the Great Tang Emperors personal chamber. Therefore, when we go out to y, we can avoid rough hands and rough feet. Ha! Come on! Book 48 11 – First Exploration’s Loss

Book 48 Chapter 11 C First Explorations Loss

Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, This does not make sense. The cover of the exit was at the top of the stone steps above their heads, it was of the same design as the entrance. The problem was that the tunnel did not have any turning point toward the imperial pce like Kou Zhong had guessed. Looking at the position, if they pushed the lid and came out, they would definitely be within the scope of the imperial city and not in the imperial pce at all. The Great Tang imperial pce upied arge area ofnd; not including the western inner park, the area was equal to twelve East Marketsbined. The imperial city and the imperial pce each upied half, divided by the public square cutting across from east to west in the middle. The imperial city was where the offices of civil and military officials were located, the imperial pce was subdivided into Yeting Pce teral courts housing concubines and administrative offices], Taiji Pce, and East Pce, three pce halls. Taiji Pce, located in the middle, housed Li Yuans personal office and residence. Bu Cheng Lane was located west of the imperial city, separated with the imperial city only by one Anhua Street. Walking straight to the east from the Yin Mansion at Bu Cheng Lane, distant wise, the exit could only be around the southwest corner of the imperial city. Even if the three were able to enter the imperial city without the gods knowing, the ghosts perceiving, and stealthily crossed the vast public square, they still had to crash their way through either one of the three gates, the Guang Yun Gate, the Cheng Tian Gate, or the Chang Le Gate, leading into the Taiji Pce. At this moment the Tang Pce was in high alert to guard against Shi Zhixuan, there was practically no possibility. Hou Xibai said, Do you want to open the lid and peek outside? Maybe it is a hidden chamber outside with another tunnel leading into the imperial pce. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, In term of design, that does not make sense. Just now Li Yuan and Yuwen Shang did not get out from here. Xibai Xiong, please examine the iron door, the rust should indicate that it has not been operated for a long time. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This is not only a false exit, it is also a trap. The mechanism to open the lid looks identical to the entrance, but theres a subtle difference. Although I dont know exactly how it works, but I can guess that if we operate the mechanism, it will definitely trigger some rm system. Hou Xibai agreed, he said, Now that does make sense. Such a tunnel that leads to the imperial pce is very important. The master craftsmen of the House of Tang naturally had to rack their brains to guarantee its security, hence the reason they set up this trap to let the enemy who discovers the tunnel fall into it. The three began to examine the tunnels north wall, one fire stick burned out, they lighted another one, as they explored the entire length of the tunnel, but until thest fire stick was consumed, they still gained nothing. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This time, I, the newly promoted mechanism and civil engineering great master, really fell head first and is brought to the end of the line, and die of old age. His Niangs! An insignificant underground tunnel is unexpectedly more difficult to solve than the Duke Yangs Treasure. Xu Ziling came back, groping about in the dark from the direction of the exit at the small building inside the Yin Mansion. He said, We still have the other side, the south wall to explore, but unfortunately we dont have much time. We must leave now, otherwise, after daybreak, it wont be too convenient. Welle back tomorrow night! Hou Xibai, who was still standing under the stone steps of the exit, suddenly signaled them with his hand, indicating that there were some people upstairs. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were greatly astonished in their hearts. ording to reason, the small building should be a forbidden area within the Yin Mansion, even daily cleaning should not be carried out before daybreak, so they shouldnt be worried that someone mighte to the underground tunnel. First, because the exit could only be opened from the inside, unless the neer had the ability like Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling joining hands just now. Secondly, this tunnel ought to be Li Yuans special imperial road, how could other people misuse it? The two boys came to Hou Xibais side. Focusing their power into their ears, they indeed heard the faint voices of a man and a woman, but because the stone lid was about half a chi thick, plus when closed it was as if the opening was sealed, even with three mens power, they still could not hear clearly what the people upstairs were talking about. Xu Zilings senses were sharper than Kou Zhongs, he spoke in low voice, The man seems to be Yin Zuwen. The woman hey the woman, oh! Its Yin Gui Pais Wen Caiting. His sense of hearing was increased substantially, not only he recognized Wen Caitings voice, he even heard the content of the two persons conversation, because Kou Zhong raised his palm and pressed it on his back, injecting his true qi continuously into Xu Zilings system, fusing and flowing together with Xu Zilings true qi. In the world only these two could easily borrow and blend true qi from each other like water and milk solution, there was no other. The two boys climbed the steps one by one, the voices became clearer, however, this only applied to Xu Ziling. He heard Yin Zuwen said, This matter must be approached slowly instead of urgently, furthermore, the fortunate timing has not arrived, we nt the seed first and reap the fruitster. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was baffled, thinking that he must have missed the previous even-more-brilliant dialogue. Suddenly he heard the rustling noise of clothes, followed by Wen Caitings moan. Unless it was an idiot, anybody would know that the man and the woman upstairs were having sex. Perhaps Wen Caiting was exploiting her sex appeal, which had not waned or ckened, to aplish her goal, or perhaps she was a loose woman by nature, but Xu Ziling has personally heard her seducing Chi Shengchun, only Chi Shengchun remained unmoved. And then he heard Wen Caiting spoke while breathing hard, Hows my skill? Are you satisfied? Turning to Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai, who were looking at him expectantly, Xu Ziling spoke softly, They just finished having fun. Wiping the sweat on his brows, Kou Zhong said, Fortunately so, otherwise we are going to die of suffocation here. Yin Zuwens voice entered Xu Zilings sharp ears again, saying, Caiting, you are indeed a wonder; twelve years ago you were enchanting, today, after twelve years you are still enchanting. Those tender baby girls, after trying them twice they already became tasteless; how could theypare to you? Xu Ziling mused that turned out those two were old close friends, its just that the Yin Mansion had so many ces, why did they choose the small building where the secret tunnel was hidden to have a tryst? Supposing Li Yuan was prompted by a sudden impulse to go out on an inspection tour for the second time tonight, wouldnt he bump into them head-on? Wheres the entrance to the tunnel? Wen Caiting asked. Xu Ziling was shocked; but then he remembered that the other side could not open the lid from the outside, so he was somewhat relieved. Yin Zuwen replied, Just under the bed, but it can only be opened from the inside. The first day I was assigned this mansion, I took the responsibility for protecting this underground tunnel for Li Yuan, but Ive never entered the tunnel. Tittering, Wen Caiting said, Li Yuan trusts you very much! Yin Zuwenughed and said, Li Yuan, this person is not difficult to deal with, the most important thing is to fit to his fancy. At first he did not even think about using the underground tunnel to spend his time in drinking and pleasure; it was me who reminded him and made the arrangement, to enrich his life. In his heart, I, Yin Zuwen am the real big minister who has given outstanding service. Wen Caiting ttered him, saying, Speaking about intelligence and scheming ability, among our holy school, Yin Shixiong could be considered within the top three. Just look at how you presented your daughter and make half of the Li ns world to fall into Yin Shixiongs pocket; our Yin Gui Pai can only see the other riders dust and have no hope of catching up [idiom: far inferior]. Yin Zuwen said, Just leave your strength in bed to curry favor with me! Lets stop the chitchat. I admire Qinger, this houbei [younger generation] very much, I think she is the best choice to be Zhu Hous [empress] sessor, she is better suited than Waner. Wen Caiting sighed and said, Pi Chen Shibo, Bian Shidi and I will keep an eye on Qinger. The problem is that one day the Tianmo Fa Jue [ultimate method] is in her hands, she is still the sessor in a way that justifies the use of the term. Yin Zuwen said, If you could capture her alive, I will have a way to force her to hand the Fa Jue over. This baby girls aptitude is unusually good, the problem is that she shows no understanding of the times [idiom], unexpectedly she is solely preupied with taking revenge for her master. Now our holy schools dream finally has the opportunity to be realized, therefore, we musty down hostility and have a united front, to let the most able person toe out and lead. Wen Caiting was silent for half a day; she spoke heavily, Very well! As long as Qinger can obtain the Fa Jue, and Shi Zhixuan is willing to kill his daughter to show his determination, I can make decision on behalf of the other Yin Gui Pai elders, we will listen and obey Shi Zhixuansmands in everything. Oh, its almost daybreak! Xu Ziling met with Hu Xiaoxian again at the Fang Sheng Lake of the East Market, the two sat on a stone bench in a corner by the pond. Hu Xiaoxian blissfully said, Why do you want to see me? Xu Ziling replied, I finally find a way that Hu Xiaojie no longer need to be afraid of Chi Shengchuns forced marriage. Hu Xiaoxians pair of eyes, like limpid autumn waters, gracefully sized him up, feigning anger coquettishly, she said, Nujia finally understands why Xu Daxia wants to deal with Chi Shengchun! Xu Ziling understood that Ouyang Xiyis words to the Great Immortal Hu Fost night havee into effect. Hu Fo also passed on this information to Hu Xiaoxian, hence the reason she was in such a good mood, because she knew that Hu Fo would definitely not let her marry into the Chi Family. Pretending to be muddleheaded, he said, Xiaojie does not seem to take my method seriously, I wonder if you have found other solution yourself? Or perhaps you think that this matter has been resolved? Hu Xiaoxian spoke in astonishment, Your, this persons, deduction and reasoning ability is really formidable, unexpectedly from nujias reaction you can figure out so many arguments. Ay! Nujia surrenders! I originally wanted to tease you. All right! Whats the bad news? Inwardly, Xu Ziling admired her quick thinking, from the tone of his voice she figured out that he had a card up his sleeve. Smiling, he said, Supposing Yin Zuwen ask Li Yuan to act on Chi Shengchuns behalf to propose marriage to your esteemed father, would Xiaojie know what the consequences be? Hu Xiaoxian disdainfully said, How could Li Yuan be willing to stick his head out for Chi Shengchun? Chi Shengchun practically does not have the qualifications to have Yin Zuwen raise this matter for Li Yuans consideration. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, What if the thief stealing Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu was not Cao San, but Li Yuan? Hu Xiaoxians flowery countenance lost its color, she blurted out, You are joking! Xu Ziling was shocked inwardly, he never thought that Hu Xiaoxians reaction would be this intense. He said, This matter is absolutely true; hows Hu Xiaojie going to deal with it? Hu Xiaoxian stared nkly for half a day. She spoke dejectedly, That would be terrible. I would rather marry Chi Shengchun than marry into the deep pce, to pass the bleak, wretched days in that all ck, no daylight ce. Xu Ziling distractedly said, How can you marry into the pce? Besides, the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu is not something that should not be exposed to the light. Li Yuan stole it only to win favor by fawning on Zhang Jieyu. Hu Xiaoxian sighed and said, To Li Yuan, that kind of man, my understanding prates a thousand times, ten thousand times deeper than yours, Xu Daxias. Each time he sees me, the pupil of his eyes lit up. Ay! This kind of womens intuition is hard to exin in a few words, how can I exin it to you? And then, knitting her brows, she asked, How do you know it was Li Yuan who stole it? Xu Ziling was confused, instead of answering, he asked back, Since you knew how dangerous it is, why did you reveal to Li Yuan about Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu was in Chi Shengchuns possession? Hu Xiaoxian spoke miserably, I just wanted Li Yuan to act on my behalf! If he obtained it openly, then there would be no problem; but seizing it in the dark, he is harboring a hard-to-fathom evil intention. If he said that he snatched it back from Cao Sans hands and gave it to my Die, and then have someone close to him openly raise a suggestion, Die could only obediently present his daughter into the imperial pce, unless in the future he does not want to mingle in Changan anymore. Ay! Die spent all day thinking about how to expand Da Xian Men [great immortal school], sacrificing a couple of daughters happiness is not a big deal. After all, Xiaoxian is just his adopted daughter. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbfounded. He was puzzled for half a day, and said, If your esteemed fathers conduct is like what Xiaojie said, with Li Yuans power, he does not need the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu to get Xiaojie into the pce, why would he take great pains in stealing it? At the same time, he was thinking inwardly that it would not be difficult to confirm this matter; as long as he could check whether just like Liu Wenjing told Chi Shengchun, Zhang Jieyu really wanted to get this painting, then he would get the answer. If unfortunately Hu Xiaoxians words turned out to be true, then it would be Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, and Hou Xibai, three mens turn to have a headache. To steal the treasured painting from under You Chuhongs eyelids was more difficult than difficult. To steal something from Li Yuans hands while he was fully on guard against Shi Zhixuan was nearly impossible even more. Hu Xiaoxian sighed and said, In the city of Changan, there are two women that Li Yuan wants to bring into the pce the most; one is Ji Qian, the other is precisely nujia. Ji Qian is the most popr famous courtesan in the pleasure house, while nujia ay! How can I make you understand? Nujia quite like to make friends, do you understand? All in all, with his status as the emperor, Li Yuan has a lot of misgivings to get us into the pce, because he is afraid the people in the world would use him of being lecherous, although his womanizing character no one in the world does not know. Xu Ziling cried Bad! inwardly, if that was the case, then wouldnt Kou Zhongs treasured painting to invite the groom (who will live with the brides family)] scheme harm her instead? Not only this matter would not work, Xu Ziling did not dare to mention it even more. Smiling wryly, he said, That is just Xiaojies guess. Displeased, Hu Xiaoxian said, You dont believe me? When Li Yuan uses this as a pretext to get nujia into the pce, whos going to save me? Xu Ziling said, Wait until I verify that this matter is just as you said, and then well make the decision to steal the treasured painting from his hands. Once the main problem is soled, all troubles are solved. But how are you going to verify this? Hu Xiaoxian asked, Are you saying that you are going to interrogate Li Yuan? Xu Ziling smiled and said, This is called the man of the mountain has an excellent n; for the time being, it is not suitable to reveal it. Dissatisfied, Hu Xiaoxian said, You, this person, always talk humming and hawing, hiding the head and show the tail; are you trying to worry nujia to death? Even if you could really confirm it, Taiji Pce has martial art masters like the cloud, the security is deep and tight. Although you, Xu Daxia are outstanding, since you dont know where Li Yuan is hiding the painting, you will be powerless. Dont just want to make nujia happy! Xu Ziling replied with a wry smile, You are teasing me to tell you everything. What I have promised you, I will do everything in my power to aplish it for you. Just wait for my good news! Hu Xiaoxian anxiously said, You havent told nujia who is it that you want me to charm? Xu Ziling stood up, spread out his hand and calmly said, That matter in temporarily cancelled. If there are more changes, I will let you know. Finished speaking, he wanted to leave, but Hu Xiaoxian pulled his sleeve and said with augh, I have a secret I want to tell you. Kou Zhong, in Cai Yuanyong identity, came back to the Situ Mansion, and found out that they had four strong servants. Upon asking Lei Jiuzhi about this, thetter said with augh, This way, I will look more like a housekeeper! Otherwise, when we have a guest, I would have to run errands. The one opening the door is me, pouring tea and serving water is also me; I would have to do everything. These four men were sent by Chen Fu, they are people from the same vige as our Furong Ye; in term of loyalty, there is no problem. The two entered the hall and met Ren Juns Situ Furong. Sitting around the table, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Did Song ErYe go to visit the beauty? Taken aback, Lei Jiuzhi said, Listening to the wording and the tone of your voice, it seems like you are hinting on something else. Kou Zhong said, Did you guys feel that after he went to Shang Meiren yesterday, Song ErYes entire being looked lively? Ren Jun said, Now that Kou Ye mentioned it, Xiaozi [kid] also feel the same way. Song Ye told me that only after running around the East and West, two Markets, did he find the printed cloth that he likes to be presented as a gift to Shang Changzhu. When he came back, he asked our opinion. Naturally Song Yes insight is too good for anybody to criticize. Thinking deeply, Lei Jiuzhi said, I wonder if this time we gain an unanticipated good oue of turning the willow into shade? If that is the case, it is indeed worthy of celebration. You and Xiao Ling will have one less load on your mind. Ren Jun was curious, What load on their mind? he asked. Acting on his seniority, Lei Jiuzhi said, Little kid need not mind grownups matter. But noticing Ren Juns disappointed look, his heart softened, he said, Ill tell you about itter, but right now our proper business is more important. What more important proper business? Kou Zhong asked. Lei Jiuzhi said, Yin Zuwen invites our Furong Ye to have dinner at Shang Ling Yuan tonight, to wash the dust from Furong Yes feet. Would you say that it is a more important proper business? Kou Zhong spoke in delight, Finally he fell into the trap! But then he frowned and said, In that case, wont that mean well have to push away Er Wenhuans Great Immortal game? Sneering, Lei Jiuzhi replied, You seem to forget your status? Furong Yes social affair, what bird business does it have to do with you, theckey who runs errands for him? Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Zongguans [manager] initial show of strength [immediately after taking office] toward neers is really formidable, Xiaorens insight is too shallow, I did not know how effortless and easy working to run errands is, only need to hide at home sleeping, or strolling around everywhere, visiting the casino in between and y a couple of hands. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, I am just saying that you guys only need to put on a fa?ade. When we are having big bowl of wine andrge chunks of meat inside, you guys can slip across the street to wait for the fish to bite the bait. This is precisely the natural color of greedy gambling addicts; they are definitely unwilling to miss any game of chance, I guarantee no one will suspect you. Ren Jun said, What Lei Ye wanted to ask Kou Ye is how am I going to cope with tonights affair? Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Very simple. You will reveal your ambition to get your hands on the casino business, but also show your usual cautious and suspicious style. Naturally you must fawn on Yin Zuwen to the best of your ability. About other things, youd better ask Ling Shao, he knows the overall n better than I do. https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Now it is resolute person scheming against resolute person; fortunately we know the crafty idea turning in their hearts, but they do not know the universe inside our sleeves, we are upying the ultimate upper hand. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, If Chi Shengchun is among the guests apanying us tonight, then we are not far from sess. There is another critical matter that I forgot to tell you. Da Ming Zun Jiaos Shan Mu Sha Fang and her more than a dozen disciples were murdered by Shi Zhixuanst night, and unexpectedly Shi Zhixuan said with his own mouth that Yang Xuyan is the Yuanzi. Lei Jiuzhi and Ren Jun were greatly astonished. After asking for rification, Lei Jiuzhi said, This matter will definitely cause a sensation over the entire city and shock the world. Kou Zhong said, Ill say no one is going to find out. In the time where they are sending the troops outside, the House of Tang will do everything they can to suppress this kind of information and will not divulge even half a bit of rumor, as if nothing has ever happened, to avoid rming the heart of the people. And then he sighed and said, Shi Zhixuan definitely cannot be underestimated; in just this one move, he already subdue and intimidate all factions of the demonic school, Wanwans situation will be even more dangerous. Knitting his brows, Lei Jiuzhi said, You are still excessively tolerant toward this Yaonu [female demon]? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, I am not excessively tolerant toward her, this is just a strategic need. Currently we are not in some ordinary Jianghu feud, but we fight openly and maneuver covertly in the struggle for the world. If we cast aside all misgivings, the first person who wants to kill her would be me, Kou Zhong, and indeed we exchange blowsst night. Her Tianmo Da Fa is very likely the bane-decreed-by-fate of my Eight Methods of the Well. His grannys! Hearing that, Lei Jiuzhi and Ren Jun looked at each other, unable to say anything. Book 48 12 – A Wine-lover’s Desire

Book 48 Chapter 12 C A Wine-lovers Desire

Xu Ziling sat back down, What secret? he asked. I shouldnt tell you this, Hu Xiaoxian replied, But seeing how you work hard with all your strength, giving thought to nujia, while not asking anything in return, nujia is touched and has no choice but to betray a friends secret to tell you, this good man. But you must promise not to harm nujias friend and her family. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was baffled; he said, Hu Xiaojie, please bestow your advice. Xiaojie ought to know that I have never harmed the innocents. Laughing sweetly, Hu Xiaoxian said, Naturally nujia trusts you. Isnt Shen Luoyan your old close [intimate] friend? Xu Ziling trembled inwardly, he said, I can only say she is a good friend. What exactly is going on? Hu Xiaoxian spoke with envy, To be able to have Xu Ziling admit with his own mouth that one is his close female friend is very rare, Xiaoxian definitely does not have this special favor, am I right? Xu Ziling did not know whether he ought to be upset or amused, they were all talking about their proper business, yet Hu Xiaoxian did not forget to be jealous of other people, while also wanted to strive for favor! Without any better option, he said, If someday someone ask me about my rtionship with you, Hu Xiaojie, I will give him the same answer. Hu Xiaoxian happily said, Nujia is really overwhelmed by favor [from superior], but you, this person, do you really have a heart of stone? Naturally Xu Ziling understood what she meant, but he was unwilling to be tangled muddily with her in this aspect, he spoke with serious expression, Unexpectedly this matter is rted to Shen Luoyan? Hu Xiaoxian leaned over a bit more and spoke softly, In Changan, there is a family influential for generations with utmost influence and power that is conspiring to deal with Shen Luoyan. One thing goes wrong, Li Shiji will be implicated. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, The Dugu n? Do you know the problem between them? Hu Xiaoxian asked. Sighing inwardly, Xu Ziling replied, Lets just say that I do! Dugu Ba was killed by Shen Luoyan in Luoyang. Ay! Originally, no one knew about this matter, but we leaked it out. If currently she really encounters the situation like you said, we will bear the main responsibility; therefore, we surely cannot sit back and watch. Hu Xiaoxian anxiously said, I can tell you that you can only resolve this matter in secret, you must not harm Dugu Familys people, because Dugu Feng [phoenix] is nujias best friend. If she did not tell me, I would never know that Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu had been purchased by Chi Shengchun with high price, furthermore, that he is using it as a betrothal gift to move Dies heart. It was only at this point did Xu Ziling understand the rise and fall of the terrain of the secret that Hu Xiaoxian was divulging, but he was also wary in his heart, because from the beginning Hu Xiaoxian was not candid and selfless. Fortunately, he gradually won her trust. Hu Xiaojie, please rest assured, he spoke sincerely. Hu Xiaoxian spoke heavily, I only heard some fish scale and bird w from what Feng Mei [younger sister] told me, they wanted to exploit Li Mis disloyalty to build a case against her, to drag Shen Luoyan down to the mud. If Shen Luoyan fell into the trap, they would make their move to take Shen Luoyans life. As for the details, nujia is not too clear. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that one wave has not subsided, another wave already arose, so that they were struggling to cope with it, yet they simply could not ignore it. Puzzled, he asked, Currently Li Shiji is an important minister in the House of Tang, a key general in the attack of Luoyang, while Dugu ns current fame and power has been substantially weakened, how could they dare to take the risk of offending Qin Wang by framing up Shen Luoyan? Hu Xiaoxian replied with solemn expression, Dont underestimate the Dugu n. Currently both the Dugu n and the Yuwen n are relying on help from Li Yuan. The rtionship among the three ns has always been very close, now the two ns know even more clearly that the only way to survive and to preserve their riches and honor and their power is to support Li Yuan with all their might. Just by looking at how Li Yuan could invite and move You Chuhong to enter the Pce to protect Zhang Jieyu, we know the closeness of their rtionship. With Zhang Jieyu behind them providing support to the Dugu n, plus Li Yuans misgivings toward Li Shimin, if they push the boat with the current, perhaps Li Yuan might condone the Dugu ns seeking revenge from Shen Luoyan. Once the criminal charge concerning Li Mis rebellion is thrown onto Shen Luoyans back, I am afraid even Qin Wang will be helpless to do anything, because Shen Luoyans loyalty toward Li Mi has already been known to everybody. Xu Ziling felt big headache. This matter could be big or could be small. He bade farewell and left. Contrary to Kou Zhong and the others expectation, Song Shidao came back, but instead of looking rxed and cheerful, his expression was heavy. Being tactful, Lei Jiuzhi and Ren Jun fabricated some excuse and left, so that it would be convenient for the two to talk in private. Song Shidao took the fragrant tea that Kou Zhong was pouring for him; absentmindedly he drank a mouthful and put down the cup onto the table, his pair of eyes staring nkly into the distance ahead. Kou Zhong was sure that he was not looking at anything in particr, he was just lost himself in deep thinking; Kou Zhong tried to probe, Shang Changzhu still refuse to forgive us? Song Shidao shook his head, still with nk expression on his face; he said, I say she already lost most of her anger to you. She is a woman with wisdom, and she understands you two very well, she ought to know that you must have difficulties. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was unable to make any sense of the matter; he could not help asking, Did ErGe have any chance to exin to her on our behalf? Song Shidao was still staring at a distance with empty eyes, lost in his own thought; he was speaking as if in a dream, I exined to her one time, she did not give me a definite answer, she only said she would think about it for a few more days. And then with an overflowing interest she discussed her favorite Lantian [county in Xian, Shaanxi, but could also mean blue (rice) field] jade with me. This kind of beautiful jade is the king among the jade, the jade color is warm in the winter, and cool in the summer. The texture is clean, solid and crisp, when it is struck, the sound is clear and resonant, the grain is colorful, absolutely beyond humanprehension. Ay! Xiuxun is surely a woman with good taste and good vision. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Listening to ErGe, the two of you should have an extremely congenial chat, why hey why Song Shidao looked at him as if it was the first time that he noticed Kou Zhongs presence; smiling bitterly, he said, So what if it was congenial? Kou Zhong did not dare to ask directly. Making insinuations, he said, Did Song ErGe see her in your real identity, or did you see her as Shen Wenjiang? Naturally in Song Shidaos true colors, Song Shidao replied, You dont want her to know Situ Furong affair, do you? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I cant help it! Howe Song ErGe look like hey look like you lost the joy of life? Could it be that with her words she was putting the me on you, ErGe? Did she like the printed cloth that you presented to her? Song Shidao stared nkly at him for half a day; shaking his head in grief, he said, Xiao Zhong, you misunderstood! Not only she loves the printed cloth I gave her very much, she even said that she would immediately sew it into a dress with her own hands and show it to me. When I left, she even invited me toe back tomorrow night to enjoy dinner together with her. We all are family, I dont want to conceal anything from you and Ziling, Xiuxun is the first good woman that can move my heart apart from your Niang. Kou Zhong remained puzzled after pondering over it a hundred times [idiom], he scratched his head and asked, Whats the problem then? Smiling ruefully, Song Shidao said, The problem is that I, Song Shidao am the Heavenly Saber Song Ques son, while also your, Kou Shaoshuais ErGe. Inwardly Kou Zhong was severely shaken; he immediately understood. Shang Xiuxun was the master of the Flying Horse Ranch, hence her first consideration had to be the survival of the Ranch. ording to the current development, it was extremely likely that the world would evolve into north-south confrontation separated by the river. South of the Great River would be Song Que and Kou Zhongs world. North of the Great River would fall under the Li ns House of Tangs sphere of influence. If Song Shidao and Shang Xiuxun became close friend [romantic connotation], while the Flying Horse Ranch was located north of the Great River, potentially it would be a thorn in the Li ns side, it would be difficult to escape the fate of being pulled out by the root. Song Shidao spoke dejectedly, You finally understand! Nodding helplessly, Kou Zhong said, When did ErGe think about this matter? Song Shidao replied, When I mentioned you guys to her, she said that she was under pressure. There wille a day where she will draw a clear dividing line with you. This time she came to Changan, it is because the leaderships of the Flying Horse Ranch are determined to establish friendly rtions with the Li n. By the way, the misunderstanding with you over Wanwan is just a small matter. Thats when I remember that I am Song Ques son. Its not appropriate for me to associate with her. This rtionship will only bring harm and pain to her. And then heughed sadly and said, My resolution toward your Niang is not firm enough. Originally I already made up my mind to apany Junchuo for the rest of my life in that secluded valley, but I am having three hearts, two minds, serving the Qin in the morning and the Chu in the evening. I should be punished. Kou Zhongs thoughts in a whirl, he cried in rm, ErGe must never entertain this kind of idea. If ErGe is seeking true love, Niangs soul and spirit in heaven will only be gratified. You apanying her by her grave will make her unpeaceful instead. Out of his wits, Song Shidao spoke nkly, Is that true? Recovering his senses, Kou Zhong patted his chest to guarantee, saying, Xiao Ling and I are Niangs representative in the world of the living, if you dont believe us, whom are you going to believe? Tomorrow night, you, Song ErGe are going to attend the banquet, act as if nothing had happened, talk with her about Lantian Jade in rxed and amiable atmosphere, talk with her about anything, just dont talk about us or about the political situation. Consider her as your close female friend. As for what will happen in the future, just let Niangs soul and spirit in heaven make the decision. Song Shidaos pair of eyes lit up, he nodded and said, Right! She now only sees me as a close friend with whom she can talk with, therefore, I need not be overly sensitive. Kou Zhong put down the load on his mind, but he was well aware that he had gained one more load on his mind; moreover, it could be a difficult problem that he was incapable of solving. He could not help thinking about Li Jianchengs interest toward Shang Xiuxun. If tomorrow night Li Yuan personally raise the engagement matter with Shang Xiuxun, would Shang Xiuxun, for the sake of the Flying Horse Ranchs future, wrong herself by epting this political business deal? This could be the real reason behind her remark about drawing clear dividing line with the two boys. Would Song Shidao be able to withstand another heavy blow after Fu Junchuos death? Xu Ziling urgently rushed back to the Passionate Nest. Hou Xibai was leisurely, pleased with his position C moving his brush on the Hundred-Beauty Painting inside his study room. Seeing Xu Ziling, he spoke cheerfully, Thanks to Zilings a little bit of reminder, now what my eyes see is the painting, what my heart sees is the painting, but it also seems that there is no painting. Indeed I feel peace and happiness and at ease, I have no time to think, I am not in the mood to think C unnecessary things. Xu Ziling sat down next to him, watching him putting colors on the beauties that he already sketched; he casually asked, Didnt Li Yuan appoint you to paint the beauties in his chambers of imperial concubines [i.e. harem]? Why does it look like you are building a cart behind closed doors [idiom: to be overly subjective and disregard the outside world] in here? Putting down his brush, Hou Xibaiughed and said, How could I build a cart behind closed doors? Besides, how could I let go of the opportunity to see the beauties in the Tang Pce? The beauties in the painting, I met them in person at the Pce and made a sketch of them. Not one of those beauties dared not to obediently listen to me, they even tried to curry favor with me in thousand ways, a hundred ns, for fear that I might draw an ugly picture of them, or perhaps I wouldnt give prominence to their strong points, or put them in obscure ce in the picture scroll. Ha! This is indeed an excellent order that is hard to seek. When did you go into the Pce? Xu Ziling asked. Hou Xibai proudly said, I can go into the Pce anytime I like, why did you ask? Is it rted to the theft of the painting? Xu Ziling replied, It could be rted to the theft of the painting; lets talk about it a bitter, we have two urgent matters right now, you must make your move to help. Hou Xibai said, Looks like Xiaodi is a bit useful. Ziling, please bestow your instruction. Xu Ziling said, First of all, I need you to investigate whether what Liu Wenjing told Chi Shengchun on Li Yuans behalf is true? This is a matter of grave importance; if before the theft Zhang Jieyu practically did not know about Han Lin Qing Yuan Tus existence, or perhaps she had not had any desire to look at this painting, then the treasured painting must be hidden inside Li Yuans art studio. Do you know what I mean? Hou Xibai sat down by Xu Zilings side, he nodded and said, It is indeed very important. Leave this matter to me. I am well known as an art lover, asking that kind of question will not raise anybodys suspicion at all. Let me ask that beauty Zhang Niangniang directly! So whats the second problem? Xu Zilings countenance sank, he said, Try to find a way to see Shen Luoyan, warn her that the Dugu n is going to use Li Mis conspiring in the dark to leave Changan to drag her down to the water. They might have Li Yuanji or Li Jianchengs support behind them. Tell her she must not fall into the trap. Emotionally moved, Hou Xibai said, This matter is even more important. Can you tell me more specific details so that she knows what to avoid? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Thats all I know. Remind her that the time when Li Mi formally volunteers himself for military service outside the Pass to gather his former subordinates to deal with Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande will be the time the danger ising. Before this thing happen, it would be best not to make any contact with either Li Mi or Wang Bodang. Hou Xibai asked, If she wants to see you, how do I answer her? Xu Ziling replied, Today until dusk, I should be at the Situ Mansion; if anything happens, you cane to see me, I will rush over here to see her. Hou Xibai said, I am leaving right away to handle these two things for you, I also need to investigate the shock of Sha Fangs death to the House of Tang. And then he lowered his voice and said, Thank you to both of you. Thank us for what? Xu Ziling quietly asked. Hou Xibai spoke slowly, Thank you that in order to steal the painting, you have spent considerable effort and racked your brains. Honestly, although we failed to steal it, I am still extremely grateful. Ay! If the painting is not in Jieyus chamber but inside Li Yuans study room, we can only give up. Besides, there areyer uponyer of multi-story buildings and pce halls at Li Yuans residence, he could put it anywhere. Even if there is nobody stopping us from searching, I am afraid we will still need a day or two to find it. Although I am crazy about paintings, but I am not a fool; there is no reason for me to drag you two to apany me throwing away my life. Xu Ziling smiled and said, I suddenly remember something. That night when I was trying to steal the painting, Chi Shengchun sprinkled some powder on the ground, if the sole of my feet ever touched it, they would be able to follow me relying on the scent. I wonder if you could find me such powder? Hou Xibai did not understand, What does it have to do with stealing the painting? he asked. Xu Ziling replied cheerfully, If Li Yuan really invites our Shen Ye to verify the authenticity of the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, this kind of power will be our beacon of hope while sailing in the night amidst the angry sea. Unless Li Yuan hides the painting inside a sealed room where air cannot circte freely. Hou Xibai pped the small table and eximed, Wonderful! He said, Zilings wisdom and scheming ability indeed surpass others. This stratagem is foolproof, because the ideal ce to hide the scroll of painting must be open, airy, with moderate humidity, it should not be stored in sealed indoor. Leave this matter to me; actually, I should say leave it to Lei Dage, because he is more capable than me. Do we still need to go into the Pce to find our way tonight? Should we be worry that we might beat the grass to scare the snake? Xu Ziling replied, Tonights tour to the Tang Pce is circumstances that require action [idiom: absolutely necessary], we simply must go, we do not dare not to go even more, otherwise how could our disgraced mechanism and civil engineering great master be willing to let us off? The two exchanged nces, which could onlye from their hearts, and then burst into heartyughter at the same time. Book 48 13 – Future Plan

Book 48 Chapter 13 C Future n

Xu Ziling was met by Lei Jiuzhi and was brought into the residence; along the way, he was introduced to the four new servants. Upon entering the hall, he saw Ren Jun, disguised as Situ Furong, standing in a corner with strange expression. Astonished, he asked, Whats the matter? Immensely proud of himself, Lei Jiuzhi said, Did you notice anything different on Furong Ye? Ren Jun revealed a helpless expression, indicating that Lei Jiuzhi forced him to stand over there, waiting to be inspected. Xu Ziling casually swept his gaze over, he smiled and said, Xiao Jun not only takes Situ Furong disguise, he also disguises himself as me; is that right? Ren Jun happily said, Xu Yes eyesight is really sharp, I was afraid you could not see through Lei Yes trick. Lei Jiuzhi proudly said, This is exactly a necessary course of action in response to martial art masters, hence I added some height to Xiao Juns boots, so that his height is more or less identical to Ling Shao. I also broadened his shoulders, so that when we need Ziling to take Situ Furong disguise back, no one will be able to see through. Xu Ziling understood the situation, being tactful, he praised him a few good words first before asking, Is there a way to make some kind of powder that can stick to the paintings silk fabric, but not only it wont be detected, it will also emit some kind of scent? Pointing to his own head, Lei Jiuzhi said with augh, This fellow can solve anything for you, but it would be best if you tell me the real situation first, otherwise, missing a hundredth of hairsbreadth might result in a thousand li error. Thereupon Xu Zilingid out his idea. Lei Jiuzhi only said, Let me think about it, and then he slipped away. Ren Jun came to Xu Zilings side and sincerely said, Xu Ye is indeed formidable, unexpectedly you cane up with this kind of unimaginable brilliant scheme. Xu Ziling smiled and said, You have been cooped up inside the house all day long, arent you bored? Shaking his head, Ren Jun said, How could I be bored? Every day, Xiaozi learn new things from two Qianbei. Kou Ye is resting in the bedroom, he asked that when Xu Ye arrives to immediately go see him. Wheres Song Ye? Xu Ziling asked. Lowering his voice, Ren Jun replied, Since he came back from seeing Shang Changzhu, Song Ye has been sitting nkly in the middle courtyards pavilion, we do not dare to disturb him. Xu Ziling felt uneasy. Nodding his head, he said, Let me see Kou Zhong first, then well talkter. Xu Ziling sat down at the edge of the bed. Kou Zhong, who was lying supine on the bed, using his arms as a pillow, saw himing, he sighed and said, I have two difficult problems I want to share with you. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Looking at how you are with a worried frown now, I know that your brain is full of recement-guaranteed-if-not-genuine difficult problems. Ay! Difficult problem, you said? I also have some. Kou Zhong got up and sat cross-legged, heughed and said, I said it first, so I have the priority. I havent told you this, but I had a fight against Wanwanst night. Xu Ziling understood that Kou Zhong did not want Hou Xibai to know about this matter, because it was rted to Shi Zhixuan. He said, What kind of formidability level has her virtuous-achievementse-to-their-sessful-conclusion [idiom] Tianmo Da Fa reached? I have not tested it thoroughly, Kou Zhong replied, But I have an extremely unclear feeling that her Tianmo Da Fa happen to be able to restrain my Eight Methods of the Well, just like water can restrain fire, that kind if immutable character of natural substances restraining each other. Xu Ziling said, Things may not necessarily be that serious, just because she understands our true qi, which uses the Long-Life Qi as its foundation, better than anybody else. Why did you fight anyway? It was she who forced me to fight in order to prove that only her Tianmo Field could trap Shi Zhixuan, Kou Zhong replied, Herein lies the difficult problem: will we cooperate with her, or will we refuse her? We must give her a definite answer today. We dont have time to drag this matter longer. Xu Ziling said, Perhaps it is because I have seen her miserable appearance when she was weeping with grief that I feel that she is still a human being with flesh and blood. This is the moment where she is confined in an on-all-sides-the-songs-of-Chu situation, whether it is for others or for ourselves, we ought to support her. Besides the cooperation is limited to dealing with Shi Zhixuan. Afterwards, we will no longer get involved in anything with her. Kou Zhong sighed and said, You sympathize with her, because you think Shi Zhixuan is the big bullying the small, but I have a feeling that most likely Wanwan is just another Shi Zhixuan, there wille a day where no one in the world will be able to control her. Xu Ziling stared fixedly at him for half a day. He said, Her performancest night must have made you palpitating a lot, am I right? The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shing, suddenly a hint of smile escaped from the corner of his mouth; he said, Arousing me is more like it. Her Tianmo Field is nimble, the fantastical changes, have deeply aroused my pursuit of the martial art way, just like Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin. All right! Lets just cooperate with her like you said, well make a fierce his Niangs bet. But if we fail to ambush and kill Shi Zhixuan, how are we going to respond? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, We will withdraw immediately. Furthermore, well abandon Situ Furong n, otherwise we might implicate a lot of people, because we will stir up Shi Zhixuans murderous intent that he will do whatever it takes to deal with us, and that is not a joking matter. Kou Zhong said, The first problem is solved. The other problem, Im afraid that even you will have the desire but not the power to solve it. And then he exined Song Shidaos concerns. Xu Ziling muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day. Noticing that Kou Zhong was staring nkly at him, he asked in astonishment, Why are you staring nkly at me like that? Kou Zhong dejectedly replied, I just wanted to know whether you will take this opportunity to persuade me to give up contending for hegemony over the world. Ay! Right now I have a terrible guilty conscience. This could be considered Song ErYes only chance to obtain happiness. If it hits a snag, he would lose interest in life, perhaps he might go to Niangs tomb and kill himself to die together in the name of love. That is something that I do not want to see the most. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Looking at the shape of how things are developing, if you give up your fight over the world, Luoyang will inevitably fall, Song Que might be so angry with you that in his discouragement he might tuck his hands inside his sleeves and no longer care about what happen in the Central Earth. Li Yuan might recall Li Shimin back to Changan, and assign Li Yuanji to preside over the general situation. Due to Luoyang obtaining Guanzhongs support, Dou Jiande and Liu Dage might be defeated without any chance of victory, Bashu will surrender to the Tang in ordance with the agreement. Like dominoes, the outstanding heroes all over the world will answer the call to surrender or maybe lose the war and their empire fall. Under such circumstances Li Shimin will definitely be assassinated by the demonic school people. At that time, if the House of Tangs world does not fall into the demonic schools hands, it will still be difficult to escape the fate of the invasion and conquest of the allied armies of the people beyond the Great Wall. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, This seems to be the first time that you are supporting me in the battle to unify the world? Xu Ziling replied with a bitter smile, I am simplyying down the fact. Looking at how Li Yuans lecherous weakness is being exploited by the demonic schools Yin Zuwen, also the Dugu n, the Yuwen n and the Li ns three-in-one situation, plus there is still Wanwan outside Shi Zhixuan, Li Shimin absolutely has no chance, Feixuans hope will fall through. Moreover, just like you said, under their system, Li Shimin practically has no way of gathering his troops to proim his independence; he is unwilling to do so anyway. Kou Zhong said, Supposing I can really kill Li kid and defeat the Tang Army, what would happen? The fire of war is merciless, Xu Ziling replied, If you dont kill me, then I will kill you. What else can Xiaodi say? But didnt you say that you only have the ambition to strive over the world and enjoy that kind of course of events, but you dont have any interest to be the emperor? Under permissible circumstances, Li Shimin can be let go, and in the future, let him be emperor and be done with it. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Listening to you, my heart is itching. Honestly, looking at how hard it is for Li Yuan to be the emperor, only an idiot would want to be the emperor, only too bad we have lunatic ravings. In light of the recent development, even if I can capture Jiangdu, it will still be difficult to escape the inferior position of the troops defeated, death in battle. Honestly, I dont see that I have any chance. Not to boost Li Shimins spirit, but in terms of strength and strategic deployment, there is still a gap between Li Shimin and me. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Because of the devastating setback you received from Li Shimin at Cijian, your mind suffers from pent-up frustrations and thus not only you underestimate yourself, you also underestimate your future father-inw Heavenly Saber Song Que. As long as you can hold up the current situation, when Song Que leads the southern main forces to go up north, the situation in the world will be reversed, it wont be entirely one-sided situation leaning heavily on the Li n. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly Song Que wille to help me. This matter is absolutely true, Xu Ziling replied, Shen Luoyan and Li Shimin told me so. Song Que is calling Lingnans various tribes Liliao Army, the training is underway. If from Lingnan they go up north by boat along the coastal area, they might arrive in a few months. Half believing, half doubting, Kou Zhong said, In that case, why didnt he, the Senior, immediatelye to help me? Xu Ziling said, After the troops are gathered, they still have to undergo training, which will need at least three months time, plus the boat journey, that will be more than four months. Therefore, the quickest the Lingnan main forces can rush over to help you will be in the tenth month. But Song Que is a great expert in military affairs, he absolutely will not advance north at that time. Kou Zhong blurted out, Why the dy? By that time, I, Kou Zhong, might have to rely on you to recover my remains from Li kid, to have you bury me by Niangs grave. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Zhong Shao, this is called you are so worried that your heart is in chaos. Southern people going to war in the north, in the first ce they must try to ovee the problem of water and soil [i.e. natural environment, climate]. In the north the tenth month is the beginning of the severe winter. In the frigid weather, the soldiers and generals military strength of the southern troops, which are not capable of enduring the bitter cold wind and snow, will be greatly reduced. Based on Song Ques intelligence, no matter what, he will wait for the warm spring and flowers blooming time to start the troops deployment. Only when that timees will he begin to inform you about this n. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Wont that mean I still have to endure for nine more months? Xu Ziling said, Then well see how long Luoyang will be able to hold out. I am willing to help you to obtain Jiangdu, and this is not an impulsive desire due to momentarily being moved emotionally, but it is a decision after careful deliberations. I dont want to fight Li Shimin, but I dont have that kind of scruple against Li Zitong. Kou Zhong stared nkly at him for half a day. Very well, he said, Whether our n to ambush and kill Shi Zhixuan seed or fail, as long as I dont die, I will immediately rush back to Pengliang and will do everything possible to subdue Li Zitong. Xu Ziling said, I am very happy that you recovered your fighting spirit, while not knowing whether it is a good fortune or a disaster. After our business here is done, I am going on a trip to Bashu, and then Ill go to Pengliang to meet with you. Kou Zhong said, That being the case, how are we going to solve the intractable problem between Song ErGe and Meirener Changzhu before our eyes? I am really afraid that because she is giving thought to the Ranch, Shang Xiuxun might give her body to Li Jiancheng. We definitely cannot tolerate this. Xu Ziling said, We will look for an opportunity to talk with Shang Xiuxun in an open-heart-sincere-meeting manner, hoping that she will dy making decision in this matter until Luoyang falls. Kou Zhong nodded and said, That is a way within no way, I hope Meirener Changzhu really incline her heart toward Song ErGe, then everything can be managed well. We seem to have solution to my two difficult problems; what about your side? What is your new problem? Xu Ziling told him everything concerning Hu Xiaoxians affairs, and then he said, If we can confirm that in stealing the painting Li Yuan is harboring other intention, we must change our grand n of stealing the painting, plus we will have to brave an even greater risk. Currently we are linking the two matters: stealing the painting and ambushing and killing Shi Zhixuan into one. If something goes wrong in either one of these two, we will have to pack our bag and leave before finish eating. Kou Zhong spoke in concern, If Li Yuan dispels his idea of having Song ErGeing to authenticate the treasured painting, or perhaps he waits several months for the rumor to pass before resuming this n, wont we be in a passive position of waiting foolishly? Xu Ziling answered affirmatively, My gut feeling says that within these next few days, Li Yuan is going to invite ErGe into the pce, because he has to make sure whether the famous painting in his hands is genuine or a reproduction, otherwise he will be aughingstock. If Song ErGe is really Shen Wenjiang, Li Yuan only needs to say one word, he will not dare to make thoughtless remark; therefore, there is no need for him to wait until the rumor dies down. The fact is that Hu Xiaoxian is extremely charming, no wonder Li Yuan is moved. However, whether he really has his heart on Xiaoxian, we still have to wait for Hou Gongzi to confirm. Kou Zhong was excited. He said, Tonight, we are going to explore the mystery of the underground tunnel leading into the pce, to find a path inside the pce. His Niangs, Yangzhous Shuanglong [twin dragons] and the Passionate Prince areing! Xu Ziling was not infected by his excitement, he spoke coldly, You ought to say Cao San ising! Cao San? Kou Zhong blurted out. Of course its Cao San, Xu Ziling replied, We are going to disguise ourselves as Cao San leading away a goat while passing by, taking away a national treasure from the Tang Pce. Next time stealing the painting will not be too unexpected; furthermore, he wont suspect that it is Song ErGe who is leaking the secret. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Wont that make Li Yuan strengthen his guard and increase his wariness even more? To us, it will only be harmful without any benefit. https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 Sneering, Xu Ziling said, You really think there will be any difference? In order to guard against Shi Zhixuan, also because of Sha Fang being murdered, Li Yuan already elevated the alertness inside the pce to the highest level; practically there wont be any difference. Kou Zhong breathed out a mouthful of air, he said, You, this kid, is even more extremely daring than me. I like to think that I am a soldier in the affairs of the heart [lit. love field], but you are the vanguard general in the affairs of the heart, my superior in the affairs of the heart. Ha! Not only Cao San has not escaped far away, he even steals things from the imperial pce, regarding the Li n as nothing. What kind of reaction will it provoke? Looking at the sky, Xu Ziling said, It will be dusk in a couple of sichen! Shall we go see Shang Xiuxun? Kou Zhong said, Xiaodi thinks that if you go alone, it will be a bit easier to talk to her. I am going to see Er Wenhuan, to tell him that we must cancel tonights gambling party. This is called in order to capture, one must let loose. Ill see what he is going to propose. For instance, if he is going to wait for us outside Shang Lin Yuan, wed better slip out across the street to gamble his Niangs a couple of hands, or things like that, pretending that we are finally persuaded by him, because greed has be second nature to Taihang Shuang Jie, plus they are men who only care about themselves. Xu Ziling said, In the end, you want me to face Meirener Changzhu alone, you want to put this ck pot on my back. Kou Zhong patted him on the shoulder and said, One lifetime two brothers, this is called group nning, group effort; it is also called division-ofbor cooperation! Right this moment, warning sign went off in the two boys heart, they looked at the bedrooms west window at the same time. Like a ghost, Wanwan was standing outside the window, smiling sweetly, her dazzling pretty eyes were fixed on the two boys. The two boys were shocked; their soul flew away and scattered. Book 49 1 – Contradictory Dispute

Book 49 Chapter 1 C Contradictory Dispute

There was a reason behind Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings shock, because this was their greatest fear. Last time they came to Changan for the Duke Yangs Treasure, if they were being uncovered, they, along with Gao Zhandao and the others, must withdraw immediately. Yet this time the implication was extensive. Undoubtedly Rong Da Da Yas Chen Fu and his men would bear the brunt. Once the conspiracy was unfolded, it would be difficult for Pingyaos Ou Liangcai and the others to escape disaster. Moreover, this was the moment when Li Yuan was having deep misgiving toward Li Shimin. Probably Li Jing would also meet disaster. Therefore, when they saw Wanwan outside the window only this moment, immediately the three immortal souls scattered, the seven mortal forms in chaos. [Note: in Taoism, three immortal souls represent spirit and intellect, seven mortal forms represent carnal life and desires.] They were being extremely careful in covering up this aspect, exhausting all methods, yet they had never thought that in the end Wanwan was able to see through. The worst thing was that until this moment they still did not know where the leak was? Moreover, if Wanwan was able to do this, then Shi Zhixuan, who was watching in secret, would also be able to do the same thing. While the two boys scalp went numb, they were dumbstruck and unable to reply, Wanwan floated in through the window and sat at the end of the bed without any trace of politeness, the corner of her mouth hid the springtime, she said, Two gentlemen boyfriends, how are you? Have your considerations bore any fruits? Looking straight at her, Kou Zhong took a deep breath to ease his horrified, tumultuous mind, he spoke heavily, How did you find out? Xu Ziling shifted his position so that he was now sitting facing her, lightning shot out of his pair of eyes toward Wanwan, in his heart he was thinking that the only solution now was to hope that Wanwan was the only one who knew about Operation Situ Furong, and then the two of them would join hands and do whatever it took to stake everything and to sustain injuries to kill her to shut her mouth; otherwise, in the future, she would lead them by the nose. He was certain that the same thought has appeared in Kou Zhongs mind. He was not sure whether Kou Zhong could harden his heart, but he knew for sure that he would be able to do it. Wanwan raised her fragrant eyebrows slightly, she spoke with ease, A hundred secrets one negligence, a sages thousand considerations, there must be one failure, not to mention Waner already knew that you guys have some other conspiracy. The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes red up suddenly, but he quickly held it back. Sighing dejectedly, he said, Looks like you are unwilling to tell us where we made the mistake! Aplex emotion emerged in Wanwans pretty eyes, she cast a faint nce toward Xu Ziling, before her gaze returned to Kou Zhong, and then she spoke softly, Exactly the opposite. I originally did not n on telling you, but now I changed my mind, I decided to immediately dispel your misgivings, so that you can feel relieved. Will you trust me just once? Even if you refuse to help me, Wanwan will definitely not betray you. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Why did you suddenly change your mind? Wanwan moved her gaze toward the garden outside the window, sighing slightly, she said, Just now I was trying to test you, to see if you would kill people to shut their mouth. When I entered the room, I was really taking a great risk, yet under such circumstances you guys are still unwilling to strike me treacherously. People are not nts that can be heartless. Waner is touched by you! Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other, because it was hard to fathom whether her words were genuine or fake, so they felt useless to the extreme point, like a meat on the chopping block, in the wretched passive state just waiting to be ughtered. Wanwans soft voice continued, Your leak is Shang Xiuxun, which is also your only unwise move. I was guessing that you would look for her to exin, only I never thought that the one acting on your behalf was the Song Familys Er Gongzi [second young master]. Following his track was a lot easier than following you, these two crafty-like-a-ghost kids! Plus when he left Shang Mansion earlier, his heart was filled with worries. The two boys suddenly saw the light. This was certainly one negligence in their hundred secrets. But they were relieved at the same time, because Shi Zhixuan definitely did not know what happened between them and Shang Xiuxun, hence, unlike Wanwan, he could not possibly watch Shang Xiuxuns tracks and whereabouts to wait for the two boys to take the bait. Noticing the two boys were looking at her with nk, bird-head expression, Wanwan smiled and said, I really will not betray you, I wont take advantage of this matter to threaten you even more, because what good would it bring Waner? Besides, even if there is a gargantuan benefit, I dont want that in the future you will consider me as not only an enemy with whom you have unresolvable enmity, but also an extremely despicable person. The two began to see Wanwans sincerity. After exchanging a nce, Kou Zhong said, Seeing how well-behaved you are, we want to pay you back. Last night we visited the Yin Mansion, we heard Yin Zuwen and your honorable sects Wen Caitings conversation. Yin Zuwen pointed out that since its hard for you to forget the hatred of getting your master killed, it is unfavorable toward the unification of your holy schools Two Sects Six Ways, so he proposed to rece you with Bai Qinger. It seems that Wen Caiting is already leaning in that direction, she said that Bian Bufu, Pi Shouxuan, two men both support Bai Qinger. As long as Shi Zhixuan is willing to harden his heart to kill his daughter, Yin Gui Pai will acknowledge allegiance to Shi Zhixuan. Xu Ziling added, Yin Zuwen thinks that if they could capture you alive, he will have a way to force you to hand over the Tianmo Jue. Wanwans countenance remained tranquil, her pair of eyes dropped down, she spoke indifferently, You guys indeed possess great magical power, unexpectedly you can see through Yin Zuwens identity. Kou Zhongughed and said, This is perhaps what is called heavens has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it [idiom from Laozi, fig. the way of Heaven is fair, but the guilty will not escape]. A hint of disdain seemed to appear at the corner of Wanwans mouth, she sneered and said, What heavens? What Mandate of Heaven [or destiny, fate]? Taishi Gong [Lord (Duke) Grand Historian, Sima Qian] early on sighed about Bo Yi and Shu Qi; benevolent people might not die a good death, while the one whose hands were filled with the reek of blood and sins obtained virtuous end? He himself suffer the punishment of castration, could not have sexual intercourse [orig. human way]. The so-called heavens, the Mandate of Heaven, is but nothing! Its just a hypocrites, whose mouth is full of benevolent and righteousness C big talk to cheat people into very. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, I was just speaking without thinking the matter through, there is no opinion in my heart, yet you seem not to take the people-rebelling-and-friends-deserting [idiom: to find oneself utterly isted], on-all-sides, the-songs-of-Chu [idiom: surrounded by enemies, isted and without help] situation to heart? Wanwans pair of eyes was fixed on Kou Zhong, she spoke slowly, After Zhu Shi died, Wanwan no longer has any close rtives. Within the holy school, only the strong will be called the king. As for killing Shi Zhixuan, the other people are afraid I dont have enough time, how could they dare toe to provoke me? Now the final decision is in your hands, if you are obstinately clinging to your course, I have no choice but to find another way, but I still will never uncover your shady business. Herst sentence gave the two boys very good opinion on her. Turning to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong asked, Ling Shao, what do you say? Xu Ziling replied, Something that I already promised, I never consider that it does not count. Wanwan was pleased beyond her expectation, her tender body shivered lightly, she said, Shi Zhixuan will definitely die! Whats your n? Kou Zhong said, We hope to have some reservations at this point. What we can tell you is that we know Shi Zhixuan has another identity in Changan, hence we are waiting for a certain fortunate timing toe, to force Shi Zhixuanpletely without any way out, so we can ambush him at the only way out he can flee for his life. However, well have to wait until just before that moment to tell you about the detailed n. At that time you will understand the reason why we appear to guard our mouth like a closed bottle, because it involves too many secrets of ours. Wanwan nodded and said, Its very fair. The two of you are currently the ones that Waner barely dare to trust, I do not have the slightest worry that you will harm me. For the convenience of this operation, is it all right if nujia temporarily stay here? The ambient here is not bad, I guarantee that my subordinates will not find me here. Just by hearing what she said, the two boys knew that she already knew clearly the situation of the Situ Mansion. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Dont you have a ce to stay? When the timees tomence the operation, we will notify you. Wanwans countenance remained tranquil, she said, Of course I have a ce to stay, but I do not dare to tell you. Who can guess how our rtionship will develop in the future? I dont want to worry all day when you are going to drop by to give me bad luck. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Its up to you, Dajie! But your words reveal a precious information that I hope we wont have to use against you in the future. Wanwan cast a deeply meaningful nce toward Xu Ziling, she sighed and said, The matter of the future, well talk about it in the future! Presently I am in an on-all-sides, the-songs-of-Chu situation, while you, two gentlemen, are the only ones I can barely trust to depend on, I have no choice but to hide here temporarily to lie low. The two boys suddenly understood. Because Wanwan heard the information that the people of her own sect were conspiring to deal with her, she sensed the danger, hence she had no choice but to abandon her original hiding ce and her identity. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, There is another important information that we might as well tell you. Last night Shi Zhixuan personally made his move, not only to kill Shan Mu Sha Fang, he also wiped out her entouragepletely. Wanwan was slightly startled, she revealed a thoughtful look. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to ask, Who is Da Zun? Wanwan cast her gaze toward him, she muttered to herself irresolutely a little bit, and then she said with a sigh, If I tell you, it would be no different than betraying the holy school! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You are still not as smart as Shi Zhixuan,st night he told Ling Shao that Yang Xuyan is some his grannys Yuanzi. Da Ming Zun Jiao is really not one faction within your holy school, furthermore, the holy school people are supnting you, you still want to bicker about his Niangs so-called yiqi [spirit of loyalty and brotherhood]. You stubbornly preserving the aplishments of previous generations like this, I, Kou Zhong, will be the first person not to have a good opinion on you. Wanwan smiled and said, Yang Xuyan and Da Ming Zun Jiao are simply exploiting each other. Da Ming Zun Jiao requires Yang Xuyan to help them setting their feet in the Central ins, while Yang Xuyan just takes a fancy to Da Ming Zun Jiaos Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing. Both sides work together for their own benefit, the so-called Yuanzi is just in name without any substantive significance. Yang Xuyan will never be Da Ming Zun Jiaos believer, and Da Ming Zun Jiao will never consider Yang Xuyan as their people. Kou Zhong knew that it would be difficult to fish any useful information from Wanwans mouth that would enable them to advance one step further. Looking at the sky, it was already the time when the sun was setting over the western hills, they already missed the time to see Shang Xiuxun today. Heughed and said, Well be back tonight to y tricks with you. Presently we have important matters waiting to be dealt with. Wan Meirener may take a good rest here. Wanwan cast him a sidelong thousand-tenders-a-hundred-charms-hooking-the-soul nce; she said, I am very busy too! See you tomorrow morning! Finished speaking, she left through the window. After Wanwan departed, the two boys you look at me I look at you, they both had a feeling of a good fortune or a disaster were difficult to foresee. This moment, Lei Jiuzhi, leading Hou Xibai along, arrived. Noticing the two boys expression, the former said in astonishment, What happened? Howe you are not talking, and your expression is wooden? You are not having a row, are you? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Our grand n to punish the Xiang this time is already discovered by Wanwan and she raised the rm. It would be extremely extraordinary if we are not scowling miserably. Immediately Lei Jiuzhi and Hou Xibais countenance changed. After giving them exnation, Xu Ziling said, This matter has not reached the mountain-and-river-exhausted degree yet, but we must have a n to meet a contingency. Lei Jiuzhi finally understood the situation clearly. He nodded and said, There are two kinds of retreat: full retreat and partial retreat. Ill go to consult Song Ye, so that he wont have time to indulge in flights of fancy. Xu Ziling called him back, asking, Is there any progress on that gadget? Lei Jiuzhiughed aloud and said, Dont forget whose disciple I am. How about tomorrow morning delivery? Ha! He left with aughter. Hou Xibai walked over to sit on the edge of the bed where Wanwan sat just now, he said, If you can retreat, I guarantee that Wanwan wont dare to betray you, because it does not have any advantage to her whatsoever. By the way, you seem to have a hundred-percent confidence that you know Shi Shis hiding ce, is that right? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, You can say that. But its not a hundred-percent; it will depend on Laotianyes will to give us direction before we can make decision. Hou Xibai shook his head with wry smile, he said, Am I making two gentlemen feel that Xiaodi is very troublesome? Kou Zhongughed and said, Not troublesome but contradictory. Because the sharpestnce and the strongest shield are striking each other, so the ending will be thence breaks and the shield shatters; with nonce and no shield, there is no contradiction. Your contradiction is your Shizun Shi Zhixuan, with whom you have both enmity and benevolence. With him, the Senior, alone, you are ying two roles; if you get rid of him, the whole world will be at peace. Its that simple. Laughing involuntarily, Hou Xibai said, Zaixia does not need you to exin, simply because after Ziling reminded me that the way of the painting is the way of the martial art, my heart is already free, my spirit rxed. Only I am afraid you are underestimating Shi Shis intelligence and scheming ability; one thing goes wrong, he will bite you back. Furthermore, you must be careful that you guys plus Wanwan may be the worlds sharpestnce, but Shi Shi is definitely the strongest shield; a strong shield that has never been broken by anybody. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling said, Have you aplished those two things? Hou Xibai replied, I went to see Luoyan first, the servant said that she was summoned by Zhang Jieyu into the pce, I am afraid she will stay there for a few days. Why does your expression be so unsightly? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, This is very likely the first step of the operation to deal with her. Did you push further into the pce to see her? Hou Xibai shook his head and said, I went to the pce to ask an audience with Zhang Niangniang, but her number one court eunuch Zheng Gonggong said that she was apanying Huangshang ying chess, hence I could not see Luoyan, naturally I did not have the opportunity to inquire the Han Ling Qing Yuan Tus whereabouts. Xu Ziling said, When we enter the pce tonight, we must find a way to notify Luoyan. Why is it that giving up is easy, obtaining is hard? Kou Zhong said, Isnt Li Yuan going to host a banquet to entertain Meirener Changzhu? Shen Luoyan is definitely going to be one of the apanying guests. We could ask Meirener Changzhu to warn Shen Luoyan; wont that work? Toote! Hou Xibai said, When I was leaving the pce, I happened toe across Shang Xiuxuns convoy entering the pce; she even stopped and lifted the curtain to speak to me a bit. Ay! Listening to the tone of his voice, the two boys knew that it could not possibly be good news. You look at me I look at you, they were speechless. Hou Xibai spoke in low voice, She said she is not going to me you anymore, but from now on you need not look for her. When she said that, her eyes were revealing a sad and lost, helpless look. Smiling wanly, Kou Zhong said, Everything you told us is bad news; dont you have any news that will make us happy? Hou Xibai said, Do you think I dont want to give you good news? Too bad things turn out contrary to the way we wish. The imperial pce guard is significantly strengthened, I was with pce supervisor Wei Gonggong waiting closely upon me, hence I did not dare to inquire about the treasured painting to anybody. After all, I am Shi Zhixuans disciple. Now that Shi Shi has just stricken and killed Sha Fang, Li Yuan must guard against me, no matter what. Whos Wei Gonggong? Xu Ziling asked. [Fun fact: Eunuch Wei C exact same characters as Wei Xiaobao in Jin Yongs Deer and Cauldron.] Hou Xibai replied, Wei Gonggong was serving Yang Jian during the Old Sui, afterwards he followed Yang Guang. He is the chief of the court eunuchs with the highest and most powerful martial art skill. When Yang Di was assassinated, he was in Jiangdu; he relied on his martial art skill to break the siege and escape, henceforth he came to Li Yuan to seek shelter, who promoted him to be the inner pces supervisor. All the court eunuchs in the pce, big and small, are under his supervision. Kou Zhong said, To be able to break the siege and escape under such circumstances, this person must have some real skill. We have seen Yang Guang at Jiangdu, there was no such person that look like that. Hou Xibai said, Wei Gonggong maintains a low profile, which is precisely why Li Yuan likes him. Wei Gonggongs martial art skill was trained by Yang Jian himself, and he had the heavy responsibility of protecting Yang Jian. Honestly, looking at him horizontally, looking at him vertically, I dont feel anything special about him, but just this skill of the sage presents as an ordinary person [idiom] is enough to make people sense that he is deep and immeasurable. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Yuwen Shang, You Chuhong, Wei Gonggong, plus several qianbei, renowned experts who left the mountain toe and help Li Yuan, when we enter the pce, once our track falls through and stands exposed, there will only be death without any chance of living. Kou Zhong said, Our entering the pce tonight is absolutely necessary, we will change ording to the situation! Xu Ziling nodded in agreement; turning to Hou Xibai, he said, I wonder if Xibai Xiong can check something else for us? See if Li Mi has already formally proposed to Li Yuan about him leaving Changan. That should be a bit easier, Hou Xibai replied, Ill take care of it immediately; see you tonight! After Hou Xibai left, the two muttered to themselves irresolutely without saying anything. Xu Zilings heart was extremely uneasy. The chance that Wanwan would betray them was not great, but it gave him a sense of crisis. For example, with Shi Zhixuans eyesight, plus he knew that Xu Ziling was in Changan, surely he could see in a nce that Taihang Shuang Jie were him, Xu Ziling, and Kou Zhong. Therefore, they must not give Shi Zhixuan this opportunity. The terrible thing was that Shi Zhixuan would definitely try his best to find out the purpose to his visit to Changan. Furthermore, he issued a clear warningst night, if Xu Ziling did not leave Changan, he would not be responsible for not showing mercy. Therefore, before any of these happen, he must ambush and kill Shi Zhixuan. The question to them was whether the treasured painting was in Zhang Jieyus fragrant chamber, or was it inside Li Yuans study room? Before they knew for certain, they could only wait passively for the opportunity of Li Yuan summoning Shen Wenjiang to inspect the painting. Hou Xibais worry was reasonable. One thing went wrong, they would nurse grievance in Changan, and their grand n would be done for. Shi Zhixuan indeed had tricks and ability and wisdom that ghosts and deities could not fathom. What are you thinking? Kou Zhongs voice came into his ears, Your brows arepletely knitted, giving me a picture of what youll look like when you are old. Xu Ziling sighed dejectedly, he asked in return, What are you thinking? Kou Zhong was staring at the tip of his own feet; he shook his head and said, I am sure I am thinking of a different thing from you. Ay! I am thinking that my defeat at the battle of Luoyang was justified; I deserve to lose, because Li Shimins brilliance nearly reached the stage where he can make people tremble. He chose to move his troops in the sixth month; even if Song Que received the news and immediately maneuver his troops, he still cannot start moving before the tenth months winter arrives, because their arrival will be in the middle of the winter, which is disadvantageous to the southern people to deploy the troops. Therefore, he has to wait until next years warm spring and flowers bloom to set off. Hence Li Shimin could take advantage of these nine months to capture Luoyang, and then raze Pengliang to the ground. His grannys! This kids method is certainly ferocious and ruthless. Xu Ziling said, Unnecessarily sacrificing your life is meaningless, why dont you consider retreating back to Lingnan, pacify the south first, and then make a n to cross the river? Kou Zhong said, That is not the style that I, Kou Zhong like. If I have to lose, then I lose! But if I win, I want an elegant, glorious victory. Ling Shaos suggestion might save my life, but it will likely put me in a passive situation where I will be caught in frequent defeat and disperse for a period of time. Furthermore, there is no need for Li Shimin to decide victory or defeat on the battlefield with me. As long as Bashu surrenders to the Tang, the entire area north of the Great River will fall into the Lis Tangs hands. If we could preserve the area south of the Great River, that would be quite good. But how could I bear to see the Central Earth returning to the North-South confrontation situation, and thus giving the Tujue the opportunity to attack? It will be either I unify the world, or Li kid obtains the world. Therefore, I decided to defend Pengliang to the death, until the moment Song Ques reinforcement troops arrive. I will undertake this matter alone; I wont let you intervene in the life and death battle between Li kid and me. At this time, Lei Jiuzhi arrived to tell them that the time to go to Shang Lin Yuan has arrived. Book 49 2 – The Assembly of the Upper Forest

Book 49 Chapter 2 C The Assembly of the Upper Forest

The carriage left thene of the district to join the stream of people and carriages and horses, slowly galloping toward Shang Lin Yuan [reminder: Upper Forest Park], with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, in their Taihang Shuang Jie identity as the drivers, carrying Lei Jiuzhi, three men inside. Watching the bustling scene of Changan under the illumination of the decoratednterns, which had just been ignited, the two boys were overwhelmed with emotional stirring. Kou Zhong leaned closer and said, After the battle of Liyang, I had just sent Xiuning Gongzhu [princess] off, that night I felt extreme loneliness and destion that made me nearly cry. Bubbling up in my mind was everything that went wrong, I felt that I have let other people down even more. I just wanted to kneel and ask forgiveness to Yuzhi, Xiufang, Chuchu That kind of suffocating pain. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Have there been simr situation afterwards? Kou Zhong shook his head with nk expression on his face. Smiling ruefully, he said, How could I have the time? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I thought so. It was because Li Xiuning evoked the feeling buried deep in your heart that this weakness surfaced. Afterwards, you might be a man with the heart of stone, no longer under control of your own emotion; in everything, you will have victory as your goal. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Your analysis is very strange, but I feel that I am still the same person, only my mind is shifted toward the war, I have no time for anything else. Xu Ziling said, Last night I had a strange feeling. Listening to Shi Zhixuan, witnessing his ruthlessness in massacring Da Ming Zun Jiao people, I felt I was no longer able to use the orthodox-heretic definition to determine what kind of person he is. But I was certain that in order to achieve his goal, he would, by fair means or foul, disregard everything that hinders or entangles him, believing that his action is morally right if the majority of people benefit from it. His only w is the deep affection he has toward Bi Xiuxin, which he has been unable to sever. If he did not have this weakness, he would have done everything in his power to get rid of mest night, to not allowing us any chance to scheme against him. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Are you implying that in order to seek sess, I will have to do everything in my power and be a ruthless person? Xu Ziling replied solemnly, War is to seek victory by doing whatever it takes; since you already chose this contending-for-hegemony path, you must follow the rules of this game; otherwise, you might as well go home and sleep. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, I will never be that kind of person. In fact, in term of emotion, I am very vulnerable. Xu Ziling said, You were just being vulnerable for one night, ay! How could you, this kid, be this muddleheaded? If you are really vulnerable, you would not have let Shang Xiufang go to Gaoli, you would not have passed through the doorway withouting in to avoid seeing Chuchu; furthermore, you would not have disregarded Song Yuzhis wish not to drag the Song n into the conflict, also, you would not have be enemies with Li Xiuning. After selecting the unifying-the-world as your desire, you have never flinched under this big question. Kou Zhong stared nkly in deep thought for a moment; he spoke with pained expression, Am I really a man with the heart of stone [orig. iron and stone heart and intestine]? Xu Ziling replied, Frankly, you are not that formidable yet, hence the reason I have been worried about you. Kou Zhong said, I dont want to be that kind of person at all; do you think I made the wrong choice? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Only Laotianye knows. Coming to Changan this time, what I see and hear have thoroughly changed my way of thinking, my previous convictions, a lot; I even doubt the correctness of Feixuans choice of Li Shimin. Because in light of the current development, Li Shimins victory would only give convenience to the demonic school or the Tujue people. And then he shook his head and added, I dont know! Oh! We are here! Ren Juns Situ Furong, Song Shidaos Shen Wenjiang, and Lei Jiuzhi as the Housekeeper, were received politely by Shang Lin Yuans receptionist, and were led into the Park. Following instruction, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling parked the carriage in a corner of the vast square. As they fetched water and fodder to take care of the horses, the two boys could not help thinking fondly of their beloved horses Thousand-Li Dream and Ten-thousand-Li Spots. To avoid risk, the two darling colts were left outside the Pass. Kou Zhong said, I wonder which hallowed figure Shang Lin Yuans big boss is? And who might be the supporter behind their back? Xu Ziling said, If you want to know that kind of things, you ought to ask our Hou Gongzi. This moment, there was a carriage galloping into Shang Lin Yuan. Sweeping his gaze, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, This kids character wont change even if he died; he is still engrossed in living a life of music and song every night. Following his gaze, Xu Ziling looked over, he saw a gorgeously dressed, hedonistic-son-of-rich-parents-style figure, That fellow looks very familiar? he asked. He is the Sha Familys Er Shaoye [second young master] Sha Chenggong, Kou Zhong replied, Together with Sha Chengjiu, one is a gambling addict, one loves to visit prostitutes. Fortunately, they still have the San Shaoye [third young master] Sha Chengde supporting the family business. Xu Ziling said, Its almost time, Ill go see Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan, you stay here to monitor the general situation. Theres nothing to do here, Kou Zhong hurriedly said, All I can do is just asking the bird toe out. Let mee with you. Absolutely not, Xu Ziling replied, Because I am going to tell them that tonight we are up to our ears in work; if unexpectedly both of us are able to slip out, it would be strange indeed if they are not suspicious. Brother! Be patient! Finished speaking, heughed and left. Kou Zhong was so upset that his mind returned to the battle of Luoyang. After leaving Cijian, he tried his best not to think about this matter but focused his mind on Shi Zhixuan instead, because he threatened his brother, Xu Zilings life. This matter was more important than the contention over the world. Therefore, although this moment Luoyang was caught in deep water and scorching-fire situation, he still had to put everything behind him and go to Changan to deal with Shi Zhixuan. When his business here was done, he must immediately rush back to Pengliang to receive Yang Gongqings men and horses withdrawing toward Pengliang, and then, following the rules of the game, he would do everything he could to seize Jiangdu from Li Zitongs hands, a ce with which he was most familiar. However, his by-hook-or-by-crook approach was targeted at the enemy only; toward the innocentmon people, he definitely could not harden his heart. This was his bottom line and his principle. Thinking to this point, he heard footstepsing from behind. Listening to the intensity of the power, it ought to be an expert. Kou Zhong deliberately waited until the neer got close before he pretended to be startled and turned around to look. In just one nce he was certain that the other side was Chi Shengchun. Although he was taller and bigger than Xiang Yushan, with that kind of self-confidence, clear and slim body and soul, he had about 40-, 50% simrity with him. His bearing elegant, without any Jianghu boorish manner, a confident, seasoned smile was hanging on the corner of his mouth, a clear sign that he was sociable. He could not be considered handsome, but his appearance was amiable and pleasing to the eye. Seeing Kou Zhong turning around and sizing him up, Chi Shengchun cupped his fist and said with augh, This gentleman must be Cai Xiong, whose name shook Taihang! Xiaodi Chi Shengchun; howe I dont see Kuang Xiong? Noticing Chi Shengchun was without any attendants, free and easy, Kou Zhong suddenly understood that Chi Shengchun must have walked over from the Six-Happiness Casino across the street. But he still could not figure out why he was trying to curry favor with Kou Zhong? Pretending to be shocked, he hastily cupped his fist to return the greeting and said, Turns out its the Six-Happiness Da Laoban Chi Ye. Our Furong Ye is inside. As for Wentong, he has something to do and had toe back. Chi Shengchun walked over toward Kou Zhong in easy manner. Lowering his voice, he said, Yesterday I heard Er Wenhuan Daren mentioning Cai Xiong and Kuang Xiong, the two Daren admire two gentlemen very much, saying that two gentlemen are good in making friends. I, Chi Shengchun love to make friends with heroes and real men the most. Come! Lets get inside the Park to talk. When you are in Changan, how could you hang around outside Shang Lin Yuans door withouting in? Kou Zhong assumed an overwhelmed-by-favor-from-superior look; humming and hawing a little, he spoke in embarrassment, This hey! I dont know if that will be all right? Currently Xiaodi is working for Furong Ye, hey! Chi Shengchun pulled him toward the door, he spoke cheerfully, I have admired Situ Xiongs reputation for a long time, I aming tonight precisely to get a glimpse at Situ Xiongs elegant manner. As far as Im concerned, Situ Xiong is a friend. Cai Xiong and Kuang Xiong are also my friends. If Cai Xiong have something in Changan that Xiaodi can help, please feel free to ask, Xiaodi will do it for Cai Xiong. Formidable, Kou Zhong cried inwardly; Chi Shengchuns skill in winning other people over was straightforward and enthusiastic, if he were the real Cai Yuanyong, it would be strange indeed if he would not be ted and surrenderpletely receiving such ttery, which was delivered with respect and honor. The people they met along the way, whether Shang Lin Yuan staffs or other guests, none did not greet and pay respect to Chi Shengchun. Evidently Chi Shengchun had a vastwork of friends, he was smooth and slick in establishing social rtions. Chi Shengchun said with augh, Dont think that the City of Changan is so big, but any wind blowing or grass moving, it will immediately spread widely across the whole city. Guanzhong Jian Pais men love to meddle in other peoples business the most, Xiaodi included, a lot of people already cannot stand by idly and watch. Qiu Wensheng, that old fart [orig. old but still alive] relies on his own first disciple Duan Zhixuan working under Qin Wang, he is arrogant and despotic, relying on strength to go on the rampage. I am not using frightening words to scare people, but that day, although the Guanzhong Jian Pais men were forced to say that they wont harass two Laoxiong anymore, I am so sure they cannot take this resentment, after all, Changan is their territory. This is called fierce tiger is not as good as local bug. Cai Xiong must be careful. Kou Zhong came to realize that their Taihang Shuang Jie have already been drawn into the internal struggle in the City of Changan. The reason Er Wenhuan was willing to let Xiao Xiuming and Xie Jiarong go was because he wanted to catch the even bigger fish; the ultimate goal was naturally to grab Qiu Wenshengs weakness, and destroy the entire Guanzhong Jian Pai, so that Li Shimin became isted and without help. Assuming a frightened expression, he spoke heavily, What the hell do they want from us? This moment the two were stepping into the middle garden. Chi Shengchun pulled Kou Zhong toward the lotus pond on the side. He stopped and then spoke with serious expression, Qiu Wenshengs conduct is vicious and merciless, he would act as soon as he made up his mind, it could be said that you cant guard against it. I, Chi Shengchun, have always been dissatisfied with the way he is running amok, plus toward Cai Xiong, I have familiarity at first sight. This matter, I cannot simply sit idly and watch. Later on, let me discuss this matter carefully with two Daren, as long as we could have Qi Wang acting on two gentlemens behalf, I guarantee Qiu Wensheng will have to pack his bag and leave before he finishes eating. Ha! Its not appropriate to talk about such a blot-on-thendscape matter tonight, let us enjoy ourselves to the full and appreciate Changans number one famous courtesan Ji Qians singing art first, tomorrow I will have good news to tell Cai Xiong. Suddenly hearing the name Ji Qian, Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly, but was also d that Xu Ziling was not being forced by Chi Shengchun to attend the banquet. Chi Shengchun pulled him to continue walking while saying, When Kuang Xiong is back from his business, the gatekeeper will let him in. We will all chat in cheerful and optimistic atmosphere tonight, no one is allowed to go home before drunk. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, Ji Qian had a close rtionship with Xu Ziling, if, based on womens keen intuition toward men, she was able to see through him, then in the meeting this time they would surely fall head first. Inside the restaurant, finished listening to Xu Zilings excuse, Er Wenhuan said with augh, Forgive me for speaking forthrightly, in Changan, Situ Laobans safety will have no problem. The City Guards and I have actually paid our visit. Unless its Song Queing personally, otherwise, ha! Qiao Gongshan joined in, Currently the Song Family is too busy to care about other things, the threat toward Situ Laoban must be empty words, Kuang Xiong need not take it to heart. On the other side, Kuang Xiong and Cai Xiong must watch for other people plotting against you. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Other people are plotting against us? Leaning forward a little, Er Wenhuan lowered his voice and said, ording to the rumor we heard, Guanzhong Jian Pais people are harboring evil intention, they determine to put two gentlemen to death; in this matter, they still need Qin Wangs Tian Ce Fus peoples support. Once they make their move, it will be with ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt-momentum. Resolute people [orig. people with heart] plotting against unsuspecting people [orig. people without heart], it will be very easy for two gentlemen to fall into their scheme. Just like Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling understood immediately. He felt big headache due to this new-branch-grows-out-of-a-knot affair, only regretfully he must not make any proper response. His pair of eyes emitting a look of misgivings, he said, If Yuanyong and I met with some unexpected misfortune, anybody would guess that it must be their doing; do they have that kind of big guts? Qiao Gongshan spoke seriously, Without Tian Ce Fu supporting them in secret, even if Qiu Wensheng had guts as high as the sky, they would not dare to touch a strand of two gentlemens hair. However, two gentlemen need not be worried, we will find a way on two gentlemens behalf to deal with this matter. Er Wenhuan spoke heavily, Gaining the initiative by striking first, whoever movester will fall under the other sides control. Kuang Xiong is ustomed to the Jianghu way, naturally you understand this principle. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Fortunately this time we came across Er Xiong and Qiao Xiong, two gentlemen of high rank. Ay! Should we notify Furong Ye about this matter? Qiao Gongshan replied, You are working for Situ Laoban, both in terms of situation and reason, you ought to let him know, but no need to say it too seriously. Patting his shoulder, Er Wenhuan said, This is a small matter, we will keep our eyes open as well, I guarantee that those Guanzhong Jian Pai brats will fall with their head and face filthy with grime. Six-Happiness is open all night, if two gentlemen can slip out, we can make proper arrangement at any time. Qiao Gongshanughed and said, Last time was Six-Happiness, this time we must go to Ming Tang Wo to broaden our horizons. Historically, Ming Tang Wo is the oldest business with a long-established reputation in Changan, it was built during the construction of Changans new city. Xu Ziling pretended to be emotionally touched; he sighed and said, Coming back a bitter shouldnt be a problem, but slipping away the whole night to gamble is inexcusable, no matter what, wed better go to Ming Tang Wo to gain fist-hand experience tomorrow. Ay! I dont have any hobby, its just that my gambling addiction is a bit bigger. Letting out an evilughter, Er Wenhuan said, Kuang Xiong only have gambling addiction? Xu Ziling recalled his characters swindling-wealth-cheating-beauty, he let out a mischievousughter and said, To love pretty girls is mens innate tendency, it cant be considered a hobby. Ha! Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan apanied him in evilughter, brimming with some kind of sharing-vile-habits delight. Xu Ziling made the appointment with them to meet again the next night, when and in which street, and then he stood up and bade goodbye. Surprisingly, Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan did not try to stop him, they simply let him leave. The banquet was located at the Huang Ju Ting [lit. yellow chrysanthemum hall] inside the west garden of the Shang Lin Yuan. The banquet tables were arranged to one side, leaving a wide space for the singing and dancing performances. When Chi Shengchun and Kou Zhong arrived, the more than a dozen singing and dancing performers, dressed like lovely scene of blossoming nts swaying in the breeze, were just exiting from the Tianmen [heavenly gate]; seeing the two, they threw repeated flirtatious nces, but it was mostly targeted at Chi Shengchun, apanied by coy calls, Chi Daye, so that even Kou Zhong on the side could also feel the tender feeling that made peoples heart swept away and their mind went soft. Chi Shengchun stepped across the threshold, immediately he let out a longughter and said, Ive long looked forward to meeting Situ Xiong, today you have finally fulfilled my, Chi Shengchuns cherished desire. Nice to meet you! One after another the people sitting around the table stood up to wee him. Ren Jun, dressed as Situ Furong, maintaining his attitude and expression, responded with augh, Turns out its Chi Da Laoban, who single-handedly establish the Six-Happiness; it had not urred to me that you are so young. Casino business is not something that any rich person can do; those who can do it with sound and color [idiom: dazzling] that gain everybodys praises are even less. Yin Zuwen spoke cheerfully, By the casino, there must be a pawnshop nearby. What Shengchun is doing surpasses sound and color, and Situ Laobans business is growing even bigger, therefore, how could we miss Shengchun and our Da Xian, the Senior, today? Kou Zhong shed back behind Chi Shengchun, simply because as soon as he swept his gaze around, he immediately drew out a mouthful of cold air, afraid that people might recognize his build and bearing; it was indeed a thiefcking in confidence mentality. Yin Zuwen was upying the south, the host C position. On his right were Ren Juns Situ Furong and the Great Immortal Hu Fo, in that order. On Hu Fos right was surprisingly the Second Young Master of the Sha Family, Sha Chenggong. When this lustful second-generation member of a powerful family first came to Changan, no one paid him any attention at all. Although the influential officials of the House of Tang relied on his Ol Die Sha Nantian for support, they did not care about this pampered son of a wealthy family who has achieved nothing. But today he was able to attend this banquet, apparently it was Yin Zuwen who particrly coaxed him. Naturally they were not interested in him as a person, but the weapon and mineral resources business that his Sha Family had in their hands. Kou Zhong was not afraid that he might be able to recognize him as the ugly Divine Doctor Mo Yixin, simply because Sha Chenggong did not have such a brilliant eyesight. What he was afraid of was Xue Wanche, who was sitting to Sha Chenggongs right. This man was a great general, a trusted aide of Li Yuanji. Both in terms of intelligence and martial art skill, he was not inferior to Li Yuanji at all. Moreover, at this moment Xue Wanches attention was focused on him, so Kou Zhongs fear was not unfounded. Sitting by Xue Wanche was Song Shidaos Shen Wenjiang. On the other side of him was an empty seat, directly opposite to Yin Zuwens postion; it must have been reserved for Chi Shengchun. Next to this seat was Lei Jiuzhis Su Guanjia [housekeeper]. This old kid was staring at Kou Zhong with total displeasure, his reaction waspletely appropriate. The person on Lei Jiuzhis other side was also an acquaintance, the minister of the foreign affairs Wen Yanbo. His specific responsibility was to receive foreign guests; therefore, attending this kind of asion was not surprising at all. Beyond him were two more empty seats. Kou Zhong guessed that one of these must be reserved for Ji Qian, the famous courtesan with highest status in Changan. But he could not guess whom the other seat was reserved for. Looking at the guests seating arrangement, he could see Yin Zuwens brilliance. If Kou Zhong and the others did not know Yin Zuwens real identity, plus they wereing to deal with Chi Shengchun, they would not be able to see that this banquet was the first step in Yin Zuwen and Chi Shengchuns conspiracy. Things havee too fast and too suddenly; all of a sudden the two sides have entered the game, the pitting-themselves-against-each-other situation. This was the first time that Kou Zhong saw Hu Fo. This grandmaster-level figure of the gambling world carried some kind of alert, elegant and refined air that ordinary Jianghu peoplecked, there was quite a resemnce with Hou Xibais personality traits. Perhaps it was due to their mutual love of calligraphy and painting art that two entirely different men exuded a simr temperament. The Great Immortal Hu Foughed aloud and responded, The presence of a pawnshop by a casino is a widely known fact. But by a pawnshop, there may not necessarily be a casino; how could mine and Shengchuns small businesses bepared to Situ Xiongs? Ha! The crowd burst intoughter to apany him. Chi Shengchun noticed Lei Jiuzhis gaze toward Kou Zhong; in full understanding, he reached back and pulled Kou Zhong forward toward the banquet. Heughed and said, We, businessmen, open our mouth and talk business, we close our mouth and talk business, but Shang Lin Yuan is not a ce where we should talk business. This gentleman is the renowned Taihang Shuang Jies Cai Yuanyong Xiong. And then he turned to Shang Lin Yuans pretty maid, who was standing respectfully by the door to wait upon everybody, and said, Can you add two seats for me? The other seat is for Kuang Xiong. Hardening his scalp, Kou Zhong followed him and took his seat, while slightly restrained his eyes. He could only beseech the gods and worship Buddha in his heart, hoping that Xue Wanche and Wen Yanbo, these two acquaintances would not see through his disguise. Otherwise, everything would be finished. Book 49 3 – Flying Money Business

Book 49 Chapter 3 C Flying Money Business

Xu Ziling strolled along the busy-night-and-day, lights-unending, gorgeous-carriage-and-strong-horses, people-following-on-his-heels-shoulder-to-shoulder main street of Beili. Suddenly he deeply felt Kou Zhongs lonely feeling that night. Perhaps it was because of the series of worries that felt like as one fell, the next followed, so that his mood was beginning to decline, he felt like the initiative was no longer in their hands. Whether it was dealing with Shi Zhixuan, or dealing with Chi Shengchun, they could only passively wait for the opportunity. His physical body was in Beili of Changan, where there was no night or day, yet his mind was on the depth of the clouds, whose whereabouts was unknown C Shi Feixuan, and on the far-away-in-Bashu Shi Qingxuan. However, he could only silently endure everything, bearing the pain of this recollection alone. This was the secret in his innermost being; he could never reveal this secret to anybody, not even to Kou Zhong. This moment someone was galloping over by his side and turned into a side street. Xu Ziling was able to see the persons figure on the horseback, and recognized him as Wang Bodang, currently Li Mis closest, number one subordinate in Changan. His heart was moved, he focused his mind to follow him. Chi Shengchun personally introduced Kou Zhongs Cai Yuanyong to the various guests around the banquet table. As soon as they were seated, Chi Shengchun asked the Great Immortal Hu Fo in full deferential manner, Xiaoxian has not returned yet? Hu Fo smiled and responded calmly, This wild girl is very difficult to discipline, even as her Die, I am unable to answer your question. His witty response immediately provoked roar ofughter. Only then did Kou Zhong realize that the other empty seat must belong to Hu Xiaoxian. Inwardly he praised Hu Fo as an experienced and careful man, for his ability not to show any misgivings in his heart toward Chi Shengchun. Lei Jiuzhi turned to Kou Zhong; frowning, he asked, Wheres Wentong? Kou Zhong pretended to be nervous, he cast a nce toward Chi Shengchun first before replying, He came across a friend, ha! Just by looking at his saying-without-meaning-it attitude, anybody would know that he was inventing crazy nonsense to absolve Kuang Wentong of any me; the fact must be that Kuang Wentong had gone AWOL. Showing his understanding, Chi Shengchun changed the subject by saying, Changan has many scenic spots; which ones have Situ Xiong visited? Ren Juns Situ Furong replied in his stammering voice, Which ces in Changan worth visiting? Xue Wancheughed and said, Wen Daren is the most qualified person on this banquet table to answer Da Laobans question, because he is the one making arrangements on all tour itineraries of foreign guestsing to Changan. Wen Yanboughed calmly and said, Xue Da Jiangjun is teasing me again. The ces in Changan worth visiting vary from person to person. As far as Im concerned, sitting in Shang Lin Yuan, I am perfectly satisfied, no need to go anywhere else. Yin Zuwen blurted outughing and said, I never thought Wen Daren will be so easy to satisfy. My situation is somewhat different; after I am satisfied in Shang Lin Yuan, I would go to Ming Tang Wo or Six-Happiness across the street to look for other satisfactions. His words were heavy with insinuations, extremely vague, so that it provoked another round ofughter. Kou Zhong rxed, feeling that Yin Zuwen, Wen Yanbo and the others, these men seasoned in social intercourse, have grown spring [season, could also mean joyful or youthful or love or lust or life] at the corner of their mouth, delighting in the calm, wild leisure. More importantly, Xue Wanche finally moved his attention away from him; evidently he no longer had any doubt about him. Sha Chenggong, who has been painstakingly waiting for a chance to speak up, finally grasped this opportunity to say, Changan has many gardens that visitors can enjoy, for example Ling Si Yuan at Changming Lane, Yao Yuan at Sheng Ping Lane, Feng Ming Yuan at Ti Xiang Lane [all yuan mean park]. But in terms of reputation and scale, nothing canpare to Le You Yuan and Qu Jiang Chi [chi C pondke]. The former is the citys hignd, located between Sheng Ping Lane and Xin Chang Lane; standing tall and seeing far, with a different opening-up-new-horizon feeling of freedom. But speaking aboutndscape, Qu Jiang Lake is still Changans best. It is located at the southeast corner of the city, half inside the city, half outside, longer on the north-south direction, shorter on the east-west; both shores are curving around, parks and pce halls unbroken, with undting buildings and pavilions, surrounded by flowers and nts, shade trees revolve around it. On top of that, there are Xiao Rong Yuan and Xing Yuan built along the river, as well as the small and exquisite, elegant and delicate Qu Jiang Pavilion on the coastal area, making people doubt whether one is in heaven rather than in the human world. For the first time Kou Zhong discovered the strong points of the Second Young Master of the Sha Family; he was absolutely not bad in terms of eating, drinking, and be merry. Song Shidao cast his gaze toward Sha Chenggong, his expression was saying, you spoke such words to my boss, its like ying the lute to a cow [idiom: casting pearls before a swine], its just perfect. Sure enough, being quick-witted, Ren Jun said, What is the most profitable business in Changan right now? Everybody was stunned, thinking that everything that Sha Chenggong said just now, not even half a sentence entered this big boorish brokers ears. Chi Shengchunughed aloud, he said, smoothly and evasively, When ites to business, I dare say that nobody present canpare to Situ Xiong; therefore, the question Situ Xiong ask should be: what is currently the most profitable business opportunity in Changan. Am I right? Ren Jun put the result of painstaking effort by Song Shidao and Lei Jiuzhi to train him in full disy; he nodded and said, Chi Xiong is indeed a person who knows my heart. City and market, where there is a city, there must be a market. Cities are military defenseposed of city walls and ditches and rivers to safeguard the safety of its people; markets are the ce wheremodities exchange hands, it represents the economic activity necessary for the livelihood of the people inside and outside the city. Without cities and markets, businesses cannot grow, no matter what. Wen Yanbo praised, Situ Xiong is really knowledgeable in business. It is easiest for people with eyes for business to start one in densely popted ces. Its funny that Situ Xiongs remark just now was pointing out at the currently most profitable business in Changan, which is operating a shippingpany, which is equivalent to warehouse. As long as you have a dozen or so shops in the East and West, two markets, or on the crisscrossing main streets, you could rent them to peopleing from various regions to do business and earn the rentmission. Particrly Hu [barbarian/non-Han] people who make light of traveling a thousand li, about a dozen days of rent can be counted using gold, the profit is staggering. Hu Foughed and said, The property that Situ Xiong hold as coteral cannot be considered small number, so you could think about this quick profit-making business. From the bottom of his heart Kou Zhong started to admire Xu Ziling. The subject that everybody was talking about did not hold the slightest interest in his heart, but Ren Jun was showing that it was good opportunity for Situ Furong. Assuming the haughty manner of an expert, Ren Jun said, Lodging houses and shops, let the people use those ces to stay or keep their stock in buying or selling, my idea is one step further, why not use the lodging houses and shops as a business where people deposit money, coupled with the convenience of flying money? The business I am doing will involve all the merchants in the entire city and market. In fact, this is precisely one of the purposes for which I havee to Changan. Naturally I will rely on the support of all gentlemen sitting here, or perhaps gentlemen can see how to cooperate. I, Situ Furong have teeth of gold, the words that I said are never empty. Everybody was emotionally moved. Brilliant! Kou Zhong called inwardly, thinking that this must havee out of Song Shidaos brains; Lei Jiuzhi certainly did not have such intelligence. Yin Zuwen spoke seriously, Situ Xiongs proposal is indeed brilliant, I wonder if you could exin the outline one step further. With assurance andposure, Ren Jun exined, Actually, it is a business of money farming and money tickets, and I am still just getting started in this respect. Merchants are rushing about in all parts of the country to make money, once their money purse is full, wont you agree that their first consideration is to put the money in a safe ce? They will need an absolutely trustworthy money farm to deposit their money either for long term or short term storage. Secondly, carrying chest after chest of copper coins on their journey is cumbersome and inconvenient, plus they must hire bodyguards. My flying money will be some kind of a favor to them. For example, they deposit the money into a money farm in Changan, they could cash the money tickets in Jiangdu and use the cash to purchase River Huais salt. We only make the profit on the service charge andmission. Hu Fo sighed and said, This is akin to having arge amount of cash in hands for a long time, it would provide the convenience in doing anything. Die! What convenience are you talking about? Everybody turned their eyes to the door. The neer was precisely the arrivingte, her-splendor-radiating-all-around Hu Xiaoxian. Xu Ziling flipped over the rear courtyard wall, borrowing the dark of the night and the trees in the garden as a cover, he stealthily slipped in the direction of the outer hall. Wang Bodang was very crafty; he pretended to enter the Ming Tang Wo, but after leaving his horse, he leaped over the back gardens wall by himself, and then went to a courtyard house, which seemed to belong to ordinary people, located by the Yong An Canal, not far from Ming Tang Wo. If the one following his track was an ordinary martial art master instead of Xu Ziling, surely he would be able to throw off the tracker. This moment, the courtyard house was without the least bit of light, but Xu Zilings super-human senses knew that there were more than a dozen people lying in ambush all over the courtyard, acting as hidden sentry posts. Inside and outside, the house was under strict surveince. Under such circumstances, even a brilliant master like Xu Ziling felt having-the-mind-butcking-the-strength, hence he could only take the risk and gamble a little. Taking advantage of the instant while Wang Bodang was knocking the door and attracting everybodys attention, he shed inside the building, went pass several hurdles, and felt much more rxed. He heard voicesing from the middle section. Xu Ziling did not dare to get too close; he hid inside one of the bedroom in the rear section, and focused his power into his pair of ears to eavesdrop the other sides conversation. A deep and low voice said, We already remove all obstacles for Mi Gong [Duke Mi]; it shouldnt be a problem for Mi Gong to leave the Pass. Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly, he recognized the speaker as the Laoda [the first, the leader of a group] of Jingzhao Lian Yang WenGan. He had never thought that after his rebellion against Li Yuan failed, he still had the audacity to remain in Changan. No wonder inside and outside the building was under such a strict guard. But Xu Ziling was greatly puzzled: why would Yang WenGan help Li Mi? How could Li Mi trust him? How did they gang up with each other? Yang WenGan continued, As long as you could leave Changan, we have a way to guarantee your safety in leaving the Pass. Wang Bodang muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, and then he spoke in low voice, In that case, I will go back to consult Mi Gong, to see whether he ought to formally submit his proposal to Li Yuan early tomorrow morning. Yang WenGan said, He must not raise this matter up in public, if there is any cab minister who is not being tactful opposing it, they might deliberatelyplicate the issue. Especially Tian Ce Fu people, they would refer to the fact that since Qin Wang is in military expedition to Luoyang, any action must be deferred to oppose this matter. Once there are other people in agreement, Li Yuan will not want to make Li Shimin unhappy during this time, he might try to be clever and end up with egg on his face. Wang Bodang said, Then it would be best if Mi Gong ask to see Li Yuan in private. Yang WenGan said, Li Yuan might not be willing to see Mi Gong in private; besides, there must be other people present, so it would not be appropriate either. However, no need to worry, there will be a polo match [lit. horse ball] in the pce tomorrow. Li Yuan loves excitement the most, he always wees cab ministers either as spectators or participants. I already have someone makes the arrangement; Mi Gong is going to be invited. At that time, if Mi Gong, sketching it in light shades, mentioned his cherished desire, as soon as Li Yuan give him a nod, it will work. Listening in the dark, Xu Ziling felt something was definitely not right. Yang WenGan should have bad intentions. If he had really removed all obstacles, plus they already obtained Li Yuans approval, why would they need to imitate the dog and steal the chicken like this? Yet momentarily he was unable to see through Yang WenGans intention and purpose. If Li Yuan refused Li Mi, then it shouldnt be a problem instead. Supposing Li Yuan really agreed, the problem would be a lot moreplicated. Wang Bodang gratefully said, If we are sessful this time, we will definitely fulfill what we promised to you. Yang WenGan said, Its not appropriate for you and I to stay in this ce too long, lets do it per our agreement. Xu Zilings heart sank straight down; he thought that if by tomorrow he still could not contact Shen Luoyan, due to Shen Luoyan was still thinking fondly of her former master, there would be a very good chance that she might fall into the enemys scheme, and would be caught in a consigned-to-eternal-damnation situation. He must never let this matter to happen. As soon as Hu Xiaoxians fragrant-self arrived, it was like one red dot among a cluster of the ten thousand greens; she instantly poured a different kind of vivacious vitality into this world of men. Chi Shengchun was showing her the most eager attention; he personally pulled the chair for her, and waited upon her to sit down. Hu Xiaoxian had her hair rolled up in a bun on top of her head like a coiling dragon, her face was adorned with cinnabar color and flowery shine, she wore powdery-green tight-sleeved tight-fitting dress, mauve shawl, and milky white narrow long skirt, her feet were in shoes with pointy tip, which put her graceful figure in full disy. Although her beauty was still some distance away from Shang Xiuxun, Shi Feixuan, that level of beauties, but within her beautiful eyes, flowing desires, there was a burst of flirtatious, under-the-surface seductive appearance; it was extremely attractive. Under the sweep of her beautiful eyes, which could snatch the soul [mortal soul] and hook the spirit [immortal soul], Kou Zhong mused that perhaps other than her Ol Dad, everybody had to control his lust and restrain his soul. At least she was able to move Kou Zhongs heart. Hu Xiaoxian was sitting to Kou Zhongs right. Appearing to be treating him favorably, or perhaps she had a different idea in mind, she liberally sent a coquettish nce toward this neighbor first. Chi Shengchun, who was still standing behind her, hurriedly made the introduction, and then he proceeded by introducing Ren Jun, Song Shidao and Lei Jiuzhi, three men. Hu Xiaoxian knew that Ren Jun across the table was the principal master; smiling sweetly, she said, I hope Xiaoxian will never need to visit Situ Da Laoban as a customer! The crowd wasughing heartily, knowing that she did not understand that Ren Juns business was not limited to pawnshop at all. Ren Juns expression was a bit awkward; his two eyes lit up as he was staring at Hu Xiaoxian, unexpectedly he forgot to answer. Kou Zhong felt strange; if, ording to the previous n, Ren Jun waspeting against Chi Shengchun for Hu Xiaoxians heart, then his performance right now certainly reached super-brilliant level, even Kou Zhong would not have any doubt. However, presently they already decided to abandon the original n, if under current circumstances Ren Jun was unable to restrain his emotions, it would be thoroughly terrible, because how could the truth be swept away by a woman? He could not help casting his gaze toward Song Shidao and Lei Jiuzhi, only to see the two were showing a look of consternation over Ren Juns action, hence he felt the turn of events was not too encouraging even more. Chi Shengchun returned to his seat. Pretending to be displeased, the Great Immortal Hu Fo spoke to Hu Xiaoxian, Xianer, why did you arrive thiste? You havent apologized to everybody yet. Hu Xiaoxian showed a being-med-wrongly expression, revealing a different cute and pitiful, tender and gentle charm, which was able to arouse menfolks sympathy the most; she expressed her thanks first and then apologized. Her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she exined, Xiaoxian suffered untold hardships to get away from the imperial pce and rushed over here! And then her beautiful eyes nced at the two empty chairs by her side, she pouted her small mouth, she said craftily and unruly, Some people are eventer than Xiaoxian! Whether it was her expression or movement, everything was tender, charming, and pleasant to the eyes, her seductive appearance grew without restraint, provoking people to be lost in wild and fanciful thoughts. At this time, someone came into the hall and whispered a few words in Yin Zuwens ear, drawing everybodys attention back to Yin Zuwen. After the man left, Yin Zuwen cheerfully said, Qian Xiaojie has just returned, as soon as she is ready, she is going to attend upon the guests. Xue Wancheughed and said, Tonight we can go to Da Xian and Chi Yes gambling establishments to bet a couple of hands and try our luck. These past few months, only people with a lot of luck are able to see Qian Xiaojie in Shang Lin Yuan, the day before yesterday Qi Wang already made appointment with her, but she forgot. Qi Wang cannot do anything about it. Kou Zhong and the others mused that Ji Qians arrogant was really big, she did not consider even Li Yuanji worthy in her eyes. Wen Yanbo said, Lets not mention it is difficult to see Qian Xiaojie in Shang Lin Yuan, she also seldom went to the casino. If anybody can tell me the reason, I am willing to prepare a table of wine and dishes to express my thanks. Sha Chenggongughed and said, Later on, if Wen Daren personally ask her, wont that work too? Hu Xiaoxianughed tenderly and said, The load on womens mind can only be told to women, whatever Wen Daren say wont count. Talking cheerfully and wittily, the atmosphere was growing more harmonious. Ren Jun finally returned to normal. Not knowing what to say, he blurted out a question to Hu Xiaoxian, Just now Hu Xiaojie said that it was with great difficulty that you were able to get away from the imperial pce; what actually happened? Hu Xiaoxian assumed a displeased, touching facial expression; casting a sidelong nce toward Ren Jun, she waited until thetter was stunned as if he was electrocuted, and then she giggled and said, What else but for the important polo match that is going to be held in the pce tomorrow? I dont know whether Huangshang was in a particrly good mood, he practiced quite for an entire sichen; how could Xiaoxian dare to leave? Polo match? Ren Jun asked dumbly. Hu Xiaoxians beautiful eyes floated toward Kou Zhong on her left, with a smile on her face, she said, We have a master polo yer in here. Hey! I should have said two masters. If Situ Laoban wants to know what polo is all about, it will be very convenient. Just now someone even mentioned the two of them in Huangshangs presence! Everybodys eyes turned to Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong, Lei Jiuzhi, Song Shidao and Ren Jun cried Bad! inwardly at the same time. Listening to the tone of Hu Xiaoxians voice, and also looking at her expression, as well as the reaction of everybody around the table, clearly the two polo masters were the Taihang Shuang Jie Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong. Once they did not cope well, immediately their plot would fall through and stand exposed. Kou Zhong came from a humble origin, this kind of fashionable game popr among the influential officials, not only it has not even entered a single aperture of his head [idiom: dont understand a word], he did not even know anything at all. How would he exin to his own boss what exactly the game of polo was? https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,7 https://discovernative/al/visit.php?al=1,6 Ren Jun regretted that he asked the question, while Lei Jiuzhi regretted that he had the two boys disguised as such a pain-in-the-posterior-end Taihang Shuang Jie. Kou Zhong cast his request-to-help toward Song Shidao first, and then pretending to be modest, he said, I just love to y polo, but about the history, origin and development of polo, I dont have any knowledge. Hey! This was an answer within no answers, he passed the ball into Song Shidaos court, a man who came from a noble background. Song Shidao inwardly praised Kou Zhongs quick wit. He calmly turned to Ren Jun and said, Polo originated from Tubo [or Tufan, old name for Tibet]. After spreading to Persia in the west, it also spread to the north. The match is between teams of riders fighting over a hollow wooden polo ball painted red or with decorative design, using curved stick to strike the ball into a one-chi square hole on the opposite sides wooden wall to win. Outside the field, people are beating the drums and y music to cheer; it is extremely exciting and lively. Not only the yers must pay particr attention to the skill to strike the ball, they must be experts in equestrian skill as well; not a single one is indispensable. Therefore, some people call it military show. Sighing in praise, Yin Zuwen said, Not only Shen Xiong is a connoisseur famous under the heavens, I did not expect you also have deep knowledge of various games. I never knew that polo originated from Tubo; I thought it was a popr game among the Tujue people. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, he began to understand the meaning of Hu Xiaoxians look when she was sitting down; he also knew inwardly that there would be repercussion on this matterter, for example, if Li Yuan invited them, the Taihang Shuang Jie to demonstrate their skill, what should they do? Hu Fo suddenlyughed and said, Xianer! Why dont you show us the gadget that Die gave you on your birthday this year? Let Shen Xiong look it over. Song Shidao was slightly startled, knowing that Hu Fo, who himself was skillful in appraising goods, wanted to test his skill in this aspect. Hu Fo naturally did not know that Song Shidao had already greatly spread out his divine might by indirectly appraising the paintings on Li Yuans behalf. Otherwise, this matter could be avoided. Under everybodys expectant gaze, Hu Xiaoxian, somewhat shyly, opened up her cor a little bit to reveal a snow white, slender jade neck, and then, using a provoking-wild-and-fanciful-thoughts captivating movement, her jade hands reached inside her cor. Book 49 4 – The Ambitious and Ruthless Character’s End of the Road

Book 49 Chapter 4 C The Ambitious and Ruthless Characters End of the Road

After Wang Bodang left, Xu Ziling waited patiently for Yang WenGan and his men to withdraw. Who would have thought that even after waiting for half a day, Yang WenGan still did not show any sign of withdrawing? Xu Ziling could not help groaning inwardly; while he was hesitating whether he ought to take a risk one more time to slip away, Yang WenGan suddenly spoke like he was talking to himself, Hes gone! Xuyan,e out! Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air, he nearly wanted to reach up to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, fortunately he chose this ce, which was separated by a wall, to eavesdrop, otherwise, he would not be able to hide from Yang Xuyans eyes and ears. Yang Xuyan certainly had profound power, unexpectedly Xu Ziling was unable to detect his presence, he was indeed worthy to bear the famous reputation as the Shadow Assassin. A momentter, Yang WenGans voice was heard again, Will Li Mi fall into the trap? he asked. Letting out a cold snort, Yang Xuyan said, Right now Li Mis path is exhausted, he has reached the end of the road, as long as there is a gleam of hope, he will not be willing to miss it; do you think he will be convinced or not? Li Mi is no longer the Mi Gong who moved unhindered north and south of the Yellow River, he already tasted the full bitter taste of lodging under another persons roof; some things are being sought, naturally some things will be lost, I am not worried that he wont fall into the trap. Yang WenGanughed and said, He is certainly at the end of his rope, no ones willing to stick his head to speak to Li Yuan on his behalf. We are willing to offer our service, this fellow ought to be grateful to the utmost. Yang Xuyan spoke indifferently, Is there any news about Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling? Hiding in the dark, immediately Xu Zilings spirit was greatly aroused; unexpectedly he was able to hear the two mens conversation by ident, he could only thank Laotianye for His favor. Yang WenGan said, These two kids greatest skill is to dress up as a ghost and impersonate a god; if they are deliberately concealing their whereabouts, it is really not easy to find them. And then he went on, When you intercepted Kou Zhong at Cijian that time, did you use the martial art xinfa of the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing? Yang Xuyan spoke heavily, If I unleash my full power, I guarantee that Kou Zhong wont arrive in Changan alive. However, my greatest enemy is not him, but Shi Zhixuan. Humph! Did you know thatst night Shi Zhixuan made his move to kill Sha Fang and her more than thirty followers so that not a single chicken or a dog was spared? This matter has shaken the House of Tang; Li Yuan issued an imperial decree to seal this information off, not to let it leak outside. Yang WenGan blurted out, What? Yang Xuyan said, This is clearly a warning to me. Humph! Shi Zhixuan underestimates me, Yang Xuyan too much! He thought I did not know that he only see my value as a tool for him. He calcted a thousand times, he calcted ten thousand times, yet he still miscalcted that Yang Guang, that old thief, would be defeated and dispersed that quickly. On top of that, his spirit took a wrong turn because of Bi Xiuxin, resulting in him sitting down and wasting a good opportunity, helpless to lift me up as his puppet emperor. F*ck his eighteen generations ancestors, were it not for him ying ghost from the inside, how could our Great Suis world be caught in a bad situation that right now it is all split up and in pieces? Yang WenGans breathing turned heavy, evidently his mind was keyed up. He said, What are you going to do? Yang Xuyanughed and said, I dont have to do anything, because theres Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling working on my behalf, perhaps they might have Wanwan added onto their number. It would be best if they stake everything so that a few will be defeated, all will perish. We will then reap where we have not sown. Arent you overestimating their capability? Yang WenGan asked, Shi Zhixuan appears and disappears unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, who could grasp his whereabouts? The only one who knows Shi Zhixuans hiding ce is the Fatty An Long, and he already went back to Bashu, otherwise, we might catch him and torture him for interrogation. That will be thest step, Yang Xuyan said, We wont resort to that method unless it is absolutely necessary. The only thing I have to do now is to feign civility, to deceive Shi Zhixuan into believing that I am still his good disciple. Rx! Wanwan has special rtionship with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two men. If there is no other way, we might be able to ask for their help. When thed has the heart and thess has the mind, they will be together from the first beat [idiom: to hit it off]. Wanwan might use herself as a bait, to lure Shi Zhixuan, this big fish toe out. Yang WenGan asked, What is the attitude of the other factions of the demonic school towards Shi Zhixuan now? Yang Xuyan replied, Since Zhu Yuyan died under his hand, none of our holy school does not revere and shake in fear toward him. On top of that, Sha Fang was executed under his hand, sooner orter Pi Chen and Zuo Youxian will acknowledge allegiance under his tyrannical abuse. The most powerful Yin Gui Pai is currently a thunder of dragons without a head. Once Wanwan is gone, who would dare not to look at Shi Zhixuans countenance to conduct themselves? Mie Qing Daos Yin Zuwen and Xu Liuzong are just like An Long, they always look up at him as the only saving-star to unify the Two Sects and Six Ways. Currently, the only one that I am unable to grasp is Zhao Deyan. He has the Tujue demons as his backing, theres no need to fear Shi Zhixuan. However, in order to achieve the goal ofbining the ten scrolls of Tianmo Ce back into one, perhaps Zhao Deyan will be willing to cooperate with Shi Zhixuan. And then he went on, The top priority right now is still to eliminate Li Mi and Wang Bodang. They know too much of our secrets, both to betray Dugu Feng [peak], also to render a blow to Li Shimin. One stone three birds. Plus we dont need to do it ourselves. Theres nothing more convenient than this. Yang WenGan sighed and said, Frankly, I really dont understand how you can deceive Shi Zhixuan. Currently his spirit is no longer a problem, unlike before, where he could be deranged at any time. Speaking about intelligence and martial art, it is really difficult to find someone who can surpass him in the world. You might also overestimate Kou and Xu, two kids ability. Something that the four great bald thieves could not do in the past, do you think they can do it? Yang Xuyan said, I have my own way of dealing with Shi Zhixuan. Naturally it cant be just empty promises. More importantly, I still hold too much of a value for him to use me. As for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, the formidable power of those two mens joining hands cannot be underestimated, plus they are full of wisdom and schemes, to whom the deer falls is still not yet known. I really dont need them to kill Shi Zhixuan, as long as they could inflict serious damage to him, I will have a way to make Shi Zhixuan be caught in a consigned-to-eternal-damnation situation, while rendering a great merit to Li Yuan along the way. Humph! The reason Li Yuan is still willing to fully trust me is precisely because I really regard Shi Zhixuan as my personal enemy, and Li Yuan also understands that Shi Zhixuan epted me as his disciple is just to use me. After a short pause, he continued, All right, I still have a lot of things to do, you may proceed ording to n; taking advantage of the fortunate timing while Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin are not in Changan, we must do a bit more work for Li Yuanji. Song Shidao took the proffered pearl ne, which still held Hu Xiaoxians body temperature and her delicate fragrance; holding it in front of his eyes, he looked at it with a smile on his face, but did not say anything. The brilliant, dazzling the eyes of nearly a hundred pearls stringed together into a ne were of identical size, sparkling and translucent, bright and smooth, and moist, the texture was exquisite and dignified; everybody sighed in praise. To judge the quality and value of pearls, among the crowd, Yin Zuwen, Wen Yanbo, Sha Chenggong and Chi Shengchun all were confident that they would be able to do so. However, Hu Fos request to Song Shidao naturally did not stop here. If Song Shidaos performance was subpar, it would greatly discount everybodys evaluation on Situ Furong. Under everybodys expectant gaze, Song Shidao smiled and said, So many pearls of exact same size stringed together into a chain of pearls, this is still the first time that I encounter it. If Zaixia did not guess incorrectly, these must havee from Hepu County on the coastal area west of Lingnan, the world famous Hepu Southern Pearls. All four of our countrys major pearl producers are in the south; they are Hepu, Nanhai, Dongting, and Taihu, respectively. Nanhai [south sea] pearls are famous for being iridescence, Dongting ke] pearls are superior in size, the wonder of Taihu ke] pearls is that they are hollow. Only Hepu Southern Pearls are superior in their silver white character, just like this string of pearls. If the pearls are ground to powder, it can calm and soothe the nerves, it can alleviate fever and increase the yin nature; it is a famous and valuable important medicine. And then he handed it over to Ren Jun and said with augh, Furong Ye, please take a look, see if Wenjiang misread this. Hu Xiaoxian pped her hands and said, Shen Xianshengs knowledge is extensive and exquisite, you have a unique insight. After going through Xianshengs appraisal, the value of this Xiaoxians string of ne is immediately different. Ren Jun took the proffered pearl ne; perhaps because he still felt the warmth of the string of pearls, unexpectedly he only stared nkly. Hu Fo revealed a submitting-cheerfully expression; he said, These are indeed the rare Hepu Southern Pearls; at first I made an error of judgment as well, thinking that they are Taihus hollow fresh water pearls. Afterwards, I took one pearl and grind the tip, I began to be certain that it is southern pearl. Unexpectedly Shen Xiansheng can see it through in just one nce, you are indeed admirable. Chi Shengchun respectfully said, Whenever Shen Xiansheng is free, please visit my humble abode to give me a bit of your brilliant opinion. Kou Zhong cried Lucky! inwardly. Song Shidao was born in the most famous family influential for generations of the south, he was particrly adept in the precious local products of the south. If the subject of the test were the local products of the north, naturally he would not be speaking as clearly and logically as just now, he might even make the northerners present split their sides inughter. This moment Ren Jun returned the string of pearls back to Hu Xiaoxian. Hu Xiaoxian took it with a smile on her face, whether it was intentional or not, her fingertips brushed over Ren Juns fingers holding the pearl ne. Ren Jun lightly shook, as if he was electrocuted. None of the Jianghu veterans around the table missed it. Evidently Sha Chenggong had some interest in Hu Xiaoxian; he seized this opportunity to ask, Hu Xiaojie, I wonder if you could let Zaixia broaden my horizons? Hu Xiaoxian was deliberately teasing Ren Jun, the reason was to provoke Chi Shengchuns jealousy. Her beautiful eyes were still ncing on Ren Jun, she handed over the pearl ne to Sha Chenggong. Sha Chenggong took the pearl ne, he praised without ceasing. The pearl ne was passed on from hand to hand; by the time the pearl ne returned to Hu Xiaoxians snow white ky neck, Yin Zuwen raised his cup and said, Lets toast for Situ Xiongs original business acumen and for the erudite and multi-talented Shen Xiansheng. Everybody raised their cup to toast. The sound of music arose, a group of all female musicians, holding all kinds of musical instrument, entered the hall, walking and ying at the same time. By the time Ji Qians fragrant-self appeared, no one did not have their eyes light up. This mboyant beauty, whose name was second only to Shang Xiufang, was dressed in a Hu [non-Han] attire, narrow sleeves, skintight, a short jacket with thepel nted to the left, and a pair of trousers, leather boots wrapped around her legs, both putting her sweet, fair, and graceful beauty, as well as her graceful and delicate physique C in full disy, also to bring up a different kind of agility and straightforward air, female adornment in male styles healthy and beautiful manner. They heard her sing, From the Hu riders smoke and dust arise, feathered hat and fishy armpits filled the air with saltiness. The girls learn Hu makeup to be Hu women, the artistry is entering Hu songs to attend to Hu music. The sound of the fire and the wind was sorely swallowed that the spring oriole ceases and turns into long destion. Hu sound and Hu rider in Hu adornment, for the past fifty years in chaotic struggle over theke. Xu Ziling hurriedly rushed back to Shang Lin Yuan, the leader of the men standing guard at the gate respectfully told him, Chi Laobans order: when Kuang Ye is back, Xiaoren must immediately take Kuang Ye to the Huang Ju Ting, which is where Yin Guo Yue [state father-inw] is holding the banquet. Xu Ziling mused that Chi Shengchun finally took the bait; he asked, Where is my Xiongdi? The man replied, Cai Yes good self was invited by Chi Ye to the Huang Ju Ting already. Xu Ziling had no way of declining, he had to agree. Ji Qians song ended, she took her seat amidst the zing apuse and cheers. The rest of the musicians and the dancers retired to another hall for another performance, leaving only two young maids to serve and to pour wine. Suddenly there was a burst of firecrackers noiseing from the outside. This moment the sound of drums and music was still lingering in their eardrums, and Ji Qians touching song was still winding around the beam, so that inside and outside, people could feel that Shang Lin Yuans air was different from other ces. Kou Zhong was beginning to understand why every night, when the City of Changan was brightly lit, Hou kid always could not help but going to mingle in Shang Lin Yuan. Ji Qians expression was not cold at all, but she was not chatting warmly either, showing clearly that after a few words of politeness, she might ask to be excused. Toward this famous courtesan who dared to treat her appointment with Li Yuanji like purpleing out of red, even with everybodys wealth, influence and skill, they still did not dare to utter half a sentence. As soon as she sat down, Ji Qian showed off her seasoned side; her face full of graceful smile, she raised her cup and said, Let Ji Qian toast everybody one cup first. Everybody hastily raised their cup in return. With Hu Xiaoxians foxy charm and Ji Qians bright countenance, immediately the room was filled with springtime. Ji Qian suddenly leaned over to whisper something in Hu Xiaoxians, who was sitting by her side, ear. Unexpectedly, under the eyes of everybody present, the two womenughed heartily, acting as though there were nobody else there, their charming attitude grew without restraint. Everybody, none was lucky to escape, could only stare nkly. Hu Fos attention was focused on Ji Qian. Forgetting his standing, Sha Chenggong said, Xiaoxian, would you be kind enough to tell us what Ji Xiaojie said in your ear? Let us share the good news. With a smile on her face, Ji Qian said, Xiaoxian Jie [elder sister] will keep the secret for me; I guarantee that even Da Xian, he, the Senior, cant do anything about it. [Trantors note: y of words, Xiaoxians name means little immortal, while Hu Fos title Da Xian means great immortal.] She then cast her gaze toward Ren Jun and said with augh, This gentleman must be Furong Laoban Ye, the man who knows how to make money the most in the world, our Great Tangs richest individual. The shop you opened in Changan is the ce I frequent the most; let me toast you a cup. Ren Jun came to his senses. Hurriedly raising his cup, he returned the salute and said, I will have my people check the inventory, everything that Qian Xiaojie deposited in my, Situ Furongs shop will be send back to Qian Xiaojies residence before noon tomorrow; just consider it a little kindly feelings, Qian Xiaojie please kindly ept. Hearing that, Kou Zhong, Lei Jiuzhi and Song Shidao were you look at me I look at you; other people thought that they were amazed that Situ Furong was making exception by being outspoken and straightforward, but actually they were astonished by Ren Juns quick wit, because he had fittingly showed that when Situ Furong met the object of his affection, he could change from miserly rich man to someone who would not hesitate to pay a thousand [catty of] gold, so suddenly the Situ Furong had a character. Ji Qian spoke blissfully, Thank you very much Laoban Ye! Kou Zhong began to feel Ji Qians formidable power. That kind of totally undisguised style was indeed very attractive, no wonder there were so many men had their spirit and soul upside down because of her. A popr prostitute who staked a thousand pieces of gold on one throw at the gambling table surely had her unique disposition and splendor. Looking at her manner, Ji Qian did not seem to consider Ren Juns generous treatment to be worthy in her eyes, her eyes revealed the unfathomable content of her fragrant heart. Ji Qians beautiful eyes casting a nce toward Song Shidao, she spoke softly and tenderly, Shen Xiansheng has a pair of really sharp eyes, no wonder you can see things that urately. Inwardly Kou Zhong was full of admiration; Ji Qian indeed had a skill in treating the guests, she had the entire situationpletely under her control. Ji Qians beautiful eyes finally floated onto his face. Kou Zhong rushed half a step ahead of her by clearing his throat and said, Xiaodi Cai Yuanyong, I only run errands for Furong Ye; originally I was not supposed to sit here, but Chi Laoban dragged me inside. Its an honor to meet you atst! His remark immediately provoked the entire hall into loudughter, Lei Jiuzhi and Song Shidao included. The two women even doubled-up inughter, so that the room felt like springtime. Wen Yanbo said with augh, I did not expect Cai Xiong to be this witty. Holding back hisughter, Ren Jun said, Ladies and Gentlemen must not believe what Yuanyong said, he and Wentong are both This moment someone at the door announced, Kuang Wentong, Kuang Ye has arrived! and thus interrupted Ren Juns words. Xu Ziling stepped over the threshold and entered the Huang Ju Ting, his mind was still stuck on the scene he witnessed before, suddenly he became the target of everybodys eyes. Smiling wryly in his heart, he looked up, and to his surprise, he saw both Ji Qian and Hu Xiaoxian as the guests of honor. Even with his cool-headed skill, he was still shocked inwardly. Hu Xiaoxian was not a problem, but Ji Qian revealed an astonished expression. The beautiful pupils of her eyes were gazing intently at Xu Ziling, as if she was looking straight through him. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong cried Bad! inwardly at the same time, knowing that Ji Qian, relying on womens keen intuition, was suspicious toward Xu Ziling; furthermore, they knew that she was not going to be polite toward this swindler. If she exposed him on the spot as Yong Qin, it would be a major catastrophe. Ren Jun began to y his role as Situ Furong; he acted calmly and stood up easily, while saying with augh, Wentong, where the hell did you go? You need to apologize and drink as a punishment. Kou Zhong paid particr attention to Xue Wanches reaction. Noticing that he was paying close attention to Ji Qians strange look when Xu Ziling appeared, plus his pair of eyes emitted pondering deeply look, Kou Zhong cried Not good! inwardly. Feeling uneasy all over, Xu Ziling sat in the only empty chair between Ji Qian and Yin Zuwen. ording to the original arrangement, sitting by Yin Zuwens left side ought to be Ji Qian, but because Ji Qian wanted to sit by Hu Xiaoxian, her original seat was vacant. Xu Ziling raised his cup and using Kuang Wentongs voice and intonation he delivered his final struggle, If Wentong knew that rather than standing outside the door and looking after the carriage I coulde in here to drink and make merry, I would have gone quickly and returned swiftly. Ay, Yuanyong and I actually already made appointment with Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan, two Daren; just now I had no choice but to apologize to them and cancel the appointment. Yin Zuwenughed and said, Wentong and Yuanyong are both candid men; let us drink a cup for their straight talk without any scruple! The crowd raised their cup again to toast. Ji Qian only moistened her lips slightly and put down the wine cup. Xue Wanche was unwilling to let it off; he smiled and said, I wonder if Qian Xiaojie and Wentong Xiong know each other? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce; they prepared themselves for the worst. Xu Ziling looked at Ji Qian first, and then he looked at Hu Xiaoxian, acting as if he did not know which one was Qian Xiaojie. Lei Jiuzhi, Song Shidao, and Ren Jun were severely shaken inwardly, they finally sensed the peculiar atmosphere between Ji Qian and Xu Ziling. Tenderly and charmingly Ji Qian slightly shrugged her shoulders; knitting her pretty eyebrows, she said, Xue Daren is not a good man! Do you want to force Ji Qian to reveal other peoples personal secret? Astonished, Chi Shengchun said, Why did Qian Xiaojie make such usations against Xue Da Jiangjun? Xue Wanche also asked in bewilderment, What does it have to do with Wentong Xiong personal secret? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling saw a line of opportunity to live instead, because Ji Qians expression distinguished and aplished, the tone of her voice gentle, she did not seem to see Xu Ziling as an enemy. Naturally, just like Chi Shengchun and Xue Wanche, they did not understand the meaning behind Ji Qians remark. The other people, none was not curious of Ji Qians remark; not letting her to get away easily, Hu Xiaoxian said with augh, Xiao Qian must not keep listeners in suspense, all right? If you and Kuang Xiong are not old acquaintances, how could you know his personal secret? Hardening his scalp, Xu Ziling said, Xiaodi is the one who wants to know the answer to this riddle the most. Qian Xiaojie, please speak forthrightly and give us directions. Sha Chenggong was obviously very interested in Ji Qian; hearing what was said, he pushed the wave and added to the billows by saying, Since Kuang Xiong does not mind, naturally we wont mind even more. Qian Xiaojie can give us the answer to the riddle! Ji Qian smiled, but did not say anything. Running her beautiful eyes over everybody around the table, she finally fixed her gaze on Ren Juns face, and spoke indifferently, After I tell you this, the first person who must not mind will be Situ Laoban Ye. Confused, Ren Jun said, How could I mind? Ji Qians gaze floated toward Xu Ziling by her side, she spoke softly, with a hint of naughtiness in her voice, Just now, did Kuang Daye really only go to see Er Daren and Qiao Daren? Book 49 5 – A Dagger Hidden In Smiles

Book 49 Chapter 5 C A Dagger Hidden In Smiles

Hearing what was said, as if he was relieved from a burden, Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief inwardly. Assuming an embarrassed look, he stammered, Did Qian Xiaojie go to Ming Tang Wo just now? At first, everybody was stunned, and then one after another they realized what happened, the hall exploded inughter. Ren Jun said with augh, Why would I mind? No one understands gambling addiction better than I do. Greatly astonished, Chi Shengchun said, Now the answer to this riddle has been announced publicly, turns out on the way just now Kuang Xiongdi went to Da Xians treasured business establishment to y a couple of hands, but there are two new puzzles that Id like to know. The first is that how could Kuang Xiongdi missed seeing our Qian Xiaojie? Everybody nodded in agreement, because as long as it was a man, no one would let the opportunity to look at a pretty woman slip by, let alone it was Ji Qian, this kind of absolutely stunning beauty. Moreover, once he saw her, it is guaranteed that he wont forget. Xu Ziling was well aware that his mind was entirely focused on Wang Bodang, afraid that in the crowded casino he could not keep an eye on him, but how could he exin it? Without any better option he smiled wryly and said, I wonder where was Qian Xiaojie at that time? Ay! I am the kind of person who, as soon as I set foot in the casino, even my father and mother are forgotten. Hu Fo blurted outughing and said, We wee noble guests like Kuang Xiongdi the most. The crowd could not help bursting inughter again. Xue Wanches doubt has been dispelledpletely, the banquet returned to its previous harmonious atmosphere. Song Shidao and Lei Jiuzhi exchanged a knowing smile, while inwardly both of them were thinking that whether it was Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling, whether they took the disguise of an attendant or any other role, they always became the focus of attention. Yin Zuwenughed and said, Shengchun, why dont you tell us the second thing that puzzled you? Chi Shengchun cast a nce toward Hu Xiaoxian first before speaking with a smile on his face, All the men in our Changan, no one does not want to leave an impression in Qian Xiaojies heart, but it seems like until this moment, no one seeds. Da Xians treasured business establishment is the most crowded ce in the city, when Qian Xiaojies gambling interest is aroused, she also does not recognize her own family When he spoke to that point, the whole room was roaring withughter again, interrupting Chi Shengchuns speech. Displeased and amused at the same time, Ji Qian cast a sidelong nce to Chi Shengchun, nearly hooking the soul of all the men around the table away. Chi Shengchun waited until theughter gradually subsided, and then with elegant demeanor he apologized to Ji Qian, Kuang Xiongdi and Cai Xiongdi brought their speaking-forthrightly manner into Changan, I was just going with the tide. Qian Xiaojie Daren, please be magnanimous, dont take offense. Gentlemen ought to understand my second puzzle! I am asking for Qian Xiaojies guidance, how could Kuang Xiongdi particrly attract your attention? We thought he must be sneaky! Xu Ziling was the only person aside from Ji Qian who knew the answer to that question. It was because Ji Qian was paying attention to the peopleing in and going out of Ming Tang Wo, her target was Yong Qin, and his build was the same as Yong Qins, hence the reason he attracted her interest. Ji Qian spoke in displeasure, At that time I was in a carriage at Ming Tang Wos gate, not inside the casino, and Kuang Xiong was walking more hurriedly than other people, his gambling addiction seems to be heavier than nujia. Hee! The crowd roared intoughter again. Ji Qians remark simultaneously dispelled Chi Shengchuns two suspicions. Yin Zuwen raised his cup and urged everybody to drink. The atmosphere was warm. Those who did not know the inside story, such as Wen Yanbo, Sha Chenggong, have never thought, not even in their dream, that the rtionship between the people around the table was so tangled andplicated, a battle of you hoodwink me and I cheat you was in full swing and spread like wildfire. Turning to Ji Qian, Hu Xiaoxian said, Xiao Qian, can you help me win a table of food and drink from Wen Darens? Ji Qian was thinking of asking to be excused, hearing that, her jet-ck eyebrows were knitted, her gaze met Chi Shengchun and the others expectant gaze; she understood immediately. Laughing sweetly, she said, I am tired! Is it enough to win Xiaoxian Jie a table of food and drink? Everybody was marveled at her nimble intelligence. Wen Yanbo spoke calmly, The words that Qian Xiaojies golden mouth has spoken, how could it worth only a table of food and drink? Naturally what I said counts. Yin Zuwen said, I have a proposal, why not look for another night, our original cast will move our troops to Da Xians Ming Tang Wo, both to drink and make merry, also to have small gambling pleasure. Kuang Xiongdi need not make a small detour in order to satisfy your gambling craving. Chi Shengchun looked at Ji Qian, he smiled and said, I am the first to approve. I wonder which evening Qian Xiaojie will be free? Kou Zhong and the others exchanged some nces, knowing that Yin Zuwen and Chi Shengchun were echoing one another, in the end it was to establish a closer rtionship with them. The goal was to have Situ Furongs pawnshop business under their control and to swallow it. Ji Qian stood up slowly; nonmittal, she said, Yin Guo Yue set the date and then let me know. Finished speaking, she asked to be excused and left. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, wearing nightwalker attire, borrowing the dark of the night as cover, leaped up and hid in the dense branch and leaves of an old tree on the street outside the Yin Mansions rear court wall. Hou Xibai was already waiting for them for a long time. Hou Xibai spoke in low voice, Yin Zuwen has juste back. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, You are here, how did you see himing back from the front door? Hou Xibai sighed and said, He just entered the small [two-story] building. Ay! It looks like the grand n to explore the pce tonight is dead on arrival [orig. fetus dies in the belly]. Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned at the same time. The former said with a frown, Isnt he going to wait for his old intimate friend toe here for a tryst? Hou Xibai shook his head to indicate he did not know. Obviously his mood was downcast. When he was about to report to Xu Ziling about Li Mi asking Li Yuans permission to get out of the Pass, Xu Ziling said, I know! And then he briefly narrated what he overheard from Yang WenGan as he was speaking with Wang Bodang andter on with Yang Xuyan. During the drive back from Shang Lin Yuan to Situ Mansion, Kou Zhong already heard the details. He swept his gaze around, trying to see from which direction the enemy, Wen Caiting, for example, woulde to rendezvous with Yin Zuwen. He mused that this small building has C in a where the water flows, a canal is formed way C be the secret meeting ce between Yin Zuwen and the demonic school party, because this small building was ssified as a restricted area, plus it was located in a corner, quite convenient toe and go, without any worry that the maids or servants of the mansion would find out. Suddenly his tiger-body shook, his left and right hands separately grabbed Xu Ziling and Hou Xibais shoulders, and he hissed, Watch out! The two followed his gaze, none did not draw out a mouthful of cold air, because they saw from a distance a shadow was soaring over houses and buildings, rushing toward this direction. There was some kind of ghostly, hard-to-fathom feeling of his speed, giving up the illusion of between fantasy and reality. Unexpectedly it was the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan rather than Wen Caiting. The three involuntarily crouched lower and shrank inside the densest part of the old tree, not daring to breathe half a breath, while restraining everything that could alert this number one martial art master of the demonic school. This moment Shi Zhixuan soared into the air, traversing more than ten zhang of empty space andnded on the roof of the small building, using a lord-overlooking-the-world attitude he looked disdainfully out of the corner of his eyes around, searching far and near. The three were so scared that they did not dare to take a peek through the branch and leaf in his direction, for fear that if their gaze came into contact with the others or even their formless attention might induce his reaction, and then it would be really bad for them. Presently they were d instead, that Yin Zuwen had entered the building one step earlier. If Yin Zuwen cameter than Shi Zhixuan, then while they were trying to open the secret tunnel, Shi Zhixuan might bump into them and thus destroy their good deeds. They did not even dare to imagine the terrifying consequences if that happened. Shi Zhixuan shed to the ground level and entered the building through the door. Kou Zhong pressed his palm on Xu Zilings back and poured his true qi in. Xu Ziling did not dare to speak, borrowing Kou Zhongs power, hebined it with his own and used it to eavesdrop over the distance. He could barely hear Yin Zuwens voice on the upper level speaking, Shi Dage! And then Shi Zhixuans heavy voice responded, Hows the situation? Everything is going well, Yin Zuwen replied, The Yin Gui Pais elder assembly and Zhao Deyan, respectively, proposed the conditions, as long as Dage can aplish them, they will only obey Dages orders in the future. Shi Zhixuan sighed and said, I wonder what is their head made of? By this time we are all on the same side, yet they are still talking about conditions. Speak up, let me hear it. Yin Zuwen respectfully said, The Yin Gui Pais elder assemblys condition is that Dage must eliminate the bane of their existence, in order to show your determination. Shi Zhixuan was silent for a moment. It was quite a whileter that he said, What did Zhao Deyan say? Yin Zuwen replied, Zhao Deyan said Dage must kill Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Shi Zhixuan was silent again. Yin Zuwen said, Dealing with these two kids is absolutely necessary [orig. circumstances require action], otherwise, if we let them join with Song Que, that old stubborn man, there will be a very high possibility that our grand n will be ruined for the sake of one basketful. As for Yin Gui Pais condition, Zuwen does not dare to make decision on Dages behalf. Shi Zhixuan spoke heavily, I have my own viewpoint. Is there any information on Wanwan? It is like she disappeared all of a sudden, Yin Zuwen replied, Yin Gui Pai people cannot find her. Laughing coldly, Shi Zhixuan said, Even if she grew two wings on her nks, it will still be difficult for her to fly out the crack between my fingers. Is there any movement on Li Yuans side? Yin Zuwenughed and said, Dage made your move in executing Sha Fang, you caused Li Yuan not to be able to lie down peacefully. He already set up what is called Zhu Xie Dui [punishing-demonic squadron],posing of the martial art masters under hismand with highest and strongest martial art skill, including You Chuhong and Yuwen Shang, their number is close to five hundred people, who are undergoing constant training in besieging tactics. Really ridiculous, how could we be willing to give up killing him now? If we really want to kill him, even if he has one thousand times, ten thousand times more martial art masters protecting him, it will be useless. Listening to this point, Xu Zilings heart was moved. Last time he heard Yin Zuwen and Wen Caitings conversation, he already had faint idea in his heart, but he was unable to grasp it. This moment it suddenly became clear to him. The scene of Bai Qinger with silver needles stuck on her head in training martial art inside Chi Shengchuns bedroom emerged in his mind. Bai Qinger must be going to use Chanu Da Fa to deal with Li Yuan. When the opportunity came, Li Yuan would no longer have any value to them, Yin Zuwen could rely on his special rtionship with Li Yuan to arrange Bai Qinger to meet with Li Yuan. And then when Li Yuan was having a good time, she would use the Chanu Da Fa to kill Li Yuan by sweeping his soul in ecstasy. This n was very sinister, practically Li Yuan would throw himself in, no need to worry he would not fall into the trap. Shi Zhixuan said, Well done. In the future, after our holy school obtains the world, you, Zuwen, are going to render the first merit. Zuwen, find out for me what is thest decision that Pi Chen and Zuo Youxian, those two kids are going to make. If they are still unwilling to acknowledge allegiance to me, Shi Zhixuan, I will clear the house. Besides, they do not have any qualifications to put forward any conditions to me. Do you understand? Understand! Yin Zuwen replied, About Xuyan, how is Shi Dage going to handle him? Shi Zhixuan spoke indifferently, If he obediently hands over the Yu Jin Wan Fa Xin Yuan Zhi Jing, everything will be good. Otherwise, obeying me you flourish, opposing me you perish. Is there anything else? Yin Zuwen sighed and said, I never thought that Shengchuns affair mayplicate the issue, it has caused one Duan Ming Cao San to appear. Shi Zhixuanughed and said, What Cao San appearing? What kind of a thing he is? Someone must have borrowed his name to snatch the painting. In terms of intelligence and martial art skill, this elegant thief was a first-ss figure; could it be Xibai? Yin Zuwen said, At that time Xibai was at Shang Lin Yuan, as if drunk or entranced [idiom: in a drunken stupor], indulging in pleasure and forgetting home and duty [idiom]. Ay! Who did it? Shi Zhixuan did not answer him. Xu Ziling, who was concentrating his attention to eavesdrop, was greatly astounded inwardly. Since Shi Zhixuan could think that it might be Hou Xibai, naturally he could also think that it might be him, Xu Ziling, who acted on Hou Xibais behalf. Plus Hou Xibai deliberately created an alibi that he was not present at the time of the theft. But why didnt he raise this issue to Yin Zuwen? He could not help but having a hard-to-describe feeling welling up in his heart. Yin Zuwen spoke again, Situ Furong, this man is really not simple, the few men working under him are all top-quality figures. Even less expected is that Situ Furong seems to be very interested in Hu Xiaoxian; we thought he has a homosexual [orig. Longyang, the same Longyang as in Huang Yis other work: Searching For Qin/A Step Into The Past] tendency. Shi Zhixuan said, Do you see any problem with Situ Furong? Yin Zuwen replied, We have been very careful in this regard; we have conducted thorough, no-holes-left-unentered investigation into this entire matter, without missing anything that could raise any doubt. So far we havent found any problem. Shengchun and I are nning to establish business partnership with him first, and then after figuring out his foundation, we will progressively nibble away at his business step-by-step until its gone. Shi Zhixuanughed and said, He voluntarily dropped by our door, that is enough misfortune already. I am leaving! You must be a bit more careful in everything! One after another Shi Zhixuan and Yin Zuwen left, only then did the three start to rx. What secret did you hear? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling quickly repeated the conversation between the two men. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Hou Xibai said, What do we do now? Shi Shi must have thought that the person who stole the painting must be Ziling; must we be the ck pot on Li Yuans behalf? Counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir [idiom], Kou Zhong said, Well worry about thatter, but now we must decide whether Shi Zhixuan actually sensed us, only he pretended not to know. Both Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were dumbstruck and unable to reply. Their hiding ce on the old tree was extremely good, plus in the dark of the night, and it was nearly twenty zhang away from the small building, even a brilliant master like Shi Zhixuan should find it difficult to see them. A good example would best night, even martial art masters of Li Yuan, Yuwen Shangs caliber did not sense their presence. However, Shi Zhixuan was not like ordinary person at all; whether he was able to generate reaction of the three mens presence, it was difficult to tell. Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, Listening to the tone of his voice, do you think he knew our presence but pretended not to know? Xu Ziling replied with a bitter smile, Very difficult to say. Since he recovered, I feel that it is very difficult to see through whats in his heart. Kou Zhong spoke seriously, This is a decision concerning our life and death, you cant just leave it to me to make decision. Two Dage, what do you say? Shi Zhixuan must have known that the floor level of the small building had a secret tunnel; if he knew that the three were hiding on the old tree, naturally he could guess that the three men wanted to sneak into the Tang pce via the secret tunnel. At that time, he only needed to rm the guards inside the pce, then he would be able to kill people with borrowed knife. One move to resolve the three troubles that were weighing his heart. With Shi Zhixuans intelligence and martial art skill, it should be an easy matter. Currently, the Tang pce was like a dragon pool and tiger cave, with the Zhu Xie Dui waiting in tight formation, not only they could guard against Shi Zhixuan, they could also rapidly mobilize their troops to deal with any intruder. Hou Xibai looked left and right first, and then he lowered his voice to ask Xu Ziling, Does Ziling have any reaction? This question was very appropriate, if Shi Zhixuan knew that they were hiding in here, he might pretend to leave first, and then turned back to monitor their movement from a hidden ce somewhere. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, I cannot sense it, but against your Shi Shi, my senses might not be of any use. Dont forget that when I was in your Douqing Wo [Passionate Nest], I could not sense that he was spying on me in the dark. How can it be the same? Kou Zhong analyzed, That time he was plotting against you while you did not have any intention against him. You were not paying attention for a moment, and that was pardonable. But now you are paying attention with all your mind. Hey! I have confidence in you! Xu Ziling said, In that case, are you going to proceed ording to n? Kou Zhong spoke resolutely, Upon entering the underground tunnel, we will immediately lock the entrance. Merely relying on Shi Zhixuans power, he shouldnt be able to open the tunnels cover. This time we are only going to get out on the other end to take a look at the situation, to figure out the position of the exit, and then well leave immediately. While Shi Zhixuan still does not know where the exit is, we cut down the time we are going to stay, even if Shi Zhixuan is ying ghost, I dont think hell seed. This moment the Tang pce is heavily-guarded, it shouldnt be that easy for him, the Senior to leap over the wall to enter the pce, should it? Hearing that, Hou Xibais spirit was greatly aroused. Shaking his head and swaying his noggin, he said, It makes sense! It makes sense! Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, So its two to one. Ling Shao, what do you say? Xu Zilingughed and said, I can never out-speak you, lets just see whether we can buy big and open big. Come on! Under the illumination of fire stick, they began to explore along the south wall of the underground tunnel, starting with the fake exit, exploring back cun by cun. Turning to Xu Ziling, who was standing close by his side, Hou Xibai said, I wonder if Shi Shi, because of his desire to unify the holy school, would harden his heart and make his move against Qingxuan? Xu Ziling sighed and said, I dont know! I really dont know! Im afraid your Shi Shi still has not decided on the answer. Hearing that, Kou Zhong, who was using his magic weapon to the utmost to grope and tap on the opposite wall of the tunnel, said, My greatest worry right now is that your Shi Shi will get rid of Ling Shao first. Therefore, starting tonight, Ling Shao must note to your Duoqing Wo alone. And then he added, Xiao Hou, you will be a lot safer instead, because before putting us in order, your Shi Shi definitely wont put you in order, to avoid beating the grass to scare the snake. (Cough!) Found it! This is a living wall. His Niangs! This design really tests our will! The other two moved closed to the wall where Kou Zhongs hands were pressing. Xu Ziling said, Is there any wall lock? Kou Zhongughed and said, Do you think Lu Dashi designed this? Watch me! Applying his power to both hands, he pushed. One side of the six-chi square wall leaned inside, the other side turned in the opposite direction, bing a revolving door, exposing another tunnel parallel to the tunnel where they were. The three looked at each other in delight, all of them were happy with this hard-won joy. Kou Zhong took the lead to enter the tunnel first; the tunnel extended to the east. Crossing the position of the fake exit, they continued for about a thousand paces, which, by their estimate, must be located at the heart of the imperial city, and then the tunnel turned to the north. The three continued several thousand paces, finally the exit appeared before their eyes. The design of the exit was identical to the entrance door. Cautiously and solemnly Kou Zhong opened the exit, heughed and said, I dare say that the exit is inside the Taiji Pce, most likely in the vicinity of Li Yuans bedroom. Delighted, Hou Xibai said, Why bother thinking about it? Stick your head out and see. Kou Zhong raised his thumb in praise and said, Good idea. Book 49 6 – Xiao’s Governance Followed By Cao[1]

Book 49 Chapter 6 C Xiaos Governance Followed By Cao[1]

From looking out the exit, Kou Zhong pulled his head back, his face revealed a I-cant-believe-my-eyes shocked expression, he drew out a mouthful of cold air and said, You guys go and see for yourself. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai quickly climbed the stone steps to the top and stuck out their heads to look. Shocked, Xu Ziling said, My Niang! Unexpectedly its right in the middle of Taiji Pce Hall. Ke Dazhi and I have stepped on this lid when we fought. Hou Xibai swept his gaze around, starlight and moonlight prated inside via the skylight on the roof of the pce hall. The gate to the pce hall was tightly closed, four octagonal pcenterns were lit above the dragon throne on the northern extremity of the pce hall, so that that side of the pce hall was shrouded in a halo, while the other side gradually transitioned from light to dark. Knitting his brows, he said, If this exit must be pushed to open it, it does not make any sense. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Thats right! Relying on the main entrance as the only way out is absolutely impossible. This requires four, five strong men to push and operate the heavy iron door. During its move, the noise can wake up the entire Taiji Pce. Hey! I may be exaggerating a little, but there must be a backdoor behind the dragon seat. That time, during the New Years Eve banquet, Li Yuan and a group of imperial concubines entered the main hall from that side. But Taiji Pce is an important ce within the imperial pceplex, outside the pce hall must be teeming with both covert and undercover guards. Going out from either the front door or the back door, theres no way to avoid the guards. If I am guessing correctly, there must be another short tunnel leading to Li Yuans pce bedroom. Shocked, Hou Xibai said, If we follow your cun-by-cun exploration method just now, without several days of hard work, we could forget about finding the other entrance to the tunnel. Kou Zhong sat down on the edge of the exit; tapping his own head, he smiled and said, Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns; if we are willing to use our brains, we could save a lot of effort. If there is indeed another tunnel leading to the pce bedroom, in order to savebor, the tunnel entrance must be somece rather close to the bedroom, Li Yuan could also save a few steps. I, Kou Xiaoshi [little master, as oppose to Dashi, great/grandmaster], am the disciple who received direct teaching from Li Dashi, I dare say that the entrance must be located on the dragon tform. The most likely position will be under the dragon seat. This way, the search scope can be greatly reduced. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai nodded in agreement, because Kou Zhongs spection indeed made sense. Obtaining the other twos agreement, Kou Zhong sprang up and darted toward the white stone steps leading toward the elevated tform where the dragon seat was located. The vast and empty main hall was quite intimidating. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai jumped out of the exit. Noticing the bundle on Hou Xibais back, Xu Ziling asked, Whats inside that thing? Hou Xibai sat cross-legged in the middle of the pce hall. He untied the bundle from his back andy it down in front of him, saying, Let Kou Zhong be busy! We must not waste time, lets get this survival tool allocated properly first. Xu Ziling understood immediately. Laughing and cursing, he said, Good guy! Copying him, he sat cross-legged and watched as Hou Xibai unwrapped the bundle. On the other side, Kou Zhong was unleashing his professional research on the target, delightedly busy. Just by looking at the ingenuity of the design of the previous long tunnel, he knew that the entrance to this segment of the tunnel inside the pce could not possibly be easy to find. Immensely proud of himself, Hou Xibai poured the contents of the bundlepletely to the floor; heughed and said, Not even in my dream have I ever imagined that I would sit in the middle of the Taiji Pce, distributing tools to disguise as a thief, to be a thief. This part here is yours, because you are Cao San, hence you must have an extra set of eighteen flying daggers and a set of fake teeth. Xu Ziling was not interested in Cao Sans things, he picked up the hook and rope that Hou Xibai pushed in front of his knees. He spoke in astonishment, This is a thick rope made of ox tendon, the hook is made of fine steel; obviously these are not something that you grabbed at thest moment. If you had one set for your own use, I would not be surprised at all, but you have as many as three sets, it is really beyond my expectation. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Cheng Huang [Note: city good] is near, you still dont know how to ask for a good sign? I asked Lu Dashis genuine direct disciple Lei Ye to manufacture these with utmost care. The rope is twelve-zhang long, even if you give it to an ordinary hand, he wont be able to use it. If we have a bit of skill, it would be like we grow a pair of wings, able toe and go up high inside the pce city; it will give us convenience to be a thief, also to slip away when necessary. Pointing to three piled of round balls [or bullets] that were as big as jujube pits but which materials were unknown, Xu Ziling asked, What ghost things are these? Hou Xibai replied, These are not ordinary knockout incense bomb that are being used by third-ss robbers, but the famous unique magic weapon that Cao San used to defend himself. It is both to knockout the enemy, but also to produce arge amount of thick fog. I got these from Cao Sans body, originally I left it alone just as a memorial, I never thought that unexpectedly I could put it to good use. We can get three bullets each. You only need to toss this bullet; especially in a closed, indoor space, it could disy an unexpected result, to make people believe that you are Cao San. Xu Ziling was dubious, Such a small bullet, how much thick smoke can it produce? I wonder if Cao San used several bullets at the same time? Hou Xibai said, Originally I had ten altogether. I had the same doubt as you do, so I tested it by throwing one to the ground, Im afraid you wont believe me if I tell you the result, the thick smoke nearly choked me to death. I am not exaggerating like Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Looking at your outfit, listening to the tone of your voice, tonight does not seem like you can juste, look around, and then you are done. Hou Xibai took out a scroll from his bosom; pushing aside everything else, he spread the scroll on the floor, and held it down by putting knockout smoke bullets on the four corners. He said with augh, This is the map of the entire Great Tang pce city, which Xiaodi refined this past few days based on my memory, not a single grass, a single tree is missing; it is more detailed than Liu Zhenghuis ssified map of the pce city. With two Laoges highly retentive memory ability, after looking at it a few times, you will memorize it in your heart, and then when you are escaping, it will be as convenient as walking around in your own home. The nk spaces are ces where I have not yet been. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, You havent answered my question yet. Crack! The noiseing from the direction of the dragon tform attracted the two mens attention. Looking at the direction of the noise, Kou Zhong, haltingly, but full of aspiration, stood up from the ce next to the dragon seat, which had been moved away, he made a sess signal toward the two. The design of the entrance under the dragon throne was identical to the entrance of the Yin Mansions tunnel, except there was no bolt lock. However, without enough power, one could not open this entrance. Therefore, unless one was as resolute as Kou Zhong, one could forget about even detecting the entrances existence. The secret tunnel extended straight to the north, the three men followed this tunnel straight to the rear of the pce and only then did they see the exit. This time they were a lot more careful. They organized their outfits first, each one wrapped the rope and hook around his waist, Xu Ziling even put on Cao Sans flying dagger and mask. And then Kou Zhong pressed his palm on Xu Zilings back so that thetter could eavesdrop any movement outside the tunnel. Under the two mens expectant gaze, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Outside must be a ce like an imperial garden, I hear the sound of wind blowing, leaves rustling. Kou Zhong happily said, Based on Xiao Hous map of the Tang pce, outside should be the imperial garden of the Fen Ge HouGong [rear pce], to the right is Li Yuans bedroom pce, to the left is the imperial concubines courtyard; Zhang Niangniangs Ning Bi Ge is an independent courtyard inside thisplex. The Great Tangs pce city was located at the northern extremity of the north-south central axis of the City of Changan, living high and looking down, the south side was called King [not sure], the pce city consisted of Imperial City and Inner Imperial Pce, two major sections, separated by a public square cutting across it. Furthermore, the Imperial Pce was divided into three sections. In the middle was the Taiji Pce, on the west was Ye Ting Guan, where Li Shimins Heavenly Policy Mansion was located, on the east was Li Jianchengs Crown Prince East Pce. At the heart of the Taiji Pce was Taiji Dian [pce hall], followed by Liang Yi [lit. two righteousness: heaven and earth, yin and yang], Cheng Qing, Li Zheng, and Shen Long, four pce halls. Crossing these four pce halls going to the north were the imperial garden and the courtyard where emperors imperial concubines lived. The rear pce gate was the Xuanwu [ck Tortoise] Gate, with the pce guard; this was where the pces imperial guard headquarters was located. It could house massive military force for a long term, which was responsible for the defense of the pce city. Therefore, the rear courtyard of the Imperial Pce was the most dangerous spot in the Great Tangs Pce; one thing went wrong, they could easily attract thousands of elite imperial guards toe to besiege them. Xu Ziling said, I am still a little vague about the real goal of tonights night exploration of the Tang Pce; some say its to find a path, while some other seem to really want to show off their fists and feet. Kou Zhongughed and said, Why not say that we want to let Cao San show off his might? Ling Shao, no need to look at me like that, I understand that rming Li Yuans so called his Niangs Zhu Xie Dui is definitely unwise, plus it is totally crazy. Therefore, we must lead away a goat while passing, by taking a pleasant-to-the-eyes treasured object, while also leave the genuine goods at fair prices swallow marking that Hou Gongzi brought along. If that is still not enough, Ling Shao could use your handwriting to leave something like Cao San was here on the wall. Hou Xibai excitedly said, Entering Baoshan [lit. treasured mountain], how could wee back empty-handed? Just take the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu in passing; it definitely surpasses waiting for Li Yuan to summon our Song ErGe into the pce. Xu Ziling made a signal to Kou Zhong with his eyes, telling him to speak. Kou Zhong understood; he patted Hou Xibais shoulder and said, Things have difficult and easy differences, tonight well choose the easy and avoid the difficult. We are going to explore Li Yuans study room only. Even if the treasured painting is really in there, after you, Gongzi Daye take a couple of nces, you must put it back where it belongs, and then well go home together and go to bed. Hou Xibai was greatly astonished. He spoke in disappointment, Are you hiding something from me? Dont be overly sensitive, Kou Zhong said, This is all for your own good! Thats the decision. Tonight, we areing quietly, we are leaving quietly, leaving only some traces of Cao San. Please put out the fire paper. The tunnel returned to extend-a-hand-cannot-see-five-fingers pitch-ck condition. Under Kou Zhongs skillful application of his power, the stone lid, without creating any noise at all, sank down and slid to the side. Kou Zhong cried out in low voice, This lid is particrly heavy. The star-studded night sky appeared overhead. Xu Ziling stuck out his head to look, he could not help secretly praising the original and ingenious design of the tunnel. It turned out the exit was located inside a fake rock mountain in the middle of arge pond right at the heart of the imperial garden. The exit was on one of the t sloping sides, with the mountain rocks all around blocking the line of sight, so that getting in and out, one would not need to worry of being seen. The three climbed out and closed the exit, they also put on their hoods. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, There seems to be no one in the imperial garden. This is probably to provide convenience for Li Yuan in going in and out, he intentionally did not set up any patrolling guards in here. Kou Zhong took a deep breath of the cool night wind, heughed softly and said, The best ce to visit in Changan should be the Great Tangs pce; we areing for a tour. Come! Taking the lead, he darted swiftly to traverse over the seven, eight zhang of water, and then his toes tapped the stone railing at the edge of the pond, he soared at an angle andnded on a horizontal branch of a big tree by the pond. Like a shadow attached to a form, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai followed closely behind. Looking far into the distance from their vantage point, they noticed that Zhang Jieyus Ning Bi Pavilion was still brightly lit, they could faintly hear the sound of string and woodwind ensemble. Whether it was the imperial concubines residence or Li Yuans rear pce, both were cloisters of courtyards and pce halls surrounded by winding corridors, each with continuous high wall defining its boundary, and with imperial gardens in between as separators. At this time, apart from the Ning Bi Pavilion, most of the buildings only revealed dimntern lights. However, along the corridor, there were pcenterns every ten steps illuminating the path, so that it was as bright as day. Viewed from far away, it looked likentern troop formation; quite an impressive sight. In the Western Inner Garden about a dozen of zhang outside the rear pce wall, thenterns were bright; if they wanted to leave from that side, the only way would be to charge by force. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, How are we going to go over the wall without being seen? Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, If we could find the usual route that Li Yuan takes when he is slipping away to the imperial garden, we coulde and go unobstructed just like Li Yuan. Li Yuan cant possibly rm the entire rear pces imperial guards each time he went out on an inspection tour, can he? Come! Under cover of darkness and the trees and pavilions, the three swiftly flew toward the high wall of the rear pce east of the garden. They leaped onto another big tree, immediately they were able to take in the whole rear pces situation at once. The rear pce had nine courtyards in total, arranged in a square. On all four corners, there were watchtowers, up to thirty zhang high, with guards on them. ording to the detailed map that Hou Xibai drew, Li Yuans bedroom pce was centered in the middle, and his study room was located west of his bedroom pce. Inside the pce, the trees were abundant, the scenery was extremely beautiful. They were able to see four groups of guards, twenty men each, patrolling the winding corridors, but what worried them the most was hidden sentries. Scanning far and near with his eyes, Xu Ziling said, It doesnt matter how fast our shenfa is, as long as the guards on those watchtowers are not dozing off, we can forget about leaping over the wall without rming them. I wonder if Li Yuan has another way in and out? Putting on his grandmaster in architectural and civil engineering air, Kou Zhong examined the high wall separating the rear pce and the full garden. On the surface, except for the official ess, which was under guards, he did not see anything different. Hou Xibai pointed to the west of the rear pce and said, Over there, beyond those particrly dense trees, is precisely Li Yuans study room. If Li Yuan wanted to go out of the pce, he could pretend to be going to the imperial study room to work, and then he could enter the imperial garden via a secret door. My guess should be reasonable! Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Good kid! You are amazing! Suddenly his countenance changed, he bent his ear to listen, and said, Whats that noise? Xu Ziling focused his power into his ears to listen to that direction. Frowning, he said, Should be the sound of dogs walking around. Kou Zhong sighed and said, In that case, we can be even more sure that the secret door must be over there. Li Yuan does not want his men to know his whereabouts, hence the study room is only guarded by vicious dogs. My Niang, even if we can get in, how are we going to evade the big brother dogs effective and acute dog eyes and dog nose? Xu Zilingughed and said, You seem to forget that we are not afraid to limit publicity at all, we might as well have you, LaoGe make your move, using thunderbolt-fail-to-reach-the-ear technique to deal with the dogs as soon as we see them, seal the dogs acupoint and put them entirely under control. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Xiongdi is teasing me again! Turning to Hou Xibai, he asked, Did your Shi Shi ever teach you how to seal dogs acupoint? But we must not harm them. Hou Xibai replied with bitter smiled, I am afraid no one in Jianghu knows this kind of strange skill to control the dogs. I wonder if Cao Sans knockout bullet can achieve simr result? After another round of scrutiny and exploration, Heaven indeed granted mans wish, they found another secret door [lit. living door] on the wall separating the imperial garden and the neighboring imperial study room. The three did not dare to create any noise for fear of rming the vicious dogs on the other side. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling worked together again; using the Long-Life Qi they researched and examined the secret door. The wall was half a chi thick; if it was really made of stone, perhaps it would still be difficult for two big men pushing together to move it a hairsbreadth. Kou Zhong pointed to the foot of the wall, indicating that the secret door could only be lifted open from the bottom, while at the same time he reached into his bosom to take out a knockout incense ball. At Kou Zhongs direction, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai crouched down and tried to push the bottom of the secret door. Sure enough, the bottom of the secret door moved inward, revealing a gap about a cun wide. At the same time, the three applied their power to close their pores to prevent their scent from spreading, otherwise the dogs might bark furiously and then they would ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. On the other side of the wall, the dogs discovered something was different, they all rushed toward the secret door; perhaps they thought that their masters good self hase back. However, whether that was indeed the case, naturally they would never know. Kou Zhong pinched the knockout incense ball in his hand so that a micro crack appeared, the knockout incense, in the form of a thin smoke, escaped a little bit. Under control of his true power, the smoke sprayed via the gap into the other side of the wall. Not a momentter, from the other side came the sound of the dogs stifled grunt and them falling down to the ground. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, he forcefully pushed the knockout incense ball into ground. Great sess, he said with augh, I never thought that it would be that easy. Fortunately the trees sheltered this area, otherwise the men on the watchtower would see the dogs lying all over the ground, and that will be a big joke. After listening carefully to make sure that all the dogs were under control, they quickly pushed the secret door open from the bottom and slipped right in. Li Yuans imperial study room was a unique structure; surrounded all around by trees, it was separated from the other buildings by winding corridors. The building consisted of three sections: front, middle and rear. The front section was the conference hall; all four walls were full of mahogany cabs where scrolls of document were kept. The middle section was the study room, where there were two sets of table and chairs and small tables for books where one could rest or read. The inner section was the dragon seat, where Li Yuan dealt with important governmental affairs. The dcor was calligraphy and painting hanging on the wall, antiques and curios, and folk art. The furnishing was elegant, abundant with bookish atmosphere. Kou Zhong went over and sat down in the dragon throne. Facing the two men, he sighed and said, Being able to sit here, the trip has not been made in vain. Hou Xibai acted as if he did not hear Kou Zhong at all; his shining two eyes swiftly swept around, and then he began to search for the painting with gusto, inside the drawers and cabs where anything could be hidden. Xu Ziling could not helpughing. He walked over to the other side of the dragon desk and said, If he really found the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, you will be in charge of holding him down, while I will be responsible to grab the painting back. Kou Zhong simply raised his feet onto the table, he reached out to pick up an empty seal on the tabletop and said, How about we steal this Li Yuans empty seal? I guarantee that Li Yuan will fly into a rage, he will turn the entire city of Changan upside down to hunt and arrest Cao San. Xu Ziling shook his head and said with augh, How could the emperors jade seal be ced on the table so casually like that. I am afraid its just an ordinary seal. Kou Zhong tried to look at the inscription on the seal. Half a dayter, he was ready to give up. Shaking his head, he said, This is even more difficult to recognize than the oracle bone inscriptions on the Secret To Long Life. Hou kid,e here and read it for me. Hou Xibai hollered, I dont have time for that kind of idleness; if you donte quickly to lend a hand, I will me you guys for a lifetime. Kou Zhong was about tough at him, when suddenly there was a strange ding-a-ling noiseing from the roof over his head, followed by the sound of metal scraping the surface of the roof tile, and finally some unknown metallic object fell from the roof ridge onto the ground, producing another shaking-to-the-core noise as the object made contact with the ground. In the still and solemn rear pce of the Great Tang, such noise spread widely and could be heard far and near. The three you look at me I look at you, their scalp went numb, momentarily they could not figure out what had happened. Shouts wereing from all over the ce outside the imperial study room. The three called Not good! inwardly, as if they just suddenly fell into a nightmare. Their worst fear was finally happening. 1 Chapter Title: idiom: to strictly adhere to the policies of the predecessor/to follow precedence. Book 49 7 – The Wind and Cloud[1] in the Tang Palace

Book 49 Chapter 7 C The Wind and Cloud[1] in the Tang Pce

Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Its Shi Zhixuan. How did he do that? The first sentence was a conclusion, thest sentence was a question. Only Shi Zhixuan could possibly know that they sneaked in from the underground tunnel. However, unless he had been following them via the tunnel to this ce, how could he urately throw something to the roof of the imperial study room, so that it crashed against the roof, rolled down, and fell to the ground, and thus alerting the pces imperial guards? In order to guard against Shi Zhixuaning to assassinate Li Yuan, the Great Tangs pce city was already like stretched-taut, waiting-for-action-after-having-umted-energy C bowstring. This trick by Shi Zhixuan immediately triggered the formidable defensive power of the Great Tangs Pce, like a sudden swelling of the mountain sh flood. And the ones bearing the brunt were precisely the three of them. Although from time to time they kept talking about the possibility of being found out after they entered the pce, for the most part they were just chatting and joking. Tonights trip was purely to explore, they never thought that they might fall into this situation, which probably could consign them to eternal damnation. Xu Ziling decisively said, Give all your knockout incense balls to me, you and Xibai take the short tunnel and go in secret to the Taiji Pce, and then from Taiji Pce find a way to escape, I will pull the enemy away. With one hand he received the knockout incense balls, which the two men handed over, with the other hand he took off his hood and loosened his hair, and put on the mask. Kou Zhongs mind was interlinked with his, this moment they had no time to talk nonsense, this was a choice within no choice. If Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai could escape with the gods did not know and the ghosts did not perceive, while on the other side Xu Ziling could also get away, then it could already be considered great sess. Ziling, be careful, Hou Xibai spoke in low voice. This moment, outside the imperial study room, there were interweaving shes of bright torches everywhere, evidently the enemies were rushing over from four sides, eight directions. Xu Ziling slipped out of the window, while tossing two balls at the same time. Before the arrows and darts reached him, he made a somersault and leaped onto the roof of the imperial study room. Thick smoke arose. The most brilliant thing was that it dispersed with the wind, so that the imperial study room disappeared inside the smoke. Living high and looking down, in an instant Xu Ziling was able to grasp the entire situation. The imperial guards rushing over have not surrounded the imperial study room. The first to arrive would be the two groups of personal bodyguards from south and north, two gates, respectively. Just now the ones shooting arrows at him were the imperial bodyguards from the south gate, two of which hadparatively superior qinggong, they leaped at an angle and were about to arrive. Far away, from all directions, torches light were moving rapidly in this direction, if he was hesitating ever so slightly, he would surely fall into hopeless situation of being under siege of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses. Xu Ziling did not let the enemy to have the opportunity to either fight or to close in around him. Sweeping upward to the roof ridge, he soared into the air andnded into the middle section of the study room. One foot lightly tapped the ground, he flew along the roof ridge of the front section, and threw himself toward the imperial garden. He threw two more balls, the entire imperial study room area was enveloped in blooming smoke of the knockout incense, the effect was magical, even Xu Ziling as the user also felt that it was hard to believe. Near and far, people were rushing over, either on the roof or on the ground. Looking at their shenfa, it looked like there was nock of martial art masters among them. Xu Ziling leaped over the high wall andnded on the gravel path of the imperial garden. He threw two more balls, immediately thick smoke sprang up everywhere; carried by the wind, the smoke spread over the vast imperial garden, all around, it looked like real yet it appeared to be illusion as well. Out of eight balls, he already dropped six. To Xu Ziling himself, it did not do much, but to Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai, the smoke provided much needed cover. Kill without mercy. Amidst his busyness, Xu Ziling looked at the direction where the voice came from, only to see dozen or so men pressing down on him from the other side of the imperial garden, the leader was, surprisingly, Li Yuan, the shout wasing from his imperial mouth. Other than him, the one Xu Ziling recognized was Yuwen Shang. Hundreds of personal bodyguards were swarming over from the direction of the Taiji Pce and Xuanwu Gate. Were it not for the smoke, the torches light would have exposed him that not a single strand of hair would be hidden. There was the twanging noise of the bowstrings as hundreds of powerful arrows were shots from the powerful crossbows from behind, like a torrential rain, with him as the target. Xu Ziling shot straight up into the sky, so that all the arrows and darts hit empty air. He continued rising up nearly fifteen zhang into the air, his right hand swiped his waist, he took off the ox tendon hook rope and shot it toward a tall tree near the partition wall behind him, while at the same time he borrowed the force to traverse the air, leaving the imperial garden, and casting himself back in the direction of Li Yuans bedroom pce. This move was beyond everybodys expectation; they were no longer able to besiege him inside the imperial garden. However, Xu Ziling was well aware that he was still not out of danger. Because Li Yuans bedroom pce was the ce with strictest security within the imperial pce, the outer pce wall was something that was difficult for flying bird to cross even more. If he was dyed even for a moment, Li Yuan and his group of martial art masters would be able to overtake him, then he would fall into the situation where there was only death without any opportunity to live. And hisst magic weapon was only the remaining two knockout incense balls inside his pocket. When Xu Ziling threw the knockout incense balls, Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai did not dare to hesitate; they flew out of the main entrance, and then entered the imperial garden via the secret door. Under cover of the smoke, taking advantage of the enemys attention waspletely focused on Xu Ziling, they stealthily flew toward the fake mountain rock. By the time they entered the underground tunnel, the imperial garden was full of torchlight and the imperial guards like wolves and tigers. The situation was dangerous to the extreme. After slight hesitation, they had no choice but to flee without Xu Ziling. While running, Hou Xibai asked, Can Ziling get away? Full of confidence, Kou Zhong replied, Dont look at this kids usual na?ve and honest look; he is actually more cunning than me. Qiang! He drew the Moon in the Well. Hou Xibai came to himself; he lighted a fire stick. In a sh, the two reached the exit under the dragon seat in Taiji Pce. Kou Zhong told Hou Xibai to put out the fire stick, he spoke in low voice, If your Shi Shi is really hanging around our tail and entered the pce after we did, then the ce where he is most likely waiting for us is precisely upstairs. As soon as we are out, we see one, we kill one, we see a pair, we kill a pair. Hou Xibai nodded to indicate he understood. Taking out the Fan of Beauty from his sleeve, he said, Open the lid! Xu Ziling tapped the roof ridge with his toes, immediately he spun around like a tornado, so that all the arrows, dart, and secret projectiles that were about to touch his body were slipping away, none was able to bring him any harm. At the same time, the hook rope in his left hand shot out, it grabbed arge tree by the building, abruptly changing his entering-the-enemy-siege momentum to moving horizontally in the air. And then with a nimble technique he pulled back the hook rope andnded on top of the winding corridor separating the courtyard. The entire rear pce was turning into a boiling battlefield, with hundreds of torches illuminating the area that everywhere was as bright as daytime, the dark of the night lost its usefulness as a cover. The roof of the pce halls was covered entirely by the imperial guards climbing over; were it not for the life-saving hook rope he would not be able to move even for a single cun. The Great Tangs imperial guards disyed a high degree of organizational ability and their steely discipline; group after group of men advanced and pressed down in the operation to encircle and annihte him. As long as one group was able to entangle him, he would certainly be unable to leave with his life intact. He was still one courtyard away from the high wall, about twenty zhang high, separating the Taiji Pce and the East Pce. The top of the wall was covered densely with imperial guards, with bows and arrows in their hands, ready to shoot. His target was the watchtower, about thirty zhang high, at the southeast corner. If his hook rope was able to grab the top of the building, he could evade the arrows and the darts, and escaped into the East Pce area, and charged straight toward the outer pce wall. A group of more than thirty imperial guards saw him leaping toward the top of the winding corridor, hastily they also rushed toward the winding corridor, raising their sabers and spears, ready to deliver a frontal assault to him. The many top quality martial art masters under Li Yuans leadership, like dozens of lightning and typhoon, surged on from behind. Were it not for Xu Ziling constantly changing direction, perhaps he would have been surrounded early on. This moment they were merely about fifty zhang away from Xu Ziling, and would be able to reach him in the blink of an eye. Xu Ziling was dropping down; if the imperial guards on the winding corridor managed to force himnd on the ground, it would be akin to falling among the tigers and the wolves, surely there would be no luck to escape. He already calcted urately; throwing himself toward the winding corridor was just a ruse to confuse the enemy. Before the enemys weapons reached his body, he pulled the hook rope back, and shot it again to grab another big tree outside the winding corridors wall, changing his going-down-at-an-angle momentum into a going-up-at-an-angle momentum, barely evading the enemys interception, like a big bird soaring in the air, toward the top of the building on the southeast corner. The top of the pce hall was full of archers. Seeing him flying over toward them from high up in the sky, they immediately released the arrows and darts, powerful and urate, simply unavoidable. Xu Ziling roused his fighting spirit, thinking that if he could obtain a foothold on top of the pce hall, he could use the hook rope to catch another tree, and then he could reach the watchtower, his target, and from there he could charge into the East Pce. With a strange whistle, Xu Ziling converted the true qi within his body, from falling down to shooting horizontally, evading the closest powerful arrow by mere hairsbreadth, and then before the enemy released the second round of powerful arrows, like a tiger charging into a flock of sheep, he entered the crowd of the enemies on top of the pce hall, giving everything he had, so that those who resisted him were swept by the wind, not a single one was able to stand. Falling to the east and copsing to the west, they dropped down from the roof ridge, and fell down to the ground, causing great chaos among the enemies. However, with just this slight dy, Li Yuans group was able to shave the distance to thirty zhang; the situation was extremely critical. Xu Ziling shot from both sides, he sted a group of four enemies swarming over from the other side of the roof ridge, sending them falling to the ground. He was about to set foot on the roof ridge, suddenly one man and one woman appeared on the roof ridge. The manughed heartily and said, Xie Wang, where are you going? This pair of ignorant husband and wife has been waiting respectfully for a long time. Since the beginning of his escape, Xu Ziling has never thought that the other side would mistake him as Shi Zhixuan. But this time he did not have time to think, running for his life was more important. This pair of man and womans shape and appearance was distinct. The man was dressed in schr attire, the woman was wearing embroidered long skirt. The former only wielded a shield, thetters jade hand grasped a sword. They were standing casually, yet they carried some kind of steady-like-an-iron-tower defensive momentum; they were absolutely not ordinary martial art master imperial guards. The mans head was full of silvery-grey hair, but he only looked like a middle-aged man, and could be considered quite handsome; however, looking at his eyes, he ought to be an old senior who has had his fill of worldly affairs. The woman looked graceful and gorgeous, with myriad of bearings, the hair on her temples grizzled, but the impression was that her beautiful hair was still shiny and jet-ck. Xu Ziling had brilliant insight, he knew that he would not be able to easily charge through this barrier. With a stern shout he pulled the flying daggers from his waist and shot them in rapid session. The stone lid moved across to reveal the exit. Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai held their breath and waited. Unexpectedly there was no detectable movement on the outside at all, everything was quiet. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Could it be I am guessing incorrectly? Let me get out first and take a look! The person following the saber, he soared into the air. The vast and empty Taiji Pce Hall was as serene as before, there was no trace of Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhong felt strange inwardly. He was already more than ten zhang high in the air, and was about to change his qi to sink down when strange change appeared suddenly. From inside the tunnel came the sound of whistling qi power, intermingled with Hou Xibais muffled grunt and the intense noise of shing true power. Kou Zhong cried Bad!, only then did he realize that Shi Zhixuan unexpectedly crept behind them, watching for a good opportunity in the dark tunnel to mount a sneak attack toward Hou Xibai. Not only Shi Zhixuans martial art skill was above Hou Xibais, he also had deep understanding of his disciples skill, plus he took unfair advantage of Hou Xibai being caught off guard; naturally he totally upied the advantageous position. Kou Zhong calmed himself down and focused his attention, he did not allow his concern about Hou Xibai and his anxiety to affect his mind. Taking a deep breath, man and saber be one, he dropped down into the tunnel again. Qi power carried a whistling noise, it echoed along the tunnel. The sound of fighting stopped. Carrying Hou Xibai, Shi Zhixuan flew out of the tunnels exit, fast as lightning, his fist struck the tip of Kou Zhongs stabbing downward saber. Kou Zhong felt as if he was struck by lightning, his five viscera and six bowels surged over unbearably, he nearly vomited blood. Shi Zhixuans astonishing qi power rushed forth along the saber like a flood, Kou Zhongs body refused to follow its masters order, it flew toward the middle of the pce hall. By the time his feet touched the ground, Shi Zhixuan casually put down the unconscious Hou Xibai on the floor, and walked over until he was about a zhang away in front of Kou Zhong, where he stood still with his hands behind his back, and said with a smile, Its rare! Its rare! Unexpectedly you are able to block Ol Shis full-power punch. It can clearly be seen that both Shaoshuais saber technique and your power have made great progress. Kou Zhong pressed down his surging blood and qi with great difficulty; the Moon in the Well pointed at this most terrifying demon not only within the demonic school, but in the world as well C from a distance, he spoke in heavy voice, My little life is here, I want to see if you, Xie Wang have the ability to take it away? Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Shi Zhixuan looked back at Hou Xibai, lying on the ground, before he turned around again and said with augh, Xibai only has his acupoints sealed by me, he still has not lost his ability to see and hear, I hope Xibai is not going to either see or hear someone whom he considers as a good friend would be greedy for life, afraid of death, would be a scoundrel who abandon friend and escape. Kou Zhong was so angry that he nearly flew into rage while was also extremely anxious. Taking a deep breath, he said, Despicable! The Moon in the Well swiftly hacked down. Seeing this, Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air; he had never seen anybody using a shield as light as a feather like this, as nimble as a deity, ever-changing; it just didnt matter from which angle his flying daggers wereing, or what technique he was using to shoot them, the opponents shield flipped and flew, or block it hard-on, or he used the edge of the shield to hack, every single movement was able to block the flying dagger. Xu Ziling shot ten flying daggers, yet not a single one was lucky enough to be spared. He threw the flying daggers using a technique that the daggers were joined together as string of pearls, shooting toward the pair of martial art masters, husband and wife, who blocked his way, yet the husband was able to use his shield to block all. These things happened in a lightning or flint-spark speed, and were over in the blink of an eye. Suddenly the shield pressed down right on his face, while to the right of the shield a sword light was ring greatly. The sword and the shield worked together like a seamless heavenly clothes,ing straight with powerful momentum. On the roof slope, the other warriors reorganized their battle array and charged toward him. This slight dy has caused him to fall into heavy siege. Li Yuan and the others had chased to the winding corridor, which he swept past a moment ago. The situation was critical to the extreme point. The woman shouted tenderly, Xiu Ge! He is not Xie Wang! Xu Ziling let out a stifled groan, the tip of his foot forcefully shot out a bit high, heunched a punch over the empty air to st the shielding down at him from about a zhang away. Boom! Qi power shed; without the slightest bit of fancy, fake move, fiercely striking each other in stake-it-all move. The shield-wielder martial art masters entire body shook, but Xu Ziling was shaken by the impact force that he was thrown backward, and was falling toward Li Yuans group. This was beyond the enemies on the roof slopes expectation, immediately their troops disposition was thrown into great chaos, the sound of shouting shook the sky. Li Yuan and the others did not expect that Xu Ziling would drop by their door; seeing that there was no time to lose, more than a dozen men leaped into the air to intercept him midair. Seeing Li Yuan personally made his move to lead, the imperial guards on the grounds morale was greatly aroused, they shouted together to cheer their lord. The shouts and cheers rose up to the heavens, shaking the entire pceplex. Naturally Xu Ziling was not that stupid. The hook rope shot horizontally across, it grabbed the trunk of a tree nearby, changing his direction so that he was traversing sideways. Li Yuan, Yuwen Shang, and a group of martial art masters among the imperial guardspletely pounced on empty air. Xu Ziling changed his strategy, the tip of his foot tapped on the horizontal branch near the top of the tree, he easily pulled the hook rope back, and swept across to the roof of a small pavilion, and then he somersaulted, used the hook rope to grab another tree, and high up in the air he threw himself toward the watchtower on the southeast corner. One after another the powerful arrows that were shot from the top of the city wall and the watchtower fell through. Right this moment, from among the group of imperial guards on the ground, a shadow, using rapid-beyond-humanprehension shenfa, shot up vertically toward him. Xu Ziling was still gliding in the air about twenty -zhang high from the ground; he could feel the fierce and severe momentum with which the enemy wasing at him. Just by looking at how the opposite side was able to shoot up twenty zhang into the air to intercept him, he knew that the opponent was at least of Li Yuan, Yuwen Shangs caliber, or even surpassed their level. Looking down, immediately his soul flew away and scattered, he cried Not good! inwardly. Finally Kou Zhong had first hand experience confronting what Xu Ziling called the Shi Zhixuan without any w, the kind of dont-know-where-to-start feeling. It was like he was standing there, but it also felt like he was not there. Kou Zhong was simply unable to grasp his position, let alone to predict his next move. However, his saber already carried once-gone-noing-back momentum, changing his move would only expedite his defeat. The saber strike carried concentrated spiraling energy, so that no matter how formidable Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa was, chances are he would not dare to meet it head-on. Shi Zhixuan let out an indifferentugh, suddenly he swayed to the left and right at astonishingly high speed, just like he suddenly grew into several incarnations, hard to tell which one was real, which one was illusion. Suddenly he appeared on Kou Zhongs left side, his sleeve brushed toward the side of Kou Zhongs forehead. Unexpectedly Kou Zhong closed his eyes, while spinning his body around and brandishing his saber, carrying with it intensely cold, fierce and severe saber qi, the saber de, like it was assisted by a deity, chopped Shi Zhixuans brushing sleeve. Pow! The reaction force from Shi Zhixuans brushing sleeve sent Kou Zhong spinning away; it was only after staggering a bit did he manage to steady himself, and then he took another swing toward Shi Zhixuan. Shi Zhixuan stood firm like a mountain peak; calming his qi down, he spoke leisurely, That saber strike was more like it; does it have any famous name? Is it one of your Eight Methods of the Well? Inwardly, Kou Zhong was greatly astonished, why did Shi Zhixuan look like he had a lot of time in his hands? Why didnt he seize the opportunity to pursue and attack? This did not make any sense. Since Zhao Deyan already stated his condition that Shi Zhixuan must kill Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he shouldnt miss this once-in-a-thousand-year golden opportunity. What kind of ghost trick was he ying? It was possible that Shi Zhixuan did not know that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could eavesdrop his secret conversation with Yin Zuwen over such a far distance, because he could not possibly know the two boys exclusive ability to borrow power from each other, hence he should not be aware that he, Kou Zhong, knew about the condition that Zhao Deyan proposed to him. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, That move did not have any famous name; it is called Shen Yi [body/one-selfs intention], the wonder of it lies between intentional and unintentional, it was passed on from the Heavenly Saber Song Ques xinfa. Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes emitted fierce and severe expression; letting out a cold snort, he said, Heavenly Saber Song Que, there wille a day the Ol Shi will let him know that his Heavenly Saber is just a rotten copper, rusty iron representing his failure and disgrace. Kou Zhong spoke with a sneer, Go ahead, toot your horn in front of me, a houbei [younger generation]! If you are willing to look for him, the Senior, to fight, I guarantee that for him, the Senior, it would be something that he seeks but fail to get, it would be extremely weed. Shi Zhixuan did not take any offense; with a slight smile, he spoke slyly, Who will win, who will lose, someday in the future, the fact will prove it, no need to waste words. Remembering that it was not easy for you, Kou Zhong, to make your name, and it is so remarkable that you are able to master such a saber technique to such level, I am going to give you a way to survive. Kou Zhong spoke quietly, Xie Wang, you are not joking, are you? Shi Zhixuan replied, How could I have the leisure to joke around with you? My darling disciple took away my teaching from me. Dont worry! No matter how rebellious and naughty he is, he is still my, Ol Shis disciple. Its just that for the time being, he cannot live a wind, flower, snow and moon life, or to apany you, two little kids stirring up trouble everywhere. As long as you hand over the stolen Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, Xibai will immediately recover his freedom. Ol Shi will give you one day. By nightfall tomorrow, put the painting on the table in Xibais little hall, or this agreement will be cancelled. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You want to take Xibai away? You must ask Laozis Moon in the Well first! The man and saber became one, he charged toward Shi Zhixuan. 1 Chapter title: unstable situation. Book 49 8 – To Be One Step Ahead of the Opponent

Book 49 Chapter 8 C To Be One Step Ahead of the Opponent

Kou Zhong pulled off his hood and put it inside his bosom, so that it would not affect his spirited senses of sight and hearing. While Shi Zhixuan was speaking, he already grasped his own situation, as well as Shi Zhixuans motive. Its not that Shi Zhixuan did not want to kill him, in fact, he was intent on killing him here and now. His one excuse was just to give Kou Zhong a sliver opportunity to live, to mistakenly think that it was because Shi Zhixuan wanted to obtain the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu that he let go of the opportunity before his eyes to take Kou Zhongs little life. The fact was that he already considered the pros and cons. Killing Kou Zhong was really Shi Zhixuans top priority right now, otherwise he would not have taken the risk to follow them into the imperial pce, and made careful considerations to scheme against them. Up until now, Kou Zhong was certain that Shi Zhixuan did not know that they secretly eavesdropped his dialogue with Yin Zuwen. Even with Shi Zhixuans ability, killing Kou Zhong was absolutely not an effortless matter. Plus, if Kou Zhong thought that he would not survive, he might take the risk and make a gamble, for example, to do everything he could to escape into the tunnel, or perhaps break through the skylight and charge out of the pce. If that happened, even if Shi Zhixuan had three heads and six arms, he would not dare to y a game of cat and mouse with Kou Zhong everywhere inside the Great Tang pce, under the imperial guards heavy siege. Shi Zhixuan had extraordinary ability and wisdom, he knew that only by suggesting that he was going to carry Hou Xibai away that Kou Zhong would do everything he could to stop him, hence Shi Zhixuan would not have to worry that before deciding between life and death Kou Zhong would not abandon his friend and run away. Spiraling energy burst through the saber de, creating strange hissing noise. Before the saber arrived, the qi power already preceded it, enveloping the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan head-on. This was a way within no way. Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin and Huan Mo were really unfathomable, it made people doubt whether it was real or just an illusion. And Kou Zhong was utilizing the supernatural characteristic of his Long-Life Qi, just like he and Xu Ziling were able to probe something on the other side of the wall, he was now using the qi power to probe Shi Zhixuans what is true and what is false in advance. As long as Shi Zhixuan generated any reaction, he could draw from the qi intention to determine the position, the angle and the strength of the attack urately. From outside the pce hall came the continuous sound of the imperial guards going back and forth and moving around, as well as the sound of hoof beats, showing that the imperial guards were conductingrge-scale mobilization and troop deployment. The situation was tense and burning hot. However, no one could imagine that two top figures of the Jianghu, one old, the other young, were engaged in life and death decisive battle inside therge pce hall at the heart of the imperial pce. Shi Zhixuan revealed an indifferent smile, and then he swayed to the left and right again, each sway deflected Kou Zhongs qi force field to the side. The saber de, which had be like the third eye for Kou Zhong, immediately generated reaction; it suddenly elerated, and turned into the Striking Strange of the Eight Methods of the Well. Like a thunderbolt or a violent lightning it shot toward Shi Zhixuan, purely based on feeling, disying the Shen Yi method that Song Que passed on to him C to the extreme saturation; not only that, he even brought it one level up. The saber de pierced an empty air. He was sure that it was going to pierce the pit of Shi Zhixuans stomach; even if it missed, it should force him to block first before counterattacking. However, at the moment Shi Zhixuan was on his left side, he also sent out a horizontal palm strike toward the Moon in the Well. Based on his power, such palm strike would definitely make Kou Zhong unable to grab hold of his saber. Kou Zhong understood; not only Bu Si Huan was the fastest shenfa on earth, in term of qi power, it could generate illusion in the opponents mind. Were it not for the spirited senses of the tip of Kou Zhongs saber has reached the level where he could distinguish the real from the illusion, he could forget about ever breaking his Bu Si Huan. Fortunately, he learned from Song Que that in every saber strike he must retain some amount of energy, so that in this critical juncture, when he was facing an urgent change of move, his body moved back, while his sabers momentum generate a change, it moved in the opposite direction to poke the hollow of Shi Zhixuans palm. Good! Shi Zhixuan shouted in low voice. His palm strike turned into a finger jab, it hit the saber de squarely. A terrifying, as well as highly concentrated burst of inner power struck the tip of the saber, creating a light whoosh! noise as the qi power shed against each other. Kou Zhong was shocked that his blood and qi were surging, he was nearly unable to hold on to the Moon in the Well. Feeling as if he was electrocuted, he relied on the primal momentum to move back swiftly. The strange light in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes was ring greatly, as if he was about to attack with all his strength. Kou Zhong cried Not good! inwardly. Hastily he unleashed his reversing-true-qi-within-his-body technique, converting his backward momentum to sliding sideways, while assuming the No Attack stance. He appeared to be attacking but not exactly attacking, he appeared to be defending but not exactly defending. In the past, when he was in decisive battle against Funantuo, he used No Attack during a powerful attack to pressure Funantuo so that he was helpless to make his move. But this moment, during the retreat and defend, he again exercised his former wisdom, the purpose was not to allow Shi Zhixuan to strive for the upper hand advantage. Sure enough, Shi Zhixuans eyes revealed an astonished expression. He nodded and said, That move was quite not bad. While saying that, his palm turned into a punch, he sent out a st of punch over the empty air; violent and ferocious-without-hesitation qi powerpletely enveloped Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong cried Not good! inwardly; the arteries and veins [i.e. overall context] of Shi Zhixuans punch clearly grasped the qi powers strength or weakness, light or heavy, the angle, the changes, everything, within it. He knew that his intention was not to break his No Attack at all, but to use Bu Si Yin Qi to sense Kou Zhongs situation from a distance, before determining the optimum method of attack; it was akin to Kou Zhong just now using the saber qi to explore the opponents foundation. Its just that Shi Zhixuans unique schools method was able to detect the state of the movement of the true qi within his body. Kou Zhong had had many private discussions with Xu Ziling to research the ways to break the Bu Si Yin; although they have not found a solution, but from Xu Zilings many experiences fighting hand to hand with Shi Zhixuan, they did obtain precious enlightenment, hence the reason he was able to differentiate the purpose behind Shi Zhixuans punch. One wrong move, he would incur the disaster of having himself killed. Facing death, Kou Zhong did not panic, his mind entered the Moon in the Well realm; heughed aloud and pulled his saber back to protect his body, while holding his true qi without releasing it. The man and the saber be one entity, with no crack to be exploited, it was a variant of the No Attack. Bang! Like a kite with cut string, Kou Zhong met the punch and was thrown flying backward, and hisnding spot was precisely by Hou Xibais side, so he kicked lightly, trying to unseal Hou Xibais acupoint. Whether he was a dragon or a snake, it would depend on whether his Life-Long Qi was miraculously effective or not. Shi Zhixuan has never expected that not only Kou Zhong, using the concentrated saber qi as the true qi to protect his body, was able to endure his punch, he was also this cunning; thereupon Shi Zhixuan revealed an angry and bemused look on his face. Fast as lightning, like a shadow attached to the shape, he chased over, his two hands were transformed into palm shadows filling the air, hiding the sky and covering the earth,ing to enshroud Kou Zhong, while it was as if his body has turned into a phantom without any substance, empty and real difficult to tell, so that it was beyond others capability to grasp. Kou Zhong pulled back his right foot that was kicking Hou Xibai, instead, he stepped out to the left and shrank it to be a cun--size strange step. Laughing aloud, he said, This is called foot cheat! Xie Wang fell into the trap! Suddenly he evaded Shi Zhixuans frontal assault and shifted to Shi Zhixuans right side. Without even looking, he casually swept his saber around. In his heart, he saw the bitter scene of magnificent armies with thousands of men and horses charging against each other on the battlefield, where blood was flowing like a river, where the sun and the moon did not shine their light. Immediately he generated an intensely-cold, ice-freezing saber qi, carrying a sweeping-a-thousand-army overbearing might, disregarding what is true or was just an illusion in Shi Zhixuan, treating Shi Zhixuan just like Wanwans Tianmo force field. The Moon in the Well turned into yellow light, swiftly sweeping across. Shi Zhixuans palm shadows filling the air dissipated, he raised his leg to kick sideways at the Moon in the Well. In a very tight space where neither side was able to spin around at all, the two men were exchanging a stake-it-all move. Kou Zhong, both the person and the saber, was kicked that he staggered sideways, however, he was delighted inwardly. Up to this point of the hand-to-hand fight, this was the first time that he managed to seize the initiative enough to force Shi Zhixuan to be willing to meet his attack head-on. Shi Zhixuans upper body slightly swayed, his eyes emitted a murderous intent; he was about to pursue and attack, Kou Zhong already used his reversing true qi technique to bounce back, and shouted coldly, Watch Laozis Square and Circle! Even with Shi Zhixuans skill and insight, he still made an error in judgment; he had never thought that Kou Zhong was able to recover this quickly after receiving such a heavy blow. Moreover, he had never expected that midway along his retreat, he could convert reverse into advance. Giving him more headache was that as if it looked like Kou Zhongs simple, single saber strike was about to arrive, unexpectedly it generated a qi wall, which epassed a wide area C pressing down on him, so that he did not dare to advance prematurely. The greatest threat was that the saber de emitted a column of perfectly round qi power, like an iron pir ramming toward the pit of his stomach. Shi Zhixuan shouted coldly, You are asking for death! Suddenly he spun swiftly and turned into a man-made violent cyclone to take the saber des square and circle qi power head-on, and forcefully shook the spinning qi powering straight toward him, producing a violent explosion and sharp whistle that pierced through the entire pce halls space. Kou Zhong did not expect the opponent to have this move, plus he was afraid that the other side might absorb his wall of true qi and use it back against him. In the I-am-vanishing-the-other-side-increasing situation, one move could take his little life away. He had never thought that square and circle could be broken by the opponent just like this. Fortunately, as a veteran of a hundred battles, he had deep understanding of when-all-exhausted-change-wille, when-change-happens-it-will-go-through principle. He forcefully pulled the wall of qi back, the square was gone, the circle remained, in highly concentrated level, so that the opponent was unable to absorb and digest the qi power. Under the Moon in the Wells yellow light ring greatly, he changed the Square and Circle to Rapid Battle. The saber following the person, it heavily struck the opponent. Shi Zhixuan, who was turning like a tornado, did not dare to challenge thew by using Bu Si Yin to deflect and neutralize Kou Zhongs saber qi, he changed his move to a flick of his sleeve to meet the saber de, producing a muffled Bang! while his other hand waved his sleeve to brushed away at Kou Zhongs face. The spinning movement came to an abrupt end, as if it had never happened. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well seemed toe under pressure of a big mountain. No matter how he applied his power, he was unable to move it even a hairsbreadth. The most terrifying thing was that the opponents light sleeve brush not only seeded in shaking and dispersing his qi power, which he thought it would definitely make a kill, but the opponents brimming-with-evil, icy-cold true qi even invaded his body along the sabers de, attacking his meridians. In all his military campaigns, big and small, in the past, there has never been anybody who could subdue and control his Moon in the Well, which was as nimble as a deity. Kou Zhong nearly wanted to abandon his saber and run for his life, yet he knew that such an unwise move would only expedite his defeat and disperse. Being able to think fast in an emergency, without giving consideration of any awe-inspiring manner, he simply rolled sideways on the floor to evade the snatching-the-soul sleeve brushing toward his face, using the power of his entire body and his entire spirit to withstand Shi Zhixuans other absorbing-the-soul-striking-out-the-spirit sleeve pressing on the de of his saber. Spiraling energy, like mountain sh flood breaking out, passed through the saber to strike back. Boom! In the end, half of Shi Zhixuans power was no match to Kou Zhongs full-strength counterattack, the sleeve wrapped around the saber loosened, while his body refused to follow its masters order, it recoiled nearly half a step back, while Kou Zhong, like a windmill, revolved and slid on the ground, away from him. Shi Zhixuan let out a burst of longugh, he soared into the air and pounced toward Kou Zhong. Xu Zilings shock was justified, because the one intercepting him was the recovering-from-asthma number-one-martial-art-master-of-the-Dugu-n You Chuhong. Strictly speaking, this moment Xu Ziling was able to recognize her only from her skill and her unique schools weapon, the jasper staff. Her white hair and her wrinkle-covered-face were reced with ck hair and tender skin; although her shape was still that of an old granny, this moment her appearance was at least thirty, forty years younger than thest time he saw her in Luoyang. Her real age must be close to a hundred years old, but now, looking at her horizontally, looking at her vertically, she looked like an upper-ssdy who was only fifty-something years old. This moment her head ornament was a piece of ck cloth, she wore white dress and yellow skirt, with cinnabar colored short scarf wrapped around her shoulders, which was fluttering in the wind. Coupled with Xu Zilings previous impression on her, the scene was so strange that it made peoples heart tremble. She should havee together with Li Yuans group, yet she was able to rush ahead and soared into the sky from down below to pursue and intercept Xu Ziling; it goes to show how brilliant her skill was. No wonder Yuwen Shang held her in higher regard than Song Que. Whether she could surpass the Heavenly Saber Song Que, whose mighty power subdued the world, it was still too early to say, but if she had enough power to stake it all against Song Que, and this moment he was being entangled by her, Xu Ziling would surely nurse a grievance in the Tang Pce tonight. The moment Xu Ziling looked down at her, she had just leaped up from in between two groups of cavalries. Her grasp of the timing and the angle was urate without equal. Judging from the speed in which both sides were moving, she could just intercept Xu Ziling in the air. Even if she were still suffering from asthma, there was no way Xu Ziling would be able to pass this barrier. While he was still thinking deeply, You Chuhong, at the speed of lightning, flew at an angle to about ten-zhang altitude in the air, her jasper staff created a subtle, hard-to-describe change, and then swiftly rose up to stab toward him, the staff qipletely locked and enveloped Xu Ziling, so that his shenfa could not help being affected and he slowed down a little. Xu Zilings divine light shed, he originally wanted to shoot the hook rope, which had been waiting for action after having umted energy, toward the roof of the watchtower, but now he changed it to shoot down toward her, imbued with concentrated true qi. The steel hook rapidly wed ten zhang down. Because You Chuhong was charging upward at full power, she was unable to dodge, hence she could only use her jasper staff to face the attack. If Xu Ziling were an ordinary martial art master, based on You Chuhongs experience and skill, which she had umted for nearly a hundred years, she would be able to easily deflect the power and use it to pull Xu Ziling down from the air; but the steel w, carrying a burning qi power, was attacking her head-on. Any ingenious technique would be useless. Left without any choice, she thrust the head of her staff up. Pow! Qi power shed. You Chuhong was jolted hard that she fell back onto the ground, but Xu Ziling was jolted up that he flew even higher into the air. His qi power was surging, he nearly spurted blood; hastily he circted his true qi, while also borrowing the force and converting it into charging momentum, with which he soared more than forty zhang high, and then he converted the true qi to cross over the watchtowers wall, and threw himself into the East Pce area. Even with his ability, falling from such height would certainly injure him, but he had the hook rope in his hand, so that by borrowing a little bit of force he was able tond safely on the ground. This change, no one among the other side has anticipated beforehand, immediately he put some distance with Li Yuans snatching-life, fiendish-star group. Right this moment, a loud, thunderp-like shout exploded behind him. Xu Ziling looked back; a like-an-iron-tower, robust-and-sturdy, tall-and-straight, with-horned-dragon-beard, thick-and-heroic big man, who was standing by You Chuhongs, who hadnded back on the ground C side, waved his hand to throw a heavy ironnce, as fast as a shooting star, toward him. [Note: dont you just love Huang Yis style?] Xu Ziling recognized him as one of the martial art masters who wereing with Li Yuan to pursue and kill him. He appeared to be about thirty-something, so he could not possibly be one of the senior renowned experts that Li Yuan invited to leave the mountain, but the strength of his hand and the power of his body were astonishing. Not daring to be careless, he amassed his spiraling power, his right leg bent and extended, he tapped the tip of thence. It appeared that he was shaking it head-on, but he was actually using an ingenious application of force. Bang! The heavynce flew at an angle, Xu Zilings shenfa sped up, he changed direction. Like a big bird he flew toward the East Pce garden, where the forest tree was the densest. He only needed to release two knockout balls to confused the guards who were standing on top of the walls eyes and ears, plus there was no martial art masters blocking his way, then he would be able to escape this terrifying ce. Who would have thought that their visit to the pce, which ording to Kou Zhong was for fun, would be the situation before his eyes? After rolling away from Shi Zhixuan for approximately ten zhang, the Long-Life Qi within Kou Zhongs body already circted more than a dozen cycles; not only he neutralized the opponents true qi invading his body, his own qi power was recovered as well. His confidence greatly boosted, his fighting spirit exuberant, he knew that if he did not maintain his will to risk his life, his little life would be difficult to protect, because just like Xu Ziling said, in one-on-one decisive battle against Shi Zhixuan, either he or Xu Ziling would only be dead without any chance of living; therefore, he must change this inferior position of fighting with all his might. Both hands lightly pressed the ground, he changed and revolved his true qi, beyond expectation he sprang up into the air, the Moon in the Well heavily hacked Shi Zhixuan, who was pressing down from above, heughed and said, This is called Using Scheme. Shi Zhixuan never expected that he dared to strike back. Both Kou Zhongs ability to strike back, plus his saberpletely sealing off all his advance paths, since Shi Zhixuan was high up in the air, it was difficult for him to carry out the Bu Si Huan Fa, so he snorted angrily and sent out double punches. Bang! Bang! One after another, the two punches urately, without missing at all, hit the Moon in the Well squarely. Even with Shi Zhixuans ability, facing Kou Zhongs full-powered saber strike, which he released after umting his energy, he had no choice but was forced to fall to the ground, while Kou Zhong took advantage of the reaction force to fly away, andnded at the ce where Hou Xibai was lying down. He evenughed aloud and said, Thank you for your trouble to send me here! Shi Zhixuan knew that it was toote for him to pursue. Revealing the air of a top martial art master, he put both hands behind his back, before speaking slyly, Ol Shi still abide by my original proposal; if by dusk tomorrow you fail to hand over the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu. Ol Shi will reveal your secret of impersonating Situ Furong to Yin Zuwen. You ought to know what the consequences will be. Kou Zhong had justnded by Hou Xibais side; he was about to raise his foot to kick, but when he heard that, his tiger-body shook severely. Turning around slowly, he looked at Shi Zhixuan, his countenance could not be even more unsightly, his pair of eyes revealing a look of disbelief. Shi Zhixuans words were like a bucket of cold water being dumped onto his head, so that he had a deep understanding of Hou Xibais warning earlier. They had indeed underestimated Shi Zhixuan. One thing went wrong, the whole te fell down. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Shi Zhixuan said, You really believe you can hide anything from me? Situ Furong came at the right time, plus it has something to do with Song Que, in itself, it was already very suspicious. However, as long you are obedient, Ol Shi will definitely not make things difficult for you; even your n to deal with the Xiang Family, I definitely will not stop it. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he said, That being the case, even if you obtain the painting, what are you going to do with it? Shrugging his shoulders, Shi Zhixuan calmly replied, Ol Shi does not have to exin to you! Kou Zhong sighed and said, But the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu is not in our hands at all, another person stole it. Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, Thats not my concern; if by dusk tomorrow you cant put the painting on the table in Xibais little hall, youll have no choice but to kill your way out of Changan. And then he floated to the middle of the pce hall, stood on the tile of the entrance of the underground tunnel, and spoke indifferently, You may leave via the tunnel, I guarantee that I wont mount a sneak attack to you, I might even secure the other end of the tunnel for you. This ce is not suitable to stay for a long time. Ziling sessfully escaped, Li Yuan definitely wille and personally investigate it. You should understand what I am talking about. Such an underground tunnel, sealing it will really be a pity. The stone brick slowly moved away, Shi Zhixuan disappeared in a sh. Dejected, Kou Zhong smiled bitterly; he stooped down to unseal Hou Xibais acupoints. Although Shi Zhixuan was using his unique schools technique, it still did not pose any problem for him, an expert of the Long-Life Qi, who once yed the part of a divine doctor. Hou Xibai suddenly sat up, his eyes wide opened, he blurted out, Kou Zhong, run away quickly, Shi Shi ising! Kou Zhongs heart was moved, thinking that Shi Zhixuans telling him that Hou Xibai did not lose consciousness was a lie. Putting his arm around Hou Xibais shoulders, he said, Was it something that you wanted to say before your acupoint was sealed? Hou Xibai came to his senses. Opening his eyes wide, he looked around and spoke in horror, Wheres Shi Shi? What happened? Unusual noise came from the pce halls door, torch light was showing through the cracks on the door. Kou Zhong sprang up and quickly sealed the entrance to the underground tunnel. Pulling Hou Xibai along, he rushed toward the entrance to the long tunnel, saying, The good news is that Ziling managed to escape, as for the bad news, Ill tell you when we get home. The two men disappeared into the tunnel. The entrance rapidly closed, it was as if nothing had happened in the vast and empty Taiji Pce Hall. Book 49 9 – Genuine Painting, Counterfeit Painting

Book 49 Chapter 9 C Genuine Painting, Counterfeit Painting

Inside the Passionate Nest, in the dark, the three you look at me I gaze at you; after listening to both sides story, they were still frightened and could not make up their mind. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, Our trip to Changan this time is aplete failure, all the bargaining chips in our hands have been won by Shi Zhixuan, the Senior, and we still dont know how to clear up the mess. Xu Ziling said, We still cant say that he achieved total victory; at least at the Taiji Pce Hall, he was helpless to kill you before Li Yuan rushing over. Knitting his brows in deep thought, Hou Xibai said, Really strange! If he wanted to deal with you two, it could be said as easy as a hands turn; for example, he could reveal Situ Furong affair to Yin Zuwen, and then you would have to pack your food and leave before you finish eating, so why didnt he do that? Even more, it seems like he is not nning on doing so. His spirit was aroused, Kou Zhong said, This is called love the house and its cow [idiom: love me, love my dog]. Xu Ziling angrily said, That being the case, why did he harm us really bad tonight? We nearly lost our lives. Kou Zhong analyzed, That is precisely the contradiction; it revealed the true contradiction in his heart, which is the struggle between good and evil, which is also his w, his only w, and Shi Qingxuan is precisely the crucial key at the core of this contradiction. Each time, before he attacked me, it always looked like there was a struggle in his heart; otherwise, we would have been finished early on. Kou Zhong reached across the small table to grab Xu Zilings shoulder; restraining hisughter, he said, Your future father-inw is unwilling to tie an unresolvable deep enmity with Ling Shao; in his heart, he has never been able to let go of Shi Qingxuan. That saying love the house and its cow is just an iron-d fact. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, Your remark awakened people from their dream; at least he cant be unmoved toward the YongAn Canal, because that was the ce where he repented and remembered Bi Xiuxin. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Good kid! You are finally willing to admit him as your father-inw. Xu Ziling glowered crossly at him, but he spoke to Hou Xibai, I wonder if people of holy school only talk about self-interest? Hou Xibai nodded and said, That is the inevitable result of holy schools not-recognizing-ones-family style; everybody only gives consideration to himself, working together with others is for the benefit of working together, who could give you the most benefit, then you would regard him as your friend. This kind of working together is obviously more harmful than good, so that the holy schoolcks genuine cohesion. Therefore, since the decline of the House of Han, holy school repeatedly sit and waste a good opportunity; the real reason is precisely this. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, That may be the reason, but the other possibility is that although within the holy school Shi Zhixuans prestige cannot be doubted, yet Zhao Deyan, Yin Zuwen, even Yang Xuyan, nobody needs to rely on him. The former can rely on the Tujue people to support him to be the Central Earths puppet emperor, just like Liu Wuzhou or Liang Shidus situation. Yin Zuwen and Yang Xuyan can manipte Li Yuan, while there is internal strife within the Li n, he could achieve his ambition step-by-step, the ultimate goal is naturally to remove and rece him. Just look at Xiang Yushan and Zhao Deyans rtionship, or even Chi Shengchun and Yin Zuwens close rtionship. Based on Shi Zhixuans ability and wisdom, I am certain that he is able to see through and understand all these things very clearly. Therefore, whether it is the condition submitted by Zhao Deyan or Yin Gui Pai, either one might make Shi Zhixuan being caught in a consigned-to-eternal-damnation situation. For example, by killing you, Kou Zhong, he might provoke the Heavenly Saber Song Que. Killing his own daughter might make Shi Zhixuans old illness to rpse even more. Shi Zhixuan definitely will not fall into the trap that easily. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, I am not trying to exin myself at all, but toy out the fact. We cannot make another mistake, otherwise none of us can leave Changan alive. Kou Zhongughed and said, Ling Shao, no need to be so serious. His Niangs! Why would Old Shi want the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu? Cant be like Xiao Hou, he only wants it for his collection, for his own enjoyment, can it? If he gives the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu to Chi Shengchun, what might happen then? Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, After what happened tonight, I already reconciled myself to forget about the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu. What is Cao San doing inside Li Yuans imperial study room? Since Li Yuan already knew that Cao San wants to steal the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, he will certainly deploy massive military force to guard the ce where he keeps the painting; I no longer have any hope of stealing the painting. Ay! Xu Ziling nodded and said, Even if we knew where the painting is hidden, or even if we could grab the painting by force, I am certain we wont be able to leave alive. This is my personal experience just now. Were it not for the fact that Li Yuan was in the Ning Bi Pavilion to wee Meirener Changzhu, so that most of the martial art masters should be concentrated over there, Xiaodi freely admits that I do not have the ability to charge my way out of the pce. I wonder whether they thought you were Shi Zhixuan or Cao San? Kou Zhong pondered aloud. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Very hard to say. The most usible exnation is that Cao San is just a cover, it could be Shi Zhixuan in disguise, it could be someone else, the purpose was to hide his real identity. One might well ask, did the real Cao San have that kind of ability? And then he sighed and said, By dusk tomorrow, how are we going to hand over the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, We must be clear about three things first. One, does Shi Zhixuan know that the treasured painting is in Li Yuans hands? Two, why does Shi Zhixuan want to get the treasured painting? Three, if we dont have the painting for Old Shi, will he really uncover the shady business of Situ Furong? If we can figure these things out, then well know how to advance and attack, or to retreat and defend. Hou Xibai said, I can give you the answer to the first question. Since Shi Shi has been following us into the imperial study room, Im sure he eavesdropped our conversation. With his ability and wisdom, by only hearing a few words, he can infer the rest. Therefore, he is now clear that the one stealing the painting was not Ziling but Li Yuan. He wants us to hand the painting over to him, he deliberately wants to give us trouble, or he wants that when we are stealing the painting, Li Yuan would kill us, so that once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved, while he could push all the mes neat and clean, at least Qingxuan would not put the me on him. Kou Zhong agreed; he said, Just consider him knowing about it then! But in my opinion, the chance that he wanted to force us to steal the painting to harm us is quite small. There are two possibilities on why he wanted us to hand over the painting by dusk tomorrow. The first possibility is to force us to leave before dusk tomorrow. The other possibility is that he wanted to borrow the painting to harm Chi Shengchun, to bring trouble to him. Astonished, Hou Xibai said, Forcing us to leave is reasonable and fair, because we wont be a hindrance to Shi Shi anymore; he would then have a free hand to deal with Wanwan, to acquire the Tianmo Jue in her hands. But to bring harm to Chi Shengchun does not make much sense; would he pick a stone to smash his own foot? Xu Ziling appeared to be deep in thought. Kou Zhong spoke to Xu Ziling, Ling Shao, the first time you heard Yin Zuwens voice, who was Yin Zuwen with? It was Zhao Deyan, wasnt it? Just from the fact that Yin Zuwen was willing to obey Zhao Deyan to put the Seven Needles to Control the Mind to be used to deal with Lei Dage, it is clear that Yin Zuwen and Zhao Deyan have a very close rtionship. And now Yin Zuwen even submitted Zhao Deyans conditions to Shi Zhixuan. Based on these couple of points, it could be inferred that Zhao Deyan and Yin Zuwen have an inseparably close rtionship, so much so that they are forging a secret alliance. Frankly speaking, due to Zhao Deyan has Xieli and Bi Xuans support behind his back,pared to Shi Zhixuan, whose old illness has just been healed, while the people are rebelling and friends deserting, his power is considerably greater. Even if Yin Zuwen managed to break down the Li n and took their ce, once the Tujue lead the coalition army of the tribes beyond the Great Wall toe to the south, his emperor dream would turn into froth and shadows [fig. illusion]. Therefore, for his own benefit, Yin Zuwen has no choice but to attach himself to Zhao Deyan. Plus Zhao Deyans so-called conditions to acknowledge allegiance to Shi Zhixuan, on one hand, its merely a scheme to kill with borrowed knife, on the other hand, he wants Shi Zhixuan to be caught in a consigned to eternal damnation situation. Ha! Old Zhao and Old Yin made the same mistake of offending their superior as Ling Shao and me, which is underestimating Shi Zhixuan. Hou Xibai nodded and said, Listening to your, LaoGes analysis, it certainly makes a lot of sense. Supposing Shi Zhixuan gave the painting that we steal back from Li Yuans hands to Chi Shengchun, and Chi Shengchun, being unaware of the inner workings, presents the painting as a betrothal gift to the Da Xian Hu Fo, what would Li Yuan do to Chi Shengchun? However, Shi Shi ought to know that there is no way that we could snatch the painting back from Li Yuans hands. Therefore, forcing us to leave is still the greater possibility. After all, the Xiang Familys threat to Shi Shi is not that great, destroying Chi Shengchun does not bring much benefit to him. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Xiaodi thinks it is very hard to say. Shi Zhixuans immediate priority is to unify the holy school, and the Xiang Family is Zhao Deyans important eyes and ears in the Central Earth, their role is too big to estimate. Naturally Shi Zhixuan will not let anybody know that it was he who destroyed Chi Shengchun; he could simply bestow the painting to Chi Shengchun via other peoples hands. This will be the most serious blow to the Xiang Family, while also be a big blow to Zhao Deyan. Moreover, it will be a warning to Yin Zuwen, to tell him that he, Shi Zhixuan, is able to destroy him at any time. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, The ones who dont want Chi Shengchun to be destroyed the most are us, and not Zhao Deyan and Yin Zuwen at all. To us, these several idiots, that will break an important trail to the Xiang Family. Looks like our Furong Ye must leave before dusk tomorrow, because we practically have no way of guessing the answer to your third question, which is whether Shi Zhixuan will uncover our secret or not. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shing brightly, he spoke slowly, If we give Shi Zhixuan the convenience of us stepping down the stage, he will definitely not uncover us. Because if we die, he would no longer have his value to be useful in Zhao Deyans eyes. Shi Zhixuan cant possibly be unaware of this fact. Besides we are now like if you ride a tiger, its hard to get off; we cant simply leave as soon as we say we want to leave. Even if we leave, we must retreat in honor and glory. Otherwise, not only Chen Fu will be in trouble, it will also be difficult for Ou Liangcai and his entire family and n to escape disaster. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Furthermore, we must resolve Shen Luoyans crisis before we can leave. This is the operation that Yang Xuyan and the Dugu n meticulously deploy; I am sure theres still Li Yuanji behind them. Their ultimate goal is to implicate Li Shiji, in order to render a blow toward Li Shimin. The other two nodded in agreement. Although the Heavenly Policy Mansion had fierce generals as numerous as the clouds, yet only Li Jing and Li Shiji, two men who were the most outstanding. If thetter met the misfortune of being charged with guilt by association, it would be akin to injuring one of Li Shimins arms; moreover, it would have a serious impact on the attack of Luoyang. Yin Zuwen and Yang Xuyan surely worked with amon purpose on this matter. Xu Ziling continued, Yang WenGan advised and urged Li Mi to personally submit a request about leaving the Pass to Li Yuan during the polo match tomorrow. It can clearly be seen that Li Yuan also has the heart to kill Li Mi. When that timees, he only has to give a nod, and afterwards ambush and kill Li Mi on the road. After the fact, he could im that Li Mi have betrayed him. Shen Luoyan is summoned into the pce, it is precisely so that she will be unable to contact Li Mi. If, at an appropriate time, Shen Luoyan is made aware of this matter, she would disregard everything to rush to stop Li Mi, then she would fall into the enemys evil schemes, to be charged with great treason of escaping together with the rebelling Li Mi. Kou Zhongughed and said, In the end, we still have to reenter the Tang Pce. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Hou Xibai blurted, What? Kou Zhong patted his shoulder and said, No need to be confused. This is a bit like when we were in Luoyang in the past, where we went to Jing Nian Chan Yuan to steal the Jade Annulus of He n. The first time we were scared and escaped with the tail between our legs, the second time as soon as we made our move to steal, it was a sess. Ay! Im just saying! The problem is that now Li Yuan must have hidden the painting elsewhere. Even if there is no guard in the Great Tang Pce and wee to overturn trunks and boxes to search, without ten days, half a month, we wont be able to find it. But what if we get a fake painting? Didnt Song ErGe say that among the paintings that Xiao Yu brought, there were two Zhan Ziqians reproductions? Hou Xibai said, If there is any Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu reproduction, Im sure it will be inside the Dugu house, because only people who have seen this painting can make an imitation. Xu Zilings spirit greatly aroused, he asked, How high is that possibility? Full of confidence, Hou Xibai said, Ill say 90%. All those families influential for generations and big ns have painting craftsmen to draw portraits of important figures in the n, in order to be family heirloom or for the future generations to admire. If they have masterpiece like Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu or the like as family heirloom, they will certainly have their people copying it. The real painting is in their collection, the imitation is to be hung on the wall. This is a fashionablemon practice, plus it is also to preserve the real painting. Usually, only during special moments, such as entertaining important people, or perhaps deliberately wanted to show off C will the real painting be hung on the wall. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Why didnt you say so earlier? Stealing the fake painting is naturally a hundred times easier than stealing the real painting, not to mention You Pozi [old woman] and Dugu Feng [phoenix], these two women with highest martial art skill, are staying in the pce, the fake painting should be something that they would casually put anywhere, your Shi Shi is not a connoisseur or a renowned expert like Hu Fo or Song ErGe. Come, let Xiaodi show the way, Xiaodi is most familiar with the Dugu Familys Dong Ji Yuan! Xu Ziling said, If we have another chance to steal the real Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu, Old Shi will have no way of knowing which scroll is the real one, which scroll is the fake one. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, You seem to be forgetting that if Shi Shi gives the painting to Chi Shengchun, Chi Shengchun might give the painting to Hu Fo. With Hu Fos expert eyes, there is no way the fake painting can be hidden from him. At that time. Shi Shi will be so angry at being deceived, and then we will have to pack our food and leave before we finish eating. Kou Zhong said, Well think about thatter, at least we wont have to slip away before dusk tomorrow. Now that there are still a couple of sichen before daybreak, we should have enough time to turn Dugu Fengs [peak] study room upside down. And then the turned to Hou Xibai and said with augh, In any case, to be able to enjoy the imitation painting is a bit better than quenching ones thirst by thinking of plums [idiom: to console oneself with illusions]. Nearly forget to tell you, we have another secret way to withdraw in secret, with which we coulde in and out of Changan while the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive. But naturally not to use that secret way is more wonderful than to use it! Ha! Song Shidaos voice came from inside the room, Whos there! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, two boys pushed the door and entered the room. They saw Song Shidao, with nk expression on his face, was sitting in a corner of the bedroom; he appeared to be stupefied. Kou Zhong took the two scrolls of painting he sped under his arm and presented them to Song Shidao. Shen Ye, please look over, he respectfully said. Song Shidao took the two scrolls of painting, focused his attention to look, and noticed that the two brocade cases were of the same style, and the marking on the cases were identical, Zhan Ziqian Han Lin Qing Yuan. Shocked, he asked, Whats going on? The two boys separately sat down on Song Shidaos left and right. Kou Zhong said, Shen Dashi [great master], please see which one is real, which one is fake. Song Shidao pulled open the scrolls of painting one by one, and then he carefully examined the marking hidden on the painting, the paper, as well as the workmanship. Frowning, he said, Both are imitations of the original painting; however, they seem to be almost genuine. How did you get them? How could there be this many? These are very valuable reproductions; you could easily sell them for several hundred [taels of] gold. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This matter is hard to exin in a few words, let Ziling exin to you in details, I have to go to see Wanwan, I wonder if she is sleeping in my dragon bed [the Emperors bed]? Xu Ziling glowered at him, ming him for not forgetting to talk nonsense. And then he turned to Song Shidao and asked, ErGe has not even seen the original article, how could you be so sure that these are reproductions of the real work? Song Shidao smiled and said, Because I am well acquainted with Zhan Ziqians painting style and the way he wielded the pen and used the ink, hence I know it at a nce. These two paintings came from the same master, he even used the same thick hemp tough silk fabric that is being used in the You Chun Tu in our familys collection, only the seal [i.e. signature seal] and the vigor of strokes appear to have some problem. However,ymen shouldnt be able to see these ws. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Laotianye bless and protect us. Ziling, exin it to ErGe, I am going to look for the beauty to talk to her. Like a whirlwind he stormed out of the door, and then they heard Lei Jiuzhis voice, who was rushing over toward the room, as he grabbed Kou Zhong and shouted, What a fine thing you guys did at the pcest night! We could even hear the sound of battle cry at the imperial pce clearly from here. Kou Zhong said, Ziling is telling the story inside, I have to trouble you, LaoGe, to move your honorable steps aside a little. Wheres Xiao Jun? Smiling wryly, Lei Jiuzhi replied, He is having his spirit and soul turned upside down by Hu Xiaoxian. And then he leaned closer and whispered in his ear, This time its his turn to go to the pavilion in the garden, looking foolishly at the Zhu Lian Pond. In my opinion, this house must have vited the peach blossom fiend of feng shui. Stunned, Kou Zhong looked at him. Scratching his head, he said, Before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises [idiom]. Well talk some moreter. By the time Kou Zhong returned to his own bedroom, the sky was starting to brightened. Wanwan, with an entirely free from worry expression, was wrapped in the quilt on the bed, sleeping soundly in the cherry-apple sea, the room was filled with the feeling of spring. Kou Zhong sat down at the head of the bed, he reached out to stroke her lustrous and ck, soft beautiful hair spread out over the pillow lightly, and spoke gently, Its dawn! Inside the quilt, Wanwan stretched out her lethargic, tired limbs, her beautiful eyes opened, she whined, So early in the morninging to disturb other peoples clear dream, next time I wont sleep in your bed again; Ill sleep in Zilings bed next door instead. Kou Zhong could not help pinching her puffing cheek and said, Tell me honestly, what is the rtionship between Yin Zuwen and Bai Qinger? Why is Yin Zuwen supporting her? Wanwan stared nkly at the ceiling, she spoke indifferently, Why do you ask? Because I want to have clear understanding of your holy school, Kou Zhong replied, I want to know what Shi Zhixuans odds of sess is. Wanwan said, Yin Zuwen is the most slick and sly person within the holy school, he maintains good rtion with people from all sides. Himself can be considered a first-ss martial art master within the holy school, its just that he always hides it deep and does not reveal it, moreover, he never seems to fight with anybody, hence his name is not listed among the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Holy School. Ay! Whats Eight Major Martial Art Masters anyway? Its just the title that outsiders, who fail to understand the inside story, impose on us, without much substance in it, otherwise, Zhu Shi, who ranked at the top of the list would not have lost her life in Shi Zhixuans hands. Kou Zhong said, We know that Yin Zuwen is formidable, he is the real favored minister in Li Yuans eyes. You havent answered my question. Wanwan sat up from inside the quilt. She lightly tied together her beautiful hair, putting the graceful lines of her upper body in full disy; rolling her eyes at him, she said, Bai Qinger became Zhu Shis disciple upon Yin Zuwens rmendation, Zhu Shi had never trusted her. Did I answer your question? Satisfied, Kou Zhong replied, Understood! That being the case, why doesnt Wen Caiting support you, but she supports Bai Qinger instead? Letting out a cold snort, Wanwan replied, Wen Caiting and Yin Zuwen have close rtionship, naturally toward Yin Zuwen she sees, hears and obeys. Bian Bufu knew that I loathe him, hence he used supporting Bai Qinger as a pretext to coerce me; furthermore, he is scheming to snatch my Tianmo Jue. As for Pi Shouxuan, the candidate in his heart is Lin Shihong and not Bai Qinger at all, only because currently Yin Zuwens power is too great that he does not reveal his intention. Dont underestimate Lin Shihong. He has alreadyid the foundation in the south. If in the future we can take over from the Li n, Lin Shihong will be the Song Familys most important chess piece in the fall of the empire. Astonished, Kou Zhong said , Why did Dajie suddenly be so forting? By the way, is Yin Zuwen leaning toward Shi Zhixuan, or toward Zhao Deyan? Wanwan looked at him up and down with rapt attention for a moment. She spoke heavily, You are able toe up with this question, it is really not simple; however, it must be Yin Zuwen himself who could answer it. My guess is that everything that Yin Zuwen did was for his own benefit; whoever can give him the best benefit, he will lean toward that side. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Soonest will be tonight,test will be tomorrow night, we willunch a ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt attack toward Shi Zhixuan. It would be best if Wan Dajie dont run around everywhere, lest when we need you, we cannot find you. Wanwans pair of beautiful eyes lit up immediately, it emitted an intimidating extraordinary splendor. Book 49 10 – Spirit And Soul Upside Down

Book 49 Chapter 10 - Spirit And Soul Upside Down

Finished listening to Xu Ziling narrating his winding and bizarre encounter, both Song Shidao and Lei Jiuzhi felt it hard to believe. Furthermore, even after thinking a hundred times they still failed to understand Shi Zhixuans ultimatum for them to hand over the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu before sunset; only for the time being, they epted Xu Zilings exnation that Shi Zhixuan intended to drive them away. Frowning, Lei Jiuzhi said, If Dugu Feng [peak] finds out that he lost two scrolls of reproduction, how will he react? Xu Ziling said, It was because we had no choice that we had to risk it and take a gamble. These two reproductions were kept at the bottom of a chest full of paintings, stuffed together among arge pile of other famous paintings, so probably no one would have the leisure to look over. Besides, these days Dugu Feng is busy dealing with Li Mi and Shen Luoyan, he shouldnt have the time to enjoy the paintings in his collection, not to mention it really isnt the genuine article. Song Shidao said, Lei LaoGe may rest assured that, in fact, Dugu Feng has vited the ethics [orig. righteousness and justice] of buying and selling painting and calligraphy. Chi Shengchun already paid the astonishingly high price of ten thousand taels of gold to acquire the painting, Dugu Feng should have included the reproduction, lest there be any false cirction. This is the rule. Therefore, even if he knew that the reproduction is being stolen, he could only shut his mouth and eat Huanglian [Chinese goldthread (Coptis Chinensis)] and painstakingly keep it for himself, not daring to bring it out into the open. Greatly delighted, Xu Ziling said, Nothing is more perfect than that. Last night at the Tang Pce I encountered three fresh-faced martial art masters. There was a pair of husband and wife, the man wields a shield, the woman uses a sword. And then he described what they looked like. Emotionally moved, Song Shidao said, Who could have thought that Li Yuan managed to move their heart and invite them. This couple of husband and wife are known as Shenxian Juanshu [immortal couple]. The man is Chu Junming, the woman is Hua Ying. They are most adept in fighting together, and have be famous for close to fifty years, of the same generation with Ouyang Xiyi, Wang Tong, and the likes, pivotal figures of the White Way, always love to roam the mountains and y on the water [go on scenic tour], never stay in one ce for more than a year. Whos the other guy? Lei Jiuzhi asked. Xu Ziling replied, I am certain that this person is not a martial art master of the older generation. He uses heavy ironnce, his face is full of beard, his build is like an iron tower, his strength astonishing. Shaking his head, Song Shidao said, Never heard of him! Thinking deeply, Lei Jiuzhi said, Very likely he is Yan Pingzhaos son, Yan Li, who is known as the Yao Mao [demonnce]. In recent years this man made a name for himself in Guanzhong. Yan Pingzhao has a deep rtionship with Li Yuan, so his son working for Li Yuan is something that only to be expected. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, On top of that, there were Yuwen Shang, You Chuhong and Dugu Feng [phoenix]. Martial art masters by Li Yuans side are certainly as numerous as the cloud, even above the Tian Ce Fu; I am not optimistic about Li Shimins situation even more. Letting out a strangeughter, Lei Jiuzhi said, Youd better think about your own situation! Now that we have fallen into a serious crisis, how are we going to deal with it? Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhong and I have discussed it. Unless we could kill Shi Zhixuan in the shortest possible time, we will only have one way out: withdraw immediately. This moment a servant came to report: Xiao Yu was asking for an audience. The three were greatly astonished, they never expected that Xiao Yu woulde looking for them as soon as it was daybreak, what exactly did he want? Song Shidao said, Lei LaoGe and I will apany Xiao Jun to deal with him, you guys better prepare for the worst. After the two men left, Kou Zhong came back. Sitting down, he said, Are we going to make the mistake of trusting the good beauty again? But Xu Ziling was thinking about something else. He said, Do you remember a couple of days ago when we were walking down the street dressed as the Taihang Shuang Jie, we had a feeling that someone was following us, but could not find who it was? Kou Zhong nodded and said, There seems to be such thing, but it has long been forgotten. Xu Ziling said, That stalker is most likely Shi Zhixuan. Huh? Someones here! Kou Zhongs heart also gave out a warning sign. Peeking out the window, he heaved a sigh of relief and said, Its Li Dage! They were now every minute, every moment of their live, in a state of fear, without any sense of security. We are inside the room! Xu Ziling called out. His expression grave, Li Jing asked, The one breaking into the pcest night, was it one of you guys? Kou Zhong nodded and said, We both have a part in it, but no one found us out. Sit down and well talk. We were just thinking to get in touch with you. And then he reported about Shi Zhixuan discovering the Situ Furongs affair; he said, We have to prepare for the worst. Naturally if we could get rid of Shi Zhixuan, once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Otherwise, we must withdraw immediately. Hearing that, Li Jing was stunned, he forgot to question them about the theft in the Tang Pce. Xu Ziling said, Our greatest concern is that if this matter is exposed, it will implicate Chen Fu and Ou Liangcai, along with their families. Taking a deep breath, Li Jing said, On the contrary, you wont have to worry about this matter. As long as Chen Fu push the me neat and clean, saying that he basically did not know that you guys are impersonators, our Tian Ce Fu can support them; unless Qin Wang loses power, they wont have any problem. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, If thats the case, we can feel reassured. Do you know that Yang Xuyan and the Dugu n are ying with trick and toying with scheme against Li Mi and Shen Luoyan? Their ultimate target is to deal with Li Shiji. And then Xu Ziling told Li Jing the inside story; he reminded him. Li Yuan himself ought to have the intention to kill Li Mi; therefore, Shen Luoyans current situation is very dangerous. Li Jing said, This is no small matter at all, if Li Shiji is used of guilt by association, not only the blow toward our Tian Ce Fu is difficult to estimate, it would also greatly harmful to the foundation that weid outside the Pass, it would bring about serious damage to Qin Wangs reputation. Ay! There is not much time, how are we going to notify Shen Luoyan? Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, We thought youd have a way. Li Jing sighed and said, Huangshang strictly prohibits the people from both the left and right pces to enter the Taiji Pce; to enter Zhang Jieyus Ning Bi Pavilion is even more difficult above difficult. You guys should know the reason. The two boys nodded to indicate they did. Since Li Yuan suspected that Li Shimin poisoned Zhang Jieyu, not only he sealed the passage between the left and right pces and the Taiji Pce, he also invited You Chuhong to personally protect his beloved imperial concubine. Kou Zhong said, We have not given up all hope yet. Without any better option, well ask Song ErGe to notify Shang Xiuxun, to ask her to help. I hope Li Yuan will not cancel the polo match this afternoon! Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, You are really muddleheaded. If Li Yuan cancels the match, how could Li Mi have the opportunity to make a private request to him? We need not worry. pping his forehead, Kou Zhong eximed, Right! Todays game is absolutely necessary. I should have said that I hope Shang Xiuxun will be invited as the guest of honor to watch the game. Li Jing said, I definitely will not allow this thing to happen. Otherwise I will be ashamed to face Qin Wang. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Li Dage should not get involved in this. Well handle this ourselves. Li Jing said, At least I can send someone to monitor Li Mi and Wang Bodangs movements. Furthermore, I have to maintain contact with you. After Li Jing left, Lei Jiuzhi hurriedly came over, saying, Xiao Yu is inviting our Shen Ye to immediatelye with him to the pce. I dont know if this matter is inauspicious or lucky. Kou Zhong pped his thigh and said, My Niang! Unexpectedly the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu was really in the imperial study room. Xiao Hou missed the opportunity to see the real painting. What are you talking about? Lei Jiuzhi was baffled. Xu Ziling exined to him; he said, Only if the real painting is kept inside the imperial study room would Li Yuan be worried that Cao San, who had entered the imperial study room might substitute the treasured painting by stealing the dragon and swapping the phoenix. Therefore, as soon as it is daybreak, he sent someone to invite our Shen Ye into the pce, to have him verify the authenticity of the treasured painting. As if he was relieved from a burden, Lei Jiuzhi sat down and said, In that case I am relieved. I am going to give your gadget to him. As long as ErGe hides the fine powder in his fingernail and applies it onto the painting, after the painting is rolled up and sealed up for one or two sichen, it will start emitted faint scent, which wont dissipate until after one or two days. This is the sample. He took out a small paper wrap from his bosom and sure enough, as soon as he opened it, it emitted a faint smell. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Unless Li Yuan is not worried and still keep the painting in the imperial study room, any gadget will be totally useless. Xu Ziling responded with a sneer, So what if it is still in the imperial study room? You think we could still sneak into the imperial study room? Kou Zhongughed and said, I was just giving thought to Hou kid. Oh! Darn it! Song ErGe is going into the pce, whos going to talk to Meirener Changzhu? His eyes turned toward Xu Ziling. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, No need to look at me, Xiaodi will walk this path of misfortune. Kou Zhong stepped into the main hall, Ren Jun, dressed as Situ Furong, was staring nkly by the window. Seeing Kou Zhong came in, he hastily stood up and greeted him, Kou Ye! Kou Zhongughed and said, It should be me who pay my respect to you. Looking at you, this kid, seem to have your spirit and soul upside down, I am really worried. Embarrassed, Ren Jun sat down. Hanging his head down, he said, I am all right. Kou Zhong sat down by his side and said, Tell me a bit more honestly, are you having love at first sight toward Hu Xiaoxian? Be bold and tell me, I will take care of everything for you. Ren Jun stammered, I am really all right. I should be okay in a couple of days. There! You admit it! Kou Zhong said, This is not something that you should be embarrassed. Real man should dare to do anything. Sess or failure, let Laotianye decides. Ren Jun spoke apologetically, Our proper business is important, I Kou Zhongughed and said, And major turning point of lifelong importance is not a proper business? But you ought to know that Hu Xiaoxian is not simple at all, she understands how to charm men like a fox. Dont look at her repeatedly throwing flirtatious nces at you, that was actually no more than her usual skill to bewitch men. I know, Ren Jun replied in deject. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, You already knew she is that kind of woman, yet you still want to get close to her? If you are just looking for a chance to have some fun, Ill say your chances are quite high. As long as Da Xian Hu Fo is interested in your Flying Money business, no need for you to look for her, Hu Xiaoxian will drop by your door on her own. Ren Jun suddenly appeared as if he made up his mind, he spoke decisively, Kou Ye need not worry about me, I have the ability to maintain self-control. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Turns out you are serious, hence the reason you gnashed your teeth in saying those words. The affair between man and woman might be the predestined affinity that was carried over from your previous life, its not something that can be conquered by self-control. You are a single man, she is not married yet, just let everything flows naturally. Grateful, Ren Jun said, Xiaoren thought Kou Ye might reprimand me for this matter, who would have thought that Kou Ye is encouraging me instead? Ay! I never thought I would be this useless. Xu Ziling entered by climbing over the wall; hended inside the rear garden of the mansion Shang Xiuxun was staying in her trips to Changan. Hearing footsteps, he hurriedly shed behind a cluster of flowers. Peeking toward the winding corridor piercing through the rear garden, he saw Fu Dajie [big sister] and Xiao Juan, whom he has not seen for a long time - walking past in a hurry. Pulling off his mask, Xu Ziling shed out of his hiding ce and called out, Fu Dajie! Xiao Juan Jie! The two women turned around in shock, their flowery countenance turned pale. Xu Ziling hurriedly came over and cupped his fist to greet them, Its me! Ie to see your Changzhu. Recovering from her shock, Big Sister Fu looked around to make sure no one else was around first before speaking in displeasure, You want to see Xiaojie for what? She is mad at you guys! Xu Ziling said, Fu Dajie, please help me, I have a very important thing to discuss with Changzhu face to face. Xiao Juan lightly pulled Big Sister Fus sleeve to plead for Xu Ziling. Big Sister Fus countenance alternated between clear and dark. Finally she sighed and said, Changzhu is in a very difficult position. Da Guanjia [big/first housekeeper] and both Zhishi and his deputy [manager, see Book 9, starting at Chapter 4] are all advocating that we sever all rtions with you guys, only Luo Fang is willing to speak favorable words for you. But what lowly people think counts for little [idiom], so it was useless. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. I understand! he said, I just want to say a few words to Changzhu. After listening to the situation clearly, Ren Jun asked in horror, What do we do now? No need to panic! Lei Jiuzhi said, We decided to let Chi Shengchun go for the time being, we will retreat in honor and glory. Ren Jun did not understand, Retreat in honor and glory? he asked. Kou Zhong calmly said, Let me exin: there are two ways to retreat. The first is slipping away via the secret tunnel of the Duke Yangs Treasure; this is not the preferred policy. The second one is: our Furong Ye haspleted exploring business opportunity in Changan, he has other important matter to attend to, hence he has to leave immediately,ter on he mighte back to develop the business, which is his Niangs Flying Money business. Well talk some more when you, the Senior,e back. Ren Jun asked in astonishment, What might be more important than the Song ns threat? You are Situ Furong, Kou Zhong replied, You dont have to exin anything to anybody. That will look more like Situ Furongs usual style. Ren Jun still appeared to be at a loss. I understand! he spoke dejectedly. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Have you forgotten about letting everything flows naturally? Trust me, Ive been there. If its yours, then its yours, it wont go anywhere. Big Sister Fu walked out of the room, she spoke to Xu Ziling, who was sitting in the inner hall, waiting quietly, Changzhu invites you toe in. Xu Ziling was slightly surprised, he did not expect that instead ofing out to see him, Shang Xiuxun asked him toe into thedys chamber to see her. Although it was to guard against other peoples eyes and ears, it was still a bit inappropriate. Xiao Juan, who had been apanying him by his side, urged him, What are you waiting for? Changzhu still has to go to the main hall to receive Da Guanjia and various Zhishi who are going to pay their respect. Xu Ziling had no other choice but to walk over toward the bedroom. After passing through a small hall with elegant furnishing, he entered the inner room. Shang Xiuxun was sitting in front of the dresser, facing a copper mirror, putting on her makeup. The spacious bedroom was separated by a screen partition in the middle, so he could not see the bed on the other side. Shang Xiuxun wore in blue shirt with dark brown, embroidered with floral pattern, long gown with slit on the hip, golden-yellow leather belt on her waist, and a pair of red and white striped trousers, het feet were encased in embroidered shoes. Although she wore mens clothing, she still gave up a very feminine graceful impression. Thedys chamber was full of light sweet scent, which came from a tray of freshly-picked jasmine lying on a small table. The person and the flowerpete in beauty, Xu Ziling could not refrain unbounded tender sentiments from welling up in his heart. Looking at his reflection in the copper mirroring behind her, Shang Xiuxun said, Hou Xibai did not pass on Xiuxuns message to you? Xu Ziling remembered her tender disposition and beautiful appearance when she was eating, which could be rated as matchless under the heavens, he stopped and stood still behind her ky back, he nodded and said, We are clear about Changzhus standpoint, this time I aming for another matter, boldly asking Changzhu to do us a favor. Oh! Maybe a couple of favors. Pfft! Shang Xiuxun giggled tenderly. Staring at him in the mirror, her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, How could Xu Ziling be such a greedy person? I practically shouldnt even receive you! Xu Ziling spoke calmly, I never thought that Changzhu is not going to see me. Shang Xiuxun hung down her lily-white hands, which were straightening up her beautiful hair; she stared at his reflection in the mirror for quite half a day before speaking indifferently, Why do you have that kind of confidence? If it were the day before yesterday, I would have my men beat you randomly with a stick and sweep you out of the door. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, This is perhaps Nature [as the mother of all things] is ying with people. I wonder if Changzhu does not have a good opinion on Li Shimin? Shang Xiuxuns tender body trembled lightly, she sighed faintly and said, Now the one holding power in the Li n is Li Yuan, his heir is Li Jiancheng, how do you expect me to look at Li Shimin? If you are Kou Zhongs good brother, you should advise him to withdraw from the struggle over the world. Unless Song Que can deploy his army in the middle of the winter to go up north, you can only collect Kou Zhongs remains. This is something that no one can change. The birds are gone, the bow is put away. The people of old had a wise lesson, Li Shimins end could be inferred. If I, Shang Xiuxun, were not the Ranch Master of the Flying Horse Ranch, I dont have any problem apanying you, two kids, roaming far and wide. Butst night I already promised Li Yuan that from now on, the horses of the Ranch will be sold only to his Li Family. After a short pause, she went on, Speak up! Lets see if I can help. Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief. Listening to her, it looked like Li Yuan has not proposed a marriage to her on Li Jianchengs behalf. Thereupon he told her about Shen Luoyan. That is merely the exertion of lifting ones hand [idiom], Shang Xiuxun said, However, if Shen Luoyan does not attend todays polo match, I can do nothing. Furthermore, if Zhang Jieyu and the Dugu Family join hands and form a gang, they definitely will not give Shen Luoyan the opportunity to contact Li Mi. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, We did not think about that possibility. Shang Xiuxun said, I will do my best, plus I will let you guys know the result as soon as possible. What is the other favor? Xu Ziling was a bit to embarrassed to mention it; he said, Now the Li ns internal tumult and external struggle is growing moreplex day by day. Although Kou Zhong is at a disadvantage, but he is notpletely without any power to strike back. May I be so bold as to ask Changzhu not to make any major decision? At least you ought to give yourself half a year to see the situation clearly. Shang Xiuxun slowly turned her tender body around to face Xu Ziling. Her flowery jade countenance revealed an unusually strange expression; without blinking at all she fixed her gaze at him and said, What major decision? Greatly embarrassed, Xu Ziling wanted to say something but then hesitating. I hear ay! I hear Li Jiancheng ay! How do I say it? he stammered. Shang Xiuxun hung her head down and spoke softly, I understand what you want to say. Does this matter have something to do with you, Xu Ziling? Xu Ziling was shocked inwardly. He heard the resentment and affection in Shang Xiuxuns heart; panicked, he replied, I am just afraid the Flying Horse Ranch will be drawn into the Li ns internal power struggle, in which to whom the deer falls is still unknown. Shang Xiuxun raised her pretty, charming face. She smiled and said, You think I am that stupid? Even if I have to marry a pig, or I have to marry a dog, I will never marry Li Jiancheng. Thank you for your concerns. Xu Ziling rxed; he said, There is one thing: Song ErGe is being summoned into the pce today, hence he cannot keep his appointment. Shang Xiuxun hung down her small-cicada-with-a-square-head head, and spoke heavily, Even if he came today, he wont be able to see me. I already promised Da Guanjia and the others that I will no longer interact with people from the Song Family, I hope Song Xiansheng understands my difficulties. He is a man whom Xiuxun respect deeply. Xu Zilings mind was severely shaken; he secretly mused that if he passed this on truthfully to Song Shidao, could he take this most serious blow after Fu Junchuos death? Remaining tranquil, Shang Xiuxun said, Ziling, go! You and Kou Zhong will always be Xiuxuns real intimate friends, I love to eat the strange things you came up with the most. Book 49 11 – Buying People’s Hearts

Book 49 Chapter 11 C Buying Peoples Hearts

When Xu Ziling returned to the Situ Mansion, Ren Jun and Lei Jiuzhi told him that Chi Shengchun was paying them a visit, while Kou Zhong was sitting in a daze inside the rear hall. Xu Ziling sat by his side and asked in surprise, What are you thinking about that you look entranced like this? Kou Zhong said, I am thinking about Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa; quite likely our Long-Life Qi is his bane. As long as after the saber qi enters his meridians it is still under our control, his remaining choice is to going all out and stake it all. The most formidable aspect of the Bu Si Yin Fa was transforming death into life; if it could not be aplished, the formidable power would be greatly reduced. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Too bad we practically are unable to find this opportunity. His Bu Si Huan, you have seen it yourself! It makes people want to attack but cannot attack, want to defend but cannot defend. Kou Zhong said, Therefore, we must have Wan Beauty to use the Tianmo field to control his Bu Si Huan, while we use the joining qi technique to break his Bu Si Yin. Tonight or tomorrow night? Xu Ziling said, This matter should not be dyed. Tonight it is! Kou Zhong said, If we fail to kill Shi Zhixuan, what will the consequences be? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I dont dare to think, but that possibility exists, Laotianye cant possibly let everything happen entirely like peoples expectations. Kou Zhong said, We only have one shot in our Zhu Shi Daji [Operation Punishing the Shi]. If he slips away, ouring days will be very difficult to pass. Xu Ziling said, We should not think too much in this kind of matter, we could only aplish it with sheer determination, without worrying about sess or failure, submitting to the will of heaven. But Ren Jun, Lei Dage and Song ErGe must withdraw today, you and I will have to pretend we areing with them, and then sneak back into the city via the secret path. What about Xiao Hou? Kou Zhong asked, If Shi Zhixuan did not die, perhaps he would kill his own disciple to vent his anger. Xu Ziling said, We will do everything we can to persuade him to leave, but I am afraid he wont be willing to listen to us. I have another strange thought, which is Shi Zhixuan might not want to destroy this disciple, unless he already determined that Yang Xuyan has no disloyalty. Shi Zhixuan is absolutely not the kind of person who let emotions affect his decisions. He might think about the serious problem of having no qualified sessors to carry on his undertaking. On the contrary, I am worried about Chen Fu. Kou Zhong said, In this aspect, I might understand Shi Zhixuan better than you do. Supposing Shi Zhixuan waited for us to leave Changan before notifying Yin Zuwen that Situ Furong is a man that we sent to impersonate, what would Yin Zuwen think of him? Even if Yin Zuwen did not suspect that Shi Zhixuan is concealing this matter, in Shi Zhixuans eyes, Chen Fu is merely an insignificant pawn, practically he does not worth Shi Zhixuan to care about him. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. Kou Zhongs analysis was extremely refined. Hows the situation on Meirener Changzhu? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling gave him a quick summary, and then spoke dejectedly, Shall we pass on what Meirener Changzhu said to ErGe? Kou Zhongughed and said, Its not worth you are frustrating over it, the most important thing is that Meirener Changzhus fragrant heart is ultimately still leaning toward our Song Er Ye. His Niangs! If you could help me to get Jiangdu, I have the confidence that Li Shimin will be driven back into Guanzhong. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, You, this kid, are like this for a time, and like that another time. Previously I said I would help you, you did not seem to be too willing, but now you are afraid that I wont help. Kou Zhong smiled and said, That was exactly why I was thinking hard just now. Human is always greedy for life, afraid of death! How can I, Kou Zhong, be an exception? Only with you, Ling Shao and Fenghan willing to fight side by side with me that I have the confidence to create a miracle. Tonight, whether we can kill Shi Zhixuan or not, you and I will proceed separately. Xiaodi will immediately rush back to Pengliang, to train my Shao Shuai Army in the battle tactics that I learned outside the Great Wall. And then, when youe back from delivering the Xiao to Bashu, we will immediately deploy the troops to Jiangdu. With the addition of Yang Gongqing and Old Ba, we can squeeze Li Zitongs eggs out. Ha! Suddenly I am brimming with fighting spirit and confidence. My dominance will reach the vast, boundless ocean. If I could seize the opportunity by having Hainan under my banner, the coastal area will have to take order only from me, Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling sighed and said, You, this kid, finally recover your confidence! Kou Zhong said, Currently Li Yuans power is greatly increasing, while Li Yuanji has the demonic schools support behind him, and Li Jiancheng has a close rtionship with the Tujue. Although Li Shimin considers himself unexcelled on the battlefield in the world, but returning to Changan, his share will only be to wait to be ughtered. Now it bes Xiaodi instead of our revered Shi Xianzi who give thought to themon people under the heavens. I am precisely thinking about this point, hence I am having high fighting spirit. This is also the reason why Ling Shao is willing to be drawn into the great vortex of the contention for hegemony over the world, am I right? Xu Ziling was about to respond when they heard footsteps. Hastily, being a quick-witted, he spoke in rough voice, His grannys! I dont know what bird trick that casino dealer was using, it was clearly small, but suddenly it became big, and thus I had to lose a hundred taels of silver. Chi Shengchunsughter came, Listening to two gentlemen Dage talking about your gambling experience, my hands are itching, he said. With Lei Jiuzhi showing the way, Chi Shengchun strode into the hall. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, while cursing inwardly, stood up to greet him. Lei Jiuzhi intentionally gave Chi Shengchun the opportunity to talk, he said, I still have some errands to do, two gentlemen please take care of Chi Laoban on my behalf. Finished speaking, he left the inner hall. The three men moved to the table in the middle of the hall and sat down. Acting like an old friend, Chi Shengchun lowered his voice and spoke conspiratorially, With two gentlemen, certainly I have familiarity at first sight, hence I have no scruple. Hearing that you owe some gambling debt, I was wondering if you could let Xiaodi spend a little effort in this regard? Pretending to be grateful, Kou Zhong said, Chi Laoban is indeed a true friend, but Chi Shengchun tactfully cut him off and said, A friend will also have understanding of wealth. Come! Here are a hundred taels of gold, I definitely am not going to take it away. While saying that, he took out a purse from his bosom, heavy with gold, and put it on the table. The two boys four eyes immediately lit up. Chi Shengchun smiled and said, Just a small token of appreciation, not a tribute, furthermore, you must never, ever think that I, Chi Shengchun, am harboring evil intentions, two gentlemen must not try to payback even more. You two can randomly find anybody in Changan and ask what kind of person am I, Chi Shengchun? Finished speaking, he rose up to his full height, acting like he was leaving. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling hastily stood up as well, the former rushed to say, Ay! Chi Laoban is so generous, we Chi Shengchunughed and said, We are both friends and brothers, whats a mere hundred taels of gold between us? Polite words are not needed, if you say it, it would appear that there is no friendly rtion between us. And then he sighed and said, Its a pity that you guys are leaving today, otherwise I would surely invite you to the Six-Happiness to gamble to our hearts delight. Kou Zhong was amused inwardly, but outwardly he spoke respectfully, We are only going away temporarily,ter on we wille back to develop the Flying Money business. Beating the snake following the stick, Chi Shengchun said with a frown, Didnt Da Laobane to Changan to hide from Song Que? Leaving like this, wont he be afraid of the threat to his life? As early as when Chi Shengchun stepped into the hall, Xu Ziling already thought about what to say, because even though Situ Furong did not need to tell the reason, they could not go with the tide by not telling it. Lowering his voice, he said, We only tell Chi Ye, one person. This time the reason why we are leaving in a hurry is precisely to see someone from the Song Family. Ay! In the south, the Song ns power is so great, if we want to expand our business in the south, we have no choice but to look up at Song Ques face. Fortunately Da Laoban asked a middleman to mediate the dispute. Under generous gift, this matter seems to go smoothly. This is a secret, Chi Laoban must never tell anybody else, otherwise Yuanyong and I wont be able to guarantee our rice bowl, Longtou [boss/chief] might also me us. Chi Shengchun revealed a relieved expression. Kou Zhong cried, Wonderful! inwardly, because that was really the best reason to leave Changan immediately; it was called whoever hang the bell on the tigers neck must untie it [idiom]. About half a sichen before noon, Xiao Yu personally sent Song Shidao back. While Ren Jun and Lei Jiuzhi entertained Xiao Yu in the main hall, Song Shidao slipped into the inner hall to speak with the two boys. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were waiting for him anxiously, they hurriedly asked him what happened. Taking the cup of hot tea that Kou Zhong offered him, Song Shidao said with augh, I received an imperial edict not to reveal what I saw even for half a bit. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, It is indeed the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu. How did Li Yuan exin his action in stealing it? Song Shidaoughed and said, Fancy that he coulde up with it. He said that the authentic painting has always been in his collection. It was not until Chi Shengchun had his painting stolen that he knew there are reproductions circting outside, which made him doubt whether the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu in his hands is the genuine or the fake, hence the reason he looked for me to verify its authenticity. Due to this matter implicates a lot of things, he ordered me not to disclose it to anybody, including, of course, our Furong Ye. Pouring out lies, Kou Zhong spoke disdainfully, No wonder he could promise to set up Li Shimin as the crown prince, but turn his head and overthrow his promise. His Niangs! If he did not know the real painting was in Chi Shengchuns hand, how could he sent Liu Wenjing over to force Chi Shengchun to present the painting? Where exactly in the Pce did Li Yuan see ErGe? Xu Ziling asked. Song Shidao replied, It was in his personal office pce hall at the rear pce. Youd better forget about stealing the painting. Currently the Great Tang Pce obviously elevates their alertness. When Li Yuan was seeing me, standing on the side was the chief of the eunuchs Wei Gonggong; he is not simple at all, his martial art skill is definitely not inferior to Li Yuan. It could only be described as deep and immeasurable. I wonder if Xiao Yu has a lot of time in his hands? Kou Zhong said, Why didnt he leave immediately after dropping you off? Song Shidao sighed and said, That is another headache; if you want to me someone, just me Lei LaoGe. After Li Yuan was sure that the treasured painting was not stolen by Cao San, the dragon was not turned into a phoenix, his mood was greatly improved. He does not have much interest in our Furong Ye, but he asked me about your ball skill; furthermore, he sent Xiao Yu toe and take you guys into the pce for a performance. There is not much time, I must exin the technique and rules of polo to you immediately, lest you make a fool of yourselves in public. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you looked at me I gazed at you, they cried, Not good! inwardly. Song Shidao said, Based on your skill and horsemanship, you should be able to master it very quickly. The problem is how to convince people that you are not Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, but the Taihang Shuang Jie, who are just skilled in ying balls. It will be up to you to get out of this pinch. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling smiled bitterly without saying anything. They did not even know the size and shape of the stick they were going to y with. Probably they had even less confidence to get through this hurdle than to fight Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhong said, When we get back from the pce, we must immediately leave town. Stunned, Song Shidao said, Do we have to leave in such a hurry? Knowing that he hated to part with Shang Xiuxun, Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Why did Song Shidaos path to love have to be like calligraphic flourish with many twists like this? Based on his family background and personal talent, there ought to be so many women in the world that he could just bend down and pick them up, yet the fact was just the opposite. He spoke softly, ErGe need not say goodbye to Shang Changzhu; I just went to see her. Furthermore, I advised her to look at the development of the situation in this half a year, a year first, before deciding which way she, as well as the Flying Horse Ranch, will take. Song Shidao spoke indifferently, She does not me you guys anymore? How did she answer you? Xu Ziling replied, She looked a bit like she is worn out of worldly affairs; she even spoke a strange sentence, which is even if she has to marry a pig, has to marry a dog, she would never marry Li Jiancheng. Actually, I was advising her to make more observations, and was not referring to that matter at all, I was asking her not to be drawn into the internal strife within the Li n. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, Most likely she really admires Song ErGe wholeheartedly! Feeling a sense of loss and sadness because the situation does not allow her to take her rtionship with ErGe one step further. By saying that she wont marry Li Jiancheng, she is stating her heart clearly. For example, if she cannot marry ErGe, she would rather not marry throughout her life. After all, its better than marrying someone that she does not like. Xu Ziling nearly wanted to punch Kou Zhong on the face. His intentions were good, but his remarks were too exaggerated and went too far. The fact was that Shang Xiuxuns remark was probably directed to him, Xu Ziling. Shang Xiuxun definitely had favorable impression toward Song Shidao, but until this moment she still considered him as an intimate friend rather than a sweetheart, otherwise she would not push away Song Shidao by saying that she respect him deeply. Song Shidao revealed a hint of bitter and astringent expression, he sighed lightly and said, If these were days of peace and prosperity, how much better would it be? But then he made an effort to rouse his spirit and said, Listen carefully, any game has its unique spirit behind it. ying polo is like determining victory on the battlefield, it involves the teams strength, not about showing off an individuals courage. The two boys knew that the ying polo lesson has begun, this was the current top priority for them, if they failed to show their skill as top polo yers, they certainly would not be able to leave the Tang pce alive, thereupon they quickly concentrated their attention to listen respectfully. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings Taihang Shuang Jie followed Xiao Yu into the pce. After passing through the Vermilion Bird Gate, Xiao Yu handed them over to a lower ranking officer to receive them, while he himself proceeded to the Taiji Pce to see Li Yuan. The two boys knew that with Taihang Shuang Jies status, they did not have enough qualifications to enter the Taiji Pce. The petty official who received them was called Liao Nan, quite a slick and sly fellow, who immediately talked them over and took them to therge dining hall of the Sifang Lou [lit. four-sided multi-story building] for lunch. Revisiting old haunts, Kou Zhong recalled the days when he used to dress up as the Divine Doctor Mo Yixin in the past, he could not help sighing with sorrow! Musing inwardly that no wonder so many people strived to swim upstream, never satisfied with the pursuit of power, their target was precisely to be well-regarded by the hundred crowds. Now, although it was as bustling with noise and excitement as before, no one had any interest in casting even half a nce toward them. After a few idle remarks, Liao Nan finally fished for more in-depth information, asking their Taihang Shuang Jie about the game of polo. The two boys responded carefully, they did not dare to be careless. Finally Liao Nan lowered his voice to ask, Please forgive me for being blunt, I hear that when two gentlemen first arrived in Changan, you nearly fought with Guanzhong Jian Pai people on the street, what exactly was that about? The two boys understood that this Liao Nan must be part of the Great Tang Pces Imperial Guard system with specific responsibility of intelligence gathering, hence he must investigate clearly anybody who was going toe close to Li Yuan, in order not to let anything took a wrong turn. It was just a misunderstanding, Kou Zhong calmly replied. And then he weaved a story while beating around the bush. Liao Nan said, Two gentlemen, please wait here for a moment, I will be right back. Looking at his back, Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, I hope he did not hear any w! If what he heard from Guanzhong Jian Pai is an entirely different story, I would be surprised if he did not get suspicious by now. Xu Zilings eyes were cast toward the public square crossing transversally, their table was by the north window, so that they could take in the whole beautiful scenery of the public square and the imperial pce at once. A group of about a hundred imperial guards was fixing up the arena for the polo match; there were spectators grandstands built on both sides, east and west of the field. Hearing Kou Zhongs remark, heughed and said, Your tale is so brilliant, every sentence is an empty move, you said it, but it was like you didnt say it, how could he grasp your sore feet? Kou Zhongs gaze crossed over the public square, he fixed his eyes on the Taiji Pce rising above various pce halls, the most magnificent sight in the imperial pceplex. Laughing in spite of himself, he said, If you think about it, its kind of funny. Dressing up as Taihang Shuang Jie, have you ever thought of sitting here, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Tang Pce? And a bitter we are going down the arena to y polo. His Niangs! And then he turned his gaze toward Xu Ziling and lowered his voice, I dont know if you have thought about one particr problem? Xu Ziling pulled back his gaze from looking outside. Noticing Kou Zhongs heavy expression, he asked in surprise, What problem? Leaning forward a bit more, Kou Zhong said, If we seed in ughtering Shi Zhixuan tonight, even without taking the condition of the father-daughter rtionship between them into consideration, you will avenge the deep enmity of her Niang, but in the end you still kill her Die. In daze, Xu Ziling looked back at him for quite half a day, he smiled ruefully and said, When themon people of the world is at stake, whats personal gains and losses? Besides, my heart has already died toward Shi Qingxuan! Ay, you, this muddled egg, why did you talk about such thing in time like this? Dont we still have other options? Look at people like Yin Zuwen, Chi Shengchun, Yang Xuyan; if they seed, what will the world look like? Deeply concerned, Kou Zhong said, I was just thinking about you Say no more, Xu Ziling cut him off, As early as we were in Longquan, I already made a firm resolution to wipe out Shi Zhixuan, this scourge to the world. If I am guessing correctly, Yang Yong and Yang Jians death more or less had something to do with Shi Zhixuan, otherwise Yang Guang would not put him in an important position, and Yang Xuyan would not gnash his teeth in disdain toward Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement, he said, Although we are unclear of the situation surrounding Yang Yong being deposed and Yang Jians so-called death of illness in the past, but I am sure that Shi Zhixuan cannot escape the connection. Although in minor details, Li Yuans father and son rtionship now has some differences, in the big picture they are quite identical. Its all about demonic school people ying ghost in bringing disharmony between father and son, pitting brothers against each other. Luckily theres still us, the Yangzhou Shuang Long [twin dragons] here. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, Go to hell with your Yangzhou Shuang Long; lets y a good game of polo first and talk about itter! Withplete confidence, Kou Zhong said, We learned our horsemanship from Old Ba; merely man-and-horse-as-one, this one move is enough to open wide Li Yuans horizon while he still wont know the reason why. Although Song ErGe said that polo originated from Tubo and was imported here via Persia, it was actually the Tujue who developed and promoted it. We are going to y polo using Tujue peoples horsemanship and our own skill. Even though this is the first time on the court, we can still show off the air of a master, there is nothing to worry about. Just consider hitting the ball into the goal like shooting secret projectiles, wont that be the same? Xu Zilings gaze moved toward the public square crossing transversally, a group of imperial guards drove a herd of approximately thirty highly-spirited healthy horses into the public square. The most conspicuous thing about these horses was that they were decorated gorgeously, in all kinds of color; obviously these were the horses that were going to be used in the polo match. On either side of the field, a wall made of wooden nks, supported by wooden frame C was erected. On the lower part, there was a small hole, about one chi square, which was equipped with a. Victory or defeat would be decided by the number of times the ball passed through the hole and entered the. The arena was marked by red chalk drawn in the center of the traversing public square, forming a rectangle, with another line at the half-way point and right in the middle. The length of the field was approximately two thousand paces, its width was about a thousand paces. They could imagine the fierce situation as the two teams urging their horses to y ball in the arena. Someone was erecting eighteen red gs on the periphery of the field, but because Song Shidao did not mention it, Kou Zhong did not know what the gs were for. Look! Kou Zhong said, The cheerleaders areing! People of nobilitys games are really not simple. A group of several dozen people forming a band, carrying big and small, different sizes of drums and cymbals and various types of musical instrument, wasing out the main gate of the Taiji Pce, the Cheng Tian Gate, and prepared themselves at the north side of the arena. This moment Liao Nan came back in a hurry, and spoke to the two boys, I have troubled two gentlemen to wait for a long time, I am really sorry. Please follow me to the arena. The two boys were secretly happy, knowing that at least they have passed this hurdle of having their identity checked out. Book 49 12 – Crisis of Confidence

Book 49 Chapter 12 C Crisis of Confidence

Led by Liao Nan, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling entered the traversing public square, and came to the ce where the horses were located. A captain of the imperial guards came up to greet them. After introducing the two boys to him, Liao Nan said, This gentleman is the Yu Ji Chang [chief of imperial riders] Cheng Mo Daren, he is in charge of the game. Finished speaking, he asked to be excused and left. Cheng Mo sized the two boys up and down, heughed and said, I hear two gentlemens fame in ying ball shook Taihang, you have rendered crushing defeat to famous Tubo yers. And then, lowering his voice, he said, Those four Tubo yers have triumphed in every battle in here, who would have thought that when they returned to their country, unexpectedly they nursed a grievance under two gentlemens hands. Therefore, when Huangshang heard that two gentlemen came to Changan, he immediately sent people to summon you into the pce to perform your skill. Hearing that, inwardly the two felt their hair was rising on its end. It should be noted that in the Tang Pce, the martial art masters were as numerous as the cloud. Li Yuan himself was both the master of a n, and was deeply addicted to such matters. His own skill in ying ball was exceptional, unexpectedly he repeatedly suffered defeat on the field. From this, it could be inferred that ying polo could not rely on martial art skill alone, but one must also speak of skill with the ball. Cheng Mos remark immediately shook their originally 100% confidence. Cheng Mo spoke in friendly manner, ying ball in the imperial pce has its local rule. Someone has specific responsibility of calling out the score; obtaining one part is considered one score, so one g is raised. Losing a score means pulling down a g, so the red gs are used to keep score. Remember that if Huangshang scores a goal, you must stop and shout loudly Wansui [long live, lit. ten thousand years (old)], if other people score, apuding or cheering is enough. Scoring three goals is one set, three sets for one game. At that time it depends on Huangshangs mood, maybe a short break, or even go into the pce hall for a drink. It was only then that the two boys understood the function of the red gs on the perimeter of the field. Cheng Mo pointed to the nearly a hundred bent sticks used in polo games, which were inserted into a wooden rack on the side, he said, Those are highest quality polo sticks, specially provided for foreign guests to use, two gentlemen may choose any one you like. Ha! Two gentlemen have never thought that youde to the Pce to y polo, have you? Hence you did not think of taking your own sticks along. Two gentlemen may also take a pick from those horses. After making your selection, I will take two gentlemen to try out the field. Kou Zhong could not help asking, What position are we going to y today? Cheng Mo cheerfully replied, This time, ying against Huangshangs team is the royal family team from Persia, the yers are already selected. For the time being, you guys prepare yourselves on the sidelines, after the first game is finished, you go down the arena and do some demonstration. Qi Wang Mansion will send two of their most outstanding yers to y with two gentlemen. All right! Two gentlemen may begin to make your selection, after I deal with some businesses, I wille back and take you to try out the field. Cheng Mo left to do his business, the two went over to the stick rack. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Right now my heart is thumping wildly; what do we do? Looking at the situation, if the number of spectators is not in thousands, there will be at least several hundreds. Under thousands or hundreds of pairs of eyes watching us, these two newly hatched birds taking the field doing some his Niangs demonstration, it wont be much different from going up the execution ground to be ughtered. From the rack, Xu Ziling picked a stick and weighed it in his hand; he said, Very sturdy. Hearing that, Kou Zhong also picked one. The end of the stick was curved in half-moon shape, it was painted with gorgeous decorative design. Sighing, he said, This ghost thing is harder to use than my Moon in the Well. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Kid loses his confidence again! This is precisely the difference between great master level figures and ordinary martial art masters. An ordinary martial art master only specializes in one skill, using other weapon, he would have his hands and feet bound, unable to disy his usual level of achievement, plus his horsemanship is limited. In the field, naturally he cantpete with an expert who specializes in ying polo. A great master level figure, however, has the skill to touch base matter and turn it to gold [idiom]; any Moon in the Well or polo stick in his hand, he will be able to bring out its innate qualities to extreme saturation. Plus, with the man-and-horse-as-one, even if Fa Ming yed polo, he could only eat the mud and dust that our horses kicked. Do you understand? Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, Xu kids lecture is right on, I have suddenly be a great master in polo. Come! Pick a stick. On the horseback, Kou Zhong took the polo ball that Cheng Mo fetched. Holding it in his hand, he felt that it was light as a feather, slightly finer than a fist, hollow, painted red and bound in colorful silk fabrics; he could imagine the scene as the ball was hit by the stick and moving around the field, and could not help groaning inwardly. This polo ball was definitely not easy to control. Throwing it to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong could see a sh of shocked expression, which quickly died down, as he received the ball; obviously he was having an identical feeling as Kou Zhong did. Cheng Mo said, While the guests have not entered the arena, two gentlemen are free to hit a few balls to familiarize yourselves with the field. Naturally Kou Zhong did not dare to show off his disgrace; musing that an amateur encountering a professional, any which way he put the ball might already let out their secret; it would be better to watch Li Yuan hit the ball a couple of times first. Thereupon he hastily said, Huangshang has not started the game, how could it be our turn yet? Wed better just walk around and step on the field a little bit. Xu Ziling understood his thought. Tossing the ball back to Cheng Mo, without waiting for hisment he immediately urged his ride to rush toward the field. The imperial guards standing around the field immediately turned their attention to watch. Xu Ziling deliberately showed off; injecting his true qi into the horse, he elerated toward the edge of the field, and then had his ride leap vertically up, traversing nearly two zhang of empty air. By the time the sturdy horsended on the ground, half of his body stooped down, using his unique schools technique he moved the stick to strike, it swept across very close to the ground, creating a whooshing noise. The crowd of imperial guards have never seen such horsemanship, they cheered in chorus. Chasing after him from behind, Kou Zhongs confidence was greatly boosted. He also spurred his horse to leap into the air. When it appeared as if the two horses were about to run into each other, the two riders suddenly separated, like a pair of whirlwinds they rushed toward two opposite corners. Like flying, they rushed out of the corner lines, the two horses separately stood up, raising their heads and letting out long neigh, and then relying on their hind legs, which were still on the ground, they spun around until the horses were facing the middle of the field again, before the front legs fell to the ground again, and then like an arrow they galloped toward the middle of the field. The two men were not idle either, with the stick in their hands, their body was rocking nimbly forward and backward on horseback, or leaning sideways, or performing other movements, sweeping across and striking forward, hitting the imaginary ball on the field. They were performing all kinds of fancy movements, so that the imperial guards watching around the field were as if they were drunk and stupefied, the apuse was thunderous, the cheers were incessant. This was the strategy that the two boys formted to y polo, which was a hundred-percent equestrianism, thirty-percent skill. Man-and-horse-as-one was Ba Fenghans invention; merely this expertise, there was no other who could im it. No matter how the horses performance reached perfection, no one would suspect that it had something to do with martial art skill. From one side, they rushed toward the other side, their intention was no longer to show off the horses skill, but to master the stick. The two boys flew off their horses at the edge of the field, the crowd of imperial guards were striving to be first and fearing to best in scrambling to wait upon them. Cheng Mo was pping and calling out at the same time, Cai Xiong, Kuang Xiong, pleasee here! The two looked at the direction of his voice, and saw Cheng Mo and more than a dozen imperial guards were crowding around and talking to a eunuch like the stars cupping themselves around the moon [idiom, from Analects] on the sideline. They noticed Cheng Mos respectful manner toward the eunuch, and knew that this person must have a high position in the pce. The eunuch was of a medium build, his age was around fifty, his appearance did not stand out at all, but his clothes were extremely tastefully chosen, his head was wearing a ck crown cap adorned with golden flowers, his body wearing vermilion-colored broad-sleeved jacket with dark green decorative linings, his waist was wrapped in leather belt iid with jade and a white skirt, and his feet wearing ck and white double-ruyi shoes, giving up the impression of neat and clean, as if from head to foot he was not infected by a speck of dust at all. The two boys hurriedly came forward and saluted, but suddenly they felt warning sign at the bottom of their heart, a feeling of cold air seeping and invading their body. Even with Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings ability, they were still shocked inwardly, knowing that this person has reached the martial art realm of being able to probe what is true and what is false in other people across an empty air; quite possibly his martial art skill was above Li Yuans. Hurriedly they restrained the true qi within their body. They both thought of a person at the same time. Sure enough, Cheng Mo respectfully said, This gentleman is Da Gong Jian [great pce supervisor] Wei Gonggong [reminder: Gonggong is a term to address eunuch]. All Huangshangs affairs are done ording to Wei Gonggongs arrangement and direction. The two boys shivered inwardly, musing that no wonder Hou Xibai was so afraid of him; he certainly had real skill. The imperial pce was teeming with crouching tigers and hidden dragons, like Wei Gonggong, this kind of martial art master who was waiting upon the emperor all year long. Although their name did not appear in Jianghu, the fact was that they were not inferior to any ordinary sect leader of famous school. They could not help paying special attention to him. Wei Gonggongs pair of eyes appeared to be listless, dark without any light; it did not matter whatever he was looking at, there was not the slightest bit of variation, as if he waspletely indifferent to anything in the world, it did not seem to belong to a living person, its only function was to fill the ck hole of his eye sockets. However, his eyesight was as brilliant as Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, yet from his unfathomably mysterious expression showing in his eyes, his constant cool-headedness, they were able to see through that this was due to some kind of special gongfa, hence he was able topletely hold back and hide the expression showing in his eyes without revealing it at all. In short, he had already reached the supreme realm of the sage presented as an ordinary person. Wei Gonggong appeared to be looking but not exactly looking, as he swept his eyes over the two boys. Putting on a fake smile, he said, Two gentlemens riding skill is very outstanding, it really made people broaden their horizon very much. Later on, if you are willing to put on a show with all your heart and all your strength, Huangshang will definitely confer a reward. He spoke four sentences in total, but the intonation was exactly the opposite to his gaze; it was full of changes. From dark, hoarse, deep and low, it became shrill and sharp, suddenly it turned sluggish and muffled; it sounded intermittent but also continuous. The peculiarity was guaranteed to be unforgettable. Kou Zhong bowed down and replied, We, two brothers, will definitely do our best. We ask Wei Gonggong to give us more pointers. Cheng Moughed and said, Wei Gonggong has always talked less with people from outside the pce, he is viewing two gentlemen in a new light already! Wei Gonggong revealed a rarely seen smile, he spoke indifferently, As a man of lower position, I only have the heart to value talent on behalf of Huangshang. Later on, when Huangshang sees your astonishing horsemanship, I am sure he will be extremely happy. It will depend on you, whether you can grasp this opportunity or not. And then his pair of eyes slightly opened, refined light suddenly shed but disappeared just as quickly, as he cast his gaze in the direction of the imperial city. He spoke calmly, The first pair of guests has arrived! The two turned their head to look, entering their vision were surprisingly Li Mi and Wang Bodang, apanied by a petty official, walking into the traversing public square. A peculiar feeling welled up in their hearts at the same time. From Wei Gonggongs unusual expression showing in his eyes and his reaction, it was clear that in his heart, Wei Gonggong understood why Li Mi wasing into the arena. From this, they were certain that Li Yuan indeed had the intention to eliminate Li Mi. Without Li Yuan giving a nod of approval, how could Li Mi have set foot in the public square even for half a step? Wei Gonggongs arrogance was enormous, he was no longer interested in talking with the two boys, he ordered Cheng Mo to wait by the two boys side. After Li Mi, one after another the guests entered the venue. A short momentter, the east and west spectators grandstands were like a banquet with no empty seats; morous, brimming with festive atmosphere. It was only this moment that Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong began to understand why Li Yuan summoned them into the pce to demonstrate their skill. Because Changans upper sses needed fresh stimtion, and they, the two foreigners, happened to have the skill necessary to give these people their enjoyment. However, whether they could go down the arena to perform, they needed Wei Gonggongs discerning eyes to approve first, hence Wei Gonggong encouraged them to perform with all their heart and all their strength, because if their show was not remarkable enough, Li Yuan would lose face, and then Wei Gonggong would certainly receive the me. In total, the east and west spectators grandstands held nearly a thousand people. Changans major figures in government, huge merchants, government officials, members of the gentry, all kinds of celebrities bringing their wives and children, wereing to watch the game. There were also Li Yuans royal rtives, imperial concubines who wanted to join in the fun, making it a ce to try to gain friendship and climb the socialdder; therefore, the sound of greetings was flying across the arena like crazy, they were talking andughing noisily. It wasparable to the liveliness of the Lunar New Years Eve banquet, only instead of in the evening, it was held in broad daylight. Most of the upper-ss women and courtdies were wearing the lively and colorful Hu [barbarian/non-Han] attire, which was popr at that time. Among the guests of honor, they recognized not a few. In addition to Li Mi and Wang Bodang, the entire Sha Family, from top to bottom, all showed up. It was thus clear that they had sessfully assimted into Changans social life. Others like Hu Fo, Hu Xiaoxian, Chi Shengchun, Xue Wanche, Feng Liben, Chang He, Feng Deyi, Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan, Xing Chang Longs Bu Jie, Guanzhong Jian Pais chairman Qiu Wensheng, Li Jing, husband and wife, Pei Ji, Liu Wenjing, Xiao Yu, Dugu Feng [peak], Yuwen Shi and so on were all present, momentarily it was too numerous to mention one by one. The grandeur of this event could easily be inferred. Their armor distinctive, wielding dagger-axe or halberd spear in their hands, the Yu Lin Jun [imperial bodyguards army] stood in formation on all sides. Red carpet, which extended as long as several hundred paces, wasid out directly from the Cheng Tian Gate into the field, with imperial guards standing guard on both sides along the carpet, forming a human imperial path for Li Yuan to get out of the pce, showing the Great Tangs might and Li Yuans air to the fullest. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling withdrew to the corner at the west end of the field where the horses were being held, fortunately Cheng Mo was taking a good care of them, he had his men fetch two chairs, so that they did not have to stand for nothing. This moment, Shang Xiuxun, apanied by the Da Guanjia Shang Zhen, the Da Zhishi Liang Zhi, their good friend Luo Fang, and Li Dajie [I think it ought to be Fu Dajie], entered the arena. Wei Gonggong personally greeted them. She was wearing mens attire, yet it was still unable to conceal her remarkable beauty the slightest bit; immediately she attracted the attention of everyone present. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Even though Meirener Changzhu came, it would be useless. Shen Meiren practically does not have any opportunity to attend. I wonder what excuse did Zhang Jieyu use not to let her participate in this grand asion in the pce. ording to reason, with Shen Meirens ability and wisdom, she should have a feeling that something is not right. Xu Ziling said, Zhang Jieyus trace has not been seen, lets talk again when we see her! On the contrary, I am not so worried now, it wont be good for us to die together with Li Mi to prevent the Dugu Family from harming Meirener Junshi. Kou Zhong was muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment; showing his feeling, he said, This is what being a ve feels like, hiding in the corner, sitting around in wait, and thenter on performing a monkey show. However, in the midst of unlucky, we are actually very lucky, because at least we can watch first and steal from the experts. If from the beginning we had to go down the arena, we would certainly make everybodyugh that they hurt their belly, thinking that we are performingedy as the sideshow! Ha! My old friend is here! The drums yed a happy tune, it was Hu [see above] music to wee foreign guests. Apuse and cheers exploded at the same time. A party of more than thirty Persian guests, apanied by Chang He and Wen Yanbo, was urging their horses from the direction of the imperial city to enter the traversing public square. Among the Persians, only six were wearing light andfortable attire to y polo, the rest seemed to be diplomats and Persian merchants. It is thus clear that polo was a means to build rtionship between two countries. Wei Gonggong and Cheng Mo came forward to wee them and led them to the reserved seats at the front of the east spectators grandstand. Kou Zhong said, Our other old friend Yun Shuai must be an expert in ying polo, perhaps the game of polo was invented by him, at that time he was sojourning in Tubo. Xu Zilingughed and said, You are babbling nonsense again! Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, How can we not babbling nonsense? Seeing this group of polo experts from Persia, everybodys spirit is trembling with excitement, the polo stick hanging on their horse is like divine soldiers sharp weapon, I am really afraid we will make a fool of ourselves. Xu Ziling said, In term of ying ball, we are a newly hatched bird, if you are still having a stage fright, it would be better to tell Wei Gonggong as soon as possible that we are having tummy ache and be done with it, so that we could avoid making an exhibition of ourselves. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, How can I have a stage fright? His Niangs! Later on we will use the Long-Life Qi to control the polo ball remotely; I dont care how light and easy to use or how difficult to control, it will be obedient to our hearts desire. Our Long-Life Qi is also a unique skill, theres no other can im it. I guarantee no one can see it through; they will think that our ball skill is exceptional. So exceptional that we could make the ball go round a curve. Ha! Xu Ziling nodded and said, This proposal is a bit more constructive. Excited, Kou Zhong said, I dont know who said it, but the rumor in Jianghu says that if Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling join forces, no one in the world can match it. Although the victory of two against one is not glorious, but in the ying court, it is called team spirit. Ay! To turn Taihang Shuang Jie into a pair of the number one polo masters in the world, I really dont know whether its luck or a misfortune. Xu Ziling said, Later on, somebody must clean up this mess. Fortunately the area outside the pass is Li Shimins world; with him speaking to the boss of the Taihang Pai, I am not afraid he is not going to cooperate obediently. Kou Zhong still wanted to speak, suddenly the waist drum, the bronze drums, the shellfish drums, were sounded together, shaking the heavens; followed by pipa, traverse flute, deng an [no idea what it is, Ȱ], hole xiao, vertical mo, and so on ying together. The drum music rose up to the sky. On the east and west spectators grandstands, everybody got up and stood respectfully to greet the teaming out of the Taiji Pces main gate, the Cheng Tian Gate. With sixteen imperial guards urging their horses to open up a path, Li Yuan, wearing light andfortable riding attire, a particrly fine polo stick for personal use by the emperor hanging on the side of his horse C rode into the arena. Following behind his horse were Li Yuanji, Li Shentong and Li Nantian; all were wearing warrior outfit and boots to y polo, looking like sportsmen ready toe down the arena topete. And then there were three beloved imperial concubines that Li Yuan most doted on; unexpectedly they were also wearing riding attire. Yin De Fei was beautiful but aloof, Zhang Jieyu graceful, Dong Shuni sweet and charming. The three women strived in gorgeousness andpeted in beauty, they added the colors of spring into the arena. Whispering in Xu Zilings ear, Kou Zhong said, Turns out it is the Li n team against the Persian team; no wonder we have no share in it. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Shen Meiren Junshi is here! Kou Zhong cast his gaze behind the three imperial concubines, indeed he saw Shen Luoyan mingled among Yuwen Shang, Dugu Feng [phoenix], You Chuhong, and a group of various imperial concubines whose status wasparatively lower. Slightly in front of her was surprisingly Li Xiuning. Xu Ziling said, This move is even more top-notch; Shang Changzhu practically has no chance to speak to her in private. Amidst the cheers and apuse, upright and unafraid, Li Yuan entered the arena. Book 49 13 – Polo Match

Book 49 Chapter 13 C Polo Match

Jade bridle and thousand-catty-gold horse, engraved-jewel seven-treasure ball; The bridle flies, startling the lightning to withdraw, falling down, it exerts itself to wake the flowing stars; Violent wind passed, it became three victories, joyfully passing on the first point [score in a game]; Celebrating the cloud following leisure feet, curling up at the east end of the pce hall. After Li Yuan gave an opening remark to celebrate the asion, saying something like the Great Tang nation and the Persian nation would be in peaceful coexistence forever, mutually supporting each other, and so on, immediately the game started. The House of Tangs side sent four men into the arena. Besides Li Yuan, there were Li Yuanji, Li Nantian and Li Shentong. All were important figures of the Li n. From this, it could be seen that they attached great importance to this match. From the four men going down into the arena from the Persian dynasty, the team captain was Prince Hamomei; the others were Kesa, Longsheng and Zhili. The announcer introduced them one by one, all were members of the Persian royal family. The two sides were of equal status. The men and horses of both sides came to the middle of the field, the referee [lit. the officer calling out the token (for counting) loudly] put the ball in the middle. When the referee exited the field, the sound of drums shook the heavens, under the watchful eyes of thousands and hundred pairs of eyes, the referee dered the match began. Hamomei and Li Yuan simultaneously urged their horse to charge forward, while leaning over and brandishing their stick to strive for the ball. The other team members galloped over to take their position, ready to provide support. Thepetition was intense; everybody, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong included, felt that their breathing stopped. Two horses brushed past each other, the stick swept and struck at the speed of lightning, so fast that no one could see clearly, the ball flew up at an angle, toward the goalmouth of the House of Tangs side. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned, they looked at each other. They originally thought that the ball could only roll on the ground, and that the yers controlled it with their stick. Who would have thought that unexpectedly they could hit it to the air? Not only it greatly increased the number of different possibilities, the difficulty in controlling the ball also multiplied. Persian teams Zhili galloped his horse swiftly from the side of the field along the southern boundary, just in time to catch the ball. Before the ball went out the line, he used the stick to hit it, the ball met the stick and fell to the ground, but with extremely skillful technique, instead of bouncing up, the ball swiftly rolling on the ground, traversing the field toward the north boundary, immediately provoking the cheers and thunderous apuse from the spectators. This move apparently was greatly outside the various men of the Li ns expectation. Li Yuanji desperately urged his horse to intercept, yet he still missed by a hairsbreadth, his stick failed to touch the ball, which bounced back across the middle of the field, rolled over Li Yuan, who pulled the rein to turn around and spurred his horse. Another Persian polo master from the outfield dashed forward along the northern boundary; with a shout, his stick suddenly swept the polo ball. The way he applied his strength was ingenious, the ball was hit by the stick and shot into the air, it curved and fell toward the east gate of the Li n. At this time the four Persian polo yersunched all-around offensive, they all galloped back and forth in the eastern half of the field. At first nce they seemed to be bashing sideways and colliding straight on [idiom], but it was actually a brilliant formation to disturb the enemy, to confuse the enemy. The most formidable part was that they continuously blocked Li Shentong and Li Nantian, who were ying defense, to facilitate their teammates to fight over the ball falling from the air. The situation was intense, it was not inferior to the life and death decisive battle on the battlefield. Li Yuanji was still pulling the rein to turn around, while Li Yuan was eating dust at the tail of enemys horse. Prince Hamomei galloped swiftly to intercept the ball before it fell in front of Li Shentong. None of the spectators was not as if they were drunk and stupefied, the drummers unconsciously intensified and elerated their beat. After the end of the stick caught the ball, unexpectedly it swept around, the ball was sticking to the end of the stick, waiting for the right angle, and then it shot forward; the application of the force was skillful, so that people gasped in amazement. Up to this moment, Li Yuans side still did not have the opportunity to touch the ball, so that watching this, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only shake their head. If they were moving real saber and real spear, the Persian side would undoubtedly be defeated until they were muddled andpletely copsing [idiom], but a polo game was not only about ball skill and horsemanship, the more important factor was teams cooperation and strategy. And in either aspect, the Li n were a notch inferior; perhaps they were even two or three notches inferior. Li Nantian rushed over to intercept, and found out that from Prince Hamomeis stick, the ball bounced forward; while Li Nantian knew in his heart that the turn of events was not too encouraging, Hamomei already rushed toward the east gate, and overtook the ball about thirty paces from the east gate. His stick swept to strike. By the time Li Shentong was trying to intercept, he backed one step away, and could only stare nkly as the opponent hit the ball into the goal. Three drumbeats in session indicated a goal. Amidst the voice of the announcer, the Li ns side pulled out a g, the Persians side put on one g. This time it was the House of Tangs turn to start with the ball. Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, My Niang! Turns out it is that easy to score a goal. Very soon it will be our turn! What do we do? The game restarted. Li Yuan as the emperor led his troops into battle, he carried the ball forward, passed two men in session, and came face to face with Hamomei, whose stick fought for the ball rolling on the ground. The dragon stick swept, sending the ball flying at an angle toward the southern boundary, passing it toward Li Yuanji, who was rushing to position. Naturally the spectators wanted their own emperor to win, to redeem their face; they all shouted themselves hoarse, the women were even more crazy than the man, Zhang Jieyu and the other imperial concubines all stood up, waving their arms and shouted tenderly, they were more anxious than the menpeting in the arena. The drumbeats suddenly became more urgent. The ball fell back onto Li Yuans stick; he pressed forward toward the Persians sides west gate. Pop! The ball entered the. Three drumbeats in session! Everybody cried, Wansui [Long live]. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; their sight was brilliant, they were able to see that this time the opponent deliberately gave way, otherwise the ball would not enter the goal that easily. Xu Ziling said with a wry smile, Ifter on we dont have to put our disgrace on disy, I am willing to offer my entire body. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he deeply felt the same way. In the first set the Li n scored two goals and received one, so they were ahead by one point. It was clear that as the visitors, the Persians were showing courtesy by letting the host to pull a point ahead. After a short break, the second set began with Hamomei leading, pressing forward in full offensive mode; they scored two goals in session, it was not until the third ball that Li Yuanji, relying on a bit of luck plus an ingenious technique, snatching the ball from theparatively weaker yer of the other side, Longshengs hand, and then while the other side did not expect it, he hit the ball into the. During the short break after the second set, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat anxiously facing each other,menting their future fate. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, If I could go home and train for a month or so, I may be able to beat these his Niangs Persian princes, but now, I have not even touched the ball yet,ter on we have to go out for an exhibition match, others may score a goal at will, will we still have a face to conduct ourselves in the future? Xu Ziling was staring fixedly at Li Yuan, who was talking with Li Yuanji; he noticed his grave expression, as if he was ming Li Nantian and Li Shentongs performance. Sighing, he said, Next set Li Yuan will lose even more tragically. When Hamomei has grasped victory in his hands, when he has enough point, he might let Li Yuan win back a ball or two. If victory or defeat is decided in six sets and two games, and it woulde to an end soon without us giving demonstration, that would be much better. Kou Zhong said, I wonder if Li Mi is going to talk to Li Yuan during our performance? That might not be the best time, because Li Yuan is surely in a bad mood. Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward Shen Luoyan sitting by Zhang Jieyus side. Until this moment she still was not aware the two boys presence. If they went down the arena, naturally it was another matter; she should be able to see through their disguise. The drums started again. Thest set of the first game was dered to begin. It would be followed by the exhibition match between the two games, also the moment Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling went down the arena to put their disgrace on disy. What could they possibly demonstrate for the Persian polo superstar yers to see? In the third set, Li Yuans side changed strategy. They used offense against offense. Among the four men, in term of ball skill, really Li Yuanji was at the top, Li Yuan was a notch inferior to him in horsemanship, hence in term of agility he was slightly inferior. ying polo has ying polos rules; first of all, they were only allowed to touch the ball using the stick, the yers could not leave the horseback. These two items alone already made martial art masters of the inner school unable to gain favorable position for the use of their skills, although they were giving it their all; they had to rely on ball skill and horsemanship to strive in the arena. Pow! Li Yuanji intercepted the ball, which Zhili hit toward the east gate goal, dangerously closely. When the ball shed through Kesa, before Longsheng intercepted it, the ball was short-passed across toward Li Shentong. Li Shentong shouted loudly, he controlled the horse to bring the ball charging forward and crashing through the barrier. When Zhili rushed over to intercept, unexpectedly the ball was sent back to Li Nantian, more than three zhang away. Thetter shouted, Up! and then without the slightest hesitation his stick swept to hit the ball. The ball swiftly shot into the air, passed the midfield, and flew in the direction of the west gate. Li Yuan was greatly delighted; if he could break away from Hamomei, the opponent closest to him, he would certainly win this point. In response, Hamomei reined his horse to turn, he chased after it like a gust of wind, Li Yuan forcefully steered his horse to the outfield on the north side to block. The two men spurred the horse to full speed, striving to be first and fearing to best, the sound of hoof beats urgently rose up and urgently fell down, ardently refusing to concede to each other, the first time seen since the game began, evidently both sides intended to win, absolutely did not make any concession in the ying field. This was the brilliant aspect of the ballgame that Li Yuan was engrossed in; in normal days, how could he have such delight? Who would dare to contend with him in striving for victory? Over a thousand spectators and imperial guards standing guard on four sides saw Li Yuans side disying such an outstanding performance, immediately exploded in earth-shaking cheers to boost their morale. The drum music rose up, everybody watching as if they were drunk and stupefied. Zhang Jieyu, Yin De Fei, and the others, various imperial concubines were beside themselves like crazy. The atmosphere inside and outside the arena was intense to the extreme point. The ball was rolling on the ground. It was only thirty paces or so from the west gates goal. If Li Yuan was able to catch up one step ahead, he certainly could hit the ball into the, to let everybody have a chance to shout Wansui. Changes grew without restraint, Hamomei roared, he raised the bridle to spur on his horse, the horse leaped off the ground, crossing nearly two-zhang empty space, unexpectedly hended one step ahead and to the right of the ball, and then more than half of his body stretched to the left, his stick extended out, he managed to hook the rolling ball. By the time Li Yuan rushed over, he was just half a step toote. Sess was originally in sight, but in the end he ruined the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Li Yun rushed straight to the west gate before he could rein the horse and turn around. Hamomei already had the ball under his control as he galloped in the direction of the east gate. The cheers turned into sighs. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried Bad! inwardly. Li Yuan regrouped the troop disposition of his rainbow-like momentum, he already epted that this devastating setback would surely result in utter defeat, four to three were certain that Li Yuans side could not guard against this point. Kou Zhong nearly wanted to close his eyes so he did not need to see it. He sighed and said, Didnt someone say that one time we inflicted defeat on Tubo polo masters? If in our performanceter we act like juniors who dont know how to y polo, how would Li Yuan see us? Hearing Kou Zhong did not stop expressing this worry, Xu Ziling knew that in his heart he was frighteningly anxious. Even without the terrible consequences of having their identify unmasked, with Kou Zhongspetitive spirit, it was still difficult for him to endure being disgraced and humiliated in public. Smiling wryly, he said, What we need the most right now is confidence. We must use the Moon in the Well xinfa to pay the uing game. Kou Zhongmented, I really regret not taking Thousand-Li Dream and Ten-thousand-Li Spots, two darling colts toe here. Three drumbeats rang out. Just as expected, the Persians side scored another goal. This moment an imperial guard came over, telling the two boys to get ready toe down the field. They both had a feeling like condemned criminals being led toward to execution ground; ten-thousand-kind unwilling, yet they had to pick their stick and select their horse. The imperial guard in charge and the stable hand did not have time to pay them any attention, their attention was fully focused on the battle. Li Yuans side lost another goal. The two boys held the stick in one hand, and led the horse with the other hand, they stood like a foolish bird on the northeast corner of the field watching the game. If Li Yuans side lost three goals in a row in this set, this battle would undoubtedly be lost, unless in the next three sets they could seize total victory in one set, and snatch one point each on the two other sets. But looking at the strengthparison between the two sides right now, this did not seem to be possible. Once again Hamomei showed his achievement in controlling the ball from the horseback; one after another he passed Li Yuan and Li Yuanji, and passed the ball on to Zhili, who was at the front line. Zhili waved his stick in sweeping motion, the ball pass through between the weakest-in-ball-skill-among-the-opponents-side Li Nantians horses legs, like a shooting star it flew into the goal. The drum music rang out again. The first half of the game was finally dered to be over. Both sides got off their horses and saluted before they left the field. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, The ugly woman finally must see her father-inw; even more unlucky, we have over a thousand people as our father-inw. His Niangs! Its all Lei Jiuzhi, that fellows fault, he firmly set on having us impersonate his grannys some Taihang Shuang Jie. Just look! How are we going to get out of this? Hamomei and the others returned to their nsmen and received congrattions. Surprisingly Li Yuan did not return to his bunch of imperial concubines to be consoled; standing on the sideline, he summoned Wei Gonggong and Cheng Mo, two men toe over to speak. Laughing in spite of himself, Xu Ziling said, You, this kid, only knows how toin; why would you involve Lei Dage in this? Just remember man-and-horse-as-one and Long-Life Qi, two major consummate skill to y polo and you will be all right; other things you must never, ever think. Kou Zhong said, Disaster! We are going down into the arena! Did you see Li Yuan repeatedly look at us? Xu Ziling was paying close attention to Li Mi, to see if he would take this opportunity to talk to Li Yuan, but Li Mi was still sitting on the west spectators grandstand, having a repeated secret talk with Huang Gongcuo sitting beside him. Hearing Kou Zhong, he turned his eyes to look at Li Yuans direction, only to see that while he was listening to Wei Gonggong, Li Yuan was looking closely at the two boys. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Could it be as simple as he does not want us to go down the arena? Shocked, Kou Zhong said, Are you saying that he discovered something is not right with us? This moment Li Yuanjis men, the two polo masters, with a stick in their hands, led their horses toward the southwest corner of the field, ready to enter the field for the performance. Seeing this, the two boys heart was scared and upset even more. The esteemed guests on the two spectators grandstands returned to the previous bustling-with-noise-and-excitement situation, they talked,ughed, and discussed the game; it was very noisy. Surrounding Li Yuan, Li Yuanji, Li Nantian and Li Shentong all looked at Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, evidently, these representatives of the Li ns Great Tang leadership figures were talking about these two men. Thats it! Kou Zhong said, If there is even the least bit of sign that something is wrong, we will immediately force our way out of the encirclement. Cheng Mo came straight toward the two; arriving in front of them, he said, Come with me! Huangshang wants to talk to you. Looking at his solemn and respectful expression, the two cried, Not good! inwardly, but if they slip away just like that, killing their way out of the heavy siege, this moment, where good or bad luck had not been seen, it would appear too unreasonable. Without any better option, they led their horses to move forward. Cheng Mo stopped them, saying, Leave the horse and the stick. Promptly someone came over to take the horses and the sticks away. Their heads in the fog, the two boys followed him straight toward Li Yuan. They were about to kneel down to salute, Li Yuan shouted, In the ying field, no need to stick tomon etiquette; you have seen the game, what do you think? Li Yuanji, Li Nantian, Li Shentong and Wei Gonggong, four mens burning gaze looked at them up and down, so that in their hearts, they could only pray to God and beseech Buddha, while unceasingly calling for their Niang. Kou Zhong forced himself to calm down, hanging his head low, he respectfully assumed the air of an expert and said, Huangshang please note clearly, the Persian peoples way in ying polo is not limited to one style. With Prince Hamomei showing his best, the entire team work together like seamless heavenly clothes. The only weak point is Longsheng, his agility in controlling the horse is not on par with his teammates, but his skill in hitting the ball is not inferior in any respect. Prompting them a little, Wei Gonggong said, Huangshang meant to ask if there is any way to break their horse formation? The two boys knew that the Li n side did not see through them, they were humbly seeking advice, hence their heart calmed down considerably. But another anxiety grew up; supposing right now they put a deluge of heavenly flowers [idiom: adding extravagant embellishments] in their remark, whileter on their performance did not match their speech, wouldnt it be even more suspicious? Xu Ziling replied, As long as in term of horsemanship we can restrain Prince Hamomei, we can pull the initiative to move the whole body to break their coordination. This is the only way to win. Li Yuan looked at Li Yuanji, and then he looked at Li Nantian and Li Shentong, and then he spoke the earth-shattering words in heavy voice, If we change the team formation and have you two y, how much is our chance of winning? These two sentences were like a thunder from a clear sky, shaking the two boys that their soul lost their spirit failed. They had never touched a polo ball in all their life, while the opponents were super polo masters. How were they going to answer Li Yuan? Book 50 1 – Changing Side Changing Player

Book 50 Chapter 1 C Changing Side Changing yer

Kou Zhong did not need to seek Xu Zilings consent, but he also knew that there was only one answer; not daring to hesitate, he replied, Huangshangs order, Xiaoren all will do our best to do it. Letting out a cold snort, Li Nantian said, Huangshang is asking you what is your odds of sess? He is not concerned over whether you will do your best or not. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understood suddenly; they knew that Li Yuan was considering putting them in the next game to rece Li Nantian and Li Shentong, so that these two Lis greatly lost face, hence Li Nantian was making things difficult for them; first, it was to vent the anger in their heart, but more importantly, it was to indirectly express their dissatisfaction to Li Yuan. One would know the book in ones own house. No matter how brilliant their Man-and-Horse-As-One was, no matter how their Long-Life Qi has reached perfection, they still need a bit of time to understand the technique to y polo profoundly. But by the time they could grasp they key to score a victory, the game would have been lost early on. Therefore, they were now really like riding a tiger, it was hard to get off; their heart rmed, they were trembling in fear, but sadly there was no scheme with which they could deal with it. Hardening his scalp, Xu Ziling replied, Each time Xiaoren, the two of us, went down the field to y polo, we always have full confidence to score a victory. Huangshang, please understand. Hearing that, Li Yuan cast his gaze toward Li Yuanji, but Li Yuanji was looking at Wei Gonggong. Wei Gonggong cleared his throat and said, Yu Ji Chang [chief of imperial riders] should know a bit more clearly. Li Yuanji and Wei Gonggong could avoid giving the answer, because they did not want to offend Li Shentong and Li Nantian. But Cheng Mo, this chief of imperial riders did not have the qualifications to offer excuses; having no alternative, he hung his head down and answer truthfully, Chenxia [official in feudal court] has not yet had the opportunity to personally see two gentlemen Renxiong ying polo, but their riding skills are certainly not inferior to the other side. By this time, most of the people on both spectators grandstands were aware of the unusual situation surrounding Li Yuan and the others standing by the sideline; one after another they looked this direction, while making spections excitedly. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong really wanted to know Shen Luoyans reaction as she saw them, but they did not dare to look at her. Li Yuan finally made up his mind; he said, Very well, the two of you will go down the arena to rece Shentong and Nantian. ying in the court is just like in the battlefield, transferring troops and substituting generals aremon urrence. Right now I am using wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly in raid or ambush] to subdue the enemy, so that the other side cannot see through our deployment. Li Yuanji said, But the sticks and the horses provided are not the ones they are used to using, most likely the Persians would take advantage of this opportunity. We already lost three points, we cant lose another one. Li Nantian and Li Shentongs stretched-taut face revealed a mocking and pleased expression; they knew that Li Yuanji was speaking on their side. Inwardly, Kou Zhong did not know how grateful he was toward Li Yuanji; seizing this opportunity, he respectfully said, Qi Wang spoke out the load in Xiaorens mind; not using the sticks and horses that we are ustomed to, our ability to win might be discounted, Huangshang, please understand. This was not a deliberate modest remark, yet as it entered Li Shentong and Li Nantians ears, it made the malice in their hearts toward the two boys diminished somewhat. Li Yuan pondered slightly, he nodded and said, It makes sense! We are going to join the Persians into the pce hall to drink and chat. Gonggong may take two gentlemen into the pce to select the most suitable stick and horse from Zhens [I, imperial use] collection. After practicing for half a sichen, go down the arena topete. You must not let Zhen disappointed. No one had anything to say. It was even more difficult for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to object; without any better option, they had to drop on their knees to express their gratitude for the imperial kindness, before following Wei Gonggong into the Taiji Pce, waiting for Laotianye to arrange everything. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong followed Wei Gonggong, with more than a dozen imperial guards calling out their presence at the front and crowding them from the rear, walking around the Taiji Pce, heading toward the imperial ind. Not daring to walk side by side with Wei Gonggong, they fell two steps behind him. Wei Gonggongs weird voice said, Two housheng [younger generation/young man], kids, walk a bit forward, to give Laorenjia [old person] the convenience to talk. The two rushed forward to his side. Wei Gonggong said, To save time, I will only take you to the nearest treasury [orig. tribute hall] to select sticks from Huangshangs collection. The horses are from the imperial stable by Xuanwu Gate over yonder. Ill have Yu Ma Chang [chief imperial horse] select seven, eight horses for you to choose from. Otherwise you wont have enough time to practice. You will also have to change your clothes to look more like it. Listening to him, the two boys only responded with Yes, Sir, yes, Sir, while their eyes, in turns out Taiji Pce is so magnificent curious look C were ncing to the left and right, acting like good ol country bumpkins who went into the city for the first time. Lowering his voice, Wei Gonggong said, You guys can have this opportunity to y side by side with Huangshang, your ancestors must have amassed great good fortune. As long as you put on good performance, other than bestowing gold and silk, Huangshang may bestow other rewards as well. Hearing the singing to a string apaniment, Kou Zhong knew that he was offering advice; hurriedly he spoke humbly, We will rely on Wei Gonggong to guide and carry the light in everything. Wei Gonggong cheerfully said, Human beings always have the thought of showing favor toward talents. If you guys put on outstanding performanceter, I will ask Huangshang on your behalf for some official part-time work, so that you wont have to live the at-the-edge-of-a-saber-and-spilling-blood-of-gang-and-society life. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were secretly shocked, wondering if they were trying to be clever and end up with egg on their face? Wei Gonggong could possibly be the person who understood how to fathom the content of Li Yuans heart the most, knowing that if the two helped Li Yuan to win this game, when the dragon heart was greatly delighted, Li Yuan might create the Ma Qiu Zhang [chief polo officer] official position for the two to manage. Therefore, Wei Gonggong pushed the boat with the current, by receiving the two as his trusted aide in advance. If they lost the game, naturally they could forget about everything. Trying to redeem himself, Xu Ziling said, But we Wei Gonggongughed and said, You are working for that newly rich Situ Furong! I know all about it. Dont worry! As long as you be my men, I will take care of you in everything. I like your attitude of disying utter loyalty to your master. Kou Zhong was pondering whether he should lose the game so that he did not have to be an officer, but then heughed at himself for worrying over nothing, because in this game, to lose was not easy, to win was even more difficult than ascending to the heavens. Wei Gonggong added, Winning or losing is originally like other peoples business, but the Persian people have always regarded polo like a battle; furthermore, they thought that our, Han peoples polo skill is far inferior to theirs. This time Huangshang particrly invited them over a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers toe from afar topete, he has made the preparation for many years in advance; he attaches great importance to this matter. Therefore, this battle is not to be lost, the Persians must be defeated that they concede both with their mouth and in their heart. Now you should understand why Huangshang ignored Huai Wang and Nan Wang, two mens feeling, and firmly set on recing them with you on the field. This moment, from the imperial garden they turned right to enter Li Yuans rear pce [chambers of imperial concubines], toward a buildingplex located at the southwest corner. The building next door on its north side was precisely the imperial study room, where the two boys nearly ended nursing a grievance earlier. Clearly the inner pces guard was strengthened. The passagewaysing in and out were heavily guarded, they even added not a few both covert and undercover guards keeping watch; the atmosphere was tense. Entering the main gate, which was guarded by more than a dozen imperial guards, four magnificent buildings towered in front of the two boys. Along the winding corridors revolving around theplex, there was one guard every five steps, one sentry every ten steps, perhaps even a fly would find it difficult to fly freely in this kind of situation. Taking them toward the pce hall located in the southwest Wei Gonggong said, The gifts and tributes presented to Huangshang from everywhere are stored in these four treasuries; merely polo sticks are over a thousand items; I guarantee that when you guys see it, you will love it too much to part with it. However, there is not much time, you must not waste time in this regard. And then he addressed the imperial guards escorting them, You guys stay here. The crowd of imperial guards responded in loud voice and stood at attention. Wei Gonggong led the two climbing the stone steps, and ordered the imperial guard on the door to open wide the middle gate to let the three men entered the pce hall over which there was a horizontal tablet inscribed with Zhao Feng Tang [Hall of Morning Breeze], threerge characters. Altogether the Zhao Feng Tang was divided into eight tribute rooms, there were closed iron doors lining up the wall on the left and right. By this time the eunuch in charge of the tribute halls had heard the news, he took four young eunuchs to hurriedly unlock the door for the Great Court Eunuch Wei Gonggong. The two boys mused that Wei Gonggong indeed carried big airs around him; unexpectedly he did not notify the court eunuch in charge of the tribute hall in advance. If the other side waste, he would surely receive the me. The two boys followed behind Wei Gonggong going deep into the hall; suddenly their mind was shocked at the same time, hastily they focused their power into their nose. Sure enough, a whiff of a faint fragrance, which originally seemed to be there but not there, was seeping out through the cracks on the door and became thicker. It was precisely the scent that Lei Jiuzhi let them sniff this morning. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong thought that how could there be such a ghost-helping-deity-pushing matter, that unexpectedly Li Yuan was keeping the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu inside the first tribute hall on the left by the entrance? We are here! Wei Gonggong said. The rooms door was wide open, all kinds of polo sticks,ing from various regions, inside and outside the Great Wall, of different design, line and pattern, color and materials, lined up in rows, numerous and close together, as if they were entering a forest of polo sticks, in which they could only walk sideways. Remembering the fate that wasing for them, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong smiled bitterly in their heart, and stepped into the room. The two led the race horse, which put on a suit of armor of seven colors, rich and diverse, with the carefully chosen polo stick hanging by the horses belly, from Taiji Pce back into the traversing public square. Following Wei Gonggongs instruction, they waited respectfully for Li Yuans holy self at the northwest corner of the field. Both the east and the west spectators grandstands were morous, returning to the pre-game situation where the guests were exchanging conventional greetings, talking andughing, in sharp contrast to the imperial guards standing respectfully along the four sides of the field. Altogether the Taiji Pce had three gates; the main gate was Cheng Tian, the other two gates were Guang Yun and Chang Le. They entered the field via the Guang Yun Gate, which was west of the Cheng Tian Gate, hence they did not attract too much attention. Just now inside the imperial garden, they used the avable time to the greatest extent to practice and to master the technique of ying polo. The two boys were geniuses of martial art ways, theyprehended new things by analogy, from witnessing two sets of the Li n and the Persians polo masters striving against each other, they already had prating views of the technique and skill in ying polo. After going through some practice, their confidence increased greatly, no longer like before, where they were standing before the battle, trembling with fear and trepidation. Xu Ziling looked up to the east spectators grandstand on the other side in the distance, he saw Shen Luoyan was looking at them with full attention, sizing them up, but sadly there was no way of transmitting the sound of their hearts to her. Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in his ear, Li Mi certainly has not had any chance to get close to Li Yuan, just look at his absent-minded appearance and youll know it. Suddenly the drum music sounded at the same time, the guests and officers all stood up. Li Yuan and Prince Hamomei and the other Persian guests, amidst the loud Wansui shout, entered the arena from the Cheng Tian Gate. And then the music stopped, leaving only the sound of the drum beats. Li Yuan signaled with his hand, one after another everybody sat down. Two teams of men and horses separated, Li Yuan and Li Yuanji were talking quietly on horseback, while urging their horses to gallop slowly toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong spoke in Xu Zilings ear, I dont know whether Ling Shao notice it or not, but the arrangement of these two east and west spectators grandstands really does not make any sense; they ought to be located north and south of the arena, to let the people see a bit more clearly. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I thought about it. In my opinion, Li Yuan arranged it this way to guard against the assassins. East and west, two grandstands position is rather far, assassination will be a bit more inconvenient. Kou Zhong agreed, That makes sense! he said. This moment Li Yuans holy-self hase near, the two did not dare to talk, they solemnly hung their head low and greeted him respectfully. Li Yuan flung off his horse, heughed and said, On the arena, Zhen and you guys are partners andrade-in-arms, no need to confine yourselves tomon etiquette. Hows your practice? Kou Zhong replied, Thanks to Huangshangs great blessings, Xiaoren, two of us have obtained profound understanding of the stick and the horse; we are confident that we will live up to Huangshangs expectations. Thats the best, Li Yuan said cheerfully, We have lost three points in thest game, in the next game, after switching side, we must have a four-point lead if we want to have the hope of winning. Standing by his side, Li Yuanji said, This is the first time we are working together, you guys are the experts in this area, in term of tactics, if you have any idea, you can boldly put it forward, no need to worry about above and below, superior and subordinate differences. If you dont agree with Fu Huang or my ying style, you can raise objection. Li Yuan raised his hand and made a signal. The drums stopped, in the entire field, the crow and peacock made no sound. When the next game began, it would be entirely dependent on Li Yuans holy intention. The two boys felt the heavy pressure just before thepetition begin; on the contrary, they were hoping that the gongs and the drums would continue, so that it would not be like this, where everybody had nothing to say, they had nothing to do, hence all their attention was focused on them. On top of that, they were like a thiefcking confidence, so that their mood was absolutely unpleasant. Kou Zhong already considered the problem of tactics early on; respectfully, upright and honest, he said, Xiaoren, two of us came up with a tactic to be aimed at their weak point Li Yuanji suddenly cut him off, They might take out Longsheng and Zhili, and have Zexina Da Gong [great duke I think] and Meineiyi Houjue [marquis] to take their ce. The two looked at each other with nk expression on their face. Li Yuan let out a cold humph and said, In this game, the Persians aspiration is that they must win; seeing our previous troop disposition was easy to take, they change formation to deal with it. Dont underestimate this as a mere polo game, this perhaps will influence the direction of the Persian dynastys future national policy. Since our Great Tang must not suppress and intimidate the Persians on the battlefield, we have no choice but to do our best on the ying field to aplish it. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply; he could only feel certain that these Zexina and Meineiyi or something must be more brilliant than Longsheng and Zhili whom they reced, just like Li Yuan thought that in term of polo skill, these two boys surpassed Li Shentong and Li Nantian, which made the strategy that the two boys thought of became using martial art skill but without any ground [not sure]. Xu Ziling said, Huangshang, please understand, since the other side changes their troop disposition and switching their generals, it would be best if in the field, we change ording to the situation. Since Xiaoren [plural] have seen Huangshang and Qi Wangpeting, for the time being, let Xiaoren, the two of us coordinate with Huangshang and Qi Wang. Xiaoren, the two of us will take the defensive position at the rear, to intercept the opponents offensive and send the ball to Huangshang and Qi Wang to break the enemy and score a victory. Li Yuan nodded and said, That would be best. You two do your best, if we win, you will be like establishing meritorious service in the army, Zhen will definitely give you reward. The two boys chorused their gratitude for the favor from the emperor. But whatever little bit of self-confidence that they had just established was already like dispersing-cloud-vanishing-smoke due to the Persian side changing personnel. Li Yuan issued instructions, the sound of drums indicating the game would reopen shook the entire traversing public square. In this second half of the game, both teams exchanged side; now the Li n defended the west gate, the Persians defended the east gate. The ball was ced in the small circle in the middle of the field, and the teams arranged their troop disposition on the east and west sides, respectively. Although Grand Duke Zexina was the oldest C he was about fifty years of age C but the older he got, the stronger he was. His body was perfectly straight like an iron tower, his thick beard was like a brush hanging under his chin, his pair of eyes flickering with spirit, his manner grave; without even needing to brandish the polo stick, everybody knew that he belonged among these masters. Meineiyi was a husky and robust man. His age was no more than thirty, his muscles bulging, he was full of explosive power; he must not be underestimated even more. The drums stopped suddenly. The announcer introduced the names of the new yers from both sides entering the game. Themselves, Zexina and Meineiyi held official rank in the Persian dynasty, but unexpectedly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were crowned as petty officials, some squad leaders of the imperial guards, which made the two not knowing whether tough or cry, yet they still had to salute the spectators cheering on them. Three drum beats in session. The ball was tossed from the hand of the announcer into the air. From both sides of the field, the storing-up-energy-in-waiting Li Yuanji and Hamomei spurred their horses to charge forward to fight over the ball. The team members from both sides moved their horses, ready to either provide support or intercept. The sound of hoof beats rose to the heaven, everybody held their breath and calmed their qi, concentrated their attention to watch for the development of the game. Li Yuanji and Hamomei reached forward at the same time, their stick tried to hook the ball, the two riders brushed past each other. Li Yuanji did not disappoint; he snatched the ball, and then controlling the ball from the horseback, he charged straight through into the opponents line of defense. The cheers exploded, the sound of the drums shook the ears. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were, after all, new hands in this. Momentarily they were at a loss whether they ought to advance or to retreat. Without any better option, they urged their horses to gallop toward the east field. Kesa and Meineiyi separately galloped over, cutting through the field from left and right, to intercept Li Yuanji. Li Yuan rushed toward the southern line, in order to provide support to Li Yuanji from the outside. The Persian Old General Zexina was dashing back and forth in front of the east gate, his bearing calm and collected. His path was blocked, Li Yuanji passed the ball to Li Yuan. Kesa and Meineiyi, two riders, crossed each other in front of Li Yuanjis horse, as if they were performing acrobatic horse riding, startling Li Yuanjis horse that it neighed and reared on its hind legs. In the meantime, Meineiyi already seized the opportunity to gallop toward Li Yuan. None of the spectators did not know that he would be able to intercept Li Yuans attack in time. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried Not good! inwardly; whether in terms of coordination and tactics, the Persians were more than a notch more superior than they. Not only they could break Li Yuanji and Li Yuans cooperation, they also made Li Yuan a lone army prating deep inside the enemys line, so that he could only rely on his power alone to crash through the barrier to score a goal. But Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were, after all, veterans of a hundred battles. The former let out a shrill whistle, signaling Xu Ziling to guard against Hamomei dashing toward the west field, while he himself lightly pressed the horses belly with his legs, secretlyunching the man-and-horse-as-one technique. Like lightning, his ride galloped swiftly along the north line, to provide support to Li Yuan far away on the other side of the field. Li Yuan waved his dragon stick; the ball traversed the sky and fell into Kou Zhongs side. Unexpectedly Kou Zhong was able to suddenly raise the horses speed to the limit; perhaps it was even beyond the limit, provoking thunderous apuse from the entire field. The people from the Persians side, none did not reveal a shocked expression. Kesa, who was rushing toward the north line, urgently urged his mount to fight over the ball, which was still unknown to which family the flower was about to fall. Seeing this opportunity, from the midfield Li Yuanji hurried toward the east gate. This moment Kou Zhong cast aside all doubts; heroic feeling roused to vigorous action, he mused that if I, Kou Zhong, cannot win over you, this Persian kid,ter on I will write my name backward. Abruptly he drew out a breath, his horse soared high into the air, he was one step ahead to catch and hold on to the ball, which had not fallen onto the ground, and just like that he waved his stick to strike. The ball, like a shooting star, flitted across above Kesas head, so urately that it was hard to believe, itnded about ten steps or so ahead and to the left of Li Yuanjis horses head, precisely the brilliant position to give Li Yuanji the most convenience to hit the ball into the opponents goal. Everybody on both the east and the west spectators grandstands cheered and shouted and sighed in praise in unison. Li Yuanji was greatly delighted; swinging his stick, he swiftly struck. The ball turned into brightly-colored light, flying toward the goal. Zexina rushed at an angle, his stick stretched out swiftly, just before the ball entered the goal, he caught the ball head-on. The way he applied his strength was so ingenious, not only the ball did not bounce back from the impact with the stick, it appeared to be moved by the stick that it coiled around the charging over Li Yuanji. Amidst the sound of sighing of most of the spectators, the stick swept and hit the ball toward Hamomei, who was in the west side of the field. Meineiyi immediately spurred his horse to gallop toward the west field to provide support. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly. Just now Li Yuan was the lone army prating deep inside the enemys line, but now it was he who became the lone army defending his territory alone. If he could not seize the ball, they would undoubtedly lose this point. Having no other choice, he unleashed the man-and-horse-as-one technique to rush toward the point the ball was about to fall. The point that the ball hit by Zexinas stick was ingenious; it just fell about twenty paces away to the Hamomeis right, and Xu Ziling happened to be on Hamomeis left side. If the situation developed normally, Hamomei only need to stop in his position, he could use the horse to stop Xu Ziling from entering the range within which he could touch the ball. Even Li Yuan and Li Yuanji, who were in the field, also believed that they were going to lose. Only Kou Zhong knew that Xu Ziling had the ability to pull strongly against a crazy tide [idiom: to try hard to save a desperate crisis]. Book 50 2 – Contending for Supremacy in the Arena

Book 50 Chapter 2 C Contending for Supremacy in the Arena

Hamomei and Xu Ziling spurred their rides at exactly the same moment toward the point the ball was going tond. Horses have horses nature, if you want them to let go of their four legs, they could only gradually release their power, to climb toward the peak of their speed. Hamomei was an expert in polo, he has been keeping the horse in an active condition, hence in just a few breaths he was able to urge the horse to arrive at its top speed. If he obtained the ball, he could seize the opportunity to bring the ball along the north line swiftly for several steps, and then before reaching the end of the line, he would pass the ball to Meineiyi, who was rushing over along the south line to provide support, then undoubtedly they would win this point. When Xu Ziling was spurring his horse, Hamomei was about twenty some paces on his right side, and the ball wasnding about thirty paces away on Hamomeis right side. The two men made their move at the same time. But spurred by the man-and-horse-as-one, the horse Xu Ziling was riding on reached its top speed in the blink of an eye, like a powerful arrow it darted toward thending point the ball. If he could rush in front of Hamomeis horse, it would be akin to intercepting the ball one step ahead. The two horses, one in front of the other, the hoofs rose, the hoofsnded, they rushed wildly with all their strength toward the ball. The stick in the right hand stretched out, the whip in the left handshed the horses butt, thepetition was intense. All eyes in and around the arena werepletely focused on these two men. Xu Zilings ride constantly elerated, it appeared that he might create a miracle. None who watched did not act like they were silly or crazy; they shouted to cheer on him. The drummers beat the drums even more forcefully. The shout of the people, the beating of the drums, the sound shook the public square, inside and outside the ying field, the atmosphere was zing to its extreme point. Hamomei let out a whistle, he changed direction; unexpectedly from dashing out at an angle he changed into going straight. Based on Xu Zilings current momentum, he would certainly be forced by the horse toward the left, and could only apany Hamomei rushing out the line together, or perhaps the two horses would collide into a lump, which was not allowed by the rules of the game. At this time, Kesa, who was at the rear, was crossing the half-way line; he rushed in front of Kou Zhong, spurring the horse to full speed along the north line to run after the ball. If Hamomei was able to block Xu Ziling, he could, before the ball escaped out of the north line, snatch it one step ahead. Kou Zhong cried Not good! inwardly; he desperately urged his ride to chase like crazy, but because he fell behind for nearly thirty paces, even with man-and-horse-as-one technique, he was simply unable to catch up. Li Yuan and the others were even farther away at the back, they could only gaze at the ocean andment their inadequacy, staring nkly while venting their frustration and were anxious in vain. The true qi within Xu Zilings body cycled around, he fully injected it into the horses body. When it looked like he was about to crash against Hamomei head-on, suddenly he pulled the rein, the strong horse reared, it rose to the sky and let out a long neigh. Before the front legs fell to the ground, the hind legs were still carried by the momentum that the horse rush several steps forward, barely missing Hamomei by a hairsbreadth. Hamomei never expected that Xu Ziling had this move; unable to stop the momentum, the horse galloped across in front of Xu Zilings rearing horse, straight toward the end of the line. It was an extremely close miss. The cheers were like a roar of thunder; it was the most intense since the start of the game. The front hoofsnded on the ground, Xu Ziling spurred the horse to rush forward. With no one topete with, he brandished the stick to hit the ball, the ball shot up into the sky, above Kesas C who was rushing over C head, and flew toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong did not wait for the ball to hit the ground, he immediately swept the stick high up in the sky, the ball traversed over ten zhang of empty air, and after itnded, it swiftly rolled on the ground about ten paces in front of Li Yuanjis horse. Li Yuanji was greatly delighted; seeing Zexina blocking his way ahead, he swung his stick and pass the ball to Li Yuan at the south line. This moment the enemys Hamomei, Kesa and Meineiyi were still at the west side of the field, they were unable to rush over in time, so Zexina became a lone army meeting the enemy. After receiving the ball, Li Yuan did not dare to hesitate, he carried the ball to advance toward the east gate. Zexina urged his ride to meet Li Yuan, his body suddenly moved to the left, suddenly moved to the right, and he reached forward and stooped backward, giving up the impression that any angle that Li Yuan was going to strike, he would be able to intercept it head-on. Li Yuan swept the stick across, the ball was passed to Li Yuanji on his left, it swiftly rolled on the ground. Zexina immediately disyed his expertise; abruptly he pulled back his horse, the horse seemed to be about to fall to the right, but suddenly it sprang up again, and has sessfully changed the direction of its sprint. In a hard-to-believe situation, he dashed at an angle toward the space between Li Yuan and Li Yuanjis two rides. It looked like that it was still toote to intercept, yet he stretched his body forward until it was almost to the ground, fast as lightning the stick swept, just enough to hit the ball. Meeting the stick, the ball changed direction; it was sent toward Kesa, who was on the north line of the west field. Kesa swiftly sent the ball toward the on-the-south-line-rushing-over Meineiyi. Thetter, before Xu Ziling rushed over, swung his stick to hit the ball, sending the ball into the goal. Three drumbeats in session. The Persians scored another goal, increasing their lead to four points, leaving only eight points remaining to be contested. Someone quickly sent the ball to the middle of the field. Li Yuan signaled with his hand, asking for a timeout. He had the other three to huddle in front of the west gate. He spoke to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling first, You yed well! The loss of this point is not your fault. Li Yuanji nodded and said, Zexina, this defensive barrier is very strong; in my opinion, he is more brilliant than Hamomei. Li Yuan said, We change formation; Yuanyong and Wentong y offense, Zhen and Qi Wang y defense at the rear. As long as you y with the same level like just now, we may not necessarily lose. Just by hearing how he amiably called the two by their first name, it was clear that he grew very fond of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling in his heart. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling epted the imperial order with a loud voice. They were infected by the spirit of the game, plus they felt that the lost point just now was an injustice. Their fighting spirit was aroused, they vowed to fight the next point back. Kou Zhong started with the ball in the middle of the field; he passed it to Xu Ziling, thetter bent down half of his body from the horseback, using the crescent-shaped head of the stick he controlled the ball to roll forward on the ground. Ahead, waiting in tight formation, Hamomei rushed forward to intercept, Meineiyi and Kesa also attacked from left and right, while Zexina was still ying defense at the rear. Just before Hamomeis stick made contact with the ball, Xu Ziling, beyond everybodys C inside and outside the field C expectation, did not pass the ball back to Kou Zhong; instead, he hit the ball to roll between the four hoofs of the other sides horse, while he himself, like the long grass being blown by a violent gale, from one side bent to the other side, and then before the ball escaped from the range of his control, he hooked it and brought it forward, thereupon he skillfully strained Hamomei that he pounced on the empty space. Shouts sprang up everywhere, the drumbeats intensified, everybody knew Xu Ziling was striving for the good opportunity to attack the gate. Sure enough, Xu Ziling brought the ball forward and advanced straight toward Zexina. Kou Zhongs mind was interlinked with his; he cut in and pressed on, so that Zexina was like a lone palm difficult to p, he did not know which one he ought to intercept. Other people thought that it was their, the Taihang Shuang Jie, who were experts in ying polo C troops formation, only they, the two boys were well aware it was their experience in going through battles, big and small, together, that they brought into the ball field and put it to full use. Zexina suddenly spurred his horse to dash forward, the polo stick in his hand fantastically created multiyered stick shadows, it was hard to tell which one was real, which one was fake; it was fine and delicate, which quite reached perfection. Xu Zilings mind entered the Moon in the Well realm. Frankly speaking, Zexinas stick technique was indeed brilliant, however,pared to Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Huan, there was still some quite out-of-reach distance, therefore, how could it baffle Xu Ziling? Feigning an attack, he tricked Zexinas polo stick to lean slightly to the left, while he immediately shifted the polo stick lightly. Just like that, he easily passed through the opponents seemingly-sealing-the-ground-so-tight-that-even-water-could-not-ssh-through stick shadow, and then send the ball in front of Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong did not dare to show off, because at this point Kesa was less than two horses long away on his left side. Straightforward, he swung his stick, Pop! the ball obediently bored through the east gate and entered the goal. The drums rose up to the sky, Wansui cry continued unendingly; no one cared that it was Cai Yuanyong instead of the Great Tang Emperor Li Yuan who scored the goal. Li Yuan did not care even more; on horseback, he proudly looked around, as happy and excited as if he scored the goal himself. His decision to substitute yers in the arena was actually a risk in troops deployment, just like recing a general on the battlefield at thest moment, and now the fact verified that his sacred decision was a correct one, so that he would be able to answer Li Shentong and Li Nantian whom he reced, but even more, he also recovered his glory in front of the crowd. Li Yuanji urged his horse toe over to greet the two men, and then they returned triumphantly together. The battle situation quickly became very tight, the House of Tang was no longer trapped in passive, only-take-a-beating situation. Three drumbeats in session. The first set of the second half of the game continued. The Persian side was determined to win thest point of this set. If they won this point, they could still maintain their overwhelming lead of four points. After kick-off, the Persian side changed tactics to full-attack. After receiving the ball, Zexina pushed forward to the middle of the field. Before Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling intercepted him, he passed the ball to Hamomei. This main striker, with Meineiyi and Kesa, three men yed their polo magic trick. With their rides interweaved as they rushed along, the ball became appearing and disappearing unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, turning to the left and was passed on to the right, suddenly it went to the front, suddenly it came back to the rear. With Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had no time to go back to help, Li Yuan and Li Yuanji did not have any opportunity to touch the ball even more; the opponent sent the ball into the, victory was like handling a butchers cleaver with ease, it was as easy as blowing off dust. In their heart, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could not ept this loss, yet they had no choice but to ept; they felt utterly frustrated. The first set of the second-half of the game concluded, there was a moments rest. The two followed Li Yuan and Li Yuanji to the sideline. Li Yuans expression was grave, he waved away the eunuch serving tea and delivering towel, who was going to wait upon him. Knitting his brows, he said, Now there is only six points left; only if we could take all six points will we be able to triumph over the opponent. If we lose one point, the game will end up in a tie. Do you guys have any good proposal? Li Yuanji obviously lost his confidence, but because Kou and Xu performed well, he spoke in friendly manner, Yuanyong, Wentong, you can boldly speak up what you think in your hearts. Kou Zhong calmly said, Huangshangs formation change just now showed extraordinary effect, hence no need to change again. But to deal with the other sides offensive, when the enemy gets the ball, Xiaoren, two of us must go back to ying defense, we adopt the one-person-pins-one-person strategy. Wentong is in charge of Zexina, Xiaoren is responsible for Hamomei. That is a way within no way; simple and easy to do, Li Yuan replied, Yuanji, you look after Meineiyi, Zhen will look after Kesa. Lets do it this way. This moment Wei Gonggong came to Li Yuans side, as if he wanted to speak. Showing understanding, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling left; they handed the horses to Cheng Mos men, while they themselves went to the other side to drink the tea served by a eunuch. Kou Zhong nudged Xu Zilings shoulder with his, he spoke in low voice, Itsing! Li Mi left his seat and walked over to Li Yuan. Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly. He looked at where Shen Luoyan was sitting. Sure enough, she appeared to be paying attention, her eyes were on Li Mi; he could not help crying Not good! inwardly. She must have guessed that Li Mi fell into the crafty scoundrels scheme, and was privately making a request to Li Yuan. Under the circumstances, she would make an attempt to leave the pce to look for Li Mi. In which case she was falling into the enemys trap. Immediately Xu Ziling focused his power into his pair of ears. On the sideline, Li Mi was paying his respect and wishing Li Yuan well, and then he said, Since surrendering and paying allegiance to the Great Tang, Chen [official or subject; I, your servant] has continuously received Huangshangs reward, received Huangshangs favor in no small measure; however, Chenxia enjoys honor and favor without lifting a finger, without the least bit of return, my heart is really uneasy. Now that Qin Wang is using soldiers against Luoyang, while most of Chenxias former subordinates are setting up an independent regime and being self-reliant in the Shandong region, as long as Huangshang graciously grant your permission, Chenxia could go out of the Pass to recruit them. Otherwise, if Kou Zhong, via Zhai Jiao, attracts them toe over, it will be extremely detrimental to our Great Tangs undertaking of unifying the world. Li Yuan spoke heavily, What Qingjia [term used by the emperor of his subjects] said is not without reason. I wonder how much confidence does Qingjia have, how many men can be recruited? Xu Ziling was even more certain now that Li Yuan had the intention to kill Li Mi, because Li Mi had criminal record of murdering Zhai Rang, clearly he was a person ustomed to scheming against his master; practically he cannot be trusted. In normal circumstances, how could Li Yuan be willing to release the tiger back to its mountain? He went along with Li Mi just like that, there must be a follow-up n. Li Mi respectfully said, Among Chenxias former subordinates, Zhang Shanxiang, who upies Luojing, has the greatest power, the soldiers under hismand surpass ten thousand men. Chenxia hasplete confidence that I could persuade him. As long as he is willing to surrender, the others will certainly look at the scenery and follow. Li Yuan asked, When does Qingxia n to leave? Greatly delighted, Li Mi said, Upon obtaining Huangshangs blessing, Chenxia wants to move immediately. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Li Yuan said, Just do as you say. Zhen will immediately send someone to notify the border security. Inwardly Xu Ziling was severely shaken. The game was not over yet, plus they did not know when they could leave the pce. If Shen Luoyan slipped away this moment, what should they do? Besides, until this time, he still could not figure out what trick and trap the enemy was going to use to deal with Shen Luoyan. Kou Zhong received the ball that Xu Ziling passed on perfectly; under his control, the ball rolled forward on the ground, it coiled over Hamomei just a hairsbreadth away. This was the tactic that Xu Ziling stole from the other side; his rider rushed to the left and dashed to the right, both to disturb the enemy and to confuse and trick the enemy, to pin down the other three men. Furthermore, he and Kou Zhong constantly weaved around each other, separated and met together again, like butterflies dancing between the flowers, each time everybody thought Kou Zhong was going to pass the ball back to him, and finally, with the ball still under his stick, Kou Zhong rapidly pressed in toward the enemys gate. The people watching from the grandstands and the imperial guards standing all around the field exploded in apuse and cheers, rising and falling like a tide. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were both people brimming with heavenly talent. The pre-game warm-up plus repeatedly crossing swords on the field had enabled them to y polo in what-the-heart-wishes-the-hand-aplishes level, full of confidence. The man-and-horse-as-one technique and join-hands tactics were disyed to the peak state on the polo field. Kou Zhong made a false move; he seemed to be sending the ball to the charging-toward-the-gate-along-the-south-line Xu Ziling, tricking Zexina into trying to catch the ball on the wrong path, the end of his stick twisted lightly, he hooked the ball to sh through Zexina, amidst the wild shouts and shrieks to cheer them on and the inseparably-close-like-firecrackers rumbles of the drums, he sent the ball into the goal. When the two were returning in triumph and receiving praise and congrattions from Li Yuan and Li Yuanji, Li Mi and Wang Bodang rose up from their seat and left. But Shen Luoyan was still sitting on the grandstand, so that the two boys felt slightly at ease. The ball was rolling. Meineiyi passed the ball to Zexina, close to the rear. With Hamomei and Kesa, the three disyed fancy equestrian trick again, letting the horse having a free reign prating deeply into the west field. They seemed to be moving randomly, up and down, left and right, but actually the advance and retreat, left and right, all were carefully measured, hidden within it was the vor of changes in troop formation. Li Yuan and Li Yuanji were unable to see through the other sides changes, they were forced to retreat and defend their line with all their strength. Yet Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were using movement to control movement; imitating the other sides boring through to the left and piercing to the right, they galloped between the enemy ranks, acting on the fact that any position had intercepting enemy and blocking enemy capability. Seeing how both sides spurring their horses speeding all over the field, the sound of hoof beats rising and falling, intensepetition where neither side was willing to concede, the spectators were more nervous than the top athletespeting in the arena; the shouts were unending, the game situation rapidly climbed to a fiery climax. Zexina was finally able to push the ball across the middle line and enter the west side of the field. Kou Zhong rushed in front of Hamomeis horse, he pounced toward Zexina, forcing him to pass the ball to his teammate. The key moment finally came. Obviously Zexina did not have the confidence to dodge Kou Zhongs magic wand, he swung the stick to hit the ball. The ball rolled diagonally toward the gap of the southern boundary, andnded under Meineiyis stick. Kou Zhong pulled the rein, the racehorse reared and spun around, he rushed over to cut in the middle between Hamomei and Kesa. If Meineiyi sent the ball across, he would definitely fight the two to decide victory or defeat. From the rear, Li Yuan spurred his ride to meet Meineiyi, while Li Yuanji hung far behind on Li Yuans horses left side to protect Li Yuan. Xu Ziling feigned a move to gallop toward Hamomei, who was closest to Meineiyi, only about two hundred steps behind and to Meineiyis right, but he was actually waiting while storing up his power, intending to meet the riding-slowly-to-advance Zexina. Sure enough, Meineiyi controlled the ball to cut into the middle of the field from an angle. He seemed to be about to send the ball to moving-close-to-the-northern-boundary Kesa, but when he swung the stick, the ball was passed on to Zexina in the back, so that Li Yuan and Li Yuanji both pounced on empty space. Remaining behind Meineiyis horse, Li Yuan repeatedly signaled towards the east to charge straight. Since Li Yuanji still had energy left over, he withdrew to y defense, while Kou Zhong ran after Kesa, who was gradually getting away, for fear of the terrifying consequences if Zexina sessfully passed the ball over to Kesa. These series of actions and reactions urred at the high speed of lightning or the spark of the flint. Once the movement started, nothing stayed still. The ball drew a touching arc high in the sky; it rose and fell in a curve, flying toward Zexina. Xu Zilings mind entered the Moon in the Well realm, he appeared to suddenly pull away from the arena. The originally shaking-through-the-public-square sound of cheering suddenly withdrew like a tide that not one drop remained, all around, it was like they were watching a silent mute y full of intense action on the stage. This moment Xu Ziling already injected his qi into the horses hoofs, the horse under his control leaped forward, high up in the air it traversed nearly six, seven zhang of empty space, the stick barely intercepted the ball, only twenty steps or so away from Zexina. The ball took off, it flew about twenty steps in front of Li Yuans horse, which was rushing to the east along the southern border. The entire arena exploded in thunderous cheers. Li Yuan was greatly delighted; he charged forward and took control of the ball and advanced rapidly. Zexina pulled the rein stiffly to turn his horse around, but it was already toote to catch up. By the time Xu Zilings horses hoofsnded on the ground, the sound of cheering pierced through his pair of ears like raging waves crashing against the shore, because Li Yuan, the emperor leading his troops into battle, hit the ball into the goal. The roar of Wansui was more intense than a thunder. While happily returning to the west field, Li Yuan said, Well yed. But it was unclear whether he was praising himself or Xu Ziling. However, not a person did not know that being able to disy his mighty power on the field, his dragon heart was very pleased. After kick-off, the Persians side was a lot more cautious. They gradually approached with long transfers and short passes,. Yet Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that the other sides confidence has been thwarted, no longer with momentum like a rainbow like before. On the other hand, their, the two boys confidence were multiplied many times over. They galloped across the field, forcing the other side not daring to take the risk to attack. Li Yuan and Li Yuanji, due to their confidence in the two men grew, they no longer trembling with fear like before, rather, they had a free hand in cooperating with them, putting the spirit of group battle on disy. After receiving the ball that Zexina passed on to him, Kesa, forced by Li Yuanji who came to meet him, passed the ball across to Hamomei. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling have been waiting painstakingly for a long time, watching for urate opportunity, together they urged their horses to sprint; the men and horses have not arrived, the range of their threat already sealed Hamomeis path on three sides: ahead and left and right. Hamomei did not dare to pass the ball to Meineiyi, who was being entangled by Li Yuan on the other side. Having no alternative, he hooked the ball, making the ball rolled on the ground toward Zexina, who was behind the middle line. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Qi Wang, and then together with Xu Ziling they unleashed the man-and-horse-as-one technique, suddenly they sped up the horses to the limit to chase the ball like a whirlwind, like powerful arrows piercing from Hamomeis both sides like lightning. Li Yuanjis fighting nature was aroused, plus he also wanted to establish his prestige; hearing the call, he crossed over Kesa, and spurred the horse to full speed, galloping wildly along the southern border. Zexina knew that the sess or failure of this point depended on which family the flower was going to fall, how could he dare to be negligent? Urging the horse to charge forward, he met the ball, which was rolling in his direction. On horseback, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, because no matter how fast they were running, it was impossible to catch up before Zexina touched the ball. Their aim was to force Zexina to hit the ball in the first moment to give them the opportunity they could take advantage of. By the time Zexina was leaning forward and swinging the stick to hit the ball rolling toward him, the two boys were still about twenty paces away. When it looked like they were going to ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful, strange change suddenly happened. Book 50 3 – Too Busy to Attend to Other Things

Book 50 Chapter 3 C Too Busy to Attend to Other Things

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Just the instant before Zexina hit the ball, from being separated, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling turned to crash themselves against each other. Just like the other people, Zexina could not figure out the two boys intention. Colliding against each other like that, the horses would undoubtedly be injured; but he had a faint feeling that based on the out of the ordinary horsemanship that the two disyed previously, they couldnt possibly be that useless. Too busy to think too much, plus he had no choice, he seized the opportunity while Kou Zhong was patting the horses butt to move to the middle and thus was exposing a gap, he swept the ball toward Kesa, who was at the northern borderline with no one entangling him. Bang! the two rides collided. Xu Ziling, as steady as Mount Tai, continued to charge forward, only his direction changed slightly, his target was Zexinas right side. While Kou Zhong, amidst the people outside the arenas cry of rm and the women turned pale C flew at an angle due to the impact with Xu Zilings ride, he crossed over eight zhang of empty space like an immortal from heaven. The hoofs of his horse had not even touched the ground, he bent down from the horseback, the stick in his hand stretched out, without missing a hairsbreadth he poked the ball rolling toward Kesa. The ball changed direction toward Li Yuanji, who was galloping into the east field. The cry of rm turned into apuse filling the air, the drummers struck the drums, staking everything they had, Boom! Boom! Boom! From the vilest, Li Yuanjis mood grew to intense delight; catching and holding on to the ball, without saying anything further, he proceeded to attack the gate. Zexina wanted to turn his horse around to intercept, but Xu Ziling, who was one step ahead of him, blocked him on the outside. He could only stare nkly as he watched Li Yuanji sending the ball into the goal. Cheers and apuse exploded. With spring breeze across his whole face, Li Yuanji returned in triumph, which made Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong begin to understand the reason behind why the ministers who served inside the imperial courts of the sessive generations of the House of Han were able to aplish their ambition more. It does not matter whether you are a high-ranking minister at the border region or a fierce general on military expedition to outside region, the emperor who stayed deep in the pce for a long time would neither see nor sense their toil and aplishments. All those brilliant exploits and great undertaking would neverpare to cordial feeling of helping him achieving victory on a ball game. Therefore, by letting Li Yuan satisfying his cravings of living an ordinary peoples life, Yin Zuwen could gain Li Yuans trust and favor more than Li Shimin, who was going through fire and water outside the Pass. All the three points of the second set of the second half of the game were won over, now the Persian team was only ahead by one point. If in thest set the Li n could repeat their total victory, then they would be able to pick off the victory gand. Zhang Jieyu, Yin De Fei, Dong Shuni, and the others, a group of more than a dozen of grandiose imperial concubines swarmed down from the spectators grandstand to wee Li Yuan, the situation was lively and chaotic. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling focused their attention to search around, unexpectedly Shen Luoyans fragrant self was gone, You Chuhong and Dugu Fengs [phoenix] trace was also lost; inwardly they knew the turn of events was not too encouraging, yet sadly they were unable to get away. Fortunately, Li Jing, husband and wife, were not present at the field either. Without any better option, they hoped that the two would seed in intercepting and notifying Shen Luoyan. This moment Li Yuan and Li Yuanji did not have time to pay them any attention. Xu and Kou, two men handed the horses and the sticks over to Cheng Mos men while they walked over to one side. Kou Zhong spoked in low voice, His Niangs! The other side unexpectedly are able to y such a trick; even if Shen Meiren went to advise Li Mi not to go out of the Pass, it wont matter whether Li Mi listens to her or not, the whole thing about Shen Meiren should stop right there. Could it be that the Dugu Family is able to use this as a pretext to offend Shen Meiren, to act first and reportter [orig. to decapitate first and present the trophyter (idiom)]? That would be akin to forcing Li Shiji to rebel; it would be even more difficult to answer Li Shiminter. Standing on the sideline, Xu Ziling pondered deeply and said, Naturally things cant be that simple. For example, what if Li Mi forced Shen Luoyan to go out the Pass with him? Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Li Mis going out of the Pass has received Li Yuans personal approval, for the time being, Li Yuan cannot reap the consequences of his words [idiom from Mencius]. If this matter of going out the Pass is legitimate, by making his move to force Shen Meiren and escort her out of the Pass, wont that expose that he is harboring evil intentions? Li Mi cant be that stupid, can he? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Dont forget that Yang WenGan has guaranteed that after leaving Changan, there will be a proper arrangement. Therefore, as long as Li Mi can pass the hurdle of the city defense, he will no longer have any misgivings. Furthermore, with Shen Luoyan, this bargaining chip, in hands, he could coerce Li Shiji to obey him. The impact is enormous, Li Mi cannot but taking this risk; even more, he is not afraid to take this risk. After a short pause, he continued, As for Li Yuan letting Li Mi leaving the city, it is the execution of a n, so I am sure there will be a follow up, its just that we cannot figure out his strategy, thats all! Revealing a solemn expression, Kou Zhong nodded and said, Your analysis is very reasonable. If Li Mi really forced Shen Luoyan to go together with him, Li Yuan could point out that Shen Luoyan and Li Mi have the same intention to rebel; that would be extremely bad. What should we do now? Xu Ziling said, No matter what, Li Mi will need one or two sichen before he could start on his journey. After we finish this game, we will immediately contact Li Dage, as long as we can grasp Li Mis whereabouts, we can rescue Shen Luoyan back, let Li Mi emerges and perishes on his own, it has nothing to do with us. His spirit aroused, Kou Zhong said, All right, that will be our decision! Thest set began. The Persian teams confidence was frustrated, it was crushed down by the Great Tang team. On the trick of ying polo, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were holding the pearl of wisdom [fig. to be endowed with extraordinary intelligence]; not only they mastered many different kinds of techniques, they even saw through and understood the Persian peoples tactics. This side is diminishing the other side is flourishing, they had the Persians, who previously were able to move unhindered across the ying field, who considered themselves unexcelled in the world C like a toy in the palm of their hands, and were able to give Li Yuan as much opportunity as possible to bury the shame and score a goal. Amidst the drumbeats and the cheering, Li Yuan greatly showed off his divine might. With the next point, both sides were in a tie, the Persians lost their lead. Troops in defeat like andslide, everybody, including the Persian teams other members, knew that the Persians side has lost their momentum. Even if they wanted to forge ahead, they only had the mind but not the power to do so. Hamomei and the others expression became disheartened and helpless. Li Yuan suddenly called a halt. Within the crow and peacock made no sound, he galloped to the middle of the field, reined his horse, and shouted, Let this game of polo ends at this point. Both sides have used the game to talk about harmony. May our Great Tang and the Persian kingdom be in peaceful coexistence for many generations, our friendship will be solid forever. His speech was beyond everybodys expectation; it demonstrated Li Yuans magnificent magnanimity. Immediately the cry Wansui shook the sky and shattered the earth. On the Persians side, everybody showed a touched and grateful expression. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were d that the game ended this way, so that they could leave as soon as possible. Hamomei and the others hurriedly rushed forward to express their gratitude to Li Yuan. But Li Yuanji spoke to Kou and Xu, two men, You have established great merit, Fu Huang is extremely happy. You can go to the side and rest, wait for Fu Huangs decree. Finished speaking, he galloped toward Li Yuan, who was still talking cordially with the team members from the Persians side. At this time the entire traversing public square was brimming with festive atmosphere; one after another imperial concubines and high-ranking officials came to the middle of the field to respectfully congratte Li Yuan, the situation was a bit chaotic. The two boys flew off their mounts and handed the horses, as well as the polo sticks, to the imperial guards serving them. Happy and excited, Cheng Mo met and took the two to the sideline, while unable to stop praising their outstanding performance. Yet not even half a sentence entered the two boys ears, because they were only thinking about how to get away to rescue Shen Luoyan. After waiting painstakingly for more than a sichen, finally they received Li Yuans summon. Li Yuan received them in his personal political pce hall, which was located east of the tribute hall inside the rear pceplex. In the hall, Wei Gonggong, Yuwen Shang, Li Yuanji, Li Nantian, Li Shentong, Xiao Yu, and Liu Wenjing were also present. Li Yuan looked happy; he praised their performance on the ying field first, and then he said, Your polo skill is indeed outstanding, your horsemanship is even more brilliant, it could only be above the Tujue people, not under them. Such talent is buried in Jianghu, it is indeed a pity. Have you ever thought about vowing loyalty to the imperial court and establishing merit? Kou Zhong cried, Not good! inwardly; he said, Huangshangs special favor [from a ruler], Xiaoren, the two of us can only shed tears of gratitude, however ... ay! However ... This moment Wei Gonggong walked over by Li Yuans dragon chairs side; stooping down by his ear, he spoke something in low voice and then retreated. Without any sign of displeasure at all Li Yuan looked at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling standing respectfully under the stone steps; he smiled, nodded, and said, Zhen understands two gentlemens situation. Zhen will give you one year to finish your Jianghu affairs well, and then you will separate yourselves from the gangs and societies ande here to serve Zhen. The two promptly thanked the Emperor for his favor. Li Yuanjiughed and said, Fu Huang and I will wait for you toe back and y ball again! The othersughed. The atmosphere was pleasant and rxed. The two took this opportunity to petition to be excused. They finally managed to get away and leave the pce. Cheng Mo personally led the imperial bodyguards to escort them back to the Situ Mansion, they acted with diligent care to fawn on the two, making the two felt that although they have not really be petty official in the House of Tang, they have be the Emperors favorites that others regarded as having good prospects. Whether their future official post would be high or low, they would at least be the member of the monarchs inner ministerial circle who would apany Li Yuan to y polo. Merely this fact was enough to make them ascend to the dragon gate, their reputation increased a hundredfold. Both Li Jing and Hou Xibai have been waiting in the inner hall for a long time. Lei Jiuzhi took them in; he said, We have made adequate preparation, we could leave any moment. Chen Fu obtained Li Jings assurance, hence he will stay in Changan with peace of mind. Ay! It is me and Song ErYe who are worried about him. Shen Luoyans affair was still hanging in the two boys mind, they picked up speed to walk faster. As soon as they entered the hall, they asked Li Jing without any chitchat, Did you intercept Shen Luoyan? Li Jing told them to sit down around the table first, and then he said, No opportunity, but no need to worry, Li Mi already notified the city guard that he will leave the city at dusk, by taking the boat to get out of the Pass. We still have nearly two sichen to work. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling heaved a sigh of relief at the same time. Xu Ziling said, Didnt Li Dage send someone to keep watch over Li Mi? Shaking his head, Li Jing said, We discovered that the imperial guards stationed some men outside Li Mis Mansion, hence we were forced to retreat. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, In that case, you dont know whether Shen Luoyan hase to see Li Mi? Li Jing replied, I have no choice either; now Huangshang has made it clear that he is going to deal with Li Mi personally. If they find out that we are involved in this, even jumping into the Yellow River will not be enough to wash away the suspicion. I have no choice but giving consideration to the overall situation. Hou Xibai volunteered himself, saying, It would be better for me, an outsider who has nothing to do whatsoever with this matter to throw my cap in the ring. Perhaps I could intercept Shen Meiren. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Im afraid its a step toote. Li Mi chose to leave at dusk, it must be because he wants to use the night as a cover so that as soon as he is out of the city, he is free to move his feet to leave in stealth, so that Li Yuan cannot pursue him even if he wants to. How many people will be in Li Mis group? Kou Zhong asked. Li Jing replied, Li Mi and Wang Bodang, plus the troops under theirmand are more than a thousand, and then there are freight carts, more than thirty of them. Unless they have other arrangements, if they get out of the Pass via the waterway, Huangshang can still intercept them any moment before they get out of the Pass. Puzzled, Song Shidao asked, At most Shen Luoyan fails to advice Li Mi to abandon his intention to leave the Pass, everybody parts on bad terms, so whats the problem? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, The problem is that Li Mi is a man who C in order to seek sess C will do whatever it takes, by hook or by crook. On top of that Yang WenGan instigated him in order to frame him. Maybe, taking a risk out of desperation, he would subdue her and kidnap her, in order to threaten Xu Shiji. It should be noted that Li Yuan has never been too trusting to Xu Shiji, who holds massive military force in his palm, hence he had Shen Luoyan staying in the capital. Now Shen Meirener unexpectedly follow Li Mi to leave the city. Merely this one act is enough to charge Shen Luoyan with big crime of treason, and it would be difficult for Li Shimin to protect both of them. Shaken, Li Jing said, We have never thought that Li Mi might have this move. What shall we do now? Xu Ziling said, If we break into Li Mi Mansion now, it will only mess things up, hence any action we take must be carried out outside the city. It is inadvisable for Li Dages side to touch this matter, Xibai might want to stay out of this as well, it would be best for you to proceed to Shang Lin Yuan to enjoy the wind, flower, snow and moon. Let us get out of the city one step earlier to wait for Li Mis fleet, and then we will see the opportunity and act ordingly. Under Kou Zhong and the others forceful persuasion, Li Jing finally gave up his participation. Tian Ce Fu really should not be involved in this matter, because that would mean they were going directly against Li Yuan. After Li Jing left, the crowd changed the topic of their discussion to how to deal with Shi Zhixuan, which gave them another headache. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Naturally the painting should be handed over to Shi Zhixuan, otherwise, how is he going to step down the stage? Knitting his brows, Lei Jiuzhi sid, Since we have two scrolls of reproduction anyway, giving him one scroll is the exertion of lifting our hand. The problem is that if he knew that the real painting is still in Li Yuans hands, if he gets angry, the consequences will be hard to fathom. Song Shidao said, On the contrary, theres no need to worry about that. Unless among the people by Li Yuans side like Wei Gonggong, Yuwen Shang, and the others, there is a mole that Shi Zhixuan nted in the pce. Otherwise, they definitely will not leak out any information. Furthermore, Shi Zhixuan cannot ask about a secret that is even hidden from Yin Zuwen. What I am worried about is that after obtaining the fake painting, Shi Zhixuan would use some method to toss the painting back into Chi Shengchuns hands. In turn, Chi Shengchun might present the painting as a betrothal gift to Hu Fo, and then Hu Fo will see that its a fake. If that happens, then the consequences will be really hard to fathom. Kou Zhong pped the table and blurted out, I got it! Everybody was stunned. Kou Zhong took the two scrolls of reproductions and stuffed both into Hou Xibais hands; he said with augh, One scroll to be given to Shi Zhixuan as a present, the other scroll may be able to be used to swap with the real painting. Ha ha ha ...! Kou Zhongs Cai Yuanyong stopped by at the gate, asking for an audience with Chi Shengchun. After the doorman reported his visit, Chi Shengchun personally came out to meet him. He asked in surprise, What wind brings Cai Xiong to my humble abode? Shengchun was thinking of seeing you off, but was afraid that Cai Xiongs boss will not be happy. Breathing a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong said, Its good that I get to see Chi Ye; I was afraid Chi Ye already went to the casino and thus I pounced empty air. Chi Shengchun pulled his hand and took him to the main hall; he said with augh, Whatever it is, feel free to speak up. We are all of the same side, whatever it is, Shengchun will definitely try to aplish it for Cai Xiong. Ha! I hear that in the pce today, Cai Xiong and Kuang Xiong have greatly revealed your divine might on the polo field, making Huangshangs dragon heart greatly delighted. Two gentlemens future outlook cannot be estimated. Kou Zhong acted as if he wanted to say something but then hesitated; lowering his voice, he said, This time I aming to Chi Ye not to ask for any favor, rather, I have an important matter I want to report. Ay! Wentong and I thought about it all day long, finally we recalled how affectionate and true Chi Ye was to us. If we are fully aware about this matter but conceal it from Chi Ye, how could we live with our conscience? This moment the two men entered the main hall. Chi Shengchun was stunned and came to a halt. Puzzled, he asked, What is actually the matter? Why does Yuanyong seem to have a hidden trouble that is hard to mention? Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in his ear, After hearing this, Chi Ye must never, ever tell anybody else, otherwise Da Laoban and all of us will be beheaded. Chi Shengchun revealed a suspicious look; turning toward the two beautiful maids in the hall, who were ready to wait upon them, he shouted, You may withdraw. After the two maids left the hall, Chi Shengchun invited Kou Zhong to take a seat in a corner. He asked in heavy voice, What is actually the matter? Kou Zhong said, This morning, Xiao Yu came over to invite our Shen Ye into the pce, to authenticate a painting for Huangshang. Chi Shengchuns countenance changed. What painting? he asked. Kou Zhong lowered his voice and said, Didnt Cao San steal Zhan Ziqians Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu from Chi Ye? Turns out that roll is just counterfeit article, the real deal is in Huangshangs hands. It was because Huangshang did not know whether Chi Yes scroll is real, or whether the one in his hands is real, thereupon he invited Shen Ye to look over. ording to what Shen Ye said, the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tu in Huangshangs hands is certainly the original copy. Chi Shengchuns countenance changed several times, showing that overflowing-the-heaven huge billows were surging in his heart; he was bewildered and could not make up his mind, he was speechless and remained silent. Kou Zhong said, Huangshang implored Shen Ye over and over again not to leak this matter out, so much so that he is not to tell Da Laoban; but how could Shen Ye conceal it from Da Laoban? I knew about this matter because I overheard them speaking. Chi Ye should quickly recall the ten-thousand-tael gold reward, how could a fake painting worth such price? Chi Shengchun finally came back to his senses. Forcing himself to squeeze out a hint of smile, he said, Fortunately Yuanyong notified me of this matter, I, Chi Shengchun will surely repay this. Yuanyong, please sit here for a moment, I will be right back. Kou Zhong apanied him standing up and said, Chi Ye must not give us any more gold, this time I came here is to repay Chi Yes benevolence. As long as Chi Ye keeps the secret ... How could Chi Shengchun believe him? He insisted that Kou Zhong sit back down, while he himself went into the inner hall. Kou Zhong smirked inwardly. He had full confidence that Chi Shengchun would be duped, simply because there was already previous conviction of Liu Wenjinging to ask him the painting, plus that night it was indeed Li Yuan who made his move to steal the painting. Chi Shengchun was not a fool, naturally he was able to guess the truth. Since Chi Shengchun now know that the real painting was in Li Yuans hands, even if Shi Zhixuan delivered the painting into his hands, even if Chi Shengchun had guts as big as the sky, he would not dare to take the painting as betrothal gift, because if it was not a reproduction, it must be the real article stolen from the pce. Thinking back and forth, the whole quarter hour passed yet he still did not see Chi Shengchuning back from getting some silver. Kou Zhong was also thinking about dealing with Shi Zhixuan, he secretly mused that rescuing Shen Luoyan was more important. Without any better option, putting Shi Zhixuan in order must wait until tomorrow night. After he came back, he must carefully discuss this matter with Wanwan. As he was waiting impatiently, Chi Shengchun finally came back, carrying a bag heavyden with gold. Looking at how heavy it was, it should be over a hundred taels. Kou Zhong hurriedly stood up and said, Chi Ye should not stand on ceremony, I really came here not to ask for silver. [Note: the same word could mean either money or silver.] Chi Shengchun resolutely stuffed the bag into his hand, heughed and said, Friends mean going through wealth together, not to mention Yuanyong is giving me, Chi Shengchun such a consideration. If you decline again, that means you dont consider me as your own brother. And then he lowered his voice and said, After paying back your gambling debts, the remainder can be considered a gambling capital, ha! Kou Zhong noticed that when he spoke thest two sentences, a mocking expression shed through his eyes; inwardly he was greatly astonished, but naturally he would not reveal it. Acting reluctant, he received the gold. With his arm around Kou Zhongs shoulders, Chi Shengchun walked him out the door, saying, Whenever Yuanyong and Wentong are back in Changan, you muste to look for me, Chi Shengchun. Afterwards we are all family; blessing we enjoy together, but disaster does not concern us, brothers. Ha! And then he spoke in low voice, It would be best if Yuanyong dont take big streets, big alleys; if someone found out that you came to see me, it wont be a good thing. Inwardly Kou Zhong was shaken; he finally understood. The mocking expression in Chi Shengchuns eyes just now wasughing at him that he had the life to get the money, but he would not have the life to enjoy these riches. Chi Shengchun went to the inner hall for such a long time, it was not because he prepared the gold, but to tell his men to ambush and kill him on his way back. The reason of the murder was not that Chi Shengchun was reluctant to part with this much of gold, but because he wanted to frame Guanzhong Jian Pai. Imagine that he died of violence on the street, Li Yuan would definitely fly into a terrible rage; plus Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan could forge human testimony and material evidence, the City Guards Yao Luo could also prove Guanzhong Jian Pais operation in killing the Taihang Shuang Jie, how could Guanzhong Jian Pai avoid disaster? This was certainly not ast-moment decision in Chi Shengchuns mind; rather, it was a well-thought n. Now that Taihang Shuang Jie have be favorites of those in power at the House of Tang, it would be even more beneficial to Chi Shengchuns n. Naturally Kou Zhong could not possibly expose Chi Shengchuns despicable plot; with Hee hee, ha ha he left the Chi Mansion. Book 50 4 – Feet Deep in the Mud

Book 50 Chapter 4 C Feet Deep in the Mud

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong put the money purse on the table, producing a loud Bang! He sat down and said with augh, I won this bag of gold by gambling my little life; Chi Shengchun had his men trying to kill me on the way in order to frame Guanzhong Jian Pai, but I pretended to take the wrong route so that he could not carry out his scheme. His Niangs! This man is really intolerable, a dagger hidden within a smile. Who is Furong Ye seeing outside? he added. Xu Zilings gaze fell onto the money purse, he replied, Its Hu Fo, inpany with his daughter,ing to bid Furong Ye farewell, naturally its in order to get a part of the cup of flying money business soup. After I said hello, I made an excuse of being tired and came in to rest. Ay! The charming eyes that Hu Xiaoxian cast toward Xiao Jun made him confused and disoriented, it made me worry. Muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Kou Zhong asked, Have you seen Wanwan? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Why dont you go and talk to her? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, How about tomorrow night? Xu Ziling took a breath, Its decided then, he said. Her pretty eyes tightly closed, Wanwan sat cross-legged on Kou Zhongs bed. It was only when Kou Zhong was sitting down on the bedside that she opened her beautiful eyes, saying, When are youing back? Tomorrow! Kou Zhong replied, Wan Dajie, I wonder if you could answer one question from me first: what exactly is the rtionship between the Xiang Family and the demonic school? Wanwans jade countenance remained tranquil, she spoke indifferently, What does it have to do with killing Shi Zhixuan? Because Shi Zhixuan wants to deal with Chi Shengchun, Kou Zhong replied. Wanwan was silent for half a day; she sighed and said, The one Shi Zhixuan wants to deal really is not Chi Shengchun, but Zhao Deyan. Currently, the one with most power within the demonic school to contend for the Sheng Zun Baozuo [lit. holy/sacred venerable treasured seat (throne)] is Zhao Deyan. You ought to know that Xieli had already sent his men to Changan to speak with Li Yuan, guaranteeing that they would definitely not get involved in Li Shimin attacking Luoyang; without Zhao Deyan in the background instigating it, how could Xieli act this favorably? Unexpectedly there is such matter! Kou Zhong said, In that case, why do you still have to hide from the Xiang Family? Even if in the future the one unifying the holy school is Wan Dajie, the Xiang Family cant possibly vow loyalty and devotion to you anyway. Wanwan smiled and said, Shaoshuai, do you know that Xiang Gui was originally my Yin Gui Pai people? And the she spoke indifferently, Strictly speaking, Xiang Gui is our tool to make money, Baling Bang is just a signboard to conceal his true identity. Humph! Xiang Gui, this man loves to curry favor the most. Seeing Zhao Deyan has the Tujue peoples support behind his back, he has the cheek to treat us with outward devotion but inner opposition, while working for Zhao Deyan in the dark. There wille a day that I will make him regret his conduct and deeds. Thats all I can say. Are we going to make our move tomorrow night? Under the illumination of the dim, hazy sky of the dusk, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, wearing wetsuit, sneaked into the Wei River flowing northwest of the City of Changan, following the boat carrying Song Shidao and the others sailing with the current to the east, into the Yellow River. When they were leaving the Pass, someone else impersonated the Taihang Shuang Jie, so that they did not reveal any w at all. By the time the two boys came ashore, night wasing closer to the mother earth. The City of Changan was resplendent inntern lights, bringing out the grand, magnificent sight of one of the three famous metropolis under the heavens. The two crouched behind a pile of rocks in the shallow river by the shore, waiting patiently for Li Mis fleet. Outside the Pass, there were two paths to take: via the water or onnd. Naturally the waterway was more convenient and quicker. From the Yongan Canal dock on the northwest of the city, via the Wei River entering the Great River, within two days they would be able to cross the border of the Pass. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Li Mi and his men are divided on three boats. If Li Mi did not hide Shen Meiren in his boat, it would give us an awful headache. The other problem is that basically we dont even know they hide her in which ship. I am not worried about that, Xu Ziling said, Li Mi is harboring ulterior motives, he certainly would take Shen Luoyan by his side, so as to avoid the unexpected. If you were Li Mi, how would you distribute your men into the three ships? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, If it were me, I would put all thebat ready personnel into one ship, provision and the military supplies on the other ships, so that I would have the power to deal with contingency. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Li Mi is amander-in-chief who can go on long campaign and is ustomed to battles, his way of thinking should be virtually the same as yours. Therefore, the most lightweight, portable, and nimble is precisely our target. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I really dont understand Li Mi; theres a saying a monk cannot walk away from the temple [or a leaving monk cannot leave the temple; from Baike.Baidu: a metaphor, meaning although one wants to get out of the chaff for the time being, he cannot escapepletely]. Even if he could arrive safely outside the Pass, his own family and the rtives of the troops under hismand still remain in Changan. If he rebelled against the Tang and established his independence, wouldnt he extend the disaster to his close rtives? Xu Ziling said, Hence the reason he wanted to rely on Yang WenGan. My guess is that most of his men are kept inside a drum, they dont know the real purpose of Li Mis trip this time. Otherwise, how could they be willing to abandon their wives and children to apany him taking this risk? Kou Zhong nodded and said, That was the reason behind Li Mi using thousand ways, a hundred ns to obtain Li Yuans permission. In the first ce, he wanted his men to follow him going out of the Pass with a peace of mind, next, he wanted his family to also have a chance to slip away. Otherwise, with Li Mi and Wang Bodangs skill, it should be easy to slip away. The sky gradually darkened, the curtain of the night was rolled out, the moon and the stars were starting to appear in the sky. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Something is not quite right; howe we have not seen the trace of Li Mis fleet? Xu Ziling was about to respond, suddenly the sound of hoof beats wasing from the shore. The two looked in shock, Li Jing was spurring his horse to gallop along the cliff, he even brought along two empty rides. In their heart the two knew that the turn of events was not too encouraging; hastily they leaped out from the rocky beach where they had been hiding and flew up to meet him. Seeing them, Li Jing said, Quickly get on the horse! Come with me! The two flew onto the horses and followed close behind Li Jing. Li Jing urged the horse to speed along toward the east; he shouted, Li Mi changed from the waterway to takend route at thest moment; he left the city half a sichen ago. Fortunately, I have been keeping an eye on them. The two boys cried inwardly, Shame! Were it not for Li Jing could not stop worrying, they would have lost and Shen Luoyan would have been done for. Li Jing said, Li Mi guessed that Huangshang wanted to kill him. Kou Zhong said, Most probably after Shen Luoyanid out the pros and cons, Li Mi came to his senses. His Niangs! He knew very well that if he obstinately clinging to his course like this, he would bring harm to his own affectionate and true former subordinates. Is Li Mi really a human? Xu Ziling rode ahead to get close to Li Jing and asked, Does Li Dage know the route Li Mi is taking? Li Jing replied, If he wants to avoid the pursuing troops, Li Mi must use the forest as a cover, the most ideal is the Maozi Lin [lit. hat/cap forest] thirty li southeast of Changan. This forests range covers over a hundred li of hills and ins. With Li Mis experience in marching the army, he must know various ways to break away from the pursuing troops; furthermore, he could choose different points to get out of the forest. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he said, What do we do? They could have traveled the whole thirty li in half a sichen. Li Mi should be in the forest by now, how are we going to find him? Li Jing led them rushing toward a high elevation on the mountainous region, Dont worry! he said, Hongfu [red brush] and I split up and work separately, she is following closely behind their troops. The three no longer spoke, they spurred their horses at full speed, very soon they reached the high elevation on the mountainous region, down below they saw a vast, glossy jungle and river course. Extending to four sides, eight directions was the t in, as far as the eye could see. Changan became like a dot of starlight in the darkness of the sky, far away northwest of the in. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, My fear is that Li Yuan will intercept him before he enters the forest. Li Jing said, Hongfu and I have discussed this possibility. If Huangshang really intercepts Li Mis troops before they enter the forest, Hongfu will show herself and demand the person from Li Mi, she will expose the fact that he kidnapped Shen Luoyan, then it would be difficult for Huangshang to criminalize Shen Luoyan. Xu Ziling exhausted his vision to look around, to see if there was any sign of birds being startled and flew out, yet because the forest region was vast, it was quite difficult to see clearly into the distance. Smiling wryly, he said, That is a way within no way; Dasao [big/oldest sister-inw] uncovering Li Mis conspiracy, from being ashamed, Li Mi might be angry, he would rise in rebellion, and then the Dugu Familys people could take advantage of soldiers mutiny and troops rebelling to kill Shen Luoyan. Kou Zhong spoke nervously, How will Dasao inform us of her position? It was obvious that Li Jing was heavy-hearted; he spoke heavily, She knew we woulde to this living-high-and-look-down ce; in due course, she will use mirror to reflect the moonlight toward this ce. He had not finished speaking, in the forest about twenty li in the distance appeared a dot of red light, which blinked and immediately disappeared. It happened three times. The three looked at each other. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, That does not seem to be mirror reflection, but the light from a fire. Divine light suddenly shed in Xu Zilings mind, I understand! he eximed in delight, Very possible that Li Yuan has a mole within Li Mis ranks; he is practically unafraid that Li Mi would be able to fly out of the cracks of his fingers. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, It makes sense! If Li Yuan wanted to buy Li Mis people, certainly its as easy as a hands turn. Finished speaking, he jumped down the horse and said, The ambushing troops ought to be outside the forest waiting respectfully for Li Mi. If we could catch up with him before Li Mi leaves the forest, we will have the chance to snatch Shen Meiren back. This moment they saw the flicking light again, appearing about five li away from the signal fire a moment ago. Still seated on horseback, Li Jing was stunned, he said, That ought to be Hongfus mirror. Xu Ziling said, That means Li Mis troops are divided into two routes in order to throw off the pursuing troops. Kou Zhong analyzed, The person with qualifications to be bought by Li Yuan must be a trusted aide with deep knowledge of Li Mis n, hence he is able to urately locate Li Mis position in the forest. Li Dage should go to see Saozi [sister-inw], Ziling and I will go to pursue Li Mi. Li Jing was worried for his tender wife; helpless, he had no choice but to agree. The two removed their wetsuit and put on ck hood. They flew at top speed in the pitch-ck darkness among the trees, unleashing their shenfa to its limit; finally, about two li before entering the Guandong in, they were able to overtake Li Mis convoy. Li Mis convoy did not have any carriages, all were light cavalry, travelling in a hurry, nearly three hundred men were rushing in silence, the atmosphere was heavy. The two boys pounced to the top of an old tree, looking down from the height at the situation of the tail of the convoy. With the help of the dim light of the moon and the stars, with enough power in their eyes, they still were unable to see any trace of Shen Luoyan. Kou Zhong leaned over and whispered in Xu Zilings ear, saying, We run after them from the side; if we see Shen Meiren, dont care about his Niangs, we will immediately make our move to snatch her, then we will sessfully aplish our goal. Xu Ziling could not think of a better way, he nodded and said yes. The two soared from tree to tree, silently catching up with the convoy, straight to the head of the convoy, finally they found what they were looking for, but immediately they groaned inwardly. Li Mi and Wang Bodang, two riders, were leading in the front. Behind them, riding on a horseback was not a person, but a rectangr wooden box, safety tied to a wooden frame attached to the body of the horse, with a rider leading the horse along. Li Mi and Wang Bodang were not saving oilmp; even if Kou and Xu used thunderbolt-falls-short-of-reaching-the-ear technique to pick up and break the rope binding the wooden box, no matter how fast their technique, it would still be difficult to escape the fate of falling into to enemys heavy siege. It does not matter if their martial art skill had reached the sky, they would not be able to ovee several hundred warriors, veterans of a hundred battles, led by Li Mi and Wang Bodang. While they were hesitating, Li Mi and Wang Bodang carried Shen Luoyang out of the dense forest to enter the vast and glossy sparse forest region of the Guandong in. The two boys were crouching on a tree at the edge of the dense forest, sadly without any good n. Kou Zhong whispered in Xu Zilings ear, What do we do? If we carry the box, it will be difficult to escape calmly. Xu Ziling watched the enemy hurriedly rushing out of the forest; making a prompt decision, he said, Well find a way to sneak into the enemys troops first, and then wait for an opportunity to snatch the horse. As long as we can escape back into the forest, we will seed! Kou Zhong agreed, Thats our decision then! he said. The two immediately sprang into action, they leaped across, watching for thest two riders of the enemys convoy, and then they pounced down from above. Before the men arrived, they already shot finger wind, urately sealing the targets acupoint. Without making any noise the two men fell off the horseback, and the two boys caught the bodies before they left the horse, and lightlyy them down among the luxuriant grass and leaves at the edge of the dense forest, while taking their helmet off in passing. At the front, the several riders mind was on rushing out of the forest as quickly as possible, plus the night was very dark, with quiet operation, they did not know that two of their teammates at the back have been reced with other people. Suddenly the sound of hoof beats rose up from behind, immediately provoking the men at the back of the line to look back. The two boys cried, Bad! inwardly; they did not expect that behind the back of the line there was another back of the line. Listening to the sound of the hoof beats, there were more than a dozen riders. Hastily they reined their horses to stop, and stayed still at the edge of the dense forest, momentarily they did not know how to deal with this situation. The only way was to push their helmet even lower, so that it went down almost to their eyes, hoping that in the dark, the enemy could not see clearly. The more than a dozen riders were rushing along the same route that Li Mis troops were taking; surprisingly, they did not even cast a nce toward Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, who were staying out of their way on the side, they even spurred their horses to get out of the forest. The leader shouted loudly, Guang Lu Qing [lit. bright, official sry, high ranking official (or subject, if used by the Emperor), respectively. Perhaps Li Mis title? But I dont recall this.], please stop, Huangshangs imperial edict arrives! The two boys could see clearly that the leader was unexpectedly Wei Gonggong; they came to realize that finally Li Yuan was making his move. Li Mis side had not expected that Li Yuans men would appear here at this moment, momentarily they panicked, their formation was thrown into confusion. Li Mis men put the horse carrying the box in the middle of encirclement; they did not want the iing riders to see it. Li Mi and Wang Bodang, with grave expression, urged their horse to turn around to meet the imperial edict. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Lucky! inwardly, Li Mis sides attention was focused on Wei Gonggong passing on the decree, no one paid them any attention. One after another Li Mis men dispersed to the side to let the iing riders to pass through. When the two sides came close to each other, they all reined their horse to stop. Wei Gonggong spoke in his peculiar voice, Guang Lu Qing Li Mi, receive the imperial decree! Li Mi and Wang Bodang exchanged an eye signal; unexpectedly Li Mi did not get down from his horse and kneel to receive the imperial decree, he was still sitting high on the horseback and spoke impatiently, This time I am going out of the Pass with Huangshang personally gave me permission, why an imperial edict all of a sudden? Wei Gonggong said, Huangshangs order, Guang Lu Qing Li Mi must return to Changan immediately to have an audience (with the emperor). Hearing that, everybody on Li Mis side looked at each other, the crow and peacock made no sound, the atmosphere was heavy to the extreme. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling realized Li Yuans scheme. At this time Li Mi was a bird just out of the cage, how could he be willing to abandon his men and return to Changan to ept the fate that was still unclear? The bigger problem was that he captured Shen Luoyan and forced her to apany them. If this matter was revealed, it did not matter even if Li Mis tongue was as splendid as a lotus flower, and he made a hundred statements and ten thousand argument. The entire plot to deal with Li Mi was built link by link, and now Li Mi had his feet deep in the mud, he no longer had any choice. Li Mi looked up to the starry sky above. While all eyes were at him, he slowly exhaled a mouthful of breath, and said, I dont believe this is the decree that Huangshang issued. Wei Gonggong, please go back! Wei Gonggongughed aloud and said, Mi Gong, you have guts; you have the cheek to go against Huangshangs imperial decree. Ay! Those people are sneaky, I wonder if theres something that cant be exposed to the light? Li Mis countenance sank, he said, Remembering our acquaintance, it will be best if Wei Gonggong turn around and leave; otherwise, dont me Li Mi for not remembering old affection. Unexpectedly Wei Gonggong did not get angry. Laughing involuntarily, he said, I, Wei Gonggong, have served Yang Jian since I was eighteen, no one has ever dared to speak like that to me. My utmost admiration! My utmost admiration! Suddenly he leaped from the horseback; letting out a sharp whistle, he pounced toward Li Mi. The sleeves of Li Mi and Wang Bodangs clothes immediately fluttered, their horses leaped. Just by looking at his momentum, it was clear that this chief of the pce eunuchs of the Tang Pces qigong has already reached the realm of great heights. One after another everybody drew his weapon. Suddenly there was bright fireing from ahead, but even though they looked, they could not see clearly how many men and horses wereing, rushing out of the sparse forest ahead. At the same time, the sound of hoof beats sprang up everywhere from inside the dense forest. Li Mis side suddenly became trapped inside the inferior situation with the wolves ahead and the tigers behind. Bang! Bang! The sound was unending, Wei Gonggongs two sleeves danced in the wind, he struck down from high up in the air; even with Li Mi and Wang Bodangs ability, this moment they could only stake everything to fight back, unable to get away. Seeing no time to lose, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling urged their horses to gallop swiftly toward where Shen Luoyan was. The situation was chaotic to the extreme. Thousands of Tang soldiers, filling the field, all over the forest C came to attack from both sides. On Li Mis side, their leader was upied, plus they were not in the mood to zealously continue fighting, one after another they scattered in all directions, they dispersed without even fighting. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings target was clear; seeing that the group of Li Mis men with the horse carrying the box was trying to escape to the north, they hurriedly urged their mounts to pursue swiftly. This moment the Tang soldiers, like a tidal wave, drown Li Mis men. The group of more than a dozen riders with the horse carrying the box was intercepted by the Tang soldiers, a tangled battle ensued. Another group of more than a dozen Tang soldiers was charging toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong was in a very fine mood, heughed aloud, pulled the Moon in the Well from his back, and brandished the saber. The closest Tang soldier brandished his saber to block. Dang! Kou Zhongs heavy technique shook him and jolted him off the horse. Throwing himself into the battlefield, Kou Zhong was like a dragoning back to the sea; from head to foot, he was full of energy; however, because of his status as an outsider, plus the Tang soldiers were noting for him, plus he was not a person who loved to kill, his saber strike was lenient; he only struck the enemy down his horse and left it at that. Xu Ziling pulled the cavalry sword that was hanging on the horseback. Launching a backhand move, he used the t of the de to knock two men, who were blocking in front of him C down from the horseback. Following closely behind Kou Zhong, he took advantage while the enemy had notpleted their besieging momentum, to catch up with the horse carrying the box, which was jumping around in panic. Xu Ziling continuously knocking down several enemies before he could grab the rein of the horse carrying the box. Kou Zhong rushed to his side and called out, Troublesing! Even though he was very busy, Xu Ziling turned around to take a nce, and was shocked. Unexpectedly You Chuhong and Dugu Feng [phoenix] were spurring their horses to rush over; by this time they were only about a dozen of zhang away from them. Xu Ziling hastily pulled the horse carrying the box in the opposite direction to flee into the wilderness, while Kou Zhong was staying behind to stop the enemy. Obviously Dugu Feng neither recognized nor imagined that the ones taking away the horse carrying the box would be the two of them. She shouted tenderly, Where do you think you are going? If there was no horse carrying the box, relying on their man-and-horse-as-one technique, even if the opposite side was riding Gaochang Ferghana horse [lit. treasured horse with sweats of blood], they could forget of ever catching up with the two boys. However, this moment they were chasing closer and closer, the distance between the two sides was constantly diminishing. The five horses gradually went far away from the battlefield where the battle cry shook the heavens; the high-speed chase on the prairie was in full swing. You Chuhong shouted harshly, she leaped off the horseback and pounced down from the sky. Book 50 5 – Stealing Dragon Swapping Phoenix

Book 50 Chapter 5 C Stealing Dragon Swapping Phoenix

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings biggest concern was that they must not reveal their true identity, otherwise You Chuhong and Dugu Feng might report to Li Yuan, saying that Shen Luoyan and the two boys were colluding together, which would be no different from treason, from working together with the enemy. Kou Zhong was well aware that based on You Chuhongs power and skill, there was no possibility of throwing her off over such a short distance, hastily he grabbed three arrows from the quiver hanging on the horses belly, and then using the listening-to-the-wind-to-distinguish-the-sound skill, he threw the arrows backhandedly toward You Chuhong. He did not dare to fully use all his strength; he did not dare to use spiraling true power even more. Naturally the formidable power was greatly reduced; he was only hoping to be able to block her strike from the air. You Chuhong roared, How dare you! One sleeve brushed off, the three arrows, like dead leaves being swept by a gale, were rolled by the sleeve and fell to the ground. Her Jasper Staff was still flying like wildly rushing horse to stab Xu Zilings back. Kou Zhong was about to leave the horseback to help, but suddenly the warning rm went off in his heart; hastily he slipped down the horseback and stuck himself to the belly of the horse; purely relying on his shenfa he evaded a flying dagger, which Dugu Feng shot to him in a sneak attack. Her skill in releasing secret projectile was extraordinarily ingenious; it did not produce the least bit of noise. Upon self-inspection, Xu Ziling realized that he did not have the ability to lead the horse to speed along while also dealing with a brilliant martial art master like You Chuhongs all-out attack. His heart was moved, he let go the reins, his leg flew out, he kicked the horse carrying the box. The Long-Life Qi burst into the horses body, using the man-and-horse-as-one guiding technique. As a result, the horse carrying the box met the foot and let out a long neigh, while power wasing out of its four legs simultaneously; it rushed forward, passing Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling on its left and right, respectively, galloping wildly toward the dark, infinite depth of the grasnd. Xu Ziling flipped over to the side, he hid under the belly of the horse and barely missed You Chuhongs jasper staff; it was from under the belly of the horse that he urged the horse to run faster, and thus he strived to pull the distance with You Chuhong farther. You Chuhongs mouthful of qi already exhausted, she had to tap the ground with her toes before she could pursue again. Relying on their horsemanship, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling urged their horses with all their strength to run after the horse carrying the box, which was nearly twenty zhang ahead of them. Behind them, You Chuhong and Dugu Feng were unwilling to let go, they pursued relentlessly. The former put her exceptional shenfa in full disy, unexpectedly, the more she pursued, the closer she got. On the contrary, Dugu Feng urging her horse was falling behind. Suddenly from some distance ahead two riders were rushing over, one of them shouted, Thieves, where do you think you are going? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling recognized Li Jings voice. They looked over, and sure enough, the neers were Li Jing and Hong Fu Nu; inwardly they were greatly delighted, but outwardly they pretended to be shocked. Abandoning Shen Luoyan, they changed direction and escaped to the wilderness. With Li Jing and Hong Fu Nu taking possession of the horse carrying the box, even if You Chuhong and Dugu Feng had guts as high as the sky, they would not dare to openly harm Shen Luoyan; furthermore, it would be difficult to put the me on Shen Luoyan. The two boys returned to Changan via the Duke Yangs Treasures tunnel, and went back to the Passionate Nest. It was still two sichen before daybreak. Hou Xibai, who had been waiting anxiously, was greatly delighted, Is everything all right? he asked. Kou Zhong sat down cheerfully. Stretching out his limbs, heughed and replied, Everythings all right, but it was dangerous to the extreme point; we relied entirely on Laotianyes help, Shen Meirens life is not going to end. The two boys had hidden in the dark. They saw clearly that You Chuhong and Dugu Feng did not have the evil grow to the edge of their guts* to offend Li Jing and Hong Fu Nu; they saw Li Jing, husband and wife opened the box and rescued Shen Luoyan before they left, hence they were able to say that with peace of mind. [*Note: ording to Baike.Baidu: the full proverb is ŭͷ𡢶򵨱üۣҧ anger rises from the heart, evil grows at the edge of the guts, open the eyes under the eyebrows, bite and crush the teeth in the mouth, meaning if you are so angry, you will be bold enough to do anything.] Xu Ziling sat down on Hou Xibais other side; he asked, You are not going to Shang Lin Yuan? Hou Xibai sighed and said, You guys are going through fire and water, how could I have the interest to y around? Ay! With luxury foodstuff from distantnd, once in a while I ought to have green tea and in rice. Did your Shi Shie? Kou Zhong asked. Hou Xibai nodded dejectedly and said, I put the reproduction on the table, and then I waited respectfully for him, the Seniors Dharma-self. Shi Shi indeed came on time, he even cordially asked about my recent developments, about the situation of my training. You guys wont believe it, but he unexpectedly gave me pointers in martial art aspect, he gave me his analysis on why in just a few face-to-face encounters in the secret tunnel he was able to capture me. He made me confused. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other; what exactly was going on with Shi Zhixuan? Hou Xibai revealed a reminiscing look; casting his gaze toward the beam of the small hall, he spoke slowly, Am I being very silly? Unexpectedly I could not help asking him whether he was going to kill me? How do you think he answered me? Unexpectedly he shook his head and blurted outughing. He said, Not only you are my, Shi Zhixuans good disciple, you carry forward the hope of Hua Jian Pai even more, plus you cant possibly hinder my great undertaking of unifying the world, why would Shifu want to put you to death? No one knows you better than Shifu. Finished saying that, his eyes revealed a very strange expression, like he was very tired, also like his heart was full of sorrow. Stunned, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at each other. Hou Xibai continued, He went on to say that the xinfa of Hua Jian Pai is precisely walking under the leading of the character. In the past he disregarded everybody in the holy schools opposition and fell in love to Bi Xiuxin, it was precisely due to Hua Jian Pais xinfas influence. And to this day he still does not regret the decision he made at that time; his only regret was that he caused the death of the one he loved. Therefore, he does not want me to step on his trailing durst, to make me follow the tracks of a cart that overturned [fig. a path that led to failure] that he made in the past. Ay! He also asked me whether I have a person in my thoughts [i.e. sweetheart]? Xu Ziling looked pensive, but Kou Zhong was highly excited, How did you answer him? he asked. Shrugging his shoulders, Hou Xibai replied, I told him that all the good women in the world, none is not my sweetheart, and that I will only express my adoration to them by making portraits of them, to bring the most beautiful side of them alive on the paintings via my brush. After hearing that, not only Shi Shi was pleased, he even praised me that in term of Hua Jian Pais xinfa, I am the green that came out of blue. I seized that opportunity to ask him, ay! I shouldnt have asked him about this aspect. Asked him about what aspect? Xu Ziling asked heavily. Hou Xibai replied, I asked him why he didnt stand aloof from the secr worlds struggle, hatred and killing, to whistle proudly on the mountain forest, in total rity, clean and free. Kou Zhongs spirit was aroused, he asked, How did he answer you? Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai replied, Thats why I said I shouldnt have asked. Shi Shi let out a cold snort, he casually picked up the scroll of fake painting, his pair of eyes emitted ice-cold, ruthless terrifying divine light, and then he left just like that! Listening to him, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were dumbstruck and unable to reply. It was quite a whileter that Kou Zhong said, Your Shi Shis conduct, even if we think until we crack our brains, we wont be able to figure out a clue. Our proper business is important, quickly take the fake painting out. Hou Xibai was startled and delighted at the same time; he asked, There is only a sichen or so before daybreak, do we have enough time? Kou Zhongughed and said, This is a once-in-a-thousand-year golden opportunity, Li Yuan deployed most of the internal imperial guards to deal with Li Mi. Wei Gonggong, You Chuhong and Dugu Feng are all not in the Pce, therefore, Li Yuan must have concentrated the remaining personnel to protect his own bedroom pce and the imperial concubines pce and garden. I am sure the tribute halls guard is rxed. We select the most unexpected moment to enter the pce to steal the dragon and swapping the phoenix, I guarantee it will seed. Why havent you fetched the counterfeit article? Do you think we have a lot of time? Xu Ziling, alone, sneaked back to the Situ Mansion; taking advantage of the time when therge mansion waspletely deserted, in the hazy light of the dawn, there was some kind of unspeakable the-people-are-gone-and-the-ce-is-empty bleak and deste feeling, he recalled the experience sneaking into the Tang Pce just now. He could not help sharing Hou Xibais as-if-drunk-and-stupefied ecstasy and delight in obtaining the real article. The painting in Li Yuans hands was a stolen article, it served him right to lose it. Besides, he would probably never know that the one in his hands was a reproduction. Xu Ziling had never thought that just because he was the emperor of the Great Tang, he had a special right of ownership. This time the three went through an easy drive on a familiar path, and plus just like Kou Zhongs expected, the imperial guards were concentrated on the private chamber pces where the emperor and the imperial concubines dwelled, they came via the secret tunnel, they left from the secret tunnel, utilizing the tribute halls skylight to slip inside and steal the treasure, the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive, they aplished the mission. Wanwans voice entered his ears, I am in your bedroom! Xu Ziling put down his hand from pushing on Kou Zhongs door, a strange feeling welled up in his heart, he moved to the adjacent room, pushed the door and went in. Wanwan was sitting quietly in a corner, her beautiful eyes looked deep into his. Xu Ziling sat down by her side and said, We decided to make our move tonight. Wanwan revealed a I already know that look, she spoke indifferently, Why isnt Kou Zhong be with you? Xu Ziling replied, He rushes about in preparation for tonights operation. Wanwan said in astonishment, What is there to prepare? I wonder if until this moment you still conceal something from me? I might doubt your sincerity to cooperate. Calmly shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, I do not deliberately conceal anything from you, its just that because the time has not arrived, its of no interest to you. Wanwan spoke softly, I know that Kou Zhong does not trust me, but what about Xu Ziling? I want to hear whats in your heart. Xu Ziling met her gaze, he smiled and said, I believe you cant possibly, in these circumstances, betray us. However, there wille a day when you be Yin Gui Pais new generation master, the situation will be entirely different, because you have no choice but to give thought to your own Sects interest. Wanwan slowly shook her head; her heart filled with emotional stirring, she said, I will never be Yin Gui Pais master, I already lost that kind of interest. The holy schools Two Sects and Six Ways, each one harbors sinister design, there will only be bad things and nothing will seed. I no longer want to spend my time being trapped in the pointless struggle within the Sect, I dont want to waste my time in this regard. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Then why are you so active in dealing with Shi Zhixuan? Why not find a ce to hide, to pass your days in some peace and happiness, in excellent leisure? Remaining tranquil, Wanwan said, Shizuns [revered master] dream, I will aplish with all of my heart, to the best of my ability. My eager-to-win heart cant possibly be smaller than your brothers. I will prove to everybody that the most outstanding person in the holy school is not Shi Zhixuan, but the disciple that Zhu Yuyan cultivated. Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, Im confused. What makes you think you can aplish the dream of unifying the world with your own personal strength? Wanwan smiled and said, Perhaps one day I will tell you, but not now. Enough chitchat, what exactly is Kou Zhong rushing about to prepare? He went to see Ouyang Xiyi, Xu Ziling replied. Wanwanughed and said, You guys do have your way to do things; seeing Ouyang Xiyi, what for? Xu Ziling exined, Only through Ouyang Xiyi we can utilize Li Yuans power, to force Shi Zhixuan so that he cannot rely on his old nest, and we lie in wait for Shi Zhixuan at the only road he can escape. When Li Yuan is forcing Shi Zhixuan to run away from the secret road, we will deliver a frontal assault to him, to break his Bu Si body in that particr environment. Wanwans spirit greatly aroused, sheughed and said, Sweetheart [destined love in opera]! What exactly is the dog hole that Shi Zhixuan is hiding? When Kou Zhong came back, Xu Ziling was sitting in daze, pondering over whether Wanwans strategy of being independent, outside of the holy school, could still knock the world over, yet in the end he still came up with nothing. Straightforward, Kou Zhong asked, Wheres Wan Da Meiren? Xu Ziling replied, After listening to tonights n, she decided that whether sess or failure, she must immediately leave Changan, therefore, she had to arrange a few things, for example, to take Tianmo Jue out and carry it with her. That is my guess. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Even if it is not urate, it shouldnt be far away. She cant be stupid enough to seek her Shimei Bai Qinger to give her bad luck, can she? Xu Ziling responded indifferently, She said she is giving up the Yin Gui Pais master throne; you think she is still interested in Bai Qinger? Kou Zhong was stunned, Is she joking? he asked. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I feel that she spoke the words from the bottom of her heart. Moreover, her new grand n does not have any conflict with us, hence she is not afraid to reveal such a n to us. Although she is still unwilling to tell us the details, I feel that her hostility toward us has greatly diminished. Ay! I wonder if there is some terrifying thought turning around in her head? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its useless to think too much of it, its better not to think about it. Ouyang Xiyi and I talked for nearly the entire sichen, our Zhu Shi Daji [grand n to punish Shi] ought to proceed like seamless heavenly clothes. Yi Lao will im falsely that the information came from Ci Hang Jing Zhai, he will point out to Li Yuan that he is to pretend that they had discovered signs of Cao Sans appearance in the Yuema Bridge area, hence the area is to be blockaded and they will conduct house-to-house search, to force Shi Zhixuan to return to the meditation room and disguise himself as Dade Shengseng. And tonight, by the Zi hour [11pm C 1am] the Wu Lou Si will be heavily surrounded, they will break in and attack Shi Zhixuans meditation room. Humph! This time, I want to see where Shi Zhixuan can run to? Does Yi Lao know about the secret road under the meditation room? Xu Ziling asked. Naturally we cant conceal it from him, but we must conceal it from Li Yuan, Kou Zhong replied, There shouldnt be any loophole in our n, right? A hard to exin feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart; after tonight, he might be the person who killed Shi Qingxuans father. No matter how much she loathed Shi Zhixuan, he was, after all, her Die. This situation might make Shi Qingxuan did not want to see him, Xu Ziling, even more, because she was afraid it might evoke the load on her mind. Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs and said, The only thing we can do now is to wait for Wanwan toe. Ay! I am very worried. Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, What are you worried about? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I am worried about you! One lifetime two brothers; thinking that I am going roll you into the cruel battlefield, I am worried that you cant stand that kind of either-killing-or-be-killed life. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, This wont be my first day on the battlefield; before, I have never seen you said those things. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, The three biggest battles you have ever experienced are the Battle of Jingling, the Battle of Helian Fort, and the Battle of Liangdu against Yuwen Huaji. All these three battles are for survival to save our lives, hence the heart is mighty, the qi is strong. But when you fight for victory, when you contend over territory, its apletely different story. War is a game to see whose injury is heavy and who cant go on. Fighting spirit and morale are the top priorities, humans life is as cheap as grass and mustard; ultimately it is a matter of winning and losing. Im a bit better, because its my choice, but you are innocently being drawn into this maelstrom, hence the reason Im worried about you. Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, I have no other choice. How about we talk when the timees? I dont want to discuss this aspect now, it is too much of a distraction! Kou Zhong said, Yi Lao told me that with his status as a friend, he had been happy to see and sincerely talk with Li Yuan about the issue of the sessor to the imperial throne. ording to him, Li Yuan has shown great determination toward Li Shimin. He sticks to his statement that Li Shimin has poisoned and secretly harmed Zhang Jieyu, and thus he changed from passive to active. On the one hand, he strengthens his own power, on the other hand he cuts down Li Shimins authority, by seizing the entire imperial government for himself. Unless Li Shimin is establishing his independence by bing the emperor outside, when he returns to Changan, unless he is willing to be a handicapped person, he would face the fate of being deposed or even executed. Ay! Under the current military system, Li Shimin absolutely has no chance. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, What other advice does Yi Lao have? Kou Zhong said, Like you, he doubts whether Shi Feixuans choice of Li Shimin is wise. There is another matter: Yi Lao confirmed that with Li Jiancheng as the mediator, Li Yuan and Xieli have renewed their old cordial rtions. This matter is even more unfavorable to Li Shimin. The day Li Shimin breaks through Luoyang will be the moment Li Yuans going to summon him back to Changan. Li Shimins military power outside the Pass will be transferred to Li Yuanji, who is willing to apany Li Yuan ying polo. These are not what Yi Lao said, but Xiaodis inferences. Xu Ziling sighed and said, In light of the recent developments, your inferences might be a reality. Li Yuan sending Li Yuanji in Li Shimins ce to meet Song JinGang head-on was precisely shaped by this kind of mentality. Only because Li Yuanji failed to live up to expectations that Li Shimin was able to sit firmly on his position. Kou Zhong said, Without Tujues threat pressing down in front of their eyes, Li Yuan is able to have a free hand in letting Li Shimin to attack Luoyang, while he himself consolidates his power inside the Pass, and let Jiancheng and Yuanji to clear away all kinds of power who are in favor of Li Shimin. When Li Shimin withdraws his troops from the front and returns to the royal court, he will find out that with the exception of Tian Ce Fu and the insignificant three thousand strong Dark Armor personal guards, he can no longer use anybody else. Guanzhong Jian Pai will bear the brunt. Were it not for Cai Yuanyong is really not Cai Yuanyong but me, Kou Zhong, probably Guanzhong Jian Pai people will all be locked up in Tian Lao [heavenly prison]. His Niangs! Li Yuan is really ruthless! Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Li Yuan is really not a heartless person, on the contrary, he is affectionate and attaches importance to friendship. The problem is that hisradeship is being used toward Li Shimins enemies, hence he became this ruthless toward Li Shimin. Kou Zhong said, Yi Lao said that currently Li Yuan is most worried about the move that Song Que, the Senior, is going to take; therefore, he has repeatedly urged Yi Lao to convince my future father-inw. Without Song Ques support to me, Li Yuan would not consider me worthy in his eyes. His Niangs! I will prove it to him that despising me is a big mistake. Xu Ziling fell silent. Casting a nce at him, Kou Zhong asked, What are you thinking? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, My brains suddenly be a nk space, I do not dare to think about what will happen in the future. Perhaps Li Yuan still wont be heartless enough to give the order to kill Li Shimin, but those bunch of vicious people of the demonic school cant possibly let him off. What is Feixuan going to do? Can she sit and watch, but remain indifferent? Kou Zhong sighed and said, So what if Li Shimin lives to be a hundred years old? One day the emperor is still Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng is still the legitimate sessor to the throne. Unless Li kid raises his troops in rebellion. But you have also seen the current situation of the Tang Pce, do you think Li kid has a chance? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Totally without any chance. Kou Zhong said, Rather than being killed by the people of the demonic school, or perhaps bearing the humiliation to save his skin, it would be better to have me bury Li kid in a horse hide on the battlefield; that way he stilles out as glorious, right? Xu Ziling said, I want to go to see Li Shimin again. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling repeated what he said, he spoke in heavy voice, Tonight, after our business is done, you go back to Pengliang, I am going to see Li Shimin. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, What else do you have to say to him? I dont know, Xu Ziling replied, Ill think about it when I see him. I want to know whats in his heart. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Your rtionship with him is a bit better. Presently I dont have any friendly feelings toward him. He has made me too miserable. Huh? Warning rm went off in the two boys heart, they sensed that there was a guest paying them a visit. Book 50 6 – Night Curfew in Chang’an

Book 50 Chapter 6 C Night Curfew in Changan

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The two boys recalled the same problem, immediately they were shocked. Supposing the visitor was Shi Zhixuan, what do they do? Although they pretended to board the ship and go out of the Pass, what kind of person Shi Zhixuan was? How could they easily deceive him? If he came to the Situ Mansion to investigate, what would the consequences be? While they were ming themselves for their negligence, Hou Xibai pushed the door and walked in. Seeing them in a state of shock, their countenance deathly white, he asked in surprise, What happened? Exhaling slowly, Kou Zhong said, Fortunately, the oneing is the disciple and not the Shifu. Otherwise, we will be in trouble! Hou Xibai revealed a thoughtful look. Sitting down on Kou Zhongs other side, he asked with a frown, Are you going to make your move tonight? Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling with his eyes, indicating that he should talk to him. Xu Ziling heaved a sigh, he helplessly said, We have no other choice. Letting out a hollowugh, Hou Xibai said, Am I a hundred percent fool that until now I still think that Shi Shi and I have the affection between a master and disciple? Kou Zhong said, Its very hard to me you on this, because for a long time now you have always been in touch with his sentimental side. Ay! Tell me how to exin it. Turning to Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai asked, Ziling has a bit more opportunity toe in contact with Shi Shi, what kind of person he exactly is? Do you think he is still lying to me? Why would he lie to me? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Frankly, I really cant see through him. Perhaps he is lying to you to pacify your heart, but perhaps he is revealing the truth. Moreover, due to Yang Xuyans betrayal, he might have a change of heart and put his hope on you. As for the real truth, I am afraid only he knows. Hou Xibai sighed and said, I have just seen Shen Meiren; I should say that it was she who came to see me, to inquire about your whereabouts. I told her in ordance with your instruction that you guys already left Changan. The two boys felt relieved, knowing that Shen Luoyan already escaped this cmity, Li Yuan did not charge her with any crime. Hou Xibai suddenlyughed and said, You are hiding here, probably its a way that looks stupid but is actually exquisite, because Shi Shi will never think that you are this careless, but on the other hand he will never guess that you are still in Changan. Therefore, this is the safest ce instead. And then he asked, How about Wanwan? Xu Ziling replied, She has something to do, she will be back soon! Hou Xibai said, Wanwan might be Shi Shis most important target. He might snatch her Tianmo Jue for himself, by hook or by crook. The Tianmo Ce bing one again is the dream of all sects and all factions with ambitions C after the holy school split up. What is Xibais n? Xu Ziling asked. Hou Xibai sighed and said, I am nning on leaving Changan immediately, to go back to Bashu to pass my days in a bit more rxed manner. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Arent you painting the Bai Mei Tu Juan [Hundred-Beauty Painting Scroll] for Li Yuan? Hou Xibai smiled and said, After obtaining the Han Lin Qing Yuan Tust night, suddenly my thought came alive like a spring; Ipleted the remaining dozen or so beauties in one breath, endowed with poetry and literature. Beforeing here, I went into the pce to submit the scroll. Looking at it, Li Yuan did not stop sighing in praise, and bestowed me a thousand taels of gold. I took the opportunity to tell him that I am going back to Chengdu. I aming here is to bid two gentlemen goodbye. If Ziling ising to Bashu, you must look for Xiaodi to have a chat and a drink. Although I, Hou Xibai, have acquaintances everywhere under the heavens, speaking about intimate friends, I only have two gentlemen Xiongtai. Finished speaking, he stood up cheerfully and raised his cupped fist toward Xu Ziling and said withugh, Thank you very much Ziling for giving me the pointer of entering the painting into martial art; it made me see unlimited scenery in martial art study. This time I aming back to Shu [short name for Sichuan], other than focusing to avoid the struggle between Shi Shi and you guys, I also hope to have the opportunity to meditate with full attention. We part here and now, I hope that in the future there will be a day I can meet with two gentlemen again. And then he grabbed Kou Zhong by the shoulder and said with a smile, Originally I did not like you at all, because sometimes your speech are unpleasant. Only after I got to know you that I discovered that not only Shaoshuai is a true friend, you are also a very interesting person, who is able to maintain optimism and positive outlook in harsh situation that can infect other people, so that Xiaodi benefits a lot! Amidst his heartyughter, he calmly floated away. Hou Xibai suddenly came to say goodbye, the two boys could not help feeling a bit envious. And by saying that he was looking forward to see them againter, it was akin to secretly wishing them sess in breaking Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa. Kou Zhong withdrew his gaze from following Hou Xibais figure disappearing in the depth of the forest tree in the garden. Heughed and said, Last nights taking the risk to steal the painting is worth it. After obtaining Old Zhans painting, his entire being appears like he shed his mortal body and exchange his bones. He has made the right decision, Xu Ziling said, This ce is really not suitable for him to stay. My guess is that he has made up his mind to do whatever it takes to protect Shi Qingxuan. This is also the only way he can rey his masters kindness, which is to prevent Shi Zhixuan from doing foolish thing. Kou Zhong said, There is one more thing I have not told you. After seeing Yi Lao, I went to see Old Die to say goodbye. He is going to leave Changan today to go back to Liyang to be themanding officer over there. If Li Yuan is dealing with Li Shimin, he will help me with all his strength, otherwise he is going to hold back his troops without moving until Li Shimin and I decide victory or defeat. Our Old Die is really not bad, at least he is better than Li kids Old Die. Xu Ziling felt Kou Zhongs influence more and more. If he had Du Fuweis all-out support, sooner orter there wille a day where he will have enough power to contend against the Li n. At that time, Li Yuan will have no choice but to rely on the Tujue peoples help, and then the worlds chaos would continue until what year? Kou Zhong said, We need to get a good rest, to preserve and nurture our spirit. Dealing with Shi Zhixuan, we cantck the least bit of spirit. Waking up from a deep sleep, Kou Zhong reached out to grab the hilt of the Moon in the Well. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was Wanwan, wearing white clothes like snow, slipping in through the window like a specter. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. Sitting up cross-legged, he casually rested the Moon in the Well on hisp, while fixing his gaze onto Wanwan, sitting at the end of the bed. Stretching himself, he asked, What time is it? The sun is about to go down! Wanwan replied, What time do you think it is? Kou Zhong was shocked, Unexpectedly I slept that long? he said, Where is Ling Shao? Why did youe back sote? If Li Yuan began the hunt and arrest operation against Cao San, Old Shi will surely hide inside his thief hole, and when we walk on the street, I am afraid it is not too convenient. Wanwan covered up her mouth andughed tenderly, her manner enchanting, she spoke tenderly and coyly like a little girl, You ask so many questions in one breath, how am I going to answer you. Fancy that in a tense moment like this, you were still able to sleep like a pig; your snoring could be heard several streets across. Kou Zhong crossly said, You exaggerate more than I do, how could I snore? Sleep is some kind of knowledge, particrly in the battlefield; those who cannot grasp every opportunity to sleep will not be goodmander-in-chief. Is Ling Shao listening? Xu Zilings voice came over, saying, Reasonably speaking, Wan Dajie ought to be more nervous about tonights operation than we are. If she is not worried, what else do you have to worry about? Wanwan blissfully said, Ziling really understands me. Kou Zhong sized Wanwan up with full attention, he asked in surprise, Howe Wan Dajie look like you have be a different person, cheerful like a little bird just out of the cage? Casting him a nce, Wanwan said, I am happy, arent you happy for me? You guys dont have to worry about the timing, whether we are early orte; if we are too early, it will not be beneficial and will be harmful instead. For instance, we might bump into Shi Zhixuaning back from the outside, returning to the meditation room via the secret tunnel, or something like that, then tonights n might go down the drainpletely. Shaoshuai is smart, havent you thought about that possibility? Therefore, we must wait until Li Yuan starts the operation before we can go to Shi Zhixuans secret ce. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Wan Dajies remark makes sense; when should we go in then? Wanwan replied indifferently, The Xu hour [7-9 pm] is the limit, we must slip in before the Xu hour. Next door, Xu Zilings voice came again, saying, Howe when talking about the hour, you can be so sure? Wanwan exined, You have your own n, Li Yuan also has his own n. You guys are sleeping in here, naturally you dont know whats going on outside. Li Yuan announced to the whole city this afternoon that today all the city gates will be closed one sichen earlier, at the beginning of the You hour [5-7 pm], and then starting on Xu hour, the whole city is in night curfew, all shops will be closed by imperial decree. Kou Zhong was astonished, Hunting and arresting one Cao San should not need such a big disposition of troops, right? If Shi Zhixuan bes suspicious and he inquires to Yin Zuwen, it will be really bad! Wanwan said, Li Yuan is a Jianghu veteran, and he is dealing with a top-ranked big enemy, how could he be that stupid? Internally he ims to be conducting house-to-house search for Yang WenGan and the remnant of his defeated clique; there is no mention of Cao San or Cao Si. [Note: the san in Cao Sans name is three; here, san and si are three and four, respectively.] And then she simplyy down on the bed;ying down her tender body across the wooden bed, she sighed and said, There is still an entire sichen to rest, if nothing rming is happening, dont wake me up. At the beginning of Xi hour, a drizzle fell from the sky, enveloping the City of Changan in heavy mist as if it was inside a light muslin curtain. On great streets and small alleys, the number of pedestrians was gradually decreasing, the Tang Army set up checkpoints outside street intersections, conducting random check on passers-by. Patrolling troops on horseback could be seen everywhere. The situation was tense, even before the designated curfew time, none of therge and small shops did not close their doors and put away their wares, making the atmosphere even more tense. Soon after night fell, the three left the Situ Mansion. They advanced gradually and entrenched themselves at every step toward the secret room where Shi Zhixuan was hiding. From side streets and alleys, sometimes through houses and leaping over the buildings, being more scared than hurt, the soldiers were heading to the roof of the private houses around the secret room, to overlook the situation of the secret room across the street. The Wu Lou Sis courtyard wall towered in the distance, separated by one street. Inside the temple, thentern was dark the fire ck. Coupled with its connection with Shi Zhixuan, the king of the demonical people, outwardly it looked eerie and mysterious, and indescribably strange. Wanwan, lying low between the two boys, said, Stop peeking, if Shi Zhixuan happens to be inside the building, he might generate reaction. Scared, the two boys hastilyy low on the other side of the roof ridge. Wanwan spoke in low voice, This move of Li Yuan is superb. Night curfew plus house-to-house search, how could Shi Zhixuan not obediently return to the meditation room? Later on, should we ambush him at the exit of the secret road, or should we deliver a frontal assault to him head-on at the entrance to the secret road inside the temple? Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong said, First of all, we must be clear how Li Yuan is going to attack the meditation room. Li Yuan is not a fool, the imperial strategic advisors under him are numerous, they must have guessed that Shi Zhixuan has another secret road toe in and out; could it be that each time he leaves the meditation room he must call a little monk to put the lock in? Wanwan said, That is precisely the key. Li Yuan might have Wu Lou Si, inside and outside, put under heavy siege first, and then with ten-thousand-jun thunderbolt momentum they break down the door and enter, to force Shi Zhixuan toe out. However, Li Yuan and his men have never fought with Shi Zhixuan, they might underestimate his formidability. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Li Yuans acting brashly like that will only mess thing up. Shi Zhixuan is astute, when he sees arge number of men and horsesing to Wu Lou Si, how could he not know that his trace and hiding ce have been revealed? Moreover, Li Yuan surrounds Wu Lou Si area with massive military force, he will be alerted and will slip away. Kou Zhong nodded and said, What Ling Shao said makes sense. Wan Dajie, what do you think? Wanwan said, It depends on whether Li Yuan is as shrewd as Ziling said. Lets go inside to look at the situation first before making decision! Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Didnt you say just now that you are afraid of bumping into Shi Zhixuan? That is just a possibility, the chances are not great, Wanwan said, Dont forget that Li Yuan wanted to do house-to-house search; the safest ce is naturally inside the meditation room. Xu Ziling said, Supposing that Li Yuan leads the Zhu Xie Dui [punishing the heretic (or evil) squad] under hismand toe stealthily, and then they break down the door and enter, they will definitely seal off the only exit of the meditation room. The remaining escape route for Shi Zhixuan is precisely the secret tunnel under his meditation mat. It can be imagined that the moment he is jumping down the secret tunnel, he must also deal with the martial art masters ferocious and sudden assault from above. If at that time we make our move to mount a sneak attack from underground, we could be sessful in one strike, and then we could calmly leave from the secret tunnel. Kou Zhong and Wanwan nodded at the same time, they agreed with his n. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, This time Shi Zhixuan will definitely die! Lets go! As expected, not a soul was in sight inside the building, the situation was still as before. The three entered the study room to look for the entrance to the secret tunnel. Their mood could not help but tensing up. Would Shi Zhixuan, whom no one in the world could control, nurse a grievance and end up in this secret tunnel? Dang! Dang! Dang! The Xu hour wasing closer, the night curfew bells and drums were sounded. Kou Zhong fiercely clenched his teeth, cautiously and solemnly he opened the entrance, revealing a set of stone steps going down. Wanwan reached into her bosom, but Kou Zhong put his hand on hers, he smiled and said, Xiaodi has another magic weapon. He took out the night pearl that they obtained from the Duke Yangs Treasure. Sticking it into the beautiful hair on her forehead, he cheerfully said, Tonight Wan Meiren is the light illuminating our, two brothers path. Treasured swords are to be given as a present to martyrs, pearls are to be given as a present to beautiful women. Wanwan was slightly startled; her pretty eyes revealed a confused look. Suddenly she pursed her fragrant lips and nted a light kiss on his cheek, saying, Waner will never lose this pearl. A hard to describe feeling welled up in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings heart, since Zhu Yuyans death, Wanwans hostility toward them has greatly diminished, the question was: could they not regard her as the enemy? The death of the Flying Horse Ranchs Shang Familys two elders has always been an impossible-to-untie intractable problem. Wanwan took the lead to enter the secret tunnel, the two boys followed behind her, wordless and umunicative, they came to the secret room where Shi Zhixuan used to change his appearance and put on his disguise. The other side of the room was precisely the secret tunnel leading to underneath Shi Zhixuans meditation room. Under the illumination of the strange glow of the night pearl on the beautiful hair on Wanwans foreheads hazy and dim light, the world underground was brimming with unfathomably mysterious feeling. Wanwans beautiful-like-immortals jade countenance made the ambience even more mysterious so that it could not be described by any words. The three did not dare to speak. Kou Zhong made a signal for them to proceed. The three squeezed themselves into the entrance, advancing with their heads down, not daring to make any noise. Finally they reached the bottom of another set of stone steps. Above was precisely the entrance to the meditation room under the putuan [praying mat made of woven cattail]. The sound of deep breathing prated the wall and came down. Shi Zhixuan was indeed sitting inside the meditation room, cultivating his power. Their n has been half-sessful. The next half would depend on Li Yuans deployment. Not only they had to control their breathing, they also had to control the thumping of their hearts; any slightest sound might rm Shi Zhixuan. Wanwan made a signal and took the lead to return to the previous secret room. Inside the secret room, the three sat cross-legged. Although they did not discuss it beforehand, they all knew that waiting here was a lot more appropriate. Now that they knew that Shi Zhixuan was inside the meditation room, they could meditate peacefully, to preserve and nurture their spirit, to quietly wait the approaching moment of sess or failure. Xu Ziling suddenly remembered Shi Qingxuan. A momentter he was going to make his move to deal with Shi Zhixuan. If he really killed him, how would Shi Qingxuan see him? Would she be grateful, or would she hate him? How would Hou Xibai react? How could there be this kind of contradiction in life? Since he made a promise to Shi Feixuan to get rid of Shi Zhixuan, he has always felt that this was a matter of justice, an honor that did not allow one to nce back, both personal and for the public. However, the moment where sess or failure was about to be determined, one after another these thoughts came pouring in, and he was unable to control it. Wanwans voice rang out in his ears, Why is your heart so tumultuous? A bit more careful, please! Xu Ziling knew that he could not conceal it from her senses; secretly heaving a sigh, he spoke in low voice, I am all right! Wanwans jade hand crawled to find his; she grasped it, seemingly to understand the mood in his heart. A burst of shiver washed out theke of Xu Zilings heart; even though previously he had been in close contact with Wanwan, but it was far inferior to this moments close and dear feeling of two hands holding each other. Recalling that Wanwan would never be his friend, instead of diminishing, that kind of contradiction and pain was growing. Wanwan stretched out her other hand to let Kou Zhong hold it. Xu Ziling got stuck inside the memoryne. He recalled his several encounters with Shi Zhixuan, feeling his deep emotion and seeing the side of him that was ming himself. Did Shi Zhixuan seem to show special sentiment toward him? Yet he was going to make his ruthless move against Shi Zhixuan. Ay! Nature [as the mother of all things] was surely toying with people! This time it was Kou Zhongs turn to lean over and said, No need to bother with whatever his Niangs. The moment Shi Zhixuan is jumping down from the entrance, we will make our move at the same time, not for ourselves, but for all the people under the heavens. Just consider personal gains and losses as his grannys bear. Xu Ziling took a mouthful of deep breath; he struggled hard to discharge all distracting thoughts out of his mind. Kou Zhong grabbed his other hand and grasped it firmly. The three people felt their hearts were linked together. The secret room was so quiet that a falling needle would have been heard. The silence was so thick that the empty secret tunnel felt suffocating. The pure and dim rays of light on Wanwans forehead changed the secret room into a strange, indescribable world. They closed their eyes and waited in silence for the fortunate timing toe. Bang! The sound of broken door and crashing wood came from above the secret tunnel, shattering the serenity inside the secret tunnel. The three opened their eyes at the same time. You looked at me I gazed at you, and then they sprang up and darted into the secret tunnel. Li Yuans voice came from above. He let out a longugh and said, Shi Xiong really have a skill; first, you toppled the Great Sui, and now you have a n to strike my Great Tang. Old hatred and new enmity, we will settle the ount tonight. Underneath, the three people felt great astonishment; they never thought that Li Yuans imperial self would reallye to lead his troops. He took personal risk to lead the crowd into the meditation room in decisive battle to put the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan to death. Shi Zhixuan spoke indifferently, Relying on these people and yourself, Li Yuan, do you think you can kill me? Yuwen Shangs voice roared, You boast shamelessly. Just let us teach you, Shi Zhixuan, so that you know that the world is not without anybody else. Li Yuan angrily shouted, Charge! Book 50 7 – Nibbling Away in Reverse

Book 50 Chapter 7 C Nibbling Away in Reverse

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia At first nce, everything was going without a hitch. The thing that they were originally worried the most was, first of all, whether Shi Zhixuan was inside the meditation room or not; secondly, they were afraid that Li Yuan might beat the grass to scare the snake. Neither of these worries hade true. Just as they expected, Li Yuan indeed deployed the entire martial art masters under hismand with enough qualifications to mount sneak attack on Shi Zhixuan. First, they used iron hammer, iron staff, and the like, heavy weaponry to assault a fortified position C to shatter the thick wooden door of the meditation room in one move, and then they used ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum to attack into the meditation room, with the desire to put Shi Zhixuan to death. They could imagine the moment Li Yuans group of martial art masters were charging into the meditation room, followed closely by the second-rate martial art masters and the archers sealing and heavily surrounding the meditation room to prevent Shi Zhixuan from running away. They could also hear a burst of stifled groan and the shoutsing from above. The three knew that in addition to Li Yuan and Yuwen Shang, there were also Shenxian Juanshu [immortal couple, see Book 49 Chapter 10] Chu Junming, Hua Ying, husband and wife, Li Shentong, Li Yuanji, You Chuhong, Dugu Feng [peak], Dugu Feng [phoenix], Wei Gonggong, Li Nantian, and possibly the Yao Mao [demonnce], Yan Pingzhaos son, Yan Li, Ouyang Xiyi and several other martial art masters that they did not recognize. [Note: here, Hua Ying is Hua Mo, but I suspect its a typo, since these two characters look alike.] With this kind of strength, inside a sealed-up space, there was indeed enough power to kill Shi Zhixuan. However, the three felt something was terribly wrong. If Shi Zhixuan wanted to score a victory, it would be absolutely impossible; however, if he wanted to escape, there were two paths: one was to charge through the shattered main door, the other was to run away via the secret tunnel. Naturally the former is several times more difficult than thetter. Li Yuan surely used the strongest personnel to guard the main door. Even if he could get out via the door, he still had to deal with quite possibly hundreds of divine archers with all their crossbows taking aim at the main door. Even if Shi Zhixuan had the ability to know all under heaven [idiom: exceptionally talented], no matter how the Bu Si Yin transcended the god and man transformation, in the end he was still a human made of flesh and blood, it was really difficult to withstand several hundred arrows attacking him at the same time. But the key issue was still Li Yuan. It was unclear whether it was because of his hatred to Shi Zhixuan for causing Bi Xiuxins death, or it was because he underestimated Shi Zhixuan, Li Yuans imperial self personally leading the operation was really unwise, because he became the one target that Shi Zhixuan could exploit to control the overall situation. Because no matter how eager the rest of the people were to kill Shi Zhixuan, ultimately, they must not sacrifice Li Yuan to achieve this purpose. So, this became the only w in Li Yuans side. Inside the meditation room, the sound of shing qi power was joined together like a string of pearls, more intense and concentrated than the sound of exploding firecrackers on the New Years Eve in the City of Changan. The sound of stifled groan and shouts, one subsided the other followed. Wei Gonggongs peculiar shouts and You Chuhongs shrill cursing were very easy to distinguish. The three people, their scalp went numb, watched thepletely-motionless lid covering the entrance of the tunnel. The lock of the cover was open, as long as Shi Zhixuan applied his power to his foot to move the lid, he could escape via the secret tunnel, then it could be guaranteed that no one would dare to recklessly pursue and attack. This moment, even after thinking a hundred times, they still failed to understand; unless Shi Zhixuan already guessed that they were lying in wait downstairs, why would he abandon the easy and choose the difficult, and silently engaged the bitter entanglement of the powerful enemy upstairs? Fuhuang, be careful! The sound ofnce splitting the air suddenly rang out; they could imagine that if Shi Zhixuan was, like they expected, concentrating his power to attack Li Yuan, with each move was aimed to die in such a way that the other side also perished, he could make the rest, in order to resolve Li Yuans distressing situation, unable to disy their attack potential to the fullest. Wei Gonggongs weird cry was heard, while Li Yuan was letting out a stifled grunt. Listening to the sound, it appeared that he, more or less, has suffered some internal injuries. The situation was critical to the extreme point. Dang! Supposedly Shi Zhixuans clenched fist exploded against Zhu Junmings steel shield, followed by Zhu Junmings miserable grunt. There was also the terrifying sound of someone spurting out blood. Without even watching, they knew that Shi Zhixuan was sessful in borrowing certain enemys true power and used it against Zhu Junming; otherwise, how could he shock him that he received injury and spurted out blood? The three looked at each other in distress as if they had already lost. They had never thought that the Zhu Shi Dajie [grand n of punishing Shi], which was like seamless heavenly clothes, would end up tragically like this. Making prompt decision, Wanwan said, Maybe its not the time for his life to end yet, we have to go quickly; if we arete, I am afraid it wont be good. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling understood what she meant; in his rage, although fully aware that it would be useless, Li Yuan mightunch a city-wide hunt for Shi Zhixuan. Their secret tunnel would definitely be the first to be exposed. While Wanwan was reaching out to engage the lock of the lid, one after another Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong entered the secret tunnel, passed through the secret room, and returned from the other section of the underground tunnel to the exit under the study room of Shi Zhixuans secretir. Removing the cover to reveal the exit, Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, We go back to the Situ Mansion immediately; after looking clearly at the direction the wind blows and the intensity of the fire, we will leave immediately. I dare say that just now Shi Zhixuan knew that we were waiting for him downstairs. Ay! His grannys bear! Xu Ziling responded in low voice. He leaped toward the pitch-ck study room, but at the same time rm went off in his heart, yet he was still one step toote; he was unable to dodge. He looked in shock, and saw that in the dark, the demonic light in Shi Zhixuans icy-cold, frigid and ruthless, without the slightest bit of ordinary humans emotion, terrifying eyes was ring greatly. The fingers of his right hand gathered together into a palm chop, noiselessly, without creating any sound of qi wind, it stabbed toward his chest. If he was stabbed, surely any true qi protecting his body would be useless. It could be guaranteed that Shi Zhixuans palm chop would split the chest and break the bones, and his heart and inner organs would be shocked and shattered. Xu Ziling had never felt Shi Zhixuans murderous intent toward him was this determined and steadfast; he cried in his heart, My life thus endeth! The only thing he could do was to apply the power of his entire body to withstand this impossible-to-resist palm chop. Downstairs, not even in his dream would Kou Zhong think that Shi Zhixuan would be this extremely daring and ruthless; he had just escaped the heavy siege, unexpectedly he turned around and wait at the exit of the underground tunnel to ambush them. Although Kou Zhong could not see Shi Zhixuan, but from the reaction of Xu Zilings body, he knew that Shi Zhixuan was mounting a sneak attack. Time did not allow him to think too much, being able to think fast in an emergency, he pushed both palms up to support the sole of Xu Zilings feet, in an instant he sent the true qi of his entire body via the meridians in Xu Zilings pair of legs, toward the qi ocean under Xu Zilings abdomen. If the person trying to rescues Xu Ziling from below were one of the three grandmasters of the world, either Ning Daoqi, Bi Xuan, or Fu Cailin, he could only sigh helplessly. However, the xinfa of Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings inner power was from amon origin yet different, plus after going through many practices they were able to blend it together while maintaining their distinct characteristic. Even facing surprise attack from an enemy as powerful as Shi Zhixuan, they still had the strength to fight. Kou Zhongs true qi, which essence was icy-cold, was like Yangtze and Yellow Rivers pouring into Xu Zilings qi ocean, together with his burning hot true qi it flowed as a vortex. At the same instant Kou Zhongs true strength also swiftly flowed up to boost Xu Zilings. As long as he could evade the attack to his chest, Xu Ziling could blend the true qi that Kou Zhong injected in with all his strength, and sent it toward the tip of his foot, to meet Shi Zhixuans snatching-life palm chop head-on. But what kind of person Shi Zhixuan was? His other hand feigned a w toward Xu Ziling, unexpectedly it generated a burst of energy,pletely neutralizing Xu Zilings rapidly-rising momentum, his palm chop was still moving straight toward Xu Zilings chest. It should be noted that the major acupoint tanzhong on the pit of the stomach was a weak point in humans body. If it was struck squarely, even though it could not break the chest and open the abdomen, the heart meridian may not able to withstand the impact and may break. If that happens, even Da Luo Jin Xian would not be able to save Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong used up his true qipletely, momentarily he was unable to recover it, moreover, his pair of palms supporting upward was unexpectedly empty and fluttering; it was an extremely unbearable feeling where his strength had nowhere to go. Suddenly he realized that Shi Zhixuan, relying on the Bu Si Yin, which give him the ability to examine the enemy, was able to see them, the two boys, very clearly, hence he was able to use this kind of focused technique to break his helping hands to Xu Ziling. However, it was toote for regret, hecked the strength to reverse the rotation of the sky. From behind, swift like a ghost or a demon, Wanwan came over. Holding both of Xu Zilings feet, the tip of her bare feet borrowed the force to propel her up, she rushed up out of the exit of the tunnel and soared into the air. Xu Ziling moved both hands to close in front of her chest, but he still one hairsbreadth toote. When it looked like his soul was about to be cut off by Shi Zhixuans palm chop, suddenly his entire body was wrapped inside Wanwans Tianmo force field. Just before the palm chop touched his chest, his eyes suddenly rose up half a chi. Not daring to hesitate, he let the vortex of qi that Kou Zhong injected into his body to converge and stay in the ocean of qi at his dantian below his abdomen, as he took Shi Zhixuans palm chop head-on. Bang! All these things happened in lightning speed, flint-spark instant; from the moment Xu Ziling was ambushed, Kou Zhong rescuing him, to Wanwan grabbing hold of Xu Zilings pair of feet, all happened within one blink of the two eyes. Shi Zhixuans palm chop hit below Xu Zilings abdomen, where the true qi gathered. The palm chop was first affected by Wanwans Tianmo force field, the true power was weakened by thirty-percent, it slowed down a tad before it hit Xu Ziling, creating the sound of two streams of power shing head-on against each other. Xu Ziling felt intense pain as if his five viscera and six bowels were turning over. The pain on the part of his body that was hit by the palm chop was unbearable, as if it was burned by fire. His true qi was shocked that the meridians in his entire body flee in disarray like blind housefly. His vision turned dark, he violently spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood. A violent and ferocious force sent him and Wanwan flying to the other side. Bang! they knocked against the bookcase on the wall, the wooden frame shattered, the books scattered and fell, the situation was chaotic to the extreme point. Shi Zhixuan was jolted by the impact force as well, he staggered backward, and failed to follow up the victory and press home the attack. Kou Zhong, who was unclear whether Xu Ziling was alive or dead, took advantage of this gap to recover his qi. Disregarding life and death, he leaped up from the exit, the Moon in the Well left his back, heunched a saber strike directly toward Shi Zhixuan. Bang! Xu Ziling and Wanwan fell to the ground at the same time and rolled into a pile. It was like thetter was receiving half a palm chop in Xu Zilings behalf; opening up her fragrant lips, she spurted out half a mouthful of blood. Letting out a cold snort, Shi Zhixuan said, You are courting death! One palm chopped at an angle at the de of Kou Zhongs full-powered saber strike, while with the other hand he flicked his sleeve to attack Kou Zhongs face. Kou Zhong heard the sound of Xu Zilings breathing, he was somewhat relieved; in the dark study room he moved in strange footsteps, to evade the brushing sleeve on his face, while dragging the saber down to sh on the side of Shi Zhixuans waist. But when it looked like he was about to seed, unexpectedly Shi Zhixuan shed out of sight, he shifted to the blind corner on Kou Zhongs left side where the saber momentum could not reach, putting the mysterious Bu Si Huan in full disy. When Kou Zhong was spinning around in shock, Shi Zhixuan abandoned him and moved to Xu Ziling and Wanwan to kill. Wanwan pushed the injured Xu Ziling to the side, the two streams of Tianmo Dai [ribbon] shot out from inside her sleeves, from below going up to strike Shi Zhixuan. Bang! Bang! Shi Zhixuan released left and right punches to hit the ribbon, which shook Wanwan that she slid backwards and only stopped when she hit the wall. This moment Kou Zhong came; heunched the Square and Circle, the most formidable and most abstruse move of the Eight Methods of the Well C toward Shi Zhixuans back, in order to stop Shi Zhixuan fromunching killer move against Xu Ziling. Boom! The de of Kou Zhongs saber struck the concentrated wall of qi on Shi Zhixuans back, the square part of his Square and Circle method was immediately deflected forcefully to one side, while the circle part was parried head-on by Shi Zhixuans backhanded finger stab, shocking him that he nearly vomited blood. Even though he was a thousand times unwilling, he had no choice but to retreat. His shenfa slightly affected, Shi Zhixuan had no choice but to slow down somewhat. Wanwan retrieved her ribbons, she soared from the ground, the air inside the study room was immediately filled with qi power, the Tianmo force field enveloped Shi Zhixuan, her pair of delicate and beautiful jade hands transformed into millions of palm shadows attacking Shi Zhixuan, straight with toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas momentum. Shi Zhixuanughed aloud and said, Turns out the greening out of the blue; finally you mastered Tianmo Da Fa, no wonder you dare toe to offend Laofu. Ha! Unexpectedly he pulled his body and rose up. Bang! he crashed through the roof, and even shouted loudly, Shi Zhixuan is here, Li Yuan, where the hell are you? Kou Zhong, Wanwan, and Xu Ziling, who had just regained his consciousness, none did not have their soul fly away and scatter. Among the three of them, two were injured, with Xu Zilings injury being the most serious. If Li Yuan and the others were attracted and were rushing here, they would be the sacrificial victims of mistakenly hitting the secondary vehicle. Kou Zhong and Wanwan stared nkly at the newly-made big hole on the roof, debris and wood fragments were still raining down continuously, the drizzle and the dust sprinkled into the room. Unexpectedly at that moment they were at a loss to which happy ce they ought to run away. Voices and the sound of hoof beats wereing urgently from four sides, eight directions. Holding his underbelly, Xu Ziling moaned, The tunnel! Hearing him, Kou Zhong and Wanwan were awakened from their dream; Li Yuan and the others were rushing over to this ce, the exit to the meditation room was the only safe way to survive. While Shi Zhixuan was still shouting loudly, Ol Shi is here! Kou Zhong picked up Xu Ziling and Wanwan, one after another, and brought them into the secret tunnel; along the way thetter locked the cover. Kou Zhongs pair of palms left Xu Zilings back, a burst of exhaustion washed over his entire body. He nearly wanted toy his head down and go to sleep, but remembering Ba Fenghans warning, he had no choice but to fight hard to stay alert. Wanwan, who was sitting cross-legged to recuperate, opened her beautiful eyes, and spoke with an extraordinarily gentle and soft voice, Are you tired? Too bad I am powerless to defend myself, I cannot help you. Besides, my internal energy is harmful without any benefit to Zilings injury. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This time it could be said that we are greatly fortunate in the midst of misfortune. Ling Shaos lower abdomen was nearly impaled by Shi Laomo [old devil], but now its only red and swollen on an area as big as a palm; God still bless him. Hou kid is right, we underestimated Shi Zhixuan. Still having a lingering fear, Wanwan said, If I was the one going out first, I would definitely die. Dejected, Kou Zhong remained silent. Wanwan looked around and saw that the underground storehouse was filled with weapons and several hundreds of big chests. She spoke softly, I really did not expect the Duke Yangs Treasure not only has storehouse under the storehouse, it also has real and fake treasure houses. Li Yuan and the others are really being kept in the dark by you guys. Kou Zhong sighed again; taking Wanwan into the treasure house was because he had no other choice, their survival was more important, not only they had to hide from Shi Zhixuan, they were afraid to be identally discovered by Li Yuans people. Kou Zhong looked up to meet Wanwans gaze. Under the illumination of the oilmp, her countenance was a little pale due to her internal injury had not been healed, which brought a different kind of cute and touching charm out of her. Wanwan cast her gaze toward Xu Zilings face, who was sitting quietly with his eyes closed in meditation; she spoke softly, Perhaps you guys still see me as the enemy, but I really no longer wish to harm you; my only cherished desire is to kill Shi Zhixuan to avenge Shizun. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Both Ling Shao and I thought for a hundred times yet still failed to understand, why do you suddenly want to give up Yin Gui Pais Paizhu [sect master] throne? Isnt unifying the holy school has always been your Shizuns wish? Wanwan sighed lightly, she spoke in soft voice, I already lose hope toward the people of the holy school. Lost causes, they have plenty; sessful causes, not enough. Just by looking at Yin Gui Pais situation, where after Xian Shi te master] passed away, immediately you fight, I snatch [idiom: fierce rivalry], you will understand what I mean. Precisely because I can see through this point that I take things less seriously and be rxed; moreover, I can have a free hand in doing things that I want to do. One day, I am going to fulfill Xian Shis dream, but not in the way that she imagined it. Puzzled, Kou Zhong asked, What way? Obviously Wanwan was unwilling to answer his question, she changed the subject, Tomorrow, the city defense will definitely be strengthened, I am afraid Ziling would not have recovered from his injury, do you think we need to stay a couple more days here before leaving? Kou Zhong replied, As soon as Ling Shao can walk on his own, we will immediately get the hell out of here. Ay! To be quite honest, there is a secret passage that leads directly outside of the city from here, otherwise, how could I carry the gold and the treasure out? Were it not for I did not have enough manpower, I would have shipped these hundreds of boxes and things out as well. Wanwan smiled and said, Arent you afraid that I am going to betray you? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong replied, If you want to take these stuffs away, I am powerless to stop you. Dont worry! Wanwan spoke gently, You are willing to trust me, how could I be willing to betray you? Besides, I practically have no use of these things anyway. Just trust me, all right? I will guard the secret for you. After a short pause, she asked, After leaving Changan, where are you going? Kou Zhong replied, I aming back to Pengliang to try my luck with my Shao Shuai Army, Ziling will go to Bashu to see Shi Qingxuan. Am I frank enough? Very frank, Wanwan cheerfully said, I am not only touched, I am also grateful. You consider Waner as a friend, Waner definitely will not fail to live up to your earnest hope. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Trusting you like this, I really dont know whether its a disaster or a good fortune, I have no choice but to leave it to Laotianye to decide. Wanwanughed in a rxed manner and said, Time will prove everything. I want to tell you a few things, you must listen carefully, do not forget. His spirit aroused, Kou Zhong asked, What is it? Wanwan spoke with serious expression, The real mastermind in the Xiang Family is not Xiang Gui, but Yin Zuwen. Xiang Gui is merely Yin Zuwensckey. The shady business of human trafficking is solely Yin Zuwens scheme. You must never, ever underestimate Yin Zuwen. This mans martial art skill, ability and wisdom is a model among the holy school people, his ambition is not below Shi Zhixuans. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Didnt you say that the Xiang Family was working for you? Wanwan replied, Strictly speaking, the Xiang Family is a side branch of the holy school, outside the Two Sects and Six Ways, supporting several factions within the holy school with close rtionship with them, but they do not belong directly to any faction. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, No wonder Shi Zhixuan wants to harm Chi Shengchun; the one he really wants to strike is Yin Zuwen. Wanwan said, Didnt you ask me who the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Da Zun is? I can tell you now! Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Is it Xu Kaishan? Wanwan nodded and said, Precisely Xu Kaishan. He is one of the people that various factions of our holy school have restraining fear the most, otherwise Pi Chen would not have borrowed his power to strengthen his own prestige. Xu Kaishan has always been hidden deep without revealing himself; however, it is said that he has mastered the martial art xinfa of the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing. His aplishment should be above Shan Mu, Sha Fangs. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, You really dont care much about various taboos of the holy school anymore. Wanwan replied, When we part this time, I dont know whether we will see each other again. Just consider it words of advice on parting! Xu Ziling exhaled a mouthful of breath, long and slow, and then he opened his eyes. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, The time to get the hell out of here has arrived! Book 50 8 – Exchanging-heart Talk

Book 50 Chapter 8 C Exchanging-heart Talk

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling found Song Shidao and the others sitting on the sailing boat at a ferry crossing along the big river outside the Pass; this was five days after they partedpany with Wanwan outside the city of Changan. The two sides met again, naturally they were extremely happy. After a long period of separation, the Ten-thousand-li Spots saw Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, it skipped over its hoofs in excitement, which made Kou Zhong could not help missing his beloved colt the Thousand-li Dream; he really wished he could grow a pair of wings and fly back to Pengliang. They abandoned the boat and tooknd route. They allowed the boat to carry passengers to return to Changan, because the big river toward Luoyang was blockaded by Li Shimin, any boatsing in and out would be intercepted and checked by the Li militarys Navy. Upon reaching a clearing in the dense forest by the river, the five of them sat down to talk. The afternoon sun sprinkled its ray down, all around the insects were buzzing, the birds were singing, the atmosphere was so full of life. Kou Zhong narrated everything that happened after they parted one by one; listening to the rescue of Shen Luoyan, the three were extremely gratified, but alsomented the everything-bodes-ill, no-positive-ends ending of Li Mi, an ambitious and ruthless character of the present age. By the time they heard about the utter failure of the operation against Shi Zhixuan, that they were even nearly devoured back by him, none of the three was not overwhelmed with shaking-to-the-core horror. Knitting his brows, Song Shidao said, Theres something that is a bit does not make sense. Based on the ability and wisdom that Shi Zhixuan has shown so far, after he broke through the roof and shouted to deliberately attract Li Yuans attention, he ought to jump back into the house to entangle you, and would only leave when Li Yuan was rushing over. With Ziling and Wanwan suffered heavy injury, you certainly would not be lucky to avoid disaster; how could Shi Zhixuan have made this miscalction? By giving you the opportunity to slip away from the secret tunnel, it seemed like he was giving you a helping hand? Lei Jiuzhi said, It must be that Shi Zhixuan had the intention but not the strength. In the battle inside the meditation room, although he was able to get away, but he bore internal injury, its just that Xiao Zhong and the others have not seen through; therefore, he did not dare to jump back into the room, because if he got entangled by Wanwan and Xiao Zhong, he might fall into the heavy siege together with them. Kou Zhong nodded and said That is a reasonable exnation. Ay! Shi Zhixuans astuteness is indeed beyond anybodys expectation; he harmed us that it was nearly difficult for us to see the sun in the sky. Song Shidao said, I feel like the actual situation may not necessarily be so. He seemed to be forcing you to leave via the secret tunnel, otherwise, theres no need for him to make such a ruckus to attract Li Yuans attention. At that time, if Li Yuan had the chance to discover the secret tunnel inside the meditation room, he could send his man to explore the secret tunnel to go to the bottom of the matter, and then you would still be unable to escape Li Yuans men. Therefore, if Shi Zhixuan did not lure Li Yuan away from the meditation room, you guys would still not dare to take the risk of venturing away from the secret road, hence the reason I said that Shi Zhixuan was deliberately trying to help you. This matter is extremely puzzling. Xu Ziling said, Perhaps because Shi Zhixuan had guessed that Wanwan had the Tianmo Jue in her possession, Shi Zhixuan was unwilling to have this important secret canon of the demonic school to fall into Li Yuans hands, hence he disyed such a contradictory strange behavior. Kou Zhong cast a nce toward Xu Ziling, he wanted to say something but then hesitated; in the end he did not express the thought in his heart. Xu Ziling rolled his eyes at him in displeasure, knowing that he was thinking about father-inws tender feeling toward his son-inw, or something like that. Kou Zhong reached out to grab his shoulder; he smiled, but did not say anything, with a repulsive expression that said the fact will prove me right. Lei Jiuzhi said, For the time being, your Taihang Shuang Jie identity is not at risk of being discovered, because the high-ranking military officer guarding the Pass personally went aboard the ship to pay an official call to our Furong Ye, telling us the news of their death. Astonished, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling asked for more details. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Lei Jiuzhi said, Taihang Bang happened to have frequent shes with their old rival Huanghe Bang [Yellow River Gang]. The Huanghe Bang mobilized over a thousand men in night raid toward Taihang Bangs headquarters on the river. Huang An was no match for the enemy, he died on the spot, the injuries and deaths among the gang members were disastrous, those who did not die fled all over the ce. Taihang Bang, both in name and reality, is dead. Now is not the time for Situ Furong and the Taihang Shuang Jie to return from the area beyond the Great Wall, or else our identity will be exposed. We could still go back to Changan to mingle there, but naturally it will only work with Shi Zhixuans cooperation. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Li Yuan was right when he said career in gangs and societies does not have so much of a good end. Big gangs will have big fights, small gangs will have small fights, even nations are contending against nations over the world, and gangs are fighting against gangs over territory; human nature is just like that. If everybody is like Ziling and Song ErGe, I am sure the world will be at peace. Deeply concerned, Xu Ziling asked, Where will Song ErGe go? It was obvious that Song Shidao already made firm decision; without even thinking, he replied, I will go to Junchuos little valley and build a house to stay there, to pass a period of time. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling both felt that they had nothing to say. Fortunately, he only said to pass a period of time, instead of to spend hisst years in there, so more or less, there was a little progress. Ren Jun muttered in low voice, If we are disguising ourselves as Situ Furong and return to Changan, could Song Er Ye ... oh! I am sorry, its practically not suitable for us to return. Kou Zhong patted his shoulder. He said, Xiao Jun, lets step aside and talk. Ren Juns face turned beet red; hanging his head down, he followed Kou Zhong. Pulling his gaze back from following the two men, Xu Ziling turned to Lei Jiuzhi and said, Before Wanwan partedpany with us, she revealed two secrets pertaining to the demonic school. First, the Da Ming Zun Jiaos leader is indeed Xu Kaishan, which fit very well with our guess. Wanwan also said that he already mastered the martial art xinfa of the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing; his aplishment is above Shan Mu Sha Fangs. What is the other information? Song Shidao asked. Xu Ziling replied, Wanwan said that the Xiang Familys business is an important financial resource for the demonic school, and that the real master is not Xiang Gui, but Yin Zuwen. Shaken, Lei Jiuzhi said, Unexpectedly there is such thing? Xu Ziling said, Therefore, to destroy the Xiang Family and their offending-Heaven-and-reason shady business, we must set our hand to Yin Zuwen. Lei Jiuzhi spoke heavily, This information is very useful. I will have to readjust and recalcte the path to follow. I am going to meet with a few people with aspirations, and then I aming back to Changan. This moment, pulling Ren Jun along, Kou Zhong came back;ughing and shouting, he said, The time for us to go our own way has arrived! I hope we can go back to Changan really soon, and no need to dress up as a ghost or dress up as a horse, to conceal things left and right; we will also apany Li Yuan ying polo. Since suffering defeat at Cijian, Wang Shichong did not ept Kou Zhongs proposal to defend Ci Jian to the death, he withdrew his troops in panic, and Kou Zhong left in anger. Thereupon Li Shimin proceeded with his grand n of advancing his troops, which he already publicized beforehand, to surround and cutoff ess to Wang Shichongs Eastern Capital. Under Li Shimins careful nning in moving an army and sending a general, he deployed the Xing Jun Zongguan [lit. manager of the marching army] Shi Wanbao from Yiyang to go up north, to upy Yijians Longmen [dragon gate], and cut Wang Shichongs southern route; the Great General Liu Dewei from Taixing to go down east, to attack Henei, and cut Wang Shichongs northern route; the Shang Gu Gong [Duke of Upper Valley] Wang Junkuos troops to threaten Luokou, cutting the eastern route, while also threaten the food supply to the Eastern Capital; Zongguan Huang Junhan from Heyin to go up west to attack and capture Huiluo city, to cut off Wang Shichongs northeast route. Li Shimin himself led the main army, from Cijian straight to capture the cities on the northern outskirts, he even built army camp to station his troops north of the Eastern Capital Luoyang. Wang Shichong retreated to Luoyang, he made the heart of the troops of the Zheng Army ckening, until they heard that Wen Luoxin and Zhang Zhenzhou, in close session, surrendered to the Tang. Thetter was, together with Yang Gongqing, one of the two main pirs of the Zheng Army. The impact of this surrender was monumental, plus Li Shimins fame and power was more flourishing by the day, the surrounding cities and counties surrendered to the enemy without even fighting by the bulk. Wang Shichongs fame and power, which he established after defeating Li Mi, was like a river flowing out swiftly; once it gets started theres no stopping it. The battle to attack the cities surrounding Luoyang was opened by Huang Junhan, the day before the Mid-autumn festival [15th of the 8th lunar month] of the third year of Wude; he deployed his troops crossing the river from Huaizhou, capturing more than twenty fortresses, and posing a threat to the Huiluo city. Exactly like Kou Zhong anticipated, Wang Shichong dispatched Yang Gongqing in a great rush, inpany with the Crown Prince Wang Xuanying, to face Huang Junhans attack, hoping to regain this important lifeline to Luoyang from his hands, nevertheless, the big momentum has already gone, they retreated without performing any meritorious service, and could only build semicircr defensive enclosure west of the city of Huiluo to resist the Tang Army. Huiluo was broken, Li Shimin continued to make efforts, he sent Liu Dewei to attack Huaizhou, Shi Wanbao to attack Ganchang, Wang Junkuo to attack Huanjiao, their troops pressed in to control the city. Under such formidable military offensive threat of the Tang Army, Wang Shichongs Chief Governor of Cangzhou, Zhang Gongli, the Provincial Governor of Weizhou, Shi Dequ surrendered in session. Thetter brought Fei, Xia, Chen, Sui, Xu, Ying, and Wei, seven prefectures entirely into Li Shimins hands. The other various gentries of Henan saw the situation, one after another they surrendered to the Tang for self-preservation. His momentum exhausted his power gone, Wang Shichong took the initiative to attack; he took the risk tounch a surprise attack against Li Shimin. The great general under Li Shiminsmand Qu Tutong promptly rushed over, and ruthlessly oppressed the Wang Army. Wang Shichong escaped and returned to Luoyang, his champion great general Chen Zhixiu was captured alive, more than a thousand Wang Army troops were beheaded. Since then, Wang Shichong only dared to hide behind Luoyangs high wall, he no longer dared to take risks. It was precisely under this kind of situation that Xu Ziling urged his Ten-thousand-Li Spots to Li Shimins camp, built on the hignd south of Mount Beng, north of Luoyang, where he asked for an audience to see Li Shimin. The Tang soldiers knew that the visitor was Xu Ziling, whose name intimidated the world, naturally they did not dare to be negligence, promptly they flew to report to Li Shimin, who was inside themander-in-chief tent in the middle of the camp. Li Shimin was in a meeting with his generals to discuss the grand n to attack Luoyang. Hearing the report, apanied by Yuchi Jingde and Zhangsun Wuji, his two trusted aides, beloved generals, he flew onto his horse to meet him. When both sides saw each other, all sorts of feelings welled up in their heart. Li Shimin ordered his two generals and personal bodyguards to follow from a distance, while he and Xu Ziling galloped side by side to the summit of a hill south of the camp from which they could gaze into the distance at Luoyang. He spoke heavily, Has Kou Zhong returned to Pengliang? Noticing that his eyelids were full of windblown dust, he looked tired, Xu Ziling knew that the attack of Luoyang has consumed all his heart and his strength; nodding his head, he replied, He is a man who will never admit defeat, not to mention he thinks he is the one who really give thought to the world, naturally he will exhaust every ounce of strength to survive. Li Shimin gazed at the touching rose-tinted clouds splendor of the setting sun in the northwest radiating its light over half of the sky, he sighed and said, Is the situation really that bad? Fuhuang has just sent Yuwen Shiji with an imperial edict, which says, The day you capture Luoyang, stop using the troops, the days of the subdued city to take advantage of the imperialw and material things, nning, registry, and equipment, personal interest should wait; these are entrusted to thee. As for the rest of the sons and daughters, jade and silk, distribute them to reward the officers and soldiers. This is akin to bestowing Luoyang to me. And then he roused his spirit and said, Zilings trip to Changan this time, what did you aplish? Ay! I should thank Ziling and Shaoshuai first for your kindness in helping Luoyan; otherwise, if Shiji is implicated, it might negate the entire meritorious deed of us capturing Luoyang. Currently Wang Shichong is barely able to defend Hos front line, and only Li Shiji has a way to conquer Ho. The moment Ho falls into my, Li Shimins hands is the moment I attack Luoyang. Xu Ziling knew that Li Jing, through theirmunication channel, has already informed Li Shimin in advance on what has been happening in Changan, so it saved him not a few of lips and tongue. Thereupon he told in details everything else that Li Jing did not know. Finally he said, The imperial edict that Lingzun [your esteemed father] dispatched to you, I am afraid it is only to pacify your mind, so that you could attack and seize Luoyang with all your strength without any apprehensions. The fact is that he has the intention against you. I hear he is going to send Li Yuanji to the east to help you; on the surface it is pleasant to listen to, but it is not without the intention to keep a close watch over Shimin Xiong. I aming to see you this time, on one hand it is to express my regret for the matter you entrusted to me, I still failed to get rid of Yin Zuwen and Yang WenGan. On the other hand, I wish to know Shimin Xiongs intention and your n for the future. Revealing a hint of pained smiling expression, Li Shimin said, What n can I have? Ay! Not concealing anything from Ziling, currently my mind ispletely on three men, which are Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, and your brother Kou Zhong. Only after all of them are no longer a threat to our Great Tang will I begin to have time to think about my own problem. The worst situation is that I must have an open and sincere talk with Fuhuang. If he agrees to treat the various generals of my Tian Ce Fu well, I, Li Shimin can give up everything, the high position and the military power, and I am willing to be just an ordinary person. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I hope Shimin Xiong just said those words in a moment of anger. The demonic school is nibbling away at your Li Family, Shimin Xiong may be able to withdraw and save your life, but Lingxiong and Lingdi [your esteemed older and younger brother, respectively] will once again fight over the throne of the emperor. On top of that, the Tujue people are ring like a tiger watching its prey; who can be virtuous alone? Li Shimin sighed and said, Its not that I havent thought about standing on my own feet outside the Pass. Furthermore, after obtaining Luoyang, it will be my only chance to proim independence. But my wife and children, my imperial concubines, as well as all various generals of the Tian Ce Fus family and rtives are all in Changan. I have no choice but to give thought to them. Moreover, in the punitive expedition to the east this time, nearly half of the armys officers and soldiers are loyal to Fu Huang. Coupled with the governments military system, even if I disregard everything and proim my independence in the Eastern Capital, there will still beyer uponyer of obstacles. If my Li Family split up in a civil war, the world will fall into a numerous and disorderly situation again. Supposing Xieli seizes the opportunity to invade our territory, what kind of situation will it be? This is the content of my heart, which I have never revealed to anybody, and now only Ziling knows. Xu Ziling said, It is precisely because Kou Zhong is able to see through the difficulties in Shimin Xiongs heart that he is unwilling to give up his intention of contending for hegemony over the world, because he does not want the world to fall into the demonic school or Xielis hands. Ay! What am I supposed to say? Under current circumstances, persuading Kou Zhong to change his mind is impossible. As it turns out, persuading Shimin Xiong is also not easy. Thats all I have to say! There is one more thing Id like to tell Shimin Xiong, after going to Bashu to see Shi Qingxuan, I will go to Pengliang to help Kou Zhong to attack and capture Jiangdu. Shaken, Li Shimin said, What I am most afraid to happen finally happens! Could it be that my most caring good friend might unexpectedly be my enemy? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Even if I be your enemy, I am still the enemy who give thought to you. One day Kou Zhong has not been removed, Lingzun will not summon you back to Changan. The world spits up and stand opposite to each other is still better than falling into the hands of the demonic school or Tujue people. For this reason, the contradiction in my heart is maddening, but I cant think of a better solution. However, Shimin Xiong may set your heart at ease, I will not get involved in the conflict between the two of you. If we cant capture Jiangdu, I will have no choice but to hide in a ce where I cannot hear any news from the battlefield. Li Shimin sighed and said, When your brother is in deep water and scorching fire, facing the disaster of being killed, can Ziling Xiong withdraw as soon as you say that you want to retreat? Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a sigh, This is called Nature [as the mother of all things] ys with people! Li Shimin threw his head back in longughter; his heroism reaching to the clouds, he said, Very well! This is called each one is the master of his destiny; brothers can destroy each other, friends naturally can stake it all in you die, I live struggle. However, no matter how the situation will develop in the future, Xu Ziling will forever be my, Li Shimins best friend. Arousing his spirit, Xu Ziling said, I hope that day will nevere. Now I must immediately travel at double speed to hurry to Bashu. Shimin must understand the logic of to aplish great things, one must not confine oneself to minor matter. As long as you are sure that you are acting on behalf of the world and themon people, no need to pay attention to other peoples opinion. Li Shimin calmly said, Shimin will remember with reverence Zilings admonishment, which came from the heart, I hope Laotianye will open the on one side [idiom: lenient treatment], so that we, two brothers wont have to meet each other on the battlefield among the soldiers and the des. Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, Shimin Xiong is not ming me for reaping the consequences of my words [idiom from Mencius: go back on ones word]? Li Shimin reached out to tightly grab his shoulders; shaking his head, he said, Not at all. The fact is that until this very moment, Ziling still extremely loves and protects me, Li Shimin. In this situation, we both have tacit mutual understanding. Ziling is acting not for me, Li Shimin, also not for Kou Zhong, but for the world and themon people. If I dont understand this point, how can I, Li Shimin, be worthy to be Zilings brother? Its only a pity that I came from an affluent n, where a deep-rooted thought of putting our n first, that I absolutely must not turn my head to deal with my own family C has been cultivated since my childhood. I can only slowly n to try to change it. We part here, I dont know whether there will be other opportunities to have a frank talk like this. Ziling, please take a good care of yourself. Xu Ziling responded by patting his shoulder, and then he squeezed the horses belly and rushed down the hill slope, heading to the south. Book 50 9 – Shao Shuai Elite Troops

Book 50 Chapter 9 C Shao Shuai Elite Troops

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Five days after Xu Ziling went to see Li Shimin at Mount Beiyou, Kou Zhong arrived in Liangdu. Seeing their master suddenly returned unharmed, all the generals and soldiers under hismand were mad with joy. Liangdu was like the capital of the country for Shao Shuai Army. Although in term of scale it was only a tenth the size of a metropolis like Changan or Luoyang, it was indeed the center of economic and military affairs for the Shao Shuai Army. The military training camp was setup on the hills and mountainous region northwest of the city, where they built fort and stone stockade on the high ces. There was a certain defensive power; they could pose a threat to the enemy attacking bying along either banks of the canal. Upon seeing the aplishment of everybodys great efforts in building the city, naturally Kou Zhong, who had always felt that he had nothing at all, was greatly pleased. Remaining in Liangdu were Xuan Yong, Gao Zhandao, Xu Xingzhi and Chen Laomou. The other high-ranking military officers like Bai Wenyuan, Jiao Hongjin, Bu Tianzhi, Chen Jiafeng, Luo Qifei, Niu Fengyi, Zha Jie, Chen Changlin, and Ren Meimei, were all busy with their tasks in the other cities within the Shao Shuai Armys sphere of influence, to make good preparations in order to help Kou Zhong in striving for the world. Kou Zhong, sitting upright and unafraid on his beloved horse, which Xuan Yong fetched for him, entered the city. The residents lined the streets to wee him. Just from this point, it was evident that Xu Xingzhi lived up to the expectation of what was entrusted to him; the governance of the Shao Shuai State was clear and orderly, so that Kou Zhong, who has already left such a fine impression at the bottom of the peoples heart, received even more popr support. Urging his horse toward the Shao Shuai Mansion at the heart of the city, along the way Kou Zhong could not help asking left and right, Yang Gong did note? [Note: the character Fu can be tranted either as Mansion or Government Office, but just for conveniences sake, I opted to use the word Mansion.] Xuan Yong replied, Shaoshuai, dont worry, Yang Gong already sent someone to deliver his message: this is not the time to leave yet. When Ho falls, he will immediately rush over. Gao Zhandao joined in, Yang Gong is afraid that if he leaves, the Wang Army soldiers heart will be even more shaken, it will speed up Wang Shichongs defeat. He is staying by Wang Shichongs side, it is in order to give us more time to make our preparation. Xu Xingzhi added, However, his mens family members are already sneaking in bit by bit, we have sent people along the way to organize everything for them, and after getting here, they have been properly settled. Kou Zhong began to feel the heavy burden that he had to carry on his shoulders [note: the original character refers to carrying something on a shoulder pole]; if Pengliang was broken, the ones to suffer hardship would be his own people. Even if Li Shimin treatedmon people well, but it was hard to avoid officers and soldiers dying in battle, then most families would have to suffer the pain and sorrow of losing their loved ones. Relying on his seniority and the wisdom that came from an old age, Chen Laomou said, When Shaoshuai was not here, I dare say that no one dared to bezy; not only to rebuild Pengliang from ruins back into a city with a scale, but also to drill the originally a mob into an army having sound and color. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, That is precisely the thing that I was concerned the most when I got back. Xuan Yong said, Shaoshuai spreading out your mighty power beyond the Great Wall, you regarded the Tujue main army as nothing, I am afraid that in Shaoshuais eyes, our aplishment is merely a trick with which a child is amusing himself. This moment they entered the Shao Shuai Mansion. The people were crowding outside the gate, shouting Wansui [long live, lit. ten thousand years (old)] loudly; the atmosphere was vehement and uplifting. After Kou Zhong and his party flew off their mount, he hugged the Thousand-Li Dreams neck and said with augh, Xuan Da Jiangjun, you dont need to be modest; in term of training the troops, you guys are more adept than I am. However, I did learn something from the Tujue. Tomorrow morning when we go to the military camp, Ill let you look and examine it critically, see if it can be used. The crowd of generals voiced their agreement in loud voice. The Shao Shuai Army, wearing bright [or distinctive] armor, with green and red as the main colors, marched from the main gate straight across the public square, toward the stone steps of the main gate of the main building. Seeing Kou Zhong came back, everybodys morale was rising high; they raised their weapon to salute, their movement was uniform, their equipment was different from before, where the troops and the armor were shabby. It was indeed something that must not be discussed on the same day [idiom: not to be mentioned in the same breath]. Chen Laomou whispered in his ear in strange voice, strange intonation, This is precisely the benefit of gold. Duke Yangs Treasure plus Cao Yinglongs buried treasure, not only made Shao Shuai State prosperous and rich, the equipment is even one notch better than others. Xu Xingzhi said, Most of our weapons, bows and arrows were from the Song n from the south transported via the water. The Song Family also dispatched five hundred skilled workmen of all categories, to help us building ships and weapons. Without the Song Familys support, we would not be in todays situation. Letting go of his beloved horse, which was taken away by a personal guard, Kou Zhong said, How many soldiers are avable now? Gao Zhandao replied in low voice, Following Shaoshuais directive of soldiers quality over quantity, we expand the armed forces step by step, so as not to overburden the provision supply and thus affect the production. Currently, the total number of regr troops in the entire country is around forty-thousand men, separately stationed in Liangdu, Pengliang, Langya, and Donghai [east sea], four counties; all are recruited soldiers. In the viges and townships, there are also regiments of soldiers taking turn to guard. Five out of the forty-thousand men are the navy, under the responsibility of Changlin and Tianzhi. Xuan Yong added, In Liangdu here, the military strength is twenty-thousand men, in order to guard against Li Zitong or Fu Gongyou attacking from the canal. Xu Xingzhi said, Liangdu has be our most important military center, the Donghai County overlooking the sea is our economic lifeline, Pengcheng is being rebuilt under Hu Bu Du Jian [Supervisor of the Ministry of Revenue] Ren Dajies management. Because Pengcheng is located at the core of the Shao Shuai State, it ys the greatest role in our countrys stability, therefore, all three sites must have massive military force stationed there. As for Langya, as our countrys northernmost military strategic town, we also have no choice but to reinforce its city defense, in order to support the cities in the northern part. A fantastic feeling welled up from the bottom of Kou Zhongs heart; everybody was you spoke one sentence of our country, I spoke one sentence of Shao Shuai State, it made him suddenly feel that he had be the lord of one nation. That kind of feeling simply could not be described properly. Kou Zhong slowly exhaled a long, long breath, and said, I understand! When necessary, I can at least deploy twenty thousand men to battle. I will try to race against time as much as possible, to have this group of brothers trained to be the Shao Shuai Army that is capable of moving unhindered across the world. Even if he, Li Shimin has a hundred thousand main forces, I am not the slightest bit afraid. Finished speaking, with the generals and soldiers crowding around him, he took a striding step, upright and unafraid, toward his own Shao Shuai Mansion. Xu Ziling stood on the upright summit, staring fixedly at the star-studded night sky, overwhelmed with the feeling of helplessness and how minuscule a human was. For the sake of his beloved horse, he had to take a boat to enter Shu [Sichuan] slowly, but he lost the mood to feast his eyes on the Three Gorges scenery. His meeting with Li Shimin five days ago gave him deep understanding of the difference between the two sides. For him, someone who came from the marketce, he still could not understand Li Shimins affection toward his family and n. Li Shimin came from a n influential for generations, unavoidably he was nurtured in influential ns environment, which put the familys ideals and reputation at the most important position, just like being loyal to the monarch, he had to disy utter loyalty to his family. It would be nearly impossible for him to openly oppose his family. However, there was also a sense that the matter depends on the individual [idiom: with effort, one can achieve anything]. Li Shimin was a mighty and talented individual, he should be able to find a way, no matter what. Would he, Xu Ziling, as Li Shimin predicted, eventually be swept into the vortex of Kou Zhongs great undertaking of contending for hegemony over the world, having his feet deep in the mud? Several times he had wanted to leave, but as things developed, furthermore, also because of the deep brotherly feeling toward Kou Zhong, he had the desire but was difficult to leave. Choosing what is good and holding fast to it [idiom], whatever is beneficial to the world and itsmon people, he would work hard and not to be shirked without dishonor [another idiom]. Thinking to this point, the mncholy and the sense of loss in his heart were swept clean. Xu Ziling summoned the Ten-thousand-Li Spots, jumped onto the horseback, and galloped fast along the Yangtze River. Apanied by Gao Zhandao, Xuan Yong, Gao Zhiming, and Zhan Gongxian, four generals, with the eagle Wuming standing on his shoulder, riding his beloved horse Thousand-Li Dream, Kou Zhong inspected the military drill ground outside the city, where the army was in training. Behind him on both sides were Xuan Yongs deputy generals; they were Wagangs former officers, who came with Xuan Yong to cast their lot on him. They were young and promising, veterans of a hundred battles, and were specialists in training soldiers. On the ins east of Liangdu, twenty-thousand Shao Shuai Army lined up in formation, waiting for Kou Zhong to climb themander tform, built on top of a small hill, to conduct the inspection. The g was flying in the sky, the military prowess was extremely flourishing. Under the light of the morning sun, everybodys morale was rising high. They shouted Shao Shuai loudly three times, their voices resonated across the in, so that everybodys blood was boiling, intense strength filled their bosom. He swept his eyes around first. To his left, Xuan Yong said, These twenty-thousand soldiers are the elite troops of our Shao Shuai Army, divided into seven army units: the middle army has four thousand men, the left and right nks and rear are one army unit each, every unit has two thousand and eight hundred men, left and right sides are two army units, two-thousand six-hundred men per unit. The army, battalions, and squads form the basic unit, marching, advancing and retreating under direction. The army has the army banner, the squad also has the squads banner, being maneuvered and deployed ording to the g signal. [Sorry, my understanding might be off, the numbers do not add up.] Standing on the other side, Gao Zhandaoughed and said, Zhandao trains them in the fighting technique ording to the hand-to-hand fighting method that Shaoshuai and Xu Bangzhu passed on to us in the past, the result is outstanding; on the battlefield, we will certainly not suffer losses. Kou Zhong said, In direct confrontation on the battlefield, even if the enemy forces are ten times ours, I still have confidence in going head-to-head against Li Shimin. However, you guys could also see the situation where Li Shimin is attacking Luoyang, the troops are divided into several ways, using the toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas momentum they came from four sides, eight directions. First, they nibble away at the weakest cities and towns one by one, to cut off the provision route, and to seal off the waterway. And then when we copse and fall apart, they evade our sharp points and seek our weak points, until we only have one breath left and then they wouldunch total assault. Xue Ju was struck and copsed just like this, Song JinGang also had his feather clipped and returned like that. This is Li Shimins strategy, if we cannote up with a set of tactics against his strategy, I am afraid we simply wont have any opportunity to fight hand-to-hand; we barely engaged in battle and will be promptly finished. Xuan Yong and the others, none did not reveal grave expression. Evidently, its not that they had not thought about this problem, rather, they practically could not think of a way to deal with it. Kou Zhong rode his mount slowly, suddenly he asked Xuan Yong, Did Yang Gongs messenger mention anything about Ba Fenghan? Xuan Yong shook his head to indicate that he did not. Immediately it added another distraction in Kou Zhongs heart. On the other side, Gao Zhandao asked, Have Shaoshuai thought of a way to deal with the Li Army? Kou Zhong revealed a smile brimming with confidence; he spoke cheerfully, If there is no way, I will immediately disband the Shao Shuai Army, everybody can return to his hometown to enjoy hister years in peace. Ha! Others may underestimate Li Shimin, but I, Kou Zhong will never make this mistake. Theres also a fundamental difference between Wang Shichong and me, that is, there is no surrendering general under mymand. The four generals responded in loud roar. Kou Zhong suddenly raised his arm and shouted, Anyone who follows me, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, I, Kou Zhong, will definitely not treat you unfairly. Finished speaking, he issued an order, Wuming let out a cry in response and soared into the sky, she circled around in the clear sky, increasing the threat even more. These two sentences were spoken with inner power, so that his voice reverberated across the field, the mountain cried and the valley responded. The crowd of soldiers cheered in chorus to respond, the cry Wansui was unending. After boosting the morale of his men, Kou Zhong revealed an as-brilliant-as-the-sun smile, he greeted the lining soldiers that he passed, infected every single one of them with a strong-without-any-equal confidence. Heughed and said, Just by looking at the buglers, the archers, the cavalry, the infantry, all categories of military branches are ready for deployment, the organization is in order, I know that you are well-trained, definitely will not weaken my, Kou Zhongs aplishment. Xuan Yong quickly said, Taking the main armys middle units four thousand men as an example, there are four hundred military buglers, four hundred archers, one thousand cavalry, one thousand infantry, one thousand two hundred heavy machinery soldiers, the total is four thousand men. Kou Zhong nodded to express his appreciation. All around, under the leadership of their captains, the Shao Shuai Army cheered and raised their weapon high to salute. On the horseback, Kou Zhong raised his hand to return the salute. Gao Zhiming, who was following behind and to the side, could not help asking, Just now Shaoshuai mentioned Li Shimins tactics, which is not going to give us the opportunity to have frontal confrontation against him; I wonder if Shaoshuai has a way to deal with it. Kou Zhong did not immediately answer him. First, with heroism reaching to the clouds, he shouted loudly, Our Shao Shuai Army is acting on behalf of the Heavenly way, for the sake of themon people under the heavens so that they could live peacefully and work hard in their profession; only us, people who came from among the people, can understand the suffering of the people. This is precisely the difference between Han Gaozu Liu Bang and Qin Shihuang Ying Zheng. The crowd of soldiers responded in cheers, more intense than thest one. Hearing that, Xuan Yong and the others admired inwardly. While chatting and joking, Kou Zhong still, from time to time, acted with diligent care to encourage morale. His method was brilliant, simple, direct, yet effective. First, he promised benefit, and then he set far-reaching ambition and target for the whole army. Even more, he vaguely madeparisons between he and Li Shimin, so that it generated sympathetic response from the warriors, who came from among the people, who had been subjected a lot to the bullying of the aristocratic families andrge and influential ns. However, even if Xuan Yong and the others also know how to say it, they would never achieve powerful effect like Kou Zhong, because Kou Zhong had be the fierce general and strategy expert that people all over the world looked up to. Together with Xu Ziling, they were considered to be the honor and glory of the Han ethnic people. His speech carried iparable inspiration. Kou Zhong has not finished inspecting the whole army, he already sessfully established an irreceable position within the army, a position where the officers and soldiers were willing to die for him. And this was precisely the power of his affection, flexible against changes, not confining himself to established standard. Responding to Gao Zhimings question, Kou Zhong said, Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns. When Ling Shao is rushing back from Bashu, we will immediately attack and capture Jiangdu. With Jiangdu as our backing, the ocean will be our world. Even if Li Shimin has three heads and six arms, there is no way he can seal off the ocean. If he is thinking of doing that, it will just be a joke. Ha! The crowd of generals spirit was greatly aroused. Although it still could not really solve the problem, they still felt that the future outlook is brimming with opportunity to live. Kou Zhong asked Xuan Yong, Do you keep contact with Xiliangs side? Hows their situation? Xuan Yong respectfully replied, We are supporting each other, our rtionship is close, and now Zhu Hua Bang split into two factions; one faction is under Shao Lingzhou as the Dangjia, and they use Jiangdu as their base of operation, since they received Li Zitongs support. However, their number is only a quarter of the original Zhu Huabang. Moreover, Shao Lingzhou is regarded as a traitor, his daughters husband Mai Yunfei is tyrannically abusive, so that Shao Lingzhou does not enjoy popr support. The other faction is under Gui Xiliang as the Bangzhu, and Xing Rong as the deputy. They obtained Feng Zhu Tangs [wind bamboo hall] Shen Beichang and Luo Fengs support. With our and the Song Familys help, their influence covers Jiangtong. Shaoshuais insight enables you to recognize heroes, both Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong are talents who can help us. Hearing that his childhood friends were outstanding and sessful, Kou Zhong spoke in great delight, Immediately invite them to Liangdu to see me, I have an important matter to discuss with them, capturing Jiangdu using military force is a secondary policy, we cant afford the loss even more. Fortunately, Jiangdu is the ce I am most familiar with, moving around and employing stratagem over there is iparably convenient. His Niangs! Li Zitong, this man is capricious; early on I could already see that he is not pleasing to the eye. Gao Zhandao said, Currently Li Zitong is stationing a massive military force at Zhongli in the lower reaches of the canal, he also amassed a fleet of ships there. In just three days of sailing north, they will be able to reach our Jiangdu. If we cannot eliminate this threat, we wont be able to move a single step. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Give me five hundred elite troops, martial art experts, let me personally train them in my spare time, they can be my personal guards, also can be used to topple Jiangdu from the inside. If on top of that there are also Ling Shao and Old Ba helping us, why should we be afraid of Li Zitong? Knitting his brows, Xuan Yong said, Li Zitong stations his troops at Zhongli, its precisely so that we cant spare time to attack Jiangdu. As for toppling him from the inside, unless we can assassinate Li Zitong, it would only create a mess; it wont do us any good. Gao Zhandao also said, Li Zitong has deep understanding on how formidable Shaoshuai is, he must have strengthened pce guards and city defense substantially, to assassinate him is definitely not easy. I hear that recently he had recruited arge number of desperate criminals in order to deal with our surprise attack. Kou Zhong smiled and said, You missed Yang Gong and his five-thousand strong elite squad. Li Zitong and Shen Faxing are waging war all year long, plus he still has to deal with Fu Gongyou, who is ring like a tiger watching its prey on the west side. Were it not for Jiangdus high and thick city wall, Old Li would have been beheaded early on. This person has no moral backbone, all the year round he is preparing his fleet, so that as soon as the tendency is not right, he can pack and quit and either run away or surrender. Now he considers himself a minister to the Li Family. His Niangs! Just let me be clear of whats true and whats false in him, and then Ill think of a way to put him in order. Zhan Gongxian, who all along has not made any sound, sighed in admiration and said, Even a difficult problem that after splitting our heads we still cannot find a solution, as soon as it gets into Shaoshuais hands, immediately it bes effortless and easy, as if you can immediately get it done as easy as blowing off dust. Kou Zhongughed aloud. This moment they finished the inspection of the whole army, everybody pulled the reins and turned around, they galloped toward themander tform at the top of the knoll. The seven armies began to maneuver, they were ready to practice the changes in troop formations, in order to demonstrate the results of the exercises over the years. Ten-thousand-fathom heroic emotion welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; since he made his debut, not a single moment he was not in some inferior, vile situation; even until this moment it was still the case. How could he seek victory amidst defeat? How could he seek survival amidst adversity? This was precisely what he felt as the meaning of life. Kou Zhongughed and said, As long as we train the men and horses so that they can attack as nimble and as extraordinary as the Tujue people, and can defend as steady and calm as Li Shimin, and then in terms of navy fleet and attack and defense equipment we build it ording to Lu Dashis design, when the enemy is scattered we are focused, and when the enemy is focused we are scattered, using extraordinary to control the extraordinary, using steady to control the steady, plus we obtain Jiangdu, then at least half of the world will fall into my pocket. At that time, Li Shimin could forget about proiming himself the mighty over the Central ins. Xuan Yong said, Last month Song Lu Xiansheng personally came to Liangdu, to convey the verbal order of Song Fazhu [n master]: if Shaoshuai can hold on until next year when the spring is warm, the flowers are blooming, his main forces will begin to arrive by the sea. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Although he was fully aware that the Song Familys army would arrive next spring at the soonest, but he still held on a sliver of hope that Song Que would be able to rush over before the tenth month. But hearing that Song Lu personally delivered the message, this fantasy was immediately shattered. Although he spoke with full confidence, the fact was that most of what he said was exaggeration to stir up the soldiers heart. Even if they could really seize Jiangdu, he would risk Pengliang area to be unguarded; how many cities would the insignificant forty-thousand troops be able to defend? Once the sess became failure, Li Shimin would, like a hot knife through butter, go down south along the canal, ultimately he could only guard Jiangdu as a lone city, following the tracks of a cart that overturned, repeating Wang Shichongs mistake of being trapped. The key would be to see when the city of Luoyangg would be broken. If Wang Shichong was able to hold out until next spring, naturally it would be another matter altogether. Now it was the seventh month; if Ho was broken, Li Shimin would directly besiege the city. At that time, if Wang Shichong could hold out for a month, it could be considered not bad. Kou Zhong flew off his horse. Apanied by the four generals, he climbed onto themander tform. In the midst of the drumbeat, the troops maneuver was in full swing; he saw that they suddenly advanced, and suddenly retreated, everything was clear and in good order, the coordination was wless. Gao Zhandao asked, What is the Tujue peoples strong point? Kou Zhong replied, You randomly pick any one of the Tujue warriors, he would be an expert in archery, riding, saber, and all kinds of battlefield operation, they use tactics in an extraordinary way, catching the enemy off guard,ing and going like the wind. When they attack, they are more bold and powerful than us, Han people; when they run away, they slip faster than us. They can sleep and urge their horse to march at the same time. Ha! I am exaggerating a little, but its very close to the truth. As he spoke, he was watching his own Shao Shuai Army performing changes ording to the g signal. First it was fifty-man squad, when the two banners intersect, immediately five squads merged into one team of two hundred fifty men. When five banners intersect, ten squads merged into one team of five hundred men, dazzling the eyes of those who watched it. No matter how it changed, the formation remained intact and was not thrown into disorder. From this, it could be seen that in order to train them, Xuan Yong and the others must have exhausted their hearts blood; they were no longer like before, a bunch of ragtag mobs, which became an army relying entirely on their will to fight. Its a pity thatpared to Li Shimins Tang Army, both in realbat and in experience, the difference was still too far. He could randomly pick a few from among the high-ranking officers under Li Shiminsmand, they would not be men that Gao Zhandao, Chen Changlin, and so on, men who had not been on the battlefield too many times C couldpare. Kou Zhong made the decision in his heart that he must exhaust his strength to train the army, so that when his men went to the battlefield, they were not throwing away their life, but to score a victory. Mount Beiyou: in thest chapter, it was Mount Beng, might be a typo, since the two characters look simr, but I dont know which one is correct, because when I googled both, there is neither Beng nor Beiyou Mountain near Luoyang, but my disimer: I dont know China. The word master here is zhu zi, as in master-servant rtionship, but the dictionary also says Your Majesty. Book 50 10 – Grievous News Coming Repeatedly

Book 50 Chapter 10 C Grievous News Coming Repeatedly

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia More than ten days after that, Kou Zhong was so busy that he barely had any time to sleep, not only to try to understand the Shao Shuai States administrative, economic, and all aspects of peoples livelihood C issues, he also wanted to train the Shao Shuai Army to be his ideals all-around fighters, plus he attempted to cultivate five hundred personal guards like Li Shimins ck Armor Warriors; naturally he was awfully busy. These 500 soldiers were selected not only by whether they had the physical requirements, but first, they must not have any problem with loyalty. Therefore, the vast majority were chosen from among his former subordinates in Shuang Long Jun [twin dragons army], from among Bu Tianzhis Jukun Bangs disciples [actually, the text here is Ju Jing Bang, jing C whale, kun C mythological beast (I think I tranted it as Leviathan before); perhaps Huang Yi forgot?], and the men who had been with Xuan Yong for many years. This group of men not only had martial art foundation, they were also proficient in Jianghus way. Those who came from Shuang Long Jun had already received the martial art xinfa that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling imparted on them. After sneaking into Changan, they were never cking off in training, even more, those who were handpicked had outstanding martial art skill, on loyalty aspect, they were beyond doubt. They were like Kou Zhongs disciples who became his soldiers. Xuan Yongs men were entirely from Wagang Army, men who joined Zhai Rangs system, with ample experience on the battlefield, and have been going through troops disposition in battle for a long time. As for the warriors who came from Jukun Bang, they were adept in the way of boating and naval warfare. Men from three different backgrounds were integrated into the personal troops unit, they brought together various forms of military branches, and then Kou Zhong put his heart and soul into grooming them, although their number is small, their power simply must not be underestimated. Kou Zhong gave them the name Flying Cloud Riders. Kou Zhong was not a selfish person, he was willing to pass on everything he learned from outside the Great Wall entirely to the various generals under hismand, such as the technique to train the horse and to ride the horse, the secret to observe the sky and examine the changes, the Tujue peoples tactics in marching; he taught them everything, holding nothing back, so that the various generals, based on their individual talents and passions, understood. Naturally they reaped not a few benefits, as a result, the quality of the military training was greatly improved. Bai Wenyuan, Jiao Hongjin, Ren Meimei, Chen Changlin, Luo Qifei, Niu Fengyi, Zha Jie, Chen Jiafeng, Xie Jue, and the others, who were scattered around the country and were working hard to build the Shao Shuai State, rushed back one after another to Liangdu to see Kou Zhong. Toward Kou Zhong, they had some kind of blind confidence and adoration. Although knowing that the situation was dangerous, they still believe firmly that Kou Zhong had the ability to reverse the rotation of the sky, vaguely unaware that Kou Zhong himself was anxious whether the Shao Shuai Army would exist or perish. Upon returning to Pengliang, another pleasant surprise was waiting for him. Under Chen Changlins supervision, the shipbuilders that they recruited from Jiangnan plus the skilled workmen that the Song Family sent to them, following the diagram and materials in Lu Miaozis secret scroll, have built twenty-eight flywheel-powered fast warship. Each flywheel boat could carry fifty warriors, who used their legs to manually operated the paddles on the circr wheel mounted on the aft of the boat. The speed of the boat was far better than wind-powered speedboats, plus it could maneuver nimbly in narrow river course, and thus greatly enhancing the Shao Shuai Armysbat capability on the water. On the upper deck, the flywheel boat was equipped with crossbow machine, with design improvement by Chen Laomou after he gained more understanding from Lu Miaozis secret scroll. It was capable of shooting fire arrows continuously at a target over fifty zhang away. The machines were manufactured by the skilled workmen that Song Que sent. Without them, even if Lu Miaozi was reborn, he would not be able to manufacture such a mighty, astonishing war machine in just a short period of one year. As for other equipment, such as for city defense, for battle on the open field, for assaulting a fortified position, and so on, it was simply too numerous to mention one by one. Kou Zhongs greatest strength was, simr to Li Shimin, his deep understanding of people and their strong points. The difference was that Li Shimin was suffering under a yoke in all respects, while Kou Zhong had a free hand in his action, plus he had strong and solid financial resources, talents and goods, which was also backed by Song Ques endless support. Moreover, a just cause enjoys abundant support [idiom: those upholding justice will find help all around], such as from Zhai Jiao and Longyou Bang, who were ready to do their utmost to lend a hand in all aspects. This day, Kou Zhong was listening to Luo Qifeis report in the main hall of the Shao Shuai Mansion. Thetter was the Shao Shuai Armys Chief Intelligence Officer, an expert in exploration and intelligence about the enemy; although his martial art was not too outstanding, his lightness skill was first-ss. Also present was Chen Changlin, Chen Laomou and Ren Meimei. When Kou Zhong casually asked him about the deployment of his reconnaissancework, Luo Qifei replied, The reconnaissance technique that Xiashu [subordinate/underling] employs is mostly by cruising, withnd and water as secondary technique. Greatly interested, Kou Zhong asked, Cruising, I can more or less imagine, but what is nd and water? What does it have to do with reconnaissance? Luo Qifei replied, Land and water is a code word in reconnaissance. If cruising is a reconnaissance style that is mobile, active, not fixed to certain time, thennd and water is deployment that is static, passive, and fixed to a certain time. In the past, Xiashu primarily used this technique, with the other as secondary. How to usend and water, Xiashu can give an example, Shaoshuai will understand. For example, the major road on the mountaintop is filled with fine sand to make it t, which has to be inspected every day, to be swept clean and t. As men and horses entered the area, as long as we observe the printed impression on the sandy soil, well know how many footprints. Therefore, even though the other side grope in the dark and move stealthily, they still cannot hide from Xiashus eyes and ears. Chen Laomouughed and said, That was the technique used by Pengliang Bang to deal with other gangs and societies, which was transferred and is being moved into the Shao Shuai Army! Casting a sidelong nce at Chen Laomou, Ren Meimei said, People who came from gangs and societies are just like that! Only Meimei has never thought that today, unexpectedly I continuously giving money to people instead of demanding money. Warm feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. Doing good things always make people feeling good. Heughed and said, Thisnd and water method is indeed something, those who dont know the fact will definitely be fooled. However, this method can only be used under special circumstances, fixed-point detection of the enemy is a must; but how about unfixed-point detection? Luo Qifei replied, There are three main tasks in cruising: the first one is reconnaissance, including going deep inside the enemys territory, using all kinds of tricks to spy on the enemys situation; the second one is the transmission of the information, by means of secretwork and ndestine channels, by sending the information back at certain day and certain time, let the specialist collect and analyze the data, and then pass it on to the relevant department. In this aspect, Xu Xiansheng has spent a lot physical and mental efforts, otherwise it would not be asprehensive as it is today. The third one is to capture alive and ask for information, which is capturing a prisoner alive, and then carry out torture to force confession. This is to obtain information that cannot be seen from the outside via crafty method. The words torture to force confession reminded Kou Zhong of the cruel, by hook or by crook C nature of war; moreover, it made him recalling Yin Zuwens Seven Needles to Control the Mind. He secretly thought that if one of the great generals under hismand fell into Yin Zuwens hands, he definitely would not be able to endure this torture; therefore, if he had the chance, he had to kill this person first. Kou Zhongs heart was anxious for Luoyangs situation. This metropolis, one of the three famous cities with the most scale in the world C was like a lone boat in the vast angry ocean, it could capsize any moment. Thereupon he inquired about Hos situation. Luo Qifei replied, Zhu Ji had just suffered a big defeat from the Tang Army, Wang Shichongs hope of opening ess to Luoyangs southern road has beenpletely obliterated. Yibi, Yingyang, fell into the enemy hands in session, now only Zhucheng on the eastern road, which Ho relies mainly on, is still under his banner. The situation is not too optimistic. Luo Qifei heaved a sigh before continuing, I should say its very critical. Naturally Wang Shichong knew Hos significance; he sent the Crown Prince Wang Xuanying with massive military force to strongly defend Ho. Li Shiji is a man with deep understanding of the art of war, he knew he must not immediately capture Ho by force, hence he adopted a roundabout tactics. They schemed against various cities in the vicinity first, in order to iste Ho, to make Wang Xuanying retreat without fighting. Li Shiji appeared to be marching toward Guancheng, another big city southeast of Ho. Inwardly Kou Zhong sighed for Wang Xuanying, who could be considered without any hope; how could he be Li Shijis match? He asked, Who is defending Guancheng? Luo Qifei replied, Guanchengs defending general is Guo Qing, formerly guarding Rongyang, the capital of Wagang Army. He has always had good rtionship with Li Shiji. After Wagang Army was defeated, Guo Qing realigned his allegiance to Wang Shichong. His countenance changed, Kou Zhong said, With Wang Shichongs paranoid character, how could he make the mistake of having Guo Qing to deal with his old colleague Li Shiji? Luo Qifei replied, Wang Shichong has his secret trouble. First of all, Guo Qing is a Laiyang man, a ce which local power is closely rted to Rongyang and Guancheng, himself he has several thousand disciples troops. For this reason, Wang Shichong wanted to win over him very much, he even gave his beautiful niece [brothers daughter] in marriage to him, hoping that this rtionship will work for him. I hear Guo Qing is loyal to Wang Shichong. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Putting benefit at the forefront, how effective can a political business deal, buying and selling style marriage be? Ay! If Guancheng is done for, I will be surprised if the other defending generals of Rongyang, Zhengzhou, are not surrendering! No one is willing to throw their life in for Wang Shichong, father and son. If the defending general of Ho is Yang Gongqing, naturally it will be a different situation. Luo Qifei said, Rongyangs defending general is Wei Lu, Zhengzhous defending general is Wang Yaohan and Zhang Cibao, Xiashu is not too clear how loyal are Wei Lu and Wang Yaohan toward Wang Shichong, whether they are willing to die for Wang Shichong? However, since they obtained Wang Shichongs trust, naturally they are not men who would surrender that easily. As for Zhang Cibao, he has followed Wang Shichong for many years, in term of loyalty, there shouldnt be any problem. Kou Zhong sighed and said, We will know the oue very soon. This moment an underling came to report that Gui Xiliang and Xing Rongs boat has arrived at the dock outside Liangdu. Kou Zhong has been waiting anxiously; greatly delighted, he went out to meet them. Xu Ziling had just climbed the pier, someone stuffed a piece of paper into his hand. He opened and read it, the note said, Cast away the stalker, meet at Huiling [lit. favor/benefit/benevolence tomb/mausoleum] in Chengdus southern suburb, two lines of character. Underneath, the signature said Zheng Shiru. Xu Ziling was greatly astonished in his heart. Unexpectedly Zheng Shiru possessed such a great magical power; he could urately grasp the exact time and ce Xu Ziling would arrive in Shu, that he arranged his subordinate to secretly tell him the ce to meet. Thinking to this point, he secretly took notice of the surrounding area. Sure enough, his senses generated the feeling that he was being watched. Although he did not fully trust Zheng Shiru, but he had a feeling that he had no malice. He figured out that Xu Ziling must have already been aware that there were people with evil intention toward him, hence he wanted to warn him. Suddenly Xu Ziling flew onto his horse, unleashing the man-and-horse-as-one technique, in just a few breaths, he spurred the horse to the limit, so that the hoofs moved freely, leaving the dock area where people wereing and going, rushing in the direction of the City of Chengdu. Even if the stalker was as brilliant as Shi Zhixuan, surely he would be caught off guard and thus Xu Ziling would be able to throw him off. In the study room, Kou Zhong and his good friends, whom he had known since childhood, Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, sat side-by-side and had a heart-to-heart talk, speaking andughing extremely joyously. After understanding the two mens current situation, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Zhu Hua Bang is now split up into two factions, the criminal ringleader, the main offender is Shao Lingzhou. As long as we can get rid of his supporter Li Zitong, I guarantee that Shao Lingzhou will immediately sue for peace and acknowledge allegiance to you guys. It will depend on whether you have the guts to do so. Gui Xiliang sighed and said, We already knew that you have the heart to seize Jiangdu, so he had a meeting beforeing here to make a decision. Its not that we dont want to help you, but under current circumstances, even if you have the ability to know all under heaven [idiom: exceptionally talented], there is no possibility at all that you will be able to aplish it within half a year to a year. Even Shen Faxiang and Du Fuwei, whose military strength is much stronger than yours, still worked to no avail, and suffered soldiers damaged and generals broken instead. Furthermore, your Shao Shuai Army has no way of doing what they cannot do. It would be better to put your spirit in Pengliang, hoping to defend your position until the moment the Song Army arrive in the north. Kou Zhong felt like a bucket of cold water was poured out onto his head, the muscles on his face stiffened up, he said with a frown, In direct siege, naturally we dont have any chance. But Yangzhou is our territory, we could topple Li Zitong from the inside. For example, well try to burn his navy first, so that we could enter the Yangtze River from the ocean, using wonder troops in surprise attack, coupled with coordinating the inside and the outside, we kill his Niangs until they have no time to deal with it. It wont be without any chance of sess. Xing Rong said with a wry smile, We are all brothers; of there is any chance of sess, we definitely will not stand idly by. The problem is that Li Zitong already called himself a minister of Li Yuan, so that now he is standing on the same side as Du Fuwei. Shen Faxing is hesitating whether he ought to surrender to the Tang or not. Under such circumstances, Li Zitong no longer has no worry of the rear, he could focus his strength to be deployed to Zhongli, Gaoyou, Yanling, and Jiangdu, four cities. His navy is scattered around the major river courses in Jiangdus vicinity, so that they could correspond to each other. Even if you could attack into Jiangdu, lets not talk about you dont have enough military strength to advance and carryout street warfare, if the other three cities dispatch troops via the waterway toe to help, they could speedily resolve the Jiangdu crisis. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Do you guys know that a problem arose between Fu Gongyou and Du Fuwei? Fu Gongyou poses certain threat toward Li Zitong. Gui Xiliang said, Du Fuwei and Fu Gongyous face do not match with their heart. In the Yangtze River region, no one does not know. However, they are controlling each other; even if Fu Gongyou has the heart, he has no power to do so. Ay! Dont have an extravagant hope of capturing Jiangdu, all right? We know our old homes situation better than you do. Shao Lingzhou and Li Zitong are viins colluding together, they control city defense extremely tightly, our men practically have no way of prating it. Xing Rong said, Li Zitong recruited arge number of martial art masters from Jiangnans Wulin, you and Xiao Ling, although your martial art skill is outstanding, but it will be difficult for a pair of fists to match four hands. ording to our intelligence, just inside the City of Jiangdu alone, there are quite twenty thousand Li Armys elite troops. Plus the troops stationed in the two barracks outside the city and the navy fleet, the military strength in Jiangdu alone reaches fifty to sixty thousand men. You guys can enter the city easily, but leaving the city is more difficult than ascending to heavens. We have discussed this matter for a long time, and our final conclusion is still you arepletely without any chance of sess. Kou Zhong dejectedly leaned back into his chair; he sighed and said, You guys cant possibly mislead me, but if I cant capture Jiangdu, all I can do is just sitting here waiting for death. Gui Xiliang said, Frankly speaking, what we are worried about now is not whether you can conquer Jiangdu, but whether Li Zitong will go up north from Zhongli via the waterway tounch surprise attack against your Liangdu. If I were Li Zitong, I would split the troops into two ways, one way heavily surrounds Liangdu, so that you will be impeded in here, the other way will attack Donghai from the ocean. That is also the territory where he wasing from, he still has his people hidden inside the city. Xing Rong also, giving earnest and well-meaning advice, persuaded him, Rather than siting back and waiting here, why dont you give up Pegliang, and slip toward Lingnan by the sea, from there you can expand, put Shen Faxing and Lin Shihong in order first, and then when the south ispletely under your banner, your disposition of troops stand firm, then you cross the River to challenge the Li n. Grabbing his head, Kou Zhong said, Your words are not without reason, let me think about them first! And then heughed aloud and said, Lets not talk about these frustrating things; lets go into the city to find a ce to drink, well think of other things. It wont do to work all day long, we need to have some rxing moment, right? Alone, Xu Ziling entered Gu Bai Sensen [lit. dense (forest of) ancient cypress, not sure if it is a ces name], a cemetery with fresh green vegetation. He only heard the insects buzzing and the birds singing, but did not see anybody. Since it was nearly sunset, there was some kind ofzy peace and quiet. He already had an expert-level appreciative sight toward building architecture, in just one nce, he could see clearly that the entire cemetery, constituted the walls around it, the fences along the divine paths, the graves [lit. lie-down pce hall], and the mausoleum C was arranged in north-south central axis. He originally thought that Zheng Shiru would have someone waiting for him here, but he did not see any trace. He thought that since he already came to this cemetery, where lying under the yellow earth in eternal rest were the buried bones of Liu Bei, the Three Kingdoms Shu Emperor whose name spread throughout all ages, the thought about the ancient, a serene feeling arose involuntarily in his heart, thereupon he turned toward the screen wall with relief sculpture of a pair of dragons ying with diamond-shaped pearl carved on it. Above the fence gate, there was a que with Han Zhao Lie Ling [Han Zhaolie Mausoleum] written on it. Stepping into the divine path with a pair of stone-beast-with-an-elderly-man statues standing on either side, he walked slowly toward the mausoleum. He left the Ten-thousand-Li Spots on the secluded area of the grasnd outside the cemeteryplex. With each setback, he grew a bit wiser; when dealing with people that he was not familiar with, he would take precaution, hence he did not want his beloved horse to be involved in some danger. He finally came to Chengdu. If he so desired, in just one day he would be able to reach Shi Qingxuans You Lin Xiao Zhu*. He wondered whether this beautiful woman was living in seclusion in the valley, or for some reason she was roaming outside the valley and thus letting him to pounce empty air. [*I could have sworn that in the past, it was always You Lin Xiao Gu (lit. secluded forest small valley), but thest two or three instances, it was Xiao Zhu (small building/construction), only I changed it back to Xiao Gu. But now I am not too sure; I dont know whether it was deliberate, or simply a typo.] To see her really required a bit of courage, and in this respect, he has never been a courageous man. His bravest achievement was in the Little Changans downtown area, where he openly expressed his love to Shi Feixuan. Ay! Passing through the hall were the statue was enshrined and worshipped, greeting his eye was a big and tall mound, surrounded by red walls. On the mound, grass and thicket were grown, so dense that it became a shade. Huiling finally appeared before his eyes. Thinking that he and Liu Bei were separated only by ayer of dirt, he could not help sighing with sorrow in his heart. It does not matter whether during ones life one considered oneself unexcelled in the world, able to move unhindered and outstanding, in the end the yellow earth buries his bones. Any glorious achievement, in the end still vanished like smoke in thin air, disappeared without any trace. One day he, Xu Ziling, would be another heap of dry bones, just like Liu Bei, who once rebuked the wind and the cloud angrily C under his feet. Zheng Shirus voice was heard behind his back, Does Ziling like Liu Bei, this person? Not the least bit surprised, Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said, I never thought whether I like him or not; in my mind, his image is very vague, like a person with no distinct character. On the contrary, his Junshi [military adviser] Zhuge Wuhou, his Da Jiang [great general] Guan Yunzhang, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun, were all resounding heroes and towering figures. Liu Bei was able to make these outstanding figures to work for him, himself must have a bit of weight. Not caring about his appearance, as coarse and wild as before, Zheng Shiru came to his left side, and said with a cold humph, You should say that Liu Bei received the benefit of their glory. To love the house and its crow is not only regarded as orthodox at that time, he was already modeled by the historians as the person whose honor was known across the four seas, while the fact is that he really was not a person who talked about honor. In his kindness Liu Zhang invited him into Shu, yet he colluded with Liu Zhangs subordinates Fa Zheng and Zhang Song, to take over Shu from him. Evidently Liu Bei was a person with ruthless heart and ferocious hands. Honor was simply to decorate his fa?ade; when the stakes are high, how could he still be interested in talking about honor? A hypocrite is really more despicable than a real lowly person. Xu Ziling wanted to respond but he really had nothing to say, because toward this matter, he indeed had a deeper understandingpared to anybody else. The victor will be called the king, the loser will be called a bandit. In the struggle for hegemony over the world, one would never speak about Heavens Law and human emotions. Benevolence and righteousness are just one among the many means to beguile the peoples heart. Zheng Shiru sighed and said, The most amazing character in the Three Kingdoms is Cao Cao, yet he bore the bad name, so that theter generations have a saying respect Liu and restrain Cao. Just look! Liu Beis tomb is majestically standing tall and upright before our eyes, while Cao Caos has been obliteratedpletely early on. Liu Bei is popr, his tomb basks in the light. Legend has it that before his death, Cao Cao ordered his subordinates to build seventy-two fake burial mounds on the bank of Zhang River, so that those who hated him could not open the coffin and mutte his corpse. This is clearly a fictional story that theter generations made up, because when Cao Cao died, the Wei Kingdoms military power was in bloom; how could there be anybody dared to disturb his imperial tomb? People ofter generations were so content in making up stories about him, from this, one could see how terrible peoples favoritism is. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Why does Zheng Xiong look like you have a belly full ofints? Smiling bitterly, Zheng Shiru said, I indeed have a belly full ofints, because for the past month the wind has been rising, the clouds have been surging in Bashu, Chengdu, which had always been like the breeze is still, the waves are quiet C is no longer peaceful; chaotic situation of gangs and sects fighting each other appears at the slightest pretext. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, What is actually happening? Zheng Shiru dejectedly replied, What else but because of the letter that the Heavenly Saber Song Que sent? Xu Zilings mind was severely shaken, realizing that the battle to contend for hegemony over the world, due to Song Ques participation, has finally drawn the Bashu Wulin into this dreadful big vortex. Book 50 11 – When the Path’s Exhausted, Change Will Come

Book 50 Chapter 11 C When the Paths Exhausted, Change Will Come

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia After seeing Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong off, Kou Zhong spurred the Thousand-Li Dream outside the city to drive away his cares. Wuming was circling high overhead, following him. No matter how busy he was, he always found time to let the Thousand-Li Dream stretch his legs and y with Wuming a little bit. This was actually Tulis suggestion, human and animal need time to cultivate affection and establish close rtionship. From the air, Wuming swooped down, Kou Zhong made some bird noise and raised his left arm to let her perch on it. When the firm eagle ws grabbed his wrist, he had a feeling of intimacy simr to with the horse under his crotch, as if they were his own flesh and blood. Perhaps one day, when he suffered defeat and fled for his life, when one by one the brothers by his side fell down, while the enemy covering the mountains and the ins pursued him from behind, when his body was weary, his strength exhausted, he would only have his beloved horse and beloved eagle to apany him. After losing everything, would he be able to copy the Western Chu Hegemon Xiang Yu by killing himself? Kou Zhong revealed a hint of bitter and astringent smiling expression. When Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong thoroughlyid out the pros and cons and refused to help him to capture Jiangdu, for the first time in his life, they made him feel disheartened of being in some desperate straits, but he did not me them for not being friends enough. Furthermore, he knew from experience the distress that the two suffered. They were now in different positions; there were several thousand brothers under them, who mingled and ate rice under their leadership, they could not possibly put their entire people in danger of beingpletely wiped-out simply because of his one order. Their analysis was based on the actual circumstances. Even if he could attack into Jiangdu, but with Li Zitong having adequate preparation, he might be able to feel proud of his aplishment for a short while, but it would be difficult tost long. Even if there was a miracle: he seeded in driving Li Zitong out, but when the Li Army from the other citiesunched an all-out counterattack while his disposition of troops had not yet steadied, he absolutely would be unable to defend Jiangdu, ultimately it would still be difficult to escape the fate of being annihted. How could he have the heart to let his men, who had confidence in him, throw away their lives in vain? Recalling the street warfare after Dou Jiande broke the City of Liyang, his entire spine seemed to be immersed in cold sweats. At that time the Dou Army held superiority position where their military power was ten times of the enemys, and themander-in-chief of the enemys side already led his troops to desert the city, the soldiers defending the city had gone through many days and nights without sleeping, so that they guarded the city with body weary, strength exhausted, their morale was declining. Yet they still had to pursue every cun and every chi into the city, so that for the sake of final victory, they had to pay heavy price in term of injuries and deaths. Jiangdu could not bepared to Liyang; even if he exerted all his strength to raise Pengliangs forty-thousand Shao Shuai Army to attack into the city, he still could not break into Jiangdu Pce, which, in term of scale, wasparable to the imperial pce of Changan. In the past, were it not for the chicken inside the coop were rebelling, how could it be that easy to overthrow Yang Guang? Most of the officers and soldiers of his Shao Shuai Army were new addition to the family who had never been through a battlefield, who had never been through hard fighting. No matter how excellent their training was, no matter how undivided their loyalty toward him, in the southern battlefield, they would encounter the most bitter street-to-street struggle; how would they be able endure it? A clear-cut image was ying in Kou Zhongs mind: he and his men climbed over the city wall, they broke through the gaps, stormed into the city, and the defenders, which had been waiting with stored-up momentum, rushed to kill from four sides, eight directions like tidal wave; arrows and darts sprayed down from the top of the wall, the watchtowers, and all high ces like raindrops, to the abundant flesh and blood below. The elite troops from the imperial pce continued to pour in, the army units from the barracks outside the city were flocking in. Kou Zhong could not help but shudder, as he was washed with horror and shivered all over though it was not cold. When the City of Luoyang was broken, Li Shimin would lead his troops to the east, and Li Zitong woulde from behind to cut off all his retreating routes, both onnd and water, and then how many days would the defenseless Pengliang could hold out? Should he take Gui Xiliang and Xing Rongs advice to take advantage of the time while he was still able to, to slip away to Lingnan? But by doing this, his Shao Shuai Army would be done for as well. Other than Xuan Yongs two thousand men, Bu Tianzhis Ju Jing Bang men, plus several hundred of Shuang Long Bang brothers, the rest were Pengliang natives, who were born and grew up in this area; how could they give up their home and families to apany him to a remote ce in the south? How would Song Que see him? Would he withdraw his support because instead of fighting, Kou Zhong was fleeing? To the left he could not go, to the right it would not work; left and right, there were difficulties abound. The feeling of having no choice made him unbearably distressed that he wanted to cry aloud, in order to vent off the resentment and indignation in his heart. Gui and Xing, two mens words had shattered hisst hope. Zheng Shiru and Xu Ziling sat down to talk on a pile of rocks on the mountain top outside Huiling. Zheng Shiru said, About a month ago, Song Zhi came to Bashu to see Duzun Baos Xie Hui, bringing Song Ques letter with him. The letter was very polite, Song Que expressed his determination, in order to adhere to the Han peoples orthodoxy, to fully support Kou Zhong in unifying the world, hoping that various big factions in Bashu under Xie Huis leadership would maintain their neutrality, until after he and Kou Zhong determine victory or defeat with various mighty men of the north before deciding their position. The letter does not have even half a sentence of threatening word, but it has turned the entire Bashu Wulin upside down. This years Mid-Autumn Festival, you might as well take a look, the cold and somber situation will surely make people unbearably sad. Xu Ziling began to have a better understanding of this wild and proud man, about his enthusiastic precepts of the antiquity, his deep concern toward themon people, which, by no means to bepared to those men whose mouth was full of virtue, who opening their mouth they speak about their country, closing their mouth they speak about the people. His concern evolved from his real heart. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Xie Hui and Song Que have always had close rtionship; I wonder if it is because this matter overturns their agreement with Shi Feixuan that it caused huge waves? Zheng Shiru sighed and said, If only this matter is that simple. Three days after receiving the letter, Xie Hui and Qiangzus [Qiang ethnic group, esp. in northern Sichuan] Hou Wang [Monkey King] Feng Zhen, Yaozus [Yao ethnic group, southwest China] Mei Ji [Beautiful Woman (or concubine, courtesan)] Sina, Miaozus [Miao (Hmong) ethnic group, southwest China] Ying Wang [Eagle King] Jue Luofeng and Yizus [Yi (Nuoso or Lolo) ethnic group] Lang Wang [Wolf King] Chuan Mouxun had a summit conference between the Han people and the Bashus four major ethnic groups in Duzun Bao, so that the various tribal masters could personally inspect Song Ques handwriting. Since this matter is of great importance, the four major tribal master did not dare to make hasty decision, they must return and consult the elders of the tribe. However, during the meeting, Xie Hui pointed out that Song Ques letter hase toote, furthermore, he is not too optimistic about Kou Zhong, immediately hisment provoked controversy in the meeting. Finally they parted on bad terms. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was greatly surprised. It was quite a momentter that he said, At that time, was Song Zhi still in Chengdu? Zheng Shiru replied, Song Zhi only stayed in Chengdu for two days and then he left; Xie Hui called the meeting after Song Zhi left. Xu Ziling was at a loss, he said, Song Que did not ask Xie Hui to stand on his side at all, as long as he remains neutral. Xie Huis son Xie Wenlong is married to Song Ques daughter Song Yuhua, why is Xie Hui against the person that Song Que has in mind, while the other minority groups are willing to listen to Song Ques advice instead? Zheng Shiru replied, What else but that he is haunted by selfish motives. Li Yuan has sent three envoys one after another to have private discussion with Xie Hui. As for the details, naturally outsiders have no way of knowing, however, it can be assumed that Li Yuan must have promised nobility title and generous official sry, because each time, after the envoy left, Duzun Bao always held great celebration. Xu Ziling said, Its hard for us to me Xie Hui. In Jianghu, a promise worth one thousand [taels of] gold. Since he promised that after Luoyang is broken, he is going to surrender to the Tang, naturally he cannot overturn the agreement just because of Song Ques letter. Zheng Shiru sneered and said, The problem is that now it is not an ordinary Jianghu agreement at all, rather, it concerns Bashus survival. You dont know how big Song Ques influence in Bashu is. The Song Family controls Bashus import of salt, they hold over 50% of Bashusmercial trade in their hands. Song Familys navy fleet even dominate [lit. proim themselves hegemon] the South [China] Sea and the Yangtze River, they could attack from the waterway at any time. All of these may not be enough problem, the real problem is under Song Ques threatening power, who does not know that not only Song Que is the Number One Saber in the World, but he is a great and might talent in military matters, an expert in geography. Going against this kind of persons intention, the consequences are hard to imagine. Xu Ziling said, Zheng Xiong having such understanding toward Song Que, its not surprising at all, but why do the four tribal chiefs have such a restraining fear toward Song Que? Zheng Shiru replied, I believe the correct word is reverence. In their mind, Song Que is the Han man who can treat the ethnic minority well; in business, he never cheated them even for half a penny, toward the numerous vulnerable tribes in the Lingnan area, he extremely loves and protects them even more. If you want Bashu ethnic minority people to elect a king over the world to whom they would give their allegiance the most, they would undoubtedly choose Song Que. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Too bad Xie Hui, who should have the closest rtionship with him, will never see the whole situation from this standpoint. But frankly speaking, I feel that Xie Huis view is actually sensible and proper. If he overthrows his agreement with Li Yuan, it would be akin to angering Li Yuan, and presently, Li n is the one upying the utmost advantage, Song Que is able to unify the south to stand opposite of this situation, he can be considered not bad at all. In order to give consideration to his huge family and n, Xie Hui is not without his difficulties in standing opposite to Song Que. Zheng Shiru spoke heavily, Please forgive me for speaking forthrightly, Ziling made the same mistake as Xie Hui, which is you underestimate Song Que. Speaking about self-restraint, Song Que can restrain himself better than anybody else. Therefore, he was able to avoid conflict with Yang Jian. For the past many years, he preserves and nurtures his spirit in Lingnan, to cultivate talents from all sides. Even with Yang Jians power, he still did not dare to take risks by marching down to Lingnan. From this, you can see his fear and respect toward Song Que. After a short pause, he looked up to the starry sky above, and slowly said, However, when the angry dragon, who has been in hibernation for many years, soars to the sky from its hiding ce and arises, no one can stop him. Its true that he seems to be missing a good opportunity by letting the Li n grow big, while Kou Zhongs Shao Shuai Army is in position that they are helpless against any danger, plus they have not established their mighty power. But you should know Kou Zhong better than I do. Song Que plus Kou Zhong, I dare say that they will be able to turn the whole situation around. There wille a day where Xie Hui will regret the decision he took today. Xu Ziling could not help thinking about Song Yuhua. She was trapped in the middle, with difficulties left and right. She was a good woman with talent and intelligent, and she had already foreseen the situation today, hence the reason she sought him and asked him not to let Kou Zhong and Song Que meet, yet Xu Ziling himself had something that was entrusted to him. Ay! Zheng Shirus pair of eyes emitted a fanatical expression, he said, Not concealing anything from Ziling, Song Que is the person among the numerous figures in the world that I revere the most; I have spent a lot of effort to study his strategy and means in pacifying the southern border and in repelling the foreign Barbarians invasion; furthermore, I also observe his business methods. He, the Senior, is indeed a talent in both civil and military matters, adept in using the astonishing to control the astonishing, plus he has quick-witted mind that the gods and the ghosts cannot fathom. Without actually watching his real action, nobody can see through this ability, wisdom, and capability. Now, although it appears that he and Kou Zhong are in some disadvantageous position, but perhaps he deliberately created this situation, for the purpose of having others underestimating him. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, It seems like Kou Zhong and I also underestimate him. Taking a deep breath, Zheng Shiru said, I am convinced that my opinion on Song Que is absolutely correct. One day my conjecture will be confirmed. Xu Ziling was still half-believing, half-doubting, simply because it did not matter if Song Que really had capability that the gods and the ghosts could not fathom, war is not just two persons facing off against each other, it will also be subjected to other peoples affairs and objective conditions. Zheng Shiru said, Do you know who told me that you were going to arrive in Chengdu today? I bet you will never guess. Xu Ziling thought, Could it be Shi Qingxuan? But thinking about it, it did not make any sense, she never paid any attention to the things of the world, plus she had no idea that he wasing to Shu. Shaking his head, he said, Zheng Xiong, please reveal it to me! Zheng Shiru smiled and said, It was the Fat Merchant An Long. Xu Ziling blurted out, Unexpectedly it was him? Zheng Shiru said, Last night An Long came to see me, telling me to inform you that the Xiang Family definitely wont miss the golden opportunity of youing to Bashu to see Shi Qingxuan. People with aspirations scheming against unsuspecting people [orig. people with heart scheming against people with no heart], they will do whatever it takes to put you to death; he told me to warn you. In his heart, Xu Ziling felt that this was indeed a bizarre matter. Unless Shi Zhixuan ordered An Long to do so, An Pangzi [fatty An] would never have such good intentions toward him. But why did Shi Zhixuan do that? Deep in his heart he secretly thought of an answer, but he refused to admit it. Zheng Shiru spoke heavily, I asked An Pangzi why he was so concerned about your safety, An Pangzi only smiled bitterly without saying anything. He even implored me not to tell you that the information came from him. Why did An Pangzi help you? Xu Ziling shook his head with nk expression on his face, he was speechless. Kou Zhong summoned the civil ministers and military generals under hismand to light amp for a night talk. The attendees included Xu Xingzhi, Xuan Yong, Ren Meimei, Gao Zhandao, Chen Laomou, Bai Wenyuan, Jiao Hongjin, Zha Jie, Niu Fengyi, Bu Tianzhi, Chen Changlin, and Luo Qifei. All the leaders of the Shao Shuai Army were concentrated in the main hall of the Shao Shuai Mansion. There was a taste of first imperial court summit, but it was held in the evening. [Note: the character zhao/chao can be tranted morning or imperial court, or assembly held by a sovereign, which was usually held in the morning anyway, hence thement about it being held in the evening.] Kou Zhong sat on the main seat at the end of the hall, facing the door, the rest sat on either side of him. Kou Zhong appeared calm, no one could tell that just now he was frustrated and disheartened, thinking hard about things that could not be resolved. Naturally the crowd knew that he had something important to say, hence they held their breath and calmed their qi, waiting for him to open his mouth. Sweeping his gaze across everybodys eyes, heughed calmly and said, Just now I had a chat with Gui Bangzhu, only then did I find out that my way of thinking was too na?ve. Li Zitong distributed his troops in Yanling, across the river from Jiangdu, in Zhongli, who guard the confluence of the River, and in Gaoyou, which is closest to our southern border, strategically, it is very smart. I agree with Gui Bangzhus opinion that if we advance into Jiangdu, we will undoubtedly lose. None of the generals did not change their countenance. Xuan Yong said, In Gui Bangzhus opinion, will Li Zitong move his troops against us? If he deployed the troops in Gaoyou and Zhongli separately viand and water, two routes, to go up north to invade, it will be extremely strenuous for us to deal with them. Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said, That is precisely what Gui Bangzhu is worried about. But I dare say that Li Zitong would not have that kind of guts. To be precise, I should say that Li Shimin does not have confidence in Li Zitong. Ren Meimei did not understand, I wonder if Shaoshuai can exin clearly? she asked. Kou Zhong said, Li Zitong already surrendered to the Tang, Li Shimin is his master, but Li Shimin does not have excessive expectations that Li Zitong would be able to annihte me, therefore, he might have ordered Li Zitong to curb me with all his strength, while at the same time preventing me from going down south to attack Jiangdu. Li Zitong divided his troops into four cities, perhaps it was Li Shimins idea, otherwise, with Li Zitongs cowardice and fear of death, why didnt he concentrate his troops in Jiangdu? Xu Xingzhi agreed, he said, Shaoshuai is absolutely right. Full of concerns, Bu Tianzhi said, If we are being curbed by Li Zitong that we cant move a single step, the day Luoyang city is broken, Li Shimins main forces wille to the east, Li Zitong is going to invade various cities on our southern border, wont we be trapped with the enemies on both sides? Chen Changlin said, The House of Tangs navy and Li Zitongs seagoing troops have enough power to cut off our canal and river course transportation and blockade our various coastal cities. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Naturally we cannot sit and wait for death. The solution is very simple, which is, before the city of Luoyang is broken, we must strike and break down Li Zitong first. This is called selecting the weak to be devoured. Hearing that, the crowd was confused [orig. head in the fog]; just now Kou Zhong said that attacking Jiangdu would definitely end in defeat without any victory, but this moment he said to strike and break down Li Zitong, wouldnt before and after contradict each other? Only Xu Xingzhi had a smile on his face, but he did not say anything. Evidently he was inviting Kou Zhong to make a sales pitch on the medicine he was selling in his gourd. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Xingzhi, please express your opinion, see if you and I agree without prior consultation. Xu Xingzhiughed and said, Is it luring the enemy to attack, and then entering by exploiting a weak spot, avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial, abandoning the difficult and fetching the easy? Kou Zhong pped the armrest and said with a sigh, Nobody knows me better than Xingzhi. Who can tell me how we are going to lure Li Zitong, that idiot, toe and attack us? None was not affected by his powerful analysis, by the enormous confidence that came from his heart; their morale was immediately aroused. Jiao Hongjin spoke disdainfully, I know this man, Li Zitong. His ambition is big but his talent is sparse; his guts is as small as a mouse, but he rejoices in grandiose deeds [idiom: to strive to achieve extraordinary things]. Were it not for taking advantage of the void when Yuwen Huaji left and entered the city one step ahead of Du Fuwei and Shen Faxing, Jiangdu would never have fallen into his hand. As long as we can make him think that he has a chance to establish a great service to the House of Tang, plus he always thought that our wings have not grown, we can lure him to send his troops to the north. Letting out a weirdughter, Chen Laomou said, This time Li Zitong, that is in trouble! Why dont we feign an attack toward Jiangdu, pretending that we are sending Liangdus massive military force entirely to the front line? Seeing an opportunity that he can exploit, Li Zitong will certainly order Zhonglis troops to attack via the water, and then we can deliver a frontal assault. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Chen Gongs remark hit the nail on the head of half of my mind. But dont forget that this s guts is very small. If he thinks that we are attacking Jiangdu, he would only transfer Zhonglis troops back to Jiangdu to protect him; how could he dare to hastily go up to the north? Listening to this point, none of those sitting around the table did not know that he held the pearl of wisdom in his hands, he already had the whole n in his heart. Kou Zhong said, To put ourselves in his shoes, how would someone whose guts is small, who surrendered without fighting to the House of Tang C guess the enemys movement? Zha Jie could not help asking, How would he think? This question carried a bit of na?ve impression, provoking everybodys smile; the atmosphere rxed. Kou Zhong mused that his way of dominating his subordinates could not possible be inferior to Li Shimins too much. Laughing aloud, he said, Naturally he would think that the other side is as without guts as he is! The whole room roared inughter, suddenly, the tiger-in-front-the-wolf-behind situation was no longer terrifying. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes flickering brightly, he straightened his spine and opened up his shoulders, he spoke with serious expression, This time we can consider it as a military exercise; from Liangdus twenty-thousand men, we deployed fifteen-thousand to Donghai. Furthermore, we concentrate the ships toward Donghai County, leaving only twenty-eight flywheel boats as our secret weapon. Xu Xingzhi pped his thigh and said with a sigh, Li Zitong will mistakenly think that we, our momentum exhausted our strength is gone C must be retreating toward Lingnan. In order to rush over to establish a great merit, he will no doubte to attack. Frowning, Ren Meimei said, But since we are concentrating our troops in Donghai, we could also attack Jiangdu from the sea. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Hence the timing to move the troops is extremely important. The moment Ho city is broken is the moment we move our troops. I dare to guarantee that Li Shimin already gave his order to Li Zitong to stop us from fleeing to the south. Therefore, when he suspects that our Shao Shuai Army has the intention to flee, he must be exhausting his capability toe and stop us. Whether openly or privately, Li Zitong will never let me off. I, Kou Zhong, will exploit this kind of attitude to wipe him out. Gentlemen anddy, go back and think about it, how are we going to y this game well? Our target is not Jiangdu, but Zhongli. If Li Zitong lose Zhongli, Gaoyou will be difficult to protect. Therefore, Zhongli must be the ce that he will be fighting for. At that time, I will make him so that he has no room to advance or to retreat, he has the power but difficult to use it. The crowd of generals epted the order in loud voice. Book 50 12 – Little House in the Secluded Forest

Book 50 Chapter 12 C Little House in the Secluded Forest

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Once again Xu Ziling was facing the string-music-and-night-song, beautiful-women-wonderful-and-handsome, extreme-morning-ultimate-knight, falling-forward-intoxicated-drunk-and-losing-consciousness, always-standing-outside-the-dispute-of-the-Central-ins Chengdu, just more than ten days before the arrival of another Mid-Autumn Festival, inside and outside he was ovee with emotional stirring. Especially because Song Que and Kou Zhongs north-south connection, the frontal confrontation between the Song n and the Li n, two of the most powerful ns in the south and the north C could happen at any moment. The battle for supremacy was likely going to roll the south and sweep away the north. Bashu, due to its location on the west end of the Yangtze River C held iparable strategic significance in controlling the Yangtze River. In such circumstances, it would be difficult to stand alone. On the surface, Chengdu looked to be as rich, beautiful, and flourishing as before. Xu Ziling put on Gong Chenchun mask. First, he went to the famous Wan Hua [alkane flower] Guest House at the Shang Lian Chi [upper lotus pond] Street, to find a good ce for his horse. After making sure that nobody was following him, he went alone to look for Hou Xibai, who lived at Hua Lin [flower forest] Lane. Based on Hou Xibais different-song-every-night lifestyle, if he really wanted to find Hou Xibai at this time of the day, he should have a better chance of finding him at the San Hua Lou [scattered flower (multi-story) building], which was equally famous with Changans Shang Lin Yuan Cpared to looking for him at his house. However, he wholeheartedly wanted to scout the situation at Hou Xibais residence, to see if the enemy carried out strict surveince on his little nest, thereupon he went there first. How could it be easy to kill either him or Kou Zhong? Until today, whether it was the powerful Li Mi or Yuwen Huaji in the past, or the Tujue and the Lis Tang, whose fame and power was the most flourishing at present, still no one could aplish it. Xiang Yushan was not a person who overestimate his capabilities at all, but he had no other choice but to seize the opportunity to kill Xu Ziling, because it closely rted to the survival of the Xiang Family. In Xu Zilings estimate, Xiang Yushans method would not be far away from recruiting arge number of desperate criminals, using all kinds of contemptible and despicable method to prepare an ambush, by trying to catch him off guard and plotting against him. This moment he stepped into a sidene, and suddenly he leaped up, while focusing all his attention, his ears listened to the eight directions, flying across buildings and through the houses, sneaking toward Hous residence. He no longer had either the time or the mood to be in a tangle with Xiang Yushan; he might as well catch someone and question him via torture, to find out the enemys hiding ce, and then using ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt method he woulde for a disy of severity immediately on taking office [idiom: initial show of strength], to eliminate the threat. He flew up and crouched low on the back of the roof of a building overlooking Hous residence, which was only onene away. Across thene, Hous residence wasntern-dark-fire-ck. He swept his gaze around, scrutinizing every single corner of Hous residence. After he was positive that no one was watching, he leaped into the residence. As expected, Hou Xibai was not home. Inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly astonished, because unexpectedly he did not see anybody watching in secret. Could it be that Xiang Yushan already guessed that he was on guard, hence he gave up his n? But Xu Ziling was an easy-going person, something that he did not understand, he did not want to think too much. While he was hesitating whether he ought to go to San Hua Lou to look for Hou Xibai, his heart was moved, he floated away. Kou Zhong was lying down on his couch, he looked out through the small window by the bed. From his angle of view, he could see a small piece of the tranquil starry sky. He deeply felt that if he wanted to prevail against the enemy, he must prevail over himself first. That day before the general assembly of the Battle of Cijian, it was because he figured out this point that he was able to recover his confidence and fighting spirit; although in the end he still suffered crushing defeat in Li Shimins out of the ordinary method and had to leave, but he was still able to shake hard the cowering-the-world-by-their-military-power Li Army in session, so he was not inferior in any aspect. Now the Shao Shuai Armys situation was even worse than Wang Shichongs. In the scheme-exhausted-strength-was-gone struggle for survival, if he did not bestir himself, who would have pity on his Shao Shuai Army? Since his debut, he has always strived in adversity and had developed an unyielding fighting spirit. But nning is with man, aplishing with heaven [idiom: Man proposes but God disposes]. The key to the sess or failure of the stratagem and strategy that he came up with to deal with Li Zitong quite relied on a bit of luck. In case Li Zitong held back his troops without moving, he would be unable to find a solution. However, toward his own ns, he was still full of confidence, because after many encounters, he already grasped clearly Li Zitongs character as a person. As long as he could guarantee that he could obtain Zhongli in his hands, then at least half of Jiangdu would fall into his hands. How he hoped that Xu Ziling was by his side, then he could say all the worries that were on his mind as much as he liked, they could confide in each other. But now he could only bear it himself in silence, plus he still had to showplete confidence in front of his subordinates. This was precisely the distress of being the supreme leader. Hou Xibai was sitting on the roof ridge of an abandoned house, he appeared to fuse together with the dim starry sky above, the sleeves of his clothes fluttering in the breeze as he gazed on the moon hanging in the middle of the sky. Xu Ziling came to his side, sat down, and said with a smile, Xibai Xiong, I trust you have been well since west met. If I did not guess that you lost the mood to go to the pleasure house, I would have lost the opportunity to see you tonight. Hou Xibai was shaken, he said, Shi Shi ... ay ... Shi Shi ... Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Your Shi Shi is not only alive and well, he even nearly took Xiaodis life. Thereupon he narrated in details the situation where they suffered a crushing defeat. Finished listening, Hou Xibai immediately became like a lively dragon and animated tiger, his entire being rxed. He said, I really dont know whether I should be sad or happy. I slipped away back to Chengdu, it was because I did not dare to face the cruel reality. One side are my best brothers, the other side is, good or bad, Shizun [revered master] who singlehandedly cultivated me into a person who is worthy of respect. Xu Ziling understood, But its good now! he said, It did not result in anybodys death. We already missed the only chance to deal with your esteemed master, afterwards there will be only heing to kill us while we are caught in absolutely passive situation. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Whats good about it? Did Ziling just arrive in Chengdu? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I am nning on setting out tomorrow morning to You Lin Xiao Zhu, does Xibai Xiong have any interest ining along? Shaking his head, Hou Xibai replied, Naturally I hope I can get close to Qingxuan, but its absolutely improper for me to go. If Qingxuan sees me, I might remind her of her hatred toward Shi Shi, the oue will be hard to fathom. Xu Ziling agreed, he said, Xibai Xiongs words is not without any reason. I wonder if Xibai Xiong know where You Lin Xiao Zhu is? Hou Xibai replied, You Lin Xiao Zhu is located inside a hidden small valley on the bank of Taiyang Xi [lit. sun creek] at the eastern foot of Fenghuang Shan [lit. phoenix mountain] on the north side of Chengdu. The scenery is very beautiful. I learned about the approximate location of the small building [Xiao Zhu] from Shi Shis own mouth. It was only after an investigative visit that I found out the little valleys [Xiao Gu, see my previous note in Chapter 10 on Xiao Gu vs Xiao Zhu] location, but I did not have the guts to enter the valley to visit Qingxuan. I was afraid she would be displeased, but I was also afraid Shi Shi might be angered. Xu Ziling was puzzled, he said, From what you said, your Shizun ought to be the only one who knows the location of the little house, but that day Yang Xuyan and An Long could impersonate your esteemed master by sending her a message, which lead to her bringing the Yin scroll to Chengdu. Revealing a grave expression, Hou Xibai spoke slowly, I have thought about this problem; could it be that when Shi Shis character became evil, he revealed the small valleys location to Yang Xuyan, in order to borrow his hands to get rid of his beloved daughter? Xu Ziling nodded and said, That is very possible, otherwise, how could An Long dare to cooperate with Yang Xuyan to deal with Shi Qingxuan? But even so, why didnt they go directly to the small valley to kill the person and seize away the scroll? Why did they need to take the roundabout way and use scheme? Hou Xibai said, Killing the person is easy, but seizing away the scroll is challenging, since they did not know where the Yin scroll is hidden. Moreover, its not that they had no misgivings. If sometimeter Shi Shi became sentimental, in his grief and indignation he might kill An Long and Yang Xuyan to avenge Qingxuan. Therefore, perhaps the two only dared to seize away the scroll but did not dare to harm Qingxuan. This is only my conjecture, as for the actual situation, we wont know unless we grab An Long and torture him for confession. Would Ziling be interested? Xu Ziling remembered about An Pangzi warning him, he shook his head and said, Its important that I see Qingxuan tomorrow; its not suitable to have a new branch growing out of a knot. I hear that now the Han people under Xie Huis leadership and the other tribes, because of Song Ques letter, are having disagreement, neither side is willing to concede. Hou Xibai was astonished, he asked, This matter has not be public yet, Ziling had just arrived in Chengdu, unexpectedly you already know about this? Xu Ziling did not conceal it from him, he told him about Zheng Shiru. Stunned, Hou Xibai said, No wonder Ziling asked me about who else knows the location of You Lin Xiao Zhu. However, in my opinion, the other side only knew that you areing to Chengdu, but they dont know the little houses location; otherwise, why would they beat the grass to scare the snake by sending men to follow your track? But then he blurted outughing and said, What makes the Xiang Family think that they can deal with you? They really overestimate their capabilities; they ought to pick a mirror and take a look inside. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Underestimating others can attract unforeseen disaster, just like we underestimated your esteemed master and encountered ashes on our nose. This man Xiang Yushan, although his martial art skill is nothing special, his mind is viciously calm, plus he understands me and Kou Zhong better than anybody else, just by looking at how he did not send anybody to watch your other Passionate Residence in Chengdu, youll know how very cautious he is. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai said, You are right! In that case, tomorrow I will have to apany you, no matter what. At most I will stay outside the valley to wait for you. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Are you afraid they are dealing with Qingxuan? Sneering, Hou Xibai said, How could they have such guts? I am just afraid they might ambush you on the small path leading to the valley. And then he was severely shaken, Not right! he eximed. Xu Ziling was worried about Shi Qingxuan, he jumped in fright and asked in horror, What do you mean not right? Hou Xibais handsome countenance sank straight down, he said, If the Xiang Family knew where the small valley is, the information must havee from Yang Xuyan. Yang Xuyan is a troop walking into danger; due to his worsening rtionship with Shizun, he might borrow another persons hands to make a gamble. The most ideal would be if Shi Shi hears about Qingxuan being harmed, and then his personality would split again. This possibility is extremely high, the small valley is a dangerous ce, there is only one entrance, and it is the ideal location for an ambush. Xu Zilings countenance changed, he said, Fortunately you reminded me. That is very likely, because behind the Xiang Family there is Zhao Deyan providing them support. If your Shi Shi encountered any mishaps, Zhao Deyan will no longer have any rival on his path in unifying the demonic school. Since we know that your Shi Shis only w is Qingxuan, Zhao Deyan and Yang Xuyan certainly understand it even better. Hou Xibai said, This matter should not be dyed; if we rush over immediately, we should be able to reach the small valley by sunrise. The two did not dare to tarry, they left immediately. The sky had not brightened yet, Kou Zhong urged his horse and carried the eagle, galloping to his hearts content outside the city. Both his beloved horse and beloved eagle have be his closestpanions on the battlefield, just like he had another pair of legs and a pair of eyes that looked down to observe the mother earth from high altitude; moreover, they were his most loyalrade-in-arms. He let Wuming circling freely high in the air. Wuming, which had received rigorous training, would only take food from his hands, hence he did not need to worry that the enemy would bait her with poison. When he came back to the city, Xuan Yong and Luo Qifei met him outside the city. Luo Qifeis expression grave, he said, Guanchengs defending general Guo Qing finally surrendered to Li Shiji, cutting off Zheng Army connection to the Ho and Zhengzhou front, putting Rongyang and Zhengzhou in critical situation. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, Isnt Guo Qings wife Wang Shichongs niece? Howe unexpectedly he surrendered without fighting? Xuan Yong said, Li Shiji sent his top imperial strategic advisor to Guancheng with a letter advising Guo Qing to surrender, with analysis on the situation of the world,ying out the pros and cons. Finally Guo Qing was persuaded. His wife forcefully urged him but failed, in the end shemitted suicide and died. Kou Zhong sighed. He said, Ho lost too fast! What move did Wang Xuanying take? Luo Qifei replied, Wang Xuanying led his troops, intending to recover Guancheng, but Li Shiji deployed his troops to intercept them midway, the two armies refused to concede to each other, it looks like Wang Xuanying can only retreat without attacking. Kou Zhong was stunned, he said, How could Wang Xuanying be Li Shijis match? Li Shiji only defends without attack, it must be to reduce casualties, because he is confident that after capturing Guancheng, without wasting a single soldier, a single troop, Rongyang and Zhengzhou will surrender, and thus Ho will be isted. What do we do now? Xuan Yong asked. Kou Zhong struggled hard to arouse his spirit to digest this bad news; he spoke heavily, Immediately notify Yang Gong to withdraw here. The travel must be in absolute secrecy, because his five thousand brothers will be the secret weapon for us to capture Zhongli, to be our wonder troops [reminder: troops appearing suddenly in ambush]. I guarantee it will give Li Zitong a big shock. Luo Qifei said, We could utilize the Flywheel Boats to transport Yang Gongs army by batches at night, it should be able to keep away peoples eyes and ears. Give me ten days, I should be able to put them in a safe, secret ce nearby. That should do it! Kou Zhong said, The false retreat must bemencing immediately, let Li Zitong think that seeing the turn of events is not too encouraging, we want to steal away. On this aspect, have you guyse up with a detailed n? Smiling wryly, Xuan Yong said, There are not too few of a n, but too many. Shaoshuai urged us to go back and think, the result is that everybody came up with a n, so now Shaoshuai must make decision. Kou Zhong felt big headache, musing inwardly that this must be the leaders pain; however, on the surface heughed aloud and said, Lets go back and hold a meeting immediately. Fenghuang Mountain is located northeast of Chengdu, west of Duofu in, the main peak towered more than a hundred zhang, the topography of the mountain magnificent and beautiful, gracefully winding for several dozen of li, all around were mountain peaks protruding here and there, surrounded by a range of hills. The main peak towered above the range of the hills, rising steeply from the ground, simr in shape and appearance as a phoenix spreading its wings, ready to fly, hence the elegant moniker Phoenix Mountain. Passing through the Fenghuang Mountain walking to the south, the mountain was full of ancient trees, wild grass winding and withered, a stream was flowing from the northwest along the mountain ridge, toward the southeast. Maple trees grew all over on both sides. Since it was the depth of autumn, the maple leaves have changed color, so that red, orange and green were reflecting each other, bringing about a richyer of colors, the scenery was extremely beautiful. With Hou Xibai leading the way, Xu Ziling basked in the warmth of the early morning sun, crossing over the river and stream, flying at top speed along the branch and vein of Fenghuang Mountain, which pointed to the south. Passing through the maple forest, boring through the gorge, the scenery suddenly changed. They only saw the deep and luxuriant forest, the pond and deep pool, high and low, following the topography of the mountain, connected by the rapids, the terrain of the mountain region was likeyer uponyer of steps, high and low waterfalls overflowing with flying water flowing out swiftly, the sound of water was resounding, which appeared to be a ce without any road, unexpectedly it was a ce of charm and beauty, with willow trees making the shade in abundance, with searching-for-serenity-exploring-for-victory wonders. Following the pond and deep pool and the topography of the mountain, the wild trees had twisted roots and intertwined joints, the moss and grass colored the flow bluish green, the running water either flowed out swiftly downward, or sshed up and flew down, the water hit the pile of rocks, forming countless streams, swirling and sshing, creating a touching bright image. The two leaped over a stream of waterfall on top of a huge rock, a wide panorama suddenly opened up in front of their eyes, down below, as far as the eyes could see, was the primitive ancient forest. To their left was the Fenghuang Mountain Range extending as far as the eyes could see, with several ringed mountains binding them together; to their right was an ocean of trees, which extended to the t wilderness. Pointing to the mountain on the left, Hou Xibai said, You Lin Xiao Zhu is inside the valley formed by a ring of mountains around it. Ziling should understand by now that in order to find this secret valley, I had to spent a lot of foot power. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that this was indeed a Peach Blossom Spring [a hiddennd of peace and prosperity] to live in seclusion and to shun the world; it was both cut off from the rest of the world, and could stand aloof from worldly affairs. Nodding his head, he said, Although I have received Qingxuans direction, without Xibai showing the way, I am sure I would grope around the wrong ce. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Therefore, if there is nobody giving directions, even if one is fully aware that You Lin Xiao Zhu is in the vicinity of Chengdu, one could forget about finding this ce. I learned from Shi Shi that the little house was built at the tail of the Fenghuang Mountain; it was only after some effort that I found this ce. Lets go! The two slipped down the rock and entered the forest. Enormous ancient trees reached high into the sky, spirited animals and wonderful birds leaped and circled in the air among the leaves, overflowing with the excitement of life. They walked swiftly among the trees, suddenly there was a wide clearing, where a small stone house was standing. Next to the house, there was a gravel path extended forward, turning to the left and bending to the right, meandering into the depth of the forest; they could not see the entrance of the small valley. You Lin Xiao Zhu finally appeared before their eyes. Were it not for he was worried about Shi Qingxuan, Xu Ziling would certainly go to look into the small building. This must be the ce where the great expert in saber method of the generation, the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan built his house to spend hisst years. Recalling that since suffering a crushing defeat in the Heavenly Saber Song Ques hands he was depressed without any joy, carrying the frustration on his back, and died in blood enmity and disgrace, how could Xu Ziling not sigh with sorrow? Hou Xibai moved toward the houses C which was surrounded by the forest C side, and took a couple of nces through the window. Returning to Xu Zilings side, he carefully examined the traces on the small path, saying, Qingxuan must have cleaned the hut often, inside is untainted by even a speck of dust. This should be Yue Shans residence, his grave should be near and not too far away. A mighty man of his generation like Yue Shan, in the end his bones are buried silently in this ce. Riches and honor, fame and profit, nothing is more than this. Xu Ziling knew that he could not see any trace that someone was stepping on the path, hence he felt at ease and chatted with leisurely frame of mind. Xu Ziling blurted out without thinking, I wonder ... ay! Never mind! Hou Xibai suddenly understood, he said, The person die, thentern extinguished, everything is empty. Ziling wanted to know the ce where Shimus [masters wife] bones are buried. To the best of my knowledge, this is what Feixuan told me, when Shimu realized that her time was limited, she took Qingxuan to Da Shi Si [lit. Temple of Great Rock]. When she died, her remains was cremated, and her ashes was sent back to Ci Hang Jing Zhai, the Zhuchi [manager] of the Jingzhai originally wanted to take Qingxuan to be raised inside the Jingzhai, but Qingxuan refused. After she lived in the Da Shi Si for two years, she returned to the small valley to live in hiding here. Ay! I really dont know how Qingxuan passed that period of time. Xu Ziling could not bear sighing with sorrow. Hou Xibai said, As far as I can see, there shouldnt be any outsidersing over, I will hide in here, Ziling, why dont you go by yourself to see Qingxuan? If you want to stay a few more days, juste out here and let me know. Xu Ziling said, Afterpleting my mission of delivering the Tianzhu Xiao, I might talk a couple of sentences, and then leave immediately; I wont let you, LaoGe waiting for a long time. Hou Xibai smiled and said, Maybe she would like you to apany her for a couple of days? Otherwise, why would she be willing to tell you the ce she is living in seclusion? Coming here across a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers, only talking a few sentences, wont that be a waste? Xu Ziling shook his head with a bitter smile, and then he stepped forward. Behind him, Hou Xibai called out, Our worry is still there, Ziling better warn Qingxuan, tell her to guard against Yang Xuyan. Xu Ziling waved to indicate he heard him, and then he picked up his speed and disappeared into the forest path. Finally the moment to see Shi Qingxuan again hase. He wondered whether she would still keep her distance and stay a thousand li away from him; if she still acted like that, appearing to be passionate but was actually heartless, should he break the karma, do everything in his power to win her over? This was hisst chance; should he strive for his future happiness, as well as hers? Book 50 13 – Startling Change in Deep Valley

Book 50 Chapter 13 C Startling Change in Deep Valley

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia During the meeting, everybodyid out their own viewpoint; someone proposed pretending to withdraw, while actually sneaking toward the secret ce, someone suggested using boats to transport the troops away, but midway unload the people, reced by rocks to maintain the hulls depth, while on the deck they would put dummies, or something like that. In general, unexpectedly no one supported arge-scale military expedition, to have the Shao Shuai Army marching from Liangdu at the western border, across the Shao Shuai State, and arrived at the Donghai County facing the sea. Only Xu Xingzhi and Xuan Yong were smiling, but remained silent without saying anything. Ren Meimei said, Liangdu is located at the major crossroad on the canal, by stationing a massive military force there, not only we can face the enemy attacking following the canal either going north oring down to the south, we can also provide assistance to the cities and towns north and south. If we really empty the military strength there, it will affect the survival of our Shao Shuai State. Liangdu is not like Jiangdu and Luoyang, that kind of strong cities, if the enemy is well prepared, forty to fifty thousand men can heavily besiege Liangdu, attacking day and night, then we will have no room to advance or to retreat, the soldiers heart will be in great chaos. Bu Tianzhi also said, If Li Zitong divides his troops to invade our territory from several routes, while our troops are weary and unable to rise due to the long and difficult trek, plus the enemys strength is several times above ours, we will be powerless to strike back, and can only sit while watching the cities surrendering one by one. Therefore, feigning troops movement is the superior move, it could equally meet Shaoshuais requirement. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, the various generals views were all based on safest choice, not daring to take any risk, the justification they put forward was within reason, and it was based on careful investigation, simply because Shao Shuai State was established by their hands, they had just aplished a bit of sess, hence they especially cherished it. But war is cruel, its a game where the yers see who is hurting more. Just like a game of chess, this piece is sacrificed to obtain that piece, the focus is not the sess or failure of one corner, but the overall victory or defeat. With the exception of Xuan Yong, the various generals sitting around the table had never taken part inrge-scale battle, most were of gangs or societies leader background, naturally, unlike him, they did not have their eyes on the overall situation. Kou Zhong smiled and turned to Xuan Yong, asking, What do you think? Xuan Yong spoke solemnly, Now that we are in an inferior position, we must use an unordinary method to be able to break through this difficulty. Li Zitong has been involved in wars with Du Fuwei and Shen Faxing for a long time, yet he is still able to defend Jiangdu without losing it, evidently he is not a person that can easily be deceived. Shaoshuai in my heart is not an ordinary person, and only unordinary person can use unordinary method. Xiashu will listen to Shaoshuais instruction in everything. For the first time Kou Zhong found that other than the two strong points of brave and good at fighting, and calm and collected and steady, this chief great general of his had another good aspect, which was knowing how to cooperate with him as the supreme leader, so that among the numerous personnel in the headquarters, his words had a bit more weight. The fact was that Kou Zhong still had not figured out how to state his views without hurting the generals under hismands feeling. Xu Xingzhi cheerfully said, Xuan Zhen [perhaps an alias, perhaps a typo, I dont know, characters Zhen and Yong do not look alike] said it well. Whether it was the battle of Liyang, the battle of Cijian, in all cases Shaoshuai seized victory by using wonder troops [you know already what it means, right?]. Speaking about using surprise [the qi character can mean strange, odd, weird, wonderful, surprising, unusual, etc.], I am afraid no one in the world can surpass Shaoshuai. The crowd of generals all revealed a submit-cheerfully expression, because what Xu Xingzhi said was the fact that everybody in the world knew. From the battle to defend the City of Jingling, to repelling Yuwen Huaji, to Li Mis big defeat, to his mighty power spreading all over the area beyond the Great Wall, and the two most recent famous military campaigns that Xu Xingzhi mentioned, Kou Zhong established his unequalled fame for fighting prowess. However, the unequalled reputation really could not be relied on forever, for example, after Li Mis disy, all his bargaining chips were lost, and now they were faced with a situation that was everything bodes ill, no positive signs even more. Chen Changlin respectfully said, We are just expressing our views, ultimately naturally Shaoshuai make your decision. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Changlin does not need to be so modest to me, we are all brothers, naturally we can have an exchange of views. Ha! After a short pause, he spoke calmly, Toward the goal, we are no different at all, the slight differences are the means to reach that goal. Currently Li Zitong has high rampart and deep city walls, he holds his troops withouting out, so that we cannot attack even if we wanted to, while also cannot defend even if we wanted too. ording to Sun Tzus Art of War, if we must attack, then we must leave a ce where the enemy can escape, only then will we be able to lure him to empty his nest ande out. This required ce to escape is precisely how we are going to trick him into believing that if our situation bes critical, our Shao Shuai Army would abandon Pengliang and withdraw to Lingnan. This is something that Li Shimin will never allow to happen. And because there is not much time, Luoyangs fall is near at hand, we only have one chance to deceive Li Zitong. Toiling the army and moving the crowd appears to be unwise, but if we view this as an opportunity, an exercise to march the army, this will be one move, two gains. Using troops put emphasis on marching the army, even though on the military drill ground outside the city we could train the army to reach the as-the-arm-moves-the-finger [idiom: freely and effortlessly] level, without testing them on a long-distant marching, the unit cant be called elite troops. As for how tounch surprise attack to deal with Li Zitong, that will be another question. The immediate priority is to lure Li Zitong out of the high and thick city walls, and go to their escaping ce. Yang Gongs troops are precisely my, Kou Zhongs wonder troops. As for the details, we will discuss it carefully. His speech was resounding and powerful, if thrown on the floor, it will make a sound [idiom: also means resonating and powerful]. Everybody understood his intention, they trusted his judgment even more, so there was no objection. Kou Zhong could not help but miss Xu Ziling; talking with him, he had never had to expend a great deal of effort, like the simple, single matter before his eyes, he had to state it repeatedly like this. Furthermore, it was evident that whether it was the generals or the soldiers, his Shao Shuai Army was still impressive-looking but useless, and Li Zitong was precisely the best subject for him to drill his troops. There woulde a day where his Shao Shuai Army, with him putting his heart and soul to train them, would be the unequalled mighty army able to move unhindered across the world. Luo Qifei said, Just received news from Changan: Li Mi received the Master of the Tang, Li Yuans order to go to Shandong to recruit his former subordinates [the word here means enlisting the enemy or rebel soldiers by offering amnesty];ing along with him were Wang Bodang and the others. Along the way, the marching troops suddenly received Li Yuans imperial order, which summoned Li Mi return to Changan alone to discuss official business. Who would have thought that against orders, Li Mi did not return, but continued to travel to the east? He was beheaded by the Tang Armys pursuing troops. Kou Zhong mused how could there be such a coincidence? He had just remembered Li Mi and immediately heard the news of Li Mis death. In the Shao Shuai Hall, everybody revealed a shocked expression, followed by spirited discussion; some felt sorry for his ending, which generated sigh of regret. Li Mi raised the Wagang militia, he stood above the crowd in the Central ins, with strong potential to rece the Sui. Its a pity that he repeatedly made mistakes. First was by killing Zhai Rang, which made Wagang Army split up internally, and thus they were unable to seize the opportunity to go west and acquire Guanzhong. And then while his vigor had not recovered yet, he moved his troops against Wang Shichong, and Kou Zhong rendered him a big blow on Mount Mang. Unexpectedly he abandoned Li Shiji in Liyang to seek shelter to the Great Tang, which nted the seed of disaster of being killed today. Hot tears gushed out of Xuan Yongs pair of eyes, he spoke in trembling voice, Da Longtous soul and spirit in heaven may rest in peace now! Kou Zhong casually asked, How did Wang Bodang end? Luo Qifei replied, I heard that not only Wang Bodang did not apany Li Mi in death, he was not even charged with any crime. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. He was an eyewitness to the situation at that time, how could Wang Bodang escape the disaster? Unless he was the mole with secret ties to Li Yuan. Noticing Kou Zhongs concern over this matter, Luo Qifei continued his report, Li Yuan sent Wei Zheng to carry Li Mis severed head to River Yin to appease Li Shiji. Journeying together with him was Shen Luoyan. It shows Li Yuans trust toward Li Shiji. Turning to Xuan Yong, Kou Zhong said, Immediately send this information using the fastest possible way to notify Da Xiaojie, she will be extremely pleased. Xuan Yong hastily received the order and left to handle it. And then everybody continued to discuss the details of the march. Kou Zhong finally discovered the biggest weakness of his Shao Shuai Army, which was theck of talented personnel with experience and expertise in army logistics and supply. The army logistics and supply were determined by two main conditions, which were its own production capacity and the transportations deployment. When the army was in military expedition to different region, the supply of military goods and army provisions had direct impact in the sess or failure of the expeditionary force. Tujue people would just rob any ce they went, using battle to raise battle. This aspect was not a big problem, but he, Kou Zhong, simply must not do it. Mainly, Logistics and supplies could be divided into three aspects: the supplies following the army, the local supplies, and the special-purpose supplies. The supplies following the army were the goods for military use to respond to emergencies, which the troops in expedition carry using military supply wagon and which the troops carry on their back, under care of a special unit. In his Shao Shuai Army, this aspect of military branch was not perfect at all, they were merely going through the motions, simply because Shao Shuai Army was tested only once when they went into battle in long-distance raid on Cao Yinglong, Zhu Can and Xiao Xians coalition forces. Since it was a blitzkrieg strategy, plus there was no need to besiege a city to capture a territory, everybody only had to carry enough provisions and it worked just fine. But if they were going to deal with Li Zitongs city, naturally they could not be that careless. Local supplies were only applicable if the troops only moved within their own territory, with the cities under their banner to provide the supplies. As for special-purpose supplies, it must be set up through certain routes, the goods were to be transported from the rear to the front line far away from their national border. Like Li Shimin attacking Luoyang, he must set up stations along the Great River, and had the supplies from Guanzhong transported outside the Pass. The supply troops in charge of the special-purpose supplies were as important as the troops in charge of the military supply wagons, and they were indispensable to the expeditionary force. Presently his Shao Shuai Armys military strength reached forty-thousand men in total, but if they really go into battle, at least ten-thousand of them have to be in charge of the military supply wagons and supply work, plus there must be men staying behind to guard important cities and towns of the Shao Shuai State; therefore, the number of troops that can go into battle would be no more than twenty thousand. Kou Zhong made every effort to remedy this w; he transferred generals and built soldiers, so busy until the sky hazy and the earth turned dark, finally he decided that Bu Tianzhi would be in charge of the supplies, and Niu Fengyi in charge of heavy military supply wagons. A personal guard hurriedly entered the hall to report, Song Familys San Xiaojie Yuzhi is asking an audience with Shaoshuai! Kou Zhongs entire body sprang up from the dragon seat, he blurted out, Unexpectedly she came? Xu Ziling finally entered the You Lin Xiao Gu [sic, it is Gu now], a ce where he searched in his dream and pulled along his soul but he had never set his foot on. Many times his mind galloped fast to imagine what kind of hallowed ce on the earth You Lin Xiao Gu was. Until this moment, where he personally experienced it, that he began to know that it was impossible to make a baseless guess. Inside the tranquil deep valley, which was formed by a ring of mountain range, the stream was winding through the forest. Among the dense trees, he could faintly see several small stone houses. If he guessed correctly, the stream ought to flow right in front of the houses, flowing to the mouth of the valley, where it formed a clear pond, before it flowed out of the valley. Inside the valley the maple trees reached high to the sky, dense and concentrated to be a forest, verdant and lush, hiding the sky and covering the earth. The cliff was high and steep, the rocks elegant, the spring clear; to be able to live in seclusion, shunning the world in here, in this life, what else is there to seek? Since it was sunrise, the little valley was bathed in the first rays of morning sun. The mountains were full of red autumn leaves, theyers of forest appeared to be dyed red, bursts of autumn breeze blowing over, hundreds of birds singing together, fresh and clean air prated deeply into the heart. A big rock protruded from underwater in the middle of the pond, perhaps it was like a grinding basin or like a square table, clear spring flowed over the rocks, a school of small fish swam around, brimming with freedom [orig. freehand style in Chinese painting, characterized by bold strokes rather than urate details], carrying the not-contaminated-by-the-dust-of-the-world overtone. Xu Zilings ears heard the gurgling noise of the flowing water as he walked along the stream, rounding the clear pond, and stepped onto the gravel path covered in thick maple leaves. His heart and spirit rose to a higher level, everything was like in a fantasy that he doubted if it was real, just like he was in a beautiful dream where he continuously went deeper and deeper. Each step that he took carried him farther and farther away from the cold-hearted, brimming with struggles, enmity and killing C real world. The forest path curved, suddenly it opened up to a wide panorama, a graceful figure greeted his eyes. Just on the t rock by the stream in front of the house, a woman, with her both feet immersed in the water, was washing clothes with full attention, her long hair drooped down, he could not see her jade countenance, but looking at her clothes and her bearing, who else could she be but Shi Qingxuan? But Xu Ziling halted his steps across the stream in shock, as he looked at the woman on the other side, who did not seem to realize his existence; his pair of eyes emitted an unprecedented sharp, fierce and severe divine light. The profound image of Shi Qingxuan in his heart was not something that an outsider could understand or experience. Even though in terms of body type, bearing and clothing this pretty woman had seventy-, eighty-percent resemnce with Shi Qingxuan, he still saw through in just one nce that she was not Shi Qingxuan. At the same time, his heart sank straight down to the bottom; could it be that he was a step toote, that Shi Qingxuan has been harmed by the other side? Thinking to this point, immediately his murderous intent red greatly. The womans both hands trembled, evidently she generated reaction; slowly she raised her pretty face to look at him. Xu Zilings heart was severely shaken. Unexpectedly it was the Da Ming Zun Jiaos female demon, the Poisonous Water Xinnaya. That day, in the wilderness outside the city of Little Changan, he had seen her and Liexia journeying together. He could not help ming himself for being careless, unexpectedly he did not think of this; moreover, he was afraid it was toote to be sorry! First, lets not talk about Kuo Jie being killed by Ling Longjiao in the vicinity of Cijian because of him, just based on the fact that Shi Zhixuan ruthlessly killed the Benevolent Mother Sha Fang and all of her attendants, Da Ming Zun Jiao definitely would not want to let the matter drop. They wanted to kill Shi Zhixuan, but not only it was beyond their power, they did not even know where to start, hence Shi Qingxuan became their only target of revenge. They were able to know the correct location of the You Lin Xiao Gu, it must be due to Yang Xuyans giving them directions. From this, it was clear that Yang Xuyan has finally drawn a clear dividing line with Shi Zhixuan, he no longer regarded him as his Shifu. This could exin even more why Shi Zhixuan treated Hou Xibai, his only remaining disciple, in such an amiable manner, that he extremely cherished him. Xinnayas beautiful eyes emitted ice-cold expression, but her countenance was surprisingly tranquil; she stood slowly, a pair of daggers appeared in her hands, she spoke softly, Xu Ziling! You will die today! Xu Ziling felt that there were three people approaching behind him, but his expression was still as usual, he even restrained the murderous aura in his pair of eyes, while discharging all distracting thoughts from the ocean of his mind, because he was ready to open wide the monastic discipline against killing, in order to get justice for Shi Qingxuan, no one in the world would be able to stop him. Is Shi Qingxuan dead? he spoke indifferently. From behind, a female voice responded, Shi Qingxuan has fallen into our hands. If you are sensible, you would immediately cripple your own martial art skill, we might open the on one side by letting you (plural) live. Suddenly Xu Zilings entire being rxed; not only because he could hear this woman speak without meaning it, he also knew that Shi Qingxuan has received Shi Zhixuan and Bi Xiuxins handed-down teachings, it would not be easy to kill her, to capture her alive was impossible even more. Moreover, based on her character, she would rather die than falling into the enemys hands. He smiled and said, I have never mastered such a profound skill of crippling my own martial arts; I will have to trouble Guniang to give directions. Behind him a male voice was letting out a cold humph. Shocked, Xu Ziling said, Yucheng! Its you? Today, its either you die or I perish. Xu Ziling threw his head back in longughter, he said, Very well! Duan Yucheng! If you are man enough, tell me what you did to Shi Qingxuan. On the other side of the stream, Xinnaya spoke with a coldugh, Since you want to know the truth, we will let you know. Shi Qingxuan is dead! Xu Ziling remained unmoved; while resisting Duan Yuchengs fierce and severe, clearly outstanding sword qi, which he was certain that it was due to him mastering the martial art from Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing and already revealing his talent and bing the new generation Yuanzi, he spoke in heavy voice, Yucheng, answer me! Duan Yuchengs voice was without the slightest bit of emotion, She is dead! he said. The murderous aura in Xu Zilings pair of eyes was shing, but it quickly disappeared; he still kept his hands behind his back. Xinnaya let out a proud-of-herself tenderugh, her cold face, clear and beautiful jade countenance revealing a disdainful expression, gasping for breath, she said, Still dont believe? How about if her fragrant corpse is returned to you? Xu Zilings heart and spirit was like being struck by thunder, the Moon the Well realm was finally lost, with his qi being pulled back, the murderous intent of the three enemies behind him ring out greatly, they made their move at the same time to attack his back. Right this moment, someone came out of the door of the house behind Xinnaya, holding a woman who dressed very much like Shi Qingxuan in his hands, her hands and feet were hanging limply, her head, in the crook of his arm, was hanging face up, her long hair was draped over her face. This suddenly-appearing person wore ck hood covering his head, his body was covered in ck nightwalker outfit, exposing only his pair of eyes, but Xu Ziling was certain that the other side was the Da Ming Zun Jiaos Da Zun Xu Kaishan. Other than Liexia, several of the Da Ming Zun Jiao personnel with highest and strongest martial art skill were all gathered here. From this, it was clear that they determined to kill Shi Qingxuan and Xu Ziling. In the end he still underestimated the enemy. Furthermore, An Longs so-called notification was brimming with misleading ideas, but he had no time to tell whether An Long unintentionally missed it, or whether he deliberately set him up. Xu Kaishan did not say a word. He threw the woman, which appeared not to have any sign of life C in his hands toward Xu Zilings head, while he himself ran behind her. One punch exploded. Xinnaya leaped into the air over the stream to attack. In that instant Xu Ziling fell into the inferior situation where there were enemies in front and behind him. He did not know whether he ought to reach out to catch the body, which probably was Shi Qingxuans remains, or to deal with the enemys ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt powerful and ferocious offensive. If Xu Kaishans skill was near Shi Zhixuans level, and Xinnaya was not inferior to Liexia, forget about it would be difficult to avenge Shi Qingxuans as-deep-as-the-ocean blood debt, perhaps he would be powerless to even defend himself. Book 51 1 – Flash of Realization at the Bottom of the Creek

Book 51 Chapter 1 C sh of Realization at the Bottom of the Creek

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling knew that he had fallen into the trap that Da Ming Zun Jiao carefullyid. One scheme failed, the other side immediately followed with another malicious scheme; they were doing everything they could so that he would be incapable to break through and they could put him to death. First, Xinnaya impersonated Shi Qingxuan to lure him to take the bait; if he rushed to take the fake as the real one, most probably the opponent would catch him off guard and attack him. If the plot seeded, he might be unfortunate to sustain injuries, and then it would be difficult to resist the other sides must-kill attack from all sides. Next, as the body, which was still unknown whether it was the real or a fake Shi Qingxuans remains C was thrown to him, the enemys five major martial art mastersunched the most violent and ferocious assault to him at the same time. Although he did not have the chance to turn his head around to look, he deduced that other than Duan Yuchengs, the two swords attacking his back belonged to the Huo Nu [Fire Girl] and Shui Nu [Water Girl]. The three swords were woven into hiding-the-sky-and-covering-the-earth sword,pletely sealing off his retreat path. Its ingenuity made him unable to dodge sideways to the left or to the right even more, forcing him to only be able to charge forward. Duan Yuchengs sword posed the greatest threat to him. The sword qi constantly shifting, the point of attack was indeterminate, putting his terrifying power after mastering the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing in full disy. Even in a one-on-one duel, in order to put Duan Yucheng in order, Xu Ziling would have to spend a considerable effort, much less this time he was facing the enemy from four sides, plus there were the Water and Fire, two girls providing support, so that he was caught in absolute inferior situation even more. The retreat route was blocked, ahead was even more extremely dangerous. The seemingly-losing-her-life female body in the air continued to roll, the enemys most formidable Da Zun Xu Kaishan swept from below to attack Xu Zilings lower torso position, countless streams of fist power brimming with destructive power and vicious qi power surging continuously to attack and press in. Even without other peoples threat, to block and seal this punch was still extremely strenuous. Xinnayas two daggers circled and danced, it was transformed intoyer uponyer of sword shadows, pressing down to the top of his head from above, breaking his path to flee upward. In an instant, the five major martial art masters of Da Ming Zun Jiao sealed his escape routepletely, leaving him the only option to stake everything he had and meet the attack head-on, which was not much different from him throwing away his life. In this moment between life and death, Xu Ziling discharged the misgivings over Shi Qingxuans life and death out of his mind, his heart and spirit entered the Moon in the Well realm, inwardly he concentrated his attention on the Motionless Fundamental Image, and shouted an incantation. Lin! His voice shook the entire valley, the Incantation Method Image was the highest secret in the Buddhist school, it had even more marvelous innate subduing efficacy if used toward the heretic, demonic, external way, plus Xu Zilingbined it with the true power of the Taoist schools Long-Life True Qi, the Jade Annulus of He ns amazing qi, and the unusual qi umted inside the Demonic Emperors Relics as he shouted it out, so that as if it had substance, it pierced through the enemys five persons ten ears at the same time. This move could not be guarded against, plus it was greatly beyond the other sides expectation. Immediately, no one, Xu Kaishan included, was not directedly affected, their entire body shook, the originally ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum of the pincer attack slowed down a hairbreadth, and the formidable power suddenly diminished. The most brilliant was that the female corpse also heard the incantation and was severely shaken, so that Xu Ziling discovered that the female corpse was actually an enemy posing as dead person, thereby he knew that his beloved Shi Qingxuan was still alive and well. Immediately his spirit was greatly aroused, which, in turn, stirring up a powerful will to fight in his heart to defeat the enemy and to seek survival. In that lightning-sh, flint-spark moment, he recalled Shi Zhixuan strategy in breaking out of the meditation room. Not daring to hesitate, from the Motionless Fundamental Image he changed into Vajra Chakra Image, he shouted another exploding-the-heavens-moving-the-earth, able-to-make-evil-spirit-demon-and-goblin-heart-startled-guts-tremble, pushing-them-to-retreat-three-days-march incantation. Bing! One punch exploded toward the female corpse impersonating Shi Qingxuan, ignoring the other peoples offensive. Xu Kaishan was worthy to be the Da Zun; he could see through Xu Zilings strategy and tactic. In this situation, where the woman from his side, who was disguised as a female corpse C was unable to evade Xu Zilings full-powered strike in time, the tip of his foot tapped one side of the sharp rock protruding out of the stream, cancelling his attack toward Xu Ziling, he soared at an angle to snatch the female corpse. The female corpse came back to life, she became Rong Jiaojiao; her face showed a look of horror, she raised both fists to seal and block Xu Zilings spiraling fist power, which locked her tight and enveloped her. At the speed faster than an ordinary person was capable to see clearly, Xu Kaishan disyed his grandmaster-level skill, he was one step ahead in grabbing Rong Jiaojiaos waist and took her soaring at an angle, while his right foot kicked Xu Zilings fist. Xu Zilingughed aloud, he swayed to break away from Xu Kaishans enormous threat, his entire body rxed, he used his unique schools ability to rapidly change true qi, suddenly he moved two steps forward, the fist changed to palm, it met with the other palm to form a lotus flower, a highly concentrated spiraling Treasured-Vase energy took shape inside the lotus palms, he pushed it upward, the Treasured-Vase Qi left the palm and rushed upward to meet Xinnayas attack head-on, while at the same time he rolled on the ground, and dropped into the cool stream of water, momentarily neutralizing the disaster of being killed, which was pressing on his eyebrows and eyshes, and escaped out of the heavy siege. Duan Yucheng, the Fire Girl, and the Water Girls, three long swords chipped away at a task and not abandoning it [idiom: persevering], chasing after him, separately stabbing down at the underwater Xu Ziling from three different angles. Xinnaya let out a muffled groan; although she was able to block, albeit barely, the Treasured-Vase true power, which Xu Ziling bestowed on her, her tender body was still knocked hard that she was thrown away, and she still, to certain degree, received a bit of injury. How could she easily bear this full-strength strike from Xu Ziling, which she never expected? Xu Ziling disappeared six chi deep into the creek water, he turned over andy on his back. Via the rippling clear water, he was able to see clearly the three attacking swords angle and timing. Sucking in a mouthful of water first, applying his power into his two hands, three streams of water arrows shot out from both hands and his mouth, like three columns of water from deep below the surface, broke through the water surface and spiraled out, attacking Duan Yucheng, Fire Girl and Water Girls faces, which they simply had to protect. After releasing the water arrow blended with spiraling power, still staying close to the bottom, he suddenly moved several zhang away, so that the other enemies could not attack, they were unable to grasp his position. Duan Yucheng, three persons had no choice but to pull their swords back to swiftly block Xu Zilings unique [orig. hitting on something new (idiom)/disy originality] strange underwater move, and were forcefully shaken that they returned to the bank of the stream. Overhead, a shadow covered the sky. Overhead, Da Zun Xu Kaishans foot pounced down from the sky, his pair of palms pressed down on the water. Although it was not a solid strike, the staying-underwater Xu Ziling could no longer feel rxed feeling like swimming-fish-moving-to-and-fro like before. Heavy as Mount Tai, the pressure put stress on his head. The most terrifying thing was that his hands and feet were difficult to budge; he had tasted the formidable method of this Da Ming Zun Jiaos supreme leader. Perhaps Xu Kaishan has not reached Shi Zhixuans level yet, but definitely his power did not differ too far from Shi Zhixuans. However, instead of being rmed, Xu Ziling was delighted, because in his eagerness to kill him, Xu Kaishan has made a serious mistake. Actually, Xu Kaishans technique was extremely brilliant; he concentrated his internal energy into the river water, so that the river water became as heavy as ten thousand catties boulder, pressuring Xu Ziling so that he could not budge, and could only meet force with force, resisting his iing stored-up momentum, the full-strength blow striking down from the air, no longer like just now, using water arrow against the enemy. The problem was that Xu Ziling learned the method of measuring the enemy from Shi Zhixuan; as it turns out, in this particr situation he was able to disy its greatest usefulness. When Xu Kaishans true qi wasbined with the water of the creek, the creek water, about six chi in diameter, immediately stopped flowing, as if a huge rock suddenly rose up from the bottom of the creek, so that the water flowing into the creek was also excited that it sshed in all direction. But the most wonderful thing was that the intensity distribution of Xu Kaishans qi power, the style in which his true qi was moved, unexpectedly was like an open book, it was written on every single cun of the creek water. This has given Xu Ziling the convenience of fully grasping the mystery of Xu Kaishans move, enabling him to pry into his escaping one. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated [idiom, from Suntzus The Art of War]. From the bottom of the creek, Xu Zilings two fingers jabbed out to meet Xu Kaishanz pair of palmsing down, piercing through the water. The distribution of the finger power was not even either; the right finger meeting his left palm took possession of more than eighty-percent of the power inside his entire body, while the other finger only carried about twenty-percent of his strength. Moreover, he was using the focused deflecting force. The water boulder was smashed to pieces, the water was flowing again. Fingers and palms met each other. Xu Zilings left-hands index finger slightly withdrawn, it stabbed a hairterpared to the right-hand index finger to meet the hollow of Xu Kaishans right palm. This subtle difference actually determined the high/low, sess/failure of both sides. The right index finger, using prating character spiraling power, shed directly with Xu Kaishan. Immediately Xu Kaishan suffered a big loss; his entire body shook, the spiraling finger power split the palm power, prated his meridians and invaded in. Turns out Xu Kaishans two palms force distribution was also uneven: his right palm was strong, his left palm was weak, in 60-40 ratio. What Xu Ziling used was the upper-quality horse against the lower-quality horse tactic, using the strong to strike the weak, using the weak to meet the strong. The profoundness of this tactic was that he used the strong to control the weak one step ahead, so that the other sides strong became weak as well. Only this moment that the left index finger stabbed Xu Kaishansparatively stronger right palm. Qi power flowed out swiftly sideways, the water sshed everywhere. Outsiders only saw the two mens fingers and palms collided, how could they figure out the mysterious, marvelous aspect within this encounter? Xu Kaishans severe shout grew without restraint, he was jolted hard and was thrown into the air over the surface of the stream, and spurted out blood. Xu Ziling was also shaken by the impact that his blood and qi were surging, stars appeared in his eyes. Knowing that the opponent already received internal injury, which was not light, he forcefully suppressed his blood and qi, borrowing the water power to emerge, both legs kicked backward, he shot out of the water, and sent an explosive punch over empty air toward Xu Kaishan, who was still in the air. Duan Yucheng, Rong Jiaojiao, Xinnaya, the Fire Girl, the Water Girl, rushed over in shock, but they were still one step toote. Xu Kaishan was, after all, a grandmaster-level martial art master; facing death, he did not panic. Making a somersault in the air, he used both palms to block. Bang! What Xu Kaishan was blocking was the highly-concentrated Treasured-Vase Qi, how could he be able to endure it? Injury on top of injury, he spurted out another mouthful of blood, like a kite with cut string he rolled toward Xinnaya and Rong Jiaojiao, who were rushing over along the stream. Hou Xibais shout came from the direction of the valleys mouth, saying, Bad guys [lit. evil/wicked disciples], stopmitting vicious things, Hou Xibai is here! High up in the air, Xinnaya caught and held on to the heavily-injured Xu Kaishan, while shouting tenderly in Huihenguage, which Xu Ziling did not understand. Xu Ziling thought that the other side wanted to run away, Where do you think you are going? he shouted coldly. The seemingly-heard-and-retreating-swiftly Fire Girl and Water Girl unexpectedly shot several dozen dots of cold light at the same time, raining down to cover Xu Ziling. Rong Jiaojiao was rushing over to meet theing-to-help Hou Xibai. Xu Ziling felt a burst of weakness in his body, he realized that due to pursuing and attacking Xu Kaishan, his internal injury was getting heavier, plus the consumption of his true essence was extremely serious, so that he was unable to block the two womens secret projectiles head-on; immediately he took a breath and moved to evade. The Fire Girl and the Water Girl continued to retreat, but they did not run away at all, instead, they helped Rong Jiaojiao to cope with Hou Xibais folding fan. On the other side, Xu Kaishan sat cross-legged, while Xinnaya, setting aside everything, pressed her palm onto Xu Kaishans back, in order to heal him on the spot. Xu Ziling was certain that they had their unique schools secret method to treat internal injury, which would enable Xu Kaishan to recover his primary energy in a short period of time; if that happened, then his and Hou Xibaisst day woulde. Hou Xibais Fan of Beauty turned over and flew up and down, he was barely able to block the three womens deadly vicious and ruthless moves, he had no time to pay attention to other things. Xu Ziling, surrender your life! Duan Yuchengs being became one with his sword, it transformed into a long light attacking him. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; it does not matter whether Duan Yucheng was a thousand times in the wrong, ten thousand times in the wrong, he was still unable to harden his heart to harm him. However, if he could not get away from his entanglement, by the time Xu Kaishan recovered hisbat ability, with Xinnaya, three female generals joining hands with him, how could the two of them have a chance? Sword light red out severely, the qi power covered the air and pressed in. Xu Zilings heart and spirit were shaken again. Before his eyes, Duan Yucheng has disyed his talent and strength for a decisive victory; it was clear that previously he did not use all his strength. But now, in order to protect Xu Kaishan, he no longer had any reservations, and has shown the marvelous aplishment and ultimate skill he learned from the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing. In Xu Zilings current situation, even if he wanted to kill him, he would still be having the intention but not the power, let alone on this issue he was still having three hearts and two intentions. Xu Ziling leaped back to a big rock by the stream. His left hand drew a circle, his right hand drew a square, generating two opposite streams of energy, one sucking in, the other pushing out, to deal with the other sides hiding the sky and covering the earths sword qiing to attack. Duan Yuchengs sword momentum was fierce and severe, but his expression was as calm as still water; however, if his original attack style did not change, half of this sword qi would be absorbed, while the other half would be deflected. As long as Xu Ziling seeded in absorbing part of his true qi, his counterattack move would be extremely difficult for him to withstand. Suddenly, myriad of sword shadows was restrained, they changed back into one sword, Duan Yucheng performed strange footwork, he darted to Xu Zilings left side, the sword rose up, but suddenly went down, it split and swiftly chopped, the changes were hard to estimate, furthermore, the person and the sword became one entity, there was a feeling that it did not have the least bit of w. Xu Ziling had never thought that he would be this brilliant, the use of real power path became a fancy move instead, he was unable to suck, he was unable to deflect. If he were not internally injured, he might still be able to block this ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt strike head-on; however, this moment he knew that it was beyond his reach. The enormous without equal sword qi covered and locked himpletely. Xu Ziling carryout the Great Vajra Chakra Image, while flying back at the same time, to retreat toward the opposite bank of the stream. Laughing coldly, Duan Yucheng said, You are courting death! His original style did not change, it still rose up at an angle, it was still stabbing on his head. Under the pull of the tendency of the qi, Xu Zilings retreat provoked his sword qi so that it was like mountain sh flood flowing out violently. The long sword generated the Chi! Chi ear-piercing shrill noise as it split the air, carrying an abundant subduing-the-enemy momentum. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Yuchengs experience in facing the enemy is still not enough! The Great Vajra Chakra Image, which was originally moving up to meet the attack, suddenly pressed down, immediately the water of the stream sshed everywhere; a thick column of water shot up from inside the creek, it shot like a solid pir toward the vital part on Duan Yuchengs lower torso. Duan Yucheng had never expected that he would have this move, moreover, it was carried out heavily, so that immediately his hands and feet were in chaos, he changed the direction of his long sword to hack on the water column. Bang! Water sshed everywhere, Duan Yucheng was hit hard and he fell back to the opposite bank. Xu Ziling let out a roar, he sent a punch sting across the stream toward Duan Yucheng. Duan Yucheng has not steadied his footing, hurriedly he raised his sword horizontally to block. Xu Ziling saw Duan Yucheng revealed a shocked expression. Naturally he was horrified because he was unable to block even half a thread of the power of the punch. This moment the Treasured-Vase Qi has been formed, it left the fist and shot forward. Boom! Duan Yuchengs entire body shook severely, he staggered back, the color of bloodpletely drained from his handsome face, evidently he was injured. Xu Ziling also felt a burst of empty and fluttering feeling, he was unable to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack. He originally thought that Duan Yucheng would be unable to withstand the punch and would be injured and fall to the ground. This moment, seeing him still able stand and did not vomit any blood, he knew that the martial art of the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing was indeed not amon chord. This moment Xu Kaishan suddenly stood up; the divine light in his eyes visible under his hood was shing, he shouted, Good martial arts! This Zun [revered, venerable] wants to ask advice again. Xinnaya leaped to Duan Yuchengs side, the concerned look on her pretty face was shown in full light. Xu Ziling raised his qi inwardly; looking at Xu Kaishaning over from the opposite bank, he spoke indifferently, Xu Xiong changed your voice, and you put on a hood, but can you hide from other peoples eyes and ears? Xu Kaishan halted his steps at the opposite bank. Shaking his head, he said with a sigh, I never thought that the able-to-move-unhindered, consider-himself-unexcelled-in-the-world Xu Ziling unexpectedly will lose his life in this valley. What a pity! What a pity! Xinnaya and Duan Yucheng separately moved to his left and right, storing up their momentum in waiting. Xu Ziling secretly determined that even if he had to die, he must pull Xu Kaishan along to apany him on the journey. Right this moment, a sharp warning whistle came from outside the valley, carrying a sense of urgency. Xinnaya and Duan Yuchengs countenance changed at the same time, while Xu Kaishans pair of eyes revealed a shocked expression. Xu Ziling had never thought that they still had theirpanions outside the valley; he was shaken inwardly. After Xu Kaishans eyes changed repeatedly, he spoke in heavy voice, Just consider yourself lucky. Lets go! They left as soon as they said they would go, flying toward the mouth of the valley. Xu Ziling called out loudly, Xibai, retreat! Hou Xibai restrained his fan and retreated, Rong Jiaojiao, three women did not have the heart to zealously continue fighting, following Xu Kaishan and the others, they turned around and were gone in an instant, neat and clean. Xu Zilings pair of legs went weak, he sat on the ground. Hou Xibai rushed to his side and asked on consternation, Is Ziling all right? Xu Ziling spoke urgently, Go out and see, quickly! If Qingxuan is back, immediately warn her, I have to recover as quickly as possible, only then will I be able toe out to help the two of you. Immediately Hou Xibais countenance changed; not saying anything further, he bolted at top speed toward the path in the woods out of the valley. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around. The small valley was tranquil and harmonious, the water in the creek was gurgling, insects and birds were singing. The sun had just reached its culmination point, illuminating the inside of the valley that the gradation of the forest looked even more distinct, its shade covered the ground, as if the intense battle just now had never happened. He was worried not only for Shi Qingxuan, but for Hou Xibai as well; although he has not fully recovered, he could not help rising to his full height. Previously, in frontal confrontation against Xu Kaishan, there was only a fine line between victory and defeat. In term of power, Xu Kaishan was still a notch better than him, hence the lost was actually because of luck [good or bad], and Xu Ziling won also because of luck. Were it not for the method of detecting the enemy that he learned from Shi Zhixuan, which enabled him to find Xu Kaishans w, he would have missed the golden opportunity. In this multitude-of-enemies, few-friends situation, it would be difficult for him to escape the disaster of being killed. If he could use this detecting the enemy method outside of being underwater, it would be tantamount to him knowing half of the Bu Si Yin Fa, not only he would know when to advance or to retreat, he could also, because he could grasp the enemys qi power distribution and the manner in which the power was applied C borrow the force and deflect the force to subdue the enemy, which means he had reached the Bu Si Yin realm. But how could he reach such level? Warning signal suddenly appeared in his heart, Xu Ziling looked at the direction of the mouth of the valley. Hou Xibai appeared from the bend in the forest path, his expression grave as he came in front of Xu Ziling and spoke heavily, Shi Shi is here! Xu Ziling was shocked, What did you say? he blurted out. Hou Xibai said, I said Shi Shi is here, but I should have said that he was here. When I got to the outside of the valley, the fight was already over, Da Ming Zun Jiao is finished! Xu Ziling understood. Unexpectedly Shi Zhixuan was the reason Xu Kaishan left. This time, Da Ming Zun Jiao people came to Bashu to deal with his daughter, but it hase as no surprise to him. An Long received his order to warn Xu Ziling, to tell him to be on guard. Shi Qingxuan was not in the small valley, most likely it was Shi Zhixuan who made the arrangement so that his daughter would avoid the disaster. Xu Kaishan and the others were eager to take revenge for Sha Fang, they tragically fell into the trap that Shi Zhixuan ingeniously set up. To a certain extent, Xu Ziling was also being used by Shi Zhixuan. Hou Xibai said, Two dead bodies were lying face down on the road, but I did not see the other four people. In my opinion, they wont be able to escape Shi Shis hands. Xu Ziling was afraid one of the deaths would be Duan Yucheng, he spoke hastily, Lets go out to take a closer look. Book 51 2 – Too Late To Be Sorry

Book 51 Chapter 2 C Too Late To Be Sorry

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong hurriedly rushed back into the Shao Shuai Mansions inner hall, twenty-eight Song Familys younger generation troops standing guard outside the door, everyone was young and robust, having an impressive appearance, with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear, with swift and fierce expression, wearing uniform ck clothes warrior outfit, and cavalry sword hanging on their waist; evidently these were the elite troops of the Song Family Army. During this unusual time, they bore the special responsibility to escort and protect. They stood in attention to salute Kou Zhong first, their eyes emitted reverence and admiration expression, then one of them stepped forward and saluted, he said, Er Xiaojie [second miss; I thought it was Third Miss in the past?] is waiting for Shaoshuai inside the hall. Shuxia [subordinate] Song Bang, paying his respect to Shaoshuai! Kou Zhongs heart has already flown into the hall; really wishing that he could take three steps in one, he was rushing toward the door, yet he could not simply ignore Song Bang. He grabbed both of Song Bangs hands and said with a smile, I am sorry to trouble gentlemen brothers a lot! The crowd responded in chorus, Being able to work for Er Xiaojie and Shaoshuai, it is indeed our honor and glory. Kou Zhong was startled by their orderly and uniformed response, as if they already knew beforehand that he was going to say that and already prepared a proper answer. Song Bang spoke in low voice, Shaoshuai, pleasee in to see Er Xiaojie. Suddenly Kou Zhongs heart was thumping inside his chest; leaving Song Bang, he walked over toward the entrance, the Song Family troops split to both sides to let him pass. Crossing over the threshold, the reflection of Song Yuzhis elegant and noble beautiful image entered his eyes and heart. This beautiful woman was standing in front of the window, with her back to him, gazing at the delicate scenery of the garden outside the window. She was wearing green flowery head covering wrapped around her hair, tied with a crimson embroidered belt. On her body was powder green turndown cored gown, and milky white tight-fitting-sleeved upper outer garment, and dark blue, white and gold, tri-colored striped underpants, ck leather boots, heroic beauty and bold girdle ornaments, yet did not lose her female charm. Kou Zhongs feeling was like a wanderer leaving his home vige and departing his well, making his way outside in the world for a long time, walking everywhere over the ten thousand crags and torrents, after suffering and withstanding all kinds of temptations, finally returning to the already-separated-for-a-long-time tender wifes side, although at best Song Yuzhi could only be considered his betrothed. With fear and trepidation, Kou Zhong lightly stepped behind Song Yuzhis fragrant body, ovee with intense urge to wrap her inside his bosom, or at least to grab her touching fragrant shoulders, which looked like they were carved with a knife, but in the end, he was afraid to offend her, to displease her; without any better option, he spoke softly, Zhizhi! I am here! Her tone tranquil, Song Yuzhi said, Kou Zhong! Ay! Kou Zhong, do you know how much grief has your running amok caused me? Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook severely, in the end he could not resist reaching out to put his hand on her fragrant shoulder, brimming with abundant youthfulness, energy and sticity, the touching fragrance from her hair, her body, assailed his nostrils, he could no longer speak; originally he really wanted to tell her how much he missed her, but he had ten thousand speeches, a thousand words without any way of expressing it. Song Yuzhi struggled lightly to get free, as if she wanted to break away from his palm, but naturally it was of no use. The fact was that she did not really want to break free. She only spoke indifferently, Do you know where I wasing from? This moment, other than Song Yuzhi, there was nothing else in Kou Zhongs heart. His heart bewitched, his body intoxicated, he said, Didnt youe from Lingnan? Song Yuzhi lightly said, Yuzhi is not married to you yet, you cant be rude to me. Kou Zhong acted as if he was awakened from a beautiful dream, hastily he let go of both hands, and said with apologetic smile, Yuzhi, please dont be angry, its just that meeting again after a long period of separation that I was unable to restrain my emotions! Song Yuzhi spoke indifferently, Move a bit away for me! Although what she said was impolite, but the tone of her voice was gentle and soft, clearly it was not because she was angry in her heart, therefore, Kou Zhongs feeling was not hurt, he even felt that being able to touch her fragrant shoulder without suffering severe responsibility, the distance between him and the beautiful woman before his eyes has been greatly pulled closer. Hastily he took two steps back and spoke cheerfully, I am moving a bit away. Where has Zhizhi actuallye from? Song Yuzhi slowly turned her tender body around to face this man, with whom love and hate were difficult to differentiate. Her lucid and elegant jade countenance was as quiet as still water, she said, I came from Hainan. Shaken, Kou Zhong blurted out, What? Song Yuzhi rolled her eyes at him. Her eyes clearly said, Its all because of what you did, these reproaching words, yet the tone of her voice remained tranquil. She still spoke without emotion, After you left Lingnan, Die set out to execute the n that has been drawn up for a long time. First, he forced Lin Shihong to retreat and defend Junyang Lake. In this aspect, he had Zhi Shu [uncle] to be in charge, by forming alliance with Xiao Xian to deal with Lin Shihong, using all kinds of techniques to strike and weaken Lin Shihongs military power and production capability. Kou Zhong stretched out his big hand and said, How about we sit down and talk about it? Song Yuzhi faintly fixed her gaze on him a bit, and then she shook her head and said, I am happy to stand here and talk. Once I am done, I want to leave immediately. Kou Zhong pulled back his hand and spoke in astonishment, You want to leave immediately? Whye and go in such a hurry? How could I be willing to part with you and let you go? The color of rose-tinted clouds at sunset rose up on Song Yuzhis jade cheeks; with a bit of determination in her voice she spoke after a short pause, I go when I want to go, dogs mouth will not grow ivory. What Kou Zhong felt, however, was the delight of unmarried husband and wife ying tricks on each other; he smiled and said, Dont scare me, all right? Why did Zhizhi go to Hainan Ind? Arent Huang Gongcuo and your Song Family the two cannot exist together? This time I went to Changan, I did not see him; I was wondering if he went back to Hainan Ind? Song Yuzhi spoke in displeasure, We came invited. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, What? Song Yuzhi sighed and said, When you went to see Die that year, you ought to think about the consequences. Nanhai Pai and our Song Familys strength are widely different. Die was willing to tolerate Huang Gongcuo, it was simply because he refrained from shooting the rat for fear of breaking the vases. But now that Die has decided to help you contending for hegemony over the world, he no longer has any misgivings. In the open, he was mobilizing his troops to the north, but in the dark, he deployed his troops with thunderbolt-failed-to-reach-the-ears technique to attack and upy Hainan. When our fleet entered Zhuya [lit. Pearl Cliff, historic name for Hainan Ind], Huang Gongcuo and the others were still in a dream, we attacked them that they had no time to deal with it and fled in panic. Now Hainan and the neighboring coastal counties are all under our control, in direct threat to Shen Faxing and Li Zitong. Our fleet is less than ten days voyage from here. But this will only make the situation even more tense, forcing Li Shimin tounch blitzkrieg strategy against Luoyang, plus he will try to pull you up by the roots before we go up north. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was both rmed and delighted, his scalp went numb, for the first time he deeply felt and understood that the Li ns fear toward Song Que was absolutely not shooting without aiming, or a baseless imagination. Song Que was certainly an expert in strategy and militaryw, his technique in confusing the enemy had reached perfection even more, he tricked everybody into thinking that he was still assembling military forces and mobilizing the troops in preparation to go up north, while without the slightest warning heunched special attack toward the Hainan Ind, driving away the Nanhai Pai controlling Hainan. Hainan Ind fell into Song Ques hands, it was tantamount to he acquired the power to control the sea south of the Yangtze River. Whether it was Li Zitong or Shen Faxings navy, it would be difficult to forcefully shake the continuously-preserving-and-nurture-their-spirit, preserving-their-strength Song Familys fleet. Moreover, Song Que coulde and go as he wished; it was only the moment that the Song Familys fleet was at the door that the enemy woke up with a start. In term of overall strategy, upying the Hainan Ind was a brilliant-beyondpare marvelous move. The pros and cons of this matter to his n were hard to distinguished. Li Zitong might be scared that he would hole up and refuse toe out, or he might seize the golden opportunity while Song Que had not steadied his disposition of troops in Hainan to take a risk out of desperation, by going up north to attack his Shao Shuai Army, so that together with Li Shimins main forces, they could withstand Song Que. Song Yuzhi spoke softly, At present Die is nning on dispatching the troops to deal with Shen Faxing, this time Yuzhi received his order toe here, to urge you, whatever the case, to defend Pengliang, to wait for him. After defeating Shen Faxing, he would coordinate with you to attack Jiangdu, separately from the north and south via the water andnd, two routes. ording to our estimate, at most, Shen Faxing can only hold out up to half a year, by the warm-spring, blooming-flower next year, I wish that we can meet again in Jiangdu! Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down to the bottom; could his Shao Shuai Army hold out for up to half a year? Song Yuzhisst remark was not only full of friendly regard, it also carried the implication that she was not optimistic about him and therefore had a little bit of taste of being separated in life and death, which made all sorts of feelings welling up in his heart. Song Yuzhi hung down her small cicada head, she spoke lightly, I am very tired, you take a good care of yourself, Yuzhis leaving! Kou Zhong grabbed Song Yuzhis fragrant shoulder and anxiously said, Zhizhi, how could you say you are leaving and just leave like that? Song Yuzhi did not struggle, but there was some kind of both mentally and physically exhausted apathetic facial expression; she spoke without any emotion, Why cant I? Stunned, Kou Zhong replied, We havent seen each other for so long, could it be that other than work-rted matters, there is no other things to talk about? Song Yuzhis beautiful eyes revealed a hint of distressed, exasperated expression, she spoke softly, You, menfolks brain, apart from contending for hegemony and the great undertaking of unifying the world, does it still contain other things? To take a good care of your Shao Shuai Army should be the only thing you are currently thinking of, Yuzhi has nothing more to say to you. Die wants me to marry you, I will marry you ording to the conditions Die has agreed with you; do you understand? It was as if Kou Zhong was struck by lightning; in his severe shock, he let go of his hands and staggered backward, his countenance turned deathly pale, the helpless feeling of every hope turns to dust welled up in his heart. Song Yuzhi spoke with a light sigh, If this were the time of peace and prosperity, we might asionally meet by chance in Jianghu, Yuzhi might fall head over heel for you. Too bad both the time and the ce do not fit; what else can I say to you? Ever since you proposed marriage to Zhi Shu for the first time, what little good opinion Yuzhi had for you was crushed thoroughly. What I detest the most is business-deal-style marriage with conditions, yet it clearly came from the mouth of a man that I admired. Kou Zhong, have you ever tried to understand me? The way of thinking in Yuzhis heart, do you have the slightest amount of interest to know? You cant think of me as an object and a target of conquest, just like Jiangdu or Changan, only consider Yuzhi as an essory to war. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was as dumb as a wooden chicken. Upon self-inspection, although he was concerned over her, he showed tenderness to her, but he had never cared about of the way of thinking in her fragrant heart; for instance, why she opposed to the Song Family striving for the world, or things like that. He just took it for granted that she liked him. Song Yuzhi took two steps forward, reached out with her slender hand and lightly caressed his face, she spoke in gentle voice, Shaoshuai, please take a good care of yourself, no need to see me off! Finished speaking, she smiled sadly and then left without waiting for his response. The Fire Girl and Water Girls dead bodiesy face-down outside the valley, separated by more than ten zhang distance. The intensity of the battle at that time could be easily imagined. Various people of Da Ming Zun Jiao were fighting and running away at the same time; the two girls, in order to protect their Jiao Zun [religious leader] blocked Shi Zhixuan, and under his ruthless hand, mercilessly their jade life fragrantly disappeared. The two men searched along the way. About half a liter they saw two male corpses; surprisingly they were the Five-kind of Demons Jiu Lingzhi and Yang Mo. By each corpses side, there was a set of broken and smashed crossbow and arrows. Not only that, there were crossbows and arrows lying around everywhere. Hou Xibai examined the fatal injuries of the two men, his conclusion was, Indeed it was Shi Shis hands; on the surface, there is no bruise, but their five viscera werepletely shattered. Just one fatal blow each. Xu Ziling recalled the tragic death of You Niaojuan in Changan; nodding his head in agreement, he said, They must have received Xu Kaishans order to prepare an ambush and provide support in here, but they lost their lives in trying to stop Shi Zhixuan. Lets split up and search separately, well meet again in half a sichen here. Although Da Ming Zun Jiao peoplemit many and varied evil deeds, but theres nothing good to argue with dead people, we will let them be buried and at rest in here. Kou Zhong copsed into a chair a corner of the inner hall, his back sank into the pillow at the back of the chair, as he stared nkly at the beam of the room overhead. For the first time he felt deeply remorseful of his past conducts. Shame, self-me, and regret attacked him together, his determination and ignorance have thoroughly hurt the person he loved! He was only selfishly thinking about his beliefs, but he never put himself in her shoes and thought about them from her angle and her standpoint. Outside the window, the pitch-ck clouds were hanging low in the sky, as if it was a reflection of his depressed mood! An unnamed sorrow pressed down on his body and mind like ten-thousand-jin heavy boulder. Just to speak a word, or move a finger, or even to ponder about his rtionship with Song Yuzhi, which had developed into such plight C would consume the entire strength in his body, as well as everything that he aplished to this point. He could perhaps obtain her body, but he could never obtain her fragrant heart. So what if he won all the battles under the heavens? He would lose her forever. These thoughts suffocated him, made him feel extremely lonely. In this moment, nothing could make him feel that it had any meaning, let alone heal the wounds deep inside his heart. Self-me, like countless sharp, pointy needles pierced his heart. The seemingly always strong willpower and self-control, all of a sudden disappeared, practically nothing was left, his entire body felt weak without any strength. Xuan Yongs voice came from the main door, Reporting to Shaoshuai, Rongyang fell! Kou Zhong repeated the four-character Rongyang fell [rong yang shi xian] words in his heart twice; by the time he repeated it for the third time, his mind cleared up, he sat up straight. Xuan Yong and Luo Qifei came to his presence, they looked at him, deeply worried and sick at heart. Kou Zhong struggled hard to rouse his spirit, he said, I am all right. Sit down, lets talk. The two separately sat to his left and right. Luo Qifei said, The news just arrived. We already guessed that Wei Lu might surrender, but we never thought that he would surrender this quickly. I hear Wang Shichong sent his great general Zhang Zhi to Rongyang to deliver a letter, ordering Wei Lu to dispatch his army to reinforce Ho, who would have thought that unexpectedly Wei Lu prepared an ambush and captured Zhang Zhi and his men alive, and then he opened the gate to wee Li Shiji into the city. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was a bit more clear-headed, his mind turned back to the grim battlefield. He remembered that Wei Lu was the defending general of Rongyang, and Zhang Zhi was the general qualified to deliver Wang Shichongs imperial edict for him. Knitting his brows, he said, Guancheng, Rongyang, one after another they fell without even fighting, potentially Zhangzhou will follow; how is Wang Xuanying going to deal with it? Luo Qifei replied, Wang Xuanying is afraid of being attacked by the enemy on all sides, he retreated without fighting, and returned to Ho to hide over there. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that he must have walked over misfortune way today, all the news entering his ears were bad news. Shaking his head, he sighed and said, I know Wang Xuanying, this useless fellow very well; he absolutely does not have the courage and determination to defend Ho to the death. His Niangs! Wed better carry out our grand n to march our army to deceive the enemy sooner than nned. Laotianye has always taken care of me, Kou Zhong. I hope he, the Senior, still persevere with it and does not change to this day. Suddenly he knew that no matter how broken-hearted and frustrated he was, he could not let his personal mood affect his Shao Shuai Army, because it concerned the hope and the life of the people who cherished, and gave their allegiance to, him. Oh, how he wished that Xu Ziling was by his side! The two men washed their stained hands in the creek, their hearts were heavy, not long ago the Fire Girl and the Water Girls youthfulness was still shining, yet this moment, together with Jiu Lingzhi and Yang Mo, theyy buried under the loess inside the forest outside of the valley. Although the other side were the enemy, how could their hearts be without emotional stirring? They searched around the nearly ten li area in the vicinity, but did not find anything anymore. Perhaps Xu Kaishan, Xinnaya, Rong Jiaojiao and Duan Yucheng, four persons had sessfully escaped to the wilderness. With their martial art skill, were it not for Xu Kaishan and Duan Yuchengs internal injury had not been healed, even in frontal confrontation with Shi Zhixuan, they should have the power to stake it all. More and more Xu Ziling felt how brilliant and terrifying Shi Zhixuan was, no wonder both the orthodox and heretic, two ways, in the world were so afraid of him! Through these two battles, Da Ming Zun Jiaos Benevolent Mother Shan Mu died by violence, the Five-kind of Demons only remained one Xinnaya. The casualties were disastrous, undoubtedly their n to enter and invade the Central ins would suffer a big blow, in the short term, it would be difficult to pull themselves together. Hou Xibai went over to a big rock by the stream to sit down. Looking up at the fascinating deep ck starry night above the small valley, he sighed and said, Shi Shi must have An Long assisting him, otherwise Da Ming Zun Jiao people would not have been defeated that quickly, that tragically. Xu Ziling nodded but did not say anything. Taking off his riding boots, he immersed his bare feet into the water, the cool feeling calmed his fluctuating mood down, again he heard the interwoven of the sound of the autumn birds singing and the insects buzzing inside the valley. Hou Xibai looked at him, he frowned and wondered aloud, Where exactly has Qingxuan gone? Xu Ziling shook his head indicating that he was unable to guess. Hou Xibai asked, That guy whom you call Yucheng, what kind of person is he? He seems to be Zilings former acquaintance, his swordsmanship is extremely brilliant. Thereupon Xu Ziling exined his rtionship with Duan Yucheng, and then in conclusion he said, Before, even though he left us, we all still have a bit of friendship affection, but after this battle, any remaining feeling should be obliteratedpletely; only enmity remains. Naturally I cant possibly hate him, but I am afraid he wont think that way. The hatred will spread like forest fire until everything is burned to the ground! Hou Xibai nodded and said, He must be a person with extreme ideology, once he has a firm view on something, nobody can change him. For me, religion can only be appreciated but must not be engrossed in. When religious thought be some kind of restriction, people will be ves to that kind of thought. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, That thought of yours, you ought to keep it for yourself, you must never, ever, speak it out, otherwise it will cause a storm. For those with conviction, their belief in itself is some kind of freedom from worldly worries [Buddhism], it is self-sufficient, not something false that he is seeking. Hou Xibai said with a sneer, There is only one truth, yet there are so many different beliefs in the world, which one is true? Which one is false? Ay! Thinking about these things will only give us headache. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that precisely because everybody believes differently that there were so many disputes in the world. Hou Xibai sat cross-legged properly, and then he closed his pair of eyes and said, How many days is Ziling going to wait here? Remembering Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. He shook his head nkly and said, I dont know. If I cannot see Qingxuan, I wont feel at ease. Suddenly his heart moved, he turned his eyes toward the forest path. Hou Xibai also opened his handsome eyes; without blinking at all, he looked in the same direction. Under the illumination of the moon and the star, Shi Qingxuan C wearing dark green and ck hood on her head, cream-colored upper outer garment with tight-fitting sleeves, embroidered flowery tied-together sleeves, her coat was milky yellow short jacket, jade-green shawl, cinnabar-colored long skirt, tied to her waist with blue and white brocade belt, with pointy-end shoes on her feet, disturbingly heroic and graceful, leisurely and calm C wasing back. She did not cover her jade countenance, neither she changed her appearance. Her gait was light and graceful, as if she was the Lingbo Fairy [lit. approaching the wave/the storm; sorry, the only reference I can find is rted to some kind ofputer game] descending to the mortal world from the deepest, darkest starry sky. In her hand she was carrying a fine ck hair to fasten the basket, fine branches to sew the basket mulberry basket [the first two baskets are enclosing frame made of bamboo, wire, etc. or cage, thest basket is as in basketball]. Following her appearance, the small valley seemed to be immediately enveloped in a burst of strongly-fragrant, sweet-smelling and clean air. Greatly delighted, the two men stood up to greet her. Hou Xibai even looked at her with his eyes emitting strange light; were it not for he carried no brush and ink with him, he would have already taken up his brush to record this matchlessly touching moment on his Fan of Beauty. Shi Qingxuans countenance was tranquil, it did not express joy, it did not express displeasure. Her beautiful eyes unenthusiastically swept over these two uninvited guests in front of the door of her house, finally her gaze came to the opposite bank of the stream, her eyes fell onto Xu Zilings face, revealing a hint of smile like the moonlight breaking through theyers of clouds, she spoke gently, Its been too long! You only found out and came today? Book 51 3 – Bemoaning Flute, Grieving Song

Book 51 Chapter 3 C Bemoaning Flute, Grieving Song

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia In the vast and indistinct night rain, with Wuming standing on his shoulder, the Thousand-Li Dream under his crotch, on a hill about five li east of Liangdu, Kou Zhong observed the different branches of his Shao Shuai Army, unit by unit, from the official road down below marching in the direction of Pengcheng. Apanying him on his left and right were Jiao Hongjin, Bai Wenyuan and more than a dozen personal guards from the Flying Cloud Riders. Although it was in the night, in the drizzling rain, he was still a distinct figure that every single member of the Shao Shuai Army passing through was still able to see as he personally saw them off. He himself was the element that raise their morale. Xuan Yong was themander-in-chief of the grand march this time, lying low during the day and marching on at night, not only it was a rigorous training for the Shao Shuai Army, it also concerned the survival of the Shao Shuai Army. Kou Zhong was fully aware that this was a big gamble, any small detail slightly out of question, he would never have the opportunity to free himself. Losing the northern territory and this branch of elite troops of the Shao Shuai Army, even with Song Ques strength, in the situation ofcking in strength to reverse the rotation of the sky, he could only withdraw back to Lingnan in grief. The Song Familys expectation of him, the trust that the officers and soldiers of the Shao Shuai Army had on him, plus the desperate struggle against the demonic school, he suddenly felt that these heavy burdens all fell onto his pair of shoulders, weighing him down that his heart was as heavy as the ck cloud in the night sky. Luo Qifeis men already rode out to scout everywhere, they kept the situation upstream and downstream of the canal under close watch. On one hand, it was to give Yang Gongqings army the opportunity toe over secretly; on the other hand, it was to watch attentively the enemy troops movement in downstream Zhongli. Bu Tianzhi was in charge of the heavy responsibility to transport the Yang Army over via the waterway. How would Li Zitong react? The fact is, Kou Zhong did not have the slightest assurance, he could only leave everything in Laotianyes hands. If He, the Senior wanted Kou Zhong to perish, Kou Zhong had no choice but to ept misfortune as decreed by fate. Xu Ziling has never expected that Shi Qingxuan would say such an intimate remark; immediately his entire being rxed and happy, he felt free-and-unfettered, high-in-the-sky, floating-in-the-air, but he did not forget to salute and said, Shi Xiaojie, how are you? This gentleman is ... Shi Qingxuans beautiful eyes slid toward Hou Xibai, she returned to her indifferent expression, as she slightly shrugged her fragrant shoulders and said, Who doesnt know Hou Gongzi? Hou Xibai calmly said, Hou Xibai pays his respect to Qingxuan Xiaojie. How about I wait outside the valley? If theres anything, you can summon Xiaodi anytime. Shi Qingxuans pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she spoke indifferently, Why do you want to get away outside the valley? Hou Gongzi is a friend of Xu Ziling, naturally Qingxuan will wee you wholeheartedly. Two gentlemen, pleasee in and have some hot tea, all right? Finished speaking, she floated to cross over the creek, and took the lead to enter the stone house. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai had never thought that Shi Qingxuan would be this easygoing and friendly, they were both pleased beyond their expectation, hurriedly they followed behind her into the house. Inside the stone house was one elegantly-decorated small hall. Shi Qingxuan lighted an oilmp on the corner, the two men sat down on one side. This heavenly-beauty, kingdom-appearance, whose Xiao skill was renowned all over the world C Shi Cainu [talented girl] brewed tea in leisurely manner. There was some kind of hard-to-describe warm feeling in their hearts. Shi Qingxuans manner was amiable, yet she also kept her distance; she was cordial, yet there was cold and detached manner within it; however, it was enough to make them feel overwhelmed by favor from superior. She did not speak, the two men did not dare to speak even more, afraid to destroy the tranquil harmony in the small building. After receiving the fragrant tea Shi Qingxuan offered him, Xu Ziling could not help saying, Just now ... Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, No need to say what happened just now, I dont want to know. Ziling has not answered Qingxuans question, why did youe only today? Xu Ziling was dumbstruck and unable to reply. This, hey! This ... he stammered. Shi Qingxuan served the hot tea to Hou Xibai, and then she sat opposite the two men. Pfft! she giggled and said, No words to answer? Qingxuan is not ming you; you love to wander the four seas, dont you? It just so happens that you have not wandered to this remote ce, right? Seeing Xu Ziling was so embarrassed that his handsome face turned beet red, Hou Xibai decided to speak up to help him, Zaixia knows Zilings situation best; he has the aspiration to wander all over the world, pity that the firmament is still unwilling to give him that opportunity until today. Shi Qingxuanughed indifferently and said, Its Qingxuans fault, I love to see Xu Zilings embarrassed look. Ay! Qingxuan still has not had any chance to thank Ziling for lending a hand to aplish Yue Bobos [uncle, older than ones father] cherished desire. Xu Ziling knew she was thanking him for getting rid of the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying. Uttering a modest remark would be the exertion of lifting his hand, but he was afraid it would sound like he was boasting too much, because striking and killing Xi Ying actually involved quite a bit of luck, the victory did note easy. Hastily he replied, It was entirely due to Yue Laos soul and spirit in heavens blessing. And then he loosened up his bundle and took out the Tianzhu Xiao, while exining the rise and fall of the terrain, he presented the Xiao with both hands to Shi Qingxuan, and then returned to his original seat. Receiving the Tianzhu Xiao, Shi Qingxuan cheerfully said, Shang Dajie knows Qingxuans heart too well! How did Qingxuan deserve her affection and favor? Once gain Xu Ziling felt the unrestrained, rxed feeling in interacting with Shi Qingxuan; however, although she never concealed her favorable impression toward him, he felt that between the two of them, there was a chasm that he was unable to cross. Brimming with anticipation, Hou Xibai sounded her out, Isnt Qingxuan Xiaojie going to test the tonal quality of this Xiao? Shi Qingxuanughed while rolling her eyes at him in displeasure;ughing tenderly, he said, Greedy! But when she finished speaking, she raised the Tianzhu Xiao to her fragrant lips side and lightly blew a clear and melodious note. The sound of the Xiao seemed to rise from the depth of the two mens heart; it also sounded like it came from the untouchable ce outside the Ninth Heaven. Emotionally moved, Hou Xibai said, No wonder Xiufang Dajia did not hesitate to send Ziling from thousands of li away to deliver this Xiao; only Qingxuan deserves to receive this Xiao. Shi Qingxuan flowery countenance turned dark, her beautiful eyes were covered in pained and bewildered color, the change in her expression was so sudden that watching her, the two mens heart and spirit were trembling severely, thinking that she must have recalled the encounter in which she was helpless, hence it was difficult to control herself! Shi Qingxuans fragrant lips effortlessly blowing lightly, the Tianzhu Xiao emitted a series of dark, deep and low notes, the sound was deliberately full of venting her anger, emitting the wear and tear and shuddering tone, containing within it some kind of strange and unusual force, so that others could feel the heavy pain restraining and pressuring inside her fragrant heart, so that they could not help but think that perhaps in the mysterious ce deep within her heart that no one could spy on she was silently shedding drops of emotional tears! The flute sound turned around, it continuously sank down, bringing out a dark world like one was sinking into a nightmare that one could not wake up from, which lead one into the abyss of a sense of loss that was full of dispirited tears. The flute sound suddenly became stato, and then turned legato, the earth seemed to exhaust the whole bodys strength that she was no longer able to control the flute sound, the Tianzhu Xiao seemed like it could only rely on its own power, struggling to transform its barely-remaining life into the sad melody before dying. The dance tform, the singing stage, the distinguished and aplished, everything was finally being blown away by the wind and the rain! Xu Ziling has forgotten himself, he felt his entire spirit was shuddering following the flute sound. The guilty feather contains the quotient shifting the modtion, and the chord is thrown with mercy. [This is straight from machine trantion; the venerable Mr. Google says it is the He Manzi Song written by Zhang Hunan of the Tang Dynasty.] What exactly vexed her that she revealed her true feeling? That shepletely expressed the sorrow and the full details of the story inside her fragrant heart? Yet her expression remained tranquil, only her pair of opened pretty eyes emitted a with one note, one intestine was broken, how many intestines could she possibly have? sorrow! That kind of cold and detached emotion in contrast to the grief, the difference caused people to shake. It was unclear whether Hou Xibai was recalling his own, or whether it was Shi Qingxuans breaking-peoples-intestines C lot in life, but tears were already streaming down his face; along with the heartbroken flute sound, he suddenly sang while pping the armrest, Shu Guo [the State of Shu, Sichuan] has many sentiments, many colors that can be spoken about, the carved low walls distinctin spiraling upward to the beam, the guests on the flower capital city wall are already intoxicated, if the people on the top of the separating mountain range did not return, the resounding sound turns the jade-green cloud to remain in the shadow. The song finally quietly divulging the moon and sinking down the sunshine, the water flowing on the mountain goes to sleep I dont know how far away, just like the jade hairpin and golden threaded clothes in the dream. Shi Qingxuans flute sound made a turn again, it appeared to be freed out of the impossible-to-break-free wallow, bing lingering on the side of purple silk, so that those who hear the sound have their intestines broken. Also, it was like the cry of the wild goose on the Yin Mountains, or the cry of the apes on the Wuxia Gorge, in sync with Hou Xibais deste, sad, climbing-over singing voice, rising to the firmament with a pleasant lingering effect, filling the space inside and outside the house. Hou Xibais singing voice made a turn, from the hoarse, deep and low, it became gentle and soft, deep with emotion; his singing continued, A beauty in a distant night, her gauzed clothes moistened by the autumn frost, containing the emotion through the bamboo Xiao, springing up to be raised mulberry path. The sound of Xiao is so intense, the wind rolls up to the destroyed cloud. Pedestrians throw the candles, the perching birds soar far away. But the writing carries bitter innuendo, which will not dismiss the pain of this song. Hoping to meet someone with the same mind, with whom I will fly away like a pair of violet mandarin ducks. The power of the flute sound and the singing voice, which could chase the soul and terrify the spirit Cpletely washed away and shattered Xu Zilings self-control. In this quiet and secluded moment of the moonlit night, the hidden-beneath-the-surface grief-stricken thoughts and mncholy were triggered like a mountain sh flood, myriads of helpless and irreversible sorrow violently rushed forth in his heart, emotional tears burst out of his eye sockets. Singing thest stanza, Hou Xibais voice choked so that he could not continue, only the sound of the Xiao wandered alone in the empty air; even the most hard-hearted person would be affected by the sound of the flute, much less Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, these two sentimental kids. The flute sound changed again, now it revealed a floating-freely implicit charm;pared to a moment ago, it was like someone who has been drowning his whole life all of a sudden achieved supreme enlightenment [nirvana, Buddhist concept], and was able to see through the ways of the world, as he is being drawn into the realm of peaceful and gentle purity and cleanness. Shi Qingxuans beautiful jade countenance shone with divine bright luster, her pair of eyes was profoundly serene, the originally anxious clouds and wretched fog that shrouded her and lingered on disappeared like dispersed smoke, without leaving the least bit of a trace. It was like the beautiful notespletely wiped away the brightness of the sun so that it did not dazzle the eyes anymore, it caressed and smoothed wrinkles in the two mens heart and soul with infinite tenderness. Slender magnolia held the warm Xiao, wondering why the spring breeze was not blowing. The purple-red lips breathed the changes between the Gong and the Shang [first and second notes in pentatonic scale, respectively], bemoaning emotion gradually pursued fresh and clean actions. The flute sound gradually faded far away, suddenly Xu Ziling came to his senses, just happened to catch Shi Qingxuans touching figure as she disappeared outside the door. The drizzle sprinkled down endlessly from the sky, the convoy of heavyden carts passed speedily through, the crunching noise of the wheel against the mud was rising and falling continuously. Kou Zhongs mind flew over to think about the battle going on outside of Luoyang. It seemed like right or wrong, until this moment he still did not know; was his decision to fight for supremacy right or wrong? In the past, he only had to take responsibility for himself and to take the me for his own action. But now, he could not y this tune; in everything, he had to give thought to those who follow him. For the first time, he felt that life no longer belong to him, one person, because any mistake, including therge-scale military exercise before his eyes, the one sacrificing their lives were not only him, one person. Bing the supreme leader of the Shao Shuai Army, he could no longer like before, rashly showing off his heroism. Even the brotherly emotion with Xu Ziling, which had always been the most important matter to him, would now have to be ced on the secondary position. In everything, he had to attach most importance to the honor and disgrace, the advantages and disadvantages, of the Shao Shuai Army. This notion had given him the shivering-all-over-though-not-cold feeling. Fortunately, now Xu Ziling shared the same goal with him, otherwise, he really did not know what to do. A lot of considerations that he had never touched before now appeared within his in of thought. Before, no matter how nasty the environment he was in, if he could not cope with it, he could simply run away. But now that the Shao Shuai Army had fused with himself into one entity, they would exist or perish together, he could no longere and go freely, calmly and effortlessly relying on his, one persons ability. Between victory and defeat, not only there was no hard-to-cross chasm, there was only a fine line of difference between the two. If Shao Shuai Army was totally wiped out, he would also be too ashamed to live alone. Song Yuzhis usation to him was justified; since he decided to contend for the hegemony over the world, after setting the unifying of the Central ins as his aspiration, then he could not allow other things; even more, he did not have the qualifications to hold on to other beautiful things in life. He had never understood his plight more than this moment. The golden moon sprinkled its light everywhere on every corner of the small valley, Shi Qingxuan was sitting on a big rock by the creek, soaking her feet in the water, the Tianzhu Xiao was lying casually by her side, her charming face was raised up to gaze at the moonlit night. Xu Ziling came quietly by her side and sat down on the other side of the rock. Shi Qingxuans cherry lips exhaled lightly, she spoke softly, Why did Ziling cry? She still maintained her posture looking up to watch the starry night; looking at her, there was a special deep emotion around her, so that it seemed like she was asking herself, not the person sitting by her side. Her question evoked Xu Zilings mood just a moment ago, so that hot tears nearly burst out of his eye sockets again, he really wanted to bury himself in her bosom, to wrap his arms around her slender waist, to pour out theint and grievances in his heart, to have herfort him with tenderness. But he could only force down this sudden impulse, he fought with all his might to make his own lingtai acupoint clear and bright, his heart calm and his spirit quiet, he let out a light sigh, but still did not know how to answer her. Since Hou Xibai was staying inside the house, the serene and peaceful deep valley was like a world that belonged to only the two of them! Shi Qingxuan did not care the slightest that Xu Ziling did not answer her, she spoke softly, I wonder if mankinds final destination is one of the constetions of the stars in the sky? If it were really so, I wonder which star would my final destination be, and which one is Zilings final destination? Xu Ziling cast his gaze from her elegant silhouette to the starry sky. Due to the moonlight, the night sky became hazy, studded heavily with countless dots of stars. A subtle andplicated emotion welled up in his heart, the beauty by his side seemed like as unfathomably mysterious as the night sky, and it was like she had an infinite starry sky in her. At this moment, he forgot all the things in the secr world, only Shi Feixuan and Shi Qingxuan remained. Both women chose the path to withdraw from worldly affairs, the difference was that Shi Feixuans path was to abandon everything of the mundane world, including the romantic love between men and women, which made people turn upside down and intoxicated by it, in pursuit of what she saw as everything was the empty mundane world, to stand aloof and cross over toward the certain mysterious ce at the other shore [Buddhism: paramita] of life. Her aspiration was to see through, and not to be indulged in C everything. Perhaps to avoid describing the path Shi Qingxuan chose to withdraw from the worldly affairs would not be too appropriate, but after all, the way she shunned the world carried a little bit of this kind of implication! In the past, Xu Ziling always held this kind of view toward her. But this time, in the deep valley where she lived peacefully, hearing her confessional-style flute music, his view has been shaken. The fact was that she was feeling the real meaning of life in her own way; she was not really shunning the world, rather, she involved herself in human affairs. What she wanted to avoid was the dispute and the distress of the secr world, to make the closest contact with the nature, to learn through experience the fine things that other people were too busy to understand. There was never a moment when he understood her better than he did now. She did express to him that she had no intention of traveling around, because in itself, the deep valley was self-sufficient; she practically did not need to look outside. He fell head over heels in love with Shi Feixuan starting in Longquan, but it also ended in Longquan. No exnation needed from either side, and both sides knew that the fact was so. He was now free, without any emotional bondage, and happiness was precisely by his side. He could either break the fate or ept the fate; perhaps he ought to fight for himself? The first time his heart was moved by Shi Qingxuan, it happenedst year during the Mid-Autumn night in Chengdus city center, and then after the joys and sorrows in the small second-story building in Duzun Bao, he had always suppressed his cherished memory of Shi Qingxuan, he resisted with great difficulty the torment of missing her! Until just now when he heard the sound of her flute that the mood, which has been suppressed for a long time C was suddenly released, and he felt that he had lost the ability to control himself. He felt even more deeply his fond attachment to her, but he also felt that he was not worthy of her, he was grieved since he was feeling ashamed of his own inferiority! It was not a question of identity or status, rather, he still could not throw away everything to be drunk together with her in the beautiful starry sky in heaven. If he thoroughly told her his inner feeling so that he obtained her favor, and then he changed direction to leave her, so much so that he died in battle, wouldnt he only add more injury to her spirit? The most annoying thing was that there has never been a moment like right now where he really felt that he needed her; a world without her would be absolutely empty and would be unbearable to him. The faint fragrance emitted by her tender body was so real, yet was also faintly discernible like nothing; it could be expected, but could not be obtained. How he wished he could hold her in his arms, he could kiss every square cun of her skin over and over again, and say to her with every ounce of strength in his body, We will never part. But the cruel reality made him afraid to make the slightest move, to speak half a sentence more to her. Shi Qingxuan finally looked at him. Pfft! she giggled tenderly and said, Silly kid, what are you thinking? Howe out of ten questions, you did not answer nine? Shaken, Xu Ziling met her gaze, and then he turned his eyes to her perfectly clear and white feet inside the water of the stream. A group of small fish were swimming freely around her feet, perhaps they were curious or wanted to bite the tip of her touching toes. Unexpectedly he was so clueless that he asked, Why did you call me silly kid? You are a silly kid! Shi Qingxuan yfully replied, Only a silly kid would ask other people why he was called a silly kid, right? Why did silly kid cry just now? Other people did not cry! Xu Zilings heart was swept away, he could not help answering a question with a question, You started blowing such a sorrowful melody, didnt you want us to cry? Actually, Qingxuan was weeping as well; the sound of the flute was your sparkling and translucent teardrop. Shi Qingxuans beautiful eyes suddenly became endlessly deep, covered in pained and bewildered expression; she spoke softly, Will Xu Ziling wipe my tears? Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, Wipe your tears? Shi Qingxuans gaze returned to the night sky, she spoke softly, Qingxuan has not seen that kind of emotion in the house for a very long time, the harm you inflicted upon me was not shallow. Xu Zilings heart and spirit were shaken, some kind of strange mood was intensely pulling him; he lost count how many times she called him a silly kid, was it really like Shi Zhixuan said, he was a big fool who did not understand her feeling? Shi Qingxuan let out a shallow sigh, she said, You are a hateful silly kid. Last time you slipped away without saying anything, implicating me that for several days I did not dare to leave the valley to pick medicinal herbs. Were it not for Shi Feixuaning to see me, I would think that you formedpanionships and left with her, that you were unable to spare time toe to the small valley to give Qingxuan the opportunity to thank you. Xu Ziling was shaken, Qingxuan! he said. Shi Qingxuan looked at him again. Her pretty eyes looking deep into his, she spoke gently, Now it does not matter anymore! Xu Ziling finally came, although it was on an errand for Shang Xiufang. You finally came; you even cried. Xu Ziling had a thousand of words and ten thousand speeches, but did not know which sentence could properly express the wonderful feeling at the bottom of his heart. A burst of warmth, which was more intense than any other times, upied his whole heart and his whole spirit. By this moment the moon already moved behind the mountain range, to a ce that they could no longer see, the forest and the house in the deep valley was fading out in the dark, the water of the stream no longer flickered in the gleaming reflection of the moonlight on the waves, only the whole sky, a multitude of stars, and the vast, deep night sky behind the stars C remained. In the world, apart from their two leaping hearts, there was no other human affairs. Book 51 4 – The Secrets of the Fragrant Heart

Book 51 Chapter 4 C The Secrets of the Fragrant Heart

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Shi Qingxuan stood up charmingly, she smiled and said, Come with me? Without waiting for Xu Zilings answer, she simply C her jade feet bare, the sleeves of her clothes fluttering in the breeze C stepped on the rocks, some protruded out of the water, some immersed in the water, winding toward the source of the spring in the depths of the forest behind the little stone house. Xu Ziling reluctantly left his seat and ran after her, he followed her along the stream, bending to the left and winding to the right, entering deep into the dense part of the forest. He suspected that it was the end of the stream, but suddenly the forest was wide open, a brimming-with-vitality small waterfall gushed down from an aperture midway up the mountain, it poured along the verdant, glistening wet ravine wall, and when it reached the bottom of the cliff, it formed a small deep pool. Separated by the dense forest, from the other side no one could see the ce of charm and beauty here, neither could they hear the waterfall ying a movement of the natural symphony. Shi Qingxuan was standing on top of the only big rock in front of the waterfall. Turning her pretty face around, she blissfully said, Come here quickly! How could Xu Ziling dare to disobey the order? He jumped to her fragrant bodys side. The waterfall was like a hanging down curtain, causing the water to ssh everywhere, raising water droplets to fill the air, which, under the light of the stars, looked like tens of thousands silver beads, brimming with vitality. Hearing the sound of water, which was like heavenly music, all around the insects were chirping the sound of nature. Smelling the touching scent emitted by Shi Qingxuans fragrant body, seeing the stars filling the sky, feeling the mountain breeze gently brushing his face, suddenly Xu Zilingpletely forgot his own troubles, forgot all the disputes in the secr world outside; overwhelmed by the light and airy feeling, he no longer knew where he was. Shi Qingxuan turned her pretty face to look at him, sheughed charmingly and said, The guesting from afar, isnt it fun here? Other than Niang, Ziling is the first person Qingxuan ever took here. If he was just a cun or so closer, Xu Ziling would be able to make shoulder-to-shoulder close contact with her, but this cun or so distance seemed to be like an uncrossable chasm. His heart grew hot, he nodded his head and said, There has never been a moment in my life that I forget worry and without anxiety like right now, where past and future do not exist. The moment before my eyes will never die forever. The life of happiness that I pursue should be like this, but even this idea gives me pain. Does Qingxuan understand what I am saying? Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, Understand a little! Listening to the tone of Zilings voice, there must be something outside the valley that you cannot give up, am I right? Xu Ziling sighed and said, I want to speak out honestly about the load on my mind, I just hope Qingxuan will not me me. Shi Qingxuans tender body slightly trembling, she said, How can I me Xu Ziling? I am only afraid that I wont be able to endure. Qingxuan is used to live a solitary life, and never wanted to change; do you also understand? An emotional stirring burst inside Xu Zilings heart, he moved closer to her, involuntarily he leaned onto her fragrant shoulder, feeling the pulsing of blood under her skin. As if he was no longer able to control the tide in his heart from running over the dike, he met the bewildering of her gaze, and spoke heavily, Since that is the case, why did you tell me the location of the small valley? Ever since that day, You Lin Xiao Gu has be the most mysterious, the most beautiful ce in my heart. Although I am rolling about and mingling among the red dust [the world of mortals (Buddhism)] outside the valley, but there has never been a moment where I did not remember the small valley. And today I am finally here! I even share the secret of the small valley with Qingxuan. Isnt Qingxuan partly to me? Shi Qingxuan was slightly startled, and then her pair of eyes revealing a smiling expression, she cast him a sidelong nce and said, All right! We will speak forthrightly. You only share a part of the secret of the small valley; where is the other part? While speaking, she stretched out her jade hand, the slender finger was pointing toward the intertwining old trees above the waterfall. She did not move her tender body to avoid his touch, which made his heart zing hot, triggering a warm feeling to flow all over his body, melting and swaying him that he lost track of where he was; bing as light as a feather. Ascending to heaven would not be more than this. He felt that his courage could not help but was increasing steeply. Its not that he had never had intimate contact with other women, for example, Shen Luoyan or Shang Xiuxun, but since he had never thought that this day woulde, the light touch made his heart move, his spirit tremble even more. Following her finger, he looked up and cheerfully said, Is Qingxuan ready to share it with me? Under his scorching and pressing eyes, Shi Qingxuan rolled her ten-thousand-kind-of-deep-emotion eyes at him first, before hanging down her head, revealing the swan-like graceful snow-white neck, as she spoke softly, Didnt you want to speak out the load on your mind? How about you tell me first? Xu Ziling blurted out, You are not afraid you wont be able to endure? Shi Qingxuans countenance returned to tranquil, her gaze was fixed on the waterfall; tranquil, calm, and at ease, she said, You want me to bear the responsibility! Qingxuan has no choice but to bear the responsibility for you, Xu Ziling to see. Xu Ziling spoke slowly, word-by-word, Not only I want to share the secret of the small valley, but I also want to share the mysterious secret in Qingxuan Xiaojies heart, to understand how Qingxuan Xiaojie can y the flute with such a touching-the-lungs sound? Shi Qingxuan feebly leaned on him, she sighed lightly and said, It seems like that is not what you were trying to say, is it? Xu Ziling calmly said, Definitely not what I was going to say. However, its not important at all. Right now, I am confused and am out of my wits, I only know how to raise the thing I wanted to say to you the most. I suddenly felt that no matter what I say to you, Qingxuan cant possibly really me me. Pfft! Shi Qingxuan giggled tenderly; she straightened her tender body, rolled her eyes at him, and said, Tell me! Quick! See how much I will be able to endure. Xu Ziling shifted his body, so that he was now face-to-face with her; he spoke with deep emotion, I want to speak frankly, face-to-face with Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuan did not follow his words, her flowery jade countenance revealed a distressed expression, she spoke softly, Oh, Xu Ziling! Can you not force me too much? Xu Ziling felt that he was striving to fight for his own happiness, everything was true and came from his real heart. He was unable to restrain his emotions, everything resembled nature itself [i.e., of the highest quality]; from nothing at all, he now had such an intense feeling, he absolutely did not want to miss this opportunity to obtain happiness. He spoke slowly, but with determination, Because if I dont say it, I might lose the chance to say it, forever. I wonder if Qingxuan is thinking of moving away from the deep valley? Shi Qingxuans tender body was severely shaken, the color of blood withdrew entirely from her pink face, finally she turned her tender body around to face him. The tone of her voice surprisingly calm, she said, How did you guess? Xu Ziling reached out to grab both sides of her fragrant shoulders, he looked deeply into her clear, bright and beautiful eyes, and said, That is some kind of intuition that I cannot exin, because Qingxuan is afraid to see me again, you are afraid to see Shi Zhixuan even more. Shi Qingxuan shivered all over, as if she was totally oblivious that Xu Ziling was grabbing her pair of fragrant shoulders, she just wanted to avoid his zing gaze. As if she was muttering to herself, she said, Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling? Tender love, which he was unable to restrain and press down, welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he could not bear to force her. Putting his face only a few cun away from hers, he spoke gently, Dont think of him, just think about what happen between us. Why do you want to avoid me? Shi Qingxuan took a deep breath, she recovered a bit of her tranquil expression. Raising her pretty face to look at him, she said, Just consider me begging you, all right? Please dont ask. Oh! You are grabbing me that I am in so much pain! A stab of pain attacked Xu Zilings heart. How could he have the heart to grab her too hard that he hurt her? Shi Qingxuans You are grabbing me that I am in so much pain was really a y on words; it carried a bit of pleading, asking him to let her go, to let her continue to live an unmarried life. Naturally these words were very emotional, hence it appeared that she was powerless to resist his advance. Actually, from the beginning, Shi Qingxuan had never concealed her favorable impression and friendly regard toward Xu Ziling. This has shaped the contradiction and struggle in her heart, which manifested itself in her seemingly neither close nor distant attitude toward Xu Ziling. Her situation was rather delicate; one day she did not move away from the You Lin Xiao Gu where she was born, one day she was unable to sever the all kinds of hopelessly muddled gratitude and grudges with the secr world. When she told Xu Ziling the location of the small valley, she already had the intention to leave the small valley, while also to shift his heart somece else. Only by doing this would she be able to truly shun the world and to live in seclusion. However, she still had unfinished cherish desire, which was the Bu Si Yin Juan and Yue Shans regret, which were hidden away inside the valley. Both these things, directly or indirectly, Xu Ziling had to aplish for her. However, Nature [as the mother of all things] yed with people, Xu Ziling actually increased the barrier that prevented her from shunning the world, hence her request not to force her too much. Xu Ziling finally came to the valley, plus Da Ming Zun Jiao invaded her territory, so that she made a painful determination to leave this ce, which made her unable to forget the sad past. The flute melody just now was her artistic conception, from weeping with grief, gradually rising to quick and skillful elegance, which represented her wish to be freed from pain. Now was hisst chance to fight for her. If he lightly missed it, it would turn into lifelong regret. Not only Xu Ziling did not let go, he was grabbing even more tightly. Looking deep into the pupil of her eyes, he firmly shook his head and said, Xu Ziling will not let go, unless Shi Qingxuan tell him where she is going to hide. Shi Qingxuan revealed a both-mentally-and-physically-exhausted look, her tender body wascking in strength, if Xu Ziling loosened his grip, she would surely fall into the water. Under the rich-with-many-postures movement of natural symphony of the waterfall and the stream, Shi Qingxuan spoke in distress, You are not afraid I might randomly lie to you? Xu Ziling was ovee with love and pity, he nearly could not control himself from viting her sacred fragrant lips. He spoke tenderly, You cant possibly lie to me, can you? Shi Qingxuan weakly hung down her grand head, in a slightly small voice she said, You already know that ce. Ay! You, this destined love [in opera], you hurt me really bad! A burst of hot blood was rushing straight to his forehead, making his entire body feel numb, a nameless ecstasy bubbling up his heart and mind, stirring up his heart to jump wildly incessantly. Shi Qingxuan was talking about the broken-down stone house near the Demonic Emperor Temple [or ancestral shrine]. When Xu Ziling met Shi Qingxuan for the first time in the past, as they left the bat cave, she took him to that ce, she let him see the touching beautiful scenery of her dressing up and grooming herself on the other side of a screen. That should be the secret ce to live in seclusion, which only the two of them knew. Shi Qingxuan moved away from You Lin Xiao Gu to that ce, not only it was not the end of Xu Zilings feeling, it also contained a sounding-out implication. Only if Xu Ziling did not spare any effort to go to the ends of the earth to look for her would he not miss this ce, where they met by chance. Shi Qingxuan weakly pressed her pair of jade palms on his broad chest, Xu Ziling realized suddenly that he was pulling her into his bosom, and that Shi Qingxuan was trying to resist. He lowered his head to look, Shi Qingxuan was raising her charming face, her pretty eyebrows were lightly knitted, but her expression was as calm as still water, as she spoke lightly, What I said is perhaps true, but it is perhaps false. At the source of the waterfall, behind the dense trees, there is a natural cave, which leads to another secret ce in the mountain; that is the real ce where Qingxuan lives. It was because he fancied this valley within the valley that Lu Dashi built a house and established his residence. He originally intended to use it as the ce where he spent hisst years and shunned the world, butter on he found out that Niang was pregnant with me, so he bestowed the small valley to Niang. This valley within the valley has another way out of the mountain. Now Qingxuan is going to leave from there. Ziling, please dont talk, obediently close your eyes for me, Qingxuan does not know what the future will bring, but I will never forget this moment. Xu Ziling knew that if he still wanted to force her, she would definitely look down upon him, so much so that he might incite her disgust. He was, after all, an easy-going, free and unfettered person, this time he was contending strongly, it was an exception within exception. Smiling calmly, he released both hands, and closed his eyes. Shi Qingxuan leaned close to his lips, as light as the dragonfly touches the water, she lightly kissed him, before floating away. While marching his main forces toward the East [China] Sea, Kou Zhong secretly transported Yang Gongqing and his troops over that very night via the waterway. After busily working for more than ten days, Yang Gongqing settled his troops in a secret camp, which had been built in advance near Liangdu, and then he and Ma Chang came to Liangdu to see Kou Zhong, while bringing the bad news of Zhengzhous fall. In the inner hall, Ma Chang said, Wang Shichongs troops are defeated like andslide, one city after another surrenders to Li Shiji. Guanzhous Guo Qings surrender already rmed the heart of the people in various cities on the east front of Ho. Wang Xuanying, that brat, unexpectedly retreated without a fight, showing clearly that he is scared of battle, and so he gave Li Shiji the opportunity to move his troops to advance to Rongyang. How could Wei Lu, the defending general of Rongyang, be willing to pointlessly sacrifice his life for Wang Shichong? Who could me him for his surrender? Inwardly, Kou Zhong smiled bitterly. Wang Shichong and Wang Xuanying, two father and sons guts ought to being from the same mold. At Cijian, before the victory or defeat was decided, the former already retreated. Dog father, dog son. Wang Xuanying was even one step further from his Dad; he retreated without even fighting, which was akin to handing the cities one after another over to Li Shiji. Yang Gongqing said, As chance has it, Wang Shichong sent Zhang Zhi to Rongyang with the intention of transferring their troops to reinforce Ho, but he was captured alive by Wei Lu and was handed over to Li Shiji; he even offered advice to Li Shiji, telling him that Zhang Zhi was the person that Wang Shichong appointed to pass on his handwritten decree, so he is very familiar with Wang Shichong. As long as they could persuade Zhang Zhi to forge Wang Shichongs handwritten decree and deliver it to Zhengzhou, ordering the Zhengzhous defending generals Wang Yaohan and Zhang Cibao to renounce Zhengzhou and return to Ho, then they could prepare an ambush along the way; they could annihte the enemy in one move. Ma Chang joined in, As expected, Zhang Zhi gave in. Receiving the letter, Wang Yaohan did not suspect anything, but he did think that they would definitely be intercepted by Li Shiji; furthermore, he thought that Ho is difficult to protect, thereupon he made up his mind to surrender. But first, he beheaded Zhang Cibao, who was loyal and devoted to Wang Shichong, and then he opened the gate to surrender to the Tang. Now, all military strategic towns east of Ho are lost, Ho has be a lone city, Wang Xuanying surely will notst too long. Knitting his brows, Yang Gongqing said, Hos fall is near at hand, Li Shimin will directly attack Luoyang, how is Shaoshuai going to deal with it? His expression grave, Ma Chang said, The situation is very disadvantageous to us. Before the Tang Army moved to the east, no one thought that unexpectedly Li Shimin couldpletely iste Luoyang within such a short period of time of only two months. Kou Zhong took them to the conference room. Inside, right in the middle of the room, there was a solid,rge rectangr wooden table. On the table was a halfplete three-dimensional model made of y, with the Grand Canal flowing in the middle. By the canals side, there were big and small blocks representing cities or county towns; mountains, rivers, forests, and ins were obvious at a nce. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I stole the idea from Dou Jiande; he came from an artisan family, his craftsmanship is outstanding, naturally I do not have such a skill like his. I did the exploration, Chen Laomou did the drafting, and then the craftsmen were in charge of manufacturing the model. Amazed, Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang you looked at me I gazed at you, they never thought Kou Zhong had this cautious and prudent side. Standing in front of the three-dimensional topographic map, Kou Zhong expressed his analysis, From Tongji Canal going directly to River Huai, if our fleet set off from Liangdu, going downstream along the Tongji Canal, and we are using the Flywheel Boats, in one night we could enter the Huai River. If we then follow the River Huai to the east, we could take the Canal to go down south to Jiangdu. Under the circumstances, Li Zitongs two key defensive cities are Zhongli and Gaoyou. Li Zitong is well aware of this kind of situation, hence he would especially station massive military force and set up navy base on these two cities, to guard against our surprise attack to Jiangdu. If after entering the Huai [River] we go to the west to attack Zhongli, the enemies in Gaoyou will immediatelye to help; if we go to the east to attack Gaoyou, the situation would be worse, because Zhongli and Jiangdu couldunch pincer attack from the north and the south. Therefore, Zhongli, Gaoyou and Jiangdu form a firm, unbreakable iron triangle. Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang nodded in agreement, because Zhongli was located west of the confluence of Tongji Canal and the Huai River, like a guard dog watching the canal leading to Gaoyou and Jiangdu. Therefore, ignoring Zhongli and going straight to attack Gaoyou is no different frommitting suicide. Plus Gaoyou is located on the road one must follow to reach Jiangdu, hence Zhongli and Gaoyou can correspond to each other, forming the most strategic defense northside of Jiangdu. Ma Chang asked, What if we enter Yangtze River from the sea andunch surprise attack to Jiangdu? That is not feasible even more, Kou Zhong replied, Jiangdu is located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River. The opposite bank is the other military strategic town Yanling. The two cities, big and small, are as close as lips and teeth; no matter how sessful our surprise attack is, the Li Army at Yanling would cross the river to help, then we would face the enemies in front and behind us, our share would be just to take a beating. By the time the manpower from Zhongli and Gaoyou arrive swiftly to help via the waterway, I am afraid none of us would have the opportunity to escape back to the sea. Feeling a headache, Yang Gongqing said, ording to the current situation, we must take Zhongli first, and then make our n to go to Gaoyou, only then would we have the chance to threaten Jiangdus Li Zitong. What is the military power in Zhongli? Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, The defenders plus the navy are around thirty to forty thousand men, themander-in-chief is Zuo Xiaoyou, the chief big general under Li Zitongsmand. From this, we can see how important Zhongli is for Li Zitong. Ma Chang was speechless, Do we have the capability to attack Zhongli? he asked. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Hence the reason we must employ a stratagem. If we can trick Li Zitong into thinking that we are going to run away to Hainan Ind from the sea, and then dispatch the troops separately from the canal and the sea to attack from two sides, we will have the chance to enter by exploiting a weak spot, and go down to Zhongli first. And then heid out his n, while also told the two that the Hainan Ind has already fallen into Song Ques hands. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, Speaking about the strange usage of soldiers, no one in the world can surpass Shaoshuai; if I were Li Zitong, theres a good chance that I would fall into the trap. What is Li Zitongs reaction so far? Ma Chang asked. Kou Zhong replied cheerfully, ording to the report sent by our spies, Li Zitong is transferring his navy from Gaoyou to Zhongli, in addition to concentrating his navy fleet in Jiangdu, and acquiring civilian boats for his use. The best part is that he did not know you guys havee in secret; moreover, they are not aware of the existence of the twenty-eight flywheel boats. Now I aming and going extremely carefully; when I leave the Shao Shuai mansion, I always wear a mask, with heart and soul waiting for Li Zitong to attack. I can guarantee that when Zuo Xiaoyous Zhongli armyes, they wont be able to leave. By the time Li Zitongs other branch of army is still on the ocean, facing the wind and the waves, we will move our troops to Gaoyou. Only after we steady our troops disposition that we go to take Jiangdu. At that time, Li Shimin, who is still painstakingly attacking Luoyang, can only watch helplessly. Since Jiangdu is mine, Kou Zhongs, Shen Faxing can only pick one of two choices: be destroyed, or surrender. Ha! Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang both felt that the possibility was there, their spirit was greatly aroused. This moment, his expression grave, Xu Xingzhi came to report that Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong came to ask for an audience. Astonished, Kou Zhong wondered aloud, How did they know I am still in Liangdu? Xu Xingzhi shook his head and said, In my opinion, they are purely giving it a try. Do you want me to turn them down, telling them that Shaoshuai has already left for Donghai? Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, They are friends that I have known since childhood, there shouldnt be any problem. Ill see them in the inner hall. Xu Xingzhi wanted to say something but then hesitated; in the end he epted the order and left. Kou Zhong said to Yang and Ma, two men, Ill see what they want first, Ill discuss the details on how to proceed with two gentlemen when Ie back. Stepping out of the door of the conference room, Kou Zhong recalled Xu Xingzhis expression just now; it was obvious that he was against Kou Zhong seeing Gui and Xing, two men, for fear that they might reveal the military secret that he was still in Liangdu. Would Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong betray him? Kou Zhongughed involuntarily. He shook his head to get rid of this ridiculous idea. Forget about the friendly rtions between them, merely from the vital interest of Li Zitong supporting Shao Lingzhou, the two men ought to stand on his side. Book 51 5 – All’s Fair in War

Book 51 Chapter 5 C Alls Fair in War

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia With Hou Xibai making the arrangement, Xu Ziling left Bashu by boat via the Three Gorges. He felt that it would be wise to leave this trouble spot as soon as possible. The dispute between Xie Hui and the four tribes was not only his business, it was beyond his capability to control even more. He disembarked at Jiujiang, and then spurred the Ten-thousand-Li Spots to travel along the northeast route, passing through arge area of open country, forging ahead in the direction of Pengliang. His mind gradually entered the Moon in the Well realm. Whenever the Ten-thousand-Li Spots ate the grass and rested, he would sit in meditation to cultivate his power. More than ten dayster his lingtai was an expanse of rity and emptiness; not only he did not think about Kou Zhong, he did not even think about Shi Qingxuan or Shi Feixuan. Unintentionally, during the cultivation process, the experience that he umted while going through the fire and the water in the past has finally enabled him to step across into the harvest time, particrly in the observing-the-enemy aspect, the moment of enlightenment [Buddhist concept, epiphany] inside the stream in the deep valley had made him breaking a new ground, propelling him into the realm of martial art way that he had never dreamed of before. One particr day he crossed the Huai River, and proceeded eastward along the northern bank. As soon as he reached the canal, he could go up north along the canal, straight toward Liangdu. By this time the sun has set in the west, the sky gradually turned dark, the birds in the sky returned to the forest, a burst of cold wind blew over the mother earth, signaling the end of autumn and the arrival of winter. Xu Zilings heart was an expanse of bright rity, the sound of Ten-thousand-Li Spots hoofs was rising and falling. After passing through a forest of cypress trees, the mountain road extended upward, the Huai River was flowing to the east on his right side, the momentum was vigorous. Suddenly the rm went off in his heart, Xu Ziling hastily urged his horse to evade into the depth of the forest by the road. Torches light wasing from a distance, a group of men and horses rushed down from up the mountain, there were about twenty men in total, and in the blink of an eye they had gone far. From their uniform, Xu Ziling recognized them as Li Zitongs men; he mused inwardly that this area was near Zhongli, where Li Zitong stationed a massive military force. Men patrolling the area was proper and to be expected as a matter of course, so it was not surprising at all. He was just about to leave when the sound of hoof beats was heard from the direction the enemy was disappearing. That team of patrolling troops had turned around and sped back; he could not help shivering inwardly. The team of Li Army arrived outside the dense forest where he was hiding. The leader shouted his order, the more than twenty riders reined their horses to stop. Three of them raised the torches in their hands high to illuminate the forest. Xu Ziling was hiding outside the light, hence he was not afraid he would be discovered by the enemy. The leader uttered some cusswords, and then he muttered, I clearly heard the sound of hoof beats, yet there is nobody here, its really strange [orig. seeing ghost while still alive]. Another man said, I hear the ghosts that appear during the transition from day to night are the most ferocious; we absolutely must note across this kind of evil spirit. Inwardly Xu Ziling was greatly astonished; listening to the other sides conversation, this area must be under close surveince of the Li Army, hence they deployed specialists to listen to the ground, in order not to be invaded without they finding out about it. Could it be that something that should not see the light was underway somewhere nearby? Could it be that it had something to do with Kou Zhong? Thinking to this point, his curiosity was greatly piqued, he leaped off the horseback and climbed up to the top of the tree to chase the enemy riders secretly. Before entering the inner hall, Kou Zhong was finally stopped by Xu Xingzhi, thetter said, Shaoshuai, please tell them that you are leaving for Donghai tonight. Kou Zhong patted his shoulder and said with augh, I understand! Crossing the threshold, he saw Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, sitting at the round table in the middle of the hall, quickly stood up to greet him. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, You guys really have a skill, unexpectedly you knew I am staying here and did not go to Donghai. Gui Xiliangughed and said, Kou Zhong has always been a person who wont concede even to the death; if someone is telling me that you run away without any fight, I, Gui Xiliang, will be the first not to believe it. Kou Zhong beckoned the two to take their seat again, and then he said, What good news are you bringing me? Xing Rongs smile vanished, he sighed and said, After we leftst time, our hearts were very ufortable; would we really watch you sit and wait for death and do nothing? Other people may not understand your temperament, but how could we as your brothers do not know? Gui Xiliang said, Therefore, when the news of your Shao Shuai Armys march to Donghai arrived, we are certain that you have made your mind to attack Jiangdu by the sea. Since that is no different from following the path to your own doom, plus it does not look like you are running away back to the south at all because it does not conform to your character C we know that there must be another conspiracy. Therefore, we immediately rush over to see how we can offer you our help. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, Since you are able to guess, wouldnt it be possible that Li Zitong could also guess? Dont worry! Xing Rong said, How could we be the same as Li Zitong? We have been watching you growing up from a hairy-head kid to be an adult. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Thats true! Li Zitong is a coward, naturally a coward would think that others are greedy for life, afraid of death, just like himself. Leaning closer, Gui Xiliang said, Are you thinking of luring Li Zitong to attack, while setting up an ambush so that he will be in a sorry state? But the rumor says that you have really emptied Liangdu and transferred the entire main forces to Donghai. How are you going to face Li Zitongs main forces attack? An uneasy feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. In the battle for supremacy, even if Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong helped him with all their strength, they would not y too great of a role. However, if they became the enemy, they would definitely pose a great threat to him, because the two knew his character too well; they understood him even more deeply than Xiang Yushan did. Still, this thought only shed by his mind and was immediately gone, because toward these two childhood friends, he had always had absolute trust. However, it did not matter how he trusted the two, he still could not reveal the existence of Yang Gongqings five-thousand-strong elite troops. Thereupon he smiled and said, You are concerned about me, naturally I am very grateful. Its just that presently victory or defeat has not been decided, it is not advisable for you to be drawn into the battle between me and Li Zitong. Lets wait until after the situation is clear, then I will have to trouble two gentlemen LaoGe to persuade the other brothers in the Gang to help me to seize Jiangdu. How about that? Gui Xiliang shot a quick nce toward Xing Rong, and then he nodded and said, Very well! Its a deal. Xu Ziling pounced to the top of a big tree at the edge of the forest, a wide panorama suddenly opened up before his eyes, unexpectedly it was a wide-open bigke connected to the Huai River, where nearly a hundred warships were anchored. But there were only several dozens of windnterns hanging on the sterns of the ships providing the lighting. The windnterns were even covered up, so that thentern light would not be reflected up into the sky, giving up a ghostly, evil-spirit mysterious taste. There were hundreds of craftsmen and soldiers working frantically, building dummies made of rice straws and set them up on the deck; they even put military uniform on the dummies. In the dark and looking from such a distance, even with Xu Zilings eyesight it was still difficult to tell which one was real, which one was fake. Nearing thepletion stage, two ships left their anchor point, steered away from the river bay and entered the Huai River. Xu Ziling felt his entire spine was drenched in cold sweats. What he saw before his eyes must be the big conspiracy Li Zitong was carrying out to deal with Kou Zhong. Right now, even if he spurred the Ten-thousand-Li Spots at top speed, using the man-and-horse-as-one technique C to rush toward Liangdu, due to the mountain range separating them, he could never be faster than the other side going up north via the canal. However, he had no other choice, he simply had to retreat quickly. Knock! Knock! Knock! Kou Zhong was awakened from a nightmare; he sat up in a cold sweat from his bed and responded, Who is it? Luo Qifei voice came from outside the door, Its Qifei, theres an urgent matter to report to Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong snatched his outer garment and draped it over his shoulders. Remembering the nightmare just now, he was still palpitating with fear. He dreamt about being heavily surrounded by the enemy, the generals under hismand perished one by one, until finally he, holding Song Yuzhis ice-cold body in his arms, was trapped in a marsh. Ay! Luckily it was just a dream. He let Luo Qifei in, and then they sat down in the small hall of the bedroom. Luo Qifei said, Just received the news: right after dark, Zhonglis navy the whole nest came out, finally they go up north along the canal. If they dont stop anywhere along the way, they could arrive any moment tomorrow after dark. The ships are full to capacity with troops, some of the ships even have their hulls extremely deep in the water. Kou Zhongs brains was still not too clear, What time is it? he asked. Just passed the third watch [11pm C 1am, or midnight], Luo Qifei replied, There are two more sichen before daybreak. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, You said finally they go up north along the canal, what do you mean by finally? Luo Qifei replied, Since dusk, approximately ny warships moored outside the city of Zhongli were setting off one by one, they went upstream on the Huai River heading west. At the beginning of Xu hour [7-9pm], the warships came back from Huai River, with darkntern and ck fire, going nonstop from the confluence of the Huai River and the Canal, entering the Canal and sailing speedily against the stream in our direction. I received three flying pigeon letters in session, hence I knew its urgent and thus immediately reported it to Shaoshuai. Is there any movement on Jiangdus side? Kou Zhong asked. Shaking his head, Luo Qifei replied, They are still amassing their military strength, the number of warships is increasing to nearly a hundred, but they are still holding back their troops without moving. Kou Zhong sobered up a little; he said, Your intelligence effort is doing very well. His Niangs! Li Zitong is falling into the trap! Luo Qifei said, With an average of three hundred men per ship, the navying to attack from Zhonglis strength is about thirty-thousand men. The ship should be equipped with instrument to besiege a city. If they attack suddenly, we would indeed be caught off guard. Currently, Liangdus Shao Shuai Armys military strength was five thousand men, the enemys strength was six times theirs, plus they wereing fully prepared. Liangdus city defense was far inferior to Luoyang, it also fell short of Ho. If they had enough power, they could deploy some of the troops to the four forts on both sides of the Canal in order to prevent the enemy from concentrating their forces to attack Liangdu. But now, the entire army must stay to defend the city. Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, Why did Zuo Xiaoyous ships have to go west first? And then they came back to the east before turning north on the Canal? Luo Qifei replied, My guess is to load the instrument to besiege the city. There might be a logging site on the bank of Huai River east of Zhongli, the craftsmen must be building clouddders, vehicles to ram the gate, and so on to besiege the city. Kou Zhong nodded. It makes sense! he said, In that case, we still have two days to deploy the troops. If we only want to fight one victorious battle, that would be the exertion of lifting our hand; but if we want to seize the opportunity to capture Zhongli, we must control our deployment tightly. Immediately invite Wenyuan, Hongjin, and Zhi Shu [uncle] here, we must immediately decide all the actions. Xu Ziling rushed up the slope of the hill, to see from the distance the enemy ships being loaded with the dummies were filling the left side of the Canal, and then they set sail against the stream to go up north. He took his horse along to swim across the Canal. As he was justing ashore, the enemy warships majestically arrived. Since he did not know the situation on Kou Zhongs side, until now he still did not know what was going on? He only knew that since Li Zitong was carrying out this deception, naturally he had the confidence that Kou Zhong would fall into the trap. The moon was hanging high in the sky, there were still two days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, but he was not in the mood to admire the full moon, he had to race against the enemys fleet, to do everything in his power to be one step ahead of the enemys ships in reaching Liangdu. Leading the five-hundred-man Flying Cloud Riders, Kou Zhong left at daybreak to go to Yang Gongqings camp, hidden in the dense forest on the west bank of the canal. He issued his order, from perching on his shoulder, Wuming soared into the sky, circling in the air for reconnaissance, and then together with Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang who came out to meet him, they entered the tent for a meeting. Hearing the news, Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang were greatly delighted. The former said, We have two options: one, we go all-out; we prepare an ambush on strategically situated and easy to defend ces along the canal, to inflict heavy losses on Zuo Xiaoyous navying up north to attack, and then we seize the opportunity to attack Zhongli. Two, we split up to two ways, one proceeds with the ambush, while the other, avoiding the enemys navy, attack Zhongli viand route. Because the enemy is unprepared, although their military strength is above ours, we still have a very high chance of sess. Ma Chang said, Li Zitong is a Donghai County man, he knows boat very well since childhood; furthermore, his navy has been battling Shen Faxings Jiangnan Navy, whose reputation is renowned under the heavens C all year long. Therefore, whether it is river battle or sea battle, they have ample experience. If we set up am ambush on both sides of the canal, I am afraid it wont be too effective. Kou Zhong agreed. He said, Since their whole nest ising out, obviously they want to take unfair advantage of our Liangdus few soldiers and scant generals, so they are not afraid of our ambush. In fact, in frontal confrontation, due to multitude of enemies, few friends, we will only be defeated without any chance of victory. The only way to win is using Yang Gongs second option; taking advantage of sudden decline in Zhonglis military strength, plus the loss of their navys support, we use light cavalry in surprise attack against Zhongli viand route. With Zhongli in my hands, we can cut off Zuo Xiaoyous retreat route, then it will be difficult for the navying from Zhongli to attack to escape the fate of beingpletely wiped out. Thats the decision then, Yang Gongqing spoke decisively. Receiving Kou Zhongs nod, Ma Chang went out of the tent to transmit the order. Scrutinizing Kou Zhongs expression, Yang Gongqing spoke in astonishment, Since Li Zitong is falling into the trap, our sess looks promising, why does Shaoshuai still look like you have a heavy load on your mind? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I always have a feeling that something is not quite right. Either because the enemys navy the whole nest came out, which shows their determination, or because I cannot guess why Li Zitongs Jiangdu Navy still hold back their troops without moving, or maybe because of the nightmare I just had, which affect me adversely. This moment, there is always an uneasy feeling in my heart. Yang Gongqingughed and said, That is human nature. Every time, before any major battle, I also have this kind of worry-about-personal-gains-and-losses feeling, yet we can only trust our own judgment. Hesitating as the time draws near is a big taboo of a militarymander. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Yang Gongs lesson is well-received. When thingse to a head, three hearts and two intentions will only make a botch of things. And then his pair of eyes emitted a staunch expression, he slowly said, The moment Zuo Xiaoyous thirty-thousand main forces painstakingly attack Liangdu without sess in here is the moment we attack Zhongli. And Zhonglis fall will represent the rise of our Shao Shuai Army. After eating their fill, Kou Zhong, his Flying Cloud Riders, and Yang Gongqings army struck the camp and departed, following the n they drew out that morning, their route brought them along the west bank of the canal, passing through the forest and across the in, they traveled day and night to advance toward Zhongli. After rushing along for a day and a night, the troops arrived at a hilly in on the northern bank of the Huai River, only half a day ride from Zhongli. Both men and horses were already unbearably weary, thereupon they took a temporary rest, to eat the dry rations to fill their stomach. Kou Zhong released Wuming to scout the situation near and far. Their camp was hidden in a sparse forest, Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing walked up a nearby hill, taking advantage of the high elevation, they looked into the distance in the direction of the Huai River. A very fine drizzle was falling down from the sky, which reduced their visual significantly, the grasnd in the distance disappeared inside the boundless drizzle. Kou Zhong said, This is really Heaven helps me! I hope this rain will continue to fall; after raising enough spirit, we will set off at dusk, to cross the river in the middle of the night, and before daybreak weunch a sudden and violent attack to Zhongli from the south of the city, with me and Fei Yun Qi [flying cloud riders] in the lead, as long as we can seize the south gate, Yang Gong move the main army to enter the city, we will attack and seize the Zongguan Mansion first, so that the enemy lose theirmand center, and the enemy resistance will crumble. Yang Gongqing cheerfully said, This time, the strategy of the battle can be described in only eight characters: Gong Qi Bu Bei, Su Zhan Su Jue [to catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack (idiom, from Sun Tzus The Art of War)]. While the enemy is thinking that we are shaking behind the walls of Liangdu, we are here, ready to attack the city. The two looked at each other andughed. After dark, Xu Ziling finally caught up with the enemy ships. But it was not because of his Ten-thousand-Li Spots bending to the left and turning to the right on drynd, going up the mountain and going down the hill C was faster than the boat sailing on the water, but because when the enemy was still two sichen away of sailing time before they reached Liangdu, suddenly the entire armada made a turn. Xu Ziling felt even more uneasy in his heart; while urging his horse to run wildly, he was thinking deeply. It was obvious that the enemy made their move after careful nning, their preparation meticulous, hence they advanced and retreated in an orderly manner, they had full control of the initiative. Kou Zhong was not a fool at all, why did he allow the enemy toe and go unobstructed? It was as if he was not the least bit on guard. Where exactly did he make the mistake? Ahead, there was the sound of rapid hoof beats, a group of riders was rushing over. When the two sides were graduallying closer, Xu Ziling was the first to call out, Qifei! The neer was precisely Luo Qifei, with more than a dozen of his men. Seeing Xu Ziling, he met him in great delight. Without any chitchat, Xu Ziling asked, Where is Shaoshuai? Luo Qifei replied, Shaoshuai and Yang Gongs army are taking advantage of the fortunate timing while the enemys navy ising to attack to set off toward Zhongli to attack! Noticing that he was still looking around in the direction of the southern end of the canal, Xu Ziling sighed and said, No need to look. The enemy ships are already turning around to return to Zhongli. The ships are loaded with dummies, this is a trap. Luo Qifei and the others, none did not have their countenance changed; the color of blood waspletely drained from their faces, they turned as pale as a dead person. Luo Qifei spoke with trembling voice, What do we do? The earliest we can contact Shaoshuai is tomorrow morning. Xu Ziling calmed down instead. He revealed a smiling expression to the Shao Shuai Army surrounding him, and then he said, No need to worry, no one can ambush or mount a sneak attack to your Shaoshuai. Dont forget that he has Wumings sharp eyes in the sky. Luo Qifei felt a bit relieved, but then he knitted his brows and said, What I am most afraid of is that Shaoshuai, being unclear of the situation,unch an attack on the city, and the enemy let him lead his army into the city, and then they concentrated their strength to surround and annihte them. Xu Ziling spoke confidently, Before attacking the city, Shaoshuai will definitely release Wuming to scout the situation inside the city; he wont fall into the trap so easily. Now, what I am worried about is this fleet turning back to Zhongli. They might attack Liangdu before Shaoshuaies back, to cut Shaoshuais retreat route, and then split up to attack Shaoshuais expeditionary force, so that he would face the enemy in front and behind him. Going downstream, in just one nights journey, the fleet would be able to return to Zhongli to pick up soldiers. Because the waterway is faster and more convenience than thend route, the enemy would be able to cut ahead of Kou Zhongs expeditionary force, to besiege Liangdu one step ahead, and cut off Kou Zhongs retreat path. In the inferior position of no room to advance and with the pursuing troops behind, the exhausted expeditionary force was bound to suffer total defeat of the army. Out of his wits, Luo Qifei sighed and said, How did it be like this? The enemy seems to know our n like the back of their hand. Could it be that there is a spy within our Shao Shuai Army? This is impossible. Xu Zilings pair of eyes flickered with light of wisdom, he calmly said, Whether there is a spy or not, well think about itter. How many soldiers are avable in Liangdu? Luo Qifei replied, We have five thousand men and twenty-eight flywheel warships. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, That should be enough! We will deliver a frontal assault to the enemys navying in secret, to teach them a lesson that our Shao Shuai Army is not easy to be bullied. Hearing that, Luo Qifei and the others were very excited, they exploded in cheers. Book 51 6 – Clear Understanding of Decisive Opportunity

Book 51 Chapter 6 C Clear Understanding of Decisive Opportunity

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Under the boundless night rain, the heaven and earth became hazy, the autumn night brought deep cold, the air outside felt somber and deste. Ahead, the Huai River was flowing, gusts of autumn wind were blowing. Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing, leading their horses along, were at the edge of the dense forest, surveying the river crossing. This section of the river course was particrly shallow and narrow, both sides of the river were dense forest regions, it was both the best ce to cross, and a good ce for the enemy toy an ambush for them. About ten li downstream, they faintly saw the weak light of thenterns atop Zhonglis city walls. In the drizzle, the dots of light appeared like a clump of dim and hazy glow. On the Huai River, no boat was in sight. Kou Zhongs right hand gently stroked Wuming, perching on his right shoulder; his eyebrows deeply furrowed, he stared fixedly at the opposite bank. Yang Gongqing asked in astonishment, If Shaoshuai suspected that theres an ambush on the other side, why dont you send Wuming to scout the opposite bank? Kou Zhong replied in heavy voice, There may be scouts on the opposite bank, but I am sure there is norge number of hidden troops. Currently we are downstream of the wind, if there are enemies hiding in the forest, the wind will bring their breathing sound and their qi into my ears and nose. This is Tujue peoples secret technique to use the wind to scout the enemy. Yang Gongqing was puzzled, Since thats the case, why dont we put up a bridge and cross the river? We already have the logs to build the bridge cut down properly, as soon as Shaoshuai issues your order, we could build a pontoon bridge within one sichen. Kou Zhong said, It is precisely because there is no enemy on the other side that I have my doubts. Zuo Xiaoyou is not a newly hatched bird on the battlefield, how could he neglect this good ce to cross the river? Its like he wants us to march straight in unchallenged, to mount a sneak attack on Zhongli. If I am guessing correctly, there must be a fort, a rock cave, multi-storied structures, or the like, some kind of defense structure. Its just that they must have dismantled it recently to give us the convenience to cross the river and attack Zhongli. At that time, if they destroyed the pontoon bridge, we would never have a chance to return to the Huai Rivers north bank. Severely shaken, Yang Gongqing said, Is Shaoshuai saying that Zhongli defenders areying out a trap, to lure us to fall into it? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Even if not 100% urate, I am sure its not too far off. Not only there is Zuo Xiaoyou in Zhongli, there is also Li Zitong. Zhonglis navy the whole nest ising out, its probably a cover for deception. Incredulous, Yang Gongqing said, Is Li Zitong that smart? Do you think it might be wise for me to send someone to the other side to explore and to see if there are any remains of the building or fortress? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, The enemy must have spent some efforts to cover it well, such asying weeds on it. Sending someone to investigate is a waste of time. I am convinced that I did not guess incorrectly. Right now we must immediately retreat back to Liangdu; if we dy, I am afraid we will be toote. Yang Gongqing spoke in distress, How did the enemy know that we woulde to mount sneak attack? Unless there is enemys mole [lit. inside ghost] within our Shao Shuai Army. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its not an internal ghost, but external ghost. I really wish my guess is wrong, and this matter can be make known immediately. Our army weary our strength exhausted, while the enemy is preserving and nurturing their spirit. Therefore, even if we knew the scheme and withdrew, the enemy would definitelye and chase after us with all their strength. That will be the proof that I did not guess incorrectly. Stunned, Yang Gongqing said, External ghost? Kou Zhongs countenance darkened, he said, Do you remember that before we came, I told you that I felt something is not right? The problem lies on my good friends, Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong. They barely left Liangdu, Zhonglis navy immediately the whole nest came out and came here. The timing is so coincidental that it made me suspicious. On top of that, Li Zitongs main forces in Jiangdu ispletely without any detectable movement, obviously he knew that I did not go to Donghai. Ay! I really regret not listening to Xingzhis advice. In the face of serious juncture, a father can betray his son, let alone merely childhood friends. Yang Gongqing spoke heavily, Very well! We will leave immediately! Kou Zhong shook his head and said, If we hasten on with our journey immediately, in less than a hundred li, at least half of our tired horses would copse. Fortunately, the oneing to pursue us is Li Zitong and not Li Shimin. Humph! His Niangs! I will make Li Zitong see how I, Kou Zhong do this thing. Lets send two hundred men to build the bridge first, but tell them to take it slow. Staring nkly, Yang Gongqing said, Build the bridge? Kou Zhong said, This is the only way to slow down the enemys scheme. If we could strive for two sichen, I could deal Li Zitong a crushing blow, and then we all cane back to Liangdu alive. Under the illumination of the bright moon, Xu Ziling, along with Xu Xingzhi, Luo Qifei, Jiao Hongjin, Bu Tianzhi, Chen Laomou and Bai Wenyuan C went to the gorge on the lower reaches of the canal, about thirty li from Liangdu. On both sides, the cliffs were rising high, the canal narrowed, so that the water became a rapid. The seven men left theirntern behind and dismounted; they went to the edge of the cliff to look down at the terrain. Xu Xingzhi said, If we want to ambush the enemys navy, this is the best ce; we only need to set up some stone-throwing machines on both sides, the entire section of the river course will be under the threat of crushing rocks and feathered arrows. The only fly in the ointment is that the length of the gorge is no more than a hundred zhang, the enemys fleet will pass in the twinkling of an eye, while reloading the stone-throwing machines takes time, hence we can only inflict serious damage to about the first dozen or so ships entering the gorge. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Should be only fix or six ships suffer aparatively heavy damage. I have seen the configuration of their fleet, they are maintaining a twenty- to thirty--zhang distance between ships. If something happens to the ship at the front, the ship behind will have enough time to cast anchor ande ashore to counterattack. Jiao Hongjin said, In that case, we could set up an ambush with archers on both sides of the lower reaches of the river before entering the gorge. When the enemy warship cast the anchor and go ashore to counterattack, we use fire arrows to greet them. However, due to the enemys military strength is several times above ours, this will highly risky. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Hongjins proposal can be considered a feasible solution, the risk level will depend on our coordination. Turning to Bu Tianzhi, he said, If we use the stone-throwing machines to disrupt the enemy fleets disposition of troops first, and then use the nimble flywheel boats going down the stream, relying on the crossbow machines on the boat to attack the enemy warships one by one, is it feasible? Chen Laomou let out his weirdughter, Good n! he said, Based on Lu Dashis design, after undergoing my, Chen Laomous improvement, the crossbow machines can shoot twelve specially-manufactured strong arrows at once, powerful enough to prate the ships hull. If we wrap the arrows body with oil cloth and ignite it before shooting, it will be fiery arrow, the threat to the enemy will be even greater. In particr, the flywheel boats bow and stern are reinforced with steel tes, so they are not afraid of collision. On top of that, the enemy would never dream that there are such fast ships with high mobility in the world; they would be attacked that they have no time to deal with it. Bu Tianzhi added, At night, the flywheel boats could disy even greater formidable power. Xu Ziling said, The enemy warships returned to port, they could be back in Zhongli before noon tomorrow. Give them two sichen to load heavy equipment and troops, they should be able to set out to the north by nightfall, in which case, they ought to reach this section of the gorge veryte at night the day after tomorrow. We should have enough time to prepare. Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, Luckily Ziling arrived in time to see through the enemys plot. Otherwise ... ay! Noticing everybodys gloomy expression, with worried frown on their faces, Xu Ziling knew they still had difficulty dispelling their worry about Kou Zhong. Heughed and said, If Kou Zhong is that easy to fall into other peoples scheme, he would have been dead a long time ago. Dont worry! I dare say that he, along with Yang Gongqing and the brothers, wille back unharmed. We dont have much time, lets return to Liangdu to prepare everything. Kou Zhong and Ma Chang stood on the northern bank of River Huai, observing the construction of the pontoon bridge. One more small section, then it would reach the opposite bank. The bridge relied mainly on the buoyancy of the logs, which were fixed in ce using wooden stake and long ropes. Because in constructing the bridge they were just going through the motions, it was totally useless; it was really a scheme to repel the enemy. The fact was that Yang Gongqing and his brothers had already retreated quietly to a mountaintop ten li away from the Huai River, in preparation for safe withdrawal. Kou Zhongs five-hundred-man Flying Cloud Riders were setting up traps in the forest, such as horse-tripping ropes, sharp stakes inside the pit, and so on. Kou Zhong raised his head to look up at the sky, in the drizzle, even with his extraordinary eyesight, he could barely identify Wuming, which had be a fuzzy ck dot. From the bottom of his heart, he was grateful to Tuli for giving him this spirit falcon, which was like she had human character. In the battlefield, her help to him was not inferior to magnificent army with thousands of men and horses. Where is she? Ma Chang asked. Kou Zhong pointed to the sky on the east side of Zhongli, he said, She is above Zhongli; moreover, she already discovered the enemy split up into two routes, slowly approaching us along the north and south banks. How long is it before dawn? Should be approximately one sichen, Ma Chang replied, The enemy cannot wait patiently? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Not impatient, but they knew something unusual was happening. It has been three sichen and we havent finished building one pontoon bridge; it would be strange indeed if the other side is not suspicious. Attacking Zhongli in broad daylight is a joke; building a pontoon bridge and leave it to be used tomorrow night is an even bigger absurdity in the world! Its time! Call the brothers who build the bridge back. Ma Chang issued the order, the brothers building the bridge rushed back to the northern bank, they took off their wetsuit and changed into dry clothes and mounted the horse and left. At the same time, far away on both banks, battle cry sprang up everywhere, followed by hundreds and thousands of torches being lit; arge number of men and horses attacked along Huai Rivers north and south banks. The enemies on the opposite bank could not cross the river, so they did not pose any threat; however, the enemy force pursuing on the northern bank was about twenty thousand strong. In face-to-face confrontation, Kou Zhongs side would never be lucky enough to escape. Kou Zhong signaled Ma Chang with his eyes, Ma Chang disappeared into the forest. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong drew out the Shooting the Sun Bow [sic; previously it was Piercing the Sun]. His left hand went inside the quiver, skillfully he took out four arrows, while his gaze was fixed on the continuously-approaching enemies. War is just like that. The ones you are going to kill are strangers that you have never met, people you are not going to get acquainted with in the future, and you are not going to want to know anything about the other side even more. The enemy was pressing to within a thousand paces away, their banner was flying, the armys appearance was extremely magnificent, the bright torchlight illuminated both sides of the Huai River. The enemy cavalry, everyone had bent bow with an arrow on it, they were only waiting for Kou Zhong to enter their firing range, without the slightest hesitation the opposite site would release the arrow on the bowstring. Either you die or I perish. Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Four powerful arrows were fired in rapid session from Kou Zhongs hands. The target was not the enemys vital part, not the ride under their crotch, but the banner in the hand of the soldier at the head of the advancing troops. The gpole broke, the banner was blown by the wind that it rolled to the back, covering the head of the cavalryman who cameter. Immediately the people fell face up, the horses turned upside down, bing a great mess. Kou Zhongughed aloud and flew backward. Thousand-Li Dream rushed out of the forest, like flowing water floating cloud he flew onto the horseback, and ran away into the forest. The enemy swarmed into the forest like a tide. The storing-up-their-momentum-in-waiting Flying Cloud Riders five hundred warriors, under Ma Changs order, immediately rained down their arrows toward the enemies, which were clearly visible under the illumination of their own torches. Tragic screams mixed with horses neigh shook the forest. Those who were not injured by the arrows still could not escape the fate of having their horses tripped by the ropes or stepping into the sharp stakes in the pits, which were everywhere. Momentarily the people fell face up, the horses turned upside down, bing a great mess. Those who were lucky enough not to suffer injury or fall from their horses retreated in confusion. Kou Zhong returned to his own sides position in the forest along the safe route, he shouted loudly, Not suitable to zealously continue fighting! Brothers, follow me! Ma Chang and the others promptly got on their horses. Five hundred men followed him escaping from the other side of the jungle into the tall-grass in. The sound of battle cry arose again. Another team of light cavalry, more than ten thousand men, galloped out of the dense forest behind and to their right, chasing after them at top speed, clearly unwilling to let them off. Inwardly Kou Zhong wiped his cold sweat; thinking secretly that this time, if he did not discover the other sides plot one step ahead, even if they wanted to escape, it would be a case of having the mind but not the strength. The enemy was very familiar with the terrain of the mountains and the rivers, while they had just arrived here, hence it was very easy for the enemy to chase after them, while for them, escaping was more difficult than ascending to the heavens. Ma Chang rushed over to his side and said with a sigh, Shaoshuais guess is correct. The neer is indeed Li Zitong; I can see his banner. Kou Zhong took a nce backward; indeed it was like Ma Chang said. Inwardly he could not help praising Ma Chang; facing death, yet he did not panic. On the contrary, unlike him, Kou Zhong himself did not pay close attention to the surrounding area. He shouted, Take the lead! Ill hold them back! Although their warhorses have had three sichen of rest, but they still failed to fully recover from fatigue; if the enemy overtook them before they reached Yang Gongqings ambush, it would be really, really bad, hence he must hold them back to keep his troops safe. Under Ma Changs leadership, the five hundred Flying Cloud Riders, like a clump of cloud, flitted across the rain-and-fog-filled grasnd, into the sparse forest region on undting hills. Behind, the enemy was pursuing closer and closer, the sound of hoof beats was so loud that the earth did not stop shaking. Kou Zhong fell back to the end of the line; letting out a long whistle, the Shooting-the-Sun Bow in his hand opened up, he fetched the arrow and bent the bow, four powerful arrows shot out amidst the rapid twang of the bowstring. The arrows did not miss the target, four horses were immediately hit by the arrows and fell to the ground. They were rolling on the ground that one after another the riders pursuing over from behind collided and lost their footing, creating maximum chaos. From the enemy squadron, the bugle horn sounded, the enemy ranks immediately changed, they split into two sides, like a giant pair of pliersing to chase and kill. Kou Zhong deliberately fell back, but he always maintained a distance of eight hundred paces with the enemy riders, just outside the range of the enemys bow, so that only he could shoot them, but the enemy could not shoot back at him. The enemy riders constantly toppled over. It was not until Kou Zhong found out that the four quivers on his left and right were as empty as anything that he fully used the man-and-horse-as-one technique to catch up with his own troops, rushing toward a hill. Battle drums were sounded, Yang Gongqing and his hidden troops immediately appeared on the mountain top, powerful arrows sprinkled like rain toward the enemy riders charging up the hillside. The enemy never thought that they would encounter ambushing troops, immediately they were killed that the people fell face up, the horses turned upside down, they were dispersed and no longer became an army [Trantors note: these are two idioms: ren yang ma fan and kui bu cheng jun, both basically mean the same: utter defeat], and were forced to retreat down the hillside. Kou Zhong was hesitating whether he ought to take advantage of the momentum to strike back, but he saw dust was rising in the distance, and knew that there was another hostile armying to help, hence he quickly ordered his troops to withdraw. In the beautiful scenery under the sun setting in the west, the gorge region was actually covered densely with the cloud of war, murderous aura rose high into the air. Three hundred trebuchets, which were originally intended for city defense, were transported from Liangdu, and distributed along the high cliffs on the both banks, operated by 1,500 soldiers. Under Bu Tianzhismand, twenty-eight flywheel boats, each with fifty warriors on board, were deployed outside the exit of the upper reaches of the gorge, ready to ambush the enemy warships in the gorge any moment. The remaining two thousand warriors were hiding in ambush on the east and west, two banks of the lower reaches of the gorge, ready to deliver a punishing attack on any enemy who wanted to go ashore andunch an assault. It was the dry season of clear and refreshing autumn weather, and they were dealing with navy vessels, which were constructed out of wood, hence the attack was fire-oriented. When Xu Ziling, Jiao Hongjin, Bai Wenyuan, Chen Laomou, Xu Xingzhi, and Bu Tianzhi were discussing strategy on top of the cliff, Luo Qifei urged his horse toe and report, Just received the news that the enemy navy, a hundred and twenty ships in total, passed the confluence of the canal and Huai River, and sailed speedily into the canal; they should reach this ce around midnight tonight. Greatly delighted, Xu Xingzhi said, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth, indeed Heaven helps the worthy, Shaoshuai is returning unharmed. Chen Laomou asked in surprise, Going back to the news, it says that Li Zitong is going all-out to attack Liangdu; what does it have to do with Shaoshuai? Xu Xingzhi cheerfully said, Li Zitong came so quickly, it is because Shaoshuai sessfully retreated back to the north, therefore, he wanted to rush one step ahead of Shaoshuai to attack Liangdu, to cut off Shaoshuais retreat route. Xingzhis judgment is based on this. Xu Xingzhis analysis made a lot of sense, everybodys morale was greatly aroused, their fighting spirit was even more flourishing. Laughing involuntarily, Bu Tianzhi said, I did not expect Shaoshuais pulling a snake from its hole unexpectedly achieved such result, something that none of our predecessor has never thought. unting the wisdom that came from his age, Chen Laomou said, Shaoshuai underestimated Li Zitong; who could have thought that Li Zitong still has two broad axes? Fortunately Ziling rushed over in time, otherwise, when the soldiers are at the city walls [idiom: at a critical juncture; but in this case I believe it is literal], I am afraid we are still unclear of whats going on. Bai Wenyuan spoke heavily, Shaoshuais n should have been like seamless heavenly clothes; this time we took a wrong turn, there must be a different reason. Xu Xingzhi wanted to say something but then hesitated, in the end he did not say anything. Xu Ziling looked him in the eye. He waited until everybody returned to their post to make preparation before pulling Xu Xingzhi aside to inquire of what had happened. After telling Xu Ziling about Gui Xiliang and Xing Ronging to see Kou Zhong twice, he sighed and said, We understand Shaoshuais personal character, toward friends, he gives his bare heart into the friends keeping [idiom: absolute confidence]; but when the stake is high, we cannot be without the heart to guard against other people. Xu Ziling said, Xiliang and Xing Rong are also my childhood friends, I dont think they are shameless disciples who will sell [i.e. betray] their friends. Moreover, if they really work for Li Zitong, the first time they came to see Shaoshuai, they should not refuse to help. In fact, before they came to see Shaoshuai for the second time, Li Zitongs navy at Zhongli has already had proper preparation. Those dummies on board the ships, they would need at least two, three days to make. Obviously Li Zitong has already seen through our n to pull a snake from its hole. Frowning, Xu Xingzhi said, Shaoshuais n waspletely without any w, plus it was reasonable and fair; unless it was somebody with deep knowledge of Shaoshuais character, how could they guess that moving troops to Donghai was not to run away to the ocean, but a scheme to lure the enemy? Xu Ziling knew that he still harbored suspicions to Gui and Xing, two men, only he was being sensitive to Xu Zilings feeling, hence he spoke in a roundabout way to allude that Gui and Xing were precisely people with deep knowledge of Kou Zhongs character. Heughed calmly and said, There is someone else who understands Shaoshuai like Xiliang and Xing Rong; many times we nearly fell head first in his hands. This man is Baling Bangs Xiang Yushan. Xiao Xian has always had contact with Li Zitong. Most likely the one working out a strategy in the dark for Li Zitong is he. Xiang Yushans martial art skill is so-so, but he is deceitful in many ways. We must be careful in dealing with him. Xu Xingzhi sighed and said, No wonder the rumor in the world says that when Shaoshuai and Ling Ye, two persons join hands, whether in Wulin or on battlefield, its hard to find anybody in the world who can match you. Listening to Ling Yes logical and profound analysis spoken in calmly manner and even-tempered, Xingzhi cannot but prostrate myself in admiration. Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the southern extremity of the canal. The bright moon in the sky was big and round; this was a good moment to admire the full moon, yet there he was, waiting respectfully for the arrival of the enemy. Has Shi Qingxuan arrived at her new home? He wondered. Was she also looking up to watch the moon at this moment? Was she like him, her soul was pulled and moved and wound around, thinking about him, Xu Ziling? A straight wind was blowing, the sleeves of Xu Zilings clothes were fluttering, producing rustling noise. Noticing him pondering silently, Xu Xingzhi quietly withdrew, leaving him standing alone at the edge of the cliff, overlooking the water of the canal, flowing endlessly, forever. Suddenly the sound of wings came from the sky, the Shao Shuai troops on both sides of the cliffs, none did not raise their head to look. Book 51 7 – Wheel Warships Showing Off Their Might

Book 51 Chapter 7 C Wheel Warships Showing Off Their Might

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Turned out after running away for half a day, Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing finally could not take it anymore, they found a strategically situated and easy to defend ce to take a little break; who would have thought that not even half an enemy came to pursue? Kou Zhong knew in his heart that the turn of events was not too encouraging, he guessed that Li Zitong was seizing this golden opportunity to attack Liangdu ahead of him via the watercourse. After some discussion with Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang, he left the Thousand-Li Dream behind, and taking Wuming along, he set off alone;ing across a mountain he went over the mountain, encountering a mountain range he crossed the mountain range, he rushed back along the canal. From time to time, Wuming would fly up into the sky to scout the road ahead for him, and finally he ran into Xu Ziling and the others. The two sides met, they learned about each others situation, naturally they were very happy. After understanding thoroughly that the enemy was about to attack, Kou Zhong hastily sent a messenger to meet Yang Gongqing, to notify him not to rush back in a hurry, because the safety of the troops was the top priority. After another bout of busyness of moving an army and sending a general, Kou Zhong, his muscles weary his strength exhausted C pulled Xu Ziling toward arge rock at the lower reaches of the gorge to sit down. Xiongdi! he said, I am really very grateful to you, otherwise I would lose this battle very badly; not only Liangdu would be difficult to protect, my Shao Shuai Army would also melt like ice and break like tiles. His Niangs! Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong, these two kids, are really not human. I trusted them so much, but they betrayed me. Xu Ziling said, I knew you were going to me them wrongly. The friendship that has been established since childhood is the most sincere friendship; they definitely are not that kind of shameless disciples. And then he exined his analysis. Kou Zhongs entire being rxed; heughed and said, Luckily I have you around to dispel doubts and solve the problem. If those two kids really betrayed me, the harm they brought me would be very great. Tonights battle will be under your, LaoGesmand, right now I am so tired that I only want to lie down and sleep. Humph! It would be best if Xiang Yushan, that kid, is together with Li Zitong on one boat, not only we can confirm that it was not Xiliang and Xiao Rong who betrayed us, but we can also ughter him in passing. Xu Ziling said, Our odds of sess in this battle is very high, because Li Zitong does not know at all that we have Yang Gongqing and his army nearby, he also thought that you emptied the city and went out; therefore, he will only care abouting to the north at full speed and neglect to take precautions. Whats your n? Kou Zhong smiled and said, It depends on how big of a strike we can inflict on Li Zitongs navy fleet. The flywheel boats speed and flexibility are far superior to any ship in Li Zitongs navy, plus we are going with the current. Attacking them while they are unprepared, perhaps we couldpletely wipeout his more than a hundred ships. At that time, we could seize the opportunity to go down south. We cut off all waterway traffic to and from Zhongli first to iste Zhongli; at that time, how could Zhonglis defending general not surrender? If Zhongli falls, Gaoyou will be the object inside my pocket. Other than hiding inside the city walls of Jiangdu and trembling, what else can Li Zitong do? Xu Ziling looked up at the bright moon in the sky, he said, Themand authority over the entire army can be handed over to Xu Xingzhi, you and I will board one of the flywheel boats; with your Shooting the Sun Bow plus my Mulberry Wood Bow, I am sure the enemy wont be able to endure. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Xingzhi? He does not have any experience conducting military operation at all. Pointing to his head, Xu Ziling said, But he has more brains than anybody else. As long as there is an experienced person, such us Bai Wenyuan C by his side working together with him, I guarantee that he has Zhuge-Wuhou-being-reborn kind of ability. Other than Xuan Yong, he is the most outstanding talent in your Shao Shuai Army. By letting him fighting a battle in which victory is in our grasp, it would bring inestimable benefits both to his prestige and confidence. Moreover, you need someone whose ability and wisdom are not under you and me to preside over the general situation whenever you go out to battle. Noticing Kou Zhong appeared to be still hesitating, Xu Ziling reminded him, Dont forget that we will be personally involved in the battle; if something goes wrong, we can still remedy it as the time draws near, right? Kou Zhong finally agreed; he said, Your proposals have never been wrong. There is not much time, I have to trouble Ling Shao to summon all parties concerned, to let them know that Xingzhi will have the authority and responsibility to conduct this battle. Twenty-eight flywheel boats, each one was five zhang long, two zhang wide C were storing up momentum in wait at a hidden ce on the upper reaches of the gorge. All the sails of the boat were dismantled, since they were not being used, the boats would be propelled purely by foot power. The best thing was that the big round wheel at the aft had more than sixty live tes mounted on the wooden wheel, connected to the rudder. Therefore, if the angle and direction of the tes as they hit the water were adjusted, the flywheel boat would be able to glide on the surface of the water as if it was flying, just like a fish. The crossbow machine on the ships bow was the most fierce and severe heavy weapon of the flywheel boat; each machine could continuously shoot twelve special-made heavy crossbow arrows, which could reach eight hundred paces. When a cloth soaked in kerosene was added to it, it would be fire arrow, the most threatening weapon in naval battle. On both sides of the ships, steel tes were installed to guard against the arrow, extended from both sides at an angle and met at the top, shaped like a man character [] forming a roof, with round holes on it, for breathing and for shooting arrows. The soldiers and the helmsman were hiding inside. The bow of the ship was also equipped with sharp steel cone, the original construction was simr to the one fitted on ordinary warships; however, due to the flywheel boats flexibility, on collision, naturally the destructive power was something that ordinary bulky warship would not be able to match. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Bu Tianzhi stood on one of the boats, which, at thest moment was christened as the Shao Shuai gship. Xu Ziling was in charge of manning the crossbow machine at the bow, while Kou Zhong had the Shooting the Sun Bow in his hand. As for the fire arrows, he was assisted by four Shao Shuai soldiers, who were particrly nimble, to supply him with the arrows. On the helm was Chen Laomou, who had ample experience in steering the boat. Bu Tianzhi was in charge of the overall situation, he would give themand to advance or retreat, conveying Kou Zhongs orders using g signal. The canal was thick with the tense atmosphere of mountain rain about toe; Wuming was spiraling in high altitude above the gorge. Suddenly she dove down and flew in a circle before diving down toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong raised his right hand to let Wuming grab it and perch on it. Kou Zhongughed and said, Sweet baby darling, is the enemying? Wumings pair of eyes, like torches, stared fixedly in the direction of the gorge, she spread out her wings, her appearance was mighty to the extreme. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Go back to the sky and y! As if she understood human talk, Wuming pped her wings and soared high into the sky, and became a small ck dot under the bright moon in the blink of an eye. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling asked, I thought she only understands Tujuenguage? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Even ghosts do not know how she understands it either; might be because all day long she listens to me speaking Hannguage, over time, she is finally Sinicized, ha! Smiling wryly, Bu Tianzhi said, I am now so nervous that my palms are sweating, unexpectedly you guys are still in the mood to chat and joke; I wonder if you can teach me this ability of moving troops with chatting and joking? Kou Zhong cheerfully said, After fighting two more battles, Zhi Shu will be like us, wont take any battle too seriously. This is a question of habit. Huh? Xingzhi wants us to pull back two li? What the hell is going on? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Now themand is under Xingzhi and not you, Kou Zhong. Military orders are like mountains, disobedience is punishable by beheading. Quickly do as he said! The crowd looked up at the top of the cliff. The bright moon was shining, high above the cliff, the signalman was waving the gs, directing them to pull back two li. Kou Zhong nodded to Bu Tianzhi, now it was Bu Tianzhis turn to wave the gs to signal the twenty-eight flywheel boats to turn around quickly. Whoosh! Whoosh! the water was stirred, just like that, the boats went against the stream to retreat to the north, saving the time to make a turn. Two enemy warships sailed out of the gorge one in front of the other. Watching this, everybody was disappointed, but they understood. The two warships were twenty zhang apart. If the other enemy ships were maintaining this distance going into the gorge, then at any moment there would be no more than four ships inside the gorge. Even if the trebuchets were able topletely destroy the enemy ships inside the gorge, it would be no more than four ships, the damage to the enemy navy was minimal. If they followed the original n, when the enemy warship entered the gorge and they immediatelyunch the surprise attack, then the enemys huge fleet coulde ashore outside the gorge to fight back. With the enemys military strength, they would definitely have to pack their food and leave before they finished eating. Xu Xingzhi made a prompt decision; he changed the strategy at thest moment, waiting for half the enemy fleet to pass the gorge before starting to cast the stones in violent attack, to cut the enemys fleet into two sections so that the head and the tail could not correspond to each other, and then use the flywheel boats as the main assault force, they would attack with the stream, using the newest invention in boat technology, the new and original tactics, attacking the enemy with blitzkrieg strategy that the enemy had no time to deal with it. Bu Tianzhi nodded and said, Xu Xiansheng indeed has original position in military strategy, he does not disappoint in bearing Shaoshuais trust. One enemy ship after another sailed out of the gorge, forming a grandiose procession, covering the river section before their eyes, extending continuously, unending, making people feel intimidated at the first nce. Nearly forty enemy warships sailed speedily out of the gorge, the sail masts were heavy, on the deck human shadows were flickering; obviously, as they got closer to Liangdu, they were in a state of high alert. The battle drums on top of the cliff were suddenly sounded, the stone-throwing machines were ringing endlessly. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Brothers! Charge! Inside the steel-te reinforced cabin, thirty warriors, sixty legs stepped on the pedals at the same time, the flywheel boat turned around quickly. With Chen Laomou at the helm, the Shao Shuai gship was the first to make a turn, out of the river bend, sailing speedily toward the first enemy warship thirty zhang away. The torch was lighted, it ignited the fire arrow. Kou Zhong blow out his qi and raised his voice, he pulled open the curtain of the battle between the two navies by shooting the first fire arrow. From the Shooting-the-Sun Bow it shot away, drawing a wonderful, colorful trajectory over the air above the canal, hitting the fully opened sail of the enemys warship. Immediately raging mes arose. Xu Ziling immediately unleashed the crossbow machine, twelve fire arrows shot out one after another, either breaking into the hull, piercing through the ships hold, or hitting the other sides sail mast. None of the arrows missed their target. This moment the enemys archers woke up with a start and returned fire, but under Bu Tianzhismand, the flywheel boat ahead nimbly darted toward the shore, so that the flywheel boat behind it met the enemy warship, which had already received not a light injury. By the time the Shao Shuai gship rounding the enemys first ship, the afore-mentioned ship had already fallen into raging mes and violently billowing thick smoke; one after another the enemy soldiers jumped into the canal to run for their life. Immediately the enemy warships disposition of troops was in great chaos, ck smoke permeated the air in the canal, with their vision reduced to nearly nothing, they practically did not know what happened. This moment the crossbow machine on the Shao Shuai gship was reloaded, it turned around from the outside, near the shore, and sliced across the middle toward the third ship of the enemys fleet. The second ship was taken care of by another friendly boat. One strike and was sessful, the Shao Shuai military personnel on the other flywheel boats had their morale greatly boosted. Their fighting spirit like a rainbow, their confidence rose up to 100%. The enemies on the target enemy ship had their attention fully focused on what happened ahead, plus the Shao Shuai gship did not have the least bit of light, their movement fast and nimble, by the time they realized the Shao Shuai gship was near, to their great regret, it was already too difficult to turn around. Fire arrows shot in rapid session, the sails and the deck caught fire at the same time. Boom! Then came the terrible cracking noise as the hull was fractured, wood chips sttered everywhere, the Shao Shuai gships sharp and solid bow, carried by its momentum, smashed the enemy warships starboard side, splitting up arge hole on the enemy warships hull, before it swiftly retreated. Kou Zhong brandished his bow to strike down three strong arrows shooting at them; he shouted loudly, Half the boatse with me, the rest stay here and fight to your hearts content. Bu Tianzhi promptly issued the order. The Shao Shuai gship led thirteen flywheel boats, they sailed with the current into the gorge. Encountering the enemy warship along the way, they attacked and promptly retreated, not daring to stay. They wanted to, before the enemy on the other side of the gorge had the chance toe ashore Cunch deadly attack on them. ck smoke filled the air, the enemy navys disposition of troops was in great mess, some of them turned around, trying to escape, and some, in their panic, crashed against the reef near the shore. The allotted share of the great and mighty armada was only to be ughtered. The Shao Shuai gship led the thirteen flywheel boats into the gorge. The six enemy warships in the gorge were either burning or broken that they capsized and sank. The canal was full of the enemies who were trying to run for their lives to both banks, their cry shook the heavens. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Whether Jiangdu will be ours or not, it will depend on this battle! The warriors on the boat responded in chorus, their morale soared to the highest level. The Shao Shuai gship took the lead to rush out of the gorges mouth. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around, he knew that victory was in their grasp. With Jiao Hongjin and Luo Qifeimanding two units of the Shao Shuai Army, they split up toward both shores and used fire arrows to deal violent blow toward the rear of the enemys navy, which had been broken into two sections, burning more than a dozen enemy warships. The rest of the enemy warships, because they were unclear of what is true and what is false of the situation on the shore, one after another they turned around to flee. However, the canal was, after all, unlike Yangtze River, Yellow River, that kind of big rivers, so that they collided against each other, or crashed against the reef near the shore, and became a great mess. Thick ck smoke covered up the sky and concealed the moon, the enemy and us were difficult to tell. Kou Zhong shouted his order, in spreading-over-the-river-and-covering-the-sky momentum, the crossbows shot the arrows toward the enemy warships. In the Battle of Liangdu Gorge, the Shao Shuai Army seized total victory, they destroyed more than eighty enemy warships, the number of enemy warships able to escape back to Zhongli were no more than twenty. On Shao Shuai Armys side fifteen men were killed, less than fifty were wounded, three flywheel boats were destroyed and sank, but they killed nearly two thousand enemies, and took the enemy soldiers prisoners more than five thousand. In the short term, Li Zitong not only could forget about invading to the north, whether or not they could defend Jiangdu had also be a question. Nobody had any experience handling the surrendering soldiers, what to do with the more than five thousand captured enemies was a big headache for them. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Now I understand why in the ancient times, after the Battle of Changping [c. 260 BC], Bai Qi buried 400,000 surrendering soldiers alive, because that was the most clean and efficient, otherwise, to behead them one by one, I am afraid no one could bear it; afterwards, I dont think they could sleep peacefully. But now, what do we do? Just to feed them is already not easy. Xu Ziling said, Since we must not kill them, we have no choice but to set them free. But a defeated army on the run might bring about great disaster tomon people along the way, we must consider it in details. This moment Xu Xingzhi and five Shao Shuai soldiers, escorting an enemy general C wereing toward them. The two boys turned their attention to look, surprisingly it was the chief great general under Li Zitongsmand, Zuo Xiaoyou. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Turns out it is Zuo Da Jiangjun! Zuo Xiaoyous hands were tied behind his back, but he still showed an unyielding expression. Letting out a cold humph, he said, A warrior can be killed but not humiliated; if you want to kill me, just do it at your convenience, but you must not humiliate me. Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Xingzhi was going through the prisoners to interrogate them, only then did I find there is Zuo Jiangjuns honored self among them. Kou Zhong secretly praised Xu Xingzhis attentiveness to details. Raising his thumb toward Zuo Xiaoyou in praise, he said, Good man! Immediately untie him for me! Following his order, the soldiers loosened the ropes binding Zuo Xiaoyou. Kou Zhong cast Xu Ziling a meaningful nce, he pulled Zuo Xiaoyou aside to have a word with him; he said, Now, what we are talking about, the Heaven will know, the Earth will know, and only the two of us will know. Zuo Xiaoyou coldly cut him off, If you, Kou Zhong, think that I am a man greedy for life, afraid of death, then you are gravely mistaken. Remaining tranquil and even-tempered, Kou Zhong said, Not only Da Jiangjun is not a man greedy for life, afraid of death, you are also a man of steel who is made of iron. Honestly, when I was young, I already admired you very much. Now, I am not persuading you to surrender even more, but just want to talk things through with you. As long as we both feel happy and could see the sincerity, I could immediately let Da Jiangjun go. I could even let Da Jiangjun bring your men back to Zhongli. Zuo Xiaoyou revealed a disbelieving expression. pping his chest, Kou Zhong said, When did what I said does not count? Da Jiangjun ought to know this fact. Zuo Xiaoyou muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day. Revealing a bitter and astringent expression, he sighed and said, I wonder if Shaoshuai is employing a stratagem to entrap me? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Is Da Jiangjun afraid Li Zitong would mistakenly believe that Da Jiangjun has surrendered to me? Zuo Xiaoyou said, If Shaoshuai were in Li Zitongs ce, the captured officers and soldiers all returned in good health, what would you think? Revealing a difficult expression, Kou Zhong said, In that case, would Da Jiangjun tell me what to do? Zuo Xiaoyou stared fixedly at him for half a day, as if he was trying to gauge his sincerity C without speaking at all. Kou Zhong said, To be frank with you, after this battle, Li Zitongs allotted share is only to sit and wait for death [idiom: resigned to ones fate]. Currently, Hainan Ind already fell into the Song ns hands. Compared to Song Que, Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, Fu Gongyou, and the likes are merely clowns who jump around the beam. Da Jiangjun has no intention to surrender to me, its not because of Li Zitong at all, rather, you keep your eyes on Li Shimin. am I right? However, Li Shimin is not the Son of Heaven receiving the heavensmand yet; that person is, maybe, Li Jiancheng. By the time Li Shimin conquer the rivers and mountains [i.e. the country] will be the day of the birds are over, the bow is put away. Without Li Shimins House of Tang, could they be the Tujue peoples match? I, Kou Zhong, am not a warmonger at all, but I simply am unwilling to have the great and good rivers and mountains to be ravaged and trampled by the Tujue peoples armored horses; nothing more! Smiling a bitter smile, Zuo Xiaoyou said, Who said I am unwilling to surrender to you? Its just that the officers and soldiers who came with me this time, most of them are brothers who have been with me, Zuo Xiaoyou for many years. Our homes and small families are all in Zhongli, hence we cannot but having consideration for them. Ay! Li Zitong is simply not a very capable person, it would be difficult for him to seed. Shaoshuai should know this better than me. Kou Zhong spoke in great delight, If Da Jiangjun indeed has this intention, then everything can be managed properly. Trust me! I will definitely figure out a way to satisfy rival demands, both to capture Zhongli, and also to protect Da Jiangjun and various brothers under yourmands family. Zuo Xiaoyou said, To this day and age, I am afraid no one in the world would dare to belittle Shaoshuais men anymore. Just speaking about this battle, Shaoshuai is moving your troops marvelously, even Li Shimin is not as good as this. Kou Zhong cried, Ashamed! inwardly; this battles victory was obtained extremely dangerously and extremely lucky, sess or failure was only a fine line apart, it was all thanks to Xu Ziling pulling strongly against a crazy tide [idiom: to try hard to save a desperate crisis], so that the situation, which couldnt be more inferior than this, could bepletely reversed. Clearing his throat, he spoke modestly, This time we are just a bit lucky. Zuo Xiaoyou did not expect that he was this young, yet unexpectedly could win without being arrogant; it was extremely rare. He said cheerfully, Just now Shaoshuai seemed to have something hanging down your mind that you wanted to inquire about, I wonder what that was? Kou Zhong nodded and said, I would like to ask: this time you guys attacking Liangdu, was Xiang Yushan, that kid offering advice behind the stage? Zuo Xiaoyou spoke in amazement, Such a secret matter, Shaoshuai is even able to make one guess and hit the bullseye? Kou Zhongid down the heavy burden in his heart, because he finally confirmed that he was not betrayed by good friends. Wrapping his arm around Zuo Xiaoyous shoulders, he pulled him toward the other side, where Xu Ziling was speaking with Xu Xingzhi. He said, Speed is a crucial asset in war, practically Zuo Da Jiangjun was not captured by us at all; you were simply fleeing in a bit difficult situation. After stepping on and breaking a few pairs of shoes, you were finally seeded in leading your five thousand men escaped back to Zhongli, right? Hearing that, Zuo Xiaoyou understood tacitly; he nodded his agreement that it must be so. Kou Zhongughed and said, Attacked by me, Li Zitongs guts have turned cold. If my main forces press into his territory, I am sure he will flee back to Jiangdu, and then wont all problems be like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge [idiom: easily solved]? From now on, we are all brothers, blessings we will enjoy together, misfortune we will endure together. What I, Kou Zhong, have spoken, it has never been does not count. The two looked at each other andughed together. Book 51 8 – Visitors from Luoyang

Book 51 Chapter 8 C Visitors from Luoyang

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Zuo Xiaoyou led his men back to Zhongli. Although Li Zitong did not raise any suspicion, but because the navy was nearly wiped out, the damage and the loss were so grave, he put the me on Zuo Xiaoyou, and demoted him from Da Jiangjun [great general] to a mere Jiangjun, which made Zuo Xiaoyous belly filled with grievances for the unjust treatment, and made his heart leaning toward Kou Zhong even more. Ten dayster, Kou Zhong divided his army into two ways, separately deploying the troops from Donghai and Liangdu. The main force from Donghai was ten-thousand-man strong, riding on forty warships via the sea sailing directly toward Jiangdu, under the leadership of Xuan Yong, Chen Changlin, Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, Zha Jie, and so on. The other army was further split into two units, from the canal they set off via both the water andnd routes to go down south. The military strength was eight thousand men, including the flywheel boats, which had made Li Zitong scared out of his wits. Hearing the news, Li Zitong was aghast and was greatly shaken, he led this twenty-thousand-man army hurriedly left Zhongli to return to defend Jiangdu. Zhongli was still defended by Zuo Xiaoyou, while Gaoyou was presided over by another great general Qin Chaowen. The remaining sixty navy ships were all concentrated in Jiangdu to deal with Shao Shuai Navying from Donghai. Actually, by this time the military strength in Zhongli and Gaoyou still must not be underestimated, each had about ten thousand men, corresponding well with each other, they had enough power to hold back and block Kou Zhong from going down south andunching pincer attack toward Jiangdu. In term of strategy, Li Zitong did not make a mistake. As long as he could break down Shao Shuai Navys expeditionary forcesing from Donghai, he could turn his army to go up north to meet Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings main forces head-on. Who could have thought that Zuo Xiaoyou opened his city to wee Kou Zhong? It scared Gaoyous Qin Chaowen that he closed the city gates and did not dare to go out to fight, which gave free passage to the twenty-four flywheel boats under Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Bu Tianzhi and Chen Laomous leadership to sail straight down, entering the Huai River and passing through the canal heading for Jiangdu, so that together with the Shaoshuai Navying from Donghai, they formed a converging attack to the Jiangdu navy. They inflicted heavy defeat to Li Zitong at the mouth of the Yangtze River, thoroughly destroying his barely remaining navy. The military strength of the [State of] Wu Army defending Jiangdu and the city across the river, Yanling, was still more than forty thousand men, which was still above Kou Zhongs. Kou Zhong was not greedy for meritorious service at all. After rejoining Xuan Yongs main force, they hastened north along the canal toward Gaoyou, passing through Jiangdu but did not attack. Qin Chaowen knew the great momentum has gone, but also because he admired how Kou Zhong conducting himself, even more, he was afraid of his might and his skill in the art of war, he offered the city and surrendered. Up until now, Zhongli and Gaoyou, these two Wu Armys military strategic cities north of Jiangdu, along with more than a dozen county towns in the vicinity, have all fallen into Kou Zhongs hands. Shao Shuai Armys military strength grew to fifty-thousand men, their prestige was even more flourishing. Kou Zhong epted Xu Xingzhis proposal. He had Qin Chaowen and half the military power under hismand, along with their families, moved to various cities in Donghai County, and appointed Xuan Yong with five thousand Shao Shuai troops to defend Gaoyou, equipped with Bu Tianzhis flywheel boats, putting the canal and the Huai River, two main watercourses, under his control. The two vacancies among the Shao Shuai Armys Eight Subduing [or garrison] Great Generals were filled by Yang Gongqing and Zuo Xiaoyou. And then he added Qin Chaowen and Luo Qifei, two garrisons [see above, same word], so that altogether, there were Ten Great Subduing Generals. The rank was as follow: Yang Gongqing was at the top of the list, followed by Xuan Yong, Bu Tianzhi, Gao Zhandao, Chen Changlin, Bai Wenyuan, Jiao Hongjin, Zuo Xiaoyou, Qin Chaowen, andstly Luo Qifei. As for Niu Fengyi and Zha Jie, due to their outstanding performance, the former was promoted to be the Supervisor of the Ministry of Wars Six Departments Superintendent, while Zha Jie was appointed as the Supervisor of the Ministry of Justice, sharing the burden of Xu Xingzhi, who was originally holding several positions at once. Xu Xingzhi, in addition to be in charge of the Ministry of Appointments and the Ministry of Justice, two departments, was also being promoted to be the Chief of Military Counselors of the Shao Shuai Army, with the authority to lead the troops in military campaign. Because he had shown outstanding talent in military matters during the Battle of the Gorge, everybody submitted cheerfully to this appointment. Ren Meimei and Chen Laomou were still in charge of the Internal Affairs and Work, two ministries. The Shao Shuai Armys organization was growing tighter and tighter. The lower-ranked officers and soldiers also enjoyed promotion, which greatly aroused their morale, which was already high-spirited. Kou Zhong also adopted Xu Xingzhis proposal to bestow rewards based on merit, because they had enough fund in the treasury, everybody, from top to bottom, was rewarded. After arranging everything, Kou Zhong led the troops back to Liangdu. The news of Hos fall came at this time, because thecking-in-confidence and cowardly Wang Xuanying retreated without a fight, so that Ho was offered with both hands to Li Shiji, while he himself fled back to Luoyang. Kou Zhong knew the affairs of his own household, once Luoyang fell, Li Shimins main forces would move to the east. Facing Li Shimins strategy, with fierce generals as numerous as the clouds and the elite Tang Army soldiers divided into several prongs of attack, the allotted share of the Shao Shuai Army, which on the surface its fame and power was greatly flourishing C would only be taking a beating, they definitely would notst until the warm spring and blooming flowers of the following year. The only redeeming way was to be one step ahead in capturing Jiangdu, so that if necessary, they could retreat to the south. As long as they could steadily defend Zhongli and Gaoyou, two garrisons, they could defend Jiangdu without any worry. Therefore, as on one side he ordered Xuan Yong and Zuo Xiaoyou to reinforce Gaoyou and Zhongli city defense, by building fortress on strategically situated and easy to defend ces along the river course, as well as putting in human resources to build navy vessels, to increase the number of flywheel boats, and to improve thebat effectiveness of the navy, on the other side, with secret gongs and tightened drums he preparedrge scale march toward Jiangdu. The military prestige now was different from the former days. Gui Xiliang and Xing Rong finally persuaded the other leaders of the Zhu Hua Bang to give their full support to the Shao Shuai Army, which made Luo Qifeis intelligencework grew to reach the eastern section of the Yangtze River and various regions of Jiangnan. One particr day Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, along with Xu Xingzhi, Luo Qifei, Gao Zhandao, Chen Laomou, Ren Meimei, Bai Wenyuan, and Jiao Hongjin, inside the Shao Shuai Mansions conference room, were discussing the operation to attack Jiangdu. Even after talking about it over and over, no one could offer any solution withplete confidence. Luo Qifei said, Li Zitongs Wu Armys navy, the name remains, but the reality is gone. Currently only about a dozen left, which appeared to be merchant ships which belonged to civilians who were pressed into service and refitted to be military vessels at thest moment. With our flywheel boats, we could easily blockade the Great River, and make Jiangdu, Yanling, two cities difficult to correspond with each other. If we attack Yanling and blockade the waterway, Jiangdu will be isted and without help, and could only let themselves being ughtered. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, If there was no Li Shimin, this fears of trouble in the rear, sooner orter Jiangdu would surrender to us; however, since Li Zitong knew that one day Li Shimins main forces will go down south to attack our Shao Shuai Army, he will hold fast to Jiangdu and note out, relying on Jiangdus strong city and thick walls, as well as adequate provisions. Holding out for a year or a half should not be any problem. Furthermore, because the officers and soldiers inside the city has Li Shimin, this hope, the soldiers and generals are of one mind, it wont be easy to sway them. Gao Zhandao agreed, he said, If Li Zitong gives up Yanling and concentrates all military power and army provisions in Jiangdu, our situation will be even more unbearable. Naturally we cannot have the whole nesting out to attack Jiangdu, but even if we exhaust our entire army, our military strength is no more than fifty-thousand men, not enough to subdue the forty-thousand Wu Army troops in the City of Jiangdu. Kou Zhong recalled the battle to attack and defend Liyang. At that time, Dou Jiandes preparation was adequate, his strategy brilliant, his military strength was several times above the army defending the city, yet he still suffered grave damage. For him, pulling thirty-thousand men to attack Jiangdu would already entail strenuous effort, andpared to Liyang, Jiangdu was a hundred times stronger, plus the defenders inside the city would be ten-thousand men more than the besieging army; undoubtedly it would be like striking a stone with an egg, they were only asking for trouble. The biggest problem was that Shao Shuai Army was still unable to bear the loss of arge number of soldiers; otherwise, they would not have any strength left to withstand Li Shimin. Deploying the troops against Jiangdu, they must have a 100% confidence, any loss could not be tolerated. This moment, a Flying Cloud personal guard came to report, Wang Xuanshu of Luoyang was asking for an audience. Kou Zhong was greatly astonished. Apanied by Yang Gongqing and Xu Ziling, they went to the outer hall to see Wang Xuanshu, Wang Shichongs second son. Wang Xuanshu was full of windblown dust, his face carried a beaten expression, unlike in the former days where he had rich, spirited, handsome and bright appearance. Seeing Kou Zhong, the two boys, he was like seeing his close rtives; hot tears gushing out of his pair of eyes, unexpectedly he went down on his knees in front of Kou Zhong and cried mournfully, Shaoshuai, please save my Die! Kou Zhong quickly grabbed him and helped him up; he had him settled down and seated properly first, until he calmed down, before asking for details. Wang Xuanshu said, Ho is lost, Wang Xiong [brother king; his family name happened to be Wang (king), but I dont think he called his own brother Brother Wang] retreated back to Luoyang, Li Shimin moved his troops east to Qing Cheng Pce in the Eastern Capitals Jin Yuan [forbidden park], cutting off the waterway at the confluence of the Gu River and Luo River, while also pressing on towards Luoyang. Fuhuang knew the situation is desperate, he took chances toe out and attack, using twenty thousand troops to fight the Tang Army at the Gu River. Li Shimin sent the great general under hismand Qu Tutong to lead five thousand troops to cross the river and attack. While the enemy and us, two sides were refusing to concede, Li Shimin led his main forces to help. Moreover, Li Shimin personally led the many Tian Ce Fu fierce generals, as well as several dozens personal guards, elite cavalry to crisscross and charge the battlefield, straight to the rear of our troop disposition, sweeping everything before them, our deaths and injured were very heavy. The enemy and us, two armies collided and separated, separated and met again, repeatedly exchanging des. After three sichen of battle, our troops finally could not match them and retreated, Li Shimin seized the opportunity to send his troops to chase and kill, all the way to the wall of the capital city, they captured and beheaded our troops more than seven thousand men, and besieged our capital city. Now Li Shimin is besieging us on all sides, and attacking our capital city day and night, non-stop. Just by looking at Wang Xuanshus appearance and expression, they could imagine the desperate hand-to-hand battle until the sun and the moon lost their light at that time, with dead bodies strewn all other the field, blood flowed to be a river. Wang Xuanshu spoke in distress, Fuhuang regrets endlessly that he did not listen to Shaoshuais loyal words. He often said that if he did not withdraw the troops from Cijian, and perhaps was willing to let Yang Da Jiangjun and Shaoshuai to defend Ho to the death, the situation would not develop rapidly after abrupt turn [idiom: dramatic change] like right now. As long as we could hold out until the severe winter, the Tang Armys grain and grass will notst, surely Luoyangs siege will be relieved. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing you look at me I gaze at you, while Xu Ziling remained silent without saying anything. Yang Gongqing asked, This time Xuanshu Gongzi came to see us, was it Gongzis idea, or was it your Fuhuangs idea? Looking ashamed, Wang Xuanshu replied, It was Fuhuangs idea, but all of us are very much in favor, hoping that Shaoshuai would not remember old hatred and help us to defend Luoyang. Hows the food situation in the city? Kou Zhong asked. Wang Xuanshu replied, Due to all external routes for providing foodstuff are cutoff, food and daily necessities are in short supply. Clothing and jewelries, treasure and antiques, gold and silver, money and valuables be as worthless as grass and mustard, a bolt of silk fabric can only be exchanged with three sheng of grain. A thousand bolts of cloth just worth one sheng of salt. The amount of grain in the storehouse is barely enough to support one month, even with us living frugally. The situation in extremely critical. [Sheng is a unit of volume for dry grain, equal to 1/10 of a dou, equivalent to about 1 liter (a little over one quart) in modern measurement.] The three men understood suddenly. Turned out Luoyang has reached this kind of the-water-exhausted-the-mountain-used-up degree, no wonder Wang Shichong disregarded his face and sent Wang Xuanshu to Kou Zhong to ask for help. Wang Xuanshu spoke in distressed, Common folks are now eating grass roots and tree leaves. So much so that some people used mud oars [not sure] and rice crumbs to make round t cake to satisfy their hunger. After eating, they fell sick, their bodies bloated and their feet swollen. Every day we have to send people to the streets to clean up dead bodies and cremate them, to prevent the break out of pestilence. After a short pause, he went on, If Shaoshuai and Yang Da Jiangjun are willing to return to Loyang to help us, Fuhuang promised to hand over themand authority, so that Shaoshuai will havemand over the entire army. Kou Zhong secretly mused that this was probably Wang Shichongs biggest concession. He nodded and said, I need a little time to consider, Xuanshu, you go to the guesthouse to rest first, tomorrow morning I will give you a positive answer. After Wang Xuanshu, with his personal guard showing the way C left, Kou Zhong exhaled slowly and said, Gentlemen, what do you think? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You practically dont have any choice. Wang Shichong can, at most,st until the first third of the ninth month, while it is absolutely impossible for us to attack and seize Jiangdu in such a short period of time. Yang Gongqing said, There is another way, which is to try to deliver a batch of food and daily necessities to Luoyang for Wang Shichong, so that the Zheng Army could hold out for a period of time. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Other than food shortage, Luoyangs biggest problem is the fatal weak point of the warriors will to fight has sunk very low. If we want Luoyang to live through the winter, the only way is to defend the city for them. On the other hand, we will ask Dou Jiande to relinquish former hatred and send his army toe to help. As long as Dou Army can cross the river to recover Ho, the headache will belong to Li Shimin and not to us. Yang Gongqing agreed, This may be the only chance to defeat Li Shimin, he said. It should be noted that Li Shimin was the unequalledmander-in-chief who was able to move unhindered across the world. The Tang Army was the best-trained, with the most well-developed, veterans of a hundred battles, powerful army. If not under a very special situation, anybody in frontal confrontation against them would not have any confidence speaking about victory. However, presently Li Shimin was attacking Luoyang with all his strength, not only the damage was very heavy, he did not have time to deal with separate task. If Kou Zhong could steadily defend Luoyang, plus Dou Jiandes main army cross the river to the east, Li Shimin would face the enemy in front and behind him. If he did not withdraw his troops, it was extremely possible that he would lose this battle; hence Yang Gongqings view. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This time Wang Shichong sent Wang Xuanshu here to ask me toe to Luoyangs aid, on the surface it seems like I am their savior, but the fact is that Luoyang is also my only savior. So, we decide well do it this way then. This matter must be discussed in details, Xu Ziling said, You must not act blindly without thinking, if Li Shimin got the wind, he would send his army to intercept our troops transporting the provision, then we would have to pack our food and leave before we finished eating. Full of confidence, Yang Gongqing said, The roads to Luoyang, Laofu is most familiar with; as long as we lie low during the day and travel at night, we could get close to Luoyang, the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive. If our military strength is adequate, breaking through the Tang Armys siege should not be a problem. Luoyang is not like our Liangdu at all, to have it surrounded until not one drop can trickle through, even if the Guanzhong Armys whole nest came out, I am afraid it is still impossible to achieve. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shaos advice to move the troops cautiously is extremely useful. We will employ his Niangs threaten the east and strike to the west tactics; we pretend tounchrge-scale operation to attack Jiangdu, while the actual target is the city across the river, Yanling. With Ling Shao inmand of the whole army, I will go with Yang Gong, Ma Chang, and Yang Gongs five thousand men to sneak provisions into Luoyang, and then we will stay to steadily defend Luoyang for Wang Shichong. After that, well make an attempt to persuade Dou Jiande toe to help. Ha! Ling Shao only need to bluff, perhaps Li Zitong would present Yanling to us with both hands. One day our Shao Shuai Army is stationed in Yanling, one day Li Zitong would not dare to leave the city even for half a step. Xu Ziling smiled ruefully but remained silent. Kou Zhong did not ask him toe to Luoyang, the real reason was not to ask him to lead the Shao Shuai Army in feign attack toward Jiangdu, rather, it was because Kou Zhong knew that he was unwilling to have frontal confrontation against Li Shimin. Yang Gongqing excitedly said, This is a good turning point for our Shao Shuai Army in contending for hegemony over the world. I will immediately go to prepare everything. Finished speaking, he left. When it was only the two boys, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling C left, they were both ovee with emotional stirring that quite half a day passed with thousands of words to say, but neither one knew where to start. Kou Zhong finally broke his silence; he said, Brother! We are going to be apart again! Xu Ziling was deeply moved. These simple words of Kou Zhong really contained profound meaning. Under such an enormous military offensive from Li Shimin, whether Kou Zhong would be able to defend Luoyang steadily was still unknown, therefore, this sentence could mean life or death farewell. Secondly, whether Dou Jiande would be willing toe to help, or whether he could spare time for a separate task C was still impossible to predict. If Luoyang was captured, even if Kou Zhong was able to break the siege and sessfully escape, Li Shimin would not be willing to let go of this opportunity to kill Kou Zhong. At that time, Kou Zhong would never want to abandon the officers and soldiers under hismand to flee alone, there would be great possibility that Li Shimin could catch up with him and kill him. Finally, Kou Zhong and Li Shimin were old enemies foreordained by Heaven, eventually they would reach the moment where they would stake everything in life and death battle, there was no room to maneuver in the middle. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, If I am unfortunate enough to die in Luoyang, I am asking Ling Shao to disband the Shao Shuai Army for me, because surrendering to Li Shimin, I am afraid there wont be any good oue in the end. Xu Ziling sighed and said, The situation cant be that bad, right? Yang Gong also said that this is perhaps the only chance where you have the hope of defeating Li Shimin. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, I dont know. Li kid is the only person in the world that can make me lose confidence; no matter how meticulous your nning is, all of a sudden he managed to totally win all the bargaining chips in your hands. Ay! There is something that I have not had a chance to tell you, to this day, Yuzhi is still unwilling to forgive me. Xu Ziling was stunned. Kou Zhong revealed a frustrated I-dont-want-to-talk-about-it expression, he said, If things really developed to that stage, after Ling Shao disband the Shao Shuai Army, you will go to the ce Shi Qingxuan is living in seclusion and apany her spending herst years, dont get involved with anything in the secr world. All those his Niangs Shi Zhixuan, demonic schools Two Sects Six Ways, Xiang Yushan, Chi Shengchun, Da Ming Zun Jiaos Duan Yucheng, or what have you, no need to pay them any attention. Ay! The only thing I am still concerned about is Little Lingzhong. But Da Xiaojie should take a good care of him. One day theres still you, Xu Ziling, there shouldnt be anyone dares to harm him. Xu Ziling sighed and said, How did you be like a defeated rooster? Dont talk such a demoralizing talk, all right? After letting out a hollowugh, Kou Zhong quickly became dejected again as he said, Its precisely because I am thinking about Zhizhi that suddenly I have the every-hope-turns-to-dust feeling, thinking that it might be better if I die; once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, Looking at you, you sincerely fall in love with her, you want an intimate rtionship with her, thats why she brought about such serious harm and heavy blow to you. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Do you still need to say that? These days I really have a bit of regret for contending for hegemony over some his grannys world; why cant I, whilepletely focusing on, and involved in, one matter, also pursue and obtain her? Every night I would cuddle around her fragrant and tender body, coaxing her, while also let her coax me, to pass his Niangs envious-to-mandarin-ducks-but-not-envious-to-immortal happy and prosperous life, unlike now, where she resents me for a lifetime. The most tragic thing is that in front of my men I still have to maintain an unequalled-under-the-heavens staunch look, while the fact is that I know better than anybody that we definitely wont be able tost until the warm spring and blooming flowers of next year. If you hadnt arrived in time, even Li Zitong and Xiang Yushan, I wouldnt be able to contend with them. Xu Ziling understood him better than anyone else, he knew that Kou Zhong was momentarily venting out his emotion, he did not really lose his will to fight. Smiling bitterly, he said, Quickly summon your men for a meeting; very soon you will recover. Kou Zhong took a deep breath. He stood up shakily and said, Frankly, I am scared listening to Xuanshu describing the situation in Luoyang, where the streets are littered with dead bodies. Ay! Where the hell is Ba kid? I need someone strong like him by my side to defend Luoyang to the death together. Xu Ziling let him put his hand on his shoulder; he said, Do you want to go back to the conference room? Kou Zhong replied, I dont really care, I guess any ce is good. Ay! You dont know how miserable I was when Zhizhi spoke those heartless words. It was only that moment that I deeply felt and was aware how serious my mistake was! I was even clearer that even if I had tongue as glorious as a lotus flower, I would never be able to change her opinion about me. I felt iparably lonely. That night, I was tossing and turning restlessly in my bed, all night long; shame, self-me and regret intertwined, as if Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin was attacking me; I could neither dodge nor block. I wonder if you could take me somece where theres no one else and let me cry bitterly for a moment? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Shaoshuai! Im sorry, but we dont have much time. You are going to Luoyang tomorrow, now is the time you ought to move an army and send a general. Book 51 9 – Secretly Crossing the Wei River at Chenchang

Book 51 Chapter 9 C Secretly Crossing the Wei River at Chenchang

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling stood on a hill by the canal, the city of Liangdu was not too far behind him, the sky above him was full of stars, the Ten-thousand-Li Spots was eating grass by his side. Kou Zhong was still in the city, presiding over one military affairs meeting after another, doing his utmost to properly arrange everything before setting off tomorrow. After participating in the meeting to discuss the entire operation, Xu Ziling took the Ten-thousand-Li Spots and rode him out of the city to get fresh air and to rest, to enjoy the serenity and peace of being alone. His mind wandered to Shi Feixuan. What would this fairy-like beauty think of him? Now he has been drawn into Kou Zhongs great undertaking of contending for the hegemony over the world. If he had the choice, he definitely would not want to do this, because it was not in line with his leisurely-cloud-wild-crane, did-not-wish-to-struggle-against-anybody character. However, because of his deep brotherly affection to Kou Zhong, and for the sake of themon people in the worlds happiness, he simply could not watch with folded arm. To a certain extent, he was also a little disappointed with Li Shimin, with his attitude of putting his family and n first, which he did not agree with the most. If Li Shimin was willing to turn his head to oppose his family, which had been corrupted by the demonic school and the Tujue people, he would have done everything in his power to persuade Kou Zhong to support Li Shimin. Unfortunately, things turned out contrary to the way he wished [idiom]; Li Shimin clearly expressed his loyalty to his family, and that he would never let Kou Zhong off. This had left him with no other choice. Would Shi Feixuan understand him? Shi Qingxuan should have arrived at her new residence in the vicinity of the Demonic Emperor Temple by now and began her new life of living in seclusion. How he was so eager to put aside everything in front of him and go over there to apany her. If she still refused him, he would never me her, he might only me the Nature for ying tricks on people. Since she chose the unmarried life, he must respect her choice. Earlier, Kou Zhong revealed his weak side. Not only Xu Ziling sympathized with him, he even understood him better. The pressure of war was indeed terrifying, because it involved people in all walks of life, most of them were innocent and pitifulmon people! Any decision that a leader might make would bring about different harm to them. Just like Kou Zhong once said, war was a cruel reality to see whose injury was heavier, who would be the first unable to endure it. Wang Xuanshus description of the terrible situation in Luoyang was something that ordinary people would not be able to bear, they would not be willing to witness even more, yet Kou Zhong was forced to confront all of these. Quite possibly Shi Qingxuans intention to live in seclusion was his only happy ce, his only refuge. However, he had to stay in the sludge and take part in the callous conflict where it was either to kill or be killed. The sound of hoof beats wasing from afar but quickly getting near. Xu Ziling did not need to turn around to look, because he recognizes the Thousand-Li Dream hoof beats. There was also the sound of something splitting the airing from the sky, followed by Wumingnded on his shoulder. This spirited falcon, other than Kou Zhong, also obeyed his orders. Xu Ziling reached out to lightly stroke the soft feathers on Wumings back. Kou Zhong came to his side and spoke excitedly, Good kid! Unexpectedly you are hiding in here living in ease andfort, while I was so miserable over there! The meetings really made my head spins that at the end Ipletely at a loss of what I was talking about. With the wind on his face, Xu Ziling took a deep breath and then asked, What important decision did you make? Kou Zhong replied, Xuan Yong will be responsible to lead the overall feign attack on Jiangdu. You dont need me? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment. Kou Zhong replied, To kill a chicken, no need to use a butchers cleaver. Starting tomorrow, our Shao Shuai Army begin the mobilization; we will assemble the navy and field army at Gaoyou, and prepare the equipment to besiege a city. This is called to threaten the east and strike to the west. While Li Zitong is unclear of what is true and what is false in our army, perhaps just like we expected, he might concentrate Yanlings provisions and troops in Jiangdu, so we can spit into our hands and capture Yanling. This is a battle that does not need to be fought; it will be just another dispatching-troops-transferring-generals military exercise, to give Xuan Yong another opportunity tomand Shao Shuai Army in water andnd, amphibiousbat. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, What do I do then? You dont want me to apany you to Luoyang, do you? Kou Zhongughed and said, How could I be such an inadequate brother, knowing full well that you dont want any frontal confrontation against Li kid, yet I still force you to fight him to the death? Xu Ziling said with a sneer, Your mood is indeed swinging greatly up and down; just now you looked like you wanted to die, but now you are fully content with your achievements, acting with optimism of victory within your grasp. Kou Zhong replied with a bitter smile, Because I know that if I dont pull myself together, I would wear myself out and wear others out! The Li kid on the battlefield cant possibly chat andugh with you, he may be more ruthless, mean, and merciless than anybody, and that might be the reason why he is still so sessful up until now. Jiancheng, Yuanji, if they dont have Tujue people and the demonic school, respectively, supporting them behind their back, perhaps they would have been assassinated by the men that he dispatched. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I hope he is not that kind of vicious and merciless person like you said, too bad that the fact is really not so. Kou Zhong said, Getting back to the main point, ording to our rough estimate, the first batch of the food and daily necessities that the transporting-grain troops that Yang Gong and I lead will be able to deliver to Luoyang, even at maximum capacity, will, at most, be enough to feed Luoyangs troops andmon people only for ten days, and then we need to continue sending food. Xu Ziling understood suddenly, You want me to be in charge of supervising the food delivery, he said. Kou Zhong said, The first time we are delivering provisions, our chance of sess is the highest. First of all, it is because of the threatening the east and striking to the west scheme, and then because Li kid has not been alerted, and the Tang Army still has not had enough time to dig moats and build ramparts all around Luoyang. Moreover, Xiaodi has Wuming to help find the path, we could evade the enemys eyes and ears, to break through the siege and enter the city. Xu Ziling agreed, Makes sense! he said. Kou Zhong continued, But when Li kid is alerted, not only transporting-the-grain operations will be increasingly difficult, the more urgent concern is that Li kid might send Li Shiji to attack our cities and towns. Therefore, not only we have to constantly supply Luoyangs necessities, we will also have to deal with Li Shiji, who is using Ho as his main base of operations to send his troops to attack. Under the circumstances, only Ling Shao is able to bear this heavy responsibility. And then, lightly patted Wuming, he said, And this baby, other than me, she only listens to your order, plus you are the only one who knows how tomunicate with a falcon. Hearing that, Xu Zilings brows were furrowed even deeper, musing inwardly that since Shen Luoyan was already in Ho, wouldnt it be like he was fighting against her? Kou Zhong said, For you, this could be considered a good assignment. I really dont want you to fight against Li kid, I just want you to rescue the innocent, the starving and sickmon people of Luoyang, right? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Li Shiji was the top ranked great general under Li Mismand. If he deployed his troops to attack, dealing with him, I would already have to fight with all my heart and soul, how could I have the spare time to deliver food? One thing goes wrong, I would fall into his heavy siege, and then the one needing food supply would be me. With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, set your heart at east. You, LaoGe have this worry, its simply because you are not clear about the actual situation. I guarantee that Li Shiji will not dare to exhaust the elite troops under hismand to invade our territory. Everybody knows about our rtionship with Dou Jiande. If Li Shiji reduced the military strength guarding various cities on Hos front line, the Dou Army might dispatch troops to cross the river in surprise attack any moment. If Ho fell, our army and Dou Army meet up, at that time, other than withdrawing the troops, Li Shimin will not have any other way. Therefore, at best, Li Shiji could only make surprise attack, which is only harassing in nature. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. With smile of exultation, Kou Zhong said, Our city that is closest to Ho is Chenliu, located on the south bank of the upper reaches of the canal; via the waterway, we can reach Luoyang in one day, viand route, it will take half a day more. I decided to have Hongjin, leading two thousand troops, to enter and station themselves in Chenliu, to steadily defend the city. And Changlin is themanding officer to keep watch of Liangdu, he will deliver provisions from Liangdu to Chenliu using flywheel boats. If necessary, he could transfer Liangdus troops to help Chenliu break the siege and get out of difficulties. As long as Li Shiji cannot seal off the canal, he will be helpless to iste Chenliu. His Niangs! I wish our flywheel boats will have a chance to have a hard battle against the Tang Navy. Xu Ziling had to admit that in term of strategy, Kou Zhongs deployment arrangement was impossible to fault. Patting his shoulder, Kou Zhong said, Ill hand over the five hundred Flying Cloud Riders and Wuming to you; while you are at it, you, LaoGe can train them for me. This is called the soldiers strength is in their training. Everything that I can teach them, I already passed on to thempletely, including saber technique, equestrianism, lightness and leaping-vertically skill, and archery. I also let Chen Gong Laomou to take measurement and develop body armor and helmet and battle attire, shield and weaponry. Their equipment is excellent, not inferior to Li kids Dark Armor Warriors. With more battlefield training, they will be my most important backbone. They are precisely the transporting-provisions troops, and you are in charge. Xu Ziling finally nodded his head and said, Very well! His eyes burning, Kou Zhong swept his gaze across the mountain and the field and the in on the opposite bank. He said, Since I decided to contend for hegemony over the world, there has never been a moment where I felt that the key moment of sess or failure is this close. As long as I can persuade Dou Jiande to cross the river to the west, we will have seventy-, eighty-percent chance of victory. I hear that in the struggle between Dou Jiande and Meng Haigong, victory or defeat has been decided. Thetters allotted share is just to have their remaining force to take a beating. One already surrendered, the other died in battle, the situation is absolutely favorable to us. Xu Ziling asked, Supposing you and Dou Jiande join forces and defeat Li Shimin, how are you going to handle your rtionship with Dou Jiande? Kou Zhong calmly shrugged his shoulders and said, Dou Jiande, this person, can be considered not bad, he is both benevolent and righteous; moreover, there is Liu Heita, whom we absolutely trust, to assist him. What if we let him be the emperor? That might not be Song Ques expectation of you, Xu Ziling replied, How are you going to answer Song Que? Kou Zhong sighed and said, We are brothers, lets have a straight talk, direct speech. Now, my only wish is to survive, I dont want therge group of brothers who are following me to be massacred that their dead bodies strewn across the wilderness and on top of the broken-down city walls. As for other things, leave it to be solved in the future. This moment, not only our Shao Shuai Army still cannot match the Tang Army,pared to Wang Shichongs troops, they are still one or two notches inferior. Within the Shao Shuai Army, the unit with greatest military power is still Yang Gongs younger generation troops, who have ample battlefield experience. Currently, I am trying my best to cultivate my Shao Shuai Army. On one hand, I avoid hard battles that will bring about grave damage and loss; on the other hand, I want to increase their marching andbat experience, to strengthen their team spirit. Fortunately, we have Li Zitong to be their touchstone. Otherwise, if as soon as they are deployed ande across the Tang Army, a few frontal confrontations and we will be utterly defeated. Issuing amand, Wuming soared into the air, she flew straight to a high altitude. Kou Zhong raised his head to look at Wuming, smiling bitterly, he said, Brother! What concerns me the most is that I am rolling you into this conflict, and you are someone who loathes war; its like I am forcing you to do something that you are unwilling to do. However, since ancient times to this day, history is made of different wars strung together; the earliest could be as far as the Battle of Ban Quan [lit. spring on hillside] and the Battle of Zhuo Lu [lit. cutting/carving (as in cutting gems) deer]. Xuan Yuan Emperor [the Yellow Emperor, mythological emperor of China, reigned c. 2697-2597 BC] relied on these two battles to capture and kill Ying You, and established our Huaxias [old name for China] foundation. Since then, there were even more wars; this one started that one followed, written continuously in history. The Shang sent armed forces to suppress the Xia, the King Wu of Zhou overthrew the tyrant Zhou of Shang, the warlords of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods contended for hegemony, only then did the Emperor Ying Zheng unified thend under heaven. Liu and Xiang of the end of the Qin dynasty vying against each other, Western Han sent military expedition to attack the Xiongnu, and then there was the Yellow Turbans Peasant Uprising at the end of the Later Han [dynasty], followed by the Wei, Shu and Wu, the three kingdoms armed conflicts, the Western Jins internal disorder and foreign aggression, the Northern and Southern dynasties unrelenting mutual opposition, and the Old Sui uniting the north and south. From this series of chaos of wars, it can be seen that only throughrge-scale war, arge number of soldiers throwing away their heads and spilling their blood, a period of long-term peace and stabilitys beautiful auspicious days can appear in the world; this is an indisputable historical fact. War can bring great disaster, but it is also the only way to achieve peace. I, Kou Zhong am not a person who loves to kill. It was only because of witnessing the terrifying war that I am hoping to use military [or martial art] to stop the military, so that themon people of the world can have a day of peace and happiness. Xu Ziling spoke in astonishment, Why do you suddenly have such a great emotional stirring? You are not trying to convince me, are you? You should know how I conduct myself; unless it is something that I believe firmly without any doubt, no one can change my mind. And I dont need you to argue needlessly to persuade me. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, You misunderstood me! I just want to say that just like you, I do not like conflict and hatred-killing. Therefore, if I can defeat the Li family, I will let Dou Jiande to be the emperor, I believe he will be a good emperor who loves themon people as his own children [a praise for a virtuous ruler]. You can also consider this as giving you an answer, other things are secondary. Xu Zilings heart was touched; based on Kou Zhongspetitive nature, he was willing to put down his determination, it was extremely rare. Furthermore, he understood that Kou Zhong making this decision, it was mostly because of him. If Kou Zhong maintained this attitude, he could almost be certain that he would be able to persuade Dou Jiande to send his troops toe and resolve Luoyangs siege. Xu Ziling reached out to wrap his arm around Kou Zhongs shoulders, he nodded and said, You are indeed my good brother! Now finally we have identical views! Over the next seven days, while assembling the troops in Gaoyou in order to bluff, Kou Zhong also, under the cover of the night, used flywheel boats to continuously transfer grains, goods, as well as troops, to Chenliu via the canal. The heavy responsibility of governing the Shao Shuai State fell onto Xu Xingzhi, with Ren Meimei as his deputy. Because the Supervisor of the Six Departments Niu Fengyi and Zha Jie could be considered new in governing a country, they were still at the stage where they groped around and learned by doing, hence from time to time Xu Xingzhi and Ren Meimei had to guide and give them direction. The Superintendent of the Ministry of Work Chen Laomou had plenty of qualifications to do his job, he also constantly came up with new ideas, so that at any moment various types of improvement projects were underway in various cities, with the focus of strengthening the strategic cities defensive power. The Shao Shuai Armys greatest strength was that their public purse was loaded. With the full support from Long You Bang, Zhu Hua Bang, and Zhai Jiao, they never had to worry about shortage in purchasing foodstuff and daily necessities on arge scale on the outside. New cities like Zhongli and Gaoyou received the same benefit: tax-exemption for one year. The people benefited directly, naturally they gave their allegiance to the new lord. Xu Xingzhi continued the policy of the benevolent government by returning the riches to the people, by not disturbing what was important to the people, by encouraging production, so that the Shao Shuai State became full of vitality, even absorbing arge number of people from other area, refugees who were fleeing the chaos of war, so that their national strength was growing continuously. This particr night, after the sun set over the western hills, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang led a huge grain-transporting team consisting of five thousand Yang Family Army and the Flying Cloud Riders, carrying nearly 500 mule carts full of foodstuff and misceneous goods from Chenliu setting off to Luoyang. Traveling with them were also Wang Xuanshu with his three hundred personal guards. The route of the march was already drawn up early on, after leaving Chenliu, they turned back to the west, passing through the mountains and fields north of Kaifeng, to avoid the northwestern Guancheng, Rongyang and Ho, where the enemy stationed massive military force, circumventing Gushi, taking the Mount Songs shortcut to the Yiluo in, located between River Yi and River Luo east of Luoyang, and then using the forest tree as cover they would sneak into Luoyang, and then break the siege and entered the city. Because Li Shiji was confused by Gaoyous bluff, plus the Tang Armys heart was wary over the Dou Army more than they did the Shao Shuai Army, and on top of that Kou Zhong had Wuming finding a path, time and again they were able to evade the enemy sentry and spys eyes and ears. Theyy low during the day and traveled at night, without any rm, without any danger, they reached the east bank of Yi River. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Yang Gongqing and Wang Xuanshu urged their horses to the edge of the bank of Yi River, and hid inside a dense forest by the shore to look for an ideal ce to cross the river. Wuming was circling high in the sky, scouting the situation far and near. Yang Gongqing pointed to a particrly dense forest on the upper reaches of the river, he said, I crossed the river over there, the pontoon bridge instation is still hidden somewhere inside the forest. If no one discovered and destroyed it, with a bit of repair, it would be ready to be reused, it will save us at least one night of effort to build the bridge. Kou Zhong looked up to observe the weather. It was afternoon, but cumulonimbus clouds were hanging heavily in the sky; frowning, he said, I am afraid there will be heavy rain tonight. If the river water rises dramatically, the river will be a rapid, it would be quite bad for us to cross the river. Wang Xuanshu said, In that case, wouldnt it be better to cross the river immediately? As long as we send men to keep watch on the nearby high elevation and we move quickly, we could avoid the rain. Shaking his head, Yang Gongqing said, In this matter, we must not be reckless. Currently our riders are tired, our horses are weary, without several sichen of rest, it is difficult to recover. In case the enemy came to attack, we would not have the strength to fight back. Sess is in sight, we must be especially careful. Wang Xuanshu has always revered Yang Gongqing; although in his heart he did notpletely agree with his view, he had no choice but to shut up. Kou Zhong knew that Wang Xuanshu was eager to get to Luoyang, turning to Xu Ziling, he asked, Ling Shao, what do you think? Xu Ziling looked up at Wuming above, he spoke heavily, Somethings a bit off. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What do you mean off? Yang Gongqing and Wang Xuanshu were nervous, they also asked in chorus. Xu Ziling replied, Yi Rivers tranquil atmosphere is not what I expect. We are here for half a sichen, yet we havent seen even one speedboat of the Tang Army patrolling the river; dont you think this does not make sense? Heaving a sigh of relief, Wang Xuanshu said, Since we have sessfully avoided the enemy scouts eyes and ears, they neglecting to take precautions ought to be expected! Xu Ziling asked, Xuanshu Gongzi going to Liangdu this time, did you encounter any thrills? Wang Xuanshu was taken aback; he nodded and said, We were taking advantage of the Tang Army has not finished their deployment to siege the city, and broke the siege at night and went out. Relying on fast horse, we quickly cast away the pursuing troops. The course of events was indeed very thrilling. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, I understand what Ling Shao means. Based on Li Shimins ability and wisdom, he must have guessed that Luoyang might ask for our Shao Shuai Armys help; therefore, they must more or less strengthen the monitoring of this area. We are relying on Wumings sharp eyes to do the reconnaissance from high altitude, although we could avoid sentries and scouts, we cannot avoid the enemy finding out our wheel tracks and footprints after we passed. From this, Li Shimin could determine our route to Luoyang, as well as the time of arrival. While our troops are weary, our generals tired, plus we are thinking that sess is in sight, he would deal us a fatal blow. Yi River is calm, this is because Li Shimin does not want to beat the grass to scare the snake. Yang Gongqings countenance changed, he said, If Ziling is guessing correctly, crossing the river will be the most dangerous moment. Wang Xuanshus soul was lost, his spirit fell [idiom: beside himself], he said, What should we do? The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shing, he spoke slowly, The only way is to find the enemys assault team first, and then using ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt-momentum we rout them out. If I am guessing correctly, the enemy must be hiding somewhere upstream, Wuming can easily find their position. Leave this matter to me and Ziling, well search along the river, I am sure we will find them. Hold on! Xu Ziling said, Look at Wuming! The two men raised their head to look, Wuming was performing the eagle dance, showing that someone wasing toward them from upstream. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, This does not make any sense, how could the Tang Army be this bold toe and attack us? Less than half a dayter, they indeed heard the sound of hoof beats from the upper reaches of the river,ing quickly toward them. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Only one person. Huh? Unexpectedly, he pped the horses bottom and charged out of the forest, to gallop upstream. Yang Gongqing and Wang Xuanshu looked at each other, they werepletely at a loss. Xu Zilings face also revealed a delighted expression, he said with augh, No need to panic, its someone from our side. Finished speaking, he also pped his horses bottom and chased behind Kou Zhongs tail. Same title as Book 18 Chapter 7. Please see footnote there for exnation. Book 51 10 – The Battle at the Back of the River

Book 51 Chapter 10 C The Battle at the Back of the River

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The neer was the one that Kou Zhong was already looking forward to for a long time and should havee but has not yet arrived, Ba Fenghan. He was spurring the Tamakan, with the Stealing the Heaven Sword hanging on his back, his elegant bearing was even better than before. He was not surprised at all; his qi steady, his spirit leisurely, he and Kou Zhong hugged each other on horseback. The two horses also you-sniffed-at-me-I-sniffed-at-you intimately. Leading Yang Gongqing and Wang Xuanshu along, Xu Ziling arrived and did the introduction all around. Ba Fenghan looked up at Wuming in the sky, he spoke cheerfully, Seeing the Tujue falcon in the air, I immediately guessed that that must be the big gift that Tuli presented to you, and I thought that you must be nearby, hence I deliberately used the sound of hoof beats to lead you toe and meet me. How did you know that you could find us here? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, After entering the Pass, I asked around and found out that you guys are not in Luoyang but in Liangdu; I promptly rushed over, but pounced the empty air again. Luckily Changlin told me that you are transporting grains to Luoyang, he even told me the approximate route you are taking, thereupon I lifted my tail and pursued relentlessly, but found some interesting things along the way, hence I put on a days work; otherwise, I would have been able to catch up with youst night. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he asked, Is it the Tang Army who want to put us to death? Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Shaoshuai is indeed astute. Lets find a good ce to talk; it will be best to recall your falcon. Kou Zhong was slightly startled, but he made a signal to call Wuming to fly back to his shoulder. Following Ba Fenghan, he galloped to a hilltop nearby. The five men dismounted from their horses at the foot of the hill, and then climbed to a high elevation on foot. Under the sunlight shining over all things, bursts of autumn wind still made people feel a nip in the air; on the open country, yellow, green and red, three colors intersected and mixed with each other, creating a random mixture of colors. Ba Fenghan pointed to a distant ce in the west, he said, About ten thousand Tang Army are hiding behind that mountain over there, all are cavalry, under the leadership of Li Shimins Tian Ce Fu great generals Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde and Pang Yu, three men. Unexpectedly the three of them? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling, Yang Gongqing and Wang Xuanshu understood Kou Zhongs shock. If the pursuing troops were Li Shiji, it would be proper and to be expected as a matter of course, representing the fact that their secret march had been exposed to the light; the scout flew back to report to Li Shiji, and Li Shiji personally led the cavalry to pursue and intercept. However, Zhangsun Wuji, three men were the great generals who were close to Li Shimin; they should have stayed by Li Shimins side to help him attacking Luoyang. And Pang Yu to Li Shimin was just like Luo Qifei to Kou Zhong; he was a specialist in intelligence gathering. Since the pursuing troops were under their leadership, it was clear that Li Shimin was already one step ahead in knowing that they would transport provisions to Luoyang; hence he dispatched his elite troops to ambush them, the provisions-transporting team. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, I arrived at Chenliu two sichen after you left Chenliu, so I should have been two sichen behind you on the road. But I barely passed Kaifeng when I discovered a group of men and horses following about thirty li behind you. I took advantage of the time when they pitched camp to rest to sneak up on them to investigate, and discovered that they had eight fierce and tough vultures. At that time I still did not know what those birds are for, until I saw your falcon just now that it dawned on me that these are the assassins in the sky; they will be used to deal with your falcon. Also, their scouts clothes were covered in tree leaves, obviously it is to deceive the falcons eyes. Shaken, Yang Gongqing said, There must be a traitor in our Shao Shuai Army. Kou Zhong reached out to lightly hug Wuming; wiping the cold sweat, he said, A close call! Ba Fenghan said, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji and Pang Yu are all old hands on the battlefield, they divided the marching troops into several units; front and rear, left and right, they are corresponding to each other, unafraid of ambush and surprise attack. Moreover, this entire region is where the ins and the rivers meet, there is no strategically situated and easy to defend terrain that can be exploited. Unless you guys abandon the grain and goods, no matter how you fight them, undoubtedly the one suffering losses will be us. Everybody felt big headache. The greatest disadvantage was that they no longer dared to send Wuming into the air to observe the enemy. If it were not Ba Fenghaning to give the information, Wuming would not avoid misfortune. Since the enemy brought eight ferocious vultures, these vicious vultures must have undergone training to be the bane of Wuming. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Li Shimin really cannot be underestimated. These vicious vultures must have been cultivated to deal against the Tujue peoples falcons. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, This traitor [lit. inner ghost] knew that I will personally deliver the grains to Luoyang, his position in our Army cant be too low, because the operation this time is a top secret, the lower-ranked officers and soldiers only found out that the grains are to be delivered to Luoyang, and that I personally escort it C when we set off. Ba Fenghan said, Leave this matter to be investigated at ater date, for now the top priority is how, with no rm, no danger, to cross the Yi River. At that time, whether we want to fight or we want to run away, we will have a very high chance of sess. Why dont we execute the repairing the nk road by day while secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang [see footnote Book 18 Chapter 7] tactic? Kou Zhong said. Xu Ziling was the first to understand; he nodded and said, But the prerequisite is that the pontoon bridge instation that Yang Gong abandoned can still be used. Ba Fenghan did not understand, What pontoon bridge? he asked. After giving him brief exnation, Kou Zhong said, The method is very simple: we unload the grain and goods, and substitute it with rocks of approximately the same weight. And then we go about five li downstream and cut timber to build another bridge and use it to bluff. And then if the enemy is lured ande to follow us, our men who stay here can swiftly build the pontoon bridge, and rapidly bring the grain and goods to the opposite bank. After that ... ay! This method seems to be tooplicated! What would be a better way? Ba Fenghanughed and said, What wind is blowing now? Kou Zhong replied, The wind seems to be blowing from the northwest. Ba Fenghan raised his head to look at the sky, he said, If I dont misread the Heavens, tonight, before midnight, there will be heavy rain. We will build the pontoon bridge when the rain is pouring. Although its a bit more exhausting, based on our skill, it should be still achievable. Due to the water level is rising dramatically, pontoon bridge will be hidden under the surface of the water. The enemys scout is watching from a distance, they might only see that we are still felling trees to build the bridge downstream, they will definitely unable to guess that we have already built the pontoon bridge connecting the two banks. By tomorrow night the water level will decline, the bridge floor will be exposed, we can swiftly cross the river. Yang Gongqing said, However, with five hundred mule carts carrying heavy load, we could forget about crossing the entire team in less than three sichen. The enemys horses are fast, they could arrive in the blink of an eye, our situation will not be any better. Ba Fenghan responded indifferently, Therefore, water and fire, two tactics must be carried out simultaneously. The ce where we build the bridge to bluff must be within half a li from the real river crossing. When we are ready to cross the river, we will release fire to burn the forest ording to the direction of the wind. Although there is heavy rain, after a day of being exposed to strong sunlight, plus the wind is high and the material dry, the fire intensity will spread rapidly, thick smoke will cover the sky, even if the enemy dares to take risks to attack, they will miss the real river crossing point and miss the golden opportunity. And then he patted the Stealing the Heaven Sword on his back, his pair of eyes emitted shing divine light, he said, The initiative is in our hands, we can surely make stable deployment and ruthlessly obstruct the Tang Army, to make them powerless to cross the river to pursue us. Kou Zhong pped his thigh and cried out, Marvelous! He said, This stratagem is called water and fire corresponding to each other to cross the river, even Sun Tzus The Art of War does not record it. Yang Gong, please take us to look at the pontoon bridge first, and then well discuss other details. After Kou Zhong and the others determined that most of the pontoon bridge instation was still more or less intact and could still be used, Kou Zhong and the others hurriedly moved the cart team to the region of the forest that should be dense enough. They also set up disposition of troops on all four sides ording to the School of Militarys usual practice. Too bad that Heaven did not fabricate beauty. After arranging everything, by nightfall, the Heavens indeed poured down rain, only it was not heavy rain like Ba Fenghans C this expert in observing the sky and distinguishing climate C expectation, but only vast and obscure drizzle filling the whole sky, enveloping the entire river and in region of the forest in wet and cold fog like in a dream. A bit farther into the distance, the opposite bank of the river already disappeared in boundless drizzle, visibility was greatly reduced, even without any threat from the vicious vultures, Wuming still could not disy her ability to watch for the enemy, it was favorable to attack, but unfavorable to defend, the most worrisome was that their five hundred grain carts were crammed inside the forest, so that it became a well-defined target, and thus became a burden to them. Kou Zhong and the others felt big headache, they were unsure whether they ought to immediately build the pontoon bridge, or to find another way. This moment Ma Chang proposed, We must immediately start to work on felling the trees, to make the enemy thinks that we are rushing to build the pontoon bridge, hence they wont immediately send their troops to attack. We only need to pick particrly big and tall trees to chop off, let them topple over and lie across the ground, then they can be barrier to stop the enemy from attacking, while the enemy still thinks that we are chopping trees to build the bridge. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling and Yang Gongqing were greatly delighted; Ma Changs method was simple and easy to do, more effective than the method that Ba Fenghan previously proposed. Moreover, it was surefire [lit. ten thousand and not one failure]; they would be able to cross the river tonight, by cutting down several hundred big trees, it was equivalent to keeping the enemy on the other side of the cut trees. It was more stable than building big stockade, they could take their defensive position behind the cut trees with powerful bows, so that even if the enemys strength was several times above theirs, it would still be difficult for the enemy to do anything to them. After expressing his heartfeltpliment to Ma Chang, while sending his men to put up the bridge downstream, Kou Zhong dispatched two thousand axe-wielders, along with arranging the grain carts in formation inside the area of the chopped down trees. Under the illumination of the burning-high torches, everybody worked hard, Ding! Ding! Du! Du! in the river forest region C inside the vast and hazy fog. Amidst the Crash! and Boom! noises, one big tree after another, pulled by the ropes, copsed and fell to the ground. Just two or three logs already formed an irregr barrier or enclosure reaching to three to four zhang wide. By the time the bridge construction reached its halfway point, the chopped-tree troop disposition waspleted, but the enemy still had not made their move. On one side of the river course, Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang conducted the bridge construction, Wang Xuanshu was in charge to look after the grain carts, while Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were waiting behind the chopped-tree formation in tight-formation. The drizzle was stilling down endlessly. Kou Zhongughed and said, Old hands also have old hands weak point, which is to think that everything would happen ording to their calction. They might use their previous experience to calcte how much time we would need to build the bridge, guessing that we would at least need one night of work to build the pontoon bridge, thereupon they must have set the attack time ordingly. Who would have thought that unexpectedly we have a ready-made pontoon bridge, so that when their warhorses are knocked against our chopped-tree formation and lose consciousness, they will know that they are falling into our trap, and then it will be toote to be sorry. Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, The three of us have always been conceited as being smart, yet none of us ever thought about such a convenient and fast, and easy to do method. Your subordinate, this gentleman Ma Chang is a rare talent; Kou Zhong, you must cherish him. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, I have already seen his strong point during the Battle of Cijian, and now I have just confirmed my original assessment one step further. Ha! The three of us brothers are fighting side by side again, Laotian [old heaven, God] really does not treat me, Kou Zhong, meagerly. Xu Ziling said, Right now the enemy must have been using the rain and the fog as a cover to sneak close to us, using the listening-to-the-ground technique to watch our movement. When the grain carts are starting to move, that will be the moment the enemyunch their offensive. Xiao Zhong must not let Wuming leave your side, because this moment the enemy must have released the vicious vulture into the air to attack Wuming. Kou Zhong gently stroked Wuming perching on his shoulder, heughed and said, Dont worry! Without my order, Wuming will definitely not leave my shoulder. And then, turning to Ba Fenghan, he said, Good kid! We still have not had any chance to ask you why it took you so long toe to the Central ins to look for us; you are not indulging in pleasure and forgetting home and duty [idiom], hating to part with Badaier, are you? Ba Fenghan replied, In Tulis territory, I came across Fu Yang [I think it was Fu Qian back in Book 12 Chapter 12], who was still hanging around that area; I apanied him to visit Gaochang first, before going to the desert for a hundred days of hard work in the way of the sword. After I was satisfied with my progress, I immediately came to look for you; wasnt the timing just right? Fu Yang! Kou Zhong spoke in delight, I havent heard about that kid for a long time; how is he doing? Ba Fenghan said, Not only he is doing very good, he has made a lot of progress, at least he built a good rtionship with Tuli, and established a life-long friendship, so that he gained a lot of benefit in his fight against Tongyehu [Dunyugu/Tonyukuk?] of the Eastern Tujue. He should have returned to his own country by now. Listening to the tone of his voice, he might be back to the Central ins in the near future. Whether it will be the Li n who achieves victory, or the one unifying the world is you, Kou Zhong, either way, he will try to build good rtionship, to borrow your Han peoples force to contend against the Eastern Tujue. But then he sighed and said, Fu Yang is a man with both ambition and vision; originally he had the heart to invade your Central Earth, but after seeing Li Shimin and you, Kou Zhong, he put this desire to death early on. Unless the two of you have a negative view of him and sooner orter you finish him off, he will only seek development outside the Central Earth. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Sooner orter Li kid or I will finish him off, what you said is very interesting, but the possibility of it bing a reality is great. And then he asked, Good kid! Unexpectedly you know how to avoid the important and dwell on the trivial [idiom: to keep silent about major charges while admitting minor ones]. You should know that we wanted to ask you about Badaier. Evidently Ba Fenghan did not want to answer this question; he responded indifferently, When we have timeter on, I might tell you! Knowing Kou Zhongs character, Xu Ziling knew that he would not let him off, thereupon he changed the subject, In the way of the sword, what breakthrough did Fenghan Xiong aplish? Immediately the refined light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes was shing; revealing a reminiscing expression, he spoke in heavy voice, That will be an unforgettable episode in my life; I put all the human affairs of the secr world at the back of my mind, no-one-no-self [anatta, Buddhist concept], every day I sat in meditation and trained my sword, so that byprehensive study of the surrounding areas I mastered andprehended all my previous experience. The greatest impact on me was not the two confrontations against Bi Xuan; rather, it was the experience of being dead and came back alive. Therefore, this Luoyang battle is extremely important to me. Only in confronting that kind of extreme life and death situation will my Stealing the Heaven Sword Technique be able make a break through. Ha! When at first I heard that Kou Zhong was not in Luoyang, I was so disappointed that I wanted to cry. No need to cry now! Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Ling Shao, look! Old Ba is the person who really like battle. Xu Ziling replied with a sneer, He loves martial art and not war; it should be a bit different! This moment Ma Chang came to report that pontoon bridge construction waspleted. Kou Zhong said, Send a thousand men to cross the bridge on foot quietly first, arrange troop disposition on the other side and do reconnaissance work, set up sentry posts on high elevations. After we are sure that it is safe, take all the horses to the other side, including our rides. Carry out immediately. Ma Chang epted the order and left. Ba Fenghan praised, Shaoshuais brains is getting more and more nimble, no wonder your prestige is like the sun at noonday. From Shanhai Pass going down south, I made some inquiries about you along the way, no one, after hearing your great name, dared not to show deep veneration. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I am painfully aware of that, Ling Shao knows it best. Were it not for a bit of luck, practically I would not have any chance to be here, chatting and joking with you. Ba Fenghan spoke earnestly, This time you are going to Luoyang, what pulling-strongly-against-a-crazy-tide [idiom: to try hard to save a desperate crisis] grand n do you have? Among the people I met, no one regarded Wang Shichong as having a good prospect. Kou Zhong replied, My grand n is to stabilize the situation first and then seek help; which is helping Wang Shichong to defend Luoyang steadily first, to settle down the armys heart, and then break the siege and seek help from Dou Jiande. Ba Fenghans spirit greatly aroused, he said, Breaking the siege and seek help? That will be very exciting and interesting. Xu Ziling was staring into the depth of the dense forest covered in water droplets and the fog; his mind visualizing the intense situation where Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were rushing out of the gate of the City of Luoyang, charging in the direction of the Great River, where the enemys military strength was the strongest, and Li Shimin was dispatching his fierce generals and elite troops, going all-out to intercept. It was quite different from going out from Pengliang and crossing the Great River to see Dou Jiande. Due to Li Shimin stationing massive military force north of Luoyang, the various cities on the Yellow Rivers north bank have fallen into his hands, the hard and difficult journey could be easily imagined. Minute by minute time passed on. By the time Ma Chang came back to report that all horses havepletely crossed the river, it was only two sichen to daybreak, the drizzle was still falling non-stop from the pitch-ck sky. Kou Zhong issued his order for the grain carts to cross the river. Squeak! Squeak! The sound of the wheels was heard from behind, the five hundred Flying Cloud personal guards and the two thousand Yang Family troops guarding inside the tree formation all around had their bow bent and the arrow at the ready, storing up their momentum to wait. Ba Fenghan cried out in low voice, They areing! The sound of hoof beats was getting clearer,ing from ahead, in a three-way attack. Were it not for they were already prepared, plus there was the tree formation standing between them and the enemy and blocking the enemy, this moment they would have been at a loss to know what to do, their disposition of troops would be in great chaos, victory or defeat was only separated by a fine line. Kou Zhong shouted, Throw the torch! His order was transmitted far away, his men quickly tossed the torches in their hands outside the tree formation, streaking across the wet, foggy air inside the forest, creating streak upon streak of rays of light, very beautiful to behold. The burning torches were actually made of fire-resistant resin grease, falling between the grass and the trees, although they could not burn the wet leaves, wet grass, but they did not go out either, so that inside the tree formation was pitch-ck, but in the surrounding area the fire was zing everywhere. The enemy riders were getting closer and closer, like ghost riders from the deep, dark shadow, without any substance, appearing from the abyss of the fog. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans Shooting the Sun and Piercing the Moon, two bows burst at the same time, two riders were hit and fell to the ground. Release the arrow! Two thousand and five hundred powerful arrows shot out from inside the encirclement, passing through the gaps between the forest trees, piercing the men and prating the horses. For a short while the sound of horses neighing and the peoples screaming resonated in the dense forest outside the tree formation. The warhorses that lost their master rushed toward the tree formation before realizing that the path was blocked; they reared and neighed, and either knocking each other to the ground or turning around and running back. The horses that stepped on the torches neighed miserably over and over even more, the situation was chaotic to the extreme point. The arrows kept pouring like rain, row after row of powerful arrows shot out from powerful bows, mercilessly shot dead any living creature either appearing or moving outside the surrounding tree formation. Someone from the enemys side called out, A trap! Retreat! The enemy came quickly, they retreated even faster, leaving behind the horse carcasses and human corpses in fantastic oddities of every description sprawling everywhere in the forest, the sound of the heavily wounded and had not died men and horses groan rose and fell in session, so that it was too horrible to endure. Xu Ziling did not shoot a single arrow; he stared nkly at the dreadful sight, like the Asuras hell C before his eyes. The sound of the grain carts wheels grinding against the pontoon bridge resonated at the river crossing, far behind the front line, while there was silence on this side of the tree formation, the only sound was the heavy and nervous breathing. Ba Fenghan listened carefully to the sound of the enemy hoof beats, he said, Do you think the Tang Army mighte back to throw away their life? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, If thats the case, then Zhangsun Wuji, three men dont deserve to be Li Shimins trusted aides, beloved generals. This intercepting-grains battle, they must admit defeat. After all the grain carts finish crossing the river, we will retreat in batches and destroy the pontoon bridge. By nightfall tomorrow we could toast Li Shimin outside the city from Luoyang, while listening to Old Ba and Badaiers touching and romantic passionate tale of a hero and a beauty. The sound of pping wings wasing from the air above the trees, the vicious vultures were already deployed. Wuming on Kou Zhongs shoulder revealed an alert look, obviously she was aware of the dangerous situation in the sky. The vicious vultures were Wumings nemesis; could it be that Li Shimin was Kou Zhongs bane? Book 51 11 – No Way Back

Book 51 Chapter 11 C No Way Back

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia By the time the sun moved to the middle of the sky, the magnificent City of Luoyang finally appeared directly north ahead. Kou Zhong ordered the grain-transporting team to take a break. With Yang Gongqing, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan, three men, he galloped toward a high elevation, to look into the distance at the situation outside the city. Yi River was flowing to their left, winding away to the distance, flowing through the city wall and the canal piercing into the city, toward the tightly closed Hou Zai, Ding Ding, and Chang Xia, three southern gates. On a distant hill about one li outside the city, the Tang Army built a wooden fort, it appeared that it had not been built too long ago; in term of scale, it was not big, it could only amodate several hundred men, difficult to pose a threat to them. However, if they wanted to break through this strongly defended wooden fort, it would not be easy at all. If it attracted the other Tang Army toe to help, they might suffer big loss. Therefore, no one had any idea how to deal with the opponent. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If we go by the original n, this moment Ling Shao should have led the Flying Cloud Riders back to Chenliu to transport the second batch of food. But now obviously this idea wont work. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. First of all, Wuming was restraint by the vicious vultures, it would be difficult for her to disy her effectiveness. Second, there was the problem with the spy. Grain-transporting team was slow-moving and awkward, if their whereabouts was exposed, transporting grains to Luoyang would not be much different frommitting suicide. Ba Fenghan asked in astonishment, Ziling is noting with us to Luoyang? Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao is going back to Liangdu to preside over the general situation. Ay! This food supply problem really gives people headache, ording to Xuanshu, although arge number of people already fled Luoyang, but the troops and civilians remaining in the city are still more than 150,000 people, the stuffs we are delivering can onlyst at most for half a month. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, How did you calcte that number? Five hundred carts of food, two mules each cart, a total of a thousand strong mules. By killing a hundred mules a day, it will be enough to eat for ten days. After killing the mules, we can kill the horse, how could we not pass a month? Not to mention there are still surplus grains in Luoyang; lets just say that it is enough for a month and a half, that should be enough time for Dou Jiande toe and break the siege! Hearing that, Xu Ziling felt his blood ran cold. You looked at me I gazed at you with Kou Zhong, thetter pped his forehead and said, Why have I never thought about eating mule meat? Ay! Dear mules! I am so sorry, you have worked so hard to transport grains for us, but we will have to ughter you for food. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said with a wry smile, Hence the reason we, Tujue people often say that you, Han people embrace Niangers [lit. mother/women in general] heart, not ruthless enough. War is just like this, for the sake of victory, anything can be sacrificed. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Ziling,e with us to Luoyang! After Luoyangs defense is stabilized, we force our way out of encirclement to see Dou Jiande to ask for help. We, three brothers, fight side by side, in life or death together, it will be a great delight. In war, there is only the difference between the enemy and us, any friendly feelings cant be used. Li Shimin is representing the Li n and not him personally, he is fighting for Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng to obtain the world. Li Yuan and Jiancheng do not have any friendly rtions with you, unless you want to let them rule the Central Earth, otherwise you should make up your mind, to swear an oath to defeat them. I am really not eloquent, I am just speaking out whats in my heart. Kou Zhong remained silent without saying anything. Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the grand capital city resplendent under the shining sun, a thousandyers of huge waves were surging in his heart, because the next decision he was about to make would bring his future destinypletely to the other direction. What should he do? Yang Gongqing nodded and said, What Fenghan said is an iron-d fact; internally, the Li n has already been nibbled away by the demonic school. Li Shimin is just an instrument of war, he no longer has the power to act independently. Kou Zhong finally spoke up; reaching out, he said with a bitter smile, Everything will be decided by Ziling! Of course I need you, but if you choose to leave, I will only have delight and no resentment in my heart. Xu Ziling was suddenly ovee with intense longing for Shi Feixuan; if she was by his side, he might humbly go down on his knees to beg for a clear-cut direction. After taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling calmly said, Theres not much time, we have to move immediately, so that we will enter the city before sunset. He felt that with every step that the Ten-thousand-Li Spots took, he was leaving this banquet-of-the-south-sweeping-up-the-north to the point of getting even closer to be drawn into the great vortex of war, which involved most of the foreign tribes beyond the Great Wall. Moreover, he was pulling the distance to the ce Shi Qingxuan lived to shun the world farther and farther away, until he would bepletely without any way back, until the strength exhausted, the people perish! Unless Kou Zhongs side finally won, only then would he have the possibility to get away. This thought made him feel his spirit weary, his strength exhausted, because he knew even more clearly that he was incapable to stay out of it. Could it be that he would let his own brother put his life in danger while fighting bravely for his ideal, seeking happiness for all the people, yet he simply watched with folded arms, he simply sat and watched, but remained indifferent? No matter how unwilling, ultimately he had to harden his heart and made up his mind, to choose to embark on the no-way-back journey to support Kou Zhong. The Yang Family Army arranged themselves in battle formation, waiting in tight disposition of troops west of the enemys fort, to guard against the enemy charging out of their fort to attack them. The Flying Cloud warriors were in charge of driving the mule carts, pushing on toward Ding Ding [lit. setting up the sacred tripods (reference to Xiang Yu)] Gate, under escort of Wang Xuanshu and his personal guards. Just as expected, although there was some movement inside the Tang Army fort, it was purely defensive in nature, they did not dare to go out to fight. On top of the city walls, the bells were tolling, Ding Ding Gate lowered the suspension bridge across the moat, Wang Shichong, Wang Xuanying, and the Great General Ba Yegang, leading two thousand Zheng Army, came out to wee them. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Yang Gongqing, and Wang Xuanshu, five riders galloped out of the grain-transporting convoy. The two sides met, the troops on Wang Shichongs side spontaneously exploded in shaking-the-heavens cheers and joyous shouts, some people even shed manly hot tears at the arrival of the grass and provisions aid. The Zheng Kingdom warriors at the top of Luoyangs square city wall and guarding the gate responded in shouts, the situation was enthusiastic and moving, just like the people in great drought seeing sweet rain falling down from the sky; they wereing back from the deaths door. Wang Shichong stepped forward to greet Kou Zhong, he pounced down from the horse and pulled Kou Zhong into his tight embrace, his pair of eyes burst into tears, he said, Shaoshuai holds high righteousness and profound love, and disregards former hatred, Wang Shichong is extremely grateful, this great kindness and great virtue will never be forgotten. Being held in his embrace, Kou Zhong felt ufortable all over, because he knew that it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to alter ones character. Whatever ones character is, even it changes greatly under some kind of special situation, the innate character is still difficult to change. Kou Zhong gently broke free from his embrace, he spoke seriously, This time I aming back with Yang Gong to Luoyang, there is no condition, let alone any request; I just hope that we all can work together sincerely to beat back the Tang Army. I hope Shengshang understands clearly. The grain convoy rumbled past them; they entered the wide-opened Ding Ding Gate in single file with the Zheng Army crowding around to escort them. Standing by Kou Zhongs side, a burst of emotional stirring welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he deeply felt the horror and cruelty of war, because it was clearly written on every enduring-the-torment-of-it Zheng soldiers face. Wang Shichong sighed and said, I made mistakes again and again, originally I do not have the face to see Shaoshuai, nowadays I only seek a corner where I will be content to hold a small part of the territory, no more than that. As they spoke, the two galloped toward the city gate, while Xu Ziling, Yang Gongqing, Wang Xuanshu, Wang Xuanying, Ba Fenghan, Ba Yegang, and so on were following closely behind them. Seemingly without any ill-feeling, Wang Xuanying said hello to Xu Ziling and Yang Gongqing, but Xu and Yang could see his reluctant expression clearly, that it was because he had no choice that he was forced to repair friendly rtions with them. Ba Fenghans expression was cold and detached, as if there were no human affairs in the world able to move his heart. At the front, Kou Zhong lowered his voice to ask Wang Shichong, I wonder if Rong Fengxiang and his people are still in the city? Letting out a cold snort, Wang Shichong replied, Before Li Shimins main forces pressing on our territory, they already ran away one and all; true sentiments are seen in hard times [idiom], it is indeed a steadfast truth throughout all ages. Kou Zhong said, Our n is that after we stabilize Luoyangs defense, we will immediately go to see Dou Jiande to persuade him to dispatch his troops toe and help, I hope that we could resolved Luoyangs siege before the grain is exhausted. I wonder if Shengshang has any opinion about this matter? Wang Shichong spoke with serious expression, As long as it is Shaoshuais conditions, I, Wang Shichong, definitely will not refuse. Thats the best then, Kou Zhong cheerfully said, After entering the city, we will immediately distribute half of the grains and daily necessities to the people, to pacify the peoples heart first, and then we will see whether Li Shimins besieging-the-city war is outstanding, or our coalition forces defending-the-city battle is more formidable. Slightly taken aback, Wang Shichong nodded his agreement. The bugle horn sounded, the Yang Family troops, under Ma Changs supervision, began to pull the grains away from the Ding Ding Gate; the grain-transporting mission was finally sessfully aplished. As soon as Kou Zhong entered the city, his move of immediately distributing the grains was even more effective and useful than any other method to raise the peoples heart, it immediately restored the originally lifeless city to recover its vitality, giving it an opportunity to live. Kou Zhong even sent his men to spread the news that the Dou Army would soon be deployed across the river, toe and help Luoyang out of danger, so that the morale of the army and civilians inside the city was greatly aroused. Kou Zhong and the others immediately held a high-level military meeting with Wang Shichong and his generals, which mostly consisted of the high-ranking military officers with Wang surname, while the exhausted grain-transporting troops were settled in any vacant houses across the city to rest, in order to deal with the imminentrge-scale attack and defense battle. Luoyang was one of the three big capitals of the former Sui dynasty, it was the most solid city outside of Changan and Jiangdu. Just by looking at how Li Zitong, with his ability, by relying on Jiangdu, was able to resist the overbearing-in-the-world Du Fuweis elite Jianghuai Army, as well as Shen Faxings Jiangnan Navy, one could imagine Luoyangs power and influence. In fact, Luoyangs defensive power was not inferior in any aspectspared to Changan and Jiangdu. Other than the natural barrier of mountains and rivers all around, the outside wall thickness reached eight zhang, it was wide enough for more than a dozen riders galloping side by side. The city gate tower was grand, there were twelve gates on four sides, one gate could correspond with other gate, all gates were closed entrance. The biggest threat to the besieging Tang Army were the Big Flying Rock and Eight Crossbow and Arrow Machine, designed and manufactured by Sha Tiannan. The former could throw up to fifty catties huge rocks, its range reached two hundred paces. Thetter could shoot arrow as big as an axe, capable of attacking the enemy within its more than five hundred paces range. Both were highly mobile and flexible, super-defensive instrument that could maneuver swiftly atop the city wall. One hundred and twenty Big Flying Rocks, and a hundred and fifty Eight Crossbow and Arrow Machines C made Luoyangs defense as secure as a city protected by a wall of metal and a moat of boiling water [idiom: invulnerable to attack]. Therefore, although everybody was hungry, and the besieging troopsmander was the inspiring-awe-throughout-the-empire Li Shimin, day and night continuously without any break for more than ten days attacking the city from all sides, they still failed to subdue and capture Luoyang. The strength of the Tang Army outside the city was continuously increasing. Li Yuanji, under Li Yuans order, was transferred from Changan to be Li Shimins deputy, bringing with him fifty thousand fresh soldiers. Li Shiji also moved his troops from Ho to Luoyang, bringing the total of Li Shimins, who set up his headquarters in Qing Cheng Pce northeast of Luoyang C military strength to 120,000 troops. If all of the Tang Army stationed in various towns in the surrounding area was included, the total number of the Tang Army in military expedition going out of the Pass to the east would be above 200,000 men. From this, it could be seen that Li Yuan was going all out, giving all he had C to aplish his aspiration. Under normal circumstances, Luoyang was simply a solid city that was impossible to conquer, therefore, the strategy that Li Shimin adopted was absolutely correct, which was: first of all, iste Luoyang, cut off all routes for providing foodstuffs, so that the military and civilians inside the citycked food and had nothing to eat. At that time, it would copse on its own without they need to attack. Kou Zhong sessfully transported rations and fodder into Luoyang, luck was an important factor. The crucial point was in Ba Fenghaning in time to deliver the information, also because of Yang Gongqings discarded pontoon bridge instation. All these factorsing together resulted in great sess. And this, in the besieged city battle, would be Luoyangsst food supply. Even if Kou Zhong and the others could break the siege and return to Chenliu, it would be impossible to transport another batch of army provision. Now, Luoyangs only saving-star was Dou Jiande. Only he could recapture Ho and open the gap on the eastern front; only then would they have the chance to beat Li Shimin back. After the arrival of Kou Zhongs reinforcements, Li Shimin suspended the siege of the city and reorganized his troop disposition. No one dared to underestimate Kou Zhong, once he and Wang Shichong joined forces and attacked them from two or more sides, perhaps the Tang Army would suffer a big loss. Li Shimins strategy has been based on the premise that everything proceeded in cautious, stable and steady manner. After Kou Zhong and the others entered the city, the Tang Army began to dig ditches and build ramparts all around Luoyang, to seal off all passages leading to and from Luoyang, attack and defense resources were doubled, creating an even greater pressure than continuous violent attack. At the meeting, the allocation of duties of the various generals under Wang Shichongsmand did not see major changes from before, with the exception of the Shang Dong and An Xi, two city gates, which were closest to the Tang Armys general headquarters Qing Cheng Pce, were handed over to Yang Gongqing, inmand of the Yang Family troops, who had ample experience, assisted by the Flying Cloud Riders, which Kou Zhong personally trained C to deal with Li Shimins main forces attack. The officers and soldiers originally defending these two battlefronts were transferred to other city gates. The total number of military and civilian personnel in the city was about 180,000, the number of regr troops remained more than 32,000, plus the Shao Shuai Army reinforcements, the military strength was still less than 40,000. After looking at the situation clearly, Kou Zhong made a prompt decision, he wanted to take advantage of the time while Li Shimin has notpleted the blockade, to break the siege and leave the city at night, to see Dou Jiande. What else could Wang Shichong say? Other than reiterating his gratitude and reaffirming his sincerity in cooperating with the Shao Shuai Army and the Dou Army, he submitted to Kou Zhongs decision in everything. Finally, Kou Zhong concluded, With every passing day, our foodstuff, daily necessities and medicine will decrease a little. Looking at the current situation, the food inside the city canst, at most, for a month and a half, until the first third of the tenth month. Continued supply is impossible. Therefore, our only hope at present is the Dou Armying to help. As long as they can capture Ho, it would open ess to the eastern front, Luoyangs siege would be broken. We will set out promptly tonight to see Dou Jiande, during which time you will have to defend your property to the death in Luoyang until we bring the good news back. After the meeting, Kou Zhong declined Wang Shichongs invitation toe into the pce to give him a farewell dinner. Together with Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, they returned to their former residence, the small courtyard house with the river behind the house, at the Ze Shan Lane in the southern part of the city, to strive for some time to rest. This courtyard house was originally belonged to Wang Shichong, but because each time they came to Luoyang Wang Shichong let them stay there, it could not help bringing out a special feeling in their heart. As they stepped into the house, there was a wonderful feeling like they wereing home, much like Hou Xibais Passionate Nest in Changan. The three beloved horses and the falcon Wuming were left here to be taken care by Flying Cloud Riders. This trip to see Dou Jiande absolutely would not be a smooth sailing, there was a good chance that Li Shimin would strike to kill them. Therefore, they did not want to take the risk of their beloved horses and beloved falconing with them. The three went into their separate rooms to rest. Xu Ziling threw aside everything, he closed his eyes and sat in meditation, the true qi within his body circted for less than two sichen, not only his fatigue waspletely gone, he reached an even higher realm, his power appeared to be even more refined and pure, inwardly he was greatly astonished. Kou Zhongs footsteps was heard,ing from his room to Xu Zilings. Kou Zhong pushed the door and came in; while stretching out his muscles and bones, he walked over to the bed, sat down, and said with augh, Old Ba is going to the small dock behind the house and stares nkly over there. In my opinion, this kid still has a bit of load in his mind, he just wont tell us! Its time to leave, Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong said, Cant we talk for a bit first? Ay! I really trouble you, making my heart really without peace and happiness; its all my mistake, striving for what his Niangs world? Right now, it is like if you ride a tiger, its hard to get off; I have no choice but to brace myself and continue fighting. Xu Ziling said, We are all brothers, why did you say those words? However, I do have a few words from my lungs; I have to pour out whats on my mind. I am listening, Kou Zhong solemnly said. Xu Ziling said, About the future, no one can know. I only hope that you will take the well-being of the people of the world as the basis for everything, do not be like those ordinary ambitious people, whose ultimate goal is for their own benefit, they are being blinded by power and fame and position. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This speech, I, Kou Zhong will engrave in my heart, I will not dare to forget even for a moment. Xu Ziling remained silent. Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao, help me think, among the numerous leaders in my Shao Shuai Army, who might be the person who betrayed me? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, The number of people who knew that we are transporting grain to Luoyang is not many, its very difficult for us to distinguish the mole among them. Kou Zhong said, There are only ten garrison generals and six department-level supervisors. Also, perhaps only high-level military officers like Chen Jiafeng, Xie Jue, Gao Zhiming, Zhan Gongxian, and so on would know clearly about the transporting grain matter. Therefore, it should not be difficult to guess. Xu Ziling muttered to himself irresolutely without speaking. Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong said, That day we mounted a sneak attack on Zhongli and nearly walked into the enemys trap, I suspected that there was a mole; in addition, I thought it was Xiliang and Xiao Rong who betrayed us. Only afterwards I knew it was a misunderstanding. Although Xiang Yushan, that kid, has a knack of doing a bit of ghost trick, he still has not reached the prophesying-with-supernatural-uracy level yet. Therefore, I am sure that at that time there was already a mole within our army sending him information in secret. Ay! Who is this person? Xu Ziling said, Yang Gong and Ma Chang absolutely have no problem, we can eliminate them from the suspects list. Zhi Shu, Mou Lao, Zhandao, Fengyi and Xiao Jie have deep rtionship with us, we have been through trials and tribtions together for a long time, there shouldnt be any problem either. Xuan Yong and the two great generals under hismand Gao Zhiming and Zhan Gongxian came from Zhai Rangs system, just by looking at how loyal and dependable and steadfast toward Da Xiaojie, they shouldnt be that kind of people. The rests are only Xu Xingzhi, Ren Meimei, Luo Qifei, Chen Changlin, Bai Wenyuan, Jiao Hongjin, Chen Jiafeng and Xie Jue. In your heart, which one do you suspect? Kou Zhong said, I really dont want to suspect any one of them. Although we and Xu Xingzhi are strangersing together by chance, I feel that he is a wise man whose bosom is filled with the aspiration to save the world; it is unlikely that he would do such a shameless matter. Changlin Xiong conducts himself as a person of noble character, suspecting him would make me feel guilty. Bai Wenyuan, we have saved his life; ording to reason, he would not bite the hand that feeds him. Jiao Hongjin and me have been through life and death together, plus his conduct is upright, I wont suspect him as the mole. But I dont have that kind of confidence toward Ren Meimei, Chen Jiafeng and Xie Jue. After all, they were Pengliang Bang people, and Pengliang Bangs reputation has never been good, plus they have a hopelessly muddled rtionship with Baling Bang. Ay! This is really a big headache. Ba Fenghan appeared at the door. Brothers! he spoke indifferently, The time for self-cultivation has arrived! Book 51 12 – Seeking Survival on the Luo River

Book 51 Chapter 12 C Seeking Survival on the Luo River

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Amidst the rumbling noise of the sluice as its chain was wound to raise it up just enough for the wooden raft to pass through, Xu Ziling, who was in charge of steering the raft, focused his power into the wooden oar, he applied his strength to paddle, a ssh boiled out at the tail of the raft, the wooden structure rushed out of the water gate like a speeding horse, riding on the current along the Luo River, into the boundless night outside the city. Both banks and all around were pitch-ck, there did not seem to be any enemy around, but the three knew that Li Shimins 120,000 troop besieging the city had alreadyid outyer uponyer of defense on the strategically located and easy to defend ces in the surrounding hignds and along the waterways. No matter from which side they wanted to break the siege, it would still be difficult to avoid the enemys eyes and ears. If any unit of the Tang Army managed to entangle them, Li Shimin would personally lead his martial art masters toe to help, so that other than exhausting their strength to fight to the death, there would be no other possibility. The key to sess or failure was which side could move a bit faster. Among the various rivers intersecting Luoyang, Luo River was the widest river course, which leads directly to the Great River. From the Luo River charging through the barrier, this was the most direct and the fastest way to break through the siege that they could figure out. The most ideal was, naturally, if they could reach the Great River andnded on the north shore. Even if they were intercepted, they could abandon the raft midway and went ashore, the initiative would still be in their hands, hence their chance of breaking through the siege was quite high. Ahead, the bugle horn was sounded from a distance, followed by the sound of hoof beats from all four sides and eight directions, evidently the enemy was alerted and responded quickly, men and horses from all sides were mobilized. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan stood in the middle of the raft, with three quivers full of powerful arrows, plus three shields, by their feet. The night breeze was brushing over, blowing the three mens nightwalker attire so that the tight clothes were fluttering in the breeze. His heart was devoid of any rm, Xu Ziling paddled the raft with all his strength. He simply kept the however far they could go, then so be it C mentality. The clouds were heavy in the night sky, the moon and the stars did not show their lights, and the weather had not turned to the better. Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, Can you guess what will we encounter first? For example, big blocking the entire river, or iron chain locking the river, or perhaps the Tang Navys ship? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Luoyang is the point where eight rivers meet, the mountain and rivers terrain isplicated, Li Shimin practically could not guess the route we are going to break the siege, furthermore, he wouldnt have guessed that we are going to leave tonight. I dare say that he must be flustered by now. Kou Zhong looked at the ssh at the front of the raft as its bow was cutting through the surface of the water, inwardly he praised Xu Zilings deep and immeasurable spiraling true qi, which seemed to be bottomless. He responded Ba Fenghans remark by saying, I, Kou Zhong, can underestimate anybody, but I absolutely do not dare to underestimate Li Shimin. The method he is going to seal off the river course could beplicated, could be simple; for example, he might set up a dozen or so trebuchets on both sides of the river, plus archers, so that we will be forced to abandon the boat and go ashore. From behind, Xu Ziling shouted in low voice, Watch out for the left bank! The raft made a sharp turn toward the right bank. On the left bank, the sound of hoof beats shook the sky, nearly a hundred riders chased after them along the bank, bent their bows and put on the arrows to shoot at them. However, because the raft evaded to the right bank where the arrows could not reach, the powerful arrows lost their momentum and fell into the river about a zhang away from the raft. The raft continued at a near-flying speed close to the right bank that its tail dragged a long, long ssh of water, as it navigated one river bend after another, in a desperate race against the enemy riders on the left bank. Thepetition was intense. Kou and Ba, two men took out their folding bow at the same time. The formerughed and said, Only the left bank has enemies, the right bank none, Li Shimins intention is to lure us tond from the right bank. His Niangs! Laozi is definitely not going to fall into his trap. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Rather than being forced to abandon the boat and go ashore, it would be better to take one step ahead by abandoning the boat and going ashore; the initiative will still be in our hand. Swish! Swish! Amidst the sound of arrows splitting the air, powerful arrows were shot in rapid session from the Shooting the Sun, Piercing the Moon, two bows, targeting the warhorse at the head of the enemys team of riders. The strong warhorse neighed miserably, stumbled and fell to the ground. Since the front of the line was blocked, immediately the enemys riders were thrown into a great mess, they were no longer able to continue chasing along the coast. Xu Zilings mind was interlinked with the other two; he quickly moved the raft away from the right bank to lean close to the left bank. Ba Fenghan shouted, Remember our triangr battle array, we must not let the enemy separate us. Xu Ziling said, I have another proposal: why not try to break through the gateway where the enemy block the river? As long as we lean on one side, it would be difficult for the stone-throwing machines on either side to do anything to us. If we can get through this barrier, it would make most of the Tang Army deployment useless. Speechless, Kou Zhong said, Turns out Ziling is the one with the biggest guts. Letting out a longughter, Ba Fenghan said, Makes sense. The trebuchets are heavy and cannot be moved quickly. To attack big ship, they have plenty of power, but to deal with our small raft operated by Ling Shao, it is definitely clumsy. By sailing speedily close to the shore, to the trebuchets, the near ones will be too near, the far ones will be too far. Only dealing with a few powerful arrows, we should be able to manage well. All right! Ill risk my life to apany the gentleman! The wooden raft swiftly turned around a sharp bend, the river course changed to beparatively straight, on both sides the mud was high. They saw human shadows flickering on high ces, with stone-throwing machines arranged on both left and right. Farther into the distance, there were even six double-masted battleships arranged in a row,pletely sealing the river course. Such battle array indeed carried sealing-the-river-locking-the-way momentum. His countenance changed, Kou Zhong said, Our counting-the-chickens-before-they-are-hatched wont work! Turned out the river course narrowed, the narrowest passage that the enemy guarded was only about ten zhang, it did not matter which side they picked, they would still be within range of the enemys trebuchets and powerful arrows. He had not even finished speaking, the course ahead was suddenly brightly lit. Not only hundreds of torches were lit on both sides, the six battleships ahead also lit all their lights, illuminating approximately half a li section of the river course ahead so that it was as bright as daytime, so that even a strand of fine hair waspletely exposed. Xu Ziling knew that under such circumstances, moving forwards to crash through the barrier would be akin to throwing away their life. Making prompt decisions, he shouted, Ashore! He still carried the oar in his hand. The three jumped off the wooden raft at the same time and threw themselves toward the left bank. Before their feet even touched the ground, hundreds of powerful arrows, hiding the sky and covering the earth C were shot toward them. This waspletely beyond the three mens expectation; they never thought that the enemy would hide archers in ambush ahead of the juncture. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong unleashed their unique schools skill; simultaneously they changed true qi, separately they grabbed Ba Fenghan from the left and right, and changed their momentum from falling down to sharp rise, hence they barely missed the arrow, soared across the sky, and cast themselves toward the archers troop disposition spread by the shore. While still in the air, the three took a quick nce to see the situation far and near clearly, and they realized Li Shimins determination to put them to death at all cost. On both sides of the Luo River, in addition to the stone throwers and archers sealing off the river, there were also army divisions consisted of different military branches, arranged in formation ahead of the blocked location. The archers shooting arrows at them were positioned at the front of their formation, followed closely by shield-wielding axe-hands, and finally, at the end of the formation was the cavalry. Each branch consisted of five hundred men, which brough the total to fifteen hundred men. Under the orders of the leading general, the archers, who had not been able to shoot the second round of arrows C put away their long bow, and pulled out the girdle ornament knife from their leg, and dispersed to all directions to let the three men fall right into the trap. Merely this division had enough power to kill the three men, with plenty leftovers, much less only to entangle them for a short period of time, and then when the enemy from four sides, eight directions rushed over, they would be without any luck even more. In this in region on the north bank of the Luo River, the trees have been cut down so that it was bare. The closest wooded area was the dark shadow at the end of the in, at least ten li away. In fact, with Luoyang as the center, the area within twenty li radius had been cleared up of any tree, only it was not clear whether it was the work of Wang Shichongs side or Li Shimins side, because both sides had reason to do so. Only it was greatly disadvantageous for the three men being here tonight, because there was nowhere they could hide. Other than the dark of the night, there was no favorable condition to flee. Even worse was that in addition to the troop disposition before their eyes and the enemies not-too-far downstream, the other battle formations farther away were intact. Various cavalry units of different strength were rushing in their direction. Once they fell into heavy siege, it would be difficult even for the Heaven to save them. When it looked like they were about to enter the enemys heavy siege, Ba Fenghan shouted loudly, both palms pressed down, qi power heavily struck the ground, shaking the several Tang soldiers nearby that they fell to the east and skewed to the west, and then he borrowed the reaction force to bring Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose true qi has been exhausted, while new power has not been generated yet C supporting him on the left and right, moved about five zhang across, andnded safely at the edge of the enemys force. As soon as their feet touched the ground, the three separated a bit to form triangr troop disposition, with Ba Fenghan as the sharp point of the triangle. Sword light shing, two enemies, before they were able to see clearly whats going on, were already forced back that both the persons and the sabers were thrown to both sides and fell down. Xu Ziling applied his power to his a zhang-and-a-half-long oar to sweep, about a dozen men swarming from behind to intercept were either shaken that their weapons fell off their hands, or fell to the ground with broken bones and split muscles injury. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well chopped down at lightning speed, the saber never missed its target, there was always somebody hit by the saber and fell to the ground. All of a sudden the three men broke through siege where the enemys strength was rather weak, and rushed out of the encirclement. The enemy chased behind them like a tide. Ahead, the Tang soldiers, who were originally responsible to seal off the waterway, abandoned their stone throwing machines and charged toward them. It was indeed there was no way to go forward, while the enemy troops were chasing behind. On the vast river in, there was no longer any ce for them to seek shelter and stay alive. Currently, the enemies they were facing were only an insignificant part of the enemys military strength; if they let the enemys main force to rush over, next year tonight would definitely be the anniversary of their death. Ba Fenghan shouted loudly, Where we came from, that will be where we return. The two boys understood tacitly, they responded in chorus. Just before the enemies from both sides closed in to entangle them to the death, the three soared into the air like big birds doing everything they could to traverse the nearly the seven zhang of empty air, and over more than a hundred enemies dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety to kill them, and threw themselves in the direction of the shore. When theynded on the ground, the saber, the sword and the oar moved together, qi power filled the atmosphere, before the persons arrived, it already burst toward the enemy that they fell violently all around, like a gale sweeping dead leaves, they charged straight through the gap in the middle of the enemies. The tip of their feet touched the ground, the three men soared for the second time, they leaped over the row of trebuchets lining up along the shore, and stepped at the edge of the shore. The wooden raft, which no one controlled and no one paid any attention, was floating with the current toward the six battleships arranged in a row on the surface of the river. It bumped into the rocky beach by the bank, and ricocheting back into the middle of the river. Letting out a longughter, Ba Fenghan said, Heaven has not wanted us dead yet! Both feet exerted some strength, he bounced off the edge of the shore, and flew toward the wooden raft in the middle of the river. By this time the raft was still more than a hundred zhang away from the enemys battleships, it has not entered the trebuchet and the archers on the ships firing range yet. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not dare to slow down, they followed closely behind Ba Fenghan, and pounced down onto the raft together. One after another the three mennded on the raft. Xu Zilings oar plunged into the water behind the raft, creating a burst of a ball of ssh, propelling the raft straight toward the group of enemys battleships ahead, it seemed just like they already passed the barrier of the stone-throwing machines and the archers, only the six battleships ahead remained. The trebuchets on the right bank rang, arrows and darts screamed, yet all were just one step toote. The stone bomb fell behind the tail of the raft, creating a big ssh filling the air; it was thrilling to the extreme point. Torch! Kou Zhong shouted loudly. Simultaneously, with one hand he and Ba Fenghan pulled the bow, while with the other hand they drew the arrow; with fast beyond humanprehension technique, they shot arrows continuously, just like archery exhibition, Swish! Swish! continuously. The target of their arrows were the burning torches on the ships. The several battleships were illuminated by hundreds of ming torches, mounted on some kind of bracket all around the ship. Hit by the arrows, one after another the bracket broke, the torches fell onto the deck, kerosene spilled onto the deck and the cabin, coupled with the high wind and dry season, immediately the fire spread rapidly, so that the Tang soldiers on the ships were thrown into extreme confusion, not knowing whether they ought to put out the fire or to strike back first. Xu Ziling released a vortex of energy, the rafts speed was increasing continuously, furthermore, it was advancing in a serpentine-shaped trajectory, so that one after another the enemys stones and arrows and darts fell into empty air. Boom! Ba Fenghans right foot picked the iron shield, and then using unloading-force technique he blocked a stone bomb shooting at them, while Kou Zhong stood in front of Xu Ziling to protect him, using the Shooting the Sun Bow to parry the arriving arrows and darts, so that Xu Ziling could focus his attention to steer the boat. Three of the enemys warships had their bow fallen into the ocean of fire, theypletely lost their ability to strike back or to intercept. On the ship in the middle, the fire even spread toward the mast and the sail, so that they started to crack and copse, the raging mes rose to the sky. A hundred-zhang distance passed by in just a few blinks of an eye, the wooden raft was moving at the speed of galloping horse, passing through the gap between the two most-severely-burned battleships. It was only this moment that the three discovered that the battleships were linked together using iron chains, three chains per link, so that the six battleships were connected together, and tied to the big trees on both banks of the river, so that the ships could stay across the river without shifting, blocking the path of the wooden raft. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong moved together as if by prior agreement; they sprang into the air, when theynded back, their four feet exerted thousand-catty force onto the aft of the raft. The rafts bow rose up high, its bottom rubbed against the iron chain, the raft tilted at an angle, while Xu Ziling amassed the power in his entire body, and then he released the spiraling energy, the water sshed about a zhang and a half high into the air, like a horse leaping over a hurdle the raft flew high over the highest iron chain, andnded on the water behind the enemys battleship formation, just like a bird escaping from its cage, throwing itself into the pitch-ck section of the Luo River. The raft dove underwater, taking its three passengers into the water. But in the blink of an eye, it floated back onto the surface to continue its voyage. The three cheered in unison; looking back, they saw that all six battleships were caught in the sea of fire. The wooden raft rounded a river bend and left the ze far behind, now the darker the river, the safer they felt. Recalling the danger just now, the three quietly wiped their cold sweat. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Li kids troop deployment really broaden peoples horizon, only unexpectedly we got through the barrier. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, If we could continue like this until we reach the Great River, tomorrow we could call on Dou Jiande in going-on-a-scenic-tour mood. Xu Ziling raised his head to look at the sky, he spoke in shock, We calcted a thousand times, ten thousand times, we still miscalcted one thing, which is: those who wanted us dead are not only the Great Tang Army, but also our old friend Kang Qiaoli. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan also looked up and searched the sky, immediately their countenance changed. A ck dot was hovering at high altitude of sixty- or seventy-zhang over the water of the Luo River; unexpectedly it was a falcon. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, If my discerning eyes did not fail me, that should be Kang Qiaolis t-haired beast. Ay! This is called his Niangs before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises. The one hunting to kill us must be Li Yuanji. Last time we yed with this kid on the palm of our hand, his face lost its luster in front of Li Yuan, hence tonight he wanted to redeem his face. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Looking at the grandeur of their deployment, the one presiding over the general situation must be Li Shimin himself, Li Yuanji is just his deputy; moreover, they are going all-out, doing the best they can. This section of the road will not be easy to pass. Ba Fenghan spoke with a sneer, Our tactic of abandoning the boat, boarding the boat, setting fire to the ships on the river C ought to be beyond their expectation. As long as we take turns to drive the boat, even if they knew our position, before they could catch up with us, we will already reach the Yellow River. What is there to worry about? Hey! Before he even finished speaking, a very unpleasant-to-the-ears noise came from the bottom of the raft, a shaking-to-the-core sharp and unusual noise like the raft suffered wear and tear and was falling apart. It appeared that the raft has hit some kind of sharp object in the water. Caught off guard, the three were stupefied. Kou Zhong cried out in rm, Its sharp wooden stake formation. Lets go! The three leaped off the raft; by the time they could see clearly that more than a dozen zhang surface of the river was full of sharp wooden stakes, the raft fell apart. Their quivers and their shields followed the loose logs and broken ropes sinking into the bottom of the river. And thus the solid raft was gone just like that. Theynded on the left bank and looked to the west. The City of Luoyang became a cluster of hazy light about the size of a palm. Two teams of cavalry, one thousand riders each, were galloping fast over along both sides of the Luo River, only less than a li away from them. Ba Fenghan pointed to a dense forest on an undting hills and mountain range about five li in the northeast direction, he said, That will be our refuge. Finished speaking, he took the lead to fly over there. The two boys promptly followed behind him. Book 52 1 – The Struggle of the Trapped Beasts

Book 52 Chapter 1 C The Struggle of the Trapped Beasts

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia One wrong move in the game of chess, youll have your hands and feet bound. It was only this moment that the three began to truly experience Li Shimins capability. If only they were able to cross the Great River, they hadplete confidence that they could escape into the Dou Armys sphere of influence; yet it was Li Shimin himself leading his main force to firmly defend this barrier, so that they could only gaze at the river with a sigh. The huge warship was full of Dark Armored Warriors, each one holding a strong bow in his hand, waiting in tight formation. If they cast themselves into the river, with the hundreds of powerful bows and strong crossbows shooting down from such a close distance, surely it would end with their blood staining the long river. Advancing was not possible, retreating was not probable even more. The Tang Army covering the mountains and the ins was pressing in on them. On top of that there were vicious vultures acute eyes above. After daybreak, they would meet the disaster of even though the world was so big, there was nowhere for them to hide. How about charging their way forward? Multitude of enemies, few friends [idiom from Mencius], it was out of proportion, the difference in strength was too far. The only thing that could be said was the breakthrough in the cultivation that the three gained, which expanded their meridians to the limit, which released their hidden power. However, as for how much this progress would help them, since they had not had the opportunity to fight hand to hand with the enemy, it was still unknown. In the blink of an eye, the giant warship was extending all the way across in front of them, suddenly square holes appeared on the lower part of the hull, from the left and right, two rows of twenty oars each came out of the holes, paddling the ship in synchronized movement against the current, just enough to keep the huge warship remained stationary on the water surface, at about five zhang distance from the three men. On the deck, Li Yuanji moved to Li Shimins side and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Kou Zhong quickly also whispered to Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan by his sides, Li Yuanji must be passing on Li Yuans decree to Li Shimin, which is to have us killed by any means; is there any step that we can still take? Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, There is only one move [referring to a move in the game of chess] we can take, which is to let me handle everything. I am not saying that your martial art skill, ability and wisdom are inferior to mine, but there is something that indeed you guys cannot match me, a Tujue, which is you are not as ruthless as me, Ba Fenghan, and tonight, only the ruthless will be able to survive. A bizarre feeling welled up in Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings hearts; Ba Fenghan had never said anything like that to them. It was thus clear that in this critical life and death moment, Ba Fenghan was disying his high-mountain, harsh-peak fighting spirit and confidence. Was this the result of his self-cultivation in the desert? Or was it due to the strange encounter just now? Yet Kou Zhong apanied him with loudughter and said, Okay Boss, go ahead and give your order, Li Yuanji is closing his dogs mouth! Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, In time like this, you are still in the mood to joke around? A burst of warm feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, even if their blood dyed the long river red tonight, but the brotherly love between them, which did not change through life and death together, sharing trials and tribtions, would be like the water of the river, it would flow endlessly, forever. Raising his voice, Li Yuanji said, If three gentlemen are willing to abandon your weapons and surrender, and thus saving us hands and feet, Er Huang Xiong [second emperor brother] and I, Li Yuanji, will definitely treat gentlemen with the courtesy due to honored guests, otherwise, you will be killed without mercy. Do you hear me? Thest sentence was not directed to Xu Ziling, three men, but to the officers and soldiers listening by his side. Aside from Li Shimin, the various generals and more than three hundred Dark Armored Warriors under hismand shouted in unison, We hear! It was like muffled thunder rumbling in the sky, the momentum was extremely intimidating, carrying a very powerful pressure, showing that the Tang Armys officers and soldiers, from top to bottom, were of one mind, determined to fight to the death. Ba Fenghan spoke in low voice first, Tonight might be the cultivation that I have been dreaming; thank you, Laotianye. And then throwing his head back in longughter and acting nonchnt, he said, Yuanji Xiong, it seems like this is the first time you are mingling in Jianghu, the former days were wasted in sucking the breast for milk, hence the reason you spoke such rubbish. How about you and I have a one-on-one duel, to give you the opportunity to unleash the power of breastfeeding out? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling almost did not dare to believe their own ears, because Ba Fenghan rarely insulted his opponent like this; he intentionally offended Li Yuanji in order to provoke every single one of the enemys anger. The more not normal the enemy, the more they had the opportunity they could take advantage of. Sure enough, the murderous intent in Li Yuanjis pair of eyes red greatly, but his countenance remained cold, showing the air of a martial art master. The other high-ranking military officers, however, everybodys countenance sank, three or four men even shouted angrily, How dare you!, the tone of their voice was brimming with animosity. Li Shimin raised his right hand, signaling Li Yuanji not to answer, he even ordered the various general to remain calm. Knitting his brows, he said, Currently three gentlemen have no room to advance or to retreat, your only way is to fight will all your might, which, to you and I, both sides, is harmful and without benefit. Presently Luoyangs losing battle is already decided, why dont we shake hands and reach agreement? As long as Shaoshuai promise to disband Shao Shuai Army and withdraw from the dispute over Luoyang, I, Li Shimin, will guarantee three gentlemens safety. Otherwise, Shaoshuai will meet misfortune and lose your life in here, it will also be difficult for Shao Shuai Army to avoid disaster, it will be even more difficult for themon people of Pengliang to escape the destruction of the chaos of war. For your sake as well as for the sake of others, how could Shaoshuai have the heart to endure it? Li Yuanjis face revealed an unhappy expression, evidently because Li Shimin, while he was in the absolute superior position, plus Ba Fenghan had just insulted him C was still this polite and lenient toward the three men; he was greatly dissatisfied. Li Shentong sighed and said, Tonight, Shaoshuai is absolutely without any chance of luck. The so-called only and outstanding talent can recognize current trends [idiom: a wise man submits to circumstances], fully aware that it is impossible yet still persevere in it, is not something that a wise man would choose to do. Shaoshuai, please think three times before you go. Because Kou Zhong has rescued him from Dou Jiandes hands, Li Shentong was grateful to him, hence this remark. Due to his special status, he did not need to pay attention to whether Li Yuanji was happy or not. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Our reputation of being fully aware that it is impossible yet still persevere in it has already been established long ago. In the past, at the Helian Fort confronting Xieli and his Golden Wolf Army, we still did not wrinkle our brows, why would we change today? Your remarks are really superfluous words. Li Nantian stuck out his head on behalf of Li Yuanji, he shouted angrily, Who could have thought that unexpectedly Ba Fenghan is this pigheaded, a disciple who only knows how to speak conceited nonsense? This is now, that was then; its impossible to mention that day in the same breath as today. Tonight, you dont have Helian Forts rugged stronghold to rely on, you are isted andcking any help. If you obstinately resist to the end, its just a suicidal act with the courage of a fool. If the opponents standing on shore in confrontation with them were not Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, three men whose military sesses were glorious and intimidating the world, who were acimed as the most outstanding figures of the new generation, the various officers and soldiers of the Tang Army would have snorted disdainfully at them. However, this moment, facing the disposition of troops, which was a hundred times stronger than they, the three men were still standing like the mountainpletely without any fear, the sleeves of their robe fluttering in the river breeze, their appearance was like celestial being, unexpectedly no one from the other side dared to show any expression with the slightest degree of contempt and disdain, simply because they knew that in order to kill the three, their side would have to pay a very heavy price. Ba Fenghan was not offended by Li Nantians insult; on the contrary, he blurted outughing and said, Well said! At the Helian Fort, we were trapped in heavy siege and had no choice but to rely on the stronghold to fight to the death. But now we are in location where theres wilderness in four directions, plus the Great River obstructing ahead. If we could cross to the other side, then there will be a great opportunity to get away from the siege, so I want to see whether gentlemen will have the ability to retain us, three brothers. Li Shimin raised his hand again to stop Li Nantian from retorting. Thetter, his expression looked displeased, yet had no choice but to swallow the words that were already in his mouth back into his throat. Only then did Li Shimin spoke unhurriedly, Whether three gentlemen are able to get away from the siege, at best you have only fifty-fifty chance, but even if you could break the siege and leave, what then? You want to persuade Dou Jiande toe and help, you will only bring harm to him. Ho already fell into my, Li Shimins hands. If the Dou Army cross the river ande to the west, I could divide my troops to guard Luoyang, to dig deep ditch and build high rampart, so that Wang Shichong will be unable to move a single step. On the other hand, I will personally lead my elite troops, first, to seize Ho, and then wait for Dou Jiandes arrival, using leisure to strike the weary, we definitely can subdue them. With Jiande perishes, Luoyang will be difficult to protect. This time three gentlemen show off your courage and strength, but it wont help at all. I, Li Shimin advise you with kind words, simply due to remembering the friendship of the former days, I am unwilling to let the three gentlemen court disaster and nurse a grievance in here. Thats all! Formidable! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried inwardly. Li Shimins remark was reasonable, he thoroughlyid oud the pros and cons of their n, practically he was trying to sway their determination and their willpower to seek help. Ba Fenghan seemed to have appointed himself as the spokesperson of the three, he shook his head and said, Our view is very different from that of Qin Wang. Qin Wang attack Luoyang violently without ceasing, your troops are weary, your strength exhausted, while Shichong relies on the city walls to hold fast, plus he has army with fresh power and food aid, how could he be that easy to pull out? Jiande has just subdued Meng Haigong, he will follow up a victory ande, the acute point of his spear is flourishing, with him and Shichong attacking from both the inside and the outside, Qin Wang will be caught in the inferior position where you will face the enemy in front and behind you. When that timees, to whom the deer falls, whod dare to assert? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had a smile on their faces but did not speak; they assumed a profound-mystery stance. In fact, they already implicitly handed over the authority to speak and tomand entirely to Ba Fenghan; in itself, it was a brilliant move, because the other side, including Li Shimin and Kang Qiaoli, no one was familiar with Ba Fenghans character, cultivation and conduct, hence they were unable to figure out his style of conduct and the level of his mastery. Just by hearing about his extremely daring exploits and his ruthless method, they knew that he was not one to yield to anybody. The refined light in Li Shimins pair of eyes was shing, obviously it was because his powerful persuasion failed, and yet Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not utter a single word, so that he felt humiliated and was anger. He slowly said, Not only you guys overestimate Dou Jiande, you also fail to see Wang Shichongs situation clearly. Early on Wang Shichong already has his troops weary, his grain exhausted, the top and the bottom are at odds with each other, without we need to attack, we can sit and subdue him. Your assistance can only prolong his remaining breath for a short time. Dou Jiande newly defeated Meng Haigong, his generals arrogant, his troopszy. I, Li Shimin upy Ho steadily, am choking his throat, the other side seems to take risks to strive, I will take them down quite easily; if they are alone and in doubt and dont go out to battle, Shichong will break down by himself. Our troops morale hereby doubled, one move two conquests, Ba Xiong still think that with his army division numbers in a hundred thousand, Dou Jiande will have the chance to defeat my, Li Shimins two-hundred-thousand-man main forces? Although Xu Ziling felt Li Shimins powerful confidence and assurance of the oue, it was still not enough to cause intense reaction and personal emotion. Kou Zhong, however, listening to that with the chill seeping up his spine, simply because Li Shimin understood Dou Jiande thoroughly, he was able to grasp his greatest shoring, in that he would be arrogant of his victory. From this, Kou Zhong was convinced that Li Shimin must have a mole among the high-level officers of the Dou Army. Ba Fenghan remained unmoved. He raised his face to look up at the time [as indicated by the color of the sky], in a calm, so much so that it was chilling C tone of voice, he said, There is no such thing as an army that is always victorious; things of the world, how can itpletely fulfill mans expectation? If Qin Wang has nothing else to say, we are determined to crash through the barrier and cross the river while the sky is not yet bright. Finally Li Yuanji could not take it anymore, he shouted angrily, Since you are looking for death, well dly help you aplishing your wish. He had suffered disgrace under Kou Zhongs saber, hence he was particrly unable to hold his anger. In regard of infuriating Li Yuanji, Ba Fenghan finally seeded. Li Shimin, however, remained calm. He slowly swept his gaze over the three men, before his eyes finally rested on Xu Zilings face. He sighed and said, Could it be that Ziling has nothing to say? When you have to let go, you have to let go; Ziling Xiong ought to understand the reason behind all of these better than Shimin. Xu Ziling apanied him in sighing inwardly, while Ba Fenghan focused his voice into a thread and transmitted it into their ears, saying, As long as we can maintain the position where I wont have left and right worries, the sharp tip of my Stealing the Heaven Sword may have the chance to steal a sliver of opportunity to live. Meeting Li Shimins gaze, Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, Seed or fail, sharp or blunt [idiom: you win some, you lose some], someday it all will be public opinion. Shimin Xiong and I have different standpoints; how we are going to deal with it, I am asking Shimin Xiong to forgive me. Li Shimin nodded his head three times in session, each nod was apanied by a word, Good! while the murderous intent in his eyes did not stop intensifying, the expression showing in his eyes became fierce and severe and sharp. Finally he shouted loudly, On the battlefield, there is no friend, only the enemy. Three gentlemen must not me me for being ruthless. Battle drums were sounded, the two rows of oars at the bottom part of the hull started to move at the same time, the giant warship was swinging slowly, now the ships bow was facing the three men on the shore, lying across the surface of the river. Whether they were going to run away upstream or downstream, the giant warship would be able to either pursue or intercept rapidly. And the greatest threat was naturally the martial art masters gathered like a cloud on the deck, who could cross the empty air to swarm and chase to kill them. The elite Dark Armored Celestial Soldiers on the warship had enough power to shoot them dead before they threw themselves into the river. There were more than thirty Dark Armored Warriors on the deck of the bow below the bridge, each one had a bent bow and an arrow at the reasy, which was aimed at the three, waiting for action after having umted energy. The atmosphere became like the pulled-taut bowstring, there was no leeway for either side to establish friendly rtions and make peace. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes exploded with terrifying refined light, which had never been seen before, showing the impressive achievement of having his meridians expanded to the limit just now. While keeping his eyes to watch the enemy, to observe the enemy, he spoke in low voice to the two boys, You must do your best to let me have a free hand in concentrating my efforts on crashing through this barrier, plus it has to happen fast, there must be absolutely no dy. The triangr formation must be maintained to the end, otherwise we will never reach the other shore. It was only this moment that the two genuinely grasped the meaning of Ba Fenghans remark earlier, only the ruthless will be able to survive. Because he has made a choice from the beginning, that is, to choose the enemys strongest point. If sessful, they could cast the enemys main force behind and fly to escape at full speed. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong knew that life or death, sess or failure C would be decided in the next moment; promptly they calmed their heart and spirit, while entering the Moon in the Well realm at the same time. Fantastic thing happened. Kou Zhong felt that his essence, qi, and spirit, all three were highly concentrated, his mind was focused to the unprecedented level, as long as his attention was on someone or something, unexpectedly he was able to fully grasp the target in a huge amount of details. The mind was no longer an abstract object, but it became like something with substance, he was able to seize, grab and lock up tight the target he wanted to attack. The subtlety within it was not something that any words could describe. Xu Zilings feeling was equally mysterious, yet it was totally different from Kou Zhongs. He felt himself stepping away from the battlefield, yet at the same time he gained more rity on the changes of every detail in the overall situation. The space within a ten-zhang radius seemed to be the clear water of the creek in the You Lin Xiao Gu; every minute variation in the water could not escape his mystery within a mystery, transcending matters inductance mental state, not the slightest amount of change could be hidden from him. Qiang! Ba Fenghan pulled the Stealing the Heaven Sword. Amidst the long whistle, his body soared into the air, traversing over five, six zhang of the river surface, flying toward the bow of the enemys ship. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were already waiting with built up momentum; immediately, like a shadow attached to the form, they ran after him, on his left and right, two sides, forming triangr battle formation in the air,ing across the sky, in seizing-people momentum. This move was obviously greatly beyond the opponents expectation. They never thought that the three would be this overbearing and dominant, unexpectedly they had the cheek toe for a direct confrontation. With repeated Swish! Swish! sound, the more than thirty powerful arrows from the Dark Armored Warriors powerful bows guarding the deck of the ships bow shot out, forming a deadly arrow covering and protecting the ships bow,ing straight to envelop the three men. There was no way to evade it, the only remaining way was to block it head-on. Behind Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, Li Shentong, Li Nantian, and so on, fierce generals of the Li n, Heavenly Policy Mansions martial art masters like Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Luo Shixin, Pang Yu, Li Shiji, also the high-ranking military officers rted to Li Yuanji like Shi Wanbao, Xue Wanche, Feng Liben, Kang Qiaoli, Mei Xun, and so on, all shifted the form and exchange the position, they scrambled to upy strategic position, in order to deal with the bloody battle about to arrive on the ship. Everybody knew that the arrow was not enough to stop the three men fromnding on the giant ship. Change breath! Ba Fenghan shouted in low voice. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling reached out at the same time, they grabbed Ba Fenghans arms and revolved the true qi within their body, suddenly they changed the forward momentum to leaping straight up, reaching nearly two zhang of height, higher than the ships bow, flying at an angle toward Li Shimin, who was far away on the bridge. The arrows and darts entirely shot empty air. A burst of chaos ensued on the warship. One after another the Dark Armored Warriors abandoned their bow and pulled the saber hanging on their waist, forming a battle array on the ships bow, before moving back to the head position in front and under the bridge, blocking the entrance to the forward cabin. Various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion rushed around Li Shimin to protect him. Only Li Shimin remained sitting in the imperial tutor chair on the bridge, his expressionposed. The three flew just before the bow, Ba Fenghan unleashed the Thousand-Catty-Drop, he sank his qi to fall, the Stealing the Heaven Sword producing a terrifying strange Chi! Chi! whistling noise of sword qi, it was as if ten thousand sword lights appeared from his hand, as he flitted across the deck to attack the Dark Armored Warriors guarding the cabin door. Ba Fenghan made an all-out move, there was indeed a startling-the-heaven-frightening-the-suns mighty power. Li Shimin sprang out of the chair, he pulled the saber on his waist and shouted, Seal the door! On his left and right, Luo Shixin, Pang Yu, and Li Shiji somersaulted down the bridge to join the Dark Armored Warriors battle formation, doing everything in their power to firmly defend the cabin door, not to give Ba Fenghan and the others any opportunity to break the door and enter in. Li Shimin, Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde moved to the edge of the bridge; living high and looking down, they waited in tight formation, not only to prevent the three men from jumping onto the bridge, they could also correspond to their own troops guarding the door under the bridge. Their strategy to meet a contingency was indeed impossible to fault [idiom: impable]. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilingnded on the deck of the bow a hair slower than Ba Fenghan. This moment Li Yuanji, Li Shentong, Xue Wanche, and two high-ranking military officers whose names they did not know C attacked from the left side, while Li Nantian, Shi Wanbao, Kang Qiaoli, Mei Xun, Feng Liben and three high-ranking military officers whose names they also did not know C wereing to attack from the right. Each enemy made his move at full strength, without showing the least bit of mercy, all because they knew how formidable the three were; the slightest carelessness would subject them to the three mens fierce and severe counterattack, which would lead to their downfall or even death. Momentarily saber light, sword shadow, and qi power filled the atmosphere. The enemys powerful offensive has started all around, their strength was enough to crush the three, who were acting like a mantis spreading its arm to block a cart. The other several hundred of Dark Armored Warriors on the warship separated themselves into groups of more than fifty men each, taking their position on the bow and on the port and starboard sides of the warship, as well as on the observation deck of the mast, to seal all passages, with bows and darts in tight formation to guard against the three throwing themselves into the river. At the same time, the warship was moving toward the middle of the river, to make it difficult for them to leap back onto the shore. Thereupon the battle on the warship was turning into the struggle of trapped beasts. ng! ng! ng! ng! The sound of saber and sword colliding against each other was ringing continuously, opening the curtain of the bloody battle. Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven Sword, using a twisting-strike technique, shed and struck the des of four Dark Armored Warriors broadswords in session. The Dark Armored Celestial Soldiers were worthy to be Li Shimins elite personal guards, each one had outstanding martial art skill, unexpectedly they managed to hold on to their saber so that it was not knocked off their hands. However, Ba Fenghan sent out his true qi via the swords de that their arms were unbearably numb so that they were forced to retreat back hastily into their ranks and let the otherrades-in-arms to pounce forward to take their positions. Beyond everybodys expectation, instead of advancing, Ba Fenghan was retreating; he took two steps backward, while the enemies on both sides swarmed forward to attack. Ahead, mingled among the Dark Armored Warriors, Luo Shixin, Pang Yu and Li Shiji seized the opportunity to rush toward the front of the formation, leading the fighters from their side, tounch violent, fierce like raging waves splitting the shore C counterattack toward Ba Fenghan, who was bearing the brunt of their offensive. Xu Ziling was protecting Ba Fenghans left side, his mind was as calm as still water, he shifted his attention from the overall situation to Li Yuanji, Li Shentong, Xue Wanche, and two unfamiliar Tang generals, who were attacking his side. His mind was empty, his spirit like a deity, nothing could be hidden from him. Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear was spinning continuously, so that the bloodred tassel adorning the spearhead, reflecting the light of the various windnterns installed on the ship C was like a ring of light, drawing a line brimming with power in the air, curving down to strike; however, the target of his attack was not him, Xu Ziling, but Ba Fenghan. It was obvious that because of Ba Fenghans verbal insults just now, he hated him to the bone, and was determined to put Ba Fenghan to the death by all means. Xu Ziling had a faint feeling that it was Ba Fenghans intention all along, hence instead of advancing he was retreating, precisely to give Li Yuanji this opportunity. This was an extremely risky move, because not only Li Yuanji was not someone who was easy to deal with, he might very well be the number one martial art master in using spear in the world. However, their goal tonight was precisely to seek victory from danger; if they did not take risk, how could they achieve it? Xu Ziling suddenly made the decision not to deal with Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear on Ba Fenghans behalf; his handprint changed, the fingertips of his right hand stretched out to jab Xue Wanches C who was the first to arrive C copper truncheon, while his left hand formed a palm chop to hack Li Shentongs fantastic sword-rain-filling-the-whole-sky pouring down on him. The other two high-ranking military officers, one was wielding a pair of axes, the other was using ance, both were dashing bravely with no thought of personal safety to meet him. All four enemies, like ants attracted to honey, swarmed toward him, without giving him any opportunity to take a breath. Book 51 2 – Crossing the Great River

Book 51 Chapter 2 C Crossing the Great River

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well left its scabbard, immediately, highly concentrated, condensed essence, qi and spirit seemed to pierce through the saber de, the true power prated the saber and shot straight out, so that, as if the Moon in the Well had its own life and its own inspiration C it became part of his body,municating with his spirit like a deity. Coming to attack from the right were Li Nantians sword, Shi Wanbaosnce, Kang Qiaolis saber, Mei Xuns golden spear, Feng Libens sword and the three high-ranking military officers wielding saber and swords, respectively. This group of men, none was not a first-ss martial art master. The target of Li Nantian and Shi Wanbaos attack was also Ba Fenghan, to make sure that he would face enemies from three sides, suffer defeat and die. The remaining six men stormed toward Kou Zhong, to make him too busy to spare time to cover Ba Fenghans right side. The first attack to arrive was Mei Xuns golden spear, and within this group of powerful enemies, his martial art skill could be considered the first or second best. Perhaps it was because Song Que attacked and captured Hainan Ind, which made Mei Xun family bankrupt and the people dead [idiom: destitute and homeless], he took his anger out on Kou Zhong. The spear stabbed to kill, carrying a once-gone-wonteback, without-victory-there-wont-be-any-return taste, he became the sharpest point of the enemys offensive, spurred by this the-tide-rises, the-boat-floats [idiom: develop ording to the situation], the other mens offensive became even more threatening. Feng Libens sword attacked from Mei Xuns left side, in a quite ingenious angle it shed diagonally from top to bottom at the vital part on Kou Zhongs shoulder and neck, only a thread slower than Mei Xuns spear, so that if Kou Zhong blocked Mei Xuns spear, he would not be able to evade this sword. The remaining three high-ranking military officers did not have any room to take part in the offensive, they could only circle around behind Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling to cut off their escape route, but also tounch violent attack on them from behind. With such arge disparity in power between the two sides, the three began to be caught in more-than-one-can-attend-to [idiom: overwhelming] bitter battle. For the first time Kou Zhong was able to urately grasped the body intention that Song Que was talking about. In this life and death crisis, he no longer needed his eyes to see, his Moon in the Well was the most effective tool to detect the enemy, it was the extension of his senses. The saber qi generated by the Moon in the Wellpletely enveloped the enemy inside it, any variation of true qis speed was neatly transmitted back to his empty and bright lingtai, nothing was missing, just like he knew the enemys advancing to attack and retreating to defend like the back of his hand, magical to the extreme point. The saber moved as he wished, the intention followed the saber, he finally reached Song Ques Heavenly Sabers realm, man and saber became an indivisible whole entity. He clearly knew that if he gave Li Nantian and Shi Wanbaos one sword and onence another opportunity to attack Ba Fenghan, facing attack from three sides, certainly Ba Fenghans blood would ssh on the spot; even if Ba Fenghan was only wounded and not dead, hisbat ability would be weakened, and then under attack from the enemy on four sides, eight directions, defeat and disperse would be the question of when, not if, definitely there wont be any luck to speak of. However, if he spared time to help Ba Fenghan warding off Li Nantian and Shi Wanbao, it would be difficult for him to escape the cmity from Mei Xuns golden spear. In this critical juncture moment where life or death was hanging on a thread, Kou Zhong moved swiftly forward to dodge the threat from Feng Libens sword first, and then his saber shed backhandedly toward Mei Xuns continuously-changing golden spear, while at the same time he shouted in low voice, Change formation! Lao Ba, retreat! In front of Ba Fenghans eyes were full of saber lights and sword shadows, he roared, and in the blink of an eye the Stealing the Heaven Sword in his hand swiftly stabbed four times, it poked the tip of Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear first, followed by Luo Shixins saber, Pang Yus Taixu Jian [great emptiness/cosmos sword], and Li Shijis long sword. Four different kinds of weapons with fierce-and-severe-without-equal momentum attacking from four different angles, but it looked as if they were delivering the weapons only to be picked head-on by Ba Fenghans sessive sword strikes. When Ba Fenghan heard Kou Zhongs warning, he was hard-pressed to block the toppling the mountains and overturning the seas offensive from the right side, while in order to parry the offensive of the four major martial art masters from his left side and his front, he was already exhausting his reserved true qi, momentarily he was unable to recover his qi. Hastily he seized the opportunity to retreat between Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. He took advantage of this instant to raise and gather his power, and then spinning around, the Stealing the Heaven Sword attacked backward in full power, to strike back at the three Tang generals who thought that they had an opportunity that they could exploit. Qi power exploded. Xu Zilings fingertips touched Xue Wanches copper truncheon, while simultaneously his left palm chopped on Li Shentongs treasured sword with hard-to-believe uracy. The enemys two major martial art masters felt that the weapons in their hands were like empty and weightless; indeed it was a shocking feeling of not being able to exert their force. Finally they realized with a start that half of their power was deflected by Xu Ziling using some ingenious technique, while some smaller part was borrowed by him. By the time they knew the turn of events was not too encouraging and they wanted to retreat with great rm, the other two generals have already suffered big loss. Purely in terms of move and power, there was not much difference between the two and Xu Ziling, however, Xu Zilings spiritual realm this moment was far beyond the two were able to dream of. It was precisely because Xu Ziling was able to see clearly the way that their qi power was moving along its course that he was able to use a focused, profound mystery technique to break their fierce and severe offensive. This was precisely Shi Zhixuans supreme method that made him unafraid of fighting a group of enemies. Even a master like Xu Kaishan also had to suffer big loss, much less Li Shentong and Xue Wanche, who wereparatively next in ss. If the two did not join hands to attack, caught off guard, by relying on this move, Xu Ziling would be able to inflict injury on only one of them. Xu Zilings left foot flew up, it passed through the double axes, and kicked straight toward the pit of the high-ranking military officer wielding the double axes stomach, while his other hand grabbed thence piercing his nk head-on; spiraling energy shot out. If there was no borrowing-power technique, after blocking Li Shentong and Xue Wanche head-on, he definitely would not have the strength to counterattack. Seeing the leg was about to reach his chest, already the axe-wielding generals soul flew away and scattered, how could he still think about attacking the enemy? He retreated in panic, thinking that he could still miss the kick by a hairsbreadth. Who would have thought that the tip of Xu Zilings foot lightly stretched forward, it urately tapped the tanzhong acupoint on the pit of his stomach? Luckily Xu Ziling was being lenient, he only sent enough true qi to seal his acupoint, not to take his life at all. The generals double axes fell off, after staggering three steps back, Crash! he fell on the edge of the deck, losing his ability to fight. Thence-wielding general inly saw Xu Ziling grabbing the tip of hisnce, yet he was simply unable to evade. The spiraling energy flowed along thence, naturally he was unable to hold on to hisnce, he felt as if the pit of his stomach was struck by arge iron hammer head-on, he spurted blood and fell down. Although it was not fatal, he could no longer crawl up by relying on his own strength. Grabbing the spearhead, Xu Ziling swept the shaft around at Xue Wanche and Li Shentong, who wereing to attack. His motion was like moving clouds and flowing water, both pleasing to the eye and very calm. Dang! The Moon in the Well heavily chopped on the tip of Mei Xuns golden spears head. No matter how Mei Xun made any change, relying on body intention, Kou Zhong, using a seemingly average, nothing-special saber strike, seemed to be intentional, but also appeared unintentional, lifting lightly yet looked heavy, was always able to seal off Mei Xuns every change; except for momentarily retreating from his offensive, there did not seem to be no other way. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well did not stop at all; in a trajectory that followed some kind of profound mystery principle, he filled the gap that Ba Fenghan left behind, taking advantage of the instant when Li Yuanji, Pang Yu, Li Shiji and Luo Shixin were regrouping. First, he met Shi Wanbaosnce, Qiang! Next, he jolted Shi Wanbao that both the person and thence were hacked, sending him staggering backward, and finally, he rushed forward to block Li Nantians sword head-on. Spiraling energy shot out, the Moon in the Well twisted itself around the enemys sword. Even with Li Nantians ability, he was still unable to withstand his heavy technique, so that he was pulled and pushed toward the Dark Armored Warriors formation. Stifled groan came from behind, the sound of shing weapons lingered on faintly even more. The three Tang generals were struck that they were thrown in the direction of the ships bow, while their blood was sshing. Ba Fenghan was also staggering two steps back, while blood was flowing from his right arm and right thigh, but he quickly recovered and stood steadily. Unexpectedly he met ruthlessness with ruthlessness, he used injury to exchange with injury, breaking the fears of trouble in the rear in one move. On the bridge, Li Shimin barked his order, from both sides of the cabin the Dark Armored Warriors swarmed out to fill the gap on the ships bow. If they managed to fill the gap left by the three defeated generals, the slight advantage that Ba Fenghan gained with his life as the stake would go down the drainpletely. In this moment, which demanded immediate action, Ba Fenghan swayed his body to dodge Feng Libens long sword shing down on him, while sending a kick, which forced him to retreat in a hurry. Immediately he let out a shrill whistle, which resonated throughout the battlefield, while ignoring his injury, the sword and the man became one, it transformed into a long light, passing through Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, shooting at full strength toward Li Yuanji, who was moving straight ahead, showing clearly that he was going to fight with Li Yuanji, life for life, to see whether Li Yuanji had this kind of guts. Earlier he intentionally provoked Li Yuanjis anger, to make Li Yuanji recall old hatred, it was precisely to make Li Yuanji, his face suffering damage C to disregard everything and be at the front line in making his move in order to redeem his prestige. It should be noted that Li Yuanjis status was special; even if they were finally able to kill the three men, but if Li Yuanji was also killed in this military operation, everybody present, including Li Shimin, would not be able to escape the guilt. Therefore, no matter how dauntless Li Yuanji was, it was not worthwhile to fight to mutual destruction with Ba Fenghan, who came from a-rank-growth-of-grass ss origin. Therefore, this move by Ba Fenghan was extremely brilliant; it once again proved his view, which he described as whoever is more ruthless will be able to survive. Dang! Dang! Xu Zilings spear shaft swept Li Shentong and Xue Wanches treasured sword and copper truncheon in session. He mixed the true power that he borrowed with his spiraling qi power and released it as much as he liked. The two men were swept back, blocking the path of the Dark Armored Warriors charging from the port side of the ship, throwing them in a great mess. And then he pulled thence back and used the shaft to strike Li Yuanjis right arm, blocking him from moving across to the right, forcing him so that he could only move either to the left or to the back. Kou Zhong cooperated with the two seamlessly, knowing that sess or failure entirely depended on this moment. After forcing Shi Wanbao back, the Moon in the Well magically turned into millions of saber light, hiding the sky and covering the earth, to attack Li Yuanjis left side. Li Yuanji suddenly found himself trapped in inferior situation, dangerous position, where there were enemies on three sides, while Pang Yu, Li Shiji, Luo Shixin, and a group of Dark Armored Celestial Soldiers were entirely blocked behind him. No matter how conceited and confident he was, he still did not dare to block Ba Fenghans frontal assault and Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, attacking him from left and right C at the same time. Forget about him, even if it were Shi Zhixuan in his position right now, the only way out was to retreat. Li Yuanji roared, the Splitting Horse Spear turned into more than a dozen spear lights, while emitting Chi! Chi! sound of qi power C shooting toward Ba Fenghan, while swiftly retreating backward at the same time, hoping his men behind him could make up from the side, to reduce the huge pressure and the attack that he bore. Seeing the turn of events was not too encouraging, Li Shimin on the bridge shouted, Charge! On his left and right, Zhangsun Wuji and Yuchi Jingde flew away from the bridge simultaneously, the formers jade Xiao emitting fierce and severe whistle, from high up in the air it stabbed toward Xu Zilings face; thetters two zhang and three chis Gui Zang [lit. returning to the storehouse/hiding ce] Whip shot out from inside his sleeve. It was releasedter but arrived earlier, it met the like-dart-and-arrow-man-and-sword-fused-into-one shooting toward Ba Fenghan. The whip disyed its strength as long-range weapon, it snapped toward the throat, a position that Ba Fenghan had no choice but to protect. Behind Li Yuanji, Pang Yu, Li Shiji, Luo Shixin, along with more than thirty Dark Armored Warriors split to the left and right, in order not to be in the way of Li Yuanjis retreat. Henceforth the originally steady to the point of impossible to fault battle array melt like ice and broke like tiles, bing chaotic situation where everybody was fighting for himself, rushing forward from two sides with the sole purpose of rescuing Li Yuanji from danger. On the outer side, each enemy general hurriedly reorganized their team for attack, but they were all still a thread too slow. The more than a dozen Dark Armored Celestial Soldiers behind Li Shimin were the best of the best among his personal guards; protecting their master, they were afraid that the three men might seize the opportunity to attack the bridge, they all scrambled in front of Li Shimin to form a human wall, so that Li Shimin was separated from the intense battlefield on the deck below the bridge. Whoosh! Leaving Xu Zilings hands, the spear shot out, urate-without-equal it knocked the tip of Yuchi Jingdes Gui Zang Whip. The originally piercing-through-saber-way-filling-the-air long whip immediately became wave-like, losing its urate head. No longer had any barrier, Ba Fenghans sword light red greatly, the fierce and severe sword qi locked Li Yuanji, who was still retreating, his acute spirit already lost C tightly, with the would-not-stop-before-killing Li Yuanji mighty power. Li Yuanjis retreat suddenly threw the battle array, which was surging forward but failed to break the enemy C into a great mess. This side diminishing, the other side flourishing, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, like two-headed-tiger-out-of-its-cage, sticking close to Ba Fenghans left and right, slightly behind him, forming a no-stronghold-one-cannot-ovee, nobody-can-block triangr battle formation, breaking into the enemys battle array that was no longer a battle array. Ding! Using the middle finger of his right hand, Xu Ziling flicked Zhangsun Wujis stabbing jade Xiao. While he was jolted and was thrown to the side, Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven Sword was less than half a zhang from the pit of Li Yuanjis stomach, entangling his Splitting Horse Spear, and looked like it was about to enter his chest. Li Yuanji disyed his quick wit and skill in this mortal danger, escape alive situation; he leaped up to retreat, with his back facing the bridge, revealing a gap leading to the cabin door. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, the Moon in the Well turned into ten thousand streaks of light, he attacked Luo Shixin and a group of Dark Armored Celestial Soldiers, sending them falling to the east and skewing to the west, so that they were unable to coordinate with the enemy on the other side to form a battle array to block the cabin door. Ba Fenghan let out a long whistle, he charged faster ahead, the Stealing the Heaven Sword producing Chi! Chi! sword qi noise, four Dark Armored Warriors who wanted to rush from the left side to seal the door sshed their blood and fell down. Bang! There was a muffled explosion as the door was all split up and in pieces, he broke it like a thin piece of paper and entered inside. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong followed closely behind him. As the two entered the door, they simultaneously struck backhandedly, shocking Pang Yu and another Dark Armored Warrior, who came to pursue C back. Inside the corridor, which waspletely empty and deserted, Ba Fenghan sprinted at full speed. There were tightly closed cabin doors on both sides, the end of the corridor was the exit and the wooden stairs leading to the lower level. Obviously, Li Shimins side did not expect that they would have the chance to break into the cabin. Apart from the sailors operating the ship in the middle cabin and lower levels, all hands were deployed in various strategic positions on the upper deck, therefore, when they entered the hold of the ship, not only they gained the space and the time to take a breath, momentarily the enemies were unable to grasp their position even more. And the biggest headache for the enemy was that they could either escape from the exit at the other end, they could also escape via the lower level of the fore hold of the ship, or even leisurely run away from any window of the dozens of cabins lining the two levels of decks. In other words, the enemy could no longer trap thempletely, the initiative had been won back into their hands. Boom! Ba Fenghan dashed directly to the other end of the corridor and broke out, the enemy still had not rushed to seal this exit yet, the three came to the deck between the forward and middle cabins where from the hatch overhead they could see the mast and the sail covered the sky; immediately they were ovee with a bizarre feeling of prating deep into the important ce inside the enemys ship. The Dark Armored Warriors swarmed in from four sides, eight directions, their number was uncountable, they only knew that once they were entangled, no matter how outstanding their martial art skill was, their ending would be no different from falling into an ant hole, there was no way to get out, and then by the time the enemy main force,prising of martial art masters C caught up with them, they would undoubtedly die. The main cabin was only two zhang away from the forward cabin, two levels up from the deck, located right in the middle of the huge warship. The tallest main mast was rising up from the middle of the cabin. How could Ba Fenghan dare to tarry the slightest bit? The Stealing the Heaven Sword moved left and right, after shing and forcing two enemies to retreat, he continued to attack forward. Although the Dark Armored Celestial Soldiers were under the three mens full-strength violent attack and fierce strike, they persevered and did not withdraw; on the contrary, there were more and more of theming to attack, one fell down, the next followed, so that the three were underyer uponyer of heavy siege. Gusts of wind came from behind and above them. Without looking back, the three knew that the enemys martial art masters have arrived. Ba Fenghan roared, the man followed the sword. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were well aware that this was the moment that would decide whether they would die in battle or they would sessfully escape; thereupon they threw aside all misgivings and charged forcefully ahead. Flesh and blood sttered, none of those who blocked their way did not fall and copse, but the three also did not know how many wounds were added onto their bodies. They entirely relied on the true qi protecting their body, ingeniously deflecting force and dodging, withstanding the enemys weapons unavoidable swift strikes. Bang! Ba Fenghan broke through the door to the center cabin, and entered another safety zone. None of the three was not covered in dripping blood from head to toes; they took advantage of this brief moment of the blink of an eye before reaching the other end of the exit to apply their qi to stop the bleeding and to recover. Bang! The other end of the cabin door opened, the Dark Armored Celestial Soldiers, like wolves and tigers, swarmed into the cabin,pletely sealing the path ahead. For a moment there was no way out at the front, and there were pursuing troops behind them. This moment the three crossed over the middle section of the corridor. They stooped down at the same time and sprang up. Wooden board shattered, the upper-level deck was split open, they reached a big cabin hall that was gorgeously furnished but not a soul was in sight. Li Yuanji, Li Nantian, and Mei Xun were the first to appear on the deck toward the bow outside the cabin hall. The former shouted loudly, Where do you think you are going? Ba Fenghanughed aloud and replied, Where is it that I cannot go? Just before the three entered the hall, Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling already slipped out the window of the cabin at the aft of the ship, and rolled down toward the open-air tform outside the hall. Chi! Chi! arrows and darts split the air. From the Dark Armored Warriors guarding the aft cabin, the stern, and the observation tform under the mast and the sail, hundreds of arrows were shot at them. The three promptly shot up, they soared at an angle to evade the arrows and darts, and clung to the sail mast at the aft, only to see that the deck underneath was full of the enemy. Not daring to linger, they borrowed the force to fly and throw themselves toward the stern. By this time the huge warship already moved to the middle of the river, the aft was directly facing the northern bank, there was approximately twenty zhang distance to the shore. Ba Fenghan had a brainwave, he suddenly shouted ahead, Ill take care of the first half, you guys take care of the second half. Hearing that, the two boys understood tacitly; their spirit greatly aroused, they promptly agreed. The stern was the ce where the enemys strength was the weakest. On one hand, it was because the martial art masters, the enemys main force have not caught up, furthermore, it was because the guards at the stern had just been split up to reinforce the front, so that this ce was void of military strength. The three men barely touched the deck, they immediately made their move with all their strength, killing their way to open up a path, straight toward the stern. Behind them Li Yuanji and so on, leading their martial art masters and fighters, charged like a tide, but they were one step toote. Ba Fenghans pair of feet stepped on the edge of the ship, he bent both knees, and concentrated his power to his legs. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling raised their qi to lighten their body, they separately grabbed Ba Fenghans left and right arms. Ba Fenghan let out a longughter and said, Qi Wang, no need to see us off! Exerting his strength to his feet, he carried Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling soaring high into the air, straight into the night sky eight zhang over and above the tail of the warship. When it looked like they were about to fall, it was Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings turn to ascend; they grabbed and pulled him to drop at the northern bank, across the surface of the river, and disappeared in the darkness by the shore. By the time Li Yuanji and the others pursued to the stern, they could only groan without being able to do anything. Before the event, they had never thought that the three men would be able to charge their way from the bow of the ship all the way to the stern, and then flee to the opposite bank of the river. Book 52 3 – Sinister Heart

Book 52 Chapter 3 C Sinister Heart

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Upon entering the darkness, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling climbed to the top of a hill nearby the forest and valley where they were hiding to observe the situation far and near. After dawn, they hid inside a dense forest on the north bank of the Great River, using the forest tree as the cover to travel northeast, only then did they dare to stop and sit in meditation to treat their injuries. After recuperating for more than two sichen, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were the first to recover. Although they were still feeling weak due to the considerable loss of blood, they no longer felt the muscle-weary, strength-exhausted like when they stopped earlier, when they were both mentally and physically exhausted. Ba Fenghans condition was worse than theirs, his injuries were also heavier than theirs, hence they remained in this forest valley to recuperate. Kou Zhong ran his eyes over the sky, far and near. Really strange! he said, After crossing the river, we have not seen Kang Qiaolis condor at all, Li Shimin is not the kind of person who would be willing to give up easily. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Eventually we will have to return to Luoyang, sooner orter we cannot escape from the cracks of his fingers, why should he want to take the trouble to pursue us? Perhaps he is even itching to have us lure Dou Army toe, so that he could take care of Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, and you, Kou Shaoshuai, three major formidable opponents in one go. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Dou Jiande will not lose. As long as he agrees toe to help, I will do my best to mobilize the Shao Shuai Army, together with his army we couldunch two-pronged attack to capture Ho, various cities. If Li Shimin came to defend Ho, I will make him eat the first big defeat in his life. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, If you go to attack Ho, who will help Wang Shichong to defend Luoyang? Kou Zhong sighed and said, That is precisely the headache. However, Luoyangs grain canst, at most, for a month and a half; if within this month and a half we cannot capture Ho, Luoyang will be done for. Therefore, I go to defend Luoyang is inverting root and branch [idiom: confusing cause and effect], it would be better to help Dou Jiande with all my strength to attack Ho; that is the only way to save Luoyang. Just like in the game of Go, two live mouths added together is just enough to make a living; moreover, we can then turn around to eat up Li Shimin, this big dragon. Do you the confidence that you will be able to capture Ho within a month or so? Xu Ziling asked, The waterway connecting various cities east side of Luoyang is entirely under Li Shimins control; there is no way you can iste Ho. Actually, I do not have the slightest amount of confidence, Kou Zhong replied dejectedly, Ay! Lets see Dou Jiande first before talking further! I havent had a chance to ask you, what load of her mind did Shi Qingxuan tell you? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, I dont know. You dont know? Kou Zhong blurted out, What kind of an answer is that? Didnt you say that you talked to her about the load in her mind all night? How can it be that after going back and forth, all you can repeat to me was I dont know, these three characters? Xu Ziling crossly said, My I dont know was referring to the future prospect she and I being together. Ay! Right now, I practically do not have any qualifications to pursue her. A moment ago I nearly lost my life, I cannot see any good days in the future even more. Kou Zhong put his arm around his shoulder and spoke apologetically, Its me whos not good, I rolled you into this murky water. But if you hadnt helped me, I would have done for early on, and just now, me and Old Ba would have lost our lives at the Great River. Xu Ziling sighed and said, We all are brothers, why do you have to say such words? If we must die, then we will all die together. I must have been in your debt in the previous life. Shaken, Kou Zhong let go of his hand. After staring nkly for half a day, he scratched his head and said, Are you really going to set yourself against Li Shimin for me? Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the mountain and fields on the horizon, he spoke indifferently, At the beginning, I very much doubt your motives for vying for the world, is it as simple as just to fight for your own self in one breath? Or as a man, you feel the need to aplish great undertaking, to acquire fame and profit, power and authority, that kind of things? You said you did not want to be the emperor, I thought you were just speaking without thinking the matter through. But while you were so busy and did not have spare time for a separate task, you still went to Changan to deal with Shi Zhixuan side by side with me, which proved that I have not been wrong about you, Kou Zhong is indeed my good brother. Kou Zhong was ovee with a burst of emotional stirring; hanging his head low, he spoke in shame, Honestly, I did initially aspire to create immortal cause, but I did not have any big dream, I just did not want to have people from lofty school, big n, to ride on my head forever, furthermore, I wanted to prove to Li Xiuning that I am more superior to Chai Shao. Luckily I have you by my side as a good role model. The more you live a simple life without any strife, the more you show your noble personality and my vulgarity. In fact, I never stop learning from you, LaoGe, and Yuzhis refusal to understand me makes me deeply reflect my inferior conduct in the past, where I only have one thing dominating my thoughts. His Niangs! Whys so many people craving to be the emperor anyway? Just look at how Li Yuan goes to a lot of trouble to be the emperor, isnt it remorseful? When I decided to give up the emperor position to Dou Jiande, you do not know how relieved I was, I just dont know how to exin to Song Que! Ay! With his temperament, maybe hell pull his saber and ughter me. Xu Ziling returned the gesture by putting his hand around Kou Zhongs shoulder, he smiled and said, Just like the bridgehead, naturally its straight. We still have a long way to go, and to this day Li Shimin still has the upper hand. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Li Shimin does not have any auspicious day to pass either. Li Yuan dispatched Li Yuanji to be his deputy, clearly it is to prevent him from seizing Luo [yang] and proiming his independence, or maybe to establish friendly rtions with us and form an alliance to fight against Guanzhong, Just now when we talked across the river, I had some kind of intuition that Li Shimin did not want to kill us at all, on the contrary, he really wanted us to have Dou Army toe and relieve the siege of Luoyang. But then he wondered aloud, If I were Li kid, I would not be so anxious to put me and Old Dou in order. If the House of Tang has less formidable opponents, he will lose more of his worth of being useful. There is no reason that he did not understand this logic. Xu Ziling said, On the battlefield, Li Shimin is a selflessmander, he abides by the called a king if sessful, called a bandit if defeated [idiom] rule. In private, however, he is a man who attaches importance toradeship and lofty sentiments, otherwise Feixuan would not have chosen him as the future true master. He wants to eliminate the House of Tangs enemy with the greatest threat outside the Pass, not for his own benefit, but because he has his eyes on the general situation; first, to disy utter loyalty to his family and n, and then to preserve the integrity of the Central Earth. It could be said that the quicker the Central ins is unified, the less the Tujue people have the opportunity they could exploit. Li Shimin did not do it for himself, but for the world. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, You are indeed a man with intimate knowledge of him; in my eyes, however, he is a fool who is stupid enough to be loyal and does not question filial piety, he himself fight in life and death battles, but others will reap the benefit, he could easily end up not in a good way. Xu Ziling disagreed, he said, He really is not the kind of person you think he is. Do you remember the Lunar New Years Eve banquet at the Yeting Hall, when he and Li Jiancheng opposed each other with equal harshness? He is a man who knows how to fight for himself. The day he returned to Changan after capturing Luoyang will be the moment he and Li Yuany their cards on the table. He will do his best to persuade Li Yuan; if his Laozi [old man] still does not listen to him, perhaps he might go against Changan. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Currently, Li Yuans men are powerful, his horses strong; what qualifications does Li Shimin have to be a rebel? However, when that timees, I am sure we will already die in battle, our eyes will not see that scene, hence it has nothing to do with us. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, You seem to be more pessimistic than me. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Simply because you have never tried crossing swords with him on the battlefield. I suffered big loss at Cijian. His Niangs! This kid really has tricks that demons and deities cannot fathom. He is not much older than we are, but he is both steady and ruthless, sessful but not arrogant, failed but not discouraged. The officers and soldiers under hismand, everybody obeys him, as if he never makes a mistake. Compared to the Great Tangs Army, Wang Shichong and Dou Jiandes troops are quite some ways away, our tender and childlike Shao Shuai Army is even farther away from them. Im really a bit afraid of him. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Its rare that you are this honest. Kou Zhong raised his head to look at the night sky, his eyes exploded in refined light, he spoke in heavy voice, This is called know yourself, know your enemy [idiom from Sunzis Art of War]. In dealing with Shi Zhixuan, we repeatedly made mistakes, precisely because we could not figure out Shi Zhixuans martial art clearly. Therefore, in dealing with Li Shimin, I do not wish to make the same mistake again. It does not matter how our rtionship with Li Shimin has been in the past, starting fromst night, he and us are like the two cannot exist together, including you, Ling Shao, are people that he wants to kill. His Niangs! This is precisely his so-called selflessness. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, he wanted to speak but say nothing. Kou Zhong patted his shoulder and said, This conversation between us, two brothers, tonight is very constructive, we both poured out the words that had been in the bottom of our heart for a long time. His grannys bear, we have no other choice, we have to follow the original n to see Old Dou, to see which side Laotianye really wants to help. That night the three continued their journey, they hastened on at full speed, and by daybreak they entered the Xia Armys sphere of influence. They proceeded towards Liyang, and on the way came across a Xia Armys fort. Asking for Dou Jiandes whereabouts, by afternoon the next day they arrived at Wuling, located on the western bank of River Zhong, a tributary of the Yellow River, where Dou Jiande was stationed. Just by looking at the army camps outside the city of Wuling, extending forever into the distance, at the boats gathered on the Qin River, they knew that Dou Jiande had the intention of going to the west to attack the Tang Army. Due to Ba Fenghan did not have any interest to see Dou Jiande, after some discussion, Xu Ziling stayed behind to keep Ba Fenghanpany, the two remained on top of a hill outside the city, waiting for Kou Zhongs news. Kou Zhong entered the city alone. Dou Jiande was in a meeting with the great generals under hismand. Hearing that Kou Zhong broke out of the siege from Luoyang toe here, in great delight, apanied by Liu Heita, Xu Yuang and Meng Haigong, the newly surrendering generals, the Great General Zhang Qingshi, the Zhong Shu She Ren [must be an ancient title, lit. middle book/document official title] Liu Bin, the Guo Zi Ji Jiu [lit. state libation officer] Ling Jing, a group of military leaders and civilian court officials, he received Kou Zhong in the Shuai Fus mander mansion] main hall. Except for Meng Haigong and Xu Yuang, the others had met him at the Battle of Liyang; meeting again after a short period of separation, they still exchanged conventional greetings warmly. Meng Haigong looked to be around forty, his facial features straightforward, his expression serious, very seldom revealing a smile, but Kou Zhong intuitively felt that he was one of those people with cold face but warm heart, not easy to make friends, but once became a friend, he could be a friend with sabers stuck onto his two nks without even wrinkling half of his brows. Compared to Meng Haigong, Xu Yuang was at least ten years younger, his figure slender but strong, with calm manners, when looking at people, his eyes gave the impression that they were inquiring and examining the other side, a figure that was both bold and colorful, wise and brave. These two rulers have both dominated an area by their might, after surrendering to the Xia Army, they became the most important members of Dou Jiandes inner circle. After they were seated properly in guest and host position, one after another Dou Jiande and his men inquired about Luoyangs situation, showing their concern for Luoyang. Kou Zhong responded one by one, honestly telling them Luoyangs deep water and scorching fire situation. Finally he said, Since Song JinGangs big defeat in the hands of Li Shimin at Baibi, Tujue Khan Xielis n to invade the Central ins suffer devastating setback. All along the Tang upies Guanzhong, the Xia upies Hebi, the Zheng upies the Central in; the three-feet-of-the-tripod momentum can no longer be maintained. The more the House of Tangs power and influence is flourishing, the worse it is for Zheng and Xia. Currently Li Shimin ismanding his army of 200,000 troops, using the Mount-Tai-pressing-down-on-the-crown-of-the-head momentum he divided his troops into a lot of ways, to nibble away the various cities surrounding Luoyang one by one, and now he put Luoyang under heavy siege. The day Li Shimin break through Luoyang will be the day he marches his army up north to attack the Xia. In this moment of life and death, why dont Dou Ye put down old grievances, taking advantage while the Tang Army has not seeded in breaking the city, to send troops to help the Zheng? As long as you can recover Ho, the Tang Army will definitely withdraw. At that time Dou Yes prestige will greatly flourish, whod dare to disobey? Dou Jiande smiled and said, Did Wang Shichong, that ask Shaoshuai toe and ask me for help? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, I am giving considerations to my own Shao Shuai Army too. Dou Jiandes gaze fell onto the Xia Army chief imperial strategic advisor, Ling Jing, indicating that he should speak. Ling Jing stated, Shaoshuai and us have a very close rtionship, Shaoshuai has difficulties, Da Wang [great king] definitely will not just sit and watch. However, Wang Shichong, this person has repeatedly shown that he is difficult to rely on, he cannot be trusted. Supposing he suddenly surrender to the House of Tang, wont we be caught in no-room-to-advance-or-to-retreat situation? Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward Liu Heita, asking for help, thetters pair of eyes emitted a helpless expression while slightly shaking his head, indicating that it was not appropriate for him to butt in. Kou Zhong understood. He knew that it was not that Dou Jiande did not want to send troops, but that he was striving for the most favorable conditions for him, not only he wanted Wang Shichong to surrender, he even wanted him, Kou Zhong to surrender as well. The Dou Jiande that he saw this time was very different from the Dou Jiande that he sawst time at Liyang. Although he was still that kind of recement-guaranteed-if-not genuine person, but he was barely filled with ambitions; he seemed to have the self-confidence and boldness of wanting to put the world under his feet, so it seemed like he became another person altogether. Kou Zhong no longer had the close-and-dear-and-approachable feeling toward him, he could not help recalling Li Shiminsment, Jiande newly defeated Meng Haigong, his generals arrogant, his troopszy. Continuous sess can indeed make people change. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I, Kou Zhong can guarantee to Da Wang that that matter will not happen. To a certain degree, Luoyangs matter cant be decided by Wang Shichong alone, unless he can kill me, Kou Zhong, and my five thousand Shao Shuai Army elite troops first, which is Wang Shichong, with his current strength, cannot aplish. Xu Yuang spoke heavily, Even if we resolve the Luoyang siege, what benefit will it bring Wang Shichong? He is already powerless to defend Luoyang, in the future, if Luoyang does not fall into Shaoshuais hands, it will be us, the Great Xia who will upy it; whats the difference from it being captured by the Tang? An ufortable feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; before seeing Dou Jiande, he still held on to the talking-to-his-own-family, everything-can-be-talked-through-nicely kind of mentality. But now that he saw Dou Jiande, plus Liu Heita had some kind of hard-to-mention-hidden-trouble helpless expression, he had a feeling that Dou Jiande was rather wary toward him, hence he conspired with his men to badger him with questions, so that he was preupied with the great n of defeating the Tang and would be too busy to speak out, because to persuade Dou Jiande toe out and help was definitely not easy. Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, First of all, I, Kou Zhong, solemnly dere that Luoyang might fall into the Tangs hands, or it might be the object in Da Wangs pocket, but it definitely will not fall into my, Kou Zhongs hands. My purpose is just to beat back Li Shimin, to drive the Great Tang Army back into Guanzhong. After a short pause, he said, As for why Wang Shichong shamelessly beg Da Wang for help, my guess is that everybody has a wish that he might be lucky, and Wang Shichong is not an exception. In this mountain-ran-over-river-exhausted moment, if he seeks refuge to Li Yuan, all the aplishments that he worked hard to establish will entirely go down the drain. Besides, his situation is worse than Li Mis, he has no choice but to surrender, all the things in the past, like he became a sovereign by calling himself the emperor, once its gone, it will nevere back. As long as Wang Shichong thinks about Li Mis situation in Changan and how he ended up, he knew that the road back to where he came from will not be easy to walk and will be very trying. Therefore, he wants to take advantage while he still has a capital, to do his deathbed struggle by staking his Niangs all in thest bet. The most ideal would be if Da Wang and Li Shimin fight until both sides suffer, so that the situation in the past where Li Mi and Yuwen Huaji were both burned will be repeated. Looking from this point of view, there should be a big difference between surrendering to the Tang and to ask for help from Da Wang. Dou Jiandes another imperial strategic adviser Li Bin,ughed with his jaw and head, and said, Shaoshuais unfettered eloquence is truly admirable; however, Shaoshuais tactic of crossing the river to attack Ho still has room for consideration. Based on our Great Xias military strength, attacking the Tang Armys military strength, victory or defeat is really difficult to foresee. The better strategy will be to avoid the strong and attack the weak, taking advantage of the time the Tang Army is besieging the city, our Great Xia deploys the troops to cross the river to attack and seize Zhenzhou and Heyang, and then sending serious generals to defend it, to establish the route for provision. After steadying the legs of the disposition of troops, to cross over Taixing, enter Shangdang, Xunfen, Jin, and approach Pujin. This will give us three benefits; one, its like treading on no-mansnd, the victory will be absolutely safe; two, to expand territory and collect the crowd, our Great Xias situation will benefit and will grow stronger; three, to horrify Guanzhong and resolve the siege on the Zheng. All the current strategies, none is better than this. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, What Dafu [senior official (in imperial China)] said is indeed the best policy, it does have tremendous controlling power toward the Tang Army. However, there are two major problems. First of all, our opponent is Li Shimin. If he knew that Da Wang did not cross the river and go to the west in powerful attack, he would certainly go all-out to attack Luoyang, while ignoring the others. As long as the Tang Army can blockade the Great River, Da Wang can only temporarily proim your hegemony on the northern bank of the Great River. The second problem is that Luoyang only has a month and a half worth of provision, they wontst too long. If Da Wang decided not to cross the river, I will have no choice but to take my men to immediately withdraw from Luoyang and go back to Pengliang to see what else can we do. Meng Haigongs countenance sank, he said, Shaoshuais remark carries a threat, it is really unwise. Fire was burning in Kou Zhongs heart and head, he thought inwardly that this time he came to ask for help, it waspletely without any selfish motives, but for the sake of all the people under the heavens, yet not only the other side did not appreciate it, they even oppressed him at every opportunity, which angered him of the injustice. Liu Heita spoke out to smooth things over, Shaoshuai is just seeking truth from facts [idiom: being practical and realistic]; I, Liu Heita dare to guarantee it with my life that Shaoshuais arrival this time is with benevolent intention toward our Great Xia. Dou Jiande also knew that offending Kou Zhong was really not a wise move. He nodded in agreement and said, We have fought side-by-side with Shaoshuai, we have deep knowledge of Shaoshuais conduct, while this is still the first time that Haigong met Shaoshuai, hence this misunderstanding. Although he saw how Liu and Dou, two men one after another said good things about Kou Zhong, Meng Haigong still refused to apologize; he pulled his face and did not say a word. Dou Jiande stared at Kou Zhong for half a day, he spoke heavily, Now the situation is different, Shaoshuai is not a lone army who fight by yourself. The Heavenly Saber Song Que has just taken possession of Hainan, the Song Familys fleet can go up north at any time, which makes the situation in the north moreplicated. For example, when our Great Xia and Li Shimin are striving for Luoyang and are at a stalemate, Song Ques main forces may arrive to attack, in the end, whether it will benefit our Great Xia, or it will be good for the House of Tang, or perhaps ultimately it will only convenience Song Que, so that he could just sit and collect the benefit of the fisherman; I wonder if Shaoshuai can release my misgivings? Kou Zhong suddenly saw the light. The crux of the matter was that everybody in the world still shake in fear of Song Que; it was difficult for Li Yuan to sleep peacefully over this, and now Dou Jiande was also afraid. Under such circumstances, his, Kou Zhongs Shao Shuai Army could forget about working together in sincerity with the Xia Army to attack and seize Ho. Was Dou Jiande Li Shimins worthy match? Suddenly his optimistic mood vanished like smoke in thin air, the future outlook became distant and indistinct, and the possibility of death in battle at Luoyang has risen steeply, plus he also dragged along Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, his two good brothers. After heaving a sigh, Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and spoke with serious expression, I, Kou Zhong, can guarantee with my reputation and integrity that as long as the victory or defeat over Luoyang has not been decided, as long as I, Kou Zhong, still have a breath in me, Song Que will never touch Luoyang. Moreover, as long as Shen Faxing and Li Zitong still exist, the Song Familys disposition of troops in Hainan is not stable, because only next year, when the spring is warm, the flowers are blooming that the Song Familys fleet can go up north. As long as Da Wang agrees to send troops to break up the siege on Luoyang, I, Kou Zhong will defend Luoyang to the death, waiting for Da Wangs troops to arrive. I must now immediately rush back to Luoyang, just waiting for Da Wang to give your word. He did not have the patience to continue talking, toy his cards on the table with Dou Jiande. In the hall, the crow and peacock made no sound, all eyes were on Dou Jiande. Sitting inside the dragon throne high above the stone steps at the north side of the hall, Dou Jiandes pair of eyes was shing; without blinking, he fixed his gaze on Kou Zhong, and then he let out a longughter and said, Very well! Shaoshuais person is fast, your words swift, how could I, Dou Jiande wade in mud and water [idiom: do a sloppy job]? Within three days, our Great Xias vanguard troops will cross the Great River. If Heaven thinks that I, Dou Jiande is an emperors material, within half a month Shaoshuai and I will join forces outside Luoyang. At that time, I hope Shaoshuai will be able to give me a positive answer of your position in the future. Heita, send Shaoshuai off for me. Book 52 4 – Present Moment

Book 52 Chapter 4 C Present Moment

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia What is Ziling thinking? Ba Fenghan asked. Xu Ziling was gazing at the Qin River flowing across the in under the cliff. Under the twilight of the setting sun, two Xia Armys navy ships set off from the Wuzhi [Note: it was Wuling in thest chapter] dock, heading toward the Great River. Hearing the question, he said, I am thinking about Yin Xianhe, afraid that he encountered some unexpected misfortune. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, That is probably the thought where your mind was turning this moment, but before, your pair of eyes revealed a tender, reminiscing expression. What you were thinking that moment cant possibly be this kind of fiendish, rough circumstance, can it? Blushing with embarrassment, Xu Ziling said, I was recalling the scene in the You Lin Xiao Gu where I met with Shi Qingxuan; from her, I remembered Da Ming Zun Jiao, and then from Da Ming Zun Jiao my mind went to Yin Xianhe. If he met with any mishap, Da Ming Zun Jiao cannot escape the me. Ba Fenghan said, Memories are just like that, one thing evokes another. Therefore, I rarely reminisce and recall old memories, this is a great taboo of martial art way cultivation. Self-cultivation has no past, no future C there is only the present moment. Not only there is only a moment, we also must grasp this moment, must know this moment; otherwise life will be unreal like an illusion, it will pass by in vagueness. Just like this moment, other that looking at the city of Wuzhi, at the same time I am aware of the I that is looking at the city of Wuzhi. This is the most important xinfa that Iprehended during the hundred-day cultivation in the desert. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day; he said in shock, Such a simple xinfa, why have I never thought about it? However, this xinfa is easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice [idiom: easier said than done]; on the battlefield, confronting life or death, we are forced not to dare to miss any moment before our eyes. But in peacetime, there are inside and outside elements that distract us, plethora of things to tackle, things that you cant guard against. Like this moment you and I are talking, I have no awareness of which me is talking to you, I cannot grasp the present moment. Ba Fenghanughed and said, I am sure Ziling is able to do that, its just that you did not request yourself, hence you are embracing the at-home-whenever-you-are frame of mind, to such an extent that you enjoy that kind of dream-like, unreal life and fuzzy feeling. Ha! If you did not have Kou Zhong, this kind of brother who creates difficulties everywhere, surely you would not have the kind of achievement you have today. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling nodded his head and said, Fenghan Xiongs view is urate. That should be it. One can be his own master in the dark, the Buddhists call this karma, they regard and believe this as fate. Just like the first time we encountered Fenghan Xiong, we have never thought that we might form life and death rtionship with you. This is perhaps karma or fate. Ba Fenghan revealed a reminiscing, pondering expression as he spoke slowly, Ziling reminded me of a memory. Let us temporarily forget the present moment xinfa. Frankly, I never thought Id make friends with anyone, I just wanted to esteem theing-and-going-alone lifestyle, to treat all human affairs that are happening around me like passing smoke, vanishing cloud. After a short pause, he continued, What really moved me was your sincere brotherhood; I have never seen apletely-without-selfish-motives, treating-one-another-with-absolute-sincerity friendship like yours, which made my hostility toward you disappearedpletely, while also feel that if I can make friends with you, two gentlemen, then I will live up to this lifes delight. A burst of emotional stirring welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Ba Fenghan rarely expressed the way of thinking inside his heart like this. He wondered if it was after personally tasted Li Shimins method that he was no longer optimistic about the battle of Luoyang, and under the threat of a matter of life and death he changed his view of life. Gazing at Wuzhi, Ba Fenghan sighed and said, To be able to make Li Yuanjiing to the east to keep a close watch over Li Shimin, dividing and thinning Li Shimins military power C it was indeed the demonic schools extremely formidable move. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Fenghan Xiongs remark is very surprising; letting Li Yuanji to participate in the battle of Luoyang ought to be Li Yuan and Li Jianchengs idea, why did you say that it was a stratagem, a devious scheme masterminded by the demonic school? Remaining tranquil and calm, Ba Fenghan said, Being the yer in the arena, Ziling is confused, while I am an outsider who can see things more clearly. Shi Feixuan picked Li Shimin as the future true master, he was really the writing brush that the gods use to fight the demonic schools Two Sects, Six Ways. In fact, until that moment, in the struggle between Ci Hang Jing Zhai and the demonic school, they were still in the disadvantageous position, first by Shi Zhixuan toppling the Great Sui, making the world caught in chaotic situation where warlords vying for supremacy setting up independent regime to contend for hegemony. Were it not for Bi Xiuxin restraining Shi Zhixuan, it was almost certain that Shi Zhixuan could put Yang Xuyan in Yang Guangs ce, while he himself controlling the general situation from behind the screen. Shi Feixuan is the hero with all-seeing mind and knowledge, she judged that the Li n is the power with greatest chance to unify thend under heaven, she was even aware that Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji are beguiled by the Tujue and the demonic school, two major powers, respectively, hence she decided to give their all-out support to Li Shimin, so that Li Shimin bes the only clear stream among the Li Familys foul streams. Xu Ziling reflected a thoughtful look; knitting his brows, he said, However, that will also push Li Shimin into dangerous circumstances of having a fallout with his father, and closed-wall with his brothers. Ay! I really dont understand Feixuan on this point, at least not in such a clear-cut situation. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, This matter is extremely delicate. Li Shimin is the Li ns representative figure. Shi Feixuan supported Li Shimin, it was like a friend who supported the Li n. Li Yuan and Li Yuanji should be happy. Only the demonic school understands Shi Feixuans true motive. Therefore, in thousand ways, a hundred ns, using all kinds of methods they try to destroy the unity within the Li n. They exploited Li Yuans cherishing the imperial concubines, Li Jianchengs shaking in fear toward Li Shimins unrivalled military achievement, Li Yuanjis selfish desire to ascend the emperors throne, to firmly control the three sides. Therefore, Li Shimins struggle against his father and brothers is actually the secret struggle between Ci Hang Jing Zhai and the demonic schools Two Sects, Six Ways. Xu Ziling agreed, Fenghan Xiongs analysis is thorough and convincing. Ba Fenghan went on, The one thing that the demonic school most afraid of right now is that in order to fight his father and brothers, Li Shimin has to establish friendly rtions with you guys. Sending Li Yuanji to the battlefield in Luoyang is precisely to prevent the situation from developing in this direction. If the demonic school disagree, Yin De Fei, Dong Shuni, and the others would not speak to Li Yuan on Li Yuanjis behalf, furthermore, Li Yuan would not disturb the heart of Li Shimins troops in this kind of critical juncture. Let us wait and see. Li Yuanji will definitely do something to make Li Shimin and us to be in an unresolvable deep enmity. He has received Li Yuans secret order, there are things that Li Shimin will have no choice but to do as he is ordered. The earth was getting dark and the cold wind was making whooshing noise as it was blowing. Yet Xu Ziling was speechless; he felt exhaustion that bubbled up from the bottom of his heart. The divine light in his pair of eyes shing, Ba Fenghan said, People are fragile, the past is some kind of a burden, and the pressure of uncertain future is suffocating. Therefore, focus your attention on the present moment. Not only this is the xinfa of the self-cultivation, it is also a necessary technique to maintain a strong will to fight. Do you remember what I said? Only those who are ruthless enough will be able to survive. Since Ziling already decided to fight side-by-side with us, you ought to throw everything aside. Does Ziling understand what I mean? Xu Ziling nodded to indicate he understood. Precisely like Li Shimin said, there is no friend on the battlefield, only enemy. There is no third possibility. Riding side by side, Liu Heita and Kou Zhong reached the west gate. Seeing it was Kou Zhong, the guards on duty all stood respectfully to salute. Kou Zhong spoke to Liu Heita, No need to see me off, Ill return this horse to you. Returning to Luoyang by two legs is a bit more convenient. Liu Heita spoke heavily, Let me see you off a bit farther. The two rode all the way without saying a word. Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders to indicate he did not have any problem. Following behind Liu Heita, he urged his horse to get out of the city; leaving the official road, they rode slowly into the wilderness. Liu Heita sighed and said, I am really worried that Dou Ye is going to lose this battle. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The Dou Jiande that I just saw was not the Dou Jiande that I knew during the siege of Liyang. The two are the same person, yet howe they are so far apart? Liu Heita spoke heavily, Because these past few months have been too favorable! First, we defeated Yuwen Huaji, and then we captured Liyang, even an outstanding figure in the Tang Army like Li Shiji is also a defeated general under his hands, he also subdued Meng Haigong, which made him feel that the emperors throne is just the object in his pocket that he could obtain by reaching into it. His real character is out of control and bespletely visible. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Liu Dage seems to be very dissatisfied with Old Dou, what actually happened? Liu Heita angrily said, He wants me to stay behind to guard Liyang, clearly he does not trust me, afraid that I might cast my lot with you. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, When I came, I was full of hope, but now I am thoroughly in so much despair that I give up all hope. I never expected that Dou Jiande could lose his cool like this. Ay! What is Liu Dage nning to do? Liu Heita recovered his calm demeanor, he smiled and said, What good n do I have? I wont live pass twenty-eight anyway. To die a year earlier or a yearter wont make much difference. I will use my life to prove to Dou Jiande, to let him see what kind of person I, Liu Heita, am. Kou Zhong remembered in the past he told them that Ning Daoqi already ascertained that Liu Heita would not live pass certain age, so that Liu Heita, knowing that he would not live too long, missed the opportunity to pursue Susu for nothing. It made people wring their hands in frustration. Momentarily unbounded emotional stirring welled up in his heart, he sighed and said, What the hell is this all about? How did you get a chance to talk to the divine dragon, whose head is seen, his tail is not seen C Ning Daoqi? Besides, how could he be socking in moral sense like that, revealing the time of other peoples death? This kind of senseless matter, it would be best if the person involved does not know. Supposing he is seeing things incorrectly, wont Liu Dage be very upset? Liu Heita hurriedly said, Xiao Zhong, you must not be disrespectful to him, the Senior. I was able to obtain his guidance, it was the karma cultivated over several lifetimes. He, the Senior, really did not foresee that I would not live pass the age of twenty-eight, but he only said that this is a juncture; unless I am willing to renounce the licking-blood-from-the-saber-de murderous way of life, everything will bode ill, no positive signs. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, I will be the first person not to believe it. Fate is fate, one has it, one does not. Therefore, if fate really exists, there is no such thing as if or only if. Just think, if fate has two possibilities, leading one would affect the whole body, one persons fate changes, it might be like dominoes C it will impact others until in the end, it will change everything. Liu Heita muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day. He nodded his head and said, You are right. In that case, I will certainly die. Clearly Ning Daoqi wasforting me, telling me to cultivate virtue, afraid that I would cultivate the worlds virtue. Kou Zhong was amazed. He originally wanted to resolve Liu Heitas karma, a matter that gnawed at his mind, who could have thought that it produced the opposite of the desired result, it drove away hisst gleam of hope instead? Liu Heitaughed aloud and said, Life and death are ruled by fate [idiom], riches and honor are in the Heavens hands. A real man is buried in a horse hide, the battlefield is my final destination, dying sooner orter can be considered what kind of his grannys bird thing? Lets not take too much trouble about this matter. Why did Ning Daoqi lower himself and ignore his seniority to give me direction about my future, until now I am still confused. I heard you have fought hand to hand against Ning Daoqi, I wonder if that rumor is true? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Indeed that is true. After strongly advised me but did not get the result he was hoping for, originally he wanted to kill me, but for some reason he enlightened me in martial art study instead. And then heughed and walked away. Really strange. Shaken, Liu Heita said, Perhaps he saw you as the bright lord who will unify the world in the future. You cant say for sure. Recalling another matter, Kou Zhong shivered inwardly. He casually responded, Liu Dage must not crack jokes. I am not dead yet, this is already ten thousand blessings. Liu Heita sighed and said, Xiao Zhong, have you ever thought that Dou Jiande might have such misgivings toward you? By this time, they were only about a li away from the hill where Xu and Ba were hiding. Kou Zhong reined his horse to stop, he smiled bitterly and said, This kind of thing, how could I ever imagine? I thought your Da Wang was broad-minded, benevolent and righteous heroic and grand hegemon, who would have thought that it was just a misconception. Liu Heita said, Although Dou Ye wholeheartedly wants to be the emperor, until today, himself is still a man who values friendship, its just that you are too much of a threat to him. Since the battle of Liyang, you have established a lofty reputation within our Great Xia Army, even eclipsing Dou Yes standing. Just like Li Shimin to Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng, plus the affection between you and I is more than between brothers, and you have Song Ques support behind your back. If you have the intention to contend for the world against Dou Ye, without fighting, our army will all be split up and in pieces. His misgiving toward you is not without any reason. Shaking his head and smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Liu Dage should go back sooner. You are seeing me off out of town like this, it will be strange indeed if your Da Wang does not suspect that we are talking bad things about him behind his back. Liu Heita calmly said, Why would a man who is about to die have so much to care about? You dont need to worry about me. However, sending a gentleman off for a thousand li, ultimately we will have to part. I see you off to here, I hope we, three brothers, will have the chance to meet again in the future, please send my regards to Ziling. A broken-soul-wounded-spirit separated-in-life-and-death [to part for ever] feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, yet clearly he was powerless to change the circumstances before his eyes. He shouted, Liu Dage, please take a good care of yourself! Jumping off the warhorse, he quickly went away. Ba Fenghan watched Liu Heitas silhouette, one man, two horses, riding away into the distance. What kind of a person Dou Jiande really is? he asked in heavy voice. Xu Zilings heart sank straight down, he faintly felt something was wrong, otherwise Liu Heita should have continued a bit farther to say hello to them. Shaking his head, he replied, I am not familiar with him at all, but even if I was, so what? Everybody, because of different positions, personal interest, going along or against fate C may respond ording to the changes of situation and himself changed. Wang Shichong is a good example. Just think, supposing he is sessful in defending Luoyang, how do you think he is going to treat us? Ba Fenghan coldly said, Wang Shichong is already finished. No matter which side wins, it wont be Wang Shichongs turn to contend for hegemony over the world. Disregarding his face, Wang Shichong came to you, asking for help, it was not to save his position as an overlord, but to save his life. Because his close rtionship with the demonic school is already exposed, based on Li Shimins usual style of making wise decision, when the city is broken, he must have Wang Shichong beheaded, unless Li Yuanji is stopping him from the inside; otherwise, there wont be any second possibility. Xu Ziling spoke in astonishment, Fenghan Xiong can see things more thoroughly and clearly than me and Kou Zhong. Ba Fenghan said, I grew up in a tough environment, we are talking about vicious and merciless, everything starts from utilitarian point of view, hence I am able to offer a way of looking at things from a different point of view on a certain matter. This moment Kou Zhong climbed the mountain and came over, straight to the cliff. He sat down on Ba Fenghans other side and said with a sigh, I finally understand why Shi Feixuan picked Li Shimin as the future true master of the world. Hearing that, the two were startled; Kou Zhong was not Shi feixuan, how could he understand the fairys intention out of nothing? Greatly interested, Ba Fenghan said, Lets hear it. Kou Zhong said, This is not Shi feixuans decision alone, she must have received Ning Daoqis nod of approval, who is the representative of the Taoist School. And Ning Daoqi based his decision on his way of looking at someones countenance. From reading Li kids face, he was able to see that he had the appearance of an emperor and king, hence the reason Shi Feixuan dared to carry out her support for the candidate. Scoffing, Ba Fenghan said, I will be the first not to believe in physiognomy, this kind of Jianghu scamming technique. So what about Ning Daoqi? I admit that there are differences between good and bad, just like the difference between ugly and beautiful must have a certain impact on someones luck. But how could there be anyone with emperor and king appearance in the world? This is an utter nonsense. What does Ling Shao think? Kou Zhong asked Xu Ziling. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, There is this study of reading someones appearance that has been passed down since ancient times, Ning Daoqi must be proficient in this area. Choosing Li Shimin based on reading his appearance is in ordance with his logic. However, I agree with Fenghan Xiongs opinion, there shouldnt be any so-called emperor and king appearance in the world. Ning Daoqi is not a deity, there is always a chance that he is reading wrong. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I hope you guys are not saying that just to make me feel good. His Niangs! I dont care about fate, I, Kou Zhong, will never admit defeat. If Li Shimin has the ability, he can ughter me. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, You ought to say ughter us, three brothers. Kou Zhong was emotionally moved, he embraced Ba Fenghan tightly, and said with augh, Didnt you say before that when the situation is not right, you, Lao Ba are going to slip away? Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, I, Ba Fenghan now, am not that kind of person. We put everything to death and then live. If we want to slip away, then we slip away together; if we want to leave, then we leave together. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, On Dou Jiandes side, did you hit a snag? Kou Zhong dejectedly replied, Although you are not right on target, but you are not far! Although he promised to send troops to help, he is having deep misgivings toward me, so that Im unable to work out a strategy ore up with a n for him, to repeat the sincere cooperation when we attacked Liyang in Ho. Ay! Li Shimins view on Dou Jiande is very incisive, Dou Jiande does not seem to consider Li Shimin worthy in his eyes. Before the battle starts, I can already know the oue. His grannys bear. Xu Ziling said, With Liu Dage helping him, at least Dou Jiande will have the strength to stake everything. Kou Zhong helplessly said, Old Dou ordered Liu Dage to remain in Liyang. His countenance changed, Ba Fenghan said, Whether it is military power or ability and wisdom, Dou Jiande falls short of Li Shimin; how could this battle be fought? Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shing with refined light, he spoke slowly, Therefore, we must rely on ourselves. The time Li Shimin moves his troops to Ho to intercept Dou Jiande is the moment we counterattack and surround the Tang Army. Right now we must return to Liangdu first, to catch the undiscovered traitor, and then secretly gather a unit of ten-thousand-man elite troops, we use the flywheel boats to provide assistance via the waterway, to transport rations and fodder, as well as equipment to besiege a city and destroy strongholds. The moment Dou Jiande is attacking Ho from the east, as long as our troops can break through Luoyangs siege, we could reach Ho from all sides, to cut Li Shimins contact with the besieging troops, and then we will have a chance to score a beautiful victory. Henceforth the Li n will no longer has a turn to proim hegemony over the world. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, You have guts! Xu Ziling said, You and Fenghan Xiong return to Liangdu first, let me take the responsibility to go to Luoyang to notify Yang Gongqing and Wang Shichong, so that they wont be worried. Kou Zhong agreed, he said, We are going to wait for you at Chenliu; we will set off when youe back. Wed better take the falcon and the horses along. No problem, Xu Ziling said, But before going to Luoyang, I am going to make a quick detour to Jing Nian Chan Shi, to have a little talk with Liao Kong. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, What for? What is there to say to Liao Kong? Casting his gaze toward the distant horizon, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, I want him to pass on a message to Feixuan, to tell Feixuan that I have no choice and have to step on the path that she never wanted me to step on. Thats all! Book 52 5 – Sand Gate Protector of the Law

Book 52 Chapter 5 C Sand Gate Protector of the Law

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan crouched on a mountaintop on the northern bank of the Great River, looking at nearly ten House of Tangs navy ships from the Yellow River sailing into Tongji Canal, all were highly mobile small warships, the troops on board were in high alert, acting like they were ready to meet a contingency at any moment. Under the afternoon autumn sun, the sail mast reflected the twilight, it brought quite an intimidating my-Great-Tang-warships-are-able-to-move-unhindered-across-Yangtze-and-Yellow-Rivers momentum. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Could it be that Li Shimins ability to prophecy with supernatural uracy has reached this level that he knew we might return to Pengliang and thus dispatched his troops to intercept one step ahead? Sneering, Ba Fenghan said, Who can intercept us? Oh! Theres another boating! Kou Zhong looked at the western extremity of the Great River, only to see dancing shadows of the sails, as more than twenty majestic-looking, ancient-leatherd huge warships, with bows raised high and the sterns towering, were sailing along the river in this direction, under escort of more than a dozen smaller-scale warships, chasing the previous fleet of warships, slowly entering the Tongji canal. The huge warships were loaded full of soldiers and heavy military supply wagons, the hulls were extremely deep into the water. While the two were you look at me, I gaze at you, more than fifty multi-decked troop carriers and cargo ships fully loaded with military supply wagons carrying grain and goods were continuously sailing over, also under escort of more than a dozen barge-style smaller warships. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he looked at the g flying on the giant warship. Smiling wryly, he said, This is the water andnd, amphibiousbat troops under Li Shijismand. My Niang! Li Shimin did not order him to attack Chenliu! Ba Fenghan calcted silently. He sighed and said, Your great n of counterattack mighte to the end of its life [lit. die of old age/die in ones bed at a ripe old age] at this point. Li Shimin indeed can move troops like a deity, and he is able to seize key moments in all aspects. This batch of Tang soldiers could reach up to thirty-thousand men. With powerful navy providing assistance, and using the city of Kaifeng, with its tight grip on the waterway C as themand headquarters, advancing they can attack, retreating they can defend, unable to cope they can seal off the canal C they will be able to intercept any troops you are going to send up north. Let me be frank with you, whether you can defend and keep Chenliu is still unknown. The opponent ising to attack with the current, you are going to defend against the current, plus Li Shiji is a fierce general, a veteran of a hundred battles, our situation is extremely unfavorable. Puzzled, Kou Zhong said, I wonder if Li Shimin is underestimating Dou Jiande too much? This unit of navys elite troops ought to continue to the east, to protect Niukouzhu [lit. ox mouth islet, not sure if this is a citys name], Banzhu [board/nk islet], Xingyang, Heyin, and various cities. To deal with Shao Shuai Army, wont that be like killing chicken using the butchers cleaver? Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, How could Li Shimin underestimate the enemy? There must be another army in his strategy to deal with Dou Jiande. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, I understand now! What is it? Ba Fenghan asked in astonishment. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, I understand Li kids strategy in dealing with Dou Jiande. Actually,st night, when he intercepted us, he already leaked out some clues, which is using Ho to fight Dou Jiande. Ay! Li kid surely has the aptitude to be a great general. He let Dou Jiande to cross the river to attack various cities east and west of Ho. As long as he acquires control over the Great River, while I am unable to go up north, Dou Jiandes main forces will be lone army prating deeply into the enemys territory. Moreover, after repeated battles in sieging the cities, it would be hard to avoid wear and tear. At that time, the soldiers weary, the horses hard-pressed, plus Li Shimin will send his troops to outnk his rear and cut off the supply route, the soldiers heart is bound to be rattled, then Li Shimin will have the chance to destroy them in one fell swoop. His countenance changed, Ba Fenghan said, What do we do then? Do you want me to go ahead to warn Dou Jiande? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Dou Jiande now is so confident that nothing can enter his ears, especially if the advice came from me; he thinks Im framing him. Ay! Lets cross the river first and talk about itter! If we cant keep Chenliu, and the Great Tangs navy go down south along the canal straight to Jiangdu, my Shao Shuai Army might be uprooted by Li Shiji, then we might be very unlucky to be done for earlier than Luoyang. Ba Fenghan sprang up and said, The matter should not be dyed, we must go right away. Xu Ziling climbed the mountain step by step, his heart was tranquil and in harmony. The sound of the bells signaling the evening ss came down from the top of the mountain, which was dyed red by the sunset glow, each toll of the bell sounded like an incantation providing food for thought, knocking straight into the bottom of Xu Zilings heart. Buddhism is a religion of peace, assuming that people inside and outside the Great Wall were believers in Buddhism who practice what they preach, then thend under heaven would be in peace and security, without any problem. However, this would never be a fact. Haunted by the group of demons, the two schools of Buddhist Way had no choice but to join hands to fight, to defend traditional values and drive out the devils. However, the struggle was really contrary to the ideal of the Buddhist School, hence the reason each generation of Ci Hang Jing Zhai selected the most outstanding sessor to bear this heavy responsibility, so that the empty gate did not need to be drawn into the foul wind and bloody rain [idiom: reign of terror] of the dusty world [mundane world]. The winds and clouds of Luoyang did not have any effect on the peace and tranquility of the Jing Nian Chanzong at all. If it were the Tujue peoples Wolf Armying to attack, naturally it would be another matter altogether. Therefore, the heavy responsibility on Shi Feixuans shoulders, apart from to pursue happiness for all the people C was also to protect the sand gate [see footnote on the title chapter]. Ay! Shi Feixuan! How he wished it was like thest time, where Shi Feixuan was waiting for his arrival inside the Jing [lit. still/quiet] of the Chanyuan [Zen (Buddist) Courtyard], so that he could pour out the contradiction and pain in his heart to her as much as he liked, to let her clear heart provide guidance to him, yet he knew that there was no longer a day where he and she would see each other again. This thought has made his soul broken, his spirit wounded. Reaching the end of the stone steps, Xu Ziling ascended onto the mountain top. No human shadow was in sight at the za in front of the Hall of Great Strength [the main hall of Buddhist temple], the monks in the temple were gathered at thew-za in front of the Copper Hall, the sound of their chanting the sutras and striking the wooden fish filled the atmosphere of the mountaintop. Xu Zilingposed himself, he entered the courtyard gate with his hands behind his back. A man was slowly walking out of the Hall of Great Strength and down the stone steps. His spirit clear, his air elegant; he was precisely the Jing Nian Chanzongs Zhuchi [manager/president] Liao Kong Dashi. His expression serene, he had a smile on the corner of his mouth, as if he was wholeheartedly waiting for Xu Zilings arrival. Xu Ziling trembled inwardly; a familiar feeling, which he himself could not understand, welled up in his heart, a little bit like a wanderer who had left home to make his way in the world for many years, who had suffered enough setback C went home to see his close rtives, generating a full-of-sorrow-wanting-to-cry kind of moodiness, so that he stopped and stood motionless, with a nk stare on his face. Liao Kong came close, put his palms together in greeting, and said with a smile, Ziling, are you well? [Note: I know it should be tranted as how are you? Youll see the reason in the next sentence.] Xu Ziling smiled wryly and replied, Dashi is the one whos really well, Xiaozi [this kid] has nothing to write home about [orig.cking virtue (or benevolence) to be narrated]. Liao Kong chanted one of the many names of Buddha in low voice; he kindly said, Ziling, pleasee with me. Xu Ziling followed behind this extraordinary talent within this Zen school who could restore his youthfulness, circumventing the Hall of Great Strength, and stepping into a Buddhist hall next to the za where the monks of the temple were gathered. The crowd of monks in evening prayer seemed to bepletely oblivious of Xu Zilings presence, no one appeared to be paying any attention. Xu Ziling did not dare to disturb their tranquil harmony, it was not until they entered the gstone path, which was lined with bamboo trees on both sides C that he could not help asking, Dashi seemed to be aware that I aming to pay a visit, is that right? Liao Kong, unhurriedly and at ease, replied, You can say that. A moment ago, when I sat in meditation in the Zen room, suddenly I had a dusty idea, I could not help but going to the mountain gate [(Buddhist) monasterys main gate], who would have thought that I encountered Ziling? After passing through the monks residence, Xu Ziling once again stepped into a paved pathway with stone walls on both sides full of relief sculptures of Buddhist images, he could not help receiving the influence of the Buddhist paths deep and peaceful unique atmosphere, which washed his heart and freed his mind from worries, which generated a far-away-from-the-dust-of-the-world feeling. Xu Ziling let out a light sigh and said, I aming here to pay my respect to Dashi this time, it is with the hope that Dashi could pass on a message to Feixuan, to tell her that not only Xu Ziling failed the burden she entrusted to me, I also ruined my promise of not being drawn into the struggle between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin. Liao Kong chanted one of the many names of Buddha in low voice, but did not utter a single word of me. He led him directly to the Fangzhang Yuan [Abbot courtyard], which was built on the edge of a cliff. They passed through the door but did not enter, but stepped into another small gravel path that led to another bamboo forest, and came to a high cliff outside the bamboo forest, from which they could gaze into the distance toward the City of Luoyang on the t, empty in down below, where he stood still and stared. Xu Ziling, as if afraid to disturb him, cautiously and solemnly moved to a spot behind and slightly to his side, the night wind, like a tide, was blowing, brushing away the two mens clothes that it fluttered. Far away, Luoyangs city lights had some kind of unspeakable distraught of decline. Liao Kong spoke indifferently, Feixuan already guessed that that kind of development might happen, she even pointed out that if this kind of situation appears, its certainly not because you cannot let go of the brotherly affection you have toward Kou Zhong, but she believed that this matter would be the most in line with the well-being of all the people in the world. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Did Feixuan really say that? Laughing involuntarily, Liao Kong calmly said, Buddhists do not y a game of deceit. Ziling thinks pinseng [this impoverished monk] is misleading you, trying to cate you? Xu Ziling apologetically said, Dashi, please dont take offense, its just that ... ay! Its just that Li Shimin is the person that Feixuan chose to inherit the Jade Annulus of He n, yet I am setting myself against him, which seems to be greatly against Feixuans intention and purpose. Liao Kong smiled and said, Wheres the Jade Annulus of He n then? Taken aback, Xu Ziling just stared at him. Liao Kong look at him, his pair of eyes deep and unfathomable, his precious appearance dignified, the tone of his voice gentle, he said, Whoever hung the bell on the tigers neck must untie it [idiom: whoever started the trouble should end it], the matter of the future, who can predict? We are, after all, people of the empty gate, its difficult to directly intervene the mundane worlds fight and vendetta, therefore, we can only choose promising schr to be our sand gate protector of thew [again, see footnote, in case you have not done so ...]. Xu Ziling suddenly understood, Li Shimin is the person Feixuan chose as the protector of thew. Liao Kong shook his head and said, Li Shimin is just the one that Feixuan thinks the most capable to pursue happiness for all the people in the world; as for the protector of thew, there is another person, and that person is you, Xu Ziling. What? Xu Ziling blurted out. Liao Kong smiled and said, This decision of Feixuans has never given rise to any controversy within the Sand Gate, it even received Ning Daoqis nod of approval. Zilings obtaining Zhen Yan Dashis method was not idental at all, it was pulled by the karmic force from the dark underworld, it was to fulfill your fate. There is cause, then there is consequence. There is consequence, then there must be cause. Cause and consequence follow each other, the sea of bitterness has no bound. Ziling is drifting along the sea of bitterness, in yourself, you must have myriad of distress. As long as you can maintain positive consciousness, so what if you are in suffering? So what if you are happy? Thousands gigantic waves were surging in Xu Zilings heart, unexpectedly he was the sand gate protector of thew that Feixuan personally chose. What is going on here? Momentarily he was confused, thousand kinds of emotions in his heart, Shi Feixuan thought too highly of himself! Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Was it a misunderstanding that she never told me anything about protecting thew? Liao Kong replied, If yes than its yes, if no then its no, why bother? Xu Ziling was at a loss, I now seem to wreck a lot of protections of thew, ay! How should I say it? Feixuan has always been ming me for failing to persuade Kou Zhong to withdraw from the power struggle, and now I am more involved in the struggle. If Feixuan really chose me to be the protector of thew, after knowing the present situation, she would certainly withdraw her decision. The thing she did not want to see is happening right now, once Song Que ising to the north, the world will potentially enter the north-south-standing-opposite-of-each-other situation. Days of peace and security, I do not know what year and what day it will appear. Liao Kong chanted Shanzai [good/benevolent] twice in low voice, he spoke calmly, The matter of the secr world is tangled andplicated. Nobody, with meager wisdom, can make judgment on the myriad-of-changes-in-an-instant future! We can only set off from our own heart, to make a choice, Ziling can act also only based on your own heart; as for other things, no need to worry about. Ziling is distressed over the current situation, only because the opportunity for unity and peace has not yet appeared. When the opportunityes, Ziling will know. Lao Nas [lit. old cassock] words thus endeth; although Feixuans body is in Jing Zhai, her heart is still in Jianghu, nothing can be concealed from her. Ziling, you may leave! When Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan arrived in Chenliu, a nice surprise, which waspletely beyond their expectation, was waiting for them. Xu Xingzhi already moved an army and sent a general, he summoned Xuan Yong and fifteen thousand Shao Shuai Army, and thus substantially strengthened Chenlius city defense. Not only he added and built Chenlius defensive facilities, he also, day and night, at the strategically situated and easy to defend points outside the city and on both sides of the canal, hurriedly built eight stone forts. With the morale rising to its peak, the army and civilians worked with one mind to fight for their survival. In addition to Xuan Yong and his two capable deputy generals Gao Zhiming and Zhan Gongxuan, Bu Tianzhimanded the Shao Shuai Navy consisted of three giant warships, twenty-four flywheel boats and thirty-three ocean-style battleships. They also waited for dawn with their head resting on a spear [idiom: fully prepared and biding ones time before the battle] to guard the waterway in Chenliu region. Coupled with Chen Changlins three thousand city defenders, the total number of Shao Shuai Army in Chenliu reached 20,000 men, although not enough to attack Kaifeng, it should be more than enough to defend Chenliu steadily. Getting the wind and going out to meet the two men were Xuan Yong and Luo Qifei. All the trees around Chenliu have already been chopped down, so that thendscape was bare. Five li away from the city, the two had already been discovered by the sentries stationed on the hills and other high elevation ces, who then signaled Xuan Yong and the others in the city using fire beacon. After introducing Ba Fenghan to Xuan Yong and Luo Qifei and vice versa, Kou Zhong said in great astonishment, How could you predict what will happen without being a irvoyant? You knew Li Shimin is going to attack Chenliu and make preparation one step ahead? Xuan Yong cheerfully said, How could we have the ability to predict without being a irvoyant? But we cant help but admiring Xu Junshis foresight. After Shaoshuai left, Junshi went to Zhongli to have a discussion with us. He believes that Li Zitong is not worth our concern, hence we can move massive military force to be stationed in Liangdu and Chenliu, to deal with any sudden change, so that when Shaoshuai needs it, we can send troops to attack Ho and provide assistance to Luoyang. Otherwise, we would only stress the unimportant and neglect the important. Ba Fenghan mounted the spare horse that a soldier brought for them, heughed and said, Your Xu Junzhi [military advisor] ought to be promoted to be Xu Guoshi [teacher of the state]. Kou Zhongughed aloud and nodded, he said, It makes sense, Xingzhis thinking is more thorough than mine. And then he turned to Luo Qifei and asked, Any sign of activity in Kaifeng? Luo Qifei respectfully replied, After the Tang Navys reinforcements arrived in Kaifeng, they hold back their troops without moving, so that it became standing-opposite-each-other situation with us. We are hesitating over what move to make, whether we should attack or defend; fortunately Shaoshuai is back to take charge, we no longer need to worry or argue whether we ought to defend or to attack. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Whos inmand here? Xuan Yong replied honestly, Its Shuxia [subordinate]. The Xia Army stationed their troops in Wuzhi, they could cross the river any moment, if we do not coordinate with them, we might sit and waste a good opportunity. Kou Zhong was slightly startled; revealing a deep-in-thought expression, he leaped onto the horseback, and then smiled and raised his thumb in praise, saying, You deserve to be called our Shao Shuai Army number one fierce general; in front of a powerful army you are not timid. In that case, who presides over the defense? While saying that, he urged his ride to start walking, thereupon everybody also urged their rides to follow. Its Xu Junshi, Xuan Yong replied, He said we must get in touch with Shaoshuai first, to find out the situation clearly, and only then will we decide whether to advance or to retreat. Otherwise, once we lost the battle, the enemy will go down south along the canal, the Shao Shuai State might be pulled up by the roots. Shuxia also approved Junshis proposal. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, You guys have talked things through, and made the move after deciding on a n; it is indeed our Shao Shuai Armys good fortune. Old Ba and I will have to rush back to Luoyang before dusk, I hope to be able to arrange everything within these few sichen. Ha! My tummy is extremely hungry. Xu Ziling sat on the top of another hill near Jing Nian Chanzong, looking toward Luoyang in the distance. In his heart, he was thinking about the present moment xinfa that Ba Fenghan said heprehended while in the desert. He was aware that he was looking at Luoyang. It could be said that this part was as easy as a hands turn; you are looking at Luoyang, at the same time you know that you are looking at Luoyang. It was like there are two of me. One was the physical me, the other was the spiritual me, using the consciousness to control the corporeal body. It was indeed the highest level of concentration. However, the most difficult part of this xinfa was that it would be difficult to hold it for long. There are myriad changes in an instant in the heart, in the blink of an eye other things might attract your attention and you are lost. Even bigger problem was that it was not amusing at all, therefore, it was Ba Fenghans styles spiritual ascetic practice, which made him the most terrifying swordsman on earth, a person with qualifications to challenge Bi Xuan in the short term. For example, right now he was ovee with intense longing toward Shi Feixuan. This was the state of mind that he was incapable of repressing, like a flood about to breach the dike, which very soon would break through the dam guarding his heart C the present moment. He felt like crying. Furthermore, a guilty conscience toward Shi Qingxuan welled up on his heart. Since he already decided to strive to win her over, he should not think about Shi Feixuan anymore. However, he found it difficult to suppress his own feeling. Why did Feixuan choose him to be the Sand Gate Protector of the Law? Did she think of him too highly? How much better it would be if Shi Feixuan was by himself right now, then he could listen to her pleasant-to-hear voice, which was like the sound of nature C exining her reasons, by means of her exquisite Buddhist logic, to interpret the subtle predestined affinity and karma of mankind and the earth that came into being under the pulling force of evil. He did not ask for anything; he only hoped that before she obtained the Way, he could, just like the Cowherd and Weaving Maid in the sky C meet her every once in a while, purely for spiritual contact. Suddenly he remembered Ba Fenghans present moment again, and again he was aware that he was thinking about Shi Feixuan, while also aware of the Xu Ziling, who was having a guilty conscience toward Shi Qingxuan, and this was beyond the thought and the guilty conscience. Xu Ziling suddenly understood; Ba Fenghans xinfa was indeed the supreme gate of enlightenment in self-cultivation. Moreover, he was able to infer that inside his heart, Ba Fenghan must be brimming with contradiction and pain, hence he had no choice but to use the to prescribe the right medicine for an illness [idiom] move to drive away the demon in his heart, so that he could wake up from this dream while he was awake C in life. Thinking to this point, Xu Zilings spirit quickly arose, as if he was pulling out and depart from the present moment, the thought of pain and contradiction was a part of him, but at the same time, it was not part of him. That kind of feeling is subtle and hard to describe; it was both painful and painless. Xu Ziling stood up excitedly, he gazed into the distant, at the city of Luoyang. Dang! Dang! Dang! The bell of the Buddhist Hall was tolling unhurriedly from behind, shaking and rocking the air as if it was an object with a substance. From without any moment,paring it to the present moment, he knew even more clearly that he had made another breakthrough in the cultivation of the martial art way, reaching some kind of spiritual realm that he had never dreamed of. The pressure of the war has tormented him so hard over the past dozen days or so, which caused him to develop a sense of guilt that he had let Shi Feixuan down. But now, he seeded in removing this hindering-heart problem, his spirit and his physical body were one divided into two, and then from two it joined together into one. This was precisely the embodiment of the being and nothing xinfa that heprehended previously. From being into nothing, from nothing into being. Not only he was able to hear the insect buzzing and cicada singing all around him, he also simultaneously enjoyed the spirit-wounded-soul-broken of pained and bewilderment feeling of longing for Shi Feixuan. Xu Zilingughed involuntarily, all worries were swept clean, he was aware that he was taking a step to leave. Unleashing his shenfa, the mother earth was continuously flying backward, crossing over the hillocks and the ins, he flew toward Luoyang. Chapter title: this is literal trantion. Sha Men (sand gate/religious sect) C Buddhist monk (from Sanskrit: Sramana, originally refers to north India). Book 52 6 – Strict Investigation of Undiscovered Traitor

Book 52 Chapter 6 C Strict Investigation of Undiscovered Traitor

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan entered the City of Chenliu, Xuan Yong ordered his people to prepare a banquet of food and wine in the inner hall. Apanying them were Xu Xingzhi, Bu Tianzhi, and Chen Laomou. Xu Xingzhi reported to Kou Zhong the situation of the Shao Shuai Army in passing. He was halfway through his report when he noticed that Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, two men only drank the wine without touching their chopsticks, Shaoshuais tummy is not hungry? he asked in surprise. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, We ate our fill at dusk, how could we be hungry this quickly? As for why Shaoshuai suddenly blurted out that he was hungry just now, I am afraid only he and Laotianye know. Xu Xingzhi, Xuan Yong, and the others you look at me, I look at you, they all felt that something was amiss. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong toasted everybody one more cup, before he smiled and said, I want to ask Xuan Da Jiangjun a question first, which is, how did Xuan Da Jiangjune up with the idea to attack Kaifeng? Ba Fenghan was the first to understand; furthermore, he sensed Kou Zhongs ability in using troops while chatting andughing, without a word or movement that even he was kept in the dark. In fact, when he found out that Xuan Yong was inmand, inwardly Kou Zhong was already suspicious, because he had witnessed it firsthand Li Shijis navy fleet heading for Kaifeng, and was deeply aware that the enemys strength was above, and not below, the Shao Shuai Army in Chenliu. Moreover, the opponent was Li Shiji, no matter how conceited Xuan Yong was, facing the number one fierce general under Li Shiminsmand, he still had to act as if walking on thin ice, with fear and trepidation to guard against the danger of losing his footing, yet he unexpectedly proposed to attack Kaifeng. The only exnation was intelligence error. Kaifeng was only less than half a day by horse from Chenliu, this intelligence error should not have happened. Revealing a puzzled expression, Xuan Yong replied, Kaifengs defending general is Shi Danai, their military strength is around three, four thousand men, plus the navy reinforcement from Luoyangs battle zone, the total military strength is no more than ten thousand men. If we could take advantage of the time when their disposition of troops has not steadied yet, we couldunch surprise attack using the flywheel boats at night to destroy their navy, and then seal off the upper reaches of Kaifeng, cutting its connection with various cities around Ho. With adequate preparations, we have a very high chance to capture the city of Kaifeng, which city defense is weak C within a short period of a bit more than ten days. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Where did the informatione from? Xu Xingzhis expression showed that he was paying attention, while Bu Tianzhi and Chen Laomou still looked at a loss. Xuan Yong began to understand a little; he replied hesitatingly, Naturally from Qifei. Qifei cant possibly have any problem, can he? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Would Shaoshuai like me to undertake the task for you? Xu Xingzhi and the others, none did not have their countenance changed. If Luo Qifei was a traitor, because he was in charge of the entire Shao Shuai Army intelligencework, the implication would be extensive, not only what is true and what is false within the Shao Shuai Army waspletely exposed, it would also bring about extremely serious setback to the Shao Shuai Army, merely trying to find a qualified person to rece him was already a big headache. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I dare to guarantee that Qifei is not the problem. The problem must be a certain link among the men under hismand. Turning to Xuan Yong, he said, Summon Qifei for me. Chen Laomou sprang up and said, Let me get him. Kou Zhong no longer mention this aspect, he chatted andughed with everybody about the wind, flower, snow and moon, trite poetry subject. When Qifei answered the summon and was seated properly, Kou Zhong told them first about transporting the grains to Luoyang, about having their tails cut by the Tang Army, who then pursued and attacked them, and that the enemy even prepared vicious vultures to deal with the falcon C to let everybody know the reason why they suspected that there was a mole within the Shao Shuai Army. Kou Zhongughed and said, It must be that Laotianye still did not want to destroy our Shao Shuai Army; when Old Ba and I were on our way back here, we happened to see the main force of Li Shijis navy, big and small ships, more than two hundred of them, their military strength ought to be around thirty thousand,pared to Qifeis intelligence, the difference is very far, plus themander is Li Shiji. From this, it is clear that Li Shimin thinks so highly of us. Luo Qifeis countenance turned white; leaving his seat, he went down on his knees and spoke with a trembling voice, I wonder if Shaoshuai suspected that Qifei is the mole? Emperor of Heaven above, if I, Luo Qifei, am that kind of despicable, lowly man, let me die without a burial site. Kou Zhong also moved away from his seat to hold him up; heughed aloud and said, If I suspect you, how could I summon you and let you eat together with me at the same table? After taking him by the arm and helped him back to his seat, Kou Zhong walked around the table with his hands behind his back. The other men, except for Xu Xingzhi, everybodys face was gloomy. Evidently they were unable to dispel their doubts toward Luo Qifei, its just that since Kou Zhong asserted that he trusted him, nobody said anything. When Kou Zhong was behind Xu Xingzhis chair, he put both hands on his shoulders and asked, Xingzhi, why didnt you agree with Xiao Yongs proposal to attack Kaifeng? Xu Xingzhi cheerfully replied, Precisely because the situation is suspicious. Based on Li Shimins intelligence and experience, plus he is aware that we station the army in Chenliu, its impossible that he does not have any trick to guard against us, for instance, that we might attack Kaifeng. Once he cut off our retreat path, we are going to meet the bad luck of total defeat of our army. Ba Fenghan pped the table and shouted, Very good! Xu Xiansheng lives up to your reputation as a sage, Ba Fenghan is full of admiration. Now Shaoshuai ought to take the lid off your goblet; what makes you dare to guarantee that Luo Qifei did not betray you? What he asked was exactly the question at the bottom of Xuan Yong and the others heart, only they were afraid to ask. Kou Zhong moved behind Luo Qifeis chair, he stroked his shoulders and said with a smile, On this, would Xingzhi please analyze it for me? Xu Xingzhi calmly said, The key is the Battle of Liangdu Gorge. It shows that Li Zitongs side knew nothing of Yang Gongs five-thousand-man wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly in an ambush], hence he mistakenly thought that Liangdu has be an empty city. Recklessly, he underestimated the enemy and hastily sent his troops toe to attack. As a result, his entire army was nearly wiped out. If Qifei was the traitor, how could Li Zitongmit such a grave mistake? Everybody understood suddenly, none did not admire Xu Xingzhis ability and wisdom. Kou Zhong patted Luo Qifeis shoulder. Returning to his seat, he raised his cup and said, Lets drink for the investigation of the traitor! Chen Laomou raised his cup, but he was still at a loss, Whos the traitor then? he asked. Kou Zhong smiled and said, After drinking this cup, Qifei might give us the answer! Luo Qifeis thin body shook violently, his drink was tasteless, but he forced himself, Glug! to swallow half a cup of wine. Putting down his cup, he dejectedly said, The most possible candidate is the patrol officer of my downstream unit Liu Zhicheng; all the intelligence gathered are coted and screened by him, and then hed submit a report to me, and subsequently I notify Xu Junshi. Ay! I really never expected it; from Pengliang Bang to our Shao Shuai Army now, he has always been my most trustworthy aide. Bu Tianzhi spoke heavily, Zhicheng does not seem to be such a person, could it be someone else? For example, the intelligence gatherers on the front lines could deliberately send fake news back to us. Luo Qifei said, In this regard, I have been very careful. The intelligence gatherers on the front lines are divided into several groups, they might be isted from any other information. The problem might be the officer in charge of the distribution of the information. If Zhicheng has a mind to y ghost, to tamper and forge information, it will be difficult to prove. The people helping him are all the men whom he personally selected. Ay! Its my fault, Shaoshuai, please punish me. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Qifei indeed made a mistake, fortunately you have made enough credit to make up for your mistakes, therefore, just think of it as a lesson learned. And then he spoke with serious expression, I often say that the person who can deceive you must be the one who can make you have confidence in him, and that the person you dont trust cannot deceive you. The murderous aura in Xuan Yongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke with heavy voice, Shaoshuai, please hand this matter over to Shuxia to deal with, I will pull up the undiscovered traitor by the roots, none will be spared. Kou Zhong turned to Ba Fenghan and asked calmly, Lao Ba, what do you think? Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, A spy can be very useful. Since they can send us fake information, naturally they can turn around to provide the enemy with the wrong information. Therefore, Xuan Da Jiangjun must never let your emotions affect your decisions, and thus miss a golden opportunity. Blushing with shame, Xuan Yong replied, Ba Ye is right. Kou Zhong said, Now, we have the intention but consider it without intention. Qifei should know best Liu Zhichengs activities, as well as the aplices who might have been bought by him. Turning to Xuan Yong, he said, This matter must be carried out silently. Xuan Yong, you personally select a few experts who are loyal and reliable, capable and shrewd, and proficient in secret investigation even more, temporarily assign them to work under Qifei, to carry out day and night surveince on Zhicheng, watch him what kind of method he is using to release the information. If we know clearly the method he uses, and we have conclusive proof that we are not using a good man wrongly, we could in turn send the wrong information via him, perhaps we could make Li Shiji suffer big defeat, to reduce his threat on our Shao Shuai State. Otherwise, if we have to deal with the enemy in the dark, while we are in the open, we would have difficult days of facing the enemy in front and behind us. In that case, Xu Xingzhi asked, Would Shaoshuai and Ba Ye still have to rush back to Luoyang per our original n? The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shing, he said, Luoyangs life expectancy is still at least one or two months, within this period, we dont need to worry about it. Ill have Ba Ye go back alone to rendezvous with Ling Shao, and then they will help us to attack Kaifeng. Xuan Yong and the others were stunned; if Kaifengs situation was like Kou Zhong said, based on their strength, they practically did not have the qualifications to attack Kaifeng. Kou Zhong exined one step further, This is called creating an illusion. Liu Zhicheng is doing something that must not be exposed to the light, therefore, he would only send out information concerning matters of great importance, and now well provide the information that he cannot but sending out, so that we have a chance to catch him red-handed, and then well calmly decide what to do with him. Ba Fenghanughed coldly and said, This kind of traitor who betrays his master in his pursuit of glory must be a person who is greedy for life, afraid of death. Under heavy torture, I am not worried that he wont obediently do what we told him to do. The tone of his voice carried some kind of cold, ruthless impression, which made people shiver all over though not cold, moreover, which made people d that they were his friend and not his enemy. Luo Qifei spoke ferociously, If I am guessing correctly, he must have passed on the information to the enemy by way of flying pigeon. Chen Laomouughed and said, Then among the men selected to keep a close watch over him, we must notck a divine archer of one hundred shots, one hundred hits. Kou Zhong said, Very well, its decided then. This time we are extremely lucky, to be able to find out the undiscovered traitor in such a short period of time. Such a big boss in charge of intelligence like him, its like a knife directly in the heart of our Shao Shuai Army, so that we are stabbed to death yet still dont know what went wrong. And then he raised his cup and said with augh, Just consider this as the banquet to see Ba Ye off. When Li Shiji thinks that we fell into his evil scheme and unexpectedly stupid enough to go upstream to attack to the north with the extravagant hope of joining forces with the Dou Army against Ho, that will be the moment we ruthlessly oppress him. Everybody loudly raised their cup and drank the toast; their morale was greatly aroused. No matter how nasty the situation was, Kou Zhong was always able to bring them opportunity to live and to hope. However, after a few days of work, Luoyangs siege situation quickly became more serious. All themanding high elevations were upied, strong defensive wooden forts were established, surrounded by ditches to trap horses, only small ess toe and go remained. Outside the city, deep trenches were dug all around, the widths varied, from a few zhang to several dozen zhang, substantially limiting the chance of the city defenders to either counterstrike or to break out of the siege. Naturally this arrangement did not pose any problem for Xu Ziling. Relying on his superhuman spirited senses, without rm without danger he evaded the patrolling Tang soldiers and sentry stations, called out at the gate and entered the city. Apanied by the old friend Lang Feng, he entered the pce first to have an audience with Wang Shichong and to report the happy letter to him, before going to the northeastern part of the city to see Yang Gongqing. Yang Gongqing was resting. Responsible for guarding the city was Ma Chang. Thetters countenance was anxious, evidently the situation was not good. Outside the city, from the Tang Armys camp, the lights were reaching the sky, while the sound of horses neigh was continuous; nevertheless, it was quiet and peaceful, there was no sign of the siege. Xu Ziling thought that in the attack and defense of the Battle of Luoyang, the Yang Family Army must have suffered significant injuries and deaths, Hows the situation? he asked. Depressing! Ma Chang replied with a sigh, Since Shaoshuai and two Yeer broke the siege to see Dou Jiande, the Tang Army began to halt the siege, they only built ramparts and dug ditches all around outside the city wall. The worst things are those horse trap ditches; if they have enough manpower, they could dig half a li long ditch, making those who watch it bitterly disappointed. Xu Ziling spoke in astonishment, Turns out you are worried about those horse trap pits. Ma Chang spoke angrily, I already advocated we go out to attack, using fast to strike the slow, so that the Tang Army are unable to dig trenches everywhere. The enemy is scattered and we are concentrated, plus Li Shimin would not be able to guess from which gate we are going to attack, the initiative is in our hands. Too bad Wang Shichongs guts is as small as a mouse. Remembering the rtionship with the former master, Yang Gong was unwilling to force him, so that we sit and waste a good opportunity. Li Shimins view is very urate; if Shaoshuai were here, Li Shimin definitely would not dare to be so presumptuous. Once again Xu Ziling was acquainted with Ma Changs insight and courage, which was definitely not below Xuan Yongs or Yang Gongqings, he was certainly not inferior in any aspects. Comforting him, he said, Dou Jiande promised to send troops to help, we only have to defend Luoyang steadily to pin down the Tang Armys main forces in here. Ma Chang cast his gaze toward the Luo River, which flowed from Luoyang to the east; he could faintly see about two li away the fluttering sail of a boat rounding the river bend. He spoke in heavy voice, Thesest couple of days, the House of Tangs navy goes back and forth quite often, evidently Li Shimin is moving an army and sending a general, to deal with the Xia Army crossing the river toe to attack; furthermore, they want to intercept our Shao Shuai Army going up north. From this, we knew that Shaoshuai seeded in persuading Dou Jiande. Now the Xia Army is our only hope; with Shaoshuai helping him to work out a strategy and to employ a tactic, as long as they can charge and break through the enemy lines, there is hope that Luoyangs siege will be resolved. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Shaoshuai will not participate in the Xia Armys operation. His countenance changed, Ma Chang blurted out, How could Shaoshuai made such a miscalction? Xu Ziling exined Kou Zhongs situation, not because Kou Zhong miscalcted at all, but because he had no alternative. Ma Chang frankly said, I, Ma Chang have been following Yang Gongs uprising since I was sixteen. Military campaigns, big and small, I have been in hundreds of them, but I have never seen anybody using troops more stable and more ruthless than Li Shimin. In the world, I am afraid only Shaoshuai canpete with him. If he is reced by Dou Jiande, since his ability and wisdom are inferior, plus Li Shimin has Ho with its rugged, providing a natural barrier to invasion C defense, I no longer have any delusion toward Dou Army. Does Ma Jiangjun have any proposal? Xu Ziling asked. Smiling bitterly, Ma Chang said, What I am most worried now is the problem of morale. Currently we are like being trapped in a big prison called the City of Luoyang. The supply route has beenpletely cut off, we are at the end of our rope, can only passively waiting for other people toe to save us. However, the helping army is slow toe, while we do not dare to ck off even for half a moment. This is the most depressing thing. I would rather the enemye to attack day and night, that would be a bit more interesting. Xu Ziling said, Our rations and fodder can still support us for one or two months, why should there be any problem with morale? Lowering his voice, Ma Chang replied, The problem is in our Shao Shuai Army; the soldiers in Wang Shichongs Zheng Army all grew up and have their family in Luoyang. In order to defend their homes, they can make any sacrifice and persevere to the end. Our Shao Shuai Army is in different kind of situation, we are acting purely as guests, if we fight and cannot win, we could break out the siege and escape back to Liangdu, however, currently Li Shimin cut off all escape route, we are forced to live or die together with Luoyang, even those with the strongest willpower still find it difficult to endure. Were it not for Shaoshuais nearly god-like position in our Shao Shuai Armys heart, I am afraid every night someone would have climbed over the wall and escaped. Even worse is that Li Shimin has always been benevolent to any surrendering people. As long as they abandon their weapon and surrender outside the city, I can guarantee that they will be able to live. Now Xu Ye should understand the reason why I am worried. Xu Ziling finally understood. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he spoke decisively, If we could capture one or two ramparts or strongholds outside the city, would it be helpful to the troops morale? Emotionally moved, Ma Chang said, That will definitely greatly arouse the morale, it shows that we have the strength to break out the siege, and still have energy left over to advancing, we can attack, retreating, we can defend. Xu Ziling said, Just now I entered the city from the south side, I know the lookout posts and army camps on that side like the back of my hand, how about we set our hands on that side? Hesitating, Ma Chang said, Shall we discuss it with Yang Gong tomorrow morning, or perhaps wait for Shaoshuai toe back before making decision? Xu Ziling analyzed, The heart is a very strange thing, it might be very easy to influence, just like a flock of sheep on the open country, when a wolf appears, fear will spread out, as soon as an opportunity to flee appears, nobody can stop them. Leave Wang Shichong and Yang Gongqing to me, as for the details of the entire operation, Ill leave it to your brains. Ma Changs pair of eyes emitted a determined look, he nodded and said, Xu Ye thinks so highly of me, Ma Chang, I, Ma Chang, will definitely not let Xu Ye down. No one in the world did not know that Xu Zilings ability and wisdom was not inferior to Kou Zhongs; furthermore, he was Kou Zhongs closest brother, so that it was hard to differentiate between elder and younger brother [idiom]. What he said was equivalent to what Kou Zhong himself said. Since Ma Chang obtained his support, he could have a free hand in his action, to put the importantrge-scale project inside his bosom on disy. What should we do now? Xu Ziling asked. Taking a deep breath, Ma Chang said, Xu Ye, please dont me me for overstepping my boundary, I would like to ask Xu Ye to be a scout outside the city, while it is still three sichen before daybreak, I want to ascertain what is true and what is false in the Tang Armys deployment and military power distribution, so that I could draw a simple yet urate detailed map. I will also immediately order my men to prepare carts to fill the ditches. These carts are four-wheeled big carts, the roof is made of huge wooden log, covered by raw cowhide, seventy soldiers can hide underneath, to propel the big cart forward. It could cover the troops transporting dirt to fill the trenches. There arerge quantities of wood in the city, hence we wont have any problem in term of materials. Humph! How could a needle have two sharp ends? The Tang peoples horse-trap ditches are precisely our best cover. Seeing him bestirring himself, which washed away the previously copsing mood, Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Ma Jiangjun need not stand on ceremony, I will immediately leave to be Jiangjuns little scout. Feeling uneasy for inconveniencing him, Ma Chang said, I ampelled by circumstances. Within the City of Luoyang, only Xu Ye has the ability and the skill; even if you are being found, you can easily get away. Xu Ziling said, Ma Jiangjun has the full n in mind, if you can exin the outline, it would be very helpful for me since when doing the reconnaissance work, I can pay particr attention to certain things. Ma Chang cast his gaze outside the city, his face was showing confident expression, he spoke heavily, Defending a city without seizing any stronghold is like guarding to the death and waiting until we perish. All city defense must continuously organize the military strength, attacking out of the city, and carrying out a sudden and rapid attack to the besieging troops. Within the defense, the offensive part is also to be carried out, using battle in ce of defense. The Art of War has a saying, When the equipment is prepared in the city, defense is already achieved. When using the extraordinary to deceive, the battle is used in ce of defense, using strike to break the siege. Now Li Shimin is leading the army to the east to defend Ho against the Dou Army, staying behind to take care of things is naturally Li Yuanji. We are going to use battle in ce of defense, using strike to break the siege; when the enemys disposition of troops is in chaos, when they are terribly busy and not knowing which ce to be defended, we rapidly seize the enemys camp and snatch away their stronghold. In the past, during the Three Kingdoms period, the Wei general Zhang Liao with seven thousand men guarding Hefei, he was besieged by Sun Quan with his ten thousand men. Zhang Liao followed Cao Caos directive to break the enemys flourishing momentum in order to pacify the heart of the crowd, afterwards they could defend. With more than eight hundred men he formed a suicide squad, suddenly opened the city gate to charge against Sun Quan, seizing the Wu peoples air, while the Wei soldiers morale was greatly aroused. After besieging the city for more than a dozen days, Sun Quan knew that the city could not be captured, finally he withdrew his troops. This is precisely myprehensive n; I am asking Xu Ye to bestow your instruction. At this point Xu Ziling no longer had even half a strand of doubt toward Ma Changs qualifications to assume personal responsibility. Patting his shoulder, he said with augh, Ma Jiangjun, go ahead and proceed ording to the n, tomorrow morning well talk some more during breakfast. Book 52 7 – Former Dust, Past Events

Book 52 Chapter 7 C Former Dust, Past Events

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong personally sent Ba Fenghan off on his journey, they hastened along the river for nearly ten miles when Ba Fenghan came to a halt and said, I am going to cross the river here, you need to go back to deal with a lot of things, no need to see me off! Kou Zhong focused his attention to survey the situation on both shores. Upon seeing this, Ba Fenghanughed and said, Dont forget how I have lived my life in the past, not to mention I am naturally sensible from the beginning, I have always guarded against other people. Rest assured! No one can stop me from going to Luoyang, including Bi Xuan. There was never a moment when I was so confident in myself. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If I really dont feel at ease, I am going to leave everything to apany you to Luoyang. That night when you dealt with Shimin, Yuanji, and a group of the House of Tangs martial art masters, whether in terms of strategy and skill, it was all exquisite and brilliant beyondpare. Evidently your hundred-day self-cultivation in the desert was not in vain. Ba Fenghan said, That hundred days were cultivation in secret, going to Luoyang is to put it in practice. The two are indispensable. After a short pause, he said, How about we sit down and talk a little bit? Kou Zhongughed and said, That is what I seek but fail to get. These past few days we have been rushing about for all kinds of troublesome matters, there was very little time to rx or to buy time to rest, practically there was no time to ask you, LaoGe about Badaier. Ba Fenghan was leading him toward a big rock by the shore to sit down,ughing involuntarily, he said, You, this kid, are still unwilling to give up, right now I dont want, furthermore, I am unwilling C to mention anything about her. Perhaps one day I might tell you everything, but definitely not tonight. Look! The starry sky tonight is so deep and beautiful. Whenever I look at the boundless night sky, I always feel that life shouldnt have any limitation. No matter how mysterious our thought is,pared to the mystery of the starry sky, its still likeparing small wizard and big wizard. Kou Zhong followed his example to look up at the stars, he said in agreement, Mankind has one big disadvantage, which is, we can get used to any mysterious, unusual, marvelous things. The starry sky is the best example. A lot of time we dont feel like raising our head up to give it a nce. Ba Fenghan was silent for half a day. Suddenly he sighed and said, Are you really ready to live and die with Luoyang? Kou Zhong was slightly startled; looking at him, he said with a frown, Do you really think that Dou Jiande has no chance at all? Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, I know nothing about Dou Jiande, the only thing I know is that he had never met a genuinely formidable opponent. Xu Yuang and Meng Haigong are far inferior to Li Mi, Yuwen Huaji, Xue Ju, or even Liu Wuzhou at their peak. Dou Jiande was able to subdue them, it was not a proof that he has any ability. But Li Shimin is amander-in-chief who has never met his match. The high and low are clearly distinguished. Unless we are blind, we will know that Dou Jiande certainly has no luck. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, How I wish I could find a strong basis to refute your analysis, too bad I have the heart but not the power. I am willing to guard Luoyang, it is to buy time for my Shao Shuai army, not to throw my life in for Wang Shichong, this kind despicable lowly man. Ba Fenghan said, Since we have identical view on the results of the Tang-Xia confrontation, then this matter can be handled better. After Li Shimin defeat Dou Army, he will certainly do all he can to destroy your young Shao Shuai Army, and the more sinister method is to have you, Shaoshuai lose your life in Luoyang, and wont return to Pengliang forever. At that time, Shao Shuai Army will copse without fighting, Song Que can only retreat back to Lingnan in sorrow, and let the Tang Army proim themselves hegemon over the world. Therefore, you must reserve a retreat route for yourself, otherwise, regret will be toote. Kou Zhong contemted for a moment, he said, Whether this time Dou Jiande send his troops to attack the Tang solely for his own benefit, or whether he is doing it for the sake of our friendship, I must bear the responsibility; I simply cannot just look at him passing into oblivion. As long as I can use false information to deal a devastating setback toward Li Shiji, and to dy the danger facing Chenliu, I will make an attempt to pull Li Shimins hind leg. I have several ideas, but none has more than 50% chance of sess. I have been thinking about this until my head spins. Ba Fenghan said, Please forgive Xiongdi for being blunt; although you feel responsible for Dou Jiandeing to help, it is actually an excessive tendency to clemency [idiom: soft-hearted. This definition is from the dictionary; actually, the literal trantion is very sexist, it basically says benevolence of women]. In current situation, Dou Jiande has no other choice. Just look at how he stations his troops in Wuzhi; furthermore, he told you that he could cross the river within three days, evidently he has adequate preparation, he already has the intention to attack the Tang Army. If he rushed over and seized Luoyang first, do you think he will be courteous to you? Anyone who wants to be emperor is a man who, follow me you are prosperous, against me you perish. Even if he was originally not that kind of person, but after tasting the taste of holding the supreme power, it is difficult to revert to the former way. You, Kou Zhong is now the head of the Shao Shuai Army, in everything, you can no longer rely on your own likes and dislikes, you must give thought to the overall situation. One day Li Shiji is still stationing his army in Kaifeng, one day the waterway and the Great River between Ho and Luoyang will still be under the control of the Tang army. Your Shao Shuai Army wants to pull Li Shimins hind legs, not only it is a vain attempt, it is also a wishful thinking, just like a praying mantis wanting to block a cart with both arms. I am sure you dont like to hear these words, but I simply have to tell you this. On the battlefield, only the ruthless will be able to survive. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Your, LaoGes every word is a gem of wisdom, thest sentence is the golden rule of the battlefield even more, how could I not listen and obey? You, LaoGe still have other suggestion? Ba Fenghan said, Attacking a city, defending a city, determining victory on the battlefield, you are a lot more adept than me. Naturally its up to you to find a way. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Lao Ba, your words are irresolute like stern rebukeing right into my face [dictionary says: practice in which a novice monk is shouted at or hit with a stick with the purpose of bringing about instant awakening (in Buddhism)], so my whole person sobers up. Battlefield has battlefield rules, its called a king if sessful, called a bandit is defeated. This is what Li kid personally said to me, no wonder he has been so sessful, because he did not have the excessive tendency to clemency. On the battlefield, I dont care if he is the Tianwang Laozi [king of heaven, the old man], if he is not a friend, then he is the enemy. His Niangs! Speaking about ruthlessness, Ba Fenghan said, Li Shimin and the others are no match for us, Tujue people. Dont look at how Tuli calls you Xiong [brother, older or in general] and speaks about Di [brother, younger]; once there is a conflict of interest, he definitely wont make you an exception. Kou Zhong said, I wonder if I could be so bold as to ask you, LaoGe a question: why are you willing to turn your head around to be together with us and deal with your own nsmen? Ba Fenghan cast his gaze to the vast canal flowing under his feet; it was quite half a dayter that he spoke heavily, In the past, when I had not really understood human affairs yet, probably around nine or ten years old, I was secretly in love with a beautiful little girl in our n, she was a little older than me; among the children of our n, she was very popr, she was so good to everybody, she was the leader of the girls. Kou Zhong said, You and I both are precocious; when I was eight, I wanted to take a peek of other peoples Guniang [girl, young woman, daughter] taking a bath, but each time I only provoked others toe to yell at me and beat me soundly; I never sessfully peeped. Ba Fenghan spoke in displeasure, My first love was not dirty like yours. I just looked at her, listened to her speaking, and I was perfectly contented. Because my family was ughtered by the Wolf Army at Gaochang, I was like a little beggar within this horse thiefmunity, I could only use firewood as a weapon to train martial art in secret. In front of her, I felt so inferior even more that I did not dare to speak to her. Kou Zhong said, No wonder we are like birds of a feather [lit. smelled the same way], turns out we all suffer enough from humiliating childhood. As if he did not hear him at all, Ba Fenghan was fully immersed in painful and touching memories. His pair of eyes emitted reminiscing expression, he slowly spoke in deep and low voice, One day, it was drizzling in the valley and the in, the children of the n were ying a game simr to your army catching thief. In the vast prairie, she led a group of little girls, chasing a boy, approximately of the same age as me, who was bigger, taller and more good looking than me. I could only hide on the side, stealing a nce at her. In my heart I was so jealous that I want to shed blood. That feeling, I still cannot forget even until today. That feeling is definitely extremely hard to take, Kou Zhong spoke sympathetically. Ba Fenghan went on, Suddenly she discovered me hiding within the underbrush; she dashed in front of me, stood with arms akimbo, and spoke angrily, What are you doing here? When speaking thest sentence, he used Tujuenguage; obviously this phrase has been carved in his bones and engraved in his heart, naturally he retold it in Tujuenguage, exactly like she spoke it at that time. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, She did not seem to be very nice to you. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, My first reaction was just like yours, I was deeply hurt. But then she waved her arms to call the other girls and yelled, Well catch this kid! And then she and the entire group of girls came to chase me. So I ran, while I was so happy that I wanted to cry. Since my family bankrupt and the people dead [idiom: ruined and orphaned], I have never been happier than that moment. It was an ordinary, but a very moving story, Kou Zhongmented, And then what happened between you and that girl? Nothing happened, Ba Fenghan replied, Three dayster, the Wolf Army came. In the chaos, everybody scattered in all directions to flee for our lives. After the fact, I returned to our camp, and found her dead body, naked. From that day on, I made up my mind to set myself against the Wolf Army. Kou Zhong was speechless, Even a ten-year-old girl, they did not let her off? Are they human? he said. Ba Fenghan said, Now you should understand why I kidnapped Badaier, and why I broke up with her. He then patted him on the shoulder and said, Ill see you again in Luoyang. He sprang up and threw himself into the rolling-and-flowing-continuously river. Inside the conference room of the general mansion C Yang Gongqings temporary residence located in the southeast part of the city, Xu Ziling spread out the map, which he spent half a night of effort to survey, inspect, and drew C on the table. He went one step further by exining it to Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang, saying, Li Shiminsmander banner was reced by Li Yuanjis; Li Shimin should not be outside the city. The besieging army should be under Li Yuanjismand. The main force army is concentrated on the east side, about five li from Luoyang, located on a hilly hignd between the Luo River and the Cao Canal. There are three army camps made of wood and stone, built in a hurry, next to the camps are temporary piers for the navy ships to moor, there are also four wooden bridge spanning across the water, linking both sides of the river, tightly gripping the throat of the two river courses. The Luo River and the Cao Canal flowed out of Luoyang in parallel to the east, about half a li apart, they were the major waterways leading to the Great River. The Tang Army set up theirmand headquarters here, it showed their determination to cut off the passageway between Luoyang and Ho, so that the Zheng Army could not link up with the Xia Army. Xu Ziling continued in details, There are more than eighteen other strongholds with enough scale surrounding the City of Luoyang, most are upying strategic hilly hignds, easy to defend, difficult to attack, equipped with moats and trenches; they indeed have the momentum to trap Luoyang to the death. Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang had their attention focused on the distribution of the camps and trenches on the map; the former sighed and said, Li Shimin is indeed an out-of-the-world talent in troops deployment, anybody knows that his method of defending a city is unparalleled in the world, who could have thought that his method of besieging a city is also this outstanding? It does not matter from which gate we are going out to attack, due to the trenches and moats are limiting the path we march the army, we can only follow a circuitous Z-shaped route [orig. ֮ character], and must go through the opponents camps and guarded areas. The Tang Army can both easily march out to strike back, and can hold fast to the solid stronghold, waiting for friendly forces toe to help. Ma Chang pointed to a point south of the City of Luoyang and said, South of the city is open in area, four camps but only one is located on the hignd, therefore, the trenches are particrly many. If we could fill two trenches, we could take these two wooden camps on the tnd, then without attack, this camp built on the hill will be in chaos; we will be able to open ess through the blockade in the south. Frowning, Yang Gongqing said, Filling the trenches is easy, attacking the camps is difficult. These three camps military strength put together will be up to twenty thousand men, along the outer edge, each camp has eight arrow towers, rising high to four zhang into the air, surrounded but deep trenches. The three camps correspond to each other. Even if our whole army came out, I am afraid we will still be unable to capture any one of the camps. Particrly disconcerting is the Tang Army in the other camps will get wind ande to help, they could cut off our retreat path, and then our army could easily encounter the misfortune of total defeat of an army. Ma Chang said, If there was Li Shimin keeping watch outside the city, we should wait for Shaoshuai toe back before making any n, fortunately, the one outside the city now is the rejoicing-in-grandiose-deeds, eager-to-redeem-his-lost-reputation while making-vain-attempt-to-surpass-Li-Shimins Li Yuanji. This is another matter altogether. I dare say that before he left, Li Shimin already gave strict order to forbid Li Yuanji from taking the initiative to besiege the city. We must provoke Li Yuanjis desire to go out to battle, to force him to besiege the city, to put his disposition of troops in chaos first, to tire out his troops. And then when his disposition of troops is in chaos and his soldiers weary, we seize the opportunity to break the siege. At that time Shaoshuai should be back already! With Shaoshuai inmand, what is there for Yang Gong to be afraid of? Yang Gongqing asked Xu Ziling, What is Zilings opinion? Xu Ziling replied, Our greatest advantage is the city walls are solid, the walls are thick, the city defenses equipment is adequate and the formidable power is astonishing. It does not matter if the enemys military strength is several-folds above ours, due to we are concentrated and the enemy is scattered, the initiative is firmly in our hands. For this reason, I am in favor of Ma Jiangjuns strategy of throwing the enemys disposition of troops is chaos and tiring their soldiers, day and night without a break we fill the trenches and cross over the moats, continuouslying out from each gate to attack, or sending several units to go out at the same time, to make it difficult for Li Yuanji to mind both his head and his tail simultaneously. This way, not only we can boost morale and reduce the fear toward the Tang Army, we could even break the siege and go out, to go to Ho to join forces with the Dou Army. Yang Gongqing finally agreed. Rising to his full height, he said, Very well! Well do it ording to what you said. I will immediately go into the pce to see Wang Shichong. If he dares not to agree, we will part ways and go home. When Liu Zhicheng was brought into Chenlius Zongguan Mansions inner hall, the first impression in Kou Zhongs mind was that he was weak in character and might be without any restrain in terms of female charms. After traveling extensively over the past many years, seeing all kinds of men all over the world, based on his ability and wisdom, he had cultivated some kind of skill in observing people. Liu Zhichengs build and appearance was out of the ordinary, his clothes were tastefully chosen, about thirty years old, but the corners of his eyes were already full of crows feet. Before speaking, his smile appeared first, the corner of his mouth carried the springtime; precisely the style of someone who considered himself distinguished and aplished, the appearance of spoiled-demon schr who cannot withstand the lure of female charms. When this kind of man was pleased with himself, he would be very happy to forget his form, when frustrated, he might panic, frightened, and be at a loss. Just by listening to his footsteps, Kou Zhong knew that he had his thoughts in a whirl, like a thiefcking in confidence, losing his mind. When he saw that waiting for him in the inner hall were unexpectedly Kou Zhong, Luo Qifei, Xu Xingzhi, and Xuan Yong, four big shots of the Shao Shuai Army, his heart was thumping so hard that even Kou Zhong could hear it very clearly from a zhang away. Kou Zhong waved his hand to order the men who escorted Liu Zhicheng in to withdraw from the inner hall, before he spoke indifferently, Zicheng, sit down! Liu Zhicheng hung his head down, afraid to meet Kou Zhongs prating gaze; saluting respectfully, he said, Xiaoren can just stand right here, Shaoshuai, please bestow your instruction. Bang! Luo Qifeis pped the table with his palm, he shouted, Shaoshuai bestowed you a seat means he is bestowing you a seat. Immediately sit down for me. Liu Zhichengs entire body shook severely, his face turned to the color of the earth, trembling all over, he sat down on the other side of the four men with fear and trepidation. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Zhicheng, your handwriting is indeed not bad, the calligraphic style is like flying dragon, dancing phoenix, you are worthy to be an erudite schr, no wonder Qifei entrusts you with heavy responsibility. Xuan Yong took out a roll of small notes, which he spread out on the table. Xu Xingzhi then use paper weight to keep it down on the table. The small strips of paper were densely packed with small characters the size of a flys head, the content was all about the situation after Kou Zhongs arrival in Chenliu. Liu Zhicheng took a furtive look, immediately his countenance changed dramatically, rolling and tumbling down by the chair, he sank to his knees, his body trembling all over, he said, Xiaoren deserves to die! Xiaoren deserves to die! Shaoshuai, spare my life! Luo Qifei stood up suddenly, pointing his halberd-fingers, he scolded, These notes were taken from the carrier pigeon you released. You are worse than a beast, when did I, Luo Qifei ever treat you meagerly? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Qifei, please calm down, Zhicheng already admitted it, saving us great effort in torturing and serving him, so it can be considered as a merit. If in the future he is willing to be honestly making up for his error, plus since he has not really caused our Army any considerable damage, we ought to use discretion and be lenient in dealing with the offender. Liu Zhicheng hurriedly begged, Shaoshuai please have mercy! Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Get back to your seat for me. Shaking and trembling, Liu Zhicheng struggled to crawl up; like a puddle of mud, he squeezed himself back into the chair, panic-stricken tears were gushing out of his eyes, his guts trembling, his heart rmed, he hung his head low, as if he suddenly aged more than ten years. Xuan Yong sighed and said, If you knew it will end up like this, why did you do it in the first ce? Besides, no one forced you to join our Shao Shuai Army. Liu Zhicheng whimpered, Xiaoren knows I did wrong! Shaoshuai have mercy! Kou Zhong waited until he calmed down a bit, and then he got straight to the point, What benefit did Xiang Yushan give you? Everybody was stunned. Shaken, Liu Zhicheng raised his head. After meeting Kou Zhongs gaze, like he was struck by lightning, he looked down again, and then with shaking voice he said, How did Shaoshuai ... ay! I ... Luo Qifei roared, Shaoshuai asked what benefit Xiang Yushan gave you? You havent owned up to the facts yet? Inwardly Kou Zhong was delighted, his remark was purely spective, he did not have any confidence in his own guess. But now, naturally he knew that he had hit the target with a single shot [idiom]. It should be noted that Liu Zhicheng was originally Pengliang Bangs people, and previously Xiang Yushan has been moving about in Pengliang, the Xiang Family even had their base camp in Pengliang, therefore, Xiang Yushan, who operated casino and pleasure houses C had contact with dissolute men like Liu Zhicheng. Moreover, Xiang Yushan was deeply aware of the weakness of Liu Zhichengs character, by employing some conspiracy technique, naturally it was easy to buy him. ck! ck! ck! ck! Liu Zhichengs teeth chattered, he was unable to utter even half a sentence. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Xiang Yushan could be considered an old friend; running into me, Kou Zhong, when did he ever not suffer losses? I give you half a sichen to think clearly. One, you honestly and sincerely cooperate with me, then I will take everything upon myself on your behalf, any problem can be solved for you; or two, I will hand you over to the Ministry of Justice to be disciplined. Treason is a major crime, it is not aughing matter at all. Guards! Take him out and watch him for me! The warrior guarding outside the door responded and came in, they hustled Liu Zhicheng, whose legs had turned into jelly C away. Luo Qifei irately said, Why is Shaoshuai so lenient toward this kind of despicable crafty viin? I am not afraid he wont talk. Kou Zhong smiled and said, To catch a big fish, naturally we must spend a bit of effort. Ha! Xiang Yushan indeed has some skills, he knew how to set his hand from the inside to topple our Army. Knitting his brows, Xu Xingzhi said, How could Xiang Yushan have any connection with the Tang Army? Kou Zhong said, No need to take trouble to think about this matter; right now there are two things that we should think first: one, how to exploit Liu Zhicheng to release fake intelligence, so that Li Shiji will be duped, two, if Dou Jiandes army is defeated, how are we going to deal with the aftermath. Hearing that, everybody felt like their heart was sinking like a piece of lead. Even though they had sessfully transported grains to Luoyang, and they had convinced Dou Jiande to help Luo[yang], but Shao Shuai Army was still in absolute disadvantageous position to struggle for their survival. The road ahead was vast and obscure, no one could maintain an optimistic state of mind. Kou Zhong rolled up the note, handed it to Luo Qifei, and said with augh, Fortunately, Qifei useds to catch the pigeons, we now can send the original pigeon to deliver the note. I want to have a good sleep, wake me up at dusk; you all will apany me for dinner. Chapter title: In Buddhism, former dust refers to the impurity contacted previously in the sentient world. Book 52 8 – The Battle of Luonan

Book 52 Chapter 8 C The Battle of Luonan

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Twenty carts, which could block the enemys arrows and darts, while providing cover for their own archers, which were nicknamed the wooden donkey cart by the soldiers, were lining up the public square inside the south Changxia [summer forever] Gate, waiting for theing of the night. This kind of war vehicle was shaped like a trailer with wheels, the top was like a ˡ [man] character, covered with pre-treated raw cowhide to make it hard and fire-resistant, so that stone-throwing machines could not do anything to it. Additionally, there were over a hundred toad carts, which, actually were ordinary hand-operated wheelbarrows to transport goods. What made them special was that these carts were fitted with boards to protect the soldiers pushing the carts against arrows. The carts were loaded with mud and stones, which they could directly push into the trenches, and thus substantially increasing the speed in filling the trench. The organized civilians continuously delivered sand, rocks, and dirt bags to the Changxia Gate and piled them up on both sides to make several small hills, waiting for the time of the operation where the warriors would use the wooden donkey carts as cover, to transport the bags outside the city to fill the trenches. The machines with the most destructive power were still the ten eight-crossbow machines and the five heavy stone throwers, which were brought over from the top of the city walls. This batch of superbat gears, as long as they could cross over the trenches, would have huge destructive power against the enemys wooden forts. Nine thousand fighters were lined up in the public square, divided into three teams. Each team had one thousandnce-and-shield-wielders, fifteen hundred archers, and five hundred cavalrymen. Everybody was full of hope in this attack, hence the morale was high, they were waiting with stored-up momentum. In their hearts, Xu Ziling was like a substitute for Kou Zhong, an unequalled symbol. Wang Shichong, Yang Gongqing, Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, Ma Chang, Duan Da, Shan Xiongxin, Bing Yuancheng, Ba Yegang, Song Mengqiu and Xu Ziling were congregating on the Changxia city gate tower, watching for the movement of the enemy forces outside the city from the distance. Other than the army camp directly facing the south gate about a li away, which was built on high elevation on the small hill, there were two army camps on its left and right, built on the t ground, relying only on deep trenches and wooden fence for defense. However, if they could not capture the hignd camp first, the hignd camp might send the enemy troops in surprise attack, then there would easily be a danger of being defeated and dispersed. Wang Xuanying sighed and said, If we had known earlier, these hills could be shoveled to the ground first, then tonights battle would be much easier. Perhaps because he was still discontented over the loss of Ho to this day, Wang Shichong frowned and scolded him, Whats the use of thatment? Think of ways to capture these three camps, that is a proactive attitude. Wang Xuanying had no choice but to keep his mouth shut. This moment Lang Feng came to report that on the north side, the Anxi [peace and happiness] Gate, on the east side, the Shangdong [upper east] Gate, and the Jianchun [building springtime] Gate, the assault teams were ready. These three units had three thousand men each, their equipment was identical to the troops stationed at the Changxia Gate, the main assault force. Only their scale was about a third of the main force; Their objective was containment in nature. Yang Gongqing said, We are not in a hurry to seize the camp and kill the enemy, our tactic is to weary the troops, to put their troop disposition in chaos. None of the generals did not ept the order and agreed. Filling the trenches was the first step. They would crush the enemy fighting back if necessary, and guard the filled trenches. Spanning across two thousand paces outside the Changxia Gate were twoyers of deep trenches, reaching up to two li long, separated by approximately a hundred zhang distance, each one was two zhang wide, one zhang deep. The secondyer of trench was not continuous at all, but there were gaps about a zhang or so wide, which would enable the enemy to cross to the other side of the trench. On the outside perimeter behind the trenches, there were twelve three-zhang high wooden arrow towers, around each tower were sand and dirt bags piled as high as a man, the Tang soldiers took turns to guard behind the sand and dirt bags day and night. With the deployment of stone-throwing machines and heavy arrow machines, it became a solid point of defense,bined with the three camps ability to be each others reinforcements, in term of defense, it was indeed impossible to fault. Four of the arrow towers were located at both ends of the long trench, two at each end, surrounded by ring-shaped short trenches to protect them from all sides, the exit is located due south, corresponding inseparably close with the left and right, two camps. The three gates on Luoyangs south side, the Changxia, Dingding and Houzais external ess roads were heavily sealed off by the trenches and the battle towers. Under the illumination of the red sinking sun, they could see frequent activities in the vicinity of the enemys camp, cavalry and infantry took turns patrolling the perimeter. The Yi River, flowing out of Luoyang, was locked up by the enemy using sharp wooden stakes. Behind the blockade line, on the high ces along the river bank were arrow towers and stone throwers. Inside and outside the city, the air was thick with war-could-happen-any-moment atmosphere. Wang Shichong asked, Ziling, what is your thought this moment? Xu Ziling, who was standing by Wang Shichongs side, was watching the enemys high camp, which was thergest in scale C with rapt attention, he calmly replied, The banner flying at the camps gate has a Lu character on it, which opponents general does it represent? Shan Xiongxin answered, That should be Li Yuanjis trusted aide, Great General Lu June. This man is a famous valiant general in the Tang Army, most adept in charging and breaking through the enemy lines, during the attack of Guanzhong, he established great merit. This time he ising to the east with Li Yuanji, he is the Zongguan [manager] of the marching Yuanjis army. Li Yuanji dispatched him to stand guard on the south side, from this, we can see that he attaches importance to this battlefront. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Tonight we will fill only the firstyer of trench, and then copy them by using sand and dirt bags formation to hold fast to the secondyer of trench to resist the enemys army. As long as we could firmly defend the passage between the two trenches, the enemy will be helpless against it. I wonder if Ma Jiangjun has any wise opinion? Ma Chang made some modest remarks first before saying, On our left we have the natural barrier of the Yi River, hence we only need to deal with the enemying to attack from the front. The enemy mighte to attack along the trenches on the right, we could then deploy a thousand-man cavalry from each of the Houzai and Dingding Gates, using the cavalry from Houzai Gate to cut the attacking troops, and the cavalry from Dingding Gate to slice across the middle. The filling-the-trench armys fifteen hundred men canunch frontal counterattack. This way, the strategy is absolutely safe. Everybody nodded and gave their approval. Wang Shichong also thought that there should be no problem. He said, Just ording to gentlemens proposal, after nightfall we will start the offensive to give Li Yuanji a bit of color. Everybody agreed. The morale was high. Since the Tang Army besieged the city, it was only this moment that the various generals under Wang Shichongsmand began toe back to life. Xu Ziling felt even more that his decision to stay in Luoyang was the right thing to do, otherwise, if Luoyang fell, everything would be finished. The banquet was attended by Xu Xingzhi, Chen Changlin, Xuan Yong, Luo Qifei, Bu Tianzhi, Chen Laomou, and Ren Meimei, who has just rushed over from Liangdu. After three rounds of wine, Luo Qifei was the first to give report to him about Liu Zhicheng, saying, That kid, because he could not resist the lure of a popr pleasure house prostitute C was bewitched by her. This woman is extravagant, plus she loves to hang around the casino, implicating him that he racked up a mountain of debt. One of Xiang Yushans man entered in by exploiting a weak spot, by using arge sum of money to buy him. Furthermore, he stated that our armysst days areing, if he served Xiang Yushan, riches and honor in the future will be endless, thereupon he is made a ghost by the crafty scoundrel. [Note: dictionary says the ghost was ghost of someone devoured by a tiger who helps the tiger devour others.] Letting out his weirdughter, Chen Laomou said, Clearly it was the trap setup by Xiang Yushan himself. Beautiful women plus money and valuables, really not many people can resist the temptation. Luo Qifei said, That kid confessed that upon seeing how we seized total victory in the Battle of Liangdu Gorge, he felt deep regret, but he was under threat, hence he had no choice but to harden his scalp to continue. This matter was due to my improper way of employing people. Shaoshuai, please punish me, otherwise Qifei will find it difficult to feel peace in my heart. Kou Zhong calmly said, Its not that you are employing people improperly, rather, there are not many people avable, so you have no choice but to shuffle the previous ordinary members of Pengliang Bang to respond to an emergency. This means we have to carry out innovation, but this matter is urgent, and if there is any doubt in the future, we can consult with Xu Junshi and listen to his views. Ren Meimei spoke with serious expression, Xiang kid knows us too well, plus in Pengliang, the remnants of his defeated clique are still many, fortunately, I also know him like the back of my hand. Leave this matter to me, I guarantee that we can get rid of Xiang kids people, and shut down all pleasure houses and gambling establishments that have rtionship with Xiang kid. Xu Xingzhi said, Xiang Family has entrenched themselves in Pengliang for many years, their influence is deep-rooted, moreover, it is closely rted to peoples livelihood. Therefore, although this matter is imperative, we must follow the prescribed order to keep the working routine [idiom], our action cannot be too drastic. After agreeing, Kou Zhong asked Luo Qifei, Who is the person who coerce Liu Zhicheng? Luo Qifei replied, He is a businessman by the name of Wei Qing. His wine business supplies Pengcheng, Liangdu and Lanling, three cities. He does not belong to any gang or society, but has always maintained good rtionship with Baling and Pengliang, two gangs. He supplied the carrier pigeons to Liu Zhicheng at regr interval, after the carrier pigeons were released, none ever return, even Zhicheng, that kid did not know where the carrier pigeons were flying. Will Liu Zhicheng be willing to cooperate with us? Bu Tianzhi asked. Luo Qifei nodded and said, He just made a poisonous oath [this is literal trantion, I cant think of any English equivalent, but I think you know what it means] in my presence, pledging his sincere cooperation. He only asked us to spare his dog life. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, One day his life is still in our hands, this greedy-for-life-afraid-of-death fellow has no choice but to listen to us obediently. We need to figure out clearly how to proceed, and then well use him to release fake information. Xuan Yong said, But I am afraid only fake information wont be enough to fool Li Shiji, it must be apanied by a series of activities, so that the intelligence that Li Shijis spy gathers will corroborate the information, only then will Li Shiji be convinced without any doubt. Kou Zhong said, Supposing Li Shiji is convinced that we are going to send our troops upstream to attack Kaifeng, how will he react? Chen Changlin said, If I were him, I would choose leisure over hard work, only when our troops are at the city walls will I use my superior military strength to cut off our retreat part, to destroy our navy ships, and then confront us head-on. With Li Zitong as the example, Tang people must already have ample preparation against our flywheel boats. Kou Zhong nodded and said, That is certainly the most brilliant tactics that we cane up with. Under such circumstances, we definitely wont get any convenience. His grannys bear, what could be the better strategy to deal with him? Ren Meimeiughed tenderly and said, Didnt Shaoshuai say something like the Military Book has a saying, certain ce being attacked must be rescued; what could be the ce that Li Shiji cannot but to rescue? Kou Zhong pped his thigh and said with a sigh, Ren Dajies brief remark awakened someone from his dream. We can execute the-mantis-stalks-the-cicada, unaware-of-the-oriole-behind move; I guarantee Li Shiji will not forget even after his teeth fall out. After nightfall, the city defender troops in the city south were the first to rise in revolt. They put down the Changxia Gates big suspension bridge, two thousandnce and shield wielders were the first to rush out, and formed disposition of troops on the left and right of the city gate. This military unit was mainly for defensive purpose; the tall shield could block the arrows, darts, sabers and swords, the longnce was not afraid of enemys cavalrys attack. Their greatest usefulness was to provide cover to the archers, on the battlefield they disyed their formidable destructive power; advancing, they could attack and break the enemys formation, retreating, they could steadily defend their troop formation. And then the archers went out the city walls. Amidst the sound of the bugle horn, the two units of one thousandnce-and-shield-wielders on the left and right shouted together, and then under the leadership of their captain they moved forward a hundred steps in a neat and uniform manner, to let the three thousand archers to rush out and gathered behind thence-and-shield-wielders formation, so that thence-and-shield-wielders were at the front, with the archers behind them. Thetter further divided themselves into three rows, the front row was using crossbows, which had aparatively longer range, and the two back rows were using strong bows. Another round of drumbeats, thest assault unit rushed out of the city gate, so that now thence-and-shield-wielders at the front, the archers in the middle, and the assault unit bringing up the rear. Rapidly they advanced two hundred paces outside the city gate to form troop disposition inplete formation style, with the middle army at the front and the left and right, two armies guarding the nks. This moment the rm bells in the enemys three camps were sounded, team after team of the Tang Army went out of the three camps and arranged themselves outside the camp in formation to wait for changes, their movement quick but not disorderly, a full disy of the Tang Armys efficient mobility and how well their training was. Xu Ziling, Ma Chang and Yang Gongqing, each leading the cavalry, went out of the city and took formation behind the three disposition of troops, using the fifteen hundred cavalry formation to block the enemys line of sight, to prevent the enemy from seeing the ten eight-crossbow machines and the five heavy stone throwers, plus the twenty wooden donkey carts and over a hundred toad carts moving out of the city. Five thousand city residents were organized to continuously send sand and mud bags out of the city. Xu Ziling watched the enemy soldiers maneuver from the distance, they were continuously reinforcing the front of the arrow tower at the edge of the empty space by the secondyer of trenches. From the enemys three armies, the unit under personalmand of Lu June had the most powerful military strength, which reached up to 12,000 men. The other two armies from the left and right camps, their military strength was around six thousand men each. On top of that, there were the Tang soldiers guarding the twelve arrow towers formation. Therefore, the total number of Tang troops before their eyes was close to 30,000 men, which was four times their military strength. Yang Gongqing said, Themander of the Tang soldiers of the left camp is Feng Liben, themander of the right camp is Qin Wutong, both are high-ranking military officers, Li Yuanjis trusted aides. The opponent was Li Yuanji rather than Li Shimin, Xu Ziling immediately felt better. He asked, Lu Junes troops are divided into front and rear, two troops disposition instead of the usual two formations or six formations; I wonder if it can be considered unconventional? Ma Chang exined, That is the disposition of troops method, dividing the army into front and rear, two formations, and each formation is further divided into forward, middle, and rear, three units. The long-spear-wielders at the front, bow-wielders take the second position, and the crossbow-wielders bring up the rear. When we attack them, the spear-wielders at the front row crouch to meet the enemy head-on, because if they stand up, they will be chopped, hence they must not retreat. The second unit of bow-wielders kneel on the ground to meet the enemy head-on, the crossbow-wielders at the back stand up to shoot. When the front formations arrows and darts are exhausted or perhaps the casualties are too heavy, the front formation retreats, to be reced by the rear formation, hence the name array formation. The disposition of troops is favorable in defense, but unfavorable in offense; its not easy to break through them. Xu Ziling nodded and said, So thats how it is. Evidently Li Yuanji has given his men strict order that their main job is to stop, intercept, and besiege, not to let us break the encirclement to link up with the Xia Army. Is there a way to make Lu June really believe that we are going to break out of the siege? Yang Gongqing said, Under present circumstances where the enemy is heavily besieging us, only light cavalry will be able to break the siege, albeit with difficulty. If we use a bit of effort in maneuvering the cavalry, we could deceive the enemy. Xu Ziling said, Lets leave that method for future use. Tonight, our strategic goal is to fill a section of the firstyer of trenches. If we could use the big flying stone to destroy the arrow towers of the secondyer of trenches, and to install a firm dirt and mud bag formation that can stand opposite with the enemy across the trenches, then it could be considered a great sess. Shouting his order, the bugler blew the bugle horn, the middle army, under Ba Yegangsmand, began to advance toward the firstyer of trenches, subsequently the left and right, two armies also moved. Commanded by Shan Xiongxin, the left army advanced along the west bank of the Yi River; the right army leader was Duan Da. Although the west side was absolutely empty without any natural barrier they could use in defense, but there was a team of hidden troops inside the Dingding and Houzai, two gates, ready to respond. Behind the Dingding and Houzai gates, the strict formation in wait were approximately two teams of a thousand cavalrymen each, respectively under Wang Xuanshu and Meng Xiaowens leadership. Xu Zilings cavalry unit was also slowly moving forward, twenty wooden donkey carts followed, hiding inside each wooden donkey cart were fifty construction battalion soldiers, in charge of carrying the dirt to fill the trenches. Mixed among the cavalry, the ten eight-crossbow machines and the five heavy stone throwers were also moving slowly; outside the city, the air was covered densely with the cloud of war. The enemys battle drums were beaten, shaking the Yi-Luo ins south of the city. A team of nearly twenty cavalrymen rushed out from the enemys high camp toward the back of Lu Junes formation. Lu Junes main force began to move, advancing toward the secondyer of trenches, to provide support to the two arrow towers formation along the trenches directly facing the Changxia Gate. As long as they could withstand the city defender armys counterattack, the Tang Army could prate deeply into the enemys line from the secondyer of trenches, to slice across the city defender army crossing the firstyer of trench. The great battle could happen at any moment. When Kou Zhong was deep in thought inside the inner hall, Xu Xingzhi and Chen Laomou asked for an audience. The three sat around the table. Chen Laomou said, Just now Xu Junshi and I discussed our tactics. Xu Xiansheng raised a few concerns, I thought he ought to speak directly to Shaoshuai, hence I dragged him along to see you. Hearing the singing to a string apaniment [idiom: education, a reference to teaching the people Confucian values by means of song in ancient times] Kou Zhong knew he was offered a valued advice; inwardly he knew that Xu Xingzhi must have a thought that contradicted his, hence he did not dare to raise it in front of everybody else, hence he talked privately with Chen Laomou, hoping that Chen Laomou would remind Kou Zhong. Laughing cheerfully, he said, Junshi has any opinion, you can speak up frankly. How could I, Kou Zhong, be like Wang Shichong with his narrow mind that he cannot ept other peoples idea? Embarrassed, Xu Xingzhi responded that it was indeed so. Chen Laomou said, ording to the information we have, that businessman Wei Qing who bought Liu Zhicheng, after handing over two carrier pigeons to Liu Zhicheng, he left Chenliu that very night, and disappeared without any trace. Xu Xiansheng thought that this matter is greatly not simple. Astonished, Kou Zhong looked at Xu Xingzhi. Xu Xingzhi said, Not only Li Shijis ability and wisdom outstanding, he also has ample experience. Last time Shaoshuai delivering the grain to Luoyang, you were intercepted by the Tang Army. Based on Shaoshuais astuteness, how could you not be suspicious? You would certainly investigate the undiscovered traitor thoroughly. I am afraid Li Shiji already guessed that Shaoshuai would be able to uncover Liu Zhichengs shady business, and would try to beat them at their own game by using him back to deal with them. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, This time we were able to uncover Zhicheng this quickly, there was a bit of lucky factor; how could Li Shiji know about it? Xu Xingzhi said, Our opponent is the cunning and famous Xiang Yushan; its unthinkable that he would not have a backup n in this matter. Since he could buy Zhicheng, naturally he could also buy other people. In the end, our Shao Shuai Army still cannot be of one heart from top to bottom; it would be very easy for Xiang Yushan to enter by exploiting a weak spot via those without firm willpower. If among Zhichengs men there is indeed someone like this, Zhicheng is suddenly being detained, then someone else would have taken his position. Therefore, Zhichengs identity as the mole being uncovered is no longer a secret to the enemy. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Junshis consideration is indeed more thorough than mine. Ay! What do we do now? Wont it mean that our the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind grand n will not work? Chen Laomou said, This matter can be considered in detail. Lets assume first that Xu Jushis conjecture is correct, we could carry out another scheme within a scheme, perhaps we can still make Li Shiji to suffer a big loss. Even with Kou Zhongs ability and wisdom, he still felt a little bit at a loss; his head spinning, he muttered to himself, A scheme within a scheme? What scheme within a scheme? Xu Xingzhi said, Wenyuan is leading a five-thousand strong armying from Donghai; if deployed appropriately, perhaps they could be the wonder troops. Leave this matter to Shuxia [subordinate], not only I am going to deceive the possible undiscovered traitor, I am also going to deceive the spy that Xiang Yushan deployed inside our territory. For the first time, Kou Zhong felt the serious threat that Xiang Yushan posed to the Shao Shuai Army. He nodded and said, I give Xiansheng the full authority to handle this matter. Chen Laomou said, Junshi also have two other proposals, both are to deal with the possibility of the Dou Army being defeated, how are we, the Shao Shuai Army C going to respond. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, I am precisely losing sleep over this. What good proposal does Xiansheng have? Xu Xingzhi wanted to say something, but then hesitated. It was quite half a dayter that he finally said, Before Ba Ye left, he pulled me aside to talk to me a little bit. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong asked, What did he say? Xu Xingzhi said, He said that if Shaoshuai wont give up your idea of joining forces with the Dou Army at Ho, without waiting for the City of Luoyang to fall, our Shao Shuai Army must move one step ahead by continuously defend our own position. Kou Zhongs entire spinal column turned cold, because he has indeed been secretly holding this thought, thinking that no matter how Dou Jiande treated him, on the basis of Jianghus yiqi, he simply could not stare nkly watching him being destroyed by Li Shimin. He also recalled Ba Fenghans remark, Only those who are ruthless enough will be able to survive. That is exactly war is all about. Chapter Title: Luonan C lit. South Luo(yang). Book 52 9 – Saber Method in the Art of War

Book 52 Chapter 9 C Saber Method in the Art of War

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Xingzhi said, Ba Ye also said another thing, he said if your Shaohusai can bring saber technique into the military strategy and tactics, then even Li Shimin is not his match. Chen Laomou pped the table and shouted with praise, saying, Xiao Bas view is extremely exquisite. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, I first approached the saber technique using the art of war; if I can apply the saber method into the art of war, wont the Shao Shuai Army be incisive and dynamic like my Moon in the Well? His grannys bear, such a great idea, why didnt you tell me straightforwardly earlier? Xu Xingzhi spoke in low voice, Ba Yes instruction; I have to wait until you do whatever it takes to attack Kaifeng before I can reveal his view to Shaoshuai. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes turned red; he deeply felt Ba Fenghan, this iron mans cherish and concern toward him. Unexpectedly he changed his usual stick right into his face [see Chapter 7] style and used Xu Xingzhis mouth to cautiously give him advice with such concerns; the effect was even more obvious and clear-cut. If he could move the troops like he used the saber, the moment the saber des met each other, there would not be any benevolence of women [also Chapter 7] that Tujue people always despised C remained. Xu Xingzhis voice continued to enter his ears, Now Xia Wang already has doubts about Shaoshuai, if Shaoshuai attempts to march to Ho in ordance with the original agreement, Xia Wang might misunderstand that Song Ques army has arrived, he wont understand Shaoshuais hardship anymore, perhaps you might suffer some setback, it would be harmful and without benefit to both sides. Chen Laomou joined in, Xu Junshis analysis makes sense. It is suitable for us to defend, but it is not suitable to attack. Li Shiji is not the kind of idle people, plus he receives Yang Xuyans help in secret, it really is not suitable for us to take the risk by going out to attack. Kou Zhong took a deep breath, his head was clearing up a bit, but he was still at a loss, It is indeed inadvisable for us to rush indiscriminately into action, otherwise, if the Dou Army is defeated, our retreat path to Chenliu might be cut off by Li Shiji. I wonder if two gentlemen have a better way to deal with it? Xu Xingzhi spoke heavily, Dig the tunnel, take Xiangyang. Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook severely, he was fully clear-headed now, Dig the tunnel, take Xiangyang? he repeated Xu Xingzhis words. Taking the credit, Chen Laomou said, This move of digging the tunnel was my idea, I am an expert in this field, let me be in charge of this, Shaoshuai need not worry. Moreover, Shaoshuai gave me the book on mechanism that Lu Miaozi left behind, there is a chapter on vertical shaft and horizontal roll method, which precisely speaks about how to dig a deep and long tunnel. If we can dig three tunnels, when the City of Luoyang falls, we can quickly escape. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Presently, Luoyang is like in our control, digging tunnels should not be any problem, Mou Laos proposal is indeed feasible. How many men will Mou Lao need? Chen Laomou replied, To dig the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive three deep, wide, and long, leading directly to outside the City of Luoyang C tunnels, not only we need specially-manufactured tools, we also need skillful craftsmen. From among my men, I can pick a hundred young, strong and robust men, Shaoshuai then set aside a hundred able-bodied men to help me, Laomou is confident that within one month, we will be able to aplish the magnificent feat ofpleting the three tunnels. Xu Xingzhi said, In the current situation, even if Shaoshuai can seed in safely get out of Luoyang in case the city is broken, if you go back to Chenliu in the east, you will walk right into the trap. The only way is to run away to the south to look for a foothold. If you can reach Xiangyang City, with its roads, water andnd C open in all directions, you could enter the Huai [River] via the Han River, and sail with the current back to Liangdu. Moreover, you could also pull the Tang Army in a thousand-li pursue and attack, and thus alleviating the pressure on Chenliu. One move, two gains. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong repeated, Xiangyang? Xu Xingzhi said, Although Xiangyang is not a big city connected to the capital, but it is located in the middle stretches of Han River. To the west it reaches Bashu, to the south it controls Chu, to the north it oveps the River Luo. If we dont seize Xiangyang, Shaoshuai going to the east will be intercepted by the Tang Army from Kaifeng; if that happens, forward, there will no way to proceed, backward, there will be pursuing troops; the situation will be very dangerous. Hows the current situation in Xiangyang? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Xingzhi replied, ording to the information from Qifei, about a dozen days ago Xiangyang was captured by Li Shimins Great General Luo Yi. Zhu Can and Qian Duguan were captured on the spot, they have been brought as prisoners to Guanzhong. Casualties on both sides are disastrous, Xiangyangs moat has been filled, the city walls are broken in a lot of ces, they could forget of restoring it in less than a few months. Therefore, if at this moment we catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sunzis The Art of War] from Zhongli, taking advantage while the House of Tangs navy is concentrated in Luoyang, Ho and Kaifeng, three locations, they are powerless to defend the waterways, we will have a very high chance of sess. However, the day to attack and seize Xiangyang must be grasped urately; too early, the Tang people would have plenty of time to strike back, toote, we wont be able to correspond with Shaoshuai withdrawing troops from Luoyang. Chen Laomou interjected, The sess or failure of the attack on Xiangyang must be entirely kept in secret, therefore, we must be careful in deploying the troops. It would be best to hand this matter over to Junshi. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Supposing beyond our expectation, the victor is unexpectedly the Dou Army, then what? Xu Xingzhi replied, In that case, Shaoshuai still need to immediately withdraw from Luoyang. Otherwise, theres a chance that Dou Jiande would be hostile and heartless, by not allowing Shaoshuai to leave, he may want to catch the turtle [orig. mythological sea turtle] in the earthen jar. Its hard to fathom a persons heart; although Shaoshuai treats others with sincerity, you may not necessarily receive the same payback. Kou Zhong recalled Dou Jiande ordering Liu Heita to stay behind, far from the front line, to take care of Liyang, it was very likely that he indeed had the n to break the Tang Army first, and then annihte the Shao Shuai Army. At the same time, he also saw how this gentleman, his own chief imperial strategic adviser, not only possessed outstanding ability and wisdom, but also understood clearly the ways of the world. He came apanied by Chen Laomou to advise Kou Zhong, because thetter had known him for some time in the past, half a teacher and half a friend, so that even if he pointed his finger to Kou Zhongs nose and swore at him, Kou Zhongs allotted share was only to listen respectfully. Heaving a sigh, he said, You guys have the confidence that while we are guarding Chenliu and Liangdu, we can also send troops to attack and capture Xiangyang? Xu Xingzhi replied, These past ten days or so, we constantly, day and night, reinforce Chenliu and Liangdus city defense; we built more forts along the coastal area, plus we have the flywheel boats guarding the river course. Although Li Shijis military strength is twice of ours, he still does not have the capability to capture Chenliu, and break through our armys northern battle line in a short period of time. Shaoshuai is returning to Luoyang, Li Shiji cannot simply sit idly by. As long as our tactics are proper, under Shaoshuaismand, we coordinate with each other, we ought to be able to ruthlessly repress Li Shiji. That side diminishing, our side is flourishing, one day the threat of Dou Army toward the Tang Army has not been removed, Shaoshuai will not have fears of trouble in the rear. Kou Zhong secretly sighed again; he gave thought to Dou Jiande, but Ba Fenghan was giving thought to him, Kou Zhong. Xu Xingzhi and Chen Laomou were looking after the honor and disgrace, the exist or perish C of the Shao Shuai State. In between, the contradiction in his heart was growing as a thicket. Since he was the leader of the Shao Shuai Army, he had to consider the people who followed him to hold the most important position, he must not, for his own private interest C push the Shao Shuai State into a dangerous situation. The most persuasive part of Xu Xingzhis speech was that he pointed out that joining forces with Dou Jiande was his, Kou Zhongs wishful thinking. Dou Jiande may not necessarily feel grateful, instead, it was highly likely that it would produce the opposite of his desired result. This moment Luo Qifei arrived in a hurry. Just by looking at his expression, everybody knew that there was an urgent matter to report. Outside the city, the sound of battle cry reached the sky, the battle was very intense. After nearly two sichen of repeated fighting, the besieging army and the city-defenders army still refused to concede to each other, both sides have suffered dead and injured. Lu June was worthy to be the House of Tangs famous general, a veteran of a hundred battles, he did not fall into Ma Changs scheme, but divided his troops to attack along the trenches in the direction of the Houzai Gate, so that the two-thousand-man cavalry hiding behind the Houzai and Dingding, two gates were unable to move a single step. The Tang Army was concentrating their entire force to shake hard the city-defenders army, who has sessfully filled the firstyer of trenches, and climbed over the moat to strike the two arrow tower positions on the outside edge of the secondyer of trenches. With Lu June inmand, the main force of the high camp was entirely forced to retreat to the secondyer of trenches south edge. Aided by the arrows darts,bined with the powerful bows and stone-throwing machines at two locations, they resolutely held the city-defenders army across the trench, so that the city-defenders army was unable to push forward, they were unable to fill the trench even more. The enemy troops from the other two camps took turn to attack the city-defenders army climbing over the trenches from the gaps of the secondyer of trenches and from the right side,unching wave after wave of offensive to the city-defenders army. One of the arrow towers was destroyed by the big flying stone, the other caught fire. However, more than a dozen stone-throwing machines behind the protection of dirt and mud bags wall were still exerting enormous destructive power. Arrow darts filled the air,ing and going. On Xu Zilings side, approximately twenty wooden donkey carts, some were damaged by the stone strike, some could not withstand the fire arrows and were burned down, only the remaining five were able to keep up appearances by blocking the arrow darts. Fortunately, from the ten eight-crossbow machines, seven were still in perfect condition, and were able to block the enemy attacking from the side. They had enough power to prate the shield of the opponents blocking-arrow carts, disying their major function in defending against the enemy and blocking the enemy. The threerge flying-stone machines, which had not yet been destroyed, focused their power to attack the enemys mud-and-stone bags positions, they became the super weapons that threatened the opponents stone-throwing machine. When the Tang Armysnce-and-shield wielders and the archers attacking the secondyer of trenches were forced to retreat again, the Tang Armys infantry and cavalry attacking from the side also retreated like a tide. Seeing no time to lose, Xu Ziling shouted his order, he led his men, fifteen-hundred-man cavalry unit, to cut through and attack the enemy. He had a shield on his left hand and a spear in his right; taking the lead, he unleashed his man-and-horse-as-one technique, and spurred the Ten-thousand-Li Spots he was sitting on C to run like the wind. The enemys retreating troops could only shoot two rounds of arrow darts in time, before he was able to catch up. His long spear moved everywhere, the enemy troops suffered a crushing defeat, their battle array was thrown into great chaos. The chaos spread like a wave, instantaneously affecting the entire unit of the Tang Army withdrawing via the gaps to the outside of the secondyer of trenches. The cavalry following close behind Xu Ziling swarmed to kill, some of the enemy fell into the trenches, those who were lucky pulled out from the gaps and scattered in all directions. It was a total chaos. Seeing that they already upied the decisive opportunity, Yang Gongqing and Ma Changmanded the second unit to take the advancing troops position,unching a round of new assault toward the enemys position, so that the pressure on Lu Junes main force was increasing sharply, which, in turn, made it difficult for them to dispatch the troops to meet Xu Ziling and his fifteen-hundred-man elite cavalry attacking from the gaps C head-on. Seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, the enemys left and right, two camps separately dispatched two units of two-thousand-man cavalry to rush over to intercept Xu Zilings cavalry pressing in from the gaps. Under such circumstances, only highly-mobile, strong cavalry would be able to curb the opponents cavalry. Otherwise, if they let Xu Ziling to move unhindered across the battlefield to attack Lu Junes main force defending the trenches from either the wing or the rear, the consequences would be hard to imagine. Lu Junes reaction was deeply in line with the art of war; he personally led his three-thousand-man cavalry to stand in formation on the left side of the trench-defenders army, to wait at their ease for the exhausted enemy. As long as Xu Ziling dared to invade their territory, they would deliver a frontal assault. Momentarily the sound of hoof beats rumbled, the sound of battle cry shook the heavens, pushing the battlefield situation to the peak of intensity. Xu Ziling was the first to break through the gap. His mind was turning at the speed of lightning, he guessed the enemys strategy. If he disregarded everything and attacked Lu Junes main force, which was many times stronger than his, once his retreat path was cut by the cavalry rushing over from the two other camps, they would be a lone army, with only possibility of death and not life, perhaps no one would be able to retreat via the gap. Right this moment, someone, no one knew where he wasing from C flew toward Lu Junes cavalry formation. How formidable Xu Zilings eyesight was, in just a nce he recognized the neer as Ba Fenghan. Hurriedly he abandoned his thought to withdraw his troops, instead, he shouted, Come with me! Leading the fifteen-hundred-man cavalry, he charged toward Lu June, who was about three thousand paces away. As long as he could keep Lu Junes sides attention on them, Ba Fenghan would have an opportunity that he could exploit. At this time, the city-defenders army from the two gates on the east side opened their gates toe out to attack, their mission was to fill the trenches and not to guard the trenches, their goal was to control the army under Li Yuanjismand. Because the enemy could not predict from which gate the city-defenders army woulde out to attack, plus outside the city all sides must have enough strength to guard the trenches and defend the trenches, so although the total strength of the Tang Army was several times above city-defenders army, they could only defend their own side, and it was difficult to provide assistance to the friendly forces. The battle finally entered the decisive moment, if Xu Ziling and his cavalry suffered total defeat of the army, Luoyang would copse without fighting. Luo Qifei spoke in one breath, Dou Jiande promoted Meng Haigong and Xu Yuang asmanders, they advanced together via water andnd, using boats to transport the grain, they went up the Yellow River against the current seven days ago, iming that their main forces have 300,000 men, to capture Guanzhou first, and then take Xingyang and the more than a dozen county towns in the vicinity, until they pitched camp on the in east of Ho, while simultaneously building camps on Banzhu [Ban Islet], which they use as temporarymand post. Hearing that, Xu Xingzhi and Chen Laomou were dumbstruck. Unexpectedly Dou Jiande was able to capture Guanzhou and Xingyang, two military strategic towns in just a few days; it was really hard to believe. But Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down; he sighed and said, Indeed just like I expected, Li Shimin deliberately abandoned various cities east of Ho. He exploited the proud heart of the enemy to make the Xia prating deeply into the enemy territory, while pulling their provision supply line thin, which will make their foodstuff to be in short supply. Not only they have to supply the huge army, they also have to take care of themon people in various county towns. Li Shimin will take away every single grain of rice from the various cities and towns that he abandoned. His countenance changed, Chen Laomou said, Li Shimin is really ruthless; he can let go, he can restrain. Dou Jiande is indeed not his match. But where did the Xia Armys 300,000 mene from? Luo Qifei said, Dou Jiandes main forces to help Luoyang shouldnt be more than 150,000 men, after dividing it to guard Guanzhou and Xingyang, the number of men able to go to the front line should be around a hundred thousand. Xu Xingzhi asked, Other than giving up Guanzhou and Xingyang, what else did Li Shimin do? Luo Qifei replied, Li Shimin divided the main force besieging Luoyang into two, leaving a hundred thousand under Li Yuanjismand, with Qu Tutong and Lu June as deputies, to continue besieging the Eastern Capital, while he himself leading fifty thousand troops, deploying them to Ho. ording to what I heard, Li Shimin and Dou Jiande already fought, Dou Jiande suffered a big loss, the dead and wounded were over a thousand, even the valiant generals under hismand, Yin Qiu and Shi Zan were captured alive. This battle made Dou Jiande no longer dare to advance in a hurry. Kou Zhong really wished that he could immediately rush to Banzhu to help Dou Jiande battling Li Shimin, but he knew that he could only think in vain; without any choice, he could only sigh again. Chen Laomou said, Looking at this, Dou Jiandes situation is quite bad. Xu Xingzhi said, If he is willing to hold fast to Banzhu, Li Shimin still cannot do anything to him. Luo Qifei said, Rescuing soldiers is like fighting the fire, the fall of Luoyang City is imminent, how can he stay behind in Banzhu? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, He is even more afraid of Song Ques main forcesing to the north, to enter and garrison himself in Luoyang one step ahead of him, hence he would never station his troops without moving forward. Even without this problem, Li Shimin could also send troops to outnk Dou Jiande from behind, to cut off his provision route, and then use his navy to seal off the Great River, forcing Dou Jiande to go out and attack. Xu Xingzhi drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, Shaoshuais view is very urate. This moment, a subordinate came to report that Du Fuwei was asking an audience. Kou Zhong had never expected that his Ol Dad would see him in this situation, and moreover, he came at the right time, just happened to coincide with him at Chenliu, otherwise he would lose the opportunity to link arms. His bosom was filled with surprise and delight, he went out to meet him. Following behind Xu Ziling was the fifteen-hundred-man cavalry, some even dared to say that they were the most elite cavalry in the Shao Shuai Army, consisted of the five hundred Flying Cloud Riders, plus one thousand Yang Family Armys brave riders C rushing out via the gaps, with an abundance momentum to split bamboo upon contact. Xu Ziling, taking the lead to charge into Lu Junes cavalry formation, finally tasted the feeling of disregarding everything else in order to seek victory on the battlefield. The fifteen-hundred-man cavalry behind him, not a single one did not follow him blindly. His decision would affect their future destiny concerning life and death. He could forget about his own fate, but he definitely could not avoid giving thought to them. And on this cruel flesh-and-blood-flying battlefield, the only thing he should do was to give the enemy the most fatal blow, in his heart, he must not have the slightest mercy. He put the long spear across his legs, he dropped the shield, Xu Zilings left hand picked up the Mulberry Wood Bow, his right hand picked the arrow, the distance with the enemy was shortened to a thousand steps. Lu June and a group of high-ranking military officers under hismand spurred their horses to stand in front of the cavalry formation, their faces carried disdain and coldugh, obviously they thought that Xu Ziling was overestimating his capabilities, he wasing forward to throw away his life. On their left and right, the cavalry on horseback bent their bow and put on their arrow to take aim at Xu Ziling. They werepletely oblivious of Ba Fenghan, in the dark, where the brilliant rays of the torches failed to reach C grasping the Shooting the Moon Bow, rapidly approaching from their left side; only about a hundred or so paces more, and then Lu June would enter into his range. On Yang Gongqings side, no one understood Xu Zilings character; how could he be so greedy of meritorious deed that in spite of the danger of having his escape route being cut off he prated deeply into the enemy ranks? But since there was no choice, the middle army led by Ba Yegang, the left army under Shan Xiongxinsmand, and Duan Das right army, the whole troops charged into the front line, assisted by the big flying stone and powerful bow, strong arrow,unching the most violent long-range strike toward the enemy at the secondyer of trenches position. The remaining fifty-some toad carts, plus the five wooden donkeys, under Yang Gongqing and Ma Changsmand, pushed closer to the front line. Because the threat from the right side has been removed, the seven eight-bow-and-crossbow-arrow machines turned their firing head and pushed to the front line, immediately increasing the city-defenders armys destructive power against the enemy by a big margin. The battlefield situation was climbing to its intense peak. At a distance of eight hundred steps from Lu June, Xu Zilings arrow went up to the bowstring, he pulled the Mulberry Wood Bow into a full moon, his heart and spirit entered the from being into nothing, from nothinges something realm, one arrow shot out. The vortex of energy shooting out, the arrow was even faster and fiercer than the arrow darts fired from the eight-bow-and-crossbow-arrow machine. Lu June saw Xu Ziling releasing the arrow. The moment he was still mocking at Xu Ziling shooting from too far away in his heart, the arrow dart was already about five zhang in front of his eyes, not only the remaining momentum did not wane, it even appeared to be moving faster. He was worthy to be the House of Tangs great general, a veteran of a hundred battles. Fast as lightning, he drew the sword from his waist and swiftly shed it to meet the arrow. Dang! Lu Junes entire body shook, still sitting on the horseback, he swayed violently, nearly fell off the horse. Although the strong arrow was struck by him and fell to the ground, his whole arm went numb, it was so painful that his qi and blood were surging, his body felt fluttering, without any strength. Right this moment, from the left side, no one knew where it came from, a strong arrow, wordless and umunicative, was shooting toward him, so fast that it was difficult to see with naked eyes. He could only cry my life thus endeth; although he still had the sword in his hand, he was unable to block. The men on his left and right cried out in rm at the same time. Lu Junes soul flew away and scattered, he wanted to dodge, but the strong arrow attacking sneakily already prated his neck, carrying with it a burst of rain of blood. Ba Fenghan shouted loudly, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong is here! His voice traveled far and near. While the officers and soldiers still found it hard to believe, Lu June fell off the horseback, Bang! he heavilynded on the grassynd next to the horses feet. Immediately the Tang Armys cavalrys disposition of troops was thrown in great disarray. Xu Ziling put away the Mulberry Wood Bow and raised the long spear; knocking down several arrow darts shooting at him, he unleashed the man-and-horse-as-one technique and leaped high into the air, he took the lead to charge into the enemy ranks. Ba Fenghan also charged into the enemy formation from the side, he snatched away a horse, the Stealing the Heaven Sword was in full swing, those who tried to block him were swept by the wind. The fifteen-hundred-man elite cavalry following closely behind Xu Ziling dauntlessly charged to kill, all of a sudden the enemy troops whose heart was already in chaos were smashed that they scattered and disintegrated. Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, these four words indeed carried iparably mighty power; as soon as the enemy heard it, they were scared out of their wits, but the city-defenders armys morale was greatly aroused. Yang Gongqing saw the enemys troop disposition in great chaos, which quickly spread to the entire battlefield, hurriedly ordered all the toad carts to advance, to throw the mud and rocks into the trenches. The soldiers and city residents, all dashed on bravely with no thought of personal safety to throw the sand and dirt bags into the trenches. Originally, the cavalry from the other two camps were about to cut off Xu Zilings escape route, but under themand of the bugle horn, they hurriedly change direction to provide support, yet they were still one step toote. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan linked up on the battlefield, they led their troops to charge into the trench-defenders army position. The Tang Army, who had lost theirmander, still thought that Kou Zhong was leading his troops to attack; they finally abandoned the trenches and their camps, and scattered in all directions. The city-defenders army climbed over the trenches and attacked; all at once they took control of the situation. Under Yang Gongqingsmand, they met the enemy cavalrying to help C head-on. Xu Ziling shouted, Take the high camp! With Ba Fenghan on the lead, the cavalry, who had just had the first taste of victory, chiseled away like a tornado at the enemy troops retreating in defeat toward the high camp, and continued charging into the high camp. Victory or defeat had already been decided. Book 52 10 – Deep Affection Between Father and Son

Book 52 Chapter 10 C Deep Affection Between Father and Son

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Du Fuwei sat in a chair leaning against the window on one side of the main hall, holding a cup of fragrant tea with both hands, chatting on and off with Ren Meimei, who was entertaining him. This hegemon, who had oncemanded the Jiang Huai elite troops that were able to move unhindered north and south of the Yangtze River, was wearing civilian clothes, the bamboo rain hat that he usually wore was lying down on his legs. There was some kind of idle-cloud, wild-crane,ing-and-going-alone elegant manner on him. It was still half a sichen away from daybreak, but for the sake of the Shao Shuai Armys life or death, the hard work of the leader did not take day or night into consideration. Hearing Kou Zhongs footsteps, Du Fuwei showed a deeply concerned smile toward Kou Zhong, who entered the main hall from the back door. Kou Zhong my son, he said, Dont me me foring at this ungodly hour! A warm feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; all of a sudden he really felt as if Du Fuwei was his father. In the past, although opening his mouth, closing his mouth, he always called Du Fuwei as Die, but all along, it was partly in jest. But Du Fuweis treating him favorably indeed made him very grateful. He could not do anything toward the bad impression he received when he first met Du Fuwei, which still remained and was difficult to dispel; for example, how he forcefully recruitedmon people into his army, how under hismand, good and bad people intermingled, how his armys disciple was not strict, et cetera. But at this moment, everything was no longer a barrier. Kou Zhong hurriedly stepped forward and reached out to hug Du Fuwei. Father and sons love was like the Yangtze River, the Great River, rolling and flowing swiftly like boiling water, between the two man. Ren Meimei quietly exited the hall. His eyes brimming with tears of excitement, Kou Zhong called out, Die! Du Fuwei pressed down the emotional stirring in his heart. Patting Kou Zhong on his back, he spoke in a soft voice, Come with Die to have a walk in the garden. Kou Zhong nodded hid agreement. He followed Du Fuwei out of the main hall and into the side garden, to stroll along the gravel path under the starlight and the illumination of the moon. Du Fuwei sighed and said, I wonder if it has been really hard for Zhonger? Kou Zhong replied truthfully, It is indeed very hard. The heaviest torment is the contradiction in my heart. I treated others with sincerity, but I am under suspicion instead. Du Fuwei climbed onto a small pavilion in the middle of the garden, and stood with his hands behind his back. Casting his gaze into the man-made stream flowing around the pavilion, he spoke indifferently, Are you talking about Dou Jiande? Kou Zhong smiled wryly but remained silent. Du Fuwei turned around, stared fixedly at Kou Zhong, and spoke in heavy voice, Mens heart is sinister and deceitful, Zhonger does not need to take other peoples conduct to heart, I made light of traveling a thousand li to rush over to see you tonight, because there is something important to discuss with you. What is it? Kou Zhong asked. As if he was talking about something without any consequences at all, Du Fuwei spoke calmly, I have decided to stand on your side. Kou Zhong was stunned, Die! he eximed. Du Fuwei shrugged his shoulders and said, Whats so strange about it? Perhaps this is whats called hoping-ones-son-to-be-a-dragon way of thinking! Kou Zhong was puzzled, But ... he started. Cutting him off Du Fuwei said, Ouyang Xiyi has met your father-inw Song Que, on the way back to Changan, he came to see me. Ha! Song Que is indeed Song Que, Ouyang Xiyi has not had any chance to open his mouth, he was one step ahead by saying something that made Ouyang Xiyi practically did not dare to pass on Li Yuans message. Do you know what he said? He first analyzed the situation in the world, pointing out that the internal dispute within the Li n has reached the point of as ipatible as water and fire, while the outside tribes are watching like a tiger in wait. Once the outside tribes seize the opportunity to invade, the Central Earth will be brutally ravaged under the outside tribes hoofs of steel. Song Ques arguments, not a single word departs from the fact, leaving Ouyang Xiyi with nothing to say. Song Que is extremely dissatisfied with Li Yuans infatuation with womens charms and how he favors Li Jiancheng! Based on Song Ques pride, how could he be willing to acknowledge allegiance to such a person? Li Yuan looks too highly on himself! Kou Zhong already knew the oue, but he asked anyway, Listening to the tone of Dies voice, you seem to be extremely dissatisfied with Li Yuan? The refined light in Du Fuweis pair of eyes flickering, he let out a cold humph and said, Li Yuans scheme to murder Li Mi waspletelycking any sense of justice, it made people sneer. Although Li Mi could not be considered to be any faithful official or a loyalist, in the end he was someone who was willing to surrender to Li Yuan. Li Yuan should not have approved his request to go out of the Pass, so that Li Mi would put his heart to return to the Eastern Mountain to death. But now he used a scheme to put Li Mi to death, how could he make the heart of the people under the heavens to submit to him? It shows that Li Yuan does not have the capacity to tolerate people. Kou Zhong suddenly understood in his heart; because of Li Mis death, his Ol Dad was ovee with the if the rabbit dies, the fox grieves [idiom: to have sympathy with a like-minded person in distress] feeling, because he and Li Mi were in the same situation, perhaps they might end up with the same fateter. Indeed Li Yuan could notpare with Li Shimin; if it were thetter, he would treat Li Mi well with high post and generous sry, he would not have let Li Mi stay idle and his mind wandered, even suspected him in secret, forcing him to have the heart to betray him. Changing the topic, Du Fuwei said, Zhonger has the confidence to support Song Ques main forcesing up to the north? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Child is just thinking about how to do that. Du Fuwei sighed and said, For the time being, I am still unable to spare time to help you, because Fu Gongyou openly tear the skin of his face with me, under Zuo Youxians instigation he amassed an army and proimed independence at Danyang. He even formed alliance with Lin Shihong and Xiao Xian in the dark, conspiring to invade my Liyang. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Isnt Xiao Xian at war with Lin Shihong? Du Fuwei replied, Under the threat of Li n and Song Que, plus with someone from the demonic school threading the needle, Xiao and Lin restoring their rtion and are on good terms with each other is not an impossibility. Originally I was going to give mutual support to Li Zitong, who has already be a Tang minister, but Li Zitong was weakened by your strike that he no longer have the power to free himself, he is powerless to defend himself, therefore, I could only look for a way to deal with it by relying on my own power. Kou Zhong had deeper understanding than anyone else on the meaning of the phrase powerless to defend himself, precisely because it was the same as his situation right now where he did not have the ability to help Du Fuwei. Du Fuwei grabbed his shoulders with both hands, and spoke in low voice, I shouldnt stay here long, I just came with a specific purpose in mind to honestly tell you my intention. From now on, I have nothing to do with the House of Tang. If Li Shimin kills my Zhonger, I, Du Fuwei, will stake everything to avenge you, because Kou Zhong is my, Ol Dus son. Before Li Yuanji and Qu Tutongs two armies rushed over to help, the Tang Army was caught in a sea of fire in the high camp, the most strategic and with intimidating force outside and to the south of the Luoyang City. Their initial strategic n was designed to deal with the high camp, who could have thought that unexpectedly things developed so well that it was beyond anybodys expectation? As a result, the ramparts, the strongly defended constructions outside the city no longer had any substantial significance. On the contrary, it was the going-out-of-the-city-to-attack-suddenly tactics that were able to disy their effectiveness the most. Therefore, Yang Gongqing ordered all personnel who went out of the city in bloody battle, after obtaining substantial spoil of war C to retreat back into the city. Although it could be called a big victory, but it was, after all, a hard battle with the few striking the many. Naturally the Tangs side suffered heavy casualties, their dead and injured surpassed one thousand, they even lost theirmander-in-chief. However, on the city-defenders armys side, more than two hundred men died in battle, more than four hundred were injured, the victory really did note easy. The public square in the south of the city was full of lying-down wounded soldiers, which were attended by the medical team on the spot. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were even incessantly using their true qi to treat those with the most serious injury. They were busy until noon the next day, before the two had the opportunity to catch their breath and to sit on the side to rest. Leaning against the solid city wall next to the South Gate, Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Martial art masters facing off against their adversary, victory and defeat are only one fine thread apart. I never thought that battlefield is just like that too. If that one arrow of mine missed, you and I might not be alive to sit in here, breathing and enjoying the midday autumn sun. Xu Ziling swept his gaze across the wounded soldiers and dead bodies filling the public square. The medical team was gradually sending the wounded soldiers back to various parts of the city to receive critical care of their injury and to reconcile their breathing, leaving badly damaged armor, which no one cared. From the top of the city walls came the sound of the eight-bow-and-crossbow-arrow machines, which rendered great meritst night C being moved around, the soldiers moving to and fro, the horses neighing and the people shouting, rushing about endlessly. Everybody who walked past respectfully saluted the two; within their tired expression, there was an excitement, which could not be hidden, yet he was unable to share their mood. To him, the war was just one nightmare after another, but the only thing he could do was to drift along and struggle, in the hope that one day he would wake up, the quicker the better. Each sides victory represents the other sides defeat, represents those who sacrificed their lives and shed their blood, represents the sorrow and the bitter tears. Death is an irreparable loss. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Now my heart is weary, my strength exhausted. At the beginning I still have some kind of a feeling of fighting bravely for the ideal, but now I ampletely lost! Massacre does not have even half of a tiny bit of meaning, it can only show our despicable true nature [Buddhism]. Smiling bitterly, Ba Fenghan said, That is precisely the difference between you and me or with Kou Zhong; no one innately has a heart of stone. However, in order to believe this concept firmly without any doubt, we must put aside everything, to set out towards the ideal goal that we fixed. This is a struggle, apetition of whos the stronger, the more ruthless. Think about the Wolf Army, who is waiting for action after having umted power C north of your border. If you let them invade the Central Earth, what would it be like? Killing and burning, raping and looting are the shady business that attracted them and that they consider as their pleasure. Their hostility toward the Han people is something that you, Ziling find it hard to understand, just as Xieli cannot understand my hatred of him. Believe me, in the blink of an eye, everything before our eyes will be the chrysanthemums after the Double Ninth Festival [idiom: outdated, thing of the past]. We can only press on toward the ideal, until we defeat all the opponents, and then the ideal can be a reality. From the distance outside the city walls, they continue to hear the sound of ten thousand stampeding horses [idiom: with great momentum] and the battle cry of troops in vigorous pursuit. Since sunrise until now, Wang Shichong and the great generals under hismand took turn to go out from the South Gate to attack, to do everything they could to make Li Yuanji unable to acquire a stronghold south of the City of Luoyang that he could hold fast to and establish a foothold. The destruction of the high camp was a serious setback and a big blow to the besieging army, forcing the Tang Army to abandon all the arrow tower positions that they had on this side, because they no longer had the strength to resist the enemy that coulde to attack from any direction. Li Yuanjis biggest problem was that he could not find the time to cling to the other camps generals and soldiers, hence he could only allocate the personnel from his own subordinates to reinforce the military strength of the remaining camps south of the city. The other Qu Tutong-led 5,000-man Tang Army set up their disposition of troops behind the high camp, to guard against the city-defenders army to break the siege via the gaps. Xu Ziling stretched out his sparkling and translucent and spotlessly white hands in front of his eyes, he spoke heavily, Its not that I dont understand that logic, but understanding despite of understanding, this pair of hands of mine is already reeking of blood, this is an indisputable fact. I only have to think about other peoples sons and husbands being killed and wounded by me, not only I feel weary of war, I also feel disgusted with myself. On the battlefield, everyone bes a ruthless killing tool. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, War is just like that; it simply does not give you the chance to choose. You either kill or be killed. Whether you kill or be killed, you dont have the choice, but you are not guilty either. Just think of different situation: if the defeated side was us, Luoyang was captured by Li Yuanji, then Li Yuanji would be the Battle of Luoyangs biggest minister who has given outstanding service. At that time, with the demonic school lobbying and instigating him, Li Yuanji potentially will bemander-in-chief of the East Army. If things really developed like that, what would the situation be? Showing benevolence to the enemy means being ruthless to yourself and your followers. Even more, it would likely bring disaster to themon people of the Central ins. Li Shimins view on this is very incisive, he knew that in war, there is no friend, only the enemy. To score victory is really not an easy matter, to press on is equally challenging. Xu Ziling dejectedly nodded, but did not say anything. This moment Ma Chang hurriedly came before the two, he dropped down on one knee and said, We seized the opportunity to strike back, by repeatedly going out to fight, to destroy all the enemys arrow towers south of the city. The enemy closed their camps and hold fast to it. Qu Tutong is still holding back his troops without moving, if we could defeat Qu Tutongs army, the enemy siege will copse. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Have you sent anybody to notify Shaoshuai? Ma Chang replied, The messengers [orig. troops to pass on the letter] already set out before dawn toward Chenliu; if there is no mishap, Shaoshuai will know about the situation on our side before dusk. Ba Fenghan turned to Xu Ziling and asked, Does Ziling have any wise opinion? But Xu Ziling turned to Ma Chang and asked, What does Ma Jiangjun think? Ma Chang replied with serious expression, Xiao Jiang [little/lowly general] originally advocated to follow up a victory and go out to attack, but had a vague feeling that this is a trap. Qu Tutong might be ordered by Li Yuanji to lure us to go out and attack. Afterst nights hard battle, our armys men are tired, the horses are weary, momentarily it would be hard to deal withrge-scale, all-around offensive. Due to the enemys military power is more than twice of ours, we are unable to figure out the enemys real strength inside the camp, if we are forced to go out and attack, we would surely be defeated. The most sensible way of handling this is to hope that Shaoshuai could promptly lead the army toe to help. Under coordination of outside and inside offensives, we could break through the enemys besieging army on the south side. Ba Fenghan agreed, he said, Well do it as Ma Jiangjun proposes. It would be best for Ma Jiangjun to get a good nights sleep, to nurture enough spirit to deal with the future battles. Ma Chang received the order and dly left. I bet he is not going to go to bed, Xu Zilingmented. Ba Fenghan followed Ma Chang with his gaze. He said, Ma Chang will be one of the most outstanding main forces great general of the Shao Shuai Army. Only Kou Zhong can make such a remarkable talent to serve him. If the Li n did not produce one Li Shimin, who could be Kou Zhongs match? Xu Ziling replied with rueful smile, I dont have suchplete confidence in Kou Zhong as you do. Ba Fenghan revealed his first smile of the day; he said with a smile, Our good brother Kou Zhong is learning and maturing in battles. When he bes as ruthless as I am, when he understands that victory is the only purpose of war, when he can use the saber method in the art of war, and use his Eight Methods of the Well for strategic purposes, there will be no one in the world who can be his rival, including Li Shimin. The problem is that for the time being he still cant do what I expect and ask of him. Kou Zhong received the news of fierce fighting south of Luoyang City at dusk. In his great delight, he immediately summoned his men in a military affairs meeting. In the inner hall, the leaders of the Shao Shuai Army gathered around the table to talk. The participants were Xu Xingzhi, Xuan Yong, Bu Tianzhi, Chen Changlin, Luo Qifei, and Chen Laomou. Kou Zhong first announced the news of Lu Junes death in battle and the destruction of the high camp, and then he asked everybodys opinions. Xuan Yong spoke up, This is really a good opportunity that we seek but fail to get. If we immediately send troops Luoyang, because Li Shimin is afraid that we will sessfully join forces with Luoyang defenders south of the city and thoroughly destroy Li Yuanjis besieging army, he will definitely order Li Shiji to exhaust the soldiers and generals under hismand to intercept and stop us. We could pretend to rush to Luoyang, while deploying another wonder troop to ambush Li Shijis troops. As long as we keep away from the river course, Li Shijis navy, which is stronger than ours, would have nowhere to employ their military power. One after another everybody approved of Xuan Yongs proposal, only Xu Xingzhi had his eyebrows deeply furrowed, but he did not speak. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Xu Junshi seems to have different view on this matter, why dont you tell us, so that everybody can carefully cote and examine critically? Xu Xingzhi said, If I were Li Shiji, I would definitely not take risks by intercepting us. He only needs to lead the navy to go down south directly to pursue Chenliu, then it would be difficult for us to look after our head and tail, we wouldnt be able to advance or retreat. Ren Meimei said, Currently Chenliu has enough fortifications, plus there are solid strongholds locking up the river, acting in concert with the flywheel boats going back and forth to patrol, as long as we have ten thousand defenders, Li Shiji could forget about attacking Chenliu before the tenth month. Xu Xingzhi said, The art of war is the way of crafty change. Such as, Li Shiji stations his troops outside the city of Chenliu, while also dispatches elite cavalry to circumvent Chenliu, prating deeply into our territory to attack Pengcheng, which is still under reconstruction. What would happen then? Ren Meimei was immediately at a loss for words. Pengcheng is located at the heart of the Shao Shuai State; if it was attacked and captured by the enemy, the entire Shao Shuai State would copse and fall apart, it would break down without fighting. Chen Changlin said, This risk is still worth taking, if our army can defeat Li Yuanjis besieging army, it will be like cutting off Li Shimins escape route. And then we will advance to the east, with the Dou Armyunching pincer attack on Li Shimin from the front and the back, Li Shimins only path will be retreating to Guanzhong in panic. At that time, the threat of Li Shijis army would surely be resolved, we can rest easy without any worry. Xuan Yong shook his head and said, Li Yuanji besieging armys military strength is around sixty to eighty thousand men, plus there are high ramparts and deep ditches that he could hold fast to. If we are eager to attack, surely the dead and injured will be disastrous. Once the situation bes tangled and hard to solve, one by one our cities will fall into Li Shijis hands, it is indeed not the choice that a sage would take. Junshis warning, we cannot ignore. Kou Zhong was once again facing the important dilemma concerning the survival of the Shao Shuai Army. If he did not take the risk, he might miss the opportunity andment the lost chance; if he did take the risk, it was possible that he had to pay with the loss of the entire Shao Shuai Army. Based on the around twenty-thousand-man military strength remaining in Chenliu, it was simply not enough to cope with the hardships of the two battlefields. From this, it could be seen how brilliant Li Shimin was in maneuvering his troops. He dispatched Li Shiji to enter and garrison in Kaifeng, to put pressure on Shao Shuai Army that they were unable to move a single step. This moment, a subordinate with flustered expression came to report, We discovered traces of the enemy, a unit of the Tang Army setup camp and built stronghold on a hilltop about ten li north of Chenliu, their number is estimated at five thousand men, they ought to be the vanguard troops transferred from Kaifeng. Everybodys countenance changed. Kou Zhong felt as if his entire being had fallen into an icehouse, the chill crept up along his spine, as if he was being suspended in midair, there was nowhere to set his foot on. He finally tasted Li Shijis means; he fully upied the decisive opportunity, not by using the navy in ostentatious disy going down south, but by using the wonder troopsing in secret, his troops pressing on Chenliu at the most critical moment. Without even need to guess, he knew that their navys main forces would start arriving one after another. Under such circumstances, how could he dare to split his troops to go to Luoyang, to share the achievement of the city-defenders army in breaking through the heavy siege on the south side of the city? The two biggest famous generals in the Heavenly Policy Mansion were Li Shiji and Li Jing. Thetter had a close rtionship with them, so that Li Shimin had no choice but to order him to stay behind to take care of things in Changan. But if theye together to the front line andunch pincers-shaped military offensive, his Shao Shuai Army would be defeated even faster and more tragic. But presently Li Shiji was making his y on him, to put him in position where his troop disposition was in a great mess. While admittedly the n to attack and seize Xiangyang in order to leave a way out would be hard to carry out, their future fate was even dimmer and bleaker; what should he do? Book 52 11 – The Path Exhausted, The End of The Road

Book 52 Chapter 11 C The Path Exhausted, The End of The Road

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia That very night, Kou Zhong mobilized his troops, he personally led three-thousand-man cavalry to travel all through the night, to take advantage of the Tang Armys battle formation has not steadied their footing yet, and their main force has not arrived, tounch surprise attack on Li Shijis vanguard troops. He adopted the Tujue peoples battle tactics in the wilderness,ing like a whirlwind, attacking the enemy from four sides, eight directions, to make the Tang Army face up the attack and meet it in a hurry; with the injuries and deaths disastrous, they would be forced to pull back. At the same time, Chen Laomou, inpany with two hundred construction battalion soldiers, under escort of the troops under Chen Changlinsmand, rushed to Luoyang in secret. The next morning, Li Shijis main force army started to arrive via water andnd, two routes. Kou Zhong raised his whole army to meet them; he split his troops tounch frontal assault toward Li Shijis army both onnd and water. The fierce battle went on all day long, both sides suffered injuries and deaths. While neither side yielded, Bai Wenyuan, with approximately five-thousand-man cavalry rushed over from Donghai and promptly entered the battle. In the end, Li Shiji was unable to withstand, so he pulled back his army and regrouped his disposition of troops on a hilltop about twenty li away from Chenliu. Kou Zhong did not have any spare energy left to seize the opportunity to pursue and attack either; he pulled his army back into the city, momentarily the danger on Chenliu was resolved. By the time Kou Zhong and his men were evaluating the battle just now, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling led their cavalry to go out to attack from the Changxia Gate again, to mount a sneak attack to the besieging-the-city army trying to rebuild the camp on the hignd. Although this time Li Yuanji came prepared, it was still testing-the-water in nature, to see how the city-defenders army would react. Since thest defeat was still fresh in their mind, the Tang Armys morale was quite low. Even though the besieging-the-city armys military strength was more than double that of the defending-the-city army, because they were afraid that they might lose other camp position to the enemy, after engaging Ba and Xus cavalry in battle for half a sichen, Li Yuanji pulled back his troops. Ba and Xu did not dare to pursue and attack, afraid that the left and right, two camps might send their troops to strike, hence they were unable to expand the oue of the battle. Actually, they had their ambitions elsewhere; their objective was to receive Chen Laomou and his two hundred construction battalion soldiers from Chen Changlins hands, and escorted them into the city. Upon sessfulpletion of his mission, Chen Changlin withdrew and rushed back to Chenliu. After entering the city, Yang Gongqing, Ma Chang, Chen Laomou, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling gathered at a house in the south of the city to have secret discussion, while their people made arrangement to settle the two hundred construction battalion soldiers into their temporary residence. Everybody sat around the table. Finished hearing Chen Laomou exining the grand n to dig the tunnel, Yang Gongqing said with a frown, Should we inform Wang Shichong on this matter? Absolutely not, Chen Laomou replied, The tunnel is purely for our use to get away in time of crisis. Wang Shichong, this man has shown over and over that he is paranoid. If we let him know about this n, the consequences would be hard to fathom. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Not only we must not let the people on Wang Shichongs side know about this, we must also conceal it from our troops, so as not to affect the soldiers heart, knowing that we dont see Dou Jiande as having good prospects. Ma Chang spoke in heavy voice, Wang Shichong set up listening wells everything around the city, surely the sound of us digging the tunnel cannot be hidden from him. Tunnel warfare was one of the methods to besiege a city; it could both destroy the enemys city wall, and could let the soldiers pass through to enter the city and mount a sneak attack. The method that the city defenders used to deal with it was by digging wells in key positions around the city and install pottery amplifier inside to act as listening device, to monitor the underground activity. In Changan that year, when Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling entered the Duke Yangs Treasure-trove, they were detected by Li Yuanji using this kind of listening method that they nearly ruined the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Xu Ziling said, Currently the south of the city is under our control, I wonder if we could take over the ground monitoring operation, so that we wont have to worry that Wang Shichong would discover it? Ma Chang nodded and said, Our position is stronger than Wang Shichong. If Yang Gong insists, Wang Shichong could only concede, but inevitably it would provoke his suspicions. Ba Fenghan said, Although the south of the city is the only ce where the tunnel can be excavated, we still must be careful in undertaking the task, because since we can monitor the underground activity, the enemy can also monitor us in return. Yang Gongqing nodded and said, During the Battle of Guandu in the Three Kingdoms period [c. 199 AD, the battle that established Cao Caos domination over north China], Yuan Shao dug a tunnel to attack Cao Cao, but Cao Cao discovered it, he excavated a horizontal, long trench inside the city to strike back. Chen Laomou cheerfully said, Gentlemen can rest assured that my tunnel method came from Lu Miaozis authentic teaching. He designed the excavation tool using drilling style to extract mud, so that the monitor within three zhang distance are totally unaware. That was how the Duke Yangs Treasure-trove was excavated. Everybody was greatly delighted. They discussed the details on how to carry out this operation properly. Because the south of the city was under the full control of the Shao Shuai Army, the process of digging out the soil and so on should not be a problem. Finally, Yang Gongqing asked, When does Chen Gong expect the tunnel to bepleted? Chen Laomou replied, I intend to dig three parallel long tunnels leading to about half li away from the destroyed high camp within a month. The exit will be in the sparse forest. In time of emergency, we could use it to quickly withdraw. So that was what they decided. Over the next ten days or so, there were frequent battles on both the Luoyang and Chenliu battlefronts. On Luoyangs side, the city-defenders army constantly went out to attack from various gates, so that the Tang Army outside the city were terribly busy and panicked at the slightest move. Several times Li Yuanji attempted to rebuild the high camp outside the city, all ended up in failure, so that he could only rely on the power of the deep trenches and solid camps to resist the city-defenders army. Acting as themanding officer of Chenliu, Kou Zhong had confrontation against Li Shiji many times, they both had victory and defeat, and were in a stalemate situation. On Hos side, the information about the battle between Dou Jiande and Li Shimin was flying in like snowkes, and Kou Zhongs worries were also growing with each passing day. One day at dusk, he climbed onto the battlement on the city wall, apanied by Xu Xingzhi and Xuan Yong, looking into the distance at the enemy camp outside the city. Heaving a deep, deep sigh, he said, If the situation were different, I would be very grateful to Li Shiji, he is indeed a rare opponent, who gives our army valuable realbat experience against a strong hand. But now he is pressing down on us that we are unable to move a single step; we are full of grand n for nothing, since we are unable to implement it. Xuan Yong and Xu Xingzhi had simr feeling. This moment, Luo Qifei came to Kou Zhongs side, his expression grave. After saluting, he said, Just received the news, Li Shimin sent Wang Junkuo to lead more than a thousand-man light cavalry to attack the rear of the Dou Army, and rendered big blow to Dou Jiandes grain-transporting troops; they even captured Dou Jiandes subordinate Great General Zhang Qingte. What? Kou Zhong cried out involuntarily. Luo Qifei repeated his report, none of the listeners did not have his countenance changed. After several confrontations and suffering defeats Dou Jiande was blocked by Li Shimin at Ho, the troops guarding the grain at Banzhu did not dare toe out to fight, both sides only had small-scale confrontations without any decisive big battle. However, because Dou Jiande suffered many defeats, the officers and soldiers were already thinking of surrendering, the heart of the troops was unsteady. And now their provisions were seized, the panic within the troops spread, the situation was deteriorating really fast. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he said, This time it is extremely bad. If Dou Jiandecks rations and fodder, one, he might immediately withdraw the troops, two, he might take risks toe out and attack. But whatever the situation, it will only bring benefit to Li Shimin. Xu Xingzhi said, For the sake of the current n, we must immediately pull our troops from Luoyang, to concentrate our military strength on the northern border of our country, to resist the Great Tang Army, which had defeated the Dou Army, while waiting for the Song ns main forces toe to our rescue. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, That will only elerate Luoyangs fall and Dou Jiandes defeat. Although Dou Jiande does not trust me, but I must not turn my back and abandon friendship with him. I must rush to Luoyang tonight, because after defeating the Dou Army, Li Shimin will certainly turn his army to Luoyang. I will lure him to attack, while we seize the opportunity to go down south to seize Xiangyang, and then go to Zhongli via the waterway. As long as you guys can hold Li Shiji at bay, we are definitely not without any chance to hold out until the warm spring and flowers blooming next year. Xuan Yong spoke resolutely, Shaoshuai may go in peace! With Xu Junshi working out a strategy and applying policy for Shuxia [subordinate], we wont fail Shaoshuais trust. Kou Zhong fought hard to arouse his fighting spirit; he said, From now until the spring next year will be the most difficult days for our army. The proverb says troops in defeat like andslide; no matter how nasty the situation, we must persevere, otherwise, if we let Li Shijis navy seed in breaking through the blockade and they go down south along the canal, our Shao Shuai State will fall apart. Therefore, neither you and I can lose. The three men gave their promise in loud voice. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward the flourishing army appearance of the enemy camp outside the city, he felt as if there was a thousand-jin heavy burden on his shoulders, pressing down on him that he seemed unable to straighten up his tiger-body. He has embarked on a journey in which there was no turning back, the only thing he could do was to move forward and charge forcefully, to do his best to listen to the Mandate of Heaven, to see whether Laotianye was still in favor of him. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were standing on the battlement on the city wall, looking into the distance at the enemys activity south of the city. Yesterday, an army of ten thousand men started to arrive via the waterway from Changan, to reinforce Li Yuanjis besieging-the-city army. From then on, the defending-the-city army was on high alert, quietly waiting for Li Yuanjis operation to strike back. Since the afternoon, Li Yuanjis army began to maneuver, they set up amand center at the original site of the high camp. They also set up disposition of troops in front and behind the hignd, assembling nearly 30,000 troops. They also transported materials to rebuild the high camp behind the hignd, ready to carry outrge-scale construction, to reestablish the high camp. Exasperated, Ba Fenghan said, Finally Li Yuanjis disposition of troops is standing firm; it will be difficult for us to stop him from rebuilding the high camp. In the afterglow of the setting sun, Li Yuanjis mainly-infantry troops slowly pushed forward amidst the beating of the battle drums, straight to the edge of the secondyer of the trenches, which had been refilled t. The construction battalion troops quickly began to clean up the hignds. Noticing that Xu Ziling did not answer, Ba Fenghan reached out and put his hand on his shoulder; he asked, What is Ziling thinking? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling replied, I am imagining the situation outside the city on this side tomorrow, everything might return to its original condition, the great effort in over more than ten days, the injuries and deaths of the warriors, its just a nightmare that happened once but does not have the slightest effect on the reality. Is war really cannot be avoided? People massacring each other, must it continue forever? Since the dawn of history, all kinds of war, big and small, in different form, different nature C continue on without a break. Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, Its a matter of interest. Starting from our devouring-raw-meat-and-fowl ancestors, we must fight both for our survival and against the nature, not only to withstand the wind and frost, rain and snow, but also to fill the stomach, or to cope with the invasion of the ferocious beast. From the very beginning, this world is a the-weak-are-prey-to-the-strong kind of heaven and earth. As ourmunity and country organization be increasinglyplex, the reason for war also bes even moreplicated [orig. five flowers, eight gates]. There are inter-ethnic wars, there are wars between those who defend unity and those striving for division, there are wars as a result of internal conflicts within the ruling ss, the wars between the aggressors and those who resist the invasion; as long as human heart is never satisfied, wars will never end either. Xu Ziling said, I suddenly wondered, the problem should lie in the escaping one, hence the turmoil is growing as a thicket, human heart is inadequate. If we could find the escaping one back, everybody in the world will live in peaceful coexistence. Ay! But Im afraid this situation will never appear. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Although your view is mysterious, I can more or less grasp what you mean. In the end, this is a question of the heart; if everyone has the same view as Ziling, the whole world will be at peace. It is a pity that there is only one Xu Ziling in the world. You and I already are very different, from the without-aversion-to-war feeling, since childhood I am ustomed to going-through-fire-and-water way of life. Xu Ziling smiled wryly, but did not say anything. Before daybreak the next day, Kou Zhong evaded the besieging-the-city army and arrived in Luoyang. By this time, Li Yuanji already sessfully rebuilt the high camp, so Luoyang fell into heavy siege and was sealed off again. Kou Zhong entered the pce first to see Wang Shichong. They held a military meeting together with Wang Shichong and his high-ranking military officers. Naturally they could note up with anything, they only unanimously decided to defend Luoyang to the death, to quietly watch for any changes. Luoyangs sess or failure was no longer dictated by them, but it would be determined by Ho battleground. When Kou Zhong returned to his residence in the south of the city, he was ovee with both-mentally-and-physically-exhausted feeling. Yang Gongqing, Ma Chang, Chen Laomou, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling gathered in the residence, they told each other the situation after they parted. The falcon Wuming looked excited as she stood on her masters shoulder, whom she has not seen for a long time, from time to time she rubbed her falcon beak on Kou Zhongs hair, while Kou Zhong lovingly stroked her feather. After Chen Laomou reported his situation to Kou Zhong, Chen Laomou said, Two more days of work, the first tunnel will bepleted, the entrance will be in the dungeon of the city guard building next to the Changxia Gate, and the exit will be in the forest area behind the high camp. Everything is proceeding smoothly. Ma Chang added, The tunnel is spacious and sturdy. From the entrance, fresh air is sent in by bellows [or venttor], only on the second half of the tunnel there is a slight feeling of stuffiness. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, Didnt Chen Lao say that you are going to dig three parallel tunnels? Now that the construction has been under way for more than half a month and yet not even one tunnel ispleted; can you still dig three tunnels within a month? Chen Laomou answered with serious expression, The first tunnel required the longest time, simply because there are many unexpected factors underground, for example encounteringyer of rocks, waterway, and so on. Now that I have more or less grasped the situation underground. We can expand the existing tunnelterally, and then simultaneously excavating the other two tunnels in multiple sections, so that the three tunnels can be connected in many ces, to guarantee that the entire project can bepleted within 15 days. Yang Gongqing warned, It would be best to have some distance between the three exits to facilitate disposition of troops formation or to meet the enemy. Stroking Wuming, Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely, I wonder if the tunnel can let the horse through? Chen Laomou frankly said, Im afraid there will be a problem; the horses certainly cannot endure the hot and stuffy air inside. Astonished, Kou Zhong said, You guys have not thought about this problem? Without horses, even if we could slip away from the tunnel, we definitely cannot escape Li Shimins cavalrys pursuit and attack. Dont forget Kang Qiaolis falcon. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Until yesterday, this waspletely not a problem, because south of the city, there was no solid stronghold blocking our way; we could dispatch part of the soldiers out of the city via the tunnel first, to ambush the enemys rear, and then the rest of the men break out of the siege and go. But now its naturally another matter altogether. Ma Chang said, Last time we were able to break through the high camp, luck yed an important role. This time Li Yuanji suffered untold hardships to rebuild the high camp, surely he would use massive military force to strongly defend his position. If we took the risk of attack, the injuries and deaths would be disastrous, plus we will work to no avail. Kou Zhong smiled and said, When changes are exhausted, change will go through. Turning to Chen Laomou, he asked, Can the tunnel pass through under the high camp? Chen Laomou pped his thigh and eximed, Super! He said, Such a simple method, why didnt I think about it? Leave this matter to me, I can dig upward under the high camp; I guarantee the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive. Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, The size of the exit must be calcted urately, preferably at the heart of the enemy camp. Let me be in charge to lead the vanguard troops. Chen Laomouughed and said, The tunnel exit is a branch of science, I will deal with it carefully. When is Shaoshuai going to attack the high camp? Kou Zhong replied, I havent figured it out yet. It would be best to wait until all three tunnels arepleted before we decide when to act. Huh! We have visitors! Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling also heard the gust of wind as someone jumped over the wall and came in; inwardly they were greatly astonished. Ba Yegangs voice was heard from the outside, Ba Yegang, Shan Xiongxin, Guo Shancai are asking for an audience with Shaoshuai, there is an important matter to discuss. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Three gentlemen, Great Generals, pleasee in. Everybody was bewildered and felt something was amiss; they stood up to wee the visitors. Ba Yegang, Shan Xiongxin and Guo Shancai, three mens expression were grave, they entered the hall via the side door. After they were seated, Ba Yegang opened the door and saw the mountain [idiom: to get right to the point], saying, Wang Shichongs fate already reached the end, a fine bird chooses a tree to nest in [proverb]. After some discussion, the three of us decided to defect to Shaoshuai. Shan Xiongxin added, We are absolutely not the kind of men who dont speak about trust and justice [or honor, good faith], only because Wang Shichong employs people based on selfish reason, its hard for him to be a very capable person; worse yet, he did not listen to Shaoshuais sincere [or loyal] advice, which resulted in todays oue. Guo Shancai also stated, The fact is that we are representing all high-ranking military officers with different surname in Luoyang; we are asking Shaoshuai to take Wang Shichongs ce, only then will Luoyang have the hope. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and the others looked at each other in dismay. Shan Xiongxin went against Wang Shichong was not surprising at all, because he was a surrendered enemy general who used to follow Li Mi and then changed direction by throwing his lot to Wang Shichong, his rtionship with Wang Shichong was not deep. However, Ba Yegang and Guo Shancai have been following Wang Shichong for many years, they have always been loyal and devoted to Wang Shichong. It is thus clear that Wang Shichong has been caught in people-rebelling-and-friends-deserting situation. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Gentlemen think so highly of me, Kou Zhong, I am really overwhelmed by favor from superior. However, right now I am powerless to defend myself, there is a boat-capsizing-people-perishing danger at any moment. Gentlemen following me, I am afraid there wont be good days to pass. Yang Gongqing asked, What exactly happened that made the three gentlemen suddenly resent Wang Shichong like this? Snorting coldly, Ba Yegang said, Starting from Cijian, when he forced Shaoshuai to leave, we were already extremely resentful toward Wang Shichongs conduct and deeds. Last night, Li Yuanji sent his men, using arrow, to deliver a letter into the city. Although we do not know the contents of the letter, but just by looking at how Wang Shichong said nothing about this in front of Shaoshuai, we know that he is harboring unfathomable motives. This time Shaoshuai disregarding life or death to deliver food to Luoyang, even more supremely honorable and righteous is that you stay closely with us to defend the city in danger, our troops, from top to bottom, none does not feel grateful, hence Wang Shichong is disgraced by his own conducts. Everybody understood suddenly; certainly Li Yuanjis letter was to advice Wang Shichong to open the city and surrender, and while doing it, to sell out Kou Zhong to them. Shan Xiongxin spoke indignantly, We go through fire and water for him, but Wang Shichong only cares about himself. Of course! He has Dong Shu Fei [fei C imperial concubine] to speak on his behalf in front of Li Yuan, he can still save his life to the end; perhaps there is even a part-time government official work to let him pass the second half of his life in style. But we will die without a doubt. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, How did Da Jiangjun get that idea? Hasnt Li Shimin always been treating surrendering enemy generals well? Guo Shancai sighed and said, ording to the information from Changan, Li Yuanji came here bearing Li Yuans secret order; if Luoyang is broken, other than Wang Shichongs n, the rest of the high-ranking military officers will be put to death as a warning to the world. Bang! Kou Zhong heavily pped the table, his pair of eyes emitted a fierce and severe, strange light, he spoke heavily, If Wang Shichong is thinking of selling me, Kou Zhong, out, I am afraid he would only have that opportunity in the next life. From now on, we all are brothers; even if we have to die, we will die like a man. However, now is still not the time to discard Wang Shichong yet, unless he has the audacity to open the gate to wee the enemy. Lets make detailed n, we will secretly monitor any sign of activity of the men and horses under Wang Shichongs personalmand. If he is not benevolent, I wont be righteous. Otherwise, I will still keep my promise to help him holding fast to Luoyang until thest moment. Book 52 12 – Death Secret Order

Book 52 Chapter 12 C Death Secret Order

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, three men patrolled along the top of the city wall. Everywhere they went, the warriors respectfully saluted, their eyes emitted admiring expression, which evolved from the bottom of their hearts. The three warmly inquired about these soldiers C who were waiting for dawn, their heads resting on a spear C well-being, andforted them, acting with diligent care to attempt to improve their circumstances and to raise their morale. Outside the city, the arrow towers at the enemy camp, which were glittering with lights, extended forever into the distance on the ins, scattered outside the city. There was indeed a making-people-lose-their-courage-entirely, dispersing-without-even-fighting mighty power. Finally the three reached the Upper East Gate on the northeast. Climbing to the city gate tower rising high above the city wall, they leaned over to look into the distance to their left at Li Yuanjismand camp located on the hignd between the Cao Canal and Luo River, under protection of strong defensive structure and trenches. Themand camp locked up and pressed down on two uneven paths, threatening Luoyang. The soldiers guarding the city gate tower quietly withdrew to give the three the convenience to talk. Kou Zhong sighed lightly and said, If I could capture themand camp and behead Li Yuanji under my saber, I certainly can rewrite the fate of the future. Xu Ziling sneered and said, This is called rejoicing in grandiose deeds, also overestimating ones capabilities even more. Kou Zhongughed apologetically and said, I was just using words to vent up the pent-up frustration in my heart. After a good night sleep, my energy is recoveredpletely, I have a high fighting spirit. Frankly speaking, on the way rushing toward Luoyang, my mood was so bad that it could not be worse than that. Only after a good sleep, when I woke up, my mood recovered. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, No matter how bad your mood is, you must not show it. Because inside the City of Luoyang, everyone is taking you as their only guide, they look at you to conduct themselves, not just in name only, but also in reality. The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shing, he spoke heavily, I, Kou Zhong, will never concede. While killing me is not easy, wanting me to surrender is even more impossible. Lowering his voice, Xu Ziling said, What are you going to do with Wang Shichong? Ba Fenghan interjected, Gain the initiative by striking first, those who moveter will be under the control of the others. Kou Zhongs eyebrows were deeply furrowed, he muttered to himself irresolutely, and then spoke with bitter smile, A centipede is an insect that is dead but showing no signs of rigor mortis [idiom: die hard]. Dont look at how Wang Shichong is at odds with the officers and soldiers under hismand, because he has deployed his troops for a long time, the military power in his hands controls most of the high-ranking military officers with the Wang surname that are rted to him. If we make our move to deal with Wang Shichong, very likely it will trigger internal battle. If that happens, no need to wait for the enemy toe and attack, we will copse on our own first. Ba Fenghan said, If Wang Shichong secretly open the city gate and surrender, we will suffer total defeat of the entire army. Kou Zhong responded, I know Wang Shichong, this man, too well! He is reluctant to give up his power, if not until thest moment, his scheme exhausted his strength is gone, he wont be willing to give up. Anyway, if he is willing to surrender, the Tang Army cant possibly kill him. Based on his character, its only natural that he will hold out to thest moment before deciding to surrender. At the present time, he still has hope for the Tang and Xia, two-way war, he wont give up too easily. Therefore, we only need to closely monitor Wang Shichongs movements, I guarantee theres nothing to worry about. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around the outside of the city, far and near, he spoke indifferently, Currently, Luoyang is like an isted ind, not only trafficing and going is cut off, but also isted from the world, we are unclear of whats going on in the Tang and Xia, two armies fighting. When Li Shimin defeats Dou Jiande, he will turn his troops back to Luoyang. At that time, not only we will have to deal with external problems, but also to deal with internal worries! Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Could it be that Ling Shao is in favor of Lao Bas proposal to gain the initiative by striking first? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I am judging the matter as it stands. I dont take life or death matter to heart, but I have no choice but to give thought to the brothers who fight side by side with us. Ba Fenghan spoke in heavy voice, War is a deadly game of who is more ruthless. Kou Zhong, you must not have excessive tendency to clemency [orig. womens benevolence]; that will only mess things up. Kou Zhong reached out to wrap his arms around the two mens shoulders, he smiled and said, LaoGe, your rebuke is well-deserved, however, the fortunate timing of this operation must still be considered carefully. I still have a trick up my sleeve; when Dou Jiande really nurses a grievance at Ho, Qifei will personally rush over, he will light up three fire beacons on the hilltop southeast of Luoyang. That will be the moment we willmence our operation. But under current circumstances, we must pretend tounchrge-scale counterattack on the Tang Army outside the city, while carrying-out all kinds of careful deployment inside the city, to control the city without Wang Shichongs knowledge. At that time, we wont be afraid that he is going to betray us. Ba Fenghan spoke in delight, Good kid! You really have some skills. Kou Zhong said, Actually, I still have another trick up my sleeve, which is to open ess to the tunnel first, send a scout to go through the tunnel to make contact in secret with our troops in Chenliu. But I am afraid we might save a little only to lose a lot, by exposing the existence of the tunnel, hence I discard this idea. After a short pause, he went on, The most important thing for us right now is to conserve our strength. Once the city is broken, the entire army will break the siege and leave, we will go down south to seize Xiangyang. If we can defend then we will defend, if we cannot defend then we will withdraw to Zhongli via the waterway, and then we will have a decisive battle against Li Shimin. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Im looking forward to that day. The days of painfully defending Luoyang are not easy at all; in the self-cultivation in the martial art way, it could be considered an ascetic practice. Kou Zhong let go of his arms and asked, Hows Luoyangs grain supply? Xu Ziling replied, Food and daily necessities can stillst for about twenty more days; living frugally is a must. Medications have seen simr usage, which is one of the reasons why we do not dare tounch arge-scale counterattack. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, We have one tunnel that is open but we are not using it, isnt it unwise? Kou Zhongughed and said, Great minds think alike [orig. heroes usually agree]; I was just racking my brains on the tunnel. If we could send people through the tunnel, the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive, we could have Xuan Yong send us rations, medications and arrow darts and weapons. Part of it will be transported into the city via the tunnel, the rest can be hidden on the mountain and fields near the exit, so that when we run away, we wontck food supplies and run short of arrows. Even if Li Shimin does not want to let us go and pursue relentlessly from behind, we will still be in a position to deal with him. Xu Ziling decisively said, This assignment, just leave it to me! How could Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan have any objection? Relying on Xu Zilings iparable-in-the-world spirited senses, entering and exiting the enemy territory was as easy as a hands turn. Moreover, he could lead the transporting-grain troops the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive C to sneak back into the city. Kou Zhong dly said, Ill entrust everything to Ling Shaoi then. Pointing to Li Yuanjismand camp, he said, What if we dig a tunnel that leads directly to Li Yuanjis doghouse? Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, It wont work unless you get rid of Wang Shichong first. Kou Zhong said, If Li Yuanjis is killed, Luoyangs siege will be automatically resolved, how could Wang Shichong not agree? Xu Ziling understood his intentions, Kou Zhong was unwilling to look on helplessly at Dou Jiande being defeated and dispersed. He advised, To dig such a tunnel will need at least twenty days, that is assuming there is no big rock or river course underground blocking the way, plus it will dy the tunnel project to the south. Even if Wang Shichong is willing to cooperate sincerely, in terms of timing, it is still not feasible. All right! Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Lets proceed ording to the n we agreed on. I hope Dou Jiande can disy his great divine power to capture Ho, so that we can sessfully retreat, along the way going down south we can capture Xiangyang, and enjoy a little bit of just and honest good fortune. The next day at dusk, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan led the troops to go out and attack; they were just bluffing, they wanted to attract the attention of the besieging-the-city armys attention, while Chen Laomou seized the opportunity to open ess to the tunnel, constructing an ingeniously-designed concealed exit, while Xu Ziling also took the opportunity to slip out of the exit and go to Chenliu, so that they could transport food and weapons back. In order to confuse the enemys eyes and ears, Kou Zhong and the others took turns to attack, to fill the trenches and destroy the arrow tower, while underground, Chen Laomou was going all-out in the construction project, utilizing the first tunnel to dig cross tunnel, so that they could dig the other two tunnels from several different sections at the same time. Five dayster, Xu Ziling came back at night, leading grain-transporting troops; he also brought bad news. It turned out that Li Shimin deliberately released the news, falsely iming that the Tang Armys horses had exhausted their fodder supply, so that they had to take their horses to Hebei, while transferring arge number of troops at the same time. Hearing the news, Dou Jiande was greatly delighted, thinking that this was a good opportunity to attack Ho, hence the whole nesting out, he mobilized the main forces out of Banzhu, and set up battle formation at Niukouzhu, connected to the Yellow River in the north, approaching Fan River to the west, leaning on the Magpie Mountain on the south. The battle formation spanning over more than twenty li, they beat the drums to challenge the opponent to a fight. Li Shimin setup his battle formation about a li on the other side of the Fan River to meet the enemy, he held fast to the camp and did not go out, so that it became standing-opposite-each-other situation. The problem was that the Dou Army wascking food supplies, while Li Shimin had elite soldiers, ample provisions [idiom: well prepared], and he was waiting at his ease for the exhausted enemy [yep, another idiom]. Furthermore, he had Ho behind him as a backup, so that if the stand-off continued, it would greatly benefit the Tang Army. Therefore, Xuan Yong, Xu Xingzhi, and so on were not too optimistic about Dou Jiande. The decisive battle between the Xia and Tangs main forces was near at hand, the Luoyang Citys atmosphere was bing more and more tense. Kou Zhong summoned Shan Xiongxin and Ba Yegang to have secret discussion in a house at the south of the city. Kou Zhong asked first, You said that Li Yuanji received secret order from Li Yuan; other than Wang Shichong and his nsmen, the rest of the high-ranking military officers, without exception, will all be executed with no pardon. Where did the information actuallye from? Ba Yegang replied, It was Zhang Zhenzhou sending his men to inform us, advising me that if I see the turn of events not too encouraging, to immediately lead my men and brothers to flee, no need to throw my life in for Wang Shichong, this kind of a lowly man. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Zhang Gong is a man with temperament, he says one as one, he says two as two, he will never use empty words to intimidate. Shan Xiongxin asked in surprise, At that time, why did Shaoshuai not ask directly about this matter? Kou Zhong responded candidly, The problem is that Ba Da Jiangjun and Guo Da Jiangjun are men who had been with Wang Shichong for many years, therefore, I must watch you for some time before I dare to be sure of gentlemens sincerity. Two gentlemen, please do not take offense. Ba Yegang said, Shaoshuai has this kind of notion, it is reasonable and fair. Shan Xiongxin spoke in delight, That means Shaoshuai is finally willing to offer us shelter! Kou Zhong said, I already said that we all are brothers, then we are brothers. By the way, I wonder how many high-ranking military officers outside the Wang family are standing on my side? Counting with his fingers, Ba Yegang replied, There are Duan Da, Wang Long, Cui Hongzhou, Xue Deyin, Meng Xiaowen, Guo Shizhu, Wang Deren, Yu Yuanzhen, Yang Wang, and so on, more than a dozen high-ranking military officers. Except for Lang Feng and Song Mengqiu, these two Wang Shichongs loyal dogs, all the high-ranking military officers with external surnames are leaning toward Shaoshuai, hoping that in the future could follow Shaoshuai to conquer the world, to attack into Guanzhong and lop off Li Yuans stinky head. Just by listening to the contemptuous tone of Ba Yegangs voice as he was speaking about Li Yuan, Kou Zhong knew that the various generals of different surnames in Luoyang, due to the injuries and deaths among theirrade-in-arms and their men C have already tied an unsolvable deep hatred toward the House of Tang of Changan. Otherwise, no need to surrender to Kou Zhong, they only needed to open wide the city gate to wee Li Yuanji, surely they would be respected as generals and would be bestowed nobility titles. Hows the situation of your troops? Kou Zhong asked. Letting out a cold snort, Shan Xiongxin replied, The men and horses under Wang Shichongs personalmand have suffered considerable damage, except for a bit more than one thousand imperial guards who are loyal to him, the other nearly twenty thousand generals and soldiers are entirely our people. As soon as Shaoshuai give your order, we could immediately charge into the imperial pce, to kill Wang Shichong until not a single armor remains. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, That is the n B. We all are brothers; I have no need to conceal anything from you. We have already excavated three tunnels, when the situation is critical, we can escape from Luoyang, no need to wait inside the city to die. Hearing that, the two were delighted and rmed at the same time. Shan Xiongxin asked, Shaoshuai is not optimistic about Dou Jiande? Are you? Kou Zhong asked in return. The two shook their heads at the same time. Ba Yegang said, Turns out Shaoshuai has already prepared backup n early on. How should we cooperate? Kou Zhong replied, We must study clearly the details of the withdrawal first, so that when the situation bes critical, everybody will know what measure to take. Precisely as long as green mountains remain, why would we be worry there is no wood to burn? Fully aware that one cannot do something yet insist on doing it, it is not something that a wise man would choose. Unnecessarily sacrificing ones life is even more meaningless. However, one day Dou Jiande has not suffered defeat, Wang Shichong and us still sharemon interest, plus the situation is such that I definitely can seize Ho one step ahead of Wang Shichong, so the initiative is in my ce rather than in Wang Shichongs hands. Two gentlemen can rest assured. After the three discussed the details of how to deal with the current situation, even the details of the grand n of withdrawal, they quietly dispersed. Kou Zhong went to the South City Guard House to see Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, who were inspecting the tunnel. The two were talking at the entrance of the tunnel, the construction battalion soldiers were as busy as a bee under Chen Laomous direction, basket after basket of sand and mud and rocks were carried out to the ground surface, and stored in a secret ce. Seeing Kou Zhongs arrival, Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, How about we go to the other end to breathe a mouthful of fresh and clean air outside the city? Kou Zhongughed and said, Naturally I am honored to apany you. The three, with happy and excited mood, entered the tunnel, into a world reinforced with thick wooden beam spanning across overhead, supported by vertical columns. There were windnterns hanging every few dozen steps, under the breeze from more than a dozen bellows [or venttor, I am not sure, since I think bellows will require people to operate it], the me was flickering randomly, giving people eerie, bizarre feeling. The construction battalion soldiers were still drilling dirt and excavating mud using special tools, as well as installing beams and columns, in the other two tunnels, while the three strolled unhurriedly along the eight-chi high, one-zhang wide, and over one li long C tunnel. The exit under the high camp was a wide room like a hall. This was the intersection of the three tunnels. There were stone steps going up. There was still a thickyer, nearly a -zhang deep C of soil that has not been opened, which was firmly propped by wooden structure. However, with the three mens hearing ability, they were able to faintly hear the sound of hoof beats and footsteps in the camp overhead. All around the underground space, there were deep grooves to amodate the mud that was pouring out of the ruptures, the design was impossible to fault. Wang Shichong has amassed arge quantity of timber in the city, originally intended for the construction of the pce buildings, who could have thought that Chen Laomou took them to build the tunnel? After looking around for a moment, the three continued their journey, still heading toward the exit at the southern end of the first tunnel. Really strange, Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, We have walked this far, yet howe I still dont feel stuffy? Xu Ziling replied, Its all thanks to the air vents installed below the enemy trenches, with abundant bellows sending fresh air into the channel and driving the dead air inside the tunnel away. Afterpleting the first tunnel, we must add air vents at the end, otherwise we cant breathe while walking. Ba Fenghan said, Shaoshuais charisma is extraordinary, hence you can attract so many outstanding talents to work for you; take Chen Laomou for example, he has a great chance to be the second Lu Miaozi. Without him, even if you cane up with the idea of constructing a tunnel, you would not have the ability to put it into practice. Kou Zhongughed and said, Chen Gong is at least equal to half Lu Dashi. He and Lu Dashis other half Lei LaoGe together, they certainly make one full Lu Miaozi. Ha! Talking andughing, the three arrived at the exit at the end of the tunnel. The stone steps rose up two zhang high, straight to the thick iron lid on the exit; it looked very heavy. Xu Ziling knew the situation of the exit very well; he exined, The cover itself weighs more than a hundred catties, the top is covered with thinyer of dirt and weeds, located inside a cluster of misceneous trees, very hidden. After opening it, it is propped up by a piece of wood support; it is very convenient for us go out unhurriedly. Kou Zhong happily climbed up the stairs, he tested the lid with both hands; speechless, he said, At least more than two hundred catties. Exerting his strength into both hands, one side of the iron lid rose up, the sound of wind whistling over the Yi Luo ins, as well as the rustling noise of the swaying trees and mobbing leaves C wereing from above. Kou Zhong looked out the exit, he said with a sigh, Why does the night sky seen from Luoyang City feel very different from the night sky seen here? Its all the same sky! Ba Fenghan smiled and said, The sky is no different, but the mood is different. One is being trapped in a lone city, but here is free and easy, giving us free rein to crisscross the world. One after another the three climbed out of the exit, which was located on the slope of a small hill, all around the weeds were abundant, the sparse forest was covered in vegetation. When the iron lid was closed, the exit looked no different than the grassy slope. The three cautiously crept up to the top of the hill, and crouched down on the slope to look into the distance. The lights from the high camp appeared about two hundred zhang away in front of their eyes, while the City of Luoyang was more than a li straight ahead. Full of interest, Kou Zhong observed the situation of the high camp, he smiled and said, If I take the Flying Cloud Riders mounting a sneak attack from behind, I guarantee that only after we cross the trench and enter the camp will the enemy be surprised. Ba Fenghan pointed to the four watchtowers located at the camps south side, he said, It will still take the guards of the watchtowers to doze off to work. Kou Zhong said, Based on our skill, surely we could, while the enemy is caught off guard C take care of the sentry on the towers one step ahead, right? Luo and Yi, two rivers separately snaked their way from far away to the left and right, the Luo River ran through Luoyang, it flowed into the city from the west, while the Yi Rivers main stream flowed past the southeast side of Luoyang City, with one tributary flowed through inside the city. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Our withdrawal grand n can be divided into three parts. The first part is sending thence and shield wilders and the saber and arrow wielders to go through the three tunnels, and then secretly spread out and formed battle array on this hill, followed by the wonder troopsing out of the tunnel tounch surprise attack toward the high camp. Afterwards, all three gates on the south side open wide, the troops will intercept the enemy formation going to help the high camp. After they rendezvous with the troops ambushing the high camp, they will withdraw to the side. The unit standing by in here is responsible for fiercely striking the enemys retreating troops, and then fight while retreating to the south at the same time. Sess or failure depends on whether we could carry out blitzkrieg strategy, before the Tang Army guarding Yique and ShouAn, two cities get wind and seal off our route, to rush and enter Hongnong Jun [County or region], along the eastern bank of Zhe River, straight toward Xiangyang. Ba Fenghan said, You said it like it was that easy. If we want to carry out blitzkrieg strategy, we must send arge number of warhorses here, that means we have to fill the trenches first, and also break down the battle formation the enemy set up along the edge of the trenches. Kou Zhongughed and said, Hence the saying that in the scheming of the art of war, the most critical thing is the willingness to use ones brains. As long as we extend the tunnel under the enemy arrow tower formation, excavate the ground under them, we could treat it like an exit. We set up the wooden column first, then when its time tounch an attack, we use kerosene to drench the pir, and burn his Niangs wood, when the columns break, the arrow tower formation will naturally copse, and then as easy as blowing off dust, we can render big blow to the enemys solid formation. Ba Fenghan blurted outughing, he said, Creativelybining learning with usage. Fancy that you coulde up with such a shady and damaging trick. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Its all thanks to LaoGe giving me directions; the more ruthless, the greater the chance of victory. His Niangs! Very soon I will have a heart of stone! Xu Ziling proposed, Army tents, foodstuff, supplies, everything must be transported to secret ce near the exit. This way, our escape will be easier and more convenient. Kou Zhong excitedly said, We happen to be three stinky cobblers, together we be one Zhuge Liang. Even if he, Li Shimins wisdom and scheming ability reach to the sky, the Heavenly Policy Mansion has fierce generals as numerous as the clous, strategic experts as thick as rain, in the end they still cannot match Wo Long Xiansheng [Mr. Crouching Dragon], whose name is famous throughout all ages. His grannys bear, Li kid wants me to die, it wont be that easy. Huh? The three mens countenance changed at the same time. There was the sound of a gust of wind from behind, obviously someone was flying in their direction. Book 52 13 – The Great Momentum Has Already Gone

Book 52 Chapter 13 C The Great Momentum Has Already Gone

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The three maintained their crouching position and looked back. In the dark forest, a sweet, fair and graceful, beautiful shadow swiftly flew over, it was obvious that the other side was not aware of them yet, her speed did not decrease at all. When she was flying up the slope, she suddenly stopped with great rm, her flower countenance lost its color. But when she saw clearly that it was the three men, her shock turned into amazement. Pressing her hand onto her silky chest, she said, I was urgently looking for you, how did you get here? The newer was unexpectedly the Beautiful Military Advisor Shen Luoyan. Althoughpared to before she was wasting away, but she looked even more lovely and moving. The three sat up from the slope. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Could it be that you did not know that Luoyang is heavily besieged by Li Yuanji? If people found out that Shen Dajie ising to visit us, it will only be harmful to Shiji Xiong without any benefit. Shen Luoyan was wearing tight-fitting nightwalker outfit; having just recovered from the shock, she came over to the three and squatted down. Lowering her voice, she said, I have neither the time nor the mood to make idle chat with you, in the Tang C Xia battle, victory or defeat has been decided, Li Shimin defeated Dou Jiande big time, Dou Jiande was captured alive, currently Li Shimin is returning his troops to Luoyang, Shiji has received order to go all-out to attack Chenliu, to cut off your Shao Shuai Army at Chenliu from all contacts and ess to Luoyang. If you still want your life, you ought to immediately flee as far away as possible. Ay! You must leave immediately; fleeing toward the Great River is the only way to survive, but you have to avoid Shouan and Yiques city defenders. The three mens countenance changed at the same time. Although they already anticipated Dou Jiandes defeat, they never thought he would be defeated this quickly, this tragically, so that they were caught off guard and have not made any appropriate preparation. Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, How could Dou Jiande be that no good? Shen Luoyan was afraid they did not believe her and thus lost the good opportunity to escape, she hurriedly said, Dou Jiande was lured to march into Ho, and formed battle array there, but Qin Wang did not engage him in battle, he let Dou Jiande waiting in vain from chen hour [7-9am] to wu hour [11am-1pm, or noon]. When the Dou Armys soldiers were weary their generals tired, Qin Wang sent Yuwen Zhiji first to lead light cavalry rushing west of Dou Jiandes troops disposition, to disturb the soldiers heart, before personally leading the Dark Armored battle cavalry charging straight into the enemy ranks, soon after the main forces, covering he mountains and the ins, attacked. The two sides crossed swords in tangled battle. Qin Wang led the Dark Armored Elite Cavalry breaking the disposition of troops and entered, straight to the back of Dous battle formation, and then turn around to dash back into the original disposition of troops. Charging this way for several passes, the Dou Army copsed and dispersed, the Tang Army followed up the victory and pressed home the attack for more than thirty li, beheading over three thousand men. Under the desperate protection of his high-ranking military officers and personal followers, Dou Jiande fled toward Niukouzhu, but was captured alive by the Tang Armys Bai Shirang and Yang Wuwei. In this battle the number of the Dou Army taken prisoners reached fifty thousand men, but were released on the spot by Qin Wang, he let them return to their respective home. Dou Jiande is finished, and then it will be your turn. If you dont leave now, what are you waiting for? Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down. Such a mighty man of this era like Dou Jiande, how his might spread to eight sides in the past, yet this moment has be a lowly prisoner, his life or death was under other peoples will. He was so full of sorrow that he wanted to cry. Li Shimins remark was not wrong, he asked Dou Jiande to help, it was merely harming him, expediting his defeat. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling were concerned about how to escape before the tunnels and the deployment werepleted. They wanted to speak, but there was nothing to say. Shen Luoyan anxiously said, Why are you guys suddenly be a mute? I really am not chatting andughing with you. Li Yuan already issued imperial edict, ordering Qin Wang to bring Kou Zhongs head back to see him. This is what Shiji personally told me! Kou Zhong fought hard to rouse his spirit, he smiled bitterly and said, Meirener Junshi, please dont worry, Li Shimin wants to chop my head, he will have to ask the Moon in the Well in Xiaodis hand first. Casting him a nce, Shen Luoyan said, Your rigid character does not change. And then she hung her head down and spoke softly, About Changan, I have not had the chance to thank you guys. We all are old friends! Kou Zhong responded. Obviously, Shen Luoyan was thinking about Li Mis death by violence, her pair of eyes emitted sad expression, she hung her head down and remained silent. Xu Ziling did not want her to recall the sad load on her mind, he asked, How long ago was Dou Gong defeated? Remembering the purpose of the trip, Shen Luoyan hurriedly said, It was three days ago. The next day, Li Shimin led the army to march. I am guessing his vanguard troops should arrive here within five days at thetest, you must leave this ce immediately. And then her jet-ck eyebrows slightly knitted, she asked, How can youe in and out to this ce freely? Even though Kou Zhong trusted Shen Luoyan, but because of the importance of the matter, he still did not dare to reveal the truth, yet he could not bear to lie to her. Leaning over to her sparkling and translucent and prating small ear, he spoke in low voice, This is relying on the benefit ofing in low and leaving on high. Ba Fenghan was afraid the more Kou Zhong talk, the more explicit he was; he said, Li Furens [Mrs. Li] esteemed friendship and profound love, three of us brothers are extremely grateful. This is a dangerous ce, its not suitable for Li Furen to stay for a long time, we are also going back to the city to prepare our withdrawal. He intentionally called her Li Furen to remind Shen Luoyan of her own situation, which could easily implicate Li Shiji. Sure enough, hearing that, Shen Luoyans tender body slightly shook, she repeatedly cast nces toward Xu Ziling, wanted to say something but then hesitated, in the end her small cicada head lightly nodded and said, You guys take care of yourselves, you must never, ever, unt the bravado of ignorant person. Finished speaking, she turned around and left swiftly via her original path. The three watched her back as she disappeared into the mountain forest, they sat on the slope with nk expression near the top of the hill. It was quite a whileter that Kou Zhong spoke, Our nightmare seems to have just begun. What do we do? Ba Fenghan said, The matter of vital importance is to split manpower. First, to dig the tunnels that can break the other sides trench positions. On the other hand, build more toad carts to fill the trenches, do everything we can to work day and night toplete everything within a day or two. Dou Jiande being captured must only be known by the topyer high-ranking military officers; it must not be leaked to the army. We have to race against time, as long as we can break the siege and leave before Li Shimin arrived, outside, the ocean is wide, the sky is high, we will soar, there will always be the day we sweep up the earth again. Kou Zhong said, I am most afraid that Li Yuanji will be one step ahead sending letter by flying arrow to notify Wang Shichong. This repeatedly faithless lowly man will surely betray us. Ba Fenghan said, Hence we must let Ba Yegang and the others know about this, so that they can make all measure to guard against that. If Wang Shichong shows any unusual change, we will kill his Niangs that not a single armor remains. After figuring out the situation of the mountains and streams far and near the exit, the three returned to the city via the tunnel. They called for an emergency meeting at the South City Guard Building, to inform Yang Gongqing, Ma Chang, Chen Laomou, Ba Yegang, Shan Xiongxin, Guo Shancai and the others about the bad news pertaining Dou Jiande suffered defeat and met the misfortune of being captured. Finally Kou Zhong said, Luoyangs great momentum has gone, the only way we can take is to withdraw to the south, however, even though we are retreating, it must be a pretty and glorious retreat. And then he exined the grand n of retreat. pping his chest, Chen Laomou guaranteed, As long as I double the number of men, I canplete the project by dusk the day after tomorrow. Ma Chang said, Please hand over the responsibility to build the toad carts to Shuxia. Kou Zhong made the decision, In that case, the operation to withdraw the troops willmence on the evening the day after tomorrow. During this time, we must not make any mistake, every action must be aimed at safe withdrawal. I want our men to keep the whole city under tight control, do not to let any news leak out of the city, and any letters that are shot in from outside the city must be sent to me, not to Wang Shichongs hand. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, both were able to see the thought in the others heart C facing life and death crisis, Kou Zhong finally recovered from frustration and anxiety, and has changed back into the unequalledmander-in-chief who look at war as a game, bing ruthless, sharp like a de. Knitting his brows, Ba Yegang said, Should we put Wang Shichong in order first then? Ba Fenghan raised his thumb toward Ba Yegang and praised, Yegang Xiong is ruthless enough. Kou Zhong smiled calmly and said, Lao Ba, there is no need to remind Xiaodi. Turning to Chen Laomou and Ma Chang, he said, Chen Gong and Ma Jiangjun, no need to waste your time here, do your best to stir up the work we already decided, leave the rest to us. Chen Laomou and Ma Chang cheerfully epted the order and left. Turning to Yang Gongqing to ask for advice, Kou Zhong said, Yang Gong, please give directions. Stroking his beard, Yang Gongqing smiled and said, I am the kind of person who is too old [as in old age], and too old [as in old vs. new]! I will listen to Shaoshuai in everything. Real man is to be buried in a horse hide [idiom: to give ones life on the battlefield], life or death merely like an idle matter. An ominous feeling gushed out in Kou Zhongs heart. In the past, he had repeatedly gone through fire and water with Yang Gongqing, it was only this time that he directly spoke about death. This moment he had no time to think too much, he slightly shook his head to disperse the disturbing thought from his mind. His eyes met with Ba Fenghans, he smiled and said, All along I have been avoiding street fight with Wang Shichong, it was to conserve strength, therefore, I must seal off the news about Dou Jiande being captured. If I am guessing correctly, Li Yuanji ought to find out about this matterter than we did. Xu Ziling agreed, he said, Li Shimin might hide this matter from Li Yuanji. Because he wanted Wang Shichong to surrender to him and not to Li Yuanji. The crowd sat around the round table. The flickeringntern lights shone on the City Guard Buildings main hall that it was sometime bright, sometime dark. Xu Ziling suddenly remembered Shi Feixuan, he recalled the touching scene of his first encounter with her. Everything happened in Luoyang, nevertheless, the mood at that time and the mood now was as different as the Heaven from the Earth. Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghan said, Everything will be done ording to what you guys decided. I am, after all, only a swordsman who ising and going alone, what I have in mind is either to kill or be killed. Plus Shaoshuai, you are the supreme leader of the entire army, you give thought to the general situation in everything, your thought is on the final victory. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Those who know me, other than Ziling, I have to count you, Ba Fenghan. And then his pair of eyes shot divine light, he cast his gaze to Ba Yegang, and spoke in heavy voice, Therefore, for the time being, no need to take the trouble and expend a great deal of effort to disce Wang Shichong. Now we have nearly thirty thousand men against six thousand imperial guards, its not his turn to speak up and be of importance. Submitting cheerfully, Ba Yegang saluted and said, Order received! Kou Zhong went on, From this moment onwards, I want to have a great general-level man taking turn on duty at the eastern wall, to pay close attention to the movement of the enemy forces outside the city on the east side, any slightly different movement must be reported immediately. Guo Shancai responded, Let Shuxia be in charge of that. Kou Zhongughed and said, I will leave everything to you. To tell you the truth, I have been in even more nasty situation; as long as everything goes ording to the n, we will definitely be able to cross this obstacle safely. Everybody knew that with the more nasty situation he was talking about, he was referring to the Battle of Helian Fort, which was entirely the fact. Immediately Ba Yegang, three generals confidence was greatly boosted. They took their leave to handle their respective duty. Only Yang Gongqing, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, four men remained. Thentern light swayed gently in the big hall, while on the outside, there was some kind of cold and cheerless, bleak atmosphere before the big battle. Yang Gongqing said, If Li Shimin came back by boat via the Great River and entered Luo [River], sailing with the current, he wont need four days to reach Luoyang. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and the others felt the chill in their heart. Dou Jiande was defeated and was captured three days ago. If Li Shimin divided his troops into two routes, separately marching to Luoyang via bothnd and water, the troops taking the waterway might arrive any moment now. Fortunately, Ba Fenghan said, ording to our reliable intelligence, Li Shimin abandoned the waterway and took thend route. And then he asked in astonishment, Howe the two of you, your countenance bes so unsightly? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If the opponent is not Li Shimin, Yang Gongs remark definitely wont shake my confidence. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Shaoshuais concern is not without any reason. Shocked, Ba Fenghan knitted his brows and said, Are you guys saying that Li Shimin already has misgivings that Shen Luoyan might disclose the information to us, hence in the troop deployment aspect he did not tell Li Shiji the truth? Hearing that, Yang Gongqing was confused. Unexpectedly the information came from Shen Luoyan. So whats the matter? he asked in bewilderment. After exining to him clearly, Kou Zhong said, The more I thought about it, the more I feel suspicious. Li Shiji clearly knows Shen Luoyans rtionship with us, surely he ought to conceal this matter from his wife, why should he personally tell her? Yang Gongqing said, This is not unusual. I hear that Li Shiji, this person, quite attaches importance toradeship, perhaps because you guys showed kindness to his wife, hence he intentionally gave his wife a chance to repay your kindness. Kou Zhong was about to speak, Ba Yegang, flustered and exasperated, rushed into the main hall like a whirlwind, shouting loudly, Arge number of Tang Armys navy ships is starting to arrive from the Luo River. Hearing that, the four men felt their ears were like the in suddenly being scorched by a thunder, the explosion made everyone saw stars, their scalp went numb. The thing that they were most afraid of was finally happening. Bang! Kou Zhongs palm pped the table, he shouted, Good kid, you have yed me in your palm again. Ba Fenghan rose up to his full height, his countenance became iparably grim, he spoke in cold voice, Counter soldiers with arms, counter water with an earth weir, just let me see whether Li Shimin really have three heads and six arms. Subsequently, Yang Gongqing also stood up and said, Lets go to the top of the city wall to take a look. Xu Ziling looked down at his pair of sparkling and translucent, prating, slender, clean and beautiful hands, there was no more surprise in his heart, suddenly he deeply understood the nature of war, which was to do whatever it takes to win the final victory, to fight with the enemy;passion and mercy definitely had no ce to stand. Only those ruthless enough could survive. And until this moment, Kou Zhong was still not ruthless enough. He himself, naturally, was even some distance inferior. He slowly stood up. Four pair of eyes were all focused on Kou Zhong, who was still sitting in his chair. Taking a deep breath, Kou Zhong spoke slowly, Li Shimin wants to kill me, Kou Zhong, this is his only chance. If he misses Luoyang, he will forever be unable to aplish it. Standing up suddenly, upright and unafraid he strode forward toward the exit of the main hall, every step he took was so sure and powerful, matched with his dragon-gait, tiger-step posture, bold and powerful withoutparison image, his footsteps produced fantastic rhythm, revealing an advancing-bravely formidable confidence. Like whirlwind, Ba Fenghan and the others, under his leadership, stepped out of the main gate, and headed for the battlefield. Book 53 1 – Jiande Returns to Heaven

Book 53 Chapter 1 C Jiande Returns to Heaven

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The drumbeat was thunderous, the bugle horns were sounded simultaneously, the music was not the drums and horns of assault, but the happy tune to wee Li Shimins triumphant return. Li Yuanjis besieging-the-city army the whole nest came out, they lined up in battle array on the river in outside the city. Lantern lights reached the sky, shining upon the numerous, nearly a hundred C navy shipsing from the Great River, crowding the Cao Canal and the Luo River with the flickering shadows of their sails. The moon and the stars in the sky also had to lose their splendor. Peng! Peng! Bang! Bang! The two giant warships leading the convoy set off their victory canons, momentarily me was shing, smoke and fire bits soared into the sky, on the ins, several tens of thousands Tang soldiers and the ships already anchored on the shore to support the Battle of Luoyang shouted and cheered at the same time, the sound of their cry swept over Luoyang like a tidal wave, the morale was high and boiling almost to the extreme point. Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling, Ba Yegang, Yang Gongqing and so on arrived at the top of the eastern city wall. Wang Shichong, Wang Xuanying, Wang Xuanshu, along with Wang Honglie, Wang Xingben, Wang Shidan, and a group of high-ranking military officers of Wang surname, were one step ahead to reach the city wall, looking at the situation of the enemy positions from a distance. The high-ranking military officers of different surname, like Guo Shancai, Shan Xiongxin, Duan Da, Cui Hongdan, Meng Xiaowen, Zhang Tonger, and so on stood on the wall with nk expression on their faces, everyones countenance was the color of the earth, there was fear in their eyes, as they watched the seizing-people-momentum outside the city, the highly excited surging-up mood of the Great Tang Army. On top of Luoyangs city wall, from Wang Shichong down to every single one of the defending-the-city soldiers, none did not have his spirit seized away, they were lost in fear and despair. Kou Zhong and the others came to Wang Shichongs right side, they joined the ranks of men watching the enemy. On Wang Shichongs face, the color of blood haspletely faded, he cast a nce toward Kou Zhong by his side, and then his gaze was back to outside the city, Dou Jiande is finished! he spoke in low voice. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he was unable to respond. Dong! Dong! Dong! The sound of rhythmic drumming, amidst the sound of cheering, came from the vast body of water. The Tang Armys military show of forces rallying cry gradually diminished, being reced by the sound of the marching soldiers footsteps, neat and uniform, which was like a curse that was hounding the officers and soldiers defending the city to death. The Great Tang Army, which was located on the ins between the Cao Canal and the Luo River, started to advance toward Luoyang, in three separate units. At the front were several rows ofnce and shield wielders, followed by saber and arrow wielders and the cavalry. With military appearance at their peak, high-spirited morale, they pressed on toward the city. Outside the city, banners were flying everywhere, the disposition of troops was like the ocean, merely its mighty power was enough to make people feel like dispersing without fighting, an overbearing momentum that they would not be able to withstand. Kou Zhong focused his power to his eyes to look at a group of men and horses going ashore from the ship. The leader was surprisingly Li Shimin, on his side, sitting on the saddle was the trussed-up-tightly, hanging-his-head-dispiritedly Dou Jiande, with a group of great generals Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Pang Yu, Luo Shixin, Qin Shubao, Li Shentong, Li Nantian, Kang Qiaoli, Cheng Yaojin, Wang Junkuo, and so on crowding around them, to rendezvous with Li Yuanji, Qu Tutong, Xue Wanche, and so on C weing them, and then high and mighty, they marched together toward Luoyang City. The battle drums rumbled across the sky, the sound of hoofbeats and footsteps shook the mother earth. The Tang Army formation between the two rivers pushed on until they were about five zhang away from the secondyer of trenches. Under a shout of order, they halted together, giving up another kind of impression that the Tang Army was well-trained and highly-disciplined, a threatening force, which, from top to bottom, were of one mind. On the city wall, the officers and soldiers defending the city, everyones face was the color of the earth, timid feeling grew up inside them. The Li Shimin, Li Yuanji-led men and horses slowly came, passing through the human wall formed by the Tang Army troops withdrawing to either side, straight toward the outer edge of the secondyer of trenches, and then spread into a row, facing Wang Shichong, Kou Zhong, and the others, standing on the city wall. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward Dou Jiande, whose upper body was tightly bound, his arms tied behind his back, and a rope looped around his neck. Thetter happened to raise his head to look up, the two mens eyes met, Dou Jiande immediately, his face was full of shame C hung his head down to avert Kou Zhongs gaze. Just by looking at his haggard and dejected expression, his eyes were brimming with the-path-exhausted, the-end-of-the-road flurried and despaired appearance,pared to the previous mighty-power-spread-across-eight-sides, a hundred-percent-self-confidence Dou Jiande, the difference made people sad and was hard to endure. Dou Jiande was held between Li Shimin and Li Yuanji, so that others felt it even more that the victory was entirely in their, two brothers hands. Li Shimin looked up. Although they were separated by more than a thousand steps distance, but both sides were all martial art masters, they could see the other sides expression very clearly. Kou Zhong as staring hard at him, the two mens eyes made contact, it was like saber and sword exchanged des, neither gave way to the other. Wang Shichong was like losing control of himself, hot tears gushed out, he cried in sorrow, Xia Wang! Dou Jiandes mighty body shook severely, but he did not answer. Li Shimin did not pay attention to Wang Shichong, from far away, he sighed and said to Kou Zhong, Shaoshuai! Did Shimin say it wrong? Before Kou Zhong had any chance to respond, Li Yuanji already roared, Kou Zhong! If you are not an idiot, you should know that the great momentum has gone. If you havent kneeled and begged for mercy, and immediately surrender, I will make you seeking life, you wont find it, seeking death, you cannot. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan exchanged a nce, musing inwardly that it was just as expected, Li Yuanji was doing everything he could to make Li Shimin and them as ipatible as fire and water, there was no room for negotiation or to restore rtionship. Hearing that, Li Shimins eyebrows were deeply furrowed, but there was nothing that he could do, because after all, the two sides have be mortal enemy, plus Li Yuanji has received Li Yuans secret order. Moreover, in his position as themander-in-chief of the Tang Army, in front of the three armies, how could he protect Kou Zhong and the others? Kou Zhong calmed his mind, his countenance became iparably tranquil. Letting out a stifled snort, he said, Qi Wang is too polite, but did you see me, Kou Zhong, as someone who might kneel and beg for mercy? Behind Li Shimins horse, Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin revealed a sad expression. They shook their head and sighed bitterly. How dare you! One after another the various generals under Li Yuanjismand was shouting and cursing. Standing next to Li Yuanji, Li Nantian shouted sternly, Kou Zhong, death is near at hand, you still dare to boast shamelessly. Dou Jiande before your eyes is a good example for you, those who dare to fight against our Great Tang, not a single one can have a good end. You ... Longughter came from Ba Fenghans mouth, the sound shook the city wall, above and below, transmitting the viewing-death-as-a-return-home, courage-without-fear, looking-disdainfully-out-of-the-corner-of-his-eye-at-the-world confidence and valor, interrupting Li Nantians shout and swear, so that the Tang Armys imposing manner was also reduced somewhat. And then Ba Fenghans voice thundered, Right now Luoyang is not broken yet, victory or defeat has not been decided, thy mouths speak out wild idea, wouldnt it be a joke? A hint of hideous smile brimming with hatred flooded out of the corner of Li Yuanjis mouth, which instantly exploded into a loudughter as he said, Victory or defeat has not been decided? Now thats a real joke. I am representing Fu Huang [father emperor] to state conditions to you: if you, Kou Zhong, within ten drumbeats, do note out of the city and kneel and beg for mercy, I will immediately strike Xia Wang dead with my palm. Next to him, Dou Jiande struggled to straighten his bound-up tight body on the horseback, with his hoarse voice he shouted, Xiao Zhong, dont do anything foolish, remember to avenge ... Xue Wanche behind him leaned forward on horseback, his middle finger swiftly jabbed, he cut off Dou Jiandes speech. The entire field, crow and peacock made no sound, the only noise was the whooshing autumn breeze scraping against the inside and outside of the city walls, blowing the several hundred and thousands torches that they produced rustling noise, sending random fire bits up into the night sky from time to time, which disappeared just as quickly. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Kneeling down and begging for mercy, isnt that so easy? He lightly bumped into Xu Ziling first, before moving backward, afterwards he rushed out the city wall and made somersault, unexpectedly just like that, he flipped out of the more than thirty -zhang high wall to the ground below. Watching this, both sides, the enemy and us, everybody was shocked. Xu Ziling also leaped up to the battlement on the city wall, both hands spread out, indicating that the men and horses from their side should not act blindly without thinking. He and Kou Zhongs minds were interlinked, he knew that Kou Zhong wanted to singlehandedly rescue Dou Jiande back from within the enemys formation. On top of the city wall, from Wang Shichong all the way down to the lowest-rank soldier defending the city, none did not crowd toward the walls battlements, to bend their head to look at the continuously somersaulting Kou Zhong. They could not bear to see him fall that his flesh split his bones snapped, but they simply could not but watch in concern. Thirty zhang of height, it was indeed beyond anybodys physical limit, perhaps even the three grandmasters were still unable tond safely. At once Kou Zhong became the focus of the eye of everyone present, above and below the city wall. Kou Zhong made another somersault, not only the falling momentum did not grow, when he was about a zhang away from the ground, his body actually rose slightly up, and then, as light as a feather, hended on the ground. On the city wall, the officers and soldiers could not help exploded into shaking-the-heavens cheers, a few even suspected that Kou Zhong was actually an immortal descending into the world. Immediately their morale was greatly aroused. Li Yuanji roared, Come and kneel to beg for mercy to me first. Beat the drum! Boom! Kou Zhong tapped the ground and darted forward, straight to the firstyer of trenches outside the east city wall, without the slightest hesitation he soared again, and amidst another beat of drum he threw himself toward the other edge of the trench, and flew out of the trench, as fast as a sh of lightning. Boom! The third drumbeat was heard. Apart from Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, Li Shentong, Cheng Yaojin and Qin Shubao, everybody quickly picked up the long bow and powerful arrow hanging on the side of their horse, taking aim at the Kou Zhong, who was pouncing on the trenches toe over. As soon as he entered their firing range, surely a hundred arrows would be released at the same time, shooting him into a hedgehog. This group of fierce generals, everyones martial art skill was outstanding, absolutely not an average archer couldpare, even someone as powerful as Kou Zhong, his futile attempt to break into the formation was really following the path to his own doom. Kou Zhong suddenly stopped, exactly a thousand paces away from the enemy in the empty space at the edge of the trenches, still outside their firing range. Boom! Li Yuanji chuckled and said, There are still eight drumbeats [sic, dont ask me, perhaps they dont know how to count?]. Shaoshuai, dont harm other and dont harm yourself. Boom! The drumbeats continued, pressing down on the enemy and us, both sides, that everybodys heart was falling down like a piece of lead, their breathing could not flow freely. The people on top of the city wall, although their heart was burning with anxiety over Kou Zhongs dangerous situation, furthermore, they were afraid that he might rashly show off an ignorant persons bravado and disregarding life or death, leap over the trench to charge into the battle formation, yet no one dared to make any noise, for fear of distracting his mind. Ko Zhong stood still, as if he was turning into a stone statue, his expression was so calm that it made peoples heart turn cold. Boom! Boom! Boom! Li Shimins countenance was solemn and respectful, he did not utter a word. Boom! The ninth drumbeat rang. The atmosphere of the entire field was as tense as fully-taut bowstring. Li Yuanjis pair of eyes flickered with a cruel strange light, he shouted sternly, I, Li Yuanji, will definitely do what I said. This is yourst chance. Boom! Thest drumbeat rang across the field, intimidating every single persons heart like a curse hounding people to death. Without the slightest hesitation Li Yuanji raised his palm to strike Dou Jiandes back. Right this moment, when a thousand pounds hangs by a thread, Kou Zhong, using a technique that was so fast that naked eye could not see clearly, pulled the Piercing the Sun Bow, using internal energy he pulled the bowstring that it produced a clear Qiang! sound, and then like conjuring a magic trick, a powerful arrow suddenly appeared in his other hand. Bending the bow and putting on the arrow, he pulled it to be a full moon, and aimed at Li Yuanji. This series of movements was aplished in the blink of an eye, the speed was such that if people did not stare nkly, they would not have believed their own eyes. This move was beyond anybodys expectation; nobody had guessed that the originally without-any-bow-without-any-arrow Kou Zhong suddenly had a strong bow and powerful arrow in his hands, and was waiting for action after having umted power. However, no one could match Li Yuanjis shock. The instant he raised his hand to strike Dou Jiande, not only Kou Zhong had his arrow pointed at him, he also seemed to be able to use his spirit and true qi to lock him up from the distance via the arrowhead. He himself could be considered world-ss martial art master, he knew that if he released his power to strike dead Dou Jiande, he would not be able to dodge this dripping-with-concentrated-essence-qi-and-spirit, shooting over startling-the-heaven-and-the-earth-making-the-ghosts-and-deities-cry arrow. The situation within it was subtle to the extreme point. Although on his left and right fierce generals were like a cloud, Li Yuanjis feeling was like he was all alone,pletely naked, and losing all cover and hiding ce. How could he still dare to take the risk by releasing his power? He did not even dare to move half of a finger, afraid that under the pull of the qi power, it would provoke Kou Zhong to release the arrow. Standing proud on the city walls battlement, the sleeves of Xu Zilings clothes were fluttering in the wind, his hands were behind his back, his appearance was like a deity, no one dared to doubt that just like Kou Zhong, he had the ability to leap down the thirty-zhang high city wall and rapidlye to help Kou Zhong. Only he knew that he did not have this ability. Just now, when Kou Zhong lightly bumped onto him, he was borrowing the true qi from Xu Ziling, and then when he moved back, he borrowed an arrow from Ba Yegangs quiver. Because Xu Ziling had no one to borrow true qi from, he was only putting on an air right now, so Kou Zhong was still a lone army fighting by himself. No one among the enemy ranks dared to exhale even half a mouthful of loud breathing; moreover, they stopped talking about blocking the arrow for Li Yuanji, afraid that any unusual move would only provoke Kou Zhong to release the arrow to shoot Li Yuanji. The situation was weird but subtle. Upright and unafraid, Dou Jiande raised his head. In this moment where he was facing life and death, he intentionally showed off his viewing death as a return home heroic inherent character. Revealing a faint smile, Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, How much does Qi Wangs life worth? You havent release him for me? Right this moment, when a thousand pounds were hanging by a thread, a hint of grim and strange, unfathomable smile escaped out of the corner of Li Yuanjis mouth. By the time Kou Zhong realized something was amiss, suddenly someone appeared by Li Yuanjis side. Unexpectedly, it was the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan. Hold it! Li Shimin shouted loudly, but he was still one step toote. In an impossible-to-pull-back fact, Li Yuanjis umted-to-the-peak palm power was released. Dou Jiandes spinal column shattered into cun-sized fragments, his seven apertures spurted blood. Qiang! Kou Zhongs powerful arrow left the string. As if it transcended the distance, shrinking a zhang into a cun, in the sh-of-lightning-or-spark-of-a-flint instant it was already in front of Li Yuanjis chest. At the same instant, Kou Zhongs mind was also severely shaken, a thought rose from deep within his heart C Dou Jiande had died. The heaven and earth were no longer like the heaven and earth before. The enemy ranks were like a mute y on a silent stage before his eyes, Yang Xuyan shed in front of the head of Li Yuanjis horse, his Shadow Sword, which name shook the world, stabbed at an angle upward, the tip of the sword met the tip of the arrow. Precisely the moment when the tip of the sword and the tip of the arrow touched each other, Kou Zhong and Yang Xuyans essence, qi and spirit also shed over the distance. ng! The pit of Kou Zhongs stomach was like being struck by a lightning, he violently recoiled half a step back. Yang Xuyan also fell back half a step; a burst of bright red flitted across his clear and white face, but disappeared in the blink of an eye. Amidst the shocking-the-entire-battlefield-inside-and-outside-the-city lingering sound of the sword and the arrow shing against each other, everybodys scalp went numb, they watched as the hegemon-of-this-generation Dou Jiande, like a sheet of soft mud, slinked down from the horseback toward Li Yuanjis side. Bang! Hended on the ground, raising some dust along the trench. Dou Jiande had died! This thought echoed continuously in Kou Zhongs mind. The true qi within his body naturally neutralized Yang Xuyans essence, qi and spirit, which was the fusion of Tian Dao Mo Gong [lit. heavens way, demonic power] and the Xie Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing. His mind went nk. Neither side, the enemy and us, made any move, gasped for breath, or uttered any word. Kou Zhongs eyes were fixed on Dou Jiandes dead body, lying down in tragic death by the horses feet. His mind gradually cleared up. On the grim, ruthless battlefield where two armies were facing off against their adversary, there was only victory or defeat! Any remorse, regret, grief, hatred, or feeling of distress has no ce at all. If he was influenced by any emotion and do something foolish against reason, it would only result in the troops-defeated, body-perished ending. Suddenly, from the extreme grief and guilty conscience, Kou Zhong rose out, he entered the Moon in the Well realm. It did not mean that he turned into a ruthless person, but he must transform the power of grief and anger, to deal with the immediate danger, to preserve his life to win the final victory in the future. After all these years of tempering himself, he finally understood Song Ques warning C apart from giving up the saber, there was no other thing. He felt that the whole world was expanding, the mother earth his feet were stepping on was extending to infinity, and that the sky that had existed since ancient times was covering the earth, and yet, to him, he was precisely the focal point and the core that connected the heaven and the earth. Heaven, Earth, and Man, three entities became one; he knew clearly what the most frustrating, the most disappointing moment in life C was. He finally reached Song Ques Heavenly Saber realm. There isw, that is the Earth. There is now, that is the Heaven. There isw, but withoutw, that is the level of Heaven, Earth, and Man fused into one. Withoutw yet there isw, there isw yet withoutw. Only in this way he would be able to lead all those who follow him loyally through the present crisis. Xu Ziling shouted loudly, Rope! Hearing that, Kou Zhong let out a longughter and said, Dou Ye, go in peace! One day I will demand the debt of blood, both the principal and the interest C on your behalf. Li Yuanji raised his arm and shouted loudly, Great Tang will prevail! Long live my Emperor! Neary 100,000 Tang soldiers outside the eastern wall echoed in chorus, their roar spread over the rivers and the ins, the heaven and the earth changed their color. Li Shimin revealed a helpless look. He wanted to speak, but had nothing to say. He knew that the Lis Tang already tied an unsolvable deep enmity with Kou Zhong. Although Li Yuanji was acting under Li Yuans decree, in his capacity as themander-in-chief, he cannot escape the me, yet he was clearly unable to change anything. Kou Zhong moved backward. Just like that, he flew over the trenches, urate as if he had eyes behind his back, a sign that his mind was not in chaos the slightest bit, hence he was able to grasp chi and cun with that kind of precision. And then he turned around and rushed back toward the east city wall, sprang to the air, straight to nearly fifteen -zhang of astonishing altitude, where the long rope was shooting out of Xu Zilings hands, which Kou Zhong, who was soaring to the limit C was able to catch head-on. And then, borrowing the force, he returned to the city walls battlement. The two men then leaped down onto the top of the city wall. Li Shimin shouted loudly, Whether to fight or to surrender, Shaoshuai can decide with one word. Kou Zhong turned around to look at Wang Shichong. Thetters countenance was like a dead person, his mouth and lips were quivering lightly. Kou Zhongs expression was calm, his pair of eyes emitted shing divine light brimming with formidable self-confidence. He said, The city is still Zhushangs [lit. master, superior]. What is Zhushang going to do? Wang Shichong pulled back his gaze from looking outside the city and cast his eyes onto Kou Zhong. The two men were surrounded by a group of officers and soldiers, their eyes were all focused on Kou Zhong and Wang Shichong. Choked with emotion, Wang Shichong gasped for breath and said, Other than offering the city and surrendering, we dont have any other choice. Book 53 2 – Seeking Survival in the Worst Place

Book 53 Chapter 2 C Seeking Survival in the Worst ce

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia All of a sudden, time seemed to stand still. When Wang Shichong spat out his decision to surrender, the people around him, consisting of the high-ranking military officers with Wang surname, the high-ranking military officers with different surnames, and seven or eight martial art masters, his personal attendants, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Yang Gongqing, and more than a dozen Flying Cloud Riders plus the Zheng Kingdoms warrior guarding the city wall, everybody stopped breathing, their eyes werepletely focused on Wang Shichong, on the wide and extended city wall, the crow and peacock made no sound. Outside the city, the Tang Army under Li Shimin and Li Yuanjismand spread out the entire in between the rivers, only the sound of fluttering gs was heard, no one made any noise, amidst the intermittent sound of horses neigh, they quietly waited the decision whether the city-defenders army would fight or surrender. Kou Zhongs countenance was calm, his pair of eyes emitted sharp divine light, he was not in the least angry as he listened to Wang Shichongs decision rted to the fate of the army and civilians in the entire city, as if he did not take Wang Shichongs words to heart at all. Wang Xuanshu was the first to react. He rushed forward, knelt down and cried in grief, Fu Huang ... Shut up! Wang Shichong angrily said, Zhen have no other choice. A grim smile escaped out of the corner of Kou Zhongs mouth. He did not even have the mood to argue with, or even scold and curse C Wang Shichong, this kind of everything-for-self-and-selfish-profit, unstable-without-any-sense-of-shame lowly person; he simply decided, Since Zhushang wants to offer the city and surrender, you have sunk down to be the enemys captive, who no longer has the authority to make decision for yourself. Our agreement to cooperate in one mind to defend Luoyang together is no longer binding. Starting from tonight, the Great Zheng is no more, Luoyang is no longer yours, Wang Shichongs. Whoever dares to oppose, I will kill him. Guards! Lock up Wang Shichong and all his subordinates for me. Hearing that, Wang Shichongs countenance changed dramatically. One after another the high-ranking military officers of Wang surname shouted and cursed, Wang Xuanying cried out loudly, Rebellion! Rebellion! Qiang! Qiang! The ringing sound was unending, the high-ranking military officers of Wang surname, personal guards, various generals of different surnames, the city-defender warriors, Flying Cloud Guards, everybody pulled the sabers and swords from their waists at the same time, immediately the top of the wall was full of fiery smell of swords-drawn-and-bows-bent, civil war could happen at any moment. Only Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling still appeared cold and detached, they stood in triangr formation in front of Wang Shichong, while turning a blind eye to the saber and spear, sword and halberd around them. Kou Zhongs smile grew; suddenly he threw his head back in longughter, and then thundered, Whos willing to live or die together with me, Kou Zhong! Apart from the men and horses rted to the Wang n, the various generals of different surnames, the Flying Cloud Guards, and the hundreds and thousands city-defender warriors who heard his voice, roared in respond, their voices shook the city wall. Only this moment did Wang Shichong, Wang Xuanying and the others, a group of men and horses rted to the Wang n, realize that the officers and soldiers of different surnames have already cast their lots on Kou Zhongs side. The color of blood waspletely drained from everyones face, there were even some who could not hold his weapon anymore, ng! Dang! it fell to the ground, which increased Kou Zhongs power and influence in controlling the overall situation. Wang Shichongs hand holding the sword suddenly turned white, it suddenly turned red, showing that he was hesitating, difficult to make decision, whether he should pull the sword out of its sheath. Wang Xuanshu suddenly stood up, he moved to Kou Zhongs side and cried out in sorrow, Fu Huang, please forgive Child for being unfilial, Xuanshu decided to stand on Shaoshuais side. Ba Yegang and Bing Yuanzhens two swords were pressed against Wang Shichongs back at the same time. This action carried more threatening power than any words. The men and horses rted to the Wang n, none dared to move half a finger, anybody would know that the great momentum has gone, the City of Luoyang has fallen into Kou Zhongs hands. Wang Shichong was trembling all over, his hand holding the sword loosened, tears flowed down his face, he said, Its finished! Its finished! Just like that, he walked toward the stone steps leading down into the city. Dang! ng! the sound of falling weapons was ringing continuously, one after another Wang Xuanying and various high-ranking military officers of Wang surname abandoned their weapon and followed suit, under escort of Ba Yegang and the others, various generals of different surnames and Flying Cloud Guards, they ept their fate of being under arrest inside the pce. Under such circumstances, Kou Zhong did not behead them all, he could be considered extremely benevolent. Kou Zhong reached out to pat Wang Xuanshu on the shoulder and said with a smile, I definitely am not going to harm them, dont worry! And then, raising his hand, he turned around to face Li Shimin outside the city and shouted loudly, Li Shimin, listen! As long as I, Kou Zhong, still have a breath in me, I will never surrender. If you have the ability,e and attack Luoyang! Ba Fenghan roared wildly, Kou Zhong will win! Shao Shuai Army will prevail! On the city wall, all generals and soldiers echoed in chorus. The cry, Kou Zhong will win! Shao Shuai Army will prevail! spread all over the earth, it soared straight into the night sky. Between the two armies, there was no longer any possibility of negotiation; going or staying, living or dying C would be decided only by their strength. Called a king if sessful, called a bandit if defeated. From then on, the world was no longer under the warlords vying for supremacy, setting up an independent regime, contending for hegemony, rather, it would be decided by victory or defeat, honor and disgrace C between Li Shimin and Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong stepped down from the east wall; Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, Shan Xiongxin, Duan Da, Guo Shancai, and so on, the high-ranking military officers of different surnames, were waiting respectfully at the end of the stairs, to see how Kou Zhong would lead them through this crisis. Now, outside the city was no longer Li Yuanji, but the unequalled, always win,mander-in-chief Li Shimin, whose name shook the world. Their military strength grew from a hundred thousand to a hundred and fifty thousand. As for Kou Zhong did not include Li Shimin in the grand n of breaking out of the siege, no one had either confidence or assurance anymore. Kou Zhong stopped at thest step, he smiled and said, Wang Shichong and I are, after all, acquaintance, and Xuanshu is our good brother, so we must respect him, the Senior, so that he can aplish his desire to surrender to the Great Tang. Ba Yegang apologized humbly to Wang Xuanshu, who was behind Kou Zhong C first, and then he replied to Kou Zhong, Shuxia understands! Ba Fenghan leisurely and contentedly sat down on the sixth stone step,ughing involuntarily, he said, After all, Kou Zhong is Kou Zhong. Now I really have full confidence in you, I am no longer worried. Standing next to him, Xu Ziling and Yang Gongqing both felt the same way, in such a nasty moment, Kou Zhong could still act calmly, employing troops with chatting andughing; not everybody could do that. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Many thanks Lao Ba for your praise. Ba Yegang, Wang Xuanshu, and the others were also ovee with bizarre feeling. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans rxed, unconstrained attitude of putting life or death outside the sphere of their consideration was such a powerful inspiration to them. All of a sudden, they felt that Li Shimin on the outside was not too scary anymore, because Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, any one of these three, was Li Shimins most feared formidable opponent. The three men together, even the worlds most terrifying Tujues Wolf Army was still unable to do anything to them. Kou Zhong turned around to speak to Yang Gongqing, We are going to use the team from Chenliu to firmly guard every city gate leading to outside the city. This matter must be carryout immediately. Im sorry to trouble Yang Gong! Yang Gongqingughed aloud and said, To be able to go through life and death together with Shaoshuai is indeed Laofus honor. Guarding the city gate strictly to prevent the traitor from the inside to open the gate and offer the city is just a small thing. Leave it to Laofu. Laughing happily, escorted by the Flying Cloud Guards, he stepped down the stairs and left. Kou Zhong patted every person passing by on the shoulder, so that they felt that he had a card up his sleeve, that he had the confidence that victory was within his grasp. After Yang Gongqing left, Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. First of all, we should be clear about Li kids situation. Xu Ziling sat down next to Ba Fenghan, his heart was filled with emotional stirring, Kou Zhong has finally matured, so that Shi Feixuans fear has be a reality, he has be the terrifying figure who was able to match Li Shimin on the battlefield. At the same time, he also understood that Ba Fenghans present moment indeed had supreme and wonderful role in the martial art way cultivation. This moment, on one hand, he was in a nightmare-like battle in a besieged city, the enemys military strength was several times above theirs, and their morale was high, while they were in a leaking house battered by rain through the night, facing internal divisions, their morale was in decline, and were facing various problems of arrows exhausted and the provisions cut short. On the other hand, he disengaged himself from everything, calmly and silently observed himself enduring the suffering of the war, thereby reaching the Moon-in-the-Well-style spiritual bnce. Just like he was in a dream, yet he was aware that he was in a dream, only he was not able to wake up. Sitting next to him, Ba Fenghan was as cool-headed as ever; he was a natural born warrior, the more nasty the situation, the more he showed his transcendent characteristic. He used himself to teach a lesson, passing on the golden rule of the battlefield to Kou Zhong, only those who were ruthless enough would be able to survive. And his best brother was doing the best he could; first, he single-handedly charged into the enemy ranks. Not only he was showing hisradeship with Dou Jiande, furthermore, he was showing his courage to both sides, the enemy and us, that he did not fear the enemy. Although at the final juncture Yang Xuyan messed it up, so that he ruined the enterprise for the sake of one basketful, but he has inspired the defending-the-city armys morale, so that, in a straightforward and orderly manner, he was able to control the overall situation, to make Wang Shichong backing off, no longer in control of the general situation. All of these were shaping his present moment, which let him experience, in the double-awakening situation, the dithering between life and death, the terrifying experience that involved the fate of the army and the people of the whole city. Kou Zhongs voice continued to enter his ears, saying, The enemys military strength is five times ours, plus their fighting spirit is high, their training is excellent. However, by using deep trenches and high ramparts to besiege the city, it is actually unfavorable to attack but favorable for defense. Furthermore, Li Shimin is not an ignorant and stubborn kind of person, therefore, in the short term, he would only do his best to seal off the water andnd, two routes; he would not take chances by attacking the city. Our Luoyang is a major city; as long as we could resolve the internal problems, we could choose the time to break out of the siege, relying on the situation where the enemy is scattered while we are concentrated, surely we will be able to subdue the enemy and break the siege in one go. We have to fight Li Shimin on the outside with brains, and not byparing military strength. Ba Fenghan shouted in low voice, That is the correct strategy. Kou Zhongughed cheerfully, his eyes turned to Xu Ziling, he asked for advice, Ling Shao, do you have any suggestion? Xu Ziling spoke calmly, If we want to go, we must go tonight; otherwise, we will never have the opportunity. Ba Yegang and the others, more than a dozen high-ranking military officers, none was not stunned. Kou Zhong raised his thumb and praised, Ling Shao indeed sees the situation between the enemy and us clearly andpletely. This moment Li Shimin must be moving and army and sending a general, to reinforce the defensive structure besieging Luoyang. If we miss tonight, our breaking the siege will be increasingly difficult. And that is not the biggest problem, the biggest headache is that we only have a bit over ten days worth of food supply, there is no reason not to take advantage of the time while the enemy has not steadied the feet of their disposition of troops to go all-out to break the siege. If we did not do it this way, Li Shimin would guess that we have something else to rely on. He only needs to order his men to dig the deep trenches surrounding the whole city one zhang deeper, and then our tunnel wont be able to cover its traces. Therefore, we must seize the opportunity before that happens, to utilize the tunnel to force our way out of encirclement. Other than that, there is no other way. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Tonight is certainly the only chance, but how are we going to resolve the internal problem? Li Shimin has always had a good reputation to treat the surrendering troops well. It might make the heart of our troops unsteady, difficult to bring out the fighting power. Turning to the various generals, Kou Zhong asked, Among our troops, how many have wife and children in Luoyang? Shan Xiongxin replied, Mainly Ba Da Jiangjun and Guo Da Jiangjuns troops, the number is around ten thousand. There are also the imperial guards, their total number exceeds half of Luoyangs military power. The city-defenders regr army were close to twenty thousand, therefore, only the remaining ten thousand or so men did not need to worry about wives and children. Ba Yegang, Guo Shancai, and the others began to understand the key nature of Kou Zhongs know yourself, know your enemy. Kou Zhong said, Those who have wives and children in the city are allowed to remove their armor and return home, to be together with their family, they are not allowed to participate in the breaking-the-siege battle. This matter must be arranged properly and handled separately, in order not to influence the soldiers heart. Every household will be allocated three days worth of food, to quietly wait for the moment the Tang Armye and assume control after we abandon the city. Therefore, the troops not breaking the siege must stay at home; the vitors will be beheaded, because I dont want the enemy to draw out our hind legs. This aspect, I am handing it over to Ba Da Jiangjun and Guo Da Jiangjun to n the entire project and to handle the demobilization process of the troops under yourmand who have to stay behind. And everything has to be done in two sichen, so that we still have three sichen to break the siege and leave. Hearing that, Ba Yegang and Guo Shancai submitted cheerfully; they epted the order and left. Kou Zhong exhaled slowly, he said, Now its our turn to study the strategy to break the enemy and save our lives! Absolutely nothing can go wrong, otherwise we will lose our life giving the horse water to drink at the Yangtze River. Inside and outside the city, the cloud of war was hanging low in the sky. Outside the city, the bugle horn was sounded, horses neigh and mens shout, concentrated hoofbeats rose and fell in session, showing that, as Kou Zhong expected, Li Shimin was moving an army and sending a general, taking strict precautions against them breaking the siege and escaping. The City of Luoyang, inwardly it was tense, but outwardly it appeared rxed. Various generals silently carried out Kou Zhongs order to make all preparation to break the siege. Ma Changpleted nearly a hundred toad carts to fill the trenches, along with over one thousand dirt and mud bags plus five wooden donkey carts. One after another thirty Eight-Crossbow-and-Arrow machines and fifteenrge trebuchets were transported to the south gates public square. The breaking-the-siege troops were divided into three units, each unit was approximately three thousand men, waiting with their head on the dagger-axe at the Changxia Gate, Houzai Gate, and Dingding Gate. There were still eight thousand warriors guarding the other gates and the city wall, waiting for the arrival of the fortunate timing, and then they would rush over to join the retreating battle. Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling came to the South Gate Guard Building, to listen to Chen Laomous report on thetest development. Chen Laomou said, Luckily we did not bring disgrace by failing to execute the order, the tunnels leading to the high camp and the two arrow towers location at the outer trenches arepleted. As long as the supporting scaffolding are destroyed, we will achieve the goal. However, the three tunnels have to be connected into one, which will greatly slow down our operation. Ba Fenghans gaze fell onto Wuming, perched on Kou Zhongs shoulder, he said, I am worried about Kang Qiaolis falcon, theres a great chance that it would discover our men going out of the exit at the southern end of the tunnel transporting the heavy military supply wagon. Kou Zhong quietly pondered over this matter with rapt attention for a moment. He said, Falcon will be falcon, it has its intellectual limitations. In this troops-spreading-out-over-wide-area, moving-about-frequently battlefield, the falcon might be confused, its difficult to differentiate the enemy and us. Chen Laomou asked, Can Shaoshuai order Wuming to attack the other falcon? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Although I have not tried it yet, Tuli told me that Wuming has received that kind of training. However, I dont want to put this idea into practice with Wuming, because I am sure it will result in both sides suffer. Chen Laomou examined Wumings eagle ws grabbing Kou Zhongs broad shoulder carefully, heughed aloud and said, The man of the mountain has a brilliant scheme. Supposing I put some poison that will seal the throat upon contact with the blood on Wumings ws, the one dead will be the other sides falcon. The three were emotionally moved at the same time. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, This method is indeed feasible, but there are still unsolvable barriers and difficulties; how would Chen Gong obtain the seeing-blood-sealing-the-throat poison? Smiling bitterly, Chen Laomou said, When I left Liangdu, I brought with me a bottle of poison of my own concoction; my original intention was to use it myself, in order to avoid being captured and humiliated. Ay! I, this weary old body, cant stand any torture anymore. Anyway, whats exactly the difficulty? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, In Shao Shuai Army, there are a lot of heroes who view death as a return home. Based on my own experience, Laotianyes temperament is very strange. I wholeheartedly seek death, but death always evade me. As for the barriers and difficulties that Ziling is talking about, it is that the Tang Army raised six vicious vultures specially trained to deal with falcons. Even if Wuming has poisonous ws as her weapon, under the vicious vultures siege, it would be difficult to be lucky to be spared. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, The matter depends on the individual, how could beast exceed our intelligence? Li Shimin does not have any idea that we know about the six vicious vultures existence. If I release Wuming on top of the city wall, and let her fly to the south, how would he react? Chen Laomou said, He will surely release the vicious vultures immediately, to chase and kill Wuming. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Things should not be that simple. The vicious vultures do not know how to analyze the situation between the enemy and us at all, only when they see Wuming will they pursue and attack. Therefore, if Wuming is hovering in the sky somewhere, first of all, the opposite side will recall the falcon, in order to avoid hitting the secondary vehicle. And then the people in charge would take the vicious vultures to somece nearby, before they order the vicious vultures to attack. At that time, as long as Wuming drops to low altitude, luring the vulture to chase, then we will have an opportunity we can exploit, right? After taking care of the vicious vultures, we will deal with Kang Qiaolis falcon. From then on, we wont have any worry in the sky, we will only worry about Li Shimin. His spirit greatly aroused, Ba Fenghan said, This method is indeed feasible, we will dispose of the vicious vultures from the top of the city wall, as an initial show of strength to Li Shimin. Turning to Chen Laomou, Kou Zhong said, Chen Gong, please proceed ording to the original n, send the heavy military supply wagons toward the secret ce in the mountain forest at the exit of the tunnel. One sichenter, we willunch the offensive. I allocate five hundred men for you, the Senior, to use, to deal with any emergencies. Chen Laomou took out the small bottle containing the poison, exined how to use it, and then after handing it over to Kou Zhong, he left happily. Ba Fenghan said, Kou Zhong, you must be thest person to leave Luoyang, in order to pacify the soldiers heart. As for the sneak attack to the high camp, let me be in charge. After killing the vultures, it would be best if Ziling go by himself to the mountain forest at the exit, to provide support to our breaking-the-siege main force. Xu Ziling said, Li Shimin probably will not send the falcon to patrol the mountain top far away in the south, but he wont miss observing the army personnel movement inside the city. If he found out that we concentrate the army in the south of the city, it would be greatly disadvantageous to us. Thats easy, Kou Zhong replied, The entire breaking-out-of-the-siege battle is divided into six stages, the first is the troops transporting heavy military supply wagon from the tunnel. The second stage is to separately prepare battle array at the south of the city and the west of the city, so that Li Shimin cannot figure out from which direction we are going to break out of the siege. The third stage is, assuming we seed in making Li Shimin recall the falcon and shot dead the vicious vultures, we move the troops from the West Gate to the South Gate. The fourth stage is going out of the city to attack and mount sneak attack on the high camp, while destroying the enemy in three-pronged attack from underground at the same time, and proceed to fill the trenches. The fifth stage is the withdrawal of all the troops guarding the city walls, city gates, as well as guarding Wang Shichong, from the South Gate at full speed. Thest stage is to change ording to the situation, and escape without a trace. Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, Shaoshuai already nned everything thoroughly; however, a wise man considers a thousand times, hes bound to miss something. The so-called snatching a stronghold, one must be robbing the grain, at most, our grain supply can only support us for ten more days, before reaching Xiangyang, I am afraid we will have to eat grass roots and tree bark. Entering Treasure Mountain, how could one return empty handed? When our troopsunch violent attack to the enemys troop disposition, surely the enemy in the high camp will empty their nest ande out, their defense will be weak, we could, using thunderbolt-fail-to-reach-the-ear technique C take control of the high camp, and carry all the goods inside the camp away via the tunnel, and then we set the high camp on fire, before linking up with the Shao Shuai Army breaking out of the siege anding over, and then we will escape together. pping his forehead, Kou Zhongughed cheerfully and said, I am so muddleheaded, such a simple thing, unexpectedly I did not think about it. All right! Brothers! Its time to go to the city wall and stir up some excitement. Book 53 3 – Nasty Situation

Book 53 Chapter 3 C Nasty Situation

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The three looked up at the night sky on top of the city gate tower of the Changxia Gate, they still did not see any shadow of Kang Qiaolis falcon. Outside the city, the enemys maneuvering men and horses hase to an end. One hundred and fifty thousand Tang soldiers, stationed in various camps and arrow tower positions outside the city, yet in the camp and vast in between the camps and towers and the trenches there was no one to be seen, revealing a profound mystery, the kind of unusual tranquility brimming with the tension before the mountain rain came. Kou Zhong let Wuming fly straight into the night sky, hovering high above the city gate tower, he even ordered her to fly outside the city, yet there was still no reaction whatsoever from Li Shimins side, they did not send the vicious vultures to deal with Wuming. The three you looked at me I gazed at you, ominous feeling crept up in all their heart. Blowing out a mouthful of air, Ba Fenghan said, This move of Li Shimin is really brilliant, he makes us unable to ascertain his strength and deployment, plus he could wait at his ease for the exhausted enemy, our grand n of killing the vulture can be dered fizzling out. Xu Ziling swept his gaze across the two camps south of the city, inside both camps, thenterns dark, the fire ck, which felt mysterious and strange; he spoke heavily, Li Shimin can see through that we are going to break out of the siege from the south of the city. Kou Zhong said, He may not necessarily be able to see through that we are going to break out of the siege from the south of the city, but he is adopting the most proper strategy; even if we flip over or rolling on our side, we still cannot leap out of the hollow of his palm. Li Shimins usual style can be summed up in two characters, which are restraint and ruthless! Whether it was Xue Ju, father and son, Song JinGang, or perhaps Dou Jiande, all were defeated in these two words. Now he is exercising restraint, by not sending out the falcon to scout the enemy, and by letting go of the opportunity to kill Wuming using the vicious vultures. This is precisely the restraint. Ba Fenghan scanned the snaking Yi River with his eyes, he spoke heavily, The biggest threat to our great escape n is that Luoyang is the site where eight rivers converge, big and small river courses crisscrossed, as long as the enemy has huge navy ships, they could quickly send the assembled elite troops to any distant location, tounch surprise attack toward our troops who sessfully breaking out of the siege at the least expected time. One day we have not reach Zhongli, one day we are still in danger. Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook, he said, That is exactly the strategy Li Shimin is currently adopting, he is letting Li Yuanjis main forces to continue besieging the city relying on the solid stronghold, arrow towers disposition and trenches, while he himself assembles the elite troops, so that he could swiftly and effectively intercept us at any moment. His grannys! Although we understand his intentions, there is nothing we can do, except staking everything to flee to the south,pletely losing the initiative. Ba Fenghan said, In the breaking-out-the-siege battle, less casualties we suffer, the greater our chance will be to get away. Theres not much time, we must make a final deployment for the breaking-out-the-siege battle. Kou Zhong pondered for half a day, he nodded and said, Ill hand over the Flying Cloud Guards to you, LaoGe tomand, they have been under my personal training for a long time, these days they have been through battles and troops dispositions even more. Although their number is small, but each one has solid skill. In order to raid the enemy camp, they are better than ten thousand horses and a thousand troops. And then he recalled Wuming and handed her over to Xu Ziling, while saying with augh, Please take a good care of this darling for Xiaodi, our fate in the future might possibly be tied up with her. Xu Ziling took Wuming, he cast his gaze toward the in between mountain forests in the south, which concealed murderous aura under the beautiful starry sky. Beyond his control, his mind remembered Shi Feixuan, so far away from he was, he wondered what would she think if she knew that he was directly involved in this cruel battle for supremacy? Kou Zhong and Li Shimin finally arrived at the moment where they were in direct conflict, without any leeway or buffer in between. If Kou Zhong was defeated and killed, naturally everything woulde to a stop, otherwise the situation would be intense, with the Central Earth turning into a big battlefield, sweeping both the north and the south. No one would be able to stop it, no one would be able to change this dreadful situation even more. The contention for the world hinged upon Kou Zhong and Li Shimin, two mighty men vying for victory. The one thing that Shi Feixuan was most worried about has finally be an iron-d fact. The nightmare would open its prologue just before dawn. Kou Zhong mounted the Thousand-Li Dream, his heart was as calm as still water, his Lingtai was clear, bright, empty and limpid. The hatred, the remorse, the feeling of injustice, grief and indignation, which rushed forth violently since the moment Dou Jiande was murdered, were entirely transformed into fantastic power. Under the terrifying threat of total defeat of an army pressing in on his eyshes, he made aprehensive breakthrough, and advanced into the Heavenly Saber Song Que abandoning his saber outside, into the supreme level of no-self-no-objects Heaven, Earth, and Man became one C realm. This really was not an idental realm, rather, starting from that moment, he has obtained the inalienable part, bringing the Moon in the Well one level up. Spurring their horses, Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang came behind him and to his side. Following the three were eighty warriors in formation, they were the main force of the breaking-out-the-siege army, which was divided into three units: forward unit with four thousand men, consisting ofnce and shield-wielders and saber and arrow-wielders, in charge of the thirty eight-bow-and-crossbow-and-arrow machines and the fifteen big trebuchets, which couldunch long-range attack on the enemys disposition of troops. The middle army unit had one thousand men, equipped with the wooden donkey carts and toad carts standing firm behind the forward unit to fill the trenches. The rear unit had twenty men, all were light cavalry, these were the rapid response units that can cope with any situation. The three army units were under respectivemand of Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen and Duan Da. The other two armies had twenty men each, stationed between the South Gate and the other two gates Houzai and Dingding, with Shan Xiongxin and Guo Shancai as themanding generals, to intercept the enemy troops attacking from the west, so that the main force army could concentrate their strength to deal with the enemy ranksing from straight ahead. [Note: I find it odd that the rest of the armies were in thousands and tens of thousands, but suddenly there were units with only twenty men, but I checked multiple sources and they are the same.] On the public square, all the officers and soldiers eyes were focused on Kou Zhong, quietly waiting for his order to open the gate and attack. Suddenly the Thousand-Li Dream stood like a human, rearing its head and neighing. Right when its pair of front legs was high in the air, the hind legs stepped on the spot, it spun around to face the officers and soldiers, before the front hooves were back on the ground. This trick was greatly beyond everybodys expectation, it was brilliant even more, it enabled those with less ability, which immediately provoked the officers and soldiers under hismand to uncontrobly shout loudly and cheer, the battle spirit greatly increased. Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well out, holding it at an angle pointing to the starry sky, heughed out and said, In all my life, I, Kou Zhong have been through thousands and hundreds of battles, each time always using the few to fight the many, using the weak to defeat the strong, to rely on the strategy of the art of war, with the courage to defy the powerful and mighty. This time also ... He had not finished speaking, the officers and soldiers already forgot to keep quiet and cheered, drowning his voice, the morale rose up to its peak. Kou Zhong knew it was time. Furthermore, he was d of the timely decision to immediately go out and attack tonight, and built the case that Dou Jiande and most of the officers and soldiers following him were militia of peasant background, while Li Shimin and Li Yuanji actually represented high-school, big-n, of the old Suis influential officials who had always pushed them around since the Wei [220-265 AD] and Jin [265-420] dynasties, who went on the rampage without any scruples. Li Yuanji murdered Dou Jiande in public, stirring the righteous indignation in the city-defenders armys, in theirmon hatred toward their enemies C hearts. On top of that, his impact on them was still fresh in their memory, it has not been diluted by time, everybody had the heart to disregard life and death, to stake everything in order to survive. Under hismand, Wang Xuanshu, presiding over the general situation in the city from the city gate tower, ordered his men to lower the draw bridge. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard. Amidst the sound of the battle drums, he took the lead to enter the gateway, and was the first to go out of the city. Dang! Dang! Dang! Dang! The Tang Army at the two arrow towers position sounded the bells and beat the gongs to raise the rm and call for help. At the same time, the two camps sounded their bugle horn, the camps gate opened wide, three groups of armies galloped separately, and formed battle array outside the camp. Just by looking at how swift their reaction was, it was obvious that they had been waiting with stored-up momentum. One camps force was still under Qu Tutongsmand, his military strength was the strongest, reaching thirty thousand men. Under ordinary circumstances, even if there was no trench, the military strength was enough to seal off the southern route. The other two camps military strength was around fifteen thousand men, under Xue Wanche and Shi Dabaosmand, respectively, bing Qu Tutongs forces left and right wings. The armys appearance was at its peak, their momentum was like the rainbow. The breaking-out-the-siege army rapidly went out of the city, and formed their battle array between the firstyer of trenches and the city gate, ready to attack. The thirty eight-bow-and-crossbow-and-arrow machines and the fifteen big trebuchets were arrayed in two rows across right at the front. Big rocks, weighing around fifty, sixty catties and specially-manufactured crossbow arrows were transported by the toad carts. The other two gates breaking-out-the-siege army still held back their troops without moving, lying low behind the tightly closed city gates, quietly waiting for the fortunate timing to go out and attack. Kou Zhongs swept his gaze back and forth to examine the two arrow towers and stone-throwing machine formation at the other edge of the secondyer of the trenches, each formation consisted of over a hundred men. If not for some other arrangement, only these two enemy front-line defense points were already not easy to break. On his right, Yang Gongqing said, They abandon the firstyer of trenches. On his other side, Ma Changughed and said, Because of the example of the former cart [idiom: learning a lesson from the mistake of ones predecessor]. Last time we cut the enemys cavalrys tail entering between the twoyers of trenches and attacked them out of the trenches. By coincidence, one arrow established the meritorious deed, and we won a beautiful victory on that battle. Dong! Dong! Dong! Amidst the sound of drums, the enemys three camps troops and horses advanced toward the secondyer of the trenches, stopping about a thousand paces away from the secondyer of trenches. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Fill the firstyer of trench! Ma Chang transmitted the order, fifty toad carts from within the army pushed out at lightning speed, directly into the trenches, followed by bags of mud and dirt being transported in endless stream, just a short moment, a section of the trenches, which was originally extending more than twenty zhang across in front of them has be t ground. Kou Zhong waited until the soldiers returned to their formation before he pointed at the three temporary wooden bridges spanning the Yi River to the left, saying, When we take control of the overall situation, we must immediately destroy those three bridges using therge flying stones, to cut off the route of the enemys main forces from the east of the city toe to help. If Li Yuanji wants toe to help, he must take a longer route, by going around the west of the city. At the same time, he gave a hand signal. Boom! Boom! amidst the rumbling noise, crossbow-and-arrow machines and stone cannon were the first to move forward, crossing over the first section of the trenches, which had been filled t, straight toward the secondyer of trenches. Ma Chang nodded to ept the order, Let Xiashu take care of that, he said. As the enemy horns sounded, the main force divided into a twenty-man shield and spear-wielders and archers, pushing forward to reinforce the secondyer of the trench. The breaking-out-the-siege armys vanguard unit, armed with long-distance attack heavy equipment, stopped at five hundred paces from the outer trenches, waiting for Kou Zhongs attack orders. Kou Zhong calmly said, After Houzai and Dingding, two gates drop, the troops behind the city gate must remain holding back without moving. Yang Gongqing was slightly surprised, the signalman [lit. soldier who transmit messages] behind them already used g signal to transmit the order to Wang Xuanshu on the city gate tower, and then Wang Xuanshu conveyed Kou Zhongs order to the other two armies. A short momentter the two gates dropped, but no men and horses came out; indeed it had a profound mystery effect. Kou Zhong smiled and said, This is called the troops deployed to mislead the enemy tactic, to make Qu Tutong not daring to act rashly, afraid that we might suddenly attack from the side across their nk. Ma Chang said, The enemy only saw Shaoshuai, but did not see Xu Ye and Ba Ye; I wonder what they are thinking? Kou Zhong replied indifferently, Naturally they are overly suspicious, not knowing what our follow-up move will be. And then he exhaled a mouthful of long, slow breath, and said with sigh, How I wish that on the other side of the trench was Li Shimin rather than Qu Tutong, then perhaps we wont need to give up Luoyang, but rely on Luoyang to advance against Guanzhong. Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang mused that this was precisely Li Shimins brilliance; he would never give the enemy any opportunity to face him head-on with adequate preparation. Wanting to attack, they were unable to attack, hence wanting to defend, they were unable to defend either. Kou Zhong pulled out the Moon in the Well and swung it in a circle above his head, he shouted loudly, Attack! Hismand was like scorching thunder on the in, it rumbled on far and near; hearing that, the men and horses on his sides spirit was greatly aroused, while the enemys fear toward his unequalled valiant was awakened. Dong! Dong! Dong! The breaking-out-the-siege armys battle drum was sounded, it was a giant drum, which construction was under Chen Laomous personal supervision, its rhythmic drumming sound could be transmitted deeply to the ambushing troops underground, so that with each drumbeat, they were able to match their movement with the ground troops. The big battle began. The drumbeats shook the mountains. At the other end of the exit, Xu Ziling, under cover of the dark night, swiftly sent the heavy military supply wagons to their position on the mountaintop, a simple yet effective site, which the construction battalion soldiers built, in order to resist the Tang Armys pursuing troops. On all the strategic high points of the southeast, there were outposts ready to issue warning in case Li Shimins wonder troops appeared, so that the retreating army could escape by avoiding the important and dwelling on the trivial. The food, weapons and all kinds of supplies, which were brought from Chenliu, were hidden in a secret ce in the dense forest twenty li to the south, if everything was achieved ording to the n, the breaking-out-the-siege army should be able to escape to this ce after sunrise, and then after replenishing their equipment and supplies C to continue their journey to the south. Xu Ziling paid particr attention to any activities on the River Yi and River Luo, two rivers, because their escape route was precisely between the two rivers. He wanted to find out one step ahead if Li Shimins navy fleet came to pursue from that river course, since it bore upon the sess or failure of their retreat. Chen Laomou came to his side. Listening carefully to the shout and the sound of battleing from Luoyangs direction, he said, Its starting! The two battle towers formation will copse within twenty drumbeats. From far away, the battle cry reached the sky, yet the quietness of this ce was suffocating. The three hundred warriors guarding the mountaintop position, everybodys expression was heavy, they were waiting with stored-up momentum. The team in charge of guarding this exit was entirely chosen from the Yang Family Army, none was not a one-able-to-hold-out-against-ten elite troops. Although their number was small, coupled with Xu Ziling, a martial art master of his caliber, they were enough to deal with any situation. Using stillness to control movement, they bore the heavy responsibility of holding up the enemy. Xu Ziling said, I wonder if Chen Gong could take care of the army provisions and supplies seized from the enemy camp and send them over, just leave the matter here for me to manage. Chen Laomou nodded his agreement, and led more than a dozen personal guards back into the tunnel. Xu Ziling looked at the high camp from a distance. An uneasy feeling welled up in his heart, where exactly was Li Shimin right now? Kou Zhong sat securely on Thousand-Li Dreams back, coldly running his eyes over the attack and defense battle situation on both sides, the enemy and us. The attack on the secondyer of trenches was under Ma Changsmand. This was the method of employing generals that he sneakily learned from the Heavenly Saber Song Que. No matter how outstanding a talent is, if he was denied the opportunity to learn through experience, to expand his ability, it would be difficult for him to shine and mature. Just as Song Que wanted him to support the situation in the north, to resist the Li ns Great Tang Army; the intention was the same. It was like Song Que forcing him in a life and death decisive battle, so that he would make a breakthrough in the Way of the Saber. The big carts of thirty eight-bow-and-crossbow-and-arrow machines and the fifteen big trebuchetsunched a ruthless violent attack on the enemy ranks outside the trenches. The formers firing range was more than five hundred paces, thetter was two hundred steps, all were moved at two hundred paces distance from the enemy ranks, outside the threat of the enemys stone throwing machines. The arrow darts shot by the enemy were blocked by thence and shield soldiers. The five wooden donkey carts were ced across the front line, the crossbow-wielders on their side returned fire toward the enemy ranks from under cover. Upon contact, under the powerful offensive of the crossbow-arrow and stone-thrower, the enemys flesh and blood flying, one after another they retreated behind the battle formation. If not for the long trench separating them, the breaking-out-the-siege army would have pressed forward early on. Kou Zhong shouted, Cancel the excavating n! Boom! The arrow tower on the left could not stand the destructive power of the flying stone, it toppled down and copsed, pressing down on the soldiers inside the formation that they screamed miserably and rushed out to evade. Yang Gongqing transmitted the order, the drumbeat changed suddenly, to inform the men in the tunnel to abandon the n to pull down the supporting beam, which would let the enemy to copse underground, in order not to expose the deceitful trick underground. Kou Zhong secretly med his own blunder, he never thought that the enemys aspiration was not to defend the trenches, but on the real battle outside the trenches, so that he had wasted manpower. The fifteen thousand Tang Army from the left camp under Xue Wanchesmand haspleted their operation of crossing over the river, via the three wooden bridge, pouring men into the in ahead, to rendezvous with the main forces with Qu Tutong as themander-in-chief, so that their military power reached sixty thousand men. Like a male eagle spreading its wings, the soldiers filled the wide in, waiting in tight formation. Behind them was the high camp with its banner flying high. Were it not for Kou Zhong already made arrangement to break through the high camp from underground, this moment he would have no choice but to admit defeat and concede, and retreated back into the city to think of another way. Because under the overwhelming pressure of the enemys strength,bined with the attack of the rapid cavalry, the crossbow-arrow machine and the big flying stones would lose their threatening force to attack the enemy across the trenches; if the enemy cut off their retreating path, they would be in tragic situation where the whole army would lose their heads. As the horns sounded, the enemy finally gave up guarding the trench and the arrow tower formation and retreated. Ko Zhong had no other choice, he gave the order to fill the trench. Amidst the nking noise of the wheels, all the remaining toad carts all moved out, they pushed toward the deep trench, soon after the dirt bags arrived, and were thrown into the trenches. On the city gate tower, the battle drums were sounded urgently. On the city gate tower at the southwest corner, the signalman sent out a signal using torches, notifying Kou Zhong that the enemys side had another unit of thirty thousand mening from the west, going around the city. Yang Gongqings expression grave, he said, Li Shimin ising! Kou Zhong shook his head and said, It should be Li Yuanji, not Li Shimin. Immediately shut Houzai and Dingding, two gates. Shan Xiongxin and Guo Shancai should go out from Changxia Gate instead, crossbow machines and flying stone big carts strongly defend our armys right wing, to resist the enemys attack. Yang Gongqing epted the order, he left to personally direct the operation. Kou Zhongs heart and spirit was peaceful and tranquil, no rm, no delight; that kind of being one with the Heaven and Earth feeling came back, life and death, honor and disgrace were no longer important, the important thing was only to make the most proper decision in this iparably nasty battlefield. Although he had a near-perfect breaking-out-the-siege battle n, but Li Shimins strategic ability was not inferior in any respect. He let him going out of the city in severe battle, after ascertaining what is true and what is false from him, after waiting for his soldiers-weary-strength-exhausted, schemes-used-up-ns-drainedpletely, he would use the preserving-and-nurturing-their-spirit troops and horses, tounch a ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum intercepting battle on his running-away-to-the-wilderness main forces. He was fully aware of Li Shimins strategy, yet he was unable to change anything that was about to happen. The only thing he could do was to go all-out to contend against the opponent, to fight with all his might until thest soldier, thest troop. The hoofbeats rumbled to the sky. The Great Tang Army, flying Li Yuanjis banner, appeared on the southwest in. A team of twenty-man [sic] vanguard cavalry unit, galloped along the twoyers of filled-up trenches to attack, followed by another team of twenty-man cavalry, along the firstyer of trenches C in coordinated attack, to charge directly toward the breaking-out-the-siege armys right nk. The battle drums were sounded. Ahead, the three armies were starting to move, pressing down directly from the front. Kou Zhong pulled out the Moon in the Well and shouted loudly, Cross the trench! The time for a bloody battle between the soldiers has finallye. Book 53 4 – Bloody Battle to Break Out the Siege

Book 53 Chapter 4 C Bloody Battle to Break Out the Siege

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Following theirmander-in-chiefs order, row after row of crossbow arrows, in a short period of several breaths, were continuously shot out, as the fifteen eight-bow-and-crossbow-and-arrow machines bowstring frame released powerful arrows. While the soldiers reloaded the arrows, the other fifteen crossbow-arrow machines immediately ryed the shooting. The enemy riders within the firing range, none was lucky enough to avoid suffering a crushing defeat, flesh and blood sttered, the spectacle was too horrible to endure. Li Yuanjis vanguard cavalrys offensive was thoroughly crushed by these crossbow-arrow machines, they retreated to the west in panic, reced by the shield-wielders and the archers reorganizing the offensive, advancing along the cavalrys retreat path, doing everything they could to curb the breaking-out-the-siege armys heavy weapon with the most destructive power, to create opportunities for Qu Tutongs main forces. It was a deadly game of which side had the heavier injury. Suddenly the rm drum on Luoyangs northeast city gate tower was sounded, the signalman even sent the g signal that the enemy was attacking the Shangdong [Upper East] Gate on the northeast. Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing exchanged a nce, thetters eyes revealed an rmed expression. This attack might make the remaining eight thousand warriors staying behind to take care of things inside the City of Luoyang to be pinned down and would be unable to move a single step, and thus they would not be able to take part in the battle to break out of the siege. The breaking-out-the-siege army, with the vanguard unit consisting of shield andnce-wielders and saber and arrow-wielders, was still following the rhythm of the battle drums, crossing the filled trenches and advancing toward the enemy ranks. Everything was like a nightmare that one could neither wake up from, nor able to change. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Li Shimin was indeed an out-of-the-world talented militarymander, every move he made was able to hit his fatal weak point. Li Yuanjis armys sudden appearance, and now Shangdong Gate was under attack, everything was forcing him to change tactics. Just like when martial art masters facing off against their adversary, or chess masters in a chess match, every move must upy the utmost key moment, pressing down on him that he must counterattack. Kou Zhongs eyes moved to the Yi River on the left, thinking that fortunately they had this river; otherwise, if the enemy attacked from the left and right, perhaps they would immediately be unlucky to be done for. Coming back to his senses, he chopped the nail and sliced the iron [idiom: resolute and decisive] and said, Abandon Luoyang, all army break the siege! Yang Gongqing spoke with a bitter smile, That should be the most sensible choice. Immediately he ordered the signalman to convey the order, to inform Wang Xuanshu on the city gate tower. Dang! Dang! Dang! Wang Xuanshu personally beat the copper bell on the city gate tower to send the message to the defenders in the whole city using the most direct, the fastest way possible. Kou Zhong raised the Moon in the Well high over his head, he spurred the horse to make a circle, and shouted loudly to his soldiers, Brothers! I, Kou Zhong and you are in life and death together. I, Kou Zhong, will be the first to charge into the enemys battle formation, and will also be thest to leave. These words were spoken in impassionate, solemn and stirring way, coupled with Kou Zhongs unequalled image, bold and powerful without any rival appearance, it carried some kind of a deep, stirring-up-the-peoples-heart inspirative power. Immediately the warriors responded in chorus, Shao Shuai Army will prevail! Their cry soared into the sky, not a single one did not have his fighting spirit greatly aroused, their hearts were linked to Kou Zhongs, they were willing to serve theirmander-in-chief. Kou Zhong revealed a smile that was not in the least going well with the tragic and ruthless battlefield, because it was so brilliant like the sunshine in the sky; he spoke calmly, There will be the day when I will return to Luoyang via the Changxia Gate, definitely not via any other gate. Yang Gongqings pair of eyes emitted an expression that only Kou Zhong understood; raising his arm, he shouted loudly in response, No matter in life or death, we will always follow Shaoshuai. The whole army shouted again, they were willing to fight to the death. The vanguard army suddenly stopped, they formed five rows of rectangr battle array at a distance of eight hundred paces from the enemy. The first two rows consisted of one thousandnce and shield wielders, thest three rows were saber and arrow wielders. Ma Chang shouted his order again, two units of cavalry, five hundred men each, galloped toward the left and right ends of the formation, to be the wing guards. During the time the city was under siege, the city-defenders army were not idle, day and night, they trained continuously under Ma Changs leadership. And now they showed the results in this life and death crisis. The vanguard regimentsmander was Ba Yegang, the left and right cavalry units were under Duan Da and Bing Yuanzhen, respectively. This moment, Shan Xiongxin and Guo Shancais units of twenty-man cavalry charged out of the city, forming the battle array at the rear. Li Yuanjis army also stopped a thousand steps away from the crossbow-arrow machines and the flying-stone-cannon, quietly waiting for the order to move one step forward. Momentarily the two sides were standing-opposite-each-other situation, the big battle could happen at any moment. Kou Zhongs gaze swept across Qu Tutongs troops stationed at the front, his heart was empty but alert, nothing in the entire battlefield was overlooked. Furthermore, he knew that the enemy was still oblivious that the high camp has already fallen into Ba Fenghans hands, who has raised the g signal. The Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard. Kou Zhong and Yang Gongqing urged their horses forward, apanied by their two-thousand-man cavalry, crossing over the filled long trench, and moving behind the vanguard army. Kou Zhong spoke to Yang Gongqing, Whatever you do, dont let Li Yuanji break through our nks, wait until I break the enemys formation ande back, and then we willunch all-army breaking out of the siege. I will leave everything here to Yang Gong! Yang Gongqing nodded his agreement, he said, Shaoshuai, be careful! Kou Zhong was the soul of the entire army; if he died in battle, the breaking-out-the-siege armys momentum would crumble like vanishing ice. Kou Zhong revealed a hint of smile brimming with self-confidence. Taking out the Piercing the Sun Bow, he held it high and pulled it open, with his other hand he took out four arrows, using his unique-schools technique C from the quiver hanging on the belly of the horse, and squeezed the horse to charge forward. The vanguard unit, under Ba Yegangs shouting his order, separated to the left and right to open up a passage for Kou Zhong to go through. The atmosphere immediately tightened. The bugle horn in the enemy ranks was sounded, the front row of shield-wielders put their long shield down, the shield-wielders behind raised their shield up and at an angle, forming top and bottom, twoyers of shield formation to protect the archers at the back. Kou Zhong, a single rider, came to the front of the battle formation; throwing his head back in longughter, he said, Who in the world able to block me, Kou Zhong? Finished speaking, the strong arrows went up to the bow, the arrows were shot in rapid session. Under the illumination of the torches on both sides, one strong arrow after another shot out of the Piercing the Sun Bow, every arrow carried spiraling true power, fast as lightning it shot toward the enemy ranks. Dang, dang, dang! The shields shattering, flesh and blood flying, no-stronghold-one-cannot-ovee strong arrow treated the shields like a piece of thin paper, it prated the shield and entered the body, one by one the shield-wielders facing Kou Zhong skewed to the east and copsed to the west, their blood dyed the in! It was like the strong arrows from the Piercing the Sun Bow was never-ending; losing the shields, the archers at the back were like dead leaves swept by the gale even more, one by one they were hit by the arrow, they could only stare nkly at the God of Deathing to take their life away. With this gaining-the-upper-hand-by-a-show-of-strength move, Kou Zhong roused his troops morale again, they shouted and cheered in unison. Seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, the enemy sounded the battle drum, the vanguard unit advanced toward the breaking-out-the-siege army in uniform steps, while the two cavalry units separately pressed down from the left and right wings. Li Yuanjis army immediately responded. The originally stopping vanguard regiment started to attack the crossbow-arrow machines and the flying-stone-cannons. At the rear, Yang Gongqing knew it was time to send signal using torches to notify the high camp side. From the high camp the battle drums shook the sky, Ba Fenghan showed himself on top of one of the arrow towers, and shouted loudly, Lis Tangs destiny is over! Shao Shuai Army is without rival in the world! Except for the Yang Family Army, the breaking-out-the-siege army waspletely in the dark concerning the existence of the tunnel; suddenly seeing the high camp has fallen into their sides hands. It was so impressive that they did not dare to believe, immediately the soldiers heart was bestirred, they responded in loud cheer. On the other hand, the enemy, from top to bottom, everybodys heart was disturbed. Not knowing what is true and what is false, they felt deeply the threat of the enemy in front and behind them. Immediately their battle array was thrown into chaos, panic spread across the whole army like a gue. How could Kou Zhong be willing to miss this golden opportunity? He shouted loudly, Brothers,e with me! Amidst the ear-splitting sound of hoofbeats, twenty-men elite cavalry followed him charging into the enemys disposition of troops, in spearhead battle formation [see Book 39 Chapter 12] tactics, to attack and kill the enemy. The rest of the men and horses, under Ma Changsmand, were still defending their position tightly, firmly resisting the enemys assault. Arrow darts filled the air, shooting at the advancing enemy, thence-and-shield-wielders held their shields and raised theirnces, to block the iing arrows, while waiting in tight formation for the imminent fleshbat-bloody-battle. Yang Gongqing moved far to the rear, to receive the troops withdrawing from inside the city; furthermore, he took the responsibility ofmanding the overall situation. The crossbow-arrow machines and the flying-stone cannon were busy endlessly, corresponding to the crossbow-arrows and stone-throwers of Wang Xuanshus troops still strongly defending their position on the south city wall, crushing Li Yuanjis right nking to attack. Both sides moved an army and sent a general incessantly. Due to the high camp falling into the enemy hands, Qu Tutongs disposition of troops was in great chaos; furthermore, because he could not figure out Ba Fenghans military strength, he had no choice but to split a unit of five-thousand-man cavalry from his troops to form a row of battle array at the rear, facing the high camp, in order to deal with the attack from behind. The sound of shouting and killing on the battlefield reached the sky, it was like hell on earth. Kou Zhong took the lead, the Piercing the Sun Bow in his hand shot strings of arrows, he was particrly targeting the archers, who could pose a long-distant threat to them. None of the arrows missed its target, plus the enemys troops heart was already in chaos, he and twenty Flying Cloud Riders bored into the flocking-over infantry formation like a whirlwind. Putting away his folding bow, Kou Zhong took the Moon in the Well out of his scabbard, releasing spiraling power, those who blocked him were swept by the wind, the entire men and horses were like a giant Moon in the Well, with Kou Zhong himself as the sharp point of the de. All of a sudden the enemys vanguard regimenting to attack was split into two, and they continued charging into the enemys cavalrying from the rear. The enemys cavalry of several thousand men rushed over from four sides, eight directions to intercept, but no one was able to be his match. His men, seeing theirmander-in-chief was so bold and powerful, everybody dashed on bravely with no thought of personal safety, they followed closely behind him, attacking the enemy, fighting the enemy. Wherever Kou Zhongsmander banner went, men fell face up, horses turned over, the battlefield situation was desperate to the extreme point. Kou Zhongs mind entered the Moon in the Well realm, considering the enemy, whose military strength was several times above his C as nothing. He simply grabbed therge banner from the g carriers hand by his side; with one hand waving the banner, the other hand brandishing the Moon in the Well, the banner rolled, the saber waved, he charged into the enemy ranks where Qu Tutongsmand banner was rising high, no one was able to dy him even for a moment. Ma Changs side was still holding fast to their position, luckily for him, Kou Zhong threw the assaulting enemy troops into disorder, so that the pressure on his troops was greatly reduced. When the enemy was advancing to about fifty paces away from them, Ma Chang ordered the saber and arrow-wielders to put away their bow and draw their saber, and to charge forward, taking advantage while the opposite sides formation has not beenpleted. The very moment their sides morale was greatly aroused, he ordered all army, infantry and cavalry, to counterattack. Shan Xiongxin and Guo Shancai, two units of cavalry, a total of sixty men, split into two routes to attack from the left and right, to meet the enemy cavalrying to attack from the two wings. They killed until the sky lost its color, the earth turned dark, the moon and the stars were without light, the earth shook and the mountain moved. Li Yuanjis troops attacking from the side were held back at two hundred paces distance by the crossbow-arrow machines and the flying-stone cannon, they could not even advance for a single cun. Far behind the front line, the enemy troops were in a totally different situation. The high camp main gate was wide open, nearly a thousand captured Tang soldiers, the construction battalion troops and other nonbat personnel, under the threat of the arrow darts of Ba Fenghan and his nearly five hundred Flying Cloud Riders, who seized warhorses from the enemy C were driven out of the camp, to flee toward their own cavalry formation across the front of the camp. Using these men as human shield, Ba Fenghan led the Flying Cloud Riders to follow behind them to attack. Commanding the cavalry unit was Li Yuanjis trusted aide Great General Feng Liben. He could only stare nkly at the arrival of Ba Fenghans attack, yet he could not order his men to release the arrow toward the enemy mingled among their own men. The fortunate timing passed in the blink of an eye, suddenly the entire five-thousand-man cavalry unit was run over by the prisoners rushing randomly, while the enemy, under Ba Fenghans leadership, their momentum like a rainbow C cut the cavalry unit, like a hot knife through butter C into two. Furthermore, because the captives scattered in all direction and fled in disorder, the cavalry was unable tounch an effective interception counterattack, so that even though their number was ten times the opposite side, they were still unable to find any solution. zing me was rising from the high camp, thick smoke soared into the sky, engulfing the camp into the ocean of fire, which increased the breaking-out-the-siege armys mighty power even more. Only those who were ruthless enough would be able to survive. Positioned at the core of the army, Qu Tutong and the various generals under hismand suddenly found themselves in danger. Ba Fenghan wasing from behind, while ahead were Kou Zhongs cavalry unit, which brought carnage everywhere they went. Both armies were unstoppably acute, and hismand banner was precisely the target. With no choice to pick, the middle army, which consisted of five-thousand-man infantry and cavalry, moved to the west to evade, hoping to link up with Li Yuanjis main forces, and then reorganized their armys appearance. As soon as themand banner was moving, the entire army was immediately affected. The breaking-out-the-siege army shouted in unison and exerted themselves to attack the enemy. Ma Chang, Shan Xiongxin, Guo Shancai, three-branch units pursued cun by cun to advance and kill, the Tang Army retreated again and again in defeat. Yang Gongqing knew the time hase, he ordered Wang Xuanshu to withdraw all the troops staying behind to take care of things in Luoyang. Immediately smoke and fire sprang up everywhere in the city. What happened was that they already piled up dry firewood on the main street, so that as soon as they were lighted, the raging fire rose up to the sky, cutting off all passages leading to the city wall, top and bottom, south of the city, so that the Tang Army entering the city was unable to pursue and attack. By this time, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were finally able to join forces in the middle of the battlefield, where the corpses were strewn all over the in, blood flowed like a river. The enemy was retreating to the west like a tide, the breaking-out-the-siege path had finally been cleared up without any obstacle. But Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan knew that the road ahead was still difficult. The enemy retreated, but not in disorder, not to mention Li Shimins main forces have not shown themselves. That would be the deadliest threat to the breaking-out-the-siege army. The battle was still underway like wildfire, the breaking-out-the-siege army demolished the three pontoon bridges across the Yi River first, and then retreated and fought at the same time, Li Yuanji and Qu Tutongs coalition forces regrouped and assembled 50,000 men of infantry and cavalry, and pursued relentlessly, unwilling to let them go. Until the breaking-out-the-siege army withdrew to the mountaintop position at the exit of southern end of the tunnel, immediately the entire army counterattacked, coupled with Xu Zilings fresh army; finally they were able to steady their disposition of troops and forced Li Yuanjis army to withdraw. From the time the gate was opened and they went out to strike to break the siege until this point of the battle, both sides suffered injuries and deaths. The breaking-out-the-siege army started with eighteen thousand men, and their number was reduced to fifteen thousand. The men killed in battle amounted to three thousand men, they even lost Wang Long, Xue Deyin and Chang Jiang, three generals. However, the dead and injured on the Tang Armys side were over six thousand. From this, the severity of the war could be seen clearly. Wang Xuanshu sessfully sent arge number of breaking-out-the-siege warhorses to the mountaintop positions, naturally including Xu Zilings Ten-thousand-Li Spots and Ba Fenghans Tamakan. This was an important part of the escape n, they must be an entirely cavalry army, in order to avoid the enemys interception in the most mobile and rapid way, to escape the enemys sphere of influence. Ko Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan and Yang Gongqing stood on a high elevation at the mountaintop position, under the first light of the dawn of the eastern horizon, looking into the distance at Li Yuanji Armys situation. All four men were blood-soaked from head to foot, but it was unclear whether it was the fresh blood of the enemy, or the blood that flowed out of their own wounds. Although they had sessfully broke out of the siege and reached this ce, none of the four was not heavy-hearted, even more, they still had the on-all-sides, the-songs-of-Chu feeling of crisis. Until this moment, they still did not know where Li Shimins main forces were. After two sichen of fierce battle, the breaking-out-the-siege armys troops exhausted, their strength weary, it would be difficult to deal with another fierce battle like fierce tiger charging out of the cage a moment ago. The fire in the City of Luoyang had been extinguished, the banner flying on top of the city wall was reced by the Great Tang Army insignia, as if they were showing off their military strength to them. Fortunately, the high camp had been turned into a scorched earth, giving them a slight sense of achievement. Although fully aware that Li Shimins strategy was to frustrate their acute point first, to wear out the armys strength and then to pursue and attack, to cut and kill, they still had no choice but to step into this trap. And now they were inside the trap, waiting for their fate of being hunted and killed. This moment Ma Chang came to report that everything was ready and in order, they could be on their way to flee from danger at any time. Is there any movement in the south? Ba Fenghan asked in heavy voice. Shaking his head, Ma Chang replied, Everything looks normal, Li Shimins main force army should not lie in ambush ahead; as long as our horses are fast enough, we could escape to the Yi-Luo river in before the Tang Army in Shouan and Yiqueplete their blockade. They already setup sentry points on high elevation in the south, any grass stirring in the wind in that side, nothing could be concealed from their eyes and ears. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, That is precisely Li Shimins strategy; he knew for sure that we are fleeing to the south. After breaking the siege, we will definitely travel night and day to pass through the river in gateway between Shouan and Yique, and then he can intercept us at any point while our men weary, the horses tired. On the other hand, Li Yuanji and Qu Tutong are blocking our retreat path, so that we are trapped between Yi and Luo, two rivers. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward the Luo River on the left, he spoke resolutely, The battle to break out of the siege is precisely a race against time between the two sides, whoever can move faster will seed. We set off immediately; we are going down south along the Yi Rivers west bank, we will be in charge of holding up the rear. Ma Chang epted the order and left. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Li Shimin is in the city. Everyone was stunned. Yang Gongqing asked in astonishment, How did Zilinge to that conclusion? Xu Ziling replied, Even though Li Shimin guessed that we might escape to the south, but ultimately he cannot substantiate his guess. Based on his usual stable and steady style, no best strategy is better than using constant to deal with ten thousand changes. After grasping our escape route, he would assemble the navy fleet in the city, and then after daybreak divide the navy into two, open the sluice gate and separately pursue us from the Yi and Luo, two rivers. At that time, the initiative will be entirely in his hands, plus we will have to deal with the Tang Army from Shouan and Yique. Ahead the road is blocked, behind theres no way to retreat, our allotted share will only be to take a beating. Ba Fenghan nodded his agreement, he said, Zilings opinion makes sense! Xu Ziling went on, When the obstacle on the two rivers are torn down, that will be the moment Li Shimins navy empty their base and start out on their mission. He had not even finished speaking, on the Luo River southwest of Luoyang appeared the flickering shadows of sail. Li Shimins navy fleet finally showed themselves. Kou Zhong felt deeply that his decision to flee along the west bank of the Yi River was absolutely correct. Good kid! he shouted loudly, Let us see whether our horses are fast, or your ships are faster. Lets go! Kou Zhong, four men, plus the remaining more than four hundred Flying Cloud Riders bringing up the rear, all stepped on the cliff-ledge and mounted their horses, and rushed to catch up with their troops traveling southbound. The enemys battle drums were sounded, the entire cavalry started to move, more than twenty thousand men cavalry, no longer with any scruples, under Li Yuanjis personalmand, covering the mountains and the ins, came to pursue, unwilling to give them any opportunity to take a breath. Under Li Shimins extraordinary strategic deployment, they setup inescapable, to do everything in their power to catch every single one of the breaking-out-the-siege army all in one go. Up until now, the breaking-out-the-siege armys advantage and initiative have been lostpletely, they were trapped in the cat and mouse deadly game. Kou Zhong, in this cannot-deteriorate-into-a-nastier situation, aroused a powerful will to fight instead. Even if in the end the breaking-out-the-siege army might suffer total defeat of the army, he determined that Li Shimin would have to pay the heaviest price. Book 53 5 – Between Life and Death

Book 53 Chapter 5 C Between Life and Death

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Yang Gongqing, Ma Chang, Chen Laomou, Wang Xuanshu, Ba Yegang, Shan Xiongxin, Guo Shancai, Bing Yuanzhen, Duan Da, and the others, more than a dozen men, were crouching behind a thick bush on high elevation mountaintop, looking into the distance at Li Yuanjis twenty-thousand-man cavalry holding back their troops without moving, about three li away. Three columns of smoke rose up into the air, to notify the far away Tang Army about the breaking-out-the-siege armys location. Five supply ships arrived from the Yi River to deliver food and supplies to Li Yuanjis army. No one did not feel the excitement and the bold and powerful emotion for breaking out the siege and for being able toe out. In order to lighten the warhorses load, everybody abandoned their heavy armor along the way, and because everybody was more or less wounded in action, due to blood loss and the weariness of rushing about, their countenance was pale, so that there was some kind of path-exhausted-the-end-of-the-road impression. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was shing, he fixed his gaze on the enemy ranks, and spoke ferociously, When did Li Yuanji be this astute? We stop, he also stops. Clearly he wants to hang onto our tail, to chip away at the task and not abandon it, yet to avoid fighting. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, We should have traveled along the Luo River instead of the Yi River, at least we would know Li Shimins pursuing troops position. Everybody was silent, they could not say anything. The enemys brilliant tactics forced them to flee continuously, and then at the right time, when their troops were weary, their horses tired, they wouldunch an attack, to bring them down in one go. Xu Zilings expression grave, he said, We must try to break away from Li Yuanjis pursuit, only then will we have the hope to crash through Li Shimins barrier. Kou Zhong swept his gaze to observe the situation far and near, the Yi Luo River ins fertilend ended here, the terrain was starting to undte and change. Directly to the south, a row of mountain range extended continuously and expanded, to the east it reached the Yi River, to the west it connected to a wide expanse of primitive forest of ancient, misceneous trees. If traveling to the west, with fast horse one could reach the Luo Rivers east bank within two sichen. A stream of small river wriggled its way from the mountain area to flow into the Yi River. The weary-and-unable-to-travel soldiers he was leading were resting and eating on either side of the brook, while the warhorses were eating grass and drinking water. Kou Zhong looked up to watch the sky, he said, Shifu! Could it be that the wind is changing? Other than Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, no one had any idea what he was talking about. Ba Fenghan looked up at the sky and examined the clouds, he said, If as your Shifu I am guessing correctly, the wind direction tonight will not change, it still blows northwest wind. If we set the dense forest on the northeast mountain area on fire, the northwest wind will bring thick smoke to block the pursuing troops. Hearing that, Yang Gongqing and the others spirit was greatly aroused. Knitting his brows, Ma Chang said, Traveling to and from Yi and Luo, we always took the forest road developed on the west side of the mountain area, but we never tried the mountain area itself. There is pathway across the mountain, Wang Xuanshu said. Everybody was stunned. If this remark was made by anyone who had held important post under Wang Shichongs administration, it would not be surprising at all; however, Wang Xuanshu has always lived like a prince [idiom, but I believe in this case it is literal, he was, after all, a prince ...], how could he know the situation in the mountains? Wang Xuanshu was obviously remembering his father and elder brother, his countenance darkened, he hung his head down and said, Fu Huang, he ... ay! Die had ordered me to survey the situation of the mountains and rivers the south of Luoyang, hence I went in and out of the mountains many times. There is an exit at the southern end of the mountain area, from there we can reach the forest area northwest of Yique. Everybody had a sh of understanding. Wang Shichong has always been greedy for life, afraid of death; he sent his son to survey the terrain, it was to reserve an escape path. Kou Zhong said, In that case, Xuanshu should lead the way. Now we will send our men to the forest in the mountain area on the northwest to rig up the ruse, we will break away from Li Yuanji tonight, and escape without a trace. Voicing his concern, Shan Xiongxin said, Although we could momentarily stop Li Yuanji from pursuing into the mountain area, but after entering the mountain area, there wont be any way out even more. If Li Yuanji notified Li Shimin, Li Shimin might merge Shouan and Yique, two armies into one, and wait for us at the southern exit of the mountain area. If we are trapped in the mountain area, it will be the end of the entire army. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If Xuanshu is not familiar with the situation on the mountain, who would dare to take the mountain area route? Ba Yegang agreed, he said, Naturally they would abandon the mountain area and take the official road in the forest; it is both faster and more convenient. Kou Zhong acted as if he had a card up his sleeve, he calmly said, This is precisely the using-the-troops-precious-wonder principle. Because Li Yuanji is guessing that we do not dare to enter the mountain, hence he is holding back his troops without moving, to let us to escape to the south via the official road in the forest, because Li Shimin is stationing troops at the exit on the other side, he has alreadypleted all kinds of construction works for defense, ready to deliver frontal assault on us. If we changed into different mountain path, we will definitely throw his disposition of troops into a great mess, and then we have an opportunity that we can exploit. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, This is called seeking victory in danger. Yang Gongqing sighed and said, Three exits, Li Shimin can only guard two. If we could leave the mountain one step ahead of Li Shiminpleting his interception, naturally there wont be any problem, otherwise, we should not pick the exit that Li Shimin personally guard. Everybody understood the reason he was sighing, because there was simply no way of guessing it. Wang Xuanshu said, The exit close to the Yi River is extremely hidden, the enemy may not know it. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Can we cross the mountain area in one night? Even hurrying without stopping, we still need half a day, Wang Xuanshu replied, But if we do that, I am afraid the men and horses wont be able to make it. Kou Zhong looked up to the sky again, his pair of eyes emitted a contemtive look, he said, In that case we set the target of going out of the mountain tomorrow night. This time its our turn to be in the dark while the enemy is in the open. When the falcon is circling in the air, it will mean that Li Shimin is not far from us! At dusk, the mountain forest in the northwest direction suddenly caught fire, which spread rapidly, the fire intensity was fierce, sweeping toward the southeast, bringing with it fire fragments and thick smoke, cutting off Li Yuanjis pursuing troops path forward. The most subtle part was that the breaking-out-the-siege army was already concentrated on the mountaintop between the mountain area and the narrow path. The moment the thick smoke blocking the enemys line of sight, they started to quickly enter the mountain area, so that momentarily it was difficult for Li Yuanjis side to grasp whether they took the mountain area, or withdraw via the official road in the forest. With Wang Xuanshu leading the way, all the officers and soldiers walked, while pulling their rides along, climbing the mountain, going down the valley, boring through the forest, and wading in the creek, traveling quickly on the unbroken mountain area, until daybreak, when all the men and horses were body weary, strength exhausted, so they hid in a hidden gorge in the forest to rest, striving for some time to sleep. By this time they had entered forty li deep into the mountain area, only about ten or so li away from the hidden exit at the southern end. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were used to this kind of arduous journey, after sitting in meditation for half a sichen, they have more or less recovered. Taking the falcon Wuming, the three climbed the tallest peak by the gorge, to look down to observe the situation around, only to see the mountain was lost in boundless mists, big rocks stood in abundance on the high and tapered peak, the mountain range was rolling continuously, the boundless ocean of forests covered the mountains far and near, asionally they saw streams running through the forest. Its a pity that the three were heavy-hearted and were not in the mood to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Kou Zhong stroked Wumings feather, to cate her desire to p her wings and soar into the sky; he said, Ha! It looks like we have really broken away from Li Yuanji! Ba Fenghan said, Li Yuanji is not an idiot at all, he shouldnt take risks to enter the mountain area. When he ascertained that we had fled into the mountain area from the horses hoof and footsteps, he might guard the mountain areas north side exit, while sending information to Li Shimin using the fastest method, to tell him to seal off all the exits on the southern part of the mountain area. Kou Zhong looked up at the big empty sky, he said, I want to let Wuming circle a few times overhead, nothing should go wrong, should it? Ba Fenghan patted the Shooting the Moon Bow in his bosom, he proudly said, With the Shooting the Moon Bow as the protector god, who could harm her? Kou Zhongughed without restraint, he said, The kid recovers his confidence that quickly, Xiaodi submit cheerfully, both with my mouth and in my heart. The chain on Wumings feet was untied, Wuming let out a cry, and soared into the sky, flying to her hearts content. Seeing Xu Ziling was contemting with rapt attention, Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I wonder if Ziling can guess: what is Li Shimin reminding me of? Kou Zhong was the one who answered him, Are youparing him with a wolf? Staring nkly, Ba Fenghan said, Are you psychic? How could you see the secret in my heart? Its impossible to guess. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was shing with terrifying bright light, he spoke heavily, This is called heroes usually agree. In the first ce, I remember that you guys worship wolves, and Li Shimin is precisely a wolf; furthermore, he is the most terrifying wolf king; it would wait for an opportunity to devour its prey, it wants to hit the target in one strike. The herd of cattle already knew a pack of wolves are moving back and forth all around them to intimidate them, to affect them mentally and physically, yet they are still unable not to be paralyzed with fear, and their allotted share is just to wait for death. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Li Shimin is indeed using the wolfs tactics;pared to us, Tujue people, the way he put it to use has reached perfection even more. We are precisely the herd of cattle waiting to be devoured, and Li Shimin is precisely the wolf king pacing back and forth in the vicinity, leading a pack of vicious wolves. When the herds muscle is weary, its strength exhausted, the vicious wolf charge into the herd to scatter it, and then when theres a cow on its own, the pack of wolves will devour it! Although the cow is stronger than any wolf, but under such circumstances, the cow away from its herd definitely has no chance to get away. Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, Only I hate it that even though we are fully aware that this being the case, we are still unable to find a solution like the cow waiting to be ughtered. Ba Fenghan said, The method that the wolves are using to score a victory relies on absolute focus, patience, chipping away at a task and not abandon it [idiom: perseverance] and dedication. Every moment before your eyes is as important as a life and death matter, you cannot miss any opportunity. If we want to see the Yangtze River, we must learn the tricks of dealing with wolves. Kou Zhong thought deeply for half a day, he asked Xu Ziling, Ling Shao, what are you thinking? He did not really expect an answer, he just wanted Xu Ziling to offer his wise opinion. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling answered truthfully, I was thinking that if this moment I am only allowed to see either Shi Feixuan or Shi Qingxuan, one of them, whom would I choose? Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan looked at each other; they nearly could not believe their own ears. Unexpectedly Xu Ziling was so open about the secret in his heart, and it was such a personal matter. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Fortunately, I will never have to make such a choice in real life, otherwise, I might choose to see neither one of them. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, Listening to Zilings words, there seems to be a feeling of being separated in life and death. I wonder if you dont feel too optimistic about our breaking-out-the-siege battle tomorrow night? Xu Ziling sighed and said, You should know better than me that if Kang Qiaoli releases the falcon, he will grasp from where we areing out of the mountain. Unless the three of us are willing to abandon the others and escape alone, we will definitely die. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, That is the cruel truth. Lao Ba, what do you think? Ba Fenghan cast his gaze on Wuming, who was flying higher and higher; he replied casually, There has never been a moment where I feel that death is so close and inescapable; even when facing Bi Xuan, I never had such feeling. Frankly, I really enjoy this kind of the feeling and the pressure of death. Brother! I wonder if we ought to call Wuming down, she already left my Shooting the Moon Bows protection range. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Since we know in our heart that we are going to die, we are going to die beautifully. And then he let out a shrill whistle to summon Wuming back. Suddenly they heard the sound of wind gust, from behind the mountain peak in the southwest, six ck dots rose up to the sky and rapidly grew big as they flew over at high speed. Surprisingly, they were the six vicious vultures that the Tang Army raised specially to deal with Wuming. The three mens natural reaction was to separately draw the Piercing the Sun, Shooting the Moon, and Mulberry Wood, three bows, and put an arrow on the string. Wuming instinctively felt the danger, she circled around and swiftly glided down toward where the three were standing, immediately dropping down from a high altitude of over a hundred zhang to about fifty zhang. At this time, the six vicious vultures already spotted Wuming without any misgivings, they quickly closed the distance that they were only about twenty zhang away from Wuming, and even pped their wings to increase their speed, fast like an arrow dart. Bowstrings twanged, three arrows split the air, while Wuming continued to drop down, they shot at the vicious vulturesing to attack Wuming from above her head. The vultures cried, three vultures were hit by the arrow at the same time and died, they fell into the abyss between the two mountains. The other three vultures were startled and scattered. Before the three had a chance to shoot the second arrow, they flew away for their lives, and in the blink of an eye disappeared behind the mountain range. Wuming returned to Kou Zhongs shoulder. Putting away the Piercing the Sun Bow, Kou Zhong spoke with lingering fear, What was that about? Li Shimin ought to be nearby, Xu Ziling replied. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, Li Shimin and his men are outside the mountain area, this time it was just an ident. This kind of product-of-the-proud-prairie vicious vultures are violent and aggressive by nature, the breeder must release them every day to let them hunt for food for themselves, in order to maintain their ferocity. They were not ordered to attack Wuming, its just that since falcons are the target of attack that has been drilled into them since they were young, so as soon as they saw Wuming, they spontaneously attacked. Lightly stroking Wuming, Kou Zhong blew out a mouthful of air and said, This is called the result is obtained entirely without a great deal of time and effort. It would have been much better if we could shoot the other three as well. Ba Fenghan said, How could things of the world happen entirely ording to mans expectation? Six vultures, only the three remaining vultures came back, how will the enemy react? Kou Zhong said, Naturally they would know that the birds have encountered us. ording to reason, Kang Qiaoli should release the falcon, to see our position. The falcon can safely detect the enemy from the high elevation where the arrow darts cannot reach. Kang Qiaoli will never miss this good opportunity. Ba Fenghan said, This is perhaps our only chance to get rid of the other sides falcon before we go out of the mountain. Why havent you immediately made your move? Kou Zhong hurriedly took out the small bottle containing the deadly poison that Chen Laomou gave him, and applied the poison on the tip of Wumings eagle w. Uponpletion, Kou Zhong spoke happily to Wuming, perching on his arm protector, Nice darling, you are being promoted, from a falcon [lit. hunting eagle] to venomous eagle. Those who want to carry out mutual-destruction with you wont be able to do anything to you. Because war is just like this, only those who are ruthless enough will be able to survive. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Thats a lot of crap! The three nervously searched the southwest sky with their eyes. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, His Niangs! Indeed like Lao Ba said. Under the blue sky and white clouds, a barely-seen ck dot appeared high in the sky, hovering slowly over the mountains, gradually approaching. Wuming revealed a look that showed she had seen it too, her eagle eyes gleaming, she looked at her fellow bird up in the sky. Ba Fenghan said, Eagles are aggressive by nature, they will attack other birds that enter their territorial air space, they are extremely ruthless. Usually, the only way to avoid defeat twice is to flee from that particr air space. Go! Kou Zhong has already been waiting anxiously; he immediately issued amand in eagle talk to attack. Wuming pped her wings and soared into the sky, charging at an angle toward the enemys eagle above the three mens head. This matter concerned the survival of the whole army, the three grabbed their heart and suspended their guts, and held their breath as they raised their head up to wait and see. The enemy eagle perceived the iing danger; furthermore, it might think of itself as the intruder. Making a sharp turn, it flew out in southwest direction. It was unclear whether because she has been trapped and locked up for a long time, Wuming was particrly aggressive. Fast like the wind, she overtook the enemy eagle, with both ws opened wide, she glided down to w the enemy eagles back. Feathers flew violently, the enemy eagle let out a cry, as it plummeted down for more than thirty zhang, before it pped its wings and continued flying. Wuming did not seize the opportunity to pursue and attack, but instead of flying down, she circled in the air to show off her might. Ba Fenghans gaze continuously followed the enemy eagle getting farther and farther away, he spoke in heavy voice, Down! Down! Down! The enemy eagle continued flying away and became a little ck dot. Sess! Xu Ziling blurted out. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, Doesnt it seal the throat upon contact with blood? Could it be that the w did not scratch skin and flesh? In an erratic flight pattern, the enemy eagle, in the three mens expectant and longing gaze, dropped down more than ten zhang, but it continued flying for a moment before it began to fall rapidly down. Anybody could tell that the enemy eagle was indeed poisoned to its death. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan cheered at the same time, they were excited endlessly. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Now it should be nine deaths and still alive [idiom: narrow escape], it is much better than before. The former said, How much chance of sess do you think we have of breaking out the siege and fleeing for our lives now? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, No ... we will definitely be able to break out the siege and flee for our lives. Because Laotianye is still standing on our side. The sickle-shaped waning moon was hanging low in the cloudy western horizon, from the gaps of the clouds, they could faintly see one or two dim, no-light stars. It was in such a night that the breaking-out-the-siege army left the mountain area, quietly got out of the concealed exit, and entered the sparse forest area northwest of Yique. Kou Zhong took chances by releasing Wuming to scout the surrounding area, near and far. After determining that there was no enemy in the vicinity lying in ambush, he ordered the troops to set off on the arduous journey where danger lurked on every side. He divided the breaking-out-the-siege army into five units; he personally led two-thousand-man vanguard army to upy the front, assisted by Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, bearing the heavy responsibility to break the siege and open up a path. Yang Gongqing, Ma Chang, and Wang Xuanshus two-thousand-man troops upied the center position, assuming the full responsibility of the overall situation. Bringing up the rear was the two-thousand-man unit under Ba Yegangsmand, with Bing Yuanzhen as his deputy. The left and right wings each have fifteen hundred men, under Shan Xiongxin and Guo Shancai, respectively, as themanding general. Their target was to pass through the hills and sparse forests between Shouan and Yique, and head straight to the south. Wuming was back on Kou Zhongs shoulder. While spurring his horse to bore through the forest and cross the field, Kou Zhong said, Li kid cannot bepared to Li Yuanji at all, we must deal with him carefully. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling remained silent, they did not respond. As the trees were gradually thinning, the vanguard unit reached the edge of the dense forest region, outside the forest, the open in was dark, which made peoples heart heavy. Kou Zhong could not help asking Xu Ziling, Any unusual feeling? Xu Ziling reined in his horse to stop, he spoke heavily, The enemy is outside! The divine light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes shing, he said, We have no way back, there is only charging ahead, use fast to control the slow. Kou Zhong nodded and said, So be it! Suddenly he roared in earth-shattering voice, Brothers! Come with me! Squeezing the horses belly, he took the lead to get out of the forest. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan followed closely behind, leading a thousand riders, like an angry dragon, putting aside all misgivings, prating the boundless in in the dark of the night. The other four units followed out of the forest, the sound of hoof beats shook the mother earth, more than ten thousand riders galloped wildly on the grasnd. Thunderous shouts and battle cry arose, ahead, from left and right, torches emerged inrge numbers, they vaguely saw covering the mountains and the ins were the Tang Army,pletely sealing off the road with astonishing momentum, and were charging directly toward them. Book 53 6 – Blood-stained Combat Robes

Book 53 Chapter 6 C Blood-stained Combat Robes

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Before Kou Zhong, three men led their troops out of the forest, they had thought carefully about various possibilities, for example, the Tang Army might use fire beacons in all four directions as warning signal, the Tang Army troops stationed in various strategic points outside the mountain area might rush over to intercept from four sides, eight directions, and so they would use concentrated to deal with dispersion, use fast to deal with slow, by rapidly traversing the grasnd, fleeing to the south, et cetera. However, they had never thought of the situation before their eyes, which was the enemy unexpectedly was able to grasp the route of their breakout, waiting in tight formation to deliver frontal assault. And until this moment they were still unable to guess how, after losing the falcon, Li Shimin was able to grasp the route they chose. Charging toward them was the cavalry unit, their military strength about ten thousand men, the great general leading them roared, Wang Junkuo is here! Kou Zhong, you are already at the end of your rope, why havent you abandoned your weapon and surrendered? Kou Zhong already bent his bow and put on an arrow, heughed aloud and said, Wang Da Jiangjun, dont you think you spoke too early? Swish! The powerful arrow left the bow string, shooting straight toward Wang Junkuo leading his troops galloping over from a thousand paces away. Wang Junkuo remained calm and unhurried, holding a shield to protect his body in his left hand, the longnce in his right hand poked forward fast as lightning, hitting the arrow right at the tip. Dang! Wang Junkuos tiger-body shook severely, finally he seeded in poking the arrow and sent it flying, showing his deep power and the precision of his spear technique. More than a dozen martial art masters, his personal guards C on his left and right immediately pped their horses to rush forward, to protect Wang Junkuo in front of him. The battle array has not yetpleted, Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling shot two arrows from afar, the arrows pierced two of the personal guards on the chest, blood sshed and they fell off the horse. Wang Junkuo shouted his order, the vanguard troops under his leadership slowed down, everybody raised their shield to block, the cavalry on the two wings increased their speed into a sprint, they closed in like a pair of giant pliers to attack from the left and right. This was a proper deployment in cavalry battle to control the enemy, as agile as a deity. Seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, Kou Zhong mused that if they were tangled down by Wang Junkuo in here, when a bitter more Tang troops came to join the fray, they would not be lucky to escape. Thereupon he issued an order, Shang Xiongxin and Guo Shancai, two wing armies immediately rushed forward to face the attack from the enemy riders on the left and right, while he and Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan maintained their formation, like the sharp point of the Moon in the Well, leading the two-thousand-man cavalry, charging straight into the enemy ranks under Wang Junkuosmand. Arrow darts filled the sky; before the enemy and us, two sides, met in fierce hand-to-handbat, they used strong bows and powerful arrows tounce long-ranged attack. Men were hit by the arrow and fell off the horse constantly, nursing a grievance on the spot. The horses hooves kicked the dust straight up rolling into the night sky, the sound of hoofbeats rose up and down, rumbled over and shook the earth. Both sides soldiers and generals immediately threw themselves into bitter battle, just like without-finish-without-end ughterhouse of the human world, the Asura hell. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, three men were fighting at the head of their troops, blocking most of the arrows for their men, and were already too busy to release arrows. Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well, Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven, and Xu Zilings longnce, chopping and sweeping, poking and flicking, blocking the arrows shot by the enemy riders C they stormed into the enemy ranks. The sound of shouting and killing shook the heavens, suddenly they faced like-wolves-and-tigers, dashing-on-bravely-with-no-thought-of-personal-safety, charging over enemy on all three sides. Even with Xu Zilings peace-loving, unwilling-to-take-the-life-of-a-living-creature nature, in this kind of circumstances he had other choice either; focusing the true qi on the longnce, he protected Kou Zhongs right wing, the longnce, spirited like venomous serpent, encountering the enemy it stabbed the enemy, seeing people it killed people. Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven Sword protecting the left side was even fiercer and ruthless than anybody, so that Kou Zhong waspletely without worry on his left and right, and was able to focuspletely to the front. Each time the Moon in the Wells yellow light shed, someone would meet the saber and fall to the ground. Originally perching on his right shoulder, Wuming was startled and flew high into the sky. In the midst of flesh-and-blood-flying hard fighting, Kou Zhong had no time to mind her. They knew nothing about the enemys deployment, they only knew that they had to break out of the enemys siege with all their strength and kill their way to the south. Wang Junkuo did not cross swords directly with the three at all, avoiding the three, he led his personal troops to attacked violently the troops following tightly behind the three. The sound of killing rose again, the enemy and us, the left and right wings armies were engaged in short weaponed soldiery fight one another [idiom], close to the body and fleshbat on horseback, the curtain of battle was fully opened, they killed until the sky lost its color and the earth turned dark, the situation was desperate to the extreme. Seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, Ba Fenghan knew that if Wang Junkuo managed to cut their vanguard troops in halves, Yang Gongqing and Ba Yegangs middle army following behind and the unit bringing up the rear would be cut off from the rest. When that happened, even if they managed to break the siege and leave, the units following at the rear would meet misfortune by being besieged and annihted. Thereupon he shouted loudly, Ziling and I go to kill Wang Junkuo! This sentence was forced out using true qi, it drowned all the sound of weapons shing and people shouting and killing. Immediately the enemys battle array was slightly thrown into disorder, everybody thought that Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling indeed had the ability to take the enemy generals severed head in the middle of magnificent army with thousands of men and horses like feeling in their pocket and taking it out. Kou Zhong shouted in response, Go! And see who can stop me! A swift saber chop, the enemy rider charging over was hacked that he flew off the horseback, both the man and the weapon were thrown and fell far away. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling spurred their horses to charge back, to open a bloody path within the enemy ranks, to attack toward Wang Junkuos position. Brothers! Kou Zhong roared, Come with me! His men roared in chorus, they determined to fight to the death. With Kou Zhong taking the lead, everywhere they went men were falling backward, the horses were turning over. In the twinkling of an eye the enemy riders formation was cut open, like an angry dragon they charged to the rear of the enemy ranks. Suddenly from the mountain forest on the left side the sound of battle cry shook the heavens. A team of five-thousand-man cavalry, under Yuchi Jingde, Pang Yu, and Zhangsun Wuji,unched a surprise attack, their momentum astonishing to the extreme. At the same time, far away from rear the sound of hoofbeats rumbled, the Tang cavalry, covering the mountains and the ins, following the breaking-out-the-siege-armys route, bored through the forest and came, they sprinted toward Ba Yegangs rear army. By this time, Kou Zhong, leading barely one-thousand-man cavalry unit, charged up a hilly hignd, while on the rear, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, leading several hundred men, were still entangled endlessly against the enemy riders, trying to open up a path for Yang Gongqings middle army. Both sides wing armies were still in a tangled battle, you chased me I pursued you on the vast hilly grasnd, the battle was very intense. For the first time Kou Zhong was ovee with disheartened feeling of the great momentum has gone. He suffered untold hardships, doing everything he could, giving it his all C to escape to this ce, and saw the hope that they would break the siege. Who would have thought that all of a sudden all his hope was crushed by Li Shimins superior deployment and his like-wolves-and-tigers valiant generals and mighty soldiers, his entire army was battered that they were scattered and smashed? He was facing two options: one was to meet Yuchi Jingdes cutting-across-troops head-on, the other was to turn around and return to the rear formation, to link up with his own troops to break the siege together. Kou Zhong roused his spirit and shouted loudly, Brothers! Come with me! Just like that, he spurred his horse to turn around, to return to the rear disposition of troops. If they had to die, then they would die together! Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling had just forced their way out of the encirclement, behind them were Yang Gongqing and Ma Changs two-thousand-man middle army, whose strength could still be considered intact, they still maintained their battle formation. Suddenly the bugle horn was sounded, unexpectedly Wang Junkuos cavalry unit in the blood-soaked-and-hard-fought-struggle with them opened up to let them pass, they galloped north like a tide. It was clear that they wanted tounch pincer attack from the front and the rear toward the rear men and horsesing out of the forest following close behind Ba Yegang. Their tactic was flexible and brilliant. Kou Zhong and Ba, Xu, two men exchanged a quick nce, they all knew that Li Shimin was nearby, conducting the interception battlefield operation in this moon-dark-high-wind night using bugle horns. In all direction, far and near were bright light of flickering torches, momentarily they were unable to figure out what is true and what is false within the enemy deployment. Wang Junkuos troops changing their target haspletely exposed them to the Tang Army filling the in on the west side under Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji and Pang Yusmands attack. Kou Zhong made prompt decision, he roared wildly, Xiao Ling, Lao Ba, escort Yang Gongs troops to break the siege, the rest of the brothers,e with me. Just like that, he led the more than one thousand men under hismand to pass through between the middle army, to charge toward the tail of Wang Junkuos troops. Inwardly he was well aware that the two wing armies could be considered finished, they had be the target of the enemys chase-to-kill assault. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling responded in chorus, leading about a thousand-man cavalry they left the middle army, to meet the enemying to attack from the west side head-on. Yang Gongqing and Ma Changs middle army continued to charge forward. This entire group of men was the younger generation soldiers who have been with Yang Gongqing for many years, with ample experience inbat, from top to bottom they were of one mind, during the turmoil and chaos of war, their battle formation did not change, charging at the front were the shield-wielders, to protect both the men and the horses, they urged their rides at full speed, hoping to charge toward the south. The sound of killing was deafening, Ba Yegangs original intention was to suppress the enemying to pursue from behind, but when he saw Kou Zhong turning back his troops, he quickly changed his n; abandoning the enemy from behind, he charged forward instead, so that Wang Junkuos cavalry became pressed from the front and the back, and was caught in disadvantageous position. Kou Zhong unleashed his man-and-horse-as-one technique, and caught up with the enemy ahead of him and attack them head-on. The enemy tried to avoid this capable general, he seized the opportunity to attack, like cutting melon and chopping vegetables, the enemy suffered a crushing defeat everywhere he went. Even with excellent training, the Tang Army was unable to endure, they scattered in all directions to get away, letting him march straight in unchallenged. In the blink of an eye he linked up with Ba Yegangs rear army. Kou Zhong roared again, and turned his troops back to charge to the south, cutting off the enemy that they split into two. Leading Ba Yegangs three-thousand-man rear army, he broke out the siege and ran after Yang Gongqing and Ma Changs middle army, which had be the vanguard army. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling have reached the dangerous position where they were at the front line of life and death, they prated deeply into the enemy ranks, moving back and forth to kill, to do everything in their power to gain total control on the enemy riders, whose military strength was more than four times their number. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, their men have been reduced to more than seven hundred men, and the enemy has sessfully cut them off, so that they could only fight on their own. The torches falling onto the grasnd created several hundred mes, big and small, along the trees and bushes, the raging mes dyed the battlefield blood red, like fire beacons in all four directions [idiom: chaos of war]. As far as the eye could see, the battlefield was full of the cavalry of the enemy and us chasing each other, fighting at close quarters. Dead bodies of both men and horses were scattered everywhere, the situation was tragic! Dang! Ba Fenghan parried Pang Yus treasured-sword attacking from the side, and then he turned the sword backhandedly to swiftly stabbed the pit of Pang Yus stomach. Pang Yus arm went numb, being shocked by his Stealing the Heaven Sword, he was powerless to turn the sword around to block, without any better option he ducked into the horses side to evade. Ba Fenghan suddenly changed his move, the tip of his sword stabbed toward Pang Yus left shoulder, he was about to apply his power to hurt his muscles and bones, suddenly a ck dot brushed toward his face. Turned out Yuchi Jingdes Gui Zang Whip, quiet like a sh of lightning C arrived. He had no choice but to pull back his sword and swing it up to parry. Zhangshun Wuji seized this opportunity to protect the injured Pang Yu and retreat. The Gui Zang Whip still wanted to attack, suddenly he saw the Tang troops by Ba Fenghans side fell off their horses one by one. To his surprise, it was Xu Ziling charging in; after stabbing more than a dozen men, thence continued to stab Yuchi Jingde. No matter how conceited thetter was, he did not dare to meet the two mens joint attack head-on; hastily he followed Zhangsun Wuji and the others to retreat. Lets go! Xu Ziling shouted. Ba Fenghan swept his gaze around, the men following by his side was barely a bit more than a hundred men, how could he dare to zealously continue fighting? Shouting, All right! he rode side by side with Xu Ziling charging ahead, killing their way to the west. The two men both had qi and meridian stamina, although they suffered many injuries on their body, they were still calm and unafraid, regarding the enemys magnificent army with thousands of men and horses as nothing, while the enemys threemanders-in-chief were withdrawing and revealing a gap, they rushed out the heavy siege in just a few breaths; however, the men by their side were barely twenty something, it was nearly total defeat of an army. At the rear, the enemy again split their troops, with one unit under Yuchi Jingde and Zhangsun Wujis leadership continued to pursue the enemy. Ba Fenghan pointed to the dense forest in the west, We go that way! he shouted loudly. Xu Ziling put aside the thought of linking up with Kou Zhong, he took his men to follow behind Ba Fenghan, to escape toward the distant dense forest in the west. The grass on the mother earth was flying swiftly backward under the horses hooves. Suddenly torchlight appeared ahead, a team of men and horses rushed out of the dense forest, the number of men reached two thousand, the leader was, unexpectedly, Li Yuanji, who should have guarded the exit at the northern end of the mountain area, under escort of Xue Wanche, Qin Wutong, Li Nantian, Feng Liben, and so on, various generals,ing straight toward them, cutting off their path forward. Li Yuanjiughed aloud and said, Where do you think you can escape? Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling exchanged a nce, they both knew that there was no other choice, they knew that the only way to get out of this predicament was to break the siege and enter the forest, otherwise it would be difficult to leave this ce alive. Xu Ziling could not bear to have his men apanying them throwing away their lives, he looked back and shouted, You guys withdraw to the south, go find Shaoshuai, the two of us will deal with these people. This is an order! His men spurred their horses southward, running across, away from this ce. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling spurred their horses to rush back to the north, they avoided Li Yuanjis main force and charged straight toward the enemys nk. On the other side, after running to a small hill, Yang Gongqing and Ma Changs middle army unexpectedly met the enemys huge army. Li Shiminsmand banner appeared on top of the hill ahead, nearly twenty thousand Tang Army spread across in battle formation, consisted of entirely highly mobile cavalry, the army appearance at its peak. Li Shimin, under escort from Li Shentong, Luo Shixin, Shi Wanbao, Liu Dewei, Li Junxian, Liang Shi, and so on, more than a dozen other generals, sitting steadily on horseback, issuing orders; the three units of cavalry, two thousand men each, attacked from the left, middle and right, directly ahead, not giving them any breathing space. The enemy was waiting at their ease for the exhausted enemy, their strength was far above theirs, they indeed had the momentum to crush them in one move. Seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, Yang Gongqing and Ma Chang directed their troops to meet the enemy riders attacking from the right wing, hoping that in a spurt of energy, before the left and the middle, two armies rushing over, to break through the enemy ranks one step ahead, and run away to the dense forest area on the east bank of the Luo River five li away to the west; that was their only hope to survive. Fortunately, at this time Kou Zhong and Ba Yegang led more than twenty riders, plus Shan Xiongxin and Bing Yuanzhen, two wings remaining more than five hundred men, a total of about four thousand riders C catching up from behind. Under Kou Zhongs leadership, they met the Tang Army head-on, charging and breaking them. They linked up with Yang Gongqing and Ma Changs troops, one at the front, the other in the rear, they charged to the west. The bugle horn was sounded again. Li Shimins entire army started to move, the Dark Armored Elite Troops, whose name shook the world, in cooperation with the two cavalry teams, covering the mountains and the ins C charged to kill. All of a sudden cutting the breaking-out-the-siege army in two, Yang Gongqing and Ma Changs troops continue to break the siege to the west, while Kou Zhongs troops were intercepted and were attacked ruthlessly. The battle finally reached the decisive moment. On the battlefield, it does not matter if your martial art skill was matchless, you must not allow the enemy to entangle you; otherwise, the enemy soldiers would be like ants or like locusts, more and more woulde, entangling you that you would attend to one thing and lose sight of another, you would not be able to unleash your hands and feet, and when that happens, your bones would be torn open, your corpse dismembered, there would not be any luck. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling had ample experience in using-a-few-to-fight-the-many battles; once they saw the troops appearance and the situation on Li Yuanjis side, they knew it was difficult to fight the enemy by force, the worst situation was that they did not know whether the other side still prepared an ambush inside the forest. By unleashing the man-and-horse-as-one technique, they were barely able to evade a group of enemys strong unit under Li Yuanjismand, and charged toward the wing, aparatively weaker force within the enemy ranks, precisely to borrow the enemys men and horses to keep some distance from Li Yuanji and the others; as long as they could move fast enough, before Li Yuanji could form a to surround them, they could break the siege and enter the forest. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, onence and one sword, unleashed their full power; wherever their horses went, as long as there was someone entering the range of theirnce and sword, that man would certainly ssh his blood and fall off his horse. Even so, the enemy did not scatter and run away in fear, everybody continued to charge, pouncing to the front and chasing from behind, one after another,yer uponyer, dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety, doing everything they could to hem in and trap the two men dead. Wherever the two went, dead bodies scattered about, blood flowed to be a river, the fighting was intense to the extreme point. Suddenly sword qi red up greatly ahead, sword light dazzled the eye. At the front, Ba Fenghan made a decision in an instant; he knew that encountering the enemys martial art master, he could no longer move casually like dealing with ordinary soldiers. If the opposite side managed to hold them off here, in short moment Li Yuanji and the others would rush over, then next year tonight would be the anniversary of the two mens death. He immediately focused his mind and focused his eyes to look ahead; unexpectedly what he saw was dots of sword light, he could neither see from where the sword was attacking, nor see where the enemy was. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Let me ughter you, Yang Xuyan, first then! Swaying left and right on horseback, he evaded two stabbing longnces, and kicked another enemy soldier who climbed up from the ground to mount a sneak attack toward his mount, the Stealing the Heaven Sword turned into a changing-unpredictably beam of light, it split the air, straight toward Yang Xuyan. Using sword qi to affect the opponents vision was Yang Xuyans unique skill, the Shadow Assassin name came precisely from it. But what kind of man Ba Fenghan was? Focusing his power into his pair of eyes, immediately he was able to see clearly. Heunched sessive sword attacks; disregarding his injuries, he simply had to take this opportunity to measure himself against the opponent. If he could inflict serious damage, or even kill Yang Xuyan, naturally it would be extremely worthwhile; therefore, this one sword strike carried Ba Fenghans entire strength. Yang Xuyan spurred his horse to charge from between two riders, heughed grimly and said, Ba Xiong is already like an arrow at the end of its flight, you still want to show off? Suddenly the sword pressed down, it pointed to Ba Fenghan at an angle, as if it was going to attack but not actually attacking, but his right hand pped toward Ba Fenghan. In an instant, the originally white and clear, slender hand turned from white to red, and then from red it turned to ck; it was bizarre and demonic to the extreme point. Inwardly Ba Fenghan recalled the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, but what he saw before his eyes was Yang Xuyans seemingly able to stop up the heaven and covered the earth, demonic and terrifying Ccquer-ck, giant quick hand. Xu Ziling behind him was also reaching the critical moment where life or death would be decided immediately. Qi power covering the air anding right at him. Without needing to look back, he knew that Li Yuanji had leaped off his horse and was pouncing on him from high in the air. Xu Ziling was caught deep in the heavy siege, he had to block weapons attacking him from eight sides, four directions C all the time, and Li Yuanji was precisely able to see this fact, hence he held nothing, going all out to strike him from high up in the air. As long as he was able to distract Xu Zilings attention, the enemy on the ground, pouncing from the front, chasing from the back C in violent assault would surely be able to chop him randomly into a minced meat sauce. If he did not care about Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear attacking from the sky, naturally he would end up nursing a grievance under Li Yuanjis hands. Even if Xu Ziling was able to block Li Yuanjis spear, albeit with difficulty, once Li Yuanji unleashed his spears momentum, he would definitely be able to pin him down tightly, so that when the other great generals and martial art masters rushed over, the two could forget about getting away even more. During this moment of life and death, Xu Zilings mind was not in chaos the slightest bit, nothing escaped his attention; not only he was clear about his own situation, he thoroughly understood Ba Fenghans situation even more; he was fully aware that between he and Ba Fenghan, only one would be able to get away, and Xu Ziling has decided to sacrifice himself to help Ba Fenghan to achieve his aim, to let him use the remainder of his life to aplish his dream of defeating Bi Xuan. Lin! Xu Ziling spat out the incantation, shocking the entire battlefield. Book 53 7 – Mountain and River Exhausted

Book 53 Chapter 7 C Mountain and River Exhausted

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Dauntlessly Kou Zhong led his men in bitter struggle, advancing to the west, proceeding by a cun and pursuing by a chi. The officers and soldiers following him were copsing continuously, all around were densely packed enemies, which they had no way of killing them all. On his left side, Shang Xiongxin suddenly cried out in fear, he was thrown along with his warhorse rolling on the ground. What happened was due to its many injuries and excessive blood loss, finally the horse was not able to endure. Kou Zhong cried, Bad! inwardly, but he could spare the time to help, more than a dozen enemy troops immediately had Shang Xiongxin surrounded, saber, sword,nce and hatchet moved together, thereupon Shang Xiongxin was finished. Watching this, Kou Zhong nearly split in anger; enraged, fast as lightning the Moon in the Well chopped, one after another the enemy riders fell down. It was like Kou Zhong was losing his mind, he only knew to charge forward to kill, disregarding his own body, he only wanted to hurt the enemy, to open up a bloody path from within the enemy ranks. Dang! The Moon in the Well was jolted back forcefully by the other side, while at the same time he felt sharp pain on his back, boring into his heart. Automatically he generated reaction force, the long halberd originally stabbing the vital part on his back were swayed by the impact of his true qi and his body that it slipped to the side, dragging a deep, nearby to his bone C gash. Kou Zhong came to his senses. It was like he was waking up from a nightmare, only to find himself got stuck in another nightmare. All around him was entirely the enemys malevolent, terrifying faces. Under the illumination of the torches, he was heavily surrounded by the enemy, none of his men were by his side, apanying him. Sabers, swords, halberds, wereing incessantly to greet him from four sides, eight directions, while he was nearing thentern-with-dried-up-oil stage. The forest area on the eastern bank of the Luo River was just over a hundred steps away, but how manyyers of enemyy between them? How far could he charge out? Someone ahead shouted loudly, Kou Zhong! Your time of death has arrived! Let Laozi cut your bird head to set up meritorious deed. The Moon in the Well spun in a circle, blocking four or five weapons attacking him and sending them flying away. Focusing his attention to look, to his surprise, it was Yuwen Bao, the high-ranking military officer Li Yuanjis trusted aide, no wonder he had the ability to block Kou Zhongs saber strike. Moreover, the opponents long spear quickly came back, splitting the air and stabbing straight toward his face. A thought welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, which was that he must not die at this moment! He was about to raise his saber to parry, suddenly he discovered that his entire right arm went numb and lost its strength. As it turned out, when a sword grazed his shoulder just now, because his body had already received too many injuries, there was no usual feeling, it was by purely relying on the true qi protecting his body that the enemys sword did not go deeper to harm his muscles and bones. When he was crying in his heart, My life thus endeth! the opponents long spear unexpectedly split the air only a hairsbreadth above the top his head, while he continued falling down. His beloved horse Thousand-Li Dream copsed to the left, while all around the enemy swarmed in, all kinds of weapons attacked him from above, to stab him and do everything they could to make him minced meat sauce. Kou Zhong understood what happened; all along he has been using the man-and-horse-as-one technique to support his beloved horses life, therefore, although the Thousand-Li Dream suffered many injuries, it could still hold up to this point. However, just now his true qi stopped, he could no longer use his true qi to attend to the Thousand-Li Dream, thereupon his beloved horse could not go on, it was immediately killed on the spot. He also recalled the tragic scene when Shan Xiongxin fell off his horse and met with a violent death just now. The sad call that the Thousand-Li Dream uttered just before its death was like calling him from another world. Fire of hatred was burning in Kou Zhongs heart, his left palm pressed the ground, Li! he cried, and flew forward, to avoid the seven, eight different kinds of weaponsing down at him, but also to move toward under Yuwen Baos horses belly. Yuwen Bao was shocked; although Kou Zhong was blood-soaked from head to foot, with injuries everywhere, but if a centipede could be dead without showing no signs of rigor mortis, much less the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world? If he had just a bit more guts, staking everything, disregarding injury or death, striking his spear down, he would definitely be able to render great merit to Shimin, Yuanji by striking Kou Zhong to death. However, when he was upying such an ultimate advantageous position, how could he be willing to take a risk? Unexpectedly he jumped away from his horse. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Heaven helps me! Disregarding everything, he used all his remaining strength to push his back against the ground, and then using one hand and two legs he tightly mped himself onto the horses belly. He also used the Moon in the Well to ruthlessly stab the horses buttock. Feeling the pain, the warhorse neighed and stood on its hind legs. From the horses belly, Kou Zhong secretly carried out the man-and-horse-as-one technique, Yuwen Baos mount immediately charged straight ahead. The surrounding air thickened, as if it had substance, heavy like a boulder pressing down on his body. Forget about brandishing the sword to counterattack, even shaking his head or blinking his eye, such actions were difficult to do. It was as if his entire being has been petrified by Yang Xuyans evil, strange and terrifying ck-hand-demonic-power, which came from the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing. While Ba Fenghan was shocked, Xu Zilings incantation arrived. Hearing it, Yang Xuyan was shaken; Ba Fenghan seized this instant to free himself from this demonic hand. This originally ck-hand filling the heaven and earth changed back to a slowly pping-down pitch-ck palm. Qiang! Xu Ziling soared into the air, his longnce shed with Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear stabbing down from high up in the air. Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven Sword poked up, it looked like it was about to pierce the hollow of Yang Xuyans palm! Yang Xuyanughed aloud, his palm returned to its original color, he pulled it back, while brandishing the Shadow Sword in his right hand down to parry the Stealing the Heaven Sword, creating another clear ringing noise, almost at the same time as Xu Ziling and Li Yuanjis two spears shing against each other; the sound intimidated the whole arena. Ba Fenghan was hacked by Yang Xuyan that both the man and the sword were nearly thrown off the horseback. He cried, Bad! inwardly, knowing that with his present condition of body weary, strength exhausted, he definitely would not be able to pass Yang Xuyan, this hurdle, who had been waiting at his ease for the exhausted enemy. The Ten-thousand-li Spots let out a sad cry; under the enemys to kill people, one must kill the horse first C vicious attack, it met with a violent death. High in the air, Xu Zilings blood was boiling over his beloved horses death, but time did not allow him to think too much. With a loud shout, he released spiraling energy, andunched anothernce attack toward Li Yuanji. Actually, high in the air, Li Yuanjis true qi was already depleted, so that he had to set his foot on the ground to take a breathing, hence he intentionally did not evade Xu Zilings spear, but used his remaining power to brandish his spear to poke, while borrowing the impact force to carry out the thousand-catty-fall to drop down to the ground, with the intention of stabilizing his footing first beforeunching another round of violent attack. Who would have thought that the way Xu Ziling applied his strength in this spear strike was so ingenious, unexpectedly, Li Yuanji, both the person and the spear, was poked and thrown faraway, while he himself borrowed the reaction force to move across, behind Ba Fenghan, while throwing the longnce toward Yang Xuyans face. Fenghan! he shouted loudly. Ba Fenghan has been cooperating with him for a long time, naturally he understood what he meant. It could be said that this moment was their only chance to run away. If they let Li Yuanji and the other martial art masters surround them again, there was no doubt that they would die. Fiercely sucking in a mouthful of true qi, he sprang off the horseback. Tamakan copsed to the ground. Only by entirely depending upon Ba Fenghans true qi did it manage to hold up to this moment; as soon as it lost its masters support, immediately its remaining life was gone. Carrying Ba Fenghan in his arm, Xu Ziling soared across the seven, eight zhang space above the enemys head in the direction of the dense forest. Yang Xuyans Shadow Sword easily struck the long spear Xu Ziling threw at him aside, and then with astonishing speed, like a clump of light smoke, he overtook Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, who were only about two zhang away from the dense forest, and raised his palm to strike on Xu Zilings back. Once again his hand turned into an evil, terrifying ck color. This was not the first time Xu Ziling encountered such a strange, evil demonic power. That day in the You Lin Xiao Gu, Xu Kaishan struck him across the stream, he only made the water of the stream be like ten thousand catties huge rock pressing down on him, but Yang Xuyans demonic power was obviously a notch better than Xu Kaishans. Even in normal situation, at his best condition, blocking Yang Xuyans palm strike was not easy, much less in his dried-upntern stage right now. Xu Zilingunched a backhanded palm strike. Bang! Shocked by Xu Zilings strike, Yang Xuyan made a somersault in the air and fell to the ground, meanwhile, like a kite with cut string, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were thrown into the forest. The instant two palms collided, Xu Zilings sparkling-and-translucent-like-jades hand and Yang Xuyans pitch-ck evil hand struck each other, apart from the two men involved, Ba Fenghan was the only one who understood what was going on. Xu Zilings entire body shook severely, the enemys evil, yin and cold true qi, linked in countless ways, no hole remained unentered, invaded the meridians in Xu Zilings whole body. The muscle-weary-strength-exhausted Xu Ziling practically was unable to seal and block Yang Xuyans palm, which was the fusion between Shi Zhixuans demonic power and the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, two great secret methods from inside and outside the Great Wall. Furthermore, it made Ba Fenghan both grateful and grieved. When counterattacking, he already made decision to sacrifice his life, to help him aplishing his immutable aspiration, by concentrating all the barely remaining true qi in his body into the Treasured Vase Qi and released it from the hollow of his palm, creating a huge reaction force, not only to shoot down Yang Xuyan, but also to elerate their momentum to enter the forest. Blood seeped out of Xu Zilings eyes, ears and nose at the same time, he lost consciousness. All Ba Fenghan could do was to hold him tight in return, to exert himself to protect Xu Zilings heart meridian. The only thing in his mind was to run away as far as possible, to find a ce where there was no enemy, and then try to save Xu Ziling with all his strength. But how could the enemy be willing to let them get away? In Ba Fenghans current condition, even if he was alone, he had no confidence he could outrun Yang Xuyan who knew Huan Mo Shenfa, not to mention he had to carry the close-to-death Xu Ziling. Both feet stepped onto a tree trunk, he borrowed the stic potential energy to catapult himself, carrying Xu Ziling along, to soar high into the air. Behind him, he heard the sound of a wind gust, Yang Xuyan also rushed over high in the air. A powerful determination grew in Ba Fenghans heart, he stirred up all his remaining strength to flee in the direction of Luo River. The warhorse neighed miserably. Kou Zhong woke up from a semi-conscious state, and found himself rolling down a slope. Before he figured out what was going on, suddenly his body was hanging in the air again, as he plummeted down. He discovered that at the end of the slope, unexpectedly there was a dangerous, steep cliff. With his current condition of excessive blood loss and weak, falling down from a dozen zhang or so height would be enough to have his body torn, his bones crushed. While Kou Zhong cried inwardly that he would die an unjust death, Ssh! water sshed everywhere, unexpectedly he was falling into a deep rapid, which he did not know where it came from and where it flowed to. The flowing water spun and washed him out of the pool, along with a rapid waterfall, it threw him down intoyer uponyer of turbulent stream. Kou Zhong rxed his limbs, he strived to gather whatever little true qi he still had, to circte it and reconcile his breathing. Ssh! Flowing along another short waterfall, Kou Zhong fell into another pool at the bottom of a series of waterfalls. The water here was flowing slower. Opening his eyes, Kou Zhong saw that he was still inside a dense forest. At the end of the pool was a brook meandering through the forest; it was extremely hidden. Kou Zhong let the current carried him up and down for more than a dozen zhang, until his strength was recovered somewhat, and then he crawled up to the shore, before he really could not move anymore. The sky was gradually turning bright. The miserably long and dark night was finally over. Ba Fenghan, with one hand carrying Xu Ziling, who lost his consciousness C by his waist, and the other hand holding the Stealing the Heaven Sword, flew down from an old tree, in the darkness before dawn, arriving at the eastern bank of the Luo River. Far behind him, the pursuing troops were getting nearer, their torches flickered as they were moving in the forest. Yang Xuyans longughter was heard, before he showed himself on top of an old tree. Laughing coldly, he said, Ba Xiong is indeed out of the ordinary, unexpectedly you can escape to this ce, this moment the two of you gave me some delight. Inwardly Ba Fenghan was proud of himself, he utilized the dense forest as his cover, many times he misled the enemies, confused the enemies, so that Yang Xuyan groped the wrong path, otherwise he would have been caught early on. Ba Fenghan unleashed his skill of looking deep into himself; he knew that with his current condition, he practically did not have any qualification to decide life and death against Yang Xuyan, to say nothing of arge number of pursuing troops about to arrive; he was even less able to withstand. Thereupon heughed aloud and said, I hope Yang Xiongs water skill is as good as your qinggong! Still standing on top of the old tree, Yang Xuyan pointed the Shadow Sword from a distance toward Ba Fenghan standing by the shore;ughing involuntarily, he said, How could Xiaodi be unduly humble? Ba Xiong, please throw yourself into the river and see. Right this moment, they heard the sound of a boat on the river, a small boat shot out from the dark ce on the opposite bank. Stunned, Ba Fenghan and Yang Xuyan looked up. A man was steering the boat to approach speedily, he shouted loudly, Ba Xiong, get on the boat ... Yang Xuyan shouted angrily, the man and the sword became one, he glided down from the top of the tree, swiftly striking at Ba Fenghan on the edge of the shore. Ba Fenghan shouted loudly, Xibai Xiong arrived just in time! His right hand returned the sword into its sheath, his left hand carried Xu Ziling under his armpit, he soared one step ahead toward Hou Xibais sailing-speedily small boat, andnded safely on the boat. Yang Xuyannded at the edge of the shore, he could only watch the boat rapidly sailed far away to the south, the murderous aura in his pair of eyes red up greatly, but there was no way he would be able to catch up. After regting his breathing for nearly half a sichen, the true qi within Kou Zhongs body gradually condensed, he recovered thirty-, forty-percent of his power. Thanks to the efficacy of the Long-Life Qi, more than a dozen wounds on his body, big and small, have more or less healed, but the excessive blood loss still made him feel weak. However, this was not the problem; the problem was that both his confidence and willpower have suffer serious setback and blow. The resentment and helpless feeling of witnessing his men meeting with a violent death before his eyes one by one, the anxiety of not knowing whether the other brothers were alive or dead, these were the hard-to-express-and-to-resolve heavy burden in his heart. He moved to the edge of the creek, kneeled down dejectedly, and plunged his head into the rapid flow of water; after drinking two mouthfuls of water, he pulled his head up. Looking at the reflection of his face in the water, he felt like crying bitterly, but he had no tears left to shed. The sun sprinkled its light from among the forest tree, making his body felt warm, but his heart was as cold as ice and snow. How did it all start, and how did it all end? How did he reach this stage? The breaking-out-the-siege battle was aplete failure, Li Shimin destroyed and crushed his main forces with brilliant strategy. Ever since he decided to contend for hegemony over the world, this was the first time that he thought of regret. If Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling, and the rest of his men all died in battle, how would he face this cruel fact? As for Song Ques expectation, Pengliangs Shao Shuai Army, this moment it all felt distant and unrealistic, he no longer had either the mood or the energy to take them into consideration. There was a sound of pping wings overhead. Kou Zhong, in his near-numb mental state C immediately reacted. Looking up in horror, Wuming dove down andnded on his shoulder. She rubbed his hair with her eagle beak to show her affection and that she missed him. The hot tears that Kou Zhong painstakingly held up finally burst out of his eye sockets. Wuming soared into the air again, she circled above his head. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly, a faint hope grew in his heart. Could it be that Wuming wanted to lead him somewhere? Under Hou Xibais control, the small boat swiftly sailed toward the southern end of the Luo River. Xu Ziling was lying on the bow, with Ba Fenghan working hard to treat his injury using his true qi. Hows Zilings condition? Hou Xibai asked anxiously. Ba Fenghan let go of his hands pressing tightly on Xu Zilings hands, his gaze was fixed to the front, he spoke in heavy voice, If I dont kill Yang Xuyan, I swear I am not a human. Severely shaken, Hou Xibai blurted out, Ziling! Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Nothing to worry about Zilings life yet, however, his internal injury is so serious that I am afraid it will never be fully healed. Depending on his good luck, I hope with his own fresh and pure true qi, he will be able to create a miracle for himself. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai asked, How serious is it? Ba Fenghan replied, Yang Xuyans ck-hand-evil-power, overbearingly pressing and malicious, invaded Zilings five viscera and six bowels, as well as his eight extraordinary channels, which makes me unable to expel. Ay! How did you arrive so timely in this critical moment of life and death and help us? Hou Xibai replied, I went to Liangdu to look for you guys, and found out that you were still in Luoyang, thereupon I immediately rushed over, but came upon Shen Luoyang on the way, and obtained information about the situation from her. Waiting for an opportunity in advance on Luo River was precisely her n, only because it is not suitable for her to show herself, I came alone toe to your rescue. Ba Fenghan suddenly understood; no wonder Hou Xibai came so timely. Muttering to oneself irresolutely for a moment, Hou Xibai said, There is one person in the world who can heal Zilings internal injury. Greatly delighted, Ba Fenghan asked, Who? Precisely Shi Qingxuan, Hou Xibai replied, She has received her mothers authentic teaching in the art of healing, plus she is deeply familiar with Shi Zhixuans demonic power, only she has a way to harmonize and regte Zilings internal injury. Fortunately Ziling has told me the ce she is currently living in seclusion. It is only about ten days journey from here, I am going to immediately send Ziling there. Delighted, Ba Fenghan said, I aming with you. Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, Leave this matter to me. Ba Xiong need to find a way to look for Kou Zhong, and then you guys rush over to meet with us. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, As long as Kou Zhong is not dead, I will definitely find him. Xibai must be careful in everything, based on Yang Xuyan and Li Yuanjis conduct, they will definitely not let you get away. Hou Xibaiughed aloud and said, If they want to harm Ziling, they must ask my Fan of Beauty first. Ba Fenghan rose to his full height, he let a long whistle, and flew toward the left bank, and in the blink of an eye disappeared into the forest. Book 53 8 – Yang Gong Returned to Heaven

Book 53 Chapter 8 C Yang Gong Returned to Heaven

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Fine drizzle filled the air, sprinkling down from the sky. Beginning in the afternoon, the clouds in the sky were getting thicker and thicker, until finally the light rain started to fall by nightfall. The entire Yi Luo in was shrouded in boundless fine droplets of rain, like smoke or fog. The victorious Great Tang Army have been clearing up the entire battlefield, while also searching for the enemys trace; they only stopped this moment, and began to assemble and regroup at the in southwest of the City of Yique. Kou Zhong knew better than anybody else that Li Shimin wanted to eliminate him, Kou Zhong, before his power grew, therefore, he definitely would not let this matter drop. Arge-scale search-and-kill operation was about tomence. Kou Zhong, carrying Wuming and his heart, which was still hurting and dripping blood, came to a small hill from where he could observe the Great Tang Armys operation from a distance. He felt so lonely. Called a king if sessful, called a bandit if defeated. He finally got a taste of the pain and sense of loss of a crushing defeat. The raindrops sprinkling on his face felt cool. Suddenly a shadow shed from the dense forest on his left. The shadowughed aloud and said, Good kid! Turns out you are really not dead! Kou Zhong squealed in delight and pounced down the hillside. Pulling Ba Fenghan in tight embrace, he was so happy that his eyes were brimming with hot tears. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Ziling, he ... ay! Ziling ... Kou Zhong was like being struck by lightning, the color of bloodpletely drained from his face, he staggered three steps back, his voice trembled, Ziling ... he said. Ba Fenghan smiled bitterly and said, Dont get me wrong, Ziling is not dead yet. But he suffers heavy injury from Yang Xuyans vicious martial art, which is thebination of Shi Zhixuans demonic power plus the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, luckily Hou Xibai remembered there is one Shi Qingxuan. She has be the only hope to help Ziling recover, we can only submit to the will of heaven. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Hou Xibai? After exining the situation, Ba Fenghan cast his gaze to the Tang Army in the distance, immediately the murderous intent in his pair of eyes red greatly, he spoke indifferently, I want Li Shimin to pay back double the disgrace and pain we suffer. Knowing that Xu Ziling was still alive, immediately Kou Zhongs dragons vitality and tigers fierceness arose; he said, This time Li kid failed to kill me, Kou Zhong, this is called man proposes, God disposes. In fact, our breaking-out-the-siege battle was not a total failure, at least the three of us are still alive, after Ziling wakes up, there shouldnt be any problem. Well go to look for Yang Gong, Ma Chang, Wang Xuanshu, and Chen Laomou, that group of brothers. They should be able to sessfully break out the siege and escape alive. Finished speaking, he gave an order, Wuming soared into the sky to scout the situation far and near. The two looked up to the sky to observe Wumings flight pattern. Ba Fenghan said, If I am guessing correctly, right now Li Shimin is deliberately giving us enough time to reorganize the remnants of the troops and continue southward, and because he has the convenience of the waterway, practically he is not afraid of us flying out through the cracks of his fingers. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement. With Li Shimins power, the search operation could have been extended to the mountain and fields south Yique and ShouAn, yet he did not do it. It was clear that he wanted to let Kou Zhong and the ruined army, defeated generals to meet, so that it would be difficult for him to escape alone, and then he would deploy the army to pursue and attack, and to put Kou Zhong to death. The sound of hoofbeats was heard from the south. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Should be our men, hence when they saw Wuming, they rush over to meet. Lets go take a look! The two men unleashed their legs power, crossing over another hill, under the wind and rain filling the whole sky, they saw Ma Chang and seven or eight men, rushing over in their direction. The two sides saw each other, it felt like it was a lifetime ago. From afar, Ma Changs tears already flowed down his face, weeping with grief, he said, Shaoshuai,e quickly, Yang Gong wont be able to make it! This sentence was like thunder from a clear sky, shaking the two men that they felt numb from head to foot, and were stunned on the spot. Xu Ziling opened his pair of eyes, and saw Hou Xibai was running the boat at full speed, while he himself was lying on the aft, his five viscera and six bowels felt like being cut with a knife, unbearably painful. The true qi within his body scattered, from head to foot he was without any strength, his legs were limp, his brains felt like being ruthlessly pricked by thousands of small needles wreaking havoc inside his head, so unbearable that he nearly groaned. Xu Zilingsst memory was only Yang Xuyans pitch-ck but shiny, evil and bizarre demonic hand; he was unable toprehend what he saw before his eyes. He wanted to speak, but could only utter a moan. Hou Xibai happened to turn his head around to examine the rear; hearing the noise, he looked back and said in great delight, Ziling is awake! How are you feeling? Xu Ziling closed his pair of eyes weakly, he asked, What happened? Hou Xibai exined briefly, and then he said, I am now taking you to Qingxuans ce, only she can help you recover fully. Xu Zilings tiger-eyes opened again, he was already a lot more spirited, struggling hard to sit himself straight, he muttered to himself irresolutely, If the enemy pursue along the river, sooner orter they will overtake us. I must strive for a night of meditation to treat my injury, otherwise, in the end we still cannot escape the enemys pursuit and attack. Yang Xuyan is an expert in following a trail, he will definitely not sit and watch us leaving. Hou Xibai nodded and said, In that case, well sink the boat and go ashore; as long as Ziling can recover part of your power, we have a great chance to escape. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan saw Yang Gongqing in a dense forest nearby, he was lying down next to an old tree in the forest, his countenance was deadly grey, the fatal wound was a strong arrow prating his body from his back. Chen Laomou, Wang Xuanshu, Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, were crowding around him, but the art to reverse the rotation of the sky, no one knew anything at all. Just in one nce Kou Zhong was able to see that Yang Gongqings vitality has already gone, his life was nearing the end. Struggling hard to resist hot tears, he came to Yang Gongqings side and knelt down, grabbed both of his hands, and injected Long-Life True Qi into his body. Hiding inside the forest were nearly five thousand men from the Yang Family Army, the Flying Cloud Guards, and Luoyangs officers and soldiers who sessfully broke out of the siege and escaped to this ce. Everybody was wounded, they were either sitting or lying down. In the intensely cold wind and bitter rain, there was a the-path-exhausted, the-end-of-the-road atmosphere. Yang Gongqings eyes fluttered, he finally opened his eyes. Seeing Kou Zhong, his body shook slightly, but a hint of smile escaped out of the corner of his mouth, Shaoshuai! he spoke hoarsely. Kou Zhong gushed out heros hot tears. Ba Fenghan squatted down by Yang Gongqings side, he reached out to grab his right shoulder to examine the arrow wound on his back. His expression darkened, he shook his head without saying anything. Trying hard to suppress his grief, Kou Zhong said, Everything will be all right! Perhaps it was the effect of the true qi that Kou Zhong injected into his body, but the expression showing in Yang Gongqings eyes condensed, a burst of blush flitted across his face, he grabbed both of Kou Zhongs hands in return, and said, I knew Shaoshuai could not possibly meet with a mishap. Victory or defeat ismonce in military operations, as long as Shaoshuai press on, there wille a day when you will attack Guanzhong directly. Kou Zhong knew that this was the final radiance of the setting sun for Yang Gongqing, he felt as if he had his heart cut out. Since the first day he knew this famous general, whom he considered both his master and his friend, he has always been like a kind father nurturing and caring for him, with honor that did not allow him to nce back, he supported him with all his strength, yet he died because Kou Zhongs strategy could not surpass Li Shimins. Remorse, like a viper, bit his heart, which was already full of scars. Plop! Ma Chang dropped down on his knees next to Yang Gongqing. Burying his face in his hands, his whole body twitched, but he fought hard not to cry out. The other officers and soldiers, none was not distressed. Yang Gongqing, as if he was exhausting however little strength he had left, released his grip on Kou Zhongs pair of hands, revealing thest hint of smile, he spoke softly, There is life, then there must be death ... Shaoshuai ... Kou Zhong was greatly astonished, he put his ear next to his trembling and shaking mouth. With a voice that could barely be heard, Yang Gongqing said, Kill Li Yuanji for me. His throat emitted a gu sound, and he simply stopped breathing. Inside the dense forest on the western bank of Luo River, Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling watched as nearly thirty Great Tang navys ships, under full sail, full of soldiers, sailed pass. Hou Xibai sighed and said, The situation is really worrying. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, We ought to be happy. Li Shimin is deploying arge number of soldiers via the waterway to the south, that means Kou Zhong is still alive, hence he wants to cut off Kou Zhongs retreat path to Zhongli. Otherwise, Li Shimin would turn around to attack the Shao Shuai Army in Chenliu, he wouldnt waste his time here. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, Make sense! But I am worried about Kou Zhong, how is he going to deal with Li Shimins hunt and kill operation? Xu Ziling said, War has always been cruel and unfeeling. Kou Zhong must prove that even in such a nasty situation, he can still firmly control Li Shimins main forces, until Song Ques main forcese to help. And I firmly believe that he has such ability. Hou Xibai nodded and said, Listening to what you said, I feel at ease. Hows Ziling feeling now? Xu Ziling said, Yang Xuyan not only mastered the demonic power of Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, he also mastered his honorable masters Bu Si Yin Fa. Hou Xibais countenance changed, he said, Thats impossible. Xu Ziling sighed and said, But thats the fact. I wonder if Xibai Xiong could recite the Bu Si Yin Fa for me to listen to? I am hoping that when we continue on our journey tomorrow, I wont need you, Laoxiong to carry me on your back. In the dark, while the wind and the rain filled the whole sky, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Ma Chang, Chen Laomou, Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, and Wang Xuanshu, seven men stood on a mountaintop by the dense forest near Yi River, watching three Great Tangs huge warships sailing speedily along the Yi River. Looking far to the south, everybodys heart was heavy, feeling that the road ahead was difficult and gloomy. Only the light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was flickering, God knows what kind of idea was ying in his mind. Yang Gongqings death has given him a serious blow! But after Yang Gong was buried and at rest, he immediately recovered; Yang Gongs death stirred up his fighting spirit instead. Not counting Xu Ziling, the seven of them were the only remaining seven leaders of the breaking-out-the-siege army. From among Luoyangs group of generals, only Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, and Wang Xuanshu, three men were able to follow Kou Zhong to this ce. Other great generals such as Duan Da, Cui Hongdan, Meng Xiaowen, Shan Xiongxin, Guo Shancai, Zhang Tonger, and so on, more than a dozen men were killed on the spot. From this, it could be seen how bitter the battle was, how heavy the casualties of the breaking-out-the-siege army. Kou Zhong suddenly said, if we put our disposition of troops to fight with our back toward the mountain, how long will be able to hold out? Everybody understood what Kou Zhong was walking about. Due to the enemy had the convenience of the waterway, they could quickly transfer arge number of troops, no matter which way they were trying to escape, the enemy would be able to intercept them along the way. Forget about running away to Zhongli, a thousand li to the south, even Xiangyang, this barrier, they would never be able to break through. In other words, they would never be lucky enough to escape. But if they took risk to fight on the spot, although ultimately it would still be difficult to escape the fate of total defeat of an army, but they would die a glorious death, no longer like stray dogs being driven away by other people, fleeing to the south and escaping to the west, a stupid and cowardly way to die! This was everybodys understanding of what Kou Zhong was walking about. Ma Chang dejectedly said, Our arrow darts supply is only enough for us to fight three days and nights. Chen Laomou said with a sneer, No arrow darts we can always cut wood to make arrows, I still have 125 men in my construction battalion, using tree trunks to build rampart and stronghold, to set up traps, holding out for ten days to half a month should not be difficult. Ba Yegang said with a sigh, Its just that we dont have any way to resolve food problem. Even if we harden our hearts and kill the horses to eat, it can only support us no more than a month. The even bigger problem is morale, since we know that we are going to die anyway, inevitably some will grow disloyal heart. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, We are not going to die, we are going to win. The other night was thest time that I, Kou Zhong lost a battle. Everyone was stunned. Ba Fenghan asked in great astonishment, What makes Shaoshuai so confident that you will win the battle? With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Lets just imagine the following scenario: we set our disposition of troops with our back on towering mountains and precipitous ridges, there is an endless supply of food, plus there arerge quantities of vicious firearm with tremendous formidable power, enough to destroy Li Shimins entire army. What do you think? Severely shaken, Ba Fenghan said, Right! I almost forget; are you talking about Tian Cheng Gorge south of Xiangcheng? That is indeed a rugged ce strategically situated and easy to defend. But where would the firearmse from? Ma Chang and the others knew that so far Kou Zhong was not babbling nonsense; everybodys hope was kindled, one after another they inquire of him. Kou Zhong exined, Tian Cheng Gorge was where we escaped Li Mi and Qu Aos pursuit in the past. We found a path in the gorge from south of Xiangcheng to the high mountain, only about half a li long, with high and steep cliffs on both sides, the cliff wall is so steep that it looks like it was cut with a knife. The northern end is so narrow that its barely enough for a cart and a rider to pass through. Outside the mouth of the gorge is endlessly rolling hills and mountain and fields. The entire Tian Cheng Gorge spans several dozen li of hidden mountain. If we have our disposition of troops at the northern extremity of Tian Cheng Gorge and strongly defend our position, the enemy will think that we have fallen into desperate straits, while in fact we have ess on the back, we will then be able to firmly pin down Li Shimins main forces until the rescuing troops arrive to help us. Bing Yuanzhen and the others suddenly saw the light, they were pleased beyond their expectation. It was like when they were on a sinking boat in an angry sea and suddenly discover drynd was just within their reach. Xiangcheng was located about a hundred li southeast of Luoyang. If they cross the Yi River and march fifty li or so to the east, they would reach Tian Cheng Gorge, and this would be outside Li Shimins expectation; perhaps he would even think that they turned mad out of desperation and threw themselves in a danger spot. Kou Zhong went on, As for firearms, it was the spoils of war that Ziling and I snatched from Yin Gui Pais hands. This batch was from Jiangnan firearms manufacturer, Yin Gui Pai originally wanted to send it to Changan to help Yang Xuyan and Yang WenGans rebellion attempt. After Ziling and I obtained it, we hid it in a secret ce by the shore of one of Yangtze Rivers tributaries. If after we reach Tian Cheng Gorge we send men to get the firearms, going back and forth, half a month should be enough. And then we will be able to give Li Shimin a big shock. Hearing that, nobody did not get his spirit greatly aroused, immediately the depressing atmosphere was washed away. Nodding his head, Ba Fenghan said, We abandon Zhongli and go to Xiangcheng, I wonder what would Li Shimin think? Chen Laomou excitedly said, Naturally he will think that we are at the end of our rope, we thus take the risk to capture Xiangcheng. Ba Yegang said, Maybe he would mistakenly think that we threaten the east and strike to the west [idiom: create diversion], while in fact trying to break through Li Shijis blockade and escape back to Chenliu. Kou Zhong said, Whether Li kid wants to go east or west, the key to our sess or failure now is whether we can reach Tian Cheng Gorge or not. We must confuse the enemy in many ways, only then will we have the chance of sess. I wonder if gentlemen have any wise opinion? Wang Xuanshu said, Xuanshu is rather clear about the surrounding terrain. If we go south along the west bank of Yi River, along the way are all mountain and fields and hills. Li Shimin is astute, he will wait in front of the road south of the in; he wont take risks by intercepting us on the mountain wilderness. By the time we reach the southern extremity of the Yi River, we will immediately change direction to the east, straight to pounce on Xiangcheng. It will be greatly beyond the other sides expectation. We will pass Xiangcheng but not enter in, pretending to go straight toward Chenliu, which will make the other side to deploy troops in a hurry to intercept. At that time we will then pass through the hidden mountain and set out toward the Tian Cheng Gorge. If we travel fast, probably about ten days will be enough. Good n! Kou Zhong spoke happily, Thats our decision then. We must immediately reorganize the troops and boost their morale. There has never been a moment that I have more confidence that this time Li Shimin will suffer a big loss, because an army burning with righteous indignation is bound to win [idiom]. The crowd roared in response. Before dawn, the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped. Xu Ziling woke up leisurely from deep meditation to regte his breathing, he exhaled slowly. Standing guard by his side, Hou Xibai spoke in great delight, Is there any progress? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I have now recovered ten- or twenty-percent of my power, together with the true qi condensing in my dantian. The demonic skill that Yang Xuyan created is really formidable. Currently I must not fight at all, otherwise I will never recoverpletely. Hou Xibai asked, I wonder if Ziling can recover to your original condition by relying on your own power? Xu Ziling muttered to oneself irresolutely for half a day, he smiled wryly and said, Yang Xuyans evil poison deeply invaded my meridians, viscera and bowels. I am able to survive, it was entirely thanks to the Long-Life Qis natural reactive power against his evil power, demonic method. Unless I can entirely expel the evil poison, practically I am unable to really apply my power to treat my injury. Aghast, Hou Xibai said, Unexpectedly Yang Xuyan has be that formidable? You are now familiar with Bu Si Yin Fa, you still cannot treat your own injury? Xu Ziling said, I am able to recover twenty-percent of my power, that is an impressive achievement from knowing Bu Si Yin Fa. If I could also read the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, maybe I will be able to drive away the evil poison. But now there is no way. This matter should not be dyed, Hou Xibai said, We must immediately rush to the ce Qingxuan is living in seclusion. Remembering that he was going to see Shi Qingxuan, Xu Zilings heart grew warm. He was about to nod his head in agreement, a fast battleship sailed along the Luo River from the south. Seeing this, the two mens heart sank, they greatly felt uneasy. Helping Xu Ziling up, Hou Xibai said, They must have guessed that we abandoned the boat and went ashore; moreover, they knew that Ziling is heavily injured and difficult to walk. Do you want me to carry you on my back? Xu Ziling took a deep breath, he shook his head and said, I can still walk. Hou Xibai grabbed Xu Zilings sleeve and took him inside the dense forest on the western bank of the Luo River; they traveled swiftly to the west. Behind them, the warship slowly pulled toward the shore, more than a dozen figures flew from the warship and onto the shore, and immediately ran in their direction. Horrified, Hou Xibai said, This is impossible, how did they know our real position? Xu Ziling looked up to the sky, three ck dots were circling high in the sky; he sighed and said, We are one move behind in the game; we forgot to erase the scent of blood, hence we cannot hide from these three vicious vultures. Lets go! Hou Xibai said. Book 53 9 – Unswerving Determination Without Pulling Back

Book 53 Chapter 9 C Unswerving Determination Without Pulling Back

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Shao Shuai troops were scattered around the dense forest, mountain and fields C to rest; sentry posts were set up at high ces to watch the surrounding area, near and far. They adopted the lying-low-by-day-and-traveling-by-night strategy. During the day, it wasparatively easier to guard against the enemys pursuing troops attacking, while the night was beneficial to march in secret. From time to time, Kou Zhong also released Wuming to scout the situation from high altitude. Unless the enemy knew invisibility art, they could forget about deploying wonder troops tounch surprise attack. The previous night they traveled at full speed toward the mountain and fields, which were only about a dozen li or so from the end of the Yi River, but they also reached the danger zone where they might be ambushed, hence they had to preserve and nurture their spirit, in order to deal with this section of their journey after dark. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan released Wuming on the top of a hill on the west bank of the Yi River. Chen Laomou came to look for the two men, he said, I have a very ominous premonition that Li Shimin cant possibly miss the opportunity to intercept us at the southern end of the Yi River. Kou Zhong smiled and said, What good proposal does Chen Gong have on this matter? Chen Laomou said, I want to immediately cut trees and build the bridge; as soon as it is dark, we raised the pontoon bridge and cross the river. By the time Li Shimin finds out, we will already be far away from the Yi River, he can only pursue from behind. Ba Fenghan spoke in heavy voice, Li Shimin, this man, cannot be underestimated. Maybe he already has men across the river to monitor us; he could promptly rush over andunch the attack when we are crossing the river. Chen Laomou said, We could send a team of elite troops to swim across the river and find out the situation on the other side first before making a decision. Kou Zhong agreed, he said, Chen Gongs proposal is very well thought out. Ill leave the bridge-building matter into Chen Gongs hands, the most important thing is not to make any noise; if Li Shimin knew that we are building a bridge, it will be really bad. Chen Laomou smiled and said, Leave it to Laofu. He cheerfully epted the order and left. Turning to Ba Fenghan, Kou Zhong said, I have an important task that I must trouble you, LaoGe to help. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Your business is my business, we are all brothers, why be so polite? Kou Zhong was ovee with emotional stirring; reaching out, he put his hand on his shoulder and said, In that case, I wont be polite to you. I am asking you, LaoGe to immediately cross the Yi River, to hasten at full speed to Chenliu, tell Xingzhi about our situation here, have him do his utmost to hold fast to Chenliu, until Song Ques main forcese to help. Only you, LaoGe have the ability to break through Li Shijis blockade, no one else can. Is it that simple? Ba Fenghan calmly said, Youd better let me get the firearm on the way, and thene back from the other end of the Tian Cheng Gorge to meet you. This way you could save about a dozen days of effort, and I guarantee that the Tang Army wont detect it. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, he said, That is even more perfect. Xingzhi will arrange for you some flywheel boats and enough manpower. It would be best to transport some rations and fodder and heavy military supply wagons at the same time, then when we deal with Li kid, we will have more confidence. Ba Fenghan cast his gaze to the other side of the river; tranquil and calm, he said, Frankly, right now my heart is full of pent-up frustration. Anything that can harm the Tang Army, I will definitely do, not just for you, but to vent my anger as well. I will set off immediately, if there are any Tang Army scouts on the other side, I will clear them away for you in passing. Brother! Ill see you again in Tian Cheng Gorge! Take care! After Kou Zhong exined the location of the hidden firearms in details, he tightly embraced his shoulders, no more words were necessary. Ba Fenghan patted the Stealing the Heaven Sword on his back, with a few jumps, he disappeared into the river water, without creating the least bit of ssh. Just like that, he secretly headed toward the opposite bank underwater. Hou Xibai flew in the mountains and forest, fast like a demon; he made a big circle and came back to Xu Ziling, who was hiding on a mountaintop nearby. Copying him crouching under a thicket, he spoke in low voice, I tied your clothes full of bloodstain to a weasel, and hit it so that it ran away in pain. On my way back, I applied my power to close my pores so that my body did not leak any odor. I hope this trick will be effective, otherwise I will carry you and force our way out of the siege. Hou Xibai was quite unlike Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he was particr about his clothes, they had to be clean and tidy, no matter where he went, he always carried change of clothes. Just now when the two men were fleeing, they encountered a foraging weasel, Xu Ziling told Hou Xibai to catch the weasel, he took off his bloody garment, changed into the clothes from inside Hou Xibais bundle, and put this scheme to use. Xu Ziling smiled and said, We are at least 50% sess. Look, the three vicious vultures are already chasing! Hou Xibai also noticed that the three vicious vultures looked west and flew over, and they continued flying lower and lower. They were birds of prey that love to eat rotten meat; they were especially sensitive to the smell of blood. They are here! Hou Xibai spoke in low voice. With a gust of wind, more than a dozen figures flitted across in the forest, following the bald vultures flight route and quickly went far, the leader was, surprisingly, Li Yuanji. Greatly delighted, Hou Xibai said, Sess! Xu Ziling pulled him back, stopping him from showing himself, A bit more patience! He had not finished speaking, a dark shadow appeared on a horizontal branch near the top of a tall tree, looking around in all directions. It was precisely Yang Xuyan, who had mastered both the Bu Si Yin Fa and the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing. Hou Xibai drew out a mouthful of cold air, crying inwardly, Close call! The two shrank inside the bushes, not daring to reveal even half a mouth of breathing. They heard Yang Xuyan snorted coldly, and then he flew in the direction where Li Yuanji and the others were pursuing, and disappeared very quickly. Heaving a sigh of relief, Hou Xibai said, That kid is so crafty. What do we do now? When ites to avoiding enemys hunt and kill, not many people are more adept than Ziling and Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling smiled and said, In the past, in order to evade Li Mis hunt and capture, Kou Zhong and I fled to the east and escaped to the west on this mountain and fields region, hence I have a certain understanding of the terrain around here, we should be able to throw them off. Come! The two left their hiding ce and returned to the river. The night has just arrived, Chen Laomou immediately ordered his men to construct the pontoon bridge. Five thousand men and horses quickly crossed the river, and then the pontoon bridge was dismantled. They hurriedly traveled to the east, rushing nearly forty li in one breath, before men and horses were unbearably tired. Kou Zhong selected a hignd densely covered in wild trees. They cut trees and built fences there, turning it into a primitive yet effective defensive measure, and then ordered the whole army to light fire and cook rice on the mountaintop, to have a good rest. Kou Zhong took Ma Chang, Wang Xuanshu, Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, four men to another mountaintop west of the camp, where he released Wuming to scout for any movement in the direction of River Yi. Leaving the Yi Luo ins, where danger lurked on every side, furthermore, far away from the heart-breaking area where the soldiers were destroyed, the generals were lost, everybody had a feeling of having a weight off their mind, their mood was a lot more cheerful. Besides, they now had clear coping strategies and objectives, which naturally must not be spoken on the same day with the disheartened feeling when they had just been defeated. Ba Yegang said, Our move must be greatly beyond Li Shimins expectation, so that his original strategy cannot be carried out anymore, hence the reason he has not been able to catch up until now. Bing Yuanzhen nodded and said, At least it does not feel like every moment we are living under the shadow of the Tang Navys threat. Kou Zhong watched Wumings movement high in the air, but his mind was actually on Yang Gongqing, whose bones were buried on the other side of the Yi River; he wanted to speak but had nothing to say. Wang Xuanshu said, Li Shimin might think that we are at the end of our rope, hence we took the risk to charge through toward Chenliu; in this case, he might notify the Xiangchengs city defenders, while he himself leads the main forces to pursue us from behind, waiting for us to have our body weary, strength exhausted from the journey, and thenunch pincer attack from the front and back, which could easily crush us. Ma Chang agreed, he said, Although Xuanshu Gongzis conjecture might not be spot on, it shouldnt be too far off! Smiling bitterly, Wang Xuanshu said, I am no longer any Gongzi, just call me Xuanshu, that will make me a bit morefortable. Kou Zhong reached out to wrap his arm around Wang Xuanshus shoulders, he spoke tenderly, You are our beloved Xiao Didi [little brother (affectionate appetion)]. Ay! Things havee to this, it is really beyond anybodys expectation. Wang Xuanshu spoke dejectedly, I just hope Li Yuan would treat my Die well! Kou Zhong sighed with him, he shook his head, but did not say anything. Ba Yegang exchanged a nce with Bing Yuanzhen, they were surprised at Kou Zhongs expression. Wang Xuanshus lips quivered, in the end he could not help asking, Looks like Shaoshuai is not too optimistic about my Die. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Xuanshu, you must be strong in confronting the cruel facts, just like confronting life and death in the battlefield, anybody could encounter unexpected disasters. Ma Chang spoke in astonishment, Currently Li Yuan deeply dotes on Dong Shuni; in order to fawn on the beloved imperial concubine, Li Yuan cant possibly deal with Xuanshus surrendering nsmen ruthlessly, can he? Kou Zhong said, I hope I am wrong. Because the problem is not in Li Yuan, but in the demonic school people manipting the Li n from behind. This is called many incense burners, many ghosts. Because Xuanshus esteemed father has deep understanding of the demonic schools secrets, plus he has deep influence on Shuni, people like Yang Xuyan definitely will not allow such person to enter Changan safely. Staring nkly, Wang Xuanshu said, How could Die know about the demonic schools affairs? Feeling a headache, Kou Zhong said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly, Ill tell you everythingter, but as for your esteemed father, the Heaven helps the worthy. However, Xuanshu, in your heart, you ought to be prepared for the worst. Contending for hegemony over the world is precisely such a cruel, merciless affair. Looking at Wumings eagle dance, Li Shimins covering-the-mountains-and-the-ins fast cavalry unit areing to attack from the southwest. Looking at the momentum, Li Shimin is going tounch a violent attack on us immediately, attempting to trap us rigidly on the mountaintop. Lets go back and make adequate preparation. The crowd roared in response, the morale was high. Hou Xibai said, There is something that I have always wanted to tell you. Huh? Theres an abandoned vige over there. Xu Ziling halted his steps abruptly, he saw the roofs visible among the forest tree at the end of the slope of the mountain road. All sorts of feelings welled up in his heart, he said, That is the vige where we came across Dong Shuni. What is it that Xibai Xiong wanted to tell me? Hou Xibai sighed and said, Ziling Xiong is already aware that I am unable to put Feixuan into the painting. Until this moment, I still dont have confidence that I will be able to capture Feixuans appearance. What I wanted to tell you is this: now, other than Feixuan, there is another beauty that I am unable to capture her most touching moment with the tip of my brush, which is Shi Qingxuan. Both are somehow rted to you. Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, So whats exactly the problem? Wanwan is also very difficult to capture, howe you were able to capture her and draw her so well? Hou Xibai thought he might as well walked over to arge rock and sat down. Casting his gaze toward the sun setting in the west, he spoke with a bitter smile, That is something that I cannot exin. Ziling took me to this vige, I wonder if theres any reason? I always feel that something is fishy with this abandoned vige. Xu Ziling sat down by his side. Revealing a contemtive look, he spoke indifferently, Since I was injured, I became much more clear-headed than before, I am thinking of a lot of things that I previously overlooked, my lingtai is empty, clear and bright. Just now I had a faint feeling that we ought to head this way, because I feel that something is going to happen here. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, With Zilings current condition, it is better to avoid unnecessary trouble, right? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Do you think I am someone who loves trouble? But things are wonderful; in the past, due to I have the Long-Life Qi, which has divine efficacy to treat injury, I have never had any internal injury that made me having my hands bound and am unable to do anything about it; however, this spirited efficacy was finally broken by the two great secret methods of terrifying demonic power that Yang Xuyan fused into one. For the time being, I am no longer able to restore my original martial art skill that can contend with the enemy for victory; however, my mind and spiritual sense are, not only weakened by the decline of my martial art skill, but bing even more cohesive, even clearer than before. Do you know what I mean? Hou Xibai said happily, In that case, injury may not be a bad thing for you, on the contrary, it is a rare turning point in your cultivation. When Zilings internal injury ispletely healed, your cultivation might rise to another level of shedding ones mortal body and exchanging ones bones, to achieve the breakthrough that apart from this, there is no other way. However, I still do not approve of you taking risks, if something happened to you, how am I going to answer Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Feixuan and Qingxuan? Xu Ziling replied calmly, In that case, you must trust my hunch that although it is difficult to guess that whatever it is waiting for us in the abandoned vige, whether it is happiness or disaster, I have a feeling that it is a part of my spiritual cultivation. Cultivation is not evading but confronting; only under the most vile situation would a man be able to disy the power hidden beneath the surface. Just consider it an opportunity for Xibai Xiong; Xibai Xiong fused your painting method into the martial art way, it must be able to stand the test of the wind and the waves. Smiling ruefully, Hou Xibai said, What you said makes sense; however, our enemies are Li Yuanji and his numerous martial art masters, plus a certain Yang Xuyan on top of that, no matter how confident and conceited I am, I still do not dare to guarantee your safety. Xu Ziling said, This might be the purpose of the unusual power of my spirit. All the way fleeing to this ce, I have some kind of distinct, spiritedly-clear feeling, as if I knew where the real danger is, hence I continually changed the route of escape, until we finally arrived in this abandoned vige. Moreover, I have a vague feeling that the abandoned vige is the only way to survive. This is a feeling that I cannot exin, Xibai Xiong can only trust me. Hou Xibai finally revealed a smile; he spoke with great interest, Zilings statement is a mystery within a mystery, yet it seems to contain some logic. May I ask you question in passing: can Ziling sense the position of the pursuing troops at this moment? Xu Ziling nonchntly replied, I sense that danger is getting closer and closer. If I am guessing correctly, they are following our trail in pursuit. Since I cant cover up my footprints, how can I escape Yang Xuyans, who is an expert in following a trail C discerning eye? Hou Xibais countenance change, he said, Why didnt you tell me earlier? I could have carried you away on my back! Xu Ziling sighed and said, Whats the use of that? The scent that I left behind still cannot escape the brilliant pursuing troops. No need to hesitate! How about we go to the abandoned vige ahead to try our luck? Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, Do we have any other choice? Kou Zhong was giving it all, doing everything in his power tomand the Shao Shuai Army painstakingly defending the mountaintop; they used the trees to build barriers, repelling wave after wave of the Tang Armys cavalry units attacking from four sides, eight directions. Both sides suffered injuries and deaths, but the enemys main assault teams casualties were more disastrous, until eventually the enemy formed a siege. The Tang cavalrys vanguard unit had ten thousand men, under the Great General Wang Junkuosmand. He barely arrived and immediately he sent the troops in violent attack, dividing his troops to storm the mountaintop position from several different directions. Fortunately Kou Zhongs side has already had the waiting-at-their-ease-for-the-exhausted-enemy and the living-high-and-look-down [both are idioms] convenience. On top of that, from top to bottom they were of one mind, hence they were able to firmly maintain their battle formation. At the bugle horn signal, the enemy retreated like a tide to regroup. Putting away his folding bow, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Li Shimin has arrived! Under the afterglow of the setting sun, they saw big cloud of dust rising far away from the mountain forest in the southwest, and faintly saw the flying banner. Seeing this, the officers and soldiers all around felt like their heart sank like a piece of lead; there was an oppressive feeling like they could not breathe. Kou Zhong asked in heavy voice, How many arrow darts do we have? Chen Laomou replied, Enough tost us until sunrise tomorrow. Turning to Ma Chang, Kou Zhong asked, Hows the exit path situation? Ma Chang replied with grave expression, Wang Junkuo deployed a cavalry unit, approximately three thousand men, taking their position on a mountain top about half a li away from us. If we want to leave, we will have to pass this men-and-horses barrier first. Ba Yegang anxiously said, If Li Shimins main forces arrive, he will immediately increase the military strength on that side, our chance of getting away is even more uncertain. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Good kid! Li Shimin must have seen through our intentions, hence he dares to charge with this kind of ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum, open sabers and open spears. Fortunately, not only we upy the advantageous position, we also have the benefit of the right timing. By the time Li Shimin arrives, it will be dark, and that will be our only chance to escape. Shaoshuai, please bestow instructions! Bing Yuanzhen said. With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Right now the northeast wind is blowing, we divide our men and horses into two units, two thousand six hundred men per unit. when Li Shimin arrives, before their disposition of troops is stable, one team break out the siege to the northeast, setting the forest in fire along the way, the other team change ording to the situation, to be in charge of bringing up the rear. With the fires, big and small, and the smoke in the ins as cover, plus the moon ck and the wind high, and the enemy is weary their horse tired, we will leave safely. Otherwise, if we painstakingly defend the mountaintop, waiting for the enemy to cut off the trees in the vicinity, we will be a lone army lying bare inside the enemys heavy siege, and lose the chance to escape alive forever. It was only then did Ma Chang and the others understand what he meant by the right time and the advantageous position; none did not have his confidence doubled. Kou Zhong gave his order, The breaking-out-the-siege army is under Ma Changsmand, Ba Da Jiangjun and Bing Da Jiangjun as deputies. Xuanshu and Mou Gong stay by my side, taking the duty of bringing up the rear with me. The group of generals responded in chorus, they epted the order and left. When only Chen Laomou and Wang Xuanshu remained by his side, Kou Zhong spoke fiercely, Li Shimin wants to eliminate me, Kou Zhong, he already missed his chance. I am going use the Tujue peoples tactics to contend with him to the end, to make him know that I, Kou Zhong, am not somebody that he can bully. The two were able to hear the deep resentment toward Li Shimin in his voice, there was not the slightest amount of friendship at all. What is Tujue peoples tactic? Wang Xuanshu asked. The murderous intent in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was ring greatly, but the tone of his voice was exceptionally tranquil; he spoke glibly, The war that the Tujue people are fighting is a war of attrition like the wind, to catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom from Sun Tzus Art of War],ing suddenly, leaving abruptly, able to disy previously unimagined destructive power in the prairie wilderness. Furthermore, it can defeat the many using the few. From here to Xiangcheng, there are continuous mountain and fields, precisely the best terrain to disy the Tujue peoples tactics. Two armies facing off against each other is just like martial art masters fighting each other. No matter how the other side has powerful men, strong horses, as long as I can grasp the initiative, evade the strong and strike the weak, why would I fear Li Shimin? Li Shimin is famous for being an expert in defense, but I am adept in attack. Now it is his turn toe to attack me, I am going to use attack against attack, to confront mortal danger and achieve survival in the end. Listening to that, Chen Laomou and Wang Xuanshus heart was full of admiration. If it were other people, after the bitter experience of recent defeat, while the present situation was even more inferior, it would be strange indeed if ones fighting spirit was notpletely gone, and he covered his head and sneaked away like a rat. Only Kou Zhong still had unswerving determination without pulling back, to strike back tenaciously without any fear. Exhaling slowly, Kou Zhong said, Li Shimin is here! Book 53 10 – Contention of Demonic Secret Art

Book 53 Chapter 10 C Contention of Demonic Secret Art

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The two slowly went down the hill and walked towards the abandoned vige. Tonight, the cloud was thick, the moon and the stars did not shine their light, the mountain breeze was whooshing, the atmosphere was bleak and deste. Xu Ziling asked, Why does Xibai Xiong think that theres something fishy with this vige? Hou Xibai replied, The structure and the scale of the buildings in this vige are different from ordinary remote small viges, it seems to be a ce where people with quite a family background shunned the world and lived in seclusion, hence I feel it is a little demonical. Xu Ziling nodded and said, It does feel that way. But previously Kou Zhong and I did not care about it, we even burned down several of the houses. Hou Xibai smiled and said, I still have a question: didnt Ziling just say that after sustaining injury, you thought about things that you normally overlooked; I wonder what things are those? Im extremely curious. Xu Ziling softly said, I am pondering over this matchlessly huge, without the beginning, without the end C mysterious universe, she is in front of us, like an endless riddle, standing outside of us, yet also intimately rted to us, moreover, we are part of her. This feeling is exceptionally fascinating, merely contemting and meditating on her, in itself is like a relief, some kind of transcendence. This kind of feeling was elevated and purified from the distress of the injury; furthermore, I vaguely feel that purely by relying on this line of thought I can grasp or even alter the current situation, so much so to cure the internal injuries. Greatly interested, Hou Xibai said, Zilings way of thinking is very novel. But what you are saying is in fact the spiritual realm pursued by the people of the Xuan Men [mysterious gate (or school)] and Qiu Dao [lit. seeking the Way]. The Wu Daos [lit. martial art way] highest level of practice is also tied to the spiritual realm and self-cultivation. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Merely this kind of view andprehension is enough to make me gainpletely new understanding on the existence of heaven and earth, to grasp every moment before my eyes even more clearly. That is some kind of indescribable tranquility and joy. Hou Xibai said, The Book of History has the fine sentence of the heart of human is only dangerous, the heart of the Way is only abstruse, only the essence, only the one, to allow one to grasp consciousness [apologies, I have no idea what he was talking about]. The realm that Zilings words reached,mon people can only approach. Xu Ziling recited in low voice, The heart of the Way is only abstruse. Ay! The heart of the Way is only abstruse. What is Ziling thinking? Hou Xibai asked in astonishment, Why did you sigh in despair [orig. sighing voice, wailing breath]? While chatting, the two arrived at the mouth of the vige. On both sides of the road, there were approximately twoyers of buildings, the main street extending before them, linking the entire vige, was overgrown with weeds. Xu Ziling stopped suddenly; lowering his voice, he said, Someones in the vige. Hou Xibai smiled and said, Only when theres people will something happen. Since Ziling already has premonition that something is going to happen in the vige, naturally there should be someone in the vige. So, should we walk past freely, not to care of anything, or should we search from house to house? Xu Ziling cheerfully moved forward, calmly and indifferently he said, If it is a blessing then its not a disaster; if it is a disaster then we cant avoid it anyway. Since this is the time of turmoil and chaos of war [orig. soldiers mutiny and troops rebel], those who dare to be in this region cant possibly be idle people. Let us go into the vige to gain first-hand experience then. Side by side with him, Hou Xibai stepped into the main street of the abandoned vige, while amassing his power at the same time, ready to deal with any sudden change. Suddenly antern was lit in a house on the left. Two people looked in surprise, only to see the lights moved to the window facing the street, a familiar sweet female voice gently said, I wonder what wind is blowing, unexpectedly it carries Ziling and Hou Gongzi here? Li Shimins approximately twenty-thousand-man cavalry unit slowly filled the mountain and fields and in on the west side of Kou Zhongs mountaintop position, and formed a battle array. The three cavalry units holding lighted torches were like three fiery dragons snaking their way toe, illuminating the horizon that it turned fiery red. The military might flourishing, indeed it made those who looked at it had their hearts cold, their guts disappeared. Li Shimin left the main army, escorted by more than a dozen high-ranking military officers and two thousand Dark Armored Warriors he went straight to the front line, giving up the impression that he was going to personally take part in battle and confront Kou Zhong head-on. Kou Zhong stood outside the camp gate. Living high and looking down, his eyes followed Li Shimining closer. Standing on either side of him were Ma Chang and Ba Yegang, two great generals. Aplex emotion, which even he himself could not understand, welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. From the time they got to know each other until this moment, after going through so many years of intertwining gratitude and grudges, he and Li Shimin finally reached the the-two-cannot-exist-together stage, to see who would seed and be the king, who would be defeated and be the bandit. There was no leeway in between, furthermore, no one could change this situation. Currently Li Shimin was upying the upper hand, while he, Kou Zhong, had to endure the hunt, endure the beating. Yet he must turn this situation around. There was no moment more than this moment that Kou Zhong was more eager of, as well as need C a victory, to create that kind of possibility in the midst of impossibility. There was never a moment that Kou Zhong highly esteemed Li Shimin more than this moment, because he was indeed an extraordinary opponent. From the time the Battle of Cijian opened its curtain to the breaking-out-the-siege battle, Li Shimin was like the ultimate wizard who possessed great magical power on the battlefield, who was ying with the enemies, Kou Zhong included, in the palm of his hand. When Dou Jiande was executed in public by Li Yuanji in a cold and cruel manner before his eyes, Kou Zhong became a Buddha on the spot [epiphany], obtaining the moment of enlightenment of the true essence of the saber method and the art of war on the ruthless battlefield. Li Shimin finally arrived at the front line. After whispering a few words in Wang Junkuos ears, he pushed open the crowd and stepped out, rushing straight toward where Kou Zhong stood. Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Pang Yu, Luo Shixin, and the others, various generals and more than a hundred Dark Armored Warriors, hurriedly followed on his left and right. Kou Zhong nearly wanted to pull out the Piercing the Sun Bow from his bosom and shot him over the distance, but then he remembered that they were, after all, friends, and the other side seemed to have something to say. Without any better option, he pressed down this attractive impulse; he raised his hand first to tell his men not to follow, and then strode forward a few steps. Laughing aloud toward Li Shimin galloping to the bottom of the slope, he said, Sorry to trouble Shimin Xiong that you have to rush over without a good night sleep; Xiaodi really feels bad. Li Shimin reined his horse to stop, he spoke with a wry smile, How did we get to be in such plight? Shaoshuai, please forgive Shimin for being unable to bear to speak nonsense again. To get back to the main point, Shaoshuai abandoned the south to get the east, it is indeed a strange move beyond Shimins expectation, hence I decided to do whatever it takes to have Shaoshuai remains in here. Kou Zhong spoke in great astonishment, That being the case, why does Shimin Xiong still talk nonsense? Why not immediately give orders for an all-around attack? Li Shimin smiled slightly, he said, Just listening to these two sentences, it sounds like Shaoshuai has a card up your sleeve, you are not going to take risks to attack Xiangcheng at all, not desperate enough charge straight toward Pengliang even more. Frankly speaking, there has never been anybody able to make Shimin feel headache and upset more often than Shaoshuai. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Shimin Xiong need not praise Xiaodi. As for what magic weapon Xiaodi has, I am afraid everybody will have to wait and see! If Shimin Xiong has no other constructivement, Xiaodi still has to take advantage of the dark to hasten on with my journey! Knitting his brows, Li Shimin said, Now the northeast wind is blowing, supposing Shimin light a fire to burn the forest behind Shaoshuais army, the ze and the thick smoke might be blown by the wind and engulf Shaoshuais mountaintop position, cutting off Shaoshuais escape route to the east. At that time, Shimin will divide the troops into three ways, from the front and two wings to attack Shaoshuais mountaintop position, to burn Shaoshuais simple and crude defensive structure using fire arrow, how is Shaoshuai going to deal with it? Can this be considered a constructivement? Listening to that, Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down. This move of Li Shimin was indeed extremely fierce and ruthless, so that the escaping grand n that he originally thought was no longer feasible. Smiling bitterly, he said, It would be best for Shimin Xiong not to unt ignorant persons bravado by personally lead your main forces to attack my disposition of troops, otherwise Xiaodi will take thy life first! Finished speaking, he swiftly retreated to his troops disposition. Li Shimin sighed sadly and issued his order. The signalman transmitted the order using torches. Immediately raging me arose about half a li behind the mountaintop position, so that two li across the mountain and fields were entirely caught in the ze, carried by the wind, the fire spread in the direction of the mountaintop position. Like an apparition, Wanwan, holding antern, stood in the window. In the flickering me, they could see that she was wearing in white clothes. The beautiful pupil of her eyes shing with mysterious, unfathomable glorious light; both out-of-the-world lucid and elegant, and had some kind of strange, indescribable taste. How would Ziling, two men ever expect that they would encounter Wanwan in the vige? Momentarily they were stunned and unable to speak. Revealing a touching brilliant smile, Wanwan spoke softly, Ziling is injured? It really gives me heartache! Who would be that vile and have the ability to injure you? How about letting Waner demand justice for you? Its windy outside, why havent youe in? The window turned dark as Wanwan took thentern away with her, the two men you look at me I gaze at you, they werepletely at a loss as how she appeared in this ce. Creak! The front door was pushed open, barefooted, Wanwan stood charmingly inside the door, and called out tenderly, Come in! Xu Ziling did not doubt Wanwans sincerity the slightest bit, he took the lead toe into the house, so that Hou Xibai did not have any choice but to follow closely behind him. Wanwan stepped aside to let the two entered the house, and then she closed the door. It was obvious that the house had been through some cleaning, not a single speck of dust was to be seen, most of the furniture was still intact. Wanwan walked past the two men, she ced the candlesticks on a small table by the window, with her back toward them, she spoke quietly, I wonder if this is called when theres fate, a thousand li apart can meet together? Oh, Xu Ziling! Why do you have to appear in front of me again? Ay! How about we sit down first and talk about it? Like silly birds, the two sat down on the chairs at the other side of the small table, looking at Wanwans graceful and touching figure from the back. Clearing his throat, Hou Xibai said, It looks like you have been living here for some time. Hey! Why did you choose this vige? The area around here is not a ce of peace and security at all! Wanwan spoke softly, Hou Gongzi ought to know that Waner passed my childhood years in this exact small vige. When I was fifteen, Shizun [benevolent master] abandoned this vige and moved somece else. It was only then did the two realize that this different-than-ordinary vige manor was once Yin Gui Pais secretir. Wanwan turned her tender body around, and sat down opposite the two men. The pretty pupil of her eyes shing, her beautiful eyes looked deeply into Xu Zilings eyes, she said, Ziling still has not answered my question. Hou Xibai replied on his behalf, It was Yang Xuyan, that kid. He had trained and mastered and fused Bu Si Yin Fa and the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing evil arts, taking advantage while Ziling was surrounded by powerful masters in the battlefield, he struck and inflicted serious damage on Ziling. Her eyebrows deeply knitted, Wanwan said, Unexpectedly there is such matter? Hou Xibai cast Xu Ziling a nce, and then he said with wry smile, Honestly, until this moment I am still not too convinced that Yang Xuyan is able to master Bu Si Yin Fa, but Xu Ziling thought so, hence I told you what he told me. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling asked, I wonder if Wan Dajie is nning on living in seclusion here and training in secret? Wanwan responded indifferently, Observing things that wounded the feeling, surely this is not a good ce for me to live in seclusion. You came across me here, simply because Waner have appointment with the people of my humble Sect to meet here tonight, to settle the problem of in whose hands would the Tian Mo Jue in Waners hands belong to. Waner no longer have any interest in continued entanglement with them. Xu Ziling did not understand, he asked, All you need to do is to find a secluded ce to hide, who would be able to find you? Why do you have to take this risk? Wanwan smiled and said, Because I want them to know that I am the Yin Gui Pais legitimate heir, the Yin Gui Pais sessor. It will be by me that Yin Gui Pais new fire will continue and spread, will be brought to great height of development. Hou Xibai spoke heavily, The Tian Mo Jue is not only the object that everybody in your honorable Sect covets, none of the other factions of the Holy School does not lust after. If you provoke Shi Shi toe here, you will be trying to be clever and end up with egg on your face! With a smile on her face, Wanwan shook her head and said, No one can take the Tian Mo Jue from me, including your honorable master. Waner already mastered the Tian Mo Da Fa, thest move, Yu Shi Ju Fen [burning both jade andmon stone], even your honorable master does not haveplete confidence to deal with. This time I am making the life or death appointment, it is precisely to prove to everybody of the Holy School that I, Wanwan, am not only qualified, but also have the ability to keep the thing that Shizun personally handed over to me. Xu Ziling cried out in low voice, Someones entering the vige! Wanwan looked at him in surprise. Bian Bufus voice was heard from the street, Waner, whats the reason behind all these troubles? Why havent youe out to see your Bian Shishu? Wanwans expression returned to its usual cold and detached, tranquil look, she spoke softly, Wait until I kill this man, then Ill think of a way to help Ziling to cure his injury. Finished speaking, she floated out the door like a specter. Kou Zhong returned inside the disposition of troops. All around him, the officers and soldiers countenance deathly white, everybody looked at him, thinking that there was no way he would have good n [orig. effective medicine] to deal with it. Kou Zhongs expression tranquil, almost cold, unfeeling; he spoke heavily, Using fire to fight fire, using fast to defeat slow. Hearing that, Chen Laomou and the others understood thoroughly, they secretly cursed themselves that even such a simple solution they were unable to think. Ba Yegang issued the order, one after another the warriors on the mountaintop threw the torches in their hands toward the two wings and the hillside in front of them. Under the high wind and the dry season, the raging me rose up and rolled toward the enemys position. With the thick smoke covering the sky, Kou Zhong flew onto the horseback, he led his men escaping from the gap on the east side of the formation, taking advantage of the time when the ze had not spread to the east side. Five thousand men and horses forming an angry-fire-like convoy, they rushed wildly toward the south. The big ze was rolling in from the east, but the big ze on the other side, hiding the sky and covering the earth, was cutting off the enemys pursuit. They were galloping at full speed precisely in between these two fires, in an attempt to escape the danger zone one step ahead before the enemy made further interceptions. Ahead, the sound of battle cry shook the heavens, the three-thousand-man Tang Armys cavalry unit being deployed in that direction charged forward to intercept them head-on. Why would Kou Zhong take them to heart? Under cover of thick smoke rolling over, the Shao Shuai Army continued setting the mountain and fields on their right side on fire, cutting off the enemys main forces on the west side, while charging and breaking through the enemy lines at the same time. Kou Zhong sent Wuming to the sky, before fetching the Piercing-the-Sun Bow, and releasing a string of arrows. One after another the enemies nursed a grievance under the arrows. Kou Zhong used the Moon in the Well to open up a path, so that the enemies, who came in contact with the fierce and severe offensive and the army staking everything to break out of the siege C were scattered and smashed, they dispersed in all directions. The main forces escaped out of the encirclement of the intensity of fire, and ran away via the gap on the south side of the fire into the wilderness. At this point, the forest behind them was entirely engulfed in the ocean of fire. Wanwan had barely disappeared out of the door, immediately they heard Bian Bufus cry of rm and the sound of qi power shing against each other in intense fighting; a clear sign that Wanwan immediately made her move to kill Bian Bufu without any trace of politeness. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai you looked at me I gazed at you, they both did not expect Wanwan to be this dauntless, without giving the slightest bit of consideration toward her martial art uncle C martial art nephew [sic], senior C junior rtionship with Bian Bufu. The two men got up in a hurry and moved to the window to watch the battle. Bian Bufu was in absolute inferior position, Wanwans filling-the-whole-sky palm shadows attacked him that he blocked to the left and dodged to the right clumsily, battered and exhausted, his life was in imminent peril. Five figures floated down from the roof of the building across the street. They were precisely Yin Gui Pais Cloud and Rain Double-Cultivation Pi Shouxuan and Wen Caiting, Xia Zhano [elder], plus the Yin Fa Yan Mei [silver-haired amorous demon] Dan Mei, and Rong Fengxiang, whom the two had never expected to appear. Pi Shouxuan shouted sternly, You have not stopped fighting for me? Bang! Wanwanunched an amazing-to-the-extreme-point palm chop, Bian Bufu was giving everything he had, still he was unable to dodge, he was only able to, albeit with difficulty C avoid the hit on the vital part on the pit of his stomach, by using his shoulder to take the palm strike, immediately the sound of shattered bones was heard. Anybody would know that his left arm could be considered a scrap. Hit by the palm, Bian Bufu was thrown away and fell. Elder Xia supported his back, Wah! he spurted a mouthful of fresh blood, his countenance was deathly; evidently not only his arm was crippled by Wanwan, he also suffered heavy internal injury. This naturally-wicked mans pair of eyes emitted iparably venomous hatred, yet he was powerless to avenge himself. Wanwan acted as if she had justmitted an insignificant, idle thing; she spoke indifferently, Bian Shishu has always shown concern over Waner, naturally Waner is very grateful, how could I be willing to miss the opportunity to repay it? How dare you! Pi Shouxuan shouted angrily, Disrespecting your superior, and still dare to speak conceited nonsense. Wen Caiting cast her gaze toward Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai standing inside the window; letting out a grim coldughter, she said, Turns out there are outsiders supporting Waner, no wonder you are so unbridled. Inside the house, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were greatly astonished, realizing that Wen Caiting did not know at all that Xu Ziling suffered internal injury and could not fight at all. If the two men really stood on Wanwans side, it would be greatly disadvantageous to Wen Caitings side, but why did Wen Caiting act as if she did not take the two men to heart at all? The only exnation was, naturally, the other side had other reinforcement, hence they were practically unafraid that the two men might help Wanwan. Wanwan acted as if she did not hear Wen Caiting at all; she looked coldly at Rong Fengxiang, and spoke indifferently, What does the internal dispute within our Sect have anything to do with Daozhang [Taoist priest]? Elder Xia took a step forward. Her face as cold as the water, she said, The Two Sects and Six Ways are originally one family, not only Pi Chen Dao Xiong [brother Taoist] is one of us, he is also your Zunzhang [superior/senior]. Disrespecting superiors is a capital offense. Wanwan let out a silver-bell-like tenderughter, Really a joke, she said, What superior and subordinate, top and bottom? Before her death, Shizun already appointed me, Wanwan as the Yin Gui Pais Zhangmenren [Sect Leader] of this generation, plus there is Tian Mo Jue as the proof. Therefore, it is you that offend your superior just now. I will carry out the schools rules, you are all sentenced to death. Dan Mei sighed, she spoke softly, Why all this? The Council of Elders has unanimously decided to seize this opportunity to re-establish the Holy School, and cooperate in one mind with the other factions of the Holy School to strive for the sake of the Holy Schools future. Laoshen [lit. old body, referring to self] single-handedly raised Waner, I really do not wish to see Waner obstinately persisted in going about things the wrong way, and thus bringing your self-destruction. In his heart, Xu Ziling suddenly understood; speaking about martial art skill, Dan Mei was no more than so-so, she could not possibly be of any use. The reason why she was invited was because of her special rtionship with Wanwan, they were hoping to move her with affection. Bian Bufu struggled hard to stand up, he spoke furiously, Even if this lowly [servant] girl kneeled to beg forgiveness, I will not let her get away. Pi Shouxuan was about to speak, they heard a gust of wind from the other end of the main street. More than a dozen martial art masters, under Li Yuanjismand, like demon and monsters, appeared in the vige. Book 53 11 – The Wind and the Cloud at the Abandoned Village

Book 53 Chapter 11 C The Wind and the Cloud at the Abandoned Vige

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Upright and unafraid, Li Yuanji walked at the very front, a personal attendant carried his Splitting Horse Spear for him, the divine light in his pair of eyes shing, he stopped about a hundred paces away, after sweeping his gaze around, he finally fixed it on Wanwan, evidently he was taken in by her out-of-the-world countenance. Following him, Mei Xun, Kang Qiaoli, Shi Wanbao, Li Nantian, Xue Wanche, Feng Liben and five martial art masters, his personal guards C stood in a row behind him, sealing off the northern end of the main street passing through the vige, everybody was murderous looking, acting as if as soon as there was a three-word disagreement, they would immediately use force in confrontation. The imposing manner of being the Luoyangs conquerors was shown in full light in Li Yuanji and his men. Three of the personal guards held the torches in their hands high in the air, illuminating the dim and dark abandoned vige. From their point of view, they could not see Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai standing behind the window, looking out. Wanwan acted as if she did not know Li Yuanji and the others had crashed into the abandoned vige; her eyes looked at her nose, her nose looked at her heart, her demeanor sincere and calm, but cold and detached. Inside the house, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai groaned inwardly, the most threatening enemy, Yang Xuyan has not yet appeared, but based on his usual style as the Shadow Assassin, he could pounce out any moment from the dark, andunched deadly attack toward his prey. Rong Fengxiangughed aloud, took a few steps forward, raised his cupped fist to greet Li Yuanji, and spoke respectfully, Turns out it is Qi Wang honoring us by your presence. Laofu Rong Fengxiang of Luoyang, paying my respect to Qi Wang. Mei Xun stepped forward behind Li Yuanji, and spoke to him in low voice. Li Yuanji nodded repeatedly while listening carefully to Mei Xun exining Rong Fengxiangs identity and background. The mountain wind blew, the burning torches were making crackling noise. From time to time, there were noises where the wind was blowing things around, which enhanced the ghostly atmosphere of the abandoned vige. When Mei Xun finished speaking, Li Yuanji coldly said, Turns out Rong Laoban of Hebei Shanghui Hang She [chamber ofmerce business agency]. Who are the others? Who is this Guniang? He spoke without any trace of politeness; he did not consider Rong Fengxiang worthy in his eyes at all. Pi Shouxuan the others, none was not people who ran amuck and tyrannize others; however, everybody was extremely shrewd, they did not show the unhappiness in their hearts on their faces. Inside the house, Xu Ziling was now convinced that Yin Gui Pai and Li Yuanji did not have any direct dealings and rtions, otherwise, there would not be any situation before his eyes. Wen Caitings tender voice spoke, We are just vagabonds of the mountain and fields, not worth Qi Wang taking notice of us. I wonder if Qi Wanging here this time is to hunt down Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai? Shaken, Li Yuanji said, Where are they? Bian Bufu hatefully said, They are in the house! Raising his still-intact arm, he pointed to Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai standing behind the window. ng! ng! Qiang! Qiang! While Li Yuanji was taking the Splitting Horse Spear from his personal guards shoulders with one hand, the others also, one by one, pulled their weapons, as if they were facing big enemy; it could clearly be seen that even though Xu Ziling has been seriously injured, they still did not dare to be careless and took him lightly. Wanwan spoke indifferently, Whoever wants to kill Xu Ziling, I will kill him first. This moment, even Li Yuanji, who had voracious desire for flower and good looks, also felt Wanwans demonic aura. If it were someone else who said that, without even need to think, he would have issued the order to attack; however, this moment he only asked in astonishment, Who actually are you, Guniang? Kang Qiaoli stepped forward to his side and spoke in a low voice. Listening to him, the murderous intent in Li Yuanjis pair of eyes red greatly, the expression showing in his eyes was as sharp as a de, he ran his gaze over Wanwan, when Kang Qiaoli finished speaking, he threw his head back and said with augh, Turns out Yin Gui Pais Wan Da Xiaojie, no wonder you dare to boast shamelessly like this, obstructing my, Li Yuanjis hunting down the offender to the throne. However, it seems that Wan Xiaojie is powerless to defend yourself, how could you spare time to meddle in other peoples business? Pi Shouxuan joined in, Qi Wang is indeed a brilliant divine martial art master, in a short while you already have aplete grasp of the situation. And then he shouted coldly, Xu Ziling, if you are a real man, roll out immediately and personally answer Qi Wang. Laughing tenderly, Wen Caiting said, Since when did Xu Ziling be a turtle that pulls its head in, letting other people to stick out her head for you? Inside the house, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai cursed inwardly, knowing that the older Pi Shouxuan and Wen Caiting had refined ability, they were able to see that he, Xu Ziling, was having a problem. Otherwise, with Xu Zilings martial art skill, plus one Hou Xibai, even if they were unable to match the opponent, they could always escape without any trace, why would they need Wanwan to stick out her head for them? Furthermore, Pi and Wen, two people were not giving thought to Wanwan at all; they were not afraid that Wanwan would have a conflict with Li Yuanji, but they were afraid that the Tian Mo Jue in Wanwans possession would fall into Li Yuanjis hands, and thus they were unable to get it back. After all, Wanwan belonged to the demonic school, it was not appropriate to let outsiders intervene in their schools affair. All three sides had their own misgivings, the situation was delicate. Xu Ziling took a deep breath, Lets go out, he spoke in low voice. Hows your condition? Hou Xibai asked anxiously. A bit better, Xu Ziling replied, I should strive to stake everything for a couple of moves. Really strange! Howe Yang Xuyan still has not shown up? He misses a great opportunity to kill or injure us for nothing. Hou Xibai nodded his agreement, he also could not figure out the reason behind Yang Xuyan watching with folded arms. He was both deeply aware of the dispute between Wanwan and the elders within her Sect, and he knew clearer than anybody about the condition of Xu Zilings injury, hence he had full control of the entire situation, there was no reason for him to let go of such a good opportunity. Xu Ziling strode toward the front door, Hou Xibai shed and was out of the door one step ahead of him. Taking out the folding Fan of Beauty, swish, he opened it, and suavely waved the folding fan lightly, while taking a striding step out of the door. Laughing aloud, he said, I often heard the Yun Yu Shuang Xiu Pi Shouxuans martial art skill is reckoned to be first or second best in Yin Gui Pai, furthermore, because there is this Lin Shihong, the greening-out-of-the-blue good disciple whose fame for fighting prowess is even more flourishing, let me, Hou Xibai, ask for advice by tasting a couple of moves, to see whether the name matched the reality. He did not really want to challenge Pi Shouxuan for a fight, his aspiration was to make the situation even moreplex. The most formidable part was that he was secretly mocking and pointing out the rtionship between Yin Gui Pai and Lin Shihong. Since they were members of the same party with Lin Shihong, naturally they were enemies and not friends with Li Yuanji. Li Nantian shouted loudly, Shut up! Hou Xibai, you dont know how to cherish your good name, you have the impertinence to shelter an offender to the throne, you aremitting mortal crime. You havent immediately kneeled and begged for forgiveness? Xu Ziling unhurriedly and calmly followed behind Hou Xibai out of the house, he smiled and said, One day Kou Zhong is not dead yet, the world is not the Lis Tangs world yet, what offender to the throne,mitting mortal crime? What an extreme joke! Li Yuanji and the others, none was not stunned. Seeing Xu Zilings appearance, also hearing his voice, there was not any sign of the serious internal injury that Yang Xuyan described to them; they could not help feeling at a loss inwardly. Li Yuanji originally already made the decision that as soon as Xu Ziling showed himself, he would immediately give the order to attack. But this moment he could not help but hesitating. Moreover, affected by Hou Xibais remark, he was not without any misgivings toward Pi Shouxuans side. Assuming Xu Zilings internal injuries was healed, and Yin Gui Pai people set themselves against him, Li Yuanji, this battle would immediately turn into a battle that he had no assurance at all. Rong Fengxiang raised his voice, Ol Rong has a proposal, I am asking Qi Wang to give it a consideration. While a bit impatient, Li Yuanji was looking at him, Wanwan retreated to stand between Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, with her body and her clothes as the cover, she secretly grasped Xu Zilings hand. A peculiar feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, for the first time, he felt that he couldpletely trust Wanwan, sensing that not only she could not possibly harm him, she was heart and souling to help him. Apart from Kou Zhong, Wanwan was the person most familiar with the cirction and condition of the true qi within Xu Zilings body. If even she had no strategy left to try on him, the possibility that Shi Qingxuan would be able to cure him would be even more remote. Seeing Wanwan affectionately moved between Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, although Li Yuanji and Pi Shouxuan, two sides of men and horses C were unable to see their movement of grasping each others hand, they were all greatly disturbed. Speaking about cunning and quick-witted, Wanwan definitely was at the top among everybody present. She revealed a smile, which could bewitch any man to his death C toward Li Yuanji, tenderly and gently she said, Oh, Qi Wang! Whatever proposal Rong Laoban submits to you, you must not, by all means C ept it. Because he is originally Pi Chen Daoren [Taoist] of Laojun Miao, one of our holy schools Two Sects and Six Ways. I am sure Qi Wang has heard about him. What they want is the treasured canon Tian Mo Jue of our humble school in nujias possession. Qi Wang, please understand. On Pi Shouxuans side, everybody was furious. It should be noted that the demonic school had an unwritten rule, which was: they must never reveal anything concerning the demonic school to the people outside the demonic school. Wanwan revealed Rong Fengxiangs identity to Li Yuanji just like that, it was tantamount to betraying the demonic school, and that she considered the entire demonic school as the enemy. In his heart, Xu Ziling felt a burst of gratitude; he understood that Wanwan was buying time so that he could treat his injury. While she was speaking, Wanwans Tian Mo true qi slowly cycled in his meridians, viscera and lungs C three times. Based on Tian Mo true qis nature, which could collect demonic qi, she was able to absorb Yang Xuyans evil poison invading his system by bits and pieces, and took it away. The cirction of her power was just at its critical juncture. Dan Mei shrieked, Waner, how could you speak up such disgraceful words? [Note: ording to the dictionary, disgraceful as in behavior that is unfilial, rebellious or otherwise in grave breach of the norms of society.] Hearing that, Li Yuanjis pair of eyes lit up. Whether Rong Fengxiang was Pi Chen, he did not give a damn, but the Tian Mo Jue in Wanwans possession was no small matter. It was the emblem of the demonic schools honor and disgrace. If he could seize the treasured canon, not only he could greatly increase his own prestige, he could also make Li Yuans C who detest the demonic school bitterly C dragons heart very pleased. His meritorious deed would not be inferior to capturing Xu Ziling alive. Although Pi Shouxuan really wished they could besiege Wanwan immediately, but because Li Yuanji was watching like a tiger on the side, he had no choice but to suppress his displeasure with great difficulty. Wen Caiting also suppressed her anger; she spoke softly, Theres amon saying that says each family must sweep the snow in front of their door. In spite of Qi Wang trying to catch the offender to the throne, our humble Sects traitor is going to be dealt with by us. Qi Wang, please make up your mind. Letting out a cold snort, Li Yuanji said, Evil demon evildoer, you have the impertinence to threaten me, Li Yuanji; I am afraid you are tired of living. If you are sensible, you will roll away as far as possible for me, dont obstruct me from arresting the offender to the throne, otherwise, dont me me for being impolite. Right this moment, a voice came from the house that Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai had just left, saying, Evil demon evildoer? Ha! What a good evil demon evildoer. Even if Li Yuan personally came, he would not have dared to boast shamelessly like that, to say nothing of you, Li Yuanji, such a yellow-haired kid. Hearing that, other than the people of Pi Shouxuans side, everybodys countenance changed. The consider-himself-unexcelled-in-the-world, going-on-the-rampage-all-over-the-world, who, until now, no one could do anything toward him C Shi Zhixuan, with his hands behind his back, leisurely stepped out of the house behind the three people, and walked over towards Li Yuanjis side without any scruples whatsoever. No matter how dauntless Li Yuanji was, he still revealed a shocked and nervous expression. With all his men, they stepped aside and took their position to wait in tight formation. In Changan, Shi Zhixuan was besieged by martial art masters under Li Yuans personalmand inside the room at Wu Lou Si, in the end Shi Zhixuan still managed to force his way out of the encirclement. This matter was still fresh in their memory. Therefore, even though they had many men, a great force, no one had the slightest confidence to score a victory. Shi Zhixuans appearance immediately turned the whole situation around. Wanwan, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai groaned inwardly. Shi Zhixuan was even more difficult to deal withpared to Pi Shouxuan and Li Yuanji, two sides added together. It was also only this moment that the two understood why Yang Xuyan did not dare to appear, which was because Shi Zhixuan was in secret ce. Furthermore, no wonder Pi Shouxuan and the others did not take Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai to heart. Shi Zhixuan stopped and stood calmly about ten paces away from Li Yuanji, the demonic light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he smiled and said, Why did Qi Wang suddenly be a mute? I, Shi Zhixuan, have always been viewed as evil demon evildoer by the so-called warrior of the right way. Since you consider yourself to be of the right way, let Ol Shi test whether you have the weight to get rid of the guardian of the demonic way. It did not matter how thick the skin on Li Yuanjis face was, he could not withstand Shi Zhixuans public contempt and humiliation. With a loud shout, the Splitting Horse Spear shot out from below and stabbed at an angle, straight toward the pit of Shi Zhixuans stomach. Mei Xuns golden spear, Kang Qiaolis Tujue cavalry sword, immediately attacked from Li Yuanjis left side toward Shi Zhixuan. Feng Libens sword and Shi Wanbaosnce alsounch offensive from Li Yuanjis right side in Shi Zhixuans direction, to do everything they could so that Shi Zhixuan would be overwhelmed and would be difficult for him to disy his Bu Si Yin Fa. Xue Wanche and Li Nantian, one wielding copper truncheon, the other a long sword, circled around from the two wings toward Shi Zhixuans rear, to prevent Shi Zhixuan from retreating backward. Li Yuanjis five personal guard martial art masters hurriedly tossed away their torches and pulled out the saber from their waist and stood to protect Li Yuanji from left, right, and behind, ready to guard his good self at any time. Watching this, Xu Ziling was puzzled inwardly, if he put himself in Shi Zhixuans position, no matter from which angle he was looking at it, the severe battle was still unnecessary. First of all, Shi Zhixuan shouldnt be willing to kill Li Yuanji. Because in overturning the Li Tangs world, Li Yuanji had a great value of utilization, both to control Li Jiancheng and to influence Li Yuan, but also as an important chess piece in dealing with Li Shimin. Secondly, with Shi Zhixuans might and martial art skill, if Pi Shouxuan and the other stated that they and Shi Zhixuan were allies, no matter how arrogant and conceited Li Yuanji was, under such circumstances, they could only sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat. If Shi Zhixuan was willing to promise that after taking care of Wanwan he would hand over Xu Ziling, Li Yuanji would be very grateful to him. The most confusing thing for Xu Ziling was that Shi Zhixuans words and actions were clearly aimed at Li Yuanji. Just like Ba Fenghan utilizing Li Yuanjis crabby, arrogant and unruly spleen character C to force him to make his move, to fight at the head of his troops, and then to use him to control the overall situation. Amidst his longughter, within the narrow space inside the enemys siege, he disyed profound and abstruse, swifter than ghost and demon, shing, shifting and swaying, so that it appeared that they have lost the target of their attack, it was difficult for the enemy make their move with full strength. One finger jabbed out, it hit the tip of the Splitting Horse Spearhead. Li Yuanjis whole body shook severely, his follow-up moves disappearedpletely, he let out a muffled groan, and staggered and retreated backward. Greatly startled, two personal guard martial art masters hurriedly shed into the gap between the battle of the two sides, two sabers were raised at the same time, they staked everything to hack toward Shi Zhixuan, their reaction was first-ss fast. Mei Xuns golden spear, Kang Qiaolis cavalry sword, Feng Libens sword, Shi Wanbaosnce, separately, from left and right, from different tricky angles C swiftly attacked Shi Zhixuan. At this moment Li Nantian and Xue Wanche moved to the position to attack Shi Zhixuans rear. Seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, they attacked together to swiftly stab the vital part on Shi Zhixuans back. Even with Shi Zhixuans ability, he was still unable to deal with such attack that came from four sides, eight directions, toppling the mountains and overturning the seas C at the same time. Suddenly there was a sh in front of their eyes, Shi Zhixuan soared up; not only to evade all the attacks, but marvelously, to the extend that it was difficult to describe, as if it was effortless, both of his feet separately stepped on the heads of the two personal guards in front of him. The frightening sound of cracking skull as the heads met the feet was heard, blood seeped out of the two guards seven apertures, the long sabers dropped down, they tumbled backward, and immediately died on the spot. Li Yuanji roared, the Splitting Horse Spear turned into myriad of light and shadow, like the Yangtze River, the Great River, attacking Shi Zhixuan in the air. Mei Xun and the others, a group of men was now situated behind Shi Zhixuan. Although they immediately regrouped their offensive, in the end they were still one step toote. The closest were the three Li Yuanjis personal guard martial art masters. Seeing Shi Zhixuan ruthlessly killed their colleagues, everybody was ovee with hatred toward the enemy; dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety, they brandished their saber from different positions, to hack and chop Shi Zhixuan, who was still in the air. Three sabers and one spear all struck empty air, with rapid-beyond-humanprehension, Shi Zhixuan dropped down like a nail to the ground. Both hands waved to strike, the three personal guard martial art masters were hit and thrown outside, none was able to take another breath of air. Immediately Shi Zhixuan raised his hands with the palm up, creating a burst of impossible-to-resist-or-to-guard-against hurricane of qi power, attacking the group of enemies swarming toward him. Li Yuanji was worthy to be called a martial art master, heunched his special skill, the Splitting the Horse Spear became like a living viper, it revolved at great speed in his hands. The moment Shi Zhixuan was dealing with the attack from behind, he swiftly took Shi Zhixuans throat position. If Shi Zhixuan evaded to the side, he could, with the others providing support, regroup the sieges. Victory and defeat were only one fine line apart. Charging-past Li Nantian, Xue Wanche, Mei Xun, and the others felt like they were knocking against an iron wall, a copper rampart. Not only it was difficult to advance a cun, their pair of eyes was like being brushed by a knife, it was difficult to open. Such a demonic power was indeed terrifying to the extreme. Whoosh! Shi Zhixuans leg flew, it hit squarely the middle section of Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spears body. Li Yuanjis treasured spear nearly fell off his hands, the palm of his hands was burning like fire, the pit of his stomach felt like it was struck by a huge sledgehammer. Overwhelmed with shock, he leaped up and flew backward. By the time Mei Xun and the others cried Not good! Shi Zhixuan already unleashed his Huan Mo Shenfa, like a shadow attached to the form, he ran after Li Yuanji. Mei Xun pursued like crazy, but was already unable to prevent what was about to happen. They saw Shi Zhixuan and Li Yuanji, two flickering figures, like rising rabbit, falling magpie C fighting each other at the entrance of the abandoned vige, so fast that it appeared blurry and confusing, in the most fierce and severe, the most intense closebat. Even Xu Ziling and the others, who were far away from the fight C also felt like they had blurry vision, and their breathing could not flow freely. Furthermore, they had a vague feeling that Shi Zhixuan really did not want to kill Li Yuanji, but he wanted to catch him alive. Otherwise, Li Yuanji would have breathed hisst early on. In order to catch such a martial art master like Li Yuanji, even a brilliant person like Shi Zhixuan still had to spend a great deal of effort. Trying to catch up, Li Nantian and the others stopped suddenly, they did not dare to move half a finger anymore, afraid to provoke Shi Zhixuans misunderstanding. Li Yuanjis Splitting Horse Spear fell off his hands and dropped to the ground, his face was deathly grey, his entire body limply leaned in Shi Zhixuans arm. Grabbing Li Yuanjis back, Shi Zhixuan put him in front of him, facing Li Nantian and the others, he calmly said, Step back ten paces for me. Li Nantian and the others you looked at me I gazed at you, helpless, they retreated. If some misfortune came upon Li Yuanji, everybody could not escape the me. In the abandoned vige, no one dared to make any noise, only the sound of the whooshing wind was heard, and the rustling noise of the trees. Shi Zhixuan coldly shouted, Xuyan, you have not rolled out for me? Xu Ziling and the others suddenly realized that turned out Shi Zhixuan capturing Li Yuanji alive, his target was actually Yang Xuyan. In these circumstances, if Yang Xuyan still refused to show himself, it would be akin to him personally killed Li Yuanji. This move of Shi Zhixuan was indeed absolutely wonderful. Everybody held their breath and calmed their qi, waiting for Yang Xuyans reaction. At this time Wanwan let go of Xu Zilings hand. The evil poison has beenpletely driven out of thetters body. However, because the injury to his meridians was too heavy, he could only condense part of his true qi, he was still unable to circte the Long-Life Qi for self-treatment of his injury. Shi Zhixuan spoke again, This is thest chance, what I, Shi Zhixuan said, I will do, I never not dare to do it. Book 53 12 – Beyond Intention and Thought

Book 53 Chapter 12 C Beyond Intention and Thought

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The wildfire on the mountain spread everywhere, shading the trees and covering the people,rge fire like countless fiery dragons flying and rolling, extending to the southwest, the night sky was dyed red as well. From a high altitude, Wuming dove down andnded on Kou Zhongs shoulder, but her masters expression was wooden, as he gazed upon the vast stretch of wilderness in the distance below the mountaintop, the scorched earth, which was burning into ash and charcoal; however, at the same ce, it was a verdant forest wilderness brimming with vitality. Ba Yegang and Bing Yuanzhen were standing by with the main part of the elite troops behind him, everybody was leading along their warhorses, only waiting for the order, and then they would immediately mount their horses and go into battle, to fight hand-to-hand with the enemy. Kou Zhongs hand was holding the rein of his warhorse, but his heart was recalling the Thousand-Li Dream who met with a violent death on the battlefield. The horse had apanied him over ten thousand crags and torrents, wandering everywhere beyond the Great Wall, across the barren prairie, time and again went through fire and water with him, yet in the end it could not escape the cmity. When facing Li Shimin, he couldugh and talk freely, when facing his own men, he could assume a staunch, cool-headed appearance as if he had a card up his sleeve, but he had long been tormented by the separated-in-life-and-death battlefield that his heart and spirit were troubled and he was weary. However, he had no choice but to continue to stand strong, until the final victory arrived. Suddenly he really wanted to drink wine, pouring cup after cup into his mouth, until he was drunk and not remembering human affairs, momentarily escaping this cold-hearted world. Yang Gongqings death made him wondering the whole night whether he picked the right strategy. Supposing he did note to Luoyang, would Dou Jiande have a different fate? However, the rice [grain] has already been cooked, all the errors and regret could not be turned back, he could only press on, to deal with the Great Tang Army with all his strength. The fire appeared under the mountain, another unit of Tang Cavalry was pursuing them closely. The army bringing up the rear that he personally led had already been ambushed twice, and defeated two units of the enemys vanguard units. What pleased him the most was that he was sure that the opponent did not bring the three remaining vicious vultures, hence Wuming was able to put her usefulness in scouting the enemy from high altitude to the fullest, which enabled him to grasp the position of the pursuing troops. Heunched the Tujue peoples gueri warfare tactics of using wonder [reminder: troops appearing suddenly in an ambush] to create victory, toe and go like the wind, rapid attack and immediate retreat. ording to Wumings eagle dance in the air, this ought to be thest unit of the pursuing troops at the tail of the enemy formation. After eliminating the threat of this unit, he should be able to divide his troops into multiple routes to rush toward the same destination and gathered there, before they crossed over to the hidden mountain, and advanced into the Tian Cheng Gorge. Even if Li Shimins wisdom surpassed Zhuge, he would never think that he had this wonder move. Yet sess or failure stilly in whether Ba Fenghans reinforcement troops could arrive in time or not. Furthermore, it depended whether he could set up a defense structure solid enough to withstand the enemy, whose military strength was ten times theirs C before Li Shimins main forces attacked. The enemy hurriedly advanced under the hillside. Kou Zhong mounted the horse and roared, Brothers, charge! From their hiding ce inside the forest, nearly a thousand men and horses charged down the slope like rolling wind, swift cloud, rushing to attack the losing-their-head-out-of fear enemy. Yang Xuyan got out from the dense forest behind the second row of buildings. His foot tapped the top of the roof, he borrowed the reaction force to traverse the nearly six -zhang distance and firmlynded about ten paces in front of Shi Zhixuan and Li Yuanji. Dropping down on one knee in front of Shi Zhixuan, he respectfully said, Paying my respect to Shizun, disciple ept the lost wholeheartedly; asking Shizun for punishment. Shi Zhixuan threw his head back inughter and said, Indeed you are Ol Shis brilliant disciple. Only an outstanding talent can recognize current trends [idiom: a wise man submits to circumstances], but how do you know that as your master, I will not kill you? Hearing that, Xu Ziling and the others cried, Formidable! inwardly. These words by Shi Zhixuan were extremely implicit and sarcastic; he was hinting that Yang Xuyan was confident that Shi Zhixuan would not kill him, hence the reason he showed himself to rescue Li Yuanji, instead of really wanted to give up his life for Li Yuanjis sake. Naturally, if Shi Zhixuan really wanted to kill him, he could also immediately stake everything to escape. However, if Shi Zhixuan forced him tomit suicide for Shi Zhixuan to be willing to let Li Yuanji go, it would, potentially, put Yang Xuyan into a dilemma. Xu Ziling dared to be sure that Shi Zhixuan did not want to put Yang Xuyan to death, because that would disrupt the demonic schools entire n to topple the Li Family from the inside. No matter how dissatisfied Shi Zhixuan was toward Yang Xuyan, he would not be willing to save a little only to lose a lot. Yang Xuyan slowly stood up. With resounding words, he spoke loftily, If, using Xuyans one life I can exchange it for Qi Wangs one life, Xuyan will die without regret. Li Yuanjis pair of eyes emitted a grateful expression, but because his acupoint was under control, he was unable to speak. Shi Zhixuan spoke indifferently, I painstakingly trained and produced a good disciple, how could I be willing to kill him personally? However, starting from today, you are no longer Ol Shis disciple. Next time we meet, dont me me to be ruthless and heartless. Put down the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, you and Qi Wang can immediately roll away as far as possible. The fact is, I am doing you a very big favor. Between you and I, there is nothing good to say anymore. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Yang Xuyan took out a small iron box from the cloth bag on his back, respectfully raised it high above his head, and then stooped down and put it by his feet. Afterwards, he retreated to join Li Nantian and the others, raised his voice and said, Shi Dashi, please look over to inspect the goods. He did not call him revered master but change the appetion to Great Master Shi, it was to draw clear dividing line with Shi Zhixuan in public. This was the big favor that Shi Zhixuan was doing him, so that the Li Family no longer had any wariness toward him. Li Yuanji let out a muffled groan and slumped down to the ground. While Li Nantian, Mei Xun, and the others were shocked, Shi Zhixuan shed to the small box, poked it with his foot, and itnded in his hand. He spoke glibly, Li Yuanji has his acupoint sealed up by me using the technique of my unique school. He will wake up on his own in two sichen; if you try to unseal his acupoint using some inferior, clumsy technique, he might turn into a handicapped person, dont me me for not giving you a forewarning. Hearing that, Li Nantian and the others were dejected as if they had been defeated. They originally intended to wait for Shi Zhixuan to release Li Yuanji, to join hands with Yang Xuyan to again decide who was superior [orig. male and female], but now they had to refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases; without any better option, they admitted utmost defeat. Shi Zhixuan opened the iron case and thumbed through the content of the small box one time through, before putting the case inside his bosom. Get lost! he spoke coldly. Li Nantian and the others put away their weapons. Like a flock of defeated roosters, they walked around on either side of Shi Zhixuan, carefully lifted up the unconscious Li Yuanji, and then quickly left. Shi Zhixuan did not even cast a nce toward this group of generals defeated under his hands; with both hands behind his back, he calmly walked over to Wanwan, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, three people. His gaze swept Yin Gui Pais Pi Shouxuan and the others first, and finally stopped at Hou Xibai. Bian Bufu mournfully said, This yaonu crippled my arm, I am asking Xie Wang to preside over justice on my behalf. Without even looking back, Shi Zhixuan coldly said, Shut up! I have my own view on this. If not for you always indulged yourself in wine and beauty, even though Wanwan mastered Tian Mo Da Fa, you would not have suffered big loss after only a few encounters. If you want to me someone, me yourself! Bian Bufu revealed a bitter-resentment expression, his two lips quivered, but in the end he did not dare to speak. Hou Xibai could not match Shi Zhixuans gaze, he hung his head down and said dejectedly, Xibai wishes Shizun well. Shi Zhixuan smiled slightly, he spoke softly, You have to be careful about Yang Xuyan, this man is narrow-minded, if he had the opportunity, he would definitely not let you off, because you, Xibai, have be my, Shi Zhixuans only sessor. Hou Xibai said, Thank you very much Shizun for giving me direction. Ay! Frowning, Shi Zhixuan said, Why did Xibai want to say something but then hesitated? Whatever it is, feel free to talk, as your master, I will definitely not reproach you. Hearing that, Wanwan and Xu Ziling you looked at me I gazed at you, they could not figure out Shi Zhixuans true intention; furthermore, they were unable to guess what he was going to do. Casting his gaze toward Pi Shouxuan, he spoke in low voice, May Tuer [disciple] be so bold as to speak up one step further with Shizun? Shi Zhixuan calmly said, Why be secretive? Turning his head, he looked at Pi Shouxuan, and spoke nonchntly, You go! Pi Shouxuan, Rong Fengxiang and Wen Caiting blurted out at the same lime, What? As it should be by rights, Shi Zhixuan said, I want to deal with this matter here alone; clear enough? Pi Shouxuan and the others your eyes looked into mine, they all knew that Shi Zhixuan has always had following-me-you-alive, opposing-me-you-perish character, and Da Ming Zun Jiao was the best example; without any better option, they left quietly in ordance with his order. After only Wanwan, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, three people remained, Shi Zhixuan said, Xibai may speak up! Summoning his courage, Hou Xibai asked, I wonder if Shizun already passed on Bu Si Yin Fa to Yang Xuyan? Slightly startled, Shi Zhixuan asked in astonishment, How did Xibaie to this conclusion? As your master, I can guarantee that there is no such matter. Casting his gaze toward Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai said, But Ziling is certain that Yang Xuyan has mastered the Bu Si Yin Fa. Shi Zhixuan looked at Xu Ziling. A weird feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, because unexpectedly they were chatting with Shi Zhixuan. He spoke with solemn expression, When he and I exchanged a palm strike, my body felt unbearable of being twisted, just like the experience I went through when fighting hand to hand with Qianbei for the first time inside the city gate. Shi Zhixuan revealed a contemtive look, he nodded his head and said, That is indeed the phenomenon after Bu Si Yin Fa invaded the opponents body. Let me think about it, I will tell Xibai when I have the answer. Good kid, he is really not simple. All three people had a strange feeling; they vaguely sensed that Shi Zhixuan already grasped some clues, its just that he was unwilling to tell them. Hisst two sentences ofment about Yang Xuyan showed even more that Yang Xuyan was enough to make a man as powerful as Shi Zhixuan to be wary of him. Shi Zhixuans gaze moved to Wanwans pretty face, he sighed and said, Do you really hate me to the bones? Remaining tranquil, Wanwan said, Xie Wang, please dont say any more nonsense, Waner is hoping to have a taste of your brilliance. Revealing a hint of pained smile, brimming with humanity expression, Shi Zhixuan lightly said, I did not kill Yuyan at all, I would never use a deadly move against her, how could I repeat a mistake? Wanwans tender body trembled lightly, suddenly she hung her pretty face down, without saying anything. Shi Zhixuan looked up at the deep-ck sky, exhaling a long breath, he spoke softly, This is thest time I am going to give you a good advice. Yuyan sought benevolence and obtained benevolence, because her life was too painful, the pain was unbearable, hence she wanted me to apany her to leave this human world where all living things suffer C together. Since I have experienced the burning both jade andmon stone once, why would I want to experience it once more? With your power, there is absolutely no chance to die in such a way that I will also perish with you, because I will not let you live to such a moment. Currently Yin Gui Pai no longer has any rtionship with you, you must return something to its rightful owner, put down the Tian Mo Jue, and you may leave. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that Shi Zhixuan was worthy to be Shi Zhixuan; his eloquence was not inferior to Funantuo, in just a few casual sentences, he already reduced Wanwans aspiration to stake her life greatly, to make her hesitating whether she ought to use the burning both jade andmon stone to die in such a way that Shi Zhixuan would also perish with her. In fact, if Shi Zhixuan and Wanwan fought, thetter would be in disadvantageous position. Xu Ziling could not help smiling, he said, Xie Wangs words seemed to becking consideration, Wanwan is Zhu Hous appointed sessor. I can be the witness to this matter, because Zhu Hou told me with her own mouth. Therefore, no one is more qualified than her to be the original owner of Tian Mo Jue. Not only Shi Zhixuan did not take offense, he evenughed involuntarily and said, Very well! Looking at Yuyans face, also consider it as a bit making it up with her, I will make an exception this one time, I will let Shizhi [martial nephew] to keep the Tian Mo Jue until the moment you grow to be a hundred years old. Wanwans pretty eyebrows lightly changed, she sighed lightly and said, May Waner ask Xie Wang a question? Shi Zhixuan turned his imposing body around, he stepped toward the exit at the southern end of the abandoned vige, while singing loudly, Green por on water and grass like smoke, returning Huer [non-Han people] drinks at the horse spring. A few ces with Hu eggnt in the bright moon night, who would rely upon his sword over a white cloud sky? Ever-frozen mountain road joining the mountain pass, today the bypass enables Han [people] to move forward. There is no road reflecting the hair on the temples of a traveler, afraid and rmed that he would enter the new year wan and sallow. The song disappeared in the distance, Shi Zhixuan disappeared at the end of the bend on the forest road. Kou Zhong led his troops charging back and forth in the enemy ranks, the Moon in the Well turned into the talisman pressing the enemy to their death, under his saber, there were no injuries, only deaths. The moment Li Yuanji struck Dou Jiande dead with his palm, he achieved supreme enlightenment by grasping the real meaning of what Ba Fenghan said, only those who are ruthless enough will be able to survive; since ancient times, all the major events, none was not like that. In the past, its not that he did not know the logic about benevolence has no ce to stand on the battlefield; however, knowledge remained a knowledge, practicing what one preaches is another thing altogether. But this bitter experience fleeing from Luoyang to this ce has transformed him. When he witnessed Yang Gongqing returning to heaven that day, the battlefield finally transformed him into a ruthlessmander-in-chief, knowing that in order to seek victory, he must use all means to ruthlessly wound and strike the enemy, until the other side waspletely without any strength to hit back. Dang! Dang! The Moon in the Well waved and shed to the left and right, he did not need to see, he only relied on his thought to hack two enemies, both the person and the weapon, and sent them off the horseback. He sent the other side falling to the ground and shocked them to death with heavy hands. Seeing them like an unstoppable mad tiger, the besieging enemy could not help but dispersing and spurring their horses to flee. Kou Zhong seized the momentum and did not spare people, he led the imposing army in surprise attack, whose formation was still intact, like an awl, using the spearhead tactic, prating into the enemy ranks with the most concentrated soldiers, charging the enemy that they suffered a crushing defeat. The torches fell to the ground, turning the grass and the trees into a raging me, fire was sprouting everywhere, smoke sprang from all around. The enemy cavalry was about three thousand men, their strength was three times theirs, but the encounter with Kou Zhong just now has divided them into two sections, the head and tail could not attend to each other, and then another round of attack came, which threw the enemy into deadly confusion even more. I am concentrated, the enemy scattered, the battle was advancing under one-sided situation where Kou Zhong upied the advantageous position to the fullest; it was deeply in ordance with the spirit of Tujue peoples tactics of using ambush to create victory, using fast to defeat slow. Suddenly a group of men and horses attacked from the left side. From the start of the confrontation to this point, this was the enemys first organized andrge-scale counter-attack. Kou Zhong shouted fiercely and turned direction; fighting at the head of his troops, he charged toward the rushing-over enemies. The Moon in the Wells yellow light ring greatly, Kou Zhongs spirit entered the highly-concentrated subtle realm, he knew the enemys every movement, as well as its intensity C like the back of his hand; just like martial art masters in decisive battle, he would not miss any weak point of threatening strike from the opponent. Dang! Lightning fast, the Moon in the Well chopped straight ahead, one enemy immediately sshed his blood and fell face up backward. Kou Zhong unleashed his sabers momentum, using the man-and-horse-as-one technique, agile like a deity, he charged into the enemy ranks, thoroughly crushing the offensive that enemy struggled to rouse. Momentarily the battle was turning into a melee. Bing Yuanzhen, Ba Yegang, and their men at the rear were following him blindly. They maintained their formation intact as they were charging into the enemy ranks. The intense battle was progressing like wildfire, blood sshed all over the wilderness, crouching dead bodies were everywhere, the warhorses losing their master were startled, they rushed like the wolves, scampered like the rats C all over the ce, increasing the confusion even more. Suddenly a cold light shed, a long halberd stabbed Kou Zhongs left waist. The halberd has not arrived, qi power already locked Kou Zhong tightly, the power was ample, it was the most threatening attack to Kou Zhong since the ambushing battle began. Kou Zhong knew a martial art master wasing to attack, he shot from both sides, first to poke and flip the two enemies attacking from the front, and then relying purely on body intention, he brandished his saber backhandedly, the moment the tip of the halberd was only three cun from prating his waist and nk, he heavily hacked the halberd head. The long halberd was hacked and was forced aside. Kou Zhong turned his head to the right to look at the face of the halberd-wielder, immediately thousands and hundreds of emotions, which he was incapable of discerning, welled up in his heart. The opponents long halberd circled around, like a lightning it ferociously stabbed Kou Zhongs face from a different angle. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, he greeted, Chai Shao Xiong, how are you? The Moon in the Well swiftly poked forward, spiraling energy shot out, with an ingenious technique it struck the long halberd. It heavily chopped the halberd head first, jolting the halberd that its momentum disappearedpletely, and then like a viper it entangled the long halberd, sending his power in twisting and poking movement; meeting the saber, the long halberd was pushed upward, Chai Shaos face was immediately widely exposed. Even on the life-or-death battlefield where two armies crossed swords, where residual vinegar [i.e. jealousy] must not affect emotion, encountering his own rival in love, Kou Zhong still could not control himself. If it were not for Chai Shao, he might have surrendered to Li Shimin early on, to be a fierce general under his banner, and thus his fate would have been rewritten. If he killed Chai Shao, it would be a serious psychological setback and a big blow to Li Shimin, which was precisely the true meaning of the war of attrition, to inflict heavy injury to the other side as far as possible. However, how was he going to face Li Xiuning? How was he going to answer his own conscience? This moment, he could show no quarter and behead Li Shimin, but he was incapable to harden his heart to kill his first loves husband. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Forget it! and pulled the Moon in the Well back. Chai Shao originally thought that he would surely die, but unexpectedly he saw that Kou Zhong stopped and did not continue the attack. Stunned, he looked up, momentarily he forgot to strike back. Kou Zhongughed and said, Chai Shao Xiong, please! With a loud shout, he pulled the rein and turned the horses head to charge to the east. The enemy has been utterly defeated, Kou Zhongs troops, like a hot knife through butter C charged into the enemy ranks, making the best use of their strength, in the direction of Xiangcheng on the east. Book 53 13 – The Sea of Bitterness Has No Bound

Book 53 Chapter 13 C The Sea of Bitterness Has No Bound

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia After Shi Zhixuan left, the three people you looked at me I gazed at you, they all never expected that this matter would be resolved just like this. Hou Xibai was the first to sigh and said, Zilings premonition is as urate as a deitys. What premonition? Wanwan asked in surprise. Hou Xibai cheerfully said, Just now we were chased by the enemy that we were unable to breathe, yet Ziling sensed that this abandoned vige was our only way to survive, and now it indeed came about as predicted. I am ashamed that at that time I was againsting here. Wanwan cast a surreptitious nce toward Xu Ziling; she hung her small cicada head, looking as if thoughts were surging in her mind. Hou Xibai could not help asking Wanwan, Just now Wan Xiaojie wanted to ask Shi Shi a question, what actually was it? Shi Shi also seemed to know what Wan Xiaojie wanted to ask, so he immediately left to avoid answering the question. Wanwan heaved a sigh. She spoke softly, I wanted to ask: since he now shows such a guilty conscience and affection toward Zhu Shi, why did he, after spending a night of passion with Zhu Shi in the past, heartlessly abandoned her and left without showing any consideration to her? Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling wanted to speak but shut their mouth. This question, except for Shi Zhixuan, no one could provide the answer. Wanwan went on, The two of you should know Shi Zhixuan better than I do; actually, what kind of a person is he? Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, What I know is the affectionate side of Shi Zhixuan. To me, naturally, he is a man with affection as deep as the ocean; otherwise, he would not have had split personality. Fixing his gaze on the ce where Shi Zhixuan disappeared, Xu Ziling nodded and said, He is a man with contradictions in his heart; when his heart is ruthless, he can do anything. Unifying the holy school, even unifying the world, is the most important matter in his heart, even more, his paramount, supreme sacred mission. But on the other hand, he himself is iparably passionate. These two kinds of contradictory state of mind are continuously shing in his heart, resulting in a miserable, remorseful life! After absorbing the essence of the Sheng Sheli [holy relics], his split personality merged into one again, but the contradictions in his heart are more intense than before. This is something that even he could not anticipate. Knitting her brows, Wanwan asked, But why did he let me go? At first Xu Ziling shook his head, indicating that he did not have any idea. But then he nodded and said, Perhaps because he is no longer optimistic about the Lis Tang. Li Shimin could not put Kou Zhong to death in the Battle of Luoyang, Lis Tangs road in unifying the world will be difficult and heavy; once Kou Zhong links up with Song Que, thend under heaven will split up into two parts, the Holy Schools grand n of unifying the world will suffer serious setback. Furthermore, without any better option, the business of dealing with Li Shimin will have to be postponed indefinitely. In these circumstances, a feeling of cherishing talent toward you, Wanwan, started to grow Shi Zhixuans heart. Wanwan did not understand, Cherishing talent? Hou Xibai agreed, he said, Ziling spoke out at least half of the content of Shi Shis heart. Although Xiaodi is his sessor, but I am not a material to be a Holy School people, not a material to unify the Holy School even more. Looking at the various Holy Schools younger generation disciples, only Wan Xiaojie and Yang Xuyan have the highest achievements, but Yang Xuyans identity is special, he has the interest to unify the world, but toward the Holy School, he does not have any sense of belonging. Therefore, Wan Xiaojie already be Shi Shisst most-promising candidate to unify the Holy School. He lets you keep the Tian Mo Jue, he also tried to resolve your hatred to him, it was precisely from this kind of way of thinking. Wanwan asked, And what is the other half of the content of your Shi Shis heart? Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai replied, When Ziling was speaking just now, I suddenly realized this point: Shi Shi is somewhat downhearted! Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, Why did Xibai have that thought? Hou Xibai said, Yang Xuyan is the most important chess piece in Shi Shis n to unify the world. When the Lis Tang split up in internal strife, Yang Xuyan, with his status as Yang Yongs son, could disy his wonderful efficacy in rolling over the Tang, but Yang Xuyans betrayal has disrupted Shi Shis overall n. He killed the Benevolent Mother Sha Fang, it was hisst effort to subdue Yang Xuyan; too bad he still worked to no avail. The more frustrating thing was that Shi Shi discovered that the always-loyal-and-devoted Fat Merchant An Long is also having a different heart [disloyalty], which made him feel isted and without help. Stunned, Xu Ziling asked, Isnt An Long the one who worships him the most? Hou Xibai said, That was then, and this is now. Shi Shi was able to see through An Longs betrayal from Yang Xuyans proficiency in Bu Si Yin Fa. In the past, when Shi Shi was writing the Bu Si Yin Fa scroll, An Long was with him all the time, waiting upon him. He even discussed the important secret and profound mystery of the Bu Si Yin Fa with An Long. As for why Shi Shi did so, it was hard to understand. Possibly because after murdering Bi Xiuxin he was being besieged by the orthodox people, hence he was using An Long as the channel to pass on his teachings. And about him letting An Long learned about Bu Si Yin Fa is absolutely true, because it was Shi Shi who personally told me. Muttering to herself irresolutely, Wanwan said, In that case, Yang Xuyan should have learned about Bu Si Yin Fas secret from An Longs mouth. On top of that, he has already seen half of the Bu Si Yin scroll, plus he has followed your honored master for many years, hence he was able to master the Bu Si Yin Fa. Hou Xibai sighed and said, That sounds like the most reasonable and fair reasoning. Wanwan said, Based on your honorable masters personal character, how could it be that easy to give up the sacred mission of reviving the Holy School? Hou Xibai shook his head without saying anything. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, From my experience of dealing with him, his mood fluctuates greatly, from time to time it revealed the contradictions in his heart. At least he believes that he is incapable of hardening his heart toward his daughter. This is also the main reason why the various factions of the Holy School are unwilling to submit to him; this has indeed made his intention cold, his heart discouraged. But when the situation changes one day, for example, when Kou Zhong and Song Que are defeated by the Lis Tang, perhaps he would change. Because all along he is a man who would do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. Wanwan smiled and said, To defeat Kou Zhong and Song Que, that is easier said than done. Hou Xibai said, Its not suitable for us to stay here for a long time, whats Wan Xiaojies n? Wanwans pair of eyes emitted a pained and bewildered emotion, she spoke to Xu Ziling, Zilings internal injury is very heavy, the injury has reached the vital energy, without a year or a half, you can forget aboutplete recovery; for the time being, your power will surely be greatly reduced, you might never be able to return to your previous level. Xu Ziling calmly said, If this is the Will of Heaven, then I have no choice but to submit to the Will of Heaven. Hou Xibaiforted him, Qingxuan must have a way to reverse the rotation of the sky. Staring nkly, Wanwan said, Are you guys going to see Shi Qingxuan? I was thinking of waiting upon Ziling properly, trying to think of a way to treat his injury. Remembering Shi Qingxuan, immediately Xu Zilings heart grew hot, any internal injury was thrown beyond the topmost clouds [idiom]. I appreciate your kindness! he said apologetically, How could I dare to trouble you? Wanwan revealed a sad expression, but she quickly recovered her tranquility; smiling, she said, Waner understands. Just let me see you two off for a moment, so that even if Yang Xuyan followed your track in secret ande to give you trouble, you dont have to be afraid of him. The two had no choice but to agree; they started on their journey immediately. At the first ray of morning sun breaking through the clouds illuminating the mother earth, Kou Zhongs rear army managed to throw off the pursuing troops for nearly thirty li. He and Bing Yuanzhen, Ba Yegang climbed onto a mountaintop nearby, to look into the distance toward the east side of Xiangcheng. A team of five-thousand-man Tang Army was setting their disposition of troops on the mountain about ten li ahead, cutting off their road forward. They had already anticipated this, hence they were not surprised at all. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Our strategy this time is very sessful, taking advantage of the dark we routed three units of Tang Armys vanguard regiment, so that Li Shimin does not dare to advance prematurely. The best part is that we lured them to pursue behind us, thinking that we are aiming for Xiangcheng. Bing Yuanzhen nodded and said, Our other men and horses should be safely on their way to the hidden pond mountain. By bringing Li Shimin here, we should be able to buy one- or two-days time so that Chen Gong can sessfully build a solid mountain stronghold. His eyes on the enemy ranks, Kou Zhong said, If we could defeat the Xiangcheng army blocking our path, I wonder if we could take Xiangcheng easily? Hearing that, Ba Yegangs eyebrows were deeply furrowed; he said, We have had bloody battle all night, injuries and deaths are close to two hundred men, both men and horses are all unbearably weary, I am afraid we dont have any strength to score a victory, not to mention the enemys military strength is five times above ours, plus they have been waiting at their ease for the exhausted enemy. Shaoshuai, please note clearly. Kou Zhongughed and said, I was just joking. Just like Ba Jiangjun said, we wind around the enemy troops, pretending to be forcing our way to Chenliu, at the appropriate time we change direction to the hidden pond mountain. Thats our decision. Ba Yegang and Bing Yuanzhen were infected by the rxed tone of Kou Zhongs voice, they had a feeling that the most difficult moment had be a thing of the past; although the fact really was not so, at least that was what they felt. Kou Zhong shouted his order, after nearly one sichen of rest, the entire rear army stepped on the horse to continue their journey. Wanwan pulled Xu Zilings sleeve, they stepped aside to speak. The time to go their separate ways has finallye. Hou Xibai tactfully went up a small hill nearby, to look down far and near, to search the enemys shadow and trace; he took it upon himself to be on the lookout. Slightly leaning her fragrant shoulder onto Xu Ziling, Wanwan spoke quietly, Naturally I am hoping to see Ziling again, but this desire is extremely distant and indistinct. I have no more enmity against Shi Zhixuan that I simply had to avenge, on the contrary, I feel sympathy toward him. Just like he said, the sea of bitterness has no bound, it was precisely because she was living in an unbearable pain that Zhu Shi had the intention to die together with Shi Zhixuan. Isnt what Shi Zhixuan said actually a portrayal of himself? Zhu Shi might have used all her strength to hate Shi Zhixuan, yet Shi Zhixuan might have hated himself. One mistake after another, two women who loved him dearly had both died because of him. Listening to her, Xu Ziling sighed endlessly. Changing the topic, he asked, After parting with us, where is Wanwan going? Rolling her eyes at him, Wanwan asked, Does Ziling really want to know? Since he already asked, naturally Xu Ziling could not pull it back; without any better option, he nodded to say that he did. Wanwans pair of beautiful eyes shone, she spoke softly, I am going to travel all over the world to seek a certain thing, and the dream of my holy school will rely on thepletion of this matter. Until this moment, Xu Ziling still did not know the grand n in Wanwans heart, yet he knew that she was not going to put everything out including the tray [idiom: to reveal everything]. Without any better option, he said, I really wanted to say that I wish you the best, however, I am afraid that thepletion of your dream would mean the suffering of many people; therefore, I really do not know what to say. Pfft! Wanwan giggled tenderly; she said, If you have a chance to see Shi Feixuan, please tell her that the struggle between she and Waner has no finish, no end, we all will have to wait and see! Nujia is leaving! I wish Shi Qingxuan will be able to help Ziling recoverpletely, and that she will give birth to a fair-skinned, chubby little Ziling for you. Finished speaking, she floated away with a gust of wind; she even looked back and waved her hand at him several times. Hou Xibai came back to Xu Zilings side, his gaze followed her beautiful clear shadow disappearing into the depth of the forest, he said, Is it a lot of hatred, a few honey, or is it the opposite? Xu Ziling shook his head, he found it difficult to speak, he knew in his heart that Wanwans white clothes, barefooted image would follow him closely, forever. After hastening on with their journey at full speed for three days and three nights, Kou Zhong and the others, none was not the people weary, the horse tired, they could not go on anymore, while Li Shimins main forces were following closely behind them, unwilling to let them off. Fortunately, they finally reached the hidden pond mountain. Ma Changs main forces set up their position on the mountain road to wee their arrival. With Kou Zhongs arrival, the soldiers filling the mountaintop all cheered excitedly for their leader. Kou Zhong jumped off his horse, Ma Chang came up to meet him and said, Chen Gong already left for the Tian Cheng Gorge to build the army camp, leaving me to be in charge here. Shaoshuai, please go to the camp by the clear pond in the mountain to rest. Kou Zhong turned to Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, and a group of his men, heughed and said, You heard Ma Jiangjun! Take a good bath in the big pond, get some his Niangs sleep, tomorrow you will be as good as new. Ba Yegang asked in astonishment, Isnt Shaoshuai going with us? Casting his gaze far away, the murderous aura in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes red greatly, he spoke with hatred, If I can sit in meditation for one sichen, it will be akin to recovering my strength. The hidden pond mountain is the first pass, I want Li Shimin to understand that I, Kou Zhong, am absolutely must not be trifled with. The debt of blood he owes me, I, Kou Zhong will demand payment one by one. Book 54 1 – Pursuing Relentlessly, Unwilling to Let Go

Book 54 Chapter 1 C Pursuing Relentlessly, Unwilling to Let Go

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai sat on a mountaintop on the north bank of the Huai River, looking into the distance at the faintly-seen dots of light far away on the opposite bank. It should be thenterns of a certain town that has just entered the dusk. Hou Xibai cheerfully said, If I am not guessing incorrectly, the city on the opposite bank should be Badong County. This city is located on the junction of the rivers, we could buy a small boat to ride, so that Ziling could sit in meditation to treat your injury, no need to depend on our two legs to walk painstakingly. Xu Ziling spoke emotionally, I hope we wont see war over there; it would be best if we dont hear any news about the war. Hou Xibai went silent. His countenance darkened, he said, Although I constantly remind myself not to think about Kou Zhong and his Shao Shuai Army, I clearly am unable to control my own train of thought. Ay! If Kou Zhong is unable to escape Li Shimins pursuit, what are we going to do? Xu Zilings countenance remained tranquil, he changed the subject, There is a ce that Kou Zhong and I have always wanted to return to, but also most afraid to go back. Obtaining a sh of understanding, Hou Xibai said, Is it your Niangs final resting ce? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Precisely that beautiful small valley that Kou Zhong and I will never forget. If Kou Zhong lost the war and died, I will ask Li Shimin to return his bones to me, to be brought and buried in the small valley, and then I will build my house and live there, and henceforth pay no attention to the outside world. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, Listening to the tone of Zilings voice, it seems like you wont even pay attention to Qingxuan. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, That is another matter altogether. If she is willing to forgive me, I would only weep [orig. tears and mucus flowing profusely] in gratitude. But frankly, until this moment, she still cannot pass the barrier of herself, I dont have the slightest confidence about her, I dont hold any extravagant hope toward her. Hou Xibai said, I am an outsider who can see things more objectively that those involved, while you, being right in the middle of it, are confused. In my opinion, Shi Qingxuan is unable to restrain her emotions toward you, she has her feet deep in the mud, its just that you have no confidence in yourself! And then he sighed and said, Turns out you are not optimistic about Kou Zhong at all. Laughing freely, Xu Ziling said, On the contrary, I dont think Kou Zhong would be so easily defeated. But I have some kind of feeling, I dare say that hes still alive until this moment. If he dies, he will let me know in a dream in the first moments. Hou Xibais mood was immediately lifted up; nodding his head forcefully, he said, It makes sense. Its time to cross the river, tomorrow morning we will wake upfortably in the upper room of one of the citys most luxurious inns, smell the fragrant of the bath we are taking before going to bed, and discuss in which tavern in the city we are going to have our breakfast. Breaking intoughter, Xu Ziling said, Go ahead! All I can think of is leaving this dangerous ce, which may be upied by the Tang Army C by boat as early as possible. The two menughed and walked down the hill, flying toward the Huai River. Kou Zhong gave the order to withdraw. In the past three days and three nights, he did not doze off even for half a moment. Li Shimins main forces just arrived, he immediately sent the great generals under hismand to attack into the hidden pond mountain pass. He also selected men with superior lightness skill to climb the mountain and over the mountain range in the distant ce where arrow darts could not reach C to attack. The number of people in this group of enemy troops was not many, but to the Shao Shuai Army setting up defensive position on the mountaintop and high elevation around the entrance to the gorge, they posed the greatest threat and the biggest destructive power. Fortunately, in this arduous situation, the Flying Cloud Guards that have been personally selected and trained by Kou Zhong, as well as have been refined by ample battle experience C disyed their maximum usefulness. Although their number has been reduced to be three hundred and twenty something men, but upying higher elevation and strong position, dealing with the enemys invasion, plus with Kou Zhong, this kind of martial art master, although they were up to their ears, they were still able to crush Li Shimins wave after wave of offensive. And then the more than seven hundred men, consisted mainly of the Yang Family Army C under Ma Changsmand, using rolling logs, pieces of rocks, strong bows and powerful arrows, strongly defended their position on the rugged path into the mountain C dealt with Li Shimins main forces assault head-on. Assuming they could maintain this situation, Kou Zhong was confident that they would be able to hold out for three, four more days. However, Li Shimin dispatched another unit of fifteen-thousand-man army under Luo Shixinsmand, heading to the east, rounding the hidden pond mountain, to attack from the east side. This army also sealed off the exit of the hidden pond mountain, so that Kou Zhong waspletely trapped in the mountain just like a bie [freshwater soft-shelled turtle] in the jar. Therefore, although unwilling, before this situation urred, he simply had to retreat from the mountain area to Tian Cheng Gorge, to rendezvous with his own army. As they were retreating, they also felled trees to create massive barrier along the mountain road, which could not only make the enemy unable to cling on their tail to pursue and attack, but also forced Li Shimin to clear up the barrier, and thus wasting a two-days time to cross the mountain area. This time, Li Shimins pursuing troops reached up to fifty thousand men, more than ten times Kou Zhongs military strength. Even though Kou Zhong was both intelligent and brave, but whether he could withstand Li Shimins main forces, it still depended on whether Chen Laomous defensive structure was solid enough. Taking the warhorses, Wang Xuanshu was waiting respectfully for Kou Zhongs honorable self at the exit on the south side of the mountain area. The injuries and deaths in the battle guarding the entrance to the mountain area could not be considered heavy, the deaths were about a hundred men, the injured two hundred something men, they were already transported back to the Tian Cheng Gorge camp for further treatment. Nearly a thousand Shao Shuai Army soldiers all mounted their horses, crossed over the mountain stronghold, galloped toward the Tian Cheng Gorge about thirty li away. It was the rolling-hills wilderness located between two rows of high mountains, covered densely in forest, with streams of river hidden within ancient trees reaching high to the sky: cold China fir, pine, cypress, camphor, and other lush green and full of life C trees, the natural scenery was like fine jade, nothing more beautiful could be imagined. The mountain ranges on the north and south were covered in swarm-of-cicada-like clouds, the floating clouds around the middle of the mountain was like a belt, the crown of the mountain was hazy with floating fog, carrying with it victorious-terrain-beautiful-appearance impression, quite like although it was not a painting, but it looked like a painting, no need to write a poetry, it all appeared like a poetry. A vast expanse of serenity and harmony, blurry without any knowledge of the dreadful fire of war. Not even Kou Zhong versus Li Shimins life and death battle had spread to this tranquil heaven and earth. However, what Kou Zhong was thinking was somethingpletely different; turning to Wang Xuanshu, who was riding side-by-side with him, he said, It will take more than two days for Li Shimin to clear away the obstacles on the mountain road. Building camp and establishing stronghold will take at least four or five days of work, and then they need to cut down arge number of trees to guard against attack using fire; therefore, we ought to have nearly ten days of opportunity to take a breather. I am just wondering hows the situation on Chen Gongs side? Wang Xuanshu excitedly replied, Tian Cheng Gorges terrain is extremely perfect, its deep with hignds, intersperse with strategic pass, with rugged mountain above, facing the in, it is easily like the superior factor of solid self-defense with the ability to grip forcefully at the enemy. The most brilliant thing is that looking from outside the position, there is no way they would realize that unexpectedly there is a secret gorge path running through the mountains at the rear. Riding on the other side, Ma Chang asked, Is there a water source inside the camp? Wang Xuanshu cheerfully said, Inside the gorge path, not only there is water and grass, there is also pine resin that can be extracted as fuel. As for food, these past few days we have been going hunting all around, the harvest is plentiful, enough for ten days. When the enemyes to attack, we can go to the other side of the gorge path to search hunting and grazing ground, as long as we can defend our position, there will be no shortage of rations and fodder. Ma Chang and Wang Xuanshus question and answer were all rted to the top priority of the survival of the Shao Shuai Army. In establishing stronghold and strongly defending ones position, other than foodstuff, fodder and fuel, all aspects of supply, the most critical factor was potable water. The so-called short of water and no grass, the sky is the kitchen stove is the danger spot in the art of war. Fortunately, it was the transition from fall to winter, so the snow had not fallen yet. Otherwise, fodder would be a difficult problem. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, We must make barrels to storerge amount of water in the camp. It can also be used to resist Li Shimins fire attack. Wang Xuanshuughed and said, Its entirely thanks to Chen Gongs ingenious method to get water across the mountains; usingrge bamboo tubes joined head to tail, we can get water directly from the many waterfalls leading into the gorge path, pouring the water into the camp, we wont need to worry about no water avable for us to use. Kou Zhong and Ma Chang cried, Marvelous! at the same time. Chen Laomou was more and more like another Lu Miaozi. Raising his head to look at the sky, Kou Zhong said, We also have to store up fodder as much as possible, otherwise, once its snowing, the horses will have nothing to be wrapped in their belly. The mountain breeze blowing right up their faces already carried the coldness of the winter. Wang Xuanshu said, Leave this matter to Xuanshu, Shaoshuai, please rest assured. Everybody rushed up a hill, before their eyes, there was no longer any forest blocking their line of sight. They saw the camp was standing on a mountaintop ahead, with a towering steep cliff as if it was pared by a knife C behind it, and the Tian Cheng Mountain Range extending continuously to the east. About half a li all around the camp, the trees have been hewn and cleared away, leaving section after section of short tree stumps connected at the roots; it was a bizarre spectacle. Revisiting old haunts, Kou Zhongs mood today waspletely different; he only felt that he had gone through myriad changes between the visits. He could not help all sorts of feelings welling up in his heart. Everybody reined their horse to stop, to observe the situation all around them, thinking that in a few days, it would be Li Shimin standing here, looking into the distance at the camp ahead, the extraordinary feeling at this moment was a rare opportunity. Ma Chang looked incredulously at the mountaintop positionsrge-scale construction still in progress; he cried out in low voice, Unexpectedly its a y and stone camp! Howe the shape is so strange? Wang Xuanshu smiled and said, Is Ma Jiangjun referring to the irregr shape of the mountain stronghold? The reason is that Chen Gong is taking advantage of the thick and solid trees on the mountaintop; he got rid of the branch and leaf, cut the trees to two zhang of height, and then use the more than a hundred bald tree trunks with their roots intact surrounding the mountaintop as pirs and support frames, and then use other timbers to create hardwood structure that can withstand the impact of the crashing vehicles. It is both ready-made and convenient, while also saving us the effort of digging the earth and building wood-lined pits. Only because we have to follow the original position of the trees and the terrain, we cant avoid the strange shape. Crying out, Amazing!, Ma Chang said, It is indeed a different design, but I cant think of a better way to do it. With the strong tree and solid wood as the framework, supplemented byrge rocks and dried y, the camp bes a small mountain city with two-zhang high walls, it greatly enhances the defensive power. Chen Gong is indeed exceptional. Kou Zhong watched as the Shao Shuai soldiers busily digging trenches outside the irregrly-shaped camp structure. The excavated soil was transported to the mountaintop to build the stronghold wall. Pointing to the remaining tree stumps, less than three chi tall, covering the three sides of the mountain stronghold, Bing Yuanzhen spoke cheerfully, These tree stumps are even more amazing, they form a natural barrier against horses. If Li Shimin wants to clear it up, he must ask our archers first. Thinking about when the other side attacks they have to cautiously and solemnly go around the tree stumps and cannot charge straight forward, this stifling bird-anger of thest ten days or so immediately disappears. Kou Zhong could sense the ted rousing spirit of the men around him, everybody expressed their praise at this mountain stronghold, which had quite a scale; not only because the mountain stronghold could be the ce where they could take shelter and strongly defend their position, more importantly, there was the secret gorge path behind the mountain stronghold that provided them with unlimited opportunity to live. Rations and fodder, food and water, fuel, as well as the reinforcement, all difficult problems were like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. They were no longer trapped in aplete passive situation and could only take the beating. Therefore, their morale was greatly aroused, and toward him, Kou Zhong, they had even more confidence. Wang Xuanshu said, The ce to rest is located inside the gorge path. Because the tents were lost during the breaking out of the siege, Chen Gong built more than a hundred thatched cottages; more cozy and warmer than the tents. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Sess! We will use this mountain stronghold that came from Chen Gongs brains to resist Li Shimins main forces, which is ten times more than we are. The crowd roared in response. A group of men and horses under Ba Yegangs leadership galloped out of the mountain strongholds main gate to meet them. Kou Zhong let out a strange cry topletely vent out the anger of the injustice and bullying that they received in thest ten days. Leading his men, he galloped down the hill and rushed toward the mountain stronghold. Xu Ziling woke up from his sleep; wrapped inside a clean quilt, he recalled how he was homeless and miserable for thest ten days, spending each moment crossing over a dangerous situation, he nearly doubted that he was in two different worlds. Last night, they were thest two persons to enter the city before Badong County closed its city gate. It was only when they reached the city gate that he found out that this city belonged to his Ol Dad Du Fuwei. When the Jianghuai Army soldiers guarding the gate saw their tastefully chosen clothes and headdress, that they carried no weapon on them, their schrly elegant appearance, thinking that they were the younger generation of influential family, they busily wanted to draw out more grease [ill-gotten gains] from these two fat sheep [fig. attractive and easy mark], by exacting and demanding more money than the city gate tax. Beyond Xu Zilings expectation, unexpectedly Hou Xibai did not want to let it go casually, instead, he haggled over the price with them. After several hard negotiations, they agreed on the price, which was much lower than the Jianghuai soldiers demanded. The transactionpleted, the two entered the city. Afterwards, Hou Xibai exined, If you appear to be too loose, you will lead them to believe that you are a sheep or a cow that can be easily bullied, or perhaps a white-silk-crotch-kid [I have no idea what this is] whose family is rich enough that you need not haggle over every ounce or count every box in your basket. Either one, those bloodsucking vermin would, in thousand ways, a hundred ns C squeeze your hard-earned money to the limit, so much so that they might not hesitate to plot and kill you for your belongings. That was the reason I haggled with them over the price, not that I was reluctant to part with my money, but to avoid unnecessary troubleter on. He was now sleeping in the most famous luxury inn in the city C the Badong Inns upper room. Hou Xibai was not like him or Kou Zhong; in term of clothing, food, housing and transport, none was not tastefully chosen. And he and Kou Zhong was not like him, who was only willing to sleep in the best room. How was Kou Zhong doing now? Would there be a day they could see each other? Just woke up? Hou Xibai pushed the door and entered. He said with augh, How was Zilings sleepst night? Mine was bitter at first but sweetter; the first dream was a nightmare, only the second was a sweet dream, I dreamt about Feixuan. Xu Ziling was watching him as he talked and sat down at the edge of the bed, until he heard thest Feixuan, two characters, he was suddenly shaken and wakened up from his deep contemtion and memories. He wanted to say something but then hesitated. What is it that Ziling want to say? Hou Xibai asked in astonishment. Xu Ziling stared at him for half a day, a hard-to-describe emotion welled up in his heart he sighed and said, Xibai Xiong once told me that in the future, there will be only one way with which you enjoy the beautiful women in the world. This is your one change. But why did you change? I kept wondering about that. It was not until this moment that I began to understand the reason. It was because of Feixuan, wasnt it? Hou Xibai was stunned, Ziling is really formidable, unexpectedly you can see through whats inside my heart. Ay! How should I exin? When I saw Feixuan for the first time, it was like seeing Zhan Ziqians authentic painting, thinking that there cant be any woman on earth more beautiful than that. She made me realize the real meaning of beauty, which is beyond the Dhyana realm of my painting brush. Since she set foot on this mortal life, letting us, these few people to see, Hou Xibai is no longer the Hou Xibai of the past. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling said, Listening to Xibai Xiong, it seems like its entirely outside the man-woman passion of the vulgar world, rather, it holds some kind of transcending state of mind. The unusual light in Hou Xibais pair of eyes flickered, he slowly said, In the world, I am afraid only you understand my heart. The reason why I determined to paint was on ount of my inherent pursuit of everything virtuous and beautiful. In the mundane world, originally there was no perfect beauty, however, the scene I capture on the painting are always the most touching, just like the escaping one that you and Kou Zhong keep talking about. After a short pause, he continued, Have you ever pondered about the essence of beauty? Beauty is the most touching, as well as the most mysterious C thing in the secr world. I am making my name in painting Dhyana. Has Ziling ever thought about what beauty is all about? Why do we think something is beautiful or not? Moreover, there is no official standard to define beauty, you and I feel the starry sky is extremely fascinating, but many people think its not worth considering. Furthermore, beauty can be intangible or tangible, inner beauty cant either be seen or grasped, like Feixuan, good-looking and intelligent, she is the ultimate beauty, she is some kind of beauty that make people feel ashamed of his inferiority, a sacred beauty. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Unlike you, I have never pondered about the unfathomable essence of beauty. Listening to your analysis, it was quite a murky-darkness-suddenly-opens delight. But I also think about the unfair aspect of the secr world; why should there be any distinction between beauty and ugliness? However, this is a reality that no one can change. Hou Xibai was still immersed in a certain state of mind, he sighed and said, Beauty and ugliness are fundamentally some kind of irresistible [or the act of God] fate, since the first time I saw Feixuan, my life has been infinitely enriched,pletely make my attitude towards women gave rise to a dramatic [orig. sky and earth turning upside down] change, from all kinds of dusty, worldly thoughts, transcending over into the pure pursuit of painting path. Xu Ziling asked, Before your encounter with Feixuan, I wonder if Xibai Xiong was already weary of your life of cuddling the red and leaning on the bluish-green? Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, You can see through me again. In Chengdu, you have a first-hand experience of my way of life. Ay! Affection is naturally one kind of a burden. The one thing that makes me especially unable to bear is realizing that something beautiful has a not-beautiful side on it. And then he muttered to himself irresolutely and said, Qingxuan is a woman who is not inferior in any respect to Feixuan, but there is a fundamental difference between she and Feixuan. No matter when and where Feixuan appeared, she always gave some kind of impression that she does not belong to the mundane world. Qingxuan is quite the opposite. Whether it was her person or her absolutely-wonderful-in-the-world flute sound, both can fuse together with time, there is no different between that and self. They both represent one kind of beautiful Dhyana realm that transcends my painting brush. When I saw her for the first time, I couldnt wait to have brush and ink by my side, to put her living appearance on the Fan of Beauty, but as I finished listening to the sound of her flute, I could no longer grasp her most moving side, which is indeed not any brush and ink can describe. Xu Ziling recalled the touching circumstances of the person and the scenery blended together in the few times that he met Shi Qingxuan in person; he sighed and said, Well said, you manage to put the feeling that I am unable to describepletely in one speech. Hou Xibai cheerfully said, Lets put this discussion of beauty to rest for the time being. Hows Zilings internal injury condition? Xu Ziling replied with a wry smile, After Wanwans Tian Mos true qi dissolved the evil poison, it has greatly improved, but it is still far in the indefinite future fromplete recovery. Moreover, its possible that I will lose the opportunity to enter and pry into the martial art way forever. Frowning, Hou Xibai asked, Really that serious? Xu Ziling said, Yang Xuyans demonic power is vicious and evil, the injury reaches my original essence, which, actually, not a very big deal. How my destiny develops, let it develops that way! Are we going to go to that restaurant for breakfast? Hou Xibai said, Badong Citys most famous is Wang Huai Lou [lit. gazing the Huai (river) building (reminder: lou is multi-storied building)]. The building is three stories high, located in the north side of the city. From the top floor, we can see the beautiful scenery of the flowing Huai River. Xu Ziling got out of bed; he smiled and said, Have you inquired about any news of Kou Zhong? Hou Xibai nodded and said, No important news. I only know that the Tang Army in Xiangyang and the various cities in the vicinity are frequently maneuvered, from time to time, there are the House of Tang navy ships passing through the Huai River. Could it be that Li Shimin is deploying his troops against Zhongli? The situation is very tense. Really strange! Didnt Kou Zhong flee to this side? Xu Ziling suddenly stopped his movement in putting on his clothes; revealing a weird expression, he shouted in low voice, Come out! I know its you, Yang Xuyan, quicklye out! Inwardly, Hou Xibai was severely shaken, the most terrifying thing was finally happening. Book 54 2 – Wonder Method to Subdue the Enemy

Book 54 Chapter 2 C Wonder Method to Subdue the Enemy

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Swish! An arrow shot out of Kou Zhongs Piercing the Sun Bow, hitting its target, an iron shield a thousand paces away. Beyond everybodys expectation, the solid iron shield exploded in spinning manner, the debris flew all over the ground. The thousand and hundreds of Shao Shuai Army soldiers standing around to watch also exploded in cheers, their mood was running high. The area inside the mountain stronghold surrounded by the buildings and walls was very spacious, its length and width were over three thousand paces, more than enough to hold a polo match. A two-story building was built in front of the gorge path using thick and solid trees, the entrance and exit of the gorge path were precisely on the lower level. This wooden structure was rectangr in shape, ten zhang deep and fifteen zhang across, very sturdy, even if the enemy forced their way into the stronghold, to enter the gorge path, they must crash their way through this barrier, it yed a strategic key role. Along the stronghold wall, eight arrow towers were still under construction. Dirt, rocks, wood and other construction materials were piled up on the open space; if necessary, it could be used to repair the damage on the walls and the arrow towers. There were also ten wooden camp buildings, each camp could house more than a dozen soldiers to rest and sleep, these buildings could correspond with the huge main building. Right in the middle of the mountain stronghold, an artificial pool, round in shape, about two zhang in diameter C was dug, the bottom and the walls were lined with y and rocks. Two lines of water pipe made of long bamboo tubes joined together head and tail supplied the round pool with water. The mountain stronghold had washed away the dejected spirit of the Shao Shuai Army after being pursued relentlessly and beaten like stray dogs, because not only they were obtaining the opportunity to take a breath, it was also a big defensive structure; more importantly, there was a way to survive behind the mountain stronghold. Advancing they could attack, retreating they could defend. The lower level of the main building was filled with foodstuff, fodder and fuel. The first floor was for resting, and therge tform on the top could be used to gaze into the distance at the enemy situation outside the camps walls. As winter approached, wood construction was not only strategic requirements, but also to provide the soldiers a means to escape and take shelter from the wind and the snow, which was rted to the survival of the mountain stronghold. Inside the gorge path was the ce of peace and happiness where the warhorses and the warriors recover, which enabled the fighters, at the very moment the two armies shed against each other C to take turn to evade the pitiless war. Kou Zhong received another arrow, made from local resources C from Chen Laomous hand; astonished, he said, What kind of wood it was cut from? It is solid and stiff; such a highest quality arrow material. Chen Laomou, in his usual immensely-pleased-with-himself manner, glibly said, This is a wooden arrow, specially made for Shaoshuai. And only Shaoshuai can shoot this kind of primitive, crude arrow, powerfully and firmly, not inferior to standard arrows. If it were shot using other peoples bow, I am afraid it would be difficult to prate the other side soldiers armor. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Do we have enough arrows? The Book of Military has a saying, Of the thirty-six military weapons, bow is called the first; of the eighteen weapons of martial art, dart is number one. From this, the importance of bow and dart on battle was evident. Even though some cities allowed people to carry weapons in and out of the city, bow and crossbow were strictly prohibited, precisely because bow and crossbow had the threating power to harm people from long distance. In battle, bow and crossbow are essential, if Kou Zhongs sidecked arrows, even if they had solid wall and high rampart, it would exist in name only [idiom: useless]. Chen Laomouughed and said, Shaoshuai, dont worry, these more than ten days of battle when the enemy pursued us vigorously, we shot not a few arrow darts, but the arrow darts that we regained from the enemy are even more, enough to be used for ten days, day and night, incessantly. The wooden arrows, other than for Shaoshuais exclusive use, can also be used as fire arrows to control the enemy. Laofu made fire-resistant sheath ording to the diagram in Lu Miaozis heavenly book; if we apply pine resin and wrap the sheath around the tip of the wooden arrow, it could stick to the enemys ramming vehicle and the arrow-resistant body of the cart like maggot attaches to the bone, burning them to his grannys hearts content. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Burning them to his grannys hearts content! Ha! This time, if we can hold out until Lao Ba arrives to help, Chen Gong, you can im big credit for yourself, and no one will dare to dispute it. Standing around them, Ba Yegang, Wang Xuanshu, Ma Chang, and Bing Yuanzhen, none did not speak words of praise; Chen Laomou was so happy that he could not close his mouth from smiling. Kou Zhong turned his head to look up at the entrance to the gorge path behind the main building. Due to the cliff wall of the mountain, looking from outside, even in the close proximity from inside the mountain stronghold, he was still unable to see the passage crossing over the mountain. Kou Zhong said, if you are Li Shimin, and your troops are pursuing to here, when you see our stronghold is built with the back against the mountain, what are you going to think? Ma Chang said, I will have my doubts. In this ce, where the grain vanished and the grass exhausted, how long can Shaoshuaist? His countenance changed, Wang Xuanshu said, Since there is doubt, naturally he would send his men up the mountain to investigate. Although the cliff wall is very high and steep, it still wont stop the other sides experts with superior qinggong. Chen Laomou said, Laofu has climbed to the top of the mountain with Ba Da Jiangjun, all I can see was dangerous cliffs everywhere; dangers stand in great numbers, plus the cliff is full of old trees, locked by the clouds, sealed by the fog, I could not see the gorge path below. Unless they dare to take risk to climb down, they could forget about finding our secret. Everybody cast their gaze toward Ba Yegang. This man of steel, who had blood rtionship with Hu people, spoke in strong voice, I didnt get to the top, because even with superior qinggong, it was still very dangerous. Furthermore, the water vapor on the mountain wall became ice; it is very slippery with no ce to get a good footing. One careless move, I would fall with torn body and crushed bones. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief and said, In that case, I can put down the heaviest load in my mind. Ba Da Jiangjun cannot climb up, the enemy shouldnt be able to climb either. It would be best if we have big snow, then our mountain stronghold wont have any weak point that enemy can exploit! Chen Laomouughed and said, Shaoshuai, please go to the Commander Room on the first floor to rest, we want to start building his Niangs several dozen stone-throwing machines. Although cantpare to Luoyangs big trebuchets, it should be enough to make the enemy suffer. Kou Zhong roared heartily and said, Building his Niangs several dozen stone-throwing machines. Since when did Chen Gong copy my mouthful of vulgar words? Brothers who came with me, the good time to have a his-grannys-good-sleep has arrived! Finished speaking, stillughing, he strode toward the main building. His steps showed great confidence, no longer like an escaping-to-the-east-and-fleeing-to-the-west sorry figure being chased by Li Shimin. Xu Ziling whispered to Hou Xibai, Only he, one person, I can sense it. Hou Xibai secretly wiped his cold sweat. If not for after his injury, Xu Zilings spirited senses grew a lot sharper, they might let Yang Xuyan, who was most adept at secret assassination,e to ambush them, the oue might be extremely unimaginable. He could deduce that Yang Xuyan must have followed their track in secret. Fortunately,st night they were thest two persons to enter the city, plus Yang Xuyan did not want beat the grass to scare the snake by climbing over the city wall to enter, hence he waited for the daybreak when the city gate was opened to enter the city. He then made secret inquiry to find out that they were staying in this inn, thereupon he wholeheartedly carried out the shady business that he was most adept in. Who would have thought that Xu Ziling exposed him with one shout, so that this Shadow Assassin, who was best in hiding his shadow and concealing his form C had no way of covering his traces? Yang Xuyans voice was heard from the inner courtyard, Turns out Xu Xiongs power haspletely recovered; this is greatly beyond Xiaodis expectation. However, this time Xiaodi came not for Xu Xiong, but want to settle some gratitude and grudges between our schools. Hearing that, Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling you looked at me I gazed at you; naturally they knew that Yang Xuyan did note for gratitude and grudges of their schools, but to strike and destroy them one by one. Hou Xibais pair of eyes remitted a resolute expression; he was about to respond, Xu Ziling beat him, Yang Xiong, why not wait a moment, let me talk with Xibai a little bit. Letting out a longughter, Yang Xuyan said, Why not? Gentlemen, be my guest, I am going to the fishpond to relive boredom by watching the fish. The upper room they checked in at the Badong Inn was located at the rear garden; the building was a courtyard house with a fully enclosed courtyard style, the wing on the four sides surrounded the inner courtyard. Due to the high room rate, only two or three other side rooms were upied. However, even if it was full of people, in this time when the world was in chaos, no one would dare to mind the fight and vendetta of Jianghu. The inner courtyard was tastefully decorated, there were flowers and trees everywhere, as well as fishpond and rock garden, surrounded by winding corridor on all sides, the scenery was quite beautiful. Hou Xibai looked at Xu Ziling in astonishment; because he was afraid Yang Xuyan might eavesdrop, he pressed down his voice, Whats so important that Ziling want to talk now? he asked. Xu Ziling calmly said, I wonder if Xibai already decided to stake everything, determined to fight to death? Is there any other way? Hou Xibai asked, As soon as Ziling take two steps, this muddled egg will see through that your internal injuries have not healed. Xu Ziling sighed and said, But has Xibai ever thought that the reason you are determined to fight to the death is because you do not have the confidence to beat back Yang Xuyan? Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, That is the fact, what can we do about it? If I can fight him until both sides suffer, or perhaps we end in mutual destruction, as far as Im concerned, that will be extremely ideal. Xu Ziling spoke candidly, If you fight a decisive battle against Yang Xuyan with that kind of mentality, you will definitely lose. Hou Xibai has always had faith in his wisdom; after muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he nodded and said, I understand what Ziling is saying. I will try to calm down a bit, I wont be a reckless man who is bold but not very astute [idiom]. That is definitely still not enough, Xu Ziling said, You must first eliminate your fear of Bu Si Yin Fa! The only way is to recover your usual calm and rxed state of mind, considering the way of the martial art like the way of the painting. The moment you enter the realm of the Dhyana painting, that will be the moment you reach the perfection of the martial art way realm. After a short pause, he said with a smile, Since Lao Yang thought that I have recovered most of my power, I could rely on this to make him fall head first in a big tumble, and then we can go to have breakfast with ease. Hou Xibai opened the Fan of Beauty, with the side of the fan with the beauties facing Xu Ziling, heughed aloud and said, Having a discussion with a gentleman surpasses ten years of training. I am going to have fun with Yang Xiong now, Ziling, please hold your troop disposition for Xiaodi. Xu Ziling watched as Hou Xibais figure was disappearing outside the door, he happily put on his outer garment, passed through the door and came to the hall, to look out through the window. Yang Xuyan was turning around from the edge of the fishpond, his eyes fell on the gradually approaching Hou Xibai first, and then he cast his gaze toward Xu Ziling behind the window. The divine light in his pair of eyes shing, he smiled and said, Xu Xiong, you are not going to get involved in the matter between us, two martial brothers, are you? Xu Ziling generated a fantastic reaction; he knew that before Yang Xuyan received any threat from Hou Xibai, he might change target and crash through the window to attack Xu Ziling with all his strength. And Yang Xuyan indeed had this thought, hence while talking andughing, he secretly amassed his power, doing everything he could to put him in danger. Xu Ziling revealed a smile brimming with profound mystery toward Yang Xuyan, suddenly he took a step forward, pressing close to the outside window, his hands forming a lotus flower image, he spoke calmly and indifferently, Turns out Yang Xiong is interested to y a round with Xiaodi first. No need to be polite. Please! Hou Xibai suddenly moved forward, he pressed on until he was about ten paces away from Yang Xuyan, closed his fan and pointed it to Yang Xuyan from a distant, andughed aloud and said, Ziling, dont try to be the first, he is mine. Qiang! Yang Xuyan pulled the Shadow Sword and took a stance, his eyes still lingered on Xu Ziling, he appeared to be bewildered and suspicious. If Xu Ziling had really recovered his power, and then when he was in confrontation against Hou Xibai he suddenly mounted a sneak attack from the side, even though he fused the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing and Bu Si Yin Fas out of the ordinary demonic power, he would still end up nursing a grievance on the spot! This possibility made him momentarily not daring to advance prematurely. Hou Xibai wanted to advance but was unable to. The moment the tip of Yang Xuyans sword was pointing at him, the circting air around him suddenly seemed to solidify, turning into a formless ten-thousand-jin boulder pressing down on him that it was difficult for him to budge. If it wasnt for him applying his power to resist, perhaps he would have vomited blood and sustained internal injury. Such demonic power certainly not an ordinary mind could think of. With his hands behind his back, Xu Ziling slowly walked out of the hall, crossed over the doorstep, and came to the spacious outer courtyard, approaching the position behind Hou Xibai and slightly to the side. Still stepping continuously, utilizing his exceeding-ordinary-peoples-expectation spiritual cultivation, he thoroughly forgot his internal injury;ing to the winding corridor by the inner courtyard where the two men were standing opposite to each other, heughed aloud and said, Yang Xiongs remark seems to becking consideration. Lets not mention that you have already been chased out of the schools wall, theres no more rtionship with Xibai whatsoever, but more importantly, what is happening between us is not an ordinary Jianghu vendetta, any Jianghu rules cannot either restrict or apply to us. May I ask, when you injured me that day, did you ever think about Jianghu rules? The murderous intent in Yang Xuyans pair of eyes ring greatly, he shouted harshly, Since thats the case, why havent you, Xu Ziling,e down here and make your move? Is it because your internal injury has not recoveredpletely? Xu Zilings spirit was aroused, knowing that Yang Xuyan totally could not see through what is true and what is false of his condition, on the surface he was vicious-spirited and fiendish, but actually inwardly empty and timid, which greatly weakened his fighting power. He spoke nonchntly, In that case Xiaodi will not be polite! Yang Xuyan let out a cold snort. His posture unchanged, he sprung back, the de of his sword turned into dots of bright light, carrying countless bits of spinning qi, not to attack, but to defend himself. Xu Ziling unleashed hisprehensive mystery-within-a-mystery spiritual induction; what he was detecting was not the distribution of Yang Xuyans true qi condition, rather, the strong or weak, as well as the target, of the other sides spirit, i.e. the escaping one of Yang Xuyans demonic power. He understood clearly that byunching this move, not only the confused Yang Xuyan wanted to probe what is true and what is false of Xu Zilings condition, he wanted to see whether Xu Ziling had the ability toe down the arena and fight, but also toy out a trap to lure Hou Xibai to attack. Hidden within the seemingly evenly distributed sword qi field was the ck-hand, demonic-power killer move, hoping to inflict heavy injury on Hou Xibai in one move, so that afterwards he could calmly deal with Xu Ziling. The Shadow Sword was empty, the ck-hand, demonic-power was real. Under the pull of the qi field, Hou Xibai, like a shadow attached to the shape, leaped up, the Fan of Beauty in his hand was like his most-amazing-in-the-world painting brush, it drew an offensive brush stroke in the air, brimming with beautiful lines, seeking the real point from the opponents dots of bright light filling the air, stabbing toward the de of Yang Xuyans Shadow Sword, deeply in conformance with the book-way-into-the-martial-art-ways true essence. Xu Ziling stretched out his right hand, his halberd-shaped fingers pointed at Yang Xuyan, who was retreating toward the air above the fishpond, purely relying on his spiritual power he locked this terrifying big enemy tightly, while shouting, Attack his Zhongfu [acupoint]! The big acupoint Zhongfu was located on the chest; when the lungs absorb oxygen, the chest expands to this point, it is the intersection of the Hand Taiyin Channel of the Lung and the Foot Taiyin Channel of the Spleen; furthermore, it was the key point where Yang Xuyans ck-hand, demonic-power operated. Yang Xuyan flew backward, he pulled back his attack and changed move. Xu Ziling sensed this subtle change, hence he spoke out to guide Hou Xibai. If the speaker was someone else, facing sword lights, sword qi filling the atmosphere, Hou Xibai would have been hesitating, however, because he has always believed Xu Ziling, moreover, he knew that Xu Zilings spiritual response transcended his martial art skill, he let out a longughter, the Fan of Beauty ck opened up, he swept across Yang Xuyan, who was still in the air. This move concealed another change; it appeared to be sweeping across the Shadow Sword, but actually it could stab the opponents Zhongfu acupoint at any moment. Yang Xuyans pair of eyes could not concealed a sh of horrified expression, evidently it was because Xu Ziling was able to see what is true and what is false in him. Bang! The sword shadows filling the air disappeared, Yang Xuyan has not had any change to change into the pitch-ck demonic hand, he already shed head-on with the Fan of Beauty, which from fully-opened changed into fully folded, creating the sound of qi power striking against each other. Yang Xuyans tiger-body shook severely, obviously he suffered hidden loss, and elerated his retreat to the open space at the other side of the fishpond. Hou Xibai was giving everything he had, soaring into the air, he pursued and attack. Not letting the opponent to get another chance to regain the upper hand, he engaged Yang Xuyan in an iparably intense close hand-to-handbat. The sword and the fan went back and forth, the shing noise was unending! Beizhong! Zhangmen! Tianhui! Houxi! Qiangu! Xu Zilings mouth spat out the acupoints one after another. By this time Hou Xibai already had full confidence in him, ignoring the opponents sword momentum, he alwaysunched violent attack and fierce assault toward the target ording to Xu Zilings directives,bined with his own intelligence, and each strike always made Yang Xuyan flustered, so that he was unable to reverse the situation. Starting from the time Xu Ziling shouted to reveal his track until this moment, Yang Xuyan has always been in the disadvantageous position, he was unable to disy his full power. By this moment, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, two men, already gained a step further in understanding his ck-hand-demonic-power, they knew that he could notunch it at will, rather, there was a sequence in the way he applied his qi and carried out his strength. As long as they could attack the key acupoint position on his body one step ahead, his ck-hand-demonic-power then could not be carried out. From this, it could clearly be seen that Yang Xuyans ck-hand-demonic-power has not reached satisfactory level yet. Xu Ziling calmly walked toward the other side of the fishpond, where the twobatants were shing around in fast fight, so fast that ordinary peoples naked eyes could not see clearly. The fact was that because his power was declining, he was no longer able to grasp the two mens moves; however, his spiritual power could lock Yang Xuyans escaping one tightly, the strongest point was precisely the weakest point. No one knew Yang Xuyans Bu Si Yin Fa, which came from Shi Zhixuan, better than he. Compared to Shi Zhixuan, Yang Xuyan was still some distance away, he could only be considered at the elementary stage of the Yin Fa, and has not sessfully integrated it into the Shadow Sword Technique, he still needed to rely on the ck-hand-demonic-power of the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing to supplement it in order to fully use it. However, under Xu Zilings guidance, Hou Xibai suppressed him that he was unable to unleash the ck-hand-demonic-power, it was akin to suppressing his Bu Si Yin Fa at the same time. Bang! Bang! Bang! Three explosions rang out in session, like plucked string and rapid drumbeats, shaking the air in the vast inner courtyard, ruthless, fierce and severe to the extreme. Hou Xibai knew that Xu Zilings approach posed an iparable threat to Yang Xuyan, so that he felt timid and started to have the intention to retreat. Not daring to rx, he unleashed all the skill he had, seeing a move he broke the move, doing everything he could to put Yang Xuyan to death. Although every single move of his fan was meant to kill, on the surface it still looked calm, effortless and elegant. Within the urgency and intensity, there was some kind of outstandingfort and leisure impression, as if he was painting a beauty using his fan, applying color casually, yet exquisite, brilliant and varied, deeply in ordance with the painting principle. No matter how Yang Xuyan, who was in the disadvantageous position C strike back, his move was always defeated by seemingly casual, fluent and elegant stroke of Hou Xibais folding fan. Xu Ziling struggled hard to raise his qi, he stepped into the two mens battles qi field, exactly at the point where Yang Xuyans qi power was the weakest, but also at the position where he could pose the greatest threat to him. Yang Xuyan was affected by this move; severely shaken, he let out a shrill whistle and then swiftly retreated. Hou Xibai rushed forward, his fan moved like the wind, he twisted the Shadow Sword and threw it aside, before swiftly stabbing the pit of Yang Xuyans stomach. Unleashing the Huan Mo Shenfa, Yang Xuyan quickly moved aside, using his shoulder to take the fan, and then borrowed the impact force to push him farther back. High in the air, he spurted out mouthful of fresh blood, and shouted loudly, Im sure well meet again someday. What happened today, I, Yang Xuyan will never forget! In the blink of an eye, he disappeared behind the wing of the building. Hou Xibainded back on the ground. The two you looked at me I gazed at you, both could see that the other side was crying Lucky! inwardly. Surely the dots of Yang Xuyans blood on the grass was not easily won. Book 54 3 – Timely Encounter with An Old Friend

Book 54 Chapter 3 C Timely Encounter with An Old Friend

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, in sight-seeing mood, strolled along the main street linking up the north and south city gates, attracting everybodys attention so that charming girls frequently cast them coquettish nces. Like most cities, the passers-by consisted of more women than men, which was an inevitable consequence since arge number of adult men were being drafted into the army. Because Badong County was not really located on the front line, although economically it yed a critical role, in order to deal with Fu Gongyou and Xiao Xians threat, the Old Dad Du Fuwei concentrated his main forces in the City of Liyang, which relied on the convenience of the Yangtze Rivers waterway to deal with any iing enemies to support the cities and towns along the river. Therefore, Badong County did not have massive military force, the residents manner was rxed, in a flourishing and prosperous atmosphere. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Fortunately, although we did not n it, we came to your Ol Dies city. If it were a House of Tangs city, I am sure Yang Xuyan would already have led his men to capture us alivest night, and made us prisoners in their dungeon. Just thinking about it makes my heart shivers. Whether our fate is glorious or dried up, the difference is only one fine line. Xu Zilingughed and said, Frankly speaking, this time Yang Xuyan lost the battle, he must have felt deep resentment, victory and defeat was just like migratory bird, it involved of a bit of gambling. Hou Xibai cheerfully said, But there is amon saying, in the end, sess is not just by luck; if not for Zilings extremely skillful spiritual great method, which gave me, a fool who are on a treasure mountain but did not see the treasure C direction, how could Yang Xuyan be so confused, which resulted in his defeat? Xu Ziling spoke in astonishment, I never thought that Xibai is such a modest person. Because when speaking with gifted schrs, the impression that the people get is they are always inordinately proud of their ability, and Xibai happens to be a hundred-percent gifted schr. Blurted outughing, Hou Xibai said, Gifted schr? Ha! Even if I was a gifted schr, in front of you, Xu Ziling, another gifted schr, who would dare not to be modest? I really am admiring you more and more; furthermore, I like it that you amiably call me Xibai, and not Xibai Xiong long and Xibai Xiong short, treating me with extreme formal courtesy. In this regard, Kou Zhong is different from you, he barely knew someone, and immediately he can carry on intimately with them. Ziling is more cautious and solemn in maintaining a distance from other people. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, To make Xibais belly so full ofints, it is indeed Xiaodis sin. Xibai Daren, please be magnanimous, forgive this offense. At that time I was only blurting out quite naturally; in order to protect me, Xibai did not hesitate to sacrifice your life, we all treat one another with absolute sincerity, hence our rtionship changed naturally. Hou Xibai roared inughter, he put a hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, and spoke cheerfully, All those things are already in the past, looking forward is what smart people should do. If Ziling can recover you power, perhaps even when your hands and feet are half-bound, you can still y with Yang Xuyan on the palm of your hand. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, You are too optimistic! First of all, if I fight with him, I will lose the advantage of an outsider can see things more clearly or objectively than those involved [idiom]. Secondly, Yang Xuyan will learn a lesson from this bitter experience, he will try to eliminate his ws. Once he can reach the able-to-do-what-his-heart-desires level, he will be another one of your Shi Shi. One day he is not dead, our heart and belly will always be in danger. Hou Xibai suddenly whispered, Look! Unexpectedly Badong City has such beautiful woman with exceptionally good personality traits. Following his eyes, Xu Ziling cast his gaze across the street. A beautiful woman, wearing in and simple clothes, yet it was difficult to cover up her charming beauty of her slim and graceful figure C was turning into a side street. He could only see her back, he could not see her flowery countenance. Looking at Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai asked in astonishment, Why does Xu Zilings gaze look so strange? Cant possibly be because seeing a beauty your heart is moved? That is so not like you. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, I feel that her figure seen from behind looks very familiar, it gave me deep impression that I have seen her somewhere before. Hou Xibai said, I can guarantee that she is not a beauty that I have seen before. I have certain skill in looking at women; even if she changed her appearance in disguise, she wouldnt be able to hide from me. Xu Ziling nodded and said, She is absolutely not our enemy, because the impression she gave me is very positive. Hou Xibai pulled his sleeve and said, We are here. It indeed deserves its reputation as the number one lou [multi-story building] in Badong, merely the fa?ade of Wang Huai Lou is enough to arouse peoples spirit. Suddenly Xu Zilings tiger-body shook, as if he just realized something. Hou Xibai pulled Xu Ziling aside, so that they would not be in the way of other guests who were entering or exiting the Wang Huai Lous main gate; he asked, Did Ziling just remember who the woman that you seemed to have met before? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, No, Im remembering another thing; all along I did not understand, that day I received injury and lost consciousness from Zhu Yuyans burning both jade andmon stone move, when I woke up the next day, Feixuan already left me and was gone. This matter is like a small thorn remained in my heart, making me feel ufortable. I thought that it would not have been toote to say goodbye to me after I woke up and restored my strength to defend myself. It was only this moment that I began to understand, that is precisely the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm; however, I would have to sustain injuries and have no martial art skill to rely on before I could genuinely understand what the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit really is, and it was only by relying on this that I was able to help Xibai to defeat Yang Xuyan. Hou Xibai praised, Turns out Ziling is thinking something else that has nothing to do with what we have before our eyes, but its quite fascinating. All along Shi Shi does not dare to set foot on Ci Hang Jingzhai to challenge Fan Qinghui, precisely because he has misgivings of the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit sword way realm of the Ci Hang Sword Canon. Actually, Ziling always has the potential tomunicate with the spirits, only you have not had any chance to bring it out! If Zilings power can return to your original level, the injury this time will be an enormous good thing, as well as a good turning point. Xu Zilingughed calmly and said, Whether recoveringpletely or not, I dont really care. This Wang Huai Lou is certainly not an ordinary building, merely the four mahogany pirs with dragon carvings supporting the top level of the three stories are enough to make people sigh in admiration. How about we climb the stairs to watch the Huai [River]? [Reminder: Wang Huai means watching/gazing into the distance at Huai (river).] Hou Xibaiughed aloud and said, Ziling, after you! Xu Ziling smiled and said, Xibai is too polite. With his hands behind his back, he climbed up the stairs. Wang Huai Lou was located in the northern part of the city, the design was distinct, the lowest level was like the first floor of any other building, one must climb more than a dozen steps of wooden stairs. The entire building was made of cylindrical wooden structure, it was stable and pleasing to the eye, without losing its natural beauty. At the end of the wooden steps was the reception counter of the restaurants shopkeeper; passing this counter and entering straight into the lower floor of the building, there were more than thirty big round tables, most of the tables were full of diners. Looking at their outward appearance, the majority of these guests must be traveling merchants. The servers serving steaming hot dimsum and fragrant tea were all young women; this was their unique distinguishing feature. Turning to the right, there was another flight of stairs leading to the first floor. Xu Ziling was looking everywhere. The young shopkeeper was serving a tea-customer paying his bill. Perhaps because Xu Ziling and Hou Xibais bearing was out of the ordinary, he cast his gaze toward the two men, and thus he met Xu Ziling face to face. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly its Han Xiong. Immediately the young shopkeeper body was severely shaken, blood was draining from his face, so that he was as pale as a dead person. Immediately Xu Ziling regretted his action that he wanted to die. This man was precisely Han Zenan, whom he met along the way when he left Bashu and took a ship from the Three Gorges. He and his tender wife Xiaochang and their beloved son Xiao Jie were running away from the Evil Monk Fa Nan and Amorous Nun Chang Zhens hunt [see Book 25 Chapter 12]. At that time Xu Ziling upheld justice and made his move [Book 26 Chapter 8] to repel Fa Nan and Chang Zhen. Han Zenan and his wife and son, like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, left the boat in panic and escaped far away, so that he was unable to understand clearly their rtionship with Yin Gui Pai. He regretted that momentarily he forgot that it was in Gong Chenchun appearance that he made acquaintance with Han Zenan. By calling him Han Xiong like that, it was tantamount to revealing Han Zenans shunning-the-world-and-go-into-hiding identity. No wonder Han Zenans countenance became so unsightly. At the same time, Xu Ziling realized that the familiar beautiful figure that he had just seen must be Han Zenans wife, Xiaochang. Following behind him, Hou Xibai was stunned, Did Ziling meet an old acquaintance? he asked. At a loss, Xu Ziling hurriedly said, No, I mistook him for someone else! Pulling Hou Xibai away, he quickly walked toward the steps to the first floor. Reaching a corner leading to the upper floor, Xu Ziling stop dejectedly, and said with a sigh I want to go back to clear things up, how about Xibai go to the third floor and find an empty table? [Trantors note: I thought the building only has three levels, but the description about lower, first and third floors is kind of confusing to me, I simply trante it as-is. In the US, the ground floor is called the first floor, while in Europe, the first floor is the level above the ground floor (equivalent to the second floor in the US). I dont know in China.] Hou Xibai shook his head and said, I have a great responsibility, how can I leave your left and right? We go together! The two men turned around and went down the stairs, but when they reached the lower level, unexpectedly Han Zenan disappeared without any trace, another man was doing his job. Inwardly Xu Ziling knew that the turn of events was not too encouraging; Han Zenan must have escaped in order to avoid disaster, Xu Ziling was indeed guilty of the most serious crime. We must run after him! he hastily said. The two hurriedly went down, they happened to catch a glimpse of Han Zenans back side entering the side street across the restaurant. His heart was heavy, Han Zenan scurried along the totally-empty side alley with his head down. Suddenly there was a sh in front of his eyes, somebody appeared out of nowhere. Scared, he retreated three steps in session, his face was of the color of the earth. The blocker was Hou Xibai, who rushed over one step ahead of Xu Ziling. Greeting by raising his cupped fist, he said, Han Xiong, please forgive Xibai for being rude, because my friend wants to clear the misunderstanding a moment ago with Han Xiong, no need to be rmed. Having just recovered from a shock, Han Zenan spoke in astonishment, I wonder if Gexia [Sire] is the Passionate Prince Hou Xibai? Hou Xibai cheerfully said, Precisely Zaixia; I did not expect Han Xiong, being not well-versed in martial art C to know Jianghu affairs. My friend is here! Han Zenan again revealed a worried and suspicious expression. Turning his head to look back, to his surprise, he saw Xu Ziling, wearing Gong Chenchun mask, wasing toward him. Immediately his countenance rxed, unable to believe his own eyes, he cried out, EnGong [benefactor/savior]! Xu Ziling took off his mask and came to Han Zenans side, apologizing, I was careless, implicating Han Xiong that you were frightened. Are Zun Furen [honorable madam] and Ling Lang [your esteemed son] well? Han Zenan was still staring nkly, this sudden change has made him losing his mind. It was half a dayter that he recovered and exhaled slowly; he said, Unexpectedly there is such an exquisite and skillfully made mask in the world. Jian Nei [my humble wife] and Xiaoer [mu humble son C I just want to show howplicated Chinese appetions are] are all safe and sound. EnGongs great kindness and great virtue toward us, we still havent had any chance to personally thank you. Every time we think about it, its difficult for our heart to feel at peace. Patting his shoulder, Xu Ziling said, Nothing needs to be said, Han Xiong can just forget everything that happened today, Xibai and I are going back to have our breakfast, Han Xiong can continue with your job, you and us have nothing to do with each other. Laughing aloud, he and Hou Xibai left together. Han Zenan called out from behind, Would EnGong please bestow me your honorable surname and great given name? Xiaodi Xu Ziling, Xu Ziling replied, Han Xiong, dont worry, we will never mention the secret than Han Xiong is living in seclusion here. The two sat peacefully at a table by the window, casting their gaze toward the forest sea of wilderness extending as far as the eye could see, and the Huai River flowing in the distance C beyond the north city wall. Hou Xibai sighed and said, If Feixuans heart-of-the-sword-brightly-lit realm gave her the psychic divine power to foresee the future, I will feel ufortable associating with her. I hope her immortal method still has limitations, so that she cannot see through the vast, with no clear boundary, and unfathomable future. Xu Ziling said, I understand Xibais anxiety, you are thus not optimistic about Kou Zhong. Staring at him, with a smile on his face, Hou Xibai said, Talking with Ziling saves me a lot of time. I am not a man of Qi fearing the sky falling [idiom: groundless fears], the question is to which level has Feixuans heart-of-the-sword-brightly-lit reached? When she chose Li Shimin to be the Son of Heaven ordained by Heaven, did she foresee what happened today? If it is so, then Kou Zhong is in danger. Xu Zilings expression solemn, he said, Her ability to predict the future is obviously not necessarily effective and divine; at least she chose me as the mountain gate protector of thew [sic, it was sand gate in Book 52 Chapter 5], so Xiaodi has a burden she entrusted to me. Mountain gate protector of thew? Hou Xibai asked in astonishment. After exining briefly, Xu Ziling said, The development of the facts is that I am walking on the opposite path of the purpose of her intentions, and there is no possibility of turning back or changing. The opposition to her will only be increasingly sharper. Hou Xibai was still mulling over this when Han Zenan appeared on top of the stairs and came over to their table. Although the two did not understand why he was unafraid to expose his identity, out of courtesy, they busily invited him to sit down. Han Zenan showed a determined look, he spoke with serious expression, Just now Xiaodi went home to talk it over with my humble wife, we hope we can borrow two gentlemens power to rid the world of evil. Remembering Yin Gui Pai, Xu Ziling smiled and said, Han Xiongs righteous courage while disregarding your personal safety is really admirable; however, since their Paizhu [sect master] died, Yin Gui Pais internal dispute esctes, which resulted in all-split-up-and-in-pieces situation, momentarily they are not enough to be a danger. Han Xiong can feel at ease living in peace and working happily here. Shaking his head, Han Zenan said, Xiaodi is talking about ridding the world of evil, not about Yin Gui Pai. I am referring to Xiang Gui and his family, who specialized in human trafficking and running gambling enterprise, doing all the shady business that offend the Heaven and reason. Hearing that, the two were emotionally moved, feeling deeply that when the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light [idiom: at ones darkest hour, a glimmer of hope/light at the end of the tunnel], what they suspected as the ce with no road, unexpectedly it was a ce of charm and beauty. Han Zenan continued, If EnGong was not Xu Ziling, my humble wife and I definitely will not dare to have this thought. This is because EnGong and Shaoshuai are the men whom the Xiang Family have most misgivings and fear. Hou Xibai detested the Xiang Family, who regarded women asmodity C the most; greatly delighted, he asked, How did Han Xiong know about the Xiang Familys affairs? Revealing an ashamed expression, he gnashed his teeth and said in low voice, Because before leaving the Xiang Family, Xiaodi was managing all the Xiang Familys transaction ounts. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were overjoyed at unexpected good news, thinking that it all came without them spending a great deal of time and effort. Han Zenan upied such a crucial position within the Xiang Familys enterprise, it would enable them to grasp what is true and what is false of the Xiang Family, they could then make the Xiang Family crumble in one move. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Then why is it that it was Yin Gu Pai people who came to kill Han Xiong that day? Han Zenan sighed and said, This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly. My humble wife, Bai Xiaochang [note: it was Hong Xiaochang in Book 26 Chapter 8] came from Yin Hui Pai, furthermore, she was Yin Gui Pais designated person to deal with the Xiang Family in financial matters. Most of the Holy Schools Two Sects and Six Ways have close rtionship with the Xiang Family, the Xiang Family wants their support in military [or martial] and political power, while the various sects of the Holy School rely on the Xiang Familys financial resources; therefore, they formed a mutually beneficial rtionship. Moreover, the Xiang Family are the Holy Schools eyes and ears, they help the various sects of the Holy School by gathering intelligence for them from all sides. After a short pause, he went on, It was under this circumstance that from time to time, Xiaochang came in contact with Xiaodi. Familiarity breeds fondness, until Xiaochang was pregnant, which is a big taboo in Yin Gui Pai; we then had no choice but to immediately flee and went into hiding in Bashu. After encountering a few years of life of peace and happiness, finally they discovered our whereabouts; we were forced to flee in panic by boat, and it was on that boat that we came across EnGong. Hou Xibai asked, How did Han Xionge to work for the Xiang Family? Moreover, it was such an important position? Han Zenan exined in details, Since I was young, Xiaodi followed myte father working for the Xiang Family. After myte father passed away, the responsibility naturally fell to Xiaodis shoulders. Officially, the ounts were Xiang Guis older brother Xiang Fus responsibility, but Xiang Fu is engrossed in wine and women, the actual work became mine to deal with, Xiang Fu only showed perfunctory interest. Xiaodi has also read the holy book; although knowing I was helping tyrant Zhou in his oppression [idiom: taking the side of the evildoer], but because I was afraid of the Xiang Familys tyrannical abuse, also afraid to implicate my family, I could only follow orders. Afterwards, Niang and Die passed away one after another, also encountering Xiaochang, who has already had disloyal thought toward Yin Gui Pai early on, only then did we choose to flee. Where is Xiang Guisir? Xu Ziling asked. Han Zenan replied, Since Yang Guang encountered murder by his own subordinate and died in Jiangdu, I have moved with Xiang Gui several times, thest headquarters was in Luoyang. However, before Xiaochang and I ran away to Bashu, Xiang Gui was nning on moving to Changan to spread out his fist and feet in a big way. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Hou Xibai said, Han Xiong, please dont me Zaixia for investigating to the bottom of this matter, but based on how strict Yin Gui Pai controls the disciple in their Sect, how could they give Han Xiong and Sao Furen [madam sister-inw] the opportunity to be intimate? Han Zenan replied frankly, Xiaochang was not only responsible for the financial aspect of both sides, but before that muddleheaded ruler was murdered by his subordinate, she was also in charge to training the maids to be sent into various imperial pces on Xiang Guis behalf. These maids were all acquired by the Xiang Family, by fair means or foul, from all parts of the country. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he asked, Is it possible for us to have a word with Sao Furen? Han Zenans home was located in a neighborhood at the northeastern part of Badong City, a three-section style ordinary house, the furnishing was simple and unadorned, evidently it was because they, husband and wife, did not dare to disy ostentatiously, hence they felt contented to live ordinary peoples life. After some words of politeness, Xu Ziling asked about Bai Xiaochangs experience in training the pce maids in the past, while also exining Yin Xiaojis affair. Bai Xiaochangs graceful jade countenance revealed a thinking-deeply-trying-to-remember expression. Half a dayter, she said, Qie [I, your servant (deprecatory self-reference for women)] remember! She was a temperamental [lit. spleen-natured], unyielding girl, her pair of eyes was brimming with hatred. We strictly forbid the girls to use their original names, but every time we called her by her new name, she always reaffirmed that her name was Yin Xiaoji. Afterwards, Xiang Guis younger sister Xiang Hua fixed her up really good, only then did she not dare to say that she was Yin Xiaoji, but from then on she also refused to speak. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was both happy and rmed; happy because after going through numerous twists and turns, he finally found someone who knew Yin Xiaoji, and obtained some information about her. rmed because Yin Xiaojis temperament was so strong that possibly the Xiang Family had dealt with them viciously. Bai Xiaochang was able to see through the load on Xu Zilings mind, she cheerfully said, EnGong need not be worry; afterwards, the Jiangdu incident happened, hundreds of detained girls took advantage of the great chaos following Yuwen Huajis rebellion to escape. Xiang Gui was too busy to look after himself, he had neither the time nor the mood to pay them any attention. Listening to her, Xu Ziling was stupefied, recalling the situation when they were running away from trouble that year, when he and Kou Zhong fled Jiangdu. At the time of soldiers mutiny and troops rebelling, a weak little girls fate was really hard to fathom. Thus the trail to pursue Yin Xiaoji waspletely cut off. In the boundless sea of people, how were they going to find her? Han Zenan sincerely said, In dealing with the human traffickers, what can we, husband and wife, do? Coming back to his senses, Xu Ziling said, We will contact a man by the name of Lei Jiuzhi to meet with Han Xiong. He has been, in thousand ways, a hundred ns, thinking of ways to deal with the Xiang Family. Furthermore, he can arrange everything for Han Xiong, to ensure your safety. Han Xiong and Sao Furen may rest assured. And one more thing, please dont call me EnGong anymore. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Ziling is precisely this kind of benevolent-schr-righteous-hero who does not expect any repayment. About contacting Lei Dage, leave it to me. Ziling can rest and recuperate at ease. Han Zenan and Bai Xiaochang revealed a puzzled expression. Xu Ziling told them frankly, I was injured by the enemy, hence I must find a ce to treat my injury; I will leave soon, Han Xiong and Sao Furen can live as usual, when Lei Dage meet with you, he is going to make proper arrangement. Book 54 4 – Mysterious Karma

Book 54 Chapter 4 C Mysterious Karma

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Inside themander room of the main building inside the mountain stronghold, Kou Zhong slept until the sun set over western hills, until Wang Xuanshu woke him up. With a weird expression, thetter said, There is a little pickpocket, whose age isparable to Xuanshu, asking an audience with Shaoshuai. His head in the fog, Kou Zhong got out of bed and put on his clothes; muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Little pickpocket? Old pickpockets, I know not a few, Ziling being one of those. But little pickpocket, I dont even know half a person. Where did hee from? What is he looking for me for? While waiting upon him putting on the sheepskin robe that Chuchu personally sew for him, which had been through enough cmity, Wang Xuanshu replied, He imed to being from Xiangyang, rushing over here day and night nonstop, there is an important matter rted to your, Shaoshuais survival that he wants to report. He also insists that as long as we tell you about Xiangyangs little pickpocket, Shaoshuai will remember who he is. Kou Zhong muttered Xiangyangs little pickpocket twice; he shook his head and said, No recollection! Where is he? He is on the tform upstairs, Wang Xuanshu replied, This little pickpocket is very strange, he adamantly refused to let us search him. Seeing his delicate features, which does not look like a bad person, Ba Da Jiangjun opens the on one side [idiom: being lenient], but Shaoshuai please be careful. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, If I, this old pickpocket, fell into a little pickpockets scheme, I am indeed, not just in name only, but also in reality C an old cat whose tail got bitten by a mouse, a ship capsized inside the ditch [idiom: failing miserably (where failure was not expected)]. Wang Xuanshu spoke heavily, He came into the gorge via the entrance of the secret gorges southern ess. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong blurted out, What? Wang Xuanshu repeated what he said. Kou Zhongs countenance changed a few times. Shaking his head and smiling bitterly, he walked out of themander room. He saw the room outside was full of more than a hundred of his tired men, fast asleep, and heard the thunderous sound of their snoring like arge ensemble. Kou Zhong and Wang Xuanshu climbed a flight of stairs leading to the upper tform. Several dozens of construction battalion soldiers, under Chen Laomous leadership, were building a lookout tower, reaching up to three zhang tall C on the tform, which would be the highest point of the mountain stronghold. The giant log was lifted off the ground usingrge rope. Four Flying Cloud Guards were apanying an about sixteen, seventeen years old boy in a corner, waiting respectfully for Kou Zhongs arrival. In the mountain stronghold, the torches were zing high, more dazzling than the setting sun outside. The little pickpocket caught a glimpse of Kou Zhong, he jumped up with delight, open his arms wide and blurted out, Shaoshuai! Its me! Were it not for the Flying Cloud Guards grabbed his shoulders from both side, he would have been too excited to stay and would rush toward Kou Zhong. Focusing his attention to look, Kou Zhong recalled a long-forgotten memory. Letting out a longughter, he said, I could not figure out who it was, turns out it is indeed an old friend. Release him. Following the order, the Flying Cloud Guards relinquished their grip. The youngster ran straight toward Kou Zhong, while shouting out his protest, I told you guys Shaoshuai will remember me. That day in Xiangyang I had eyes but failed to recognize Mount Tai; I wanted Shaoshuais purse, but Shaoshuai caught me. However, Shaoshuai was not rmed, he did not beat me up ruthlessly, he even gave me an ingot of gold. Not only Shaoshuai is an unequalled hero [ying xiong] in the world, he is also a hero [hao han (lit. good man), a strong and courageous person] with great benevolence and great righteousness. I have never forgotten, not even one day C Shaoshuais great kindness and great virtue. While speaking excitedly, two clumps of red clouds arose on his snow-white, delicate and pretty C handsome face; he was talking and panting at the same time, which gave people a peculiar feeling. Kou Zhongughed and said to Wang Xuanshu, This Xiao Xiongdi [little brother] spoke the truth. In those days, I apanied Shang Xiuxun to Jingling, when we passed through Xiangyang, I came across this Xiao Xiongdi on the street. After that, I even encountered Lao Ba and Qu Aos disciples. [Trantors note: if you are interested, it happened in Book 10 Chapter 9; however, the youngster was described as a sixteen, seventeen years old boy, so after all these years, this person did not grow at all.] Wang Xuanshu, however, asked with grave expression, May I ask this Xiao Xiongdis honorable surname and great given name? How did you know we set up a stronghold here? The youngster replied, Everybody calls me Xiao Heer [lit. little crane], oh! I ... Noticing Kou Zhongs eyes were sizing him up and down, as if he knew something, immediately his handsome face turned red, the rose-tinted clouds at sunset color prated the base of his ears. Kou Zhong stretched out his big hand, heughed and said, Come, lets step aside and talk. Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Heer reached out with his delicate, long and fair hand, and let Kou Zhong grabbed it. Kou Zhong signaled Wang Xuanshu with his eyes, and led him toward the perimeter wall facing the mountain and fields. He smiled and said, Your visit is giving us a warning; I wonder if Li Shimin already knew the secret of the Tian Cheng Gorge? Xiao Heer sighed in praise, which came from the bottom of his heart, Shaoshuai is indeed brilliant and has divine martial art, your intelligence surpasses others. Xiangyangs defenders, the whole nest came out. Combined with the troops from the neighboring cities, the total number is more than fifteen thousand men, with Qu Tutong as themander-in-chief, they are advancing toward the Tian Cheng Gorges southern road exit. Inwardly Kou Zhong med his own negligence. Since someone changed the inscription of the secret gorges name, it must be a scenic spot that was known to everybody in neighboring ces. When Li Shimin saw him withdrawing to this side, naturally he was able to see that his destination must be the Tian Cheng Gorge, hence he immediately ordered Qu Tutong to rush to Xiangyang via the waterway, and gather the local city defenders to cut his escape route. If the south road exit was sealed tight, Kou Zhong would not be able to meet Ba Fenghans reinforcement, then his fate would definitely be total defeat of his army. Xiao Heers intelligence immediately threw him hard, from standing high in the clouds, back to the earth with a forehead full of cold sweats. Xiao Heer continued, The people of Xiangyang discuss Shaoshuai defending Luoyang and resisting the Tang Army spiritedly every day, but I am extremely worried about Shaoshuai; I constantly sought information, until finally heard that Shaoshuai seeded in breaking out the siege, only then did I breathe a sigh of relief a little bit. Four days ago, Qu Tutong arrived in Xiangyang. I knew something was not right, until I found out that Qu Tutongs destination was Tian Cheng Gorge, then I knew that Shaoshuai must be here. Come to think about it, its kind of hard to believe,ing into and going out of Xiangyang, I have been through Tian Cheng Gorge many times, yet I never thought it would look like this. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong ssaid, Qu Tutong is really not a rookie on the battlefield, how could he leak the destination of his troops? Taking the credit for his achievement, Xiao Heer said, Speaking about spying, Im afraid not many people in Xiangyang have my skills. Xiangyang has a very nasty Tang Armys low-grade general, not willing to spend money but love to brag. Of the Yao Yue Lou [lit. inviting/seeking the moon building]dies, no one likes him. However, when he is drunk, he leaks out all kinds of information. He said that this time it will be difficult for you, Shaoshuai to escape cmity. I did not believe his bragging, Shaoshuai cant possibly be dead, because Shaoshuai is the best person! Kou Zhong let go of his hand, he smiled and said, Turns out you have a spy in the pleasure house. Did you leave before the Tang Army set off? Xiao Heer said, I left one night earlier than they, plus I took shortcuts and rushed over nonstop. I was actually very tired that I feel like dying, but seeing Shaoshuai, for some reason my weariness ispletely gone, I feel so spirited that I can beat a fierce tiger to the death. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, ording to your estimate, if Qu Tutongs main forces travel day and right, when will they reach the south road exit? Seeing how Kou Zhong was open-minded and asked him question, with worry shown on his face, Xiao Heer thought carefully for half a day, before answering, They should arrive tomorrow at dusk. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Xiao Heer, you ought to know that it is quite possibly that your information may be the crucial point to the sess or failure of my battle with Li Shimin. Although you said you are not tired, I can see that you are tired. You might as well go to mymander room and have a good night sleep. I dont think youd want to crowd together with my brothers in the big tent. Xiao Heers handsome face turned beet-red, he hung his head down and spoke softly, Shaoshuai can see through Xiao Heer! Kou Zhong reached out to pull her head entirely into his bosom, he cheerfully said, We both are people of the same profession, the number one secret of sess in pickpocketing is to see people, if I cant even tell a man from a woman, what use is it for me to mingle among the people? Revealing a little girls bashful expression, Xiao Heer spoke softly, Can I call you Kou Dage? I always wanted to have a big brother. When you hacked and shattered Changshu Mous shield in Xiangyang that day, you dont know how sensational it was. It was only then did Xiao Heer know that the person upholding justice and giving me an ingot of gold was unexpectedly Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world. Kou Zhongs mind was thinking about how to deal with the covering-the-sun imminent crisis, he responded without thinking, From now on, I am Dage, you are Xiaomei [little sister]; Xiaomei has no family? Xiao Heers countenance darkened, her pair of eyes turned red, she spoke hoarsely, All died! Kou Zhong was ovee with pity, he patted her shoulder tofort her, and then he called a guard and ordered him to settle Xiao Heer in hismander room to rest. With grave expression, Wang Xuanshu came to his side, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Summon Mou Gong, Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang, we must have an emergency meeting immediately. Xu Ziling sat on the stern, his feet dangled over the water, his eyes gazed deeply at the sail boat cutting through the rippling waves of the rushing river, but his mind already flew to Shi Qingxuans residence in the hidden mountain. If everything went well, he ought to be able to see her tomorrow morning. An unprecedented expectation and a deep longing feeling overcame his heart. In this cold and heartless, winner would be king, brimming with hypocrisy, deceit and hatred, power struggle, and the troubled times, only Shi Qingxuans fragrant residence could be the Peach Garden where he could shun the world. But Kou Zhongs sess or failure was like a thorn piercing his heart, so that he knew that the life of happiness that he was seeking was still some unattainable distance away. How could he abandon the brother that has gone through life and death together with him since childhood? Whats more, the battle between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin has actually evolved into a struggle between them and the demonic school and the Tujue people. The sound of Hou Xibais, who was operating this approximately two zhang long sailboat Cughter was heard, he blurted out, A real pleasure! This small sailboats asking price is four ingots of gold; although it is four times more expensive than the usual price, it is still worth it. Without moving his gaze from the long river, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, One of the costs of war is to make everything more expensive, so that the peoples burden is a hundred catties heavier,mon people suffer unspeakable misery! War creates opportunities for only a small number of people, but until the world is unified, no one knows who the beneficiaries or the victims. Hou Xibai sighed and said, I know Ziling is worried about Kou Zhong, but for you, the top priority before our eyes is to throw away everything, to concentrate on treating your injury. Afterplete recovery, Ziling cane back out of retirement in the east mountain, roll the dust and start over. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Roll the dust and start over? The situation is still not that serious. At least Kou Zhong has not yet stepped on the trailing dust of the Western Chu Hegemon Xiang Yu. I am not worried about him, but worried about every single person of the Shao Shuai Army, which makes me feel that it is difficult to extricate myself from being rolled into this great vortex of contention for hegemony over the world. However, Xibai need not worry about me, because I am still optimistic about Kou Zhong. Hou Xibai asked in surprise, Ziling does not seem to be the kind of person whose natural disposition is optimistic, why is this matter any different? Xu Ziling looked up at the starry sky above, he said, Song Que definitely wont let Kou Zhong be defeated by Li Shimin. In the world today, can you find somebody who can rival Song Que plus Kou Zhong? That is impossible. This thought brings much pain in me, after all, Li Shimin is a man worthy of my respect and love. Hou Xibai was silent for half a day; he spoke heavily, Would you say that Feixuan mighte down the mountain the second time to help Li Shimin dealing with us? Xu Ziling spoke dejectedly, That would be thest thing I want to see. Hou Xibai said, But Feixuan cant possibly sit and watch Li Shimin being defeated. The problem is that in any case, she cannot go to the battlefield to move the de and y with the stick;manding battle is even more not her strong point. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, The immortal heart is difficult to fathom, we, mortals should not take the trouble to do that. Hou Xibai said, But we cant treat it as an idle chat either. My guess is that if she sets foot on the secr world again, the first person she wants to see will be you, Ziling. Revealing a helpless expression, Xu Ziling said, Song Que is moving his troops to go up north, the situation is no longer Kou Zhongs to control; even if Kou Zhong is willing to withdraw, he definitely cannot influence Song Ques divine sacred hearts intention to revive the unification of the Han people. Just like your Shi Shis making the revitalization of the Holy School his business. No one in the world will be able to reverse this situation. Furthermore, to a certain degree, the struggle between Kou Zhong and the Li n is dying the day Li Shimin will be harmed by his father and elder brother indefinitely. This is a good thing and not a bad thing at all. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Listening to you, I am more confused than ever. Ziling, youd better get a good nights sleep, when you open your eyes, the boat should be docked already! Xu Zilings mind turned back to Shi Qingxuan, an infinitely tender feeling welled up in his heart, hey down and closed his pair of eyes. Kou Zhong, Bing Yuanzhen, Ma Chang, Wang Xuanshu, Ba Yegang, and Ma Chang [sic. I think it ought to be Chen Laomou], six men sat on chairs made of tree stumps, in the lower level of the big building, surrounding a long, rectangr wooden table made of logs, coarse but sturdy, holding the first military conference after the establishment of the mountain stronghold, surrounded by piles of rations and fodder, wood and stones. The air was filled with the tension of mountain rain about to fall. After Kou Zhong exined the situation ording to the information brought by Xiao Heer, everybodys countenance changed; they felt deeply that the advantage was gone, furthermore, there was a dejected, lost feeling of falling into a danger spot. Kou Zhongs manner was still calm; he said, Li Shimin sent Qu Tutong to Xiangyang, that should be four, five days ago. At that time, Li Shimin was still being held up outside the hidden pond mountain, he did not know that our destination was Tian Cheng Gorge. Yet its like he can predict without being a irvoyant, he dispatched Qu Tutong to Xiangyang to mobilize the elite squad to cut our retreat route. What does that tell us? Everybody you looked at me I looked at you, nobody understood what Kou Zhong meant by telling them this. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. My negligence is underestimating Li Shimin, so that I made repeated mistakes. Fortunately Xiao Heer came from Xiangyang to alert us, it finally wakes me up. Ay! Li Shimin lives up to his famous reputation, he has deep understanding of the essence of the Art of Wars know the terrain. I can guarantee that he has a detailed topographical map of the area near Luoyang in his hand. It should be part of the preparation effort several years before attacking Luoyang. Therefore, that night, when we broke out the siege from the hidden exit of the Yi Luo mountain area, we met his frontal assault, the dead and injured were more than half! It was not because he came across us by lucky coincidence, but Li Shimin already guessed that we would take that exit and walk right into the trap. This time, it is also like that. He not only knew that we were not going to attack Xiangcheng, furthermore, we were not going to slip back to Chenliu, but to exploit Tian Cheng Gorges natural stronghold and defend our property to the death. Everybody suddenly saw the light. At the same time, they admired Kou Zhong for facing death yet did not panic. In this moment where there were enemies in front and behind, he was still cool-headed enough to make detailed analysis on Li Shimin, he was deeply aware of the know yourself, know your enemy principle. Bing Yuanzhen said, If we immediately withdraw via the south road of the gorge path, we should be able to pounce directly to the Huai River before the enemy seals off the retreat route. There is still a ray of opportunity to live. Kou Zhong sighed again and said, If we do that, that will be something that Li Shimin seeks but fail to get. With Li Shimins deep knowledge of the Art of War, he would never care about the gains and losses of one ces army, but would have his eyes on the overall victory or defeat. He might give up pursuing and attacking us on the mouth of the gorge, but move his troops to attack Chenliu, and continue to sweep Pengliang using the like-a-hot-knife-through-butter momentum. Combined with Li Zitong attacking Zhongli and Gaoyou from the front and rear, the Song Familys main forcesing to help will have no room to advance or to retreat. And our fleeing army will still have Qu Tutongs fifteen-thousand-man army, who has been preserving and nurturing their spirit, chasing our tail to kill. Even if we could escape back to Zhongli, our fate will only be waiting to be surrounded and ughtered. Therefore, we must defend Tian Cheng Gorge to the death, to firmly curb Li Shimins main forces in here. Ba Yegang said, Li Shimins military force is ten times ours, since the escape route is sealed, he only needs to leave twenty, thirty thousand men and the great general under hismand to be in charge on his behalf, then he still can easily move his troops to attack Chenliu. The situation wont change that much. Kou Zhong smiled and said, How could Li Shimin feel at ease in leaving his men to deal with me, Kou Zhong? And Heaven still does not want me, Kou Zhong to perish, thereupon He sent Xiao Heer to bring intelligence to me. This time, Qu Tutonge not to seal the road, but to throw away his life, perhaps I can still follow our original n to take advantage of their weakness to seize Xiangyang. At that time, it will be another situation altogether. Hearing that, Ma Chang and the others you looked at me I gazed at you, they did not understand how in such a disadvantageous position Kou Zhong still had a card up his sleeve like this. However, Xiao Heers arrival to bring warning was indeed a part of the mysterious karma, as if there was a dark power of the underworld at y. Relying on his seniority, Chen Laomou said with a deep frown, Our military strength is less than five thousand men; by looking after this thing, we will lose that thing. If we go against Li Shimins main forces, we cannot divide the troops to deal with Qu Tutong. Even if our whole army came out, I am afraid we still cannot resist Qu Tutongs military power, which is three times ours; what makes Shaoshuai this confident? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, How many days do you think we can confidently hold out in here? Ma Chang replied with confidence, Unless our arrows are exhausted and our provisions are gone, Li Shimin can forget about capturing the mountain stronghold. Wang Xuanshuughed happily and said, What he is saying is that we can hold out for twenty to thirty days, including killing the horses to fill our belly. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, That will work! Without using a single troop, a single soldier from this stronghold, I will take Qu Tutong, who believe himself infallible to seal off the southern road; I will move one step ahead, by taking advantage of the dark, to leave the gorge path in secret via the south road exit, to hurry to meet Lao Ba and his reinforcements, and then carry the firearms to mount sneak attack toward Qu Tutongs troops from behind. Because I know the route that Lao Ba is going to take, plus I have Wuming to be my eyes in the sky, everything should go without a hitch. Hearing that, none did not have his spirit greatly aroused. Its not that they had not thought about this matter, its just that no one knew the quantity, as well as the formidable power, of the firearms, as clearly as Kou Zhong did. Chen Laomou spoke in great delight, If we could inflict heavy losses on Qu Tutongs main forces, perhaps we will really have a chance to seize the opportunity to take Xiangyang. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, This is called you have a good scheme, I have adder to climb over the wall. I have already suffered both the worst and the most grievous defeat in battle, I definitely will not let history to be repeated. Turning to Chen Laomou, he said, Chen Gong must immediately send your men to reinforce the southern road exit defense. Furthermore, send the men to watch closely the situation on that side, such as detecting whether Qu Tutong is under attack, then you take that opportunity to immediately divide the troops to go out and attack; strike the routed enemys troops as much as possible. I can predict that this is not a battle, but a ruthless massacre. The victor will be called king; nothing good to say about this. War is a heartless game to see which sides injury is heavier. Stirring himself up, Chen Laomou said, Shaoshuai, dont worry, leave everything to me. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Heers life experience is pitiful, hence she disguises herself as a young street ruffian. Gentlemen must not reveal her identity as a woman, naturally you must take a special care of her. Wang Xuanshu obtained a sudden understanding, No wonder she wont let us search her; its really embarrassing. Letting out his weirdughter, Chen Laomou said, If she is a girl, she must be very pretty. Ma Chang teasingly said, Xuanshu Gongzi is about the same age as she is, it should be most appropriate if Gongzi is taking care of her. Wang Xuanshus handsome face blushed slightly, he did not know how to respond. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This is called Heaven never bars ones way. It is alsoing across life on a danger spot. Victory and defeat are only a fine line apart. Ill hand over this ce to gentlemen, Dage. The most important thing is to bluff, to make Li Shimin believe that I am still inside the mountain stronghold. Chen Laomouughed and said, Cant we find one among several thousand men to be disguised as Shaoshuai? As long as the fake Shaoshuai moves his hands and feet on the top tform, it should be enough to deceive Li Shimin. Leave this matter to me. Rising to his full height, Kou Zhong said, Li Shimin could be here tomorrow, but without a few days of work, he could forget aboutunching any attack. At that time, Qu Tutongs army will already be utterly defeated! Ha! The crowd of generals responded with a roar. Book 54 5 – The Holy One of the Dhyana School

Book 54 Chapter 5 C The Holy One of the Dhyana School

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang were sending Kou Zhong and Wuming off to the southern exit at the end of the Tian Cheng Gorge. Ba Yegang sighed and said, Shaoshuai and Wang Shichong are twopletely different persons; on the battlefield, you are always fighting at the head of the troops, charging and breaking through the enemy lines. Bing Yuanzhen said, Shaoshuai is different from anyone else; even Mi Gong at the height of his power, the period where he had respect for the wise C still cannot bepared to Shaoshuaispleteck of arrogance, who gives his bare heart into our keeping [idiom:plete trust]. Kou Zhong reached out with both hands to grab the two mens shoulder on his left and right, heughed and said, One day bing brothers, we are brothers for life, enjoying blessings and enduring misfortune together. We are throwing our lives in for each other; this is the real meaning of treating-one-another-with-absolute-sincerity brotherhood. Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang both revealed a touched expression. Kou Zhong was not someone who speak empty words; he would undertake the most dangerous mission by himself, so that the men under him could reap where they had not sown. Ba Yegang was emotional as he said, That day outside the Yi Luo northwest mountain area I was intercepted by the Tang Army, disregarding life and death Shaoshuai came back to block the pursuing troops for Yegang. At that time, Yegang made up my mind that even if I have to offer my life in sacrifice, I vowed to follow Shaoshuai to the end. To be able toe across Shaoshuai, this kind of Bright Ruler with great kindness, great righteousness, it is Yegangs good fortune. Bing Yuanzhen deeply felt the same way, he said, The final victory will be ours. By this time, the three arrived in front of the wooden log gate of the fence at the south exit of the gorge, about a dozen Shao Shuai Army soldiers guarding the gate heard Bing Yuanzhens remark, they all shouted in unison, The final victory will be ours. Kou Zhong threw his head back in longughter; letting go of his hands on the two mens shoulders, he said, The more difficult and the more challenging it is, the more it will show our Shao Shuai Armys mighty power, the sweeter the victory will be, the more we can disy the true splendor of life. I hope we all are willing to work together. The crowd of officers and soldiers responded in thunderous roar, their voices moved the gorge path. Kou Zhong also inquired solicitously about his mens, who guarded the exit C well-being, every word he spoke was heartfelt, so that they were moved. Asking about the situation outside the exit, the captain replied respectfully, Following Mou Gongs order, Shuxia sent out scouts to keep watch on high ces outside, we did not see any movement. Kou Zhong said, The situation has changed, Mou Gong is going to reinforce the defensive structure on this side, you can immediately call the brothers outside back; as long as we guard the exit well, it should be all right. The captain issued an order, his men received the order and blew the bugle horn to summon the scouts to return to the gorge. Kou Zhong released Wuming; she surveyed the situation far and near from the high altitude. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Qu Tutong did not send anybody to scout their route first, it must be because he does not want to beat the grass to scare the snake, to arouse our attention. But I am sure that he has his men in distant ces where we cannot see to monitor us closely. As soon as there is any sign that we are sneaking away from this side, we will be ambushed by their surprise attack. Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang nodded their head in agreement. Qu Tutong was a famous general of the Sui Dynasty, since he surrendered to the House of Tang, his military sess was shining even more, time and again he rendered great service. This time he bore heavy responsibility, naturally he would not dare to be careless. Staring fixedly at Wuming, already turning into a ck dot in the night sky, Kou Zhong said, About fifty li to the west, there are enemies, their number is not a few; they must be Qu Tutongs vanguard troops. Looking at the route they are taking, they could arrive here tomorrow afternoon. You guys must not underestimate the enemy. Bing Yuanzhen spoke with serious expression, Shaoshuai may rest assured. Kou Zhong looked around at the situation of the gorge path, at the exit, the path on this section of the mountain was only about three zhang at the widest part, and was less than two zhang at the narrowest part. He spoke heavily, Although the gorge path is not conducive to attack, but to go out and attack the enemy outside is equally difficult. Time does not allow us to set up enough rampart and stronghold defensive structure; we can only settle for the second best by spending some effort inside the gorge path. Bing Yuanzhen said, We have arge quantity of wood, we could set up barrier here. The problem is that we wont be able to correspond with Shaoshuai to attack the enemy from the front and the rear. That method is not feasible, Ba Yegang said, The enemy can easily approach the exit from two near sides, if they throw some fire, the burning wood will put us in a very difficult situation; if the south wind is blowing, the whole gorge will be flooded with thick smoke. Fortunately, currently the blowing wind is either northwesterly or northeasterly, otherwise, the thick smoke is enough to drive us off the gorge path. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Lucky that Yegang reminded us of that possibility. The enemys fire attack is certainly very sinister and a hard-to-deal-with killer move. I have been wondering why after reaching Xiangyang, Qu Tutong had to wait a couple of days before setting out; at first I thought that was the time required to mobilize the troops, but when I think clearly, it just does not make any sense. Because in order for the Xiangyang city defenders to guard against us breaking out the siege to the south, they should already make adequate preparation while waiting for dawn, with their head resting on a spear; they should be able to march their troops to battle any moment. Now I begin to think that Qu Tutong is rushing to manufacture blowers to create artificial southerly wind, to drive the thick smoke into the gorge. This is the best marvelous move to break the gorge path defense. Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegangs countenance changed at the same time. Recovering his cool-headedness, Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, Since we can think of the enemys strategy, we can also think of a strategy to break the enemy. We can ask Mou Gong to build a number of heavily sealed up big dirt and rock vertical sliding gates at the exit, and we make it as high as possible. Then we set up archers, stone throwers and blowers on the top of the wall, the first two are to deal with the enemy, and thest one is to deal with the thick smoke. So what if we have to give up a section of the road outside the exit? Bing Yuanzhen cheerfully said, I am afraid there is no difficult problem in the world that Shaoshuai cannot solve. In that case, we build the first smoke and fire wall six hundred paces away from the mouth of the gorge, then when the enemy enters the gorge path, they will be entirely exposed inside our shooting range. Ba Yegangs confidence fully restored, he said with augh, If necessary, we can also fight fire with fire, to choke them to death. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, The most important thing is to be flexible in meeting a contingency. We also need to have a pool here like the one in the mountain stronghold. If necessary, we can use soaked cloth to cover our mouth and nose, to prevent against the thick smoke choking us; the enemy wont have this convenience. Ha! This moment the vertical sliding gate opened, one after another the scouts came back to the gorge. Kou Zhong said, I will leave this ce to gentlemen, Xiaodi is leaving. With a longughter, he went out the sliding gate and flew into the deep dark wilderness. Ziling! Ziling! Xu Ziling woke up from the deepest meditation. In fact, he was in an unusually marvelous condition, his heart and spirit were like heaven and earth roaming together, blending into one. Although the yongquan [gushing spring] acupoint at the soles of his feet still could not absorb the essence of heaven and earth, but the arch of the heart of his left foot was starting to get slightly hot, while the arch of his right foot was getting slightly cold. This has never happened after his injury, but instead of being rmed, he was happy, because it could be considered that he was getting better. It was as if he was retreating into the infinite depths of the ocean of his spirit; Hou Xibais voice calling him was bringing him back, once again he sensed his seriously injured body and he was returning to the world of the living. He opened his eyes and found the sailboat was sailing into a hidden ce in a dense forest by the shore of a small tributary, while the River Huai was flowing slowly behind him, What is it? he asked in surprise. Hou Xibai spoke in low voice, Upstream ahead, there is a fleet of five ships, flying the banner of the Haisha Bang. They are busy unloading batch after batch of goods to both shores, and another group of Gang people seem to be receiving the goods. I dont want a new branch grows out of a knot, I am thinking of waiting for them to leave before we continue our journey. Xu Ziling said, Lets go ashore and sneak over to take a look. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, In this kind of situation, it is better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Ay! Im saying things like this, would Ziling feel that I am too wordy? Xu Ziling smiled and said, You are giving thought to me! But I have some ominous premonition; I am afraid that this may be an operation against Du Fuwei. Haisha Bangs current Bangzhu You Qiuyan has close rtionship with the demonic school, Fu Gongyou is a man with demonic school background, since we came across them by coincidence, naturally we have to see what exactly is going on. Perhaps the goods being transported is another batch of vicious firearms with tremendous destructive power. Hou Xibai quickly and smoothly epted other peoples correct opinions [idiom], he cheerfully said, Since we have such a good reason, well have to see what exactly is going on. Dang! When Kou Zhong heard the sound, his scalp went numb, he stopped in the wilderness, not daring to believe his ears; to other people, the sound of a bell was like evening drum, morning bell, abundant with auspicious and peaceful air. However, to him it was like the charm destroying the [immortal] soul and breaking the [mortal] soul. It was not the first time that he heard precisely the same bell. At the head of the Tianjin Bridge in Luoyang, he had heard it once. But this moment, twenty li from Tian Cheng Gorge, the sound pierced through his eardrums again. Maybe it represented hisplete defeat, his brilliant scheme woulde out empty. Sure enough, Liao Kongs voice rang behind him, saying, Liao Kong pays his respect to Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong issued an order, telling Wuming to fly off his shoulder to soar into a high altitude to scout the situation, and then he slowly turned around to face the holy monk in charge of the Jing Nian Chanzong. Under the illumination of the starry sky, Liao Kong Dashis Dharma countenance was solemn, his right hand was holding a glittering golden small bell, his pair of eyes emitted a divine glorious light, he firmly looked at Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Why would Dashi want to be drawn into the struggle between Xiaozi [this kid] and Li Shimin? Revealing a hint of indifferent smile, Liao Kong spoke softly, How could those who had left their home have the desire to wade inside the matter of the dusty world? Qin Wang sent his men to tell Lao Na [old cassock] that Shaoshuai already reached the-mountain-and-river-exhausted situation, hoping that Lao Na could personally be the mediator to speak to Shaoshuai; if Shaoshuai is willing to disband the Shao Shuai Army, Qin Wang agrees to let Shaoshuaie back safely to Chenliu. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Li Shimin really knows how to call on someone. But how did Dashi know that I would slip out of the southern road exit to relieve boredom? Liao Kong said, Its all thanks to Qin Wangs direction. He said that when Shaoshuai discovers Xiangyangs army is approaching, he would personally travel to Zhongli, to lead the troops toe to resolve the hard-pressed Tian Cheng Gorges southern road. Therefore, Lao Na is waiting respectfully here, and this moment confirmed that Qin Wang did not speak empty words; it is thus clear that Shaoshuais movements are entirely within Qin Wangs calction. Kou Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. Li Shimin was, after all, a mortal and not an immortal; not only he did not know that Kou Zhong was not going to Zhongli to seek help, he also did not guess that Kou Zhong had a batch of firearms in his possession. Liao Kong continued, Qin Wang also wants Lao Na to give Shaoshuai a word of advice. The Shao Shuai Army in Zhongli has been ced under close supervision of another Tang Armys navy fleet, they are unable to move a single step; Shaoshuais trip this time will only be in vain. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs heart was full of admiration. Li Shimin was worthy to be called an outstanding expert in military strategy and tactics, battles and military affairs of the present age. In the troop deployment everywhere, he seized the initiative and upied the upper hand. If there were no firearms as part of this secret-attack-ruthless-camp move, this moment he would have bowed down to admit defeat. Hastilyposing himself, he recovered his cool-headedness, took a deep breath, and said, I wonder if Dashis trip this time is merely to give me advice in goodwill. Supposing Xiaozi obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way, Dashi will simply chant Amitabha Buddha and then without even looking back you return to the Chanyuan to continue practicing Zen Buddhist meditation, while Xiaozi will continue my journey? Liao Kong Dashi put a single palm in front of his chest in a greeting posture while chanting one of the many names of Buddha. He looked down and spoke serenely, Sin! Sin! Those who had left their homes should not mind the dusty worlds affairs, but since this matter concerns themon people of the world, Lao Na received Qin Wangs trust to do everything to persuade Shaoshuai to withdraw from this dispute. Therefore, I decided not to leave Shaoshuais side at this moment, until Shaoshuai is willing to give thought to the people of Pengliang. Please consider Lao Nas proposal. Kou Zhong never expected that he would have this move. Hearing that, he was dumbstruck. If Liao Kong was following him like this, the entire counter-offensive n would be a joke. Looking up to the sky, Wumings flight posture was telling him that there were no other enemies nearby, inwardly he felt a bit better. Smiling wryly, he said, I wonder if Dashi has already seen through that Xiaozi is unwilling to use force against you? Liao Kong smiled and said, Shaoshuais words are too heavy! Lao Na only wants to exin with action. Qin Wang already opened the on one side for Shaoshuai. If the one waiting here is not Lao Na but the great general under Qin Wangs banner and thousands of Dark Armored Warriors, what would happen? Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Then Xiaozi would be very happy, because my spirited bird would find their trace one step ahead, and thus Xiaozi could change ording to the situation, perhaps I could even make Qin Wang suffer lost soldiers and broken generals. Liao Kong sighed and said, So it seems that Shaoshuai still refused to stop. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, There is something that Xiaozi does not understand, and I wish to consult Dashi. Liao Kong solemnly replied, Shaoshuai, please give directions. Kou Zhong spoke slowly, word-by-word, The Buddhist and Taoist, two schools, arent they enemies with the demonic schools Two Sects and Six Ways? Dashi knew clearly that internally, the Li n has been corroded and corrupted by the demonic school, including the Tujue people, who have ambition of wild wolves toward our Central Earth. To a great extent, Li Shimins life and death are linked to my, Kou Zhongs life and death. The day Li Shimin returning in triumph to the imperial court will be the day the hound will be boiled once the rabbit is caught. If I, Kou Zhong, epted Dashis proposal to disband the Shao Shuai Army, it would be tantamount to doing the demonic school a huge favor. In the end, the ones receiving the benefit would not be anyone in the Central Earth, but Xieli, who has been uniting the various tribes on the prairies beyond the Great Wall. Liao Kong called one of the many names of Buddha, he said, The unity and peace of the world, how could it be an easy thing that can be done overnight? Qin Wang has been mentally prepared for this. Shaoshuais words are not without any reason, however, you have not considered the consequences. If Shaoshuai can sessfully establish a country, the world will be a north-south confrontation, the fire of war extends continuously, people are in a terrible situation, outside tribes will seize the opportunity to invade, the Central Earth will again fall into all-split-up-and-in-pieces chaotic situation. Since Shaoshuai already has the heart to save the world and to scald the demon, why not do everything to rectify the situation and help Qin Wang to bring order out of chaos, to let all the people to pass the auspicious days of happiness and peace? Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Dashis remark makes me think a hundred times yet fail to understand; why do you want me, Kou Zhong to surrender to Li Shimin, and not Li Shimin being a courtier to me? Ultimately, Dashi is, from head to tail [idiom: through and through] baring one shoulder [idiom: to side with or to discriminate in favor of]. Furthermore, you are not being fair. Dashi should know how many of myrades-in-arms died tragically under the Tang Armys soldiers de. Li Shimin and I are already two separate powers, either he died or I perished. Tranquil and calm, Liao Kong spoke indifferently, Either you die or I perish, that is indeed the best portrayal of the war. Shaoshuai chose the road to contention for hegemony, you should have thought that this situation is bound to happen, blood hatred will only umte deeper and deeper. Lao Na is willing to speak to Shaoshuai on Qin Wangs behalf, it ispletely without any intention to bare one shoulder toward Qin Wang, but only giving consideration to the present situation. I am proposing the best rmendation to Shaoshuai, hoping that both sides can stop this dagger-axe, to avoid bringing disaster uponmon people. Amitabha Buddha! Kou Zhong looked up at the night sky, he spoke heavily, One day I, Kou Zhong, is still alive, to whom the deer falls is still unknown. I have a better proposal, I wonder if Dashi is willing to listen. Liao Kongs eyes looked at his nose, his nose looked at his heart, his Dharma eyes were hidden, his treasured countenance solemn, he said, Lao Na respectfully listen to Shaoshuais proposal. Letting out a longughter, Kou Zhong said, Very well! Dashi has already guessed my intention! Like Bi Xuan said, ultimately, war is resolved using martial art, not on negotiating table. Ill make a bet against Dashi, supposing Dashi can defeat me, I will immediately disband the Shao Shuai Army, bend my head, and admit defeat. Dashi naturally can even kill me, naturally Shao Shuai Army will copse like disappearing smoke. However, if Dashi cannot do anything to me, please return to Chanyuan immediately, in the future dont mind the matter between Li Shimin and me. Liao Kong seemed to listen to Kou Zhong without hearing; he did not show any reaction, but suddenly, Dang! the Dhyana bell produced a clear ring, Liao Kong called on one of the many names of Buddha, his countenance serene, he said, Lao Na has not fought against anybody for nearly thirty years, I really do not wish to rush indiscriminately by raising the weapons of war. Is it possible for Lao Na to put a ten-move limit? As long as one of us is forced into the disadvantageous position, then that side can be considered lost. Kou Zhong smiled and asked, And then what? Liao Kong opened his eyes to look at him, the expression showing in his eyes became unfathomably deep, the holy light was shing, he also smiled in return and said, Naturally if Lao Na loses, per our agreement, I will return to the meditation room to sit facing the wall, to repent from being easily moved by unwarranted thought. Qiang! Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well left its scabbard, it pointed to Liao Kong over a distance. At that moment, it was as if Liao Kong suddenly melted into the night sky above, vast without boundary, infinite Dharma power, nowhere was not a w that anybody could take advantage of, yet also not one w anybody could take advantage of. The expression showing in his eyes, which was abundant with wisdom, transcending the worldly affairs, deep and wide C seemed to be able to prate every intention in Kou Zhongs heart, nothing was overlooked, nothing was missed. Some kind dread and reverence feeling, which he himself was unable to exin, welled up from deep within Kou Zhongs heart, a state of mind that he had never experienced before in any battle with the enemy, just like when climbing a mountain and one was suddenly confronted with the pulling force of a thousand-de perilous peak, or when sailing on a boat in an angry sea at night, struggling against high waves and rapid wind, far from the shore, which created a powerless feeling that one would not be able to ovee. The copper bell in Liao Kongs right hand seemed to be more than ten thousand jin heavy, but it also seemed like it was as light as a feather; it was both enormous like a mountain, also empty and distant and indistinct like nothingness. The pit of Kou Zhongs stomach was tightening and closing, he nearly vomited blood. Liao Kong chanted softly, Three worlds are only in the heart, ten-thousand Dharma is only knowledge. No need to pursue, it was entirely created in the heart; there is no Dharma outside the heart, mysterious yellow fills the eyes, everything is enough. Kou Zhong pulled one step back, his mind entered the Moon in the Well realm, the mother earth his feet were standing on expanded in all directions, straight toward the border of the sky and the corner of the ocean. The Heaven and the Earth melted into one, and he himself became the core of the universe. Heaven, Earth, and Man became inseparable, there was no other, no self. The Liao Kong in his vision immediately reverted back to material object. Although there was still no w to find, it was no longer something elusive that he would not be able grasp. His spirit became highly concentrated, the true qi within his body, the yang changed from moving extremely toplete stop, and the yin from standing still extremely to moving, following its natural changes; nothing defended, nothing was forgotten, nothing was restrained, nothing was released, nothing increased, nothing decreased, everything was going through divine changes naturally. The true qi condensed at the tip of his de, forming qi power, which carried square within circle, and carried circle within square, attacking toward Liao Kong. His move was precisely the most mysterious Square and Circle within the Eight Methods of the Well. It is thus clear that he considered Liao Kong very formidable. Yet Liao Kong was able to use stillness to attack movement, disying the Buddhist-style marvelous move of No Attack, so that Kou Zhong sank down to passive position, afterwards steadily taking the lead. Even with Liao Kongs level of cultivation, he still could not help revealing an astonished expression. The copper bell moved to the front of his chest, it appeared to be slow but was actually fast. The timing bore some resemnce with the long-life measurement of the heaven and earth, a mysterious feeling of the holy truth corresponding with divine spirited power. He chanted, Shaoshuais single de enters straight, so straight that its character can be seen. If you could study a moment of enlightenment, all living things will be Buddhas. Kou Zhongs eyes no longer saw him, but the copper bell in front of his eyes expanded infinitely. He knew that he had no other choice even more, this saber strike simply had to be released, he simply had to attack. However, if he did so, in less than three moves, he would have to abandon his saber and admit defeat, because for the second time, his mind was under Liao Kongs Zen power. Kou Zhong let out a muffled snort, the Moon in the Well turned into yellow light, striking straight toward Liao Kongs boundless Dharma Dhyana Bell. Liao Kongs Dharma-method martial art was definitely above any one of the Four Holy Monks; this was something that Kou Zhong was unable to imagine or guess before the battle started. Too bad he did not have any way to turn back. Book 54 6 – Effective Cure, Miracle Medicine

Book 54 Chapter 6 C Effective Cure, Miracle Medicine

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were hiding in a dense forest on the south bank of the Huai River, looking to the other side, at the five huge three-mast ship docking on a makeshift simple and crude pier, to enable the men of Haisha Bang to transport boxes after boxes of heavy goods to the shore, under the direction of their Gang Leader, the Mermaid You Qiuyan, and her left and right lieutenants, the Fat Assassin You Gui and the Charging General Ling Zhigao. It was clear that the freight this time was not some random goods like illegal salt business; otherwise, why would they need to trouble the three peoples honored selves? On the shore, there were nearly a hundred freight wagons. As soon as the goods reached the shore, immediately another group of strong-looking men loaded the goods into the mysterious wagons. Two groupsbined, there were more than seven hundred men, therefore, it was very noisy. Hou Xibai whispered in Xu Zilings ear, One group is Haisha Bang, who is the other group? Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the several people on the shore. The most noticeable was a beautiful young woman among them, standing side-by-side with a handsome, grand-looking young man, their manner was sneaky. Next to them, there was a bold and powerful elderly man, the lower half of whose face was covered in moustache and beard. He was talking to You Qiuyan, but because it was across the river, even if Xu Zilings power was not damaged, he still would not be able to eavesdrop. Its Yingyang Lang Jiang [Soaring Hawk Youth General] Liang Shidus people. That arrogant-looking young man is Liang Shidus son, Liang Shunming. The elderly man and the girl are Liang Shidus sworn brother Shen Tianquns elder brother Shen Naitang and his daughter Shen Qushuang [see Book 2 Chapter 2]. I am almost certain that this single transaction must have Shen Tianqun threading a needle [in-between] for them. Revealing a weird expression, Hou Xibai muttered, Liang Shidu? Liang Shidu? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, Whats the problem with Liang Shidu? Xibai cant possibly never heard of him? Liang Shidu and Liu Wuzhou are both hunting dogs for the Tujue people, plus they are martial art brothers from the same school. Hou Xibai said, I had heard Shi Shi and An Long mentioned this name. At that time I was only two or three years old, and Liang Shidu was not yet known by everyone like today. I can no longer remember the content of their conversation at that time, however; it was only because Liang Shidus name is very sweet-sounding that I was particrly impressed. In that case, there is a high likelihood that Liang Shidu has rtionship with your Holy School, or at least with people from the Holy School. Xibais information is quite useful. Hou Xibai said, I wonder if the thing inside those boxes are really firearms? Xu Ziling replied, The possibility is quite high, because the shape, size and weight areparable with the boxes that we stole. Jiangnans firearms are the most famous, if you are dealing in this kind of business, you could make a teful of divine profit. Thinking hard, Hou Xibai said, Unless its a specific environment, firearms wont be too useful. Liang Shidu traveled over a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers toe here to receive the goods, while also going to take the risk in transporting it back to the north, what is the reason? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, My guess is that this batch of firearms is not going to be transported back to Liang Shidus territory, but somewhere nearby, perhaps it is your Holy School people reusing their old trick, in order to hide from peoples eyes and ears, hence they use Liang Shidu as their proxy; it must have something to do with some conspiracy. Lets not think about this too much, theyre almost done, wed better go back! Kou Zhong had no choice but to release the saber strike, but the initiative was entirely in the opponents hands. This C because Kou Zhong and the others stole the Jade Annulus of He n had opened his golden mouth, and because Kou Zhong vited a religious precept had to make his move, who had mastered Buddhist Great Method sessfully that he recovered his youthfulness C Zhuchi [manager] of the Jing Nian Chanyuan was definitely the biggest challenge and the biggest test for him after Ning Daoqi and Shi Zhixuan. Liao Kong set a ten-move limit, if at the beginning Kou Zhong immediately fell into the disadvantageous position, undoubtedly one mistake would bring the whole te down, he would not be able to reverse the disadvantage within the remaining nine moves so that both sides divide the autumn color evenly [both have equal share]. Therefore, this saber strike was really rted to Kou Zhongs future fate, so much so that it would also rte to the fate of the world. The heart knew he must stop, but his spirit wanted to go; flowing naturally, Kou Zhong put the essence, qi and spirit of his whole body absolutely concentrated into the de of the Moon in the Well. Immediately the most mysterious thing happened; he blended and melt the Heaven, Earth, and Man, three into one mind and intention realm, and transferred it into the divine weapon in his hand. The saber strike was no longer a saber move that was forced to chop, rather, it wrapped and blended the Heaven, Earth, and Man, three boundaries. Apart from the saber, there was no other object. If, outside of Luoyang, facing Li Shimins numerous-like-a-cloud great generals, ten-thousand horses and a thousand soldiers, Dou Jiandes death was the beginning of his understanding of the saber, then this moment was the breakthrough where he enjoyed the results. Liao Kong was forced to meet the attack head-on, Kou Zhong was no longer unable to fathom, unable to grasp. Liao Kong called one of the many names of Buddha, and then he chanted, Various Dharma is like a dream, it would have been nothing, the dreand would have been silent, no present time, only emptiness. Dream is made, dream is endured, what harm, what benefit, what to lose C feeling is promptly forgottenpletely. While he was chanting, suddenly thousands and hundreds ofyers of bell shadow appeared in front of Kou Zhongs eyes, hiding the sky and covering the earth, like Mount Tai pressing down on top of his head. If it were the Kou Zhong before he obtained the saber way, this moment he would be in a very difficult situation; however, he could clearly grasp the exact moment the copper bell was spinning to knock against the de of his saber, and then Liao Kong retreated, his hand left the copper bell, he controlled the bell to attack from a distance, purely relying on Dhyana Schools refined and pure power, which he had umted for over several decades. Kou Zhongs eyes were dazzled, the Moon in the Well in his hand clearly understood all mystery. Furthermore, he sensed that the copper bell was spinning rapidly like a windmill, it was precisely the wonderful move to restrain and focus on the spiraling qi power. Letting out a longughter, Kou Zhong said, Ten moves is too few! Suddenly he staggered to evade the copper bell, and then using a cun--size withdrawal, he took a step toward Liao Kongs right side, while brandishing his saber to hack horizontally, appearing to be clumsy but was actually ingenious. Moreover, it continuously disappeared, but carrying a strike, without following any rule or trajectory that could be sought, in deep conformance with the heaven and earths naturalw,pletely without any trace, the man and the saber melted into the heaven and the earth, difficult to tell which one is which. Dang! Right this moment, the copper bell produced another humming noise like evening drum and divine bell, so that no matter what realm Kou Zhong already reached, he still did not expect that Liao Kong might have this move. It was like the clear sound that came from faintly discernible Ninth Heavens mysterious world, absolutely not something that the Moon in the Well was able to probe. Since he could not grasp its position, naturally it posed enormous threatening power to him. Immediately Kou Zhongs saber intention lost in the enemy hands, from high in the sky, the originally victory-already-within-grasp saber strike fell back down to the secr world. Before his eyes, Liao Kong became severalyers of shadow, plus countless palm shadows, which was difficult to tell which one was real, which one was an illusion. In the back of his mind, he even sensed that the copper bell was circling back in the air to attack. Helpless, he pulled his saber back and retreated, relying on his unique schools skill of changing true qi C to withdraw to the side, the Moon in the Well turned intoyer uponyer of saber shadow, leaving behind streak upon streak of saber qi, formless, yet solid C to guard against Liao Kong seizing the opportunity to attack. The copper bell safely returned into Liao Kongs hand. Kou Zhong retreated more than ten steps away from Liao Kong. The Moon in the Well pointed at Liao Kong from a distance, unexpectedly the saber qi failed to lock this very able person of the Dhyana School, making him feel as powerless as facing lofty mountain and harsh peak. Liao Kongs countenance solemn, his eyes were fixed on the Dhyana bell in his hand. Kou Zhong exhaled very, very slowly, and then he said, The incantation of Dashis copper bell is more formidable than Zilings. How many moves was it just now? Liao Kong revealed a smile, but he still did not look at Kou Zhong; tranquil and calm, he spoke indifferently, I am not sure, it seemed like one move. And then heughed and said, If Shaoshuai considers right or wrong, almost everything is fabricated, seeing the appearance of all things [Buddhism concept] is not the actual appearance, just like seeing Tathagatha. Shaoshuais saber technique already reached the advancing-into-prying-everything level. Upon self-introspection, Lao Na is unable to make Shaoshuai bend your head and admit defeat; so what if it is only ten moves? What if a hundred moves? No appearance is an appearance, an appearance is not an appearance. Song Que has finally found the sessor of the Heavenly Saber Method. Coming in confusion, obtaining a sh of understanding through hard work. Lao Na immediately return to Dhyana mountain, and will no longer interfere in the affairs between Shaoshuai and Qin Wang. He turned around with a swagger and left. Carrying the bell in his hand, he called loudly, Please send Liao Kongs regards to Ziling. Thisst sentence was spoke in singing style, as if he was reciting the Buddhist scripture, but not exactly reciting, like a song, carrying a hard-to-describe impression, but also unusually pleasant to the ears, so that those who hear it would find it difficult to forget. While the voice was still lingering in the ear, Liao Kong already disappeared inside the dark deste forest. Kou Zhong was still staring at the ce where he disappeared; he was certain that what happened tonight would never be forgotten, not only because his saber method made another breakthrough and achievement, but more than that, because Liao Kongs each and every move, each and every word and action, was abundant with Buddhist allegory. Thest sentence even carried a great deal of deep meaning, while also stirring inside him intense longing and concern toward Xu Ziling. ording to reason, he should have recovered early on, why hasnt hee to meet him? While operating the sailing boat against the current westbound, Hou Xibai looked at Xu Ziling and asked, What is Ziling thinking? Just now a hint of smile floated on your face, carrying some kind of mysterious, unfathomably extraordinary taste, making me cannot help but feeling curious. Xu Ziling woke up from his deep thought, he smiled and said, Xibai must be a curious and overanxious person. Hou Xibai admitted freely, Not many people can make me curious, but once I am curious, I will want to know whats going on inside the other persons heart. Toward Kou Zhong, I dont have that kind of curiosity, because he is easier to understand than you. But people like Ziling, Feixuan, or perhaps Qingxuan, really puzzle me, even more, pique my curiosity. The root cause was that I never understand Shi Shis way of thinking; however, because of my fear and reverence toward him, I never dared to ask. This has umted in my mind for a long time, which leads to my tendency of loving to listen to whats inside the peoples heart. Can Ziling meet my need? Ha! I wonder if this request is kind of excessive? Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, Since we are close friend, theres nothing that cant be talked about. Just now I was pondering over Zhenyan Dashis Nine-Character Incantation Hand Image. That day I had to learn it by swallowing in one gulp [idiom: to ept without thinking]. I thought that I already grasped the essence entirely in my palms, but today I started to think that actually I only obtained the form qi but have not obtained the spirit at the same time. This sh of realization makes me like reaching the entire body of heaven and earth. In that case, Hou Xibai said, The injury this time is an opportunity instead, which enables Ziling to pry into the new realm of the Dhyana Schools wonder power. If you could reach Zhenyan Dashis Dhyana realm, I am certain that you will be the first person in Wulins history to blend the most profound realms of Buddhist and Taoist, two schools. Ay! This way of thinking makes me cannot help asking you another question. How much certainty does Ziling have that you will be recoveredpletely? No one should know your own condition better than you. Didnt you say Shi Qingxuan could heal me? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently. Hou Xibai smiled wryly and said, That was the only way out of no way at all; in front of me, Shi Shi has repeated praised Shiniangs [masters wife] art of healing. Seeing Shi Qingxuaning back from picking medicinal herb in You Lin Xiao Gu that day, I reckon she should have obtained Shiniangs handed-down teachings. However, when I think of Yue Shan, after he was defeated by Song Que, he came to seek help to Shiniang yet there was no result and he died, whatever confidence I had was shaken, only I did not dare to say it. Shaking his head and apanying him in smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Turns out whatever you said was only tofort me. Hou Xibai sighed and said, As long as there is a sliver of hope, should we miss it? More importantly, I am hoping the two of you can be together. Xu Ziling turned his face to meet the blowing cold river wind, taking a deep breath, he slowly said, One day Kou Zhong is still going through fire and water on the battlefield, striving toward his ambitions goal, how can I separate myself? I thought I could do it, yet the fact proves that this is impossible. Therefore, I can only suppress the love and admiration to Qingxuan in my heart, because I dont know whether next time I can go back alive to see her. Hou Xibai did not expect Xu Ziling to be this forting; he was stunned for half a day, and spoke softly, I can feel the pain in Zilings heart. Xu Ziling looked up at the vast and deep starry sky, the pit of his stomach was full of bitter and astringent emotion, which could make other people sigh, yet the tone of his voice was extraordinarily tranquil. He spoke in daze, But I long to see her again, to listen to her exceptional, iparably touching flute sound, to let her tease me in her style, to embarrass me. Therefore, when you propose to look for her to treat my injury, I never objected. Hou Xibai was silent. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling said, When you and Yang Xuyan were about to fight, I stepped out from inside the room to the inner courtyard; it that instant, Ipletely forgot my own injury. Moreover, I had a wonderful feeling, sensing that if, when my consciousness was clear and bright, I could still forget my internal injury, from being entering into nothing, I would be able to recoverpletely naturally. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai said, It makes sense. This is precisely the real meaning of the Taoist Schools ten thousand thoughts turning into one intention, one thought does not rise, ten thousand thoughts be empty. What Ziling trained was the Taoist Schools most mysterious Secret to Long Life, hence you have this fantastic feeling in line with the essence of that principle. Xu Ziling sighed and said, But I know myself, I really am incapable to aplish it, because each time I tried to meditate, to circte the qi and move the power naturally, I am reminded that my body still bears injury at the same time. This is a deep-rooted habit from training the Secret to Long Life, it cannot be changed. Therefore, the progress is not much; after reaching a certain point, I am stuck and not moving forward. At most, the yongquan acupoints on my feet turn one cold one hot; thats it. Dejected, Hou Xibai asked, What do we do then? Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the undting mountain forest and hilly ins on the southern bank, his eyes emitted tender feeling, he softly said, Whether Qingxuan received her mothers handed-down teachings or not, her flute sound is surely an effective cure, miracle medicine that can make me forget everything, including my injury and worry over Kou Zhong and the others. Therefore, Xibais proposal is indeed my best choice. Kou Zhong stood still on top of a small hill, sweeping his gaze over far and near, Wuming was standing on his shoulder. Under the light of the dawn, his clothes were fluttering in the wind, his posture and expression were grand, full of confidence, carrying the Moon in the Well, which name shook the world C on his back, his appearance was like a deity. Yi River and Ru River were flowing at great speed, winding in the distant on his left and right, respectively, moistening the fertilend on both shores, bringing about unlimited vitality to the neighboring river ins, mountain and fields, forming ten-thousand-qing bluish-green grassy forest region [1 qing = 100 mu, approx. 6.67 hectares/16.5 acres]. On the distant in in the southwest direction, a row of mountain range rolling up and down continuously, it could be imagined that when he was near, he would feel its magnificent towering mountain terrain even more. However, he was sad and depressed, thinking about Yang Gongqing and thousands and hundreds of the officers and soldiers following him would never be able to witness the beautiful scenery before his eyes, his beloved horse Thousand-Li Dream would never have a chance to taste the wild grass of the mountain, and they all sacrificed their lives heroically for him. The hatred between he and the Li Familys House of Tang, even the entire water of the fivekes and four oceans [i.e. all parts of the country] would never be able to wash clear. Suddenly Shang Xiufangs flowery jade countenance appeared in his heart. Has she arrived at Gaotang, he wondered, searching for the ideal musicalposition in her heart? He also remembered Liexia, who was doing everything he could to win her favorable impression and striving to capture her fragrant heart, which was covered all over in scars and dripping blood inwardly. Immediately he also recalled Song Yuzhi, the majestic beauty with noble character who has been heavily hurt by him. A hundred and one kinds of emotion swirled in his heart. It has been a long time since he remembered these women. After arriving in Luoyang, the war has been filling his mind, his entire spirit, entire thought was focused on how to strive for victory, his whole being was exhausted for the Shao Shuai Army, whether it would exist or perish, for the struggle of survival; there was no ce for other things. However, when he was waiting here, he was unable to stop himself from falling into the abyss of painful regret and bitter memory; it was difficult to extricate himself. Even a short period of affair with Chuchu also made him feel ufortable. Toward Chuchu, he had more pity than love, the attraction and passion of youth nted the long-life affection between two persons that was difficult to bear,ment and remorse were already useless. No matter how painful his heart was, he could only bury the sorrow deeply, because at the present time, the most important thing for him was to deal with the cruel struggle rted to the survival of everybody in the Shao Shuai Army. Whoever is ruthless enough will be able to survive. He simply had to throw away everything, using the pinnacle of attitude, in the most nasty situation, exhausting his capabilities, to create miracle. In the struggle against Li Shimin, he continuously made mistakes, and thus he had to miserably taste the bitter fruit. He simply must not make another mistake, because he no longer had any capital to make a mistake. The sun was exposing a little bit of its face behind the mountain range on the east, casting its dazzling light on the mother earth. Since Li Shimin already guessed that he might go to Zhongli to seek help, Qu Tutong must have taken precautions against it. Nothing could be said about surprise attack without the surprise element. Whether his firearms operation would be defeated and reach the end, he neither had the confidence nor the assurance before leaving the gorge. If Ba Fenghan failed to arrive in time, he had no choice but to kill his way back into the gorge path, and then live or die together with his officers and soldiers. Right the moment when his thoughts were surging in his mind, on the mountain forest in the south, dust was rising. Kou Zhong was pleased beyond his expectations; crying out inwardly, Heaven help me! he rushed at full speed down the mountain to meet them. Book 54 7 – The Only Flaw

Book 54 Chapter 7 C The Only w

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia What I said was either the truth or a lie. Facing the empty and uninhabited secluded residence, Shi Qingxuans words echoed continuously in Xu Zilings heart. The little house was still the same, but the touching scene of Shi Qingxuan dressing and grooming herself behind the screen has gone forever. The sound of the mountain breeze blowing and brushing against his clothes became hollow; although he had a good friend apanying him by his side, he was ovee with despair, as if he had lost all life force! Everything with Shi Qingxuan, the casual longing that he seized with both hands, the happy life brimming with love between a man and a woman C ended at this point! The struggle that he fought with all his might has turned intoplete failure, Shi Qingxuan has be a sad memory, the rest of his life could only be spent in solitary loneliness. Whats so joyful about life anyway? Whats to fear about death anyway? Fervent hope only brought bitter disappointment. Hou Xibai, who was exhausting hisst effort to look through the window into the house to search for Shi Qingxuans beautiful shadow C spoke in a nearly whimpering voice, She practically has never been here at all, I wonder if she is still in the little valley in Bashu? Xu Ziling sat down dejectedly on one of the t and square rocks outside the door. Shaking his head, he said, She immediately left that very same night; I could sense her determination not to tarry in the valley a moment longer. Hou Xibai sat on the other square rock, grabbing Xu Zilings hands inside his palms, he spoke in daze, What do we do now? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, You should immediately go to see Lei Jiuzhi, think of a way to help Han Zenan and his wife and child to settle down. This is important, you must not fail. Otherwise, if the Xiang Family found them, we would feel guilty about it for the rest of our lives. Hou Xibai looked up, he spoke in shock, If I am going away, how could you stay here alone? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Why not? I will stay here to treat my injury in peace; while there is no sound of Qingxuans flute, I will try to forget the injury that my body is suffering. After you aplish everything, please hurry back here, and then we will go together to meet up with Kou Zhong. Other than this, do you have a better idea? The neer was indeed Ba Fenghan, whom he wished to Heaven for, apanied by the reinforcements, which could make Kou Zhonge back from deaths door. Altogether, there were four thousand men, plus a hundred and thirty carts, of which twenty carts were loaded with life-saving firearms. Of the four thousand men, three thousand were carefully-selected elite cavalrymen, while the other thousand were the supply personnel withparatively weaker fighting power, who were the new recruits of the Shao Shuai Army. Leading the troops was Bai Wenyuan, who was quite familiar with the geography of this area and the surrounding regions. His former master, Zhu Can, had proimed himself hegemon in the northwest, not far from here. Although Zhu Can had be the chrysanthemums after the Double Ninth Festival [idiom: thing of the past], but Bai Wenyuans familiarity with the mountains and rivers and waterways of this area proved to be very useful, so that the reinforcement army could sneak in C the gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive C evading the Tang Armys scouts. Ba Fenghan led a unit of a hundred warriors as the pioneer. Meeting Kou Zhong on the forest path, they were all ovee with joy. Kou Zhong busily issued his orders; he ordered the troops following Ba Fenghans troops to go into hiding, to pitch camp and rest, so that the enemy, just like he did, could not see the rising dust. After encouraging his troops, Kou Zhong took Bai Wenyuan and Ba Fenghan to the top of a hill nearby to observe the situation and discuss their grand n. He even dispatched Wuming to patrol from the high altitude. Seeing Ba Fenghans timely arrival, Kou Zhongs mood turned for the better. After analyzing the situation, he summarized, Now is our biggest advantage, Qu Tutongs attention is focused on Zhongli, his defense strategy is mainly targeted on the troopsing from Zhongli. With you guysing at the right time, after making sure of Qu Tutongs disposition of troops, we could seize this moment, while he is carrying out arge-scale construction, before their formation has not steadied yet, to use the firearms in an initial show of strength, and thenunch pincer attack from the inside and outside, I guarantee that we can beat his Niangs until they are in a sorry state; isnt that a joy? Ba Fenghan said, This batch of firearms mainly relies on poison gas and fire-arrows, the range is more than a thousand paces, it produced arge amount of purple poisonous smoke. Although not as formidable as could cause people to be poisoned to death, it could sting peoples eyes, so that teardrops will flow steadily, breathing will be difficult, the skin turns red and swollen, and will only recover within half a day, hence it will greatly weaken their fighting prowess. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Have you tested it on anyone? How else do you know it so well? Bai Wenyuan said. We caught a wild dog for testing. After the test, we were thinking of ughtering it to eat, but were afraid its meat would be poisonous, in the end we spared the dogs life. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Poor doggy; luckily you did not harm its life. And then he asked, Such a poisonous smoke, how many arrows do we have? Bai Wenyuan replied, Altogether we have 2,500 arrows; if we release all, it could shroud a wide area of three to four li square, the blowing wind cannot disperse it. Able to make such a formidable firearm, those peoples brains are really not simple. Ba Fenghan said, When two armies are facing off against each other, this kind of poisonous smoke arrow is not very useful, but sneaking into the enemys camp and seizing their stronghold, dealing with concentrated enemy, it will definitely disy its amazing effectiveness. Originally, we were worried about how to use this thing to defend our stronghold, but luckily Li Shimin knew the facts and is tactful; he sent Qu Tutong to give us the opportunity to use it, naturally its another matter. Bai Wenyuan said, In addition to the 2,500 poisonous smoke arrows, there are still 500 kerosene bombs and 800 poisonous smoke cannons. With the former, we ignite it and threw it out by hand; along with the explosion, the kerosene will stter everywhere, it can quickly put arge area of forest wilderness into a sea of fire. With thetter, we ce it on the ground in advance, when the enemy steps on it, it will immediately spout poisonous smoke, so its power is purely based on the poisonous smoke; it could even have more formidable power than poisonous smoke arrows. [Trantors note: they sound like ancient grenade (or Molotov cocktail, to be precise), andnd mines, but the terms I am using are the literal trantion of the original Chinese text.] Speechless, Kou Zhong said, We really block a cmity for Li Yuan, because he was supposed to personally be at the receiving end of this batch of firearms. Ba Fenghan said, We must take advantage of the time while Qu Tutong has not chopped the trees around the camp clean to give us trouble; otherwise, the kerosene bombs will turn into waste. Making prompt decision, Kou Zhong said, Wenyuan, you go to the camp first to make preparation, Lao Ba and I will immediately go to explore the route. This matter should not be dyed, tonight will be the best fortunate timing for our operation. Bai Wenyuan received the order and left. Is there any news about Ziling? Ba Fenghan asked. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong spoke in distress, I hope Heaven helps the worthy, that he will have great luck, great profit! Xu Ziling sat in meditation. He was unable to forget his serious internal injury, because that was some kind of feeling that followed him around and was impossible to get rid of, that enabled him not to feel weak all the time and the unbearable pain that came from the meridians of his whole body. His qi and blood not flowing freely was the heavier load for him, which made him feel vexed and tired. The more concentrated his spirit, the clearer he felt the injury, so that he was unable to enter the realm of forgetting self. The he at the present moment could only bear this wretched state in silence. He entered the house and looked at thedys chamber behind the screen, where Shi Qingxuan left her beautiful image behind. His heart was suddenly brimming with tenderness, which stirred his mind to recall the beautiful memory of the touching moment where he met her by chance. Any little resentment that he had toward Shi Qingxuan immediately disappeared like scattering cloud and vanishing smoke. Since he cherished her, he ought to give thought to her, and respect any decision she made. So what if he had to forget his personal gains and losses? When he gave up the world of the living, life would pass in the blink of an eye. His heart and spirit could not help reveling in the situation where he caught the first sight of Shi Qingxuan; one scene after another, past events were reappearing in theke of his heart, both the reality and the nothingness. Apart from Shi Feixuan, he had never tried so hard to think of a person. If life and everything else became an irreversible past, just let Shi Qingxuan be a part of the past. Unconsciously, he found himself walking out of the house and then sat down on the square rock by the main door. The sun was disappearing behind the mountain, all around him, the crickets and all kinds of insect in the thicket seemed to know that severe winter wasing, they were striving hard to y thest movement of the lifes symphony, interwoven with the richyers of the sound of the vast body of water. Intoxicated in the world that he normally did not pay attention to and that he had usually neglected, he fell into the forgetting-self cavity. And finally, from focusing his thought and memory on Shi Qingxuan, he threw himself into the world of insect buzzing and cicada singing, in which the cavity switched from one to the other naturally, without any trace. Inside the world of forgetting emotion, forgetting worry, forgetting self, he seeded in freeing himself of the hundred-and-one-way anxiety, as well as the disturbing injury in his heart, his spirit merged with the natures cruel autumnsst trace of vitality into one; he was even oblivious that heat and cold were rushing out of the yongquan acupoints on his feet, the innate qi pierced his acupoint and entered in. From weak, it gradually grew strong, slowly piercing through his meridians and passing through his channels, nourishing all the acupoints in his body. In his primal chaos, time slipped away in astonishing speed. By the time he was awaken by some kind of intensely dangerous feeling from the depth, as if he was swimming in the cave of the heaven and earth C and opened his eyes, the waning moon has already moved to the middle of the sky. The night sky, like an expanse of ck velvet felt [fabric] C was embedded with stars. To which star was actually the one where Shi Qingxuan returned after her death? Could it be that the ce where he returned after his death would be another star closest to hers? Then he would forever apany her by her side, to aplish the long-cherished wish that was unfulfilled during his life in this mortal world. Was life influenced by the cause and effect [karma] of the past [previous incarnation] and present life? If that was the case, how was the first cause nted? What kind of ce is this? Who built this house and lived here? Xu Ziling pulled back his gaze form the starry sky above and moved it to the standing-proud-with-his-hands-behind-his-back-in-front-of-him, the top-evil-person-of-this-generation C Evil King Shi Zhixuan. He smiled and said, How did Xie Wang wander so far to this out-of-the-way ce and honor this mountain residence with your presence? Copying him earlier, Shi Zhixuan also looked up at the night sky. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, After opening your eyes, Ziling looked firmly at the sky; what exactly are you looking at? Xu Ziling responded indifferently, I am wondering, after people die, are they returning to their original ce, their homnd C in the stars above? Shi Zhixuan revealed a pained smile, but the tone of his voice was grim and tranquil; he spoke softly, Does Ziling know that I aming to kill you? Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling calmly said, Since Xie Wang did not even know whose ce this is, naturally you did note in good faith to pay a visit, instead, you were following us to this ce. In fact, all along Xie Wang has had the intention to kill me, its just that you dont want to make your move in front of Xibai, thats all. Shi Zhixuans expression did not change, he looked down to stare fixedly at Xu Ziling, and softly said, Its not that Ol Shi did not give you any chance, as long as you are willing to stay in You Lin Xiao Gu to apany Qingxuan. Speaking about the affairs of this mortal world, I really did not wish to harm even half a strand of your hair. However, your current conduct and deeds are running in the opposite direction to Ol Shis expectations. Ziling should know that you and Kou Zhong have be the biggest barrier to our Holy Schools endeavor to unify the world. If I dont harden my heart and deal with you with ruthless hands tonight, I am afraid tomorrow will be toote to be sorry. I deliberately waited for your internal injury to bepletely gone before showing myself and making my move, it is in the hope that you, Ziling, can die contentedly with your eyes closed, and wont me me, Xie Wang to take advantage of someone elses precarious position. And then he sighed and said, If within one day like this your injury ispletely recovered, I, Shi Zhixuan, will have no choice but to write submit, one character. But precisely because of this that I am forced to harden my heart. Tonight, Ziling is progressing one step ahead, next time it will be Kou Zhongs turn. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height; some kind ofpletely new and a feeling of rebirth filled his whole body. He no longer felt the true qi within his body moving and circting, everything happened naturally, just like the bird in the air, letting him breathe in and breathe out, like the ocean, a vast body of water, letting him fetch and seek. After losing something and then regaining it, it was a vastly differentyer of realm. Shi Zhixuans eyes revealed an astonished look, he spoke heavily, Zilings martial art has finally reached the fine and detailed realm, so that the rm went off in Ol Shis heart. This time, my move will no longer has any inward barrier, Ziling, youd better be careful. Xu Ziling knew that this was the moment of life and death, he must exhaust his capability in order to have the chance to save his life. But he calmly and indifferently said, I wonder if Xie Wang is interested in knowing whose secluded residence this ce is? Why dont you investigate to the bottom and continue inquiring about it? Shi Zhixuan was unable to conceal his shocked expression. Xu Ziling raised both hands high above his head, he put the hands together like a flower bud, the ring finger rose at an angle, the tip of his fingers fit together C to repeat the first style that Zhen Yan Dashi taught him, the secret of Nine-Character Incantation Hand Print, while secretly pinching Motionless Fundamental Image, and shouted the Dhyana word, Lin! Shi Zhixuans countenance changed again; meeting the voice, he withdrew three steps back. Ever since the many times Xu Ziling fought hand-to-hand against Shi Zhixuan, this was the first time that he was able to force Shi Zhixuan into the disadvantageous position. A small part was due to his incantation Dhyana power enjoyed substantial advancement, but mostly because he could urately watch Shi Zhixuans only w, the weak point that would forever be at the bottom his heart C Shi Qingxuan. Shi Zhixuans true qi, as if it was blocked by a stone wall, bounced back, so that he was unable to advance another cun to seize the opportunity to strike. With one hand behind his back, Shi Zhixuan waved the other hand in front of him, with the five fingers put together into a palm chop, the sharp tip pointed at Xu Ziling from a distance. The refined light in his eyes ring greatly, he let out a longughter and said, Good! Since I, Shi Zhixuan made my debut, this is the first time that someone is able to do this, I barely made my move and immediately I fell into the disadvantageous position. Although it was a bit of a cheap trick, but martial art masters fighting each other, they must bepletely unscrupulous, naturally I can count it as your ability. Xu Ziling could not help admiring him in his heart; Shi Zhixuans heart and bosom, his imposing attitude, the air of a great expert, indeed were different from ordinary people. Both hands held tight to his chest, in the shape of a lotus flower, the Motionless Fundamental Image turned into Great Vajra Chakra Image. Since obtaining Zhen Yan Dashis authentic teaching, there has never been a moment where he understood more than this time about Incantation Handprint Method and his spiritplemented each other, inbination with the continuous and marvelous Dhyana power. His understanding of the Bu Si Yin Fa even progressed one step further. In itself, this method basically had no trace to be found, the w was only inside Shi Zhixuans heart. A sh appeared before his eyes, Shi Zhixuan appeared on his left side, the palm chop turned around to strike the vital acupoint on the left side of his neck. Xu Ziling knew that he would never be able to match Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa, he could only use stillness to control movement. His lotus hands were blooming like fresh flower, bing an infinite hand print; each hand print was marvelous to the very top. It seemed like there was a w to be exploited, but it also appeared to follow a naturalw, so subtle that no pen and ink could describe. Pow! Xu Ziling sent out a finger jab, it hit the tip of Shi Zhixuans palm squarely. Shi Zhixuan flew back, Xu Ziling was also jolted by the impact that his qi and blood were surging, he staggered back for nearly two zhang. Shi Zhixuan did not seize the opportunity to pursue and attack, on the contrary, he put both hands behind his back, and stood in a distance. Unexpectedly Ziling is able to firmly seal my follow-up move, so that Ol Shi had no choice but to retreat, he spoke in astonishment, If this matter spread out, it will be enough to make anybody to have a whole new level of respect toward you. However, when there is an advantage, then there must also be disadvantage. Frankly, it was not until this moment that I am able to harden my heart and determine to throw out everything and make my move with all my strength; I will only stop when Ziling fall to the ground and die. Otherwise, if I give you another year, perhaps even I, Xie Wang Shi Zhixuan will not be able to put you to death, and not able to do anything about it either! Xu Ziling smiled and said, Turns out it was that difficult for Xie Wang just to make a decision. Theres one thing that I dont understand, I wonder if I could ask Xie Wang to give me direction? Shi Zhixuans countenance was tranquil, but his pair of eyes emitted cold-hearted gaze. You may speak! he spoke indifferently. Xu Ziling clearly sensed that the Shi Zhixuan in front of him no longer had anything in his heart that would stop him from killing him. Furthermore, he was looking for the optimum opportunity tounch an attack. As long as Xu Zilings mind somewhat wavered, he would not be able to maintain the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm, then he would incur Shi Zhixuans toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas, would-not-stop-until-he-was-dead terrifying attack. He slowly said, Why did Xie Wang let Wanwan go? Wrinkling his brows, Shi Zhixuan said, You should think of a reason; Waner is the most outstanding talent in the Holy School after me. If Xuyan did not betray me, I definitely would not show anypassion to her. But now, I am afraid that even if I cherish her, it would still be toote. If you are worried that Im going to deal with her, you should feel at ease now. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I wonder if Xie Wang is feeling that you are caught in people rebelling and friends deserting situation? In the struggle to unify the Holy School, the control of the overall situation is no longer in your, Xie Wangs hands, but belongs to Zhao Deyan, whos dependent on the Tujue people, or perhaps Yang Xuyan, who receives Li Yuans trust. What I am more afraid of is that the final beneficiary would be the Tujues Xieli. Shi Zhixuan let out a longugh and said, If the situation Ziling was describing really happens, the ones suffering the biggest blow will be the so-called White Way under Ci Hang Jing Zhais leadership. My Holy School originally did not have anything at all, hence the more chaotic the world the better. In crisis, there is an opportunity to live, only after big chaos will there be big control. This is thew that keeps repeating itself through history, it is well-tested. Since our Holy School has experienced so much suffering, our flexibility in dealing with any crisis far surpasses anybody else. If Ziling wants to persuade me with some virtuous cause for the people or things like that, you are just wasting your time. Xu Ziling calmly said, Just consider me talking nonsense then. Xie Wang, please bestow your move. Shi Zhixuan suddenly swept his gaze around, his eyes looked inside the house through the window, his face revealed a bewildered, uncertain expression. Xu Zilings essence, qi and spirit were all focused on him, immediately he generated reaction, how could he be wiling to miss such a golden opportunity? Bing! The incantation was released. As soon as the intention arrived, the Treasured-Vase Qi also reached his hand, he sent out a punch over the empty air. Boom! Shi Zhixuan casually blocked, both hands coiled together, a pir of qi rolled out, to meet the Treasured-Vase Qi head-on. Both sides true qi was highly concentrated, definitely there was no room to turn around or any leeway to use any trick. Shi Zhixuan recoiled three steps back, while Xu Ziling, like a kite with cut string, was thrown backward, he happened to crash against the door and roll inside the house. Even after hended on the ground, he was still unable to stop the momentum, he broke through the screen and into Shi Qingxuansdys chamber. Like a shadow attached to the form, Shi Zhixuan pursued into the house, but as he entered the door, he halted his steps in shock. Xu Ziling bent his back and sprang up, his hand pinched the Outer Lion Hand Print, Wah! he spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood. Shi Zhixuan looked at him coldly, while wiping the blood from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve. He nodded and said, Not including Ning Daoqi, since I mastered Bu Si Yin, this is the first time someone can injure me; its enough to make you proud. Naturally Xu Ziling was aware that his own injury was even heavier. Just now he was hit by Shi Zhixuans evil schemes, by thinking that because Shi Zhixuan might be thinking that this was the ce where Shi Qingxuan shunned the world, his heart and spirit showed a w; who could have thought that unexpectedly it was the w that Shi Zhixuan deliberatelyid out, so that from the upper hand, Xu Ziling fell into the absolute disadvantageous position, from the heaven back to the mortal world, no longer able to maintain the previously no-man, no-self, removed-from-physical-body marvelous realm. The two men faced each other over some distance. Xu Ziling took a deep breath, making an effort to raise and assemble his power; he said, Didnt Xie Wang say that once you make your move, you wont stop until I am dead? Why did you stop? The murderous aura in the Demonic King Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes red severely, he shouted sternly, Is this another ce where Qingxuan is living in seclusion? The sound of flute rose up outside the house. Book 54 8 – Passionate, Ruthless

Book 54 Chapter 8 C Passionate, Ruthless

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia In ordance with Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans n, the Shao Shuai Army hid in ambush in the upwind position that would give them most advantage to release the firearms. The enemy has not yet had the time to set up wooden stronghold and sentry mounds, their main army had just entered the grasnd region across the mountain about half a li southwest of the Tian Cheng Gorges south road exit, temporarily establishing six flowers formation, with Qu Tutongsmand tent as the middle army to be in overall control of the general situation. The either side of themand tent was under Zuo Yuhousmand, the personal guards under Qu Tutongs directmand. The other four armies separately set up their camps in front and rear, and left and right, shaped like six-petal flowers. Although they did not pose immediate danger, they were unafraid of fire attack either; as long as they stationed soldiers on various high points in the vicinity in rotation, acting as sentries, they could quickly mobilize the army to fight back against any iing enemy. The other two armies, approximately two thousand men each, took their camp outside the southern road exit, one far, one near, both located on hilly hignds, separated by several thousand steps distance, corresponding to each other. The total strength of the three camps exceeded fifteen thousand men. Torches were everywhere, illuminating outside the Tian Cheng Gorge as bright as day. Arge number of construction battalion troops were concentrated outside the exit, felling trees and clearing away barrier. The chopped down logs could be used to build solid wooden stronghold. The Shao Shuai Army was divided into three units, they advanced toward the dense region of forest where the light of the enemys torches unable to reach, waiting for Kou Zhongs order tounch surprise attack. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan personally conducted the unit to attack the other sides main force camp, carrying the most-easy-to-use poisonous smoke dispersion, waiting with store-up momentum. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan leaped onto the top of a tall tree, looking into the distance, at the situation in Qu Tutongs Six Flowers Camp formation, about three thousand paces way. Kou Zhong said with augh, Qu Tutong deserves to be called a famous general, veteran of a hundred battles. If we give him two more days, I am afraid even the poisonous smoke fire arrows would be unable to do anything to him. Just think! If he established his camp on higher ground,bined with trenches and moats around it, how many poisonous smoke fire arrows would we be able to shoot into his camp? Ba Fenghan cheerfully responded, Now he is regarding us as fish meat; I am afraid not even in his dream would he think that we are hiding in ambush here, carrying firearms, ready to attack the camp. Brother! We are waiting impatiently! Kou Zhong said with a sneer, How did you pass your days during the one-hundred days of self-cultivation in the desert? Even a little bit of patience iscking. First of all, our warriors need time to recover their qi and rest, secondly, you see that the enemy is so busy working hard. They hastened on their journey during the day, and in the evening they still cannot take a break. Just let them be tired some more, and only then we willunch the attack. The best time is half a sichen before daybreak. That way, after daybreak, our brothers inside the gorge canunch pincer attack toward the enemy together with us from the front and rear, to kill his Niangs that they are in a sorry state, right? Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, You are the boss, naturally you are in charge of your own home. Extremely right! The two looked at each other andughed; they reached out to grab each others hand. They have had enough of Li Shimins strike and had suffered enough setbacks, and now finally they had a good chance to fight back. Xu Ziling and Shi Zhixuan were severely shaken at the same time. Unexpectedly, it was the flute sound of the Tianzhu Xiao, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye, as if nothing had happened. But in the heart ocean of the two men, it stirred up huge waves. Shi Qingxuan finally kept her promise toe to meet Xu Ziling. Furthermore, she knew that Shi Zhixuan wanted to kill Xu Ziling, hence she intervened with the flute sound. Shi Zhixuan immediately returned to being tranquil, the evil qi disappearedpletely, he no longer had the intention to make his move. Walking over to the window, he cast his gaze onto the open country under the starry night, as if he was searching for his daughters trace. Tranquil and indifferent, he said, Ziling should know that the biggest threat to themon people of the Central Earth is not our Holy School, but the Tujue people. Shi Zhixuans weird action of suddenly taking about Tujue people made Xu Zilingpletely at a loss; fortunately, due to Shi Qingxuans appearance, his heart was burning with passion and delight, naturally he did not want to argue with him. Opening up the screen, he walked over and stopped three steps behind Shi Zhixuan. I wish to hear more details, he said. Shi Zhixuan said, That is a blood feud amassed over countless generations. At first, it was due to the wide difference in riches on both sides. To the Tujue people, only the strongest people have the qualification to own the bestnd; if they could not obtain it, then they could rob it by force and destroy it. If the one obtaining the world is our Holy School, we will try our best to make the Central Earth prosperous and consolidate our power. Hence the reason I say that the real scourge of the Central Earth is the Tujue and not us at all. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, However, arent your honorable sects Zhao Deyan and Xieli working together pleasantly? Shi Zhixuan sighed and said, Zhao Deyan is ying another scheme [lit. abacus], he wants to use open saber, open spear, to borrow Xielis power to root out the dissidents. If Xieli can really conquer the Central ins, he will have no choice but to use Han people to control Han people, he will rely on Zhao Deyan to govern the rivers and mountains for him, to aplish his beautiful dream of bing an emperor. If you want to get rid of him, I would not even frown half an eyebrow on you. Why did Xie Wang even tell me this? Xu Ziling asked. Instead of answering him, Shi Zhixuan continued, Although Tuli and you guys called each other Xiong [older brother] and Di [younger brother], but all along he is a Tujue, he definitely will never forget the hatred toward the Han people, which is the hatred between races, no one will be able to resolve it. If I dont guess incorrectly, there wille a day you guys will meet Tuli on the battlefield. Xu Ziling remain silent, he was unable to speak, because Shi Zhixuans remark drew blood on the first prick [idiom: right on], brimming with the wisdom that came through many years of the vicissitudes of life. Shi Zhixuan sighed and said, Why would I want to remind you? Because I am afraid you will suffer losses due to your putting too much emphasis on the brotherly affection. Ay! Im leaving! Ziling, take care of yourself. Finished speaking, he simply strode out of the door, and disappeared in the depth of the darkness. Xu Ziling flew out of the house, the cold wind assaulted his face, the blue dome of heaven was embedded full of endless stars, crickets and insects buzzing and singing endlessly, the deste wilderness was no longer deste. The sound of the flute arose again, as if there, but also as if it was not there, like it was dissolved with no gap between them and the sad calls of the autumn cicada, faintly discernible from the whistling wind, just like a light cloud covering up the bright moon, making the touching sound of the flute, which bewildered the ear and washed away the spirit, appeared to being out gracefully of the Ninth Heaven, transforming the austere, cruel autumn into the heaven and earth abundant with life force and magnificent radiance, bright and beautiful music notes momentarily stood alone outside the heaven and the earth, temporarily bringing the ten thousand flowers together, inseparably closely. As if he was in a treasure hunt, Xu Ziling flew toward the sound. The various emotions in his heart werepletely seized away by the sound of the flute, leaving only the inexhaustible tenderness and love. Shi Qingxuans flute sound was like a stem of mystical daylily []; after taking it, one would no longer remember the cruel, cold-blood war on the outside world of the living. [Trantors note: the original Chinese text for daylily literally means forgetting-worry grass.] Xu Ziling ran up a hillside, the beautiful image of Shi Qingxuan appeared on arge rock on the top of the hill, like a fairy wandering in the empty mountain, spirited valley in the dreand. The sound of flute came to an abrupt end, Shi Qingxuans dazzling beautiful eyes looked affectionately as he came; she smiled and said, Silly kid came early! Xu Ziling came over and sat by her side, forgetting affection, he stared nkly at her. On the top, Shi Qingxuan was wearing light lc soft gauzed long gown, a colored elegant shawl was draped over her fragrant shoulders to protect her from the wind chill. On the bottom, it was matched with apricot yellow thin silk gauzed skirt. Her good looking and intelligent facial features still carried the usual restraint, suppressed mncholy expression, giving up the impression of unique, ice-and-snow icy arrogance beautiful appearance. She did not wear the least bit of cosmetics, but her gentle and quiet, elegant bearing, gracefully sweet and fair figure, could make any mans heart bewildered and his spirit intoxicated. She casually put the Tianzhu Xiao on the other side. Xu Ziling noticed that she had a small bundle that she carried. Shi Qingxuan cast her gaze at the undting little house down the mountain, her fragrant back slightly opened, she spoke gently, What is war like? Xu Ziling had never thought that she might ask that question; after staring nkly for half a day, he smiled bitterly and said, I am not sure if I should tell you the truth? A smile escaped out of the corner of Shi Qingxuans mouth, she softly said, Since it is so dreadful that people dont dare to tell the truth, why are there so many people still enjoy it and never tire of it? Xu Ziling sighed and said, The reason is tooplicated! Shi Qingxuan looked at him, her beautiful eyes looked deep into his eyes, she said, Ziling is very tired, the war must have tormented you very badly. Xu Ziling had an urge to throw himself into her fragrant bosom; only in there would he be able to find refuge in the world of chaos. Shi Qingxuan continued, I came by boat to the east, the cities and towns along the coastal area of the Great River are extremely nervous, everyone is anxious, but no one knows where to run to. There is always new news and rumor of war every day, some say that Shao Shuai Army suffered total defeat of an army in Luoyang, some say that Song Ques main forces and the Tang Army already cross swords head-on, some say that Du Fuwei raised his troops to rebel against the Tang, together with Dou Jiande theyunched pincer attack toward Li Shimin to avenge you guys. No one knows whom to believe. Xu Zilings heart grew warm; based on Shi Qingxuans character of not to hear, not to question [idiom: to show no interest] the things of the world, yet she was willing to pay attention to the development of war, clearly it was because she was concerned about him. He could not help asking, Qingxuan is worried about me? Shi Qingxuan responded indifferently, What do you think? But then she could not help, Pfft! giggled tenderly and said, Silly kid! A burning hot emotion welled up in Xu Zilings heart, but in the blink of an eye it was reced by a helpless pain. A life of happiness for him was still an exceedingly-remote beautiful dream. There has never been a moment he knew more clearly about the contradictions in his heart more than this moment. The war of Kou Zhong contending for hegemony over the world already had his feet deep in the mud, yet his love to Shi Qingxuan was not something he could extricate himself from. He already lost Shi Feixuan, he must not miss this winding-around-in-his-dream, leading-along-his-soul good woman before his eyes as well. Her person was like the sound of her flute, it was brimming with the clear flow of sparkling and translucent, pure and calm in the midst of the struggle and enmity within the sea of people, a vast body of water. It was like a ray of me that would never go out or scatter, forever, in the night. Losing her, he would not have anything at all, his life would no longer had any meaning. The light kiss, the parting in the You Lin Xiao Gu, was like a glowing red branding stick, leaving a mark in his heart that could never be erased. However, even up to this point, where they sat side by side having a discussion in whispered tones, she still acted like she was passionate, yet ruthless [Trantors note: this is the title of this Chapter, lit. with passion (or love, feeling, emotion, etc.), and without passion]. If he, Xu Ziling, revealed the feeling his heart, would she, like she told him, not able to bear it, and would fly to faraway ces like a startled little bird? He could not fail to worry about the feelings in her heart and the bleak and cold past events. Shi Qingxuans elegant-like-heavenly-music voice echoed in his ears, Silly kid, you are lost in thought! Xu Ziling woke up with a shiver; he looked at her, Shi Qingxuan drew her knees in front of her chest and wrapped her arms around them, and then she rested her jaw on her knees. Her entire being was like being embedded into the night sky, bing one of the stars dazzling the eyes in the night sky, mysterious and hard to fathom. She turned her head to give him a nce, and then looked back at the starry sky far away and the unbroken chain of peaks in the distance, a hint of intelligent smile, which he was unable to understand, appeared on the corner of her mouth. The dim light of the night, like a light muslin, enveloped her tender body, it was both right under his nose, yet also appeared to be invisible in the world of the immortals, which was different from the human world. Unable to restrain his emotions, Xu Ziling said, I am thinking of you. The smile on the corner of Shi Qingxuans mouth broadened, it transformed into a brilliant smile, which broke up her seemingly inherent mncholy; she spoke teasingly, You are just trying to make me happy! You must be thinking about the war that you did not dare to describe to Qingxuan; your eyes are actually more honest than you. Xu Ziling was unable to move his eyes from her pretty face, he spoke softly, Qingxuan can see the contradictions in my heart. On the one hand is a good brother with whom I shared delights andmon hardships since childhood. On the other hand is ... Shi Qingxuan sat her tender body up straight, she turned around to stretch out a pair of jade fingers and pressed it against his lips, to stop him from continuing. Her beautiful eyes, full of concerns, looked deep into his eyes. It was quite half a dayter that she hung down the jade hand pressing on his lips, and she spoke in serene voice, Itste! How about Ziling go into the house and have a good night sleep? Be a good kid! Xu Ziling was still shaken by her intimate action of pressing her fingers to his lips; hearing that, he asked in surprise, Isnt there only one bed in the house? Shi Qingxuan revealed a look of displeasure, she rolled her eyes at him and said, I still have something to do. Xu Ziling cried inwardly, Ashamed! but Shi Qingxuan was willing to let him sleep in her fragrant bed, it showed clearly that she had great friendly regard. Embarrassed, he said, It was me who is having a devious thought! As soon as he said that, he felt it was not appropriate, but he could not swallow it back. A rose-tinted cloud color rose up in Shi Qingxuans jade cheeks, she stared at him in rebuke, before hanging her head down and scolded in low voice, Bad egg! Scolded by her, Xu Zilings heart and spirit were intoxicated. Floating in the air, high in the clouds, passionate love between a man and woman should be like this. Happiness has never tried to be so close to him like this. If he could throw everything aside to be together with her, never to part, what else he could ask for in life? Shi Qingxuan recovered her elegant, dignified manner, she spoke softly, Why didnt you ask me what I am going to do? Xu Ziling felt crisis was looming; he asked, What is Qingxuan going to do? Shi Qingxuan slowly said, I want to go to Ci Hang Jing Zhai to pay my respects [to ones ancestors, to observe religious rites] to Niang, and thene back to spend myst years. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Why didnt Qingxuan go directly to Jingzhai after leaving the Xiaozhu [little building]? Ci Hang Jing Zhai, these four words stirred up heavy billows in theke of his heart. Shi Feixuan appeared to be within reach, at this moment he was thinking of another beauty that he admired wholeheartedly [or fall in love with]; it was simply an unforgivable sin. The ice-and-snow-smart Shi Qingxuan acted as if nothing had happened, or if she was able to see the rage in his heart, only she did not reveal it. She only spoke indifferently, Silly kid! Unable to make any sense of the matter, he asked, Where are you going to stay? Shi Qingxuan smiled gracefully, she spoke in displeasure, I was afraid you, this Silly kid, mighte early, so I came specially to leave a message here, so that you wont misunderstand that I am deceiving you. Hee! Its just that I did not expect toe across you here. Xu Zilings hot blood rushed forth, he was severely shaken, Qingxuan! he said. A divine radiance appeared on Shi Qingxuans pretty face, she spoke softly, Ziling need note here anymore, because this ce is no longer the Peach Blossom Spring to shun the world. Qingxuan might go back to Jingzhai to apany Niang for a period of time, the day I aming down the mountain will be the day Qingxuan is going to look for you, Xu Ziling. If you have anything to say, why dont you keep it until that moment and then you can talk to me? And then she slowly stood up. One hand carried the Xiao, the other hand picked up the small bundle and slung it over her fragrant shoulder. She bent down her head to examine his face, and then she said, Everybody has a burden and a load that he has to carry, he cannot throw it aside, and he cannot hide from it even more! Tonights events have some kind of assertion from the underworld, Qingxuan has never thought I might run into him! Ziling, please treasure your own life, so that we will have a day to see each other again. Ziling need not see me off, it will only add sadness to the dy in parting, am I right? Half a sichen before dawn, Shao Shuai Armyunched their surprise attack, shooting round after round of poisonous smoke arrows into the three enemy camps, emitting poisonous smoke that spread rapidly, enveloping the area about one li square outside the Tian Cheng Gorge exit. The enemy was immediately thrown into chaos, the warhorses went wild, neighing violently and rushing about randomly, so that once the chaos got started, there was no stopping it. Due to not knowing whether the poisonous smoke was lethal or not, the enemy scattered in all directions like rushing wolves and scurrying rats. They ran out of the camp, their defensive, as well as their counterstrike C powerpletely crumbled, so that Ba Fenghans prediction about fish meat came true. The ambushing Shao Shuai Army seized the opportunity to attack on the peripherals of the smoke, using strong bows and powerful arrows, to ruthlessly deal with the enemy fleeing the poisonous smoke field, rendering a severe blow to weaken the other sides fighting spirit and strength. By the time the poisonous smoke dissipated, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan personally led the cavalry unit consisted of three thousand men to charge into the enemys gathering ce, dashing vertically and horizontally, so that the enemy scattered in all directions in utter defeat. From the gorge path, Ba Yegang and Bing Yuanzhen led two-thousand-man cavalry out to attack. Qu Tutong finally issued the order to retreat, they withdrew rapidly to the west. When Kou Zhong met with Ba Yegang and the others, they pursued the remnants of enemys troops until more than ten li, beheading more than a thousand enemies, seizing a total victory, and thus resolving the threat on the southern road. On the way back, unwilling to give up, Kou Zhong said, If not for Li Shimins troops pressing down on the northern road, we could seize the opportunity to pursue and attack, I am sure we will be able to seize Xiangyang, and reverse the whole situation. Ba Fenghan said, Although the enemy suffers disastrous injuries and deaths, but they are able to retreat and regroup their troops at the same time; they were defeated, but not in chaos, when we let go, we should just let go. On the other side, Ba Yegang held his ride to slow down, he said in agreement, Li Shimins main army has arrived, they are deploying the offensive on the northern road of the mountain stronghold, their momentum is great. If the mountain stronghold is captured, everything will be in vain. Bing Yuanzhen at the back said, We must act with urgency to build the army camp outside the southern road, in case the enemy seals off our retreat route again. Kou Zhongughed and said, Three gentlemen are absolutely right, this victory has just confused my little head. Ha! The most wonderful thing this time was that we obtain the enemysrge quantities to warhorses, weapons, bows and darts and foodstuff. Plus we have heavy military wagons, which should be enough for us to eat for several years. Ha! I am making a lot of profit again! This moment the southern road exit was in sight, the Tang Army left behind empty camps everywhere, which represented the result of their victory. The mule cartsing with the reinforcement army, filled with army provisions and weaponry, formed a long line entering the gorge path. The excited Chen Laomou directed the general situation. Kou Zhong and the others flew off their horses, Chen Laomou came up with bigugh and said, This is called Heaven never bars ones way [idiom: never give up hope]; we seed! Kou Zhong was about to speak, suddenly they heard urgent sound of hoofbeats, a soldier, flustered and exasperated, galloped from the west side at full speed, rushing over. Tumbling off the horseback, he reported in panic, Shaoshuai, not good! The Tang Army, about ten thousand troops, appeared from the west, they are advancing toward us. Kou Zhong and the others were shocked. Ba Yegang asked in heavy voice, How far are they from us? The warrior replied, Only about five li away from us. Everybody you looked at me I gaze at you. At this time, when the men were weary the horses were tired after a big battle, they were really unable to face an attack from the powerful enemy. Making prompt decision, Kou Zhong said, Immediately call all hands! Move as much as possible into the gorge. Without saying anything further, Chen Laomou epted the order and left. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, This is called big fortune in the midst of misfortune. If their rear army came one sichen earlier, it would be our turn to pack our bag and leave before we finished eating. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, After exhausting tremendous strength, after suffering untold hardships, we finally managed to resolve the southern road blockage, but in the blink of an eye the result of victory is unexpectedly being plucked by the enemy. Ba Fenghanforted him, saying, At least the reinforcement army sessfully arrived at the Tian Cheng Gorge. Furthermore, we obtained arge number of the enemys supplies. Well just have to fight an attack and defense battle against Li Shimin, to see whether the Great Tang Army is formidable, or our Shao Shuai Army is strong enough? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Is there any other choice? The joy of victory, in the cruel reality, was immediately denounced like scattering clouds, vanishing smoke,pletely without any trace. Book 54 9 – Without Flaw

Book 54 Chapter 9 C Without w

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia After Shi Qingxuan left, Xu Ziling still remained on the mountain rock, making great effort in meditation. Not only his true essence waspletely recovered, he even entered another new realm, his heart and spirit brightly lit, pure and limpid, connected in circle, free-flowing. When he opened his eyes, the autumn sun has already moved to the middle of the sky,yers of clouds were thick and low, blown by the northwest wind, giving people the impression that the cruel autumn has already passed, the severe winter wasing. He left the big rock, walked down the hill, and when he was about five hundred steps from the little house, he had a faint sense that someone was inside the house. Who would it be? It could not be Hou Xibai, because without ten or eight days of effort, he could forget about aplishing the task that Xu Ziling entrusted to him. Very soon he got the answer, Shi Zhixuan was standing behind the window, staring at the big rock where he and Shi Qingxuan were having a heart-to-heart chat, his eyes were full of emotion, as if the existence of the big rock itself already worth his watching it wholeheartedly and with pleasure. Xu Ziling sensed the Shi Zhixuan this moment did not have any malicious thought. The sound of Shi Qingxuans flutest night has hit the vital part of this number one martial art master of the demonic school. Xu Ziling stepped into the house and came behind Shi Zhixuan, he spoke indifferently, Since Xie Wang has no courage to face her, why did you go and thene back? Sidestepping the question, Shi Zhixuan said, Qingxuans Xiao skill is better than her Niangs, this is a hard-to-believe miracle. If I did not hear it, I would not have believed. Just like you, Ziling, will never believe that anybody could surpass Qingxuans Xiao skill. That is no longer some kind of skill, but a musical Dhyana realm. Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart was full of admiration; Shi Zhixuan might be the most outstanding martial art master of the demonic school since the beginning of history, even a prominent martial art master like Wanwan still could not surpass him, were it not for his actions thatpletely devastated Jianghu and damaged the country and caused suffering to the people, his hands were reeking of blood C merely his knowledge and experience was enough to make people highly esteem him, so much so that they would prostrate themselves in admiration. Hisment Shi Qingxuans Xiao art has drawn blood on the first prick. He smiled and said, Turns out Xie Wang has been lingering nearby. Shi Zhixuan turned his head around to look at him, he spoke softly, Now Ziling should believe what I said, if you cannot hear the love in the sound of the flute, you might as well go back to your home vige to cultivate the soil and be done with it. Xu Ziling was stunned, Love? he said. Shi Zhixuanughed aloud and said, Turns out Xu Ziling is indeed a silly kid, Qingxuan, you are wasting your thought! Aghast, Xu Ziling said, You have unexpectedly eavesdropped our dialogue! Shi Zhixuan spoke unapologetically, Not eavesdropping, but listening as an observer. But as for watching, I did indeed watch in secret. This was the first time I saw her after she grew up, she has all the excellent qualities of her Niang, but also a more yful side than her Niang, which makes her able to disy Xiuxins strong points even more vividly. Returning to the topic, you ought to know that you are not Qingxuans intimate friend yet. Xu Ziling recovered his cool-headedness; he spoke indifferently, Why is Xie Wang so concerned about this matter? Shi Zhixuan cast his gaze back outside the window, at the in deep with autumn nuances; his pair of eyes sad, he spoke softly, Because I hope that, as a Die, I can spend a bit of mental and physical efforts for her future happiness; that is more important than unifying the demonic school, unifying the world. I am willing to trade anything for her happiness, and you, Xu Ziling, are the only man in the world who can make Qingxuan fall in love. What Ol Shi is saying, does Ziling understand? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, This is the first time that I feel your, the Seniors every word stem from the bottom of your heart, and I need not overly suspicious. Shi Zhixuan spoke in distress, Qingxuan makes me feel proud, I should not have peeked at her. Oh, Xiuxin! Im finally bowing before you! You know that not only I ept my loss wholeheartedly, I am also very happy! Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at him; could it be that Shi Zhixuan had the heart to withdraw from the fray and to live in seclusion [idiom: to retire]? But he had a faint feeling that it was not so. And then Shi Zhixuan revealed a pained smile. He sighed and said, Does Ziling know that Li Shimin nearly lost the Battle of Luoyang? Again Xu Ziling felt how enigmatic Shi Zhixuan was; how could he, when it was the least expected, suddenly change the topic that waspletely unrted? Momentarily he was speechless. Shi Zhixuan recovered his absolute tranquility, the sharp light in his pair of eyes shing, he spoke heavily, Li Shimins most difficult moment was before Luoyang was broken, Jiande was going down south to the Great River. Everybody, Li Yuan included, advocated that Li Shimin cancel the attack n and return the army and withdraw the troops. Only Li Shimin stood alone, he even said that whoever dared to mention troops withdrawal would be beheaded. Li Shimin is indeed a capable general of this world. Too bad Kou Zhong came out. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I wonder if Xie Wang has misced kindness toward Kou Zhong? From the beginning he was knocked about, until today he still does not have the power to hit back. Shi Zhixuan spoke indifferently, Because Kou Zhong wascking an illustrious ss origin. Furthermore, hecked powerful backing and a robust team that belongs to him. But now, these extremely important conditions that he originallycked, all are ready. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If Xie Wang is referring to Song Ques main forces and Kou Zhongs Shao Shuai Army, the former is far-away-water-cannot-rescue-nearby-fire, thetter is struggling to survive on two different fronts, their destruction is imminent. Shi Zhixuan let out a stifled snort, and said, You guys are the yers on the field who are confused, I am an outsider who can see things more clearly. When ites to ability in military affairs, who in the world does not fear Song Que? Song Que definitely will not let Li Shimin kill Kou Zhong. He let Kou Zhong supporting the general situation on the north alone, it is because he wanted to train him to be out of the ordinary figure that canpete against Li Shimin, so that Kou Zhong can establish his unequalledmander-in-chief reputation and image. When Li Shimin is forced to retreat and defend Luoyang and the Yellow River, with Song Ques might plus Kou Zhongs fame, how could the cities and towns on both banks of the Yangtze River dare not to look at thendscape and submit? This is the highest form of generalship, which is to balk the enemys ns, the most brilliant strategy of being able to subdue the others troops without fighting. A thousandyers of huge waves turned over in Xu Zilings heart. Shi Zhixuans insight was original, his knowledge and experience were indeed not something that he, Xu Ziling, could match. Although he could figure out that Song Ques putting Kou Zhong to death and then to live was his style in training Kou Zhong to be a person who was worthy of respect, but he had never expected that there was an even deeper intention behind it. Shi Zhixuan continued, When this situation urs, it will be the moment Ci Hang Jing Zhai will be directly involved into the battle between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin, because with Song Que plus Kou Zhong, Li Shimins allotted share is only to suffer defeat. At that time, the key to victory and defeat will be decided by the rise or fall of Luoyang; if they cannot defend Luoyang, the Li n will lose the world. At a loss, Xu Ziling said, Under this kind of situation, what is Ci Hang Jing Zhai going to do? Shi Zhixuan shook his head and said, I dont know. But Fan Qinghui will have no other choice, because once the situation develops into North-South confrontation, Xieli, who has made adequate preparation, will surely take advantage of this weakness and entered in, to mess up our Central Earth. This is something that Fan Qinghui most unwilling to see. The good disciple that she trained did what she wish, by reversing the good situation that I, Shi Zhixuan established through hard work. By the time our Holy School, after suffering untold hardships, regain the upper hand, Kou Zhong and Song Que areing to mess it up. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Why did Xie Wang tell me all these things? Shi Zhixuan looked at him, he smiled and said, Now the development of the situation is subtle, plus it is not within our Holy Schools control. Ziling, you have be a figure to y a critical role who can influence both sides. I am analyzing the situation for you, with the hope that Ziling can ce yourself outside the dispute, to apany Qingxuan passing rural livelihood, shunning the world and withdrawing from the fray and living in seclusion. Because no matter which side you help, the other side will be harmed. Since thats the case, why not throw out everything and grasp the life that is going to pass in the twinkling of an eye? Ol Shis words thus endeth, Ziling, do your best. Amidst the longughter, he walked off without a second thought for those he left behind. Once again Xu Ziling felt crisis was looming. Shi Qingxuan was, true from many points of view C Shi Zhixuans only w. Shi Zhixuan only stole a nce at her, he was listening to her conversation with Xu Ziling, immediately this vicious person at the top of this generation became apassionate father who did not hesitate to sacrifice everything for his daughter. But at the same time, Shi Zhixuan has freed himself from the pain and guilty conscience, beyond the hearts barrier, putting his hope on his daughter, hence in the earnest and well-meaning advice he gave counsel to him, Xu Ziling. Shi Zhixuan no longer had any w. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, he put his feelings in order, left a note to Hou Xibai, and then floated away. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan stood on top of the perimeter wall outside the mountain stronghold. Their scalp went numb, they looked at the Tang Armys terrifying battle formation. No matter how rich their imaginations, seeing with their own eyes the other sides overwhelming superiority was another thing altogether. Although it was a re-emergence of Luoyang situation, but Luoyangs city wall was tall and thick, plus it had enough defensive power to deal with any attack, while their ce now only stood two zhang high, the stronghold wall was only five chi wide, there was a real risk of being unable to withstand a single blow. Outside, the threeyers of trenches, with the opponents many men, a great force, at most it would only need about a sichen to fill it t, and then there would not be any barrier anymore. The Tang Armys military strength was between fifty to sixty thousand men, they set up camps everywhere on the vast hilly area far and near in front of the mountain stronghold, the string of camps was continuous for several dozen li, their banners were like a sea, it was the appearance of an army at its peak, straight with hiding the sky and covering the earth momentum. Only one day and one night of work, the area about ten li square outside the mountain stronghold, all the trees were chopped clean. With the woods, they built all kinds and sorts of attacking-stronghold equipment, like clouddders, ramming vehicles, blocking-arrows-transporting-troops carts, toad carts to fill the trenches, stone-throwing machines, crossbow and arrow machines, and so on, by hundreds and thousands, and pushed them to the front line, about two thousand paces from the mountain stronghold. A variety of assault equipment wereing one after another. The Tang Army stood guard behind the rear wheels of the cart formation; they were unafraid the Shao Shuai Army woulde out to attack. Since there is an advantage, then there must be disadvantage as well. Mountain stronghold was easy to defend, but it was also easy for the enemy to seal off and concentrate their power to attack violently. If the retreat path on the rear was not cut off, since they could not seed anyway, they might as well retreat. But now they have be the bie [freshwater soft-shelled turtle] in the jar, and could only fight as long as they had the strength C to the end. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Do you have confidence to be able to prate the other sides Wooden Donkey Carts? Wooden Donkey Cart was the proper name of the blocking-arrows-transporting-troops carts. In the past, Xu Ziling used these to carryout the crossing-over-the-trenches battle outside the City of Luoyang. It was moved by four wheels, and looked like little house that could move around. The inverted V top was made of giant wood, covered in raw cowhide, not easy to burn, under which more than 70 soldiers could hide. During the attack on Luoyang, due to the support of giant trebuchets on the city wall, the carts could not disy their power; however, to be used to attack simple and crude mountain stronghold, it was like handling a butchers cleaver with ease. When the ramming vehicles started to shake gaps on the strongholds wall, the soldiers hiding inside the wooden donkey carts could flock into the stronghold, and the Shao Shuai Army would be done for. Kou Zhong shook his head to indicate his powerlessness, he spoke heavily, All Li kids deployments are aimed against our Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon, merely relying on the lu shields, they can withstand the powerful arrows shot from our divine bows. The lu [lit. scull (single oar worked from side to side over the stern of a boat)] shields were thergest shields, made of thick, solid wood, with a sharp tip on the bottom, which could be inserted into the dirt to increase their resistance power. The Tang Army guarding the front line were putting more than a dozen newly made lu shields pirs to stand at the front, while the men were showing off their military strength to them from behind the shields, hence the reason of Kou Zhongs feeling. Ba Fenghan fiercely said, Quickly think of a way, otherwise, once Li Shimin start the attack, it will be with ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt momentum, continuing day and night, until we arepletely copse. You have no time to think of anything else. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, My little brain does not seem to listen to my order. His Niangs! Why does Li kid always look like he cane and press me and beat me up? Ba Fenghan replied, Because he is certainly upying the total superiority, he can do whatever he wants. Now, although we have troops and darts prepared, rations and fodder sufficient, the stronghold wall cannotst too long; since we cannotpete in power against the enemy, we can onlypete in wits. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Now it is clear that we are going to fight a hard battle, if we cant win, then well lose. Hey! I wonder if we could use kerosene bomb to burn Li kids cart formation, and drag his Niangs for a few days? In thest nights military campaign on the south road, they only used poisonous smoke arrows, and still had more than three hundred arrows, five hundred kerosene bombs and eight hundred poisonous smoke cannons intact and unmoved. However, even if they seeded in burning the other sides cart formation, the other side could build another batch within a few days, hence Kou Zhongsst remark. Ba Fenghan raised his head to look at the sky, he spoke slowly, That is the best method we can think of. However many days we can drag, lets drag it for that long. By that time, perhaps things will take a turn for the better, because early winters first big snow is about to fall. Snow-umtion on the ground might be very disadvantageous to Li Shimins attack. Kou Zhong swept his gaze over the situation of the cart formation, he smiled and said, Li kid already guessed that we might have this move, hence he deployed his men to defend tightly behind the formation, their distance is even farther away, reaching up to two thousand paces. If we deploy the troops to attack, the defending troops could deliver us a frontal assault. Fortunately, you have a good n, I have thedder to climb over the wall. Lets just the two of us brothers personallye out to attack, tie to kerosene bomb onto the arrow, and then after igniting it, we shoot it out using the divine bow, to destroy the enemy over a long distance, what do you think? Revealing a smiling expression, Ba Fenghan said, Good n! Turns out to be able to survive a few more days unexpectedly can make people so happy and excited. Kou Zhongughed and cursed, Your grannys bear, I, Kou Zhong definitely am not going to lose. Merely poisonous smoke arrow, kerosene bomb, and poisonous fog cannon are enough to hold out until the big snow arrives. I hope your, LaoGes ability to see the sky has enough qualifications to be my Shifu; I really have no confidence to see that snow is going toe down soon. This moment Ma Chang came to the two mens side and said, We confirmed that the Tang Army blocking the southern road exit is under Wang Junkuosmand. After reorganizing the foot of his disposition of troops, Qu Tutong joined hands with Wang Junkuo to guard the southern road, their military strength reaches twenty-thousand men. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Li Shimin is using nearly a hundred thousand troops to deal with our not-even-ten-thousand-man army, we ought to be proud of ourselves. Wheres Chen Gong? Anxious and distressed, Ma Chang swept his gaze across the military-prowess-at-its-peak enemy outside the stronghold; he replied, Mou Lao is trying to reinforce the defense of the south of the gorge. Although the enemy does not dare to enter the gorge path, its always better for us to be a bit more careful. Finished speaking, he seemed to want to say something but then hesitated. Ba Fenghan spoke in astonishment, To this moment, where we live and die together, what is it that you feel cannot be expressed freely? Ma Chang said, I am afraid the enemy would use fire to attack. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were unable to make any sense of the matter; breaking the stronghold was easy, burning the stronghold was difficult, they both did not understand why Ma Chang was having such a fear. Ma Chang exined, Strictly speaking, it should be smoke attack. In this weather, once the north wind, northwest wind, or perhaps northeast wind is blowing, if the enemy burns wood nearly, the thick smoke would be carried by the wind into the stronghold, to fill up the gorge path. At that time, if we take risks to break the siege, it would be no different from throwing away our lives. Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, Your worry is reasonable. Ma Chang said, If they dump white arsenic or some other poisonous substance into the open fire, the destructive power will be even more formidable. Shaken, Ba Fenghan said, Ma Jiangjun can think of it, Li Shimin, whose talent is above the crowd surely will not neglect it. This is indeed a problem that give us a big headache. Kou Zhong said, Perhaps the white arsenic is even on its way here; we must find a way to deal with it. Ma Chang proposed, About the gorge path, we can still think of a way; as long as we send our men to seal off the gorge path, due to the smoke will rise to high elevation, we could protect the gorge path unharmed. The problem is that the mountain stronghold does not have any barrier at all on the outside. If the enemy takes advantage of the smoke to attack, we will definitely be unable to endure it. Even if the entire army could hide inside the gorge path to avoid the smoke, the mountain stronghold would potentially be razed to the ground, in which case, they might as well run away as soon as possible. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, The situation is still not that nasty, is it? We could, under cover of the smoke, put poisonous fog cannon outside the stronghold everywhere and seize the opportunity to strike back, perhaps we could gain some advantages. Lao Ba and I are not afraid of poisonous smoke, the problem is how the men outside the gorge path are going to avoid the smoke? In this aspect, Chen Gong must have a way. Ba Fenghan cast his gaze toward the cart formations line of defense, which was continuous for several li outside the stronghold. Recovering his cool-headedness, he spoke calmly, If Li Shimin uses fire to attack, the first condition should be to guard tightly the front line of the car formation; if we can break this line of defense, the smoke attack will have to be postponed. How are we going to break their cart formation? Ma Chang asked in astonishment. After giving him an exnation, Kou Zhong said, This matter should not be dyed, Ma Jiangjun immediately selects a team of elite archers, with me and Lao Ba as a cover, we will immediatelymence the operation after dark, burn his Niangs to our hearts contents. How could Jiangnans firearms be easy to deal with? I am going to disy initial show of strength to Li kid, to let him know that I, Kou Zhong, am not easy to push around. Ba Fenghan said, Looking at the situation, Li Shimin should start attacking the stronghold tomorrow morning, so tonight is ourst chance. After Ma Chang epted the order and left, Ba Fenghanughed and said, A talent is a talent. Ma Chang not only has guts and has color, his thought is meticulous, he can be entrusted with heavy responsibility. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, That he is avable for me to use, it is indeed my good fortune. While the two men were discussing tonights operation in details, Chen Laomou hurriedly arrived, his expression excited, he said, Such a trivial matter, leave it to Laofu. Greatly delighted, the two men promptly asked about his n. Revealing a look of respect, Chen Laomou lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously, This is the method that Lu Dashi mentioned in his book on war, chapter five, defensive techniques against poison and smoke, which is to make circr cylinder using cloth, with wooden frame in the inside to support it, connected from segment to segment, one end leads toward a ce where the poisonous smoke cannot reach, the other end leads into the sealed-up room. This room is notpletely sealed-up, rather, it has an air outlet. On one side, a bellows pumps fresh and clean air into the long cylinder, transporting fresh and clean inside, the other end also uses bellows to discharge the poisonous air out, while it could prevent the poison gas from entering the house. We do have a ventted room that is readily avable, which is our main building, requiring only slight addition and refitting. Circr cylinders are simple and easy to make, plus we have adequate manpower, everything can be delivered tomorrow morning. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, Chen Gong, please go immediately to carry this matter through. Upright and unafraid, Chen Laomou left. Kou Zhong wrapped his arm around Ba Fenghans shoulders and said, If we can live one day longer, then well live one day longer. Ay! Howe we have not seen Zilings trace? With him around, I would have more confidence in fighting this war. Book 54 10 – Street of Frustration

Book 54 Chapter 10 C Street of Frustration

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Putting on his Gong Chenchun mask, Xu Ziling entered the City of Xiangyang at dusk. The city defense of the City of Xiangyang was very tense, it was only opened for half a sichen in the morning, afternoon, and evening, those without any pass were all refused entry into the city. Fortunately, Xu Ziling still had his papers as the polo master Kuang Wentong, so that he was able to cross the barrier without a hitch. Inside and outside the city, the atmosphere was brimming with the tension of the war, more than a dozen Tang Army camps were stationed outside the city. After entering the city gate, he noticed that public announcement dering martialw were posted at conspicuous ces everywhere. There were checkpoints along the main streets, where random inspection on passers-by were conducted. The Tang soldiers saw that Xu Ziling did not carry any weapon, he was dressed like the refined-in-manner younger generation of aristocratic family, they did not give him any trouble. Xu Ziling was not trying to seek excitement at all, he took chances by especiallying to this back room of military strategic town, his goal was to make discreet inquiries about Kou Zhong, because there was no other ce more suitable than this major city with the roads open in all directions. He looked for an inn to stay the night first. After freshening up, he went back to the street to buy himself two sets of coarse hemp garment, which he was more ustomed to wear, including sleeveless garment, cotton-padded jacket that could defend against the cold. Only then did he selected a wineshop with the most scale to get his dinner. There were more than twenty tables, but only seven, eight tables were upied; it was a cold and cheerless atmosphere. Fortunately, the diners around five of the tables were chatting about battle-rted topics, not far from Dou Jiandes troops defeated and he died, Luoyang fell, and the conflict between the Tang Army and the Shao Shuai Army. Too bad everybodys information was based on rumors; it was exaggerated and gave a false picture of the situation. By the time Xu Zilings belly was full and he was ready to leave, he still did not hear any more well-founded information. This moment, from outside the taverns main gate came the sound of shouting and a horse. Xu Ziling cast his gaze over, two waiters were trying to push a tall and thin man, with disheveled hair and dirty face, his clothes tattered like a beggars C out of the door. One of the waiters exploded in strings of expletives as he shouted angrily, F*ck your eighteen generations ancestors;st time the wine money has not been paid off, today youe again to look for trouble; you havent had enough beatings? A diner from the other tableughed and said, A madman is really not simple, no matter how bad you beat him, after a couple of days its like nothing happened to him. Nevertheless, Xu Zilings entire body was severely shaken; he stood up abruptly and shouted, Let him in, hes my friend. Everyone present was stunned. The two waiters turned their heads at the same time, they sized Xu Ziling up and down; obviously they were unconvinced inwardly, hence they wanted to measure his weight. Plonk! Xu Ziling casually took out a tael of gold and put it on the table; he spoke heavily, I, Taihang Shuangjie Kuang Wentong am not easy to push around. Dont you guys refuse to drink a toast only to drink as the result of having lost a bet. If you dont know me, you can go to Changan to inquire. Humph! You can consider this ingot of gold as payment for my friends wine debt and to pay for todays food and drink. Immediately the two waiters softened, they stepped aside to get out of the way. His footsteps unsteady, the tall and thin man stumbled over the door, as if he waspletely oblivious that Xu Ziling has helped him out of trouble. He sat down on the first table inside the door, pped the table and spoke hoarsely, Get me some wine! Watching this, Xu Ziling was saddened. Ignoring the two waiterspeting for the gold ingot, he shouted first, Get me the best quality wine! and then he sat down next to the tall and thin man, and spoke in low voice, Yin Xiong! Its me! Its Xu Ziling! The beggar-like, down and out, fallen man was unexpectedly Yin Xianhe, who, after they parted at Longquan, his trace was unknown. There was not the least bit of his original Butterfly Prince air remained; not only he lost his sword, his head and face were covered in bruises, apparently he had been beaten up many times over. Hearing that, Yin Xianhe was shaken. Recovering a bit of consciousness, he looked at Xu Ziling, the expression showing in his eyes was scattered and not focused, he appeared to be in a daze. Xu Ziling reached out to grab his mud-stained, filthy hand, and injected true qi inside; he found out that his meridians were mixed and his qi was scattered. Clearly he suffered from fire deviation. Xu Ziling understood. Because there was a good chance that his younger sister, Yin Xiaoji has been reduced to prostitution, Yin Xianhe was unable to ept this cruel fact, coupled with excessive drinking, finally he took a wrong turn. This moment the waiter respectfully delivered a jar of Fenjiu [sorghum-based Chinese liquor], while also setting up bowls and chopsticks, calling him Daye this and Daye that incessantly, before tactfully withdrew. Yin Xianhe was going to get the wine, Xu Ziling shouted in low voice, Xiaoji sessfully escaped the clutches of evil people! Yin Xianhe was severely shaken, the vigor in his pair of eyes recovered somewhat, he stared at Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling seized the fortunate timing to intensify his power to help him to get the scattered true qi within his meridians to get back on track. Yin Xianhe spoke in trembling voice, Xiaoji? Xu Ziling cried Lucky! inwardly, illness of the heart required a medicine of the heart. If not for the definite information about Yin Xiaoji that he obtained from Han Zenan, husband and wife, this moment he would not be able to paint holding two brushes, to make Yin Xianhes spirit and intelligence recovered. Yin Xiong! he said, Xiaodi is Xu Ziling, this appearance is a fake one. Yin Xianhes eyes continued to focus, his eyebrows knitted, he muttered, Xu Ziling ... Xu Ziling ... Suddenly he opened his eyes wide and looked around, he spoke in horror, What is this ce? Xu Ziling let go of his hand. As if relieved from a burden, he exhaled a mouthful of air, and said, Yin Xiong is recovering! You can set your heart at ease in everything. Inside the mountain stronghold, Kou Zhong and the others rested their heads on the dagger-axe, storing up momentum. After careful study with Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, Ma Chang, Wang Xuanshu, and the others, they unanimously decided onrge-scale attack, in order to dampen Li Shimins acute spirit. While his men were helping Kou Zhong to put on the battle armor that Xuan Yong had a specialist made for him, Xiao Heers voice rang next to him, Dage must be the Heavenly General that came from the world of the immortals. It was only this moment that Kou Zhong had a little bit of time to think of her, plus her remark has reminded him, secretly he med himself for having his mind filled with killing and burning, with negligence, but he also remembered that if the mountain stronghold was broken, Xiao Heers life would be in danger. Heughed and said, Xiao Meizi, stand in front of me, let me see. All around, his men were greatly stunned, it was only this moment that they found out that Xiao Heer was a woman in mens clothing. Xiao Heers powdery face turned beet-red, she came in front of him; partly happy, partly crossed, she said, Dage revealed my secret! Kou Zhong spoke apologetically, It was Dage being careless. However, ugly woman ultimately must see the father-inw, let alone Meizi looks so pretty? I wonder if Xiao Meizi is interested in staying with my Shao Shuao Army to y? Xiao Heer forgot her embarrassment, she spoke excitedly, What can I do for you? Kou Zhong summoned his men to bring Wuming in, he said, This is our Shao Shuai Armys eyes in the sky, her safety is rted to the survival of the entire army, from now on I hand her over to Meizi to take care. Not only Xiao Heer did not show the slightest bit of fear of Wumings ferocious appearance, seeing Kou Zhong lovingly caressed the shiny brown-grey feathers on her back, she spoke in low voice, Can I touch her? Kou Zhong rose up to his full height, he took her aside, and taught her the taming-eagle-raising-falcon method. Xiao Heer was exceptionally intelligent; she understood very quickly, and she loved Wuming unconditionally. Kou Zhong also noticed Wuming did not show any antipathy toward her, so he handed her over to Xiao Heer, before he went back to meet with Ba Fenghan and the others, ready to set off. Wang Xuanshu led two horses to the two men, he spoke in low voice, Xuanshu will defend the mountain stronghold firmly, I wish Shaoshuai to win a victory on raising the g. Remember to take care of our little sister, Kou Zhong said. For some reason, Wang Xuanshus handsome face blushed slightly, he nodded his promise. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan stepped onto their horses, they galloped side-by-side toward the stronghold gate. Three units, two thousand men each, under Bing Yuanzhen, Ma Chang and Ba Yegangsmand, respectively, were waiting in tight formation on the open space behind the mountain stronghold gate. The sky gradually darkened, inside the mountain stronghold, the light was reced by torches, the mes were burning red, it flickered and shed in the cold wind, which increased the killing atmosphere of the battlefield. Among them, two armies consisted ofnce-and-shield-wielders, archers and cavalry. The former had a thousand men, thest two had five hundred men each, they were still mainly defensive in nature. Kou Zhong shouted his order, the battle drums were sounded together, the stronghold gate was opened wide, Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Boys! Tonight, well show a little bit of appearance for them to see, to make them know how formidable our Shao Shuai Army is. The three armies plus the defenders of the camp shouted in response, the morale was high. Kou Zhongughed aloud, together with Ba Fenghan, they were the first to gallop out of the stronghold gate. On the enemy formations side, bugle horns were sounded, hoofbeats were rumbling, evidently Li Shimin reacted by mobilizing his army to engage the iing enemy. Inside the room at the inn, Yin Xianhe, who has recovered his consciousness, spoke in distress, Thest thing I remember was taking a boat to Changan; I did not know that unexpectedly I could wander in confusion to here, ay! Xu Zilingforted him, Everything is a thing of the past, Yin Xiong need not take it to heart. Yin Xiong take a bath first, change clothes, and then well talk. Sitting inside the chair, Yin Xianhe stared nkly for half a day, he shook his head and said, No! We must go to Badong immediately, I want to personally ask clearly about Xiaoji, to ensure that there is no misunderstanding. Xu Ziling understood his mood, he said, The city gate is now closed, tomorrow morning the city gate opened we immediately rushed to Badong. Yin Xianhe said, The city gate closed, we can climb the wall and go; whoever dares to stop me, I will kill him. Xu Ziling knew that he was helpless against him; he mused secretly that his n to meet up with Kou Zhong could be dered dead. Smiling wryly, he said, Yin Xiong take a bath and change clothes first, and then well immediately be on our way, will that work? The battle after the rain showers. Ma Changs middle army, Bing Yuanzhens left-wing army, and Ba Yegangs right-wing army, by means of temporary trench bridges, setup their disposition of troops outside the trenches. These twelve trench bridges werepleted by Chen Laomou over half a day of work, their entire length and width were of wooden nks acting as the bridge floor, supported by wheels underneath, which were pushed into the trenches. With the giant wheels as the main support structure underneath, it was able to bear the load on the bridge floor, so that their own army could quickly cross the trenches. The one thousand military supply wagon troops that came with the reinforcement troops became Chen Laomous fresh-powered construction battalion troops. With sufficient manpower, Chen Laomou wanted wind, he got wind, he wanted rain, he got rain [idiom: get whatever he wanted]. After setting up their battle array, the left- and right-wing troops moved forward, and stopped about a thousand steps outside the enemys cart formations front line, and arranged themselves in a crescent moon formation. Thence-and-shield-wielders at the very front entered toward the left and right bends. The thousand men divided themselves into three rows, forming a defense line enough to resist the impact of the enemy riders. Five hundred archers positioned themselves behind them, to resist the enemy from a long distance while under protection. The cavalry at the rear was responsible for dealing with the enemy riders attacking from the sides. The formation style was mainly defensive in nature. The three thousand men under Ma Changsmand were all light cavalry. Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong flew off their horses. Another team of fifty elite Flying Cloud Guards were in charge of supplying the fire bullets and to ignite the gunpowder. Li Shimins side did not dare to be careless, three units of infantry, consisted of five thousand archers each,id out their defense in front of the cart formation, undermand of Luo Shixin, Shi Wanbao, and Liu Dewei, three leaders, respectively. As long as they pushed forward two hundred steps, both sides could shoot arrow darts at each other. Clearly the Tang Army had deep misgivings about Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, they were intimidated by the long-distant threat of the Piercing the Sun and the Shooting the Moon bows. The two rows at the front were using precisely the pirs of the enormous lu [water scull] shields. Li Shimin and his various generals arranged five teams of light cavalry behind the cart formation, each unit had three thousand men, they could rush out from the gaps of the cart formation, and threw themselves into the battlefield. If Kou Zhongs side did not have any emergency measure, facing the Tang Army, whose military power upiedplete superiority, while the other side also had a steady stream of reinforcement troops, they would undoubtedly lose. Wang Xuanshu, guarding the mountain stronghold, shouted an order, a team of five hundred archers rushed out of the mountain stronghold, and positioned themselves to defend the three trench bridges outside. This moment the bugle horn was sounded, the three units of five thousand shield-andnce-wielders troops and the archers outside the Tang Armys cart formation, amidst the beating of the battle drums, marched uniformly toward the Shao Shuai Army, in slow and steady advance, their mighty power was extremely intimidating. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan waited until the enemy advancing near to the ideal position, before they simultaneously took out the Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon, two divine bows. From their left and right their men quickly hung the ignited fire bullets onto the two mens arrows. The hook was of course made under Chen Laomous supervision. Whoosh! Whoosh! The two arrows left the bows and shot high into the air, the sparks of the fire bullets flew about in all directions, creating a magnificent spectacle streaking across the sky, but they were not shooting toward the gradually approaching enemy, rather, they shot into the cart formation. Bang! Bang! Two clear explosions like the sound of firecrackers, Ba Fenghans fire bullet exploded above the cart formation, clumps of raging mes, like violent rain, poured down on the cart formation and the Tang soldiers guarding the formation, covering an area of about two, three zhang square. Kou Zhongs fireball fell into a stone-throwing machine before it exploded, immediately sending the stone-throwing machine and two ramming vehicles nearby into raging mes. The raging mes spread and scorched the Tang soldiers that they howled in pain and fell to the ground. Two other fireballs were fired from Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans divine bows, seeking for new targets amidst the cart formation. The enemy inside and outside the cart formation had never thought that there was such a formidable firearm that could attack the enemy from over a thousand paces, immediately the footing of their disposition of troops was thrown into great chaos, the three units of the Tang Army still advancing had no room to advance or to retreat even more. Kou Zhongs fire bullets changed direction toward the advancing enemy, while Ba Fenghans were dedicated to deal with the cart formation. Momentarily raging mes were everywhere, fresh mes sprang up everywhere. Seeing no time to lose, Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang promptly deployed their troops to attack. Ma Changs troops also pushed on as before, arrayed themselves in formation to wait behind Kou Zhong. The fire bullets continuously streaked across the night sky, joined as a string of pearls, unendingly flying toward the target. A lot of the sections of the cart formation were already caught in raging mes, in addition to the potential of the mes to spread into the entire formation. Li Shimin made prompt decisions, he ordered his men to move the fleet of carts, which had not been burned, to the rear. He also ordered the three units of infantry to withdraw into the formation, and had the two units of three thousand each cavalry, who had stronger mobility, to take their ce to attack from the left and right, while he himself stayed behind to steady the footing of their disposition of troops. Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang did not dare to pursue and attack, they pulled back to Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans left and right, two sides, in tight disposition of troops to meet the enemy head-on. Bang! Bang! Two fire bullets exploded in front of the enemy riders formation charging from the right side, fireballs poured down like rain, the more than a dozen riders at the very front immediately became fiery-men, fiery-horses, leaning unsteadily from side to side, and fell headlong to the ground. The riders on the rear could not stop their momentum, they ran into the raging mes. Momentarily the men screamed, the horses neighed, the tragic situation was unbearable to see. One after another Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang shouted loudly, Release the arrows! Row after row of arrow darts shot out from behind thence-and-shield-wielders, ruthlessly attacking the enemy riders. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan put down their treasured bows, flew up to mount their horses, and led Ma Changs three thousand elite cavalry to attack. By daybreak, Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe arrived outside the city of Badong, both were sleepy and unbearably tired. The city gate has not yet opened, they mingled among the traveling merchants and the farmers taking advantage of the market waiting to enter the city. Even with his eagerness to enter the city, Yin Xianhe still felt that they ought to exercise a bit more patience to wait for the city gate to open rather than immediately climb over the city wall to enter. Xu Ziling was afraid someone might recognize him and attract unnecessary trouble, hence he put on Gong Chenchun mask, and waited with Yin Xianhe by the official road. The sound of hoofbeats suddenly arose, a group of men wearing tight warrior outfit galloped over along the official road, carrying an overbearing, tyrannical air, shouting and scolding the pedestrians to get out of the way. Someone was moving a bit slow, the rider in the lead immediately brandished the horsewhip overhead, creating the sound of the whip splitting the air, brimming with threatening overtone. The people originally crowded in front of the city gate to wait for their turn to enter the city hurriedly scrambled to the side in the panic, the situation was quite chaotic. When Xu Ziling saw the horse, the first thing that came to his mind was his beloved horse, Ten-Thousand-Li Spots, who died tragically on the battlefield; grief was welling up in his heart, he was sad and depressed. And then his gaze moved up, he could not help but was shocked inwardly; hastily he turned his tiger-body around, in order not to let the other side see Gong Chenchuns august countenance. That group of more than a dozen warriors had not reached the city gate, the general guarding on the city gate tower already issued an order to open the city gate and lower the suspension bridge, to let this group of riders to gallop straight inside. And then in front of the people who mistakenly thought that they could follow, the suspension bridge was pulled up again, provoking a burst ofints and discontent. Ziling seems to know this group of men? Yin Xianhe asked in astonishment. Xu Ziling replied, I recognized the two leaders, they are Li Jianchengs trusted aide, his ws and teeth Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan. I just dont know why theyre here. Although he uttered his doubts, but inwardly he had a vague feeling that this matter was rted to Liang Shunming receiving another batch of firearms from Hai Sha Bang. But because he knew that this moment Yin Xianhes mind waspletely on his sister, he concealed the load on his mind. The City of Badong was Du Fuweis territory; although this Ol Dad of his has already proimed himself a minister of the House of Tang, but he would never collude with Li Jiancheng, whom he despised; therefore, most likely the defending general of Badong City had some secret dealings with Li Jiancheng, thereupon he provided some convenience to Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan. As long as he could find out which high-ranking military officer under Du Fuweismand was in charge of Badong City defense, he could warn his Ol Dad and let him know whats going on. The sound of hoofbeats arose again, a horse-drawn carriage wasing over slowly along the official road. Xu Ziling mused how could there be such a coincident? The drivers were surprisingly Hou Xibai and Lei Jiuzhi, whom he had not seen for a long time. Xu Ziling pulled Yin Xianhe along to meet the carriage. Hou Xibai and Lei Jiuzhi suddenly saw Xu Ziling appearing before their eyes, they nearly wanted to rub their eyes, not daring to believe. The carriage stopped by the roadside, the two men jumped down the carriage, with questions across their whole faces. After Xu Ziling introduced the two to Yin Xianhe and vice versa, Hou Xibai could not bear it anymore, he asked, Unexpectedly Ziling has fully recovered! This is really hard to believe. Did Qingxuan finallye? Xu Ziling said, Not only my power is recovered fully, I even made big breakthrough. As for the situation within it, its hard to exin in a few words, I wonder if I can tell you in detailster, the top priority before our eyes is to find out clearly whether Yin Xiaomei [little sister] that Han Furen spoke about was indeed Yin Xiongs little sister. And then he turned to Yin Xianhe and said, This Lei Dage is the person that Xiaodi mentioned to Yin Xiong, the one who is very familiar with the Xiang Family. With him helping, impossible things will be possible. Lei Jiuzhi had never thought that they barely met, Xu Ziling, who was habitually silent, immediately gave him big bamboo tall hat [fig. ttery]. In his delight, he was unable to close his mouth; heughed and said, Yin Xiong, dont worry, no matter southern gang or northern society, in all parts of the country, big and small gangs and sects, there are people with head and face [i.e. reputation] who, more or less, have some friendly rtions with me, so it is very convenient to do business. Badong Bangs boss has had a few drinking bets with me. We all are brothers, Yin Xiongs business is our business. Apparently, Yin Xianhe was not interested in this kind of Jianghu rhetoric, his brows were still deeply knitted, he spoke woodenly, The city gate is opened! Amidst the squeaking noise, the overhung gate was lowered again. For some reason, a premonition that crisis was imminent suddenly welled up in Xu Ziling heart. Book 54 11 – Unexpected Discovery

Book 54 Chapter 11 C Unexpected Discovery

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were thest two persons to return to the mountain stronghold, all the trench bridges werepletely engulfed in raging mes. Li Shimin also beat the gong to recall his troops, part of the battlefield near the outside trenches was still hidden in violet poisonous smoke, but the smoke was quickly dissipated by the blowing wind, the dead and wounded were brought back to their respective side. Both sides suffered damage, the dead and wounded in the Tang Armys side reached nearly a thousand, which was ten times more than the Shao Shuai Army; it could be considered Kou Zhongs fierce victory, the first time that he pulled the gambling chips ahead. When the two units of Tang Armys cavalry attacked the two wings, the three units of infantry they were protecting have been in disarray after fighting at their rear. On the Kou Zhongs side, Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegangs disposition of troops, consistingnce-and-shield-wielders and the archers, already held their footing steady, they did not let the enemy attack toward the trenchs side, plus there was the three-thousand-man elite cavalry under Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Ma Changsmand that struck like lightning, charging into the enemy that they scattered and were cut off. The cavalry continuously went back and forth to charge, so that the Tang Army was unable to endure. Seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, Li Shimin personally let his Dark-Armored Elite Troops and two other light cavalry units, a total of nine thousand men, to rush out of the cart formation, most of which had been burned down; they attacked with toppling the mountains and overturning the seas momentum, while at the same time he ordered the cavalry, that had been under attack in the battlefield that they whined on for days. Kou Zhong was well aware of the power of the Dark-Armored Elite Troops. If they took them head-on, they would be trapped in hard battle, and then when Luo Shixin and the others, over ten thousand infantrymen reorganized the footing of their troop disposition and reentered the battlefield, his own army would undoubtedly lose. Fortunately, he already had a n; immediately the whole army moved the barrier, they put the poisonous smoke earth cannon all over the ground, and then they waited behind the earth cannon formation in tight formation. Li Shimin had never thought that he would have this move. Three units of cavalry, like whirlwind, charged into the earth canon formation. Immediately, Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom! poisonous smoke sprang up everywhere, trapping the Tang Armys vanguard cavalry inside the violet poisonous fog. The warhorses were the first to be unable to stand, they skipped around like they went crazy, the riders were thrown off the horseback in confusion, both men and horses all suffered the full power of the poisonous smoke. The Shao Shuai Army released salvo over salvo of one thousand powerful arrows from the left and right wings, mercilessly killing the enemy, who no longer had any power to strike back. It was a spectacle too horrible to endure. Li Shimin had no choice but to sound the gong to pull back his army. The originally charging over like a whirlwind, their momentum like a rainbow C army ended up as a sad, retreating army. Kou Zhong knew when to stop, he pulled back his army in an orderly manner into the mountain stronghold. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan rode side-by-side into the stronghold gate. The returning-in-triumph-from-the-battlefield troops and the warriors staying behind to guard the strongholds thunderous cheers shook the heavens; they cried in chorus, Long live Shaoshuai! They cheered and shouts for the beautiful victory, their morale rose to its boiling point. No one knew where she came from, but Xiao Heer pounced out to wee the two men; excited, her powdery face turned very red, she screamed, Dage is really awesome, those bad guys outside are not Dages match. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan flew off their horses, they looked at each other andughed. Kou Zhong turned to Xiao Heer and said with a smile, They are not bad guys, but they are my mortal enemies. Chen Laomou, Wang Xuanshu, and Bai Wenyuan came up to congratte them. Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang established great merit, they looked even more excited. This victory was not easy toe by; although they were unable to bring about fundamental damage to the Tang Army, but they had rendered serious blow toward the other sides morale, and dyed the Tang Armysunching their attack on the stronghold, therefore, it was extremely important. Stretching out his limbs, Kou Zhong said, We must have a good nights sleep. I leave the full responsibility of guarding this ce to Bai Jiangjun. Xuanshu can take Xiao Heer out to y. Immediately Wang Xuanshus handsome face turned bright red, momentarily he stammered but could not say anything. Xiao Heer excitedly asked, Is there any fun ce to visit? Wang Xuanshu, with a voice as little as a mosquitos, said, Shaoshuais order, I am going to take you to see the small waterfall in the mountain gorge. It was only then did everybody realize the subtle situation between Wang Xuanshu and Xiao Heer; they could not help looking at each other andughed. Kou Zhongughed to his hearts content, he said, Xuanshu can take my Xiao Meizi sightseeing everywhere and in all directions without any worry, this spanning-over-two-li gorge path is rarely seen in the world, certainly there will be amazing sight everywhere. I never thought that not only we have roof over our head in the battlefield, there is even scenery that we can enjoy and we can bestow. Heaven really treats us not meagerly. For the first time Ba Fenghan looked at Xiao Heer up and down, he smiled and said, Xiao Heers long hair is jet-ck and shiny, why dont you go to a clear spring and freshen up to your hearts delight? It must be a touching enjoyment, while also to let Xuanshu see your good-lookingdy-of-the-familys long hair draped over your shoulders style. Xiao Heer finally realized that everybody was teasing her and Wang Xuanshu. She glowered angrily at Ba Fenghan, but she could not help pulling the sleeve of Wang Xuanshusbat robe and spoke in low voice, Lets go have some fun, no need to pay them any attention. Chen Laomou let out his weirdughter and said, There are dry towels in the main building, Xuanshu must not forget to take some. As if he was running away for his life, Wang Xuanshu and Xiao Heer disappeared like a wisp of smoke. Looking at their disappearing back, Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, Anything unexpected can happen on the battlefield! How much firearms we have left? As if he was enumerating his familys valuables, Chen Laomou replied, Just now we did not use any poisonous smoke arrow, so not an iota changed. Kerosene bullets we still have three hundred and twenty left, the earth cannons wear and tear isparativelyrge, the current number is less than three hundred. Ba Fenghan said, That should be enough for us to resist another round of violent attack by Li Shimins whole army. Chen Laomou said, Even if previously Li Shimin did not think about smoke attack method, this time our firearms must have warned him. Moreover, in the construction of another batch of siege equipment, they wont be afraid of our poisonous smoke and fire bullets; therefore, the most convenient way would be something like smoke attack. Fortunately, we have a precautionary approach, if used properly, it may bring another great victory. Ba Yegang spoke heavily, We must not miss any chance to seize victory, because we have limited resources, we cannot replenish any losses, while the enemy has inexhaustible resources and manpower; once our army is down, the situation will be unimaginable. Looking up to the sky, Kou Zhong said, Hopefully the big snow will drop from the sky in a few days, otherwise, if it rains instead of snow, our situation will be extremely not good. Lao Ba, do you have any confidence? If it really rains, our kerosene bullets or whatever will be difficult to have any effect. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, I am not an immortal, how I do know things like that? Kou Zhongughed and said, In that case well have to see Laotianyes will and imperial decree, so dont bother to think, we just have to make all the preparations. I want to hold a simple and solemn ceremony for our fallen brothers, I will ask Wenyuan to handle this matter, I also want to personally greet the injured brothers,st night was a long night, but I feel like it passed in just the blink of an eye. Its really a contradiction. A group of thirty Badong city defenders galloped out of the city gate. They roughly chased away the people who wanted to enter the city, and then they formed a line on both sides, as if to open the way for someone who was about to leave the city. Er Wenhuan, Qiao Gongshan and their original team of riders spurred their rides out of the city, there was also a horse-drawn carriage in the middle, its curtain was pulled down low, giving up a mysterious impression. Xu Ziling pulled off his mask and spoke in heavy voice, Han Xiong, husband and wife are most likely inside the carriage, we will cut them off on the way to save people. Er Wenhuan and the others, upright and unafraid, galloped past at high speed in front of the four men, raising a clump of dirt and dust covering the sky. We chase after them! Yin Xianhe said. Xu Ziling knew that he was so anxious that he lost his usual patience; pulling him back, he said, Lets wait until they are a bit farther away, Yin Xiong, Xibai and I will catch up and immediately make our move, Lei JiuGe [ninth brother] drive the vehicle to follow. Lei Jiuzhi recognized Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan, he coldly said, When you make your move, dont show any pity, it would be best to kill these two hunting dogs of Li Jiancheng. I really never have thought that Li Jiancheng would openly work for the Xiang family. Xu Ziling said, Li Jiancheng not only colludes with the Xiang Family, he also gangs up with Zhao Deyan. Lets go! Kou Zhong stepped into themander room and slowly closed the door. He went to the bedside and held his head in his hands andy down. He was sitting on the only bed in the entire mountain stronghold, Chen Laomou specially made it for him. Ba Fenghan, who was lying on the other side of the bed, struggled to sit up and said, What are you thinking? Kou Zhong turned his head around to cast a nce, he smiled bitterly and said, You dont seem to have taken off your shoes. Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, You are still in the mood to bother about whether to take off our shoes or not to take off our shoes? Under current circumstances, this should be the method that we have to adopt. When we reenter Luoyang via the Hou Zai Gate, well think about the problem of taking off shoes! Groaning, Kou Zhong said, You think we will have such a day? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Ba Fenghan said, If it rains instead of snow, Li Shimin may brave the rain to attack, our poisonous smoke and fire bullets wont be able to show its skill, then returning to Luoyang may never happen! Kou Zhong sighed and said, I wonder what his grannys clouds are umting in the sky? Ba Fenghan smiled bitterly and said, It is his grannys ck cloud that could be rain or could be snow. If we say the weather is cold, its not actually cold, so it seems like its not time for snow yet. We simply have to make adequate preparation. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, I wonder if every brother ought to be supplied with a bamboo rain hat? Ba Fenghan roared in bitterughter and said, You, this kid! You are really something. Kou Zhongy down on the bed, boots and all, but the divine light in his pair of eyes was shing, he spoke slowly, So what if it snows? The firearms will be used up in less than half a day, all along we have to rely on real swords, real spears to deal with Li kid. Firearms can only help us upied a bit of convenience in some kind of special situation. From beginning to end we have to rely on strength. His Niangs! We have no choice but to counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir, and when the dirtes the wood will subdue, the woodes we set them on fire. His Niangs! Hey! We seem to have missed a move. Havent we already done everything that we should have done? Ba Fenghan said in astonishment. Kou Zhong said, This move is called logs rolled down in defense of a city wooden formation. We haverge quantities of chopped down tree trunks. As long as we move them up the city wall and throw them down, let them tumble down the slope, would you say their mighty power is formidable enough? Ba Fenghans spirit greatly aroused, he said, That is indeed a marvelous move, so simple yet why hasnt anyone thought about it? Kou Zhong said, Because we are thinking that we are defending the City of Luoyang. Outside Luoyang City, there is no slope, when we were besieged on all sides, wood is more precious than gold. But in here, right now, this beating wood formation method is not afraid of being drenched by the rain, it is convenient and effective. As long as we push down several hundred of logs down the slope outside the stronghold, even if Li kid can sessfully cross the border, they wont be able to pass this beating wood formation. When the logs are drying in the sun, we can then burn his Niangs to our hearts content. Ha! This is called Heaven never bars ones way, it only depends on whether youre willing to use your brains or not. There was a knock on the door. One of their men reported in a loud voice outside the door, Reporting to Shaoshuai! Bai Jiangjun ordered Xiaoren toe to report, the Tang Army has started to pile up firewood and dried branches outside the stronghold. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Tell Bai Jiangjun: wake me up when the Tang Army light the fire! And then he turned to Ba Fenghan and said with a sigh, Yang Gong once said that those who cannot sleep peacefully on the battlefield are not well-qualifiedmander-in-chief. Ay! If Yang Gong is still by my side, wont that be much better? Ignoring the crowds astonished look, Xu Ziling, Yin Xianhe, and Hou Xibai ran after their target. From Badong to the River Huais main dock, the distance was only about one li. If Er Wenhuan and the others boarded the boat one step ahead, or perhaps they met another group of the enemys men and horses, they would have to waste a lot more time and effort. If they could intercept the carriage and the group of riders midway, they could definitely eat up the other side. Ahead, the dust was rising, the sound of hoofbeats was rumbling. Xu Ziling had just thought about increasing his speed, his person has already shot forward, his intention arrived, his qi also arrived. Like moving clouds, flowing water he cut off the distance with the two riders protecting the rear. The most brilliant part was that his clothes were sticking close to his body and did not flutter, so that the sound of the gust of wind was pressed down to the minimum. Hou Xibai and Yin Xianhe, one in front of the other, increased their speed to catch up. The former fell behind a zhang or so, and by time Xu Ziling started to attack, Yin Xianhe was still about two zhang away. The two enemies had their back kicked by Xu Ziling from high up in the air. Were it not for his benevolent heart, it could be guaranteed that the two enemies would immediately die on the spot. This moment, only their meridian was sealed, they fell off the horse. The crowd of the enemy looked back in horror, Xu Ziling tapped one of the warhorses back with the tip of his foot, he soared high into the air and flew toward the roof of the carriage. Er Wenhuan shouted loudly, What little thief? How dare you rob Laozis carriage? Kill them without mercy! One after another the enemy riders pulled out their weapons and rushed forward to fight back. The riders on both sides of the carriage jumped on the roof at the same time, to attack Xu Ziling from both sides, showing their extraordinary skills. Any one of them roaming the Jianghu could be called first-ss martial art master, however,pared to Xu Ziling, whose name shook the world, they were still quite some distance away. As soon as they met face-to-face, they were struck down to the ground. Not only they did not have a chance to set foot on the roof, they did not even know with what technique the other side defeated them. And once theynded on the ground, they could not climb back up. It was only this moment that Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan found out that other than the enemy on the roof of the carriage, there were also two other men killing away at their tail. Neither one of them had even seen Xu Zilings true identity, hence they did not recognize him. However, in Changan, no one did not know Hou Xibai, Er and Qiao, two men had even met him many times before. Seeing that one of the enemies was him, immediately their countenance changed, they knew the turn of events was not too encouraging. Hou Xibai, calmly, as if he was taking a stroll, caught up. ck! the Fan of Beauty opened up, he disyed a rxed, leisure manner of fanning himself, and said with augh, Er Daren, Qiao Daren, how are you? Only you, two guys who consider everyone else beneath yourselves, dare to call Xu Ziling a little thief. My admiration! My admiration! Dang! The folding Fan of Beauty blocked a sh of a riders sword strike backhandedly. Fully using a twisting force, immediately the enemys long sword fell off his hand, and was flung far into the dense forest by the road. Amidst another shout, another riders sword was snatched away by Yin Xianhe using some exquisite beyondpare technique, he even had his shoulder de pulled and snapped. This moment Xu Ziling jumped down to the empty seat next to the driver of the carriage, the driver has not yet had a chance to make his move, he was knocked over by Xu Zilings shoulder that he tumbled sideways from his seat and rolled down to the ground. Xu Ziling grabbed the reins and gradually pulled the carriage to a stop. Hearing the name Xu Ziling, the color of blood drainedpletely from Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshans faces, the former shouted loudly, Pull back! Unexpectedly they ignored theirpanions, and spurred the horse to full speed to escape in the direction of the Huai River. Seeing how their leaders were this stupid and cowardly, the seven or eight big men, who have not been knocked down, did not dare to show off, in sh they all ran away neat and clean. The carriage rushed forward seven or eight zhang before slowly stopped. Hou Xibai rushed to the door of the carriage, grabbed and pulled it open, his pair of eyes revealed a cannot-believe expression, he spoke in shock, Unexpectedly its Yun Bangzhu [gang leader]! Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan stood on top of the wall. On the field outside the trenches, there were three piles of firewood and dry branches, as high as a small hill, burning in mes, sending out billowing smoke, blown by the wind, engulfing the mountain stronghold in suffocating smoke. The entire Shao Shuai Army evaded into the gorge path and inside the main building. The Tang Army formed their battle array behind the bonfire, waiting for the best time to attack. Yet the two men looked calm, they did not mind the fire bits and the thick smoke hitting them on the face at all. Ba Fenghan said with a smile, Shaoshuais saber method has made great progress, it has already reached the realm of saber and intention fused into one. Stretching out his limbs, Kou Zhong looked at Ba Fenghan, who, in the midst of the smoke, appeared to be in-between reality and fantasy, and said, You are the one whos really formidable. On the battlefield, in you live, I die situation, you still have the time to pay attention to my saber method. However, my Moon in the Well has already surpassed the saber and intention fused into one, rather, it reached the saber is the intention, the intention is the saber realm. Until recently, I began to understand the meaning behind what Song Que said, apart from the saber, there is no other thing. Ba Fenghans imposing body shook, he repeated it twice, and then he met Kou Zhongs eyes and said, What exactly is the special meaning of that? Revealing a smiling expression, Kou Zhong said, Just what it says, apart from the saber, there is no other thing, even self does not exist, there is only the saber, and the saber is everything. At that time Song Que also said that when you understand it, then you really understand, if you dont understand then you dont understand. Ha! Funny that at that time I thought I understood, only today I knew that at that time I only understood his grannys bear; I practically did not understand. Ba Fenghan revealed a deep-in-thought expression; shaking his head, he said, I wonder if you just exaggerated? That is not possible. If you think deeply, you will sense the existence of self. Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, There is really not the least bit of exaggeration. The saber is me, I am the saber, the saber senses on my behalf, thinks deeply, and moves ording to the situation, because of the change in the momentum, therein a subtle point, it really is indescribable. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Your personal experience in this realm has been very enlightening to me. The saber is the intention, the intention is the saber. A burst of long wind was blowing, the thick smoke rolled and dance. On the opposite side, not a shadow was to be seen. When the smoke dispersed, Ba Fenghan reappeared before his eyes. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, While we still have a bit of time, I wonder if you could continue your story of the second meeting. Ba Fenghan did not understand, What story of the second meeting? he asked. As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong said, Naturally the touching, sad-beyond-words story about Badaier and you, Laoge. Get lost! Ba Fenghan spoke crossly, Laozi already made an exception by telling you the painful past events of my childhood, yet you are still unsatisfied? Well, excuse me! In this aspect, Xiongdi is not going to amodate you. Kou Zhongughed and cursed, I care about you! Good intentions met by lightning strike. Laughing involuntarily, Ba Fenghan said, Theres a secret in everybodys heart that he wont want to tell, not to mention that no matter how detailed I am describing them, there will be parts among the real course of events that I am bound to subjectively distort. Try telling me about what happened between you and Song Yuzhi or Shang Xiufang, there must be a side that you wont want to reveal. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply; the matter between he and the two women, a lot of them he did not even want to think of, he did not want to mention. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Do you understand it now? Kou Zhong responded with a wry smile of his own, he spoke dejectedly, I understand. Dong! Dong! Dong! Battle drums were sounded, from behind the thick smoke came the sound of men shouting and wheels grinding. The Tang Army took advantage of the moment while the mountain stronghold was locked up in smoke and trapped inside the fog to carry out their work of filling the trenches. Kou Zhong took out the Piercing the Sun Bow and spoke heavily, Lets see my arrow is the intention, the intention is the arrow C skill; how about I am asking Lao Ba to hang and ignite the kerosene bullet for me? Book 54 12 – Potential Is Not Unique

Book 54 Chapter 12 C Potential Is Not Unique

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling knocked the ring-shaped door knocker of the courtyard house, he said with a sigh, Han Xiong, please open the door, its Xu Ziling. Urgent steps were heard, the gate was opened, revealing Han Zenans flustered countenance. Not good! he said, I am afraid we have been discovered, these past two days there were strangers moving back and forth outside the house. Xu Ziling stepped aside, he pointed to the two big men lying t by Yin Xianhes feet, and asked, Are these two of them? Han Zenan looked in astonishment, Yin Xianhe bent down his tall body and his two hands separately grabbed the two mens hair and pulled them to face Han Zenan. Han Zenan trembled, he said, I have never seen these two men. Xu Zilings heart sank, he spoke to Yin Xianhe, I have to trouble Yin Xiong to hide them inside the courtyard. And then he stepped across the threshold to enter the courtyard, and walked over toward the door to the house, apanied by Han Zenan; he said, We left as soon as we could, fortunately, we came in time. Han Zenan said, We were originally nning on leaving town by taking advantage of the dark, with Xu Xiongs help, my wife will feel much better! Bai Xiaochang opened the door to wee them, the tip of her brows showed delight, Xiao Jieer has grown quite a lot, leaning on his mothers side, he looked curiously at Xu Ziling, he also stole a nce at Yin Xianhe dragging the two men to a corner of the outer courtyard, but he did not show the slightest look of fear. Xu Ziling noticed that on the table inside the hall, there were three bundles, two big and one small, he knew that they had already packed for the trip. Scooping up Xiao Jieer, he said with augh, Last time I did not see you, hows Xiao Jieer? Xiao Jieer affectionately threw his arms around his neck, and excitedly said, Are you that Gong Shushu [uncle] that has changed? Die and Niang said that with Shushu around, we dont have to be afraid the bad guys might bully us. Are those two bad guys outside caught by Shushu? Xu Ziling affectionately stroked his little head, he turned to Han Zenan and Bai Xiaochang and said, There is a carriage waiting outside the city, we go immediately. Han Zenan and Bai Xiaochang cast their gaze toward Yin Xianhe, who appeared behind the door. Xu Ziling said, This gentleman is Yin Xiaojis brother, Sao Furen [madame sister-inw], please describe Xiaojis appearance and distinctive feature. Bai Xiaochang muttered to herself irresolutely for half a day, and then she said, The most profound impression was that Xiaojis left arm has light red birthmark the size of a finger, also a pair of big and bright eyes! Yin Xianhe already had tears streaming down his face, his voice trembling, he said, She really is Xiaoji! It is really her! Xu Ziling said, Lets talk further after we leave the city, the enemy does not dare to make their move, only because they have misgivings toward Sao Furens martial art skill. Just now we made our move to subdue the men they sent to watch you, I am afraid we already beat the grass to scare the snake, therefore, we must leave immediately. Xu Ziling carried Xiao Jieer, while Yin Xianhe, one person, handled the two big bundles. Along with Han Zenan, husband and wife, they hurriedly left. When they turned to the main street leading to the north of the city, immediately they felt the atmosphere was different. It was in the afternoon, the street ought to be crowded with people, yet unexpectedly they did not see any pedestrians. Yin Xianhe moved closer to Xu Ziling and said, It seems rather bad! Han Zenan on the other side was terrified, he said, Shall we try the city gate on the other side? Xu Ziling replied, The other city gate should not be any different. The other side obviously has martial art masters presiding over the general situation from behind the scene, and Badong Citys defending general obviously breathe through the same nostril with the opponent. Bai Xiaochang was calmer than Han Zenan, she spoke softly, Badong Citys Taishou [governor of a province] is called Zhang Wan, everybody knows that he takes bribes and bends thew. His only skill is to pat Du Fuweis horse butts. Xu Ziling handed over Xiao Jieer to Bai Xiaochang, he said with augh, That will do! We are still going out of town via the north gate, lets see whos going to stop us. Yin Xianhe was puzzled, he asked, Since the enemy has Zhang Wan on their side, why didnt they make their move early on? Xu Ziling said, This is called family scandal should not be announced publicly. Naturally it would be best to deal with the internal matter of the family with the member of their own family. But now, seeing the situation is critical, while the martial art master of their side is still on the way, they have no choice but to bribe corrupt official to deal with us. Yin Xianhe sighed and said, Just now we were momentarily careless, we missed the other sides spy. Xu Ziling said, The spy was hiding in the house across the street, I thought it was just a curious neighbor, I did not pay him any attention. The city gate was in sight, suddenly shouts arose, the city gate closed, on top of the city wall, archers showed themselves, several hundred Badong ordinary soldiers crowded out of the shops on both sides of the main street, ahead, several dozen city defenders guarding the gate rushed out of the gateway. In an instant, five people, four adults and one child, fell into the siege. A tall, thin man wearing general uniform stepped out of the crowd ahead, pointing his halberd fingers and shouted, Not even half a person can leave. This officer is Badong Citys Taishou Zhang Wan. If you are tactful, you will kneel down and will be bound, otherwise, you will be killed without mercy. Bang! Amidst the gradually thinning smoke, the kerosene bullet exploded into fireballs and sparks filling the whole sky, like fireworks, it exploded above the Tang Army soldiers filling the trenches, sprinkling down over their heads and their faces. The Tang soldiers within two zhang diameter, none was lucky enough to escape; they dispersed and ran away in confusion. Some people even rolled around on the ground in an attempt to extinguish their burning clothes. The gong to sound the retreat arose again, the Tang Armypletely withdrew. Stunned, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan looked at each other. The former grabbed his head and said, Unexpectedly Li Shimin is this quick-witted? Ba Fenghan raised his head to look at the sky, he said with a sigh, Because Li Shimin also knew how to look at weather conditions, he knew that at thetest, there will be either big rain or big snow, therefore, momentarily he is not anxious; furthermore, he is unwilling to let you have the opportunity to practice shooting. Kou Zhong stared nkly at the enemy withdrawing far away like a tide, he wanted to say something, but did not know what to say. In his heart, there was not the slightest bit of joy of beating the enemy to retreat with just one arrow, he felt even more that Li Shimin was brilliant and terrifying. Xu Ziling calmly took a step forward, he smiled and said, Zhang Taishou, how are you? I am Xu Ziling, wanting to ask Taishou what crime we did, that we unexpectedly toil Taishous honored self? Hearing the name of Xu Ziling, immediately Zhang Wans countenance changed, the Badong city defenders surrounding them, everybody was stunned. Although Du Fuwei already surrendered to the House of Tang, but Du Fuweis close rtionship with Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, no one in the Jianghuai Army did not know. If they follow Zhang Wans order to attack Xu Ziling, based on Du Fuweis character, who could live after this event? Not to mention that even until today, powerful men like Xieli, Li Yuan, Wang Shichong and the others, still no one could do anything toward Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, these two proud sons of heaven. Xu Ziling said, If theres any offense toward your honorable side, I can personally apologize to your honorable Senior sides and paypensation. The tone of his voice changed, it was so that Zhang Wan would not lose too much face, and to give him the opportunity to step down the stage. He has been mingling in Jianghu since he was little until he grew up, in this aspect, he could be considered a remarkable expert. Zhang Wans countenance changed several times, he spoke heavily, Is there any way to prove that you are Xu Ziling? On the left side among the enemy ranks, someone spoke loudly, Reporting to Taishou, this gentleman is indeed Xu Gongzi. One time Shuxia saw him and Kou Shaoshuai standing on top of the city wall at Jingling. Zhang Wan ferociously glowered at that man, he spoke sternly, So what if you are Xu Ziling? Our Army already returned to the Great Tang, you, Xu Ziling, are our enemy. Xu Ziling was greatly astonished inwardly, but then he remembered this man colluded with Er Wenhuan and the others, he knew that not only he was bought by Li Jiancheng in secret, he even had some unclean, unquiet rtionship with the demonic school people in secret. Thereupon he changed strategy by speaking indifferently, Your military banner has not changed, how could the surrendering matter be considered a real thing? Now, although Luoyang has been broken, Shao Shuai Army and Great Tang Armys struggle is flourishing and still in the ascendant [idiom: still growing strong], the Song Family main forces could set sail to the north any moment. Until now, those who have a clear view of things, none does not understand how to protect themselves while watching for changes. If Taishou is still stubborn, no matter where you are on that day, no matter what office duty you are holding, I, Xu Ziling can guarantee that you will not end well, while we can still leave the city peacefully. Taishou wants to try? Zhang Wan was put on the spot, he also noticed that all his men were hanging down their weapon, no one had the intention to fight. Xu Ziling nodded in praise, he said, Now thats the right thing to do. Turning his head toward Han Zenan and the others, he said, We can leave! And then when he turned back to Zhang Wan, the divine light in his pair of eyes shing, he secretly pinched the Motionless Fundamental Hand Image, and shouted, Still havent open the gate for me? Zhang Wan dejectedly issued the order, with creaking noise, the city gates suspension bridge was once again lowered down. The storm rolled up, on the mountain and fields and in outside the Tian Cheng Gorge, the enemy and us, both sides banners, not one was lucky enough to escape being violently brushed off and randomly fluttered by the wind, creating loud pping noise. The remaining fragments of grass and dried branches that were still burning, mixed with bits of wood charcoal and dirt and dust, rolled straight up into the air, and spiraled down into the ground, the sound and momentum were extremely terrifying. Under the formidable power of the nature, even army camps continuous for several dozen li, ten thousand horses and a thousand armies, still appeared to be insignificant and helpless. The Shao Shuai Army inside the mountain stronghold were rapidly moving the logs onto the top of the city wall, yet this moment they could not help but suspending their work in order to avoid being injured by the wind. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan have been watching the situation on Li Shimins side from a distance, they saw the newly made carts to fill the trenches, the ramming vehicles, the blocking-arrows vehicles, were being rearranged at the front line, but unlike the previous time where they were arranged in a row of long snake formation, this time they were divided into more than a dozen groups. It could be imagined that the other side wouldunch a series of attacks, with one fell, the next followed with their mighty power until the gale suddenly arrived. The two mens eyes turned to Laotianye, to see whether He would be interested in giving them rain or snow. The wind was rising, the clouds were rolling, clump by clump of heavy ck clouds rolled at high speed; watching this, everybody already palpitated and their spirit trembled. Suddenly ta! a bean-sized raindrop fell on Kou Zhongs face, icy-cold and bone-chilling. My Laotianye! Kou Zhong groaned. The wind momentum changed, in a short time it grew powerful, the rolling dust high in the sky poured down to the ground, and then heavy rain, seemingly without any head, without any mind, attacked from four sides, eight directions, their vision of the mother earth became blurry, the mountain and fields seemed to be swaying, trembling and shaking. Its very cold! Ba Fenghan blurted out. Kou Zhong made prompt decisions, he ordered Ma Chang on the other side, All brothers go into the main building to shelter from the rain. Aghast, Ma Chang said, If the enemy brave the rain ande to attack, how are we going to deal with it? Kou Zhong said, If you caught cold from the rain, you will die as well, it does not matter how little or how much. Carry out the order. Ma Chang ordered the signalman to sound the bugle horn and raise the rm, the men inside the mountain stronghold were like being granted an amnesty by the emperor, they flocked into the main building, including the soldiers who were on guard duty on all the towers. Heavy rain swept across the in like a wall, wreaking havoc on the mother earth. Kou Zhong noticed that Ma Chang, Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, and Wang Xuanshu were still apanying them on top of the wall, in the rain, he shouted, You guys immediately go inside to take shelter from the rain, leave the matter here to us. Upon self-examination, Ma Chang and the others realized that their power was far below the two mens, they had no choice but to obey the order and left. By this time Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan werepletely drenched, they relied entirely on the true qi within their body to keep warm and resist the rain. Even with their level of power, they still felt that they suffered unspeakable misery. Kou Zhong raised his hand to wipe away the rain from his face, he spoke with a wry smile, This time Laotianye is unwilling to help us. They areing! Ba Fenghan said. Amidst the sound of grinding wheels, three groups of enemies separately took three different routes to advance toward the trenches, each group consisted of two thousand men, and more than a hundred Toad Carts to fill the trenches, plus twenty blocking-arrows carts. The ramming vehicles had not yet moved. Kou Zhong spoke hatefully, I dare to guarantee that after this, these groups of men will be seriously ill. Li Shimin is really ruthless. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Being sick is always better than being defeated in battle. This rain wont stop for a sichen or a sichen and a half, by that time the three trenches will be filled t. We will have no choice but you and I, two brothers will be in charge of releasing the rolling logs; I hope we can hold out until the rain stops. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Laoge, do you have a better idea? Lei Jiuzhi and Hou Xibai came to meet them with the carriage, the former blurted out, What happened? Howe the gate suddenly closed, and then it was lowered again? Lets talk about itter, Xu Ziling replied, Wheres Yun Bangzhu? Hou Xibai jumped down the carriage, he took Xiao Jieer from Bai Xiaochangs hands. This kid was so excited that his little face was red, he blurted out, Xu Shushu is so awesome, all the bad guys are scared of him. Having just recovered from the shock, Han Zenan said, Fortunately, you came in time, otherwise the situation would be too horrible to contemte. With old age came the wisdom, Lei Jiuzhi was able to guess what roughly happened, he let out a weirdughter and said, Heaven wants the Xiang Family to perish, naturally it makes proper arrangements. Xu Ziling hurriedly spoke to Han Zenan, husband and wife, It is not suitable to stay here for a long time, we immediately get on the carriage and start our journey. Moving to Xu Zilings side, Hou Xibai spoke in low voice, Yun Yuzhen does not want to say anything, you go and talk to her! She is still in the carriage. When they discovered that it was Yun Yuzhen in the carriage earlier, Xu Ziling handed her over to Hou Xibai, while he and Yin Xianhe rushed back into Badong City in one breath, hence he did not have any chance to talk with her. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Lets get in the carriage and talk. The carriage started to move. The carriage was spacious, it was divided into the front, middle and back, three rows of seats. Han Zenan husband and wife and their beloved son sat in the front seat, Yin Xianhe sat alone in the middle, while Xu Ziling and the stupefied-looking Yun Yuzhen sat on thest row. Driving the carriage were Lei Jiuzhi and Hou Xibai. Xu Zilings heart grew warm. On the one hand, it was because he was able to save Han Zenans family, three persons from the Xiang Familys evil clutch one step ahead. On the other hand, everybody on the carriage was good friend, who had always worked together in one heart, who treated one another with absolute sincerity. Whats more, Yin Xianhe was finally able to ascertain his little sisters whereabouts, which made him feel a little bit at ease. In this kind of mood, he really no longer had the least bit of resentment toward Yun Yuzhen, he only thought that she was a pitiful woman who had met many difficulties in her life. He asked her in low voice, What actually happened? Yun Yuzhen hung down her small cicada head, the tone of her voice tranquil, she spoke softly, Xiang Yushan betrayed me. Xu Ziling did not understand, Didnt you part with him? he asked. Tears started to roll down from Yun Yuzhens pair of beautiful eyes, she raised her sleeve to wipe the corner of her eye, and spoke in distress, I was already downhearted, I gave the remaining five ships as a present to Xiao Xian, and lived alone in Baling, no longer paying attention to anything. Ten days ago, Xiang Yushan sent his men to look for me, he wanted me to see him in Badong City, saying that theres an important matter to discuss. As long as I am willing to exin everything clearly,ter on we can both go our separate ways. I was not afraid he might deceive me, but when I got to Badong City, I started to realize that I have fallen into Xiang Yushans trap, I was ambushed and captured by the Badong city defenders, but I never saw Xiang Yushan. Inwardly Xu Ziling obtained a sh of understanding. Turned out it was to deal with Yun Yuzhen that the Xiang Family sent their men to Badong, identally they found out Han Zenan, husband and wifes whereabouts. He spoke in astonishment, Since you no longer paid attention to the things of the world, why is Xiang Yushan still unwilling to let you off? Yun Yuzhen replied, Because I know too many of their secrets, plus I have close rtionship with you guys, naturally Xiang Yushan wants to kill people to shut their mouth. Xu Ziling said, It seems to me that their aspiration is not in killing you; even more surprising, why did the Xiang Family want to hand you over to Li Jianchengs men? Yun Yuzhen was at a loss, I dont know, she replied. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he asked, Hows your rtionship with Haisha Bang? Yun Yuzhen sighed and said, You should know it as clearly as I do. Jukun Bang and Haisha Bang have always been the two cannot exist together due to conflicts of interest, but also because I helped you guys rendering serious blow to them, resulting in the Dragon King Han Gaitian suffered serious injury and had to retire. They do not dare to provoke you, Xu Ziling, but they considered me as their number one enemy. If not for Xiao Xian providing protection on me, I am afraid they would already pan-fry my skin and tear open my bones. Living like me, with nothing to look forward to, actually no longer has any meaning, but I have never considered killing myself. Actually, just now, I was handed over like goods from one group of people to another; if not for my acupoint was sealed, I might die for real. Xu Ziling understood. Er Wenhuan and the others wanted to give Yun Yuzhen as a big present to Haisha Bang, perhaps it was one of the conditions for the sale of the firearms. In that case, the firearms transaction that he and Hou Xibai witnessed was only part of the deal. This clue was extremely useful, now he knew that the Xiang Family, Li Jiancheng, and Zhao Deyan were in collusion. They conspired to bring Li Shimin down. If Li Shimin defeated Kou Zhong and returned in triumph back to Changan, there was a great likelihood that with just one night of effort, Li Jiancheng and the demonic schools allied armies would be able to turn the Heavenly Policy Mansion into scorched earth. This is called gaining the initiative by striking first. Ay! It did not matter whether it was because of his brotherly love with Kou Zhong, or it was because he was giving thought to all the people under the heavens, he still did not want to see Kou Zhong being wiped out. There has never been a moment more than this moment that he felt that his decision to help Kou Zhong to strive for the world was the right and proper choice. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Xiang Yushan wanted to hand you over to Haisha Bang, in order to help Li Jiancheng to purchase vicious firearms from Haisha Bang to deal with Li Shimin. Yun Yuzhens tender body shook severely. Xu Ziling went on, Now, everybody in this carriage has onemon purpose, which is to pull the Xiang Family by the roots, would Yun Bangzhu be willing to join us to rid the world of evil? Yun Yuzhen looked at him in astonishment, a bit hard to say it out loud, she said, Ziling is still willing to trust me? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Actually, Meirener Bangzhu really did not treat us too badly, Kou Zhong and I have never been able to harden our hearts against you, just as you said, we have always had close rtionship with each other. Let bygones be bygones, theres no more problem that cant be resolved or cant be trusted. The murderous aura in Yun Yuzhens pair of eyes ring greatly, she cast her gaze outside the carriage, and spoke with determination, He is not benevolent, I wont be friendly. Xiang Yushan wants me to die, I want him to perish. But would Kou Zhong be willing to ept me? No one knows that kids heart better than I do, Xu Ziling replied, I can make guarantee here and now. Yun Yuzhen reached over to sp his hand firmly, her pretty face recovered its brilliance, brimming with vitality, no need for her to say anything. The carriage was speeding in the direction of the Great River ahead. Book 54 13 – The Heaven Wants Me Perish

Book 54 Chapter 13 C The Heaven Wants Me Perish

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Within half a sichen, one by one the three trenches were filled t. Their work finished, the Tang soldiers filling the trenches retreated, they withdrew back into their camp. In fact, they had been strength exhausted, muscle weary, after being blown by the wind and battered by the rain, eating the suffering of the attack of the wet and cold to the fullest! The rain power was slightly reduced, the north wind gradually let up, yet the heaven and earth were still covered in boundless heavy rain. Crash! Bang! the sound of the wind and the rain drowned the shouts of the soldiers and the sound of the wheels, the second batch of fresh powered army began to brave the rain to advance, all were infantry. There were five units consisted of saber-and-shield-wielders, archers and construction battalion soldiers, all over the hills and the ins, pressing on toward the filled-t trenches, their target was the external wall of the mountain stronghold. Each attacking-the-stronghold unit was preceded by ten heavy battle vehicles and beating-the-wood carts, which could block the arrows and could knock against the wall, equipped with clouddders, like five vicious dragons, moving slowly but steadily, pressing forward. Dong! Dong! Dong! More than a hundred battle drums were sounded at the same time, conducting and regting various units, which military strength reached five thousand, bringing the total of the marching troops to 25,000 men, which increased the killing atmosphere of the hazy, dark heaven and earth. Shao Shuai Army, under Ma Chang, Bing Yuanzhen, Ba Yegang, Bai Wenyuan, and Wang Xuanshus leadership, rushed out of the main building and the mountain gorge camp, no one has the slightest bit of hesitation. Kou Zhong has always loved and protected them, in each battle, he always fought at the head of his troops, this has deeply touch every single one of their heart, making them delighted to fight for Kou Zhong to the death. Kou Zhong looked at his more than 8,000 brothers, who were dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety to climb to the top of the wall, to climb to the arrow towers, to move rocks and transport logs, to prepare the stone-throwing machines, to do everything to deliver a frontal assault to the enemy, whose military strength was three times theirs. Laughing aloud, he said, Fresh army against fresh army, we have the mountain stronghold to rely on, natural barrier that can defend us. The target is even more distinct, akin to our military strength is increased three times; therefore, one person can take three persons, the strength of both sides is even. Patting the Stealing the Heaven Sword on his back, Ba Fenghanughed and said, On top of that, we have the Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon, Stealing the Heaven and Moon in the Well, which happen to cover up the enemys superiority. What is there for us to fear? This moment Bai Wenyuan came to Kou Zhongs side and said, Chen Gong is in charge of defending the south gorge exit, I set aside four hundred men for him, Shaoshuai, please rest assured. Kou Zhong happily nodded his head, he casually asked Wang Xuanshu, who was following behind Bai Wenyuan, Where did you settle Xiao Heer? Wang Xuanshu had no time to blush, he cast his gaze toward the disposition of the enemy troops, who were advancing to less than a thousand paces from the trench outside the wall, whose army mighty power shook the heaven and cowered the earth; drawing a mouthful of cold air, he replied, Xiao He Meizi is inside the main building, with Wuming as herpanion. Ay! She originally pleaded with me to let here and help, but how could Xuanshu dare to let her risk the danger of bow and arrows and flying stones. Ba Fenghans tiger-body suddenly shook severely, his pair of eyes prated the boundless heavy rain, he cast his gaze far ahead, and spoke in heavy voice, Brother! We made a slight calction, the other sides military strength is not three times ours, but six times ours. Kou Zhong was shocked; he cast his gaze back to hills and ins outside the stronghold, and cried out involuntarily, His grannys bear, there are also eight-crossbow-arrow machines and flying-rock-cannons. Ma Chang came behind the crowd, he joined in, Must be brought here from Luoyang via the waterway. The torrents of rain already became a thing of the past, but Laotianyes interest still remained and had not diminished, the rain was going to stop, but has not ceased yet, in the form of fine drizzle. The thick, ck dense clouds in the sky disappeared, bing grey and hazy. The entire battlefield was shrouded in the drizzle like inside the smoke or inside the fog. In the depths of the misty rain at the rear of the attacking-the-stronghold enemy troops, the Tang soldiers appeared, covering the mountains and the ins, divided into two armies, pressing on together. Each was equipped with ten of the eight-crossbow-arrow machines, five flying-rock-cannons, plus hundreds of lightweight and portable clouddders, which could rapidly scale the wall. The two armies consisted of thence-and-shield-wielders, saber-wielders, and archers. Farther away, in the hazy distance, he could also see rows of cavalry formation. Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down. How could this battle be fought? But he had no choice but to fight it. Merely dealing with the other sides 25,000 vanguard attacking-the-stronghold troops was enough to make his side strength-exhausted, muscle-weary, wall-broken, stronghold-destroyed, injuries and deaths disastrous! How could they endure the ravaging other division of the integrated force, whose strength was even greater, equipped with the eight-crossbow-arrow machines and flying-rock-cannons, which formidable power was even more enormous. Kou Zhong felt that death was drawing near, along with the enemys step-by-step approach. Lei Jiuzhi came inside the carriage to talk with Han Zenan, husband and wife, while Xu Ziling came out to sit next to Hou Xibai driving the carriage; he asked in low voice, Have you heard any news about Kou Zhong? Hou Xibai replied, No one really knows what happened between Li Shimin and Kou Zhong. However, Kou Zhong should still strive to obstinately resist. Li Shiji and Pengliangs Shao Shuai Army are still at a stalemate, and the Tang Army in Luoyang are still continuously being dispatched to the south. Now, nobody dares to be optimistic about Kou Zhong. Hou Xibai cast him a quick nce, noticing that Xu Zilings expression was still tranquil, he felt a bit relieved, and went on, Li Yuanjis public execution of Dou Jiande was really a wrong move, it provoked extreme antipathy in the heart of the remainders of the Dou Army, so that they determined to support Liu Heita to contend against the Tang Army to the end. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Dou Jiandes most elite troops werepletely defeated by Li Shimin, which makes me wonder why Liu Dage is so unwise, in such a disadvantageous position he still fights like a trapped beast. Ay! But he is precisely that kind of hero who would rather die than submit. Hou Xibai said, In this regard, Li Yuanji made mistake after mistake; Li Shimin not being there, he was in charge of the City of Luoyang. Not only he does not make any effort to appease the Hebei Army, he even gave an order to hunt and arrest Jiandes former subordinates on arge scale, forcing them to unite under Liu Heitas banner. This matter has even provoked great public indignation of the people of Hebei. Dou Jiande upholding justice by releasing Huaian Wang [king] Li Shentong and Princess Xiuning, everybody in the world knew about it. Li Yuanji murdering Dou Jiande was not supposed to happen, he even wants to kill them to thest one. Liu Heita is able to receive extensive support after Dou Jiandes demise, this is the reason behind it. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; if they let such a person like Li Yuanji toe to power, there would be no peace under the heavens, and neither Li Jiancheng nor Li Yuanji was not a material to rule a country, furthermore, they were not Xielis match. Hou Xibai said, I heard that Liu Heita, supported by Hebei Army old generals Fan Yuan, Cao Zhan and Gao Yaxian, raised a militia at Zhangnan County, one after another their remaining troops ising back to join them. It looks like Hebei will surge like a gathering storm again, they will set off another wind and rain. Xu Ziling mused inwardly that if Kou Zhong really could hold out until Song Ques main forcese up north, at that time, Li Shimins situation would be greatly not good, he would have to deal with the war on two battlefronts. Hou Xibai continued, Liu Heita is not without fears of trouble in the rear, because Gao Kaidao on the northeast border saw the City of Luoyang fell, he surrendered to the House of Tang, so that Liu Heita is facing the enemy front and rear. Xu Ziling recalled Gao Kaidaos great general Zhang Jinshu, which also brought the Shanhai Pass Du Xing to mind; changing the subject, he asked, Where are we going now? Hou Xibai replied, In order to make the enemy unable to grasp our whereabouts, Lei Dage made arrangement for us to go straight to the Great River, take the boat downstream to the east, and turn into the canal to go up north to Zhongli, which is within the Shao Shuai Armys sphere of influence. Han Xiongs family of three will be fully protected. Xu Ziling wanted to say something but there was nothing to talk about. If Kou Zhongs troops were defeated, Zhongli would be attacked by Li Zitong one step ahead of Pengliang. He thought about it, but did not want to say it out loud. How he wished that he could immediately rush back to Kou Zhongs side. If they had to die, then everybody should die together. However, the matter before them now simply could not be ignored, at least until Han Zenan, husband and wife, and Yun Yuzhen reached their destination, only then would he dare to separate himself and leave. Furthermore, Yin Xianhe needed him to take care of him, in case his old illness rpsed. If that happened, then even Da Luo Jin Xian would not be able to save him. The clouds scattered and the rain stopped, but the starry sky was concealed behind the thick smoke sent up by the several dozen mes inside and outside the mountain stronghold, so that the sky was dim without any light. The Tang Armys vanguard troops flowed down the slope likeke water, retreated to their own formation, leaving behind the crashing-against-the-wall battle vehicles, which either suffered serious damage, or were burning. Eleven of those that were destroyed were even inside the stronghold, rather than on the outside. This moment Kou Zhongs side was not idle either, they sent over a thousand soldiers who were injured to a safe ce inside the gorge path, who were taken care of by the medical team. The construction battalion soldiers were working hard to put out the fire, the main building was burned nearly half, with all arrow towers copsed, so that they utterly lost their defensive power. The stronghold wall was no longer intact, the enemys ramming-vehicles managed to open up three gaps, the solid main gate was even destroyed by the beating logs. Fragments of wood and remnants of rocks were everywhere, reminding everybody on the intense fighting just now. The deaths and injured among the Tang Army were over three thousand men, three times the number of casualties on Kou Zhongs side. The problem was that the number of men who went to battle just now was only one third of Li Shimins military strength, the rest of his forces were waiting with stored-up momentum, and they were starting to carry out the second wave of assault. Blood-soaked from head to foot, Kou Zhong was standing on top of the section of the wall that could still be considered intact. Recalling the fierce fighting just now, he felt like it was a nightmare, only too bad that the nightmare was not over yet, only death would be able to put an end to the dream. In the past half a -sichen, they used the beating logs to subdue the enemy first, to stop the enemy from attacking up the slope, and then using powerful arrows and stone throwers, in living-high-and-looking-down momentum, they ruthlessly pounded on the enemy, so that it was difficult for the other side to cross the mine pond even for half a step. However, this advantage could notst long, the Tang Army used rope to tie the logs of wood, and then used mules to drag them away. You threw more down the slope, they carried more away. By the time the Shao Shuai Armys beating-logs were used up, the Tang Army used the ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum to brave the arrows and the rocks to attack up the slope, and thenunched the ramming-the-wall-climbing-the-wall battle. The Shao Shuai Army risked their lives to strike back. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan were fighting at the head of their troops even more, giving everything they had, yet the enemy still managed to force entry into the stronghold three times. Until the rain ended. Under Kou Zhongsmand, the Shao Shuai Army unyieldingly fought hard to defend the top of the wall and the main building. And then Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan personally led two separate units to drive the enemy out of the stronghold. This moment the firearms could be put to good use again, killing the enemy that they retreated down the slope in panic. Knowing the unfavorable situation, Li Shimin beat the gong to recall the troops. Dong! Dong! Dong! Equipped with eight-bow-and-crossbow-arrow machines and flying-rock-big-cannon, ten thousand fresh infantry and five-thousand-man cavalry following right behind them stopped at a distance of about a hundred steps or so from the slope. Kou Zhong blurted out asking, How many firearms we have left? Struggling hard to endure the saber wound on his left chest, Ma Chang spoke heavily, Its all gone! Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook, he looked at Ba Fenghan, standing in front and to his side. Thetter was fixing his gaze far behind the enemys line, he said, Li Shimin finally appears on the scene! Kou Zhongs heart was shaken again. Focusing his attention to look, he saw Li Shimins banner was flying high. His main forces, which relied mainly on twenty-thousand-man cavalry with the infantry as secondary, were starting to move forward to the front line. Ma Chang said, If we retreat into the gorge path, we should be able to hold out two more days! Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Even if we have to die, we will die a roaring death. His Niangs! Besides, I may not necessarily lose. Ba Fenghan asked, Hows our chance on the southern road? Ma Chang shook his head and said, It has been sealed by Wang Junkuo using dirt and rocks. On top of that, on the outside, hepletely sealed the way-out using stone fort. If we want to break out of the siege, the only way is to charge forward. Kou Zhong resolutely shook his head and said, Our only chance is to firmly defend the mountain stronghold, to attack and sink the enemy, and tomorrow we will try to mend the gaps. Ba Yegang, standing behind them, asked, But how are we going to deal with the other sides crossbow-and-arrow machine and the big cannon flying stones? Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, he spoke in heavy voice, The only way is to take the initiative by going out to attack, with me and Lao Ba using powerful arrows to attack the enemy from the distance, to mess up their battle array first, and then we attack the enemy ranks using three-thousand-man cavalry. As long as we can destroy the heavy crossbow-and-arrow machine and the flying-rock-big-cannon, the enemys military power will be greatly reduced. Everybody wanted to speak but they had nothing to say. The fact was that in order to deal with the enemys tidal-wave style continuous assault just now, everybody inside the stronghold was already weary and could not arouse their spirit, not to mention the enemy still had five-thousand-man cavalry, which was waiting in formation; why would the enemy be afraid of their sides cavalry attack? However, because nobody coulde up with a better idea, they had no choice but to shut up. Kou Zhong knew that he had already out of ideas and his strength was exhausted, but with his character, even if he knew he would die, he still had to do everything he could to continue fighting until he breathed hisst breath. Li Shimins main army advanced until they were about five hundred steps behind the army at the front before they came to a halt. The other side lighted their torches by the thousands, painting the open country outside the mountain stronghold blood red. Such an overwhelming military power, their morale was like a rainbow, indeed they were able to make the defenders inside the strongholds heart cold and their guts failed, thinking that the doomsday was just about to arrive. Kou Zhong suddenly smiled bitterly and said, This perhaps can be called the Heaven does not make beauty; just now, if it were big snow rather than big rain, the present situation might not turn like this. Plop! Bing Yuanzhen and Wang Xuanshu, who had just climbed up the gate tower, dropped on their knees behind Kou Zhong at the same time. Bing Yuanzhens pair of eyes full of tears, he mournfully said, Would Shaoshuai and Ba Ye please break out of the siege immediately and go far away? Let us deal with Li Shimin, Shaoshuai and Ba Ye cane back again to wash away this blood debt. Stunned, Kou Zhong turned around. The other men already filled the ground. Kou Zhong stared nkly for half a day, and then he looked at Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Dont look at me. Just like you, I definitely will not abandon my own brothers to seek life. Kou Zhong threw his head back andughed, he said, Very well! You guys get up quickly. I dont know how to express how touched my heart is. If we have to die, we will die together. But I am not going to die. I still have the confidence that I will win this battle. Dong! Dong! Dong! The enemys vanguard unit, in ordance with the rhythm of the battle drums, began to advance toward the damaged mountain stronghold, they climbed up the slope to kill. Book 55 1 – Coming Back from Death’s Door

Book 55 Chapter 1 C Coming Back from Deaths Door

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The boat sailed downstream to the east. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were standing on the stern, watching any movement behind them, to see whether there was any suspicious boat following their track. Their enemy was the Xiang Family, who was world-famous in their search and intelligence gathering skill, hence they had no choice but to be careful in dealing with them. Steering the boat was a subordinate of one of Lei Jiuzhis gang and society friends, he knew the Yangtze River waterway like the back of his hand. Lei Jiuzhi came to Xu Zilings other side and spoke excitedly, This is an important turning point in our grand n to destroy the Xiang [Family]; it should be brilliant beyondpare. Hou Xibaiughed and said, What do you mean brilliant? Lei Jiuzhi cheerfully said, The Xiang Family is so nervous and mobilizes their entire manpower and uses their resources all across the country to search for Han Zenan, husband and wife, there is a reason behind it. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibais spirit was greatly aroused. Lei Jiuzhi went on, When Han Zenan found out that Bai Xiaochang was pregnant [orig. there were six armors in her body/bosom], he made up his mind to flee, thereupon he carefully nned his steps, including stealing away an important registry book and an ount book, containing all the detailed information about the Xiang Familys pleasure houses and casinos scattered all over the ce, including the local operators in various regions surname and given name, as well as their sries. If we have this ount book, the Xiang ns evil kingdom will be in our hands. When Han Zenan, husband and wife escaped from the Xiang Family, they hid the ount book in a secret ce, they were prepared to use it as protective talisman if necessary, and then they fled to a small town in Bashu where the Xiang Familys power cannot reach. The hidden city of Badong is also a ce where the Xiang Family does not open casino or pleasure house. No one knows the Xiang Familys power distribution better than they do. Hou Xibai spoke in delight, We immediately go get those ount book and register out. Lei Jiuzhi said, This ount book records the situation during the old Sui dynastys Yang Di [Emperor], now there are already a lot of changes, it can only be used as a reference, but naturally it is still very useful. Xu Ziling asked, What has changed in between? Lei Jiuzhi replied, The Xiang Family forcefully capture women from ordinary families, there are several purposes. First of all, it was to cater to Yang Guangs demand, to fit his fancy, hoping that with Yang Guangs protection, they could strengthen and expand the Xiang Familys influence. Secondly, it was to maintain adequate supply for the pleasure houses and casinos in all parts of the country. In addition, it was to provide new generations of disciples for various sects of the demonic school, so that the various sects could have qualified sessors to carry on their undertaking. Apart from these three aspects, the women that have undergone training can be sold to influential officials and rich families, so that they could earn profit directly. Therefore, the Xiang Family was able to expand their power to the whole nation in just a short period of a dozen years. Xu Ziling could not help looking at Hou Xibai, Hou Xibai shook his head and said, I still have clear recollection of my childhood, it had nothing to do with the Xiang Family. Lei Jiuzhi nodded and said, The Xiang Familys shady business of human trafficking happened after Yang Guang seeded the throne, they never have guessed that Yang Guang would be defeated and dispersed that quickly. It was only after the old Sui was destroyed by Yuwen Huaji that they did not dare to do that kind of offending the crowd angering the public shady business with open eyes and open guts. However, their pleasure house and casino business have already taken root in various ces, as long as they can curry favor with those in power, they can continue to flourish and expand. Under such circumstances, they look up and hook up with Li Jiancheng, who has the greatest chance to be the emperor, therefore, they make all-out effort to draw close and to support him. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Therefore, as long as the one ascending the throne is either Li Shimin or Kou Zhong, the Xiang Familys power will crumble. I just dont know what exactly is the rtionship between the Xiang Family and the holy school? Lei Jiuzhi said, The real rtionship, I am afraid only Xiang Gui himself knows clearly. He should be somebody whom the demonic schools Two Sects and Six Ways cooperate to cultivate, to have him do everything, by fair means or foul, to amass wealth and to expand their power for the demonic school. Xiang Gui has three sons, you guys already know Chi Shengchun and Xiang Yushan, but their eldest brother, even you guys wont be able to guess who he is. Hearing that, the two were stunned. Lowering his voice, Lei Jiuzhi said, Rumor has it that he is the old Sui nobility Yang WenGan, who has close rtionship with Yang Xuyan. He was sent by Xiang Gui to the imperial court to wait upon Yang Guang, to supply him with his demand for degenerate pleasures. As a result, Yang Guang bestowed him the surname Yang, so from Xiang WenGan, he shook his body and changed into Yang WenGan, who established the Jingzhao Lian, as an expansion of his power in Guanzhong. ording to my estimate, Yang Xuyan, in his capacity as a demonic school people, plus he is able to see the Xiang Familys value in their vast resources that he could use, he wallows in the mire with Yang WenGan; on the surface, they are doing everything they can to support Li Jiancheng, but are actually harboring different sinister design in their bosom, they are conspiring for their own benefit. Xu Ziling suddenly understood, no wonder in raising a rebellion, Yang WenGan involved the Xiang Family and the demonic schools factions. Hou Xibai said, Now, if the Xiang Family knew that Han Xiong, husband and wife are working together with us, how would Xiang Gui react? At this time, skipping and hopping excitedly, Jieers little face turned red, he pulled Hou Xibais sleeve, and blurted out, Niang said that Hou Shushu is the best master painter in the world. Shushu! Can you draw portrait for Jieer, Die and Niang? Hou Xibai was unable to refuse. Being pulled away by Xiao Jieer, he turned his head around and spoke to the two men with a wry smile, I may not be the best master painter, but the remuneration for my artistic work certainly is the most expensive. However, this time I am working for free. After the two persons, one big one little, left, muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Hereafter, what kind of n is the Xiang Family going to make? Could it be that they are going to close all the pleasure houses and the casinos? Lei Jiuzhi said, At least Xiang Gui, before his power is pulled up by the roots, will withdraw his businesses from the ces within Kou Zhongs territory. Xu Ziling looked up at the night sky, Kou Zhongs face floated up in his heart. Before the Xiang Family being pulled up by the roots, could Kou Zhong escape the same fate? Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan mounted their horses, confronting the enemy advancing toward the bottom of the slope of the mountain stronghold, behind the two mens horses were the three thousand Shao Shuai Armys brave riders, in neat formation at the top of the slope outside the gate of the stronghold, waiting in tight battle array; they were only waiting for Kou Zhong to issue his order to attack. The enemy came to a halt and formed their battle array. On the front line,manding them were Luo Shixin and Liu Dewei, respectively. Both men were famous generals, veterans of a hundred battles. If Kou Zhong wanted to gain the initiative by striking first and attacking their disposition of troops, they could quickly order their men to form a defensive disposition-of-troops style, using thence-and-shield-wielders and archers to heavily protect the crossbow-and-arrow machines and the flying-rock-big-cannon, ready to deliver frontal assault on Kou Zhongs troops, so that momentarily the situation would turn into direct confrontation. The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes was shing, victory or defeat, life or death, have already been put aside, his only thought was how much damage he could deliver to the enemy at the time of his death in battle. Lowering his voice, Ba Fenghan addressed Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang behind them, Shaoshuai and I will charge into the enemy ranks first, you guys wait for an opportunity to follow behind and render assistance. Remember, you must concentrate your power, you must not be dispersed. Bing Yuanzhen and Ba Yegang nodded their eptance of the order. In the world, perhaps only Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, plus very few more people, who had the guts and the capability to face the enemys magnificent army with thousands of men and horses without any fear, and even dared to charge and break through the enemy lines head-on. Kou Zhong reached out to stroke the horses neck, and said with a sigh, I am really sorry horsey, but I will definitely pay the debt of blood for your sake. Bing Yuanzhen, two men sighed inwardly. Under the enemys arrow and crossbow shooting together, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan able to escape alive would already be very hard toe by, but the horse under their crotch would definitely be not lucky enough to escape. Two warriors rushed out from inside the stronghold, separately delivering two big shields into Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans hands, saying that they received General Ma Changs order to do that, and then they returned to the stronghold. Kou Zhong sent his true qi into the shield, so that it created a clear metallic ring. Looking into the distance at Li Shimins main force far behind the enemy ranks, heughed aloud and said, In all my life, I, Kou Zhong have experience countless military campaign, big and small, there has never been anybody able to do something to me. I want to see if this time Li Shimin can make an exception or not. Put out the fire! Ba Fenghan shouted loudly. Suddenly all torches in the mountain stronghold were extinguished. Inside and outside the mountain stronghold suddenly fell into darkness. Kou Zhong and his men, the team of cavalry, were like dissolving into the dark. Compared to the enemy ranks, where the torches were shining brightly, one bright, the other dark, it suddenly formed some kind of suffocating atmosphere that made people unable to breathe. Kou Zhong squeezed the horses belly with his legs, he rushed down the hillside. Ba Fenghan was following him closely. Bing Yuanzhen, Ba Yegang, and Ma Chang, who was staying inside the stronghold, shouted together. The Shao Shuai Army inside and outside the stronghold roared in response, washing away the dejected air from being besieged by the powerful enemy and were forced to take a beating. Currently, the greatest capital of the Shao Shuai Army was their unrivalled two leaders, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan. And their sess or failurey in whether they would be able to create another miracle, to bring them out of the misfortune of the total defeat of an army. But even those who had extreme confidence in the two, facing the enemys overwhelming superiority, even if they had stronger faith, it was still difficult to escape from wavering inwardly. The enemys battle drums were beaten forcefully, the archers bent their bows and put on their arrow, they waited with concentrated momentum. Luo Shixin shouted his order, the fighters at the rear moved forwards, closer to the front line, trying not to leave any space as much as possible, so that the two men did not have any gap from which they could easily charge into the troop disposition. If Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan forcefully charged into the enemys formation, since they werecking the situation where they could move their hands and feet freely, it would be difficult to avoid the disaster of having their dead bodies chopped randomly by the sabers. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan came halfway down the slope. There was still over one thousand paces distance separating them from the closest enemy. Utilizing the man-and-horse-as-one technique to the fullest, they reined the horse to a stop at the same time. The warhorses reared and neighed. Luo Shixin knew that the two men wanted to use the divine bow tounch long-distance attack, thereupon he reissued the order, the rear cavalry was divided further into one-thousand-man units, galloping out from the left and right, two wings, striving for the initiative. At the same time, the two rows ofnce-and-shield-wielders and the three rows of flying-arrow archers at the front line, in orderly formation, advanced toward Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan. The sound of the rushing hooves of the warhorses and the footsteps of the infantry created a rhythm of death with an intense aura of killing. This moment where a thousand pounds were hanging by a thread, Kou Zhong still had the time to sh a toothy grin toward Ba Fenghan and said, If this time LaoGe do not die, I am afraid Bi Xuan will no longer be your match. Ba Fenghan swept his gaze over the enemys infantry advancing straight ahead and the cavalry charging from both wings, his pair of eyes shooting divine light, he spoke heavily, We will definitely not die. He has not even finished speaking, rapid sound of gongs suddenly arose,ing from Li Shiminsmand army far behind the front line, unexpectedly it was an urgent order to retreat. Stunned, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan looked at each other, they werepletely at a loss on what was going on before their eyes. Xu Ziling and Lei Jiuzhi entered the cabin of the boat, they wanted to see what the Han ns husband and wife, and Jieer would look like under Hou Xibais amazing brush. Yun Yuzhens cabin door opened, revealing her dainty-like-former-times jade countenance, as she spoke softly, I wonder if I could have a few words with Ziling? Lei Jiuzhi patted Xu Zilings shoulder, he tactfully continued alone. Xu Ziling had no choice but to enter Yun Yuzhens cabin, and sat down on the chair by the window. Yun Yuzhen sat down across the small table, she let out a light sigh. Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, Why does Meirener Shifu still have a load on your mind? Revealing a pained expression, Yun Yuzhen sighed and said, Ay! Meirener Shifu? Its been a long time since I heard such a pleasant-to-the-earspliment. Today Yun Yuzhens elegance is no more. Can Ziling feel the boat sailing along the Great River, breaking the waves? Listening to the familiar sound of the wind moving the river water, the familiar sound of the water crashing against the hull splitting the waves, everything is so moving. Before, I was ustomed to it all, so much so that I felt fed up with it. But now, at this moment, I knew what precious things I have lost. Its a pity that nothing can be recovered. Xu Ziling knew she regretted her past action, in which she made her subordinates people rebelling and friends deserting. After pondering for a moment, he spoke with serious expression, To return to the previous condition, certainly it is impossible, but Meirener Shifu, you can treat the past with a different attitude. As far as Im concerned, experience is enough. Why dont Meirener Shifu get your feelings in order and make wise choices for the future? Life will still be beautiful and rich. Smiling bitterly, Yun Yuzhen said, The difference between you and Kou Zhong is that you tell the truth. I was originally all right, I was just having an emotional stirring for a short while, wanting to pour out whats on my mind. After a slight pause, she turned her head around to meet his gaze. Appearing to be casual, she said, Have you guys thought about how you are going to deal with Xiao Xian? It was Xu Zilings turn to smile bitterly and said, While Kou Zhongs life or death is still unknown, I wonder if such question is not too far away? I hear Xiao Xian, Li Zitong, and Fu Gongyou have formed an alliance, they want to work together to deal with Du Fuwei; is that true? Yun Yuzhen replied, Xiao Xian and Fu Gongyou forming an alliance is true, but it has nothing to do with Li Zitong. Since Li Zitong already surrendered to the House of Tang, how could he dare to take the risk to offend the House of Tang by dealing with Du Fuwei, who, just like him, has already surrendered to be a minister of the Lis Tang? Xu Ziling could not help asking, What exactly is going on between Xiao Xian and the Xiang Family? Frank and straightforward, Yun Yuzhen responded, The rtionship between Xiao Xian and the Xiang Family is the rtionship between Baling Bang and the Xiang Family, a rtionship of mutual benefit. During the old dynasty, Baling Bang, due to the Xiang Family obtaining Yang Guangs support, went on the rampage without any scruple, their power expanded rapidly. The previous Bangzhu, the Smoke Rod Lu Kangshou was an ambitious person, not only he wanted to function as rivals with the Xiang Family, he even wanted to swallow the Xiang Familys gambling establishment and pleasure house business. Xiang Gui thus conspired with Xiao Xian, they had Yang Xuyan making his move to assassinate Lu Kangshou, which resulted in Xiao Xian ascending the Baling Bangs Bangzhu throne. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly there is such matter? Yun Yuzhen nodded and said, But Xiao Xian and the Xiang Familys rtionship is on the verge of copsing, the problem is because Xiao Xian is unwilling to adapt to the situation, to work together with Lin Shihong. Does Ziling know that Lin Shihong is the most outstanding figure of the new generation outside Yin Gui Pai? Xu Ziling nodded to indicate that he knew, but then he wondered, Since Xiang Yushan is supporting Lin Shihong, why did in the past he incited Kou Zhong and I to assassinate Ren Shaoming, who was in cooperation with Lin Shihong? Also, Yang Xuyans assassination attempt on Xiang Yushan, what was that about? Yun Yuzhen replied, That was then, this is now. At that time, the Xiang Family still thought that Xiao Xian was a puppet under their control, they were hoping that while the whole country is in rebellion, they could fish in troubled water, hence they set themselves in opposition against Yin Gui Pai. But now, various factions of the demonic school are uniting into one; because Xiao Xian has some misgivings toward the demonic school, he no longer wanted to work together with the Xiang Family. As for Yang Xuyans assassination attempt on Xiang Yushan, it was just a joint performance; otherwise, how could it happen exactly when you guys were with Xiang Yushan? Why would they want to abandon the easy and seek the difficult? Xu Ziling finally figured out theplicated rtionship between Xiao Xian and the Xiang family. Furthermore, he had a faint guess that there was a very high chance that Yun Yuzhen, who was very casual about man-woman rtionship, had some secret dealings with Xiao Xian, hence she was concerned about Xiao Xians fate. Taking a deep breath, he said, No matter who will be the ultimate victor in the struggle between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin, Xiao Xian is trapped in one corner of the Great River, in the end he would not be able to escape his fate of being annihted. Whoever can control Bashu and the Central ins will be able to put Xiao Xian in order. If that person is Kou Zhong, he definitely will not let Xiao Xian get away. Bangzhu should understand the gratitude and grudges within this matter better than anybody. Yun Yuzhen spoke in distress, Since thats the case, why would you be willing to let me off? Xu Ziling replied, The real criminal ringleader, the main offender is Xiang Yushan and not you. Yun Bangzhu should not indulge in flights of fancy anymore; let bygones be bygones, the reason we are who we are today, Bangzhu has had a very big contribution, just let the merits and demerits bnce up. As long as Bangzhu is willing to help us with all your strength to rid the world of cmity, that would be your greatest achievements and virtue. After arriving in Zhongli, I will go up north to Pengliang to see Kou Zhongs situation. In the work of dealing with Xiang Gui, Lei Dage is fully in charge, Bangzhu canpletely trust him. While Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, and the entire Shao Shuai Army were unable to make any sense of the matter, they were looking at each other wide-eyed, the originally overbearing, starting tounch all-around offensive Great Tang Army suddenly pulled back like a tide. When they wanted toe, they simply came, when they wanted to retreat, they simply withdrew. The Tang Army withdrew, but was not in confusion, putting their excellent training in full disy. The first to withdraw was the disposition of troops, and then the crossbow-and-arrow machine and the flying-rock-big-cannon slowly moved behind the army. Li Shiminsmand army also showed some changes, they split to both sides, forming two disposition of troops like two small hills, to give way to the front-line troops to retreat to the rear. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, What trick is Li Shimin ying? Sweeping his gaze around, Kou Zhong said, Perhaps he wants to personally go on stage! Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, This is not in line with the art of war at all; although their method is not disorderly, but withdrawing troops involves great risk. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Its a pity that we are powerless to attack, otherwise we would be able to make Li Shimin suffer a big loss. Bang! Bang! Bang! Amidst the sound of the retreating gong, the front line of the Tang Army, still in neat formation, retreated to the rear, so that the front-line troops became the troops bringing up the rear, and then they stopped in formation. Li Shiminsmand army from the left and right closed up, they became the front-line unit, and then withdrew from the slope to a distance of about three thousand paces. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, As long as Li Shimin uses the Dark Armored Warriors as the main force and the entire cavalry charge over, their strength is enough to bring uspletely down. Kou Zhong was about to answer, unexpectedly the infantry unit within Li Shimins troop disposition started to pull back, so that only the uniform cavalry remained. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, My Niang! Whats this all about? Could it be that Li Shimin really wanted to attack the stronghold purely with the cavalry? That would greatly increase his casualties; not wise at all. Ba Fenghan cast his gaze to the east side, in the pitch-ck wilderness, he did not see any movement. Kou Zhong was shaken again, and said, My Niang! Li Shimin is really retreating. By this time, Li Shimins cavalry on the two wings already turned around and pulled back, leaving only the Dark Armored Warriors under Li Shiminsmand. Suddenly the enemys torches were extinguished one by one, so that the battlefield, both on the enemy and us, two sides fell into deep darkness. The scattering dots of stars, which were previously forgotten, started to reveal their immortal beauty in the parts of the night sky where the clouds failed to cover, abundant with the feeling of peace and tranquility, in stark contrast with the vicious atmosphere of the two armies about tounch fierce battle against each other. This time it was Ba Fenghans tiger-bodys turn to shake, his gaze was cast back toward the open country on the east side, he cried out involuntarily, Its the sound of hoof beats! Kou Zhong also heard the faint sound of the hooves beating against the grounding from the east. Pleased beyond his expectation, he said, Could it be that Xuan Yong and the others finally beat back Li Shijis army and turn back toe to help us? Behind them, Ma Chang and the others heard the unusual noise, one after another they turned to look to the east. Kou Zhongs heart, outside his control, was thumping madly within his chest cavity. Li Shimins current strange action, the sound of hoof beats on the east, there was only one exnation, which was there must be men and horses from his sideing to help. Thinking to this point, he turned the horses head around and shouted loudly, Light the fire! During the time the torches in the mountain stronghold were re-lighted, from behind the hills on the east side appeared a wide expanse of torches, followed by countless cavalry, covering the mountains and the ins, galloping over the ins on the east,ing toward them, banners were flying majestically. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, My Niang! Unexpectedly its my future father-inws honored-self arriving. The Shao Shuai Army of the mountain stronghold came back from the deaths door, their thunderous cheers shook the entire battlefield. Finally, at the most critical moment, the Heavenly Saber Song Que led his troops toe to help. Book 55 2 – Devising Battle Plan in a Tent

Book 55 Chapter 2 C Devising Battle n in a Tent

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling knocked on the door and entered the cabin, Yin Xianhe, his expression wooden, was standing by the window, staring at the dark, vast and obscure river bank. Xu Ziling came to his side; originally his belly was full of stuffs he wanted to say, but he found it difficult to speak up. The scene when he first met Yin Xianhe appeared in his mind, this haughty swordsman stood alone by the hot spring at the Yin Ma Yi rear court, amidst the mist of steaming up of the pool. At that time he still did not know that he was a grieving man with a load in his mind, he thought that his natural disposition was solitary, above the crowd, not amenable to reason. Yin Xianhe spoke slowly, No matter how remote the hope is, I am going to go everywhere, even to the ends of the earth, to look for Xiaoji. Xu Xiong need not mind about me anymore. Xu Ziling was puzzled, In this regard, Lei Dage will have his way, he said, That year when Jiangdu was in rebellion, there were several hundred girls who seized the opportunity to flee. As long as we could find a few of them, we could follow the trail and track them down one by one. We are not without any chance to find your esteemed younger sister. Smiling bitterly, Yin Xianhe said, At the time of soldiers mutiny and troops rebelling, anything might happen, she is a girl with weak nature, ay! Xu Ziling spoke with serious expression, There is a master in the underworld. Since Laotianye has allowed us to learn about your esteemed sisters definite information from Han Furen, he wouldnt be that cruel! Yin Xianhe remained silent. Suddenly Xu Zilings pair of eyes lit up, he spoke heavily, I might know one of the girls who fled Jiangdu together with your esteemed sister at that time. Yin Xianhe was severely shaken, he looked at him, his pair of eyes revealed a zing hope like a raging inferno, Who is it? he asked. Xu Ziling met his eyes, he made up his mind inwardly, he vowed to do everything in his power to aplish Yin Xianhes cherished desire. He said, She is Changans most popr, selling her art but not selling her body C talented girl Ji Qian. Her reputation is second only to the famous-across-the-whole-nation Shang Xiufang. And then he exined everything one time through, and said, In thousand ways, a hundred ns Ji Qian wanted to learn gambling method from me, it was precisely to make reprisals to the Xiang Family. Only too bad because she does not trust me, she was unwilling to disclose anything about your esteemed sister. At that time, I sensed that she knew your esteemed sister. Yin Xianhe said, I want to go ashore immediately and rush to Changan to look for Ji Qian and ask her clearly. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Currently the war between the Li Family of Changan and Kou Zhong is in progress like wildfire, the security in the Pass is intense [reminder: Guan of Guanzhong means the Pass], without appropriate arrangement, I am afraid it will be difficult for Yin Xiong to enter Changan even for half a step. I wonder if we could discuss it with Lei Dage first, let him think of an absolutely sure way. Shaking his head resolutely, Yin Xianhe said, I am going to Changan and will look at the situation first before finding a way. Xu Xiong has helped me a lot, I will engrave it in my heart and mind. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Maybe because of past events leaving shadow in her heart, Ji Qian has a very heavy suspicion to other people. Even if Yin Xiong managed to visit her, I am afraid it will still be difficult to obtain her trust. Yin Xianhes pair of eyes emitted unswerving determination, he spoke slowly, word-by-word, As long as there is a thread of opportunity, I am not going to miss it. Unable to do anything about him, Xu Ziling said, How about this: we send Han Xiongs family of three to Zhongli first, and then we take the boat immediately to Pengliang in the north, after finding out Kou Zhongs situation clearly, I am going to apany Yin Xiong to Changan to see Ji Qian. I have a way that the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive to sneak into Changan, as well as slip away stealthily afterwards. On the mountain and fields of the mountain strongholds right side, zing me illuminated the sky. The Song Familys vanguard troops, consisting of approximately five thousand men light cavalry, set up their formation on the hills and high ces. Kou Zhong swept his eyes everywhere, but he still did not see the Heavenly Saber Song Ques trace. In the darkness half a sichen away from dawn, the sound of the wheels grinding the ground of the Tang Armys troop disposition showed that Li Shimin was ordering his men to brave the dark to move the crossbow-and-arrow machines and the flying-rock-big-cannon toward the even-farther-away camp. Ba Fenghan looked at the Song Familys cavalry battle formation in the distance, he praised, The soldiers are elite troops, the horses are fine thoroughbred horses. They have been rushing over urgently for a hundred li, they are still moving in an orderly manner, their grandeur is overwhelming, enough topete with the Tang Army for a day, long or short. Kou Zhong was about to speak, Ba Fenghan patted his shoulder and said, Go pay your respect to your future father-inw! Now, even Li Shimin, whose guts have been cut by the Heaven, will not dare to attack, leave the matter here to Ol Ba to take care for you. Kou Zhongughed and said, He, the Senior, should not have graced us with his presence yet, it would be more appropriate for me to stay here and move back and forth to keep up appearances. Ba Fenghan cast his gaze in the direction of the Tang Army, who was blending into the dark open country, and said, If I were Li Shimin, I would withdraw immediately now, otherwise, if the retreat route is sealed, his men and horses would never be able to get out of the hidden pond mountain. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If there is anything the Battle of Luoyang is teaching this time, it is precisely never underestimate Li Shimin. If I am guessing correctly, my future father-inws Song Family Army should have resolved the distress of the siege on Chenliu first, and then traveled day and night to rush over to save us, the surviving army struggling on the verge of life and death. Precisely because Li Shimin anticipated the time of my father-inws arrival, he was impatient to attack the stronghold with all his strength. Fortunately, we were able to hold out until this moment. In retrospect, there was only a line difference between sess or failure. Thinking about it I cant help perspiring cold sweat all over my body. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, In the Battle of Luoyang this time, the biggest benefit that Ol Ba derived was that I have never been that close to death, every moment I smelled the smell of death. Kou Zhong said with a sneer, You, LaoGe seemed to forget the taste of death and then came back to life under Bi Xuans hands. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, This time its different from that time; everything happened so fast. This time, starting from charging out of Luoyang, didnt we live under the threat of the shadow of death? If we hadnt had those firearms, we would have been done for early on. Suddenly from inside the Song Familys cavalry exploded the sound of shouts and cheers shaking the heavens. The two men cast their gaze, under the flying banner, the Heavenly Saber Song Que, sitting erect like a mountain, his imposing figure high on the horseback, appeared on top of a hill, rushing down in the direction of the mountain stronghold. The other men and horses of the Song Family were still upying the hilltop hignds, holding back their troops without moving. Kou Zhong reached out and grabbed the rein of Ba Fenghans horse, and then he pulled Ba Fenghan along to meet him together. The Shao Shuai Army inside and outside the mountain stronghold raised another cheer, their voices like the rumble of a thunder. The hardest moment has finally passed. Finished listening, Lei Jiuzhi nodded and said, Die Gongzis [butterfly prince] plight indeed makes people sympathize with him. I agree that as long as there is a thread of clue to be sought, no matter how remote, we should not miss it. The question is: how are you going to spare the time to help him? It would be better for me to apany him to look for Ji Qian. Xu Ziling stood on the bow against the wind, the sleeves of his clothes fluttering, he said with a sigh, Naturally I understand that affairs have slight or important, urgent or non-urgent C differences, hence we must find out Kou Zhongs situation clearly first, and only then will we make the final decision. To see Ji Qian, with me apanying him to Changan will be a bit more appropriate. Li Yuan is keeping martial art masters inside the Pce as numerous as the cloud, once our track is exposed, its not a joking matter. In the big operation against the Xiang Family, you, LaoGe is themander-in-chief, Kou Zhong and I are just foot soldiers waving the gs and shouting battle cries. Other trivial tasks, leave them to us to handle. Lei Jiuzhi roared in an involuntaryughter, he said, When you are trying to persuade people, the tone of your voice sounds more and more like Kou Zhong! The Xiang Family tying enmity with you, two mortal enemies, they are indeed courting disaster. Now I have more grasp about the secret of the Xiang Familys entire operation and the arrangement of theirir. The day Kou Zhong can unify the world is the day the Xiang Familys entire conglomerate of evil will fall. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day, he spoke indifferently, It seems that Lei Dage is confident that Kou Zhong will win? Is that right? Lei Jiuzhi stoppedughing, he straightened his thin frame, his right hand grabbed Xu Zilings shoulder, he exhaled slowly, and then spoke glibly, Everybody in the world, Li Shimin included, all know that Song Que definitely will not allow anybody strike and defeat Kou Zhong. His Song Family Army may appear at the most appropriate time to turn the whole situation around. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, The question is whether he will be able to appear at the most appropriate time? Shrugging his shoulders, Lei Jiuzhi said, It will depend on whether Song Que can uphold his myth as the military affairs expert or not. Since Song Que took control of Lingnan, there has never been anybody sessfully took away half a cun ofnd from his hands; if he wanted to expand his territory, the area south of the Great River would already be his world, but he is unexpectedly able to steady his qi until he came across Kou Zhong, only then did he go out of Lingnan to strive over the world. This is a clear sign that not only he understands other people, he understands himself even more. Trust me! Speaking about vision and assurance of current situation, no one in the world cane out to the right of Song Que. Xu Ziling fixed his gaze on the boundless Great River, from the bottom of his heart emerged Shi Feixuans jade countenance. Song Que plus Kou Zhong, like river water sweeping over the Central ins, who in the world couldpete with them? When the Li ns superiority was exhausted, would Shi Feixuan just sit and watch Li Shimin, whom she personally selected, suffered the scourge of falling down from the top? And how would she, whose wisdom go through the heavens C turn the situation around? Song Que appeared to be more vigorous than the past, sitting on the horseback, he looked to be more mighty than when he was at the Mo Dao Tang [grinding saber hall], on the battlefield, his appearance was rxed and at ease. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan dared to swear that they had never seen anybody like this. He wore a y-yellow light armor, with leather cape, which fluttered in the wind, carrying some kind of imposing disposition of looking disdainfully at the world out of the corner of his eyes. Song Que did not wear a helmet, there was only a piece of red cloth wrapped around his forehead, both of its ends, left and right, were hanging over his shoulders. His handsome-without-equal, also brimming with schrly air C countenance was hiding a deeply affectionate and tender joy. The Heavenly Saber, which name intimidated the world, was hanging on his back, the handle of the saber protruded out of his right shoulder. His elegant manner as he spurred his horse toe over was just like a deity descending to the earth. From among the high-ranking military officers escorting him, there were three with distinct characteristics; it was clear in just a nce that they must be Liliao Great Generals under Song Ques banner. Kou Zhong recognized one of them as the Hu Yi Hongfen [tiger clothes rouge and powder (fig. the fair sex)] Ouyang Qian. That year when he went to Lingnan to see Song Que, he had secretly stolen a nce at her. The other two Liliao generals, one fat the other thin; the fat one had a shape like a big bucket, the armor tightly wrapped around his body seemed to be about to split at the seam and squeeze his fat out, particrly his swelling and bursting big belly, yet on the contrary, the impression he was giving up was of a quick-witted and active person. The thin ones figure was tall and slender yet rugged, dressed like a schr, with high forehead that surpassed ordinary people, his gaze was sharp, he grew a small mustache on his face, his external appearance rxed and good-looking. Both were in their forties. The other high-ranking military officers were entirely the Song Familys younger generations and soldiers. Kou Zhong knew Song Bang, who escorted Song Yuzhi to Chenliu to see him. There were several dozen among the Song Family people who wore high-ranking military officer armor, all were in their prime of life, everybodys appearance was as tough as nails, with imposing appearance and heroic impression, making people feel that the Song n had powerful people and robust horses, their martial art masters as numerous as the cloud. The two sides men and horses met on the in on top of a hill, they reined their horses and stopped. Song Que threw his head back inughter, he said, Good! Kou Zhong, you did great! You did not fail to live up to Laofus [old man, referring to self] expectation. Kou Zhong responded with a bitter smile, If only Fazhu [n Master] came one step toote, this kid might have his soul returning to theher world, to see the Ox-Head and Horse-Face [both are guardians of the underworld in Chinese mythology], a group of big brothers countenance ying the ghost, and had to focus my attention to pat their horses butts. Pft! Ouyang Qian could not help bursting in a giggle, her beautiful eyes floated over, but immediately she felt that it was inappropriate, hence she hung her head and held back herughter. Laughing involuntarily, Song Ques gaze moved to Ba Fenghan. Thetter raised his cupped fist to pay respect and said, Ba Fenghan pays his respect to Fazhu. Song Ques pair of eyes emitted divine light that seemed to be able to see through and beyond the fa?ade of Ba Fenghan, and then his face broke into a friendly, amiable smile; he said, I never expected that after Bi Xuan, there is you, Ba Fenghan. No wonder Tujue people are able to proim themselves hegemon over the prairie. Ba Fenghan smiled calmly, but he did not answer. And then Song Que introduced the various generals on his left and right to the two men. The fat general was the master of Panyu [county, in Guangdong province], Li Shuai [Li ethnic groupmander] Wang Zhongxuan, the thin one was the Shuangshuai [lit. pair of rivers, or Shuang River in Hunan and Guangdong, modern Wu River] Liliao leader Chen Zhifo, plus Ouyang Qian; the most outstanding Liliao figures of the south were gathered here. The various generals of the Song Family, apart from Song Bang, the other two young high-ranking military officers that gave Kou Zhong the deepest impression were Song Shuang and Song Faliang, none did not have the imposing manner of a front ranking martial art master. Their heroic appearance as they crisscrossed the battlefield unrivalled could easily be imagined. Song Que cast his gaze toward the Tang Army camps position, as if he was able to observe the enemy situation in the dark as well as during the daytime. Indifferent and at ease, he said, Li Shimin is painfully waiting for the arrival of the day, furthermore, he looks forward to ourrge-scale attack. However, how could Laofu do as he wishes? Stunned, Ba Fenghan said, Fazhu unexpectedly is not going to seize the opportunity to attack, are you going to let him withdraw from the hidden pond mountain? Smiling slightly, Song Que spoke softly, Does Fenghan know why I chose toe and help before the first big snows arrival, and not the next years warm spring and flowers blooming as it was said? Ba Fenghan was silent for half a day. Suddenly he sighed and said, Fenghan submits! Song Que threw his head back in heartyughter, he said, Good! You are worthy to be called the outstanding figure who goes through life and death together with my future soon to be son-inw. Everybody, listen to me, I am not going to repeat it, starting from this moment, the Song Family Army is the Shao Shuai Army, you will only listen to Shaoshuai, one persons order. The crowd of generals responded in a roar, the atmosphere was zing. Blushing with shame, Kou Zhong said, How could it be? You, the Senior, are the ... Song Que cut him off, Dont be wishy-washy! What does a real man dare not do? In the unified world in the future, the one to be the emperor will be you, Kou Zhong, and not me, Song Que. You earned this by using your own ability. And then, revealing an auspicious and peaceful smile, he said, You are just like a half-son to me, if Laofu does not support you, whom am I supposed to support? Afterwards, he raised his head to look at the sky and said, Everybody thinks that southerners are not suitable to go to war to the north, that its difficult for us to endure the wind and the snow, therefore, from the ancient time to the present, only the north conquered the south, there has never been the south conquering the north. I, Song Que, not only do not believe in unhealthy influences that cause disease, I will even utilize the northern wind and snow to help Shaoshuai to ascend onto the emperors throne. I want to prove to the northerners that victory will definitely belong to us. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong, just like Ba Fenghan previously, revealed an admiring, down to prostrating himself in admiration C expression. Song Que cheerfully said, Shaoshuai should understand! Kou Zhong nodded and said, This kid is slow-witted, only this moment do I understand. Song Que swept the crowd with his gaze, he calmly said, Li Shimin has no choice but to retreat, and he has to retreat to Luoyang, relying on the city wall to hold out firmly. And with this retreat he can forget about moving his troops to the south for three months, simply because the roads are closed due to the wind and the snow. He can only sit and watch us wiping out his strategic strongholds south of Luoyang, which foundation has not been stabled yet. We will exploit this precious three-month period to take Xiangyang first, and then Hanzhong, and control the Great River. When the warm spring and flowers blooming next year arrive, that will be the day we are going up north. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, To attack Luoyang, Xiangyang is the ce we must strive for. As for Hanzhong, why does Fazhu attach that much importance? Song Ques pair of eyes emitted deep and unmeasurable, abundant with wisdom divine light, he said, In the short term, Hanzhong controls the six dangerous ways first, andter on supports western rivers grain. To the left, it opens ess to Jingxiangs wealth, to the right it produces Qinlongs horses. Anyone who wants to hold on to Bashus northern big gates must defend Hanzhong first. Since Bashus Xie Hui does not want to listen to me much, I will cut off his only link with the Li Tang, so that Xie Hui will not dare to rush indiscriminately into action the slightest bit. When Bashu is already fixed, the Great River will be in our hands, then Xiao Xian, Du Fuwei, and the like cannot proim themselves king and hegemon. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Du Fuwei, he, the Senior, promised his full support to me. Song Que blurted outughing and said, Even so, it will save us some work. Kou Zhong, you ought to know that half of the world has fallen into your hands. Since Du Fuwei already stands on our side, if he dares not to surrender, we will use gale-sweeping-dead-leaves mighty power against him, and unify the south under our iron hoof. If they go up to fight, good, if not, we subdue the people to be our soldiers. We take advantage of the good time while the Li Tang is unable to attend to the south to unify the Great Rivers both banks. At that time, the strive for the world will decide the victory or defeat between you and Li Shimin. By this time, Kou Zhong already admired Song Ques strategy in his heart, he modestly asked for advice, After Li Shimin withdraw his troops, what do we do? Song Que smiled and said, Our main forces going up north this time, the total military strength is seventy thousand men,ing with me are thirty thousand, the others stay to defend Pengliang, awaiting orders. All logistics and supplies are under your Lu Shus [uncle] responsibility. And our key strength in the marine division fleet,bined with your flywheel battleships, wont be affected by the wind and the snow, will be able to attack all crucial military strategic towns on both sides of the waterway, straight into Bashu, and capture Hanzhong. Shao Shuai Army is yours, what do you think we should do? Listening to that, Kou Zhong understood tacitly; he replied in loud and clear voice, This kid understands! Li Shimin retreats, we also retreat. But we use retreat to advance, by returning to Pengliang first, drill and amass the navy, wait for the wind and snows arrival, take Jiangdu first, and then go upstream up the river, destroy Fu Gongyou, control Xiao Xian, and then divide the troops into two ways, one to attack Hanzhong, the other to seize Xiangyang. At that time, whether Luoyang or Changan, that will be our choice. Song Queughed heartily and said, Even a mule [(literary) child] can be taught. Sighing with admiration, Ba Fenghan said, War is like a game of chess, Fazhus chess move is to overturn the Li Tangs overwhelming superiority, without moving a single soldier or one troop. If I were Li Yuan, starting this moment, I would not be able to sleep peacefully every night. The cold light in Song Ques pair of eyes shing, he spoke in heavy voice, What thing is Li Yuan anyway? However, Li Shimin is indeed a somebody, he made me nearly miscalcted. Fortunately, Kou Zhong, you did not disappoint Laofu. Fenghan should know that Li Shimin had no choice but to hunt and kill Kou Zhong, it was precisely the situation that Laofu single-handedly created. Stunned, Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong looked at each other, the more they felt that Song Que was like a wizard of war; turning over his hand, he created clouds, overturning his hand, he created the wind. Song Ques appearance was back to absolutely tranquil, he spoke softly, Laofus hard work over thest twenty years is not in vain, the situation of the world is entirely in my hands, any important matter, none can be hidden from me. Li Shimin executing Dou Jiande was really his biggest miscalction, it creates big changes in the situation in Hebei. Jiandes great general Liu Heita again lead the army in an uprising, to fight the Tang Army. When we are going up north, Li Shimin will be caught in the inferior situation of facing pincer attack from the north and south. Oh Li Yuan! The auspicious days that you embrace on the left and hold on the right can already be counted on ones fingers. This moment the sky gradually brightened, the Tang Army in the distance only remained around ten thousand men cavalry, waiting in formation. The rest have rapidly withdrawn in the direction of the hidden pond mountain. Book 55 3 – The Secret to Deliver Victory

Book 55 Chapter 3 C The Secret to Deliver Victory

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Zilings boat arrived at Zhongli in the afternoon. Bu Tianzhi, who was defending Zhongli, received the news and came to meet the boat. Without waiting for Xu Ziling to speak, he rushed to announce the good news, Song Fazhus fleet sailed from the Great River up the canal five days ago, straight to pounce on Chenliu. ording to the information I have just received, Li Shiji pretended to be no match for them, he withdrew to Kaifeng that very night. Fazhu was able to see through Li Shijis scheme in trying to lure the enemy, he personally led thirty thousand elite troops to help Shaoshuai. Hearing that, everybodys spirit was greatly aroused, the worry extending all the way across their heart was swept clean. Lei Jiuzhi appeared to be even more pleased with himself, acting as if he already had the foresight. Where is Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling asked. Bu Tianzhi replied, Shaoshuai built a stronghold to resist the enemy in a ce called Tian Cheng Gorge. It was entirely thanks to him dragging on Li Shimins hundred thousand main forces that Chenliu was able to defend itself until the cloud is opened and they see the bright moon, until the Song Familys navy and main forces arrived to lift the siege. Xu Ziling muttered to himself, Tian Cheng Gorge, twice. Shaken, he said, Its lucky that this kid remembered that dangerous ce. Bu Tianzhis countenance darkened, he spoke in distress, However, Shaoshuais loss was disastrous. Wang Shichongs old generalsing with him from Luoyang were practically wiped out due to injuries and deaths, only Wang Xuanshu, Ba Yegang and Bing Yuanzhen are left. Yang Gong was also unfortunate to die in battle. Xu Ziling was sad and remained silent. War was like this, it was only a game to see whose injury was heavier! No matter who seeded and became the king or defeated and became the bandit, the heavy price must be paid. The intense and bloody battle situation at that time could be easily imagined. There has never been a moment when he loathed war more than now. Knowing that the pain in Xu Zilings heart was hard to endure, Bu Tianzhi wanted to divide his mind, he asked, Isnt there a Han Xiong and his wife and childing over as well? On the deck, apart from the brothers who operated the boat, there were only Lei Jiuzhi, Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling, three men. Lei Jiuzhi has been cautious in the way he handled things, he already sent people to notify Bu Tianzhi of their arrival. Xu Ziling sighed, he spoke sincerely, Zhi Shu [uncle]! On the boat, other than Han Xiongs family of three, there is also Yun Bangzhu. I hope Zhi Shu would look at my face and not to bother about the past gratitude and grudges with her. She has broken off her rtions with the Xiang Family, and is determined to help us deal with Xiang Yushan with all her strength. Hearing that, Bu Tianzhi was dumbfounded. It was quite half a dayter that he smiled wryly and said, She has fallen into such a plight today, what else is there to bother with her anymore? Jukun Bang is no more, I hope she understands this fact. Xu Ziling replied, She understands it better than anybody. I am asking Zhi Shu to take a good care of her. Xibai and I and another friend must immediately rush to Pengliang. Han Xiong and his family and Yun Bangzhu will stay temporarily in Zhongli, Lei Dage will exin everything to Zhi Shu. Bu Tianzhi thought that he was eager to go to Pengliang to meet with Kou Zhong; he nodded and said, Leave them to me. In my territory, no one will be able to harm even half a strand of hair on their head. Ay! Frankly speaking, I have never thought that I would have the opportunity to have the full power to manage and govern a big city like Zhongli; it was all thanks to Shaoshuai and Ziling for bestowing this. Xu Ziling pulled him aside and asked, Chen Gong and Ba Fenghan, are they all right? Bu Tianzhi replied, Ba Ye is naturally all right, it was he who broke the siege and went to Chenliu to report, and then he led the reinforcement troops via the southern route of the Tian Cheng Gorge to join forces with Shaoshuai. I heard Ba Ye said that the mountain stronghold was designed by Chen Gong. Dont worry! I know Chen Gong best, he is that kind of person with good fortune; he has experienced great catastrophe many times, yet still able to escape alive from mortal danger. This time, surely he will pass it safely. Xu Ziling put down half of the load on his mind. Lowering his voice, he said, Zhi Shu, I wonder if you could do me another favor: pleasee into the room and personally ask her toe out, give her enough face, because I dont want her toe with me to Pengliang. Bu Tianzhi smiled and said, How can a real manck the aspiration on this? Very well! Ill go in and talk to her, and then send her into the city. Finished speaking, he walked over toward the cabin door, Lei Jiuzhi discreetly showed him the way. Hou Xibai moved to Xu Zilings side. Thetter was staring nkly at the City of Zhongli, standing proudly on the northern bank of the Huai River, looking pensive. Hou Xibai asked in surprise, What is Ziling thinking? On Ji Qians aspect, no need to be worried, because Xiaodi is one of the people she admires the most. Xu Ziling replied indifferently, I am not thinking about Ji Qian, but the oue of Song Que plus Kou Zhong. Furthermore, I know that the Li Tangs defeat is pressing in on their eyshes. At a loss, Hou Xibai asked, Why is Ziling so sure? The Li n has Guanzhong to protect them. The cities of Changan, Luoyang, are solid, they have the convenience of the Great River, advancing they can attack, retreating they can defend, they are upying the best location. Furthermore, there is Li Shimin, themander-in-chief most adept in defense in the world. Even Kou Zhong plus Song Que, I am afraid it will still be difficult to capture either of the two cities in a short period of time. Xu Ziling sighed in low voice and said, Kou Zhong practically does not need to attack Luoyang at all; rather, he will directly enter the Pass to attack Changan. Even if the defending general is Li Shimin, if he can hold out for three days, it is already extremely remarkable. Hou Xibai was shaken. Suppressing his voice as much as possible, he said, The Duke Yangs Treasure, right? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, I wonder if Feixuan is going to betray me? Stunned, Hou Xibai said, How could Feixuan betray you? Even if she wants to betray you, what does it have to do with the Duke Yangs Treasure? Xu Ziling shook his head without saying a word, he only revealed another smile brimming with pain. For the sake of Li Shimins survival, would Shi Feixuan reveal the secrets of the Duke Yangs Treasure? Under normal circumstances, naturally she could not possibly do that, furthermore, she would disdain to do this kind of thing, but as Shi Zhixuan said, Shi Feixuan, or her master Fan Qinghui, had no other choice. In the open space next to themander tent, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Ma Chang, Bai Wenyuan, Bing Yuanzhen, Chen Laomou, Wang Xuanshu, Xiao Heer and Ba Yegang sat around the bonfire, enjoying the meals their men prepared for them. There was a great feeling of after going through disaster, remaining alive. They did not need to worry about safety at all, because Song Ques main forces camp was spread out in four sides, eight directions C in formation and protected them at the core. The number of Shao Shuai Army who were able to leave Tian Cheng Gorge alive were only 3,250 men, and they were all more or less injured. After rushing along for half a day, everybody was unbearably weary and extremely in need of rest. Xiao Heer did not stop talking in Wang Xuanshus ear, but Wang Xuanshu looked a bit awkward, yet he had no choice but to listen attentively. Everyone tactfully pretended to deliberately ignore them, to hear but not react [idiom]. The only one who was not tactful was Chen Laomou. He let out his weirdugher toward Wang Xuanshu and said, When Xiao Heer changes back into womens clothes, she must be a very pretty little miss. Did Laofu guess right? Immediately Wang Xuanshu blushed to the root of his ears; clearing his throat, he said, I have not seen it. Obviously, Xiao Heers face was much thicker than Wang Xuanshus. Glowering at Chen Laomou, she leaned over to whisper something at Wang Xuanshus ear, which made Wang Xuanshu even more embarrassed. Chen Laomou still refused to let them get away, heughed aloud and said, I heard what Xiao Heer said. Xiao Heer was not fooled by him, she said with a big smile, Chen Gong is inventing crazy nonsense, I dont believe you can hear it. Chen Laomou proudly said, This pair of ears of mine is well-known in the world as supranatural ears [lit. ears that follow the wind]. Just now you said to Xuanshu Gongzi how about nujia [your servant (humble self-reference by young female)] find a day to wear womens clothes and let Gongzi see it? When speaking thest sentence, he imitated Xiao Heers little girls demeanor and intonation in an exaggerated manner, which immediately provoked a roar ofughter filling the campsite. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, It is indeed a crazy nonsense. When he said that, everybody knew was Ba Fenghan was the one who actually heard what Xiao Heer said in Wang Xuanshus ear. Greatly delighted, Chen Laomou said, What did she say? Quicklye to my ear and report it. Xiao Heer did not want to let him off easily, she said, Ba Dage is not a good person. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, No one has ever regarded me as a good person, furthermore, I dont want to be a good person. However, Ill make an exception in this matter this time, Ill keep your secrets tightly for you, little miss. Kou Zhongs heart surged with warmth. The Ba Fenghan that he met for the first time,pared with the Ba Fenghan in front of him, it was like twopletely different persons. The former was vicious and merciless, cold-hearted, did not give a damn to anybody. Thetter was a good brother who would risk his life for a friend. Wang Xuanshus face turned even redder. Acting bashful, Xiao Heer cast Ba Fenghan a nce, she also showed a blissful expression, her manner was na?ve and cute. With old age came wisdom, Chen Laomouughed aloud and said, I guessed it! Just by looking at Xuanshus expression, I know that not only he has seen it, he even ... Hey! No need to say it! Laofu also made an exception to keep your secrets. Wang Xuanshu couldnt hold his own, he begged, Chen Gong, please spare me! Ba Fenghan suddenly said, Gentlemen, I want to part with you for a period of time. By the time we attack Luoyang, I will fight side by side with you. Everybody was stunned, only Kou Zhong acted as if he already knew it beforehand. He nodded and said, Are you going back beyond the Great Wall? In that case, how are you going toe back in time? Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, I am staying in the Central ins for a while to pay off some old debts. If Ziling has some unexpected misfortune, I will open wide the monastic discipline against killing even more. Kou Zhongughed and said, I am sure Ziling is all right, otherwise, he will definitelye to me to vent his grievances. Xiao Heer shuddered, she was obviously thinking that after death, people might be ghosts. Relying on his age, Chen Laomou showed off his seniority, he said with a frown, What debt does Xiao Ba owe? You are not the kind of person who loves to bet a couple of hands. Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, What I owe is a debt of gratitude. Kou Zhong was at a loss, Debt of gratitude? he asked. Ba Fenghan rose up to his full height, his pair of eyes emittedplicated, hard to understand expression; he said, It is most difficult to live up to a beautys grace, Xuanshu Gongzi must remember this. Xiao Guniang has a pair of rarely seen long legs, when you dress up, you will be very touching. Everybody knew that once he said he would leave, he would immediately leave, they promptly stood up. Kou Zhong reached out to grab Ba Fenghans thick and solid arm, he said, You guys continue chatting, I am going to send Lao Ba off on your behalf. Finished speaking, he let go his hold, and walked out the camp side by side with Ba Fenghan. When they passed the Song Family Armys camp, none of the Song Family soldiers did not salute respectfully, showing their lofty admiration and respect toward the two men. Reaching a mountaintop nearby the camp, Kou Zhong smiled and said, I am not going to attack Luoyang. Laoge, the day you hear that I capture Hanzhong, you must immediately rush over to meet with us, otherwise, you will miss the splendid city battle inside Changan. Ba Fenghan halted his steps in surprise, he said, Unexpectedly you are nning on attacking Changan directly? What makes you have such guts? The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shing, he spoke heavily, The answer is Duke Yangs Treasure. You should know that when Yang Su built the treasure-house in the past, his objective was, in time of emergency, to topple the Great Sui. Now that the Li Tang is in power, its function has not changed. Not only the storehouse hadrge quantities of weapon, there is also awork of tunnels that runs through the inside and outside of the city. To me, Changan is like an undefended city, while Li Yuan is still in his dragon bed building with those Yin De Fei, Zhang Jieyu, looking for good dreams, our men would have upied all the important strongholds in the city, and opened all the city gates. This battle I have ten out of ten confidence, undoubtedly we will win. Emotionally moved, Ba Fenghan asked, Does Song Que know about this? Kou Zhong said, Many people, misceneous ears, I havent had the chance to make a report to him, the Senior. Ba Fenghan said, Apart from Xu Ziling, who else knows the secrets of the Duke Yangs Treasure? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, They all the Shuanglong Bang brothers who have followed me for many years and will never betray me. However, Wanwan has been to the treasure-house, but I am confident that she will not betray me. Ba Fenghans eyebrows deeply knitted, he said, You actually trust Wanwan? Forcefully pping his shoulder, Kou Zhong said, Of course I trust her. Because she grew real feeling toward Ziling, harming me will be the same as harming Ziling. Besides, she no longer cares about the demonic schools affairs. What good is it to set herself against me? Ba Fenghanughed and said, If somebody blocked the tunnel, you can retreat back to Hanzhong, and then hunt and kill Wanwan to the ends of the earth. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Such a situation will never happen, but Laoge has not told me, what debt of gratitude you need to pay. Ba Fenghan spoke lightly, I want to kill Bian Bufu. This is something that I promised Wanjing. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Princess Dongming? She already married down Shang Ming, that petty-minded muddled-egg. His Niangs! A flower stuck onto the cow dung. Patting his shoulder, Ba Fenghan said, Less speaking long-winded words. In this world, out of ten things, eight or nine are not ording to peoples wishes. We have less things that are not ording to our wishes, at least we are still alive. Brother, take a good care of yourself. Finished speaking, he calmly left. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong looked at Ba Fenghans back, going farther and farther away, Song Yuzhis jade countenance appeared in his heart. An intense impulse also welled up in his heart; turning around, he flew in the direction of Song Ques tent. The boat passed through the Liangdu Pass, it gained two naval escorts from the Shao Shuai Armys battleships, one in front and the other behind. The Shao Shuai Army was able to defend Chenliu, therefore, the canal from here to Jiangdu waspletely under Shao Shuai Armys control. Ships without any approval would not be able to pass. Xu Ziling could imagine that with the newly-built navy ships developed by the Shao Shuai Army,bined with the Song Familys huge navy, who have been through the wind and the waves of the rivers and seas, Kou Zhongs power would spread like a cobweb along the canal, the Huai River and the Great River, to the south of Luoyang, upying every strategic military town. When the overall deployment waspleted, to those who refuse to surrender, the only destiny remained for them was to wait to be ughtered. He was lying on the cabin bed, but his thoughts were surging in his mind, so that he was unable to calm down. Song Que already came out to help Kou Zhong to contend for hegemony over the world, Kou Zhong also, because Dou Jiande was executed, Yang Gong and the officers and soldiers who followed him loyally died in battle C has tied unresolvable blood enmity with the Li Tang. The battle of Kou Zhong attacking into Guanzhong would be inevitable. Also, only if Kou Zhong became the emperor would the demonic school and the Xiang Familys evil forces bepletely eradicated, and the Tujue Wolf Army, who had been waiting like tiger watching its prey C would be beaten back at the same time. This was inevitable development that no one, Xu Ziling included, could reverse. Under such circumstances, would Feixuan abandon Li Shimin and therefore support Kou Zhong? Ay! It should be impossible. But what else could Feixuan do? Would she tell Li Shimin about the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure? Thinking about these problems that perplexed him, Xu Zilings sleptpletely left him. Putting on his outer robe, he went up the deck. Yin Xianhes distinct tall and thin figure appeared at the stern of the boat. Xu Ziling sighed secretly, walking up to his side, he said, Yin Xiong cant sleep? Yin Xianhe dejectedly replied, I just had a nightmare, so I came here to have the wind blows it, hoping to get rid of the demons in my heart. Were you dreaming about your esteemed sister? Xu Ziling asked. Yin Xianhe nodded and said, It was a very ominous dream. Xu Xiong, please forgive me, I dont want to talk about it. Consoling him, Xu Ziling said, It is said that things in dreams are often contrary to reality. For example, seeing a son going into battle in a morous suit and with smile across his whole face in a dream is a great ill omen that the son will die in battle. Kou Zhong also often has nightmare about being surrounded and annihted by the enemy and that he was powerless to fight, yet until today he is still alive and well. Shaken, Yin Xianhe looked at him, he spoke heavily, Xu Xiong is notforting me! After my lost sister was captured, I have never had any good dream. Even when I dreamt of the beautiful scene of her and me relying on each other for survival, when I woke up from the dream, I simply entered another nightmare. Xu Ziling grieved inwardly, he became even more determined to help this good friend to find his younger sister; he said, Naturally I wont talk nonsense in this kind of thing. I still have some kind of feeling that Yin Xiong will be able to reunite with your esteemed sister. Yin Xianhe cast his gaze back toward the river. He was silent for half a day, and then he said, I wonder if there is really a destiny? Xu Ziling smiled ruefully and said, That is probably a question that no one can answer for sure. When a person is young, he believes nothing but himself, thinking that he can change everything, that his destiny is created by his own pair of hands. When the experience grows, the more he will feel the helplessness of nning is on man, but aplishing it is on Heaven! Therefore, the only way for us is, no matter how bad and desperate the environment is, we must maintain an optimistic and positive attitude, and strive to thest moment. Even if Ji Qian cant help us find your little sister, we must find another way. Hou Xibais voice came from behind, For example, we could offer arge sum of money as a reward, we look for someone who can eat in all directions, someone with head and face to make ns and decide on schemes for us. Its just that during this kind of time, someone like that is not easy to find at all. Xu Ziling suggested, Why not use Yin Xianhes name to offer a thousand taels of gold as a reward to find Yin Xiaoji. Since under the Xiang Familys tyrannical abuse her little sister was still resolute to keep her original name, she cant possibly change her surname and given name to this moment. Immediately Yin Xianhes pair of eyes lit up, he said, Why I never thought of such a simple method? Ay! But this method is easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice. Unless it is the emperor who can give orders to the world, who could possibly put a public announcement all over the country to look for a person? Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Then it depends on Kou Zhongs ability. We will first put a public announcement in all his territory to look for a person. Every time he upies a ce, the first thing we do is to put a public announcement to look for a person. A thousand taels of gold is not a small amount, this matter will certainly spread all over the world. As long as your esteemed sister knows that Yin Xiong is still alive, she will definitelye to look for Yin Xiong. Hou Xibai joined in, Maybe you can even save the thousand taels of gold. Hearing that, Yin Xianhes spirit was greatly aroused, he asked, In that case, do we still have to go to Changan? Xu Ziling replied, We want the information to spread across the whole nation, that is not something that can be done in ten or eight days. We need to paint holding two brushes [idiom: to attack one problem from two angles at the same time]. Hou Xibai nodded and said, Offering a reward is really not guaranteed [orig. ten picks, nine steady]. If your esteemed sister lives in vige or a small town, I am afraid it wont be easy to receive news. Apprehension grew in his heart, Yin Xianhe said, But if she lives in Liangdu, Chenliu, that kind of big cities, when she receives the news she immediately rushes over to Chenliu, but she cannot see me, wouldnt it be ... Hou Xibaiughed heartily and said, Yin Xiong, this is called you are confused due to anxiety. If your esteemed sister ising to Chenliu, surely someone will make good arrangement for her. From Chenliu to Changan, roundtrip, relying on our feet, we can aplish everything within half a month. Yin Xianhe reached out to grab the two mens arms, he spoke in low voice, I am really grateful to you. As long as my lost sister is still in the world of the living, I am sure there wille a day where I will meet her again. Book 55 4 – Nothing More Than This

Book 55 Chapter 4 C Nothing More Than This

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Song Ques tent was extremely exquisite, spacious and open like a small hall, covered entirely with carpet embroidered with phoenix gs. On one corner of the tent, there were two rosewood imperial tutor chairs, separated by a small tea table. Song Que was sittingfortably in one of the imperial tutor chairs, holding a teacup in his hand, sipping the fragrant tea. Seeing Kou Zhong came to pay a visit, he motioned him to sit in the other chair and personally poured tea for him. Smiling, he said, Why dont you take a rest a bit earlier? After reaching Chenliu tomorrow, you will be so busy that you wont be able to breathe. Kou Zhong took the teacup, sipped the hot tea, and spoke absent-mindedly, This kid has just sent off Ba Fenghan. This is his usual style, he said hede and he did, he said hed go and he went, like the solitary leopard on the grasnd, he does not likemunity life. Song Que did not appear the slightest bit displeased just because Ba Fenghan did noy say goodbye to him. On the contrary, he spoke cheerfully, Although I am the master of the Song n, but in my heart I like and miss the feeling ofing and going alone. I wonder if Shaoshuai is speaking your mind? Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, I feel so much in pain. Song Que was slightly startled, but then heughed involuntarily, and spoke with emotion, Who in the world does not bear the burden of pain in his heart? Even the strongest and most optimistic people might regret endlessly of certain things he did in the past, furthermore, he might wish that history can be changed, to give him another chance to correct it. Unfortunately, that is impossible to bring about. Life is like this, time is absolutely pitiless. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Unexpectedly Fazhu also have pain inside your heart? Song Ques handsome-without-equal countenance revealed a hint of expression brimming with pain, he spoke softly, The essence of life is like this, how can I, Song Que be lucky enough to be spared? Therefore, if you could decide far-reaching ideals and goals for yourself, and then strive and fight in that direction, set other things aside with all your might, it would make life easier to pass. Kou Zhong felt that he and this aloof and remote martial study giant have been pulled closer by quite some distance. He calmly expressed his inner feeling, saying, When I was on the battlefield, the moment the two armies were facing off against each other, I could really enter the realm of apart from the saber, there was nothing else. I just hate it that once the sword and spear wereid down, wild imaginations might suddenly invade, making me hard to endure my emotion. Song Que returned to the ancient-well-without-any-ripple cool-headedness. He looked at him, his expression was immeasurably deep, he spoke indifferently, Speak out the load on your mind! Kou Zhong said in anguish, Zhizhi is unwilling to forgive my action! Ay! How do I say it? She doesnt want to marry me, she ... Song Que raised his hand to cut him off, getting straight to the point, he said, Do you have another woman? Kou Zhong never expected that he would say those words. Staring nkly, he spoke with a bitter smile, If I said no, then I would be lying to Fazhu, however, I have always been true, I never betray Zhizhi, I truly love Zhizhi deeply, I dont want to hurt her, yet in reality, she is the person that I hurt the most. Song Que pped the armrest and burst in loudughter, he said, That is already very rare. Who can move Shaoshuais heart? Kou Zhong replied, Its Shang Xiufang, who is known as the chief among talented women in the world. Ay! Song Que muttered to himself irresolutely without speaking, it was quite half a dayter that he said, The women you want to obtain the most is the one that you know you will never get. There wille a day you will understand what I said. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Could it be that Fazhu also have regret in this aspect? Song Que smiled calmly, under thentern light, the grizzled hair on his temples was glistening in silvery light. Tranquil and calm, as if he was recounting other peoples past events, he said, How could life bepletely satisfactory without anythingcking? When heaven and earth were first divided, yin and yang stood distinctly, male and female treat each other, all in imperfect spirit. Yang advancing, yin retreating. Yin grows, yang disappears. This side rises, the other side follows after. The pursuit is the perfection and equilibrium that can never be achieved. The same is true between men and women, between fame and profit, riches and honor, and power and wealth; the wealth and power that ordinary people strenuously pursue is no exception. In the end, it is all no more than this. When he spoke thest sentence no more than this, evidently he was expressing his feeling, deep and distant in some kind of inalterable emotional memory. Kou Zhong wanted to say something but then hesitated. Song Que smiled and said, Does Shaoshuai want to ask Laofu, since I have seen through that in the end, all the efforts and pursuits is no more than this, why do I still support you to go to war to contend for hegemony over the world? Kou Zhong said, That is just one of the questions. The other question is I want to ask Fazhu about that unobtainable woman, was she Bi Xiuxin? Song Que put the tea cup back on the table and said indifferently, Why do you want to know? Kou Zhong replied frankly, A woman who can attract Fazhu, and you still keep her in mind constantly to this day, naturally she must be an out-of-the-ordinary woman. Although I do not have the karma to see Bi Xiuxin, but from Shi Qingxuan, I could infer her spirited elegance, hence I cant help being curious and asked. Fazhu does not need to answer me. Song Ques gaze fell on the Heavenly Saber hanging on the tent wall, he shook his head and said, It was not Xiuxin, but I was indeed attracted by her. Were it not for her giving birth to a daughter for Shi Zhixuan, even if I, Song Que had to tread everywhere to the ends of the earth, I would never have let Shi Zhixuan, that fool, get away. Humph! What is Bu Si Yin Fa anyway? Its only some kind of illusion technique, a variation of the demonic schools gong fa [power/skill method], not something worthy in Laofus eyes. I have been waiting painstakingly for Shi Zhixuan in Lingnan for eighteen years, too bad he has always disappointed Laofu. Shi Zhixuan is too cowardly! Hearing that, Kou Zhong felt deep veneration for him. Shi Zhixuan once told Xu Ziling personally that Bu Si Yin Fa was some kind of illusion technique, while Song Que, who had never fought with Shi Zhixuan before, was able to point to the truth like he had seen it for himself, he was able to see through Bu Si Yin Fas deceitful trick, so brilliant that it was difficult for others to believe. It was clear that Song Que has reached the pinnacle of the martial way, able to see the mystery of Bu Si Yin Fa from spiders thread and horse track. He couldnt help asking, I heard that Ci Hang Jing Zhai has a treasured book called Ci Hang Sword Canon, that before he finished reading it, Ning Daoqi vomited blood and suffered injury. Isnt Fazhus heart moved by it? Contrary to expectation, Song Ques powerful body trembled slightly. It was quite half a dayter that his expression turned back to normal. Smiling bitterly, he said, The reason I did not dare to go was not because I was afraid to look at the sword canon, but because I was afraid to see someone. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is someone in the world that makes Fazhu afraid? Song Que sighed and said, Whats so strange about that, you are not afraid to see Shang Xiufang? Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Turns out the person who can move Fazhus heart is Fan Qinghui. Instead of answering him directly, Song Que returned to the previous topic, saying, Rumors are exaggerated, how can it be fully trusted? Laofu will be the first one not to believe that Ning Lao would be injured because of reading Ci Hang Sword Canon; however, sounding out the difficulties and retreating to avoid defeat was the truth. The Sword Canon was created by Buddhist Nun. It was specially designed for women to use the way of the sword to cultivate the way of heaven, unfathomably mysterious. For the masculine male to look at, the danger is heavy. Moreover, because it is wide-ranging and profound, it is wonderful and mysterious, difficult to understand. The more brilliant the person, the easier it is to be deeply engrossed in it and cannot extricate himself from it, which could lead to fire deviation at the slightest pretext. Ning Lao could rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice, it was extremely hard toe by. His excitement overflowing, Kou Zhong asked, It is rumored that at that time Ning Daoqi was going to Jingzhai to challenge Fan Qinghui. I dont believe this is the case. Ning Daoqi is that kind of person who stand aloof from worldly affairs, how could he create a disturbance everywhere and in all directions? Song Que turned his head around to look at him up and down for half a day, and then he smiled and said, You are no longer distressed by the pain, are you? Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Am I a person with many hearts? When talking about these fascinating things, other things are all set aside at the back of my mind. Song Que cheerfully said, Hence the reason you are the person with qualifications to strive for the world against Li Shimin. Ning Lao came to Jingzhai only because he wanted to talk to Qinghui about Buddhism and discuss Taoism. Whoever hung the bell on the tigers neck must untie it. About Yuzhi, its inappropriate for me to get involved, it must be you who think of a way to resolve it. Is there anything else? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong spoke heavily, If we can capture Hanzhong, I have an easy as blowing off dust secret method to capture Changan. Emotionally moved, Song Que said, Tell me! Kou Zhong exined the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure systematically and in full detail, finally he said, As long as we catch them off guard, we move inside and outside the city at the same time, attacking Li Yuan that he has no time to deal with it, I have the confidence that we will be able to control Changan within one night. The refined light in Song Ques pair of eyes shing, but his expression was even more calm and collected than any other times; he spoke slowly, You know the situation inside Changan better than I do. In your opinion, how many troops we will need to be able to capture Changan in one night? Kou Zhong said, If Li Shimin stays to defend Luoyang, Guanzhong will be empty. At most thirty thousand elite troops, we will have the ability to put Li Yuan in order. Ha! Its really good to have you, the Senior in here. You can make decisions for me. It was as if Song Que did not hear hisst two sentences, revealing a contemtive expression, he shook his head and said, Its extremely likely that you underestimate Changans defensive power. Because Yang Guang, that muddleheaded ruler, was afraid that his men might rebel, he was even more afraid that his men will open the door to wee the enemy, not only he built numerous ramparts in the city, the city gates have ramparts within ramparts even more. Even if youunch an attack in the city, you can forget about controlling any gate for a period of time or three moments. Moreover, in order to guard against Li Shimins betrayal, Li Yuan has stationed massive military force that could open and enter the city, in the vicinity of Changan for a long time. Furthermore, among the three capital cities, the Tang Pce is the most solid and difficult to conquer Pce City. In my opinion, the military strength must be doubled to sixty thousand men, only then will we have the chance to establish a strong stronghold in the city within one night effort. The street fighting to fight over every cun ofnd will take a few more days. Victory is definitely not going to be easy. Kou Zhong submitted in admiration, he said, Fazhus thinking is more cautious and thorough than mine. Song Que smiled and said, The reason is that you are ustomed to using the few to defeat the many, to use the weak to defeat the strong [both are idioms]. But now that you have Laofu to help you, there is no need to risk ruining the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Now that you have this brilliant scheme to capture Changan, Laofu will redeploy the attack and defense strategies, to allocate manpower to firmly impede Li Shimins main forces in Luoyang, and the attack on Hanzhong must be carried out in secret. When Li Shimin knows that Hanzhong is fallen, he will be on guard. The City of Changan already send fire beacon everywhere, no one could change the misfortune of the Li Tangs demise. Kou Zhong modestly ask for instruction, Then what should I do now? Laughing involuntarily, Song Que said, Arent you themander-in-chief? Unexpectedly youe to ask me? Laughing apologetically, Kou Zhong said, That is for others to hear. Now that there are only this kid and you, the Senior, naturally Fazhu is in charge. Ay! Life as a leader is really not easy to pass. Song Que looked closely at him for a moment, he glibly said, There are three things that you must do by yourself, you cant rely on other peoples hands. Kou Zhong respectfully said, Fazhu, please bestow instructions. Song Que picked up the teacup, he took two sips in a leisurely manner, and said, Kou Zhong! You know that Laofus love and cherish for you is constantly increasing. In terms of prestige, todays Kou Zhong is not under me, Song Que, and you still have the heart like the pure and innocent heart of a newborn. I cant detect any ambition in you. This is impossible, yet clearly you can do it. You are not afraid that I am just using you while actually I myself want to sit on the emperors throne. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Thank you very much for Fazhus praise. Frankly speaking, there is no pleasure in being an emperor. If Fazhu is willing to do it for me, I will be very grateful. Song Queughed heartily and said, Dont ever think that I will agree. And then he spoke with serious expression, The first thing: Shaoshuai must immediately rush back to Chenliu, announce to your subordinates that I, Song Que will help you to ascend the emperors throne with all my strength, and Yuzhi will be your future empress. Dont underestimate this matter, it is very important, not only it can stabilize the troops heart, it will also make the authority and duty clear, there wont be any question of who is in charge and who is the deputy. Only the two armies that can be turned into one army and work together in one mind can disy the formidable power of our joint cooperation. Kou Zhong said, I wonder if you, the Senior would reconsider this kids proposal just now, that is my real desire. Song Que smiled calmly and said, From now on, stop bringing up this matter again. When you be the true master that unify the world, looking at how all the people live a blessed and happy life under your benevolent governance, all personal sacrifices will be worth it. Kou Zhong dejectedly asked, What about the second thing? Song Que said, The reason I want you to immediate return to Chenliu this very night is because the second matter is extremely urgent. After returning to Chenliu, Shaoshuai must, without stopping to rest C go straight to Liyang to persuade Du Fuwei to announce his full support for you. As long as he gives you a nod, we could control the Great River without spending a single soldier a single troop. At that time, whether we want to attack Xiangyang orunch surprise attack to Hanzhong, it will be just the exertion of lifting our hand. When Li Shimin hears the news, his only choice is to hold fast to Luoyang, giving us the big advantage that we could march the troops into Shu [Sichuan] and capture Guanzhong. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I do have that intention. Fazhu, please instruct the third matter that must be done. Song Que replied, You must sneak into Changan the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive, to draw the most urate detailed map of the entire City of Changans security measures and fortifications and the military strength distribution, for my reference. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. In Changans street fighting, nothing is to be lost. How to lower our casualties to the minimum and save our strength to deal with Li Shimin, both are big issues bearing upon to whom the final victory will belong. This matter must be handled by you personally, even if your identity is exposed, I believe that with your Moon in the Well, you can still easily leave. Submitting cheerfully, Kou Zhong said, I really dont have such a careful and thorough thinking like Fazhu. I will take care of all three matters, I will definitely not let Fazhu down. I am going to go back and leave them a couple of instructions, and then will immediately return to Chenliu! Song Que threw his head back inughter and said, Good! This is more like my, Song Ques soon-to-be son-inw. Other things, no need for you to spare your time to deal with, Laofu is going to create the best situation for you before charging into Guanzhong. Chenlius defending troops saw Kou Zhonging back suddenly and calmly, the entire citys army and civilians were ecstatic. Xuan Yong, Xu Xingzhi, Jiao Hongjin, Zuo Xiaoyou, Luo Qifei, Chen Changlin, Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, and the others weed him into the city,mon people lined the streets to greet him, the sound of their cheer rose up and down like the tide, the atmosphere was zing and boiling over like fire. Naturally Kou Zhong put on an in-touch-with-the-people attitude, he waved his hands and smiled back to the residents who regarded him as a deity. Actually, even he himself did not quite understand why Chenlius whole city regarded the Tang Army as a severe floods and fierce beasts? Entering the main gate outside the Shao Shuai mansion, Xuan Yong immediately reported, We received news from Xu Ye, he is on his way on a boat going up the river to the north with Hou Gongzi and a friend surnamed Yin, they might arrive any moment. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong halted his steps and said, My luck is beginning toe! Nothing is better than this news, even the Yin kid, whose track has been missing, is found. His grannys bear, do you know that my future father-inw has shown Li Shimin his stance, scaring him that he slipped away back to Luoyang with his tail between his legs? Everybody stopped behind him, hearing him, a burst of cheers exploded. Everybody knew about Song Ques main forces arrival, which totally reversed the situation. The difficult-to-endure days of taking the beatings were finally over. Kou Zhong has sessfully established an unrivalled image within the Shao Shuai Army. More importantly, Shao Shuai Army no longer had the slightest fear of the Great Tang Army, Kou Zhong was precisely Li Shimins nemesis. The hard-won joy of victory deeply affects every officer and soldier on the public square in front of the Shao Shuai mansion. Kou Zhong shouted, The first thing I have to do is to evaluate the merit and bestow reward. That is to say, everyone will be heavily rewarded, not only recounting the merits, but theres also mary reward. If I, Kou Zhong, do not have enough money to pay, my future Lao Yue [old wifes parents] will pay out of his pocket. You may not believe me, but you should believe him. Everybody exploded inughter, not only because they were happy of being praised, but more than that, because the way Kou Zhong spoke was very amusing. Fiddling with his beard, Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Reward is generous and trustworthy, punishment is heavy and is a must. As the old saying goes, with trust in reward there must also be trust in punishment, hence if theres reward, there must also be punishment. Book of the art of war also says, The reason why ordinary person, in the face of unyielding disposition of troops C forgetting self, touching naked de and not ovee with dread, first, is to seek honor and fame, second, is to covet heavy reward, third, is because of fear of punishment, and fourth, to escape disaster and distress. Xingzhi has established a system of rewards and punishments for our army. As long as Shaoshuai gives your nod of agreement, you can then evaluate the merit and bestow the reward, also inspect and punish. Shaoshuai, please note clearly. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Xingzhi has indeed developed policy without omission. With you helping me, why worry that our great endeavor would not seed? Xuan Yong wanted to say something but then hesitated. Xu Xingzhi said, Shaoshuai, please move your honored-self to the main hall. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, Song Que was indeed able to prophesy with supernatural uracy. Shao Shuai Armys officers and soldiers were concerned about the emperors throne. Because there was only one seat, and in terms of strength, status, and position, Song Que was above Kou Zhong. Therefore, if he did not clear up this ambiguous situation, the troops heart would be greatly affected, and Xuan Yong and the others have clearly discussed this matter, therefore, when they heard the sentence why worry that the great endeavor would not seed, they reacted this way. Knowing that he could not avoid this issue, he spoke with serious expression, I have one more thing to announce. Song Fazhu has decided to give his full support to me to unify the world. The Song Family Army is the Shao Shuai Army. Someday, if Kou Zhong is lucky enough to ascend onto the throne, Song Yuzhi will be my empress. Hearing that, all the officers and soldiers concern and doubt were swept clean. Amidst the thunderous cheers, they crowded around Kou Zhong as they entered the Shao Shuai Mansion. Kou Zhong had bitter knowledge that before Song Que Army beating back Li Shimins main forces, the throne of the emperor was just an out-of-reach dream, but now the situation has changed drastically. The world has be two opposing fractions, and that he had more confidence to win the final victory. Bing the emperor has be a possibility, which made him immediately feel the urgency and pressure of this issue. In his mind, the most ideal solution was naturally to choose another virtuous person to be the emperor, and when his work seeded, he would retreat, meet with Xu Ziling to wander the world and enjoy life. The problem was that he had no choice but to respect Song Ques intentions, and Song Que has made it clear that he only supported him to ascend to the throne, not any other person. Things havee to this, there was no leeway for any other choices. The sailboat slowly docked at the river bank, they finally reached Chenliu. Just by looking at Chenlius defending troops mood and their situation, they knew that Kou Zhong was still in the world of the living, so that the army and civilians in the city were brimming with the joy and excitement of victory. The pier and the top of the city wall were full of the Shao Shuai Armys pair of dragons banners, pping and fluttering in the wind, the armys appearance at its peak, their might spread to eight sides, so that Xu Ziling deeply felt that Shao Shuai Army was no longer a weak brigade of army struggling to survive under the enemy upying the absolute upper hands, but a powerful army division able to aspire to the throne of the world. When the troops guarding the pier arranged themselves in formation to wee them, thunderous drum beats arose from the top of the city wall, more than a thousand riders rushed out of the city gate like a whirlwind, fast as lightning galloped toward the pier. It was only natural that Kou Zhong was taking the lead. The three men did not have the patience to wait for the boat to touch the dock, they flew toward the shore. Kou Zhong has already flown off the horseback, he swiftly covered the remaining hundred or so steps. Disregarding everything, he hugged Xu Ziling firmly, tears streaming down his face, he blurted out loudly, Thank the firmament! He really did not treat us, two brothers, meagerly. Ling Shao is finallying back! Book 55 5 – Three Difficult Problems

Book 55 Chapter 5 C Three Difficult Problems

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia In the inner hall of the Shao Shuai Mansion, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai, and Yin Xianhe sat around the table to talk, there were also Xu Xingzhi and Xuan Yong apanying them. After rifying the situation on Xu Zilings side, Kou Zhong spoke in great delight, How can there be such a coincidence? I am about to leave for Changan. However, I have to meet Ol Die first. Turning to Yin Xianhe, he said, You, LaoGe, set your heart at ease. About public announcement to look for your esteemed younger sister, leave it to us. Xingzhi will broaden our scope as much as possible. Xu Xingzhi cheerfully said, Shuxia will manage it properly and safely. Yin Xianhe said, Its just ... Kou Zhongughed to cut him off and said, We all are brothers, I have silver taels, that means you have silver taels; what is there to argue about? Puzzled, Xuan Yong asked, Why does Shaoshuai need to go to Changan? Kou Zhong told them about Song Ques proposal, he suddenly realized Xu Zilings expression was peculiar, Ling Shao has a problem? he asked in astonishment. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Ill tell you about itter! Kou Zhong said, There is no problem that cant be solved. It would be better if you guys apany me to Liyang to meet Ol Die, and then we go together to Guanzhong. We can even see our Meirener Changzhu on the way to speak a few private words. This is now, that was then. Shang Xiuxun should be happy to see us. Knitting his brows, Xu Xingzhi said, About drawing a detailed map of Changan, I wonder if Hou Gongzi could do it for you? Hou Xibais wonderful brush was famous throughout the world, in drawing and making a small cup, naturally he was more adept than Kou Zhong. Hou Xibai cheerfully said, Leave this matter to me then. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Xingzhi, no need to worry. After I left, the Song n held a big elbow from the top [not sure]. As long as I can persuade Ol Die to spread the word across thend under heaven, Shen Faxing, Xiao Xian, Lin Shihong and the others remnants will have enough trouble. Due to the road is blocked by heavy snow, Li kid will not be able to go down south. After the waterway is sealed off, he has no choice but to stay on the wind and snows border in the north. Our urgent business now is not to send punitive expedition to the south and send armed forces to suppress the north, but to train a unit of elite troops who are good at closebat and bloody battles to capture Changan in one fell swoop. At that time, the world will be the object in our bag, it will be Luoyangs turn to be an isted city. For the military training, I want Xuan Yong to be in charge. Xuan Yong epted the order and gave his promise. When are you leaving? Yin Xianhe asked. Kou Zhongughed and said, Originally I wanted to wait until tonight before setting off to give you a chance to meet Song Fazhu. But now seeing Yin Xiong like this, I know that it will be hard for you, Laoge to stay much longer. How about this? In about a sichen, we will board the ship and start moving. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Whats the matter? How about we talk on the boat? Xu Ziling wanted to speak but then hesitated, he had no choice but to agree. The next one sichen Kou Zhong was so busy that the sky turned hazy, the earth turned dark, he had to talk to various generals one by one, both to instruct them face to face, and even more, to listen to their opinions. He also had to review variousmissions and files prepared by Xu Xingzhi, to sign the documents and was busy to his hearts delight. He tasted all the various distress of being an emperor for the first time. Xu Xingzhi said, The use of a pair of dragons as the g emblem was proposed by Zhandao and Fengyi. We unanimously agree. Unless Shaoshuai has other ideas, Xingzhi believes this is it. Kou Zhongughed and said, If everybodyes to an agreement, how could I oppose it? Ha! I never thought that Ziling and I, the twin worms of Yangzhou, unexpectedly could morph into dragons. Until this moment I still feel unreal. Xu Xingzhi said, After Song Fazhu arrives, how should we cooperate with him? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Xingzhi seems a little afraid of him, am I right? Xu Xingzhi sighed and said, Song Que came from illustrious family background, his fame for fighting prowess is flourishing, only Ning Daoqi canpare with him. Even more so, he is well-known to be a proud person. Who in the world does not fear and venerate him? Dont worry! Kou Zhong said, Xingzhi should know that in the matter of dering that I will be the emperor and Yuzhi be the empress, it was Song Que who took the initiative to propose it. He also wanted me to dere to our men that the Song Family Army is the Shao Shuai Army, and that the two armies will be one, to be of one mind from top to bottom. In terms of knowledge and experience in this regard,pared to him, the Senior, I can only gaze at the dust and turn around. Our top priority right now is, first of all, to recover our vitality and to exhaust or strength in consolidating our territory before attacking Guanzhong. Pacify the inside and then resist outside aggression. Toward deploying the troops against various enemies on the south, we will leave everything in his, the Seniors hands to deal with, we will be his backup. Goods will be sent endlessly from Lingnan to Pengliang, and then the expeditionary army will be supported via the waterways. The moment the Great River ispletely in our grasp, that will be the crucial moment where we will enter Shu, capture Hanzhong andunch surprise attack on Changan. Yang Gong and the others sacrificing their lives will never be in vain, we will demand payment for every drop of blood debt. Breathed a sigh of relief, Xu Xingzhi said, Shaoshuai exined clearly, I start to put down the big rock in my heart. But I still dont understand that at this kind of time, when in our country everything is waiting, Shaoshuai still, withplete devotion, want to go to Changan in person? Leaning back into his chair, Kou Zhong let out a long, long breath out, he stared nkly for half a day, and then his eyes met Xu Xingzhis inquiring gaze, he said with a wry smile, If I want to speak in a high-sounding manner, I would say that I want to master what is true and what is false of every single ce in Changan, in order to n for the fierce battle in the alleys inside the city in the future. If I want to speak frankly, I just want to momentarily get away from the battlefield, so I can rx a little bit. But if someone asks you, it would be best for Xingzhi to offer the high-sounding answer. What else could Xu Xingzhi say? He had no choice but to agree. Kou Zhong suddenly became excited again, he said, Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemys ns. Actually, I am not beingzy. If I can win over Ol Die and Shang Meiren to stand on our side, it will be more effective than winning several battles in a row on the battlefield. Besides, I am going to Changan this time is just a short visit; quickest will be half a month, longest will be one month, and I will immediately return to Chenliu, that way, we still have two months safe period of ice-covered winter. Xu Xingzhi pondered silently for half a day, finally he revealed a cheerful expression. He nodded and said, Xiashu understands! Shaoshuai, go in peace! Kou Zhong was about to talk about other things when Chen Changlin rushed in like a whirlwind, went straight to Kou Zhongsmander seat, dropped down on both knees, and said, Shaoshuai, please give Changlin justice! Kou Zhong was shocked; he left his seat to help him up and said, Changlin Xiong, dont be like this, we are all brothers, your business is my business, I will do my best to help. Hot tears gushing out of Chen Changlins pair of eyes, he spoke in grief, Shaoshuai, please allocate an army and let me attack Kunling. Stunned, Kou Zhong and Xu Xingzhi looked at each other, they felt even bigger headache. Chen Changlin had enmity against Shen Faxing, father and son, for destroying his entire family, therefore, when he thought that the fortunate timing has arrived, he no longer had the patience to wait. But the current situation wasplicated, Kou Zhong should not, for some personal issues, influence Song Ques overall battle n, because presently, the most important strategic goal was to capture the capital Changan, the heart and the vital part of the Great Tang Army, other things must be temporarily set aside. But how could Kou Zhong have the heart to refuse Chen Changlin and make him lose hope? Meeting Chen Changlins gaze, Kou Zhong smiled and said, I said earlier that your, Laoges business is my business. Go find Xuan Yong and talk to him, training the troops is to be expedited, use Kunling as the target of attack first, just consider it as his Niangs warm-up battle before the attack on Changan. No one is more familiar with the situation in Jiangnan than Changlin Xiong. It is best to use our current momentum to send people to infiltrate Kunling to bribe and split apart the high-ranking military officers under Shen Faxingsmand. All ordinary people love benefit, greedy for life, afraid of death. Anybody would know that Shen Faxing is not my match, therefore, he will definitely rush to realign his allegiance to us. His grannys bear! Then we can avoid siege battle and only fight alleys battle. Ha! One move, two gains, unexpectedly there is such a convenience in the world! Xu Ziling asked, Howe I dont see Wuming? Unexpectedly you are willing not to have her by your side. Kou Zhong asked in return, Then why dont I see Ling Shao bring Ling Sao [sister-inw] to let me see her Lushan [Mount Lu] true identity? Ziling is willing to leave her? Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Your mood is very good, but after you finish hearing what I have to say to you, it will spoil your mood. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, Dont scare me, I cant bear another bad news. River breeze was blowing, the cold air was pressing. The two boys were talking at the stern, learning against the railing. The ship was Shao Shuai Armys fast battleship, sailing downstream to the south along the canal, straight toward the Great River. The boat that carried Xu Ziling to Chenliu remained outside the city, the boatmen were taken care of by the Shao Shuai Army, and were given some rewards. Yin Xianhe and Hou Xibai knew that they, two brothers had important matters to discuss, so they tactfully withdrew into the cabin. The dense clouds in the sky were thick and hanging low, the temperature was dropping rapidly, it appeared that heavy snow wasing. Xu Ziling spoke dejectedly, Feixuan knows the secret of Duke Yangs Treasure House. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling exined in detail how he had told Shi Feixuan that there was a difference between the real and the fake treasure houses. Obtaining sudden understanding, Kou Zhong said, No wonder you said it would ruin my mood. However, my mood is still very good, because I am confident that Shi Feixuan is not that kind of a person. She cant possibly be directly intervening in the war and causing even more killings. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, But Shi Zhixuan said that when the struggle under the heaven turns into a struggle between you and Li Shimin, Shi Feixuan has no other choice and will definitely intervene. If she reveals the secrets of the treasure house, Li Shimin will guess our overall deployment, and will try to fight back. Kou Zhong said, His Niangs! So what even if he knows? At most, we all will fight with open saber, open spear, relying on brute force. But I still have a ny-percent confidence that Feixuan is not that kind of person. Ling Shao is confused because you are anxious. When the timees, we only need to enter the treasure house and take a look, and the truth will be clear. After telling Kou Zhong the facts, the guilty conscience in Xu Zilings heart was greatly reduced. Kou Zhongughed and said, Let me answer your previous question. Now I have a special person to wait upon Wuming and to take care of her properly. I cant bring her into Guanzhong anyway, so I leave her with the army. Hee ...! You should know that we now have an adorable Xiao Meizi, Xuanshu is also quite taken by her. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Little sister? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Its little sister who dressed up as a man. This matter isplicated and not easy to express sinctly, full of strange karmic rtionships. I will give you a detailed ount a bitter. I have answered your question, now its your turn to tell me about Shi Qingxuan. Only then did Xu Ziling understand that he was harboring malicious intentions, he replied indifferently, Between Shi Qingxuan and me, there seem to be a little sign of positive oue. She promised toe to me after paying her respects to her Niang in Jingzhai. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Congrattions, Ling Shao, finally theres settlement! But then he sighed and said, I have a very distressing problem, and I need you, Laoge to help me using your brains to solve it. Xu Ziling said in astonishment, Your good mood turned out to be fake. It seems to be rted to a beauty as well? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Dont change the subject, my problem has nothing to do with the beauties, rather, I dont want to be the emperor. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, You are not joking, are you? After reaching such an extent this day and age, you unexpectedly say you dont want to be the emperor. How are you going to answer Song Que? How are you going to answer the brothers who go through the fire and water with you? Without the least bit of shame Kou Zhong said, Hence the reason I want to trouble your agile little brains to think of a good n for me. After seeing Li Yuans miserable plight as the emperor, can I still be awake? Being the emperor is akin to sit in the emperors prison, the imperial pce is an open-style prison. If I really be the emperor, I could forget about squatting with Ling Shao on the street with a big bowl of wine and big pieces of meat, talking in vulgarnguage. How can this kind of life be lived? My ideals are the same as those of Ling Shao, which is only to seek for themon peoples stability and that I live a happy life for myself. Even if I take a wife and have children in the future, I want to be neighbor with you, Ling Shao. Otherwise, tell me, how am I going to pass the days without you? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, I am afraid nobody can help you with this matter, because you have no other choice. Now you can only abandon self for others [idiom from Analects], with heart and soul n for all the people under the heavens instead of nning only for yourself. Frankly speaking, in my heart, except for Li Shimin, the person most suitable to be the emperor is you, this kid, because I know that you will spare no effort to seek happiness for all the people. Moreover, because they are afraid of you, the outer tribes wont dare to invade. Kou Zhong dejectedly remained silent. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, The biggest problem is still Song Que. You be the emperor and his daughter bes the empress, of course, everything is fine. But if you shrink back as the time for battle approaches [idiom: getting cold feet], no one can predict his reaction. Kou Zhong said, Other than this, we still have two things that need to be resolved urgently. Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at him. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, The first difficult problem is Li Dage. No matter how we are dissatisfied because he did not marry Su Jie but married other woman, he is, after all, our brother, and he is right in Changan. If we attack Changan, one wrong move and we will get rid of him by mistake; in the future, we can forget about having good heart and obtaining peace. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Are you thinking that after we get to Changan you want to find an opportunity to see him? Spreading his arms, Kou Zhong said, Of course I have such a n, and the best way is to thoroughlyy out the pros and cons to him face to face, and persuade him to leave the Li Family immediately. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, He wont listen. What kind of person Li Jing is, you and I should understand clearly. Kou Zhong said, Another way is before besieging the city, to have him and Hongfu Nu captured alive to protect him, husband and wifes lives. This requires you, Ling Shaos help to make it work, plus Ba kid, Hou kid, and Yin kid, three big kids; it shouldnt be too difficult to aplish. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, That is a way within no way, and it is a bit safer. This time we are going to Changan, its not suitable to disturb him, to avoid putting him in an awkward position, because today is different from the past, we have be mortal enemies of the Li family; with Li Shimin we are the two cannot coexist together even more. What is the other problem? Kou Zhong revealed a delighted expression; leaning close to his ears, he spoke softly, Since we are visiting Meirener Changzhu anyway, why not propose marriage on Song ErGes behalf to Shang Meiren? Are you joking? Xu Ziling blurted out. Kou Zhong responded with serious expression, How can I joke in this kind of matter? Now the time is changing, the momentum is different. Shang Meiren cant possibly regard us as severe floods and fierce beasts [idiom: extremely dangerous or threatening things] anymore, she would be happy to have close rtionship with us. Since Shang Meiren and Song ErGe love each other [orig. qie ying qing, qie C reference for young women, yi C wish/desire/intention,ng C reference for young men, qing C feeling/emotion/passion], we only need to give the red thread a pull, this matter will be where water flows, a canal is formed [idiom: when conditions are right, sess will follow naturally]! Ha! Is there a marriage that is more perfect than this? It is both the young man ng] has the love, the young woman [qie] has the desire, even more so, it is a pairing of family influential for generations with another family influential for generations, a couple of grand and noble people. Song Que will definitely not object. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Song ErGe and Shang Xiuxun have only seen each other two or three times, where did theng qing qie yi [see above]e from? Kou Zhong spoke with a sneer, Shang Meirens temperament, you should know it better than I do. If she had no interest toward Song ErGe, why did as soon as they got together, they chatted until the sky turned hazy, the earth turned dark, the heaven deste, the earth old [until the end of time]? Ay! Dont you see? This is the only good way so that ErGe does not need to spend the rest of his life alone in the little valley where Niang is buried. Do you have any other good ideas? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, But I still dont think its advisable to spoil things through excessive enthusiasm [idiom], otherwise, trying to be clever and ending up with egg on our face, it might ruin good things by ident. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Mountain man has an excellent n. For the time being, we are not going to mention marriage proposal, but we have to set up the bridge, pagoda and the road for their bright future, and then well get them together. At that time, the sky rumbling with thunder would still cannot separate them. Xu Ziling said, You always have a solution to other peoples affairs, why are you unable to find solution for your own affairs? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, This is called the one on the field is confused, hence I ask for your advice. You mentioned Shi Zhixuan just now. Have you seen him recently? Xu Ziling told him about his three sessive encounters with Shi Zhixuan, he finally said, I hope my sense is wrong, Shi Zhixuan no longer has any ws. Kou Zhong disagreed, he said, At least he has not ughter you, this kid, this is a very big w. Actually, no one is an exception, hence people as powerful as Shi Zhixuan and Song Que, inevitably there will be something blocking their heart. Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, Song Que has a w? Kou Zhong said, I dont know if it could be considered Song Ques w. But apparently he has a special affection toward Feixuans Shizun [revered master], Fan Qinghui. Hence he didnt dare to go to Jingzhai to flip through the Sword Canon for fear of seeing her. Is this a w? Xu Ziling spoke crossly, This is practically two quite different things from Shi Zhixuans ws. The sun was sinking behind the distant mountain range on the west bank of the canal, it weakly radiated a little afterglow in the depth of the thick clouds. Kou Zhong suddenly asked, Based on your supernatural feeling, do you have the confidence to help Yin kid to find his younger sister? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling replied, I am not an immortal, how do I know? Kou Zhongughed and said, In this matter, my spiritual perception is more formidable than yours. Because I understand Buddhism principle of karma multiplication more. Take the newly-acquired little sister as an example, do you remember that year when we apanied Shang Meiren to Xiangyang? On the way, the little sister wanted to grab my purse. After I grabbed her, not only did I not me her, I also gave her an ingot of gold. As a result, she came to share intelligence with me, which enabled me to avoid a catastrophe. This is precisely cause and effect [karma]. Your chance encounters with the Yin kid, it was precisely the cycle of cause and effect of the underworld. Since there is a cause, there must be an effect. Therefore, I am sure you will get the answer from Ji Meiren. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I hope it will be as you said! The two boys suddenly felt it, they looked up to the sky at the same time. Snowkes filled the sky, slowly falling down. Kou Zhong opened his mouth wide, he swallowed an icy-cold snowke. Cheering, he said, The two-month period to obtain victory starts from this moment. When the winter go and the springe, the world will no longer be the Li familys world, but my, Kou Zhongs world. Xu Junshi [military adviser], quickly used your brain to help me avoid the cmity of being forced to be the emperor. Book 55 6 – Cannot Bear to Look Back

Book 55 Chapter 6 C Cannot Bear to Look Back

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Hou Xibai came to Kou Zhongs other side, he spoke cheerfully, The snow will transform the heaven and earth into a pure white, clean and beautiful world. Huh? Why is Shaoshuais face looks so bitter? Feeling the delight of the snow falling on his head, Xu Zilingughed and said, He is worried about being the emperor. Hou Xibai blurted outughing and said, That is the question that we, ant people C dont have any qualifications to worry about. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Frankly speaking, that is not the trouble that bothers me the most. What makes me most heartbroken is that Song Yuzhi will never forgive me! Both of you are experienced persons, Xiaodis qianbei, I wonder if you can think of a way for me? Hou Xibai spoke with serious expression, If you want a woman to forgive you, there is only one thing you can do, which is to do something that will touch her heart that she will forget everything. Usually for me, I paint a painting and write a poem, that would be more than enough. Kou Zhong said, I dont know how to write and paint, let alone to recite poetry, how am I going to move her heart? Is it possible to y the Eight Methods of the Well from the first move all the way to the eighth move, or to take her to watch me fight a battle? I am afraid it will produce the opposite of the desired result. Hou Xibai said earnestly, Of course you must prescribe the right medicine for an illness [idiom], only then will it show results. What kind of person the Song Familys Miss [xiaojie] actually is, what are her likes and dislikes? Revealing an ashamed look, Kou Zhong said, She is a good woman who perseveres with principles and ideals, her character strong, but gentle and soft and affectionate. As for what she likes, hey! Xiaodi has not spent any effort in this regard. Not to mind taking all the trouble [idiom: to take great pains], Hou Xibai pursued to the bottom of this matter by questioning closely, In that case, what principles and ideals does she have? Kou Zhong cleared his throat and spoke in embarrassment, This is purely some kind of feeling. I actually know one and understand half [idiom: a smattering of knowledge] about the real way of thinking in her innermost being. Because she misunderstood that I am proposing marriage to her Song family was a political conspiracy, all along she is unwilling to forgive me. Moreover, within the Song family she belongs to the peace faction, she does not want the Song family to be drawn into the war. Hou Xibai stared nkly at him for half a day, he smiled bitterly and said, In that case, do you really love her? Xu Ziling answered on his behalf, At first, he might be uncertain and had not enough affection, but now I am sure that his affection is deeply rooted. Yuzhi Xiaojie is a peace-loving and war-averse person, she has the heart that bemoans the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind. Therefore, seeing Kou Zhong is warlike for fear that the world is not chaotic enough, she feels antipathy. To have her impression on Kou Zhongpletely turned around, there is only one way. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Tell me, quickly! Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, I just have a faint feeling that there is a way to reverse the rotation of the sky, but I am not yet able to grasp its substance. Later on, when my thought can flow freely, I will let you know! Theres amon saying, metal and stone yield to power of sincerity [idiom: no difficulty is insurmountable if one is sincere], as long as your love to her is able to withstand the test, there wille a day when she will forgive you. Hou Xibai patted Kou Zhongs shoulder and said, Zilings words contain deep truth in it. We will help you figure out the best way to make the Song Family beauty change her mind toward you. Kou Zhong spoke helplessly, I am totally relying on you! Ay! The contradiction and confusion in my heart is exasperating. I want to throw everything away and go to see her, but I am afraid I would provoke her antipathy. Xu Ziling said, Your top priority now is to put boy-girl love affair aside, make an effort to have enough preparation in order to obtain the final victory. Dont think that drawing the defense map of Changan is an easy task, rather, it is difficult and hard mission. Li Yuan stations massive military force at the Xuanwu Gate, the main gate behind the Pce City, under the direction of the imperial guards, to get there and step on public venue is impossible. Therefore, even if we couldunch surprise attack in the city, victory is not necessarily guaranteed. The worst case will be: before upying any one of the city gates, the enemy strikes and defeat us first; then the oue would be too horrible to contemte. Kou Zhong said, Do you remember that day I went to Liu Zhenghuis Ministry of Works to borrow the map of the buildings in the city-blocks and alleys near Yue Ma Bridge in the name of research? Inside the scroll room, there is another secret room, sealed with an iron lock. I asked Liu Zhenghui what was hidden inside, he replied that only Li Yuan is allowed to enter, so he wasnt sure himself. My guess is that it contains Changan citys the military deployment map, therefore, if we can go to the secret room and lead away a goat while passing by [idiom: to opportunistically pocket somebodys possessions and walk off], we can save a lot of work. With lingering fear, Hou Xibai said, We are going to sneak into the Pce City again? Isnt that a joke? Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Going to the imperial pce to steal things, naturally it is more difficult than ascending to heavens, but outer imperial city is another matter altogether. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Supposing you enter the pce from the secret path, from the exit you grope your way to the outer imperial city. That is the most heavily guarded pce where Li Yuan lie down; whats the difference between the imperial pce or outer imperial city? Kou Zhong said, When the timees, surely I wille up with a solution. I came from little thief background, I am more adept in stealing things rather than drawing a map. Xu Ziling said, Itste! We must have a good rest, when we wake up, we should reach Zhongli already. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Ay! I really dont want to see Meirener Bangzhu, she hurts my heart too much! Hou Xibai said, She is now just a pitiful woman who look up and see no-one familiar [idiom: not having anyone to rely on, without a friend in the world], alone and helpless. You ought to forgive her and treat her well. Without any enthusiasm, Kou Zhong said, Xiaodi receives instruction. I hope I can have a series of beautiful dreams tonight to make up for my frustration and helplessness in real life! The heavy snow continued to fall, both sides of the river were a vast expanse of whiteness. The next day, Kou Zhong and others boat arrived in Zhongli, Bu Tianzhi heard the news and came to wee them. Using a horse-drawn carriage, he took the four men to enter the city in secret and went straight to the Zongguan Mansion. After they were seated in the main hall of the mansion, he invited Lei Jiuzhi for a meeting. Bu Tianzhi reported first, Now that the situation in the south has changed drastically, Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, Fu Gongyou, Xiao Xian and others are in danger; they are afraid of bing our next target. In Jiangdu, the peoples heart and mind have changed even more. Since Liangdu was attacked and suffered, plus losing Zhongli, Gaoyou, and more than a dozen cities in the vicinity, and Zuo Jiangjun surrendered and paid allegiance to our side, the officers and soldiers under Li Zitongsmand are very dissatisfied with him. As long as we increase the pressure and cut off his waterway traffic, Li Zitong will be defeated without a fight; his allotted share is just to flee for his life. Remembering Chen Changlin, Kou Zhong asked about Shen Faxing and Shen Lun, father and sons situation. Bu Tianzhi said, Shen Faxing and Lin Shihong are fellow sufferers empathize with each other [idiom: misery lovespany]. Since the Song Familys Army captured Hainan, Song Zhimanded the Liao Army, he split it in two ways and pressed on Shen Faxing and Lin Shihong, they continuously nibble away at their surrounding territory, their power steadily deteriorates. Kou Zhongughed and said, Wait till I persuade Ol Die to support us publicly, I dare say that among their men, arge number of people will surrender without a fight, just like the history of the Battle of Luoyang repeating itself. Xu Ziling asked, How is Ol Die and Fu Gongyous rtionship? Bu Tianzhi replied, The two men openly broke off rtions with each other, because Fu Gongyou used despicable means to kill Du Fuweis number one fierce general Wang Xiongdan, seized the military leadership of Danyang, and allied himself with Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong. If not for Fu Gongyou has misgivings toward us while Du Fuwei extraordinarily holding his troops without moving, they would have cut each others throat and surely would wage war against each other. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Arent Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong in hostile rtionship? Bu Tianzhi replied, Xiao Xians biggest misgivings right now is us, other things be secondary. Muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Kou Zhong asked, I wonder if Zhi Shu knows the gratitude and grudges between Changlin and Shen Lun? Bu Tianzhi said, You are asking the right person! What I know is not what Changlin told me, but what I heard from the side. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, what happened to Chen Changlin must be very painful, hence Chen Lianglin was unwilling to raise it up again. Bu Tianzhi continued, Shen Faxing is from Jiangnans aristocratic family, big n; his father, Shen Ge was the Sui dynastys provincial governor of Guangzhou, and as the son he inherited his fathers job, was appointed as the old Suis Junshou [senior provincial official (in imperial China)] of Wuxing [district, Huzhou city, Zhejiang]. In those years the whole country was in rebellion, warlords unmasked their pole to rebel against the Sui, Shen Faxing received Yang Guangs order to join forces with Taipu Cheng [deputy of grand servant in imperial China, one of the nine ministers] Yuan You to suppress Jiangnans militia of the various ways. Chen Changlin also came from prominent family of Jiangnan, for many generations they ran shipbuilding business and engaged inmercial trade with the Southeast Asia region. Although not as illustrious as Shen Faxings n, they were also people with head and face. Disaster began when Chen Changlin married a beautiful woman Fu Yon, who had reputation as Jiangnans talented girl, making Shen Lun, who has always wanted to get his hands on her C held a grudge. On the wedding night, he led an army to attack the Chen Mansion, falsely using him of rising a militia army, and massacred the people of the Chen n. Chen Changlin and his nsmen scattered in all directions to flee. Fu Yon was humiliated by Shen Lun andmitted suicide. Changlins father and mother, his older and younger brothers, none was lucky enough to escape this battle, therefore, his hatred against Shen Lun is as deep as a sea. Hearing that, righteous indignation filled Kou Zhongs breast, he spoke ferociously, The day I returned from Changan will be the day Shen Lun receives his death. His grannys! Unexpectedly there is such a beast without any human character in the world. Astonished, Lei Jiuzhi said, In such the-wind-blow-and-the-fire-intense moment, why does Xiao Zhong still want to go with them to Changan? Kou Zhong exined to him briefly, and then he asked, Have you found out the ount book that Han Zenan hid? Lei Jiuzhi said, This matter is of a grave importance, I am intending to go myself. As soon as you guys are leaving, I will immediately set off. Kou Zhong spoke happily, This time the Xiang kid will be in trouble. Based on the information in the ount book, we can look for a fine horse using only a picture [idiom: to try and find something with the help of a clue] and catch all the troubled people in one fell swoop, and thenpletely eliminate the Xiang family. Hows Yun Yuzhens condition? Hou Xibai asked. Bu Tianzhi sighed and said, She lives in an independent courtyard in the back garden of the Zongguan Mansion, being neighbor to the Han ns family of three. She never steps out of the courtyard gate even for half a step, we do not dare to disturb her, but Xiao Jieer oftenes to y with her. Hearing that, Kou Zhong said, It seems like this is not an appropriate time for me to see her, right? Xu Ziling knew that he still had ill-feeling toward Yun Yuzhen. In this kind of things, it was difficult to force him. Shrugging his shoulders, he said, Its up to you! Kou Zhong surrendered; he said, All right! Ill pay her a visit before we go to Liyang to see Ol Die. Turning to Lei Jiuzhi, he said, Any new development on the Grand n to Punish the Xiang? Lei Jiuzhi said, Of course we hold the pearl of wisdom. As long as you, Kou Shaoshuai unify the world, without wasting any strength to blow away the dust [idiom: as easy as pie], we could pull up the Xiang Family by the roots. Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, Xiang Gui is mine. Kou Zhongughed and said, Xiang Gui is yours, Xiang kid is mine. We all are provided for, to everybodys delight and satisfaction. Lei Jiuzhi asked, Which route are you going to take to enter the Pass? Xu Ziling replied, We havent thought about that problem yet. Lei DaGe has any good suggestion? Lei Jiuzhi said, The ount books hiding ce is in a small town in Bashu, if you guys enter Guanxi via Hanzhong, then we all will havepanion. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Hanzhong has be the key to our attack on Changan. On the way to the Ranch, deep understanding of the situation in the city is necessary. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Ling Shao need not apany me to Liyang. It would be better for you to return to Niangs little valley for a visit, if Song ErGe is really there, try to persuade him toe with us to pay a visit to Meirener Changzhu, I am sure that when he gets to the Flying Horse Ranch, he will indulge in pleasure and forget home and duty [idiom], Niangs soul and spirit in heaven will also be a bit more peaceful. As soon as he heard that, Xu Ziling understood immediately, he cheerfully said, In that case I will head for Hanzhong with Xibai and Xianhe one step ahead. Rising to his full height, Kou Zhong said, Its decided then, I am going to pay a visit on Meirener Bangzhu! That evening, with the addition of Lei Jiuzhi, the five people took an ordinary two-masted merchant ship and sailed eastward along the Huai River into the Li Canal towards the Great River. Although the weather was crisp, cold and unusually chilly, the snow still had not conquered the mother earth before their eyes. This section of the waterway was all under the absolute control of the Shao Shuai Army, any ships passing by must apply for a pass from the Shao Shuai Army. It was difficult for Li Zitong to rectify the climate, his momentum was gone, his strength exhausted, he was barely able to defend Jiangdu, which was as precarious as a pile of eggs [idiom]; without troubling Kou Zhong to attack, it was likely that it would copse on its own. Recalling Li Zitongs prestige when he first upied Jiangdu, how could Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling not sigh with sorrow? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood side by side at the bow of the ship, thinking about the past events, all sorts of feelings welled up in their heart. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Precisely on this section of the Great River that we, in order to evade Yuwen Huajis pursuing troops in the past C plunged into the river from the cliff bank over there, and were almost drowned to the bottom. Niang rescued us and repelled Yuwen Huaji. The sailboat entered the Great River, Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the opposite bank that Kou Zhong was talking about, injuring-the-spirit-breaking-the-soul feeling welled up in his heart, he was silent without saying anything. Kou Zhong said, From here, the first big city is Danyang. Do you remember? Niang went sightseeing around the city with us, she even went to pawn something, and after getting some silver taels, she treated us at a restaurant, where we met Song ErGe. At that time, we were terribly jealous. Ay! If we knew not to take the waterway but took thend route instead, Niang would not have to ... ay! Xu Ziling looked up at the night sky, remembering what Shi Qingxuan said, he mused inwardly that if Niang returned to the constetion of stars, which star belonged to her? Kou Zhong was deep and distant in his painful yet touching memory; he said, Thinking that in those days we were just two insignificant hairy-headed kids, but now we have be figures who stomped on our feet to shake the world, we did not fail to live up to Niangs expectations of us. Thinking about it, there must be a master in the underworld; Niang hated Han people so much, yet toward us, she treated us favorably, what is it if not fate? If I unify the world in the future, I will certainly treat Niangs people well and redeem what Yang Guang, that bastard fellows evil deeds toward them! Xu Ziling said softly, Didnt you say you dont want to be the emperor? Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, Thats what I want, but hope and reality are two quite different things that always run in the opposite direction. You know my plight better than anyone. Ay! The contending-for-hegemony-over-the-world path that I take is the road of no return, not for personal likes and dislikes, but the sake of the welfare of themon people of the world, and there is no turning back. Just like the vile rtionship between Zhizhi and me, no one can change it. Why dont you give the throne to Song Que? Xu Ziling asked. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong replied, Not only did he refuse to ept it, he even forbade me from mentioning it again in the future. Stunned, Xu Ziling was speechless. Kou Zhong said, The way I see it, Song Que is the type of person with a cold face and warm heart. For the sake of maintaining the Han peoples unity and not to be invaded and ravaged by outside tribes, he practically does not consider the emperors throne as worthy in his eyes at all. I nearly forget, he once mentioned Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa, pointing out that it is a variation and fantasy method of demonic power, which is simr to what Shi Zhixuan said himself. You know Shi Zhixuan better than I do; do you have any particr feeling to what he said? Xu Zilings tiger-body shook, he revealed a thoughtful look. Changing the subject, Kou Zhong said, No matter how difficult, Ziling must get Song ErGe to see Meirener Changzhu. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, That must be Song ErGes own decision; are you saying that I must force him to go? Kou Zhong analyzed, The dream that ErGe is pursuing does not exist. You and I know better than anyone else, Niang has never taken Song ErGe to heart. Xu Ziling said, The problem is that I dont have the heart to expose this fact to ErGe. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement, he said, Fortunately, Song ErGe is really moved by Shang Xiuxun. This matter still stands a good chance. Xu Ziling knitted his brows in deep thought. Kou Zhong said, There must be a way to persuade ErGe, for example, stir up his chivalrous heart, make him feel that we are going to rescue Shang Xiuxun, not just as simple as to meet her. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, You want me to lie to ErGe? This lie will be exposed one day. Kou Zhong said, No need for Ling Shao to lie, just exaggerate the facts a bit. Ay! Why dont I go with you! Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Turns out all along you are trying to find an excuse not to go back to visit Niang. Hot tears gushed out of Kou Zhongs pair of eyes, he spoke in distress, Because I am afraid to go back. One day I am noting back, Niang seems to be free and at leisure living in that secluded valley. But when facing her tomb, all dreams will evaporate like a soap bubble. Xu Ziling reached out to put his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulder, he said with a bitter smile, Before seeing Niang, you already cried like you are not a man. After so many years, Yuwen Huaji has already be a cup of loess, you still cannot ept this fact? Kou Zhong spoke with a sob, Hate will forever be alive. Suddenlyntern light appeared ahead. The two boys were not in the mood to care; in fact, they did not even care about it. In the dim of the night, two medium-sized warships sailed speedily to meet them head-on, they even rang the bells ordering their boat to stop. One after another the Shao Shuai Army on the boat took their battle position as they entered a state of emergency. Yin Xianhe, Hou Xibai, and Lei Jiuzhi rushed out of their cabins to the deck. The warriors lifted up the cowhide concealing the catapult and crossbow arrow machine, waiting in tight formation. The two sides gradually approached. Kou Zhong raised his sleeves to wipe away his tears, ignoring the horrified gaze of Lei Jiuzhi and the othersing to the two boys side, he thundered, Laozi is Kou Zhong, on my way to see Du Fuwei, who dares to stop me? Immediately kill them without mercy! His voice spread far away, shaking the Great River. The warriors shouted in unison in response. Who would have thought that the two enemy ships unexpectedly did not yield the slightest bit, they still sailed forward to meet them head-on? Book 55 7 – Peaceful Mission

Book 55 Chapter 7 C Peaceful Mission

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The moment river battle could happen at any moment, a longughter suddenly rose up from the enemys ship, and a voice spoke, Kou Zhong, my child! Why so easy to get angry? Young people must guard against making small achievements and the eye can see nothing worthwhile all around [idiom: arrogant]. Kou Zhong was shaken awake from the sorrow of cherishing the memory of Fu Junchuo, he was greatly embarrassed; he responded, Turns out its you, the Senior. Please forgive Child for forgetting my manners, Dies lesson is well-received, in the future, Child will be careful and will exercise restrain in mannerism. Unexpectedly it was Du Fuweis personal ship. Lei Jiuzhi hurriedly ordered the ship to slow down and put away the weapons. By this time, the two sides gradually approached; under the light of thenterns, they could see that the bows of the two ships were crowded to bursting point with the Jianghuai army, everybody was striving to see Kou Zhongs elegant manner. Du Fuwei was standing on the tform of the battleship on the left, escorted by high-ranking military officers, his personal guards. He looked happy and pleased, just like a father seeing his promising son; chuckling gently, he said, One who does not know is not guilty. Besides, you are one of the few in the world who have enough qualifications to speak to Fu Gongyou like this. Ha! There is also Zilinging to visit me, how can I, Du Fuwei not be very happy? Xu Ziling couldnt help but feeling like a childs admiring his father, not only because of his divine choice and elegant demeanor, but even more, no matter how vicious and merciless Du Fuwei himself was, toward the two boys, he certainly showed particr fondness and favor. For a long time, he did not like Du Fuwei very much, but on such a particr evening, on the sailboat traveling along of the Great River, bing intoxicated in the sorrow and the memories of the past that bewildered peoples spirit, all of Du Fuweis shorings no longer existed. The three ships brushed past each other, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling soared away and threw themselves onto Du Fuweis ship. Bang! Du Fuweis palm pped the table, the entire cabin hall seemed to shake, Good! he shouted, Song Ques famous reputation is certainly not empty, if I denied it, then I am not Du Fuwei. And then he shouted, Guards! The warships turned around and chased after the Shao Shuai Army sail boat, then the three ships sailed together against the current to the west. A personal guard pushed the door and entered, carrying antern, awaiting the order. Du Fuwei spoke indifferently, Bring me wine. After the personal guard epted the order and left, Du Fuwei spoke to Kou Zhong cheerfully, Song Que is willing to personally set out to help you strive for the world, the world has already be an object in your, Kou Zhongs bag, Die is just adding flowers to brocade [idiom: the icing on the cake]. Starting tonight, you have Dies full support, without the least bit reservation. Three personal guards entered the hall to deliver food and pour wine for the three men sitting around the table, and then withdrew outside the door. Clink! Three wine cups clinked together. Kou Zhongughed and said, Die is not just adding flowers to brocade, but sending charcoal in snowy weather [idiom: to provide help in somebodys hour of need], not just in name only, but also in reality. Now that in the north the sky is covered with the wind and the snow, with such a word from Die, various ways men and horses of the south, who would dare to act blindly without thinking? The initiative and momentum are entirely under Childs control, to wash away the dispirited anger. Die did not know how miserable Child was being tormented in the Battle of Luoyang, beaten by Li Shimin that I was running scared! Fortunately, Song Fazhu created the most superior situation for me before charging into Guanzhong, only then did Child have the opportunity to goof off and be absent-minded. Knitting his brows, Du Fuwei said, Arent Zhonger afraid that Song Que might take thy ce? Kou Zhong spoke frankly, That will be something that Child seek but fail to get. Just like Die, Child is not too interested in being the emperor, only it is a pity that Song Que tly turned me down. Du Fuwei nodded and said, In that case, Die feels relieved! Song Que said one is one, he said two is two, he always keeps the words that were spoken out of his mouth. Where is Die going? Xu Ziling asked. Du Fuwei smiled and said, Die is about toe to Chenliu to see my, Du Fuweis two good boys, to discuss the strategy to control the Great River. Do you have any suggestion? Kou Zhong said: In this regard, Song Fazhu has already nned in advance. Die might as well continue to go north to Chenliu to meet with Fazhu, to sit down and touch the bottom of the wine cup and decide the Great Rivers fate amidst chatting andughing. Naturally Die has a deeper understanding of the Great Rivers situation than Song Que. Du Fuweiughed aloud and said, I have admired the Heavenly Sabers reputation for a long time, today I finally will have the opportunity to meet him. And then he asked in astonishment, You are in such a hurry? Where exactly are you going? Kou Zhong leaned over to his ear, focused his voice into a thread and exin the grand n of taking Hanzhong and attacking Changan, even the Duke Yangs Treasures secrets were not concealed in the slightest. Emotionally moved, Du Fuwei said, You guys unexpectedly have such a brilliant scheme, the chain of cause and effect is coincidental, making me sigh with emotion, why worry that the task of establishing and maintaining hegemony wont be sessful? Recalling that in the past, it was for the sake of the treasure-house that I came to know you, two kids, and today you guys relying on the treasure-house to grasp the fate of the world, the bizarre changes in the affairs of life, nothing can surpass this. And then, extremely grateful, he spoke, You really regard me, Du Fuwei, as your Ol Die, otherwise you will never reveal this gargantuan secret. Kou Zhong said, Humans heart is sinister, Child [plural, I dont want to use children, since I feel it does not have the same meaning as what the original text is implying] have been mingling in the world for many years, we learned and knew not to easily trust people, but how could Die be the same? We absolutely trust you, respect and love you! Du Fuwei personally poured wine for the two boys, dried up one more cup, and spoke with serious expression, My son and Song Quebined, you have brought about sky-and-earth-turning-upside-down changes in the worlds situation. Various hegemons of the south are no longer enough to be a worry, the destiny remains for them is only being annihted one by one! Now the key lies in Bashus position, whoever can control Bashu is akin to controlling the Great River. Bashu is easily guarded, hard to attack; since ancient times, it has been a peaceful ce in the chaos of war. If it is obtained by Li Yuan, it can be used as a base to build a navy and to expand his power downstream along the river, to upy strategic strongholds; if we obtain it, we can directly threaten the survival of Li Tang in Guanzhong. Therefore, Bashu is not only the ce that must be vie for, furthermore, we have no choice but to fight for it. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Now Luoyang has fallen into Li Yuans hands. ording to the agreement between the warlords vying for supremacy in Bashu and Shi Feixuan, Bashu must realign their allegiance to Li Tang. If we want to control Bashu, we must first take Hanzhong before we have a bargaining chip to force Xie Hui to surrender. Du Fuwei said, As far as I know, Xie Hui is still hesitating over what move to make, because the n elders of the four major ethnic tribes in the local area are all inclined toward Song Que, and the Song family has always controlled the saltmodity in the Shu region [or county, but I think Sichuan is more than just a county]. Once Song Que says no, no one would dare to transport half a grain of sea salt into the Shu region. Under this kind of circumstances, as long as I openly state my full support to you, Zhonger may not need to waste a single soldier, two troops to force Xie Hui to submit. At that time, Zhonger can use the wonder troops tounch surprise attack to Changan, instead of publicizing the matter by attacking Hanzhong, attack Li Yuan so that he has no time to deal with it. As for Xiangyang and the various cities in the vicinity, you can leave it to me. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, What Die said makes a lot of sense. Du Fuwei sighed and said, Since Die have you, two boys, my frame of mind has changed greatly. Thinking about the reeking of blood on my two hands, I want to do a bit more of good deeds to amass secret virtue. My proposal is for the sake of themon people of the Shu region. Xie Hui offending Song Que is really unwise. Although due to his daughters rtionship Song Que cant possibly want Xie Huis family bankrupt and his people dead, he will definitely force Xie Hui to withdraw from the fray and to live in seclusion; bloody conflict is inevitable. Hanzhong is Xie Huis territory and the ce where the main strength of his army resides. Breaking down Hanzhong is the same as destroying Xie Hui. Xie Hui really does not know self-respect; how could Song Que be that easy to provoke? Xu Ziling said, When Xie Hui made the agreement with Shi Feixuan in the past, he did not know that Song Fazhu would fully support Kou Zhong at all. Snorted coldly, Du Fuwei said, But Xie Hui did not consult Song Ques opinion at all. He was viting a big taboo of Song Ques. At that time Song Que was still supporting Li Mi, this move of Xie Huis clearly shows that he watches the wind and drives the rudder, and Song Que happens to hate this kind people who disregard righteousness and not cherishing friendship. Xu Ziling wanted to say something but he remained silent, thinking about Song Yuhua, who was married to Xie Huis son, Xie Wenlong; he sighed in his heart. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Child understands, I am going to visit Chengdu for a moment, to thoroughly state the pros and cons to Xie Hui. If he is still stubborn, I will have no choice but to save him from eating enough sufferings. Du Fuwei said, Currently, among the men and horses of the south, only Xiao Xian and Fu Gongyou still have the strength to fight, however, as long as we seize Jiangdu, Fu Gongyou, that beast will be surrounded by our heavy army that he cannot move a single step. Lin Shihong and Shen Faxings main forces are resisting Song Zhi, everyone knows that they are not Song Zhis match, their time of death can be counted on ones fingers. As long as Bashu falls into our hands, Xiao Xian will only have the bad luck of waiting to be ughtered. And then when we break Guanzhong, the world will be my sons, Kou Zhongs world. Lets have another cup to congratte beforehand our deploying the troops to conquer Changan, to aplish our immortal great undertaking. Taking different roads and urging the horses on [idiom: part ways] with Du Fuwei, the sailboat continued to the west. The Jianghuai Army banner, presented by Du Fuwei as a gift, was standing on the bow of the ship, fluttering against the wind, together with the Shao Shuai Army banner; indeed it saved them a lot of inconvenience. When passing through Danyangs waters, instead of encountering Fu Gongyous navy, they encountered the warships under Du Fuweis banner. It could clearly be seen that Du Fuwei has sessfully controlled this section of the river, pressing Fu Gongyou, who rebelled against him C down so that he could not raise his head. After Liyang, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong bade their farewell to Lei Jiuzhi and the others; they left the ship and went ashore. Following the route on which Fu Junchuo led them to escape Yuwen Huajis hunt to kill them, they ran fast toward the deep valley where Fu Junchuos fragrant bones were buried. When they reached the top of the high mountain where in order to save them Fu Junchuo did not hesitate to sacrifice her life and bravely repelled Yuwen Huaji in the former years, it was already sunset. The cold wind was screaming, they could not help but recalling the shaking-to-the-core battle that night, which they regretted throughout their life. The pitch-ck and dense cloud was hanging low in the sky, the moon and the stars were without any light. Blown by the cold wind, the big trees on the mountain top, which hadpletely lost their leaves, did not have the slightest power to resist, they twisted and bent down in the direction of the wind. From the depth of the mountain and fields, asionally they heard the mournful pitiful cry of the jackdaw [Coloeus moned], which increased their anxious memory even more. Kou Zhong sat down dejectedly in front of a shallow cave. It was precisely from that cave that they peeked at the life-and-death battle between Fu Junchuo and Yuwen Huaji. He said, I suddenly have a feeling of every hope turns to dust [idiom]. No matter how hard someone work, wouldnt ultimately he end up as a cup of loess? At the deepest level, the strenuous pursuit of life has no sense to talk about. Xu Ziling moved to the edge of the cliff. In front of him were the undting, superimposing ridges and peaks in the boundless dark night. The wailing of the north wind, the bone-chilling nip in the air, everything made the tone Kou Zhongs voice even more brimming with despair, feeling of loss, and helplessness. No one understood Kou Zhong better than him. He was a person with extreme emotions. His innermost being was not as strong as his outward appearance. During the Battle of Luoyang, he faced continuous casualties and parting by deaths, which pushed his emotions to its lowest point, so much so that he almost regretted embarking on the road to hegemony. This moment, he returned to the old ce of wounded heart and broken soul, which evoked the long-buried grief over Fu Junchuos death, thereupon it produced a downhearted emotional stirring. War was a dreadful game to see whose injury was heavier. Although Kou Zhong obtained Song Ques help to reverse the certain-defeat situation, but he already received serious damage deep in his spirit. Kou Zhongs voice was heard in his ears, saying, If we did not get the Secret to Long Life, we would still be ruffians in the city of Yangzhou today. However, fate dictates otherwise, and thus Niang lost her precious life at the prime of her life. Ay! Laotianye wanted us to walk on this kind of rugged, uneven road, what is His intention? Facing the wind, Xu Ziling sucked a mouthful of deep breath, he spoke heavily, Sitting here andining to the heaven and ming the earth wont do us any good, because since ancient times, no one has been able to grasp the Mandate of Heaven, the Will of Heaven, this kind of unfathomable mystery, fairly-discernible-nothingness affair. The only way is to be proactively treating the past that has be a reality, while courageously charging toward the vast, with no clear boundary C future, which provides no answer. Things of the past can never be undone. As long as we do not fail to live up to Niangs expectations of us, to make the Central Earth and Niangs mothend able to coexist in peace, Niangs soul and spirit in heaven can smile and rest in peace. Laughing miserably, Kou Zhong said, Ziling! I am really in pain. So much in pain that I practically dont understand why I am so depressed and feeling so lost. And the paradox is that the hardest days should have be the past, but I dont feel the joy of victory within my grasp at all. On the contrary, when facing life and death on the battlefield, because I have no time to think about other things, my days were a bit better to pass. Ay! Somehow, when the ship sailed through the waters where Niang rescued us that day, I could no longer control my emotions, thinking that even if I obtain the world, the fact is that I still cannot change anything that has happened, and that I will be, from head to tail, a loser, no longer have the opportunity for joy and happiness. Xu Ziling turned around and met his pair of eyes from which hot tears were rolling down; he sighed and said, It is only this moment that I truly am convinced that you love Song Yuzhi dearly. Precisely because of losing her that you feel that all those contending for hegemony over the world no longer has the least bit of meaning. However, you no longer have a way out. You must lead the Shao Shuai Army and persevere to the final victory. Kou Zhongs hot tears gushing out, he buried his face in his hands and wept bitterly, his whole body shrank. The suppressed emotions were out of control like a flood bursting the dike. Xu Ziling knew that he was not only weeping for Fu Junchuo, as well as grieving and heartbroken because Song Yuzhi would never understand him, but even more, he shed tears for the officers and soldiers who cast their heads and sprinkled their hot blood, who heroically sacrificed their life because of him! His heart sorrowful, he moved to sit down by his side, put his hand on Kou Zhongs back, and spoke softly, I understand why you cry so mournfully, trust me, as long as you have the determination and know what your real dream is, there will always be a way to achieve it. Kou Zhong raised his face, still with tears in his eyes and across his whole face, he stopped crying, shook his head in distress, and said, Ziling doesnt need tofort me, I have already missed the opportunity to be happy. The current development is no longer within my control, not only I have to take responsibility for the Shao Shuai Army and take responsibility for Song Que, I also have to take responsibility for the ordinary people in the world who are in dire straits. Under such circumstances, the personal gains and losses can only be set aside. After Yuzhi left that day, I watched the troops setting off to Donghai [East China Sea], I already see through my own situation clearly. At that time, naturally I didnt dare to cry in public, therefore, I had to hold until I came in front of Niang. Originally I wanted to wait until I came to Niangs grave before crying to my hearts content, who would have thought that I only got here and am already unable to bear it anymore. Xu Ziling pulled out his shoulders and said, I dont believe your analysis. Fate is exceeding all expectations. Just think about it, how many predictions have you proved to be correct? Ay! Shall we go to see Niang? Wiping his tear-soaked face, Kou Zhongs tone returned tranquil, he said, I want to sit here a little longer. Xu Ziling had no choice but to sit with him silently. Kou Zhong looked at him, quite half a dayter he said, Im practically not a material to be an emperor, am I? Staring at the night sky above the mountaintop, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, You may not be a material to be the emperor, but you have the innate character to cast [as in casting metal] a country well, because you dont have any selfish motives. In the future, as long as you choose worthy people based on their ability, plus enough martial art skill to press down and intimidate inside and outside of the border, after the great chaos, there will be great casting. Therefore, although I loathe war, I still have no other choice but to support you. Now I even have to think up every possible method [idiom] to treat your wounded heart. You will be fine soon! Great joy and great sorrow, for you, its just simple home-style meals mon urrence]. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You call yourself a brother, yet you keep teasing me. But after crying, I feel much better! You are right! Personal honor and disgrace, gain and losses,pared to the suffering of all the people C cannot be considered any high price. After talking a couple more vulgarnguage, you will be a bit even better, Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong snorted his mucus inughter and said, His grannys bear, you really understand me. Frankly speaking, do you have any premonition that in the future I might have a blessed, happy ending with Zhizhi? Xu Ziling pulled him and forced him to stand up, he spoke with a forcedughter, From the first day I met you, I knew that you are a big idiot with luck and fortune. Only too bad I dont know how to tell fortune by reading peoples facial features, hence I did not know that unexpectedly you have the fortune to be the emperor. Come on! Dont forget that in this trip we have a special mission. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder; pretending to be angry, he said, You want to coax me, you should do a better job than that, do you think I am a three-year-old kid? Ay! I have a presumptuous request for you, I hope Ling Shao will not refuse. Surprised, Xu Ziling said, Speak up! Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, with difficulty to articte it, he said, I want to ask you, Xiongdi, to do me a favor: go see Zhizhi, tell her that I sincerely regret my previous behavior, that I love her dearly from the beginning to the end. I must not let her bear the pain in her heart, let alone destroy the rest of her life because of my bad deeds. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Do you think by doing that it would help you? You should know her character, her ability to observe and judge is something that you and I can only see the other riders dust and have no hope of catching up [idiom: to be far inferior]. Xibai is right, only through practical actions you can express your love to her, to move her so that she would forget all the unpleasant things in the past. Only then will there be an opportunity for a better rtionship between you and her, everything else is just futile. Kou Zhong struggled hard to stand and straighten his tiger-body, he smiled bitterly and said, Where would such opportunitye from? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, nning matters is the mans, aplishing it is the Heavens. Right now you dont have any other choice but to put aside boy-girls love affair, and focus your will to bring the world back to unity and peace. Yuzhi Xiaojie is a person who understands the big picture, when she recognizes that all your conducts and deeds are for the well-being of all the people, perhaps she will change her mind. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he nodded and said, Right! This is the only way. Because she doesnt want the Liao people to be drawn into the vortex of war, she opposes the Song Family sending out troops. If I can bring about peace in the world, naturally she might have a different view. Xu Ziling said, Presently, there is still an urgent matter that can improve your rtionship with her, which is trying to resolve the problem in Bashu. The less the blood flow, the more Yuzhi Xiaojie will understand that you are not a person who like wars and destroy peace. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes regained its brilliance, looking up at the dark, low and pressing night sky, he spoke heavily, Right! Good thing that you reminded me. War is too awful! No one can bear it, if it can be avoided then it must be avoided. Frankly speaking, after the Battle of Luoyang, my heart was brimming with thoughts of rejuvenation, hence when I thought that Ol Dies two warships were Fu Gongyous navy, unexpectedly I grew impatient in my heart and had the intention to open wide the Buddhist monastic discipline against killing. But after crying bitterly just now, the hatred that was originally choking my heart is like scattering cloud, disappearing smoke, thinking that Li Shimin does not have any choice either. But in any case, I would never let Li Yuanji get away. Also Li Jiancheng, because killing Li Jiancheng was the instruction that Yang Gong gave me before his death. Xu Ziling seemed to hear the intense screams and the sound of battle in the city of Changan. Under the current development of the situation, no one could change this future fate that has already been foreordained. Book 55 8 – Principles of Psychological Attack

Book 55 Chapter 8 C Principles of Psychological Attack

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong dejectedly stepped out of the small thatched hut, and came to Xu Zilings side, who was standing with nk expression in front of Fu Junchuos gravestone; smiling wryly, he said, I cant persuade him. He is just like an old monk, sitting like a dried wood until his heart is like dead, being discouraged from seeing through the worldly affairs, there is nothing in the world that can move his heart. I thought that with my silver tongue, I would be able to persuade him, only this moment I know how wrong I was. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly; when he saw that Song Shidao not only erected a monument for Fu Junchuo, but also built a simple and crude hut next to it, it showed clearly that he wanted to stay with his sweetheart forever. Xu Ziling knew that the turn of events was not too encouraging, yet he knew that he could do nothing. Kou Zhong remorsefully said, We really shouldnt tell him the location of this little valley. His Die was right, the woman that you love the most is precisely the woman you cannot obtain. What should we do? Xu Zilings pair of eyes stared fixedly at the nk tombstone, which had no character engraved on it at all, he spoke heavily, What did you talk about with ErGe? Kou Zhong leaned over to his ear and spoke in low voice, I said all good things that I can think of, such as asking him to lend us a hand by persuading Meirener Changzhu to stand on our side, and stuffs like that. He tly refused everything. He even said that he is content with life in the small valley. I begin to suspect that Shang Xiuxuns attractive force to him is just our wishful thinking. Xu Ziling knelt down on both knees, heavily kowtowed three times, and then stood up and said, Let me give it a try! Kou Zhong said, If we cannot move him, we have to leave. This kind of thing cannot be forced, he must be delighted to do it himself. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement, he walked over to the small hut, which was brightly illuminated by the light of a single candle. The bed, small table, chairs and desk, all the furniture in the hut were all made by Song Shidao himself, simple and sturdy. Song Shidao was sitting quietly on the chair, his countenance serene, but it was obvious that he was thinner than before, so that people had a sense of the austere life in the deep valley. Xu Ziling sat down on the other chair, separated from Song Shidao by the small wooden table, he spoke indifferently, I ran into Feixuan on the street of Longquan City. Her heartless wordspletely changed my destiny, furthermore, it gave me a memory, both wounded-the-spirit-cutting-the-soul and iparably-beautiful-and-touching, which I wont forget for the rest of my life C in Longquan. Astonished, Song Shidao looked at him, his sword-shaped eyebrows lightly knitted, he said, Zilings ability to be a lobbyist is indeed better than Xiao Zhong. I cant help but feel curious, I really want to know what Shi Feixuan said. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Im not trying to persuade ErGe to do anything, Im just afraid that ErGe would follow the tracks of my overturned cart [idiom: a path that led to failure in the past]. Without Feixuans words, I might never know what I missed. Letting down my own life is not a big deal, because that is something that I found by myself, I should bear all the consequences and pay the price. But failing others is an unforgivable mistake. Song Shidao was in daze for half a day. Finally he sighed and said, Tell me then! What did Shi Feixuan actually say? Xu Ziling was lost in the beautiful-yet-sad memory of that day, his pair of eyes emitted reminiscing look, he spoke gently, She said that I never knew how to n for myself, but I mistakenly thought that she was referring to me did not have the courage to pursue her. It was precisely this beautiful misunderstanding that made me unable to suppress my love for her. Toward her, I grew a purely spiritual deep love that began in Longquan and ended in Longquan. Other than Kou Zhong, no one else knew about this. I originally did not intend to tell the third person, but tonight, by Niangs side, I cant help but confide in ErGe. Song Shidao revealed a thoughtful look, it was quite a whileter that he let out a sigh leisurely and spoke in low voice, Why did you tell me this? Could it be that you think I should fight for Shang Xiuxun? Xu Ziling spoke softly, This is just the beginning of the story. Feixuans advice stemmed from her feeling my rtionship with Shi Qingxuan. In the past, I have always been afraid to have any unwarranted thought toward Shi Feixuan, for fear of being looked down by her, furthermore, for fear of spoiling her clear cultivation. However, when the fire of love is ignited, I realized that all the artificial inhibitions were in vain. Meeting his gaze, Song Shidao asked, In that case, did you follow Shi Feixuans adviceter? Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the bumpy ground, paved with small stones, he slowly said, The reason Feixuan gave me this advice was because she knew that I did not go to You Lin Xiao Gu to see Qingxuan, unexpectedly I left without saying goodbye, but she did not know that it was because I misunderstood Qingxuan, thinking that she did not love me, hence discouraged, I sadly left Shu! However, when I went to the little valley to visit Qingxuan again, I realized that I nearly missed the greatest opportunity in life. Without Feixuans advice, Qingxuan and I would only be shadow that appears alone, each one passing through the rest of our respective life. Song Shidaos pair of eyes emittedplex expression, his sword brows lightly knitted, he said, Ziling is a very intelligent person, how could you have such a misunderstanding toward Qingxuan? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Because she told me she wanted to maintain life as a single person, this remark caused me serious harm. Thinking about itter, I began to know that my deep love for her is definitely not less than my love for Feixuan. The matter between Feixuan and me hase to an end. If I dont fight for Qingxuan, it will only prove that my love for her is not enough. True love can break down any man-made obstacles, furthermore, it can make any sacrifices for the other side. Trembling, Song Shidao said, I understand why you are telling me this. Ay! What should I do? Xu Ziling said, ErGe, please dont me me for being too frank, Niang was just a beautiful and sad dream that ErGe cannot extricate yourself from! Kou Zhong and I dare to say that Niang indeed had a good impression toward Erge, hence she took us onboard ErGes boat, only too bad that time practically did not give the rtionship between the two of you a chance to develop. ErGe and Niang are a bit like me and Feixuan, starting in Danyang and ending in the Great River. If Niang did not die, due to the national hostility between Gaoli and us, perhaps just like Feixuan, she might have the same advice to ErGe, and now its up to Kou Zhong and me to speak out on her behalf. ErGe went to little valley to live in seclusion to apany Niang for your own sake. If ErGe is willing toe with us to the Flying Horse Ranch to fight, then it will be for Shang Xiuxuns sake, and it will depend on how deep ErGes love to Shang Xiuxun. As for the sess or failure of this matter, it is secondary. Song Shidao heavily stared nkly at the ground. Suddenly he looked up, the sharp light in his pair of eyes shing, he spoke with determination, I aming with you to visit the Flying Horse Ranch. Xu Ziling said, You are noting with us, rather, ErGe is going among enemies with only your sword [idiom: going alone into enemy lines], in order to show ErGes sincerity and courage. While Song Shidao was stunned upon hearing it, Kou Zhong, who has been eavesdropping outside, rushed in like a whirlwind and blurted out, I will pack for ErGe, we set off immediately. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sent Song Shidao off to the entrance of the Flying Horse Ranchs mountain road; they bade their farewell and hurried off to Bashu. This was the first time that Kou Zhong entered Shu; he wanted to admire the wonderful scenery of the arduous and hard to pass road to Shu, yet he also did not want to miss the magnificent and wonderful scenery of the Three Gorges. While he was still hesitating, Xu Ziling made the choice for him, In the future, when you unify the world, you will certainly build your navy in Bashu, while wiping out Xiao Xian at the same time C you cant possibly make a rod for your own back by taking the road to Shu. Therefore, lets enjoy the delight of walking through the mountains this time! Kou Zhong spoke emotionally, Since leaving Yangzhou, this is the first time we dont need to be sneaky, shing to the left and dodging to the right to go to a certain ce. This feeling is so touching. After reaching the agreement, the two boys took the route that Xu Ziling used in the past to enter Shu; they first arrived at the Shangyong City east of the Great Mount Ba, and checked in at the inn to raise their spirit, nning on climbing the mountain into Shu the next morning. This city originally belonged to Zhu Can, but now, because Zhu Can was defeated, the situation was ambiguous. Local forces presided over the overall situation, they adopted a wait-and-see attitude, temporarily guaranteeing neutrality. The two went to a public bath to soak themselves in delight, and then Xu Ziling went back to their room to sit in meditation, while Kou Zhong went out to ask around for some news. He returned half a sichenter and said, This ce certainly has fantastic oddities of every description [idiom], more and more emerge, no matter how preposterous, there are people and market who ept it as the truth. Sitting quietly in the corner, Xu Ziling looked at the excited Kou Zhong whoy spread eagle [orig. like a character] on the bed, without even taking off his boots; frowning, he said, That is the bed you are going to sleep in tonight, right? Kou Zhong chuckled and said, When did Ling Shao be so love of cleanness like this? Must be a habit that you cultivate after knowing Feixuan, this Meirener that is not tainted by a single speck of dust. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Stop talking nonsense, what news makes you so excited? Kou Zhong sat up on the edge of the bed and spoke cheerfully, Ol Die didnt mislead us. He already announced to the world that he fully supports me to unify the world. The news has caused a sensation in this remote small town. People talking on the street, no one can depart from this topic, so that Li kids mighty power in capturing Luoyang ispletely covered up. The other topic that most people talk is about Song Que. Most people believe that since Song Que is willing to deploy the troops out of Lingnan, the world is no longer the Li Familys world. More brilliantly is that I have an excellent reputation here, everybody says that the people of my Shao Shuai State dont have to pay taxes, they are not forced to serve in the army. Ha! Its not that there is no taxation, but the tax is much lighter, thats all! Xu Ziling did not understand, he asked, These are not rumors, why do you say that rumors are flying all over the sky? Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, I have filtered and selected the rumors in my little head before telling them you. Naturally no one knows what is true and what is false better than I do. What I do not dare to ascertain is the situation in Bashu. Someone heard the news from Bashus traveling merchants that Xie Hui ignored the opposition of the four major tribes and obstinately clinging to his course by calling the Tang army into Shu. I hope this is just a rumor, otherwise the chaos of war will be hard to avoid. And then heughed and said, If this is not bizarre enough, there is another version, that is, the Western Tujue and Li Shimin secretly formed an alliance to fight against the Eastern Tujues Xieli and our brother Tuli, making people who hear it not to know whether tough or cry. How could Li Shimin have the opportunity to pull rtionship with the Western Tujue? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, You seem to forget that Yun Shuai had visited Changan. Slightly startled, Kou Zhong nodded and said, I am really muddleheaded, Yun Shuai is the Western Tujues Guoshi [teacher of the state], based on his ability and wisdom, as well as his means, entering the treasure mountain, he should be unwilling to return empty handed. He could have had secret meeting, the gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive, via the Persian merchants, who congregate and live in Changan. Xu Ziling was puzzled, Such an information, which is supposed to be top secret, how could ite from Bashu, a ce that ispletely unrted to this matter? he asked. Kou Zhong revealed a grave expression, he spoke heavily, Wind from an empty cave [idiom: unfounded story] is notpletely without any reason. It is rumored that the reason why Xie Hui dare to obstinately clinging to his course, ignoring the four major tribes opposition, was precisely because he has the Western Tujue and the Dangxiang [not sure], two big western foreign tribes supporting his lower back, hence the reason currently arge number of Western Region people are seening and going into and out of the Duzun Castle. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, This might greatly increase our difficulty in persuading Xie Hui. pping the bed, Kou Zhong said, This move of Li Shimin is really beautiful. He controls Xie Hui via the foreign tribes west side of Bashu, no wonder Xie Hui dares to take risk to offend my future father-inw, because he has difficulties that he is unable to speak out. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, I heard from Xibai about his stye in conducting himself, he is definitely not the kind of person who sumbed to threats. There should be some twists and turns inside. After all, we dont understand Xie Hui at all. Kou Zhong nodded and said, You are right! Song Ques two primary targets are Hanzhong and Xiangyang. If he takes Hanzhong, it could be said that he did not leave Xie Hui any leeway, it is thus clear that he, the Senior, does not have the least bit of interest in negotiating with Xie Hui, because he knows that Xie Hui chose to stand on Li Shimins side. I wonder what weapon does Xie Hui use? In Jianghu, his reputation and status are close to those of my future father-inw, he shouldnt be the kind of people who wait in leisure. Xu Ziling said, Just from An Longs fear and respect to him, we could see that no matter how useless, he still has the lowest limit. As for what weapon he uses, I have no idea. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Our effort to avert the shedding of blood as much as possible might be extremely unlucky to aplish, we can only see whose fist is harder. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, For the sake of Yuzhi and ErGes Dajie [eldest sister] Song Yuhua, Xie Furen [Madam Xie], how could we give up lightly? We have to give thought to the innocentmon people even more. Kou Zhongughed apologetically and said, Its Xiaodi talking rubbish, let me think about it! Ay! Really sorry, my mind went nk, it looks like we have no choice but to change ording to the situation. Xu Ziling agreed, My brain is as nk as yours. Ay! This is called a new branch grows out of a knot, it rather gives people the frustrated feeling of being caught unprepared. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Who told us to have Li Shimin as our opponent? The initiative will always be in his hands. This move is very simr to his usual style. The only thing that is puzzling is, such a matter that should not be exposed, why is it unexpectedly be a rumor that is flying all over the sky? If it enters Li Yuans ears, how would Li Yuan react? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, My intuition tells me that this is not creating something from nothing at all, but someone leaked it out on purpose, their objective is to strike the Western Tujue or Li Shimin. Because no matter how rich the imagination of whoever started the rumor is, he should never have thought that Li Shimin has a secret agreement with the Western Tujues Tongyehu. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If this matter turns out to be true, Li Shimin is really disappointing; what will that differ from colluding with Xieli? Of course there is a big difference, Xu Ziling replied, In the power struggle of the grasnds beyond the Great Wall, Western Tujues Tongyehu has always been in the disadvantageous position. If Tongyehu surrenders to Xieli, the Central ins will have to deal with the invading enemies from the northern and western borders at the same time. Therefore, supporting the Western Tujue, using foreigners to subdue foreigners [idiom, a traditional policy of sessive dynasties] is a strategic requirement. Snorting coldly, Kou Zhong said, Maybe Li Shimin has other selfish intentions. When he sees the turn of events not too encouraging, he could immediately slip to Bashu and join the Western Tujue to fight the middle of the House of Tang. His grannys bear, my principle is to never allow any outside tribe foreigners to step in our Han soil even for half a step. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, What the actual situation is, lets go to Chengdu to find out first and then well talk about it more! Perhaps this matter is really not like we imagined. Shall we sneak into Chengdu secretly, or shall we enter the city through the gate boldly? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling replied, Its up to you. Chengdu is still not the Li Familys world, with Xie Hui and the four tribes joint rule, I dont think Xie Hui will dare to use violence as he pleases. Kou Zhongughed and said, So what if he uses violence? We, two brothers are not tender kids making our public performance for the first time, what scene we have not seen? Counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir. His grannys bear, if Xie Hui dares to use violence, why should we be polite? Xu Ziling said, Here we go again! Small achievements, immediately your arrogance is overflowing. How could we use the great generals style? We areing now to seek peace and not to seek fight. The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes shing, he spoke heavily, Its not that small victory and I became arrogant, its just that I became more realistic. Without strong military support, whoever is interested in listening to you can fight and then make peace. When I said I wouldy out the pros and cons [or the benefit and harm] to Xie Hui, the pros [or benefit] is pointing to him able to protect his home and keep Shu safe, the cons [or harm] is his home destroyed and the people perish. I want him to realize that even if it is not arge army invading his territory, we, two brothers are enough to trouble him until the sky and the earth turning upside down, not only to fight with him in strength, but to fight with him in wisdom even more. Xu Ziling was silent for half a day, he finally agreed and said, Although I dont want to admit it, the method you proposed might be the only way. That is our decision then! Kou Zhong said, If Xie Hui rushed one step ahead by handing over Hanzhong to Li Yuan, then anything we say will be superfluous, what should we do? Revealing a grave expression, Xu Ziling said, I hope that the news of Ol Die supporting you has reached Bashu one step ahead. Because both Xie Hui and Ol Die surrendering to the Tang were via Feixuan threading a needle in between, Ol Die destroying his promise will be an enlightenment Xie Hui, it will make him think three times before going. Kou Zhong said, Li Yuan killing Li Mi was indeed a big mistake, and Li Yuanji executing Dou Jiande in public was even more a mistake after a mistake. Moreover, it showed that under current circumstances, Li Shimin is powerless to protect those who surrendered to him, and Li Yuan did not think aboutpassion the least bit even more. Whether Bashu can avoid the scourge of war, the power to make decision is not in our hands, but in Xie Huis hands. Xu Ziling said, After reaching Chengdu, we must try to meet with Xie Furen, this can give us further understanding of the matter. Zheng Shiru should be able to help us in this regard. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Are you talking about the Henan Mad Schr Zheng Shiru? What rtionship does he have with Zhizhis eldest sister? Xu Ziling exined, His sweetheart is Zheng Shuming, Changjiang Lians [Yangtze River (lit. long river) Alliance] Nu Dangjia [female chief], whom we know. She is a close friend of Xie Furensdy chamber, she can make proper arrangements for us. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up, he said, Luckily you reminded me, Da Jiang Lian [in this case, Great River Alliance]bined with the six powerful gang, society, school and sect mingling along the Yangtze River, their influence cannot be ignored. If Zheng Shuming is willing to stand on our side, it will exert tremendous pressure on Xie Hui. Xu Ziling nodded and said, You can give it a try. Zheng Shiru is an admirer of your future father-inw, he might let the Da Jiang Lian know about the pros and cons, it will benefit you to lobby for sess. Furthermore, what you need to fight for and can fight for are the Qiang, Yao, Miao, and Yi four tribes, they have always supported Song Que. With them standing on the same front with you, Xie Hui will be a lone power difficult to stand. Kou Zhong jumped up from the bed and shouted, I dont have the slightest bit of sleepiness anymore, we might as well find a restaurant to feed and fill our belly and immediately set off on our journey, so as not to miss the fortunate timing. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height and said, All right! The two boys packed their simple luggage and left the inn. After filling their stomachs, they set foot on the journey into Shu. Book 55 9 – If You Ride a Tiger, It’s Hard to Get Off

Book 55 Chapter 9 C If You Ride a Tiger, Its Hard to Get Off

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Pouring Xu Ziling a cup of tea to the brim, Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Ling Shao, please have some tea, the weather is so cold, drink it while it is hot! Why do you suddenly be so polite? Xu Ziling asked in astonishment. The two boyspleted their trip along the Shu Road at dusk, and stepped into Shu border. Even with their physical capability, they felt unable to endure. Therefore, upon entering Shu border, they stayed for the night at a simple and crude inn of a ry station for post horses. After freshening up and changing their clothes, they went to the dining hall to eat. The dining hall only had them, one table, as the diners tonight. After delivering rice and vegetable, the waiter disappeared to God knows where. The cold wind was screaming through the gap on the door and the cracks on the window, hence Kou Zhongs remark about the weather was cold. Stroking his bulging stomach, which could not eat any more food, Kou Zhongughed and said, I am grateful for your suggestion to take the Shu Road, which made me take the pleasure in it and temporarily forget the suffering of war. On the other hand, I practice humility, which I borrowed from you, to avoid being arrogant of a small victory, and turn into a ridiculous self-importance ignorant. Ay! I wonder if the principle of the things that you cant obtain are the most precious can be copied and applied to being an emperor. I really dont want to be an emperor more and more. How could that match the delight of going with Ling Shao on a scenic tour, free and unconstrained? When sitting on the dragon seat, I will be so busy with stamping and signing document until the ck smoke blocks the air. Xu Ziling sighed and said, If you had known this earlier, why did you do it in the first ce? Now, if you ride a tiger, its hard to get off; could it be that you will let Yuzhi bes other peoples empress? Kou Zhong reiterated his concern, I am really afraid that Hanzhong has already fallen into Li Yuans hands, it will be difficult for this matter to end in a good term. Huh? Someonesing! Sound of hoofbeats came from afar and was approaching, furthermore, it came from the direction of the official road. In this severe cold weather, traveling merchants have disappeared from the Shu Road, the sound of hoofbeats suddenly arose, the two of them had a feeling that these people wereing for them. Listening carefully, Xu Ziling said, Seven to eight riders, they are in a great hurry. The horses neighed, obviously the iing riders pulled the reins to stop, and dismounted outside the inn. Someone shouted in a low voice, You guys enjoy the fresh air outside. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, The voice sounds familiar, who is it? Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward the closed main door. Creak! The main door was pushed open, cold wind burst in, blowing the several windnterns in the dining hall that they flickered randomly. Kou Zhong focused his eyes to look. pping his forehead, he stood, along with Xu Ziling, to greet the newer. Heughed and said, No wonder its so familiar, turns out it is Lin Lang Xiong! Lin Lang closed the door first, and then saluted and said, Lin Lang, on behalf of our Wujiang Bang [Wu River Gang] Laoda [boss] Sha Ming, respectfully wee Shaoshuai and Xu Ye. Xu Ziling recalled that day when he left Bashu via the waterway, riding on Lin Langs boat under Hou Xibais arrangement. It was on that voyage that he met Han Zenans family of three [actually, the text says two, but I believe it was a typo, much like when we talked about first and third floor the other day], as well as Lei Jiuzhi, and also Gongliang Ji, whose family was deceived by Lai Chaogui. Thereupon he and Kou Zhong teamed up with Lei Jiuzhi to seek justice for Gongliang Ji. And now the old friend suddenly appeared before their eyes, all kinds of past events felt as if they had just happened yesterday, his heart was filled with joy, heughed and said, We all are brothers, why do you speak like you are treating us with formal courtesy to a guest? Sit down and talk. Lin Langughed aloud and sat down happily; he watched Kou Zhong personally picked up a cup and poured some tea for him, he said, Just now Xiaodi is representing our humble gang, naturally I must speak ordingly with ample etiquette. To be able to know two gentlemen is the proudest honor in all my, Lin Langs life. Kou Zhong put down the teapot, he smiled and said, Arent we just human? We cant possibly sprout three heads and six arms. Bing brothers for a period of time, we are brothers for life. Come, lets have a cup! The three men used tea in ce of wine, they enjoyed themselves to the full. Kou Zhong said, Why dont we call Lin Xiongs brothers toe in to take shelter from the wind? Lin Lang said, If even a little bit of suffering they are unable to endure, how could theye out and mingle in Jianghu? Besides, what we are talking here should not enter the fourth persons ears. Xu Ziling asked, Lin Xiongs timing is very urate, as if you had made an agreement with us beforehand. Lin Lang replied, Since Lei Dage informed us that the two gentlemen wille to Bashu, we have been paying close attention to the two routes, water andnd C to enter Shu. I still have the best luck, after only two days, we ran into two Yeer Feigning impatience, Kou Zhong said, Here we go again! What Ye front and Ye back, Ye long and Ye short? He is Xiao [little] Xu, I am Xiao Kou, you are Xiao Lin. Ha! Xiao Kou sounds a bit worrying, like I became little hairy thief [note: Kou of Kou Zhongs name literally means bandit], you had better call me Xiao Zhong or Ah Zhong then! Lin Lang showed an overwhelmed-by-favor-from-superior look; emotionally moved, he said, To be able to make friends with Xu Xiong and Shaoshuai, it is indeed my good fortune. Xu Ziling asked, What happened in Chengdu? Why do you want to stop us one step ahead before we reach Chengdu? Lin Lang replied, The current situation in Bashu is extremely tense. The day before I left Chengdu, Song Ques navy, with an overwhelming superiority, entered and upied Luchuan Jun [county or region], they expelled all Xie Huis people. Afterwards, anyone who wants to leave Shu via the waterway must obtain the Song Family Armys nod first. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings scalp went numb. Song Que indeed had ghost-and-deity-cannot-fathom skill in maneuvering the troops. It should be noted that Luchuan was located south of Chengdu, at the intersection of the Great River and Mian River. From that ce sending troops upstream on the river, in just two days they would be able to reach Chengdu, and choke Chengdus throat tightly. Luchuan fell, potentially Xie Hui was suppressed to the point of being unable to move a single step. The seemingly simple operation actually embodied all-year-long deployment and nning, catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sunzis Art of War], so that the men and horses on Xie Huis side in Luchuan Jun werepletely without the opportunity to fight back. What is Xie Huis reaction? Kou Zhong asked. Lin Lang replied, Naturally he was extremely furious and dered that he absolutely not going to surrender. The next moment he transferred manpower from various regions toe and defend Chengdu. Furthermore, after his negotiation with the four major tribes fell, he gave order for the people from the four major tribes to leave Chengdu, civil war in Bashu could happen at any moment. Lei DaGe and Hou Gongzi are afraid that he would pull in the Tang Army, and afraid that you, not understanding the situation C face the danger upon entering the city, hence they told us to figure out a way to notify two gentlemen one step ahead. Xu Ziling felt big headache, could it be that Kou Zhongs words turn out to be tragically prophetic, that Bashu affair could only be settled using military [or martial] force, to see whose fist was harder? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Does Xie Hui have the intention to retake Luchuan? Revealing a look of disdain, Lin Lang snorted coldly and said, He is able to defend Chengdu, that could be considered not bad already, how could he dare to rush indiscriminately into action? However, if the Tang Army enters Shu, the situation does not dare to be optimistic. Although Chengdu is located on a in, due to the city walls high and thick, it is not easy to break it through. He was obviously standing on Kou Zhongs side, looking at the situation in Bashu from this perspective. Kou Zhong said, Before entering Shu, we heard news that Li Shimin had formed an alliance with Tongyehu of the Western Tujue, therefore, Tongyehu and his numerous aplices are helping Li Shimin to defend Bashu; is it true? Lin Lang replied, There is indeed this rumor, but no one can differentiate whether it is true or false. However, Bashu is surrounded by towering mountains and precipitous ridges all around, Qinling [mountain range] and Mount Ba in the north, Mount Wu cuts off on the east, Mount Yu with a thousand years of snow in the west, and Wuling, Wumeng mountain range continuing each other in the south, bing an isted ce with rugged barriers on four sides, the only esses to go back and forth are thend route Shu Road and the Three Gorges waterway. Even if the outside tribes of the western border have the interest to get their hands in Bashu, it would be having the heart but not the strength. Xu Ziling said, So is it true that there arge number of people from the Western Tujue and Dangxianging and going the Duzun Castle? Lin Lang said, Recently, there have been a number of Western Regions people in Chengdu, but its not clear whether they are rted to Xie Hui. They contracted the Wumen [lit. five-door] Inn on the Wumen Street. Their number is around fifty, men and women. After a short pause, he snorted coldly and said, Xie Hui is overestimating his capabilities, unexpectedly he has the delusion to fight Song Que, making people think a hundred times without finding a solution [idiom: puzzling]. Before, he said that the Li Tangs momentum was increasing day by day, momentarily there was no rival, while the Song n is clearly in Lingnan, where the whip cannot reach [idiom: beyond ones influence]. But now Shao Shuai Army helped in the battle to defend Luoyang, using few to fight the many, honorable even in defeat and did not lose the least bit ofnd. Moreover, Song Que led the army out of Lingnan to support Shaoshuai, Du Fuwei publicly announced that he is standing on Shaoshuais side, the world situation is reversed. No one can understand why Xie Hui still cast his lot to Li Yuan, who killed Li Mi and executed Dou Jiande. Kou Zhong spoke in amazement, The news spreads so fast, you, LaoGe seem to know the situation better than I do. Lin Lang nodded and said, Indeed its a bit strange! In the past, it took a long period of time for the things pertaining to the war situation outside Shu border to gradually be clear, but this time, the news concerning Shaoshuais splendid military sesses in campaigning to the south and dispatching military expedition to the north is fresh every day, pouring in endlessly, and finally it was confirmed not to be a rumor at all. Xu Ziling secretly praised Shi Zhixuans urate grasp on Song Ques intention. By spreading of the news, he imperceptibly influenced the people of the world, nted the image of Kou Zhongs unequalled benevolence and righteousness, overshadowing Li Shimins forefront, and revealing Li Yuans heartless injustice. This was precisely a brilliant-beyondpare use of troops subduing people without battle, the highest realm of the Art of War. In this aspect, Song Ques method has reached perfection, making people gasp in amazement. The days when people everywhere were on the lookout and realign their allegiance to Li Shimin, after Kou Zhong arose, would be once it was gone, it would never return. Lin Lang continued, Especially Du Fuweis announcement that the Jianghuai Army is casting their lot to Shaoshuai has caused Xie Huis troops disposition to be in great chaos. Qiang Tribes Monkey King Feng Zhen, Yao Tribes Meiji [beautiful concubine/woman] Sina, Miao Tribes Eagle King Jiao Luofeng, and Yi Tribes Wolf King Chuan Mouxun, jointly dered their position to support Song Que, which led to the breakdown of their rtionship with Xie Hui. When Song Que upied Luchuan, Xie Hui ignored his sons opposition, he obstinately clinging to his course by driving the people of the four ethnic groups out of Chengdu, calling Chengdu people to support him; naturally the response is cold. I heard that a lot of people under him disagree with his view, thinking that Bashu should at least maintain its neutrality. Kou Zhong was puzzled, What capital does he have? he asked. Lin Lang spoke disdainfully, Where does the capital to fight Song Quee from? At present, I dare say that there are no more than ten thousand men and horses in Chengdu who belong to Duzun Baos system. Compared with the Song Family Army, it is just a mob that would be unable to withstand a single blow. It is rumored that Xie Hui sent his men to Changan asking for help. However, its difficult for distant water to rescue nearby fire. Li Tang has just obtained Luoyang, the foot of their disposition of troops is not stable yet, plus they have to deal with Liu Heita, who raised his troops to avenge Dou Jiande, they are too busy to take care of themselves. Xie Hui chose to be loyal to Li Yuan, no one does not think that he is following the path to his own doom. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, You, LaoGe are really insightful, you see the situation so thoroughly. Lin Lang spoke cheerfully, This news came from Changans side, hence everyone believes firmly without any doubt. pping the table, Kou Zhong said, My future father-inw is really formidable. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement; only he understood Kou Zhongsment, which evolved from deep within his heart. Hearing that, however, Lin Lang was at a loss. Kou Zhong did not give Lin Lang any exnation, he only asked, How is Chengdus current situation? Lin Lang replied, Xie Hui tightly controls Chengdu, the gates are tense, those whom they suspect are not allowed to enter the city, curfew is in effect from the zi hour [11pm C 1am, midnight] until daybreak. Lei DaGe, Hou Gongzi, and Die Gongzi, under our arrangement, are hiding in Gongliang Jis old residence in Chengdu, therefore, I must notify you one step ahead. I have a way to get you into the city. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Thank you for Lin Xiongs good intention, but we, two brothers are going to enter the city upright and frank. The more it causes a sensation the better. Lin Langs countenance changed, he said, But Xie Hui has many men, a great force, Im afraid you will suffer losses. Kou Zhong cast a nce at Xu Ziling; seeing he did not raise any objection, his guts immediately grew big. Lowering his voice, he said, What situation we have never seen before? As long as we make adequate preparation and have enough time, I have assurance to crush Xie Huis confidence and fighting spirit in one fell swoop. Knitting his brows, Lin Lang asked, What preparation and time? Kou Zhong replied cheerfully, In this aspect, you, LaoGe will be in charge. You only need to move your mouth, since it is inappropriate to move your hands; spread the news that we are going to Chengdu to talk face-to-face with Xie Hui. The more people know the better. We are staying here for two days to preserve and nurture our spirit, and only then will we be on our way, hoping that when we arrive in Chengdu, no one in Chengdu is not aware of this matter. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Why dont you, Kou Shaoshuai personally write a refined letter, and ask somebody to deliver it to Xie Hui, saying that on a certain time, certain day, you are going to pay a visit, you want to have a friendly conversation with him face to face? Wont it have more style then? Lin Lang praised, I only need to spread the news about the letter seeking audience, it will be even more well-founded. Scratching his head in difficulty, Kou Zhong said, But Bai Lao Fuzi [old master/teacher, see Book 1 Chapter 1] had not passed on to me the secret of how to write a letter. Xu Zilings handsome face could not stopughing, he said, If you dont use the ghostwriter-to-y-the-saber master Hou Gongzi, what kind of his grannys bear Shaoshuai are you? This is called the skill of using people. No one in Bashu has ever seen your handwriting anyway, you might as well ask Xibai to do it for you. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, I am really muddleheaded; all right, we do it that way. Oh, Xie Hui! This will be yourst chance. If you dont grasp it well, it will definitely toote for regrets. About two days after the meeting with Lin Lang at the ry station inn, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling set off toward Chengdu. In order to avoid peoples eyes and ears, they did not take the official road, but climbed the mountain and crossed the mountain range to hasten on with their journey. When Chengdu was in sight, the sky was not bright yet, the city gates were tightly closed. The two boys hid themselves in a dense forest about five li away east of Chengdu, in ordance with the arrangement they made with Lin Lang, quietly waiting for the moment the city gate would be opened. They sat cross-legged at the edge of the woods, feeling the crisp and clear weather and the quietness before dawn, silently watching the sky turned from dark to bright. It appeared that Kou Zhong did not dare to disturb the solemn and peaceful atmosphere all around him, he spoke softly, The thing I am most afraid of now is that the rice has already been cooked [idiom: what is done cannot be undone], Xie Hui already pulled the Tang Army into Shu, so that the only way remains is to resolve it using military [or martial] force. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, In my opinion, Xie Hui cant possibly be that unwise. Song Ques troops subduing Luchuan was a strict warning to him. If the Tang Army entered Shu, he would immediately attack Chengdu, using ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum. Due to him obtaining the four major tribes response, Xie Hui will certainly be unable to withstand a single blow. If Chengdu falls into Song Ques hands, the Tang Army entering Shu will fall into the inferior position of no room to advance or to retreat. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, What if the Tang Army defends Hanzhong to the death? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, There is no Li Shimin, why would you be scared of Hanzhong? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, It could be said that Bashu is Guanzhongs big rear line; if it falls into my hand, it will open the convenient entrance to attack Changan from the south. Li Yuan came from a family of generals, he ought to know that Hanzhongs importance is not under Xiangyangs. Although there is no Li Shimin presiding over the overall situation in there, this battle will not be easy to fight. You are harboring ulterior motives, Xu Ziling said, Therefore, you developed a view that Li Yuan would not have any choice but to defend Hanzhong. The fact is that Li Yuan is practically not afraid that you might march into Changan, he would even wee you foring to throw away your life. When, due to attacking Changan your injuries and deaths are disastrous, the Tang Army from every city and various ways in Guanzhong wille out together, under normal circumstances, the Shao Shuai Army will suffer total defeat of an army. If I were Li Yuan, I would not even find the time to spare Changans military strength to defend Hanzhong City, which, in terms of scale and defensive power, is only one-tenth of Changans. He paused for a moment and went on, Since Li Yuan is a talented Commander-in-Chief, he should have his eyes on the overall situation. First, he will go all-out to pacify the north, and sweep away the remnants of Liu DaGes party in Hebei. After the wind and the snow have passed, he will divide his forces to go down south, to attack Pengliang and Ol Die. Now, that would be the correct strategy. No one knows that you have the Duke Yangs Treasure-house, this wonderful move. Ay! Trying tofort him, Kou Zhong said, Feixuan definitely is not that kind of person, I have a one-hundred percent confidence. The sound of gusting wind arose, from afaring near. Lei Jiuzhi, Hou Xibai, Yin Xianhe, and Lin Lang came. At this time, the sky was bright and the city gate was wide open. Four men came out of the city to meet them, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling stood up to greet them. As soon as he entered the forest, Lei Jiuzhi spoke straight to the point, If you guys dont want to kill your way from the city gate straight to the Shu Wangfu [princes mansion, or official office of the king], youd better let us try to sneak you in. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Did Xie Hui move from Duzun Bao to the Shu Wangfu? Hou Xibai sighed and said, After receiving the letter, Xie Hui evacuated the women and children, as well as most of the younger generation soldiers of his n from Duzun Bao to the Shu Wangfu inside the city. Currently, there are only several dozens of people staying behind in Duzun Bao to take care of things. Just from this action, we could see Xie Huis determination to go to war. No one in Chengdu understands how Xie Hui made such a big determination, staking all in one throw to cast his lot on Li Yuan. Lin Lang said, After handing in the letter at the East Gate, we have been paying attention to Xie Huis movement. We found that he immediately reinforced the city defense and transferred manpower from the neighboring area. I am afraid he might misunderstand that Kou Xiong was writing war challenge to him. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, The letter I wrote on Shaoshuais behalf was carefully worded, giving him a lot of face. He shouldnt fail to understand our intention to seek peace. Letting out a muffled snort, Lei Jiuzhi said, Xie Hui is stubborn, it does not matter whether you put a deluge of heavenly flowers [idiom: extravagant embellishments] in the letter, so what if he does not consider it worthy in his eyes? Is there any movement from the Song Family Army in Luchuan? Xu Ziling asked. Lin Lang replied, The Song Family Army in Luchuan is under a famous great general of the younger generation of the Song Family, Song Faliangsmand, they are in the process of continuously gathering supplies and assembling their army, expanding it to the surrounding cities and towns, their intention to go up north to attack Chengdu is very clear. The news that we sent Shaoshuais letter to Xie Hui asking for a meeting has been widely spread. After hearing the news, the four major ns announced that they had formed an alliance of the four major tribes dering that they wee Shaoshuai into Shu, which made the situation in Chengdu even more tense. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Do the four tribes still have strongholds in the city? Lin Lang replied, Chengdu has always been a ce where various ethnicities all live together. The four tribes power is deeply rooted in the city, how could Xie Hui say he wanted to drive them out and he immediately drive them out? At present, more than a dozen li-square area in the city are under control of the four tribes. When Shaoshuai said that you areing, you made Xie Hui suspend the crisis of making war against the four tribes. Lei Jiuzhi said, In my opinion, it would be best if you enter the city from the south gate, talk to the leaders of the four tribes first, and then try to sit down with Xie Hui to settle the matter. Revealing a smile brimming with confidence, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, That will only facilitate the civil war. I still persist in entering the city from the east gate. If Xie Hui uses violence, I will make him suffer big losses. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, You are not going to open wide the Buddhist monastic discipline against killing, are you? Once the blood starts to spill, the situation will be out of control. Kou Zhong calmly said, Ling Shao, dont worry! We are here to seek peace, not to look for fight. In the end, because the four major tribes are like the tiger watching and waiting on the side, Xie Hui should not dare to mobilize the men and horses of the whole city to besiege us, not to mention the fact that Xiehuis internal faction is not stable. At most, he might deploy some of his trusted aides to fight us, we could then advancing we can attack, retreating we can escape. Its not that I am bragging, but with our, two brothers current skills, Xie Hui still does not have enough qualifications to detain us. Yin Xianhe, who had been silent all the time, interjected and said, And theres still me, Yin Xianhe. Kou Zhongughed and said, I am hoping there wont be any need for Yin Xiong to move your hands and help with your fists. I want you guys to go back to the city first to be the spectators. After half a sichen, Ling Shao and I will enter the city from the east gate, making no secret of our presence, to see whether Xie Hui is a person who understand reasons. Book 55 10 – Affairs of Life Difficult to Foresee

Book 55 Chapter 10 C Affairs of Life Difficult to Foresee

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, talking andughing as though nothing had happened, walked along the official road towards the East Gate. Naturally Xu Ziling was without any weapons. Kou Zhong, because he had hidden the Moon in the Well and the Piercing the Sun Bow inside the sheepskin robe that Chu Chu sewed for him, which had endured cmity, on the surface he also appeared to be empty-handed, there was not the slightest hint of murderous intent. Kou Zhongughed and said, The most moving part of life is that no one can foresee what will happen in the next moment, and what change will ur? Like our current situation, how will Xie Hui deal with us after we enter the city, perhaps he will simply refuse us from entering the city; thinking about him, I feel it is interesting. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Your guts is getting bigger and bigger, could it be that you are overconfident? Under current circumstances, we are entering the city like this, we are forcing Xie Hui to kill us at all costs. Otherwise, how could his prestige survive? Kou Zhong disagreed, he said, Xie Hui has mingled in Jianghu for a while. Theresmon saying, when two kingdoms are at war, they dont execute envoys, at least Xie Hui will meet with us first and listen to what we have to say. And then he smiled bitterly and said, If I did not look at Yuzhis friendship, I surely would not venture into the city to take risks, therefore, as long as there is a bit of chance, I have to fight for it. I hope that I only need to use my mouth and not my hands. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Its for the same reason that I aming with you, bing like a fool delivering two fatmbs into a tigers den. But I am still worried that one thing goes wrong, it might immediately trigger a civil war between Xie Hui and the four major tribes. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Xie Hui shouldnt be that stupid, therefore, both danger and opportunity exist at the same time. It will depend on our response. The city gate was in sight. Looking in from the outside, they did not sense any unusual situation, the only thing making them feeling uneasy was that there was no civilian,mon peopleing and going, the whole official road was empty, only they, the two brothers were strolling leisurely. Suddenly the sound of hoof beats arose, more than a dozen riders rushed out of the city gate and galloped straight toward the two boys. Xu Ziling halted his steps and said, The leader is Xie Wenlong. Kou Zhong stepped back to his side, looked ahead with rapt attention, and asked in heavy voice, Do you see Xie Hui? Xu Ziling shook his head to indicate that he had not seen him. The more than a dozen riders pulled the reins, their warhorses reared and neighed. Under Xie Wenlongs leadership, the dozen or so riders dismounted at the same time in uniform movement. Everyone appeared to be young and strong, their build was big, sturdy and heroic, they were all the martial art masters of the younger generation of the Duzun Bao. Xie Wenlong took two steps forward and came to about half a zhang from the two boys, he saluted and said, Xie Wenlong, sincerely representing Duzun Bao, respectfully wee Shaoshuai and Xu Gongzis honored selves. Hearing that, the two you looked at me, I looked at you, such a reception was greatly beyond their expectation. Of course, it was also possible that Xie Hui was using peaceful measures before using force, and when they sank into desperate straits, he would show his true colors. Kou Zhong chuckled, returned the salute, and said, Xie Xiong need not be too polite, Xiaodi does not deserve it! We turn up without being invited, abruptly and rudely, Xie Xiong, please dont take offense. Xie Wenlong hurriedly replies, No, no, no! Dont say that. Finished speaking, he ordered his men to bring out two empty horses and said, My humble father is waiting respectfully for the two gentlemens honored selves inside the city. Please let Wenlong show the way. Both sides mounted their horses, Kou Zhong rode in the middle, Xu Ziling and Xie Wenlong rode on his left and right, respectively, escorted by more than a dozen riders, they slowly trotted to the East Gate. Sitting on the horseback, Kou Zhong asked Xie Wenlong, Is Saozi [sister-inw] well? Maybe Xie Wenlong has never thought that Kou Zhong would speak to him in such a cordial and friendly manner, he was slightly startled, then his expression turned dark, he spoke dejectedly, Everything that happened in the past few days was something that she didnt want to see. How would Shaoshuai expect she is doing now? Kou Zhong sighed and said, This is precisely the reason Ziling and I visited Chengdu, we are hoping to turn the hostility into peace. Honestly, until this moment Xiaodi still dont understand how we all fell into this plight? Xie Wenlong looked straight ahead, he spoke with wooden expression, There are some things that are not convenient for Wenlong to say, my humble father will make it clear to Shaoshuai. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs heart sank. Listening to the tone of Xie Wenlongs voice, the chance that this matter with Xie Hui would end up amiably and in harmony was slim to none. The good thing was that Xie Hui was willing to talk to them, showing the magnanimity of the great martial art master of Bashu Wulin, who was equally famous with Song Que. But when Xie Wenlong said those words, a strange and inexplicable feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, as if waiting for them inside the city was not just Xie Hui and his Xie Family Army, that simple, but somebody else as well. Yet as for who else, he was unable to pinpoint who the person was. The three riders were the first to enter the gateway, the city defenders lined up on both sides of the road leading into the city gate. Each side had approximately fifty men. They raised their weapons and shouted aloud to salute, their voices echoed in the empty cavity of the gateway. However,pared to facing the Golden Wolf Armys thousand troops ten thousand horses outside the City of Longquan, this kind of momentum appeared to be a trivial matter. One tiny clue reveals the general trend [idiom: small beginnings show how things will develop], undeniably, the Xie Family Army was a strong contingent of elite troops, not a simple mob at all. It enabled Xie Hui to support the situation and to maintain peace in Bashu after the demise of the Sui Dynasty. No one dared to invade their territory, yet this situation was finally broken by Song Que, who originally had a close rtionship with Xie Hui. The main street connecting the exit of the city gate was without half a passerby, the shops closed their doors, the tense atmosphere was like the mountain rain was about toe. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings gazes went straight to the middle-age man, standing alone with his hands behind his back at the far side of the long street, who, although it was in the depth of winter, was still dressed in dark green clothes, with only a cloak to protect him against the wind. Compared to the fully armed soldiers standing on both sides, he had some kind of transcendence impression. This persons forehead high, his nose erect, with darkplexion, his expression tough, proud, cold and detach towards people. Although he was standing so casually in ce, there was an inspiring-awe-to-the-eight-points-of-thepass overbearing aura around him, although he was slightly inferior to Song Ques kind of looking-disdainfully-at-the-world-out-of-the-corner-of-his-eyes, the-mother-earth-gives-free-rein-to-me-to-crisscross indignant air, so that anybody looking at him would feel respect, and would have deep impression. He did not bring any weapon on him, yet no one dared to doubt that he had swift and fierce destructive power. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried, Not good! inwardly. Xie Hui was precisely the kind of person who would not submit to any threat, by disying this kind of battle array, it was clear that he had the will to fight and the confidence so that he was not afraid of hard battle. From the distance, Xie Hui calmly said, I am Xie Hui, weing Shaoshuai and Ziling for honoring Chengdu with your presence. His voice came leisurely, he did not raise his qi or increase his voice, yet every sentence and every word shook the two boys eardrums. Merely this kind of power was enough to make the two cautious, not daring to be careless and underestimate the enemy, even their confidence to be able to escape and retreat leisurely was swayed. People have names, trees have shadow; Xie Hui was able to achieve the same fame with Song Que, naturally he was not some kind of idle person. Sitting on the horseback, Kou Zhong cupped his fist and responded, In your busy schedule, Baozhu [fort/castle master] is still willing to find the time to see us, two younger generation kids without any reputation, this is indeed our honor. Xie Huiughed aloud and said, From generation to generation, the rivers and mountains produce talented people. Shaoshuai is too modest! Nowadays, who in the world does not know two gentlemens great name? To express his respect, Kou Zhong dismounted about five zhang away from Xie Hui, the others hurriedly followed. In itself, the empty street had its own silent pressure, which makes people feel their breathing could not flow freely. The dialogue between the two sides resounded along the long street, the atmosphere was grave, brimming with inherent tension of the war could happen at any moment. Xie Hui did not show the slightest sign of one word goes wrong, he would immediately move the weapons of war. His pair of eyes emittedplicated, difficult-to-understand expression, as he fixed his eyes on Kou and Xu, two boys, with Xu Ziling attracted most of his attention. The others were still standing at the ce where they were dismounted, only Xie Wenlong apanied the two boys to walk toward Xie Hui. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were ustomed to be in all kinds of situation, although they were in a dangerous ce where danger lurks on every side, they still carried a calm and unhurried manner. Xie Huis two eyes shot admiring expression, which greatly diminished the originally hostile atmosphere and the austere look in his pair of eyes; he smiled and said, Two gentlemen came from a thousand li, Ol Xie has prepared a table of green tea and vegetarian dishes to wash away the two gentlemens dust. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you looked at me, I gazed at you. They were already surprised that Xie Hui was willing to sit down and talk to them, furthermore, his remark about green tea and vegetarian dishes instead of fine wine and fine food made them think a hundred times without being able to understand. Inwardly, Kou Zhong was feeling uneasy, but he was unable to pinpoint what exactly was inappropriate; he hurriedly said, We are indebted by Baozhu preparing a feast to entertain us, we all can sit down and drink green tea and talk about anything under the sun, what could be more favorable than this in life? Completely beyond his control, Xu Zilings heart was severely shaken, he had a vague feeling that something that waspletely beyond their imagination was waiting for them on the road ahead. Showing a hint of pained smile, Xie Hui nodded slightly and called out lightly, Open the door to wee the guests! Creak! At the ce where the four were standing, to their left was the main door of a restaurant, which was originally tightly closed. The double door opened in the middle, two Xie Family warriors, in respectful manner, pushed the door from the inside. Their movement was slow and steady, thereupon the space inside the restaurants main hall was revealed cun by cun. The restaurants main hall, which should have been full of tables, seemed to have only one table in the middle, giving people an unusual feeling. However, what attracted the two boys attention was the sitting-peacefully-on-the-chair-at-the-other-side-of-the-table-facing-the-street, not-tainted-by-a-speck-of-dust, moving fairy. She was, using a still, without-any-ripple, clear expression in her eyes C staring fixedly at Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling on the street. Xu Ziling lost any Moon in the Well, Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit, or whatever, his tiger-body was severely shaken. Kou Zhong was not much better than him, he trembled violently and blurted out crying, Feixuan! Unexpectedly, it was the Shi Xianzi [fairy] returning to the world of the living. She appeared so suddenly, beyond anybodys expectation! Just like her Color Empty Sword, difficult to ward off. No matter how meticulous their consideration, without missing any possibility, yet they never expected to see Shi Feixuan in the city. Xu Zilings entire body grew hot, his mind exploded, the ocean of his heart was turned into an overflowing-the-sky huge wave that no power could restrain. Not so long ago, he was so longing to be able to meet again with her, to confide to her the contradictions and pains in his heart, the contradictions and pains that only she could understand, and to plead with her to use her immortal method to rescue him. Not so long ago, he had lost all self-control, painfully thinking of her, so much so that he thought of leaving everything behind, and go to the located-in-unknown-deep-cloud Jingzhai, just so he could take a nce at her one more time. Without her, his life dragged away that one day felt like a year, but the cruel reality forced him to endure silently, because he was afraid of disturbing her sacred and invible clear cultivation. In the Battle of Luoyang, when he thought that he was surely going to die, he could not help taking the time to pay Liao Kong a visit, to have Liao Kong pass on his heartfelt message to her from far away, hoping that she would show understanding to his secret trouble in going against her wish. After being severely injured by Yang Xuyan, Xu Ziling met Shi Qingxuan again. When his mind gradually shifted to her, he was finally seeded in turning his thoughts toward Shi Feixuan from intense to indifferent, and buried it deep at the bottom of his heart. But then she appeared at this dreadful moment, which was also rted to the grand n of Kou Zhong acquiring the final victory. Nature [as the mother of all things] was messing with people, it was surely no more than that. Shi Feixuan was still dressed in mens clothing, with a piece of cloth wrapped around her head, coarse linen cloth, cotton outer coat, in white with in yellow lining, soft leather boots on her feet, and the Color Empty Sword hanging on her back. Her expression gentle, so that others were unable to sense the mystery inside her fragrant heart. Seeing the two boys staring nkly at her, tranquil and calm, she stood up gracefully and leisurely, a smiling expression, which appeared to be there yet not exactly there, floated from the corners of her lips, as she spoke softly, Shaoshuai, Ziling, please! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, like puppets being controlled by invisible strings, forgetting Xie Hui and his son, started to walk over to the restaurant together, as if they agreed by chance C in a daze. The originally ordinary restaurant was immediately transformed from the mundane world into the world of the immortals, all because of the immortal footprint suddenly appeared. Xie Hui and his son followed behind them and called out to them to take their seats. Like foolish-headed bird, the two followed Xie Huis direction to sit down opposite Shi Feixuan, with Xie Hui, father son, apanied them sitting on either side. Shi Feixuan personally poured tea for everyone, and then she sat down. In the restaurant, apart from the five people sitting around the table of vegetarian dishes, whose rtionship was soplicated that it was beyond exnation, there was no one else. The soldiers who opened the door quietly closed the door for them and withdrew out of the restaurant. Xie Hui raised his cup and said, No matter what business the two gentlemening to Chengdu for, one day we have not fallen out and used forced against each other, you are still my, Xie Huis guests. Therefore, Xie Hui is offering a cup of hot tea to salute the two gentlemen. Xu Ziling avoided Shi Feixuans seemingly-able-to-see-through-everything-in-the-secr-world limpid gaze, and cast his eyes toward the green tea, while sighing inwardly and raised his cup to return the salute. Kou Zhong, without blinking at all, met Shi Feixuans gaze. He slowly raised his cup, and then moved his eyes to Xie Hui. He replied calmly with heavy voice, I, Kou Zhong, am hoping that the next time I see Baozhu, we can still sit down and drink tea like right now. The four men all drank the cup of hot tea at one go, while Shi Feixuan sipped daintily, and then put down the tea cup leisurely. Her manner was calm and at ease, as if what happened before her eyes had nothing to do with her. Xie Wenlong said, These vegetarian dishes are made by Jianneis [my humble wife] own hands, please dont be polite. Kou Zhong raised his chopsticks and said with wry smile I cant hardly eat, but since Xie Furen [Madam Xie] personally prepared it, how could I dare to let her down? Ziling,e! Lets praise Shao Furen [young madam] together. After the two ate without tasting the food, sampling two kinds of vegetarian dishes, Xie Hui sighed and said, Aside from our opposite standpoints, two gentlemen are the people that Ol Xie value the most in the world today. Merely you guys won an honor for us, Han people, outside the Great Wall, anybody ought to be sincerely appreciative. Shi Feixuan did not have the slightest intention to speak; fascinated, she looked at Xu Ziling, who was chewing with weird expression and eating, her pretty eyes emitted tender expression. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, Frankly speaking, I originally had thousands of words, I wanted toy out the pros and cons clearly to Baozhu, to avoid us raising the weapons of war against each other, until both sides suffer, while also saving the innocent people of Bashu. However, Feixuan immortal-self arrived suddenly, so that I am now out my wits, not knowing what to say. It would be better to ask Feixuan and Baozhu to bestow instruction. Shi Feixuans cherry-lips smiled, but she declined toment, her gaze turned toward Xie Hui. Xie Hui did not look at anybody in particr, he fell into deep thought, his pair of eyes emitted grim and cold expression, he looked out the door, and then, sighing with sorrow, he said, I, Xie Hui, have crisscrossed the world for decades, and Ive never feared anyone; furthermore, I have never given a damn to anybody, except for two persons. Xie Wenlong hung his head low and said nothing, as if he was sharing the pain in Xie Huis heart. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, May I venture to ask, who are these two persons that are able to make Baozhu have no choice but to regard them? Xie Huis gaze moved to Kou Zhong, it became as sharp as a knife. He spoke heavily, I have to dere one thing first, so that Shaoshuai will not misunderstand. Whether the two gentlemen believe it or not, to me, power, riches and honor is nothing more than passing smoke and fleeting cloud, not enough to be cherished at all. If it were not for the whole country in rebellion, I would have retreated to the mountains and forests early on, and handed over the familial property to Wenlong to be taken care of, and then I would no longer get involved with the things of the world. Therefore, when Yang Guang died, I signed an agreement with the Ba Meng [Bashu/Sichuan Alliance] to maintain Bashus neutrality, to avoid themon people from being ravaged by the fire of war, while quietly waiting for the appearance of the Bright Lord who will unify the world. Hearing what Xie Hui said, Xu Ziling could not help turning his gaze to Shi Feixuan. As if she generated a reaction, the fairy met his gaze. She gently nodded her cicada head, indicating that Xie Hui spoke sincerely. However, when he heard it, Kou Zhongs eyebrows were deeply knitted. Puzzled, he asked, Since that is the case, why dont Baozhu continue to remain neutral? Xie Hui did not answer him, showing reminiscing look on his face, he returned to the previous topic, speaking as if he was mumbling to himself, It was a sizzling hot summer day more than forty years ago, at that time I was a young man who didnt know the immensity of heaven and earth. On behalf of his family, Song Que escorted a batch of salt goods to Shu, and on behalf of my nsmen, I received the salt goods. I have never seen such an outstanding heroic, considering himself unexcelled in the world C figure like Song Dage, which made me admire from the heart at first sight. We formed a close friendship, and joined hands to wipe out the violent horse thieves wreaking havoc within the Shu border at that time, going through the fire and water together for a while, fighting side by side. Song Dage had repeatedly protected me in extremely dangerous situations, disregarding his own life and death. And the reason why I, Xie Hui, am able to be what I am today is entirely thanks to Song Dage supporting me. No matter how chaotic the world outside, no one dared to offend my territory even for half a step, all because everyone in the world knows that viting me, Xie Hui, will definitely incur Song Ques fury. Who in the world dares to offend Song Que? Spection and facts could be this far apart; it was only now that Kou Zhong heard with his own ears Xie Hui exining himself about his rtionship with Song Que that he knew that he had misunderstood Xie Hui. This most powerful leader of Bashu ns of this age did not turn his back to Song Que and wee the Li Family because he was reluctant to give up his power and position, but for another reason. The key must lie in the other person whom, other than Song Que, Xie Hui held in high regard. Who might that person be? After Shi Feixuans reappearance, Xu Ziling could only exin his mood in four characters xin luan ru ma [have his thoughts in a whirl, lit. heart in chaos like on pins and needles]. It turned out just as Shi Zhixuan predicted, when Li Shimin was caught in a matter of life and death, Fan Qinghui could not possibly sit back and watch. Outside Kou Zhong and Song Ques camp, only Shi Feixuan understood that Bashu should not be lost. If Hanzhong fell, Kou Zhong could directly enter the Pass and attack Changan, and Duke Yangs Treasure-house would make Li Yuan lose Changans greatest advantage. Shi Feixuan showing her footprint here was a move after going through careful deliberations. Kou Zhongs voice was heard, I understand! May I venture to ask Baozhu, who is the other person that Baozhu hold in high regard? Still immersed in the memories of the past, Xie Hui could not help sighing gently and said, There are many things I dare not think of, and now, I dont want to talk about it even more. For a long time, Song Dage is the person Xie Hui admires most, and it hasnt changed. If I have a choice, I definitely would never go against his will, not to mention Yuhua is the good daughter-inw I am most fond of. Shaken, Xie Wenlong cried out, Die! Xie Hui raised his hand to stop him from continuing, he spoke calmly, The other person is precisely Feixuan Shizun [revered master], Fan Zhaizhu [monastery master]. Because of Xiuxin and Shi Zhixuans affair, she set foot in Jianghu, and Song Dage and I, also because of Xiuxin, wanted to look for Shi Zhixuan to give him bad luck. We all met by chance on the left way [not sure, perhaps a typo], as if idental, but was actually destined. She and Dage sat over a meal, discussing opportunities and advantages. Although I was only sitting on the side and listening, I remember every word they said, moreover, I felt the content of her heart in bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind, her huge sympathy in giving thought to all the people, which I dare not forget even for a moment. And then he looked at Shi Feixuan, his pair of eyes revealed a gentle expression, he spoke kindly, Therefore, when Feixuan came to me to talk to me on behalf of Li Shimin and exined the cause effect of her choice of Li Shimin, it was the first time that I did not agree with Dage in important matters, and decided to agree to the conditions set out by Feixuan, not for the honor and disgrace of my Xie Family, but for the well-being of all the people of the world. To this day, I still dont regret it, only I am grieved that I cannot obtain Dages understanding. I really dont want to be his enemy for this matter, yet today he is my enemy. However, in my heart, I do not have the slightest me toward Dage. He has his standpoint and view, no one can sway his conviction, I of course cant, and Qinghui is also unable to aplish it. The situation that I dont want to witness the most has be a dreadful reality. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling finally understood that although Xie Hui did not speak clearly about his rtionship with Fan Qinghui, apparently both he and Song Que had an adoring heart toward Fan Qinghui. However, because of Fan Qinghuis status of withdrawing from worldly affairs, naturally nothing woulde out of it. Just like the rtionship between Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan. Imagine that Xu Ziling were on Xie Huis shoes, many yearster Shi Feixuans disciples came to ask for Xu Zilings help, would he be able to refuse? Both Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong have greatly changed their perceptions of Xie Hui, they felt that he was a great master of the older generation worthy of respect. From Xie Hui, Kou Zhong shifted his gaze to Shi Feixuan, he sighed and said, Feixuan ought to know that things have reached a point of once it gets started theres no stopping it. Although I understand Baozhus difficulties, but I already developed deep, unresolvable enmity with Li Shimin, its no longer my, Kou Zhongs business alone, but the Song Family and the Shao Shuai allied armys wish. Hence everything can only be solved by military [or martial] force, there is no other possibility. Shi Feixuan smiled and said, Since that is the case, lets just solve it by martial force! Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned; theycked the words to respond. Book 55 11 – No Blood on the Men’s Swords

Book 55 Chapter 11 C No Blood on the Mens Swords

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Although Shi Feixuans mouth said fight, her expression was still like ancient well without any ripple, her limpid eyes flickered with deep and unmeasurable unusual light, a clear sign that her cultivation had made more progresspared to when she was outside the Great Wall. But only Xu Ziling understood that she had reached the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm, just like Shi Zhixuan, whom his spirited senses were unable to fathom. Dumbstruck and unable to reply, Kou Zhong met her gaze. It was quite half a dayter that he started toprehend and blurted out, Feixuan must be joking! How could you be a person whod resolve a dispute using martial force? Shi Feixuan smiled gently and said, It was you who said that; when all else fails, for example: exnation, persuasion, pleading, intimidation, et cetera, other than martial force, how else are you going to resolve a dispute? Feixuan cant possibly sit and watch Bashu falling into Shaoshuais hands. Xu Ziling said, Feixuan ... Shi Feixuans countenance tranquil, she cut him off, while still staring fixedly at Kou Zhong without yielding the least bit, saying, I dont care if previously Ziling had ten million of reasons to help your Xiongdi Kou Zhong, all these reasons have be the past. The world has been divided into two parts, Ziling, please dont get involved in the dispute between Feixuan and Shaoshuai. A burst of difficult feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. On the one hand was the jade person that he admired and loved dearly, on the other hand was a partner and brother with whom he grew up together. What could he do? Suddenly, he had fallen into the dire straits again, where left and right, it was difficult to conduct himself. The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he turned back into the Shaoshuai who was brimming with confidence and had no fear of anybody in the world; he smiled and said, Shi Xianzi, please draw down the path. Xie Hui, father and son looked at Shi Feixuan, they showed waiting-in-curiosity expression, it was clear that they had no idea what Shi Feixuans resolving a dispute using martial force was. Shi Feixuan calmly said, How about we decide Bashus fate using Feixuans Color Empty Sword and Shaoshuais Moon in the Well? Xu Ziling, Xie Hui and Xie Wenlong, none did not have his countenance changed. What did you say? Kou Zhong blurted out, Feixuan, dont scare me. Shi Feixuan showed a helpless expression, she sighed and said, At this kind of moment, how could Feixuan still have the mood to joke with you? Whether you agree or not, this is the only way Feixuan can think of to solve this problem. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling for help, thetter only responded with a wry smile, thereupon he turned his gaze back to Shi Feixuan, not knowing whether tough or cry, he said, Has Feixuan ever thought about how unfair this is? Even if I dont look at Ling Shaos face, I still am unable to harden my heart to deal with you ruthlessly, so much so that I do not dare to damage even half a strand of your vellus hair. Under such circumstances, I will definitely lose Bashu. Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, Feixuan is not talking about determining victory or defeat, but about life or death. If you cannot harden your heart to kill Feixuan, you practically do not have the qualifications to be an emperor! Since ancient times, those who seeded in great things, none was not a vicious and merciless person, all obstacles blocking the way to the throne must be cleared away. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, So when you picked Li Shimin to be the future true master, did you already know that he has such characteristics? These two sentencespletely vented Kou Zhongs resentment and indignation, so that Xu Ziling, who could only be a bystander, had the same feeling in his heart, and wanted to hear whether Shi Feixuan had any satisfactory answer. Shi Feixuan replied calmly, When you are striving for the emperors throne as the most lofty ideal and goal, you will make any personal sacrifices for its sake. The only difference is whether your purpose as an emperor is to satisfy your personal ambitions, or you are doing it for the sake of all the people of the world. Feixuan can harden my heart to kill you, precisely because I am doing it for the sake ofmon people, and I can make any personal sacrifices for this, including never being able to peek into the heavenlyw, and be guilt-ridden for the rest of my life. pping the table, Xie Hui sighed in praise and said, Well said! Only Qinghui can cultivate a character like Feixuan. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Feixuan should know that if I was killed by the Son of Heaven you picked in the Battle of Luoyang, subsequently it would be your turn to be ughtered by that Li kid. Shi Feixuan revealed a faint expression brimming with pained feeling, her beautiful eyes swept over Xu Ziling, before she fixed her eyes on Kou Zhong and said, That is another problem. Feixuan only knows how to act ording to the development of the current situation, Li Shimin not losing Bashu, the world is still not split in two. Ay! How could Shaoshuai be such a wishy-washy person? The empty, long street outside is the most suitable venue for the decisive battle. Let our life or death determine the destiny of Bashu and the fate of the future world! Xu Ziling could not help saying, Feixuan! Shi Feixuan slowly turned back to her lucid and elegant, free from vulgarity beautiful face, her pretty eyes emitted a pleading look at him, she spoke softly, Xu Ziling, can you stay out of this matter? Feixuan is on mission from my school, I have studied meticulously historiography since childhood, the cause and effect of reason governing chaos. Politics has always ignored motives and means, and only emphasized the consequences. We fully support Li Shimin, because we believe that he is the best candidate to seek happiness for the world. Your Xiongdi might be the unequalledmander-in-chief in the world, but hecks Li Shimins ability and ambition to rule the country. If Feixuan tucks my hands inside my sleeves and does not care, the opportunity for the unification and peace of the world will be lost. From being strong, the Li Tang will turn weak, the allied armies beyond the Great Wall will seize the opportunity to invade. This time Xieli has been storing up his momentum for a long time, hees prepared. Even if he cannot sweep the Central Earth t, he would bring about the damage that will be going to be severe and far-reaching, I dont know when themon peoples suffering will end? Central Earth might never be able to recover its vitality. Kou Zhong spoke angrily, The problem is that currently the Great Tangs emperor is Li Yuan, and the heir is Li Jiancheng; even more so, the final beneficiary is the demonic school, which the-two-cannot-exist-together with you. Shi Feixuan recovered her still-without-any-ripple expression, casting her pretty eyes to Kou Zhong again, she spoke slowly, word by word, Thats why Feixuan said that politics is ignoring motives, it only talks about the results. Feixuan never doubts that Shaoshuai has already given a lot of thought to this, and not because of personal desires and ambitions, otherwise Ziling cant possibly fight side-by-side with you. Think about it, even if you guys could sessfully capture Changan, your vitality will be severely damaged, while Li Shimin could still depend on Luoyang and resist unyieldingly, mobilizing the remaining troops inside the Pass and Taiyuan for all-around counterattack. At that time, undoubtedly both sides will suffer. During the time when to whom the world belongs to is still unknown, the coalition forces from beyond the Great Wall suddenly go down south to invade, may I ask Shaoshuai, have you considered the consequences? And this is precisely the cruel current reality. Xie Hui nodded and said, What Feixuan said is definitely not empty words of intimidation. The various tribes beyond the Great Wall have formed an alliance under Xieli and Tulis banner, they couldunch arge-scale invasion to our Central Earth at any time, the situation is extremely dangerous. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Now Feixuan can only see a step, walk a step, to resolve the most pressing crisis. If Shaoshuai can kill Feixuan, no one from my humble Zhai will seek revenge from Shaoshuai. It depends on whether Shaoshuai has this ability. Kou Zhong cast his gaze to Xu Ziling again, asking for help. Xu Ziling smiled helplessly, he sighed and said, I have nothing to say! Shaoshuai, youd better deal with it yourself. Starting from today, as long as Li Shimin is still alive, I will only watch with folded arm. Kou Zhong nodded in understanding, he spoke dejectedly, Feixuans immortal method is really formidable; just a few words and you took Ziling away from me. All right! I admit that I cant fight you, but I have one requirement, that is, before Li Shimin bes the master of the Li Tang, Bashu must remain neutral, otherwise I am unable to answer Song Fazhu, furthermore, I am unable to persuade him to withdraw from Luchuan and stay away from Bashu. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, Shi Feixuans appearance haspletely destroyed Kou Zhongs grand n to capture Changan, the battle for unification no longer had any shortcut to seek, and would be decided in the fight for Luoyang. As Shi Feixuan predicted, the North-South split was likely to continue for a long time. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Shaoshuai is feeling very wronged, how could Feixuan bear to refuse? Xie Hui nodded and said, Well follow Feixuans decision in everything. Unexpectedly Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This move of Feixuan is indeed very beautiful, Xiaodi admired so much that I feel like prostrating myself on the ground. With no blood on the mens swords, you forced our troops to retreat, while also did not hurt the friendliness between us. However, the situation after the fight is still not optimistic, Xiaodi has no choice but to abandon the far and scheme for the near; I will have to put the north and south sides of the Great River in order first, and then n to go up north to see whether Li Shimin is formidable, or I, Kou Zhong am outstanding. As for Xiao Ling, temporarily let him rest and rx. I really want to know, what method Feixuan is going to use to stop this, I wonder if you could disclose a little bit of information first. Shi Feixuan sighed is sorrow, revealing a sad expression, she spoke softly, Shaoshuai is going to find out soon. His countenance changed, Kou Zhong said, Turns out Feixuan unexpectedly has nned in advance, but I cant see it through at all. Shi Feixuan stood up slowly, she cast her beautiful eyes towards Xu Ziling, showing a mentally and physically exhausted tired look, and spoke softly, Shaoshuai, please discuss the topic of maintaining stability in Bashu with Xie Baozhu, can Ziling see Feixuan off a bit? Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan stepped out of the East Gate side by side, the city defenders army saluted solemnly. Is Ziling angry with me? Shi Feixuan asked. Xu Ziling shook his head nkly, he said, Feixuan need not care about what I think! Because I no longer know who is right and who is wrong. Shi Fei sighed and said, How can I not care about what Ziling thinks of me. Xu Ziling looked at her; shaken, he said, Feixuan! Meeting his gaze, Shi Feixuan spoke serenely, If there are other options, I definitely will not directly intervene in the struggle between Li Shimin and Kou Zhong. This is something that I exhausted everything in trying to avoid. Many years ago Shizun already predicted that if the world is the north unifies the south, the world can be expected to have long-term peace and stability, flourish and prosperous. If it is the south unifies the north, not only outside tribes will invade, the world will certainly be all split up and in pieces. Does Ziling understand this logic? Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, In my heart, I really dont want to agree with Feixuans way of thinking, but after hearing what Feixuan said on the table a moment ago, I have no choice but to admit this possibility. Shi Feixuan said, At that time, I did not have heartfelt understanding of Shizuns analysis at all, until Kou Zhong emerged, his momentum overbearing, I began to truly understand Shizuns views. Just imagine if Kou Zhong won, Li Tang copsed, one after another the high-ranking military officers who originally belong to Li Tang seizesnd and proims himself king, they try to avenge Li Tang, the northern political power copse, the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall take advantage of the moment Kou Zhong is busy clearing up the mess tounchrge-scale invasion to the south, if Kou Zhong is able to defend Guanzhong and Luoyang firmly, that can be considered hard toe by already. In this kind of situation, what will the Central ins be like? Xu Ziling was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Shi Feixuan continued slowly, Among the outstanding figures in the north, only Li Shimin has all the requirements that make themon people of the Central Earth happy, this is something Kou Zhong does not dare to doubt. At present, his only shoring is that Li Yuan did not seek him to be the crown prince, giving the demonic school the opportunity that they can exploit, letting Xieli to fish in troubled waters. If Li Shimin ascends the emperors throne, all problems will be like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Feixuan ought to know that Kou Zhong and Li Shimin have already forged an insoluble blood feud? Shi Feixuan said, Under the major premise of the well-being of themon people of the world, what gratitude and grudges cannot be thrown away? Bloodshed on the battlefield is inevitable. It must be borne in mind that the one making his move to kill Dou Jiande was Li Yuanji and not Li Shimin. Furthermore, for this reason, Li Shimin felt that he let you guys down very much that he asked Liao Kong Dashi to persuade Kou Zhong, which showed that his friendship with Kou Zhong is still there. Ziling! You once said that if Li Shimin ascends the emperors throne, you will persuade Kou Zhong to withdraw. For the sake of themon people of the world, can Ziling change in a proactive manner to help achieve Feixuans cherished desire? Toote! Xu Ziling responded dejectedly, Kou Zhong is like riding a tiger, its hard to get off, he wants to withdraw, but he cant. One might well ask, how is he going to answer Song Que? Even if he is willing to withdraw, Song Que will still march the troops to go up north to attack Luoyang and Changan. Without Kou Zhong, Song Que still have the ability and the strength to defeat Li Tang. Shi Feixuan said, That is the situation that Feixuan do not want to see the most. Song Que has been living in secluded Lingnan for a long time, although his power and influence no one is not afraid, but fear does not represent wholehearted eptance. Moreover, the southerners are not satisfied with the northern water and soil [natural environment]. Besides, leaving their hometown, parting with their well to follow Song Que are mostly Liao Army, which the northern people regard as manyi mon term for non-Han peoples in former times, not exclusively derogatory], they wont be willing to acknowledge allegiance to them. At that time, it can be inferred that the North and the South will fall back into division. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Kou Zhong and I do not have thoughts as prating as Feixuan. Since things havee to this, what can we do about it? Shi Feixuan halted her steps and stood still, turning her tender body around to face Xu Ziling, she smiled and said, You are our Shanmen Hufa [mountain gate protector of thew, see also Book 52 Chapter 5, Sand Gate], you should use your brain to think of a solution. Xu Ziling blurted out, I ... Shi Feixuan reached out and pressed her jade fingers to his lips, to stop him from continuing, and then pulled back her slender fingers, which swept Xu Zilings soul away. Staring deeply with her beautiful eyes, she spoke softly, The path from chaos back to order is not easy to take, Feixuan can only hold onto disregarding sess and failure, gains and losses attitude and exhaust my strength to do it. However, individual strength is limited, what Feixuan can fight for, or am able to fight for, is only the opportunity for peace. When that happens, Ziling, you have to step forward bravely, not to be shirked without dishonor, dont fail to live up to my trust and earnest hope to you. Xu Ziling had a faint feeling that there was a deep meaning that was difficult to understand behind her words; knitting his brows, he asked, Can Feixuan speak a bit clearer? Let me see how I can be of any help. Shi Feixuans countenance tranquil, she lightly shook her cicada head and said, The time has note yet, but very soon you will know. Ziling, please take a good care of yourself! Finished speaking, she cast him another nce brimming with tender and touching emotions, and then disappeared into the depths of the forest by the official road. Xu Ziling stared nkly at the spot she disappeared,yer uponyer of great waves welled up at the bottom of his heart, which could not be calmed for a long time. This time, forced by the development of the situation, Shi Feixuan fell into the mortal world, her cultivation level had seen great progress, she appeared to be able to control the heart freely, no longer like before, where she was trembling with fear, cautious and solemn. Now she no longer had to suppress her inner feelings, which greatly lowered the implication of the cultivation, and became more involved in human affairs. However, Xu Ziling felt that in term of frame of mind, she was never farther away from the world. Once the touching days in Longquan City were gone, they would not return. Should he heave a sigh of relief, or should he feel a sense of loss? He himself was unable to figure out. Both sides frame of mind had undergone subtle change. Ay! While he was thinking to this point, Kou Zhongs voice rang in his ears, Undeniably, our Xianzi was treating Xiaodi leniently. If she revealed that the treasure-house has a genuine and fake sections to Li Shimin, based on Li kids usual means, he would surely be able to make us suffer tragic loss. Presently, we are only taking one step back, Bashu is neutral, we wont touch Guanzhong. His Niangs! Xiaodi wants to see Li Shimins real skill in the attack and defense of the City of Luoyang. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, It was me who caused trouble! Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, he shook his head and said, No! You were actually saving me. Shi Feixuan is not a mundane person like you and me, ha! She is a fairy! In fact, from the spiders thread and horse track, she has long ago guessed that there is some other mystery in the treasure house, only she obtained the confirmation from your mouth, which leads to her figuring out the logic how by obtaining the treasure-house one could obtain the world; and then we are striving for Bashu has affirmed her belief one step further. Ha! Fortunately, you have a share in leaking the secret, hence she looked at Ling Shaos face and let me off as well, she wont use this secret to disintegrate our surprise attack against Changan, which no longer be a secret. A burst of warmth grew at the bottom of Xu Zilings heart. Kou Zhongs analysis made a lot of sense, but it was always tainted by the trying tofort Xu Ziling elements in it. This good brother of his was such an open-minded person, he could not possibly care about gains and losses. Victory without arrogance, defeat without discouragement. He said, A few words from Feixuan made me tuck my hands inside my sleeves, you are not ming me? Kou Zhong blurted outughing, he said, You, LaoGe were willing to help me through the most difficult days, so much so that you nearly gave up your life for this. I, Kou Zhong, am already very grateful that tears and mucus are flowing profusely. We are all brothers, how could we not understand the load on the others heart and take a good rest? Ay! Feixuan is definitely not someone who intimidate with empty words, she must have a formidable method to deal with me. I am so worried that I must rush back to Pengliang to see Song Que and report thetest changes to him. The grand n to mount sneak attack Changan has fizzled out. I must trouble Ling Shao to exined to Lei Dage and the others that I must leave without saying goodbye. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I am also worried. The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, No one in the world can stop my firm determination to wipe out the south and sweep the north. On the way here just now, I thought about my situation thoroughly. Shi Feixuan has her position, I have my beliefs and ideals. In order to prevent the world from falling into the hands of the demonic school or foreign tribes, what his grannys problem is personal sacrifice anyway? I have made up my mind to put everything aside, and to fight bravely with my heart and soul for the future unity and peace to the end. The more challenging it is, the more it will have meaning, the more the true splendor of life can be revealed. After your business in Changans is over, returned to Pengliang immediately to see me. Maybe Yin Xiaoji is already there to look for her brother early. Im leaving! Book 55 12 – Meeting Face to Face on a Narrow Path

Book 55 Chapter 12 C Meeting Face to Face on a Narrow Path

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling entered the city from the East Gate. Xie Hui withdrew the martialw, the main street gradually returned to life, some shops even rushed to open their doors for business. Although people and vehicles were still sparse,pared to a moment ago, where it looked like a ghost town, it was a different atmosphere. Xie Wenlong changed back to his normal warrior outfit and waited for him at the city gate. He spoke gratefully, Bashu is averted from the ravage of war, it is entirely due to Xu Xiong supporting Feixuan Xiaojie. Otherwise, if Shaoshuai epted the challenge, the situation would be too horrible to contemte. The two men strolled on the long street side by side, Xu Ziling smiled and said, Its due to Xie Xiong did not know Kou Zhongs personal character that there was a misunderstanding. Even if I was not here, Kou Zhong would still rather withdraw his troops rather than fight with Feixuan. However, I wonder hows the situation on the Ba Mengs [Sichuan Alliance] side? Xie Wenlong replied, Bashu maintains its neutrality again, Die went to the south of the city to have a talk with the four major tribes tribal chiefs, this matter should be resolved peacefully. Since Shaoshuai gave his nods, we are all people who understand reasons, plus we always had a good rtionship, there shouldnt be any new problem arising. And then he said, If Xu Xiong is not in a hurry, Yuhua could have the honors to be the host. Xu Ziling noticed Lei Jiuzhi appearing across the street, signaling an inquiring sign with his hand; thereupon he responded apologetically, I came back into the city to meet up with three good friends, and then well leave immediately. Xie Xiongs kind intention is appreciated! Please send my respect to Sao Furen. Xie Wenlong also noticed Lei Jiuzhi; reluctant to part, he shook hands with Xu Ziling and bade him farewell, saying, Next time you areing to Chengdu, Xu Xiong muste to visit us, to let Xiaodi and Yuhua act as the host. Xu Ziling had a favorable impression toward his frank and straightforward manner, he shook his hands and bade him farewell. Kou Zhong rushed along the river at full speed; he threw out all worries and anxiety, no longer thought about how Shi Feixuan was going to deal with him in the future, he only thought about good things. The fact was that he and Song Que were well aware that even though they had the wonder move of the Duke Yangs Treasure to besiege the city, to put Li Yuan in order would still be a very difficult bloody battle, and the cost would be extremely high. Just as Song Que pointed out, Yang Jian obtained the imperial throne by usurping the previous dynasty, so he had to guard against his own subordinates, no matter what. Yang Guang even became more severe, he focused on the possibility of internal treason and reinforced the citys defense, especially putting emphasis on the imperial citys power to counterattack. Even if Kou Zhong was able to establish a staunch stronghold inside the city, the counterattack from the Imperial City would still be very difficult to resist. One day he was still unable to capture the defense of the imperial pce at the Xuanwu Gate, one day Changan would still be in Li Yuans hands. The final victory in the Battle of Changan might belong to them, but inevitably the injuries and deaths would be extremely disastrous, their vitality would be greatly damaged. At that time, they would have to face Li Shimin, who was no longer under Li Yuans control. The opponent would not need to strike back hastily, they could change direction to the south and expand to the north, and established a powerful new empire with Luoyang as the center. In this kind of situation, the initiative would fall back into Li Shimins hands, he could foresee that the situation would develop into a long-term confrontation and continuous chaos of war. Therefore, looking from this angle, their n of utilizing the Duke Yangs Treasure-house being destroyed by Shi Feixuan might not necessarily be a bad thing. As long as they could capture Luoyang and defeat Li Shimin, Li Yuan would be forced to defend Guanzhong to the death, while they could calmly clean up all thend outside the Pass, and then when the fortunate timing has ripened, they would enter the Pass and put Guanzhong, which no longer had famousmander-in-chief to take charge C in order. This thought made Kou Zhong feel relieved inwardly, he no longer felt frustrated. Whats more, Bashu could keep their peace, the Song and the Xie, two families did not need to be in conflict, Zhizhi must be pleased, and perhaps her perception of him might change slightly. I, Kou Zhong, will definitely not lose. Letting out a long whistle, Kou Zhong increased his speed as he flew in the direction of Luchuan. Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai, Lei Jiuzhi, and Yin Xianhe, four men were about to leave the city from the North Gate, when someone from behind called out, Xu Xiong! The four looked back in surprise. Xu Zilingughed and said, Turns out its Zheng Xiong. Panting for breath, the Mad Schr of Henan Zheng Shiru came to the four men, he spoke cheerfully, Were it not for I am well-informed, I would have missed linking arms with Ziling. Are you in a hurry to get out of the city? How about we talk as we walk? Xu Ziling introduced Lei Jiuzhi and Yin Xianhe to Zheng Shiru, and they left the city together. Lei Jiuzhi, three men, tactfully walked ahead to let the two men talk about former times. Zheng Shiru said, I have just seen Xie Shao Baozhu [young/junior fort/castle master], he told me which direction Ziling was going. Ha! Zaixia did not say wrong! As soon as Song Que came out, the situation in the world is immediately reversed. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Zheng Xiong indeed has original insight. Zheng Shiru responded modestly, Only because Ziling is in the inside, your mind is in disorder, unlike me, a spectator on the outside, who can see thing with cool eyes. From what I hear from Shao Baozhu, sounds like you guys have reached an agreement: Bashu will remain neutral, and you will not touch Bashu. Indeed, Xu Ziling replied. Lowering his voice, Zheng Shiru said, Does Ziling know that the Fat Merchant An Long has been driven away from Bashu by Xie Hui, and he is not allowed to enter Shu territory even for half a step? Astonished, Xu Ziling asked, What has An Long done that Xie Hui severed all rtions with him like this? Zheng Shiru said, ording to Shuming, An Long was secretly colluding with the Western Tujue, and also threaded a needle for Tongyehu to hook up with Li Yuanji. This incident vited a big taboo of Xie Hui, hence he secretly deployed his troops and took over a hundred of An Longs wine factories within Shu borders overnight. He even issued an ultimatum to those with close rtionship to An Long, to have them drawing a clear dividing line with An Long in the future. An Long is powerless to fight back, he had to leave Shu in despair. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, This is supposed to be a ssified information, how did it leak out? Zheng Shiru said, It should have something to do with Fu Qian of Tuyuhun. he came to Chengdu to pay homage to Xie Hui, his retinue immediately caused sensation in Bashu Wulin. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Fu Qian? Zheng Shiru nodded and said, Precisely Fu Qian, the son of Tuyuhun tribal chief Fu Yun, with approximately fifty attendants, they stay at the Wumen Inn on Wumen Feng Street. Apanying himing in and out on his left and right are two barbarian girls with countenance of a flower, face like the moon, their figure is attractive, extremely eye-catching, they have be a topic of discussion in the city in the past few days, greatly diluting the with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent atmosphere between the Ba Meng and Duzun Bao. This moment they were already far from the city. Xu Ziling stopped on the official road and said, I have friendly rtions with Fu Qian, now that I know he is in the city, I should go back and pay him a visit. Its funny, but Kou Zhong and I falsely believed the rumor, thinking that they were Tongyehus people, and that Li Shimin colluded with the Western Tujue, turns out it is Li Yuanji. Lei Jiuzhi and the others stopped ahead, they wanted to see what Xu Ziling was going to do. Zheng Shiruughed and said, Recently, rumors in Chengdu are flying all over the sky. Rumor like that, Xiaodi already heard, naturally Iughed it off. If Ziling wants to reminisce with Fu Qian, instead of going back to the city, you ought to rush forward. Fu Qian and his party left the city from the North Gate this morning. I heard that their destination is Changan. If Ziling hurry up, you should be able to catch up with them in Hanzhong. Xu Ziling spoke cheerfully. In that case, I will bid farewell to Zheng Xiong here; another day, when we are brought together by fate, we will sit down and drink and chat, I hope at that time the world will be peaceful, there wont be any disturbing chaos of war anymore. After Zheng Shiru went back to the city, Xu Ziling said to Hou Xibai, This time we are going to Changan, it is only to inquire of Ji Qian clearly; no matter what the result, we must leave immediately. In Bashu, Xibai is an old horse who knows the way home, it would be better if you apany Lei Jiuzhi some more, until we get to the hiding ce Han Zenan mentioned and get the ount books out, and then we will meet up in Hanzhong; what do you think? Hou Xibai cheerfully said, I am thinking the same thing. In order to save time, we might as well go back to Liangdu; at that time, we will discuss the operation to deal with the Xiang family. Lei Jiuzhi said, Very well, its settled then. Ziling and Xianhe must be a bit more careful, after all, Changan is a dangerous ce. If you see the situation is not right, you must run away immediately. The four menughed aloud and went their separate way. Kou Zhong arrived in Luchuan at dusk. The guards at the city gate recognized Kou Zhong; in a great rush, they sent messenger on fast horse to notify the armymander of the Song n, the Great General Song Faliang, while at the same time they took Kou Zhong into the city. Luchuan was a famous city in Bashu; it was located by the Great River, the traffic was flourishing, the city was prosperous and thriving, endless stream of horse and carriages flowed on the streets, there was not the least bit of tense atmosphere of the war, there was no trace of sovereignty-change even more. It showed that on the one hand, Song Faliangs method to cate the people was brilliant, on the other hand, the Song Family Army discipline was strict and impartial, so that they did not disturb the stable livelihood of the city residents. Song Faliang greeted him outside the mansion [or seat of government] gate. After entering the main hall, Song Faliang, following Kou Zhongs instructions, dismissed all his attendants, until only the two of them left. Kou Zhong asked, How many ships can Faliang deploy forbat immediately? Song Faliang thought he was going to attack Chengdu immediately, he replied with confidence, Our navy in Luchuan have two hundred battleships, water andnd, amphibious fighters fifteen thousand men. We only need about one day, and can immediately depart for the battlefield. However, ... Kou Zhong smiled and said, Did he, the Senior give instructions about the strategy to besiege Chengdu and take Hanzhong? Song Faliang respectfully replied, Shaoshuai, please note clearly, that is indeed the case. However, Fazhu said that Shaoshuais orders are absolute orders. As long as Shaoshuai give the orders, Faliang will not have the slightest hesitation. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Not only I lost Hanzhong, I also lost Chengdu, so I have to find somepensation to make my heart to feel a bit morefortable. Astonished, Song Faliang said, We havent fought yet, how do you know we have lost Bashu? Kou Zhong sighed and said, This is hard to exin in a few words, I want you to fully evacuate Luchuan within two sichen, and then advance downstream along the river toward Jiangdu. As long as we can capture Piling on the opposite bank from Jiangdu, Li Zitong will break down without a fight, and after Jiangdu, whether Shen Faxing or Fu Gongyou, it will be up to us to decide who will be finished first. Song Faliang nodded and said, Shaoshuai wants us to withdraw from Bashu, thats not a problem, but Xiashu [subordinate] must be clear about Bashus situation, for example, whether the Tang Army will enter Shu or not, and whether when we retreat they are going to pursue and attack us; only then will Xiashu be able to determine the retreat n. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, I really appreciate Faliangs this kind of conscientious manner. The Tang Army will not enter Shu, Xie Hui will remain neutral as long as victory or defeat between Li Shimin and us is not decided yet. As if relieved from a burden, Song Faliang said, Finally Xie Hui is able to rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice, we all need not damage a good rtionship. Kou Zhong said, I thought that the order to withdraw the troops would make you dissatisfied in your heart, but it seems that Faliang is very happy with the changes and development of the situation! Song Faliangs handsome face slightly blushed, he said in embarrassment, How can Faliang dare to have any dissatisfaction toward Shaoshuai. In our hearts, Shaoshuai is an unequalledmander-in-chief who led military operations with extraordinary skill, able to move unhindered across the world; carrying out your order, we definitely will not suffer losses. Kou Zhongughed and said, No need to tter me, we all are on the same side, what is it that you cannot say to me? Why is it that withdrawing from Bashu makes you appear that you are heaving a sigh of relief? Appearing to be in some difficulties, Song Faliang sighed and said, Da Xiaojie is the person we respect and admire, only because Faye [fah yay, lit. n Master (as in master and subordinate)] issued the order, who dares to speak up even half a word? Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, Faye! Its unusual, but very fitting, ha! I understand! Song Faliang spoke solemnly, Attacking Piling is a trivial matter, Shaoshuai give your order and it will be done, Faliang will not let Shaoshuai down. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Fa Liang, do you have any previous experience in leading the troops on realbat? Song Faliang revealed an admiring and submitting expression; only veterans on the battlefield knew that not one thread loose in this important key point. He solemnly replied, Faliang was cultivated by Faye, I have had three consecutive years of experience in leading battles at the western borders. For nearly two years, I was in charge of training the navy to fight against Lin Shihong, and the initial preparation strategy for attacking Hainan Ind, it was me who helped Song Zhi Er Ye [second master] drafted it, then submitted it to Faye for approval. Shaoshuai, please note clearly. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes emitted prating divine light, he stared at Song Faliang without blinking, to test his guts. Do you know Jiangdus situation clearly? he spoke heavily. Upright and unafraid, Song Faliang met Kou Zhongs gaze; submitting cheerfully, he said, Shaoshuai may rest assured, just as Faliang know my navy fleet clearly, I can count how many ships we have left and how many men are on each ship. Faliang dare to receive the military order! Kou Zhong raised his thumb and roared inughter; he said, I believe you; carry on then. I want a boat to take me to Liangdu to see your Faye. Song Faliang stood up and saluted; he walked away with dragon walk, tiger step. Kou Zhong watched his figure from the rear, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart. There was never a moment when he felt the enormous power he possessed more than now; just a few words could determine the fate of a city, even a city of Jiangdus level could not be spared. Thinking back to himself as a little pickpocket in Yangzhou in the past, would he dare to think about a day like today? Song Family Army was indeed a strong contingent of elite troops. After rushing day and night without stopping for two days, Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe arrived in Hanzhong City. This city was of great importance, it was the gateway to Guanzhong, with Xie Sheng, Xie Huis younger brother as themanding officer. Due to its superior geographical location, it was the road one must follow for the businessmen to travel between the two ces. In term of prosperity, it was not inferior to Chengdu. After the first snow fell, it was white everywhere, which gave the city another deep impression. Upon entering the city, Xu Ziling was about to find a hotel to settle in first, before trying to find information about Fu Qian and his party, when Yin Xianhe said, I want to drink two cups of watered wine. Recalling his bad past record, Xu Ziling was shocked, Yin Xiong had just recovered from a serious illness, alcohol can harm you, if you can avoid it, youd better avoid it. Yin Xianhe insisted, I promised Xu Xiong that I will only drink two cups, there should not be any mishap. Dont worry! For Xiaoji, I know how to restrain myself. Seeing a tavern on the left, Xu Ziling said, How about this one? Yin Xianhe stopped, he spoke apologetically, Xu Xiong, please dont take offense, I want to drink alone. For a long time, I am used toing and going alone, I want to think on my own. Xu Ziling was helpless against him, although he was worried that without anybody watching for him he would drink his fill to his hearts content, yet it was difficult to stop him. Without any better option, he said, You go drink your wine, I am going to look for the inn to stay the night, and then Ille back to meet you again. Yin Xiong, please wait for me in the tavern, dont drink more than two cups. Yin Xianhe nodded his agreement and went on his own. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, knowing that it was because they were about to reach Changan that Yin Xianhe was worried about personal gains and losses, he was worried that this trip would be for nothing. In his effort to find his little sister, he has experienced countless failures, so this feeling was understandable. A hotel with quite a scale appeared ahead, on the right side, the goldencquered signboard read Gao Peng Kezhan [lit. high/honorable friend inn], glistening brightly under the illumination of fournterns. Ordinarily, Xu Ziling would not choose this kind of located-at-high-traffic-main-street, high-concentration-of-stream-of-people hotel, this moment, however, because he was eager to return to the tavern to watch over Yin Xianhe, without any second thought he stepped into the small za inside the courtyard gate, and walked towards the main entrance. Before he had a chance to step inside the hotel, a hotel employee rushed out, shouting full house!, while hanging the No Vacancy sign by the door. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Is Hanzhong this prosperous? Noticing his outstanding outward appearance, the hotel clerk wanted to fawn on him by exining further, With the war in Guanzhong, and the manyi [non-Han people] in Bashu making trouble, business is down considerably. However, this time someone booked the hotel in advance, Keguan [polite appetion for hotel/restaurant guests], why dont you take a couple of steps farther? The Wang Tai Luguan [lit. gazing at Mount Tai hotel] at the other end of the street is second only to us in Hanzhong, they could be considered quite good. His heart was moved, Xu Ziling asked, I wonder if the guests booking your honorable inn are from Tuyuhun? Knitting his brows, the hotel clerk asked, What is Tuyuhun? Xu Ziling exined, Tuyuhun is an ethnic group in the western border,oxiongs [old chap] guests ... The hotel clerk caught on, Are they Gongzis friends? Gongzi is right; although they dress up in Han attire and speak Hannguage, but we who do hotel business have the sharpest eyes, a little bit foreign ent cant hide from us. At first, we were guessing that they were from northern border, turns out they are from western borders something Hun, I can immediately pass on a message for Gongzi. Gongzis honorable surname and great given name? Xu Ziling thought if he told him the truth that he was Xu Ziling, he could almost guarantee that the mans face would be like a dead mans, thinking that the Shao Shuai Army has entered the city; thereupon he smiled and said, I still have some business to attend to, when I am done, I wille again to troubleoxiong. He was just about to leave when he heard footstepsing from behind. Xu Ziling turned around, the two sides came face to face, both were stunned. Meiyan Furen [see Book 39 Chapter 7], wearing Hu attire, which was popr in the northern part of the Central Earth, multicolored beautiful Tuyuhun hat on her head, pink and green turndown cored gown, milky white trousers, milky yellow long-sleeved outer robe, ck leather boots, under escort of four warriors plus one Duan Chu C walked in with myriad of bearings. In the blink of an eye, her pretty face returned to calm, her beautiful eyes were gleaming with sly, bright light, her fragrant lips lightly spat out, Surprisingly, it is Xu Xiong; what a coincidence! No matter what Xu Ziling think, he would never expect that he would be in an enemies-on-a-narrow-road situation,ing across this identity-and-background-vague-and-mysterious Meiyan Furen in here. His mind traveled at the speed of light, he had an idea. Laughing calmly, he said, Furening to the Central ins, you ought to say hello to Zaixia first, so that Zaixia do not need to waste so much time tracing Furens whereabouts. Meiyan Furens countenance changed slightly, evidently Xu Ziling intimidated her, since she did not expect toe across him. Carrying a whiff of fragrance as she walked past him, she said with a coldugh, Turns out Xu Xiong is just like other men, greedy kittens, seeing women unwilling to let go. Duan Chu, who was already so scared that his face was devoid of any blood, trembling with fear, apanying Meiyan Furen walking past Xu Zilings side. The other four warriors, everybody showed hostility, their hands were pressing the hilt of their sabers. It was only this moment that the hotel clerk knew what kind of rtionship Xu Ziling had with them; trembling with fear, he was the first person to slip into the inn. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Stop! Meiyan Furen, who was about to cross the threshold of the hotel door, halted her steps and turned her body around slowly. Laughing tenderly, she said, I was just joking with you! Xu Gongzi need not take it seriously, who does not know that you are a sitting-with-your-bosom-not-troubled upright gentleman? Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted sharp rays of light, he spoke calmly, If Furen does not immediately hand over the Five-Colored Stone that does not belong to you, I guarantee that you will regret it. Book 56 1 – Confidence in Certain Victory

Book 56 Chapter 1 C Confidence in Certain Victory

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The warriors intercepting Xu Ziling tumbled to the east and copsed to the west, no one was able to hold him back even for a short moment. Actually, Meiyan Furens men were not really so useless, rather, it was because momentarily they could not grasp what is true and what is false in him, and the strange skill and unusual method that he used, so that Xu Ziling was able to borrow the force to strike the force, attacking them that they had no time to deal with it. All who were hit by Xu Ziling had their acupoint sealed, so that they were unable to crawl back up from the ground. From the main entrance he pursued Meiyan Furen straight to the hotels main hall. Behind himy the five Meiyan Furens men, including Duan Xu [sic], their bodies marked the route that Xu Ziling took. The other five warriors were chatting idly in the lobby, seeing their master was being chased and killed, greatly rmed, they hurriedly drew their weapons and swarmed to intercept. Meiyan Furens flower countenance lost its color, she shouted tenderly, Stop him! This one sentence was enough to make Xu Ziling see through Meiyan Furens character; if she were willing to go through honor and disgrace, life and death together with her subordinates, this moment, no matter how she was afraid of Xu Ziling, she ought to change retreat into advance, to work together with her men to fight back against Xu Ziling, instead of wholeheartedly trying to escape. Xu Ziling let out a cold snort, his right hand grabbed the empty space in front of him, immediately he generated a powerful suction force, which slowed down Meiyan Furens retreating momentum, and then his speed increased sharply, he pursued closely after Meiyan Furen, who was trying to slip away hurriedly, his palm turned into finger jab, he was still aiming at her pair of beautiful eyes. His two fingers generated swift and fierce qi power, so that Meiyan Furen felt sharp pain on her pair of eyes, like being cut by a knife or pricked with a needle, her flower countenance lost its color, she had no choice but to transform her pair of hands intoyer uponyer of palm shadows, in order to seal and block Xu Zilings pair of tricky hands, which appeared to be ruthlessly destroying the flower. Xu Zilings robe swelled at the same time, so that the two sabers and three swords weing his body slipped away. This move was greatly beyond the expectation of the five warriors attacking him; he spun swiftly, his two hands changed as if he was turning into a thousand-hand-Guanyin, the five warriors were immediately toppling to the east and skewing to the west like dead leaves being swept by the gale, rolling around on the ground. When Xu Ziling was facing Meiyan Furen again, the crafty beautys pair of jade hands split into top and bottom, two routes, to attack him, one took the pit of his stomach, the other swiftly chopped the vital part on his throat. Xu Zilingughed calmly, his leg flew up, it startedter but arrived earlier, fast as lightning it kicked her lower abdomen, practically in total disregard of her swift and fierce move. Meiyan Furen was shocked; unable to harm the enemy, she was only seeking to protect herself, by forcibly retracted her jade hand and evaded sideways. Using his unique skill in changing his breathing, Xu Ziling withdrew his kick midway, it was something that waspletely beyond the other partys expectation, so how could she change her move to deal with it in time? Like a shadow attached to the form, Xu Ziling moved sideways in sync with her movement, his right hand swiftly stretched out, his two fingers were still pointing to her pair of beautiful eyes, acting as if he vowed not to rest before he crippled her pair of eyeballs. The color of bloodpletely drained from Meiyan Furens pretty face, in total desperation, her two handsunched a strange trick to seal and block Xu Zilings two able-to-snatch-her-soul fingers. Bang! Bang! Meiyan Furens hands heavily pped Xu Zilings right arm five consecutive times, hands one after another, but just like a dragonfly trying to shake a rock, not only she could not shake it the least bit, or caused any damage, she could not slow down the speed of Xu Zilings move at all. Ow! All movements ceased. Finally, Xu Zilings hand squeezed Meiyan Furens touching silky neck. Sending out his true qi, in an instant he sealed a number of Meiyan Furens major acupoints, so that the beautiful womans two hands drooped down limply, her tender body lost its strength, she waspletely under his control. Fear appeared in Meiyan Furens pair of eyes. Like still water, Xu Ziling stared at her without any expression, he spoke indifferently, Lets y an interesting game. If Furen will not hand over the Five-Colored Stone, I will cripple your pair of beautiful but most-able-to-deceive-people big eyes. If I did not guess incorrectly, Furen fled to the Central Earth because Funantuo was killed, so no one could protect you. Therefore, in order to protect the Five-Colored Stone, you had no choice but to stay away from the prairie. Am I right? Meiyan Furens pair of eyes still emitted bitter expression, in Xu Zilings grasp, her silky neck trembled continuously, panting heavily, she said, You are so ruthless! Xu Ziling knew that this was a critical moment, without revealing the real thought inside his heart, he spoke indifferently, without any expression, This is yourst chance. What I, Xu Ziling said, I never go back on it. In order to get the Five-Colored Stone back, I can kill all of you, and then spend, at most, the time needed for one stick of incense to burn to search your luggage thoroughly. Furen, what do you think? Meiyan Furen trembled again, like a defeated cock, she spoke dejectedly, You win! Heavy snow covered the horizon. Kou Zhong flew at full speed on the snowy in, snowkes as big as his fist pounced on him, covering his head, covering his face, and instantly turned into cold ice water, seeping into his neck, but his heart was burning. No matter from which standpoint, no matter from what angle, he definitely should not miss Song Que and Ning Daoqis terrifying-heaven-and-earth, making-the-ghosts-and-the-deities-sobbing battle. He was not worried that his sudden departure would leave the Shao Shuai Army like a thunder of dragons without a head, because there was Song Lu, who knew the inside story, who would take care of everything for him and cate Xu Xingzhi and the others. Song Ques majestic back appeared in the blurry distance of the wind and the snow ahead, and gradually became clear as he got closer. Kou Zhong suddenly had the strange feeling of being trapped in a dreand, the snowkes filling the sky enhanced the strange feeling of whether it was an illusion or a real scene; or perhaps life was really nothing but a big dream, and most of the time he was lost inside this dreand, only in certain special time, due to certain emotions, this moment of epiphany was evoked. But he also knew more clearly than at any other moment that if he turned back, he would be trapped in this lucid dream again. He really hoped that everything before him was just a dream. Song Que and Ning Daoqi were both men whom he respected, esteemed and admired, yet they had to fight a decisive battle of life and death. This move of Shi Feixuans was really too cruel. Flying to Song Ques side, this outstanding figure, who was acimed as the number one saber technique expert in the world looked at him without the least bit of surprise. Slowing down his steps, he smiled calmly and said, Shaoshuai wants to see me off a little bit? Or do you want to be a spectator and witness the decisive battle? Kou Zhong promptly halted his steps; hanging his head down, he said, This kid hopes that when Fazhu and Ning Daoqi are in a decisive battle, he can be a witness on the side. Song Queughed aloud and said, This means that you have no confidence, in which case you already lost this battle. This time Ning Daoqi wont be likest time, only ying with you, but he will take advantage of your weak point, yourck of confidence, he will bepletely unscrupulous to put you to death. After Shaoshuai returns to heaven, Ning Daoqi will still not let this matter drop, he will still challenge me, then wouldnt it be that you areing out to battle on my behalf will be superfluous, and the Shao Shuai Army will fall apart? Kou Zhong spoke frankly, Does Fazhu have the confidence to win? Song Que spoke indifferently, In terms of self-cultivation and skills, even if we are not almost on a par, the difference is hardly any. However, this battle is not an ordinary martial artpetition, but a life-and-death decisive battle. In this regard, Ning Daoqicks my, Ol Songs valuable experience of realbat on the battlefield. Therefore, in this battle, Ning Daoqi will undoubtedly lose. Song Que has a hundred-percent confidence. From the tone of his voice, Kou Zhong was certain that his every word evolved from his true heart, absolutely not empty words to pacify him; surprised, he said, But when Fazhu was sitting alone in the inner hall just now, your appearance strange, you also said Ning Daoqi knows how to pick the time, making this kid mistakenly think that Fazhu is concerned about the oue of this battle. Song Que muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, slightly slowing down his pace, he said, Shaoshuai indeed misunderstood! At that time, only because of this decisive battle evoked memories of a person, furthermore, our rtionship developed to this full-of-sorrow extent C that my expression was strange, not because I was worrying about not being able to ovee Ning Daoqis San Shou Ba Pu. Kou Zhong spoke softly, Fan Qinghui? Song Que revealed a pained expression, but his tone was still calm without any ripple, as he spoke indifferently, Ning Daoqi is one of the few people in the world who has won my, Song Ques respect, otherwise I would have challenged him early on. Qinghui deliberately makes things difficult for me, she is testing my determination. Qinghui has always been known for her exhaustive n, but this time she is gravely mistaken. Kou Zhong could not help asking, I wonder if Fazhus saber will show mercy? Song Queughed aloud and said, This is another reason Ol Song absolutely not allow Shaoshuai to make your move. Apart from the saber, there is no other thing. When saber des are facing each other, how could it allow the slightest degree of self-restraint? Oh, Qinghui! Is this the oue you want to see? When speaking thest two sentences, Song Que sighed with myriad of sorrows, he could not help sighing. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Song Que halted his steps. With both hands behind his back, he looked up at the floating snow filling the sky. Song Que looked at him, showing auspicious and peaceful smile, his manner returned to calm and leisurely, not at all looked like he was on the way to battle a formidable opponent. He spoke indifferently, In this life, eight or nine out of ten C matters do not go ording to our wishes. When I encountered Fan Qinghui in the past, it waste at night when the bright moon wasing right onto my face. At that time, I was about your age, Bi Xiuxin had not made her debut yet. I have never told anybody about this matter. Looking at the night sky again, he sighed lightly and said, When Bi Xiuxin was disgraced by Shi Zhixuan, that crafty viin, Qinghui went down the mountain for the second time. I met her again in Jianghu, we have been separated for more than ten years. When I first met her, I was still a nameless person wandering alone, while the Ba Dao [overbearing saber] Yue Shans reputation was like the sun at noon, hence Qinghui viewed me in a new light. She roamed around arm-in-arm with me, talking freely about the current situation of the world, the rise and fall of the ancient and modern governments. Speaking with difficulty, Kou Zhong stammered, Why was Fazhu willing to let her go then? Song Que looked at him, the strange light in his pair of eyes shing, he spoke as if he was deep in thought, Let her go? Ha! I never thought that kind of wording, why would I be willing to let her go? Stepping into the wine shop, Xu Ziling saw Yin Xianhe, with wooden expression, sitting alone in a corner. On the table, other than a cup and a jar, there was nothing else, so he put down the load on his mind. He did not have the slightest confidence in destiny anymore. Due to Meiyan Furens dy, he was unable toe quickly, furthermore, he was afraid that with such dy, Yin Xianhe might meet some ident; therefore, he had to see with his own eyes that Yin Xianhe was safe and sound, before he coulde over with ease of mind. He sat down on the other side of the table, grabbed the mouth of the wine jar, lifted it up and set it down again, and said with sigh, Didnt you promise me that you were going to drink only two cups? Now half a jar of wine has gone into your belly. Yin Xianhe looked at him, he spoke heavily, Because I am scared. Xu Ziling was puzzled, What are you afraid of? Yin Xianhe said dejectedly, Im scared to go to Changan. Back then, during soldiers mutiny and troops rebel in Yangzhou, such a group of little girls fled in panic, I dont dare to imagine their prospect! Supposing Ji Qian was really Xiaojis escape partner, and she told me bad news about Xiaoji, ay! What should I do? Ay! Ziling! I am in so much pain! He reached out to grab the wine jar again. Xu Ziling pressed down the wine jar, not allowing him take the wine and drink again, feeling great pity in his heart. Yin Xianhes usual cold and lonely haughty appearance was just a guise under extreme depression. When the wine entered the anxiety, it would shatter his strong shell, exposing his fragile and helpless side. The only solution was to find Yin Xiaoji for him so that he could live a happy life as a normal person. Yin Xianhe was obviously quite drunk, he looked at Xu Ziling in surprise, frowned and said, No need to trouble you, I know how to pour wine by myself. Helpless, Xu Ziling poured a cup full for him, he dered, This is thest cup before Changan, we cant afford to lose sight in finding Xiaoji. Finished pouring, he put the wine jar on his side of the table. Yin Xianhe cast his gaze to the strong wine rippling under thentern light inside the cup, he spoke monotonously, Why dont Ziling drink? I think you also have a lot on your mind. After leaving Chengdu, I havent seen you showing the least bit of joy. Xu Ziling really wanted to show him a smiling expression, but found that his facial muscles were stiff, he sighed and said, Because my heart is also in a lot of pain. Shi Feixuans immortal trails sudden appearance made him caught in the no room to advance or to retreat situation, not only in term of his rtionship with either Kou Zhong and her, but also in term of his feelings for Shi Feixuan. If Shi Feixuan had never set foot in the mortal world, then naturally his rtionship with Shi Feixuan started in Longquan and ended in Longquan. Also, precisely under this kind of frame of mind that he fought for Shi Qingxuan with all his strength. However, Shi Feixuans appearance threw the foot his troop disposition into a mess. Rationally, he knew what to choose, but knowing was one thing, whether he would be able to do it was another thing. Human emotions are just like a ferocious beast that can never bepletely tamed. He has notpletely gotten over Shi Feixuan yet, so how could Shi Feixuan be unmoved by him? Both of them worked hard to restrain themselves and to build embankment between them. Yin Xianhe raised his cup and drank it in one gulp, patting the table, he said, The best way is to drink until you are unconscious, hey! Give me another cup. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, You know, I have just fought with someone, and I have the Five-Colored Stone in my pocket. Yin Xianhes thin body was shaken, Meiyan Furen? he blurted out. Xu Ziling nodded and said, It was precisely taken from her hand. She wanted to flee from beyond the Great Wall to here, it was to hide from the enemies who are scheming to get the Five-Colored Stone from her. Now this hot potato hase into our hands, if we turn into a couple of dead-drunk-like-mud drunkards, the consequences are unimaginable. Yin Xianhe picked up the wine cup, ced it in the center of the table, and said, How about letting me have a few more sips? I promised this is thest cup. Xu Ziling was helpless against him, he poured another cup full for him, his mind turned back to Shi Feixuan again, recalling every single one of her expressions when she was talking outside the City of Chengdu earlier. ording to her standards, she was unable to restrain her emotions toward him, and she could not conceal it either, hence the reason she said that she cared about what Xu Ziling thought of her. This has made him to be more on guard, so that after partingpany with her, he couldnt help thinking about her constantly, and this has made him feel deeply guilty toward Shi Qingxuan. Heavens! What is this all about! The strong wine was poured into his throat and into his belly. It was only then that Xu Ziling realized he was holding the jar with both hands and was taking a big mouthful of wine. When he put down the wine jar, Yin Xianhe was staring nkly at him, the full cup in front of him was surprisingly untouched. When the wine entered the sorrow, drunken feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart; still a bit embarrassed, he said, Good wine! Longughter rang out, someone spoke behind him, Turns out Ziling is also a good drinker. Stunned, Xu Ziling looked up, the Tuyuhun Prince Fu Qian, whom he had not seen for a long time, apanied by his number-one man Xing Mofei, wasing towards his table with dragon walk and tiger step. Xu Ziling stood up in a hurry, greatly delighted, he said, I was just about to look for you. After introducing Yin Xianhe to the two men, the four of them sat around the table, the waiter set up cups, bowls and chopsticks again, Fu Qian randomly ordered several dishes of snacks to apany the wine. Xing Mofei raised his cup to toast everybody, the atmosphere suddenly grew warm. After two rounds of wine, Fu Qianughed and said, I have been sending my men to watch and monitor the inn where Meiyan, that little girl is staying, but I never thought I found Ziling instead. This is indeed a pleasant surprise. Finished speaking, he cast a nce toward Yin Xianhe. Xu Ziling hurriedly said, Xianhe is one of our own, no need to have any misgivings. Lowering his voice, Xing Mofei said, Xu Ye should know that since you guys left, the situation beyond the Great Wall has undergone sky-and-the-earth-turning-upside-down [idiom:plete confusion] changes. Fu Qian added, It was not until we looked into the Central that we learned that the situation in the Central ins had reversed. The rise of the Shao Shuai Army made the Li Tang lost its domination; this has also disrupted our ns, on the further development of the situation inside and outside the Great Wall, we no longer have the slightest bit of certainty. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around, inside the wine shop, only two tables near the door were upied, more than a dozen tables around them were empty, there was no risk of anybody eavesdropping their conversation. He asked, This time Fu Xiong ising to the Central Earth, what grand n do you have? Smiling wryly, Fu Qian replied, What grand n? Isnt it to deal with the Tujue? Did you know that the Western Tujues Tongyehu, by way of Yun Shuai, secretly formed an alliance with Li Jiancheng? This matter is rted to the flourish or decline, rise or fall of my Tuyuhun, so I have no choice but to go to the Central ins again, we were supposed to discuss it with Qin Wang, who would have thought that the situation is totally different, so that the foot our troop disposition is thrown into chaos. Obtaining sudden understanding, Xu Ziling said, Turns out the news wasing from Fu Xiong. Xing Mofei proposed a toast to Yin Xianhe, Yin Xiong? he asked. Yin Xianhe covered the mouth of the cup with his hand, preventing Xing Mofei from adding wine for him, he spoke apologetically, I promised Ziling that that was thest cup. Xu Ziling nodded in response to Xing Mofeis questioning look, indicating that this was indeed the case. He continued asking Fu Qian, How is the current situation outside the Great Wall? Fu Qian spoke with heavy voice, The current situation outside the Great Wall is historys inevitable development. Since the Tujues Asina Tumen [or Bumin Khan] became the tribal chief, the Tujue has be stronger with each passing day. After defeating Tiele and Rouran, he became the overlord of the prairie. Since then, following the ambitions of the tribal chiefs of various tribes, the Wolf Army continuously expanded its power to the four directions. Their ultimate goal is your Central Earth, this piece of big fatty meat. Yang Jians sess in proiming himself hegemon has brought the Great Suis national power to its peak. But it was also due to the rich and strong national power that incited Yang Guang to abuse of national power, which led to the defeat and perish of the country. When Yang Guang first sent military campaign to Gaoli, the once-considered-themselves-unexcelled-in-the-world Eastern and Western Tujue both acknowledged allegiance to the Great Sui, but the failure of the three campaigns to Gaoli exhausted the Great Suis national power. The Central Earth split up, it paves the way for the re-emergence of the Wolf Army. It is indeed once in a thousand years opportunity for the Tujue to invade the Central ins. If I were Xieli, I would definitely not miss this opportunity. Reaching out and raised his cup, heughed aloud and said, We rarely raise our cups and have a heart-to-heart chat like this. I wonder Ziling and Xianhe are interested in listening to the tragic past written in blood and tears of the people inside and outside the Great Walls soldiers? It will give you a deeper understanding of the current situation and the possibility of future development. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, I would love to hear the details! He knew Fu Qians style of conduct, he would not speak falsehood, let alone nonsense; if he was willing to recount the whole story like this, he must have a purpose behind it, hence he agreed without the slightest hesitation. Book 56 2 – History of Blood

Book 56 Chapter 2 C History of Blood

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Song Que strode forward, he continued to advance in the boundless snowy night, as if he had no specific destination, even more, it was as if he hadpletely forgotten the life and death decisive battle against Ning Daoqi. Talking like they were having a casual chat, he said, If you are unwilling to let go of everything, your life will be an arduous and unrewarding undertaking where you have no rest until you die, because that is something that is beyond everyones power to reach. Tell me, if you are unwilling to let Shang Xiufang go, what will be the consequences? Running after him by his side, Kou Zhong was taken aback, he said, Naturally I will lose Zhizhi, but Fazhus situation was different back then, you did not have to make a choice. Smiling wryly, Song Que said, Whats the difference? I can only choose between the way of the saber and Fan Qinghui. Supposing she left Ci Hang Jing Zhai and came with me, I dare say that Ol Song would not have this kind of achievement today. Apart from the saber, there is nothing else. To achieve this realm, there is a price to pay, and it is an extremely ruthless price. Her political view and mine are also running in the opposite direction. If we really walk together, one of us must change, but I definitely am unwilling to change my belief. Therefore, from the start, we know that there wont be any oue. Kou Zhong was speechless. Song Que cast a nce at him, he spoke heavily, These several decades, all along I did not dare to think about her. Do you understand that kind of feeling? Missing someone is indeed too painful, while I have to be free of distractions to focus on the way of the saber, in order to deal with the situation like the one before our eyes. I am not talking merely about Ning Daoqi, although he is one of the situations, but I am talking about the entire situation in the world. Training saber is refining the heart, do you understand? Without a touching past, how could you obtain a touching saber technique? Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Is Fazhu in extreme pain right now? Song Que reached out to put his hand on Kou Zhongs shoulders, he sighed and said, You, this kidsprehension makes me, Song Que, cannot but cry, Marvelous! Today is the first time in twenty years that I am thinking about her without any reservation, hence you feel strange that I sat alone in the Shao Shuai Mansions inner hall. Without waiting for Kou Zhongs answer, he removed his hand from Kou Zhongs shoulder and held both hands behind his back. Continuing to stroll, he raised his face to the wind and the snow descending to its final destination, and said with a smile, When she was young, Fan Qinghuis beauty was hard to believe; even staring nkly at her, one would still find it hard to believe that there was such a character in the mortal world. In this respect, Shi Feixuan quite obtains her handed-down teachings. Indeed that is the current appearance of cultivating the Ci Hang Jian Dian [sword canon] immortal transformation. If I am not mistaken, Shi Feixuan has ascended to the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm, which is more spiritual than Qinghuis heart, she is one notch superior. Kou Zhong pped his hands and eximed, Wonderful! He said, Fazhus description is really apt. Nothing is more apt in describing Shi Feixuans unique personality traits than immortal transformation two words. Song Que met his gaze, tranquil and calm, he said, Dont look at the immortal transformation, two words from the perspective of making idle remarks about a womans appearance [idiom]. There is much mystery-within-a-mystery, profound meaning within it. The Taoist and Buddhist, two schools, whether to be immortal or to be a Buddha, there is no difference in purpose, which is the belief that life is not limited to this. Ci Hang Sword Canon is the wonderful book created by the Buddhist in order cultivate the heavenlyw [tian dao, lit. the way of the heaven] via the sword way [jian dao]. It gives me great inspiration. When the way of the saber reaches its peak, it should transcend life and death, even to reach bing immortal and bing a Buddha realm. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, I understand! In fact, what Fazhu pursues is no different from the goal of Qinghui Zhaizhus cultivation. Fazhu gave up the opportunity to be immortal husband and wife with her, which is the same situation as she persevering in the cultivation. Shaking his head, Song Que said, There is a fundamental difference between us, which is I dont care about the transcendence of life and death. I just try to explore and forge ahead on the way of the saber with all my strength. I especially reminded you that Shi Feixuan has reached the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm, it was so that you will be on guard, because she is one of the few people who has the qualification to defeat you. Recalling Shi Feixuans challenge to him in Chengdu, Kou Zhong could only smile bitterly with nothing to say. Song Ques eyes were fixed straight ahead, his steps did not stop, apparently he was sinking into the depths of the distant memory of the past events, holding nothing back. Clump after clump of spotlessly white, non-stop snowkes was falling slowly, all around them the forest and the in were a vast expanse of whiteness, which made people doubted whether it was fantasy or reality. Kou Zhong still did not know the destination of this trip, everything seemed to be free, without any specific target, and he quite enjoyed this kind off fantastic atmosphere and feeling. Suddenly he asked, Fazhu has never fought against Ning Daoqi, so why do you have such confidence of certain victory? Laughing involuntarily, Song Que said, When everyone who is as famous as you, one by one nurse a grievance under your sword, and it happened for several decades, you will also haveplete confidence just like Ol Song, how could Ning Daoqi be an exception? This is not underestimating the enemy at all, but the conviction that has been cultivated through hard work and numerous revisions [idiom: the vicissitudes of life]. Kou Zhong sighed and said, But Im still a little worried. At least Fazhus frame of mind has changed because of Fan Qinghui, Im afraid it would be hard to face Ning Daoqi in optimum condition. Song Que nodded his head in agreement; he said, You have this thought, it is indeed not simple, you have reached the down-to-the-smallest-detail realm. Qinghui perseveres in her own beliefs, she does not hesitate to use Ning Daoqi to deal with Ol Song, it indeed breaks my heart, but I dont me her at all, on the contrary, it increased my respect for her, because when she made this decision, it might be more unbearable to her than to me. Kou Zhong said, Perhaps it was just Shi Feixuans idea. Song Que shook his head and said, While Shi Feixuan knew the rtionship between Qinghui and me clearly, if she did not have Qinghuis consent, she would never dare to use Ning Daoqi, this onest move. After a short pause, he continued, The barrier that prevented me and Qinghui from being together, apart from each of us have different beliefs and ideals, it was also because I had a marriage contract. This marriage contract was extremely important to the development of my Song Family in Lingnan, a bit like you and Yuzhis situation. So, you should understand why I put my family and n at the highest position. What I am waiting for is the opportunity to unify the world and promote our Han peoples unification before our eyes. That is more important than any love between men and women. No matter who wins or loses in this battle, you must press on. Kou Zhong said, Since Fazhu takes persevering with Han peoples unification as your responsibility, why doesnt Qinghui Zhaizhu support you? In the mood to chat, Song Que said, This aspect is really hard to exin in a few words, are you interested in knowing? Kou Zhong nodded and said, I am extremely curious! The wine shop waiter lighted thenterns and candles on the walls inside the shop for them. Under the warmth of the flickering mes, the full-of-beard-and-whisker-across-his-face, his-appearance-imposing-and-strange Fu Qian swallowed a mouthful of wine, his gaze on the wine inside the cup, he spoke slowly, Speaking about this matter, I must start forty years ago, when Yang Jian [first Sui Emperor (541-604), reigned 581-604] forced Jing Di [Emperor Jing] of the Zhou Dynasty [Northern Zhou, 557-581, one of the Northern Dynasties] to abdicate. The Northern Zhou had always had close rtionship with the Tujue, the thousand-jin [or a thousand catties of gold, (honorific) daughter] princess of the Northern Zhou Dynasty married the Tujue Khan Shabalu, her hatred toward her dynasty being usurped by Yang Jian was running deep, therefore, she continuously incited Shabalu to avenge and restore her Northern Zhou Dynasty. And when Yang Jian changed his policy to appease the previous dynasty, he did not consider the Tujue to be worthy in his eyes. Therefore, driven by these internal and external factors, from time to time the Tujue invaded the borders, so Yang Jian had no choice but to reinforce the defense along the border, repair the Great Wall and build forts, as well as station massive military force and great generals in You and Bing, two prefectures. During these periods of tension, a key figure, Zhangsun Sheng, appeared. Frowning, Xu Ziling repeated, Zhangsun Sheng? Fu Qian nodded and said, It was indeed Zhangsun Sheng. As far as I know, this person was most probably Zhao Deyans Shifu. He received order from the Northern Zhous Emperor to escort the thousand-jin princess to marry the Tujue. On the one hand, he fanned the mes in Tujue and colluded with Shabalus younger brother, Chuluo; on the other hand, he returned to the Central Earth to gain Yang Jians trust, offering a scheme to sow dissension and split apart the Tujue. Because he had been outside the Great Wall for a long time, he had deep knowledge of the situation between the various Tujue tribal chiefs; he was even able to draw a topographic map of the mountains and rivers outside the Great Wall. Greatly delighted, Yang Jian epted the overall strategy, he separately contacted Tujues two most powerful little Khan, Datou and Chuluo, which ultimately led to the split of the Tujue into the Eastern and Western, two khanates. Also, Shijue [sic, I suspect its a typo, but I am not sure, since he was talking about so many foreign tribes] people continuously invaded your distinguished country, looting and killing, while the defense forces were unable to fight back, and thus hatred was nted, and now no one can change it, only if one side is extinguished would the mes of war be extinguished as well. Xu Ziling said, Ill have to ask for further direction from Fu Xiong, Kou Zhong and I did not know anything about what happened during Yang Jians time, we never thought that there was this kind of shift in the trend of events within this matter, the demonic school people are really formidable; there was Zhangsun Sheng in the past, and then there are Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan now, using crafty plots and machinations to manipte the development of the situation. May I venture to ask Fu Xiong, what kind of situation is your distinguished country Tuyuhun is in now? The murderous intent in Fu Qians pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, The enemy posing the most direct threat to us is the Western Tujue; since Tongyehu seeded the throne, the Western Tujues national power is increasing greatly. Tongyehu has Yun Shuais help, himself is adept in both civil and military, plus he is both brave and scheming, prevails in every battle, and he has great ambitions. Although temporarily he maintains a friendly rtion with us, it is only because it is beneficial to his operation to annex Tiele, so much so that he is willing to secretly form an alliance with Li Jiancheng, in order to join hands with the Tang tounch pincer attack toward Xieli. If the Great Tang is able to unify the world, Xieli certainly has no crack that he could exploit. However, Kou Zhong rising abruptly has given Xieli an opportunity that he can exploit. If I am not guessing incorrectly, in the short term, Xieli will join hands with Tuli on arge-scale invasion to the south. The towns, counties, viges, and cities that have been trampled by the Wolf Army can forget about having one roof remain intact. Recalling the war of attrition tactics that the Tujue Wolf Army was using, Xu Zilings heart sank straight down to the bottom, he could not help asking, Tongyehu is colluding with Li Jiancheng, but why did Fu Xiong spread the rumors that the Western Tujue are colluding with Li Shimin? Fu Qian stared fixedly at him for half a fay, he spoke in astonishment, Isnt Li Shimin Zilings enemy now? Howe the tone of your voice unexpectedly imply me? Xu Ziling said, Maybe because I have never thought that Fu Qian Xiong would use this kind of trick. Smiling wryly, Fu Qian said, When you are surrounded by powerful enemies watching you, whether your country exist or perish is under threat, in order to struggle for survival, anyone wouldmit all manner of crimes [idiom:pletely unscrupulous] to deal with the enemy. Supposing the collusion with the Western Tujue creates something from nothing, it would be absolutely useless. However, there is truth in rumors, it could produce subtle effect, it could both make Li Jiancheng suspicious of everybody, and make Xieli to be on his toes. Furthermore, it could split apart the Li ns internal unity; toward Shao Shuai Army, it would only bring benefit without any harm. Xing Mofei added, I wonder if Xu Ye have ever considered, if Xielis grasnd allied armies invade the Central Earth, what kind of situation it will lead to? Please give directions, Xu Ziling said. Xing Mofei said, As long as Xieli can obtain a stronghold in the Central ins, Tongyehu will have no choice but toe to the Central ins to have a slice of the pie, in order to prevent Xieli from attacking Changan. His power will grow, and then from outside the Great Wall and west of the Pass, he willunch separate attack toward Xieli; at that time he will be in an inferior situation where he will take a beating from the enemy on both sides. This is precisely the reason why Li Jiancheng and Tongyehu are together from the first beat [idiom: hit it off]. Although Li Jiancheng has always had secret collusion with Xieli, on the one hand, he is afraid of Xielis power, while on the other hand, he wanted to borrow his power to deal with Li Shimin, yet he is not unaware of Xielis ambition of the wild wolves [idiom: rapacious designs], hence he is hoping to use Tongyehu to control Xieli, but this is akin to showing the wolf into the house. If Tongyehu, due to the convenience given by Li Jiancheng, seeds in growing his roots in the Central ins, our situation will be in grave danger even more. Fu Qian joined in, Taking a step back, if Xieli only loots and then returns to the northern frontier, when Li Jiancheng ascends to the throne, his rtionship with Tongyehu will get closer, and Tongyehu will not have any worry about the eastern border, and then after exterminating the Tiele, he will use his full force against us. This is the situation that we dont want to see the most. Yin Xianhe remained silent, he appeared not to have the slightest bit of interest toward the general trend of the world the three men were discussing. Xu Ziling, however, was listening with big headache, he obtained further understanding of Shi Feixuans determination to stop Kou Zhongs invasion of Bashu. Fu Qian understood the situation outside the Great Wall better than Xu Ziling or anyone else in the Central Earth. His anticipation that Xieli would invade the south in the near future surely was not empty words. Furthermore, the present time was indeed the best time for the coalition forces north of the border to invade southward. Internally the Li Tang was split up, although Li Shimin obtained Luoyang, he was caught in the situation where he was facing bitter battle on the two fronts. Li Yuan was simply powerless to resist the coalition forces from beyond the Great Wall led by the wolf army. Remembering the dreadful war of attrition of the Tujue people, coupled with the coveting-on-the-side Tongyehu, the future development was indeed chilling. Fu Qian said solemnly, I leaked this information out, maybe Xieli can suspend the invasion of the Central ins and deal with Tongyehu instead. If Xieli believes that Li Shimin is the one colluding with Tongyehu, he will certainly, via Zhao Deyan, push his demonic school aplices, who have been controlling Li Yuan, Jiancheng and Yuanji behind the scene C to speed up their efforts to deal with Li Shimin, so this is a strategy to kill two birds with one stone. I sincerely hope that it would be Shaoshuai, and not the Li family, who will unify the Central ins, so that relying on our friendship, it will be Tongyehus turn to worry about being exist or perish. Inwardly Xu Ziling was shocked, but on the surface he did not reveal the emotion in his heart the slightest bit. After all, Fu Qians ultimate goal was to revitalize the Tuyuhun, even to take the Tujue people ce to be the new hegemon outside the Great Wall. He came to the Central ins precisely to seek opportunities for his own country. Although his words were beautiful and pleasant to the ear, he felt that Fu Qian was speaking without meaning it. From Fu Qians standpoint, the more chaotic the Central ins the better; it would be best if the East and the West Tujue were trapped in the Central ins at the same time, fighting endless bloody battles with Li Tang and Kou Zhong, and were unable to escape, so that Tuyuhun would have the opportunity that they could exploit. For Fu Qian, it was understandable that he was acting for his countrys best interests, but for Xu Ziling, how could he bear to see such a situation? Hence, for the first time, Xu Ziling was suspicious of Fu Qians sincerity. Fu Qian distorted the news and spread it out, it would only add fuel to the fire and increase the variables. Fu Qianughed and said, Enough talking about these disturbing things, I havent had the chance to ask Ziling why you came to Hanzhong? I wonder if you are going to go to Changan? What Xu Ziling had in mind was that if Fu Qian really leaked the information that Li Jiancheng was in collusion with Tongyehu of the Western Tujue, the effect might be even greater, because how could Xieli dare to neglect this? Maybe he would immediately invade the Central ins on this side, while on the other side Tongyehu would also attack Bandujinshans [no idea, perhaps transliteration of some foreign word] tent capital [of a nomadic people], then the danger Li Jiancheng was facing would surely be resolved. Although Li Jiancheng could not send troops to assist Tongyehu, he could give him strong support in weapons and food aspects. Sighing inwardly, he spoke calmly, We are going to Changan for a quick visit, when our business is done, we will leave immediately. Fu Qians pair of bronze bell-like, bright and full of expression C huge eyes shed withplicated and iprehensible expressions, but shortly afterwards showed cheerful look, he said happily, We are just about to go to Changan for an official visit to Li Yuan; with my diplomatic group as the cover, Ziling can avoid unnecessary trouble. In his heart, Xu Ziling pondered about the meaning of the expression showing in Fu Qians eyes, but on the surface he remained calm and collected; smiling, he declined and said, We have other things to do before entering Changan, it would be more convenient to enter the city separately. Fu Qianughed and said, In that case when Ziling reach Changan, you will have to do your best to see Ol Fu at least once. After our business in Changan is done, I hope to meet Shaoshuai to see where we all can cooperate. Come! Lets have a cup, I wish our two countries can coexist peacefully forever and grow into friendly nations. Song Que led Kou Zhong to the top of a small hill, they swept their gaze far and near, the snow was getting denser and denser, they were like being sealed in a world of ice and snow, where there was nothing else. Song Ques pair of eyes emitted a look of being intoxicated in the past emotions, he spoke softly, Qinghui and I both saw from the Wei, Jin, the Southern and Northern Dynasties long-term break-up moving towards the reunification under the Sui Dynastys Yang Jian was actually another historical grand asion following the Warring States toward the reunification under the Qin Dynasty, no other historical event can bepared with it. However, as for whether the world can achieve long-term peace and stability, Qinghui and I havepletely different views. Before telling our differences, I must first exin clearly the scope of the differences in our views on why Yang Jian could unify the world. Kou Zhong felt his vision has been erged. No matter from which angle he looked at it, both Song Que and Fan Qinghui were outstanding people worthy of the greatest admiration. Their vision vast, naturally their views and understanding of the past and present governments chaos, prosperity and decline carried full weight behind it. Highly interested, he said, Is there any other reason to support the unification of the world? Whose fist is harder will be able to sweep away and put the other opponents in order. Blurted outughing, Song Que said, Those are the requirements that a hegemon must have, only then will where the water flows, a canal is formed [idiom: when the conditions are right, sess will follow naturally]. Just think, if all the people in the world oppose your governance, how are you going to unify the world? If purely based on strong soldiers and sturdy horses [idiom: well-trained and powerful army], no army in the world can surpass the Tujues Wolf Army, yet you dont see them able to subdue the Central ins? At most they could only kill and burn, ravage and loot for a while. This is precisely Qinghuis viewpoint, unity muste from the desire of the people, as long as there is someone that can fulfill the peoples desire in this respect, he would obtain the support, where the water flows, a canal is formed, the world will be unified. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Qinghui Zhaizhus view is not without any reason. Song Que spoke indifferently, Let me ask you a question then, during the final years of the Western Han Dynasty [206 BC C 8 AD], or during the Wei and Jin dynasties [220 C 265 and 265 C 420 AD, respectively], didnt the people at that time yearn for reunification and peace? Why did the two Han dynasties [Western and Eastern Han] evolve into the Three Kingdoms standing like the three legs of a tripod? The Wei and Jin dynasties split into the north and south standing opposite to each other for a long time ... Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply; scratching his head, he said, What Fazhu is talking about is an irond fact, howe it still cannot change Qinghui Zhaizhus view? Song Que sighed and said, Qinghui is having this view, there is another deep meaning behind it. Leaving that aside for now, let me tell you some of my personal opinions first. Kou Zhong epted willingly, Id like to hear the details! he said. Revealing a deep-in-thought expression, Song Que spoke slowly, The reason why the Southern and Northern Dynasties were split for a long time, the problemy in the Disaster of Yongjia [if you are interested, (only one paragraph) on Wikipedia]. From then on, history has entered the stage of great chaotic warfare among the northern peoples. Xiongnu [people of the Eastern Steppe, around Qin and Han dynasties], Xianbei [or Xianbi, a group of northern nomadic peoples], Jie [ancient tribe of northern China, c. 4th century], Di [ancient tribe, on Wikipedia], Qiang [ethnic group, northwestern Sichuan], various groups permeated the Central ins like ants attracted to honey, each group established its own territory and government, which, with the animosity among the people, no power could resolve, only the revitalization of one of the ns could solve all problems. Kou Zhong was shaken, he said, No wonder Fazhu perseveres with the Han unification, and you also said that the reason Yang Jian was able to obtain the world was the result of the revitalization of the Han dynasty. Now I finally understand what Fazhu was telling me back then. But something was puzzling him, he asked, In that case, what is the difference between Fazhu and Qinghui Zhaizhu? Song Ques pair of eyes shot a sentimental expression, he smiled bitterly and said, It lies in the difference of views on the revitalization of Han unification. I look at the whole situation from the standpoint as a Han, but she looks at the situation from the perspective of the big integration of various ethnic groups. What she pursues is a dream, while I only look at the actual situation. This is the fundamental difference between me and her. Although Kou Zhong was still unable to fully grasp the differences between Song Que and Fan Qinghui, the destion in the tone of Song Ques voice evoked his longing for Song Yuzhi; from this, he recalled Song Yuzhis opposition on the Song Family Army of Lingnans entry into the vortex of contention for the world, which must have had ayer-deeper idea behind it, yet he has never tried to understand it. Precisely this kind of ideological differences that made him unable to obtain her fragrant heart, ever. Momentarily his thoughts in a whirl, he found that his emotions were difficult to bear. Book 56 3 – Divergence of Thought

Book 56 Chapter 3 C Divergence of Thought

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Snowkes were constantly sprinkled on these two, one-old-one-young, representing-the-Central-Earths-two-generations-of-outstanding-figures C bodies. Sensing Kou Zhongs unusual state of affairs, Song Que looked at him in astonishment and asked, What are you thinking about? Kou Zhong replied dejectedly, From Fazhu and Qinghui Zhaizhus differences, I recalled the divergence of thought between me and Yuzhi, therefore, I deeply understand Fazhus state of mind at that time. Slightly nodding his head, Song Que said, The differences between Qinghui and me indeed made it difficult for us to develop further, other reasons are secondary. Qinghui believes that the Han people not only has the advantage in numbers, but in economic and cultural level of achievement, we also have obvious superiority. As long as there is enough time, we could assimte the invading foreign tribes. When ethnic differences disappear, the chaotic warfare between ethnic groups will naturally end, from being split up we move toward unity; this is a historical inevitability. To a certain extent, I agree with her view in this aspect. However, she believes that only after the Hu [non-Han people] are transformed will the great integration of northern ethnic groups be our Han peoples future growth. In this matter, Ol Song really beg to differ. It was the first time that Kou Zhong heard anybody looking at the changes in the situation in the Central Earth from this perspective, so he had quite a novel feeling. The Hu transformation of the Han people of the north, or the Han transformation [i.e. Sinicization] of the Hu people, was an established fact; for example, Yuwen Huaji, Wang Shichong, and the likes, they were either a hundred-percent Hu people after Han transformation, or Han people after Hu transformation. The Li n also had blood rtionship with Hu people. But for Song Que, a man who persevered with the Han unification C to ept the Hu people being transformed into Han, or Han people transformed into Hu, was quite impossible. The differences between Fan Qinghui and Song Que were like rivers Jing and Wei separate clearly [idiom: to be entirely different], and this difference was reflected in the current situation even more. Song Que spoke heavily, I am not opposed to foreign culture at all. It is the secret recipe for maintaining the progress and vitality of the nation. Buddhism was passed on from Tianzhu, so the source is distant and the flow is long [idiom: goes back to the dim and distant past] with our Han people. Afterbining with deep and extensive and subtle culture, it was brought to great height of development. However, if we are vignt toward the foreign tribes, slight negligence might turn into showing the wolf into the house. Just like Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu, and the likes, precisely because the Hu transformation is too deep, they ignore the scourge of the Tujue people. Yet the Li n, father and sons are stepping on the dust behind them, they have close rtionship with various tribes beyond the Great Wall, sooner orter it will lead to disaster. I appreciate Qinghuis broad-mindedness in tolerancing them, but in the actual situation, I must strictly maintain the difference between the Han and the Yi [barbarians, non-Han people], otherwise the various tribes outside the Great Wall will, one falls, the next follows, step into the Central ins, and thus there will be no peace in the Central Earth. Since the North is powerless to save itself, they could only let us, the southerners to rise up and unify the world, to bring order out of chaos. Other than this, there is no other way. Otherwise, our Great Han will lose the cultural cohering force, with which the unity is relying on, and the world will be caught in division for a long time. And then heughed aloud and said, The load on my mind that was evoked by Qinghui, which had been tightly closed in my brains for nearly forty years and caused distress C are pouring down in torrents, Ol Song feels greatly delighted. Shaoshuai should understand my, Song Ques goals and ideals now, I am helping you to ascend to the emperors throne, it is not for the honor and disgrace of the Song family at all, but for the orthodoxy of our great Huaxia [old name for China] and Great Han. The emergence of a great nation is not historically inevitable, it is not easy to obtain, and it is not based on peoples will and cannot be transferred. If there was no Emperor Yingzheng, the Central Earth might probably be still in a situation where powerful hegemons are setting up an independent regime. I hope that after a thousand autumns, ten thousand ages, people of Huaxia will remember your, Kou Zhongs era, and epted you, Kou Zhong as the third person after Yingzheng and Yang Jian who ends the division of the Central Earth. This is a great mission, everything else is insignificant. Hot blood welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, at the same time, he understood Song Ques intention in his willingness to confide the load on his mind, which had been buried at the bottom of his heart for many years C with him, which was, he was actually not optimistic at all about this decisive battle against Ning Daoqi. His wy in Fan Qinghui. When he thought that he was no longer affected by his feeling toward Fan Qinghui. Shi Feixuan delivered the letter of challenge on behalf of Ning Daoqi, which evoked his feelings of the past, and once it started, there was no way to stop it. This has made him unable to maintain the apart from the saber, there was nothing else way of the saber, which greatly diminish his chance of certain victory. Song Que not only wanted Kou Zhong to understand his painstaking effort to unify the world, but he also wanted him to persevere with his beliefs. Even if Song Que suffered defeat and died, Shi Feixuan could not possibly reason with him, making Kou Zhong abandoning his mission of revitalizing the Han and unifying it for a thousand autumns. Kou Zhong spoke solemnly, Fazhu, set your heart at ease, Kou Zhong will press on until I aplish the dream in Fazhus heart. Song Que let out a longughter and said, Good! I, Song Que, did not misread you. Remember that what we are doing is not for selfish reason, but for the blessing of all the people. Now I can put down all the load on my mind, all my heart and soul will be put into the decisive battle against Ning Daoqi, to see if he already obtains the Dao and Zen, or if my Heavenly Sword is superior by a notch. Do you still want toe with me and be the spectator on the wall? Kou Zhong nodded without the slightest hesitation. Song Que let out another longughter, he flew forward, deep into the boundless great snow, spotlessly white open country. Kou Zhong ran closely behind him, in the blink of an eye, two great top martial art masters, one old and one young, disappeared into the depths of the endless, pure and clean great snow. Knock! Knock! Sitting alone inside the guest room, Xu Ziling responded, Xianhe, pleasee in. The door is not bolted. Yin Xianhe pushed the door and entered the room, he closed the door, and sat on the other side of the small table across from Xu Ziling with stupefied expression. This was another hotel with quite a scale located on the same street as the wine shop. After bidding farewell to Fu Qian, they booked two upper rooms here. Concerned, Xu Ziling asked, You cant sleep? Yin Xianhe nodded, still with wooden expression, he spoke dejectedly, Am I that useless? Xu Ziling disagreed, How could you look at yourself like this? he said, You are worried about personal gains and losses, this is in line with human emotions. Since your honorable little sister disappeared, you have been looking for her to the ends of the earth. Although there is no result, there is always a glimmer of hope. Now your honorable little sisters whereabouts might be revealed by Ji Qian, if I were you, I would also be afraid that what I hear will be an irreparably terrifying fact. At that time, you will lose all hope, so much so that you lose the meaning of life; therefore, fear is only natural. Yin Xianhe spoke in pain, You understand me. Xu Zilings eyes shooting strange light, he said, But I have a premonition that you will be reunited with Xiaomei. I really have this feeling, I am absolutely not saying that tofort you. Yin Xianhe bestirred himself somewhat, he asked, How do you feel about Fu Qian? Xu Ziling looked at him nkly for a moment, smiling bitterly, he said, I dont want to think about him, after all, we are all friends. Yin Xianhe said, Isnt Tuli also your friend in life and death? However, under pressing circumstances, there wille a day where you will fight him on the battlefield. Although from time-to-time Xieli and Tuli fight with each other, but in the war against outsiders, for the sake of theirmon interest, they will be united. I agree with Fu Qians statement that Xieli and Tulis coalition forces will, in the indeterminate future, invade the Central ins onrge scale. This is a reality that no one can change. Xu Ziling asked, Whatmon interests do they have? Yin Xianhe said, I have been wandering inside and outside the Great Wall for a long time, looking for Xiaoji, so I have a deeper understanding of the mentality of the tribes outside the Great Wallpared to you or Kou Zhong. What they fear the most is the emergence of a unified and powerful Central ins empire, the disaster Yang Guang inflicted on them remains fresh in their memory. The only thing I disagree with Fu Qian is that in this kind of time, the Western Tujues Tongyehu will never pull Xielis hind legs. That is their wolf usual practice, seeing a fat sheep, the pack will devour it, in order to satisfy their hungry stomach. At present, the Li n is divided inside and outside, due to the rise of Kou Zhong, the Central Earth is facing the North-South confrontation situation. If the Tujue do not take advantage of this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity to pounce and devour us, this fat sheep, as soon as the Li n or Kou Zhong, either one of them, unifies the Central ins, they will lose the opportunity. Xu Ziling felt the chill creeping up his soaked-with-cold-sweats spine. Yin Xianhe had never tried to exin anything in such a lengthy talk, yet this time he opened his golden mouth wide and each word was like a bead of pearl, analyzing the situation inside and outside the Great Wall vividly, terrifying and in great detail. Suddenly, he deeply understood the reason why Shi Feixuan stepped onto the mundane world again, it was precisely to do everything in her power to prevent things from developing like Yin Xianhe said. Politics is about the oue, regardless of the motive. Kou Zhongs contending for supremacy in the world might bring even greater disasters. Ziling! You once said that if Li Shimin ascends to the emperors throne, you will persuade Kou Zhong to withdraw. For the sake of themon people of the world, I wonder if Ziling could adopt a proactive approach to help Feixuan aplishing her cherished desire? Shi Feixuans words echoed in his mind. At that time, he did not think too deeply about what she said, but this moment, it was like evening drum, morning bell rousing him from slumber so that his whole body was drenched in cold sweat. The happiness of all the people was hanging on this one thought. Yin Xianhes voice rang in his ears, Why does your countenance be so unsightly? Struggling hard to answer, Xu Ziling said, I have seen with my own eyes the terrible scene of a pack of vicious wolves encircling and devouring a deer, so your metaphor made fear grows from the bottom of my heart. Yin Xianhe sighed and said, Tujue people have always used wolves as their model, their tactics are exactly the wolves tactics, they snarl all around you to test what is true and what is false first, to crumble your fighting spirit, to put your spirit under pressure. As long as you show a little cowardice, immediately the pack would pounce and strike, to tear the prey to pieces using the most savage offensive, while dashing on bravely with no thought of personal safety. After a short pause, he went on, If I were Xieli, I would never allow Kou Zhong to have the opportunity to unify the world. Their misgivings toward Kou Zhong surely surpass their misgivings toward Li Shimin, because no one knows Kou Zhongs ability on the battlefield better than Xieli. These three-month or so of ice age is precisely the best time for Xieli to invade. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, Lucky that Xianhe reminded me, I never thought that this freeze-over season could be this damaging. Yin Xianhe said, Ziling grew in the south, you did not know the day and night raising-the-heart-hanging-the-guts miserable plight of the people living north of the border. Tujue people are like a pack of wolves, they appear and disappear unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost,ing and going like the wind, leaving no roof tiles intact everywhere they go. Xu Ziling spoke resolutely, No! I am not going to allow this to happen. Yin Xianhe spoke with discouragement, What else can we do? Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Is Tuli not going to look at Kou Zhongs and my sentiment and facepletely? Shaking his head, Yin Xianhe said, Tujue people will always put their nation first and individual second, Ke Dazhi is a good example. Whats more, there is Bi Xuan supporting Xieli, as long as Bi Xuan intervenes, Tuli will not dare not to obey, otherwise, his Khans position cannot be guaranteed. In this kind of situation, any brotherhood will be useless, Ziling must face the facts. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Im going to see Li Shimin. Stunned, Yin Xianhe said, Seeing him will be useless too, you are no longer friends, but mortal the-two-cannot-exist-together enemies. Xu Zilings expression resolute, he said, What you said tonight made the murky darkness suddenly opens, I understand a lot of things. In the past, Kou Zhong and I always determined our ideals and goals from our own standpoints, we never thought about the consequences that would follow. It was Yin Xianhes turn to frown deeply, he said, The situation has reached the once-it-gets-started-theres-no-stopping-it stage, now that Song Que is out of Lingnan, no one in the world can reverse this situation. Ziling is going to see Li Shimin, what do you have to say? I dont know! Xu Ziling replied, But this is thest chance for the Central ins to avoid a catastrophe. If I dont try my best, I will feel a twinge of guilt for the rest of my life, furthermore, I will fail to live up to Feixuans earnest hope of me. Yin Xianhe began to understand Xu Zilings intentions; drawing out a mouthful of cold air, he said, What good would persuading Li Shimin do? Above Li Shimin. Theres still Li Yuan; Jiancheng, Yuanji, none does not want to put Li Shimin to death. In my opinion, Ziling is doing more than is required, its pointless. Xu Ziling revealed a deep-in-thought expression, he did not answer him. Yin Xianhe sighed and said, Kou Zhong is no longer the Kou Zhong of the past. Now, he is not only the leader of the Shao Shuai Army, even more so, he is Song Ques sessor, he has a very heavy burden on his shoulders. I really do not wish to see the two of you, good brothers, to be estranged because of this. Xu Ziling said, I cant afford to bother about gains and losses one by one; I only know that themon people of the Central Earth are facing imminent catastrophe. They have suffered enough! They should live their days in peace and happiness, in a long-term peace and stability. Yin Xianhe nodded and said, Ziling is just such a person who only give thought to others, disregarding your own gains and losses. Unfortunately, both the time and situation have returned to thecking-strength-to-reverse-the-rotation-of-the-sky state. Even if Kou Zhong surrenders to the Li Tang, Song Que will still not give up. You know Kou Zhong best, even in the nastiest situation, he is still unwilling to surrender. Whats more, this is the moment when unification is showing some promise, not only he is unable to exin to himself, it is difficult to exin to those who follow and support him, he is unable to answer the officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives for him even more. After a short pause, he continued, I am talking so much, not because I dont understand Zilings painstaking efforts and whats in your heart, but because Im afraid that you will be in danger. The battlefield has never considered friendship. If you see Li Shimin just like that, how he is going to deal with you is really hard to predict. Even if he cherishes old friendship, Li Yuanji, Yang Xuyan, and the likes cant possibly let you get away. Eliminating you is equivalent to crippling half of Kou Zhongs body. In my opinion, Li Shimin would not miss this kind of opportunity of Zilinging to see him like amb in a tigers den. Xu Ziling was deeply touched by the deep friendship that this person, who seemed to be not the least bit concerned of everything C was showing him; emotionally moved, he said, I will proceed cautiously. Inwardly he was thinking of Li Jing; originally he did not intend to see him, but now he must go to see him, he no longer cared about the danger that this matter would bring. Seeing that he could not persuade him, Yin Xianhe strived for thest effort, he said, If you want to persuade Kou Zhong to surrender, why see Li Shimin? Xu Ziling said, If I cannot persuade Li Shimin, it will be impossible to move Kou Zhong, therefore, I must lobby him first. This matter isplicated to the extreme point, its implication extensive, its hard to exin in a few words. Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, How are you going to resolve Song Ques problem? Xu Ziling said dejectedly, I dont know, I have no choice but to take it one step at a time. Feixuan said that she is going to create an opportunity for a peaceful unification, I hope she can really do it. Yin Xianhe spoke resolutely, I am going toe with you to see Li Shimin. Xu Ziling said, Lets see Ji Qian first and talk about itter! Yin Xianhe sighed and said, Talking with Ziling like this brings a great benefit to me. Compared with the happiness and peace of themon people under the heavens, personal bitter wound is insignificant. Suddenly Xu Ziling reached out to extinguish the oilmp on the small table, he said, Someones invading our territory! Yin Xianhe grabbed the refined steel long sword on his back, gusts of wind rang out outside the window and outside the door. In the wind and the snow filling the air, Song Que and Kou Zhong stood on Yi Rivers eastern bank, looking down at the river flowing before their eyes. Until this moment, Kou Zhong still did not know either the time or the ce of Ning Daoqis appointment with Song Que. Song Que was rxed and calm, he did not show the least bit of sign that he was in a hurry. Suddenly he smiled and said, How does Shaoshuai feel about the Yangtze River? Kou Zhong thought about all kinds of situation pertaining to the Yangtze River, momentarily all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart, he sighed lightly and said, Its hard to exin in a few words. Song Que spoke slyly, The Yangtze River is like a big dragon, from the distant Tangg Mountains [on the Qinghai C Tibet teau] main peak Gdaindong snowy peak, pouring down in torrents across the Central Earth, flowing from the west to the east and rushing out of the ocean, nurturing the souths civilization, making it a prosperousnd. Compared to the Yellow River, in many ces the Great River is a bit more beautiful and gentle. The Jiang, Huai, He and Ji are called the Four Rivers [Chang Jiang, Huai He, Huang He, and Ji Shui, respectively, where the words jiang, he and shui are all different words for river], they are all river courses that flow into the ocean. Although the title of the worldsrgest river belongs to the Yellow River, I am only in love with the Great River [Da Jiang, i.e. Yangtze]. In many ways, the Big River [Da He, i.e. Huang He, Yellow River] cannotpare to it. Kou Zhong waspletely unable to make any sense of the matter; he did not understand why Song Que suddenly talked about the Yangtze River. Although he seemed to have some kind of binding-the-dream-leading-along-the-soul profound affection toward the Great River, the tone of his voice was deste and sad. Song Que continued, One time I explored the source of the Great River, entering from the west along the river. I saw many ciers, where the mountain range was continuous, with brilliant white snow cover. Enormous-beyondpare blocks of snow melted in the sun, sinking down in all directions along the ice cliffs, forming hundreds and thousands of small waterfalls cascading down, converging into a river, rushing eastward. The momentum is extremely spectacr, unless you see it with your own eyes, you wont dare to believe it. Listening to him, Kou Zhong heart was opened wide, he said, If I have a chance, I will definitely take Ziling to see it. You seem to forget about Yuzhi, Song Que reminded him. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, She will nevere with me! Song Que smiled and said, If it were yesterday, I might tell you that time will wash away everything, but now I do not dare to make a final conclusion. After bing the emperor, do you think you can still run around everywhere as you please? Kou Zhong was discouraged, he felt lost and did not respond. Returning to the previous topic, Song Que said, People say that the Three Gorges Canyon is the same as the Yellow River. It has the majestic and steep Qutang Gorge, the beautiful and serene Wu Gorge, and the stream-flows-without-stopping Xiling Gorge, the highest on the Yangtze River. This is merely the words of the ignorant. The wonderful scenery surrounding the Big River, at the front end is the Tiger Leaping Gorge within the Jinsha River, extending for several dozen li, falling into several steep ridges in session, where the snowy waves are turning over and flying, the water mist is hazy, the snow peaks on both sides extending for a thousand li, ciers are hanging down, the clouds are winding around, the fog is spiraling up, the canyons are ten thousand zhang deep, one nearly doubted whether one was in a faraway world. That is the best of the Yangtze River. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Im afraid I will never have the chance to go there to confirm what you, the Senior said. Not paying him any attention, Song Que spoke indifferently, My boat sank there. When I reached Bashu and transferred to a passenger ship, it waste at night with the bright moon hanging in the sky, I came across Qinghui on the cabin deck. I have never tried to take the initiative to talk to any beautiful woman, but that night I was unable to restrain my emotions, I used a poem as an opening remark, which gave me an eternally beautiful and sad memory. When I thought that it had faded from my memory, it bes a more profound memory than at any other time. Inwardly Kou Zhong was severely shaken, he never expected that Song Que still could not escape from the memory of Fan Qinghui; he was really not optimistic about this battle. Book 56 4 – North-South Confrontation

Book 56 Chapter 4 - North-South Confrontation

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Those whoe are not good, those who are good donte. Four people! Xu Ziling spoke to Yin Xianhe in low voice. The door and the two windows shattered at the same time. Yin Xianhes long sword came out of its sheath, like a leopard he sprang up from his chair to meet the enemy breaking and entering via the door. Xu Ziling stood up from the chair calmly, his palms pped to the left and right windows, while simultaneously sending out two highly concentrated, scorching treasure-vase qi power to strike the two enemies entering through the windows. The neers were all dressed in nightwalker warrior outfit, their head was wrapped in ck cover, only their eyes, nose and mouth were exposed, but how could they hide from Xu Ziling? The one charging from the main entrance was the Da Zun of Da Ming Zun Jiao, Xu Kaishan, charging in from the two windowsills were Duan Yucheng and Xinnaya, respectively. The only one he was unable to guess was the enemy charging into the adjacent room, mistakenly believe that Yin Xianhe was still there. This persons martial art skill was not under Xu Kaishan. The head-on conflict with Shi Zhixuan caused damaged-troops-broken-generals to Da Ming Zun Jiao so that their strength was gravely wounded. However, the remaining few who came, none was not able-to-withstand-severe-test martial art masters, they definitely must not be lightly ignored. It was only this moment that he understood, it was the Da Ming Zun Jiao that Meiyan Furen wanted to escape from. The Five-Colored Stone that she brought from beyond the Great Wall had followed Ramo, the Envoy of the Light from Persia to the prairie on the east, who established the Da Ming Zun Jiao. The Five-Colored Stone was Da Ming Zun Jiaos highest supreme sacred object [before you criticize me, the original text indeed says highest supreme], therefore, Xu Kaishan and the others absolutely would not let it fall into an outsiders hands. Muffled grunt and tender cry were heard at the same time, before Duan Yucheng and Xinnaya had any chance to cross over the windowsill, they were forcibly jolted by Xu Zilings Treasure-Vase true qi, so that they fell backward. Xu Zilings actualbat experience was very rich, how could he be willing to let the enemy enter the room and tangle him to fight inside? Not to mention the enemy in the adjacent room was still a profound mystery, furthermore, Xu Kaishan was a martial art master closer to Shi Zhixuans level. Suddenly he charged forward. The sound of shing qi power lingered on. In the blink of an eye, Yin Xianhe exerted all his strength, giving everything he got, yet he was sealed rigidly by Xu Kaishan, and was forced to retreat step by step to the middle of the room. Xu Ziling let out a shout in low voice and slipped past Yin Xianhe. The air in front of him became like a solid object. It if were Xu Ziling before he exchanged blows against Xu Kaishan in the You Lin Xiao Gu, he would certainly be like Yin Xianhe, having the power but not the way to use it. Presently, however, he held the pearl of wisdom; his finger thrust out, he met Xu Kaishans, who was swiftly pushing forward anding toward him - pair of palms. Right wall! Yin Xianhe understood what he meant. While pulling his long sword, creating clump after clump of sword flowers, the wall, made of board of wood - on the right side shattered into pieces. The mysterious enemy, who had not shown himself, broke through the wall and entered, the long sword in his hand carried deep and severe cold air, striking down as fast as lightning, both ruthless and swift and fierce without equal. Duan Yucheng and Xinnaya reorganized their disposition of troops, they charged through the window for the second time, making Xu and Yin, two mens situation even more critical. Whoosh! Xu Zilings highly concentrated, deflecting-the-strong-attacking-the-weak finger power prated the qi wall formed by Xu Kaishans pair of palms, in a no-hole-was-not-entered strike toward Xu Kaishan. His leg flew out from below, it swiftly kicked the vital part on Xu Kaishans lower abdomen. These two attacks were extremely swift and fierce, even with Xu Kaishans skill level, he had no choice but to evade backward. Dang! Yin Xianhe collided against the enemys sword, creating sharp noise like the dragons cry, but it was obvious that in term of internal strength, he was still a notch inferior to the opponent; unable to hold out, he staggered backward and mmed against Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling let go of Xu Kaishan and fully used his unique schools special skill of reversing the true qi to meet the offensive head-on and deflected it toward the terrifying enemy breaking through the wall to attack from the adjacent room. Laughing aloud, he said, Didnt Liexia Xiong go to apany Shang Dajia to Gaoli? Hearing that, the enemy, whose entire body was wrapped in ck cloth - was shaken, his sword momentum slowed down somewhat, so that Xu Ziling was able to tap the sword de and swiftly retreated as fast as lightning. Xinnayas dagger and Duan Yuchengs long sword formed a toppling-the-mountains-and-overturning-the-seas offensive in violent attack toward the two. Xu Ziling did not dare to zealously continue fighting, he reached out to grab Yin Xianhe, whose retreating momentum had not stopped, and brought him soaring into the air, broke through the roof, and flew off without a second thought for those left behind. Kou Zhong asked, The poem that Fazhu used as the opening remarks must be able to make any woman falling head over heels, but Xiaozi [this kid]cks the skill in this aspect. A hint of tender smile escaped from the corner of Song Ques mouth, his eyes were fixed on the falling snow melting into the river water; he recited softly, as if he was reying the scene of the past back in his mind, There is bright moon underwater, there is bright moon above the water; the water flows but the moon stays, the moon leaves, the water still flows. Listening to that, Kou Zhong had forgotten the decisive battle, Wonderful! he cried out, and said, Because the scenery gives birth to emotion, because the emotion writes the scenery, emotion and scenery blend together, there is a profound meaning about the changes of the facts of life hidden behind it. It is impossible to have a poem that is more suitable for the situation at the time! Song Que looked at him back and forth, the strange light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he said, You may not believe it. When I first saw her, I knew for sure that she was a disciple from Ci Hang Jing Zhai, who set foot on the mundane world to carry out her schools assignment to involve herself in human affairs and to devote herself to spiritual development. At that time, the Chen Dynasty [557-589, one of the Southern Dynasties] had not been annihted by Yang Jian, Qinghui knew that I was a new generation of the Song Family of Lingnan, thereupon she asked me about the prosperity and decline of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Once again Kou Zhongs interest was aroused by Song Que; he asked, At that time, did Yang Jian sit on the Northern Dynasty emperors throne? Song Que nodded and said, At that time, Yang Jian had just received a beautiful name, the so-called abdication and became the Northern Dynastys lord. This man was a rare talent in military affairs. From ascending the imperial throne to therge-scale military expedition to the south, it only took him nine years. With sufficient preparation and meticulous n, whether in politics or militarily affairs, he far surpassed Chen Shubao, that muddleheaded ruler of the Southern Dynasty. However, there was a major shoring in his personality, that is, he is arbitrarily suspicious and unwilling to trust other people, which eventually led to the demonic school had an opportunity that they could exploit, and made Yang Guang toe on stage, so that hepletely lost his familial property. Today, Li Yuan is following the tracks of Yang Jians overturned cart, he is even more unbearable. Kou Zhong greatly felt that speaking with Song Que was not only some kind of enjoyment, it could also broaden his horizons, and give him understanding of the rise and fall of the chaotic government, and the principle of conducting himself. Song Que was lying low in Lingnan, unlike Yang Jian, he nned first and movedter, until the chance of victory wasing closer, only then did he go up north on arge scale. Song Que said, I presented my analysis to her that the crucial point of the south is weak, the north is strong lies in the fact that the people are in peace and rich. The reason the south is content to hold a small part of the territory for a long time is simply because the south has fertile soil, natural resources are plentiful, too bad the government is ipetent, there is a wide gap between the rich and the poor,nd acquisition by the rich is growing more serious with each passing day, good agriculturalnd is concentrated in the hands of the local tyrants and influential officials, thereupon corruption is rampant, government officers collude with the rich, robbing the mountains and thekes and giving them as grant to these people, causing harm to themon people, so that they are forced to leave home and wander from ce to ce, hungry corpses cover the ins, the people have no way to make a living. On the other hand, Yang Jian was striving unremittingly, so that the rtive superiority was clear, it was obvious at a nce. Kou Zhong nodded and said, That is a drawing-blood-on-the-first-prick view, Qinghui Zhaizhu did not agree? Song Que calmly said, She returned to the big issue of ethnic harmony. She pointed out that at the time Yang Jian ascended to the throne in the north, the various northern tribes invading and troubling our Central Earth had already been assimted and fused into a new nationality; they both had toughness of the tribes north of the Great Wall, but also did not leave from our Hans deep root of unity, and the extensive and elegant Han culture. At the same time, the northern Han tribe has long resisted various ethnic groups outside the Great Wall, cultivated a hard-working and courageous folk custom. This is a portrayal of thriving in cmity and perishing in soft living [idiom: life springs from sorrow and cmity, deathes from ease and pleasure]. Even though Yang Jian failed, ultimately the south is no match for the north, the North unifies the South, this will be the inevitable direction of historical development. And Fazhu agreed with that? Kou Zhong asked. Song Que smiled and said, As a southerner, I certainly dont like the sound of it, but I have to admit that her views were standing tall and seeing far, in deep conformance with reasons. But I pointed out that if the one currently arising in the north was not Yang Jian, but some other muddleheaded ruler, the one seeded the title in the south was not the decadent out-and-out Chen Houzhu [lit. empress master, not sure if this is a name], wouldnt history be rewritten? In the end, who unifies whom is just a question of this side is flourishing, the other side is declining. I, Song Que, will never admit that the development of history has an irreversible certainty; politics and martial arts [or military] are the means and the direct factors that determine history. The current North-South confrontation is, to a certain degree, a repeat of the situation in the past. I want to prove using facts that everyone will see that history is created by people. Kou Zhong became more and more aware that the differences between Song Que and Fan Qinghui were due to different standpoints. If Song Que was from the north, the dispute would have no ce to stand. With Song Ques talents and aspirations, he would never be willing to submit to the northern Han people of the Hu transformation, plus he did not trust the northerners, thinking that they could not draw a clear dividing line with the Hu people, and Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu and the likes have strengthened his views. In the final analysis, Li Yuan raising his troops with the help of Tujue peoples power, and until now he still had close rtionship with the Tujue, Ke Dazhis Tujue troops were the backbone of Li Jianchengs Changlin Army, all these things, Song Que raising his troops and go up north was something that was proper and to be expected as a matter of course. Zhao Deyan bing the Eastern Tujues Guoshi [teacher of the state] was also equating the demonic school with outside tribe. Both the demonic school and Ci Hang Jing Zhai belonged to the northern cultural system, while Song Ques Song family was the cornerstone of the southern culture, adhering to the distinct banner of Han unification. Song Que and the Li n Families did not bite the string [not sure], so much so that they were standing in opposition to each other, actually reflecting the dispute-born-of-differences between the north and the south. Song Que was right, history is created by people. If Song Que and Kou Zhong werent there, who would win and who would lose? It could be said that they would not wait for divining by stalk [of bamboo] on the turtle, or something that could be predicted. Kou Zhong said, Since Fazhu knew that Chen Houzhu was ipetent, why didnt you rece him at that time and fight against Yang Jian? Laughing involuntarily, Song Que said, At that time, I was still a wandering, unknown nobody, it was not until I defeated the Overbearing Saber Yue Shan, who was acimed to be the number one saber in the world that my fame began to rise and I ascended to the Fazhu position. In those days I immediately consolidated Lingnan, pacify the Yi [barbarian, non-Han] trouble, and made contact with the heroes [the word here is xiong - person having great power and influence] in the south. At this time, using the gale sweeping dead leaves momentum, Yang Jian swept away and pacify the south. He wanted to march into Lingnan, I used ten thousand elite troops to resist his more than a hundred thousand main forces in Cangwu. I, Song Que, ten battles, ten victories, so that it was difficult for Yang Jian to advance a single cun, and was forced to sue for peace. I knew that the time did not belong to me, I epted the title bestowed by the emperor as the Zhen Nan Gong [Duke who suppress the south], we became river water does not interfere with well water. I never respect Yang Jian half a courtesy, so before the death of the emperor, Yang Jian was still taking troubles to heart [idiom: brooding] that he was unable to subdue me, Song Que. And then, snorted coldly, he said, So what if the northern people unify the south? Only Yang Guanging out, the world has fallen into chaotic situation of all split up and in pieces again. One of the reasons was not only because Yang Guangs harsh government disturbed the people, he also rejoiced in grandiose deeds, and exhausted the nations power. It gives even more proof of the impropriety of the Han people after Hu transformation, thats why I do not regard it as having good prospects. The harmony between the ethnic groups is certainly not something that can be aplished with a poetic essay. The one who killed Yang Guang was Yuwen Huaji, who is from head to tail a Hu man. In order to rejuvenate the Central Earth,mon people must live in peace and happiness, they must adhere to Han unification, only then will there be prospect. Shaoshuai must remember with reverence what I, Song Que said. Kou Zhong nodded to give his promise, he felt that the burden on his shoulders became heavier. Moreover, he had an ominous feeling because Song Que was guiding him patiently and systematically like this. He could not help saying, The south unifying the north is Fazhus highest goal, other things be secondary. Since this is the case, Fazhu could decline Ning Daoqis challenge, simply let me go to tell him that you, the Senior does not have the time and a rxed frame of mind. And then Fazhu could go back to preside over the grand n to attack Jiangdu. Song Ques pair of eyes revealed a hurting expression followed by helplessness, he spoke softly, I dont want to conceal it from you, this proposal of yours has an astonishingly attractive force to me. However, the one delivering the written war challenge was Qinghuis beloved disciple, moreover, Feixuan made me see Qinghui in her, as if she was her incarnation; it really made me unable to decline. Since it has been decided, how could Song Que break my word and change my tune? Qinghui is too clear about my personality and feelings for her, this really hit my vital part. She wants me to show my determination to help you strive for the world, and I will prove everything clearly with my actions. There are not many things in the world that can move me, Ning Daoqi is one of them, plus Qinghui; how can I refuse? Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Song Que smiled and said, How about we build a log raft out of trees and wild vines? Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Are we going to take the waterway? Song Que replied, Ning Daoqi is waiting for me at Jingnian Chanyuan, by taking the waterway, we can save a bit of leg power. Since there is Shaoshuai apanying me, I can save the effort of steering the raft, and meditate for a few sichen. Tomorrow night I will have decisive battle against Ning Daoqi at Jing Yuan, to see who is the top figure of the Central Earth. That very night Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe climbed over the city wall and left Hanzhong, they hurried northward, deep into the mountainous area of Qinling mountain range, before they deeply felt and experienced the real conditions of the road sealed by ice and snow. On the official road, the snow umtion was knee-deep, the frozen snow on the branches became sparkling and translucent icicles. When the wind blew, the snowke floated down; it was quite a different scene. All around, the snowy peaks were moving up and down, but they did not see any other human being. The sky was pitch-ck with thick clouds hanging low in the air, it seemed like heavy snow coulde down at any moment. Yin Xianhe looked back and caught a nce of two sets of foot print extending as far as the eye could see, he said, If Da Ming Zun Jiao people are dead set on ceaselesslying to pursue us, surely they cant possiblye to nothing! Concerned, Xu Ziling asked, You are not injured, are you? I am much better! Yin Xianhe replied, There is still a little blood-and-qi-cannot-flow-freely, but it doesnt give me any problem. Liexias martial art skill seems to be tougher than Xu Kaishan, this is really strange! Xu Ziling said, Its because Xu Kaishans internal injury has not recovered yet, otherwise, to get away, we would have to spend a lot more effort. Its really strange! Yin Xianhe asked in astonishment, Your really strange refers to which aspect? Xu Ziling replied, When I was in Longquan that day, Da Ming Zun Jiao people did not attach much importance to the Five-Colored Stone, at least they did not exhaust their entire strength to fight it over. But now they do not seem to spare anything, which makes me feel strange. Yin Xianhe nodded and agreed, Unless they dont want to mingle in the Central ins anymore, they shouldnt mess with you. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, I understand now! Yin Xianhe wondered, My remarks unexpectedly enlightened you? he asked. Xu Zilingughed and said, Thats exactly right. The fact is that they dont want to mingle in the Central ins, they even want to leave the area beyond the Great Wall to go to a ce where they can promote Da Ming Zun Jiao. Whether outside or inside the Great Wall, they have enemies everywhere. Merely Shi Zhixuan one person is enough to make them heart-raised-guts-hanging, and Huihes Pusa wont let them get away even more. Yin Xianhe did not understand, Where else can they go? he asked. The two men crossed over a mountain ridge, they walked down the slope of the official road. Xu Ziling said, Naturally Persia, the birthce of the Da Ming Zun Jiao, only there the Five-Colored Stone has the most value and the most usage. They only need to weave a pleasant-to-hear story and return the Five-Colored Stone to its rightful owner, and then they can have some other achievement. Otherwise, the only conclusion remaining is to sit and wait for death. Yin Xianhe spoke cheerfully, Zilings deduction is reasonable and fair, I cant find any w to be rebutted. He went on, If the Five-Colored Stone bes their only way out and their only hope to restore their might, they definitely will not let us get away. Nothing could be better than that, Xu Ziling said, Isnt Xianhe trying to seek justice for the Anle Bang [Anle Gang, Book 38 Chapter 4]? Well just aplish this matter before reaching Changan. Knitting his brows, Yin Xianhe said, Since Ziling has this intention, why didnt you deal with them to the end just now, to meet the real problem head-on? Xu Ziling replied, Before, the initiative and control were in their hands, you, Laoge, have not awakened from a hangover, your power was greatly reduced, if we continue staking it all, it would be us who suffer losses. But now we can store up momentum to wait, to deliver them a frontal assault when theye. Moreover, in term of strategy its flexible and changeable; this is called that was then and this is now. Yin Xianheughed in spite of himself, he said, No wonder Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings names can intimidate the area inside and outside of the Great Wall, the longer I hang out with you guys, the more I feel that you are extremely daring, the ghosts and deities cannot fathom, all kinds of things that are difficult for other people to reach. Xu Ziling said, Your mood has improved a lot! Yin Xianhe nodded and said, I dont know whether I was affected by you, I suddenly feel very optimistic about future prospects. In fact, your situation is not much better than mine, plus your problems are nearly-impossible-to-untie tight knots, yet you still face it courageously. My problem is simpler than yours, whether Ji Qian knows Xiaojis whereabouts or does not know, after arriving in Changan, as the water recedes, the rocks appear [idiom: the truthes to light]. If Laotianye is unwilling to let us, brother and sister to meet again, I have no choice but to ept misfortune as decreed by fate, and then exhaust my strength to help Ziling to resolve the catastrophe and disaster facing the Central ins. I hope I can umte some good fortune and virtue for Xiaoji. Xu Ziling came to understand that the reason Yin Xianhe became more energetic was that he, Xu Ziling had stirred up the chivalry in his heart and helped him to find his goal in life. Greatly gratified, he said, Dont worry! I am confident that you can reunite with your virtuous sister. Huh! What smells so good? Yin Xianhe raised his nose and sniffed around, he said, Oh! Its a very familiar aroma! If Im not mistaken, someone is roasting wolf meat ahead. I have eaten wolf meat several times outside the Great Wall, the meat tastes quite not bad. The two men rounded a bend on the gorge road, some distance away by the official road ahead, there were glimmers ofntern light, the aroma precisely came from that ce. Yin Xianhe said, Its a ry station for post horses. I did not expect that during cold weather, frozen ground [idiom] in here, there are still people staying behind to take care of things. Xu Ziling said, Even if there are people staying behind to take care of things, they ought to go to bed and enter their quilt to seek for dreams early on, how could they make a fire and roast some meat? Furthermore, its wolf meat. Yin Xianheughed and said, Zilings thinking is meticulous, far better than Xiaodi. Shall we walk past perfectly straight, or enter the ry station to share a couple of bites? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, The guest passing through a doorway, naturally should go in and have a look. Xianhe Xiong, what do you think? Yin Xianhe said cheerfully, I will abide by Zilings decision in everything. Chatting andughing, the two men walked towards the ry station. The snow was still falling from the sky, from sparse it grew dense; the entire mountain area fell into in the vast and obscure white snow. Book 56 5 – JinGang’s Explanation

Book 56 Chapter 5 - JinGangs Exnation

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong sculled the oar at the aft of the raft, his gaze fell on the facing-the-river-course-ahead, sitting-cross-legged-in-meditation, looking-like-a-mountains-mighty-peak Song Ques back. As the snowkes fell to about half a chi above his head, immediately, as if it was pulled by some kind of mysterious, unfathomable force - it automatically flew to the side past him, not even halfnded on his body. The heavy snow was still, hiding the sky and covering the earth - sprinkling down continuously, so that the raft was covered with several cun of snow, which greatly increased the weight of the raft, so that Kou Zhong had to work hard to clear it up many times. In the vast expanse of whiteness of the wind and the snow, both banks of the Yi River became a fuzzy silhouette. No matter how the log raft was shaking and jolting on the surface of the river, Song Que was still sitting as steady as the Mount Tai, he was not swayed the least bit. The Heavenly Saber, which name shook the world, was lying t on his knees, held lightly with both hands, making Kou Zhong even more aware of Song Ques apart from the saber, there was nothing else realm. In this battle, whether Song Que would have good or bad luck, it was really difficult to guess. Kou Zhong had fought against the two men in two separate asions, but he waspletely unable to tell who was superior and who was inferior. They both resembled a deep and immeasurable ??abyss and ocean, which was beyond anybodys capability to fathom and grasp its depth. If Ning Daoqi lost, of course everything would proceed as before, this decisive battle was only an interlude on the road to unify the world; if Song Que was defeated, then Kou Zhong would have no way out, he could only carry-on Song Ques legacy and fulfill Song Ques dream, honor does not allow one to nce back. After learning more deeply through Song Ques words about his difference in opinion with Fan Qinghui, he could no longer figure out who was in the right and who was in the wrong. Each one has his and her own standpoint and perspective, not only a mere battle of ideas, but also a battle of regions. Not alone but in pairs [idiom: not a unique urrence], Qin Emperor Ying Zheng ended the long-term division of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the national strength was flourishing for a time, but it was merely passed down for one generation and then died; the Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, brought the chaotic situation of the Wei, Jin, the North and South Dynasties back to unity, yet it also copsed in two generations. Was this kind of coincidence the fate of history? Or was it the inevitable consequences of insisting on the uniformity under the differences in ideology and culture? After the Qin Dynasty, the Han dynasty enjoyed long-term peace and stability, after the Sui Dynasty, would the Central Earth enjoy the same good fortune? Enlightened by Song Que, Kou Zhong surpassed his own ce and time, he viewed the rise and fall of ancient and modern governance and the underlying reasons from a birds-eye view, making him more introspective of his situation. Under his control, the log raft proceeded to the north, taking Song Que to the site of the decisive battle. This was not only the most sensational life-and-death showdown in the Central Earth, but also the key decisive battle that would decide the fate of the world. Kou Zhong deeply felt that regardless of the oue of the battle, after the decisive battle, the situation in the Central ins would never return to its original state. Inside, the ry station was as warm as spring, the aroma permeated the whole ce, seven men, dressed as traveling merchants and ordinary people sat surrounding a makeshift stove made of a pile of rocks, roasting a pair of wolf legs, smoke bits leaked out of the broken windows on both sides, the air in the building was not choking and stuffy at all. Seeing Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe, two uninvited guests pushing the door and entering in, they only looked at them with scorching gaze, sizing them up, but did not greet them, which instantly made them feel the rather tense and murderous atmosphere. Xu and Yin, two men were ustomed to running around in Jianghu, seeing each one of them had traveling bag that was long in shape and was ced nearby where their hands could reach, they knew that hidden within them must be weapons. Not only these seven robust-looking men were not family men, perhaps they were even robbers specializing in robbing travelers, murder, and looting. Xu Ziling closed the door to keep the wind and the snow outside the door, his gaze fell on a robust man, about twenty-six, twenty-eight years old, sitting by the stove facing the door. This man was grave in manner, with calm expression, although he had windblown dust across his face, it was still hard to conceal his heroic spirit; evidently he was not an ordinary little thief who blocked peoples path to way and rob, but a martial art master with extremely high martial art skill. He met Xu Zilings gaze without yielding at all, and then he revealed a look of surprise, a clear sign of his brilliant eyesight. The others only followed him blindly, they all cast him questioning look, waiting for him to give orders. Xu Ziling instinctively felt that they were notmon robbers, thereupon he revealed a smile and cupped his fist in greeting and said, Please forgive us for our offense in disturbing you, just because we smell the aroma of meat, we cant help buting in, there is no other intention. The strong man with heroic spirit rose up to his full height, cupped his fist to return the greeting, and said, Xiongtais demeanor and appearance reminds Zaixia of someone; may I venture to ask your honorable surname and great given name? The tone of his voice had a thick north-of-the-border ent; Xu Zilings heart was moved, he replied calmly, I am Xu Ziling. Everybody, the heroic and grand man included, revealed a shocked expression; those who were sitting stood up promptly to salute him, their manner friendly. The heroic and grand man revealed a tired-hero air, a deeply-moved expression; smiling wryly, he said, Turns out it is indeed Xu Xiong, Xiaodi Song JinGang. Xu Ziling was stunned, How could Song Xiong be here? Song JinGang spoke dejectedly, Defeated troops general has no brave words to say; this matter, start exining and its a long story. Why dont we sit down and discuss it in detail? Everybody sat around the stove again, Xu Ziling and Yin Xianhe sat on Song JinGangs left and right, respectively. After introducing Yin Xianhe, everyone took turns cutting off the wolf meat with a sharp de, they then chewed and talked at the same time. Song JinGang said, To be able to sit here and share wolf meat with Xu Xiong, Yin Xiong, is Laotianyes special favor to me. After the big defeat at Baibi, Li Shimin dispatched his troops to pursue relentlessly and strike Dingyang Khan and me, we were unable to defend Taiyuan, our only option was to retreat outside the Great Wall to seek refuge to Xieli, who would have thought that we fell into Zhao Deyans treacherous conspiracy. Dingyang Khan was Liu Wuzhou, Song JinGangs master. Frowning, Xu Ziling asked, What gratitude and grudges does Zhao Deyan have with you, and why did he want to frame you? Song JinGang said, The problem was that Xieli rather showed respect for me, Song Jingang, which caused Zhao Deyan to have misgivings, thereupon he put forward a suggestion to Dingyang Khan, iming that Xieli wanted us to return to Shanggu and Mayi, to recruit our former subordinates, and deploy them to strike back at the Tang army. Who could have thought that when we followed the order and led our men back to the Central ins, on the way, Zhao Deyan unexpectedly told Xieli that we intended to plot a rebellion? For this reason, we were hunted to be killed by the Golden Wolf Army; Dingyang Khan died on the spot, nearly a thousand brothers, not one was lucky enough to be spared, only the seven of us managed to escape. Another man said, It is all thanks to Song Shuai mander]ing up with Golden Cicada shedding its shell stratagem, using a dead brother to put on his clothes and muddled his face that Zhao Deyan was willing to retreat. A feeling of I knew it would happen like this welled up in Xu Zilings heart, there was no need to sigh with regret. Perhaps Zhao Deyan was prompted by Xieli from behind, because Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang had lost their utilization value and should not remain in the world anymore. If the two men were executed openly, it might disturb the heart of the other Han people who depended on the Tujue, hence they adopted this method. Song JinGang sighed to vent his frustration and said, Arent we so stupid? Inwardly, Xu Ziling thought that he was scheming with a tiger for its skin, and became the Tujue peoples hunting dog, so he begged to differ. However, Song JinGang had already reached the mountain and river exhausted plight, and he was unwilling to throw stones at somebody who fell down a well, hence he had no choice but to say, The victor is called the king, the loser is called the bandit, what smart or stupid is there to speak about? What is Song Xiongs n for the future? Song JinGang said, To be quite honest, there is no more ce in the north for Song JinGang to stand, hence I was thinking of living in Jiangnan to seek refuge with Xiao Xian, who has always had close rtion with us. Who would have thought that after returning to the Central ins, I began to know that the situation had changed drastically? Song Ques troops havee out of Lingnan to help Shaoshuai to contend for the world. It is almost certain that sooner orter the north and south of the Yangtze River will entirely belong to the Shao Shuai Army. Therefore, I dispelled the intention of seeking refuge to Xiao Xian; after much consideration, I chose Bashu, far away from the core of the struggle for hegemony in the Central ins, hoping to find a bright and beautiful scenery to hide in the old age and not to worry about the trouble of the world anymore. Yin Xianhe asked in surprise, Song Xiong, why not consider joining Shaoshuai? Song Xiongs familiarity with the Tujue will be very useful to Shaoshuai. Song JinGang revealed a pained expression, he said, In the past, I have had a bad heart toward Shaoshuai, I worked with Xiao Xian and Xiang Yushan to harm him, so how could I still have the face to ask him to offer shelter to me? Its finished! JinGangs heart is now like dead ashes, I have no lofty aspiration anymore. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Song Xiong withdrawing from the dispute, that is a sensible act. Song JinGang spoke solemnly, Xu Xiong does not recall old grievances, not speaking half a sentence of sarcastic words toward JinGang, JinGang is extremely grateful. Currently, the situation outside the Great Wall is tense, under Xieli and Tulis leadership, various tribes outside the Great Wall formed an alliance, the pretty propaganda is to send armed forces to suppress Li Yuan to help Kou Zhong, but they are secretly gathering military forces in preparation for arge-scale invasion to the south. On the other hand, Zhao Deyan, via the demonic schools power in Changan, is doing his best to appease Li Yuan and Li Jiancheng. It is said that Li Yuan is still kept in the dark of the affairs of the coalition forces outside the Great Wall; the situation is extremely far from good. Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart was even heavier. Song JinGang escaped from the Tujue division, he had first-hand intelligence about Xieli and Tuli, those were absolutely not empty words. He had personally seen Liang Shidou sending his son to buy Jiangnan firearms from Haisha Bang, he knew that the demonic school and the Tujue were deploying a big conspiracy to deal with Li Shimin. If Li Shimin was killed, the main forces from outside the Great Wall would invade immediately. In term of strategy, it was extremely brilliant. Song JinGangs words strengthened his determination to see Li Shimin; moreover, it was a matter that demanded immediate action. With meaningful and heartfelt words, Song JinGang said, Among the various hegemons of the South, Fu Gongyou, Li Zitong and Shen Faxing are all not enough to be a problem, they only fit to be the target for Shaoshuai to refine his saber. The only worries are Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong, between the two, thetter is more difficult to deal with. If they hadnt been curbing each other, they would have crossed the river to go up north and expand their power. Xu Ziling was more concerned about the threat of the coalition forces from beyond the Great Wall, at the moment he did not care about Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong, however, the other side had good intentions, so out of courtesy, he asked, What does Song Xiong think about these two? Song JinGang said, Xiao Xians shorings are that he is wide on the outside and narrow on the inside; he is jealous of talents, and suppress and put to death those with high merits, hence internally he is unstable. Ay! If not for I am at the end of my rope, I definitely would not think of relying on help from him. Xu Ziling smiled and said, In that case, Kou Zhong had done Song Xiong a favor instead, so that Song Xiong could make the right decision. Song JinGangughed awkwardly, he was embarrassed that fame and profit had dominated his thoughts; he went on, Lin Shihong has just had Feng Ang leading his troops to realign their allegiance to him, his power has greatly increased, his strength surpasses Xiao Xian, so he should not be underestimated. Xu Ziling was about to express his thanks when the rm suddenly went off in his heart, and he shouted in a low voice, Someonesing! Kou Zhong thought of many things, as well as all kinds of possibilities, and finally came to a conclusion that he himself was also surprised, that is, in case Song Que was defeated, he must deal with the crisis brought about by it with absolute calm, to make urate and effective leadership arrangement, and he should not act impetuously, and let negative emotions to cover up reason. He must put the final victory in the most important position, because he was no longer a little ruffian who charged to the south and wandered to the north with Xu Ziling, but the supreme leader of the Shao Shuai Army after it merged with the Song Family Army. Whatever mistake hemitted would follow him as a person, as well as the army and the civilians under the Shao Shuai Armys rule, and brought about catastrophic and terrible consequences. Only those who are ruthless enough would be able to survive. This three-month frozen period must be utilized well, he must use the most swift and fierce military strategy to put the variousnds in the south under his full control, he must use actions to give proof for all those who oppose him to see, no one can stop him, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong. Thinking to this point, his mind was able to move nimbly, he repeatedly envisaged and pondered over different possibilities over which he could deploy his troops, to advance or to retreat, which would be the most beneficial to his great undertaking of unification. At this moment, he finally seeded in integrating the saber method into the art of war. Apart from the saber, there was nothing else. Boom! The wooden door was shattered, the fragments shot toward the men sitting around the stove like a torrential rain; it would be strange indeed if it hit the eye and did not immediately destroy the eyeball. Thereupon wind and snow immediately rolled inside the building, blowing the stove so that smoke and fire bits sshed everywhere, the momentum was shocking to the extreme. Even with Xu Zilings cultivation level, his heart shivered greatly. From the moment he sensed someone was approaching and he spoke out a warning, to the time the neer broke the door and attacked, it was just a snap of the fingers. Evidently the neers power was very high and not inferior to him, Xu Ziling. The speed of his action, the violent, swift and fierce method, everything showed that it was the style of a top killer assassin, a martial art master of Yang Xuyans caliber. The saber shed, immediately saber qi filled the air inside the entire ry station building. The saber des points of light, reflecting the me, like shooting star, delivered a frontal assault toward Song JinGang, ruthless to the extreme point. Song JinGang had not had the time to pull out his saber from the half-open bundle, the saber de was already less than three chi away from his throat. Song JinGang deserved to be called a martial art master, although he was in an absolutely disadvantageous position, he was still facing-death-and-was-not-confused, and rolled backward to evade. His six men, everybody scrambled to stand up and pulled out their weapons, but they were still a few steps toote; if the other side seized the opportunity to pursue and attack, it could almost be guaranteed that before Song JinGang was beheaded, they would not be able to even touch the tail of the opponents clothes. Yin Xianhes long sword left his back, but the moment he wanted to hack sideways at the enemys de, Xu Ziling sprang from the ground and swung his fist to hit the side of the de. Pow! The qi power collided, it created a sharp noise like an explosion. The man pulled the saber back and retreated toward the main entrance. He came and went like an arrow, after reaching the door, he stood still like a nail, swaying slightly. Song JinGangs men were about to rush forward to stake their life, Xu Ziling shouted loudly, Everyone, stop! The wind and the snow were whooshing wildly, it rolled inside from outside the building. Although the fire in the stove, which was gradually returning to its original state, was still flickering, floating and shing, it already greatly improved the visibility inside the ry station building. The man stood with the saber across his chest, he shouted sternly, Ziling, dont interfere, this is a matter between us Tujue people and Song JinGang. If Ziling still considers me to be a friend, please leave immediately. From the ground, Song JinGang leaped up, holding his saber; his face turned ashen, he drew out a mouthful of cold breath and said, Ke Dazhi! The murderous aura in Ke Dazhis pair of eyes ring greatly, the saber qi locked everybody inside the building tightly. Throwing his head back inughter, he said, It is indeed me. Dazhi received Great Khans order, I absolutely must not allow you to live in the world. Do you think that by finding someone to put on your clothes, you can cross the sea by a trick? It did not deceive anyone within our Tujue people. Song JinGang snorted coldly and said, Im here, if you have the ability,e and take my life! Ke Dazhis gaze fell to Xu Ziling, he spoke coldly, Whether we are enemies or friends, Ziling can decide with one word. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, As long as Dazhi can tell any fact that Song Xiong has turned his back on your honorable Great Khan, Xianhe and I will leave immediately and dare not interfere with Dazhis mission. Ke Dazhis face as cold as ice, he shouted, Betraying the Great Khan, returning to the Central ins privately, conspiring against thew, those are not enough? Xu Ziling shook his head and said with a sigh, This is Zhao Deyan ying ghost from the inside, pretending to pass on your honorable Great Khans decree, sending them back to the Central ins to recruit their former subordinates. Your Great Khan has been deceived by him! Ke Dazhi was slightly startled, casting his gaze toward Song JinGang, he said with a sneer, You and Liu Wuzhou are not three-year-old children at all, how could you just believe in one sides words, why didnt you confirm with Great Khan, instead of leaving in the night, leading your troops to sneak away? Song JinGang recovered his cool-headedness, he spoke heavily, Dont think that Im scared of you, Im answering your question by looking at Xu Xiongs face. At that time the Great Khan was not in themanding tent, we inquired with Tonyukuk, and received his confirmation, only then did we not suspect him. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, In this kind of situation, anything we say is superfluous. Xu Xiong making your move makes me very grateful, but this is certainly the gratitude and grudges between me, Song JinGang and the Tujue people, the main cause is that I no longer have a value to be used, plus I regret my past deeds even more. If Laotian [God, lit. old heaven] foreordain me to have my bones buried in here, I dont have the slightest resentment. Xu Xiong and Yin Xiong, please continue your journey. Yin Xianhe nodded and said, Good man! Xu Ziling said to Ke Dazhi, Song Xiongs matter was told by Song Xiong himself during a small talk earlier, it should be true, what is the point of him lying to me in this respect? In my opinion, your honorable Great Khan med Song Xiong for the loss of arge number of his officers and soldiers, hence the murderous intent grew in his heart The murderous intent in Ke Dazhis pair of eyes continued to grow without letup, he spoke coldly, Ziling, no need to talk nonsense, do you really want to mind this matter? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, This is not the first day that you know me, you should know that I wont sit and watch such an unfair matter. Qiang! Beyond anybodys expectation, Ke Dazhi unexpectedly returned the saber into its scabbard, he walked over toward Xu Ziling, opened up his arms, and said with loudughter, Since Xu Ziling wants to mind this matter, plus there is Yin Xiong to help out, what can I, Ke Dazhi do? Under everybodys dumbfounded stares, Xu Ziling quickly stepped forward to embrace him, heughed and said, Then how are you going to exin to the Great Khan? Letting go of him, Ke Dazhi smiled and said, Whats so surprising about failing to pursue a couple of people? Not to mention that it was not the Great Khan who personally gave me the order, but Kang Qiaoli passing on the message to me, saying that he discovered Song Xiong is fleeing to Hanzhong, intending to escape to Bashu. Xiaodi had heard that Song Xiongs martial art skill is exceptional, I could not bear the itch on my hand and chase after him, thats all! Puzzled, Yin Xianhe asked, How do you know that it was Song Xiong who is inside the ry station building and not anybody else? Ke Dazhi calmly replied, So what if it were other people? At most, I would have to apologize. Ay! Actually, I found the wolf carcass, the cutting technique is the people outside the borders usual practice, I also smell the aroma of wolf meat, so I guessed Song Xiong was eating inside the building. Still skeptical, Xu Ziling said, You really wont look for Song Xiong and his Xiongdi to settle the ount again? Ke Dazhi spoke in displeasure, said This is not the first day that you know me, did Ke Dazhi ever say anything that does not count? Turning to Song JinGang, he said, Song Xiong had better leave immediately, go and hide as far away as possible, the demonic schools power is enormous, I dont know whether Zhao Deyan has any other operation to deal with you. Xu Ziling nodded and said, This is not the time to show off to be a hero, Song Xiong can preserve your life, it could be considered you are already in Zhao Deyans wanted list, Dazhis words make sense! Song JinGang cupped his fist to salute, he said, Very well! Two gentlemens kindness, I, Song JinGang will never forget. Goodbye! Finished speaking, he fetched his bundle, along with his men, they disappeared into the wind and the snow outside the door. A heroic and mighty man of this generation, unexpectedly ended up this way, it made people sigh. Ke Dazhiughed and said, There is still leftover wolf meat, it can be sacrificed inside my Wuzang Miao [five internal organs temple]. Xu Ziling asked in surprise, Arent you wolf-worshiping people? Ke Dazhi said, We worship Wolf God, but when hungry, we can even eat people, let alone beasts? Lets sit down first and talkter, I want to reminisce the days when I fought side by side with you in Longquan! A burst of warmth grew in Xu Zilings heart, but when he remembered that one day he would fight a decisive battle against Ke Dazhi on the battlefield, he could not help sighing with myriad of emotions. Nature [as the mother of all things] ys with people, nothing can surpass this. Book 56 6 – The Reasoning

Book 56 Chapter 6 - The Reasoning

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Although Kou Zhong sculled the oar silently on the log raft, his mind transcended the raft and the Yi River, epassing the uing decisive battle between Song Que and Ning Daoqi, even beyond the limits of the region, inside and outside the Great Wall, all the mountains and rivers geographical terrain, the customs and social rtionship, the tangled andplicated rtions between ethnic groups, between nations, everything was clear in his mind. He had traveled all over the world, experiencedrge and small wars, defended and besieged cities, fled from danger and pursued and attacked. These many umted valuable experiences,bined with Song Ques repeatedly guiding him patiently and systematically - have enabled him to grasp the strengths and weaknesses of the enemy and us in a transparent manner like a spiritual orifice brightly lit, just like his Moon in the Well, enabling him to see through various deceitful trick of the enemys like it was the truth. There has never been a moment when he knew himself, and knew his enemy - better than this moment; the overall strategy of unifying the world emerged in his mind. He knew clearly that when he returned to Pengliang, he would put aside everything, including his personal joys and troubles, even Song Ques life and death, to lead the Shao Shuai Army on the big road to unify the world. He did not do this to satisfy his personal desires, but for the peace and happiness of themon people in the world. They have had enough! The time hase to end the suffering of long-term division and chaos of war. The three men sat around the fire of the stove, continuing to enjoy the roast wolf meat banquet. Snow powder continuously rolled in, brought by the wind through the open wide main gate, blowing the fire in the stove that it flickered indeterminately. Such a snowy and cold night, it would give people a different, unforgettable feeling. Ke Dazhi spoke emotionally, Bashu has now be an ideal refuge for a lot of people. Shaoshuai was able to leave Luoyang alive to return to Pengliang, also obtained Song Ques sending the troops to help him, his power is increasing greatly, sooner orter, the south will be his world. As long as it is not an ignoramus, anybody would know that his struggle against Changan will be the most tragic and its implication will be the widest since the fall of the Great Sui Dynasty. Apart from Bashu, I am afraid there wont be many ces in the Central ins that can escape the fire of war. Xu Ziling wanted to ask him whether you, Tujue people were going tounchrge-scale invasion to the south, but in the end he did not say anything. Ke Dazhi continued, Current situation is very favorable to Shaoshuai, although Li Shimin seeded in destroying Dou Jiande, defeating Wang Shichong and acquiring Luoyang, but because you broke through the siege and escaped, furthermore, Liu Heita started to rise against the Tang with the support of Fan Yuan, Cao Zhan, and Gao Yaxian, and then he was ndered by Li Jiancheng and the imperial concubines in front of Li Yuan, saying that he remembered fondly his old friendship with you, and thus hecked determination, Li Yuan was greatly furious. Three times he issued imperial order forcing him to return to Changan to report and exin. I hear that he is now on his way to return to Changan. If I were Li Shimin, I would simply lead my army back to attack Changan to vent my resentment. You are not benevolent, I dont have to be righteous, so what if they are father and brothers? In his heart Xu Ziling sighed secretly, this is called Li Yuan was self-destructing the Great Wall; if Li Shimin was killed by the demonic school, the Tujue army would immediatelyunch arge-scale invasion, Li Tangs situation would be dangerous. He could not help asking, How is Liu Heitas situation? Showing a look of disdain, Ke Dazhi said, In Li Shimins absence, the responsibility for leading the troops to attack Liu fell on Li Yuanji, with Li Shentong as his deputy. Before I left Changan, I heard the news that Li Yuanji and Li Shentong have joined forces with Youzhou [ancient province in north Hebei and Liaoning] Zongguan Li Yi, thebined force is over fifty-thousand men, they met Liu Heitas army at Raoyang [county in Hengshui, Hebei], although victory or defeat is still unknown, Liu Heitas name shakes Shandong, hence I dont regard Li Yuanji, who suffered defeat in every battle, as having good prospects. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly Liu Heitas power has expanded so quickly? Ke Dazhi said, Li Yuanjis execution of Dou Jiande in public was the biggest miscalction, only Li Yuan pretended as if he hadnt seen it. This incident made themon people of Shandong extremely indignant. Dou Jiandes former subordinates are millions of people all of one mind [idiom: the people united] even more to demand justice for their master, a debt of blood must be paid in blood. In terms of strategy and the art of war, Liu Heita is indeed very remarkable, he upied Zhangnan first, and then capture Baxian. Li Tangs Weizhou provincial governor Quan Wei and Gangzhou provincial governor Guo Yuanxiang were both beheaded by Liu Heita. This step-by-step victory that is like a hot knife through butter made a lot of people realigning their allegiance to him. Xu Yuang, who had already surrendered to the House of Tang, after he detained the Tang Envoy Shi Shengyan, led his troops to respond to Liu Heita, and was conferred the title Da Xing Tai Yuanshuai [lit. Big-Marching-Supporting Marshall]. If Liu Heita can support Shao Shuai going up north, it would be difficult for Changan to escape the misfortune of the fall of the empire, so what if even theres Li Shimin? He paused for a moment, and then said, Rumor has it that Liu Heita has a close rtionship with you guys, is it true? Xu Ziling felt big headache; the rise of Liu Heita has added more variables to the already chaotic world. He sighed, nodded his head, and said, It is true, but how our rtionship will develop in the future, I am afraid only Laotianye knows. Ke Dazhis gaze fell on Yin Xianhe, he smiled and said, I did not expect Yin Xiong to be with Ziling; Yin Xiong still does not like to talk, just like in Longquan. Yin Xianhe forced himself to squeeze out a smiling expression, revealing a bit of friendliness, but still did not speak. Ke Dazhi turned to Xu Ziling and said, Isnt Ziling going to Changan? Helpless, Xu Ziling replied, I do want to go to Changan for a bit of personal affair, nothing to do with Kou Zhongs great undertaking, what advice does Ke Xiong have for me? Ke Dazhi spoke heavily, Only one sentence: it is not advisable to stay in Changan for a long time. Xu Ziling understood, although he was not in direct conflict with him yet, ultimately they were standing on opposite sides, Ke Dazhi was willing to tell him that, it could be considered very rare; he nodded his head to indicate he understood. Ke Dazhi said, One more thing: Gaoli King of Goryeo officially sent a letter to Li Yuan, saying that Gaolis top martial art master Yi Jian Dashi Fu Cailin will represent Gaoli to have a meeting with Li Yuan in Changan, on the way, he wants to experience the martial art study of the Central ins. It seems that he has the intention of challenging Ning Daoqi or Song Que in order to promote Gaolis fame for fighting prowess. If he really can be victorious, the effect will be more intimidating than winning a hard battle. Xu Ziling cried Not good! inwardly; Fu Cailin came from afar, how could he be willing to let him and Kou Zhong off? The problem was that they must not let their Niangs Shifu to have his fame for fighting prowess damaged, which put them in a position where there was no room to advance or to retreat. Ke Dazhis pair of eyes shot a peculiar expression, he spoke dejectedly, Xiufang Dajia is going toe back with him. Xu Ziling said, I just saw Liexia. Ke Dazhis tiger-body shook, the murderous aura in his pair of eyes red greatly, he spoke heavily, Where is that kid? Xu Ziling said, He wanted to snatch the Five-Colored Stone from me, together with Xu Kaishan, Xinnaya and Duan Yucheng, with their heads and faces covered,unching sneak attack on us, hence the reason Xianhe and I had to leave Hanzhong through the night, and happened to run into you. There really seems to be a master of the underworld, or else Song JinGangs life would havee to an end. Shaken, Ke Dazhi said, Xu Kaishan is really the Da Zun? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Even if he turned into ashes, I will still recognize him, not to mention only by covering his head and face. Ke Dazhi smiled and said, I wonder if Ziling seized the Five-Colored Stone from Meiyan, thatss? I heard that she fled from outside the Great Wall pinching the stone with her. Fortunately, heavens has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it [idiom, from Laozi], finally the Five-Colored Stone returned to Zilings hands. Xu Ziling said, Thats precisely the case. I went to the inn to stay for the night, but I did not expect that it was precisely the ce where Meiyan Furen was staying. At that time, someone from Da Ming Zun Jiao must be watching in secret, seeing me taking the stone, he informed Xu Kaishan and the others, henceter on they mounted a sneak attack. Ke Dazhi said, With Yang Xuyan threading the needle and leading them, Da Ming Zun Jiao obtained Li Yuans approval to build a temple in Changan. Who would have thought that Shi Zhixuan thoroughly acted ruthlessly to kill Sha Fang and her attendants, even chickens and dogs were not spared. Now the Five-Colored Stone has fallen into Zilings hands again, they have enough bad luck. How about we go to Hanzhong to take advantage of the excitement, Liexia is mine, Xu Kaishan is Zilings? Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, Xu Kaishan is mine. Xu Ziling nodded and said, No need to make clear distinction about who belongs to whom. Da Ming Zun Jiao secretly do everything that offend Heaven and reason, merely the sin of wolf-bandits evil deeds deserve ten thousand deaths. If we let them to flee to Persia, I dont know how many people will suffer. The only problem is Duan Yucheng, he has always been my Shuanglong Bang brother, I cant bear to see him continue obstinately persisting in going about things the wrong way. Ke Dazhi asked, What is Zilings proposal? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, This is a hard-to-untie tight knot, about the Five-Colored Stone, they definitely will not be willing to let the matter drop, sooner orter they will catch up. Ay! Ke Dazhi was puzzled, he said, Sometimes I really dont understand you and Kou Zhong. He is not benevolent, I dont have to be righteous, there is nothing good to say. You cannot bear to make your move, I can do it for you. This is the best timing to pull Da Ming Zun Jiao by the roots. Yin Xianhe spoke up, If we miss this opportunity, we may never be able to demand justice for the souls of those who were killed unjustly by Da Ming Zun Jiao. Xu Ziling spoke dejectedly, All right! But Yucheng has not shown any evil deeds yet, gentlemen, please spare him. Ke Dazhi said, In order to prevent any fish from slipping through the, Yin Xiong and I will be watching on the side. At that time, we will surely be able to surprise them and caught them off guard. Finished speaking, together with Yin Xianhe, they left via the broken window. Xu Ziling was left alone facing the fire, his heart was sighing with myriad of emotions, this is how human disputese about. Differences between people lead to differences in ideas and interests. Different religious beliefs, different regions, different races, dispute and differences between nations, have caused never ending conflicts of various forms. These various factors that cause struggles will never fade and extinguished, they can only be coordinated and bnced as much as possible, relying on each individuals strength. How he hoped he could escape from everything that vexed him and live in seclusion in the pure soil of the human world, isted from the vulgar dust, to enjoy the cool breeze and the bright moons tranquil life. But this was still an unattainable beautiful dream. Since meeting Shi Feixuan again in Chengdu, his mind has not been able to quiet down. The two conversations with Fu Qian and Yin Xianhe have made him realize the imminent disaster facing the Central Earth, and the opportunity to solve it was right before him, if he missed it, there wont be another chance. For the sake of all the people of the worlds happiness, for the sake of his love for Shi Feixuan, he made a firm resolution to do everything he could to ovee all obstacles and turn the situation before his eyes around. Even if he worked to no avail, he would ultimately exhaust his strength, his heart would have a clear conscience, and he did not fail Shi Feixuans expectations. The fact before his eyes, if he still did not change his proactive attitude, there would be a great chance that Li Shimin was going to be killed by Li Jiancheng under Li Yuans acquiescence. If he was ignorant of Liang Shidou smuggling firearms, he would not feel the urgency in this regard. Li Shimin was forced to abandon the officers and soldiers to rush back to Changan, this would precisely provide Li Jiancheng, the various factions of the demonic school, and the Tujue people with a once-in-a-thousand-years chance to remove this thorn in their side. Li Shimins catastrophe was pressing in on his eyshes [idiom: imminent], and he simply could not tuck his hands inside his sleeves and not be concerned, especially after he gained a more thorough understanding and awareness of the situation in the world. The warning sign appeared in his heart. Xu Ziling cleared up his mind, he shouted indifferently, Yucheng, youe in and listen to what I have to say, otherwise I will crush the Five-Colored Stone into powder. If Song Que was defeated and died, the contention over the world would be determined by the oue of the battle between him, Kou Zhong and Li Shimin, and the key was who would gain control of Luoyang. The fall of Jiangdu was a matter time, when Li Zitong was defeated and dispersed, Shen Faxing would be unable to protect himself. At that time, the allotted share left for Fu Gongyou was to wait to be ughtered, and the control of the Yangtze River wouldpletely fall into his, Kou Zhongs hands. Xiao Xians momentum was exhausted, while he was recovering, it would be difficult to do anything. In this situation, Song Zhi could concentrate on restraining Lin Shihong from being able to move. He practically did not need to take the trouble to defeat either Xiao Xian or Lin Shihong, only by relying on Du Fuwei, he would be able to stabilize the south, and then assemble his troops, when the spring was warm and the flowers blossomed, he would go northward via separate routes, repeating Li Shimins old strategy when attacking Wang Shichong of Luoyang, nibbling away at the surrounding cities around Luoyang first, blocking the waterway, cutting off the water,nd and direct traffic between Changan and Luoyang, and isted Luoyang. Li Shimin was adept in defense, he, Kou Zhong was adept in offense. After going through the Battle of Luoyang, he gained thorough understanding of this formidable opponent on the battlefield. Whether it was the Battle of Qianshui Yuan, the Battle of Baibi, or the Battle of Zhi River, the Battle of Ho, Li Shimin always adopted the movingter-to-control-the-other-side strategy, which won him the reputation of long-term defense without being defeated. He never fought battles where he had no confidence, he was good at creating opportunities, waiting at his ease for the exhausted enemy. After the enemys army was tired and their strength exhausted, their morale was low, he would strike the enemy in one fell swoop. In the struggle against Li Shimin, he, Kou Zhong repeatedly made mistakes, but from this, he constantly learned and matured. By tonight, he fully grasped Li Shimins being the first may not win, waiting for the enemy may bring victory strategic deployment. He even utilized the realbat technique using the Dark-Armored elite troops to charge into the troop disposition, to break the troop disposition, to confuse the troop disposition, before the two armies met inbat, he eliminated the enemys route for providing foodstuff first, before pursuing and striking the enemy relentlessly. Li Shimins missing opportunity to kill him in River Luo would be the biggest mistake in his military career. The heavy snow gradually subsided, the surrounding scenery was clearing up, just like Kou Zhongs mood at this time, spacious and empty, and unobstructed. From having no moment, he felt that the victory was firmly in his hands. Duan Yucheng appeared outside the wind-and-snow-mingled-together main gate, tearing off his hood with one hand, revealing a handsome but tired face, colder than ice and snow, he stepped into the building, straight toward the other side of the stove. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Sit down! Duan Yucheng hesitated for a moment before slowly sitting down cross-legged, and spoke heavy voice, What else is there to say? Xu Ziling spoke calmly, I dont know why my understanding about your honorable religion can be so different from Yuchengs views. As far as Im concerned, your Da Ming Zun Jiao is just a group that does all kinds of bad things in secret under the banner of religion, it should not represent the orthodox religion of Persia. Supposing that Yucheng can convince me that the wolf-bandits have nothing to do whatsoever with your honorable religion, and that the Anle Tragedy has nothing to do with Xu Kaishan, I will immediately offer the Five-Colored Stone to you. At first, Duan Yucheng showed anger, but halfway listening, his eyebrows knitted, he shook his head and said, I dont understand what you are talking about? Xu Ziling suddenly shouted, No one can approach, otherwise I will immediately destroy the Five-Colored Stone. His eyes never left Duan Yucheng, he continued, Tell me frankly, am I, Xu Ziling, someone who will lie to you? Duan Yucheng stared nkly for half a day, he slowly shook his head and said, You are not someone who loves to tell lies. Xu Ziling said, Then I will tell you that the person who killed the Da Longtou [big boss] of Zhi Shui Bang [River Zhi Gang], Juewuhuajia, was Da Ming Zun Jiao people, this is a verifiable matter, why should your honorable religion people conceal it from you? As for the head of the wolf-bandits, it was Taqi [previously, it was Gongqi]; you should know Taqi, know that he was one of your people. I, Xu Ziling, have nothing else to say, if you obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way, then you have to rely on your sword to retrieve the Five-Colored Stone from me. Duan Yuchengs pair of eyes shot fierce expression, he stared at him without blinking, but did not say anything. Xu Ziling knew that he could draw his sword and make his move at any time; he sighed and said, You should know better than anyone that I am not the type of people who would casually nder others, furthermore, its not because I am afraid of anybody that I had to fabricate these things. Persisting in evil brings about self-destruction. As long as your Da Zun is indeed Xu Kaishan, you can confirm that what I said is not a lie, he is the mastermind behind the Anle Tragedy. On this matter, you can seek confirmation from Ba Wang [hegemon king] Du Xing. Du Xing and Xu Kaishan have always had close rtionship, they were as close as brothers, his words should be more powerful than mine. Duan Yucheng was slightly startled, his murderous aura was greatly reduced, evidently Xu Zilings words had hit the target. Xu Zilingughed aloud and called loudly, Da Zun, if you get rid of the cloth covering your head and are not Xu Kaishan that I know, I will immediately hand the Five-Colored Stone to you, no conditions. With a gust of wind, Xu Kaishan flew to outside the door, he spoke heavily, Unexpectedly Xu Ziling thinks a lot of nonsense, Yucheng will never be swayed by your lies. Then he looked around and said, Where are your friends? Xu Zilings eyes were still fixed on Duan Yucheng, not letting go at all, he calmly said, Being evil or being good is whats in Yuchengs mind. Duan Yucheng lowered his gaze; he stared at the fire in the stove, and spoke softly, May I venture to ask Da Zun, are the wolf-bandits our people? Xu Kaishan was shaken, he spoke furiously, Yucheng, how can you be instigated by him to say such a disgraceful [as in rebellious or otherwise in grave breach of the norms of society] thing? Xu Ziling was relieved inwardly; in the end, Duan Yucheng was a man with good and honest natural instincts, he began to be suspicious of Xu Kaishan. Xinnaya appeared by Xu Kaishans side, she screamed, Yucheng! Whats the matter? Lets dispose of him first and then well talk. Xu Ziling smiled, getting straight to the point, he said, Do you dare to deny that Shangguan Long is one of yours? Sinaya choked, only then did she say, Stop babbling nonsense. It was Duan Yuchengs turn to be shocked. This was the moment when he started to doubt, plus he was not a person with low intelligence, on top of that, he was familiar with Xinnaya, naturally he could hear that Xinnaya was speaking without meaning it. Xu Ziling did not give either Xu Kaishan or Xinnaya another chance to speak, he let out a longughter and said, May I ask, is Lie Xiong outside? Why dont you show up to say hello and chat a little bit? The wind was screaming outside the door, but no one responded. Ke Dazhi snorted coldly, he shouted, That kid is quick-witted, he already escaped! Hearing that, Xu Kaishan and Xinnaya looked at each other, they were shocked that Liexia slipped away without any trace, but were also at a loss to know what to do due to Ke Dazhis presence. Duan Yucheng stood up slowly. Xu Zilings eyes were locked at him tightly, he waspletely unable to guess whether Duan Yucheng was astray and he knew it, or he still wanted to stand on Xu Kaishans side. Ke Dazhis voice rang from a distance behind Xu Kaishan, saying, It was my fault, I could not help groping around the ce where that Lie kid was hiding, and thus alerted him. Xu Ziling understood. Because Liexia discovered Ke Dazhis presence, he knew that the big momentum was gone, he also saw Duan Yucheng was swayed, in order to save his life and seek survival, plus seeing that Da Ming Zun Jiao was like the sun setting on the western hill, impossible to achieve anything, he abandoned Xu Kaishan and ran away. Xu Ziling stood up suddenly, he said coldly, Whether enemies or friends, Yucheng, you tell me. The three people inside and outside the building have all their eyes fixed on Duan Yucheng, waiting for his answer. Book 56 8 – The Battle of the Buddhist Hall

Book 56 Chapter 8 - The Battle of the Buddhist Hall

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Jing Nian Chan Yuan was unreasonably quiet, this should be the time for evening ss, just now the bell for the evening ss was ringing, why was it that not only there was not any Knock! Knock! sound of wooden fish, but there was no monk chanting the sutras and reciting the Zen? It seemed like the monks in the entire temple had disappeared all of a sudden. The bright moon reced the setting sun, it rose to the gray-blue night sky, the snow-covered za, theyer uponyer of temple buildings wrapped in silver adornment, the pagodas and the bell towers, everything gently reflected the golden yellow moonlight. In this touching heaven and earth of white snow and golden moonlight melting into one, Ning Daoqis voice came from the direction of the distant Copper Hall. He did not blow any qi or raised his voice, but every word rang clearly in Kou Zhongs eardrums, as if the hailed-as-the-number-one-figure-in-the-Central-ins, one-of-the-three-grandmasters, the-top-martial-art-master-of-this-generation Ning Daoqi was whispering in his ear, How I hope that Song Xiong came to me tonight to have a drink and heart-to-heart talk, sharing the experience of life. I only hate that the heaven and earth is not benevolent, using all that exists as fodder for dogs, so that we sink into reverse, the intention of our hearts exists only deep in our breast. Today, the disaster of the Central ins is pressing on our eyebrows and eyshes, troubling me that I, a big fool who has forgotten the months and years, and is happy not to know how to return - have no choice but to ask Song Xiong to give pointers on a couple of Heavenly Saber moves. But I had not bothered whether I could bear it, so I ask Song Xiong to start off leniently. Uncontroble sublime admiration welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, Ning Daoqis remarks fully demonstrated the spiritmensurate to his identity of the grandmaster of the Taoist School, he did not deny that he had a secret intention to destroy Song Ques n to send out his troops out of Lingnan, and he did not talk nonsense, he dered war on Song Que openly in the most modest way. As long as Song Que made any mistakes and delivered a wrong answer, it could also be a factor of defeat tonight. When martial art masters fought against each other, there was no room for failure, even if the difference was only a fraction of a hairsbreadth. With both hands behind his back, Song Que strolled leisurely towards the Copper Hall. Laughing involuntarily, he said, Dao Xiongs [brother Taoist] words are really interesting, you make me feel that I, Song Que, have made this trip not in vain. Dao Xiongs modest, self-defending xinfa has reached thepletely selfless realm, deeply achieving the Taoist Schools purpose in emptiness keeping watch of the quietness. Song Que received instructions! Kou Zhongs heart and spirit were severely shaken, Song Ques words were as intimidating as his saber, a few indifferent words showed that he had a thorough understanding of Ning Daoqi, proving that he was at his peak, and that Fan Qinghui had no influence on him anymore. How did Song Que do it? Obtaining the saber and then forgetting the saber. After thinking hard and then forgetting it. Coming from Liangdu to here, for Song Que, it was the highest level, the-sky-and-earth-turning-upside-downs saber way cultivation. After obtaining the saber and then forgetting the saber. Looking at Song Ques majestic back, he clearly felt the confidence he carried on his back, so powerful that no one could change and alter. No victory, no defeat, neither of them existed inside the ocean of his brain. This was the genuine goods at fair prices Heavenly Saber. Ning Daoqi said cheerfully, Song Xiong praised me too much! I never liked Laozis [Lao-tze or Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism] seriousness, I only like Zhuang Zhous [Zhuangzi (369-286 BC), Daoist author] magnificence, I loved his entering the world [to engage with secr society] anding out of the world [to withdraw from worldly affairs] even more, in ordance with the way of nature. Otherwise, I dont need to make an exhibition of myself here tonight. The conversation between the two was quick-witted and sharp, deeply containing profound principles within it. Kou Zhong knew even more that from the time Song Que stepped into the mountain gate, the two have already shed against each other. Song Que spoke in astonishment, Turns out Dao Xiong is seeking Zhi Ren [fully realized human being], vanishing look at life or death, longevity or premature death, sess or failure, right and wrong, nder or acim, standing aloof over everything, desiring the good, regarding the world and all things as an integral whole with oneself, not knowing whether there is self or non-self, free and at leisure. Then my, Song Ques chatter must be unbearable as it enters Dao Xiongs dharma ears. Song Ques words seem to be apliment, but actually he pointed out that Ning Daoqis involvement in the big maelstrom of contending for hegemony over the world this time, the hearts intention existed in his breast, was running counter to Zhuang Zhous standing aloof over everythings decree. As long as Ning Daoqis Taoist heart was not firm enough, thereby doubting himself, this w in his mind and spirit could cause him to be defeated for sure. Song Que, who since the beginning was adept in attack, was already advancing move by move, while Ning Daoqi was using retreat to advance, using the soft to restrain the hard. Kou Zhong followed behind Song Que, passed the bell tower, and finally arrived at the tform za, surrounded by the white stone carved fences where the Copper Hall was located at the core of the Chanyuan. In front of the statue of Manjushri riding a golden lion at the center of the white stone za, Ning Daoqi, fiddling with his beard,ughed and said, Born after the heaven and the earth, yet knowing the beginning of the heaven and the earth; died before the heaven and the earth, yet knowing the end of the heaven and the earth. Therefore, since there is life then there must be death, there is a beginning, there must be an end. Death and life intersect, life is the test of death, this is the way of the nature. The travel of the sky has permanence, not for Yao [Tang Yao (c. 2000 BC), one of Five Legendary Emperors] to survive, not for Jie [emperor of Xia dynasty) to die. The Way [Dao/Tao] has a body and has a function, the body is the motionless yuanqi [vital energy], the function is to transport this yuanqi between the heaven and the earth. Therefore, when things reach an extreme, they can only move in the opposite direction, blessings and misfortunes are sent, misfortunes and blessings are relied on. Laozi put emphasis on inaction [Daoist doctrine], Zhuangzi put emphasis on nature, not to teach people not to create matters and seek sess, otherwise, why did Laozi have five thousand fine and delicate works of art, and Zhuangzi has fables? It is merely creating without possessing, seeding without self-confidence; wouldnt Song Xiong agree? Ning Daoqi was as elegant as ever, his five strands of long beard lightly fluttered blown by the wind, wearing high hat and wide belt, and brocade robe draped over his body, the innocent expression showing in his eyes with standing-aloof-from-worldly-affairs hidden within, staring at Song Que without blinking, as if he waspletely oblivious of Kou Zhongs existence. All around the courtyard, not the least bit ofntern light was seen, not a single persons trace was perceived. Kou Zhong tactfully stopped outside the white carved stone fence, unwilling to have his presence to affect the results of the two mens battle. As long as Ning Daoqis mind was slightly divided, Song Que would surely take advantage of the emptiness and enter in, until Ning Daoqi was defeated and die. To the left and right behind Ning Daoqi were the statues of Yao Shi [pharmacists, lit. medicine master] and Sakyamuni, the Manjusri Bodhisattvas attendants, and the five hundred copper Luohan [arhats] evenly distributed everywhere on the white stone tform. These statues were like gods and Buddhas descending to the mundane world, to be the silent witnesses to the most influential and far reaching, earth-shattering battle of the Central Earth Wulin in thest hundred years or so. Therge incense burner in front of the Manjusri Bodhisattvas niche was lit with sandalwood, the fragrance permeated all around, increasing the mysterious and transcending-the-dust-the-absolute-vulgarity atmosphere to the imminent decisive battle severalfold. Unhurried and calm, Song Que climbed up the white stone steps, set foot on the tform, straight to about two -zhang away from Ning Daoqi, and spoke indifferently, From your own life and death, Dao Xiong understands the beginning and the end of heaven and earth, the way of the nature, thereby you transcend life and death, the beginning and the end, making Song Que remember an article in Zhuang Zhous Xiao Yao You [lit. wandering free and unfettered], about the giant roc, divine bird, whose back was like Mount Tai, whose wings like the cloud hanging down from the sky, rolling up [as in rolling into a ball in ones hands] and supporting the swaying goats horn 90,000 li up into the vanishing mist, bearing upon the clear sky. Although Song Quecks this ability toe and go to the heaven and reach the pr region of the earth, but vertically leaping among the branches, I also feel free and easy, allowing me the delight of moving the length and breadth of the earth, wouldnt Dao Xiong think so? This fable of Zhuang Zhou, the conception was grand, wonderful, and magnificent, but its purpose was not to eulogize Kun and Pengs [both are mythological beasts] greatness, but to point out the difference between big and small, there was no other meaning. When the little bird in the swamp saw the Great Peng flying over in the sky, it was not ashamed of its own diminutive size, instead, it felt its own leisure, propriety, and freedom, everything followed the natural way. Song Que used Zhuang Zhousnce to attack Ning Daoqis Zhuang Zhous shield, to exin clearly his determination to help Kou Zhong unify the world. Therefore, regardless of how great Ning Daoqis argument was, because everyone has different standpoint, he could only let nature took its course. Listening to that, Kou Zhong admired it in his heart, without their insight, he could forget about such tit-for-tat talk and exchange. Ning Daoqiughed aloud and said, I thought Lao Zhuang [it could mean Old Zhuang, but could also refer to Laozi and Zhuangzi, both are considered the founders of Taoism] did not agree with Song Xiongs spleen and stomach [taste (in literature)], hence you disdained it as beneath contempt. Who would have thought that you are more proficient than me, Ning Daoqi? Understood! May I venture to ask Song Xiongs confidence in how many saber strikes you can put me in order? Song Que smiled and said, How about nine saber strikes? Ning Daoqi spoke in astonishment, If Song Xiong thinks that Daoqis San Shou Ba Pu only has eight moves, I am afraid there is a bit of a misunderstanding. Kou Zhong also agreed with what he said. Based on his own experience of fighting hand to hand with him, Ning Daoqis moves followed his hearts desire,pletely without any fixed method, like a heavenly steed, soaring across the skies, not subjected to any restrictions, not limited by any rule. Throwing his head back inughter, Song Que said, The great way is simple and easy, the counting starts from one and ends at nine. Although San Shou Ba Pu can change endlessly, in the final analysis, there are no more than eight essences, otherwise it will not be named by Dao Xiong as eight pounces [Ba Pu]. If I, Song Que, cannot make Dao Xiong dare not repeat it, no need to talk about victory or defeat. However, if Dao Xiong has no choice butunching eight secrets all together, by the ninth saber strike, naturally victory or defeat will be clear. Does Dao Xiong still think that this is a misunderstanding? Ning Daoqiughed involuntarily and said, Actually, I already used a little bit of hearts intention, hoping that Song Xiong would say this. Then if Daoqi can block Song Xiongs nine saber strikes, would Song Xiong from now on be free and at leisure, you and I both will no longer care about the younger generations affairs anymore? Hope grew in Kou Zhongs heart, if Ning Dodge could firmly withstand Song Ques nine saber strikes, everyone shook hands and talked about peace, Song Que surely must withdraw from the fray and live in seclusion ording to the agreement, but he, Kou Zhong would seed his great cause and aplish his cherished desire for him; in any case, it surpassed one side defeated and dispersed, which was one thing that he did not want to see the most. Song Que was silent for half a day, he spoke heavily, Has Dao Xiong ever killed anyone? Ning Daoqi was slightly surprised, he replied frankly, I have never opened the monastic discipline against killing. Why did Song Xiong ask? Song Que sighed and said, Ol Songs saber technique is a killer saber technique, tempered and arose from big and small bloody battles, either you die or I perish. Although there is no life and death, victory or defeat in the process, the consequences must be like this. If Dao Xiong does not fight back with all your strength with the determination to put Ol Song to death, there is no doubt that in this battle you will die, there is not the slightest bit of leeway for turning around. I, Song Que, will make an exception for Qinghui tonight and let Dao Xiong choose whether you still want to receive my, Song Ques nine saber strikes. Ning Daoqi put his palms together, his expression auspicious and peaceful, he spoke slyly, May I ask, if Daoqi can really withstand the nine saber strikes and still not die, would Song Xiong be willing to adhere to my previous proposal? Song Que threw his head back inughter and said, Of course I will follow Dao Xiongs words. En garde! Finished shouting, he reached out to draw the saber from his back. Kou Zhong immediately stared nkly, he nearly did not dare to believe his pair of eyes. Yin Xianhe walked hurriedly out of Shang Lin Yuan. Just by looking at his expression, it was obvious that he could not find Ji Qian. Ji Qian was the chief courtesan of Shang Lin Yuan, booking ahead may not necessarily received her favor to be able to see her, much less pretending to be her fan and asking to see her. Xu Ziling subconsciously pulled down a little the snow cap that had already covered his pair of eyebrows. Coming out of the dark, he walked side by side with Yin Xianhe, who was wearing a hat - along the Beiyuan [lit. north park/garden] main street, lost in the boundless mists of the wind and the snow. Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, I spent one tael of silver, only then did I ask around and found out that she has not returned to Shang Lin Yuan for a few days. Her air is really big. They searched everywhere in Ming Tang Wo and the Six-Happiness Casino, but her fragrant trace remained elusive; without any better option they went to Shang Lin Yuan to try their luck. On the street, the wind was strong, the snow heavy, pedestrians, vehicles and horses were sparse, the scenery across street was already blurry, which was very beneficial for them to hide their identities. Xu Ziling said, There is still one ce, which is her fragrant boudoir. Without even thinking, Yin Xianhe said, Ziling, show the way! Song Ques hand reaching to his back was slow and steady, every fen [unit of length, approx. 1/3 of cm], every cun [about 1 inch] of his movement maintained the same speed, and this speed was equal and constant. This was simply impossible. A human able to more or less maintain a certain speed in his movement, it was already very rare. It should be noted that any single movement constitutes of countless movements in series, from movement to movement, there will be tiny differences in terms of speed and severity. However, the series of movements making up Song Que reaching out to draw the saber from his back, each movement was exactly like the previous action, as if it was made of the same mold. In itself it was already a marvel that was hard to believe. It was not that Kou Zhongs eyesight failed him that he was unable to see the mystery within, so when he saw it, how could he not be dumbstruck and unable to believe his own eyes? Ning Daoqi still had his palms together, the unusual light in his pair of eyes red greatly, his eyes were fixed on Song Que. Song Ques movement in drawing the saber was as if his back, which was forever hidden oneyer deeper from his torso, was integrated with the heaven and earth to be one entity, in itself was brimming with the taste of one thousand changes ten thousand methods within the unchanging constant. There was not the slightest amount of gap and w to be found, it made people feel that the first saber strike that followed this style must be startling the heaven and earth, making the ghosts and gods sobbing, there was no beginning, there was no end. So far, the Way of the Saber has reached the ghosts-and-gods-cannot-fathom level. The instant the movement of taking the saber was within no more than one hairsbreadth, no less than half a fen, Song Que elerated suddenly, with an astonishing technique that was difficult to detect with the naked eye, he suddenly grasped the handle of the saber. At the same instant Song Que elerated, Ning Daoqis sped palms separated, as if he already predicted the changes in Song Ques movements. ng! The Heavenly Saber was out of its sheath. The heaven and the earth intersected, the white stone za was no longer the previous white stone za, but was full of harsh murderous air, the Heavenly Saber shed the empty air, the saber de was shing, the life force and deathly air of the heaven and the earth werepletely concentrated at the de, the moon and the stars in the sky immediately lost their splendor. This feeling was strange and weird to the extreme, hard to exin, impossible to describe. Kou Zhong could not see Song Que anymore, what he saw was that the Heavenly Saber broke through the air, traversing the two-zhang space, and struck Ning Daoqi directly. The Heavenly Saber did not carry any gust of the wind, he did not feel the least bit of saber qi, however, Kou Zhong, who was outside the white carved stone fence, clearly grasped Song Ques saber enveloping the sky, covering the earth. Other than staking it all and meet the strike head-on, Ning Daoqi had no other choice. Now, this was Song Ques real skill. The same instant before the Heavenly Saber attacked, Ning Daoqi rushed forward, as if he was pouncing but not exactly pouncing; it looked slow but also appearing fast. Merely the profound mystery, hard to fathom speed, was enough to make those who watch it have a splitting headache, yet it was also clearly elegant and pleasant to the eyes. Suddenly Ning Daoqi leaped into the air and pounced down. Bang! The sleeve of Ning Daoqis robe swelled and arched, it blocked Song Ques seizing-the-heaven-and-earth-and-Nature saber strike. Ning Daoqi borrowed the reaction force to fly up, his movement of shifting across half a zhang space waspleted in an instant, suddenly he was standing back-to-back at about a zhang away behind Song Que. Song Ques magnificent body reappeared in front of Kou Zhongs eyes, the Heavenly Saber, as if it hade alive, quickly sought for the opponent. It circled around in a big arc, brimming with beautiful lines conforming to the principles of heaven and earth - to stab Ning Daoqis back, and his body waspletely driven by the saber. It was both flowing naturally, like a bird flying, fish swimming,pletely without any w - and exquisite and brilliant beyondpare. Watching this, Kou Zhong understood tacitly, he nearly apuded and cheered. Apart from the saber, there is nothing else. Even more beyond his expectation was that Ning Daoqi did not look back. His right hand feigned a press on his chest, his left hand flicked backward, the hand stretched out from the sleeve, the palm changed into a w, the w changed into fingers, finally, using his thumb, he pressed exactly on the tip of the Heavenly Sabering to attack. The changes were exquisite, he purely relied on his senses to judge the position of the saber momentum, making people gasping in amazement. The finger and the saber shed, producing a Pow! the sound of qi power colliding against each other, the violent storm resulting from the sh rolled wildly, it started from the point of contact and propagated in all directions, the momentum was astonishing. Song Ques saber momentum changed, it wound tightly around his body, just like a golden light circling around, so that people were unable to grasp the position of the Heavenly Saber in the next moment. Song Que was not bragging at all, since the battle started, he wasunching his third saber strike. Previously, each saber strike made Ning Daoqi not daring to repeat the old trick, he could only deal with it using another style that was kept at the bottom of his trunk. While Song Que appeared to be advancing but not exactly advancing, when he seemed to be retreating but not exactly retreating, Ning Daoqi, his head down and feet up, came on top of Song Que, he dropped straight down like a nail, and crash into Song Ques saber light, unexpectedly he used his own skull to crash against Song Ques skull; it was a move to perish together with the enemy. Such a strange trick, Kou Zhong has never even thought about, but he felt that it was precisely the only move to save his life in dealing with Song Ques impossible-to-fault saber technique. Song Ques saber light dispersed, his left hand swiftly patted the Tianling acupoint on top of Ning Daoqis head, Ning Daoqis both hands swiftly stabbed back from the side, both hands middle fingers pointed at the hollow of Song Ques palm at the same time. Pow! Song Que spun around like a windmill, to neutralize Ning Daoqis no-stronghold-one-cannot-ovee finger qi. Ning Daoqi somersaulted and returned to his original spot. Both hands across his chest, the fingertips came together, the shape was like a bird pecking at the ground, slyly facing the tip of Song Ques saber pointing towards him from a distant, so that they were standing opposite each other again. Song Que threw his head back inughter and said, Out of eight pounces, I am able to see three, Dao Xiongs name is indeed not in vain, you made Ol Song very happy. Ning Daoqi smiled and said, Song Xiongs saber technique reminds me of what Zhuang Zhou said about the difference between talent and ipetence. Talent and ipetence, apparently right but actually wrong [idiom: paradoxical], hence unavoidably it is rather implicating. If a man is taking advantage of virtue and impetuously roaming inappropriately, no acim no nder, one a dragon the other a snake, able to adapt with the times, unwilling to exclusively be one over the other, one up the other down, in harmony with his own strength, impetuously roaming among all that exists, every object and non-object are actually an object, how can it not be implicating? [Trantors note: apologies, all these mumbo-jumbo philosophical talks are beyond me.] Listening to that, Kou Zhong was shocked inwardly. The so-called talent and ipetence, it all referred to usefulness or uselessness. It was precisely the Heavenly Sabers essence in having the method yet without any method, and within no-method, there was actually a method. However, this was still not enough to describe the marvelous essence of the Heavenly Saber, hence it was apparently right but actually wrong, so it was unavoidably implicating. Only by seeking unchanging-constant within the countless changes, sometimes the dragon flew to the Ninth Heaven, sometimes the snake hid deep into the earth, without praise without nder, not hanged-up on the object, after obtaining the saber forgetting the saber - one had the capacity to live as long as the heaven and earth. Matter and self, both must be forgotten, free and at leisure. Ning Daoqi was talking about Song Que, but actually it was also a portrayal of himself. It was precisely because both of them have reached such a realm that they were able to stake all in two armies have equivalent banners and drums, and fought evenly. Song Que was the main attacker, Ning Daoqi was the main defender, no one could upy any slight upper hand over the opponent. The key to victory or defeaty in whether Ning Daoqi could block Song Ques ninth saber strike. Song Que spoke cheerfully, Its hard to conceal it from Dao Xiongs discerning eyes, Song Que also finally realized that Dao Xiongs San Shou Ba Pu, which name intimidates the world, which essence revolves around one word empty, emptiness can generate qi, hence emptiness is infinite, clear and clean lead to emptiness, using empty in the ce of real, between real and empty, although there are many different states, not one does not follow the way of nature; it is a mystery within a mystery, no big, no small! Inwardly, Kou Zhong was full of admiration that he prostrated himself in submission, both men looked at the other side in such a sparkling and translucent, prating manner, there was no difference between who was superior and who was inferior, the oue of the battle was really difficult to foresee. Ning Daoqiughed aloud and said, There are still six saber strikes, Song Xiong, please! Book 56 9 – Nine Saber Strikes Agreement

Book 56 Chapter 9 - Nine Saber Strikes Agreement

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Yin Xianhe and Xu Ziling met inside an unlit hall. Without the wind, the snow outside diminished somewhat, turning into continuous snow powder. Shaking his head, Yin Xianhe said, No ones here! The only exnation is that Ji Qian took the maids and servant of her entire mansion on a long journey; however, the wardrobe is as empty as anything, even if they went out, theres no need to be like this. Xu Ziling said, I think Ji Qian moved to another ce. The calligraphy, paintings, and the like that were hanging on the wall are gone, but the furniture is intact. Yin Xianhe sat down on the side, he said with a wry smile, How could there be such a coincidence? Id better return to Shang Lin Yuan to inquire clearly. Xu Ziling sat down next to him, he shook his head and said, That will only arouse peoples suspicion, even if you are willing to spend money, it would be useless. The people in Shang Lin Yuan would not dare to disclose Ji Qians new home. Let me think of a way. Different people shed in his mind. First of all, he thought of Li Jing; he might not pay attention to Ji Qians whereabouts, but as long as he sent his men to investigate, how could there be no results? However, the current situation is delicate; he wanted to see Li Shimin through Li Jing, it was because he had no choice, but in other matters, it would not be proper to involve Li Jing, because liaising with outside enemy was a major crime of treason. And then he thought about Chen Fu of Rong Da Da Ya [attaining glory big pawnshop, see Book 45, Chapter 8], he could ask him to send his people to check, but it would not be appropriate either. Finally, he had a sh of inspiration, I got it! he said. Watching this, Kou Zhong was at a loss. Since the battle began, all along Ning Daoqi took a leisurely,fortable and natural stance, but suddenly his style changed drastically. His two hands opened up like a winnowing basket, the hands were shaped like a pecking bird, he assumed blocking position. Although elegant and pleasant to the eye, it was stillcking strength, not in conformance to his Lao Zhuangs [Laozi and Zhuangzi, seest chapter] clear, pure inaction style, plus he seemed to be willingly inviting Song Que to make his move, which seemed to run counter to his style even more. Yet surprisingly, not only Song Que did not make any more aggressive attacks to control the whole situation, but instead he pulled back the saber pointed at Ning Daoqi from a distance, and then stood proudly with the saber across his chest. A hint of smile brimming with confidence floated out of the corners of Song Ques mouth, he said, Dao Xiong, no need to be modest and yield to me! Ning Daoqiughed aloud and said, What a good Song Que! Suddenly rousing his clothes and narrowing his eyes, his hands turned into two frolicking little birds, fighting and chasing each other in front of him, you pounced I pecked, fighting to their hearts delight, and pressing down toward Song Que. The strange light in Song Ques pair of eyes ring greatly, he stared deeply at the Heavenly Saber across his chest, just like an old monk entering the meditative state,pletely oblivious of Ning Daoqis beyond all expectations technique and fantastic assault style. Kou Zhong, however, drew a mouthful of cold air, thinking that if it were him, this moment he would surely be at a loss to know what to do. When Kou Zhong met Ning Daoqi for the first time that day, the other side pretended to be a fisherman, everything about him was authentic, his portrayal was spot on and amazing, so that Kou Zhong doubted whether he was a real fisherman or a fake, and thus his resolve was snatched away, and he fell into disadvantageous position. This moment, he began to know the technique to bring about what is true and what is false, which turned out to be one pounce of the eight pounces [Ba Pu]. Ning Daoqis face showed an innocent look like a child ying with a little bird, ncing to the left and right, he watched the bizarre scene where his two hands imitating the little birds, soaring up and leaping down, chasing each other and frolicking in the air. Yet Kou Zhong was able to see in his mind that there was an invisible tree, and the little birds were ying noisily among the branches of the tree, all the actions seemed unintentional, yet there was a not-one-thread-loose feeling, so that he was no longer able to distinguish what is true? What is fake? What is virtual? What is real? In the blink of an eye, the two-zhang distance faded away. Suddenly the two little birds had another ymate, which was Song Ques unparalleled-under-the-heavens Heavenly Saber. Until the moment when the two little birds were about to arrive, Song Que moved away sideways, dragging the saber and sweeping swiftly, as if they were startled by the sudden arrival of the enemy, the two birds pecked at the saber de, and thus opening up the curtain to the fierce battle. The two human shadows chased each other randomly on the white stone za surrounded by the five hundred luohan as the spectators, shing, shifting, soaring, darting, at the astonishing speed of rabbit rising and magpie diving down, but both sides manner was still so calm and magnanimous, which did not conform to the battlefield situation. Every part of Song Ques Heavenly Saber has be a tool to control and neutralize the enemy. The saber shaft, the saber de, and the hilt, in any style that people had never even thought about, were used to cope with the virtual bird strikesunched by Ning Daoqi. The two little birds were alive, just like real birds, they were able to prate any gap and small crack, andunch as-dense-as-a-rain-shower, no-gap-not-entered, mercury-flowing-out-swiftly-to-the-ground - close-ranged attack toward Song Que. Both sidesunched strange moves one after another, they used speed to counter speed, without the slightest bit of dy in between, and in terms of both offense and defense, they followed their hearts desire, as one side attacked and the other side defended; however, hidden within the terse, sharp and fierceness, there was also a free and unfettered, light and floating feeling. Exquisite and brilliant that it was hard to describe in anynguage, using any pen and ink. Even with Kou Zhongs eyesight, his eyes were blurry, he was dizzy, feeling that it was very hard to follow. After Ding! Ding two clear noises, the two men were back to standing-opposite-each-other-over-a-distance position, as if they had never fought at all. Ning Daoqi put his hands behind his back, the two little birds seemed to have pped their wings and flew far away, he smiled and said, Even if Daoqi dont want to admire, I simply cant. Song Xiong unexpectedly can use one saber intention to block my more than a thousand bird pecks, so that even if I want to thicken the skin on my face to insist that Song Xiong exceeded the number of nine saber strikes, its not going to work. Song Queughed aloud and said, It ought to be Song Que who has broadened his horizon. From inaction [the Daoist doctrine of inaction, letting things take their own course] became doing something, from doing something returned to doing nothing, and then doing something yet inactive, inactive yet doing something, in Dao Xiongs hands, Lao Zhuangs decree has reached the realm of great heights. Dao Xiong, watch out, Song Ques fifth saber strike ising! It was only this moment that Kou Zhong gradually started to breathe again, he could not bear the immensely enjoyable feeling in his heart. These two top martial art masters, none did not give it their all and disyed all their skills; such a good opportunity was really not necessarily once in a thousand years, it allowed him to surreptitiously learn from the two men at the same time, the benefits were so great that he has never even dreamed of. Qiang! Unexpectedly Song Que returned the saber into its scabbard, both hands hung loose by his side, automatically generating enormous-without-equal grandeur, tightly covering the opponent. Even if he was not an insider, he also knew that when Song Ques Heavenly Saber was out of its sheath, it would produce no-stronghold-one-cannot-ovee, explosive-none-on-earth-was-not-moved shocking assault. Ning Daoqi still maintained his both hands behind his back - stance, the unusual light in his pair of eyes shing, swift and fierce, which Kou Zhong had never seen since the battle started. Song Que was not bragging, he really had the ability to force Ning Daoqi not to dare to repeat the old move, because until this moment, he had not repeated his own style. The mountain rain wasing, the wind was all over the building. Xu Ziling waited in the dark outside the main gate of Feng Ya Ge [see Book 31, starting in Chapter 11], Yin Xianhe, without rushing at all, walked out of the pavilion, came to Xu Zilings side, nodded and said, Sess! I told them I am delivering a letter for two friends in Xinan County, immediately Qingqing Furen granted an audience, she told us toe in through the back door. Xu Ziling was grateful inwardly, Xinan County was where he and Kou Zhong came across Qingqing and Xier, he never thought that the pleasure house woman who bites the hand that feeds her in the past would have such a Jianghu yi qi [spirit of loyalty and self-sacrifice, code of brotherhood]. However, were it not that he had no strategy left to try, he would never want to disturb her. Qingqing personally weed them into the inner hall, her pretty eyes lit up, she said, Zilings appearance is really elegant, its so good to see you, you dont know how worried Jiejie [older sister, referring to self] is about you. Some say that Xiao Zhong was killed in the battle at Cijian, and thenter they say that he defended Luoyang to the death against Qin Wangs main forces. It was only a couple of days ago that I began to learn that Song Que sent his troops to rescue him. The incident caused a sensation in Changan, making peoples heart anxious and difficult to calm. What exactly is the real situation? Xu Ziling was greatly embarrassed by her praise, he had no choice but to attribute this to her style in greeting a guest in her work as a good-time girl. Without taking any offense, he briefly exined Kou Zhongs recent situation. Deeply worried and sick at heart, Qingqing said, Ay! We are about to enter the war again! Xier and I wholeheartedly escaped the chaos war and came to Changan, how could we know that unexpectedly Guanzhong is not a safe ce? Are you going to protect us? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Of course, but this time we came here, its really to ask for a favor. Qingqing blissfully said, You have a problem and think of looking for nujia, clearly you still have me, this Jiejie in your heart. Tell me quickly, Jiejie will definitely exhaust my strength to do it for you. Xu Ziling turned toward Yin Xianhe and said, It would be best to have Yin Xiong tell you himself. Yin Xianhe was slightly taken aback, he realized that Xu Ziling was taking this opportunity to force him tomunicate more with others, without any choice, he exined the reason they were looking for Ji Qian. Qingqingughed tenderly and said, Then you found the right person! This moment Ji Qian is in Feng Ya Ge. Hearing that, the two you looked at me, I gazed at you, they were at a loss. Qingqing said, The reason is very simple. A certain person that Qianer loathes most bought Shang Lin Yuan for arge sum of money, Qianer had no choice but to ask me for help to pay off her debt to Shang Lin Yuan, so she was transferred to Feng Ya Ge. Not that Jiejie is boasting, other than Jiejie, I am afraid not many people in Changan dare to stand up for Qianer. Xu Ziling knew about her close rtionship with Li Yuanji, he nodded in agreement and said, Is that person happen to be Chi Shengchun? Stunned, Qingqing said, How did you guess? Not many people know about this matter. Yin Xianhe said, I wonder if I could ask Ji Guniang something? Qingqing replied, This moment, both Qianer and Xier are invited to the imperial court for a song and dance performance to entertain Huangshangs [the emperors] guests. Before the second or third watch of the night, they cant possiblye back. You have taken a long and difficult trek to Changan, youd better take a good rest for a couple of sichen, I will wake you up when theye back. Yin Xianhe looked to Xu Ziling to ask for his opinion. Xu Ziling said, You take a rest a little bit, I have something to do, I will be back within one sichen. ng! The Heavenly Saber was out of its sheath. Everything could only be described by one word, Fast; it happened at such a high speed that it was difficult for the naked eye to see clearly. By the time Kou Zhong sensed that Song Que was drawing the saber, the Heavenly Saber had already left its sheath, and turned into a long rainbow like a lightning, streaking across the two-zhang empty space, shing toward Ning Daoqi. Far away outside the carved fence, Kou Zhong felt that the air currents and the live qi all around him seemed to be sucked by Song Ques startling-the-heaven-moving-the-earth saber that not the slightest bit remained, it was like all life force was exhausted, only the terrifying smell of death and killing was left. To deal with such a saber strike, they only way was to stake everything and meet it head-on. Song Que was precisely trying to force Ning Daoqi to meet force with force; even a brilliant master like Ning Daoqi would have no other choice. Kou Zhong knew that this fifth saber strike was the beginning of thest four saber strike that followed, Ning Daoqi must not be allowed to have a chance to breathe, victory or defeat could be decided any moment. What shocked him even more was that Song Que was making his move with all his strength, holding nothing back, to strike and defeat the opponent by all means. Suddenly Ning Daoqi straightened his immortal bones, without any wind, the sleeves his robe moved on their own, his eyebrows spread out, his form became bold and powerful without equal, not inferior in any respect to Song Que, who wasparable to a deity. Sending out a punch, he continuously disyed mysterious changes, which were profound mystery, exquisite and amazing beyond any description, but the punch exploded on the sharp de of the Heavenly Saber without the least bit of falsehood. Boom! Qi power overflowed and rolled away. Both men retreated as if struck by lightning. Song Que spun around, the Heavenly Saber, looking ordinary without anything strange, swept across Ning Daoqi, who came back to meet him. This sixth saber strike did not feel special, but it was so slow that it did not make sense. Yet as a viewer on the wall, he clearly understood that Song Ques saber strike contained fast within the slow, highly skillful appearing to be clumsy. Although there did not seem to be any change, countless changes werepletely hidden within it, like the infinite heaven and the earth, the boundless universe. Song Que was unable to overpower Ning Daoqi in terms of speed and internal energy, hence the reason he changed to use saber technique to score a victory, his mastery in meeting a contingency was so brilliant that Kou Zhong could not help gasping in admiration. But Ning Daoqi used constant-permutation movements, appearing to be advancing, appearing to be retreating, appearing to go up, appearing to go down, both hands carried out profound mystery, unfathomable techniques to meet Song Quespletely-without-any-gap, like-a-heavenly-steed-soaring-across-the-skies saber strike. Momentarily Kou Zhong forgot the terrible consequences that might happen, because watching it, his mind was already intoxicated, Ning Daoqi was using the mystical move to control the opponent from a distance, across an empty air. It did not seem to pose any threat to Song Que, in fact, essentially, it was powerless to affect or change Song Ques overbearing once-released-there-was-noing-back saber momentum. However, every technique used the pure fire of the stove, out-of-the-spirit-transforming-man innate qigong, hitting the enemys de across the distance one step ahead, weaving an invisible yet solid of qi, like silkworm spinning silk, and this cocoon of true qi, precisely the instant it was going to meet the enemys de head-on, condensed into its peak, ready to explode, and pressed down on Song Ques must-kill saber strike. The marvelous changes within, each sides extraordinary scheme, going at it with everything they had, those with slightly less eyesight would not be able to see. Bang! Like magic, Ning Daoqis palms mped Song Ques de. He did not rely on the true power of his pair of palms, rather, the cocoon of qi gathered at the hollow of his palms and coalesced, which precisely counteracted Song Ques saber qi, and thus such a shocking battle oue was achieved. Time seemed to stop, the two major martial art masters stood facing each other, as if just like the luohan all around them, they had turned into lifeless sculptures. Just as Kou Zhong was watching that his breathing stopped and he couldnt figure out how many times the two mens inner qi shed in secret, Song Que let out a longughter, the Heavenly Saber shot out of Ning Daoqis pair of palms, until it pointed straight at the night sky above his head, and changed it so that he was holding the saber with both hands, and then shed down like lightning. Kou Zhong nearly wanted to close his eyes a little bit, he could not bear to see the terrifying scene of Ning Daoqi being split in half. Because it did not matter whether Ning Daoqi had the ability to prate the sky and build the earth brick by brick, under such circumstances, it was really difficult to block Song Ques saber strike. The moment the Heavenly Saber was about a chi away from hacking Ning Daoqis face, without the slightest bit of warning, the situation that Kou Zhong did not dare to imagine urred. It was as if Ning Daoqi was turning into a feather, so that he was blown back and thrown off by the unbearable violent whirlwind brought by the Heavenly Saber, evading the edge of the de by a hairsbreadth. It was so magical that people did not dare to believe it, yet it was a fact. While he was still in the air, Ning Daoqiughed calmly and said, Softness defeats hard and rigid, many thanks Song Xiong for sending me off using saber qi. There are still two saber strikes. Although Song Que worked to no avail, he was not the slightest bit discouraged or became impatient. The moment the Heavenly Saber was parallel to the ground, he suddenly dashed at full speed, shooting straight like an arrow toward Ning Daoqi, about three zhang away in front of him. He spoke in bright and clear voice, Dao Xiong has exhausted your skills! Kou Zhong could not help rushing toward the white carved stone fence. Actually, Ning Daoqi was indeed at a disadvantage, although his retreat was the most wonderful in the world, it had quite an impression of free-and-unfettered, wonderful, riding-on-the-clouds, driving-the-air flying dragon, but he still had no choice but to retreat. The key reason was not that he was not as good as Song Que, rather, hecked Song Ques determination to perish together with the enemy. Otherwise, just now, he could take advantage of the moment when Song Que raised his saber and shed down, his pair of palms struck forward, even if Song Que could hack him into two halves, Song Que would definitely die. Song Que was using his own life to gamble, because he could see that it was difficult for Ning Daoqi to open the monastic discipline against killing. The saber de shot out straight, rapidly narrowing the distance with Ning Daoqi. The saber qipletely locked the opponent, the moment Ning Daoqi touched the ground was the moment when Heavenly Saber reached his body. No one could change the development of this situation, including Song Que and Ning Daoqi, two grandmaster-level martial art masters. Suddenly Ning Daoqi let out a long whistle, and suddenly froze in the air, and then fell swiftly down like a nail, boring down to the ground. Behind him was precisely the bronze statue of Manjushri Bodhisattva riding a lion. Facing Song Ques saber strike that could make the wind and cloud change their countenance, Ning Daoqis manner was still elegant, he rapidly recited, Due to the fear of shadows and evil deeds, men walk away, the more they lifted their feet, the more their footprints; the faster they walk, yet the shadow does not leave them. No one knows the hidden ce where the shadow rests, the quiet ce where the footprints cease, what an extreme ignorance! Bang! Ning Daoqis entire body sprang halfway into the air, then he stomped heavily on the de with both feet. Song Que flew backward, while Ning Daoqi was spinning like a top in the air, slowly descending back to the ground. The two men returned to their original positions at the beginning of the fight, returned to the standing opposite to each other situation. There was still one saber strike. Qiang! Song Que returned the saber into its scabbard. Ning Daoqis face turned pale, but it instantly returned to his normal color. A red sh appeared on Song Ques handsome-without-equal elegant and grand countenance, but was promptly restraint, his expression was just as before, as if he had never fought with the other side. Kou Zhong was well aware that in Song Quesst saber strike just now, both men were injured at the same time; however, their power was so deep that they were able to force the injury down. What he wanted to do the most right now was to pounce into the arena and beg the two men not to fight, however, this would only affect Song Que, but it could not change the like-an-arrow-on-the-bowstring ninth saber strike. Song Que sighed and said, Song Que finally experience Dao Xiongs Eight Pounces one by one. Not concealing anything from Dao Xiong, Dao Xiongs brilliance indeed greatly beyond my expectation. Beforeunching the ninth saber strike, Ol Song wants to ask about something, just now Dao Xiong recited Zhuangzis fable, which came from the Father Fishermans story, why did you leave out the since thinking that its toote, walking fast nonstop, thereupon the strength exhausted and die, three sentences; whats the deep meaning behind it? Ning Daoqiughed involuntarily, he said, I wont conceal anything from Song Xiong either, if I added these three sentences, Im afraid I wont have time to recite the whole article, wouldnt it be extremely ridiculous? There is practically no deep meaning behind it at all, Song Xiong misunderstood! Song Queughed heartily and said, Very well! If not for Dao Xiong able to urately grasp Ol Songs Heavenly Sabers speed, plus your mind was so clear, pure and tranquil even in such a subtle state, you would have died under my eighth saber strike. If I, Song Que shamelessly insisted on the ninth saber strike, it would be like the ignorant who thinks it is toote, walks fast nonstop, his strength exhausted and die. How could Dao Xiong not have any deep meaning behind it? You are too modest! Ning Daoqi raised his cupped first and spoke sincerely, The real modest person is Song Que, not Ning Daoqi. Song Xiong may have your strength exhausted and die, but Ning Daoqi will definitely apany Song Xiong in burial. Thank you, Song Xiong for your kindness in starting off leniently. Song Que returned the greeting and said, We all dont need to speak words of politeness, to have Dao Xiong having a free hand in decisive battle, Ol Song no longer have any regret. Would you please tell Qinghui, from now on Ol Song will have Kou Zhong inherits everything, immediately I will hasten back to Lingnan, and no longer mind the affairs of the world. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was stunned on the spot, he failed to understand the reason why with Song Ques conduct, he could give up at this point. This moment, Song Que came to his side, smiled and said, Lets go! Book 56 10 – Unfinished Remaining Feeling

Book 56 Chapter 10 - Unfinished Remaining Feeling

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Knock! Knock! Who is it? Xu Ziling went to Li Jings official residence at night, entering the house from the back wall. Such a huge general mansion, it was surprisingly cold and cheerless, in most part, the courtyard did not have anyntern lights, only the main building showed some lights; the scenery entering his eyes made him feel greatly strange. Relying on his architectural knowledge, he figured out where the master building where the hosts live their everyday life. He tapped lightly on the windowsill, trying to rm Li Jing. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Sorry to rm Dasao [big/older sister-inw]! Its Xu Ziling! With a gust of wind, Hong Funu appeared in the corridor, her pretty eyebrows deeply knitted, she said, Its you again! You must be here for Li Jing, what do you want? She was wearing tight warrior outfit, apparently she has not asleep yet. Hearing the unfriendly tone of her voice, Xu Ziling braced himself and said, Im so sorry! I disturbed Dasaos rest, I have an important matter to see Li Dage. Is he not back yet? Hong Funu revealed aplicated expression, containing a bit bitterness, she also appeared to be exasperated; apologizing in a low voice, she said, I should be the one apologizing to you, Im in a very bad mood. Ay! Come in! Shaken, Xu Ziling asked, Is Li Dage all right? Hong Funu shook her head, indicating that it was not that, she appeared to be struggling to suppress the impatience in her heart. Turning around to lead the way, she said, Its not convenient to talk here,e with me! With her showing the way, Xu Ziling entered the study room and sat down in the pitch-ck room. Hong Funu recovered her calm, but her manner cold, she said, Whats so important that Ziling is looking for Li Jing? Xu Ziling was concerned about Li Jing, he couldnt help asking, Why is Dasao in a bad mood? Why didnt Li Dage stay at home to apany Saozi [sister-inw]? Hong Funu replied, Your Dage went to see Qin Wang outside the city. As for why I am in a bad mood, ay! How should I tell you? Because of Li Jings rtionship with you, not only the people of Changan give us supercilious look, but also our colleagues at the Qin Wangfu [princes mansion] alienated us, Qin Wang deliberately refused to let him participate in the battle of Luoyang. On the surface, it was for his sake, but in the end, he did not trust him and let him go idle. Li Jing didnt me you at all, but I feel indignant on his behalf! A burst of remorse welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he could imagine Li Jing, husband and wifes difficult situation. Hong Funu continued, What did Zilinge to Changan for? Dont you know that everyone in Changan wants to kill you and Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling said softly, Im sorry! Hong Funu sighed and said, Whats the use of you keep saying sorry? I really dont know what to do with the two of you? If you are big traitor, greatly evil men, things would have been much simpler, but you clearly are not only that kind of people, you are chivalrous people;st time you even did a great favor for Qin Wangfu, you helped Shen Luoyan avoiding great catastrophe. However, you also made us offend Huangshang [the emperor] and Taizi [the crown prince], the Dugu Family hates us, husband and wife to the bone even more. I once suggested that Li Jing simply leave Changan and hide in the mountains and forests, but he refused, saying that leaving Qin Wang at this moment was unrighteous, ignoring invasions of the different tribes outside the Great Wall, and even more heartless. But what else can we do now? Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck and unable to reply, the feeling in his heart was unbearable. Hong Funus heart must be brimming with grievance due to the injustice they received, but she exhausted her strength to keep the tone of her voice tranquil, she said, On one hand, we are worried about your situation in Luoyang, but on the other hand, we are afraid that Qin Wang will make mistake, our mind is very conflicted. Nowadays the situation is clear, but there is another worry. Ay! Ziling, tell us how to deal with it. Xu Ziling blurted out, I aming to Changan today, not only to help Qin Wang to cross over the crisis, but also to help him ascend to the throne, to unify the world, and to repel foreign enemies. Severely shaken, Hong Funu said, Is Ziling trying tofort me? Xu Ziling asserted, Im serious! Sitting across the small table from him, Hong Funu looked him up and down for half a day, finally she spoke in heavy voice, How about Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling said, I havent had the opportunity to talk to him about it yet. Hong Funu said, Can Ziling speak more clearly? Xu Ziling said, I came to look for Li Dage, it is because I want to see Qin Wang in secret through him. As long as I can persuade him to fight for the throne, Kou Zhongs aspect, leave it to me. Hong Funu spoke heavily, Do you know that this is akin to asking Qin Wang to betray the Li Family, to betray his father and brothers? Xu Ziling replied, He has no other choice. Jiancheng, Yuanji, respectively, colluded with the Tujue and the demonic school, they are harboring malicious thought towards him. On the way, I ran into Liang Shidus son purchasing arge number of firearms from the Haisha Bang, I also saw Li Jianchengs subordinates Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan appearing not far from there. If I am guessing correctly, this batch of firearms will be used to attack Heavenly Policy Mansion. Hong Funus countenance changed, she said, Unexpectedly there is such thing? Xu Ziling said, I will try my best to convince Li Shimin that if he is still persevere with being loyal to the Li family and is unwilling to turn his back on his father and brothers, I will have no choice but to go back and help Kou Zhong with all my strength take the world and resist foreign enemies. Hong Funu said, Kou Zhong might be willing listen to you, this good brothers words, but what about Song Que? I am afraid that no one in the world can influence the great aspiration in Song Ques mind. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I can only do it one step at a time [orig. see a step, walk a step] and exhaust my strength to do it. Evidently Hong Funus view on him was changing greatly, she spoke in low voice, Qin Wang should go ashore and enter the city tomorrow morning, can Zilinge to the study room at noon? We will try to arrange a secret meeting between Ziling and Qin Wang. With his back to him, Song Que sat at the head of the log raft. For the entire two sichen, he did not move even half of his finger, or spoke half a word. The clear light of the bright moon illuminated the pure white snowy forest and the ins on both banks of the river, while Kou Zhong silently operated the scull at the tail of the raft; he felt like if he had sunken into a dream. Song Que broke the oppressive silence by letting out a long breath and said, Ning Daoqi really did not disappoint Ol Song. Kou Zhong, you were able to personally watch this battle, the benefits to you is hard to estimate. Kou Zhong wanted to say something but hesitated, in the end he only said, I certainly derived not a shallow benefit, my horizon is greatly opened. Song Que spoke indifferently, You must be really dying to ask me whether I actually I win or lose? Kou Zhong nodded and said, I really cant figure it out. Song Que spoke serenely, That will be a mystery that Ning Daoqi and I are not able to solve either. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, In that case, since victory or defeat has not been decided, why was Fazhu willing to give up the ninth saber strike? Song Que replied indifferently, I dont want to conceal it from you, the reason lies in Qinghui. Kou Zhong was at a loss, he asked, Unexpectedly it was because of Qinghui Zhaizhu, I thought that when fighting, you, the Senior already threw herpletely out of your mind? Song Que said, Do you know that Ning Daoqi had a chance to die in such a way that I also perished? Kou Zhong replied, That was the moment when Fazhu sessfully pulled the treasured saber from his two hands, right? Song Que said, That was created by me, but Im sure Ning Daoqi did not know at all that I could infuse the true qi concentrated inside the saber back into myself, I had a very high chance to strike him hard, hence it would look like a mutual-destruction move. However, I actually had a way to save my life, while he would undoubtedly die. Unable to make any sense of the matter, Kou Zhong said, What does this have to do with Qinghui Zhaizhu? Song Que replied, At the risk of his own life, Ning Daoqi settled himself in the disadvantageous position, he gave up such a good opportunity to kill me, Song Que, of course it has a lot to do with her. Were it not for Qinghui and Ning Daoqi already agreed not to kill me, Song Que, based on Ning Daoqis character, such a great benevolent and very brave person, who does not consider himself worthy in his eyes, how could he miss such a great opportunity? Kou Zhong was shaken, he said, Fazhu was willing to take this enormous risk, it was just to test Qinghui Zhaizhus feelings for you? Why not? Song Que replied. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck and unable to reply. Song Que went on, The eighth saber strike gave me serious internal injury, I must rush back to Lingnan immediately, close the door, and treat the injury in secret. When you get back to Pengliang, you must do your utmost to pacify the south within these remaining two months, and then when the spring is warm, the flowers blooming, deploy your army north, capture Luoyang, and then take Changan, toplete the great undertaking of unifying the world, dont make Song Que lose hope. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly Fazhus injury is so serious. Song Que sighed and said, I am badly injured, how much better is Ning Daoqi than me? At least I have 50% confidence that my ninth saber strike could put him in order. But Ning Daoqi would rather fall into the disadvantageous position and let go of the opportunity to kill me, how could I shamelessly take advantage of his precarious situation? Infinite admiration and veneration welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; in the end, although Song Que refused to change his beliefs, but toward Fan Qinghui, he still failed to forget his love. Song Que spoke gently, I still have a word of advice for you. Kou Zhong reached out to move the scull, he spoke respectfully, This kid respectfully listens to the clear teaching. Unhurried and calm, Song Que spoke slowly, In anything, oftentimes the course of events is more touching than the oue, you must not let down the favor that life is giving you. Returning to Feng Ya Ge, Xu Ziling saw Yin Xianhe sitting silently in the room with nk expression on his face. He blurted out asking, Why dont you take the opportunity to rest? In pain, Yin Xianhe responded with a question, You think I can fall asleep? Xu Ziling sat down next to him andforted him, When Ji Qianes back, everything will be clear, Qingqing Furen threading the needle for us, we can save the effort of trying to persuade her. Changing the subject, Yin Xianhe said, Why did Chi Shengchun want to buy Shang Lin Yuan? Cant he open another one himself? He wants people he has people, he wants money he has money. Xu Ziling said, His purpose is to show confidence, to disy strength. Even more so, he wants to show off to Da Xian Hu Fo, father and daughter. Such a business of Shang Lin Yuans size, which is considered second to none in Changan, if you dont have money, you cant buy it, plus you still have to consider the human resources side as well, if their skill is a bit inferior, you wont seed. Li Jianchengs party must be taking advantage of the fortunate timing when Li Shimin is on military expedition, plus with Li Yuans tacit approval, they quickly expand their power and clear away dissidents. If my guess is right, the gangs and societies or any rich merchant and cab minister who supported Li Shimin in the past, if they dont remain neutral or switch their allegiance to Li Jianchengs camp - will definitely suffer attack and persecution. Yin Xianhes enmity against Chi Shengchun was as deep as the sea, hearing that, his murderous intent was ring greatly, he snorted coldly and said, We kill one, there will be one less of them, how can we allow Chi Shengchun to go on the rampage relying on evil? Great ns can be ruined by just a touch of impatience, Xu Ziling said, We want to pull the Xiang family up by the roots, killing Chi Shengchun will only beat the grass to scare the snake. Looking at the current situation, it is very likely that Xiang Gui is going move his entire n to Changan, because other than Changan, there is no ce for them to seek shelter. Yin Xianhe was about to speak when they heard footsteps. Xu Ziling recognized the footsteps as belonging to their host; he stood up and said, Ji Qian is here! Yin Xianhe rushed to open the door. Creak! The door was wide open, apanied by Qingqing, Ji Qian stood prettily outside the door, her ck, spirited big eyes looked at Yin Xianhe, sizing him up. She was still in full costume, dazzlingly beautiful. Even with Yin Xianhes indifferent attitude toward the affection between men and women, momentarily he stared at her in awe. Appearing to be introducing her benefactor, Qingqingughed tenderly and said, Good girl! This is the Die Gongzi that Niang mentioned! Standing on the side, Xu Ziling did not know whether tough or to cry, Qingqings habit was difficult to change, she was still young and beautiful, but the tone of her voice was like an old Baopo [matron, female brothel keeper] who was happily mingling among the flowers. As expected, Ji Qians attitude waspletely different. Pfft! she giggled and scolded, Die Gongzi? Gongzi does not look like a butterfly at all [reminder: Die (dee-eh) means butterfly]. When a butterfly sees a flower, he would want to gather nectar, the brighter the flower, the more he would be unwilling to let go, but Gongzi is definitely not that kind of person. Qianer only need to take one nce and I know it! Toward the sprig-of-flower-trembling-randomly, able-to-bewitch-men-to-death Ji Qian, Yin Xianhe was at a loss to know what to do; for the first time, it had never happened before, his originally always-without-any-expression slender eyelids turned red. Knowing that he couldnt handle her, Xu Ziling moved to her side, saluted and said, Xu Ziling pays his respect to Qian Dajia [great expert]. Any previous offense, I am asking Dajias forgiveness. Ji Qian gave him a stern look, feigning anger coquettishly, she said, Turns out its really you, this kid, forget it! Ji Qian is Ji Qian, not any Dajia, the only Dajia is Shang Cainu [talented girl]. If you are tactful, you will teach those few cheap tricks to swindle people of yours to me. This Miss [Guniang] is willing to learn, it is indeed your honor. Where is Kou Zhong? Isnt he with you? Finished speaking, she threw flirtatious nces toward Yin Xianhe, who was unable to take his eyes off her, staring straight at her; she said, Silly kid! What are you looking at? You want to transform into a butterfly? Yin Xianhes old face turned even redder, and Xu Ziling was helpless as well. It was Qingqings turn to help them out of the siege and said, Good girl! Dont fool around! Ziling and Die Gongzi came looking for you for proper business. Ji Qian replied, I am just happy to see old friend, they are going to stick out their heads for Qianer. And then she pushed Qingqing away and said, Quickly go back to deal with those loathsome people, leave the matter in here to me. After Qingqing, like scattering wind, swaying willow - left, without any scruples at all Ji Qian stepped into the room, she blurted out, Im so exhausted, lets sit down first and then we talk. Seeing that there were only two chairs in the room, without any trace of politeness, she just plopped her butts on the edge of the bed, and called out tenderly, You still have not sat down nicely for me, do you want me to beat you? Hee ! Its nice to see you, two brazen kids, unexpectedly you dare to sneak into Changan; arent you afraid your head will roll? But I am most fond of men with big guts, this is more like men! Secretly Xu Ziling felt something was not right, he was more familiar with Ji Qians conduct and style than Yin Xianhe; just now she dismissed Qingqing, it already put him on guard, now she deliberately praised their guts, there must be some other intention. Ji Qians lustrous-and-ck-like-two-precious-stones pupils were spinning around and around at lightning speed, turning left and right - inside her eye sockets; squinting at Xu Ziling, she said, Listening to Niang, you came to me to ask me something, this is not a problem, we all are sons and daughters of Jianghu; since we are friends and not enemies, naturally we must talk about Jianghu yi qi [spirit of loyalty]. However, Jianghu has Jianghus rules, the so-called proper behavior is based on reciprocity. You do something for me, I, Ji Qian, will definitely reciprocate. Relying on your startling-and-intimidating-the-world martial arts, doing this for me is just the exertion of lifting your hand, as easy as blowing off dust. Yin Xianhe spoke heavily, Ji Xiaojie, please bestow your instruction! With a happy expression, Ji Qian turned her gaze toward Yin Xianhe. Apparently she discovered that Yin Xianhe was far more honest and gulliblepared to Xu Ziling. Casting coquettish nces at him, she said, Kill Chi Shengchun for me, and then whatever you want me, Ji Qian to do, I, Ji Qian will surely listen to you obediently. Revealing a difficult expression, Yin Xianhe looked at Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling looked at Ji Qian and spoke indifferently, Chi Shengchun is already in our list of those who must be killed, but presently it is not suitable for immediate execution. This time we areing to Changan, it is in the hope that Xiaojie will honestly tell us about Yin Xiaoji. Yin Xianhes breathing immediately became rugged, his mind was tense. Ji Qian furrowed her pretty eyebrows, a bit impatient, she said, Killing someone is your simple home-style meal [idiom:mon urrence], why do you have to drag three and drag four? I, Ji Qian am always clear between gratitude and grudges, any gratitude will definitely be repaid. You dont want to do it for me, dont even think of asking even half a word from my mouth. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, No! You will tell us! Revealing a touching displeasure expression, Ji Qian cast him a sidelong nce and said, This is not the first day that you, Xu Daxia came to know me, Ji Qian, how can you be so sure? I loathe men who believe themselves infallible the most, I see that you will not dare carry out torture to extort confession, what are you going to do to me? Yin Xianhe wanted to speak, but Xu Ziling signaled him to stop, he spoke softly, Precisely because I know Xiaojie, I understand who Ji Qian is, hence I have the confidence that you will be willing to speak, you wont bear not to speak. Astonished, Ji Qian said, I cant bear it? What a joke. You think this is the first day I am mingling in Jianghu? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Because Die Gongzis original name is Yin Xianhe, he is Yin Xiaojis Dage, since she was captured and taken away by the Xiang familys thugs, in thest ten years or so he has disregarded hardship, danger and difficulties to search for her to all corners of the world. Can you bear not to tell him right away? Ji Qians tender body shook violently, her eyes turned to Yin Xianhe, she spoke in disbelief, Its impossible. Xiaojis Dage was beaten to death by those big thugs with the heart of wolf and lungs of dog. It was Yin Xianhes turn to have his whole body severely shaken, beyond his control, hot tears gushing out violently, flowing all over his thin eyelids. He threw himself towards Ji Qian, went down on both knees, kneeling down, disregarding everything to cling tight to Ji Qians slender jade legs, sobbing, he said, I am begging you, please tell me where Xiaoji is. I am really her Dage, I was not beaten to death. Xu Zilings heart ached, he almost shed tears. Ji Qians tender body trembled again, lowering her eyes to meet Yin Xianhes teary eyes, not only was she not upset that Yin Xianhe hugged her legs, but her two eyes turned red, the tears inside her eye sockets rolled out, she stretched out her hand to stroke his slender face, she replied, You are really not dead? Sobbing hard, Yin Xianhe could not talk, he only nodded slightly. Just by seeing his emotional state as his true feeling was revealed, anybody would know that he was not lying at all. Ji Qian cried out in low voice, Heavens! You really are not dead! Two lines of clear tears rolled down her fragrant cheeks, she was no longer Changans famous courtesan who did not stop iming to havee to mingle in Jianghu before. Xu Ziling said, Xiaoji has a finger-sized light red birthmark on her left arm, also, she has a pair of bright big eyes and long legs. Able to tell these characteristics, Xiaojie should know that we are not deceiving you or lying to you. Ji Qian took out her silk scarf, she gently wiped Yin Xianhes tears, and spoke softly as if she wasforting a child, Dont cry! I know where Xiaoji is. Book 56 11 – Detailed Story From The Past

Book 56 Chapter 11 - Detailed Story From The Past

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Yin Xianhe trembled all over, as if he was losing the strength to support his own body, he waspletely relying on Ji Qians pair of jade hands wrapped around his nks, holding his slim, long body, as she leaned over the bed. Where is Xiaoji? Holding nothing back, Ji Qian pressed her cheek against Yin Xianhes head and closed her beautiful eyes. Tears did not stop flowing out of her eyes as she spoke in sorrow, I didnt intend to tell anyone about the past, plus no one is interested in knowing. When Ziling came to ask me that day, because I was afraid that he was a member of the Xiang family, I pretended that I dont know. The fact is, Xiaoji and Xiao You [Note: Xiaoji was her name, but I think Xiao You was a nickname, Little You, I will reviseter if I am wrong] are my best sisters, only the three of us seeded in escaping that night, the other sisters were murdered by the Xiang family to close their mouth. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, What happened that night? Sinking into the painful memories of the past, Ji Qians pretty face showed a sorrowful and heartbroken expression, her pair of eyes were still closed, she desperately held on Yin Xianhe, her fragrant lips trembled and said, There was no training as usual that day, but the evil men in charge forced us to stay inside the room. Suddenly there was a boiling cauldron of voices [idiom:motion] outside, there were fire everywhere. At that time, I shared room with Xiaoji and Xiao You, Xiaoji was the bravest, she suggested we took the opportunity to escape immediately, however, the other sisters did not have that kind of courage, so the three of us had no choice but to climb the window and leave. Sure enough, the evil men soon came! We hid in the underbrush in the garden, we heard the sound of their screams for help before they died inside the house. It was just like in the most terrifying nightmare. The evil men found out that the three of us were missing, they searched everywhere. Fortunately, at that moment someone broke the door down and entered, the scared evil men scattered in all directions to run for their lives. We seized that opportunity to slip out through the back door, and follow the crowd to leave Jiangdu. Dont cry! Get up and sit down first, all right? Thest two sentences were directed at Yin Xianhe. Xu Ziling came over to help him stand up, Ji Qian sat him on the edge of the bed, she also wiped his tears. Xu Ziling never thought that the crafty and unruly, the willful Ji Qian had such a gentle and considerate side; inwardly he felt great pity. Without waiting for Yin Xianhe to ask further, Ji Qian continued, After leaving the city, we fled in a panic, without choosing where we were going. At the time, we only thought of going as far away as possible. Ay! We were hungry and tired after walking. Fortunately, we ran into kindhearted people along the way, so we didnt starve to death, and we fled straight to Xiangyang, only then did we settle down. Yin Xianhe was shaken, Xiangyang! he eximed. Finally, his endless tears stopped flowing. Ji Qian nodded and said, The three of us were mutually dependent for life [idiom], if we had nothing to eat, we went begging and stealing. Because we were afraid that people would bully us, women, we had no choice but to disguise ourselves as boys. But when you go up the mountain many times, chances are you will meet tigers; one day when we became petty thief, someone caught us on the spot. The master of the house was the most outstanding famous courtesan in Xiangyang. She took pity on us, and show favor on us and epted us as adopted daughters [traditional adoption, without legal ramifications]. Yin Xianhes countenance changed, he said, epted you as her disciples? Ji Qian did not notice Yin Xianhes peculiar reaction, she said, Only Xiaoji was unwilling to follow Aunt Ying and learn her art. Fortunately, with Aunt Ying as her behind-the-scene supporter, no one dared to bully her. Later, Aunt Ying put away the mountain [idiom: bowing out after a long career] and got married. Xiao You and Xiaoji stayed in Xiangyang, but I went to Changan to try my luck, because I knew that Chi Shengchun was in Changan. As long as there is a chance to avenge my sisters who met with violent death, I definitely wont let it off. And then tears burst violently, she sobbed silently, and whimpered, When they abducted me, they killed my Ershu [second uncle, younger than her father]. Ershu was my only rtive. My objective in Changan was hidden from Xiaoji and Xiao You. Xu Xiaoling came to understand that this was exactly the Xiang familys usual method to maintain secrecy, they killed people to shut their mouths, so that the information of women from ordinary family being kidnapped would not leak outside, and thus other people would not be able to investigate. During the Jiangdu mutiny, the Xiang family knew that they could not take arge number of girls away. Because they had always been Yang Guangs supporters, they became the target of Yuwen Huajis attack. In order to escape in a hurry while preventing any leak of information, they struck treacherously by killing all the abducted little girls. Cruel and heartless to the extreme. He spoke heavily, How did you know that there is Chi Shengchun, this person, and that he is in Changan? Ji Qian said, After being abducted, I was taken to Jiangdu to be locked up; I have seen him twice. He chatted with his men many times, one time he even mentioned the casino business in Changan, I always remembered it. Will you kill him for me? Just consider me begging you! Yin Xianhe stood up suddenly, chopping the nail and slice the iron [idiom: resolute and decisive], he said, I am going to Xiangyang immediately. Which brothel is Xiao You in? Ji Qian tugged at his sleeve and said in distress, Kill Chi Shengchun for me first, and then I will apany you to Xiangyang. I dont care about any Xiang Family, Chi Family, as long as his dead body is chopped into ten thousand pieces, that will do. Looking at her like-raindrops-on-a-pear-blossom [idiom: tear-stained face of a beauty] sorrowful appearance, who could keep his heart from feeling sad? Xu Ziling said, Lets calm down first, how about we make a detailed n? Yin Xianhe looked down at Ji Qian, he said, I will definitely kill Chi Shengchun for you. Xiaojie, dont worry. Ji Qian was still unwilling to let go of her tight grip on his sleeve, raising the sleeve of her other hand to wipe her tears, she said, I knew you are a good man! Yin Xianhe calmed down, he sat down next to Ji Qian again, and said to Xu Ziling, What is Zilings suggestion? Xu Ziling said, We all have the same goal, which is to get Chi Shengchun, this devoid of conscience person to get the retribution he deserves. The problem is that I want to pull the evil family to which Chi Shengchun belongs to by the roots; Chi Shengchun is just one of them. Ji Qian looked at Yin Xianhe as if she was asking for help, thetter nodded and said, Ziling is right, in order to escape our encircling and annihting, hunting to kill them, it will be very likely that Chi Shengchuns family n is going to seek refuge in Changan, moreover, they are hoping to seed in establishing power and rtionships here. For this reason, Chi Shengchun greatly spread out his hands and feet and forcefully acquired Shang Lin Yuan. Xu Ziling said, This moment, Chi Shengchun might already knew that his identity has been leaked, hence he is under high alert, and under protection of martial art masters twelve sichen a day, it wont be easy to kill him. Once we beat the grass and scare the snake, it will be very unfavorable toward ourprehensive n. I have a suggestion: tomorrow morning, Qian Xiaojie and Xianhe rush to Xiangyang to look for Xiao You and Xiaoji, and then go to Pengliang; we can meet in Liangdu. Once the n to deal with the Xiang family is properly deployed, Qian Xiaojie can go back to Changan to witness the smoke of Xiangs house vanishing and crumbling. Ji Qian moved her gaze to Yin Xianhe, this lone swordsman nodded affirmatively at her. Ji Qian stared at him nkly for half a day, until Yin Xianhe was so embarrassed being stared by her. She nodded and replied, Very well! What you think is more appropriate than what Qianer thought. A graceful, wonderful feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, some magical things were brewing between Yin Xianhe and Ji Qian; it could be based on their painful past experiences, which enabled them to generate mutual trust and understanding within a short period of time, or it could be due to the fate and the attractive force between men and women, which cannot be exined by reason, which made the two people with different personalities no longer had any distance to separate them. Ji Qian was never willing to trust anybody, but obviously Yin Xianhe was an exception. Yin Xianhe said, If we want to leave, its better to leave now. Xu Ziling understood his feelings, he said, It would be best for Qian Xiaojie to leave the city openly under ten thousand staring eyes, it will be more convenient when youe backter. Ill see you off for a moment. Ji Qian reached out to grab Yin Xianhes arm, she spoke softly, Die Gongzi, take a good rest, Qianer is going to exin to Qing Yi [Aunt] and pack my luggage, I will be back to talk with youter. Xiaoji is a very adorable and strong girl! Xiao You and I listen to her very much. Finished speaking, she saluted Xu Ziling and left, elegant and supple. The two you look at me I gaze at you. Xu Ziling broke into a wide grin and said, Now you set your heart at ease! Soon you will be reunited with your esteemed sister, what could be more happy ending than this? That move of offering a reward for finding her will not work, because you know the ce where your esteemed sister is, where both of them are - is under the Tang Armys sphere of influence. Yin Xianhe sighed and said, From now until I arrive in Xiangyang, my life will be as difficult to pass as if one day is a year. Xu Ziling rose up to his full height, heughed and said, On the contrary, time will pass quickly. You should have said that you are so happy that you dont know where time has passed. Finished speaking, he left with aughter. Kou Zhong sent off Song Quesrge ship returning to the south disappearing in the distance downstream with his yes. In front and behind it, there were four navy vessels, carrying more than a thousand elite troops of the Song family providing escort. From this moment on, he, Kou Zhong became the supreme leader of the Shao Shuai coalition army, all the heavy burdens have fallen onto his shoulders. Song Lu, standing next to him, said, Lets go back! Kou Zhong asked in heavy voice, How is the situation on the attack on Jiangdu? Song Lu replied, Faliang sessfully captured Piling, I told him not to act blindly without thinking. After all, Jiangdu is a metropolis, it has a strong defensive power. My advice is to iste it, wait for their provisions to run dry and the troops rebel, it is not advisable to attack by force. Kou Zhong agreed, Lu Shus caution is right. After all, Yangzhou can be considered my hometown, while Li Zitong is just an outsider, how can he fight against me, this local worm? Ay! Any message from Zhizhi? Song Lu said, Every ten days I send news concerning you to Lingnan, she still cares about you very much. Kou Zhong shook his head and smiled bitterly, he said, Lets go back first and talkter, I want to call for a meeting immediately. We have only two months left of this freezing period; we must make good use of this not-just-in-name-only-but-also-in-reality golden opportunity bestowed by heaven. After sending off Yin Xianhe and Ji Qian, Xu Ziling sneaked back into Changan via the secret road, and went to the generals mansion to see Li Jing. The heavy snow stopped before dawn the previous night. In the sky, the cloud was still thick and heavy, the City of Changan has be a white world. Men, women, young and old, all went into action to clear up the snow. The rolling wheels and the horses hoofs created splotches staining the pristine street; it was the bustling scenery abundant with ordinary life activities. But Xu Zilings mind was tied to the major events of war and peace under the heavens, making him feel that he and the people around him seemed to be living in two different worlds. Whether he could persuade Li Shimin or not, that would be the first hurdle. And then there were Kou Zhong and Song Que, two hurdles, which involved tangled andplicated problems. A bit incautious, his overall grand n would go down the drainpletely. He entered the mansion from the rear court door, which was not bolted, into the house. A young family general, who looked honest and considerate, was waiting respectfully for his honored self, and took him into the inner hall. Li Jing was already waiting anxiously, he asked him to sit around the table, and said, What exactly is going on? I did not dare to tell Qin Wang everything, I only told him that you came to Changan in secret and have an important matter to discuss with him. He promised that after seeing Huangshang, he will be here to see you. Xu Ziling said, As long as Qin Wang is willing to promise to fight for the throne with all his might, I will persuade Kou Zhong to help him striving for the world with all his strength. Li Jing spoke with serious expression, Does Kou Zhong know youe to see Qin Wang? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, This is my decision after I parted way with Kou Zhong. Li Jing spoke dejectedly, In my opinion, you are just wasting your energy. Even if you can persuade Qin Wang, and this possibility is very low, how can Kou Zhong be willing to give up everything in this situation? How can he answer the men who follow him? Much less there is still Song Que, this one barrier? Xu Ziling said, If I cant persuade Li Shimin, then thats it, I have no choice but to go back to Pengliang to help Kou Zhong to attack Luoyang. However, as long as Li Shimin is willing to make up his mind, Kou Zhong, that one barrier, I still have the confidence to ovee. As for Song Que, I can think of one possibility. Whether I can aplish it or not, it will depend on Laotianyes will. Knitting his brows, Li Jing asked, What possibility? This moment, the family general came in a hurry to report, Li Shimin has arrived. Kou Zhong sat in the Shaoshuai seat on top of the tform steps at the southern extremity of the main hall of the Shao Shuai Mansion, Wuming stood on his left shoulder, epting the tender stroke from her master, whom she had not seen for a long time. On the head seat to his right was Song Lu, followed by Xuan Yong, Song Bang, Song Shuang, Bing Yuanzhen, Ma Chang, Ba Yegang, and Bai Wenyuan; on the head seat to his left was Xu Xingzhi, followed by, in sessive order, the Li Shuai [Commander of the Li (tribe)] Wang Zhongxuan, Chen Zhifo, Ouyang Qian, Chen Laomou, Jiao Hongjin and Wang Xuanshu. The other great generals either participated in the military campaign to siege Jiangdu or had other important tasks, hence were not in Liangdu. Chenliu was presided over by Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi and Zha Jie, three men who came from the Shuang Long [Twin Dragons] Army, defending the frontline city of the Shao Shuai State, which was closest to the Tang Army. Kou Zhong haspletely recovered his usual self-confidence and calmness. Xu Xingzhi was the first to report, Liu Heita obtained Xu Yuangs help, he was invincible in battle and has captured several cities in session. Now he is confronting the fifty thousand Tang Army led by Li Yuanji, Li Shentong and Li Yi outside Raoyang City, Hebei, victory or defeat has not been decided. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Where did Li kid slip away to? Xuan Yong replied. It is rumored that Li Yuan was dissatisfied with Li Shimin for letting Shaoshuai sessfully breaking through the siege and returning to Liangdu, so he forcefully summoned him back to Changan to exin. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Li kids life is in danger! Xuan Yong spoke in determination, In that case, the north is no longer enough to be a concern, I dare say that Li Yuanji is not Liu Dages match, the day of his defeat can be counted with the fingers in one hand! Song Lu asked, What is our stand toward Liu Heita? Kou Zhong replied respectfully, Lu Shu, please note clearly, we will know about Liu Dages situation very soon. After defeating Li Yuanji, I am certain he will send his men to contact us. We are all brothers, what can possibly be inappropriate for us to discuss? The most important thing for us is to increase the bargaining chip in our hands, then our cooperation will be a bit more delightful. Seeing that he respected Song Lu so much, the various generals of the Song family and the Li Liao system all showed a relieved expression, because up to this moment, they still did not understand why Song Que suddenly had to leave everything and return to Lingnan. It would be strange indeed if that they did not have any doubts in their hearts. But now seeing the harmonious rtionship between Kou Zhong and Song Lu, they knew that there was not any problem between Kou Zhong and Song Que, naturally they put down most of the load on their mind. Kou Zhong said, We all are on the same side, there is no need to conceal anything. Fazhu rushed back to Lingnan today, it was because in the decisive battle against Ning Daoqi, although they were unable to determine victory or defeat, but both sides suffer, hence he must return to Lingnan to recuperate. Its not suitable for this information to leak, hence now that we all know about it, its enough. As soon as this remark was taken out of the steamer [idiom: emerge] it immediately provoked a sensation. Beyond Kou Zhongs expectation however, not only it did not dampen their morale, on the contrary, it had the effect of promoting it, because Ning Daoqi was hailed as the number one master in the world, and Song Que was able to evenly divide the colors of spring [idiom: evenly matched] with him, hence it did not damage his reputation the slightest bit. After dealing with a series of follow-up questions, the main hall returned to calm, everybody rubbed his first and wiped his palms [idiom: eager to get into action], waiting for Kou Zhong to announce his grand n to unify the world. The gloom in Kou Zhongs heart was swept clean, knowing that everyones confidence in him was not under Song Que. His operation to move an army and send a general to unify the south would be carried out by the Shao Shuai allied army with their morale at the peak condition. On both sides of the Yangtze River, there would not be anybody able to withstand him anymore. Turning to Song Lu, he said, Before the three armies are moving, the rations and fodder must go first. How is Lu Shus situation in the logistics supply aspect? Song Lu smiled and said, No matter to which ce Shaoshuai is sending a punitive military expedition, I have the confidence that we will be able to deliver the material and natural resources unendingly from the source viand and water, two routes! pping the armrest, Kou Zhong let out a longughter and said, That should do it! We are going near first and farter. We will put Li Zitong and Shen Faxing in order first, and then sweep and tten Fu Gongyou, and then take Xiangyang, suppress Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong at the Yangtze River, using nibbling away method to iste and weakens them, while at the same time going all-out for the magnificent feat to rece the north. Blessings, we all share together, misfortune, we should not have our share in it, right? All the generals, whether they were from the Shao Shuai Army or the Song Family squad, or the Li Liao systems various generals - responded in loud chorus, all agreed with one heart. Li Shimin stretched out his hand and grabbed Xu Zilings tightly, he sighed and said, Please let Shimin express my deepest remorse for Xia Wangs [King of Xia] murder. He entered the hall alone, the personal guardsing with him stayed outside at the main hall, he was showing his trust in Xu Ziling with his actions. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, Li Shimin allowed Li Yuanji to act on his behalf to use Dou Jiandes life and death to force Kou Zhong to surrender, there must be unspeakable secret troubles within it. However, when Kou Zhong jumped down the Luoyangs city wall, the situation was no longer under his control. Li Jing stood respectfully with his hand hanging down on the side. Li Shimin said, Ziling, please sit down first and then we talk. He signaled Li Jing with his eyes, Li Jing tactfully withdrew outside the hall. He knew Xu Zilings personality well, he should not worry about Li Shimins safety. Li Shimin took him to the round table and sat down, only then did he let go of his hand and said, I heard that Liang Shidus son acquired arge number of Jiangnan firearms from the Haisha Bang, and that Ziling suspected this was Huangxiongs [emperor brother] conspiracy to deal with me, Li Shimin, is that right? Xu Ziling nodded and said, There is a high possibility that Liang Shidu belongs to the demonic school. Moreover, Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan have appeared in the nearby Badong City. Adding up all these few spiders thread and horse track [clues], my suspicion is absolutely not chasing the wind and clutching at shadows [idiom: groundless]. And then he exined Yun Yuzhensplicated rtionship with Xiang Yushan and the Haisha Bang one time through. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Li Shimin said, At first I did not believe it too much, but after hearing Ziling analyzing it so thoroughly, this matter is not impossible at all. And then he gazed deeply at him, the divine light in his pair of eyes brightened greatly, he said, Ziling took the risk toe to Changan, is it just for this matter? Xu Ziling was silent for half a day, only then did he speak slowly, word by word, I came to Changan this time is to ask clearly about Shimin Xiongs intention, are you going to sit and wait for death, or are you going to do everything you can to fight back, for the sake of themon people of the world and the welfare of all the people, to throw out everything, including family and father and son and brothers flesh and blood emotion, to let the world be unified in your hands, so that you can be the bright ruler who love your country and love the people? The divine light in Li Shimins pair of eyes brightened even more, but the tone of his voice was extraordinarily calm, he spoke heavily, Isnt it toote for Ziling to say this? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, I wont conceal it from Shimin Xiong, I cant give you a definite answer, I just know that I am doing my best. And the reconciliation between you and Kou Zhong is the only way to solve the imminent filling-the-entire-sky catastrophe that the Central ins is facing. Without blinking at all, Li Shimin fixed his gaze at him, he asked, Does Kou Zhong know about this? Xu Ziling replied frankly, I havent had a chance to talk to him yet. Li Shimin stood up abruptly, he walked towards the main door, and strode out without looking back. Xu Ziling looked at his disappearing back, his scalp went numb, his mind was a slice of nk space. Book 56 12 – Putting The World First

Book 56 Chapter 12 - Putting The World First

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia After Kou Zhong and his subordinates, the imperial strategic adviser and great generals finished discussing and drawing up the military operations and the overall troops deployment in the attack on Jiangdu, the various generals received the orders and went their separate way to work. The vanguard troops, under Song Shuang and Wang Zhongxuansmand, immediately set off by the waterway to the south. After being busy for several days running, Kou Zhong was exhausted, he went back to his bedroom to meditate and rest. But less than half a sichenter, there was a knock on the door. Kou Zhong was rmed inwardly, wondering if it would be another bad news. He secretly sighed that being the leader was not an easy thing to do. He responded, Xingzhi, pleasee in! Xu Xingzhi pushed the door and entered, he said, Qingzhu Bangs [Green Bamboo Gang] Xing Rong has an urgent matter asking for an audience. Kou Zhong hurriedly went to the outer hall to see Xing Rong. This kid wore a happy expression on his face, as soon as he saw him, he hurriedly said, Li Zitong wants to surrender to you, LaoGe, Xiao Zhong is really formidable, even Li Shimin cant do anything to you. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Less nonsense! Why did Li Zitong suddenly be so listening-to-teaching and obedient? Where did this informatione from? Xing Rong lowered his voice, pretending to be mysterious, It was Shao Lingzhou, that old congee, slowlying to us, lowering his voice, pressing down his air. But Li Zitong has conditions. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, What qualifications does Li Zitong have to talk about conditions with me? Doesnt he know that I loathe him? I did not kill him, it can be considered his family mountain is blessed. His Niangs! Humph! Xing Rong piled up a deliberately exaggerated smile, smiling apologetically, he said, Shaoshuai, please calm down. His most important condition is to let him have one way to live. Ha! His Niangs! Of course Li Zitong has no qualification to talk conditions with you. You dont know how resounding your reputation is, we just have to raise your, Kou Shaoshuai signboard, who in the Great River region does not give us enough face? Knowing that you were not ughtered by the Tang Army, Xiliang and I were so happy that we cried. Wheres Ziling? He is not here? Kou Zhongughed involuntarily and said, When did you be so exaggerating and giving a false picture of the situation? Ziling has a business he had to attend to, he went elsewhere. Enough chatting, what ghost fart is Li Zitongs condition? Xing Rong replied, Other things are secondary [orig. branches and knots], but the most important thing is that you personally escort him away from Jiangdu. He will only take about a small group of two hundred people from his family to leave Jiangdu, and the city will be peacefully handed over to you, he guarantees that no one will dare to rebel. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, He wants me to send him away, what is it all about? Is it some crafty plot and machination? Xing Rong said, What other trick can he y? Could it be that he dares to pick a fight with you? In the world, other than Ning Daoqi, Im afraid no one dares to do that. No one knows the situation in Jiangdu City better than me, this is Li Zitongs best choice, plus he can take along a great amount of his belongings. Kou Zhong did not understand, Then why should he trouble me to escort him? he asked. Xing Rong replied, Because he is afraid of Song Que. Your future father-inw being ruthless toward the enemy is well-known throughout the world, only if you, Kou Dage personally guarantees his safety will Li Zitong feel relieved. Kou Zhongughed and said, You, this kid, have be very good at patting the horses butt [ttering], and you patted it so well that my old bosom feels veryfortable. Very well! For Shen Faxings sake,ozi will let him have a horse. Go back and tell Shao Lingzhou, as long as Li Zitong is obediently doing what he is told, I wont have any interest to kill him. I wille outside the City of Jiangdu within three days, tell him to be prepared and ready to leave anytime. I dont have the patience to wait outside the city. Xing Rong was puzzled, he asked, What does it have to do with Shen Faxing? Kou Zhong replied indifferently, Naturally it has to do with Shen Faxing. When Shen Faxing believes that we are going tounch all-around attack on Jiangdu, all water andnd transportation to his Kunling will be cut off by us. By the time our soldiers are at the city walls, he will still be unaware of what is going on? Bang! When it appeared that Li Shimin was about to step out of the door, he suddenly pped the door frame heavily with his palm, immediately the wood cracked and splinters sshed everywhere. Waiting outside, Li Jing was shocked, he appeared immediately. Li Shimin pressed the back of his palm, which has just pped the door frame violently, to his forehead, and spoke in pain, Im fine! Li Jing looked at Li Shimin, and then he turned his gaze toward Xu Ziling who was still sitting at the table in the middle of the hall. His expression heavy, he retreated. Li Shimins breathing became rugged, and then he returned to Xu Ziling with a heavy footstep and sat down, and spoke with grief, Fuhuang killed Liu Wenjing. Xu Ziling blurted out, What? Liu Wenjing was a great minister who has given outstanding service during the Li Tang uprising, he participated in Li Yuans conspiracy to raise troops, has always been one of Li Yuans most trusted ministers, no matter what mistake hemitted, his guilt should not deserve death penalty. Li Shimin spoke in distress, Liu Wenjing was falsely used by Yin Zuwen and Pei Ji of plotting a rebellion, Fuhuang was still showing justice, he sent Xiao Jie and Li Gang to investigate. Even after both of them proved that Liu Wenjing was innocent, he was still sentenced to death. This matter happened when I was in the punitive expedition to Luoyang in the east, as a result, Li Gang was so discouraged that he resigned and returned to his native ce to live in seclusion. Ay! How could Fuhuang be like this? Xu Ziling asked in a low voice, Did Liu Wenjing often speak good things on Shimin Xiongs behalf? Li Shimin nodded and said, Indeed, toward our Great Tang, Jing Shu [uncle] only had meritorious service without any fault. His only error was perhaps the defeat in the battle of Qianshui Yuan [lit. shallow water ins], but didnt Pei Ji suffer a crushing defeat from Song JinGang at Suoyuan? He lost the cities and towns north of Jinzhou. Not only Fuhuang did not me him, he even sent him to guard Hedong. Since the uprising, Fuhuang has been trusting Pei Ji, his official position is even higher than that of Jing Shus. Now he even put Jing Shu to death. If only to deal with me, Li Shimin, Fuhuang is just too heartless! Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Your esteemed father is forcing you to rebel, so that you could be charged with capital offense. Shocked, Li Shimin looked up. Xu Ziling said, Didnt Shimin Xiong said that when you are back in Changan, you are going toy out everything with your esteemed father? Have you done this? Li Shimins two eyes were fixed on Xu Ziling, yet it was as if he was not looking at him, he slowly shook his head. Xu Ziling said, I came here today to make this seemingly unfilial, rebellious proposal to Shimin Xiong, with only one purpose, that is, to save the Central ins from the disaster of falling into division and the foreign bandits invasion! If Shimin Xiong nodded your head to give your promise, you wont be doing it for your own honor and disgrace or life and death, rather, it will be for the happiness of all people under the heaven. The future destiny of the Central ins lies in the mind of Shimin Xiong. Li Shimins pair of eyes somewhat regained its vigor, he said, How are we going to solve Song Que problem? Xu Ziling said, I will talk to Kou Zhong first, we will all think of a way, but can Shimin state your determination first? Li Shimin stared at him nkly. With the rising sound of footsteps, Li Jing hurried over. He saluted and reported, Qi Wang, Huaian Wang, and Li Yi Zongguan Yu Fengxian fought a fierce battle under the wind and the snow urring at the same time against Liu Heita in Raoyang, they suffered a terrible defeat, from fifty thousand men, only about ten thousand fled back to Youzhou. Huangshang is summoning Qin Wang to enter the pce and have an audience with him immediately. Li Shimins tiger-body shook, he reached out to grab Xu Zilings shoulder, he said, Any information, pleasee to see me! Finished speaking, he left in a hurry with Li Jing. Xu Ziling put down half of the load in his mind, but the burden and the pressure on his shoulders increased without any letup. How would he say this hard-to-speak remark to Kou Zhong, to make him not to want to be the emperor, this arduous and unrewarding grand n? In the study room, Kou Zhong was reviewing and signing all kinds of documents, such as issuing decree, giving orders, making appointment, et cetera, a thousand ways and ten thousand types of documents, legal case and couplets, so busy until the sky turned hazy the earth turned dark. He could not help smiling bitterly at Xu Xingzhi waiting upon him by his side and said, I wonder if Xingzhi could fake my signature for me? It would save me a lot of time, or perhaps I could sign without reviewing. I would rather fight a hard battle, it would not be this exhausting. Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Shaoshuais signature is like flying dragon, dancing phoenix, so powerful that it prates to the back of the paper, implying a method that others are unable to imitate, how could I fake it? If you want to manage a country well, although you could give your subordinates a free hand to do it, but at least you need to understand, so that youll know who executed it properly or did it poorly. Laughing in spite of himself, Kou Zhong said, You are coaxing me; my signature is an irksome presence even for myself. This fact, I still some self-knowledge. Xu Xingzhi calmly replied, That is not a problem, as long as ites from Shaoshuais own hand, it is the highestmand in our Shao Shuai State. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, In that case, my signature must be shameful, Xingzhi honestly confessed. Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, That was not what I said at all, Shaoshuais signature has its own style, and because it is Shaoshuais own handwriting, any shorings be strong points instead. And then he added, Xingzhi has one thing that Id like Shaoshuai to consider. In fact, Xingzhi is representing the Shao Shuai State, from top to bottom, to put forward a proposal [to someone in senior position] to Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong asked in amazement, What is so serious? Xu Xingzhi said, Now the fortunate timing is ripe, all the officers and soldiers of the Shao Shuai State, from top to bottom in one heart, request earnestly for Shaoshuai to immediately proim yourself the emperor. Kou Zhong shuddered, he hastily said, We will discuss this matter after the South is pacified. Xu Xingzhi was about to speak further, Song Lu arrived, he temporarily relieved Kou Zhong out of trouble. Kou Zhong stood up to wee him. After sitting down, Song Lu said, Just received information from the north, Liu Heitas remarkable ability dealt big defeat to Yuanji at Raoyang, his prestige is greatly aroused, those who respond to his call grow in number day by day. Guanzhou, Maozhou, both raised their city gates and surrendered. Today, Gao Kaidao, who had surrendered to the House of Tang, also publicly rebelled against the Tang, he reimed his title as Yan Wang [King of Yan]. In various regions, Jiandes former subordinates are fighting to kill the government officials in response to Heita. Now the Liu Army is pressing straight to Zongcheng of Hebei. If Zongcheng cannot stand, I am afraid Li Tang will lose Xiangzhou, Weizhou and so on, in which case, Liu Heita could recoverpletely everything in Jiandes Great Xia territory. Emotionally moved, Kou Zhong said, Li kid is not there, who in the Tang Army could support the overall situation? Knowing it like the back of his hand, Song Lu replied, Shentong and Yuanji have already be the generals of a defeated army, they dont have enough qualifications to talk about bravery. At the present time, only Li Shijis army still has the strength to resist Heita in Hebei. However, Zongchengs defense is weak, it is easily isted. In my opinion, Li Shiji definitely cannotst long. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Not only he cannotst, but he will suffer a big defeat, not merely because I have confidence in Liu Dage, but also because Li Shimin was forcibly recalled to the Tang capital, his fate is difficult to tell. Therefore, the heart of the army is floating and adrift, the officers and soldiers have no fighting spirit. On Liu Dages side, they have the same anger and hatred toward the enemy; this side is weak the other is flourishing, how can Li Shiji not be defeated? Xu Xingzhi nodded in agreement. Song Lu sighed and said, What exactly is our rtionship with Liu Heita? Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, We will know very soon, when Liu Dagepletely recovers the former territory of the Xia Dynasty, he will definitely send someone to contact us, to convey his intention. Song Lu spoke heavily, I understand that the friendship between you guys is not shallow, however, its hard to fathom a persons mind. Liu Heita is no longer a great general under other peoples employment, but the supreme leader of those who follows him. He can no longer act based on his own likes and dislikes, but must give consideration to the whole situation. Standing behind Kou Zhong, Xu Xingzhi said, We only need to see whether after beating back Li Shiji, Liu Heita will proim himself king or emperor, and then we can infer his intentions. Song Lu praised him, What Xingzhi said makes sense. Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down, thinking about his own situation, secretly musing that if he ordered his army to surrender to Liu Heita, it would be strange indeed if the Shaoshuai Army did not split up and in pieces immediately. Smiling bitterly, he said, Lets not think about these things for now. In fact, Liu Dage has quite possibly saved Li Shimins life, because Li Yuan has no other choice, he has to send Li Shimin out of the Pass to meet the enemy head-on. Xu Xingzhi said, Li Yuan forcefully summoned Li Shimin back to Changan, it is really unwise, not only he underestimates Liu Heita, but it will also affect the armys heart. Song Lu smiled and said, Li Yuan is just flying into a rage out of humiliation, his imperial concubines, none does not covet the precious treasure of Luoyang, they begged Li Yuan to issue imperial decree to confer them their share, who would have thought that Qin Wang has already bestowed the valuables and goods to those who made military merits in the Battle of Luoyang, which mostly consist of the people of the Qin Wang Mansion? This incident made Li Yuan greatly dissatisfied, which brought about this matter with far-reaching effect. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, How could Lu Shu know so clearly what happened in the Tang Pce? Even if you have spies in Changan, they should not be able to discover the inside story in this regard. Song Lu gazed deeply at Xu Xingzhi for quite half a day, only then did he say, Because among the House of Tangs cab ministers, there is someone who answers to us. Kou Zhong was shocked, Who? he asked. Being tactful, Xu Xingzhi said, Xingzhi has something to do, please excuse me. Kou Zhong raised his hand to stop him, he said, Xingzhi, no need to withdraw from the discussion, you dont have to avoid the seats, Lu Shu and I absolutely trust you. Song Lu said, We are all on the same side, there is nothing that cant be pushed aside and talked about, this person is Feng Deyi, Feng Lun. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was dumbstruck, but at the same time he suddenly saw the light; no wonder Feng Deyis action was so strange. He was standing on Li Jianchengs side, but took special care of Xu Ziling; Yang WenGan rose in revolt and Li Jiancheng received the me, it was he who brave death to plead on Li Jianchengs behalf. Song Lu exined. Feng Deyi and Dage have friendly rtions that surpassed life itself, they are like-minded even more, both have the heart to unify the Han people. Then he said, Li Yuan forcefully ordered Li Shimin to return to the capital, there are other consequences that are unfavorable to Li Tang. For example, the hearts of the high-ranking military officers who originally belonged to Wang Shichongs system and surrendered to the House of Tang will feel unstable. The Great General Zhang Zhenzhou, who is currently guarding Shouan, once sent someone to see Ba Yegang in secret, saying that when Shao Shuai Army march into Luoyang, he would raise his troops to rebel against the Tang in response. In my opinion, there is nock of person among Wang Shichongs former subordinates with this kind of mentality. From Zhang Zhenzhou, Kou Zhong thought of Yang Gongqing, remembering thest wish before his death, he said ferociously, I am definitely going to kill Li Jiancheng! Song Lu and Xu Xingzhi you look at me, I gaze at you, they did not understand why Kou Zhong suddenly burst out something that waspletely unrted to the topic at hand. Seeing the two mens expressions, Kou Zhong realized that his heart and spirit were not in sync, he hurriedly calmed himself down and asked, How is the situation on Liang Shidus side? Song Lu calmly said, Liang Shidu is entirely relying on the Tujue peoples support, himself, he is not enough to be a concern. He has invaded the south many times, one after another, but was always beaten back by the Tang army. The worst time was when he attacked Yanzhou, he suffered big defeat in the hands of the Tang general, the Zongguan of Yanzhou, Duan Decao, he was driven more than two hundred li away, and was forced to retreat to Weizhou. A few monthster, Liang Shidu counterattacked, but was defeated by Decao. Liang Shidu, with only a little more than a hundred people broke the siege and escaped. However, there is an unconfirmed information, the impact may be even more far-reaching. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, What information? Song Lu said, Liu Wuzhou and Song JinGang were killed by Xielis poisonous hands. Kou Zhong blurted out, What? Recalling his past rtionship with Song JinGang, his heart could not help feeling sad. Song Lu said, The birds are gone, the bowstring is put away; it has been like that since the ancient times. At present, Liang Shidu has be the most dominant hunting dog, w and teeth [i.e. minion] of the Tujue people in the Central ins, and in order to protect his life, Liang Shidu will have to nurture a closer rtionship with the Tujue, he has to follow Xieli obediently. Under this kind of circumstances, Xieiis invasion is just around the corner. Bang! Kou Zhong pped his palm on the table, his pair of eyes shot divine light, he said, I dare to guarantee that Xieli is not going to miss this frozen-over period. Through the Xiang Family, he knows the development of the situation in the Central ins like the back of his hands; if he misses this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, Xieli will definitely regret it. Xu Xingzhi said, With Li Shimin around, how can the Tujue people go on the rampage? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Dont underestimate Xieli. If I were him, he would take advantage of the end of the frozen-over period, while we move our troops to the north, and Li Shimin strongly defending Luoyang - to invade. He regards the Central Earth as the prairie, avoiding the important and dwell on the trivial, by not attacking any cities, but only looting the vige and county that do not have the power to resist, using battle to raise battle, and then go straight to Changan. They will support people like Liang Shidu to establish puppet-dynasty and disrupt our Central Earth. Song Lu nodded and said, That is indeed worrisome. Kou Zhong said, The other method is to divide the troops into several ways to go down south, and sweep both sides of the Great River. The prerequisite for this method is to kill Li Shimin first. Too bad Liu Dages uprising destroys Xielis wishful thinking. Frowning, Song Lu said, No matter which method Xieli uses, it is difficult for us to deal with. Kou Zhong thought of Tuli, he spoke dejectedly, We have no choice but to see a step, walk a step, we must not lose our head. I do have a strong point, which is: those things that I am unable to understand, I wont think about it. Lets wait until we pacify the south before talking about everything else. The sound of the Wolf Armys iron hoof treading the earth, shaking the heavens and dragging the high mountains seemed to be rumbling loudly in their eardrums, and the ce where the iron hoof trampled, there would not be half a cun happy ce anymore. Book 56 13 – Three Requirements of Great Governance

Book 56 Chapter 13 - Three Requirements of Great Governance

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling raised his hand and was about to knock on the door, when a gentle female voice sounded in his eardrums, The door is not bolted, honored guest, pleasee in. Xu Ziling jumped in fright, he waspletely unable to sense that unexpectedly there was someone at the outer courtyard of Yu He An, and this voice definitely did not belong to the zhuchi [manager] Chang Shan Ni [Buddhist Nun]; who could it be? Naturally it was not some idle person. He came to Yu He An [lit. jade crane nunnery], his greatest wish was to see Shi Feixuan immediately. Even if the possibility was extremely slim, he could still inquire about Shi Feixuans whereabouts. If he could find her, he could tell her that he was doing everything in his power to help her achieving her cherished desire. He raised his hand to push the door and step into the Yu He An, the snow covering the courtyard has been swept into seven, eight piles. The snow weighed down the branches of the trees in the courtyard, making them looked like they were wearing silver frost; simple yet elegant, and tranquil. Standing next to one of the piles of snow that looked like a small hill was a female Buddhist nun [dont me me, whenever there are multiple words to describe anything, the author will not use only one] with delicate features, who, at first nce, did not seem to have anything special on her, wearing grey cotton gown, holding a snow shovel in her hands, silently looking at him with serene expression. When Xu Zilings eyes met with hers, a hard-to-describe fantastic feeling welled up in his heart, as if he came in contact with a vast, boundless, divine and unmeasurable spiritual heaven and earth. She appeared to be in her thirties, but her in and indifferent jade countenance, in the eyes of other people, waspletely devoid of secrity, there was nothing, as well as impossible, to have any vicissitudes and senses that would move her heart. Her bald head, where the fine ck hair hadpletely gone, especially emphasized clearly - as distinct as the undting spirited and beautiful mountain and river - the lucid and elegant outline of her face, which made people hazy and forget themonce, appearing to be like if he was thinking of the worldly things outside the courtyard, it would be some kind of greatly disrespectful behavior in front of her. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he respectfully saluted and said, How should I address Shifu? The female nun gently put down the snow shovel, put her palms together to return the salute and said, If pinni [impoverished nun] did not guess incorrectly, this gentleman must be Xu Ziling shizhu [benefactor, a term used by Buddhist monk/nun to address ayperson],ing here to look for the little disciple Feixuan. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, It is indeed Fan Zhaizhu. Fan Qinghui called on one of the many names of Buddha in a low voice, and then said, Ziling, pleasee with pinni! Wuming entered through the window andnded on Kou Zhongs shoulders. Following her was Xiao Heer, who was still dressed in mens clothing, rushing in like a whirlwind. Unceremoniously, acting like a spoiled kid, she said, Xiao Heer wants toe with Dage to wander the Jianghu. Kou Zhong paused his chore of reviewing imperial edict and other official documents, he sighed and said, Do you think I am going on a scenic tour? Without any trace of politeness, Xiao Heer sat down across the table from him, and spoke wittily, Dage is precisely going on a scenic tour, and this is not the first day I am going to the battlefield, my performance thest time can be considered not bad! At least I did not get in your way, plus I took the responsibility of taking care of your darling Wuming for you. Kou Zhong shrugged his shoulders and said with augh, All right, if you want to go, then you can go. Go get something to eat first. Xiao Heer jumped up with joy, she shouted, Sess, the battle is won. Im going to tell Xuanshu Gongzi. Just before she disappeared, Kou Zhong called her and said with augh, Why do you call yourself Xiao Heer [little crane]? Xiao Heers tender body trembled, she spoke softly, Dage does not like the name? Kou Zhong said, Xiao Meizis legs look longer than the boys, you indeed look like a crane standing proudly amidst a flock of chickens. Not only do I like calling you little crane, but I am also proud of this younger sister. All along Xiao Heer did not turn around, she spoke in low voice, Dage is the person with the best heart [orig. heart and intestine] in the world. Finished speaking, she ran out. A feeling that Kou Zhong himself could not exin welled up in his heart, he seemed to have caught something, but he could not define it specifically. In a sh, he was inundated by the piling-up-like-a-mountain of work on the table so that he had no time to ponder further. Fan Qinghui looked at Xu Ziling taking a sip of hot tea, she spoke indifferently, I am as the Shifu do not know where the disciple is going. Other than Yu He An, the most likely ce to find her is Liao Kong Shixiongs Chanyuan near Luoyang. Xu Ziling sat on one of the chairs in a row against the south wall on her left, he noticed that on all four sides, the wall of the visitor hall was lined up with chairs and small tables. Because he did not dare to disrespect this supreme leader of the xuan men [mysterious school], he intentionally sat farther. Looking from his angle, Fan Qinghuis light, in and pure jade countenance blended into the snow-scape outside the window, untainted by a single speck of dust. Fan Qinghui showed a hint of undetectable emotional expression, her voice became deep and low, as she said, Are you ming us, these people who had left home [to be Buddhist monk/nun] for having a heart that is notpletely free of the dust? We really have other difficulties. Since our founder Di Ni [lit. earthly nun] created the Zhai, we have the statute that those who set up to train the Sword Canon must enter the world [to involve oneself in human affairs] in cultivation for three years, and thus we are drawn into the evil waves and crafty clouds of the human affairs of this mortal life, difficult to extricate ourselves. Some people think that we intend to control the rise and fall of the country, but this is just a misunderstanding. If you have any grievance, do not hesitate to speak out, dont avoid it as taboo just because I am Feixuans Shifu, we can be considered one family, cant we? Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. Previously, even if he thought until his head split, he would never have thought that Fan Qinghui was such an easy-going and amiable senior, not unting her status as Zhaizhu at all. He could not help smiling bitterly and said, I wonder if just like Feixuan, Zhaizhu also considers me as a Shanmen Hufa [mountain gate protector/guardian of thew]? Her jade countenance like still water without any ripple, Fan Qinghui said, Does Ziling knows who ourst Shanmen Hufa was? Xu Ziling shook his head with nk expression. Fan Qinghui spoke gently, It was the Zhen Yan Dashi who taught you the Zhen Yan Yin Fa [incantation image method, see Book 25, Chapters 3 and 4]. Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at her. Fan Qinghui cast her gaze toward the in-white garden of the inner courtyard outside the west window opposite her, she spoke serenely, Shanmen Hufa does not need to be a person who is proficient in martial arts, Zhen Yan Dashis Dharma was exquisite, his Dhyana level transcended the depth, before entering solitary meditation, he passed on to you the secret of Zhen Yan Yin Jue [incantation image secret (of the art)], there must be a deep meaning behind it, we, the younger generations are really unable to guess the mysterious karma and predestined affinity. And we have an unwritten rule that the next generation of Shanmen Hufa is selected by the current Hufa. Before Zhen Yan Dashi entered solitary meditation, Feixuan obtained the information from him about he taught you the Zhen Yan Yin Fa, hence we are certain that you are the Shanmen Hufa sessor. However, even if Ziling does not acknowledge this status, we will not mind at all. If in the future Ziling does not choose a sessor for yourself, well just let this Shanmen Hufa tradition disappear like a smoke, it doesnt matter! Xu Ziling understood. A hard-to-describe feeling welled up in his heart, Zhen Yan Dashi taught him the method in the past, it looked as if it was a random and casual act, but it actually contained Buddhism subtleties that was beyond anyones understanding. Fan Qinghui revealed an unfathomably profound pained expression again, but it was shing and then disappeared quickly; she spoke softly, Listening to what Feixuan said, Ziling does not understand at all why she supports Li Shimin with all her strength instead of Kou Zhong. That was in the past, Xu Ziling said, Today, I understand the situation clearly. Fan Qinghui cast her gaze towards him, she spoke softly, Both Ying Zheng and Yang Jian are the emperors who put the all-split-up-and-in-pieces countrys territory back into unified state, not alone but in pairs [idiom, usually derogatory, not a unique urrence], yet both only underwent two generations and then finished. It can clearly be seen that although they had the aspiration [or ambition] of the world to unify the Central Earth, but theycked the aptitude of the world, or the efficacy of the world. Xu Ziling asked modestly, May I venture to ask Zhaizhu to impart your wisdom? The bright light of wisdom lit up in Fan Qinghuis pair of eyes, she said, The aspiration of the world refers to the aspiration and strength to unify and govern the world. The aptitude of the world is the ability to govern the world, and the efficacy of the world is the efficacy to greatly govern the world. Qin Huang [Emperor] had the aspiration of the world, but unfortunately, after unifying the six states, he did not know how to act in benevolence and seek peace, but used repressive methods to deal with the people, to such an extent as to produce the opposite of the desired result. After Yang Jian ascended the throne, he discarded the old and introduced the new, opening up the golden age of the rule of the emperor, and gradually pacified the south, his mighty aptitude in great disy. At that time, in all the world, the man who could fight against him, Song Que was the only one, yet with Song Ques arrogance, he still had to hide in Lingnan, and was subjected to his policy of receiving a title. Yang Sui originally was with great prospects for the future, its a pity that he was defeated by Yang Guangs hands and was helpless against him. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Feixuan chooses Shimin Xiong, precisely because not only he has the aspiration of the world and the aptitude of the world, moreover, most likely he also has efficacy of the world. Fan Qinghui sighed lightly and said, How could we have the qualifications to choose the future wise ruler? We only hope to make a little contribution to the suffering people, using our meager strength to give support and encouragement. Now the opportunity to unify the world is no longer in the hands of Qin Wang, but has fallen into Ziling and Shaoshuais hands. You must think of how to resolve this. Xu Ziling sighed and said, To be quite honest with Zhaixhu, if it were me of the past, I would definitely be unwilling to hear it, but in the currently critical situation of internal strife and foreign aggression, I begin to understand Zhaizhus standing tall and seeing far. Just now I met with Qin Wang, I stated clearly that as long as he is willing to put the world first and his family and n second, I will do my best to persuade Kou Zhong to help him ascend to the emperors throne with all his might. Fan Qinghui did not show the slightest look of surprise, only a hint of unadorned joy that evolved from her heart appearing on her in, clean jade countenance for the first time. She nodded and said, My good disciple did not misjudge Ziling. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, But my awakening seems to havee toote. Now the battle between the Shao Shuai Army and the Great Tang is like an arrow on the bow, it cannot but to be released, I do not have any confidence to turn the tide at all. Fan Qinghui said sadly, I wonder if Ziling is talking about Song Que? Xu Ziling nodded. In a sh, Fan Qinghui returned to her calm self, she spoke indifferently, I have just received a letter that Feixuan sent via flying pigeon from the Jingnian Chanyuan; the battle between Dao Xiong and Song Que ended up in both sides suffer injuries. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling cried out involuntarily, What? Shi Zhixuans insight was very urate, when Song Que intervened in the battle to strive for the world, Ci Hang Jing Zhai definitely would not sit back and let the world all split up and in pieces. Only even Shi Zhixuan was unable to guess that Fan Qinghui would have such a move, asking Ning Daoqi to challenge Song Que. He finally understood why Fan Qinghui could not help revealing a sad look, because she still had feelings for Song Que. This move was really not what she wanted, it was a dangerous chess piecepelled by circumstances, both sides suffer was the best result. If both sides lost and perished, or perhaps one side was defeated and dispersed, Fan Qinghui would never be able to climb up to pry into the way of heaven. Fan Qinghui cast her eyes on the snow-scape outside the window again, she spoke in distress, Song Que made a nine-saber-strike agreement with Dao Xiong; If he cannot do anything to Dao Xiong, he will withdraw from the dispute between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin. But he did not use the ninth saber strike at all, yet he still withdrew ording to the agreement. Ay! Under such circumstances, Song Que, you still give thought to Qinghui, how could I not engrave it in my heart? If Kou Zhong were here, he would know that even though Fan Qinghui was not at the scene and witnessed it, she had a telepathic sensitivity, able to fully grasp Song Ques mind. In fact, because Ning Daoqi missed the opportunity to die with the enemy and thus fell into the disadvantageous position, the situation within it was extremely delicate. However, Xu Ziling only knew one and understood half [idiom: a smattering of knowledge], plus he was shocked because his feeling was hurt, he did not dare to interrupt to inquire further. This kind of real feeling involving the affairs between men and women, appearing on this very able person who had withdrawn from worldly affairs, it was indeed immensely inspirational. Fan Qinghui looked at him, she put her palms together and said, Sin! Sin! Every object truly appears, every head is never hurt; originally real, originally empty, nothing more than a wonderful body. Xu Ziling still returned only a nk stare, he did not know what to say. Fan Qinghui recovered her peaceful, at ease manner, she smiled and said, I wonder if Ziling is going to Chanyuan to look for Feixuan? A bit too embarrassed to mention it, Xu Ziling said, I know that Zhaizhu is not willing to be drawn into the worries of the mortal life, but I have something that I cannot but asking Zhaizhu for help. Tranquil and calm, Fan Qinghui said, Ziling need not worry about me, do you want me to persuade Song Que? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said Zhaizhus discerning eye is not bad. Tranquil and calm, Fan Qinghui said, Not to see, not to meet, you still must see. There is a cause, then there must be a result. The day Ziling aplished this great merit of persuading Kou Zhong will be the fortunate timing for me to go to Lingnan to see an old friend. Ziling, go! The happiness and peace of themon people under the heavens is in your hands. Book 57 1 – Putting Righteousness First

Book 57 Chapter 1 - Putting Righteousness First

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling stayed in Changan for four days, and then when Li Shimin led the army on a punitive expedition against Liu Heita, he quietly left via the secret road and rushed to Jingnian Chanyuan. He was afraid that when he saw Shi Feixuan, he would be unable to control his emotions, yet he longed for seeing her, to confess his ignorance to her, to tell her that he would spare no effort, to exhaust his mental and physical efforts for the world from the other direction, hoping to see her happy and pleased due to the changes in him. Li Shimin did not meet with him to speak to him, however, from the fact that he reinstated Li Jing, appointed him as the Zongguan [chief, manager] of the marching expeditionary force this time, he was showing via his action to Xu Ziling that he agreed to ept Xu Zilings proposal. By the time he arrived at Jingnian Chanyuan, the war on the north and the south battlefronts was going on fiercely. After Liu Heita rendered big defeat to Li Yuanji and Li Shentong, he formed an alliance with Gao Kaidao and Zhang Jinshu, who had rebelled against the Tang, to eliminate the fears of trouble in the rear, and led his army to advance into Hebeis Zongcheng. Seeing the turn of events not too encouraging, the defender of the city, Li Shiji abandoned the city and left in an attempt to preserve their defensive power to head toward Luozhou. Liu Heita pursued relentlessly at his tail, ughtering five thousand of his infantry pawns, Li Shiji was barely able to escape alive. This military campaign shook the city of Changan. And then, using the force to smash bamboo [idiom: irresistible force] Liu Heita attacked Xiangzhou, Weizhou, and other ces, snatching back Dou Jiandes lost territories from the Li Tangs hands one by one. Tang generals such as Qin Wutong, Chen Junbin, Cheng Mingzhen, and the others were forced to flee to Guanzhong. Thereupon Liu Heita proimed himself Han Dong Wang [the King of East Han (Dynasty)], and changed his regnal name to Tian Zhao [lit. made in heaven], and set Luozhou as his capital, restoring the civil and military bureaucratic system that was used during Jiande period, everything followed the same method. However, Li Shimin and Li Yuanji assembled an army of eighty-thousand men in Huojia at this time tounchprehensive counterattack. Knowing that he could not defend Xiangzhou, Liu Heita retreated to defend the capital, Luozhou. After taking Xiangzhou, Li Shimin divided his troops into multiple ways to attack Luozhou, so that Liu Armys situation was extremely critical. Those with knowledge and insight, none did not know that Li Shimin wanted to take advantage of the time before Kou Zhong, this lifelong formidable opponent going up north to attack Luoyang to pacify the north. At the same time when Liu Heita defeated Li Shiji, Kou Zhong from the south took over Jiangdu from Li Zitong. In ordance with their agreement, Li Zitong was allowed to flee. In this matter, Shen Faxing, father and son were kept inside a drum, they were totally oblivious that Jiangdu had fallen into Kou Zhongs hands. By this time, Kou Zhongs deployment against Shen Faxing waspleted via Chen Changlin. With the Jiangnans high-ranking military officers, who had been instigated to rebel - providing help in the dark, Kou Zhong attacked Kunling directly with ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum. It was not until the Shao Shuai Army entered the city that Shen Faxing, father and son realized suddenly that the great momentum has already gone, they fled in a hurry. On the way, they were ambushed by Chen Changlin, and Chen Changlin beheaded Shen Faxing, father and son, with his own hands, to avenge the blood debt as deep as the ocean. Within half a month, Shao Shuai Army descended on Zitong, killed Faxing, and caused a sensation in the world, their prestige climbed to the top, it even surpassed Li Shimins. One after another, the high-ranking military officers under Lin Shihong, Xiao Xian, and Fu Gongyous banner offered their cities and surrendered, so that Lin, Xiao, and Fu, three mens momentum exhausted, their strength in distress even more. Xu Ziling was unable to see Shi Feixuan at the Jingnian Chanyuan, that person [yi ren, usually refers to female (in literature)] left just two days ago. Before leaving, she told Liao Kong that she wanted to go to see Li Shimin. Losing all his linking arms, Xu Ziling had no choice but to go back to Liangdu first. Who knew that disappointments did note individually? Upon his arrival in Liangdu, not only did he fail to rendezvous with Yin Xianhe and Ji Qian, who should have arrived long ago, there was not the least bit of message from them. Although he was terribly worried and nearly wanted to rush to Xiangyang, after weighing this matter, however, in the end he gave up this idea, instead, Song Lu sent his men to Xiangyang to scout for information, while he himself rode on Shao Shuai Armys navy ship going down south to see Kou Zhong. The moment he was traveling south on the boat along the canal toward the Yangtze River, Kou Zhong was racing against time. Joining forces with Du Fuwei, they moved toward Liyang,unching arge-scale attack against Fu Gongyou. Fu Gongyou made his final struggle; he sent the troops, under Feng Huiliang and Chen Dangsmand, thirty-thousand men to Bowang Mountain, and another thirty thousand men under Chen Zhengtong and Xu Shaoningsmand to be stationed at Qinglin Mountain, across the river from Bowang Mountain. They put on iron chain to seal off the river, in order to withstand Kou Zhong. In term of strategy, both in offensive and defensive, they relied on natural barriers. Kou Zhong and Du Fuweis coalition forces cut their route for providing foodstuff first, by blockading Danyang and isting it, and then they sent troops to lure Feng Huiliang and the others to get out of their stronghold to attack, afterwards they used their main force to storm in and break them. The barrier was gone, Kou Zhong and Du Fuwei followed up the victory and attacked Danyang. Fu Gongyou still wanted to flee to Kuaiji to rendezvous with Zuo Youxian, in an attempt to counterattack, but using light cavalry, Kou Zhong and Du Fuwei overtook him, and Du Fuwei beheaded Fu Gongyou with his own hands. When Xu Ziling arrived in Danyang, the Shao Shuai Army was clearing up the mess, repairing the damaged city walls, incorporating the surrendering troops into theirs, and restoring order in Danyang City and normalcy in the life of the residents as soon as possible. Ren Meimei was in charge of this endeavor; aware of Xu Zilings arrival, she sent her men to fly and report to Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong immediately came out to meet him. Apanying him were Lei Jiuzhi and Hou Xibai. As the brothers met, they were very happy. Noticing Xu Zilings appearance as if he wasden with anxiety, Kou Zhong thought he was reminiscing the past, remembering the old incident when they entered the city with Fu Junchuo. Thereupon he suggested, Lets get down the horse and walk, reenacting the scene when we entered the city with Niang, pawning that thing and using the money to cure our belly. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Without a few days, forget about the shops are opening for business. I, Lei Jiuzhi will make an exception this time, I am going to personally go to the kitchen to prepare a few small dishes that you guys can greatly enjoy the feast to celebrate our reunion. Hou Xibai tactfully said, Lei Dage and I are going to take care of the ingredients, you two go to the restaurant, sit down and have a chat, I guarantee that the banquet will be ready on time this evening. With loudughter, Hou Xibai and Lei Jiuzhi simply entered the city. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling flew off their horses, and let their personal guards to lead the horses away. Passing through the city gate, the guards saluted in loud voice, their morale was high to the extreme point, brimming with the after-big-victory air. Xu Ziling felt even more difficult to say what he wanted to say. The situation in the City of Danyang was the same as before, with river courses winding around the city and stone bridges everywhere, a typical characteristic of a Jiangnan water town. Only a lot of residents did not dare to go out of the door, pedestrians were sparse. Several hundreds of Shao Shuai soldiers were clearing up the streets from all kinds of junks, from weaponry, arrows, rocks, to the armor and boots discarded by the defeated troops, none was not present, affording a magnificent view. Kou Zhong looked at a two-story restaurant, heughed and said, This is the restaurant. Boys, open the door for us, two brothers. The personal guards on their left and right rushed forward to do as ordered. Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a sigh, When we entered the city back then, we never thought of what would happen today. Forgot to ask you, isnt Yin kid with you? Howe hes not around? Xu Ziling said, Lets go upstairs first and talk. The two entered and climbed the stairs to the not-a-soul-in-sight upper floor of the restaurant, and sat down at the table by the window where they had sat in the past. Looking at the empty chair belonging to Fu Junchuo, they could not help hundreds of thoughts intersecting in their mind; they sighed inwardly. Xu Ziling briefly exined Yin Xianhes disappearance. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs eyebrows greatly furrowed, he was puzzled, Theres no reason why he hasnte back? Really make us worried! No wonder you look deeply worried and sick at heart, where in the world did he go to look for his little sister? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, That is just one of the big things that trouble me, ay! This moment, the personal guards, under Ren Meimeis order, fetched the wine and came in, interrupting the two boys conversation. After the personal guards left, Kou Zhong cast his gaze on his men, working hard on the street, and said, What exactly is the load on your mind? Why do you look so peculiar like you wanted to say something but then hesitated? Between you and me, is there anything that cant be spoken directly? Even if you want to curse me, Xiongdi, I will have no choice but to resign myself to adversity, ha! To resign myself to adversity! What an apt description. Xu Ziling looked at the deste and cold postwar scene of the water city under the illumination of the setting sun, he asked, How is Ol Die? Kou Zhong cast his gaze at him and said, After he, the Senior, ughtered Fu Gongyou, he immediately rushed back to Liyang to preside over the overall situation. We dont have much time, we must capture Xiangyang before the Beginning of Spring [orig. Lichun, 1st of the 24 sr terms]. In this matter, I am confident of sess, because Zhang Zhenzhou agreed to stand on our side. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, We? Ay! Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, What is it all about? Why do you say that? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, I know about Song Que and Ning Daoqis decisive battle! Not only have I been to Jingnian Chanyuan, I have even met Fan Qinghui. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Suddenly they heard footsteps climbing up the stairs. Ba Fenghans voice rang out, Why did Shaoshuai abandoned Hanzhong and take Xiangyang instead? For fear of missing out the opening act of the Battle of Luoyang, Xiaodi had no choice but to rush over through the night. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling promptly stood up, but they were in two different moods. Ba Fenghan appeared before their eyes, the divine light in his pair of eyes shing, there was delight across his face. Kou Zhong chuckled and said, Lao Ba knows my intention, attacking Xiangyang is like an arrow on bowstring, it must be released. As for why I abandoned Hanzhong and chose Xiangyang, it is hard to exin in a few words. Please LaoGe sit down first and drink a cup of watered wine, Xiaodi will then give you the details one by one. In turn, there will be side dishes and culinary delicacies that Lei Jiuzhi is preparing himself, which happens to wash the dust for you, LaoGe and Ziling at the same time. Ba Fenghan sat down across the table from the two boys, he watched Kou Zhong pouring the wine for him, and asked in astonishment, Ziling has just arrived? Seeing the two men happy and excited, looking like they were rubbing their fists and wiping their palms [idiom: eager to get into action] to deal with Li Shimin with keen interest, while he himself was about to pour cold water on the sparking fire of revenge, he did not know what was the feeling in his heart; smiling bitterly, he said, It was just a difference between front heel and trailing foot with you. Staring nkly, Ba Fenghan asked, Ziling, whats the load on your mind? Kou Zhong butted in, That is exactly the question I was asking him. Xu Ziling spoke dejectedly, I met Li Shimin in Changan and convinced him to go out against his family and n, to fight for the throne with all his strength. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan stopped all expressions and movements, it was as if at this moment time had suddenly frozen; they looked at each other in dismay, inside the vast restaurant, crow and peacock made no sound, the only sound from the street seemed to being in from another world. Quite half a dayter, Kou Zhong put down the wine pot, and sat back in his chair in a daze. Ba Fenghan broke the silence, he spoke, tranquil and calm, Is Li Shimin scared? Xu Ziling replied, He is certainly scared. He is not afraid of us, but his Fuhuang and brothers, afraid that half of the country will be ruined in their hands. Li Yuan took advantage of the gap while Li Shimin was not in Changan to execute Liu Wenjing on an almost unfounded charge, just because he had a close rtionship with Li Shimin. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This is called killing one to warn a hundred [idiom], showing to the group of state officials that Li Yuan sets his heart on Jiancheng. If Li kid is still not awakened, he is an out-and-out idiot. Ba Fenghan did not speak any more, he stared at the rippling wine in the cup in front of him. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling at exactly the same time Xu Ziling was casting his gaze at him, the two boys gaze met. Xu Ziling sighed and said, I dont need to say anything else, right? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, If I were still the old hooligan who wandered through the Jianghu alone with you in the past, you, Xu Dage can do whatever you want, my allotted share is just to obediently listen to you. However, after going through and suffering untold hardships, establishing the Shao Shuai Army from nothing, so many soldiers threw their heads and sprinkled their hot blood, everyone went through fire and water for me, Kou Zhong, yet now suddenly, to them, I am running away? I dont do that kind of thing! Just because Li Shimin is willing to promise to be the emperor. If you were me, can you say it? Are they willing to follow me because they trust me, Kou Zhong, trust me not only that I am not going to betray them, but also trust me that I will lead them to unify the world, to aplish an eternal, immortal great undertaking, to leave behind the fame for fighting prowess that will be praised on for a hundred lifetimes? Xu Ziling stayed silent, he reached out to grab the wine cup, his pair of eyes emitted a look of pain and helplessness. Kou Zhong also reached out to grab his shoulders, he spoke solemnly, Especially since Song Que is injured in the decisive battle against Ning Daoqi, I must not fail to live up to his expectations of me even more. Ba Fenghan was shaken, What was the oue of the decisive battle between Song and Ning? Kou Zhong replied, The situation within is exceptionally subtle, I could maybe answer you that they were unable to determine victory or defeat, but Song Que has, ording to the agreement, withdrawn from this battle for hegemony over the world. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Fan Qinghui will personally go to persuade Song Que. Ba Fenghan became more and more confused, he asked, Why did Fan Qinghui suddenlye out again? Letting go of his hand grabbing Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong raised his cup and said with augh, Lets drink a cup first and then we talk. The three raised their cups and drained it in one gulp, the atmosphere was still stiff. Kou Zhong raised his sleeve to wipe off the wine stains from the corners of his lips,ughing involuntarily, he said, Actually, Ziling is giving thought to me, knowing that I dont want to be that whatever pain-in-the-butt emperor, however, probably no one would ept this solution? Could it be that during the time where our Shao Shuai Armys momentum is like a rainbow, its might spread to eight directions, you want me to offer the army and surrender to Li Shimin? Revealing a pained smile, Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, This may be your only way to change Song Yuzhis view about you, that you, Kou Zhong really are not a person who is blinded by greed and would do anything, by fair means or foul, to be the emperor. So much so to let her know that you are contending for the world not for personal gains and losses, honor and disgrace, but selflessly giving thought to themon people of the Central Earth. I dont want you to surrender, but I want you to actively help Li Shimin, help him to ascend to the throne, to fight back against Li Yuan, the demonic school and Xielis conspiracy to put him to death. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was stupefied, it was quite a while before he began to understand and to react, turning to Ba Fenghan for help, he said, You, LaoGe are our, two brothers best friend, how about you being the judge between us? Ba Fenghan dejectedly said, Which one should I lean to and help? My heart is split into two halves dripping with blood! On one hand, I long for to be fighting side by side with you, Shaoshuai to attack and take Luoyang, and raze Guanzhong to the ground; on the other hand, I deeply understand Zilings noble feelings, understand that he saw the catastrophe that Xielis invasions will bring! And Ziling is even more so the friend and brother that I, Ba Fenghan respect and love. He paused, and then continued, It seems extremely absurd to give up the world for a woman, but Zilings words are not without reason, only by doing this it can appear that she is more important than everything in your heart. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Are you helping Ziling? Ba Fenghan raised his hand in mock surrender and said, I am not going to say anything anymore! Kou Zhong stared nkly at Ba Fenghan for half a day, then he cast his gaze on his empty ss. And suddenly heughed, it started as a smile, which grew into a bigugh. Now it was Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghans turn to you look at me I look at you, neither one knew why he could stillugh. Kou Zhongughed until he was out of breath, Pour wine! he said. Ba Fenghan promptly raised the wine pot and poured. Kou Zhong waited until his cup was full, and then he raised the cup and poured the wine into his mouth, straight down his throat, and cheerfully said, Good wine! He reached out to grab Xu Zilings shoulders, and said with a sighed, If I can put aside the gratitude and grudges with Li Shimin, this move of Zilings is really superb, if it seeds, it will definitely avoid the possibility of the division of the North and the South, I dont have to ept the arduous and unrewarding undertaking to be the emperor, plus I can obtain Yuzhis heart. Ay! His grannys bear, Ziling is doing me good! Isnt that right? Tranquil, Xu Ziling said, Between Li Shimin and you, what is the unresolvable hatred and desire for revenge? Kou Zhong was slightly taken aback; he revealed a thoughtful look. Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Assuming that the situation continues to develop ording to the current situation, I dont know when will peace and prosperitye? Perhaps the Central Earth will forever be split up, and then the five chaos of Hua [China] will reappear! But I know that as long as we and Li Shimin join forces, we can crush the alliance between Jiancheng, Yuanji, the demonic school and Xieli, and then we can let Li Shimin, who knows how to govern armed forces and handle the people to be a good emperor who cherish themon people. The world will be reunited, the foreign enemies will be repelled, so that themon people of the world can pass their days in peace and happiness. After considering the degree of seriousness, I am fully aware that I am making things difficult for you, but I have no choice but to thoroughlyy out the pros and cons to you. Kou Zhong nodded dejectedly and said, Zilings words are so thought-provoking, but do you have any confidence that Fan Qinghui will be able to convince Song Que? The thing that she could not do in the past few decades, what makes you think that she can do it now? Bang! Kou Zhong suddenly let go of his arm wrapped around Xu Zilings shoulders, and pped the table heavily with his palm, so that he cups and tes on the table were all shattered, fine wine spilled everywhere; he shouted loudly, Its not fair! Since the battle of Cijian, I have always been in desperate straits, struggling for survival, using my blood in exchange of every possibility and opportunity, suffering untold hardships to achieve the current results, why not Li Shimining to ce himself into my hands, but I have toe to ce myself in Li Shimins hands? Remaining tranquil, Xu Ziling said, Do you want to be an emperor? Can you really be a good emperor? You must remember that even if your skill in martial arts and military strategy can surpass Li Shimin, but do you have his literary talent and political and economic strategy to govern the world? Kou Zhong stared nkly at the fragments of cups and bowls filling the table, his right hand was still pressing the table, while the other hand grabbed his head, he said, These words of yours are more formidable than Song Ques Heavenly Saber. Ay! Why cant I ever win an argument against you? His Niangs! Lao Ba, what do you say? Ba Fenghan spoke slowly, word by word, Frankly speaking, if I were you, Kou Zhong, no one could sway my conviction, with the exception of only one person, which is Xu Ziling, because I know he would never harm you, Kou Zhong. Actually, whats to be craved about being an emperor? It would be better for us, three brothers, to roam far and wide, with a big bowl of wine and big piece of meat, passing this life happily, forgetting worries. In the end, the ability and insight Li Shimin cherishes in his bosom, whether as an opponent or a friend, are all worthy of respect. Kou Zhong remained silent. Under Xu and Ba, two mens gazes, the divine light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he met Xu Zilings gaze, and then, as if he was deted, he smiled bitterly and said, Your words extremely moved my heart. This is perhaps the only way to escape the catastrophe of being the emperor, plus it could make the beauty happy; one move, two gains. Ay! His Niangs! But I still cant give you a nod and promise to you. First of all, I need Song Que, the Seniors nod of approval, otherwise, I would really let him down. Second, I want to meet with Li kid to negotiate terms, if the talk fails then we start a war, everything else is nonsense. Ling Shao should not me me for not agreeing to you immediately, because I must take the responsibility as the leader of the Shao Shuai Army. After staring at him for a moment, Xu Ziling nodded and said, These two things are reasonable and fair. Not only do I not me you, but I am also very moved, because you did not disappoint me at all. Ba Fenghan interrupted, Its so decided. Tonight, lets not talk about thing that will dampen our spirits, we all put our mind into drinking, holding the bottom of the cup while listening to Shaoshuai recounting every detail of the decisive battle between Song Que and Ning Daoqi, dont omit anything. With the sound of footsteps, happy and excited, Hou Xibai brought the vegetable and meat dishes to the table,pletely oblivious that the fate of the world had just changed and reversed by the conversation just now. Book 57 2 – Wearing Out One’s Iron Shoes

Book 57 Chapter 2 - Wearing Out Ones Iron Shoes

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Ding! Five cups clinked against each other, everyone drained the cup in one gulp, the atmosphere was warm. On the table, the spilled wine and debris were cleared up properly just like the city of Danyang after the war, on their ce were the nine small side dishes of distinctive style, which Lei Jiuzhi personally prepared, which smelled, looked, and tasted great, so that upon tasting it, everybody praised without ceasing. Lei Jiuzhi and Hou Xibai listened to Kou Zhong about the agreement he had just reached with Xu Ziling, they were both very surprised; they never expected such a the-sky-and-the-earth-turning-upside-down [idiom: radical] change would happen suddenly. Hou Xibai was the first to apud, he said, Feixuan will be very pleased with this. The other beauty that will be happiest should be Xiuning Gongzhu [Princess], but her frame of mind will be much moreplicated, she should be equally worried and happy. Everyone understood what he meant. If Kou Zhong helped Li Shimin to fight for the throne, the division within the Li n would be inevitable. On the palm of her hand was her flesh, on the back of her hand was her flesh, Li Xiuning would have difficulty left and right. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Lei Jiuzhi said, This matter must be handled with care, otherwise the Shao Shuai Armys soldiers heart will be unstable, so much so that it might lead to division and internal disorder; therefore, first of all, we must keep this matter confidential, limited only to a few qualified people on a need-to-know basis. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, Lao Ba was first, and then you guys, all very naturally are leaning toward Ziling, I am really unable to make any sense of the matter. The murderous intent in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes was shing, but the tone of his voice was still very tranquil, he spoke indifferently, I only speak for myself, because my real enemy is not Li Shimin, but the Golden Wolf n headed by Bi Xuan, Xieli and Zhao Deyan. If I say it like this, would Shaoshuai understand? Letting out a weirdughter, Lei Jiuzhi said, Xiao Zhong, you may be amander-in-chief without a rival in the world, but you are not a material to be an emperor, not that youck the talent or the love for the people, but youck the patience. You will be like another Wuming, it would be so cruel to lock you up in a deep pce like in a cage, like in an enclosure without being able to leave the house, like depriving you of your innate tendency and natural instinct to soar all over the ce. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong admitted, One would know ones own family affairs. Every time I am facing official documents and approvals piling up like a mountain on my desk, I immediately have a big headache, just wanting to abandon my seat and leave. Ha! Abandon my seat and leave, it is a very apt description. Hou Xibaiughed and said, We are excited for you to get away from the sea of bitterness. One might well ask, how could being the emperor surpass being able to change the Song Family Xiaojies mind toward you? For you, this will make the Song Family Xiaojie to forget all your bad deeds in the past. Beyond this, there is no better or greater way. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Passionate Prince will never shed his passionate nature, all three reasons are all rted to beauties. Lei Jiuzhi turned to Xu Ziling and asked, I havent had the chance to ask you, didnt Xianhe go to Changan with you? Howe I didnt see himing back with you? Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, It must be because Xianhe still couldnt find his Meimei. The method of offering a reward didnt work at all, it makes one think a hundred times without gaining understanding. Xu Ziling sighed and said, This matter, start exining and its a long story. Fortunately, Ji Qian was one of the three lucky girls who escaped from the Xiang Familys evil clutches during that time, one of whom was precisely Yin Xiaoji; they were stranded and wandered to Xiangyang, where a kind-hearted famous courtesan of the pleasure house offered them shelter. Dressed in mens clothing, Xiaoji mingled in the streets, while Ji Qian and the other girl named Xiao You were trained to be talented girls, selling their arts but not selling their bodies. Kou Zhong was severely shaken, Xiangyang! he blurted. But nobody paid him any attention. Greatly delighted, Lei Jiuzhi said, That is precisely the ce outside of our sphere of influence where we cant post bounties. If Xianhe can reunite with his Meizi, it would make us really happy. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Ji Qian personally took Xianhe to Xiangyang to look for his sister, but until the day before yesterday they had not returned to Liangdu per our agreement, making people worry about them. Lu Shu had already sent men to Xiangyang to make discreet inquiries about them. Ba Fenghan was the first to notice Kou Zhongs peculiar manner, he asked in heavy voice, What is Shaoshuai thinking about? His two eyes staring straight ahead, Kou Zhong spoke word by word, Xiangyang little ruffian long legs Xiao Heer Bang! Ba Fenghans palm pped the table, fortunately, in term of strength, he had some restraint, otherwise, all the cups, tes and dishes on the table would meet with misfortune for the second time. The next moment, fast as lightning, he moved to the window sill and shouted loudly down, Shaoshuais order: bring Xiao Heer to see him pronto. Holding his head in his hands, Kou Zhong panted for breath, saying, Im so stupid! Clearly she calls herself Xiao Heer, and she has slender and beautiful legs, why didnt I ask further? Xu Ziling, Lei Jiuzhi, and Hou Xibai, three men you looked at me I looked at you, they were bewildered, not knowing what was happening, only they had faint feeling that it had something to do with Yin Xiaoji. Ba Fenghan came back and sat down. Letting out a longughter, he said, This is called wearing out ones iron shoes [chapter title: searching high and low] without finding what one is looking for, while it came without spending any effort. Xiao Heer is Yin Xiaoji, who has been by our side all along, hence Yin Xiong went to Xiangyang pouncing on an empty air and must search painstakingly everywhere, naturally without any result. Kou Zhong pped his forehead with both hands and said, I have had a feeling about Xiao Heer for a long time, its just that the military affairs are burdensome and I dont have time to think about it. His grannys bear, I hope Heaven helps the worthy, that Yin kid wille back as quickly as possible to be reunited with Xiaoji, that will be thank the Heaven and thank the Earth. Xu Ziling became nervous, he said, Lets ask clearly first, Im most afraid that this is just another misunderstanding. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, How could there be such a coincidence? Hou Xibai sighed and said, This is precisely the awful part of the troubled times, not many people are as lucky as them, brother and sister. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Until this moment tonight, our side earnestly and sincerely hope that Li Shimin can agree to my terms of making peace, and that my future father-inw is persuaded by Fan Qinghui;mon people have suffered enough! Lei Jiuzhi poured the wine for everyone, he chuckled and said, So many encouraging news. Brothers! Lets win another cup. Everyone toasted each other loudly. Xiao Heers tender and clear and loud voice sounded from the stairs, she said, I cant ept this! Dage is drinking and having fun in here, but theres no share for me and Xuanshu Gongzi. Kou Zhong stood up and called out loudly, Xiaoji,e quickly! How can there be no share for you? Xiao Heer was still dressed in mens clothing; she appeared on the stairs, apanied by Wang Xuanshu. Hearing that, she was severely shaken and came to a standstill, her pretty face became iparably pale, she stared at Kou Zhong in disbelief, her lips quivering, she was unable to speak. Following closely behind her, Wang Xuanshu was stunned, Heer, whats the matter with you! he asked, Why havent youe forward to pay your respect to Xu Dage? But Xiao Heer was only staring at Kou Zhong, What did Dage just call me? she spoke in trembling voice. Xu Ziling and others, none did noty down the big rock on their heart, knowing that before their eyes was the genuine-goods-at-fair-prices, recement-guaranteed-if-not-genuine Yin Xiaoji, otherwise there would not be such an intense reaction. Ba Fenghan sighed deeply and said, Oh, Xiaoji! You did not know how hard it was for lingxiong [your esteemed older brother] Yin Xianhe to look for you. Xiao Heers tender body shook violently, hot tears were gushing out of her pair of eyes, she did not stop shaking her head and said, Its impossible! Its impossible! Kou Zhong already came forward to meet her, pulled her into his arms, and said softly, Your real Dage was not beaten to death by the bad guys, he even became brothers with us. This moment he and your other sister are going to Xiangyang to look for you. Wah! Xiao Heer cried bitterly in his bosom, shepletely lost control. Kou Zhong let her venting the long-repressed sorrow in her heart, he spoke to Xu Ziling, who wasing to their side, It seems that we must immediately take a trip to Xiangyang, if he cant find Xiaoji, Xianhe definitely is not going to return to Liangdu. Xu Ziling replied, Let me take Xiaoji and Xuanshu, while you go to Liangdu to see Lu Shu, we will do our tasks separately. Kou Zhong understood; he knew that after his business in Xiangyang waspleted, Xu Ziling would go to see Li Shimin. Reaching out, Kou Zhong grabbed Xu Zilings hand, he stared deeply into Xu Zilings eyes, and spoke chopping the nail and slicing the iron, As long as it is for justice and the most beneficial to themon people, although against tens of thousands of people, I will go for it, others things are secondary. Xiongdi! Kou Zhong will definitely not disappoint you. Ba Fenghan cheered, Good man! Kou Zhong handed Xiao Heer to the nk-faced Wang Xuanshu, he turned around and said with a bitterugh, The real yingxiong haohan [hero and strong and courageous person] is Ling Shao, at best, I am only genfeng haohan [strong and courageous person who follows the wind] who cant persuade him. Ay! Xiao Heer, dont cry! You shouldugh instead, you made me want to cry loudly too. Inside Wang Xuanshus bosom, Xiao Heer spoke in trembling voice, Im going to see Dage! His pair of eyes turned very red, Lei Jiuzhi stood up and shouted loudly, I aming with you! Hou Xibai also stood up abruptly and said, I aming too! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, We are moving immediately! Ha! Since bing his grannys Shaoshuai or what have you, I have never experienced a rxed andfortable feeling as I am now. Ling Shao is not only my good brother, he is like a second parent to me even more! Ha! Like a second parent! His grannys! A burst of emotional stirring welled up in Xu Zilings. He never liked Kou Zhongs deliberately exaggerated style of speaking, but this moment he heard it, it went straight into his heart, he originally thought that to persuade Kou Zhong was more difficult than ascending to heavens, but the fact was that it was so easy that it was beyond his expectation. Their brotherhood was really able to withstand any test. The opportunity for peaceful reunification finally appeared at the most difficult [orig. deep water and scorching fire] moment before the outbreak of the war. Inside the study room of the Shaoshuai Mansion in Liangdu, Song Lu, his expression grave, listened to Kou Zhong exining in details the-sky-and-the-earth-turning-upside-down changes that led to Xu Zilings arrival. In conclusion, Kou Zhong said, If sessful, this will be the only way to make the Central Earth repel the outside enemy, avoid catastrophes, and achieve peaceful reunification. Song Lu shook his head and said, I understand Dages character, no one can sway his conviction, Fan Qinghui could not do it before, she is still powerless today. Even if you and Ziling are standing by Li Shimins side, we still have enough strength to hold the hegemony in the South, the division of the South is inevitable. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, What do we do? Song Lu sighed and said, You are still forgetting one key figure, that is Song Zhi, whose position is barely under Dage. Just like Dage, he has the aspiration to unify the world, The difference is that Dage is doing it for the far-reaching ideals, while ErGe [second brother] is to make the Song Family the number one n of this age in the Central ins, hence to persuade him is another difficult problem. Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, What is Lu Shus own view? Song Lu was silent for half a day, he smiled wryly and said, Frankly speaking, I agree with your approach in my heart. You put the happiness of themon people under the heavens above personal honor and disgrace, gains and losses. Yuzhi already foresaw the situation today, hence all along she opposed the Song Family involvement in the dispute. Kou Zhong was greatly encouraged, he said, Lu Shu does not regard me as someone who shrinks back as the time for battle approaches, it is a great encouragement to me. Song Lu blurted outughing and said, Who would regard you as a coward? Dage included. Even if I disagree with your decision, I still have to admit that you, Kou Zhong, are a haohan [hero/strong and courageous person] of great benevolence and great courage. Anyone in your current position, how could he be willing say that he epted and just ept it, without any care of the emperor throne and the task of establishing and maintaining hegemony. Blushing with shame, Kou Zhong said, The one with great benevolence and great courage is Ziling, I just think that his words make sense. Ay! Lu Shu, please tell me, especially under the current circumstances, I definitely must not provoke Fazhu to anger. Song Lu spoke heavily, In this regard, you dont need to worry instead, whether Dage agrees or not, its just the same. With his cultivation, no one can make him so angry that it will affect the progress of his healing. First of all, we must try to persuade Dage. On ErGe, I could exhaust a bit of effort, he and I have always had close rtionship. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, I did not expect you, Lu Shu, to be willing to stand on my side, my confidence is doubled. Smiling wryly, Song Lu said, The key point is still Dage. We must move carefully; first, we will temporarily postpone the attack on Xiangyang. Instead, we will go all out to wipe out Lin Shihong, and transfer the troops that originally belonged to our Song Family system back to the south to fight, while the troops in the north will be all your Shao Shuai Armys original team. As long as Dage is willing to give us a nod, everything will proceed ording to n, and then you can help Li Shimin to ascend to the throne. Kou Zhong spoke in distress, If this moment I honestly tell my way of thinking to Fazhu, can Lu Shu guess how would Fazhu react? Song Lu said, The biggest possibility is that he will drive you out of Lingnan, and then order your Zhi Shu [Uncle Zhi] to consolidate the south with all his strength and upy all the important cities on both sides of the Great River. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong and said, That situation will never happen. I am a responsible person who value loyalty. If Fazhu disagree, I willply with his decree to march the troops northward and do my best to aplish the great undertaking of unifying the world. This is also one of the prerequisites I set out to Ziling. Song Lu knitted his brows in deep thought, he suggested, Why dont you talk to Yuzhi, she might think of a way. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, I will go to Lingnan immediately. Song Luughed and said, Dont be impetuous, you need to stay here to preside over the overall situation, while if Yuzhi ising to see you, people wont be suspicious at all. How about I am writing a letter, asking her toe to Liangdu? Inexplicable joy surged in Kou Zhongs heart, he agreed, I will listen to Lu Shu in everything; I still have to pay a visit to Ol Die, to prevent him from being unaware of the situation and move his troops to attack Xiangyang, because that will be thoroughly terrible. With meaningful and heartfelt words, Song Lu said, This is not a trivial matter at all. For the time being, it would be best not to leak any rumor, however, to keep thempletely in the dark wont be appropriate either. Therefore, you can choose a few trusted aides and great generals, and consult them for their opinion at the appropriate time, so that they wont feel like they are being betrayed. Kou Zhong nodded, he epted the advice, I understand! he said. Song Lu revealed a kind smile, he said, Since the first time I met you, two kids, Xiao Jing and I felt that we are kindred spirits, even hard toe by is that you guys did not let us down at all. To this day, you still have an ardent pure and innocent heart like the heart of a newborn. Dont worry! Lu Shu will do my best to support you. This moment a personal guard came to report, Shi Feixuan was asking an audience. Kou Zhong and Song Lu you looked at me I looked at you. After half a day Kou Zhong sprang out from his seat, and went to see Shi Feixuan at the fastest speed. Disguising themselves as business travelers, Xu Ziling, Lei Jiuzhi, Hou Xibai, Xiao Heer, and Wang Xuanshu used official documents to pay taxes to enter the City of Xiangyang City. Xiao Heer seemed to lose her lively and yful energy, for the entire journey she was silent and did not say anything. From her longing and worried expression showing in her eyes, everybody knew that as soon as saw Yin Xianhe, she would return to normal. Xiao Heer led the way at the front, Wang Xuanshu kept herpany by her side, while Xu Ziling, three men, followed them from some distance behind. Suddenly there was a rumble of hoof beats like a thunder, a group of Tang Armys cavalry turned into the big street where they were, the leader was surprisingly Qin Shubao. Xu Ziling wanted to hide, but it was toote, he was already seen. Xu Ziling cried inwardly, Bad!, he regretted for not putting on the mask, but who would have thought that Qin Shubao only winked at him, unexpectedly he went away without saying anything. Xu Ziling was at a loss, Lei Jiuzhi pulled him to continue chasing after Xiao Heer, Whos that? he asked. Qin Shubao, Xu Ziling replied. On the other side, Hou Xibaiughed and said, He did not expose you, a very true friend indeed. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, He is a man with a clear distinction between personal and public affairs. It seems to me that Li Shimin has revealed our agreement to him. Lei Jiuzhi nodded and said, Makes sense, Li Shimin sent him to defend Xiangyang, it is wise deployment, in order to prevent conflict due to misunderstanding. Xu Ziling was greatly gratified, due to the change in the rtionship between the two parties, the high-ranking military officers that had been idled and scattered because of their close rtionship with them had been put in important position again by Li Shimin one by one. Lei Jiuzhi pulled him to a stop and said, They are in! Xu Ziling looked across the street, he saw only Wang Xuanshu, who was left standing outside the gate of a pleasure house with a signboard that said, Qing Li Yuan [lit. lucid and elegant park/garden]. At this moment, the pleasure house has not yet opened for business, only acquaintances like Xiao Heer coulde and go as she wished. The situation in Xiangyang was not like before, on the streets, people and vehicles were sparse. Evidently, under the shadow of the war, most of the residents already fled to other ces. A short whileter, Xiao Heer walked out alone, she took Wang Xuanshu back to them, and spoke hoarsely, Xiao You hasnt returned to the pleasure house for more than ten days, it must be because of Dages affairs have not been concluded yet. Wah! Unexpectedly, she cried so loudly just like that, attracting the passersby to cast sidelong nces at her. The four big grownups panicked. Lei Jiu hurriedly said, Dont cry, please calm down, where is Xiao Yous house? With tears streaming down her face Xiao Heer pointed to the south of the city. Everybody breathed a sigh of relief, if Xiao Yous house was inside the pleasure house, it would be very bad. But now that it was not, chances are she was staying at home. Naturally no one med Xiao Heer, because they understood her mood. Without waiting for instructions, Xiao Heer started to walk to lead the way, passing through the streets and over the alleys, very soon they arrived outside the door of a distinct courtyard house in the southern side of the city. Although in term of scale it was small, it could be seen that Xiao You was living well. Dang! Dang! Wang Xuanshu knocked on the ring door knocker. The sound of footsteps was heard, Creak! the main gate was pulled open. A young servant girl appeared in front of everybodys eyes. Suddenly seeing such arge group of people standing outside the door, at first, she was slightly startled, and then her gaze fell onto Xiao Heer, her rmed countenance turned into a happy expression, and then wildly ecstatic, she shouted at the top of her lungs, Xiaojie! Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! Heer Xiaojie is back! You dont need to cry! Book 57 3 – Unity of Will Is an Impregnable Stronghold

Book 57 Chapter 3 - Unity of Will Is an Impregnable Stronghold

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong saw Shi Feixuan in the inner hall and dismissed the others. Sitting down on the other side of the peaceful-expression Shi Feixuan, he sighed and said, Feixuan should know that your move of inviting Ning Daoqi was extremely dangerous. Their, two mens life and death were just separated by a fine line, they nearly went back to heaven together, fortunately Laotianye blessed and protected that no tragedy happened. Shi Feixuan looked at him, her eyes showed a tender expression, which was rarely expressed toward him, she spoke softly, That is not only a tragedy, but a disaster! Do you want to hear the truth? We have tried to overestimate Song Ques ability as much as possible, but we have never thought that he unexpectedly has a saber technique that could put Ning Dashi to death, however, by that time everything waspletely out of control. Fortunately, just like Shaoshuai said, it did not turn into an irreversible disaster. Kou Zhong felt the chill crept up his spine, Shi Feixuan was right, if the two great grandmasters returned to heaven together, his, Kou Zhongs only option was to carry on Song Ques legacy and fulfill Song Ques great aspiration of the south unifying the north, which was two diametrically opposite situations with the current turbulent situation. The battle ended in a tie with both sides suffered was really the most ideal ending. Looking at it this way, the Central Earth should still be considered lucky. Shi Feis voice sounded in his ears, Feixuan did not wish to disturb Shaoshuai, but because I couldnt find Xiao Ling, I have no choice but to shamelessly ask for an audience. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Since when did we be like strangers? Its my turn to tell the truth, Xiaodi has never considered you an outsider, Ziling is my brother, and you are his Hey! Close female friend. Ha! I finally saw Xianzi blushing! Shi Feixuan recovered her calmness. Tranquil and calm, and at ease, she said, Shaoshuais mood today seems to be very good. Kou Zhong rxed his body and softly leaned against the back of the chair; as if he was groaning, he said, Thinking that in the future I dont need to be some kind of pain-in-the butt emperor, naturally my mood is different. Shi Feixuans immortal body trembled slightly, she looked at him over the small table, her pretty eyes flooded with unconceble, evolving from her true heart - joy, she spoke softly, Finally Shaoshuai is willing to nod! It is the fortune of all people. Kou Zhong responded with a bitter smile, he said, Immortal and mundane are different, naturally Xiaozi [this kid] is not as knowledgeable as you. If there is anyone in this world who can make me submit and obedient, it must be Xu Ziling. After Feixuan put him in order, wouldnt put me in order be as easy as a hands turn? Shi Feixuan did not mind him keep chewing on her rtionship with Xu Ziling, she smiled and said, Feixuan does not know how to express the happiness and relief in my heart, that kind of joy is real. Kou Zhong apuded and said with augh, To be able to make Feixuan happy and excited like a little girl is already worth everything. Ziling should be on his way to see Qin Wang now, he must be very disappointed not being able to see you. Shi Feixuan spoke in displeasure, Shaoshuai seems to be determined to embarrass me, its just that on the surface it sounded pleasant to the ears. Kou Zhong straightened his tiger-body, his hands grabbed the armrest, he shed a smile as bright as the sun toward Shi Feixuan, and spoke candidly, The happiness in my heart is really no less than yours, because we are no longer enemies, but with heart and soul we are partners who forge ahead and fight side-by-side for some far-reaching goal. In the future, I even dont have to contend for hegemony over the world, as well as to be in conflict with Ziling. Is there anything more satisfying than this in the world? The unusual light in Shi Feixuans beautiful eyes was rippling, she looked deeply into Kou Zhongs eyes, and chuckled lightly without the slightest bit of restraint. She spoke gently, There was a time that Feixuan really suspected that Shaoshuai was a person who wanted to satisfy your own ambitions. For this reason, Feixuan would like to offer the deepest apology to Shaoshuai. Does Shaoshuai have the confidence to pass the Song Que barrier? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Fortunately, the misunderstanding is cleared up now. Ay! I wonder if Feixuan wanted to tell me that your esteemed master does not have the confidence to persuade Fazhu? Shi Feixuan slowly said, People with superior knowledge and experience surely have their own thinking process and methods to achieve a certain belief, they couldnt be easily swayed, so who would dare to say that they have the confidence to persuade Song Que? Kou Zhong smiled and said, I am suddenly full of fighting spirit and confidence in this matter, let me think of every possible method first, only when necessary, I will ask Feixuan to invite your esteemed master to cooperate. Please tell your esteemed master that Fazhu still cannot forget his feeling toward her. Otherwise, the battle of Jingnian Chanyuan would have another ending. Perhaps Shi Feixuan was thinking about Xu Ziling, but the expression showing in her eyes darkened, she cast her gaze to the ground, nodded her head, and said, The first time Fazhu saw Feixuan, Feixuan already knew. Kou Zhong said, Before obtaining Fazhus nod of approval, I must meet with Li Shimin to negotiate terms. Not only I must arrange a way out for the people who follow me, but I must also see his determination and grand n to be the emperor, otherwise there will be no need to talk further. Is Feixuan going to rush back to the north to meet Ziling? Revealing a hint of pained expression, Shi Feixuan spoke indifferently, Does Shaoshuai think Feixuan should see him? Kou Zhong was stunned, momentarily he could not say anything. Merely with these words, it was clear that although Shi Feixuan has reached the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm, she was still unable to remain indifferent toward Xu Ziling. Shi Feixuan stood up gracefully, she returned to her usual tranquil and gentle manner. Kou Zhong hurriedly stood up to see her off. Shi Feixuan turned her tender body around to face him, chuckling gracefully, she said, Shaoshuais honorable self is very busy, no need to see me off! Tell Ziling that Feixuan and Shizhun will be waiting for your good news at Jingnian Chanyuan. Inside the east wing of Xiao Yous courtyard house, Xiao You and Xiao Heer cried on each others shoulder, no one could tell which tears were shed to vent out the sorrow in their hearts, and which tears were shed due to the joy in their hearts. Sitting on the other side, Xu Ziling, Lei Jiuzhi, Hou Xibai, and Wang Xuanshu had no idea what to do, hence they simply let them [feminine] cry topletely drain the emotions in their hearts. Yin Xianhe and Ji Qian were still on search mission, which has been going on for more than ten days, they have not yet returned. Hou Xibai whispered to Xu Ziling sitting next to him, Shall we go out to look for them? Lei Jiuzhi, sitting on Xu Zilings other side, said, They must be going outside the city to try their luck, how are we going to find them? Still sobbing, Xiao Heer stood up and said, Im going to look for Dage. Xiao You pulled her in to her arms and said while still crying, They wille back before the city gate closes. She has not finished speaking, Knock! Knock! there was a knock on the door. Disregarding everything, Xiao Heer rushed out to the main gate, Xu Ziling and the others hurriedly followed. By the time they reached the outer courtyard, Xiao Heer already opened the door without asking, but then her tender body trembled, in extreme disappointment she asked, Who are you? Qin Shubao appeared outside the door, he had changed back to wearing civilian clothes, his gaze flitted over Xiao Heer, before it fell on Xu Ziling. Why is this little brother crying so miserably? he asked in astonishment. Xu Ziling stepped forward and said, Qin Dage, pleasee in and talk. Xiao Heer turned around and threw herself into Wang Xuanshus bosom, who was standing behind her. She was not crying loudly, but her shoulders were twitching as she was weeping in silence. While still looking at her, Qin Shubao came in front of Xu Ziling, pulled him tightly into his embrace, and spoke with stirred up emotions, We are good brothers again! Lei Jiuzhi and the others suddenly understood, Xu Ziling did not guess incorrectly, Li Shimin indeed talked about the reconciliation with a few trusted aides great generals who had close rtionship with them, showing his determination to fight for the throne. Lei Jiuzhi closed the gate, moved behind Xiao Heer, reached out to grab her two fragrant shoulders, and spoke softly, Dont cry! You are crying so much that Im about to shed tears with you. Xiao You also said, Your Dage ising back soon! Xiao Heer whimpered, Im afraid they met some mishap! Letting go of Xu Ziling, Qin Shubao was totally at a loss, Whats going on here? Xu Ziling was going to speak, suddenly he sensed something. Knock! Knock! Knock! Ji Qians tender voice rang out from outside the gate, Quickly open the door! Xiao Heers tender body shook severely; leaving Wang Xuanshus embrace, she turned around to face the door. Time seemed to freeze at this moment. Xiao You pounced forward and pulled the door open. Ji Qian and Yin Xianhe, spirit-weary, countenance-tired, stood dejectedly outside the door. Ji Qian was about to speak when she caught sight of everyone. Her open little mouth could close anymore, she only produced an Ah! sound. Yin Xianhes thin body shook violently, he stared at Xiao Heer in disbelief, and then his entire body trembled, tears gushed out like a spring. Xiao Heer let out a startling-the-heaven-moving-the-earth cry of sorrow, like an arrow she threw herself into Yin Xianhes bosom. Xu Ziling restrained his hot tears from flowing out, he patted Qin Shubao and said, Lets find a ce to sit down and talk. Inside the study room, Xu Xingzhi and Xuan Yong listened to Kou Zhong until he was finished, surprisingly, there was not any fierce reaction. Kou Zhong still had not figured out what the two men thought, he summed up, To help Li Shimin ascending to the emperors throne, there are two prerequisites. The first one is that Li Shimin must makemitment in all aspects, and thest one is that we have to obtain Song Ques consent. Any one of the two iscking, everything will proceed ording to the original direction. Xuan Yong respectfully said, We will obey Shaoshuais instructions for everything. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Unexpectedly you have no objection? Xuan Yong revealed a sincere smile, he spoke softly, Not concealing anything from Shaoshuai, at the beginning, I wholeheartedly wanted to avenge Da Longtou, I never thought about fighting for the world. Only because I admire and revere Shaoshuai and Xu Ye, I decided to risk my life to assist gentlemen [orig. junzi - nobleman / person of noble character]. Frankly speaking, I still prefer to wander the Jianghu, that kind of free and easy life. If sessfully aplish our goal, Shuxia [subordinate] would like to return to help Da Xiaojie taking care of business, official life really does not suit me. Suspicious, Kou Zhong asked, Xiao Yong did not say that deliberately to make me feel me less sad? Xu Xingzhi smiled and said, Xingzhi can guarantee that Xuan Zhens [sic, perhaps Xuan Yongs alias] words came from the bottom of his heart. In fact, the overwhelming majority of the high-ranking military officers in the Shao Shuai Army have the same attitude of the heart like Xuan Zhen. They are all throw their lives in for Shaoshuai, therefore, as long as Shaoshuai can make proper arrangements, those who want to remove their armor [i.e. returning to civilian life] can remove their armor, those who love to be officials continue to be officials, each one is provided for, it will still be to everyones delight and satisfaction. After all, although we have full confidence in Shaoshuai, Li Shimin is also an unequalledmander-in-chief who has never suffered a defeat, plus Luoyang is even one of the three strongest cities in the world; even if we prevail, the next attack on Guanzhong is still not an easy task, significant casualties are inevitable. If we could avoid these two fierce battles, plus the oue is still so blissful, who would be stupid enough to oppose? As if he was relieved from a burden, Kou Zhong spoke in great delight, In that case, Xingzhi also have no problem! Xu Xingzhi cheerfully said, Not only I have no problem, I am extremely happy. Xingzhi read the books of the sages, if what will benefit all the people, what will harm all the people, unexpectedly one cannot tell clearly, then one would be ashamed to face the sages. Not only Xingzhi does not object, but I admire and respect Shaoshuais broad-minded and open, far-reaching ambitions that I prostrate myself in admiration. Kou Zhong pped the table and said with a sigh, Its only this moment that I really put down the load on my mind. Obtaining your unanimous support has doubled my confidence. What do we do now? Xu Xingzhi said, Before solving the two major issues Shaoshuai mentioned earlier, we must keep this matter confidential, we must not leak any rumor to avoid disturbing the armys heart, with only one exception, that is, Ma Chang. Kou Zhong nodded and agreed. Because of Yang Gongqings death in battle, Ma Changs army had forged a deep enmity with the Tang Army, unlike Xuan Yong and Xu Xingzhi who did not have the burden of such sentiment. Xuan Yong said, Ma Chang has enormous influence within our army, he must be handled carefully by Shaoshuai personally, if Shaoshuai waited until this matter ispleted before telling him, he might feel betrayed. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Thats why one of my prerequisites is that Li Shimin must promise me something. All right! I will talk to Ma Chang immediately. Qin Shubao and Xu Ziling sat down in the west wing. The former sighed and said, Fortunately, you and Xiao Zhong are willing to change to support Qin Wang. Qin Wangs current situation is getting more and more unfavorable! Xu Ziling jumped in fright, He cannot stop Liu Dage? he asked. Stunned, Qin Shubao said, Liu Dage? Ah! You mean Liu Heita, that kid. Ziling misunderstood! However, Liu Heita is indeed exceptional. Qin Wang sent Luo Shixin to guard River Luo on behalf of Wang Junkuo, he was under Liu Heitas violent attack day and night for eight days. Not only River Luo was captured, Luo Shixin was even killed in battle. But this was just the Liu Armys final radiance of the setting sun. The fierce generals under his banner, Liu Shixi and Zhang Junli suffered a crushing defeat before Pengcheng, their army lost eight thousand men, and River Luo was retaken by us. After that, Qin Wang ignored Liu Heitas many challenges, we defended the wall firmly and refused to go out, we also sank his boat, burned his military supply wagons, and cut off his route for providing foodstuff, so that Liu Heita was short of army provision and grass, and was eager for a decisive battle. However, Qin Wang secretly sent men to the upper reaches of River Luo to build a weir, and then after the Liu Army go out to battle, the weir was destroyed and the water was released. The Liu Armys loss due to the flood reached several thousand men. Liu Heita led the remnant of the army to flee in panic. We then spread the rumors that he had gone to rely on help from the Tujue, even used him of abandoning his men to flee in order to shake the soldiers heart. In my opinion, Liu Heita is done for! Hearing that, Xu Zilings eyebrows were deeply knitted, but he couldnt really me Li Shimin, the victor would be called the king, the loser would be called the bandit. War is just like that, both sides try to strike at their opponents by fair means or foul. Smiling wryly, he said, In that case, you should have said Qin Wangs situation is good, what makes Qin Dage worry earlier? Qin Shubao sighed and said, Qin Wang knew about Liu Heitas rtionship with you guys, hence he started off leniently and let him escape. However, due to Qin Wangs outstanding achievements and increasing prestige, Li Jiancheng feels more and more threatened. Thereupon Jiancheng requested Huangshang to send him to lead the troops and go into battle, to take Qin Wangs ce. Unexpectedly Huangshang readily agreed, hence Qin Wang was forced to retreat to Luoyang. Ay! If Jiancheng took advantage of this readily avable convenience and defeated Liu Heitai, and then Qin Wang is summoned back to Changan, wouldnt the situation be extremely far from good? Hearing that, Xu Zilings heart sank straight down. Li Jiancheng was not Li Shimin, he would definitely not let Liu Heita get away. I want to see Qin Wang in secret, he spoke heavily, Can Qin Dage make the arrangement? Qin Shubao pped his chest and said, Of course no problem. When is Ziling going to set out? How about tonight? Xu Ziling replied. After Xu Xingzhi and Xuan Yong left, Ba Fenghan stepped into the study room, sat down opposite Kou Zhong, and said with a smile, Looking at your appearance, I know that everything is going well, you obtained all parties support. Kou Zhong said, There is still one difficulty to ovee, which is Ma Chang, whom you, LaoGe admires. I only have 50% confidence to convince him. If he gets angry and storms off in a huff, even more, he spreads this matter out, I really dont know how to handle it. Ba Fenghan said, How about we use wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly (in a raid or ambush)] tactic? Coming from me, a fighter and warlike person, the result might be even better. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, You, LaoGe are so proactive in this matter, it is indeed beyond Xiaodis expectation. Ba Fenghanughed and said, What else but because of brotherhood? I am hoping to fulfill Zilings great wish, and also want you to be able to change Song Familys Xiaojies heart. Bottom line is that I dont have any malice toward Li Shimin. As long as I can kill Li Yuanji and Yang Xuyan, I will be perfectly contented, let alone to be able to heavily strike Xieli, do you understand? At this time, Ma Chang raised his voice outside the door, Does Shaoshuai want to see Shuxia? Kou Zhong stood up and said, Come in! Ma Chang strode in and sat down under Ba Fenghans first seat. Ba Fenghan calmly said, If we seed in capturing Guanzhong, who is Ma Zhen [sic] most wanting to kill with your own hands? [Note: not sure if it was another alias or simply a typo, both Xuan Zhen and Ma Zhen use the same zhen character, but it does not look anything like Yong or Chang.] Without even thinking Ma Chang replied, Li Jiancheng. Anybody else? Ba Fenghan asked. Ma Chang replied, As for others things, I will follow Shaoshuais instructions, Shuxia has no opinion. Ba Fenghanughed aloud as rose up to his full height and said, The problem is solved! Other things will be exined by Shaoshuai. Ma Chang stared nkly at Kou Zhong. Looking at Ba Fenghans leaving figure, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, Good kid! The easiest thing, he took care of, but the difficult thing, he left it to me to undertake. His grannys bear. Ma Chang felt that things were unusual. Slightly startled, he asked, Shaoshuai has any order? Please do not hesitate to tell me. Kou Zhong said frankly, We all are brothers, I dont want to conceal it from you, our grand n of unifying the world has changed. Ma Changs countenance changed color, he asked, What happened? Counting by fives and tens [idiom: in full detail] Kou Zhong exined the matter, and then said, Li Shimin must agree to let us kill Jiancheng and Yuanji, before we will help him with all our strength to ascend to the throne, otherwise, no need to mention anything. Finally Ma Chang understood clearly what was going on, he hung his head low and spoke respectfully, In everything I will listen and obey to Shaoshuais arrangements. Kou Zhong said in amazement, You dont have any objection? Ma Chang replied, Before he died, Yang Gong had repeatedly admonished Shuxia to follow Shaoshuai with undivided loyalty, not to mention the fact that Shaoshuai is not doing this for personal gain, but for the peaceful reunification of the world. As long as Shuxia is able to deal with Li Jiancheng with the edge of my de, everything else is irrelevant. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Then I can really put down the big rock in my heart now, I originally thought it would be very difficult to exin to you guys. Ma Chang spoke cheerfully, We follow Shaoshuai fighting for the world, it was because of our love and respect to Shaoshuai. Naturally, we also seek glory, riches and honor, as well as to aplish immortal achievement. And now Shaoshuai and Li Shimin join forces, what else in the world that cannot be solved? Moreover, we wont need to take the risk of defeat and injuries and deaths. Yang Gongs greatest cherished desire was the peaceful reunification of the world. If Li Shimin was Li Tangs Taizi [crown prince] instead of Li Jiancheng, we might have surrendered to the House of Tang early on. Therefore, Shaoshuais decision, Shuxia will only approve wholeheartedly, there wont be any objection. Kou Zhong pped the table and said with augh, Oh, Li Shimin! Your chance of bing the emperor has risen quite a bit! Now well have to see whether you can make up your mind. Book 57 4 – The Three Conditions

Book 57 Chapter 4 - The Three Conditions

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong went to Liyang to see Du Fuwei and hurried back to Liangdu via the waterway. He wholeheartedly thought he could see Song Yuzhi, who would have thought that Xu Xingzhi, who came to meet him at the boat, told him that Song Yuzhi refused toe to Liangdu. Frowning, Xu Xingzhi said, Song San Ye [third master] did not exin anything about Yuzhi Xiaojie, I am afraid Shaoshuai would have to personally ask him before he would tell you straight. It was like a bucket of iced water was poured on Kou Zhongs head, the fire of passion filling his heart was like extinguished smoke without any trace, he smiled bitterly and asked, Any news about Ziling? Xu Xingzhi nodded in response. The two men mounted their horses, with the personal guards heralding their presence at the front and escorting behind, they headed for the city gate. Moored on the pier were nearly ten Shao Shuai Armys naval boats, the gs were flying, under the rays of the setting sun, the construction battalion troops were constantly loading provisions and goods on board the ship, to be transported to Chenliu Citys front line. One day Li Shimin was not the emperor yet, the Shao Shuai Army was still in a tense situation of full-scale war against the Great Tang Army. Xu Xingzhi said, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! Yin Ye is finally reunited with his sister, this moment he is on his way back to Liangdu. Xu Ye is heading secretly to Luoyang to see Li Shimin alone. Did Shaoshuais trip this time bring good result? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Not only Ol Die did not me me, he also said that this is a sensible act, whats so addictive to being an emperor anyway? Unless being a licentious, tyrannical muddleheaded ruler, being the emperor is definitely not easy. Not only one must follow thepass and go with the set square [idiom: following the rules inflexibly], to set some his Niangs example, one would have to face endless official documents and correspondence every day, plus one would have to attend morning imperial court every day, to preside over big and small court discussions. His grannys! Its really not a humans job. I am supporting the Li kid to the throne, it can be considered as a revenge! Xu Xingzhi blurted outughing, He really said that? he asked. Kou Zhong said, The second half is just my thoughts. Ol Dies sensible act refers to the fact that if Song Que does not participate, between Li Shimin and I, at whose hand will the deer die [idiom: who will emerge victorious] - is still cannot be foreseen. The best possibility is a confrontation between the North and the South, the constant fighting, which will give the Tujue small advantages, therefore, he supports our grand n to facilitate the emperor. Xu Xingzhi said, Guanzhong ispletely under Li Yuan, Jiancheng and Yuanjis formidable powers control, plus we cannot raise our troops in a big way. Even if Fazhu is willing to nod, the road ahead is still full of difficulties. Kou Zhong smiled and said, It should still be a bit easier than attacking the City of Luoyang with Li Kid defending it. Ah! I nearly forget to tell you, Zhi Shu and I talked about this, as long as he is bestowed the official position as a provincial governor or a unifying, subduing governance of a city, he will be perfectly contented. Xu Xingzhi cheerfully said, In that case, Xingzhi will run the academy of ssical learning in the city where he is the official, so that the schrs can study the holy books! Kou Zhong thought of Bai Lao Fuzi [see Book 1 Chapter 1], he said with joy, Your academy should be free of charge, so that children of the poor family will have the opportunity to study. Xu Xingzhi revealed a look of longing for the future; immediately remembering something else, he said, Ba Ye received the news that Bian Bufu appears in Lin Shihongs territory, he hurried awayst night and said that he would drink with Shaoshuai upon his return. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Oh, Bian Bufu! You havemitted too many bad deeds! This revenge is well-deserved! The two passed through the city gate and came to the street inside the city. When the pedestrians saw Kou Zhong, none was not overjoyed, they shouted loudly Long live [lit. ten thousand years]. The Shao Shuai Mansions inner hall. Song Lu took a sip of hot tea, he said, You dont need to be nervous. Its only because she is unclear of the situation that Yuzhi does not want toe to see you. Because after all, I cant write such a confidential matter in the letter, in case something goes wrong, it could cause huge waves. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, After negotiating terms with Li Shimin, I have no choice but to go to Lingnan in person. Ay! Her misunderstanding toward me is too deep! Unexpectedly she did not even want to see me. Song Lu said, Yuzhis temperament has always been like that. Shidao sent someone to send a letter, I was afraid somethings urgent, hence I tore it open and read it on your behalf. He took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to Kou Zhong. Upon receiving the letter, Kou Zhong put it into his pocket, and asked, Is there any good news? Arent you going to read it yourself? Song Lu asked. Kou Zhong said, Im a little afraid that the letter contains things that I dont want to see. For example, he still insists on returning to Niangs little valley to live in seclusion, or things like that. Song Lu cheerfully said, You can rest assured, Shidao now is like a fish back in the water, he is indulging in pleasure and forgetting home and duty. If Dage knows about this, he will be very happy. And then he looked at him and said, If Shidao is willing to actively seed Dages Fazhu position, eliminating the worries that extend all the way across Dages mind, it will be of great help to us as for whether we can persuade him or not. Kou Zhong happily said, This matter should be left to Ling Shao to handle, he has a better way of dealing with ErGepared to me. How is the situation in the north? Song Lu said, If it were before, I would say that the situation is great, but now I can only say that the turn of events is not too encouraging. After Liu Heita was defeated by Li Shimin, with the support of Gao Kaidao, Xu Yuang, and the Ba Wang Du Xing guarding Shanhai Pass, he reorganized the foot of his troops disposition, sweeping the earth to start over, even defeating the Tang Army. However, in order to strive for military merit, plus with Li Yuans nod of approval, Jiancheng led the army to meet Liu Heitas attack. Kou Zhong said with a sneer, How could Li Jiancheng be Liu Dages match? Song Lu said, Xiao Zhong must not have the same insight as everybody else, who underestimate Li Jiancheng because he had no outstanding military merits. The fact is that in the past, when he attacked the Old Suis Guanzhong, Li Jiancheng put his military talents on disy, he is not at all inferior to Li Shimin, unlike Yuanji, that kind of person. This time Li Yuan ordered Wei Zheng as Jianchengs Junshi [military adviser], this mans strategic ability is outstanding. Li Mi was able to move unhindered for a period of time, it was mostly thanks to his advice and suggestions. With Wei Zhengs assistance, Jiancheng is like a tiger that has grown wings. Also, Liu Heitas original team, nearly all have been annihted by Li Shimin, hence I am not too optimistic about Liu Heita. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, Then what should we do? If Li Jiancheng triumphs over the opponent, Liu Dage will definitely lose his life. He could not help thinking of Ning Daoqis dreadful prophecy in reading Liu Heitas lot through life, his whole spine was soaked in chill. Song Lu said, If the victor is your Liu Dage, naturally everything will be all right. However, if Li Jiancheng triumphs over the opponent, Li Shimin will fall into the most dangerous situation. Right now, the only thing we can do is to get Dages consent as soon as possible, and put the n into action. This moment, a personal guard came to report that Xu Ziling was on his way to enter the city. Immediately Kou Zhongs distress was somewhat diminished, he promptly went out to meet him Kou Zhong ran into Xu Ziling at the public square outside the Shao Shuai Mansion. He was talking with Chen Laomou and Ren Meimei, two persons. Seeing himing, Xu Zilingughed and said, Get on the horse! We have a secret mission. Kou Zhong understood tacitly, he ordered his men to get him his steed. By this time, the sky had just turned dark, there were torches everywhere around the Shao Shuai Mansion Square. A lot of Flying Cloud Guards elite troops were gathered in the Square for the night training, they were waiting for Kou Zhongs instructions. Knitting his brows, Chen Laomou said, With the two of you gone, what do they do? Xu Ziling understood, he knew that Kou Zhong was actively training his men to cope with the fierce street fighting that most probably would happen in the City of Changan in the future. Kou Zhongughed and said, Tonight, I will hand it over to Mou Gong and Mei Jie [older sister] to be in charge. Mou Gong can teach them secret skills such as opening locks and entering the house, while Mei Jie will teach them concealed weapons, knock-out incense, and other such skills, ha! Throwing him coquettish nces, Ren Meimei said, Shaoshuai wants to train them to steal fragrance and pilfer jade [idiom: secret illicit sex]? Kou Zhong stepped on his horse, heughed aloud and said, More or less! Together Xu Ziling, they spurred their horses out of the Mansion, and out of the city. They traveled north along the Grand Canal for thirty some li, before starting to slow down. Kou Zhong asked cheerfully, Where is Li kid? Xu Ziling replied, He might show up any moment, we are going to wait for him on the small hill ahead. Kou Zhong said, You know that Liu Dages situation is far from good. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I learned about his situation from Li Shimin. Li Jiancheng adopted Wei Zhengs strategy to pacify and drive a wedge between the people and Liu Dages soldiers and generals, they strive to split apart and disintegrate various forces supporting Liu Dage. And Liu Dage has an even bigger problem of provisions, he had no choice but to withdraw to the north. On the other hand, Li Shentong and Li Shijiunched offensive against Xu Yuang, to prevent him from supporting Liu Dage. The situation is indeed very unfavorable for Liu Dage. The two came to the top of the hill and dismounted from their horses. The two banks of the canal were entirely covered by snow. The horses sprinted over such a long distance that they were extremely exhausted. Kou Zhong said, Liu Dage may becking in strength to repel Li Jiancheng, but he should have no problem to defend himself, right? Xu Ziling swept his gaze over the snowy in on the opposite bank, he smiled bitterly and said, I hope so. The snowy field is not suitable to march the army, if Liu Dage retreats to the north, he should be able to hold steadily for a while. Kou Zhong cast his gaze to the far northern extremity of the canal, which, more than fifty li awayy Chenliu, the Shao Shuai Army northernmost front line; he said, Li Shimin shoulde bynd! Xu Ziling shook his head and said, No! He takes the waterway. Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, How did he go through Chenliu, this barrier? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, I told Zhandao, Fengyi and Xiao Jie about this matter. They are the men who follow you the earliest, such an important matter, how could we conceal it from them? Kou Zhong asked, How did they react? Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Naturally at first they were at a loss, but when I exined it clearly, I immediately obtained their unreserved support. In fact, in the Central Earth, whether those who work as soldiers or civilians andmon people, all are saturated with war weariness and they are longing for peace. About the attack on Luoyang, nobody has a hundred-percent confidence even more. I assure Zhandao and the others that they can continue to be officials. Zhandao and Fengyi are very satisfied, only Xiao Jie has another request, that is, he hopes to be together with Xier. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, he said, Then I put down another load on my mind. In your talk with Li Shimin, did you get along well? Xu Ziling said, The person Li Shimin trusts the most is not me, and of course it is not you, Kou Zhong Shaoshuai, but Feixuan. After detailed discussion with Feixuan, he is more resolute in his standpoint. The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, In a moment I am going to test to what kind of degree his resolute standpoint is. They are here! Xu Ziling said. A two-masted sailboat that externally looked like a merchant ship appeared at the bend of the river. Inside the cabin, Li Shimin, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat facing each other on the round table in the middle of the hall. Behind Li Shimin stood Li Jing, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, and Pang Yu, four capable trusted aides great generals. Suddenly Li Shimin extended both hands, Kou Zhong grabbed them at once, both sides eyes met, neither was able to say half a sentence or a word, from the first time they met to this moment, the experience of gratitude and grudges, joy and hatred intertwined, it was like the reincarnation over hundreds and thousands of lifetimes, even though it was like an ingenious writing in the world, it was still difficult to describe thoroughly. Li Jing and the others all showed touched expressions, evidently none was not moved emotionally by the two mens conversion from enemies to friends. Li Shimin finally spoke up, he said with difficulty, Ay! Kou Xiong, please state your terms, I hope its not too difficult to ept. Kou Zhong let go of Li Shimins hand, the refined light in his pair of eyes shing, he stared at Li Shimin without blinking at all, and said in heavy voice, My conditions, Shimin Xiong should already have a list in your heart. Li Shimin spoke dejectedly, I have more or less guessed it, Shaoshuai, please tell me straightforwardly. Kou Zhong said, The first condition is that Qin Wang must make your determination clear to themon people of the world by your action that you will not hesitate to sacrifice everything, including your family and n. Only this way will I, Kou Zhong feel the importance of supporting Shimin Xiong without reservation. Li Shimin made an effort to rouse his spirits; returning his prating gaze, he said, Is there any leeway [orig. room to save the situation]? Kou Zhong resolutely shook his head and said, Shimin Xiong should know better than me what called a king if sessful, called a bandit if defeated is. If you dont know how to move the battlefield back to Changan, everything wille to no avail, the Tujue, still watching for an opportunity, will invade, the world will still be all split up and in pieces, and I cant convince Song Que, or even myself - even more. The current situation is hardly ambiguous, not only Jiancheng, Yuanji, withplete devotion, want to put you to death, lingzun [your esteemed father] will not remember the father and son affection toward you either. This should be the time for you toe to your senses. Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, and others all revealed horrified expression, because they finally guessed the crux of the contention between Li Shimin and Kou Zhong. Xu Zilings expression was as calm as still water, he did not utter a single word, only remembering in his heart Ba Fenghans remark about only those who are ruthless enough can survive. Li Shimins expression repeatedly changed, he finally said, Shaoshuai, please continue! Kou Zhong snorted coldly and said, You are not benevolent, I dont have to be righteous, since they dont remember father and son and brothers affection, why should Shimin Xiong embrace excessive tendency to clemency [idiom: soft-hearted, (orig. the kindness of women)]? Lingzun Li Yuan must abdicate, Jiancheng, Yuanji will be killed without mercy. This is a prerequisite. Shimin Xiong, please think thrice. Although fully aware that Kou Zhong would put forward this condition, but hearing it straight from his mouth still made Li Shimin and the four generals under hismand had their countenance changed at the same time. Li Shimin looked at Xu Ziling as if asking for help. Xu Ziling spoke sincerely, Qin Wang must harden your heart and make up your mind. Changan City is your father and [elder] brothers sphere of influence, plus there are the demonic school and the Tujue people involved. If we do not make any move, all resistance will definitely be crushed in one fell swoop using ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt momentum. Under this kind of situation, there is no way to keep our hands off. Li Shimin hung his head low, deep in thought. Kou Zhong said heavily, Leaving aside personal grievances, one day Jiancheng, Yuanji remain, one day disaster still remains. Only by clearing away all these barriers will we be millions of people all of one mind [idiom] to face the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall about to invade, and bring the world back to unity. This is called cing righteousness before family [idiom: ready to punish ones family if justice demands it]. Otherwise, just let theme to destroy you. Time is fleeting, Shimin Xiong must make a decision. Li Shimin suddenly raised his head to look up at Kou Zhong, he then looked around at the four generals before looking back at Kou Zhong without yielding at all. He spoke slowly, word by word, Do I really have no other choice? I want to hear Jingde, you guys opinion. Yuchi Jingdes entire body shook severely, Bang! he dropped on both knees, hot tears gushing out, he said, Qin Wang please understand, what Shaoshuai and Xu Ye said, every word is gems of wisdom [idiom: priceless advice]. Li Jing and the others, three men, all went down on their knees The atmosphere in the hall was extremely grave. The sailboat cast the anchor at a bay in the river bend, the night sky was dropping the floating, flying snow powder again. The crow and peacock made no sound, the water gentlypped the rocky beaches on both sides of the river, the world was waiting quietly for Li Shimins answer to determine the future destiny of the Central Earth. Li Shimin exhaled a long, long breath and said, Very well! I give you my promise. Bang! Kou Zhong mmed his palm on the tabletop, he sighed and said, We all are good brothers again! His Niangs! Li Shimin looked back and said, You may rise! Following his order, Li Jing and others stood up. Li Shimin recovered his spirit, he said, What are the other conditions? Kou Zhong said, The second condition will be very easy for Shimin Xiong. When Shimin Xiong ascends to the throne, naturally Xiaodis service isplete, I will withdraw, together with Ziling I will return to Jianghu as veteran big drifters, but if my subordinates want to be small government official, can Shimin Xiong let them satisfy their craving to be government official? Li Shimin nodded and said, Of course there wont be any problem with this. Kou Zhong was silent for a moment, as everyone watched attentively, and then he smiled wryly and said, The third and the final condition, if you say it is difficult, its not difficult, if you say its easy, its not easy, but it rtes to whether or not we can aplish the objective, it is the most important key. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly there is such a condition? Li Shimin and others were greatly surprised, even Xu Ziling could not think of, what kind of condition was it? Frowning, Li Shimin said, Shaoshuai, please speak up. Kou Zhong cast a nce at Xu Ziling, he sighed and said, To persuade Song Que, the Senior, any old affection wont work; hard will not work, soft will not work either. The only way is to convince him with a powerful argument, how to govern the world and benefit themon people. Shimin Xiong is a more suitable candidate than me, as long as he, the Senior, believes that under Shimin Xiongs rule, not only will the world rise to peace, themon people happy, but it will also reinvigorate Han unification. Put the facts in front of his eyes, let him decide, only then will we have a chance to obtain his nod. Shocked, Li Shimin said, You want me to see him? Li Jing and others, none did not show horrified expression. Zhangsun Wuji could not help saying, Qin Wang Li Shimin raised his hand to stop him from continuing, he spoke heavily, No need to worry about my safety. If Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cannot be trusted, who else can I trust? Kou Zhong said, Qin Wang agrees! Li Shimin smiled bitterly and said, Do I have another choice? Li Jing spoke heavily, How much confidence does Shaoshuai have that Song Fazhu will not harm Qin Wang? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Qin Wang and I are going to pay a visit to Song Fazhu, to show our respect to him. He once stated that he attaches most importance to the world, if that is really the case, he should ept us. Heavenly Saber Song Que is an extraordinary person, he will understand what happened better than anyone and will make the most sensible judgments. It would be best for Qin Wang toe with me to Lingnan alone, and I, Kou Zhong, will use my head to guarantee Qin Wangs safety. Li Jing and others wanted to say something but then hesitated, they did not dare to speak. Xu Ziling said, Can Shimin Xiong get away? Tranquil and calm, Li Shimin said, Just say I went to Kaifeng! Shaken, Pang Yu said, Qin Wang Li Shimin resolutely shouted to stop Pang Yu, he said, I have decided. Everything will be done in ordance with Shaoshuais proposal. The smile appearing on the corners of Kou Zhongs lips spread like ripples into a brilliant smile, he sighed in admiration and said, Good Li Shimin, you are my, Kou Zhongs biggest formidable opponent, but also a close friend who is willing to give your bare heart into my keeping [idiom]. From this moment on, Ziling and I will help you with all our strength to unify the world, to bring peace and happiness to themon people. A touching feeling of creating history grew in Xu Zilings heart, although the road ahead was still paved with difficulty on every step, nevertheless, it was brimming with bright prospect and hope, and they were working hand in hand towards this far-reaching goal, nothing would be able to thwart them anymore. Book 57 5 – Three Persons of One Mind

Book 57 Chapter 5 - Three Persons of One Mind

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia In the darkness of rain and snow swirling in the air before dawn, two navy vessels sailed away from Liangdu, carrying three men who yed a critical role in the world todayLi Shimin, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling. Song Lu personally apanied them, the Shao Shuai Army was temporarily handed over to the Junshi [military adviser] Xu Xingzhi and the Great General Xuan Yong, one civil, one military. On board the two ships, there were a total of a hundred and fifty Flying Cloud Guards, the most elite and the most loyal to Kou Zhong within the Shao Shuai Army, hence there was no worry that they would leak any information. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong were sitting on a row of food and fresh water containers at the stern of the ship, taking turns reading the letters sent by Song Shidao. Finished reading, Xu Ziling handed the letter back to Kou Zhong, and said with augh, Our efforts were not in vain. Although Song ErGe did not mention the development of his rtionship with Meirener Changzhu even for a word, it seems that Shang Meiren is willing to keep him there and asked him to appraise the collections inside the Flying Horse Ranch treasury. It can be seen that Shang Meiren has very great impression toward him. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, They are both experiencing familiarity at first sight, and have the opportunity to nurture their affection, naturally it would be where the water flows, a canal is formed. Well sent a special envoy to see Song ErGe, to tell him about the current situation, and ask him to formally seek a marriage alliance with Shang Changzhu, and then ask Fazhu for instructions. That will be sessfully aplished the project. Ha! Things are more ideal than we expected. Xu Ziling said, I also want to ask you a question, how much confidence do you have to be able to convince your future father-inw? Kou Zhong replied, It will depend on what kind of person Li Shimin is and whether just like me, he can obtain Fazhus favor. Do you have any contingency ns? Xu Ziling asked. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, If Fazhu disagree, things will be extremely thorny, therefore, we must make every effort to convince him. The sound of footsteps was heard. Li Shimin came to the stern, sat down on Kou Zhongs other side, and said with a sigh, I cant sleep. Xu Ziling said sympathetically, Shimin Xiongs heart must be full of contradictions and pain. Li Shimin dejectedly said, How did things developed into this plight? My heart now seems to have plethora of things to tackle, endless doubts and pains; I really want to get drunk and forget the cold and ruthless reality. The river breeze brought rain and snow, the cold air was suffocating. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, You, LaoGe answer my three questions first. Taken aback, Li Shimin asked, What question? Kou Zhong said, The first question, does Shimin Xiong believe that lingdi [your esteemed little brother] wants to put you to death? Li Shimin was in a daze for half a day, he nodded and said, That is certainly the case. Kou Zhong continued to ask, How about lingxiong [your esteemed older brother]? Smiling ruefully, Li Shimin replied, One day I am not dead yet, it will pose a great threat to his emperor position. This time he is rushing to go into battle, precisely because he wants to suppress my outstanding military service. I want an affirmative answer, Kou Zhong. Li Shimin replied in distress, Thats right, Wang Xiong [brother king] wants to kill me. Kou Zhong said, These two answers, no one in the world does not know, the third question is the most important key, Shimin Xiong must answer honestly. Has lingzun [your esteemed father] stirred his desire tomit murder toward you? Indescribable sorrow appeared on Li Shimins face, his two eyes emitted all-hopes-entirely-became-froth-and-shadows despairing look, as he cast his gaze into the depths of the rain and snow, he sighed and said, When I found out that Fuhuang executed Jing Shu [uncle], myst ray of hope for Fuhuang finally died out. With one heart and one mind I fought the rivers and mountains for the Li Family, I never thought about the issue of reward, but the development of the situation has forced me step by step to a dead end. Im even more afraid that if something happens to me, Fuhuang would put those who have been following me to death and their family exterminated, and then the officers and soldiers under mymand stationed on the outside will rise up and dere independence, which will make our Li Tangs rivers and mountains all split up and in pieces. Ay! Kou Zhong pped his thigh and said, Shimin Xiong really understands people. In your current situation, you are taking a step back, so that you wont be put to death. Therefore, for your own sake, for the sake of your wife, children and rtives, for your subordinates and their families, even more, for themon people of the world, you must put aside all hesitation, and go all-out to deal with people who are father and son and brothers to you in name only, but with no father and son and brothers feeling - to the end, to fight for the final victory. To paraphrase Lao Bas famous remark, only those who are ruthless enough can survive. Shaken, Li Shimin repeated, Only those who are ruthless enough can survive? Kou Zhong reached out to put his arm around his shoulder, and said, Since we all be brothers again, naturally we are giving thought to you in everything. Let us imagine what will happen in the future, assuming that lingxiong sessfully defeat Liu Heita, he will return in triumph to the imperial court, to show off that his talent is not inferior to you. And then the imperial concubines under the demonic schools control will instigate lingzun to make thest move, which is to summon you back to Changan, and strip off your military power. When you no longer have the power to fight back, you will be put to death. Ziling and I will apany you into Changan to see how they are going to show off their military strength [idiom: to bluff], to impeach you wantonly without any scruple, to advance move by move. By the time they are so pleased as to lose their sense of measure [idiom], we will use the ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt momentum to thoroughly crush all the forces opposing you in Changan. Xiaodi can guarantee that when the timees, not only you will not feel the slightest bit of guilty conscience, you will feel greatly delighted, because you have had enough! Ha! This is the best opportunity to see who is your trusted aide or friend who are loyal to you. Li Shimin spoke in distress, Merely Wang Xiong and Wang Dis [older and younger brother king, respectively] coalition forces are already beyond what my Tian Ce Fu can deal with, let alone the imperial guards are firmly under Fuhuangs control, plus there are Dugu and Yuwen, two ns martial art masters supporting them, I am afraid it will weigh you down. Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling and said, Shall I tell him? Xu Ziling replied, We are all brothers, why must we conceal anything? Li Shimin revealed an astonished and puzzled expression. Kou Zhong chuckled softly and said, Shimin Xiong should know that the Duke Yang Treasure-house not only has storehouse within a storehouse, but it also has real and fake storehouses. This storehouse was really prepared for Yang Su in the past to support his rebellion, a masterpiece, the proud design of Lu Miaozi. Inside, there arerge quantities of superior quality weaponry, and there is a secret path leading to the outside of the city. If we use it properly, we can deploy a 3,000-man wonder-troops inside the storehouse. This aspect will be provided by me, I guarantee that all are martial art masters each one able to block one hundred, why would you be afraid of his Niangs Changlin Army imperial guards? Li Shimins entire body was violently shaken, he spoke in disbelief, Unexpectedly there is such an astonishing thing? Xu Ziling said, This matter is absolutely true, absolutely not a joking matter. Li Shimins eyes grew big, he was tongue-tied for quite a while, and then he looked at Kou Zhong and said, If you deploy your troops to Bashu and acquire Hanzhong, wouldnt it be easy to invade Changan? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, This was precisely our original n, too bad it was spoiled by our Shi Xianzi. Feixuan did not tell you? Li Shimin shook his head with nk expression, and spoke heavily, She did not! I only know you, Kou Zhong, let go of the opportunity to strike and defeat our Li Tang, and are helping me instead. Such a broad-minded and open character, upon self-inspection, I, Li Shimin, admit that even pping the horses butt, it will still be difficult for me to pursue. Xu Zilingughed and said, It should be Xiao Zhong who express his gratitude. He is having a headache because he might have to be the emperor, it is rare that you are willing to take his ce! Li Shimins pair of eyes shot a resolute expression, he spoke heavily, I realize now! You guys are really good to me, if I, Li Shimin, am still being wishy-washy, without enough aplishment, with failures in abundance, how can I deserve to be your brother? The rain and snow ended with the dawn, the three men gathered at the round table inside the cabin, having breakfast together, in quite a leisure and rxed atmosphere. Before Song Que agreed to support Li Shimin, Song Lu did not want to have a close rtionship with him, hence he was riding on the other warship. Kou Zhong suddenlyughed and said, Shimin Xiong, do you know why I am not afraid to take a big risk by taking you to go to Lingnan? Xu Ziling and Li Shimin understood that by taking a big risk, he was referring to if this matter was leaked out, it would be difficult for Li Shimin escape the heavy charge of treason of colluding with foreign enemies. Putting down his porridge, Li Shimin said in astonishment, Could it be it is not like what you said, to show respect toward Song Fazhu, to state clearly my determination by my action, and to persuade him personally, these three reasons? Kou Zhong suddenly changed the subject, Does Shimin Xiong have blood rtionship with Hu people [non-Han]? Li Shimin was slightly startled, he replied frankly, For many generations our Li Familys ancestors have been militarymanders that have close rtionship with the outside tribes of the Northwest. Niangs previous generation came from the Northwest. My current wife is of the Zhangsun n, in the previous generation, they belonged to the Tuoba n of the imperial family of the Wei of the Northern Dynasties [386-534], because they held governmental office, the chief of the imperial n changed their surname to Zhangsun. Therefore, looking at me, speaking about me, I do have blood rtionship with Hu people; I wont deny it. Looking at the living example of the great integration of the northern peoples, Kou Zhong smiled and said, Going to the bottom of the matter, the difference between Song Que and Fan Qinghui Zhaizhu is the argument whether our future Central Earths emperor is of the assimtion of the north side and the external tribes, or of the pure Han system in the south. And the only way to persuade Song Que is to start from this critical link. Shimin Xiong is going to personally demonstrate to Song Que that the Han people of the Hu transformation can be as outstanding as Shimin Xiong, and that you can absorb external tribes popr customs and culture to revitalize and strengthen the Han tradition of future generations. Li Shimins old face turned red, he said, You made me feel embarrassed! I hope it wont produce the opposite of the desired result. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, You wont have to worry about that, Song Ques eyesight is brilliant, it might be beyond your expectation, his words are like his Heavenly Saber, just a few rounds and he already understands you thoroughly. Song Que has already seen the overall situation, he also values individual, he once said that history is created by people, so I am confident that he will make the most proper choice. Ay! Xu Ziling was puzzled, Since you have full confidence, why did you sigh? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Dont get me wrong, I sighed because I remember Zhizhi, I remembered that in everything in the world, the yin and yang are opposite, the other side of love is hate, the deeper the love, the moreplicated it bes, hate is like that, the deeper the hatred, the moreplicated it is, hence the heart sighs with sorrow. Li Shimin asked Xu Ziling in a low voice, Is it the Song Familys Er Xiaojie [second miss; I thought she was the third Miss?] Yuzhi? Xu Ziling nodded slightly. Comforting Kou Zhong, he said, Dont think too much, as long as you are willing to take out your heart, no difficulty is insurmountable if one is sincere [idiom], I am certain that you will be able to restore Yuzhis feelings for you. Kou Zhong looked at Li Shimin, he suddenly asked, Is Princess Xiuning well? Stunned, Li Shimin nodded, hecked the words to answer Kou Zhongs abrupt question. Kou Zhong cast his gaze out of the window, while showing a sad expression, and sighed again. Li Shimin did not know what to think, he spoke emotionally, I believe fate more and more. Think about it, if at that time the two gentlemen did note to my boat to steal things, how would everything happen afterwards? Today we are sitting here even more, collectively scheming and joining forces to unify the world. Ay! When fatees, you cant escape from it. Fatees and fate goes, no one could fathom. Xu Ziling recalled the chance encounter with Shi Feixuan in Longquan City, one verbal misunderstanding turned their rtionship around; could it also be a form of fate? Knock! Knock! Knock! Xu Ziling responded, Come in! Im not asleep yet. Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered, he saw Xu Ziling, expressionless, sitting in a corner. Sitting next to him across the small table, he sighed and said, We could reach Lingnan by dusk tomorrow evening. Ay! Im really a bit worried. Worry about what? Xu Ziling asked. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, On the one hand, I am worried that Song Que would be furious and refuse to receive Li Shimin, and that he would even drive us away. I am also afraid that Zhizhi will tell me that spilt water is difficult to retrieve [idiom], so that like a beggar, I would have to go to another home; begging will be totally useless. Im afraid to have nightmares, hence I did not dare to sleep, and came to chat with you instead. Xu Ziling said, You are not overly optimistic, I feel a bit at ease instead. When we arrive in Lingnan, the first move is the most difficult move, a good start is crucial. How to make Song Que, with peaceful heart and calm qi, meet Shimin Xiong, that is the key. Kou Zhong said, I have a good discussion with Lu Shu, he is going to give a full ount to Song Que first, ay! This seems a bit uneasy to do, do you think I should go see him personally? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, But if you are having a fallout with him, you wont have any room to save the situation. Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, What wonder move can we to think of? Should I talk to Yuzhi first, and then let her talk to her Die? Xu Ziling said, The idea of the south unifying the north as the only way to revitalize the Han is deeply ingrained in his, the Seniors mind. Without any wonder move, it is very difficult to change his idea in a short while. pping his thigh, Kou Zhong said, Why dont you go and see him first? Stunned, Xu Ziling said, You want me to go see him? What good will it bring? Kou Zhong said, The good thing is that he will be seeing you for the first time, there should be a novel feeling. Before he figures out who you really are, he wont sweep you out of the Mo Dao Tang [grinding saber (or de) hall]. He should be interested in figuring out what kind of person you are, why you have this kind of way of thinking? That sort of thing. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, I should not to be shirked without dishonor [idiom]. Ay! Now its my turn to be afraid! Im afraid of the burden entrusted to me. Dont underestimate yourself, Kou Zhong encouraged him, The biggest difference between you and me is that in just one nce, a discerning person would know that you are that kind of genuine person who tries never to offend anybody [lit. good ole man], who live a simple life without any demand. Ha! You started as a drifter but never looked like a drifter. Personality traits are innate, it cant be pretended. Helpless, Xu Ziling had to nod and said, I will do my best! Kou Zhong blurted out without thinking, What were you thinking about just now? Was it Shi Feixuan? Or Shi Qingxuan? Xu Ziling smiled and said, You guessed wrong this time! Neither one. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Are you saying you are not worried about it? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Rationally, I have figured out this matter, as long as I can fulfill Feixuans cherished desire, to let her continue to focus on the pursuit of the heavenlyw, that will be the highest expression of my deep love for her. I should not disturb her pure cultivation anymore. Ay! Although between Qingxuan and I we have not pledged undying love, but when we are together, the entire heaven and earth seem to have changed, the feeling of happiness is so real. The distance between her and me is getting closer and closer, if I still dont know how to choose, not only I will hurt Feixuan, but I will let Qingxuan down even more. What do you think? Kou Zhong cheerfully, said, Absolutely agree. We must not only follow the guidance of the heart, but must also make a wise choice. Take me for example, since I have proposed marriage to Zhizhi, I have unswervingly persevered with thismitment, not to mention that she is indeed my dream. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, You are no longer distressed because of Shang Xiufang? Kou Zhong dejectedly said, Honestly, I would be lying to you if I say that I do not have the pain in my heart in this respect. However, when I am facing Shang Xiufang, I still remember Yuzhi from time to time, but when I am facing Yuzhi, I forget everything. It is thus clear that the most important in my heart is still Zhizhi. Ay! I really feel bad for Xiufang, she is such a touching woman worthy of respect and love, and to be cherished. Li Shimins voice came from outside the door, Can Ie in? Kou Zhong jumped up and pulled the door open, he invited Li Shimin to sit down in his original seat, while he sat on the edge of the bed. Shimin Xiong cant sleep either? he asked. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin replied, Very rarely I indulge in flights of fancy [idiom], but since I boarded the ship, unexpectedly I remembered many things that I thought I had forgotten a long time ago, including when I was young, I grew up in the martial arts hall by the Wei River. Niangs instruction seems to be still ringing in my ears. Since I was a child, I did not like studying, so I had to do equestrian archery. Niang often said that my character was too stubborn and unyielding, perhaps precisely due to this kind of temperament that I dont like to fawn on other people, which made Fuhuang dislike me more and more. Kou Zhong noticed that when he was speaking, his eyes gradually turned red. Hurriedly changing the topic, he said, Shimin Xiong should be more familiar with Changan than we are. If you want to fight a street fight at the Pce City, how much confidence do you have? Knitting his brows, Li Shimin said, The security measures deployment in the City of Changan will be changed every few days, this is in ordance with the Old Sui city defense method. On this aspect, only the four highestmanders of the Imperial Guards and Fuhuang know. Kou Zhong thought of his old friend Chang He, but he was Li Jianchengs man, to have him cooperating with Kou Zhong would really be not easy. Li Shimin sighed and said, Even though we have the Duke Yangs Treasure-house, this wonder move, we still cannot grasp it and victory is assured. Changans military strength is concentrated in the Pce City. Massive military forces have been stationed at the Xuanwu Gate for a long time. If we want our men to sneak into the treasure house the gods do not know the ghosts do not perceive, the number of people cannot be too many. In my opinion, three thousand men is the limit, plus they will have to be divided into smaller batches to enter the Pass over a long period of time. Therefore,pared to the twenty-thousand imperial guards and the several thousands of Changlin Army in Changan City, our strength is pitiful. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Hence the reason we must use wit and not brute strength, one day we cannot control the Xuanwu gate, one day it cannot be considered a sess. I wonder if Fu Cailin ising to Changan? Xu Ziling asked, Did Shimin Xiong hear about this? Li Shimin said, Fuhuang has formally granted Fu Cailins request for a visit. It is rumored that Fu Cailin has the intention to challenge Ning Daoqi and Song Que. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such matter, why didnt you tell me earlier? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, I did not want to spoil your good mood. Staring nkly, Li Shimin said, Didnt you have close rtionship with Fu Cailin? Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, This matter is hard to exin in a few words, Ill tell youter! It seems that Changan still has so many hard-to-guess variables. There is another variable, Li Shimin said, Fuxiong proposed to Fuhuang to invite the Tujues Wu Zun Bi Xuan to pay a visit. He hopes that via his huge influence, he could establish friendly rtions with the Tujue, and to relieve the pressure in the north, in order to deal with you and Song Fazhu. What? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling blurted out at the same time. Li Shimin said, Whether epting Fu Cailins visit or inviting Bi Xuan to Changan, both are parts of their strategy against you. The most ideal is that they challenge Song Que or Ning Daoqi, if they refuse to take up the challenge, they will suffer defeat in terms of prestige. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay. Ning Daoqi and Song Que both suffered internal injuries, who else in the world have the ability to deal with these two foreign grandmasters of martial arts? Ba Fenghan might be pleased with Bi Xuans arrival, but they were going to be terribly anxious for him. With these two grandmasters keeping watch over Changan, their grand n of facilitating the emperor, which was already making progress only with great difficulty, would have even more variables. The future was no longer within their grasp. Book 57 6 – Universal Love as One

Book 57 Chapter 6 - Universal Love as One

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia In the morning light, Xu Ziling stood on the bow, admiring the beautiful and touching mountains and waters [i.e. scenery] of the south. Kou Zhong came to his side and said, There are still about two sichen, and then I can see Zhizhi. What is the first thing I should say to her? For example, I have a big gift for you. No! That will be too cheap! I should be a bit humble like Ning Daoqi, saying something like I havee to Lingnan specifically to ask for Zhizhis forgiveness. Ay! That does not look like my usual style. Huh! Why dont you answer me? Ah, I know! You are thinking about the problem with Shi Feixuan and Shi Qingxuan. Ay! This is called easy to grasp but difficult to put into practice, I am fully aware that I shouldnt think about Shang Xiufang, but my heart fails to live up to expectations. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, People are always a bit more optimistic and energetic when they just got out of bed, Shimin Xiong still has not up yet? Kou Zhongughed and said, Dont change the subject, what optimistic and energetic thing did your little brains was thinking about? Revealing a pondering look, Xu Ziling said, I was thinking about the word that often hangs by Shi Zhixuans lips, which is the two-character ru wei [down to the smallest detail/fine and detailed]. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Turns out you were thinking about a problem in the martial art study; just consider me ming you wrongly. I have heard Shi Zhixuan say it as well, but it was used to mock my martial art skill has not reached the perfect level yet. I have also heard Song Que mentioned it. Humph! Ru wei? What does it mean? Xu Ziling looked at him, his pair of eyes was gleaming with a strange light of wisdom, he spoke indifferently, That should refer to some kind of a mystery within a mystery realm hidden inside the human body after it merges with the treasure-house, the realm that only martial art masters of Shi Zhixuan, Song Que caliber can understand. [Trantors note: the word bao ku could be tranted as treasure-house, or treasure-trove, often used figuratively to refer to the book of treasured wisdom.] Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Well said, Song Que often said that heaven, earth, and man are one. By man, isnt he referring to the treasure-house within the human body? Having method, but without any method, obtaining the saber [or de] but then forget the saber. After heaven, earth, and man be one, man is no longer a man, now that can be regarded as the genuine Moon in the Well realm. Neither empty nor real [or solid], neither real nor illusion. Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, You, this kids saber technique seems to make another breakthrough, at least in terms of realm, it is a bit higher than before. Kou Zhong said, Actually, we havent discussed and researched martial art study for a long time, because the war did not give us that kind of leisurely mood, and our hearts arepletely focused on the magnificent-army-with-thousands-of-men-and-horses Way of the War. But now that the situation has been reversed, not that I am bragging, but Ning Daoqi and my future father-inw have made it clear that they would no longer care about the things of the world. Therefore, in Wulin today, only the two of us plus Lao Ba left to support the scene. The ones we are dealing with are Shi Zhixuan, Bi Xuan, Fu Cailin, Yuwen Shang, You Pozi [granny, old woman], that kind of martial art masters. If we still cannot grasp the ru wei realm, we will still end up in the inferior position of only taking a beating like in the past. Xu Ziling said, We must pass this Song Que barrier first before we can put everything aside and focus our mind on the Martial Art Way. Kou Zhong said confidently, As long as we let him, the Senior to see Li kid, he will definitely be able to untie the tight knot. Song Que is a person with discerning eyes, otherwise he cant possible look upon me, ha! Frowning, Xu Ziling said, I always feel that with me going to see him first is a bit inappropriate. Kou Zhong said, In that case, the three of us might as well stepped into the Mo Dao Tang to meet him. How about using wonder troops for a surprise attack? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, That will be a bad start. We absolutely must not let Song Que feel that we are using tricks and schemes on him, we should use a newborn babys sincerity to seek after his approval. Kou Zhong sighed and said, What you said is very reasonable. In that case, let us wait respectfully outside the Mo Dao Tang for his favor to receive us, with Lu Shu going in to ask for instructions. We will thus submit to the will of heaven, ay! It really gives me a headache. This moment two Song Family warships wereing fast to meet them, Song Lu appeared on the other ship traveling together with Kou and Xus, and greeted the approaching Song Family navy ship. They finally arrived in Lingnan. Song Lu waited until the two ships got close to each other and then he soared into the air andnded on the deck, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came forward to greet him. His expression strange, Song Lu said Lets go inside the hall to talk. Li Shimin stood outside the cabin door, he saw the two entering the cabin with Song Lu and signaling him, thereupon he followed them into the cabin. Inside the cabin, they sat down around the table. Song Lu said, Dage already knew you wereing to Lingnan, these two ships have been waiting for a day. Hearing that, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Li Shimin, three men looked at each other in dismay. Xu Ziling asked, Does Fazhu know about Kou Zhonging to Lingnan, or is he clear about Shimin Xiong? Song Lu took out a letter from his pocket and spread it out on the table, Just look at it! The three men cast their eyes towards the letter, which said, Bring him to Mo Dao Tang seven characters [dai ta dao mo dao tang] brimming with calligraphic quality. There was no addressee, there was no signature. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, This is impossible, could it be that the information has leaked out? Hearing that, Li Shimin and Xu Zilings countenance changed. Song Lu said, Precisely like Xiao Zhong said, this is impossible. How did Dage know? Shaken Li Shimin said, Could it be that Fan Zhaizhu has seen Fazhu one step ahead of us? Xu Ziling shook her head and said, She practically did not know that we would go to Lingnan. Song Lu said, I thought about that possibility, so I asked them, there have been no outsiders visiting Lingnan recently. Kou Zhong exhaled slowly and said, It doesnt matter if she has been here or not, it will save us a lot of effort. Now this whole thing is in Fazhus hands. Lets go to the Mo Dao Tang together to listen to his instructions! And then he acted like wanted to say something but hesitated, in the end he did not say anything. Song Lu smiled and said, Yuzhi went to Poyang, but she should be back tonight. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, when he saw Song Yuzhi tonight, most likely he would not be the Song Familys future son-inw anymore. Under Song Lus arrangement, the three of them boarded a sealed-up horse-drawn carriage to secretly take them up the mountain city, and arrived outside the Mo Dao Tang. Revisiting the once familiar ce, Kou Zhong recalled the instruction he received from Song Que, which led to him making a breakthrough in the Way of the Saber; he was ovee with a peculiar feeling. Get in! Song Lu said. Noticing his grave expression, Kou Zhong sighed in his heart, and led the way. Xu Ziling and Li Shimin followed behind him, they were both shaken and intimidated by the magnificence of Mo Dao Tang, lofty admiration for Song Que grew in their hearts. The three silently stepped onto the long stone steps of Mo Dao Tang, passed the main gate, and arrived at the main hall. Like a deep pool, erect like the highest peak of a mountain ridge, Song Que stood in front of the whetstone, his deep, unfathomable eyes fell on Kou Zhong first, then moved to Xu Ziling, and was finally fixed on Li Shimin. The three promptly saluted and paid their respects. Without saying a word Song Que, his hands behind his back, walked towards the three, passed through Li Shimins side, and stopped at the main gate. Looking at the front garden under the illumination of the setting sun, he spoke indifferently, You may be wondering why Ol Song can predict without being a irvoyant that Qin Wang is honoring us with his presence? Kou Zhong nodded behind his back and said, Indeed we remain puzzled after pondering over it a hundred times. Song Que spoke softly, Because I received Fan Qinghuis letter, the first letter in forty years. Do you get it? Until now, Kou Zhong still could not figure out Song Ques intention, he said, But Qinghui Zhaizhu had no idea that we would go to Lingnan to pay our respects to Fazhu. Song Que sighed lightly and said, Qinghui did not mention that you, two brothers would apany Qin Wang to see me, she only mentioned past events, with only a few words concerning you, hoping that I will be able to empathize with your painstaking effort. Finished speaking, he looked up to the sky and sighed again. Suddenly he paced back again, walked past Xu Zilings side, and stopped with his back against them about ten paces away, he spoke heavily, If I cannot guess that you woulde together to see me, would Song Que still be Song Que? In other words, if Qin Wang is unwilling to personally meet Ol Song, what else is there to say? Shaken, Kou Zhong said, In that case, there is still room for negotiation! Song Que turned around like a whirlwind, the divine light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he ran his eyes over the three men back and forth, and spoke with a cold snort, Do you know? Now you are standing before my eyes, this is precisely the decisive moment in the forty years that Qinghui and I have pitted against each other. If I refuse, Qinghui will immediately loses this trial of strength. Hearing that, all three men felt their scalp went numb, even though they had thousands of words, they could not speak out half a word. Song Ques gaze fell on Xu Ziling. Beyond the three mens expectation, unexpectedly he revealed the first hint of smile, and spoke slyly, What makes Ziling think that Qin Wang will be a good emperor? Hope grew inside the three mens heart at the same time, because Song Que was at least interested in getting to know Li Shimin. Xu Ziling knew that one wrong answer might lead topletely different results. He respectfully replied, Wanbei [younger generation] had for a very long time thought that Shimin Xiong would make a good emperor. In retrospect, it might be because of Shimin Xiongs Tian Ce Fu is like the epitome of the imperial court, where Shimin Xiong and the imperial strategic advisers, the officers and soldiers under hismand, are always researching the ways to govern the world, and their achievements in practice are even more obvious to all. Good answer! Song Que shouted, To be the ruler, one must first have the way of governance before one can put it into practice. Qin Wang, please answer me, what effective prescription [fig. good n] do you have to rule the country? Li Shimin met Song Ques sharp, able to pierce leather, wood, metal and stone - gaze, and responded modestly, Shimin has surveyedprehensively the rise and fall of the dynasties over the past three generations, and came to the conclusion that the monarch must implement the rule of enlightenment, ept advice and appoint worthy or virtuous person, to put benevolence and righteousness first, only then will the people obey. The Zhous [dynasty (1046-256 BC)] Kong Ru teachings [i.e. Confucianism] are never feasible in troubled times; the Shangs [dynasty (c. 1600-1046 BC)] and Hans [one of the Seven Hero States of the Warring States] criminalw, from the quiet, peaceful era, became the politics that disturb the people. Therefore, Shimin believes that in order to achieve the goal of the big governance of the world, it is necessary to use benevolence and righteousness as the foundation, reason andw as the inessential detail, and respect, courtesy and morality as the humble punishment. Song Que spoke with astonishment, Qin Wang actually thinks highly of Kong Mengs [Confucius and Mencius] benevolent governance; indeed it is beyond my expectation. In that case, I will ask you another question. Since ancient times, although the emperors martial art [or military aplishments] is enough to pacify and subdue our Central Earth Huaxia [old name for China], yet it was unable to subdue the barbarians [orig. yidi, non-Han tribes in the east and north of ancient China]. In this aspect, I wonder if Qin Wang has any unique and different view. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay. This was a difficult problem that no one since ancient times was able to resolve, how should Li Shimin answer? But if he could not answer, perhaps the three of them would be immediately swept out of the Mo Dao Tang by Song Que. Who would have thought that Li Shimin remained calm and unhurried, he calmly replied, Since ancient times, bright rulers havee forth in our Huaxia inrge numbers, people who can praise and ept advice, and are generous and tolerant, can be found everywhere. Only in dealing with outside tribes, all adopted the Huaxia is noble, the yidi is lowly, which gives birth to loathing, rather die than submit - attitude. Shimin is untalented [humble way to say I], if I could ascend the imperial throne, then it does not matter whether Huaxia or yidi, there will be universal love as one. Those who dont submit will be punished [by military campaign], after they are subdued, they will be treated as the same country, without guessing and guarding against, those who are able will be put to government position, the tribal chiefs asmander-in-chief and provincial governor, and be given a high degree of autonomy. This is Shimins humble opinion, Fazhu, please bestow directions. Song Que, his pair of eyes did not blink at all, stared at Li Shimin. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling groaned inwardly, Song Que had always viewed the outside tribes as the enemy, Li Shimins opinion must be running in the opposite direction to the firm view in Song Ques heart. However, the two admired Li Shimin in their hearts at the same time, they had crashed their way through the area beyond the Great Wall, they knew the enmity between the Han people and the various tribes outside the Great Wall better than anybody, all because the monarch of the Central Earth adopted the Huaxia is noble, the yidi is lowly - attitude. Therefore, Li Shimins universal love policy hit the problem at the core. Li Shimin sensed the peculiar atmosphere, he smiled bitterly and said, Although fully aware that Fazhu dont like to hear it, this is indeed the genuine way of thinking in Shimins heart, I dare not hide it. Without saying a word, Song Que turned slowly, took a stride toward the whetstone, unhurried and tranquil, he spoke softly, Kou Zhong, tell me, why did you have the guts to bring Qin Wang here to see me, Song Que? Kou Zhong sighed and said, First of all, because of Qin Wangs ruthless determination, willing to sweep away all obstacles for the sake of themon people. Another prerequisite is that we must obtain your, the Seniors nod of approval, otherwise everything will be invalidated. Ay! The current situation Song Que cut him off, saying, Dont talk nonsense, I, Song Que know the current situation better than anyone, furthermore, I did not me your heart at all, I know even more about what kind of person you, Kou Zhong, are. And then he turned around to face Li Shimin, and spoke slowly, word by word, Did Qin Wang determine to punish [older] brother and kill [younger] brother, and force father to abdicate? Li Shimins entire body shook violently, he hung his head down and said, Shimin gave my word to Shaoshuai, I definitely will not renege. Song Que threw his head back inughter, he said, Good! This is a painful decision for anyone, but you have no other choice. How are you going to clear up the aftermath? Both Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were stunned, because they never thought about the problems after putting Jiancheng, Yuanji in order. Without the slightest hesitation, Li Shimin replied, Stability in everything is the supreme goal, we must first implement a leniency policy, whoever is willing to receive appointment from me, I will never care about whether they are the East Pce or Qi Wangs former subordinates, Wang Xiong, Wang Dis people, reconciliation is the main objective. Song Que strolled slowly and stopped in front of Li Shimin, tranquil and calm and at ease, he said, Qin Wang must think carefully. Li Shimin said dejectedly, As Fazhu said, Shimin has no other choice. Song Que looked up at the beams of the room, his pair of eyes emitted a reminiscing, sad expression, and he spoke softly, Ol Song is beginning to understand why Qinghui could support you. Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, Fazhu is willing to consider our proposal? Song Que cast his gaze on Kou Zhong, he said, Actually, I have withdrawn from the dispute over the world a long time ago, leaving everything to you, Kou Zhong. The one making decision should be you, not me. Why did youe to seek Song Ques opinion? Xu Ziling said, Without Fazhus nod of approval, Xiao Zhong would never dare to proceed presumptuously. Song Que smiled indifferently. Fixing his gaze on Li Shimin, he said, Shimins words that can really move me is your attitude to regard yidi and our Han peoples as one. This is something that Ol Song never thought of and would never do. So I began to understand what Qinghui said about our Central Earths future hope lies in the Hu-Han agreeable new generation. I still dont know whether this method is feasible, but I do know that Shimins way of thinking is unprecedented, and this is precisely the reason Shimin surpasses the previous generations, the ancients. After all, Shimin is a Han going through Hu transformation of the Northern Dynasties, your idea of Yi-Xia differences is weak, which is very different from Ol Songs. Seeing that Song Ques attitude greatly rxed, Kou Zhong put forward a suggestion, Fazhu once said that history is created by humans. In that case, I wonder if we could ignore any controversy and create a flourishing period on the basis of our great effort to createrge-scale unification of the world and long-term peace and stability! Let themon people of the world, whether north or south, pass their auspicious days in peace and happiness? Song Queughed aloud, he turned around and walked towards the whetstone with his hands behind his back, and spoke leisurely, Speaking about governing the world, Kou Zhong, you are definitely not as good as Li Shimin, what else can I say? Li Shimin, you have to remember with reverence, to obtain the world, one must not speak extravagantly about benevolence and righteousness; that is merely an excessive tendency to clemency [orig. the benevolence of women]. But to govern the world, benevolence and justice must be the first, so benevolent government will be put in ce. Jealousy must not ovee self, evil over upright, but must respect virtuous person and the wise, not showing pity to the unworthy. Yang Guang perished, you must draw a lesson from him. Water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it. Speaking about military aplishment, who can surpass Ying Zheng? However, the country perished in his sons hands. The wise and just Son of Heaven attaches most importance to the people, the tyrannical person abandoned and not used them. Therefore, as the ruler, one must use the past as a mirror, be prepared for danger in times of peace, Shimin must be cautious. Kou Zhong was overjoyed, Fazhu agrees with us! Song Que turned around slyly, the divine light his pair of eyes shing, he spoke indifferently, I am weighing the pros and cons, and have no choice but to make anotherpromise, other than with Yang Jian. Kou Zhong, you have the power to obtain the world, but you have no ambition to govern the world. With Shimin doing it for you, I can set my mind at rest. If I shake my head and say no, the world will fall into north-south confrontation, making the outside yi [barbarians] watching for a gap to invade, no one knows when the chaos and the fire of war will end. In the end, Qinghui still wins! If not for the battle against Ning Daoqi, with me, Song Que presiding over the overall situation, what cant be done? Thats it! Let the worlds affairs be handled by you, these young people. Now that you have obtained my all-around support, you can have a free hand to fulfill your dreams. But one day you are still unable to control the whole situation, this matter must be kept secret. You may go! I will meditate on some questions alone. The three of them were greatly delighted, they saluted and expressed their thanks, and withdrew from the Mo Dao Tang. Song Lu had been waiting impatiently for a long time. Seeing the three mens happy expressions, he said in surprise, Unexpectedly Dage is willing to give you a nod? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Fazhu promised us his full support. Song Lu was greatly delighted, Thank Heaven and thank the Earth! he said. Song Ques voice was suddenly heard from inside the hall, Kou Zhong,e here! he said. Kou Zhong was stunned; turning around, he walked back into Mo Dao Tang. Song Lu watched as Kou Zhongs back disappearing inside the door, he said, What instructions did Dage have? Li Shimin replied, Fazhu instructed that this matter must be kept secret, no rumors can be leaked. Song Lu nodded and said, You should hide into the boat first, and then after Xiao Zhong has seen Yuzhi, leave immediately. Xu Ziling and Li Shimin exchanged nces, lofty admiration toward Song Que welled up in their hearts. Although it was the first time they met Song Que, but Song Ques standing-tall-and-seeing-far wisdom, as well as his big-tolerance aspiration, deeply moved them. Book 57 7 – Starting Afresh

Book 57 Chapter 7 - Starting Afresh

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong came behind the staring-fixedly-at-the-whetstone Song Que, What instructions does Fazhu have? he spoke respectfully. Song Que replied indifferently, This person Li Shimin, I have been paying attention to him for a long time! Kou Zhong recalled Feng Deyi, he nodded and said, Fazhu once said that apart from Xiaozi [this kid], the person whom you admire the most is him. Song Que was silent for half a day, he spoke heavily, If I tly rejected your proposal just now, what do you think the situation of the world be like? Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Fortunately, that is not the case. If that happens, I have no choice but to continue the military expedition to the north, Shimin Xiong would be ughtered by thebined hands of his father and brothers, immediately afterwards, Xielis main forces will go down south, and the north will fall into all-split-up-and-in-pieces situation. Song Que slowly shook his head and said, Li Shimin would not be that useless. He will use Luoyang as his base of operations to establish his power. Relying on his prestige, political power and military aplishments, there will be a day that he will unify the north and drive away the Tujue. Li Shimin has one strong point that you cannot match, which is the patience to persevere to the end. If you are unable to capture Luoyang in a spurt of energy, you will lose thest battle because of this. Therefore, if I disagree with you, whether you can seed or not, you only have fifty-fifty chance. This hasnt taken your inner demon into ount. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Fazhu insight is very urate. If I did not get Fazhus nod of approval, I could only force myself to continue fighting. But one would know his own familys affairs, I will no longer be as unhindered as I was in the past, putting my heart and soul into the battle for hegemony over the world, and Ziling will not understand me. Song Que slowly turned around, he stared fixedly at him, and said calmly, Tell me honestly, you are willing to risk offending me like this,ing to ask me, how much is that for Yuzhi? Shaken, Kou Zhong hung his head down and said, At least fifty-percent, the other fifty-percent is for Ziling, other things are not important. I am confident that I can ovee everything, I am practically not afraid of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, I am not afraid of Li Shimin either. I have the confidence to destroy Li Shimin before he could firmly establish the foot of his troop disposition and fly his banner on a solitary tree [idiom: to stand out, to develop ones own school]. No one in the world can stop me, because I have sessfully mastered the saber technique of two persons facing off against each other that Fazhu taught and integrated them into military strategy of the magnificent army with thousands of men and horses striving for victory on the battlefield. Song Que threw his head back in longughter, he cheerfully said, After all, Kou Zhong is Kou Zhong. You finally seeded in building the confidence of certain victory on the battlefield. The rare thing is that you arepletely without ambition for fame and position and power. Yuzhi ought to be proud of you, and I, Song Que, also have a qualified sessor to carry on my undertaking. Remembering Song Shidao, Kou Zhong hurriedly said, Of course Fazhu has a qualified sessor to carry on your undertaking. ErGe is at the Flying Horse Ranch appraising the Ranchs collections for Shang Changzhu, in the near future, he might also propose marriage to Shang Changzhu. As long as Fazhu approves, he will be able to conclude the marriage pledge. The divine light in Song Ques pair of eyes suddenly red out, he spoke in heavy voice, Unexpectedly there is such thing? This matter is absolutely true, Kou Zhong replied, They fell in love at first sight in Changan. However, due to the limited situation, the rtionship could not develop further. Now that all obstacles no longer exist, it will naturally be where water flows, a canal is formed [idiom: a matter of course]. Ha! Fazhu didnt know how much effort Ziling and I spent on this matter, so that lovers can be husband and wife. Song Ques mighty body trembled slightly, he nodded and said, Shidao finally got back on the right path. In this matter, you and Ziling have done very well. And then he took out a bamboo tube sealed with firecquer and handed it to Kou Zhong, saying, Send this letter to Fan Qinghui on my behalf. As for how to help Li Shimin ascending to the imperial throne, you have full authority to make decisions. I must be free of distractions to heal my injury with all my strength, I cannot participate in your affairs. Go! Li Shimin is an ideal choice, Qinghui cant possible misjudge him, and I, Song Que will not misjudge him either. The three people gathered in Xu Zilings cabin on the ship, their mood was very different. With Song Ques support, the way forward was clear and definite, it would only depend on what kind of means and strategies they use to achieve their goals. Kou Zhong, sitting on the edge of the bed, said, We must first set up a fast and secretwork to make each other aware of the other sides situation, and thus can cooperate with each other like seamless heavenly clothes. Li Shimin nodded in agreement, he said, There should be no problem in this regard, Pang Yu has always been responsible for the intelligence gathering, as long as he filters his men, reces them with absolutely loyal and intelligent persons, he can meet Shaoshuais requirements. Kou Zhong said cheerfully, Im not very good at this, but Lu Shu is an expert. Have Pang Yu go see Lu Shu, so they can work out the most feasible and effective method. Li Shimin said, When I get back at Kaifeng, I will immediately send Pang Yu to see Lu Shu. After a short pause, he spoke heavily, Whether you can sneak into Guanzhong secretly is the key to sess or failure, let me make arrangements in this aspect. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If we need your, LaoGes help, of course we will not be polite. But my current thinking is that it is not suitable for you to get involved in this matter at the moment, so that even if we are discovered, you can still push it one and all away. We will enter Shu via Hanzhong. On the surface, it will be like we are spreading our voice wide [idiom: wide publicity], but there will be real and empty moves within it. The real move is to attack Lin Shihong and Xiao Xian; the empty move is to march into Bashu and Xiangyang respectively, so that people will not be suspicious. Xu Ziling reminded him, If we march into Bashu, but suddenly retreated, someone is bound to be suspicious. Li Shimin said, Ziling, no need to worry, we have had a meeting to study this. We only thought that due to Song Que and Xie Huis rtionship, the Song Family Army is postponing the attack on Shu. Xu Ziling sighed and said, The thing Im most worried about is Shi Zhixuan. This person has the wisdom to understand the heaven, his knowledge and experience are not something that Kou Zhong and I can reach, if he is able to catch a glimpse of spiders thread and horse track [i.e. clues], he may be able to deduce about our alliance, if that happens, the development of the situation will be beyond our control. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Shi Zhixuan indeed gives us headaches, if it were someone else, we could get rid of him first by fair means or foul, but toward Shi Zhixuan, all these methods are useless. Besides, dispatching three thousand elite troops secretly sent into Guanzhong via Hanzhong, we need at least two-month time, during this period of time, our rtionship and operation must not see the light. Li Shimin said, Even if as soon as I return to Luoyang Fuhuang summons me back to Changan, I can still dy it for ten days to half a month using various excuses. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, You have already dyed one time, this time it wont be appropriate to repeat the old tricks. Moreover, in the punitive expedition against Liu Dage, your huangxiong [emperor (older) brother] has the full authority to preside over it, there is no reason for your dy. The worst case will be your old Die will charge you with the crime of viting the imperial order, and strip you of your military power. That will be the biggest disaster to our n, therefore, you must obediently listen to instructions and obey him, so that your old Die will have no way to punish you. Li Shimin smiled and said, I suddenly have the longing for life in the wilderness of Jianghu. Since Fuhuang ascended to the throne and gave me military power, my subordinates only obey my orders, no one dares to speak to me like Shaoshuai. Its both fresh and a delight to hear. Kou Zhong said cheerfully, Your mood is much better than before! Li Shimin spoke sincerely, Although I might lose two siblings, but I have you, two real brothers to make up for it, we all are exhausting mental and physical efforts with the same goal for the sake of themon people of the world, what is there to regret? Xu Ziling stretched out his hand and said heavily, One day be brothers! Kou Zhong and Li Shimin separately extended their hands, three hands sped together, they spoke together, We are brothers for life! The three menughed aloud before separating. Kou Zhong said, In any case, the day Shimin Xiong enters Changan will be the time Ziling and I arrive in Changan, so that if something goes wrong, we can protect Shimin Xiong and your family to escape from the treasure house. Naturally I hope that things will not develop to that point, and fortunately, this possibility is negligible. No matter how your honorable Fuhuang dislikes you, in this dangerous time of freezing winter, he will not dare to risk the Great Tang Kingdom all split up and in pieces by putting you to death. He will only advance step by step, and we will counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir [idiom]. His Niangs! I wonder if we could dupe people by passing ourselves off as a figure of authority [idiom] by using Situ Furongs guise to enter the city? Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Situ Furong? Wouldnt that just give Shi Zhixuan a chance to expose us? Li Shimin already knew about this matter from Li Jing early on, hence he was not baffled and not knowing what they were talking about. Kou Zhong said, This is precisely the most direct way to test Shi Zhixuan, to see if he would consider it for Qingxuans sake, and not uncover us. Also, it could pull a snake from its hole, based on how Shi Zhixuan conduct himself, plus he is being supnted by the faction headed by Zhao Deyan, he should not act blindly without thinking. If hees to trouble us, we will change ording to the situation to deal with him ande to a big solution. His Niangs! I, Kou Zhong am really not afraid of him now. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Our rtionship with Shi Zhixuan is ambiguous and subtle, but is this risk worth taking? If something happens, many innocent people will be implicated. Kou Zhong said, As long as Qingxuan is willing toe to Changan, Shi Zhixuan problem will not exist. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, I dont want her to be involved in this matter. Kou Zhong said, Then tell Shi Zhixuan that his daughter wille to Changan to look for you, that was what Qingxuan said herself, so we are cheating neither old nor young [idiom], ha! Xu Ziling said, Can we hide from Ke Dazhi? Kou Zhong replied dejectedly, Thats impossible. And then theres Bi Xuan; with his eyesight, he only need one look at us, no matter how we pretend to be in contact with supernatural beings [idiom: engaging in hocus-pocus], it will only be aughingstock. Ay! We have no choice but to sneak in, hiding by day ande out at night like a mouse, or perhaps simply hide in Shimin Xiongs bedroom. But that way we cant protect Shimin Xiong, plus we will be in apletely passive inferior position, which is greatly detrimental to our n. Li Shimin spoke with serious expression, Two gentlemen should know that usually there is no polo tournaments in Changan in the winter. Immediately Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings spirit was greatly lifted. Kou Zhong said, In that case, as long as we can avoid Ke Dazhi and Bi Xuan, we should be safe and sound. Li Shimin was puzzled, Even if Bi Xuan reallyes to Changan, your chances of meeting him are slim, but Ke Dazhi is hard to say. Why dont you assassinate him one step ahead? Once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved, he said. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, We cant do that, because he is a brother who has fought side by side and going through fire and water with us. We even want to ask Shimin Xiong to spare his life. Kou Zhong said, There is still one person who we cannot but to guard against, which is Yang Xuyan. Fortunately, he rarely shows his face in public, so that the chance of running into him is not great. If Shimin Xiong can supply us the information about his movement, we will be very happy to dispose of him. With Ziling and I, perhaps plus Lao Ba, I guarantee that once he enters the game, even if he masters some Bu Si Yin Fa or some kind of pain-in-the-butt Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Shi Jing, as well as grows wings, it will still be difficult to fly. Li Shimin spoke with determination, Without taking a bit of risk, how could we achieve great things? As long as we draw up contingency ns to deal with various situations, plus we change ording to the situation, we certainly can turn misfortune into blessings. Remember, when did you guys ever have tail wind and flow with the current? Yet you could still create all kinds of illusions in the south to make people think that you are outside the Pass. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Shimin Xiong indeed has enough guts. His grannys bear, that will be our decision then. From here back to Liangdu, we have plenty of time to get our Zhuge Liang out. They heard the sound of footsteps, followed by Song Lus voice outside the door, Xiao Zhong! Yuzhi is here! Kou Zhongs entire body shook violently, he sprang up. Noticing Li Shimin and Xu Ziling were staring nkly at him, he stuck out his chest and said, Affairs of the heart [orig. qing chang - emotion/feeling field] is like a battlefield [zhan chang], Xiaodi is going to war, hoping that I dont have to sacrifice my life for the country! Song Yuzhi was dressed in tight warrior outfit, her beautiful hair was tied up into a pair of buns on the top of her head. Underneath she wore riding boots and leggings, with a treasured sword hanging on her back. Evidently she had just rushed back from afar, barely dismounted from her horse and immediately she came to see Kou Zhong. Seeing her sitting quietly, leaning on the table, with windblown dust look on her face, Kou Zhong felt great pity, hepletely forgot about Song Lu retreating quietly. He even forgot about anyone and anything outside of this ce. Under her lightly-knitted pretty eyebrows, carrying a bit of cold and detached expression, her beautiful eyes staring fixedly at him, he sat down on the other side of the table. The two persons eyes met. Suddenly a thousandyers of huge waves surged in Kou Zhongs heart, as he thought about myriads of things in the past, whether the two of them were in life and death confrontation, or in the decisive battle among magnificent army with thousands of men and horses; any personal fame and position, power, honor or disgrace, even the unending task of establishing and maintain hegemony of unifying the world, in the end, it was still the feeling of the heart, it could not be one fen [unit of length, approx. 1/3 cm] more, could not be one hao [a hairsbreadth] less, the question was whether it met their needs. But at this moment, his heart was full to the brim with the jade person [i.e. beautiful woman] before his eyes, who has suffered enough from his torture; everything else became pale inparison. Song Yuzhi spoke indifferently, San Shu [third uncle] refuses to tell me why you came to Lingnan, he insisted that I must ask you personally. At this moment where the wind and the cloud sprang up everywhere [i.e turmoil], Shaoshuai still have time for a separate task? Thump! Thump! Thump! Kou Zhongs heart was thumping wildly, his whole body was fired up. If he could make the beautiful woman in front of him happy and merry, he had nothing else to ask for in life. At this moment, he was wholeheartedly grateful to Xu Ziling, if not for himing right at him and beat him on the head [practice in which a novice monk is shouted at or hit with a stick with the purpose of bringing about instant awakening (Buddhism)], he, Kou Zhong would make the Central Earths sky and the earth turning upside down, copsing and falling apart. Now that the goal was clear, he and Li Shimin would work at the same pace to attain the peaceful reunification of the world, while also restoring Song Yuzhis love for him, which was the most precious thing in life he has always longed for to obtain. Song Yuzhi furrowed her eyebrows even deeper, slightly impatient, she said, Has Shaoshuai turned mute? Kou Zhong fought hard to suppress the urge to throw himself forward and pull her tightly into his arms, to sense her trembling fragrant body. His throat dried up, he spoke hoarsely, Zhizhi was unwilling to see me, I have no choice but toe to Lingnan. Song Yuzhi revealed a touching expression of me, she said with a sneer, Shaoshuai seems to forget that you bear heavy responsibilities, how could you casually abandon your proper business casually? Arent you afraid Die will me you? Kou Zhong took a deep breath and said, I aming to Lingnan today to formally propose a marriage to Zhizhi, because the previously decided engagement has already be invalid. Now I, Kou Zhong no longer have any chance to be the lord of the world, Im just amoner, whether Zhizhi is willing to give yourself wholly to marry a man of lower social status, it is entirely dependent upon whether Zhizhi is willing to nod or not. Song Yuzhis pretty face suddenly turned pale, her tender body shook violently, she said, What are you talking about? Are you insane? Die With upright heart and sincerity, Kou Zhong said, In my life, there has never been a moment where I know what Im doing and what I want to get than this moment, and that is to live together with Zhizhi, only envious of mandarin ducks and not being envious of immortals - in rxed, blissful life. I vowed from now on to put aside all actions to strive for and pursue hegemony, and only do, with all my heart and with all my strength, anything so that Zhizhi may obtain the greatest happiness and joy, to hold your hand, and to grow old together. Today I am like a prodigal son who get back on the right path. It was only not long ago that I started to know where my hometown. There has never been a moment when I better understand Zhizhis thinking of ??not wanting Lingnan to be drawn into the worlds chaotic big maelstrom, because I myself am in it, and I deeply felt and experienced all kinds of fearful possibilities of the future. Song Yuzhis pair of eyes emitted disbelief expression, she bit her lower lip, and hung her cicada head low for quite half a day. She spoke a low voice, Dont fool around, Shaoshuai thinks you can still withdraw and retreat now? Kou Zhong said, For Zhizhi, I can do anything. On this warship, besides me, there are Ziling and another person whom Zhizhi wont be able to guess. Stunned, Song Yuzhi looked at him, she could not hide her astonishment. Staring at him, she said, Unexpectedly you are serious! Kou Zhong rose up to his full height, moved to her side, went down on one knee, his left hand pressed on his chest, his right hand grasped the armrest. Fixing his gaze on Song Yuzhi, he said, Its about our lifelong happiness, how could I dare to fool around? The person that you cannot guess is the true lord who will unify the world in the future, Ziling and I will do everything we can and strive hard to help him ascend to the imperial throne, because we are convinced that he is the best candidate to be the emperor. Song Yuzhis lips trembling lightly, she asked, Who is he? Kou Zhong replied slowly, word-by-word, Li Shimin! Song Yuzhis tender body shook severely, she said, How could Die agree? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, We have already obtained the Seniors full support. Song Yuzhis tender body trembled again, hot tears gushed out of her pair of eyes, she reached out with her trembling hand to stroke Kou Zhongs face, she whimpered, Kou Zhong! Ah! Kou Zhong! You As if he was holding a very precious object, Kou Zhong held up her fragrant and soft jade hands with both hands, lightly kissed the hollow of her palms with his lips, his soul was melting, he said, My Laotianye, turns out being able to move Zhizhi to forget all my past mistakes is so moving. After the Changan affair is concluded, I am going toe back to have bridal chamber and ornamented candles [idiom: wedding festivities] with Zhizhi, ha! Oh! With tears of joy hanging on it, Song Yuzhis pretty face appeared to blush; feigning anger coquettishly, her manner was so attractive. Hanging her small cicada head, she spat and said, Have I agreed to marry you? Losing what he has just obtained, Kou Zhong looked in despair as Song Yuzhi pulled back her jade hands, but suddenly he was smiling mischievously as he said, If you, Song Er Xiaojie [Second Miss] does not marry me, may I ask who would have enough guts to marry you? Because it would not work unless he obtained permission from the Moon in the Well in my, Kou Zhongs hand and the Shao Shuai Army. Besides, the future emperor is a brother who treat one another with absolute sincerity [idiom], and whose gratitude and grudges are intertwined with me, Kou Zhong. Trust me, we will be the best couple in the world. Song Yuzhi glowered at him and said, Look at you! You still have that revolting behavior, love to boast shamelessly. Kou Zhong felt every pore on his body, as if they all agree by chance - cheered together; he finally got Song Yuzhi. He was caught in absolute disappointment over this matter, and was tortured by the having-the-heart-but-not-the-strength painful feeling, but now, what seemed impossible has finally happened, Song Yuzhi has never tried to tease him in such manner. Blurted outughing, he said, That is precisely Xiaozis [this kid] unique feature, knowing that you, Er Xiaojie are so tired to the point that you are agitated when everybody bows respectfully with sped hands in deadly earnest toward you, Xiaozi is doing good to you, otherwise how can I win your fragrant heart? Ay! I have to go! How about I ask Ziling and Qin Wang toe over and say hello to you? Can I introduce you as my fiance? Song Yuzhi suddenly floated up from the chair and flew toward the exit; gracefully she turned her tender body around, her pretty face, with the tears had not dried up yet, revealed a happy and bashful expression, mixed with displeasure and distress, but also joyous, she spoke softly, Zhizhi do not wish to see anybody,e back alive and see me, dont try to be brave, attach most importance to the overall situation. You hear me? Kou Shaoshuai! Finished speaking, she left like a burst of fragrant breeze. Book 57 8 – Flower of Passion, Fruit of Love

Book 57 Chapter 8 - Flower of Passion, Fruit of Love

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong partedpany with Li Shimin and Xu Ziling in Liangdu, Li Shimin and Xu Ziling continued northward. Li Shimin naturally had to rush back to Luoyang, while Xu Ziling wanted to deliver Song Ques letter to Fan Qinghui, as well as to report thetest situation to her and Shi Feixuan. Kou Zhong had just climbed up the dock;ing to meet him, Xu Xingzhi and Xuan Yong both showed grave expressions. Kou Zhong mounted his horse and galloped towards the city gate with his personal guard protecting his wings, he asked the two men, Very bad news? Xuan Yong replied heavily, Liu Heita was killed by Li Jiancheng. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, That is impossible, he blurted out. On the other side, Xu Xingzhi sighed and said, Liu Heita besieged Weizhou, the city defender, Tian Liuan, could see that Liu Heita wascking food supplies, he shut the city gates and held fast, waiting for Li Jiancheng dispatching the troops to help. Due to army provision problem, furthermore, he was afraid of Li Jiancheng and Tian Liuan coordinating outside and inside offensives andunching pincer attack on his troops, Liu Heita withdrew to Taoguan. On one side, he set up his troop disposition with his back to the river, on the other side, he built bridges on Yongji Canal. The Tang Army came, following their tail. When Liu Heitas army crossed the bridge, the bridge broke midway, which caused Liu Heita to suffer heavy losses. When Liu Heita, leading the rest of his army reached Raoyang, the Raozhou provincial governor Zhuge Dewei pretended toe out to meet him, but when Liu Heita entered the city, hidden troops sprang up everywhere in surprise attack, Liu Heita was wounded and captured. Zhuge Dewei grabbed Liu Heita and brought him to surrender to the Tang Army. Li Jiancheng beheaded Liu Heita in Luozhou, he even sent his severed head back to Changan. At the same time, Li Shentong and Li Shiji attacked Xu Yuang. Thetter, isted and without help, abandoned the city and escaped, he was killed on the way. The Liu Army has copsedpletely. Hot tears gushed out of Kou Zhongs pair of eyes, he looked up at the night sky and said, Liu Dage, you may go in peace! If I dont kill Zhuge Dewei and Li Jiancheng, I swear I am not a human. Zhuge Dewei was Liu Heitas sworn brother. In the past, he went with Liu Heita and met with them in Xingyang City, their friendship was established since then. At that time, counting both sides, there were six people in total, including Susu, but now only he, Xu Ziling, and the heart-of-wolf-and-lungs-of-dog, selling-friend-in-order-to-seek-glory Zhuge Dewei remained, how could he not feel indignant? Passing through the city gate, there was a sudden sound of hooves, two riders were rushing directly toward them. Kou Zhong wiped away his tears andposed himself to look, surprisingly it was Ji Qian and Xiao Heer Yin Xiaoji, who had returned to dress in womens clothing, the two women were in high spirits. Even more beyond his expectation was that Yin Xiaojis beauty was not inferior to Ji Qian. Kou Zhong struggled hard to suppressed the grief in his heart, he met them up. Xu Ziling disembarked near Kaifeng and rushed to Jing Nian Chanyuan bynd route, while Li Shimin was returning back to Luoyang onboard the waiting House of Tangs warship. Rain and snow began to fly from the night sky, Xu Ziling let go of his steps and flew swiftly across the snowy in extending as far as the eye could see. Although he was in the cold weather, frozen ground [idiom: bitterly cold] world of ice and snow, his heart was hot like a ball of fire. After so many years of twists and turns, he could finally face his beloved Shi Feixuan without the least bit of shame and tell her for certain that he did not disappoint her. Although he could not be mandarin duckpanion [i.e. a couple] with Shi Feixuan, but he was able to fulfill her cherished wish and the heavy responsibility entrusted by her school. The love between them was real and it existed deep in the hearts of both sides; it was both sad and beautiful. Precisely because there was no oue, it had its own eternal and touching taste. For them, this should be the best ending, any wishful thinking would only bring disaster and suffering. At this point in life, what else could he wish for? Knock! Knock! Ba Fenghans voice was heard from inside the room, Shaoshuai, pleasee in! Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered, he sighed and said, Dealing with those piling-up-like-a-mountain,ing-one-after-another documents gives me more headache than dealing with magnificent army with thousands of men and horses. It is only now that I have time to call to pay respects to you, LaoGe and rx for a bit. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Ba Fenghan watched him sitting down on the edge of the bed, he spoke indifferently, Bian Bufu is done for! Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Sess! Are you injured? Ba Fenghan spoke nonchntly, At that time he was apanying Lin Shihong on an inspection tour, to assassinate him, how could I not have to pay a price? I finally settled the load in Wanjings mind. Kou Zhong said, We seem to begin to have a bit of luck, Song Que agrees to support us. Emotionally moved, Ba Fenghan said, That is indeed beyond my expectation, I thought you would hit a wall ande back. Kou Zhong said, The key was that before we arrived in Lingnan, Song Que received a letter from Fan Qinghui, so that he was willing to see us, and Li Shimin was indeed outstanding, he was able to reply quickly and fluently, fully demonstrating his qualifications and ability to be the future true lord. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Your Liu Dage was killed by a crafty scoundrel. Murderous intent suddenly appeared in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes, he said, Because of this, Li Jianchengs prestige is greatly aroused, Li Yuan summoning Li Shimin back to Changan and stripping his military power is a foregone conclusion. We must rush to Changan immediately and use all means to protect this future emperor. ording to Li Shimin, under Li Jianchengs proposal, Li Yuan will formally invite Bi Xuan to Changan, it shows clearly that this is a formidable means aimed at Li Shimin; the road ahead is still extremely thorny. Hearing Bi Xuans name, the divine light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes red brightly, even in thentern-less room, it was shing and moving. He spoke calmly, What are your ns? Kou Zhong replied, I am nning to get a three-thousand-man elite unit inside the treasure-house. Relying on the weapons in the treasure-house, I willunch a surprise attack, using ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum to seize control of Changan. Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, Arent three thousand men too few? Even with Li Shimins personal soldiers, it is still no more than around six thousand men, merely Li Yuans Imperial Guards are already in tens of thousands, and the Changlin Army has not yet been counted inside. Kou Zhong replied, Three thousand is the limit on the number of people that the treasure-house can hold, plus we have to sneak into Guanzhong the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive. The higher the number, the easier it is for their movement to leak out. Just now I was repeatedly researching this problem with Lei Dage and the others. Ba Fenghan said, These three thousand men must be first-ss martial art masters, plus there must be absolutely no question in terms of loyalty. In your opinion, how much time will it take toplete the deployment? Kou Zhong replied, At least one month. There is one more thing I need to tell you: Fu Cailin is alsoing to Changan. Revealing a smiling expression, Ba Fenghan said, Things seem to be getting more and more interesting; coupled with the appearing-and-disappearing-unpredictably-like-a-ghost Shi Zhixuan, this will be our most difficult battle and one that we do not have the confidence the most. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Tomorrow, you and I, plus Hou kid and Yin kid, will set off for Bashu, and enter the Pass via Hanzhong. The rest of the matter here will be handled by Lei Dage and Xingzhi. I hope Laotianye will really be standing on our side, and Li kid will really be the Son of Heaven ordained by heaven. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, The final victory will belong to us, I have the confidence that we will ovee everything. Kou Zhongs mind flew over into the great city of Changan, the sound of the fierce battle with magnificent army of thousands of men and horses fighting at close quarters seemed to reverberate inside his eardrums. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes lit up with the mes of wisdom, he spoke heavily, Do you still remember the folksong the Duke Yangs Treasure-House and the Treasured Jade Annulus of He n, obtaining one of the two, one can unify the world? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Of course I remember, in term of wording, there is only one or a half wordcking, but the meaning is the same. Ba Fenghan said, The Jade Annulus of He n has been shared by you, me and Ziling; the Duke Yangs Treasure-House is currently our most important bargaining chip even more. We really did not just obtain one of two, but we obtained both. Assuming this is the Mandate of Heaven, isnt the world be what we acquired? How could it fall into someone elses hands? Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Obtaining one of the two, one can unify the world. Like Li kid now, it is like he obtained the treasure house, therefore, the world will be his. We have both, it seems to be a bit too much, so we can only pass it indirectly to him, so that he can go to obtain it. Ha! Its really interesting, but thinking about it makes peoples heart trembles, could it be that there such a thing as the mandate of heaven? Ba Fenghan nodded and said, The treasured jade annulus saw the light and died; hence it was akin to it never existed, but Li Shimin really obtains the treasure-house. Shi Feixuans insight is very urate. In your Central Earth world in the future, the new generation will be the result of Hu and Han integration. Although you and Ziling are purely Han people, I am actually a Hu person. We are of one mind working together, it is a different kind of Hu and Han unity. Kou Zhong showed a thoughtful look, he said, You should be a Han-transformation Hu, because you hate your original tribes robbing and merciless style, hence youe to the Central Earth to seek for answers in the cultural sense. Many times I havepletely forgotten that you are a Hu. Even more brilliant is that Li kid is a Hu-transformation Han, so that the ethnic boundaries be blurry. Song Que pointed out that because Li kids Hu-transformation is quite deep, he can implement the universal love policy to various ethnic groups outside the Great Wall, and that is precisely where he surpasses Song Que. Ba Fenghan muttered the name Song Que in a low voice, and then he slowly said, I havent had the opportunity to ask you about the details of your trip to Lingnan. Kou Zhong said, The meeting with Song Que was a no-nonsense dialogue, Li Ba Fenghanughed and said, I only care about what happened between you and Song Yuzhi. Kou Zhong was slightly startled, and then he revealed a brilliant smile, and said, Shepletely changed her view on me, she forgot all my previous mistakes; at least she did not utter a single word of rejection. She even asked me to keep myself alive and go back to see her. What about Shang Xiufang? Ba Fenghan asked. Kou Zhongs countenance darkened, he smiled bitterly and said, I dont dare to think about it, but so what if I did? Ba Fenghan said, For a man to have three wives and four concubines is amon urrence. Havent you ever thought of having an all-embracing approach? Kou Zhong stared nkly for a moment, he sighed and said, In this regard, Zilings and my way of thinking is close. The love in ones heart can only be cast on one person, otherwise the other person has only you in his heart, yet she is not the only one in your heart. This is unfair. Ba Fenghan said, Your way of thinking stands out from the masses, but I have realized the same principle from the way of the sword. Only by focusing on one thing I can reach the highest realm in the way of the sword; love is also like this. If you have three hearts and two intentions, you will never understand the true meaning of love. Kou Zhong said, Thank you, LaoGe, for this reminder. In life, inevitably there will be regrets, ay! Ba Fenghan smiled and said, In this kind of things, after you made your decision, dont think too much. Itste! Wed better have our own dreams, tomorrow we will set off for Changan, to see whether the worlds future destiny is really up to us to determine. The mountain gate of Jingnian Chanyuan Temple leading up the mountain appeared in the fluttering snow powder ahead. Beyond Xu Zilings expectation, Shi Feixuan, dressed in a in white coat and a long light-yellow cape, stood quietly by the gate, as if waiting for his arrival. Shi Feixuan passed by him like a gust of wind, and said, Follow me! As if he was under the fairys spell, Xu Ziling chased behind her, passing the grasnd under the floating and flying rain and snow,ing to the top of a small hill, and standing shoulder to shoulder with her. In the distance ahead stood the City of Luoyang, the central capital. Even in the wind and the snow, it could still give out the glorious feeling of its light. No one knew how many times Xu Ziling looked into the distance at this great city, however, all those other times were far less profound than this time. Perhaps it was because of Shi Feixuan, or perhaps it was because of his experience of nearly losing his life to protect Luoyang; even more, probably it was because of the reconciliation and cooperation with Li Shimin. Between him and Shi Feixuan, there was no longer any barriers of the heart. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, There has never been any moment I am more weary of the only-those-who-are-ruthless-enough-will-be-able-to-survive dreadful saying than this moment. I just hate it that if I dont persevere to harden my heart, the world will not have one day of peaceful reunification. Therefore, I have no choice but to continue hardening my heart, until Shimin Xiong ascends the emperor throne. Shi Feixuans countenance tranquil, her beautiful eyes exuded divine rays of light, she sighed lightly, smiled sweetly, cast him a sidelong nce, and spoke to exhort him, There is nothing in the world that you guys cant do! Xu Ziling has never seen Shi Feixuans touching immortal manner with sweet, imploringugh like an innocent little girl like this. After staring nkly at her for half a day, he said, Frankly speaking, the reason Song Que was willing to approve was not because Kou Zhong and I were resourceful, rather, it was because lingshi [your honorable master] moved one step ahead by sending a letter about Li Shimins knowledge and experience in governing the world, which moved Song Ques heart. It caused him to put aside his prejudices and make assuredly the wisest choice, because Feixuans insight was absolutely infallible. Shi Feixuan stared at him deeply, expressing the joy in her heart without reservation, she spoke softly, Oh, Ziling! Do you remember what Feixuan said about the barrier of love is difficult to pass? A hard-to-describe feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart, did Shi Feixuan want to talk about love with him? Thinking about it again, he knew that it was not so, because he understood clearly, without any mistake - that she was preserving the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm; nodding his head, he said, How could I dare to forget! Shi Feixuan showed a displeased touching expression;ughing involuntarily, she said, Sometimes I really think you have quite a Kou Zhongs style. Xu Ziling calmly said, He and I have the same background and ss origin, I cant help it if under certain circumstances, Jianghu habit appears. Shi Feixuan cheerfully said, Shall we take a walk and chat at the same time? I have a question for you. Due to Shi Feixuans unusual amiable and approachable manner, a fantastic and overwhelmed-by-favor-from-superior feeling grew in Xu Zilings heart. He nodded and said, Please Feixuan lead the way. Turning her tender body around, Shi Feixuan walked towards hillslope on the north side, as she spoke casually, Can you tell me about Shi Qingxuan? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, If I did not have deep knowledge of what kind of person Feixuan is, I would mistakenly think that Feixuan is probing my situation with her. Laughing indifferently, Shi Feixuan turned her pretty face to glower at her, she said, Remember that sentence that nearly consigned me to eternal damnation? Xu Ziling calmly replied, Of course I remember, its just that I never thought about consigning you to eternal damnation, this description, I never thought that Feixuans situation would be that grave. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Do you know why I said that sentence? Tranquil, Xu Ziling replied, It was for Qingxuan, right? The two left the hill and strolled on the snowy field in the direction of Luoyang. Shi Feixuan fixed her gaze at the lights flickering through the hazy wind and snow, she spoke softly, You figured that out earlier, I was referring to why I gave you such a piece of advice for Shi Qingxuan? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Until today, I still dont understand, based on Feixuans usual style of conduct, you could not possibly intervene in this kind of boy-girl love affairs, let alone other peoples boy-girl love affairs. I hope Feixuan would not mind if I speak so directly without any scruples? Because I have said other things more disgraceful [of behavior that is unfilial, rebellious or otherwise in grave breach of the norms of society] to you. Shi Feixuan walked slowly, she said, After Ziling struck and killed the Heavenly Lord Xi Ying that day, you hurriedly left Bashu without saying goodbye. Feixuan had no choice but to go to You Lin Xiao Gu to notify Shi Qingxuan. When she saw me, suddenly her whole person seemed to be rxed andfortable. Feixuan intuitively felt that she was relieved because you, Xu Ziling did not leave together with me. Furthermore, from this, I understood that Shi Qingxuan, who was used to hiding her inner feelings, had a deeply rooted love toward you, hence the reason I could not help reminding you in Longquan, because I was afraid that you are a big idiot who dont understand her kindly feelings, who would have thought that it stirred up a feeling that is difficult for me to extricate myself? When I said it like this, is it frank enough? Shocked, Xu Ziling looked at her, Feixuan! he blurted out. Shi Feixuan halted her steps and stood still, casting her eyes toward Luoyang City. Snow powder was continuously falling on both of them, the heaven and earth had beenpletely transformed and purified by the snow, the sparse forests near and far turned into fuzzy silhouette. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, It was on the big bridge [I suspect it ought to be Heavenly Bridge, as the character da (big) and tian (sky/heaven) are very much alike] of this city that Feixuan first met Ziling. At that time, there was a subtle feeling in my heart, I did not understand it has anything to do with the feeling between men and women at all, I only sensed that you are a person standing out from the masses, a person who will continuously appear in theke of my heart and that I am unable to forget. Later, you came to Jingnian Chanyuan to look for me, I was standing on the mountain high cliff behind the Chanyuan and looked into the distance at Luoyang. At that time, the scene I was thinking about was I get to know Ziling for the first time over there. Severely shaken, Xu Zilings pair of eyes shot a look of disbelief, unexpectedly Shi Feixuan was revealing her true feelings toward him. Shi Feixuans countenance was calm like still water, she spoke indifferently, Hence the reason Feixuan made an exception in Longquan to get involve in the matter between you and Shi Qingxuan, who would have thought that because I was retreating, I began to advance instead, provoking the disaster of burning my own body, which was nothing that my expectation could ever reach? But Feixuan did not have the slightest regret, because for Feixuan, Longquans experience was like the experience of having been reincarnated one time, which was the most important segment of Feixuans life, to have a taste of falling in love with Xu Ziling with my heart and soul, life experience no longer has anythingcking. If it werent for this Zen awareness of love, Feixuan might never have a chance to pry into the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit realm. Now Feixuan no longer has to struggle hard to restrain, everything follows the natural way, therefore, I thickened the skin of my face to inquire about your private matter. Taking a deep breath, sighing with myriad of emotion, Xu Ziling spoke slowly, Feixuan is willing to reveal your feelings with me, I, Xu Ziling will always be grateful. Life contains both the eternal and the transient, these two extreme and contradictory characteristics, just like the moment before us. There is some kind of eternity, never-to-be-extinguished taste, but we also know that all of this will soon be the past, therefore, with Feixuans confession that you had fallen in love with me, I greatly feel that this life has no more regrets. If I still greedily insist on it, I will only fail to live up to Feixuans expectations to me. Shi Feixuan shook her head and said, Its not that I had fallen in love with you, rather, until this moment I still feel that we are falling head over heels in love, which is one kind of eternal, profound, purely spiritual feeling of love, which will forever be apanying me. Although Feixuan cannot marry you as a wife like ordinary people, but in spirit, there is no difference at all. Oh, Xu Ziling! Do you know that you are the only one who can hurt me? Feixuan once felt hurt for you, fortunately, all this has passed. Now I only hope you can be like Feixuan, regarding the love in Longquan as the reincarnation of the previous life, and treat Shi Qingxuan well, so that she can obtain the greatest happiness that a girl can get. Xu Ziling looked up at the snow-ke-swirling-in-the-air night sky, he said, The firmament really did not treat me, Xu Ziling meagerly. This moment is like being in the deepest, sweetest dream, in itself it has the realm ofpleteness and self-sufficiency, so I dont need to think about it. Feixuan, dont worry! I fully understand your kindly feelings and will not disappoint you. Pfft! Shi Feixuan giggled tenderly, revealing her ten-thousand-kinds of flirtatious expression, as she said cheerfully, Idle chat is over, its time to talk about proper business! Xu Ziling spoke calmly, Proper business? Ha! Unexpectedly I forgot all about them! Where do we start? Shi Feixuan leaned towards him, she put her noble jade hand into his grasp. Everything seemed to flow naturally, she pulled him back in the direction of the Chanyuan. Her small cicada head hung down lightly, somewhat unbearably shyly she said, The meeting is presided over by Shizun, I am only responsible for bringing you to her. Xu Ziling, please dont speak, let usplete this segment of the journey quietly, all right? Xu Ziling felt her immortal hand pulsing and trembling in his hand, so much so that he felt the blood vessels in her whole body, nothing was missing. The deep and sincere love between them was surging back and forth between the two hands, how could he even speak half a word? He obediently followed her, stepping on the thickyer of snow, forging ahead hand in hand in the vast expanse of the whiteness of the wind and the snow. Book 57 9 – A New Starting Point

Book 57 Chapter 9 - A New Starting Point

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Inside the visitor hall of the Jing Nian Chan Yuan, Fan Qinghui, dressed in a Buddhist nun garment, read Song Ques secret letter, and then put it inside her bosom, her expression tranquil, her gaze swept across her beloved disciple Shi Feixuan, sitting on her right, and then itnded on Xu Ziling on her left, she spoke glibly, In his letter, Fazhu puts forward a thought with very deep meaning, which is that our world is constantly looking for a new starting point. When Li Shimin ascended to the emperor throne, the political and economic situation under the full control of high-schools and big ns will bepletely shattered. Although Li Shimin came from a rich and powerful family with the most power, the fact is that he has to destroy the rich and powerful families power before he could obtain his position. Therefore, although the rich and powerful family system enables him to reach the apex, but it is also because of him that it will be destroyed, the effect will be the most important political factors from the Wei, Jin, the Southern and Northern Dynasties, up to the old Sui - will cease to exist, the new dynasty will have apletely new look. Shi Feixuan asked, Since Song Fazhu already has this view, what is he going to do about it? Fan Qinghui smiledfortably and said, Song Fazhu is a sage who has never been fettered by fame, position and power. He might, after the world is unified and stabilized, disband the Song Familys intimidating-the-south power. Inwardly, Xu Ziling was shocked, it increased his admiration for Song Que even more. Song Ques approach indeed lived up to Fan Qinghuis sage reputation. One day Song Que existed, or perhaps Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were still alive, the Song Familys power would not have any problem. But politics is ruthless, the new dynasty after the great unification would not allow any other huge armed forces to exist. Therefore, after Song Que, Kou Zhong, and so on have passed away one by one, supposing the barely surviving Song n still preserved the wild fantasy of dominating one region, they would face imminent catastrophe. For Song Que to write this, indeed his insight was far-reaching, he resolved the future disaster to the Song Familys descendants and made it intangible. Fan Qinghui said, I specifically mentioned this in the hope that Ziling would have deep understanding of the pros and cons of this matter. Before Li Shimin ascends to the imperial throne, Ziling will inform him one step ahead of Song Xiongs intention, so that it will produce greater effectiveness. Xu Ziling understood; Song Que, while he still has the power to upend heaven and earth, to influence the overall situation of the world - decided on this approach regarding the fate of the Song n, which was more powerful than any words, to express his support for Li Shimins unification of the world, to make Li Shimin feel upright deep in his heart. Because Li Shimin obtaining the world was due to Song Que and Kou Zhongs vigorous support, he was grateful to the Song Family, but at the same time he also had deep restraining fear. If the Song Family grew even bigger, they might be serious thorn in his administration. The new dynasty should have a new system, Song Ques words formally announced the death of the rich and powerful family system. Fan Qinghui spoke indifferently, A lot of Song Xiongs thoughts are derived from the assiduous cultivation of the Way of the Saber. This thought is like his Heavenly Saber, carrying the once-release-there-is-no-retreat attitude; only this way he will have the opportunity to permanently exchange weapons of war for gifts of jade and silk [idiom: to turn hostility into friendship], which will also remove a load on my mind. The admiration in Xu Zilings heart made him prostrating on the ground in admiration. Whether Song Que or Fan Qinghui, their way of thinking was to look at the entire era and the overall situation, hence they were able to see what other people could not see. Like Kou Zhong and he, for example, they never considered that after Li Shimin obtained the world, how the Song Familys power might affect the new dynasty. Fan Qinghui continued, In his letter, Song Xiong has another proposal. If Li Shimin seeds in ascending the throne, he hopes that he would never change the official name of his kingdom, but continue to use the Tang Dynasty title. This will y a key role in stabilizing peoples hearts. Shi Feixuan revealed a rarely-seen spoilt and naive expression, her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, Ah, Shizun! Did Fazhu mention anything else in the letter? Fan Qinghui smiled and said, Xuaner wants to know? Her beautiful eyes opened wide, Shi Feixuan floated her gaze towards Xu Ziling and asked, Does Ziling want to know? An intoxicating feeling like young husband and wife bantering flirtatiously with Shi Feixuan grew in Xu Zilings heart, this moment, she was just like a little girl acting like a spoiled child in front of her enshi [greatly respected (lit. kind/benevolent) master], although actually he had no intention of prying in to the private matter between Fan Qinghui and Song Que, he had no choice but to say that he had the same mind with Shi Feixuan, hence he reluctantly nodded. Shi Feixuan smiled sweetly, roller her eyes at him, carrying heavy implication of I figure you would be tactful enough to support me. Turning to her master Fan Qinghui, she said, Now its two to one, Shizun, tell us! A fantastic feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. His first impression of Fan Qinghui was that she did not put on any air of being a Zhaizhu [monastery master], she was amiable and approachable. At this moment, he even felt the intimacy between the master and disciple. Not only Fan Qinghui did not think it was unfilial, she even smiled and said, Since Xuaner wants to know, so what if as the master I am telling you? Song Que invites your master to meet him in Lingnan. Tranquil, Shi Feixuan asked, Shizun, what do you think? Fan Qinghui replied indifferently, Before returning to Jingzhai, your master will go to Lingnan. Turning to Xu Ziling, she asked, Ziling, how much confidence do you have on the battle of Changan? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling replied, Our only advantage is to use the Duke Yangs Treasure-house tounch a sudden and violent attack, therefore, one battle and we must seed, otherwise there will never be another chance. The problem is that the current situation in Changan is extremelyplex. Li Yuan obtains the helping hand of the other two ns martial art masters, his strength is doubled. In frontal confrontation, merely his imperial guards are beyond our ability to withstand. Moreover, Changans Pce City is like a city inside Changan City, attacking Pce City is not much different from officially attacking Changan City, so I really do not dare to have any confidence. Furthermore, other than dealing with the imperial guards and the Changlin Army, when weunch the offensive, there is high probability that Bi Xuan and Fu Cailin will be in Changan, which will increase the variables even more. Sighing lightly, Fan Qinghui said, In everything, since there are advantages, then there must be disadvantages. Now that Ning Dao Xiong and Song Xiong both sides suffer, they are unable to contribute at this critical moment. The heavy responsibility will fall on your, new generations shoulders, hence Song Xiongs sigh of sorrow on the constant search of new starting point for the world. Ziling must not forget your greatest advantage; in addition to Duke Yangs Treasure-house, there are also Shaoshuai, Qin Wang and Ziling, your several peoples influence, you could y an unexpected role. You must never, ever lightly neglect this. Hearing that, Xu Ziling understood tacitly, he nodded his head, receiving the instructions. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Xuaner is most worried about Shi Zhixuan. In his heart, Xu Ziling was secretly shaken, because due to Shi Qingxuans existence, he had an ambiguous and subtle rtionship with Shi Zhixuan, so that his guarding against Shi Zhixuan was not as intense Shi Feixuans. In fact, whether in terms of talent, martial art skill, insight, or usage of conspiracy technique, the person who couldprehensively surpass Shi Zhixuan simply did not exist in the world. If it werent for Shi Qingxuans w, in the battle against Shi Zhixuan, he and Kou Zhong would have been defeated early on. Supposing in this urgent and important moment Shi Zhixuan dealt with them with all his strength, they would definitely fail and would be wiped over the floor. Fan Qinghui asked him, What does Ziling think on this aspect? Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, he spoke heavily, When we arrive in Changan, the first thing we must do is to clear away Shi Zhixuan, this obstacle, otherwise, no need to mention anything else. Kou Zhong stepped into the brightly lit inner hall. Lei Jiuzhi, Hou Xibai and Yin Xianhe, three men, were sitting around the round table in the middle of the hall, they seemed to be in some kind of argument. Following behind him, Ba Fenghan stopped at the entrance, leaning against the portico with folded arms, looking at the four men in the hall with amusement. Kou Zhong came behind Hou Xibai and Yin Xianhe, put his hands on the two mens shoulders, and said in astonishment, What are you arguing about? Lei Jiuzhi sighed and said, Xiao Hou and I have exhausted our lips and tongue, yet failed to persuade him to stay here. Smiling ruefully, Hou Xibai said, How many days have you been reunited with the Meizi [younger sister], which you have lost for more than ten years? How could you take the risk to go to Changan without careful consideration? You are not giving thought to yourself, plus you must not make Xiao Heer anxious. The more Lei Jiuzhi talked, the angrier he got, he said, We asked him the reason why he simply must go to Changan, but he adamantly refused to speak. Kou Zhong moved in front of the three and sat down across the table. After looking up and down at Yin Xianhe for half a day, he suddenlyughed aloud and said, I have a guess on the reason why Yin Xiong simply must go to Changan. Immediately Yin Xianhes old face blushed. Kou Zhong pped the table and shouted, I really guessed it correctly! Far away at the entrance of the hall, Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Yin Xiong has fallen into Kou Zhongs evil scheme. Lei Jiuzhi and Hou Xibai suddenly realized that Kou Zhongs first sentence was purely a tigers roar [i.e. bluffing] to Yin Xianhe, and because of his blushing reaction, he inferred the real reason. Hou Xibai understood. Blurted outughing, he said, With such a good reason, why didnt Yin Xiong say it earlier? You troubled me and Lei Dage for half a night. Lei Jiuzhi raised his thumb toward Kou Zhong and praised, You are quite all right. Because Ji Qian is going back to Changan, Yin Xiong cannot bear the suffering of yearning between the two ces. Yin Xianhe spoke dejectedly, I was precisely afraid that you guys will make fun of me like this. The sound of the foot arose, Xiao Heer, like a happy little bird, flew in. When she passed Ba Fenghan, she even made a cute face at him. Breathless, she sat next to Kou Zhong and said, I want toe with Kou Dage to Changan. Severely shaken, Yin Xianhes countenance changed, he said, You are not allowed to go! Immediately Xiao Heers pair of eyes turned very red, she looked at Yin Xianhe tearfully and said, Xuanshu Gongzi wants to avenge his father, how can I not exert myself? Dont underestimate me, I really know how to gather intelligence. Bonk! Everybody looked at the main door, Wang Xuanshu, tears flowing down his face, knelt down at the entrance of the inner hall, and spoke mournfully, Shaoshuai, please allow me toe with you to Changan. Kou Zhong looked at Xiao Heer, then looked at Wang Xuanshu, knitting his brows, he said, Xuanshu, quickly get up! Sobbing, Wang Xuanshu said, Shaoshuai, please promise Xuanshu first. Kou Zhong grabbed his head and said, I suddenly felt something is very not right, whats causing it? Ba Fenghan came over unhurriedly and said, Shaoshuai feels something is not right, it makes sense. The battle of Changan this time, the danger is no less than that of a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses decisive battle on the battlefield, only the venue is moved into the city, including street fighting and fierce battle to attack the Pce City. Fighting a battle has the fighting-a-battle rule, definitely cannot be ambiguous, otherwise we will lose this decisive battle. While speaking thest sentence, he sat down on Xiao Heers other side. Kou Zhong pped the table and said, Fenghans example is right on target, it is indeed a priceless advice. With tears rolling down her face, Xiao Heer looked at Ba Fenghan and asked, What is fighting-a-battle rule? Ba Fenghan replied indifferently, First of all, there is order on the top and execution on the bottom. We have the best in the world, Kou Zhong on the offensive and Li Shimin on the defensive, they can definitely formte the most perfect offensive and defensive strategy. However, if the top issues the order, but the people below each one has his own opinions, any strategy will be in vain. Therefore, all actions and each persons task must be assigned by Shaoshuai. You can put forward your opinions, but the final decision muste from Shaoshuai, there must be no objection, otherwise, how can we bring out our biggest fighting prowess? Turning to Wang Xuanshu, he shouted, Xuanshu Gongzi has not gotten up yet? Violently shaken, Wang Xuanshu stood up with his head hung low, he spoke in shame, Xuanshu knows his guilt! Kou Zhong said, Xuanshu rest assured, I will definitely give you a chance to exert yourself, but no need to haggle over every ounce whether you can kill Yang WenGan or Yang Xuyan with your own hands. The overall victory is the most important. Otherwise, we could get away or win a temporary victory, but the world will still be in a situation of confrontation between the north and the south, or in Guanzhong and Guanwai [inside and outside the Pass, respectively], dont know how much painmon people will still have to suffer! In this kind of situation, personal gratitude and grudges should be put in secondary position. Lei Jiuzhi nodded and said, It should be so! Kou Zhong looked at Yin Xianhe and said, We will go to Changan in batches. I, Lao Ba and Xiao Hou will go first to ascertain the situation, and then it will be Yin Xiong and Ji Qian Guniangs turn to go Changan. Xuanshu should be in thest group of people to enter the city, Xiao Heer must stay here, obediently wait for us to take control of the entire Changan, and then well pick you up to meet with Yin Xiong and Xuanshu. Xiao Heer wanted to say something but then hesitated, finally she did not dare to have any objections. While everyone was breathing a sigh of relief, Song Lu came. Kou Zhong knew that he had secret matters to discuss, hence he dismissed Wang Xuanshu and Xiao Heer, and respectfully invited Song Lu to sit down. Song Lu spoke heavily, ErGe already knows about this. Everybody was shaken inwardly. Song Zhi was the second figure within the Song n, and the representative of the pro-war faction of the Song Family even more. Whether he approved or not, the implication would be enormous. All eyes were focused on Song Lu. Xu Ziling and Shi Feixuan came to inner courtyard at the foot of the mountain, they were reluctant to part. Shi Feixuan spoke softly, Does Ziling know where Dong Da Si [lit. Eastern Big Temple] is? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Its next to Yu He Guang [lit. jade crane in (vast area ofnd), I think it should be Yu He An - (Buddhist) nunnery, guang and an have the same radical], it was there that I met Li Yuan for the first time. Shi Feixuan said, Liao Kong Dashi will stay there and exert his strength to the greatest extent to help you aplishing the great thing. As long as you look for Huangshan Dashi [lit. Great Master Barren Mountain], you can see him. His Zen power have reached the perfection realm, he could pose a very big threat to Shi Zhixuan. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Isnt Feixuan going to go to Changan? Shi Feixuan said wittily, Who said I wont go? But Feixuan has to do some things before I can set off. When the timees, naturally I will have a way to see you, Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling smiled calmly, he flew backward, and raising his voice, he said, Feixuan, no need to see me off! Ill see you in Changan! Shi Feixuan watched him disappearing into the depths of the wind and the snow, before turning around and returning to the Chanyuan. Song Lu said, No one knows what Dage and he were talking about. I only know that after Dage summoned him back, the two talked for one or two sichen in the Mo Dao Tang, and then ErGe returned to the frontline and continued fighting Lin Shihong. Heaving a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong said, It looks like Zhi Shu should have no problem. Song Lu nodded and said, It should be so. The news came from Yuzhi via the flying pigeons. It also mentioned that Dage issued an order, asking me to handpick one thousand five hundred elite troops from the Song Familys younger generation and the Li Liao officers and soldiers. Combined with the elite troops of the Shao Shuai Army, they will form the force for the Battle of Changan. First of all, these thousand and five hundred men must have no problems with loyalty, and secondly, they must be martial art masters, one able to block one hundred. Dage also pointed out that when our three thousand elite troops sneak into Guanzhong, they must not bring any weapons, so as not to reveal our identity. Lei Jiuzhi spoke cheerfully, Leave this matter to me, I will prepare forged identification document for them, in order to fool peoples eyes and ears. Song Luughed and said, Why go to a lot of trouble? Dage already notified Xie Hui, our men can receive official identification documents from him, pretending to be traveling merchants from Bashu, this way it will be more foolproof. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, I am asking Lu Shu and Lei Dage to carefully look into the details, otherwise, several thousands of business travelers suddenlye pouring into the Pass via the Shu Road through Hanzhong, people who see it will still think its odd. Fortunately, each one has excellent martial art skill, they can climb the mountains and cross over mountain ridges,ing in while the gods do not know, the ghosts do not perceive. And then he rose to his full height and said, Those who are setting off tomorrow, go back now and have a good rest. I hope that the battle of Changan will be thest decisive battle in the Central Earth. Moving behind Song Lu again, he leaned over and spoke in a low voice, Did Zhizhi mention anything about Xiaodi in the letter? Song Luughed involuntarily and said, I nearly forget! She said hello to you, this is the first time I broke her confidence. Delighted, Kou Zhongughed heartily, perfectly contented, he left with Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai. Xu Ziling galloped in the direction of Luoyang. He has sneaked into Luoyang many times under the cover of night, but the feeling this time was different, there was no longer any contradictions and hesitations, the target was distinct and clear-cut, the bottom of his heart solid. In the wind and snow filling the whole sky, the lights of Luoyang ahead were growing brighter and brighter, a group of men and horses appeared on the hillside ahead. Without the slightest hesitation Xu Ziling came directly to meet them. Nearly thirty riders discovered his track, they rushed down the hillside. The leader was Li Jing, Ziling is here! he spoke in delight. Both sides met in the snowy field at the foot of the slope, Li Jing and his men dismounted their horses. Under Li Jings instructions, four personal soldiers put on Tang Army uniform for Xu Ziling. How is the situation? Xu Ziling asked. Li Jing replied, As expected, Huangshang handed down an imperial edict, summoning Qin Wang to return to Changan to report on his duties. Xu Ziling asked, Is there any limit to the number of soldiers brought by Qin Wang returning to Changan? Li Jing replied, Not only there is no limit to the number of people, he also specifically instructed the principal high-ranking military officers of Tian Ce Fu to return to Changan with their team, so that Huangshang could evaluate their merits and bestow reward in person, Li Shijis name is also on the list. Xu Ziling sighed and said, This is to catch everything in the one [idiom]. The personal soldiers brought warhorses, everyone flew on their horses and galloped towards Luoyang. Book 57 10 – Chang’an City Map

Book 57 Chapter 10 - Changan City Map

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling followed Li Jing into Luoyangs Pce City, straight toward the inner garden of the imperial pce. Li Shimin was already waiting in his study room, seeing Xu Ziling arrived, he weed him in delight and took him inside to sit down. All his men, Li Jing included, withdrew from the study room. The two mens eyes met, they both generated the familiar feeling of treating one another with absolute sincerity. Li Shimin said, I just received Fuhuangs written imperial order, summoning me back to Changan. How is the situation on your side? Xu Ziling replied, It will take us at least two to three months toplete the deployment of infiltrating Changan, Shimin Xiong must buy some time. Knitting his brows, Li Shimin said, There is not much time, it is quite unfavorable to us. There is less than a month before the weather warms up and the snow melts. Muttering to oneself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Due to lingxiong [your esteemed older brother] seeded in sweeping away Liu Heita, lingzun [your esteemed father] definitely will not allow Shimin Xiong to lead the troops on military campaign. However, one day lingxiong has not solved the problem of Shimin Xiong, plus the coalition forces outside the Great Wall might go down south any moment, lingzun definitely will not dare to employ troops against Shao Shuai Army. Therefore, as long as Shaoshuai holds back his troops without moving, there will still be the deadlock of the north and the south standing opposite to each other. Li Shimin nodded and said, As long as you adopt the stance of attacking Lin Shihong and Xiao Xian with all your strength, no one in Changan will be suspicious, plus there will be a lot of rain in the springtime, which is unfavorable for marching the army. Launching the attack to the north in the summer is reasonable and fair. How long can Shimin Xiong dy? Xu Ziling asked. Li Shimin replied with a wry smile, One and a half months is the limit, and that includes the return trip. This half-a-month period will be very difficult. Xu Ziling said. In this half a month, Shimin Xiong must endure humiliation as part of an important mission [idiom: suffering in silence]. If necessary, we can ask Xie Hui and the Four ns to publicly dere their surrender to us. At that time, lingzun will not dare to act blindly without thinking even more, because Guanzhong will be under direct threat, killing you will throw the troops heart in chaos for nothing. Therefore, he might only continuously reduce your authority, and eliminate the strategic experts and powerful generals around Shimin Xiong. Li Shimin said, That is already a big headache to us. Plus when Bashu throws their lot into Shao Shuai Army, the psychological impact is greater than the real impact, because if there is a way to guard against it, the Shu Road via Hanzhong toward Guanzhong is very unfavorable to march an army; as long as we set up massive military force at important points, it is difficult for the invaders to cross the thunder pond for even half a step. Xu Ziling heart was moved, he said, Good thing Shimin Xiong reminded me, Bashus reputation must be exploited well. First of all, Xie Hui has to state clearly that they will strictly maintain their neutrality, in order to pacify Changans heart from top to bottom. And then we pretend to raise our momentum to tightly trail your troops to Guanwai [outside the Pass, i.e. outside Guanzhong]. In this kind of circumstances, as long as Bashu announces that they surrender to Shao Shuai Army, the only way lingzun is going to deal with it is to transfer the troops stationed in Changan to defend the southern line. This will greatly reduce the pressure on us. Emotionally moved, Li Shimin said, Zilings n does not cost us a single soldier or half a pawn, it is very ingenious. But I still have another worry, which is the coalition forces outside the Great Wall, headed by Xieli and Tuli, ording to our intelligence, are still gathering military strength. It is estimated that it will eventually reach 200,000 to 250,000 men. With such a strength, no one in the Central Earth, including our Li Tang and Shao Shuai Army, practically has the strength to confront it head-on. Recalling the elite and formidable army beyond the Great Wall,ing and going like the wind, Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air. If they let such a force storm into the Central ins, the destruction they brought about would be unimaginable. He said, Perhaps we are a bit more optimistic about this, but the key point still lies in Zhao Deyan; one day Shimin Xiong is not dead, he will persuade Xieli to wait patiently. And by looking at the current situation, killing Shimin Xiong has be where the water flows, a canal is formed [a matter of course], Xieli should not havecked this little bit of patience. As someone who has personally experienced it, Li Shimin shook his head and said, Although Xieli and Tuli are the driving force behind the assembly of the allied forces beyond the Great Wall, the coalition army might, in turn, control and dominate them, making them have no choice but to attach most importance to the interests, morale, and aspiration of the whole entity. Even if they are unable to put me to death, the invasion is bound to happen, no one can change this kind of situation. Therefore, even if I get lucky to sit on the emperors seat, this hard, staking-it-all battle with the outside tribes allied forces is still cannot be avoided. We must be ready at the earliest possible time, otherwise the chaos of the world will continue. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, In Shimin Xiongs opinion how long should Xielis waiting period be? Li Shimin said, It shouldnt be more than half a year. To assemble, train, store up supplies to support the deployment along the route, it will take approximately three to four months. During this period, Xieli might go out using Liang Shidus face. First, they would capture several key cities in the border area to open up a path for their coalition forces. This time they will learn the lessons of the past and will no longer attack each city one by one, since it is time-consuming and uses up manpower and provisions, but will go straight to Changan from Taiyuan, and concentrate their power to attack the city of Changan. As long as Changan falls, the entire Guanzhongs defensive power will be rattled. At that time, they could easily besiege the city and plunder thend from four directions, and consolidate the results of the war. Xu Ziling felt the chill along his entire spine, he said, If by this time you guys were still the two cannot exist together with us, Xieli indeed had a very good chance to seed. Because you must deploy massive military force in Luoyang, Ho, and Xiangyang, the three important strongholds, while attending to one thing and lose sight of another [idiom], the other side has Zhao Deyan, an expert in besieging the city, Changan merely has several tens of thousands of men, it would be really hard to withstand the 250,000 elite troops of the outside tribes coalition forces incessant onught day and night. Fortunately, that is not the case. If Shimin Xiong can seize the power before their soldiers are at the city walls,bined the army from four sides, eight directionsing to help from all parts of the country, it may be possible to smash Xielis ambition to invade the Central ins in one fell swoop. At that time, Shimin Xiong can follow the prescribed order [idiom: to keep to the working routine] by pushing those who are dissatisfied and cut them off, those who surrendered will be loved, implementing the universal love as one policy of dealing with the outside tribes. Li Shimin nodded and said, That is exactly the gist of Feixuans discussion with me. She pointed out that this is ourst chance. If we missed it, Huaxia [China] would fall into consigned-to-eternal-damnation situation. Remembering Shi Feixuan, a hard to describe subtle feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. When he talked to Shi Feixuan earlier, because his mind waspletely attracted by her immortal appearance, he was in a bit of daze. This moment, however, far away from her, the fuzzy scene suddenly became clear. Shi Feixuans immortal heart was really moved by him and she had the courage to speak bluntly, so that their spiritual love could really continue to the end of eternity, assuming that eternity did not have an end. This would forever be the secret between he and Shi Feixuan, even those who were close to him like Shi Qingxuan or Kou Zhong, he would never reveal the truth to them, not that his love for Shi Qingxuan was reduced the least bit, just like the brotherly love between he and Kou Zhong would not be harmed at all. He would be even more wholehearted, without any worry throwing himself in the spiritual desires of falling head over heels in love with Shi Qingxuan. Life hase to this, what else did he want? He smiled and said, At that time, she still didnt know that I would persuade Kou Zhong, Shimin Xiong must have thought this was impossible. Li Shimin looked at him, his pair of eyes exuding sharp rays of light, he spoke indifferently, At that time, naturally I thought no one could persuade Kou Zhong, not to mention it was after Song Que and Ning Daoqis battle where both sides suffer. But Feixuan believed that she could not possibly misjudge you, she could not possibly misjudge Kou Zhong. At that time, I had a very strange feeling, she seemed to have some kind of a blind trust toward Ziling, although now it turns out that her insight ispletely verified. Xu Ziling understood his intentions,ughing involuntarily, he said, Its the first time Xiaodi feel that Qin Wang is jealous, but really there is no reason to be jealous, because her trust in you is more blind than her trust in us. At least she has never wavered, while toward us, she still dispatched Ning Daoqi, right? Li Shimin reached out to put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, he sighed and said, I am about to lose two brothers, but I will gain you and Kou Zhong, it is my good fortune, hence I do not need to hide my jealousy from you. Because we all are brothers, plus fellow-sufferers-empathize-with-each-other good brothers, why dont we drink a couple of cups? there is no battle to fight for the time being anyway. Xu Ziling was puzzled, What do you mean fellow sufferers empathize with each other? Li Shimin replied, Feixuan is like the bright moon in the sky. We can take advantage while she passes the night sky to get a glimpse or two more from afar, yet she will always belong to herself, men who adore her can only bury their intention at the bottom of their hearts. In the future, no matter what great undertaking of eternal immortality, what the great cause we achieve, this lifes regret will always apany us; thinking about it, it makes people sad and depressed. Xu Ziling finally understood what he meant; furthermore, he understood that he was not suffering from the same illness as him. Naturally it was inconvenient to reveal anything, hence he could only sigh vaguely to apany him; changing the subject, he said, I want to rush to Bashu immediately and sneak into Changan with Kou Zhong, I hope we can resolve Shi Zhixuan problem. Li Shimin stared nkly at him for half a day, he said dejectedly, Could Ziling stay with me for a while longer? I suddenly feel very painful, Ziling please wait a moment. Finished speaking, he went out the door, summoned Li Jing, and returned to the study room after whispering some instructions. Sitting down by Xu Zilings side, he heaved a sigh. Xu Ziling thought he was still in regret and feeling a sense of loss because he would never get Shi Feixuan; encouraging him, he said, If Shimin Xiong could unify the world and bring peace, it would be the best gift to Feixuan. Li Shimin shook his head and said, Since Fuhuang entered Changan and ascended the throne, over the years, I have been used to hiding my thoughts so that no one can see the true feelings in my heart. But just now talking with Ziling, unexpectedly I felt I could speak frankly; it was an extreme delight. However, it also evoked childhood memories; I was born of the same mother as Jiancheng Taizi [crown prince] and Qi Wang. When we were young, our rtionship was close, just like with Ziling now, we were unbridled without any scruple. I never thought that today we could be you hoodwink me and I cheat you, fighting for life, fighting to the death; how could I not sigh with sorrow? Xu Ziling understood. Smiling ruefully, he said, Isnt there a saying when the boat reaches the bridge, it will pass underneath without trouble [proverb: everything will be all right]? There are some things that you shouldnt think too much, you can only do your best with all your strength. With the sound of footsteps, Li Jing came in, and presented a square brocade case with both hands. After Li Jing withdrew, Li Shimin opened the brocade case on hisp, took out something that looked like a neatly folded document, put the brocade case on the small table on the side, rose up to his full height and said, Ziling, please look over. His curiosity was piqued, Xu Ziling followed him over to the desk, and watched him unfolding the document. Surprisingly, it was aplete map of the city of Changan, extremely exquisite and very detailed, densely packed with small characters the size of a flys head, written in fine cinnabar pen, annotating clearly the garrison and defensive situation of the various buildings for military purposes. This was precisely one of the three important tasks that Song Que entrusted to Kou Zhong, and it was now unfolding before Xu Zilings eyes. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling said, Turns out Shimin Xiong is already prepared. Li Shiminughed calmly and said, Ziling, please dont misunderstand. When creating this city map, I never thought it would be used against my own family. In fact, this is my habit, I have my men draw a detailed map of all important cities, otherwise how are you going to know clearly the strength and weakness of the city we are going to attack or defend? Xu Ziling sighed and said, This is called heroes usually agree [idiom: great minds think alike]. Song Que knew that we couldunch street fighting inside the city of Changan via the Duke Yangs Treasure-house, so the first thing he wanted was to send Kou Zhong to sneak into Changan and draw such a map of the Changan City. Li Shimin nodded and said, Honestly, speaking about contending for hegemony over the world, if the opponent is just Kou Zhong, and I can hold power over the military, I have full confidence that he and I both can share the limelight, well only see whose luck is a bit better. But if there is Song Que joining hands with him, I do not have even half a confidence. Fortunately, now I dont have to worry about it. Is there any change in the situation of Changan City? Xu Ziling asked. Li Shimin replied with confidence, How could it be easy to change? This is the city of Changans effective defensive deployment, some details can be changed, but the overallyout must remain the same. We are continuing and reinforcing Yang Guangs original deployment. Because of Yang Guangs focusing on the cmity in his armpit [idiom: trouble in ones own backyard] mentality, among the strong capital cities in the world, the city of Changan has the best condition to fight street and alley battle. I conceived an idea once, which is when Changan is under siege, we could deliberately open the city gates to allow the enemy to march straight in unchallenged, and then exploit the city defense to wipe out the enemies entering the city in one move. From this, you can see the city of Changans defensive ability. Hearing that, Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, In that case, if our men charge out of the Duke Yangs Treasure-house, they could easily meet the destruction-of-the-entire-army disaster. Li Shimin nodded and said, Relying only on military force, this will be an inevitable oue, but the factor that really determines control over Changan depends on how many of the city defenders and the imperial guards of Changan City are on our side. The most critical factor is who can control the Xuanwu Gate, the Imperial Guard headquarters, which is the only fortress that can contain and control both the imperial pce and the outer city at the same time. I wonder if Shimin Xiong have friendly rtions with various high-ranking military officers of the Imperial Guard? Xu Ziling asked. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, The fourmanders of the Imperial Guard are all direct subordinate of Fuhuang, they dont answer to anybody. Whats even more troublesome is that most of them belong to Huangxiong and Huangdis [emperor older and younger brother, respectively] system, they must obtain their strong rmendation and get the various imperial concubines approval before they can ascend onto this important position. If something happens, they will never stand on our side. In that case, there is only one way to go: violent attack, Xu Ziling said. That seems to be the case, Li Shimin replied. And then he folded the city map nicely and handed it over to Xu Zilings hand, saying, Ziling, please give this map to Shaoshuai, in looking at the map and thinking over the tactics, he should be more unscrupulous and realistic and effective than me. Honestly, on the battlefield I have never met someone who is more adept at using soldiers, more audacious and able to create infinite wonders than Kou Zhong, he will surely be able to devise the best strategy. Xu Ziling was emotionally touched. Forget about Li Shimins absolute trust in them, merely from Li Shimins good aspect in his willingness to admit that Kou Zhong was an unequalledmander on the battlefield that was superior to him, it could be seen that Li Shimin had the know-the-enemy-and-know-oneself [idiom from Suntzus the Art of War] vision and know-how-to-appoint-people-ording-to-their-ability [idiom] excellent measure of countenance, and this was precisely the most important prerequisite for Li Shimin to be a good emperor. Xu Ziling hid this most precious city map that can determine to whom would the world belong to and the happiness of all people - well, he couldnt help but ask, How much confidence does Shimin have in the battle of Changan? Li Shimin muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, he smiled wryly and said, If looking at the current situation, I do not have the slightest confidence, but most of my confidence is based on our cooperation. Since your debut, you and Kou Zhong have always been able to create close-to-a-miracle possibility within the impossible. The Jade Annulus of He n was like that, the Duke Yangs Treasure was like that, simrly, the Battle of He Lian Fort and the Longquans woes. At present, we are working together with one heart, coordinating outside and inside offensives, using wonder to control victory, perhaps we could create another miracle; whod dare to say that it is impossible? Then he spoke heavily, What brilliant n do you have to deal with Shi Zhixuan? There is only one way, Xu Ziling replied, which is to use self as a bait [orig. using self to assault danger], to lure him out. Because Shi Zhixuan is the number one big danger in our belly. If within these few months while our deployment is notpleted, yet we allow him to sit on the sidelines [orig. the cool eye of a bystander] in secret and to think for himself and act ordingly, then our sess or failure would not be determined by our strength or strategy, but by whether his mood is good or bad. Frowning, Li Shimin asked, How are you going to use yourselves as a bait to lure him out? Xu Ziling replied, We intend to use Situ Furongs identity again. Of course, Kou Zhong and I will transform ourselves into Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong, then only Shi Zhixuan will know our true identity. Li Shimin worriedly asked, Arent you afraid Shi Zhixuan will expose you? Xu Ziling replied, Hence the reason I said using self to assault danger; however, there is one little thing that we are certain. Based on Shi Zhixuans conduct, if he is not clear of our intention, he shouldnt expose us just like that. Now Shi Zhixuan is being rejected by the people of various demonic schools acting together, Yang Xuyan betrayed him even more, making his position very dubious. This situation is benefiting us greatly. Li Shimin nodded and said, Your stratagem has always been extremely daring, walking into marvel and walking into danger. Leave the real Situ Furong to me, my people have been closely monitoring his movements to ensure that he will not interfere with your big ns. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Shimin Xiong is indeed careful and thorough, it will save us a lot of efforts. Li Shimin said, In retrospect, I have quite a feeling of demons and gods at work [idiom: unexined event crying out for a supernatural exnation / curious coincidence] a little bit. That day, when I found out that you guys disguise yourselves as Situ Furong and went to Changan to deal with the Xiang Family, for some reason, I unexpectedly felt that I had to go all-out to conceal it for you, so I sent my men to find Situ Furong and a group of his subordinates outside the Great Wall, to warn him that he is not allowed to return to the Central Earth without my instructions. Now as a safety measure, I will put them under house arrest until his identity can no longer be used. After a short pause, he said, I still have one worry. After Yang WenGan rebelled and was defeated, Fuhuang ordered Liu Zhengdao to build the Hongyi Pce in the west side of the city of Changan, it was finallypletedst month. Im afraid that when I return to Changan, Fuhuang might force me to move to this new pce. Inwardly Xu Ziling was shocked. The Tian Ce Fu where Li Shimin has always lived was in the inner court of the imperial pce, located to the west of the Taiji Pce of the Central Pce. Anyone attacking Tian Ce Fu was tantamount to attacking the imperial pce. However, if they moved to the stand-alone new pce west of the Pce, the whole situation might change. Attacking the enemy, they did not need to consider Li Yuan nearby and refrained from shooting the rat for fear of breaking the vases [idiom], which would be even more detrimental to Li Shimin; so how could they dy even more? Can Shimin Xiong refuse to move? Xu Ziling asked. Li Shimin sighed and said, If Fuhuang uses the pretext of presenting this special gift to reward my military merits, how can I refuse? Xu Ziling said, Therefore, the days after Shimin Xiong returns to Changan will be filled with danger at every step, extremely arduous and thrilling. We have no choice but to counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir [idiom], and be flexible to meet a contingency. Li Shimin put his hand on his shoulder, heughed and said, I have no choice but to do so. After talking with you, my mood is so much better! To be able to fight side-by-side with you is indeed the greatest joy in my life. Before, when stealing Dongming Furens ount books, I already have this feeling. Dealing with Yang WenGans chaos was also a joy in hardship. This time, we dont have any secret worry between us anymore, let us join hands and exchange hearts to create a better future together. Those who can do big things, how could they haggle over every ounce about personal likes and dislikes, hardship and joy? Ziling, go back with peace of mind and tell Kou Zhong, well see each other in Changan City. Book 57 11 – A Match Made In Heaven

Book 57 Chapter 11 - A Match Made In Heaven

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling bade farewell to Li Shimin. Three days after leaving Luoyang, he boarded the ship to rendezvous with Kou Zhong and the others at the appointed ce on the Huai River. Xu Ziling recounted in details his meeting with Li Shimin. Under the illumination of the candle, Xu Ziling took out the Changan city map and spread it t on the round table inside the cabin. Kou Zhong, three men were emotionally moved at the same time. Bending his head to look carefully, Hou Xibai praised, Li Shimin indeed has talents inrge number under hismand, this came from the miraculous hands of a first-ss cartographer, the uracy is not bad at all. Hey! The writers should be Fang Xuanling [579-648, Tang dynasty historian,piler of History of Jin dynasty] and Du Ruhui. You can see there are two different handwriting styles, I recognize their penmanship. Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were the most famous imperial strategic advisers within Li Shimins Heavenly Policy Mansion, so to infer that it came from their pens would be reasonable and fair. Ba Fenghan said, In that case, this map should only be known to Li Shimin and a limited number of his trusted aides, otherwise, they would not have troubled Fang and Du, men with such status and position, to spend considerable time and effort to create such an arduous work. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Didnt Li kid say that the Changan outer city and the imperial pces defenses are changed from time to time, and that only themanders of the imperial guards know about the situation? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Different broth but the same old medicine [idiom: a change in form but not in substance]. Only the high-ranking military officer in charge and the schedule are constantly changing, plus there are many superficial changes but no departure from the original stand [idiom]. The fixed security measures, the stronghold gate garrison will not change. Pointing at the Imperial Guard general headquarters at Xuanwu Gate, the northern main gate of the imperial pce, Ba Fenghan said, Li Shimin is right, Xuanwu Gate is the most important military fortress in Changan. Currently, it is one of the two entrances to Taiji Pce. One day the Xuanwu Gate has not fallen into our hands, the control of Changan is still in the enemys hands. Hou Xibai said, Theyout of Changan city street is like a big chessboard. The streets only have east-west and north-south directions. The former has fourteen main streets and thetter eleven. The most important is of course the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, starting from the Ming De Gate of the Outer City, linking the Imperial Citys Vermillion Bird Gate straight through the Pce Citys Cheng Tian Gate, located in a section of the Imperial City that is also known as Heavenly Street, ending at the public square traversing across, separating the Pce City and the Imperial City. If we have enough military strength, as long as we could control the Xuanwu Gate and the entire Vermillion Bird Boulevard, half of Changan will fall into our pockets. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, If we want to control the entire Vermillion Bird Boulevard, we need at least 30,000 men. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, No! ording to Song Ques estimate, we need 60,000 men, only then will we have a chance to win this battle. Hou Xibais countenance changed, he said, The maximum number of soldiers that we can hide in the Duke Yangs Treasure-house is three thousand, plus Li Shimins Dark Armored Personal Guards, at most we only have around six thousand. Using this meager force tounch a mutiny, isnt it like striking a stone with an egg? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, If we dont have Li Shimin standing on our side, and it will be him corresponding and providing support to us, we would definitely be like striking a stone with an egg. Fortunately, Li Shimins position in the eyes of the House of Tangs ministers, generals and the people is lofty, plus our Shaoshuais fame for fighting prowess, it will constitute formidable-even-beyond-our-imagination cohesiveness and appealing power. As long as we make good use of this point and carry out a splitting apart strategy before the mutiny, it will definitely achieve miraculous results. Kou Zhong read out a paragraph in the upper right corner of the city map that summarized the distribution of the military strength throughout the city, There are the Left and Right Long Wu Jun [dragon military/martial army], the Left and Right Shen Wu Jun [divine military/martial army], and the Left and Right Shen Ce Jun [divine policy military/martial army] in the pce, collectively referred to as the Six Armies of the Pce City; plus the Left and Right Yu Lin Jun [imperial bodyguards] of the Imperial Pces Jin Yuan [lit. Forbidden Park/Garden], the Left and Right Shen Wei Jun [divine might army], collectively referred to as the Left and Right Ten Armies,bined together they form the Imperial Guards. I remember that Chang Hes official duty is the Left Yu Lin Jun. No wonder at that time he said thepetition for this position was so fierce, turns out it is one of the four military branches directly responsible to guard the Taiji Pce. Ten Armies, two thousand men each, the total is twenty thousand. Without any wonder-n, marvel-scheme, merely these ten armies alone are not something that can take. Oh! This city map is very useful, we must study it carefully. Ba Fenghan was still studying the map carefully. Frowning, he said, Changans tight city defense must be the best among the various cities in the Central ins. The bigger city gates have a hundred men stationed for a long term, while the smaller city gates have twenty men, and sixteen guards patrolling the whole city day and night nonstop. As soon as our hidden troops show themselves out of the storehouse, they will immediately alert the whole city and attack us from four sides, eight directions, using ten-thousand-jun--thunderbolt momentum, and thoroughly wipe us out. Hou Xibai pointed to the supplementary annotation in the lower left corner, he said, This section is talking about emergency measures, which will be implemented when necessary, guided by the evening drums of the Cheng Tian Gate. When the evening drum is sounded, the drums on every street will respond; with eight hundred drums, pedestrians must return inside their own houses, close the doors, and not allowed to go out at night, unless they have official document. Xu Ziling said, That is one problem that give us a headache. Another headache is that Qin Wang may be forced to move to the Hongyi Pce in the west side of the city to keep him away from the imperial pce. Not only it will be highly disadvantageous to our operation, but it will also be a clear target for the enemys firearms. Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs and said with augh, Our fate has always been hard life, each time we are in the enemy-strong, we-are-weak, using-the-few-to-fight-many inferior position. His grannys bear, we are using less than six thousand men to fight thirty thousand, not counting the troops stationed outside the city. But this is precisely the fun part, how to seek victory in this overwhelmingly inferior situation; it will depend on us, brothers ability. Ba Fenghan said, We must minimize the area of attack as much as possible, otherwise, even if we win, everyone will be killed or injured, practically nothing is left, our vitality greatly damaged. At that time, how are we going to deal with Xielis allied armies? Kou Zhong nodded and said, You are right, lets take his Niangs sleep first and talkter, we should reach the Flying Horse Ranch tomorrow afternoon! Hearing that Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Hou Xibai wereing to pay a visit, Shang Xiuxun, leading the Da Guanjia [the big/first housekeeper] Shang Zhen, the Four Zhishi [manager, see Book 9, Chapter 4] Liang Zhi, Liu Zongdao, and so on, came out to wee them. Naturally they could not do without Luo Fang, who was familiar with Kou and Xu, giving them enough face. After weing them into the ranch, Shang Xiuxun received them in the study room, which fully demonstrated her different close rtionship with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. On the other hand, it also seemed to show that her rtionship with Song Shidao had progressed one step further. Taking care of them was a group of maids under Big Sister Fus leadership, including Xiao Juan, so that the spacious study room was morous. Shang Zhen and others knew that one doesnt visit a temple without a cause [idiom], hence they all tactfully asked to be excused, leaving the reminiscing to be retoldter at the dinner banquet. In the past, the two boys looked into the distance from the other side of the garden toward this ce and sighed in admiration, but this moment they were sitting in the study room, looking at the couplet There is delight in the Five Confucian Rtionships [ruler-subject, father-son, brother-brother, husband-wife, friend-friend]; there is no hidden meaning outside the Six ssics [Book of Songs, Book of History, Book of Rites, the lost Book of Music, Book of Changes, Spring and Autumn Annals] - from a close distance. There is a sighing-with-sorrow feeling of the changes in human affairs, and of the impermanence of the affairs of life. Kou Zhong held the fragrant tea, offered by Xiao Juan, with both hands, he could not help but ask Shang Xiuxun, sitting at the host seat, Where is Song ErGe? Shang Xiuxun cast him a side long nce in displeasure; slightly miffed, she said, Are you looking for me or for him? Kou Zhong took a sip of the hot tea, emotionally moved, he said, I have never had such a fragrant, thick and just right - fine tea. And then he smiled and said, To be precise, should be looking for you [plural]. The word you two characters [ni men], was spoken with special emphasis. Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Hou Xibai all were unable to take their eyes off and watched attentively at Shang Xiuxuns reaction, because it was Kou Zhongs tossing-a-stone-to-find-out-whats-ahead [idiom] move to sound out her and Song Shidaostest development. Immediately rose-tinted-sky-at-sunset color grew on Shang Xiuxuns jade cheeks. She cast a furtive nce toward Xu Ziling first, and then said, How could you have spare time toe here to visit? Isnt the situation very tense right now? Shaoshuai ought to know that I must adhere to the wish of my deceased ancestors, I cannot get involved in the disputes outside. Kou Zhong winked to signal her with his eyes, Shang Xiuxun understood, she sent Big Sister Fu and the maidservants outside the study room to wait for orders, and then she asked, What is so mysterious? Hou Xibai stood up suddenly, he walked over to a scroll of calligraphy hanging on the east wall to look at it with pleasure; he sighed in admiration, Turns out Song ErGes calligraphy is this good, he did it with such poise; strict method implied within the unrestrained, this is extremely rare. Poems with good characters are even finer - the color of the long day passing through the stream, like snow and reed catkin carrying a full boat; where is the old man on the river going? Mist covered water is still in the Hans [dynasty] autumn. Whether writing about scenery or emotion, it is an ingenious writing. Shang Xiuxun could not hide the joy in her heart, she spoke cheerfully, Is it all right to have this scroll hanging in here? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly put down the load on their minds. Shang Xiuxun and Song Shidao were obviously like fish back in the water [idiom], as long as they had a chance to continue interact with each other, certainly the p of thunder in the sky would still be unable to separate them. Shang Xiuxun was no longer lonely. Before Hou Xibai had any chance to answer, Kou Zhong rushed to tter her, he said, Impossible to have anything better! It is so fitting that practically its a match made in heaven. His y on words teased Shang Xiuxun mercilessly that the roots of her ears turned red, her expression was touching to the extreme point. Hou Xibai, who had just turned his head around, was momentarily unable to look away. The beauty glowered fiercely at Kou Zhong and said, If you keep babbling nonsense, I dont care if you are Shaoshuai or Laoshuai [young/juniormander and oldmander, respectively], you will be treated ording to my familyw. His brows raised in delight, his eyesughing [idiom: beaming with joy] Kou Zhong said, Meirener Changzhu, please calm down. Getting back to the main point, we are here this time is to report thetest situation to our number one close female friend. Changzhu, please understand, things have changed, ha! Being addressed deferentially by Kou Zhong as the number one close female friend, immediately Shang Xiuxuns displeasure changed intoughter, but then she heard that things have changed, she was at a loss, What has changed? she asked. Putting on a deadly earnest expression, Kou Zhong said, Li Shimin, that kid and us have turned enemies into friends, we even prepare Shang Xiuxuns pretty face suddenly turned pale, she spoke in shock, Dont joke around, I just refused to supply warhorses to Li Yuan, and then you came to me and told me that you have established friendly rtions with the House of Tang. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Shang Changzhu, please do not misunderstand, Xiaoren [the lowly ones, plural] only wants to support Li Shimin to ascend to the emperors throne, we absolutely have no wish to surrender to Li Yuan. Heaving a sigh of relief, Shang Xiuxun frowned and said, So what exactly is it? After listening to Kou Zhong exining everything clearly, Shang Xiuxuns pair of beautiful eyes stared at Kou Zhong without blinking at all for quite half a day, and then she nodded and said, That is indeed the most beneficial solution for the world, its rare that you, Kou Zhong said that you would ept it and immediately epted it, plus you seem to be much happier than before. Ay! What are we going to do with Xiuning? Everybody understood what she meant by herst sentence. If Li Shimin broke off rtions with his family, Li Xiuning would be in the middle, left and right would be difficult to manage, no matter which side won, she would be distressed and heartbroken. This moment, Big Sister Fu rushed in like a gust of wind and reported, Song Er Gongzi is back! As she was heading out, Song Shidao, in high spirits, floated in. Letting out a longugh, he said, I havee really at the right time! A bit early or a bitte, I will miss it! Shang Xiuxun blissfully said, They have a startling-the-heaven-moving-the-earth big thing to tell you. Naturally Song Shidaos party sat down in the imperial tutor chair by Shang Xiuxuns side, opposite to the four men; he smiled and said, Die has also told me this shocking-the-world, exceeding-all-expectations changes and turn for the better. Kou Zhong, you have done very well, you can raise it, and you can put it down, this is the mark of a real hero. Everyone understood suddenly, turned out Song Shidao was rushing back to Lingnan to see Song Que. Needless to say, he must have begged forgiveness to Song Que and asked for his consent to his marriage with Shang Xiuxun. How could Kou Zhong be willing to miss this opportunity? He spoke with a straight face, This time we made special trip to the Ranch pay a formal visit to Changzhu, other than to report thetest situation, the more important reason is Ha! We are afraid that Song ErGe is too shy to ask Changzhus hand in marriage, ha! Hence we are going to do it for you. The dowry will be the future peace and happiness of the Flying Horse Ranch. Finally Shang Xiuxun could not take it anymore, the blush prating her cheeks, she spoke in great displeasure, Just look at you, Kou Zhong, the big-headed ghost! I dont have time to talk nonsense with you! Finished speaking, like a gust of fragrant breeze, bashful and happy, she cast them away and slipped outside. The five big men remained, you looked at me I gazed at you, all had some kind of happiness and joy that bubbled up from the bottom of their heart. Song Shidao sighed and said, Thank you very much yall! Especially Ziling, only this moment I began to deeply understand the true meaning behind your advice. Astonished, Hou Xibai asked, Ziling, what did you say to Song ErGe? Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Ill tell youter, ay! Frankly speaking, I dont know if I can repeat it. Under certain circumstances, some words can rush forth like running water, but under different environment, it cannot be expressed. What I said to Song ErGe is of this kind. Hou Xibai said with delight, Then I want to know even more, it must be very touching. Kou Zhong quietly cleared his throat and said, Dont change the subject too far, we came this time, originally it was to invite ErGe to leave the mountain [idiom: toe out of obscurity to a government job], but now I have to dispel this thought. Tonight, we all have dinner with happy heart, and then we will leave tomorrow. Song Shidao spoke indifferently, If I disregard the future peace and happiness of the Central Earth because of my own happiness, how do you think Xiuxun would think of me? No need to have any misgivings, we all enjoy blessings and endure misfortune together. On the way back, I went to the little valley to offer sacrifice to Junchuo, and to engrave something on her tombstone, if you want to know what I wrote, when you go to the little valley to pay your respects, you will find out. In the evening that day, ten banquet tables were arranged inside the main hall of the Flying Horse Ranch. Everyone in the ranch with a bit of position and status attended the banquet, including Lan Gu, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings archenemy when they were servants, but naturally right now she could not fawn on them enough, but Kou and Xu were also very polite and respectful toward her. Shang Xiuxun was obviously in a very good mood, she did not avoid arousing suspicion at all, together with Song Shidao, they toasted everybody else. After the banquet, everyone returned to their rooms to rest. Kou Zhong pulled Xu Ziling aside, he said, We havee from afar, we ought to go pay our respects to Lu Dashi, to thank him for cultivating us, and tell him that it is totally thanks to the underground military warehouse of his, the Seniors design that the world has the hope of peaceful reunification. Xu Ziling already had this intention, so without saying anything further he followed him towards the rear courtyard. Along the way, the guards only saluted them respectfully, without saying half a word. It was another clear night with many stars filled the whole sky, but the mountain tops, near and far, were adorned with new snow-white covering, the trees in the garden were full of hanging icicles. All around was quiet with no one in sight. Revisiting old haunts, the two boys recalled the scenes of the past, they were overwhelmed with emotional stirring. The rear courtyard was filled with fragrant and fresh air, the cold made the two felt tranquil and cozy. The close and dear, familiar sound of waterfall from the mountain at the back was faintly heard. They walked side by side along the winding corridors. Kou Zhong said, Nature is really amazing. Why is it that the water always flows down from its source on the high mountains? And it is inexhaustible all year round. I am afraid that no one in the world can answer this question. The water descends, but it always starts from high ces. Xu Ziling looked up at the starry sky, he sighed and said, There are too many things that we dont understand! For example, what is the beginning? What is the end? Does the blue dome of heaven have an end? What kind of ce is beyond that end? As they were talking, the two reached the square pavilion on the edge of the cliff at the end of the bamboo forest. To their left was precisely the gravel path leading to Lu Miaozis little two-story building. Kou Zhong said, I have never been as carefree as I am at this moment. Song ErGe and Meirener Changzhus love will find a way [idiom], Ling Shao is settling down, and I dont need to brace myself to be that pain-in-the-butt the emperor, Laotianye finally has a bit conscience. Xu Ziling said, We should thank the Heaven and thank the Earth. Since you, this kid, wanted to fight for some kind of hegemony, we have never had a day with peace and happiness, fortunately, things have finally reached the best and the final stage. Kou Zhong said, You seem to have more confidence than me. Actually, merely Shi Zhixuan, one person is enough to make us fail and wiped over the floor. Didnt you say that he no longer has any w? The Shi Zhixuan with w already put us in deadly-danger-but-still-alive position several times, what would the no-w Shi Zhixuan put us in? Xu Ziling said, If you absolutely want to deal with Shi Zhixuan, why bother Song ErGe? I also dont have the heart to do this. Ay! Perhaps you wont believe it, but in my heart, Shi Zhixuan is of course a vicious and merciless person, however, his unscrupulous means really is not because his natural disposition is evil, but because he wants to unify the demonic school, and then to rule the world. If my thought is correct, then he should not be the kind of person impervious to reason. When he can see clearly that he has no chance, that by destroying us he will only convenience Zhao Deyan or Yang Xuyan, he will most likely let us off. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, It is really hard for me to imagine that he is such a person. He was able to harden his heart to kill the woman he loved the most, naturally he can also harm anyone, including you and me. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, If he is really a man without any human nature, he would not have had his mind and spirit sick because he killed Bi Xiuxin. After he saw Qingxuan, he said something very strange, which was he wanted to admit defeat to Bi Xiuxin. Therefore, I think things will take a turn for the better. After he said that, I could no longer feel his ws. Revealing a deep-in-thought expression, Kou Zhong said, When you told me about this, I started to feel that your views are supported by facts. If you were Shi Zhixuan, under the current circumstances, what can you do? Not only he let Wanwan off, he does not have any intention to kill his own daughter. The various factions of the demonic school definitely regard him as a traitor, even An Long, who has always admired him, also betrayed him. Xu Ziling said, If I were him, I would bepletely disheartened, but Shi Zhixuan is a firm and persistent, standing out above the masses - person, he cant possibly give up easily. Kou Zhong said, Since Zhu Yuyan passed away, the biggest faction of the demonic school, Yin Gui Pai has fallen into division, Bian Bufu was killed by Lao Ba, Xi Ying lost his life in your hands. In fact, the demonic school already faces the dispersed-and-lost fate of extinction, at least its vitality is greatly injured. The only ones remaining are Zhao Deyan, who attaches himself to the Tujue, Yang Xuyan, Yin Zuwen, and the likes who attach themselves to Li Yuan. Let us solve all these problems in Changan at once. As long as the Shi Zhixuan obstacle is removed, I have a way to deal with everything else. Casting his eyes on the waterfall over the opposite cliff, Xu Ziling spoke heavily, What kind of person Shi Zhixuan is, we will have the answer very soon. Putting his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, Kou Zhong walked towards the gravel path. Suddenly Ke Dazhis face appeared in his heart, his excellent mood immediately disappeared without any trace, leaving only infinite sadness and heartache. Book 57 12 – Three Arrivals in Chang’an

Book 57 Chapter 12 - Three Arrivals in Changan

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia The next day, the four men left the Flying Horse Ranch, and went down south to the Yangtze River, to enter Shu via the Three Gorges. Song Shidao went to Liangdu to rendezvous with Lei Jiuzhi and Ren Jun, whom they summoned toe. On the surface, with the exception of the Song Armys violent attack on Lin Shihong in the south, the Central Earth was in a momentary state of ceasefire. However, in the dark, preparations for the battle of Changan were proceeding like wildfire. With Song Ques support, on their return trip, abandoning-sleep-forgetting-rest, the four men drafted aprehensive strategy. The most important part of this is to thoroughly destroy the demonic schools intelligencework, which covered the south. This was originally something that was impossible to do, however, after obtaining the Xiang Familys ount books, the impossible became possible. The identities of the Xiang Family ringleaders in various regions were all exposed. Many of them, because they had misgivings toward Kou Zhong, fled to the north, these have be Li Shimins responsibility to capture and send to Liangdu in secret. Song Lus side tortured them, and thus, from these prisoners, the vine linked to the melon, the melon linked to the vines, they continued tracking down the rest and wiped them out, until the Xiang Familys power outside the Pass was pulled up by the roots. Another target of attack was the Haisha Bang, who provided firearms to the demonic school. The way to survive was: when the contention among the various hegemons was at its peak, to strike water right and left [idiom: to benefit from both sides]. Currently, this favorable situation for the Haisha Bang no longer existed. With the Zhuhua Bang providing assistance, the navy division of the Shao Shuai Army, under personalmand of Chen Changlin,unched a siege-and-annihte attack toward the Haisha Bang under You Qiuyans leadership, which, for a period of time, dominated their region. By the time Kou Zhong and the others arrived in Changan, the Xiang Familys intelligencework outside the Pass hadpletely copsed. For a long period of time, in term of intelligence gathering, especially information about the situation in the south, Changan could only rely on the intelligencework set up by Li Shimin with Pang Yu taking the lead. This was a critical matter, Li Shimin could make Li Yuan and Jianchengs side to mistakenly believe that Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and the others were still engaged in the battle to unify the south, which would greatly benefit their maneuver to sneak into Changan. On the other hand, Lei Jiuzhi, through Pingyaos Ou Liangcai and his brothers, created a variety of false images of Situ Furongs establishment of new businesses and banks. This time, Li Shimin sent his men to undertake the task of making arrangement with Pingyao businessmen, so that it was where water flows, a canal is formed even more, making Situ Furongs return to Changan would not cause any suspicions, because the headquarter bank for the flying money business, as it should be by rights - ought to be located in Changan. At this time, the Haisha Bang was seven-naught-eight-broken-up, dispersing and fleeing - even more. With Yun Yuzhens help, Chen Changlin captured You Qiuyan and a group of Haisha Bang leaders alive in Jiujiang and sent them back under escort to Liangdu to be imprisoned, and tortured them about their affiliation with Liang Shidu. Du Fuwei was not idle either, he divided his troops into two groups and stationed heavy military forces in Jiujiang and Jingling, two counties. The former was to press down on Xiao Xian so that he was not able to divide his troops to aid Lin Shihong; thetter was only to bluff, pretending to attack Xiangyang, the most important military town south of Luoyang, and putting on an air of the-two-cannot-exist-together-with Li Shimin, to give Li Shimin the pretext for dying his return to Changan. On the other hand, Kou Zhong sent secret envoys to see Gao Kaidaos number one great general Zhang Jinshu, and the Shanhai Pass Ba Wang [hegemon king] Du Xing, telling them not to surrender, because new changes of the situation would appear, and informed them that Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin would both return to Changan. Everything was deployed properly, the four men sneaked into the Duke Yangs Treasure via the secret road, and lighted up the four wallmps. This was the first time that Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai set foot in this underground military warehouse designed by Lu Miaozi, they both gasped in amazement. The four inspected one of the underground storehouses where weapons were spread over an area. Ba Fenghan took out a crossbow and praised, This is a high-quality powerful crossbow. It is rare that after so many years, it is still like newly manufactured, clearly that in term of preservation, the effort was extraordinarily excellent. Hou Xibai plopped his butts on a chest of weapon, he spoke leisurely, We are finally in Changan! Before Situ Furong arrives, what can we do to relieve boredom? Ba Fenghanughed and said, I propose to kill a few people to offer a sacrifice to the banner, to feed my Stealing-the-Heaven Sword or Shooting-the-Moon Bow. Kou Zhong squatted leisurely on another chest of weapon, acting like a rascally local ruffian; he blurted outughing and said, Lao Ba, dont cause trouble, we are here not to kill and burn, stir up trouble, and then slip away leisurely, but to fight for the final victory. Furthermore, we have to consider Changan as our city, its just that momentarily it is still under the control of the enemy. The less damage Changan suffers, the stronger our strength to beat attack Xieli will be. The past few days I have been moving my little brains to see how we could win a locally limited battle? And it must be decisive, not a fierce street fighting that spread to the whole city, because that will be something that our strength cannot overtake. Xu Ziling sat down by Hou Xibais side, he looked at Kou Zhong and said, First of all, we have to create the conditions for localized battle. The only way is to divide Jiancheng and Yuanjis teams, and strive for the high-ranking military officers and cab ministers under Li Yuans directmand. Under normal circumstances, this is practically impossible to achieve, but we and Li Shimin are working together, which is another matter. At least this is a new situation that has never been tried before, unlike the difficulties that Li Shimin had to face on his own before. Ba Fenghan put down the crossbow. Muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, To persuade any high-ranking military officers or cab ministers, we have no choice but to reveal the secret between us and Li Shimin. This is very dangerous. One thing goes wrong, we may still be able to leave Changan alive, but Li Shimin and his men could forget about any of them having a good end. With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, Since we have a goal, we can also achieve it safely. Kou Zhong said, There is one thing I forgot to tell you. Among Li Yuans most trusted ministers, there is one of ours. Strictly speaking, he is my future father-inws man, Feng Deyi. The three men were emotionally moved, because Feng Deyi was not only Li Yuans man, but also had close rtion with Li Jiancheng. Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao and he are rather familiar with each other, so let Ling Shao go to see him, ask him clearly about the current situation, and tell him ourtest situation. He might tell us who can be bought, and who are unnecessary for us to spend a great deal of time and effort. Hou Xibai nodded and said, As long as they are not blind and deaf, and do not understand the great tendency of the world, they ought to know that Li Shimin is the Great Tangs only savior. Moreover, Li Yuans feeling contented with seeking pleasure, going against the tide [idiom: perverse way of doing things] behavior, Li Jianchengs collusion with the Tujue, and Li Yuanjis unwise recklessness, none are not favorable conditions for us. Those with aspirations will see that our situation is very good; there are definitely some people who will renounce the dark and seek the light. Ba Fenghan has nothing else to say. The key was Kou Zhongs support for Li Shimin. If Li Shimin was killed, Li Tang still had to deal with Kou Zhongs Shao Shuai Army and the like-wolves-and-tigers [i.e. ruthless] Tujues Wolf Army. However, if he supported Li Shimins ascension to the imperial throne, the whole world would be united, it would be able to deal with the coalition forces from beyond the Great Wall with all its strength. Why dont we go to see Feng Deyi together? Xu Ziling asked. This is called division ofbor, Kou Zhong replied, You go to see Feng Deyi, I go meet a beautiful woman, ha! This is the advantage of being amander, you can assign the most enjoyable tasks to yourself. Hou Xibai asked curiously, Which beautiful woman? Kou Zhong cast a sidelong nce to Xu Ziling, and said slyly, Naturally Shen Luoyan, Shen Meirener, ay! Ling Shao, I am doing it for your good; I dont want your old affection to reignite. In the raging inferno of dry firewood, it would cause trouble. Please close your dogs mouth, Xu Ziling spoke crossly. Ba Fenghanughed in spite of himself and said, You two brothers have your own problems, are Xiao Hou and I supposed to wait here doing nothing? Hou Xibaiughed and said, Why dont we go to Shang Lin Yuan to kill time? Kou Zhong said, I am fair and have no selfish motives, ha! Xiao Hou is responsible for going to Chen Fu to pawn your most valuable calligraphy and painting, make arrangement for Furong Ye toe to Changan to open the bank. Lao Ba is responsible for going to Chi Shengcuns gathering ce, it would be best if you could find Yang WenGans hiding ce, to make some preparations before the killing and burning. And then the murderous intent in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, There is someone that we must kill without mercy, which is Zhuge Dewei who betrayed Liu Dage. If it were not for him, at most Liu Dage would have been in a bit difficulty, he could not possibly lose his life. Xu Ziling stole into the heavily guarded Feng Mansion, located at the Bu Zheng Lane, relying on his out-of-the-ordinary spiritual senses to avoid the patrolling dog and the Feng Mansions house generals, and then, from the architectural perspective, he judged the building where Feng Deyi lived his everyday life. The gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive, he came to the study room from where thentern was still shining through. When he, through the window, recognized Feng Deyis back as he was bending over his desk, immersing himself in scrolls of documents, he could not help feeling that his level of mastery in hiding and disappearing had advanced by leaps and bounds. Bending his finger, he knocked on the window frame, to greet him ording to the secret signal that Song Lu told him, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding. Feng Deyis shook violently, he turned his head around, Xu Ziling deftly slipped in through the window, saluted and said, Xu Ziling pays his respect to Feng Lao. Feng Deyi breathed a sigh of relief and said, Its Ziling, I am relieved, because I dont have to worry that you will reveal any trace. Also, only Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong cane and go freely in Changan. Please sit down! Xu Ziling sat down in the corner. Even if someone looked in from the window, no need to worry that he would be seen. Feng Deyi sat down beside him, nodded his head and said, Its always good to be a bit more careful. At this time of the day, no one dares to disturb me in the study room. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Did Feng Lao see through at first nce who I am that day? Feng Deyi replied indifferently, Ziling finally realized. And then his pair of eyes shot sharp divine light, he said, I wonder if Shaoshuai also came to find a path? I hear that you are going to draw a defensive map of Changan City, this matter is considerably not easy. Xu Ziling said, Things have changed, we have obtained Song Fazhus nod of approval; we are determined to do our best to put Li Shimin on the emperors seat, so that the reunification and peace can be realized immediately. Trembling violently, Feng Deyis pair of eyes emitted disbelief expressions, he spoke heavily, Is that true? Xu Ziling respectfully replied, How could Ziling dare to swindle you, the Senior? Feng Deyi looked up at the beam and the pirs, he asked, How did you persuade Song Que? Xu Ziling told the story in details, including the Duke Yangs Treasures secret, Ci Hang Jing Zhais intervention, Song Que and Ning Daoqis battle where both sides suffered, and Li Shimins determination to rebel against his family. He did not dare to conceal anything. Because under the current situation, it was crucial to obtain Feng Deyis full support. Finished listening, Feng Deyi revealed a deep-in-thought look. Finally he sighed and said, This is indeed the best solution. No one has more qualifications to be the emperor than Li Shimin, but to aplish this matter, it is not easy at all. Even if Song Quees in person, with six thousand soldiers trying to control Changan, the chance of sess is very slim. Ha! Turns out the Duke Yangs Treasure still has real and fake differences; this is really previously unimaginable. Xu Ziling said, Hence we must split apart the enemy first. In this regard, the more sessful we are, the less resistance we are facing. Muttering to oneself irresolutely, Feng Deyi said, I understand what Ziling meant, but if you want to bribe the men from the other side, you have to take great risks, which might make Qin Wang lose his standing at every turn. But it is not impossible. Li Yuan obstinately clinging to his course by executing Liu Wenjing has caused people to panic, fearing that Li Yuan will quickly be like Han Gaozhu [posthumous name of the first Han emperor, Liu Bang], the birds are over, the bow is put away [idiom], killing the ministers who have given outstanding service in the founding of the country. Let me think about this. And then he frowned and said, Have you ever thought of arge-scale invasion from Hanzhong via the Shu Road, with the soldiers at the city walls, coordinating outside and inside offensives to attack Changan? This way, wont you have more assurance? Xu Ziling replied frankly, That was a n that was thought of but was overthrown, because if we do it this way, the one who conquered the world will be Kou Zhong instead of Li Shimin, and Changans vitality will definitely suffer great harm. If the allied forces outside the Great Wall hear the news and immediately go down south, we fear that we will becking strength to fight back. Therefore, we hope that a coup will take the ce of a bitter, fierce battle, and the casualties on both sides must be minimized, only then will it be more beneficial to Li Shimins political power. And then he wondered aloud, Li Yuan is man who understands military affairs, how could he not see Xielis ambitions? The allied armies beyond the Great Wall are being amassed on arge scale, any hotblooded man in the Central Earth cant possibly turn a blind eye to that, and be unconcerned. Smiling bitterly, Feng Deyi said, I dont understand Li Yuan more and more. It may be that the wild victories in quick session have muddied his brains. His idea is to resolve the dispute between Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin before the barbarians areing down to the south. Xu Ziling was stunned; he said, People say that even cruel tiger wont eat its own cubs, could it be that Li Yuan really want to kill his own offspring? Feng Deyi spoke heavily, It will depend on whether Li Shimin is willing to surrender. If he is willing to hand over the military power and dissolve the Tian Ce Fu, Li Yuan may be willing to spare his life, otherwise he will undoubtedly be killed. The murder of Liu Wenjing precisely shows Li Yuans determination in this matter. One might well ask, in this situation, who would dare to say half a good word on Li Shimins behalf? And then heughed involuntarily and said, Up to this moment, who in the world can do anything to Xu Ziling? I really dont have to worry too much. Ziling can freely tell me in detail about your grand n for fabricating the emperor, see how I can act in concert with you. Xu Ziling was greatly relieved, knowing that finally he obtained the full support of the highly favored person by Li Yuans side. Kou Zhong crouched down in the dark at the rear garden of Li Shijis General Mansion on Banzheng Lane, which was separated from the Imperial City by one Anhua Street, and he was sighing greatly for his bad luck. Shen Luoyan was not in the Mansion. ording to Li Shimin, she should have returned to Changan from Kaifeng more than ten days ago. Therefore, she must have gone out and has not returned yet. Based on Shen Luoyans style, not returning home tonight should not be surprising at all. Should he continue to wait a bit longer? While he was hesitating, suddenly the rm went off in his heart. Immediately Kou Zhong curbed everything that could stir up a martial art masters induction, as he cast his gaze toward the courtyard wall. A tender, skillful dark shadow, fast like a ghost, appeared on top of the wall, and in the blink of an eye flew toward a snow-covered horizontal branch of a big three inside the courtyard. The tip of her foot lightly tapped, without dropping the slightest amount of snow, in a few ups and downs, she disappeared into the darkntern-ck-fire Shen Luoyans fragrant chamber. Looking at the uninvited guest in nightwalker attire, whose head and face were concealed in ck hood, a feeling of dj vu welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. Momentarily he was not able to guess which one was this person among the people that he knew? But he had a vague feeling that it should not be difficult to guess; the number of women with such outstanding martial art skill in the world truly could be counted on ones fingers. Thinking to this point, Dugu Fengs fragrant appearance suddenly floated up from the bottom of his heart. Her figure was precisely this kind of delicate and nimble. She obviously came here because of the hatred of killing her brother to look for Shen Luoyan to give her bad luck, but her intelligence must be not too urate, unexpectedly she did not know that Shen Luoyan was not at home. Suddenly Dugu Feng came out through the window. Without stopping at all, she left in the same direction she wasing from. Everything returned to its original state, as if nothing had happened. Kou Zhong greatly felt that the turn of events was not too encouraging, he hurriedly shed out of his hiding ce, and in the blink of an eye he ced himself inside Shen Luoyans fragrant chamber. He swept his gaze around, and finally fixed his eyes on the neatly folded brocade quilt on the bed. He walked over. Suddenly a streak of golden light burst out from under the nket, shooting toward his throat, as fast as lightning shes, just like a martial art master making a move to mount a sneak attack. Kou Zhong had already guarded against this, his right hand reached out, he pinched the shooting thing head-on; the light turned into a little golden snake about half a chi long, wrapping itself around his hand, wriggling and struggling. Kou Zhong looked down to look closely at the continuously-struggling-swiftly little golden snake; he cried Formidable! inwardly. This snake must be extremely poisonous, seeing-blood-sealing-the-throat kind, if Shen Luoyan was dragging her weary body home, thinking with all her heart that she could go to bed and rest, without guarding against it at all, there was a very good chance that she would be fooled. She was not like him and Xu Ziling, who were not afraid of poison. If from then on the jade perished and the fragrant vanished, and after the fact, the little snake slips away without a trace, even if there was doubt, it would be difficult to put the me on the Dugu Family. Dugu Feng came not because of intelligence error, on the contrary, she had urate information, knowing exactly that Shen Luoyan was not at home. From this, Kou Zhong inferred that Shen Luoyan should be on the way home, otherwise if Shen Luoyan did not return all night, the one meeting misfortune bitten by the poisonous snake would be the innocent servant girl who came to clean up. Kou Zhong sent out his power, the little golden snake was immediately finished. Kou Zhong walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed, as he heard the noise of vehicles and horses entering the gate from the front courtyard. He casually waved his hand, the golden snake was tossed onto the little table by the bed. Without any trace of politeness Kou Zhongy down on the big bed, closed his eyes and waited quietly. After a long time, the sound of footsteps was heard, he recognized that it was only Shen Luoyan, one persons footsteps, he could not stop a burst of emotional stirring in his heart. Although Shen Luoyan gave up her military career, she was, after all, ustomed to Jianghu life. If it were some other noble familysdies, even though she returned home in the depth of the night, it would be strange indeed if a group of maid servants did not endure the night toe and wait upon her. And Shen Luoyan definitely did not like this tune. Her General Mansion was like her former residence in Xingyang, the defense was loose, so much so that Dugu Feng was able to enter as if it was an uninhabited ce to harm her. Creak! The outer door of the boudoir was pushed open first, followed by Shen Luoyan pushing the inner door and entered, and let out a soft cry. Kou Zhong slyly sat up from the bed, grinning widely, and said, Meirener Junshi, how are you? Shen Luoyan stroked her chest with a having-just-recovered-from-a-shock touching manner. She cast her gaze on the golden snake on the small table, and then cast him a sidelong nce. She stepped over to the corner, where a pcentern was hanging, and just like that she took off the cotton outer robe to defend herself against the cold, revealing her graceful, charming figure. Frowning, she said, Whats going on here? Can you not stare at me so lecherously like that? If you really want to see it, I can show you enough. Inwardly, Kou Zhong was shocked. Shen Luoyan has always been willful, even though she had be the Li Familys woman, she still did not change her character. No longer dared to be Liu Zhen looking straight ahead [sorry, cant find any reference on this, probably based on the Romance of the Three Kingdoms], he spoke with serious expression, I happened to see Dugu Feng hiding this little golden snake inside your quilt, so I cleaned it up on your behalf. Oh! What are you doing? Without the slightest care Shen Luo Yanzily unbuttoned thepel of her gown; shrugging her shoulders, she said, You are still so confused, when you get home, of course you have to change your clothes. Otherwise, how can you sleepfortably? Quickly take off your filthy boots, you make my bed dirty. Kou Zhong was so scared that he turned around to look at the other side; he sighed and said, Dont seduce me, in this aspect, all men are weak. Shen Luoyan scolded angrily, Gutless ghost! The rustling noise of the clothes being removed was heard from behind. For the first time, Kou Zhong regretted his overly-rich imagination; furthermore, he had never expected that he would encounter such an erotic scene. He secretly thought that Xu Ziling should carry out this mission, at least his power of concentration was far better than Kou Zhongs. Book 57 13 – Splitting Apart and Driving a Wedge

Book 57 Chapter 13 - Splitting Apart and Driving a Wedge

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Finished listening to Xu Zilings statement, Feng Deyi pondered for a moment, and then said, The matter of you guys impersonating Situ Furong and his party, except for the problem concerning Shi Zhixuan, there should be no issue, because until now, no one is suspicious. However, you must arrange a good contingency n, if you are exposed, you could escape quickly. Feng Deyi went on, Jiancheng and Yuanji might return within these few days. Li Yuan is greatly angered by Qin Wangs dy, yet there is nothing he can do. When the general is outside, to some extent, the lords order cannot be received, not to mention Du Fuwei is beginning to stir, Qin Wang must make arrangements first before he can return, its really difficult for Li Yuan to me him, but this definitely make the rtionship between them, father and son, even worse, because there was already a precedent to this. Xu Ziling understood that Feng Deyi was referring to the fact that Li Yuan had continuously issued imperial order to force Li Shimin to return to Changan after the Battle of Luoyang. At that time, if not for Li Yuanji had failed to resist Liu Heita and he had no choice but to reinstate Li Shimin, Li Shimin might have ended tragically early on. Feng Deyi said, Within the imperial court, only Li Shentong, one person, supports Qin Wang. Outside the imperial court, there are Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda. However, due to Liu Wenjing was put to death, they keep quiet out of fear. Fortunately, all these three people are loyal and righteous; if they knew that the situation is changing, I have the confidence that I can persuade them on Qin Wangs behalf. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Its really inadvisable for Feng Lao to get involved. First, Li Shentong and the others might suspect that you are sounding them out on Li Yuans behalf. As long as we know that they are people whom we can win over, thats enough. Feng Deyi nodded and said, Zilings words make sense, because I have always been regarded as someone from the Taizi [crown prince] faction. Xu Ziling asked, What kind of person is Pei Ji? Feng Deyi replied, He is the person within Li Yuans inner ministerial circle who knows best how to see the wind and steer the rudder, and to fawn on Li Yuan. People who support the Taizi faction only follow him blindly. After Liu Wenjing was executed, his power became even stronger. With Yin Zuwen, they are viins who collude together. Sometimes I dont understand why Li Yuan, who is not stupid at all, unexpectedly relies one-sidedly heavily upon them. Xu Ziling recalled Yin Zuwens shady business in arranging entertainment for Li Yuan, naturally he understood in his heart, but temporarily he did not reveal it. He asked, Why did Li Jiancheng fail to see that colluding with the Tujue is an act of showing the wolf into the house? In the end, it has no advantage to him whatsoever. Feng Deyi smiled and said, Even if you ask Li Shimin, he will not be able to give you the answer. This is really Li Jianchengs n to kill two birds with one stone. If Xieli invades, Li Jiancheng will take advantage of his prestige in dealing big defeat toward Liu Heita to present a memorial to Li Yuan to allow him to personally supervise the army to resist the invasion. Also, because of the Tujues strength is surly and unreasoning [i.e. tyrannical], the House of Tang must use the elite troops to the greatest extent. The Dark-Armored Elite Troops and the various generals of the Tian Ce Fu under Li Shiminsmand will be requisitioned by him. This is akin to stripping Li Shimins military power covertly, to make him into an ordinary citizen that others can take advantage of. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Since Li Jiancheng already has this intention, why does he still put Ke Dazhi in an important position and even invite Bi Xuan to Changan? Feng Deyi said, ording to Li Jianchengs exnation to Li Yuan, he believes that the Tujuee to the Central Palins for the purpose of plundering wealth and kidnaping children, therefore, as long as they maintain a good rtionship with Xieli, when Xieli invades, they can use wealth and children to appease Xieli. As for inviting Bi Xuan to Changan, it was a decision made with this kind of mentality. Jiancheng is even more convinced that Zhao Deyan can influence Xieli and make him return beyond the Great Wall after receiving the big gift. Xu Ziling said angrily, I no longer doubt that Li Jiancheng is a man who damage the country and cause suffering to the people [idiom]. Unexpectedly Li Yuan does not have his own judgment and definite opinions? Smiling wryly, Feng Deyi replied, It depends on which sides words Li Yuan is willing to believe. That day when Liu Wuzhou invaded together with the Tujue Army, Jiancheng and the imperial concubines belittled Shimins military merit, they said that the Tujue were utterly worthless, so Li Yuan did not take the Tujue people too seriously, thinking that he could use both carrot and stick to make them go back. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Didnt Li Yuan know that Li Yuanji suffered big defeat in Song JinGangs hands and ran away? Feng Deyi sighed and said, Li Yuan is very far behind the front line, deep inside the pce, surrounded by lowly men and women left and right, so that his eyes and ears are not working properly. Li Yuanjis defeat, Jiancheng said that Shimin was tampering with the supply and reinforcement. In the end, the me still falls on Shimin. And then he sighed and sad, In the struggle of the imperial court, even if Shimin ps his horses butts, he still could not catch up with Jiancheng. For one thing, he has the all-out support of the demonic school, furthermore, because Shimin has been leading soldiers outside for a long time. Currently, the Crown Prince and Imperial Concubine factions target of attack is focused on Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling. They manufacture all kinds of rumors, saying that the two instigated Shimin, causing him to grow disloyalty in his heart, and to conspire to rebel. The situation is extremely unoptimistic, if we cant think of a good strategy right away, the two of them will definitely suffer cmity first. Xu Ziling now grasped a clear outline on the struggle within the inner and outer imperial court. After setting up ways tomunicate with Feng Deyi, he quietly left. Thentern was extinguished. Shen Luoyan stretched out her hand around his neck first, and then she kissed him on both cheeks, left and right. Sheughed in low voice and said, Im naked! Under Kou Zhongs nk stare, she climbed onto the bed, and just stretched out her jade body in front of Kou Zhongs eyes. She even stretched out her limbs in an extremely alluring manner; her tender,zy and weak appearance was just so touching. It was only then did Kou Zhong notice that she was wearing sleeping clothes, so it was just empty words and tigers roar to scare him, to joke with him, so that his heart, which had jumped to his throat and nearly choked his heart, finally returned to its original position. Smiling ruefully, he said, We are all old friends! And Im not a gentleman whose bosom is not in chaos even more. Dont tease me, all right? In his heart, he couldnt help but think of Wanwan, whose whereabouts was unknown - who often acted like this. Lying down in front of him, Shen Luoyan cast him a sidelong nce, she asked, Howe its not Ziling whosing to see me? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Because he has less self-control than me, he is extremely nervous that he might fall into your gentle and soft trap, and will never be reincarnated! I, Kou Zhong am a person who value loyalty; for the sake of my brother, naturally even if des are sticking to my two nks, I will stille to the meeting. Shen Luoyan rolled her eyes at him, she spoke with disdain, Still talking so much nonsense. Kou Zhong cleared his throat and calmed his mind to resist her powerful attractive force, he said, You should know whats going on between me and Li Shimin! Shen Luoyan replied, If I dont know, how could I have the mood to sleep in the same bed with you. Hee! How about you lie down and talk about it? Shocked, Kou Zhong said, You are still unwilling to let me off? If Ziling knows that we are sleeping together, how can I exin it to him? Pfft! Shen Luoyan giggle tenderly, she glowered at him hard, and then closed her beautiful eyes, and spoke softly, Listening to you, it seems that I am married to Xu Ziling instead of Li Shiji. You are just afraid that your good brother would catch us in the act on bed. Oh! It feels so wonderful. How could Kou Zhong dare to continue messing with her? Changing the subject, he said, Its sote! Where did Meirener go? Shen Luoyanzily replied, Where else but to go see your first love. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Xiuning Gongzhu? Shen Luoyan spoke slyly, Do you have many first loves? She knew I came back, so she invited me to the pce to satisfy her missing you. I deliberately didnt mention you, in the end she couldnt help asking me. Hee! Very interesting, it seems that she does not have the self-control that she is showing on the surface. I surrendered! Kou Zhong said, Meirener Junshi, please be magnanimous, please tell me how to make you be willing to let me off. Shen Luoyan opened her eyes and said, You can kill one person and do one thing for me, or you let me kiss you on the mouth. Kou Zhong spoke miserably, Lets forget about kissing! Im most afraid of inviting personal disasters. Right now, it is in the dead of the night, a lone man and a single woman being together in a dark room, what cant possibly happen? Ay! The one you want to kill, is it Wang Bodang, that kid? Of course there is no problem. What is the thing you want to do? Shen Luoyan replied, Hang that little golden snake outside the main gate of Dugu Familys Xi Ji Yuan for me, I want to see if Dugu Feng still dares to be unbridled to me. Kou Zhong pped his legs and eximed, Super! He said, Good n! This time I will designate you, Meirener Junshi as our Junshi [military adviser]. Please use your brain to think of a way to make Li kid the Emperor of the Great Tang. Shen Luoyan spoke indifferently, The key to sess or failure depends on how many people in Changan support you. More importantly, how to buy important figures from the enemy camp. I have a very ideal candidate in my heart, if I can win him over, the odds of winning will increase greatly. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong asked, Who is it? Shen Luoyan sat up, her pretty eyes flickered with the divine light of wisdom, she spoke heavily, Wei Zheng. Kou Zhong pped his legs and said, Why didnt I think of him? He was the minister with great merit who helped Li Jiancheng defeating Liu Dage, and he had worked together with you for Mi Gong. With Li Yuan killing Mi Gong, he should be very dissatisfied. Shen Luoyan said, He is even more disgusted with Li Jiancheng for killing your Liu Dage. Merely from this point, he should be able to see through Li Jianchengs innate character in conducting himself. Kou Zhong agreed, he said, Kill Liu Dage was really an unwise move, he should have let Liu Dage be a small official in Changan, that would be a superior policy, then with no blood on the mens swords, they could subdue Shandong. Shen Luoyan said, Leave the instigating Wei Zheng to me, when there is good news, I will let you know. Where are you staying? Kou Zhong said, For the time being, it is more appropriate for us toe to you. Shen Luoyan crossly said, Next time, have Zilinge to see me, otherwise I wont even say half a word. Smiling apologetically Kou Zhong said, That is of course, Xiaodi takes my leave! Unleashing his night-walking technique, Xu Ziling leaped high and scuttled low to rush toward the Yong An Canals secret entrance to the Duke Yang Treasure-house. It was the third watch of the night [11pm - 1am, or simply midnight], the street was quiet and deserted, the only sound was the asional footsteps of the patrolling troops. It was the time of cold weather, frozen ground [idiom: bitterly cold], plus there was the somber and deste atmosphere of the mountain rain about toe down. Xu Ziling flew along the east bank of Yong An Canal under cover of the trees. As long as he threw himself into the canal, he could guarantee that no one would be able to catch up with him. Suddenly the rm went off in his heart, so he hurriedly shed behind a tree. A dark shadow suddenly appeared and abruptly vanished on the opposite bank, shing in the direction of West Market. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he picked off a branch in passing and threw it to the middle of the river, and then he flew off the shore, his foot tapped the branch, and borrowing that little buoyancy, he threw himself to the opposite bank, and chased in the direction where his target was disappearing. If he was not mistaken, that person should be the Fat Merchant of Sichuan An Long. His build was precisely his trademark. Book 58 1 – Pleasure House Love

Book 58 Chapter 1 - Pleasure House Love

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia If it were someone else, with such a short dy, he would definitely miss An Long, a martial art master with deep level of mastery and profound knowledge and experience. In order to make up for his problem of body shape and weight, An Long exploited this feature to create a set of shenfa to carry and lift his body that rely on his weight, andbined it with his Tian Xin Lian Huan (Lotus Ring in the Center of the Sky), which enabled him to be ranked among the Eight Major Martial Arts Masters Of The Demonic Ways. Xu Ziling unleashed his shenfa with all his strength, the stream of true qi cycled through inside his body, each revolution increased his speed a little, so after a few breaths, his speed increased to the peak state that even he himself was shocked. The tip of his feet lightly tapped the top of the West Market outer wall, he flew outside the encirclement toward the top of a snow-covered tile roof of a two-story building. The sole of his feet developed sucking force, so that stepping on the slippery ice and snow, he did not need to worry about slipping and losing his footing. At this time, An Long appeared on the edge of the roof of a building in the northwest corner of the West Market. Xu Ziling hurriedly crouched down and hid behind the roof ridge. As expected, An Long happened to turn his head around to look back. Although he avoided it in time, it was an extremely close call. A martial art master of An Longs caliber would always be in a state of high alertness, a little bit of carelessness, and he would definitely detect it. Xu Ziling stuck out his head to peek, An Long somersaulted again and disappeared among the streets andnes. A subtle feeling grew in Xu Zilings heart, as if he could foresee the future; and thus he did not jump up and chase after him. Sure enough, after a few breaths, An Long appeared on the back of the roof tile again, spinning around to look far and near, and then flew toward the open courtyard of a shop on the east side of the market. Close call! Xu Ziling cried inwardly. Indeed the older the ginger, the spicier it became. This technique of guarding against someone following their track was simple and effective. If Xu Ziling was afraid that he might lose him, he would immediately chase after him, and would no doubt fall into the trap. Xu Ziling did not hesitate anymore, he dropped down onto the deserted streets of the West Market, and chased him from the ground. Kou Zhong was about to hang the big present at the ring knocker of the main gate of Xi Ji Yuan, when he heard voices and footstepsing from the inside. Kou Zhong wondered whether there was a dinner party at Xi Ji Yuan that had just ended at this moment. While this thought was in his head, he soared up and flew across street; with one vertical leap, he safely crouched down on the other side of the roof ridge, showing only his head and eyes. In the darkness, he was able to take in the whole scene of the situation at Xi Ji Yuans main gate at once. Since making their debut, most of the time he and Xu Ziling have been hunted to be killed and ambushed by the men and horses of various sides. After going through repeated training and tempering themselves, their skill in leaping onto the roofs and vaulting over the walls and hiding their traces was really far beyond what ordinary martial art masters would be able to achieve. Creak! the big gate was opened wide, a man, leading a horse along, walked slowly out. Surprisingly, it was Wang Bodang, whom Shen Luoyan wanted him to kill. Dugu Feng [phoenix] was leaning against him side by side and was quite affectionate, as they chatted in a low voice. Kou Zhong focused his power into his pair of ears to eavesdrop with all his attention. Actually, he did not have much expectation; although the streets in this district were only one-fifth of the width of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, but since they were nearly twenty-five zhang away, knowing his own ability, he should not have the ability to eavesdrop. Who would have thought that Wang Bodangs voice immediately sounded faintly in his ears, My Hua Quan She [whole-flower snake] moves like the wind, extremely poisonous without equal. The most brilliant thing is that before biting, it will not make any unusual noise. I guarantee that Shen Luoyan will meet her end, Fenger can avenge the enmity of your brothers murder. Dugu Feng spoke hatefully, Li Mi has received his fate, now its Shen Luoyan, that s1uts turn. Kou Zhong understood; because Wang Bodang betrayed Li Mi, he knew that Shen Luoyan would never let him off, so he took advantage of the Dugu Familys hatred of Shen Luoyan to make his move to kill Shen Luoyan in secret via Dugu Fengs hands. This way, not only he could win over the favorable impression of the Dugu Family, he could also eliminate the cmity within his bosom [idiom]; one move, two gains. Wang Bodang spoke cheerfully, I wonder if Fenger could reconsider my proposal, I am truly sincere toward Fenger, the Emperor of Heaven above can be my witness. Dugu Feng lightly shook her small cicada head and said, I still want to think about it, can you give me some more time? Its going to be dawn soon! Kou Zhong jumped in fright, turned out Wang Bodang was wooing Dugu Feng, it was beyond his expectation. But after careful consideration, this move of Wang Bodangs was extremely ingenious. Not only he would obtain both wealth and beauty, but he could also borrow the close rtionship between Dugus family and Li Yuan tond him an important position. Wang Bodang was silent for a moment. Sketching it in light shades, he said, Fenger still cannot forget that uncouth and loves-to-invent-crazy-nonsense ugly guy? Dugu Feng furiously said, My affair is none of your business. Dont think that we wont survive without you. Get lost! Finished speaking, she just stormed off in a huff. Wang Bodangs face darkened, he mounted his horse and left without saying a word. Kou Zhong was dumbstruck, That uncouth and loves-to-invent-crazy-nonsense ugly guy, who were they referring to if not his ugly divine doctor? This was hard to understand, back then, Dugu Feng showed clearly that she was only interested in attractive and intelligent men, yet unexpectedly she had a special fondness for this ugly divine doctor; what was it all about? The sound of hoofbeats rose up abruptly, Wang Bodang disappeared in the trailing dust, as if he wanted to vent the resentment and indignation in his heart as much as he liked by riding his horse to gallop wildly, without the slightest consideration whether he would disturb other peoples beautiful dreams. Two servants closed the main gate. Kou Zhong suddenly remembered Zha Jie, who was secretly in love with Xier, he mused that since there was still a little time before dawn, he could go to say hello to Qingqing. After making up his mind, he flew across the street and darted towards the main gate of the Xi Ji Yuan. Xu Ziling was hiding behind a big tree, as if he was melting into the darkness. His acute senses were telling him that this seemingly unremarkable shop, with He Chang Long [lit. fit-together prosperity and grandeur] signboard hanging in front of it, was quite likely an importantir of the demonic school, because relying on his senses, he was deeply aware that the security on this ce was so tight that it was beyond his expectation. This five-section, two-open-courtyard stye rectangr shop was located in the street behind the famous old shop Fu Ju Lou, just at the street corner, so three of its side were facing the street, only one side was leaning against the shop. All the secret sentry posts were set up inside the shop, putting all movements outside ingeniously under surveince. If not because he paid particr attention, hence was not rashly attempting to sneak in, he would definitely be unable to escape the enemys eyes and ears. Inside the shop, thentern was dark, the fire ck; it was pitch ck. Xu Ziling could not stop Yang WenGans image from floating up in his mind. Because this kind of high level of security bore extreme resemnce with Yang WenGans style. Until this moment, he still could not hear any voice inside the shop, all he could hear was the light breathing of the secret sentries. Maybe there was an underground room inside the shop. If An Long was hiding inside that kind of underground room having a secret talk with someone, it would be impossible for him to hear anything. He decided to wait for a while, to see if An Long would leave before dawn. When Kou Zhong arrived at Feng Ya Ge, Xier had just sent off thest guests. Along with Qingqing, she received him in the inner hall. Meeting again after a long period of separation, naturally they were extremely happy. Although the time they spent together was very short, but because they knew each other at a very young age, plus Kou Zhong once helped them, their rtionship was close, there was no need to have any misgivings. When the two women found out that Yin Xianhe had found his younger sister, they were endlessly very excited for him. Qingqing was puzzled, Didnt you lead the Shao Shuai Army fighting the battle in the south? she asked, Why did you suddenly run away to Changan? Xier was offering fragrant tea, sheughed tenderly and said, Kou Ye especially came her to see you, Qing Jie! Taking the proffered fragrant tea, Kou Zhongughed and said, First of all, I have to ask you a question. Among Li Yuans three sons, who do you think is the most qualified to be the emperor? Lets ignore who is the crown prince designated by Li Yuan first. Xier sat down on the other side of the bench, she warmly wrapped both hands around his left arm, Aiyo! she eximed, Kou Ye! We are just pleasure house women, what do we know about the countrys affairs? Her hands shaped like a gourd, Qingqing pulled his hand, and spoke in astonishment, Why are you asking such a strange question? Kou Zhong greatly felt the boundless luck with women, but his heart waspletely free of devious thoughts, because he always regarded the two women as older and younger sister, respectively. Heughed and said, Pleasure house is the ce where news circtes the most. After two cups of yellow soup entered his belly, a man would even take his heart out for you to see. Feng Ya Ges reputation is barely under Shang Lin Yuan, there is nock of high official and noble personsing and going, of which Li Yuanji is one. You must have heard everything, you should have a bit of knowledge, no matter what. Xier said, That is the issue that no one dares to talk about. If we offend any party, we wont be able to eat! Qingqing said, Although nobody dares to talk openly, but when discussing various types of governance and the war situation inside and outside the Pass, they will eventually reveal some thoughts. ording to what Jiejie heard, most think that Qin Wang is the most capable. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, That is the answer I want to hear. Changan City will undergo major changes within this year. This is precisely the reason I am back in Changan. Dont be afraid, I will protect you. Xier said, Can you take us out of Guanzhong? Kou Ye could take Xier as a concubine, I am tired of the life of a pleasure house. Kou Zhong was shocked; he said, Xieer, dont you have someone whos interested in you? Xier umber-ck eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, The pleasure house is a ce to sell false friendship, seeing Qing Jies bitter experience, how could Xier be not afraid? Since the very first day, Qing Jie already give me an earnest and well-meaning advice, exhorting me not to let any guest moves my real feeling. Those who came one time, half a time, are mostly chance encounter; those who came often, you might suspect that he is a scoundrel who loves music and song every night. Qingqing smiled and said, If Xiao Zhong is willing to take Xier as a concubine, it will be her good fortune. Kou Zhong sighed and said, To have a beautiful concubine like Xier is indeed a good fortune for any man. However, I think my good Meizi [younger sister] should have a happier future. Does Xier have any impression toward a youngd named Zha Jie? Xier revealed a pondering look, she shook her head slowly, indicating that she did not remember such a person. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Thats impossible! He said that you treat him favorably. Qingqing spoke in displeasure, That is the skill that the pleasure house is ustomed to use. From the first day Xier became a talented girl who sell her art but not sell her body, I taught her to make every customer feel that she treats him differently. All men with a little bit of aspiration or achievement are like this; toward women, they have excessive confidence in themselves, thinking that every woman cant help but fall in love with him for various reasons. The pleasure house is precisely the best ce to satisfy their confusion in this aspect, but of course it takes a lot of gold to buy it! Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down to the bottom, thinking that if he wanted to help Zha Jie aplishing his wish, he must still spend some efforts, plus it still depended on Laotianyes will, forcing it would not make ite. Heughed and said, Now that Qing Jie told me, the murky darkness suddenly opens, leave Xiers lifelong happiness to me. She is my good Meizi! Didnt I watch her from a little girl turning into a beauty? Xier spoke crossly, Kou Ye speaks like you are proud of your age and experience, how much older are you from me anyway? Kou Zhong hurriedly changed the subject by asking Qingqing, I hope the person in Qing Jies heart is not Li Yuanji. Qingqing revealed an expression of disdain, she said, He treats me like a ything, I am only happy to use him as a patron. Jiejie already made a firm resolution not to marry. Opening a pleasure house is not too bad! In here, there are no distressed people. Xiao Zhong, dont go yet, let Jiejie serve you. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Qing Jie, please dont tempt me. Upon self-introspection, Xiaodi realized I am not a person with staunch willpower, but what I need more is an elder sister. He could not help thinking of Susu, he also remembered Zhen Sao. Momentarily, his soul was broken, his spirit injured. Qingqing puckered her fragrant lips, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, and spoke softly, My good Didi [younger brother] has always been an upright gentleman. If you have time, please visit us more often, all right? Xu Ziling waited painstakingly in the dark for half a sichen, but there wasnt any movement at all inside He Chang Long. By this time, it was only less than half a sichen before dawn, he was afraid that Kou Zhong would wait in worry, but also remembering that the future is long [idiom], so long as He Chang Long was indeed one of the demonic schoolsirs, there would always be a way to find out clearly the secrets inside. Thinking to this point, he left promptly. Reaching the forested area near the Yue Ma Bridge, close to the west bank of Yong An Canal, suddenly his heart generated reaction. Xu Ziling could not help sighing inwardly; he halted his steps to aplete stop, and slowly turned around, ready to pay the good-and-bad-luck-difficult-to-foresee price for following the dangerous figure, An Longs track. He looked at Shi Zhixuan, who appeared like the demon god from the dark asura helling to the human world, showing himself from the dark and flying straight towards him. Shi Zhixuans expression was serene, with his hands behind his back, tranquil and calm, he said, Ziling,e with me! Kou Zhong returned to the storehouse, Hou Xibai and Ba Fenghan each took possession of an armory, using the chests as their beds, seeking for a dream, but he did not see Xu Ziling. While he was anxious, Ba Fenghan woke up and sat down beside him, Ziling has note back? he asked. Kou Zhong sighed and said, He should have been back earlier than I did. Could it be that he met Shi Zhixuan? In the city of Changan, only Shi Zhixuan has enough qualification to prevent him froming back, other people, even Fu Cailin, might not necessarily be able to do it. Ba Fenghanforted him, saying, The rtionship between Lao Shi and he is special, he shouldnt harm him. If the two of them really met, it might give us a chance to understand Shi Zhixuans intention thoroughly instead. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Based on Zilings current martial art skill, even if Shi Zhixuan wholeheartedly wanted to kill Ziling, it wont be an easy task at all. Moreover, they both are people who are not supposed to be exposed to the light, if the Tang Army is rmed, it would be difficult to find the opportunity to get away. I am not too worried about Ling Shaos safety, what I fear the most is to let Shi Zhixuan see through our grand n, that would be thoroughly terrible. Ba Fenghan revealed a smile brimming with confidence, he spoke indifferently, After the Battle of Luoyang, I, Ba Fenghan no longer fear anyone, including Shi Zhixuan and Bi Xuan. In fact, in that military campaign, the benefit that you and I both derived was not shallow. Zilings situation, I am unclear, but you, Shaoshuais saber technique must have reached the perfect state. Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, Right now I really wish I could take Ling Shaos ce in dealing with Lao Shi, however, I understand it more clearly that to deal with Shi Zhixuan, Ling Shao should be more suitable than any of us, because his understanding of Shi Zhixuan is deeper than anybody else. Ba Fenghan said, I am not too worried about Ziling either, because I have one hundred percent confidence in him. One thing that until now I still am unable to understand is this: why did Song Que give up the ninth saber strike toward Ning Daoqi? If it were me, this matter would never happen. Kou Zhong said, The key point is that Song Que is a man of great wisdom and great courage, hey! I am not saying that you, LaoGe, are not such a person, rather, Song Que has to give thought about themon people of the Central Earth, he has no choice but to consider the grave consequence of both sides losing and perishing together. When Ning Daoqi was blocking the eighth saber strike, he carried out a brilliant-beyondpare move, that is, he deliberately missed reciting the three sentences from Zhuangzis fable, since thinking that its toote, walking fast nonstop, thereupon the strength exhausted and die, right on the precise time to block Song Ques ghosts-and-gods-cannot-fathom one saber strike, brimming with mystery within a mystery meaning, making Song Que know that Ning Daoqi had the energy left over to die in such a way that he also perished. And those three missing sentences were even more thought-provoking. The hidden point is that if they went to the Yellow Springs [the underworld in Chinese mythology], it would be like a man who died due to fearing his own shadow and scurrying to avoid it, which is very meaningless. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, In the end, Song Que was willing to give up for Han unification, he was willing to support Li Shimin for the same reason, however, only someone like Song Que who transcends the thought of victory or defeat can make such a sensible act of reining in the horse at the edge of the precipice. From this action of his, I learned a very precious thing. Kou Zhong said, After all, my future father-inw is a great expert in strategy and the art of war, he really does not care about the sess or failure of the two mens duel. Ba Fenghan said, Ning Daoqi is Ning Daoqi after all, if he directly said those three sentences to Song Que, he could definitely not shock Song Ques Lingtai as if he deliberately omitted it. It was indeed hidden Zen subtleties, which makes people ponder over endlessly. Returning to our main topic, what shall we do when Ziling returns? Grabbing his head with both hands, Kou Zhong said, It depends on whether Ziling really came across Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling followed Shi Zhixuan into apletely inconspicuous small courtyard house in Jin Chang District in the south of the city, and sat down in the hall. Shi Zhixuan personally poured the tea to entertain the guest,pletely without any hostility; at least it appeared so on the surface. Xu Ziling took a sip of tea and watched Shi Zhixuan sit down slyly beside him. He could not help but wondering about inner feeling between them for the past many years, and asked in a heavy voice, Did Xie Xianting and Xiao Yuan lose their lives in Xie Wangs hands [Book 29 Chapter 1, except it was Xiao Wan instead of Xiao Yuan]? Knitting his brows, Shi Zhixuan asked, Are you referring to the pair of a man and a woman driving the carriage? Xu Ziling nodded. Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, I made an exception this time by answering your question, but it should not be taken as a precedent. Perhaps you never thought about it, but I, Shi Zhixuan would never kill people out of anger. Xu Ziling doubt has still notpletely gone, he asked, But Xie Wang, at that time you ay! Remaining indifferent, Shi Zhixuan spoke calmly, Actually, they helped you and Kou Zhong avoiding a cmity. When I stopped the carriage, in order to protect his little lover, the young man got out of the car and fought me desperately, evoking my memory of Xiuxin. Immediately every hope turned to dust, the murderous intent waspletely gone. I am willing to tell you this fact, because I dont want to fight with you, which will convenience Zhao Deyan and Xuyan, that traitor, for nothing. Xu Ziling finallyy down the load on his mind, he secretly let out a sigh of relief. Shi Zhixuan knitted his brows tightly again and asked, Why did Ziling take the risks toe to Changan? Currently, the one with the best chance to unite the world is no longer Li Yuan but your brother, Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling groaned inwardly; if it were other people, he could still borate with empty words, but the other side was Shi Zhixuan. To find a reason that would make him believe firmly without any doubt, certainly would be more difficult than ascending to heaven, yet he had no choice but to answer. His mind turned around at the speed of lightning, he opened the door and saw the mountain, saying, We are ready to deal with Xiang Gui under Situ Furongs guise; will Xie Wang expose us? Stunned, Shi Zhixuan said, How could Kou Zhong have the time to spare for this kind of trivial thing? Unexpectedly Song Que is willing to let him not distinguishing between slight or important? Xu Ziling cried inwardly, Not good! even more. He could not help speaking in distress, I wonder if Xie Wang could look at Qingxuans face and not asking about our business? Remaining tranquil, Shi Zhixuan said, You brought up Qingxuan to pressure me, so that I, as her Ol Die, cannot do anything? Am I the target of your operation? Inwardly Xu Ziling was severely shaken, he secretly thought that they indeed could not conceal it from him. Suddenly he felt that the control was no longer in their hands; if they could not kill Shi Zhixuan, hereafter they would only be led by the nose by Shi Zhixuan. Book 58 2 – Unifying the Demonic Way

Book 58 Chapter 2 - Unifying the Demonic Way

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Inside the small hall in the darkness before dawn, Shi Zhixuans expression was so serene, calm and collected that it appeared nearly emotionless, making Xu Zilingpletely unable to grasp his mind; there was only one thing he was sure of, Shi Zhixuan did not generate a murderous intent toward him. Shi Zhixuans analysis was with roots and was in ordance with reason [i.e. well-founded], since only Shi Zhixuan knew Situ Furongs secrets, they were still extremely daring to impersonate Situ Furong and his party toe to Changan, it showed clearly that they were targeting him, so how could Xu Ziling quibble against him? If he glossed over by building his argument word by word, it would only make Shi Zhixuan looked down on him, Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling sighed and said, In order to achieve a more far-reaching goal, we are forced to take a dangerous road. Ay! We really dont want to be Xie Wangs enemy, even more, we had never thought of the current situation, if Xie Wang exposes us, it will be hundreds of harms but no benefit for both sides, instead, it would nt deep enmity that cannot be resolved. May I venture to ask Xie Wang, what actually are you nning in your heart? Shi Zhixuan revealed a hint of pained expression, he spoke softly, I wonder if Ziling wanted to ask Ol Shi, between the mission of the holy school and the life-long happiness of Qingxuan, if I could only choose one over the other, what choice would Ol Shi make, right? Xu Ziling was shaken inwardly, he no longer had any grasp on his idea that Shi Zhixuans murderous intent toward him would not be moved, because in light of what he just said, killing Xu Ziling was one of the choices that he could take. Xu Ziling said, Under current situation, what else can Xie Wang do? Laughing involuntarily, Shi Zhixuan said, Zilings insight is too narrow and shallow! The contention over the world, how could it be a day and night matter? As long as I can strike and destroy the so-called White Way power headed by Ci Hang Jing Zhai, and maintain our holy schools vitality, there wille a day the holy school will revive from its decline. Whats more, I have had many years of deployment, who can wipe it out in a short time? And then he cast his gaze at him, his eyes became sharp, swift and fierce, but the tone of his voice was still tranquil without any ripple; indifferent and at ease, he said, If Ol Shi did not guess incorrectly, you guys areing to Changan this time, it is for Li Shimin. Am I right? Xu Ziling could not hide his horrified expression, his entire body felt like being inside an icehouse, his limbscking strength, he cried inwardly, We are done for!. Shi Zhixuans intelligence was indeed more superior than their estimation. In the case where his consciousness waspletely without any no w, unexpectedly he could see through them, hitting the target with a single shot, so that from high in the clouds, he fell straight down to the ground, feeling that their grand n of facilitating the emperor, which they drafted well over thousands gratitude and ten thousand considerations have be a presumptuous act that waspletely unworkable. Shi Zhixuans voice rang in his ears again. Ziling, answer me. Xu Ziling felt his whole mouth was bitter and astringent; he spoke dejectedly, Xie Wang, please note clearly, if you persist on your own viewpoint, we have no choice but to cancel the n, and temporarily return to the south. The fate of the world in the future will still depend on whose fist is harder. Laughing involuntarily, Shi Zhixuan said, Why is Ziling this dispirited? I do not have any intention to destroy your n at all, in fact, I could even lend you a hand [orig. the strength of one arm]. Of course, there will being and going, I will need your help on some things. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling said, Xie Wang is not joking? Shi Zhixuan coldly said, How could I be in the mood to make a joke? No matter how you look at it, Li Shimin is equal to the Li Tangs soul, a tower of strength, Li Tang without Li Shimin is akin to a tiger without teeth. However, after Li Shimins death, to unify the north, you will need some time. And the one who would be hit the hardest is not Li Tang but Ci Hang Jing Zhai, toward my holy school, it will only bring benefit without any harm. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck, he finally came to realize that turned out Shi Zhixuan did not see through that they were going tounch a coup and put Li Shimin on the throne; rather, he misunderstood that they came to Changan to assassinate Li Shimin. Precisely like Shi Zhixuans analysis, if Li Shimin was killed, the one who would be hit the hardest was Ci Hang Jing Zhai, Fan Qinghui would no longer had any influence on the world, moreover, she would lose the fight against Shi Zhixuan. The world would thus evolve into a north-and-south-vying-against-each-other, outside-tribesing-to-invade chaotic situation. With Shi Zhixuans ndestine deployment, coupled with his insight and intelligence, perhaps it would really bring great benefit to this situation. Vitality returned to his heart and head, he became excited again. In which aspect will Xie Wang need our help? he asked first. Shi Zhixuan spoke heavily, Why did Ziling suddenly appear in Changan, and even followed An Long? Answer me honestly first. Xu Ziling knew that he must not say half a wrong word, otherwise all the upper hands and advantages would flow down the drain; he said, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, and I sneaked into Changan one step ahead, it was to understand the situation clearly and to see whether the n to impersonate Situ Furong is still feasible. We took this unusual risk not just for Li Shimin, but also to deal with the Xiang Family. Xie Wang should know that the enmity between us and Xiang Yushan is as deep as the ocean, we wont let him live a moment longer. How did Ziling know the ce An Long is staying? Shi Zhixuan asked. Xu Ziling trembled inwardly, while at the same time countless thoughts shed through his mind. Shi Zhixuan misunderstood that he already knew An Longs hiding ce, hence he was able to follow An Long to the West Market; this showed that Shi Zhixuan also knew An Longs hiding ce. That being the case, why didnt Shi Zhixuan take any action against An Long who betrayed him? The only rational exnation was that not only An Long did not betray Shi Zhixuan, it was Shi Zhixuan who instructed An Long to win Yang Xuyans trust using the Bu Si Yin Jue and let Yin Zuwen and the others, a group of the demonic school leaders to think that An Long really renounced Shi Zhixuan and turned to throw his lot to them. This information was extremely precious and hard toe by, yet to obtain it, he did not need to spend a great deal of effort at all. This question was very difficult to answer. If he frankly admitted that he just identally came across An Long, it would not show that ining to Changan, they were taking the initiative to understand the situation clearly. While his mind was churning at the speed of lightning, he slowly replied, The reason why An Long could leak his trace is because he has some living habits that cant be changed. Shi Zhixuan nodded and said, He loves to visit the bathhouse every day, it is indeed a very bad habit. Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, d that he passed the hurdle; sounding him out, he said, Since Xie Wang is willing to cooperate with us, we will let An Long get away this time. Shi Zhixuan was nonmittal; changing the subject, he said, You must absolutely not save a little only to lose a lot; beating the grass to scare the snake is really unwise. You should know that Li Yuan issued an imperial edict to order Li Shimin to return to Changan. After hees back this time, Im afraid he will never be able to lead the army and go into battle again. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he instinctively felt that Shi Zhixuans information did note from An Long, otherwise the tone of his voice could not be this certain. Furthermore, he knew that Shi Zhixuan was still sounding out the real purpose of their trip to Changan, hence he mentioned it over and over again. One bad move, he might overthrow the decision he made earlier. Sketching it in light shades, he replied, The one who wholeheartedly wants to kill Li Shimin should be Jiancheng and Yuanji. How could Li Yuanpletely ignore the flesh and blood sentiment? During the time when the outside tribes are ring like a tiger watching its prey, plus there is the Shao Shuai Army in the south whose might is at its peak, killing Li Shimin will throw the soldiers heart into disorder. Therefore, we are the ones who must make the move. If Li Shimin goes, Xieli willunchrge-scale invasion. When Guanzhong is in chaos, it will be the day the Shao Shuai Army will go up north. Ay! My only wish is that the Central Earth can be unified as soon as possible, so that themon people no longer have to suffer hardship. Shi Zhixuan stared fixedly at him, he muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, and then nodded and said, That must be the reason why Ziling is unwilling to withdraw? If Li Shimin is sessfully assassinated by you, how would Ziling exin to Shi Feixuan? Xu Zilings pair of eyes emitted a look of determination, but he was not pretending, rather, he had made the determination that before Shi Zhixuan became suspicious, he would kill Shi Zhixuan one step ahead, for the sake of peaceful reunification of the world - to put aside all apprehension, including Shi Qingxuan. He spoke indifferently, Do we have other options? When the situation bes critical, Li Yuan will reinstate Li Shimin; on top of that, there is the danger of Guanzhong and the solid defense of Luoyang, no one knows until when will we have the opportunity toy down the weapons of war. At the same time, he remembered Ba Fenghans famous saying in his heart, only those who are ruthless enough will be able survive. Until this moment, this sentence was stillpletely correct. Shi Zhixuan said, You see it very clearly. I am not convinced either that based on Li Shimins conduct and action, plus Fan Qinghuis wisdom, they would be willing to let Jiancheng, Yuanji to ughter him at will. Ay! It will be daybreak soon! He cast his gaze out of the window, his expression wasplicated and difficult to understand; what load on his mind could possibly evoke it? On which aspect exactly does Xie Wang want us to help you? Xu Ziling asked. Shi Zhixuan acted as if he did not hear it, he spoke softly, Didnt Qingxuan say that she woulde to look for you? How would she know that you areing to Changan? Xu Ziling trembled inwardly, to hide from Shi Zhixuan was really not easy. Were it not that he was able to control the meridians in his body to be fixed at a certain normal state, merely the fluctuation of the qi meridians would enable this great master of the demonic school who has reached the down-to-the-smallest-detail realm to detect that he was lying early on. Now, he could still deal with it relying on his intellect, he spoke dejectedly, I am hoping that Qingxuan could stay in Jingzhai for a while longer. If we sessfully aplish this mission, I will immediately rush over to see her. Afterwards, Jianghus struggle and vendetta will no longer have any share in my, Xu Zilings life. These several sentences, every single word came from the bottom of his heart, from his true feeling, revealing some kind of heartfelt and sincere tone. This was precisely Xu Zilings brilliance, because his ability to lie was far inferior to Kou Zhong. Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes shot an emotional expression, he spoke in low voice, Treat her well, she is the only person in the world who can make me, Shi Zhixuan heartbroken. Any harm thate to her, I definitely will not put up with it. Ay! Ziling! The situation of the world developed to what it is today, no one could foresee it in advance. From the absolute disadvantageous position, Kou Zhong finally obtains the upper hand, I, Shi Zhixuan, have only two things to seek, first, unify the demonic way, and then destroy Ci Hang Jing Zhai. At that time, we will see what else we can aplish. Stunned, Xu Ziling looked at him and said, Xie Wang is still not weary of all this? Shi Zhixuan recovered his calm andposed manner, without the least bit of emotion, he spoke indifferently, So what if I am weary? Is there anything else worth doing? Entangle Bi Xuan for me, I want to kill Zhao Deyan, and thenplete the great undertaking of unifying the demonic school inside the Tang Pce. Immediately Xu Zilings scalp went numb, musing that Bi Xuan was indeed invited toe, the purpose was naturally to help Li Jiancheng to deal with his second brother Li Shimin. This would make future situation be even more hard to fathom. Smiling bitterly, he said, Xie Wang is not joking again? In the Great Tang Pce, other than Bi Xuan, there is also Yi Jian Dashi Fu Cailin, Yuwen Shang, You Pozi [old woman] whose asthma illness has been cured, the inscrutable Wei Gonggong [eunuch], one post every five steps, one sentry every ten steps - imperial guards. Our track slightly exposed, to escape will require one luck in ten thousand, how could we have the time and the ce to find people and kill people, much less a martial art master of Zhao Deyans caliber? Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, If it were easy, why would I need you, four kids helping hands, assisting fists? This time Zhao Deyanes with the group, together with Bi Xuan, they are Li Yuans esteemed guests, they will enter Li Yuans fine Taiji Pce together. Currently, the person Zhao Deyan is having the most apprehension is me, he will wait idly and not dare to leave the pce, and he cant possibly hang around Yuwen Shang, You Pozi, and the others; if you want to kill him, how could you not take some risks? This is the condition of our cooperation. If you dont agree, you must get lost of Changan immediately. If you are willing to cooperate, my mission must be aplished before you assassinate Li Shimin, what do you say? Overwhelmed with shock, Xu Ziling said, If someone finds out that we are in Changan, how can our n proceed? Shi Zhixuan spoke indifferently, You are helping me in Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling identity, it has nothing to do with Situ Furong whatsoever, why would it affect you? If you have a way to lure Bi Xuan out of the pce so that Zhao Deyan will be on his own, I have no objection. As long as I can kill him with my own hands, then who within the demonic school would dare to rebel against me? Xu Ziling said, Zhao Deyans life and death will not influence Yang Xuyan at all. Shi Zhixuan spoke serenely, Yang Xuyan is not our demonic school people, no one is willing to trust him wholeheartedly. This matter, no need for you guys to worry about. Xu Ziling met Shi Zhixuans gaze. Shi Zhixuan spoke heavily, If I kill Zhao Deyan, it will bring you a hundred benefits without a single harm. The first and foremost, the rtionship between Li Yuan and Xieli will be broken, and it will be an even heavier blow to Xieli! Ziling must make up your mind, otherwise we could forget about everything. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, if their goal was only to assassinate Li Shimin, of course it was not a big problem to follow Shi Zhixuans n. But what they wanted was a coup that will pull down Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, and Li Yuanji at the same time. To deliberatelyplicate an issue like this, the consequences would be hard to fathom. Shi Zhixuan suddenlyughed in spite of himself and said, Zilings other choice should be to kill me to shut my mouth, but this is probably more difficult to aplish than I want to kill Zhao Deyan inside the Taiji Pce. Whether we can seed or not will depend on getting out from the secret road into the Pce to control victory by ambush. Ziling, you must not underestimate yourself; your martial art skill has already reached the realm where I dont haveplete confidence to kill you, on top of that, there are Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Xiaotu [little disciple] Xibai. With such an assassination team of wonder troops helping me, the impossible things will be possible. Xu Zilings heart was moved, but he deliberately frowned and said, The problem is that there are hundreds of buildings in the Taiji Pce courtyard. Unless we know the exact ce where Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan are staying, how can we make our move to strike? Frank and straightforward, Shi Zhixuan replied, On this aspect, leave it to me. Ziling should trust me that I am not going to harm you, right? Dont be wishy-washy, once you agree, just let it go, one sentence and its decided. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly. Up to this moment, he still could not beat Shi Zhixuan, so that he was led by him by the nose; he nodded and said, Well decide it that way then! After killing Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan, Xie Wang must not interfere with our affairs anymore. Shi Zhixuanughed aloud and said, Unexpectedly we are going to join hands and work together; if we tell others, I guarantee that no one will believe it. Where is Ziling staying in Changan? Xu Ziling already prepared the answer, so he replied without the slightest hesitation, We areing to Changan this time is to understand the situation in the city clearly, to see whether Situ Furongs identity can still be used, and then we will leave the city immediately. When wee back as Situ Furong, Xie Wang can easily find us. Shi Zhixuan cheerfully said, You can find me here. When I am away, you can leave a message. Go now! It will be dawn soon! Inside the Duke Yangs Treasure-house. Finished listening, all three men looked at each other in dismay, they were left speechless. Hou Xibai was the first to draw out a mouthful of cold air and said, That is impossible. Just Bi Xuan alone is enough to wreck our mission, much less there is also Zhao Deyan, plus many other martial art masters. How could Shizun [Master] be so muddle-headed? He has had a share in breaking into the Great Tang Pce, so he had deep knowledge of the seriousness of this matter. Ba Fenghan said, This is called a highly skilled person has big guts, plus if the situation really goes bad, relying on his Bu Si Yin Qigong [in this case, qigong means wonder skill/power, not qi - chi] he ought to be the one with the best chance to escape unscathed. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he said, Our original n was to deal with Shi Zhixuan first, but since he is already on guard, it would be difficult to seed. Are we really going to work for him? Besides, I am still unable to figure out whether he made such an arrangement is actually a trap? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, If we can grasp his mind, he is not Shi Zhixuan. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, To be able to assassinate Zhao Deyan inside the most heavily guarded Taiji Pce of the Great Tang is indeed very tempting. Hou Xibai said, Because you are the only one among us who has never visited Taiji Pce, you feel that it is interesting. Ba Fenghan agreed, he said, You could say that. But if we could assassinate Zhao Deyan with Bi Xuan only look on helplessly, and even he will have to give up his head under my sword, it will certainly very delightful. I dont have any opinion, everything is up to Shaoshuai. Kou Zhongughed and said, You still say no opinion? You already speak up the idea in your heart, his Niangs! If we reveal our track, will it affect the grand n? Hou Xibai said, Of course it will, only whether good or bad, its hard to fathom, thats all. Never mind, Ill just consider it as a payback to him, the Senior, for the past favors! Kou Zhong regained his usual self-confidence, he turned to Xu Ziling and asked, Ling Shao, what do you say? Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, The other option is to kill Wolf, absolutely ruthless. If we let him discover our fake identities, we will fail and will be wiped over the floor. For the sake of the overall situation, you can no longer think about the sentiment of the past. [I feel, no, I am sure, there is something missing here, but I checked three different sources, and they are all the same.] Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Even if I can harden my heart and make decision, there is still the worry of beating the grass to scare the snake. Can we talk about this matterter? Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghan said, I understand, I just cant help but remind you. Hou Xibai said, If we want to kill him, we must wait until he returns. ording to Chen Fu, Ke Dazhi already led Chang Lin Army to the north to meet Bi Xuans team on behalf of Li Jiancheng, and our Furong Yes fleet is going to enter the Pass tomorrow. Having a weight off his mind, Xu Ziling said, Since thats the case, Kou Zhong and I will leave immediately. Other things, we will talk after we are back in Changan. Patting Ba Fenghan on the shoulder, Kou Zhong said, The delight of life is precisely the here and the now; the future is beyond our understanding and out of our grasp. Without any better option, we have to change ording to the situation, to do our best to attend to it, and to disrupt his grannys bear, ha! Book 58 3 – One Million Taels of Gold

Book 58 Chapter 3 - One Million Taels of Gold

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia This time the fake Situ Furong returning to Changan, the prestige could not bepared to thest time he entered the Pass to take refuge. In addition to the original cast: Ren Jun as Situ Furong, Song Shidao as Shen Wenjiang, Lei Jiuzhi as the Housekeeper, Kou Zhong as Cai Yuanyong and Xu Ziling as Kuang Wentong, there were more than twenty attendants, including Wang Xuanshu and Zha Jie. Each one was supplied with a household registration ID that would pass close inspection. Pang Yu was responsible for providing them, these were not forged documents at all. Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai remained in Changan, they were hiding in a residence arranged for them by Chen Fu. From Ren Juns own mouth they learned about Big Miss Zhai Jiaos recent situation. Due to the tense situation in Shandong, plus the loss of the protection provided by Dou Jiande and Liu Heita in the past, Zhai Jiao took Little Lingzhong and her subordinates to flee toward Liangdu, which was an absolutely safe choice, hence Kou Zhong and Xu Zilingy down the load on their mind. Since they had been in contact with Yin Zuwen earlier, plus Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong were celebrities, whose name shook Guanzhong, who had been in Changan before to y polo in front of Li Yuans imperial self, after going through a routine inspection, which was no more than going through the motions, they entered the Pass without a hitch, and straight toward Changan. By the time the boat docked at the Yong An Canal pier, Yin Zuwen, Chi Shengchun, the Great Immortal Hu Fo, and the lingering-in-Ren-Juns-dream-and-pulling-his-soul beauty Hu Xiaoxian, Qiao Gongshan, Er Wenhuan, and so on have been waiting for a long time, which showed that they attached utmost importance to Situ Furongs flying money business. On the surface, naturally everybody was very happy to see each other, just like old friends who had been separated for many years gathered together. That very same evening Yin Zuwen hosted a banquet at Shang Lin Yuan to wash the dust from their feet. Wen Yanbo was also in attendance, but Xue Wanche, because he was following Li Yuanji in military campaign and had not returned, was unable to participate. Qiao and Er, two men, also failed to respond to the invitation due to official business. After three rounds of wine, Ren Juns Situ Furong brought up the main topic first, This time Furong ising to Changan, the most important thing is of course to meet with old friends, but also to wish Xiaoxian a good health. Hearing that, Hu Xiaoxian immediately tittered andughed tenderly, her charming eyeballs rolled around, in a charming manner that could bewilder people to their deaths. It could be said that by this time, Ren Juns heart toward Hu Xiaoxian was obvious even to a casual onlooker. The murdering intent in Chi Shengchuns pair of eyes red up, but was immediately restrained, reced by a smiling face, as he spoke with a chuckle, May I ask Da Laoban, what is the second affair, is it the flying money business? Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong exchanged nces, their minds were interlinked; they both felt that this kid Ren Jun, when facing Hu Xiaoxian, immediately he was like shedding his mortal body and exchanging his bones [idiom] and changed into another person, his heroic spirit and the air of his wealth prated the dome of heavens. Ren Jun said, I have been preparing for this flying money business for many years, I have already established contact with all key figures in various regions. My, Situ Furongs aim in doing business is just like this, either dont do it, or do it the biggest and the best. In time of peace and prosperity, there is a peace-and-prosperity way of doing business; in troubled times, there is a troubled-times way of doing business. With overflowing interest, Yin Zuwen said, In the letter that Situ Laoban sent to me, you said that you were going to set up a head office in Changan, I wonder if you are still going to carry it out as stated? Hu Fo said, The road is not of peace and prosperity, demand for flying money is greater. I mentioned this to several friends in Changan, none did not say that this business has great prospects for the future, they also pointed out that only Situ Laoban is qualified to preside over this kind of money-making business. Strong financial resources are an important factor, and reputation [inmerce] is especially important. Wen Yanbo said, I heard that Situ Xiong used Pingyao and several cities in the vicinity as pilot projects, I wonder how was the reaction? Song Shidaos Shen Wenjiang replied cheerfully, The response was enthusiastic beyond expectation. In both the supply and demand aspects, we feel reasonable interest to engage in business and operate the bank, none of the merchants do not feel greatly satisfied with the convenience. Ren Jun spoke indifferently, There is no end to making money off the street. I, Situ Furong, regard doing business as a bridge to spread good karma in making friends. Flying money business not only can promote trade andmerce, but also raise tax for every transaction depending on the size of the transaction - for the imperial court, and thus increase the revenue of the state treasury. To the imperial court, there are a hundred benefits without a single harm. Wen Yanbo smiled and said, Huangshang must be very happy. Ren Juns gaze fell on Hu Xiaoxians pretty face, he spoke withplete confidence, Im a businessman, words of politeness I dont know how to speak, in business, we speak business. I decided to set the capital of the opening of the bank as ten shares, each share is a hundred thousand taels of gold. Five shares will be mine, while the rest will be divided among old friends. If we make money in the future, the profits will be distributed ording to the number of shares owned. Of the five shares that I have, three-shares-worth of after-tax profits will go to the national treasury. Kou Zhong and the others cried inwardly, Showtime! One hundred thousand taels of gold were not a small amount, furthermore, it would be paid in real gold and white silver, even a rich man like Chi Shengchun, he would have no choice but to ask Xiang Guis direction to raise the money, and when he went to see Xiang Gui, his track would be under Ba Fenghans close surveince. Emotionally moved, Wen Yanbo said, Restricted by the rule of official position, Yanbo has no chance to participate, moreover, I cant evene up with half a share of the capital. But I am extremely touched by Situ Xiong giving thought to the imperial court in all respects. Tomorrow morning during the morning court, I will report as things really are to Huangshang. Huangshang ought to be very supportive of this. Yin Zuwen nodded and said, Situ Laoban is indeed straightforward and agile, plus you have deep understanding of the way to seed in doing business; count me in for a share. Song Shidao said, Furong Ye is a businessman used to conscientious style, and his ounts are very clear. This aspect, gentlemen can jointly send someone to oversee, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings on any item in the ounts. We are setting up our head office in Changan, precisely so that it will be convenient for all Laoban to supervise together. The Great Immortal Hu Fo said, Situ Laoban meticulous thought makes me feel reassured. Its a pity that Hu Fo is financially weak, so I can barely take one share. Ren Junughed and said, Da Xian is too modest! Everyone could not help casting their gaze to Chi Shengchun to see how he was going to make his move. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos Chi Shengchun said, In order to avoid Da Laoban from expending a great deal of effort to find partners, how about Shengchun undertake the purchase of the remaining three shares? Ren Jun let out a longughter, he said, Hereby the bank is established. I would be grateful if Wen Daren would present a memorial to Huangshang, beseeching Huangshang to bestow our bank a name. After the umted funds of one million taels of gold are melted down, it will be cast with that name. At present, only gold can go through both inside and outside the Great Wall, hence if we obtain Huangshangs favor, the banks reputation could immediately spread all over the world. Wen Yanbo cheerfully said, Bestowing a name should not be a problem. Yin Zuwen raised his cup and said, Lets drink for our bank to be thriving and prosperous. In the warm atmosphere, everyone raised their cup and toasted each other. Back at Situ Furongs grand residence in Chong Ren District,ing out to meet them was actually Hou Xibai, who was acting as Song Shidaos assistant, Theres a spy! he spoke in a low voice, while signaling with his eyes upward. Everybody understood, they knew that a certain group had already sent a martial art master to eavesdrop on their conversation, and they had already guessed that the other party would do this, therefore, even if there were no outsiders present, they would still maintain their fake identities and converse using Pingyao local ent, even if they had to limit their talk to one or two sentences. This moment, Ren Jun immediately put his true color as Situ Furong on disy. Sitting in the main hall, he ordered everybody to set up the head office and deal with various matters rted to raising the capital. He even ordered Kou and Xu, two men to go to the pce tomorrow to make a report, and assigned them the heavy responsibility of establishing contact with key people of the imperial court. When they knew that the spy has left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and gathered at the round table in the main hall for a meeting. Wang Xuanshu and Zha Jie participated. Kou Zhong said, We are now in the danger zone, so in each step we take we have to be careful, to avoid one wrong word and the whole tray fall over the floor. Everyone nodded in agreement. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, It was really hard for me to hold back just now. Hou Xibai said with a sneer, Of course you shouldnt talk, dont forget that you are acting as a ve. Lei Jiuzhi pretended to act like a ve; polite and modest, he replied, Thank you Hou Ye, for reminding me, when I said it hard for me to hold back, I was talking about struggling hard to restrain myself fromughing, just by looking at Yin Zuwen and Chi Shengchun acting as if they would surely eat us up, I wanted to roar inughter. ttering him a little bit, Kou Zhong said, Lei LaoGe came up with Zhu Xiang Da Ji [grand n of punishing the Xiang], I guarantee that Old Chi and Old Yin will enter the trap without knowing what hit them. Zha Jie was baffled, What strange n brilliant scheme? he asked, Is it possible to reveal a little bit so that Xiashu [subordinate] and Xuanshu Gongzi know whats going on, so that we can cooperate with all our strength? Lei Jiuzhi replied ambiguously, It wont be wise to reveal it. My divine n and wonder consideration is that there should be no oneing to disturb us tonight, because Furong Ye is travel-worn, and in extreme need of rest. Therefore, whatever it is that you want to do, you must make arrangement tonight, as soon as possible. Frightened, Ren Jun said, Did I go too far just now? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Who would know the real Situ Furongs haughty manner? Right now, my eyebrows are knitted, and my head is full of ideas. Xiao Jun, you might as well take the initiative and pursue Hu Xiaoxian boldly, if you catch up with her, she is yours. The angrier Chi Shengchun is, the more sessful you are. Greatly delighted, Ren Jun said, Thank you, Shaoshuai! Kou Zhong gave Zha Jie a vague signal with his eyes, and then he winked and said, Xiao Jie, do you want me to apany you for a night meeting with beautiful women? Pleased beyond his expectations, Zha Jie nodded promptly. Lei Jiuzhi sighed and said, Too bad I am old! I have lost that kind of mood. Hou Xibai said, Lei Dage is at most in your early fifties, how could you say old? Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he said, True! How can Lei Dage be considered old? How about going out with us? Lei Jiuzhis old face slightly blushed, he offered excuses, How could I bear hardship like you guys? Now it is cold weather, frozen ground [idiom: bitterly cold], I think that the best ce must be lying down inside a warm nket. Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, Lets split up first, and then we go see Lao Shi together. Ha! Tonight will be a very interesting night, everything will be done ording to n. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling left Situ Mansion, they immediately felt that someone was watching them. Xu Ziling signaled with his eyes that the watcher was in the dark, atop the magnificent house across the street. The two boys did not pay attention, they kept walking in the direction of Bei Li. Exiting the street, they turned into Qi Xing Avenue, which was parallel to the Vermilion Bird Boulevard, only separated by one big street, An Shang Avenue, and continued along the Imperial City toward the North Bridge. Pedestrians, carriages and horses were going back and forth in unending stream. Approaching the Bei Li, which never slept, the atmosphere became even more lively. Kou Zhong leaned closer to Xu Ziling and said, That idiot is really following us, nine out of ten I say he is sent by Chi Shengchun. Should we put a disy of severity immediately on taking office [idiom: initial show of strength] first? Xu Zilingughed and said, You want to beat him up? If his eyes are swollen and his face ck and blue, how can he see that we, two crappy gamblers are losing money? Kou Zhong raised his eyebrows at Xu Ziling, he ?ughed aloud and said, You got that right! And then he lowered his voice and said, Brother! It was only now that I regained the feeling of being an ordinary person, I have no business being the pain-in-the-butt Shaoshuai. It strains me out that I nearly cannot breathe! The heavy burden on my shoulders is even more exhausting that it makes me call Niang all day long. His grannys bear, shall we go to Ming Tang Wo or Six-Happiness? Xu Ziling replied, Six-Happiness is too conspicuous, Ming Tang Wo is a bit safer. The stalker is precisely the fellow traveler who eavesdropped our conversation before, his skill can be considered not bad. Such a martial art master cant possibly have leisure time to follow us for a whole day, twelve sichen a day. My guess is that after seeing us gambling a couple of hands, he should go back to report to Chi Shengchun. The two boys did not talk any more. Upon reaching the Ming Tang Wo, they gambled fiercely, which provoked other peoples raised eyebrows. They even lost money deliberately, before slumping away in deject like a defeated rooster. As expected, no one followed them in secret anymore. After partingpany with Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong went to see Zha Jie in a wineshop nearby. The two men sat in a corner, they called the waiter and ordered a few side dishes to apany the wine. Kou Zhong narrated his meeting with Qingqing and Xier in details, and finally concluded, Because they have had unpleasant experiences, they are very guarded and extremely wary of men. What they need the most is a sense of security, therefore, Xiao Jie, you must move Xiers heart with sincerity. Graceful words, flowery speech will produce the opposite of the desired result; you must not show that you are too useless either, because they will feel that in the world in chaos, only outstanding heroes have the ability to protect his women. Dont be afraid! I will wave the gs and shout battle cries [idiom: give support] on the side for you. However, in the end, to fight for Xiers fragrant heart, you still have to rely on yourself. Zha Jies heart grew big and shrank small at the same time, he said, How could I rely on myself? Putting the air of an expert, Kou Zhong taught the path to take, What you just did wont work, you acted like you are wimpy and without confidence. Its not that I deliberately am ttering you, but you and Xier are really a good match. In term of outward appearance, Xiao Jie, you are tall and handsome; in term of strength and status, not only your martial art skill is outstanding, but even more, you are a core figure in our Shao Shuai Army. After Li Shimin bes the emperor, your future outlook will be bright, whether you will take an official post or do business, it will be your choice. Chided by him, Zha Jie was very embarrassed, finally he stuck out his chest a little and said, Thank you Kou Ye for your encouragement, but I never dared to speak to Xier, I am afraid I have already left a very bad impression in her heart. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Dont worry! She practically did not remember you. Severely shaken, Zha Jies countenance changed, What? he said. Inwardly Kou Zhong med himself for talking irresponsibly; trying to remedy the situation, he said, When I said she did not remember you, I meant she did not remember your words and mannerism, and I mean that everything can be started afresh. Not speaking has a not-speaking advantage, which made her think that you are not making graceful words, flowery speech, but that you are an honest and reliable person. You could use the expression showing in your eyes and your action to win over her favorable impression toward you. Staring nkly, Zha Jie said, Could it be that I just stare at her without talking? Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, Of course I dont want you to act like a mute, otherwise how could your rtionship develop one step further. Ay! Husbands and wives must havemitted sin in the previous life or perhaps it is a marriage predestined by fate! You should act like your normal self, just consider what I said just now as total nonsense, all right? Inside the study room of the Feng Mansion, finished listening to Xu Zilings report on the current situation, Feng Deyi nodded and said, There shouldnt be any problem in this regard, with Yin Zuwens participation, Pei Ji will definitely speak good words for you guys. With Li Yuans support, the opening of the bank will be where the water flows, a canal is formed [idiom: a matter of course], but how are you going to transport the crucial five hundred thousand taels of gold as the principal for the issuance of the money tickets? That is not a small amount. I am afraid that even the real Situ Furong would also have to spend a lot of effort to raise it. And then you still need to cast and engrave your future banks precious trademark on the gold ingots to be sent to various banks as soon as possible. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, In the past, we took arge amount of gold from the treasure house, more than a million taels. To date, only less than half has been used. Currently, it is being shipped via the boats. Therefore, in order to escort this batch of gold, although we sent arge number of martial art masters to apany the shipment this time, it wont raise suspicion. Feng Deyi said happily, So thats how it is. Your move of giving someone a taste of his own medicine is extremely brilliant. After a short pause, he continued, Jiancheng will return to Changan tomorrow to wee Bi Xuan. Fu Cailin and his party reportedly arrived at Shanhai Pass five days ago, they should reach Changan within ten days. If you have something to do, it would be best toplete it as soon as possible, in the next few days. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Kou Zhong wants to see Li Shentong. Feng Deyi trembled slightly, he said, Is it the right time now? He and Yuanji will return the day after tomorrow. I am afraid that one thing goes wrong, our entire n will go down the drain. Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhong once saved Li Shentongs life, we Feng Deyi cut him off, saying, The kindness of saving ones life wont be too effective in this situation. If you want to persuade Li Shentong, it would be best to convince Xiuning Gongzhu first. She has the closest rtionship with Li Shentong, with she talking to Li Shentong, it would be half the work, twice the effect. If she disagrees, she will still not betray Kou Zhong. Xu Ziling secretly felt a headache for Kou Zhong, but he had to agree with Feng Deyis view. Nodding in agreement, he said, To see Xiuning Gongzhu, we can make arrangement via Shen Luoyan, no need to trouble Feng Lao. Feng Deyi said, If Li Shentong is willing to stand on our side, and then have him persuading Xiao Yu and Chen Shuda, it will be a bit easier. Ha! You, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong have be a guarantee of confidence, with you fully supporting Li Shimin, who would dare to doubt that there is absolutely a great chance of sess? Xu Ziling sighed and said, I saw Shi Zhixuan! Stunned, Feng Deyi repeated, You saw Shi Zhixuan? Momentarily, he did not seem to understand the meaning of these words. And so Xu Ziling told him what really happened. He said, To have my identity exposed like this, I really I dont know whether it is a blessing or a curse. Feng Deyi muttered to oneself irresolutely for half a day, he said, Not to have your identity revealed, naturally it would be the most ideal. Who could have thought that unexpectedly there is a secret tunnel connecting Guo Yue [state father-inw] Mansion and the Taiji Pce? Based on your strength, things may not be without any chance of sess at all. It would be best if you could dy this matter until Shimines back, and carry it out when everything is deployed properly. With this arrangement, I think it would be difficult for Shi Zhixuan to object. epting the advice, Ziling said, It should be so. Feng Deyiughed and said, This matter has disadvantages and advantages. At least no one will doubt that you are working together with Li Shimin, because Shi Zhixuan and Ci Hang Jing Zhai have always been the two cannot exist together. Outsiders will think that Shi Zhixuan is throwing his lot with your side. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, That may be the only benefit. Feng Deyi spoke solemnly, Shi Zhixuan is a naturally evil person, whether he is happy or angry, its hard to fathom, yet he has unlimited destructive power. All along he is the big trouble in our belly, therefore, we must destroy him before the uprising, otherwise he might make us ruining the enterprise for the sake of one basketful at any time. The person that he definitely will not allow to unite the world is Li Shimin, because it would represent Ci Hang Jing Zhai acquiring theplete victory. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Feng Lao sees it very urately. This moment Liao Kong Dashi has settled in the Dong Da Shi, I wille to see him tomorrow to talk with him, he should be more resourceful than us. Feng Deyi said, There is one more thing I want to remind you, be careful about Yin Zuwens Seven Needles to Control the Mind that you told me about, if he suspects anything, he could randomly grab any one of you, deals ruthlessly with you, and it will be very easy to find all of our secrets. Xu Ziling remembered Lei Jiuzhis wretched state that day, and that he had to undergo a long period of recuperation before recovering - he could not help shuddering though not of cold. He said, The most likely person he would grab would be Cai Yuanyong or Kuang Wentong, and then Kou Zhong or myself will make them eat big loss. Where would you hide the five hundred thousand taels of gold? Feng Deyi asked. Xu Ziling replied, It will be hidden in some secret ce outside the Situ Mansion, I guarantee that no one will know, it will bepleted before the banquet, otherwise it will be difficult to escape Chi, Yin and the others eyes and ears. Feng Deyi said, You have done a good job, until now you still have not made half a wrong move. Xu Ziling bade farewell and left. Book 58 4 – A Princess’ Heart

Book 58 Chapter 4 - A Princess Heart

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Snow powder suddenly fell, immediately it enveloped the entire city of Changan in a beautiful white dreand that could not be transformed. It was precisely on this extraordinary night that Kou Zhong, apanied by Zha Jie arrived at the front gate of Feng Ya Ge. He smiled and said, I still dont feel at ease, let me remind you again. Zha Jie was so nervous that the base of his ear was turning red, yet Kou Zhongs words made him even more uneasy. Immediately he spoke deferentially, Shaoshuai is willing to give pointers, shuxia is very grateful. Kou Zhong raised his eyebrows andughed aloud, Its his grannys bear, understand? he said. Hearing that, Zha Jie was even more confused and did not know what to say. But Kou Zhong already pushed him into Feng Ya Ge. The several hired-thug-like servants guarding the door came out to meet them. A rather senior one among them asked, May I ask whether the two Daye have already reserved a wing room? Kou Zhong loved dealing with this kind of little hoodlums the most, because he could relive his Yangzhous old childhood dreams, plus he understood their ways of doing things better than anyone else. Casting the man a sidelong nce, he spoke indifferently, Just tell Qingqing Furen that Cai Yuanyong who yed polo is here! Zha Jie had never thought that Kou Zhong would take him to see Xier like this, instead of sneaking in from the backyard and quietly slipped into her fragrant chamber, or something like that. None of the men was not emotionally moved. I was obvious that Cai Yuanyong, the polo yer, has grown into a well-known household hero. Aparatively older man, who seemed to be the leader, hurriedly shouted, Why havent you immediately passed on the message for Cai Ye? One of his men took the order and left. The man who issued the order piled up a smile on his face, he bowed respectfully with sped hands and said, Turns out its Cai Ye, Xiaoren Zhou Bao; relying on Cai Ye and Kuang Ye helping Huangshang rendering great defeating to the Persian devils, Xiaoren won quite a fortune. Pleasee with Xiaoren. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Zha Jie looked at each other, it was only then did they understand the cause of the sensation among these men, and that Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentongs names, due to their illustrious fame among polo bettingmunity, had also spread to the whole city of Changan. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Since there was no winner or loser, it should be a tie, how could Zhou Dage win the money? Zhou Bao said cheerfully, That days odds was: ours was one to nine, and the Persian ghosts was one to one. Since it was a tie, the side with the higher buy-in odds wins. This is the rule set by the Six-Happiness; there was also a one-to-three odds. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that it was one of the fine things that Chi Shengchun did, if this person was not removed, it would only be harmful without any benefit to the folkways of Changan. Zhou Bao took them to a wing room to sit down, Kou Zhong picked up his ear and listened carefully, the sound of the string and woodwind [orig. bamboo pipe] ensemble resounded from every corner of the pavilion, heughed and said, Your business is very prosperous. Zhou Bao spoke in low voice, Were it not for Ji Xiaojie is returning home to visit her family, business would have been even better. Finished speaking, he asked to be excused and left, reced by pretty maiding in to pour tea and serve towels, and waited upon them attentively. When only the two of them remained, Kou Zhong spoke in a rxed manner to Zha Jie, who was so tense that it was difficulty for him to breathe, he said, Currently Changan seems to be rxed on the outside but tense in the inside. On the surface, it appears that nothing is happening, but the fact is that various major forces in the city are wrestling for control against each other, and since we have be Yin Zuwen and Chi Shengchuns scouts, others will not dare to provoke us. Therefore, we must take advantage of this situation to establish the impression that we are mingling all over the ce in Changan; the more arrogant and extravagant, the more we spend every night in music and song, while wandering around the gambling establishments and pleasure houses, the more it will convenience us in moving around, so that the enemy lose the heart to be on guard against us. How could Zha Jie be in the mood to indulge in this kind of talks? He was only nodding to indicate he understood. Apanied by the sound of jingling jewelry, the beautifully dressed [orig. lovely scene of blossoming flowers swaying in the breeze] Qingqing came in leisurely. She was already aware that Cai Yuanyong was Kou Zhong, only she did not expect that Kou Zhong would openly visit her in the pleasure house as a guest. Barely entering the door, she feigned anger coquettishly and said, Cai Ye scared nujia out of my skin, now my heart is still jumping wildly. Kou Zhong quickly stood up to apologize. When he sat back down, he said, This gentleman is Xiao Jie that I mentioned; he has a deep affection for Xier, hee ! Zha Jie was so embarrassed that he almost wanted to dig a hole and crawl in; how would he know that Kou Zhong would be this forting? His whole tender face was burning like a baked cake. Qingqings beautiful eyes floated towards him, she smiled and said, Indeed he looks a bit familiar. Oh! I remember! He is from the shippingpany, the first time he was pushed inside by other people toe in; he was blushing so deep and did not dare to say half a word. Zha Jie was so embarrassed that he was unable to show his face; hanging his head low, he said, Ay! I Kou Zhong smiled and said, Xiao Jie is one of the top rank great generals under mymand, he has been with me for many years, I dare to guarantee that he will be the most ideal husband for Xier. For Xiers lifelong happiness, I am troubling Jiejie to do me a favor by ying matchmaker for them. If it does not seed, Xiao Jie will have no choice but to sigh over his meager luck. I am leaving! I am asking Jiejie to take a good care of Xiao Jie. Zha Jie was shocked; he nearly grabbed Kou Zhong to stop him from leaving. But Kou Zhong was one step ahead by pushing him back into the chair. Laughing aloud, he said, Jiejie, did you see that? Isnt this a young man of pure and fine moral character? Furthermore, he is not a glib-in-his-speech-and-wear-an-ingratiating-expression, picking-the-flowers-and-trampling-the-grass [idiom: womanizer, one who frequents brothels] trash. Dont look at his shy manner, the fact is that he has extraordinary skills with extremely ample experience in Jianghu. Some day he will serve as the bodyguard to escort the two of you to Liangdu. Zha Jie began to understand what Kou Zhong meant by his grannys bear, which was to throw caution to the wind and show their real character, to use quick sword to cut through tangled hemp [idiom: decisive action in aplex situation], to use direct and inspoken words to see whether the marriage between him and Xier was determined by Heaven. Qingqing burst out in tenderughter; holding Kou Zhongs hand, she sent him off out of the wing room, saying, Just go in peace! Since he is a good brother that you strongly rmend, naturally Jiejie will y matchmaker with all of my heart. The heart in his bosom on alert, Xu Ziling lightly tapped on Shen Luoyans fragrant chambers window, sending the secret signal inside. The night sky was filled with gently floating snow, there was some kind of a beautiful state of stillness within motion. This could be thest snowfall before the warm spring and blooming flowers, without anybody noticing it, the three-month freezing period wasing to an end. He had no choice but to be careful with Shen Luoyan. Shen Luoyan has always had a casual attitude towards the rtionship between men and women. Even though she was married and has be somebody elses wife, she was still as unruly as in the past. Creak! The window pane opened, Shen Luoyan flowery jade countenance appeared in the dark room, she blissfully said, Good thing that you are sensitive! If you did note to see me tonight, tomorrow night I will look for you to give you bad luck. Xu Ziling was apprehensive inwardly, he did not dare to turn his gaze toward her, who was only wearing thin clothes,pletely putting her attractively curvy figure on disy; he spoke softly, I aming in! Shen Luoyan suddenly reached out, held his cheek, leaned forward and said, Surely you know that I miss you very much! Without the slightest hesitation, she lightly kissed his lips before moving back. Xu Ziling was at a loss against her; he leaped inside. Shen Luoyan closed the window, took him by the hand, and led him over toward the embroidery couch. Even with Xu Zilings self-control, his heart was beating wildly, wondering whether she would force him to bed with her? He cried Bad! inwardly, but also felt that it was greatly romantic and extremely arousing, even though he was fully aware that he should definitely not feel this way. After all, its not that he did not have favorable impression toward Shen Luoyan, and this moment she was even more extremely captivating. From their first encounter, when he saw her decisivelymanding the battlefield, her charming beautiful image has long been nted in the field of his heart. Fortunately, Shen Luoyan just took him to sit side by side on the edge of the bed. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he took the quilt, which was still warm, and wrapped it tightly around her tender body, and said, Be careful, I dont want you to catch a cold! Shen Luoyan never thought that it was Xu Zilings safety measure that he took for fear that he could not resist her allure, she thought he was concerned about her wellbeing; she spoke gratefully, Ziling is really attentive. Finished speaking, she put her small cicada head gently and naturally using his broad shoulder as a pillow. Xu Zilingposed his mind to maintain his calm, otherwise, if Shen Luoyan heard his heart beating wildly, it might lead to a once it gets started, theres no stopping it - situation. How is the situation? he asked. Shen Luoyan closed her beautiful eyes, she spoke faintly, Which aspect of the situation you are talking about? Ziling doesnt want to know how I was terribly worried about you? When the battle of Luoyang reached its most-intense juncture, I was really afraid that you and Kou Zhong would not be able to survive! Xu Ziling said, That was a nightmare that has already passed. I havent had a chance to thank you yet. If it werent for you sending Xibai to help, Fenghan and I would definitely lose our lives. As if she was talking in her dream, Shen Luoyan spoke gently, Do we still need to talk about these things? Wei Zheng wille back with Jiancheng tomorrow, I havent had the chance to contact him yet. And then she said, The biggest worry at present is that Huangshang has been instigated by the lowly people and believed that the two men, Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling were the master mind who instigated Qin Wang to poison Zhang Jieyu. Fortunately, both of them are outside the Pass with Qin Wang, otherwise Li Yuan would have killed them early on like Liu Wenjing. You ought to know that Liu Wenjing has a lot of understanding in medicine, plus he had quite close rtionship with Fang and Du, two men. This was the real main reason why Liu Wenjing was executed. Xu Ziling already learned from Feng Deyi earlier about Li Yuans suspicion toward the two men, but he was still greatly baffled and had headache. If Li Shimin returned to Changan from the south, and Li Yuan immediately asked him to hand over Fang and Du, two men to him, how should he deal with it? He spoke heavily, Notify Qin Wang immediately and think of an excuse to keep them in Luoyang. Shen Luoyan shook her head and said, It wont work. In the written imperial order, Huangshang specifically stated that Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui were the ones who have toe back with Qin Wang. Not following the order is akin to disobeying the emperors edict, then Qin Wang will be guilty. Where did your informatione from? Xu Ziling asked. Shen Luoyan replied, It was Xiuning Gongzhu who told me. In Changan, I am the only intimate friend with whom she can talk about the load in her mind, talk about her Er Xiong [second brother], and even talk about Kou Zhong and you. Can you arrange for me to meet her? Xu Ziling asked. Shen Luoyan sat her tender body upright, her gaze flickering, she looked at him, wondering, Whats the use of seeing her? It will only make her feel difficulties left and right. Xu Ziling said, She is a person who understands reason, and she has a bemoaning-the-state-of-the-universe-and-pitying-the-fate-of-mankind good heart and intestines even more. If she is willing to stand on Qin Wangs side, we could persuade Li Shentong through her. Emotionally moved, Shen Luoyan said, Li Shentong is someone that we have a good chance to win over. Forget about he has always had a good rtionship with Qin Wang, at least he is a person who is ustomed to the battlefield, he understands better than Li Yuan that Qin Wang is Li Tangs only hope; more importantly, he is deeply aware of the power of Kou Zhong and Song Ques joint forces, weighing the advantages and disadvantages, he should know what to choose. But if he cant be persuaded, he must be killed, we cant afford to have anybody ruining our n. Xu Ziling could not help thinking of Ke Dazhi, he said with a wry smile, I hope that situation will never happen. Shen Luoyans jet-ck eyebrows lightly knitted, she said, The one to see Xiuning Gongzhu must be Kou Zhong, not you, Xu Ziling. A girls load on her mind, only a girl would understand. She has special feelings for Kou Zhong, if Kou Zhong does not dare to see her, the consequences will be hard to fathom. Xu Ziling had a headache for Kou Zhong. Could it be that Kou Zhong must tell her that not only he wouldunch a coup to force her father to abdicate, but also to kill her two elder brothers? Shen Luoyans voice sounded in his ears, I will find a way to invite Xiuning Gongzhu her to see me. Tomorrow afternoon,e to my backyard wall and read the secret marking I will leave there, you will know the time and ce of the meeting. And then she exined the technique of the secret marking. Xu Ziling knew that it would be inappropriate for him to stay for a long time, he said, I have an appointment with Kou Zhong to do something, I will see you another day. Disappointed, Shen Luoyan said, I thought you would apany me to talk until dawn. Next time, I wont allow you to blurt out and leave so quickly. Inwardly Xu Ziling was apprehensive, he coaxed her to lie down obediently, and then he left immediately. Wearing tight nightwalker attire, covering their heads in ck cloth, revealing only their pair of eyes, the three men flew through the houses and leaped over the buildings, andnded on the snow-covered roof tiles of the house behind Shi Zhixuans courtyard house. They crouched down and look around, their gaze overlooking the roof ridge, toward the secret nest where Shi Zhixuan temporarily stayed, they faintly saw a dot of light. In Changan, Hou Xibai was an old horse who knew the way home. Pointing to the river course that wound around the Shi residence and then flowed southeast along the city walls, he said, That river can flow to the Qujiang River at the southeast corner of the city, one of Changans leading wonderful sceneries. Shizun chose the ce to stay by this river, its extremely brilliant. Kou Zhong said, Yang WenGan chose the West Market for the same reason. No matter what, close to the Yong An Canal, when something happens, it would be a bit more convenient to escape. Hou Xibai said, Lao Ba and I went to He Chang Long many times to tread on the water, we gave up the idea of sneaking in for fear that we might beat the grass to scare the snake. During the day, He Chang Long is engaged in the grain and oil business, on the surface, we could not see anything peculiar. Kou Zhong said, I dare say Yang WenGan is hiding inside. When I have enough manpower, we will kill his Niangs until not a chicken or a dog remains, using a ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum, and disrupt the foot of the Xiang Family and Yang Xuyans troops disposition. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, No need to show off, what we are fighting for is not a quick momentary win, but the final victory. Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, I was just kidding, in order to match the current leaping-onto-roofs-and-vaulting-over-walls Jianghu shady business. Blurted outughing, Hou Xibai said, If this is called using the soldiers with talking andughing, it would inevitably infuriate Zhuge Wuhou [i.e. Zhuge Liang of the Three Kingdoms] whose name has been passed down throughout all ages because of this. Kou Zhong elbowed Xu Ziling lightly, he said, You go out first, after you make sure that the situation is clear, we will show up. Right this moment, the rm went off in Xu Ziling and Kou Zhongs heart at the same time. They exchanged nces first, and then turned their heads to look back together. Hou Xibai generated reaction a hairter; by the time he looked back, Shi Zhixuan appeared like a ghost at the head of the eaves where the wind and the snow intersected. In the blink of an eye, he was already behind the three men, and spoke indifferently, If I hadnt heard your rxed conversation, I would think that you guys are here to assassinate me. The three men maintained their crouching and kneeling position, Hou Xibai respectfully called, Shizun. Shame! Kou Zhong cried inwardly. If they really came to carry out the assassination, presently they would have definitely paid bitterly, stealing chicken without seeing the chicken nibbling away at the rice. If Shi Zhixuan made a ruckus to alert the authority, they would have to pack their back and leave before finished eating even more. Embarrassed, he said, Xie Wang, your vignce is very high, you make me practically suspect that you dont need to sleep. Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, Tonight is a special night, I didnt intend to go to bed, I even nned to go to say hello to you guys before dawn tomorrow. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Xie Wangs remarks contain a deep meaning, I wonder what you are thinking? Instead of answering, Shi Zhixuan asked, Ba Fenghan is not in Changan? Kou Zhong replied frankly, Ba Xiongdi has other important tasks, he cannot spare the time toe. Suddenly Shi Zhixuans powerful body trembled slightly, he looked towards Qujiang waterway. Following his gaze, the three men saw on the waterway, in the depth of the wind and the snow, the shadow of more than a dozen fast boats appearing. On board, human shadows were flickering, without making any noise at all, they sailed speedily toward Shi Zhixuans secret nest, and people were leaping to the rocky shore continuously, sneaking toward the secret nest. The murderous intent in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes ring greatly, he snorted coldly, giving up a grim and ruthless impression, but the tone of his voice was surprisingly tranquil, Follow me, he said. The three followed him fleeing high and crouching low, from the southeast of the city to a private house outside the West Market by the bank of the canal. They sat down in the hall of Shi Zhixuans other secret nest, silently surrounding the round table in the middle of the hall. Shi Zhixuan returned to his profound-mystery normal state, he spoke indifferently, This is the reason I said this is a special night; the list of names of the people that I want to kill has just increased by one more name. Kou Zhong and the others understood. Shi Zhixuan must have disclosed his hiding ce to someone, in order to test the other partys loyalty, but the other party betrayed him. Shi Zhixuans timing in deploying this operation was well-measured. He waited until their Situ Furong team arrived in Changan before carrying it out, so that after the incident he would still be able to maintain contact with them. From this, they could see that Shi Zhixuan was truly sincere about cooperating with them to assassinate Zhao Deyan. Is it An Long? Xu Ziling asked. Shi Zhixuan shook his head and said, I already gave up all hope for An Long long ago. Although I prompted him to approach Xuyan, but from his revealing the important secret of Bu Si Yin Fa, I knew that he has the audacity to betray me. I, Shi Zhixuan, have not taken his life, only because he still has his value to be exploited. After a short pause, he went on, Do you have any news about Wanwan? Xu Ziling shook his head to indicate they did not have it, while musing in his heart, if that person was not An Long, which hallowed character would he be? One thing he was certain was that this person should be someone close to Li Yuan, so that after discovering Shi Zhixuans hiding ce, he could immediately instigate Li Yuan to carry out the surprise attack on him. What impact would this incident have on Shi Zhixuan? Shi Zhixuan spoke indifferently, Thentern light in the house was the secret signal that the son of a bitch [in this case, this is almost an urate trantion; the original was the one who was raised by a dog mother] and I agreed upon, indicating that I am inside the house. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Would Shaoshuai be interested in killing several people to have fun tonight? Kou Zhong replied heavily, It depends on who you want me to kill. Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, Naturally they are the people who Shaoshuai is not happy that they are alive in the world. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Yang WenGan? Shi Zhixuanughed aloud and said, This moment, his life and death arepletely in Shaoshuais hands. I just wanted to kill him as a warning to Xuyan, that traitor, to let him watch the people who supported him die one by one, to have a taste of the feeling of being isted and without help. Xu Ziling said, If we beat the grass to scare the snake, it will be harmful and without benefit toward our assassination operation of Zhao Deyan. Shi Zhixuan spoke indifferently, Zilings Jianghu experience is still not mature enough. I only use this to sound out what kind of style is your strategy to deal with the Xiang Family? Ill say that you ought to have aplete n to pull the Xiang Family by the root, hence you adhere to the great-ns-can-be-ruined-by-just-a-touch-of-impatience rule, am I right? Hearing that, the three looked at each other, who could have thought that in just a few words Shi Zhixuan was able to see through their many strategic decisions. Shi Zhixuan sighed and said, What happened tonight made me greatly miscalcte the future development. Youd better tell me your overall n ining to Changan, so that I wont ruin it identally. The three men you looked at me I looked at you, momentarily they did not know how to answer him. Book 58 5 – Evenly Matched

Book 58 Chapter 5 - Evenly Matched

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Xu Ziling looked at Shi Zhixuan, there was a strange feeling, a bit like looking at another person. The Shi Zhixuan in front of him was still the Demonic King, a master of Jianghu, no one in the world can do anything to him. No one dared to doubt that this number one martial art master of the demonic school still had the obeying me you flourish, opposing me you perish - power and prestige; yet he clearly grasped Shi Zhixuans people rebelling and friends deserting, isted and without help - deste and grim situation. An Longs betrayal, and being betrayed by that unknown person tonight, have put him in an absolute disadvantage of lone army fighting alone, plus Yang Xuyan, in the other side vanishing, I am growing - situation, gradually emerged to take Shi Zhixuans ce. Even if Shi Zhixuan could sessfully assassinate Zhao Deyan, the focus of the demonic school would shift to Yang Xuyan. Once Yang Xuyan merged the Bu Si Yin Fa and the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jings martial arts, Shi Zhixuan, with only one persons power, even if he had the ability to know all under heaven [idiom: exceptionally talented], it was still not easy to put Yang Xuyan in order. The bottom line was that the reason why Shi Zhixuan was trapped in such a plight was because he could not let go of his father-and-daughter love toward his daughter Shi Qingxuan, moreover, his love for Bi Xiuxin was still as deep as the sea. Just like he said, in his heart, Shi Qingxuan was more important than unifying the demonic way and contending for the hegemony over the world, and thus he could not aplish the requirements that the demonic school demanded of him. For the first time since he raised the question, he felt pity and closeness towards this dreadful enemy. The feeling of closeness came from the subtle link with Shi Qingxuan. Xu Ziling sighed lightly, he spoke serenely, As long as Xie Wang can lie low and not make appearance before striking Zhao Deyan, we will be able to avoid all the contradictions and the conflicts between us. Shi Zhixuans gaze slowly swept past Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai, before finally fell on Xu Ziling. His manner rxed, heughed involuntarily and said, You may not believe it, but I have a very bad habit: anything that I am unable to obtain, I would rather destroy it than giving other people the convenience. Currently, Ol Shis hostility towards Shaoshuai haspletely disappeared, let alone toward Ziling. If you guys are willing to cooperate with me, it will bring good to you without any harm. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Our n is very simple, which is to lure Xiang Gui and Xiang Yushan out. When the fortunate timinges, we will kill them without mercy, the bait is Situ Furongs banking business. Otherwise, if the wind is leaked, Xiang Gui father and son will slip away. With their financial resources and scheming ability, the world is so big, where could we find them? If we let them to flee outside the Great Wall, we can only sigh due to the whip cannot reach [idiom: beyond ones influence]. I already made a candid disclosure; I dont know if the grand n to assassinate Zhao Deyan will still proceed ording to our earlier discussion. Shi Zhixuan revealed a grim smiling expression and said, Thats for sure. Apart from this, I also want to destroy Li Familys powerpletely, to see how chaotic the world will be! You can temporarily leave, but Xibai must stay. I have something to talk to Xibai, and I also want to spend a few days giving him a couple of pointers in martial arts. Once again Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt the helplessness of being led by Shi Zhixuan by the nose, they looked at Hou Xibai at the same time. Hou Xibai felt that he had be Shi Zhixuans only close rtive in the boundless sea of people, he nodded and said, Tuer [disciple] obeys! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling left Shi Zhixuans newir and went to a dark forested area of the Cao Canal to talk. It was still two sichen before dawn, the wind and the snow were picking up, the floating snow turned into flurries of snowkes, the heaven and earth turned vast and indistinct. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, I have a very ominous feeling, there is a great chance that Shi Zhixuan already saw through that we are here not just to assassinate Li Shimin, as simple as that. What do you think? Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Thats what I am always afraid of. The biggest problem is that this is not our usual style; when we wanted to fight, we would simply decide victory or defeat on the battlefield. Ay! What do we do? Kou Zhong said, Before assassinating Zhao Deyan, he cant possibly expose us, because we still have our value of being useful to him. After Zhao Deyan breathes hisst, even divine immortal will find it difficult to guess how Lao Shi would fix us, the only way is to kill him first; once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Xu Ziling resolutely said, Well do it that way then! Kou Zhong stared at him, after quite half a dayter, he sighed and said, But how are you going to exin to Shi Qingxuan? After all, he is her father. Xu Ziling sighed and said, For the sake of the overall situation, what does personal sacrifice matter? Only those who are ruthless enough will be able to survive. Until today, this sentence is still our golden rule. Kou Zhong said, In that case, tentatively, we are going to deal with him like this. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Changan has be a cruel battlefield, we must grab any information that we can used. Ling Shao, you are going to see Deyi, ask him to try to figure out from where Li Yuan knew Lao Shis hiding ce, and then we can figure out who betrayed Lao Shi. Why dont you go with me? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong said, I am going to He Chang Long in West Market to try my luck. The wind and snow are so heavy, I have a good chance to sneak in and find out the situation clearly. Xu Ziling put on his hood, patted his shoulder, and left without saying anything anymore. Kou Zhong stood nkly for a moment, to drive the distracting thoughts out of his mind, and then he left the canal bank, and leaped over the perimeter wall of the West Market. Several ups and downster, he came to the roof of the shop across the street from He Chang Long, intending to observe the situation first. Who would have thought that before he even crouched down, he heard a slight sound of the wind from behind? Not good! Kou Zhong cried inwardly and looked back, only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. The neer was Ba Fenghan. He flew over to him and crouched down by his side, tearing off his hood, revealing a grave expression, he spoke heavily, Chi Shengchun had just entered in. When hees out, we will kill him. Kou Zhong was shocked, but he was also puzzled; he asked in astonishment, It was not the original n. Ba Fenghan spoke serenely, We have no other choice. After the banquet, Chi Shengchun went to the Six-Happiness first, and then took a carriage to Guangfu Li [bright happiness neighborhood, reminder: li is neighborhood/city district] at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, to meet a big merchant by the name of You Baisan. Who do you think this You Baisan is? Unexpectedly he is a traveling merchant from Pingyao who had once met the real Situ Furong. Chi Shengchun, this turtle egg, is going to take him to see our Furong Ye tomorrow morning, this turtle egg wants to get the truth. Were it not for I saw that he was not going home, I would have made my move to take his life early on. Now, there is a great chance that Xiang Gui is hiding in He Chang Long. Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down to the bottom; having a headache, he said, Other than that, is there any other good way? Ba Fenghan replied with a wry smile, Another way is to get rid of the inviting-disaster-on-himself You Baisan, but this will only make the still-in-the-world-of-the-living Chi Shengchun more suspicious. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, You Baisan only met the real Furong Ye once, and our fake Furong Yes disguise came from the portrait provided by Ou Liangcai. The real Furong Ye has never liked to talk, and the fake Furong Yes voice and intonation were under Ou Liangcais personal instruction and adjustment, so perhaps it could still deceive him. Ay! But youre right, in just a nce, the other people, like Shen Wenjiang, the Housekeeper and so on will be full of ws, so we might as well kill Chi Shengchun, neat and clean. His Niangs! How did it suddenly be like this? And if the ignorant You Baisan talks about old affair, our Furong Ye might not remember, he would be put on the spot. His spirit aroused, Ba Fenghan said, On the contrary, that wont be a problem. The question is whether our Furong Ye has aprehensive and in-depth understanding of Pingyaos affair, so that he wont be afraid of any inquiries. Kou Zhong did not understand, Why wont it be a problem? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Shaoshuai is indeed forgetful. Do you still remember my unique method of extorting a confession that I used against Guan Ping in Longquan? Afterwards, not only did he forget everything, he was even heavy on the head but light on the feet, making it difficult for his small brain to function properly. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, I remember, I remember! Of course, I remember. Because he was afraid someone in Changan might be familiar with Pingyao, Lei Dage has worked hard on Furong Ye in this regard. Besides, Furong Ye is aloof and remote, and he decides what he wants to answer. Ha! The matter should not be dyed, let You Baisan, because he is upholding yiqi, to suffer this catastrophe on Chi Shengchuns behalf. When Xu Ziling returned to the Situ Mansion, it was still one sichen before dawn, everybody has gone back to their rooms to sleep and rest. Only Lei Jiuzhi was talking to Zha Jie, who had juste back, looking to be at a loss. It was obvious that Lei Jiuzhi was extracting every detail from Zha Jie about her meeting with the beauty. He heard him blurted out, What? Unexpectedly you were ying chess with her? Xu Ziling stepped into the hall and said with augh, Didnt Lei Dage say you were very tired? Howe you are not in bed to rest? Lei Jiuzhis old face turned red, he said, I was worried about you, so I could not sleep peacefully. Now I just woke up, and when I came out, I came across this muddleheaded kid, his pursuit has turned into a game of chess. Zha Jie spoke in embarrassment, It was Qingqing Furen who taught me, she said Xier Guniang loves ying chess the most. Proud of his age and experience [idiom], Lei Jiuzhi pped his thigh and said, So thats how it is. Why didnt you say so earlier? With a how could I have the chance to say it? of being-wronged expression, Zha Jie cast a help me look at Xu Ziling, who was sitting on the other side of the round table. How could Lei Jiuzhi be willing to give up? He pursued on, Did you win or lose? Zha Jie was helpless against him, he replied, We ended up in a tie. Lei Jiuzhi pped the table and eximed, Wonderful! Wonderful! Victory or defeat has not been decided, fancy that you, this kid, coulde up with the idea. Of course, there will still be more games to y. How was Xiers chess skills? Xu Ziling asked. Zha Jie said, Not concealing anything from Xu Ye, my chess skill is not up to par yet; fortunately, Xier was half-a-jin-equal-to-eight-liang [more or less the same], so although she was allowed to go first, because I was afraid to make a fool of myself, I dealt with it with my heart and soul, every move was always very cautious, so that I barely got a tie, not likely to be looked down upon by her. Greatly astonished, Lei Jiuzhi said, Unexpectedly it was a game of Go. A game that ends in a tie rarely happens in the world; it should be an omen of great happiness. Zha Jie dejectedly said, But I still did not dare to talk to her, did not dare to look at her. Amazed, Xu Ziling said, So you did not talk with her at all? Zha Jie was blushing even deeper, he said, She asks one sentence and I answer one sentence, along the way I stole a nce or two at her. Can that be considered a conversation? Lei Jiuzhi, Later on you must tell me what she asked and how did you answer, but tell me first, did you two make a date to meet againter? Zha Jie said, She told me toe to Feng Ya Ge at wei hour [1-3pm] tomorrow to y chess. Roaring inughter, Lei Jiuzhi said, Sess! This is called the next time it will be resolved. Didnt I tell you? Xiao Jie, you should follow Xiao Jun as an example. When that kid sees Hu Xiaoxian, immediately hes like shedding his mortal body and exchanging his bones, bing the supreme expert in the affairs of the heart, praising openly and ttering secretly, fawning and tooting his horn; nothing he cannot do. Girls must be wooed; if you dont believe me, you can ask your Xu Ye. Xu Ziling spoke crossly, Ill say its better to let nature take its course in everything. Zha Jie hurriedly said, Shaoshuai gave xiaozi [this kid] simr instruction. This moment Ba Fenghan slipped in through the window and went straight to the table; he said, Quickly wake up Song ErGe and Xiao Jun, things have changed. Kou Zhong is going to get Chen Fu here, but dont worry, this time we will definitely pass the hurdle. The wind and snow stopped before dawn. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, who had not yet had a chance to close their eyes, left Situ Mansion and walked in the direction of the imperial city. Along the way, they saw Changan soldiers and civilians working with amon purpose, busy with shoveling the pile of snow. Kou Zhong spoke with emotion, Soldiers and the people are of one heart, such a city is the hardest to conquer. Fortunately, I dont have to worry about it anymore. Noticing Xu Ziling stayed silent, he said, Chi Shengchun, this little muddled egg cannot be underestimated, just from the fact that he invited You Baisan, he is quite remarkable. Looking pensive, Xu Ziling responded casually, As a liar, he is particrly wary of others, not because he really suspects anything. Kou Zhong said, You seem to have a little load on your mind? Xu Ziling said, I am worried about you, because there is a good chance that you are going to see Li Xiuning today. Kou Zhong halted his steps on middle of the street and blurted out, What? Xu Ziling pulled him to continue walking, he exined the situation one time through, and said with a wry smile, I think Shen Luoyan is right. In order to convince Xiuning Gongzhu, it must be you, LaoGe who must go down the arena. Kou Zhongs countenance turned pale, he said, Dont tell me that I have to tell her I am going to kill her two elder brothers? If you dont speak frankly, in the future she might me me for deceiving her and hate me for the rest of my life, ay! Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Let her know that this is a matter of this side survives, the other side perishes, and also the pros and cons, the degree of seriousness of this matter. You just need to change ording to the situation. In the end, she has to choose whether to let Li Shimin live and be a good emperor, or whether to let Jiancheng and Yuanji continue to damage the country and cause suffering to the people [idiom]. Kou Zhong said, Wont that mean I will have to put everything out including the tray [idiom: to reveal everything] to her? Xu Ziling replied, It seems to be the case, it depends on how deep her love to you is. Suddenly Kou Zhongs heart was moved. Raising his eyebrows, he said, I finally understand why Shi Zhixuan was skeptical. The problem lies with me, because I am too rxed! To tell you the truth, since I decided to support Li Shimin to be the emperor, you dont know how rxed and happy I am, as if relieved from a burden [idiom]. Xu Ziling said, Shi Zhixuan only mistakenly think that you have reached the Heavenly Saber Song Ques Forgetting the Saber realm, he did not suspect that you have forgotten your worries because you dont have to think about being the emperor. Why would Kou Zhong, who has a 90% chance of obtaining the emperor throne let someone else sit on it? If you tell this, I guarantee nobody will believe it. Kou Zhong spoke happily, I hope Shi Zhixuan will not be the only exception. Ha! Going with Shi Zhixuan to kill Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan, plus the assassination will be carried out deep within the pce, what could be more exciting and interesting than this in the world? Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, It seems to me you no longer have hundred knots of worry in your intestines [idiom: weighed down with anxiety] about Xiuning Gongzhu anymore. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, This is called you are finding joy in sorrows; after all, one must try to keep oneself in a good mood. Huh? The sound of hoofbeats abruptly came from the behind, graduallying closer The two boys turned their heads to look back, fast as lightning, Qiao Gongshan, with more than a dozen Changlin Army soldiers, wereing after them. The reins were pulled, the horses neighed and stopped. Qiao Gongshan shouted to his men, Get two horses! Two of his men jumped off their horses, they waited upon Kou and Xu to get on the horses, and then they rode together with their fellow soldiers. Qiao Gongshan started slowly, he smiled at the two men riding by his side and said, Xiaodi went to look for you but pounced on empty air, fortunately I caught up with you here. Kou Zhong asked in surprised, What makes you so anxious to find us? Qiao Gongshan said, Your good luck is here! During the morning imperial court today, Wen Daren reported to Huangshang about your return to Changan. Huangshangs dragon countenance was greatly pleased, he ordered the grand pce supervisor Wei Gonggong to immediately summon you to the pce, in turn, Wei Gonggong pass on the order down. You tell me, can I not look for you in a hurry? Come on! If after the morning court Huangshang did not see you, Xiaodi will meet disaster. Finished speaking, he urged the horse to go fast. The two boys did not know whether it was a good or a bad luck, they had no choice but to brace themselves and followed closely behind his horse. Under the Changlin Army soldiers escort, they turned to Guangming Avenue and galloped towards the imperial city. Cutting into Anhua Street, they turned north, and continued on riding through the Shunyi Gate and entered the imperial city, passing through various government offices standing in great numbers, crossing the traversing public square, and reaching the Chengtian Gate before they dismounted from their horses. The Yu Ji Chang [chief of imperial riders] Cheng Mo was already waiting impatiently. Taking over the two men from Qiao Gongshan, he led them into the imperial pce. Walking and talking at the same time, he spoke in a friendly manner, Huangshang indeed treats two gentlemen favorably. Hearing two gentlemen came back, I dont know how happy he is. Ever since the Tujue Wolf Army began to stir [idiom: be threatening] at the border area, Huangshang is rarely seen to be in that kind of mood. Trying to sound him out, Kou Zhong said, All the venues are covered with snow and frozen, Im afraid it is not suitable for a polo match? Cheng Mo said, It depends on Huangshangs idea and imperial decree. Huangshang only needs to say a word, I guarantee there wont be the least bit of ice and snow left in the Square. The two groaned inwardly; if Yang Xuyan came to be among the spectators, there would be a great chance that their true colors would be revealed, not to mention that Bi Xuan, Zhao Deyan, Ke Dazhi, and so on might honor them by their presence. Things havee to this, they have no choice but to follow the situation and think of a way to deal with it. They could not simply immediately pack and quit and slip away, right? Naturally Cheng Mo also treated them favorably; lowering his voice and acting like they were old friends, he said, Listen to Wei Gonggongs instructions. Gonggong is the person that Huangshang dotes on and trusts; with him taking care of you, I guarantee that you will be proud of your official positions, your prospects boundless. From now on, we all are good brothers. The two were led to the personal political pce hall, located east of the tribute hall, inside the rear pceplex. Last time after the game, this was precisely where Li Yuan received them. Cheng Mo had not had a chance to tell the two to sit down, the guard at the gate already heralded, Huangshang is here! The two boys hurriedly followed Cheng Mo kneeling down at the entrance to wee him. In high spirits, Li Yuan, apanied by Wei Gonggong and Pei Ji, stepped over the threshold and entered the pce hall. Seeing the two boys, unexpectedly he hurried forward and bent down to help them up. Two Qingjia [term used by the emperor for his subjects], you may rise, he spoke in great delight. The two, acting like dumbstruck birds, stood up; they were baffled to be on the receiving end of Li Yuans excessive enthusiasm toward them. After Li Yuan ascended to the dragon seat, Wei Gonggong stood by the dragon seats side, Pei Ji and the two boys separately sat down on either side. Considering the two boys did not have either official position or rank, to be on an equal footing with Pei Ji, such an important minister, it was certainly unusual. Li Yuan casually inquired about their recent situation, so the two boys offered their well-prepared answers one by one. This master of the Li n, the Emperor of the Great Tang, turned to the main topic, In ten days time, respective delegations from Tujue and Gaoli will arrive in Changan. This is a grand asion since the founding of our Great Tang. One of them, the Gaoli delegation even stated clearly that they hope to exchange experiences with Zhen [I, imperial use] on the polo field, which gave Zhen a sudden inspiration, why not hold a three-party polo match? Now that the two Qingjia are back, we are people-strong-the-horse-robust, potentially we will have sess within our grasp, ha! And then he threw his head back in longughter, his heroic feeling and strong air were not inferior in any aspectspared to when he was leading soldiers on military campaign. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling suddenly understood; furthermore, they cried Not good! inwardly. In thousand ways, a hundred ns they wanted to avoid Bi Xuan, Fu Cailin, or even Ke Dazhi, people who were familiar with them, and now they were recruited by Li Yuan for an international polo match. Whats the difference with they were being identified and were escorted to the execution ground? With their mouth, however, they could only thank the master for the dragon kindness, how could they dare to speak a word of truth in their heart? Li Yuan went on, You must stay in the pce. Wei Gonggong, see what position suits them. From now on, we must exhaust our strength to practice and make adequate preparation for the game. These words were like a thunder from a clear sky, shaking the two boys ears that they were buzzing. If they were locked up in the pce, how would that be any different than being imprisoned? Were it not for they were wearing masks, Li Yuan and the others would discover that their countenance has turned extremely unsightly. Book 58 6 – Proud Officialdom

Book 58 Chapter 6 - Proud Officialdom

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Just like Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong was also aware that Li Yuan still cherished the memory of the life wandering in Jianghu, cuddling with the red and leaning on the green, living his life however he liked it. He hurriedly said, Huangshang, please understand clearly, two Xiaoren have always been ustomed to the life in the wilderness, hey! Not daring to deceive Huangshang,st night, we went to Ming Tang Wo to y a couple of hands, and then went to Feng Ya Ge for a bit of fun. If we suddenly had to live a life following thepass and going with the set square [idiom], I am afraid we will not be able to adapt to it, it would affect our ball skills. Pei Ji and Wei Gonggong looked at each other. If it were other people, this kind of spending ones time in drinking and pleasure [idiom] decadent life would be concealed and dreaded in front of Li Yuan, how could there be anybody like this Cai Yuanyong, talking about it without any shame, even used it as a reason to plead with Li Yuan not to enter the pce and hold official position? Although Xu Ziling knew that the strategy Kou Zhong adopted was right on target, he still felt that he was a little speaking incoherently and was ill-mannered, therefore, he hurriedly remedied the situation, Huangshang, please understand clearly, our Da Laoban Situ Furongs banking business is in full preparation [orig. dense gongs and tight drums]. In all things, he will rely on the people he trusts to help him. We are asking Huangshang to allow Xiaoren [plural] to wait until the bank is established before entering the pce to serve Huangshang. Naturally his words were more fitting than Kou Zhongs, but it seemed like Kou Zhongs frank statements entered Li Yuans ears more. With deep empathy, he smiled at Kou Zhong and said, Others may not understand that a rigid life indeed affects interest and skills. Zhen once invited Shang Xiufang to enter the pce and stay, but she tactfully declined for the same reason. Zhens martial art skill is unlike before, and the problem lies in this. Thest two sentences were clearly uttered because he remembered the battle with Shi Zhixuan. Turning to Wei Gonggong, he said, Does Gonggong have any suggestion? With a bit of displeasure, Wei Gonggong nced over the two boys, he bowed and said, They could be guest officials [or subject, the same word qing (seest chapter)]; every morning they wille to the imperial pce to listen to Huangshangs instructions. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that henceforth they would only have to get up early, and when they could not resist the sleep demon anymore, worst case scenario they could take a nap in the afternoon. Pei Ji said, Weichen [this small official] has a suggestion. Seeing that they have outstanding talents and superb ball skills, why not bestow them the Ma Jiu Chang [polo chief] with special duty to train polo talents. That way, when they enter the pce every morning, they will not be idle. At other times, they can work for Furong Laoban until the banks main office is established, and then well make other arrangements. Kou and Xu, two men rained curses inwardly, but they were at a loss against Pei Ji. Li Yuan made the decision, saying, Let it be as Pei Qing [subject] said. He also turned to Wei Gonggong and said, Send someone on Zhens behalf to warn Qiu Wensheng, if his disciples dare to harass Zhens Ma Jiu Chang, he will not be able to guarantee his head. These words must be passed into his ears without changing a single word. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you look at me, I gaze at you. They dared say that the Crown Prince and the Imperial Concubine factions already made a big fuss about this matter in front of Li Yuan, hence Li Yuan was so dissatisfied with Qiu Wensheng, the Paizhu [sect leader] of Guanzhong Jian Pai, and one more crime was added to Li Shimin. But Li Yuans move made it clear that he would not give Li Shimin a face. The two quickly kowtowed to thank the emperors favor. Li Yuan said happily, You may rise, I grant you a seat! [I know it sounds weird in English, but thats basically what he said.] Zhen just want you to concentrate on winning the game, so that our Great Tang will not be ashamed. The two sat down again, secretly thinking that Li Yuan seemed to be very interested to chat, but he seemed to have said everything that he wanted to say and everything that could be said has been said, what else would he want to say? When could they get away? Li Yuan said to Xu Ziling, Zhen like people who are loyal to their old master like you the most, unlike those who see profit and forget morality. Situ Laobans grand n in establishing the bank is very much in line with Zhens intentions. Later on, formal imperial order will be granted to authorize it, Pei Qingjia will be in charge for supervising and promoting my Great Tangs trade andmerce. As for the rectification of the banks name, how about the word Zhen Guan two characters? Zhen from zhong zhen [loyal and dependable], Situ Laoban does not care about personal gains, he fully demonstrates his undivided loyalty and dependability to my Great Tang, and his n is even more standing tall and seeing far, with hong guan [macroscopic/holistic] magnificent aspiration and grandiose n. Therefore, Zhen chose Zhen Guan two characters as the name of the bank. Actually, this name was not easy to interpret, but naturally everyone sang him praises, giving him des without actually thinking of him. Pei Ji also said, This time Situ Furong establishing the Zhen Guan Bank Head Office, he raised a huge amount of money reaching a million taels of gold. Not only it is rted to the sess or failure of the flying money business, but it is also the guarantee of the reputation of Zhen Guan Bank. Therefore, Weichen thought that this huge sum of million taels of gold to be stored in the national treasury for safekeeping, and the remaining money in the banks treasury and all settlements will be handed over, Weichen will assign a special person to examine and approve. Otherwise, if the bank takes a wrong turn, the implication will be extensive, the consequences will be worrying. Inwardly, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cursed, you, this muddled egg surnamed Pei, were carrying out Yin Zuwen and Chi Shengchuns tactics! Fortunately, the one suffering a cmity would not be them, but Yin and Chi, two big bad guys. This was the most ingenious and brilliant n that Lei Jiuzhi came up with. After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, Li Yuan nodded and said, Let it be like Pei Qing presented. After Li Yuan left the pce hall, Cheng Mo personally saw them out of the imperial pce. Along the way, he told them all kinds of taboos and thepass and set square in the pce. He finally said, Ma Jiu Chang is an official position under the Yu Lin Jun [lit. Imperial Forest Army, pce bodyguards]. Although it cannot be considered an important position and has no leadership authority, there are still nearly thirty men under yourmand. And because you are serving directly under Huangshang, I guarantee that no one in the pce will dare not to give you any face. Tomorrow I will take you to the Jin Wei Jun [Imperial Guard Army] general headquarters at the Xuanwu Gate, to receive the official letter of appointment and the official uniforms, whilepleting the household registration at the same time. The documents will be sent to the Ministry of Appointments for stamping and signature, and then we will be both residents of the Pce. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs head was pounding with headache, he asked, Who is our immediate superior? Cheng Moughed and said, Officially, I am your immediate superior, but only Wei Gonggong has the qualification to instruct you, simply because it concerns Huangshang; how could Xiaodi take upon the responsibility myself? Looking at this immediate superior, Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, So Yu Lin Jun is under Wei Gonggongsmand? Cheng Mo replied, Everything that concerns Huangshang, whether big or small, are handled by Wei Gonggong. Jin Wei Jun are under four greatmanding officers, they only obey Huangshang and Wei Gonggongs order. And then, lowering his voice, he said, Officialdom is another way of life, that is, you have to figure out your superiors intention; you will soon understand what I mean. Huangshang really shows special favors to you, you must never, ever, fail to live up Huangshangs expectations toward you. Kou Zhongughed and said, In that case, Cheng Daren must give us a couple of tips first, so that we could learn how to figure out your intention. Embarrassed, Cheng Mo said, Im your immediate superior in name only, not in realty. I even hope that you will have the opportunity to say a couple of good words on my behalf in front of Huangshang. The two left the pce on foot, from Hanbei Gate they turned to Guangming Street. Kou Zhong crossly said, That fellow Pei Ji is really not a human, for us to be frence guest officials is not good enough for him? He insisted on us to be some his Niangs Ma Jiu Chang, even have to train his grannys polo yers every morning. How could we still have time to do other things and rest? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Whats the use ofining to heaven, ming the earth? By tomorrow morning, we must figure out aprehensive polo rules, which we have no idea what it is yet. Otherwise, we will train a group of polo yers who keep fouling the rules. Definitely they will be pushed out of the Chengtian Gate to be beheaded, and their severed heads will be paraded through the streets. Kou Zhong hated it so much that his teeth itched, he said, That bastard Pei Ji must have worked hand in glove [orig. viins collude together] with Yin Zuwen. Forcing us to be polo ves like this, he must be harboring unfathomable motives. And then he wants to deposit most of our gold in the state treasury, it shows even more clearly that it is a crafty plot and machination. His Niangs! Later, Laozi will show him how formidable we are. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Furong Ye should never have asked two gambling ghosts and lechers [orig. sex ghost] as his bodyguard chiefs. If the enemy did not set their hands on us first, shouldnt they look for someone else? Keep your tricks looking good! Making threats and promises, using favor and prestige, all wille one after another. As long as out of ten shares Chi Shengchun can take up an extra share, and by chance Furong Ye happens to die of old age, the bank business will be the Xiang Familys business. This is called the big fish eats the small fish, or the small fish is swallowed by the big fish. With the sound of hoofbeat, one rider was galloping over from behind. Astounded, the two boys looked back, and saw one of Qiao Gongshans men, whom they had seen previously, spurring the horse to run after them. He spoke respectfully, Qiao Daren ordered Xiaoren to invite the two Daye to Fu Ju Lou for lunch, Qiao Daren and Er Daren are waiting respectfully for two gentlemens honored selves. If the oneing to invite them was either Qiao Gongshan or Er Wenhuan, they could build words and offer excuses, but at the moment they could not decline, without any better option they obediently followed this Changlin Armys little brother turning to the west. On the top floor of Fu Ju Lou, Chi Shengchun, Qiao Gongshan, and Er Wenhuan were sitting on the east side, on the table against the window; they were talking in low voice. Seeing Kou and Xu, two men arrived, they stood up to wee them. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had never thought that Chi Shengchun would show up here, they were greatly surprised, but did not show it. Because it was not lunch hour yet, in the hall, only less than half of the tables were upied. The two swept their gaze around but did not see any dangerous people with qualifications to see through them, hence they breathed a sigh of relief somewhat, but still did not dare to be negligence. Putting on Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong air, they walked towards the three men. Chi Shengchun made a weing gesture and invited the two to take their seat on the table. Chuckling softly, he said, Cai Xiong, Kuang Xiong, you really give us some face. No! Xiaodi should call you Cai Daren and Kuang Daren. Let us congratte two gentlemen Daren for the promotion and gaining wealth; your future prospect is unbounded. Kou Zhong plopped his butt down, musing that he, this kid, indeed had long ears. Pushing out a smiling expression, he said, Ah, we are nothing, just little pawns waiting upon Huangshang ying polo! Er Wenhuan poured the wine for the two, while Qiao Gongshan instructed the waiter to serve the dishes. Lowering his voice, Chi Shengchun made a show of being very much in earnest, he said, Although Ma Jiu Chang position cannot be considered anything special, but you are directly waiting upon Huangshang. As long as Huangshangs dragon heart is greatly pleased, two gentlemen will rise in your government position to join the nobility; it will definitely happen. Letting out a weirdughter, Qiao Gongshan said, Not only you can apany Huangshang ying ball, you can also apany the nobles in the pce ying around. Such an excellent job, even if we seek it, we may not find it. Er Wenhuan put down the wine pot, heughed and said, The ball field [qiu chang] is like the battlefield [zhan chang]. If you can defeat a powerful team from foreign country, it would be like setting up a [military] meritorious service, with the two gentlemens skill in ying ball, wouldnt achieving such wonderful meritorious service be as easy as a hands turn? Chi Shengchun raised his cup and said, Lets drink for victory! Heres to wish Cai Daren and Kuang Daren proud officialdom, with the casino [du chang, lit. gambling field] at hands, and luck with women in the rouge and power field [hongfen chang] without boundary. [Note: all these terms share the same chang (field/arena) character.] Hisst sentence made Xu Ziling think that if Chi Shengchun insisted on inviting them to the brothel, how should they deal with it? One cup was drained, everyone harbored his own sinister design, but on the surface naturally the atmosphere was warm. Pushing the wave and adding to the billows, Er Wenhuan said, Good thingse in threes. To celebrate you two being appointed as officials, we will have another party tonight. We will go to Shang Lin Yuan first to enjoy the gentle and soft taste of the most popr courtesans fawning upon us in every possible way, and then go to the Six-Happiness to y some hands, what do you think? Kou Zhong pretended to be disappointed, he said, I am afraid it will be a few days before we can do that. Furong Ye only trusts the two of us, that gold business was entirely handed over to us, we must wait until the umting fund ispleted and then re-casted into golden ingots with the word Zhen Guan, only then will we have time to spend in drinking and pleasure. Ay! Three gentlemens kind intention, we appreciate it! Hearing that, immediately Chi Shengchun, three mens eyes grew big and lit up. Xu Ziling seized the opportunity to say, The five hundred thousand taels of glistening yellow gold is really not a small amount. Although our Furong Ye has wealth equivalent to that of an entire nation, to raise this amount we still have to exhaust tremendous strength [orig. the strength of nine oxen and two tigers], therefore, there will be no room to cause a loss. Otherwise, if the Duan Ming [lit. short-lived] Cao San came, it will be terrible! That Chi Yes Han Lin Qing Yuan, I wonder if the jade annulus has been returned to Zhao [idiom: returning something intact to its rightful owner]? Chi Shengchun shook his head with bitter smile. Er Wenhuan said, Your business is our business, the golds safety issue, our Changlin Army will do our best to help, two gentlemen can rest assured. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Two Daren are indeed true friends. The problem is that our Furong Ye has a weird temperament, he already stated clearly early on that in the matter of the gold, we must not have other people get involved. Among the people in Changan, only us, two brothers and Furong Ye know the golds situation. Er Darens kind intention, we appreciate it! Stunned, Chi Shengchun said, The gold still has not been shipped to Changan? Xu Ziling said, If the one asking is not Chi Ye, we definitely will not answer. The gold is being brought here bit by bit. We were busy the whole nightst night, precisely to put the gold together in a safe ce. Qiao Gongshanughed and said, Butst night someone saw two gentlemen going in and out of Ming Tang Wo and Feng Ya Ge! Revealing an awkward expression, Kou Zhong spoke in a low voice, This is called to cover peoples eyes and ear, to threaten the east and strike to the west! Immediately Chi Shengchun, three men roared intoughter. This moment the vegetable and meat dishes were served on the table, all were top-notch products, delicacies filled the eyes, everything smelled, looked and tasted great. Chi Shengchun said cheerfully, Two Daren no need to joke around with us anymore! Tonight, at the beginning of you hour [5-7pm] we are waiting for your honored selves in Shang Lin Yuan. If we dont see you, that means you dont respect us enough. We will let you go before the third watch [11pm-1am, midnight], two gentlemen must not decline anymore. Come! Lets have a cup! Xu Ziling reached out to erase the marking, and left the rear courtyard wall of Shen Luoyans big residence. He met Kou Zhong, who wasing together with him, and said with augh, We have a date with the beautiful woman at the shen hour [3-5pm]. After wooing Meirener Gongzhu [the beautiful princess], Shaoshuai can still go to Shang Lin Yuan to enjoy the wind, flower, snow and moon! Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, Do I really have to persuade Meirener Gongzhu? We are taking a risk, no matter what. They were walking and talking at the same time. Xu Ziling said, Brother, the big problem before our eyes, the one pressing in on our eyshes, is that there is a great chance that Li Yuan is going to execute Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling. If the person receiving the order to investigate readily stated that the two colluded with Liu Wenjing to poison Zhang Jieyu, and to drive a wedge between Qin Wang and Jiancheng, Yuanji against their brotherly affection, also forged human testimonies and material evidence, even if Qin Wanges in person, he will be unable to do anything except to immediately raise his troops to rebel. But you ought to know that the fortunate time is not yet ripe, your two thousand martial art masters are still on the way. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, What does this have to do with Meirener Gongzhu? The two walked in the direction of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, Xu Ziling said, We definitely cannot let Li Yuan execute Fang and Du, two men, they are like Li Shimins left and right hands; to govern the world he had to rely on their insights and wisdom. And since Li Yuan killed Liu Wenjing, no one would dare to say good things for them in front of Li Yuan anymore, the only exception is Li Shentong! He is Li Yuans younger brother, Li Yuan can never push Li Shentong to be beheaded, therefore, to save the two mens lives, Li Shentong is the key figure. Do you understand? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Understood! From the direction of the south of the city, the bugle horn was sounded, followed by even more bells and drums rang together from the Chengtian Gate inside the imperial pce. While the two boys were unable to make any sense of the matter, a group of people, rushing as if they were fleeing for their lives, swarmed over from the Vermillion Bird Boulevard. Among them, several elderly men grumbled, Its not Qin Wang returning, Laozi dont give it a damn! The two boys you looked at me, I gazed at you, they halted their steps. Several big men wereing toward them, one of them politely said, Why havent two Xiongtai headed toward the Vermillion Bird Boulevard to wee Taizi [crown prince] returning in triumph to the imperial court? We are from the Longxi Pai, asking you to help us. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, We must cheer on then. He dragged Xu Ziling towards the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, and said with augh, I now fully understand why Jiancheng absolutely wants to get rid of Li Shimin, becausemon peoples eyes are as bright as snow. On the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, people were rushing forth. Although it was not crammed until not one drop could trickle through, it was quite a noisy crowd, only they did not know how many people came spontaneously, and how many people were forced by the Longxi Pai to fill the scene. The main army returning in triumph entered the city, the vanguard unit was indeed majestic and powerful, the picture of a flourishing army at its peak. The two boys mingled among the crowd, they watched Li Jiancheng, escorted by Xue Wanche and others, various generals, slowly riding along the Vermillion Bird Boulevard towards the imperial pce, epting the cheers of the crowd from both wings, looking enormously proud of their sess. It could easily be imagined that this moment Li Yuan would be waiting in formation outside the imperial pce for this beloved sons return in big victory, he might even hold a congrattory victory ceremony at the traversing public square. The two boys eyes could not help being fixed on Zhuge Dewei, who was following two horses behind Li Jiancheng. They really wished they could make their move right then and there, to kill him, in order to avenge Liu Heitas deep enmity. Just by looking at his position within the procession, the official position Li Jiancheng rewarded him was certainly not a small matter. No longer having the interest to continue watching, they turned around and left. Arent we going home? Kou Zhong asked in surprise. Xu Ziling said, While everyone is crowding toward the imperial pce, we should go pay our respects to Liao Kong while trying to find information from him. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Be careful! If Shi Zhixuan finds out, our grand n to fabricate the emperor will be done for. Xu Ziling smiled and said, No one is following us. Do you have any confidence to sense Old Shis presence? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling said, We can test it;e! Finished speaking, he simply somersaulted over the wall of a courtyard in the left, Kou Zhong followed him like a shadow attached to the form, followed him to the other side, and then somersaulted over the courtyard wall on the other side, and then rushed through the alleys. After passing through houses and leaping over the buildings several times, they continued to walk in the direction of the Dong Da Si. Xu Ziling spoke cheerfully, My senses were not wrong, right? Nobody is following us, including Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Its really puzzling? Chi Shengchun doesnt want to know where the gold is? He should send martial art masters to follow us twelve sichen a day. Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong are just henchmen of the Nine Schools of the dark road. Xu Ziling said, So what if he knew? Could it be that he would send people to grab the gold? Then our Furong Ye will have a serious reason to postpone or even cancel the n. Chi Shengchun shouldnt be that stupid. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Yes! I was so stupid to think that Old Chi would be that stupid! It was all because you forced me to see Li Xiuning, implicating me that I could not control my heart and became an idiot. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, All right! One lifetime, two brothers. I will see her on your behalf. Kou Zhong hurriedly said, A man did the deed, he must own it. The one in love with her is me, not Ling Shao. Naturally it should be Xiaodi who must clear up the mess. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, In that case, please shut up. We came to Changan not for a scenic tour. Today Jiancheng returned, tomorrow is Yuanjis turn. It must not be a coincidence, but a conspiracy to deal with Li Shimin. If we cant find the firearms whereabout before Li Shimin returns, even if we help Li Shimin with the strength of two arms, we will inevitably end up being burned or beaten to death. Book 58 7 – Resentment Over Grace

Book 58 Chapter 7 - Resentment Over Grace

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling pretended to be Buddhist pilgrims with reverence heart seeking for God. Aftermunicating their intention to see the Zhuchi [lit. manager] Huangshan [lit. deste mountain] Dashi, they were led to a stand-alone, serene and hidden-in-depth - meditation room at the rear courtyard, where they saw Liao Kong Dashi sitting quietly in meditation. Kou and Xu quietly sat down on the putuan. Liao Kong opened his eyes and said with a smile, You are finally here! Is everything going well? Kou Zhong reported the situation briefly to let Liao Kong understand the whole situation, and then he said, The most difficult thing to deal with now is Shi Zhixuan. Because of theplicated rtionship between Xiao Ling and him, we cannot harden our heart to put him to death. This seems to be the only think we can do at the present time. Liao Kongs pair of eyes shing with intelligence brimming with Buddhism subtleties, he nodded and said, That is definitely not a good way. With two Shizhus [benefactors] current skills and level of maturity, even fighting one on one, you can be a peerpetition to him. However, if you want to put him to death, even if you add Lao Na [old cassock], I am afraid we still cannot have our wishes fulfilled. Xu Ziling said, Before assassinating Zhao Deyan, it wont be easy to hide from Shi Zhixuan. After the assassination, based on his ability and wisdom, he will be able to see through our secrets through spiders threat and horse track, at that time, the consequences will be hard to guess. Liao Kong spoke indifferently, Shi Zhixuan definitely will not allow Li Shimin to be the true lord who unites the world, because that would mean the demonic school will be thoroughly fall from the horse [fig. suffer a setback]. On the contrary, if Kou Shizhu obtains the world, he can temporarily put up with it and conspire to sweep up the earth to start over, because with Shaoshuai in ce of the Tang, Shi Zhixuan will think that we have also fallen from our horse. Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, What should we do then? Liao Kong called on one of the many names of Buddha in a low voice, and said, There is only one person who can change Shi Zhixuan, you should know who I am referring to? Shaken, Xu Ziling said, Qingxuan! Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Xiao Ling does not wish for Qingxuan to get involved in this matter, afraid that she will be put in difficult position. Liao Kong called on one of the many names of Buddha again, and spoke softly, I am asking two gentlemen to temporarily set aside the matter of dealing with Shi Zhixuan. Feixuan ising to Changan within these ten days, she might bring a solution. And then he closed his eyes and put his palms together in salute. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling could only put their palms together to return the salute to this virtuous holy monk, and then left extremely quietly. When Kou Zhong pushed the door and entered in, Shen Luoyan was lying down on the couch leisurely, reading a scroll she held in her hand. She was scared by him and sat up straight, stroking her silky chest and speaking crossly, Why didnt you send a signal first? Do you want to scare me to death? Without the slightest care, Kou Zhong sat down in the chair on her other side, he smiled and said, Wouldnt that be doing more than is required? This general mansion of yours, the security is sloppy and useless, anybody who knows a little bit of qinggong would know whether there is someone or not, not even a single maid was seen. And then he casually pulled off his mask. Shen Luoyan spoke in displeasure, I was just trying to make it easier for you, Kou Daye to meet your first love, hence I sent some people out to work, while the others are transferred to the front courtyard to await orders. I am showing you kindness, and you still ridicule my security ascking. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Without saber surpasses with saber, or perhaps it is called empty is actually real. Laughing in spite of herself, Shen Luoyan said, Why is Shaoshuai beside yourself [orig. losing soul and falling spirit]? You are babbling a mouthful of nonsense. Although the number of family generals responsible to guard my humble abode is not many, but all are experts who have followed me since the Wagang Army era, in terms of loyalty, martial art skill, and experience, there wont be any problem, you can set your heart at ease. Finished speaking, she stood up gracefully and said, There is not much time! You quietly wait here obediently, dont run around randomly. Remember, under any circumstances, you are not to touch Li Xiuning, or I will be guilty. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, Am I such a person with no self-control? At least until today, I still had notmitted any shady business with Meirener Junshi. Shen Luoyans pretty face blushed slightly, she cursed in low voice, Shameless, and then twisted her willow waist, she walked out. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height; through the window, he followed Shen Luoyans beautiful back walking through the garden and crossing over the corridor. The touching scene of when he first met Li Xiuning and she pressed a dagger against his throat floated in his heart. In those days, how could he have imagined situation like today would happen? Xu Ziling returned to Situ Mansion, Lei Jiuzhi intercepted him and took him to the inner hall via the side road. While walking, Lei Jiuzhi, radiant with delight, said, This morning was really wonderful. Not long after you left, Chi Shengchun took You Bai San, whose face was still blue, his lips white, and his spirit depressed; he mistakenly thought that because he did not properly cover upst night, he caught cold and fell ill - toe here to see our Furong Ye. Xiao Bas technique is really formidable. You Baisan really did not know that someone had extorted confession out of him, his brains did not register any memory. Looking at it, most likely his memory will take some time to cultivate and consolidate, like a lot of people when they woke up after experiencing an ident, they arepletely unaware of what happened to them, so much so that they even lose their memories of the past. This thing called memory is really amazing. Xu Zilingughed and said, Lei Dage seems to be very excited! Lei Jiuzhi spoke cheerfully, Not excited, but shocked. Things that originally were simply impossible to resolve unexpectedly are easily settled. You dont know how much our Furong Ye cares about Xiao Baizis [little Bai (white) kid] physical condition. Ha! Xiao Baizi! Just by calling his nickname, how could Chi Shengchun dare to doubt? Inside the inner hall, Wang Xuanshu was alone, sitting with nk expression on his face; seeing Xu Zilings return, he hurriedly stood up. After the three men sat down, Xu Ziling asked about Ba Fenghan. Lei Jiuzhi replied, Xiao Ba is in his room, I dont know whether he is meditating or sleeping. Xiao Jie went out to see his sweetheart, our Furong Ye is not lonely though, Hu Xiaoxian is in the main hall, pandering to him. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Hu Xiaoxian? Lei Jiuzhi sighed and said, There are a couple of things I really want to remind Xiao Jun, he is such an honest and sincere person, women like Hu Xiaoxian are really not suitable for him; being captivated by Hu Xiaoxian cant possibly have good oue. Xu Ziling said, Hu Xiaoxians natural character really is not that bad, she is just being influenced by her environment and family background, and Hu Fo is just using her, this adopted daughter to beguile the rich and powerful. Lets see how the situation develops first! Turning to Wang Xuanshu, he asked, What kind of person Shuni actually is? Wang Xuanshu was a bit startled, he muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, and then said with a sigh, Since she was little, she loved to do her own way. After getting tangled with Yang Xuyan, she did not listen to Die even more. But she was rather close to me, when she was in distress, she would talk to me about the load on her mind, other than that no one can do anything about her. Lei Jiuzhi spoke heavily, If Shimin, Jiancheng, and Yuanji, are all died in battle, wouldnt the title of Emperor fall on the son born to her and Li Yuan? Xu Ziling nodded and said, This is perhaps Yang Xuyans grand n to usurp the Li Tang. Wang Xuanshu revealed a worried look. Xu Ziling said, Waiting is ufortable. But at the moment we must patiently wait for theing of the final victory. Wang Xuanshu nodded and said, Xuanshu understands! Xu Ziling stood up and said, Im going to talk to Fenghan. If Xibaies back, would Lei Dage please tell him to see me? Through the window, Kou Zhong looked at Li Xiuning, whom he had not seen for a long time, apanied by Shen Luoyan, walking along the winding corridor in the middle of the garden toward the study room. It was obvious that Li Xiuning was in a heavy mood, she hung her head down in silence, her lotus steps moved lightly, without realizing that Kou Zhong was fixing his eyes on her, not missing her every move. The winding corridor was covered with snow, icicles were hanging on the trees. The snow-white, pure and beautiful courtyard, set Li Xiunings - her ck hair wasbed into a topknot, she was wearing narrow-sleeved pink blouse, in green short cotton robe, white long tunic, her feet covered in multicolored national flower embroidered pretty shoes - elegant grandeur and grace off even more. Although her flowery jade countenance carried a bit of haggard look that could not be concealed, but she appeared all the more lovely and moving, some kind of I-pity-you beautiful bearing. Kou Zhong suddenly wondered, if Li Xiuning was willing to go far away with him, henceforth did not pay attention to the affairs of life, would he put everything aside and spend the rest of his life with her? He could not stop the pain from growing in his heart; forget about Li Xiuning would not be willing to do this, he himself would not be able to do it either. When he first met Li Xiuning, he had long felt that he was destined not to be together with her, and until today, everything had be a foregone conclusion. Shen Luoyan appeared before his eyes again, but immediately left in the opposite direction. Kou Zhong felt that he had lost the courage to turn around to face Li Xiuning. With a soft sound of footsteps, Li Xiunings voice rang out behind him, speaking with a sigh, Xiuning really cannot understand Shaoshuai, the situation has developed into the current plight, howe you still forget about military affairs and take the risk toe to Changan, and even asked to see Xiuning? Arent you afraid that Xiuning will lodge an usation against you? Kou Zhong felt miserable in his heart, he swallowed with difficulty and said, In that case, is there magnificent army with thousands of men and horsesid out outside to heavily surround this ce? Li Xiuning spoke in displeasure, Kou Zhong! Kou Zhong slowly turned his tiger-body around to meet Li Xiunings brimming with contradictions and bitter resentment - eyes; he could not help but speaking softly, At this very moment Xiuning sees me Kou Zhong standing here, it precisely means that I, Kou Zhong want to fight for thest opportunity, so that themon people under the heavens can avoid a devastating big catastrophe. I will not hide anything from you, and Xiuning must make a rational choice. Presently, there are only two ways that Xiuning can go, and either choice you make, there wont be any way back. In everything, you cannot have three hearts and two intentions, otherwise, the one suffering damage will not only be the Great Tang Dynasty, but also the innocent people in the world. Li Xiuning revealed a look of horror, she shook her head and said, I dont understand what are you talking about? You are not asking me to go with you, are you? Kou Zhong forgot Shen Luoyans warning not to touch her, he reached out to her two like-being-carved-by-a-knife fragrant shoulders, and looked deeply into her eyes. He spoke in low voice, I decided to give up contending for hegemony over the world, and to help your Er Wangxiong [second older brother king] with all my strength to ascend the emperor throne instead. Ah! Li Xiuning let out a soft cry, her tender body shook violently, her pretty eyes emitted hard-to-believe expressions. Kou Zhong nearly leaned over to kiss her fragrant lips, fortunately, he was able to maintain his reason, and quicklyposed himself. He spoke with serious expression, When did I, Kou Zhong, ever tell you a lie? This matter is absolutely true. I am sneaking into Changan this time, it is with the hope that we could use a limited, small-scale coup dtat, instead of dragging-for-months-and-years sessive bloody battles of siege and defense, which will throw the people into a terrible situation, to aplish the magnificent feat of bringing the world back into reunification. The day Qin Wang ascending to the throne will be the day my work is done and I will withdraw. Xiuning, do you understand? Li Xiuning still shook her head, revealing a shocked expression, obviously she was incapable toprehend and did not dare to believe Kou Zhongs words. Kou Zhong felt her flesh and blood shook and shivered in the palm of his hands, he felt the closeness between the two sides that never happened before, and yet the distance seemed so far away. He spoke heavily, Xiunings family has split into two the-two-cannot-exist-together opposing forces. If I, Kou Zhong do not support your Erxiong, when he returns to Changan, the only remaining allotted share for him is to be ughtered, the only way to protect himself is to seize Luoyang, raise his troops and proim independence. That is actually the worst-case scenario, because the coalition forces from outside the Great Walls invasion is imminent. Only when the world is unified we can have the hope to concentrate our strength and beat back the foreign enemies. Li Xiuning asked in trembling voice, How about Er Wangxiong? Recovering his calm, Kou Zhong replied, Qin Wang and I have formed a together-in-life-and-death alliance, we even went to Lingnan together to visit Song Que, and we have received Song Ques full support. Her breathing became ragged, Li Xiuning said, This sounds like impossible; you are really not joking? Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, How could I be willing to deceive you? The current situation is that the more we can win over more people to stand on your Er Wangxiongs side, the more we can reduce the bloodshed and the injuries and deaths, the quicker Changan can be stabilized, so that the new dynasty can quickly stabilize the situation and make a strong counterattack against foreign enemies. Does Xiuning trust me? Li Xiunings hot tears gushing out, she hung her head low and sobbed, You are still asking me? You should know the answer. His heart ached, Kou Zhong raised one hand to wiped your tears [sic] with his sleeves, he said, I want to hear Xiuning say it. Crying, Li Xiuning said, Kou Zhong, you know that bying here to see you, Xiuning hasmitted big crime and high treason. Luoyan refused to say anything, she only said that you wanted to see me, hence I came. Seeing the more she cried the more bitter she became, once it started there was no stopping it, as if she wanted to release all the sorrows in her heart, Kou Zhong spoke in panic, Dont cry! If someone finds that your beautiful eyes are red and swollen, it would be strange indeed if they dont get suspicious. Under his persuasion, Li Xiuning gradually stopped crying. After somewhat calming down, she spoke softly, What are you guys going to do? Kou Zhong dejectedly said, I dont want to lie to you, we cant wait anymore, the battle for the throne in Changan has reached the you-die-or-I-perish terrible situation. We obtained reliable intelligence that Jiancheng is colluding in secret with Liang Shidu to reach out to the Tujue, they bought arge quantity of ruthless Jiangnan firearms from Haisha Bang, only waiting for Qin Wang to be forced to move to Hong Yi Pce; surprise attack might happen any moment. Severely shaken, Li Xiuning immediately came to her senses, glistening teardrops were still flickering on her pretty eyes, she stared at him and said, Turns out you are really in alliance with Er Wangxiong, otherwise you should not know about the Hong Yi Pce. If Da Wangxiong [first brother king] really has such a batch of firearms, it should be extremely confidential. How did you know about it? Kou Zhong happily said, We can finally get to the point! How about we sit down and talk further? Because Im afraid that I cant help but viting you, at least I might steal an opportunity to kiss you. Li Xiuning rolled her eyes at him; hanging her head down, her pink face turned deep red, she said, You still have that revolting behavior; why havent you let me go? Still in bed, Ba Fenghan stretched out; he watched Xu Ziling sitting down on the side, and said, I have never had a fragrant and sweet sleep like this perhaps for several years. As soon as I went to bed this morning, I was gone until this moment. Xu Ziling spoke cheerfully, But you are still highly alert, I pushed the door open and you immediately woke up. Ba Fenghan moved to the edge of the bed and sat up straight, he smiled and said, In troubled times, this is a good habit. But in a peaceful and prosperous time, the opposite is true, it will make you cannot sleep in peace. Did things go well this morning? Xu Ziling nodded and said, We even saw Li Yuan, it would have been better if it werent for Pei Ji being meddlesome. And then he told him what happened this morning, including their meeting with Liao Kong. Ba Fenghan reminded him, Dont forget, you are to see Feng Deyi tonight to find out who the person who betrayed Shi Zhixuan was. The days with no wind, no waves, are really not easy to pass, I really wish I could find someone to exercise my muscles and bones. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Yet I hope that the breeze is still, the waves are quiet [idiom: tranquil environment] until the moment of the decisive battle; however, things turn out contrary to the way one wishes [idiom], assassinating Zhao Deyan is by no means easy. After a short pause, he muttered to himself irresolutely, Your technique to make people forget about being tortured for confession was effective on both Guan Ping and You Baisan, I wonder if it will also effective against people with high martial arts skills? Ba Fenghan said, Based on my experience, the key of sess of this unique technique of wang xing [lit. punishment to forget] lies in its suddenness. As soon as I make the move, the vital acupoint on the other sides forehead must be controlled immediately, so that the opponents head is like being treated by acupuncture, and thus unable to think in an orderly manner. Dealing with powerful martial artists, I have to spend some all-out effort before I have a chance to subdue him, hence the effectiveness of this method is questionable. Ziling have a good suggestion? Xu Ziling said, I am thinking about that batch of firearms. Qiao Gongshan and Er Wenhuan should be the men in the know. If this method works, we could find out where the firearms are hidden without fear of being removed by the enemy one step ahead. At least being able to monitor the firearm situation at any time will be greatly beneficial to us. Ba Fenghan said with a sneer, What kind of thing are Qiao Gongshan and Er Wenhuan anyway? As long as we set the n,bined with an appropriate environment. The most important thing is that after he wakes up, he will not be suspicious, I dare to guarantee that everything will be in order. But then he frowned and said, If we destroy the firearms, even more problems wille one after another: Li Jiancheng will definitely be on guard, which will have a great impact on our ns; an even bigger problem is Shi Zhixuan. Others might not know that it is our doing, but he might think in this direction. Perhaps he might even see through our partnership with Li Shimin. Xu Ziling said, Lets not worry about this for now. First of all, we must figure out where the firearms are hidden. Ba Fenghan spoke cheerfully, As long as I have the correct information, I can hide in one of their warm nkets tonight, and when hees back, I will wait upon him nicely. Xu Ziling said, It would be best to give me two or three days to investigate clearly. Er Wenhuan seems to be a bit easier to eat, lets choose him as the target. Ba Feng said, Or, you practically dont have to take this risk. Most likely the firearms are hidden in the West Markets He Chang Long. Yang WenGan has always had close rtion with Jiancheng, as long as a city gate catches fire, it is equivalent to bringing disaster to the fish in the moat. By then, the sky will be full of fireworks and fire arrows, we must admire it attentively from the side. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, Your move of fighting fire with fire is indeed amazing. In that case, we must investigate it even more clearly to guarantee that it will be surefire. Ba Fenghan said, There is still half a months time before Li Shimin is withdrawing the troops from the front and returning to Changan. At that time, Jiancheng, Yuanjis vignce will be greatly increased, wed better take advantage of this period to make all preparations. Xu Ziling said, Thats for sure, what are Fenghans ns tonight? Ba Fenghan said, Last night following Old Chi saved us from a catastrophe. Tonight, I still want to follow him in secret to see who he is going to meet, what he is going to say? Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will emerge victorious in every battle, right? This moment Lei Jiuzhi came in to report, Pei Ji and Wen Yanbo are here! They are studying the details of the Flying Money Business with our Furong Ye and Shen Ye. Ignoring any changes in the political situation in the future, the more it is stirred up, this business will definitely be bigger and bigger, and it must be a joint venture between the government and the business world. Where is Hu Xiaoxian? Xu Ziling asked. She has just left, Lei Jiuzhi replied, I heard Furong Ye say that Hu Fo could only raise fifty thousand taels of gold in a short time, hence he sent Hu Xiaoxian to sweet talk our Furong Ye to advance the remaining half of the capital, fifty thousand taels of gold, for her Die, and then disregarding interest, he will pay back in installments. Our Furong Ye patted his chest and agreed. His grannys, this kid is infatuated with beauty, unexpectedly he forgets that we dont have much gold and silver on hand. Ba Fenghanughed and said, He did not forget at all, rather, he must unt his wealth in front of beauties. Having a headache, Xu Ziling said, How are we going to handle this? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Only one way: we must win back these fifty thousand taels of gold from the Six-Happiness. Ha! Book 58 8 – Secret Weapon

Book 58 Chapter 8 - Secret Weapon

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Before going to Chi Shengchuns banquet at Shang Lin Yuan, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling met in a teahouse in Beili. Seeing Kou Zhongs listless appearance, Xu Ziling was rather shocked; aghast, he asked, Things went very bad? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Not that dreadful yet, at least Li Xiuning did not lodge an usation on me, she just could not ept the cruel facts that I described, she still did not want to make a decision. When I told her that Jiancheng, Yuanji would attack Shimin using firearms, she was even more skeptical. Ay! She unexpectedly did not trust me, it hurts my fragile heart. When he heard it, Xu Zilings eyebrows furrowed deeply, he said, Did you tell her about the agreement that you and Qin Wang are nning to kill Jiancheng, Yuanji, and force Li Yuan to abdicate? Kou Zhong took a sip of hot tea, he spoke dejectedly, If you were me, can you tell her that? I have not gotten the point yet, she already cried like a tear figurine. But from what I said, she should have guessed that I would never let Jiancheng and Yuanji off. Finally, she said that when Li Shimines back, she is going to ask clearly before making a decision. What a headache! Xu Ziling spoke heavily, In that case, our n to persuade Li Shentong through her, presently this road is blocked. Ay! It is indeed a headache! How can we resolve the crisis of Li Yuan wanting to put Fang and Du, two men to death? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, This matter of persuading Li Xiuning must be resolved before Li Shimin returns to Changan. If we let her question Li Shimin, the real consequences will be unpredictable? If we can prove it to her first that such a batch of malicious firearms does indeed exist, and that Jiancheng, Yuanji does have the intention of killing Li Shimin, perhaps it can change her hesitant attitude. Xu Ziling pondered, Liu Wenjing was executed, I wonder if it did not give her the slightest hint? Stunned, Kou Zhong said, I forgot to ask her how she felt in this regard. Should I steal into the Pce tonight to ask her again? Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Are you kidding? Kou Zhong spoke in distress, Her crying made me heartbroken and lost, I nearly did not want to let her go. Xu Ziling said, With regard to putting ourselves in her shoes, certainly she has difficulties left and right. This is a tragic event in her family, close kindred ughtering one another! If you were her, in such a situation, how would you react? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Im most afraid that momentarily she cannot think straight, and go to Li Yuan toin tearfully, it will be thoroughly terrible. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, She definitely will not betray you, she wont betray Li Shimin even more. Now that there is no alternative, we have to use the fact and let her see that this batch of firearms existence is absolutely true. And then he told him about the method that he and Ba Fenghan had discussed carefully. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused, but then he shook his head and said, That wont work! Are you saying I should take her to where the firearms are hidden and tell her, look! This is the irond evidence that your Da Wangxiong and your San Wangxiong are going to kill your Er Wangxiong [first, third, and second brother king, respectively]! In the first ce, she might still think that we are swindling her. Xu Ziling said, Finding the firearms hiding ce is the first step. At that time, we will do as we see fit. She is a sensible person who understands what kind of person you, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong are. After all, there will always be twists and turns in this matter, the question is how we are going to solve it. Kou Zhong said, I am bewildered by the situation, hence I worry about personal gains and losses; you are a bit more clear-headed. His grannys bear! Lets not think about her for now. Any new developments? Xu Ziling briefly summarized thetest situation, specifically mentioning about Hu Xiaoxian, acting on behalf of Hu Fo, wanted to borrow fifty thousand taels of gold. Kou Zhong momentarily put Li Xiuning aside, he immediately returned to his usual quick-witted nature; he pondered, Hu Fo is Ming Tang Wos Da Laoban. If Chi Shengchun can get three hundred thousand taels of gold, could it be possible that he cant afford one hundred thousand? In my opinion, Hu Fo is colluding with Chi Shengchun and Yin Zuwen in this matter; this is a way to test what is true and what is false of our Furong Yes financial strength. As if he had just awakened from a dream, Xu Ziling said, This time its your turn to be the outsider who can see things more clearly than those involved. We only thought that Xiao Jun should no longer unt his wealth. Chi Shengchuns n is rather clever. If we have to transport gold from elsewhere, it will prove that we only have five hundred thousand taels of gold, then they will figure out our foundation. Kou Zhongughed and said, That can be easily proven. Later on, if Chi kid sounds us out, it will prove thatozis guess is not incorrect. Lets quickly think about it clearly, which answer should we provide? Xu Zilingughed and said, Even if our Furong Ye is the richest man in the north, his family background ample, able to circte an unlimited amount of gold, five hundred thousand taels should not be too far away from that limit! To raise another fifty thousand taels would entail strenuous effort very much. Kou Zhong roared inughter, pped him on the shoulder, and spoke cheerfully, Then thats how we decide Furong Yes current familial property, to give Chi Shengchun the chance to carry out his crafty plots and machinations, together with Pei Jis official power, he will gradually nibble away our Zhen Guan Bank. Youll see. Looking up at the sky, Xu Ziling said, Its almost time; there is one more thing that needs to be rified, that is, I am a gambler [orig. du gui - gambling ghost] and you are a lecher [orig. se gui - color/beauty ghost]. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was baffled, What gambler, lecher? I dont understand what you are talking about? Xu Ziling said, To deal with the two of us, it wont be anything apart from beauty trap and gambling deception, two moves. The beauty trap is for you to bear, the gambling is my responsibility. This is called division ofbor and cooperation. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, I have never cared about the convenience over a beauty, I hope the goods Old Chi provides will be of the best quality. When the two arrived outside the Shang Lin Yuans main gate, Kou Zhong remembered something, he said, Now Shang Lin Yuansoban is Chi Shengchun, which divine figure was actually the previous boss? Why was he willing to let Shang Lin Yuan go? If we could figure out the situation on this regard, there may be new indications. Xu Ziling said, This shouldnt be a secret. When we have the opportunity, we could directly ask Qiao Gongshan or Er Wenhuan. I can also ask Feng Gong in passing tonight. Kou Zhong raised his eyebrows at him, heughed aloud and said, The loose days of spending our time in drinking and pleasure [idiom: to indulge in sensual pleasures / life of debauchery], as if drunk or entranced [idiom: leading a befuddled existence] are finally here! The two entered Shang Lin Yuan in big strides, so that a gorgeous horse-drawn carriage galloping over had no choice but to yield to the side, to allow theters to enter one step ahead. The big men guarding the door recognized the two, Cai Ye and Kuang Ye calls were incessant as they enthusiastically weed them. The gorgeous horse-drawn carriage stopped in front of the stone steps of the main hall, Kou Zhong focused his eyes to look, the one stepping down from the carriage was surprisingly the second young master of the Sha family, Sha Chenggong, carrying the air of a big customer indulging in music and song every night, pompously climbing up the hall and entered in with the procures busily weing him. Kou Zhong remembered the days when he was dressed as the ugly divine doctor in the Sha Family, a burst of warmth welled up in his heart, he even developed a favorable impression toward this second young master who was full of shorings. The two were taken to the wing room that Chi Shengchun usually used. Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan were already embracing their left and hugging their right in great delight. Seeing this, the two boys groaned inwardly; if the other side treated them with the same form and call the other four girls to let them share the same blessing, it would make them to be at a loss on how to endure it! Fortunately, beyond their expectation, Qiao Gongshan and Er Wenhuan unexpectedly dismissed the four women and called out to them to take their seat. Only the young maids left to wait upon them politely, to take off their robe for them, and serve them fragrant tea, fine wine, and some delicacies. The four men raised their cups to toast each other, just like friends who have known each other for many years, no outsiders could see that they could not even be considered drinking buddies [lit. friends of wine and meat], moreover, they even you hoodwink me and I cheat you. Putting down the wine cup, Er Wenhuan said, Chi Ye will be here a bitte, because Taizi Dianxia [His Royal Highness the Crown Prince] wanted to speak to him. Kou Zhong asked, Taizi Dianxia returned in triumph today, isnt there a banquet to celebrate a heroic deed in the pce? How could you have the free time toe here? Qiao Gongshanughed and said, For the time being, it is only to bestow reward to the three armies. The banquet to celebrate a heroic deed will have to wait until Qi Wang and Qin Wang return, and then it will be held together. At that time, Huangshang will have an important matter to announce; all the promotions, conferring titles, and so on, will have to wait for that time. As for the important matter to announce, please forgive Xiaodi for keeping it secret for the time being. Seeing his immensely proud, full of confidence manner, the two boys immediately guessed that Li Yuans announcement would be greatly detrimental to Li Shimin. Evidently, as soon as Li Shimin returned from the south to Changan, he would fall into the inferior position of taking a beating, if it had not been for them, this wonder troops, it was almost certain that Li Shimin would not be able to turn things around. Er Wenhuan wanted to show off his power, while also wanted to fawn on them, he cheerfully said, Qiao Daren and I will report your Da Laoban, Shen Xiansheng and your, two Dages names to Taizi Dianxia; when the timees, you will receive the invitation. As if he was adding salt and vinegar, Qiao Gongshan said, This state banquet is not only a grand asion in our Great Tang, it is also a major international event even more, Bi Xuan and Fu Cailin are also invited to attend. Such a once-in-a-thousand-year golden opportunity, where could we find it? This distinguished meeting will enable us to see with our own eyes the elegant manner of the two out of three grand masters of the world for the first time. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling pretended to be shocked and were greatly excited; they seized this opportunity to ask questions. Kou Zhong asked, Shang Lin Yuan is the most magnificent pleasure house that we, brothers, have ever visited; I wonder who is Shang Lin Yuans Laoban? Surprised, Er Wenhuan said, Two gentlemen unexpectedly did not know that Chi Ye is Shang Lin Yuans Laoban? Pretending to be stunned, Xu Ziling said, Isnt Chi Ye the Six-Happiness Laoban? Qiao Gongshanughed and said, What I am telling you now is falling-forward-and-pouncing-without-any-doubt truth, the casino boss can be the pleasure house boss, but it will be very difficult for a pleasure house boss to be a casino boss. Two gentlemen are sensible men, you should understand what I mean. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Who was the pathetic Laoban who lost Shang Lin Yuans ownership? Lowering his voice, Er Wenhuan said, This person should be very familiar to you, he is the Longtou [boss/chief] of the Huang He Bang [Yellow River Gang], the Da Peng [great roc] Tao Guangzu. This person is a high-ss gambler, staking a thousand pieces of gold on one throw and his countenance did not change; he himself was also an expert in such matters. However, there is always a higher mountain ahead, his gambling nature was aroused, unexpectedly he staked Shang Lin Yuan for a hundred thousand taels of gold. After a few rounds, Shang Lin Yuan came to our Chi Yes hands. Kou Zhong quickly added, I have met Huang He Bangs Hong Ying Qiang [Red Cherry Spear, lit. ancient spear decorated with a red tassel] Xi Jie. Xu Ziling was amused inwardly. Kou Zhong did see Xi Jie; it was during the time when they followed Guan Ping on board the Da Dao She [main street agency] ship, sailing up north with the Pingyao merchants, Xi Jie of the Huang He Bang chased via the waterway, looking for Guan Pings other identity, Duan Chu to give him bad luck, they met face-to-face across a distance. Fancy that Kou Zhong remembered the other sides name, since he nearly forgot the whole thing [see Book 37 starting in Chapter 10]. Qiao Gongshan nodded and said, Xi Jie and Fan Shaoming are Tao Guangzus Left and Right Vanguard Generals, respectively, together with the Fu Bangzhu [deputy gang leader] Living Zhuge Wu Sansi, they are known as the Huang He San Jie [three greats/heroes of the Yellow River]. Huang He Bang has had well-off days once; in the past, the shipping escort business along the Yellow River was all under Tao Guangzus control, too bad that now they face head-on challenge and are overwhelmed by Da Dao She, whose power is expanding continuously. The head of the Northern Bodyguard [or Escort] Agency was reced by Qiu Qipeng of Da Dao She, and Qiu Qipeng is precisely Chi Yes sworn brother. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you look at me I gaze at you, inwardly they both said, So thats how it is. In that case, Qiu Qipeng was most likely jackals of the same tribe [idiom: just as bad as each other] with Chi Shengchun. They even suspected that Da Dao Shes Feng Ba was the one betraying Ou Liangcai and the others, Pingyao merchants, causing them to fall under Bai Zitings extortion and ckmail. Changing the subject, Xu Ziling asked about Ji Qian. Er Wenhuan sighed and said, Thatss is indeed the pinnacle in both looks and art, no wonder you, Kuang Xiong keep her in mind constantly. At the moment she is not in Shang Lin Yuan, I heard that she went home to visit her family. Fortunately, Chi Ye arranged for Qing Xiaojie to serve wine tonight, her good look is by no means inferior to Ji Qian. When you see her, you will know that Xiaodi is definitely not bragging for her. Qiao Gongshan stood up and said, Chi Ye is here! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had already heard his footsteps early on, but they pretended not to know; hurriedly they stood up to wee him. Toward Miss Qing who Er Wenhuan mentioned, they practically did not have the slightest care. Chi Shengchun apologized and took his seat. After a noisy exchange of pleasantries, two beautiful courtesans with out-of-the-ordinary good looks came to offer their skills and sang two folk tunes. They were quite skilled, but to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were ustomed to listening to Shang Xiufang or Shi Qingxuan, respectively, naturally they did not feel anything outstanding. After the two courtesans withdrew, Chi Shengchun chuckled and said, People have the very wonderful interaction between people; for some reason, as soon as I saw the two gentlemen, I feel like we are of kindred spirits, my heart is very happy. While cursing in his heart, Kou Zhong assumed an air of being overwhelmed by favor from superior, saying, Chi Ye thinks highly of us, it is our good fortune. Qiao Gongshan said, With Chi Ye as friends, two gentlemen certainly you want to have wind you get wind, you want to have rain you get rain - in Changan; who would dare to offend Chi Yes brothers? Er Wenhuan said, I wonder what good things Taizi Dianxia said to Chi Ye? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were amused inwardly, knowing that a good show was still toe; the three men before their eyes were singing in harmony, they wanted to highlight Chi Shengchuns power in Changan as much as possible, that he had close rtionship with Li Jiancheng, and things like that. Naturally their intention was to make threats and promises to win them over. Chi Shengchun casually said, Taizi Dianxia was just talking about usual things. On the banking business however, Taizi Dianxia is a bit skeptical, so I have no choice but to spend some lips and tongue to convince him. Turning to the two boys, he said, I heard Hu Xiaoxian went to see your Da Laoban this morning, I wonder if two gentlemen have any knowledge of this matter? Lowering his voice, Er Wenhuanughed in ttering way and said, Chi Yes feeling toward that flirty goods Xiaoxian has not disappeared yet? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling came to understand. Chi Shengchun was not only weighing the two boys importance; if they had a deep rtionship with Situ Furong, he must sound out the two boys attitude towards him. From this, they knew that their analysis was confirmed to be correct; Hu Fo, father and his daughter indeed joined forces with Chi Shengchun on this matter, hence Chi Shengchun was very clear about the fifty thousand taels of gold. Pretending to be stunned, Kou Zhong said, In that case, wouldnt Chi Ye and our Furong Ye have be rivals in love? But Chi Ye need not worry, Hu Xiaoxian went to see Furong Ye only for the glistening yellow gold, not for Furong Yes person. Catching on, Xu Ziling said, Ay! She, Da Xiaojie spoke a word, and it strained us hard; raising five hundred thousand taels of gold is already not an easy task at all. We have to collect and transport them from banks and pawnshops all around the country, now suddenly we must raise another fifty thousand taels; it will give us another round of headache! Qiao Gongshan also pretended to be stunned and said, Hu Xiaoxian unexpectedly borrowed money from youroban? Kou Zhong said, She said it would be used temporarily for the cashflow. In my opinion, she should have seen that Furong Ye was the golden tortoise. One would know ones own family affairs, even a mountain of gold will one day be exhausted. In order to raise five hundred thousand taels of gold, no one knows how strenuous it was for our Furong Ye. Knowing Kou Zhongs character, Xu Ziling was afraid that the more he spoke, the more he would get over the top, hence he hurriedly cut in, Although Furong Ye has a strong family background, but the pawnshops in various ces must continue to operate, we cant just empty all capitals. Chi Shengchuns pair of eyes revealed a happy expression, but it disappeared in a sh; he said, Da Laoban really regards two gentlemen as his trusted aides, he doesnt hide anything from two gentlemen. Kou Zhong found a new bragging target, he hurriedly nodded and said, Our close rtionship with Furong Ye has been put to the test and was established over a long period of time. Wentong and I are very clear about public for public and private for private; we only know that we throw our life in for Furong Ye, when ites to money, there is absolutely no ambiguity nor do we show any interest in it. Er Wenhuan said, In transporting the gold, I wonder if our Chang Lin Army need to lend a hand? Two gentlemen only need to say the word, Xiongdi will definitely manage it properly for you. Xu Ziling snickered secretly, you, this guy, are trying to find the whereabouts of the gold in a roundabout way. Revealing a grateful look, he said, Two Daren are indeed true friends, but the big deal has already been aplished, the small deal, we, brothers should be able to handle it, no need to trouble Daren. After Chi Shengchun obtained the important information that he needed, he put on an air of using a long line to catch a big fish [idiom: a long-term n for major returns], raising his cup, he said, All those Hu Xiaoxian, Fu Rongye, or what have you, lets put them all set aside, tonight belongs to us, brothers. Come! Have another cup. Everyone raised his cup and toasted each other. Putting down the wine cup, Chi Shengchun pped his hands to get the attention of the waitress guarding the door, and then he whispered something in her ear. The waitress took the order and leave. Unexpectedly Er Wenhuan reached out to pinch her fragrant butts; he evenughed heartily, acting extremely proud of himself. Qiao Gongshan burst out inughter and said, Lao Er, this is called your lecherous nature is not changing. You are not afraid that she will tell on you to Chunxiang [lit. spring fragrant]? I guarantee that you will have to pack your back and leave before you finish eating. Perhaps it was because Er Wenhuan remembered Chunxiang that Qiao Gongshan mentioned, acting weird, looking weird, he clucked his tongue,ughed lewdly, and said, Dont worry about me. Chunxiang is now clinging to me, totally submissive. This is the benefit of superior skill in bed. Chi Shengchun blurted outughing at the top of his voice, he said, In Wen [culture/literary/civil/pen], there is no number one. In Wu [martial/military/sword], there is no number two. This saying being applied to our, menfolks skill in bed, is even more urate. Those who agree that skill in bed is not as good as others, please raise your hands. His remark immediately provoked the whole audiences rowdyughter. Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he asked, This Chunxiang that two Daren mentioned, is she a Xiaojie under Chi Yes banner? Qiao Gongshanughed and said, I should say that she is one of the most popr Guniang. Turning to Er Wenhuan he asked, Lao Er, how many days have you not been home? Without the slightest care, Er Wenhuan replied, Dont remember! Everyone burst intoughter again. Suddenly, there was the jingling noise of girdle ornaments, followed by a fragrant breeze. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling turned their heads to look, immediately their hearts were shocked. They saw a beautiful woman in magnificent dress, her headbed into a small knife bun, red-purple and green trim was added to her white long-sleeved upper outer garment, half-sleeved green back buttoned jacket, in yellow cape, and a vermilion-colored long skirt trailing on the ground, supported by a young maid, as if she was delicate, soft and powerless - stepping lightly into the wing room. Chi Shengchun took the lead to stand up; weing her, he said, Qinger,e quickly! Let me introduce you to the two new appointees in Changan. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, immediately putting on an act of their soul being hooked, they stood up together to wee her. The neer was not a stranger, but Wanwans Shimei [younger martial sister] Bai Qinger. Chi Shengchun dispatched Bai Qinger to deal with them, they knew that he determined to win the bank business. Xu Ziling recalled Bai Qingers entire body was full of moxibustion needles in some kind of demonic schools secret technique training, immediately he felt shivers though not cold. Relying on her method and good looks, to bewitch any man would be as easy as a hands turn. The demonic school not only could use her to deal with Li Yuan, but also to deal with Li Jiancheng or Li Yuanji. This move was more formidable than a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses. Book 58 9 – Too Late to Be Sorry

Book 58 Chapter 9 - Too Late to Be Sorry

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling returned to the Situ Mansion after the first watch [7-9pm], everybody in the mansion was asleep except for Lei Jiuzhi. Lei Jiuzhi stayed in the lobby with his eyelids closed waiting for them, seeing their return, all sleepiness disappeared, he blurted out. Come in! Come in and report in detail. I knew you couldnt hold back and wanted toe back to sleep! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling happily walked over to the round table at the center of the hall and sat down. Kou Zhongughed and said, We onlye back for a short visit, because there are martial art masters who follow us from the Six-Happiness straight to this ce, ay! It would be nice not to go out again. It seems like I have not had any good sleep for a long time. Lei Jiuzhi pointed at Xu Ziling and said, You won money! Right? Xu Ziling seized this opportunity to tter him, he said, How could Chi Shengchun hide his tricks from Lei Dage? Chi Shengchun deliberately lost to me, the amount of silver I won was about double the amount I lost at Ming Tang Wost night. Speechless, Lei Jiuzhi said, Wouldnt it be nearly a thousand taels of Tongbao? Chi Shengchun is really a big spender. Kou Zhong asked, Does Lei Dage know the Huang He Bangs Great Roc Tao Guangzu? Lei Jiuzhi replied cheerfully, Not only I know this gambling ghost [i.e. gambling addict], I even gave him a few pointers on gambling skill. Apart from the fact that when he is gambling, he would not recognize his own family, he is actually a person who talks the way of righteousness. Xu Zilingughed and said, Lei Dage seem to have met most of your friends at the gambling table. Immensely proud of himself, Lei Jiuzhi said, This is called gambling all over the world! Kou Zhong told him about Tao Guangzu losing Shang Lin Yuan first, and then he said, I dont know what Tao Guangzu looks like? Is there a way to turn Ziling into Tao Guangzu? If it is feasible, I have a new n to use one move to win four gains. Lei Jiuzhi sighed and said, Tao Guangzu is at least a head shorter than Ziling, plus his appearance is unique, even if Lu Shi [Master Lu, referring to Lu Miaozi] came back, he would have his hands bound and be unable to do anything about it. Kou Zhong said, Destitute leads to change, and change leads to sess. How about just turning Ziling into Tao Guangzus son, going into battle in ce of his father, making aeback? Knitting his brows, Lei Jiuzhi said, Since Chi Shengchun already obtained Shang Lin Yuan, would he be so stupid to ce Shang Lin Yuan as a bet? Kou Zhong said, Chi Shengchun will be a thousand willing, ten thousand willing, as long as the bet is the Huang He Bangs entire shipping escort business. First of all, he definitely does not believe that he will lose, or perhaps he does not believe that Xiang Gui will lose to a name-not-encountered-in-the-ssics [idiom: nobody] son of a defeated general under his hands. Since Tao Guangzu can send his son, naturally he can send his Ol Die. Emotionally moved, Lei Jiuzhi said, To be able to force Xiang Gui to show up, that is definitely one gain. What are the other three gains? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You put me on the gambling table again. If I miss my hand, wouldnt it mean that we implicate Tao Guangzu to lose his family fortune? Kou Zhong spoke with ample confidence, You treat Xiang Gui like Ba Fenghan treats Er Wenhuan, surely ten grabs nine steady [a cinch]. This is called how do you catch the tiger cub without entering the tigersir [idiom]? When the gambling excitement is rising, you want to stop but cant, so you up the ante. As long as you win one hundred or eighty thousand taels of gold more from Chi Shengchun, it will drive his capital to its critical stage, surely he will make mistakes, and then we will have the opportunity that we can exploit. Lei Jiuzhi was puzzled, he asked, I still dont understand why Chi Shengchun simply must bet on Huang He Bangs business? Kou Zhong exined, Because Qiu Qipeng of Da Dao She and Tao Guangzu are fighting over the Yellow River business until you die, I live, and Qiu Qipeng is precisely Chi Shengchuns sworn brother. Even more likely, Qiu Qipeng belongs to the demonic school. By helping Tao Guangzu defeating Chi Shengchun, we indirectly strike at Qiu Qipeng, and probably striking the demonic school as well. This will be the first two of the three gains. After a short pause, he continued, The fourth gain is to get the Huang He Bang to stand on our side, which will be beneficial without any harm to us. Lei Dage thinks this is feasible? Lei Jiuzhi said, Its hard to say, we will have to get Lao Taos approval. But if you tell him that you have formed an alliance with Li Shimin, the chance of sess will increase tremendously. Anybody who is not blind should know that the final victory will belong to you. The question is, at the current state, how can I spare time for a separate task? Kou Zhongughed and said, Are you forgetting the fifty thousand taels of gold? As the Situ Mansion Zongguan [chief/manager], naturally running errands is your responsibility. Shaking his head, Lei Jiuzhi said with a sigh, You make things more and moreplicated; I hope you wont make a mistake. Kou Zhong, dressed in tight nightwalker outfit, his head covered in ck cloth, leaped up to the snow-covered horizontal branch of the old tree overlooking the small multi-story building where the secret tunnel was hidden at Yin Zuwens rear courtyard. The tip of his toes tapped lightly, without leaving the least bit of trace, he soared up, traversing the nearly ten zhang distance, relying on his unique skill of changing the direction of his true qi high up in the air to continue, andnded on the roof tile of the small building without making any noise. Seven or eight vicious dogs guarding the mansion, out of instinct, appeared out of nowhere, and circled the small building. Kou Zhong jumped in fright, hastily he curbed his pores to prevent his bodys qi from leaking out the slightest bit. Fortunately, this pack of vicious dogs was well-trained, since they did not smell anything different, unexpectedly they did not bark, only they refused to leave. The dog may be new arrangement, most probably it was to guard against Shi Zhixuan. Currently, no one in the demonic school was not afraid of the isted Shi Zhixuaning to look for them to give them bad luck. With Kou Zhongs current skill, of course he did not consider the vicious dogs worthy in his eyes, he came to the Yin Mansion this time was to verify the situation of the secret tunnel. If Li Yuan was frightened and sealed the secret tunnel for his entertainment, their big n to assassinate Zhao Deyan would suffer serious setback, the difficulty level would be greatly increased; therefore, they had no choice but to be particrly careful. Right this moment, a shrill whistle was heard from inside the residence, hearing it, the vicious dogs went away, one and all. The corridors of the Yin Mansion were illuminated by the windnterns, but he did not see anybody patrolling the area. In the other buildings,rge and small, thenterns were dark, the fire ck, quiet without any noise. Kou Zhongs ears listened to eight directions, suddenly he somersaulted down the eaves. Utilizing his true qi, he unleashed the striking-the-ox-over-the-mountain style to open the door, and entered the upper floor through the window. Stepping into the small hall on the upper floor, Kou Zhong closed the window first before walking downstairs to the lower level. Theyout was unchanged, giving him a familiar feeling. Kou Zhong inspected the situation. When he was sure that the secret tunnel was just as before, suddenly the rm went off in his heart. Hurriedly he threw himself by the window, and looked towards the main residence. Two figures appeared before his eyes. On the left was Yin Zuwen, and the other was unexpectedly the Western Tujues Teacher of the State Yun Shuai, whom Kou Zhong had not seen for a long time; he had never thought that Yun Shuai would appear here. A strange feeling surged in Kou Zhongs heart. If the one walking with Yun Shuai was Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, or even Li Yuan, he would only feel as if it was proper and to be expected as a matter of course. However, now unexpectedly it was the viins colluding together [idiom] with Zhao Deyan - Yin Zuwen, showing clearly that he was relying on the Eastern Tujues strength for help. Even if he pondered until his head burst, he would still be unable to figure out the rtionship between the two. This small building must be the best ce in Yin Zuwens Mansion to conduct secret shady business, or perhaps it was his favorite ce; only this time he was not here to have a tryst with Wen Caiting, but to discuss official business with Yun Shuai. Without daring to hesitate, he rushed up to the upper level. If they climbed the stairs, he had enough confidence that he would be able to leave one step ahead. Such a golden opportunity, unexpectedly he was willing to miss. Inside the study room of the Feng Mansion. Finished listening to Xu Zilings brief report on the recent developments, Feng Deyi said, Ziling asked me to check something, and I have made a bit of progress. On the surface, there does not seem to be any problems, Liu Hongji and Yin Kaishan received a tip-off and reported it to Li Yuan, they suspected that it was Shi Zhixuans hiding ce, hence they took action at night; who would have thought that they pounced on empty air. Who are Liu Hongji and Yin Kaishan? Xu Ziling asked. Feng Deyi spoke glibly, They are men who have followed Li Yuan for many years, fully trusted by Li Yuan, in charge of the city defense of Changan, their authority and responsibilities are very heavy. His brows knitted, Xu Ziling said, They dont seem like people from the demonic school, where did the tip-offe from? Feng Deyi replied, The tip-off came from Longxi Pais Paizhu [sect leader] Jin Dazhuang. This is even harder to guess, because Changan is their flower pot, where they have numerous eyes and ears, so it is not surprising that they noticed Shi Zhixuansir. Xu Ziling spoke in distress, Could it be that this precious clue is cut off just like this? With a card up his sleeve, Feng Deyi said, Give me a bit more time. Longxi Pais Jian Langjun [Sword Lad] Wei Jiaqing has a special rtionship with me, he owes me a favor for saving his life. As long as I pretend that it was Li Yuan who sent me to investigate, I guarantee that he will cooperate. Delighted, Xu Ziling said, In that case, I will have to ask Feng Gong to do it. Feng Deyi said, In the past few years, I have spent a lot of time trying to understand the struggle among the Li Tangs factions. I originally nned to use it to drive a wedge between them in order to help Song Xiong. Now we can use it for another purpose, it is turning to trying to figure out who we can win over, and who we should win over. Xu Ziling spoke cheerfully, I would like to hear the details. Feng Deyi said, The first and the most critical thing is Liu Hongji and Yin Kaishan who I mentioned just now. As long as during the uprising they hold back their troops without moving, the whole matter will be a battle between us and Jiancheng and Yuanji, a situation which will bepletely beneficial to us. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Since these two men are loyal to Li Yuan, how are we going to move their heart? Feng Deyi calmly said, They are both loyal and patriotic men; moreover, they know whom to rely on to win the Li Tangs world, and they are very dissatisfied with Li Yuan being deceived by the Taizi and Feipin [crown prince and imperial concubines, respectively] factions, its just that they dare to be angry but do not dare to speak. If we could create some kind of situation, for example, Xieli going down south on arge-scale invasion, they will be forced to choose to throw their lot to Li Shimin. Coupled with Kou Zhongs prestige, I am 90% sure that we could win them over into our camp. Xu Ziling spoke cheerfully, In that case, assassinating Zhao Deyan bes circumstances that require action [idiom] even more. Feng Deyi nodded and said, Precisely. Changans city defense can roughly be divided into two major systems: the Jinwei [imperial guards] and the Chengwei [city guards]. Like I said, thetter is under Liu and Yin, two mensmand, and the Jinwei is under the jurisdiction of the four majormanders, taking turn to be on duty. As long as we have one of the fourmanders standing on our side, we could carry out the uprising when he is on duty, then we will be able to fully control the key moment, half the work, twice the effect [idiom], without needing to attack the Xuanwu Gate, the Xuanwu Gate will fall into our hands. Ay! But in this regard, I really dont have any confidence, because any Jinweimander is not only someone that Li Yuan trusts, but must receive rmendation from the Taizi and Feipin factions as well. Xu Ziling thought of Kou Zhongs old friend Chang He, but he belonged to the Crown Prince Faction. However, Kou Zhong might have a way to persuade him. He said, We are notpletely without any hope yet, Chang He has been through trials and tribtions together with Kou Zhong, he even felt that in other matters, Li Jianchengs favor is like daily changes of the temperature, perhaps Kou Zhong can move him. Feng Deyi spoke with delight, If thats the case, why worry that the big matter will not seed? During the uprising, these three men will be the most critical figures. After the uprising, someone within the imperial court must respond to make Li Yuan know that the great momentum is gone, so he will not mobilize his men to counterattack. Therefore, we must win over several cab ministers of the imperial court with the most weight [i.e. importance, not obese ??]. Heaving a sigh, he revealed a pondering look, and said, In my mind, the men that we can win over must be loyal and righteous people who have been leaning toward Qin Wang for a long time, and have the courage to speak good words on Qin Wangs behalf. In addition to Xiao Yi and Chen Shuda, there are also Yu Shinan [558-638, politician of Sui and early Tang periods, poet and calligrapher, one of the Four Great Calligraphers of early Tang], Tang Jian, Wen Yanbo, Liu Zhenghui, Cen Wenben, Dai Song, and Li Xiaogong. Among them, Li Xiaogong is a member of the royal family who bears the heavy responsibility for Li Yuans personal security. To persuade him, Li Shentong must be the one making the move. About your effort to persuade Li Shentong, did it go smoothly? In his heart, Xu Ziling sighed secretly and said, It still takes some time. Feng Deyi said, In the fight for support, Li Shentong is the most critical figure. If he is willing to stand on our side, with him stepping in to lobby the several high-ranking cab ministers I just named, it will get the efficacy of half the work, twice the effort, hence there is no room for failure. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I understand. To persuade Li Shentong, they must obtain Li Xiunings support first, but Li Xiuning could not make up her mind, she even wanted to question Li Shimin, which made them no longer have the confidence about the development of this matter. How could they solve this problem? Yin Zuwen and Yun Shuai entered the lower floor of the small building, Kou Zhong quietly slipped out through the window, used his old skill to close the window again, flipped over the snow-covered roof tile, and focused all his attention to eavesdrop. Yin Zuwens voice sounded from the lower floor, This is a quiet ce for me to get away and think, a good ce to talk. Yun Shuai said, Just now, before entering the Mansion to look for Guo Zhang [state older friend], I went around and noticed the small building in this remote corner, I just did not think that it would be Guo Zhangs ce of retreat. Then came the sound of people sitting into the chair. On the roof, the rm suddenly went off in Kou Zhongs heart, he hurriedly hid on the other side of the roof ridge, lying low without making any movement, without daring to stick out his head to look. Relying on his hearing ability, by listening to the gust of wind, he knew that there were three nightwalkers with outstanding skill approaching quickly, leaping over the wall anding in. Inwardly Kou Zhong gained a sudden understanding. No wonder just now someone recalled the dog, not only because Yin Zuwen was meeting Yun Shuai, but also because there were other visitors as well. He just happened to run into Yin Zuwens secret meeting; certainly Heaven helps me. Naturally the visitors never thought that there was someone on top of the small buildings roof; moreover, it was the Kou Shaoshuai whose name shook the world, who was supposed to be in the south in some military expedition. They went straight to the lower floor of the small building, Yin Zuwen and Yun Shuai stood up to greet them. Beyond Kou Zhongs expectation, the voice of the Crown Prince of the Great Tang Li Jiancheng was heard, Guoshi [teacher of the state], no need to be overly courteous. The year beforest, we have had a quick meeting, two years passed so quickly, Guoshis elegant manner is still as before. And then he introduced his attendants, unexpectedly they were Xue Wanche and Feng Liben, both were Li Jianchengs mostpetent trusted aides, great generals. Yin Zuwen said, We are all on the same side, no need to have any scruples in talking. The sound of everyone sitting into the chairs rang out again. How is the situation in the south? Yun Shuai asked. Li Jiancheng was silent for half a day, he sighed and said, Were it not for Shimin deliberately let Kou Zhong go, how could todays situation develop to this extent? Our Great Tang is unfortunate to produce Er Wangdi [second king (younger) brother], this traitor. One day we dont get rid of him, he will be a cmity within our bosom. Kou Zhong cursed secretly in his heart, this was called the crime of greedy for more, any danger need not be mentioned. The fact was that if it had not been for Li Shimin, he had already deployed his army through Hanzhong to attack Changan. He could not help but thinking that if he had known that there would be this secret meeting tonight, he would take Li Xiuning along to witness it; it would have been better than wasting thousands of words of argument. Yun Shuai said, I heard that Shao Shuai Army was like a gale sweeping the fallen leaves, putting Li Zitong, Shen Faxing, and Fu Gongyou in order, one after another, is that true? Xue Wanche replied, That is true. However, as a result, the Shao Shuai and the Song Familys coalition forces suffered heavy casualties, temporarily they are powerless to attack north. Du Fuweis Jianghuai Army are stationed south of Xiangyang. Once the spring is warm, the flowers blooming, Taizi Dianxia will personally lead the army to go into battle to subdue the South. Feng Liben said, Currently, Kou Zhong and Song Que are going all-out to attack Lin Shihong. If Lin Shihong is defeated, Xiao Xian will be isted and without help, the worlds dispute will be a dispute between our Great Tang and Kou Zhong. Hearing that Kou Zhong was amused inwardly, losing the Xiang Familys intelligentwork spreading all over the world, Li Jianchengs side could no longer grasp urate information. Li Jiancheng asked, Guoshi ising to Changan this time, were you able to hide from Xielis eyes and ears? Yin Zuwen cheerfully said, There is definitely no problem. It was not until Guoshi came to An Long, and then through An Long he notified me, that I knew that Guoshi hase to meet the appointment. Hearing that, inwardly Kou Zhong on the back of the roof was severely shaken. Listening how Yin Zuwen publicly mentioned An Long, one of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way, he could infer that Li Jiancheng was knowingly cooperating with the demonic school, working together to deal with Li Shimin. Lowering his voice, Li Jiancheng asked, How many people areing with Guoshi this time? Kou Zhong was greatly astonished. What shameful shady business were Li Jiancheng and Yun Shuai carrying out? Yun Shuai spoke heavily, Altogether we have more than a hundred people, all have gone through my personal training, adept in secret attack and assassination. Taizi Dianxia only needs to give your order, they can immediately enter the city and go into action. Kou Zhong felt as if the chill soaked his entire spine. Why did Yun Shuai obey Li Jiancheng so much? What was secret agreement between them? Because Yun Shuai and his men were the wonder troops that no one would have expected, if not for he, with no n, no prior knowledge,ing across this matter, the boat capsized inside the gutter, and he still would not know what had gone wrong. Right this critical moment, warning signs reappeared in his heart. Aghast, Kou Zhong looked at the old tree outside the courtyard wall. From the top of the tree, a shadow split the air,ing toward him, the long sword pointed forward, the target of the attack was precisely him, Kou Zhong. In just one nce, he already recognized that this his-entire-body-covered-in-nightwalker-attire, his-head-covered-in-ck-cloth uninvited guest was precisely his old enemy, the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan. Immediately his soul flew away and scattered, thinking that this time it was extreme joy turning to sorrow, fully believed that he could overhear Li Jiancheng and Yun Shuaisprehensive evil scheme, who would have thought that it was a cmity in his armpit [idiom: danger in ones own backyard]? Suddenly it was like falling from the heaven to the eighteenyers of hell. If his identity, Kou Zhong was revealed, the whole situation would bepletely reversed, he could no longer maintain the the-enemy-in-the-light, I-am-in-the-dark advantage. Thinking about it, he knew that he was careless, it was clear that Yang Xuyan was protecting Li Jiancheng in the dark, and to ensure that no one was following him even more! Things hade to this, it was toote to regret. When he thought about the top n of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, if all else failed, flee - in his mind, his body already flipped over down the roof. In the small building, one after another Yun Shuai and the others realized suddenly and shouted. Kou Zhong seized the moment while the other side has not seen his figure clearly to flee like an arrow toward the area of the Yin Mansion where the buildings were close together, but one would know his own family affairs;peting against Yang Xuyans Huan Mo Shenfa, he definitely could not win, racing against Yun Shuai, whose qinggong shook the area inside and outside the Great Wall, he definitely could not run faster. If he was entangled, besieged by these two major martial art masters, forget about escaping, even saving his own life would be impossible, let alone hiding the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong identity. This is called one wrong thing, the whole tray is lost. Things hade to this, what else could be said? He flew along the corridor at top speed. Suddenly a ck shadow appeared ahead, blocking his way. Inwardly Kou Zhong called for Niang! He increased his speed and pounced forward, he only hoped to break through the barrier in one fell swoop and escape to Yongan Canal. That would be his only way to survive. Book 58 10 – Danger Like a Hangover

Book 58 Chapter 10 - Danger Like a Hangover

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Inside Shen Luoyans fragrant chamber, Xu Ziling was sitting on the edge of the bed, while Shen Luoyan was sitting wrapped inside her quilt. It was actually an extremely romantic, charming and tender scene, but there was not the slightest bit atmosphere that attracted peoples wild and fanciful thoughts. The beauty showing grave expression on her face, she spoke in heavy voice, I went to the Pce to see Xiuning Gongzhu today, her mood is extremely unstable. Im really afraid that she cant wait for Qin Wangs return and go to Li Yuan toin tearfully, hoping that relying on her own strength she could resolve the internal division within her family. You must quickly think of a way, otherwise the consequences will be too horrible to contemte. Xu Ziling precisely had a headache because of this, so hecked the word to answer. Shen Luoyan examined his expression carefully, her jet-ck eyebrows lightly furrowed, she said, Do you have your hands bound and are unable to do anything about it [idiom]? I really regret letting Kou Zhong to see Li Xiuning. Xu Ziling said, If Chai Shaoes back to persuade her, would it make any difference? Shen Luoyan said, If Chai Shao returned to the capital so suddenly, he would only raise suspicions; before seeing the benefit, he would see the harm first. Because this matter involves the Wang Xiong [brother king] rted to Xiuning Gongzhu by flesh and blood, I am afraid outsiders wont be able to y any role. Xu Ziling sighed and said, In that case, the only way is to find the batch of firearms, and then try to prove that Li Jiancheng really has the heart to kill Qin Wang. Shen Luoyan shook her head and said, This batch of firearms is most likely in Yang WenGans hands; even if you find it, it is still not enough proof that this is Li Jianchengs treacherous conspiracy. Xu Ziling said, Let me go back to discuss it with Kou Zhong, to see if there is any good way; you must try to stabilize Xiuning Gongzhu. Anxious and in distress, Shen Luoyan said, I have no choice but to do so. And then she added, I met Wei Zheng and sounded him out. Xu Ziling struggled hard to raise his spirit, he said, How did he react? Shen Luoyan said, Wei Zheng is very resentful that Li Yuan murdered Mi Gong, toward Wang Bodangs forgetting favor and viting justice, he even gnashes his teeth in anger. Li Jiancheng killing Liu Heitai also made him very disgusted, thinking that Li Jiancheng cantpare with Li Shimin. Wei Zheng is a man of great ambition and ideals, in the past, he persuaded Mi Gong to surrender to the Tang for the sake of the big picture. I hinted that there was something I wanted to talk to him, if he is willing to take the initiative toe to see me, I think I can exin the matter candidly to him, this risk is worth taking. If Wei Zheng throws himself into our camp, not only we could know Jianchengs n clearly from him, we could also persuade people in Jianchengs side, to achieve the goal of splitting apart Jianchengs faction. Xu Ziling said, Any operation in Changan, it would more or less carry a bit of risk, you figure it out for yourself! Its me! Fu Qian! The familiar voice rang out in Kou Zhongs eardrums, he hastily pulled back his pair of striking fists. Needless to say, the other person was Fu Qians chief great general Xing Mofei. He made a meeting-again-after-a-long-period-of-separation signal toward Kou Zhong, before moving across into the garden, and then soared into the sky. Kou Zhong was terribly worried, but the two men were able to appear at this moment, not only to intercept him, but Xing Mofei even took his ce in leading the chasing troops away, apparently they had full grasp of the situation; realizing the opportunity, he hurriedly pursued closely and waved his hand to acknowledge the gesture. With Fu Qian following behind him, fast like a demon they rushed through the houses and over the buildings, and left via the north wall. Going straight toward the eastern bank of the Yongan Canal, the two men hid in the dark inside the forest by the bank. Close call! Kou Zhong cried inwardly, if it were not for this change, the grand n of facilitating the emperor might be over at this point. Concerned, he asked, Will Mofei be all right? Fu Qian pull off his hood, revealing his dragon-beard-across-his-whole-face unique appearance [dragon here refers to A (qiu), young dragon with horns], he smiled and said, Dont worry! Mofeis qinggong is above mine, plus he is good at escaping and hiding his track. This time we came here prepared, I guarantee that he can get away safely. Kou Zhong also took off his hood, musing inwardly that luckily, due to he was afraid his qi would be stifled, he did not put on the mask, otherwise, he would have to exin a little bit more. He said, Were you following Yun Shuais tracks? That is impossible; this old kids lightness skill, I am afraid even Shi Zhixuan will not be able to catch up with him. Fu Qian bade him to sit down side by side by the shore, he spoke slyly, We have our man among Yun Shuais subordinates. I know that Yin Zuwen is the contact person between him and Li Jiancheng, therefore, these several nights we have been waiting for him at the Yin Mansion. It would be best if we could kill him, who would have thought that we encountered Shaoshuai instead. Embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly I spoiled your, LaoGes big n. Fu Qian said, Perhaps its not the time for his life to end. And then, his eyes burning, he stared at him and spoke heavily, Shaoshuai should be in the southmanding your army to put Lin Shihong and Xiao Xian in order, how could you unexpectedly show up in Changan? Kou Zhongs mind was churning at the speed of light, he really wanted to lie to him by saying that he was here to assassinate Li Shimin, however, the other side has just done him a gargantuan favor, how could he say that? He sighed and said, Not concealing anything from you, LaoGe, we are already reconciled with Li Shimin, and currently we are supporting him with all our strength to ascend to the throne. Severely shaken, Fu Qian blurted, What? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, I am practically not an emperors material, if I am forced to do it, it will only bring suffering throughout my life, as well as harming themon people under the heavens that they cannot pass their auspicious days earlier. In what capacity are youing to Changan this time? Fu Qian revealed an emotionally-touched expression, he said, Shaoshuai really regards me as a true friend, otherwise you would never be willing to tell me such a confidential matter. Dont worry! I wont disappoint you. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, he spoke cheerfully, We are brothers who have been through trials and tribtions together, what is it that I must hide from you? Your enemy is our enemy, if Li kid bes the emperor, he will definitely help you to sort Tongyehu out. Now, lets go see if Mofei is safe and sound first, and then well sit down and research carefully to see how we can turn Changan over. Xu Ziling returned to Situ Mansion in a nasty mood. It was only about a couple of sichen before dawn, Ba Fenghan was sitting alone in a corner of the dark inner hall, he smiled and said, Just now there was a martial art mastering to step into the arena. This person, if he was let loose in Jianghu, he would be a very famous character, his skill is quite exceptional. I tailed closely behind him, watched him go around a few times, and finally left the words Cao San kowtow, four characters on a prominent ce in the main hall, and then quietly left. If it were not for I am giving thought to the overall situation, I would have caught him alive. Xu Ziling sat down beside him, heughed and said, Chi Shengchuns ying his ridiculous trick! He wants to affirm whether the gold is hidden here, but any Jianghu veteran would know that seeing everyone hasy down and are sleeping soundly, the gold cant possibly in the mansion. Ba Fenghan said, He did not go inside the residence to snoop through the windows, obviously he is not suspicious about your identities at all. Xu Ziling asked, Has that batch of firearms materialized yet? Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, After Er Wenhuan partedpany with you guys at the Six-Happiness, he hurried back to Shang Lin Yuan, troubling me to endure the cold outside for nearly two sichen. I still did not see him out, so I had no choice but toe back to sleep; its really his grannys bear! Xu Ziling said, Lao Er is infatuated with a popr courtesan in Shang Lin Yuan called Chunxiang, he hasnt returned home for many nights. I am hoping that he will still continue to linger on and unwilling to let go tomorrow night, then as long as we know Chunxiangs whereabouts, we can serve our great punishment to him. Ba Fenghan spoke in astonishment, Howe Ziling is suddenly so proactive about this matter? Xu Ziling was about to speak, Kou Zhong entered in through the window, blurting out, Tonight I went through death and came back to life; can you guess whom did I meet? Finished recounting his thrilling encounter tonight, Kou Zhong finally said, Fu Qian is now acting on behalf of his father; epting the invitation, he is leading Tuyuhun delegation to Changan, so that although finding out that Xing Mofei fled into the foreign guesthouse on the Vermillion Bird Boulevard close to the Imperial City, Li Jiancheng is still helpless to do anything to him. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Xing Mofei is indeed very exceptional, even with Yang Xuyan and Yun Shuai, two major martial art masters pursuing relentlessly, he could still escape to the foreign guesthouse safely. Xu Zilings face revealing grave expression, he spoke in heavy voice, Who invited Fu Qian to Changan? Kou Zhong said, It was Li kid who presented a memorial to Li Yuan, and he obtained Li Yuans nod of approval. I am positive Li Yuan did not know about the rtionship between Jiancheng and Tongyehu. On the second night of Fu Qians arrival, Li Yuan even hosted a state banquet to entertain him. During the banquet, he kept asking about the Western Tujue. Why is your countenance so unsightly? Xu Ziling expressed the misgivings in his heart, he said, The way he spreads the rumors, he seems to be a bit afraid that our Central Earth will not be chaotic enough, making me suspicious of him. Ba Feng said, The ones having friendly rtions with Fu Qian are you guys, not Li Shimin. But now we and Li Shimin are merging together, if Fu Qian destroys our grand n, potentially he is going to forge an unresolvable enmity with Li Shimin. In the future, if we are sessful in helping Li Shimin unifying the world, Li Shimin will definitely open his de against the Tuyuhun. To him, it will only be harmful without any benefit. If I were him, no matter what the previous n was, this moment he would definitely cooperate nicely with us, joining hands to deal with the Eastern and Western Tujue. The way Fu Qian attaching most importance to his country is not to be censured too strictly [idiom: understandable], no one can me him. Kou Zhong agreed, he said, When I told him frankly about our current partnership with Li kid, he revealed a deeply moved expression, and praised me as a true friend. Dont worry! In the final analysis, his main enemy is Tongyehu and not us. If Jiancheng get rid of Li Kid and ascend to the throne, Tuyuhun will definitely suffer cmity. Xu Ziling felt somewhat relieved, he nodded and said, No wonder that during the extraordinary period when Xielis army was pressing on the border Li Jiancheng still wants to deal with Qin Wang first, simply because there is Tongyehu supporting him, thinking that if necessary, Tongyehu could control the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall headed by Xieli. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Tongyehu must have bad intentions, he is merely exploiting Li Jiancheng to shake the Li Tangs foundation. If Li Tang is unstable, he couldunchrge-scale invasion into the Central ins western frontier and divide up the Central ins with Xieli. Furthermore, he would use the Central ins as the battlefield where he pits himself against Xieli, and thus repeating the chaotic situation during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Thinking hard, Xu Ziling said, What agreement does Li Jiancheng have with Yun Shuai? Why did Yun Shuai have toe to Changan bringing arge number of martial art masters? Kou Zhong said, The one who is most qualified to answer that question is Fu Qian. ording to his analysis, Li Jiancheng wanted to use Yun Shuais hands, with the help of firearms - to kill Li Shimin at the Hongyi Pce. After the fact, Jiancheng, Yuanji, can push away the me, nice and clean. Ba Fenghan pped the table and said, This move is superb. Kou Zhong said, With the firearms in hand, plus catching the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sunzis Art of War], also the Hongyi Pce cantpare with Yeting Pce in term of scale, Yun Shuai will have a great chance of sess. Even if Li Shimin has a spy among Jianchengs men, it wont be too effective. Xu Ziling said, Fortunately, we have arrived in Changan first to make adequate preparation for Qin Wangs return to the imperial court, otherwise we will be beaten up silly. Ay! How are we going to solve this Yun Shuais wonder troops? If we rush to make our move, I am afraid we will just beat the grass to scare the snake. Ba Fenghan said, As long as that batch of firearms is destroyed, Yun Shuais bunch of men will be toothless tigers. Problem is, this will also beat the grass to scare the snake. Kou Zhong said, Lets find out the firearms whereabouts first and talkter. Xu Ziling said, There is another difficult problem; have you ever thought about the consequences of assassinating Zhao Deyan? Ba Fenghan said, Xielis invasion to the south already bes a foregone conclusion, its just a matter of timing. Zhao Deyans death inside Changans Imperial Pce might give him an excuse tounch a punitive campaign. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Ling Shao is worried about the dreadful state of the Central Earth being ravaged by Xielis army. Fortunately, the man of the mountain has a brilliant scheme; as long as we can create some kind of situation to make Xieli not dare to support massive operation so that he would go straight at the fastest speed to attack Changan, we could intercept him with all our strength outside the city of Changan. Others are afraid of him, I, Kou Zhong, still do not consider him worthy in my sight. Ba Fenghan looked out the window, Its dawn! he said. The Xuanwu Gate was made up of two forts and one gate. It was located due north of the imperial pce, and was the only passage leading from the rear to the Taiji main pce. The gate was divided into threeyers, its depth was nearly one hundred zhang. East and west inside the gate, one each on the left and right, there was a fort, surrounded by solid perimeter walls. Leaning to each side of the gateway, there were three separate sentry multi-story building, like six rumbling giants who never rest inside the earth wall, continuously looking down at the people passing through the gateway. The two forts were the ce where the imperial guards were stationed for a long period of time, they were heavily guarded. Even if magnificent army with thousands of men and horses wereing to attack, due to the constraints of the terrain, it would still be the case of having enough power but difficult to put into effect. Outside the Xuanwu Gate was the Xi Nei Yuan [West Inside Garden], which was a forbidden park area, part of the Imperial Pce. The Xi Nei Yuans Dongshan Ge [East Hill Pavilion] was the Han Guang Dian [Hidden Ray (of light) Pce Hall] where Yuanji resided. To get in and out of the Taiji Pce, Li Shimin, who resided in the Yeting of the West Pce, or Li Jiancheng, who resided in the East Pce, and Li Yuanji, who resided in the Xi Nei Yuan, often had to go through the Xuanwu Gate. To get into the various gates of the Imperial City and the Pce City, civil and military officials must present their identity documents, and each month the document must be verified and went through an easier procedure at the supervisor office located at the Jin Wei Jun [imperial guards] general headquarters at the Xuanwu Gate. This moment, Yu Qi Chang [Imperial Rider Chief] Cheng Mo personally led Xu and Kou, two men to go through the formalities at the Xuanwu Gates East Command Post. They needed to change into the daily informal uniform of the Imperial Guards on the spot, a busy process that took nearly one sichen before the two were able to get away. But Cheng Mo told the two, Wei Gonggong wants to see you, to exin thepass and set square of the imperial court to you in person. And then, lowering his voice, he said, Wei Gonggong is a very busy man in the pce, its rare that he attaches such importance to advise new appointees, two gentlemens future prospect is really bright. And then he took them to Wei Gonggongs ce, the pce supervisor office west of the Taiji Pce. Wei Gonggong was still waiting upon Li Yuan and had not returned yet, Cheng Mo had no choice but to apany the two sitting nkly. Half a sichenter, Wei Gonggong hurriedly returned, he really untiringly exined to them the situation in the pce and reminded them of the things to pay attention to, the general etiquette, and so on. Halfway through, the two boys began to realize that they, two Left and Right Polo Chiefs, not only had to wait upon the emperor, they also had to train the yers, and had to apany the imperial concubines in the pce ying polo; no wonder Wei Gonggong was so nervous. Finally, Wei Gonggong spoke in displeasure, Did you not sleepst night? Why are you looking like you dont have any vitality at this moment? Fortunately, Huangshang is not free today, otherwise, how would this supervisor exin to Huangshang? Kou Zhong mused inwardly that you, Gonggong can see very urately, but even if you are full of energy, finished listening to your boring damn admonition, you will be drowsy [orig. mythological insect that makes people doze off]. Naturally on the surface he respectfully replied, Last night Er Daren and Qiao Daren pulled us along for a drink, hence we did not have enough sleep. Letting out a stifled snort, Wei Gonggong said, After bing Jin Wei Jun [imperial guard], you have to restrain your activities. Were it not for Huangshans showing favor to you, allowing you to temporarily live on the outside, I will definitely have you monitored for twelve sichen a day. Today its all right! Come to see this supervisor in good spirits tomorrow morning. The two boys were like receiving amnesty by the emperors grace, they slipped away immediately. On the way back to the mansion. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If we keep being tossed from side to side like this, we wont even have time to sit in meditation, sooner orter we will not be able to keep up. His Niangs! Listening to the tone of Wei Gonggongs voice, it seems like tomorrow we will be so deadly busy. Xu Ziling calmly said, No need to worry about that, Yuanji is back today, not only Li Yuan is busy, but the imperial concubines are also busy; they are busy means that we have free time. We are in charge of training ball yers, without needing me to tell you, you ought to know what to do? And then, knitting his brows, he said, Is there any way to find out where Chunxiangs fragrant chamber in Shang Lin Yuan is? Kou Zhong said, That will require a trip to Feng Ya Ge, Qing Jie definitely has a way to find out for us. Xu Ziling said, In this kind of matter, Xiao Jie is more suitable to handle than we are. When we are back, I want to have a big sleep, to forget anything about other peoples affairs; before dark, I dont care even if the sky copses. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Exactly what I want. As soon as they stepped into the Situ Mansion, Wang Xuanshu met them and spoke in low voice, Qiao Gongshan and Er Wenhuan are waiting for you in the main hall. Kou Zhong cursed, His grannys bear! The way they are using this exhausting-people-to-their-death strategy has reached perfection; who else has been here? Wang Xuanshu replied, Pei Ji and Hu Fo, father and daughter havee one after another to see Furong Ye. As for the details, you have to ask Furong Ye, he did not have time to talk to me. Lei Gong left at daybreak by boat. Kou Zhong instructed Wang Xuanshu to take Zha Jie to Feng Ya Ge on an assignment, and then entered the hall to see Qiao and Er, two men. Song Shidao, who had been apanying them in one-sentence-no-sentence idle talk seized the opportunity to get away. Kou Zhong looked at the east wall where the words Cao San was here were written, Wang Xuanshu has cleaned it up as ordered, he even added paint and newcquer, so that there was no trace at all. Feeling amused inwardly, he sat down and said with augh, I wonder if two Daren areing to take us on a romantic, merry trip again? When Er Wenhuan saw the two wearing imperial guard uniforms, in ck headbands on their heads, red-trimmed cor gown on their bodies, in-colored outer sleeves, and ck tall boots on their feet, he hurriedly congratted them respectfully. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Whats so good to be congratted, merely Wei Gonggong is already very difficult to wait upon. Ay! Lets not talk about this kind of thing, you have not arrested Cao San, that bastard and bring him to justice yet? Er Wenhuan exchanged nces with Qiao Gongshan first, pretending to be astonished, he said, Why did Cai Daren suddenly mention Cao San? Xu Ziling spoke nonchntly, Last night, someone left Cao San Kowtow four characters in the mansion, his Niangs! If he dares toe again, we, two brothers will definitely break his legs. Fortunately, it was me who saw it first and immediately had someone wash it out. If we let Furong Ye see it, he would definitely curse us. Qiao Gongshan pretended to be aghast, he said, Cao San must be looking for your gold, this matter is extremely important, we are all brothers, we are definitely not going to sit back and watch. Without needing to guess, Kou Zhong already knew that he would have said this, and he had already prepared a good answer; he spoke unhurriedly, Qiao Daren, dont worry, our Furong Yes work has always been dependable. Rong Da Da Ya in the city has a big iron storehouse, the safe must be opened with a special key, only then it will turn to activate the lock, moving therge iron bolt that seals the door. Otherwise, to break the iron safe open by force will take at least a few days of effort. The most wonderful thing is that the gold is cast into golden bricks, weighing five hundred catties each. Being able to carry one block with bare hands is already extremely amazing, this is to prevent rat thieves and dog bandits like Cao San. Now the key is kept by us, two brothers. Want to take it? They have to ask our des first. Helpless, Er Wenhuan said, Then we can rest assured! How did you transport the gold? Xu Ziling replied, In the past few months, we shipped them block by block. At present, we have men taking turn to guard the gold deposit twelve sichen a day, all are trustworthy brothers under ourmand. Kou Zhong took the opportunity to say, But in any case, we have to raise our vignce, no matter what. His Niangs! With Cao San creating such a trouble, tonight we have to keep watch by Furong Yes side, only if the two Daren can catch Cao San a bit earlier will we dare to go on a romantic, merry trip. Hearing that, Er Wenhuan and Qiao Gongshan looked at each other, they were unable to do anything to them. Could it be that they need to tell the two that it was they who sent people to leave Cao Sans writing on the wall? Book 58 11 – The End of Winter Snow

Book 58 Chapter 11 - The End of Winter Snow

Trantor: Foxs'' Wuxia Kou Zhong suddenly woke with a start from the deepest sleep; from lying down he changed to sitting up, and opened his eyes to look. A flowery pretty face was smiling happily at him. Kou Zhong almost did not believe his own eyes, he wanted to rub his eyes, but the fragrance assaulted his nostrils. The beautiful woman, who was originally sitting in the chair, moved to the edge of the bed, her little mouth came to his ear and said, Dont make noise! Ziling is still searching for his good dreams, Ba Fenghan just left the room and went to the front hall. Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, My Niang! Wan Meiren, how did you suddenly appear? Unexpectedly it was Wanwan, who nobody knew her tracks. Her movement had some kind of wordless and umunicative [idiom: without any noise] manner, like a ghost or a demon, making people unsure whether it was fantasy or reality. Wanwans pretty face was suffused with pure and holy wlessness, so that it was difficult to distinguish the righteous from the heretic, which made her beauty even more unusually glowing, a sign that her Tianmo Dafa had made progress and that she made another breakthrough. Wanwans fragrant lips naturally kissed his sensitive earlobe, she even blew her briming-with-tantalizing-implication breath into his ears first, before speaking with soft voice, This is the question that I should have asked you: Shaoshuai ising to Changan, what should-not-be-exposed-to-light things are you doing? Aghast, Kou Zhong said, Turns out all along you are still hiding in Changan. He groaned inwardly, Wanwans destructive power might be greater and more thorough than Shi Zhixuan, because she knew the secrets of the Duke Yangs Treasure-house. Wanwan smiled and said, What do you mean hiding? Its really unpleasant to hear. Changan is Waners home! Hee ! I already guessed that you wille back dressing as ghosts and pretending to be horses, but I never thought that you would still be impersonating Furong Ye, this obsolete scheme that has been out-of-date for many years. Arent you afraid that Shi Zhixuan will expose you? Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, This matter is hard to exin in a few words. I will tell you the detailster, tell me first, what are you going to do to us? Wanwan said, What can I do to you? Hmm! Ill think about it and tell youter. Your physique is really attractive. Kou Zhongs scalp went numb, he looked down and looked at Wanwans right hand reaching inside his clothes, tenderly and passionately caressing his broad chest. Stunned, he said, What are you doing? A man who just woke up is the most dangerous. If you go on, you will start my fire, your chastity is not guaranteed. Wanwan closed her beautiful eyes, put her cicada head on his shoulders, and moved her bare feet onto the bed, most of her body was pressed onto his nk, her left hand traced his eyebrows as she muttered dreamily, If you like, you could take Waners chastity, I dont mind at all. Kou Zhong exhausted all his strength to resist her brimming-with-demonic-power alluring charm, but her delicate hand stroking lightly carried some kind of enchanting feeling offort going straight to the bottom of his heart, making the contradiction in his heart extremely frightening; he wanted her to stop, but he also wanted her to continue. Smiling wryly, he said, Wan Meiren seems to look for the wrong target, your sweetheart is next door instead of here. It was nearly dusk, the sky was getting darker. Wanwan spoke softly, Shaoshuai and Ziling are both men who make Waner admire wholeheartedly, Shaoshuai dont want me to transfer my love for Zilingpletely to you, do you? Until this moment, Kou Zhong still did not understand why Wanwan barely showed up, unexpectedly she was so passionate and fiery toward him, taking the initiative to provoke him. He sighed and said, Since you suddenly have a change of affection, shift of love [idiom] and fall in love with me, then you must not tease me even more. Dont forget that your honorable sects women can only have joyful rtionship with men whom you dont like and with whom you dont have any affection. Could it be that you are going to follow your lingshis [virtuous master] tracks [of a cart that overturned]? Wanwan lightly blew into his earlobe, she spoke tenderly and softly, Oh, Shaoshuai! Please understand one thing clearly first, this taboo of our humble sect only applies to people who have not yet mastered the Tianmo Dafa. Waner already mastered the Tianmo Dafa, I no longer have any scruples, if I want to look for a man, naturally I dont want to wrong myself. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, In that case, you should go next door even more. Now I am sure that you must have groped the wrong bridal chamber. Wanwan spoke in slight displeasure, You really want me to go to another bed that much? Kou Zhong hurriedly smiled apologetically and said, I just cant help asking clearly, Ling Shao has less self-control than me, he cant withstand the sting of this stimtion. Ay! You didnte here to find a man, did you? Wanwan straightened up her tender body, opened her beautiful eyes wide, withdrew the jade hand that made his heart galloping, his spirit washed away, shrugged her fragrant shoulders, rolled her eyes at him, and said, Why not? Now its time to cultivate feelings so that you have enough psychological preparation, my request is very little, just one night of affection; afterwards, you dont have to bear any responsibility, and you wont tell anyone. Kou Zhong scrutinized her national grace, divine fragrance [idiom: an outstanding beauty] beautiful jade countenance. Overwhelmed with shock, he said, Dont scare me! You are teasing me, right? Neither confirming nor denying, Wanwan said, You will know the answerter. Is it true that the Shao Shuai Army are sneaking into Guanzhong in batches, and the most elite of them will hide inside the treasure house? Kou Zhong hardened his heart. Having no choice, he said, Your guess is only half right. Wee here this time not to coordinate outside and inside offensives to take Changan, but tounch a coup dtat to help Li Shimin ascending onto the emperors throne. Now I have told you everything! Its up to Dajie how to deal with it. Wanwans expression remained unchanged, she spoke indifferently, Ill consider you honest this time. If I had not figured out what ghost thing you are doing in Changan, I would have showed up to meet you early on. Shen Luoyan went to see Xiuning Gongzhu, and then Xiuning Gongzhu went out to visit Shen Luoyan. Anybody who is not stupid would know that the person she wanted to see is you. When she left, Xiuning Gongzhu seemed to have cried, and then for the next two days she was depressed. Ay! My Shaoshuai Ye, what makes you dare to see Li Xiuning? Why didnt Li Xiuning expose you? With just one look, anybody with discerning eye would know that there is a big problem. Amazed, Kou Zhong said, You know what happened in the pce like the back of your hand. Wanwan leaned forward to lightly kiss his lips, and then she moved back a little; revealing a charming sweet smile, she said, The Li Tang Pce is such a key important ce, how could itck our people? This informer was ced personally by Xianshi [thete master], only loyal to Waner. Kou Zhong spoke in a heavy voice, Li Shimin being the emperor, you dont seem to have any antipathy? Wanwan reached out to stroke Kou Zhongs cheek, she said, Whats the big deal of whos going to be the emperor? The more powerful the future empire is, the more Waner will be happy. Not only I will not betray you, but I will help you with all my strength. Ay! How can I have the heart to harm you guys? Are you afraid that you dont loathe Waner enough? Hearing that, Kou Zhong was dumbstruck, he waspletely unable to grasp her real intention; he only knew that the sess or failure of this matter waspletely in her control. Wanwan retracted her jade hand, she spoke softly, Say hello to Ziling for me, I wille back to see youter. Xu Ziling came and sat down on the edge of the bed, Kou Zhong was still in a daze. Hard-to-tell-whether-he-was-crying-orughing, Kou Zhong said, Wan Dajie was just here. His expression grave, Xu Ziling said, The sound of you waking up with a start and sitting up also awakened me. Kou Zhong asked, Did you hear our conversation? Xu Ziling said, I only heard thest few words, which she deliberately said for me to hear, but I did not miss a word of what you said. Kou Zhong said, What kind of his niangs gongfa [skill method] is that? She did not even focus her voice into a thread. Xu Ziling said, Not only she takes Zhu Yuyans ce as the figure in charge of the demonic school, in the Tianmo Dafa, she is even the greening out of the blue [but the color is deeper than blue]. If I did not guess incorrectly, her voice was limited inside the Tianmo field, hence it was not leaking out. Kou Zhong was baffled, he said, She seems to be deliberatelying to tease and y around with me; logically speaking, she should look for Ling Shao and not me. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Wanwan has be as unfathomable and terrifying as Shi Zhixuan. I have said before that she has her own set of methods to revitalize the demonic school. Ay! I am really afraid that she will challenge Feixuan to carry out the decisive battle between the demonic school and Jingzhai. Aghast, Kou Zhong said, What should we do? With their current skills, no one can predict the oue of the battle. Xu Ziling said, You told her that we support Li Shimin to be the emperor. How did she react? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Not only was she not angry, she even said that the more powerful the future empire is, the more she will be happy, so that I ampletely unable to see through what medicine she is selling inside her gourd. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, One day we will understand, lets go out first and talk about itter! Ba Fenghan intercepted them at the gardens half corridor, he said, We have a guest inside, lets talk in the pavilion. The three men came to the square pavilion that seemed to be in the snow-white freezing-over world, and sat down around the stone table. Kou Zhong told him about the changes with Wanwan appearing suddenly first. Ba Fenghan said, She must have been spying upon us from a distance, otherwise I would have generated a reaction. Xu Ziling said, Its hard to say, Tianmo Dafas bizarre changes are unfathomable. Kou Zhong only woke up and felt her when she entered the room and sat down. Moreover, she is not hostile to us, which makes it even more difficult for us to generate reaction. Kou Zhong asked, What happened outside, why did you stop us? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, The new business partner is here to present the first meeting gift! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay, they had no idea what he was talking about. Ba Fenghan said, This move is extremely super, fancy that they came up with it. This morning Pei Ji came to see our Furong Ye, saying that Li Yuan believed that the bank had to expand the principal to one million and two hundred thousand taels of gold, so he wanted to add Sha Tiannan and Dugu Feng [Peak], two business partners, each will contribute one hundred thousand taels. He also issued various rules and regtions to turn the Zhen Guan Bank into a corporation-style business, each year the partners elected the Chief Executive Officer in ordance with the proportion of the invested capital. Then, if Chi Shengchun obtains the others support, he could seize the control over in one fell swoop. Our Furong Ye has no choice but to agree. Kou Zhongughed and said, Its really interesting, but Im afraid that for Chi Shengchun, not only things will turn out contrary to the way he wishes [idiom], he will even have to vomit out the wealth umted by his Xiang Family. If I am guessing correctly, the money for Dugu Fengs share shoulde from Chi Shengchun. If Dugu Feng is not short of funds, there is no need to sell the Han Lin Qing Yuan to Chi Shengchun. Ba Fenghan spoke slyly, For the time being, no need for us to worry about this matter. Whats rare is that Xiao Juns approach to dealing with people has be more and more sophisticated, clear and logical; he is able to assume personal responsibility, let alone there is Song ErGe by his side providing assistance. Kou Zhongughed and said, Hows our business? Ba Fenghan said, Xiao Jie was fortunate enough not to fail his assignment, he found out the location of Chunxiangs fragrant chamber in Shang Lin Yuan. Tonight, let me serve Er Wenhuan Daren with the severe punishment. I guarantee that afterwards, he will think that he copsed because of excessive pleasure. Kou Zhong said, The implications are profound, I will serve as your, Lao Bas pawn tonight, watching for the head and looking at the tail on the side, to look after you. Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, Ziling is not going to take advantage of the excitement? Xu Ziling said, I want to see Shi Zhixuan, while looking at Xibais situation in passing. Kou Zhong agreed, We need to work separately, he said. Should I tell Shi Zhixuan that this moment Wanwan is in Changan? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong replied, Theres no point in telling him, he is absolutely dying to harm Wan Meiren. You might as well tell him that Fu Qian is our man, in order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. Ba Fenghan said, One more thing, Yuanji is back, and he reserves a banquet at Feng Ya Ge, wanting to enjoy the wind, flower, snow and moon tonight. Recalling the scene where he executed Dou Jiande, the murderous aura in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke fiercely, Lets see until when he can enjoy this kind of loose lifestyle? Shi Zhixuan was sitting alone in the small hall, from the inner courtyard Hou Xibais even and fine breathing could be faintly heard. He did not show the least bit of surprise at Xu Zilings visit, as if his heart was dead and turned to ashes, nothing in this world could arouse the billows in theke of his heart. When Xu Ziling stepped into the small hall, this kind peculiar feeling toward him grew in his heart. Shi Zhixuan spoke softly, Ziling,e and sit down by my side. Xu Ziling sat down across the small table by his side, he asked, What is Xie Wang thinking? Tranquil, Shi Zhixuan replied, Since my debut, no one has ever asked me what I am thinking? No one dared to ask me the thoughts turning in my head even more. And then he turned to watch at him attentively; as if nothing had happened, he spoke indifferently, Why is Ziling always using Xie Wang to address me? Is it because subconsciously you are afraid to establish a close rtionship with me, Shi Zhixuan? Qingxuan is, after all, still my, Shi Zhixuans daughter. This fact, no one, including heaven and earth, can change. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, The rtionship between us has never been stabilized. I never know whether in the next moment you will make your move to kill me or not? This is your, Xie Wangs true nature. Why dont you tell me how to deal with our rtionship then! Shi Zhixuan kept his gaze forward, as if he was pondering over this question. Xu Ziling could not help saying, The moment I came in just now, I intuitively felt your lonely state of mind. Shi Zhixuan said indifferently, Ever since I can understand things, I have already felt my loneliness, not a question of how many people are around me, but when you can see through everything that happens in this world, you will be a cool-headed observer. In my eyes, their obsession with gains and losses is just a foolish ignorance. You want to y this game between life and death? I, Shi Zhixuan, am more outstanding than any of them. I had hoped that religion could provide me with an exit from this trapped-in-a-cage life, but in the end, I realized that it was just another kind of self-poisoning-of-the-mind indulgent. When everyone else is drunk and I alone am awake is an iparably lonely feeling. Does Ziling understand? The auspiciousness at the bottom of his heart, like a huge boulder, was thrown into theke of Xu Zilings heart, stirring up the overflowing-the-heaven billows. Shi Zhixuans callousness, his not-amenable-to-reason - was not due to his natural character as a killer, or that he viewed destruction as an enjoyment, but because of his extraordinary intelligence, his ability to see through the essence of life, and thus it became a set of ways of conducting himself in society that was difficult for others to sway. Trying to move him with average persons morality and proper human rtionship concepts was like fishing using a wooden beam, it would not be the slightest bit effective. However, Shi Zhixuan was willing to pour out the load on his mind to him meant that he was in some kind of an unusual state of mind. Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly, it was because Xie Wang could see through the worldly affair that you feel cut off from the rest of the world and lonely. However, no matter how unworthy the world of the living is, we can still choose between hostility or kindness, two kinds of entirely different attitude. Besides, even though there are ten million things that are not right in this world, inevitably there will be beautiful things that can make our heart bewitched, our spirit intoxicated, that can make us forgetting sentiment and engross us, to make us feel that we have no regrets in this life. Shi Zhixuan sighed and said, You forget my, Shi Zhixuans family background! Just like you, Ziling, belong to the Han ethnic group, with the Central Earth as our root, naturally we will rise vigorously and make a stand and fight against foreign oppression. Forget about how you want to live a simple life, because you are in the situation, you cannot escape. I once had a chance to stand aloof ande out from this boundless sea of ??bitterness, but I destroyed it with my own hand! To this day I dont have anything at all. Were it not for the one asking me this question was you, I, Shi Zhixuan would disdain to answer even for half a word. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Xie Wang really is not not having anything at all. Shi Zhixuan showed a bitter expression, he said, Are you referring to Qingxuan? Ay! Tell me what should I say? I practically do not have any qualification to see her. Before Xiuxin passed away, I mistakenly thought that I could be cold toward the life or death, honor and disgrace, joys and sorrows of the human world. It was onlyter that I learned how wrong I was! What kind of an idiot I was? Xiuxin was the only person in the world who understood me, all along she had been enduring it silently, waiting for it silently, ay! Shi Zhixuan rose up to his full height, walked over to the window on the right with his hands behind his back, and stared outside. Appropriately, the flying snow chose this moment to sprinkle down from the sky, heightening the deste and cold mood of Shi Zhixuans remorse. Tranquil, Shi Zhixuan said, This may be thest snow of this winter. Xu Ziling knew that he did not want him to see the glistening teardrops in his eyes; he sat still in his chair, and spoke heavily, All along, your, the Seniors conduct has always been done from your own point of view, was carried out ording to your own likes and dislikes. This time, I wonder if you could make an exception just once, and give thought to Qingxuan? Shi Zhixuan shook his head and said, Its toote! No matter what I do, I cant change Qingxuans gnashing her teeth to detest me! No one, including you, Xu Ziling, can change her deep-rooted thoughts. That was the reason I said that Ol Shi dont have anything at all. Life is nothing more than a cruel game of whoever is superior wins and whoever inferior loses, but my game is quicklying to an end, and I will prove to everyone that no one can beat Shi Zhixuan. Ziling, go home! Xibai is going to stay here for three more days, Im standing on your side now. I hope the one bing the king and proiming himself hegemon will be Kou Zhong and not Li Shimin. Ziling, no need to make superfluous words, no one can change my mind, because I know better than anyone else what I am doing. Xu Ziling secretly sighed in his heart. Rising up to his full height, he mused inwardly that if they let Shi Zhixuan, whose intelligence go through the heaven - see through that they were supporting Li Shimin and standing on Ci Hang Jing Zhais side, the consequences would be extremely unimaginable. Because without spending any effort at all, he would be able to destroy everything. Without any better option, he said, Fu Qian is our friend, in the assassination of Zhao Deyan, he might be a great help. Shi Zhixuan was silent. Xu Ziling added, Wanwan just came to see us, she has been hiding in the city. Shi Zhixuan finally reacted, he nodded and said, I hope Ol Shi did not misjudge her, that one day, my, Shi Zhixuans unfulfilled wish will be aplished in her hands. Inwardly Xu Ziling was severely shaken. A hard-to-understand fear grew in his heart. Shi Zhixuans way of thinking was virtually the same as what Wanwan personally said; what exactly was it? Book 58: 12: A Wish

Book 58: Chapter 12: A Wish

Xu Ziling redoubled his caution. In the flying snow filling the sky, he sneaked into Feng Deyis mansion house. Kou Zhongs encounter the previous night gave him a very big lesson, one wrong move, they would lose all their advantages. Suddenly taking a breath, he dropped down from high in the air, and came to a back alley behind a courtyard house. At the end of the alley, a shadow shed. Although it was only a glimpse of a graceful figure, a familiar feeling grew in Xu Zilings heart. Not daring to hesitate, he followed her trail at full speed. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan returned to the Situs residence, only the inner hall still had lights on. Turned out Song Shidao and Zha Jie were engaged in a night game of Go. Song Shidaos chess skill was definitely several notches higher than Zha Jie, he attacked in such a way that Zha Jie did not have any power to fight back. Giving pointers, Song Shidao said to Zha Jie, ying Go is like a confrontation between two countries, you must take the big picture into consideration, not the gains and losses of one moment, one locale. Noticing the sitting-separately-on-either-side Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans facescked happy expression, he was stunned and said, Er Wenhuan unexpectedly does not know where the firearms are hidden? It is beyond expectation. Zha Jie nodded in agreement; that was the only reasonable exnation. Because based on the two mens ability and wisdom and skill, ten Er Wenhuan should not be able to fly out of the crack of their fingers. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Everything went smoothly, Er Wenhuan was more greedy for life, afraid of death than we thought. We used finger wind to knock Chunxiang first, and then at the same time we made our move to subdue Lao Er to extort a confession, ay! foxswuxia.wordpress Ba Fenghan spoke dejectedly, The problem is that the firearms are actually hidden in Li Jianchengs East Pce. Unless we forcefully break into the East Pce, theres nothing that can we do! Song Shidao said to Zha Jie, We stop at this point tonight, you should get a good nights sleep to restore your spirit, tomorrow you can ask Xier for advice. Zha Jie knew that the three men wanted to have a confidential discussion, hence he packed up the chess pieces and obediently went to bed. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan looked at Song Shidao, hope grew in their hearts. Song Shidao muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day. Blurted outughing, he said, I should congratte you. Li Jiancheng keeps the firearm in the Forbidden Garden of the East Pce, as long as there is a fire, it will not only destroy the firearms, but also let Xiuning Gongzhu enjoy a fireworks show being held in the East Pce. One move, two gains. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The problem is that Li Jiancheng hid the firearms in the underground storehouse of the Ju Bao Dian [lit. amassing treasure pce hall] in the middle of the East Pce. The iron panel sealing the storehouse is a chi and a half thick. Needless to say, there areyer uponyer of guards outside, even a mouse cannot charge in to enter. Such a ce, how could we set our hand to it? Ba Fenghan said, Before assassinating Zhao Deyan, its not advisable for us to make any move that will beat the grass and scare the snake; if we let Li Yuan knows the secrets of the tunnel, everything is over. The worst thing is that Shi Zhixuan might see through our n. Song Shidao spoke slyly, The matter depends on the individual [idiom: with effort, one can achieve anything]. Since there is a clear and definite target date, it is possible to get things done. Zaixias reputation in appraising antiques for Huangshangst time I was in Changan has been widely spread, bing a more famous appraising expert than Hu Fo, there is nock of wealthy businessmening to seek advice. Pei Ji mentioned to me this morning that Taizi Dianxia wanted to invite Zaixia into the pce and stay for two days. Needless to say, he must have wanted to use my expertise in this area. Kou Zhong spoke hatefully, He must have wanted you to look at the treasure and wonderful antiques that Yuanji robbed from Luoyang for him. Have you set a date? Ba Fenghan asked. Song Shidao replied, Pei Ji was very polite, he let me see when I have the time and then get back to him, and he will make the arrangement. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, As the name implies, Ju Bao Dian is most likely a ce to store treasure and antiques. The underground storehouse under the main hall was originally a ce for storing treasures, but now it is used to store ruthless firearms to kill people. His Niangs! How are we going to take advantage of this opportunity and afterwards, no one will suspect ErGe? foxswuxia.wordpress Holding his head with both hands, Ba Fenghan said, I really cant think of a way. Even if ErGe has the opportunity to appraise things in Ju Bao Dian, Li Jiancheng will definitely have his men following him left and right, and the person in charge will follow him closely even more. In such circumstances, what can we do? Song Shidao said, Lets all of us think about it, Laotianye has given us such a rare opportunity, naturally there will be other arrangements. We only need to move our brains more and see the opportunity and act [idiom]. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, You are saying that we have no choice but to submit to the will of heaven! Song Shidao shook his head and said, The most important thing for us is to notify Chen Laomou to rush over to Changan immediately. It would be best if he coulde back with Lei Dage. Without these two mens wonder-skill and amazing-art, it would be like we have paper but no pen, we wont be able to write brilliant article. Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans two pair of eyes lit up at the same time. The nightwalker appeared in the depths of an alley and sprinted towards the other end of the alley. By this time Xu Ziling was certain that he had not recognized the wrong person. Increasing his speed, he swept forward, focused his voice into a thread, and said, Tongtong! Its me, Xu Ziling! The nightwalkers tender body shook violently, she stopped abruptly. Before she turned her tender body around, Xu Ziling pulled off his hood and came behind her, so that he met her face-to-face. It was precisely Liu Heitas capable helper, expert in using flying dagger, the delicate and pretty young girl, Qiu Tongtong. Tongtong took off her hood, revealing her thin jade countenance. Hot tears gushing out of her pair of eyes, she spoke with trembling voice, It is indeed Xu Ye, howe you are here? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Is Tongtong going to assassinate Zhuge Dewei? Tongtong tears fell down, she sobbed silently and nodded her head. Xu Ziling said, Dont cry. This is not a good ce to talk,e with me. Tongtong finally stopped crying, her pair of eyes were already red and swollen from crying, from time to time her fragrant shoulders twitched, making people I see you and feel pity [this is literal trantion]. Looking at her, Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, and Song Shidaos heart was broken, but what has happened, no one could change. Tongtong looked at Kou Zhong, she said, When Liu Shuai mander] heard the news that Shaoshuai had safely returned to Liangdu, he was so happy that he went everywhere looking for people to drink with him, he even told me that he would fully support you to unify the world. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Your Liu Shuai was a man who knows how to use soldiers, why did heunch an offensive in the cold weather, frozen ground, when the ice and snow covered the road? foxswuxia.wordpress Tongtong said, That was precisely Liu Shuais brilliance; there were four reasons. Were it not for Zhuge Dewei, that traitor betrayed Liu Shuai, his n would have been sessful. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, What was the reason? Tongtong said, We, Hebei people, are most adept in snow battles; we are not afraid of the severe winter, and the area where we started the battle is a ce we are familiar with, to us it only had benefit without any harm. Kou Zhong nodded and said, That is very convincing. Tongtong said, Next was the fortunate timing. The Tang Army murdered Dou Ye, ignoring the way of righteousness, arousing public outrage among the people of Hebei and Shandong. Liu Shuai did not want to rise after this enthusiasm cooled down. After a short pause, she went on, More importantly, because the Tang army was attacking Luoyang, the main force was concentrated south of the Yellow River. Although they seized the opportunity to attack and capture a substantial area of our Hebei and more than a dozen cities, still, the foot of their troops disposition was not stable yet, their military strength was weak. If we waited until spring to raise the troops, it would be difficult to fight the wonder troops surprise attack, and lose the effectiveness of catching an enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom from Sunzis The Art of War]. Therefore, Liu Shuai decided to march the army in the wind and snow, and the facts proved that Liu Shuai was right. Even the troops under Li Shijismand were beaten until everything was broken in in disorder [idiom] by us, he was the only one barely able to escape. Wind and snow are actually favorable for defense but unfavorable for offense; however, because themon people in the city upied by the Tang have their heart leaning towards Dou Ye, it offset this unfavorable factor. Li Shiji abandoned Zongcheng and defended Luozhou instead, precisely because the popr sentiment in the city was unstable. Kou Zhong agreed; he said, In that case, strong wind and snow became the most favorable conditions for Liu Dage instead. Only after Liu Dage has fully recovered his homnd that the Tang Army would have the opportunity to organize arge-scale counterattack. Ba Fenghan said, The problem was that the Yellow River is still under the Li Familys control, they could use the navy fleet to transfer troops, not afraid that the roads may be blocked by the wind and snow. Tongtong said, Liu Shuai precisely wanted to seize control of the eastern section of the Great River before the weather warms up, so that the Tang people will not have the opportunity to go out of Hainan to attack you. Furthermore, he wanted to firmly control the Tang Army, before joining forces with Shaoshuai in Luoyang. Who would have thought that Zhuge Dewei, that traitor, unceasingly leaking out what is true and what is false of our army in the dark, so that we suffered miserable defeat. Speaking to this distressing point, hot tears poured out again. Kou Zhong felt he did not wish to continue listening anymore. From the first day he met Liu Heita, this hero had always shown deep affection and heavy righteousness toward them, two brothers, all the way until he became the overlord of a region, he never changed. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling asked in heavy voice, How did Liu Dage go? Tongtongs pair of eyes spouted mes of hatred; gnashing her teeth, she said, It was Zhuge Dewei in collusion with Li Jianchengs man tricking him into entering the city, and then Yang Xuyan that thief made his move to kill him. I will never forget that scene. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Yang Xuyan again! His Niangs! If I, Kou Zhong do not kill you, I swear I am not a human! The wind and snow of the previous night actually helped the two boys, the imperial pce cancelled all outdoor activities, the imperial guards rushed to clear the snow. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling entered the pce to visit and made a request to Cheng Mo to leave early. How could Cheng Mo dare to offend the favorites guards under the emperor himself? Following the current, he let them go as a favor. Obtaining their free time, they went to the Fu Ju Lou in the West Market for breakfast. They deliberately picked a table overlooking He Chang Long catty-cornered from the window, and paid close attention to the peopleing in and out. Taking a sip of hot tea Kou Zhong said, How are we going to help little Tongtong settling down? Her hatred toward the Li Tang is as deep as the ocean, if we tell her that we are here to help Li kid, it is very difficult to predict her reaction. Xu Ziling said, I am not worried about that aspect. Liu Dage was killed by a crafty scoundrel, we be the people that she can trust and rely on. As long as we tell her that we will kill Li Jiancheng, Yang Xuyan and Zhuge Dewei to wash away her hatred, she will listen to us. Temporarily have her settle down in Feng Ya Ge, let Qing Jie take care of her; what do you think? Of course I have no problem, Kou Zhong replied, Ay! Liu Dages death is really not worth it. Looking at him sideways, Xu Ziling said, Its best not to think about the past, its the future that we should pay attention to. Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, Can you think of a way? How can we, one move, two gains - burn that batch of firearms, and make Li Jianchengs head and face filthy with grime [idiom: dejected and depressed]? Xu Ziling said, Feasible solution, I am stillcking, but I can think of a key figure. His spirit greatly aroused, Kou Zhong leaned forward and said, Who? Xu Ziling replied, Wei Zheng! Kou Zhong pped his thigh, his tiger-body sat up straight, he nodded and said, Wei Zheng is the ministry who has given outstanding service to help Jiancheng fighting a victorious battle this time, Jiancheng extremely relies heavily upon him, plus he can enter and exit the East Pce at will, yet I did not think him as an ideal person to respond from the inside. Ay! But how can he help? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, First of all, we must persuade him to throw his lot to us. This involves taking a bit of risk, fortunately, the risk is not high. Mirener Junshi said that he is extremely resentful toward Li Yuan, Li Jiancheng, and the others. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Even if he was persuaded, he still could not enter underground storehouse where the firearms are hidden. Even if the big iron door at the entrance of the underground storehouse is not locked, and he has the strength to lift the iron cover, but when the firearms are starting to burn, crackling and popping, he will have to rush out desperately; wont it mean that we are putting him in the harms way? Xu Ziling said, Both Chen Gong and Lei Jiuzhi have obtained the handed-down techniques of Lu Dashi, let them solve the problem in this aspect. Have you ever thought that it will be impossible for Song ErGe to bring anything which origin is unclear into the East Pce, but Wei Zheng does not have any problem in this regard? Merely from this point, Wei Zheng is already very useful. And then he added, Wei Zheng is more familiar with the situation in the East Pce than we are; if he cast his lot to us, based on his ability and wisdom, the method he cane up with will be more feasible, right? Kou Zhong agreed, Right! he replied, This is called employing ones talent to the fullest; lets have Meirener Junshi make the arrangement for us to see him, to show him our frankness and sincerity. If we feel something is not right, we will kill him on the spot. And then he lowered his voice and said, Our old friend is here! Xu Ziling already saw Huang Gongcuo and Yuwen Shang climbing up the stairs side by side, followed by Dugu Feng [Peak]. They sat down at a table overlooking the Yue Ma Bridge. Kou Zhong spoke hatefully, These three old bastards [orig. old but still alive] areing together, I am sure there is nothing good going on. Maybe they are going to discuss how to deal with our future emperor. Displeased, Xu Ziling said, Stop letting your imagination run wild, pay the bill and lets go! Kou Zhong was getting up, but he sat down again; he said, I have one more thing I want to ask you, I hope you can help me achieving one dream of mine. Greatly astonished, Xu Ziling asked, What could be the dream that you are asking me in such a low voice and humility? A bit embarrassed, Kou Zhong said, I want to visit Xiuning Gongzhus fragrant chamber at night, and enjoy the fireworks show in the Forbidden Pce with her. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Are you, LaoGe joking? Is this risk worth taking? How can I help? In a rxed and haughty manner as if he was not worried that Xu Ziling would not agree, Kou Zhong said, This is like the warm-up exercise before assassinating Zhao Deyan; also, only with your near-immortal senses will we be able to gain unobstructed passage inside the forbidden pce, able toe and go with ease. Xiaodi with attach myself to the steeds tail, to follow you like a shadow attached to the form. After we figure out the deployment to burn the fireworks and set the date, we will grope our way into the Gongzhu Dian [princess pce hall] of the Taiji Pce, and watch the excitement with the princess. Ling Shao will be watching from the side to guard against I am making a mistake, for example, I cant stop myself from kissing the princess. His Niangs! We are all brothers, cant you let my first love have a happy ending? foxswuxia.wordpress Dumbfounded, Xu Ziling blurted outughing and said, You keep saying brother this and brother that, what else can I say? Why use a big reason to move me and to pressure me? Very well, Xiaodi will risk my life to apany you, LaoGe! Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Obtaining your nod, why worry that the big matter will not seed? Suddenly I feel Wei Zhengs urgency; the sooner we see him, the better. Ha! We are all brothers, you understand! Xu Ziling said, Just consider this I am repaying you, since I appreciate your willingness to support Li Shimin! I will surely exhaust my ability to fulfill your cherished desire. Book 58: 13: Depends on Tonight

Book 58: Chapter 13: Depends on Tonight

In the inner hall of the Situ Mansion, Zha Jie was asking guidance from his new chess-skill master Wang Xuanshu, while Ren Juns Situ Furong and Tongtong were talking intimately on the side. Thetters manner was obviously more rxed thanst night, although her eyelids were still slightly red and swollen, she was able to talk andugh with Ren Jun. When she saw the two boys came back, Tongtong showed suspicious expression. Kou Zhongughed aloud, took off his mask, and said, Without pretending to be a ghost, disguising as a horse, how could we stroll along the Vermillion Boulevard boldly? Tongtong hurriedly stood up to salute. Kou Zhongughed and said, You guys were chatting very amiably. Ren Jun replied respectfully, This kid and Tongtong Guniang have met twice. The first time was Liu Dashuai [greatmander]ing to gather news from Da Xiaojie, and the other time it was this kid went to see Liu Dashuai on Da Xiaojies order. At that time Tongtong Guniang even sent me off for a moment. Hearing Liu Dashuai being mentioned, Tongtong hung her head low in sorrow again. Xu Ziling said, Tongtong,e with me, I have something to talk to you. Tongtong obediently followed Xu Ziling to the study room. Kou Zhong asked Ren Jun, Where are Song Er Ye and Ba Ye? Ren Jun replied, They are both in Song Er Yes room. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhongughed and said, Tongtong cant possibly be inferior to Hu Xiaoxian, right? Now, that is a virtuous good tender wife. Xiao Jun, you need to do your best! Hanging his head, Ren Jun said, Thank you, Kou Ye for your guidance, this kid also feels this way. Kou Zhongughed aloud and went to the inner courtyard, thinking that this kid Ren Jun really portrayed Situ Furong with living spirit, living image [idiom: vivid and realistic]. Therefore, every time he admonished Situ Furong as his subordinate, there was some kind of indescribably strange feeling. Ba Fenghan and Song Shidao were in the small outer hall of thetters bedroom, spreading out the Changan map presented by Li Shimin, studying it. Seeing him back, Ba Fenghan spoke cheerfully, We are studying the East Pces situation, to see how we could make our move. Kou Zhong came in and sat down by the table. Exhausting his essence and gathering his spirit, he looked over and studied the section on the Taiji Pce on the map; he said, Found it! Xiuning Gongzhu is in here. Stretching out his finger, he pointed down to a courtyard of the Taiji Pce next to the East Pces perimeter wall on the map, and spoke happily, This is the best ce to watch the fireworks. If we could climb this small building called Wang You [lit. forgetting worry], we could see it more clearly. Ba Fenghan and Song Shidao understood. They looked at each other in dismay. Knitting his brows, Song Shidao said, Is this risk worth taking? Kou Zhong said, No matter how strict the guards in the imperial pce are, it would be impossible to put every ce under surveince; moreover, massive military force is concentrated in the Pce City and various outposts, the secret tunnel will allow us to avoid this most difficult to cross over defensive perimeter. Last time, the reason why we were discovered was because we were being harmed by Lao Shi; tonight, let us conduct a little experiment by trying to sneak into Ju Bao Dian, relying on Ling Shaos much more advance spirited sense and amazing reaction. The secret tunnel plus Ziling, if we still fail, we might as well smuggle Li Shimin and the family of his subordinates from the treasure-house, and then advise Li Shimin to rely on Luoyang to proim his independence, before fighting his way back to Guanzhong. It beats staying here without being able to find a solution waiting for others to sort it out. Song Shidao nodded and said, Xiao Zhongs remark is not without any reason. Even if you are discovered, relying on your skill, you ought to be able to get away safely. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Xiaodi wants to try it myself. Kou Zhong cast his gaze on the East Pce on the map, he spoke cheerfully, We are better at knowing the terrain. I hope that the East Pces current situation is not much different from the ones listed on the map! Xu Ziling entered the hall and sat down, he said, Tongtong said that she will leave everything in our hands to make decision for her, her only hope is that she will be able to put a de on Zhuge Dewei with her own hands. Delighted, Kou Zhong asked, Do you want Xiao Jie to take her to Feng Ya Ge? Xu Ziling replied, She wants to stay here. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong said. In that case, let her do it. Ba Fenghan said, We decided to see the situation of the entrance of the firearms storehouse in Ju Bao Dian tonight, let Shaoshuai demonstrates his consummate skill in opening the lock. The sess and failure are all tied to Ziling. Xu Ziling already epted his misfortune as decreed by fate [i.e. resigned to his fate]; smiling wryly, he said, I have no choice but to exhaust my strength to do it. The only thing I have the least confidence is in how to cross over the high wall separating Taiji Pce and the East Pce, no matter from which point you cross the wall, as long as anybody on the sentry building built along the wall caught a nce of us, our tracks will be immediately exposed. Song Shidao said, This matter indeed gives us headache. The sentry buildings are illuminated by windnterns, and the pce walls are brightly lit even more. If we also take the patrolling vicious dogs into consideration, slight grass stirring in the wind [idiom: the slightest whiff of trouble] might arouse alertness. Kou Zhong pointed to the northeast corner of Taiji Pce and said, This will be the best position to climb over stealthily, since the garden trees will provide us cover. If we soar into the air from one of the trees, with Lao Ba releasing his power first, and then when we reach the high elevation above the sentry building Xiaodi takes over, to take us ten more zhang across the sky, and finally Ling Shao takes the tail, we couldnd safely in the East Pce; wont we be able to solve this biggest problem? I hope the guards in the outpost do not have the habit of looking up to watch the sky. Song Shidao said, Such a method of crossing over the wall is indeed beyond anybodys expectation, we will have a great chance of sess. Kou Zhong said decisively, Well do it this way then. This moment, a subordinate came to report, Qiao Gongshan wasing to look for them. Kou Zhongughed and said, Whether we are going to eat porridge or eat rice, this time it will be entirely up to Ling Shao. Lao Qiao is going to take Xiaodi to appease him. From now on Ling Shao is going to sit in meditation and rest, not thinking about Qingxuan Meiren, not thinking about Shi Xianzi [fairy] even more. Amidst Xu Zilingughing and cursing, Kou Zhong left without saying anything. In the main hall, Qiao Gongshan asked with concern, Wasst night all right? Kou Zhong sat down and said with augh, Little thief like Cao San, Xiaodi do not consider him worthy in my eyes. Hey! Isnt Er Daren usually inseparable from you? Lowering his voice, Qiao Gongshan said, That guy often boasted about how outstanding his skill in bed is, finally the ship capsized in the gutter [idiom: meeting with unexpected failure]. Last night, during the punitive expedition against Chunxiang, he went too far, so this morning he had a splitting headache and waspelled to go home to rest. I even had to cover up for him in front of Taizi [Crown Prince]. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong was amused inwardly, he said, We are not made of iron after all, Wenjiang does not have the same endurance as much as I do, he went to bed immediately after returning from the pce to continue seeking for good dreams. As if he wasining bitterly, Qiao Gongshan said, After Taizi came back, our work doubled, we are terribly busy. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, In that case, how could Qiao Xiong find the time toe and chat with me? A crafty look shed through Qiao Gongshans face, lowering his voice, he said, I wonder if Cai Daren is interested in resolving the Guanzhong Jian Pai disaster? Once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Here ites! Kou Zhong cried inwardly; pretending to have his spirit aroused, he said, What exquisite, good n does Qiao Daren have? Qiao Gongshan said, As long as you are willing to nod, we will make the arrangements. In this matter, we have Taizi behind us, I guarantee that all the guilt will be borne by Qiu Wensheng, that old fart [again: old but still alive], Duan Zhixuan will not escape disaster either. Taizi has already seen that Qiu Wensheng is not pleasant to the eye, if Cai Laoxiong could exert yourself in this matter, henceforth you will be Taizis man, your future prospect will be unlimited. Kou Zhong groaned inwardly, but on the surface he had no choice but to agree, pretending to be happy, he said, Qiao Daren is looking after us, brothers this much, we cant thank you enough, how could we possibly oppose it? When will the n be carried out? Qiao Gongshan said, Currently Duan Zhixuan is still outside; when hees back, we will have our foolproof [orig. ten thousand without one failure] arrangements. And then he asked, When will that fifty thousand taels of gold arrive in Changan? Chi Ye wants to set a big day for raising funds and casting the gold, so that he can open for business as soon as possible. Kou Zhong replied without thinking, At least eight or ten days; as for the exact day, we still need Furong Yes nod. After Qiao Gongshan pulled a few words to the east and dragged it to the west some more, he bade farewell and left. After sending off this pestilence away, Kou Zhong returned to the inner courtyard; on his way, he met Song Shidao. Thetter spoke in low voice, Wanwan is here! After Kou Zhong took his seat, Wanwan swept her gaze over Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling who were sitting around the table. Her face full of smile, she said, I really want to help you with all my heart, but I still cant resolve their suspicions toward me, Kou Zhong, youe and be the judge. If I really want to ruin your good deeds, as far as Im concerned, it would merely be the exertion of lifting my hand. However, did I do that? foxswuxia.wordpress Protesting his innocence, Xu Ziling said, Its not that we suspect that Wan Dajie is going to harm us, rather, we are unable to figure out why you are willing to help us? By doing this, whats in it for you? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Dont tell us that you are walking the way on behalf of Heaven for the benefit of ten thousand people. Wanwan rolled her eyes at him, and then she covered her mouth in tenderughter and said, Thats actually not too far from the truth. Kou Zhong said, You areing to see us, is it because you have good news? Wanwan regained her usual calm and unhurried, cold and detached demeanor; she spoke indifferently, Quite the opposite. This time I am here to warn you that Yin Zuwen, Yang Xuyan and the others are deploying their troops to deal with Dongming Gongzhu [Princess] in order to cut off Li Shimins supply of weapons. In fact, they have been discontented over Shan Wanjings support for Li Shimin. It was just that there was Zhu Shi on their way that they were extremely restrained in this regard. Now that Zhu Shi had be an immortal [i.e. to die], they no longer have any scruples. Xu Ziling and the others, none was not shocked. Ba Fenghan asked in heavy voice, Where did this informatione from? Wanwan said, All I can disclose to you is that I have a spy among Yang WenGans subordinates and trusted aides; other things, I have noment. Each of Li Yuans three sons has the privilege to purchase weapons, most of Shimins weapons are supplied by the Dongming Pai. A new batch of weapons is in the process of being shipped, Shan Wanjing will personally escort the shipment, which is scheduled to arrive in Changan within ten days. You have to figure out your own way on this, I am just your good friend! Kou Zhong, three men you looked at me I gazed at you, they were all baffled and had headache. This was called before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises [idiom: a new problem arises before the old is solved]; how could they spare the time to deal with it? One thing went wrong, it might beat the grass to scare the snake, and spoiled their mission in a big way. However, they could not possibly watch with folded arm even more. Pfft! Wanwan giggled and said, Looking at your miserable look, how could my heart bear it? Let me give you a hint then! In the operation against Shan Wanjing, Yang WenGan is in charge. These days he is hiding in He Chang Long in the West Market; as soon as he hears a rumor, he will pack his bag and leave before he finishes eating. As for other things, no need for me to teach you! Xiang Gui and Xiang Yushan, one old, one young, two big muddled-eggs, are they hiding there? Kou Zhong asked in heavy voice. foxswuxia.wordpress Wanwan replied, Xiang Gui, father and son should be in Changan city, but they are not hiding there. If Changan falls into your hands, you can turn Changan over and search it cun by cun, you will be able to find them. Rising up to her full height, she said, Thats all I have to report, I am leaving! After Wanwan left, Kou Zhong asked, Wanjings problem, how are we going to deal with? Xu Ziling said, We only need to inform Li Shimin, he should have a way to solve it easily. Ba Feng said, Supposing the ce Yang WenGan makes his move is outside of Li Shimins sphere of influence, Li Shimin will have the heart but not the strength; why dont we deal with it a bit more thoroughly and take this opportunity to defeat Yang WenGan? It would be best if we could get rid of him first, if we could also destroy the firearms, Li Shimin could then move into the Hong Yi Pce with peace of mind. Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused, he said, Xuanshu will not want to miss this counterattack operation more than anyone else. Ba Fenghan said, Leave this matter to me. You guys are in charge of monitoring Yang WenGans activities. Xuanshu and I will immediately rush back to Liangdu, If Shan Gongzhu [Princess] wants to enter Guanzhong, she must take the waterway shortcut from the canal into the Great River, her journey would bepletely inside our Shao Shuai Armys territory. Relying on our fleet of flywheel boats, we could make Yang WenGan able toe, unable to leave. If my expectation is not incorrect, the ce Yang WenGan is going to make his move should be on the waterway between Kaifeng and Chenliu. That is the section of waterway that is under nobodys control. Kou Zhong pped the table and shouted with praise, The most wonderful thing is that Yin Zuwen and the others would suffer in silence and would not dare to make it public, they would have no choice but to obediently swallow this cup of bitter wine. We decide it that way then. Darkness fell. Kou Zhong was the first to arrive at the old tree outside the backyard of the Yin Mansion, he waited patiently. A momentter, Xu Ziling arrived and came to his side. Kou Zhong asked, Hows the situation? Was Shen Meiren willing to let you go? Stop talking nonsense, Xu Ziling said in displeasure, Meirener Junshi said that she will make appointment with Wei Zheng toe to her house tomorrow afternoon to meet us. Whether it is a blessing or a curse, we will find out tomorrow. Did Feng Deyi have any good news? Kou Zhong asked. He is still in the middle of investigation, Xu Ziling replied, He may have an answer tomorrow. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong said, If we find out who the person who betrayed Shi Zhixuan, that will be akin to finding out the identity of the important person from the demonic school in the Tang Pce besides Yin Zuwen and Yang Xuyan. His grannys! We areing to Changan this time, it seems like there is new development every day. Hows the arrangement on Yang WenGans side? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong replied, Xiao Jie is in charge of this matter. The men who areing with us this time are all the elites within the elites within the Flying Cloud Guards who have been undergone strict training. With them monitoring the entire group of people, nothing will go wrong. Come! Sess or failure will depend on tonight. The two boys threw themselves out from the old tree and flew towards the small building where the secret tunnel was located. Book 59: 1: If Its’ Wrong, It’s Wrong

Book 59: Chapter 1: If Its Wrong, Its Wrong

Kou Zhong made a hold on signal toward Xu Ziling, who was about to proceed to the lower level. He moved to the window, looked down, and said in a low voice, Somethings not right! Xu Ziling shed to the other side of the window, it was only then did he notice that Kou Zhong was carrying a bundle on his back, bulging full of things. Astonished, he said, You look like you are about to travel far instead of going into the pce. Kou Zhong reached behind to pat the cloth bundle on his back, he spoke cheerfully, Ling Shao, you may not know this, but this bag of treasure was handed to me by Song ErGe before we left, telling me something like the night is long, the dreams many, so that tonight we willunch the first artillery shell[1]. You understand! Xu Ziling was shocked; he said, Song ErGe is not joking, is he? Unexpectedly you are going to have the firework party tonight? Kou Zhong said, I am more and more convinced of the nning is on men, the aplishment is on Heaven [man proposes god disposes] - principle, besides, entering the treasure mountain, how could one return empty-handed? Tonight, we are going to y his grannys game. Fortunately, even if we dont seed, we wont die for a good cause, at most we are just wasting a night, pack and quit, and steal away. Hee ! Im just joking, please remember that if we are found, we will run away from the city wall, ande back from under the city. Xu Ziling thought that since it was Song Shidaos wise decision, what else could he say? Launching the first artillery shell, this saying was a y on words, which fully applicable to the present situation; he asked in a low voice, Stop talking nonsense, whats not right? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong replied, When I camest time, there were nearly ten vicious dogs that like you, their senses are spiritedly acute, rushing out from nowhere, but this time they vanish without a trace. Dont you think somethings not right? Xu Ziling did not have time to bother about him making jokes about his senses, he said, Why dont you toss a stone to find out whats ahead [idiom: to test the waters]? Kou Zhong said, Someone ising! Drat! Yin Zuwen appeared under the two boys eyelids, walking towards the small building. At the same time, they heard the sound of the door opening at the exit of the tunnel. The two boys you looked at me I gazed at you, their scalp went numb; how could there be such a coincidence? Momentarily there was no room to advance or to retreat, they had no choice but to use the unchanging to respond to the ten-thousand changes. They squatted down low, fearing that Yin Zuwen would sense something unusual, while focusing their power into both ears, paying full attention to the movements on the lower level. They heard the sound Yin Zuwen kneeling down, followed by Li Yuans voiceughing and saying, You may rise! Tonight Zhen is temporarily not the emperor, so we can dispose of tight regtions; otherwise how can I enjoy myself to the full? Yuwen Shangs voice said, What brilliant arrangement do you have? The sound of the exit being covered-up came from downstairs. Yin Zuwen spoke tteringly, Tonight, we invite Qing Guniang from Shang Lin Yuan to perform singing and dancing, I guarantee that Huangshang will have a new experience. Li Yuan asked, How is shepared to Ji Qian? Yin Zuwen replied respectfully, Qing Guniangs appearance and art are definitely not inferior to Ji Qian, and she has just arrived in Changan, I am certain that Huangshang has never seen her. This woman is also like Ji Qian, who sells her art but does not sell her body. Whether it will be a sess or not, it will depend on Huangshangs technique. Ha! Li Yuan let out a longughter in delight, obviously because he was going to enjoy the delight of sweet, fair, and graceful wise and virtuous woman that the gentleman seeks, and was very excited. Heughed and said, Zhen is a bit impatient to wait! And then they heard the sound of the three mens footsteps going farther and farther away. The two boys you looked at me, I looked at you, momentarily they were speechless. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong put the exit back so that everything returned to its original state. Taking out the Night Pearl, heughed and said, Li Yuan can forget about having a good dream tonight. The sound of the fireworks will definitely be a blot on thendscape [idiom: dampening the spirits], it will be hard to enjoy himself to the full. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Bai Qinger has deep knowledge of mens revolting behavior that the more difficult it is to obtain, the more precious the women will be. Therefore, she will resort to wanting-to-ept-but-still-resisting seducing methods, to turn Li Yuans spirit and soul upside down and is unable to extricate himself. She cant possibly that quick to have real ecstasy with him. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hands on his shoulders and steered him eastward, saying, After all, you, Ling Shao have more experience with women than I do, no wonder so many beauties are taking a fancy to you, ending up they are emotionally close and unwilling to leave. Ha! Suddenly I have full confidence in tonight, I wonder if you have the same premonition? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Im wondering whether the other end of the exit is guarded? How could I be in the leisurely mood of having a premonition of something that might or might not happen in the future? Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Ling Shao can rest assured. This tunnel is like Li Yuans lifeline to pursue happiness. In order to keep it secret, those who know this secret tunnel must be less than a few, Wei Gonggong ought to be one of those people privy to this secret. In my opinion, there should be no one guarding the exits of Taiji Pce and the Yu Yuan Da Yu Chi [lit. Big Fish Pond of the Imperial Garden]. In order to conceal Li Yuans tracks, Wei Gonggong should be putting on an act inside the imperial study room, waiting respectfully for Li Yuans holy selfs return. Therefore, this is called Heaven helps me; do you agree? Xu Ziling nodded and said, I cant think of anything to rebut your words, but tonight, there must be no failure, the task entrusted to us is too big. Under the illumination of the weak rays of light of the Night Pearl, the secret tunnel extended deep inside, the smell of the burning windnterns still lingered in the air, reminding them that the Li Tang Master had just passed by. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Life is really hard to see. Last time we came to steal iparably famous paintings, this time it is to burn fireworks. Who can think of it? Xu Zilings tiger-body trembled, he halted his steps. Kou Zhong was about to ask, Xu Ziling shouted in low voice, Quickly follow me! Kou Zhong was shocked; putting the Night Pearl away, he flew forward, close behind him. When they were passing by the real passages entrance near the fake exit by the south wall, they faintly saw thentern light on the other end, and they heard voices. In the blink of an eye, the two boys flew to the end, Xu Ziling soared upwards, Kou Zhong followed blindly, one after another they stuck themselves to the ceiling by creating sucking force on their hands. foxswuxia.wordpress This moment the footsteps came near, thentern light hit the living-wall exit and reflected to the opposite wall, creating a halo of light, which became clearer and brighter as the men wereing closer and closer. The two boys closed up everything that would show any sign of life, including the faint ringing of their heartbeat and pulse, but in their heart they did not stop groaning. As long as the other side raised the windntern in their direction, there would be nowhere to hide. The only thing they could do was to immediately make their move to subdue the iing men. The short time of several breaths felt like an endless period of several years. From the living-wall entrance, four big men dressed in casual imperial guard clothes turned into the passage where they were. Only one of them cast a nce in their direction. Fortunately, he did not raise thentern, naturally they did not notice the slightest abnormality, so they continued their patrol, advancing towards the Guo Zhang Fus [state father-inw] exit. After the imperial guards had gone far away, the two boys fell back to the ground. In the dark, you looked at me I gazed at you, they felt there was no room to advance or to retreat. Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, Such a long distance, how could you generate reaction? Opening up his hand, the light reappeared from the pearl in the hollow of his palm. Staring fixedly at the pearl in his palm, Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Sensing is sensing, how am I supposed to exin it? Ay! But my cultivation has not yet reached the perfect state, it was only now that I knew that there are guards at the Taiji Pce exit, otherwise, the only thing we should do is just retreating the same way we came in. When those previous four big brotherse back, that would be the tragic moment our disaster will arrive, because thentern light wont be blocked by themselves like it was just now, but can shine directly to the corner where we are hiding. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Why dont we take a gamble by trying his grannys so-called fake exit leading toward the Imperial City? Xu Ziling said, Do you have any confidence that you wont activate the trap of the exit? Kou Zhong smiled and said, With Ling Shao helping me, is there anything we cant possibly aplish? No longer hesitating, the two boys shed toward the fake exit. Kou Zhong reached out to press the mechanism to open it, while Xu Ziling pressed his hand against his back, true qi started to umte. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong spoke in low voice, This tunnel that can lead both to the imperial city and outside the pce must have been built by Yang Jian to guard against his subordinates rebelling. Even if the imperial city is upied, he would still have the ability to meet a contingency by counterattacking from the underground with wonder troops. Therefore, the tunnels exit must be a ce in the imperial city that no one could think about. The answer to this riddle will be revealed immediately. Entering straight, Kou Zhong felt the light was brightening ahead, his spirit [or attention] extended to both ends of the tunnel, separately sensing the men guarding the Taiji Pce exit and the previous four imperial guards moving farther and farther away. It was some kind of mysterious situation that he was unable to describe. He was so moved that he almost shed tears, because he finally shared his best brother Xu Zilings spiritual realm. It was an iparably moving heaven and earth that he had never imagined before, brimming with shocking power. At the same time, he clearly, without any doubt, without the slightest error, grasped the mystery of the mechanism operating the hatch door. Kacha! A series of some kind of trap links was unlocked by Kou Zhongs internal power. Kou Zhongs expression tranquil, he opened the mechanism; utterly fearless, he pushed it upward, and the square lid moved up, revealing apletely dark space outside. Smiling, he said, Ling Shao, after you! I sense that there is no trace of life outside. The hatch was closed. The two boys repeated their old striking-the-ox-on-the-other-side-of-the-mountain skill to re-lock the lid and reconnect the mechanism. On the surface, nothing appeared unusual. Under the illumination of the Night Pearl, all around were row after row of weapon racks standing in great numbers, full with all kinds and sorts of weapons, giving them the illusion of being inside an armory with no end in sight. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This must be the armory located in the southwest corner of the imperial city under the Right Long Wu Armys headquarters. Yang Guang, that fellow thought everything meticulously, he did not have to worry about not having weapons when necessary, and he had control over thismand post with extremely strong defensive power; it was akin to having control over the southwest corner of the imperial city, with the full advancing-able-to-attack, retreating-able-to-defend effectiveness. Xu Ziling spoke in astonishment, You have indeed spent a lot of effort, at least you know where this ce is. Kou Zhong spoke excitedly, Xiaodi is themander-in-chief with long experience in battle and disposition of troops, moreover, I also learned the importance of the geographical situation from Li kid. The imperial city has the Left and Right Long Wu Army and the Left and Right Shen Wu Army in charge, the four imperial guard units are separately stationed in themand posts at the four corners of the imperial city. But then, as if remembering something, he spoke dejectedly, Ay! Brother, but this is also the most heavily guarded ce in the imperial city. After leaving the armory, we are definitely unable to move a single step. Even if we seeded, sneaking from the southwest corner of the imperial city to the northeast corner of the imperial city - is the farthest route, and the outer wall of the East Pce must be heavily guarded. This trip is not going to be as easy as thest trip. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Zilings gaze fell on the floor that has turned back to arge bluestone square brick; muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, Oh, Kaisuo Dashi [grand master unlocker], please give me some pointers. What is exactly the mechanism of this hatch? If it is activated, what will be the consequences? Looking up, Kou Zhong made a guess, Maybe a piece of ten-thousand jin huge boulder will drop from the sky, not only re-sealing the entrance, but also pulverizing our two small heads. Xu Ziling spoke crossly, If that is the case, the imperial guards who entered the armory would have long discovered it, and the tunnel would have be a public secret. Kou Zhong knew that they could not do things half-heartedly like this; using his brains, he said, Lu Shifus book on mechanism listed more than dozen types of rm methods. The type before our eyes is perhaps what he called knocking bell along incline ne mechanism; if the mechanism is activated, it might release an iron ball sliding down the ramp and strike something like a bronze bell at the end, sounding a warning. As for the real situation, only Li Yuan knows. Xu Ziling said, If that is the case, this armory must be locked from the outside. I hope this time you dont make miscalction, otherwise we would have to stay here until Li Yuan finishes ying and returns back to the pce, and then leave without sess. Kou Zhong spoke spiritedly, Dont worry! We, two dragons match harmoniously, unequalled in the world, how could we be stumped by a lock? Come on! Raising the Night Pearl high, he took the lead, turning to the left and rounding to the right around the maze-like weapons racks, until they finally came to a big iron gate. As Xu Ziling expected, it was locked from the outside. Kou Zhong put all his hopes on Xu Zilings senses, he asked, Anybody guarding outside? This big his grannys iron gate blocked my hearing as well. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, I dont know! Kou Zhong blurted out, Unexpectedly, in such an urgent and important moment, your senses are not working properly? What do we do? Xu Ziling spoke nonchntly, I am not an immortal, naturally my senses have limitations. Kou Zhong reached out to touch the iron gate, he spoke with determination, Well just take a gamble then, lets see if Li kid is indeed the kid ordained by heaven. Xu Ziling reached out with both hands to grab both sides of his shoulders, and sent in his true qi. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong sighed and said, Here we go again! I have not had a chance to tell you, I dont know whether you have made more progress, or whether I have enough heat control [maturity], now when our true qi merges, not only Xiaodis energy doubles, my spiritual power is also lumped together with what I receive from you, LaoGe. His Niangs! Outside is so quiet like a ghost domain; what kind of ce is this? And then his countenance changed, he said, My Niang! This time we are done for! The lock on the door is called Two Deities Locking Five Generals. There are three horizontal iron doors, both ends are locked dead with vertical iron pirs, even immortals will have their hands bound and are unable to do anything about it, much less us, who are not immortals? Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, This does not make sense, if Yang Jian designed this tunnel to guard against a possible rebellion in the imperial city, there is no justification for arge number of men and horses to get out of the tunnel, but they cannot go outside. Quickly use your brains. Reminded by him, Kou Zhong hurriedly smiled apologetically and said, You are still more all right. Let me, Xiao Dashi [little great master] who has obtained Lu Miaozis handed-down techniques, try to crack Yang Jians mechanism. Ay! Tonights luck seems to be a little blocked, I hope it will be bitter first and sweetter! Xu Ziling swept his gaze over the dozen or so weapon racks lining up the wall on this side, next to the iron gate, he suddenly understood that to explore the wall, they must be removed first. He sighed and said, Probably its not a living wall but another tunnel. By the time we find the truth, its going to be daybreak! Touched by a sudden inspiration, Kou Zhong said, I have a unique secret method that will save us time and our true qi! Xu Ziling grabbed his shoulders for the second time, sending in his true qi, but asked doubtfully, Is our matching-harmoniously true qi really that formidable? Closing his eyes, Kou Zhong muttered as if he was talking in his sleep, The next time is more formidable than the previous one. The structure of the living wall is different, but of course it cant hide from our discerning eyes. Niang said that the human body is a treasure house, and we are precisely using this treasure house to do what a capable person actually cannot, hence we only need to remove one weapon rack, and it should do it! Kou Zhong pressed both hands on the section of the wall exposed after the weapon rack was moved away, applied his strength and pushed forward, yet it was absolutely still. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, This doesnt seem to be a living wall? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I am sure it is a living wall, only I dont know what ghost thing blocking it outside. I dont dare to use too much force, because I am afraid that something might be pushed and falls, and creates Peng! Peng! Bang! Bang! noise, and then it will be terrible through and through. Xu Ziling also pressed his hands on the wall, he said, Let me apply my power to suck the ghost thing on the other side, you push. Now! foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong applied the amassed power in his entire body and sent it out to push the wall. The wall responded to the push by separating and moving outward. From behind the wall came the sharp squeaky noise of some objects rubbing against the floor, which was shaking to the core, but they had no other choice but to take this risk. When the living wall showed a gap enough for a person to pass through, Kou Zhong stepped sideways and stuck his head out to look around, he called out, His Niangs! What ghost ce do you think is outside? It turned out to be an armor room, full of cabs; the thing blocking living wall is precisely a big wardrobe full of armor and military uniforms, no wonder its so heavy. Im going out to find the way! Xu Ziling moved back the weapon rack to its original position first, before shing to the wardrobe room. He pushed up the living wall, and pushed the cab. Kou Zhong returned to him and spoke excitedly, This time its a sess! Leading to the outside is only an ordinary wooden door, and it is not locked. He had not finished speaking, they heard Creak! the door to the room was opened, followed by the light from antern; luckily the two boys were on the other side of the room, behind nearly thirty rows of wardrobes, otherwise they would not have anywhere to hide in an instant. However, if the peopleing in walked over this side to fetch something, their hiding ce would still fall through and stand exposed. They heard the iing person said, His grannys! Everybody else is ying finger-guessing game and drinking, amidst dishes with generous amounts of meat and fish, but we have to go outside to guard the city gate, enduring the wind and withstanding the cold. Another manughed and cursed, Looking at how drunk you are, I am afraid you will even forget the password for tonight. The two mening in were walking in their direction while talking andughing at the same time. Kou Zhong hurriedly put away the Night Pearl, he lightly patted Xu Ziling, and together they leaped up silently andnded on the top of a wardrobe and crouched down. The men arrived, the light followed, and then they heard the sound of the wardrobe under them being opened. The imperial guard who was used of being drunkughed and said, Whats so strange about forgetting it? It seems to be Heaven Bless Changan, right? After a good while, the two imperial guards put on the armor and left, and the room returned to darkness and silence. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling returned to the floor. The formerughed and said, Do you remember? Dont forget. Xu Ziling said, How can there be wine to drink and dishes with generous amounts of meat and fish in the imperial guards ce? What time is it now? Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, This is called rewarding the three armies, eating and drinking in shifts. Brother, how about picking up some convenience? Arge number of expeditionary troops are receiving rewards in the imperial city, precisely a good time for us to fish in troubled waters. His grannys! From Yangzhou we mingled around to Changan, we are still mingling around endlessly; it seems to be our fate? With quick hands, quick feet, the two boys changed into imperial guard uniform and armors, put on military caps, and simply stuffed their cloth shoes into the leather boots. When they came to the main door leading to the outside, Kou Zhong pushed the door and stuck his head out to look around. When he pulled it back, he said, We are finally returning to the human world! Outside is a long corridor, heading left and right, two sides; shall we go right or left? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling reached out to put his hands on his shoulders, and then simply pushed the door and walked outside, saying withugh, When we are mingling around, the most important thing is to know how to put on airs. Besides, we are genuine goods and fair prices imperial guards, its just that we are loaned outside to Furong Ye. What his Niangs are you afraid of? His guts trembling, his heart startled, Kou Zhong said, Ahead seems to be the main hall of the imperial guard station. While he was talking, he moved the cloth bundle so that it was now carried under his arm, so it would not be too conspicuous. The moring noise of joyous shouts and roars ofughter from the men ying finger-guessing game and other drinking games was rushing forth from the end of the corridor like a tidal wave. A shot momentter, the two boys found themselves in a brightly lit and noisy main hall. Hundreds of Tang troops were eating, drinking and be merry, ying finger-guessing game and fighting over the wine, as much as they liked, abandoning all restraint - over several dozens of banquet tables, more chaotic and lively than the Six-Happiness and Ming Tang Wo. No one had any interest in casting them a single nce. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Tonight is so invigorating! Putting his arm around Xu Zilings shoulders, they walked towards the imperial guard stations exit ostentatiously. [1] Launching the first artillery shell: the saying was originally a military term, basically it refers to the first to speak at a discussion forum or to take the lead in action on a certain asion. (zdic) Book 59: 2: Launching the First Artillery Shell

Book 59: Chapter 2: Launching the First Artillery Shell

The two boys stepped out of the guard houses main hall, like a bird escaping from the cage, fleeing out to the sky, leaving from the side of the building and leaping over the wall. Nearly half of the government offices in the imperial city were still brightly lit; the sound of joyousughter and roaring shouts were heard amidst the whooshing cold wind, greatly reducing the somber and deste, solemn atmosphere of the cold winter in the imperial city. As usual, the imperial pce did not hold a celebration of victory. As they hid in the dark, Xu Ziling suggested, After our true qi merged, your senses are more effective and sharper than mine alone. It would be better if I am responsible for supplying the true qi, and you, Dage are in charge of opening up a path; what do you think? Kou Zhong happily agreed, grabbing the hand that he offered, heughed and said, This time we are joining hands, united inmon effort, not just in name only, but also in reality, calling his grannys! The entire imperial city suddenly becamepletely within Xiaodis control. Xu Ziling reminded him, Dont act too big, lets go! Kou Zhong pulled him to brave the wind and darted towards the Heavenly Street, which connected the Imperial Pces Chengtian Gate and the Imperial Citys main gate, the Vermillion Bird Gate. He suddenly stopped in the dark shadow of a government office, waiting for a group of patrolling troops to pass by, and only then he continued their journey. The two boys heart and mind were interlinked, they were moving in synch, as if they had be one person, soaring, moving, shing rapidly like spirits and devils from the weak points and the gaps between the patrolling troops and standing guards, both covert and undercover. asionally they even flew on top of the government buildings, looking at the Imperial Citys imperial guards as nothing. The moon was dark and the wind was high, there was another kind of unspeakable excitement. foxswuxia.wordpress The most beneficial thing for them was that the garrisons of the Tang Imperial Pce were concentrated on the perimeter walls. Since they wereing in from the secret tunnel, they avoided the danger of breaking through this heavy defense. Moreover, theirbined acute spirit gave them the ability that a capable person could not aplish. However, when they were crouching on the snow-covered roof tile of a government office in the southeast corner of the Imperial City, overlooking the East Pce across the traversing square, they still had the gazing at the ocean andmenting their inadequacy [idiom: feeling powerless and ipetent], unable to have ess to set their hands to it - disheartened feeling. While admittedly the south main gate of the East Pce, Jia Fu [lit. auspicious happiness] Gate was heavily guarded, on top of the city walls, a guard stood at every few zhang intervals, not to mention there was the continuous patrolling troops and the tight copper saucepan [used for cooking food by day and for sounding the night watches during the hours of darkness], the defense was imprable. The two boys stared fixedly for a moment, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Even if we are willing to have a free hand, the risk of going back from the old road is not much lower than stealing into the East Pce. This time we have no room to advance or to retreat. In the whooshing cold wind, they still had to apply their power to suck their clothes to stick to their body, so as not to create unusual noise of the fluttering sleeves. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Now the northwest wind is blowing, and the windnterns on top of the city walls, none are not blown that they flicker between light and dark, which is of great help to our magnificent feat of crossing over the wall, as long as we make good use of a certain sudden gust of wind, perhaps we could smoothly cross this barrier. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, The problem is that to enter the East Pce we still have to cross the absolutely-empty traversing public square. Unless all of the men guarding the city lose their eyesight, how could they not see us, two kids who had lost their heads? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, When the way exhausted, change wille, and change leads to rity. To enter the pce from the traversing public square, we have to sneak across the public square and two high walls. That is not something that we need to take trouble in vain attempt. Supposing we walk from the outer wall near the top of the wall and stay close to the wall, what will happen? The attention of the guards on top of the wall is only focused on the ground outside the wall. Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, Good n! Fancy that you are able toe up with it. The guards guarding the outer wall of course only pay attention to the ce outside the wall, to guard against peopleing close. This is called internal thieves are difficult to guard against. Xu Ziling said, Come then! Even if we are discovered, slipping away will be a bit easier. When a team of patrolling troops walking through the horsene along the outer wall has already passed, the two shed out from the darkness of the government building, in the blink of an eye they disappeared into the shadow of the northeast corner of the imperial city wall where the light from the city gate tower and from the foot of the wall could not reach. They stayed motionless against the wall, quietly waiting for the fortunate timing. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Zilings right hand grabbed Kou Zhongs left hand. Thetter drove away ten thousand thoughts and guard his heart into one, to let the spiritual sense to rise to its apex, to enable him to seek luck and avoid cmity [idiom]. The long wind rolled in violently, blowing the umted snow from the big trees around the various government buildings in the Imperial City that it swirled in the air. Suddenly Kou Zhong released his power to soar, bringing Xu Ziling up sticking on the wall, crossing over the high wall nearly half of its height, and then it was Xu Zilings turn to take Kou Zhong toplete the remainder of the journey. Finally the two boys hands grabbed the edge of the battlements; taking advantage of the wind momentum, they stuck their heads out to look at the situation on top of the city wall. The windntern was blown that it flickered between light and darkness, a team of patrolling troops had just passed by, blocking the guards standing guard on the left sides line of sight, while the imperial guard on the other side of the city gate tower was looking outside the city. Knowing there was no time to lose, the two boys did not dare to hesitate, they somersaulted over the battlement, like a wisp of smoke they traversed the nearly three-zhang wide top of the wall, and then somersaulted over the other side of the city wall. Their hands grabbed the battlement again, they dangled high in the air on the edge of the top of the outer city wall. Climbing the city wall, crossing the wall, and dangling in the air, these movements flowed smoothly, and it was over in just a few blinks of an eye. Even if there was no strong wind providing cover, or even if someone saw it, they might think that they had dimmed eyesight. Kou Zhongs pair of palms produced suction force, he moved northward along the wall, more agile, fast and nimble than a gecko. When he passed through the battlement where no one was standing guard, he pulled himself up to the edge of the battlement to regain his qi and raise his breath. Xu Ziling followed closely behind him, moving silently together to the outer wall of the East Pce. The City of Changan had already gone to bed, with the north wind wreaking havoc, there were only sparse lights, the atmosphere of night travel gave them a feeling of leaping onto roofs and vaulting over walls excitement, different from daily life. Finally they reached the outer wall of the East Pce, Kou Zhong simply continued moving his hands, and only stopped when they arrived at the middle of the east wall of the East Pce, where he stuck out his head to get a clear picture of the situation. When the same team of patrolling troops they had seen before passed by, plus there was aparably stronger gust of wind blowing over, he immediately repeated his old tricks; shing across the top of the wall, from the other side safely stepping into the high wall of the East Pce and swept into the darkness of the garden outside a building. The two boys squatted down between two big trees, they looked at each other happily, both had the joyful feeling of having been through untold hardships, finally sessfully aplished the goal. Kou Zhong leaned over to Xu Zilings ear and said, This building is the Peony Hall due east of the East Pce. When the springes, we would be surrounded by the beautiful sceneries of blooming peonies, but now of course its just snow and frost all over the garden. foxswuxia.wordpress Flying down from the city wall, Xu Ziling has already taken a nce and seen it clearly. Within the perimeter wall of the Peony Hall, there were five courtyards, surrounded by gardens, the main hall was located right in the middle, with long corridors connecting the courtyards. Inside the garden, there were seven or eight wooden bridges, with small streams flowing under the bridges. Water entered in from the north, and when it reached the south of the Peony Hall, it formed arge pond, pavilions were built around this pond. At this time, all the multi-story halls were dark with no lights in sight, only the corridors were lit by pcenterns in several zhang interval, swaying gently in the wind, flickering. Kou Zhong went on, If we cross over the western perimeter wall of the Peony Hall, we will arrive at the ce we have chosen to hold the fireworks festival tonight. The soldier brothers of the Imperial City not only have good fortune for their mouths, they will also get good fortune for their eyes. Come! Xu Ziling grabbed him and pulled him back, saying, Dont be reckless. The firearms hidden in Ju Bao Dian bears upon Li Jianchengs imperial throne, surely they would reinforce the guard. If we treat it like regr situation in the pce, theres a great chance that we may ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Do you see that? There is a two-story pavilion next to the west perimeter wall, nearly a zhang higher than the perimeter wall. From there, you can see the surrounding situation clearly. Kou Zhong nodded and agreed. He promptly put it into action. Together with Xu Ziling, they darted out, using the garden as their cover to reach the east side of the pavilion. Flying to the top of the building, they crouched down to look around. As Xu Ziling expected, they were able take in the whole Ju Bao Dians scene at once. They saw the pavilion standing proudly in the cold wind, the flickering pce hall, winding corridors and secluded paths were interweaving in the garden, connecting the nine hall-courtyards, with the Ju Bao Dian stood in the middle. Looking from this side, on the surface, the pce hall was not much difference in sizepared to the Peony Temple; however, it was in fact heavily guarded, with hidden sentry posts and patrolling troops in teams of ten covering the whole area, as soon as they set foot within the courtyard of the Ju Bao Dian no matter how brilliant their shenfa was, it would still be difficult to escape the guards eyes and ears. Kou Zhong fixed his gaze on the four guards guarding the Ju Bao Dians main entrance, enduring the wind and withstanding the cold. Heughed and said, Even if they double the number of men, they still cant stop us, two brothers. Xu Zilings eyes scanned the sentry outposts located in the four corners of the courtyard, as well as observed the power distribution of the upper level of the buildings in the courtyard. Kou Zhong put down the bundle on his back, picked up a long rope, and said, We are going to ride the wind high in the air, but first, we must reach the top of the pce hall east of Ju Bao Dian. Brother! The time to disy our real skill has arrived! foxswuxia.wordpress The two boys were ustomed to working together, they no longer talked. Amassing their power, they focused their momentum and wait. A burst of strong wind rolled in. Kou Zhongs right hand lightly pressed the roof ridge, he soared up into the sky, his left hand held the three-zhang-long rope firmly. When the long rope was pulled taut, Xu Ziling, holding the other end of the rope, was pulled along, away from where he was crouching, and soared at an angle into the night sky. Kou Zhong continued soaring to a high altitude of nearly twenty zhang above the ground, his true qi reversed, he continued sweeping forward horizontally, flying towards the top of the pce hall, which was nearly fifty zhang away from their starting point. At the same time, his right hand started to move. Xu Ziling borrowed Kou Zhongs true power to speed up his flight. By the time Kou Zhongs true qi was exhausted and he started to descend, they were still about fifteen, sixteen zhang away from the target building, Xu Ziling was precisely behind and above Kou Zhong. Such a high altitude was beyond the sentries and patrolling troops line of sight, even the light from thentern could not reach it; even if someone looked up, unless their eyesight was exceptionally fine, plus they were watching with full attention - they would definitely miss it. Whats more, the north wind was roaring, the air was biting cold, the enemys alertness was greatly weakened, their eyes and ears were not working properly. Xu Zilings true qi revolved, he continued the final stage of their flight. His right hand pulled, he took Kou Zhong flying toward the building. Obtaining fresh power from Xu Zilings true qi, Kou Zhong regained his upward momentum and revolved his true qi. When Xu Ziling started to descend, Kou Zhong came on top of Xu Ziling instead. One after another the two boys set foot on the top of the building. The north wind still had no intention to rest. Xu Ziling seized this opportunity, he took the lead to soar into the sky again. By the time the storm somewhat subsided, the two boys have already crouched safely on top of the Ju Bao Dian. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Although it was extremely strenuous, its still worth it. While talking, he stuffed the rope into his bundle, then he took out a sharp dagger from the bag. He said to Xu Ziling, who was sticking his ear to listen to any activity inside the hall, Since this pce hall is difficult to guard, if we make a hole here, no one would find out. Xu Ziling sat up, his pair of palms pressed down on the snow-covered roof of the pce hall, using his burning hot true qi he began to melt the snow. He said, Fortunately, Jiancheng did not post any guard inside the pce hall. Ay! What a pity! foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong watched the thick snow melt into water under Xu Zilings palms. It was even following its nature by flowing down. He said, Not only Jiancheng will not post any guard in here, he wont even allow anybody to take even half a step inside, because this matter should not be exposed to light. Those in the know must be limited to a few of his trusted aides. Why did you say its a pity? Xu Ziling withdrew both hands, he replied, Its a pity that the invaluable treasures and antiques in the temple will be burned and destroyedpletely by the firearms! You can use a dagger now. If we let the water flows down the eaves like a waterfall, it will be a big joke. Kou Zhongs power pierced through the de, he cut through the remainder of the snow that was only a few cun thick, and started to work. Heughed and said, The storm is blowing, water and snow are sshing in all directions, who can tell anything difference? Hey! Heres one piece! Xu Ziling took the tile he handed over and put it aside. The two boys worked with amon purpose, they proceeded carefully. In just the time needed to drink one cup of hot tea, a small hole, enough for one person to pass through - was opened in the roof of the hall. The inside of the hall was so dark that they could not see the fingers stretched in front of their eyes. Kou Zhong slipped into the hole and jumped down. When Xu Ziling set foot inside the pce hall, he saw Kou Zhong was staring nkly, Whats the matter? he asked in surprise. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, his other hand raised the Night Pearl, he spoke cheerfully, Brother! We are in luck! Look! Under the weak ray of the pearl, not a single article of the treasures and antiques, which were supposed to be stored inside the pce hall - was in sight. Instead, there were wooden boxes, containing the firearms - spread all over the hall. Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air, he blurted out, Really dangerous! The firearms were brought up from the underground storehouse, it must be because Jiancheng changed his n and wanted these to be transported away. Fortunately, we are acting first tonight, otherwise we will lose all linking arms. Kou Zhongughed and said, The treasures and antiques should be under our feet. Song ErGe gave us three fuses that can burn for up to two quarters of an hour. We can take apart three of the wooden boxes, connect the fuse to them, and after lighting it, we go at top speed to look for the Princess. As long as any one of the fuses does its job and effective, the fireworks show will start ording to schedule. Ha! I am more and more convinced that Li Shimin is the Son of Heaven, ordained by heaven itself, hence the ghosts fall short, the gods are at work, to let us, two big idiots to rush over in time tonight! His words were still in the air, strange noise was heard. The two boys countenance changed at the same time. It was the sound of arge number of mule carts and horse-drawn carriages starting to arrive from a distance. Immediately their good dream turned into a nightmare. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong blurted out, Li Jiancheng unexpectedly wanted to take the firearms away tonight. This does not make sense, where in Changan can he found a more hidden and safer ce than here? Xu Ziling made prompt decision, he shouted, Tear the box open! Burn the pce hall! The two boys knew that the slightest hesitation would mean time was no longer in their hands. They immediately started working. Splitting up, they used their inner power to smash nearly ten boxes, took out the firearms, and poured kerosene to the four walls of the main hall. By the time the mule convoy arrived at the za in front of the pce hall, everything was ready. They piled the wooden nks taken from the dismantled wooden boxes at the foot of the wall, altogether there were seven or eight piles, all were drenched in kerosene, and then, while they were at it, they also piled the military uniforms, boots, caps, even the cloth bags, which were also drenched in kerosene - all thrown into the fire, to destroy the corpses and wipe out the traces. When the fire was raging, the two boys took a peek outside, only to see a group of men and horses entering the Ju Bao Dian area. It should be Li Jianchenging personally to supervise the transport of the firearms. Inside the hall, the me was zing, only the light had not yet leaked outside the hall. At this time, the noise of the fire could barely be heard, since it was still contained within the Ju Bao Dian. They did not dare to linger on, using the same method as before, they soared into the air and left. Boom! Boom! Boom! The zing mes from Ju Bao Dian soared into the sky, illuminating the night sky over the East Pce. The sound of big and small explosions was heard continuously, interspersed with rockets carrying me and white smoke shooting into the air. Shattered roof tiles and fragments of wood were sshing everywhere like fine powder. The entire Imperial Pce area was boiling over, the imperial guards were rushing from four sides, eight directions to the disaster area, but Kou Zhong clearly knew that anybodycked the strength to reverse the rotation of the sky, they could only sit and watch as not a cun of roof tile of the Ju Bao Dian was spared. If not for the strong northerly wind was blowing, the poisonous smoke from the firearms would indeed cause a big catastrophe. Taking advantage of the chaos, Kou Zhong sneaked toward Li Xiunings princess pce hall. As he had expected, the awakened Li Xiuning already climbed over to the upper floor of Wang You Lou and watched the dreadful situation in the disaster area of the East Pce over the wall. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong stuck his head in and peered through the window on the west side. Li Xiuning, wearing cotton robe to defend herself against the cold, was staring nkly through the window at the other side. Two pce maids were waiting upon her nearby. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, he could imagine the misery and feeling of loss in Li Xiunings heart. Focusing his voice into a thread and sent it into Li Xiunings small ear, he said, Xiuning! Its me, Kou Zhong! Li Xiunings tender body shook violently, the two pce maids thought that she could not withstand the terror, hastily they rushed forward to support her from left and right. Li Xiuning shouted in a low voice, You go downstairs. Without my order, no one is allowed toe up. Hearing that, the two maidservants you look at me I gazed at you, but they did not dare to disobey; helpless, they went downstairs. Kou Zhong entered in through the window and came over to stand behind Li Xiunings silky back. Reaching out, he caressed her continuously trembling fragrant shoulders. All sorts of feelings welling up in his heart, he sighed slightly and said, Our guess still missed the mark slightly. Li Xiuning recovered her calm somewhat, she spoke softly, Was it you? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong replied, Is there anyone else? Li Xiuning spoke in distress, The firearm is actually hidden in Ju Bao Dian? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Im so sorry to use this drastic method to prove to you, Xiuning the rtionship between Taizi and the firearms, but we have no other choice. Li Xiunings tender body shook again, she leaned back weakly into his arms, and spoke in helplessness, What should I do? What did you guess wrong? Kou Zhong smelled the fragrant soft jade he was holding in his arms, yet there was not the slightest romantic thought, only unlimited tender affection, sympathy and care. Leaning toward her sparkling and translucent small ear, he gently said, We thought that your Da Wangxiong [oldest brother king] would only wait until Qin Wang moves into Hong Yi Pce before he use the firearms against him, but actually your Da Wangxiongs n is to make his move when Qin Wang is on his way back. With the help of the Western Tujue martial art masters headed by Yun Shuai, plus the power of people like Yang WenGan and others, and the strong formidable power of firearms, how could Qin Wang escape alive? After he is killed, Jiancheng Taizi can push the responsibility away, neat and clean, he could even frame me, Kou Zhong, saying that it was my doing. He must be nning to transport the firearms out of Changan via the waterway tonight, but Ziling and I managed to destroy the firearms in time. Ah, Xiuning! If you dont make a decision, your Great Tang Kingdom will fall into all split up and in pieces chaotic situation, which is exactly what Xieli is hoping. I dont know when will themon people of the world pass their lives in peace and happiness? Seeing that the fire in the East Pce was extinguished one by one, but the chaotic situation still continued unabated, as if it was the panic of the doomsdays arrival, Li Xiuning spoke feebly, How did you know that the firearms were hidden in the East Pce? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong spoke softly, This matter, start exining and its a long story. Is it possible to give you detailed reportter? The matter of vital importance before our eyes is to win support for Qin Wang as much as possible. Li Xiuning closed her beautiful eyes, two lines of clear tears from her eyes flowed down her jade cheeks, but the tone of her voice was so tranquil that it felt strange, she said, How does Shaoshuai want Xiuning to help? Kou Zhong said, I want to have a secret meeting with lingwangshu [your esteemed uncle king] Li Shentong to talk. Li Xiuning stood and straightened her tender body; turning around slowly, she faced Kou Zhong, and reached out to stroke his cheek. Tears continued to trickle down, her beautiful eyes looked deeply in his eyes, she said, Tomorrow Xiuning will let Luoyan know the time and ce for the meeting. Oh, Kou Zhong! Xiuning really doesnt know whether to thank you or me you. A burst of emotional stirring grew in Kou Zhongs heart. Inwardly, he knew that his first love has reached an end in this kind of unusual manner before his eyes. Taking advantage of the chaos, Kou Zhong slipped into the imperial garden toward Xu Zilings hiding ce, from which he was able to watch the entrance of the secret tunnel on the pond, between the fake rocks, Hows the situation? he asked. Did you seed? Xu Ziling asked back. Kou Zhong nodded and said, She is a sensible woman. Since she is certain that Jiancheng has the heart to kill Shimin, naturally she knows what to choose. Xu Ziling said, Li Yuan, Yuwen Shang, and his party have just returned from the rockery. Looking at Li Yuans murderous look, Li Jiancheng will be in trouble. Kou Zhong said with a sneer, With the imperial concubine faction speaking on his behalf, at most he will be rebuked harshly. Its time to go home! Ha! We can also wash our hands clean along the way. The two boys shed out of their dark hiding and disappeared among the fake rocks. Book 59: 3: Due to an Unexpected Turn of Events

Book 59: Chapter 3: Due to an Unexpected Turn of Events

The two boys leaped into the Situ Mansions backyard; immediately the rm went off in their hearts. While they cried, Not good! inwardly, Shi Zhixuan walked out of his hiding and blocked the two boys path. His pair of eyes burning, he sized the two boys up and down, and spoke in heavy voice, Where did you go? The two mused inwardly that luckily they did not have the least bit of kerosene smell on their body; otherwise their secret would be immediately revealed. However, the two boys were still baffled and had a headache, because it would not be easy to muddle through this question, not to mention that the other side was the Shi Xie Wang, whose outstanding wisdom and scheming ability was above theirs. Kou Zhong saw the flickering lights in the direction of the main residence, he knew that Ren Jun, Song Shidao and the others were all awakened by their first artillery shell. In fact, in the entire City of Changan, soldiers and civilians alike were awakened. His heart moved, able to think fast in an emergency, he sighed and said, We were sleeping soundly, suddenly we were awakened by the Peng! Peng! Bang! Bang! from the Imperial Pce, without any better option, we went out to see what happened. Beyond the two boys expectation, Shi Zhixuan was slightly led by their lies; looking up at the night sky, he said, What did you see? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Fires are raging in the East Pce, explosions are frequent, but we still dont know what happened. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Shi Zhixuan said, Its really strange! Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Xie Wang came here, it must be because you suspected that the culprit in the East Pce had something to do with us. Howe with just a few words, it was like Xie Wang believes firmly without any doubt? Xu Ziling apuded inwardly. Speaking about the ability to tell lies and cover up, even if he pped the horses butts, he still could not catch up with Kou Zhong. For example, this sentence was precisely a stroke of magic. On the contrary, it was indeed strange that it was so easy for Shi Zhixuan to trust them, which showed that there was no ghost in his heart. foxswuxia.wordpress Shi Zhixuans gaze fell on Kou Zhongs face, he spoke indifferently, My first thought was that the big explosion in the pce must be rted to the two of you, hence I rushed to Yin Mansion at full speed to see if you, two boys would drill out of the tunnel. However, I happened to see Li Yuan and his attendanceing out of the tunnel and hurriedly returning to the pce. Every time Li Yuan enters and exits the tunnel, he is escorted by his personal guards, no one can enter through the tunnel. Therefore, this has washed away the suspicion toward you. The two boys cried, Close call! inwardly, while also cried What a good luck. When they left, Shi Zhixuan must have been on his way toe here to look for them, no one caught them red-handed with the stolen goods in their hands. Shi Zhixuan seemed to be thinking a hundred thoughts without finding the solution [idiom: puzzled] by the explosion in the East Pce; he knitted his brows for quite a while, and suddenly said, Xibai wille back tomorrow, you guys have a good rest. Kou Zhong hurriedly said, Xie Wang, please hold on, this kid still has something to ask. Shi Zhixuans countenance gentle, he said, Speak! Even Xu Ziling did not know why Kou Zhong wanted this demon-personifying-pestilence to stay, he could not guess what he wanted to ask Shi Zhixuan even more; therefore, full of curiosity, he listened with rapt attention. Kou Zhong said, Did Xie Wang learn the secret of the tunnel leading into the pce from Yin Zuwen? Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, That is precisely the same question in Shis heart; how did you find out about this secret tunnel? Kou Zhong replied frankly, We were able to discover the tunnel, it was all thanks to Li Yuan impersonating Cao San and went to Chi Shengchuns ce to steal Zhan Ziqians famous paintings and Xiao Ling was following him from behind, its that simple. Murderous intent shed through Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes, he said, Seeing that you are so frank, I dont need to conceal anything either. I found the tunnel from you, all along Yin Zuwen kept it a secret from me, humph! The two boys understood that the murderous intent in his eyes was ring because of Yin Zuwen, immediately they put down the load in their mind. foxswuxia.wordpress Shi Zhixuan spoke heavily, Such a headless monster fire appeared in the East Pce, it will definitely affect our operation adversely. You must be a bit more cautious, before the operation, you must never touch that secret tunnel. Finished speaking, he shed over the wall and left. Kou Zhong put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder; while walking towards the inner hall, he sighed and said, Our thinking was not thorough enough, we never thought that Shi Zhixuan would have such a move. Fortunately, due to an unexpected turn of events, we passed this barrier. Tomorrow morning we must thank the gods kindness with a gift. Ha! Tonight, it was entirely due to Song ErGes remark, the night is long, the dreams many that we were able to reverse the whole situation. The next day the two boys entered the pce, harboring ulterior motive in their bosom. In the Pce City, the Imperial City, the atmosphere was peculiar, everyones expression was grave; clearly their heavy, frightened and confused mood still had not recovered from thest nights disaster. They went to see Cheng Mo; this immediate supervisor of theirs said, Theres nothing going on today! All activities in the pce are cancelled, you can take off work early. Hearing that, the two boys were greatly delighted, they never expected that they would receive such a relevant benefit. Pretending to be ignorant, Kou Zhong asked, What happenedst night? We were so scared that we jumped out of bed. Revealing a frank, wont-conceal-anything-to-you-brother, Cheng Mo lowered his voice and said, About this matter, you must never, ever talk indiscriminately outside. Last night, there was a sudden big fire in the East Pces Ju Bao Dian, burning it until not a single roof tile was spared. It even injured more than a dozen men and seven or eight mules. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, How can there be any fire without any reason? It even created Peng! Peng! Bang! Bang! noise? Cheng Mo revealed a shocked expression, he said, Luckily you are asking me so nothing will go wrong, but you must never ask anybody else in the pce. Huangshang already issued strict order not to talk about this matter. Xu Ziling asked, Did the enemy do it? Cheng Mo shook his head and said, Thats impossible. If you want to suspect anybody, you can only suspect that there is an inner ghost [mole/traitor]. Most probably it was an ident. Knowing that he would not get anything from Cheng Mos mouth, Kou Zhong bade farewell and slipped away with Xu Ziling. It was unclear whether Fu Ju Lou was affected by what happened in the pcest night, but the crowd was sparser than usual. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were happy for the peace and quiet. They sat down at the table by the window overlooking He Chang Long to eat their breakfast. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, The thunder of our first artillery shellst night echoed throughout the world, it has more impact than any rumors. Those who know the facts affirm that we possess great magical power, nothing we cannot do; those who do not know the facts believe that Laotianye wants to put Li Jiancheng in order, that it is a warning and an ill omen to him. No matter which kind of thought, it has a hundred benefits without a single harm for us. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Dont take things so easily. In fact, we are facing the greatest risk yet. As long as there is the slightest mishap in Li Xiuning persuading Li Shentong, we will have to pack our bag and leave before we finish eating. Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, Dont worry! Gongzhu has the appropriate behavior, Li Shentong has been in military campaign with Li Shimin over many years, not only he has deep understanding of the current political situation, he is also very clear about the formidable power of us and Li kid working together, plus I have had great kindness to him in saving his life. When the soldiers were at the city walls in Luoyang, he was still willing to showradeship by persuading us with kind words. I have the confidence to win him over. Dont forget the appointment with Wei Zheng at noon, Xu Ziling said. Kou Zhong took a sip of the hot tea, he smiled and said, I cant wait to ask Wei Zheng about Li Jianchengs reaction; I want to see if he is suspicious of the strange firest night? How could he forget? Hey! While we have a bit of time, Ling Shao, why dont you go see Liao Kong and report our aplishments? Ill go on Zha Jie, that kids behalf to see if his marriage is destined by Heaven. Xu Ziling cast his gaze toward He Chang Long, he said, I wonder if Yang WenGan will change his course of action? Last night they obtained information from Zha Jie that Yang WenGan and his entourage went to the wharf area north of Yong An Canal at dusk, and have not returned to He Chang Long. Kou Zhong said, If he goes, he will throw away his life, if he stays, he is only waiting for us to ughter him. Ay! You dont know how hard it is for me to bear it, there are too many muddled eggs in Changan that I want to kill. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Xiaodi deeply felt the same; however, great ns can be ruined by just a touch of impatience [idiom]. You Noticing that he wanted to say something but hesitated, Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, Whats the matter? Why are you humming and hawing? Xu Ziling said, I have always wanted to ask you, now that you and Yuzhi have be reconciled, have you ever thought about how are you going to treat the having-deep-love-toward-you, silently-waiting-for-you Chuchu? When Shang Xiufanges back to Changan, how are you going to face her? Kou Zhongs excitement was swept clean, on its ce was deeply knitted eyebrows. Smiling bitterly, he said, Why dont you tell me what to do? Your words are the most pertinent. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, Chuchu is like Little Lingzhongs Niang, just by looking at Su Jies face, you must not turn your back on her. As long as you are willing to speak to Yuzhi, let her understand the rise and fall of the terrain [idiom: the ins and outs of things], there should not be any problem. You can even adopt Little Lingzhong, so that Su Jies spirit in heaven can obtain rest. Kou Zhong nodded and said, I have had this intention for a long time, and now that I obtain your, Ling Shaos personal support, that is how the problem will be solved. As for Shang Xiufang, ay! Xu Ziling said, Shang Xiufang is not an ordinary woman, she has her own set of ideas. This kind of thing cannot be forced. My opinion is not to think about it for the time being, see how Laotianye decides. The most urgent business right now, the difficult problem that is giving us the most headache is not how to deal with Jiancheng and Yuanji, but how to guard against Shi Zhixuan uncovering our secrets. Last night, we were able to cross the barrier it was purely by luck. Next time, if we make a mistake, I am afraid we wont have the same good luck. Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, he leaned over and said, If we throw out everything and make our move with all our strength, would we have any chance to put him in order? This aspect, you should know better than me. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, Even though fully aware that giving thought to the overall situation, we must get rid of him, this root of the trouble, but now he is ending up as a lonely soul, I really a little cannot bear to throw stones at him who has fallen down a well [idiom]. My rtionship with him is very weird. Sometimes I really want to get rid of him, sometimes I sympathize with him very much. Kou Zhong said in deject, Your analysis is very true. After all, he is both Qingxuans biological father and Xibais Shifu. His Niangs! Furthermore, he has repeatedly started off leniently to you. Hey! How about a change of form? Do you think we have the ability to make him unable to win, but unable to escape either? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling said, Wont that be more difficult than killing him? One thing goes wrong, the one suffering a cmity will be us! Besides, even if it can be done, what good will it bring? Kou Zhong said, A moment ago, I suddenly really want you to go see Liao Kong. At that time, it was still very vague in my heart. Turns out I already had this idea, which is in all the world, there is only one person who can stop Shi Zhixuan, and that person is your future tender wife, Qingxuan Meirener. Shocked, Xu Ziling said, You want them, father and daughter to see each other? Kou Zhong said, I understand that you dont want Qingxuan to be involved in the ugly struggle and vendetta of the human world, but after all, Shi Zhixuan is her father; I am hoping that Shi Zhixuan will mend his ways just like her mother Bi Xiuxins final wishes before her death. Ling Shao must talk her over since she is Shi Zhixuans only w, no matter what. This way, we will no doubt have the victory within our grasp. As long as we can trap Shi Zhixuan firmly, he wont be able to escape to resolve the w that hit his vital point. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling remained silent. It was quite half a dayter that he smiled bitterly and said, You dont understand Shi Qingxuan at all. To persuade her to vite all her nature and natural instinct is some kind of a destructive sphemy. Hey! I wonder if when she was blowing her Xiao, has she ever thought that Shi Zhixuan would be nearby to eavesdrop her immortal rhyme, and to take a peek at her flowery countenance? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, What are you talking about? Thosest two sentences do not seem to have anything to do with the previous ones, am I right? The divine light in Xu Zilings pair of eyes shing, a hint of smile escaped from the corner of his mouth; he said, Please dont interrupt my train of thought, maybe I have figured out a way to restrain Shi Zhixuan, which is to ask Qingxuan to y a song to him, to let her, using the most moving way, convey her heart via the sound of the Xiao, Lao Shi will definitely be defeated without any victory; Shi Zhixuans w is precisely his heart! Kou Zhong was about to speak, suddenly he made a signal and said, Chang He is here! Also Wen Yanbo and Liu Zhenghui; all are the target that we want to win over. Xu Ziling turned around and raised his hand to greet Wen Yanbo, while Kou Zhong cup his fists from a distance to salute the Jianghu way. His mouth continued to talk to Xu Ziling, They must havee here to discuss the strange events ofst night and exchange opinions. Clearly our first artillery shell created the shock and achieved sess. Wen Yanbo returned the salute absentmindedly. With Chang He and Liu Zhenghui, they sat down in the corner farthest away from them and spoke in a low voice. Kou Zhong leaned over a bit and said, Liu Zhenghui is Chang Hes best friend. In the past, when Xiaodi was acting as the ugly divine doctor, Chang He only cared about Liu Zhenghui, one person; clearly their friendship is very deep. If we could persuade Liu Zhenghui, we will have the chance to win Chang He, this most crucial figure, over to our camp. Xu Ziling said, The sess or failure will be determined by whether we can win over Li Shentong. With Li Shentong selecting the loyal and righteous for us, why worry that the grand n will not seed? Kou Zhongs spirit greatly aroused, he said, I hope Gongzhu will have the good news today. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Other than Shi Zhixuan, this one barrier, there are still Bi Xuan, Ke Dazhi and Yang Xuyan, these three dangerous figures. They have the best chance to see through our disguise. I wonder if in this kind of situation we should find a different life, and let Taihang Shuang Jie disappear? Kou Zhong said, If you said this before I witnessed the eight-saber-strike battle between Ning Daoqi and Song Que, I would definitely agree with both hands and feet, but his Niangs! After watching them, two martial art masters crossing swords, I finally understand the Moon in the Wells highest realm, which run in parallel without hindrance [idiom] with Song Ques Forgetting the Saber and Lao Zuns [not sure, lit. old senior/venerable] Dao Xin Jing Wei [the profound heart of the Way]. At that time, although I understood tacitly, but myprehension was not deep enough. Untilst night when our spirits merged in harmony, suddenly I was able topletely grasp this kind of down-to-the-smallest-detail realm in my heart. When I went to look for Gongzhu, all along I was always in this kind of mental state. Ling Shao is still better, actually, you were one step ahead of me to enter this down-to-the-smallest-detail realm. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Zilings tiger-body trembled slightly; he thought deeply over what he said. Lowering the volume of his voice one step further, Kou Zhong said, Precisely because I have entered this kind of realm so that although at the time Gongzhu had two maidservants waiting upon her alongside, I still have the confidence that I could pass my voice into her, one persons ears only; even the distribution of the sound, I was also able to fully grasp it. This is something I could never do before. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Are you nning to continue using the Taihang Shuang Jie disguise, and you have confidence that we can conceal it from anyone, including Bi Xuan? Kou Zhong said, In order to impersonate Taihang Shuang Jie, we have spent someborious effort. You are afraid that we cannot conceal it from Bi Xuan and Ke Dazhi, its because you are afraid that there are still ws, a little spiders thread and horses track that could make our original identity fully revealed. But if we can reach the forgetting-self realm, even we do not consider ourselves as Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, plus the ingenious changes in our body shape, there wont be any w; who can see through? Only if we disregard sess or failure, no worry in our hearts, we will definitely be sessful. Finally Xu Ziling nodded and said, What you said is not without any reason, but at most, I have only 50% confidence. Kou Zhong spoke happily, Its so decided then, his grannys bear, Taihang Shuang Jie are here! Xu Ziling blurted outughing, he said, You, this kid, are still acting like the rascal who drifted along in Yangzhou in the past. Kou Zhong said, There is one more thing I want to discuss with you. Our Furong Yes Zhen Guan Banks head office, which fine time, lucky day [idiom: good opportunity] should we hold the opening ceremony? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, The auspicious day of grand opening must be not too far away from the day of the uprising, maybe around ten days, eight days, so that we can have more time to lure Xiang Gui out and fully grasp the Xiang Familys movements. Kou Zhong said, In that case, tentatively, it will be in the second or third month. Lets Song ErGe select an auspicious date and report to Li Yuan. At that time, our people should also be seventy, eighty-percent arrive. Xu Ziling said, In order to make things easier, we must set up a base for our operations, so that during the uprising, we can act quickly. Kou Zhong said, This matter, it would be best if a group of men and horses other than either us or Qin Wang take care of it, Huang He Bang should be an ideal candidate; they once owned Shang Lin Yuan, naturally they have widework of rtions with the people in Changan, plus a lot of real estate properties. Lets clear this matter up when Lei Dagees back. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, Its time for Ji Qian toe back, we will have the addition of Yin Xianhe, this capable helper. Kou Zhong agreed, he said, I will ask Xiao Jie to handle it right away. Ay! What should we do with our brother Tuli? Why is he so stupid? Could it be that he does not know that Xieli is a person who, after crossing the bridge he would pull the board? When Xieli seeds in controlling the overall situation, he would turn his spearhead to deal with him. Tuli supports Xieli like this, he is dragging our Shiwei and Huihe brothers down into this muddled water, making things even more difficult for us. Xu Ziling spoke heavily, The key lies in Bi Xuan. If Lao Ba can defeat Bi Xuan, he would burst the myth of Bi Xuans invincibility, then Tuli will no longer have to look at Xielis face; he could even form an alliance with our Central Earth, hence the crisis will be resolved by itself. Kou Zhong said, I have been amander-in-chief, in this aspect, I have a bit more insight than you. If Tuli marches his army over a thousand mountains and ten-thousand rivers to go down south, he would never want to retreat without sess. Even if he looks at the old sentiments, the tribal chiefs under hismand would never want to let the matter drop; in turn, it will affect his decision. Therefore, the only way is to use both gentle methods and force, to make Tuli sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat [idiom], so that while maintaining beautiful friendship with us, he will be able to step down the stage. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I understand! Therefore, what we are pursuing is not a war that spreads across the whole country, but a decisive coup detat that is limited to a certain area at a certain time, destroying the forces that oppose Qin Wangs ascension to the throne in one fell swoop. After the goal is clear, we will stride forward until we seed. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Since leaving Yangzhou, we seem to have never tried such a totally-without-disagreement working together with one mind, striving in the same direction. Ha! I am so happy that I want to sing loudly in public. Xu Ziling said, Last nights first artillery shell broke the tightly-closed situation, the initiative is back to our hands. Lets meet in Meirener Junshis mansionter! Kou Zhongughed and said, This meal is on me, to celebrate I dont have to be the pain-in-the-butt emperor, let Li kid do everything for me. Such a life, what is there to regret? The two were about to pay the bill and leave, Song Shidaos Shen Wenjiang climbed up the stairs and walked towards them with grave expression. foxswuxia.wordpress The two boys cried Not good! inwardly. What could make the usually calm and collected, clear-headed Song Shidao to disregard everything toe looking for them? Book 59: 4: Troop Disposition Greatly Shaken

Book 59: Chapter 4: Troop Disposition Greatly Shaken

Under the two boys gaze, Song Shidao spoke heavily, I have a very bad news, but first of all, you must stay calm. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings scalp went numb, they looked at each other in dismay, unable to speak. Song Shidao swept his gaze around; although seeing that several tables nearby were without any diners, he still lowered his voice and said, Feng Deyi came to look for you just now, and I met him. He said that this morning Li Yuan summoned him into the pce for a private meeting. He thought that Li Yuan wanted to talk about the big explosion in the East Pcest night, it was only after he noticed that Wang Tong was present that he realized this must be an unusual matter. Participating in the meeting was Pei Ji as well, and in his opening remarks Li Yuan solemnly stated that the content of the discussion must not be leaked outside; clearly the situation is serious. The two boys hearts sank straight down, knowing that the news was bad, worse than what they had imagined when they first heard it. Song Shidao said, You do know Wang Tong, dont you? His throat suddenly turned unbearably bitter, Kou Zhong nodded and said, We have had predestined affinity to see him once, he is the most prestigious great schr in the present age, I just never thought that he is Li Yuans close friend. Song Shidao said, Wang Tong and Li Yuans friendly rtions went very deep, this time he specially came to Changan this time to tell Li Yuan that Li Shimin had secretly met with you, he even decided to surrender to you and betray his family. Even if Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling had the Mount-Tai-copsing-in-front-of-their-eyes-their-countenance-did-not-change calmness, this moment, as they heard what was said, they were severely shaken and their countenance changed. The sess and effortless aplishment ofst night was swept clean, in its ce was a terrifying nightmare as if they were sinking into ten-thousand-fathom abyss, all their great efforts since entering Changan had flowed down the drain, leaving a nk in their head, theypletely lost the ability to think. foxswuxia.wordpress How could Wang Tong, someone who waspletely without any rtion to this matter, know their biggest and most critical secret? Kou Zhongs face turning deathly gray, he groaned, This is impossible. Only people we can trust are in the know of this matter. How can it leak out, plus Wang Tong find out about it? Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling said, What is Li Yuan going to do to punish Li Shimin? Song Shidao said, Li Yuan is extremely furious, he wanted to go to Luoyang and execute Li Shimin himself. Fortunately, after Pei Ji and Feng Deyi thoroughlyid out the pros and cons, he calmed down and decided not to make any word or movement for the time being. When Li Shimines back, he will immediately seize his military authority, and then settle the ounts with him. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, The only feasible n right now is for us to try to inform and help evacuate Li Shimin, as well as the rtives and families of the officers and soldiers under hismand, and it must be aplished in one or two nights. And then Li Shimin, with our support, raise his troops and proim independence in Luoyang Cutting him off, Song Shidao said, That is the reason I said that we must stay calm. Your proposal is not feasible at all. Li Yuan already ordered to closely monitor Li Shimin and his principal high-ranking military officers family members and rtives and observe their movements. This is the city of Changan, we cant act blindly without thinking. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, This matter emerged too abruptly, the two of us became agitated, what good suggestion does Song ErGe have? Song Shidaos pair of eyes emitted a hard-to-understandplicated look, he said, We must first solve the most important doubts and suspicions. Where did Wang Tongs informatione from? Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, Theres no way to guess it. Shaking his head, Song Shidao said, Just from the fact that the information itself has leaked out, you can obtain clues; it is obviously targeted at Li Shimin. Otherwise, theres a great chance that it would also point out that you have arrived in Changan. Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook, he said, That makes sense; in that case it shouldnt have been leaked by my Shao Shuai Army brother. And in fact, it was not Li Shimin who surrendered to us, but we are supporting him to ascend to the throne. Xu Ziling asked, Did Wang Tong mention that we went to Lingnan with Li Shimin to see Song Fazhu? Song Shidao shook his head dejectedly. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you look at me I gazed at you, a peculiar feeling welled up in their heart. Looking at Song Shidaos expression, he ought to know the person who has leaked the secret, plus that person must be rted to the Song Family. Shidao Song said with difficulty, It should be ErShu [second uncle] who told Wang Tong. Unexpectedly, it was Song Zhi. The two boys were dumbstruck and unable to reply. Song Shidao sighed and said, I have always wondered why ErShu was willing to easily agreed to support Li Shimins decision? This moment naturally I can think that he has another reason behind it. He has always been in the pro-war faction, hoping that our Song Family can lord over the world. This scheme of his is extremely ruthless, since the one telling him was Wang Tong, without any evidence, Li Yuan would readily believe firmly without any doubt, much less if he could confirm it to be true? If Li Shimin is killed, Shao Shuai Army would have no choice but to continue to work hard for our Song Family, to help the Song Family aplishing the task of establishing and maintaining hegemony. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were dumbstruck, musing inwardly that one wrong word, the entire tray would fall off the floor. The only constion was that they learned about this matter before Li Shimin was executed by his father, only too bad they were still unable to do anything about it. Song Shidao recovered his cool-headedness, he spoke heavily, Gaining the initiative by striking first, movingter to control others. At present, the only feasible solution is to simply expose the matter, to make Li Yuan unable to charge Li Shimin with the capital offense of deceiving the emperor andmitting treason. Do you guys understand what Im talking about? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Its like my head is turning into a rock, without the slightest ability to work. Song Shidao exined, We have the control over what to speak, but it must be within reason. Fortunately, we have Feng Deyi to respond to us from the inside, so we can find out about Li Yuans reaction one step ahead. Turning to Xu Ziling he said, Ziling must go to see Li Shimin immediately, ask him to write a secret letter, to gain the initiative by striking first, by telling Li Yuan that he and you guys had reached a secret agreement, deciding to join hands to deal with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall on the verge of pressing down on our territory, and then divide up the world. This kind of alliances is amon matter in nearly thesest dozens of years, it is purely a matter of need in terms of strategy and situation. As for the course of events and the details, the phrasing and the degree of seriousness, let Ziling and Qin Wang deliberate. The matter should not be dyed, Ziling must set off immediately. Hearing that Kou Zhong was greatly excited, his spirit recovered, he nodded and said, Since we have fifty thousand taels of gold on the way, Ziling leaving Changan to check on it should be a matter of course. foxswuxia.wordpress Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Your ErShu problem, how are we going to deal with it? Letting out a cold humph, Song Shidao said, This matter concerns themon people under the heavens, there is no favor to speak of. I will send someone to notify SanShu [third uncle], Die will definitely handle it properly, I guarantee he will not leak any secrets anymore. Kou Zhong said, Could it be that Zhi Shu does not know that Feng Deyi is our man? Song Shidao replied, He is far away in Lingnan, so he is not aware of personnel rtions and the changes of the situation in Changan, furthermore, he did not expect that Li Yuan would call on Feng Deyi to discuss the matter and contrary to his expectation, avoided Jiancheng and Yuanji. Perhaps the explosionst night has some merit, making Li Yuan has an ill-feeling toward Jiancheng. However, this matter also shifts Li Yuans attention, so that he has no time to think about punishing Jiancheng. Xu Ziling stood up and said, The matter should not be dyed, we will act ording to n immediately. When Kou Zhong left the Dong Da Si, his feeling was sky-earth, cloud-mud different from this morning. He already ordered Zha Jie to cease all surveince activities on He Chang Long, until he could figure out whether they should withdraw from Changan immediately. Fortunately, the secret of the Duke Yangs treasure-house had not leaked. Otherwise, apart from raising his troops and proim independence outside the Pass, Li Shimin had no other choice. However, the upper-hand advantage grasping the initiative has beenpletely swept away, all the originally like seamless heavenly clothes deployment has been thrown in great chaos. Presently, the two most troublesome issues were Shi Zhixuan and the Xiang ns family of crime. If the former knew that he had been deceived, his reaction would be hard to fathom, the n to work together to assassinate Zhao Deyan would cease to be mentioned even more; could it be that while they were talking about making truce with the House of Tang and resist foreign enemies together, they would also create havoc in the Imperial Pce, killing and burning? As for Xiang Gui, if he knew that they made peace with Li Yuan, he would most likely leave Changan, this dangerous ce, as a security measure. When Li Yuan received Li Shimins gaining-the-initiative-by-striking-first letter, how would he react? He did not wish to guess, he was only certain that Li Yuan would issue strict order for Li Shimin to return to the capital immediately to exin in person. And that would be the most floating-in-the-wind, hard-to-fathom moment for Li Shimins little life. foxswuxia.wordpress Ay! How did matters turn into this plight? Wei Zheng was nearly half-a-hundred years old, he appeared to be in a good shape, without the slightest bit of old and frail look, his waist and back were exceptionally straight, his demeanor dignified, of a medium build, his slender face was matched with a pair of ears with big earlobe, his two eyes spirited, wise and farsighted, but carried a slight mncholy expression, so that people feel that he was the kind of schrly man who did not fear authority, while bemoaning the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind. When Kou Zhong arrived, before he had a chance to speak, Shen Luoyan already took him to the study room to meet with Wei Zheng. Before entering the study room, Kou Zhong took off his mask. He grabbed the standing-up-to-greet-him Wei Zhengs both hands, four eyes met, there was quite an amiable feeling that everything was already in his heart, as if he had met an old friend. Standing on the side, Shen Luoyan said, Wei Daren already knows clearly the rise and fall of the terrain of the whole thing, you both can speak without any worry. Kou Zhong originally wanted to ask about Li Jianchengs reaction to the big explosion the most, but this mood had already disappeared without any trace. Compared with the problem of Li Shimin confronting life and death crisis, everything else was irrelevant. Wei Zheng spoke in his deep, baritone voice, Shaoshuai is indeed an extraordinary person. Only an extraordinary person can do extraordinary things. Wei Zheng admires you that I prostrate myself in admiration. And then his two eyes turned red, he spoke in grief, Truth to tell, that day it was me who strongly advised Mi Gong to surrender and pay allegiance to the Li Tang, yet he ended up like this, Wei Zheng has to bear the me. Kou Zhong secretly thought that this was the real main reason for Wei Zhengs dissatisfaction with Li Yuan. Li Yuans killing of Li Mi was indeed an unforgivable mistake. He said, Lets sit down and talk. Kou Zhong had always held the believe that he would not suspect people that he employed, and would not employ people that he suspected. He believed that Wei Zheng was a person with loyal liver and righteous guts. He briefly exined the situation, without concealing the problem that Li Yuan learned from Wang Tong that there was a secret agreement between them and Li Shimin. Shen Luoyans countenance changed, she asked, Where did this informatione from? Kou Zhong exined everything clearly, including Song Shidaos gaining the initiative by striking first strategy. foxswuxia.wordpress Wei Zhengs pair of eyes shing with the brilliant rays of light of wisdom, he spoke in calm and collected manner, Shaoshuai, no need to worry, this strategy to restrain people will take effect. Because from Jiancheng Taizi, I know that before Qin Wang went to go into battle against Liu Heita this time, in a military meeting inside the inner courtyard, which Huangshang presided, with limited attendance of only a few trusted aides and cab ministers, including Qin Wang, Taizi and Qi Wang, Huangshang asked about a way to deal with Xieli amassingrge forces north of the border. At that time, Qin Wang suggested that as long as Shaoshuai is willing to temporarilyy down the weapons of war, the danger of Xielis coalition forces will be resolved on its own. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, Unexpectedly there is such matter. Its absolutely true, Wei Zheng said, Afterwards, because of this, Taizi wrote a letter, which he sent via Yin De Fei, in which he suggested to Huangshang that Qin Wang still has friendly rtionship with you, so that in the Battle of Luoyang he deliberately let you go. Shen Luoyan asked, At that time, what did Huangshang say? Wei Zheng replied, Huangshang asked Qin Wang, our Great Tang and Shao Shuai Army, the two cannot exist together, Shao Shuai Army will only seize the opportunity to rise in revolt, how could it end beautifully? Qin Wangs reply was that he knows clearly Shaoshuai and Xu Zilings behavior and how they conduct themselves, they cant possibly disregard the Central Earths overall situation, men who only seek personal gain. Therefore, persuading Shaoshuai to be willing to temporarilyy down the weapons of war is not impossible. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This matter has both advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantage is that it strengthens Li Yuans belief that Qin Wang will betray the family. The biggest problem is that Qin Wang did not ask for his permission beforehand. Knitting her brows, Shen Luoyan asked, After hearing that, how did Huangshang react to Qin Wang? Wei Zheng replied, Huangshang declined toment, but Taizi, Qi Wang, and Pei Ji raised their voices together to object on different grounds. In the end the matter was settled by leaving it unsettled. pping the small side table, Kou Zhong said, That will do! No, it wont! I have to rush to Luoyang immediately to warn them. Wei Zheng smiled and said, Shaoshuai need not make this journey, Qin Wang is the person involved, he has deep knowledge of Li Yuans likes and dislikes, he knows the degree of seriousness of putting pen to paper. Shen Luoyan said, If Li Shentong is willing to stand on our side, he could speak a few good words to help Qin Wang, he should be able to resolve this matter. Wei Zheng nodded and said, What Huangshang is most worried about right now is not the Shao Shuai Army or even Song Que, but the assembling-in-unprecedented-military-strength-north-of-the-border allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. If Qin Wang is executed, there wont be any buffer against you, Shaoshuai; its not something that a sage would choose. foxswuxia.wordpress After a short pause, he continued, Does Shaoshuai know that in order to avoid the Tujues Wolf Army, there has been some discussion in the imperial court about moving the capital recently? What? Kou Zhong blurted out, This is not a joke? Where are they going to move to? Wei Zheng replied, The proposal was raised by Pei Ji, and Taizi supported it. As for where to, it has not been decided. I strongly opposed it, but it only invited Taizis harsh reprimand, which made my enthusiasm came to an end, I even thought about retiring and going back to my hometown [orig. announcing old age and returning to the field/farm]. Ay! Since the rise of the Great Tang, it has been without equal, if because of the hu [barbarian] bandits disturbing the border unexpectedly the capital is moved to avoid it, hoping that the hu bandits would not dare to prate deeply and thus sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat, this idea is simply too naive and preposterous. Furthermore, it would present shame from the four seas, bing a matter for ridicule of the hundred generations. Such a figure, how could it be the good tree that the birds would choose to perch? If Shaoshuai hade out earlier, Wei Zheng would definitely surrender to Shaoshuai. Among Li Yuans sons, only Shimin, one person is worth having, this has been decreed from above. Kou Zhongs brains brightened up. Turned out Li Yuan was this afraid of the Tujue, no wonder he invited Bi Xuan to express his goodwill. Is there any news from Gongzhu? he asked Shen Luoyan. Shaking her head, Shen Luoyan replied, But I am going to the pceter to see her. Kou Zhong let out a long, long sigh, he said, Temporarily we are not going to do anything, lets use no-change to deal with ten-thousand changes. Returning to the Situ Mansion, Kou Zhong found that troubles wereing one after another. Having just went out to see the Huang He Bangs Gang Leader, the Great Roc Tao Guangzu, Lei Jiuzhi had just returned. He was in a secret deliberation with Song Shidao inside the inner hall, his expression grave. Ren Juns Furong Ye was left alone in the main hall, to deal with men and horses of various ways in Changan who wanted to negotiate and invest, ranging from wealthy businessmen to the leaders of gangs and societies; all kind of styles were present. Kou Zhong had not yet settled in his seat, Lei Jiuzhi went straight to the point, What do we do? Tao Guangzu has officially issued written war challenge, he has agreed for a grand battle on the gambling table against Chi Shengchun, with Da Xian Hu Fo as the witness. Both parties can send representatives to enter the arena, Chi Shengchun already gave his nod of agreement. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Is it possible to dy it for two days? Shaking his head, Lei Jiuzhi said, Gamblers speak about a promise worth one thousand in gold, how can we dy it for no reason? Could it be that we tell him that our representative is traveling outside and has not returned? Song Shidao asked, Did they talk about the form of the gambling? Lei Jiuzhi spoke in distress, The one issuing the written war challenge was us; ording to casino rules, the other party has the right to choose the gambling method. foxswuxia.wordpress Puzzled, Kou Zhong asked, Ling Shao is just the apprentice, why not let the Shifu go down the arena himself? Lei Jiuzhi was slightly startled, it was quite half a dayter that he spoke dejectedly, Im afraid to lose Lao Taos familial property. Kou Zhongughed and said, So what if you lose? The most important thing for us is to draw Xiang Gui out; another day our Li kid will ascend to the throne, the Yellow River will still be Lao Taos world. Lei Jiuzhis countenance turned pale, he sighed and said, I am even more afraid that I wont be able to withstand the blow of another crushing defeat. Song Shidao and Kou Zhong you look at me I look at you, only then did they realize that Lei Jiuzhi had fallen head first in Xiang Guis, who was equally famous with him - hands; momentarily they did not know what to say. Kou Zhong suddenlyughed aloud and said, How could Lei Dage not have the guts like this? His Niangs! I think that no matter what, Lei Dage will have to go down the arena and pit yourself against Xiang Gui again, and tell Tao Guangzu to leak out the news that you will be his representative. Then Xiang Gui will definitely go out in person and would not dare to neglect. Frowning, Song Shidao said, Xiang Yushan is very clear that Lei Dage is our man, will there be any problems? Lei Jiuzhi said, This aspect, there wont be any problem instead. Jianghu has the Jianghu rules, not to mention that this time the gambling party will be held on arge boat at the mouth of the Great River outside Changan. Even if the government officials wanted to control it, they simply cant. Kou Zhong spoke decisively, Well do it this way. Lei Dage, the day to restore your prestige hase! After obtaining the saber, forget the saber. After obtaining the bet, naturally you have to forget the bet. Although as for the oue it is difficult to avoid victory or defeat, but in the course of events, there is no desire for victory or defeat. Just consider it as ying a game of polo! foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling stood at the bow of the ship, different thoughts were surging in his mind. The boat he was riding on was medium-sized fast boat, operated by the brothers of the original Shuanglong Bang who were familiar with the water characteristic of the Yellow River, it sailed speedily with the current towards Luoyang. On both banks of the river, the ice and snow began to melt, the severe winter seemed to be waving goodbye, soon the mother earth would return to the beautiful scenery of lush green everywhere in the wilderness. Song Zhis crafty scheme brought about potentially fatal blows and harms to their grand n. Whether they would be able to cope was still unknown, and dealing with Shi Zhixuan suddenly became a burning-their-eyebrows urgent matter. No matter how good of a reason Kou Zhong presented, dragging the stand-aloof-from-worldly-affairs Shi Qingxuan into this matter was really not something that he wished for. His only regret was that there was simply no alternative, he was hoping that asking her to y a song for his father would not make things difficult for her too much. Every time they dealt with Shi Zhixuan, they ended up abandoning their soldiers and dragging their armor, fleeing with their plumed spears; if only this time would be the only exception. Going into the Great Tang pce to assassinate the not-worth-to-be-pitied Zhao Deyan was having a huge attractive force to both he and Kou Zhong, yet now they could only watch this matter fizzle out with nk stare; they even had to get rid of Shi Zhixuan, this major trouble, before Shi Zhixuan found out about it. This alone has taught him that sess or failure in the future was hard to fathom, and he and Kou Zhong no longer have the slightest assurance of victory. Shi Feixuans immortal countenance floated into appearance in his heart. Where would Yi Ren [(literary) that person (usually female)] be? Thinking of her, a touching warm and hard to describe feeling welled up in his heart, what happened between him and her would always be hidden deep in his heart, it would never be forgotten. The river breeze whispered, the sailboat, like a galloping horse, set out toward Luoyang. Just like their current situation, it could only ovee all obstacles and brave the waves to forge ahead, hoping that one day it would arrive at its destination. Book 59: 5: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

Book 59: Chapter 5: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

At the crack of dawn. Inside the council chamber of the Luoyang Citys Imperial Pce, finished listening to the bad news that Xu Ziling brought, Li Shimins expression looked extraordinarily tranquil, only the refined light in his pair of eyes flickered, showing the true color of amander-in-chief facing the enemys magnificent army with thousands of men and horses on the battlefield, not showing the slightest bit of fear. After thinking deeply for half a day, Li Shimin spoke heavily, Before going into battle this time, with Fuhuang presiding, I have had a meeting with Taizi and Qi Wang. I proposed the strategy of forming an alliance with Shaoshuai to resist the Wolf Army. Fuhuang was quite moved, but Taizi snorted disdainfully; instead, he proposed to establish friendly rtions with the Tujue. Inviting Bi Xuan to Changan was the haste decision made at that time with Pei Ji and Qi Wang pushing the wave and adding to the billows. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Since the Tujue already showed clearly that they intend to invade the south, how could Jiancheng be sure that Bi Xuan would be willing to ept the invitation ande? Smiling wryly, Li Shimin replied, In this, Zhao Deyan must be the one threading the needle, their target was obviously me. At that time, Taizi suggested that the reason the Tujue intending to invade was the Central Earths young men and women, jade and silk; if we negotiate terms with Bi Xuan and satisfy Xielis requests, Xieli would dispel his intention of going south. This is just lunatic ravings. What is even more preposterous is that if the Tujue really go down south, the proposal to move the capital to avoid it was submitted by Taizi himself. Xu Ziling did not understand, he asked, How could Jiancheng dare to speak out about Zhao Deyan threading the needle and things like that? What I want to know is what made Jiancheng think that he could persuade lingzun [your esteemed father] to believe that Bi Xuan would really be willing to ept the invitation? foxswuxia.wordpress Li Shimin replied, The reason for his high-sounding reason is that Bi Xuan is very interested in meeting with Fu Cailin. In the battle of Longquan, Gaoli and Tujue pit themselves against each other in secret through Bai Ziting, with Gaoli fell in the inferior position. If Bi Xuan could overpower Fu Cailin in martial arts, the damage to Gaoli will be even harder to estimate, therefore, Bi Xuan should not want to miss this opportunity. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Could it be that Jiancheng never think that no matter how the situation develops, Xielis invasion to the south is already like an arrow on the bow, it cannot but to be released. Li Shimin said, What Taizi is most afraid of is not the Tujue, rather, he is afraid that on the outside, I would build a name by being entrusted to resist the Wolf Army, and in the inside, I would want to be in full control of the military power; hence the reason he advocates the policy of concession to the Tujue. Xu Ziling still did not understand, he said, Lingzun came from a family of generals, he is well versed in the art of war; he should have his own view, he cant possibly be easily influenced by other people. Li Shimin spoke dejectedly, Since taking Changan and ascending to the throne to be the emperor, Fuhuang has changed a lot. To put it simply, his guts has be smaller, he only wishes to keep everything currently in his possession. In the world, the only thing that can scare him on the battlefield is Song Que and Xieli, two men, and thetter is particrly worrying because he ispletely without any scruple, and his destructive power is strong. As long as Xieli is willing to cease the weapons of war, I believe he is willing to pay any price. Xu Ziling spoke cheerfully, In that case, it will work! Greatly astonished, Li Shimin said, Unexpectedly under these circumstance Ziling is able to think of a way to cope? Actually, if I concealed from Fuhuang that I have been in contact with you, I would actuallymit the crime of deceiving the lord; it is not something that a gaining-the-initiative-by-striking-first piece of correspondence could muddle this matter through. Xu Ziling said, I have a n that can kill two birds with one stone. No matter how Lingzun is of no use, after all, he had once led soldiers on military expeditions, he is a man used to see the big picture; he ought to know that the only way to repel Xieli is to form an alliance between the Great Tang Army and the Shao Shuai Army. Therefore, as long as we have an urate and credible method to first deal with the threat of the coalition forces from outside the Great Wall, I guarantee that Lingzun will ignore Jiancheng and Yuanjis opposition, and ept your proposal. Greatly delighted, Li Shimin said, Ziling, please speak. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Supposing Kou Zhong is willing toe to Changan in person, making a gesture to negotiate armistice with lingzun, dering to Xieli that the Great Tang Army and the Shao Shuai Army have joined forces and form a single line to deal with his invasion, how could Xieli dare to go south? Besides, because within the allied armies beyond the Great Wall there is nock of brothers who had been through trials and tribtions, fighting side by side with Kou Zhong, such as Tuli and the Gunatai brothers, it could sway the coalition forces from beyond the Great Walls soldiers heart and ten airs; if lingzun is really willing to pay any price to resist the Wolf Army, how could he refuse? foxswuxia.wordpress Knitting his brows, Li Shimin said, Although your proposal may seem bold yet could be considered feasible, but apparently I should not propose it in the letter. Xu Ziling said, What if the proposal ising from Feng Deyi or Li Shentong? It could also point out that this is the proof of Kou Zhongs sincerity. And what is the other bird? Li Shimin asked. Xu Ziling replied, Naturally its Jiancheng and Yuanji. Their grand n to assassinate you midway by borrowing the Western Tujue people has already fizzled out, so they are forced to pit themselves against us in Changan. At present, seeing you openly joining hands with us, they have no choice but to stake all on one throw, to exhaust everything they have to scheme to destroy us in one fell swoop. This n will not only halt lingzuns action against your guilt of deceiving the lord, but will alsopel Jiancheng, Yuanji to strike back first. One move, two gains. Li Shimin stared at him for quite half a day, he stretched out his hand to grab his and said, My letter will be delivered directly to Fuhuang in the afternoon on the day after tomorrow. Ziling think there is enough time to deploy everything properly? Xu Ziling said. I will rush back immediately, should arrive in Changan the day after tomorrow, and will put everything in order unhurriedly. I hope Kou Zhong will have sessfully persuaded Li Shentong by then, it will be surefire. Li Shimin said, Wang Shu [Uncle King] is a man who understands reason. Not only does he have deep understanding of my conduct, he is also very clear about what kind of two men Kou Zhong and you, Xu Ziling are; he should how to choose. Knock! Knock! Knock! Ten-million times unwilling, Kou Zhong sat up from the bed, he shouted, Xibai, pleasee in? You came back so early, you did not sleepst night? Hou Xibai bored through the hall and entered the room in an elegant and unrestrained manner, sat down on the edge of the bed, and said with augh, You, LaoGe not only has formidable ears, but your alertness is also very high, you can tell over a distance that it was Xiaodi. Kou Zhong looked at him carefully, he spoke cheerfully, Congrattions, you, this kid, are full of vigor and looking radiant, obviously, in your cultivation, the benefit you derived was not shallow. His bosom filled with emotional stirring, Hou Xibai said, The past few days were like the former days of being with Shi Shi havee back. He has been more loving and caring for me, in every possible way - than before, so that Xiaodi was overwhelmed by favor from superior. Now, I am preserving and nurturing my spirit, I must somewhat unburden myself; is there any task that can be assigned to me to exercise my muscles and bones? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong tore off the quilt, he sat beside him on the edge of the bed, and said with augh, I can even make you busy to your death! But I want to understand one thing clearly first. In the past few days, Lao Shi has overdosed you with supplementary medicine, was it because he wanted you to put that beast, Yang Xuyan in order? Shrugging his shoulders, Hou Xibai said: He did not mention Yang Xuyan even for half a sentence. Honestly, I really cannot guess Shi Shis intentions, so much so that whether he is happy or angry, I cannot grasp it either. Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, For thest couple of days, Ziling and I have been thinking hard about ways to deal with lingshi [your esteemed master]; how could we make him to pull back obediently without needing to determine life or death with him? In the end, we still think of asking Qingxuan to go down the arena. As for how to put it into practice, we are still thinking about it. Astonished, Hou Xibai said, Arent we going to help him to assassinate Zhao Deyan? Cant we think about other thingster? Kou Zhong said, This matter, start exining and it is a long story, because things have changed. Right now, I have to rush to the Imperial Pce for duty. You take a good rest first, tonight, you will be responsible for following Xiang Guis track, I will have a secret meeting with Li Shentong. As for the details, ask Lei Dage, you will understand everything clearly. When Xu Ziling returned to the Situ Mansion, Kou Zhong was eating breakfast; apanying him were Ren Jun and Tongtong. Worrying about personal gains and losses, Kou Zhong asked, Whats the situation? Xu Ziling sat down across the table from him, with Tongtong and Ren Jun waiting upon him; he smiled and said, Everything is ready, all we need is an east wind [idiom:cking only one tiny crucial item]. Kou Zhong signaled Ren Juns Furong Ye with his eyes, being tactful, Ren Jun happily led Tongtong withdrawing from the inner hall. Xu Ziling asked in astonishment, Where are the others? Kou Zhong replied, Lei Dage went to a boat on the Yellow Riverst night to contend for supremacy, to determine victory against an expert in the gambling world, who might be Xiang Gui, to see if he can win back Shang Lin Yuan? Although the Huang He Bangs martial art masters the whole nest came out to protect him, I still feel a little worried, so I asked Song ErGe, Zha Jie and a group of brothers to protect him in the dark. Xiao Hou is responsible for tracking Xiang Gui. His grannys bear! What good news do you have? The east wind that iscking, what egg is that? [Note: ording to dictionary, this egg business is a cussing word, probably Hollywood would trante it as what the f* is that?] Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Getting up early in the morning, can you not speak using such a vulgar, dirtying-the-ears words? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong said, I was over-excited. Last night, I chatted with Li Shentong, we have an affinity with each other. Turns out all along he always had the heart to help Li kid, only because of the unfavorable situation, he hid it in his heart. Greatly delighted, Xu Ziling said, That east wind ising! And then he narrated the contingency n that he had discussed with Li Shimin. Finally he concluded, Our Taihang Shuang Jie muste up with a way to get away, to be reced by Yangzhou Shuang Long [twin dragons]ing back ostentatiously, but without making people suspect our Furong Ye. By returning to our identity like this, we could avoid the risk of being exposed. Kou Zhong was speechless. He said, You are more extremely daring than me. This is akin to delivering a big gift so that for no reason at all, those who want to kill us will get a once-in-a-thousand-years golden opportunity. If Li Yuan hardened his heart, he might as well kill us and Li kid together during the state banquet to wee the guests in the Imperial Pce. From our left and right, each side there will be five hundred saber and axe wielders pouncing together, how are we going to deal with it? Xu Ziling calmly said, Li Yuan would not be that stupid, because he could not afford the price. At that time, not only the whole country in rebellion, but Li Tang would also be internally unstable. At the first opportunity, the Tujue would go down south, Tuli and the others would make a ruckus about punishing the Tang to avenge us. Besides, who would dare to say that ten grabs, nine stables [in the bag, sess is guaranteed] they have the confidence to hold us back? Dont forget that within those people who are following us back to Changan, there are Lao Ba, Lao Hou, and Lao Yin, the three major martial art masters; how could we be easy to push around? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, It makes sense! It makes sense! No need to wear a mask to walk through the street, it is already the vast and might benevolence from the emperor. His grannys bear, let us separately notify Li Shentong and Feng Deyi, so that they will have a share in exerting themselves to help achieve the fine thing. Hey? You are back! His face dark, Lei Jiuzhi entered the inner hall and sat down. The two boys cried inwardly, Not good! They had no choice but to personally pour the tea and wait upon him, while looking at his countenance to decipher his mood. Lei Jiuzhi shook his head and said, Wine! Kou Zhong consoled him, Momentary gains and losses, no need to take it to heart. Later on we will surely be able to recoup both the principal and interest, why use wine to drown your sorrows? Xu Ziling asked, Did Xiang Gui go down the arena himself? Lei Jiuzhi nodded. Suddenly he let out his weirdughter, amidst theughter, he choked with tears. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other in dismay, wondering inwardly if he was unable to bear another devastating setback at the gambling table, he lost and went insane? Lei Jiuzhi shouted loudly, Who said I lost! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling returned only a nk stare. foxswuxia.wordpress Lei Jiuzhi revealed an unprecedented brilliant smile, he even pretended to be tranquil and calm as he said, His Niangs! Xiang Gui thought that in listening to the dice, I could not match him, who could have thought that I just learn the Wang Du Da Fa [great method of forgetting the bet], and beat him that his face turned green, his lips white? Not only did he lose back Shang Lin Yuans one hundred thousand taels of gold, he also lost seventy-thousand taels more. I want wine not to drown my sorrow, but to celebrate the restoration of my glory. From now on, the Nan Lei Bei Xiang [Southern Thunder, Northern Fragrance, reminder: Lei - thunder, Xiang - fragrant, in Book 26 Chapter 5, it was Bei Lei Nan Xiang], only Southern Thunder remains, no more Northern Fragrance. His Niangs! Wouldnt you guys say we should drink for the victory? Naturally Li Yuan was not in the mood to y polo, and Kou and Xu, two men were in charge of training the polo rookies, but since Li Yuan must personally select the yers from among the Imperial Guards, when the emperor did not have time, naturally it was difficult to establish the team. In high spirits, the two boys asked Cheng Mo to be permitted to leave the pce. Cheng Mo did not dare to offend these two favorites of the emperor; even though he felt that the two boys demands were a bit excessive, he was still willing to let them go. They had just stepped into the traversing public square, Qiao Gongshan and Er Wenhuan spurred their horses to catch up, they cupped their fist from a distance to greet them. Noticing Er Wenhuans with-spirit-without-air countenance, Kou Zhong knew that he had not yet recovered from Ba Fenghans torture. Pretending to greet Er Wenhuan with meaningful and heartfelt words, he said, Er Daren is a hero, the problem is: being a hero, naturally you cannot pass the beauty barrier. However, your body is the most important thing; without a good body, how could you be a hero? Inwardly, Xu Ziling was amused; furthermore, he knew that Kou Zhong was in a fine mood, using y on words to tease Er Wenhuan with words, so that he did not know whether tough or cry, yet clearly he could not me Kou Zhong. Er Wenhuan was slightly startled; he looked at Qiao Gongshan, smiled bitterly, and said, Qiao Daren, you betray me! How could you dere such a scandal to the world? Qiao Gongshan smiled and said, We are all brothers! Human way [euphemism for sexual intercourse] getting up to mischief is also romantic, absolutely not a scandal. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement and said, True! Maybe it should be called a glorious record. Xu Ziling could not help smiling, Qiao and Er, two men exploded inughter even more, because the way Kou Zhong said it was very amusing. Gasping for breath, Er Wenhuan said, His grannys! But my glorious record is a bit demonic; could it be called a sessful way [see above]? While saying thest sentence, his pale face showed a look of uncertainty. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling cried inwardly, Not good!. If he remembered that the torture was carried out by Kou and Ba, two men, their big operation would go bad. Kou Zhong hurriedly said, How about finding a ce outside the pce to have a drink and a chat? Xu Ziling knew that his murderous intent was aroused; he sighed inwardly, realizing that this was their only choice. Qiao Gongshan roared inughter and said, Of course it was a sessful way, you sessfully have a way with that poniang [woman, derogatory]! Embarrassed, Er Wenhuan said, Qiao Daren doesnt know what is called to stop before going too far [idiom: dont overdo it]? Turning to the two boys, he said apologetically, We dont have time today, but we have made an appointment with Chi Ye; tonight, we are going to have some fun, nobodys allowed to go home before getting drunk. Well see you at Fu Ju Lou in the West Market at you hour [5-7pm]. Qing Guniang will also be there. Finished speaking, he turned around and galloped in the direction of the East Pce. The two boys secretly wiped the cold sweat from their forehead and hurriedly left the pce. Stepping into the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, Kou Zhong said, Nearly implicated by Lao Er that we will not be able to return to Changan upright and frank, luckily Lao Qiao interrupted. Affairs of life is really hard to foresee, who would ever thought that without needing to attack Changan, unexpectedly we cane back ostentatiously with our original identity and appearance. How about we take a stroll? Xu Ziling nodded in agreement. They took a stroll along the flourishing Vermillion Bird Boulevard, amidst endless stream of horses and carriages, unending passers-by, bustling with noise and excitement. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The n change; Shi Zhixuan is admittedly a difficult problem, but actually, a series of other problems arises one after another. I wonder if you have thought about it. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Shigong [martial grandpa] is definitely going to look for us to settle the ount. The decisive battle between Bi Xuan and Lao Ba might be happening sooner than nned. This kind of thing, the House of Tang will be unable to prevent, moreover, they must not get involved. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, Also, I can no longer avoid Shang Xiufang, ay! I really treated her unfairly. If there is a way I dont need to hurt her heart, no matter how difficult it is, I will try to do it. Heavens! How am I going to exin to her? Do you think Yuzhi will be willing to ept her? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, There is a very big difference between Shang Xiufang and Chuchu. First of all, you came across Chuchu before you met Yuzhi, plus there is a rtionship with Su Jie. Yuzhi only feels that you are a person with heavyradeship. But if you tell her that in your heart you also have Shang Xiufang, it might cause unpredictable damage to the rtionship between you and Yuzhi. It is a bit like repeating the situation between Song Que and Fan Qinghui. If Yuzhi knows that what she receives is not your entire love, the consequences will be hard to fathom. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong put his hand on Xu Zilings shoulder, he spoke in distress, Brother! I am in so much pain! I really dont know how to face Shang Xiufang. She is a good-looking and intelligent good woman, she also has bemoaning-the-state-of the-universe-and-pity-the-fate-of-mankind sentiments worthy of the greatest admiration. How could I bear to hurt her? Xu Ziling spoke in heavy voice, Do you believe in fate? Kou Zhong shook his head with nk expression, he said, I dont know! I really dont know! Oftentimes the bizarre and ingenious things of the world exceed all expectation, so much so that it is hard to believe; I have no definite answer. Xu Ziling said, Everything has no choice but to follow nature, to depend on Laotianyes arrangement. This way, your heart will be a bit morefortable. Kou Zhong said, There is still another person we have to confront, which is Ke Dazhi. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to distinguish between friends and enemies; it gives me a headache. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, No need to think too far, lets wait until Li Yuan make his decision and then well talk about it. Chi Shengchun now not only lost Shang Lin Yuan, but also lost a lot of money; he must be hard pressed for money, hence he has no choice but to take a risk out of desperation, and he will start with us, these two kids. Otherwise, why did he deploy Bai Qinger? Kou Zhong said, Tonight, Ling Shao is going to make your move, to make matters even worse for Chi Shengchun, to ruthlessly win a lot of money from him. I hope I could see a bit quicker his expression when he finds out that he wanted to steal chicken, but did not realize that the rice has been nibbled away. Xu Ziling said, Have you thought of a way to make Taihang Shuang Jie sessfully aplish their task and retreat? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If the track suddenly went missing, I am afraid it would raise suspicions; it will depend on whether Shi Zhixuan is going to expose us. When I went to see Liao Kong that day, he promised that he would notify Qingxuan, telling her that you, Ling Shao would like her to rush over to Changan immediately. But going there and back, I am afraid it will take ten days, eight days. How are we going to pacify Shi Zhixuan so that he wont be suspicious? Xu Ziling said, Dealing with Shi Zhixuan, I do not have the slightest bit of confidence. He wont believe any nonsense we are telling him. Kou Zhong said, Presently, the only thing that benefits us is that Shi Zhixuan had lost his eyes and ears, his spy inside the House of Tang imperial court. When Li Yuan announces that he invites us to Changan, he wille to his senses and realize that we have fooled him; therefore, we must deal with him before he realizes it. Otherwise, if he copied us, by writing on top of the walls, on the street corners - in big letters that Taihang Shuang Jie are Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling in disguise, we will be in trouble! Thinking deeply, Xu Ziling said, Lao Shi has changed a lot this time. Puzzled, Kou Zhong asked, What has changed a lot? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, Ever since he was listening to Qingxuans flute art from the side and stealing a nce at her face, I feel that Shi Zhixuan is no longer the same as the Shi Zhixuan before; as for the specific situation, I am unable to describe. So what then? Kou Zhong asked. Xu Ziling was silent for a moment, he said, Shi Zhixuan now does not have anything at all, the only thing he is relying upon is his exceptional demonic power. If we can break his Bu Si Yin Fa, I wonder if he would have the heart to withdraw from the fray and live in seclusion? Kou Zhong nodded and said, As long as we could make him unable to get away, while also unable to get rid of us, it would be tantamount to breaking his Bu Si Yin. Are you thinking of going all out against him before Qingxuanes? Now we all are getting along well, forcing him to a life-and-death decisive battle does not seem to be too appropriate. Xu Ziling said, Let me I think it over carefully. We have arrived at the South Gate! Lets go home! Book 59: 6: Picking Up a Flower, Subtle Smile

Book 59: Chapter 6: Picking Up a Flower, Subtle Smile

Back at the Situ Mansion, Fu Qian has been waiting respectfully in the inner hall. The two boys hurriedly went inside to meet him. Fu Qian was apanied by Song Shidao, drinking tea and chatting. When thetter saw the two boysing back, he took his leave to go to the main hall to help Ren Jun dealing with the guests. Actually, all of Ren Juns Situ Furong activities were nned and directed by Song Shidao, so that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling did not need to pay attention. Fu Qian smiled and said, Xiaodi is going home! The two boys separately sat down on his left and right. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Why do you have to go in such a hurry? Didnt you say you want to kill Yun Shuai? I have no choice, Fu Qian replied, Li Yuan summoned Xiaodi this morning, he stated explicitly that he didnt want us to meet with Bi Xuans diplomatic group, that is akin to asking us to leave, we do not have any choice but to obediently leave. Kou Zhong spoke hatefully, Must be Jiancheng ying ghost behind the scenes. Fu Qian said, In my opinion, it was Li Yuans own idea. Actually, Li Yuan regarded us highly, he showed grand courtesy, saying that he would support us against Tongyehu, which is akin to relying on us to control the Western Tujue. To express his regret, he even let us select Changans artisans, to let theme to our humble country to impart their skills and exchange their art. A bitter, he is going to send a diplomatic envoy to pay a return visit to us. I think he wants to understand thoroughly our strength first before intermarry and establish friendly rtions with us, to strengthen the rtionship between allies. Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he asked, Have you made your selection? Im still thinking about it, Fu Qian replied, Ay! Since that night, Yun Shuai has been very careful, he has not returned to the camp outside the city, all along he is hiding in Changan, so that we do not know where to start. Two gentlemen have always been more resourceful than other people, if you could help me forcing him out of Changan, we could arrange an ambush on the border of the Western Tujue to cut off Tongyehus arm. foxswuxia.wordpress After a short pause, he continued, This man Yun Shuai, not a single thing he wont ask ghosts and gods. What happened in the East Pce, he views it as a big ill omen that the ghosts and gods have warned in advance; next time his enthusiasm wille to an end. If something else happens, I am sure he will slip away back to the western frontier. I wonder if two gentlemen do me a big favor in this matter? Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, after all, they had fought side by side with Yun Shuai; however, thinking about Tongyehus ambition toward the Central Earth, and Yun Shuai even pushed the wave and added to the billows, for the sake of the Central Earths overall situation, if Fu Qian sessfully killed Yun Shuai, it would be beneficial without any harm for the stability of Central Earth. Therefore, when Kou Zhong looked at him, he could not help but giving him a slight nod. Kou Zhong said, Leave this matter to us. Not only we will drive him out, but will also make him rush back to the western frontier in a hurry. When will LaoGe leave? Fu Qian said, We will set off the day after tomorrow, but Xiaodi is terribly curious about what you said. Finding Yun Shuais hiding ce really is not an easy task, and then since the two gentlemen must not reveal your identity, what ingenious method are you going to use to force him to leave Changan and return to his country? Kou Zhongughed and said, Eight or nine out of ten, I bet that he is hiding in the Bosi Hu Si [lit. Persian barbarian temple] inside the city of Changan. Even if I guess wrong, there are still secret methods to find the answer from Jianchengs subordinates. Ha! Do you know who is the person that Yun Shuai fears the most? Astonished, Fu Qian said, Unexpectedly Yun Shuai has someone that he is afraid of? I really cannot imagine. Kou Zhong said, The answer is Shi Zhixuan. Ling Shao has deep knowledge of Shi Zhixuans gongfa and the style of his conduct. If he covers his head and face, I guarantee that he can simte Shi Zhixuan urately and beautifully, and scare Lao Yun that he will be half-dead. After Yun Shuai is lucky enough to escape, even if there is the entire division of Changlin Army protecting him, he would not dare to stay for a long time. The rest, it will depend on your, LaoGes ability. Fu Qian pped the table and shouted with praise; he sighed and said, Shaoshuais brain is so nimble, abounding in wisdom and scheme, making people greatly admiring you. Even with Li Yuans power, after bing Shi Zhixuans target, he still has to advance gradually and entrench himself at every step, much less Yun Shuai, who should not be exposed to light. If Jiancheng knew that this is the case, he would also persuade Yun Shuai to leave, to avoid being exposed to the world by Shi Zhixuan, and then how is he going to exin to Li Yuan? This n will definitely work. Kou Zhong said, We also have something that wed like to ask for your help. Fu Qian cheerfully said, As long as it is within my power, I will exhaust my strength to do it. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhongughed and said, In your distinguished country, polo game should be very thriving, if we could find two best polo yers from the Central Earth and send them to your distinguished country for a year or a half to exchange ideas, it would be a grand asion in the ball world. Hearing that, Fu Qian was dumbstruck, while Xu Ziling frowned and said, Li Yuan needs us to deal with the ball yers of Gaoli and Eastern Tujue for him, how could he be willing to let people go? Full of confidence, Kou Zhong said, This is now, that was then. When the Shao Shuai Army is willing to form an alliance with Li Tang, victory or defeat of the match is of no importance anymore. Therefore, Wangzi [Prince] must find an excuse to emphasize that you must take people away immediately, so then we can escape out of Changan openly. Ha! After Fu Qian left, Lei Jiuzhi took a short and stout, yet rugged, rather overbearing middle-aged man toe to see them; he introduced, This is my old friend, the Laoda [lit. ol first; number one, leader of a group/boss] of the Huang He Bang, the Great Roc Tao Guangzu. Why havent you taken off your mask to pay your respect? The two boys took off their masks, they stood up to greet him. After exchanging some pleasantries, they sat down around the table. His heroic spirit rushing to the sky, Tao Guangzu said, I, Tao Guangzu this time obtained two gentlemen and Qin Wangs favor. The so-called a schr [or warrior] will die for an intimate friend, I willpletely throw caution to the wind! Not to mention that Lei Dage vented my big mouthful of birds anger? In the future, if you have anything at all, feel free to tell me, I, Tao Guangzu, will exhaust my ability to get it done. Lei Jiuzhi added, Tao Laoda is close friends with Furong Ye, they have always had business dealings, therefore, this time he ising openly to visit Furong Ye, it will only make people not suspect our Furong Ye even more. You guys can rest assured. Actually, Kou Zhong was worried precisely about this; hearing that, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, I want to understand your honorable Bangs situation in Changan first. Tao Guangzu proudly said, Not that I, Tao Guangzu am bragging, but even the once-proiming-themselves-hegemon-for-a-period-of-time-inside-the-Pass Jingzhao Lian, can hardly bepared with us, this kind of old gang and society that has established our root in the Yellow River for several hundreds of years. I have always beenpletely without any good opinion toward Yang WenGan, Chi Shengchun, that kind of snatching-skillfully, seizing-grandly rabbit-on-the-rock style of conduct. Those who do business must speak about integrity. In Changan, who would not give me any face? Because everyone knows that Im a man who uses teeth as gold. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong happily said, Tao Laoda should know that we are going to support Qin Wang to be the emperor, its about a contest of strength; is there any way that Tao Laoda can let my 3,000 brothers have a hiding ce near Changan? Tao Guangzu decisively said, Leave this matter to me. There are several fishing viges near Changan, all of them are our people, with vi and park real estates belonging to our Huang He Bang. Hiding several thousands of people is definitely not a problem. During the uprising, they can be rapidly transported by our boats into Changan. Even in the city, hiding several hundreds of people can be easily done. Kou Zhong put down the load on his mind. The first batch of their brothers would arrive in a few days. Now that things have changed, it was unclear when they were going to start the uprising. If they had to live for a long period of time in the all-ck, no-daylight underground storehouse, it would be a big problem. If they set up camp in the wilderness, perhaps they would be discovered by patrolling troops. But now that Tao Guangzu, this kind of a local gang with several hundred years of history providing a ce to stay, the problem was like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. After discussing all the details properly, the excited Tao Guangzu left. Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, You should know that for Lao Tao, you are the sweet pouring rain and dew after a long drought. Over the past few years, God knows how miserable they have been fixed by Chi Shengchun! Therefore, hearing that you guys are fully supporting Li Shimin, he is happier than anybody else. Thats why I simply had to let hime to see you to say hello, to strengthen his confidence. Not that I am ttering you, but your earlobes [not sure] are more resounding than Qin Wang. When talking about you, who in Jianghu does not raise his thumb and utter a sentence of praise to the outstanding hero? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Thanks a lot for singing our praises. Hey! Why hasnt Xiao Hou returned? Lei Jiuzhi said, That means that Xiang Gui does not live inside the city of Changan, but in a certain city or county nearby. Xiang Gui has lost a lot of weight, obviously life has not been easy. If I were him, seeing that the kingdom of crime that he singlehandedly established withering continuously, naturally it wont be easy. Kou Zhong said, His defeat under your hands was well-deserved, this is called this one is vanishing the other is flourishing. His future is dark, he can only rely on the demonic school to struggle for survival; Lei Dage, you have a bright future, like the sun at noon. Compared to him, you guys are two unrted things, as different as ck and white. Lei Jiuzhi cheerfully said, The most important thing is that I am not afraid of losing, because the gains and losses on the gambling table really cannot affect the final oue. Ha! What I want to do right now is to find a ce to drink and be merry. How about us going to Shang Lin Yuan? Kou Zhong said, We cant tonight, because Chi kid wants to look for us to offer sacrifice to [fig. to wield] the banner. How about tomorrow night? Feng Ya Ge ought to a bit safer, plus we could offer assistance to Xiao Jie. foxswuxia.wordpress Inwardly, Xu Ziling was delighted, knowing that Lei Jiuzhis confidence has been restored, he regained the lifes interest, no longer declined to seek merriment in life. The delight of life was precisely in this; as long as one persevered unremittingly, not get discouraged in adversity, when the timees, there might be pleasant surprises, like the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light [idiom: at ones darkest hour, a glimmer of hope], a turn for the better. At dusk, Hou Xibai returned to the city from the secret road, finally Xiang Guis whereabouts was in their possession. His hiding ce was in Shiping City on the upper reaches of the Yellow River west of Changan; sailing with the current, in less than half a day, he could reach Changan. Hou Xibai went back to his room to rest. Kou Zhong was gratified, he said, After going through numerous hardships, finally we learned about Xiang Guis whereabouts. I will send someone to Shiping to wait upon Xiang Gui, to get clear understanding of what is true and what is false in him, and then at the most unexpected time to capture him alive andpletely destroy his Xiang Familys foundation. Xu Ziling said, I want to see Liao Kong first. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Can you see him tomorrow? Its almost time for the appointment with Chi kid! You, this kid, are really not enough to be a brother. Ay! But Bai Qingers coquettish nces indeed make people unable to endure. Shrugging his shoulders, Xu Ziling said, I am not abandoning you at all, but in my heart I suddenly feel that I should go and see Liao Kong. Dont worry! Blessing we enjoy together, disaster I cant possibly let you bear alone. Xiaodi wille back quickly, it wont take too much time. Kou Zhong was helpless against him, he had no choice but to let him go. The moment Xu Ziling left, Kou Zhong set foot on the street, a weird, indescribable feeling welled up in his heart, in about ten days or half a month, he would return to Changan in his capacity as the supreme leader of the Shao Shuai Army, and meeting them would be the emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty; this was something that was hard to believe, if he told anybody now, surely no one would believe it. I wonder where Cai Xiongs honorable self is going? Would you let Xiaodi take you there? Surprisingly, it was the Sha Familys second young master, Sha Chenggong, sticking his head out of the horse-drawn carriage and made a friendly call to him. Kou Zhong shifted his gaze to the driver position, the man driving the carriage was called Zhang Xiong, who knew a little bit of punching and kicking skill, and loved to brag; he was Sha Er Shaos trusted aide. Although he did not like Sha Chenggong very much, but as the ugly divine doctor, he has had close contacts with him, so that he could not help strange and amiable feeling from filling his heart. Furthermore, he wanted to see this kids purpose in trying to be friendly toward him this time, thereupon he happily boarded the carriage. Xu Ziling followed behind Liao Kong, they came to an exquisite abode in the West Garden of the Da Dong Si [previously, it was Dong Da Si]. The all-along-did-not-utter-a-couple-of-sentences, silently-leading-the-way Liao Kong smiled and said, Ziling, pleasee in! Finished speaking, he turned around and left. foxswuxia.wordpress Drip! Drip! Drip! Drip! The icicles hanging on the trees in the garden have begun to dissolve, and because the weather was warming up, water was dripping continuously, telling people that the severe winter has passed and spring was just about to arrive on the big earth. Xu Ziling knocked on the door, and Shi Feixuans gentle and beautiful voice rang out, Ziling,e in! Although fully aware that the one inside the exquisite abode should be Shi Feixuan, hearing her familiar voice, without him being able to control it, Xu Zilings heart was burning hot, yet he had a faint feeling that such a reaction was not in line with the rtionship he and this beauty had agreed upon. He pushed the door and entered in, Shi Feixuan was sitting peacefully in the corner. Exposing a smile brimming with joy, she blissfully said, Ziling, how are you! Her amiable and containing-deep-meaning greeting nearly snatched his soul away. Taking a deep breath, Xu Ziling stepped forward to sit down across the small table by her side. He sighed and said, I dont need to hide my excitement to see you, Feixuan, do I? Shi Feixuans like-not-eating-the-food-ofmon-mortals delicate and pretty jade countenance calmed down, she spoke tenderly, Of course you dont need to hide it, Feixuan doesnt wish to see you like that either. I hear Dashi said that your situation has changed, what exactly is happening? Xu Ziling exined the situation in details, he was unable to take his eyes out of her lucid and elegant, free-from-vulgarity flowery countenance even for a moment. He saw her touching expression as her pretty eyebrows were lightly knitted while she was quietly listening and thinking deeply at the same time, which made him forget the matter of the human world. Shi Feixuan waited for him to finish, and then she met his burning gaze, and said, When will Qin Wangs letter reach Li Yuans hands? Should be tomorrow afternoon, Xu Ziling replied. Shi Feixuan cast him a sidelong nce, as if she was ming him for being unable to take his eyes off of her, bing Liu Zhen[1] looking squarely at her, but it also seemed like her fragrant heart was bashful and delighted at the same time. That kind of expression was very charming to the point of bewitching. She spoke softly, Oh, Xu Ziling! Your calctions may be wrong! As if he was woken up from a beautiful dream, Xu Ziling shuddered and asked, Where did we do wrong? foxswuxia.wordpress Shi Feixuans eyes moved to the garden outside the side window of another small hall right ahead, blending in the dusk, she said, After the strange fire at the East Pce, Li Yuan should know that Qin Wangs struggle with Jiancheng and Yuanji has reached the vile stage of the two cannot exist together; if he epts Qin Wangs proposal to form an alliance with you privately without asking permission first, it would be like he is suddenly leaning toward Qin Wangs side, making the rtionship between Qin Wang and Taizi growing even more tense in a hurry. Such an important decision, Li Yuan would have to spend a considerable time to consider it, he would hesitate and would be difficult to make a decision. Xu Ziling said, When Li Yuan asks his left and rights [i.e. attendants] opinions, Feng Deyi would put forward a suggestion, advising Li Yuan to invite Kou Zhong toe to Changan for a talk, as a show of sincerity. This will let Xieli know that Li Tang and Shao Shuai Army have joined forces to resist the foreign aggression with one breath. Shi Feixuan said, The n itself is very ingenious, but because the whole thing is not beneficial to Jiancheng, plus Feng Deyi is considered leaning toward Jiancheng, Li Yuan might avoid Feng Deyi or Pei Ji, these Crown Prince factions supporters, and turn to other people for their opinions. Xu Ziling agreed, he said, Feixuans remarks make sense. Fortunately, we still have Li Shentong to speak for us. Shi Feixuan pondered for half a day, she said, Li Shentong has always had close rtionship with to Qin Wang, an ideal candidate whose idea Li Yuan would listen to on this matter, but he is by no means the first choice. If I were Li Yuan, I would seek an outsiders more neutral ideas. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, Wang Tong? Shi Feixuan looked at him, she said, Wang Tong made light of traveling a thousand li toe and warn his old friend, Li Yuan must be grateful in his heart. Moreover, he has to inquire one step further about the exact rtionship between the Shao Shuai Army and Song Que, before he can make decision in this matter, which has important implication. Under such circumstances, Wang Tongs opinion will have a decisive influence on Li Yuan. Xu Zilings countenance changed, he said, What should we do? Speaking of prudence, even if he and Kou Zhong pped their horses butts, they still could not catch up with Shi Feixuan. foxswuxia.wordpress Shi Feixuan calmly said, This aspect, let Feixuan think of a way. Fortunately, this moment Yi Lao [Ouyang Xiyi] is in Changan. Feixuan could plead Yi Lao, before Qin Wangs letter reaches Changan, to arrange for Feixuan to meet Wang Tong. Wang Tong is a great schr of the present age, he deeply understands the pros and cons of the current political situation, plus he had profound friendly rtions with our humble schools Xiuxin Shishu [martial uncle], Feixuan has confidence to convince him. Xu Ziling exhaled a mouthful of breath, he said, Fortunately, Feixuan arrived in time, otherwise we would ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful, regret would be toote. Tranquil and calm, Shi Feixuan spoke calmly, What I can resolve for you is no more than a trivial problem in this aspect. How are you going to deal with Shi Zhixuan? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, We have been having a headache because this, yet so far we still have note up with a surefire solution, we only have a faint feeling that Qingxuan is our only savior. Shi Feixuan said, Your Qingxuan should receive the message within these next few days. If she rushes over immediately, it will take about seven or eight days. Xu Ziling did not believe his ears; stunned, he said, My Qingxuan? Smiling, Shi Feixuan said, Feixuan is, after all, a girl! A little jealousy is always there; Ziling, please dont mind me. Xu Ziling stared nkly at her for quite half a day; smiling wryly, he said, After our business in Changan is over, what is Feixuan going to do? Tranquil and calm, Shi Feixuan replied, Feixuan will return to Jingzhai, probably I will not go down the mountain again. Does Ziling know the course of events of my humble masters journey to Lingnan to meet her appointment with Song Fazhu? Xu Ziling shook his head, indicating that he did not know anything at all. A longing expression floated out of Shi Feixuans eyes toward him, a pure and holy, bright luster emerged from her pretty face, making her even more elegant, with the kind of gracefulness that cannot be produce locally, she spoke softly, They took a stroll together, made a circle around the Mo Dao Tang, and then Shizun floated far away, she returned to Jingzhai, and did not say half a word. What did Ziling learn through this experience? Shaken, Xu Ziling said, Feixuan! Shi Feixuan blissfully said, They reminded Feixuan of the Zen Schools picking up a flower and a subtle smile, pointing straight to the heart, without drawing up any word. [Trantors note: this could be referring to Mahakasyapa and the Flower Sermon in Zen Buddhism.] Xu Ziling burst outughing, he nodded and said, I understand! Shi Feixuan slowly said, About Wang Tong, if there is good news, Feixuan will let you know immediately. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, If Wang Tong can persuade Li Yuan to keep the forming-an-alliance-with-us matter a secret for the time being, it will be more beneficial to us. Shi Feixuan said, Feixuan thinks so too. Most likely Li Yuan is going to ask Yi Lao to go see Song Que, to understand everything clearly first before making a decision. For people of his generation, they would only trust someone like Song Que, a man with identity and status. Nobody does not know that Song Ques one word worth nine sacred tripods [idiom: words of enormous weight], what he says never does not count. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Going there and back, it will take at least a month, its too long! Shi Feixuan said, Dont worry! Li Yuan might paint holding two brushes [idiom: to work on two tasks at the same time]. On the one hand, he will send someone to pick up the tone of Song Ques voice, on the other hand, he will see if you guys have the guts and sincerity toe to Changan. The most wonderful part of your n is that whether you are straightforwardly willing to temporarilyy down the troops and the de, as long as you show up in Changan, it will have the effect of suppressing and intimidating Xieli. And this is precisely the big gift that Li Yuan desires the most at present time. Xu Ziling remembered something, he said, This moment Wanwan is in Changan, she knows everything about us like the back of her hand. We are afraid that because of her schools appointment, she will challenge Feixuan. Tranquil, Shi Feixuan said, Feixuan is staying at Yu He An. If she wants to do that, Feixuan has no choice but to keep herpany to the end. [1] Liu Zhen: I could not find any reference in English, but heres my trantion on a short entry from zh.wikipedia.org: During the Jianan period [reign name (196-219) at the end of the Han dynasty], Liu Zhen was summoned by Cao Cao [155-220, from the Three Kingdoms period] as the prime minister. He has had considerable dealings with Cao Pi [187-226, second son of Cao Cao brothers]. Later, because during a banquet Liu Zhen looked squarely at Cao Pis wife of Zhen [different character] family [i.e. her maiden name], Cao Cao charged him with crime of disrespect and put him on forcedbor, andter he was dismissed from the office and was demoted to be a small official (End of entry). So, I think his name became synonymous with any men who stare at a woman. Book 59: 7: Game of Winning or Losing

Book 59: Chapter 7: Game of Winning or Losing

When Kou Zhong set foot on the Fu Ju Lou, what Sha Chenggong told him in the carriage was still lingering in his ears. Perhaps this fellow has spent too much money, he was hard pressed for money, hence he was hoping that Sha Tiannans investment in Zhen Guan Bank this time, he would make some profit, he was trying so hard to be a candidate to represent Sha Tiannan to look after the ie and expenditure at the bank, thereupon he asked Kou Zhong about the current situation of the banks development, as if he was going to report to Sha Tiannan to receive meritorious deed. Kou Zhong happily feigned civility toward him, he even figured out from him the reason behind Sha Tiannan bing a partner of the enterprise. Unexpectedly it came from Li Jianchengs instigation, and Sha Tiannan was unable to decline. In order to brag about the influence of the Sha Family in Changan, Sha Chenggong told him everything about the Sha Family establishing a military weapon factory in Changan. From this, Kou Zhong knew the source of the Changlin Armys weapons, bows and arrows. It was a very useful information. It was the time when the decoratednterns were beginning to be put on, the entire third floor of the Fu Ju Lou was filled to capacity; it was morous, brimming with an atmosphere of flourishing period. The ce where the banquet was being held was the VIP room on the second floor. Naturally the view could notpare to the third floor, but it had its own scope and wasparatively quieter, which was suitable for Bai Qinger to pour her bewitching soup into them likest time. Thinking of Bai Qinger gave him headache; tonight would be an unbearable night. However, in order to render heavier blow to the Xiang Familys financial foundation, a bit harder work could not be avoided. He just hoped that Xu Ziling would rush over quickly to share his pain. foxswuxia.wordpress The Six-Happiness Casino was crowded, the noise shook the hall. Apanied by Chi Shengchun, Qiao Gongshan, Er Wenhuan, and Bai Qinger, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were regarded as withered sheep by them, stepped into the hall, and Xu Liuzong, the martial art master of the demonic school, whom Chi Shengchun addressed as Martial Uncle, hurried to the front to receive them. Bai Qinger snuggled close to Kou Zhong, half of her fragrant body was leaning against his shoulder, she spoke with enchanting smile, I heard that Cai Daye and Kuang Daye are casinos high-rollers,ing across any gambling, victory is assured. Tonight, Qinger will definitely hang around for any favor from two gentlemen Dayes good fortune. Kou Zhong felt her silky breasts, brimming with sticity, rubbing gently on his shoulders, immediately the fire in his heart was burning hot; inwardly he cried, Formidable!, knowing that it was some kind of technique in tititing men of her charming skill, containing demonic schools xinfa. Thereupon, pretending to be unable to restrain his emotions, he leaned close to her and said with augh, Where exactly did Qing Guniang hear this kind of information that is exactly contrary to the facts? We, two brothers losing a lot and winning a few is more like it. However, our gambling luck has indeed improved a bit recently, I hope tonight Laotianye still hasnt changed His kind favors on us. This moment Chi Shengchun came to Kou Zhongs other side, he happily handed over a basket of gambling chips withrge nominal, saying, Here are five thousand taels of gambling chips, two Daren may seek pleasure to your hearts content. Qiao Gongshanughed and said, By now, two gentlemen should be more familiar with the Six-Happiness than we are, shall we try that VIP room to see your hands luck? Pushing the wave and adding to the billows, Er Wenhun said, We are all apanying guests, the two gentlemen Daren are the real hosts. Of course, Kou Zhong would not be grateful in the slightest for Chi Shengchuns big style in spending money. These five thousand taels were only used by Chi Shengchun as an advance funds, they did not need to pay it back at all. It was a trick to make them owe heavy debts quickly! He hurriedlyughed and replied, The real host is Wentong, not Xiaodi at all. His gambling skill is superior to mine, I am just apanying the Crown Prince studying. Everybodys eyes were focused on Xu Ziling. He smiled and said, Suddenly Xiaodi has an idea, which is to use these five thousand taels of silver to ce a bet in this main hall. Whether we win or lose, we will let the subject drop tonight. Five thousand taels, the two of us brothers will barely be able to afford to pay. Kou Zhong called, Wonderful! inwardly. One bet to determine the victory or defeat. It would both inflict heavy losses to Chi Shengchun, and give them reason to go back to bed early. One move, two gains. Fancy that Xu Ziling came up with this method. Qiao Gongshan, Er Wenhuan, Xu Liuzong, and Bai Qinger were all startled; they looked at Chi Shengchun. foxswuxia.wordpress Chi Shengchuns expression remained unchanged, a smile brimming with devious overtone escaped from the corner of his mouth, he nodded and said, Kuang Darens heroic spirit soars to the heaven, five thousand taels in one bet is a new record for our Six-Happiness. I wonder which game of chance Kuang Daren would choose? Xu Ziling calmly said, I am most familiar with treasured dice [Sic Bo]; lets choose that one! Chi Shengchun turned to Xu Liuzong and said with augh, Distinguished guests are honoring us with their presence, naturally Xu Laoshi [teacher] will personally be the host. Xu Liuzong happily left. Looking at his expression, it was obvious that he had hundred percent confidence to make the two boys lose their family fortune. Even if the two could bear to lose the five thousand taels, but because of the gamblers nature that they were always eager to win back their money, as long as Chi Shengchun was willing to keep lending money, he could guarantee that the two would not be able leave the gambling table even for half a step. Beaming from ear to ear, Chi Shengchun said, Everyone, please follow me over here. The host of the gambling table was reced by Xu Liuzong. The big man overseeing the Six-Happiness Casino used both carrot and stick to ask the people gathered around the gambling table to give up two empty seats, to let Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, upright and unafraid, to take their seats. Qiao, Er, and the others, four people stood behind the two boys chairs to watch. When the other gamblers saw that Xu Liuzong was personally in charge to shake the dice cup, they also saw that Chi Shengchun was waiting upon them on the side, coupled with Bai Qingers beauty, and Qiao and Er, two official authorities, they all felt something unusual was happening. One after another they all came to enjoy watching the excitement. Xu Liuzong first showed them the inside of the cup, also took out a tray with more than ten sets of dice for the two to choose, to show that they were not ying ghost. At this time, the crowd standing around to watch had reached about a hundred, everyone was talking in low voices, creating a buzzing noise, heightening the intense atmosphere. Chi Shengchunughed and said, Will Kuang Daren y big or small, or counting the dots? Xu Zilings hands left the gambling table, because he already ascertained that the gambling table had no mechanism, Xu Liuzong would win this game purely by relying on technique. He spoke indifferently, Naturally its counting the total dots of the three dice. Chi Shengchun and the others were stunned, the onlookers all looked at him as if they were looking at an idiot. Only Kou Zhong had full confidence in him; heughed and said, This time you must take Xiongdi [brother] along, ha! foxswuxia.wordpress It should be noted that Sic Bo had a variety of betting methods. The most popr was to bet on big and small, two gates. The second was to bet on different sixteen gates, or to bet on the number of dots of each dice. The odds and payout were different for each method, and the chance of all other betting methods was higher than betting on the total number of three dice. Kou Zhong was not an expert on Sic Bo at all, so he casually asked, What is the payout for betting on the total number of dots? Hearing the question, carrying an air of a Dulin [lit. gambling forest] master, Xu Liuzong spoke indifferently, One pays sixteen. Kou Zhong was speechless. Although he did not know how the payout rate was determined, he knew that the chance of payout was minimal, otherwise the Six-Happiness would close down the business for good and put the best face on it [idiom] early on. If one paid sixteen, five thousand taels would pay 80,000 taels Tongbao [see Book 31 Chapter 6]; it was equivalent to nearly three thousand taels of gold, an astonishinglyrge amount. Bai Qinger could not help leaning over to Xu Zilings ear, her breath smelled like orchid, she spoke softly, Kuang Daren indeed has enough heroic spirit, but five thousand taels is not a small amount, it is enough to redeem Qinger. Kuang Daren must think three times before going. Xu Ziling knew that she wanted to distract him, so he smiled and said, Only this way is exciting enough! He casually picked out a set of dice and handed it to Xu Liuzong. Thetter held the dice high for everyone to see clearly, then dropped the dice into the cup, sealed it, andy it on the table upside down. The atmosphere became more tense. Xu Ziling knew that Xu Liuzong was about to shake the cup, hastily he calmed himself down, his spirit entered the exquisite-like-a-deity realm, he sensed the situation of each dice inside the cup. Although he did not possess the great magical power enough to know the current points the dice were showing, but when the dice shook and collided, he could tell from the noise the light or heavy, without the slightest amount of inuracy. Xu Liuzong fixed his gaze at Xu Ziling, the tone of his voice was brimming with challenge, he said, Kuang Daren must be an expert in listening to the dice, Xiaoren is showing his ugliness! Both hands reaching out, he held up the dice cup, his technique was skillful and dexterous, the onlookers cheered in unison, attracting more people to the table, so that the crowd was severalyers thick, so crowded that not one drop can trickle through. For the first time Kou Zhong was worried for Xu Ziling. This Xu Liuzong must be an expert in shaking the dice cups, who had the ability to fool people who knew how to listen to the dice. And Xu Ziling was indeed a challenge. Besides, the ability to listen to the dice had a limit, plus he had to have the number of dots on all three dicepletely within his grasp. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders in a rxed manner, he said, Xu Laoshi, please! Bai Qinger spoke in astonishment, Kuang Daren looked at the gambling table and suddenly became another person. Inwardly, Kou Zhong shivered greatly, realizing that he and Xu Ziling would indeed revert to their true appearance under certain circumstances, showing some ws. Xu Ziling exchanged nces with him, his heart and spirit without the slightest bit of chaos, he casually replied, This is called the true nature of a gambler; its the reason why I enjoy doing and never get tired of it even more. Only here I can find my true self. Ding! Ding! Dong! Dong! Xu Liuzong shook the dice cup, in term of timing, he was showing the style of a Dulin master. If Xu Ziling was distracted by talking, he would fix him well. Xu Zilings heart and spirit was fully focused on the three dice leaping, jumping and bumping against each other endlessly inside the cup like crazy, the real image could almost appear in his mind, he was not confused by Xu Liuzongs suddenly light, suddenly heavy, fast and slow indeterminately - shaking-the-cup technique the least bit. Right this moment, he sensed that the finger of Bai Qingers right hand was moving to pierce the vital acupoint on his nk, but the qi power was restrained and was not released. If it was not a martial art master of his caliber, he could forget about even sensing it. By the time the fingertip reached his body, the sudden true qi would have enough power to shake and sever his heart meridians, and even with his skill, it would still be difficult to escape death. As his thoughts were turning at the speed of lightning, he realized that both he and Kou Zhong had made the same mistake, which was they did not take Bai Qinger to heart, while the fact was that she was a new generation of martial art master of the demonic school close to Wanwans level, her ability and wisdom could not possibly becking too much. Could it be that she had seen through that he was Xu Ziling? Unlikely. She was just testing him. He suddenly made up his mind to deal with this bet openly, while dealing with another bet in secret at the same time. Just before it touched the body, the finger retracted, as if it had never happened. Bang! The dice cup left the hand and was put back on the table. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling cried, Bad! inwardly. Because of Bai Qingers distraction, although his guess was correct, that is, Bai Qinger was merely groping his foundation and not really wanted to kill him, but it made him miss hearing the most important moment when the dice nded. With ample confidence, Xu Liuzong shouted, Gentlemen, please put down your bet, fast hands will have it, slow hands will miss it! One after another everyone put down their bet, no one cared which number of dot Xu Ziling would ce his bet, because they all thought that he would definitely lose. As for Xu Ziling, one would know his own familys affair, he already lost this game. Kou Zhong sensed the same thing; being quick-witted, heughed involuntarily and said, There are always winners and losers in gambling. Losing this time does not mean that you will lose the next time. Xiongdi! Put down your bet! That being said, Chi Shengchun and the others immediately knew that this Kuang Wentongs listening-to-the-dice skill was not working properly, his skill was somewhatcking, he lost and was muddled andpletely copsing. Xu Ziling understood what Kou Zhong meant; they already knew Xiang Guis hiding ce, and tonight, they would return in a vicious victory. It was just adding flowers to brocade [idiom: icing on the cake], so what if he lost? Whats the big deal? Five thousand taels, naturally they could afford to pay. Thinking to this point, his heart was relieved, his spirit immediately rose to enter the bright, pure and limpid realm. Xu Liuzong urged him, Kuang Daren! You are the only one left! The table was full of gambling chips of various nominal values, big and small, Xu Ziling became the target of multitude of arrows of everybodys eyes. Xu Ziling suddenly thought of another new question. If he lost this game, would Bai Qinger, who was already suspicious, suspect that he was so brilliant that he knew she had carried out a secret attack, so that under the distraction he could not hear the dots where the dice hadnded? Of course, if his bet was spot on, Bai Qinger would have no reason to suspect him. Chi Shengchuns disgusting voice rang out next to his ear, Kuang Daren can wait for the next game to ce your bet. Right at this tense moment when victory or defeat were separated by a thin line, Xu Zilings mind clearly and unmistakably showed the number of dots of the three dice. He had no time to care; in fact, perhaps he would never understand clearly whether under the one-heart-two-uses [idiom: doing two things at once] situation he could still grasp the dice shaking and moving, or that he could foresee the about-to-happen future. Pushing the entire basket of gambling chips on the table, heughed and said, Twelve dots! I bet five thousand taels Tongbao! It was only then did all the gamblers realize that he was a staking-all-on-one-throw big-hand high-roller, immediately a burst of uproar ensued. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Liuzong shouted, Open treasure! Both hands reached out to grab the inverted dice bowl. Everyone, including Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, held their breath, so that in the first moment, they would be able to see the three dice after the dice cup was lifted. Chi Shengchuns manner was rxed, he had one-hundred percent of confidence in Xu Liuzongs skill. One of Xu Liuzongs unique skills was that when the dicended, they would make another roll without making any noise. This action could make any master of listening to the dice to have his ship overturned in the gutter and suffer big pent-up unspoken grievances. Chi Shengchun himself was a person with profoundprehension to listen to the dice; upon self-introspection, he still could not hear through Xu Liuzongs technique, therefore, he was not one bit afraid that Xu Ziling would not be fooled. Hua! It was also only this moment that Xu Liuzong find out the real number of dots, his countenance changed abruptly. The three dice showed two five dots and one two dots, respectively. The total number of dots was exactly twelve. Xu Ziling hit it all with one bet. Kou Zhong climbed on the couch to go to sleep, the image of Chi Shengchun and the others disappointed and helpless expression was still floating in his heart. Wanwan, like an apparition, appeared in the room, there was not the slightest bit of omen. Kou Zhong hurriedly lifted the quilt with one hand, while his other hand, in an exaggerate action, pressed on his chest, he said, You want to scare people to death, huh? Can you knock on the door next time? Full of smile, Wanwan sat down on the edge of the bed. She leaned over and nted a soft kiss on his cheek; she spoke tenderly and softly, Waner is not clear yet! What ghost are you actually doing? Unexpectedly you razed the East Pces Ju Bao Dian to the ground? You are not afraid to expose your track? Kou Zhong did not conceal anything, he giggled happily and said, Indeed it was our doing, no need to go round the curves and skirt the corners [idiom: to speak in a roundabout way] to sound us out. His Niangs! It should be me who ask you what you are doing; in the depth of the nighting here to throw yourself in my arms oh! Unexpectedly, Wanwan really threw herself into his arms and hugged his waist, her soft, tender breathing quickened, she said, You want me to throw myself into your arms, then I just throw myself into your arms. What you need to do next, you dont need me to teach you, right? Feeling the soft jade and the warm fragrance in his bosom, Kou Zhong only sensed the frightening one-after-another crisis in his heart; he sighed and said, Wan Dajie, please dont tease me, Xiaodi surrenders! Please Dajie sit back first, Xiaodi still has gargantuan important things to report [to a superior]. Wanwan shook her head and said, Do you think I am a woman whoes on impulse and calls and then leaves? I dont care, tonight, you must feel tenderness toward Waner properly. foxswuxia.wordpress Sniffing her youthful and healthy body scent, feeling her touching body abundant with sticity and vitality, listening to her warm and tender voice brimming with hidden provocation, he would be lying if he said that his heart was not moved. Only he regretted it, and knew even more, that a single slip might cause an evesting sorrow [idiom]; without any choice, he forcefully suppressed the fire of desire burning fiercely in his heart, and said with bitter smile, Wan Dajie is still calling on the wrong room. The so-called thou shalt not covet thy neighbors wife, Xiaodi will never do things that will let my Xiongdi down. Pfft! Wanwan giggled and said, You talk rubbish! Is nujia Zilings wife? Gutless ghost! But finally she left his embrace and sat her tender body upright. Kou Zhong looked at her. In the gentle and soft dim light of the night, Wanwan was raising her pair of delicate and beautiful jade hands to tidy up her slightly messy, long, hanging down like a waterfall, cloud-like beautiful hair. Her movements were graceful andnguid, yet it emphasized her charming curves; it was alluring to the extreme point,pared to throwing herself into his arms just now, it particrly moved his heart even more. He spoke dejectedly, A gentleman will not take advantage of a dark room. I am not a gentleman at all, naturally I could take big advantage, a special advantage. Its just that this is not a dark room, I guarantee that Ling Shao is using his little ears to monitor Xiaodis each and every move, to see whether Xiaodi is flouting thew or not. Wanwan cast him a thousand-tender-hundred-charm sidelong nce, she cursed him fiercely, Gutless ghost is a gutless ghost, no need to make many excuses. Zilings room is empty. Your so-called gargantuan important thing, does it have anything to do with Shi Feixuan? Shocked, Kou Zhong said, You are so well-informed that it is hard to believe. How do you know that Shi Feixuan is in Changan? Wanwan said with a sneer, You are called rarely seen, very strange [idiom: to express amazement due tock of experience]. Shi Feixuan is not like you at all, sneaking in from the underground; rather, she entered the city using her original identity, disying strength and discipline [idiom: upright and frank]. How could Waner not know? Kou Zhong started nkly at her for half a say; knitting his brows, he said, What are you going to do? Wanwan slightly shrugged her shoulders, she spoke nonchntly, She is her, I am me. What are you talking about what I am going to do or not to do? Greatly wondering, Kou Zhong said, Arent you two cannot exist together, and must decide victory or defeat? Laughing sweetly, Wanwan said, Fighting and killing, there wont be any benefit for anybody, plus it will make things difficult for you guys. Waner is not interested at all. Oh! Let me tell you one thing first, your old close [or intimate] friend is here! Stunned, Kou Zhong repeated, My old close friend? Wanwan stretched out her jade hand, extended her finger to lightly scratch his cheek twice; sheughed and said, Isnt Ling Longjiao your old close friend? Currently she is visiting Dong Shuni, and is staying in the Imperial Pce. Would you like me to arrange the time and ce for your lovers rendezvous? Hee ! Waner is just joking, how could I give another woman a convenience? foxswuxia.wordpress Hearing that, Kou Zhong could only stare nkly. Wanwan continued, I heard that Dong Shuni and Yang Xuyan had a big quarrel over the murder of Wang Shichongs entire family. Dong yatou [girl/servant girl] may be a wonder move that can be used to deal with Yang Xuyan, its up to you on how to use it. Kou Zhong sighed and said, How could you know what happened in the pce like the back of your hand like this? Wanwan said, This is my secret, even more so, xianshis te master] most formidable move. Sooner orter you guys will know what it is. Kou Zhong smiled wryly but remained silent. Up to this moment, they still did not have the slightest idea about the big n in Wanwans heart; even thinking about it scared them. Wanwan said, Now its Shaoshuais turn to tell a good story! Book 59: 8: Astrology

Book 59: Chapter 8: Astrology

Not long after Wanwan left, it was Xu Zilings, wearing tight warrior nightwalker outfit - turn to enter the room. Kou Zhong asked, Did you see Wanwan leave? Xu Ziling sat down on the edge of the bed, he replied, I just happen to see her leaping over the wall and leaving, as fast as a ghost. Her Tianmo Gong is getting more and more formidable. But she ran in the direction of the south of the city instead of going back to the pce. Frowning in deep thought, Kou Zhong said, Where is Wan Dajie going? Who else in Changan City can make her pay a visit in the depth of the night? Changing the subject, Xu Ziling said, There is an 80-90% chance that Yun Shuai is hiding in the Bosi Si [Persian temple]. Putting aside Wanwans matter, Kou Zhong wondered, If you had seen him, you would have 100% confidence that that he is hiding there, so why only 80 or 90% of certainty? Xu Ziling exined, I did not dare to beat the grass to scare the snake; I only hid nearby to try my luck, but I saw Xue Wanche furtively entered the temple. If he did not go there to see Yun Shuai, whom did he see? Kou Zhong spoke in displeasure, I thought you were just going to see Feng Deyi. Xu Ziling said, Feng Deyi was not at home; since I had nothing else to do, I went to the Bosi Si to pay a visit, not to deliberately abandon you. Shaoshuai, please understand clearly. Kou Zhong blurted outughing and said, The kid is teasing me! foxswuxia.wordpress But then he spoke in astonishment, Howe thiste at night Feng Gong is still not home? It must be that Li Yuan summoned him into the pce and he could not get away. Ay! First, it was Wanwan, and now you are making so much trouble so that my sleepiness disappearedpletely. This time of the night, what would be the best ce to go? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, Lets go to see Shi Zhixuan. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, It seems that its not the time yet, what can we say to him? Lao Shi is so astute that he makes peoples heart trembling. I am most afraid that the more we speak, the more we make mistakes. Xu Ziling said, Tomorrow, Li Shimins letter will be delivered to Li Yuan. Although Feixuan said that Wang Tong could make Li Yuan keep this matter confidential for the time being, but the authority to make the decision is in Li Yuans hands. At least he will let a group of trusted aides, cab ministers, and Jiancheng, Yuanji, and so on - know about this. Up to this moment, An Long has not had any fall out with Shi Zhixuan. If An Long, because he does not dare to conceal anything - tell this matter to Shi Zhixuan, we could immediately dere that this matter is over. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, You are right, the problem is what can we say to Shi Zhixuan? Xu Ziling said, Tell him that we need to temporarily establish friendly rtions with Li Yuan, in order to borrow their power to repel the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. This is not a lie, so he wont not believe it. As for Zhao Deyans assassination, naturally it will still proceed ording to n. Kou Zhong caught on, he said, Who would have thought thatter on Li Yuan sees through our crafty scheme, unexpectedly he invites us, two big kids to Changan to show to the public, so that we dont know what to do, right? Ha! You, this kid, you are more adept in lying and deceiving people than me. The two boys crouched on the high elevation of the roof of the neighboring house overlooking Shi Zhixuans secret nest; their scalp went numb, they saw a shadow, like a light smoke, shing out of the secret nest, and disappeared into the dark. It then vanished in the twinkling of an eye. Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air, he said, Isnt that Wan Dajie? Xu Ziling also felt his entire spine was soaked in chills, he cried out in low voice, My Niang! What is going on here? How did Wanwan and Shi Zhixuan get together? Kou Zhong felt as if his whole body entered an icehouse, he said, Perhaps they are fellow sufferers empathize with each other? Ay! Whatever is the reason, if the two of them work together to y a conspiracy to harm us, we will definitely suffer a cmity. You think Wanwan divulged all our secrets to Shi Zhixuan? foxswuxia.wordpress Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, Im not Wanwan, how can I answer your question? Kou Zhong said, Cant be! I dare say Wanwan will not harm us. Because her remaining feelings for you, Ling Shao, is still unfulfilled. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Fancy that you still have the mood to crack jokes. Kou Zhong recovered his calm, heughed and said, Im serious, do you still want to go in and meet Lao Shi? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, We need to see him now more than any time, to see his reaction. But lets wait for half a sichen beforeing in, so that he wont suspect that we have run into Wanwan. Kou Zhong nodded in agreement, he said, I have a strange feeling. Just now Wanwan came to see us, the main reason was to make sure that we stay at home, and then she went to see Shi Zhixuan, to avoid we identally see through her tracks; who would have thought that the ghosts sending, the gods pushing, she still could not escape our eyes and ears. Xu Ziling fell silent, he no longer said anything. Inside the pitch-ck hall, Shi Zhixuan stood facing the window, he seemed to be melting into the darkness. The two boys came behind him; exceptionally serene, Shi Zhixuan said, Whats so urgent? Kou Zhong took a deep breath, he said, Turns out Xie Wang do not need any sleep. What kind of gongfa is this? Shi Zhixuan spoke indifferently, I was just thinking, why are you so nervous? Is it because you want to kill me? Inwardly, the two boys shivered greatly; just a slight difference in their mood, unexpectedly they could not conceal it from him. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Xie Wangs discerning eyes did not err, but there is a bit of misunderstanding. The reason why we are nervous is because we have something to hide, but now because the matter has developed to the point where we cannot conceal it anymore, we have no choice but to tell Xie Wang the truth. Shi Zhixuan slowly turned around, his gaze swept across Kou Zhong first, before finallynded on Xu Ziling; unusually tranquil, he said, Ol Shi is listening. Kou Zhong spoke apologetically, We areing to Changan this time is not to assassinate Li Shimin, but to deal with Xiang Gui, father and son. Shi Zhixuans pair of eyebrows knitted, he said, Xiang Gui, father and son unexpectedly can make you set aside important things, troubling your army, moving your crowd, against the danger,ing from afar, do you think I am willing to believe it? The two boys secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at Shi Zhixuans expression, Wanwan should not have leaked their secret. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, This is our only chance to deal with Xiang Gui. If we captured Luoyang, Xiang Gui father and son certainly heard the news and escaped far away, looking for a secret and safe ce to hide. Shi Zhixuans gaze shifted toward his face, he smiled and said, Since that is the case, you can continue concealing it from me. Why did you choose to tell me the truth tonight? Xu Ziling said, Because we have a private agreement with Li Shimin, one day Xielis threat is not removed, we definitely will not attack Luoyang. Shi Zhixuan was slightly taken aback, the murderous intent in his pair of eyes ring greatly, his gaze swept across the two boys back and forth, he spoke in heavy voice, What are you talking about? By this time Kou Zhong was even more sure that Wanwan did not betray them; he sighed and said, Xie Wang may not give thought to the Central Earths overall situation, but we cannot be that cold-blooded. Central Earth people closing the door and fighting for life, fighting to the death among the members of the same family is one thing, but when encountering foreign invasion, we pull out Li Yuans hind legs and let the outside tribes seed, that we are not able to do. Therefore, we have this private agreement with Li Shimin, asking XieWang to empathize with our secret trouble. The ominous glint in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes was restrained, he spoke indifferently, Dealing with Xiang Gui is perhaps one of the reasons you came to Changan, the other target is me, Shi Zhixuan, right? Xu Ziling sighed and said, If we had that n, we would have made our move against Xie Wang early on. Shi Zhixuan revealed a hint of profound mystery, but also brimming with grim - smile, he spoke softly, Zhao Deyan is still on his way here, why are you so eager to expose this matter? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This is called paper cant wrap fire [idiom: the truth will out]. Li Shimin must report this matter to Li Yuan, and we seeded in finding Xiang Gui, but Xiang Yushans whereabouts is still unknown, so we decided to leave Changan temporarily. We are on our way anding here to say goodbye to you, Xie Wang. Shi Zhixuan suddenly turned his imposing body around, with his hands behind his back, he stared out the window, and shouted in heavy voice, Get out, get out of here now! Before I am unable to bear dealing with you ruthlessly, get out as far away as possible! Returning to the Situ Mansion, the two boys mood was still very nasty. Sitting down in the inner hall, Kou Zhong shook his head and said, I am a bit regretting not turning my face and fighting with Lao Shi just now. If I did, now I dont need to feel so helpless just waiting to be ughtered! Heaven knows what he would do if he exposed us before Li Yuan receives the letter; it will destroy everything. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, He did not make his move just now, so he cant possibly do anything that will harm others without benefiting himself. I remember he said that he would never kill people out of anger; it does not seem to be a casual remark. Ay! I hope he can still keep his reason. Kou Zhong sighed and said, We let him to have the hope of assassinating Zhao Deyan in order to unify the demonic way first, but just now his hope evaporated. Lao Shi is not ay practitioners of Buddhism at all, how could he be willing to easily let us off? It was just because upon self-introspection, he knew that he cannot put us in order, hence he let us go; nothing more than that! I am not as optimistic as you. Xu Ziling said, You forgot Wanwan! The reason Wanwan went to Shi Zhixuan was because we had told Shi Zhixuan that Wanwan was also in Changan, therefore, Shi Zhixuan contacted Wanwan using the secret method of the demonic school and let her know his hiding ce, thereupon Wan Dajie dropped by to pay Lao Shi a visit. The alliance between Lao Shi and Wan Dajie represents the two most outstanding figures of the two generations of the demonic school joining hands to work together, which is akin to the unification of the demonic way, not to mention Wanwan still has the secret n of revitalizing the demonic school. She was unwilling to tell us because she was afraid we might thwart and destroy it. In this regard, she had no scruples toward Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhongs hope grew, he said, Thats true! Your analysis makes a lot of sense. Wanwan does not want to mess up our affairs, it is because our operation is beneficial without any harm to her, Lao Shi has no reason to ruin Wan Dajies good deeds either. Xu Ziling said, Go into the room and rest! Tomorrow, we will see whether the sky will copse, let Laotianye decide it himself! The next day, after the two boys returning from the Imperial Pce, they stayed in the Situ Mansion, painstakingly waiting for the news, like prisoners waiting to be sentenced. Wealthy businessmen, high officials and noble persons were still visiting Furong Ye in an endless stream. Lei Jiuzhi, Song Shidao, Zha Jie, and the others were busy endlessly. Tongtong acted as a maidservant, she went round and round [idiom: frantically busy] in the main hall, leaving Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai, three men in the inner hall, looking at the sky, telling their fortune using divinatory trigrams [see Footnote, Chapter title]. Kou Zhong said, Turns out melting snow is so messy; there are mud and dirty water everywhere. Ay! Spring is here! Hou Xibai said, Nothing to regret; at least until this moment, Shi Shi still has not lodged an usation on us. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhongughed at Xu Ziling and said, It could be said that we left out this kidst night; people say that even a cruel tiger would not eat its own cub, Hou kid is his beloved disciple, he could be considered half a son, and then there is you, the other half son. Added together, you just be aplete son, right? Ha! Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Fancy that you are still in the mood to crack jokes, I hopeter on you will still be able tough that happily. Kou Zhong leaned the back into his chair; stretching out his limbs, he said, This is called finding joy in sorrows. Ah you think Chi kid was trying to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it, what would he do next? Hou Xibai said, What else can he do? He has no choice but to stall for time in order to raise money. After the head office is officially opened, he will carry out the conspiracy to take control of the bank. Kou Zhong said, His only way is to snatch our capital with which we open the bank. He originally wanted to start with us, two rotten gambling addicts, but now this road is blocked. Ha! How could Chi kid beat me? Xu Ziling reminded him, Be careful! He might set his hand on Chen Fu. Under Yin Zuwens Seven Needles to Control the Mind, no one can keep a secret. Kou Zhong spoke unhurriedly, In that case, we might as well either dont do it, or dont rest [idiom: in for a penny, in for a pound]. Today, we openly transport the gold here, see if Chi kid still has any magic weapon [in religious context, a talisman or a Buddhist article]? If you want to do it, just do it, we are bored senseless anyway; we might as well immediately report to Furong Ye to let him preside over it personally. By dusk, finally everybody received the news from Shen Luoyan. After receiving Li Shimins secret letterte afternoon, Li Yuan immediately arranged a meeting with Wang Tong and Ouyang Xiyi, they talked behind closed doors for a whole sichen. After Wang Tong and Ouyang Xiyi left, Li Yuan immediately summoned Jiancheng, Yuanji and Pei Ji, Feng Deyi, Li Shentong, and the other aristocracy and nobility, trusted aides and cab ministers for an emergency meeting. Until this moment, there was no result. The person sending the secret letter for Li Shimin this time was Chai Shao. His nobility as the future emperors son-inw, also because of Li Xiunings rtionship, he was favored by Li Yuan. With him bearing this heavy responsibility, it could be said that there was never a second person in consideration. ording to the strategy drawn up by Xu Ziling and Li Shimin earlier, in the secret letter, Li Shimin told it as it is, the only thing left out was the crucial aspect of him going to Lingnan to see Song Que. In the process, Shi Feixuan acted as the lobbyist, she convinced Xu Ziling to attach most importance to the overall situation, and then with Xu Ziling threading the needle, he arranged for Li Shimin and Kou Zhong to have a secret meeting at the canal, which resulted in the agreement that due to the outer tribes allied armies pressing down on the border, they would cease the weapons of war. foxswuxia.wordpress Due to the urgency of the situation, Li Shimin, in his capacity as the front-linemander-in-chief, had no choice but to negotiate with Kou Zhong first, and then submitted a report to Li Yuan to let him make the final decision. The whole matter was reasonable and fair, and because before going into battle Li Shimin already expressed his intentions in this regard, it was even more impossible to fault. From their interests point of view, such an agreement would have a hundred benefits without a single harm to Li Tang. The only problem was that it would greatly increase Li Shimins reputation, make it hard to suppress. At least they would be unable to suddenly ce Li Shimin into idle, or as soon as he returned to the capital to have him move into the Hong Yi Pce, to strip his military power, and then to use him to make Kou Zhong implement themitment per their agreement. Under such circumstances, the strong opposition from the Crown Prince and the Imperial Concubine parties could easily be foreseen; it was up to Li Yuan whether he could hold his ground. On Jiancheng, Yuanji aspect, the only ground of opposition with enough persuasive power was that the suggestion to cease the troops movement was Kou Zhongs ruse, which would cause the rtionship between the House of Tang and the East Tujue to deteriorate, and then Kou Zhong would break the agreement by sending his troops to attack Luoyang. Xu Zilings brilliant scheme was precisely to be aimed against this, regardless of whether Kou Zhong was sincere or insincere, as long as he was willing to show up in Changan to shake hands and had pleasant talk with Li Yuan, the incident itself would have iparably shocking effect, enough to make Xieli think thrice before going down south; moreover, it could also sway the hearts of the brothers andrade-in-arms within the allied armies who had been through trials and tribtions, life or death situation together with Kou Zhong, such as Tuli, Pusa, Gunatai brothers, and the others, three main forces men and horses. Nobody dared to act blindly without thinking, hence they were forced to be cooped up inside the Situs Mansion, painstakingly waiting for the news, until the zero chen hour [7-9 am], when Shen Luoyan unhurriedly arrived. After sitting properly in the inner hall, this beautyughed and said, The matter is half seeded, only waiting for Huangshang to officially give instructions to Qin Wang. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai, and Lei Jiuzhi, for men you looked at me, I gazed at you, they did not understand what she called the matter was half seeded; however, overall, they knew that it was not bad news at all. Shen Luoyan smiled and said, During the meeting, the contention was intense. Jiancheng, Yuanji and Pei Ji took turns questioning the rtionship between Qin Wang and you, they did not trust your sincerity even more. Fortunately, Li Shentong strongly supported you, he pointed out that it is because you are both friends and enemies with Qin Wang that they are under the pressure of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, because taking advantage of someone elses precarious position is amon practice on the battlefield, not an exception at all. Li Shentong asked Jiancheng and Yuanji in return, whether they could give any example where Kou Zhong or Xu Ziling broke their faith and relinquish their promise, which made Jiancheng and the others dumbstruck and unable to reply. Hee ! I never thought that you, two kids have such a good reputation, so good that even those who hate you to the bones have nothing to say. Lei Jiuzhi said, Since Li Shentongs words were so powerful, plus the facts are there, why did Li Yuan not immediately make a decision? foxswuxia.wordpress Shen Luoyan said, Naturally it would not be so easy for Jiancheng and the others to give up; they shot back by mocking him that because Kou Zhong, for righteousness sake, showed Li Shentong kindness, hence Li Shentong speaks good words for you guys. It made Li Shentong suddenly so furious that he nearly turned back. Kou Zhong asked, Li Yuan did not propose to invite us to Changan to confirm our sincerity? Shen Luoyan shook her head and said, It was Feng Deyi who proposed it. Jiancheng and the others still thought that Feng Daren was deliberately making things difficult for Li Shimin. Lets not talk about they think you would not dare to use yourselves to challenge danger, whats more, in their hearts, even if you dare toe to Changan, they could still borrow the Tujue peoples power, one move, two gains - to get rid of Qin Wang and you guys at the same time; what could they have against it? The argument reached this point and then stopped. Frowning, Hou Xibai said, In that case, this matter should have been decided at that point; howe it was only half-seeded? Shen Luoyan said, Because tonight, Li Yuan is holding a state banquet as a farewell dinner for Fu Qian Wangzi [Prince], hence the meeting ended, saying that they will make the decision tomorrow morning. These words evoked the load on Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings mind, because if Li Yuan refused Fu Qians invitation for them, the two boys, to go to Tuyuhun in ball-skill exchange, they would not know how to get away. Xu Ziling wondered, Why did Li Yuan hesitate and could not make decision on inviting us toe? First, there were Wang Tong and Yi Lao, two outsiders raising this matter, and then theres the more neutral Feng Gong also proposing it. There is no reason that he cannot decide immediately. Everyone nodded in agreement. Li Yuan did not make a decision, it made the whole thing be shrouded in clouds; there was a good chance that he might ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Shen Luoyan sighed and said, This is called a gain and a loss. It was the implication of the big firearms explosion in the East Pce that makes Li Yuan understand clearly that Jiancheng has the heart to kill Qin Wang, which makes things be even moreplicated. Lei Jiuzhi snorted coldly, he said, Maybe Li Yuan himself has the heart to kill Li Shimin. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, When the anger is on the head, murderous intent being set in movement is hard to avoid, but when he calms down afterwards, he would remember the flesh and blood sentiment. In my opinion, although Li Yuan is convinced that Qin Wang harmed Zhang Jieyu in the dark, he still does not have the determination to put Qin Wang to the death, he would only seize his military power and exile him to the border and barrennd as punishment; but this should happen after Xieli withdraw his troops. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong let out a long, long breath and said, If Ziling is correct, I dare say that in the end, Li Yuan will be willing to nod, and Jiancheng and the others would still think that they have an opportunity that they can exploit to instigate the imperial concubines to be their lobbyists. As for what the oue will be, without asking, we ought to know the answer. Shen Luoyanughed and said, Nujia has to go! Tonight, you must be obedient, do not run around everywhere and all over the ce. Tomorrow will be the auspicious day where the spring sun will bathe all things. Chapter title: orig. looking at the Heaven to tell someones fortune using divinatory trigrams (Ba Gua). Book 59: 9: Final Decision

Book 59: Chapter 9: Final Decision

Early morning the next day, the two boys left the Situ Mansion, setting out toward the Imperial Pce. The melting snow made muddy water ran through the streets of Changan, vehicle and horses sshed mud everywhere, the great capital city of Changan was like a nobledy shedding off her magnificent and beautiful clothes, and rolling about and merrily ying in the mud, the elegant and pure bearing she had always maintained was obliteratedpletely. Kou Zhongughed and said, Didnt we want to be high officials before? Now we be officials all right, but we are so unlucky that even horses to get around arecking. Ha! I nearly couldnt sleepst night, I was afraid that when I got up this morning, our identity would have been exposed by Lao Shi. Fortunately, that does not seem to be the case. Xu Ziling said, Shi Zhixuan should be aiming for the same goal as Wan Dajie. Since Wanwan supports us, no matter how unhappy Shi Zhixuan is, he cant possibly grantly destroy it. This is called thinking on the bright side; other than that, what else can we do? Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Thats right! This is the unique skill of submitting to the will of heaven. A bit more pleasant to hear is: using unchanging to deal with ten thousand changes. However, this method is a one-time deal; we cant always ask God and worship Buddha every night, hoping that tomorrow Shi Zhixuan will not lodge an usation against us. Before the uprising, we must solve Shi Zhixuan, this difficult problem. While chatting andughing, they arrived at the An Shang Gate of the Imperial City. The two boys threw out the various loads on their mind as they entered the Pce to see Cheng Mo. When Cheng Mo saw the two boys, his expression grave, he said, I need to take you to see Wei Gonggong immediately; please dont ask, I really dont know why Wei Gonggong wants to see you, I can only say for sure that it is not Huangshang wanted to y polo, because the umted water on the field has not been cleared up yet. foxswuxia.wordpress The two boys heart knew, their belly clear - that it must have something to do with Fu Qian; without saying anything further, they followed Cheng Mo to the Gong Jian Tang [pce supervisor hall] to see. Wei Gonggong was busy giving directions to a group of pce eunuchs, so the three men had to wait painstakingly for nearly half a sichen before they were called in. Wei Gonggong forced himself to squeeze out a bit of smiling expression, he said, Congrattions, you guys! Huangshang really shows special favor to you, he appoints you as our Great Tangs special envoy, to follow Tuyuhuns Fu Qian Wangzi returning to his country, to represent Huangshang to participate in their uing polo festival. After the event, Fu Qian Wangzi will send his men to take you back. This matter involves the diplomatic rtions between us and Tuyuhun, two countries, the implications are profound. If there is no fault, Huangshang will definitely reward you heavily. The two boys secretly praised Fu Qian, unexpectedly he coulde up with polo festival, this limited time, limited day excuse, so that Li Yuan had no choice but to immediately release them. Kou Zhong pretended to have his countenance changed, he said, What ce is Tuyuhun? Xu Ziling also said, Didnt Huangshang want us to apany him in the match against the Tujue and the Gaoli? Wei Gonggong briefly exined to them. Obviously he was not interested to waste his time with them, he ordered Cheng Mo, saying, They are going to set out tomorrow with Fu Qian Wangzi, you take them to see the Department of Foreign Affairs Wen Yanbo, Wen Daren, let the Ministry of Foreign Affairs people instruct them in proper etiquette, so that they wont lose our countrys face by their attire. Hearing that, the two boys looked at each other, because they had never expected these incidental blessings. It was not until the sun was setting over the western mountains that the two boys were able to get away from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dragging their more-tired-than-fighting-in-a-fierce-battle bodies back to the Situ Mansion. Hou Xibai went out to meet them, he spoke in delight, Sess! Li Yuan officially issued a letter inviting you guys toe to Changan to discuss important matters. Hearing that, the two boys put down the big rock in their hearts. Kou Zhong said, Lets get inside and talk. Halted his steps, Xu Ziling said, I want to go see Feixuan. Hou Xibai happily said, I want to see her too, please graciously grant the permission for Xiaodi to apany you to go He had not finished speaking, Kou Zhong pulled him away and heckled him good-naturedly, saying, They are going to meet after dusk, we need to be a bit more sensitive! Ling Shao! Remember toe back before the second watch [of the night, 9-11pm], we still need to wait upon Yun Shuai. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling came to the street. He has not walked for more than ten steps, suddenly he sensed someone behind him; surprisingly, it was Shi Zhixuan. Not good! he cried inwardly. When he was passing him, Shi Zhixuan spoke, tranquil and calm, and at ease, Come with me! Xu Ziling was well aware that Shi Zhixuan upied thepletely superior position, and that he was leading them by the nose, how could he dare to say no? Chasing behind him, they walked through the streets and passed the alleys towards the southeast of the city. Shi Zhixuan slowed down his pace to let him catch up to his side, he spoke casually, From the beginning, I knew you were lying to me. The w is that you absolutely are not using this kind method to deal with the enemy. Plus Shi Feixuan arriving in Changan exactly at this time, it is obviously to cooperate with you. I dare say that you have formed an alliance with Li Shimin early on, you wanted to help him ascend to the throne, is Ol Shi guessing wrong? Xu Yuling sighed again inwardly, this time Shi Zhixuan came not to look for someone for an idle chat, but with a determination to put him to death. Therefore, he deliberately spoke these words, so that the only choice remaining for Xu Ziling was to kill people to shut their mouth; therefore, he would not possibly slip away. Xu Ziling entered the Moon in the Well realm, his entire being was empty, spirited and prating, generating a fantastic feeling of omniscience and ignorance [orig. wusuobuzhi and yiwusuozhi, lit. none is not known, and not one thing is known (or not knowing anything at all)]. He knew that under Shi Zhixuans tremendous pressure, his realm would make another breakthrough; he smiled and said, Xie Wang should know that what Kou Zhong wants to see the most is not Li Shimins Dark-Armored Cavalry, but the Tujue Wolf Army who proimed hegemony in the world. It is the battle that he dreams of encountering, a battle that can determine the fate of the Central Earth. The allied armies from beyond the Great Wall invading to the south is a done deal, it is only waiting for the moment when the arrow is going to leave the bowstring. Even if everybody else is willing to let it go, Xieli will definitely not want to stop; this battle is unavoidable. Can Xie Wang empathize with our current situation? Shi Zhixuan spoke in astonishment, Ziling unexpectedly opened your mouth to plead for leniency? Xu Zilings smile turned bitter, he said, Because I sensed the murderous intent in Xie Wangs heart. Shi Zhixuan halted his steps in silence. There was a small bridge ahead, the canal water flowed underneath it, flowing southeast in the direction of the Qujiang Chi [Lake Qujiang (lit. bent/crooked river)]. It was only then did Xu Ziling realize that they were in Puyang Li. foxswuxia.wordpress Hidden under the bridge he saw a small boat, which made him feel Shi Zhixuans determination to kill him more and more, and that what he had before him right now was a premeditated situation. Shi Zhixuan wanted to make his move in the hidden forest wild area of ??Qujiang Chi to avoid attracting the Tang Army toe and interfere. A hint of smile escaped from Shi Zhixuans lips, he spoke softly, Kou Zhong wants to make Xieli discard his wild schemes to invade the Central Earth, he must win a beautiful victory against the Tujue Wolf Army in a big battle in the open country, not an attack and defense battle at one corner of the City of Changan. Does Ziling understand? Dark clouds umted in the night sky, it appeared that a rainstorm was brewing. Shi Zhixuans knowledge and experience was certainly a cut above others; furthermore, he understood Kou Zhongs heroic, exceptional character, he knew that the final situation could only be a fair confrontation between Kou Zhong and Xieli, fighting an all-cavalry life and death battle. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Precisely because we understand this point that we must use the strongest troop arrangement, including the Great Tang Army, the Shao Shuai Army, and the Song Family Armys elite, powerful army division, to meet the enormously strong contingent from beyond the Great Wall, unprecedented in history. Shi Zhixuanughed aloud and said, After Ziling boarded the boat, we will have all the time to chat. Xu Ziling knew Shi Zhixuans intention to kill him was still unswerving, this battle would be hard to avoid, but there was not the slightest bit of fear in his heart, because he knew that that kind of feeling would only ruin things, and the only way to save his life was that he must remain in the Moon in the Wells peak state. The small boat slowly set out from under the bridge and glided down with the current along the dark and spacious waterway. Shi Zhixuans manner leisurely, he said, What was the business deal you made with Fu Qian? Why is he willing to help you get away? From his standpoint, the best situation would be due to the invasion to the Central Earth, Xielis strength is greatly damaged, thereupon Tongyehu would seize the opportunity to attack and upy Xielis territory, and then Fu Qian will take advantage of the golden opportunity where Tongyehu is too busy to mind him, to take over his party. Xu Ziling almost lost his spirit. Due to Shi Zhixuan and Wanwan joined hands and became one gang, his eyes and ears returned to being fast and abundant, so that he became an even bigger threat to them. Like Kou Zhong was saying, they could not always ask God and worship Buddha every day, hoping that Shi Zhixuan would be magnanimous and not destroy their grand n. Thinking to this point, for the first time, he started to have the heart to kill Shi Zhixuan, that is, if he still could not persuade Shi Zhixuan. foxswuxia.wordpress Shi Zhixuan steered the boat forward. His deep and unmeasurable eyes wereplete focused on him, to watch his reaction. Xu Ziling spoke frankly, It cannot be considered a business deal at all, it was just helping each other. We will force Yun Shuai to leave Changan for him, as for the rest, he will have to take care of it by himself. Shi Zhixuan spoke cheerfully, This time Ziling Ling is honest and frank, I wonder if you begin to have the murderous intent to kill Ol Shi? Thinking deeply, Xu Ziling said, What I am thinking is not important, its just a normal response of fighting hard to seek self-preservation under pressure. I really dont understand Xie Wang. Didnt you, the Senior say that there is nothing more important than Qingxuan? But your behavior is not in keeping with that point. Shi Zhixuan looked up at the pitch-ck night sky, which made peoples mood heavy; instead of answering, he asked, How much chance of sess does Ziling think Kou Zhong has that he will be able to, in a frontal confrontation on the ins, defeat the Tujue Wolf Army, which is invincible in this kind of battle? This is not like the Battle of the Rushing Wolf ins that day, Xieli ising with all his strength, and Tuli is going to stand on Xielis side. Xu Ziling said, I can only say that I have full confidence in Kou Zhong. This battle will be the heaviest and most difficult battle for Kou Zhong, yet this is the only way to push down the damage inflicted by the Wolf Army to themon people of the Central Earth to the minimum. Shi Zhixuans gaze returned to his face; the divine light ring greatly, he spoke in heavy voice, Even with your full support, with Li Yuans Imperial Guards, Li Jianchengs Changlin Army and the Tujue martial art masters standing by, in Changan, Li Shimin practically has no ability to fight back, why do you give up the easy and pick the difficult? Instead of supporting Li Shimin to hold on to Luoyang and proim independence, you want toe to Changan, risking yourselves to face danger? You know that Li Yuan, Jiancheng and the others invited you to Changan, precisely because they have the heart to put you to death. What you are doing is really unwise. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was both rmed and happy at the same time. rmed because Shi Zhixuan had once again gained control of the situation, so much so that he knew the ssified information that Li Yuan was inviting them to Changan. Even more crucial was that he anticipated that they would ept the invitation. Happy because Wanwan did not betray them at all by leaking the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure-house to this demonic lord at the top of this generation, and thus preserving their most important dangerous chess piece. He smiled and said, On the surface, that seems to be the case, however, Xie Wang should know that within the Tang imperial court, there is nock of people who are in favor of Li Shimin. Coupled with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall pressing down on the border, they should know what the clear-cut choice is. The small boat slowly entered Lake Qujiang and glided on the lightly rippling, undting water surface. The gardens on the far shore could be faintly seen, along with the pavilion, pce hall, balconies on the buildings, and the winding waterfront, which reminded people of the origin of the Qujiangs name. foxswuxia.wordpress It was not the first time that Xu Ziling came here, it was the ce where he had a secret meeting with Hu Xiaoxian. At that time, the scenery was bright and beautiful, with luxuriant flowers and trees on both sides, the oars crisscrossing on the surface of the water, theke was full of the gleaming reflection of the waves in the sunlight, and the water reflecting the buildings on the waterside, what is true and what is false engendered one another, like a fantasy that appeared to be a reality, enchanting beautiful scenery that looked like a mirage, a stark contrast with the moment before his eyes, which was heavy with murderous aura. He could not help having a different kind of emotional stirring. Shi Zhixuan rowed the boat towards the dense forest on the south bank, he sighed and said, The reason why Ol Shi proposed to assassinate Zhao Deyan, on one hand, it was to test your reaction, but even more, it was also because I still could not harden my heart to carryout ruthless hands toward you guys. Before I made my debut in the past, I made a heavy oath in front of the founder of the past generation, vowing to revitalize the demonic school, to let us rule the world. And currently, also perhaps in the foreseeable future, the biggest obstacle to our demonic school is not the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools, not Li Shimin and the likes, but you and Kou Zhong, the two kids who suddenly emerged from Yangzhou. Although I dont believe that you have the ability to turn Changan upside down, furthermore, I am positive that Kou Zhong will not be able to create the miracle of defeating the Tujue Wolf Army in a t in battle, but I do not have the patience to wait until that moment. This is Ol Shisst chance to choose, whether I should attach most importance to my master and school, or attach most importance to personal gratitude and grudges, and I have to make a choice between the two. Xu Ziling calmly said, Therefore, after careful consideration, Xie Wang finally decided to take my little life, right? Shi Zhixuanughed involuntarily and said, Certainly so! Suddenly Shi Zhixuan soared straight up above the boat, the tip of his right foot was shooting toward Xu Zilings forehead, brimming with definitely-will-not-show-any-mercy vor. Inside the Situ Mansions inner hall, Kou Zhong, Hou Xibai, Lei Jiuzhi, Song Shidao, Ren Jun, Zha Jie, and Tongtong sat around the table. After everyone was clear about the current situation, Kou Zhong said, Ziling, Xibai and I must leave the city with Fu Qians diplomatic group tomorrow, I will leave the matters here to Song ErGe and Lei Dage to continue the bank work. Since we are not there, Shi Zhixuan cant possibly disturb you. Hou Xibai said, If Shi Shi wants to expose us, he would make his move before we leave. If by tomorrow he has not made any unusual move, the chance of him exposing us isparatively low, the risk shouldnt be high. Song Shidao analyzed, Li Yuans target is Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling. As long as you are willing to ept the invitation toe to Changan, he could watch with folded arms, sit back and see Bi Xuan or Fu Cailin making things difficult for you. Other things should be secondary. foxswuxia.wordpress Staring nkly, Lei Jiuzhi said, Shidao is saying that Li Yuan is unexpectedly having bad intentions toward forming the alliance, and not because he wants to borrow Shaoshuais prestige to suppress the Wolf Army from beyond the Great Walls wild schemes. Song Shidao sighed and said, The fact should be so. The problem is not with Li Yuan, but with the people who can influence Li Yuan. Most people hate Xiao Zhong and Xiao Ling to the bones. It does not matter whether we are willing to ept the invitation toe to Changan, to Jiancheng and the others, it is still advantageous. Coming here will put Xiao Zhong, Xiao Ling in critical circumstances, perilous situation where danger lurks on every side, but if you donte, they will put the me on Li Shimin. This is the main reason Jiancheng agreed to this move. Kou Zhong happily raised his fingers and counted one by one, Jiancheng, Yuanji, Yang Xuyan, Yin Zuwen, Yuwen n, Dugu n, ha ha! There are still four fingers. His grannys bear, I was not afraid of them before, much less today. I want to show them that history is created by us. Lei Jiuzhi nodded his head and said, Counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir. As long as Li Yuan does not dare to openly act arbitrarily regardless of the rules, we are not afraid of his Niang. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Changan will be the site of a series of dramatic battles, but the most difficult battle is definitely against allied armies from beyond the Great Wallsrge-scale invasion to the south. I must hurry back to Liangdu immediately to gather all the strength in my hands, other than the Shao Shuai Army, there is still the Song Family Army and Ol Dies Jianghuai Army; we need to assemble the most elite of fighters. In time of emergency, they will take the ships via the canal to go up north the Great River, sailing against the stream to enter the Pass. Combined with the Li Tangs power, we will fight openly with Xieli on a hard battle that will determine the fate of the Central Earth. Since Xieli is best at using all cavalry in decisive battles on the ins, Xiaodi will use the same way back at him on the Guanzhong ins, to use the fact to prove who is the unequalledmander-in-chief. Stunned, Song Shidao said, Do you have the confidence? If you lose this battle, it is very likely that the north will repeat the inferior situation of the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians[1] [wu hu luan hua, lit. five foreign tribes (hu) disrupting China (hua)] in the past. Speechless, Lei Jiuzhi said, Back then, Xieli loaned out the Wolf Army to help Song JinGang attacking Taiyuan. The Great Tang Armys awe-inspiring way was blown about by the wind [idiom: to be routed in battle]. Even with Li Shimins military talent, in head-on confrontation, they still suffered big loss, and waspelled to carry out the closing the city wall and defending painstakingly, while cutting off their route for providing foodstuff - strategy, waiting for Song JinGang to exhaust their army provisions before he seeded in the counterattack. This time not only Xielis whole nesting out, but he is also joined by Tuli and the various tribes, Shiwei, Huihe, and Khitan. Their military strength reaches several hundreds of thousands. Youd better think three times before going. foxswuxia.wordpress Ren Jun, Tongtong, and Hou Xibai, none did not nod in agreement with the two men. Ever since Xieli emerged suddenly outside the Great Wall, the Tujue Wolf Armys might was like the sun at noon, no one who heard it did not have his countenance change. Kou Zhong showed a brilliant smile full of confidence, he said, No one knows more clearly than I do about thebat method of the various tribes beyond the Great Wall, or understand their strength even more. If there is someone in the Central Earth who can defeat the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, that person must be Xiaodi. The talk about the tribes from beyond the Great Wall being valiant has be a rumor. The people I encountered during my travels outside the Great Wall, from Du Xing to Ma Ji, Bao Ziting to Xieli, or like Pusa, Gunatai brothers and the likes, or maybe Tuli, who, with me, call Xiong [older brother] and address as Di [younger brother], none is not a tough and tyrannical man. If we want to make these people give up their heart to invade our border, the only way is to resort to military force, to make them submit wholeheartedly by defeating them in a fair battle. This battle will be like a duel between martial art masters, the saber technique is the military technique. Starting from the moment when I agreed with Xiao Ling to help Li Shimin, this battle has been lingering in my mind. It is thest battle I am fervently looking forward to. Nothing else is in my, Kou Zhongs heart. Hou Xibai said, Would Xieli dispel his intention of going down south because of your alliance with Li Yuan? Kou Zhong leaned back into his chair, he shook his head and said, You have this thought because you dont understand Xielis temperament, you dont understand the people beyond the Great Walls unafraid-of-anyone, brave-and-ruthless-in-battle character. The most crucial point is that the various tribes outside the Great Wall have deep hatred toward us, Han people. Our cooperation with Li Yuan will only arouse their vicious nature. On top of that, there is Zhao Deyan, this fellow pushing the wave and adding to the billows from the side, plus he is clear about the internal divisions and civil strife within the Li Tang. Xieli will not miss this once-in-a-thousand-years golden opportunity, otherwise his Great Khan throne will be unstable. Anxious, Song Shidao said, Its not that I dont have confidence in you, even more, I am convinced that in strategy, ability and wisdom, you are above Xieli. However, war is not a showdown between two people. The various tribes beyond the Great Wall, everybody grew up on horseback, their skill in equestrian archery is really not something that we, Han people could achieve. With us short and the enemy long, even if your resourcefulness is unrivalled, it is still difficult to have the power to reverse the rotation of the sky. Why not adopt Li Shimins strategy of closing the city walls, defend firmly, and fortify defenses and raze the fields [idiom: to leave nothing for the invader]. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, This strategy may not be effective this time, because the other side has Zhao Deyan who is good at besieging a city. When I was in Longquan, I personally observed the Golden Wolf Armys preparation effort in besieging the city. The Tujue are the best at using battle to raise a battle. Even more frightening is that they are fighting a war of attrition. If we let him heavily besiege Changan, then he will divide his troops to nibble away the city and countryside everywhere in Guanzhong, even if Changan can be defended, the consequences would still be extremely unimaginable. Since I am willing to help Li Shimin ascending to the throne, naturally I am hoping that afterwards the whole world will be at peace. And this can only be determined by the most explosive and intense battle, never happened in history. There is no other way. Listening to him, Song Shidao and the others not only felt that his words made sense, but it also came through mature reflection; even though their hearts were terribly worried, they had nothing to say. Kou Zhong turned to Lei Jiuzhi and spoke cheerfully, The matter of the future, let us think about it in the future. After fixing Yun Shuai properly tonight, we are going to Feng Ya Ge to have fun until daybreak; how about just consider it a farewell banquet for us, Taihang Shuangjie being banished from the court into the uncivilized territory? Naturally we will have our Furong Ye to personally preside over it. Ha! I wonder hows the progress of Ling Shaos night rendezvous with the beautiful woman? [1] Upheaval of the Five Barbarians - Chinese expression referring to a series of rebellions and invasions between 304 and 316 by non-Han peoples,monly called the Five Barbarians, living in North China against the Jin Empire, which had recently been weakened by a series of civil wars. The uprisings helped topple Emperor Huai of Jin in Luoyang and ended the Western Jin dynasty in northern China. (Source: Wikipedia) Note: the Five Hu refers to the nomadic tribal alliance of Xiongnu, Xianbei, Jie, Qiang, and Di. Book 59: 10: The Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit

Book 59: Chapter 10: The Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit

All along Xu Zilings spirit has been maintained at the Moon in the Well state, leaving life and death outside the sphere of his consideration, perfect and effective, without any obstruction. Compared with any previous confrontation with Shi Zhixuan, the sharp difference was that not only he had to save his life, but he also had to throw out all personal factors, to kill Shi Zhixuan for the sake of the overall situation and break his unparalleled-in-the-world Bu Si Yin Fa. Bang! Xu Ziling no longer care about what kind of Yin Fa [hand-image method] he was using in sealing and blocking of the opponents sudden and invincible attack under the coordination of the Huan Mo Shenfa, which was impossible to defend effectively. The true qi within his body was condensed to a certain wondrous natural state, he sent it out of his finger,pletely targeted at Shi Zhixuans finger attack. Qi power shed. Xu Ziling deflected half of the opponents power, while borrowed the other halfs true power to leave the stern, and flew at an angle toward thekeside off the right shore. Even with Shi Zhixuans reserved character, his face still revealed a look of surprise. It should be noted that this seemingly simple and direct kick, hidden within it was a secret sucking power, forcing Xu Ziling to fiercely staking everything to fight it, so that he would injure his five viscera and six bowels, and thus greatly weakened his fighting power. Who would have thought that Xu Zilings counterattack finger deflected his sucking force and discharged it to both sides first, and then it met his subsequent follow-up energy head-on; unexpectedly he was able to escape unscathed? The way he applied his power was amazing, it was greatly beyond his expectation. foxswuxia.wordpress Letting out a cold snort, Shi Zhixuan said, Good! Soaring into the air, rapid, swift and fierce he leaped over Xu Zilings head, both legs closed together, he dropped straight down to stamp the top of Xu Zilings head. Xu Ziling felt that his whole body was locked tightly by Shi Zhixuans qi power. If he focused his mind to escape, as long as he seized the opportunity to sink into the water of theke, the possibility of escape could be greatly increased, however, the situation before his eyes would never allow him to make this choice. Laughing calmly, the qi pierced through his whole body, and then, with him as the center, it exploded in four directions. At once he felt his whole body lightened, he promptly reversed the flow of his true qi, he evaded Shi Zhixuans not-just-in-name-only, but-also-in-reality huge vortex of qi power about to befall him with just a hairsbreadth difference, and flew toward theke shore. Shi Zhixuan let out a longughter and said, Ziling made another progress; its certainly hard toe by. Just by borrowing Xu Zilings qi breaking and boring into his stream of power, like a dead leaf blown by the wind, he flew like a shadow attached to the form, to chase after Xu Ziling, not giving Xu Ziling, who has fallen into the inferior position, any chance to take a breather or equalizing his qi. Xu Ziling did not sense any pressureing after him; however, his superhuman efficacious and acute senses clearly and unmistakably was telling him that starting from the time Shi Zhixuan made his sudden move on the boat, Shi Zhixuans spirit, formless, yet real - has locked him tightly, like a spiders web, so that he and Shi Zhixuan were linked together, so that via this invisible spider web, Shi Zhixuan was able to sense all his supernatural power changes. Know yourself and know the enemy, and you will never be defeated. This was precisely the core and the essence of the Bu Si Yin wonderful power. Thanks to his own progress and breakthroughs, Xu Ziling has risen from the true-qiing-in-contact-and-know-the-situation level to the down-to-the-smallest-detail of being-able-to-understand-Shi-Zhixuans-spirit-in-knowing-the-enemy level. Through this mystery within a mystery connection and reaction, he could also conversely master the changes in this terrifying opponents spirit. The wild wind suddenly arose, it struck over from four sides, eight directions like a violent storm. This was simply impossible. The moving qi could only be released by Shi Zhixuan from behind, however, that was how he sensed it. Bu Si Yin Fa was some kind of illusion, to confuse the enemy, to deceive the enemy to the ultimate goal of controlling the enemy, of subduing the enemy. Being fooled was his low-level senses, but it was not his sparkling and translucent, prating mind at all. foxswuxia.wordpress For the first time, he urately grasped how the invading true qi was making him hallucinating, while at the same time he knew how to fight back. His foot tapped the edge of the shore, Xu Ziling soared again, he spun rapidly, both hands were transformed into hundreds and thousands of handprints, not one was the same as the other. His spirit merged with each handprint, fusing into one entity, with myriad of variations. This sudden change broke off the invisible connection between the two, suddenly Shi Zhixuan was no longer able to tightly thread on his spiritual changes. Xu Ziling shouted the incantation, Lin! while at the same time sending out a head-on punch. The refined light in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes ring greatly, he pushed forward with both hands put together, and soared into the air to meet Xu Zilings full-powered punch. Bang! Metting the punch, Shi Zhixuan made a somersault andnded behind Xu Ziling. At first nce, it appeared like a stake-it-all hard-on-hard sh, without the least bit of fancy, feign move, but actually, Xu Ziling had made seven changes in session, before he was barely able to block Shi Zhixuans exhausting all his strength in this one strike. By the time Xu Ziling turned around to face Shi Zhixuansnding point, the surging-over qi and blood in his body calmed down in an instant, the positive and negative true qi within his body engendered each other. Suddenly the momentum turned, just like that he pounced forward as fast as lightning. His right palm was extremely cold, his left palm was burning hot. When his pair of palms was pressing on Shi Zhixuans back, it rolled and spun into a vortex of qi power where cold and heat intertwined, and in the Treasured-Vase Image form it hit straight at Shi Zhixuan. This was something that not even Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin would be able to deflect and dissolve, borrow or transfer. It was highly concentrated qi power,bined with two kinds of extreme characteristics. There was only one such an expertise in the world, there was no other name. It was the pinnacle of Xu Zilings achievement since his debut. Up to this moment, from thepletely passive, inferior position, he seeded to snatch back the controlling power of the battle! It was not easy to obtain, how could he dare to make any mistake? Like a whirlwind Shi Zhixuan spun his imposing body, both hands closing in, a wall of qi condensed in front of him. When the vortex of cold and heat energy hit, he brought his two palms together in front of his chest, his eyes looked at his nose, his nose looked at his heart, his face revealed a tender, pretty blush, his manner was like a holy monk entering a meditative state. The scene was weird and indescribable to the extreme. The sharp and shrill whistling sound of qi power grinding against each other, like a sudden storm, which had been going on for quite half a day, suddenly stopped. It came very abruptly, it disappeared even more suddenly. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling suddenly felt like he was struck by lightning; not only his qi power disappeared without a trace, he felt like he was unable to hold on. The unbearable feeling was frightening. Even more horrifying was the dreadful feeling of being pulled forward to fall face down in front of the opponent, like he was falling into the abyss. Overwhelmed with shock, he staggered sideways, well aware that Shi Zhixuan finally unleashed the skill he kept at the bottom of his trunk. Using the external wall of qi, instead of the meridians within the body, not only he neutralized Xu Zilings earth-shattering blow, but also dissipated part of his true qi. If he immediately counterattacked, it would be akin to Shi Zhixuan and he, Xu Ziling join forces to attack himself. In that instant, Xu Ziling shifted away for nearly two zhang, the pretty blush in Shi Zhixuans face was beginning to disappear. Like a giant bird soaring into the air he swept across toward him. But before the person arrived, his qi power had already enveloped him. Xu Ziling inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that in order to neutralize his swift and fierce strike, not only Shi Zhixuan had to stake it all and risk injuries to attack with all his strength, also, because Xu Ziling used image method to cut off the spiritual link, he miscalcted the formidable power of the vortex of cold and hot qi power, hence he failed to use the momentum to attack and gave him a chance to free himself. If Shi Zhixuans move could be made within ten paces, he, Xu Ziling would undoubtedly die. At this moment, he still had a chance to save his life. The only way was to avoid a head-on confrontation with him, since for him, Xu Ziling that would be thest day approaching. Xu Zilings spirit fit together, it became clear and bright like a clearntern, not only the situation of the enemy and us fully appeared in his mind, even the surrounding environment, the ice and snow beginning to stir in the woods and on the soil, and all kinds of life ready to sprout up, it seemed like he could feel it in his heart. He had never experienced this kind of realm before. If the current situation developed, definitely it would be hard to avoid the tragic ending of staking-it-all in a hard fight against Shi Zhixuan, unless he had a wonder move that could confuse Shi Zhixuan. The qi piercing through his meridians, Xu Ziling flew up at an angle, appearing to be slow but was actually fast, throwing himself toward the sparse forest area closest to the shore of Lake Qujiang. Even someone as strong as Shi Zhixuan, he was at a loss to deal with his seemingly silly move, simply because Shi Zhixuans Huan Mo Shenfa would be able to unleash its greatest effectiveness in the dense forest, and make the most of favorable location. foxswuxia.wordpress As expected, Shi Zhixuans speed immediately changed. Although his refined qi power was still locking him firmly, yet he was still slowing down a hairsbreadth, so that only after he entered the forest that he caught up with him and force him in hard battle. The subtleties within it, only Xu Ziling was aware of. The moment when he was only half a zhang away from the closest two old trees, when it looked like Xu Ziling was going to pass through the gap between the two trees to enter the forest but he was flying barely a bit more than half a zhang off the ground, Xu Zilings originally straight, piercing flight suddenly made a strange change, he began to turn toward theke shore. Under the pull of his qi intention, Xu Ziling, without a sliver of error, sensed that Shi Zhixuans refined qi field, which was about to lock him tightly, lock him dead, was struggling hard to follow him shifting direction. Also, because he was following him continuously turning around leaving the sparse forest, it was weakened. Obviously, because of his strange shenfa, which heprehended from Yun Shuai, Shi Zhixuan was caught off guard with such an unexpected turn. A touching feeling of being blended with the nature into one entity grew in Xu Zilings heart; no life, no death. Life was just a little blip that happened by ident in the universe. Suddenly his entire body rxed. Without needing to turn around to look, his superhumans spiritual sense was telling him that Shi Zhixuan, under pressure and helpless, had to change his shenfas direction, in an attempt to, relying on his Huan Mo Shenfa, movingter but arriving earlier - reach the point where he was going tond and attack. Shi Zhixuan was finally forced to change his moves, allowing him to grab the initiative again. This nearly-impossible-to-appear-w-and-gap in Shi Zhixuans current condition, he finally seeded in winning it over. However, the opportunity only shed once and immediately passed. If he was unable to immediately grasp and use it, by the time Shi Zhixuan was locking him tight again, the ws would turn into a talisman hounding him to death. The profound mystery in this could only be sensed, but difficult to convey in words. The true qi reversed direction. Xu Ziling was like a bird out of the cage, he rose high into the emptiness and reversed his true qi, positive and negative engendered each other, new energy pierced through his body. With a Swish!, he threw himself back into the depths of the forest. When his feetnded on the ground, he turned around and sent a punch out. Shi Zhixuans shenfa changed again, he bored through the forest and out. Although his speed did not diminish, he no longer had the astonishing momentum he originally had when he pursued over to carry out his killer hand. He gathered the true power that he borrowed from Xu Ziling andbined it with his own demonic power, which was at its peak before the decline, while Xu Ziling was storing up his momentum to wait. foxswuxia.wordpress The divine light in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes ring greatly, his fingers gather together into a palm chop, he jabbed straight toward the opponents face. Xu Zilings punch followed Shi Zhixuans subtle techniques, it was changing continuously. Bang! Like a kite with cut string, Xu Ziling was thrown into the forest, and then Crash! his back finally solidly hit an old tree, which terminated his flying-back momentum, and he spurted a mouthful of fresh blood. Shi Zhixuan staggered three steps backwards, another burst of blood red flitted through his face, but disappeared in the blink of an eye. Xu Zilings hand formed an image method, not only he ignored the serious injuries in his body, but his spiritual realm was unexpectedly rising to the next level; that kind of stepping back from the battlefield, while at the same time being even clearer about the whole situation from a more detached perspective - feeling, was filling his heart. A feeling of nothing-he-did-not-know, nothing-he-did-not-understand, mysterious-and-dark-to-the-extreme-point - about Shi Zhixuan grew in his heart. It was the ultimate realm of the Heart of the Sword Brightly Lit that Shi Feixuan was talking about. To strike and injure, so much so to strike and kill Shi Zhixuan, this was the only chance against his Bu Si Yin Fa, he had at least half the confidence. The initiative waspletely in his hands. Yet he was unable to make a move. Shi Zhixuan also surprisingly did not attack. He stood silently about two zhang away from him for a long time, before he asked in a heavy voice, Why didnt you make your move? You know that if you miss this opportunity, you will definitely die tonight? Xu Ziling took a deep breath, he stood firm, both hands were hanging down, he smiled wryly and said, It has nothing to do with, and not important to, Xie Wang. Xie Wang, please continue to impart your wisdom. Shi Zhixuans eyes were burning, he looked him up and down, but the tone of his voice was surprisingly calm; as if he was unconcerned, he said, Were you thinking of Qingxuan? Xu Ziling said, Xie Wang does not need to care about what thoughts are turning in my head, just go ahead and make your killer move! I wont sit and wait for death. As if he did not hear him at all, Shi Zhixuan sternly shouted, Is it because of Qingxuan that you let off the chance to strike back and gain the upper hand? Xu Ziling was silent and did not speak. foxswuxia.wordpress Shi Zhixuan put both hands behind his back, he looked up at the sky, his pair of eyes emitted none-could-express sorrow, he sighed and said, Destroying you is the same as destroying Qingxuan, the same as destroying me, Shi Zhixuan, and all these are for what? It is only this moment that I believe firmly that you are willing to sacrifice everything for Qingxuan, including your own life. Why cant I, Shi Zhixuan, make the same sacrifice for the woman that I loved the most? Xu Ziling could no longer feel his murderous intent. Shi Zhixuan cast his gaze at him, he spoke dejectedly, Its finished! Its finished! Ziling, you may go, about Yun Shuai, you can leave it to me, as long as I release the rumor to An Long, to Yin Zuwen, that I am going to kill Yun Shuai, I guarantee that he will immediately run away back to beyond the Great Wall. What I said, I will definitely get it done for Ziling. The torrential rain fell rapidly. In the continuous spring rain, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Hou Xibai, three men swiftly flew along the south bank of the Yellow River, giving back the touching wilderness with thanks to the mother earth, flowing at great speed in the direction of the Great River in the east, making their hearts wide open. Taking the lead, Kou Zhong ran to the tall grass along the shore, cast his gaze far and wide to both banks, suddenly swayed his big head, and let out a longughter, looking extremely happy. Hou Xibai and Xu Ziling separately came to his two sides, left and right. Stunned, the former said, If I did not know how you conduct yourself, I would think that you, Shaoshuai, suddenly got wildly drunk. Xiaodi has not sobered up from the hangoverst night, currently my head is heavy, my feet are light; in my floating state, I cant tell whether this moment is a reality or a dreand. Xu Ziling recalled the lively scene of the not-intoxicated-not-stopping drinking party at the Feng Ya Gest night. Qingqing and Xier disyed their true color as talented girls of the pleasure house, singing songs and ying drinking games: wasnt it a joy? Lei Jiuzhi, who had regained his confidence, abandoned all restraint even more. Even Tongtong, who had always been shy, dared to provokeughter. All these things left a rich aftertaste to him, made him greatly felt that in life, one must asionally be unbridled. However, what Kou Zhong was thinking about was somethingpletely different. He pointed to the opposite bank in the distance, and spoke in a voice brimming with longings, The allied armies from beyond the Great Wall will invade from Taiyuan, passing through prefectures and over the provinces straight toward the Guanzhong in on the north bank of the Great River, and Xiaodi is going to lead the most elite joint forces of the north and south of the Central Earth, stationing the army on the south bank of the Great River, waiting in tight formation. This will be the most decisive battle since the Tang recing the Sui. Not one side can afford the price of defeat, furthermore, it will be my, Kou Zhongsst war; either I die on the battlefield, or pull back and return to my hometown and live in seclusion to enjoy family love and joy. Hou Xibai was infected by his confidence and fervent longing. Laughing aloud, he said, Although Xiaodi does not like to fight, yet this time I will not to be shirked without dishonor; I have no choice but to risk my life to apany the gentleman to see how formidable and unequalled is the intimidating-everything-under-the-heavens Tujue allied armies. foxswuxia.wordpress The great earth was hazy with drizzling rain, the Great River traversed the mother earth, the river waves were rolling, the as-far-as-the-eye-can-see ins extended in four sides, eight directions, with no end in sight. Kou Zhong said, Does Ziling know, after returning to Liangdu, what is it that I want to do the most? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Your head is yours, how can I guess? Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, You are just shying away from work, unwilling to guess, otherwise, with your brilliant, divineprehension, I am sure you can guess spot on. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Is it you are going to see Chuchu? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Thats why I said there is no reason why you cant guess correctly. This is the matter that gnaws at my mind, the more Chuchu does not say half a sentence, the more she does not me me for not exining to her, the heavier my guilty conscience is. She has been silently waiting for me, enduring my indifference and heartlessness, now is the time for me to make it up for her. Hou Xibai spoke in delight, Turns out Kou Zhong is unexpectedly such a passionate person. However, in theke of Xu Zilings heart, it was Ling Longjiaos jade countenance that floated into appearance, but he only sighed that under the current circumstances, Ling Longjiao was not like Chuchu and Kou Zhongs deep rtionship, there was no possibility for her to be together with Kou Zhong, furthermore, she could not possibly reveal her love toward Kou Zhong to Kou Zhong. Life is not alwayspletely in ordance with peoples expectation; there are gains, then there must be losses, why should he be an exception? Kou Zhong said, Right now I really wish my nks could grow two wings, so that I can fly to Chuchus side, to tell her how I missed her, what kind of helplessness and pain I have in my heart, and all these things will be the past. Hou Xibai said, I hope that the suffering of all the people in the world will be the past. Not only will peace be restored in the Central Earth, but from now on the peoples inside and outside the Great Wall will live together in peace. Hatred and war will only cause destruction, without the slightest bit of meaning. Kou Zhong said, When we seed and retreat, the heavy burden will fall on Li Shimins shoulders, he will not let us down, right? Hou Xibai said, I suddenly have a strange thought, when we seed and retreat, we are going to be scattered to the east and west, why dont we set a certain number of years to meet again in Changan, to see what happen to each of us and see if Li Shimin has lived up to our expectations. That feeling will be very touching. Kou Zhong happily said, Good idea! How about a ten-year reunion? Ha! It would be better for us to explore the source of the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, two great and long rivers [reminder: in Chinese Yangtze River is literally Long River] together; it will be an unforgettable experience. foxswuxia.wordpress Emotionally moved, Xu Ziling said, Its another good proposal. Kou Zhong hurriedly reminded him, Dont even think of scattering to the east and west without me. We already said that we are going to be neighbors. You also have half responsibility for Little Lingzhong, right? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Being entangled by you, this kid is really troublesome. Kou Zhong said, However, after getting out of the Pass, we do have to part ways and scatter the goods temporarily [referring to goods sent under the protection of an armed escort]. Hou kid and I will go back to Liangdu, you will go to Luoyang to see Li kid. After everything is arranged properly, we are going to strike the gongs and beat the drums again, to spiritedly [idiom: extraordinary vigor, orpletely impressive appearance]ing to Changan, to face our biggest challenge. Hou Xibai said, I want to go back to Bashu for a visit first. Hey! Why are you looking at me like that? Xu Zilingughed and said, We are observing appearance and discerning countenance, to see whether you are going back to meet a beautiful woman. Hou Xibaiughed aloud and chanted, Mountain of beans, beating the drum on the roof tile, spreading mountain t, scattering white rain. Under the white rain, marrying the dragon girl, weaving the thin, tough silk fabric, two and a half zhang long. Half belonging to Luojiang [lit. Luo River], half belonging to Xuanwu [ck Tortoise, the seven mansions of the north sky, God of the north sky]. This is Xiaodis answer. Amidst the happyughter, the three men continued on their journey. Book 59: 11: Bright Prospects

Book 59: Chapter 11: Bright Prospects

After partingpany with Hou Xibai, Kou Zhong continue to see Xu Ziling off for a while, straight to the Luo Rivers west bank. It was dusk, the clouds tinged with sunset hues were hanging in the sky, the scenery was magnificent. Kou Zhong said, Ziling go up north along the Luo River, you could reach Luoyang before dawn. Remember to tell Li kid to insist on entering Changan with us, otherwise, before we arrive in Changan, he would unexpectedly get killed first. If that happens, no one will know how to clean up the mess. Um, Xu Ziling responded, looking like his mind was somece else, that he was thinking about something else. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, What are you thinking? Xu Ziling replied, I was thinking about Shi Zhixuan. That night I felt I had the confidence to kill him, most probably the misconception that he deliberately created to lure me to make my move. Because of Qingxuan I gave up this rare opportunity, but on the contrary I did not fall into his trap, and that has made things change dramatically. Kou Zhong was skeptical, he said, Although Bu Si Yin Fa is some kind of a brilliant illusion technique to confuse the enemy, but is Shi Zhixuan that formidable? Didnt you tell me that at the time you had some kind of feeling that you were able to see through him? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Its really hard to tell. Thest time at Qingxuans little hut by the cat cave, because I thought I had seen him through, I suffered a big loss. No one can really see through Shi Zhixuan. Kou Zhong furiously said, In the end, Shi Zhixuans problem must be resolved, because neither you nor I know whether he will suddenly go crazy. Xiongdi! Im leaving! foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling was among the first group of people to enter the city. He held the official document given to him by Pang Yu, hence he entered the city safely. After contacting Li Jing, he went straight to the imperial pce to see Li Shimin. When thetter heard that his good-self has arrived, he put everything aside and received him in the study room that used to belong to Wang Shichong. Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, Yesterday evening, I received the diplomatic document that Fuhuang is sending to you through me. I decided to open and read it. Fuhuang officially invited you to Changan to discuss the cease fire and forming an alliance, and ordered me to personally see you to Changan. Xu Ziling put down the big rock in his heart, at least for the time being Li Yuan had no intention to get rid of Li Shimin, otherwise he would have summoned him back to Changan immediately. He said, Any news about the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall? Revealing a worried expression, Li Shimin sighed and said, The situation is quite bad. The assembled army has increased to 450,000 men, stationed in eight ces along the northern frontiers of Taiyuan. They are holding military drills day and night, their momentum is like a rainbow. If they split their forces into several routes ande pouring into Taiyuan, Taiyuan will fall within fifteen days. At present, the Central Earth has not yet had the strength to resist such a powerful army division. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Winters gone and the springs here, what are they waiting for? The divine light in Li Shimins pair of eyes shing, he said, If merely attacking the cities and plundering thend, looting and destroying, they would definitely cross the border and invade south within a few days. But Xielis ambitions dont stop there, rather, he is hoping to be the lord of the Central Earth, hence he must have a more precise and effective deployment and strategy. Xielis goal is Changan. Once Changan is obtained, Guanzhong will copse without a fight. After stabilizing Guanzhong, he will invade Luoyang. At that time north of the Yangtze River will be the object in Xielis pocket. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Previously, Xieli was waiting for the news of your death. Now he has to be a bit more patient to sit and watch me and Kou Zhong being assassinated and perish in Changan. The day Bi Xuan, Zhao Deyan, and the others leave Changan, it will be the day when the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall are going down south. Li Shimin asked, What does Kou Zhong think about this nasty situation? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, He is looking forward excitedly. What? Li Shimin blurted out. Xu Ziling said, Im not exaggerating. This kid already drew up an overall n to deal with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. The most important condition is that you, Shimin Xiong sit on the emperors throne. When the allied armies from beyond the Great Walls the whole neste out and arrive, he will lead thebined force of the Great Tang, Song Family, Jianghuai and Shao Shuai, four armies elite troops at the Guanzhong ins to meet the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall headed by Xieli head-on, to force the opponent to fight a hard battle with cavalry against cavalry. foxswuxia.wordpress Li Shimin revealed a grave expression, he said, Kou Zhongs performance on the battlefield, I, Li Shimin, not only am ashamed of being inferior [idiom], but also admire him to prostrating five parts of my body [head and four limbs] to the ground. However, this time the enemys momentum is huge, and all their lives, the various tribes outside of the Great Wall live on horseback. Isnt this idea of Shaoshuai too risky? But then he smiled wryly and said, This can still be considered the most straightforward and agile way, it could eliminate the Tujue Wolf Armys threat toward the Central Earth in one fell swoop, lower the damage to the minimum, and restore our Huaxias [old name for China] prestige. Its just that if we lose the battle, the consequences will be unimaginable. Xu Ziling spoke with serious expression, Shimin Xiong must trust Kou Zhongs military talent. The Battle of the Rushing Wolf in is an irond fact. His understanding of Xielis tactics is very deep, furthermore, he is not someone who is reckless and underestimates the enemy, but knows how to fight bravely and fiercely. In addition, toward most of the leaders of the allied armies, he has intimidating power and influence. If in the first battle we obtain the advantage, we could shake the fighting spirit of the allied armies from beyond the Great Walls troops heart. In this battle, we definitely must not shrink back from fear, and close the city walls and noting out, since it will only foster Xielis aggressive arrogance. On top of that, the full-of-crafty-scheme Zhao Deyan, and the familiar-with-the-Central-Earths-situation Xiang Yushan, their destructive power cannot be ignored. For the sake of the well-being of the world, not only it is worth taking a risk, but it is also a necessity. Astonished, Li Shimin said, I thought Ziling would disagree with Shaoshuai fighting such a battle, who would have thought that the opposite is true. It can clearly be seen that you have full confidence in Shaoshuai. In the world, who knows better than Ziling about Kou Zhongs ability? Since thats the case, I, Li Shimin, will risk my life to apany the gentleman, and give Shaoshuai a free rein to have the full power to deal with the allied armies from beyond the Great Walls invasion to the south. A burst of emotional stirring grew in Xu Zilings heart, Li Shimin was precisely such a person, he definitely would not be wading in mud and water [idiom: sloppy], he made prompt decision to determine the most crucial life and death battle of the future. He said, Obtaining Shimin Xiongs full support, Kou Zhong will be extremely happy. Our affairs in Changan, everything is going smoothly, we won Li Shentong and Wei Zheng, two mens support. They could even lobby other important ministers. Now we onlyck Chang He, if we can persuade him to stand on our side, the chances of sess will be greatly increased. Li Shimin smiled and said, That move with the big firearm explosion in the East Pce was indeed beautiful. The best thing is that even Wang Xiong [(older) brother king] cant figure out whether someone did it or it was an ident. Fortunately, the wind was strong that night, otherwise merely the poisonous smoke was enough to bring disaster upon the whole pce. I hear that after the event, more than one hundred people in the East Pce fell ill, vomiting red up suddenly, and it took a few days to recover. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling secretly cried, Our guilt! Li Shimin suggested, Can Ziling stay for two more days to give us more time for a good conversation? Shaking his head Xu Ziling said, I still need to intercept Ba Fenghan, to ask him to turn around and return to Liangdu. This moment he should be on the waterway between Kaifeng and Chenliu, to deal with Yang WenGan who is about to raid Wanjing Gongzhus [Princess] fleet. Stunned, Li Shimin said, Unexpectedly there is such thing? After exining in detail, Xu Ziling said, Shimin Xiong can send your men to deliver the invitation to Liangdu. We will respond immediately and set a date to enter Changan. This matter demand immediate action. The sooner we arrive in Changan, the more we will have ample of time to deliberate on how to deal with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, To be able to join hands and work together with Shaoshuai and Ziling is indeed my, Li Shimins good fortune. I suddenly feel that the future of themon people in the Central Earth is bright. The darkness and chaos since the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians [see Chapter 9] is swept clean, themon peoples suffering is about to be historical relics. The hot blood welled up in Xu Zilings heart, Kou Zhongs sacrifice was worth it; besides, Kou Zhong himself did not regard it as a sacrifice at all! The opportunity for reunification and peace has never been as real as this time right now. This was the reward for showing Shi Feixuan favor, care and love even more. It was only when Kou Zhong arrived at the city gate that the Shao Shuai soldiers of Liangdu knew that theirmander-in-chiefs good-self had returned; immediately they flew to report to Xu Xingzhi, Xuan Yong and the others. Everybody went out to meet him in great delight. Kou Zhong and his crowd of capable subordinates met at the Commander Mansions gate; walking straight into the mansion, he said, Things have changed. I will have the most important military meeting since the establishment of the Shao Shuai Army in the main hall in one sichen. Where is Lu Shu [Uncle]? Xuan Yong replied, Lu Gong went to the workshop to watch Mou Gong cast his newly invented improved armor. We immediately sent someone to notify him. Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Is Da Xiaojie still here? Xuan Yong responded also in a low voice, The day before yesterday Da Xiaojie set out for Shanhai Pass to buy high-quality Khitan horses from Du Xing. Du Xing is now giving face to Shaoshuai. I hear that in front and behind people, he bragged that Shaoshuai is his treating-one-another-with-absolute-sincerity good brother. Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, This kid really knows how to watch the wind and steer the rudder, he knows who will give the best benefit for him. Hey! Where are Chuchu and Little Lingzhong? foxswuxia.wordpress On his other side, Xu Xingzhi replied, Chuchu Guniang and Lingzhong Gongzi are ying in the inner courtyard. Die Gongzi, Qian Xiaojie, Xiao Heer and the others went out to the lower reaches of the canal looking for secluded ce and exploring beautiful scenery. I am afraid they wont return before dark. Kou Zhongs heart grew warm. If the whole world was at peace, everyone should have this kind of peace and happiness days. Behind him, Bing Yuanzhen could not help asking, Shaoshuai said things have changed, which aspect are you referring to? Kou Zhong stepped into the main hall, suddenly he halted his steps, the high-ranking military officers and personal guards following him left and right hurriedly halted their steps as well. Kou Zhong took a step forward; revealing a brilliant smile, he turned around, spread out his arms, and said, The auspicious days of peaceful reunification are getting closer and closer; I even feel that I could reach out and touch it. Xiaodi is now going to deal with some personal matters first, dont worry, Ill be hereter to announce the good news. Only the timid and ipetent people will consider it bad news. The warship departed from Luoyang, on board were Li Jing, husband and wife, delivering the invitation letter to Liangdu, and Xu Ziling. From the Luo River going up north toward the Great River, under the bright and beautiful sunshine, the sails raised on top of the warship were flickering and dazzling, full of radiance and vitality. Inside the cabin, Li Jing and Hong Funu listened to Xu Zilings narrative concerning the recent developments in Changan. When Xu Ziling told them about Kou Zhongs decision to confront the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall head-on, Li Jing was stunned, he said, Even with Yang Jians tyranny in the past, the strategy of dealing with the Tujue is still diplomaticbined with military affairs, cleverly adopting the strategy of driving a wedge and splitting them apart, to make the Tujue all split up and in pieces, fighting among themselves endlessly, only then we can guarantee peace and security in our territory, but he never dared to confront the Tujue head-on. I wonder if Xiao Zhong needs to think a bit more clearly? Hong Funuughed and said, But I do have full confidence in Kou Zhong. From the beginning, Xiao Zhong is ustomed to using the weak to defeat the strong. Furthermore, he is our Central Earths only unequalledmander-in-chief able to intimidate the inside and outside of the Great Wall, able to do what others cannot do, this is precisely his portrayal. foxswuxia.wordpress Worried, Li Jing asked, What is Qin Wangs opinion on this matter? Qin Wang fully supports it, Xu Ziling replied. Heaving a sigh of relief, Li Jing said, Qin Wangs bosom is indeed different from ordinary people. Xu Ziling said, This is also called treating one another with absolute sincerity, only a hero values ??another hero. Qin Wang has fought Kou Zhong many times on the battlefield, he understands Kou Zhongs extraordinary skills better than anyone else. Hong Funu nodded and said, Kou Zhong is a natural-bornmander-in-chief, he has an impressive charm that makes the officers and soldiers under hismand willing to die for him. In his hands, even a mob can be a powerful army division dare to die. In the Battle of the Rushing Wolf ins, Tulis army under hismand used the few to defeat the many, so that Kou Zhong bes a legend on the battlefield. After Qin Wang pursued and attacked with all his strength and failed, who in the world would dare to doubt his talents? Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhong is a person who knows how to consider other peoples needs. Therefore, he clearly stated that the battle with the coalition forces outside the Great Wall will be hisst war. After that, he is going to wash his hands and withdraw from the fray to live in seclusion, in order to avoid snatching away Qin Wangs splendor. Stunned, Li Jing said, Thest war? Knitting her brows, Hong Funu said, Xiao Zhong is so sensible, could it be that Fu Jun [lit. my lord the husband] think there is a problem? Li Jing shook his head, as if to wake himself up from a dream. Muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, his gaze was fixed on Xu Ziling as he said, I want to ask Ziling to do me a favor. Xu Ziling nodded in affirmative, he said, As long as it is within my power, I certainly will exhaust my strength to aplish it. Li Jing said, I want you, Ziling to speak to Qin Wang on my behalf: the battle to pacify Xiao Xian, hand it over to me to be fully in charge. Xu Ziling understood. Just now, because Kou Zhong looked at the battle against the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall as hisst battle, which was tantamount to giving up personally avenging Susus deep enmity against Xiao Xian, Li Jing was astonished. Li Jing strived for the dealing with Xiao Xian, it was not to vie for meritorious service, but to fulfill his cherished desire for Susu and to redeem the remorse in his heart. Staring fixedly at Li Jing, Xu Ziling said heavily, I guarantee that Li Dage will be able to aplish this cherished desire. He had not even passed through the half-moon gate of the rear courtyard, the joyous noise of children ying andughing rushed out like a flood, increasing the liveliness of the early spring. foxswuxia.wordpress On the grassy yard, nearly thirty children between the ages of three or four up to about seven or eight were ying hide-and-seek, the sound of their happyughter shook the heavens When Kou Zhong was stepping into the courtyard, the crowd of children assembled on thewn was dispersing in confusion, each looking for a hiding ce, no one had the time to cast even half a nce at the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world. Next to thewn, there was an octagonal pavilion with stone tables and stone benches; seven or eight women, including Chuchu, stood or sat in the pavilion, watching the children with smile on their faces. It was not until Kou Zhong reached the pavilion steps that someone cried out in surprise, Shaoshuai! The crowd of women were shocked, they hurriedly stood up and prostrated themselves on the ground. Only Chuchu was still sitting on the stone bench, she turned her pretty face around, her countenance became iparably pale, her cherry lips trembled lightly, yet she was unable to speak. Finally her eyes fell on his outer robe, which had gone through enough cmity C that she had personally sewed for Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong spoke in a hurry, Ladies, you must never do this, quickly stand up. I, Kou Zhong, have never adhered to any etiquette orpass and set square. Although the crowd of women rose up as ordered, but no one had enough guts to stay inside the pavilion, they bowed and retreated to thewn, leaving Kou Zhong and Chuchu, two persons, alone. Kou Zhong was helpless against these women, he knew that in their hearts, he was like a deity. He lightly pressed on Chuchus fragrant shoulders first, to feel her lightly trembling tender body, and then calmly sat down next to her and asked, Which one is Little Lingzhong? Why are there so many good darlings [treasure/baby]? Looking at them, I am dazzled. Chuchus fluctuating heart and spirit slightly recovered, she spoke softly, Is he not the one looking for the others? She opened her mouth to call Little Lingzhong toe and have an audience [with the emperor], Kou Zhong promptly stopped her and said, Dont interrupt his keen interest, I still have a bit of time. Chuchu hung her head low and spoke in low voice, Is Shaoshuai not busy with official business? Howe you came back suddenly? Tu Gong is apanying Da Xiaojie to Shanhai Pass to procure good horses from Du Bawang. Kou Zhong looked at the appearing-to-be-thick-and-solid-yet-agile Little Lingzhong squeezing into a pile of underbrush to look for the other children, Susus jade countenance floated into appearance in theke of his heart. A burst of anguish rose up from the bottom of his heart, he remembered the great responsibility that he bore on his shoulders even more. For the sake of the next generation innocents happiness, their life of peace and happiness, the world must have auspicious days of long-term peace and stability. foxswuxia.wordpress Fixing his eyes on the outline of her pretty profile, he recalled the snowball fight inside the Rongyangs Longtou Mansion in the past. He spoke softly, How about we adopt Little Lingzhong as our son? Chuchus tender body shook violently, she looked at him, her eyes revealed an expression of disbelief, her fragrant lips trembled several times before she could barely speak; she said, The Song Familys Er Xiaojie [second miss]! Ay! How could Chuchu deserve it? Teardrops passed through her elegant, pretty eyes, trickling down like a string of pearls. Were it not for there was a crowd of women nearly, Kou Zhong would definitely pull her into his bosom in reckless pity, to enjoy again the sweet feeling of the past. But this moment, he could only raise his sleeves to wipe the tears from her eyes. Kou Zhong sighed, The one does not deserve it is me, a negligent person. Jiejie [elder sister], you must take pity on and show consideration to my frail heart. Ten thousand times, dont say any refusal. I have a gargantuan secret to tell you: I already renounce the contention for hegemony over the world, to support Li Shimin ascending the throne instead. As long as we beat back the invading foreign army, the world will return to peace and security, everybody will have auspicious days to pass. Naturally we and Little Lingzhong will be no exception. The Song Familys Er Xiaojie is a person who understands reason, plus her nature is as you are, pure and good, she will only love and protect you extremely! There will be no human affairs that can hinder our love, which started in Rongyang. Before, I did not dare to tell you this, because I was afraid that I would note back alive to see you. But now I no longer have any worries in this regard. I really did not lie to you, the Emperor of Heaven can be my witness, even when life and death were hanging on a hair on the battlefield, I have never forgotten my good Chuchu. Chuchu looked at him through her tears, her voice trembled, Shaoshuai! she said. Kou Zhong spoke sadly, Dont cry! You cried so much that my heart aches and feels sad. Xingzhi and the others are waiting for me at the outer hall to preside over the meeting. After the meeting, I will have to rush to Liyang to see Ol Die. The future is long, I, Kou Zhong, based on my Shaoshuais reputation, guarantee that Xiaodi will make you enjoy the rest of your life in good fortune and happiness. What Shaoshuai Kou Zhong said never does not count. Xu Ziling and Li Jing stood on the bow as the warship was entering the Great River, sailing eastward. Onboard the battleship were entirely Dark-Armored personal guards who have been with Li Shimin for many years, absolutely loyal to Li Shimin, so there was no worry that they might leak the secret. Furthermore, the current situation was different. Even if Xu Ziling openly came to see Li Shimin, the Crown Prince and Imperial Concubine factions would have nothing to say. Li Jing spoke cheerfully, I never thought that we can fight side by side again. Susus soul and spirit in heaven should rest in peace. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling focused his gaze straight ahead, he said, A ship is approaching at full speed ahead, shall I go inside the cabin to hide? Li Jing asked in astonishment, Howe I cant see it yet? His words were still in the air, arge ocean-going ship emerged from the river bend and appeared ahead. Xu Ziling did not know how to answer. He focused his attention to look, he spoke in delight, Its Wanjing Gongzhus Dongming gship. It was only now did Li Jing see clearly the g flying on the mast of the iing ship, he spoke in great delight, In that case, Yang WenGan must have suffered a big loss. Hurriedly he ordered his men to send out a signal while slowing down the ships speed at the same time. Inwardly, Xu Ziling was smiling wryly, seeing each other was usually better than not seeing each other, but Shan Wanjing was one of the people he did not wish to see. Not because he disliked her, the reason was quite the opposite. Book 59: 12: Coming Home, Coming Home

Book 59: Chapter 12: Coming Home, Coming Home

Kou Zhong ascended to themander-in-chief seat. Except for Gao Zhandao, Niu Fengyi, Bu Tianzhi, Ma Chang, Zuo Xiaoyou and the others who were unable to attend because they were on duty outside, all the important figures of the Shao Shuai Army were assembled in one hall, the Song Family Army was represented by Song Lu. upying the right seats were, in order, Song Lu, Xu Xingzhi, Chen Changlin, Bai Wenyuan, and Jiao Hongjin; sitting on the left seats, Xuan Yong upied the first seat, followed by Chen Laomou, Ba Yegang, Bing Yuanzhen, Ren Meimei, and the others. Everyone held their breath and calmed their qi, aware that something unusual was happening. Kou Zhong was dying to ask Song Lu about Song Zhi, but the time and ce were not appropriate, without any better option he temporarily put it aside. He greeted everybody, one by one in a cordial manner. When he exined the current situation and the changes clearly, everybody, none was not emotionally moved. Kou Zhong concluded, Ziling went to Luoyang to convey to Li Shimin my wish to lead the army on the decisive battle against the Xieli-led outside tribes main forces at the Guanzhong in. Based on Li Shimins conduct, plus with Ziling speaking on my behalf, there shouldnt be any problem. The crowd burst into amotion. They have been following Kou Zhong through disaster and cmity, they had ample confidence in Kou Zhong, moreover, Kou Zhong had the record of defeating Xieli in the Battle of the Rushing Wolf in, hence no one thought that Kou Zhong was speaking conceited nonsense. foxswuxia.wordpress Fiddling with his beard, Song Lu smiled and said, This battle will make Shaoshuais name remain for all eternity, your military glory will be written in history for hundreds of generations without going out. Not only will it crush Xielis coveting heart for the Central Earth, but at the same time, it will also subdue and intimidate the ring-like-a-tiger-watching-its-prey Tongyehu of the Western Regions. Emotionally moved, Ba Yegang said, In the world, only Shaoshuai has such a heroic passion and magnificent feat. We pledge our lives to follow left and right, to make an all-out effort. Everyone stood up and vowed in one voice, the atmosphere was zing hot. When everyone was seated again, Chen Laomou let out a longughter and said, Heaven responds to people, people respond to Heaven, Man and Heaven interacts with each other. Shaoshuai and Xiao Ling identally and timely destroyed the firearms storehouse before Li Jiancheng moved out the firearms. If in the course of events there was a supernatural help, it is indeed a gargantuan lucky omen, to Jianchengs side however, it is a great ill omen! Everyone agreed. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, This could also prove that Li Shimin is the Son of Heaven ordained by heaven. The saying that has been circting in Jianghu, Duke Yang Treasure, Treasured Jade Annulus of He n, obtaining one of the two can unify the world, it seems indeed belong to Laotianyes imperial decree. Because Ziling and I obtained both, yet its toote to go too far, I have no choice but to let Li kid inherit the blessing [orig. favor from the emperor or high official]. Ha! Am I making any sense? Xu Xingzhi spoke cheerfully, As long as its Shaoshuais golden mouth saying it, not only it makes sense, but its also the natural order of things. [Trantors note: y on words, sense/reason C dao li, natural order C tian li (heavensw, same li character).] Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Xingzhi is certainly my good confidant. Xuan Yong said, The operation of sneaking into the Pass is under Ma Chang Jiangjunsmand, it should bepleted in a short period of time. We are gathered here waiting respectfully for Shaoshuais instructions. Ren Meimeis female voice said, Since the Mandate of Heaven is on our side, no matter what Shaoshuai says, the final victory should always be ours. Everyone burst intoughter. The theory of ghosts and gods was deeply rooted in the peoples hearts. Since lucky omen frequently appeared, naturally everybodys confidence was increased many times over, their morale was greatly aroused. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong said, On Ma Changs side, we have Lei Dage, this Jianghu veteran with a wide face C providing support, even more, he obtained the local worm Huanghe Bang making arrangement at his request, there shouldnt be any problems. After a pause, he asked, Is there any good news on the Flying Horse Ranchs side? Xu Xingzhi replied, We have just received Shang Changzhus letter via flying horse yesterday, five thousand high-quality war horses that have been through improved and rigorous training are being shipped via the waterway to Liangdu. Bu Zhen [subduing/garrison (general)] is in charge of the supply of ships. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there are as many as five thousand horses, it is greatly beyond my expectation. Song Lu said, On Lingnans side, the matter has been resolved without a hitch, Shaoshuai can move an army and send a general with peace of mind, no need to be distracted. Inside the hall, only Kou Zhong understood the meaning behind Song Lus words. It referred to Song Zhi has been handled properly by Song Que, he could not cause trouble. Feeling joy on top of joy, Kou Zhongughed and said, The top priority job at this moment is to gather the troops and the fleet in Liangdu, so that they can be quickly mobilized, to depart for Guanzhong via the waterway. We need quality over quantity, the chosen soldiers for this battle will not only have to be elite troops with long experience in battle formation, they must also have outstanding courage, and skillful in horsemanship. Xu Xingzhi proposed, On the troops aspect, we could have Xuan Zhen handling it with full authority. Kou Zhong had extreme confidence toward his insight, he spoke cheerfully, Well decide it that way then, the rest of us will unite inmon effort from the side. Everyones eyes fell on Song Lu. Song Lu spoke slyly, On the Song Familys side, we have no problem even more. In fact, we have already taken appropriate steps in this matter. We only need to transfer the troops to Liangdu. Kou Zhong asked, In Lu Shus estimate, how many men will we be able to use? Song Lu replied, We rely mainly on cavalry, the number of men suitable to participate could reach up to 40,000 to 50,000. Very happy, Kou Zhong said, With the addition of Ol Dies Jianghuai elite troops with rich experience inbat, we can form an elite division of one hundred thousand elite cavalry. If the Li Tang side can supply one hundred thousand more elite troops, our military strength will total 200,000. Although the other sides military strength reaches several hundreds of thousands, at the end of the day, they still belong to different ethnic groups, which will give us the possibility of driving a wedge between them and splitting them apart. Coupled with my familiarity with theirbat style and the focus of their strategies, my grasp of the geographical terrain is even farther beyond their reach. Moreover, all along the enemy is toiling their army in a military expedition, prating deep into our territory,paring various merits and drawbacks factor, we are increasing, the other side diminishing, the two sides strengths pull into a tie. The rest depends on whether he, Xieli is outstanding, or me, Kou Zhong is brilliant. Ha! foxswuxia.wordpress Everyone shouted in unison, their voices shook the beams, the morale was high. After everybody calmed down, Kou Zhong issued his order, Xuan Zhen received my handed-down teaching in tactics, when all the three sides main forces are assembled in Liangdu, it will be time for Xuan Zhen to conduct the drill, to practice the techniques of cavalry warfare on the ins. On the equipment, Chen Gong will invest his effort in thinking about it, to n and prepare. On the army provisions and supply of material, I have to trouble Lu Shu. Be sure to preserve and nurture your spirit, from top to bottom we are of one mind, everybody must realize that facing an attack from Xieli is rted to the honor and disgrace, disaster and happiness of themon people under the heavens. When the outside tribes allied armies go down south, it will be the moment for us to revive the Central Earth, topletely wash away our former disgrace. The crowd of generals thundered their promise. The two ships slowly reached the shore. To Xu Zilings surprise, on board was not only Shan Wanjing, there were also Ba Fenghan, Wang Xuanshu and nearly fifty Flying Clouds Guard martial art masters. Li Jing, husband and wife, and Xu Ziling leaped onto the bow of the Dongming gship, Ba Fenghan stepped out to meet them, heughed and said, How did this happen? Unexpectedly Ziling has Li Da Jiangjun [great general] personally escorting you back to Liangdu. Following behind him, Shan Wanjing cheerfully said, Lets go inside the cabin and talk in details. In the cabin, they sat down on the hosts and guests seats, respectively. Ba Feng said, We intercepted Gongzhu one step ahead of Yang WenGan, and secretly hid ourselves on the boat, waiting for Yang WenGan toe and walk right into the trap. As expected, two nightster, on the waterway about ten li from Kaifeng, they used speedboats and fire-arrows to ambush us. We delivered a frontal assault. From several hundred of assants, the damage and broken were more than half. At that time the situation was chaotic, whether Yang WenGan was buried in the muddy river or not, nobody knew for sure. Ba Fenghan described the situation at that time in his usual sketching-in-light-shades style, but Xu Ziling could imagine how intense the battle was. Moreover, just now they also noticed that there were many traces of destruction and fire remaining on the Dongming gship. After Xu Ziling exined the changes in the situation clearly, Ba Fenghans pair of tiger-eyes lit up immediately. Letting out a longughter, he said, Oh, Bi Xuan! Changan is a good ce for us to fight for the third time. I will make you regret your long and arduous journey [orig. long mountains, far away rivers] toe to Changan. Song Lu waited for Kou Zhong exining everything to the crowd of generals clearly before signaling him to the inner hall to speak. He also sent his men to fetch a package wrapped in brocade cloth and handed it over to Kou Zhong. He smiled and said, Yuzhi specially sent someone to deliver this gift for you, I dont know whats inside. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong held it in his hand; it felt soft in his hands, warm feeling welled up in his heart. He hurriedly opened the brocade cloth. Appearing before his eyes was a note with two lines of lucid and elegant characters written on it. Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thorn-ferns. The thorn-ferns are now springing up. When shall we return? When shall we return? It will bete in the [next] year. [See note at the end of this chapter.] Kou Zhong read it carefully twice; scratching his head, he said, Please forgive me for myck of knowledge [orig. of humble talent and shallow learning]. These four seem-to-be-prose, seem-to-be-poetry C thing, how should I exin? Lu Shu, would you, the Senior, please give me directions? Song Lu blurted outughing; he leaned over the small table to take a look, and said, Yuzhi quoted this from the Gathering the Fern section of the Minor Odes of the Book of Songs, widely known throughout all ages. The entire section is divided into six stanzas, the first three stanzas are talking about the pain of leaving home as a soldier to go far away and stationed for a long time outside, and then the next two stanzas narrate the situation in the army, thest stanza talks about the miserable plight on the way home. Kou Zhonghus tiger-body shook, it was only then did he deeply feel and understand Song Yuzhis loathing-war state of mind. He sighed and said, The meaning of these four sentences ... Song Lu exined, These four sentences are the first four lines at the beginning of the poem. The royal ferns [osmunda regalis]mon name is Chaocai [lit. nest vegetable], only edible when it first grew. The four sentences meaning is that even if the fern is continuously being plucked, it will continue to grow, which will make people continuously think of going home. However, one year passed in the twinkling of an eye, yet there is still no time to return home. Kou Zhong nearly shed tears, he stroked the fragrant note, unable to say anything. Song Lu understood his mood, he said, Yuzhis former disagreement with you has been fully resolved, it is a good thing, you should be happy. As long as Shaoshuai proceed ording to n, when the hot summeres, wont you be able to see Yuzhi? This package looks like a set of clothes, Yuzhi ought to be personally sewing it for you. Kou Zhong fought hard to suppress the stirred-up emotion in his heart, he picked up the fragrant note first, ced it on the side table, and then opened the package to take a look. Unexpectedly it was aplete outfit, including a red headband, a big round-necked, short-sleeved light blue-green outer cape, a white pleated gown, ck leather girdle and ck soft leather boots. Looking at it all, momentarily he could only stare nkly. foxswuxia.wordpress Song Lu cheerfully said, Yuzhi really gave thought to you, she prepared everything properly for you from head to toe. Choked with emotion, Kou Zhong said, I will wear this outfit to enter Changan. Changing the subject, Song Lu said, Dage asked me to express his regret to you for what happened with ErGe. Furthermore, he guarantees that no simr idents would happen again. Worried, Kou Zhong asked, How did Fazhu deal with Zhi Shu? Song Lu replied, If based on Dages former temperament, it would be difficult for ErGe to escape death. Fortunately, after seeing Fan Zhaizhu, Dages heart is clearly softened, when he saw ErGe honestly confessing his guilt, presently he only forbade ErGe to leave his residence and stripped him of his military power. Remembering Chuchu, Kou Zhong said, I have one more thing to ask Lu Shu for help, I hope Yuzhi will show understanding. Speak up! Song Lu said. Kou Zhong told Song Lu everything, not concealing anything at all, about the rise and fall of the terrain [idiom] of his rtionship with Chuchu. Song Lu smiled and said, Dont worry, I believe Yuzhi will not have any objections to this. I will write a letter on your behalf to let her know clearly about this matter. This moment, Xu Xingzhi came to report, The warship to Liyang is awaiting orders at the pier, Shaoshuai please rise your honored self. The warship sailed through Kaifeng. Ba Fenghan pushed the door and walked in. Xu Ziling, who was sitting in meditation, got out of bed to greet him, he said, Its daybreak! Time flies so fast. Ba Fenghan looked out the window and said, Just passed Kaifeng, we can reach Liangzhou by noon. Finished speaking, he sat down. With a smile on his face, he said, What did Meirener Gongzhu [beautiful princess] talk to you about? Xu Ziling sat down on the other side, across a small table. Laughing in spite of himself, he said, Meirener Gongzhu? Ha! Meirener Gongzhu. Ba Fenghan said, This is called those who handle cinnabar are stained red; those who work with ink are stained ck [idiom: you are the product of your environment]. Hanging around you guys too much, the tone of my voice is more like you, only I dont know if it is good or bad? Xu Ziling said, Naturally its good. While you are in a good mood, I have a question I want to ask you. Astonished, Ba Fenghan said, I am listening with respectful attention. Xu Ziling said, You, LaoGe challenged Bi Xuan, this matter is very easy to understand. However, we then are going face the allied armies beyond the Great Wall head-on. You are, after all, still a Tujue. I wonder if there will be conflicts in your heart? foxswuxia.wordpress Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Turns out it is that kind of a question! In this aspect, Kou Zhong has a little bit more understanding of me. Even within the Tujue, there are different tribes and systems. I belong to one of the small tribes of the Rouran tribe, which was swallowed by the Tujue during your Central Earths Emperor Wenxuan of Qi of the Northern Dynasties and Emperor Jing of Liang of the Southern Dynasties. Although it was assimted by the Tujue, but toward the brutal Tujue, all along we still have a deep hatred, only we dare to be angry but do not dare to say anything, everything is hidden at the bottom of our heart. Also, when I was a teenager, the Tujue, headed by Xieli, made my family bankrupt and the people dead, destitute and homeless, and I was reduced to be a horse thief. I can no longer restrain my hatred toward the Tujue. Although other people see me as a Tujue, I just consider myself as a wanderer without any roots. This time being able to fight side by side with you against Xieli has been the dream and cherished desire that I have since I was a child. Now Ziling should not worry for me about what people I belong to. Xu Ziling said, Thank you very much you are willing to tell me candidly. Was it also the same reason that prompted you to finally break up with Badaier? Ba Fenghans pair of eyes emitted mncholy expression, he nodded and said, From the beginning, my rtionship with her is destined not to have a good oue. There was a time when I mistakenly thought that the love between a man and a woman could transcend the hatred between ethnic groups and family ns, who would have thought that this kind of carved-in-bones-and-engraved-in-the-heart [idiom: unforgettable] blood enmity is like a maggot attached to a bone, not only it is engraved in the heart, but also flowing in the blood. The most terrible thing is that neither of us canpletely change ourselves for the others sake. Because the love that starts out of hatred will end in hatred. Didnt you go to see Badaier? Xu Ziling asked. Ba Fenghan said, I let her know that I still have her in my heart. I also let her know the cruel reality that we cannot live together, so that she can have a little better life. Ay! What else can I do? Inside a wing room of the Zongguan mansion of the City of Liyang. Finished listening to Kou Zhong, Du Fuwei knitted his brows and said, From military strategy perspective, a bit more pleasant to hear is to say that this is the battle to decide the fate of the rivers and mountains [i.e. country]; unpleasant to hear is to say that we are staking all in one throw. If my son is victorious, naturally henceforth the world will have peace and security. In case we suffer defeat, Li Tang, Shao Shuai and our Jianghuai Army would all suffer heavy losses, the north would fall into the hands of foreign invaders. In the south, Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong would form an alliance. If the situation deteriorates to this point, Song Que would be powerless to fight back and could only strongly defend his ground. Xiao and Lin would have the opportunity to return to office after living as a hermit on Mount Dongshan [idiom: making aeback]. The world would surely return to the chaotic situation of the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians [see Chapter 9] of the past. Isnt your n too risky? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong smiled and said, Die, please trust Child, Child has certainty of victory. Du Fuwei threw his head back in longughter, his heroic spirit rushed forth wildly, he said, My son is a hero without rival, Die ought to have passed the consideration period! Everything will be ording to what my son said. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Since leaving Yangzhou, there hasnt been a moment when Child felt that the future ispletely in my control like this. Du Fuwei said, Die has never seen you so vigorous like this, while looking around, you automatically reveal an intimidating demeanor. Thinking deeply, Kou Zhong said, Its all thanks to witnessing Song Ques battle with Ning Daoqi. In term of martial art, the benefit I derived is hard to estimate. Thinking back to the situation at that time, although Ning Daoqi did not say half a sentence to me directly, but some of what he said seem to be directed at me. For example, Creating but not possessing, seeding but not self-assured, these two sentences are precisely the most urate portrayal of my current situation. As for the three most critical sentences, since thinking that its toote, walking fast nonstop, thereupon the strength exhausted and die, these are even more thought-provoking. Du Fuwei sighed in admiration, He is worthy to be the number one person in the Central ins, every word is a pearl of wisdom, brimming with dhyana thought. This is our decision then. In ordance with my sons selection criteria, I can provide at least 30,000 elite cavalry. When the timees, I will personally lead the troops, under my sons fullmand, we will greatly show our color to the foreign invaders. Kou Zhong suddenly remembered the gift that Song Yuzhi personally sewed for him. The ship moored at the dock. Song Lu personally led the crowd to greet them. Seeing Wang Xuanshu, in extreme happiness, Xiao Heer forgot all propriety, she pulled him aside to talk privately, causing Wang Xuanshu to be greatly embarrassed, yet he could not bear to go against her keen interest. Xu Ziling let Song Lu and the others to greet and wee Li Jing, husband and wife. Inpany with Ba Fenghan and Yin Xianhe, they walk back to the city. When Ba Fenghan saw Wang Xuanshu and Xiao Heer, heughed and said, I suggest that Xuanshu stay in Liangdu to apany Xiao Heer. What would two gentlemen think? Xu Ziling said, Well have Kou Zhong go and persuade him, he might listen to Kou Zhong. I increasingly feel that personal gratitude and grudges are not important enough, the most important thing is the peaceful reunification of the world. Turning to Yin Xianhe, he said, It would be best for Ji Qian to stay in Liangdu as well. Yin Xianhes expression looked weird, he said, I already persuaded her, Ziling dont have to worry. foxswuxia.wordpress Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan you looked at me, I gazed at you; could it be that Ji Qian changed her mind? Otherwise, no one could persuade her, even Yin Xianhe would not be able to. The former asked in surprise, How did you persuade her? Yin Xianhe bashfully said, Can I not tell you? Chopping the nail and slicing the iron [resolute and decisive], Ba Fenghan cut him off, No, you cant! Quickly own up to the facts. Xu Ziling nodded in agreement, having a smile on his face to make clear his position, that he was standing on the same front as Ba Fenghan. Yin Xianhes old face blushed; helpless, he said, Please let me off! Ay! She is pregnant. Ba Fenghan said with great joy, Yin Xiong is really capable! Xu Ziling hurriedly congratted him. Ba Fenghan said, In that case, its not advisable for Yin Xiong to follow us taking risks. Yin Xianhe resolutely shook his head and said, The rise and fall of our country is everybodys responsibility, much less you guys are my benefactors and brothers. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I am not doing it for your good, but for our good; furthermore, I am giving thought to your child. Just think: you areing with us staking your life in battles, Sao Furen [madame sister-inw] at home will worry about your safety day and night. More or less, it will affect your child, it will affect you even more. When we get to Changan, there will be series of fierce battles, only those who are ruthless enough will be able to survive, and you are certainly not ruthless enough, simply because the concerns will weigh you down. Listen to our advice, no one will look down on you for this; at the same time, it will also allow us to have a free hand without the slightest bit of hindrance. Yin Xianhe remained silent; it was clear that he was moved. Warm feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. When he first met Ba Fenghan, not even in his dream he would think that Ba Fenghan could say such affectionate and true words. In troubled times, a situation like Yin Xianhe could happen in any family, which could be a separated-in-life-and-death tragedy. foxswuxia.wordpress Themon people of the world have had enough! It was time to end the suffering. Reaching out to put his hand on Yin Xianhes long and slightly fat shoulder, heughed and said, This is called you are leading by example, so that Xuanshu has nothing to say. Come! Lets have a few cups, to congratte in advance that Sao Furen will give birth to a fair and chubby baby in the future. At that time, there will be no more wars in the world, everybody can live in peace and work happily, no need to be separated from their loved ones. Ba Fenghan let out a longughter and said, Now we are going to drink wine of happiness [liquor drink at a wedding feast]. Yin Xiong might as well formally tie the knot and be husband and wife with Ji Xiaojie tonight. How about Ziling and I be the witnesses? Ha ... Trantors Note: I had no idea how to trante the Chapter Title, so I asked the venerable Mr. Google, and heres what I found: It came from Xiao Ya Cai Wei [lit. Minor Odes Gathering the Thorn-Fern], a poem from the Book of Songs, ancient Chinese realism poetry anthology [Xiao Ya (Minor Odes) is one of the main Sections of Shijing (the Book of Songs)]. The author was anonymous, it tells the story of a soldier returning to his home town, a song about the hard life of enlisted officers and soldiers and their longing for home. An excerpt is as follows: Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thorn-ferns; The thorn-ferns are now springing up. When shall we return? When shall we return? It will bete in the [next] year. Wife and husband will be separated, Because of the Xian-yun. We shall have no leisure to rest, Because of the Xian-yun. Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thorn-ferns; The thorn-ferns are now tender. When shall we return? When shall we return? Our hearts are sorrowful; Our hearts are sad and sorrowful; We shall hunger, we shall thirst. While our service on guard is not finished, We can send no one home to enquire about our families. Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thorn-ferns; The thorn-ferns are now hard. When shall we return? When shall we return? The year will be in the tenth month. But the kings business must not be ckly performed; We shall have no leisure to rest. Our sorrowing hearts are in great distress; But we shall not return from our expedition. The interpretation is as follows: By the time the pea shoots harvest is over, the fern vegetable is just sprouting from the ground. One keep saying Iming home, Iming home but until the end of the year he still could not realize it. No wife, no home, everything is for the sake of fighting the battle against the Xianyun [Zhou Dynasty term for a northern nomadic tribeter called the Xiongnu in the Qin and Han Dynasties]. There is no time to settle down and rest. By the time the pea shoots harvest is over, the fern vegetable tender shoot appears. One keep saying Iming home, Iming home, but his heart is feeling very much down. Burning with anxiety, hungry and thirsty at the same time, really hard to tell which is which. The ce one is supposed to guard and defend cannot be stabilized. There is no way to send a letter home. By the time the pea shoots harvest is over, the fern vegetable stalk and leaves already grow old. One keep saying Iming home, Iming home, but until the tenth month Indian summer [a period of warm spring-like weather in the tenth month], the military service is not over yet, how could there be a time to settle down? The heart is in so much pain, until today, one cannot go home yet. (Tranted loosely from zhidao.baidu, English trantion of the original poem from the University of Virginia Library.) When I searched the above, I did not know that Song Lu would talk about all six stanzas, so ... forpleteness sake, here are the rest: What is that so gorgeous? It is the flowers of the cherry tree. What carriage is that? It is the carriage of our general. His war carriage is yoked; The four steeds are strong. Dare we remain inactive? In one month we shall have three victories. The four steeds are yoked, The four steeds are eager and strong; The confidence of the general, The protection of the men. The four steeds move regrly, like wings; There are the bow with its ivory ends, and the seal-skin quiver. Shall we not daily warn one another? The business of the Xian-yun is very urgent. At first, when we set out, The willows were fresh and green; Now, when we shall be returning, The snow will be falling in clouds. Long and tedious will be our marching; We shall hunger; we shall thirst. Our hearts are wounded with grief, And no one knows our sadness. Book 59: 13: Embarking On A Long Journey

Book 59: Chapter 13: Embarking On A Long Journey

The warship left Liangdu, heading north along the canal in the glow of the setting sun. Their destination was Changan, the Great Tang Kingdoms capital. Inside the cabin, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan sat around the table to eat dinner, they also had wine to liven things up. Ba Fenghan noticed Kou Zhong was distracted, looking as if his soul was wandering out of his body. He asked in surprise, Ever since you came back yesterday, until this moment you still look like you have your spirit and soul upside down. What exactly happened? Kou Zhong cracked open his mouth, heughed and said, Since we all have be brothers, naturally Xiaodi does not dare hide anything. Im in love. Immediately Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling roared inughter, they rocked back and forth. Without the slightest bit of ashamed look, Kou Zhong said, Hence the reason people should not be so frank; only I hate it that I dont have any other reason. Ha, let me recite the four sentences of incantation of love for you to listen to, so that you can share my feelings. Gasping for breath, Xu Zilingughed and said, I cant help it! Ba Fenghanughed and said, Unexpectedly Ziling knows what it is all about? Xu Ziling said, It was Lu Shu who told me. After listening to his clear exnation, his interest overflowing, Ba Fenghan said, I want to see what kind of incantation can be that formidable, canpletely capture our Shaoshuais hearts. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong shook his head and swayed his noggin, appearing to be enchanted; he recited, Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thorn-ferns. The thorn-ferns are now springing up. When shall we return? When shall we return? It will bete in the [next] year. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan you looked at me, I gazed at you. Thetter said, These four sentences of sixteen characters are indeed a little more like an incantation. [Cai wei cai wei, wei yi zuo zhi. Ri gui ri gui, sui yi mo zhi] Thereupon, assuming the air of an expert, Kou Zhong exined it word by word. Xu Ziling said, It indeed speaks about Yuzhis love and her longing to you. Didnt you say that these are just the first four lines of the poem? So, whats after that? Such an elegant poetry and literature, I am interested in knowing a little bit more. Kou Zhong scratched his head and said, How do I know whates next? You think I am Wang Tong? Xu Ziling winked at Ba Fenghan. Being quick-witted, thetter deliberately knitted his eyebrows, pretending to be displeased, he said, This is Shaoshuais fault. Clearly Shaoshuais love for Yuzhi Xiaojie is not deep enough, notplete enough; otherwise, how could you not try to understand the whole poem clearly? Startled, Kou Zhong looked at Ba Fenghan, and then he immediately turned his gaze to Xu Ziling. Seeing the two people painstakingly trying not tough, he suddenly understood; he said, Turns out you, two kids are teasing me, and you say you are brothers! The two men finally could not help howling withughter; theyughed until their eyes were choked full of tears. Apanying them, Kou Zhong doubled up inughter; gasping for breath, he said, His Niangs! Its been a very long time since Iughed this hard. But then he was puzzled, How could Lu Shu leak my secrets? he wondered, He does not look like that kind of person. Xu Ziling said, Because I was worried about you. Seeing you got up this morning and insisted on taking the Night Pearl in my possession, I knew it must be something to do with Chuchu and Yuzhi. Otherwise, why do you need two? But you dont look like someone who knows how to fawn on a girl, thereupon I could not help inquiring Lu Shu to see what kind of excitement makes you to change your temper. Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, Two pearls to exchange love tokens; in the future, Shaoshuais luck with women will be unbounded, please take care of your honorable self. The three men roared inughter again. Finishedughing, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Yuzhi used poetry and literature to convey her kindly feeling from afar, naturally it made me bursting with joy; it also made me feel great emotional stirring. For the first time I understand the cruelty and horror of military campaign. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, In the past, you did not have this kind of feeling because countless wars are waiting on the road ahead, but this time it is thest military campaign. If you die in this battle, you will not resign to it, because as long as you can pass this through safely, you can go home and safely enjoy the happiness of wife and children. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Therefore, I particrly feel the heavy responsibility on my shoulders. I vowed to use the best tactics to let the young men who follow me this time to remain alive and enjoy the fruits of victory as much as possible. Only then will I not fail to live up to their trust and love and respect toward me. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, You are just carried away by your wishful thinking. If you have half of your mening back alive, it could already be considered very impressive. Revealing a smile brimming with confidence, Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Lets just wait and see! The warship carrying the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose fame shook the world, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, went to Luoyang first, where they were joined by Li Shimins fleet, and then they went to Changan together. Those who wereing with Kou Zhong to Changan included Wang Xuanshu and thirty personal guards. The former insisted on personally washing away the blood debt of his family. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were unable to do anything about it, they had no choice but to allow him to fulfill his cherished desire. The thirty personal guards were handpicked from among the Flying Clouds Guards, all have been through Kou Zhongs heart and soul training, everybodys skill was outstanding; they had the guts and they had the knowledge. Eighteen warships majestically going upstream heading for Guanzhong. Li Shimin left his own boat to ride on theirs. On the surface, he represented Li Yuan to disy the hosts sincerity, but actually he was trying to seize more time to discuss with them the grand n of their operation after entering the capital. This day at daybreak, the first thing Kou Zhong did when he got out of bed was to go to the starboard side of the deck, to watch the topography of the ins on both sides of the river bank. Li Shimin came to his side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. He smiled and said, I wonder if the thought in Shaoshuais heart is the future battle with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Qin Wang really knows my heart. Li Shimin spoke solemnly, How is Shaoshuai going to fight this battle? Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Its rare that Qin Wang is willing to open your golden mouth to inquire, naturally Xiaodi will not hold back anything. Laughing involuntarily, Li Shimin said, Listening to the tone of Shaoshuais voice, unexpectedly you did not dare to talk about this battle with me, but wanted to wait for me to open my mouth. foxswuxia.wordpress As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong said, To some extent, you are right. What I am afraid of is naturally my meritorious service is so high that it shakes the master; someday the rabbit is dead the dog will be boiled; wouldnt it be not worth it? When he said this, he cast his gaze towards Li Shimin. Li Shimin happened to look at him as well, so their eyes met. The two men could not helpughing to their hearts content; they felt like a blend between water and milk, a touching feeling that they understood each others heart without needing to speak it out. Li Shimin said, Shaoshuai really knows how to crack jokes; how do you want me to cooperate with you? The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he swept his gaze across the ins and the hills far and near on the opposite shore, and spoke in heavy voice, First of all, I want to have effective spies on every route that the enemy might take, so that I can urately grasp the enemys situation. I suffered losses from theing-and-going-like-the-wind Wolf Army, this time I definitely am not going to follow in the tracks of an overturned cart [idiom: repeating a disastrous mistake]. Li Shimin nodded and said, Shaoshuai may rest assured; in this regard, I have nned and prepared for many years. Not only do I have a team of spies who are familiar with geography, but also flying pigeons to deliver news quickly to meet Shaoshuais requirements. Whats next? Kou Zhong said, I will make Xieli to realize that this road is not easy to walk. Li Shimins sword-shaped brows furrowing lightly, he said, The enemies from the prairie are always as nimble as the wind, their maneuverability strong, lying low during the day and traveling by night, to mount sneak attack and ambush them will involve an extremely big risk, so much so it is easy to enter, difficult to get away. Shaoshuai, please reconsider. Kou Zhong smiled and said, What if the men attacking and intercepting them were under my, Kou Zhongs leadership? Stunned, Li Shimin said, That is of course another matter altogether. Ay! Shaoshuais thoughts are beyond other peoples expectation, unexpectedly themander-in-chief personally go down the arena. Kou Zhong said, I am going to attack only Xielis Golden Wolf Army. As long as it is fast enough and ruthless enough, it will continue to inflict casualties on the enemy, it can make the enemy feel like they are walking on thin ice, a fright at every step. By the time they reach the other side of the Great River, they will be the-army-toiled-the-strength-exhausted, so weary that they cannot rouse their spirit. After a short pause, he went on, Another effect of the raid along the way is to disturb the enemys mind. Because the target of my attack is concentrated in the Golden Wolf Army troops, it will be like a warning to other leaders such as Tuli, the Gunatai brothers, Pusa, and the likes, that for the time being, I still take brotherly sentiment into consideration and do not touch them, I want them to behave. Shaken, Li Shimin said, Wonderful! The way of war, attacking the heart is the highest. This move of Shaoshuais is not only unprecedented, I am afraid it will not be repeated in the future. How many soldiers does Shaoshuai think this assault force will require? foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong assuredly replied, Five hundred elite cavalry should be more than enough, but they must be one selected among a hundred, martial art masters adept in equestrian archery. Naturally some of them must also be familiar with the geography and environment! Furthermore, we must exploit the river course as much as possible, so that my Shao Shuai Armys flywheel boats can disy their greatest effectiveness. Humph! This time, the one to appear and disappear unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost,ing and going like the wind will be us. When Xieli crosses the northern borders, he will find that his superiority ispletely lost, they will be in apletely passive, taking-a-beating inferior position. Only in this way can we push the casualties to the minimum. Li Shimin said, I now begin to understand why Shaoshuai insists on fighting such a hard battle. Kou Zhong said, On how to y this game, the initiative ispletely in our hands. Well think of a way to get rid of Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan first, to cut off their intelligence about Changan. If we could make Xieli think that the political situation in Changan is unstable, he would definitely raise his army to pounce straight to Changan. We then station our troops on the southern bank of the Great River, while at the same time assembling fleets in many ces along the river, unceasingly mounting sneak attack and killing them. I guarantee the enemy will not dare to cross the natural stronghold Great River for half a step. Li Shimin said, If Xieli turns to attack the cities on the north bank and establishes strongholds, wouldnt we also be stuck on the south bank due to the natural stronghold Great River? Kou Zhongughed and said, That will never happen. If he dares to deploy troops to attack, we can use the fleet to quickly send troops across the river to intercept; well make decisionpletely based on the situation at the time. You, LaoGe must remember to transport Luoyangs super weapons, the eight-bow-and-crossbow arrow machine and the flying-rock cannon, and install them on the ship. Together with our flywheel boats, we will have firm control over the Great River and the coastal regions in our hands. I guarantee that the enemy will have more than they can attend to, and will be terribly busy. In vain will they have military strength many times stronger than ours; the equalizing factor is that their superior army will have the strength, but difficult to use, so that we will lead them by the nose. His grannys bear! When the enemys soldiers heart is unstable, that will be the fortunate timing for me to go out and have a heart-to-heart chat with Tuli and the others one by one. When only the pigheaded Xieli remains, I will give him a taste of a crushing defeat. The fleet turned into the Wei River, directly south of Changan. foxswuxia.wordpress Li Shimin sighed in admiration and said, Being able to fight side by side with Shaoshuai, instead of bing the-two-cannot-exist-together mortal enemy with you, is indeed Shimins good fortune, even more so, it is also the good fortune of themon people under the heavens. Before, I used thousand ways, a hundred ns [idiom: by every possible means] to rouse the morale of my men, to make the officers and soldiers to follow orders, but this time its the other way around. With you making Shimin brimming with confidence of certain victory, I really dont know what to say to fully express the admiration and gratitude for you in my heart. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, he said, We all are brothers! What are you speaking any his Niangs words of politeness for? Book 60: 1: Journey to the Death

Book 60: Chapter 1: Journey to the Death

The joint fleet slowed down as it sailed towards Changan City along the Yongan Canal. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Li Shimin, and Ba Fenghan, four men stood side by side at the bow of the ship, preparing to disembark. The grand city of Changan loomed just ahead, a symbol of the rise of a new era. Kou Zhong was deeply aware that the moment they entered the city, they would climb to the extreme peak of both their lives and undertaking, which would reach the end when they repelled the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall under Xielis leadership. Within this period of time, he must do his best to confront all the crises and challenges; no longer like before, where they could use all kinds of quick-witted crafty schemes, so much so that if they could not handle it they would simply run away - to meet any contingency. They could only rely on their own strength, any mistake or hesitation would not be allowed, just like a high-roller on the gambling table, who would bet everything on every game, any loss would mean that they would never be able to turn around. Ba Fenghan looked up at the clouds floating in the blue sky; overwhelmed with emotion, he said, From the moment we enter the city, Changan will be the center of everything that everybody, inside and outside of the Great Wall will raise his head and look up to. The sess or failure it faces will dominate the rise and fall of various powers in the world, as well as the honor or humiliation of the peoples and nations; the impact is far-reaching. Thinking about it, it makes peoples thought to fly over, and give rise to a strange feeling like in a dream. Xu Zilings eyes in high spirits, he cast his gaze first to Kou Zhongs impressive majestic new clothes that Song Yuzhi personally sewed for him, plus the sheepskin outer cape that was given by Chuchu, a hard to describe feeling welled up from the bottom of his heart, and then his gaze moved to Ba Fenghan; heughed and said, Fenghan rarely shows such emotional stirring; merely listening to these few sentences, people who dont know your honorable self would think you are a mncholy and moody person. foxswuxia.wordpress Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Mncholy and moody? Ha! Ziling thinks of me as a woman whos touched by spring and grieved by autumn? Actually, what I was thinking of is Fu Cailin. I wonder what kind of thing is the Yijian Technique that made his name spread throughout the world? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, You, LaoGe will be very clear about it really soon! The first thing we must do upon entering the city is to pay a visit to him, the Senior, to show my and Zilings respect. At that time, whether we are going to fight or to curse, it will depend on this Shigong [martial grand (as in grandpa) masters] mood. Ziling! Am I right? Xu Ziling only responded with a wry smile. What he was thinking of was Shang Xiufang, he was secretly depressed endlessly on Kou Zhongs behalf. On the other side, Li Shimins expression grave, he said, We each have our own feelings, but because of my situation is different, what I am facing is the struggle within my own family, hence my feeling is particrly heavy and profound. Listening to gentlemens chatting and joking just now, I suddenly felt a sense of apprehension and rmed in my heart. We are entering the Pass today, although we are deeply in line with the preparation before action, creating victory because of the enemy principle of the art of war, the fact is that victory or defeat still depends on whether we could leave the camp and strike in orderly manner, using the we are focused the enemys divided momentum to achieved the goal. The original situation should be beneficial to our side, but because of the leaks, we arepelled to make this move of entering Changan publicly, which turned our operation from being in the dark toe out in the open, our advantages are nearlypletely gone, only the treasure house move remains, while the opponents target is clear, before weunch the wonder troops, they fully grasp the initiative, which makes it difficult for us to predict the changes in the situation. Any fault, none of us can afford; therefore, hereby Shimin cannot help reminding gentlemen. Kou Zhong, three men, none was not emotionally moved; naturally not because they thought Li Shimin was timid because he spoke these words, because they knew what kind of person Li Shimin was. Speaking about thorough consideration, Li Shimin was actually a notch above Kou Zhong, he could make up for Kou Zhongs shorings. He said these words at this time, it was precisely the know oneself, know your enemy of the art of war,paring the situation between the enemy and us, making Kou Zhong not to underestimate the enemy; because in the current situation, they were indeed caught in a passive and inferior position. Xu Zilings eyes were fixed on the continuously-growing-bigger City of Changan ahead, he nodded and said, Shimin Xiongs words are thought-provoking; I have another feeling. The situation before my eyes is like a repeat of the situation in Longquan, which is known as the Little Changan, only the danger is far greater. At that time, we were in difficult situation many times, we nearly lost our life; therefore, we absolutely cannot deal with the present crisis with rough heart [carelessness]. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, Not that I suddenly pour cold water on you, but since Fuhuang is willing to let me personally wee gentlemen into the Pass, I had an ominous feeling. This moment Changan is right before our eyes, this feeling is especially clear. Ay! Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, I wonder if Qin Wang could speak a bit more clearly? foxswuxia.wordpress Li Shimin sighed and said, If Fuhuang summoned me back to the capital first, and inquired clearly the rtionship between me and you in person, it would show his sincerity in joining hands with you to resist foreign enemies together. Now it is clear that he believes that I have the heart to fight for the throne by borrowing you, hence he ispletely standing on Taizis side. My guess is that the problem should be theres nock of people who know you in Changan, who know that based on your conduct, due to the blood enmity of Dou Jiande and Liu Heita, you would neverpromise with Taizi and Qi Wang, plus you have always had a deep friendship with Shimin, hence helping me is only to be expected. Therefore, the risks after entering the city will be far beyond our estimation. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, You, LaoGe are right, not only it is our own wishful thinking to be overly optimistic, we are also immeasurably self-satisfied by thinking that we can solve all problems with ease, while actually we practically have no way of settling everything. It was Li Shimins turn to be emotionally moved, he said, I never thought that Shaoshuai would be this willing to ept Shimins opinions and thus let Shimin put down one of the loads in my mind. Greatly interested, Ba Fenghan said, In that case, Qin Wang still has some concerns about Shaoshuai, you might as well say it, Shaoshuai will definitely be open-minded in receiving the instruction, because I know his conduct well. Li Shimin recovered his calm, he smiled and said, I do have another thing on my mind. Im afraid that Shaoshuais attention will be entirely focused on the ensuing battle on the ins against the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, so much so that he will ignore the dangerous and treacherous changes that are beyond the scope of the current situation. Ba Fenghans eyes were fixed on Li Shimin, apparently he was greatly amazed at his sudden change in recovering his cool-headedness and calmness; nodding his head, he said, After Qin Wang raised that point, I guarantee that none of us will dare to be negligent. If Lingzun [your esteemed father] is determined to make us not leaving Changan alive, after entering the city, it will certainly be difficult to move a cun, and might lose our lives at every turn, unable to foresee any changes. Any one of us sustaining an injury, it might affect the final oue. Ha! Frankly speaking, I am greatly delighted to be in such a situation; it will be more exciting than a showdown on the battlefield. Kou Zhongughed to his hearts content and said, Im really d that no one suggested that we turn around, which is saying that we have no other choice. This game has now reached the wanting-to-stop-but-cant, no-turning-back state. His grannys bear! Yeermen [old gentlemen] are here! The morous sound of drum music rose to sky, the joint fleet slowly entered the city via the Yongan Canal. At the pier on the left bank, the crowds were surging, the banners were flying. foxswuxia.wordpress Li Yuan personally led the princes and dukes, cab ministers, civil and military officials to wee them. With the Left and Right Yulin Jun [imperial bodyguards] acting as the guards of honor, they stood in formation from the dock all the way to the Vermillion Boulevard Gate; the troop arrangement was flourishing,pletely putting the Great Tangs might on disy. The Changan Citys residents who were pleased beyond their expectations at Kou Zhong gracing them with his presence, thinking that peace and security wereing, lined the streets in wee, striving for the opportunity to see Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings - whose names shook the world - elegant manner. The atmosphere was zing and boiling, the multitudes came out from everywhere, emptying every alleyway [idiom: the whole town turns out]. Bang! Bang! Peng! Peng! The four firecracker towers, which height reached three zhang each, on either side of the bank, lighted up the firecrackers at the same time, bits of paper, smoke and fire filled the air, covering the sky above all the cheering crowd and the sound of the drum music. The four men also seemed to smell the smell of gunpowder permeating the city of Changan, but just as Kou Zhong said, they had no way of turning back. Kou Zhong was the first to disembark, Li Yuan stepped out of the formation to wee Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong noticed that he was wearing a warrior outfit, only there was an addition of outer cape with twin-dragon motif, carrying the lofty quality of the Great Tang overlord, inwardly Kou Zhong felt a sudden shock, wondering if Li Yuan was going to do a military show of force to him? However, he put on a brilliant smile on his face, as he bowed in ordance with Jianghu rules of a junior paying his respect to a senior, Wanbei [junior, lit. those whoe after] Kou Zhong, came to Changan with a specific purpose in mind to wish good health and send my regards to Fazhu [n Master]. Hearing that, standing behind him, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Li Shimin and others, looked at each other. Kou Zhong dealt with Li Yuan with this kind of ttering-openly-demeaning-secretly manner, if as soon as he met Li Yuan, he already offended Li Yuan, wouldnt theing days be more difficult to pass? Hearing that, Li Yuan was slightly startled; he halted his steps while still three steps away, anger shed in his pair of eyes but it passed in the blink of an eye. Laughing involuntarily, he said, Shaoshuai made Li Yuan feel a bit like returning to the blood-staining-the-head-of-the-saber Jianghu life in the past. Ay! After sitting on the Tang master position, I lost too many things! Responding with a wry smile in deep sympathy, Kou Zhong assumed a dejected expression, he nodded and said, Thank you very much for Fazhus guidance. After sitting on some pain-in-the-butt Shaoshuai whatever position, Wanbei has already tasted various feeling of without the freedom to act independently; therefore, this time I am here to solve the problem rather than adding to a difficult problem, I hope Fazhu and I will have the same way of thinking. Xu Ziling, three men came to their sense; they finally figured out the game Kou Zhong was ying. This is called to be put to death anding back to life. Kou Zhong was using this kind of words quite brimming with sharp, antagonistic overtone to deal with Li Yuan, the first person to receive the me ought to be Li Shimin, because it was Li Shimin who called Kou Zhong. Precisely because of this, it would appear that Kou Zhong, with nonchnt attitude, really wished that Li Yuan would condemn Li Shimin, which would provide enough proof that Kou Zhong really did not want to secretly collude with Li Shimin. Otherwise, why would he want to harm Li Shimin? foxswuxia.wordpress The acims and cheers of the masses gradually faded, so that Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, Li Shentong, Li Nantian, Yin Zuwen, Yuwen Shang, Pei Ji, and so on standing behind Li Yuan, none did not hear the exchange between Li Yuan and Kou Zhong clearly; although it sounded harsh, but this time Kou Zhong wasing to form an alliance and not to surrender at all. His words carried warnings, which put Kou Zhongs tough distinctive character in full disy. Xu Ziling was paying attention to the expressions of the people behind Li Yuan. The core members of the princeling faction headed by Jiancheng and Yuanji, none did not reveal astonished expression; apparently they were a little bit unclear about the rtionship between Kou Zhong and Li Shimin. Both Yuwen Shang and Dugu Feng [peak] fixed their gaze at Kou Zhong with wooden expression, only their two pairs of eyes shot profound enmity, which showed that it was difficult for them to forget old grievance. The more neutral cab ministers, such as Wen Yanbo, Liu Zhenghui, and the others, their hearts rmed, their guts palpitating, they waited for Li Yuans response to Kou Zhongs rather-heavy-with-provocative-overtone remarks. Yang Xuyan, Wang Bodang, Zhuge Dewei, and the others had deep grievances with them, yet none was in sight, they were not present. Li Yuan revealed the elegant demeanor of his background as the n Master of a big n, a family influential for generations; throwing his head back, he let out a longughter and said, Knowing someone by their reputation cantpare to meeting them in person [idiom], seeing each other far surpasses hearing the name. Shaoshuais heroic, unyielding character makes people convinced. Li Yuan sincerely, acting on behalf of the Great Tang subjects, wees Shaoshuais honoring us with your presence, which will be written as an immortal chapter in our Central Earths history. As long as Shaoshuai ising with sincerity, Li Yuan will definitely not let Shaoshuai return empty-handed. Hearing that, Xu Ziling cheered inwardly, Li Yuans response carried hard within the soft, his words carried y on words, without losing his identity. He and Kou Zhong had once fought side by side with Li Yuan on the polo field, he knew that Li Yuan was not only not an ordinary schr, but was also proficient in calcting and scheming, adept in techniques of winning by a surprise move; he must not be underestimated. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly, knowing that the more Li Yuan was able to tolerate him, the more he showed that he was harboring evil designs. Just like Li Shimin guessed, he had already stood on Jiancheng and Yuanjis side, making their situation after entering Changan even more difficult. Seeing that he already established a good standing, Kou Zhong calmly said, Kou Zhong is here today to pay respects and send my regards to Fazhu, not for personal gains or losses, honor and disgrace, but for our Huaxias [old name for China] prosperity and decline. Fazhu, please note clearly. foxswuxia.wordpress Li Yuan smiled and said, What kind of person Shaoshuai is, whether friends or foes, all know clearly. Shaoshuai ising from afar, Li Yuan only wants to act as the host, inviting Shaoshuai to raise your honored-self; let us drink and chat merrily after entering the pce, to increase the understanding between both parties as much as possible, and narrow the differences between you and me; why worry that big undertaking will not seed? Kou Zhong hurriedly said, If Fazhu does not mind, Kou Zhong would like to visit and meet Shigong first, to show respect toward him, the Senior, and then raise my cup and have a heart-to-heart chat with Fazhu to discuss the big ns? Stunned, Li Yuan said, Shigong? Kou Zhong took a step forward; lowering his voice, he said, My Shigong is Fu Cailin, Fu Dashi [great master]; Fazhu, please understand. Laughing in spite of himself, Li Yuan said, It was me whos muddle-headed! Shaoshuai is my Great Tangs honored guest, naturally everything will be in ordance with your respected opinion. Li Yuan already made arrangement for Shaoshuais honored self to stay at the Chun Lin Xuan [lit. spring-is-about-to-arrive pavilion] of the Taiji Pce. I will get together with Shaoshuai tonight to talk in details while washing the dust from Shaoshuais feet. Kou Zhong lowered his voice a bit more, almost whispering, he said, This kid is ustomed to coarse and wild life, I wonder if we could find another ce outside the pce so that it will be convenient for us to stroll down the street for sightseeing, to give us freedom of action. Li Yuan began to understand Kou Zhongs not-adhering-topass-and-set-square side. Unable to do anything about it, he said, Xing Qing [lit. rising/flourishing celebration] Pce near the Chun Ming [Bright Spring (season)] Gate on the east side of the city has beautiful garden scenery. Shaoshuai, what do you think? Kou Zhong reached out with both hands, heughed cheerfully and said, Fazhu is indeed a good master who understands people. I offer best wishes for the sess of our two armies cooperation. Li Yuan also reached out and sped his hands tightly. The tens of thousands of people crowding the bank on either side saw from a distance the two men were talking endlessly, they were baffled. Now that they suddenly saw the two mens four hands were grabbing each other, immediately deafening cheers exploded, their shouts, Long live! shook the northwest corner of Changan City. The drum music rang out at the same time, the reception ceremony hase to an end. With the carriage at the front opening the way, Li Yuan personally apanied Kou Zhong and the others back to the pce. Along the way, they received the cheers, which evolved from deep within their hearts - from the crowd lining the street. Wang Xuanshu and thirty Flying Cloud Guards, led by an appointed official, went to the Xing Qing Pce to make proper arrangements for Kou Zhong and the others stay. The huge cavalcade of horse-drawn carriages entered the pce from the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, along the Heavenly Street, and passing through the traversing square. After entering the Cheng Tian Gate, Li Yuan originally wanted to apany the three to visit Fu Cailin, but Kou Zhong tactfully declined, and thus Wei Gonggong assumed the heavy responsibility of escorting the three. foxswuxia.wordpress Li Yuan, Shimin, Jiancheng, Yuanji, and so on went back to their respective pces, while one after another the crowd of the cab ministers went their separate way. Wei Gonggong personally led the way toward the Ling Yin Ge [towering rtions (usually used in marriage) pavilion (usually two-storied)], located northeast of the Taiji Pce, where Fu Cailin was hosted. It was obvious that the security inside the pce were heightened. When they arrived at the entrance to the courtyard wall of the Ling Yin Pavilion, the more than a dozen imperial guards escorting them stopped outside the gate, they did not apany them into the Ling Yin Pavilions perimeter. Wei Gonggong exined in a cordial and friendly manner, We are honoring Fu Dashis wish, there are no guards inside the pavilion. Ba Fenghan blurted out without thinking, Is Bi Xuan inside the pce? A condescending look shed through Wei Gonggongs pair of eyes, as if saying that Ba Fenghan did not have enough weight to inquire, but it quickly disappeared. stering a fake smile on his face, he nodded and said, The ce where Bi Dashis dharma-self is staying is the Lin Chi Xuan [lit. overlooking-the-pond pavilion (with a view)] on the south bank of Tao Chi [pottery/pleased pond] at the northwest corner of the Taiji Pce, the scenery is not inferior to Ling Yan [sic, yan - smoke, it was Ling Yin above] Pavilion, which shows Huangshangs respect to the two Dashi. His spirit greatly aroused, Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Oh, Bi Xuan! We meet again! Without any trace of politeness, Kou Zhong asked, I wonder if Xiang Yushan, that utterly disgraceful kid - ising with that fellow Zhao Deyan? Wei Gonggong was stunned; hanging his head down, he said, On that, Xiaoren is not too clear. Naturally the three knew that he was ying dumb; the most unique thing about Wei Gonggong was that he was a sage presenting as an ordinary person, with his rank as an absolute top martial art master, he disguised himself as a ve. The fact is that he was a formidable martial art master of the same caliber as You Pozi [granny] and Yuwen Shang. Wei Gonggong evidently did not wish to dillydally with them much longer; bowing down, he said, Shaoshuai, please! Kou Zhong took the lead to stride inside, taking in the whole beautiful scenery of the Ling Yan Ge at once. foxswuxia.wordpress Ling Yan Pavilion was a cluster of dian [pce hall], ge [two-storied pavilion], lou [multi-story building] and tai [terrace], built on the shore of an artificialke, it appeared to be perching above the mist covered water. Theke water was turquoise, surrounded by swaying trees. A long bridge, several zhang long, spanned across the misty water extending all the way to the tributary, connecting the corridors and pavilions on the shore, straight toward the main gate of the Ling Yan Pavilions main building. The balcony reflected the light from the water, creating interesting reflections; the scenery was extremely beautiful. The four men walked over to the head of the bridge. Suddenly a man stepped in the bridge and came toward them. Calling out from a distance, he said, Isnt it karma that separated by a thousand li, yet we meet together here? Yumeng [this ignorant one] is thinking of three gentlemen, unexpectedly just run into the three gentlemen head-on. Friendsing from afar, isnt that a joy? Surprisingly, it was the meeting-face-to-face-on-a-narrow-path [idiom: enemies or rivals meet face to face] Huihe martial art master, the surviving member of evil former regime Da Ming Zun Jiao, Liexia, only to see him excited, in a hateful manner like he was meeting old friends, without the least bit of grudge, as if he knew perfectly well that under current circumstances, the three men could not do anything about him; it was very annoying. Seeing him ostentatiouslying out to wee them, Kou Zhong thought of Shang Xiufangs rtionship with him, immediately the fire was burning in his heart, but a smile was hanging on his face, as he casually said, Lie Xiong hasnt been ughtered yet? Its worthy of celebration. Liexia came straight to the three men, showing his signature devious smile, he said, Its all thanks to Shaoshuais flood of good fortune that Zaixia is still alive, healthy and merry. Oh! Xiufang Dajia thought that upon arriving in Changan, Shaoshuai would be so busy that you will be confused and disoriented, and not until the pce courtyard banquet tonight that she would have the opportunity to personally see Shaoshuais elegant manner. But now Shaoshuai ising in to see Xiufang Dajia, I am sure that she will be pleasantly surprised. Even with Xu Zilings indifferent and unconfrontational style, he still could not help cursing Liexia in his heart. He deliberately mentioned Shang Xiufang, it was clear that he wanted to provoke Kou Zhong, implying that he and Shang Xiufang had a close rtionship. He could not help butting in, Lingjiaozhu [your esteemed cult leader] was strung through and filled with evil; were it not for Lie Xiong leaving one step earlier, you would have seen his end killing himself for dreading the punishment. Inwardly Kou Zhong and Ba Feng were pleased, they thought that if Xu Zilings remark did not hit Liexias vital part, then nothing would. Hearing that, Wei Gonggong following behind them waspletely at a loss. He only knew that the three men had a deep grievance, it would be difficult for this matter to end well. Who would have thought that Liexia took a step forward, lowered his voice, and said, Not concealing anything from three gentlemen, Dage, actually, I am very grateful for this. Zaixia has long had the heart to get away from the cult, only sadly there was no good way. Now that Da Ming Zun Jiao is like scattering cloud, vanishing smoke, whatever walking-in-error, stepping-on-mistake that Xiaodi did in the past, I am asking three gentlemen, Dage to show a lot of forgiveness, and allow me to start all over again. foxswuxia.wordpress Hearing that, the three looked at each other in dismay, because they never expected that he would say something like this. The refined light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes was shing, he let out a cold snort and said, Shameless! Stunned, Liexia smiled bitterly and said, However Ba Xiong wants to see Zaixia, theres nothing Zaixia can do. Zaixias beautiful woman is waiting, please! And just like that, he walked through between the three men, passed by Wei Gonggong, even greeted him in loud voice, wishing him good health, deliberately teasing the three men. Ba Fenghan withdrew his gaze from looking at his back as he walked farther and farther away, he spoke indifferently, This kid is courting death; he is mine! Kou Zhong put his hand on his shoulder, and said with augh, Be my guest; as a brother, how could I object? Come! I am afraid Shigong is waiting impatiently! The four men stepped onto the bridge, and walked towards the Ling Yan Pavilions main entrance. Book 60: 2: Taking Night as Day

Book 60: Chapter 2: Taking Night as Day

Under the afternoon sun, the buildingplex of the Ling Yan Pavilion did not emit the least bit of voices, it was extremely quiet that it felt unusual. Under the sunshine, the decorated-with-gold-leaf main buildings oak beam and the gold-ted main gate were dazzling, which made the buildings, which varied in height and scattered and clumped together unevenly - that rise to the sky appeared to be somewhat richer, more beautiful, and impressive. The sound of fish swimming and moving to and fro in the water and the chirping and singing of birds among the trees not only did not harm the pavilion and gardens cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the-world tranquil atmosphere, it even multiplied the empty, solitary and sacred perception. A gentle breeze was blowing, the flowers and trees filling the garden were creating rustling noise, gentle ripples appeared on the vast surface of the water; amidst the abundant beginning-of-spring atmosphere, there was anotherzy-afternoon feeling. The sound of their footsteps on the apricot wood bridge felt like some kind of an unnecessary invasion and disturbance to this unique purend of the Ling Yan Pavilion. In his heart, however, Kou Zhong had a different feeling, Shang Xiufangs peerless appearance floated in his mind, his eardrums seemed to hear her unequalled-throughout-the-world song. What Xu Ziling was thinking was theing-from-afar Fu Cailin. Due to Fu Junchuo affair, no matter how Fu Cailin treated them, they had no choice but to resign themselves to adversity. Under such unfavorable circumstances, Shigong Fu Cailin would be the person in the City of Changan that would give them the most headache Stepping up the stone steps, they reached the open-wide main door, Wei Gonggong respectfully said, Shaoshuai, please wait here a moment, let Xiaorene in to notify them. After Wei Gonggong disappeared inside the main door, the three men looked into the main hall, their line of sight was obstructed by a mica screen reflecting the bright and multicolored scenery outside. What they could see was the thick and soft purple-red Persian carpet spread on the floor, which not only added to the exotic distinctive vor, but even more strengthening the mysterious atmosphere due to Fu Cailins dharma-self was living away from home here. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This is called the ugly woman must meet the father-inw; just as the Lie kid said, brought together by fate, a thousand li apart can meet together. Supposing Shigong wanted to implement familyw by demanding our martial arts, what should we do? Ba Fenghan smiled unyieldingly, he said, This is precisely the main reason Ol Ba insisted oning together. The wen [literature, civil, gentle], you guys are in charge, the wu [martial art, military, hard], leave it all to Ol Ba; wont all problems like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge [idiom: easily solved]? Ol Ba precisely want to gain first-hand knowledge of oh! While Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shocked as they listened to him, Wei Gonggong reappeared from behind the screen, followed by a beautiful woman. Not only Ba Fenghans tiger-body shook and his heroic speech was cut short, Kou and Xu were also momentarily stunned; a profound, hard-to-describe, the-heart-and-intestines-about-to-break feeling welled up in their hearts. The one appearing before their eyes was Fu Junyu, whom they had not seen for a long time. Her charm and personality traits had always bore striking resemnce with Fu Junchuo; in the past, even though it was wrapped up, concealed and hidden under the colorful and gorgeous warrior outfit, she still made Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling associated her with Fu Junchuo, whose figure, voice and features strikingly resembled her. Whats more, at this moment, she changed into a snowy white dress, her adornment was just like Fu Junchuo in the past; it was like Fu Junchuo wasing back to life, arriving in the world of the living again. How could she not evoke the longing for Fu Junchuo that was forever hidden at the bottom of their hearts? Compared with the time before returning to Gaoli, she appeared to beparatively thinner. Her pair of pretty eyes silently, hiding worry in it, her expression tranquil - looked at the three men up and down. She stepped forward until about three steps away from the three and then stood gracefully and charmingly. She spoke softly, Gonggong, please wait here for a moment, Junyu has something to talk to them in private. Wei Gonggong was ustomed to fawning on Li Yuan, he hurriedly said, Xiaoren is going to wait outside the courtyard door! Finished speaking, he turned around, crossed the bridge and went far away. After Wei Gonggong disappeared in the winding corridor among the trees, Fu Junyu fixed her gaze at Ba Fenghan, she spoke indifferently, Why is it that the one sending me back to my home country was not Ba Fenghan but Song Shidao? Stunned, Ba Fenghan lightly trembled, momentarily he was speechless, unable to even say half a word. Fu Junyu revealed a hint of deste smile brimming with self-pity overtone, she said, What happened in the past, no need to bother about, we have no way of bothering about it either. Shizun is taking a nap, I can arrange for you to meet with him, the Senior, tonight at the zi hour [11pm - 1 am, midnight]. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Taking a nap? Fu Junyu spoke without emotion, This has been Shizuns habit for several decades. He believes that night is the most beautiful time, so when everyone goes to bed, it is the time for him to appreciate and enjoy life. Ay! Why did you have toe to Changan? Could it be that you dont know that Shizun has no favorable impression toward you? To this day, he still thinks that Da Shijie [first martial sister] lost her life because of you. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling you looked at me, I gazed at you, they still did not know what to say. Xu Ziling stole a nce at Ba Fenghan, thetter was unable to take his eyes off, he stared at Fu Junyu intently, his pair of eyes emittedplicated and difficult-to-understand expressions. Fu Junyu did not pay any attention at Ba Fenghans stare at all, she spoke softly, Your conduct and deeds in Longquan has greatly deepened my humble countrys peoples, from top to bottom - misunderstanding toward you. Coming with Shizun this time, there is the most outstanding martial art master of our humble country, reputed to be barely under Shizun, the Wu Dao Ba [Five-Saber Hegemon] Ge Suwen, along with hispanions -ing to Changan; other than Han Chaoan, Jin Zhengzong, there are also the hating-you-guys-to-the-bones Maji, the number one martial art master within the party under hismand Tuoba Miefu. They are staying at the Liang Yuan [lit. cold garden] of Tong Hua Gate near Yongjia Li. Hearing that you areing, everybody rubs their fists and wipes their palms [idiom: eager to get into action], vowing to wash away the former disgrace. How could you be so reckless? Could it be that you dont know that the Great Tang people, from top to bottom, no one has a good impression of you? Your collusion with Li Shimin is like Sima Zhaos heart even more, everyone sees it. Even if the fact is not so, other people will still think so. With difficulty, Kou Zhong said, Where is Xiao Shiyi [little martial aunt]? When Fu Junyu heard him calling Fu Junqiang little martial aunt, she cast him a sidelong nce in displeasure and said, In front of Shizuns honored-self, you must never, ever randomly call Shigong, Shiyi, lest the situation will be even more out of control. Junqiang went to Liang Yuan to see Ge Suwen, otherwise it would be unbearable for you. Shizun dotes on her the most, and her impression of you cant possibly be more inferior than this. Back then, if you were willing to let her kill Yuwen Huaji to avenge the blood enmity as deep as the ocean for Da Shijie, the situation should not have developed to where it is today, however, everything has be an unchangeable fact. If you want to leave Changan alive, the sooner you go the better. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, We are willing to ept the invitation and came, we already foresaw that this kind of situation might appear before us. Thank you Yu Yi [Aunt Yu] for your concern. Fu Junyu sighed and said, I already knew that I would not be able to persuade you. In our humble country, I am the only one who knows what kind of persons you are. At the moment, the thing that Shizun unwilling to see the most is the appearance of another strong Sui, which will only bring us big disaster. Furthermore, he does not want to see the three most outstanding people in the Central Earth to unite. This idea is the same as that of the diplomatic group headed by Bi Xuan, the same enmity and hatred felt toward themon enemy. I hope you can understand the meaning behind my words. Kou Zhong asked, Have Shigong and Lao Bi met? Fu Junyu exasperatedly said, Still randomly called Shigong long, Shigong short, you annoy me to the death! They have not met, only exchanged gifts. What do you want me to tell you? Even if you have three heads and six arms, under current circumstances where everyone is advancing gradually and entrenching themselves at every step, you dont have any chance. Get lost for me, just go back and think carefully! Kou Zhong hurriedly said, I want to see Xiufang Dajia. Recovering her calm, Fu Junyu said, Xiufang Dajia implored me to tell you, a bitter she is going to drop by and visit Shaoshuai. Three gentlemen, please go back! Unless I tell you otherwise, tonight at zi hour, three gentlemen cane here to visit [a superior] Shizun. Finished speaking, she turned around and disappeared behind the screen, leaving the three men standing nkly in front of the bright and multicolored mica screen. Li Shimin did not guess incorrectly, the risks and treacherous changes after entering the city were indeed far beyond their imagination. They had turned from being in the dark to being in the light, to being in an absolute-passive inferior position before the uprising. When they came to the bridge, Kou Zhong suddenly said, Treating women, Hou kid is still more resourceful; that thing he did that could move Zhizhi so that she forgot everything in the past, that move was really as effective as a deity. Xu Ziling sighed and said, You are angry at Shang Xiufang, hence you deliberately think of Song Yuzhi. Kou Zhong put his hand on Ba Fenghans shoulder, he spoke dejectedly, This kid really understands me. Ba Fenghan walked in front without making any sound. Behind him, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, they both knew that Ba Fenghan was having a load on his mind because of Fu Junyu. Upon arriving at the outer courtyard gate, Wei Gonggong summoned the carriage that has been waiting respectfully, to take them to the Xing Qing Pce. Wei Gonggong was extremely shrewd, he did not utter even half a word to inquire about their conversation with Fu Junyu. The horse-drawn carriage galloped along the imperial road inside the pce, with more than a dozen imperial guards riding ahead as the herald and behind as the escort, in the direction of the Cheng Tian Gate. Inside the Taiji Pce, only Li Yuan and the royal familys men and horses had this privilege. It could clearly be seen that at least on the surface, Li Yuan made enough effort to treat them as state visitors. Inside the carriage, it was inconvenient to talk, plus the three men, each one had a load on his mind, hence they were riding in silence, only apanied by the sound of horse hooves and the sound of wheels rubbing against the ground. Kou Zhong peeked out the hanging curtain to watch the changes of thendscape along the way, thoughts were surging in his mind. Without Fu Junyu needing to remind him, he already knew that he was trapped in dangerous ground. From Li Shimins subtle analysis, he guessed that Li Yuan, under the influence of the Demonic School, was leaning toward the Crown Prince and Imperial Concubine factions. However, the situation was not totally unfavorable to them, because between Li Yuan and Jiancheng, Yuanji, there were contradictions. The keyy in the difference between Li Yuan and Jiancheng. In his capacity as the emperor, ruler of the Great Tang, apart from he has not been able topletely unify the world, Li Yuan has actually be the most powerful person in the world. The three major capitals in the world, two were under his control, his gain was plentiful; indeed,pared to anybody else, he had more treasure. For him, if he could gain Kou Zhong to join hands to deal with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, naturally it would be ideal. Not only he could eliminate foreign aggression, he could also wait until Kou Zhong returned to Liangdu before easily putting Li Shimin in order. In the final analysis, Li Yuan practically did not have the confidence and courage to deal with Xieli alone, the life of the imperial court has softened Li Yuans backbone. Li Jiancheng, on the other hand, was a newborn calf, plus he sped the power and influence from prevailing over Liu Heitas main forces and returning in triumph back to the capital, plus he had never experienced the formidability of the outer tribes equestrian archery, naturally he had a contemptuous look toward Xieli. His counting his chickens before they were hatched would be to put Kou Zhong and Li Shimin in order in one fell swoop, to clear away the obstacles in unifying the world and in sitting firmly on the throne of the House of Tang, and then make every effort to deal with the invading coalition forces from outside the Great Wall, because Jiancheng had the confidence that he could deal with it. Li Yuan and Jiancheng both had the heart to kill him, Kou Zhong; it waspletely without any question. However, because of the differences in the way of thinking between the two sides, because of the differences in methods, as long as he could make Li Yuan feel that he needed his cooperation, Li Yuan should not be so stupid enough to eliminate him before Xielis army came; on the other hand, he might instigate Jiancheng as much as possible, forcing him to make his move. This was a dangerous game. He must put everything aside, put his heart and soul, so much so to forget Shang Xiufang, not to allow himself to let the man-woman love affair to affect the overall situation, so that he could be the final victor. The carriage entered the traversing public square. Suddenly the sound of hoofbeats arose, a rider was galloping along from the direction of the East Pce. Kou Zhong, three men were surprised and looked up, the neer was unexpectedly the Shadow Swordsman Yang Xuyan. Kou Zhong lifted the curtain and said with augh, smiled, Yang Xiong, I trust you have been well since west met! Yang Xuyan responded with a smile, he said, Due to some business, Xuyan was unable to attend the grand ceremony to wee Shaoshuai gracing us with your presence, hence I came with a specific purpose in mind to pay my respects and apologize humbly to Shaoshuai. He rode straight to the carriage window and then rode side by side with their carriage toward the imperial city. He also greeted Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan. Outsiders would think that they were old friends meeting again. Kou Zhong observed carefully his bearing and air, and knew that in the fantastic gongfa of blending the Bu Si Yin Fa and the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, he had made breakthroughs and advanced to the next level; perhaps he could even patch up the deficiencies and weaknesses of when he was first training it. He spoke cheerfully, Yang Xiong indeed lives up to the Shadow Assassin name, appearing and disappearing unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost. Like this time, Xiaodi would never think in the full light of the day, you woulde and go on the big public square. Ha! Hearing Kou Zhongs extremely-filled-with-frigid-irony-and-scorching-satire remark toward Yang Xuyan, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were amused inwardly, they quietly waited for Yang Xuyans reaction. Yang Xuyans pair of eyes shing with sharp light, he turned his head to stare at Kou Zhong; putting on an indifferent, carrying a bit of profound mystery smile, he spoke slyly, Shaoshuai really speaks with charm. The current situation is different, otherwise Shaoshuai would not be in the mood to have an idle chat with Xuyan in here. Xuyan just came here to say hello to three gentlemen, wishing three gentlemen a long life to reach a hundred years of age, may you enjoy boundless longevity. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Yang Xiong is still provoking! Your words have a thorn in it, as formidable as your Shadow Sword. Frankly speaking, what Xiaodi wants the most at the moment is to y and have fun with Xuyan Xiong for a moment, to see if Yang Xiong has made enough progress. Without the least bit of care, Yang Xuyan shrugged his shoulders and said, That makes two of us. As long as Shaoshuai has this intention, certainly Heaven will allow the peoples desire. By this time, the men and horses galloped into the imperial city, along the Heavenly Street toward the Vermilion Boulevard Main Gate. Along the sides of the road, when the carriage was passing by, all the guards raised their weapons in salute. Ba Feng snorted coldly, but did not speak. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Its rare that Yang Xiong has the same intention. Ay! Frankly speaking, although we have fought against each other many times, you want me dead, I dont want you live; it is an unfinished business. But all along Xiaodi is unclear what kind of person are you? For example, other than women like Rong Jiaojiao, what other things do you take pleasure in? What thoughts are in your mind? Why did you be this ruthless and heartless, this unscrupulous? Thinking about it, my curiosity is greatly piqued. I wonder if Yang Xiong could give me one or two advices? Yang Xuyans countenance darkened and sank, he spoke in a low voice, Because Shaoshuai is not Xuyan, you dont have Xuyans experience and feelings. Shaoshuai has Shaoshuais way of survival, Xuyan has his own. Just like me, I too dont understand what makes Shaoshuai dare toe to Changan, and what gives you confidence that you can go back alive? Kou Zhong smiled and said, This is called each master has his own method. Speaking of the way to survive, has Yang Xiong ever thought about lingshi [your esteemed master] problem? When you, LaoGe lose your value of being useful, would he be willing let you off? Yang Xuyan spoke indifferently, In this regard, there is no need to trouble Shaoshuai to worry about Xuyan. Xuyan ising this time to pass on a message on Taizis behalf, to see if Shaoshuai could find the time to meet with Taizi Dianxia in private? Kou Zhongughed and said, Turns out Yang Xiong received the order to sound me out, however, Taizi Dianxia seems to have sent the wrong person. Please forgive Xiaodi for being blunt. This time I aming here to see your Huangshang, toward Taizi, even perfunctory interest I amcking. Would you please tell Taizi as things really are? Yang Xuyan let out a longughter and said, Shaoshuai missed the opportunity in vain. I hope that after Shaoshuai returns, you will think thrice. If you change your mind, Taizi will still wee you. Spurring his horse, he turned around and left. The convoy left the Cheng Tian Gate, turned left and entered the main street with endless stream of horses and carriages, bustling with noise and excitement rising above the calm, as if from one world, they entered a different world. Kou Zhong sighed and said, What did this kid want? If he is acting as a lobbyist, how could he talk like that? Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, He is threatening to test our reaction. Stretching his limbs, Kou Zhong said, Yang kid is Zilings, Liexia is Lao Bas, Ge Suwen should be mine to take care of. This is called a fair distribution of the booty, there shouldnt be any disputes. It was only when the carriage reached the main entrance of the Xing Qing Pce that the three found out what kind of ce Xing Qing Pce was; furthermore, they understood why Li Yuan had made such a good arrangement. The Xing Qing Pce upied a tract ofnd as vast as the East Market. Although in term of scale it could not match the Taiji Pce, but definitely not inferior to Jianchengs East Pce or Li Shimins Yeting Pce; however, the number of buildings was far less than that of the East Pce or Yeting Pce, simply because the Longkou [dragon mouth] Canal flowed from the northeast to the southwest corner, forming argeke upying nearly a quarter of the pce area, and then the Qingming [clear and bright] Canal flowed out of the southwest end and out of the pce. The area around theke was lush with trees and vegetations, as if the countryside outside was transnted into the pce, no wonder Li Yuan praised it for being superior to the mountains and forests. The east side of Xing Qing Pce was right next to the outer city wall, separated only by a road to provide ess for the army toe and go, but there was no open gate. The north wall had three gates, and the southwest had two. The main gate, the Xing Qing Gate, was located right in the middle of the west wall. All gates were heavily guarded. The three mused that Li Yuan only needed to give his order to seal off the gates and send his men toy heavy siege, they could only rely on their true skill to have a chance to escape alive. The East Market was located southwest of the Xing Qing Pce, forming an opposite angle to each other, separated by one street. The carriage drove through the Xing Qing Gate, and stopped with a rumbling noise in front of the Xing Qing Pce Hall. The escorting imperial guards opened the carriage door and respectfully invited the three men to get off. Weing them were, surprisingly, Li Shentong and Li Nantian, two men with enough weight within the House of the Great Tang. Seeing Li Shentong, Kou Zhong and the others immediately put down half of the load on their mind, musing inwardly that there was auspicious concealed within the ominous, which could be considered ten thousand good fortunes within misfortune. Li Yuans move was indeed absolutely wonderful; he put their each and every move totally under surveince, yet they clearly could not raise any objection, instead, they still had to thank Li Yuan for his thoughtful hospitality. The three swept their gaze around. Far and near, pavilions stood proudly among the trees, their branches and leaves hid the pce halls under their dancing shadow, with winding corridors and secluded paths intersperse in between. There was no denying that it was a quiet ce to shun the world amidst the mor of the city. In the sunshine, the bigke that extended from the southwest through the center was flickering dazzlingly, the bluish green waves were rippling, it aroused peoples spirit even more, washing away the dirt of the mortal world. After exchanging some pleasantries, Kou Zhong said, Thiske must have a beautiful name. Li Nantian replied, Thiske is called Long Chi [Dragon Lake/Pond]. Xing Qing Pce was built precisely for this reason. It is a naturalke, without it, there would be no major construction work here. Li Shentong added, This pce is where Huangshu [emperor uncle] and I live. Huangshu lives in the Xin She Dian [new shooting pce hall] northeast of the pce. My humble abode is the Nan Xun Dian [south fragrance pce hall] in the middle next to theke. However, speaking about scenery, the Chen Xiang Ting [Chinese eaglewood (Aquria agallocha) Pavilion] east of the Pce and Hua E Lou [sepal (multi-story) building] southwest of the Pce are the top. Hua E Lou is even Huangxiongs [emperor brother] summer residence, and now it is Shaoshuais temporary imperial residence. Huangxiong already gave his order, we are to tell Shaoshuai that Hua E Lou will be Shaoshuais home in Changan. Moving about,ing and going, everything will be ording to Shaoshuais wish. Li Nantian added, Shaoshuais personal attendants are arranged to establish a presence in the Hua E Lou. The Hua E Lou is three stories high, from the top floor, you live high and look down [idiom: overlook, tower above], you can take the whole beautiful scenery inside and outside the Pce at once. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Turns out there is such a good ce outside the Imperial Pce, I cant wait to enjoy it! Book 60: 3: Double-Splendor of Sepal

Book 60: Chapter 3: Double-Splendor of Sepal

In front of the Hua E Lou [sepal (multi-story) building, seest Chapter], the spring is thick, willow fluttering in the breeze, catkins dancing in the clear sky. The full name of the Hua E Lou was Hua E Shuang Hui Lou [sepal double splendors building], located at the southwest corner of the pce. It was built on the shore of the Long Chi [Dragon Pond], with the three-story building in the middle, and a corridor connected it to the other two buildingplexes, called Hui Bei and Hui Nan [splendor north and splendor south, respectively], two courtyards. Acting as the host, Li Shentong and Li Nantian took the opportunity to take them to the Hua E Lou, on the way, they led them on a tour thekeshore. The difference between Xing Qing Pce and Taiji Pce was that due to the existence of the Long Chi, the buildings did not stick to one pattern. Large buildings are mostly located at the north side of the pce, while the south side was the garden area with Long Chi as the center. Theke area was several qing [unit of area, about 6.67 hectares or 16.5 acres], oval shaped. The flora included lotus, water caltrop and all kinds of aquatic grasses. The school of fish swam freely in the water, which was abundant with vitality. The Chen Xiang Ting [Chinese eaglewood (Aquria agallocha) Pavilion, again, seest Chapter] was located at the eastern end of Long Chi. It was constructed of agarwood, surrounded by peonies, of many different kinds of variety C all around. Sitting in the pavilion was like being in the ocean of peonies. Upon reaching the Hua E Lou, they were weed by Wang Xuanshu-led Flying Clouds Guards, standing in formation in front of the main building. Wang Xuanshu was born in a prominent family and thus he was familiar with court etiquette, he knew how to behave appropriately. Li Shentong spoke cheerfully, Flowers [hua] arepounded with calyxes, calyxes [e] arepounded with flowers, flower and calyx [hua e, which together mean sepal] are reflecting each other. This is Shaoshuais temporary imperial residence in Changan. The people in the pce have strict orders not to set foot in the building and pce hall area even for half a step. The closest ess for Shaoshuai toe and go is the Jin Ming [golden brightness, it was Qing Ming in thest Chapter, not sure if they are the same] Gate. Out of the gate and turn left is Guangming [light/radiance] Street and the East Market, very convenient. There is a horse corridor next to the Jin Ming Gate, as long as Shaoshuai gives your order, there will be horses and carriages for Shaoshuais convenience. Li Nantian added, The court banquet for Shaoshuai will be held at the Taiji Pce Hall at the beginning of xu hour [7-9pm] this evening. Qin Wang will personallye to wee Shaoshuai into the pce for the banquet. After the two men left, Kou Zhongughed and said, Turns out being the Great Tangs state visitor is so prestigious. Ba Fenghan showed the first hint of smile since seeing Fu Junyu, he spoke indifferently, This is called the gift of the monarch. Li Yuan is the northern monarch, and you are the southern monarch stepping across the Yangtze River. Sweeping his gaze across the crowd of their-head-high, their-chest-out Flying Clouds Guards, he said, How about I test their skill and along the way show them a thing or two? Hearing that, none of the Flying Clouds Guards did not reveal excited and happy expression on their faces. Kou Zhong knew that he wanted to vent the pain in his heart by stretching his muscles and bones, heughed and said, Nothing is more weed than that, how could I dare to oppose? Lets turn the South Courtyard Garden into a military drill ground and y his Niangs several rounds. The sound of shing weapons lingered on faintly. Ba Fenghan was naked from the waist up, on the grassywn surrounded by the trees of the south courtyard, he exchanged pointers with the crowd of the Flying Clouds Guards Kou Zhong came and sat down next to Xu Ziling sitting on the stone steps in front of Hua E Lous south gate, watching from the sidelines. He said, Luckily we have Li Shentong as the liaison, otherwise we will lost contact with Song ErGe and Lei Jiuzhi. Our brothers are arriving bit by bit, they are establishing their presence outside the city in the secretir that the Huang He Bangs Laoda [boss] Tao Guangzu arranged. Ma Chang also arrivedst night. ording to him, everything went without a hitch. We only need about ten days or so, then the uprising can begin. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, What is the situation of our troops stationed outside the city? Grabbing his head with both hands, Kou Zhong said, That is the difficult problem that gives me a headache. Stationed in the Forbidden Park north of the city is an army unit of fifteen thousand men, which can quickly support the Xuanwu Gate and the Tang Pce. We used to count our chicken before they are hatched, thinking that we could gather our troops in Hanzhong, pretending to be the troops looking for a gap to enter the Pass and to Changan via Shu, but now, of course this n wont work. Could it be that on one side, we are murmuring endearments [idiom: getting into a romantic rtionship] with Li Yuan in Changan, but on the other side we fight him with saber light and sword shadow? One day we cannot find a way to deal with this army unit, as long as Li Yuan lights up the fire beacon on the smoke and fire tform of the Taiji Pce, this army wille and disturb, we will surely suffer cmity, definitely cannot avoid it. Xu Ziling asked, Whos inmand of this army? Kou Zhong replied, This man is called Tang Jian, a trusted aide, great general who has followed Li Yuan for many years, even Li Shentong does not have the confidence to persuade him. While Xu Ziling was knitting his brows in deep thought, Wang Xuanshu came to report with grave expression, he spoke in low voice, Changlin Armys Ke Dazhi Jiangjun is asking for an audience. He insists on waiting for Shaoshuai outside the Hua E Lous door. Kou and Xu, two men felt things happened so suddenly, only then did they understand why Wang Xuanshu had that kind of expression. If Ke Dazhi came to visit an old friend, naturally he would not refuse to step into the building even half a step like this. Xu Ziling was about to stand up, Kou Zhong pressed him down and said, Let me go and see him alone. If I have a falling out, you may have a chance to remedy it. Xu Ziling revealed a bitter and astringent smile, both boys knew in their hearts that the road ahead would be harder and harder to get by. Ke Dazhi was standing proudly on the za outside Hua E Lou, he stared without blinking at Kou Zhonging over towards him, his expression gave and grim. When Kou Zhong arrived in front of him, Ke Dazhi said coldly, Why are you guysing to Changan? Kou Zhong was a little afraid to meet his pressing gaze. Taking two steps forward, he came to his right side, so that the two mens faces were less than a chi apart, but their eyes were running in opposite directions, they cast their gaze to the other side. Sighing, he said, If only I can give you a satisfactory answer, ay! Your Great Khan Xieli is assembling an army north of the border, invasion is a matter of days, how can I, Kou Zhong, simply sit and watch? Ke Dazhi spoke heavily, Why cant you just sit and watch? You can reap where you have not sown even more. This time our army ising not to sh with you, Shaoshuai, yet Shaoshuai insists on getting involved. Shaoshuai clearly knows that you are doing the most stupid thing and without a doubt, a self-destructive behavior? Kou Zhong sighed secretly in his heart, Ke Dazhi had this kind of thinking, simply because of differences in family background and where he wasing from. On the prairie, various tribes have fought each other for thousands of years, the weak are prey to the strong, destruction and annexation happened continually. For Ke Dazhi, Li Tang was like a powerful tribe, and Kou Zhong was like the leader of another tribe. Kou Zhong sticking his head out for the Li Tang was like he was being nosy in the struggle between the other two tribes. This kind of idea, which had its origins in the prairie, was deeply ingrained in Ke Dazhis mind, no matter what he said, he wouldnt be able to exin it clearly. Ke Dazhi continued, Now you still have a chance, get out of Changan immediately, when we attack Li Tang, you will move your troops to Luoyang and divide up Li Yuans world. At that time, whether we will fight or make peace, it will be up to both sides to decide. Kou Zhong shook his head and said with a wry smile, Brother! Please forgive me for not being able to obey your order. Like a whirlwind Ke Dazhi turned to Kou Zhong; reaching out to grab shoulders forcefully, and twisting him so that they were now face to face, his pair of eyes shooting harsh light, he spoke angrily, Is your head made of stone? How could you be this stubborn? Do you know that you are doing the most unwise foolish thing? In Changan, you guys absolutely have no chance. Not only do we want to get rid of you in a hurry, but Fu Cailin and Ge Suwen are also wholeheartedly wanting to put you to death. Li Yuan and Jiancheng have bad intention toward you guys even more. No matter whether you, Kou Zhong have three heads and six arms, at present, everybody can see that you are courting disaster. Do you think Li Shimin can protect you? If you do, then you are a big idiot! Li Shimin is powerless to defend himself. With Li Yuans support, Li Shimin is like a meat on the chopping block, just waiting for Jiancheng to ughter him. The difference in power between the enemy and us is just too far apart. Considering that you still think of me as a brother, immediately go back to Liangdu for me, Ke Dazhi. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, I really cant do it, against Dazhis good intentions. Ke Dazhi let go of his hands grabbing Kou Zhong, which pain prated his heart and spleen. Taking a three-step back, the murderous intent in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he shouted sternly, All right! Starting today, we are no longer brothers. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Whatever you say wont make any difference, brothers will always be brothers. His Niangs! Why cant different nations coexist peacefully? The prairie is yours, for you to crisscross as you please, why do you want to turn the Central Earth into another prairie that you can trample on at will? We have developed different cultural systems. Any invasion of one side to the other will only be catastrophe and disaster. I, Kou Zhong can pat my chest to guarantee that after the Central Earth is unified, we will never repeat Yang Guangs mistakes. Being brothers is so much more fun than being mortal enemy, right? Ke Dazhi spoke heavily, That is just your, Shaoshuais wishful thinking. History has told us that this road is blocked [idiom]. Since ancient times, conquering the Central Earth has be the highest hope in the hearts of every soldier in the prairie. This is reality that no one can change. The Central Earth bing powerful is our disaster, it has been like this since history, its nothing that will change because of you, Kou Zhong, also the truth that every nation, every warrior of the grasnd understands, hence the power of the prairie is assembled under the Great Khans leadership. No one, including you, Kou Zhong, can influence the contract of alliance between us. If you are tactful, then get out of Changan, our military operation is not targeted at your Shao Shuai Army. Kou Zhong changed to Tujuenguage, About that Liexia kid, do you care or not? Obviously his use of Tujuenguage evoked the memory and the brotherhood feeling of fighting side by side in Ke Dazhis heart, the harsh light in his eyes melted a little, he was slightly startled. After quite half a day, he smiled wryly and said, Whats good to be cared about? The person in Xiufang Dajias heart is neither me, Ke Dazhi nor Liexia at all, but you, Kou Shaoshuai. It was she who personally revealed it to me. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such thing? Ke Dazhi said, I dont want to talk about these things that have be a thing of the past for me! Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, But do you know that I went to see Xiufang Dajia just now, but I was refused outside the door? Knitting his brows, Ke Dazhi said, That cant be true? Kou Zhong said, Am I, Kou Zhong someone who would lie to his brother? Ke Dazhi spoke with determination, You and I are no longer brothers. Bying to Changan, you and Ziling show clearly you dont consider me, Ke Dazhi worthy in your eyes. I need to trouble you to inform Ba Fenghan that if he wants to challenge Shengzhe [the holy one, the saint] he must first pass me, Ke Dazhi, this barrier, other things are nonsense. As long as any one of the three of you can defeat me, Ke Dazhi, only then will I not care about this matter, otherwise any challenge to Shengzhe will be followed by me, Ke Dazhi. Is Shaoshuai clear? All brotherhood feeling, love and hatred between men and women, under the major premise of the honor and disgrace of the nation and the warriors, have be insignificant. Kou Zhong felt a big headache, his mood could not be nastier than this even more. He was about to speak, the sound of footsteps rang out. A Tujue warrior wearing Changlin Army informal uniform came hurriedly and spoke to Ke Dazhi in low voice, Dong Guifeis [imperial concubine] personal carriage has just entered Jin Ming Gate. Ke Dazhi cast his gaze towards Kou Zhong, the tone of his voice returned to indifferent and tranquil, he said, Shaoshuai, please consider Ol Kes proposal carefully. Finished speaking, along with his man, he disappeared into the depths of the thicket. The sound of the hoofbeats and the wheel from a distance wasing near, escorting by more than a dozen imperial guards, the gorgeous carriage carrying Dong Shuni appeared on the horsene, driving in the direction of Hua E Lou. Ba Fenghan came to the sitting-on-the-stone-steps-with-nk-expression-on-his-face Xu Ziling and sat down by his side; looking at the packing-their-weapons-bows-and-arrows Flying Clouds Guards, he praised, These men, none is a weak hand, they are considerably not bad. Absent-minded, Xu Ziling replied, They were personally selected and trained by Kou Zhong, they shouldnt be that bad. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, Ziling, whats the load on your mind? Xu Ziling asked back, You dont have any load on your mind? Ba Fenghan revealed a bitter and astringent smile, he said, I only know that the most important thing before my eyes is the decisive battle to determine victory or defeat with Bi Xuan before I am willing to let this matter drop. Other things, I have no time to pay attention to. But then he changed the subject, Who is Shaoshuai seeing? he asked. Xu Ziling spoke in deject, Ke Dazhi. Ba Fenghan cast him a nce, but he said nothing. This moment Kou Zhong came out of Hua E Lou and sat down on Ba Fenghans other side, Dong Shuni is here, he spoke nonchntly. Ba Fenghan asked in surprise, Dont you need to greet her? Kou Zhong said, The one the biaomei [younger female cousin via female line] wants to see is the biaoge [older male cousin via female line], its none of my Niangs a$$ business. Looking at his expression, the two men immediately knew that he must have been reprimanded by Dong Shuni, hence he felt greatly embarrassed; furthermore, they understood that he was treated coldly by Shang Xiufang first, hence he could not bear being angered by another old lover. What good thing did Ke Dazhi say? Xu Ziling asked. Kou Zhong sighed and said, What good thing can be talked about? He is extremely dissatisfied that we came to Changan like this, and urged us to leave Changan immediately, otherwise we should not me him for not thinking about the feeling of brotherhood. In his heart, we are sticking our nose in the matter between them and the Li Family. The cold light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes lit up, shed, and exploded brightly; letting out a cold snort, he said, Then does he want to stick his nose in the matter between me and Bi Xuan? Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, Lao Ba, you really understand him. He clearly stated that unless one of the three of us can defeat his Wild Sand Saber, you, LaoGe can forget about meeting Bi Xuan. Unconcerned, Ba Fenghanughed instead, he said, This kids thought is so thorough. Knowing full well that you two dont have the heart to kill him, he is forcing me to make my move, so that I would refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases, afraid that one-in-ten-thousand chance I would be wounded and lose this once-in-a-thousand-years golden opportunity of the decisive battle against Bi Xuan. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Ke Dazhi does not look like someone who would y this kind of scheme, I am afraid Fenghan misunderstood him. Ba Fenghan calmly said, Tell me frankly, do you guys have the tiniest confidence that after killing Ke Dazhi you would be able to retreat without the slightest bit of damage? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, That is absolutely impossible; without a bit of sacrifice, how could it be possible to put him down? One thing goes wrong, he will ughter us instead. His grannys bear, Lao Ba, your analysis is very true, Ke Dazhi has changed from brother to enemy, the most dreadful enemy. Because all of us have been brothers, we have deep understanding on each others behavior and conduct, therefore, with just a few words, he made us, three men cannot make our move to challenge Bi Xuan. And the most terrible thing is that Bi Xuans honor or disgrace is rted to our victory and defeat against the allied forces from beyond the Great Wall. A danger sign appeared in Xu Zilings heart. Not only the situation outside Hua E Lou was dangerous, but Ba Fenghan and Kou Zhong also made him feel danger, because he clearly captured Kou Zhongs murderous intent against Ke Dazhi. Kou Zhong said to Xu Ziling, Brother! Sessful is called the king, defeated is called the bandit. To win the final victory, so that everyone can go back alive and meet the person they most want to see, other than abandoning the saber, we must not have anything else. For the sake of the world, for the sake of Lao Ba, even more, for you and me, I have no other choice, I simply have to bring the rtionship with Ke Dazhi to an end. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, My only hope is that the end would be a rather pleasant one. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, We understand how Ziling feels, but inside the City of Changan, there are multitude of enemies, few friends [idiom from Mencius], as the one falling in the inferior position, we absolutely cannot afford to make the slightest bit of concessions. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, However, we are, after all, human beings with flesh and blood. In some things, we cannot disregard the consequences. Kou Zhong pondered silently for a moment, he nodded and said, Ziling is doing me good, because even if I can kill Ke Dazhi, afterwards, I will regret it for the rest of my life. Although I can use all kinds of excuses to absolve myself, but one knows ones family affairs, someday I will take troubles to heart [idiom]. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, In that case, wouldnt Ke Dazhi be our deadlock, preventing us from defeating Bi Xuan and thus shaking the unity and morale of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall and adding more dangerous variables during the uprising? Kou Zhong said, LaoGe, dont worry, I will exchange injuries with Ke Dazhi, and thenpete with him to see who would heal a bit quicker. Not only Ke Dazhi cannot stop you from challenging Lao Bi, perhaps it might also make the enemy mistakenly believe that I was badly injured and had not recovered, so they wouldunch their invasion ahead of schedule; one move, two gains. Ha! This is called mountain and river exhausted [idiom: nowhere to go], doubting there is no road, the willow trees make the shade, the flowers give the light [idiom: at ones darkest hour, a glimmer of hope], there is another vige ahead. Staring nkly, Ba Fenghan said, This is indeed the best strategy under the current circumstances; it takes into ount our rtionship with Ke Dazhi even more. However, in the world, only Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are qualified to do this, because no one else knows the Secret to Long Life. Kou Zhong said, Therefore, the time to challenge Ke kid must be grasped urately, it must be carried out after our deployment ispleted. Xu Ziling felt gratified in his heart, because he no longer felt Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans murderous intent toward Ke Dazhi. Otherwise, momentary slip might result in lifelong regret. Even if due to the development of the situation in the future they still could not avoid deciding life or death with Ke Dazhi, but at least they have tried their hardest. Kou Zhong gradually recovered from the blow that came one after another from Shang Xiufang and Dong Shuni, That girl ising to see Xuanshu, I wonder if Yang Xuyan prompted her? he wondered aloud. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, Melon patch under plum tree, avoid suspicion [short form of Dont tie your shoces in a melon patch, and dont adjust your hat under a plum tree; idiom: dont do anything that might arouse suspicion]. Dong Shuni is Li Yuans personal pet, how could Yang Xuyan see her as soon as he wants to, and instruct her to do this and that? Kou Zhong pped his forehead and said, I am muddleheaded. In that case, Dong Meiren should have not forgotten her origin, therefore, not only she had big quarrel with Yang kid because of Wang Shichongs death, but she was also willing to receive Ling Longjiao. Just by looking at how happy she ising to see her Biaoge, we know that Li Yuan extremely dotes on her. Xu Ziling said, We can learn about her from Xuanshuter. Kou Zhong was about to answer, a subordinate came to report, Reporting to Shaoshuai, Xiufang Dajia is asking to see Shaoshuai. Subordinate has arranged for her to wait at the Shang Hu Ting [Lake Appreciation Hall] of the Hua Es north courtyard. Shaoshuai, please bestow your appearance. Kou Zhong immediately became a foolish-headed bird, it was quite a long time before he let out a long breath. He sprang up and said, I will immediately go to see her. Looking at his back as he followed his subordinate walking away, Xu Ziling sighed and said, The barrier of love is hard to pass, our Kou Zhong Shaoshuai not only has to face the most dangerous and difficult situation, but also has to deal with the debilitating [lit. liver and intestines about to split] love between men and women. I hope he can hold out. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes shot an overwhelming-sadness expression, smiling bitterly, he said, The barrier of love is hard to pass, who can avoid it? Book 60: 4: One Night of Affection

Book 60: Chapter 4: One Night of Affection

Hue E Lou consisted of the three-story building as the main structure, and the north courtyard and the south courtyard as the auxiliary wings, built along the Long Chi [dragon pondke] and linked together using corridors, abination of tall and short buildings merged together into one entity. The north courtyards Shang Hu Tings [admiring-theke pavilion] north side was facing theke, the blue-green water color was reflected inside the hall, as if it was a huge boat floating on the Long Chi, which produced another kind of beautiful interest. Kou Zhong stepped into the hall. The wearing-a-white-silk-garment, pointy-bluish-green-knotted-twisted-skirt, cinnabar-rust-colored-short-cape-draped-over-it, long-hairpin-skillfully-sping-her-temples, multi-colored-sunset-cloud-on-her-feet Shang Xiufang was standing silently in front of the window, as if her heart and spirit werepletely focused on the Long Chi outside. In this quaintly furnished hall, the light from theke and the color of water outside the window were reflected inside, it painted a dragon and dot in the eyes [idiom: adding the vital finishing touch] to match this beautiful-figure-and-posture-could-not-be-improved-anymore, exquisite-in-both-look-and-art talented woman. It was precisely a touching scene; even with Hou Xibais miraculous hands, perhaps it would still be difficult to fully extract its essence and charm. Immediately Kou Zhongs breathing became heavy, Shang Xiufang gracefully turned her tender body to let Kou Zhong observe her national grace, divine fragrance [idiom: an outstanding beauty] flowery jade countenance. Her cherry lips opened, as if she had exhausted all her strength, only then did she lightly spit out, Ah! Kou Zhong! three words. This moment, Kou Zhong had forgotten the humiliation of Shang Xiufang refusing to see him earlier, he quickened his steps toe to her, and forced himself to stand still when he was about a chi away from her. Shaken, he said, Xiufang! Shang Xiufang let out a silver-bell likeughter, which entered Kou Zhongs eardrums like the sound of nature. Her demeanor returned to calmness, no longer with stirring-up emotion that was unconsciously revealed at the first sight. A pair of slender hands pressed on his chest, she spoke softly, Shaoshuai, please dont me Xiufang, just now I was rushing to Yu He An to pay a visit to Qingxuan Dajia. I was afraid that if I saw you, I would trouble Qingxuan Dajia to wait; therefore, I decided to see you afterwards, so that Xiufang could be without worry inying out the pain of parting with Shaoshuai freely. Actually, Kou Zhong had already thrown his resentment outside the clouds of the Ninth Heaven, not to mention that she had such a good reason. Pleasantly surprised, he said, Unexpectedly Shi Meiren is here! Does anyone else know about this? Shang Xiufang gently withdrew her jade hand, her beautiful eyes were shrouded with a pained and bewildered expression, she spoke softly, Qingxuan Dajia is willing to move her phoenix-self toe to Changan, it is a big matter that caused a sensation in the whole city, Li Yuan even went to Yu He An to see her, would you say other people did not know? Kou Zhong struggled hard to resist the urge to gather her into his arms; furthermore, he understood clearly that the resentful look in Shang Xiufangs beautiful eyes was caused by hisck of action to pursue intimacy. Inwardly, his liver and intestines were about to split; he was about to speak, Shang Xiufang suddenly stretched out a couple of fingers and pressed them on his lips. Lightly shaking her head lightly, she spoke softly, No need to talk! Putting away the soul-snatching jade fingers that could make Kou Zhongs soul melting, she slowly turned her tender body around, and regained her previous immortal appearance, wonderful demeanor of admiring theke [shang hu, see above] withplete attention. She spoke indifferently, Long Chi brought back Xiufangs memories of Longquan. Just now, what I was thinking was what manly turning-the-earth-and-sky-upside-down big event is Kou Zhong going to do? Kou Zhong said, Xiufang! I Cutting him off, Shang Xiufang said, Dont tell me, I dont want to listen even more. Affairs between one country and another, how could Xiufang mind? Naturally Shaoshuai will act after careful nning, and that you have aprehensive n, thank you! Stunned, Kou Zhong said. Thank me? What good thing is there to thank me for? Shang Xiufang nodded and said, What Xiufang wants to thank you has nothing to do at all with your great undertaking of a thousand years, rather, I want to thank you for myself. If it was not for the predestined affinity of meeting Shaoshuai, what ups and downs, gains and losses in life can we talk about? The first time Xiufang saw Shaoshaui, I knew that the sin [in Buddhism] of the previous life hase to look for me, Shang Xiufang. Since I obtained self-realization, Xiufang have made up my mind to dedicate myself to song and music, because as far as Im concerned, that is the most spiritual thing that I can seek in the human world, everything else I dont care about. Who would have thought that unexpectedly I spun a cocoon around myself? Because of theck of a touching experience, Xiufangs music art could not ascend to the realm of my dreams, and Shaoshuai finally filled this w of mind; dont you think I should thank you? Watching her shoulders lightly shook as she spoke, listening to her voice brimming with musical beauty,ying all her cards on the table in an honest manner, Kou Zhongs heart tightened, his face turned blue; severely shaken, he said, Xiufang Shang Xiufang cut him off again, I am not finished yet. After Xiufang realized that Shaoshuai has broken into my heart, I fought hard to resist, yet it was beyond my power, it was precisely the kind of liver-and-intestines-about-to-break pain, which turned into the motive power on the musical art. Today I came with a specific purpose in mind to express the intense grief in my heart! After parting in Longquan, I am sure that we have been destined for this, and have experienced the most heartbroken period in our lives. Fortunately, my folk musical art has made little achievements because of this. Shaoshuai need not worry about Shang Xiufang anymore, because Xiufang has already seen through it! Out of his control, Kou Zhongs pair of hands reached out to grab both sides of her fragrant shoulders, he spoke dejectedly, By telling me that, you make me more unbearably guilty, why do you have to say such thing to me? Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were still sitting on the stone steps, while the Flying Clouds Guards were returning to their respective jobs, the park was extremely quiet. Ba Fenghan said, Stretching the muscles and bones, the entire person feelspletely new. I cant settle down, Im destined to wander for life. Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, I wonder if Fenghan is expressing your inner thought? Ba Fenghan said, Kou Zhong knows well how to pretend to be in contact with gods and ghosts [idiom: engage in hocus-pocus], yet he still cant hide from your urate discerning eye, much less me? Honestly, after leaving Ling Yan Ge, Junyus words keep ringing in my heart, it made me ask myself, why was it not Ba Fenghan but Song Shidao? That feeling is absolutely hard to take. Xu Ziling said, Does this mean that Yu Yi [Aunt Yu] has a seat in your heart? Ba Fenghan said, There shouldnt be any doubt about that, otherwise I am speaking against my own convictions. This incident is a warning to me, if I cant restrain this emotion, I will lose confidence in the battle against Bi Xuan. Xu Ziling said, Its not that you are not used to it! Who can take care of themselves without worry? As long as when facing a big enemy you throw out everything, put all your minds in it, you will seed. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, My situation is different from yours, I am closer to Kou Zhong. Clearly human emotion is like a wild horse getting away from its enclosure. When you cant control it, you will be its ve, it will no longer be under your control. Toward Junyu I am full of contradictions, but I also have a feeling that I dont understand! The most painful is still about Badaier, when I get close to any other woman, deep in my heart I always feel sorry for her. If this emotion continues, I cannot maintain my optimum condition to meet Bi Xuan head on, I will undoubtedly be defeated in this battle. Xu Ziling was puzzled, he asked, When I first met you, LaoGe in the past, you, LaoGe seemed to be extremely distinguished and aplished [or very romantic], from time to time there were beautiful women by your side. Why is it that now you act like an ascetic monk that must abstain from feeling and suppress desire? Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan replied, I admit that charming women have very strong attractive power on me. I also love chance encounter with fun, to bnce the monotonous spiritual life; however, things go far and wide without leaving a trace in my heart. And then Badaier came to Luoyang to look for me to give me bad luck, it was like a bucket of cold water being dumped on my head, awakening me from this kind of way of thinking and way of life, making me realize that I was leaving feelings everywhere just to forget Badaier. Since then, I have changed; I put my mindpletely to the decisive battle against Bi Xuan. Xu Ziling sighed and said, In that case, from beginning to end, the woman you love the most is still Badaier. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, I dont know! I really dont know. Shang Xiufang turned her tender body around, so that Kou Zhongs two hands left her pair of fragrant shoulders; her expression tranquil, she said, Isnt this the best solution? Music art is the most important thing in Xiufangs life, and Shaoshuai is the most touching experience in Xiufangs life, it gives me the carved-in-the-bones-and-engraved-in-the-heart feeling, enriching Xiufangs creativity to create art. I dont know if it was due to Niangs influence, since I was young, Xiufang does not have the slightest bit of interest in bearing and raising children, in assisting my husband and educating the children [idiom: the traditional roles of a good wife]. But I must also tell you frankly that before Longquan, I was thinking about changing for you. However, this is a thing of the past, in the trip to Gaoli, Xiufang derived not-a-shallow benefit, it was like I was finally freed from the bitter longing that robbed the circle of life and found my true direction and final destination. Kou Zhong felt the tearing anguish spread from his breast to his whole body, he shook uncontrobly and spoke in hoarse voice, Xiufang! I beg you, please stop saying that, do you know my situation? In an unusually deste tone of voice, Shang Xiufang spoke serenely, You mean your marriage contract with the Song Familys Er Xiaojie [second miss; sometimes it was second, sometimes third]? Xiufang already knew about it a long time ago. Do you want to know why although Xiufang clearly know that it might hurt you, I still have to pour out whats on my mind? Kou Zhong shook his head with nk expression on his face. Shang Xiufang revealed a hint of bleak, wounded smile, she spoke softly, The reason is very simple, because I hate you. When the love is so deep, the hatred will be simrly deep. Kou Zhong was like being struck by thunder; he suddenly took two steps back, the color of blood was drainedpletely from his face, he looked at the beauty before him in disbelief. Shang Xiufang recovered her tranquility, she spoke calmly, However, this matter is not without any remedy. As long as you agree one thing to Xiufang, Xiufang will no longer have any resentment towards Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong was like a shipwreck survivor having his boat capsized in the angry sea suddenly saw a shornd, he asked, What is it? As long as it is within my, Kou Zhongs power to do so, I will certainly do it for Xiufang. Like a little bird, Shang Xiufang threw herself into his bosom, she hugged him tight with all her strength. The iparably-touching jade body trembled lightly in his bosom, crying tenderly, she said, You definitely can do it! What I want is one night of affection from Shaoshuai, but you dont need to marry me. Kou Zhongs brains exploded with severe shock, he forgot the terrifying danger at every step in the City of Changan, his heart and spirit werepletely on the beauty in his arms. Furthermore, he knew that his feeling was like a violent tide bursting against the dike, no human power could stop and hold it back. With stupefied expression, Kou Zhong came to Ba Fenghans other side, which was also his previous ce. He sat down and said, Qingxuan is here! Ziling has not immediately gone to Yu He An to see her? Xu Ziling was shaken, he wanted to spring up and leave immediately, but he felt a bit embarrassed. Suppressing the sudden ze in his heart, he asked, What did Xiufang Dajia say? Ba Fenghan forcefully pped his shoulder, heughed and said, This aspect, Xiaodi can tell youter. Zilings only key task right now is to bring the Shi Cainu [talented girl] whose name spread all over the world to let us have a glimpse of her graceful bearing. Other things, no need for you to mind. Kou Zhong forced himself to squeeze a little smile, he said, Ziling, go quickly, or else we will join hands to beat you up. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You two are called the windes, raise the full sail and move the rudder! I am going! After Xu Ziling left, Ba Fenghan asked suspiciously, Your face is very unsightly, what exactly happened? Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, I am in so much pain that I want to kill myself, to end this cruel life. Stunned, Ba Fenghan said, Your situation is more serious than mine, unexpectedly you have reached the point of wanting to live and wanting to die? We barely arrived in Changan, immediately we are troubled by all kinds of demonic heart, how are we going to deal with the hard battles in the future? What exactly did Shang Xiufang say to you? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Its all my fault. Before, every time I saw her, I couldnt restrain the love for her in my heart, hence the reason Im in the love-and-hatred-intertwining plight of today! Right now I feel an extreme twinge of guilt, the pain is so dreadful, and I feel I let her down so much, and I let down Yuzhi and Chuchu even more. Expressing his feeling, Ba Fenghan said, No matter how strong a man is, he will be emotionally weak to the point of unable to withstand a single blow. You dont have to abuse yourself with self-me, that will be harmful and without benefit to the current situation. Did she have a falling out with you? Kou Zhong shook his head and said, On the contrary, she proposed a remedy, which is to ask me to put my heart and soul into a touching night with her, so that the bitter love between me and her will have a beautiful and tragic end! What? Ba Fenghan blurted out. Kou Zhong said, Her proposal made me feel even more guilty and sorrowful. Frankly speaking, being able to have a physical rtionship with her, this kind of unique, extraordinarily beautiful woman is something that any man dreams of and seek, but she wronged herself so much, how could I have that desire? How could I exin to Yuzhi? Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, If you dont tell Song Familys Xiaojie, it would be like this thing has never happened. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, The problem is that I cant pass my own barrier; the more annoying thing is that how can I, toward such a good and honest woman - eat until I am full and then spread far and wide? Ay! His grannys bear, tell me, what should I do? Ba Fenghan responded with a wry smile, saying, For most men, that is not an unsolvable problem. Just get three wives and four concubines, and enjoy the happy fate of the man from Qi [idiom: (ironically) the joy of having several partners]; wont your problem be solved? Ay! Of course I understand your situation. Have you set the fine time, lucky day [idiom: good opportunity]? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong replied, She said she would notify meter. This moment Wang Xuanshu came to the two men, he approached Kou Zhong and spoke in low voice, Shuni is asking to see Shaoshuai. Xu Ziling pressed down his hat to his eyebrows. Leaving Xing Qing Pce, he joined the stream of people on the street. Because Xing Qing Pce was close to the East Market, there was heavy traffic of vehicle and horses and pedestrians, so that it was very lively. He clearly felt the joyful atmosphere on the street. Evidently Kou Zhongs arrival brought them new hope for peaceful reunification. When passing by the entrance of the eastern wall on the north end of the East Market, the flow of people was particrly heavy. If it were different time, he would carefully sense the feeling of being in some city center. At this moment, however, what he thought of was Shi Feixuan and Shi Qingxuan, both women stayed at Yu He An, whom should he call on first? Speaking about fairness, he should call on them at the same time. One thing goes wrong, two women might see him at the same ce at the same time, wouldnt it be embarrassing? Somehow, he had this weird idea, which has turned into a difficult problem before his eyes, but in his heart, he sensed an iparable feeling of being at a loss and deeply worried because of it. Suddenly the rm went off in his heart. As if waking up from a muddled dream, he suddenly realized that he had fallen into a heavy siege. Furthermore, he knew that because of the distraction of the two women, he was unable to maintain the Moon in the Well realm, otherwise he should have realized that the sentry was staring intently at him. Five men, whose appearance suggested that they were Tujue - were pressing down on him from the front and rear, two directions, and the right side, entering the strategic position to attack. The surrounding pedestrians werepletely oblivious that the dangerous street assassination had already reached the could-happen-at-any-moment stage. The only gap was the wide carriageway on the left, where the stream of vehicles and horses was unending; as long as he evaded into the carriageway in time, the siege would fall apart on its own. At this moment, a carriage moving close to the pedestrian path arrived quickly, a sh of white light shot swiftly through the window curtain towards his left shoulder, as fast as a lightning strike. In term of timing, the coordination was impossible to fault, wonderful to the extreme point. With his skill, even if the secret projectile attacked at such a close distance, he still had a hundred percent confidence that he could evade. However, if he let the secret projectile to fly into the stream of people on the street, it was almost certain that someone would be mistakenly hit as the secondary vehicle; upon self-introspection, he could not do that. The five assassins began to elerate, they pressed down to besiege him. The strong horse reared and neighed, since the driver forcefully pulled the rein, forcing the horse to stop. The carriage blocked his only way out, bing another threat. Xu Zilings left hand swiftly stretched out, without missing a hairsbreadth, he pinched the white light between his thumb and index finger. A slight numbness sensation immediately spread out from his fingertips along the blood vessels. Turned out it was a two-cun-long steel needle. Even with Xu Zilings Long-Life Qi that was not afraid of poisons, he still felt it. From this, it was clear how overbearing and formidable the poison, which could quickly invade the body via the skin - on the needle was. The opponent couldunch the steel needle with this kind of force and uracy, even if it wasunched with the help of some mechanical force, based on the timing itself, it was undoubtedly the work of a first-ss martial art master. A thought shed through like lightning strike, spark of fire - in Xu Zilings heart. The person that came to mind was Xiang Yushan, because the situation before him was a repeat of the attack on the streets of Longquan that day, only someone like Xiang Yushan, who had deep understanding of Xu Zilings conduct - could make such an ingenious deployment, making it difficult for him to escape from the siege and would be assassinated. The enemy knew clearly that he would receive the news that Shi Qingxuan was at Yu He An from Shang Xiufang, hence they were able to set up an ambush at this time and ce to put him to death. If Xu Ziling was murdered as soon as he entered Changan, the alliance between Kou Zhong and Li Yuan would immediately fizzle out. It was an extremely vicious plot. Five assassins were pressing in to within five steps from him at the same time. Five pair of hands suddenly revealed ten daggers, their tips were gleaming blue, having been dipped into poison. They mmed right toward Xu Ziling. This was the most swift and fierce and horrible tactic used in the crowd, it blocked all his escape routes. If he leaped up, the five assassins would throw their daggers in time, surely he would not be able to evade them. In that instant, from the speed and momentum of the assassins approach, Xu Ziling judged that the enemies were close to Ren Juns level, plus their skill was on par with each other, and they were well-trained in working together. Even in a fair decisive battle, to put them in order would take a lot of effort, not to mention currently the opponent had the upper hand. The most worrisome was the big enemy hiding inside the carriage. This person was so brilliant that he could not generate any reaction at all. Merely from this fact, it could be seen that the opponent was a martial art master of the same level as himself. The Long-Life Qi pierced through his entire body at the speed of lightning, his heart and spirit entered the Moon in the Well realm, disengaging himself from the surrounding, both nothingness and existence, none was overlooked the slightest bit. Right this moment, he finally grasped the position and movement of the enemy inside the carriage. The influence of the poison dissipated, his left hand regained its flexibility. The steel needle pinched between his fingers seemed to turn into a spirited object, without showing any movement, it took off from his finger, in spiraling manner it was transformed into hundreds of white light, returning to the enemy inside the carriage. If the steel needle, imbued by his stream of power, shot into any part of the body, it could be guaranteed that it would prate the flesh and pierce the bones, and woulde out from the opposite side. Xu Ziling also spun like a top, and crashed into the carriage. In terms of strategy, Xu Zilings brilliance, although inferior to Kou Zhong, the difference was hardly any. In this critical situation where life and death were hanging on a hair, he grasped the enemys escaping-one. The enemys most mysterious move was the hidden martial art master inside the carriage, and the deadly move was also the attacking from inside the carriage. The role of the five assassins on the street was only to restrain him. Although Xiang Yushans scheme was exhaustive, he never expected that Xu Ziling was not afraid of poison at all; merely the miscalction in this aspect was enough to make Xu Ziling escape great catastrophe. Gust of wind rang out suddenly, the driver of the carriage raised his horsewhip, heshed it backhandedly to strike Xu Zilings head and face. The five assassins hurriedly changed to meet a contingency. Although they could notunch an attack at Xu Ziling at the same time, they dashed on bravely with no thought of personal safety [idiom] to swarm forward. One after another the ten daggers wanted to make its acquaintance with Xu Ziling. The pedestrians on the street finally noticed something unusual was happening, they instinctively scattered and ran away in all direction. Once the movement started, nothing stayed motionless. The situation was extremely chaotic. Ding! The steel needle shot through the curtain into the carriage was struck down by the opponent. A long spear pierced through the body of the carriage, it swiftly stabbed Xu Ziling in spiraling motion. One after another the six daggers stabbed Xu Ziling from a very close distance, but all the men holding the dagger felt like they were stabbing empty air. Not only it was extremely ufortable, they were also jolted by the vortex of qi protecting Xu Zilings body that they leaned unsteadily from side to side, momentarily suffering utter defeat, difficult tounch any threatening attack. Xu Ziling stretched out his left hand to flick the tip of the whip, while fast as lightning, his other hand hit the spearhead; and then he soared into the air, traversed the horsene, andnded on the pedestrian path on other side, safe and sound. As if nothing had happened, without even showing the least bit of interest to cast a backward nce, he calmly walked away. Book 60: 9: A Tooth for A Tooth

Book 60: Chapter 9: A Tooth for A Tooth

Leading his group of ministers, Li Yuan toasted Kou Zhong and Ge Suwen, respectively, pushing the banquet to a climax, followed by singing and dancing performances, with gongs, drums and musical instruments interweaving into a strong rhythm. Over a hundred singing and dancing courtesans in colorful costumes whirling around and singing to the beat. Amidst the unbounded scenes of springtime, there was an abundance of youthful health and beauty, nothing more beautiful could be imagined, it was such a tender beauty and wonderful appearance that the eye could not take it all. The urgent drumbeats ovee the pping, the waist pliable; the sweat prates the gauzed clothes like flowers of rain drops. The song finished, like colorful butterflies the crowd of courtesans retreated outside the pce hall, provoking thunderous apuse. Li Yuan raised his cup and said, Zhen [I, imperial use] salute all qing [subject] with one cup! All the people in the pce hall responded with a loud roar; following the example, they drank their cups in one gulp. Ge Suwenughed and said, The performance just now, was it the Hu Xuan Wu [hu (barbarian/non-Han) whirling dance] from Qiuci? Li Yuan cheerfully said, Dashuais [lit. great/grandmander] discerning eye did not err, it was indeed the Hu Xuan Wu of Qiuci. Only it has been somewhat enhanced,piled and edited by the masters. The Qiuci song lyrics have also been tranted into Hannguage. Turning to Kou Zhong he asked, Shaoshuais trip outside the Great Wall, I wonder if you also went to Qiuci? The mention of Qiuci stirred up Kou Zhongs memory of Ling Longjiao, hence his mind was wandering. Hearing the question, he was slightly startled; shaking his head, he said, I missed that opportunity! Ge Suwen spoke indifferently, Shaoshuai seems to have something in your mind. I wonder if you, just like Suwen, are specting about the master that Bixia [His Majesty] was referring to, unexpectedly able to choreograph such a splendid singing and dancing piece? Kou Zhong mused, Here ites! Since Li Yuan introduced he and Ge Suwen to each other, the other party has been polite, naturally it was just a formality [orig. shop front effort], and now he finally came around to provoke him, Kou Zhong. Hastilyposing himself, he replied, Hearing Dashuaisment, Xiaodis curiosity is piqued as well, I want to know which this divine figure is this gentleman? Actually, he already guessed that it was Shang Xiufangs creation, but he did noty it bare. Ba Fenghan spoke in astonishment, Fazhu seems to be holding the climax on purpose, am I right? Li Yuan smiled and said, Ba Xiansheng did not guess incorrectly, that is indeed so. It is a pity that she is absent tonight, otherwise we could ask her to appear and enlighten us. [Note: the word I tranted as enlighten is the same word refering to preaching (religion).] Ge Suwens pair of eyes revealed worshiping and admiring look, he sighed and said, No doubt that must be Xiufang Dajia. Separated by Li Jiancheng, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, both were thinking that Kou Zhong had one more rival in love. Ge Suwen cast his gaze at Kou Zhong again, his pair of slender eyes narrowed into two slits, emitting rays of light swifter and fiercer than saber de, arrow and dart; he spoke calmly, This time I, Ge Suwen, make light of traveling a thousand liing to the Central Earth, it is to fulfil a big wish in my heart, hoping to have the opportunity to experience the Heavenly Saber Song Ques brilliance, to see how the Heavenly Saber has reached perfection? I wonder if Shaoshuai could help Suwen fulfilling this big wish? On the main banquet table, from Li Yuan all the way down, everybodys smile vanished; the crow and peacock made no sound. At this time, Wei Gonggong came to ask for instructions, as soon as Li Yuan gave his nod, the cab ministers such as Pei Ji, Feng Deyi and the others would lead the crowd of ministers to propose a toast, but Li Yuan signaled him with his hand, telling him to retreat. Kou Zhongs gaze turned sharp, he met Ge Suwens gaze, with a smile yet not a smile, with an air of displeasure. Ba Fenghan sneered in displeasure, he said, Why did Dashuai challenge Shaoshuai in a roundabout way? Xu Ziling understood the meaning behind Ba Fenghans words best. Ge Suwens scheming ability was indeed outstanding, if he directly challenged Kou Zhong, Kou Zhong could refuse, and then Ba Fenghan or Xu Ziling could go down the arena on his behalf. But by only challenging Song Que, since Kou Zhong was Song Ques future son-inw, he was the only one with the qualifications to act on Song Ques behalf, other peoples interference would be meddlesome. Ba Fenghan expressed his dissatisfaction because he missed the opportunity to fight hand to hand against Ge Suwen. Li Shimin looked at Li Yuan first, seeing his brows deeply furrowed, he turned to Ge Suwen sitting beside him, and spoke calmly, Theres one thing that Shimin dont understand, I wish to consult Dashuai. With Li Shimins status and reputation, no matter how unwilling, Ge Suwen could not ignore him, thereupon he smiled and said, How could I dare? Qin Wang, please give advice. Li Shimins interruption greatly diminished the tense atmosphere. Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, and Li Nantian all appeared that they were paying attention, they wanted to clearly grasp the rtionship between Li Shimin and Kou Zhong from this. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Li Shimin said, As far as Shimin knows, the Tujue Wolf Armys threat to your distinguished country far exceeds the threat to our Central Earth Huaxia [old name for China]. At this moment, when inside and outside the Great Wall war could happen any moment, if Dashuai and Shaoshuai fight against each other, regardless of victory or defeat, inevitably one side will suffer damage, what good is that for Dashuai? Ge Suwen has not responded yet, Li Jiancheng, in anger and displeasure, frowned and said, Qin Wangs words are wrong. Bi Xuan Dashi was willing toe to Changan in person, it shows that even though there was misunderstanding between our Great Tang and the Tujue in the past, currently we have already forgotten previous differences, the big earth is returning to spring. If Qin Wangs words spread outside, the consequences are too horrible to contemte. Turning to Li Yuan, he said, Fuhuang, please bestow instructions! This remark did not leave the slightest leeway, it carried a killing-Li Shimin-to-thest-one attitude, and it indirectly attacked Kou Zhong, using him ofing to Changan to ruin the friendly rtions being established between their Li Tang and the Tujue. Immediately Li Yuan was trapped in difficult position left and right. If he supported Li Jiancheng, he would offend Kou Zhong. If he did not, he would offend the Tujue. And in his status as the emperor, no one could help him resolving this dispute, their allotted share was just to quietly wait for him to speak up. Kou Zhong and the others began to understand the reasons why Li Shimin had always been at the disadvantage in the struggle within the imperial court, it was because Li Jiancheng indeed had a set of skill, he knew how to decipher the dragons intention better than Li Shimin. Li Yuan was, after all, someone who was ustomed to seeing the big picture. His countenance solemn, he said, Er Huanger [the second emperors son] is talking about the current situation, while Da Huanger [the first emperors son] is referring to the development of the situation, both have certain logical basis for it, there is no question of who is right or who is wrong. This matter is not suitable to discuss here, well let it drop at this point. Han Chaoan was staring hatefully at Kou Zhong, hearing that, he spoke grimly, Shaoshuai is not timid, is it? The refined light in Ge Suwens pair of eyes shing, he shouted in displeasure at Han Chaoan, How could Chaoan talk nonsense? Han Chaoan hung his head down, his face was like cicada in winter [mournful]. Ge Suwen put on a smile and exined to Li Yuan, Suwen is not a brave man who loves fierce battle at all, only, just like Fu Dashi, I regard the saber technique as one kind of art, the ultimate beauty; like some people are pursuing rare paintings and calligraphy, hence unwilling to enter the treasure mountain and return empty-handed. Li Yuan sighed and said, It does not matter which side suffer harm, that is the thing that I, Li Yuan do not want to see the most. Ge Suwen calmly said, Suwen certainly wholeheartedly desire to experience the brilliant skills, but absolutely do not have the intention to distinguish life and death. Xu Zilingughed indifferently, he said, Dashuai has not yet answered Qin Wangs question. Li Yuanji could not help but intervene, Fuhuang indicated that it is not suitable to discuss this issue on the banquet table. I wonder if Xu Xiansheng ask for Dashuais guidance at another asion? He and Li Jiancheng echoed one another. This remark seemed to be addressed to Xu Ziling, but secretly the spearhead was pointed at Li Shimin, to remind Li Yuan who was the main culprit. Xu Ziling spoke slyly, Is Qi Wang asking me in retrospect? Immediately Li Yuanji was at a loss for words, because he was asking after Kou Zhong and Ge Suwen had fought, at that time, the rice has already been cooked, what was the sense in speaking? Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, Frankly speaking, having the opportunity to fight hand to hand and exchange blows against Ge Dashuai is indeed a pleasure in life, but it is definitely not a touch-and-stop, the defeated side will definitely have his might greatly reduced, perhaps if not death then injury. Therefore, Qin Wangs remark is very reasonable. After rifying Dashuais intentions first, fighting will be a bit more straightforward. Dont Dashuai think so? Ge Suwens eyes became even swifter, fiercer and sharper, but the tone of his voice was surprisingly rxed. He smiled and said, For me, Ge Suwen, the pursuit of saber technique not only transcends personal gratitude and grudges, honor and disgrace, it transcends the issue of struggle, strength and weakness between nations. If Shaoshuai doesnt have this kind of aspiration, how could you be worthy of being the Central Earths most outstanding saber technique great expert after the Heavenly Saber Song Que? Kou Zhong stretched his limbs, he smiled and said, Dashuai praises me, this Xiaoshuai, too much [da and xiao mean big and small, respectively]! My saber technique is only used to deceive people who dont understand saber. Xiaodis aspiration cannotpare with your, Laoxiongs grandeur even more. And then he leaned forward slightly; meeting Ge Suwens sharp gaze, he said, Dont say that I am bluffing, if you and I are going down the arena to move sabers ande to the pce courtyard for a contest, his Niangs! Theres definitely no such thing as touch-and-stop. Life or death, victory or defeat will be decided in a few saber strikes. He leaned back into the chair, smiled and said, Therefore, it is said that a gentleman uses his mouth and not his fist. Your, LaoGes Hannguage is more refined than mine, you ought to understand the meaning of this saying. These remarks disyed Kou Zhongs consistent style and the getting-more-powerful-when-meeting-the-powerful heroic qualities, brimming with Jianghu vor. A burst of ufortable feeling suddenly welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he was certain that it was not because of the unavoidable pce courtyardpetition against Ge Suwen, but he could not tell a better reason, so he could not help but wonder. Immediately Ge Suwen became the target of multiple arrows. Everyone wanted to see how he responded, only to see a smile escaped from the corners of his mouth, which gradually grew and turned into a brilliant smile. He spoke cheerfully, As long as Shaoshuai is willing to bestow some face and impart your wisdom to me, how could I, Ge Suwen still have the leisurely mood to bother about life or death, victory or defeat? Kou Zhongs pair of eyes turned bright, he was about to speak. Boom! Boom! Boom! Everyone was stunned, their countenance changed, instinctively they looked to the west of the pce hall at the same time, because the series of explosions wereing from the west outside of the Taiji Pce Hall; it was quite close. The entire Taiji Pce Hall suddenly was so quiet that the crow and peacock made no sound, the sound of a needle falling would have been heard, yet no one knew what was going on. Boom! There was another explosion, and then outside the pce hall there was a boiling cauldron of voices [idiom]. Li Yuan stood up abruptly and shouted sternly, What happened? Only to see Cheng Mo, flustered and exasperated, pounced into the pce hall, straight toward the steps, crouched down in front of it and spoke with trembling voice, Reporting to Huangshang, the Qing Liang Zhai [lit. clear and cool building (usually religious, maybe simr to a chapel)] northwest of Yeting Pce suddenly exploded and caught fire! Hearing that, Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, Li Shimin, Li Shentong, and Ba Fenghan, five men looked at each other in dismay, they cried, Bad! inwardly. Although they were still unclear of what was happening, they knew that it must be the enemys doing. Xu Ziling swept his gaze around at Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji, they were exchanging a pleased-with-themselves expression surreptitiously. By the time everybody spurred their horses to rush to the scene, the Yeting Pces Qing Liang Zhai had be damaged-roof-ruined-walls, only the poisonous ck smoke was still rising [orig. the soul of a deceased has not yet dispersed (idiom)], the imperial bodyguards in the pce poured water to fight the fire, gradually the smoke disappeared. After Li Yuan got off the horse, his face ashen, he started nkly at the disaster site after the catastrophe, so that people knew that another storm was brewing in his heart, which could erupt at any time. Behind him stood Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Li Shimin, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, Li Shentong, Li Nantian, Wei Gonggong, Cheng Mo, Dugu Feng, and so on, while farther away were the various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion who rushed over to the disaster site one after another. And thus the state banquet was chopped in half at the waist due to the sudden disaster. At Kou Zhongs insistence, Li Yuan reluctantly agreed to let them, three men, toe with him, while others, such as Ge Suwen and the others, left on their own. The disaster this time was obviously caused by firearm explosion. In term of scale, it could notpare to Li Jianchengs East Pce big explosion, but it was still big enough to destroy the entire Qing Liang Zhai, along with burning more than a dozenrge trees nearby. Seven corpses were excavated and wereid up in a row on the ground; they were burnt like coke, hard to identify. Li Shimins pair of eyes shot an expression of disbelief, his face was like dead ashes, as he stared nkly at the big tragedy that had happened in his own domain. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan you looked at me I gazed at you, they had a faint feeling that it was Jiancheng, Yuanji and the others malicious scheme of a tooth for a tooth, using a batch of surplus firearms they did not know about, creating the tragedy before their eyes to frame Li Shimin. Furthermore, they were certain that before the explosion the maids and servants inside the building [zhai] have been killed by theirckeys. They wanted tofort Li Shimin, yet they were unable to utter anything. His gaze fixed on the disaster area, Li Yuan spoke heavily, What is this all about? Li Shimin took a step forward toe behind him, he spoke in grief, Child does not know, really dont know. Li Yuan muttered, You dont know? Really dont know? And then, like a whirlwind he turned his dragons body around, the ze in his pair of eyes burned into the sky, suddenly he spoke furiously, Whose ce is this, you unexpectedly said you dont know and push all responsibilities away one and all? Obviously there are arge quantity of firearms hidden in here, and you still tell me you dont know. Quickly own up to the fact. Li Shimin dropped down on his knees and cried out sadly, Child really does not know the facts, Fuhuang please note clearly. Rage welled up in Kou Zhongs heart; Li Yuan med Li Shimin like this in front of them, three outsiders, not leaving the slightest amount of leeway. Li Yuans face was as cold as water, word after word burst forth from the gap between his teeth as he spoke in heavy voice, The facts are there, how could there be any room for quibble? Just today Zhen have repeatedly urged that you, brothers to be kind and love one another, ay! After a short pause, he went on, Do you want me to serve you with the familyw [rules and discipline that apply within a family] before you are willing to tell the truth? Ay! The Li Family is unfortunate, unexpectedly we produced such a rebellious child. Toward your past conduct and deeds, Zhen have made supreme effort to tolerate. Considering time and again you rendered meritorious military service, I did not bother about you, who could have thought that unexpectedly you change to be more severe, concealing firearms, conspiring illegally. Are you even unwilling to let Zhen off? Li Shimin knocked his forehead on the ground, he cried in distress, If Child has this intention, let the heaven punish and the earth exterminate Child and die. Child ispletely without any knowledge of these firearms, heaven and earth can be my witness. Xu Ziling looked at Jiancheng, Yuanji. Although the two men were silent without speaking, they both had triumphant expressions in their eyes. Even with such an apathetic personality, he still felt indescribable grief and indignation, Li Shimin, who bore the brunt, need not be mentioned. Why did Li Yuan this generous to that but unkind to this? He did not mention a single word about Li Jiancheng keeping firearms in his private possession, but he med Li Shimin so heavily. Without even listening to Li Shimins exnation the slightest bit, he stubbornly decided that Li Shimins intentions were unruly; it was indeed too much. Only regretfully with their status as outsiders, under the circumstances, they did not have any qualifications to speak up and offer an opinion. Li Yuan looked down at the kneeling-on-the-ground Li Shimin, his face alternated between bursts of red and white, while his chest fluctuated indeterminately with rage. Suddenly he pointed his halberd fingers and spoke sternly, Get lost to the Hong Yi Pce for Zhen. Without Zhens permission, you are not allowed to step out of the pce gate for even half a step, wait for your punishment. Kou Zhong and the others secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as long as Li Yuan did not immediately execute Li Shimin on the spot, they still had a chance to redress the lost game. Jiancheng, Yuanjis move was indeed formidable, attacking them that they had no time to deal with it. On the way back to the Xing Qing Pce, the three men inside the carriage were in a heavy mood, yet because the Tang Army escorted them in front and behind, it was inconvenient to talk, they had no choice but to temporarily sealed it inside their heart. The first day in Changan, already twists and turns wereing one after another, thest one being Li Shimin brutally framed-up, not to mention thatter in the zi hour [11pm - 1am] they were going to see Fu Cailin, good or bad luck was still difficult to foresee. It was only this moment that they began to realize how difficult their opponents were. Long before they arrived in Changan, Jianchengs party had already drawn up aprehensive n to deal with them. Plus Li Shimin was readily avable to take the me, which made them having their hands bound and were unable to do anything about it even more, they had the power but difficult to use it, unable to move a single step. Time passed in heavy pressure. After returning to Xing Qing Pce, the three men went to the highest floor of Shuang Hui Lou [Double Splendor Building] to talk. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, What do we do? If Li Yuan uses this excuse to send Li Shimin away to the western border, the various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion under hismand would be divided to Jiancheng and Yuanji. The only way we could deal with it was to slip away immediately and slowly n follow-up strategy. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, This must be Jiancheng and Yuanjis idea, and they surely recruited the imperial concubine party to lobby Li Yuan. The most frightening thing is that from Li Yuans standpoint, this is the best way to solve the separating wall problem between brothers, once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Shall Ie forward and point out that without Li Shimin providing assistance in military affair, we will cancel the alliance proposal? Ba Fenghan sighed and said, In that case, the fantasy that often appears in your brain about five hundred saber and axe wielders pouncing from the left and right will be a reality. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, You are right! Ay! His grannys bear, how could it suddenly be like this? Ba Fenghan said, Li Jiancheng is very capable, unexpectedly he could came up with such a malicious trick. Xu Ziling said, Wed better check this point, to see if there is still a third batch of firearms. Ay! The top priority before our eyes is to prevent Li Yuan from using this as a pretext to execute Shimin Xiong. Ba Fenghan said, In addition to this problem, there is still a possibility that cant be worse. Let Ziling tell you! He was the one who thought about it. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, Please consider my ability to bear it. His Niangs! Speak up! Thereupon Xu Ziling expressed his suspicion about Wanwan in fives and tens [idiom: to narrate systematically and in full detail]. Finished listening, Kou Zhongs countenance became so unsightly that it could not possibly be worse. After muttering to himself irresolutely for a long time, Kou Zhongs palm pped the center of the small table by his side, he screamed, Li Shimin fell into someones trap, we also fell into someones trap. Nine out of ten, Zilings analysis is right. This is called rivers and mountains are easy to change, it is hard to change human nature, Wanwan practically has never changed, what has changed is only the means. Is there any way to dig her mole out of the pce? Recovering his calm, Ba Fenghan said, This is definitely not a moment of self-pity [orig. to repent and redress ones errors], we must first make a contingency n, otherwise Changan will be the ce where our bones are buried; there is no other possibility. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Things have slight or important, urgent or non-urgent [idiom]. First of all, we must try to lighten Li Yuans punishment to Shimin Xiong, other things we can take our time in making a decision. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Based on Li Yuans contradictory character, the punishment to Li Shimin for should not be decided in a rush within one or two days, because it will have an unimaginable impact on the troops heart. I think the most urgent matter is to deal with Shi Zhixuan, to cut off Wanwans greatest support. Shi Zhixuan is the thorn on our backs. One day we have him ring like a tiger watching his prey in the dark, we can forget about being able to sleep peacefully. The explosion and big fire at the Ye Ting Pce are so brilliant that it makes peoples heart tremble, its not like something that Jiancheng and the others brains can conceive; itsparable to Shi Zhixuan or Wanwans tricks. Ba Fenghan stood up and said, Now its best to put everything aside, sit quietly for his grannys one or two sichen, and then go visit your Shigong in optimal condition, otherwise, tonight, you will not be able to sleep even more. Wang Xuanshu climbed up the stairs and said, Hou Ye is here! Book 60: 10: The Last Move

Book 60: Chapter 10: The Last Move

Hou Xibai appeared on the stairs behind Wang Xuanshu, heughed aloud and said, Brothers! We meet again! Huh? Why are your countenance so unsightly? I hope I havent missed this once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity to meet Fu Cailin. Kou Zhong spoke dejectedly, We are now at an absolute disadvantageous position, under pressure [orig. badly burned about the head from trying to put out a fire (idiom)], with no thought for tea or rice [idiom: have no appetite]. Hou Xibai brushed past Wang Xuanshu, who was asking to be excused; he sat down beside Ba Fenghan and said, When things develop to the extreme, it will lead to change! Change will lead to sess. I really dont believe that there will be people in the world who can stump us. Kou Zhong will always be the unequalled bestmander-in-chief. Ha! Tell me. Ba Fenghan said, There is no time! In a sichen we are going to the Ling Yan Pavilion in the Tang Pce to see one of the three great grandmasters in the world Fu Cailin to see how he can use the sword [jian] to y [yi] the enemy? [y on words, remember that Fu Cailins title was Yi Jian Dashi. Note: yi - ancient name for Go (Chinese chess), see also Fu Junyus exnation in Book 7 Chapter 2.] Greatly delighted, Hou Xibai said, I can finally fulfill this cherished desire. Frankly speaking, among the three great grandmasters, the person I want to meet the most is him. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I have lost all my mood. It would be best if tonight I cover my head and sleep his Niangs until I am not aware of the ways of the world. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai asked, What is so serious? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, The first day in Changan, we may have lost our treasure house and Li Shimin, the two things that we greatly rely on - at the same time. Tell me, what else can we do besides sleeping? Raising his eyebrows, Hou Xibai said, I can go and ask Shi Xianzis guidance. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Ziling! Right? Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook. Ba Fenghan asked in surprise, The one hearing that and has his heart moved ought to be Ziling, and not you? Kou Zhong spoke in distress, Shi Feixuan, three characters seemed to give me a sudden inspiration, but I could not tell what it actually is. Xu Ziling spoke serenely, Feixuan has returned to Jing Zhai! Hou Xibai blurted out, What? p! Stunned, the three men looked at Kou Zhong, they saw him pping his leg with his palm, his pair of eyes lit up, he said, I have a way to save the situation! Without waiting for everyone to ask him, he sprang up and said, But its only a 20 to 30% chance of saving the situation. I am going out and will be back in half a sichen, and then well go as a group to see Shigong. Hou Xibai said, I saw your Zhizhi in Chengdu, she asked me to tell you that she wille to Changan to meet you in person. Kou Zhong had just flown toward the stairs; hearing that, he was severely shaken and halted his steps; What? he blurted out, Currently Changan is soldiers-inauspicious-battle-dangerous, how could I let her take risks? Ba Fenghan slyly said, This is called loving-husband-corresponding-passion! In an apparently very excited mood, Hou Xibai raised his thumb toward Ba Fenghan and praised, Lao Bas one sentence nails it. Zhizhi already knew that Shaoshuai would have such a reaction, so she wanted me to tell Shaoshuai clearly that she ising to Changan this time is to reward Shaoshuai. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Reward? I hope it wont turn into punishment, and then Ill really thank the Heaven and thank the Earth. Finished speaking, he disappeared down the stairs. Xu Ziling asked Hou Xibai, What identity Xibai used to enter the city? Ba Fenghanughed and said, Ziling is asking whether you climbed the city wall or enter the city through the city gate, because nowadays the city gate is closed early. Hou Xibai said, This is called when theres a wind, steer the rudder to the utmost? I shed the Shaoshuai flower and called the gate to enter the city [not sure], rming their leader Liu Hongji. Fortunately, he has some friendship with me, so he was willing to let me enter the city first before reporting to Li Yuan, and even personally took me here. Then he could not help asking, What do you mean she has returned to Jing Zhai? How could she leave us at this moment? Xu Ziling said, The fairys heart is hard to fathom, lets not spend too much effort to think about it. This moment Qingxuan is in Yu He An in the city, do you want to go to say hello to her? Hou Xibai said, Of course I want to go to see her, but not tonight. Tomorrow we are going pay a visit to her together. Ziling, go! Remember toe back in time. Dong Da Si, meditation room. Kou Zhong sat on the putuan, facing Liao Kong, he sighed and said, We are in big trouble! Liao Kong smiled, I rarely see Shaoshuai to be sock in confidence. I wonder if Shaoshuai is distressed and your spirit wounded because Qin Wang is being exiled to the Hong Yi Pce? Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, Dashi did not leave the Zen room for half a step, unexpectedly you know what happened deep in the pce not long ago. It is really hard to imagine. Tranquil and calm, and at ease, Liao Kong said, Pinseng [poor/impoverished monk] has always maintained close contact with Qin Wangs side, such a big thing, naturally they will notify me. It was because Hou Xibai mentioned Shi Feixuan that Kou Zhong thought of Liao Kong, this lifeline. Presently, Liao Kong was the representative of the two schools of Buddhism and Taoism, headed by Ci Hang Jing Zhai and Ning Daoqi, whose influence was hard to estimate - in Changan, he could aplish things they could not do. Smiling bitterly, he said, If Li Shimins military power is taken away by Li Yuan, or he is relegated to a distant ce, it would be like cutting off one of our arms, therefore, we have no choice but toe and ask Dashi to show us how to get to the right path. Liao Kongs pair of eyes were sparkling with the sharp light of profound and touching wisdom, but he quickly closed his pair of eyes again, only opening them again after half a day; he said, The unfortunate incident that happened tonight, the perpetrators were using sinister method and through meticulous thought; moreover, one move and it hit our weak point, making uscking in strength to strike back. The biggest problem now is that Shaoshuai cannote forward to speak to Li Yuan on Qin Wangs behalf, because the ingenious method will be clumsy instead, it will make Li Yuan even more convinced that Taizi sides serious usations against Shaoshuai and Qin Wang for conspiracy is true. Have Shaoshuai ever thought that someone who can work out this n must be a person with superior intelligence, and must have a deep understanding of you? Kou Zhong revealed a thoughtful look, he nodded and said, Lucky that Dashi brought up this point. When Dashi said that, that kid Xiang Yushans repulsive countenance suddenly appeared in my heart. From him, I started to think that the firearms that razed Qing Liang Zhai to the ground were most likelying from Zhao Deyans side. Because after Liang Shidu obtained arge number of firearms, leaving some for his own use is just reasonable and fair, and this vicious scheme must have been figured out by the Xiang kid, he knows my and Xiao Lings character better than anybody else. He could even see that Ziling and Iing to Changan is to support Qin Wangs waist. Liao Kong cheerfully said, Since we have figured out the mastermind behind the plot, we can formte a counterattack strategy. Li Yuans aspect, Pinseng couldy out the pros and cons thoroughly via Wang Tong, to point out that under the current situation, if Qin Wang is punished severely, not only internally the troops heart will be unstable, it will also destroy the alliance with Shaoshuai. To have many advantages and no disadvantages, it should convince Li Yuan. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, There is no more suitable candidate than Wang Tong. Li Yuan will never suspect that he is speaking good words on Li Shimins behalf, because all our troubles were caused by his whistleblowing. But then he frowned and said, Does Dashi know him well? Liao Kong said, He is an old acquaintance of many decades. Before Pinseng cultivated mute meditation, from time to time he woulde and chat with me about Zen and discuss Buddha; however, each time we always parted on bad terms, toward Buddhism, all along he has a rejecting heart. Toward our support of Qin Wang, he did not ept it as correct, fortunately Feixuan persuaded him. Muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, Kou Zhong said, Not that I doubt Wang Tongs effectiveness and his influence on Li Yuan, but since Li Yuan believed that Li Shimin had poisoned Zhang Jieyu, he has been trying to add to Li Shimins guilt. To put it nicely, he wants to take this opportunity to overthrow one side in order to dispel the could-happen-at-any-moment bloodshed and the fire between the three sons. And now that there is such a good opportunity before his eyes, how could he easily let it go because of Wang Tongs, an outsider, advice? For Li Yuan, he would not think that demoting or banishing Li Shimin would disintegrate the troops heart, because of the way of the House of Tang military system. Moreover, Jianchengs new victory coupled with triumphant return, plus the imperial concubine party waving the gs and shouting battle cries on the side, Li Yuan would grow the confidence that in military affairs, Jiancheng couldpletely rece Li Shimin. After a short pause, he continued, As for the contract of alliance with me, apart from my secret rtionship with Li Shimin, it should be a matter between Li Yuan and me. Therefore, whether Li Shimin is staying of leaving, from Li Yuans point of view, it should not have any impact. Liao Kong spoke indifferently, Shaoshuais analysis is so subtle and profound that I am starting to doubt about Wang Tongs ability to fill this role. Fortunately, the same firearm incident urred in Taizis Mansion. If Li Yuan is generous toward Jiancheng but unkind toward Shimin, how could he make his subjects ept wholeheartedly? We could even begin from the people killed in the explosion. If we can prove that the victims were executed before the explosion, we could rebut that someone is deliberately framing Qin Wang. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Dashis words are reasonable; however, the victims have all turned into dismembered, shattered and nothing-remains-the-same coke, how could we determine that they had encountered treacherous assault before the incident? Liao Kong said, It depends on what kind of technique the perpetrator used. If they used internal schools technique, there ought to be spiders thread and horses track to be found. Wang Tong is proficient in medical science, he may be able to point out the evidence that will convince Li Yuan. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I know Xiang kid so well, not inferior to his knowledge of me. If he is the mastermind behind the scenes, he will certainly not be negligent in this regard. He could just knock those people out first and that should do it. Ay! I also understand Li Yuans personality, he wholeheartedly wants to keep everything he has before his eyes. Li Shimin has long been reduced to be an outsider inside the pce, an alien among his rtives, so that the sooner he goes away the better. The more I think about it, the more I think something is not right. With the imperial concubine and Taizi parties blocking-the-wind-to-light-the-fire, in case Li Yuan decided to deal with Li Shimin in the shortest possible time tomorrow, our hearts blood willpletely go down the drain. Liao Kong closed his pair of eyes. Kou Zhong suddenly remembered something, he asked, Does Li Yuan know about Dashi staying in Dong Da Si? Liao Kongs eyes closed, he replied, Pinseng entered the city as an ordinary monk, no one knows that Liao Kong is in Dong Da Si. He opened his eyes and continued, If its difficult for Wang Tong to have an effect on Li Yuan, what about Yue Shan? Kou Zhong smiled bitterly and said, Yue Shan cant always show up at critical moments, it would be strange if Li Yuan is not suspicious in this respect, whats more, its a problem pertaining to Li Shimin, unless Yue Shan is an all-knowing immortal? Liao Kong smiled and said, The person Yue Shan wanted to deal with can be Shi Zhixuan, he does not need to show up, he could only send a letter to him, pointing out that the demonic schools two sects and six ways headed by Shi Zhixuan are conspiring to pull Li Shimin down, hence he is warning Li Yuan, telling Li Yuan to think thrice. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Its still inappropriate! First of all, Li Yuan knows Yue Shans handwriting, its hard to forge! Secondly, Yue Shan has always beening and going alone, how could he suddenly find someone to send such an important letter? Finally, if Yue San is really Yue Shan, he ought to go to Song Que to give him bad luck first, how could he still have time to meddle in other peoples affairs? Liao Kong said, Pinseng is, after all, an outsider, in this kind of matter, I am far inferior to Shaoshuais brains, so I have no choice but to use thest move. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, What other move we can use as a magic weapon to deal with this? [The term I tranted as magic weapon refers to incantation/spell to activate magic weapon.] Liu Kongs tranquil face was like an unbounded ocean without half a trace of a ripple, he said, Pinseng has no other option but to personally request to see Li Yuan. Astonished, Kou Zhong asked, Does Dashi have friendly rtions with Li Yuan? Liao Kong replied, Only the karma to see each other once, there is no friendly rtions to be talked about. Kou Zhong did not understand, Then why would he want to listen to you? he asked. Liao Kong smiled and said, I dont want him to listen to me at all, rather, I am representing Fan Zhaizhu and Ning Daoxiong to give him the most severe warning. If he obstinately clinging to his course by punishing Qin Wang, we will withdraw our support for Li Tang and change it to fully support you, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong. I will enter the city tomorrow morning when the city gate opens, straight toward the imperial pce to see Li Yuan. Afterwards, regardless of sess or failure, I will immediately return to Jing Nian Chan Yuan. Everything in Changan will be decided by Shaoshuai yourself, if Shaoshuai choose to immediately withdraw, we will have no objection. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Is Dashi serious? Liao Kong calmly said, How could Buddhist tolerate deceit? What Liao Kong said, each wordes from the bottom of my heart. What happen in the future, it will be decided upon Li Yuans thoughts, furthermore, it will also depend on how much he attaches importance to the alliance with you. This time Shaoshuai is willing toe to Changan simply because of Feixuans mediation is an undisputable fact. The warninging from Pinsengs own mouth ought to have a certain impact on Li Yuan, I hope it will have the power to reverse the rotation of the sky. Kou Zhong nodded and said, This is indeed thest and the most ruthless move. Losing your support, first Bashu will throw their lot to my Shao Shuai Army, even more, in anger and resentment intersecting each other, the various high-ranking military officers under Li Shiminsmand will defect to me; however, I will have to kill my way out of Changan City. Liao Kong said, That is the worst case. If Li Yuan wants to keep everything before his eyes, he ought to know how to choose. Xu Ziling came out by leaping over the wall, using the secret method of transforming the true qi, he crossed the street, under cover of the huge trees reaching high to the sky standing in great numbers by the roadside, andnded on the roof of a building of a nearby courtyard, and then from roof to roof he unleashed his nightwalking technique with all his strength to fly in the direction of Yu He An. Both Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai thought he was going to see Shi Qingxuan, but in fact, the main target he was looking for was Shi Zhixuan. No one understood the Demonic King of this generation better than him. He decided that because of Shi Qingxuan, he could not help but linger at Yu He An. He wanted to give Shi Zhixuan thest kind words to persuade him, if it was still loyal advice jarred on the ears, then there was no choice but they all would break off their rtionship. His spirit was elevated to the unprecedented crystal clear, empty and alert Bright Moon in the Well realm. Nothing all around him could be hidden from him. He heard the maid and servants in the houses discussion in whispered tones, the sound of a child turning over on the bed, a night crow curling up on a horizontal branch of a cypress tree, the rise and fall of a breeze brushing against his body. The feeling was touching to the extreme point. The originally unsatisfactory world instantly became wless. Even if there was someone as brilliant as Shi Zhixuan following his track, it would still be difficult to hide from his spirited sense at this moment. He had full confidence in this, and this unexinable confidence was precisely an inalienable part of the entire Brightly Lit realm; no joy, no worries,pletely at ease. He sensed the wonderful feeling of somersaulting and soaring over the houses, the true qi within his body transformed and moved following his intention, everything was natural,pletely without any trace of a hatchet or a chisel. Right this moment, he sensed that Shi Zhixuan was in the garden forest of Yu He An ahead. Kou Zhong resorted to his best efforts, using all kinds of methods to confuse the enemy and test the enemy, until he was certain that no one could follow him without being noticed, and only then did he run in the direction of the Situ Mansion. There was not much time, he must meet the appointment with his Shigong on time, fortunately, Dong Da Si and Situ Mansion were not far away. For him, it was only an effort of few dozen ups and downs. Half a quarter of an hourter, he was already sitting in the inner hall with Song Shidao, Lei Jiuzhi, Ren Jun, Zha Jie, and Tongtong, five people. Using the most concise way Kou Zhong exined the situation, How is the situation on Ma Changs side? he asked. Lie Jiuzhi said, Our people have arrived seventy-, eighty-percent, all are settled by Tao Bangzhus confidants and trusted aides, they are hiding separately in several fishing viges in the upper reaches of the Changan Great River. In the short term there shouldnt be any problem. Kou Zhong said, Notify Ma Chang immediately, tell him to move out the weapons, bows and arrows inside the storehouse. Without my instructions, nobody can return to the treasure house. Lie Jiuzhi nodded in agreement, he said, This matter could be aplished within two days. Kou Zhong asked about the preparation of the opening of the bank, and Ren Jun replied, Chi Shengchun is barely able to raise enough gold. We have just sent one hundred thousand taels of gold to the state treasury yesterday. It will take about ten days to cast the gold into gold ingots engraved with the Zhen Guan characters. Song Shidao said, One after another wealthy businessmen of Changan are vying to join thepany, our Furong Yes share of the capital has been reduced to three and a half shares. Kou Zhong said, Since we already know Xiang Guis whereabouts, the banks affair is no longer critical, I wonder if all of you can find an excuse to temporarily leave Changan to avoid the limelight, so that we have one less w to worry about. Immediately Zha Jies countenance changed, he hung his head low. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Just by looking at Xiao Jies reaction, I know that he and Xier already reached the loath-to-part [idiom: close and unwilling to separate] stage. Hee ! This is not a problem at all. Xier is free, as long as she is willing, you want to take her anywhere, I am okay. Oh! But I think its a bit more safe to settle her in Liangdu. When his gaze swept across Tongtong, thetters pretty face also slightly blushed. She avoided his gaze, stole a nce at Ren Jun, and only then she hung down her small cicada head. Kou Zhong understood, his heart was greatlyforted, but he did not reveal it, he only grinned at Ren Jun. Ren Jun looked embarrassed, he said, The banks establishment is near at hand, we are being assigned to various locations is only to be expected. Volunteering himself, Lie Jiuzhi said, Xieers affairs, leave it to me, let me exin it to Qing Furen. However, if we all withdraw from Changan, inevitably people will be suspicious, let me stay! This way, it will also be a good exnation to Qing Furen. Kou Zhong smiled and looked at Lei Jiuzhi until Lei Jiuzhi became ufortable. Squinting his eyes, he said, What are you looking at? Tongtong covered her mouth and snickered, Song Shidao and Ren Jun exchanged a knowing smile, only Zha Jie did not dare to show the slightest bit of difference in countenance toward this benefactor. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, I cant help but looking at you because you are so good-looking. Your entire being looks to be ten years younger, it does not seem to be as simple as you are being proud of yourself in the casino. Turning to Zha Jie he said, Xiao Jie, tell me honestly, did Lei Dage apany you ying chess with Xier every night? Zha Jie stammered, I dont know! Kou Zhong, Song Shidao, Ren Jun and Tongtong were unable to bear it any longer, they all burst into aughter filling the hall. Lie Jiuzhis old face blushed, he cursed, Good kid, unexpectedly you have the impertinence to meddle into my private affairs. Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, Not meddling, but caring about you. Lei Dage, you are staying here for the time being should not be a problem. Wanwan should notunch any killer move before the matter matures. As for the details of the evacuation, you should discuss carefully, dont reveal any traces. Then he turned to Song Shidao and said, Zhizhi ising to Changan. Aghast, Song Shidao said, What? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Lets talk about it after Zhizhi arrives in Changan! At that time, perhaps things already develop rapidly after abrupt turn [idiom: dramatic change]. I, Kou Zhong, definitely will not let Li Shimin to get trampled on. His grannys bear! After obtaining the weapons, Ma Chang is ready to get in the city any time, to cope with sudden changes. Just like Bi Xuan said, when there is no choice, everything can only be solved by military [or martial art] force. Book 61: 4: A Lull in the Storm

Book 61: Chapter 4: A Lull in the Storm

Kou Zhong was in deep slumber when he was suddenly awakened by the sound of a horse neighing and people shouting from afar; he sat up from the couch with a start. Flustered and exasperated, Hou Xibai rushed through the door and said, Reporting to Shaoshuai, the turn of events is not too encouraging, arge number of men and horses areing to attack from the direction of Changan. Xiaozu [foot soldier, minor pawn] received Xu and Ba, two Darens order to invite Shaoshuai to leave immediately. Kou Zhongposed himself a little bit, heughed and said, At a time like this, you, this kid unexpectedly ising to tease me, ha! No wonder I suddenly dreamed of going to the battlefield. Li Yuan is so quick. He swiftly sprang up off the couch, picked up the outer robe, which he put by the bed with the Moon in the Well and the Piercing the Sun Bow concealed within, and simply slung it over his shoulders. Rushing out of the room, he asked, Where are Xu kid and Lao Ba? Hou Xibai ran after him, heughed and said, Everyone gathers at the east gate, they are one step ahead to join in the fun, while telling me to get you there, not to care whether you are awake or asleep. Kou Zhong suddenly came to a halt, standing in the corridor leading to the east gate, he said to Hou Xibai in surprise, You should have loved life more than anyone else! Howe you acted like you dont consider life and death worthy in your eyes, but free and do not have any care? Hou Xibai cheerfully said, Lifees and goes, just like the change of the seasons, it is a natural way, there is nothing to fear. The reason why people feel that life is precious is entirely because at any moment, death is ring like a tiger watching its prey. On the battlefield, this feeling is particrly deep, so that I especially treasure life, sensing the beauty of life. I have a sudden understanding that being alive in itself is so touching. Ha! Since I am enjoying the gift of life, how can I be in a bad mood? Kou Zhong wrapped an arm around his shoulders, he said, Actually, you did not need to wade in this muddy water, it is only due to you are a brother enough. Ha! But be careful of, dont fall into my Shigongs poison. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Falling into his poison cant be too bad, can it? Lets go to the battlefield first! Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai climbed to the top of the wall, Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling, and Li Jing, Yuchi Jingde, Changsun Wuji, Qin Shubao, Pang Yu and more than a dozen Heavenly Policy Mansions great generals were standing on top of the wall, looking into the distance at therge group of the Tang Armying over. Under the flying banner, there were about 3,000 men, all were cavalry, they seemed to be the vanguard unit, because although Hong Yi Pce and the City of Changan had small-scale,rge-scale differences, but the defenders of the city were Li Shimin and his subordinates, the soldiers and generals capable of military campaign and ustomed to fighting. Plus, there were Kou Zhong, four men helping their troop formation. Attacking Hong Yi Pce with such a force was no different frommitting suicide. Kou Zhong has not stood next to Li Shimin and spoken yet, Li Shimin already shouted, Withdraw the defense, open the gate! I will personally go out to meet them. His subordinates transmitted the order. Kou Zhong still has not figured out what was going on. Xu Ziling heaved a deep, deep sigh and said, Sess! The neer is Shimin Xiongs zunweng [honorable father], and he is noting to attack Hong Yi Pce. Kou Zhong looked with rapt attention, the iing army was still about a li away, inside the rising dust, a banner was held high, the flying g precisely represented Li Yuans title of honor. Greatly delighted, he said, We pass another barrier, his Niangs! Looking at the sky again, he turned to Ba Fenghan and said, Dont forget that you have an appointment with beautifuldy [Note: the word jiaren literally means fine/good person]. Immediately rush over now, you should be there on time. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, I have lost the mood to meet the appointment. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, A real man has a promise, he will keep it, how could you go back on your word? Smiling ruefully, Ba Fenghan said, Did she agree to go? Li Shimin spoke in astonishment, I never thought Fenghan unexpectedly would have a date with a beautiful woman [jiaren]. Who is this beauty [meiren C beautiful person. Just so you know, Chinese has so many different words for one English word beauty.]? Hou Xibai cheerfully said, Lao Ba is afraid of sitting alone and waiting foolishly, lets do this: we are all brothers, let me uphold yiqi by apanying Lao Ba to go. If she fails to meet the appointment, we might as well have breakfast together! He reached out and grabbed Ba Fenghans arm, and forcibly pulled him down the city gate tower. A subordinate came to report that the warhorses were ready. Li Shimin said, How about we go out of the pce to wee his honored self? Kou Zhongughed and said, Of course, of course, ying a game, we must y the full set, lets go! Apanying Li Yuan, other than the two great generals Liu Hongji and Chang He, beyond Kou Zhong and the others expectation, there were also Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji. However, thetter twos expression was wooden, and their smile was forced. Obviously, they did not take this trip willingly and dly [idiom], only they did not dare to disobey Li Yuans sacred desire. Li Yuan was wearing an informal light cavalry attire, with a long sword hanging on his waist. He looked as if his spirit was trembling with excitement [idiom], but a tired countenance was contained and revealed from between his brows, it seemed thatst night was hard to take. When the two sides met, Li Yuan pped his horse to step out of the ranks, he said with a gentle chuckle, Let me take care of my family affairs first, and then wee Shaoshuai and Xu Xiansheng into the city again. On Li Yuans side, the entire army stopped their horses, Jiancheng and Yuanji rode to behind Li Yuans horse, forming a triangr formation. On Kou Zhongs side, there were only he with Xu Ziling, plus Li Shimin, three men. Hearing that, thetter immediately scrambled off the horse, knelt down and knocked his head on the ground, and said in a loud voice, Child is willing to take all the responsibility for the explosion in the Yeting Pcest night, asking Fuhuang to punish me. Li Yuan looked down at Li Shimin on the ground in front of the horse, the murderous intent his pair of eyes was shing, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye, reced by a smiling expression. He spoke heavily, What happenedst night is an unforgivable sin, but Zhen remembers that for the past many years Wanger [child king] has established countless heroic contributions, splendid and outstanding military service. Your meritorious service can make up for your guilt, I grant you pardon for your worthy contribution. You can return to the Yeting Pce, everything will be as before. You may rise. Hearing that he did not mention the strange fire at Li Jianchengs East Pce, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sighed in their hearts, knowing that the hatred in Li Shimins heart was like fuel being added to the fire. Li Shimin shouted loudly, Thank you for Fuhuangs dragon grace, he slowly stood up. Kou Zhong was about to speak, Li Yuanughed cheerfully and said, Shaoshuais kind intention, Li Yuan understands clearly, how about we talk after returning to the pce? Kou Zhong responded with a smile, I, Kou Zhong, am finally convinced that Fazhu has the sincerity to cooperate, all doubts are gone. Naturally everything will be in ordance with Fazhus wishes. Turning to Xu Ziling, he said, Didnt Ziling agree to have breakfast at Fu Ju Lou with Lao Ba and Hou kid? Xu Ziling understood, he saluted to Li Yuan, asking to be excused, and rode his horse alone back into Changan one step ahead. With solemn and respectful expression, Li Shimin mounted his horse. After receiving Li Yuans permission, he urged his horse to turn around and return to the Hong Yi Pce first, to make arrangement for their return to Changan. When riding side-by-side with Li Yuan back into the city, Kou Zhong thought that this crisis was not resolved sessfully at all, rather, he knew that the confrontational situation was bing more acute very quickly; Li Yuan had chosen to stand on Jiancheng, Yuanjis side. The danger in the City of Changan was increasing and not decreasing at all. Xu Ziling galloped back to Xing Qing Pce first, to make sure Wang Xuanshu and the other brothers were safe and sound after passing through the tranquil-on-the-outside-but-waves-were-surging-forth-in-the-inside ofst night. He changed horses and rushed to the West Market. Passing through the Yue Ma Bridge on horseback, he could enjoy the Wu Liang Temple, Yong An Canal and the residences with magnificent forest trees on both sides of the river. Under the spring sun, willow branches hanging low over the canal dike, the lush fragrant grass and the sparse greeneries, the market and the bridge facing each other, and the bluish-green waves reflecting the sun, the Wei E shrines and high-courtyards, grand residences, setting off a prosperous andfortable atmosphere, he could not help thinking about the future unpredictable fate of the Duke Yangs Treasure-House underground and this magnificent capital city, emotional stirring grew as a thicket in his heart. It was only the second morning they were returning to Changan under the banner of righteousness, but their mood has changed a lot, the dramatic turn of the situation made them no longer have the confidence of certain victory. Xu Ziling dismounted from the horse in front of the Fu Ju Lou, several grooms with special duty of waiting-upon the horse-riding guests [I was tempted to use the term valet parking attendance ??] weed him in great delight. Xu Daxia, Xu Daye calls were incessant, they strived for the opportunity to take care the horse for him, making Xu Ziling feel very embarrassed. The crowd of grooms respect and admiration for him all came from the bottom of their hearts, which made him feel the very difficult and heavy responsibility to the people in the whole Changan City that he bore on his shoulders one step further. The attendants already received the report, they scrambled to the main entrance to wee the guest and to show the way, bowing continuously and said, Xu Daye honoring us with your presence, it is Fu Ju Lous honor. Ba Daye and Xibai Gongzi are on the third floor. Please let Xiaoren lead the way. Stepping into the main entrance, it was even more incredible. The hundreds of diners in the hall suddenly fell silent, the chatter andughter subsided like a rapid tide, and then burst into cheers and apuse filling the hall. Xu Ziling cupped his fist to return the greeting, he responded with a smile, but the load on his mind was substantially getting heavier; he secretly made the determination in his mind that he would not disappoint themon people who had hope and eager anticipation for him. For the soldiers and civilians in the City of Changan, this time they wereing to Changan to discuss the alliance, to themoners, the ordinary people facing grave threat from the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, it brought about the greatest hope and a turn for the better, just like being in the dark world seeing the first light of dawn. With great difficulty he climbed to the third floor and swept his gaze across, what attracted his attention was not Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai, sitting opposite each other by the east window, but a pair of a man and a woman sitting in the other corner. Even with Xu Zilings cultivation, he still could not help but get angry. Ignoring the fact that he had be the target of everyones eyes. After raising his hand as a way to greet Ba Fenghan, he walked straight to the pair of a man and a woman. Li Yuan sighed and said, Shaoshuai, do you know that by insisting on going to the Hong Yi Pcest night, you made things difficult for me, as well as made me distressed and confused? In the main hall of the study room of Taiji Pce, Li Yuan and Kou Zhong, two men sat down separately as the host and the guest. It was a peaceful and quiet early spring morning, but the content of their conversation, every word and every sentence bore upon the Central Earths future sess and failure, thriving and withering. Kou Zhong was secretly grumbling that he had been dozing off only for less than half a sichen just now; hearing that, he smiled wryly and said, Oh, Fazhu Daren! Please be magnanimous, I have no choice, otherwise how can I answer Ziling? Ziling was willing to persuade me, it was for Feixuans sake, and Feixuan was for Qin Wangs sake. If Qin Wang was punished severely by you without any pardon, for example, if he is banished from the court to a distant ce, the basis for our cooperation will no longer exist. Ay! What do you want me to say? The rtionship between Taizi and I is not good. On the battlefield, the only person we trust is Qin Wang, only his military ability can cooperate seamlessly with ours. If knowing perfectly well that we are fighting a losing battle, I might as well return to Liangdu, lie down and have a good sleep, and then sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight; it beats being forced to retreat and defend Yangzhou, no matter what. Therefore, although my actionsst night were disrespectful to Fazhu, in the end it is still for the sake of our alliance. Li Yuan fixed his faze on him, he spoke heavily, Does Shaoshuai know that Xieli finally proposes his conditions. As long as we are willing toply, they will withdraw from the army per our agreement. Kou Zhong was dying to ask him what those conditions were, but he still refrained from asking about the situation. He smiled and said, Does Fazhu believe Xieli? Li Yuan spoke indifferently, I want to hear Shaoshuais opinion. Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong said, If the conditions include offering my, Kou Zhongs head as a sacrifice, Xieli may temporarily retreat. Li Yuan spoke in displeasure, Shaoshuai, please be serious. If there is such a condition, I, Li Yuan, will not consider it at all. Kou Zhong slightly leaned forward, his eyes burning, he met Li Yuans gaze, he said, One of the conditions must be that you cannot form an alliance with me, to make us having a fall out and break off rtions with each other; this way, after receiving the heavy gift that will damage Fazhus nations power, Xieli will temporarily retreat. When I attack Luoyang, he and Tuli will go down south on arge scale, no longer need to rely on other outer tribes to aplish the magnificent feat of conquering the Central Earth that they had dreamed of for many years. This is my, Kou Zhongs view, which also Qin Wangs view. Naturally Taizi and Qi Wang have different view. This is precisely the reason why I am only willing to cooperate with Qin Wang. The Central Earths future fate, Fazhu can decide it with one sentence. Li Yuan rose up to his full height, he paced back and forth in front of Kou Zhong, suddenly he stopped, looked up at the roof beam, and seemingly muttering to himself, he said, This morning, it was not yet dawn, Jing Nian Chanyuans Zhuchi Liao Kong Dashi, introduced by the Dong Da Sis Huangshan, came into the Pce to see me. Kou Zhong calmly said, I already knew about this matter. If it wasnt for his powerful persuasion, I would have stormed off in a huff. Under such circumstances, Ziling can hardly me me. This is called hitting the snake following a stick, at the appropriate fortunate timing, he tried to y down his rtionship with Li Shimin as much as possible. Li Yuan turned around to look at him, the refined light in his eyes shing brightly, he spoke heavily, Unexpectedly Shaoshuai is so dissatisfied with me, Li Yuan? Without yielding at all, Kou Zhong returned his sharp divine light, he said, This is not a question of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, but a strategic consideration. If I, Kou Zhong, am being all alone in the world, so what if I risk my life to apany the gentleman? But now, there are more than ten million erng [children, youths] under mymand, their life and death are under my minds control, how could I not give thought to them? After a short pause, he continued, The reason why I epted Zilings proposal is not only because of Yuzhi, but more importantly, because I believe it makes sense. Most of this view is based on Qin Wang, because I know better than Fazhu what kind of person Qin Wang is. Li Yuan let out a coldugh, he stared at him and said, I will never agree with Shaoshuais remark, he is my son that I raised by myself. What kind of person he is, who knows it better than me, Li Yuan? Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, Please forgive this kids offense, the Li Shimin in Fazhus eyes, most of it is based on other peoples opinion. But my understanding of Li Shimin is the most direct, because he is the strongest, most obstinate formidable enemy I have ever encountered in my life. The reason why I can live to this day is because I understand his strengths and weaknesses, it is a matter of life and death. For example, the firearm explosion in Yeting Pcest night, I can guarantee with my head, he definitely is not responsible for it. I can tell Fazhu with 100% certainty that this is a conspiracy to transfer stolen goods and shift the me. The firearms are most likely from Liang Shidu, because Ziling and Xibai had seen with their own eyes Liang Shidus son Liang Shangming receiving arge quantity of firearms from Haisha Bang. If there is one empty word, may the Heaven punish me, the Earth extinguish me. Hearing that, Li Yuans countenance changed, it was quite half a dayter that pressing down his voice, he said, Unexpectedly there is such matter? Kou Zhong sighed and said, Fazhus real enemy is the Tujue, not me, Kou Zhong at all. As I said earlier, after beating back the outside tribes, we can sit down and talk in detail. I practically have no interest in being an emperor. I just dont want thend under heaven to fall into the damaging the country and causing suffering to the people [idiom] stage in the hands of muddleheaded ruler who has secret ties with foreign enemies. Last night I told Liao Kong clearly that my patience is getting smaller and smaller, having to be on guard day and night. I might as well return to Liangdu to train my erng, we all stake everything in delight on the battlefield, with saberse and spears go. Didnt Fazhu say that you would not let me go home empty-handed? Then take action, announce our alliance formally, drive Bi Xuans diplomatic group back to their hometown, we all will see each other on the battlefield. He has indeed lost the patience to continue winding around blindly. These words could be said to be thest piece of advice to Li Yuan, implying that if he got rid of Jiancheng and Yuanji who had secret ties with foreign enemies, then everything would be negotiable. Li Yuan returned to the dragon seat, he sat down absent-mindedly, staring nkly straight ahead for a moment, and then cast his gaze on him, nodded his head, and said, I will carefully consider Shaoshuais candid statement; however, please give Li Yuan a bit of time, could be as soon as five days, ten days at thetest, Li Yuan will give Shaoshuai an affirmative answer. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, but in any case, for the time being, Li Yuan should not turn against him and use force; this could be considered good news. The woman looked at Xu Ziling in surprise, but the man hurriedly stood up, with a smile across his whole face, he said, Chance encounter is better than asking to meet, let this ignorant one be the little host today, Ziling Xiong, please honor me [orig. bestow a face]. Oh! I was so happy that I nearly forget my etiquette; this is Zhijing, the Si Xiaojie [fourth youngdy] of the prominent Sha family of Changan. Sha Zhijing half rose out of her chair up in an easy manner to salute, her posture graceful, the air of a girl from a wealthy family. Liexia added, This is my old friend, who currently everybody in Changan City is talking about, Xu Ziling, Xu Gongzi. Ah! Sha Zhijing eximed tenderly, evidently she was awed by Xu Zilings fame. Xu Ziling struggled hard to press down the rage burning his crown and ring out, he smiled to return the politeness, but in his heart he really wanted to tear this despicable traitor into ten thousand pieces. Yesterday, Liexia said that he had a date with a beautiful woman, most likely it was Sha Zhijing. Seeing each other every day like this, evidently they had a close rtionship. He was sure that Liexia should have learned about the rtionship between Sha Zhijing and Kou Zhong from Zhao Deyan, so much so that under Zhao Deyans instigation, he deliberately approached Sha Zhijing to capture her fragrant heart, to use this kind of despicable method to strike and provoke their anger to make reprisals, to disturb the foot of their troop disposition and to add to their worries. Liexia pulled away the chair and said with augh, Lets all sit down first and talkter. Xu Zilings gazended on him, immediately it became sharp and icy cold; he spoke indifferently, Lie Xiong, no need to be overcourteous, Im here to tell you that the Five-Colored Stone has been returned to its rightful owner, Lie Xiong does not need to take trouble to set your crooked thoughts in movement. Sha Zhijing was greatly astonished, only then did she realize that the rtionship between Xu Ziling and Liexia was not simple. The murderous intent in Liexias pair of eyes shing, heughed and said, Ziling Xiong please be considerate! This ignorant one only hopes that the Colored Stone could be returned to Persia safe and sound. Xu Ziling turned his gaze to Sha Zhijing, he smiled and said, Sha Xiaojie, please sit down. This old friend of mine loves to promote the teachings of an evil cult, something about darkness and light opposite to each other, things like that, to pull people into his religion. Sha Xiaojie must distinguish clearly right and wrong, crooked and straight. He also reached out to pat Liexia on the shoulder, and said with augh, Is that right? Lie Xiong! Liexia felt that this seemingly simple and casual pat unexpectedly enveloped all the acupoints on his head, neck and shoulders. If Xu Ziling were to suddenly change his moves, it indeed had the threatening power to put him to death with one stroke. Although fully aware that Xu Ziling would not dare tomit a violent act in public like this, how could he dare to take a gamble with his own life? Overwhelmed with shock, he shed behind Sha Zhijings, who had just sat down, chair. Laughing involuntarily, Xu Ziling said, If one never did shameful deed in all his life, a knock on the door in the middle of the night wont rm him. Why is Lie Xiong panicked and frightened? Are you afraid that Song JinGang, who went to the Yellow Springs [the underworld of Chinese mythology] with grievance, ising to you to demand your life? Turning to Sha Zhijing, he spoke with serious expression, Sha Xiaojie, please forgive Zaixia for talking intimately while beingparative stranger [idiom]; I, Xu Ziling, rarely loathe anybody, but Lie Xiong is one of them. Finished speaking, without waiting for Liexia to refute, he simply left. Book 61: 5: Despicable Crafty Villain

Book 61: Chapter 5: Despicable Crafty Viin

Kou Zhong barely left the imperial study, he was stopped by Wei Gonggong outside the door, who said, Xiuning Gongzhu is asking Shaoshuai toe and see her. Inwardly Kou Zhong was apprehensive, he was not sure why Li Xiuning tantly [orig. eyes wide open, guts spread out] asked to see him at this moment; naturally she had an important matter. He just hoped that it was not another bad news that he would not be able to bear. Leading the way, Wei Gonggong took him straight to the main hall of the Princess Pce, where he saw Li Xiuning on the upper floor of Wang You Lou [forgetting worry building]. After dismissing her attendants, without trying to avoid suspicion, Li Xiuning lightly tugged at his sleeve to sit down in a corner, she even personally served him fragrant tea. As if his soul was flying out of his body, Kou Zhong took a sip of hot tea, and unceremoniously plopped his butt on the imperial tutor chair, to ease the tension and rx the tiredness on his backbone. Turning to Li Xiuning sitting quietly on the side, he said, Luckily I did not bring disgrace on your order! Li Xiuning blissfully cast him a sidelong nce, she said, Xiuning and you dont talk words of politeness, I have long known that you possess great magical power, nothing you cant do. Kou Zhongughed and said, You praised me too much! Actually, we nearly had our ship capsized in the gutter, defeated, the ground nketed with bodies [idiom: failed miserably]. It was entirely due to Laotianye had pity on us that we barely cross the barrier. I hope Laotianye will continue to look after us. Pfft! Li Xiuning giggled tenderly, like a flower in full bloom, she spoke softly, Its much better to have you here to relieve the boredom! Last night Xiuning has not even dozed off, by daybreak I was summoned by Fuhuang, who investigated in detail about your rtionship with Er Wang, and then he set off for the Hong Yi Pce. Speaking to this point, her jade countenance darkened. Hanging her head down, she said, But Xiuning is still very worried. Kou Zhong was puzzled, Why is Xiuning so worried? he asked. Li Xiunings wonderful eyes looked at him, she spoke softly, Before leaving for the Hong Yi Pce, Fuhuang issued an order, he is sending Chai Shao to immediately head off to Taiyuan to check the movement of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, and thene back to report to Fuhuang. Kou Zhong understood, he nodded and said, This kind of matter, theres no need to trouble Chai Xiong, it is thus clear that he wanted him to leave Changan, so that he wont be drawn into the struggle in Changan. Ay! Do you know that when I mentioned Liang Shangming purchasing firearms from Haisha Bang to your Fuhuang just now, what his reaction was? Li Xiuning shook her head nkly, her eyes emitter fear, which made people I see you and I pity you, apparently she could not bear to take the excitement anymore. Kou Zhong reached out across the small table, he grabbed this golden branch, jade leaves [idiom: nobility] honorable silky arm, and spoke heavily, Xiuning, dont be afraid, Changan has be a battlefield where power is being overturned, no ethics and human feelings to talk about. We must courageously confront everything. Li Xiuning stretched out her slender hand from inside her sleeve, and pressed it against the back of his hand, as if she wanted to draw courage and strength from this touch brimming with friendly regard, Go on! she said. Kou Zhong flipped his hand to hold her soft-as-if-it-was-boneless wrist, clenching it tightly, and only pulled it back with great difficulty. Smiling wryly, he said, He just said, Unexpectedly there is such matter, and then let it drop. He didnt ask for details, furthermore, he deliberately avoided this topic. From this, it can be seen that not only he has the intention to kill your Er Wang Xiong, he will not even let me off. Li Xiuning was surprisingly calm, she spoke softly, What are you going to do? Kou Zhong revealed a smile brimming with confidence, he cheerfully said, Originally my heart is weary, my strength exhausted, no longer have any fighting spirit, fortunately I held Xiunings hand, unexpectedly it seems that I immediately obtain magical power. Ha! He has Zhang Liangs scheme, I have thedder to cross the wall. We will all just wait and see! The color of rose-tinted clouds at sunset grew on Li Xiunings jade cheeks, she cast him a rebuking nce, but she spoke bashfully, You, this man! You are never serious. Kou Zhong nearly flipped over with joy, he leaned over and spoke in a low voice, Xiuning, what else do you have in your mind? Tell me everything. Greatly embarrassed, Li Xiuning said, Get out of here! Watch out, or Ill tell the Song Familys Xiaojie. Overjoyed, Kou Zhong left. Sha Zhijings pretty face stretched taut, she left, and Liexia chased after her. Before going down the stairs, he deliberately cast Xu Ziling, three men, a dont-care look. Even Hou Xibai, who has always loved the wind, flower, snow and moon, trite poetry subject, who paid no attention to the gratitude and grudges of the human world, also found it difficult to endure. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, I wonder if this kid is wholeheartedly courting death? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, He is more greedy for life, afraid of death than anyone else, his purpose is only to infuriate us. Hou Xibai was puzzled, What good is it to provoke our anger? he asked, Dealing with him, we are definitely not going to follow any Jianghu rules. We are going to do whatever it takes to have his corpse lying t on the street. Xu Ziling said, Its easy to say, but in reality, we have no way to make our move. The ce he is staying is the Ling Yan Pavilion where our Shigong is in charge, he formed a gang with Zhao Deyan and the others, plus his whereabouts are erratic; how could we have the chance to make our move? Ba Fenghan said, Even if he feels secure in the knowledge that he has backing, by forcing us in thousand ways, a hundred ns to put him in order like this, it is still a hundred harm without a single benefit for him, he should not be that unwise. Xu Ziling said, Its very hard to say, everything is different from person to person, even for someone as smart as he is, he might be blinded by hatred. As I see it, he is carrying out a conspiracy, his objective is to use Bi Xuan and Shigong, two sides, to attack from both sides to deal with us. As for the real situation, well just have to wait patiently. This moment Kou Zhong appeared on the stairs, immediately he attracted the attention of the diners in the entire hall. In high spirit, he sat down next to Xu Ziling, several waiters busily serving him politely, calling him Shaoshuai this and Shaoshuai that incessantly, waiting upon him attentively. Ba Fenghan said, Didnt Shaoshuai bump into Liexia and the Sha Family Xiaojie? Kou Zhong was responding to every gaze that was cast at him, nodding and smiling, appearing to be in in a very good mood and painstakingly trying to win the peoples hearts. Among those present, there was nock of high official and noble persons, wealthy businessmen, plus not a few old acquaintances from when he was ying the ugly divine doctor Mo Yixin. However, when his eyes fell on the four people sitting around the table in the other corner, immediately his eyes turned cold. It was precisely this moment that Ba Fenghans words entered his ears. Severely shaken, he said, What? Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, You did not hear me clearly? Shall I repeat it? Only the murderous intent in Kou Zhongs eyes was shing, he cursed in low voice, This mother-of-thief who deserves to be killed with a thousand saber has moved the dirt on top of my Taisui [dictionary: nickname for somebody who is the most powerful in an area] head again and again, he is indeed tired of living. Turning to Xu Ziling, he signaled with his eyes, Over there! Xu Ziling followed his gaze, immediately his countenance sank. Sitting around the table at the opposite corner were, surprisingly, Mei Xun, Zhuge Dewei, Wang Bodang, and Dugu Ce, whom they had not seen for a long time, the beautiful gang leader Yun Yuzhens former lover for many years. These people had unsolvable hatred and desire for revenge toward him and Kou Zhong, they got together like this, naturally they were talking about how to deal with him and Kou Zhong. Among the four, other than Zhuge Dewei, who lowered his eyes and did not dare to look at them, the other three looked back at them with vicious gaze and disdainful I-want-to-see-how-miserable-you-will-end-up smile. Looking heavily, Kou Zhong said, Toward Liexia, this kid, I am at the end of my patience, do you guys have a good strategy to put him away? Hou Xibai sighed and said, Although he came to Changan riding on the tail of Fu Dashis thoroughbred horse, he is, after all, Li Yuans honored guest. It is clear that dealing with him would make our rtionship with Li Yuan even worse. Ba Fenghan coldly said, Cant we just do it while keeping our hands and feet clean? Kou Zhong looked at Xu Ziling, asking for his opinion, thetter smiled wryly and said, Liexia, this kid is as devious as a ghost, to make him fall into the trap, the degree of difficulty is extremely high. Plus this moment we are facing enemies from all sides, we should not act blindly without thinking even more, to avoid saving a little only to lose a lot. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Tolerating someone with the heart of wolf and lungs of dog like Liexia is not my, Kou Zhongs usual style. However, what the three LaoGe said makes sense, so lets make apromise. While waiting and creating opportunities, we strike back at him in various ways. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, If not moving saber, moving spear, how are we going to strike back at him? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, For example, by using Shang Xiufang, or perhaps Chang He. Both can separately affect his rtionship with Shigong and Sha Zhijing. The most ideal is to make him lose his backing. The day he is driven away from the imperial pce will be the day he loses his life under Zilings Zhenyan Shou Yin [Mantra Mudra, incantation hand image]. His Niangs, I will do everything in my power to prevent him from dying of old age. Xu Ziling asked, What did Li Yuan have to say? Kou Zhong said, He is still hesitant in his heart, because Xieli offered a deceptive condition to withdraw the troops, which made him hoping for luck inwardly. His grannys! We only have five to ten days, one is to pack up and go home, the other is to send the troops to uphold righteousness. Turning to Hou Xibai, he said, Hou Gongzi could use the pretense of admiring our Shen Wenjiang, Shen Daye, to visit him at home and request an audience, and openly be the liaison between us and Furong Ye. This matter is very important, as for the details, I leave it up to you. Hou Xibai spoke cheerfully, This kind of trivial matter, leave it to me! If I dont go to see Shen Wenjiang, other people will feel it strange. Turning to Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong said, Ling Shao is in charge of murmuring endearments [idiom] to your future tender wife, naturally it is for the sake of dealing with our number one formidable opponent Shi Zhixuan. Moreover, you must attempt to contact Lao Feng, to let him, the Senior knows the urgency of the matter. Do everything you can to find out who are in favor of us within these five days. Ba Fenghan said, I hope you also have a task to be assigned to me, because right now, I really want to kill someone. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Originally, I wanted to say that your task is to wait for Yu Yi, for instance, sitting here alone until shees to see you, but I knew you would definitely not agree. Ba Fenghan let out a sigh of relief, he smiled and said, Not concealing anything to you, brothers, actually, I feel like I have a weight off my mind, because I had exhausted my strength, yet she chose to miss the appointment. It could be considered I have the exnation, no need to feel guilty, I feel a lot better! The matter between me and Junyu is hereby over, afterwards, no need to waste your time, understand? Hearing that, the three men you looked at me I gazed at you, they were helpless against him, and were speechless. Right this moment, Ke Dazhi appeared on the stairs, his countenance grave, he walked over toward them. Kou Zhong hurriedly stood up, pulled out an empty chair, and said with augh, Dazhi, please have a seat. Yet Ke Dazhi did not show any appreciation, his cold and sharp gaze swept across the four men, before he stopped behind the empty chair, and finally fixed his gaze at Ba Fenghan. Ba Fenghans eyebrows slightly knitted, his eyes turned sharp, he spoke indifferently, What are you looking at? Xu Ziling was afraid that the two men would sh verbally and went to war, hence he hurriedly interjected, If you have something to say, sit down and talk. Ke Dazhi acted as if he did not hear Xu Ziling, meeting Ba Fenghans eyes, he spoke heavily, Im watching how you are going to react. Badaier has just arrived in Changan. Ba Fenghans countenance changed, What? he blurted out. Ke Dazhi turned to Kou Zhong and said, I came to you not to give you the information, but remembering the friendship in Longquan, I just want to tell you something in passing. Kou Zhong was worried about Ba Fenghan, smiling wryly, he said, Then what is it that could trouble you toe here? Ke Dazhi spoke indifferently, Shengzhe [the holy one] wants to see you, only you, one person, just wanted to see whether you have the capacity to do so. Dont me me for not telling you, no matter what happens in Tao Chi [pottery pondke], even Li Yuan cannot interfere. Kou Zhong said, Just to see your Shengzhe, does anybody have to be bold? This should be a wen [literary/gentle] meeting rather than a wu [military/martial arts] fight. Shengzhe cant force me to go down the arena to fight anyway, perhaps he is setting up an ambush to kill me. It was as if Ba Fenghan could not hear their dialog, he stared straight at the bowls and dishes on the table, his face turned pale. From this, one could see the position and the weight that Badaier held in his heart. Ke Dazhi spoke heavily, I say this to make you understand that Im just a pawn receiving the order and executing it, Lin Chi Xuan [overlooking-the-pond pavilion, see Book 60 Chapter 1] is not my decision at all. If Shaoshuai thinks its not necessary to take risks, he can refuse Shengzhes invitation. No one, including me, will think youre cowardly, on the contrary, they will think that its your sensible act. A burst of warmth welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, Ke Dazhi was willing to point this out to him, it was clear that deep in his heart he still regarded him as a brother. He spoke cheerfully, Shengzhe has opened his golden mouth, he also sent you, LaoGe as a messenger, naturally I must not disappoint him, the Senior. Besides, I really want to hear what he has to say. Ke Dazhi sighed and said, I knew you are like this. The carriage is waiting respectfully for Shaoshuais honorable self at the main entrance, Shaoshuai, please go on the journey. Kou Zhong signaled Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai with his eyes, telling them to straighten out Ba Fenghan well, and then he left with Ke Dazhi. After Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi left, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibais gaze fell on Ba Fenghan, neither one knew what to say. Revealing a pained smile, Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Why is she here? Didnt wee to an agreement already? Xu Ziling spoke softly, Emotional matters are not something that human power can control, Fenghan should take this opportunity to rify things. Ba Fenghan said dejectedly, What is there to rify? Hou Xibai said, What you have to rify is your own heart, honestly confront the truth at the bottom of your heart, dont deceive yourself, so much so that you will only harm yourself and harm others. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Before the decisive battle against Bi Xuan, I dont want to be distracted by other things. Hou Xibai said, Escape is not a solution, a matter that gnaws at ones mind and hard to dispel will be a tiring thing instead. Xu Ziling said, In my opinion, Badaier ising to Changan at this moment to stop you and Bi Xuans decisive battle. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Shes not that kind of person. She ising to Changan to witness the decisive battle between me and Bi Xuan. If I lose and die, she will die together in the name of love with me. Ay! Stunned, Xu Ziling remained silent. Ba Fenghan recovered a little bit of his vitality, he met Hou Xibais warm, caring gaze, nodded and said, Xibais words are very reasonable, now I just want to go back to Xing Qing Pce alone to think deeply about the matter between me and her, both sides. Frankly speaking, since I left Badaier, I have never had the courage to either confront or reflect on it, but at this moment you reminded me, I feel that I really need to do this. After a short pause, he went on, Bi Xuan only invited Kou Zhong alone to see him, it shows clearly that he is humiliating me, Ba Fenghan. I will make him regret it. And then he rose up to his full height and said, You guys dont need to see me off back to Xing Qing Pce. Being a human being naturally has being-a-human-beings troubles. After Ba Fenghan left, the two men you looked at me I gazed at you, they were dejected and had nothing to say. This moment Mei Xun left his table and walked over toward the two men, full of smile. Observing propriety, the two stood up to wee him. Mei Xunughed and said, Xu Xiong, Hou Xiong, no need to be polite, Xiaodi only has a few words, and then I will leave. Xu Ziling said, Mei Xiong, please take a seat. Mei Xun cheerfully took the seat. After sitting down, Mei Xun said, Xiaodi has something to ask. If it is not convenient for the two gentlemen to answer, Xiaodi will not mind at all. In his heart, Xu Ziling was not only worried about Kou Zhong, but also worried about Ba Fenghan, how could he have the mood to be pestered by him? He just wanted to send him away as soon as possible, We are listening with respectful attention, he said. Acting like he had the victory already in his grasp, Mei Xun, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, said, Song Que did not stay in Liangdu, but suddenly rushed back to Lingnan, moreover, he has not put a foot outside since then. Even when Shaoshuai came to Changan, he still would not be able to preside over the overall situation in Liangdu. This does not make any sense; I wonder if two gentlemen could give advice. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, this is called paper cannot wrap fire, the enemy finally became suspicious of this. It should be noted that Kou Zhongs safety in Changan was half-dependent on Song Que. If they knew that Song Que and Ning Daoqis duel resulted in both sides suffer, and that it might take about a year or a half for any hope of recovery, it would naturally be greatly detrimental to their situation. He spoke indifferently, Song Fazhus conduct has always been hard to fathom, we as the younger generation dare not specte. Shrugging his shoulders, Mei Xunughed and said, Indeed it is not beyond Mei Xuns expectation, not only did Xu Xiong not have a reasonable answer, you also speak evasively. Xiaodi understands. Laughing aloud, he rose to his full height, and said, There is a rumor in Jianghu that Song Que and Yue Shan fought a decisive battle, thetter was defeated and died, but Song Que was also seriously injured by Yue Shans counterattack, so he had to close the door to recuperate. When I first heard it, I thought it was a busybody starting rumors and creating trouble, but at present it does not seem to be without any reason. Ha! Xiaodi is done talking. Please send Xiaodis regards to Shaoshuai. Laughing heartily, he returned to Dugu Ce, Wang Bodang and Zhuge Deweis table. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai looked at each other with wry smile. This is called before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises. The carriage drove towards the imperial pce. Kou Zhong and Ke Dazhi sat side by side in the carriage, neither was able to find anything to say. Turning right into Guang Ming Avenue, looking eastward, Kou Zhong finally opened his mouth, he said, How could Ke Xiong allow Liexia, this kind of despicable person to stir the wind and disturb the rain? His expression wooden, Ke Dazhi said, The person in charge now is Zhao Deyan, or maybe Tonyukuk, Shengzhe cant possibly pay attention to these trivial matters. When its my, Ke Dazhis turn to express my opinion, if you want to me anybody, you can only me yourself, for insisting oning to Changan to meddle in this chaos. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, How about scolding me a bit less? How could you not help me to deal with Liexia, that little thief that was raised by a female dog [this is literal, Im sure you guys can figure out the equivalent]? Ke Dazhi said, Cant you just ignore him? Even if you give him the sky to be his guts he wouldnt dare to provoke you, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong openly! Kou Zhong said, If he is willing toe and say hello to my saber, it would be something that I seek but fail to get, why would I beg you to help me? Thest thing he should do is to entangle Sha Zhijing; dealing with her, you should be better than me. Stunned, Ke Dazhi said, What? Kou Zhong repeated what he said, Dont you say this kid is repulsive? Ke Dazhis countenance sank straight down, he no longer spoke. The carriage drove into the Vermillion Bird Gate. Book 60 5 – Joy and Sorrow in Parting and Reunion

Book 60 Chapter 5 - Joy and Sorrow in Parting and Reunion

Kou Zhong eased up his pace, he motioned Wang Xuanshu to walk side by side with him towards Hue E Lou, and asked, What did Shuni talk to you about? Wang Xuanshus countenance lit up slightly, he lightly replied, She asked about my Die, about what happened after the City of Luoyang fell, and finally asked about Shaoshuais arrival in Changan. Kou Zhong halted his steps in front of the door, he asked, How did Xuanshu answer her? Wang Xuanshu revealed an expression of anger, he said, She still said good things about Yang Xuyan, I practically disdain to answer her, I dont want to have anything to do with her anymore. Kou Zhong understood,ughing involuntarily, he said, Unexpectedly she came to lobby for Yang Xuyan? I hope this is just she thinks for herself and acts ordingly [idiom: acting on her own initiative]; if it was Yang kids idea, Yang kid is more stupid than I thought. Wang Xuanshu sighed and said, Since she was a child, Shuni was a person who only cared about her own interests, she only liked powerful men, and is extremely fickle. In my opinion, she wanted to talk to me, since logically, through me, she will be able to see Shaoshuai. Shaoshuai must be a bit more careful, she is, after all, still the beloved concubine that Li Yuan shows special favor the most. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, Xuanshu is still a bit more clear-headed. You are right! This is most likely Yang Xuyans scheme to provoke Li Yuans murderous intentions. From there, we could deduce that Li Yuan still has no intention of killing me, otherwise, why trouble Dong Guifei [imperial concubine] for us? Inwardly Kou Zhong was drenched in cold sweats. He was still muddle-headed until just now because of Shang Xiufangs affairs, so his train of thought was fuzzy. Fortunately, Wang Xuanshus words were like a sticking right onto his head [referring to the practice in which a novice monk is shouted at or hit with a stick with the purpose of bringing about instant awakening (Buddhism)]. Wang Xuanshu nodded in agreement, he said, Shaoshuai, please be careful! She is waiting respectfully for Shaoshuais great-self on the highest third floor of the building. Kou Zhong entered the after-obtaining-the-saber-forgetting-the-saber realm, his entire being he rxed, he put aside the troubles of the personal rtionship between men and women, patted Wang Xuanshu on the shoulder, and entered the vast ground floor of the Hua E Lou. He said to Wang Xuanshu, There are many things we cant rely on Li Shentong, therefore, we must try to establish a connection between us and Lei Dages side. In this matter, we have to be doubly more careful. I can go upstairs by myself, you go and do your work! Wang Xuanshu received the order and left. Hua E Lous furnishing was exquisite, quaint, and elegant, showing Li Yuans taste as the master of a powerful n of this era. The lower floor is a big hall that could house ten banquet tables, with an array of tables and chairs, covered with dragon-patterned carpet, and famous and valuable calligraphy and paintings decorating the walls. The second floor was the office. It could be seen that even if Li Yuan and the imperial concubines were here to escape the heat of the summer, it was not that he did not have to deal with official duties. The third floor was partitioned by a screen, one side was a small hall, and a bedroom on the other. Dong Shuni was waiting for him on the third floor, already carrying a feeling of provoking suspicion. Climbing onto the second floor, he saw more than a dozen imperial guards were guarding the redwood [Chinese giant redwood] and cotton tree [Bombax ceiba] wooden steps leading toward the third floor. Seeing Kou Zhong, they stood respectfully to salute. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around, in just one nce, he could tell whether the crowd of guards skill and power were deep or shallow, except for one of them; he smiled and walked over to them. The one he could not see through was a tiger-cub like strong man, his countenance straightforward, ancient and clumsy, quite overbearing. His build was simr to Kou Zhong, the emotion showing in his eyes was restrained and was not openly expressed; at first nce, he did not look that much different from the rest of the imperial guards, only he wasparatively a bit more vigorous; however, how could he hide it from Kou Zhong? The man was obviously the leader of the crowd of guards, he hurriedly took a step forward and said, neither haughty nor humble, Shaoshuai, please move your good-self upstairs, Dong Guifei is waiting respectfully for Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, I never thought theres such a figure like Laoxiong among Fazhus subordinates. May I ask your honorable surname and great given name? The divine light in the mans pair of eyes shed, his waist slightly straightened, his entire person immediate appeared to change, producing the imposing manner that made people feel that he could withstand any impact. An arrogant expression appeared on his face, he looked straight at Kou Zhong and said, Shaoshuais praising me, Zaixia Yan Li, under Huangshangs order to take up the responsibility of protecting Dong Guifei. Kou Zhong was astonished inwardly, this person was actually the young martial art master, other than the Shenxian Juanshu [immortal husband and wife] Chu Junming and Hua Ying - that Li Yuan employed, the Mao Yao [spear demon] Yan Pingzhaos son. This moment, Yan Li did not have a heavy iron spear on him, but had a saber hanging on his waist instead, furthermore, the beard on his face was shaved clean, and he put on the imperial guard uniform, hence he nearly made an error of judgment. He pretended as if he had never heard of Yan Lis name, in order to avoid Li Yuan misunderstood that Li Shimin had leaked his identity. He smiled and said, If Yan Xiong is willing to roam the Jianghu, you would certainly be a figure with resounding reputation from Zongli Pai [not sure if this is a name, zong - school/n li - established, pai - sect]. Yan Lis pair of eyes shed a mocking expression, it could clearly be seen that he practically was not afraid of Kou Zhong. He spoke indifferently, Shaoshuai, please! Seeing him putting on an arrogant expression like he disdained to chat with him, Kou Zhong did not care, heughed aloud, passed through the guards, and climbed up the stairs. As if nothing had happened, Xu Ziling strolled at a leisurely pace on the street, but actually the street assassination where life and death were only a thread apart just now was still lingering in his mind. He was able to get away, it was thanks to his superhuman spirited senses, just like winning against Xu Liushan in the casino that day. Although he was distracted by Bai Qinger, his spirited senses could still operate normally even when he was distracted by other things, one-heart-two-functions, controlling any dangerous situation that suddenly appeared, from passive, inferior position striving to get back the initiative and upper hand, otherwise, currently he would be in the situation where his dead body wasying on the street. The person mounting sneak attack inside the carriage ought to be Zhao Deyan, and the driver was Bi Xuans younger brother Tonyukuk. These two big martial art masters, coupled with the five kamikazes [orig. sishi - person willing to sacrifice his life (for a good cause)], really has the ability to put him to death. Fortunately, at that time he was very quick-witted; he first attacked Zhao Deyan in the carriage with the steel needle to strive for a split-second time, and thenunched hand image, imitating the Thousand-Hand Guanyin [Avalokitesvara], using vortex of power to create a spiraling qi wall to protect his body, simr to the Bu Si Yin Fa, to meet the five sishis close-range attack. When he blocked Tonyukuks whip, he borrowed part of his true qi to block Zhao Deyans swift and fierce spear attack, and still had enough power left to escape and slip away. However, any mistake in any stage would end up in him being consigned to eternal damnation. Thinking about it, he wiped cold sweat inwardly. This seemingly simple assassination operation actually contained urate intelligence and sophisticated thinking behind it, as well as the Tujue sides determination to destroy their cooperation with Li Yuan. Yu He An appeared ahead. Under the afternoon sun, the trees hidden behind the wall of the nunnery made him feel that the world inside the gate was the only refuge in this frightening Changan city. The main reason he generated this feeling was the two fairies in the nunnery, both were transcending the dirt [or earth], and free from vulgarity, originally they should not have been drawn into the sinister secr world. Knock! Knock! Knock! The sound of footsteps rang out, the wooden door opened wide with a Creak! noise, revealing the Zhuchi [manager] Chang Shan Nis [eternal benevolence Buddhist nun] merciful and tranquil jade countenance. Xu Ziling was greatly surprised. He promptly put his palms together in respect and said hello. Chang Shan Ni spoke indifferently, Amitabha Buddha, Xu Shizhu [benefactor] please follow Pinni [poor/impoverished nun]. Xu Ziling respectfully followed behind her entering the reception hall. After sitting down, Chang Shan Ni spoke serenely, After learning about Xu Shizhus safe arrival in Changan, Feixuan has already set off to return to Jingzhai and asked Pinni to notify Xu Shizhu. Xu Zilings brain exploded with a shock, his entire body felt empty and floating. After the parting experiment in Longquan, he knew that one day history would repeat itself, and now it finally happened. Just like thest time, it came suddenly, yet likest time, he was still caught off guard. His eyes stared nkly at the empty, lonely garden outside the window under the nting light of the afternoon spring sun. His mind went nk, hepletely forgot his purpose ofing to Yu He An, so much so that he forgot why he was sitting here. Chang Shan Nis voice rang in his eardrums, Qingxuan Xu Ziling only heard Qingxuan two characters, but the restpletely missed his ears. He seemed to be asking Chang Shan Ni, but he also seemed to be asking himself, Qingxuan? he muttered. Tock! A knocking sound entered his eardrums, like a tray of clear water being poured onto his head, Xu Ziling woke up, his eyes fell on the wooden fish in Chang Shan Nis hand. The sound of the wooden fish plunged into the depths of theke of his heart and touched the bottom of theke, awakening his spirit. Thats right! Feixuan had indeed gone far away from him and would never set foot on the mundane world. He and she would never have a chance to meet again. This has clearly expressed her intention to help him and Shi Qingxuan to seed, so that he could throw out everything to love Shi Qingxuan. This way of thinking not only could not reduce his longing for Shi Feixuan, on the contrary, it made him feel liver-and-intestines-about-to-split miserable. Tock! Chang Shan Ni once again struck the wooden fish, like the evening drum, morning bell [idiom: Buddhist monastic practice], providing food for thought. Xu Ziling felt like his entire person was being drenched in cold water from head to toe, and the cold, soaked mind suddenly transcended Yu He An. He thought about the dangerous mission that he bore, just now his blood was nearly sshed on the street. On the vast Central Earth, the entire magnificent City of Changan was only asrge as a grain of sand, yet it was in charge of the destiny of thend under the heavens. Any mistake would make him fail to live up to Shi Feixuans trust and expectations of him. Thinking to this point, he broke out in a cold sweat, he said, Thank you, Chang Shan Shifu. Chang Shan Ni spoke nonchntly, Xu Shizhu did not me Pinni for the crime of disturbing you, Pinni is very grateful. Half a day of silenceter, Xu Ziling said, Chang Shan Shifu, please show me the way to find Qingxuan. Kou Zhong and Dong Shuni sat down separated by a small table. Dong Shuni revealed a grave expression, she asked in heavy voice, Who actually did it? It was the first time for Kou Zhong to see another kind of expression outside her crafty and unruly, witty look. Unable to make any sense of the matter, he asked, Dong Guifei is referring to which matter? Dong Shuni hatefully said, Naturally referring to Da Jiu [oldest/first uncle from the mothers side] being murdered. I exhausted thousand kinds of good things, spent enough effort, and only then I managed to coax Huangshang not to investigate Da Jiu, unexpectedly someone was heartless enough When speaking thest part, hot tears were gushing out her pair of eyes, she raised her sleeve to wipe it, her demeanor was so lovely and touching. Kou Zhong could not figure out whether she was sincere or was faking it, he said, The word thate out of my mouth, you are willing to believe it? Dong Shuni spoke in distress, If I dont believe it, why would I ask you? Please tell me quickly. Just consider me begging you! Kou Zhong observed carefully whether her expression was real or fake; he calmly said, This kind of matter is not something that anybody can do. At least it required three conditions. The first is to have that kind of power, the second is to have urate intelligence and a deep understanding of the surrounding terrain, the river course to setup the ambush. And finally, they must have the necessity to do so. Otherwise, under the protection of the army how could they still be able to ferociouslyunch the ruthless hands, raise the gate to extinguish, to kill all until not even a dog or a chicken was spared, not even half a living mouth? Dong Shuni spoke heavily, Who actually did it? Kou Zhong said, The only ones fully meet these three conditions are Yang Xuyan and Yang WenGan, their party; therefore, they bear the greatest suspicion. Dong Shunis countenance sank, she said, Your and Er Biaoges [second (maternal) cousin] mouths are as one. How could Xuyan do such a thing to me? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, You dont believe me, what can I do? Yang kid is afraid that you will no longer be controlled by him, and he is even more afraid that the previously close rtionship between you and him will be exposed, which would be a great crime of deceiving the lord. You dont need me to tell you, you should know Yang kid is everything for self and selfish profit [idiom: selfish]; someone who could betray his father and mother for his own benefit, that is, assuming his father and mother were still alive. Dong Shuni said angrily, You are making false usation against people. In persuading Huangshang to let Da Jiu, one family off, Xuyan has spent a lot of effort on my behalf to persuade Taizi. The murderer is definitely not him. Kou Zhong said, This is precisely his brilliance. In the open, he bes a good person, in the dark, he bes a bad person. Dong Guifei, go back and think about it, see if my words make sense. Dong Shuni was hyperventting, her silky breasts rising and falling, but obviously she was unable to ept Kou Zhongs serious usation toward Yang Xuyan. Shaking her head unconsciously, she said, Cant be! You are wrong! What evidence do you have? Kou Zhong spread his arms and said with bitter smile, If I have the evidence, I dont need to waste a lot of lips and tongue. He is only exploiting you; if he really loves you, how could he be willing to part with you and give you away? Dong Shuni said angrily, You are just specting out of thin air, ndering Xuyan, due to your hatred toward him for causing Dou Jiande to lose his life in Qi Wangs hands. You think I dont know the gratitude and grudges between you? In the past, Da Jiu had me entering the Pass, I did not see youing to stop it, what right do you have to use Xuyan? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, If you want to think so, what can I say? Dong Shuni was silent for a moment, suddenly she stood up and spoke coldly, Remembering the affection of the past, let me give you a piece of advice. If you want to survive, immediately take Er Biaoge and get lost as far as possible. Huangshang and Taizi have long believed that you and Qin Wang are viins colluding together. Its just that seeing that currently you still have a bit of value to be used, temporarily they are tolerating you. In Changan, I learned a lot of things. In the struggle within the imperial court, even the purest people will be ruthless, pitiless, by fair means or foul - people. Kou Zhong apanied her to stand up, he said, Thank you for Guifeis trouble. Its not the first day that Xiaodi ising to mingle in Jianghu. Are there too few people who wanted to kill me? Ha! But up until now I am still alive and kicking. Dong Shuni suddenly softened, she sighed slightly, cast him a look stered with hidden bitterness, secret grudge, and spoke in a low voice as if she was whispering, Back then, if Shuni had followed you, Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, listened to your words, what would it be like now? Expressing his feeling, Kou Zhong said, I am hoping that the lost past can be restored more than you! Its a pity that everything has be foregone conclusion, I have no choice but to put my hope in the future. Your life now cant be considered bad! Dong Shuni stared fixedly at him, she spoke in grieve, Do you know that I wake up every day afraid that on the new day I might lose Huangshangs favor? What pleasure is it to live like this? I am afraid that there will be new unfavorable rumors that will damage nujias familys reputation even more. Kou Zhong said sympathetically, That is indeed not the life of a normal person. Dong Shuni walked over to Kou Zhong, a bit more, then she would fall into his arms; she spoke in soft voice, gentle words, Now renjia [just wanted to show different way she was calling herself] have no other rtives except for Er Biaoge. Kou Zhong, can you take renjia go? Immediately Kou Zhong felt his head swelled like a bucket. He was already very wary of her being fickle and crafty, how could he be willing to believe her in just a few words? Maybe everything she was doing now, there was Yang Xuyan prompting her from behind. Moreover, he absolutely did not want to have anything to do with her, since it would only add uncertain variables. Smiling wryly, he said, Didnt you give birth to a white, healthy and plump son for Li Yuan? Do you have the heart to ignore your son? Dong Shuni spoke resolutely, This son is just like nothing, only every few days he will let me see him. I am fed up with the life of the imperial court! Now only you can save me. Oh, Kou Zhong! Among the men that Shuni knows, you are the most capable. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This time I aming here not to defeat Li Yuan, but to form an alliance with him to fight against foreign enemies. Shuni already knew this a long time ago, why bother? Dong Shuni recoiled two steps back. Her pretty face turned into iron blue-green, her pretty eyes shoot out an angry look, she furiously said, I will always remember these words that you, Kou Zhong said. I never thought that unexpectedly you are such apletelycking any feeling or sense of justice [idiom: cold and ruthless] person. I misjudged you! Turning around, she flicked her sleeves and left. Yet not a few stepster, she stopped, with her back against him, she said, Since you obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way [idiom], you will definitely not have a good oue. I treat you with extreme benevolence, utmost duty. Whatever happens in the future, dont me me. Finished speaking, she left in rage. Kou Zhong nearly scratched his head, not understanding how has she treated him with extreme benevolence, utmost duty. Thest sentence contained threat even more, but he could not me her. Shang Xiufang just said that the opposite of love was hate, there was nothing to me. Kou Zhong dejectedly sat down; listening to the sound of Dong Shuni, Yan Li and the others going downstairs, his heart was at a loss. He would rather face a magnificent army with thousands of men and horses than an entangled, hard-to-resolveplexity. On the first day of arrival in Changan, he already fell into such a plight, how was he going to pass the following days? Xu Ziling walked slowly along the gravel path bending to the left and curving to the right in the bamboo forest of Yu He Ans middle courtyard, following Chang Shan Nis direction towards Jing She [lit. the exquisite abode] where Shi Qingxuan was staying. With each step forward, he was one step closer to Shi Qingxuan. Separated in life and death, in the fleeting life, which in the blink of an eye would already turn into clouds and smoke passing before ones eyes, there was really no insurmountable chasm between gains and losses. He must not turn his back on Shi Qingxuan, he must not fail to live up to Shi Feixuans expectations and good intentions even more, otherwise, all three of them would be casualties together. Thinking to this point, fire was welling up in his heart, theke of his heart was filled to the brim with Shi Qingxuans touching image. Picking up his speed, he strode forward towards his destination. Life has now embarked on a brand-new stage, the end of a stage represented a new beginning of another. Book 60 6 – Meeting the Person[1] Again

Book 60 Chapter 6 - Meeting the Person[1] Again

Kou Zhong returned to Ba Fenghans side and sat down, he asked in astonishment, It looks like you have not stood up, I wonder if you have a special fondness toward these stone steps? Ba Fenghans eyes were fixed on the za, he smiled and said, I really enjoy this kind of not feeling like doing anything, my brain feels empty due to unbearable burden. Anyway, what bad news that girl brings? Is it about Li Yuan going to make his move to kill us tonight? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Li Yuan killing us is a question of when, not if. However, it shouldnt be tonight, but any day, any chance after the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall retreat. Ba Fenghan spoke coldly, Although I saw Li Yuan for the first time today, I am sure that he, this person is not simple at all. After all, he is an outstanding figure among the great generals of the old dynasty. Underestimating him will make us defeated, the ground nketed with bodies [idiom: suffering a crushing defeat]. Kou Zhong nodded and said, LaoGe, dont worry, Xiaodi cant possibly underestimate the enemy. Ba Fenghan said, Just now Hu Xiaoxian came to look for Ziling. ording to Xuanshu, when she found out that Ziling was not here, she seemed to be very disappointed. I wonder why she is looking for Ziling? Kou Zhongughed and said, Ziling, this kid attracts womens liking very much, I am afraid she is in love with Ziling! Ha! Astonished, Ba Fenghan said, Your mood seems to have improved a lot? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Its not that there is a change in mood, but that we must seek fun in the midst of hardship, so that our days will be a bit easier to pass. This moment a subordinate came to report, Qin Wang Li Shimin arrived. The Jing She [exquisite abode] where Shi Qingxuan was staying was hidden deep inside the park south of Fang Sheng Chi [Setting-Free Lake/Pond, setting-free is referring to releasing captive animal, as an act of Buddhist mercy] in Yu He Ans rear courtyard. Xu Zilings footsteps were like a shortcut that leads him to happiness. The excitement was reced by continuous, inexhaustible warm feelings, his pace was calm and unhurried. The love between him and Shi Qingxuan was so real, without any misgivings. Turning a corner, Shi Qingxuans touching figure suddenly came into view, Xu Ziling halted his steps. Shi Qingxuan seemed to sense it, she stopped her work trimming the cluster of flowers in front of the Jing She, straightened her tender body up, but still did not turn around. The intense emotion that Xu Ziling had just suppressed broke through all obstacles like a flood bursting through the dike, the fire of love turned into raging mes starting a prairie fire, he called out, Qingxuan! Shi Qingxuans tender body trembled lightly, she slowly turned around, her pair of eyes emitted an iparablyplicated expression, she spoke softly, Xu Ziling! Xu Ziling waspletely overwhelmed by some kind of unprecedented emotion, rushing three steps forward, he came to about only two steps away from Shi Qingxuan, their eyes were firmly attracted to each other like mas, they were unable to move the slightest bit. The beautiful-sunshine light in Shi Qingxuans pair of eyes was gradually reced by deep emotion like the ocean, she stared fixedly at him without blinking, returning his zing gaze, putting the feelings at the bottom of her heart in full disy, holding nothing back - before his very eyes, surpassing thousands of words and continuous words of love even more. Xu Zilings heart trembled and was washed away, he was really afraid that before his eyes was only a momentary illusion, and that some sudden change would make all of this suddenly disappear even more. He waspletely unable to control himself, the next moment he felt that the happiness before his eyes entered his bosom, he searched for her fragrant lips, exerted all his strength to kiss her, to stroke her soft-as-if-without-bones fragrant shoulders, exhausting his passion and his strength. Shi Qingxuans tender body was extremely excited, it trembled intensely. In less than half a day, her lips became burning hot and soft, she stretched out her jade hands to wrap her arms around his neck, bing intoxicated in his fervent kiss. The sky spun, the earth went round [idiom: giddy with his head spinning], Xu Ziling waspletely lost in the deepest part of this sweet dream of love. Any Yu He An, the City of Changan, so much so the clouds of war looming over the Central Earth and beyond the Great Wall - were all thrown out beyond the ninthyer of the clouds. He was experiencing the intimate rtionship, the real and authentic, brimming with flesh and blood - feeling inside his bosom. The steadfast happiness, the secret love that had been suppressed for many years - toward the jade person [beautiful woman] in his bosom, was released with abandon. The scars, which arose due to Shi Feixuan bidding farewell - in his heart was gradually healed and mended. His nostrils were full of the fragrant scent that Shi Qingxuans hair and her tender body emitted. The lips parted. Pressing against his cheek, Shi Qingxuan panted lightly, she asked, What kind of person is he? This sentence recalled Xu Zilings soul back from infinite distance. Fortunately, this dream-like and beautiful reality has not dissipated. It was still so real, it was difficult to believe, yet it was an iron-d fact. Hearing that Shi Qingxuan was still only willing to use he to refer to Shi Zhixuan, he could see that until this moment, she still could not forgive Shi Zhixuan. However, she was willing to take the initiative to mention him; no matter what, for Shi Qingxuan, it was some kind of progress. Xu Ziling hugged her tightly, vowing not to let anything hurt her again, he spoke softly, He is a pitiful man who, due tomitting a filling-the-entire-sky mistake, regret and remorse intertwine and concentrate in the second half of his life, but at the same time he is also a terrifying demonic lord capable of destroying everything that the Central Earth is hoping for. If I say it like that, would Qingxuan understand? On the wooden tform next to theke outside Hua E Lou, Li Shimin and Kou Zhong leaned against the railing, looked towards the Long Chi, waiting for Xu Ziling to return. Kou Zhong said, It seems that Qin Wang came a little earlier. When will the banquet be held? Li Shimin cheerfully said, Shimin is hoping that before the state banquet, I could invite you to pay a visit to my humble abode, so that Shaoshuai, Ziling and Fenghan could meet Jiannei [my humble wife] and lieer [my inferior son]. Kou Zhong was puzzled, he asked, Currently the people in the entire City of Changan all suspect that you and I are in collusion privately, melon patch under the plum tree [see Chapter 3], such a contact, arent you afraid it would make people more suspicious? Li Shimin smiled and said, This is a wonderful strategy that Ruhui came up with. Precisely because I still want to avoid suspicion by winning over Shaoshuai that it will show that between us is clear and open, right? Kou Zhong gained sudden understanding, he said, I understand! This move is called double-negative will be positive. Li Shimin said, When you guys went to Ling Yan Ge to see Fu Cailin, Huangshang summoned us to the Council Chamber for an emergency meeting. Participating in the meeting, other than Taizi and Qi Wang, there were also Huaian Wang, Pei Ji, Feng Deyi, Xiao Yi and Yuwen Shang. The original idea was to ask me personally about the process of reaching an agreement with you and the stand that Song Que is taking, but in the end it turned into Taizi and Qi Wang censuring and interrogating me. Fortunately, Fuhuang really has the heart to rely on you, hence Pei Ji and Yuwen Shang did not dare to interrupt. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Was Yin Zuwen present? Li Shimin shook his head and said, He does not have the qualification to participate yet. Kou Zhongughed and said, Did you expose Jianchengs scars to see how he was going to exin the big firearm explosion in the East Pce? Li Shimin sighed and said, I really want to, but I know that the time and the ce are not suitable. Fuhuang also knows that the rtionship between me and Taizi and Qi Wang is like water and fire. He gave an order that if anyone deliberately provokes and stirs up trouble, he will be severely punished. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, This is good news, at least we dont have to kill our way out of Taiji Pce tonight. Laughing involuntarily, Li Shimin said, Fuhuang really has the intention to join hands with you guys to repeal the enemy. After the meeting, he even asked me to take Shaoshuai to the imperial study room before the banquet to talk, and then go to the banquet together. Kou Zhong was shocked, Its not a trap, is it? he asked. Li Shimin replied, To deal with Shaoshuai, Ziling, and Fenghan, it is not something that can be done with a group of martial art masters alone, it will involve mobilization of troops and horses, and deployment of heavy defenses. Even then, no one has a hundred-percent confidence. Last time encircling and annihting Shi Zhixuan was the best precedent; how could Fuhuang dare to lightly take the risk again? Besides, once he miscalcted and let Shaoshuai break the siege and leave, Fuhuang would incur the worlds scorn and contempt. One failure after another, how is he going to unite the people to cope with Xielis invasion? Shaoshuai need not worry too much. Kou Zhong nodded and said, What Qin Wang said makes sense, but ording to the intelligence I obtained from various parties, lingzun [your esteemed father] indeed has the determination to kill me, only he will wait patiently until after the allied armies retreat. A grave expression appeared on Li Shimins face, he said, Due to the rtionship between Shaoshuai and me, presently Fuhuang is indeed standing on Taizis side; therefore, we have to deal with not only Taizi and Qi Wang, but also Fuhuang. Otherwise, we will ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly; to deal with enormous-powered,bined-with-supported-by-the-Tujue-or-the-Gaoli Jiancheng and Yuanji inside the City of Changan was really not an easy task. Even if they seed, if Li Yuanunched a counterattack, their chance of leaving Changan alive was still distant and indistinct. He asked in heavy voice, How is the progress in contacting the important ministers and great generals? Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, Huaian Wang does not dare to act blindly without thinking, so it can be said that he has not made a cun of progress yet. Kou Zhong said, Without taking a bit of risk, how could it work? Li Shimin said, I agree with Huaian Wangs caution. Under the current situation, we must create a situation where everyone understands that the future well-being of the Central Earth will entirely depend on us and Shaoshuai working with amon purpose, while Taizi and the Tujue are breathing through the same nostril, wholeheartedly wanting to put Shaoshuai and Shimin to death. Only until the situation develops to the stage where they can only choose one between the two - will our lobbying have miraculous effects. Kou Zhong said, Your thought is indeed more thorough than mine, this idea is very proper. All right! Let us parade ourselves ostentatiously around town first, to raise Jiancheng, Yuanjis suspicion toward us. If they are unable to hold themselves back and attack me first, we will seed! Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling appeared on the tform and came over to them. Kou Zhongughed and said, Howe I dont see my Sao Furen [madam sister-inw]? Xu Ziling cheerfully greeted Li Shimin, together with Ba Fenghan they came in front of the two men, he said, She is remaining in Yu He An is more appropriate. Qin Wang came early! Li Shimin said, We dont have much time, lets talk as we go. Li Yuan weed Kou Zhong into the outer hall of the Imperial Study Room. After sitting properly as the guest and the host, the inner attendant served fragrant tea. Kou Zhong putting on an act of being in your honorable country for the first time, he casually sighed in praise of the decoration and the antiques and knickknacks on disy around the hall, while actually he was revisiting an old haunt, he had even entered Li Yuans office and sat in his dragon chair, as well as yed with his dragon seal. The setting sun prating the western window, so that the hall was brimming with the passing-time-of-day-and-night-exchanging-harmonious-light atmosphere. Li Yuan turned to Wei Gonggong standing respectfully on the side, Everybody, withdraw for Zhen [I, imperial use]. Wei Gonggong was greatly astonished, but naturally he dared not disobey, hence he had no choice but to lead the eunuchs to withdraw outside the imperial study room. Putting on Jianghu air, Kou Zhong raised his thumb toward Li Yuan sitting facing the door, he praised, Fazhu is still treasure knife does not age [idiom: old but still vigorous], your courage surpass others. It makes Xiaozi [this kid] more confident that we can work together to drive out the invading foreign enemies. Li Yuanughed calmly and said, Shaoshuai always gives me the feeling of returning to Jianghu. Not concealing anything from Shaoshuai, this feeling gives me a novel and extremely exciting feeling. Without being disturbed by others, we can fluently say all we want [idiom: to preach freely on ones favorite topic], no need to have any misgivings. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Then I wont be polite; does Fazhu trust Kou Zhong? Li Yuan said, Watching ones actions, listening to ones words - is knowing the person. I have been paying attention to you, Shaoshuai. If I dont trust you, how could Shaoshuai sit in here today? However, a persones back to be a person, a matteres back to be a matter. Under the prerequisite of the unification of the world, the factors that affect the development of the situation are tangled andplicated [idiom], involving a wide range of things, frequently making people without the freedom to act independently. Li Yuan wants to ask a question first: based on Song Ques usual style of doing things his way [orig. my action my nature], how could he let Shaoshuaie to the west like this? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Fazhusment on Song Ques arrogance refers to his, the Seniors conviction of southern peoples orthodoxy. Since Fazhu is willing to speak forthrightly, I dont need to lie to Fazhu. Ay! Before I made this decision, it went through a struggle in my heart, before I finally decided to ept Feixuans proposal. Half of it was because of Ziling, the other half is for myself. Greatly interested, Li Yuan said, Id like to hear the details. Kou Zhong knew that this dialogue was rted to the alliance between him and Li Yuan. Even if Li Yuan was determined to kill him, if he answered properly, he could stabilize Li Yuan and make him wait until they either repel or scare off the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall before making his move. The most important key would be whether he could convince Li Yuan of his sincerity. Muttering to himself irresolutely sightly, he said, Zilings half of the reason, Fazhu should understand it. Ziling has always been bemoaning the state of the universe and pitying the fate of mankind, he never considers personal gains and losses to be worthy in his eyes. When he understands that the Central Earth is facing imminent disaster, and the only option is to join hands to resist foreign enemies together, he would not to be shirked without dishonor [idiom: dutybound]. As for my other half of the reason, I am sure that Fazhu will not believe it: it is just to win the favor of a beauty. Just like that Hou kid, Hou Xibai said, doing one thing, a magnificent feat worthy of pride that can make her forget all my past errors, to let her know that I, Kou Zhong am not a man whose desire for power dominates his thought and has lost his conscience. Li Yuan was greatly astonished; he frowned and said, Unexpectedly there is such a reason. This is indeed greatly beyond my expectation. I hope Shaoshuai will tell me the details even more. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly; he was using someones spear to attack his shield [idiom; derived from Han Feizi: turning a weapon against its owner, fig. to attack an opponent using his own devices], because he understood Li Yuans conduct. If the listener were either Jiancheng or Yuanji, it would certainly not have any effect, they could not possibly believe it without careful consideration even more. Only toward Li Yuan, this kind of passionate person - would it resonate with him more than anyone else. In fact, he was not lying at all, he just concealed the most important aspect, which was to support Li Shimins ascension to the throne. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This matter, start exining and its a long story, really hard to exin in a few words. What Fazhu said this morning really hit my vital part. For the sake of the mans task of establishing and maintaining hegemony, although I have a marriage contract with the Song Familys Er Xiaojie, I never cared about the thoughts and expectations of me in her heart, which have caused misunderstandings to grow without letup, and love and hatred hard to solve. Only the magnificent feat of fighting foreign enemies together with Fazhu, eliminating the Central Earths catastrophe can make her change her mind and understand what kind of person I, Kou Zhong am. Hearing that, Li Yuan was confused. Puzzled, he asked, I still dont understand, how could this matter make her change her mind? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, Because all along she has opposed to my future father-inws sending troops out of Lingnan, she is even more eager to look forward to the Central Earth returning to unity and peace, and putting an end to all disputes. Li Yuan stared at him nkly for half a day, he spoke heavily, So did she change her mind because of Shaoshuais visit to Changan? Kou Zhong cheerfully told the gathering the thorn-ferns, gathering the thorn-ferns incident with smiles of exultation and put it all on the tray. Since this was the matter that Kou Zhong was proud of himself and has been lingering in his mind, he told it with many passionate and luxuriant words. Listening to him, Li Yuan did not stop nodding his head. Gradually he revealed trust and without-doubt expression. In the end, Kou Zhong spoke sincerely, Ever since I decided to establish the mens immortal undertaking, I have never been more rxed and happy than I am now. This is my secret, I hope Fazhu will keep this secret for me. Li Yuan slowly said, But how could Song Que nod his head and agree? If it were me, I would take advantage while the foreign tribes invading Guanzhong tounchrge-scale attack on Luoyang. In term of strategy, this is the most sensible way of handling this situation. Kou Zhong calmly said, If the north sides vitality is severely injured, the frontier fortress cities will be the-roof-wasted-the-walls-in-ruinspletely. Even if Luoyang falls into my Shao Shuai Armys hands, how could we clean up the mess in the future? And then in the foreseeable future, we will live in the terrible situation of the Tujue peoples continuous destruction. This time Xieli ising prepared, they are most adept in fighting the using-battle-to-raise-battle war of attrition. He bes stronger, while we be weaker. Admittedly Fazhus will bepletely destroyed. My Shao Shuai and the Song Familys allied armies, southern people fighting northern war, leaving the home town and departing the wells for a long period of time will also be detrimental. This side vanishing the other side flourishing, plus people like Liang Shidu, helping tyrant Zhou in his oppression [idiom: taking the side of the evildoer], once men like Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong the ashes burn once more [idiom: something malevolent returns to haunt people], the world will fall back into the nasty situation of the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians [see Book 59 Chapter 9] of the past. Under the prerequisite of the well-being of all the people under the heavens, you and I united will be beneficial, divided will surely bring harm without any benefit. Both Song Fazhu and I have no other choice. Emotionally moved, Li Yuan asked, Did Shaoshuai thoroughlyy out the pros and cons to Song Que like this? Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Song Que has a clearer grasp of the current situation than anyone else. Were it not for the situation is indeed so, even if my tongue is as splendid as a lotus flower, I would still not be able to move him a hairsbreadth. Li Yuan knitted his brows in bitter thought for half a day, he said, Regarding the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall headed by the Xielis Golden Wolf Army, how is Shaoshuai going to deal with it? Kou Zhong smiled bitterly in his heart, musing inwardly that one day you, the Senior, still sit on the Lord of Tangs throne, Shao Shuai and the Tang Army definitely had no chance of sincere cooperation, simply because of the misgivings toward each other. The only way was for Li Yuan to be reced by Li Shimin, and the two parties joined forces and handed over the total authority to him tomand; only then would they have confidence in this battle. Naturally this way of thinking must not be dered publicly; he said, In this regard, it depends on Fazhus intention. The most ideal is if you and I form a coalition army. If Xieli really moves forward as expected, prating deeply into our territory to invade Changan, we could use the Great River as natural stronghold, taking advantage of the navy fleets superiority to force him to stop north of the Yellow River. Li Yuan spoke heavily, This matter still needs to be considered at length. If we form an alliance, I might not have any worry about him, perhaps Xieli will sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. Li Yuan, under the influence of the demonic school and Jiancheng, Yuanji, always had deep misgivings toward him, unable to make the most effective deployment in dealing with foreign enemies. This was the reason why it was necessary to support Li Shimin to ascend to the emperors throne. He said, Of course that would be the most ideal; however, not afraid of ten thousand, only afraid of one in ten thousand. In order to deal with Xielisrge-scale invasion, I will assemble an army in Liangdu. As long as Fazhu give me a nod, I can immediatelye with Fazhus consent. Fazhu should not grow misunderstandings due to our side mobilizing our troops. Li Yuan exhaled slowly, he said, What kind of person Shaoshuai is, Li Yuan understands clearly. So let us guard against foreign aggression first, and then resolve the problem between you and me. Kou Zhong knew that his goal had been achieved. At least he made Li Yuan postpone his intention to kill him. Lowering his voice, he said, Not concealing anything from Fazhu, influenced by Ziling, I am deeply weary of war; furthermore, I dont want because of selfish reason, the peaceful reunification of the Central Earth to be without hope. The only question is how to deal with my future father-inws expectations of me? However, this is not an insurmountable problem, everything can be discussed. Emotionally moved, Li Yuan said, Shaoshuais remark is serious? Kou Zhong said, If there is one empty word, may the Heaven punish me, the Earth extinguish me. [1] Chapter title: that person, orig. yi ren, usually refers to female. Book 60 7 – Superiority Completely Lost

Book 60 Chapter 7 - Superiority Completely Lost

In the stone pavilion of the South Garden of Yeting Pce, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan stood on a small bridge, leaning on the railings, silently watching the water flowing in the man-made creek under the bridge, quietly waiting for the time to go to the banquet. After casting a couple of nces toward Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan asked in surprise, Why does Ziling look like you have a lot on your mind? Is it because of Shi Feixuans departure? Heaving a sigh, Xu Ziling said, Knowing that Feixuan is returning to Jingzhai and seeing Qingxuan again, on the way back to the Xing Qing Pce, my mind seemed to suddenly back to clear and bright. I recall many things that I hadnt thought about or did not think about before, my heart feels very ufortable. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Hearing you said that, Im scared; why dont you tell me clearly? Xu Ziling said, Thest time we came to Changan, I ran into Shi Zhixuan because of following An Longs track. He mistakenly thought that our intention was to assassinate Li Shimin, he even mentioned asking for our help to deal with Zhao Deyan. My intuition at the time clearly told me that he did have this misunderstanding. However, when we had a falling out with him, before he made his move trying to kill me, he said something else; he told me that he had seen through our scheme early on in order to disturb my mind. At the time, I didnt care about it, but looking back now, I feel something is very wrong. Ba Fenghan did not understand, What makes you suddenly remember this matter? Xu Ziling said, All because Feixuan was able to leave safely. ording to reason, Wanwan already mastered Tianmo Da Fa, there is no reason she would miss the opportunity to defeat Feixuan. They dont have to decide life and death, merely deciding victory or defeat, Wanwan would have already achieved her goal. His countenance changed, Ba Fenghan said, That is indeed a very big question. Xu Ziling said, Wanwan secretly visited Shizhixuan without telling us, it makes me even more suspicious. Shi Zhixuan said he saw through our purpose ofing to Changan, he was not guessing, but Wanwan told him. Its just that after the fact, he acted as if he was smart, thats all! Hearing that Ba Fenghan knitted his brows, realizing the seriousness of the situation. Xu Ziling said, I also remember one thing, after Wanwan heard that Zhu Hou [empress] passed away, she went into my room and wept bitterly, moving my heart to pity her, ying tricks to make me help her mastering her Tianmo Da Fa. This matter is still fresh in my memory. Shaken, Ba Feng said, Ziling is saying that she is being friendly toward you guys now is just some kind of trick, while actually she is harboring malicious intentions? What do we do? She knows clearly all of our secrets, including the Duke Yangs Treasure-house. Xu Ziling spoke dejectedly, Kou Zhong and I both have a fault, our way of thinking is na?ve, very easy to believe other peoples good words. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, Not that your way of thinking is na?ve, but oftentimes you measure others based on yourselves. This could be considered either as an advantage or a disadvantage. It depends on the other sides character and motivation. Xu Ziling said, Just now I looked down at the flowing water under the bridge and thought that any matter has physical properties, human character is also like that. Wanwan was influenced by Zhu Yuyan since childhood, the demonic schools mission is their sacred task, nothing above it, how could it suddenly change? Zhu Yuyan pretended to cooperate with us, while actually she wanted us to apany her to die in such a way that Shi Zhixuan also perishes. Ba Fenghan said, If Zilings guess is not incorrect, it will give us more headache than Li Yuan wanting to kill us tonight, and the only thing that we depend on no longer exist. Xu Ziling said, I hope Im just over-anxious, but Wanwan keeps saying that there is another magnificent n of the demonic school, which makes my misgivings grow as a thicket. No matter what her n is, as long as Kou Zhong and I are still alive, we definitely will not sit and watch her destroy the peaceful reunification of the world. And she knew this in her heart. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Zilings perception is reasonable and fair, if I was her, now that I have such a good opportunity to kill using a borrowed knife, I will definitely not let it pass. Precisely because of this, she will not hesitate to give up the opportunity to challenge Shi Feixuan. Xu Ziling said, Shi Zhixuan knew her n, hence the reason he made up his mind to kill me, afraid that the night is long the dreams many. However, in the end, because his heart was hindered, Shi Zhixuan was unable to kill me, so he had to let Wanwan do it. Thest several times Wanwaning to visit us, she always tried to avoid me. Kou Zhong and I are both puzzled about this, but now I finally understand that she is afraid that I will make her softhearted, or even change her mind. The murderous intent in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, Do you think she has revealed the secret of the Duke Yangs Treasure-house? Xu Ziling replied, Based on her usual conduct and style, plus both she and Shi Zhixuan are currently caught in isted situation, at present, even if this matter is leaked, it should still be limited to her and Shi Zhixuan. Ba Fenghan said, If that is the case, if we kill Shi Zhixuan and Wanwan, wont the whole world be at peace? Xu Ziling said, This matter must be discussed carefully when Kou Zhong is here. The biggest problem is that we practically dont know where they are hiding during the day. Li Jing appeared on the forest path, the time for the banquet has arrived. The state banquet was held in the Taiji Pce, just like the New Year Eves banquetst time, the hosts seat was set at the north end of the pce hall, and the guest seats were arranged on the left and right, on either side of the big pce hall. The square outside the pce hall was crowded with civil and military officials, waiting for the bell to enter the pce hall for the banquet, carriages and horses were flowing continuously from the Imperial City into the traversing square, where the passengers dismounted outside the Cheng Tian Gate, the atmosphere was lively. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, under escort by Li Jing, husband and wife, Yuchi Jingde, Pang Yu, Shi Wanbao, Liu Dewei, Zhangsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Yin Zhixuan, and so on, a crowd of the Heavenly Policy Mansions military generals and civilian court officials, walked out of the Yeting Pce, stepped into the traversing square, and walked over toward the Cheng Tian Gate. Li Jing said to Xu Ziling and Ba Feng, Bi Xuan and Fu Cailin, two sides both refused to attend the state banquet tonight, showing clearly their dissatisfaction with Huangshang and Shaoshuai forming an alliance. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, So tonight will greatly lose its color. On the other side, Zhangsun Wujiughed and said, Fortunately, theres Ge Suwen joining in the fun. ording to reports, Ge Suwen has, on multiple asions, expressed his desire to measure himself against Shaoshuai to see whose saber technique is more superior. Following behind, Yuchi Jingde said, At least half of Shao Shuai Armys fame for fighting prowess is based on Shaoshuais unrivalled saber technique. If anybody could surpass Shaoshuai for even one move or half a style, it will bring about unbearably-imaginable destruction and harm to Shao Shuai Armys morale and prestige; therefore, the enemy will definitely not willing to miss this opportunity. Ba Fenghan said with a sneer, To check for convenience is not easy at all. Before challenging Shaoshuais Moon in the Well, they will have to crash their way through my, Ba Fenghans Stealing the Heaven Sword. Xu Ziling smiled and said, If you, Lao Ba make Kou Zhong lose all the opportunities to relieve the itch on hands, especially one that he deserves in a fair division of the booty, he will definitely protest. Hearing that, none did not blurt outughing. The banquet attendees gathering in front of the Cheng Tian Gate saw Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan were among the group of neers, they scrambled over to meet them, creating a tiny disturbance. Suddenly a group of more than a dozen people came toward them. The leader was surprisingly Li Yuanji, following behind him were people whom some they recognized, such as the master of Longxi Pai Jin Dazhuang, Yuanjis trusted aide, great general Xue Wanche, Qin Wutong, Qiu Tianjue, Yu Wenbao and so on, Wei Zheng was also one of them, but they did not see Yang Xuyan. One after another Ba Fenghan and Xu Zilings attention fell on a warrior with a back of a tiger and waist of a bear, behind and to the right side of Li Yuanji. Firstly, because of his appearance was unfamiliar, and secondly, because he was dressed as a Khitan; furthermore, he also carried the air of a lord-of-a-sect martial art master, which made them feel wary. This person could not be called handsome, but his build was imposing and straight as a ramrod, hisplexion dark and shiny. The most noticeable thing was his pair of eyes, which seemed to be open, yet seemed to be closed. When opened, the refined light was shing, and when closed, he appeared enigmatic, giving him some kind of despising-everybody-else and thinking-too-much-of-himself impression. His forehead broad and his brow bones high, putting his staunch and stubborn personality in full disy. His slightly curved lips appeared to be hanging an eternal disdain-toward-others and his self-confidence - smile, so that once people saw him, it would be difficult to forget. While they were still some distance away, Ba Fenghan asked in a heavy voice, Which hallowed figure is that Khitan kid? Hong Funu replied, That man is called Huyan Tiezhen, a famous warrior of the Khitan great tribal chief Abaojia, renowned as the most outstanding martial art master of Khitans new generation of Khitan,ing to Changan as a member of Bi Xuans delegation, I dont know how he and Qi Wang mingle together. Pang Yu spoke hatefully, Naturally there wont be any good intention in his bosom, there is some other evil intentions. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, This person should not be underestimated. Li Yuanji cupped his fist from a distance ording to Jianghu etiquette and called out. Xu Xiong, Ba Xiong, how are you [lit. are you good, see below]? Two gentlemen honoring us by your presence in Changan, Yuanji already wished to call to pay my respect, but because of two gentlemens honorable busy schedule, Yuanji painstakingly has had no opportunity to personally benefit from listening to gentlemens advice. This regret ought to bepensated tonight. The two sides gradually approached. Ba Fenghan was able to hear the y on words in his speech, to see the stab hidden within his words, heughed hoarsely and said, It should be Qi Wang who is good, whats so good about us [see above]? Li Yuanji and his entourage stopped three steps in front of Xu, Ba and the others; hearing that, pretending to be surprised, he said, Ba Xiongs remark contains anger, I am afraid you still cannot forget former enmity, making others feel depressed. However, the brain grew inside Ba Xiongs head, even though Yuanji has the heart to erase all past grievances, I ampletely helpless against anything on top of Ba Xiongs head. These words were extremely rude, brimming with provocation and humiliation overtone. Xue Wanche and the others all were showing a mocking expression, watching how Ba Fenghan would react. Although the men and horses from both sides knew that there was no possibility to fight in such an open confrontation, they were still full of with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent, antagonistic overtone. But Xu Ziling apuded inwardly, knowing that the message Kou Zhong passed on to Jiancheng and Yuanji via Yang Xuyan took effect, causing the other party to have the heart to strike back. Beyond everybodys expectation, Ba Fenghan was not provoked at all, he smiled in return and said, Qi Wangs remarks ought to be sharper than the sharp points of the treasured spear in your hand, making Ol Ba suddenly have a strange idea, could it be possible for Qi Wang to make an arrangement to obtain Huangshangs approval, so that you and I can have a touch-and-stoppetition to swap pointers? It could be considered a grand asion in Changans martial arts circle. Li Yuanji revealed a without-the-slightest-bit-fear smile, he was just about to answer, a cold snort was heard from the crowd behind him, shaking peoples eardrum, causing everyone to raise their eyebrows. The light in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes ring greatly, he coldly shouted, Qi Wang has not finished speaking, who dares to interrupt? Report your name to me, Ba Fenghan. The Khitan martial art master Huyan Tiezhen took a step forward, he moved to Li Yuanjis right side, a hint of sinister, ruthless smile escaped from the corners of his lips, he said, I am Huyan Tiezhen, the chief imperial guard under the banner of my king Abaojia. It is rare that Ba Xiong has such interest, how about we y a game in here first? Li Yuanji rushed in front of Ba Fenghan, letting out a longughter, he said, Huyan Xiong, why are you in such a hurry? The future is long, why worry that there wont be an opportunity to experience Ba Xiongs sword technique? Well go one step ahead of them, please! Letting out another burst of proud-of-himself longughter, he led Huyan Tiezhen and the others to walk toward the Cheng Tian Gate arrogantly. Li Yuan and Kou Zhong left the imperial study room side by side, Wei Gonggong met him, kneeling down on one side and said, Reporting to Huangshang, Deyan Guoshi [teacher of the state] is asking to see Shaoshuai. Li Yuan was slightly startled, he looked at Kou Zhong and said, Shaoshuai, please make the decision yourself. Kou Zhong secretly praised Li Yuan for speaking appropriate to the asion, he was even more rmed by Zhao Deyans power inside the Tang Pce; he smiled and said, I wonder if Fazhu would wait for a moment? The fact is, between Deyan Guoshi and I, there shouldnt be a few good things to say. Although Xu Zilings person entered the Cheng Tian Gate, his eardrums were rumbling with the sound of the guards at the gate saluting, but his mind was still tied to Shi Feixuan. It was only this moment that he began to experience the mysterious principle of Zen idea of the lesson in parting that she exercised in Longquan. If it were not for this lesson, perhaps even the sound of Chang Shan Nis unbounded Buddhist power wooden fish still would not be able to awaken him, a dreamer losing his bearing in the sea of ??love. The spiritual love in Longquan, which felt like illusion but appeared to be real, was abundant with unspeakable wit; when Shi Feixuan went down the mountain for the second time, she convinced him to attach most importance to the world and turn to support Li Shimin. The romance between he and Shi Feixuan entered apletely new realm. Unreservedly showed him her deep love for him, and then, when he did not expect at all, quietly left to let him to fully dedicate his love to Shi Qingxuan. The situation was subtle to the extreme point. When he was turning upside down and was bewitched, someone suddenly shed ahead and blocked the way. Xu Ziling hurriedly halted his steps andposed himself to look. Unexpectedly it was Liexia, that annoying fellow - again. To his surprise, he saw that, with a smile across his whole face, Liexia bowed respectfully with cupped fist and said, Two gentlemen Dage, please do me a favor. Fu Dashi and Xiufang Dajia are both absent from the state banquet tonight, implicating this ignorant one that I am not eligible to attend ether. I wonder if two gentlemen could take Xiaodi; for example, by setting up one extra chair on your honorable table, to enable this ignorant one to have a chance to shine. The murderous intent in Ba Fenghans pair of eyes ring greatly, he coldly shouted, Get lost! Xu Ziling also felt that his shamelessness was hard to endure, he knitted his brows and said, Lie Xiong is joking? Li Jing and the others did not understand the rtionship between the three, they had no choice but to be the spectator on the wall. The Cheng Tian Gate was the main thoroughfare on this segment of the road to and from the Taiji Gate. Due to therge crowd stopping on the street, it created a slight disorder, implicating theters that they had to walk around them to proceed. Liexiaughed aloud and said, Ziling is really formidable, you could see that this ignorant one is joking. Actually, I already strived hard to acquire a seat where I can fit myself, I was just testing whether the two gentlemen would disregard old grievance against the ignorant one. Ha! There is something that this ignorant one forgot to tell Ziling, this ignorant one is now turning enemies into friends with the Tujue people. This is called its appropriate for enmity to be settled, not appropriate to be tied! Amiable ending is better than you want me to live and I want you to die. Turning to Ba Fenghan, he said, Wont Ba Xiong agree? Ba Fenghans hand grabbed the hilt of the Stealing the Heaven Sword, instead of being angry, heughed and said, I said get lost, did you hear me? Xu Ziling knew that Ba Fenghan could draw his sword to kill people at any time, he sighed and said, Lie Xiong, please make way! The corner of Liexias mouth leaked out a vague smile, he said, Ziling is not the least big interested in the ignorant one and the Tujue peoples affair? I will have to thank Ziling very much for this. Were it not for Ziling, how could the ignorant one have the opportunity to obtain Song JinGangs severed head as the big gift to curry favor with the Tujue people? The cold light in Xu Zilings pair of red suddenly, shrouding Liexia, his heart welled up with soaring-to-the-heavens rage. Even with his temperament and cultivation, he was still unable to control the murderous intentions in his heart against Liexia, for the unbearable grief of Song JinGang being harmed by a crafty scoundrel. Liexias action was indeed despicable and cruel to the extreme point. Song JinGang was disheartened, he wholeheartedly wanted to bow out after a long career and go back to his native ce and live in seclusion, but Liexia, this spineless man, not only abandoned Xu Kaishan, but also took the opportunity to catch up with Song JinGang and his party, and struck treacherously to murder Song JinGang and use it to render meritorious credit to Xieli. Liexia suddenly retreated, let out a longughter and said, Two gentlemen Dage, well meet againter, ha Xu Ziling spoke slowly, word by word, He is now mine! Wei Gonggong took Kou Zhong to the garden southeast of the Imperial Study Room, he spoke respectfully, Deyan Guoshi is waiting respectfully for Shaoshuai in the small pavilion in the garden. Shaoshuai, please follow this path, Xiaoren awaits order in here. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Have Gonggong ever thought about it, maybe this is a trap? Wei Gonggong hurriedly said, Shaoshuai, dont worry, Deyan Guoshi is alone, he has no attendants. Kou Zhongughed and said, Gonggong thinks that alone, he has no qualifications to kill me? Ha! Gonggong, please dont think of me too highly. Wei Gonggong knew that Kou Zhong was teasing him, but he was at a loss on how to deal with him. As if nothing had happened, he said, How could Xiaoren dare to make random guesses? Shaoshuai, please understand clearly. Kou Zhongughed aloud, he moved forward along the path and entered deep into the garden, leaving Wei Gonggong behind, musing inwardly that if inside the pavilion he did not see Zhao Deyan, but Li Yuan arranged an ambush to kill him, it would be extremely bad. Turning around a bend, he reached the center, a wide-open space in the garden. A small pavilion was peacefully leaning by a small artificialke, with sparse trees, a small bridge over a flowing stream, rockeries and piles of rocks, the scenery was delightful. Zhao Deyan stood on the tform outside the pavilion with his hand behind his back, as if looking down and admiring the situation in the pond. Suddenly he turned around, let out a longughter and said, Shaoshuai, I trust you have been well since west met, you are still as svelte as before, Deyan would like to act on behalf of the Great Khan to send his regards to Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong quickened his pace, crossed the bridge and climbed the steps, and came in front of Zhao Deyan; smiling, he said, Guoshi wants to see me, Kou Zhong, you cant possibly be that polite and courteous by only wanting to send me your regards? Zhao Deyan restrained his smiling expression, the refined light in his pair of eyes shing sharply, he fixed his gaze on him and said, Shaoshuais guess is notcking; I aming this time will be thest time I have kind words to say to you. Kou Zhong met his gaze without yielding at all, he calmly replied, Guoshi cant possibly be wanting to advise me to leave? If thats the case, let me advise Guoshi to save the nonsense and go back. Zhao Deyans murderous aura ring greatly, he spoke with a cold snort, This is called Shaoshuai does not know other peoples good intention. The Great Khan this time connecting the various tribes of the prairie, it is in order to help Shaoshuais prestige, otherwise, how could the Gunatai brothers, Pusa and Tuli Khan not to be shirked without dishonor, they support the Great Khan with all their strength? Who would have thought that not only Shaoshuai does not appreciate the kindness, you even came to Changan to breathe from the same nostril as Li Yuan, tantly disregarding the brotherhood and the friendship in the past? Shaoshuais move this time is very unwise and will only bring pain to the loved ones and quick for the enemies [Chinese proverbs: certain action that is only good for the enemy, not good for oneself, and is for the pleasure of seeing the enemy (baike-baidu)]. Fortunately, there is still room to save the situation, If Shaoshuai is willing to rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice [idiom], its not toote. Although knowing perfectly well Zhao Deyans malicious intentions, Kou Zhong still had no choice but to admit that his words were reasonable. He was forming an alliance with Li Yuan at this time, to Tuli and the others, a group of brothers andrade-in-arms, naturally he was showing evil and not goodwill at all. He, Kou Zhong assisting Li Yuan, it made a lot of sense, its a pity that to Tuli and the others on the prairie who were ustomed to attach most importance to their own tribe, it was still considered as an uneptable conduct. This was precisely the difference in ideology between the people inside and outside the Great Wall, because they would think that the Li Tang Army and the Shao Shuai Army were just like two different tribes in a state of conflict. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Guoshi should know more clearly than me what this is all about, I dont want to talk more nonsense! Zhao Deyan revealed a sinister smile, he spoke leisurely, With this answer from Shaoshuai, Zhao Deyan can go back to report. I must pass on as things really are to the people involved. Excuse me, I must leave! Looking at Zhao Deyans fading back, Kou Zhong knew that he had really broken off rtions with Tuli and the other brothers outside the Great Wall, it would be difficult to have a margin of reconciliation, everything could only be settled based on victory or defeat on the battlefield. Book 60 8 – Contradictory Personality

Book 60 Chapter 8 - Contradictory Personality

Kou Zhong returned to Li Yuans side, thetter signaled with his hand, Wei Gonggong and a group of imperial guards immediately retreated to a distant ce, and then he spoke heavily, What did Zhao Deyan have to say? Just by listening to him calling Zhao Deyans name directly, it was clear that his dragon heart was not pleased, only that he could not do anything to Zhao Deyan. Kou Zhong met Li Yuans gaze, a strange feeling grew in his heart. He and Li Yuan represented the two most powerful military forces in the north and the south, respectively. Their seemingly small talk could in fact, determine the future of Central Earth in three words two sentences. And he was certain that in the long history of Central Earth, the delicate rtionship and situation between he and Li Yuan had never appeared before. Song Ques words were not incorrect, history is indeed created by people, and Kou Zhong was in the middle of making history. Li Yuan frowned again and said, If Shaoshuai has a hidden trouble hard to mention, you could not answering my question. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Fazhu must not misunderstand, because Zhao Deyans words touched on my old friendship with Tuli and the others, I just feel a little ufortable. Zhao Deyan, this fellow wholeheartedly wanted to drive a wedge in the brotherhood between me and them, and in this aspect, he will surely be very sessful. In the end, everything can only be solved by military force, which will make my brothers beyond the Great Wall and I be enemies. Slightly shaken, Li Yuan said, Zhao Deyan therefore threatened Shaoshuai with the invasion of the allied armies, am I right? Kou Zhong sighed and said, In this regard, the more certain the tone of Zhao Deyans voice is, the more it means that the allied armies have not yet prepared their invasion operation, otherwise he would not mention a single word in order to lower our vignce. And thus, by pushing this matter, it is another scheme to deal with me, Kou Zhong. Previously, on his way to Yu He An, Ziling fell into an assassination attempt at the East Market, it must be Zhao Deyans own scheme, so much so that he personally participated in it. The murderous intent in Li Yuans pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke heavily, He has the impertinence to act wantonly in my, Li Yuans ce? Kou Zhong said, Fazhu need not take this kind of trivial things to heart. Lao Zhao, I can take care of all by myself, Fazhu watching on the side will be enough. Losing Zhao Deyan will definitely be a heavy blow to Xieli. Li Yuan was silent for half a day; he spoke slowly, Shaoshuai is more familiar with the situation outside the Great Wall than me. In Shaoshuais estimate, if we form an alliance, will Xieli give up the invasion of the South? Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, Li Yuan was so out of touch with the world outside Changan, plus he was deceived by lowly peoples instigation, someone like Li Shimin would not ask such a question. He said, First of all, Xieli will do everything possible to destroy our alliance, only if it ispletely without any chance of sess will he invade our territory with all his strength. This situation is a done deal, no one can change it, not even Xieli, Fazhu, or me, Kou Zhong. Li Yuans pair of eyes revealed a thoughtful look. Kou Zhong continued, Therefore, we must negotiate the details of the alliance and cooperation as soon as possible, and then formally announce our oath to fight side by side to the world, afterwards we wait respectfully for Xielis good-self. At present, this is our top priority. Li Yuan asked, Will Song Que personallye to participate? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Song Que has clearly said that I have the full authority to handle everything, Du Fuwei is of the same mind. The Song Family Army, the Jianghuai Army and the Shao Shuai Army, there is only one person in charge, and that is me, Kou Zhong. Knitting his brows in deep thought, Li Yuan said, If we announce the alliance at the pce courtyard banquetter, what will be the consequences? Kou Zhong knew that his mind was finally moved; he said, The most direct response would be Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyans delegation will immediately brush their sleeves and leave, because anybody would know that our alliance is in response to Xieli. Subsequently, the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall will go down south on arge scale to take advantage of the moment our alliance is still fragile and have not undergone any testing, to gain the initiative by striking first. Li Yuans dragon countenance showed a shocked expression, his face changed a few times. Just like Li Shimin described, the decaying life deep in the pce, borrowing the red and leaning on bluish-green has already whittled away Li Yuans spirit and the color of his guts. Especially when Xieli pointed his spearhead directly at Changan, it made Li Yuan hesitant to contradict even more. On the one hand, he wanted to use Kou Zhongs power to make Xieli sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat; on the other hand, he did not want to anger Xieli excessively. Toward Bi Xuans delegation, he did not wish to dismiss the current situation and rely on luck - even more. As a result, with three hearts and two intentions, he could not make decision. Kou Zhong continued in heavy voice, The top priority for you and me, two sides is to quickly reach an agreement on the overallbat n for joint operations, so that our Central Earth coalition forces can meet the enemy at the optimum condition and stored-up momentum, plus with adequate preparation. Li Yuan pondered again for a moment, he said, Shaoshuai, please give me a bit more time, let me consider it carefully. Kou Zhong understood that he had to consult Jiancheng, Yuanji, and various trusted aides, cab ministers and the others for their opinions. Fortunately, he already had no illusions and extravagant hopes for Li Yuan, his only hope was for him to restrain himself until after the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall were resolved before turning his spearhead around to deal with him and Li Shimin, so that they would have ample time to deploy counterattack operation. He had a bit of urge; he very much wanted to say clearly that the reason Bi Xuan was willing to ept the invitation ande was to help Jiancheng and Yuanji to put Li Shimin in order. However, if he did that, the consequences would be hard to fathom, perhaps it would even strengthen their suspicion of Kou Zhong secretly joining hands with Li Shimin to topple the Great Tang. He nodded and said, Of course, but there is not much time, Fazhu needs to make decision early. A displeased expression shed through Li Yuans face, but it quickly faded, showing his dissatisfaction with Kou Zhongs urging on this matter. Deep in the pce, one should exhaust scolding and use ttery as much as possible. Someone who was ustomed to being an emperor like Li Yuan, all along he was not used to hearing unpleasant-to-the-ears blunt words. Kou Zhong sighed secretly, not because he med Li Yuan, but because he was ming himself for not being slick and sly enough, his experience in this matter has not reached the sophisticated level yet, hence it was hard to avoid slip of the tongue. As if nothing had happened, Li Yuan said, They should have been waiting for a long time! We must not dy anymore, please! Xu Ziling Xiansheng, Ba Fenghan Xiansheng have arrived. The two teams of musicians on the side of the pce hall yed a weing tune, everybody in the pce hall fell silent, none did not raise his head and look, vying to see the two mens elegant manner. Since they did not have any official titles within the Shao Shuai Army, the herald at the door simply addressed the two men as Mister. In front of the pce hall, representing Li Yuan to wee them into the pce hall was Li Jiancheng. On the surface, he was polite and courteous, but both sides were well aware that everything was just a fa?ade, the actual situation was that in their bosom, they wanted to stake it all in a you die, I live, and the two cannot exist together mentality as soon as possible. After Li Jing and others handed over the two men to be received by Li Jiancheng, they walked into the hall in advance and sat down at the banquet table on Li Shimins side. The banquet tables were evenly distributed on both sides of the main hall, with two rows each on the left and right, each row had eight banquet tables. It was far less crowded and less lively than the Lunar New Years Eve pce courtyard banquet. The number of attendees was reduced by half, approximately around four hundred people. The main banquet table was located on the elevated tform on the north side of the pce hall, quite with an only-me-holding-the-supremacy impression. There were several people have already been seated on the table, including Li Yuanji, who had just fought a verbal battle with them. Xu Ziling stepped over the entrance and exit of the secret passage, which was sealed without showing the slightest bit of traces, a burst of strange feeling welled up in his heart, as if at that moment, he was connected to the world outside the exits at the other two ends of the passage. A pair of bright and beautiful eyes attracted his attention, the owner was precisely Hu Xiaoxian, who went to the XingQing Pce to call on him but did not meet him. She was throwing flirtatious nces toward him. On the same table, there were also her father Hu Fo, Chi Shengchun, Ren Juns Furong Ye, Yin Zuwen, Song Shidao and Lei Jiuzhi. Just by seeing that Lei Jiuzhi, in his capacity as the housekeeper, was also invited to attend, it could be seen that Yin Zuwen was giving Situ Furong enough face. Li Jiancheng leaned over to his ear and said, Xu Xiongs old friend has already taken his seat, he is waiting for Xu Xiongs good-self. Xu Ziling was shocked inwardly, could it be that Li Jiancheng has seen through Ren Juns disguise? However, listening to the tone of Li Jianchengs voice, he must be talking about something else. No longer dared to look at Hu Xiaoxians banquet table, he frowned and said, Old friend? Acting as if he did not hear the exchange between the two men, Ba Fenghans pair of eyes gleaming, he cast his gaze towards the living-high-and-looking-down main banquet table. Li Jiancheng revealed a teasing, proud-of-himself expression, he slyly spoke as he kept walking, Isnt Ge Dashi, Ge Suwen Xu Xiongs old acquaintance in Longquan? Xu Ziling knew that Li Jiancheng could not help making fun of him, he smiled calmly; he did not take it to heart at all, but he was not drawn to look at the main banquet table either. His gaze continued to sweep around. From the right side, the table closest to the main banquet table was full of Li Yuans important ministers, including Pei Ji, Feng Deyi and the others, his gaze moved to the various tables on the left. Suddenly an inner mountain appeared in front of him. Turned out it was Ma Ji, whom he had not seen for a long time, rising from his seat, raising his cup to salute him from a distance. The fat on his face trembled and shook, but his pair of eyes shot spiteful gaze, which was in sharp contrast with the smile that stretched over every cun of his fat face. Sitting by his side was the young martial art master of his party, Tuoba Miefu. He did not follow him to stand up, only staring at him coldly, his gaze was sharper than a saber de. Xu Ziling cupper his fist in a polite response, thinking that this should be regarded as peaceful measures before using force! But his mouth seemed to be replying to Li Jiancheng, Ge Suwen, oh, Ge Suwen, he belongs to Kou Zhong. It has nothing to do with me. Li Jiancheng was dumbstruck and unable to reply, he did not know how to answer him. Because the tone of Xu Zilings voice and its content were like Jianghus rough and coarse talk, which was incongruous with the situation before his eyes, totally beyond his expectation. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I hope Kou Zhong will be willing to part with his cherished desire, Ge Suwen seems to fit my taste [orig. spleen and stomach] very much. Finally Li Jianchengs countenance changed; me was appearing in his eyes. Ba Fenghan and Xu Zilings casual, idle-chat style exchange showed clearly that they did not consider him, the grand Crown Prince of the Great Tang Kingdom, to be worthy in their eyes. It finally made fury written across his face, he was unable to control the extremely deep hostility in his heart. By this time the three men reached the bottom of the steps to the tform. From the main banquet table, someone rose up to his full height, left the banquet table and moved to the edge of the steps. Looking down, he let out a longughter and said, That day at the Little Longquan Icked the karma to meet, fortunately the Emperor of Heaven did not disappoint resolute person, finally let me, Ge Suwen fulfill this cherished desire in a faraway ce. Hereby I sincerely pay my respect and send my regards to Xu Xiong and Ba Xiong. When he was sitting on the table, he already gave up an ample overbearing, majestic like a mountain impression. This moment he straightened up his tiger-body, it was even more like a pine and cypress that have been through the wind and the rain for a long time, tall and straight, and lofty. Even more deeply impressive was the unexinable cultured, elegant air prating out through the rough exterior. He was about the same height as Xu and Ba, his build was strong and solid, but his fingers and palms were slender and flexible. He was dressed in a crimson warriors casual attire, covered in a in white and bundles of blue flowers cloak, white leather boots on his feet, his hair rolled up in a heroic bun on top of his head, under the light of the brilliant, glorious decoratednterns, his ck hair was gleaming, extremely eye-catching. The cultured, elegant air was mainly originated from his unique facial appearance, clean fair skin without beard, his narrow and slender face seemed to be a bit out of ce sitting atop his particrly broad shoulders, the size was a bit out of proportion. Yet on this narrow face grew a pair of slender, extending-to-his-temples phoenix eyes, squinting like two sharp knives. Although there was no weapon visible anywhere on his body, his bearing and movements could make people feel that within his body there was a huge explosive power brewing. In itself, it has more destructive power and more dangerous than any weapon, forming a unique and intimidating, so much so that it appeared to be strange - charm, worthy to be Gaoli petals [not sure] most resounding and outstanding figure below Fu Cailin. No wonder that as soon as he entered the pce hall, Ba Fenghans attention has been attracted by him. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, Didnt Ge Xiong always carry around five sabers on you, as inseparable as form and shadow? You troubled Ol Ba to mistakenly think that I mis-recognized the individual concerned, wondering about where did a figure who look like Ge Xiong suddenly appear from? Ge Suwen revealed aughing-involuntarily expression, he spoke cheerfully, Unexpectedly Ba Xiong is someone who loves to chat andugh, Suwen is greatly surprised. Were it not that tonight I am attending a banquet rather than going to the battlefield, Ba Xiong would definitely see that my whole body is full of scrap metal hanging on it, there wont be any misunderstanding. Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, they both felt that joy and anger, this person did not show on his face, shrewd and extremely deep, definitely not a bold but not very astute, easy character [in a story]. Right this moment, a burst of formless yet solid cold air filled the tform and came down the steps, straight to pursue the two men, causing them to have a dreadful feeling of a strange chill invading their bodies, but it was quickly disappeared. Ba Fenghan knew that he was disying severity immediately on taking office [idiom: initial show of strength], but on the surface, this move did not reveal the slightest bit of trace; it was extremely brilliant. He was about to counterattack in secret, Li Jiancheng said, How about we sit down first and talkter? Kou Zhong and Li Yuan boarded the imperial carriage, under escort of personal cavalry they drove towards the Taiji Pce Hall. Coming to meet Kou Zhong, Li Shimin spurred his horse ahead to open up a path. Kou Zhong peeked out of the curtain to watch the beautiful scenery outside the window along the way, but a feeling of weariness surged from the bottom of his heart. The reason was Li Yuans contradictory personality. This was a conclusion drawn from Li Yuans behavior, not a wild spection at all. In terms of women or even polo games, Li Yuan showed fanaticism and passion, brimming with ardent love for life, but on the other hand, without remembering old affection, he ruthlessly executed Liu Wenjing. Toward Ho and Pingyang like Li Mi and Dou Jiande, he even murdered them mercilessly. Toward Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji, also Pei Ji, who had be his trusted aide, favored minister, for fear of he did not take enough good care, he forgave them for all their faults, but toward Li Shimin, the son who made countless outstanding military meritorious service for him, his grievance was extremely deep. Even if there was no conclusive evidence, he still acted if you want to condemn somebody, dont worry about the pretext [idiom, from Zuozhuan: give a dog a bad name, then hang him], he progressively pushed Li Shimin into the danger spot, his prejudice and stubbornness was very hard to believe. Not only his previous way of life of roaming all around the country was still lingering in Li Yuans memory, he also indulged himself in a life of debauchery deep in the pce; the wind, flower, snow and moon, trite poetry subject, as well as phony pleasure-seeking,pletely wiped out his magnificent aspiration. On top of that, with the serious blow of unsessful encirclement and annihtion operation against Shi Zhixuan, he no longer dared to venture into danger. Under pressure of the threat from the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall directly aimed at Changan, without any room to advance or to retreat, making it impossible for him and Kou Zhongs alliance to be implemented. It looked as if he was going to simply sit and waste a good opportunity. He appeared to be strong, but in fact he was still bewilderingly fragile. On the surface, he projected a heroic spirit, but inwardly he was really indecisive, secretly thinking of relying on pure luck. The most annoying thing was that their current sess or failure depended on Li Yuans thoughts, yet he was so hard to predict that Kou Zhong felt a little body weary, strength exhausted. Toward the future, he no longer had the confidence like before. Li Yuans voice entered his ears, saying, Didnt Tuli and Xieli be like fire and water? How did they suddenly be breathing from the same nostril? Kou Zhong did not feel like turning his head to look at him, keeping his eyes out of the window, he spoke indifferently, The key lies in Bi Xuan. Among the Tujue, he has a god-like transcendental status, he is the cohesive force of the Tujue people. Tujue actually consist ofrge and small tribes forming one ethnic group. Xieli and Tuli are the leaders of different tribes. Anything that involves the interests of each tribe depends on the intentions of the tribal chief. In this case, personal grievances are not important, so Bi Xuan has a bigger role. Therefore, when Bi Xuan went down the arena to rope in Tuli and Xieli, it was very difficult for Tuli to disagree, otherwise his status could not be protected. Li Yuan remained silent. Kou Zhong turned his head to look at him, he spoke slowly, word by word, To break Tujue peoples alliance, to destroy their morale, the best way is to knock down Bi Xuan, to pierce the myth of his invincibility. Li Yuan jumped in fright, he hurriedly said, This is not a small matter, the chance of sess is next to nothing, Shaoshuai must not act blindly without thinking. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly. With Li Yuans attitude like this, his battle with Ke Dazhi would be circumstances that require action [idiom: absolutely necessary]. Only this way they would be able to force Bi Xuan to have a decisive battle against Ba Fenghan, but this would involve a humongous risk. Because no matter how much progress Ba Fenghan has made in recent years, his opponent was the unrivalled-beyond-the-Great-Wall Wu Zun Bi Xuan, who would dare to assert the oue of the battle? If Ba Feng Han suffered defeat and died, the aftermath would indeed be unimaginable. However, the moment they entered Changan, they were already riding on a tigers back, there was no possibility of turning back. Li Yuans only-me-holding-the-supremacy main banquet table on the dragon tform was one and a half times bigger than various tables under the steps, it upied the north side of the hall, so that all those sitting in the main banquet table were more or less facing the main hall, which was convenient for enjoying the singing and dancing performances. Li Yuans dragon position was located due north, with Ge Suwen on the left and Kou Zhong on the right. Under Ge Suwen were, in order, Li Shimin, Han Chaoan, Li Nantian, Jin Zhengzong and Li Shentong. Under Kou Zhong were, in session, Li Jiancheng, Xu Ziling, Li Yuanji, Ba Fenghan, and Dugu Feng [Peak]. Looking at the symmetrical arrangement of the people, it was clear that it had been through a meticulous nning; to the greatest extent, they try to make Kou, Ge, two positions to be on the same importance, there was no big and small distinction between them. Dugu Feng was the only one representing the host family that did not belong to the host n. From this, his deep rtionship with Li Yuan and the friendship between the cab ministers of the old Sui Dynasty could clearly be seen. Yuwen Shang did not attend, obviously, due to the hatred and the desire for revenge, he refused to attend, not because Li Yuan favored one and discriminated against the other. Ge Suwen was the first to speak, using his voice brimming with maism and masculine power, touching resounding words, he said, The game that Xu Xiong and Ba Xiong and Shaoshuai were ying in Longquan was indeed very beautiful. Frankly speaking, since I started to understand the ways of the world, I have never suffered such pent-up unspoken grievances, before even fighting I was already disappointed and had to go back. However, in retrospect, there was a fresh and interesting feeling. My utmost admiration, my utmost admiration! Xu Ziling then moved his gaze to Liexia who was sitting on Yin Zuwens table. Seeing that this kid was responding with a sinister smile, he withdrew his gaze, met Ge Suwens, and spoke indifferently, Although we and Ge Shi [master] are of different ways, our goals are not very different, it was for Longquans military and civilians sake. Otherwise, losing Longquan, this buffer, it will be harmful without any benefit to your distinguished country. Snorting coldly, Han Chaoan said, Xu Xiong is wrong. Bai Zitings grand n of founding his kingdom has been prepared for many years, plus he had sufficient preparations, so he had a great hope of sess. If it werent for you grantly destroying it, how could Bai Ziting end up in hatred? My humble country, from top to bottom, will never forget this. His words were brimming with the smell of gunpowder [idiom:bative tone]. Li Jiancheng and the others could only listen, it was hard to butt in, because both sides were honored guests, plus as the host, they must remain polite and neutral. Naturally, deep in their heart, Li Jiancheng, Li Yuanji and Li Nantian were all cheering happily. Ba Fenghan blurted outughing and said, The reason why Bai Ziting was so bold as to publicly establish his kingdom was because he had seen urately that Tuli and Xieli did not get along well with each other; who would have thought that his action facilitated the two men to join hands to deal with him? Without needing to be told, strong or weak, victory or defeat, should already be clear early on. Han Xiong should be grateful to us like the people of Longquan. Ge Suwen had a smile on his face but remained silent, his demeanor was beyond anybodys depth. Xu Ziling had a faint feeling that his target was Kou Zhong, so he did not want to bother with Han Chaoan and Ba Fenghans pointless argument. From this, he could infer that this person was not only courageous and scheming, but was also extremely shrewd; the air of a great general. In order to ease the with-swords-drawn-and-bows-bent [idiom: tense] atmosphere around the banquet table, Li Shentong interrupted, Although I did not personally experience it, I can still imagine the danger that the city was facing at that time, the thrilling situation in forcing the Tujue Golden Wolf Army to retreat; it must be fascinating. Ha! Huangshang and Shaoshuai must be chatting extremely congenially, they are dying the dinner time. His words were still in the air, drum music rose up to the sky, the drummers arrayed on both sides of the pce hall door were ying energetically. Everyone in the pce hall stood up and shouted loudly, Long live! Li Yuan and Kou Zhong entered the venue side by side, followed by Li Shimin. Book 60 11 – Hard Shock to the Demonic King

Book 60 Chapter 11 - Hard Shock to the Demonic King

Xu Ziling leaped over the wall and entered the nunnery, and went straight to the middle garden. The gravel path in front of him went through the bamboo forest, if he walked to the left, he would ultimately reach Jing She [the exquisite abode] where Shi Qingxuan was staying, but he halted his steps in front of the bamboo forest, and said in heavy voice, Xie Wang, please show yourself so that we can see each other. A sigh sounded from behind. Tranted by foxs Xu Ziling slowly turned around. The Demonic King Shi Zhixuan was standing in the shadow of an old pine tree under the moonshine, looking up at the sky, his face filled with concentrated haze. All around the insects were chirping, so that one could imagine that in the cluster of flowers and luxuriant leaves, there was a world full of life. The half-moon was rising to the middle of the sky, colored life filled the garden. Shi Zhixuan let out a long sigh, he spoke serenely, Was it you who told Qingxuan toe to Changan? You could say so, Xu Ziling replied. Shi Zhixuan cast his gaze at him, a gaze filled with contradictory andplicated expressions. He spoke slowly, Just go! Take Qingxuan with you, go as far as possible, you and Kou Zhong dont have half a sliver of chance. Xu Ziling intuitively felt that Shi Zhixuan, as expected, clearly knew all their secrets, hence his tone was so sure. He replied indifferently, Xie Wang should know my answer. This is our only opportunity to resolve the disaster of the Central Earth, no matter how difficult it is, we have no choice but to make an all-out effort. The murderous intent in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes ring greatly, he stared at him without blinking and said, You can be stupid, you can overestimate your capabilities, you can be pigheaded, you can follow the path to your own doom, but you cant involve my daughter in this matter, let alone not taking responsibility toward her. If he could make a new choice, he, Xu Ziling would definitely not let Qingxuan came to Changan. The situation in Changan took a sharp turn on the first day, leaving them in an inferior situation of taking a beating, something that they were unable to imagine beforehand. Xu Ziling returned his swift and fierce gaze for quite half a day, he spoke softly, Has Xie Wang fulfilled your responsibilities as a father? The clothes on Shi Zhixuans entire body fluttered, his hair stood up on its root, it swayed on top of his head, just like the devil king incarnate, suddenly revealing his true identity [referring to Buddha or God incarnates], weird to the extreme point. You are courting death! he shouted. The next moment he appeared half a zhang in front of Xu Ziling, one punch exploded over. Xu Ziling sensed that the other sides punch was filling the heaven and stuffing the earth, even if his nks grew a pair of wings, he still wouldnt be able to evade it. Furthermore, he knew that Shi Zhixuan was really angry and was making his move with all his strength. This punchs mighty power indeed could not be blocked, yet he had no choice but to block it. All of a sudden the surrounding air seemed to be shaken by Shi Zhixuan, irresolute like splitting open the nine levels of heaven or eighteenyers of hell, the punch sucked everything so that not a drop remained, so that Xu Ziling felt that his entire body was empty and fluttering, there was nowhere to exert his strength; the feeling was ufortable to the extreme point. In an instant, his heart and spirit advanced into the Brightly Lit realm, but the true qi within his body was growing naturally, none was overlooked. One finger stretched out. The Treasured-Vase Image Qi, like the sharpest needle, shot straight toward the core of the opponents fist, producing an ear-piercing splitting-the-air sound. Bang! Xu Zilings whole body was severely shaken, he flew backward like a kite with cut string, so that he was nearly two zhang away from Shi Zhixuan before he suddenly stopped. Raising his sleeve to wipe the blood escaping from the corner of his lips, he spoke in heavy voice, Why didnt Xie Wang seize the opportunity to pursue and attack? Shi Zhixuan stood still, unmoving, while staring nkly at his own fist. It was quite half a dayter that he lowered his right hand, looked at him, his hair returned to previous condition, and he spoke in astonishment, What kind of martial art is this? Unexpectedly it can shake and disperse my punchs power? Xu Ziling suppressed his surging blood and qi, he said, The strongest point is precisely the weakest point. The strongest can be the weakest. But were it not for Xie Wangs heart was moved with anger, no trace became with trace, I would have no way to grasp it. Unexpectedly Shi Zhixuans fury was like scattering cloud, disappearing smoke, his pair of eyes emitted a perplexed expression, he looked up at the bright moon in the sky, nodded his head, and said with a sigh, Thats right! I practically have no qualifications to me you. Zilings love for Qingxuan is beyond doubt. Ay, Ziling! Can you listen to some sincere advice that is unpleasant to hear? Xu Ziling said, Xie Wang, please give directions. Shi Zhixuan put his hands behind his back, he walked slowly but surely,ing to his left, and spoke in low voice, Ziling, just go! And you must go immediately. After returning to Liangdu, gather all your power, and when Xielis army goes south, march into Luoyang, and then divide your troops to attack Guanzhong and Taiyuan. At that time, Xieli has only one option, which is to retreat outside the Great Wall. Changan will be the object inside your bag. As long as your action is fast and nimble and effective, the damage that Xieli can bring about is still limited. The key is when you retake Luoyang. This is the only sensible act. In Changan, you are at a dead end. You guys think you can rely on the strongest point. It is exactly your weakest point. You practically cannot withstand a single blow. Li Shimin is done for. You persist in staying just to apany him on the journey together. Hereby Ol Shis words are over, Ziling thinks it through carefully. Ay! Finished speaking, he walked away and disappeared into the darkness of the forest. Kou Zhong barely left the Situ Mansion, a fragrant breeze blew, like a ghost or demon Wanwan came behind him, she sent her silver bell-like voice into his ears, saying, Follow me! Kou Zhong chased after her,nded on a house, crossed over a house, flying in the direction of the Xing Qing Pce, musing inwardly that if he could make his move to kill her, then Shi Zhixuan would be the only one who knew the secret of the treasure house, and things would be much simpler. But what he knew even more was that he had no confidence to put Wanwan to death, plus her betrayal was still only in the spection stage. Such a killer move was really not straightforward, difficult to harden his qi, and would be too hot-headed. He could not help sighing inwardly. Compared to him, Wanwan seemed to be on an easy drive on a familiar path around the Xing Qing Pce, she led him through the north wall into the pce, and went straight toward the Chen Xiang Pavilion. The Xing Qing Pces defense was far less than that of the Great Tang Pce. Only the seven gates of the pce were guarded, by avoiding buildings and patrolling troops, superior martial art masters would be able to enter unhabitable area. Finally the two sat down inside the Chen Xiang Pavilion. Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, How did you know I might be at the Situ Mansion? In high spirit, Wanwanughed and said, I went to Hua E Lou to look for you, yet the people are gone and the ce is empty [idiom: deserted]. Naturally there is another ce to go, hence I went to Situ Mansion to try my luck. It seems that my luck is not bad! Looking at her flowery smiling face, amiable expression and the tone of her voice, Kou Zhong found it hard to believe that she would harm himself and Xu Ziling, but Xu Zilings feeling should not have been too far off the mark. With contradiction in his heart, he said, Unexpectedly you did not rm Lao Ba and Hou kid? Shrugging her fragrant shoulders slightly, Wanwan said, Whats so strange? I am used to hearing the sound of your and Zilings breathing and circting your qi, no need to enter the building to know whether you are inside or not. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, This is called hard to believe, your Tianmo Gong is getting more and more brilliant! Wanwan said, I dont have any worries in my heart. I dont need to rush around and toil like you and Ziling day in and day out, naturally its a bit easier to make progress. Ay! Your current move seems to be awfully wrong. What are you going to do now? Kou Zhong said, The top priority now is to resolve Li Shimin being framed by crafty scoundrel, what good suggestion do you have? Wanwan showed a thoughtful look, it was quite half a dayter that she sighed and said, Jianchengs move this time, he must have nned it well before going into action,bined with the imperial concubines fanning the me, plus Li Yuans misunderstanding toward Shimin is too deep. What else can I suggest? Kou Zhong mused that if Wanwan was really deceiving him, she was indeed very sessful; she did not reveal the slightest w. Wanwan said, What are you going to do? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I asked Liao Kong to send out a warning to Li Yuan. What? Wanwan blurted out, You are not joking, are you? Until this moment Kou Zhong still did not tell her half a word of lie, because he did not want to rouse her suspicion, only then would he be able to deceive her and gain her trust on more important things. He spoke in deject, Can you give me a better choice? Wanwan shook her small cicada head slightly, and then the refined light in her pair of eyes ring greatly, she spoke heavily, Can you make your move earlier? Kou Zhong secretly thought that if Wanwan was really like Xu Ziling had guessed, this sentence not only could test their situation, it could also lead them into a dead end. Smiling wryly, he said, We already changed our n, we decided to join forces with Li Yuan first to repel foreign enemies, and then talk about other things. Wanwan trembled slightly, her pretty eyebrows knitted, a few cute wrinkles appeared on her forehead, she stared at him without blinking. Kou Zhong exined, This is Qin Wangs idea. He is afraid that due to the uprising, Changans vitality would be severely injured, the political situation would be unstable, it will be powerless to resist Xielis hearing-the-wind-arriving-quickly army. Wanwan asked, Are your men all present? Kou Zhong said, I told them to return to Hanzhong to await orders, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings. Wanwan spoke in displeasure, You are too reckless! How could you underestimate Li Jiancheng? He has Yin Zuwen and Zhao Deyan nning and preparing behind him, so that now you want to counterattack, you have the heart butck the power. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, If tomorrow Liao Kongs warning to Li Yuan is not effective, we have no choice but to take Li Shimin away from the Hong Yi Pce, and then try to arrange for his family members and subordinates to leave via the treasure house. This is the worst scenario; I hope that the situation will not develop to this stage. Shaking her head, Wanwan said, That is impossible, you can never aplish it. Kou Zhong said, I already thought about it until my head ache and swell up, so I dont want to take trouble to use my brains anymore, let everything depends on Laotianyes will and decree. After a short pause, he asked her, Is there any way to contact you, Wan Da Xiaojie? Wanwan said, I will look for you. Ay! Kou Zhong, you and Ziling should just go! The situation in Changan is no longer under your control. If you leave, perhaps you might save Li Shimins life instead, because he still has great value of being useful. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, Nobody understands ones son better than his father [idiom], Li Yuan should understand that his clumsy handling technique of being generous to that and being unkind to this has broken his sons heart. Even if Li Shimin did not have the heart to be a king on the outside before, he should change his mind now. Ziling and I are both men who talk about Jianghus yiqi, about dying without regret [idiom from Analects]. We will stay here until thest moment. If Li Shimin is killed, we will kill our way out of Changan. The day I am returning to Guanzhong will be the day when the Li Family will perish. Wanwan showed a thinking-deeply-with-rapt-attention look, after half a day, she spoke with tranquil tone, Whether Liao Kongs warning will take effect or not, we will find out tomorrow. Shi Qingxuan sat extremely quietly on the wooden steps outside the exquisite abode, her hand propping her chin, her elbow resting on her knee, she looked up at the moon in the sky. She appeared to be entranced, as if totally oblivious that Xu Ziling wasing toward her. Beautiful image of a woman entered his eyes, an unstoppable feeling of happiness welled up from the bottom of Xu Zilings heart, spreading across his body like a warm current, his love toward this touching woman was no longer flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in theke [idiom: an unrealistic rosy view], but was iparably real and could be touched. Her manner and expression had some kind of sacred and invible taste, so that he did not dare to disturb, he only dared to sit extremely quietly by her side, and let out a light sigh. Shi Qingxuan still did not look at him, her cherry lips released a soft voice, Xu Ziling! Is it youing here? Xu Ziling nearly did not know how to answer, he clumsily said, Thats right! Xu Ziling ising here. Shi Qingxuan still maintained her original immortal disposition and charming attitude, she said, You came across something that did not go ording to your wishes today? Why is the sound of your footsteps so heavy? Did you fight with someone just now? Qingxuan heard noises! Xu Ziling could not help stealing a nce at her face. She looked to be in particrly deep emotion, looking pensive, making Xu Ziling think of the deep darkness of the starry sky, the creek and the waterfall at the You Lin Xiao Gu. Although it was a different situation now, but because of her existence, everything turned into dreamlike illusion, dreamlike intoxicating sweetness, touching the heartstrings. Under such circumstances, how could he still have the leisurely mood to think about anything else outside of her? Shi Feixuans deep love was like memories that happened in thest cycle of reincarnation. Since setting foot in Changan this morning, he has been drawn into the wave of deceit, cloud of craftiness [idiom: turbulent] struggle in the city, pitting himself against various power that could be rated as the most powerful in the present age. Any mistake would all result in being caught in and consigned to eternal damnation circumstances, making his whole person like a taut bowstring. But at this moment, he waspletely rxed, not knowing when, where and what life he was in. Shi Qingxuans voice whispered in low voice by his ear, Xu Ziling! Can Qingxuan ask you a question? In the bursts of night breeze, Xu Ziling was bursting with joy, he nodded and said, Xu Ziling is listening with respectful attention. Shi Qingxuan was still looking up at the night sky; as if she was muttering to herself, she asked, What is happiness? Being asked that question, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck and unable to reply. It was like asking what is love? Perhaps no one is able to give a definite answer. That was one of the unresolved questions since the ancient times. In fact, he never thought about what happiness is all about. Happiness is purely one kind of a feeling. Xu Ziling stared nkly at her for half a day, slowly, word by word, he said, I still think that happiness should be like this, with Qingxuan by my side. Shi Qingxuan was still unwilling to meet his gaze, she spoke softly, Qingxuan used to think that when you go to bed every night, you dont have any troubles in your heart, and you are not afraid of the tomorrow after you wake up - that is happiness. However, I now think that this way of thinking about this happiness has changed! My happiness is you, this kaizi [triumphant kid; dictionary says its ng for rich, good-looking guy]. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, Qingxuan! Shi Qingxuan finally withdrew her gaze to look at him, Pfft! giggling tenderly, she said, Isnt it fun? She then lowered her head and spoke in a low voice, For Qingxuan, you are a weird person, a mystery that no one can solve, and your temperament is very big! But when I feel that you are like a riddle, Qingxuan also know that it will be difficult to extricate myself, because love is precisely a riddle. Even a poet who knows how topose an ode to praise love the most, the most talented and intelligent sage, still cannot understand the secret of love. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck, momentarily he was speechless. He had never thought that Shi Qingxuan would look at him in this way, but he knew clearly that she was opening herself up without concealing anything, letting him share the profound mystery inside her heart. It was precisely this kind of artistic mood and attitude of the heart that was different from ordinary people that enabled her to y such a touching, immortal tune and wonderful rhyme. Shi Qingxuan called in low voice, What is kaizi thinking about? Xu Ziling blurted out, Im thinking of you. Not letting him off easily, Shi Qingxuan coquettishly said, You are not being honest again, are you thinking about things that are bothering you? The load on his mind being aroused, it was like a basin of cold water being poured on his head, Xu Ziling woke up from the deepest, the sweetest dream, and returning to the cruel and dangerous real world. The sound of insects assaulted his ears from four sides, eight directions. Xu Ziling stared deeply at her, ten thousand fathoms heroic feeling, and the fighting spirit that no one could change - welled up in his heart, because if he shrunk back a little, he would be powerless to protect the flower. Taking a deep breath, he spoke in a firm and advancing-courageously tone, Would Qingxuan be willing to marry me, Xu Ziling, to be my wife? Shi Qingxuans tender body trembled fiercely, Ah! she cried, hanging her head down, the rose-tinted color of the sunset sky rose up on her jade cheeks, bright red blush shot straight through the roots of her ears, obviously her fragrant heart was in great chaos, she was caught off guard. Xu Ziling was about to pursue further, Shi Qingxuan reached out to put her fingers on his lips, she met his gaze, unable to contain her joy, mixed with bashfulness, she said, If I dont marry you, whom should I marry? Idiot! Do you still have to ask? Kou Zhong returning to Hua E Lou, Shen Luoyan was talking with Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai, two men at the round table in the corner of the main hall downstairs, leaning against theke. Kou Zhong sat down and said, I hope there is no more bad news. Casting a sidelong nce at him, Shen Luoyan said, Isnt it bad enough? Kou Zhong sighed and asked, How is the situation? Shen Luoyan replied, The way Huangshang handled of this matter was too unfair, it aroused great indignation from the Heavenly Policy Mansion people, from top to bottom. The various generals of Tian Ce Fu, headed by Li Jing, apanied Qin Wang to the Hong Yi Pce, vowing to protect Qin Wang to the death. Kou Zhong asked, Any movement on Li Yuan, that old fellows side? Shen Luoyan replied, On Huangshangs side, everything is as usual, but Taizi has assembled the Changlin army at the Changlin Gate, obviously he is harboring unruly intention. After a short pause, she spoke heavily, Im here tonight on behalf of Li Jing and the others, officers and soldiers of the Tian Ce Fu, to ask you a question. Can youunch the uprising tonight? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I am dying to do it too, but the time is not yet ripe, and the enemy is waiting in tight formation. If we rush to raise the troops, we would only fall into the enemys trap. What did your Li Da Jiangjun say? Shen Luoyan nodded and said, I am of the same opinion. Shiji is now based in Luoyang, not in Changan. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, One day Luoyang is still in Li Da Jiangjuns hands, Li Yuan would never dare to deal with Qin Wang with drastic means. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, Then Liao Kongs warning will disy even bigger formidable power. Everyone was stunned, thereupon Kou Zhong exined it in details, he said, We are preparing both hands. If Wen [civil, literature, gentle] does not work, we will use Wu [military, martial arts, hard], at most we will kill our way out of Changan and let Qin Wang proim himself the emperor in Luoyang. Shen Luoyan said, I hope Liao Kong could generate an effect. Hou Xibai said, Someone like Liao Kong, this kind of standing-aloof-from-worldly-affairs outsider, suddenlying with stern warning, it will more or less influence Li Yuans decision, so that he wont dare to act blindly without thinking. Kou Zhong was puzzled, he asked Shen Luoyan, This matter is indeed bizarre beyond belief, based on Qin Wangs astuteness and Dark-Armored Guards loyal elite troops, how could people stealthily put at least a dozen boxes of firearms inside Qing Liang Zhai without anybody knowing about it? Shen Luoyan spoke in distress, If only we could know. Qing Liang Zhai has an underground wine cer, the firearms were stealthily put in there. This should have been done before Qin Wang returned to Changan. At that time, Yeting Pcecked martial art masters, the defense was sloppy, so that Jiancheng had an opportunity that he could exploit. I am going back to report to Qin Wang. After arriving at Hong Yi Pce, Qin Wang stays alone inside his room, he did not say half a word. Kou Zhong said, Tell Qin Wang, I, Kou Zhong will always stand on his side, please rest assured. Book 60 12 – The True Meaning of Love

Book 60 Chapter 12 - The True Meaning of Love

Xu Ziling unleashed his footsteps along the Dragon Lake [Long Chi], striding in the direction of Hua E Lou. Due to Li Yuan withdrawing the patrolling guards in the southern area of ??the Xing Qing Pce, leaving only guards to guard the main gate to show respect to them,ing in and out was convenient, both to them and to the enemy, and naturally Hua E Lou itself had the Flying Cloud Guards elite troops under Wang Xuanshusmand taking turn to guard it. Xu Ziling suddenly stopped. Actually, the rm already went off in his heart early on, only because he did not know whether it was a friend or a foe, he pretended that nothing had happened. Ling Longjiao, wearing nightwalker outfit, flew in front of him, her expression grave, she said, How could you guyse to Changan? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Let me see your right hand palm. Stunned, Ling Longjiao said, Whats so nice about the palm of my hand? You seem to be in a good mood? Xu Ziling mused inwardly that of course my mood is very good, not only that, it was the best, ever. He spoke softly, Trust me, all right? Ling Longjiao hesitated slightly, but finally she spread her palm. Xu Ziling took out the Five-Colored Stone from his bosom and put it in the palm of her hand. Ling Longjiao showed a pleasantly-surprise look of disbelief, her other hand came out naturally, two palms held the Five-Colored Stone in a cherishing manner, her pink face exuded a sacred, clean and beautiful radiance, Ah! crying tenderly, she could not take her gaze away from the Five-Colored Stone. A gratified feeling of returning something to its rightful owner welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he spoke softly, Changan has be a battleground for right and wrong, anything could happen. Its not suitable for Jiao Xiaojie to stay here, Furthermore, dont worry about us. Since we dare toe here, we have the confidence to leave with our lives. This moment Ma Ji is in Changan, and Meiyan Furen cant possibly be resigned to have the Five-Colored Stone snatched by me. The most worrisome is that there is still the devious and intelligent Liexia. Jiao Xiaojie must listen to my advice. Ling Longjiao folded her hands, she held the Five-Colored Stone tightly in her hands. Raising her head to look up at him, she was so touched that tears were gushing out of her eyes, as she spoke in trembling voice, Thank you very much, Ling Longjiao, on behalf of my fellow Cult members, thank Xu Gongzi for your great kindness, great virtue. Bosi Sheng Jiao [Persian Holy Religion] finally has the hope to be united again. Xu Ziling said, This is Laotianyes will, letting me to retrieve the holy stone by pure coincidence. Cautiously and solemnly, Ling Longjiao put the Five-Colored Stone inside her inner pocket, she said, I came to look for you tonight, I never thought of getting the holy stone back. I was hesitating whether to enter the building or not, fortunately I saw youing back. Xu Ziling understood that she was afraid of seeing Kou Zhong and hurt her own heart, hence she hesitated outside the building, only he hated it that in this regard he was unable to help however much he would like to [idiom]. Because of Shang Xiufang, Kou Zhong has been in so much pain that he wanted to kill himself, to destroy himself, how could he add to his emotional distress? Ling Longjiao continued, Dong Xiaojie still cares about you, hence she is very worried about your situation. After Qin Wangs incident, she summoned me to talk, telling me to warn you that Qin Wang wont live for long. You must immediately leave Changan. Instantly Xu Zilings eyebrows were deeply knitted, he asked, Unexpectedly it was Dong Shuni who sent you here? Ling Longjiao said, In the pce, it is difficult to move a single step. If she had not arranged it, I really would not be able toe here. Xu Zilings eyebrows were furrowed even deeper, he asked, How are you going back to the pce then? Suspicious, Ling Longjiao replied, Dong Xiaojies chief imperial guard is waiting for me outside the pce. Somethings wrong? Xu Ziling sighed, I hope Im just being paranoid, but if I didnt guess incorrectly, this should be a trap. The purpose is to get the Five-Colored Stone back from my hand through you. Severely shaken, Ling Longjiao said, Dong Xiaojie shouldnt be that kind of person. Although she is crafty, unruly and willful, she never harms others. Xu Ziling said, I want to be clear about two things first. Number one, how did Dong Xiaojie know that Qin Wangs life is at stake? Before summoning you toe, whom did she meet? Ling Longjiao replied, Qin Wangs affair, it should be Dugu Feng [phoenix] who told her. Before talking to me, as far as I know, they were talking for nearly half a sichen, and then Dong Xiaojie told me to go. Whats the second thing you want to know? Xu Ziling replied, The second thing is, Dong Shunis chief imperial guard, is it the one they call Yan Li? Stunned, Ling Longjiao said, How do you know? Yan Li was appointed by Li Yuan to be in charge of Dong Xiaojies protection only yesterday. Xu Ziling sighed and said, Then my guess will be 80 to 90% urate. This matter is nned by Yang Xuyan behind the scenes. The Five-Colored Stone will eventually be handed over to Liexia. Judging from this, the Dugu Family is already standing on Jiancheng, Yuanjis side. Aghast, Ling Longjiao said, What do I do then? Xu Ziling said decisively, Jiao Xiaojie must leave Changan immediately, we will make the most appropriate arrangements for you. The four men left Xing Qing Pce on foot, they turned into Guangming Street, and strolled towards the Vermillion Bird Gate. They were divided into two groups, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were at the front, Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai took the rear. Ling Longjiao was secretly escorted by the Flying Cloud Guards to the Situ Mansion, and then that very night she was sent out of the city via the secret road of the treasure house overnight, and escaped to faraway ces. Kou Zhong seemed to have a lot on his mind, he sighed and said to Xu Ziling walking beside him, Tonight will be a very long and difficult night. I am really afraid that I will wake up tomorrow and regret my decision toe to Changan. Xu Ziling recalled Shi Qingxuans definition of happiness, he expressed his feelings, Happiness is something that one must strive for, one must, by all means, not lose the will to fight. No matter how things develop, we must remain calm and collected in meeting the contingency, until we can get rid of our troubles, lie down and have a good sleep, furthermore, looking forward to a new day full of hope. Hearing that, Kou Zhong only knew one and understood half; he said in astonishment, You seem to have more confidence than I do? Xu Ziling replied, Since leaving Yangzhou, we have experienced countless howling wind and torrential rains [idiom: difficult, dangerous situation]. Each time, we were always able to stand up after the fall and became stronger than before. This time, although we are facing an unprecedented crisis, but as long as we struggle endlessly as before, in the end we will be able to reverse the situation. The facts will prove that I am right. Obviously Kou Zhongs spirit was aroused, he leaned to his ears and said, Tell me, was it because you have a feeling for the future that you said those words? Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, I wish I could say something against my own convictions to increase your confidence, too bad I cannot bear to lie to you. Kou Zhongughed and said, Just admit it honestly! I dare say that you yourself do not know whether it was a premonition of the future or excessive optimism? Therefore, we have at least 50% chance. Ay! His grannys bear, as long as there is a sliver of hope, I am already perfectly contented, not to mention we have fifty-fifty chance. Ha! I feel much better now! And then he suddenly stopped, so that Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai following behind them, listening to their conversation - almost bump into him. Hou Xibai muttered, Those with less skill shouldnt follow you, this fellow, too closely. Kou Zhong reached back to put his hand on Hou Xibais shoulder, he said, Lets go find someone to vent our bird anger first. Seeing him turning into a side street, the other three were unable to make any sense of the matter. Ba Fenghan protested, The one we are going to see now is Fu Cailin, you seem to be heading in the wrong direction? Kou Zhongughed and said, It wont take much time. Gentlemen, brothers, can you give me some of your precious time? The three were helpless, plus Hou Xibai was being detained by him, they had no choice but to follow him. At the northwest entrance of the East Market, there was a parked carriage, more than a dozen imperial guards under Yan Lis leadership had been waiting impatiently. When they saw Kou Zhong, four men suddenly appear, none did not show bewildered, unsure expression. The East Market had already closed a sichen ago, every house was closed. This segment of the bustling street, which was buzzing with activity during the day, was as quiet as a ghost domain, multiplying the four mens momentum as they came straight to pursue them. Kou Zhong purposedly opened wide the outer robe that Chuchu sewed for him, revealing the Moon in the Well hidden inside;ughing aloud, he said, Unexpectedly we areing across Yan Shiwei Zhang [Chief Imperial Bodyguard], what a coincidence! En Garde! Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Hou Xibai finally understood that Kou Zhongs so-called vent bird anger was to look for Yan Li as a sacrificial banner, Wonderful! they cried inwardly, because no matter what Yan Li suffered, if it was not fatal, then his limbs would be maimed - they were certain that he would have no choice but to swallow this resentment, he would not dare to bring it out into the open. Otherwise, how would he exin to Li Yuan that he was not on duty in the pce, buting here to blow his air? A person has a name, a tree has a shadow; when Kou Zhong said En Garde!, everybody, Yan Li included, none was not shocked. One after another they drew the weapons that they carried. Qiang! This moment Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well left its scabbard, the man followed the saber, the three-zhang distance suddenly vanished, the saber light filling the air sprinkling toward Yan Li and the others. Strangely, except for Yan Li, one person who was still rooted on the spot, the other imperial guards retreated one after another in an extremely sorry state. Xu Ziling, three men praised secretly; they were not praising Kou Zhong, but Yan Li, because the most formidable part of Kou Zhongs saber strike was what is true and what is false was difficult to distinguish. The saber qi shrouded every single one of the enemies, making every one of the enemies think that he was the first to bear the brunt. Only Yan Li, one person could see through what is true and what is false of this move, knowing that he must not retreat. Yan Li roared, thence made a circle in the air, suddenly thence moved as if it was a stick, without-head-without-brain attacked Kou Zhong swiftly, the move exceeded all expectations. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Turns out it is just a stick! The saber light suddenly held back, the Moon on the Well moved up at an angle to block, the tip of the saber hit the spearhead. Qiang! Yan Lis entire body shook violently, thence was pulled back, followed by Ceng! Ceng! he moved his legs two steps back. Kou Zhong raised his saber midair, lightning fast, it shed down in the middle, with ample might, abundant with impossible-to-resist courage. The other imperial guards were intimidated by the saber qi, unexpectedly no one dared to lend a hand to help Yan Li. It is thus clear that this sabers swiftness and fierceness was overwhelming. Yan Li was outstanding as well, he fell back half a step, and changed his posture to holding thence with both hands and charged up at an angle, taking advantage of the length of thence, wanting to defeat Kou Zhongs must-kill saber strike. Kou Zhongughed in delight, unexpectedly he changed move midway, from hacking straight to turning and shing horizontally, without the slightest bit of trace of hatchet and chisel, everything was in line with nature and natural changes, the saber technique indeed has reached the state of perfection. Immediately Yan Li fell into an extremely difficult situation, promptly he changed his move to deal with it. Dang! Yan Li let out a muffled grunt, he staggered across and tumbled down in utter defeat. If Kou Zhong followed up with another saber strike, it could be guaranteed that his blood would be sshed. Qiang! The Moon in the Well returned to its scabbard. Calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong tidied up his robes, his qi steady, his spirit rxed, as if he had not fought at all. Looking at the struggling-to-stand-up-steadily Yan Li, heughed and said, Please forgive my offense! Please forgive my offense! But to be able to experience Yan Xiongs brilliance, it is still worth offending Yan Xiong. Actually, Xiaodi meant well, I came to tell Yan Xiong that you dont have to painstakingly wait for Jiao Xiaojie. If Dong Guifei wants her, please tell her toe to me, Kou Zhong! Ha! Lets go! Arriving at the Vermilion Bird Gate, unexpectedly Wei Gonggong was waiting respectfully for their good-selves to take them to the Ling Yan Pavilion inside the Taiji Pce. Feeling sorry to inconvenience him, Kou Zhong said, How could we dare to trouble Wei Gonggong in everything, you could have just sent any little Gonggong [reminder: a term to address eunuch], it should be all right, we are ustomed to acting casual! Wei Gonggong was exchanging some pleasantries with his old acquaintance, Hou Xibai, hearing that, he respectfully replied, This is Huangshangs decree, to show Huangshangs respect for Shaoshuai. We, as ves, are used to working hard! Thank you Shaoshuai for showing care. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Gonggong must be the one who sleeps the least in the pce. Wei Gonggong said, Xiaoren never sleeps more than two sichen every night. One time I tried not to close my eyes for five consecutive days. Kou Zhong said, Gonggongs power is deeper than mine. If I havent slept for two days, I will definitely not be able to open my eyelids. Wei Gonggong lowered his head, the refined light in his pair of eyes shing but disappeared instantly, obviously he was enraged by Kou Zhong, only he restrained himself and did not express it. He spoke in a low voice, How could Xiaoren dare topare with Shaoshuai? Kou Zhongughed aloud and walked ahead. In the middle of the night, the forbidden pce was tranquil and solemn, with only the sound of drum marking the night watches and the footsteps of patrolling guards echoing across the vast area of ??the imperial city. With eight imperial guards ahead and behind, carryingnterns to illuminate the road, they walked along the Heavenly Street, straight to the traversing square. Xu Zilings mind, however, was bound to Shi Qingxuan. This beauty had enough power to make him forget everything, to be fullymitted, and to forget the remaining pain due to Shi Feixuans departure. Shi Qingxuans love toward him was without any reservation, she yed with him wittily, even teasing him from time to time, embarrassing him, so that their rtionship was brimming with lively fun. What exactly is the love between a man and a woman? That is not important; what is important is that when he was with her, time has always been too short. It felt like an instant and then, although he was broken-hearted at having to leave, it was time for him to bid farewell. He could touch her, kiss her, he could indulge in the sweet and intoxicating taste, to let herfort his lonely heart, or to let her open her heartpletely, so that two lonely people would no longer be lonely. In this callous world full of struggle, hypocrisy and hatred, if he was able to have a taste of the simple and happy future from her, they might be the best couple on earth. Life had taken him this far, what is there to regret? Happiness had alreadye into the hollow of his palm, and his happiness was linked to the suffering and happiness, the honor and disgrace of all the people of the world, therefore, no matter how difficult and hard-pressed he was, he would press on for others and for himself until happiness and peace arrived. Kou Zhong stopped. Xu Ziling was awakened from the intoxication and found that he had arrived at the entrance of the Ling Yan Pavilion. Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin, what kind of person he was, actually? A whiff of fresh and clean fragrance permeated out of the quiet, fast-asleep Ling Yan Pavilion, assaulting their sensitive nostrils. Book 60 13 – Grandmaster Yi Jian

Book 60 Chapter 13 - Grandmaster Yi Jian

Hou Xibai tilted his head upward to sniff, he said, Its the scent of agarwood [Chinese eaglewood/Aquria agallocha]. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, I have been to Chen Xiang [agarwood] Pavilion today, the smell is different. Ba Fenghan said with a sneer, At the Xing Qing Pces Chen Xiang pavilion you can only smell the fragrance of peony flowers, where did the agarwoode from? The imperial bodyguards at a door listened to them discussing the fragranceing out of Ling Yan Pavilion, everybody revealed a nk expression, because they did not smell any fragrance. Wei Gonggong said, Someonesing! Hearing that, the four men looked into the pavilion, but they did not see any movement. Suddenly, two dots of light appeared, two women wearing in clothes, carryingnterns, elegant and supple, with graceful bearing, appeared from the depths of the forest path. Kou Zhong and the others shivered in fear, knowing that Wei Gonggong was revealing his skill. Although they were talking because of the scent and thus were distracted, obviously in term of internal schools sense of hearing Wei Gonggong was a notch higher than them, which made them feel that Wei Gonggongs skill was hidden in secret and was not revealed, deep and unmeasurable, so that they really need to re-estimate. The in-clothed girls gradually approached. Under the illumination of the twonterns, they were shrouded in a halo. From headgear to shoes, it was all spotlessly white;bined with their beautiful flowery countenance, immediately the Ling Yan Pavilion was transformed into the world of the immortals on the earth. Kou Zhong seized this opportunity to tell Wei Gonggong, We might have to stay all night long tonight, no need for Gonggong to wait for us here. Evidently Wei Gonggongs original idea was to apany them to see Fu Cailin so that he could report to Li Yuan, but since Kou Zhong said so, he had no choice but to nod his head to agree, Kou Zhong pushed him that he had no way out. When the two women came to the door, they bowed to everyone to show their respect in a uniform movement, and then in their delicate and beautiful voices they spoke a string of Gaoli words that they did not understand. They hurriedly returned the salute. Kou Zhong said, I wonder if two Jiejie [older sister] understand Hannguage? The two women smiled and shook their heads, indicating that they did not understand what he was saying. They only signaled them with their hands to ask them toe inside, and then they turned around to show the way. Kou Zhong waved goodbye to Wei Gonggong, and took the lead the run behind the two women. Xu Ziling and others hurriedly followed. Ling Yan Pavilion in the moonlit night had a different ambience, which made people feel that the architect worked hard to focus on the spring and skillfully used the brilliant technique of borrowing scenery. As a garden pavilion, it gave people the intoxicating sense of even though it was man-made, it was like designed by the heaven. From a distance, the pavilions appeared and disappeared among the trees, like a mirage, hidden from view, with long bridges and small streams, rockeries, rock gardens and ingenious stones, wintersweet [Chimonanthus praecox], cold hardy banana [Musa basjoo], wisterias, and osmanthus flowers, arranged in the garden plot with utmost care, elegant and wild, appropriate to the asion, charming and enchanting. On the other side of the main buildingplex, there was a faint sound of singing and music, which made peoples heart and spirit yearning, wanting to speed up their pace to see what happened there. Too bad the two women were still leading the way at the front, carrying thentern, neither slow nor quick, so they had no choice but to be patient and came to the bridge where they met Liexia this morning. Suddenly they saw Fu Junyu, wearing in white clothes, standing at the head of the bridge. Fu Junyu said a few words to the two women, the two women epted the order and left on their own. Fu Junyus expression cold, she swept her gaze over at Ba Fenghan, finally her eyes fell on Kou Zhong, she said, Xiuning Gongzhu hase to see Xiufang Dajia, to ask her to pass on her message to you. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong asked, What did she say? Fu Junyu spoke indifferently, Xiuning Gongzhu is asking you to find a way to save her Er Wang Xiongs life. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Xiufang, she Fu Junyu sighed and said, Xiufang Dajia is afraid that there will be a scene she doesnt want to see in the night meeting in the Ling Yan Pavilion tonight, hence she deliberately avoided it. Ay! Did you see how bad the situation you created? Kou Zhong could only respond with a wry smile, hiding the feeing-as-if-having-his- heart-cut-out [idiom] pain in his heart, not only because of Shang Xiufang, but also because of Li Xiuning and Li Yuans heartless treatment of Li Shimin, which must have broken Li Xiunings heart, while he himself, until to this moment, still did not have the full confidence that he could reverse Li Shimins misfortune. Hanging her head low, Fu Junyu spoke in a low voice, Shizun is waiting for you,e with me! Kou Zhong struggled hard to rouse his spirit, he ran after her and crossed the bridge side-by-side with her on her left; he said, Will Liexia, that kid also attend? Fu Junyu said, Am I not vexed enough? How could I let him add fuel to the fire? Kou Zhong said, It should not be that bad, right? Xiao Ling and I not only look into our heart, no shame [idiom: have a clear conscience], but also have the sincerity to split open metal and stone. Fu Junyu sighed again, but she was silent and did not say anything, as she led them rounding around the corridor, the passage north of the pavilion, entering deep into the buildingplex. Walking behind them, Xu Ziling nudged Ba Fenghan, telling him to chase forward to talk to Fu Junyu. At first Ba Fenghan shook his head resolutely, but after Xu Ziling pushed him harder twice, he finally softened, nodded slightly, but was still hesitating. Xu Ziling stretched his hand forward, while generating a stream of pulling force. Kou Zhong responded to the force and understood what he wanted; he hurriedly fell back. At the same time, Xu Ziling leaned close to Ba Fenghan, focused his voice into a thread and sent it into his ears, saying, Ask her to have breakfast with you at Fu Ju Lou of the West Market at chen hour [7-9 am] tomorrow. Ba Fenghan shook his head with a wry smile, he rushed two steps forward, and spoke humbly in low voice, Can I have a word with Junyu? Fu Junyus tender body trembled slightly, but the tone of her voice was very cold, she said, Is now the right time? Ba Fenghan was about to beat the return drum [idiom: retreat], Xu Ziling poked his waist lightly with a wisp of finger wind. He had no choice but to thicken his face and said, In that case, how about I wait respectfully for Junyu at Fu Ju Lou of the West Market tomorrow morning at chen hour? Fu Junyu acted as if she did not hear him, she continued walking slowly at the front. Rounding the long corridor, the vast Ling Yan Chi [lit. soaring smoke pondke] appeared before their eyes, in terms of both scenery and atmosphere, the four men could only stare nkly. Flying pavilion flowing cinnabar, deep green pine and dripping bluish-green. Ling Yan Pavilion was not just one pavilion, but a buildingplex built around the Ling Yan Pond. Each building [jianzhu - construction/building] was surrounded by lou [multi-story building], dian [pce hall], ting [pavilion], and ge [also pavilion, usually two-storied]; there was scenery within scenery, old pine trees were nted everywhere by the Ling Yan Pond. The main pavilion [ge] was located south of the pond, a two-storied wooden construction, with vermillion doors and cinnabar windows, the flying eaves lining up the roof [cornices], painted columns and carved beams, elegant and tall, an out of the ordinary grandeur. Kou Zhong and the others strolled along the long corridor through the garden to the west of the main pavilion, straight toward the Ling Yan Pond. The arch stone bridge connecting the pavilion and terrace in the middle of the pond had a unique shape. From the south end to the north end, there were small arches,rge arches, alsorge arches that were connected to small arches. The small arch and therge arch at either end formed a joint arch, brimming with rhythm and cadence feeling. On the bridge floor, each side had fifteen observation pirs, the carvings were exquisite. The whole bridge reached directly to the center of theke, looking like a shortcut to the paradise [lit. fairnd] on the other shore [paramita in Buddhism]. Ling Yan Pavilions garden design was outsidemon practice, the pond water tributary winding around and between thendscape and buildings and pavilions, bing like a stream, bing like a spring. The waterfront corridor was connected inside and outside through the windows, so that the view of thendscape was not obstructed. The bluish-green ripples of the mainke reflected the shadows of the trees, the flowers, the clouds, and the moon. Along the flowing stream, there were ripples caused by swimming fish, producing a blurry picture that was both real and illusory. The buildings, pavilions, and Ling Yan Pond providing scenery to each other, connected by corridors and bridges from end to end, forming an indivisible whole. In just such andscape, three colorednterns were hung on each of the four corners of the square pavilion in the middle of the pond. The tform next to the pavilion facing the pond was covered with thick and soft, pure-white carpet, several dozen zhang long, forming arge carpet, transforming the cold and hard brick tform into a cozy cefortable enough to sit or lie down, on the carpet, there were giant putuan, which could be used as pillows or to lean on, so that people felt that once they lie down, they would fall asleep and would not want to get up. More than a dozen Gaoli beauties in in clothes, either sitting or lying down, or softly ying musical instruments, or singing in a low voice, adorned the strange world in the middle of theke with beauty, life and fragrance, multiplying the unfathomably mysterious atmosphere of the moonlit night. Inside the pavilion, on top of the round stone table, there was arge copper burner, agarwood smoke was rising from the stove, slowly wafting through the air, enveloping the pavilion with haze like a light gauze, the fragrance permeated the air all around. But what attracted the four mens attention was the sitting-on-the-pillow, his-long-hair-draped-over-his-shoulders, wearing-white-clothes man, looking up at the starry sky. Although because he had his back against them hence they could not see his face, everybody could still feel from his immovable posture like a boulder that he had special affection toward the night sky. Yi Jian Dashi Fu Cailin. Fu Junyus feet did not stop, she led them straight to the tform in the middle of the pond. She stopped outside the thick and soft white carpet and said, Reporting to Shizun, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, are asking for an audience. It was as if Fu Cailin did not hear Fu Junyus words, he waspletely without any reaction, Fu Junyu was silent and did not speak either. The four exchanged nces, they had the same feeling that Fu Cailins air was bigger than the emperors. However, the crowd of girls, using Gaolinguage, following the music and the drumbeat singing folksong was certainly fascinating, waiting a moment longer would not feel depressing. Fu Junqiang, whom they had not seen for a long time, was leaning on the pillow, lying down on Fu Cailins right side. Among the girls, she was the one closest to Fu Cailin, which showed that Fu Cailin doted on her very much. Moreover, among the girls, her countenance was the most beautiful, only Fu Junyu couldpare with her. What made the four annoyed and amused at the same time was that she did not even cast a nce at them out of the corner of her eyes, she was putting on an air of ignoring thempletely. Even though Fu Cailin was half-sitting, half-lying with his back on them that they were unable to see his build, he was still giving up an unusual impression. On both his left and right, there were two flower vases, filled with the not well-known safflowers [Carthamus tinctorius], so that his image as a whole was filled with the early-spring-mountain-and-fields vor. Even half-lying on the carpet, it could still be seen that his frame was gigantic, yet there was not the slightest impression that he was obese, which gave the white clothes on his body more out of the ordinary awe-inspiring air, which made people did not dare to have a disparaging, underestimating heart. From Fu Cailin to all the girls, everybody was barefooted, they all appeared to be rxed and at ease, carefree andfy. The singing and the music finally stopped, the pleasant lingering effect was still hovering, without dispersing - across the starry sky above the tform. Fu Cailin was still gazing at the night sky, he suddenly said, What is life, who can answer me? Like a long wind, his rich bass voice continuously entered everyones eardrums. Kou Zhong and the others were greatly astonished, wondering whom Fu Cailin was asking? Should they answer? What gave them even more headache was that even Da Luo Jin Xian descended to the world, it would still be difficult for him to provide an answer to this question. More than a dozen bright eyes, Fu Junqiang included, were cast at them, not to mention that Fu Cailin was waiting for one of them to answer. Hou Xibaiughed calmly and stepped out of the crowd. He came to the edge of the carpet where white shoes were spread over an area, he spoke cheerfully, What really is life? Im afraid we need you, the Senior to personally give us pointers. To me, life is like seeds and rhizomes. Although the flowers and leaves that blossom outside are thriving and withered, but the vitality underground willst forever. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan cried, Marvelous! inwardly. The words and ink inside Hou Xibai, this kids belly indeed far surpassed theirs, lucky that he could figure out the answer that was not the answer. Fu Cailin spoke indifferently, Who is speaking? Hou Xibai respectfully said, This kid is Hou Xibai, a poor pedantic who admires Dashi. Kou Zhong and the others were amused inwardly, if Hou Xibai, whose one painting worth a thousand [catties] of gold - was considered a poor pedantic, could there be any schr with riches and honor in the world? Tranquil, Fu Cailin said, Sit down! No need to stand on ceremony! Seeing he had rendered a great merit, Hou Xibai gave them a triumphant wink. Kou Zhong, three men were also happy to pass this barrier without a hitch, they went to the front to see what Fu Cailin really looked like. They were about to take off their shoes, Fu Junyu scolded in low voice, Only Hou Xibai. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan were all stunned and looked at each other, they finally realized that it was Hou Xibai, not them, who passed the test. Slightly displeased, Fu Junyu spoke to Hou Xibai, who did not budge as if his acupoint was sealed, Still have not taken off your boots and found your seat? Hou Xibai shed a helpless wry smile at the three, he nkly stood motionless, showing the yiqi of advancing and retreating together. Fu Cailin said again, What is life? Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, two boys you looked at me I gazed at you, they groaned inwardly. However, the refined light Ba Fenghans pair of eyes ring greatly, his right hand grabbed the hilt of the Stealing-the-Heaven Sword. Book 61 1 – What is life

Book 61 Chapter 1 - What is life

Seeing Ba Fenghans hand on the swords hilt, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were shocked; two pairs of eyes shot a beseeching look at the same time, asking him to be magnanimous, to momentarily hold back his temper. Fu Junyus pretty eyebrows were deeply knitted even more, her pair of eyes was filled with vile expression. Ba Fenghan shook his head and smiled wryly, his hand left the Stealing the Heaven Swords hilt, he spoke heavily, I, Ba Fenghan believe that no one, including Fu Dashi, practically has the ability to make an aloof or ultimate judgment on life. We dont know where it came from, let alone what the oue of life will be? Otherwise, we would be omniscient immortals. Fu Cailin let out a sigh, he spoke tranquilly, An honest remark, sit down! The four men exchanged nces, they began to understand that Fu Cailin was not hoping to get an urate answer, but was just using this as a pretext to weigh their importance to see if they had the qualifications to be seated. Kou Zhong nudged Xu Ziling lightly, telling him to speak first, implying that he still needed time to think. Xu Ziling collected his mind, pondered with rapt attention for a moment, and said softly, For me, although life is a mystery that no one can solve, it is not without a trace that cannot be found, the trails are hidden within each individual, nevertheless, due to the uncrossable chasm between life and death, in the end it is broken. This is the direction, as well as the destination - that the people in Buddhism and Taoism are striving to pursue. Only by understanding the secret of ones own existence can one have the chance to solve the mystery of life. Fu Cailin said, Is the speaker Xu Ziling? Shi Feixuans jade countenance emerged in Xu Zilings heart, he visualized that the answer could be provided by her immortal heart. Hearing the question, he respectfully replied, It indeed Wanbei [junior]. Fu Cailin spoke softly, The answer is not bad, no wonder Junchuo considered you worthy in her eyes, sit down! Kou Zhong exchanged nces with Xu Ziling, hope appeared in their hearts, because Fu Cailin was not as bad as they imagined. Kou Zhong secretly cried his grannys bear in his heart, and then, throwing caution to the wind, he said, This kids answer definitely cannotpare to Zilings, ay! What can I say? Because this is a question that I dont want to take trouble to, so much so that I am afraid to - ponder about. Life passes in the blink of an eye, yet so long, so insufficient, yet so satisfactory. I often wish that life was just a big dream, and that after waking up, there will be another one, not the absolute darkness and nothingness! This is the awful thought, which also makes people trembling with fear - that turns around in my little head. Fu Cailin was silent for half a day, he finally said, If there is no feeling, how could one speak thus? Sit down! Fu Junyu instructed in a low voice, After taking off your boots, take a seat anywhere and sit down, no need to stand on ceremony, as long as it isfortable. Ba Fenghan shook his head with a wry smile. Seeing the other three were so obedient, he had no choice but to follow suit. Kou Zhong was the first to set foot on the white carpet, he cast his gaze first toward Fu Junqiang, half-reclining on the pillow at the head position on Fu Cailins lower right, disying charming attitude. Immediately Fu Junqiang knew something was not right, her almond eyes grew big, revealing a strong expression of protest. Kou Zhong grinned and came to her side. Unexpectedly hey down only two or three chi apart, to shar the same big putuan with her, he even called, Jiang Yi, how are you? Ignoring Fu Junqiangs angry-to-half-dead touching expression, he cast his gaze to the Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin, who was ranked among the three great grandmasters in the world, immediately he stared in awe. Xu Ziling came beside him and sat cross-legged, Hou Xibai found a set of soft pillows diagonally opposite, Ba Fenghan moved to the farthest end from Fu Cailin; he was thest one to take his ce. One after another they cast their gaze toward Fu Cailin. Just like Kou Zhong, they were stunned. Looking at Fu Cailins tall and big and perfect back, hearing his pleasant-to-listen-to voice brimming with exotic charm that could make people willing to obey, coupled with the flowery countenance and charming attitude of the crowd of Gaoli beauties, the four men made an associative connection that he had an outstanding, great, so much so that it was without any blemish - face, however, the fact was just the opposite, Fu Cailin had a strange and ugly appearance that could never be called handsome. He had an unusually narrow face, the five-sense organs on his face [nose, eyes, lips, tongue, ears], none was not a shoring that no one would wish to have; furthermore, they seemed to be crammed together into a pile on his face, making his forehead appeared unusually high, the outside of his slender lower jaw formed a bag, appearing a little bit out of ce and redundant, the curved nose bridge was unusually tall and huge, making his pair of eyes and mouth appeared to be tiny inparison, fortunately his jet-ck hair was long, draping across his two shoulders, offsetting the incongruity between his wide shoulders and narrow face. Otherwise, it would appear even more awkward and weird. This moment, his pair of eyes was closed, as if listening to some kind of celestial rhyme and wonderful melody between the heaven and earth that only his ears could hear. On the tform in the middle of the pond, the crow and peacock made no sound, the Ling Yan Pond was rippling, the breeze was blowing across the vast space enclosed by the gardens and pavilions along thekeshore. Facing such a peculiar individual and various Gaoli beauties with a deep exotic bearing, the four men had long forgotten that not only they were deep inside the Tang Pce, even more so, they were inside the City of Changan, where the clouds of war dominated the current situation of the world, and that the situation was dangerous. Fu Cailin still did not open his pair of slender eyes with deeply sunken and drawn eyelids; he spoke leisurely, Do you guys like the fragrance of agarwood? Hou Xibai came back to his senses, he nodded and said, I have always liked this incense. Fu Cailin sighed lightly and said, The agarwood incensees from agarwood tree. The wood is heavy, dark in color, and the part infected by nt disease is full of resin, so the fragrance is strong. This kind of fragrant wood due to nt disease infection could take the shape of a human or a beast. Of the various shapes, the rarest is the ck agarwood in the shape of a fairy. When the four heard it, they were all emotionally touched. Fu Cailin had an unperfect, almost morbid appearance, yet the owner of this face created a perfect Yijian sword technique, and pursued perfection in everything. Hou Xibai chanted, Deep water-smoke [shredded tobo for water pipes] rising in spirals, the cries of the crow forming the night scenery. Hibiscus waves on the curved pond, white jade waistline is cold. The singing voice swirled and lingered in the night sky, winding around the moon without dispersing. Hearing that, not only the crowd of girls were fascinated, Fu Cailin was also emotionally moved; he said, Good singing! Finally, he opened his eyes to look at Hou Xibai. The four were staring nkly again. The five sense organs, which were originally, because opened or closed, they were crowded together and appeared cramped and out of proportion, unexpectedly all of a sudden bing like a curled person stretching out the four limbs of his body to be a tall and strongly built man, the entire face immediately like shedding its mortal body and exchanging its bones, suddenly be whole. Although the nose was still the same nose, the mouth was still the same mouth, the eyes were still narrow and long, the forehead was high and the chin was more oriented, but this moment they came together and no longer looked ugly, making people feel that the boundary between the extremely beautiful and the extremely ugly not only could be blurred, but could also be surpassed. And the biggest contributor to this effect must be a pair of eyeballs inside the eye sockets, which was as agile as the immortals, like the brightest stars in the night sky, embedded in the matching long eyes, like seamless heavenly clothes. Fu Cailin seemed to have juste alive at this time, his eyes fell on Kou Zhongs face, who was just a pillow away from Fu Junqiang, he spoke indifferently, I like agarwood, not just because of its fragrance, but because it reminds me of the greatest gift in life on the earth; would Shaoshuai like to guess it? The clue lies in chenxiang [agarwood], two characters. A feeling like a childs admiration welled up in Xu Zilings heart, not only because Fu Cailin was Fu Junchuos shizun [revered master], but also because Fu Cailins pair of eyes flickered with the eternal, profound and infinite, reluctant-to-part vigor for life. Since his debut, this was the first time he hade across such a character. Kou Zhong, however, cried, Not good! inwardly. Turned out Fu Cailin loved to y quiz games this much; but it was always better than moving a saber and moving a spear. The problem was the consequences if he could not answer or if he answered incorrectly, whether he would be out of the game. He hastily said, Dashi must never, ever call me Shaoshuai. Speaking about rtionship hey! Noticing Fu Junyu, who was sitting not far from Hou Xibai, staring fiercely at him, he promptly changed his mouth; he said, Im just a junior [orig. houjin xiaobei, lit. enteringter, little generation; both mean younger generation. As I mentioned before, if any word had synonyms, Huang Yi would use as many as he could.], just call me Xiao Zhong. Ha! Chenxiang, chenxiang, what did it remind me of? Casting his gaze at Fu Junqiang by his side, he got sudden inspiration,ughing aloud, he said, Of course it reminds me of a beauty like Qiang Yi! People say girls are sweet-smelling [chenxiang, lit. deep/heavy fragrance]! Fu Junqiang puffed out her cheeks and said angrily, If you dare to call Qiang Yi again, I will cut off your stinky head and see how you are going to b in the future? Smiling mischievously, Kou Zhong said, Qiang Dajie [big sister], calm down. He cast his gaze at Hou Xibai again, seeing him revealing favorable expression, his confidence doubled, he respectfully asked Fu Cailin, who was sitting due south, Is this kids answer correct? Fu Cailin did not seem to care about the quarrel between Fu Junqiang and Kou Zhong at all, he smiled tranquilly and said, Any question can have different answers, Shaoshuais straightforward answer makes me happy, a beautiful woman is surely a gift [charity out of pity] from Heaven to men. Turning to Xu Ziling sitting at Kou Zhongs lower left, he said, What are you thinking when you hear the word chenxiang? Xu Ziling thought that the question and answer was over, he was thinking about the difference between the three great grandmasters, such as Ning Daoqis indifference to fame or gain, letting things take their own course [Daoist doctrine of inaction], Bi Xuans advocacy of military force and war, then Fu Cailin must be in the pursuit of, to learn through experience, and was curios of - life. Hearing the question, he was startled, and then was silent for a moment. A thought came to his mind, he replied, To have agarwood, we must have water. I wonder if Dashi is thinking about water? Beyond the four mens expectation, Fu Cailins pair of eyes emitted deep sorrow, he looked up at the night sky, the tone of his voice brimming with pain, he said, Both of you are people with outstanding innate talent, so I can almost see the scene when Junchuo came across you in the past. Feigning anger coquettishly, Fu Junqiang said, Shizun! It was such a touching demeanor of a spoiled little girl that did not get what she wanted. Fu Cailin evoking the load in their mind, at once Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt their spirit wounded their soul broken, they were speechless; they had no time to bother about Fu Junqiangs displeasure even more. Fu Cailin did not seem to hear Fu Junqiangs expression of displeasure either, he spoke slowly, Water is the source of life, the foundation of life, the miracle that can make people praise without reservation. If water is the cause, flowers are the result. Like the Jin Peng Lai [golden daisy goosefoot, Asteraceae Chenopodium album (please understand, I am not a botanist, these are all from the dictionary)] by my side, in the mountain and fields in early spring, it is the first to bloom, like clumps of red clouds of the beautiful nature. Beautiful women are the most glorious flower. The daytime belongs to fire, the nighttime is the waters world. Because agarwoods specific gravity exceeds the water, when ced in water, it will sink, hence it is called sinking fragrance [chenxiang, see above]; if there is no water, how could agarwoode to be? Hou Xibai raised his head and took a deep breath of the fragrance, his heart and spirit intoxicated, he said, Whatever the name of the fragrance, they are all so touching; Su Yan Si Nuan Jiang Ye Xiang [no idea, lit. white/in smoke, thinking about warmth, falling leaf fragrance], good name! Good name! Even Ba Fenghan greatly felt that it was very fortunate that Hou Xibai came along in time, because among the four, Hou Xibais temperament was the closest to Fu Cailins, as if they were the same type of people, while he himself was the exact opposite. Fu Cailin looked at Hou Xibai, his eyes returned to the mysterious, unfathomable spirited me, he nodded slightly. Turning to the sitting-at-the-other-edge-of-the-carpet, his-back-leaning-against-the-stone-railing-of-the-tform, facing-him-from-a-distance, looking-at-him-with-his-not-abnormal-eyes Ba Fenghan, he said, Since knowing that ye all wereing to Changan, Junqiang has been saying one thing in my ear, while Junyu is saying another thing in my other ear. For this reason, the two sisters are still not talking to each other, as ipatible as fire and water. It is thus clear that differences in the world give birth to fighting, give birth to things that are difficult for mankind to avoid. What is Ba Fenghans view on this? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that Fu Junyu had done her best to speak good things on their behalf, they cast a grateful look at her, but Fu Junyu expression was wooden, she hung her head without saying anything. Hou Xibai was feasting his eyes on the beauties; all the Gaoli beauties, everyones demeanor was quiet, as if they enjoyed immensely tonights atmosphere and dialog, only how many of them could understand Hannguage, he wondered. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes shone brightly, he met Fu Cailins extremely intimidating eyes, and said with a calmugh, Just like Dashi said, day is fire and night is water. Day and night, water and fires opposition is precisely the driving force for the development of all things in heaven and earth. As a person, one individual will have limitations. But precisely because of our finitude that we feel infinite; only through the experience of life can we have the fear and cognition of death. Individual is limited, but the expansion can be infinite. This is Ba Fenghans biased view, Dashi please give directions. Not for the monks sake but for the Buddhas sake [idiom: to do something for someone out of deference to someone else]. Due to Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings rtionship with Fu Cailin, for Ba Fenghan, this remark could be considered polite and courteous, but it was still brimming with rebuttal implication. Thest sentence biased view appeared to be humble, it appeared to be worthy of praise even more. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were heart-rmed-guts-palpitating; Fu Cailins words and actions were difficult to predict. They were afraid that one word went wrong, Ba Fenghan would immediately have to endure his Yijian Technique. Fu Junqiang by Kou Zhongs side cursed in a low voice, How could summer bug talk about ice? Humph! What an ignorant guy. These few words should only be heard by the two boys, because it was transmitted to the two using focusing-the-voice-into-a-thread skill, who would have thought that Fu Cailins right ear slightly rose up and opened, and he cast a nce toward Fu Junqiang, showing a look of reproach, before turning his attention to Ba Fenghan again, a hint of smile escaped from the corner of his lips, which gradually expanded like a ripple. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling secretly eximed, Formidable!. Such a listening skill, this was the first time that they encountered. From this, it could be inferred that their Shigongs senses were so acute. No wonder he could use man to y [yi] the sword [jian], and use the sword to y the enemy. Deeply emotional, Fu Cailin looked at the touching night sky with the beautiful moon embedded and suspended in it. His thoughts wandering far away, he pondered aloud, saying, From the finitude of men, you can see infinity, it is already a humans extraordinary view. If one can open the eyes of the soul and prate all greed, anger, confusion, fear, selfish desire, he will be able to see himself and the miracles that surround him. No matter how humble or great, foolish or wise you are, it is a miracle in itself. Life is the pinnacle of the whole existence; of all living things, only human beings have free will, able to reflect and make decisions about their own existence. Life contains both finiteness and infinity, being aware of oneself is the only way leading to the knowledge of his own existence. The existence of every life is in the eternal spark in endless growth and decay, the fragment of the long river of life and fraction of the waves. The four men could not help but follow his example to look at the beautiful night moon, which gave birth to profound feelings. Fu Cailin was recounting the philosophy of life and existence, one kind of world view that was beyond ordinary people. From the dark starry sky, to each de of grass, each tree on the ground, white clouds and flowing water, and the life that exists in it, its own existence is exactly as he said, unimaginable miracles and mysterious secret. Because of their own limitation, men do not know where all thesee from? Where do they go? For most people, their choice is to turn a blind eye, to bury their heads and indulge in the glory of life and disgrace of death of the world, from which they cannot extricate themselves. Only a sage like Fu Cailin was able to, from self-recognition - open his inner eyes, and see the mystery beyond existence. Even Ba Fenghan, listening to his words, showed a pondering expression, momentarily he could not say anything. Fu Cailin continued, Sinceing out of Niangs womb, along with the growth and changes of life, we gradually wake up from the haze, just like waking up from a dream, stepping into another dream that we regard as being awake, following personal preference, choosing different ways of life, so much so that we even ignore the miracles of life. However, in everybodys deepest heart, we all know that blindly pursuing materialistic desires is merely finding joy in sorrows in the midst of having no other choice, which is just wallowing in life. Therefore, oftentimes we feel inadequate, yet clearly there is no other way. This is precisely the situation where we are at this moment. After a short pause, he went on, All my life, I have been seeking for something unknown, because I think that it can bring a deeper meaning to life. When I look at the night sky, or a Jin Peng Lai, or even a touching female, I will feel closer to what I want to pursue. Buddha proposed that everything is empty, in contrast to the helplessness and hope, the pain and happiness - of lifes existence, as a way to be aware of its existence. My interest in religion does not stop there, the meaning of life can only be sought within, what happens outside is just some kind of sense of the inside. Ba Fenghans eyes softened, he looked at Fu Cailin, let out a long sigh, and said, Thank you, Dashi for giving directions. Xu Ziling has been paying attention to Hou Xibai; listening to the discourse, thetter was dumbstruck. He thought that among the four of them, the one who felt the deepest and benefited the most must be Hou Xibai. Both he and Fu Cailin were people who pursued perfection. The difference was in Hou Xibai, he indulged in beauty itself and its appearance, capturing the true appearance of beauty through artistic means; while Fu Cailin pursued the true meaning behind beauty, the boundaries between beauty and ugliness were more due to his superb views and understanding, not because they existed. Kou Zhong heaved a deep sigh and said, Only this moment, tonight, I really understand what it means by everyone has a fully self-sufficient treasure trove hidden deep within himself, which, ording to what Niang passed on to us, you, Shigong said it. Ay! It has been so many years! Surprisingly, Fu Junqiang did not immediatelysh out on him, she only let out a cold snort. Fu Cailins eyes fell on Kou Zhong, he said in astonishment, You guys still consider Junchuo as your Niang? Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief in secret, at least, because Kou Zhong called him Shigong, Fu Cailin did not get angry, whether Fu Cailin took no ount of the past or not, he was still unsure. Because he doubted that Fu Cailin was someone who would never get angry, he could not determine it based on this. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Niangs kindness to us was as heavy as the mountain, in our hearts, she will always be the closest rtive that we respect and love the most. Ay! I hope you, Shigong can understand that we did not kill Yuwen Huaji but let him take his own life instead, there was some other secret trouble within this matter, absolutely not because we have forgotten our roots. Fu Junqiang finally could not hold back, she said angrily, The facts are all there, you still want to argue? Xu Ziling hastily exined, Its like this Fu Cailin raised his hand to cut him off, his expression peaceful, he said, Do you know why I practice swordsmanship? Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings two hearts immediately sank straight down, they cried, Not good! inwardly. A person with such a vivid and extraordinary understanding of life, since he could master exceptional, matchless swordsmanship until his name shook inside and outside the Great Wall - beyond their inability to guess and transcended their thought, they could never be able to guess how he was going to deal with them - even more. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes lit up, he spoke indifferently, I would like to hear the details! Book 61 2 – Hardening the Heart

Book 61 Chapter 2 - Hardening the Heart

Fu Cailin cast his gaze back to the night sky. Using a tranquil tone, devoid of any emotional fluctuations, he said, This is a world full of lunatics and ignorant people. Without enough power, you will be deprived of the right to enjoy the miracle of life. Between nation and nation, it is like this, between people, it is also like this. Our dialogue tonight will end here, and I want to ponder quietly. Seeing that he was asking them to leave, Kou Zhong hurriedly said, Is it possible to allow this kid to say a few more words? Fu Cailin did not look at him, as if he had turned into a motionless stone sculpture; he said, Speak up! But if you want to exin the matter between Junchuo and you, its certainly not necessary! Because I already know what kind of people you are. Kou Zhong did not know whether he should be delighted or disappointed, because he could not figure out how Fu Cailin really see him and Xu Ziling in his heart. He spoke heavily, I can assure you, Shigong, that as long as one day Ziling and I are still alive, we will definitely not let anybody repeat the wicked conduct of Yang Guang in the past, we could be friendly nations, everybody could coexist in peace. Fu Cailin spoke indifferently, What will happen to you in the future? Kou Zhong was almost at a loss for words; he smiled bitterly and said, The biggest threat to Gaoli right now is not us but the Tujue, whose ultimate goal is to expand and to conquer. Only when the Central Earth bes a unified and powerful country can the Tujue be restrained. Isnt the lesson that Yang Guang taught us not painful enough? Moreover, several hundreds of years of chaos of war have greatly harmed our vitality, forcing us to quietly think. Everyone hopes to recover well in the long years toe. No one can predict what will happen in the future, we all hope that Laotianye will be a little bit more sympathetic. The Central Earth longs for peaceful reunification, how could Gaoli be not like that? What I, Kou Zhong am saying, every wordes from my lungs, Fu Dashi, please bequeath your listening ears. Fu Cailin spoke indifferently, I have been thinking about this issue for a long time, so I dont want to spend any more mental and physical efforts in this regard tonight. Tomorrow night at zi hour [11pm - 1am], I am asking Shaoshuais great-self toe again, to let me gain first-hand knowledge of Shaoshuais Moon in the Well one time. I hope it will be another miracle; Junyu, see the visitors out! Stepping on the apricot wood bridge, Kou Zhong could not help asking Fu Junyu, leading the way ahead silently, What is this all about? Fu Junyu halted her steps and said, He likes you. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, He showed clearly that tomorrow night he wants to see my Moon in the Well; you call that he likes us? In that case, Id rather that he hates me. Xu Ziling, three men stopped behind Kou Zhong, among them, Hou Xibai shook his head with a wry smile and said, Whether Fu Dashi is happy or angry, its hard to fathom, we were all having a good conversation, but suddenly he chased the guests away. Fu Junyu slowly turned her tender body around to face the four men. Under the gentle and soft moonlight, her face met the moon, glistening and dazzling, but a little disheartened, she said, I already told you earlier to leave, but to you, loyal advice jars on the ears [idiom], and now you fall into such a plight. Shizun is not going to bother about your and Zilings rtionship with Da Shijie [first martial sister] anymore. The reason is as he said, because he understands what kind of people you are, and also understands why Da Shijie was willing to sacrifice her life for you. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, Since the old grievance has been resolved, why still unwilling to let the matter drop? Fu Junyu looked at Ba Fenghan for the first time, tranquil, she replied, You guys cannot put yourselves in somebody elses shoes. You must look at the whole thing from Shizuns perspective. But I cannot me you, because you dont understand Shizuns situation. Evidently Hou Xibai had a very good impression on Fu Cailin, deeply concerned, he asked, Whats the problem that Dashi finds it difficult to solve? Fu Junyus pair of eyes showed sorrowful expression, she spoke in a low voice, Shizuns age is over one hundred years old, he knows that time is limited, his allocated lifespan is about to arrive. If Shizun leaves, no one will be able to hold back Ge Suwens ambition. Gaolis current situation of Xinluo [Si], Baiji [Baekje], and Gaoli [Goryeo], standing like the three legs of a tripod [fig. bnce of forces] - is melting like ice and breaking like tiles [idiom: disintegrating], the fire of war will spread to every cun of the penins maind; this is the situation that Shizun is unwilling to see the most. However, he can also see that this is the tendency that cant be changed, only after the chaos there can be unity and peace, but this can only happen without foreign intervention. Do you understand what I mean? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Understand a little bit. Therefore, the most ideal situation for you is the Tujue invading the Central ins, causing their feet to sink deep into the mud, and both sides suffer with us, right? More or less, Fu Junyu replied. Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, That is not fair! Cold frost appeared on Fu Junyus pretty face, she spoke heavily, What qualifications do you Han people have to talk about fairness with us? No one in Gaoli can forget the brutal act of Yang Guangs thief army. If it wasnt for Shizun leaving the mountain [of a hermit] to appeal, taking the advantage of the time when the Sui army was busy raping and looting tounchprehensive counterattack, and thus driving away the Sui army, God knows how the situation might develop? For us, any punishment you suffer is well deserved. Xu Ziling was afraid that Hou Xibai would get angry of the reprimand, he interrupted, Yu Yi, please calm down. We did make huge mistakes, but hatred cannot bring peace. The most important thing is that we, both sides can live together peacefully in the future. Fu Junyu sighed and said, You have seen Shizun, you should understand what kind of person he is. The problem is that Shizun unable to see whether the ruler of the Central Earth in the future is not another Yang Guang. If the final victor is not Kou Zhong but the Li Tang, then Li Jiancheng will inherit Li Yuans position. Shizun absolutely has no good opinion on Li Jiancheng. Under this possibility, Shizun would rather let Tujue people and you kill each other, restrain each other. Kou Zhong was at a loss, he asked, Since Shigong has such a view, why not go all out to help me? Instead, he wants to move a saber, move a spear with me, trying to take my little life. Fu Junyu spoke indifferently, Shaoshuai misunderstood! How could Shizun have the heart to take the life of the person who recognizes Da Shijie as your Niang? Judging from his attitude towards you tonight, he has grown fond of you, he wants to make Shaoshuai sound out the difficulties and retreat to avoid defeat tomorrow night, to give up your alliance with Li Yuan, so that you wont be killed by Li Yuan. In the future Central Earth, if you, Kou Zhong, unify the world, you will be able to contain the Tujue and gain enough time for the reunification of Gaoli. Originally I was very worried that he might make his move to your life tonight, but now I dont have this misgiving, because he likes you guys. Kou Zhong said, I will go to Ge Suwen immediately to settle the ount, to take his dog life, so that Shigong will have a peace of mind. Fu Junyu spoke in displeasure, If Shizun wants to kill Ge Suwen, how could Ge Suwen live to this day? With no other choice, Ge Suwen has be the hope of reunifying Gaoli. This kind of thing, only someone who is vicious and merciless on the one hand, but understands grace and power and can put it into effect on the other hand - can aplish it, Ge Suwen is precisely such a person. Shizun was willing to let hime along, it will be a great help to his reputation, which is implicitly supporting him. You must not touch him. Cannot touch him? Kou Zhong blurted out, What if he provokes me? Fu Junyu said coldly, Think about it yourself! Finished speaking, she left quietly, leaving the four men standing at the bridgehead, speechless. Except for Hou Xibai, one after another Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan had received attack and setbacking from all sides, both in their mood and willpower so that they felt it was all a bit unbearable, which gave rise to a feeling of depression that even a steely willpower would find it hard to resist. Advancing towards the outer gate of the Ling Yan Pavilion, Kou Zhong said with a wry smile, I will definitely not be able to sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be even more difficult than today. Even if I could cross the Li Yuan punishing Li Shimin barrier, I wont be able to cross Shigong barrier. Hou Xibai said, Fu Dashi has no intention of killing you, so you can refuse to take up the challenge. Even if you do, losing would not be a big problem. Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, You can think like this, but Shaoshuai definitely cant, because he cannot afford to lose. Currently, the situation in Changan is delicate, Shaoshuai must remain undefeated and powerful, so that he can restrain Li Yuan, while at the same time make those who have the heart to support Li Shimin toe and throw their lot with him. And Fu Cailin making light of traveling a thousand li toe to the Central Earth this time, he shows clearly that it is to raise Gaolis prestige. If Kou Zhong became a schr who does not dare to take up the challenge, or perhaps bing defeated general under Fu Cailins hands, how could he be qualified to be the Heavenly Saber Song Ques sessor? Although Kou Zhong was fully aware that this was the case, hearing Ba Fenghans words, he still could not help feeling worry on top of worries; he heaved a deep sigh. This moment they reached the outer gate, a low-ranked military officer came out to meet them; saluting, he said, Receiving Wei Gonggongs order, Mojiang [lowly general] has prepared the carriage to respectfully take Shaoshuai back to the Xing Qing Pce. Even if Kou Zhong closed his eyes, he would still be able recognize him as Chang He. Wei Gonggong was sending the highest-ranking general on duty in the imperial pce tonight to wait upon them to depart, it seemed to be a bit out of ce. Noticing that Kou Zhong was staring at him, unexpectedly Chang He avoided Kou Zhongs gaze, he lowered his head and said, Shaoshuai, please get in the carriage to take a ride. In Xu Ziling and the others eyes, Chang Hes demeanor did not appear to be peculiar, However, Kou Zhong, who had been through trials and tribtions with him, plus he knew his conduct well - felt that there was shame in his heart. In the end, Chang He must be a person with a conscience; if he was forced by Jiancheng to harm them, he would be med by his own conscience. His thoughts moving in his heart, he took two steps forward, and spoke using the ugly divine doctors tone in low voice, saying, Chang Daren, I am Mo Yixin, I trust that you have been well since west met. Hearing that, Chang Hes countenance changed, he looked at him. Because Chang He entered the gate alone to greet them, plus he was several zhang away from the imperial guards guarding outside the gate, and Chang Hes personal guards in charge of guarding the carriage were even further away, there was no worry that someone in the Tang Armys side would be able to hear them. Kou Zhong said, Chang Xiong can inform Liu Zhenghui Daren that Mo Yixin is back! Chang Hes countenance changed again, it suddenly cleared, it suddenly darkened, suddenly he lowered his head again, yet he did not dare to answer him for even half a word. Kou Zhong did not have the heart to force him, heughed aloud and said, Wei Gonggong is very thoughtful Forgetting his disguise, Chang He urgently said, Dont get in the carriage! Kou Zhong promptly changed his tune, he continued, However, we want to take a night walk in Changan, no need to trouble Chang Daren. Chang He pretended to be startled, he said, This this we will have to follow Shaoshuais intention, but please let Mojiang show the way, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings when encountering patrolling troops. He also spoke in low voice, Dont go back to the pce! By dawn, it should be fine! Kou Zhong was relieved; Chang He was indeed a supremely honorable and righteous person, he became brothers with him not in vain, he could also see that he was unwilling to be exploited by Jiancheng to plot against them, because after Chang He became themander, he should only obey Li Yuans order. From this, it could be inferred that this was just Jiancheng and Yuanjis crafty plots and machinations, it had nothing to do with Li Yuan. Xu Ziling heard the dialogue between the two men clearly, a thought floated in his mind: since Jiancheng and Yuanji were so daring toy out a trap to kill them in secret, naturally they would not be willing to let Li Shimin off. He joined in, We are thinking of going to the Hong Yi Pce to say hello to Qin Wang, we want to trouble Chang Jiangjun to make arrangement. Chang He showed a shocked expression, he wanted to say something but then hesitated. Finally, pretending to be in difficult position, he said, Hong Yi Pce is located ten li or so west of the city, I wonder if Shaoshuai could wait until tomorrow, so that Xiaojiang [little/small general] has time to make proper arrangements. By this time, Kou Zhong was certain that among the imperial guards escorting the carriage, there were Jiancheng and Yuanjis men, hence Chang He was putting on an act, he spoke to let those men hear, so that they could make indirect exnations to Jiancheng and the others. And the reason why Chang He showed such a shocked expression was that he could see through their rtionship with Li Shimin. Furthermore, from his hint, he inferred that Li Shimin was in danger, hence the reason he offered protection. Chang He suddenly revealed a determined look, he signaled him with his eyes first, and then said, Shaoshuai has an order, how could Mojiang dare to disobey? However, it involves the opening of the city gate, Xiaojiang must report to Wei Gonggong. And because of the long distance, it is quite inconvenient, Shaoshuai, please get on the carriage first. He and Kou Zhong were used to working together, he smiled and said, When you enter a vige, follow the local custom [idiom], naturally everything must be done ording to the rules. But frankly, I am really not used to riding in a carriage; I always feel stuffy, how could itpare to riding a horse and galloping in delight? It would be better to let us wait here for Chang Darens news. After Chang He took the order and left, Ba Fenghan asked in heavy voice, By doing this, would you harm Chang He instead? Kou Zhong said, Dont worry! In this day and age, Ke Dazhis side cant possibly reveal that I am Mo Yixin, because that will let Li Jiancheng know that the Tujue have deceived him. Since there is no such clue, plus Chang He received Li Jianchengs support to ascend to themander position, theres no way tonights crafty scheme wont work, Li Jiancheng will only me Laotianye for not cooperating, he cant possibly punish Chang He. Hou Xibai said, Zilings brain is turning so fast, currently, Qin Wang must be Jiancheng, Yuanjis another target of attack besides us; very ruthless! Kou Zhong happily said, So it seems that Li Yuan is still hesitant about how to deal with Li Shimin, otherwise, why would Li Jiancheng take the risk out of desperation to receive heavy me from Li Yuan? Ba Fenghan shook his head and said, As long as the arrangement seeded, which is the ones killing us are the Tujue people, Li Yuan will not be able to do anything to Jiancheng and Yuanji. As for dealing with Li Shimin, Yang Xuyans assassination experience,bined with his skill in the fusion of the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Shi Jing and the Bu Si Yin Fa, and he is attacking while we are not prepared for it, he is not without any chance of sess at all. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This kid is indeed a first-rate muddled egg. Ay! I hope to get to Hong Yi Pce in time, as expected, there wont be any good sleep tonight. His Niangs! They all waited painstakingly for another quarter of an hour, Chang He finally came back, he had his men leading four fine horses, and said happily, Reporting to Shaoshuai, everything is as Shaoshuai indicated, please get on the horse! After galloping out of the imperial city, escorted by Chang He and more than a dozen imperial guards, the four turned right and galloped towards the Jin Guang Gate. The sound of horses hooves broke the tranquility of the night, even more, the sound of drums came from a distance, reminding them that it was the third watch [11pm - 1 am, midnight - which means they went back in time dont ask me, I am just tranting it as is] of the night. Crossing the long bridge spanning the waterway, they arrived outside the Jin Guang Gate. The suspension bridge of the Jin Guang Gate had already been lowered. In addition to the hundred Tang soldiers guarding the gate, there was also a unit of cavalry team of nearly 80 men, waiting respectfully in formation inside and outside the gateway, a big disposition of troops, which was beyond their expectations. A military general urged his horse over to give salute and said, Commander of the city guards, Liu Hongji pays his respect to Shaoshuai, Xu Xiansheng, Ba Xiansheng, and Xibai Gongzi. It was the first time that Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan met him. They knew that he and Yin Kaishan were the two bigmanders, high-ranking military officers of the city guard system, Li Yuans trusted aides. They could not help paying special attention to him. Liu Hongji was tall and thin, with a grizzly ck moustache and a cold look in his eyes, cool-headed expression typical of military personnel, so that people would not doubt that when he received the order to kill and stab the enemy, he would immediately execute it without hesitation; his conviction would not be easily shaken even more. The most particr was the thick ck long eyebrows extended straight to his temples, and the brows were connected at the Yintang [acupoint at the midpoint between the medial ends of the eyebrows] above the bridge of his nose, which increased his heroic, ferocious air even more. Hou Xibaiughed and said, We trouble Liu Dajiang again! Liu Hongji spoke indifferently, Xibai Gongzi is too polite, the responsibility is Hongjis internal duty. Turning to Chang He, he said, Huangshangs order, Shaoshuai will be waited upon by Hongji. Chang Daren, please return to the pce immediately. Chang He was slightly startled, but he did not dare to speak. After apologizing humbly to Kou Zhong and the others, he turned his horses head and went back to the pce with his personal attendants. The four men had already guessed that this matter would rm Li Yuan, this moment Liu Hongji was only verifying their suspicion. Since Kou Zhong was going out of the city to meet Li Shimin, the matter could be big or small, nobody dared to make decision without authority. Even if Li Yuan was sleeping, Wei Gonggong would risk offending the Heavens power to wake him up and let him make the decision. There was also a high possibility that Li Yuan, due to a lot of loads on his mind, has not yet gone to bed at the moment. Now that they have obtained Li Yuans permission to get out of the city, it was obvious that Li Yuan was still unwilling to have a falling out with them, because strictly speaking, one day the two sides have not formally formed an alliance, the Shao Shuai Army and the Great Tang Army were still in a state of war. If Li Yuan did not let Kou Zhong out of the city, Kou Zhong would suspect that he was being ced under house arrest inside the city, the development of the consequences would be catastrophic. Naturally Li Yuan was unhappy about this, but he was helpless against Kou Zhong. Even if he clearly interfered in Li Yuans family matters, unless Li Yuan gave up the alliance, he could only tolerate him for being unbridled. Liu Hongji said, Shaoshuai, please proceed! At the same time, he signaled with his hand, the cavalry awaiting orders at the city gate divided into more than 30 men, leading at the front out of the city. Kou Zhong urged his horse toe to Liu Hongjis, who turned around and waited respectfully - side, he smiled and said, Liu Dajiangjun need not stand on ceremony, how about we ride side by side and chat for a while? Liu Hongjis pair of eyes shot aplicated expression, he hung his head low, and helplessly said, Shaoshuais order, how could Hongji dare to disobey! Escorted by nearly seventy soldiers ahead and behind, the four men galloped out of the city gate, and entered the official road on the open country leading to the west of the city. The lucid and elegant moonlight covering the earth, spreading across the sky, enveloping the mother earth, the night breeze brushing their bodies, it was a different feeling. Kou Zhong urged the horse to ride slowly, he spoke in heavy voice to Liu Hongji, Liu Dajiangjun, do you know why I didnt have the patience to wait until dawn and was in a hurry to meet Qin Wang, to such an extent as to trouble Liu Dajiangjun? The cavalry guards at the front and rear were some distance away from them, hence there was no worry that Liu Hongjis men could hear their conversation. Liu Hongji revealed a hint of bitter and astringent smile, he hung his head down and said, Hongji does not dare to specte. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, The reason is very simple, because I am afraid urgent change might happen suddenly in Changan, Guanzhong people are in a terrible situation [idiom]. If I, Kou Zhong, sit and watch, but remain indifferent, I would be the historys sinner. Liu Hongjis long body shook, he looked at him. Kou Zhong knew that his shocking words had received the desired effect. Meeting his gaze, he said, Dajiangjun must be thinking that I am using frightening words to scare people [idiom], the words not astonishing, people will die endlessly. But the fact is that every word, every sentence came from the bottom of my heart. The situation of the world today is clear, it has be a two-part situation, and the only person in Guanzhong who can make me Kou Zhong have misgivings is only Li Shimin, one person, nobody else. If I, Kou Zhong only seek personal gain, presently I will just sit and watch, but remain indifferent, and tomorrow the Tang master will definitely deprive Qin Wang of military power, or even banish him from the court to a distant location. The alliance between you and us will be meaningless, because I, Kou Zhong will never cooperate with Li Jiancheng and Li Yuanji who collude with the Tujue. Since the Tujue, if Li Shimin is gone and our contract of alliance will be ruining-the-enterprise-for-the-sake-of-one-basketful - will definitely go down south on arge scale, pouncing straight at Changan. With the heart of the troops in Changan being rattled, Dajiangjun is a person who knows the troops, you must know what the result will be? Do you still think I, Kou Zhong, am using frightening words to scare people? Hearing that, Liu Hongjis expression alternated between clear and dark. Finally he hung his head down and said, These words that Shaoshuai said, why dont you put it forward directly to Huangshang? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Because I dont want to die in Changan. Aghast, Liu Hongji looked at him. Book 61 3 – Waiting for Dawn

Book 61 Chapter 3 - Waiting for Dawn

The moment he said the words, I dont want to die in Changan, ten thousand fathoms heroic feeling, no-one-can-change-or-alter staunch fighting spirit welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. All kinds of setbacks and frustrations after he entered Changan were swept clean. This sentence, every word came from the heart, if he was not strong enough, with the fearless spirit of abandoning the saber and forgetting the saber, striving unremittingly in the inferior situation, the consequences would be unimaginable. Only those ruthless enough would be able to survive. This was Ba Fenghans famous saying. At this time and ce, it could not be doubted even more. Following behind them, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Hou Xibai were silent, they did not say anything, but they were of one heart, knowing that Kou Zhong was disying his intimidating charm to this important general in Changan. Liu Hongji stared nkly at the sitting-on-the-horse-back Kou Zhong, he was caught off guard and was left speechless. Kou Zhong grinned; recovering his calm, he said, Please forgive me, Kou Zhong for talking intimately while beingparatively strangers [idiom]. If we dont deal with it properly, the Central Earth will face imminent catastrophe, this is the autumn of the critical situation of whether we are going to exist or perish. For me, Kou Zhong, whether I can ascend to the imperial throne or not, it really is of no importance. The most important thing is that ordinary people who have suffered so much can pass their days in peaceful reunification. In Guanzhong, the one that I admire is only Li Shimin, one person. Therefore, I definitely will not allow him to be fish and meat [fig. victim of oppression]. I will have to trouble Da Jiangjun to report to the Tang master, when we get to the Hong Yi Pce we will not leave again until your Huangshang removes all the punishments that he wants to impose on Qin Wang. Liu Hongjis countenance changed, Shaoshuai! he eximed. The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, the tone of his voice was calm but resolute, he spoke indifferently, I have made up my mind. Without Li Shimin, there will be no pain-in-the-butt alliance. No one knows how terrifying the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall better than me. Confronting such an elite squad, while day and night I must guard against shameless people pulling my hind legs from behind in secret, letting anybody doing this kind of folly, definitely its not my, Kou Zhongs share. Why dont I return to Liangdu? Ill just sit on the mountain and watch the tiger fight, and then watch for the convenience to clear up the mess. It will be better than being killed by a rat, just like Qin Wang, no matter what. Liu Hongji hung his head low, he was urging his horse and pondering at the same time. He suddenly said, Shaoshuais remarks are thought-provoking, but please forgive Hongji for not reporting to Huangshang as things really are. I will only say that Shaoshuai is staying in Hong Yi Pce to ease Qin Wangs anxiety. Ay! How could this matter deteriorate to such a plight? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Turns out Da Jiangjun is a man with character; I am not alone! mping the horses belly, his mount elerated. As if he wanted to vent all his grievances, Liu Hongji whistled, immediately he elerated with all his strength. The horses hooves kicked up the dust to the sky, they swept toward the Hong Yi Pce like a whirlwind in the moonlit night. Hong Yi Pce was a pce city built on top of a small hill. In term of scale, it wasparable to the Xing Qing Pce, only the outer wall was even stronger. Arrow towers were set up at five-zhang interval. The main gate was facing Changan. There was a nting road straight toward the pceplex on top of the hill. The grandeur was boundless. Xu Ziling thought to himself that this ce was far from Changan City, far from the power center of the Pce City of Changan. Speaking about local situation it was really not bad, brimming with the fresh and clean breath of the open country, with enough defensive power. Based on Jiancheng, Yuanjis military strength alone, to deal with the holding-fast-to-this-city Li Shimin - was definitely beyond their power. From this point of view, Li Yuan should still have no intention of putting Li Shimin to death. It was deep into the night, the city wall of the Hong Yi Pces outer gate was still brightly lit, human shadows were flickering. Suddenly, a drum sounded. The outer gate of the pce city opened wide, several dozens of riders rushed out. The leaders were surprisingly Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin, they met Kou Zhong and the others. Cheng Yaojin shouted from a distance, Turns out its Shaoshuai honoring us by your presence,ozi thought it was some Niangs Changlin Army, I was about to serve them with boiling oil and strong arrows. His grannys! Who dares toe to provoke my Qin Wang, I, Cheng Yaojin will be the first to stake everything against him, even Tianwang Laozi [old man king of heaven] I wont give him any face. Qin Shubao and a group of elite Dark Armored troops, none did not look indignant. It was conceivable that if the visitors were from Changlin Army, or even Li Yuans imperial guards, Li Shimins elite troops and fierce generals would definitely risk their life to protect their master, fighting all the way until thest soldier, thest pawn, absolutely would not back down. Kou Zhong mused inwardly that if these words were passed on into Li Yuans ears word for word, his old friend Cheng Yaojin had alreadymitted a capital crime. Looking at Liu Hongji, he saw that he only revealed a pained, helpless expression, obviously he felt sympathy for Li Shimins situation. It should be noted that Li Shimins image of integrity and benevolence was deeply rooted in the hearts of the army and the people of the Great Tang, time and again he rendered great merit, and then on the first day of his return to Changan, immediately the firearm explosion in Yeting Pce urred. The timing coincidence was brimming with a tooth for a tooth vor, making people suspicious. Only Li Yuan did not see it this way, he was even more generous to that and unkind to this, naturally it aroused public anger among the personal soldiers and trusted lieutenants on Li Shimins side. At this moment, Kou Zhong suddenly felt that Li Shimins expulsion was not as unfavorable as he had imagined. The two sides men and horses met on the official road outside the gate. Seeing Liu Hongji, withck of regard, Qin Shubao greeted him and said, Hand Shaoshuai over to us, Liu Tongjun [lit. unified army], please return to the city. Liu Hongji shook his head with a wry smile, he saluted Kou Zhong and said, When I have the opportunity, Hongji would like to listen to Shaoshuais teaching again. Apologizing, he led his men turning back to where they came from. Where is Qin Wang? Kou Zhong asked. Qin Shubao sighed and said, Ive never seen Qin Wang so dispirited and frustrated. He still locks himself in his study and refuses to see anyone. You guys might be an exception. Cheng Yaojins anger rose up to heaven, he said, In my opinion, the best way at the moment is to get out of Guanzhong; Luoyang is still in our hands anyway, with your support, we will see whose fist is hard enough. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, In itself, letting emotions affect ones decisions is not a way, its not the best way even more. Cheng LaoGe, you still have this temperament. Turning to Xu Ziling, three men, he said, I want to see Qin Wang alone, to have a few heartfelt words. Outside the door, Li Jing reported, Shaoshuai is asking an audience! It was quite half a dayter that the tightly closed door opened, revealing Li Shimins pale and stupefied face, his eyes fell on Kou Zhong by Li Jings side, he signaled Li Jing to leave first, and then silently returned inside the study room. Kou Zhong understood his mood, he followed closely behind him and closed the door in passing. Li Shimins voice entered his ears, saying, Wheres Ziling? Kou Zhong turned around, he stood leaning against the door, looking at Li Shimin standing woodenly inside the study room with his back toward him, he replied, Hes outside, because I want to talk to Qin Wang alone. Li Shimin turned around, his heart weary, his strength tired, he said, Sit down and talk. Kou Zhong sat down on the side. Li Shimin was still standing woodenly in the middle of the study room, he looked up and heaved a sigh, saying, Maybe because all my life everything has been going too smoothly! I particrly am unable to stand setbacks and blows, now I feel like Ive lost everything! Shrugging his shoulders in a rxed manner, Kou Zhong said, You havent lost everything, you only lost yourst delusion and your hope for Lingzun [esteemed father]. From this perspective, it should be a good thing. Because you no longer need us to encourage you, you should know that you can only continue persevering and fighting. Li Shimin sat down dejectedly across the small table beside him, silently without saying anything. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Do you still remember what I said? Frowning, Li Shimin said, You mean Kou Zhongughed and said, Ha! Unexpectedly you treat my gems of wisdom as the wind past your ear? That day when you were indecisive over our proposal tounch mutiny, didnt I say that when you returned to Changan, the situation would force you that you would have no choice or leeway? Its just that even I did not think that everything would happen on the first day. Your Wangxiong, Wangdi [king older and younger brother, respectively] made it clear that they wanted to kill you to thest one, hence their n is meticulous. Lingzun also wanted to kill you, and kill you quickly, only all along he had no excuse, but now the opportunity hase! Hence the reason you are depressed here, full of remorse. Li Shimin shook his head and said, I am not full of remorse, only feel this is all hard to ept. Kou Zhong said, If it was me or Ziling, definitely there wont be any problem to ept or not to ept. The reality is indeed cruel, only those who are cruel enough can survive. Smiling ruefully, Li Shimin said, Have you scolded me enough? Kou Zhong sighed and said, More or less! Li Shimin looked at him, he spoke heavily, You guys areing to see me at this time without avoiding arousing suspicion at all, are you not afraid people will be suspicious? Kou Zhong said, This is called changing ording to the situation, also changing strategy. To be honest with you, LaoGe, you are being expelled to this ce, we dont have an easy time either. Fortunately, we have figured out everything by now, we might as well make it clear to Lingzun that the reason we are willing to form an alliance with him is entirely due to giving considerations to Feixuan and you. If he dares to me you, we will pull the team and leave. His grannys! What does Lingzun think I, Kou Zhong am? Provoking me to anger, I guarantee that he will have to pack his bag and leave before he finishes eating. Li Shimin pondered nkly for a moment, and then spoke heavily, My heart is very troubled, what new n do you have? Kou Zhong revealed a smile brimming with confidence, he said, Jiangcheng, Yuanjis poisonous move this time is counter-intuitive, anybody with a discerning eye can see that you were framed by them. And Lingzuns unfair way in handling this matter has caused public outrage even more, only they dare to be angry but dont dare to speak up. Take Liu Hongji, who just brought me here, for example, he is one of those. From this, it can be inferred that there are many people with this mentality. Therefore, I might as well take a his Niangs gamble, and show the entire Changan with actions that our contract of alliance is tied to you, LaoGe. This is called being put to death anding back alive. The divine light in Li Shimins pair of eyes gradually recovered, he said, If Fuhuang has no way ofing down the stage, he is hardening his heart, we definitely will not be lucky. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Without Kou Zhong, there is still Song Que, but the Great Tang Dynasty will definitely be all split up and in pieces. Outside the Pass, your men who are loyal to you will seek refuge to Liangdu like a swarm of bees; Bashu, no need to be mentioned. Under such circumstances, without Li Shimin, can the Great Tang withstand both the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall whose troop arrangement flourishing, and the Shao Shuai powerful army vowing for revenge - at the same time? Li Shimins pair of eyes shing brightly, he regained his vitality. After staring at Kou Zhong for quite half a day, he said, Wont Fuhuang be even more afraid of me scheming to seize the crown prince position? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Well said! In fact, after this incident, you and Lingzun will no longer have any room to save the situation, it will only depend on who will be brought down first, the situation will quickly be subtle. We are definitely at the inferior disadvantageous position. Later on, I will report thetest situation, good news or bad news, one by one to you, LaoGe. Now I just want to ask you one thing, can you view Changan as a battlefield now? Stunned, Li Shimin said, I dont understand what you mean. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If you are willing to view Changan as a battlefield, you will be able to take the battlefield rule of being called a king if sessful, being called a bandit if defeated at face value, do you understand? Li Shimin stared at him nkly first, after quite a while, a smile leaked out of the corners of his mouth, which gradually grew bigger and bigger. He nodded while blurted outughing, and said, Right! You scold me right! The reason why I am distressed and heartbroken, losing my fighting spirit due to Fuhuang treating me heartlessly, is all because I did not view Changan as a battlefield. How could you be depressed andcking in vitality because the enemy thwarted you on the battlefield? War is unscrupulous, the important thing is the final victory. Shimin received benefit from the advice! When Kou Zhong left, he knew clearly that Li Shimins heart toward Li Yuan has finally died. Kou Zhong came to Xu Zilings side, they stood side by side on the tform, leaning against the railing, looking into the distance at the magnificent City of Changan. Xu Ziling cast him a nce, he spoke indifferently, Was Qin Wang willing to listen to your advice? Kou Zhong spoke in a low voice, I heaped him a torrent of abuse [lit. pouring dogs blood on someone]. His grannys, it wasnt until tonight that he was willing to throw out his delusion about Li Yuan, to conduct himself with his feet firmly nted on the ground, to give thought about his wife and children and subordinates. Where are Lao Ba and Xiao Hou? Xu Ziling replied, They are striving to get some sleep, because they are afraid that there would be hard fighting tomorrow. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, It looks like you have not closed your eyes either, why dont you go to bed? Xu Ziling said, Im waiting for you, ay! I roped you into this kind of nine deaths and still alive [idiom: narrow escape] inferior situation, my heart is very uneasy. Kou Zhongughed aloud, he put his arms around his shoulders and said, One lifetime, two brothers, what are you talking about? To tell you the truth, we definitely will not lose, I even think that the situation is getting more and more favorable, its getting clearer and clearer. We have no other choice, Li Yuan has no other choice either. In the end, he will have to back down. His Niangs! Right now, the person I want to kill first is that Xiang kid. Xu Ziling said, When I was looking at Changan just now, I suddenly remembered something, which is we must be careful that the other side will use poison. When I was ambushed outside the East Market Gate of Changan City yesterday, the poison on the steel needle being shot at me was very potent, I nearly could not withstand it. Evidently, the opponent has an expert in using poison, and there is a great chance that this person is Liexia, that little thief. Kou Zhong nodded and said, In addition to the Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, Da Ming Zun Jiao might also have the Du Jing [Poison Sutra], therefore, everyone is good at using poison. Lie kids heart is so poisonous, naturally the poison he is using is superior to other peoples. Xu Ziling said, I rarely think of killing people, but Liexia is an exception. I can let anyone get away, but I cant let him get away. Kou Zhong understood his feeling. Liexia killed Song JinGang, it made Xu Ziling unable to let go, and nted a deep hatred that could not be resolved. He said, Dont think about these unpleasant things, use your brains instead to think about our bright future. We are here, but Xuanshu and the thirty Flying Clouds Guards are in Li Yuans hands, so that the situation be deadlocked where nobody can do anything to anybody else. When was Iing here just now, I was walking and thinking at the same time, if Li Yuan let us stay here doing nothing, what are we going to do? Xu Ziling said, Dont tell me you have no idea? Kou Zhong grinned and said, A stupid, I have one, we will stay for his Niangs a day, and then in the evening we sneak back into the city from the treasure house, have Xuanshu and Lei JiuGe [ninth older brother] and the others leave via the secret road, while me and you, Lao Ba, Hou kid, four men, with heads and faces covered, sneak into the pce via the secret passage to ughter Xiang kid, to disy his grannys severity immediately on taking office [initial show of strength]. Ha! Delighted enough? Xu Ziling said, Wouldnt it mean we have to break off rtions with Li Yuan? Shimin Xiongs wife, children, and rtives all remain in Yeting Pce, they will definitely suffer a cmity. Kou Zhong said, Thats why I said that this is a stupid way to only show off the courage of an ignorant man. The more brilliant n is to temporarily let the Xiang kid off, and let our group slip away and be done with it. Xu Ziling shook his head and said, That will only bring bad thing, because for Li Shimin, not only we refrain from shooting at the rat for fear of breaking the vases, we also lose the opportunity to beat back the Tujue. The happiest person will be Xieli, because the only one way remaining for us is to kill our way out of Guanzhong. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Thinking about killing Xiang kid, my hands itch; were it not for its going to be dawn soon, Id immediately rush back to Changan with you to deal with him. Xu Ziling said, Great ns can be ruined by just a touch of impatience [idiom], in my opinion, Li Yuan is facing the double pressure from the Buddhist and Taoist, two schools, and you, Shaoshuai, so he has to put up with this birds temper momentarily; he cant possibly be ignorant and stubborn enough to let us stay here doing nothing for a whole day. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I also hope that your premonition is urate; in that case, should we go back to sleep now? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, I want to stay here to watch the sunrise, you go to sleep first! Kou Zhong let go of his hand, he carefully examined Xu Zilings expression. Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Whats so good to see? Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, Really strange! Looks like Shi Xianzis departure did not have much effect on you. Your look right now is so sweet that it looks like it could drip honey. What happened? Quickly confess! Xu Ziling sighed and said, You, this kid, always want to know other peoples private matter. All right, let me tell you, Qingxuan has agreed to give herself to marry me, Xu Ziling down as my wife. [I know its too wordy, not that I like it, but its the authors original style; he did use three terms, which basically mean the same thing - in one sentence: weishen - (of a woman) to give her body, xiajia - (of a woman) to marry a man of lower social status, weiqi - to be a wife.] Kou Zhong cheered, he leaped midair and somersaulted three times, andnded back by Xu Zilings side,ughed heartily, and said, This is the only good news aftering back to Changan this time. I understand! Feixuan wanted to help you guys aplish your aim, while at the same time helping herself to aplish her goal to go back to Jingzhai without any worries! Xu Ziling was not sure whether Shi Feixuan was no longer without any worries, but at least he would never be able to forget his spiritual love with her. However, things have developed to this stage, what he could do was not to fail to live up to her kind intention, to love Shi Qingxuan with his heart and soul, so that Shi Qingxuan could obtain the greatest happiness that a girl could have. After his excitement abated, Kou Zhong dejectedly said, My sleepiness is suddenly all gone. Can I stay here and wait for the dawn with you? I hope tomorrow we will have a bit better luck. Xu Ziling cast his gaze over at the City of Changan in the distance, and finallynded on the eastern horizon behind it, he said, No need to wait, the sky is getting brighter! Ay! Are you thinking of Shang Xiufang? Kou Zhong said, How can I hide my thoughts from you? In this regard, you have more skill than me, I wonder if you could give me one or two pointers? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Before Yuzhi arrives, you must never, ever, pass through the spring night with Shang Xiufang. After Yuzhi arrives, offer the whole thing, including the tray, tell Zhizhi everything. What? Kou Zhong blurted out, I have just repaired broken rtionship with Zhizhi and hurt her again just like that? I dont think I have the heart to bear it. Xu Ziling said, She might understand. As long as you obtain her approval, promise her that it will only be one night of romance, not to be repeated, wont you be able to settle your romantic debts with clear conscience? Ay! If you knew this earlier, why did you have to do it in the first ce? I warned you early on. But I really cannot me you, the matter between men and women is really beyond any man can control. Kou Zhong stared nkly to the east, he was speechless. Xu Ziling reached out to put his hands on his broad shoulders, he smiled and said, The sky is really bright now! Things that we cant be figured out, let Laotianye set it up. I hope our luck will not end here, other than that, what else can we do? Following the sky, Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up, he nodded fiercely and said, Thats right! I want to be an honest and good boy for Zhizhi, I leave it all to her will to deal with. Its dawn! Go to sleep! Book 61: 6: Impassable Danger, Circling Back to Life Book 61: Chapter 6: Impassable Danger, Circling Back to Life Ba Fenghan, who always appeared to be cold and detached, ruthless, and focused his aspiration to the way of the sword, was in fact very rich in emotions. Only because he had been tormented by his past experiences that he buried his emotions deeply, because he was afraid of receiving another blow in this aspect. In this era when the strong ruled the roost, he discovered the truth of only those who are ruthless enough can survive, furthermore, he was hoping to train his emotion to master the Tie Bu Shan Gongfu [iron-cloth garment skill] so that it would be impervious to sword and spear, that he would not be weighed down by any emotion. However, the sessive appearances of Fu Junyu and Badaier made his heart, which was hiding under cover of protection C suffer enough pain. On the way to Yu He An, Xu Ziling was thinking about Ba Fenghans situation, including his tragic childhood and his current misery. In the battle of He Lian Fort in the past, when Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, three men were facing Xieli and the Golden Wolf Army under hismand, and thought they would surely die, Ba Fenghan once revealed his true feelings, the one he was thinking of was Badaier. From this, it was clear that he could not forget his love for Badaier. If Ba Fenghan could not undo the matter that gnawed at his mind, in the battle with Bi Xuan, he would undoubtedly be defeated. Yu He An appeared ahead, the joy of seeing Shi Qingxuan welled up in his heart, merging with the worry so that it became aplex, hard to exin state of mind. His thoughts and feelings multiplied, he could not help but heaving a sigh. He was about to raise his hand to knock on the door. Right this moment, the rm went off in his heart. foxswuxia.wordpress This thought had just arisen, two streams of swift and fierce saber qi separately came from behind and above, attacking his head and back at an astonishing speed. Murderous aura, saber qipletely enveloped him at the same time. It was only after the other sideunched their attack that he generated the induction, clearly the opponent were first-ss martial art masters, not easy to deal with. If the other party still had helpers, this battle indeed would not be optimistic. His thoughts turning at the speed of lightning, his heart and spirit entered the Moon in the Well, departing, but not really departing from the Martial Way C realm, everything was inly visible, nothing nearby was overlooked, yet he grasped the situation some distance away. Immediately he knew that he had fallen into the nine-deaths-and-still-alive dangerous situation. Just like Li Yuan said, the scenery of Lin Chi Xuan [overlooking-the-pond pavilion (with a view)] was not inferior to Ling Yan Ge [rising-high-smoke pavilion (usually two-storied)]. The size of Tao Chi [pottery pond] was on par with Yan Chi [smoke pond]. The difference was that the Tao Chi was made up of more than a dozenkes and ponds, big and small, of different shapes, strung together. The halls [dian, of a pce or a temple], pavilions and balconies were either built facing the water, or leaning to the water, borrowing the water C of the rivers and streams, high and low, strewn at random C within the gardens. Under the streams of sunshine, the waves reflected the cbash-shaped windows and whitewashed walls, doubling and increasing the elegance, making people feel that whether they lived or traveled, they could fully enjoy the delight of life of serenity. Even more touching was the semi-circr stone arch bridge reflected in the water, where the virtual and the real merged. The corridors with green roof tiles and red walls connecting the bridges ends made the beautiful scenery continue on and on. Going through the half-hidden and half-visible whirling trees made peoples heart bewitched, their spirit intoxicated. However, what attracted Kou Zhongs attention was a grand, exceptionally big tent on the grassynd on the north bank of Tao Chi, brimming with Tujue ethnic vor. It looked so out of ce with the surrounding area, yet there was also a feeling of seamless heavenly clothes, in that it blended with the surrounding into an integral whole. ncing around, he did not see anyone, the quiet atmosphere was unusual. Ke Dazhi led him onto a semi-circr arch bridge to the north, he stopped and said with a sigh, If I, Ke Dazhi, were in charge, I would definitely use clear saber and open spear to settle the differences clearly with Shaoshuai, instead of using scheme and crafty conduct, which will only make Shaoshuai to look down on us. Kou Zhong came to his side, he looked down at the beautiful scenery of the fish moving about in the water, and spoke heavily, Why dont Dazhi imitate the swimming fish in water, free and easy, unmoved by the struggle in Jianghu? Shaken, Ke Dazhi turned his powerful body around to look at him, the refined light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he fixed his eyes at him and said, Xiang Yushan indeed did not guess incorrectly, Shaoshuai and Ziling areing to Changan this time to help Li Shimin to achieve his dream of the emperors task of establishing and maintaining hegemony, and not simply to join hands and form an alliance with Li Yuan. All along we were skeptical, until this moment I personally hear that Shaoshuai envying the swimming fish in the water and the delight of forgetting the Jianghu strife, even advising me, Ke Dazhi; only now do I know that Xiang Yushans insight is thorough and urate. foxswuxia.wordpress Kou Zhong smiled bitterly in his heart; he finally divulged the inside information, not because of negligence at all, but because he considered Ke Dazhi as an intimate friend and a brother, so he did not have the heart to guard against him. Regardless of their opposing viewpoints, Xiang Yushan could be regarded as the person who knew the two boys, the one who fully grasped the way of thinking in his and Xu Zilings heart. Ke Dazhi continued, Ziling needs not be mentioned, but Xiang Yushan insists that Shaoshuai practically has no interest in the emperors throne, that you only regard the contention for hegemony over the world is an exciting and interesting game. Once the winning ticket is in hand, you will lose interest. On top of that, there is Zilings influence on you, which will produce the thought to back down. But how did you convince Song Que? Kou Zhong sighed and said, We are all brothers, I really dont want to conceal anything from you, even if you use this to deal with or coerce me. The reason why I was able to persuade Song Que is because your army is pressing on our territory, so that we feel that helping Li Shimin bes the only option. All right! From what I can see, mingling under Xieli, you are not pleased with yourself at all. Based on your, LaoGes talent and martial arts, where would you possibly cannot aplish much? You could crisscross the world unhindered as you pleased, yet you insist on associating with crafty viins and lowly people, you even have to look at Xielis likes and dislikes, and his face C to conduct yourself. Such a grievance, is it worth the trouble? Ke Dazhis countenance rxed, his pair of eyes emitted aplicated expression, and then he cast his gaze to the fish swimming freely under the bridge. Sighing in deject, he said, Shaoshuai is for the life and property of themon people of the Central Earth, while I, Ke Dazhi am for the future of the prairie, for the Tujue warriors honor and disgrace. Between the two sides, there is no leeway to tolerate each other. However, Shaoshuai, please rest assured, Ke Dazhi will never reveal Shaoshuais true intention. Kou Zhong said, Dazhi should know that the key to persuading Song Que lies in Li Shimins benevolence in regarding Hua and Yi [China and barbarians (non-Han)] as one. This is theplete opposite of Song Ques view of outside tribes as the enemy; it is also the opposite of the past dynasties rulers of our Central Earth, representing the new generations spirit of the blending between Hua and Yi. Therefore, there is no ce for the contradiction between you and me proposed by Dazhi. We are the new generation; we should have new ideas to deal with conflicts between nations. The so-called satisfied with what one has, the prairie and the Central Earth, each has its own merits and distinguishing feature. If the strong wants to invade and upy the other sides territory, it will bring about never-ending disasters. Whichever side is powerful, the other side will suffer a cmity. Shaking his head, Ke Dazhi said, Its toote! What Yang Guang has done has caused a bloody feud, big hatred between the Central Earth and our various tribes in the grasnds that cannot be resolved. Everything can only be settled by war. My advice to Shaoshuai is not to attempt vainly in this matter; Shengzhe is waiting respectfully for your great self inside the tent. If you can leave alive, we will find another opportunity to talk. Ay! Be careful! foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling did not need to look back, he could still clearly and unmistakably draw a picture in his mind as if he had witnessed it with his own eyes the Khitan young martial art master Huyan Tiezhen grasping a pair of sabersing to attack. He did not understand how he could have this ability, but the fact was like that. His spiritual response did not stop there. Huyan Tiezhen did not act alone. Attacking at the same time were Ma Jis top rank subordinate Tuoba Miefu and Han Chaoan, who were separately attacking in secret from both sides. Under Huyan Tiezhens swift and fierce saber qi attracting his attention, they intended to carry out an even more vicious surprise attack the gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive. The enemyunched two assassinations one after another, both times were when he was on his way to see Shi Qingxuan. It could clearly be seen that the other side was plotting actively, their arrangement was meticulous, exploiting the moment when his heart and spirit were distracted because he was sentimentally attached to Shi Qingxuan toe for a surprise attack to catch him off guard. The deployment of the assassination itself was indeed impossible to fault, the mighty power of Huyan Tiezhens double sabers was indeed unstoppable, two gusts of saber windpletely enveloped him, as he pounced down from high up in the air, while Xu Ziling had the door and the wall in front of him blocking the way. In the terrifying moment when there was no room to advance or retreat, he was forced to abruptly turn around to take the move with all his strength. Even if he could take Huyan Tiezhens swift and fierce move, it would be difficult to escape Tuoba Miefu and Han Chaoans killer moveing one after another. These thoughts shed through his mind at the high speed of lightning sh, sparks of me. He clearly grasped that Huyan Tiezhen seemed to be attacking at the same time, but actually, there were differences in light or heavy, early orte C in the double-saber momentum. From the double-sabers saber qis reaction, he even grasped urately, without the slightest error, the enemys double sabers angle of attack, the strength and the attack point, to the level of knowing the enemy like the back of his hand. Xu Zilingughed calmly, he secretly pinched the Great Vajra Chakra image, his body spun around, and both hands transformed into endless and ever-changing hand images like a thousand-handed Avalokitesvara, tightly protecting his whole body, no crack could be sought. The picture of spiritual sense was reced by a realistic scene. The three enemies wore ck hooded nightwalker attire. In the full light of day, it particrly made people feel the disharmony with the environment, so much so that there was an absurd, ridiculous perception. foxswuxia.wordpress Of course, the threatening power of the three-person joint attack was absolutely no idle matter. This moment, Huyan Tiezhens double sabers, like two streaks of lightning, were striking down from high in the sky. Suddenly he saw as if Xu Ziling, out of nothing, grew thousands of pairs of palms, and each palm continuously produced different image method, so that the saber de, as if it generated reaction, trembled and shook. The originally exquisite and wonderful changes, swift and fierce, iparably brilliant saber technique, like two fiendish vipers seeking any gap to enter, finally had its speed affected and slowed down a little. Even if it was only a hairsbreadth difference, it was precisely the gap that Xu Ziling was striving for. Tuoba Miefu had ance in his hand; all along he and Han Chaoan have been holding back and hiding under cover. This moment they no longer had any misgivings, with all their strength they stabbed at Xu Zilings right side. Thence in his hand was like an angry dragoning out of a hole, the qi power it carriedpletely sealed Xu Zilings right side. From about a zhang away, thence qi already locked Xu Ziling tightly, like a fantasy the entire stream of energy reached the very tip of the spear, moving in swift and fierce trajectory, appearing to be clumsy but was actually ingenious, ruthlessly stabbing in full strength. Although Han Chaoan could be considered martial art master in Gaoli, he was obviously one notch inferior to his two partners, however, the long sword in his hand drew a ball of sword flower splitting the air,ing to attack, enough to block the escape path on Xu Zilings left side, posing a great threat to him. Xu Zilingughed aloud and said, Three gentlemen came at the right time! His left-hand finger stretching out, it hit Huyan Tiezhens right-hand de right in the middle, the umted Treasure-Vase Image Qi was sent into the opponents long saber in the shape of an unstoppable sharp needle. At the same time, he shifted in Tuoba Miefus direction, his right palm pped. Even with Shi Zhixuans ability, encountering Xu Zilings needle-prick-style Treasured-Vase Image Qi, he would feel greatly unable to endure, much less the inferior-by-arge-distance Huyan Tiezhen. This Khitan martial art master immediately let out a stifled groan and was thrown backward. He did not sustain injuries, it could already be considered very rare, forget about the long saber in his left hand continuing its attack. Since Xu Ziling strenuously forced back Huyan Tiezhen, the threat was greatly reduced, even more so, what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes, his pping palm suddenly changed, just the moment beforeing in contact with the tip of the opponentsnce, it changed to the Inner Lion Binding Image; the change was subtle and marvelous, could be rated as divineposition. Even if Tuoba Miefu exhausted everything and gave it his all, thence momentum changed repeatedly, it was still sealed by his image method that it was too difficult to make a cun advancement, plus even though he wanted to unload it, he was simply unable to do so. Bang! Two streams of power collided, Tuoba Miefus whole body shook violently, he staggered back, unable to control his legs, he retreated two steps back. By the time Tuoba Miefu took the first step back, Xu Ziling not only did not suffer the least bit of damage, he even borrowed a small amount of true qi from his overbearing, vigorousnce power, and by relying on the method of reversing his true qi, he seized the opportunity to bounce back to crash against Han Chaoan, and his leg flew at the same time, to kick the vital point on the opponents lower belly. His right hand performed the Great Vajra Chakra Image, he confused the enemy while protecting his body. foxswuxia.wordpress The slightly retreating Huyan Tiezhen was exceptional as well. Unexpectedly he was able to regroup the foot of his disposition of troops and attacked for the second time. However,pared to before, the threat to Xu Ziling was greatly inferior. Han Chaoan had never thought that after staking it all against two major martial art masters of his side, Xu Ziling was still able tounch such a swift and fierce move. The originally wonderful move, violent attack aimed at Xu Ziling, to catch him off guard, immediately became reckless, unwise move. In a flurry, he changed his moves; the sword flower disappeared, he dragged the sword and withdrew his move. Just when Xu Ziling thought that victory was within his grasp and he could get away and leave secretly, peculiar change suddenly arose. Xu Ziling suddenly felt that the air around him was being sucked, yet this empty space of nothingness turned into a solid body. A burst of terrifying, shocking-to-the-extreme-point qi power, like ten-thousand-jin boulder, was pressing down on him. Not only his entire body was in sharp pain like it was being pricked with a needle, it was also difficult to breathe, his leg kicking Han Chaoan was immediately restrained and was slowing down, just like sensing a demoning to attack in his nightmare, a helpless feeling of having the strength but difficult to use it. In his mind, he first thought of Xu Kaishans Da Ming Zun Jiao demonic skill, and then thought of his Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, after that the vivid image of the Shadow Assassin Yang Xuyan appeared in his mind. This kid again. Yang Xuyan lived up to his reputation as the Shadow Assassin. Unexpectedly he could hide behind the courtyard door without him even sensing his presence. At this critical moment when Xu Zilings life and death were hanging by a thread, he used his brilliant and sinister move of striking the ox over the mountain, fully used his terrifying skill, the blend of Bu Si Yin Fa and Yu Jin Wan Fa Gen Yuan Zhi Jing, which had made considerable progress, through the door on him, in cooperation with the three major martial art masters in an attempt to put him to death in one fell swoop. Under the influence of the true qi, no matter how much more difficult Yang Xuyan invisibility was, Xu Ziling could almost see his darkened demonic punch about toe out through the door, sting his back and taking his little life. On the right, Tuoba Miefu finally steadied his troop disposition, his pair of wrists flicked, hisnce vibrated, heunched another attack. Xu Zilings spirit was empty and prating, even in such absolute disadvantageous position, he was still calm and peaceful like the bright moon in the well, seeing all the mysterious changes, and grasping the killing offensiveing together from four directions. He withdrew the kicking leg, and ced it behind the other leg, so that he stood on one leg like a pir. foxswuxia.wordpress The spiraling power arose, but it was not to attack the enemy or to defeat the enemy, rather, it was being applied to himself; appearing to be slow but was actually fast, quick as lightning he broke away from the shackle of Yang Xuyans terrifying demonic power. Two hands turned into millions of images, making people did not know what they were attacking, let alone what they were defending. Pow! the pitch-ck fist pierced through the door as if it was a piece of thin paper, wood splinters sshed everywhere, but the rest of the courtyard door did not suffer the least bit of damage. The scene was so strange that it was chilling. Just before the attack from four sides reached his body, Xu Ziling rose up like a spinning top and ascended into the sky. The outer courtyard of Yu He An was dark and quiet, no human shadow was in sight. About three zhang above the ground, Xu Zilings one mouthful of true qi waspletely exhausted. In fact, dealing with Huyan Tiezhen, Tuoba Miefu, and Han Chaoans sessive violent attacks just now, he appeared to be calm, but the wear and tear of his essence was inevitable. When Yang Xuyanunched his violent killer move across the door, if he had not borrowed some of qi power from Tuoba Miefu and transformed it for his own use, he would have been injured by Yang Xuyans demonic power; therefore, this time he was exhausted andcking of power, a feeling of weakness invaded his body. However, his spirit still maintained its empty and prating realm, no anxiety, no fear, because he finally won the precious time to recover his breath, relying on his fantastic power, a blend of the Secret to Long Life, Jade Annulus of He n, and the Demonic Emperors Relic, which gave him the confidence that before the enemy chased and attacked, he would recover his qi and get away. The spinning momentum reached its end. Facing Yu He An, one after another the three enemies outside the courtyard wall soared and attacked from the sky. Inside the courtyard, wearing ck hood, only exposing his pair of eyes, Yang Xuyan also retracted his demonic hand, which had turned from ck to white. Ring! he pulled out the Shadow Sword hanging on his back, and looked up at him. His pair of eyes emitted a strange, indescribable unusual light. By the time Xu Ziling felt that something was not right, a burst of severe-without-equal saber qi filled the air and struck down at an astonishing speed, ahead of Huyan Tiezhen, a group of martial art masters, from the top of an old tree on the right side of the courtyard, piercing through the air. The saber qipletely locked and enveloped him. Momentarily Xu Zilings entire body felt like it was cut by a knife and pricked by needle, like he had fallen into an icehouse, his eardrums were buzzing with the sound of the saber qi splitting the air. foxswuxia.wordpress As far as he was able to see, Xu Ziling could only see terrifying saber light. He only saw the saber but not the person. In his heart, he thought of Ge Suwen, three characters, and the death that was about to descend on him. Furthermore, he knew he had already lost the golden opportunity to recover his vitality to save his life, both his body and mind were intimidated by the opponents swift and fierce, terrifying saber qi, difficult to obtain any margin to counterattack. Right this moment when he was trapped in an inferior situation, Shi Zhixuans voice,ing from no-one-knows where, shouted coldly, Who dares to hurt him! The next moment, Xu Ziling felt that someone caught him by the waist, followed by the sound of shing weapons and qi power lingering on faintly, mixed with the enemys muffled groan and angry shout, and then Shi Zhixuan took him into the sky and rapidly moved him away from the nine-deaths-and-still-alive dangerous battlefield. Kou Zhong went straight to the huge tent, he saluted through the hanging tent curtain and said, This kid Kou Zhong, calling to pay my respects to Bi Xuan Shengzhe. Bi Xuans voice came out, saying, Shaoshuai is finally here! No need to be overly courteous, pleasee into the tent to meet. Straightening up his chest, Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Shengzhe please note clearly, if Shengzhe wants to persuade this kid to cancel the alliance with Li Yuan, this move can be avoided. Bi Xuan fell silent. It was quite half a dayter that he said, What kind of person Shaoshuai is, how could I not know until now? The more the gold is polished, the brighter it is. The more the charcoal is washed, the cker it is. Once a persons character is formed, there is no human power that can change it. However, Shaoshuai should also understand, we are a people of the wolves. We have lived on the mighty, wonderful and majestic prairie for a long time, and have matured and thrived in the continuous, unceasing conflict. Today, we are dominating the earth and have formed our own unalterable national character. The warriors honor and glory are won over with blood and life. Once this goal is seen clearly, it will never shrink back and change. I, Bi Xuan, never liked to talk too much, only by looking at Tuli Khans face, I have no choice but to personally listen to Shaoshuai. Will Shaoshuai choose to be brothers and friends with us in peaceful coexistence, or to be mortal enemies that the two cannot exist together? Kou Zhong finally understood that Bi Xuan summoning him toe and see him today, not only to ask him to make a choice between friend or foe, but also a life-and-death decision to fight or not to fight. Taking a deep breath, he said, My intentions, I have clearly told Yan Shuai [Commander]. If I obtain the chance for a fair decisive battle, I, Kou Zhong, will fight to the end and die without regret. Obtaining Shengzhes favor, it is indeed my, Kou Zhongs honor and glory. Bi Xuan let out a carefreeughter. foxswuxia.wordpress The tent curtain opened automatically without any wind, it separated to the left and right. A burst of burning hot, suffocating air stream came out of the tent. Even in this beautiful garden where the spring was warm, the flowers blooming, Kou Zhong still had a terrible feeling of being in a dry, ruthless and barren desert. Book 61: 7: Demonic King’s Dowry Book 61: Chapter 7: Demonic Kings Dowry Shi Zhixuan let go of Xu Ziling, took three steps back, and spoke indifferently, Ziling doesnt need to thank me, the one I am saving is myself, not you at all. Frankly speaking, since Qingxuan arrived at Yu He An, I couldnt stay away from her for even half a step, do you think I will allow you to be killed? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, You are eavesdropping on our conversation again. You know that Qingxuan is willing to give herself wholly to marry me down, someone who is not worthy of her, right? They were in the banyan tree garden at the southeast corner of Yu He An, Yang Xuyan and the others had already fled long ago. Shi Zhixuan smiled and said, I am so happy that I want to cry, because I suddenly had an idea and thought of a way to untie the tight knot between me and Ziling, furthermore, it is one move, two gains. At once Xu Ziling forgot their n to send punitive force gainst him; greatly astonished, he said, How can there be any solution to this kind of thing, and it is one move, two gains even more? Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes flickered with the me of wisdom, after staring at Xu Ziling for half a day, he said, The method is extremely simple, as long as I pass on to you the Bu Si Yin Fa, all problems will be like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. Just consider it as the dowry I am giving to Qingxuan! Xu Ziling was dumbfounded, What? he said. foxswuxia.wordpress Shi Zhixuan cheerfully said, Even someone as smart as Ziling, I am afraid you may not be able to guess what I am thinking at the moment, so listen to Ol Shi telling you the details. The reason why time and again I have bad thoughts about you is because until this moment I still have the ability to destroy you. However, if you master Bu Si Yin Fa, even if I want to kill you, I will have the heart but not the power, based on my conduct, I will cut off this thought, it will no longer wind around in my bosom. After a short pause, he continued, I dont want to kill you, naturally I dont want to see the situation just now repeating itself, to let others kill you. Only by mastering the Bu Si Yin Fa will you have the chance to escape and save your life under heavy siege, and not let Qingxuan to live as a widow. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was dumbstruck. The Demonic Kings conduct was indeed exceeding all expectation. Smiling wryly, he said, Listening to the tone of Seniors voice, it seems that in just a few words I can learn the Bu Si Yin Fa. But please forgive me for being dull-witted, Im afraid I will fail your expectation. Shi Zhixuan spoke proudly, The man that my daughter looks upon, how muchcking can he be? Other people cant do, it will definitely not pose any problem to you, Xu Ziling. Earlier you nearly lost your life in Ge Suwens hands, simply because you dont understand that the ultimate of life is death, the extreme of death is life, when thing hase to its end, it will turn around. Hearing that, Xu Ziling was unable to make any sense of the matter. Although his understanding of Bu Si Yin Fa could notpare to Yang Xuyan or Hou Xibai, he had to put a lot of thought into it to understand the secret of transforming death into life, but he never thought of the wonderful key that Shi Zhixuan just said, he did not know how to apply it in martial arts even more? Tranquil and calm, Shi Zhixuanughed and said, Ge Suwens saber technique is not under Kou Zhongs, plus he had a n, he had a strategy. Like in the situation just now, he did have the ability to put Ziling to death, however, were it not for you were in a strained situation left and right, how could he have any chance of sess? The Bu Si Yin Fa created by Ol Shi is precisely the gongfa [skill technique] to make the situation just now will never appear. The cycle of heavenlyw, when the yang reaches its extreme, the yin is born, when the yin vanishes, the yang is restored, when the life ends, it is death, when the death ends, naturally it is life, this is heaven and earth principle, does Ziling understand? Laughing coldly, he said, Although Xuyans innate talent surpasses others, and he heard theplete form of Bu Si Yin Fa from An Long, but after I created the Bu Si Yin Fa, even Ol Shi had to train for more than ten years before I could go so far as to master itpletely; who does he think he is? Xu Ziling said, ording to what Qianbei [the senior] said, could it be that Bu Si Yin Fa unexpectedly a method that can make true qi to be used endlessly and will never be exhausted? Shi Zhixuan nodded and said, This is only part of the skill. With Zilings Long-Life Qi, as long as I pass on the profound way how Bu Si Yin Fa works to you, I guarantee that you can link it up and fuse it in a short period of time, and will master Xu Ziling-style Huan Mo Shenfa even more. At that time, I wont be able to do anything to you, but you still wont be able to do anything to me either. Wouldnt we, two father-inw and son-inw be able to get along peacefully? foxswuxia.wordpress And then his countenance sank, and he spoke with solemn expression, I know that you attach great importance to brotherhood and friendship. But for Qingxuan, you have the responsibility to save your life and escape when you know you cant deal with it, to prevent her from the painful loss of her husband. As for Qingxuans safety, no need for you to worry even more, I, Shi Zhixuan, definitely will not allow anyone to harm her the slightest bit. Xu Ziling felt that Wanwan still had not revealed the secret of Duke Yangs Treasure-house to him, otherwise since presently Shi Zhixuan loved the house and its crow [idiom: love me, love my dog], and with his disregarding-everything attitude, he would have given him a warning in this respect. He could not help asking, Qianbei once said that the strengths that we think we can rely on the most are precisely our weaknesses and ws, practically we are unable to withstand a single blow. What exactly does it mean? Shi Zhixuan stared fixedly at him; after quite half a day, he sighed softly and said, If I say it frankly, it will be akin to I am rebelling against the holy school, betraying the holy school, hence I can only tell you that you have no hope of sess in Changan. The best way is to leave immediately, but I also know that Ziling is not going to listen to me. All of a sudden, he broke into a big smile and spoke cheerfully, Ziling get ready, Im about to make my move against you. Only in actualbat can you understand the principle of life and death cycle. Qiang! Kou Zhong drew the Moon in the Well hidden inside his robe, his spirit immediately became one entity with the treasured saber in his hand, there was no distinction between that other person and me. The heaven and the earth expanded overhead and under his feet, reaching the infinite distance of the extremity of the heaven and the end of the earth. Bi Xuans covering-the-heaven-enveloping-the-earth Yan Yang Da Fa [Big Method of the ming Sun] could no longer trap and lock his spirit. It was like he broke away from the stocks and chains in the prison; the feeling was extremely touching. The scorching heat dissipated, reced by not-even-half-a-drop-of-water-in-the-air, dry-and-suffocating nothingness feeling that was hard to endure. From external breathing, Kou Zhong changed to internal breathing, Ning Daoqis two sentences creating without possessing, seeding without self-confidence welled-up from the bottom of his heart. At this moment, he finally understood Song Ques forgetting the saber realm. Kou Zhong that has been fused with the Moon in the Well in his hand advanced and formed an integral whole with the heaven and the earth. Not only there was no saber, there was no man even more. The only thing remained was the spirit of nothingness after the heaven, earth and manbined. foxswuxia.wordpress Wearing a high-cored, long-sleeved, oversized robe with golden thread trim Wu Zun [martial art venerable] Bi Xuan, his feet did not touch the ground, burst out of the separated curtain of the tent, and flew above Kou Zhong. Both hands turned into a series of countless exquisite, amazing and mysterious palm method, but no matter how it changed, the hollow of the palms were always facing each other, as if all the mysteries of the universe, of the heaven and earth, were entirely in the palm of his hands; and there were many superficial changes but no departure from the original stand [idiom], all mysterious changes were directed at Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong let out a long whistle, the Moon in the Well rose up and split the air to meet Bi Xuan. Under Bi Xuans able-to-startle-heaven-and-earth, make-ghosts-and-deities-sob mysterious-move enormous pressure, his only option was to face the attack with all his strength. Furthermore, he knew that Bi Xuan did not leave any leeway, he strived to determine victory or defeat within a few moves and to put him to death. If it was the Kou Zhong before witnessing the decisive battle between Ning Daoqi and Song Que, Bi Xuan might have prevailed, but this Kou Zhong was not like the previous Kou Zhong, he had ample strength to fight back. Kou Zhongs saber strike did not create any wind, his true qi was all stored inside the treasured saber, including his whole-hearted and whole-spirited power, and the essence, spirit, and qi after heaven, earth, and man, three worldsbined. Peng! Qi power collided, creating a muffled-thunder-like st that made peoples guts trembled, their hearts chilled. The two men passed each other in the air, in the blink of an eye saber and palm exchanged more than ten times of you attacked and I defended, I defended and you attacked C swift and fierce moves. After Kou Zhongnded, he staggered, but fast as lightning, he turned around. Just like Song Que, he was driven by the Moon in the Well in his hand. Drawing a saber momentum in a graceful and impossible-to-faut arc, he met the grandmaster of this generation inspiring awe outside the border before his eyes. Bi Xuan appeared at the point where the de was pointing, the clothes on his entire body and his long fair appeared to be fluttering against the wind, dancing wildly and brushing randomly, creating a strange, hard to believe C scene. It was actually not possible, yet the fact was so. Kou Zhongs one-hundred-percent confidence continuously disappeared and was beaten, immediately it turned into miscalction with ws everywhere. Bi Xuans Yan Yang Da Fas formidable power was indeed without equal, the most frightening thing was the qi field he generated with him as the core, which could simte various air currents that affect the changes of the battlefield. Kou Zhong became attacking following the wind, Bi Xuan even created a qi field that sucked him over. Kou Zhongs de was one step ahead in sensing that the momentum of following or going against the wind might reverse and change at any moment following Bi Xuans intentions. If he was still using the same move, the moment the following or going against the wind was reversed, it would be the moment he would lose his life under Bi Xuans hands. foxswuxia.wordpress Bi Xuan sent out a punch, his fist expanded continuously in front of Kou Zhong, making him feel that his spirit had fallen under control of this terrifying opponent. Kou Zhong immediately performed his wonder method of exchanging true qi, he suddenly stood still, motionless like a mountain, the saber was pulled away, the back of the saber rested on his left shoulder, he dropped his waist and took a horse stance, unexpectedly heunched the move No Attack. Using no change to respond to ten thousand changes; this was precisely the only way to resolve it. Bi Xuan let out a longughter and said, Outstanding indeed! He suddenly pulled back his fist, intersected it with his left hand to form an X [orig. oblique ʮ (ten) character] to protect his chest, and then spun like a spinning top, darting to the left and right. Immediately the airflow in the surrounding area changed, burst by burst of violent hurricane attacked Kou Zhong from four sides, eight directions. Kou Zhong realized that he was trapped in the eye of the storm, it was difficult to maintain his motionless momentum, unexpectedly his pair of eyes closed, his saber shed out. The saber qi brought by the Moon in the Well miraculously smashed the stream of force reaching his body. Bi Xuan appeared about a zhang to his left, his two hands closing in, he sent out a burst of qi power, like a waterfall pounding against his head, his face. Every move was indeed a killer move. Kou Zhongs feet moved in strange steps, changing naturally, he altered the hacking down momentum to a horizontal sh, immediately bing Square and circle. Boom! Meeting the power, Kou Zhong staggered backwards, it was not until nine pacester that he finally stood still, the five viscera and six bowels, as well as the blood and qi within his body surged over, his liver and intestines were about to split, until he spurted out a mouthful of blood and then the pressure began to lessen. Bi Xuanyi also swayed backward. Although he did not withdraw even half a step, he could not seize this opportunity to pursue and attack either, and thus giving Kou Zhong a chance to catch his breath. Kou Zhong hung his saber down to point at the ground. With the other hand he wiped the bloodstain from the edge of his mouth. The divine light in his pair of eyes shot out, he stared fiercely at Bi Xuan, smiled and said, Shengzhe wants to kill me, its not that easy, is it? foxswuxia.wordpress Bi Xuans countenance was like ancient well without any ripple, so serene that it was rather frightening, but the murderous aura in his pair of eyes were ring greatly. He spoke indifferently, How long does Shaoshuai think you can endure? Kou Zhong raised the saber in his right hand and pointed it at Bi Xuan from a distance. Immediately the murderous aura between the heaven and the earth seemed to bepletely absorbed by the saber. The de made a hissing sound of the qi power splitting the air; letting out a longughter, he said, If what I trained was not the Long-Life Form Qi, this time I would have undoubtedly died, but my Long-Life Qi gives me the ability to resist injury and to go on longer than Shengzhe. Just like Shengzhe thought you had taken Ba Fenghans life, yet the fact proved that Shengzhe was wrong. Now Shengzhe has this question, this is precisely a mistake over a mistake. Immediately Bi Xuans pair of eyes narrowed, his pupils shrank. Kou Zhong knew psychological warfare technique, he finally opened a gap in Bi Xuans originally no gaps to be found C mind. Under the pull of his qi, he let out a long whistle, the Moon in the Well split the air to strike. Bi Xuan was over three zhang away, but Kou Zhong seemed to, through the Moon in the Well C be able to grasp Bi Xuans most subtle movements and reactions urately, without the slightest bit of error. The Moon in the Well was no longer the Moon in the Well, and Kou Zhong was not Kou Zhong either. After the man and the saber merged, they sublimated into another level of existence. After obtaining the saber, forgetting the saber. He even sensed the shock in Bi Xuans heart, and then he could no longer sense Bi Xuan. Bi Xuan was still standing there, but Kou Zhong could no longer grasp him. The scorching storm that could melt the iron and transform the pot rolled out from Bi Xuans direction, hitting every cun of his skin that was facing Bi Xuans body. Such terrifying qi field,pared to the Tianmo Qi field, it was like another nightmarish scene. His saber momentum and fighting spirit were constantly weakened, by the time he reached the distance where he could fight with Bi Xuan, he would be unable to withstand a single blow. Kou Zhong could no longer sense the heaven and the earth, so he and the Moon in the Well also separated, the saber was still a saber, the man remained a man. Kou Zhong suddenly stood still, spun around like a whirlwind, turning his back on Bi Xuan, the saber chopped on the empty air. Shi Qingxuan was sitting on the bluestone at one side of the courtyard, unable to take her eyes off, her gaze was fixed on the grass, a faint smile hanging on the corner of her mouth. There was a basket of herbal medicine that she picked and collected by her side, she appeared to be in a leisure mood and contented, good looking and delicate. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling came to her side and squatted down, he followed her gaze, but could not find anything that might attract her attention, such as an ant or a beetle. Astonished, he said, What is Qingxuan thinking? You look so entranced. Shi Qingxuan rolled her eyes at him with a thousand tenderness, a hundred charms, she spoke mischievously, I am thinking of Xu Ziling! You think I would think about other things? Xu Ziling leaned over toward her sparkling and translucent, snow-white little ear. Pressing down his voice, he spoke cheerfully, Im not a thing at all, and Qingxuan is not thinking of me either. Shi Qingxuan blissfully bit his ear happily and responded, Just consider you know yourself. Do you like to talk to me like this? I can keep youpany to the end. Subjected to the touching feeling of Shi Qingxuans affectionate, fondly-attached-to-him, Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Im afraid he is eavesdropping again. Shi Qingxuans jade countenance sank, she said, He! Xu Ziling nodded and said, Dont be troubled because of him. What was Qingxuan thinking just now? Shi Qingxuan reached out to wrap her arm around his neck, rested her chin on his broad shoulders, her breath smelled like orchid, she whispered softly in his ear, Longing is some kind of torture, so I have to find something to do, which is better than thinking of what you are doing at this moment, whether you run into danger, and when you are going toe to see me? Xu Ziling hugged her tightly; remembering the near-death experience in the ambush outside the nunnery gate just now, he felt that this moment was even more precious. Blurting out, he said, Qingxuan, how abouting back to Xing Qing Pce with me? Kou Zhong has beenining that I did not take you to see him. Pulling herself away, Shi Qingxuan sat upright, scrutinizing him with rapt attention, sighing lightly, she spoke in a low voice, Let me settle his affairs first? Staring nkly, Xu Ziling asked, How are you going to settle it? Shi Qingxuan hung down her butterfly [sic, not cicada, but probably a typo] head, the tone of her voice t, she said, Three more days, and it will be the anniversary of Niangs death. I am going y the flute tune that Niangposed for him. He used to listen to it all the time. Xu Ziling was shocked, Absolutely not! he said. Stunned, Shi Qingxuan looked at him. Kou Zhongs mind was entirely focused on the chopping-down Moon in the Well, the sabers momentum changed from fast to slow, his highly concentrated spirit enabled him topletely steer and control the speed of the chop to such an extent that he sessfully repeated Song Ques style in pulling his saber during the decisive battle against Ning Daoqi that day, each movement was a repetition of the previous movement. foxswuxia.wordpress He finally understood Song Ques realm at that time. At this moment, he already forgot Bi Xuan behind him, forgot the astonishing qi field, stream of power rolling wildly, brushing off against his back, so much so that he forgot victory and defeat, his spirit integrated with the heaven and earth transformation to be one. Obtaining the saber and then forgetting the saber. The true qi within his body was instantaneous and endless, just like the heaven and the earth without any extreme boundary. Letting out a long whistle, Kou Zhong shed his saber across behind him. It was apletely natural reaction, like the torrential rain falling from the sky, the mountain sh flood bursting out of the dam. Bang! The Moon in the Well chopped Bi Xuans full-strength punch attack. Bi Xuan floated back; Kou Zhong fell five steps back. Standing still with the saber across his chest, heughed aloud and said, Im not bragging, right? How could it be easy to kill me? The qi field dissipated. Everything returned to its original state, the beginning of spring filled the park, on the Tao Chi the breeze was still, the waves were quiet. Bi Xuan put his hands behind his back, throwing his face back, heughed in response and said, Of course its not easy to kill Shaoshuai, otherwise there is no need for me, Bi Xuan to make my move! Shaoshuais saber technique is miraculous, something that I rarely see in my life, which makes me cannot help but feeling admiration for talented people. If Shaoshuai is willing to return to Liangdu and no longer get involved in Changans affair, I can make the decision to let Shaoshuai leave safely. Kou Zhong smiled and said, This kid nearly forget that Shengzhe is someone who can make decision on behalf of the Great Khan Xieli. I would like to ask one more thing, Shengzhe summoned me toe to die, did you receive Li Yuans acquiescence? The refined light in Bi Xuans pair of eyes exploded in a sh, he spoke indifferently, Currently Shaoshuai have your hands full managing your own affairs, you are still interested in paying attention to these branches and knots [fig. side issue]? Qiang! Kou Zhongs saber returned to its scabbard, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, he said, I never thought that until such a time, Shengzhe still want to conceal it from me. It could be seen that Shengzhe has no absolute certainty of killing me, hence you are afraid I would know the truth. foxswuxia.wordpress The murderous intent in Bi Xuans pair of eyes was ring greatly, but the tone of his voice still maintained some kind of inexplicable tranquility that could make peoples heart tremble. He spoke softly, When I made my move earlier, my intention was to test Shaoshuais ability, just like before attacking its prey a wolf must disturb the enemy, confuse the enemy in order to achieve the goal of knowing the enemy. Now Shaoshuais strengths and weaknesses are within my, Bi Xuans grasp, the next time I am making my move, I will not give Shaoshuai a chance to breathe again, Shaoshuai, please be careful. Inwardly, Kou Zhong shivered greatly. If what Bi Xuan said was true, then for him, everything bodes ill, no positive signs, because just now he had done everything he could, given his all, yet he still narrowly suffered defeat, unable to gain the slightest advantage, yet he had more or less offered all the skills that he kept at the bottom of his chest. The inferior situation next time they met could be easily imagined. With his status as a grandmaster, Bi Xuan should not have lied to him on this matter. Even though he was fully aware of this, Kou Zhong was still without the slightest bit of fear. Composing himself, he calmly cupped his fist to salute and said, Shengzhe does not need to hold your hands, please! Book 61 8 – Self-Destructive Tendency Book 61 Chapter 8 C Self-Destructive Tendency Xu Ziling had a feeling that he somewhat did not to know how to exin, he reached out to hold Shi Qingxuans pair of soft weeds [catkin (botany); I have no idea, perhaps a typo] in his precious and heavy hands. He met her puzzled eyes, and said with a sigh, Because the consequences are hard to fathom, he may not be able to bear the excitement and his spirit will split again, that would be terrible out-and-out. Ay! How to exin it? How can I say it? Due to Qingxuans presence here, he continues to soften. Just now he even made his move to save me, he even passed on the important form of the Bu Si Yin Fa to me, so that he would be unable to kill me and thus chopping down the evil thoughts. Even more important is that no matter how the situation in Changan develops, the possibility of us being able to leave alive could be considered a thread higher. Tranted by foxs Shi Qingxuans flowery countenance turned white, her fragrant body leaned forward, her cherry lips pressed against his right ear, with great self-control she kept her voice serene as she spoke softly, Xu Ziling, you are wrong! The truth is exactly the opposite of your guess. Not only he is determined to destroy you, but he also wants to destroy me. Before Niang passed away, she warned me that this person, Shi Zhixuans innate character has a tendency to self-destruct. He cannot put up with perfect oue, either to others or to himself; he is like that. When he and my Niang were intoxicated with the fruit of love, the flower of passion together, in the brilliant and blooming-like most blissful and touching happy life, it was precisely the moment he made his move to kill my Niang. The Great Sui Kingdom was built by Yang Jian with his assistance, but it was also he who destroyed it with his own hand. This is the most terrifying part of his character. You must never, ever have any visions and delusion about him. Now he is deliberately giving you and me hope, it is exactly an omen that he is going to destroy everything, including himself. Xu Zilings heart trembled, his hands passed through her nks, he pulled her, the warm, fragrant, and soft jade, into his bosom; he said, Luckily you reminded me, I was wondering why he did not mention about Wanwan might betray us, turns out he unexpectedly harbors evil thoughts. Dont worry! I will never let anyone hurt you. Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, There is a deep meaning behind him passing on the Bu Si Yin Fa to you, which is to give you the opportunity to be the only person who can break his Bu Si Yin Fa, so as to end his painful life. foxswuxia.wordpress Hearing that, Xu Ziling was confused, he asked, Wouldnt that be a contradiction? Is he going to kill us or let me kill him? Shi Qingxuan replied, This is his innate tendency of evil and good conscience cannotpromise with each other, just like he destroyed Niang and destroyed himself at the same time. Shi Zhixuan is not a normal person. He has never grasped life of seeing really interesting clear conscience in ordinary life, only through destruction and annihtion he will satisfy his sinister mind and spirit. Xu Ziling recalled his cruel method of not leaving a chicken or a dog alive toward Da Ming Zun Jiao, he said, Qingxuan, will you go back to the Xing Qing Pce with me? Remaining tranquil, Shi Qingxuan replied, This matter has reached the moment where it simply must be resolved, otherwise, this time, you guys will be defeated, the ground nketed with bodies, aplete wipe-out of the entire army. Three dayster, the zi hour [11 pm C 1 am] will be the anniversary of Niangs death. If you want to make your move, it must be at that moment, Ziling pleasee here to offer sacrifices to Niang with Qingxuan, I want Shi Zhixuan to receive his deserved divine retribution. This is the oath Qingxuan made at her grave after Niang passed away. Tranted by foxs Xu Zilings heart was violently shocked, it was hard to believe that all along Shi Qingxuan had the intention of revenge against her own father. Does Qingxuan want to kill him? he asked. Shi Qingxuan moved away a little, she smiled and said, That is the one thing he wants to happen the most, how can I not fulfill his wish? Dont ask any more question! Remember toe here on time to apany Qingxuan, and you must not involve your brother in it, this is a matter between Shi Qingxuan and Xu Ziling. Kou Zhong was once again trapped in the dry, blistering hot, desert-like without any liveliness qi field of Yan Yang Da Fa, and all he could see was Bi Xuans tall, erect and majestic devil and demon-like body, this terrifying opponent was like a lofty mountain, high peak that stand straight and would never fall in the storm, no one could knock him down and restrain him. Kou Zhong was well aware that in term of momentumpetition, he was in the disadvantageous position, because he had lost confidence in himself just now, Bi Xuan entered by exploiting a weak spot, sending him into a downward trend leading to defeat. If he was unable to reverse this situation, when Bi Xuanunched his offensive, he would undoubtedly lose. His hand grabbed the hilt of his saber. His heart and spirit immediately entered the ten-thousand li emptiness, the heaven and earth and man became one C realm, and emerged as genuine power of a human being, natural and had an as-it-should-be-by-right feeling. foxswuxia.wordpress Bi Xuan generated reaction, the murderous intention in his pair of eyes was ring even greater. At this moment where a thousand jun was hanging by a thread, Huangshang has arrived! As if he had not heard it, Kou Zhongs eyes, his heart and spirit, were all locked at Bi Xuan tightly, to guard against him determining victory or defeat in one strike. Bi Xuanughed aloud and restrained his qi field; not getting angry at all, he said, I am afraid Shaoshuais life is not going to be cut short today, I hope Shaoshuai will still have such a good luck next time. Finished speaking, he returned inside the tent without saying anything, showing disdain toward Li Yuan, who wasing under escort of the imperial guards. Kou Zhong returned to Xing Qing Pce. Outside the Shuang Hui Lous [double splendors building] door, he ran into Hou Xibai who was going out. Thetter heaved a sigh of relief and said, You, LaoGe cane back alive, now I can put down a pile of load on my mind. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Could it be that you still have any worries? Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, Its not mine, its ours. After leaving Fu Ju Lou, Lao Ba never came back; I was about to go out to look for him. Tranted by foxs Hearing that, Kou Zhongs brows knitted deeply, he pondered for half a day, Wheres Ling Shao? he asked first. He just came back, Hou Xibai replied, He is seeing Hu Xiaoxian in the main building. His expression was very strange, he seemed to have something on his mind, its a pity I didnt have a chance to ask him. Kou Zhong already saw a horse-drawn carriage parked in the za in front of the main building, only he did not expect it to be Hu Xiaoxians fragrant carriage. Pulling Hou Xibai aside, he said, If you are going to look for Lao Ba like this, it wont be any different from fishing a needle from the sea. I have other things that I need your help with, but tell me about Lei Dage first. Hou Xibai replied, They are going to leave by boat at dusk, only Lei Dage, one person remains. Ma Chang has already started to move out the weapons in the treasure house, he even asked me to tell you that they put stones in the weapons chests and only put some weapons on the topyer, so that unless someone inspects the chest by turning it over, they will think it is still sealed and had not been moved. Kou Zhong praised, Ma Chang, this fellow is indeed resourceful, I do not have such a meticulous thought as he does. Hou Xibai said, Is there anything else Shaoshuai wants me to do? Kou Zhong said, Now the situation is getting worse and worse, we may be forced to act at any time. I am asking Xibai to immediately notify Lei Dage, tell him to inform Ma Chang, and then he and Ma Chang to draw up a n to enter the city. It must be a two-pronged n. One is to enter the city via the treasure house secret passage, the other is to use the Huang He Bangs power; this is a very important matter, we must not fail. foxswuxia.wordpress Hou Xibai said, Have you set a date? Kou Zhong said, Lets just say in three days! Hou Xibais countenance changed, he said, Unexpectedly its that urgent. Kou Zhong sighed and said, The first to move will control others, theter to move will be controlled by others. Since entering Changan, we have been led by the nose by Jiancheng and Yuanji. Now we are forced to make a big counterattack. After discussing it with Li kid, it should be time for us to set the fine time, lucky day for the uprising. His Niangs! Standing on top of the steps, Xu Ziling followed Hu Xiaoxians carriage leaving with his eyes. Kou Zhong appeared next to him and said with augh, Did Meirenere to act like a spoiled child to Ling Shao? More or less, Xu Ziling replied. Then he looked him up and down, and said in astonishment, Did Bi Xuan invite you just to drink two mouthfuls of goat milk? Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong smiled and said, How could there be such a good reception? He wanted my life. If I am not guessing incorrectly, Li Yuan should have acquiesced to Bi Xuan to kill me, onlyter he changed his mind and personally moved his dragon-self to interrupt the duel that almost took my little life. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Unexpectedly there is such a thing. Li Yuan is reaping the consequences of his words, and Bi Xuan still has not brushed his sleeves and left the city? Kou Zhong said, Bi Xuans reaction at the time was surprisingly rxed, he was just beaming with smiles and hid back to his wolf cave. I guess Li Yuan did not personally agree with Bi Xuans actions, maybe Jiancheng and Yuanji were threading the needle in between to persuade Li Yuan to allow Bi Xuan to deal with me. Not only they could sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight, but they could also curry favor with the Tujue. Ay! I am even more worried that Bi Xuan already figured out my foundation, so he has a hundred-percent confidence to kill me, therefore, for the time being, there is no need to rush. Revealing a grave expression, Xu Ziling spoke in low voice, Come inside the building and talk! The two climbed to the third floor and sat down on the side by theke. Kou Zhong said, I wonder where Lao Ba went? Xu Ziling said, On the contrary, I am not worried about him, lets not say that he has enough strength to protect himself, the crucial point is that the enemy have no time to spare for separate task; while Bi Xuan was dealing with you, Yang Xuyan, together with Ge Suwen, Han Chaoan, Huyan Tiezhen, and Tuoba Miefu, four big kids were ambushing me outside Yu He Ans gate. foxswuxia.wordpress Sucking in a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, How could you, without the least bit of injury, sit here and talk? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Your misgivings nearly became a reality. Fortunately, Shi Zhixuan came to the rescue, so that Yang Xuyan and the others retreated without sess. What? Kou Zhong blurted out. Xu Ziling said, No need to make a fuss about nothing, it is very clear that we have once again passed through another round of the enemys meticulously-nned offensive. We were in danger at the same time, it was not a coincidence, rather, it was a plot. If it seeded, one after another we would have returned to the Western Paradise, and the enemy would have seized total victory. Fortunately, we both crossed the barrier with luck. Kou Zhong spoke fiercely, We can no longer sit and wait for death, we must recover our face, lets pick a few random hands as a banner sacrifice first. Tranted by foxs Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Great ns can be ruined by just a touch of impatience, what we pursue is the ultimate decisive victory, not a quick, momentary bravado of courageous and ruthless sess. Ay! My story has not reached its finale yet, Shi Zhixuan passed on the important essence of his Bu Si Yin Fa to me. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was bbergasted, he did not know what to say. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, His motive for passing on the Bu Si Yin Fa to me is very strange, it was so that he will be unable to kill me, but also to increase the difficulty of other people to kill me, because he knew that Qingxuan was willing to give herself to marry down [i.e. of a woman to marry a man of lower social status] Xiaodi. Kou Zhong happily said, In that case, dont we have to worry about this threat from him anymore? Xu Ziling sighed and said, That is another problem that gives me headache. And then he narrated Shi Qingxuans way of looking at this matter. He continued, Qingxuan is going to break off rtionship with Shi Zhixuan three dayster, on the anniversary of her Niangs death. Ay! To be honest, I have doubts about Qingxuans view. Shi Zhixuan is no longer like the Shi Zhixuan before, he certainly has real heart, real intention toward Qingxuan, but Qingxuans prejudice toward him is just too deep. If she really, when the dayes, the timees, y the soul-chasing flute melody, the consequences will be unimaginable. If Shi Zhixuan falls into split-spirit [schizophrenia] again, no one can predict what will happen! Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, No wonder you said its a headache, right now my head is hurting terribly. Uh, have you learned the Bu Si Yin Fa? foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, he said, Do you remember the weird situation when we were just learning the Secret to Long Life? Every time we exhausted our qi, after we recovered, we had even more vitality, that strange situation? The reason Shi Zhixuan is not afraid of fighting against the crowd, other than in sensing the enemy like knowing himself, in borrowing the energy and unloading the energy aspect he has the unrivalled-in-the-world remarkable ability, the more important key is the profound gongfa with which he can transform death into life, to turn life to be death, which is the essence of Bu Si Yin Fa. Kou Zhong was puzzled, he asked, Transforming death into life is naturally amazing, but turning life to be death, isnt that just like killing yourself? What is there to learn? Xu Ziling smiled and said, The ingenuity is precisely here; the reason Hou kid and I have been unable to figure it out, turns out when the true qi exhausted, it is dead, but when the qi is recovered, it is life. Life can turn to death, and death can turn to life. The form says, A little true yang creates kan [one of the Eight Trigrams (Ba Gua) symbolizing water], li [another Ba Gua reference symbolizing fire] pce making up for the shortage; qian [Ba Gua: symbolizing heaven] is moving, kun [Ba Gua: symbolizing earth] is turning, kan and li have no rest; creation of the universe is silent, in the water the fire arose; above connecting the tian gu [heaven valley, acupoint], below reaching the yong quan [gushing spring, acupoint]: tian hu [heaven door] is always open, di hu [earth door] is often free. When you hear it, what do you feel? [Disimer: if you try this at home and suffer fire deviation, please do not me the trantor I have no idea what he was talking about.] Tranted by foxs Kou Zhong was interested, he nodded and said, This form seems to describe the state of our Secret to Long Life that captures the essence of the heaven and the earth. True qi may pierce through the crown of the head and enter, or rise from the yong quan of both feet, and the heaven qi and the earth qi will trickle and gather in the sea of ????qi of the dantian [the point two inches below the navel where ones qi resides]. Xu Ziling said, As long as the process of when our qi exhausted and is recovering is a hundred times faster than other people, and turn it into something that can be achieved while considering other things on the battlefield, we will at least learn half of Shi Zhixuans Bu Si Yin Fa and Huan Mo Shen Fa realm. Shaken, Kou Zhong said, I understand! Xu Ziling said, Even if other people understand it, due to the difference in gongfa, they can know but cannot reach. However, once we understand it, we can see the actual effect immediately. Carefully consider the following form, The acquired qi belongs to yin, the innate qi belongs to yang. Yin exhausted, yang arises, yang exhausted, yin arises, the breath is harmonious, cirction and flow six emptiness, externally connecting yin and yang is the mark, internally generating true oneness is the body. Do you understand? pping the small table, Kou Zhong said, Shi Zhixuan is indeed an out-of-this-world martial arts genius from the demonic school. Even such a gongfa that is in line with thews of Heaven and Earth, he discovered it. With our Long-Life Qi form that fits with the heavenlyw, we can use man-made means to eliminate and hold back the true qi within the body to extreme exhaustion, reaching yin-to-the-extreme-yang-arises critical point, and the faster it goes, the fiercer ites. The Heaven and Earth qi pierced through the crown on the head and passing through to the feet and lives, life can restore death, death can restore life, like the heavenlyw continuing endlessly. His Niangs! I really want to see Bi Xuan again right away, to let him have a taste of Shi Zhixuans xinfa. foxswuxia.wordpress Xu Ziling said, We still need to train hard until reaching the what the heart wishes, the hand aplishes C level before it will work. What good thing did Li Yuan tell you? Kou Zhong said, Coming and going, it is all rubbish. Time is running out. Ill go to visit Chang He in secret right now. He was on dutyst night. Now he should sleep at home,ter on we will have to look for our Shimin Xiong. Xu Ziling nodded and said, You must never be discovered, otherwise Chang He will be charged with the search-the-house-and-confiscate-possessions big crime. Ill stay here and wait for Lao Ba to return. Learning about the Bu Si Yins xinfa, Kou Zhongs mood improved, so he went away with augh. After Kou Zhong left, Xu Ziling was still sitting nkly upstairs in the building, thoughts were surging in his mind. Tranted by foxs Today was only the second day after arriving in Changan, but he, Xu Ziling has been ambushed twice, and both had happened on his way to see Shi Qingxuan, and the arrangement was exquisite. From this, it could be seen that the enemys intelligence was urate, their preparations sufficient, the n was decided first and then they movedter, doing everything they could, by all means, not only to destroy the not-yet-aplished alliance between them and Li Yuan, but also to put him and Kou Zhong to death. Jiancheng and Yuanji formed an alliance with the Tujue headed by Bi Xuan, as well as with Ge Suwen and his gang, they were using all the power at their disposal,mitting all manner of crimes, to strike at their and Li Shimins side. Obviously, they were in a passive and disadvantaged position, until this moment they were stillcking the strength to fight back. Shi Zhixuan and Wanwans hard-to-fathom intention made their situation even worse, until it could not be even more inferior than this. Even the Duke Yangs Treasure-house could no longer be relied upon. Rash uprising would undoubtedly be striking a stone with an egg, merely courting disaster. Fortunately, although Li Yuan wholeheartedly supported Jiancheng, he was still hesitant about whether to fullymit to the Tujue, otherwise they would have to simply forget everything. And then there was their Shigong, the Yijian Dashi Fu Cailin, with whom emotion and enmity were hard to resolve. He could only hope that he would be different from ordinary people, and would be able to see through that blindly helping the Tujue would bring a hundred harms without a single benefit to Gaoli, and would not stand on Jianchengs side. foxswuxia.wordpress Thebination of so many unfavorable factors and the still-unclear situation was exactly the situation they were facing now. Not only they had to struggle for survival, they also had to upend heaven and earth and strive for the final victory. Thinking to this point, he sighed inwardly. Coming upstairs, Wang Xuanshu said, Dong Guifei ising again! Frowning, Xu Ziling said, Dong Guifei? Ah! Just tell her that Kou Zhong is not here. Wang Xuanshu said in anger, I already told her! But she insists that seeing you is all right. Humph! Seeing her furious expression, she should being tounch a punitive campaign. Recalling Ling Longjiaos affair, Xu Ziling smiled bitterly and said, Tell her to wait for me in the main hall downstairs, Ill go down to see her after tidying up a bit. Kou Zhong quietly left Chang Hes general mansion from the backyard, feeling at a loss. Unlike his expectation, Chang He was not asleep in the mansion. Where did this kid go? Without the support of Chang He and several key high-ranking military officers in Changan City, they definitely had no ability to withstand Jiancheng and Yuanji, not to mention Li Yuan, the Great Tang emperor who had control over massive military force in his hand. Tranted by foxs Merely the fifteen-thousand-man army unit that Li Yuan stationed in the West Inner Park already had enough power to turn any situation around. Even against Jiancheng and Yuanji, merely their three thousand Changlin army cooperating with the Tujue and Gaoli, various forces, their strength was already above the Heavenly Policy Mansion and the Shao Shuai allied armies. Their sudden uprising might gain a slight superiority at the beginning, but in the end, under the enemys counterattack, they would inevitably be crushed and disintegrated. The more urgent the time, the less he could predict when Jianchengs next round of offensive would beunched? Fortunately, obtaining the Bu Si Yin Fas key essence that Shi Zhixuan imparted has given him and Xu Ziling a bit more confidence in saving their lives. The problem was that they really could not solve the problem by running away. Even with the Bu Si Yin Fa that they could depend on, they were, after all, only flesh and blood, the damage might be too heavy, they would be defeated and dispersed. Ay! What should he do now? Should he go to consult Li Shentong to see the development of his effort in contacting the crowd of ministers and various generals? Or should he go directly to see Li Shimin, to discuss the day of the uprising, to take his grannys all on one throw, to see whether Laotianye was still on their side. foxswuxia.wordpress While hesitating, divine light shed in his mind, he remembered a ce where Chang He might go. Composing himself, Kou Zhong first checked whether he was followed; after determining that there was no problem, relying on his memory, he sneaked toward another big residence not far from the Chang Mansion. Book 61 9 – Flying Arrow Letter Book 61 Chapter 9 C Flying Arrow Letter Before Wang Xuanshu had a chance to go downstairs, Dong Shuni charged inside, unleashing her coquettish anger in a big way and said, What do you and Kou Zhong think you are doing? Im here now to ask for him, hand him over to me immediately. However, her gestures did not match her words, she frequently pointed downstairs. Looking at her, Wang Xuanshu had no idea what she was getting at, but Xu Ziling finally understood. He responded, Zaixia has a secret matter to report to Guifei, after Guifei understand, you will think that we are pardonable; however, I can only report it to Guifei alone. Then he signaled Wang Xuanshu with his eyes and said, No one is allowed to disturb us, Guifeis attendants can go to the ground floor to wait for orders. While he was still suspicious, Wang Xuanshu led Dong Shunis entourage downstairs. Dong Shuni still deliberately raised her voice, saying, All right! I will listen to what you have to say. She plopped her butts down on the seat Kou Zhong had just vacated. Xu Ziling cleared his heart to listened attentively for quite half a day, then he nodded and said, Guifei may speak without any worry! Dong Shuni reached over, pulled his sleeve, and then, looking as if she was about to cry, she said anxiously, You have to leave immediately, Huangshang, under Jiancheng, Yuanji, Yin Zuwen, Pei Ji and the others instigation, has epted Bi Xuans condition, which is you must not leave Changan alive. Xu Ziling intuitively felt that every word she said came out of her lungs and guts, she was not pretending at all. Greatly astonished, he said, Such a secret matter, how could they let you know? Dong Shuni let go of his sleeves and spoke in distress, No matter what, you ought to believe me this time. Last night Huangshang summoned me to apany him to lie down, and then Wei Gonggong came to report that you were going to the Hong Yi Pce to see Qin Wang, and Huangshang was furious. Later, after talking with Wei Gonggong in low voice, he forced his hot anger down. And then he summoned Jiancheng, Yuanji, Pei Ji, and Yin Zuwen, four men, and they talked for nearly a whole sichen before returning to the bedroom [orig. pce to lie down] to rest, looking like he was preupied, plus from time to time his eyes revealed an ominous glint, no matter how I fawned on him, he still had the same expression. Finally, he even summoned Wei Gonggong. I overheard that he was going to see Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan. If it was not rted to your life and death, how could he rm Bi Xuan in the depth of the night like that? Xu Ziling felt a chill down his entire spine, he spoke heavily, You are taking such a risk to warn us, arent you afraid of raising other peoples suspicions? A look of disdain appeared at the corner of Dong Shunis mouth, sheughed and said, They just treat me as a ything without a brain, I will definitely make them regret it. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, You betrayed them just for this reason? Although the two people did not explicitly say who they were referring to, but in their heart, they both knew clearly said that they were talking about Li Yuan and Yang Xuyan. Dong Shunis pair of eyes emitted deep hatred, she spoke in low voice, Xuanshu biaoxiong [older male cousin from mothers side] is the only blood rtive left in the Wang family, and I, Dong Shuni, will never allow anyone to kill him. Ziling! Trust me! You have no chance in Changan, you must get away immediately. Bi Xuan is a very terrifying person, he is the devil king among the Tujue, I am very scared of him! Xu Zilings heart sank straight down, Dong Shuni was right, they no longer had a chance of sess in Changan, because Li Yuan hadpletely drawn close towards Jiancheng and Bi Xuans side, if it wasnt for Dong Shuni braving death to tell them, they would still have a thread of hope of luck toward Li Yuan. This morning Li Yuan was willing to restrain his anger and personally went to the Hong Yi Pce to forgive Li Shimin, it was just to trick them into returning to the city. As for interrupting the duel between Bi Xuan and Kou Zhong, it was very likely due to the failed assassination of Xu Ziling, he felt that it was not the right time, or perhaps there were other reasons, hence the reason Bi Xuan looked so rxed. Dong Shunis whisper continued into his ears, I hate Li Yuan, and I hate Yang Xuyan even more. Kou Zhong is right, they killed my Da Jius [oldest uncle from mothers side] entire family. Xu Ziling said, Werent you refusing to believe what Kou Zhong told you? Dong Shunis hot tears finally burst out of the socket of her eyes, with tears flowing down her face, she spoke sorrowfully, When I went back, I looked for Ling Longjiao toin bitterly [orig. to have bitter digestive fluids rising to the mouth, fig. to pour out ones sufferings], she reminded me what kind of people you are, so that I was just like waking up from a confused nightmare, I figured out what happened before, which made no sense to me. You guys must leave quickly! Xu Ziling remembered what Mei Xun said at the Fu Ju Lou to sound out their and Song Ques situation. The reason why Li Yuan suddenly changed his attitude, so that things were developing rapidly after an abrupt turn was most likely because he mistakenly thought that Song Que was seriously injured in the decisive battle with Yue Shan, and was unable to show an interest in what happened in the north. Therefore, if he could kill Kou Zhong and him, Xu Ziling now, and temporarily relieve the threat of the invasion of the allied armies from outside the Great Wall, he might be able to seize the good once-in-a-thousand-year-opportunity to unify the world. Based on his so-reluctant-to-give-up-his-power attitude, how could he be willing to lightly miss this opportunity? Dong Shuni raised her sleeves to wipe away her tears, she said, Where is Ling Longjiao? Xu Ziling said, We already sent people to escort her back to beyond the Great Wall. Shuni, you pretend to be angry now and go back to the pce immediately. Dont worry about us, we have a n. Avoiding the eyes and ears of the servants and the mansion guards, Kou Zhong sneaked to the garden inside the mansion house next to Liu Zhenghuis study room, he focused his power into his pair of ears. Sure enough, the Emperor of Heaven did not fail a resolute person. Liu Zhenghui was just having a secret talk with Chang He, what they were talking about was precisely him, Kou Zhong. He heard Chang He said, This matter really makes people in difficulties left and right; you tell me! What should I do now? Liu Zhenghui muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, then said, Kou Zhong, whether in the identity of Shaoshuai or Mo Yixin, is supremely honorable and righteous. I dont think he will reveal his rtionship with you. As long as you and I act like we dont know about it, we should be able to avoid disaster. Chang He sighed and said, If I thought so, I wouldnt havee to you and drag you into this matter. What makes me in difficulty is thatst night, Taizi deployed the best of Changlins elite troops to set an ambush outside the Xing Qing Pces gate, to put Shaoshuai, four men to the death in one fell swoop, fortunately, Shaoshuai revealed his Mo Yixins identity to me in time, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable. Aghast, Liu Zhenghui said, Unexpectedly there is such thing? Taizi is not afraid of Huangshangs punishment? Chang He spoke heavily, My guess is that Huangshang gave his consent to this matter, otherwise how could Taizi dare to be this brazen? I heard that Xieli proposed a condition to Huangshang, as long as he offers Shaoshuais head, he guarantees that he will not invade the Central ins within three years. Liu Zhenghui spoke in a trembling voice, Xieli has the heart of a wolf, how could his words be easily trusted? Moreover, if Shaoshuai is killed, Song Que will certainly be angered, and the world will be turbulent. How could Huangshang be so willing to risk the worlds anger? Chang He said, There are rumors in Jianghu that Song Que was seriously injured in the decisive battle against Yue Shan, in the short term it will be difficult for him to lead troops to the battlefield. This rumor influences Huangshangs intention in forming an alliance. Hearing that, Kou Zhong on the outside was shocked, musing that turned out that was what happened, no wonder Li Yuan unexpectedly allowed Bi Xuan to deal with him. Liu Zhenghui said, If Shaoshuai is killed, how could there still be a ce for Qin Wang in Changan? Chang He sighed and said, Therefore, you should understand by now why I came to consult with you. Tock! Kou Zhong sent out a finger wind to hit the window. The window opened, revealing Chang He and Liu Zhenghuis shocked countenance. Kou Zhong, who has transformed himself into the ugly divine doctor Mo Yixin, appeared outside the window and said with a smile, Two gentlemen LaoGe Daren, how are you? May Ie in and say a few words? After Dong Shuni left, Xu Ziling lost the mood to wait, doing nothing; he hurriedly went downstairs, contemting whether he ought to go to Kou Zhong and tell him this important matter concerning their life or death, sess or failure. Ba Fenghan came back, his demeanor leisurely, he smiled and said, Ziling is going out? Shall Ol Bae with you for a moment? Momentarily Xu Ziling set aside the load on mis mind, he scrutinized Ba Fenghans expression in astonishment, and said, Where did you slip away to? Unexpectedly you are in such a good mood? Shrugging his shoulders, Ba Fenghanughed and said, I just sent out a challenge letter to Bi Xuan, crossing over Ke Dazhi, this nasty obstacle, forcing him to a decisive battle, naturally my mood is very good. Staring nkly, Xu Ziling asked, How did you send a challenge letter to Bi Xuan? Ba Fenghan patted the Shooting-the-Moon Bow hidden inside his outer robe, he spoke cheerfully, Naturally I sent the letter using the divine bow. I picked the tallest pagoda in the monastery at the Xiu De [lit. cultivating virtue] Lane next to the imperial pce, and shot an arrow across Yeting Pce, straight toward the Tao Chi, and write a letter in Tujuenguage, addressed to Bi Xuan personally, guaranteeing that the challenge letter will fall into his hands. If he is a little ashamed, he will have no choice but toe to the meeting on time. Xu Zilings countenance changed, he said, When and where will the decisive battle be? Ba Fenghan nonchntly replied, Just before sunrise tomorrow, the location is up to him to choose, I am quietly waiting for his good news. Xu Ziling felt a great headache, musing that before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises, things were like a wild horse escaping its fold, no longer under anybodys control. Chang He and Liu Zheng weed their old friend Mo Yixin from the window into the study room, both had all sorts of feelings welled up in their heart, their mood was contradictory and was in difficult position, neither one knew how to express their feeling. Kou Zhong, using Mo Yixins trademark and the unpleasant-to-hear voice, took the initiative to speak [orig. the guest acts as the host], Two gentlemen Daren, please sit down first and then well talk. This time I aming here remembering our brotherhood, giving thought to your, as well as the army and civilians of the entire citys life, family and properties, to offer the only feasible way. You must never, ever hesitate, because there is only one way to survive. Deeply worried and sick at heart, Chang He and Liu Zhenghui sat down beside him, on his left and right. The former sighed and said, We have alreadymitted the crime of deceiving the lord because of you. Ay! What do you want us to do? Liu Zhenghui said, Under current situation, Mo Xiong oh! No! Shaoshuai practically cannot do anything at all. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Supposing I immediately pull my troops and leave, two gentlemen think what kind of situation will Changan be in? Chang He and Liu Zhenghui wanted to say something but then hesitated, in the end they remained silent. Kou Zhong solemnly said, What you dare not say, let Xiaodi say it on your behalf. At that time, my only choice will be to return to Liangdu and prepare for the battle with all my strength. When the allied forces outside the Great Wall areing down south to attack Changan, I will promptly send troops to Luoyang. And at that time, Li Yuan will be forced to strip Qin Wangs military power, or even put Qin Wang to death for the crime of treason. When the big tree is gone, the Great Wall is falling, the armys heart will be destroyed and dispersed. Not only will the Great Tang Kingdom be powerless to resist the invasion of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, there will be no one who can resist me even more. I can guarantee that the various high-ranking military officers under Qin Wangs control will surrender to me, Kou Zhong, one by one, because that is the wisest choice. At that time the safety and danger of the Central Earth will be decided by the battle between me and Xieli, the Great Tang Kingdoms allotted share remaining will be to wait to be ughtered. His appearance was the ugly divine doctor Mo Yixin, but his voice and demeanor were that of the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world, toward Chang and Liu, two men, it produced a strange intimidating effect. Chang He said, This matter has a hundred benefits without a single harm to Shaoshuai, why do you still want to stay here and take risks? Kou Zhong tore off his mask and put it into his bosom, his pair of eyes shed with radiance, he said with a serious expression, Im not doing it for myself, but for themon people of the Central Earth. They have suffered so much, they cant no longer bear arge-scale ravaging fire of war that continue for many years and months. You may have guessed it, I dont want to be the emperor myself, rather, I hope that after the unification of the world, a virtuous and capable person will preside there. This ruler is precisely Li Shimin. If I, Kou Zhong, have a single empty word, let me not have a good death. I know that two gentlemen are people faithful to the ruler and love your country, however, the people are the most important, the ruler is secondary. At this moment, when the country is ruined and the people starving could happen any moment, those with aspiration for the peoples welfare should make the right choice, otherwise, any mistake will be difficult to rectify, and will have to take responsibility of the terrifying consequences even more. Smiling bitterly, Chang He said, We absolutely believe Shaoshuais sincerity, however, the problem is that even if we are willing to throw out lot to Shaoshuai, at this moment when Huangshang, Taizi, and Qi Wang are on the all-out defensive, we are still in the will is there, but not the strength C state. Kou Zhong happily said, With what Chang Daren said, I already feel that this trip has not been made in vain. But first, I want to ask you, people like you who cannot stand by idly and watch Huangshang being generous to Jiancheng but meager toward Shimin, how many are there? Among the Great Tangs ministers and generals, how many approve Jianchengs, disregarding shame, curry favor and collude with the Tujue, who still have the ambition of wild wolves against us C conduct and deeds? Liu Zhenghui said, Is Shaoshuai nning to execute hey Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, The ones I want to kill are Jiancheng and Yuanji, but Li Yuan must abdicate and make way for the worthy person. Chang He dejectedly said, That is impossible. Kou Zhong calmly said, You havent answered my question yet. If Qin Wang and Jiancheng, Yuanji are in open conflict, how many people will stand on Qin Wangs side? Liu Zhenghui spoke honestly, Most of the soldiers and civilians in Changan City are in favor of Qin Wang. Raising his hand, Kou Zhong said, That will do! I have a team of elite troops, one person can block one hundred C resting their head on the dagger-axe outside the city, they can enter the city at any time to help out. Combined with Qin Wangs Dark-Armored elite troops, we have enough power to change the sky in Changan [change the sky is also a term meaning restoration of reactionary rule or the previous regime]. Under the premise of national justice, you must make a choice, or I will immediately leave the city and go far away, no longer care about Changans affair. Bang! Chang Hes palm pped the small table next to him, he said, Very well! I, Chang He believe in Shaoshuai and Qin Wang, so its decided. Zhenghui, what do you think? Liu Zhenghui said, Just by looking at how Shaoshuai did not kill us to shut our mouth but only choose to leave, I know clearly what kind of person Shaoshuai is. I, Liu Zhenghui, have always boasted that I have read the books of the sages intensively, so I should know the principle of choosing the right course and follow it. Very well! Shaoshuai, please bestow your instruction. Xu Ziling sat nkly at the top of the stone steps in front of the Double-Splendor Buildings main gate, waiting painstakingly for Kou Zhong to return. Ba Fenghan returned to his bedroom to meditate behind closed doors, in preparation to take up the challenge. This moment Hou Xibai came back, strolling leisurely. Even with such a heavy heart, Xu Ziling still felt his stretched-taut nerves obtained relief by his naturally elegant and leisurely demeanor. Hou Xibai was not only well versed in letters and martial arts, he was also a wonderful person who was content with who he was. Hou Xibai sat down by his side him and said with augh, This is called near the cinnabar, one would turn scarlet. I never thought that I would sit on the stone steps, unexpectedly its so cool andfortable. But then he grinned mysteriously and said, Guess what I brought back. Under the gentle spring afternoon sun, being in the garden of Xing Qing Pce, making people unable to imagine the hustle and bustle of the city streets outside the pce, it was even more difficult to associate it with the tense atmosphere of vicious troops and dangerous battles. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Why dont youe and guess, what good thing I have in my head to tell you. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai said, How would I know? Xu Ziling said, You are speaking out my answer. The two men looked at each other, and then roared inughter together, brimming with friendly regard of intimate brotherhood. Catching his breath, Hou Xibai said, All right! Let me tell you! I met Ma Chang in Furong Ye mansion. This person is indeed a talent who can take heavy responsibilities upon himself; he had already seen through that our situation is not too encouraging, these past two days, with the help of Huang He Bang, he transferred some of the brothers and weapons into the city. They were mainly hiding in the secret cabins of the boats moored at the dock, unless the enemy had definite information, no need to worry that they would be detected. Xu Ziling nodded and said, He did a good job, very good! Hou Xibai said, After hearing the message I passed on, he decided to give up the Duke Yangs Treasure-house secret passage and instead expedite the operation to infiltrate the city. As soon as our Shaoshuai Daye [big master] sends the signal, he can respond with the signal. Ha! You finally guessed the life-saving treasure in my bosom! Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Is it a firework fire-arrow to send signal? Hou Xibai patted him on the shoulder vigorously, while with the other hand he took out a firework fire-arrow wrapped in wax paper, saying, The firework fire-arrow is divided into three colors: red, green, and yellow, each type has four arrows. If seeing red, Ma Chang will lead his men to attack towards the ce from which the fire-arrow is rising to the sky; green means the target of assault is the Xuanwu Gate behind the Taiji Pces main entrance, and yellow means to capture the sluice gate of YongAn Canal leading out of the city, to provide support to our escape via the waterway. Xu Ziling sighed in praise, Ma Chang thought of everything very carefully. Hou Xibai said, Ma Chang said its best for them to be in a direct contact with the Tian Ce Fu, so that during the uprising they can cooperate with the Dark-Armored troops. Currently he is relying on the Huang He Bangs vastwork of eyes and ears [i.e. spies] inside the city, he knows the troops distribution in the city like the back of his hand. However, he does not know much about the situation inside the imperial pce, especially the troops stationed in the West Inner Garden under themand of Tang Jian. Xu Ziling said, When Kou Zhong returns, he will meet with Ma Chang to give him instructions and make arrangements. In this regard, he is better than me. Concerned, Hou Xibai asked, Wheres Lao Ba? Xu Ziling replied, He went back to his room to sleep. Hou Xibai was greatly delighted, and then he yawned, and said with augh, Its good that he is back! I also want to lie down and have a good sleep, tonight we still have to go see Shigong. Hey! What is it in your head that you wanted to tell me? Xu Ziling replied indifferently, Bu Si Yin Fa. Stunned, Hou Xibai looked at him. Xu Ziling stared fixedly at him for quite half a day, he said, Lingshi [your esteemed master] has passed on Bu Si Yin Fa to me, and now I will pass it on to you. When you feel you have a grasp on it, Yang Xuyan will be handed over to you, for you to take the responsibility of clearing up your school. What do you think? Hou Xibai said in disbelief, Shizun unexpectedly passed on the Bu Si Yin Fa to you? Laotian [Heavens]! Whats going on here? Is it good news or bad news? Remembering Shi Qingxuan, Xu Ziling smiled wryly and said, Dont ask me, because Im greatly confused as well. It is only now that I truly grasped what it means to turn life into death and death into life, why Lingshi think that Bu Si Yin Fa is some kind of an illusion technique, and that Song Que has the simr view. Hou Xibai was listening with nk expression, he had nothing to say. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Bu Si Yin Fa is some kind of illusion technique after it reaches perfection, the target is the meridians inside our brains, which can cause all kinds of illusions. After knowing the enemy, confuse the enemy and fool the enemy,bined with the ability to transform death into life, and make the real qi to be in the peak state for a long time, a unique method to recycle the qi, hence it could stand in the ce of not dead. Hou Xibai exhaled a long breath, he said, Ziling, please give directions. Book 61 10 – Brushing Off the Sleeves and Leaving the City Book 61 Chapter 10 C Brushing Off the Sleeves and Leaving the City Kou Zhong entered Xing Chang Long via the back door, he was met by Duan Zhixuan. Thetter said in low voice, Shaoshuai, please! and then he led the way to a building in the backyard that looked like a warehouse. Xing Chang Longs big boss was Bu Wannian, who lived outside the Pass [GuanWai]. The shop in Changan was run by his second son, Bu Jie, belonging to the Guanzhong Jian Pai [Sword Sect]. In the past, when Xu Ziling first sneaked into Guanzhong, it was through their connection. Before Kou Zhong went to see Chang He, he requested to have a secret meeting with Li Shimin here via their secret method to contact each other. The door of the warehouse opened a little, revealing Pang Yus handsome face. His expression grave, he said, Qin Wang is waiting respectfully for Shaoshuais great self. Kou Zhong patted him on the shoulder like an old friend, heughed in a rxed manner and said, No need to be nervous, until this moment, at whose hand will the deer die [fig. who will emerge victorious] is still unknown. Half a dayter, he met Li Shimin in a corner where there was a pile of goods. Li Shimins expression calm and collected, he waved Pang Yu and Duan Zhixuan to retreat, he said, Shimin was about to look for Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Is it because Lingzun issued a decree that hereafter you, three brothers must go through Xuanwu Gate when entering and leaving Taiji Pce? Stunned, Li Shimin said, The secret edict was issued at wu hour [11am C 1pm, noon], the news unexpectedly reached Shaoshuais ears so quickly? Kou Zhong said, I just heard it from Chang He. The cab ministers in Changan are all talking spiritedly about this, not understanding why Huangshang made such a move, only that it is not a good thing at all. The refined light in Li Shimins pair of eyes ring greatly, he said excitedly, Chang He? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Precisely one of the four chiefmanding officers of Xuanwu Gate Chang He, he is now on our side, and has sworn to serve Qin Wang to the death. Greatly delighted, Li Shimin said, This news is the second sweet rain we encountered in a long drought, even though its only been two days since we returned to Changan. Kou Zhong asked cheerfully, Is there any other good news? Li Shimin said, Liu Hongji came to talk to me before noon, asking directly whether Shaoshuai supports me, Li Shimin, with all your strength. Among Fuhuangs trusted aides high-ranking military officers, he always has a better rtionship with me, his conduct is just, so I did not conceal it from him. Kou Zhong said, My supporting you is now known to the whole city. What he wanted to ask is probably if there is any unusual change, the world is unified, whether it would be you or me to be the emperor. Li Shimin nodded and said, Shaoshuais view is very urate. At this tense juncture of sess or failure, exist or perish, I must win him over to our side, so I told him forthrightly that the movement is a virtuous cause for the rise and fall of the country, he immediately vowed loyalty and devotion to me. Pleased beyond his expectation, Kou Zhong said, That is indeed a huge good news. Emotionally moved, Li Shimin said, Liu Hongji is willing to surrender and pay allegiance to me, it all thanks to what Shaoshuai said to him on the way to Hong Yi Pcest night, which deeply moved him. He told me that Shaoshuai is an outsider and you have enough strength topete with our House of Tang, under the circumstances where the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall are pressing on our territory, not only you did not take advantage of my danger, you even give up the great undertaking to obtain the throne, and make every effort to avoid disasters in the Central Earth. Such a big benevolent and righteous behavior further highlights the fact that Jiancheng, Yuanji, and Fuhuang are only seeking personal gain. This has made him feel honor does not allow one to nce back [idiom: pursue justice with no second thoughts], and thus he is standing on our side. Kou Zhong said modestly, This is just one of the triggering factors. Qin Wang, you are benevolent and righteous and love the people. On the battlefield, disregarding life and death, time and again you established wonderful meritorious deeds for the Great Tang, and have be the golden-leafed signboard on that side. Now, that is the capital with which you attract distinguished guests. Laughing involuntarily, Li Shimin said, I didnt expect Shaoshuais words to be sofortable to hear. Kou Zhongughed and said, My ability to pat the horses butt [tter] is not inferior to my saber technique. The two men looked at each other andughed. Li Shimin spoke with serious expression, Having Chang He and Liu Hongji joining our camp will greatly increase our chances of victory. There is still a crucial piece of information, but even I am unable to determine whether it is good or bad. Frowning, Kou Zhong said, Unexpectedly there is such thing! Li Shimin spoke in heavy voice, Bi Xuans diplomatic group left the city before noon, heading to the north. Reportedly the officers and soldiers guarding the pce gate and the city gate were all unaware of it, momentarily they were at a loss to know what to do, without any better option, they had to let them pass with their eyes opened wide. Stunned, Kou Zhong said, Could it be that because Lingzun interrupted his martial artpetition against me, from shame he turned to anger, hence Bi Xuan led the crowd to storm off in a huff? What martial artpetition? Li Shimin asked. After exining clearly, Kou Zhong said, If Bi Xuan really broke off rtions with Lingzun, fell out with him and leave, it means that Lingzun indeed has the intention to form an alliance, the situation is not as nasty as we imagined. Li Shimin muttered to himself irresolutely for half a day, he said, Your assumption is reasonable, however, precisely because it is reasonable and fair, in the end I feel something is not right a little bit. Kou Zhong said, This is your territory, so you should be able to know for sure whether Bi Xuan is really returning to the northern border. Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, They were riding fast Tujue horses. After leaving the city, they rode at full speed to the river and forest area on the northern side. Things happened so suddenly that I did not have time to send people to investigate, so I really am unable to ascertain their whereabouts. Did Ke Dazhi leave with the group? Kou Zhong asked. Right now I still dont know yet, Li Shimin replied. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, This move by Bi Xuan is very beautiful, I feel that I am caught in a passive, disadvantageous position again, psychologically, it makes it difficult for us to act immediately. This was my original intention ining to see you. The refined light in Li Shimins pair of eyes rolling around, he spoke slowly, Bi Xuans departure will cause great panic in Changan, because it means that the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall are about to invade the south. We have no other choice, we must act as soon as possible, otherwise it will be toote for regrets. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, You, LaoGe finally regard Changan as a battlefield, hence you can reproduce the sassy and graceful bearing of sess-bes-the-king, defeated-bes-the-bandit, and able to make prompt decisions. You know the situation of Changan better than me, when are we going to start? Li Shimin said, Since we cant rely on the Duke Yangs Treasure-house, you guys have no choice but to use Huang He Bang as a cover to enter the city. When Shaoshuais side is ready, we can start the uprising at any time. As long as we act quickly, we could use ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt-momentum to control the imperial pce in one move, and then rely on the Xuanwu Gate to block Tang Jians troops outside the Xuanwu Gate. Kou Zhong said, What is day-to-day the military strength of the imperial guards defending the imperial pce? Li Shimin said, The military strength is about 10,000 men, and then theres Taizis Changlin Army with 3,000 men. If we dont take into ount the city defender army outside the pce and Tang Jians West Inner Park Army, the enemy we have to deal with is still more than double ours. Therefore, we must decide the n first and moveter, use the fast to control the slow. During the uprising, we must upy all military strongholds inside the pce, and the most crucial ce to fight is the Xuanwu Gate, as long as we can win control over the Xuanwu Gate, at least we will have fifty-percent chance of sess. Kou Zhong said, Fortunately, we have Chang He on our side, which greatly increases our chance of sess. Li Shimin sighed, I said just now that after good preparation, we can start the uprising at any time. Unfortunately, I cant set the date and time. Because if I join hands with you and take initiative to rebel and stain the pce with blood, it will be really difficult to justify, therefore, we must wait for an opportunity. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, What opportunity? Li Shimin replied, The moment Taizi and Qi Wang want to put me to death, our chance wille! Kou Zhong said, What if they want to kill us? Li Shimin said, Huang Xiong [emperor brother] has tried many times, but he still cannot do anything to you, hence there is no need to give up the easy and take the difficult. After eliminating me, the proposal of forming an alliance is no longer feasible. Fuhuang will have no other choice, he must do everything he can to keep you in Changan. Therefore, if Taizi can seed, it will be one move, two gains. Otherwise, in the future when the allied armiese to the south, Taizi, Qi Wang lose consecutive battles, under pressing situation, there will be a good chance that I will regain control of the military, and that is something that Taizi, Qi Wang and Fuhuang do not wish to see the most. Kou Zhong spoke in distress, I have no choice but to admit that you have seen the situation thoroughly, Lingzuns action of being generous with that but unkind to this has made the whole citys military and civilians sympathize deeply with you. If youe back and counterattack to save your life, no one can speak half a word of idle talk about you. The question is how do we know when Taizi is going to conspire? Wouldnt it mean that the initiative ispletely in enemys hands? Li Shimin said, This is precisely the most urate portrayal of us right now. We must wait for dawn, our head resting on spear, quietly wait with stored-up momentum, waiting for the fortunate timing to approach. Besides, we are notpletely passive. We could, via Wei Zheng, Chang He, Feng Deyi, Liu Hongji, and the others, several key figures C monitor and clearly grasp the other sides movements. The situation is delicate now, no one knows when Shaoshuai will lose patience and storm off in a huff, hence the other side must employ a blitzkrieg strategy to break the stalemate as quickly as possible, if I am not guessing incorrectly, we shouldnt have to wait long. Kou Zhong said, Very well! Lets work separately, contact Wei Zheng and the others, and Lingshu [your esteemed uncle] Huaian Wang will be in charge. We must, by all means, be one step ahead of the enemy ande out on top in this gambling-with-our-life game. Li Shimin said, Our situation is absolutely not as pessimistic as it appears on the surface. Suppose that from now on, my activities are narrowed down to only entering and exiting the Taiji Pce for the morning imperial court, the ce where the other side can set up an ambush is already ready to appear at the call [idiom: on the verge ofing out into the open]. Kou Zhong nodded and said, The Xuanwu Gate! Li Shimin said, If Bi Xuans departure is a pretense to obtain Fuhuangs nod of approval, it would show that Fuhuang ispletely standing on Taizis side, and had epted the conditions set by Xieli to offer him Shaoshuais head. And his order to me, Taizi and Qi Wang, three men to go through the Xuanwu Gate to enter and exit the Taiji Pce from now on, it is precisely targeted to us. Fuhuangs change ought to be triggered by the rumor that Song Que was seriously injured in a duel with Yue Shan, so that he no longer has any scruples, thinking that after eliminating Shaoshuai, the world will be easily obtained. Kou Zhong asked, Where did the rumore from? Li Shimin replied, This rumor spread widely from Lin Shihongs side, and Lin Shihong is fighting back the Song army with all his strength, further convincing Fuhuang so that he believes firmly without any doubt. Cursing under his breath, His grannys! Kou Zhong knitted his brows and said, If that is the case, the first person Lingzun wants to kill is me, Kou Zhong, hoping to use this as a pretext to curry favor with the Tujue, to resolve the threat of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. And then he will go all-out to wipe out the thunder of dragons-without-a-head Shao Shuai Army. After all, you are his son, you would think a bit of flesh and blood rtions, no matter what. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, Yang Guangs precedent in killing his [older] brother and murdering his own father make Fuhuang cannot forget. Therefore, once he identified me as another Yang Guang, the father-son rtionship turned into suspicion and jealousy which are difficult to eliminate instead. When Shaoshuai first entered Changan, you acted as if you dont have any connection with me, but you suddenly went to Hong Yi Pce in person, showing clearly that you would advance and retreat together with me. This has strengthened Fuhuangs suspicion that we formed an alliance and plotted a rebellion in secret. If I surrender to you, Fuhuang would lose all thend outside the Pass [Guanwai], and his world will be in jeopardy. Under such circumstances, if you were him, what would you choose? Kou Zhong nodded and said, If I were him, I would create a chance to kill you and me at the same time. Once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. At that time, the vilest situation will be the Tujue breaking their word and go down south, and he no longer had to worry about Guandongs [lit. east of the Pass, also referring to Northeast China] bind. Li Shimin said, After getting rid of the two of us, Fuhuang will seal off Changan, and eliminate all those who are rted to us, so that the news will not be leaked, and then he will send Yuanji out of the Pass to take Luoyang and stabilize the situation inside and outside the Pass. If the Tujue keeps their word, the world will be the object in Fuhuangs pocket. This way of thinking is giving me a lot of pains, but since Fuhuang expelled me to the Hong Yi Pce, I no longer have any delusion about him. Kou Zhong thought hard, he said, How can he create an opportunity to put you and me in order at the same time? And then, shaken, he looked at Li Shimin. Li Shimin also looked at him. They looked at each other and nodded, knowing what was in the others heart. The sound of hoofbeats was heard. Xu Zilingughed and said to Hou Xibai, Bi Xuans reply arrives! Hou Xibai sighed and said, Ay! Its really worrying. A Flying Cloud Guard galloped over, he flipped over and dismounted, and offered a long arrow in both hands, a letter, which original seal has not been touched, was tied to the arrow. Xu Ziling took the flying arrow letter, although he did not understand the Tujue characters on it, he was certain it was the challenge letter that was sent by Ba Feng Han via the arrow to Bi Xuan. Immediately he was at a loss, Who sent it? he asked. The subordinate replied, It was delivered by a quite pretty Tujue Guniang, she said to hand it over to Ba Yes hands immediately. She even said that before the arrow arrived, Bi Xuan Shengzhe has already led his group to leave the city and returning to the north. Finished speaking, she left in a hurry. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai looked at each other, they felt something was quite wrong. After the subordinate left, the two men entered the room to hand over the letter into Ba Fenghans hands. Ba Fenghan held the arrow with both hands, he was staring nkly for half a day; smiling wryly, he said, What exactly is going on? Xu Ziling said, Perhaps because Li Yuan interfered in Bi Xuan dealing with Kou Zhong, Bi Xuan fell out with him and walked away, but Badaier chose to stay. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, If Bi Xuan wants to kill Kou Zhong wholeheartedly, no one can grantly interfere, Kou Zhong would also have no choice but to brace himself and face the attack and meet it to the end; there must be something in this matter that we havent figured out yet. Finished speaking, he rose up to his full height and draped his outer robe over his shoulders. Where are you going? Hou Xibai asked. Ba Fenghan was about to step out of the room, hearing the question, he halted his steps and spoke indifferently, I want to stroll around outside the pce wherever my feet are taking me, in order to relieve the glum in my heart. Just like that, he walked away. Hou Xibai said worriedly, He wont be in any trouble, right? The Changan City now always gives people a sense of danger is lurking at every step. Xu Ziling said solemnly, If I do not guess incorrectly, he should be going to look for Badaier, since the decisive battle with Bi Xuan is temporarily set aside, he cant help his feeling for Badaier from bing active. After all, Badaier is still the woman he loves dearly the most, even Yu Yi cannot rece her. This morning Yu Yi missed her appointment, it has dealt a heavy blow to his self-esteem. I hope he can ovee the barrier of hatred between peoples and tribes, and have a good ending with Badaier! Hou Xibai exhaled slowly, he said, Xiaodi also feels depressed, is there any good ce to divert myself from mncholy? Xu Zilingughed and said, You stay here obediently for me, when Kou Zhong returns, we will talk about everything. The darkest moment is before dawn, the most suffocating moment is just before the storm. Tell me, when you returned to Bashu, what did you do? Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, Do you think Im a kid? Unexpectedly you dont know what to say and have to find something to say to coax me to stay. How about this, give me something to do, or Ill go to Shang Lin Yuan to kill time, I wille back tonight to apany you to see Shigong. Xu Ziling was helpless against him, muttering to himself irresolutely, he said, All right! You take the horse-drawn carriage to Shang Lin Yuan for a visit, try to bring Ma Chang back in secret. We must make all kinds of ns to meet a contingency, so that during the uprising, we wont be at a loss to know what to do. With a smile on his face, Hou Xibai epted the order and left. Kou Zhong returned to Xing Qing Pce with a troubled mind. When the pce gate was in sight, a person shed out of the side street and said, Shaoshuai, pleasee with nujia. Composing himself, Kou Zhong looked up, surprisingly, it was Jin Huanzhen. Laughing coldly, he said, You still have the face toe and see me? Smiling bitterly, Jin Huanzhen said, Whatever Shaoshuai likes to scold nujia, its all right, but nujia swears that there isnt any evil intention. I just hope that we, husband and wife can somewhat exhaust our strength to repay Shaoshuai and Xu Gongzis big kindness for saving our lives. Kou Zhong thought to himself, you think I am scared of you? I want to see what trick you cane up with; he spoke heavily, Lead the way! If something happens, dont me my hand for not being lenient. Jin Huanzhenughed in distress and led him into a sidene. Xu Ziling sat alone in Ba Fenghans room, thoughts were surging in his mind. After arriving in Changan this time, all kinds of things happened one after another, which made them feel it was more than they could attend. Bi Xuan suddenly led his group to leave, it made the situation moreplicated and unclear very quickly, good and bad were difficult to foresee. Was what Dong Shuni told him true, or was she misunderstanding Li Yuan? For them, any wrong judgment might bring about unexpected disasters. The people of the demonic school have always been good at ying tricks of conspiracy. If they could not figure out their arrangement, there was a very big chance that it could be a factor in their defeat. Thinking to this point, the rm went off in his heart. Xu Ziling looked at the door of the room, a figure shed, the out-of-the-world beautiful and alluring Wanwan appeared before his eyes, she smiled and said, Can Ie in to relieve Zilings boredom? Inside a courtyard house located at Shengye [lit. victorious undertaking] Alley, Kou Zhong saw Zhou Laotan, husband and wife, the three people sat down in the reception hall. After ascertaining that it was not an ambush, Kou Zhong spoke with solemn expression, I may be able not to bother about your biting the hand that feeds you in Longquan, but please dont y tricks with me, because I will no longer believe what you say. If you understand this, no need to waste my precious time. Contrary to Kou Zhongs expectations, the two husband and wife looked at each other, and then stood up at the same time without saying a word, knelt down side by side facing the south, and spoke in unison, The holy school disciples Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen swear by the various divine ancestors of the holy school, if there is one word of deceive to Kou Zhong, let death be better from life to us, life be not better than death, and we will pass into oblivion forever. Hearing that, Kou Zhong was rooted on the spot; he watched the two people sat down on the other side of the table again, scratched his head, and said, Why are you suddenly being this kind to me? The bitter lines densely covering Zhou Laotans face deepened, so that in contrast, Jin Huanzhens skin appeared even more radiant and her flesh smooth. He spoke with serious expression, Although Shaoshuai has a very bad impression of us, we, husband and wife are people who, kindness we must repay, hatred we must avenge. If Shaoshuai still refuses to believe me, there is nothing we can do. Jin Huanzhen said, Laotan and I have decided to leave this trouble spot and go back to our native ce in the countryside to live in seclusion, so that we can spend the rest of our lives in peace. Since our wish for the Holy Emperors Relics evaporated, we have always had this idea, only we were without the freedom to act independently. Now the opportunity has finallye, plus we want to spend some effort to give Shaoshuai a helping hand. Kou Zhong said, Speak! As long as you have this heart, I will surely help you aplish your cherished desire. Book 61 11 – Grasping the Initiative Again Book 61 Chapter 11 C Grasping the Initiative Again Xu Ziling sat down quietly on the edge of his bed, he watched attentively at the floating-in-like-a-ghost-or-a-demon Wanwan without saying anything. Thetter, with smile on her flowery countenance, gentle and soft demeanor, sat down by his side. She spoke softly, Shi Feixuan is gone! Is Ziling heart-broken? Xu Ziling was a little afraid that she was this close, because Wanwan had deep knowledge of the ins and outs of his Long-Life Qi. If she did not have good intentions in her bosom, with her already-reached-the-pinnacle Tianmo Da Fa, she could bring about hard-to-fathom harm to him. After seeing with his own eyes that she was hiding from them that she was having a secret meeting with Shi Zhixuan, he could no longer trust her. Moreover, she had always avoided him; now she suddenly appeared, definitely things were not usual. Rising to his full height, he stepped over to the window sill and cast his gaze to the beautiful scenery of the garden outside. He spoke indifferently, Why do you say such thing? The answer immediately rose in his heart. Wanwan wanted to disturb his mind; this deduction has given him a big shock. Like a shadow following the body, she walked behind him, exhaling her breath that smelled like orchid, and spoke faintly, Just consider Waner wrong, all right? I invoked the wound in Zilings heart! Fortunately, Ziling is still not worried about loneliness, because Shi Qingxuan is here! Xu Ziling sighed and said, Did youe to see me just to say these words? The tone of Wanwans voice became even more tranquil, she said, Ziling doesnt want to hear it, I wont mention it again! I heard that Song Que and Yue Shan had a duel, and both sides suffered. Unexpectedly Yue Shan can injure Song Que? Its really hard to believe, can you confirm whether it is true? Xu Zilings heart was severely shaken, but on the surface he did not reveal the slightest bit of trace. He intuitively felt that how he answered the question, the implications would be profound. If he wanted to convince Wanwan that she could still sessfully pull him and Kou Zhong to her side, he should not lie about this matter. This way, whatever else he told her, Wanwan would believe firmly without any doubt. He spoke slowly, The one injuring Song Que was not Yue Shan at all, but Ning Daoqi. Even with her calm, cool-headed demeanor, Wanwan still could not stop her tender body from trembling slightly. Ning Daoqi? she blurted out. Xu Ziling said, They fought their decisive battle at the Jingnian Chanyuan, and indeed both sides suffered. Song Que did not want to die in such a way that someone else also perished, therefore, out of the nine saber strikes agreement, there was still thest saber strike left. In ordance with their agreement, Song Que returned to Lingnan, no longer care about the things of the world. Otherwise, where did the idea of forming an alliancee from? Furthermore, we could not possible tarry here. Wanwan spoke in displeasure, Why didnt you tell me earlier? Remaining tranquil, Xu Ziling replied, You should understand the reason. The less people know about this matter, the better. But since you have inquired, I had no choice but to tell you the truth. Wanwan said, Although the news of Song C Yues duel is notpletely in line with the facts, it has already reached Li Yuans ears. What n do you guys have? Xu Ziling already had the answer prepared, he replied calmly, Kou Zhongs patience with Li Yuan is running out. Had Bi Xuan not led his group to leave, he would have brushed his sleeves and left the city tonight, but if Li Yuan still doesnt make a decision tomorrow, we will not be sitting here and waiting for death. He went on in low voice, If we had not had prior engagement with Fu Cailin, Im afraid we wouldnt have waited until tonight. Wanwan said, Arent you guys going to help Li Shimin ascend to the imperial throne? Why are you nning to leave again? Xu Ziling secretly applied the Bu Si Yin Fa; without Wanwan being able to detect, he entered a state of high alert, because he regarded Wanwan as another Zhu Yuyan, in order to revive the demonic school, she wouldmit all manner of crimes, stopping at nothing. Smiling wryly, he said, In the current situation, other than that what else can we do? Liao Kong made his position clear to Kou Zhong. If we choose to leave, he will definitely not me us. Therefore, rather than staying here and waiting for death together with him, if the alliance breaks down, there will be a sliver of chance for Li Shimin instead, when the allied armies go down south, Jiancheng and Yuanji will repeatedly suffer defeat, Li Yuan will have no choice but to reinstate Li Shimin. At that time, we still have the possibility of sess. Wanwan spoke indifferently, Do you think Li Shimins little life can remain until that moment? Xu Ziling replied, That will be up to Laotianye to decide. This time Kou Zhong was willing toe to Changan, mostly it was to facilitate me, Xu Ziling. How could I have the heart to let him risk his life by staying here in danger while doing this meaningless thing? Besides, under these circumstances, Li Yuan would not dare to deal with Li Shimin, not only he will make the armys heart unstable, but he will also make various generals connected to Tian Ce Fu outside the Pass [Guanwai] to throw their lot with Kou Zhong. With us leaving, it will protect his life instead. Wanwan was silent for half a day, and then spoke serenely, You guys are reallypletely without any n to fight back? Xu Ziling sighed and said, To be honest, until just now, we still had delusion toward Li Yuan. It was only when Mei Xun came to ask about Song Que at Fu Ju Lou earlier that we knew that this matter had spread, we could no longer rely on it; only then did we decide to wait another day at most. Kou Zhong is not here at the moment, because he wants to inform Qin Wang of our decision. I have exhausted mental and physical efforts for Feixuan, but unfortunately the circumstances do not work out, she should understand my difficulties. Wanwan fell silent again. Xu Ziling was on full alert. Wanwan called softly, Ziling! Xu Ziling pretended to think of Shi Feixuan; absentminded, he said, What is it? Wanwan spoke softly, I want you to remember, in the world, you are the only man who can make my heart move. Xu Ziling felt Wanwans pair of palms pressing against the vital acupoints on his back, Tianmo energy red out. Zhou Laotan spoke softly, Dont believe that yaonu [lit. demonic woman; beautiful woman, witch]! Kou Zhong immediately understood, Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen were still the same Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen, they were still everything-for-self-and-selfish-profit [idiom], and not that they became kindness-must-be-repaid big good people. In the end, it was merely due to their carved-in-bones and engraved-in-the-heart hatred toward Zhu Yuyan that they borrowed the paying-a-debt-of-gratitude name, to exploit him, Kou Zhong to take revenge for them. One thing he could be sure on was that under the demonic school conspiracy, the benefit they derived was not much. It was due to their style, which was if they could not obtain it, then they hoped that nobody could obtain it, much less their foe? His heart was moved, he asked, Did Wanwan restore her rtionship with Zhao Deyan? Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen could not hide their shocked expressions. Zhou Laotan only mentioned the word yaonu, two characters, Kou Zhong not only guessed it was Wanwan, but also pointed out that Wanwan and Zhao Deyan had put aside the animosity over the fight over the Demonic Emperors Relics, and once more joined hands to work together. They didnt know that Kou Zhong had already known that since Wanwan could cooperate with the foe who killed her master Shi Zhixuan, naturally she would not have any problem to be viins-colluding-together with Zhao Deyan. The demonic school was about relentless abandonment of righteousness. In the major premise of revitalizing the demonic school, no one or nothing could not be sacrificed. Examining the spirit observing the countenance, Kou Zhong knew that his words had a miraculous effect. The two people were forced not to dare to hide it, because they were unclear how much inside story Kou Zhong knew. Pretending to gain a sudden understanding, Jin Huanzhen said, So Shaoshuai already had the heart to guard against that yaonu. Deploying another wonder troops, Kou Zhong asked, Tell me first, how do you want me, Kou Zhong to help you. Zhou Laotan did not dare to hesitate, he said, We are unable to leave the city. Yin Zuwen, that son of a bitch [lit. raised by mother dog] has done tricks on us. Even if we manage to escape sessfully outside the city, in the end it will be difficult to flee that yaonu chasing to kill us. Frowning, Kou Zhong asked, What trick? Smiling wryly, Jin Huanzhen replied, Its the Qian Li Suo Hun [searching/locking the soul for a thousand li], one of the Seven Strange [or unusual] Techniques of the Mie Qing Dao [Extinguishing Feeling (or Destroying Love) Way]. Yin Zuwen injected the toxins extracted from Sou Hun [same characters as above] Grass into our bodies, causing us to continuously emit a unique scent within a hundred days. The enemy can easily track us. Puzzled, Kou Zhong asked, Since they dont trust you, why not just kill you? Zhou Laotan said, Because we still have our worth of being useful; more importantly, only these ignorant husband and wife remaining of the Tian Xie Zong [heavenly demonic/heretic school, I think previously it was Tian Xie Dao (Way)]. If they kill us, the Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa [lit. great demonic cultivation method of the heart of the way, see Book 20 Chapter 10] will be like scattering clouds, disappearing smoke C with us. Therefore, although Wanwan and Zhao Deyan are suspicious of us, they still have to give us a little sweet taste [benefit], to let us tell the secret of Dao Xin Zhong Mo Da Fa willingly. Jin Huanzhen spoke sternly, But how could we endure this kind of humiliation? Kou Zhong understood, he sniffed a few times, knitting his brows, he said, Howe I dont smell any strange scent? Zhou Laotan said, Try silently observe the zhuntou and renzhong, two acupoints. Kou Zhong did as he was told, he nodded and said, Not only I can smell the strange scenting from you, but also smelled the same scent permeating the whole house. The secret art of the demonic school indeed more and more emerges. Jin Huanzhen said, Shaoshuai may be wondering why since Yin Zuwen and the others do not trust us, yet they are still willing to let us participate in their affairs. Kou Zhongughed and said, I will listen with respectful attention. Zhou Laotan spoke in heavy voice, The reason is very simple, because we have always had a close rtionship with Zhao Deyan, so Zhao Deyan ced us in Changan, in the name of helping him, but in reality it is to keep a close watch over Yin Zuwen and others, in order to protect Zhao Deyans safety and interests. Jin Huanzhen said angrily, Yet Zhao Deyan unexpectedly allowed Yin Zuwen to use that technique on us, so any close friendship we have toward him has been obliteratedpletely. Kou Zhong said, I understand! This whatever his Niangs Qian Li Suo Hun is indeed extremely sinister. Although I have a way to get you out of the city, I am unable to find a solution to this technique. Zhou Laotan chuckled evilly and said, Yin Zuwen underestimated us, husband and wife too much, or I should say that he underestimated our Xianshi te master] too much. Xianshi had extensive mastery of all kinds of techniques of the demonic school, he had already researched how to break this technique, only too bad our power is not up to par, if Shaoshuai is willing to help, breaking it will be as easy as a hands turn. Laughing aloud, Kou Zhong said, Deal! Quickly say something useful to coax me. Remember to be honest, I, Kou Zhong, am by no means easy to deceive. Wanwans extremely yin and soft true qi directly destroyed Xu Zilings heart meridian, but its energy path and severity werepletely in Xu Zilings control, however, if he had not learned the Bu Si Yin Fa, he would definitely not dare to take such a strange risk. He was willing to take this Wanwans blow, because he wanted to show his trust in Wanwan, using himself to face the danger to make Wanwanpletely believe every word he just said. Even more important was that he made Wanwan mistakenly thought that he was seriously injured, and then demonic school would instigate Jiancheng, Yuanji and even Li Yuan, in misjudging his sides situation C to rush to make their move. As expected, because Wanwan was afraid that he would sense the strike one step ahead, she did not send out her energy until the true power really pressed on his back, however, the power she could sent out was only about 20-30% of her strength. Naturally this strike was no small matter; without the freedom to act independently, Xu Ziling fell forward, he seized the opportunity to crash through the window and fell to the corridor outside the window, and rolled toward thewn. The extreme of life is death, and the extreme of death is life. Originally, the qi and blood in Xu Zilings entire body were surging over, he saw stars, and his heart meridian was about to burst, but Bu Si Yin Fa was fully deployed, suddenly his whole body was empty and fluttering, Wanwans stream of true qi bursting his heart to split was diluted by the qi within his body, in an instant, it was expelled out of his body at a high speed, and the next moment, the innate qi pierced through the crown of his head and passed through to his feet. At this moment, Wanwan flew overhead, she cried out in distress, Ziling, dont me me, this is Xianshis te master] final wish [of the departed]. Both palms struck down. Xu Ziling pressed the ground with one palm, he flew across to evade, narrowly escaped Wanwans full-strength strike that even the Bu Si Yin Fa would be unable to neutralize. At the same time he broke away from Wanwans highly concentrated Tianmo Field. Xu Ziling forced himself to spurt out a mouthful of blood, pressed his palm to the ground again, sprang up midair, and escaped toward the main building. Wanwan was about to chase after him, two figures swept over, one of them was Hou Xibai. Wanwan shed away and disappeared. Hou Xibai grabbed Xu Ziling in his arms, he spoke with great rm, Ziling, did you fall into her plot? Seeing Xu Zilings bloodless face, close-to-death terrifying look, Ma Chang was at a loss to know what to do, his mind was in chaos. Xu Ziling closed his pair of eyes, his face gradually turned rosy, he let out a sigh of relief and said, Has she gone? Soon after he straightened his tiger-body and said with a smile, Dont worry, have you forgotten that I am another Shi Zhixuan? Kou Zhong returned to Xing Qing Pce and immediately went up to the top floor of the Shuang Hui Lou to see Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai and Ma Chang. Heughed and said, Can you guess who I met? The Changan City map supplied by Li Shimin was spread out on the table. Hou Xibai waited for Kou Zhong to sit down, he alsoughed and said, Can you guess who Ziling met? Stunned, Kou Zhong asked, Who? Xu Ziling narrated Wanwan suddenly attacked murderously, in conclusion, he said, Tonight at the earliest, and tomorrow at thetest, Li Yuan will definitely deal with us. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Ziling is awesome, Li kid and I were worried about when the other side would be willing to make their move, now naturally all our worries are gone. His Niangs, in the world, only Ziling, one person has the ability to deceive Wanwan. Your story is of course superb, but my gain is notcking much either. Thereupon he told the story of Zhou Laotan and Jin Huanzhen. Afterwards he said, Under Yin Zuwens vigorous instigation, the demonic schools two sects and six ways headed by Shi Zhixuan, Wanwan and Zhao Deyan have finally united and tried hard to dominate the world. Yin Gui Pai re-confirmed Wanwan as Zhu Yuyans sessor, the demonic school is now united as never before, and has drawn up aprehensive n to take over the world. Xu Ziling said, In such a situation, what role will Yang Xuyan y? Kou Zhong said, He is not regarded as a demonic school people, only he has his worth of being useful to them, to influence Li Yuanji through him, nothing more. Their wishful thinking is to kill Li kid and us first, and then use Bai Qinger unleashing the honey trap [sexual entrapment], relying on the demonic schools secret method to kill Li Yuan. The next step was to instigate Jiancheng and Yuanji, two big idiots to fight for the throne and create internal strife. Due to Yuanjis title was illegitimately conferred, he would have no choice but to ask for the demonic schools help. The demonic school could thus enter by exploiting a weak spot, and took control over Jiancheng and Yuanji instead. At that time, the allied armies will go down south straight to pounce on Changan. Jiancheng and Yuanji being no match for them, they had no choice but to abandon Changan and escape. Yang Xuyan, by virtue of his identity as Yang Yongs orphan, could take over Changan and restore the Great Sui with the full support of Xieli. This really is not an impossible case. Frowning, Ma Chang said, Naturally the demonic school will not allow Yang Xuyan to really be the emperor, so who will be the emperor? Kou Zhong said, We must first analyze the situation. Although Xieli has the strength to go on the rampage in the Central ins, to rule thend by force as the king, it is still beyond his reach; without any better option, he will have to follow Zhao Deyans proposal to support a puppet emperor. This person is Yang Xuyan, who will raise the old Suis military banner. Supposing I was buried in Changan, the Shao Shuai Army would certainly be utterly defeated, unable to withstand Xielis invasion to the east of the Pass [Guandong]. Lin Shihong from the south, together with Xiao Xian, will go all out to control the Song Familys army. Due to my father-inw cannot go on military expedition, he could only sit and watch the allied armies beyond the Great Wall ravaging the North. And Liang Shidus waiting-with-stored-up-momentum army will go down south from Taiyuan, attack cities and upynds, to nibble away at the Great Tang. Can you imagine the awful circumstance in which the whole country is in rebellion and people are in terrible situation? After a short pause, he continued, Let Yang Xuyan have a taste of what it is like to be an emperor, it is merely a n of convenience. The person Xieli set his heart on is Liang Shidu, because he not only has blood rtionship with Tujue people, he could be considered half a Tujue, he also has Zhao Deyans full support, because his real secret identity is Zhao Deyans Shidi [younger martial brother], the two mens master was Zhangsun Sheng, hence they drew up a n that when Yang Xuyan loses his value of being useful, Liang Shidu will rece him. However, ording to Zhou Laotan, husband and wifes view, Wanwan and Shi Zhixuan are deeply aware that relying on the Tujue peoples power, it will be very difficult to obtain the worlds approval, however, in order to stabilize Xieli and Zhao Deyan, they temporarily pretend to agree, and their ideal candidate is Lin Shihong. If they could eliminate the Song Family and Xiao Xian, one day, Lin Shihong would be able to unify the south and the north. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Could it be that this is the so-called Wanwans grand n to aplish Zhu Yuyansst wish? But at that time, she was still suffering enough from the demonic schools various factions rejection. Kou Zhong said, I dont care about his Niang! Now the most important thing for us is to find Li kid. We all sit down and face the city map ande up with the entire seed or die trying grand n of the uprising. Lets suppose that Li Yuan is going to make his move before we go to see Shigong tonight, what do we do? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, If I were Li Yuan, I would definitely not personally intervene in this matter, rather, I would acquiesce Jiancheng and Yuanji to proceed with the help of Tujue martial art masters such as Bi Xuan and the others, then it would be hard for anyone to me him afterwards. He can also pretend to punish the two sons to quell public anger, therefore, he will not let things happen inside the Taiji Pce. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Youre still more clear-headed, I was just too excited. How about I go alone to see Shigong tonight? Xu Ziling said, Since Im severely injured, naturally I cant go to the meeting. Lao Ba should also stay and protect me. Let Xiao Hou apany you! He can ease the tension between you and Shigong. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Its still not right. The enemys martial art masters are as numerous as a cloud, leaving only Lao Ba, one person, even if you add Xuanshu and thirty brothers, your strength is still not enough. It will make people suspect whether you are really injured. Hou Xibai said, In that case, I might as well go alone to exin to Shigong, to change the appointment to tomorrow night. This way, it will be one move, two gains even more. His Yijian Technique is really not a joking matter. Xu Ziling said, This can still be considered a feasible n, lets do this. Xibai does not need to see Shigong, as soon as you enter the pce, let Yu Yi inform Shigong, that should do. Hou Xibai stood up cheerfully and said, Ill go immediately! Footsteps were heard on the stairs, Wang Xuanshu hurried over and said, Feng Daren is here to speak on Li Yuans behalf! Immediately Kou Zhongs spirit was greatly aroused, he pped the table and said with augh, Just like Li kid and I expected, Li Yuan finally gives his nod to the alliance. Hearing that, Xu Ziling and the others were perplexed. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, The time wepletely lose our wariness is the time the enemy will make their move. This is called attacking when we are being unprepared. Ha! All problems will be like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge, we can grasp the most suitable fortunate time for the uprising to act and give Huangshang a nice surprise. Turning to the bewildered Wang Xuanshu, he said, Why havent you immediately invite Feng Daren toe up? Book 61 12 – Staking All On One Throw Book 61 Chapter 12 C Staking All On One Throw Feng Deyi went upstairs alone, after exchanging some pleasantries, he sat down and spoke cheerfully, This time Im Laughing, Kou Zhong cut him off and said, If this kids expectation is unmistaken, Tang Zhu [Master of Tang] should have asked Feng Gong to deliver a message confirming the alliance. The ceremony of the alliance will be held tomorrow morning, am I right? Greatly astonished, Feng Deyi said, Shaoshuai indeed can prophesy with supernatural uracy; its really hard to believe. Just now Huangshang summoned Taizi, Qin Wang, Qi Wang and a group of cab ministers to announce that tomorrow he will hold a solemn alliance ceremony with Shaoshuai outside Taiji Pce Hall, and ordered me to inform Shaoshuai that a carriage will be sent to wee your great self tomorrow morning. And then he lowered his voice and said, It seems that he made this decision hastily after breaking off rtions with Bi Xuan, how did you know this one step earlier? The refined light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes ring greatly, he said, If we could not even see through Li Yuans conspiracy, we would have no choice but to pack and quit and return home. Hereafter, whether we can enjoy the fruits of victory will depend on tomorrow morning. In order to subtract all unnecessary variables, we will now immediately stay at Qin Wangs Yeting Pce, tomorrow morning I will enter the pce together with Qin Wang. Feng Gong, please inform Li Yuan, that old muddlehead who obstinately persist in going about things the wrong way. His expression nk, Feng Deyi said, What exactly happened? After Xu Ziling exined it one time through, Feng Deyi understood, his rxed mood was swept clean, knitting his brows, he said, Do you have confidence? Since Li Yuan is standingpletely on Jiancheng and Yuanjis side, his soldiers strong his generals valiant, his martial art masters are as numerous as clouds, plus they hold overwhelming military strength superiority. Moreover, they have the help of Tujue martial art masters such as Bi Xuan and the others, the Pce Citys defense is even more firm and unbreakable. With your current strength and your splendid wonder troops scheme, you may have a chance to seek victory amidst the danger, such as this kind of grand disposition of troops in direct hard battle. I dont think it was by a fluke. Having a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, As long as the enemy did not expect it, it will be a wonder troop. First of all, I want to make the other side give birth to underestimating-the-enemy heart. Tonight, I will quietly escape to Qin Wangs Yeting Pce, to make people believe firmly without any suspicion that Ziling is seriously injured. Simply because people like Xiang Yushan will understand that I, Kou Zhong am only willing to do such a showing-weakness, stupid and cowardly thing for Ziling. Even more important is that tomorrow we will enter the Taiji Pce from Xuanwu Gate to participate in the alliance ceremony. Qin Wang will unify the world and take the great undertaking of repelling foreign aggression, all will start from Xuanwu Gate. Feng Deyis countenance changed, he said, Xuanwu Gate? Xu Ziling said, Feng Gong, dont worry, Chang He is our man. Feng Deyi was slightly relieved but he quickly frowned again and said, The four majormanders of Xuanwu Gate take turns to be on duty. If Xuanwu Gate is under Chang Hesmand, naturally there wont be any problem, but if as the time draws near Li Yuan exchanges the generals and maneuvers the troops, wont we lose all our advantages? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Chang He has always been a member of the Taizi faction. He was rmended by Jiancheng to sit on this important position. This is also the period when he was in charge of the Xuanwu Gate, altering it at will certainly would arouse the vignce of Qin Wangs factions men and horses with deep knowledge of the pce operation, so exchanging the generals should not happen. Smiling wryly, Feng Deyi said, Controlling the Xuanwu Gate can indeed resist Tang Jians army from Western Inner Park. However, if Li Yuan deploys all the imperial guards from the Taiji Pce to counterattack the Xuanwu Gate, under attack from inside and outside, Xuanwu Gate will notst long. In the end, Li Yuan is the Tang Master, Qin Wangs generals may be willing to die for their master, but the soldiers and generals under Chang He will find it difficult to persevere. I am not optimistic about this. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, This situation will never happen. The key lies in the fact that the other side thinks that Xu Ziling, who is in bed and recovering from his injuries, his life is at dawn, not sure ofsting to evening [idiom: precarious state]. Their warinesspletely gone, they will simply: in order to capture the thieves, one must capture their king first. Our target tomorrow will not only Jiancheng, Yuanji, but also Li Yuan. Feng Deyi stared fixedly at Kou Zhong, it was quite a whileter that nodded and said, It seems that Shaoshuai does have a detailed n; on the City Army side, how are you going to deal with it? Kou Zhong said, Liu Hongji has just surrendered to Qin Wang. When the timees, he will hold back his troops without moving, and will act ording to the situation. Feng Deyi was finally persuaded, he spoke heavily, In that case, how should I cooperate with you? Kou Zhong said, Feng Gong must have a set of speeches perfected, so that Li Yuan is convinced that we have no suspicion about the alliance. In this aspect, Feng Gong should have no problem. After the incident, Feng Gong must spread the news for us, so that the ministers and generals gathering in Taiji Pce will hear that Jiancheng and Yuanji, intending to plot a rebellion, murder us and Qin Wang, and destroy the alliance. They meet the misfortune of being struck back and executed. Qin Wang has seeded to the throne as the Taizi. The wordsing from Feng Gongs mouth, who would dare to think that it was not Li Yuans imperial decree, and Li Yuan would never have a chance to dere it untrue. Xu Ziling asked, Every day before the morning court, where does Li Yuan usually go? Feng Deyi replied, Usually he would go to the imperial study first to review official documents and important memorials to the emperor. But tomorrow morning the situation is unusual, so Im not sure. Xu Ziling said, To make other people not to suspect that he is involved in the ambush operation, everything should be business as usual. Feng Deyi rose up to his full height, the four men hurriedly stood up to see him off. Feng Deyi said, Not afraid of ten thousand [yi wan], but afraid of contingency [wan yi, lit. one in ten thousand]. If the situation does not develop as Shaoshuai expected, you must save your life and escape, only then will you have a chance to roll the dirt and start over [make aeback]. You must not just show off your courage and strength. Xu Ziling remembered the reason behind Shi Zhixuan passing on the Bu Si Yin Fa to him, it was precisely for him that when he knew that the situation was out of his control, he was to break the siege and flee for his life relying on the Yin Fa, so that he could grow old together with Shi Qingxuan. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Thank you very much Feng Gong for your guidance, but this will never happen. Tomorrows Changan will be Li Shimins Changan, and also our Changan. The carriage drove out of Xing Qing Pce, Wang Xuanshu-led Flying Clouds Guards escorted them ahead and behind, galloping towards the Yeting Pce. Hou Xibai went to Ling Yan Pavilion one step ahead to notify Fu Junyu to postpone the appointment to tomorrow night. Ma Chang left in secret, he was in charge of making arrangement of various actions ording to the n. Two other imperial guards stayed at Xing Qing Pce to wait for Ba Fenghan, who went out and had not returned. Inside the carriage, Kou Zhong looked out through the curtains, he said, The sun is setting! I hope Song ErGe, Xiao Jun and the others can leave safely, nothing will go wrong. Xu Ziling said, The only ones who know their identities are Shi Zhixuan and Wanwan. At this moment, they should not want a new branch grows out of a knot, by arousing our vignce. I am confident that Song ErGe and the others can leave safely and cooperate with Lei DaGe to deal with Xiang Gui. Kou Zhong turned his head around to cast him a nce, before returning his gaze outside the window again, he said, Wanwan treated you like that, are you brokenhearted? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Frankly, although she wants to kill me, I dont me her. The desire to revitalize the demon school is deeply rooted in her heart [orig. the stem is sturdy, the root deep], it is hard to change. Shi Zhixuans situation is precisely the same, until this moment, Shi Zhixuan still does not willing to give up the ideal, only because of Qingxuan that he was willing to let me go. Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Thinking about Shi Zhixuan, I immediately have a headache. Do you think he will make his move personally tomorrow? Xu Ziling said, Li Yuan detests him bitterly, Yin Zuwen and the others will never let Li Yuan know their connection with Shi Zhixuan, plus they have to conceal their identity as belonging to the demonic school. Therefore, although for the time being Shi Zhixuan or Wanwan are exerting themselves for Li Yuan behind the scenes, they cant possibly directly participate in this matter. Besides, Shi Zhixuan has to protect Qingxuan, so that she can be together with the still-alive me. Kou Zhong heaved a sigh again, he said, I wonder if I could ask you a question: how much do you think our odds of sess are? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Kou Zhong is good in offense, Li Shimin is good in defense, such abination is hard to find in the world. The Dark Armored elite cavalry is the most elite unit within the Great Tang army. Ma Changs 3,000-man elite squadbines top talents from both the Shao Shuai and the Song n, two sides. One straight, one wonder [this is hard to trante sinctly, basically it means one was in the open/proper, the other was in the dark/ambush]. Even more wonderful is that Chang He and Liu Hongji, one inside, one outside, cooperate with us like seamless heavenly clothes, we will definitely win this battle. Finished listening, Kou Zhong stretched out his limbs in the carriage seat, looking at the carriage roof, he spoke slyly, With Zilings assurance, immediately my confidence soars. Would you say that Wanwan already disclosed the Duke Yangs Treasure-house secret to Yin Zuwen, Zhao Deyan and the others? Xu Ziling spoke slowly, I have a strange thought. The only person who can make Wanwan leak the treasure-house secret is Shi Zhixuan. Because she wants to win Shi Zhixuans unreserved full support, which is not impossible, and because she knows that Shi Zhixuan admires her the most, furthermore, because she knows that the contradiction between Shi Zhixuan and Zhao Deyan is only temporarily suppressed, but will never be eliminated, besides, no matter whether it is Wanwan or Shi Zhixuan, definitely neither is willing to let Zhao Deyans factions Liang Shidu to sit on the throne. Since Wanwan made her move against me, it will be difficult for the Duke Yangs Treasure-house to be useful for us. Based on Wanwans conduct, she should keep the treasure house for her own use. In the future, when the demonic school are massacring one another, it may be able to y an unexpected marvelously effective use for her. Kou Zhong said, With your, LaoGes thorough analysis, I can set my mind at rest! His grannys bear! I really hope time can go faster, because Xiaodis hands are very itchy. Xu Zilingughed and said, You, this kid has never had any patience since you were little, just take a good rest obediently in Qin Wangs mansion for me, to preserve and nurture your spirit to deal with tomorrow, it will be enough to keep you busy! The carriage stopped for a moment before it galloped pass the Vermillion Bird Main Gate and continued the journey. Kou Zhong closed his pair of eyes and said, Can you guess whether Ge Suwen and the others will wallow in the mire with Jiancheng and Yuanji to participate in the operation against us tomorrow? Xu Ziling sighed and said, Its hard to say. Since Ge Suwen and Han Chaoan joined hands with Yang Xuyan to ambush me outside the Yu He An, naturally they could directly participate in this matter. The carriage increased its speed and rushed towards the Yeting Pce. Kou Zhong suddenly sat up, his spirit greatly aroused, he said, I am thinking of an interesting thought. The one who should take a good rest obediently in Qin Wangs mansion is you, not me. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, What ghost idea are you thinking? Dont make a new branch growing out of a knot for me, it will ruin the important matter. Kou Zhong said, Dont forget that I am the third-generation disciple of the Bu Si Yin Fa, I cant possibly return to the Western Paradise. Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Sit down for me! Kou Zhong said, Have you ever thought about another possibility, which is Qiang Yi, concealing it from Shigong, joins in the fun tomorrow with Ge Suwen and the others. Sabers and arrows have no heart, someone kills her by mistake. At that time, will we be worthy of Niang? Xu Ziling wanted to speak but had nothing to say, quite a whileter he sighed and said, I give up! You go quickly ande back quickly. Upright and unafraid, Kou Zhong stepped out of the Vermillion Bird Main Gate, turned left and strode in the direction of the Tonghua Gate. A drizzle of rain suddenly fell from the sky, the city of Changan was covered in misty-rain haze, it was like a gauze to shroud the peoples eyes and ears, so that passersby would not recognize that the person just brushing past was the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, who could dictate the honor and disgrace of the Central Earth, whose name shook the world. His mind entered the Moon in the Well, obtaining the saber and forgetting the saber, the Heaven, Earth and Man merged into one C realm, no victory, no defeat, but any figure must be a subject and bow at his feet. After the battle against Bi Xuan, the benefit he derived from witnessing the confrontation of Ning Daoqi against Song Que was transformed from his thought into practical experience. He even resented Li Yuan a little bit for interrupting their decisive battle that he was unable to see the real movement against Bi Xuan. Liang Yuan [lit. cool garden] appeared ahead. Kou Zhong remembered the heroic feeling and the strong air, the calm and the grandeur when Song Que was climbing over to the Jingnian Chanyuan. Heughed aloud, came to the courtyard gate, and shouted loudly, Kou Zhong is here, Ge Dashuai, roll out for me! The Moon in the Well left its scabbard, fast as lightning it hacked down, like splitting a piece of thin paper, it entered the narrow slit on the door, and cut open the door bolt, and then he raised his leg to kick the door. [Note: the door bolt in those days was made of a horizontal bar to hold a door closed.] The middle door of the Liang Yuan was immediately wide open, revealing several panicked faces. Book 61 13 – Five Saber Strikes Wager Book 61 Chapter 13 C Five Saber Strikes Wager Inside the honored guest bedroom at the rear courtyard of Yeting Pce, Xu Ziling sat cross-legged on the bed. Li Shimin, inpany with a group of trusted aides, imperial strategic advisers and great generals sat all around the bed. Due to the limited space, although several chairs were temporarily brought in for their use, there were still many people who had to stand. The attendees included Zhangsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Yuchi Jingde, Li Jing husband and wife, Pang Yu, Duan Zhixuan, Hou Junji, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Shubao, Gao Shilian and the others. Everyones expression was grave, which showed that the confrontation between the Heavenly Policy Mansion and the forces outside the mansion became more and more acute. The entire building was the honored guest pavilion originally used to entertain important foreign guests, adjacent to Li Shimins bedroom. It was heavily guarded by Wang Xuanshu-led Flying Clouds Guards and Li Shimins specially appointed Dark Armored Elite Troops, they wanted to deceive Jiancheng, Yuanjis spies hidden beneath the surface inside the Yeting Pce, so that the other side would not doubt that Xu Ziling was not injured. Xu Ziling did not tire of exining the situation since returning to Changan this morning one by one. He did not dare to overlook the slightest amount of detail. Hearing that, everyones heart was heavy, but Li Shimins demeanor, who was sitting closest to Xu Ziling, was still cool-headed and calm. He kept asking questions to understand everything clearly. Finished speaking, Xu Ziling concluded, Now the situation is bing more and more clear, Bi Xuans departure is just a cover, in order to pacify our hearts, so that while we do not guard against him, he could ughter us. Huangshang haspletely stood on Taizi and Qi Wangs side, he epted all their actions tacitly. When we enter the pce tomorrow morning to participate in the alliance ceremony, it will be a critical moment to decide who lives and who perishes. Li Shimin neither expressed his agreement or voiced his disapproval, he said, Gentlemen qing [subject] can speak freely and express the thoughts in your heart. Ziling definitely will not take offense; moreover, I would like to hear a bit more different opinion. Xu Ziling had a feeling in his heart that when Li Shimin was facing various generals of the Heavenly Policy Mansion, it was like he was a different person from when he was speaking alone with him. He did not reveal the slightest bit of negative emotions in his heart, but fully showed his determination, self-confidence, wisdom and courage,prehensive side. He allowed his subordinates to disy and offer opinions, which could encourage morale and make everyone unite in absolute good faith C even more. Fang Xuanling cleared his throat, he opened the chat box and said, ording to what Xu Gongzi said just now, in the duel against Bi Xuan, Shaoshuai fell into the disadvantageous position. If Huangshang intends to eliminate Shaoshuai, why didnt he let Bi Xuan to have ample time to make his move to get rid of Shaoshuai? Once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. Xu Ziling smiled and said, First of all, we must be sure that if Bi Xuan has the determination to kill Kou Zhong, even if Huangshang graced them with his presence, Bi Xuan could still press on, at least he could attempt to send the full-strength attack with the stored-up momentum that he already gathered to the full at that time. However, the fact was that he immediately gave up, thereby, it can be inferred that he did not have the confidence to kill Kou Zhong. Afterwards, Kou Zhong also said that in the process of the duel, he continuously obtained new insights, therefore, although he was at a disadvantage for a while, at whose hand will the deer die in the end was still unknown. Everybody praised in chorus. It should be noted that Bi Xuan is one of the three great grandmasters in the world, he was able to move unhindered for decades without finding his rival. If Kou Zhong was able to make Bi Xuan not have the confidence to win over him, this matter was enough to shock thend under heaven. Li Shimin spoke indifferently, Listening to Zilings words, it seems that there are still thoughts that have not been said, why not continue to say it so that we can cote and examine critically? Xu Ziling secretly praised Li Shimins wisdom in seeing through the whole thing, otherwise it would be difficult to cooperate with him and let him make aprehensive analysis. He nodded and said, Whether we can understand clearly Huangshangs intention is very important, it will be the key to firm up our determination. All along Huangshang has been hesitating over what move to make about the alliance, naturally it is due to Taizi and Feipin [imperial concubine] factions opposing strongly, and the heavy pressure caused by the intimidation, as well as the use of gain as a lure C brought about by the Tujue. However, because he is the Lord of the Great Tang, furthermore, this matter directly implicates Qin Wang, coupled with the desires and expectations of his Changan subjects, he has to carefully consider the consequences of epting or denying the alliance. Any decision he makes will have apletely different oue. Speaking to this point, he paused. What he said did not seem to have direct rtion with Li Yuans interruption to Bi Xuan and Kou Zhong, but because it concerned Li Yuans position, everyone listened with rapt attention. Li Shimin exhaled a mouthful of air, he said, The decision to form an alliance involves different considerations and variables. If he does not form an alliance, he must keep Shaoshuai and Ziling in Changan, so as to weaken and strike Shao Shuai, the Song Family and the Jianghuai Armiesbined power. Furthermore, he has to attempt to pacify the subjects heart, in such a way as not to be the target of the worlds pointed fingers, spit and curse of being not benevolent and not righteous; we must be clear about this. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, What Qin Wang said was a prating insight, Huangshang definitely does not wish to give people the idea of actively participating in harming Kou Zhong, hence he interrupted the decisive battle, which was most likely just a gesture; in terms of time, he should have been gone to collect the corpse, only he never thought that Kou Zhong would still be without the slightest bit of damage, which was beyond his expectations. Knitting his brows, Du Ruhui said, Bi Xuan pretending to storm off in a huff, it shouldnt be a premeditated conspiracy. Because with Bi Xuans status and position, he should have full confidence in subduing Shaoshuai, he did not need to resort to other tricks. One after another everybody nodded, because Du Ruhuis analysis was reasonable and fair, if Bi Xuan already thought that it would be difficult to take Kou Zhongs life, so he deliberately disyed a few empty moves, and then asked Li Yuan to stop the duel, it would not make any sense instead. Li Jing spoke heavily, About a sichen after the duel, Bi Xuan led his group to leave the city. During this period of time, they could have discussed with Taizi, calmly made ns, moreover, they would try to beat us at our own game, so that we will not have any suspicion toward Huangshang. Li Jings analysis gave the others a feeling of the willow trees made the shade, the flowers gave the light [idiom: light at the end of the tunnel], while it could also exin that Bi Xuans departure was a deliberate conspiracy at the same time. Cheng Yaojin nodded vigorously and said, Well said! How could Tujue people have any good intentions? Xu Ziling said, Huangshangs heart must be full of contradictions, but the news that Song Que is suffering a heavy injury so that he could not lead the army immediately swept his hesitation clean. If Kou Zhong could be eliminated, Shao Shuai Army would copse without a fight, due to his injury Song Que is not enough to be a worry, the world almost bes the object in Huangshangs pocket, it will be easily obtained. Even if Xieli broke the agreement ofing down to the south, at most he could move the capital to avoid it, plus he could flee to Luoyang. Taizi had just seeded in resolving the threat from Liu Heita, so that he no longer has to rely on Qin Wang. Under such circumstances, Huangshang feels like he could eliminate us and Qin Wang in one fell swoop. As long as Huangshang is not personally involved, after the event, the me can bepletely pushed to Taizi and Qi Wang. As for how he is going to deal with them, two men, naturally it would be up to the dragons intention. Li Shimin sighed and said, When Shaoshuai and I had a secret discussion earlier, it urred to me that Fuhuang has a way to get rid of me and the Shaoshuai at the same time, which is tomorrows alliance ceremony. Since Fuhuang has issued a decree that hereafter I and Taizi and Qi Wang are to enter the Pce via the Xuanwu Gate, when we enter the pce through Xuanwu Gate tomorrow morning, Taizi and Qi Wang could set up a heavy ambush at the pce gate, moving swiftly to kill suddenly. Because there is no way to escape in front or behind, even with Shaoshuai, Zilings ability, the only way out is to fight with all our strength and die. Zhangsun Wuji, who was originally sitting, stood up behind Li Shimin, losing his usual schrly elegant manner, he raised his arms excitedly and cried out, Tomorrows Xuanwu Gate will be the critical moment that determines our Great Tangs rise and fall, Huaxias [old name for China] honor and disgrace. We must jump into scalding water and plunge into raging fire [idiom: brave any danger], and die without fear. Except for Li Shimin and Xu Ziling, everybody stood up and responded with a roar, the atmosphere was intense and boiling over. After Li Shimin repeatedly said Good!, he nodded calmly and said, Indeed you are worthy to be our Tian Ce Fus fine ministers and fierce generals. Changan is no longer the Changan of the past, but the battlefield that determines the ughter of our Huaxia Central Earth. Shaoshuai and Zilings great benevolence and righteousness, Song Fazhu, the Senior treating me favorably, is indeed the well-being of all the people in the Central Earth. I, Li Shimin, hereby make an oath, I swear to live and die together with Shaoshuai and Ziling, to create a new situation. A burst of emotional stirring grew in Xu Zilings heart, although Li Shimin did not say clearly that he would ce righteousness before family [idiom], but his remarks made it clear his standpoint of putting aside father and son, older and younger brothers family love. He no longer regarded the other side as father and brothers, rather, the enemy on the cruel and unfeeling battlefield. He could imagine the troubles Li Shimin suffered in this regard. Fortunately, in this life and death crisis, the moment that would decide the fate of the world, he was finally able to let go. Everyone responded with salute and agreement again, the morale soared, they had no doubt about Li Yuans intentions. Xu Ziling said, As for the details of the operation, after Kou Zhong returns from putting Ge Suwen in order, we will take our time making a decision. Ge Suwen, leading Han Chaoan, Jin Zhengzong, Ma Ji, Tuoba Miefu, and a group of his men, rushed out of the house, and stood in opposition to Kou Zhong, standing alone on the za of the outer courtyard, with the saber back inside the sheath. Ge Suwen threw his head back inughter and said, Shaoshuai honoring us with your presence, it is my, Ge Suwens honor. You only need to let me know and I will definitely open the middle door to wee you, no need to break the door and enter. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I found that Dashuais door is unpleasant to the eye, so I simply chopped it with my saber, Dashuai need not be concerned about it. Just like toward Dashuai, I find it a little bit unpleasant to the eye, especially when I think of Dashuai, covering his head and covering his face, not fit to be seen by the light, leading the crowd, mounting a sneak attack on my brother, who was walking alone. I also want to chop you with my saber to vent my anger, I wonder if Dashuai left your five treasured sabers inside the collection storehouse of your honorable home in Gaoli? The ominous light in Ma Jis pair of eyes ring greatly, he snorted coldly and said, Death is near at hand, you are still showing off your prestige and brilliant martial art; extremely ridiculous. Kou Zhongughed aloud, he shed and swept forward, a palm pped toward Ma Ji. It appeared to be aimed at him, one person, but the palm momentumpletely shrouded the other sides more than a dozen people. Ge Suwens side has never thought that Kou Zhong would be this brazen, not only did he not fear their sides many men, a great force, but as soon he said fight, he immediately fought. However, Kou Zhong was as fast as lightning shes, only Ge Suwen, Han Chaoan, Jin Zhengzong, and Tuoba Miefu, who were standing in the front row, had the opportunity to make a move. Ma Ji backed off in shock, Ge Suwen already blocked in front of Kou Zhong, he raised his hand to parry. On the other side, Jin Zhengzong and Han Chaoan attacked from Kou Zhongs left side. The formers leg flew to kick Kou Zhongs left waist, while thetter put his fingers together into a palm chop to sh towards Kou Zhongs neck. In the rear, one after another the Gaoli warriors shed their weapons, only momentarily they were unable to join the battle circle. Kou Zhongughed aloud, he tested Shi Zhixuans life-could-turn-into-death, death-could-turn-into-life Huan Mo Shenfa on the spot. When Ge Suwen struck on the gap, he had already shed away to where Ma Ji retreated. At this time, only his number one man, Tuoba Miefu, was able to protect Ma Ji. He wanted to take advantage of the moment when Ge Suwen, three men were besieging and intercepting Kou Zhong to draw hisnce to mount a sneak attack, but beyond his expectation, Kou Zhong appeared in front of him. Helpless, he exhaled and raised his voice, thence swiftly moved up at an angle. Kou Zhong did not mean to kill Ma Ji, in fact, he even loathed to kill him, he just wanted to establish his mighty power. Suddenly he stepped back and kicked straight ahead, and hit the spearhead right-on. Pow! qi power exploded. Kou Zhong was full of stored-up momentum, while Tuoba Miefu was in haste to meet a contingency, on top of that, the difference in two mens power was quite some distance away, hence the rtive superiority was immediately seen. Tuoba Miefu let out a miserable groan, his whole body trembled violently, he stumbled and fell back, nearly fell sitting down on the ground, he even could not help spurting out a mouthful of fresh blood, and suffered injury on the spot. It was not that he was unable to withstand a single blow, rather, Kou Zhongs tactic was brilliant, his strategy outstanding. Kou Zhong flew back at full speed. At first nce, it looked like he was about to fly out of the split open door, but he suddenly halted and shouted loudly, Stop! Ge Suwen immediately raised his hands to stop his men, his demeanor was still cool-headed, calm and collected, the air of a martial art master, he said with a sneer, It was Shaoshuai who started fighting, and now it is Shaoshuai who cried out to stop the fighting, is Shaoshuai joking? Laughing involuntarily, Kou Zhong swept his gaze past Ma Ji, who was so angry that his fat face turned deathly pale, and Tuoba Miefu, whose pair of eyes were spitting fire with hatred. He spoke casually, You think I am joking, I have no problem, when was I, Kou Zhong ever afraid of many people? Even Xielis Golden Wolf Army, I did not consider them worthy in my eyes. His grannys, if you want your whole nest toe out, I, Kou Zhong, will dly keep youpany. Ge Suwen was at a loss for words, Kou Zhong had already shown clearly by his action that he was not afraid of the many men, a great force on his side. If he ordered an attack, Kou Zhong might injure one or two men, and then swagger off, would he still have the face to stay in Changan? He still had lingering fears about Kou Zhongs ghost and demon like shenfa just now, besieging him really would not work too well. Ge Suwen slowly lowered his hands, the divine light in his pair of eyes came into focus, he said, What good proposal does Shaoshuai have? Kou Zhong raised his thumb, smiling mischievously, he said, Dashuai really understands people, which makes me, this Xiaoshuai admire from the bottom of my heart [reminder: Dashuai and Xiaoshuai are big and smallmander, respectively]. Ha! I came here this time to make a bet with Dashuai, I want to see if Dashuai has that kind of guts. Hearing the singing to a string apaniment, Ge Suwen knew your kind offer. He shouted to his subordinates first, Light themp! Get the saber! Under the fine rain filling the sky, thenterns were lit up. Ge Suwen spoke slyly, What kind of stake does Shaoshuai want to bet? Kou Zhong pointed to Ge Suwen, and then pointed to his own chest, he spoke indifferently, The unfinished battle in the pcest night, let us carry it out here tonight. The loser will immediately pack up and go home, if you dont ept the bet, then you are a lowly kind with no regard of shame. Will Dashuai have this kind of guts? Five Gaoli warriors, holding five treasured sabers of different styles and sizes, ran out of the mansion and came behind Ge Suwen. Ge Suwen took two steps forward, stopping about three zhang away from Kou Zhong, he threw his head back inughter and said, Such an interesting gamble, how could I, Ge Suwen refuse? Only Im afraid that the loser will practically not be able to go home on his own power, hence why worry about whether keeping ones word or not keeping ones word? Kou Zhong sighed, he smiled wryly and said, To be honest, towards you, not only do I have no ill will, I even feel that Dashuai is a heroic figure worth making friends with. How about this? I will let you fully use your five sabers one by one, during the fight, whether you can knock me down, Dashuai should know whats going on, no need to see blood to conclude. If after carrying out five consecutive saber strikes Dashuai still has no merit but retreat instead, Dashuai will have no choice but to return to Gaoli to continue your cultivation. Dashuai, what do you think? These words made Ge Suwen felt greatly astonished. After he and Kou Zhong looked at each other for half a day, he nodded slowly and said, Very well! Well do it ording to Shaoshuais words. Herees the saber! Kou Zhong nodded cheerfully and said, Dashuai is really frank and straightforward. He was about to observe carefully the weapon that Ge Suwen had taken over from his subordinates, suddenly the rm went off in his heart, a stream of swift and fierce sword qi wasing from behind toward his back. Book 62 1 – A Combination of Grace and Might Book 62 Chapter 1 C A Combination of Grace and Might Xu Ziling fixed his eyes on Li Shimin, quite half a dayter he said, I want to ask Shimin Xiong a question. Li Shimin smiled and said, What a coincidence, I also have something to ask. At this time, all the Heavenly Policy Mansions officers and soldiers had left the honored guest bedroom where Xu Ziling was supposedly recuperating from his injury, to make preparation for tomorrows decisive battle, only Li Shimin alone stayed behind to talk with him. Inside and outside the honored guest building, the security was tight, there were both covert and undercover officers keeping watch everywhere to guard against the enemy from invading their territory, to make Xu Zilings injury appeared to be more serious. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Shimin Xiong, please speak forthrightly. Li Shimins eyes fell on the pcentern hanging on the opposite wall, its soft light and gentle color illuminated the tranquil bedroom, he said, Just now, Zilings pair of eyes shot a rather wounded-feeling expression, I wonder what is the load on your mind? Xu Ziling did not expect him to ask such a question; slightly startled, he sighed lightly and said, At first I thought that I would not be able to meet the appointment with Shigong at the zi hour [11pm C am] tonight, I wondered whether he, the Senior would be unhappy, and then I remembered the scene of seeing himst night, the reason why he didnt make his move was because to such an extent, we evoked his longing for Niang, hence he used life and death as the subject of our talk, and also mentioned Chenxiang [agarwood]. Ay! The fragrance [xiang] is originally not sinking [chen], but Niang has already been fragrantly [xiang] buried in the loess, which made me recall the scenery of the past, when we met Niang, momentarily the feeling was difficult to stop, causing Shimin Xiong to spend too much effort in thinking about it. Li Shimin revealed an apologetic expression, he said, Im sorry! Xu Zilings pair of eyes was brimming with emotional look, he said, Not a problem. Li Shimin spoke in low voice, Its Zilings turn to ask me! Xu Ziling showed a strange expression, he said, This is the first time in my life that I really scrutinize what is true and what is false of the enemys method. When I, from my memories and thoughts, returned to reality, my mind couldnt stopparing the rtionship and the strong or weak between the enemy and us, and thus a series of questions arise. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, You finally have a taste of what Kou Zhong and I feel, dealing with the enemy, that kind of being on guard day and night, cannot rest or eat in peace C feeling. All right! Go ahead! Im listening with respectful attention. Muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Xu Ziling said, If you dont take into ount the 3,000-manbined forces of the Shao Shuai and the Song Family elite troops under Ma Changsmand, one day you confront the enemy head-on, and the opponents are thebined forces of the Changlin Army and the Tujue, plus Chang He is standing on Taizis side, how much would Shimins odds of sess be? Li Shimin pondered over in earnestness, after a moment, he smiled and said, It will depend on whether we arepletely unprepared, and then after encountering the ambush at the Xuanwu Gate, how many men can break through the siege and escape back to Yeting Pce. At our peak condition, I, Li Shimin, practically do not consider Changlin Army worthy in my eyes. This is precisely the reason why Wang Xiong [brother king] has never dared to act blindly without thinking. Since everybody knows that all the Tian Ce Fus generals and schrs are serving me with their life, as long as we hold fast to the Yeting Pce, before the food runs out, I can guarantee that no one will be able to attack into the pce even for half a step. Xu Ziling nodded and said, That is exactly the situation that Lingzun does not wish to see the most, therefore, the enemy will, by fair means or foul, strike tonight to weaken our strength, to avoid a situation that will rattle the whole city and will be out of hand tomorrow. That is something that the current City of Changan cannot afford. Knitting his brows, Li Shimin said, Tonight should be safe and sound, because any action by the enemy would surely arouse our vignce and would generate the counterproductive effect of beating the grass to scare the snake. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, What about using poison? Stunned, Li Shimin said, Poison? Xu Ziling said, I thought of this possibility from Liexia. Judging by the fact that Taizi was able to put arge number of firearms inside the Yeting Pce with the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive, using poison should be easy! They only need to have their mole inside your ranks. Liexia is skillful in using poison, as long as the poison takes effect tomorrow morning, it can paralyze our ability to fight back. This aspect, we cannot not guard against. Shaken, Li Shimin said, Zilings worry is very reasonable. There are altogether twenty-four wells in the Yeting Pce, all the water being usede from these wells. If they secretly put poison the wells, the destructive power will be extremely terrifying! Rising to his full height, he said, Maybe we can use the enemys poisonous tactics in reverse to make the other side misestimate our strength. Let me have someone to investigate clearly the situation of the well water first, I will listen to Zilings remaining questions when Ie back. Kou Zhongs mind was empty, alert and prating, he moved slightly sideways, remembering the exquisite and brilliant scene where Ning Daoqi, with his back facing Song Que, broke Song Ques Heavenly Saber with his thumb; he turned his body sideways and sent his palm backhandedly to chop at the long swording to attack. The moment just before his palm hit the edge of the opponents sword, the palm momentum changed again, from the straight chop it was changed to the palm and the fingers sweeping in a pushing motion. Although his back was still facing the opponent, it was like he saw with his own eyes. Watching this, everyone on Ge Suwens side was dumbstruck, they all felt it was greatly hard to believe. Ding! Kou Zhongughed aloud, heunched the Bu Si Yin Fas method of deflecting energy that he had justprehended from the Bu Si Yin Fa. The opponents astonishing power and true qi, which had been umted to the brim, were entirely absorbed into his palm, the death qi and the murderous qi were turned into life qi. While he himself was safe without any harm, the other side was deflected and thrown straight toward Ge Suwen. Dugu Fengs [Phoenix] fragrant body brushed passed Kou Zhong, Kou Zhong spun around and stepped back, while pulling out the Moon in the Well in passing. Not only her sneak attack failed, but even worse, the moment Kou Zhong swept the swords edge, Dugu Fengs entire energy disappeared without a trace like throwing a stone and seeing it sink without trace in the sea, her body felt empty and fluttering, it was extremely unbearable. What made her lost fer face the most was that her long sword unexpectedly refused to obey her control, it stabbed towards Ge Suwen. The treasured saber in Ge Suwens hand returned to his back, his left hand swiftly, without any preparation, stretched forward, the hollow of his palm pressed onto Dugu Fengs sword de, which was only three chi away from reaching his chest. Unleashing a profound technique, the pressing down movement changed into pushing upward, immediately Dugu Feng, both her sword and her person, rose up into the air, above everybodys heads, just like a polo ball in a polo game. Kou Zhong secretly praised Ge Suwens deflecting-force method, it was both not going to hurt Dugu Feng in the slightest, while also prevent her from getting caught into an embarrassing predicament, which actually gave him an opportunity that he could exploit. Thereupon heughed aloud again and said, En Garde! The Moon in the Well hacked the empty air. Ge Suwens treasured saber moved forward, it pointed at Kou Zhong from a distance. The saber de was gleaming with golden light, unexpectedly it was a short saber, only a chi and a half long, with polished gold ring at the head. The flickering golden light wasing from the flowing lines of polished gold in swirling pattern and flowing clouds design on the body of the saber, straight to the spine and straight to the edge of the de, both the head and the end of the hilt were in an oblong shape, neither the hilt nor the de had any shield to protect the hand likemon saber and sword, making people able to imagine the fierce, vicious, dangerous and ruthless tense situation that it could disy in closebat. The Moon in the Well stopped three chi off the ground, the vortex of qi power, with the tip of the de as the core, formed a violent and wild-blowing energy, rolling out to four directions; it was precisely Kou Zhong-style spiraling force field. At this moment, Dugu Feng finally regained her breath, she flipped two somersaults in the air, andnded far away at the rear. The qi field was everywhere, Han Chaoan, Jin Zhengzong, and so on retreated one after another, leaving only Ge Suwen, with his clothes fluttering wildly, his ring-headed saber pointing straight ahead, facing Kou Zhong. Letting out a loud shout, Ge Suwen transformed his ring-headed saber into dots of golden light, protecting his whole body. His feet moving in strange footwork, neither slow nor hurried, he chased toward Kou Zhong. He appeared to be grasping the momentum of the initiative, but actually both sides knew that he was not able to figure out the changes in Kou Zhongs moves, hence he used defensive blended into the offensive, trying to gather what is true and what is false. Kou Zhong chanted, The saber is the way, it strikes with chopping and cutting down. The Moon in the Well rose up, the spiraling force field disappeared suddenly, as if all the air in the field, including the life qi and the death qi, were stored back into the saber. Li Shimin returned to the room, he sat down on the edge of the bed and said, I have asked clearly about the details of the water in the well. Turns out the Yeting Pce has a water officer with specific responsibility in the water supply of the pce. Routine inspections of well water and the stored water are carried out every day at fixed time in the morning, afternoon and evening. The water affairs officer is under Xuanlings supervision, a small department under him. However, it is not easy to poison the well water, because the fish raised in the well will be poisoned first, which will give us a warning. Xu Zilingughed and said, Shimin Xiong must have nned in advance in this. Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, Lucky that Ziling reminded me, how could I dare to lightly neglect this aspect? Not only did I instruct Xuanling to closely monitor the well, but also everything that could be eaten and enter our stomach. If the other side really wants to set their hand from this aspect, we could conversely give the other side a surprise instead. After a short pause, he continued, What other instructions does Ziling have? Xu Ziling said, I want to know what kind of person Tang Jian is. Due to Tang Jianmanding an army of 15,000 men stationed in the Western Inner City, he became the figure ying the most important role during the uprising tomorrow. If he was allowed to lead the army into the pce to quell the chaos, the situation could be reversed. Li Shimins pair of eyebrows knitted together, he spoke heavily, This man has wisdom and scheming ability, and he is absolutely loyal to Fuhuang, because Fuhuang once saved his entire family from Yang Guangs hands, hence there is no way to move him. Xu Ziling said calmly, At least there is still one way, which is to pass on a fake imperial edict, right? Li Shimin pped his forehead, heughed and said, Ziling indeed used one sentence to wake me up from a dream, as long as I can obtain the tiger tally[1] from Fuhuangs hands, plus the imperial edict has Fuhuangs [ruler] seal and signature, and the one sending out the decree is Chang He, we could definitely deceive Tang Jian. Is Ziling thinking of entering the pce tonight to steal the seal? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, Tonight, it is definitely not suitable to act blindly without thinking, because any slight mistake, tomorrow will be hard to fathom. I can guarantee Shimin Xiong that there will be no shortage of magic weapons that can deceive Tang Jian that he will believe firmly without any doubt. Li Shimin spoke in deject, Do we really have to make our move against Fuhuang? Xu Ziling said, This is the crucial point of our sess or failure, we have no other choice. Otherwise, if we allow Lingzun to order the sixteen fire beacon towers of the Taiji Pce to be lit, it would be the beginning of a nightmare. Originally this was impossible to achieve, but fortunately there is a different secret passage leading to the Imperial Study Room and the Imperial Guard House at the southwest corner of the Imperial City, which makes all of these possible. Li Shimin was silent for a moment, his pair of eyes emitted a reminiscing look, he smiled wryly and said, Since encountering Feixuan for the first time in Luoyang, I knew that I am setting foot on the road of no return. Ay! She finally went back! The load on his mind being evoked, momentarily Xu Ziling was speechless. Letting out a painedughter, Li Shimin said, I really dont know how much of these things I am doing for Shi Feixuan? Or for the world? Or for myself? Or perhaps for those who follow me? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, This is not important at all, the most important thing is the final result. As long as the world is peacefully unified, everything else is not important. In the Taiji Pce, under Lingzun, is the person who can give orders in everything Wei Gonggong? Rousing his spirit, Li Shimin replied, Wei Gonggong has always acted in ordance with the imperial order and pass it on in Fuhuangs behalf, therefore, no one dares not to give him face. However, the officialmander of Fuhuangs personal guards is my tangdi [younger male cousin from fathers side] Li Xiaogong. His conduct is wise and resolute, he has great reputation in the pce, he is more difficult to deal with than Wei Gonggong. Xu Ziling said, Try to notify Lingshu [your esteemed uncle] Li Shentong that I will meet with him tonight, I must use his influence in the pce tomorrow. This matter is crucial. Li Shimin nodded and said, There is no problem in this. Ay C I am worried whether Ziling will be able to deal with it? When the timees, not only Ziling will have to deal with Wei Gonggong, Yuwen Shang, Li Xiaogong, the Immortal Couple Chu Junming and Hua Ying, husband and wife, and Yan Li, but there is also You Chuhong. Any slight mistake, the consequences will be hard to foresee. Fuhuang himself, his skill is brilliant, definitely not an easy match. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Shimin Xiong please rest assured, our people sneaking into Changan this time are the elite troops from the Shao Shuai and Song Family, two armies. The Song Family has Song Bang, Song Shuang, and Song Faliang, whom Song Que personally put his heart and soul to cultivate, the most outstanding young martial art masters of the Song Familys new generation, none is not equipped with the qualifications and skills to assume personal responsibility. As long as they could catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sunzis Art of War], they can control the overall situation in the blink of an eye. Just as Shimin Xiong often mentioned, we are focused while the enemys scattered, even if there is magnificent army with thousands of men and horses in the pce, the remaining allotted share for them is just to bend their head to obey the order. And then he smiled and said, Fortunately, Yang WenGan is now utterly defeated, otherwise we would have to spare our attention to deal with him. This moment there was the sound of footsteps outside the door, a personal guard reported from outside the door, Reporting to Qin Wang, Xingjun Zongguan [the marching troops chiefmander] Li Shiji Furen [madame] Shen Luoyan is asking to see Xu Xiansheng. Li Shimin replied, Please invite her toe in! He rose up to his full height and left without saying anything. Kou Zhong thought to himself that this should be regarded as Ge Suwens poor luck. If they were to fightst night, at whose hand would the deer die, wouldnt it be hard to predict? Nevertheless, right now he was definitely being led by the nose by him, Kou Zhong. After understanding the essence of the Bu Si Yin Fa, not only his Long-Life Qi was brought up one level and reached perfection, but he also stole from Bi Xuan the principle of using the qi field to control the enemy and subdue the enemy, so that he was able to disy the illusion technique of the Bu Si Yin Fa to extreme saturation. At this time, a stunned look appeared on Ge Suwens face, as the pressure disappeared, his power automatically increased, the ring-headed saber in his hand had no other choice but to turn into a golden light chopping directly at the opponent. Kou Zhong already waited with stored-up momentum. With a burst of ear-splitting longughter, his saber swept horizontally, seemingly an honest and real strike, but the changes within were in the millions. The saber followed the bodys intention, the intention adhered to the sabers movement, man and saber became one, no person, no saber. Dang! The two sabers shed, sparks flew sharply. At the moment when the victory or defeat would be immediately decided, Ge Suwen showed his weight as the Gaoli great expert in saber technique. The ring-headed saber seemed to be unable to withstand the Moon in the Well, it was jolted away to the left, but the person actually borrowed the impact force and was brought by the saber to shift away, suddenly he was about a zhang away from Kou Zhong, and then with a swift spin, the ring-headed saber was transformed into golden light again, unexpectedly it was thrust toward Kou Zhong in a wave-like arc; retreating and then advancing, not only he did not fall into the disadvantageous position at all, but he advanced and retreated with no gaps to be sought, amazing as if made by heaven. Kou Zhong was well aware that the advantage he had seized just now had already vanished under the opponents sessive strike-brought-by-disappearance style counterattack, but he was still unhurried and calm. Letting out a longughter, he said, Good saber technique! Just as Han Chaoan, Ma Ji and the others cheered and sighed in praise for Ge Suwen, Kou Zhongs treasured saber sank down and pointed upwards at an angle, the saber de vibrated and shook, but the person was like turning into a motionless boulder, as if existed but did not exist, the heaven, earth and man fused together to be one entity. His heart and spirit were clear and bright, crystal clear, from the saber qiing to envelope his body, hepletely, not-a-single-trace-leaking, grasped the finalnding point of the ring-headed saber in Ge Suwens hand; he waited in tight formation. For the second time, Ge Suwen revealed a stunned expression in his eyes. He felt that not only the saber move was odd, but it was like he was dropping by in front of the door to let Kou Zhong punish and teach him; furthermore, he had no idea what Kou Zhongs follow-up move would be. In his shock, the wave-like advance of the treasured saber immediately became transformed-and-disappearing golden light, he soared into the air at a distance of half a zhang away from Kou Zhong, the saber light turned once again into a golden rain filling the whole sky pouring down on Kou Zhongs head and noggin. Kou Zhong knew inwardly that he was finally able to force Ge Suwen into disadvantageous position again. This move that could shroud the sky and cover the earth was merely a sudden change move of an arrow at the end of its flight C offensive. Unexpectedly, instead of meeting the move, he sprinted forward, and after getting away, he suddenly stood still, and swept backhandedly at the opponent who did not have any choice but must fall back to the ground from the empty air. Ge Suwens pair of feetnded on the ground, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well swept toward his neck, unexpectedly he did not feel the slightest bit of saber qi; it was so odd that it was hard to believe. Unable to understand Kou Zhongs what is true and what is false, Ge Suwen swiftly stepped back, but the ring-headed saber continuously chopped in Kou Zhongs direction,ying down stream by stream of saber qi, doing everything he could so that Kou Zhong was unable to seize the momentum to pursue and attack. He indeed lived up to his reputation as Gaolis great expert in saber technique. Han Chaoan and the others became the crow and peacock make no sound, no one dared to ascertain whether Ge Suwen could regain the upper hand. Kou Zhong stood still with the saber across his chest, smiling as he watched Ge Suwen stepping back far away, the qi power protecting his body turned into a wall of qi that went away from the body, like a wheel running over pottery and porcin, smashing the formless saber qi that Ge Suwen sent to attack him into powder. By the time Ge Suwen was standing still at a two-zhang distance, the air between them was empty and fluttering, there was no longer any barrier. Ge Suwens saber momentum changed, he regrouped the foot of his troops disposition, organizing a counterattack. Tap! Tap! Tap! Kou Zhong moved three steps, suddenly to the left, suddenly to the right, suddenly forward, suddenly backward, but with every step he broke away from Ge Suwens saber qi intended to lock him tight, causing Ge Suwen to change his moves three times, before once again standing still in the optimum way to attack and defend against the enemy, but he was unable to counterattack. They were two zhang apart, but under the induction of qi power, it was like a close-rangebat. Any mistake from one side, the opponent would be able to see the gap and enter in, immediately victory or defeat would be determined. The tense and dangerous situation were not something that pen and ink would be able to describe. Letting out a longugh, Kou Zhong said, Dashuai is indeed brilliant! One saber pointing forward, it drew saber flower in yellow light. Ge Suwen was finally able to steady the foot of his troops disposition, his strong wrist swung, the ring-headed saber pointed forward. He was about tounch an offensive, Kou Zhongs yellow light disappeared, the Moon in the Well seemed to have moved from another space, it suddenly appeared in Kou Zhongs hand, creating a chilling feeling of strange reprimand. For the third time, Ge Suwen revealed a horrified expression. Although the observers were many, he knew for sure that he was the only one feeling the true qi emitted by Kou Zhongs saber de, it was precisely the sent-outter-to-control-the-enemy saber de to lock tight and lock dead his ring-headed sabersst position. It was also bing his only one gap to meet a contingency. If as a result Kou Zhongunched a full-strength attack, his only way out was to stake everything to fight hard; naturally it was not beyond Kou Zhongs ability to foresee, rather, he would be able to grasp the change of his saber momentum without error. Ge Suwens countenance changed for the fourth time. Kou Zhongs brilliance was beyond his expectations. Having no alternative, he moved his saber back and put it away, and shifted two steps sideways. Standing still with the saber across his chest, he roared, What kind of saber technique is that? Han Chaoan, Ma Ji, Dugu Feng and the others were unable to make any sense of what Ge Suwen was talking about, how could he ask the enemy while standing face to face with the naked saber de? But they all knew that Ge Suwen hadmitted another unwise move and had fallen into the disadvantageous position. Kou Zhong grasped the saber hilt with the other hand, the saber drooped down, he raised the saber and bowed, and said with a smile, This is the Yi Jian Technique that Niang passed on to me, I am afraid it will only make Dashuaiugh. The refined light in Ge Suwens pair of eyes ring greatly, he stared fixedly at Kou Zhong for quite half a day, and spoke heavily, Fu Junchuo? [1] Tiger tally: a two-piece object made in the shape of a tiger, used in ancient China as proof of authority. One half of a tally could be issued to a military officer and this would be matched with the other half when verification was required. Book 62 2 – The Midnight Appointment Book 62 Chapter 2 C The Midnight Appointment If he were Li Shimin, knowing that the oneing to see Xu Ziling was Shen Luoyan, perhaps he would say a word or half a sentence, or at least make a signal with his eyes, reminding him that Shen Luoyan was Li Shijis tender wife, and Li Shiji was themander-in-chief overseeing Luoyang, hence he must never, ever step out of line, even if Shen Luoyan took the initiative, he must still persevere to resist her to the end. However, Li Shimin did not even say half a word, make half a signal with his eyes C in this regard, which showed his absolute trust in Xu Ziling. This was precisely where Li Shimin surpassed others, because he knew people, he understood what kind of person Xu Ziling was. While this thought flitted through his mind, Shen Luoyans familiar fragrant scent assailed his nostrils. Wearing a in yellow gauzed skirt, full of smile, Shen Luoyan sat down on the edge of the bed without any hesitation. She stretched out her slender hand and pressed it on the back of his hand, and took a closer look at his countenance. She spoke softly, Looking at Qin Wangs high-spirited expression, my originally pessimistic mood is swept clean. But I still dont understand why Ziling is faking an injury in here? Xu Ziling met her beautiful eyes that could make peoples heart tremble, he smiled and said, Tomorrows sess or failure will depend on whether we can coerce Li Yuan to control Changan. I am taking up this task, and Shen Luoyans jade hands moved up, she pressed it against his lips, shook her head and said, Dont tell me the details, it will only provide the materials for me to worry about. Zhang Jieyu summoned me into the pce tonight to apany her, therefore, about tomorrow, I can only be a spectator. Returning to Changan this time, Li Yuan tried to win nujia over via Zhang Jieyu. Now Li Yuans action is near at hand, naturally he does not want me to be involved in this matter and get hurt, because if any mishaps [orig. three long two short: unexpected misfortune/ident] happen to Qin Wang, Shiji is the first great general of the Tian Ce Fu that Li Yuan wants to win over. Beyond his control, Xu Ziling could not stop the pitter-patter of his heart jumping up and down. Its not that he had never tasted Shen Luoyans clinging to him and acting intimately with him before, only for some reason her allure was particrly powerful this time, perhaps because he was just pondering over this ten-thousand-face issue, or perhaps because his marriage to Shi Qingxuan was already decided that he felt the excitement of asional extramarital affair. Shen Luoyan continued, I originally wanted to warn you guys to guard against the alliance ceremony tomorrow morning, but now of course there is no need to do more than is required. Who actually injured you that you have to fake injury? Xu Ziling felt she pulled her jade hand away from pressing on his shoulder and pressed it again on the back of his hand. His spirit and wisdom returned clear and bright, he replied, The one injuring me is Wanwan, she is now temporarily renewing old cordial rtionship with Zhao Deyan, Yin Zuwen, and so on, to fight for the fate of the demonic school. Ay! This is another problem that gives me headache, Wanwan must have an undercover agent inside the pce, so that Wanwan knows everything inside the pce like the back of her hand, I even suspect that she is hiding in the pce, naturally using another identity. Shen Luoyans pretty face revealed a grave expression, she said, You are confused over the current situation, for this reason, you may have misunderstood Wanwans intention. Can Ziling briefly describe what happened to you guys in the past two days? Unexpectedly Kou Zhong returned the saber inside its scabbard, he spoke with serious expression, I, Kou Zhong am what I am today, it is entirely due to what Niang bestowed to me. Toward Niangs nsmen, Niangs country, I have a deep, close and dear affection and admiration. If Dashuai understands what kind of person I am, you should understand that I, Kou Zhong, only wants Dashuai to be a brother and not an enemy. One day I, Kou Zhong, am alive and kicking, I will never allow anyone to offend Niangs ancestral family, Dashuai, please note clearly. Ma Ji spoke in stern voice, Dashuai must not be confused by his graceful words, flowery speech [idiom: dishonest rhetoric]. Kou Zhong turned his head to look at Ma Ji in the distance, heughed calmly and said, Can you give an actual example, after my debut, when did I, Kou Zhong ever try to go back on my word, and who did I fail? Ma Ji was at a loss for words. Kou Zhongs gaze moved back to Ge Suwen, he smiled and said, Dashuai has magnificent aspiration in your bosom, you cant possibly haggle over every ounce of the gains and losses of one time, one ce. Ziling and I really regard Gaoli as half of our ancestral home, only I am afraid we have not safeguarded it satisfactorily. If there is the slightest bit of false assertion, Niangs soul and spirit in heaven cant possibly let us, these unfilial sons C off. Without blinking at all, Ge Suwen fixed his gaze at him, his eyes gradually softened, suddenly he shook his head with a wry smile, his ring-headed saber drooped down to point at the ground, he said, Chaoan and Zhengzong, what do you say? Jin Zhengzongs voice sounded from behind Kou Zhong, Zhengzong firmly believes each word came from the bottom of Shaoshuais heart. In Longquan that day, were it not for Shaoshuai thinking fondly of old affection, if would be very difficult for us to escape unscathed. While Ge Suwen was nodding slightly, Han Chaoan sighed and said, Shaoshuai is definitely not a person who lightly gives promises andcking trust. Ge Suwen threw his head back in longughter, he tossed the saber away, letting it fell to the ground with a Dang!, and spoke heavily, Another saber Finished listening, Shen Luoyans pretty eyebrows deeply knitted as she pondered over, she said, The enemy hasunched several operations, all were targeted against Ziling. This matter is rather unusual, they ought to know that if Kou Zhong is murdered, Jiancheng and the others immediately sessfully aplish their goal, so whats the use of such a turning point for three, four times against you in session? Could it be that they think Ziling is easier to deal with than Kou Zhong? Xu Ziling said, The two sneak attacks and ambush happened both on my way to see Qingxuan, therefore, ambushing me isparatively easier, because there were traces that they could look for. Shen Luoyan analyzed, That might be only one of the reasons. In fact, with your and Kou Zhongsbined power, although inevitably you will suffer injury, you will still be able to break the siege and escape. The enemys goal is to inflict heavy losses on you, thus it will gravely encumber Kou Zhong, not only it will make Kou Zhong unable to say hes leaving and immediately leave, when the conflict breaks out, Kou Zhong wont be able to simply disregard you and run away even more. This move can be considered the ultimate scheme, they are doing everything in their power to keep you, two men, here forever. Shaken, Xu Ziling said, You are right! Shen Luoyan said, ording to the situation, after Yang Xuyans assassination operation was wrecked by Shi Zhixuan, he had no choice but to ask Wanwan toe down the arena, hence Wanwan only wanted to inflict heavy losses on you, but the target is still Kou Zhong, otherwise, if they let you and Kou Zhong join forces to break the siege, even if Bi Xuan personally makes his move, I am afraid he will still not be able to stop you. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, Shi Zhixuan should not know that Wanwan coulde to deal with me, he should not know that Yang Xuyan and Wanwan are working together in secret. However, its hard to say, Shi Zhixuan is temperamental, he changed six times in five hours, no one can guess his mind. Shen Luoyan pulled back her hand from his, she smiled and said, You are overestimating Shi Zhixuan! With Shi Qingxuan here, he has turned back into a loving father who is willing to make any sacrifice for his daughter. Wanwan understands this point better than anyone, as a result, there is an irreparable difference between Wanwan and Shi Zhixuan. Xu Ziling spoke cheerfully, If it is indeed as you said, we have one less of this hard-to-fathom Shi Zhixuan variable. Shen Luoyan stood up gracefully, with her eyes brimming with tenderness, she stared fixedly at him, and spoke softly, Perhaps you dont know, every time a war is approaching, I feel scared and nervous, therefore, Im really not like Kou Zhong, that kind of naturalmander-in-chief, but Ive never been so afraid and frightened like tonight. Be careful! One mistake, we will be defeated, the ground nketed with bodies [idiom: suffer a crushing defeat]. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Dont worry! Kou Zhong plus Li Shimin, they cant possibly lose. When Kou Zhonges back, we will develop a perfect strategy, using the least cost to obtain the greatest victory, to stabilize our capital Changan. Ge Suwen slowly pulled the saber out of the sheath, his entire person changed instantly. Not only was he in high spirits, but he also generated some kind of a grand, majestic aura, showing that all his misgivings had gonepletely, that his aspiration was focused on defeating the enemy. Man and saber have merged into one. Kou Zhong had never seen such a simple, without anything fancy, heavy and thick long saber,pared to the Moon in the Well, it was half a chi longer, and twice as thick and wide. The body of the saber was ck, but flickering and dazzling. Laughing calmly, Ge Suwen said, This is the forty-nine refined clear steel saber made by Jin Xi, a famous saber maker of my country, produced at my request. After the clear steel was forged, it was folded over and over and forged into forty-nineyers. The de was tempered, the clear steel is the primary essence of ck steel, there is softness within the hard, I call it the Dun Ji Dao [shield striker saber], the sheath is the rear, the saber is the striker, thebined weight of the sheath and the saber is one hundred and twenty catties, Shaoshuai, be careful. Kou Zhong spread out both hands, he shook his head with a wry smile and said, Since Dashuai is unwilling to let the matter drop, Kou Zhong has no choice but to apany, and let me experience the extraordinary saber technique that uses the sheath as the shield and the sword as the striker. Ge Suwen smiled and said, Suwen is not a warlike person at all, only because Shaoshuais saber technique produced deity and man transformation, it moves my heart. If I miss something on my face, it will be a great pity. Shaoshuai, please be so kind as to enlighten me, so that Suwen could gain first-hand experience of the Eight Methods of the Well whose name shook inside and outside the Great Wall, so that Suwen would not return empty-handed. Heroic feeling welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, furthermore, he understood Ge Suwens way of thinking. If Ge Suwen epts his, Kou Zhongs proposal to establish friendly rtions while he was at the disadvantageous position, it would be akin to him being scared of Kou Zhong, not to mention he might still have the ability that he kept at the bottom of his chest; if he did not have the opportunity to use it, he would not be willing to let it go. Smiling, he said, Since Dashuai thinks so highly of Xiaodi, Xiaodi will y the Eight Methods of the Well from head to tail, to let Dashuai take a look and give directions. Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its sheath again, as if it was driven by the saber, Kou Zhongs whole body leaned forward, the saber de pointed at Ge Suwen from a distance, who had the scabbard on his left hand and the saber on the right, however, he did not emit the slightest coldness of the saber qi, as if he was taking a stance without any substance. However, all the onlookers, including Ge Suwen standing inside the arena, no one did not clearly feel that Kou Zhongs person and the saber became one; even more, they felt the heaven and earth became one entity. The heaven and earths power was his power; he had fully seized the heaven and earths nature. Ge Suwen became aware that his previous move to lure the enemy and to control the enemy werepletely useless; he was ovee with the no room to advance or to retreat feeling. Without any better option, he assumed the stance where the scabbard in his left hand acted as the shield, and was held at an angle to protect his chest, while the right hand held the saber horizontally high above his head, and lowered his waist in a horse stance. Biting cold qi power like a gale chased toward Kou Zhong, standing two zhang away. Cool-headed and calm, he spoke indifferently, May I venture to ask, what method is this style? Kou Zhong generated the heaven, earth and man became one, no man, no saber,pletely dissolving into one entity C feeling. Even facing Ge Suwens astonishing qi power, he was like a fish in the water, totally natural, like a fish that would not overlook any changes in the water. As soon as the opponent made the slightest move, his next move would immediately deliver a frontal assault with amazing strike. He smiled and said, This move is called No Attack, and the next move will be Striking Strange [reminder: strange here means sudden attack/ambush]. Dashuai, please be careful. Ge Suwenughed and said, If I defend but dont attack, how would Shaoshuaiunch the Striking Strange? Reversing his qi power, Kou Zhong stood proudly, absolutely still [orig. not a trace of wind was moving]. Laughing aloud, he said, In that case, I will have no choice but to use Square and Circle; just when Dashuai changed from defense to attack, I naturally will have the opportunity that I can exploit to find the strange and strike. Frowning, Ge Suwen said, This defensive style of mine is called Feng Tian Bi Di [lit. sealing the Heaven and shutting the Earth], there is no gap to be entered. If Shaoshuai has the ability to make me change my move, Suwen will ept wholeheartedly. A hint of strange smile escaped from the corner of Kou Zhongs mouth, he said, Square and Circle is thest method of the Eight Methods of the Well, it is the ability that I keep at the bottom of my chest. If I cant make Dashuai change your move to deal with it, Xiaodi will immediately relinquish the saber and admit defeat; however, we all are still brothers, Dashuai, please spare my little life. Ge Suwen spoke cheerfully, Even if I do not wish to make friends with you, I simply cant. Shaoshuai, please impart your wisdom. Kou Zhong let out a burst of longughter, the yellow light of the Moon in the Well in his hand suddenly red greatly, a vortex of qi shot out from the saber de, rolling and whirling away, forming a circle within a square, but he himself sent out an astonishing qi field, pressing down on the opponent like a wall, like a barrier. And then he formed a square within the circle, and it came one after another, so that Ge Suwen was struggling hard to cope. Ge Suwen had never thought that his Square and Circle was not saber move at all, but the change of true qi, which could attack from a distance. The most terrifying thing was that on the one hand, the vortex of qi power wasing, splitting the air, while the other piece of qi power absorbed the true qi that he released, so that he could no longer grasp Kou Zhongs what is true and what is false from the qi power contact. Such a terrifying move, this was the first time that he encountered in all his life. Ge Suwen shouted sternly, one hundred percent of his true qi condensed into the scabbard in his left hand, the person moved sideways, he swept at the vortex of energy to strike first. Bang! True qi collided, the two men were severely shaken at the same time. Kou Zhong appeared to be about to pounce forward, but the qi wall was pressing down on Suwen. Thetter shouted again, the heavy clear steel saber held horizontally above his head swiftly chopped down. The qi wall rolled away to either side, like the water of the ocean parted and formed walls on both sides, revealing a road at the bottom of the water to pass through. Ge Suwen had no other choice, because he was afraid that Kou Zhong would seize the opportunity to kill, he had to gain the initiative by striking first, using momentum against momentum, he flew at full speed through the formless passage from the split open qi wall. The heavy saber in his right hand transformed into refined light like lightning shes. Traversing the two-zhang space, using ten-thousand-jun-thunderbolt momentum he struck straight toward Kou Zhong. He was finally forced to turn defense into offense, and could not but show a change. Who would have thought that the adopting-the-attacking-stance Kou Zhong did not use the Striking Strange as he anticipated, but he really used Cheating Troops to lure the opponent to change move and attack? The subtlety within was splendid, so that watching it, Jin Zhengzong and the others eyes were dazzled, they gasped in amazement. Faced with the shocking attack of the breaking-the-heaven-opening-up-the-earth heavy sword, Kou Zhong remained calm and unhurried. The Moon in the Well stabbed the empty air in front of him more than a dozen times, sending out more than a dozen streams of saber qi, each stream of saber qi hit the body of the opponents saber one step ahead. It was precisely learning and applying pragmatically, he was applying one attack [pu C pounce] of Ning Daoqis San Shou [scattering hand, from San Shou Ba Pu C scattered hand eight attacks] in his Chess Abundant of the Eight Methods, using the man to y [yi] the saber, using the saber to y the enemy. Ding! The wild, violent offensive suddenly disappeared without a shadow without a trace, Kou Zhongs Moon in the Well not only sessfully blocked Ge Suwens startling the heaven and earth, sobbing-ghost-and-deity strike, but also sessfully sucked the heavy saber firmly. Ge Suwen roared, the scabbard in his left hand, covering the head, covering the face, swept and hacked toward Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong let out a longugh, he secretly applied the Bu Si Yin Fa, the real qi within his body transformed the death into life, the flow of qi reversed. Qiang! The irresistible saber force, like a raging billow, violent wave invaded Ge Suwens heavy saber, forcibly jolting him three steps away, the scabbard in his left hand swept an empty air. Ge Suwen casually tossed the scabbard, he threw his head back inughter and said, If I still want to press on, I would be a despicable and shameless person. I received the instruction! I, Ge Suwen, will leave tonight, and will no longer get involved in Changans affair. After Shen Luoyan left, Hou Xibai returned from the Ling Yan Pavilion, he sat down next to the bed and said with a sigh, This time we are in trouble! Even with Xu Zilings free and easy manner, because it involved his Shigong, hearing that, his heart was startled his guts palpitating. Smiling ruefully, he said, Go ahead! I hope I can bear it. Hou Xibai spoke in deject, You should say whether Kou Zhong can bear it or not. Xu Ziling was shocked, Whats the matter? he asked. Hou Xibai replied, I went to Ling Yan Pavilion to see your Yu Yi just now. To make a long story short, I told her that I was passing on a message word for you, that tonights midnight appointment must be postpone to tomorrow night. Who would have thought that she was furious, saying that your Shigong detests those who dont keep their promises the most? This kind of acting arbitrarily regardless of the rules will worsen your rtionship with Shigong. Ay! Under pressure and having no alternative, I was forced to confess the truth about the pretense and told her that you suffered heavy injury from Wanwan. Your Yu Yi told me to wait for a moment, so that she can ask Shigong for instructions. When she came back, she told me that Shigong issued an order, if Kou Zhong does not meet him at the pavilion [ting] in the middle of theke of the Ling Yan Pavilion [ge] tonight at zi hour [11pm-1am], he will personally go to Yeting Pce to look for Kou Zhong and give him bad luck. Hearing that, Xu Zilings eyebrows were deeply furrowed, he would rather they fought Bi Xuan, because then Kou Zhong could at least deal with him with all his strength, however, towards Fu Cailin, they hadyer uponyer of misgivings, there would only be defeat without victory, because they simply had to give consideration to Niangs love. Having a headache, Hou Xibai said, What do we do? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, In everything, lets talk when Kou Zhong returns! His mood rxed, Kou Zhong left the Liang Yuan, even he himself was satisfied with the way he handled Ge Suwen, which not only retained the other sides face and did not damage a good rtionship, but also prevented Ge Suwen from getting involved in tomorrows battle and weakened Li Jianchengs sides power. He could not help thinking about his next move, whether he should pretend that because Xu Ziling received serious injury, fury attacked his heart, he, Kou Zhong, went everywhere to find somebody to vent his anger, and took the opportunity to break through straight into the East Pce, challenge Yang Xuyan and ughter this kid. But he was also afraid that it would affect the tomorrows operation. While he was hesitating, he turned his head around to look, Ba Fenghan caught up with him from behind, and said with augh, Good kid, unexpectedly the quick-footed climb up first, you snatched my Ge Dashuai. Kou Zhong waited until he came beside him, and then they walked side by side. He spoke happily, Did you see meing out of Liang Yuan? Ba Fenghan spoke slyly, Looking at your high and mighty look, were you able to attack [sha, which could mean kill, attack, weaken or reduce] Ge Suwen that he gets lost to his home town on the east dragging his dagger-axe and armor? Kou Zhong smiled and said, When martial art masters exchange blows, theres no need to decide victory or defeat, I only chased him that he fell into the disadvantageous position twice. Out of five sabers, three still remain, plus I thoroughlyid out the pros and cons, we all ended in harmony, he immediately led his team to leave the city. Ha! Where did you go just now? Ba Fenghan said, Just consider him lucky, I definitely would not treat him as good as you did. Kou Zhong said, Quickly answer my question, dont look left and right with regard to him, did you go after Badaier earlier? Ba Fenghan put his hand on his shoulder, he sighed and said, Xiongdis heart, how could it be hidden from you? Badaier and I have a set of technique to contact each other, if she wants me to find her, she will leave a secret mark at the East Gate. Now she has already moved out of the imperial pce and is staying in an inn on the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, I still havent decided whether I should see her. I was wandering around the street like a lonely soul without a master, and suddenly remembered Ge Suwen; who would have thought that I ran into you? Kou Zhong was about to speak, Ba Fenghan said, Look! By this time, the two men had arrived at the vicinity of the imperial city. Following Ba Fenghans eyes, Kou Zhong looked. Liexia was stepping out of the Vermillion Bird Gate, walking in the opposite direction from them. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Heavens has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it [idiom, from Laozi]; this kids time hase! Book 62 3 – Unexpected Gain Book 62 Chapter 3 C Unexpected Gain Seeing Liexias back disappearing into Ming Tang Wo, Ba Fenghan spoke in heavy voice, Turns out this kid likes to gamble a couple of games. Hearing that, Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he said, He doesnt look like a gambler, perhaps he is looking for someone? Frowning, Ba Fenghan said, Looking for who? The two men crouched on the roof ridge of the shop across the street, monitoring the main gate of Ming Tang Wo where people wereing and going. Kou Zhong said, Just now when you mentioned about liking to gamble a couple of games, you reminded me of the Sha Familys Da Shaoye [eldest young master] Chengjiu, Sha Zhijings eldest brother. Since because of Ziling, Sha Si Xiaojie [the fourthdy of Sha Family] had a falling out with Liexia, Liexia had no choice but to make his move starting with Sha Chengjiu, hoping to reconcile with Sha Zhijing. If Liexia wants to make a name for himself in Changan, Sha Zhijing is an ideal choice. Ba Fenghan said, I hope your guess is correct, if we let Lie kid slip through the back door, we will suffer the painful loss of a golden opportunity. Kou Zhongughed and said, Just like Ziling, at the moment Im full of inspiration, knowing that I cant possibly be wrong. Since Laotianye already let us identally running into him, naturally He cant possibly make our spirit be dampened. Ha! To have our spirit dampened? Ba Fenghan said, If he and Sha Chengjiu return to the Sha Mansion together, we can urately grasp his route and find the best ce to make our move. This aspect, naturally you will be in charge. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, No problem. After a short pause, he went on, In the past, when Ziling and I were little pickpockets in Yangzhou, every day we longed to see other big cities outside Yangzhou, the vast world outside, hoping to encounter some special and exciting things that would break the daily routine and humdrum. We did not stop making a fuss about joining the rebels, or perhaps taking the exam [referring to the exam to be civil officer]. In short, we wished for new change, we did not want to pass our days in obscurity. Ba Fenghan did not expect him to suddenly change the subject to talk about old affairs; a bit unable to make any sense of the matter, he responded, Now that hope has be a reality, one might well ask, who could match your current many-postures, many-color, perilous situation [orig. startling billows astonishing waves] and ever-changing life? Kou Zhongs eyes were still fixed on Ming Tang Wos main gate with its endless stream of horses and carriages, but Ba Fenghan was certain that he was looking without seeing, his mind flew over his spirit wandered, only to hear him murmuring like he was in a dream, To this day, this heaven and earth is still unbounded to me, there is another earth outside the earth, there is another grasnd outside the grasnd. In this vast and boundless world, there are countries with different customs, countries with their own beliefs and characteristics, the mysterious source of the Yellow River, Great River [Huang He, Da Jiang, thetter usually refers to the Yangtze River], the highest mountain, thergest ocean, and then there is the Qiuci Kingdom, with its singing and dancing that is known throughout the world, producing beautiful women in abundance. All of these are enough for us to exhaust the strength of our lifetime to seek serenity and to explore the victory. When your heart and spirit transcend the earth like this, the hatred of the world of the living will be insignificant. Our sess tomorrow will represent the arrival of a new era, Xieli will be driven back to his old home, the rise of Li Shimin will mark the reconciliation between nations, military force will be used to maintain peace instead of to invade and plunder opportunistically. Do you, LaoGe understand what I mean? The differences between Badaier and you will no longer exist, if you still cant let go of some his Niangs hatred or social ss, you will just spin a cocoon around yourself, watching helplessly as happiness is flying away from your hands, letting the woman you love continue to suffer torment, and wasting away your precious life! Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Turns out you are circling around a big corner, unexpectedly to preach to me, to scold me ruthlessly. Kou Zhong looked at him, his pair of eyes emitted zing expression, he said, Dont deceive yourself any more, the woman you like the most is Badaier, hence at the Helian Fort, you only cared about her, one person. This moment she is at an inn in the city, waiting painstakingly for you to change your mind. You can choose to be a heartless swordsman, or you can shake your body and transform yourself into a lovely sweetheart. Loneliness and happiness will be decided by your, LaoGes thoughts. Trust me! Immediately get lost for me, go in front of Badaiers knees, throw away your pride and unyielding character, kneel down and confess to her in the most humble and sincere way, to seek for her understanding, to ask for her forgiveness. Xiaodi nearly, because of some his grannys major undertaking, the task of establishing and maintaining hegemony C lost the happiness of the second half of my life. I really dont want to see you following the tracks of my overturned cart. Muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Can I decide everything after tomorrows matter ispleted? Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, If you cannot regard Badaier as your top priority, you are not going to show your love and sincerity to her. Liexia, this stinky kid, leave him to me to handle, Lao Ba, you should go to see Badaier immediately, followozis instructions, and then take Badaier to Qin Wangs mansion, so that Xiongdi [brother] can take a good look at her. Ba Fenghan returned his scorching gaze, momentarily he was speechless. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Only by removing the obstacles of the mind, facing ones true intentions, and putting it into practice, you can eliminate the clinging to self. Otherwise, like you are right now, you will definitely die in Bi Xuans hands. You still have not taken a hike to the ce you are supposed to be, do you want me to let Liexia off and strongarm you to her presence? What kind of a hero is that? We are all brothers, I cant possibly let you go the wrong way. There is no other way to make a breakthrough in the way of the sword. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, I now finally understand why you seeded in persuading Chang He and Liu Hongji. You, this kid indeed have a set of skill to be a lobbyist, to affect the seven emotional states [joy, anger, anxiety, thought, grief, fear, fright], ay! Kou Zhong said, You cant resist me because I took out my heart to show you. What are you still doing here? Are you afraid that I wont be able to put Liexia in order? Ba Fenghan was silent for a moment, finally he nodded and said, Very well! Im going! Keep your hands and feet clean, you must not influence the major events of tomorrow. His expression calm and collected, Li Shimin came in and sat down by Hou Xibais side, he said, We have caught the enemy within our own ranks, its all thanks to Ziling reminding us. Xu Ziling deduced, So the well water is really poisoned? Hou Xibai was baffled, Whats going on? he asked. Li Shimin smiled and exined, and then said, By the time the well water is poisoned, there wont be much time left, so we made our move to directly confront the water officer named Zhang Yuan, searched his body first, and then when we found nothing, we searched his lodging house, and found this bottle. Finished speaking, he took out from his bosom a gray-blue porcin bottle, about four cun tall, sealed with a porcin lid. Standing erect in the hollow of Li Shimins palm, the bottle gleamed with strange rays of light under the illumination of thentern light. Thinking about Liexia and the Da Ming Zun Jiao, it gave some kind of evil and sinister feeling. While with satisfied expression Li Shimin stared at the vial in his hand, he spoke calmly, Dont look down on this bottle of venom, only one drop can poison dozens of people, it is colorless and odorless, and it will only re out nearly one sichen after the fact. The poisoned persons hands and feet will lose strength, he will be dizzy and vomiting. Even those with outstanding power will have theirbat power greatly reduced, it is extremely potent. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Listening to Shimin Xiong, it sounds like that water officer named Zhang Yuan has already confessed the inside information. Li Shimin nodded and said, How could he not confess? He even wrapped the vines around the tree, and the vines pick up the melons; he told us the people who were bought by Wang Xiong together with him, it is indeed worrisome. Ziling reminding me, there is no end of virtuous achievements [idiom]. Xu Zilingughed and said, Its definitely toote for regrets for the enemy in mounting a sneak attack at me with a steel needle dipped in poison. Hou Xibai excitedly said, Qin Wang should use this to counter the enemys scheme, to make them miscalcte greatly. Li Shimin smiled and said, Exactly. This bunch of people have now be good chess piece for us to confuse the enemy, to lure the enemy. I will send false information through them. When the other side thinks that its in the bag, they will realize that they are the ones who are falling into the trap. A bit impatient, Hou Xibai said, That kid Kou Zhong, why hasnt hee back yet? And Lao Ba, where did he go? Li Shimin said, Dont worry, they are the only ones who can provoke others, who would dare to provoke them? Especially tonight, before dawn, the other side absolutely will not dare to act blindly without thinking. Xu Ziling could not help thinking about Fu Cailin, he smiled bitterly in his heart. A carriage drove out of the main gate of Ming Tang Wo, which, for this establishment with a long history, was something that happened hundreds of times every day. Originally, it should not have caught Kou Zhongs attention, however, the driver had his hat pressed down so low that his brows and eyes were covered in darkness, looking so mysterious. Kou Zhong could not help casting his gaze, and immediately recognized that the driver was surprisingly Yang WenGan. Toward this gentleman, he has only seen him on asions like at Yan Yan [lit. prolong/extend feast, I dont remember this], otherwise he would have seen through his disguise early on. There was a moment of hesitation in his heart, the fish and bears paws, you cant have both at the same time [idiom from Mencius]; should he abandon Liexia and pursue Yang WenGan? Which hallowed figure was actually inside Yang WenGans carriage? Why did Yang WenGan not choose his own territorys Six-Happiness Casino but pretended to be in contact with supernatural beings [idiom: engaging in hocus-pocus] at Ming Tang Wo? Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong knew that it was hard to resist the temptation; sighing inwardly, he decided to figure out Yang WenGans shady business first. Leaning back in his chair, rxing with his eyes closed, Xu Ziling was awakened by the sound of footsteps. Opening up his eyes, he saw, apanied by Hou Xibai, his face showed excitement, Kou Zhong entered the room. Astonished, Xu Ziling said, Xibai has not told you about Shigongs appointment? Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai sat down separately on his left and right, thetter said, I already told him! But he still doesnt seem to understand whats going on. Kou Zhongughed and said, How could I not understand clearly? His grannys bear! Counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir; Shigong wants me toe, at most I can hey! I can bow respectfully with sped hands [Trantors note: this is hard to carry over to English; he started to say da (beat, strike, fight), but continued da gong zuo yi, same da character], its useless to be anxious. Ha! This time one move, three gains. However, even if your, Ling Shaos intelligence goes through the heavens, at most you can only guess one. The other two, even if you split your little brains, you wont be able to guess it. Hou Xibai spoke cheerfully, Dont keep listeners in suspense [in storytelling], quickly make a long story short. Qin Wang is gathering the high-ranking military officers and the imperial strategic advisers under hismand in the council hall, waiting for us to discuss the big n. Kou Zhong cheerfully said, Lets talk about the first gain first, I finally concluded our affair with Ge Suwen in friendly manner, this kid agreed to leave the city and return to his home country tonight, to no longer get involved in our affairs. It was fortunate that we ended up like this, otherwise I might kill him, and then Im sure there would be a heavy price to pay. Xu Ziling happily said, Good job! At least we can give a good exnation to Shigong! Kou Zhong said, Thats why Im not too worried about the zi hour [midnight] appointment with Shigong. Before leaving the city, Lao Ge ought to report the reason to Shigong. Shigongs anger should be reduced in half; the other half will be much easier to deal with! Xu Ziling nodded and said, That sounds about right. Kou Zhong said, The second gain is even more gratifying. Relying on my silver tongue, Xiaodi reasoned with Lao Ba, I told him to let go of the animosity between peoples and nations and social sses, to go to Badaier to kneel down and beg for forgiveness. Staring nkly, Hou Xibai said, Ba Fenghan kneels down to Badaier? Xu Ziling said, Dont listen to his exaggeration. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Lao Ba is really willing to listen to you? Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, Dont you think that after he died under Bi Xuans hands and came back to life Lao Ba has changed a lot? Not only his sword technique changed, his temperament and thinking are even more different. If it were the previous Lao Ba, even if you put a knife on his little neck, you wouldnt be able to force him to make appointment with our Yu Yi. Luckily Yu Yi was unwilling to forgive him, which made him even more aware of the Ba Meirens unchanging love in life or death for him, hence I had the ability to persuade him. Hou Xibai sighed in praise, This time Shaoshuai did very well, Zaixia appreciate it very much. A joyful feeling welled up from the bottom of Xu Zilings heart. The fact was that Ba Fenghan was a person who attached great importance to friendship; it was all because of his painful experience that he hid everything under a cold-hearted outward appearance. Kou Zhong said, The third gain is even more brilliant, and it was an idental head-on encounter. I was going to follow Liexia straight into Ming Tang Wo, but when I was waiting painstakingly outside the door, I saw Yang WenGan, that kid dressed as a driver, driving a carriage away. His Niangs! Can you guess who was inside the carriage? Spreading his hands, Hou Xibai said, Dont you know that we are all listening with respectful attention? Lowering his voice, Kou Zhong said, If I did not guess incorrectly, that person should be Lin Shihong, because the one who apanied him was the Yun Yu Shuang Xiu [cloud and rain (fig. sexual intercourse) double cultivation] Pi Shouxuan, and Lin Shihong called Lao Pi as his Shizun. The two men were stunned, how could Lin Shihong have the leisure to travel all the way to Changan? Hou Xibai had his doubts, Could it be Pi Shouxuans other disciple? he asked. With ample confidence, Kou Zhong said, How could I mistake him for somebody else? This person wasposed and rxed, the air of a sect leader ormander-in-chief, and his martial arts level of mastery seems to be even more outstanding, it should be close to Wanwans caliber. Even more clearly, the person he met in secret was Li Yuanji. Xu Ziling nodded and asked, Where did they meet? Kou Zhong said, They met in a magnificent mansion at the west side of the city. I did not see Li Yuanji, that kid, but because among the people keeping watch there were Xue Wanche, Yuwen Bao and Longxi Pai men, I inferred that it was Li Yuanji. Hou Xibai did not understand, he asked, How did Lin Shihong get on with Li Yuanji? You did not sneak in to eavesdrop? Kou Zhong sighed and said, I was dying to try that, but I was afraid that Yang Xuyan, that kid, or our Wan Meiren was also inside the house, hence I did not dare to take chances to enter the house. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, What ghost thing are they up to? Xu Ziling said, Supposing in the tomorrows uprising Li Shimin and Li Jiancheng return to heaven together, what is going to happen? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Heroes usually agree. This is precisely Yuanjis delusion, he is hoping to fish in troubled waters and ascend to the throne himself. His own strength is too weak, so he can only rely on the demonic schools power, while the demonic school wants to use him, therefore, they are together from the first beat [idiom: hit it off]. Xu Zilings countenance changed, Not good! he said. Kou Zhong and Hou Xibai jumped in fright, they questioned closely in chorus. Xu Ziling said, Lin Shihong definitely will note alone. If I am guessing correctly, there should be a team of his elite army in hiding outside the city, waiting for an opportunity to move. Kou Zhong sucked in a mouthful of cold air, he said, The Duke Yangs Treasure-house! Hou Xibai still has not grasped what they were worried about. Bewildered, he said, With Li Yuanji providing cover, it should not be difficult for Lin Shihong to sneak into Guanzhong the gods did not know, the ghosts did not perceive, but what does this have to do with the Duke Yangs Treasure-house? Under the circumstance, what role can Lin Shihong y? Xu Ziling spoke heavily, The Duke Yangs Treasure-house is a shortcut to enter Changan. Since Lin Shihong knew about the Treasure-houses existence from Wanwan, he could transfer arge number of men and horses into the city via the secret passages when necessary, and use the ten-thousand-jun thunderbolt momentum to control the whole city. Under normal circumstances, Lin Shihongs move is naturally like striking a stone with an egg, the will is there, but not the strength. However, if he met a situation like tomorrow, where the whole city is in great chaos, as long as they have a thorough n, plus with coordination of outside and inside offensives, he may have a chance of sess. Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, How could Li Yuanji be so stupid? This is called showing the wolf into the house, and nurturing a tiger invites cmity. Even if he can sit on the throne, once it is revealed that he colluded with Lin Shihong, his subjects will definitely not ept it. Kou Zhong analyzed, The current situation isplicated and chaotic, but there are still arteries and veins to be found. To sum up, Li Yuan has Li Yuans ideas, Jiancheng and Yuanji each have their own crafty scheme; the demonic school has also split into two big camps, headed by Wanwan and Zhao Deyan, respectively, each one harbors sinister design on their bosom, their goal is to control Changan, with the ultimate target to obtain the world. If we can figure out the methods that the five sides power is plotting and carrying out focused counterstrategy, we could be the ultimate victor. Xu Ziling said, Dont let Qin Wang wait for too long, how about leaving these matters forter that we can discuss at the conference table? Kou Zhong sprang out of his chair, putting his palms together, he said with aughter, Thank Laotianye, if it wasnt for his, the Seniors grace by letting me run into Lin Shihong by ident, we would definitely be miserably harmed by Wanwan, to such an extent as to ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful! Xu Ziling rose up to his full height, smiled wryly and said, If Wanwan finds out that we have removed the weapons in the warehouse, and except for the top twoyers the chests only contain rocks, I really do not dare to imagine the consequences. pping his forehead, Hou Xibai suddenly understood; he said, No wonder Ziling cried out Not good! just now. Full of confidence, Kou Zhongughed and said, But it is possible that not until Lin Shihongs men enter the treasure house, and open the chests to get the weapons that they realize that they can only take out rocks and use them as secret projectiles to throw randomly around the city, ha! Really amusing. Even though we, due to early definite opinion, open the chests and see the chests full of weapons, we wouldnt rummage over the chest and waste our time to inspect, didnt we take a couple of nces and thentch the lid and call it good? Ling Shao, no need to worry. Kou Zhong took the lead to leave, they met the returning Ba Fenghan head-on. Seeing himing back alone and was not together with the beauty as expected, the three men cried, Not good! inwardly. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Wheres our Sao Furen [madame sister-inw]? Laughing indifferently, Ba Fenghan replied, She went home! What? the three men blurted out. Ba Fenghanughed aloud and said, I really wanted to deceive you, but now I am in a good mood, I am unable to act craftily and swindle you. I can tell you honestly that from now on, Badaier will be my lifelongpanion; as long as I am lucky to be alive, I will go back to her side. The three men were overjoyed at unexpected good news, they congratted him in chorus. Ba Fenghan spoke in heavy voice, Kou Zhong was right. Badaiers understanding made my heart no longer has any barrier. Now I have more confidence than ever to confront Bi Xuan head-on. Where are you going? Kou Zhong put his arm around his shoulders and took him out, saying, You came back just at the right time. We are going to hold the most important military meeting since the fall of the old Sui Dynasty. Tomorrow, Changan will be the battlefield that decides the honor and disgrace of the Central Earth, only those ruthless enough will be able to survive, there is no other possibility. Book 62 4 – Another Amazing Move Book 62 Chapter 4 C Another Amazing Move Tonights starry sky looked particrly beautiful. The densely packed and brimming withyered feeling, big and small stars filled the whole sky and covered the entire earth. Yeting Pce was quiet. From the outside, it was impossible to sense the dense gongs and tense drum in the inside, nning and preparing the tomorrows battle to decide to whom the Central Earth would belong to. The meeting ended before the zi hour [11pm-1am], each officer and soldier received their appointment, the Heavenly Policy Mansion silently entered the highest state of alert. Li Shimin, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, and Hou Xibai, five men stood on the za outside the council hall, they all looked up at the enchanting starry sky as if agreed by chance. Kou Zhong spoke emotionally, No wonder Shigong is fascinated by the night, it is indeed more mysterious than the daytime. The strangest thing is that in the daytime the sky is empty and fluttering, there are only blue sky and white clouds. When the sun is shining brightly, it is even more difficult to open your eyes. But when the night descends, unexpectedly so many stars appear, like deities lining up in the sky, silently watching our human world. It is such a fantastic thing. Xu Ziling could not help thinking of Shi Qingxuan; is someones home really a certain star in the night sky? Li Shimin sighed and said, When I was a child, I was always full of reverie and longing for the stars in the sky, but when I grew up, I became apathetic to, or maybe lost my interest in, the beautiful night sky. All I know is the army camp and military service, losing myself in the mundane world of the living. This moment Shaoshuai reminded me, I suddenly feel a sense of lost and missing all of these things. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, This is perhaps the price of growing up, losing the childs innocence and fantasy! Now whenever I look up at the night sky, I always think about my own affair, or a certain difficult problem in the way of the sword. Smiling bitterly, Hou Xibai said, My situation is more or less simr to Lao Bas, except that he is thinking about swords, while I am writing poetry and painting,mitting all the chronic problems of destitute and grieving schrs. Hearing that, the crowd burst intoughter. Composing himself, Li Shimin said to Kou Zhong, Its almost time! Remember not to aim to achieve the best possible result, but rather try to avoid making mistakes. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Dont worry, since my debut, I have never experienced full of confidence as I am here and now, feeling that my life and future are all in the palm of my hands. Ba Fenghan said, If the one you are going to see tonight is Bi Xuan, Im not worried about you instead, do you understand what I mean? Kou Zhong nodded and said, Of course I understand. Fortunately, not only Shigong is a man of great wisdom and knowledge [Buddhism concept], but heavy in emotion even more. I am certain that I cane back safely without destroying the major affair. Frankly speaking, no matter how things develop, the honor and disgrace of the Central Earth upies the top ce. Ziling, what do you say? Xu Ziling was silent for half a day, then spoke in a heavy voice, Move with love, and do your best. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I am leaving! pping Li Shimin on the shoulder vigorously, he walked toward the four Dark Armored Warriors carrying thentern, who had been waiting respectfully on the side, to lead the way toward the south main gate of Yeting Pce. Watching his figure disappearing in the distance, Li Shimin said, The part that Ziling and Xibai are responsible for is the most difficult and heavy, you must be careful. Hou Xibai spoke cheerfully, Qin Wang need not discuss Ziling and I, two separate things together, I am merely holding on the thoroughbred horses tail. I have more confidence in Ziling than in anybody else. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are both men who, time and again can turn the impossible into the possible. But this time the matter is very important, I decided to participate in Zilings mission instead, to fight side by side with Ziling and Xibai. Greatly astonished, the three looked at him. Since the most likely ce to meet Bi Xuan tomorrow would be at the Xuanwu Gate rather than at any other ce, in order to fulfill Ba Fenghans cherished desire to stake everything against Bi Xuan, Kou Zhong arranged for Ba Fenghan to apany him to enter the pce through the Xuanwu Gate tomorrow, however, if Ba Fenghan turned to work with Xu Ziling, there was a great chance that he missed the opportunity to confront Bi Xuan. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, No one should doubt that Im timid as the battle draws near, right? Im not giving up the golden opportunity bestowed by heaven for a decisive battle against Bi Xuan, rather, I want to ensure that Ziling can control the Taiji Pce one step ahead, if this situation can be solved before the battle of the Xuanwu Gate, I will still have the chance to decide rtive superiority with Bi Xuan. Revealing a thoughtful look, Li Shimin nodded and said, The alliance ceremony is going to be held in the middle of the chen hour [7-9am], Shaoshuai and I can dy our entrance into the Xuanwu Gate until the second quarter of the chen hour. Everyday, Fuhuang gets out of bed in the middle of the mao hour [5-7am], and went to the imperial study room at the seventh quarter of the mao hour. You still have three quarters of an hour time. Xu Ziling said, We will make good use of this precious time. At this time, Li Jing came to report, The carriage is ready, Ziling and Xibai can set off. Li Shimin grabbed Xu Zilings both hands, he spoke heavily, I entrust everything to you! Unbounded emotional stirring welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Li Shimin was loyal to Li Yuan, and this moment he was going to oppose to Li Yuan, it was a long and painful process. By the time he left the Yeting Pce under Li Jings protection, the battle of tomorrow has be an arrow leaving the bowstring, even Li Shimin would not be able to make any changes. Everything could only develop in a single direction: to be called a king if sessful, called a bandit if defeated. Li Shimins words I entrust everything to you were sincere, not only he was telling him to be careful, but also hoping that he would not harm Li Yuan. He smiled and said, Shimin Xiong, dont worry, Xu Ziling will definitely live up to your great expectations. The four Dark Armored warriors, two at the front, two behind, walked in uniform steps, carrying thenterns, illuminating Kou Zhong at the core of the halo, entering the traversing square. Kou Zhong felt that every step he took brought him closer to Fu Cailin, one of the three great grandmasters of martial arts in the world, and even closer to the moment of confronting the Yijian Technique. Although he spoke lightly, his purpose was tofort Xu Ziling, to ease his worries. But he was actually well aware about Fu Cailins determination to kill him, if he was no match for him, he would definitely nurse a grievance in the Ling Yan Pavilion. Fu Cailins thoughts were unique, once his beliefs were formed, he definitely would not change it because of any human affairs, hence the reason Fu Junyus earnest and well-meaning advice urging them to leave. Fu Cailin did not trust Han people at all, and because of Yang Guang, Gaoli people tied an unresolvable enmity against the Han people. In the past, Fu Cailin sent Fu Junchuo to the Central Earth, it was precisely to assassinate Yang Guang. All along, this was Fu Cailins policy and strategy to do everything to bring great chaos to the Central Earth. When Ge Suwen came to Fu Cailin asked to resign from his post and leave the city, Fu Cailin would know that tonight was the only chance to kill him. If he let it go easily, tomorrow would be a new situation! Therefore, this would be thest chance before he formed an alliance with Li Yuan, hence he was unwilling to postpone the appointment to tomorrow. The more Fu Cailin thought highly of Kou Zhong, the more intense was his intention to kill him. But Kou Zhong was not afraid at all. After the battle with Bi Xuan this morning, he finally understood Song Ques confidence to win, which was the confidence that was able to withstand the test, that has been cultivated through countless fierce battles. Even against an opponent as strong as Fu Cailin, he still had full confidence in himself. His heart and spirit entered the heaven, earth and man fused into one entity realm. Not only heaven and earth under his feet and over his head extended and expanded to infinity, time was also stretching forward. The imminent battle against Fu Cailin, and the fierce battle to decide to whom Changan would belong to tomorrow, as well as the uing battle against the allied armies from beyond the Great Wallsrge-scale invasion that ensued, all were within his grasp. Other than abandoning the saber, there was nothing else. After obtaining the saber, forgetting the saber. After Song Que guiding him patiently and systematically, he clearly understood that under the Yijian Technique, he must fight back with all his strength, to disy all his capability. Only then would he have a chance to be alive, to face the other two battles. Its not that he did not think fondly of his Niangs deep love, but it was the only way to achieve the oue that would be profitable to both sides. Thinking to this point, his spirit was even more prating, and the knot in his heart was untied. Upright and unafraid, Kou Zhong passed through the Chengtian Gate. All the imperial guards on duty at the gate raised their saber in salute, making Kou Zhong feel how the uing sessive battles were pressing down on his eyebrows and eyshes even more. They barely entered the Taiji Pce,ntern lights appeared ahead, a team of more than a dozen imperial guards wasing directly at them. Inside the carriage, Li Jing and Hou Xibai sat at the front row, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan in the back, with Li Jings personal guards escorting them ahead and behind, the carriage galloped out of Yeting Pces west gate, turned into Anhua Street, and traveled slowly along the quiet, no-man-was-in-sight street. They were not afraid that Jiancheng and Yuanjis side would send men to watch and follow their track, because the other side definitely would not dare to take any drastic action tonight, so as not to beat the grass to scare the snake to rm them. Whats more, the Heavenly Policy Mansions ministers and generals wereing in and out, even if someone was watching them in secret, they would be dazzled and unable to follow their track. Xu Ziling closed his eyes, he focused his attention to sense the movement all around him. Ba Fenghans voice sounded in his ear, Kou Zhong is willing to do something for Song Yuzhi to make her forget all his faults in the past, it generates deep feeling in my heart, making me reflect on my own past. Now the barrier in my heart has disappeared, I enjoy the rxed and joy that Kou Zhong experienced that day. Xu Ziling opened his eyes, just to see Hou Xibai looking back at Ba Fenghans handsome face brimming with happiness, only to hear Hou Xibaiughed and said to Ba Fenghan, People are not nts and trees which can be unruffled by sentiment, Zaixia suddenly feel the distance between me and Fenghan has been pulled a lot closer, and that is a veryforting feeling. Perhaps Li Jing was thinking of Susu, he hung his head low, his expression wooden, he said nothing. Xu Ziling grabbed Ba Fenghans shoulders, he smiled and said, Xibais two sentences are thought-provoking, people are not nts and trees which can be unruffled by sentiment. Even greatly-wicked and greatly-evil people have their own natural instinct, much less Ba Fenghan who is cold on the outside and hot in the inside. From this moment on, we throw out everything and join the battle of Changan. Turning to Li Jing, he asked, Is Liu Hongji reliable? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Li Jing said, I dont know him very well, but when Huangshang wanted to execute Liu Wenjing, Liu Hongji was one of the two great generals under Huangshangs personalmand who was willing to say good things for Liu Wenjing. The other was Li Xiaogong, themander of the Imperial Guard who is close to Huangshang, Qin Wangs n [younger] brother. Hou Xibai joined in, I once painted a portrait of Liu Hongjis wife, I know him a bit more. This person believes in Confucius and Mencius, has few great aspirations, absolutely not a swaying-willow-tossed-about-by-the-wind person. Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief, Thats it! he said, Xibai must try to go to see him immediately, the most important thing is not to attract attention. He can mend the split seam of the Duke Yangs Treasure-house. If he guards the exit, Lin Shihongs mene out one he kills one, theye out a pair he kills a pair, it could save us a lot of work. Li Jings spirit greatly aroused, he said, I can make the arrangement for Xibai to meet him. Ba Fenghan said, Not to trouble Li Jiangjun is still the best policy, Xibai has a lot of connections in Changan, this is merely a trivial matter for him. Hou Xibai spoke cheerfully, I could just wake up a friend. Xiaodi is leaving! Xu Ziling grabbed and pulled him back, he closed his eyes and listened quietly, Ba Fenghan took a peek out through the curtain, when the carriage drove through a sidene, Ba Fenghan said, Go! However, Xu Ziling did not let go of Hou Xibai. Li Jing, who had pushed open the carriage door a little to let Hou Xibai dodged out, said in astonishment, Ziling? Xu Zilings pair of eyes suddenly opened, shing a strange light of benevolence and wisdom, he said, Perhaps there is a more brilliant way, lets find Ma Chang first. The carriage door was closed, the carriage continued to travel forward, as if nothing had happened, but the four men inside the carriage knew clearly that the curtain to the Battle of Changan had been raised. The high-ranking military officer leading the iing team had an imposing appearance, young, handsome and grand. He stopped about a zhang in front of Kou Zhong, saluted, and said, Mojiangmander of the forward imperial guards, Li Xiaogong received notification from Qin Wang that Shaoshuai ising to see Fu Dashi, I am here by Huangshangs order specifically to wee the guest. Kou Zhong shivered inwardly, what was Li Yuan plotting? Unexpectedly he sent the chief of the imperial guards close to him to wee him, Kou Zhong, instead of Wei Gonggong. Of course, on the surface, he heaped on a smiling expression and said, Im just going to reminisce with Shigong, Huangshang is too polite! While speaking, he did not stop walking. Li Xiaogong gave the order, more than a dozen imperial guards turned around and led the way, while he silently followed on Kou Zhongs left and slightly behind. When they arrived at the entrance of the Ling Yan Pavilions courtyard gate, Kou Zhong halted his steps and said, Li Daren, no need to wait, because I dont even know how long will it be. Li Xiaogong made a military hand signal to order his men to stay here, while saying to Kou Zhong, Please allow Mojiang to see Shaoshuai off a bit more, until the Xingmu [Apricot Wood] Bridge. Kou Zhongs heart was moved, he nodded and said, Li Daren is too polite! He moved forward and entered the gate. Li Xiaogong chased by his side. When they were far away from the courtyard gate and the Xingmu Bridge was in sight, he suddenly sighed. Astonished, Kou Zhong looked at him, Li Xiaogong also looked at him and spoke heavily, Shaoshuai, please leave Changan immediately. Greatly astonished, Kou Zhong said, What does Li Daren mean? Li Xiaogongs pair of eyes shot aplicated expression, he sighed again and said, You guys absolutely have no chance. Ay! Huaian Wangshu [uncle king] has hinted to me many times, hence I have a bit of general idea. Kou Zhong stood at the bridgehead, his thoughts turned at the speed of light in his heart. These words were definitely not what Li Yuan taught him to say, rather, it came from Li Xiaogongs true heart. Merely by doing this, he has alreadymitted the great crime of deceiving the lord punishable by beheading. Li Xiaogong stood facing him, the divine light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he said, Qin Wang is the person that I, Li Xiaogong have always respected, Shaoshuai is the good man that I admire the most even more. Its a pity that Huangshang falsely believed nderous report, and now the only way to resolve it is for Shaoshuai to immediately lead the crowd out of the city, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable. Kou Zhong spoke heavily, I want to ask Li Daren a question first, in Changan city, who is most qualified to inherit the throne? Who is most capable of repelling the coalition forces from outside the Great Wall? Who has the most heart and the most strength to seek happiness and peace for themon people after the Central Earth is unified? Li Xiaogong dejectedly said, In all things pertaining to the pros and cons, these are all superfluous words, but if Shaoshuai is willing to leave, the crisis will surely be resolved. Shaoshuai, please think thrice. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Li Daren, have you ever thought about the consequences of my leaving? The world will be in all split up and in pieces situation. When the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall push down to the south, the Central Earth will never have peace. Li Daren may not know it, but if the world is unified, the one sitting on the throne will definitely not be me, Kou Zhong. What I said, its never does not count. Li Xiaogong revealed a shocked expression, but then he shook his head and said, Our Li familys affairs can only be resolved by the Li family. Shaoshuai grantly get involved will only bring about an unexpected big disaster. I would rather decide victory or defeat using clear saber, clear spear on the battlefield against Shaoshuai, but I dont want to see Shaoshuai and Qin Wang striking a stone with an egg. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I wonder if Li Daren know that Qi Wang had just met with Lin Shihong, who had entered Changan in secret earlier? Li Xiaogongs countenance changed, he said, That cant be happening, can it? Kou Zhong spoke solemnly, If there is a single word of falsehood, let the heaven punishes me, the earth destroys me! I have seen it with my own eyes, the person threading the needle was that traitor Yang WenGan. Therefore, even if Qin Wang and I lose our lives together in the morning, your Li family would still be unable to avoid the split-up situation. The master of the Li Family being deceived, while Taizi, Qi Wang in collusion with the Tujue and Lin Shihong, respectively, the only person in Changan who could convince the public is Li Shimin, one person. Only he can bring order out of chaos, I will exhaust my strength to help him beating back the allied armies from outside the Great Wall, I will even present the world with both hands to him. I, Kou Zhong, am not doing this for the Li Family or the Song Family, but for the innocent people all over the world who have suffered hardship for many years. The virtuous cause before our eyes, Li Daren ought to know what to choose. Li Xiaogong showed a shocked expression, he said, Shaoshuai knows that there will be danger tomorrow morning? Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, If I was that ignorant, I, Kou Zhong would have died many times earlier. Li Daren thought we were being ughtered, but the fact is that the initiative ispletely in our hands. Since Bi Xuan failed to kill me, all his pawns pretended to be leaving, I knew that Huangshang haspletely thrown himself on Taizis side and let Taizi act wantonly. His grannys! Does your Huangshang think that I, Kou Zhong am the meaty flesh from the underbelly of the carp? Am I that easy to be put into his mouth? When I came to Changan, I did have the sincerity to form an alliance with him to fight foreign aggression, only the coborator must be Li Shimin. But you can see how Taizi framed Qin Wang. Huangshang is even more generous to this but unkind to that. Now, because he knows that Song Que is injured, even Laozi, me, he wants to get rid of. His Niangs! Li Shimin plus Kou Zhong, how could we be easy to push around? Only we can bring about long-term peace and stability, only we have the ability to strike and defeat the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Taizi cannot, Qi Wang cannot, and neither can your Huangshang. Your respected Qin Wang is the only choice before your eyes. Li Xiaogong stared at him nkly. It was quite half a dayter that he said, Shaoshuai knows the most dangerous ce in the imperial pce tomorrow morning? Kou Zhong secretly breathed out a sigh of relief, just by listening to this warning, he knew that Li Xiaogong had at least half of his foot stepping on their side, he smiled and said, Of course the Xuanwu Gate, Li Daren, dont worry, I have fought battles where I have the confidence, but I have also fought battles where I waspletely without any confidence, yet until today I am still alive like lively dragon and animated tiger. Toward Li Daren, I ampletely without any demand, I only hope that in urgent and important moment, Li Daren will give thought to the world, will make the most sensible and most correct choice. This way, it will be for the fortune of all the people. And then he lowered his voice and said, If Li Daren cant trust me, you ought to trust Huaian Wang, Qin Wang, or even Xiuning Gongzhu. The people we want to put in order is not your Huangshang at all, but all the traitors who collude with the Tujue and the demonic school and betray the Li Family. Since Huangshang has been deceived, naturally it is up to the schrs and warriors of your Li Family who have the aspiration to bring order out of chaos. If we obtain Li Darens helping arm, tomorrows events will turn misfortune into blessing, the turmoil, as well as the injuries and deaths will be pushed down to the lowest point, in the blink of an eye, the sky clears after the rain. Afterwards, under the banner of the Li Family, the Li Family, the Song Family, the Shao Shuai and the Jianghuai Armies, four powerhouses will unite to defend against foreign enemies together. That will be such a bright future. Fully aware that Li Xiaogong was loyal to his family, Kou Zhong could move Li Xiaogongs heart more with the honor and disgrace of the family than byying out any pros and cons. Li Xiaogongs face alternated between gloomy and clear indeterminately, he spoke heavily, How can I help? How are you going to deal with Tang Jians army? Kou Zhong patted him on the shoulder, he said, You dont have to worry about anything, you just need to grasp the direction you yourself should take. As for other things, you will see the result in the morning. Book 62 5 – Sword Like Chess Abundant Book 62 Chapter 5 C Sword Like Chess Abundant Kou Zhong stepped onto the Xingmu Bridge, his conversation with Li Xiaogong just now was still lingering in his heart. The most wonderful thing was that even if Li Xiaogong betrayed them, he still could not tell Li Yuan any specific n that they had. The only thing that could damage them was if he revealed that Li Shentong was standing on their side, however, he believed that Li Xiaogong, who was loyal to his family, would not do such thing, otherwise he would have told Li Yuan earlier. Wishing for Li Xiaogong to betray Li Yuan would be more difficult than difficult, however, when the situation developed to a certain point, Li Xiaogong, who was deeply moved, would still be able to y a positive role. Bypassing the main building, he set foot on the winding corridor leading to the Ling Yan Pavilion, the pond [sic. Probably should be pavilion (ting)] in the middle of theke was now just straight ahead. Under the starry sky, Fu Cailin sits inside the pavilion (ting), irresolute like a deity. The vast white stone tform gleamed under the starry night, the waves in the surroundingke glittered with its reflection. On both sides of theke, the buildings had all the lights extinguished, so that they merged into the pitch-ck forest. In the pavilion, a single stove of agarwood was lit on the stone table close to Fu Cailin, the fragrance was thick. Kou Zhongs heart and spirit entered the heaven, earth and man fused into one, forgetting the saber C realm. In his heart, there was no victory, no defeat, no joy, no fear. Tomorrows uing battle concerning the world was also thrown away into infinity, it did not upy a slightest bit of position inside theke of his heart. His gait was steady and powerful. Each step was of the same length, of identical weight. It naturally produced some kind of an extraordinary rhythm and cadence apanying him along the bridge traversing the heart of theke, straight toward Fu Cailin, one of the three great grandmasters of martial arts study in the world, sitting peacefully in the pavilion. Fu Cailins pair of eyes was staring at him without blinking at all. The world-famous Yi Jian [abundant sword]y t on the table without a scabbard. Its length was four chi and five cun, and its width was two cun. The body of the sword was gleaming in dark green light, the handle and hand guard were covered in spiral shell decorative design, the shape was elegant and quaint. Kou Zhong suddenly knelt down, Dong! Dong! Dong! He knocked his head three times in session; lying prostrate, he said, Shigong above, Niangs kindness, I, Kou Zhong will never forget. Even if Shigong wholeheartedly wants to kill me, Kou Zhong will never dare to me Shigong. Fu Cailin was silent for a moment, and then he spoke softly, Get up! Kou Zhong sprang up off the ground, his gaze was cast toward Fu Cailin, who was sitting high on the pavilion. Fu Cailin raised his head to look up at the night sky, his pair of eyes emitted deep sorrow, he said, I was over eighty years old when I started epting Junchuo, this disciple. Who could have thought that Nature yed with people? Ay! Come here! His gaze returning to Kou Zhongs face, he spoke indifferently and calmly, How did Shaoshuai know that I was going to kill you? Smiling ruefully, Kou Zhong said, Could it be that Shigong is calling me here to chat with you to relieve boredom? Or perhaps to pass on the essence of the Yi Jian Technique skill? Merely from Shigong calling me Shaoshuai instead of Xiao Zhong, I know that you, Shigong has made up your mind, Xiaozi [this kid] has no choice but to risk my life to apany Shigong. Fu Cailin was puzzled, he asked, Toward Suwen, you can vehemently state your views, analyze the pros and cons, and move him. Howe facing me, you are acting like you resign yourself to ept misfortunes as decreed by fate? Kou Zhong said, What I want to say, Ge Dashuai should have already reported to Shigong on my behalf. I was afraid that Shigong would be impatient, hence I did not dare to repeat it. Fu Cailin smiled and said, That makes sense! But you still havent answered my question directly, how do you know Im going to kill you? Perhaps I would change my mind due to the message that Suwen passed on? Kou Zhong spoke with serious expression, It was purely a saber wielders instinct, since I saw Shigong sitting alone in the pavilion, Xiaozi knew that this battle is hard to avoid, I dont know how to exin it. Fu Cailin nodded and said, You are right! No wonder Bi Xuan could not do anything to you. I heard that you once received the Heavenly Saber Song Ques personal instruction. The Heavenly Sabers name, I, Fu Cailin, have heard for a long time, I am hoping to have a peek into the Heavenly Saber secret from Shaoshuais saber technique. Revealing a brilliant smile, Kou Zhong said, I hope Xiaozi will not disappoint Shigong. Xiaozi is even so bold as to ask Shigong to indicate clearly and with certainty your conditions. Supposing Xiaozi can pass the test, Shigong will let me go. If I suffer defeat, I will let Shigong punish me, for example, abolishing my martial arts or things like that, this way it will be a bit more delightful for both Shigong and me. Laughing involuntarily, Fu Cailin said, No wonder Junyu said you are a demon horse, while Junqiang scolded you as crafty, and Xiufangsment was full of stratagems. For Junchuos sake, as long as you can force me to leave the seat within a hundred moves, tomorrow I am going back to my home country immediately, no longer care about your affairs. Kou Zhongughed aloud, he suddenly moved forward to climb the steps, went straight to the other side of the stone table, sat down peacefully, and spoke cheerfully, The sword is like chess abundant, this table just happens to be a chessboard. Not only Fu Cailin did not take offense, but his pair of eyes could not conceal his astonishment; he nodded and said, Intelligence is indeed extraordinary, merely this move, immediately it makes victory or defeat hard to fathom. If there were spectators, they would have thought that because Shaoshuai is proud, you did not want to take advantage of me, but the truth is just the opposite. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward the Yi Jian lying on the table, he sighed and said, Because you, the Senior is my Shigong, and since Ziling and I learned about the Yi Jian technique, three characters from Niang, we never stopped studying and digging deeper into this, I dont know if it can be considered a small sess, but at least we can think of every possibility of the Yi Jian technique. With Shigongs peerless swordsmanship, there is no difference between sitting still and moving and leaping, there is no difference in big and small, far and near either, right? Shigong, please bestow your instructions. Fu Cailin closed his pair of eyes, his countenance immediately became iparably unsightly, he spoke softly, All the days of my life, all along I have been striving to and ponder about some secret things that is unfathomable and unknown; I have a faint feeling that this thing exists in a certain secret ce of the mind and emotion and thinking. At a certain instant, I could sense its existence, and it is precisely the meaning of life, which can break the depressing situation of mediocrity and the routine in my life. And while I am pondering about it, I am able to climb out of the quagmire of hatred, vicious evil and the struggle for power and profit, and I clearly saw all kinds of ugly and meaningless stupidity that existed in the human world; I saw how it constituted the dark side of mankind and how it destroyed the joy of life. Shaoshuai understand what I mean? Kou Zhong exhaled a mouthful of air, he said, Not only do I understand, I am also very touched to hear it. What Shigong is looking for is the key to unlock the mysterious treasure-trove within the human body. Fu Cailin opened his mouth abruptly, but immediately reverted back to his quaint and peculiar intimidating appearance. Fixing his gaze at him, he said, Not only Fu Cailin does not like conflict, I detest war. However, under the threat of vanquished nation, perishing n, I have no choice but to fight back. If you and Junchuo did not have any rtionship at all, I could let you go out of pity, but because your life and martial artse from Junchuos favor [orig. charity out of pity], on the contrary, I have to personally eliminate you, simply because you came from me, naturally I have to bear the responsibility. Kou Zhong started to understand Fu Cailin. Among the three great grandmasters, Ning Daoqi was quiet and letting things take their own course [Daoist doctrine of inaction], modest and self-guarded; Bi Xuan carried Tujue peoples tough and violent style, and cold-hearted; Fu Cailin was driven by passion, all his life he was seeking for the most beautiful thing. Smiling wryly, he said, Since you, Shigong have been looking for something beautiful, when dealing with me why cant you think in this direction? Could it be that you dont believe that I, Kou Zhong really have the sincerity to resolve the enmity between ethnic groups? Fu Cailin spoke indifferently, Suwen is willing to ept your peace proposal, simply because he believes firmly that Shaoshuai is a man who, once speaks, will definitely see through it. Besides, he is considering his own interests, and determined that reconciliation with you will bring the greatest benefit to him, he believes that eventually you will be the hegemon of Central Earth. Ipletely agree with his way of thinking, only the focus is different. I am thinking of the long-term interests of the entire nation, and anticipating the horror of the powerful empire that you are going to establish with your own hands. All mortals will die, and then what? For us, only if the Central Earth is all split up and in pieces like the situation before the Yangs Sui dynasty reappears will we have a peaceful and happy life. Yang Guang is the best example. Once the Central Earth is strong, that will be the time when the countries outside the Central Earth will suffer cmity. And now is my, Fu Cailins only chance to build asting peace for our country. Kou Zhongs throat tightened and tasted bitter, he said, In that case, Shigong is definitely going to kill me. Fu Cailin smiled and said, Exactly! The Yi Jian on the table suddenly jumped up andnded in Fu Cailins hands. At the same time, Kou Zhong raised the Moon in the Well, including its scabbard horizontally in front of his chest, one hand grabbed the scabbard, the other hand grabbed the saber hilt, he slowly drew the saber. The two mens eyes met, only separated by the round stone table with a diameter of eight chi, not even the slightest qi power violent blow was to be felt. The Duke Yangs Treasure-house, circr stone room. Xu Ziling took Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai to sit down at the round table in the center of the stone room, while Ma Chang went to the treasure room to check. After entering the treasure-house, they searched carefully until they were sure that there was no enemy hiding in any corner of the treasure-house, only then did they gather here. Eightnterns on the wall were burning brightly. Ba Fenghan carefully reviewed the map of the treasure houseplete with diagrams and annotation on the table, he smiled and said, Ziling is acting like you have a card up your sleeves, what exactly is the medicine you are selling in your gourd? Xu Ziling said, Lets wait for Ma Chang and then well talk. Hou Xibai spoke anxiously, If Lin Shihong decided to enter the treasure-house at this moment, wouldnt it mean we all will run into each other head-on? It does not have the slightest bit of benefit either for them or for us. At the very least, Ziling does not sustain any injury will be exposed. Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Right now not a soul in sight in the treasure-house, which proves that my thoughts are correct. We are afraid of running into Lin Shihong, why would Lin Shihong be not afraid of running into us? Therefore, until it is absolutely necessary, Lin Shihong definitely would not enter this treasure-house. Secondly, there is an rm system in the treasure-house, it will let us know if there is any intruder from the outside. This moment Ma Chang came back and sat down, he said, Three chests have been opened, but the weapons inside the chests have not been moved, hence the rocks below should not have been discovered. The three men breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. Ma Chang exined further, I glued a piece of hair on the seam of the chest, on the side where the eyes cannot see, if the lid is opened, the hair would be broken. Since only three boxes had broken hair, I knew that the other side had lifted the lids of these three boxes. Ba Fenghan nodding his head in praise, he said, Ma Da Jiangjuns thought is so thorough that people can only cry out, Super! Ma Chang said modestly, Thank you, Ba Ye for your praise. Clearly in a good mood, Ba Fenghanughed and said to Xu Ziling, Its time to unravel the mystery! Xu Ziling said, The Duke Yangs Treasure-house was designed personally by Lu Dashi. With Lu Dashis precise thinking, the design of the treasure house must be perfect, it could handle any unexpected situation. Lets imagine the following scenario: supposing Yang Sus mutiny failed and he had to use the treasure house to escape Changan, in that kind of situation, the three secret paths inside the city that lead to the treasure house would definitely be exposed, the pursuing troops would follow, and thus he would still be unable to escape. Lu Dashi definitely had a way to meet a contingency to deal with this situation. The three mens eyes could not help falling toward the terrain map on the table. Ba Fenghan agreed, he said, Zilings spection is reasonable and fair; altogether, there are three tunnels inside the city, the secret tunnel of the Xi Ji Yuans well can be ignored, because this tunnel is full of toxic marsh gas. The other two tunnels are the secret tunnel of Yongan Canal and the secret tunnel of the Sha Mansion. If we could seal these two secret tunnels with some kind of mechanism, only the secret tunnel going out of the city remains, then Yang Su could escape safely. Ha! Where is the mechanism that seals the secret tunnels in the city? Shall we invite Lei Dage toe over here? Originally Xu Ziling was thinking of Kou Zhong who was dealing with Shigong, but he was not worried. In fact, he had more confidence in Kou Zhong than anyone else; he smiled and said, The disciple receiving Lu Dashis handed-down techniques in mechanism is Kou Zhong, but even if you invite him toe, it will be useless. Looking at the design of the mechanism of the entire treasure house, it is entirely based on the psychological warfare technique, so the same will be true of this escape mechanism, the design should be the one most easy for us to overlook. Hou Xibai spoke in delight, Looks to me Ziling already hold the pearl of wisdom in his hand. Xu Ziling reached out and lightly stroked the stone table, he said, Pull this table up, it will immediately be a rotating wheel to operate the mechanism, turning it to the left will open the Sheng Shelis hiding ce. Ba Fenghans spirit greatly aroused, he said, Then maybe turning to the right is the mechanism that closes the secret passage in the city. Xu Ziling said, Should be continuing turning to the left, otherwise if someone turns it to the right first, wouldnt the passage be closed? This is the essence of the psychological warfare. For us, mediocre people, being able to open the treasure cave of Sheng Sheli, we would have been greatly delighted early on, how could we think about another mechanism if we continue turning the table? Ma Chang sighed and said, This is called the real calction-exhausted mechanism. Hou Xibai said, Why havent you made your move yet? Xu Ziling said, We must think clearly about the consequences first, the situation after the three secret passages in the city are closed. Maybe after they are closed, we cannot restore them to the original state, and then we can only leave via the secret passage leading to the outside of the city. Coming back to the city will take some effort, we might be detected by people at every turn, which will bring trouble to ourselves. Ba Fenghan said, The secret passage in the city should be able to be restored to the original state. If Lu Dashi hasnt tested it, how would he know whether the mechanism work? Xu Ziling said, Its hard to say. If Lu Dashi deliberately made the secret passage cannot be reopened, that would be his own way. With his proud character, he would definitely not let other people to give advice to his mechanism, hence it is also very likely that the secret passage leading out of the city will also be closed after a period of time, and then the marsh gas will enter the storehouse. With his supernatural genius, the impossible bes possible. Hou Xibai nodded and said, It makes sense. Now that I have listened to you, I cant help but admire Lu Dashi. How can there be such an outstanding talent in the world? Ma Chang said, For us, closing the secret storehouse will only be beneficial without any harm. At least we could throw the foot of the enemys disposition of troops in great chaos. It will show clearly even more that we do not have troops in ambush outside the city. Wan Yaonu will be shocked, she wont be able to tell what deceitful trick we are ying. Hou Xibai said, While the secret passage is not closed yet, let me sneak out first to say hello to Liu Hongji. With him responding to us, returning to the city should not be a problem. Hold on! Xu Ziling said, Lets make sure first that our guess is not incorrect. Operating it with both hands, the stone table rose up for two cun and then stopped. Ba Fenghanughed and said, This is a very exciting and fun! Come on! The table turned to the left, generating the sound of moving mechanism. The floor next to the table sank again, revealing a hole without the Demonic Emperors Relics. Xu Ziling continued to turn the stone table to the left, the table indeed continued to rotate, but suddenly stopped. He spoke happily, Sess! I feel another mechanism. The crowd cheered in unison, like a group of big kids who have not lost their innocence. Xu Ziling said, We can only guess, but frankly, I am so nervous, because the consequences may not be as expected, and then it would be terrible. We really cant afford to make any mistakes tonight. Hou Xibai said, Should I go to Liu Hongji now? Give me half a sichen, that should do it. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Will Shi Zhixuan betray us? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, He shouldnt! But then his countenance changed drastically, apparently he remembered another problem. Unable to make any sense of the matter Hou Xibai said, Fighting openly and maneuver covertly is really not my original character. Why did Lao Ba suddenly mention Shi Shi who has nothing to do with the wind, the horse and the ox? Whether he betrays us or not, what does it have to do with the treasure house? His countenance grave, Ba Fenghan said, From the Duke Yangs Treasure-houses secret passages, I am thinking about the tunnel from the Yin mansion to enter the pce. Shi Zhixuan is the only person who knows that we have been in and out of the secret tunnel, if he discloses this information to Yin Zuwen and Wanwan, before dawn tomorrow, we wont be able to sneak into the pce via the secret passage. In other words, we wont be able to control Li Yuan, we wont be able to control the imperial pce and imperial city even more. If the imperial guards and Tang Jians army attack from both inside and outside, it will definitely be a total defeat of the army for us. Ma Chang opened his mouth, but he was unable to say half a sentence. Hou Xibai breathed a sigh of relief, heughed and said, Shi Shi must hate to harm Ziling oh! And then he looked at Xu Ziling, and said in shock, Could this be the real reason why Wanwan heartlessly inflict serious damage on you, which is to prevent you from participating in tomorrows operation? Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, Precisely because Shi Zhixuan has leaked the secret of the secret passage into the pce and he is afraid that Ziling would lose his life because of it that he passed on the Bu Si Yin Fa to Ziling. This was in agreement-without-prior-consultation with Wanwan, both wanted to protect Zilings life. Grabbing his forehead, Hou Xibai said, Hearing that, I have a headache. Ma Chang said, If Hou Gongzis Shizun meets with Wan Yaonu, wouldnt she know that Xu Ye is not injured? Xu Ziling said, This aspect, I am not worried instead, because since she attacked when I was not prepared, even with Bu Si Yin Fa, I would not be able to withstand the Tianmo Da Fa attack, plus Wanwan would never disclose this mater to Shi Zhixuan. I still think Wanwans purpose was not only to weaken Kou Zhongs fighting power, but also to use me to curb Kou Zhong, and not to protect my life at all. And she even guessed that we would use the secret passage to enter the pce. Hold the feudal overlord and you control his vassals. Therefore, if we still continue the operation following the n, we would definitely nurse a grievance at the Yin Mansion, and would walk right into the trap. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Wanwans intelligence is not inferior to any of us. Not only will she attack us head-on at the Yin Mansion, but she will use the secret passage to follow our example by seizing Li Yuan, and topple the Li Familys world in one fell swoop. Ma Chang said, If Shi Zhixuan participates in this operation, even with two more persons, You Pozi [old woman] and Yuwen Shang, Im afraid they wont be able to stop him. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Shi Zhixuan will not leave Qingxuan half a step. Ba Fenghan said, In that case, we have to try to understand the mechanism even more. After closing the three secret passages in the city, we will go out of the city via the remaining secret passage, to look for Lin Shihong who should be hiding near the exit of the secret passage, and ughter him. Once the main problem is solved, all troubles are solved. As for how to sneak back into the city, it should not be difficult for us. There is not much time, we must carry it out immediately, otherwise if we let Lin Shihong to lead his men in at this moment, we will miss the fortunate timing. Xu Ziling heaved a sigh, he nodded and said, If Lin Shihong and his men want to enter the Yin Mansion unhurriedly, they might enter the storehouse at any moment. All right! I hope Lu Dashis soul and spirit in heaven will bless us. The hand grabbing the edge of the table suddenly twisted it to the left, the entire stone room immediately vibrated. The sound of the mechanism wasing up from under their feet, there was even a muffled sound of the rumbling water from the underground. Not half a dayter, it seemed like the rumbling sound of the falling boulders was entering everybodys ears from all directions. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghans countenance changed at the same time, they cried out, Not good! Book 62: Chapter 9: Contrary to Expectation

Book 62: Chapter 9: Contrary to Expectation

Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong came to the sitting-alone-outside-the-main-gate-of-the-Heavenly-Policy-Pce-Hall, on-the-top-step-of-white-stone-steps C Ba Fenghan, and sat down on his left and right. All three were dressed in ck nightwalker attire, onlycking ck cloth hood on their heads. Kou Zhongughed and said, Are you missing Badaier? Instead of answering, Ba Fenghan asked, Everything went well? Kou Zhong said, It went so well that it was hard to believe. I was worried that the loss of arge quantity of imperial guard uniforms from the guard station by theft would cause rm, who would have thought the men from the guard station emptied their nest toe out and assemble at the station in the northwest of the imperial city? We have one quarter of an hour now, we must be ready. Wheres Hou kid? Xu Ziling watched the frequent maneuvers of the Dark Armored Elite Troops on the public square, continuously entering and exiting the tunnel. Everybodys morale was high, their formation was neat and orderly, brimming with motive powers sense of beauty. Yet it was so absolutely quiet, creating a strange rhythm and contrast. Ba Fenghan answered Kou Zhongs previous question, he said, I didnt think about anything, even whether or not I could have a decisive battle against Bi Xuan suddenly became irrelevant and unimportant. My heart is tranquil, peaceful and in harmony, rather like a bit carefree and without worries, free and unfettered feeling. This moment, arge number of Dark Armored Elite Troops in imperial guard uniform were lining up in formation next to the entrance of the tunnel, with Duan Zhixuan giving them instructions, so that they knew exactly what to do after entering the pce. Kou Zhong said, This is called a transformation. From what I see, you, LaoGe used to focus on defeating Bi Xuan, and used this matter as the only way to bring disgrace to the Tujue people, because relying on your, one persons strength, you really are unable to challenge the entire Tujue tribe. But now the situation has changed suddenly, the impossible has be possible, defeating Bi Xuan is no longer a top priority. Huh? What is Ling Shao thinking? Xu Ziling said, I suddenly thought of Shi Zhixuan, I hope he still stays at Yu He An, otherwise I dont dare to be optimistic about our operation tonight. Li Shimin and Hou Xibai, who had changed into nightwalker attire, appeared in the three mens line of sight, straight toward the stone steps. Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, Zhixuan used to be the imperial guardmander in the imperial pce, he is familiar with the operation of the military system inside the pce. With himmanding our fake imperial guards, it could be like seamless heavenly clothes. Kou Zhongughed and said, While we still have time, quickly sit down and have a rest. Did afterward someone fish up Duan Jiangjun and take him away? Li Shimin sat down next Kou Zhong, he nodded and said, He lost his post because he offended Yin De Fei [imperial concubine], so he threw his lot to me instead. Kou Zhong said, The problem was not whether he offended Yin De Fei, but because he came from Guanzhong Jian Pai, so sooner orter he would have been expelled anyway. Ha! Xiao Hou, where did you hang around? Hou Xibai sat down next to Xu Ziling, he spoke mysteriously, You guessed it right! I was, not just in name only, but also in reality, hang around somewhere, to satisfy my craving of painting saint. Hearing that, the three men were greatly bewildered. Li Shimin exined, Xibai asked me to show him Fuhuangs signature and handwriting, saying that he could impersonate Fuhuangs signature, to use the fake and pass it off as genuine. Ba Fenghan spoke cheerfully, And he was not bragging? Li Shimin said, After practicing a hundred times, even Junji could not tell the genuine from the fake. Kou Zhong said, Hou Junji? Li Shimin nodded and said, Precisely Hou Junji. When he first entered Changan, he drafted all Fuhuangs imperial edicts. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Since thats the case, when we get to the imperial study roomter, we could get the seal and the paper and issue the imperial decree on his behalf. Li Shimin said, If it involves troops deployment, a military tally is also required. Tonight, Fuhuang will definitely carry the tally with him so that he could issue the decree any moment. Coming to the bottom of the steps, Li Jing reported, Everything is ready, Qin Wang, please issue the order. A smile escaped out of the corner of Li Shimins mouth, he nodded and said, Move immediately. Inside the Taiji Pce [gong], there were a total of sixteen main pce halls [dian]. The main building was located on the central axis from the Chengtian Gate to the Xuanwu Gate, consisting of four major pce halls: Taiji Dian [absolute/supreme ultimate], Liangyi [two rites: heaven and earth, yin and yang] Dian, Ganlu [sweet nectar] Dian and Yanjia Dian, respectively. The Taiji Dian was called the Central [imperial] Court, and the Liangyi Dian was called the Internal [imperial] Court, used by the master of the Great Tang Li Yuan to handle government affairs and regr office work. The other two main pce halls, Ganlu Dian was usually used for banquets, and Yanjia Dian, which was closest to the Xuanwu Gate, was simr to the Lingyan Ge [Pavilion] and Ningyin [concentrated yin (shady, negative, feminine, moon, the opposite of yang)] Dian, in that it was equipped with qin gong [lit. pce to lie down, bedroom], study room, and halls [ting tang, ting C reception room/living room/office, tang C hall]; it was the ce where Li Yuan and his imperial concubines enjoyed pleasure. One must not think that Li Yuan fled to Yanjia Dian with the intention to personally supervise and direct the troops. The fact was that the back of Yanjia Dian was leaning against the Xuanwu Gate, a strategic military affairs ce, where themander-in-chief of the imperial guards was located. It was safer than any ce within Taiji Pce. Were it not for Chang He taking care of it, if there was any grass stirring in the wind [idiom: the slightest whiff of trouble], the Xuanwu Gates Imperial Guards woulde to help, their strength would be enough to quickly smash any surprise attack and invading strike. After sealing the Yin Mansion exit again, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, with Wang Xuanshu and thirty Flying Clouds Guards in the lead, arrived at the Taiji Gong [Pce] exit, and opening door, they entered the Taiji Dian [Pce Hall]. Afterwards, more than 500 men disguised as the Imperial Guard officers and soldiers, including Duan Zhixuan, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, sessively set foot in the vast Taiji Dian via the secret passage. Everyone was nervous and excited, being able to steal into the Taiji Gong the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive, receiving the half the work, twice the effect C benefit. Kou Zhong, Li Shimin and the others gathered at the other entrance for a discussion, Kou Zhong said, Currently, guarding the Taiji Gong are less than 500 men. If our hands and feet [i.e. action] are a bit cleaner, we could inform Chang He, maybe we can control the entire Taiji Gong with no blood on the mens swords. Then even if we force our way into Yanjia Dian ore to blows [dictionary has this additional note: derived from the term for a type of theatrical fight scene], we wont rm other people. Li Shimin said, Notifying Chang He should not be any problem. If the Taiji Gong falls into our hands, we can send someone to see him directly, other people would think it is a routine affair. Duan Zhixuan said, The Imperial Guard Station at the Xuanwu Gate is separated from the Taiji Pce by a heavy gate, and the Yanjia Dian is hidden in the woods, so the sound is not easy to travel far. As long as we can break through the outer pce hall gate, we could strike and defeat the opponents defensive force with ten-thousand-jun momentum in one move. Using strong crossbow and sharp de, attacking from afar and fight a closebat battle, we can expect sess in the first battle, and then calmly notify Chang He. On the other hand, we can surround and seal off the entire Yanjia Dian, no one is allowed to call for help. Since he had once held an important position in the pce and knew the situation clearly, other people valued his proposal. Afraid that Yin Zuwen would precede them in entering the pce via the secret passage, it was only after they arrived at the Taiji Dian that they researched battle strategy and details. Yuchi Jingde spread out the detailed map of the Taiji Gong on the dragon small table by the dragon thrones side, so that everyone could see it at a nce. The Flying Clouds Guards and the Dark Armored Troops all sat on the ground to rest for a while. Several hundreds of men, yet there was not half a thread of noise, which increased and enhanced the dense-cloud-about-to-rain tense, suffocating atmosphere before the battle. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, Doing it this way, there will be heavy casualties, we must avoid it if possible. As if relieved from a burden, Li Shimin said, Should be like that. Not epting it as correct [idiom: disapprove], Ba Fenghan said, That being the case, the n will safelye out. Putting his hand on his shoulder, Kou Zhongughed and said, Those who are smart enough will survive. Look! Yanjia Dian is connected by three-tiered halls, each with a door in the east, south, west and north. In such a big ce, Li Xiaogongs several hundred men must be scattered all over the ce, so that on each ce, the military strength is so weak to such an extent that they are unable to withstand a single blow. We can upy the stronghold inside the pce hall [dian] from the outside to the inside. Under normal circumstances, where would themander be? Li Xiaogong cant patrol all over the ce, otherwise when he patrols to the North Gate, and then there is change at the South Gate, wouldnt it be distant water cannot put out nearby fire? Duan Zhixuan respectfully replied, When Huangshang stays in the Yanjia Dian, after dark, the main pce hall and the rear pce hall will be closed, leaving only the middle pce hall open. In ordance with usual practice, Li Xiaogong with a group of his men will stay in the middle pce hall. On the one hand, he can look after the overall situation, and on the other hand, it is convenient to answer the call and able to personally protect Huangshang. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, In that case, Huangshang should keep those beloved fei and beloved pin [both means imperial concubine; like I said, if any word has synonym(s), the author liked to use them all], the martial art masters protecting his good self and personal guards, entirely, all of them, will be shut inside the rear pce hall. Thats right! Duan Zhixuan replied, The rear pce hall is also known as Shang Huai Ge [lit. appreciating Chinese schr tree (Sophora Japonica) pavilion], a standalone garden pavilion building, surrounded by a courtyard wall. The wall is three zhang high, built facing the north city main gate, equipped with fire beacon tform. Zhangsun Wuji added, The personal guards closely protecting Huangshang number more than a hundred, they are the most elite squad within the Imperial Guards, every single one is willing to die for Huangshang. Sneering, Kou Zhong said, Willing to die for Huangshang wont do any good, because they practically wont have the chance. I, Laozi, am full of big ns now, how about I tell you guys to cote and examine critically? Ha! Its really interesting. Xu Zilings countenance suddenly changed, he said, Listen! No one was not shocked. The sound of arge number of troops marching faintly came from the direction of the Xuanwu Gate behind the Taiji Gong,pletely beyond their expectation. Duan Zhixuan unconsciously wiped away the cold sweat from his forehead, he spoke in a trembling voice, Not good! Its the change of guard. Kou Zhong was baffled, Change of guard he said. Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan said, We overestimated Li Fazhus guts, unexpectedly he transferred the Xuanwu Gates imperial guards into the pce to protect him. Remaining calm and collected, Li Shimin said, The transferred men should be Tang Jians troops belonging to the West Inner Park. If the entire unit is dispatched, the number could reach up to 15,000 men, which will multiply the defense power of the Taiji Gong several times over, so that our n is no longer feasible. Kou Zhong was the only one who was still able to smile, he calmly said, What his Niangs thing is change of guards? Please tell me. Ay! His grannys! Wei Gonggong and Yin Zuwen did say that they would create a certain situation, could it be that this is it? What good will it bring for their ns? Duan Zhixuan replied quickly, Tang Jians men are going to take the imperial guards ce to guard all parts of the pce, and the imperial guards who have been reced will go to Yanjia Dian to reinforce their defenses. Kou Zhong asked, How long does it take to change the guard? At least half a sichen, Duan Zhixuan replied. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Then it is salvageable! We will also have to impersonate the Imperial Guards. Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, We might be recognized, definitely wont be lucky. Kou Zhong smiled and said, What if the one being recognized are Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong who were just on the way to visit Tuyuhun and turning back midway? They are genuine goods at fair prices junior generals of the imperial guards. Xu Ziling said, Even if we can deceive Tang Jians men, we are still unable to charge into Yanjia Gong [sic], because we cant enter Yanjia Dian with arge group of more than five hundred men and horses, and any sound of fighting will provoke a flood of Tang Jians men,ing like a tide to protect the emperors good self. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong suddenly appeared, wanting to see Huangshang, I am certain that no one will understand whats going on? Without any better option, Li Xiaogong will have to personally inquire of us, I have the confidence that I will be able to convince him to throw his lot onto our side, and this is our only chance to obtain victory tonight, there is no other option. No matter how high the risk is, it must be taken. Come! Let them take off their uniforms and let us, this vanguard unit change our clothes, and lower the helmets a little, understand? When this unit of fake imperial guards was marching neatly from the fake stone mountain exit of the imperial garden toward the Yanjia Gong, no one, Kou Zhong included, had the confidence that victory was within their grasp. The others, led by Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin, retreated back to the Yeting Pce, leaving only this squad of about fifty men, consisting of the most elites of the Flying Clouds Guards and Dark Armored troops to be the lone army fighting for victory. Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, Yuchi Jingde and the others who might be easily recognized were hidden inside the squad. As long as they were not recognized one by one, they should be able to pass the barrier. The timing of their appearance was urate. They were one of thest squads heading toward the Yanjia Gong. Otherwise, the imperial guards who were familiar with the situation in the pce would have noticed the difference, and they would have to exhaust their lips and tongue to exin why the imperial guards defending the imperial city would intrude into the Taiji Gong. Kou Zhong, in his identity as Cai Yuanyong, walked side by side with Xu Zilings disguise, Kuang Wentong, he said, What are you thinking? Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling replied, Im thinking of all kinds of worst-case scenarios, but I dont have any way to deal with it, so that I feel the wisdom-exhausted, strength-drained C helplessness. Kou Zhong also responded with a wry smile, saying, What do you think Im thinking? How will Wanwan look like now that she is wearing shoes? Ay! People are strange, in this kind of time I can still think of such senseless things. Xu Ziling said, Someone ising! A squad of Tang Jians troops stationed on the outside was marching straight toward them, numbering about a hundred men, led by a low-ranked general. Thentern bearers at the front row on both sides raised theirnterns at the same time to illuminate the other side. Positioned behind Kou Zhong, Duan Shixuan, who was the realmander directing the advance or retreat operations, gained the initiative by striking first, Unify the world! he shouted. When the other side responded with All ages leaving a good reputation, the two units of men and horses brushed past each other. Sure enough, the other side did not have any doubts, so much so that they did not even pay attention that the shoulder insignia was different from the imperial guards inside the pce. In this way, they passed two squads of troops stationed on the outside entering the pce for the change of guards, and were still able to pass the barrier without rm, without danger. When they reached the surrounding area of ??Yanjia Gong, trouble finally came. The external garrison troopsid outyer uponyer of defense, guarding all the gates and passes into the Yanjia Dian. Duan Zhixuan at the back said to the two, We must stop first and call for the military order! And then report our military rank. After verification, only then can we pass this barrier. He had not even finished speaking, one of the low-ranking generals from the other side signaled them to stop and shouted, Unify the world! Kou Zhong replied, All ages leaving a good reputation. Polo chiefs Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong. The whole squad stopped abruptly and stood still, also performed military salute. After returning the salute, the low-ranking general stepped out of the rank and spoke cheerfully, It really is Cai Daren and Kuang Daren. Xiaowei [lit. military officer] Wu Ming, paying my respect to two gentlemen Daren. Xiashu [subordinate] was fortunate to watch the two gentlemen Darens awe-inspiring authority on the ball court, it is still vivid in my mind until today. Kou Zhong cheered inwardly. It appeared that they wereing with Fu Qian to Tuyuhun, only a small number of people were privy about that matter, and Wu Ming was definitely not one of them. Taking a step forward, he gained the initiative by striking first by speaking in a low voice, We received a secret order from Wei Gonggong to leave the Pce and handle some affairs for Huangshang. Now we areing back to report to Huangshang. Wu Ming did not know much about the Imperial Guard system in the pce, he did not grow suspicious because of the difference in their shoulder insignia, he only knew that Cai Yuanyong and Kuang Wentong were celebrities close to Li Yuan; he spoke cheerfully, Two gentlemen Daren, please! Everyone breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Passing the checkpoint, they turned left into the imperial road leading to the East Gate of the Yanjia Dian. However, the feeling of life and death was not foreseen was still lingering in everyones heart. In such a situation, once an ident urred, they definitely would not be lucky enough to escape. The East Gate was brightly lit, human shadows were flickering. The guards were no longer the troops from outer garrison, but Li Xiaogongs personal guard system, the imperial guards of the Yulin Jun; they could forget about passing this barrier like before. Duan Zhixuan spoke quickly and in a low voice, When Huangshangs Dharma-self is in, ording to the rule, our Imperial Citys imperial guards must remain ten zhang outside the door. After pushing forward two zhang, Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Halt! The entire squad stood still. Kou Zhong smiled at Xu Ziling and said, Sess or failure, it will depend on tonight! Xiongdi! Were going down the arena! Xu Zilingposed himself, he stepped out with Kou Zhong towards the East Gate. The imperial guards on duty at the gate, none did not recognize the two, seeing them suddenly leading a group of imperial guards swaggering over, they were all stunned. Putting on the air of a high official and Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Who is in charge here? Kuang Daren and I want to immediately enter the pce to see Huangshang. Yulin Juns imperial guards were originally the most overbearing servicemen in the City of Changan, they never had to give face to the officers and soldiers of the other branches, but they were clear that these two men were the celebrities that their Huangshang favored even more, thereupon they did not dare to be negligence. Someone immediately went in to report. Shortly afterwards, a military general came out a hurry. Seeing him from a distance, the two were greatly disappointed, while also groaned inwardly. The person who came was not Li Xiaogong they expected, but Cheng Mos deputy, their old acquaintance in the pce, the sweet-tongued Liao Nan. Liao Nan was dressed in a high-ranking military officer attire of the Imperial Guard. Seeing the two men, he was greatly surprised, he even swept his gaze across Duan Zhixuans squad. With doubt across his whole face, he said, Werent two gentlemen Daren sent on a diplomatic mission to Tuyuhun? This was precisely the reason why the two boys had a big headache; they finally came across someone who knew the inside story, which made it difficult for them to deceive. Kou Zhong was able to think fast in an emergency, he took two steps forward, came to Liao Nans side, and spoke in a low voice, You must never talk about it, this time we officially went as envoys. However, the fact was that we received Huangshangs secret order to investigate the collusion between Tuyuhun and the Western Tujue. Now we have important information, we must report to Huangshang without dy. Liao Nan couldnt tell the truth from the fake, he spoke awkwardly, Huangshang is resting in Yanjia Ge [Pavilion]. Can it wait until daybreak? We could report it to Wei Gonggong, let him make the arrangement. Kou Zhong spoke anxiously, The coalition forces of the Western Tujue and Tuyuhun could arrive any moment, we must report to Huangshang immediately. This matter is of great importance. The Imperial Cavalry Chief Cheng Mo Daren knows this matter best, please ask him toe out, and youll know that I am telling the truth. Fully aware that Cheng Mo was not here, when there is a wind, naturally he would raise the sail to the fullest. Liao Nan jumped in fright. Aghast, he said, The coalition forces of the Western Tujue and Tuyuhun? Ay! Cheng Daren has a business to attend to, he is not here. Then he spoke resolutely, Themander here is Hejian Wang. To enter Yanjia Ge, we must obtain his nod. How about this? I will take you to see him, let him make the decision. Kou Zhong mused inwardly, Now, that is obedient. Signaling Xu Ziling with his eyes, he followed Liao Nan stepping into the East Gate. Book 62: Chapter 10: Chaotic Steps

Book 62: Chapter 10: Chaotic Steps

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were seated at the entrance hall by the East Gate, separated from the middle pce hall by a screen, waiting for Li Xiaogongs response to their presumptuous demand. Actually, they did not expect for Li Xiaogong to break the rule to amodate them, rather, they only hoped to see Li Xiaogong. Besides, even if they could enter Yanjia Ge [Pavilion], it would definitely be difficult for them to do anything. In the entire Yanjia Dian [Pce Hall], there was one sentry every ten steps, and one post for twenty steps. The main passage and the entrance and exit doors were heavily guarded even more. All the gateways and thoroughfares outside the pce hall walls were guarded by massive military force dispatched by Tang Jian. Under such a strong defensive disposition of troops, even if the Dark Armored elite troops and the Shao Shuai Army poured out and attacked with full strength, it would still lead to the annihtion of the entire army. The two sat side by side on the row of chairs set on one side. While the doorstep was strictly guarded, the paths leading inside on both sides of the screen were also guarded by more than ten imperial guards each, so that they did not dare to speak. They were anxious not only whether they could convince Li Xiaogong, but also whether they would have the opportunity to talk to Li Xiaogong. What was even more worrying was that Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan and the others were still waiting outside the pce hall, they were afraid that someone would be suspicious of them, and under cross-examination they would reveal the cloven foot [idiom: unmask ones true nature]. Half a quarter of an hour was like a long, difficult-to-endure many years C time. Urgent footsteps came from behind the screen, the two shivered greatly in their hearts. With Li Xiaogongs status as a member of the royal family, his rank as Hejian Wang, their allotted share was only toe to see him, how could it be Li Xiaogong removing-his-honor, dropping-his-nobility toe to meet them? When crying, Not good! inwardly, like wolves and tigers, the imperial guards rushed out from both sides of the screen. More than twenty men, armed with loaded crossbows and strong arrows, fanned out in a semi-circr formation, taking aim at the two at close range, and shouting loudly in unison, Dont move! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling never thought such change would happen. Before they fully understood what was going on, they did not dare to rush indiscriminately into action. Without any better option, they raised their hands high, while putting on the air of an innocent who had just treated unjustly, showing that they would definitely not resist. Such change was indeed beyond expectation. Li Xiaogong, surrounded by Liao Nan and more than a dozen other, which, in just a nce it was obvious that these were the elites among the elite martial art masters within the imperial guards, circled around from behind the screen and lined up behind the crossbow wielders. Liao Nan repeatedly signaled the two boys a helpless expression, indicating that he was powerless and that everything was in Li Xiaogongs hands, and told them to be careful in responding to this situation. His expression gave them hope, knowing that they were not without the opportunity to turn things around. Li Xiaogong snorted coldly and said, How dare you two, you have the cheek to throw a bunch of nonsense to swindle me. You clearly know that Huangshang has ordered that anybody breaking through into the pce tonight will be killed, no question asked. Whoever took you in or let you pass; allmitted the crime of treason. Still have not own up to the facts to this king? Kou Zhong put down the load on his mind again, the identity of the impostor troops outside the pce hall has not been revealed. His heart moved, with seven emotional states [joy, anger, anxiety, thought, grief, fear, fright] on his face, he said, Hejian Wang, please understand clearly, every word that Xiaoren said is true. If there is a single word of falsehood, let me hey! Let me ay! I have seen it with my own eyes, the person threading the needle was that traitor Yang WenGan. Ay! The virtuous cause before our eyes, Hejian Wang ought to know what to choose. Hearing that, no one present, including Xu Ziling and Liao Nan, was not baffled, they were certain that his words were vague, his oath was iplete. Only Li Xiaogong was greatly astonished, because this was precisely what Kou Zhong said to him earlier, which remained fresh in his memory. Li Xiaogong looked at him nkly, as for the other men, the crow and peacock made no sound, the atmosphere was like a stretched-taut bowstring. Kou Zhong was afraid that he would still note to his senses, he continued, We, two brothers braving death, viting the prohibition by entering the pce, it is for the sake of the innocent people who have suffered for many years. Only by promptly reporting to Huangshang will there be the possibility to defeat the enemy. I hope that in this critical juncture, Hejian Wang can give thought to the world and make the wisest choice. This way, it will be the fortune of all people. These words were not mixed with the old words that he had said to Li Xiaogong earlier, but they were spoken using the same tone of voice. Li Xiaogong was overwhelmed with emotions that his countenance changed several times, suddenly it turned white, suddenly it turned green, evidently the two contradicting thoughts in his heart were waging the fiercest battle. Liao Nan was about to say something nice for the two boys, Li Xiaogong barked at him, Shut up! Liao Nan immediately kept quiet out of fear, not daring to utter the words that were already on his throat. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, If Hejian Wang is willing to allow us to make a report in private, you will certainly understand our painstaking efforts to disturb Huangshangs holy-self in a hurry. Li Xiaogong appeared to be both mentally and physically exhausted as if he had lost all his energy after going through a series of fierce battles, he sighed and said, Very well! Escort these two to the military hall for this King. As long as you two follow thepass and go with the set square [idiom: follow the rules inflexibly], this King will treat you with due respect. The military hall was like a smaller scale imperial guard headquarters inside the Yanjia Dian. It was a stand-alone building located at the West Gate of the Middle Pce Hall, with a fire beacon tform built next to it. It couldmunicate directly with Xuanwu Gate or other fire beacon tforms of the imperial guard stations in other ces by light signals, it could also use the fire beacon to summon the city defense army farther away, which yed an important role in the defense of the Taiji Gong. Therefore, Li Yuan moved to this pce hall tonight, it was not without any reason, advancing to attack, and retreating to defend, the initiative waspletely within his grasp. Although Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were led to the secret room of the military hall like convicted criminals, inwardly they were very grateful to Li Xiaogong. He said that he would treat them with due respect, they did not need to be trussed up [orig. having ones upper body bound, with arms tied behind the back and rope looped around the neck], Kou Zhong was even spared from the distressed of having his body searched that he was able to keep the Moon in the Well and the Piercing the Sun Bow. Otherwise, he really did not know how to exin why things belonging to the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong would show up on his current Cai Wenyongs body. Especially the Piercing the Sun Bow, everyone knew that it was one of the two great folding bows in the world, because he and Ba Fenghans names had spread inside and outside the border. The two were instructed to sit down at one side of the long table, with four imperial guards carrying saber waited upon each one. Men were guarding the door and all four corners of the room. After waiting for a short moment, Li Xiaogongs good-self arrived, he shouted all the guards away, personally closed the door, sat on the other side, and spoke in deject, How could Shaoshuai be this rude and impetuous? Tell me, what do I do now? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling pulled off their masks, the former spoke solemnly, The situation is far more dangerous than we imagined. Until just now, we did not know that Wei Gonggong is a Yin Gui Pai man, acting as the inner responder of the demonic school inside the pce. The new generation master of Yin Gui Pai Wanwan must have sneaked into the Yanjia Ge, Huangshangs life is in danger [orig. precarious as pile of eggs]. Shaken, Li Xiaogong said, Unexpectedly there such matter? And then he muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, shook his head and said, Even if Wei Gonggong, as you said, is indeed a demonic school spy, but inside the Yanjia Ge, martial at masters are as numerous as a cloud, how much can he and Wan Yaonu, two persons can do? As far as I know, Huangshang is personally protected by Yuwen Fazhu, You Lao Furen [old madame], and Chu Junming, husband and wife. He also asked, That bunch of men currently waiting outside the pce hall, is Qin Wang among them? Kou Zhong nodded in affirmative. In pain, Li Xiaogong supported his forehead with both hands, he spoke heavily, Are you trying to assassinate Huangshang? Chopping the nail and slicing the iron, Kou Zhong replied, I, Kou Zhong, definitely have no such intention. I took the chance tonight, only hoping that the Li Family can make the most talented person as the heir, using a little bit of trick is inevitable. What we want is the military tally that Huangshang carries with him, if we dont seed, Ziling and I will have no choice but to kill our way out of Changan, and then see who will rule the world. However, the chance to repel foreign aggression and unify the world is before our eyes, Hejian Wang can decide with a single word. Li Xiaogong let go of his hands, his expression returned tranquil, apparently he had finally made a decision. His eyes fixed on Kou Zhong, he slowly shook his head and said, Please forgive Xiaogong that it is difficult to obey the order, if you want to make your move to kill me, now is your only chance. Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings two hearts sank straight to the bottom, sinking into the abyss of disappointment and helplessness. Without Li Xiaogongs all-around cooperation, forget about aplishing the goal, it would practically be impossible to move a single step. Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, If we are that kind of vicious and merciless, unscrupulous persons, we would have gathered the troops at Liangdu today, to sit and watch the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall invading Guanzhong, and enjoy the benefit of the fisherman. Kou Zhong sighed and said, What are you going to do to us? Naturally we wont have our hands tied to await death. Tranquil, Li Xiaogong said You and Qin Wang, just go! Xu Ziling was puzzled, he said, After the event, if this matter is investigated, Hejian Wang would havemitted crime punishable by death. Li Xiaogongs face revealed an awe-inspiring righteous splendor brilliance, he said, If Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and Qin Wang die in Changan, there wont be anybody in the world able to resist the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Li Xiaogongs death is not enough to be regretted, but I am unwilling to bear the me of someone condemned by history [idiom]. You go! There is no ce where you can fit in in Guanzhong, I can do my best to cover your retreat. Kou Zhong sighed and said, Is there no better solution? When the allied armies arrive, there wont be whole roof tiles in Guanzhong. Li Xiaogong looked up at the roof beam, he spoke slowly, There is one way. Hope grew in the two mens heart. Li Xiaogong lowered his gaze and swept it across the two boys, he spoke heavily, Lets go to the pce together to request an audience with Huangshang, we ask him to remember themon people of the world, to rein in his horse at the edge of the precipice, and to avoid the bleak and tragic ending of massacring one another. Hearing that, the two boys you looked at me I gazed at you, they drew out a mouthful of cold air. This way, wouldnt it mean sending amb into the tigers den, walking right into the trap? Looking at each other in shock, they definitely had no luck to talk about. Bang! Kou Zhong pped his palm on the table, the divine light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke calmly, Just let the two of us going with you to see Huangshang, what do you think? Qin Wang better not get involved, but if loyal advice grates on Huangshangs ears, we will break the siege and escape with all our strength. Li Xiaogong said, As long as you can prove that Wei Gonggong is a member of Yin Gui Pai, and Wanwan has sneaked into the pce, Qi Wang has had secret collusion with Lin Shihong and Yang WenGan, and Taizi is conspiring with the Tujue to deal with Qin Wang, Huangshang might change his mind. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Lets give it a try. Hejian Wang, please send someone to notify Qin Wang, tell them that they must, by all means, be patient and wait quietly. Li Xiaogong agreed, There is no problem in this regard, we immediately request an audience with Huangshang. Li Xiaogong took Kou and Xu, two men directly to the main entrance of the outer courtyard of Yanjia Ge. Seeing their boss came, the imperial guards at the door raised their weapons to salute. Although the two boys had returned to their true colors, no one dared to speak half a word, from this, the strict military discipline could clearly be seen. Li Xiaogong shouted, Shaoshuai, Xu Xiansheng request an audience with Huangshang, immediately open the door. A voice responded from behind the door, saying, Huangshang is sleeping peacefully in the pavilion, its not suitable to disturb him, Hejian Wang, please note clearly. Li Xiaogong spoke in displeasure, Li Mo, dont talk nonsense, everything on Huangshang, I am in charge. You havent opened the door for me immediately? Li Mo spoke in a panic, But Zhang Gonggong ordered Li Xiaogong spoke angrily, Who is themander of the troops? if you dont open the door immediately, you will be served with martialw. The big door slowly opened. Under the illumination of thenterns, Yanjia Ge was as bright as day, the beautiful scenery emerged before their eyes. Forget about assassins, even a fly might be difficult to hide from the sentries standing in great numbers. All the officers and soldiers inside the gate performed military salute. Behind the Yanjia Ge was the imperial guardmand post of the Xuanwu Gate. It was a multi-function buildingplex with various venues for entertaining guests, singing and dancing, ball games, all kinds of y, and so on, scattered inside the park, outside the outer imperial court and the inner imperial court. Li Yuan might also summon his trusted aides and cab ministers here, which was known as Ren Ge [the peoples pavilion], how big the scale was, it could easily be imagined. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling followed behind Li Xiaogong, upright and unafraid, the men met them, but the external scenery could not hide the vile mood of despair and helplessness. In these circumstances, to persuade Li Yuan was the most inferior strategy among the inferior strategies. But Li Xiaogong insisted, what could they do? The worst thing was that Wei Gonggong was inciting disharmony and ndering, stirring up the wind and mixing the rain, so that they fell into the situation of being fish and meat for other people. Wanwans intelligence and means should not be underestimated even more, and if it werent for Wanwan, they would not be at such an inferior, disadvantageous situation right now. Li Yuan, who was reluctant to give up power, position and beauty, would definitely be unwilling to miss this once in a thousand years golden opportunity to curry favor with the Tujue by eliminating Kou Zhong and Li Shimin in one fell swoop, and unify the Central ins while Song Que was no longer a threat. The three men marched forward, although the crowd of the imperial guards felt that Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling entering the pce at this moment did not conform to conventions, but with their boss leading the way, who would dare to object? Li Xiaogong spoke in low voice, Huangshangs bedroom [pce to lie down] tonight is setup at Tai Ye Ju [Greatest Liquid Residence] next to Tai Ye Chi [Pond], located due north of the pce hall. It is guarded by saber-wielder personal guards, they only answer to Huangshang. I can only ask them to pass on the message, it will be up to Huangshang whether he decides the receive us or not. Kou Zhong asked in a low voice, Where would Wei Gonggong be? Li Xiaogong replied, He should be at Tai Ye Gong [pce] to organize things, but he has no authority to stop me from seeing Huangshang directly. Xu Ziling asked, Are the martial art masters protecting the emperors good-self also inside the residence? Smiling wryly, Li Xiaogong replied, By revealing the situation in the pce like this to the two gentlemen, I alreadymitted treason and mortal crime. Ay! Tai Ye Ju is divided into front and rear, three sections and nineplex of buildings. If I am not mistaken, the group of the emperors good-self protectors ought to stay at the front section. We are here! The three men rounded a building, only to see the forest tree swaying in the wind, a straight path passing through the forest, with pcenterns illuminating both sides of the path, and pavilions, gardens, and small bridges lining both sides. Under the stars covering the whole sky, the white stone-paved forest path extended to anotherplex of gardens and buildings, situated under aparatively high and wide terrain. Thenterns were hidden among the forest trees, the spring breeze was brushing lightly; it gave up quite a light wind gently moving, lonely, cold and deste C impression. Going further, the gurgling sound of a stream, not sure from which canal, which river, was flowing in ahead, with a wooden bridge spanning over it. This area was no longer guarded by the imperial guards. Li Xiaogong quickly said, Leave everything to me to handle! The two boys knew that they had entered the protecting-the-emperors-good-self saber-wielder personal guards territory, they could not help feeling a little nervous. Thinking that previously they were filled with big ns, wanting to control the imperial pce in one fell swoop, yet they were reduced to such a plight; they could not help sighing bitterly in their heart. Every one of the crowd of guards burning gaze was cast at them, seeing that following behind Li Xiaogong were unexpectedly Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, their faces revealed an expression of disbelief and astonishment that they were unable to conceal. Among them, those with higher rank stepped on the bridge to meet them and blocked the way. They saluted Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling first, paying their respect and said hello, before asking Li Xiaogong about their purpose ining. Li Xiaogong said solemnly, Shaoshuai and Xu Xiansheng have an enormously important matter that must be discussed with Huangshang immediately. The leader revealed an awkward expression, and spoke something to Li Xiaogong in a low voice. Li Xiaogong revealed the courage to stake it all and go out, he said, Qin Wei Zhang [chief personal guard] does not need to worry too much, this king alone will bear the responsibility. If Huangshang wants to me, he can push it to this king. This matter is most urgent, it would be best for Qin Wei Zhang to report and give a full ount directly to Huangshang, not to pass it on through other people. The personal guard chief saluted Kou and Xu, two men again, and left to report, he disappeared at the end of the forest path. Li Xiaogong and the two boys returned to the other end of the bridge to wait. He said, Now we have to quietly wait for Huangshangs decree. Time passed bit by bit, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling quietly waited patiently, time was no longer important to them, even if the dawn came, it would not make any difference to them. The current situation was clear: one, Li Yuan would change his mind and let the alliance to proceed, or two, they would kill their way out of Changan with all their strength, breaking down rtionship with Li Yuan. All those big ns would be useless. Afterwards, they could only see the truth on the battlefield; therefore, their hearts calmed down instead. The personal guard chief finally appeared within the three mens field of view. His expression tranquil, he came to the three men, and said respectfully, Huangshang invited Shaoshuai and Xu Xiansheng, Hejian Wang, please stay here. Li Xiaogongs countenance changed, he said, Shaoshuai and Xu Xiansheng were taken here by this king, this king must report the situation to Huangshang in person. Hanging his head down, the personal guard chief said, This is Huangshangs instruction. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Was it Huangshang himself who said that? Upright and unafraid, the personal guard chief replied, It was Wei Gonggong who conveyed Huangshangs oral decree. Li Xiaogong exchanged nces with the two boys, he spoke coldly, Then let Wei Gonggonge to point the finger of me to this king. Immediately lead the way for this king. The personal guard chief revealed a terrified expression; Wei Gonggong or Li Xiaogong, neither one he could afford to offend. Li Xiaogong increased the pressure, he spoke angrily, One day this king is themander of the imperial guards in the pce, one day Huangshangs safety is this kings sole responsibility. Anything happens, naturally this king takes full responsibility. Helpless, the personal guard chief gave in; turning around, he led the way. The three men followed behind him, passing through the forest path, ahead suddenly opened up. The three courtyards stood side by side, lined up among the trees. The balcony and tform stood tall, overlooking the gardens, the structure was wide and long, front courtyards and corridors interweaved, wisteria grew around the corridors, red leaves of the iris lined up the path; it was a different scenery. Too bad Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were not in the mood to enjoy it. On either side, left and right of the long steps outside the main entrance of the main hall in the middle, there was a row of ten personal guards each, standing in tight formation. The three stepped up the long steps, the dagger-axe wielder personal guards raised their dagger-axe at the same time to salute, while the personal guard chief stepped out of the way by the door, respectfully invited them to enter. The three men stepped into the main hall, immediately they stopped in surprise. What they saw was not Li Yuan moving his good-self toe to see them, but the scattered around, sitting in array like they were inside the reception hall of an influential officials house C Yuwen Shang, Yuwen Shiji, You Chuhong, Dugu Feng [peak], Dugu Feng [phoenix], Chu Junming husband and wife, and Yan Li, eight major martial art masters. Yuwen Shang blocked the way leading to the inside, his pair of eyes shot out sharp unusual light, the back door behind him closed with a Bang!, increasing his overbearing grandeur as a n leader. With another Bang!, the front door behind the three men closed. Unless they broke through the ceiling to get out, they had no other way. Without having to see it with their own eyes, they knew that Li Yuans personal bodyguards have already surrounded the hall so heavily that not a ssh of water could get out. Tock! Tock! Tock! You Chuhong sat leisurely on the imperial tutor chair on the left side, behind her stood Dugu Feng [phoenix], with a smug smile on her face. While tapping her green bamboo staff on the floor, You Chuhongughed coldly and said, This is called disaster and happiness have no door, only people summon it themselves. You two can forget about leaving this ce alive tonight. Book 62: Chapter 11: Dragon Tally, Tiger Tally

Book 62: Chapter 11: Dragon Tally, Tiger Tally

Li Xiaogong said angrily, What is the meaning of this? Shaoshuai and Xu Xiansheng are our Great Tang Kingdoms distinguished guests, Huangshangs allies. Who dares to offend them? With his hands folded on his chest, Yan Li, leaning against the door behind Yuwen Shang, remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos C said, There are still more than two sichen before alliance ceremony. One day we still have not formed an alliance, our Great Tang and Shao Shuai State are still at war, we are enemies and not friends at all. Li Xiaogongs pair of eyes dazzled, he stared fixedly at Yan Li, and spoke heavily, How dare you! Who do you think you are [orig. what rank are you], unexpectedly you speak to this king in such a tone of voice, disrespecting your superior? Dugu Feng [phoenix] let out a silver-bell like tenderughter, she said, Its Hejian Wang who has such a big guts! Unexpectedly you collude with external enemy, intending to assassinate Huangshang. Li Xiaogongs countenance changed, he said, Be careful what you say, dont make false usations against people [orig. keeping blood in ones mouth and spray people]. Whether this king is loyal or not, Huangshang knows better than anyone. Just by looking at Yan Li and Dugu Fengs demeanor and tone of voice, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling knew that the other side had a card up their sleeve, they fully upied the initiative and the upper hand; immediately they knew the turn of events was not too encouraging. On the other side of Yuwen Shang, Yuwen Shiji smiled calmly and said, Since Hejian Wang voiced his loyalty to Huangshang, he will show it to us by his actions. And then, raising his right hand high, he shouted, Huangshangs dragon tally is here. Seeing the tally is like seeing Huangshang. Li Xiaogong, you kneel down for me and receive the order! The three mens eyes could not helpnding on his raised hand. Golden light flickering, the peculiarly shaped dragon tally glittering brightly under the illumination of thenterns, representing the highest authority that could mobilize and dispatch all the imperial guard units inside the imperial pce and imperial city. Li Xiaogongs chest felt like being struck by a thunder, his countenance changed again and again, without the slightest color of blood, and he fell back. Were it not for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling supporting him from left and right, it was guaranteed that he would fall on his butts on the ground. Kou Zhong spoke sternly, I dare to bet the head on my neck with yours, Yuwen Shiji, this tally was handed over to you by Wei Gonggong, not by Huangshang himself. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, no matter who was present, whether friend or foe, only he understood why Kou Zhong said what he said. Tonight they originally already grasp victory in their hands, but now they havepletely lost the certainty of winning. One wrong move [in the game of chess], the whole game was lost. The one wrong move they made was that they could not see through one step earlier that Wei Gonggong was Yin Gui Pais wonder troop [in ambush] in the pce, and could notpletely grasp Wei Gonggongs conversation with Yin Zuwen inside the secret passage. The two most crucial military tallies that Li Yuan carried with him, the dragon tally couldmand the imperial guards inside the pce, and the tiger tally wouldmand the military units of external garrison. Dragon and Tiger, two tallies were like Li Yuans total control of two main forces inside and outside the pce in Changan. The demonic schools n was far more perfect than their emergency response, and with the facts before their eyes, Wei Gonggong, as easy as blowing off dust, seemed to have achieved the absolute advantage of supporting the Son of Heaven tomand the various nobilities. The dragon tally has already been handed over to Yuwen Shiji to deal with them, three men, the tiger tally should have also fallen into Wei Gonggongs hands. Tang Jians army of 15,000 men might be summoned into the pce by Wei Gonggong, which was part of the n made by Wei Gonggong and Wanwan. Although he, Xu Ziling still could not figure out Lin Shihongs role in sneaking into the pce via the secret passage, but he was certain that it would strengthen Wei Gonggongs advantage. Now Changans military power has fallen into the demonic schools hands, all the other factions, including Jiancheng and Yuanji, allotted share was only to take a beating. Without needing to be told, he and Kou Zhong and the others knew clearly even more. And their disaster was happening right in front of them. Once they were entangled by Yuwen Shang, You Pozi, and the others, and then the martial art masters Li Yuans personal guard flooding in, even with his and Kou Zhongs abilities, it would still be very dangerous. Once the fight started, with multitude of enemies, few friends, they would not possibly obtain any convenience. ording to reason, the one holding the dragon tallymanding the martial art masters protecting the emperors good self and the army of personal guards to deal with them ought to be Wei Gonggong instead of Yuwen Shiji, but thetter, due to Yuwen Shangs deep friendship with Li Yuan, after throwing his lot to the Tang, became the great general that Li Yuan doted on, naturally,pared to Wei Gonggong, this chief of the court eunuchs, he was more qualified and more conforming to reason to give orders; however, this was definitely not the reason why Wei Gonggong entrusted him with the dragon tally. ording to Xu Zilings estimation, first of all, Wei Gonggong believed firmly that Xu Ziling still suffered serious internal injury, which would leave only Kou Zhong to drag them down, and he could not pose any threat. Secondly, Wei Gonggong had more important things that he needed to personally attend to, that he could not borrow other peoples hands. Most likely Wei Gonggong wanted to directly control the 15,000-man army in Tang Jians hands. For this reason, Kou Zhong first used his words to stabilize Yuwen Shiji, but the real target was the dragon tally in his hand. As long as the dragon tally fell into Li Xiaogongs hands, Li Xiaogong could,pared to anybody else, except for Li Yuan, grasp the imperial guards firmly in the palm of his hand more easily. They really were not without any chance, because the enemys attention waspletely focused on Kou Zhong, hence Xu Ziling, who was mistakenly thought to be seriously injured, had an opportunity that he could exploit. The two boys minds were interlinked, Kou Zhongs remarks made Xu Ziling understand the only chance to turn defeat into victory at the moment. They had no doubt that after obtaining the dragon tally, to fight their way out of the Yanjia Ge was still more difficult than ascending to the sky, but this has be their only option. Evidently, for Yan Li, the humiliation Kou Zhong gave himst night was still hard to forget even after his teeth fall out [idiom]. This moment, since there was a wind, he must raise the sail to the fullest. Reaching back, he took thence hidden behind him and shouted loudly, Who has interest in talking nonsense with you! Striding forward, thence spun around, and when thence momentum was full, it started to move towards Kou Zhong looking like it was sweeping, but also as if it was shing down, but actually it was attacking straight in violent strike, full of mighty power. Among the crowd, the Yuwen Family and the Dugu Family, two sides, five people, all turned a blind eye to Yan Lis taking the lead in making his move. Not only did they not show the least bit of sign to join him, Dugu Feng [phoenix] even revealed a smile of disdain, showing off the haughty status and identity of a family influential for generations, practically looking down on theing-from-the-uncultivatednd Yan Li, intently wanted to watch him making a fool of himself. Only Zhu Junming and Hua Ying, a pair of husband and wife known as the Immortal Couple, approached Kou Zhong from the left, holding up their troops disposition for Yan Li. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he pulled back Li Xiaogong, whose emotions had not yet recovered, and using subtle movements, he showed his opponents that his internal injuries had indeed not yet healed. Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled the Moon in the Well out, without even looking his saber hacked Yan Lis attacking-with-full-momentumnce, and still had the leisure to say, Not only this is not nonsense, but it is also rted to your life and death Dang! Beyond everybodys expectations, Kou Zhongs careless chop unexpectedly hit the tip of Yan Lis repeatedly changingnce, so that it became a stake-it-all hard sh between the two sides. Spiraling qi power shot out, Yan Lis powerful body shook violently. He was stiffly jolted by the chop so that thence, as well as the person, were falling back to his original position. Bang! He mmed onto the side of the door, and continued falling back more than ten steps. Although he did not vomit blood, his face immediately turned pale. It could clearly be seen that Kou Zhongs casual saber strike had caused him an internal injury, which was not light. Even Yuwen Shang and Granny You, two senior martial art masters of grandmaster level C were also emotionally moved. Their original intention was to let Yan Li groped Kou Zhongs foundation first, and after seeing through and understanding Kou Zhong clearly, they would charge in one fell swoop to strike and kill Kou Zhong. Who would have thought that not only things turned out contrary to the way they wished, they also felt that Kou Zhongs clumsy move contained ingenuity, it was deep and unfathomable, his saber technique already reached the fully mature and faultless state? It looked like one saber strike, but it was actually two saber strikes. The first saber strike used an exquisite beyondpare technique to neutralize the opponentsnce power, and then, without generating any noise, the second saber strike was the real culprit that humiliated Yan Li. Chu Junming, husband and wife were greatly surprised, momentarily they did not dare to advance prematurely. Yan Li was even more speechless. Dugu Feng [phoenix] sneered at Kou Zhong and said, You, this man, your character really never changed to your death; powerless to defend yourself, yet you still talk nonsense. Kou Zhong knew that the other side was about to make a move, hence he drew legs on a snake [idiom: overdo it] even more; acting as if he was afraid that other people did not know that Xu Ziling was wounded, he stood and guarded in front of Xu Ziling and Li Xiaogong, holding the saber across his chest. Shaking his head, heughed and said, If you guys knew Wei Gonggongs identity as Wanwans Shibo [martial (older) uncle], and Yin Zuwen is the Tian Jun [heavenly lord] Xi Yings Shidi [younger martial brother], and that this moment Wanwan is inside Huangshangs bedroom [pce to lie down], you would not dare to point at me as babbling nonsense. Yuwen Shang snorted coldly and said, Youd better leave these words forter when you are talking to Yan Wang [King of Hell] in theher world! The cold qi invaded and pressing over. Kou Zhong knew that his Bing Xuan Gong [ck/Mysterious Ice Power, previously was Bing Xuan Jin] which had reached the pinnacle, was waiting for action after having umted power; he hurriedly said, Hold on! Can you let me exin something in the past that is rted to you, the Senior? Dugu Zhang [sic, I dont know which one, maybe the phoenix, since the peak seemed to be a mute] said happily, Kou Zhong! Finally the day like today hase to you! But Yuwen Shiji was knitting his brows, pondering about what Kou Zhong just said. Hearing that, he said, Quickly speak up! Kou Zhong sighed and said, Not only did we not kill Yuwen Huaji, but we also let himmit suicide for Zhen Sao and die together in the name of love. The secret ce where the husband and wife were buried together is only known to me, the funerary object was the portrait that Hou Xibai painted for Zhen Sao. Yuwen Shang said in astonishment, What nonsense are you talking about? Greatly astounded, Yuwen Shiji said, Zhen Sao! Are you talking about Zhen Fei [imperial concubine]? Sighing bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Zhen Sao used to sell vegetables and meat buns in Yangzhou. She was Xiao Lings and my benefactor, our first Niang. Ay! Thinking of her, all hatred, gratitude and grudges disappeared. If it wasnt for her, how could we anger Xiao Shiyi [little martial aunt] Fu Junqiang, and provoked Shigong to anger? Feng Xiaojie knew Qiang Yi, you should know that what I said is the truth. Laughing coldly, Dugu Feng said, Turns out that the hero in his whole lifetime Kou Zhong unexpectedly could behave like a dog wagging its tail, seeking its masters affection [idiom]. Death is near at hand, and trying to gain friendship everywhere. Now it involves the rise and fall of my Great Tang Kingdom, no matter how bright your tongue is, you still cannot escape death. Li Xiaogong was about to speak, but was stopped by Xu Ziling. Kou Zhongs tone suddenly changed, he took the demeanor and the tone of the ugly divine doctor Mo Yixins voice, saying, Lao Furens asthma is due to the coordination between the Twelve Regr Channels and the Eight Extraordinary Channels became dysfunctional, the cmity reached the lung passage, over the years it manifested into this illness. These words were spoken by him when he was diagnosing You Chuhong that day; what was rare was that he repeated it without missing a single word. Dugu Feng screamed, her flowery countenance turned deathly pale, she stared at Kou Zhong, revealing an expression of disbelief, while continuously shaking her head, as if to convince herself that this was not true. Dugu Feng [peak] and Granny You were too shocked to speak. Yan Li struggled hard to stand firm, pointing his halberd-fingers at Kou Zhong, he shouted, Dont listen to him misleading the public with rumors [idiom]. (Cough!) Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Lacking in confidence [or having a guilty conscience]! Since you, this kid, are colluding with Yang Xuyan and Liexia, you cant be a good person. Do you know what I was talking about? You dont even have a turn to interject. Showing a grave expression, Zhu Junming spoke heavily, Could Shaoshuai exin a bit more clearly, the dragon tally in Yuwen Jiangjuns hand was indeed passed on by Wei Gonggong. Kou Zhong said to Yuwen Shiji, I won! My head is safe. I dare to bet the head above my neck, because no one knows the demonic schools tricks better than me. If you still dont believe it, you can send someone to see Huangshang. I dare to bet my head one more time, I guarantee that you wont see the dragon countenance. Yuwen Shang said, Shaoshuai, dont use frightening words to scare people. The tone of his voice became polite, obviously because he knew that Kou and Xu, two boys were not the persons who killed Yuwen Huaji, plus they had the virtue of burying the dead, so that the hostility in their heart was greatly reduced. Kou Zhong passionately spoke earnestly about their rtionship with Sister-inw Zhen, and both Yuwen Shang and Yuwen Shiji knew Sister-inw Zhens family background and history, they knew even more that Kou Zhong was not the kind of people who would use this kind of matter to beg for mercy, hence it greatly increased Kou Zhongs credibility. This moment Xu Ziling joined in, Tang Jians men entering the pce for a change of the guards, was it Wei Gonggong who passed down the written imperial order? Thats right, Li Xiaogong replied. Kou Zhong said, Now this matter bes very simple. We will stop this kid Yan Li, and then you will send one person to see Huangshang. The matter will be as the water recedes, the rocks appear [idiom: the truthes to light]. I am not using frightening words to scare people, if we let the demonic schools evil n to seed, not only you will no longer have any ce to stand in Changan, the consequences will be too horrible to contemte. Based on the usual vicious and merciless style of the demonic school, they would definitely seize Huangshang, and then they will pull opposing forces up by the roots. The Dugu Family and the Yuwen Family are precisely the thorn in their side. Knitting her brows, Dugu Feng said, By doing this, whats the benefit for you, Kou Zhong? Kou Zhongughed calmly and said, The benefits are very great. First of all, I dont have to be any pain-in-the-butts emperor, in everything, let Shimin, that kid do it for me. Secondly, I have the opportunity to lead the most powerful righteous army in the world, to have a show-down with Xieli, that fellow. Not concealing anything fromdies and gentlemen, dont think that you can take us down, actually, Ling Shao is not injured at all. If he attacks you unprepared, plus with Xiaodi acting in concert with him, there is a good chance we can capture the dragon tally in Shiji Xiongs hands. If you dont believe me, let Ling Shao give you a demonstration. He had not finished speaking, Xu Ziling shed away from his side,unching the Xu Zilings style Huan Mo Shenfa, he suddenly appeared on Yuwen Shijis left side, his hand grabbed toward Yuwen Shiji. How could Yuwen Shiji ever imagine that Xu Zilings shenfa was this fast? Overwhelmed with shock, he stepped aside, powerless to fight back. Yuwen Shang was, after all, the master of a n, facing death he was not in chaos. His pair of palms pushed out, Bing Xuan Jin shot out. It appeared that he was about to hit Xu Ziling, who could have thought that Xu Ziling reversed his true qi and changed his momentum. His body spun around, he came in front of Yan Li. Yan Li was shocked, he raised hisnce in a flurry, Xu Ziling suddenly came close to him but immediately separated. By the time he retreated back to Kou Zhongs side, Yan Li dejectedly dropped down on his butts, his acupoint was sealed by Xu Ziling. Everybody, none was not emotionally moved, including Kou Zhong. Yuwen Shang could not believe it even more. He clearly hit Xu Ziling, unexpectedly with a spin of his body his attack waspletely neutralized. Such martial art was indeed shocking. Kou Zhongs spirit soaring high, he said, Did you see that? It was from the harmony is to be prized standpoint that we have spoken so much to you. If Qin Wang ascends to the throne, not only will the world be unified immediately, peace wille, and there will be a situation of long-term peace and stability. Your Dugu and Yuwen, two families, due to establishing great merit, will continue to flourish. Tell me, in todays world, who is more qualified to be the emperor than Qin Wang? Li Xiaogong spoke with serious expression, This time Shaoshuai came here to ask for an audience with Huangshang, it is to persuade Huangshang to rein in the horse at the edge of the precipice, to avoid disastrous turn of events in the imperial court tomorrow. Kou Zhong cried inwardly, Ashamed! Up to this moment, he still wanted to wholeheartedly sweep away Jiancheng and Yuanji. What Li Xiaogong thought was really a misunderstanding. Granny You cleared her throat, she said, Its not that Laoshen [lit. old body] doubted Shaoshuai, but even if Wei Gonggong obtained Wanwans assistance, to control Huangshang without making any noise like it is now is still impossible. The situation tonight is special, Huangshang and us are all in high alert, the saber-wielder personal guards did not leave for half a step, they are men who Wei Gonggong is unable to bribe. As long as there is a sound of fighting, the personal guards from all around will swarm in to rush to the rescue, Wei Gonggong definitely will not have any chance. Kou Zhong asked, Did Huangshang go to bed? Yuwen Shang said, I personally escorted Huangshang outside the door of the bedroom, and then the personal guards heavily guard him. Unless Huangshangs summoning him, Wei Gonggong would not be able to get in. The chief of the personal guards is Li Fan, he is astute and cautious, he wont be easy to deceive. Scratching his head, Kou Zhong said, This is really difficult to figure out. His attitude gave Chu Junming, husband and wife, a good impression. Thinking on his behalf, Hua Ying said, Apanying Huangshang tonight is not Yin De Fei, they shouldnt be able to acquire the military tally. Just by listening to her remark, they knew that her heart was leaning towards Kou Zhongs side. Tonight, it could be said that Kou Zhong was giving it his all to move their hearts,ying out the pros and cons, intimidating them with his mighty power. Xu Zilings cooperation was of course important, even more crucial was that seed of good karma would reap virtuous result, good actions of the past would be rewarded here and now. Xu Zilings heart was moved, he asked, Which guifei [noble concubine] is serving Huangshang tonight? Dugu Feng was still staring nkly at Kou Zhong, as if talking in her sleep, she said, Its Huangshangs new favorite imperial concubine, Qing Guiren [nobility]. I have searched her thoroughly, everything is fine. Ay! Whatever you say now, nujia will believe you! Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling blurted out at the same time, Bai Qinger! Yuwen Shang, Granny You, Dugu Feng, and the others were all emotionally moved. Kou Zhong pped his forehead and said with a sigh, A thousand calctions, ten thousand calctions, we did not consider her. And then he briefly described her appearance and exined clearly her background and origin. Granny You stood up abruptly and shouted, Ill go to the bottom of this matter immediately. Hold on! Yuwen Shang said. Stunned, everybody looked at Yuwen Shang. Yuwen Shang spoke heavily, Shiji, give the dragon tally to Shaoshuai. Hesitating, Yuwen Shiji said, This Granny You raised her thumb to Yuwen Shang, she praised, Well done! Shaoshuai is willing to return good for evil, what else we cannot trust him in? Hejian Wang is loyal and devoted to Huangshang even more, there is absolutely nothing to doubt. Turning to Yuwen Shiji, she shouted, You have not done as your Die wants? Yuwen Shiji suddenly made up his mind, he strode forward, and handed the dragon tally to Kou Zhong with both hands. Kou Zhongughed aloud, took the dragon tally, and without looking at it, he handed it over to Hejian Wang, saying, On behalf of Qin Wang, I would like to express our deep gratitude to you all. We are doing this for themon people of the world, the Central Earths honor and disgrace. First, we need to understand the urgent situation this moment. And then carry out the most appropriate strategy to go to the bedroom to rescue the emperors good-self. Hejian Wang, please preside over everything. King of Hejian spoke with solemn expression, Receive the order! Yuwen Shang said, Saving people is like putting out a fire. Based on our strength, how could the demonic [mo C devil] schools demons [mei] and mountain demons [chi] presumptuously unting their might? Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Reminded by Fazhu, my n immediately takes shape. Let us first besiege heavily the bedroom pce without making any noise, and then contact Li Fan. Just like that, we will storm inside. What do you think? Book 62: Chapter 12: Guarding A Tree-Stump, Waiting for Rabbits

Book 62: Chapter 12: Guarding A Tree-Stump, Waiting for Rabbits

Peng! Peng! Bang! Bang! The doors and windows shattered. Together, Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong, Yuwen Shang, Granny You, Ba Fenghan, and Hou Xibai broke the window and smashed the door and entered. With such a formidable battle formation, even if the ones holding Li Yuan hostage were Shi Zhixuan and Wanwan, perhaps they still had no time to deal with it. Everything went on without generating any noise. Li Fan was summoned by the personal guards to exin everything. They also learned from Li Fan that after granting the dragon tally to Yuwen Shiji, Wei Gonggong left in a hurry. After some discussion and were certain that there were only Li Yuan and Bai Qinger in the bedroom [pce to lie down], they unanimously agreed to break into the room to rescue the emperors good-self using the ten-thousand-jun thunderbolt momentum. They did not hear Bai Qingers screams, the bedroom was so quiet that it did not conform to conventional reasoning and morals. There was only Li Yuan, one person lying supine on the dragon bed. The six persons rushed to the bedside, only to see Li Yuans face like golden paper, his qi like a gossamer thread, he was in a seriously-ill-and-about-to-die state, half his feet stepped across into the gates of hell. Li Shimin, Li Xiaogong, and Li Fan rushed in from the broken door, as soon as they saw it, their soul flew away and scattered, they fell to their knees and cried bitterly. Kou Zhong shouted, Dont cry! With his right palm pressing on Li Yuans chest, he shouted again, Ziling help me! Xu Ziling lifted the dragon quilt, reached in and grabbed both of Li Yuans feet, the hollow of his palms pressed against the yongquan acupoint, he suggested, Kou Zhong, try to inject your Long-Life Qi from the tianling acupoint, and I will meet you at the dantian acupoint. Yuchi Jingde, Duan Zhixuan, and Zhangsun Wuji blocked the door to prevent others from entering, in order to avoid disturbing the two boys. Everyone held their breaths and quieted their qi, suppressing their stirred-up emotions, entrusting their hope on the twos Long-Life True Qi which name shook the world. Less than the time needed to burn an incense stickter, Li Yuansplexion began to change, it gradually turned rosy, his chest lightly rose and fell, and his breathing gradually became even. Kou Zhong was the first to put his hand away, he spoke cheerfully, Bai Qingers whatever his Niangs Cha Nu Da Fa [Great Method of Beautiful Girl] is really formidable. Luckily Huangshangs foundation is deep, he got through a daunting experience without mishap, and crossed over the crisis. The crowd cheered in unison. Xu Ziling also let go of both hands, he said, Do not, by all means, move Huangshang, just let him sleep for a few sichen and wake up naturally, he will recover his usual health. Li Shimin and Li Xiaogong stood up from the ground, while Li Fan, his face ashen like a dead person, still knelt on the ground, he spoke in a trembling voice, Li Fan did not do his best to protect the emperors good-self, his guilt deserves ten thousand deaths, Qin Wang please bestow punishment. Li Shimin reached out into the quilt to feel Li Yuans pulse. After confirming that what Xu Ziling said was true, he put down the big rock in his heart, how could he have the time to bother about Li Fan not doing his job properly? He said, The fault is not yours, stand up! As if he received benevolence from the emperor, in fear and trepidation [idiom; from the dictionary: in reverence before your majesty (court form of humility)] Li Fan stood with his hands hung down Knitting his brows, Li Xiaogong said, Its impossible that Bai Yaonu could slip away without rming anybody. Kou Zhong asked Li Fan, Did anybody apany Wei Gonggong when he left? Li Fan replied, It was the little Gonggong [court eunuch] who has always followed him Without waiting for him to finish, Li Shimin shouted, Search for me! And then, turning to Yuwen Shang and the others, he said, Time is running out, Fuhuang in here, everything is as usual, withdies and gentlemen martial art masters royal escort and the personal guards responsible for ensuring his safety. On the outside, we will deal with it. Inside the Yanjia Gong, the serving ministers and maidservants are not allowed to leave the house even for half a step. Those who go against orders, kill without question. Finished speaking, he walked out of the bedroom inrge strides. Kou Zhong and others, withpletely different inspired mood, chased behind him. At this moment, they fully felt that Li Shimin was no longer the King of Qin who had suffered enough oppression before, but the sessor of the Great Tang Kingdom. Bing the master of the world would be a matter of sooner orter. And they have also reached the moment when they stood face-to-face against the demonic school and all the opposing forces in Changan. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, Li Xiaogong, Yuchi Jingde, Duan Zhixuan, Hou Junji, Zhangsun Wuji, Wang Xuanshu and Xiao Rang discussed matters of vital importance, they drew up the next step of the operation in the imperial garden outside the bedroom pce. Li Shimin said, Now it is less than a stick of incense before dawn. If we cannot get back the tiger tally as soon as possible, once Tang Jians men and the city guards fall into Wei Gonggongs hands, the only way left for us is to defend the Yanjia Gong to the death. Hou Xibai did not understand, he asked, Can amand tally have such a big effect? Li Xiaogong exined, The dragon tally and the tiger tally are Huangshangs token. In conjunction with the seal of state and written imperial orders and Huangshangs signature, he can appoint qualified princes and dukes and cab ministers to mobilize the imperial guards and the garrison troops, to deal with all kinds of emergencies inside and outside the city. Wei Gonggong himself does not have the authority to lead the troops, nevertheless, he is the person to transmit an order that people will trust the most. If he confers the tiger tally and imperialmand to either Taizi or Qi Wang, the power to control the garrison troops will fall into his hands, unless Huangshang personally takes back the military power, otherwise, no one could have any objection, they could only follow orders. Ba Fenghan said, But in any case, they cantmand the garrison troops to attack the imperial city! Zhangsun Wuji sighed and said, Now the situation is delicate andplicated. If the other side falsely ims that Hejian Wang is allying himself with us, raises troops to rebel, and holds Huangshang hostage, then there is a serious reason to attack the imperial city. The greatest headache is that Wei Gonggong mobilized Tang Jians army to enters the pce one step ahead to change guard, and seized the military power of the garrison troops, it is akin to the Taiji Gong falling into the opponents hands, while we only have Yanjia Gong, this one corner. Other than defending it to the death, there is no other way. Drawing out a mouthful of cold air, Kou Zhong said, This person must be Li Yuanji. He is willing to be used by the demonic school to achieve his ambition of wild wolves [idiom: rapacious designs] to ascend the throne by killing his own father and murder his brothers. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Ba Fenghan said, Luckily the dragon tally did not fall into his hands, otherwise we would have no ce to stand even more. Isnt this Wei Gonggongs loss? Li Xiaogong shook his head and said, This is the risk that Wei Gonggong has to take due to he had no alternative. Because only the dragon tally can seize control of the imperial guards from my hands, and then order the martial art masters protecting the emperors good-self to cooperate with the personal guards to murder us, several people. Only he never thought that things would develop as they are now. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up immediately, he said, As long as Wei Gonggong and Wan Meiren dont know the development inside the Yanjia Ge, we could use the stupid trick from guarding a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits [see end note] C wonder move. Everybodys spirit was greatly aroused. Because Wei Gonggong went away after sowing the seed, naturally he woulde back to harvest the fruits. When he took control of Tang Jians army, he had to rush back immediately, recover the dragon tally, and then falsely pass on the imperial edict. This way, the military power in Changan would theoretically fall into Li Yuanjis hands. This moment Li Fan came to report, they found the little eunuchs dead body in the small dormitory connected to the bedroom pce. Their suspicion of Wei Gonggong and Bai Qinger the-plum-tree-withers-in-the-ce-of-the-peach-tree ruse [substituting one thing for another] was finally confirmed. Li Shimin asked Li Fan, When did Fuhuang instruct you he would get out of bed? Li Fan replied respectfully, Before Wei Gonggong finally left, he instructed not to disturb Huangshang before dawn. Ba Fenghan spoke cheerfully, That should do it! Wei Gonggong wille back before dawn to receive his death. Li Shimin ordered, Act immediately, everyone must cooperate well with each other. Li Xiaogong, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, Duan Zhixuan, Li Fan, and Xiao Rang epted the order and left. He then said to Hou Junji, Junji, go and find out everything that happened tonight rted to Fuhuang, and thene back and report it immediately. Hou Junji took the order and left. When everyone apuded Li Shimins caution, Li Shimin continued, There are still four things left. Only after figuring them out will I dare to say how much our odds of sess is. Xu Ziling and the others had a strange feeling. After pulling Li Yuan back from the gates of hell, Li Shimin seemed to recover his heroic disy of mighty disposition of the Battle of Luoyang. Not only he had a hundred-percent confidence, his every movement, each word, each sentence, all had a card-up-his-sleeve, through-careful-consideration-without-missing-anything C vor. It could clearly be seen that finally, he, due to the unraveling of the matter that gnawed at his mind of the betrayal of his family C recovered the peak state of returning to the battlefield,manding with certainty, scheming without omitting any strategy. Not only he no longer rebelled against his family, but he saved the family. Kou Zhongs prophecy became a reality. Xu Ziling looked up to the sky to see the time of day, and said, I would like to hear the details! Li Shimin spoke in a heavy voice, If Fuhuang was unfortunate enough to die [jiabeng C this term is specifically used to refer to the death of a king or emperor] because of Bai Yaonu, and Wei Gonggong came back just like that, wouldnt all suspicions fall onto him? Besides, Bai Yaonus track is nowhere to be found, plus Wei Gonggong was the person who visited Fuhuang repeatedlyst night, it would be even more difficult to avoid responsibility. Even if Yuanji is in a position of power, it will still be difficult to cover up for Wei Gonggong. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, I figured it out! Hou Xibai asked in astonishment, What did you figure out? Ba Fenghan spoke cheerfully, What I figured out is why the demonic school people must sneak into the pce via the secret passage. Their target is not only to plot against Qin Wangs zunweng [honorable father], but also to kill and burn, and shift the me on us. The more chaotic the situation, the more favorable it is for Yuanji who grasps the military power. When they found out that Li Fazhu died [jiabeng] on the bed, Yuanji will have an even more serious reason tomand all army units in the whole city to clean up all those who opposed him in one fell swoop, and then Wei Gonggong will read out the fake posthumous edict [of former emperor], so that he could ascend to the imperial throne in a way that justifies the use of the term [idiom: perfectly legitimate]. At that time, certainly Qin Wang and Jiancheng are both no longer in the world of the living. Even if the people below have doubts, Yuanji is in a position of power, he could singlehandedly cover the sky, plus he obtains the support of the demonic school and the Tujue, who would dare to rebel? Kou Zhong drew out a mouthful of cold air and said, How dangerous! Tang Jians changing of the guards just gave Lin Shihongs men the opportunity to sneak into the pce. Fortunately, we rushed one step ahead plus we sealed the tunnel, so that they could not even eat our trailing dust. Clearly there is indeed a ruler in the unseen world of spirits [i.e. divine providence]. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Lin Shihongs wonder troops are left outside the city, even though the tunnels were open, they are still the will is there, but not the strength [idiom from Confucian Analects]. Ba Fenghan said, Without Lin Shihongs wonder troops, there are still demonic schools martial art masters,bined with hiding-inside Wanwan, they could still achieve their goal. Kou Zhong sighed and said, This move is really awesome; are there any other problems? Li Shimin said, The second matter is the secret passages current situation, whether the exit of the Yin Mansion is open or closed. Xu Ziling said, It should still be closed. When Wei Gonggong and Wanwan found that their people did not sneak in to cooperate as agreed, while the changing of the guards was reported to bepleted, no one could enter or leave the tunnel anymore, he naturally would not dare to open the tunnel exit. Li Shimin said, The third question is whether or not Wanwan is still in Yanjia Gong? It should be noted that Tang Jian used 15,000 men toy out a defense at the Taiji Pce in ce of the Imperial Guards. Their military strength was ten times that of the original Imperial Guards, they couldpletely iste Yanjia Gong from the outside world. Anybody wanted to leave Yanjia Gong, the only way to go was to force their way out. If Wanwan had not left with Wei Gonggong, then certainly she was still hanging around in the pce. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Its really interesting! Anybody interested in betting with me? I bet she is still stuck inside the pce, with no room to advance or to retreat. Li Shiminughed calmly said, Im afraid no one will know clearly that even losing, they still have to bet against you, LaoGe. In the end, did Yuanji have control of Xuanwu Gate? Kou Zhong was examining the surrounding grounds, he said to Wang Xuanshu, On the personal guards side, no need to make any changes, so as not to cause any suspicion to that old fellow surnamed Wei. Xuanshu, you lead the brothers to find a favorable ce to ambush around the bedroom pce, use mainly crossbows and powerful arrows. This time, we want to wipe out the enemy as much as possible, not to leave half a living mouth, no need to talk about his grannys Jianghu rules. Only after Wang Xuanshu received the order and left that Kou Zhong answered Li Shimins previous question, saying, I dare to guarantee that the Xuanwu Gate is still firmly in Chang Hes hands, besides, the Dragon Tally is still in our hands. Li Shimin cheerfully said, Now we have a general understanding of the whole situation. As long as we can establish contact with the Yeting Pce, Liu Hongjis city defenders, and Chang Hes Xuanwu Gates imperial guards, we could coordinate outside and inside offensives, Tang Jians army will no longer be a concern, so much so that we could even resolve the crisis with no blood on the mens swords. Hou Xibai said, As long as we can return to the secret passage, everything can be solved like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. Kou Zhong vigorously patted Xu Ziling on the shoulder,ughed aloud and said, In the world, only one person has this ability. Everyones eyes were focused on Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling just took off his military uniform, revealing the nightwalker attire underneath. He smiled and said, This is called unwilling to pass on ones responsibilities. I will try with all my strength. I hope I wont see saber light and sword shadow in the pce. Li Shimin was obviously in a good mood, letting out a longughter, he said, Ziling going down the arena, you will surely win instant sess. End note: Guarding a tree-stump, waiting for rabbits: idiom, meaning to wait idly for opportunities / to trust to chance rather than to show initiative. Background story (from zhidao.baidu): In the Spring and Autumn Period, a farmer in the State of Song was one day working in the fields when he saw a rabbit running so fast that it bumped into a tree stump identally and break its neck. The farmer took the rabbit home, and cooked himself a delicious meal. That night he thought, I neednt work so hard. All I have to do is wait for a rabbit each day by the stump. So from then on he gave up farming, and simply sat by the stump waiting for rabbits toe and run into it. Moral of the story: This idiom satirizes those who just wait for a stroke of luck, rather than making efforts to obtain what they need. Book 62: Chapter 13: Succeed Will Be Called The King

Book 62: Chapter 13: Seed Will Be Called The King

Xu Ziling, dressed in a ck nightwalker outfit, with ck hood covering his head, hid behind the outer courtyard wall near the south gate of Yanjia Dian, waiting for the imperial guards to create a good opportunity for him to leave the pce hall. Since Yanjia Dian was where Li Yuan was, the Tangs outside garrison troops concentrated both their military power and attention on the surrounding area outside the pce hall, any unusual change could forget about staying hidden from the other side, it was akin to the Yanjia Dian waspletely sealed off. Without Li Xiaogongs help, certainly it would be difficult to leave even for a cun of step. Orderly sound of footsteps was heard, a team of two-hundred imperial guards, under Liao Nansmand, was heading to the South Gate, which immediately aroused the expected reaction, the high-ranking military officer of the garrison troops guarding inside and outside the South Gate immediately shouted, ordering them to stop. Xu Ziling knew that unless Li Yuan came in person, even if Li Xiaogong, in his rank as the Hejian Wang, was trying to leave, he would still be driven back, forget about Liao Nan, whose military rank was a few levels lower. He did not have time to listen to the argument between the two sides, his mind and spirit were elevated to the realm like that time where he proposed marriage to Shi Qingxuan at the Yu He An. The mind and spirit crystal clear, empty and bright. Using his, Xu Ziling-style Huan Mo Shen Fa, in an instant he already crouched on top of the wall. Seeing the troops guarding outside the wall looked away toward Liao Nans side, he promptly swept up from the top of the wall, and disappeared into the depth of the dense branches and luxuriant leaves of arge tree by the side of the road. The sound of footsteps of Liao Nans troops provided the most effective cover to the unusual noise of him splitting the wind, the branch swaying and the leaves moving. The heaven and earth becameplete. Everything waspletely sewn together in his heart, his super sense of hearing, instinct, and his spirited vision allowed him to capture all the changes in the surrounding human activities without missing anything. Where his spirit moved, his intention arrived, his body followed where the heart was moving. The next moment he was far away from Yanjia Gong, like a soaring bird, moving up and down towards his destination. Huangshangs decision to move to the Yanjia Dian was made quite hastily. It was decided at dusk, after Yin Zuwen and Pei Ji came to see Huangshang together. He issued an order to Hejian Wang to prepare an escort. At that time Wei Gonggong was also present. When the xu hour [7-9 pm] came, the various imperial concubines set off first, with Huangshang moved his good-self in the middle of the hai hour [9-11 pm]. Taizi and Qi Wang went to the Yanjia Gong to see Huangshang at the second quarter of zi hour [11 pm C 1 am], and at the beginning of chou hour [1-3 am] left together with Yin Zuwen and Pei Ji. And then Huangshang personally issued the order to change the guards, the imperial edict was delivered by Wei Gonggong to Tang Jian. After making preparation, thetter entered via the Xuanwu Gate into the Taiji Gong and stationed there at the yin hour [3 C 5 am], and started the change of guards operation. Previously, Wei Gonggong came out from the bedroom pce with imperial decree, instructing Li Fan to summon Qing Guifei to the bedroom pce to wait upon Huangshang. Later on, after passing on the summon, Wei Gonggong came back, entered the bedroom pce to report the situation to Huangshang. About the time to burn half of incense stick, the personal guard chief came to report that Hejian Wang, taking Shaoshuai and Xu Xiansheng came to ask an audience with Huangshang. Knowing the situation was serious, Li Fan hastily made his report from the other side of the door. A short momentter Gonggong came out with the dragon tally in his hand. He summoned the martial art masters protecting the emperors good self, and handed over the dragon tally to Yuwen Jiangjun, while depriving Hejian Wang from his military power. After Wei Gonggong ordered not to allow anybody to disturb Huangshang, he left in a hurry with the little Gonggong who always apanied him. The whole process was as described above. Finished listening to Hou Junjis report, Li Shimin cast his gaze at Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai. He said, To use themand tally to take control of an army unit, there are certain procedures and restrictions. The substituting unit must be at the same level or above of the substituted unit. Assuming that this person is Yuanji, after receiving the order, apanied by the person transmitting the order, they must go to see the man being substituted, and then assemble the army camp officers of the rank of generals and above, and publicly read out loud the imperial order, and produce themand tally. After this process, Yuanji bes the marchingmander of the army. He could appoint Tang Jian as the deputymander, or could appoint another general of the same rank. After everything is finalized, the camp officers will return to their respective camps and convey the information down level by level. Therefore, if Yuanji received the order at the yin hour, he would need several quarters [of an hour] to sessfully assume control over Tang Jians army. Since Wei Gonggong has to return here before dawn to retrieve the dragon tally, Im certain that Yuanji has not yet had the opportunity to contact the city defender army. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, I hope Yuanji and Wei Gonggong wille back together, so that we can regain control of Tang Jians troops with no blood on the mens swords. Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, In my opinion, Wei Gonggong ought toe back alone, after understanding the situation clearly, he would retrieve the dragon tally. And Yuanji must have appointed someone to rece Tang Jian as the deputymander, most likely it would be Xue Wanche. Even if Yuanji is captured, Xue Wanche can stillmand the army to attack the Yanjia Dian. The progress of this story will not be so simple. Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, How about showing Xue Wanche a glimpse of Yuanjis severed head? We couldmand the Xuanwu Gate army using fire beacon and block the opponents way back to the West Pce. After all, Xue Wanches rank is far below Li Yuanjis, he may not necessarily able tomand Tang Jians army, let alone the target of attack is the pce where Ling Fuhuang [your honorable father emperor] is. Hou Xibai sighed and said, Im starting to understand now the principle of only those who are cruel enough will be able to survive. Smiling bitterly, Li Shimin said, I have always been a bit soft-hearted towards my own brothers. Kou Zhong spoke decisively, Its decided then. I dont want, after Huangshang wakes up, other than Li Shimin C to have another alternative. Li Xiaogong, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, and Duan Zhixuan, four generals flew over from the front pce hall. Kou Zhong patted the Piercing-the-Sun Bow in his bosom, a smile escaped from the corner of his mouth, his appearance calm, he said, The distinguished guests are here! Xu Ziling was really grateful to Shi Zhixuan, if he had not received the xinfa that he passed on, using the life in ce of death, death in ce of life inner qi change,bined with the true qi reversal, there were at least three times that he might have exposed his track, but now he was lucky enough to pass the barrier and sneak into the entrance at the fake mountain rock in the imperial garden. A team of patrolling troops passed by. Since this was not an important ce in the pce, there is no one standing guard, only the entrance and exit had some people guarding them. The only thing he had to pay attention to was that he must be able to see the guards on the two sentry towers from here. Of course, this was not difficult for him, Xu Ziling. He jumped out from inside the deeply hidden bushes, and suddenly disappeared into the fake mountain rock where the sentinels eyes could not reach. After opening the lid of the entrance, Xu Zilings entire body rxed. He shed into the tunnel, closed the lid, and then from the tunnel he flew in the direction of the Taiji Pce. He had the order signed by Li Xiaogong in his bosom, plus the stone rubbing [to copy an inscription] of the dragon tally. He only needed to hand it over to Li Jing, and then he could mobilize the imperial guards of the Imperial City, especially Cheng Mos troops. He was not afraid of Cheng Mos suspicion, because Cheng Mo could climb over the fire beacon tower of the Northwest City Guard Station, and used the light signal to confirm the written order to Li Xiaogong. The result would naturally be he had to act ording to the order. Xu Ziling bored out from the exit of the dragon seat. He moved the dragon seat back to its original ce, and then flew towards the entrance in the middle of the spacious and empty, no one in sight C Taiji Dian, and opened the entrance without stopping at all. In his heart, he suddenly thought of the Yin Mansions exit. If the exit had been unlocked, what would happen? But then he immediately med himself for having too much imagination. ording to the previous analysis, the exit should still be locked. Right this moment, an unusual noise came from behind. Even with Xu Zilings cool-headedness and skills, he still could not help but was shocked. Immediately he sprang up from the entrance and looked in the direction of the dragon seat on top of the steps. The dragon chair slowly moved away, the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan, like a demon from the underworld, light as a feather, rose from the tunnel entrance and sat in the dragon chair. Xu Ziling felt the chill crept up his entire spine, he could not help extending his attention to the tunnel behind him. If arge number of demonic school martial art masters charged up from the tunnel, definitely his little life could not be protected, forget about being able toplete the heavy responsibility he bore even more. Shi Zhixuan shook his head with a wry smile, he spoke softly, Ziling, no need to worry, the tunnel is still sealed. Ay! How did you guys do it? This surpasses ten thousand horses and a thousand troops, and breaks the most important part of our n. Xu Ziling took a deep breath to recover his calm, he spoke heavily, Since Xie Wang knew that the tunnel is sealed, why did you not tear it open to remove the obstruction? Shi Zhixuan sighed and said, Its toote! When I found out that things had changed, the Taiji Pce is unable to move a single step. This is called creating cocoon to bind oneself. When I saw that Ziling was about to leave via the secret passage, I finally realized that the great momentum has gone, but I dont feel like doing anything. And then he smiled and said, Ziling braved gargantuan risk yet still wanted to leave the pce, is it because there is an urgent matter that needs to be done? Xu Ziling cried, Here ites! inwardly. Secretly gathering his power, he nodded and said, If Xie Wang has nothing else to say, Ziling must leave immediately. Shi Zhixuans brows were deeply furrowed, but immediately loosened up. He pped his forehead and said with augh, I understand! Turns out that other than the three exits, there is still the fourth exit. I wonder if Ziling could tell me where it leads? Without concealing anything, Xu Ziling answered, Its the tunnel leading to Qin Wang Mansion, it was built at the same time as the Duke Yangs Treasure-house. The divine light in Shi Zhixuans pair of eyes ring dramatically, he stared fixedly at Xu Ziling. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, all along the life-and-death battle between he and Shi Zhixuan was unavoidable, yet Shi Zhixuan was clearly his fiances father. Nature [as the mother of all things] was like this, it made people sigh with feeling. Li Shimin, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, and so on, a group of men separatelyy in ambush in various strategic locations around the bedroom pces za, waiting respectfully for the enemys great self. Perhaps because dawn was near at hand, in addition to Wei Gonggong, surprisingly there were also Li Yuanji, escorted by Qin Wutong, Qiu Tianjue and nearly fifty personal guards, under military banner of Li Yuans summons, high and mighty, upright and unafraid,ing toward the bedroom pce, oblivious that with each step they took, they were going deeper into the trap, throwing themselves into the inescapable of heaven and earth. Kou Zhong cast his gaze at Li Shimin hiding behind the other side of the bedroom pce door, a burst of emotional stirring burst in his heart. From the first day he knew Li Shimin, until this night, this moment, fighting side by side inside the forbidden pce in the City of Changan, striving for the unification of the world, he had been through many twists and turns and the vicissitudes of the ways of the world. If not for Xu Zilings mediation, the two sides would definitely be mortal enemies that the two could not exist together, and he would lose a happy and beautiful future, his brains would still be full of enmity and struggle, not knowing when to stop. Thinking about this made him feel the chill on his spine, a feeling of not cold, yet shivering [idiom] welled up in his heart. Reaching into his bosom, he slowly took out the Piercing-the-Sun Bow. The arrow that he shot and missed outside the City of Luoyang that day, tonight, history would not repeat itself. Dou Jiandes blood debt, he would demand it back tonight. Li Yuan, who gave the nod of approval behind his back, would also receive the punishment he deserved. The moment his powerful arrow prated Li Yuanjis chest, Li Jiancheng would be doomed to die outside the Xuanwu Gate. Behind him, Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Shall we bestow it to Li Yuanji? Kou Zhong nodded slightly. Suddenly, the weariness of the life licking blood on the head of the saber welled up in his heart. He was only hoping that everything would pass as soon as possible. In the future, he would simply let the Moon in the Well gathering dust. Ba Fenghan said, In my opinion, Wei Gonggong has the ability to withstand the powerful arrow, break through the siege and escape. Just let me personally wait upon him! Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, How about Xiaodi make a bet with you? Suddenly, the shout of Qi Wangs good-self has arrived came from the entrance, followed by the sound of footsteps from afaring near. Li Shimin cast his gaze on Kou Zhong, emitting a sad and helpless expression, as if he was pleading for leniency, requesting earnestly that he would let Li Yuanji go. Kou Zhong revealed a hint of bitter and astringent look, and then his expression resolute, he slightly shook his head. On the battlefield, the enemy and us, two sides were both pursuing sess, by fair means or foul, the winner will be called the king, the loser will be called the bandit. There was no ce for mercy and tender heart. Just like when martial art masters vying against each other, they absolutely must not allow the slightest degree of weak point and split seam. Apart from the saber, there was nothing else. Since they entered Changan, they have already embarked on the road of no return, either you die or I perish. The decisive battle was in full swing by the time Li Yuanji wasing closer. Only until one side seized total victory would Changan return to the peace and prosperity of the former days. Book 62: Chapter 6: Coming Back From Death’s Door

Book 62: Chapter 6: Coming Back From Deaths Door

Kou Zhong sensed the stone table, the incense burner on the table, the agarwood smoke rising in spirals from inside of the stove, even the entire stone pavilion Cpletely disappeared the instant Fu Cailin drew his sword. Naturally these things did not really disappear, it was simply because his spirit and senses were entirely focused on Fu Cailins sword, not seeing with the eyes, but encountering with the spirit, hence everything else became no longer exist. The most subtle thing was that he unexpectedly followed the movement of Fu Cailins sword momentum, indirectly visualizing again all the objects between the two men, visible and tangible C in his heart after he became one with the heaven and the earth, regaining the stone table, the incense burner, and the stone pavilion. He finally entered the exquisite-like-a-deity down-to-the-smallest-detail realm. All these were obtained really not by luck at all. In the world, he, Kou Zhong, was the only person who had fought against all the three great grandmasters, although it could be said that he was forced to do that. The Moon in the Well was pulled out a cun from the sheath, creating a clear dragon-cry, tiger-roar like sound of saber ring. It appeared to be like a magic spelling from the eighteenth level of hell, or like the sounds of natureing out from the clouds of the ninth heavens. Yellow glow emerged from the body of the saber, like the bright moon, which had not shown its face tonight, suddenly ascended into the empty sky from within. The Yi Jian [abundant sword] glowed with an unusual deep, clear-water dark green light, drawing a touching line that was beyond the beauty of the mortal world, with the perfection of the heaven and the earth, bypassing the incense burner, but sticking close to the side of the stove, striking toward him. The agarwood smoke rising from inside the burner was pulled toward the sword like an iron attracted to a ma, and became like a stream of water flowing to the tip of the Yi Jian. In an instant, it condensed into a ball of smoke, and the de of the sword turned into a dot of dark green light, like a starlight that refused to be extinguished inside the curling rose-tinted cloud at sunrise, like a shooting star rushing toward the point between his pair of eyes. This dot of starlight carried the magical power of hooking the [immortal] soul and absorbing the [mortal] soul; as soon as there was a slight gap on the way to his heart, it would definitely suppress his [both immortal and mortal] soul and rece it. Beautiful to the utmost, terrifying to the extreme. He finally faced the unparalleled-in-the-world Yijian technique, the swordsmanship that has reached the transforming realm of extreme creation of the ascending palm. Fu Cailins Yijian technique was perceptual, its subtletyy in the blending of the senses of his entire heart and entire spirit with the sword, any other senses outside were void, the senses of his heart and spirit were real. If he could not understand Fu Cailins realm, Kou Zhong practically did not have the qualification to sit here in saber-sword abundant [yi] opposition with him. Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its sheath, the saber de drew a perfect small circle, brimming with mysterious-beyond-measure, yet conforming to the heaven and earths principle C taste, a burst of spiraling energy force, splitting the heaven and earth apart, was born inside the circle. The dot of star disappeared, but the agarwood ball of smoke was still, seemingly slow but was actually fast C floating towards him, yet it happened to be broken and scattered by the spiraling energy. Kou Zhongs tiger-body shook violently, his upper body swayed. Suddenly, dots of stars filling the air appeared above the table, each dot seemed to be attacking him, and each dot seemed to be eternally unmoving, just like the stars in the sky, giving up the impression of unmoving constant within the moving, within all around changes. Kou Zhong immediately knew that he had fallen into a disadvantageous position. It was only then did he swipe the saber horizontally forward, so that he had both offense and defense, heaven and man became one. Even with Fu Cailins ability, it was still difficult to find gaps and ws, even more difficult to disy the using man to y the sword, using sword to y the enemy C immortal method. Thereupon, utilizing the agarwood smoke, heunched the tossing a stone to find out whats ahead C move. Although Kou Zhong resolved it beautifully, but it has changed from no trace to creating trace, so that he was restrained by Fu Cailins sword technique. Kou Zhong was unable to grasp Fu Cailins Yi Jian again, so he hurriedly collected his mind and reached the Moon in the Well realm. Seeing the dots of light from the sword tip before his eyes condensed and dissolvedpletely like it was not there at all, he knew inwardly and his spirit immediately moved, the scabbard swept across. The lights responded and vanished, the incense burner reappeared before his eyes, the agarwood smoke floated lightly up from inside the stove. Kou Zhongs qi intention reacted, he pulled the scabbard back, the Moon in the Well moved to the bottom of the stove and picked it up. If he could do that, then the incense, ashes, smoke and fire would stter toward Fu Cailin. Even with Fu Cailins ability, perhaps his head would be covered in ashes, his face would be covered in dust, quite literally. A hint of smile escaped out of the corner of Fu Cailins mouth. The Yi Jian suddenly swung, as if was attacking but also looked to be defending, but across the table, Kou Zhong clearly sensed that the moment he picked the incense burner, the opponents sword, releasedter, arriving first, would definitely hit his wrist. This kind of sense could not be exined bymon sense. Kou Zhong cried, Not good! inwardly, only then did he realize that the opponents previous move was really the Yijian techniques version of No Attack. It was intended to lure him to take the initiative to attack, but now that he has been yed [yi] by Fu Cailins treasured sword, not only from active he changed to passive, even his senses were under his control as well. If he could not reverse the disadvantageous situation, he would be defeated and killed within a few moves. Hou Xibai spoke in deject, This is impossible. Including the secret passage leading out of the city, all four secret passages were sealed by falling boulders, the entire treasure house was sealed-up, there was no way out. The stone tables mechanism lost its usefulness, even the pit that was originally used to store the Demonic Emperors Relics could not be restored to its original position and closed. Ba Fenghan tried to raise the table again, he also tried to push it down, too bad no miracle happened. Xu Ziling sat still, suddenly he smiled and said, One time Kou Zhong and I fell into the trap inside the storehouse, Kou Zhong said that Lu Dashi wrote in the book on mechanism that in order not to damage the virtue of heaven, when one is at the dead end, there must be a sliver opportunity to live, therefore, there must be a way to crack it, only we havent found it yet, thats all! Hope grew in Ma Changs heart, but he spoke in distress, If the solution is not at this table, where would it be? Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Unless Yang Su wants to turn this storehouse into his sealed tomb,pletely sealing it up really does not make any sense. The reason why Yang Su asked Lu Miaozi to design this storehouse was to scheme for Yang Jians world, not to dig his own grave. Ma Chang said, Let me make an assumption. If Yang Suunched a mutiny from the treasure house, he engaged in battle and suffer defeat, he would be forced to flee back to the treasure house, because there were pursuing troops behind him, he had no choice but to seal the treasure house; what would the situation be like? Hou Xibai sighed and said, Naturally like we are now, as long as we can get out, we will be willing to pay any price. Ba Fenghan pped his thigh and said, This was the intention of sealing up the treasure house. If Yang Jian wanted to kill Yang Su, Yang Su had two choices. One was to quietly leave Changan via the secret passage, afterwards he would be living incognito; the other was to send out his troops in rebellion, fight until he suffered defeat. Huh? But some things are not right; wounded soldiers and destroyed generals able to flee would already be ten-thousand fortunes in the midst of misfortune, how could they have the power to fight back? Xu Ziling said, The secret passage at the bottom of the well in the Xi Qi Yuan was the only entrance to the treasure house before it is opened. After entering the storehouse, three secret passages inside and outside the city could be opened, allowing Yang Sus men to travel from inside or outside the city via the three secret passages into the treasure house and gathered here. Afterwards Yang Su closed the exit of the passages, after his officers and soldiers assembled, rested and reorganized, they would open thest secret passage. This is the breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats tactics [idiom: cutting off ones means of retreat], so that the officers and soldiers under hismand would risk their lives and follow his orders. Ba Fenghans spirit greatly aroused, he said, This secret passage must point directly to the heart of the Taiji Pce. This is the principle of to capture the thieves, one must capture their king first. Smiling wryly, Hou Xibai said, Where is the mechanism to open it then? Xu Zilings eyes fell on the hole on the ground where the Demonic Emperors Relics was originally kept, the other three men could not help but to follow his gaze. Hou Xibai was the first to spring up, he pounced toward the side of the hole, and shouted, Ziling,e quickly to preside over the overall situation. Xu Ziling moved to the side of the hole, he went down on one knee, and reached down to press his hands to the bottom of the cave. After quite half a day, he said in great delight, Just as expected! Applying his power to continue pressing, amidst the cking noise, the mechanism started to move, the crashing sound of flowing water immediately rang out in response. Ba Fenghan and the others, none was not so nervous that they couldnt breathe, life or death, sess or failure would be decided from this. Just as Xu Ziling straightened his body and stood up, a rumbling sound came from inside the storehouse where the darts and arrows were kept. As if agreeing by chance, the four men rushed into the storehouse, a stone door appeared on the east wall, revealing a pitch-ck tunnel. Greatly delighted, Hou Xibai shouted wildly, This is called Heaven never bars ones way; we are saved! In the course of events in a decisive battle, one must not have the heart about victory or defeat, otherwise one would fall into the inferior position. Kou Zhong finally deeply realized the meaning of Song Ques gems of wisdom. Just because he hoped to force Fu Cailin to leave his seat, he had the heart about victory and defeat, and Fu Cailin was able to see through that. For example, in the process of ying against the opponent, his opponent saw through the moves he was going to take with his chess pieces, and thus the opponent movedter to control the person, to take the lead at every step, forcing Kou Zhong to fall into a deadlock, until he lost the whole game of chess and lost his little life. What shocked him even more was the sword qi from Fu Cailins Yi Jian, which locked his Moon in the Well tightly. If he persevered on the original style and did not change, when the saber de picked the incense burner, Yi Jian would just stab him in the wrist. The only way for him to respond was to urately grasp the attack point of Fu Cailins Yi Jian in the current situation, and try to force Fu Cailin to stake it all in saber-sword head-on sh, so that he could restore the losing momentum. If he withdrew his saber and pulled back, changing from offense to defense, Fu Cailins sword momentum would rise dramatically, under the traction of the qi, he would attack by entering every gap, unless Kou Zhong was willing to leave the chair and evade far away, within the narrow range of the table, Kou Zhong definitely would not be able to hold out for long. Yet Laotianye had pity on him. Kou Zhong, who knew clearly about Yijian Technique better than anybody else, except for Xu Ziling, was even more well aware that this was the only solution to force Fu Cailin to meet the attack head-on. It did not need a rich imagination to know that him being in a deadlock, being yed by Fu Cailins treasured sword, waspletely inside Fu Cailins calction. He also knew that Fu Cailin would not miss this golden opportunity to use the technique of Yi Jian to dominate the decisive battle on the table until he was defeated. Fu Cailin knew Kou Zhongs follow-up moves, but Kou Zhong waspletely unable to grasp the changes of the opponents sword moves at all. In counting the victory or defeat, he must not make any mistake, Fu Cailin was not an ordinary martial art master at all, but a grandmaster-level martial art master of Ning Daoqis caliber. He must fight for every cun ofnd, or he would end up nursing a grievance. Kou Zhongs thoughts turned at the speed of light, heughed aloud, the Moon in the Well left his hand and shot in violent spiraling motion, and stabbed the incense burner. Losing the Moon in the Well, he still had the Moon in the Wells scabbard, and Fu Cailin had to pick and throw the Moon in the Well away. If he let a speck of incense ash sshed on his body, with his status and position, it would be difficult to have the face to continue the duel. Kou Zhong nearly had the heart about victory and defeat by thinking that victory was within his grasp, because he asked himself whether he could predict Fu Cailins next move. Fortunately he has been taught a lesson, his heart and spirit was more limpid, bright and clear than at any other time. The heaven, earth and man, the three fused together until there was no distinction between that other person and me. The scabbard in his left hand pointed forward, he pulled his right hand to his chest. Ba Fenghan raised the brightly lit fire paper in his hand to illuminate the underground room, which width reached ten zhang, while Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai, and Ma Chang, three men stood behind him. In front of the four men was a long flight of stairs, more than twenty steps, leading up, while on their right was the deep dark entrance to another secret passage. Ma Chang said, Looking at the approximate distance, the exit above the stone steps must be within the imperial pce area. Frowning, Hou Xibai said, Looking at the width of the stone steps, the exit should be at least one zhang square. If the exit is indeed inside the Taiji Pce, opening such a cover, it would be strange indeed if it does not rm the imperial guards in the pce. Xu Ziling said, In this regard, Im not worried at all. Lu Dashis design must be very ingenious, it wont be easy to see through. Look! Isnt that the handle that opens the door? Ba Fenghan agreed, Zilings guess cant be that far off, but this secret passage on the left, where does it lead to? Hou Xibai lighted up a torch, heughed and said, Im terribly curious as well, wait here, let me go searching the hidden and exploring the victory! Ma Chang spoke cheerfully, How about I apany Gongzi picking up the route? Ba Fenghan said, Be careful, dont touch any mechanism, after figuring out clearly the exit that might bear upon tomorrows sess or failure, we areing back here to meet you. Happy and excited, Hou Xibai and Ma Chang left. Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan went up the steps until they reached the end. Thetter lightly knocked the b of stone at the exit; speechless, he said, At least one chi thick, Duke Yangs Treasure-house, its name is indeed not in vain. Not only it is supernaturally fine craft [orig. ghosts hatchet, gods work], there are mysterious principles everywhere. Grabbing the copper handle of the mechanism, Xu Ziling took a deep breath and said, Actually, we are taking enormous risks. Lu Dashi designed the treasure house to deal with the situation more than 30 years ago, since then, the Taiji Pce has been rebuilt many times. Xibais worry is not entirely unfounded. Ba Fenghan sighed and said, Things are developing too fast. From tonight to tomorrow, it is brimming with unpredictable variables, a lot of things we dont have time to think clearly. If it wasnt for Kou Zhong finding out that Lin Shihong appearing in the flesh in the city, we would still not consider the Yin Mansion might be a deadly pitfall, dangerous ground. Therefore, we cannot not take this risk; only with the help of this newly discovered secret passage will we have the chance to mount surprise attack to Li Yuan. Xu Ziling said, We are really careless, ay! I suddenly thought of another w that might lead to defeat, ay! What do we do? Ba Fenghan felt a chill down his entire spine, drawing a mouthful of cold air, he said, Im listening! Smiling bitterly, Xu Ziling said, Its the rtionship between Huanghe Bang and us. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, I still dont understand. Xu Ziling said, When the news broke that day, I rushed to Luoyang to see Li Shimin, who could have thought that Huanghe Bangs Laoda [big boss] Tao Guangzu had just made an agreement with Xiang Gui for a big gambling showdown? In a hurry, Kou Zhong had no choice but to persuade Lei Dage to take up the challenge on my behalf, and he won Shang Lin Yuan back. Xiang Yushan is the person who knows our rtionship with Lei Dage. These past few days, Huanghe Bang has been active in Changan, based on Xiang Yushans cunning and much knowledge, it would be strange if he is not suspicious. As long as they catch one of the leaders of Huanghe Bang, relying on Yin Zuwens Seven-needle to Control the Mind, they will definitely be able to find out about our 3,000 elite troops infiltrating Changan in secret. Ba Fenghans countenance changed, he said, No wonder Li Yuan suddenly changed his mind and wanted to killed us wholeheartedly. Xu Ziling said, Fortunately, our 3,000-strong elite squad entering Changan is only in the past two days. The other side is not ready yet, furthermore, they are afraid to beat the grass to scare the snake, and we would slip away, hence they still havent made their move. If we cannot reverse this situation, the battle tomorrow will not be optimistic at all. Ba Fenghans eyes fell on the handle that Xu Ziling grabbed in his hand, he spoke heavily, Therefore, this risk must be taken even more, pull the handle! Secretly Xu Ziling applied a mouthful of qi, focused his power, and slowly pulled the copper handle. ck! ck! The sound of the mechanism being activated immediately sounded, followed by the stone lid moving aside to reveal the beautiful starry night. There was even a Zi! Zi! noise grating the ears of stone grinding another stone, so that the tranquility of the tunnel was damaged beyond repair. The two men were so frightened that their heads turned into a piece of nk space. Since the exit was in a spacious and empty, without cover without screen C ce, the sound traveled quickly; it would be strange indeed if the nearby imperial guards were not alerted. They had not had a chance to speak yet, but just as their scalps went numb, shouts and the sound of gusting wind of troops and sabers wereing from four sides, eight directions outside the exit. The only thing Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan could think of was the four words, We are done for! Another hint of smile escaped out of the corner of Fu Cailins mouth. The moment the Moon in the Well left the hand and shot toward the incense burner, the green light on his hand shed, the Yi Jian hit the incense burner at the same time, without the slightest bit of error. The Moon in the Well touched the incense burner, but it did not make the sound it should have, the incense burner was even more absolutely still. Kou Zhong had never thought that Fu Cailin would have such a wonderful move to meet a contingency, unexpectedly, relying on his exceptional skill, he used the striking-an-ox-across-the-mountain method to neutralize the Moon in the Wells spiraling energy. While he was crying Not good! inwardly, the Moon in the Well, at the same speed, charged toward Kou Zhong. After breaking Kou Zhongs strange move, the Yi Jian drew a beautiful arc, it circled to Kou Zhongs left side first, before circling back, but the point of attack was the empty space on Kou Zhongs left; ording to reason, it should not pose any threat to Kou Zhong. Yet Kou Zhong painfully knew; since he was right in the middle of the battle, he sensed the Yi Jians deceitful trick. Since he was sitting on the perimeter of the stone table, he wanted to evade the Moon in the Well striking back at him, he could only dodge sideways. However, the Yi Jian generated a strong suction force, moreover, it continued to increase following the swords curving momentum, increasing the pressure and making the scabbard in his left hand picking forward not only lost its uracy, it was also pulled to the left by the Yi Jian like an iron pulled by a ma, so that he had no choice but to deal with it with all his strength, how could he have any strength left to dodge his precious Moon in the Well? Such a sword technique, it was indeed horrifying. At this critical juncture where sess or failure would be decided, life and death were hanging on a thread, on Kou Zhongs left hand, life turned into death, on his right hand, death turned into life. Suddenly, his left hand clenched the scabbard, which was originally full of true power piercing through it C unexpectedly loosened like a bird escaped from its cage, it was no longer affected by the pulling force of the Yi Jian, proving that Kou Zhongs conjecture was correct. Fu Cailin used force to pull force, used sword qi to pull his sheaths force. Pop! the Moon in the Well was grabbed back in his hand. He twisted around and shed, and the scabbard was retrieved at the same time. Fu Cailin revealed a surprised expression, the Yi Jian moved as if it was scribbling rapidly and drawing madly countless lines of grass script imbued deeply with some kind of hard-to-describe beauty, watching it, Kou Zhong was dazzled, there was no ess where he could make his move, he did not know where to chop, suddenly the other side controlled the motion and held the power in his hands again. Kou Zhongs saber could not sh any further, the scabbard in his left hand picked up, the true qi protecting his body was transformed into a wall of qi, he chased across the table. As long as he could overturn the incense burner, it could be considered a small achievement, the most ideal would naturally be if the incense burner responded to his force and was knocked toward Fu Cailin. The Moon in the Well moved back andnded on his shoulder C the movement was like moving clouds and flowing water, giving the impression of continuous, unbroken, extending forever into the distance. The two men have been fighting until now, the Moon in the Well and the Yi Jian have not shed even for half a time, but the dangerous changes within it were beyond any pen and ink could describe. Fu Cailin let out a burst of longughter, the Yi Jian drew a circle above the tabletop and the stove, the center of which was exactly where Kou Zhong picked and attacked. Kou Zhongs wall of qi, like water met a dry sponge, was sucked that not a single drop remained, he was unable to pose any threat, this move could not continue even more. Using man to y the sword, using sword to y the enemy. Fu Cailin still held the lead, leading Kou Zhong by the nose. If this situation continued, by the time Kou Zhong exhausted his art, it would definitely be the moment his life was cut short. However, Kou Zhong remained calm and was not afraid. Laughing aloud, he tossed the scabbard backward freely, the Moon in the Well in his right handunched his unique skill of square and circle, first shing and then stabbing, and shot straight at Fu Cailins formless but solid sword circle. Book 62: Chapter 7: Depending on the Treasure House

Book 62: Chapter 7: Depending on the Treasure House

A head appeared above the tunnel, while below, falling into despair and the bottom of the abyss, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, met face to face with the head bending down to look inquiringly. Six eyes met, they were all stunned. The man was dumbstruck, he struggled hard to speak, Laotianye! How did you suddenly burrow out of a hole? Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan you looked at me I gazed at you, suddenly they bent down inughter; one after another they sat down on the stone steps, they were choked with tears of joy of being lost and was found. The one extending his head was precisely Cheng Yaojin, only to hear him shouting loudly, Erng men [boys, guys], go back to your posts, its none of your business here. And then turning to the two men, he said, Do I need to grab you firmly and pull you, these two kids out before you are willing to speak? Whats so funny? Ha! Just like that, he sat down at the tunnel entrance. Ba Fenghan struggled hard to stopughing, gasping for breath, he said, I understand! In the past, Yang Su was wallowing in the mire with Yang Guang, intending to plot a rebellion, because Taizi [the crown prince] was Yang Yong and not Yang Guang, so Yang Guang lived in Yeting Pce. Making an exit in Yang Guangs territory naturally was not difficult. Xu Ziling suppressed hisughter until his belly ache; raising his head, he asked Cheng Yaojin, Wait until Qin Wang arrives, Xiaodi will exin, I guarantee that you, LaoGe will be satisfied, we still need to check the other exit, remember not to let any idle person to see this tunnel entrance. Ba Fenghan asked, Which corner of Yeting Pce is this? Bewildered, Cheng Yaojin replied, Corner? Oh Laotian! This is the big za in front of the main pce hall of the Tian Ce Gong [Heavenly Policy Pce]! No past, no future, no beginning, no end! Kou Zhongs spirit waspletely focused on the moment before his eyes, so much so that he forgot why he was sitting on the man, the saber, the heaven, and the earthbined into an infinitely small and unboundedlyrge at the same time C whole entity, where victory or defeat no longer existed in it. The saber was no longer a saber, but an inseparable part of heaven, earth, and man. He sensed that from an angle that was beyond man and saber, hepletely grasped, not one thread was overlooked C the changes of Fu Cailins Yi Jian. The sword circle was gradually expanding in an imperceptible manner, the sword qi was subtly increasing circle by circle. The moment his Moon in the Well pierced the core of the sword circle, he clearly knew that the sword circle would change fromrge to small, the palms umted-to-the-peak sword qi would gather together at the sh-of-lightning, sparks-from-the-flint high speed, and the Moon in the Well would still be unable to touch the tip of the Yi Jian, what he hit would only be the astonishing sword qi that his own power would not be able to resist. Since the fight started, this was the first time that he grasped Fu Cailins move. Kou Zhongughed aloud, life turned to death, the saber momentum, which originally once released would not go back, changed at thest moment, it was pulled back. Suddenly, the sword light red greatly, under the pull of qi intention, the green light in Fu Cailins hand rose dramatically, it crossed over the smoke from the incense burner filling the air, the Yi Jian emitted a string of rings of qi, one by one, from small to big, encasing the sword de, following the Yi Jian pushing forward, like the pearls spat out of rings of qi, from small to big, toward him. As long as he was hit by any ring of qi, undoubtedly he, Kou Zhong would immediately die, no Bu Si Yin Fa would be of any use, even if Shi Zhixuan was sitting in his ce, he would be unable to create another kind of situation. This move was beyond Kou Zhongs expectations, which made him know that he still had not been able to fully see-through Fu Cailins startling-the-heaven-shocking-the-earth Yijian method [note: yijian fa (methodw), instead of yijian shu (technique)], however, from passive, he had changed to active, because Fu Cailin was, true from any points of view, taken by his exceeding-all-expectations move, pulling the defense and transforming it to offense, so he had no choice but to attack. Death turned into life. At the snap-of-the-fingers high speed, the Moon in the Well was pierced through full of true qi again. At the same time, Kou Zhongunched the skill of reversing true qi that he kept at the bottom of his chest. The Moon in the Well, as it was alive, like it was a spirited object, sprang up to the air, and then hacked down with all his strength. Saber de was everywhere, one by one the rings of qi shattered, turning into a violent blow that turned over and rolled out to both sides, the Moon in the Wells de swiftly took the tip of the Yi Jian. When it looked like the tip of the sword was about to be hit, the Yi Jian suddenly extinguished the fire behind the incense burner, and then the incense burner expanded in front of him and directly knocked the Moon in the Well in Kou Zhongs hand. Unexpectedly Fu Cailin pulled the sword back and picked up the incense burner, which weighed about fifty jin [catties], forcing Kou Zhong to leave his seat. Kou Zhong maintained the downward sh momentum, but already changed the angle, the straight chop became an oblique sh. He hacked toward the empty air to the left of the tables edge, about a cun away from touching the front of the table. The Moon in the Well swept across the table, while staying close to the tabletop, creating a formless saber qi, striking back at Fu Cailin from the bottom of the stove. If the opponent ignored him, the extended saber qi would swipe through the opponents chest, which was no different from being swept by the Moon in the Well itself. Even if Fu Cailins body was protected by his true qi, it would not be able to withstand it. Although Kou Zhong was unable to see through the changes in Fu Cailins sword moves, Fu Cailin also began to fail to grasp his saber method. The reason was because Kou Zhong sessfully entered the forgetting-saber realm Song Que was talking about. The incense burner changed from knocking forward to rising upwards. Once this obstacle, which was both a buffer, as well as the key to victory or defeat, the space between the two men suddenly opened up, everything became clear and understandable. The Yi Jian exploded into ten million dots of light, covering the tabletop. Kou Zhongs attacking saber qi immediately disappeared without a trace. But Kou Zhong no longer had the disheartened feeling of helplessly had to give up halfway of his saber move being chased, because he had already forced Fu Cailin to change his move for the second time. Kou Zhong closed his pair of eyes, he urately calcted the final position of the incense burner as it flew up, and the time it took for the incense burner to fall back to the table before reaching the top of the pavilion. The saber followed the intention, the intention followed the saber, the heart and the intention blended together, no intention, no saber. The Moon in the Well created a perfect saber circle in the void above the table, the vortex of qi power umted to the limit was released through the saber, directly hitting Fu Cailins sword qi at its peak, like fishing a needle from the sea, seeking the sword qi that could really put him to death from within the empty and the real. Bang! Kou Zhongs entire body shook violently, he staggered back and almost fell to the back of his seat. Instead of rmed, he was inwardly delighted, knowing that Fu Cailin, this person of foresight on the battlefield, was forced not to have any method not to take his body-intentions wonder move, the result of him tempering himself under Song Ques personal guidance C head on. Although saber and sword still had no substantial contact, there was not the slightest bit of difference from a real sh between the saber and the sword. The Moon in the Wells saber qi already locked the Yi Jian tightly. Revived and awakened by him, Kou Zhong, the Moon in the Well turned into an intelligent rare object, which was finally able to sense the changes of the Yi Jian. Fu Cailins imposing body trembled slightly, he shouted in a low voice, Good saber method! The bright dots of light filling the air disappeared, the intersecting sword, following the mother earths principle to the fullest, curved and struck from the tabletop and the right side, and the sword qipletely enveloped Kou Zhong. At this time, the incense burner had just reached the limit of its rising momentum and was falling back to the table. From this, the rapid speed of the two mens crossing swords could be easily imagined. Fu Cailins move was simply unstoppable. The only way to neutralize it was not to brandish the saber to block, but the Moon in the Well had to shoot straight, to die in such a way that the other side also perished, forcing Fu Cailin to retract the sword to defend himself. Kou Zhong waspletely in the dark as to why the situation suddenly turned like this. He only knew that the Yijian Technique was indeed a consummate skill without any equal, inside the solid returned the empty, the empty thus transformed into solid, a swordsmanship that transcended the mortal world. If he blocked the attack head-on, he might be able to hold out for a while, but the initiative, which he snatched back after suffering untold hardships, would be grasped in the opponents hands again, and Fu Cailin would never hand over the initiative one more time. In less than three moves, he would definitely be defeated and dispersed. Thinking to this point, Kou Zhong left his seat and rolled backward, he flipped over down the pavilion steps until reaching thewn before he sprang up again. The incense burner, without making any noise,nded in the middle of the table, the agarwood rising up in spirals. The Yi Jian returned to its original state, lying t on the table. Fu Cailin stared at him without blinking. Kou Zhong casually tossed the Moon in the Well aside, hanging his hands down and standing respectfully, he said, Shigong only need to say the word, I, Kou Zhong, will immediately kill myself. Fu Cailin spoke tly, Why did you give up your only chance? Relying on your Long-Life Qi, plus your youth and strength, you may be injured but will not die. Kou Zhong spoke in deject, How could I hurt the enshi [benevolent master] that Niang respected and admired the most? Its finish! Shigong, please deal with the offender. Fu Cailin rose up to his full height, put his hands behind his back, strolled down the pavilion, walked towards Kou Zhong, passed by his side, continued behind and to Kou Zhongs right side, stood still, looked up to the starry sky, let out a deep sigh, and said, Junchuo really did not misjudge you. Kou Zhong, you even did not disappoint Ol Fu. Only a person of great benevolence and great courage can have this kind of disregarding-self behavior like you. I hope that the Central Earth can really be as you said, a friendly nation that lives in harmony forever with my Gaoli. You may leave! Kou Zhong turned around like a whirlwind, he spoke in great delight, Thank you, Shigong! Fu Cailin turned around, his face was covered in tears, but his pair of eyes shed with divine brilliance; he spoke softly, All my life Shigong has been pursuing beautiful things, but can only admire and taste it with the attitude of a bystander. This is precisely the essence of Yi Jian, and now it has been passed down to you entirely on behalf of Junchuo. Go! Attend to your affairs well, whether life is beautiful or ugly, it will be decided entirely by your original heart. Kou Zhong thought of Fu Junchuo, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart, without saying a word he knelt down, heavily knocked his head on the ground three times, retrieved the Moon in the Well and its scabbard, and left silently. Greatly delighted, Li Shimin said, Another secret passage unexpectedly links up the secret passage that runs through Yin Mansion and the Imperial Pce, separated only by a living door; this is really unexpected. Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, and Ma Chang, four men separately sat onparatively lower stone steps, while Cheng Yaojin was in charge of strengthening the defense around this area. Ma Chang said. No wonder there are rumors that obtaining the treasure house is just like obtaining the world, for Yang Su and Yang Guang at that time, the treasure house could greatly increase their chances of a sessful mutiny. Later, they did not need to do this because Yang Guang had another method to kill Yang Yong and Yang Jian, and ascended to the throne. Their voices echoed and reverberated inside the spacious room where the stone steps reached the ground, which made people feel the connection of time and space, reminiscent of the violent you die, I live struggle inside the Sui Pce in the past. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, In that case, Yang Guang ought to know the Duke Yangs Treasure-house secret. Based on his style of work, how could he not take out the gold, silver, wealth and white towels in the treasure-house to provide him the means to support his extravagant life? Li Shimin satfortably on the stone steps one level higher, he smiled and said, Yang Su had deep ns and distant thoughts [idiom: to n far ahead], how could he not guard against Yang Guang, who was repeatedly being unreliable? That muddleheaded ruler only knew about the underground passage connecting the Yeting Pce and the secret passage into the pce, he was totally oblivious of the other secret passage leading to the huge underground treasure house. Ba Fenghan said, This is called Heaven never bars ones way, it can also be viewed as Heaven helps me. How are we going to take advantage of it? Xu Zilingughed and said, In this regard, Shimin Xiong is more adept than us. Unwilling to pass on his responsibilities to others, Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, Until this moment, this is the first time that I feel that everything is within my grasp. I have a preliminary idea; when Kou Zhong returns, I will discuss it with him in details. Xu Ziling said, Due to Shimin Xiongs familiarity with Changan, you are more qualified to draw up new ns than Kou Zhong. There is not much time now. Shimin Xiong, please immediately move an army and send a general ording to n. Li Shimin said, Because the opponents strength is far above ours, the only way for us to win is to use concentrated to deal with the scattered, we are focused, the enemies divided, we will catch the enemy off guard with a surprise attack [idiom, from Sunzis The Art of War]. Our original concept was your side attacking the Yin Mansion first, to gain control over the secret passage into the pce,unching a surprise attack on the imperial study room via the secret passage, obtain the tiger tally, and put the pce city under control, and then engage the Changlin Army in a head-on battle at the Xuanwu Gate to decide victory and defeat. But it appears that this n is no longer necessary, plus we wont need to take risks like this. After a short pause, he continued, First of all, we have to know clearly the situation of the tunnel into the pce. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Xu Ziling said, The secret passage is the only shortcut to enter the pce, it is also what the alliance of the various factions of the demonic school is relying on to seize power. Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, no one will enter the secret passage to avoid beating the grass to scare the snake, and create unexpected changes. Because even Yin Zuwen himself does not I know whether Lingzun, in such danger-lurks-on-every-side situation, would send his men to monitor or patrol the tunnel. Ba Fenghan said, I wonder if Jiancheng and Yuanji know about the existence of the secret passage? Li Shimin said, I tend to believe that they are as ignorant as I was, and Yin Zuwen would not happily tell them. Xu Ziling pondered, For Lingzun, the Yin Mansions exit can only be opened from the inside, so he should not be worried or pay attention to it. On the demonic schools side, other than Shi Zhixuan, I am afraid only Wanwan would have the ability to open the mechanism across the cover. Ma Chang spoke happily, If we y a bit of trick to lock the opening mechanism, the enemy will not be able to enter the tunnel, they might even think that it is a special measure of the imperial pce during this unusual period. When we want to attack the Yin Mansion, we could remove that barrier. Li Shimin sized Ma Chang up and down, he praised, Good n! And then he spoke with serious expression, Our n consists of three steps. The first step is to control the Pce City, the second step is surprise attack on the Yin Mansion, and the third step is the decisive battle of Xuanwu Gate. In every operation, we must put together an all-out effort. Kou Zhong and I will personally participate; using with the most elite power, we strike and destroy the other side one by one. Ma Chang said, What about the troops under mymand? As I see it, the enemy willunch military offensive at us by daybreak. Li Shimin said, Lin Shihongs men ought to be stationed outside the city, so that we have one less misgiving. Besides, Yuanji will definitely not let Fuhuang know that he and Lin Shihong are colluding in secret, hence it is impossible for Lin Shihongs men to sneak into Changan before the city gate opens. Hou Xibai said, About dealing with our three-thousand-man army, do you think they will have Liu Hongji and Yin Kaishan to be in charge? Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, Huanghe Bang is a local gang and society whose source is distant and the flow is long [idiom: with a long history], the troops stationed in Changan City are linked in countless ways to them, any unusual mobilization will surely arouse Huanghe Bangs vignce, therefore, Fuhuang may mobilize the imperial guards in the pce, hence this aspect is not difficult to deal with. We just need to suddenly break up the whole into pieces and disperse to various parts of the city. After receiving the order, we will openly attack the Yin Mansion. With internal and external cooperation, we will first rout the remnants of the demonic school, and thus only the battle of the Xuanwu Gate remains. Ma Chang nodded and said, We ept the order! Li Shimins pair of eyes shing brightly, he spoke in heavy voice, If the first step is sessful, we obtain the military orders dragon tally and the tiger tally, I am confident that I can order the Imperial Guard, to recall the army that is dispatched to the imperial pce to deal with us. After Liu Hongji obtain the military tally, Yin Kaishans allotted share will only be bowing his head and obeying the order, and then we can mobilize our main forces to mount surprise attack on Lin Shihongs hidden troops outside the city. Ba Fenghan sighed in praise and said, No wonder in Luoyang we had to suffer a big loss from you, Qin Wang. Indeed Qin Wangs thought is meticulous, you calcte and scheme without omission. Li Shimin spoke awkwardly, I havemitted many offenses in the past. Fenghan Xiong Daren, please be magnanimous, dont take offense. Ba Fenghanughed and said, How could I have the time to me you now? I really wish tomorrow woulde early. Li Shimin said, Why wait until tomorrow? When Kou Zhong returns, we will immediately enter the pce and go into hiding one step ahead, hence our strength is exquisite rather than relying on numbers. On our side, other than Shimin, there will be Jingde and Wuji, that should be enough. On your side, you have Shaoshuai, Ziling, Fenghan, and Xibai, the others will still be hiding in the tunnel, and onlye out to suppress the overall situation when summoned. Stretching his limbs, Ba Fenghan said, As long as Kou Zhong cane back alive, tomorrows victory will belong to us. Two young maids, carryingnterns, stood on the head of the Xingmu [apricot wood] Bridge. Shang Xiufang, wearing pure white Gaoli women attire, stood on the bridge, leaning against the railing. Under the illumination of the starry night, she looked like a blooming flower. Kou Zhongs mind waspletely attracted by her, but he was also a little surprised. After returning the salute to the pretty maids half bowing to offer him a blessing, the three steps became two steps, he came to Shang Xiufangs tender bodys side, an emotion that was difficult to put into words emerged from the bottom of his heart, he called in low voice, Xiufang! Shang Xiufang turned her tender body around, smiling sweetly, she said, Xiufang already guessed that Shaoshuai and Fu Dashi would have a satisfactory ending. There is nothing that Shaoshuai cannot do. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, On the contrary, its all thanks to Shigong showing pity, Xiaodi barely passed the test. Shang Xiufang blissfully said, In a word, if you can pass the test, then thats good. Fu Dashi is a person of supreme wisdom; he ought to understand that you, Kou Zhong, are a good person! Kou Zhong was just about to speak, Shang Xiufang leaned toward his ear and spoke softly, Tomorrow night, zi hour [11pm C 1am], renjia [I] will be waiting for you here, I hope the stars will still be as beautiful as tonight. A burst of tenderughter, carrying along fragrant wind, escaped away from his side. Kou Zhong turned his head to look at her infinitely elegant and touching figure from behind, under the illumination of thentern in the two maids hands, lightly and gracefully she disappeared around the corner of the corridor; he could not help feeling disappointed and frustrated as if he was lost. Ay! What situation would it be like tomorrow night? Would he still have his life toe and see her? It was quite a whileter that he cleared up his mind and continued on his journey. He has not stepped out of the outer gate of Ling Yan Pavilion, a military general came out to meet him, and respectfully said, Fu Tong [Vice Commander] Xiao Rang paying his respect to Shaoshuai. While speaking, using his body as a cover, he took out a folded note from his bosom and handed it to him. Without saying anything further, Kou Zhong took it, and using the fastest technique put it into his pocket to hide it well. Xiao Rang spoke in low voice, It was Chang He Tong mander] who sent me to hand it over to Shaoshuai. Then he raised his voice and said, Mojiang received Huangshangs sacred orders to respectfully take Shaoshuai back to Yeting Pce. Kou Zhong felt the secret letter in his bosom, his heart was calm, knowing that Chang He had made the decision to stand on his side; he was even more amazed that Chang He possessed great magical power in the pce. Heughed and said, Huangshang is too courteous; Fu Tong, please! Xiao Rang bowed and said, Shaoshuai, please move your great self. Kou Zhong no longer modestly declined. Striding forward with head high, he stepped out of the courtyard gate. Four elite Dark Armored warriorsing with him immediately lighted theirnterns to illuminate ahead and behind him to show the way. Kou Zhong swept his gaze around, but did not see Li Xiaogong. The imperial guards at the gate saluted in chorus. Noble aspirations bubbled up in his heart and mind, Kou Zhong secretly made the determination that tomorrow night he muste back alive to meet the appointment with the beautiful woman [the word here is jiaren C fine person], definitely he must not make her broken-hearted and lose hope. Book 62: Chapter 8: Time to Move

Book 62: Chapter 8: Time to Move

The fifth quarter of the zi hour [11pm C 1am], Yeting Pce, secret meeting room. [Trantors note: I really dont understand what kind of clock the author was using. If Kou Zhongs appointment with Fu Cailin was also at zi hour, that means it was a very short meeting, only he took multiple chapters to describe?] Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Qin Shubao, Duan Zhixuan, Wang Xuanshu and the others sat around the table, discussing the great n [orig.rge scale program ofsting importance]. After reading the secret letter from Chang He word by word and phrase by phrase to everybody, Kou Zhong put it down and concluded, The information sent by Chang He confirms that our guess is unmistaken. Jiancheng and Yuanji already set aprehensive n to ambush us at the Xuanwu Gate, but there is no mention of the Tujue, so it can be seen that Jiancheng is still hiding this from Chang He. Li Shimin said, From Change He, we more or less grasp the enemys battle n, so that we can make arrangement unhurriedly. Tomorrow, not only we will fight three beautiful victories, we also have to try not to disturb themon people as much as possible, in order to avoid stirring up panic. Therefore, the peaceful settlement after the incident is equally important. Clearing his throat, Du Ruhui said, Guarding against peoples heart, we cannot do without, although Chang He and Shaoshuais friendly rtion is deep, himself is a person who understands reason, but Chang He has always been Taizis man, and he is loyal to Huangshang even more. Its hard to fathom a persons mind, if in the open he defects to our side but in secret still vows loyalty and devotion to Taizi, then this secret letter is a trap. Fang Xuanling caught on, Ruhuis remark is not without any reason, because the person who handed the secret letter to Shaoshuai is Xiao Rang, which makes people even more suspicious. Xiao Rang has always belonged to Li Xiaogongs unit, although he has friendly rtions with Chang He, but this kind of betraying Taizi, betraying Huangshang C big matter, Chang He should not have dared to reveal it to him. Li Shimin smiled and said, Two gentlemen qingjia [high ranking official/term use by the emperor for his subjects], no need to worry in humble respect. He is what he is today is entirely due to Huaian Wangshu [uncle king] rmending him to Fuhuang. Wangshu has assured me even more that he can be trusted, but we indeed should be on guard against peoples heart. Duan Zhixuan said, Although Chang He is themander on duty at the Xuanwu Gate tonight, but under him there are still Jing Junhong and Lu Shiheng, two deputymanders, all are men loyal and devoted to Huangshang, when the timees, they may not be willing to stand on our side. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, First of all, I can guarantee that there will be no problem with Chang He. In the past, in my disguise as the ugly divine doctor I treated Zhang Jieyu, together with him, we experienced Jianchengs avoiding responsibility and faithlessness, hence today, if under the circumstances he is still loyal to Jiancheng, he is a big idiot. Besides, even if he is still wavering, as long as the military tally and the imperial orders letter arrives, he will know what to choose. As for the officers and soldiers under hismand, they are not enough for us to worry, the military tally is in hand, who dares not to obediently follow and execute the order? Ba Fenghanughed and said, Finally, its the main issue! The key to sess or failure depends on whether we can control Huangshang, control the imperial pce and the imperial city. At that time, Xuanwu Gates Changhes imperial guard, Liu Hongjis city defenders, will all fall into our hands, others no longer be enough to worry about. Kou Zhong patted Xu Zilings shoulder beside him, he sighed and said, Whoever obtains the Duke Yangs Treasure-house can obtain the world! I never thought that we wander and stroll around, in the end we still return to the Duke Yangs Treasure-house, this old road. And then he spoke cheerfully to Li Shimin, Now we give you the treasure house, therefore, the world is yours. Ha! The crowd burst into a roar ofughter, immediately the atmosphere became rxed, not as tense as before, returning to Kou Zhong and the others usual employing the troops with chatting and joking, facing death in a rxed manner C style. Kou Zhong smiled and said, About tomorrow, as far as Im concerned, its just a game of chess abundant involving life and death. Relying on the Duke Yangs Treasure-house, we willunch the using man to y the sword, using sword to y the enemy C technique, to gain the initiative by striking first, to grasp the fortunate timing. The enemy will be led by us by the nose. There is one important thing that I havent told gentlemen, Dage. Before I went to see Shigong, Li Xiaogong talked to me in private, advising me to leave the city immediately. I persevered and on the contrary,id out the pros and cons thoroughly. It seems that he has been moved by me. Naturally Xiaodi did not dare reveal the secret to him, however, when the situation develops to a certain situation, I guarantee that he will turn to our side. The crowd burst into a roar of cheers, their spirit was greatly aroused. Li Xiaogong was the head of the imperial guards close to Li Yuans side, if he surrendered, it would be akin to sessful control of the imperial pce. Greatly delighted, Li Shimin said, Shaoshuai can persuade Liu Hongji, naturally he can move Hejian Wang [lit. king of Hejian (between the rivers), must be Li Xiaogongs title]. Hou Xibai sighed and said, This is our Shaoshuai Kou Zhongs bending men and soldiers without fighting C charisma. Kou Zhongughed and cursed, I dont need you, Xibai, this kid to pat my horses butts. Li Shimin said, Whether we can seed tomorrow depends on whether we can create a situation where people have no choice but to turn to our side, so I want to put the attack on Yins mansionst. After the Imperial Guards dealing with the Shao Shuai and the Song Family allied armies are under control, we will use the city-defenders army to heavily surround the Yin Mansion, and the 3,000 elite troops led by Ma Chang will assemble at the Yeting Pce, so that we can have the superiority in military strength, and defeat the Changlin Army and the Tujue in one fell swoop. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Qin Wangs words are very true. The so-called having no other choice is to let everyone know that there is only one choice, and that is to rely on you, Qin Wang, the Senior. To aplish this point, we must kill Jiancheng and Yuanji without negotiation, so that for Huangshang, there is also only one option left. Xu Ziling said, The smaller the surface of the strike, the more limited the scope of the battlefield, the fewer casualties, the possibility of stirring up turmoil is also smaller, the more we will be able to maintain our strength, to use it to deal with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall going down south. Fang Xuanling said, Weichen [this small official/humble servant] and Ruhui can first make a draft of various styles of imperial decrees and official call to arms. When the timees, as long as Huangshang put his seal and signs them, major event can seed. This moment Pang Yu and Li Jing came together to report thetest situation. Pang Yu said, Chen [I, your servant] got in touch with Liu Hongji, he agreed that no matter what happens in the pce, he will hold back his troops without moving. He also sent reconnaissance riders to secretly monitor the movements of Lin Shihongs troops, waiting for further orders from Qin Wang. Ba Fenghan spoke cheerfully, This is a gargantuan good news. Li Jing said, Ma Changs troops are distributed across the twelve strongholds in the city, waiting for the best time to attack the Yin Mansion. Li Shimin asked Pang Yu, Any unusual activity on the enemys side? Pang Yu replied, The situation is normal. Its just that after dark, Cheng Mo gathered a unit of about 6,000 imperial guards in the guardhouse northwest of the Imperial City. They should be the imperial guards to be used to deal with Ma Changs troops. As for Taizis side of the East Pce, Changlins army is still assembled at the Changlin Gate as before, Taizis high-ranking military officers, one after another quietly entered the East Pce to prepare for tomorrow. Ba Fenghan asked, Any news about Bi Xuan? Shaking his head, Pang Yu said, Tujue peoples movements are still unknown, the most likely ce for them to hide should be Yuanjis Qi Wangs Mansion at the Western Inner Garden. Li Shimin asked, What time is it now? Zhangsun Wuji replied, The seventh quarter of the zi hour [11pm C 1 am]. Li Shimin said, We still have half a sichen to prepare, everyone should get a good rest. After we enter the pce via the secret passage, the overall situation here will be under Li Da Jiangjunsmand. After this matter is aplished, I, Li Shimin, will evaluate everybodys merit and bestow rewards ordingly. Everyone responded with a thunderous roar, the one who shouted the loudest was Kou Zhong. Li Shimin signaled with his hand, the crowd of generals stood up and left, leaving only Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai, Wang Xuanshu, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji and Li Shimin. Ba Fenghan was still looking at Kou Zhong;ughing involuntarily, he said, Qin Wang evaluating everybodys merit and bestowing rewards makes you so excited? Do you want Qin Wang to bestow you an official title to give you a taste of what it is like to be an official? Kou Zhongughed and said, Precisely. But if Qin Wang is willing to bestow me the opportunity to report the old age and returning to the farm [i.e. retire], that is more than Xiaodi could wish for. Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, You beat back the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall for me, everything else can be discussed. Everyone roared inughter, the atmosphere was rxed. If there were outsiders present, they would never have dreamed that in a while, these men would go from the cradle to the grave, in order to aplish the grand n of unifying the world. Hou Xibai said, Should we go back to our room now to sit in meditation and rest, to preserve and nurture our spirit? Li Shimin smiled and said, If you want to rest, wait until we get to the imperial study room to rest! Fuhuang assembling the imperial guards to deal with Ma Changs men and horses, to us there are a hundred benefit without a single harm, because to maintain the outer defense of the pce city and the imperial city it cannot need less than two thousand men, therefore, the current imperial pce defense will be greatly reduced, which is beneficial to our operation. The exit at the Yin Mansion is already sealed, now we immediately sneak into the imperial pce, After the arrangement of imperial study room is done, Xibai can sleep peacefully without any worry until Fuhuang graces us with his presence. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, I will wake him up then. Looking at the living wall separating the two secret passages, gasping in amazement, Kou Zhong said, All along I was never able to figure out how to make use of Duke Yangs Treasure-house to plot a rebellion, because even if arge number of troops could be brought in from outside the city, and in terms of military strength they still have absolute superiority, but to make a breakthrough into the imperial pce is still more difficult than ascending to heaven, not to mention that there was no chance that Yang Su could surpass Yang Jian in military strength. Now of course I understand clearly, simply because from the treasure house we can enter the imperial pce directly. The most wonderful thing is that Yang Jian, just like Shimins zunweng [your honorable father], thought that this entertainment secret passage can only be opened from the inside, therefore, he could sleep peacefully without any worry every night. Li Shimin said, Wen Dis [Emperor Wen] natural disposition was suspicious, he was unwilling to trust people. This secret way to enter and leave the imperial pce was built under this mentality. At that time Yang Guang knew the facts, hence he conspired with Yang Su to connect this passage with the treasure house. If their n to deal with Yang Yong failed, he would raise his troops in rebellion. Ay! I have a bit of feeling that history is repeating itself now, only at that time Yang Guang did not know how to implement it, thats all! Under the illumination of the me, Li Shimins face revealed bitter anguish, apparently because it urred to him that he was taking Yang Guangs position, a conflicting feeling of dealing with his father and brothers, so he was downhearted in his heart! Shaking his head, Hou Xibai said, This is not history repeating itself, rather, Yang Guangs evil seed bore virtuous fruit. What Qin Wang is doing is not for your own honor or disgrace, but to save all the people from the water and fire. In order to alleviate the sorrow in Li Shimins bosom, Kou Zhongughed and said, To be sessful in big things, how could one worry about minor matter? Struggling for survival is absolutely fair and reasonable even more. Ha! Let me, this divine hand in mechanism, be in charge of opening the door bolt and releasing the wall. Hearing that, Yuchi Jingde and Zhangsun Wuji scrambled forward, they separately pulled open the heavy steel door bolt locking the living wall from the left and right. Kou Zhongs pair of palms pressed on the living wall and slowly pushed the living wall open. When he revealed a gap about a chi wide, Xu Zilings tiger-body suddenly trembled slightly, he cried in low voice, Not good! Someone ising! Kou Zhong also heard a barely audible unusual noiseing from the direction of the imperial pce over yonder. He thought about the exit of the Yin Mansion being sealed. When he cried inwardly, Not good!, Xu Ziling shed out and fast like a demon and ghost, he flew towards the exit of Yin Mansion. And then Kou Zhong rushed forward and cried in low voice, Fire stick! Hou Xibai lighted up a fire stick and followed closely behind the two, pursuing them out. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Someone opened the gateway at the other end. Li Shimin, Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, Wang Xuanshu, and the thirty Flying Clouds Guards apanying them were so nervous that it felt like their heart has risen to their throats, while also secretly called Lucky!, because if they were a little early or a littlete, they would make a mistake from which it would be difficult toe back. It was so coincidental that clearly there was a master in the dark world. Since the entrance was only a dozen zhang away from the Yin Mansion exit, with Kou Zhong and Xu Zilings skill, they should have plenty of time to get to the wooden square bar to open the locked mechanism. Sure enough, within a few breaths, Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong each held a wooden square bar, and after returning to the living wall together with Hou Xibai, Ba Fenghan immediately grabbed the door handle on the living wall and put the living wall back to its previous condition. Kou Zhong handed the wooden square bar to Yuchi Jingde, and stuck his ear to the living wall, saying, Ziling, help me! After Zhangsun Wuji took the wooden square bar that Xu Ziling was carrying, Xu Ziling pressed Kou Zhongs back with both hands. Kou Zhong said, Add Fenghan will be even better. Ba Fenghan did as instructed. As if he was talking in his dream, Kou Zhong said, His Niangs! Not patrolling troops, there is only one person. This persons skill is not bad. His grannys! Unexpectedly his steps do not make any noise, but he still cant hide it from me, someone with better skills than him. Although Li Shimin and the others were nervous, they could not help being amused inwardly. Kou Zhong was precisely that kind of a person. No matter how vile and tense the situation was, he was still trifling without respect [idiom: frivolous], loved to joke, and never forgot to entertain others and amuse himself. A momentter, Kou Zhong said, He is opening the lock at the exit; the exit is opened! Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghans true qi was pouring into his body. The three men were ustomed to working together on true qi transmission, so that Kou Zhongs hearing power was increased multiple times; if it were three different people, even if their inner power was equal to theirs, due to different method, the same effect could never be achieved. Through the living wall, which thickness reached two chi, the noises inside the tunnelpletely entered Kou Zhongs ear, not a single thread was missed. Suddenly he heard Yin Zuwens familiar voice, How is the situation? Another peculiar [orig. yin and yang, weird qi] voice replied, Everything is going ording to n; is everything going well on your side? Kou Zhong was violently shocked; he blurted, My Laotianye, the one nearly run into and destroy our good deeds is unexpectedly Wei Gonggong. Hearing that, Li Shimin and others, none did not look at each other. Wei Gonggong, who has always been loyal and devoted to Li Yuan, deeply obtaining Li Yuans trust, was unexpectedly a traitor in collusion with the demonic school. Ba Fenghan reminded him, Dont talk, just listen carefully. Yin Zuwens voice came into Kou Zhongs ear, saying, Shihongs men are about to enter the city via the underground storehouse passage. Everything is going well. The only problem is that Kou Zhong, little thiefs men are suddenly scattered all over the ce, but dont worry, we will wait in tight formation. Wei Gonggong said, Li Yuan has just summoned the three most beloved imperial concubines to Yanjia Dian [extended auspicious pce hall] to apany him to pass the night. Yuwen Shang, father and son, You Chuhong, grandmother and grandson, Chu Junming, husband and wife, received order to Yanjia Dian to protect them. Li Yuan may not go to the imperial study room as usual, but stay at the Yanjia Dian, all these are carried out in secret, only Hejian Wang Li Xiaogong and a group of Li Yuans trusted aides, personal guards know that Li Yuan is not staying the night in the original Qin Gong [pce to lie down] tonight. Yin Zuwenughed coldly and said, Li Yuan is really obedient. Wei Gonggong spoke cool-headedly, Because he has to deal with that unit of men and horses of Kou Zhongs, he has already emptied out the imperial guards. Li Yuan has no guts. Most of the imperial guards in the pce are dispatched to defend him, so the defense in other ces is weak, as long as you act quickly,bined with the situation we created, plus with Waner and me responding from the inside, we will definitely seed. Yin Zuwen asked, When should wemence the strike? From which gate should we break into Yanjia Dian? Wei Gonggong said, You must carry out the raid from the east gate precisely at the third quarter of yin hour [3-5 am], set fires everywhere, and create chaos. The military strength of Li Xiaogongs personal guards in Yanjia Dian is weak. Although there is no ordinary hand among them, you should be able to withstand them. Yin Zuwen replied, Everything will be done ording to Gonggongs instructions. Wei Gonggong said, Not ording to my orders, but ording to Wan Xiaojies orders, now she is the master of the Yin Gui Pai. All right! Lock the cover! I still have to wait upon Li Yuan. Tonights password is Tianxia Tongyi, Wanshi Liufang [lit. the world unified, ten thousand generations leave good reputation]. The cover was closed, the sound of footsteps went far, from a closed door, the exit became one that can be opened from the outside at any time. Kou Zhong turned around to face the crowd. Leaning against the living wall, he drew out a mouthful of cold air and said, How dangerous! The crowd stared at him nkly. Kou Zhong said, Turns out Wanwans informer is unexpectedly Wei Gonggong. No wonder Wanwan knows what happens in the pce like the back of her hand. His grannys! Tomorrow Huangshang will not go to the imperial study room, but will hole up at the Yanjia Dian. Everybodys countenance changed at the same time. Kou Zhong smiled and said, There is also good news, which is Wanwan is also in the pce hall [dian], I just dont know if she disguises herself as a pce maid or a little court eunuch. Xu Ziling drew out a mouthful of cold air and said, Wanwan! If she is there, plus Wei Gonggong, we may not be able to control the overall situation in one fell swoop. Kou Zhong said, Not only there will be Wanwan and Wei Gonggong, Yuwen Shang, You Pozi [old woman/granny], Shenxian Juanshu [immortal couple] husband and wife will all be there, that Yan Li should also be hanging around over there. The scene will really be very lively. Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, Dont keep listeners in suspense, there is not much time, you havent own up the facts? Kou Zhong recounted the dialogue between Wei Gonggong and Yin Zuwen one time through, and then said, This is called the Mandate of Heaven is on me. Listening to a few words is enough to reverse our destiny. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Hou Xibai said, Looking at it this way, Wei Gonggong should be Yin Gui Pais man. Kou Zhong said, Thats for sure. Wei Gonggong might be Zhu Hous [Empress Zhu] Shixiong [older martial brother] or something like that, otherwise he could not possibly call Waner, such an amiable appetion. Li Shimin spoke heavily, We have to change n. Kou Zhongughed and said, Not only we have to change n, we also want to disguise ourselves as Lin Shihongs men. Only in this way can we enjoy Wan Meiren and Wei Gonggongs coordinating outside and inside offensives [idiom] to the fullest. Blurted outughing, Ba Fenghan said, Good n! Yuchi Jingde did not understand, Why do we disguise ourselves as Lin Shihongs men? he asked. Li Shimin replied cheerfully, This method is called passing off fish eyes for pearls [idiom: to pass off fake products as genuine],pletely shrouding the head, covering the face. Shaoshuai, am I right? Kou Zhongughed heartily without restraint and said, Indeed my, Kou Zhongs number one rival. The personal guards defending the Yanjia Dians military strength is weak. Five hundred of us will be enough, half will be disguised as Lin Shihongs bandit army, the other half will be disguised as the imperial guards escorting them. The major event can be staged. Xu Ziling smiled and said, The secret passage outside can lead not only to the imperial pce, but also to the armory of the Imperial Guard Station at the southwest of the imperial city, storing armors and weapons. Disguising the Dark Armored Elite Troops as the Imperial Guards is merely the exertion of lifting ones hand. Hou Xibai asked, Is there any difference in uniforms between the imperial guards of the imperial city and inside the pce? Zhangsun Wuji replied, Only the shoulders insignia are different. To be the imperial guards inside the pce, our uniform can be easily modified. Li Shimin said, Time is running out, we must act immediately. At your imperial majestysmand! Kou Zhong responded, Since arriving in Changan, we did not really have a change of fortune until just a moment ago. Ha! Book 63: Chapter 1: Business Deal in Front of The Troop Disposition

Book 63: Chapter 1: Business Deal in Front of The Troop Disposition

Shi Zhixuan stared at Xu Ziling without blinking at all, his expression was full of energy, as if he had be another person, no longer the Shi Zhixuan who could not extricate himself from the abyss of regret and remorse, pain and contradiction. He spoke indifferently, Im d for my decision to pass on the Bu Si Yin Fa to Ziling, otherwise, I might still hope to have the luck to try to destroy you, while also destroy Qingxuan, and even destroy myself. When I knew that I was still defeated by Lu Miaozis Duke Yangs Treasure-house, I suddenly thought of the heavens has wide meshes, but nothing escapes it, about the cycle of cause and effect [karma] between heaven and earth, and that divine retribution [Buddhism concept] is without the slightest discrepancy. Ziling should know that Lu Miaozi was Xiuxins friend of the forgotten years. And then he lightly patted the dragon chairs armrest, and caressed it gently, his pair of eyes shot pondering and reminiscing expression, as if he was perfectly contented, he said, Since I followed Shizun to study his skill, I have always dreamed of getting a taste of sitting on this dragon chair, and I strived hard to go this direction. However, just when victory seemed to be within reach, the people from our humble school did not enter the pce via the secret passage as agreed. Just now watching Ziling enter the secret passage, I suddenly felt every hope turns to dust, everything is empty. All my, Shi Zhixuans wild fantasy, pursuits, in the end, what do I get? What is it for? Ay! What is the reason for this? Even if I really ascended to the throne, it wouldnt be more than this. His eyes nced up and down the empty and vast, magnificent and huge pce hall. Xu Ziling could not find any words tofort him, so he listened silently. Shi Zhixuan looked at him, a hint of smile brimming with pain and destion floated out of the corners of his mouth, as if he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him, he continued tranquilly, The rivers and mountains of this age produced talented people, starting from tonight, the world will no longer be Song Que, Ning Daoqi, Li Yuan, or even my, Shi Zhixuans world, but Ziling, Kou Zhong and Li Shimins world. Its finished! Ziling, go! Tell Qingxuan that the day after tomorrow, Shi Zhixuan will definitelye in front of her Niangs spirit to burn incense and offer sacrifice. All the struggles and vendettas in the world will no longer have anything to do with me, Shi Zhixuan. Yuwen Shang and You Chuhong stood side by side under the white jade steps outside the bedroom pce, staring with wooden expression at Li Yuanji, leading Wei Gonggong, Qin Wutong, Qiu Tianjue, and fifty-two personal guards, striding forward with head highing to their presence, and standing on the za. Insufferably arrogant, Li Yuanjiughed aloud and said, Just by seeing Yuwen Lao and You Lao safe in here, Yuanji knew that two gentleman anddy live up to Fuhuangs trust, making the traitors and the wicked to be executed and giving up their heads. Yuwen Shang spoke indifferently, There is something that Ol Yuwen dont understand. Tonight, the situation is unusual, Huangshang issued an order, unless he personally grant approval, no one is allowed to enter the Taiji Gong without permission, however, Qi WangDianxia [His Royal Highness] has charged through all the way to here, I wonder what is your exnation? How would Wei Gonggong answer Huangshang? Wei Gonggong moved half a step forward,ing to Li Yuanjis left side, still acting humble and deferential, he said, Precisely due to the unusual situation tonight that Huangshangmanded Xiaoren to grant Qi Wang the Tiger Tally, to give him total authority over all defensive matters of the pce city. And now Qi Wang is being summoned to see the holy self, Xiaoren is just the messengering and going for Huangshang. You Chuhong knew that it was time, Li Xiaogong must havepleted the besieging operation, with a weird Hey, hey! mischievousughter, she said, This is really strange, Huangshang has just summoned Laoshen [lit. old body/old-self] and Yuwen Fazhu, two persons, saying that he lost the tiger tally, and even told us to immediately capture the thief, and kill him without pardon. Turns out that the little thieves were Qi Wang and Wei Gonggong. Immediately Li Yuanji and Wei Gonggongs countenance changed. Thirty Flying Cloud Guards and twenty Dark Armored elite soldiers, with crossbow in their hands, swiftly gushed out from the open main gate like a tide, and formed kneeling, half-squatting, and standing tall, three rows, with the tip of the arrows pointing toward Li Yuanji and his group. At the same time, on both the left and right sides, personal guards appeared on top of the walls, none did not hold arrows and strong crossbows, blocking the escape path. At the rear entrance were Li Xiaogong and more than a hundred imperial guards, while on the side, acting as the auxiliary disposition of troops were Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, Duan Zhixuan, Hou Xibai, Chu Junming, husband and wife, Dugu Feng, father and son [sic, I am thinking it should be father and daughter, but maybe in Chinese its generic], and Yuwen Shiji. In an instant, the situation changed, Li Yuanji and others were trapped in heavy siege, all around torches were burning bright, the zing fire obliterated the darkness before dawn, making the besieged had nowhere to hide even more. While Li Yuanji and the others were overwhelmed with shock and with great rm, Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan came closer to Li Shimins left and right, upright and unafraid, they stepped out of the main gate, passed the archers, and came to the edge of the steps, looking down at Li Yuanji, whose pair of eyes emitted rmed and angered expression. Wei Gonggong hung his head down and lowered his gaze, his demeanor returned to cool-headed, calm and collected. Qin Wutong, Qiu Tianjue and a group of Li Yuanjis personal guards were already so frightened that their faces were devoid of any color of the blood. Li Shimin met Li Yuanjis bitter resentment gaze, shaking his head he said with a sigh, Yuanji, in order to seize the throne, you did not hesitate to show the wolf into the house, using despicable means to murder [a superior/a parent] and harm Fuhuang, not any better than a beast; do you know your guilt? Li Yuanji reached backhandedly to take thence from a personal guard, he spoke in fury, Pei [spit in contempt]! Its not your ce to control me! As long as I can charge my way out of here, I can guarantee that none of you will be left with your dead body intact. Speaking of collusion with outsiders, how much better are you to me? I will stake everything against you! Wei Gonggong pulled Li Yuanji back to stop him, he said, Lets talk about a business deal first. The method that Huangshang has been hit with, in the world, only me, Wei Lianxiang, one person who can neutralize it. Otherwise, when the dawn appears, Huangshang will return to theherworld. If Qin Wang dont want to suffer the bad reputation of being unfilial, leave us a way to survive, we can order Xue Wanche to hand over the tiger tally, in order to avoid the rivers of blood tragic situation in the Taiji Pce. Li Shimin and the others secretly cried, Formidable!. Even in such a disadvantageous position, Wei Gonggong still possessed the assurance andposure to negotiate conditions with them. But they immediately understood, Wei Gonggong and Bai Qinger deliberately left Li Yuans life, if they seeded in controlling the imperial guards as nned, wouldnt Li Yuan still be the fish meat in their hands? But even if they failed, Li Yuan would still die [jiabeng, death of king/emperor], they would seed in throwing the City of Changan into the great chaos of the aftermath of losing its master. Kou Zhongs gaze fell on the face of a personal guard within the group of subordinates behind Li Yuanji, heughed and said, Qinger Xiaojie really thinks your his grannys Chanu Da Fa [great method of beautiful girl] can pose difficulty to me, Kou Zhong? Dont forget that in my other identity as the ugly divine doctor, I specialize in treating all kinds of difficult and misceneous diseases. You Chuhong, who, together with Yuwen Shang, has already stepped back up the stairs,ughed and said, That fact, Laoshen can bear witness. Disguised as Li Yuanjis personal guard, Bai Qinger was so angry that her pretty face turned deathly pale, she spoke ferociously, Of course you all really want Huangshang to die. Li Shimin shouted loudly, Abandon your weapons and surrender, you will live. Ba Fenghan continued, Except for Qi Wang Li Yuanji. Li Yuanji shook thence in his hand, he said, Lets fight! Wei Gonggong stopped Li Yuanji for the second time, he spoke heavily, Qin Wang think thrice! Li Shimin spoke unhurriedly, Wei Gonggong, you know that you have no bargaining chip to haggle over the price with this king? First of all, I dont believe that Yuanji has the tiger tally with him, and secondly, Fuhuang has been saved by Shaoshuai and Zilings joint effort. Wei Gonggong coldly said, Although you see no difference, the garrison outside Yanjia Gong has fallen into our control. As long as Ol Wei release fireworks and rockets, Xue Wanche will deploy the troops to attack Yanjia Gong, I am sure Qin Wang will not want to see such a scene! Qiang! Qiang! Two folding bows opened in Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans hands at the same time, using speed so fast that it was not visible by the naked eye, the arrows were aimed at Wei Gonggong. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Wei Lianxiang, ha! Wei Lianxiang. Turns out Wei Gonggong loves to have tender, protective feelings for the fairer sex [y on words, from an idiom lianxiang (same characters as Wei Lianxiang) xiyu, lit. pity the fragrance and cherish the jade], only too bad that tonight Wei Gonggong keeps missing good opportunities, and now you miss another opportunity. Fenghan Xiong is in charge of shooting down the fireworks and rocket, and Xiaodi is in charge of shooting the people. Lets see whose hands and feet are a bit cleaner and quicker. Wei Gonggongs gaze turned sharp, he stared at Kou Zhongs hand holding the bow. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Or let me shoot the people, you, LaoGe shoot the fireworks and rockets; how about that? Even with Wei Gonggongs deeply-hidden-without-being-exposed character, he still could not stop his countenance to change slightly. To deal with the arrow shot by either one of Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghans bows was already not an easy matter, much less two arrows. On the tform above the steps, below on the za, the crow and peacock made no sound, there were only the sound of breathing rising and falling, and the crackling noise of the burning torches mixed together. The atmosphere was heavy and tense to the extreme point. A burst of tenderughter, which Kou Zhong knew so well that it was almost close and dear to him, came down from the edge of the top of the bedroom pce, followed by a sweet and moving voice, brimming with unbounded tenderness, saying, Oh, my Shaoshuai [my husband and master (archaic)]! What if the fireworks rocket is released by Waner? The outer garrison troops have heavily surrounded Yanjia Gong, as long as they see the rocket signal and know that Huangshang is in trouble, everyone will dash on bravely with no thought of personal safety to storm in. Your insignificant two thousand men, how long can you hold out? Waner really want to know. Wanwan! Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, he said, At least we can hold out until we kill people that we want to kill, right? My Wan Meirener. He was fully aware that Wanwan was still hiding inside the Yanjia Dian. It was due to him being unable to get enough time to put her in order one step ahead that it resulted in the present deadlock situation. Wanwan, barefooted, like a clump of white cloud, slowly descended from above, andnded in front of Li Yuanji and Wei Gonggong. With a sweet smile across her face, she looked at Kou Zhong. The enemy and us, both sides were at a loss, only Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai knew that she had mastered the Tianmo Da Fa, so she had the full confidence to block Kouzhong and Ba Fenghans divine arrows, but they still could notpletely see through her intention, because at the top of the pce hall, advancing she could attack, retreating she could defend, naturally it would be better than confronting the arrow formation head-on. Wanwanughed sweetly and said, Oh, Kou Zhong! This time Nujia admit defeat and bow my heads to you. Just consider it for Zilings sake. If you are willing to be magnanimous and let the three of us have a way out, we can let you send your men to escort us back to the Yin Mansion and stay there until you let us leave the city. If you are worried, you could heavily surround the Yin Mansion. All renjia [I] want is a promise from you. Shaoshuais one word has always worth nine sacred tripods [idiom: words of enormous weight], definitely you wont eat your words; am I right? Upon self-introspection, Kou Zhong knew that he could not harden his heart to shoot arrows at her. Smiling bitterly, he said, The person doing the talking here is Qin Wang, not me. Li Shimin said, Shaoshuais words are my, Li Shimins words. Acting coquettishly, Wanwan said, Dont you-push-me, I-yield. This matter does not need to be pushed around [orig. push three, push four]! Finally Li Yuanji could not hold back; erupting in anger, he said angrily, The one doing the talking here is me, not you. Wanwan turned her head around to look at Li Yuanji, she spoke indifferently, Not now! Lightning fast, her slender hand pped backward. Li Yuanji had never thought that she would suddenly deal him a deadly blow, it was toote to use thence. When he was about to raise his palm to protect his chest, a wisp of finger wind stabbed the vital point under his nk. By the time Li Yuanji realized suddenly that it was Wei Gonggong who suddenly attacked him in secret, Wanwans p hit him on the chest. A burst of fracturing bones was heard, Li Yuanjis seven apertures [of the human head: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and one mouth] spurting out blood, he died on the spot. However, aftering in contact with the palm, the dead body did not fall down, as if Wanwans jade palm was brimming with sucking maic force. Everyone present, the enemy and us, both sides, every persons breathing seemed to stop, as they stared nkly at what was happening. No one moved even half a finger, as if they were on the stage, ying a silent mute show. As if nothing had happened, Wanwan withdrew her killer slender hand, she spoke indifferently, Who else dares not to abandon his weapon and surrender, asking Qin Wang to be pardoned of the mortal crime? Bang! Li Yuanji fell backwards, his body, facing up,y on the ground, his spear fell sideways, producing a Dang! noise. No one knew who started it, but Qiu Tianjue and the others, one after another abandoned their weapons and surrendered; they all kneeled down on the ground, leaving only Wanwan, Wei Gonggong and Bai Qinger, three persons standing on the scene. Li Shimin stared nkly at his brothers corpse, his pair of eyes emitting a grieved,plicated expression. Tranquil, Wanwan said, Wei Shibo [martial (older) uncle] is the only person who can stop the bloodshed in the pce. Xue Wanche is a smart man. As long as Qin Wang allows him to render meritorious service in ce of his crimes, Li Jiancheng is not enough of a concern. Kou Zhong looked at Li Shimin, thetter was still staring nkly at Li Yuanjis dead body, he spoke woodenly, I leave everything to Shaoshuai to make the decision. Turning to Wanwan, Kou Zhong said with a sigh, It seems like I will never be able to fight you. Ay! Whatever Dajie [big sister] said, well do it that way! Xiaodi no longer have any objection. Turning to Wei Gonggong, he said, There are some things that I would like to ask Wei Gonggongs guidance in private. Li Jing took the written order issued by Li Xiaogong addressed to Cheng Mo, he said, Since it has both Huangshangs dragon tally embossed marking, plus Hejian Wangs signature and secret marking, how could Cheng Mo not obey the order and act ordingly? Pang Yu stepped forward to take the warrant, he said, I will go immediately to deal with it. Finished speaking, he mounted the warhorse that one of his men brought for him, and galloped towards the south gate of the Yeting Pce. Li Jing said, As for Liu Hongji, I will personally see him and let him know the current situation clearly. I really didnt expect things to develop like this. Xu Ziling looked up at the night sky above the big za in front of the Heavenly Policy Pce Hall, the first light of dawn appeared in the eastern sky, the remnant of the stars was about to disappear, he said, I want to rush back to Yanjia Dian immediately. Li Jing advised, The Taiji Pce is still calm, it can be inferred that Qin Wang and Xiao Zhong have taken control of the overall situation, it would be better for Ziling to stay here, quietly waiting for the news. Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin nodded in agreement. Suddenly an intense urge to see Shi Qingxuan welled up in Xu Zilings heart, he said, Very well, Ill steal a bit of time to go to Yu He An and bring Qingxuan to Yeting Pce. Kou Zhong took Wei Gonggong aside, he spoke heavily, Where are Bi Xuan and the others hiding? Wei Gonggong replied indifferently, This does not seem to be included in the conditions we negotiated just now, right? Kou Zhong smiled and said, In the business deal just now, it seems that Lin Shihongs troops outside the city were not included either. Laughing coldly, Wei Gonggong said, Shaoshuais name is indeed not in vain. Bi Xuans diplomatic group have left Changan. Stunned, Kou Zhong blurted out, What? Shrugging his shoulders, Wei Gonggong said, What good will it do for me to lie to you? But I dont want to watch Lin Shihongs men to bepletely wiped out either. Kou Zhong felt confused. Knitting his brows, he asked, Did Ke Dazhi leave with the group? Wei Gonggong spoke indifferently, It seems like Shaoshuai have not guaranteed to let the people go? Kou Zhong spoke in displeasure, If it were Wan Meiren, she wouldnt say such nonsense. What if I let Lin Shihongs men retreat safely? Do you think he still has a way to conduct himself? It would be best if you tell Lin Shihong to be a bit more sensitive, to surrender sooner rather thanter, maybe the future Great Tangs Son of Heaven can still bestow him an official position and part-time job, so that the next half of his lifetime will be glorious. Wei Gonggong spoke coldly, No need to trouble Shaoshuai on Shihongs behalf, Ke Dazhi and his original ns three hundred Tujue warriors are still the main force in the Changlin army. Kou Zhong felt a great headache, he had no choice but to put his troubles aside for the time being. He asked, How is Gonggong going to deal with Xue Wanche? Wei Gonggong said, Shaoshuai, no need to worry, I will go to him andy out the pros and cons thoroughly. He is a smart man, he would know what to choose. Kou Zhong shook his head, he said, That is not appropriate at all. Gonggong only need to issue an order on Huangshangs behalf to summon him to Yanjia Dian immediately, let him think that Yuanji has sessfully controlled everything, so that Lao Xue will not suspect anything, he wille in and surrender obediently. Wei Gonggong could not argue with him. Smiling wryly, he said, Everything will be ording to Shaoshuais instruction. When Xu Ziling arrived at the cottage where Shi Qingxuan was staying inside the Yu He An, the sky has brightened, the thin clouds in the sky forecasted a fine day. He intuitively felt that Shi Qingxuan was not inside the house, in the birdsong and fragrant flowers garden, he could not see her beautiful image either, yet he still could not help pushing the door and entering in. Through the hanging curtains that divided the house into the front hall and the bedroom in the back, he could see that the bed was neatly made, but the beautiful womans [jiaren C fine person] trace was nowhere to be seen. Just as he was going to find Chang Shan Ni to inquire, a warning sign suddenly appeared in his heart, Xu Ziling shed to the side of the wide-open door, a mans voice sounded from outside the house, Liexia is asking to see Qingxuan Dajia. Xu Ziling was greatly astonished, how could this kide to look for Qingxuan? Smiling widely, Liexia spoke outside the house, This ignorant one knows that Qingxuans aing [loving youth, boyfriend] has no time to apany her, therefore, I took the initiative to offer my service to fill Qingxuan Dajias emptiness and loneliness. If you are unwilling to grant the audience, this ignorant one will have no choice but to enter and meet in person. Xu Ziling came to realize, Despicable! he cried inwardly. A small bomblet entered through the door and exploded into a cloud of red smoke in the air of the small hall, which quickly spread and permeated the entire house. Despicable people, despicable means. Xu Ziling secretly cried, Lucky! He wondered if Song JinGangs soul and spirit in heaven secretly protect him and told him that with the demons and gods at work [idiom: unexined event crying out for a supernatural exnation, or simply curious coincidence] he encountered this matter, otherwise, caught off guard, Qingxuan might have fallen into his path. The people that Liexia hated, Shi Zhixuan was at the top of the list, and he, Xu Ziling was next. If he could harm Qingxuan, it would be one move, two gains, making both he and Shi Zhixuan to be so much in pain as to not want to live [idiom], and Liexia had been watching for an urate timing, thinking that Shi Zhixuan and he, Xu Ziling were busy with the battle in the Tang Pce, they were unable to spare time, hence he chose this moment to make his move. Liexia outside uttered, Huh? and said, Qingxuan Dajie is not thinking that by holding up your breath you can stop the poisonous mist from invading? This kind of precious poisonous mist secretly passed down within our Da Ming Jiao can invade your, Dajias delicate and smooth skin, to make a chaste woman [virgin or widow who does not remarry] to bescivious woman, so that you and I both can enjoy unprecedented pleasure. Just consider it a first-time meeting gift from this ignorant one to Dajia. Ha! Waiting with stored-up momentum, Xu Ziling sent out both palms together, shouted an incantation, and made his move with all his strength toward Liexia flying inside the door, showing no mercy. Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of shing qi power lingered on faintly, under the influence of the incantation, already Liexias soul flew away and scattered, he struggled hard to block Xu Zilings Inner Binding Hand Image and Outer Binding Hand Images first round of toppling the mountains and overturning the seas repeated secret attack, which was more than he could attend to. While he was parrying to the left and clumsily moving to the right, Xu Zilings leg flew from below, hitting his lower abdomen. Coming in contact with the leg, Liexia flew and rolled out of the door. When he bounced back, his hair was disheveled, his seven apertures were overflowing with blood, he looked like the devil, without the least bit of the dashing calmness he had before. Xu Ziling slowly stepped down the threshold. With his hands behind his back, he spoke unhurriedly, Persisting in evil brings about self-destruction [idiom]. Liexia, today you are strung through and filled with evil, Song Xiongs soul and spirit in heaven should rest in peace. Liexias eyeballs rolled around wildly, he spoke sternly, Xu Ziling! Xu Ziling smiled and said, You are surprised that I am not injured? This time it could be considered that I join hands with Xie Wang to put you in order. Just now, I shed, leaped and soared, what I used was Xie Wangs Huan Mo Shenfa, only the rest was my real skill. Its really a pity, if youpletely corrected your former misdeeds, if you, after Da Ming Zun Jiao the clouds dispersed, the smoke vanished C left Da Ming Zun Jiao as you said, how could you fall into this plight today? Go! I hope Lie Xiongs quest for light [Ming, brightness] made you obtain the light. After death you canprehend the difference between light and darkness, the distinction between good and evil. The vigor in Liexias pair of eyes gradually faded, he suddenly fell backwards, and breathed hisst. Book 63: Chapter 2: Enmity Disappears, Hatred Gone

Book 63: Chapter 2: Enmity Disappears, Hatred Gone

Apanied by Wei Gonggong, Xue Wanche had barely entered the bedroom pces za, he already fell into the Flying Clouds Guards heavy siege, while Yuwen Shang, Granny You, Chu Junming, Hua Ying, and Dugu Feng [phoenix] appeared all around, blocking all his escape routes. Xue Wanches countenance changed drastically, he turned to Wei Gonggong and spoke sternly, You have the impertinence to betray me. Wei Gonggong replied nonchntly, Im just doing it for your own good. The sound of pping hands was heard, Kou Zhong, pping his hands, stepped out unhurriedly from bedroom pce, side by side with Li Shimin. He said with augh, Wei Gonggong said it brilliantly, Xue Xiong indeed med a good person wrongly, Yuanji has passed away, if Xue Xiong wants to keep glory, splendor, wealth and rank [idiom], your family, big and small, safe and sound, there is only one choice before you. Xue Xiong is a smart man, no need for Xiaodi to draw a portrait and draw his intestines and viscera? Xue Wanches face alternated between burst of red and burst of white, and then, like a defeated rooster, he fell to his knees, bowed his head andy prostrate to Li Shimin and said, Qin Wang above, from this day on, Xue Wanche vows loyalty and devotion to Qin Wang, if I have two hearts, let me be ripped apart, and die without a burial ce. Li Shimin rushed forward to help him up, and spoke cheerfully, As long as Xue Qing [term used by the emperor for his subject] is willing to exhaust your heart, exhaust your strength for our Great Tang, loyal and dependable and undivided, I, Li Shimin, definitely will not treat Xue Qing meagerly, let the Heaven be my witness. Xue Wanche revealed an emotionally touched expression, he was speechless. For him, under such circumstances, to be able to save his life was already beyond expectation, much less to keep the power, riches and honor before him. Wei Gonggong spoke with wooden expression, Can we leave now? Kou Zhong smiled and said, Wei Gonggong has been able to hide in forbidden garden, deep in the pce for so many years, you should have more patience than anybody else, why not wait patiently for a moment,ter Xiaodi will personally send you off. He also said, Send Wei Gonggong to take a bit of rest for me, remember not tock tea or water. Wang Xuanshu responded to ept the order; taking the Flying Clouds Guards along, they escorted Wei Gonggong away. Yuwen Shang and Granny You still did not feel reassured, they spontaneously followed behind. Toward this senior figure demonic school martial art master, no one dared to treat it lightly. With head hung low, Xue Wanche said, Any errand, would Qin Wang please give instructions? Kou Zhong asked, Where is Yang Xuyan, that kid now? Without the slightest hesitation Xue Wanche replied, He is at our temporary headquarters, Chengqing Dian, waiting for instructions. The Chengqing Pce Hall was located west of Liangyi Pce Hall and Ganlu Pce Hall, with its back to the Yeting Pce. By this time, the sky was very bright, sunlight was streaming in from the east, brimming withnguid spring morning atmosphere. Li Xiaogong, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, and Duan Zhixuan, four generals came to the side, quietly waiting for orders. Seeing that Li Xiaogong also threw his lot to Li Shimin, Xue Wanche knew that the great momentum has gone. He suddenly thought of something, he was about to speak but hesitated, in the end he did not say anything. Kou Zhong understood the load on his mind, he said, Let Xiaodi and Xue Xiong speak a few words in confidence first, and then welle back to discuss the grand n. Reaching out, he wrapped his arms around Xue Wanches shoulders, and took him away to a corner. He spoke in a low voice, Huangshang is still alive. Xue Wanches countenance changed again. Kou Zhong knew that his guess was not incorrect. Because Li Yuanji colluded with the demonic school and plotted against Li Yuans life, it would be difficult for him, Xue Wanche to avoid responsibility. Even if he could atone for his guilt by rendering meritorious service, one day Li Yuan was still sitting on the emperors throne, he could forget about having auspicious days to pass. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Therefore, not only you must support Qin Wang, you must support me even more. Only I have the determination and ability to ask Huangshang to abdicate and yield to the worthy person. This matter will happen today. What kind of person Li Shimin is, what kind of person Kou Zhong is, Xue Xiong should be well aware? Xue Wanche was so touched that his pair of eyes turned very red, the load on his mind was gone. Nodding his head resolutely, he said, For Qin Wang and Shaoshuai, if I, Xue Wanche, still dont know how to repay kindness, I am a beast. Kou Zhong wrapped his arms around him again and took him back. Letting go of his hand, heughed and said, What the next move [in the game of chess] is, Qin Wang, please bestow direction. Li Shimin exchanged understanding nces with Kou Zhong, he spoke calmly, With Wanche standing on our side, plus the tiger tally, the problem can be like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. We are going to acquire contact with Chang He and Cheng Mo first, and then maneuver the men and horses, heavily surround the Chengqing Dian without creating any noise, and catch the [freshwater soft-shelled] turtle in an earthen jar. He also asked, Is Tang Jian in Chengqing Dian? Xue Wanche replied respectfully, Tang Zongguan was transferred to guard the Chengtian Gate. Li Shimin said, That is even better! If we obtained Tang Jians cooperation, handling the maneuvering of the garrison troops will be like as the arm moves the finger [idiom: freely and effortlessly]. Kou Zhong was not in the mood to listen any further, heughed and said, In everything, let Qin Wang make the arrangement. I am going to look for my two brothers, so that we can escort our Wan Meiren to the Yin Mansion to rest, to settle the load on our mind. Finished speaking, he went back to the bedroom pce. Tock! Tock! Tock! Xu Ziling wasnt sure whether he should go look for Shi Qingxuan first, or deal with Liexias remaining leather bag. The sound of wooden fish started in a distance but wasing near, making him feel that the sound of the wooden fish transcended the destion caused by Liexia. Chang Shan Ni gradually approached, with palms together and drooping eyebrows, she uttered Amitabha Buddha, and then said, This Shizhu [benefactor] can leave it to Pinni [impoverished nun] to make arrangement. Qingxuans safety, Ziling need not be anxious, this moment she is at the Dong Da Si, participating in religious ceremony presided by Huangshan Shixiong, Zhihui Shixiong, Jiaxiang Shixiong, and Dixin Shixiong, to purify the suffering people all over the world. After Ziling finishes everything, you can go to Dong Da Si to see her. Xu Zilings heart was shaken, unexpectedly the worlds Four Great Holy Monks gathered in Changan, no wonder Shi Zhixuan did not dare to keep watch by Qingxuans side. Putting his palms together to return the greeting, Xu Ziling left in a hurry. Kou Zhong stepped into the outer hall of the bedroom pce. Li Fan, who was in charge of protecting Li Yuan, came out to meet him. After paying his respect, he said, Huangshang is still asleep. Kou Zhongs eyes fell on Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai sitting quietly on the side, rxing with their eyes closed, he said, Be careful! Lowering his voice, Li Fan said, What should we do when Huangshang wakes up? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, That is the problem that gives me a headache, hey! Let me think. Got it! You go to notify Qin Wang, have him send someone to invite Xiuning Gongzhu over, have her stabilize Huangshang, I hope he wont wake up so soon! Li Fan epted the order and left. Kou Zhong sat down on Ba Fenghans other side, he spoke indifferently, This time Yang Xuyan is finished! Unless he can really turn into a phantom. But the sun is shining, no phantom can escape from the cracks of my fingers. [Trantors note: huanying C phantom, literally means fantasy/illusion shadow; Yang Xuyans nickname was Shadow Assassin, the same shadow character.] Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai opened their eyes at the same time. Kou Zhong told them the situation. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, We are not really ten-grabs-nine-stable [confident of sess]. Based on Yang Xuyans cunning and intelligence, his shenfa and sword technique, plus his familiarity with the environment in the pce, it is very possible that he would break the siege and escape before we wind him around. If we let him notifying Li Jiancheng first, things could get very messy, it wont be beneficial to us. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, What should we do then? Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Then we will see whether he is fast, or our arrows are fast. Kou Zhong pped his hands and shouted, Lao Yangs life or death is so decided. Let me make the arrangement. Ling Shao should be back soon, how about we send off Wan Meiren first? Xu Ziling returned to the pce via the secret passage, everything was ready. Without realizing anything unusual on the surface, other than the Chengqing Pce Hall, the imperial pce and the imperial city werepletely in Li Shimins hands. Tang Jian and his group of the imperial guards, and all the high-ranking military officers of the garrison troops swore an oath, vowing loyalty and devotion to Li Shimin. Not only because he has the dragon tally and tiger tally in his hand, but also because he has always won the hearts of the army and the people. Chang He and Liu Hongji, two sides had no problem even more. Under this kind of circumstances where he totally upied the superiority, Li Shimin, with the various generals cried out ahead and gathered around behind C reached the main gate of the Chengqing Pce Hall. Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin, two men, pulled their throats and shouted together, Qin Wangs good-self arrives, those who kneel will live! Those who stand will die! The guards on the gate were all the personal soldiers of Li Yuanjis faction; seeing the za outside the pce hall was full of warriors with prestige like torrential rush, they were overwhelmed with shock, and did not know what to do. Li Yuanjis subordinates, more than a dozen trusted aides and high-ranking military officers, hurriedly swarmed out of the pce halls gate, including Yu Wenbao, Jin Dachun, Diao Ang, Gu Ju, Wei Jiaqing, and so on. Everybody was ashen-faced, only Yang Xuyan was nowhere in sight. Xue Wanche shouted, Qi Wang colluded with foreign enemies, intending to plot a rebellion, and was ordered to be executed by Huangshang. If thou obstinately persist in going about things the wrong surrender, you will be punished with the extermination of your entire family. When Yuwen Bao and the others heard that Yuanji has been executed, and saw Xue Wanche surrender to Li Shimin, who would dare to persevere? One after another they abandoned their weapons and knelt down. At this moment, the figure shed. Yang Xuyan, taking advantage of this chaotic moment, flew out from the main gate, as if to attack Li Shimin. The crowd of soldiers did not dare to release the arrows, for fear of identally injuring their own men. While the various generals were drawing their weapons to protect Li Shimin, Yang Xuyan soared and somersaulted, andnded on the edge of the roof of the pce hall, attracting all the powerful arrows to be released, but one after another they all shot the thin air. Yang Xuyan has already shed one step ahead toward the top of the pce hall where the arrows and darts could not reach. Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, and Xu Ziling stood at the northwest corner of the top of the tallest tower of the Taiji Pce, theypletely grasped the development of the situation on the Chengqing Pce Hall without missing anything. Kou and Ba, two men were carrying quivers, with the two famous bows, Piercing the Sun and Shooting the Moon, in their hands, while the troops guarding the Taiji Pce werepletely transferred away. Hou Xibai sighed and praise and said, Shaoshuai indeed can prophesy with supernatural uracy, Yang kid is striving to escape to the East Pce, which is his only way to survive, if it doesnt work, he can first escape into the West Inner Garden, and then from the West Inner Garden into the East Pce. Gazing far away into the distance, Kou Zhong said, The two gentlemen Lao Qianbei [old seniors] make your move to intercept, Yang kid will not dare to zealously continue fighting, he will use the Shadow Sword in his hand to sh a row of powerful arrows, and escaped to our direction instead. Hee ! Do I sound like a storyteller? Xu Ziling looked at him, although Kou Zhong was speaking in a joking manner, but his pair of eyes were icy cold, he knew that there was old hatred in his heart, his murderous intent was aroused. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, I hope it wont rm the people in the East Pce. Kou Zhong said, Hence the reason we deployed heavy defense to prevent Yang kid from crossing the central axis of the Taiji Pce, and the crowd of brothers are not allowed to make noise, they are only watching the g signal to advance or retreat to intercept. Xu Ziling said, Im going! Soaring up, he leaped off the surface of the roof tiles, and flew down at an angle, rushing toward the back gate of the Taiji Pce. Hou Xibai said, Ill hold the disposition of troops for Ziling. Finished speaking, he also left. Kou Zhong bent the bow and put on the arrow, he spoke coldly, The moment Yang kid enters the range of the arrow, it will be the moment of his death. Ba Fenghan also put up the arrow on the bow, he smiled and said, Dont underestimate Lao Yang, he earned his title, Shadow Swordsman, four characters [ying zi jian ke] relying on his strength. Your first arrow will only sound the death knell for him, as for which arrow decides his life or death, it will depend on his ability. Before he finished speaking, Yang Xuyan rushed out of the imperial garden outside the west wall of Taiji Pce, with Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai at his tail, pursuing him relentlessly, chasing him up to the courtyard wall. Kou Zhongs heart and spirit entered the Moon in the Well realm, an arrow shot out, exactly the moment Yang Xuyan tapped the top of the wall to leap. Yang Xuyan snorted, fast as lightning the Shadow Sword shed swiftly, hitting Kou Zhongs spiraling arrow. The powerful arrow was knocked and flew away, Yang Xuyans entire body shook violently, his ascending momentum was difficult to maintain, he tumbled down from the top of the wall. Whoosh! Ba Fenghans fully-opened bow shrank suddenly, sending out a powerful arrow, swiftly shooting toward his throat, both urate and ruthless, and it arrived the moment before Yang Xuyan touched the ground. Yang Xuyan was certainly exceptional, his left hand turned ck, he raised his finger to swipe, the powerful arrow met the hand and flew sideways. This moment Xu Ziling dropped down from the sky, both hands transformed into palm shadows filling the whole sky, hiding the sky and covering the earth, enshrouding him and striking down. After Yang Xuyan tapped the ground, his sword shot up, turning into dots of rain of swords, to meet Xu Zilings swift and fierce all-out killer move C head-on. The sound of qi power shing against each other lingered in the air like the sound of firecrackers. Xu Ziling incessantly flung high and dropped low in the air, and then made a somersault back to the top of the wall. Yang Xuyan knew that in order to save his life, he had to avoid Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, the formidable enemies who seriously threatened his life. The only way was to return to the outside of the wall. In an emergency, he thought fast, without waiting fornding to the ground, he simply flipped his palm down to push, and use the reaction force to soar into the sky, the Shadow Sword was fully deployed to protect against attack from above. Just like that he attacked straight up at Xu Ziling, whose feets disposition of troops was not yet stable, every single move was a technique to die in such a way that the opponent also perished. Suddenly Hou Xibai glided down along the top of the wall, taking advantage of the moment while Yang Xuyan was struggling to deal with Xu Ziling who was guarding the wall. The Fan of Beauties closed and jabbed at his chest. Yang Xuyan shouted angrily, the Shadow Sword shot out of his hand, straight to take Xu Ziling, then both hands turned into sinister ck, he pressed down on the Fan of Beauties. Hou Xibai let out a longugh, the Fan of Beauties changed from closed to open, and swept Yang Xuyans pair of palms. He said, How about letting Xibai sending off Yang Shixiong for a moment? Bang! Yang Xuyans attempt to break through the wall to avoid the arrows was done for, he staggered in the opposite direction from Hou Xibais. Xu Zilingughed and said, Yang Xiong, you forgot your Shadow Sword! His palm chopped down, it hit the sword right in the middle. The Shadow Sword immediately spun like a top, producing a high-pitched noise like a pinwheel, chasing after Yang Xuyan, who was swiftly retreating back into the air. The sound of the bowstring vibrated inside Yang Xuyans eardrums, powerful arrow shot straight to the left side of his neck. Yang Xuyan used up the skill he kept at the bottom of his trunk, relying on the strength of his waist, he twisted his upper body backward, missing the powerful arrow by a hairsbreadth, while at the same both legs bent down and swiftly straightened up again, and then stepped on the big gift that Xu Ziling was giving him back. Yang Xuyans entire body shook violently; because he was unable to deal with Xu Ziling with all his strength, he was immediately injured, spurting blood waves all over the sky, and tumbled backward to the ground. If he was allowed to set foot on the ground, there would be a great chance that relying on his exceptional qinggong, he would be able to escape from the south wall of the Taiji Pce and enter the traversing square. Suddenly a powerful arrow came again, and just the moment before he touched the ground, it entered through his back and came out of his chest, bringing out a burst of rain of blood. Seeing Yang Xuyan slumped to the ground, Ba Fenghan on the top of the pce hall stroked his bow and said with augh, Xiongdi! Speaking about archery skill, Im more all right than you are. Kou Zhong put away his Piercing-the-Sun Bow, took off his quiver, and somersaulted down three times in session from the top of the pce hall, andnded in front of Yang Xuyan, while Xu Ziling and others stayed where they were. Blood was gushing out of Yang Xuyans, his countenance deathly pale, he sat on the ground, with his hand pressing on his chest, breathing out more and inhaling less. Ba Fenghans arrow carried the power of his entire body, it broke the qi protecting Yang Xuyans body, shattered his five viscera and six bowels, as well as the meridians in his whole body. Yang Xuyan was able to hold up to this moment instead of falling dead on the spot, it was extremely hard toe by. Yang Xuyan exerted hisst strength to look up at him, his expression was unusually tranquil. Coughing up blood, he said, You win! Yet Kou Zhong felt that his enmity toward him disappeared without a trace. Smiling bitterly, he said, Does Yang Xiong feel its unfair? Yang Xuyan shook his head and said, The winner will be called the king, what is there to say! And then his pair of eyes lit up, a hint of pained and bleak and cold smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, he said, The world should have been mine, I watched it slipping away and tried hard to seize it back; but only now that I understand how much impossibly stupid I was. This time my defeat is inexplicable, but I ept wholeheartedly. If it were in another situation, perhaps we would be brothers rather than enemies. Kou Zhong knew that he was returning to the light and that he would breathe hisst any moment. He hurriedly squatted down and asked, Yang Xiong, what is yourst wish, Xiaodi will definitely exhaust my strength to fulfill it for you. The expression showing in Yang Xuyans eyes turned dull, he struggled hard to speak, Tell Shuni, she is the only woman in my heart, but I let her down. Ignoring the bloodstain, Kou Zhong hugged him and said, Dont worry! Not only I will tell her as things really are, but I will also help her to leave Li Yuan. Yang Xuyans pair of eyes closed, he said, Thank you! At this point he breathed hisst. An indescribable sorrow welled up in Kou Zhongs heart. What was the reason for all the trouble? When would the hatred and struggle between people end? Looking at this young martial masters, whose name, for a period of time, intimidated the world C eyes turned dark and passed away, all sorts of feeling welled up in his heart! Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, and Xu Ziling came to his side, looking at Yang Xuyans serene countenance after his death, momentary they were speechless. Kou Zhong slowly brought Yang Xuyan down, he sighed and said, Because he could not let go of his previous burdens, he ended up like this. Otherwise, with his talent and martial art skill, wouldnt he have the pleasure of roaming the world freely and unfettered? There is not much time, Ba Fenghan reminded, There is still the battle of Xuanwu Gate, after taking care of Li Jiancheng, we could go to Fu Ju Lou for lunch. This moment Li Shimin, leading the crowd, arrived. Kou Zhong was the first toe over to greet him; he said, Bury him well, all along Lao Yang has been an extraordinary enemy, only his luck was not as good as ours! Li Shimin instructed his attendants to properly treat Yang Xuyans remains. Kou Zhong put a hand on Li Shimins shoulder, he spoke in deject, I am a bit unable to bear it. Its really strange, but on the battlefield, I dont have the feeling like I have today. Li Shimin nodded and said, I understand! Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, What is it that you understand? Li Shimin replied, Ill tell youter, now we have to rush back to Yeting Pce immediately to prepare for the Xuanwu Gate. Kou Zhong said, I have a request. Li Shimin asked, Do you want me to let Ke Dazhi off? Kou Zhong replied, Not only I want to ask you to let Ke Dazhi off, but I also hope to reduce the casualties to the minimum. If your Huangxiong [emperor brother] is willing to admit defeat and surrender, we will exile him to the frontier fortress and be done with it. I am old and my heart is softened. Breathed a sigh of relief, Li Shimin said, Its rare that you, Laoxiong have this intention. Of course, I will do my best. Leave this matter to me to arrange. I hope that after you recover your essence, you can harden your heart to deal with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Behind them, Ba Fenghanughed and said, Based on the Kou Zhong that I know, Qin Wang really does not need to worry about him. Kou Zhongughed aloud, he let go of his hand on Li Shimins shoulder, and strode forward with head high. Those who followed behind him had a strange feeling, which was there was nothing in the world that could stump Kou Zhong. Book 63: Chapter 3: Xuanwu Gate Incident

Book 63: Chapter 3: Xuanwu Gate Incident

Kou Zhong and Li Shimin walked side by side out of the Yeting Pces north gate in the direction of the Xuanwu Gate, apanied by Wang Xuanshu, Zhangsun Wuji, Yuchi Jingde, thirty Flying Clouds Guards, and thirty Dark-Armored Elite Troops. The Xuanwu Gates north gate was open, the Imperial Guards were serving on sentry duty as usual, there was not the slightest bit of difference. Kou Zhong was still thinking about Yang Xuyans heartfelt words before his death. Actually, everybody has a demon of desire in his heart, one thing goes wrong, he would fall under its control, bing its ve, and just like Yang Xuyan, only death would end it. It was not that he, Kou Zhong, did not have the inner demon to pacify and rule the earth by force, only luckily he had finally escaped from the quagmire of this desire, so much so that the Central Earth did not fall into an endless fire of war. When he thought about galloping to his hearts content in the prairie, gazing at the vast and infinite horizon, beyond the realm of knowledge, he felt even closer to himself, approaching the center of life. After he decided to help Li Shimin to unify the world, the horizon of his mind opened up infinitely, and the decisive moment was precisely before his eyes. The Xuanwu Gate guards stood respectfully to salute, the deep and long gateway represented the shortcut to the future. The high-ranking military officer guarding the gate was Jing Junhong, Chang Hes deputy. He hurried forward and spoke in heavy voice, Reporting to Qin Wang and Shaoshuai, the shields are arranged inside the gateway, your ministers and generals will defend the entrance to the death. From Kou Zhong and Li Shimins perspective, the threeyers of gateway were quiet, no one was in sight. The two sides of the city walls were guarded by the Imperial Guards as usual. The east and west, two forts and the six sentry-towers stood tall and upright on either side, the atmosphere was solemn and respectful. Li Shimin nodded and said, Jing Qing [subject] be careful, dont seek to kill the enemy, only seek to defend yourself. Jing Junhong respectfully said, Mojiang understands, I am willing to serve Qin Wang and Shaoshuai to the death. Kou Zhong clearly felt the effect of Qin Wang and Shaoshuai. The reason why his alliance with Li Yuan was weed by the army and the people in the whole city was because he had be the most terrifying and most formidable enemy of the Great Tang Kingdom, his threat was especially above the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Now he has given up everything and handed over the throne to Li Shimin, while Li Shimin has always been regarded as a hero by the House of Tang, from top to bottom, plus knowing that Li Yuans resistance haspletely gone, hence from top to bottom they were of one mind, giving their allegiance to him and Li Shimin. Even without the Dragon Tally, Jing Junhong would still happily follow Chang He to surrender to their side. The guards saluted together. Jing Junhong issued an order, the nearly a hundred imperial guards holding up the rear and lining up on both sides of the gateway all moved forward, revealing dozens ofrge steel shields leaning against the wall behind them. Li Shimin made a signal to start moving, before walking side by side with Kou Zhong into the gateway. The Flying Clouds Guards and the Dark Armored Elite Troops rushed in from both sides, grabbed the steel shield and darted forward. Wang Xuanshu shouted loudly, Formation! The warriors dashed toward the gateway, which was as long as five zhang deep, andid out a defense on the passage outside, which was more than twelve zhang wide, separately making three rows. The front row sat on the ground, the second row squatted, and the back row stood up, each with shield held high, forming a shield formation that could withstand arrows and darts attack, thest row of shields was raised at an angle, shaped like an iron barrel, imprable. At the same time, hundreds of Changlin troops charged out from the secondyer of the gateway. Arrows and darts flew like locusts, Ding! Ding! Dong! Dong! all of which were blocked by the steel shields and flew away. The sound of horses hooves rumbled across the sky,ing from the East Pces north gate, indicating that Li Jiancheng, as revealed by Chang Hes secret letter earlier, was leading the Changlin Army to attack from the East Pce, to cut their retreat route. On the Yeting Pces side, the sound of footsteps was thunderous, assisted by Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, the three thousand elite troops under Ma Chang, Song Faliang, Song Shuang, and Song Bangsmand, poured out of the Yeting Pce to meet Li Jianchengs troops head-on. Kou Zhong and Li Shimin knew even more that Li Xiaogong would lead Cheng Mos five-thousand-man imperial guards to enter the East Pce from the traversing square at this time, to cut off Jianchengs escape route, so that in the event of a defeat, Jiancheng would not be able to retreat to the East Pce. The two-thousand-man Dark Armored elite warriors, with Li Jing inmand, assisted by Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin as his lieutenants, started off from the Yanjia Gong, so that Ke Dazhis five-hundred-man Changlin Army at the Xuanwu Gate was attacked from the front and rear, with no way to advance or retreat. Without waiting for Li Shimins orders, Jing Junhongs menpletely retreated into the gateway and formed a defensive formation, so that Kou Zhong and Li Shimin had no fears of trouble in the rear. Kou Zhong turned to Yuchi Jingde and Zhangsun Wuji and said, Ill have to trouble two gentlemen to remain at the main gate to hold out the disposition of troops for Jing Fu Tongling [Deputy Commander]. Yuchi Jingde and Zhangsun Wuji you looked at me I gazed at you, simply because their duty was not to leave Li Shimins left and right, to risk their lives to protect Li Shimins safety. Li Shimin smiled and said, With Shaoshuai here, do you still have to worry about this kings safety? Besides, this king has enough strength to protect himself. Why havent you obeyed Shaoshuaismand? Otherwise, if the main gate is lost, we could forget about even one of us able to escape alive. He has not even finished speaking, the sound of killing outside the Xuanwu Gate shook the sky. The Changlin Army, using fast horses,nces and arrows, charged straight into the firstyer of the gateways. Everyone could imagine Li Jianchengs predicament at this moment. Were it not for Chang He throwing his lot to them, Jing Junhongs men would have cooperated rather than stopping the attack, allowing the Changlins Army to march straight in unchallenged, and together with Ke Dazhis men attacked from front and rear, two sides, and killed them all that not a single armor would remain. Yuchi Jingde and Zhangsun Wuji hurriedly epted the order and left. Li Shimin and Kou Zhong looked at each other andughed. He said, Ke Dazhi should be sensible, right? Kou Zhong turned his gaze around calmly, the shield formation under Wang Xuanshusmand had not returned a single arrow, while the enemys arrows practically could not damage their side the slightest bit. This moment, the arrows momentum was exhausted, no longer as swift and fierce as before. Only one way left for Ke Dazhi to advance. The imperial guards gushed out from the top of the wall, the watchtowers, and the east and west fortresses. Everyone held a crossbow, but they held their bows unmoving. What Li Shimin meant by Ke Dazhi should be sensible was in reference to this, because they were living high and looking down, they could easily shoot dead any adversary. Kou Zhong paid no attention to the intense offensive and defensive battle in the rear, he shouted loudly, Dazhi still has not pulled back? Ke Dazhi voice rang out, Stop! Ding! Dong! The incessant sound of the arrows hitting the iron shield stopped abruptly. This side quieted down, it made the ruckus outside the Xuanwu Gate even more prominent. Kou Zhong lightly tapped Li Shimin on the shoulder, then somersaulted forward, crossing over the iron shield formation, to face the enemys panic and frightened expression. Ke Dazhi stepped out of the rank, the saber was still inside the scabbard, he let out a hoarse bitterugh and said, I, Ke Dazhi have never been in such a distressed situation of being surrounded by enemies on all sides. Shaoshuai indeed have a reaching-perfection strategy, Dazhi is convinced! Li Shimin soared into the air andnded at the top of the city wall. Chang He appeared beside him and shouted loudly, Qin WangWanshui [ten-thousand years, Long Live]! The army of the wall, the fortresses and the watchtowers cheered in unison and echoed it. And then the Dark Armored Elite Troops cutting off Ke Dazhis escape route responded. Their voices soared straight into the skies. Although they still called Li Shimin the Prince of Qin, but this moment he was already regarded as the Great Tangs Son of Heaven, otherwise, they would not have cried out, Wanshui. Long live Qin Wang! The third round of cheering came from outside the wall, indicating that Li Shimin and Kou Zhong were in control of the overall situation. Kou Zhong smiled and looked at Ke Dazhi, he said, Its not that you, Ke Dazhi are not doing your best in battle, its just that Jiancheng is ipetent and unpopr. Ha! You and I are brothers once, we are brother from the beginning to the end. No need for you to surrender this time, as long as you say a word, we can go to Fu Ju Lou for a drink and chat. Of course, your men could leave swaggeringly. As for Taizis men, as long as they are willing to change and vow loyalty and devotion to Qin Wang, Qin Wang will not investigate the past. Ke Dazhi responded with a wry smile, and then he turned his powerful body around, sweeping his gaze across the officers and soldiers of his side first, and after seeing that everyones face was ashen, he shouted, Did you hear that? Hearing that, Li Jianchengs side high-ranking military officers, among whom Feng Liben upied the highest rank, responded, We are willing to surrender to Qin Wang and let Qin Wang deal with us. And then he shouted his order, Abandon the weapons and surrender! and took the lead to toss his weapon first, and was the first to kneel down. Shortly afterwards, all soldiers and generals of Jianchengs side abandoned their weapons and knelt down, leaving only the three hundred Tujue warriors, quietly waiting for Ke Dazhis order. Ke Dazhi spoke calmly in Tujuenguage, We can keep our weapons, bows and arrows, but we must withdraw from this conflict. Turning to Kou Zhong, he said, Where should we go to rest, please Shaoshuai bestow instruction. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Li Jing Jiangjun will make proper arrangements for Dazhi. Qin Wang and I will deal with Jiancheng first, and thene back to you for a drink, ha! Heaven really does not treat us, two brothers C meagerly. Kou Zhong, Li Shimin, and Chang He stood side by side on top of the outer wall, the whole situation appeared before their eyes. Ma Changs three-thousand-man elite soldiers moved outside the Xuanwu Gate in neat formation, forming a battle array, pressing on Li Jianchengs nearly three-thousand-man Changlin Army to withdraw to the Xuanwu Gates right side, arraying themselves in battle formation to meet them. Outside the Xuanwu Gate, there were corpses lying everywhere. It could clearly be seen that the attack on the Xuanwu Gate caused heavy losses on Jianchengs side, they worked to no avail. Li Xiaogongs army to take over the East Pce has not yet shown their trace, but they should appear at any time. Kou Zhong shouted loudly, Receive Qin Wangs order, those who are willing to surrender will be spared death. Li Jiancheng rode his horse out of the ranks, his pair of eyes bursting with mes of anger and anxiety mixing together, he shouted wildly, Chang He, how dare you betray me, I promoted you in vain, how can you still be considered a human being? Upright and unafraid, Chang He responded, Taizis heart harbors ill will, yet you me me for being in the wrong. Chang He only knows where the righteousness lies, I have no time to take everything else into consideration. If Taizi is willing to surrender, Qin Wang can remember the brotherly affection and spare you the death penalty. Magnificent army with thousands of men and horses standing opposite each other outside the Xuanwu Gate, yet the crow and peacock made no sound, only two mens dialog reverberated outside the gate. Li Jiancheng spoke sternly, You want me to surrender? You have been poisoned, only strong in appearance but weak in reality. Officers and soldiers! Charge! Victory will belong to us. Hearing that, Kou Zhong and Li Shimin you looked at me I gazed at you, Li Jiancheng let out a cry and charged like a madman towards the troop formation under Ma Changsmand. On the Changlins armys side, no one was willing to throw away their life with him. Everyone reined in their horses on the spot, only Li Jiancheng, one person remained, riding his horse to charge against the battle array of the Shao Shuai and the Song Familys allied armies. Whats more pitiful was that Li Jiancheng unexpectedly appeared to be oblivious that no one was following him, he even continuously yelled, Charge! Charge! Charge! While Kou Zhong and Li Shimin cried inwardly, Not good!, Ma Chang thundered, Release the arrows! Kou Zhong, inpany with Li Shimin arrived outside the imperial study room. Li Shentong and Feng Deyi came out to meet them. The former said, After Huangshang woke up, he insisted oning to the imperial study, we did not dare to stop him. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong asked, Does he know what happened? Feng Deyi replied, Xiuning Gongzhu exined it clearly to Huangshang, but Huangshang just listened without saying a word. Li Shimin asked, Wheres Xiuning? Li Shentong replied, Still in the imperial study, keeping Huangshangpany. Kou Zhong stopped Li Shimin, who was about to enter the imperial study, he spoke firmly, It would be best for me to go alone to see him first. Li Shimin was staring nkly for a moment, finally he nodded his agreement. Li Shentong said to Kou Zhong, Shaoshuai,e with me. The two men entered the heavily guarded imperial study room, straight toward the outside of the study rooms door. Li Shentong spoke over the tightly closed door, Reporting to Huangshang, Shaoshuai is asking for an audience. A momentter, the door opened, revealing Li Xiunings jade countenance. Meeting Kou Zhongs gaze, her pretty eyes emitted aplex expression that made Kou Zhongs heart tremble. She spoke softly, Shaoshuai, pleasee in. Kou Zhong and Li Xiuning brushed past each other, Li Xiuning gently closed the door for him from the outside, leaving only Kou Zhong and the Great Tang Emperor Li Yuan sitting behind the dragon desk. Li Yuans spirit has not yet fully recovered, his face pale, under the reflection of the vast space of the study room, not only did he look even more lonely and deste, it also looked like he has suddenly aged for many years. He silently watched Kou Zhong approaching, and then asked in a heavy voice, Jiancheng? Kou Zhong spoke in deject, We originally intended to save his life, but he obstinately persisted in going about things the wrong way, and was shot by random arrows outside the Xuanwu Gate. Li Yuans dragon body trembled, he raised his head up to look at the beam of the roof, tears rolled out of his pair of eyes, suddenly he rose up to his full height, put his hands behind his back and moved to the back window. With his back against Kou Zhong, he said, Li Yuan has not thanked Shaoshuai for your kindness in saving my life. Kou Zhong walked over and stopped in front of the dragon desk; he sighed and said, Huangshang need not take it to heart. After a moment of silence, Li Yuan said slowly, How are you guys going to rectify the desperate situation? Kou Zhong respectfully said, Now all the civil and military officials are gathered outside the Taiji Dian, waiting for the alliance ceremony. If Huangshang is willing to take this opportunity to announce the sessor of your choosing to the ministers, Kou Zhong can represent the Shao Shuai Army, the Song Family Army and the Jianghuai Army, to swear an oath to vow loyalty and devotion to the Great Tang, this way, the Great Tangs great undertaking of unifying the world is eighty-, ny-percentpleted, please Huangshang make the decision. Li Yuan spun around like a whirlwind, the refined light in his pair of eyes ring greatly, he spoke coldly, Shaoshuais achievements did note easy, unexpectedly you are willing to give it up so easily? Kou Zhong calmly said, If I, Kou Zhong, speak one word of lie, let me never be reincarnated. Huangshang should understand the pain and pleasure of being an emperor better than anyone else. I, Kou Zhong, do not hesitate to give up the throne, it is to give up the pain and obtain the pleasure, let Shimin Xiong undertake this responsibility, and I would be d to see it happen. Currently the Great Tang is still at a critical moment where sess or failure is uncertain, so it is necessary to immediately stabilize the heart of the army, to boost morale, to be millions of people of one mind [idiom: people united] to face an attack of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Huangshang, please note clearly. Li Yuans countenance rxed, he sighed and said, Shaoshuai is indeed a very good lobbyist. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Let bygones be bygones, we must face the future. Changan ispletely under Shimin Xiongs control, we only wait for Huangshang to dere his holy will to the ministers. Li Yuan spoke in deject, Its finished! This time our Great Tang fell into the danger of being overturned by treacherous evil, yet Zhen is powerless to defend myself. I, Li Yuan, bear the greatest responsibility for all this. I have no face to sit on this position. Shaoshuai, please invite Shimin toe and see me, I will immediately give up the title of Emperor. After the pledge outside the Taiji Dian, I will retreat to the Anyi Gong. As for Jiancheng and Yuanji, I will exin to all the civil and military officials that they colluded with outsiders, intending to destroy the alliance and assassinate Shaoshuai, and were executed at the Xuanwu Gate. In order to give him enough face, Kou Zhong promptly went down on his knees and said, Thank you for the dragon kindness, Weichen [this small official] Kou Zhong still has a request, ten thousand times hoping that Huangshang will ept it. Li Yuan walked around the desk, helped him up, and said with a wry smile, To be honest, after I know that Shaoshuai is also the divine doctor, Mo Yixin, not only I admire Shaoshuai very much, but also really like Shaoshuai. It is rare that you win without being arrogant, Jiancheng and Yuanji really saw only the other riders dust and had no hope of catching up [idiom: far inferior]. Whatever it is, please speak up. Kou Zhong spoke awkwardly, Dong Fei wants to settle in Luoyang alone. Li Yuan was slightly startled, fortunately, he immediately caught the meaning behind Kou Zhongs words, a deste smile escaped out of the corner of his mouth, he nodded and said, As Shaoshuai requested, with Shunis temperament, she is indeed not suitable to live in guarded pce for a long time. Yin Fei also must leave the city with her father; I dont want to see them again in the future. Kou Zhong stepped out of the imperial study room, the waiting-outside Li Shimin, Feng Deyi, Li Shentong, and Li Xiuning hurriedly crowded around him. Yet Kou Zhong said, Bi Xuan and the others sudden departure gave me an ominous premonition. The four people could not see through his brains, they did not understand why he suddenly said something that had nothing to do with his meeting with Li Yuan. Li Shimin nodded and said, It is indeed suspicious. Kou Zhong said, We have no choice but to n for the worst. We must assume that the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall already sneaked up on Guanzhong, hence the reason Bi Xuan left immediately after receiving the report, because sess or failure will not be determined inside the city but outside the city. For the enemy, the more chaotic we are, the more beneficial it will be for them. Based on Bi Xuans position and status, it will not be appropriate for him to directly intervene in political struggles. Whats more, Bi Xuan thinks that we are bound to lose, so there is practically no need to trouble his good-self to make a move. Li Shentong nodded and said, Shaoshuais remark is very true. Tujue people have alwayse and gone like the wind, attacking people when they are unprepared. How could they be willing to miss the golden once-in-a-thousand-year opportunity to break through Changan, to take advantage of the chaos? Feng Deyi pped his forehead and praised, Fortunately, we are now the sky clears after the rain [idiom: new hopes after a disastrous period], Changan has not been shaken at all. What instructions does Huangshang have? Hisst sentence spoke out everybodys thoughts. Li Xiuning spoke with slight displeasure, Kou Zhong! A smile spread from the corner of Kou Zhongs mouth, suddenly he grabbed Li Shimins both hands;ughing aloud, he said, Taking advantage while Shimin Xiong, this rival has not be a dragons hand, I have to grab it first to get my moneys worth. Li Shentong and Feng Deyi were pleased beyond their expectations. It should be noted that if Li Yuan was still upying the imperial throne, although his power has been substantially transferred into Li Shimins hands, he was still officially the Great Tangs Son of Heaven, those who betrayed him would not pass auspicious days. If Li Shimin became the emperor, that would be apletely different matter. Staring nkly, Li Shimin said, Dont exaggerate. Kou Zhongughed and said, Shimin Xiong knows my character well, but this time you are mistaken. Your Fuhuang wants to see you immediately, and you should know that I dont speak half an empty word. The alliance ceremony will be the session ceremony, and it will also be the ceremony of me, Kou Zhong swearing an oath of loyalty and devotion to Li Shimin Xiong, ha! Li Shimin calmed down instead, he said, How should we deal with Xielis army? One reaction showed Li Shimins strong point. Not only did he not get carried away by the good news, but he also grasped the deep meaning behind Kou Zhongs mention of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Because the decision has toe to him, Li Shimin, he must seize the fortunate timing to make a decision. Kou Zhong said, Since I have received the new emperors trust and approval, this matter will be handled by Weichen immediately. The information will be sent via flying pigeons, to guarantee that within nine days, the elite troops to save the country in times of danger from all sides of the Great Tang Kingdom will assemble on the Guanzhong in, to the north of Changan, and to the south of the Great River, to show the courage, spirit, and unity of our Central Earth army and people to the invading foreign tribes. Finished speaking, he let go of Li Shimins hands. Li Shiminughed and said, I will still say the same thing, what Kou Zhong says is what I, Li Shimin say. Finished speaking, he went to have an audience with Li Yuan. Book 63: Chapter 4: Fu Ju Luncheon

Book 63: Chapter 4: Fu Ju Luncheon

Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, and Liu Hongji, four men rode their horses side by side, watching the caravan, about half a li long C that started from the Yin Mansion, under escort of the city guards, heading toward the west gate via the designated route. Along the way, there were also city guards standing guard. The exiles before their eyes represented a serious setback for the demonic school. In the long years toe, it would be difficult for the demonic schools momentum to make aeback [orig. returning to office after living as a hermit on Mount Dong] and return to the previous situation where they had power to fight over the world. Even if there was Lin Shihong dealing with the situation in the south, it could barely be considered an arrow at the end of its flight, not enough to be worried. Unless the new Great Tang Kingdoms army was tragically defeated by the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, practically only Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong, the two reactionary forces, would have the capital to stir the wind and make the waves [idiom: incite trouble]. As thest carriage drove away from the Yin Mansion, the hanging-low curtain was suddenly raised, revealing Wanwans flowery jade countenance, her cherry lips spat out, Ziling! Xu Ziling urged his horse to ride in parallel with the carriage, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, Liu Hongji, and a team of city guards urged their horses to follow the convoy, while another team of military horses galloped into the Yin Mansion to conduct a search and take-over operation. Xu Ziling leaned over and spoke indifferently, Wan Dajie have any instruction? Wanwans pair of beautiful eyes was clouded with dreary and fuzzy expression, she spoke softly, Ziling still hates and resent nujia? Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, Could it be that you think I should be grateful to you? Sighing softly, Wanwan said, Im sorry, will that be enough? Now everything has be the past. Waner sincerely hopes that you guys will win a victory on raising the g and defeat Xielis army. Xu Ziling smiled and said, To be honest, Ive never been angry with you. You and I have be enemies only because of our different positions. Everything that happened in the past, I dont want to worry about, only hoping that from now on you would withdraw from the fray and live in seclusion, while also advise Lin Shihong and Xiao Xian to give up their pointless struggle. Wanwan spoke softly, There are many things that I dont care about. If you can beat back Xieli, naturally everything will be like bamboo splits when it meets the knifes edge. I believe that Li Shimin is a good emperor. Yang WenGan and Chi Shengchun are not in the convoy, I absolutely dont care if you guys are looking for the Xiang Family to settle the ounts. In fact, the Xiang Family is already everything broken and in disorder [idiom: in ruins], and because you emptied their barely remaining wealth, now even Changan, theirst stronghold, has to be surrendered, it would be difficult to aplish anything. Xu Ziling said, If they are still in Changan, our people will eventually find them, the hunt and arrest operation will begin after the conclusion of the Battle of Xuanwu Gate! With Shimin Xiong giving the order personally. Zhuge Dewei and Wang Bodang are two of the targets. Wanwan said, New emperor, new officials [idiom: new chief brings in new aides], transition to new dynasty [or regime] is just like this. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, That description does notpletely fit Shimin Xiong. Shimin Xiongs consistent style is not to investigate the past, he considers talent and use it, he prefers reconciliation than eradication of dissidents. However, because these people are involved in other things, they are bing the target of pursuit. The West Gate was in sight. Wanwan sighed and said, After we part here, Im afraid we will never see each other again. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, We, brothers have a ten-year agreement. When the timees, we will return to Changan, to see whether Shimin Xiong is a good emperor who can govern the country and love the people as we expected. If you have time, you cane and join us. Wanwan spoke blissfully, Turns out that in your heart Ziling really does not loathe me. Xu Zilingughed and said, Loathing is just a burden and a pain. Wan Dajie, please take good care of yourself. Wanwans horse-drawn carriage slowly drove out of the West Gate, the long-snake- like caravan raised the dust filling the whole sky, under the noonday spring sun, it gave people a dream-like and unreal feeling. Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of firecrackers resounded in every corner of Changan. Under the two simultaneous happy events in the family: the news of Li Shimins ascension to the throne and Kou Zhong vowing loyalty and devotion to the Great Tang, the people in the entire city were wild with joy and fell over each other in their eagerness to announce it, each and every family lighted the colorfulntern to wee the arrival of thepletely new era. Hou Xibai looked down at the festive scene on the street from the third floor of Fu Ju Lou, he sighed and said, When you see the scene before your eyes, you will feel that all the efforts and blood and sweat that you have shed in the past are worth it. The third floor was crowded to bursting point with diners, it was morous, and naturally the topic of conversation did not deviate far from Kou Zhong and Li Shimin. If they hadnt been instructed, perhaps the crowed would have gathered around their table. Now, merely people deferentially greeting them was enough to wear Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai down in incessantly, continuously responding to them. It was only this moment that they had a chance to take some breather. Fu Ju Lous big boss personally led the waiters to serve the three men, replenishing the wine and serving the food, while feeling that the honor belonged to him, which made the three of them quite unable to endure. Compared with the previous treatment, it was a heaven and earths difference. Ba Fenghanfortably leaned against the back of the chair, he said, I wonder hows the situation on Song ErGes side? Xu Ziling replied, Kou Zhong made an arrangement for a group of men and horses to go by fast boat, we should have a report of sess by dusk at thetest. Hou Xibai said, Why havent we seen Lei Dageing? Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhong already sent men to invite his good-self, he could arrive any moment. Ba Fenghan said, If the imperial pce holds a state banquet tonight, please forgive me for not being there. I always feel out of ce with that kind of event. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Are you afraid of seeing Fu Junyu? Dont worry, Fu Dashi already left the city and returned north to Gaoli this morning, Huangshang and Kou Zhong personally saw him off. Ba Fenghan smiled wryly but said nothing. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling asked, Has Badaier really left Changan? Hou Xibaiughed and said, Im sure she hasnt, otherwise, why would our Lao Ba disappear for the entire sichen before we went to the Yin Mansion? My Niangs! You can do a lot of things in one sichen! Including getting married and having kids. Ba Fenghan blurted outughing and said, Get lost! Xiao Bai, since when did you learn to exaggerate like Kou Zhong, with mouthful of vulgar talks and obscenenguage? Xu Ziling chimed in, Stop looking after left and right and judge him, did Xiao Hou guess right? Ba Fenghan calmly replied, His guess is only half right. I went to see Junyu first to say goodbye to her. Then I went to see Badaier, to let her know that I am still alive, because there was practically no chance to fight with Bi Xuan, and I also promised her one thing, to untie the tight knot between us. Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were very curious, they hurriedly asked for details. Ba Fenghan looked out of the window, heaved a deep sigh, and said, I promised her that as long as Bi Xuan doesnte to look for me, I wont provoke him. What? Hou Xibai blurted out. Xu Ziling was greatly delighted, he said, Congrattions Ba Fenghan for finally getting back on the right path, for no longer being obsessed with fighting for victory. Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Just the opposite. It was because of Kou Zhong that my horizons were broadened, my goal is raised to strike and defeat the entire allied armies from beyond the Great Wall. Hou Xibai did not understand, he asked, Wouldnt that be another tight knot between you and Badaier? How could she allow you to bring disastrous casualties to her nsmen? Ba Fenghan exined, My target is Xielis Golden Wolf Army, which is different from the Tujue-headed tribe to which Badaier belongs. Her tribe has been continuously oppressed by Xieli for many years, otherwise the Tujue would not need to start a war against Xieli again. And she didnt want me to challenge Bi Xuan because she was afraid I might lose my life. From the moment I promised her, she became as happy as a little bird, knowing that I put her on the most important position in my heart. Do you understand? Hou Xibai chipped away at the task and not abandoning it [idiom: persevering], he asked, What did you talk about with Fu Junyu? Smiling wryly, Ba Fenghan replied, This is thest time I will answer your question about women. She and I wanted to return to the situation when we first met. There is no chance for this rtionship to begin, but I will cherish the time I spent with her in the past. This moment, Lei Jiuzhi, who had returned to his original appearance, swaggered over, followed by Tao Guangzu, the Huanghe Bangs big boss. The former had spring breeze across his whole face, thetter was even grinning from ear to ear because he was unable to conceal his happiness. The three men stood up happily to wee them, attracting the guests filling the halls attention, thinking that Kou Zhongs good-self wasing. One after another they craned their neck to see. Lei Jiuzhi and Tao Guangzu cupped their fists to all directions to salute first, immediately cheers and apuse erupted, heightening the joyful atmosphere. High and mighty, Tao Guangzu sat down, and watched as Xu Ziling poured wine for him. Laughing heartily, he said, I dont know how long have I, Tao Guangzu, not experienced this kind of being well-regarded. That day when I surrendered to Qin Wang, I thought that at least half of my brothers would have to sacrifice their lives, but now unexpectedly not one loses half a strand of his hair. I thought that Sansi, who disappeared because he was afraid of war, but was actually being kidnapped by the crafty scoundrels C also returned safely, all thanks to Lei Laoxiong looking after him. Sansi was referring to Wu Sansi, the Living Zhuge [from Zhuge Liang, Romance of Three Kingdoms], the deputy gang leader of the Huanghe Bang. Lei Jiuzhi let out a weirdughter, he said, When did I, Lei Jiuzhi, ever point to a dark road for you to take? Wait until youpletely snatch Da Dao Shes business, and then you will know how it feels to be really well-regarded. Tao Guangzu raised his cup and said, Lets drink to congratte Qin Wang ascending to the throne and unify the world. Lei Jiuzhi continued, Lets congratte Shaoshuai even more that he will be able to retire in glory. Amidst the roar ofughter, the fine wine was drained in one gulp. Lei Jiuzhi raised his cup and said, This cup is to congratte Huanghe Bang for reviving their reputation and removing all critical obstacles from top to bottom. Tao Guangzu spoke with serious expression, Everyone knows what kind of person Huangshang is. I will do business properly in the future, to visit Lei LaoGes Zhen Guan Bank, ha cheers! They drained another cup. Hou Xibai asked in astonishment, Isnt the bank used as a cover? Tao Guangzuughed and said, Lao Lei is having a craving. Besides, many people in Changan took real gold and white silver to invest money in it, how could you say not doing it and simply not doing it? Are you not afraid people would tear down the shop? Xu Zilingughed and said, Lei Dage can look for partners for Xiao Jun, I am sure Song ErGe will not going to hang around with you. Lei Jiuzhi spoke fiercely, Xiao Juns smell of mothers milk has not yet dried [idiom: immature and inexperienced], he is swooning in the billows of Tongtongs embrace, oblivious of the affairs of life, how could he match my, Laozis great ambition and magnificent aspiration of doing business all over the world? His grannys! He makes a fuss all day long about going back to help Da Xiaojie doing business, not understanding that a man must establish his own great undertaking. Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai roared inughter. Tao Guangzu winked at Lei Jiuzhi and said, Fortunately, you, Lao Lei, have Qingqing Furens strong support, perhaps Xiao Jie will also be pressed into service and join the business due to Xier Guniang, no need for you, an old guy, to go through hardships alone, cold and dismal, and in destion to start the undertaking. Lei Jiuzhis pair of eyes glowered at him, he said, Am I very old? This time, Xu Ziling and the other twoughed until they burst into tears. Suddenly the whole hall exploded in amotion, one after another everybody stood up. Turned out Kou Zhong, inpany with Ke Dazhi, climbed up the stairs together. The Fu Ju Lous big boss was well prepared; he led the entire the staffs to line up to wee him. Calls of Shaoshuai shook the entire hall. With a smile on his face, Kou Zhong constantly cupped his fist toward all directions to return the greeting, while going straight to the table, and together with Ke Dazhi they sat down in the chair that the waiters pulled open for them. The boss cheerfully said, This meal, please allow Fu Ju Lou to pay tribute. Shaoshuai and gentlemen must not decline. That is our honor. Kou Zhong readily agreed, the restaurant suddenly stood still, everyone pricked up their ears to listen to what they had to say. Kou Zhong rose up to his full height and said with augh, Gentlemen, fellow countrymen elders, high official and noble persons, please continue to eat, drink and y finger-guessing game, to provide cover to our secret discussion of military affairs, and to prevent the enemy spies from taking the opportunity to return from a rewarding journey. After a burst ofughter, the restaurant atmosphere finally returned to normal. Kou Zhong sat down. Lei Jiuzhi said, I waste because I was looking for Lao Tao to join in the fun. You arete without any reason, I have to punish you with a cup. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, My reasons are a thousand times, a hundredfold more than yours. You should have known that I was unable to move a single step on the street. It was all thanks to five hundred saber and axe-wielders at the front, five hundred saber and axe-wielders at the back, one thousand imperial guards on the left, and one thousand imperial guards on the right C that I seeded ining here to meet with you. Everyone roared inughter. Unable to restrain a smile, Ba Fenghan shook his head and said with a sneer, Everybody says this kid is exaggerating. Hou Xibai bellowed, Well punish him a cup just for exaggerating. The crowd roared and toasted each other, they were filled with the joyous, reassuring feelings of major event has been settled. Ke Dazhi sighed and said, I really never thought I could still get drunk with you guys. Xu Ziling said, What is Ke Xiongs n? Smiling wryly, Ke Dazhi said, What good n is there to talk about? Xiaodi has a request, I hope Shaoshuai could pass it on for me. Patting his chest, Kou Zhong said, As long as it is proposed by Ke Dazhi, I will definitely do it properly for you, no matter what. Do you want me to speak to Li Shimin? Ke Dazhi said, Of course I know what kind of person you, Kou Zhong, are, otherwise how could I dare to open my mouth? The three hundred warriors under mymand are all from my own n. Five years ago, we received the Great Khans order toe to the Central Earth to help Li Yuan to attack Changan, after going through repeated military campaigns, from five hundred, the number of men was reduced to more than three hundred. Most of them are married and have children locally, if they are deported, it would be a tragedy for the human world. They have long been used to the way of life in Changan, only a few are willing to leave with me, I hope Shaoshuai could ask Li Shimin to show special favor so that those who wish to stay can stay. As long as they are not fighting against the Tujue, they will serve the Great Tang wholeheartedly. Everybody understood, no wonder Ke Dazhi found it difficult to speak. At this unusual time, when the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, which mainly consisted of Tujue people, were heading south, from a military point of view, Li Shimin would definitely drive all the Tujue out of Changan to prevent military information from being leaked. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, Have you ever thought that this is equivalent to betraying Xieli? Laughing coldly, Ke Dazhi said, From the beginning, Zhao Deyan has been excluding me. In the Battle of Longquan, Zhao Deyan and Tonyukuk even made such a big deal about my rtionship with you, and maliciously ndered me, Ke Dazhi. This time, Zhao Deyan deliberately asked us to stay and help Li Jiancheng. Regardless of sess or failure, we will be in a very unfavorable situation. I, Ke Dazhi have always been clear about gratitude and grudges, how others treating me, I will definitely pay it back the same way. Everybody grasped his intentions. Jiancheng was defeated and dispersed, naturally Ke Dazhi and the warriors from his own n would be difficult to escape death. Even if Jiancheng was victorious, the coalition forcesing to the south, Jiancheng would first behead Ke Dazhi and his men to vent his resentment. It could be said that this move of Zhao Deyans was clearly to harm Ke Dazhi. In this kind of situation, not only Ke Dazhi had no room to advance or to retreat, but he had no choice even more. Hou Xibai asked anxiously, Ke Dazhi is not afraid Xieli might make reprisals against your n? Ke Dazhi said, I could send someone to notify the tribal chief, telling them to migrate north to avoid disaster. As long as there is still conflict between Xieli and the Tujue, my n will not be in danger. Kou Zhong said, Dazhi, dont worry, Li Shimins aspect, there shouldnt be any problems. Your n can live in peace and work happily in Changan, or be assimted into the Great Tang army. This is precisely Li Shimins Hua-Yi [China and Barbarians (non-Han)] One Family policy. Moving north is not as good as moving south, as long as you be the vassal of the New Great Tang, you will receive the Great Tangs protection. Xu Ziling asked, What is Dazhis own n? Ke Dazhi appeared to rx after all the difficult problems were resolved; he leaned back into the chair and spoke glibly, Du Dage has repeatedly persuaded me toe to Shan Hai Pass to help him developing his business, to carry on his undertaking. I also want a change of the environment. After everything is in order, I will set off immediately. Kou Zhong happily raised his cup and said, Lets drink for Dazhis bright future. Everyone raised their cup and drank their fill. Vegetable and meat dishes were delivered continuously, so that it would be difficult to stick a needle onto the tabletop. Lei Jiuzhi put down the wine cup, pulled Tao Guangzu up and said, We have a business to attend to. Tonight, why dont we all go to Qingqings ce and drink to our delight, we wont go home before we are drunk. Kou Zhong remembered his appointment with Shang Xiufang, he said, Only after fighting the battle and beating Xieli, drinking will really be a delight. Lei Jiuzhiughed aloud, together with Tao Guangzu, they left, happy and excited. Kou Zhong asked Xu Ziling, Have you reported to our Shi Meiren that we are safe and sound? Hou Xibai replied on his behalf, Ziling does not even have time to go to thetrine, how could he have the time to go to Dong Da Si? Kou Zhong spoke happily, Ziling, go to Xing Qing Gong and obediently wait for me. After Ke Dazhi and I finish settling down his affairs, I wille immediately to meet with you, we will go to see Qingxuan together. This moment, a city guard urgently came to the table, stood at attention and saluted, and reported, Reporting to Shaoshuai, the Song Familys Er Xiaojie [second miss] entered the city through the south gate, presently she should be arriving at the Xing Qing Gong. Kou Zhongs entire body sprang up, he blurted out, Yuzhi is here! Xu Zilingughed and said, Dazhis affairs, let me handle it for you. Why havent you hurried up to meet her? Remember what I said. Kou Zhong looked at Ke Dazhi. Ke Dazhi spoke cheerfully, I have more affection toward Ziling than toward you. Kou Zhong apologized and took his leave. As soon as he took the first step, the more than a hundred people in the hall immediately stood up and apuded to send him off. Hou Xibai raised his cup and said, He has to go, we have to live up to Laobans good intention. A burst of warmth welled up from Xu Zilings heart. This was precisely the taste of peaceful reunification. Book 63: Chapter 5: Flushed With Success

Book 63: Chapter 5: Flushed With Sess

Kou Zhong rushed into the Xing Qing Pce like a gust of wind. In front of the HuaE Lou [calyx/sepal building], with the assistance of the Flying Clouds Guards the more than twenty Song Family martial art masters who came with her, were unloading their luggage from the carriage. Seeing Kou Zhongs arrival, they abandoned whatever they were doing, stood in attention and saluted. Kou Zhong hurriedly greeted them, rushed up the steps, and went straight to the main hall on the ground floor of HuaE Lou. Song Yuzhi was served by four maids, she wore ake-water-green colored dress and skirt, light muslin draped on her shoulders, wearing her hair in a hanging dark green swallowtail-shaped bun, so that her graceful tender body seems to be shrouded inside ayer of mist. Charmingly, light and graceful, she was walking towards a single-paned window facing the Long Chi [dragon pond], as if to enjoy the enchanting springke scenery outside the window. The four maids were the first to spot Kou Zhong, they hurriedly half-rose out of their chairs to salute, and shouted in chorus in their tender voice, Paying respect to Shaoshuai. Song Yuzhis pretty body trembled slightly, Ah! she eximed and turned around, allowing Kou Zhong to see the flowery tender countenance that haunted him in his dreams. If it werent for the four maids nearby, Kou Zhong would definitely disregard everything to take her into his arms, and to kiss her first, forget about appearing to be reckless C to show his affection and sweet love. This moment, however, he could only rush to her presence, grabbed her pair of soft weeds [sic. I think its a typo, and IIRC, the second time I am seeing this, but I dont know whats the correct Chinese character, it does not look remotely like the character for hands], smell her bursts of enchanting body scent, and spoke with stirred up emotion, Yuzhi. Song Yuzhi let him grabbed her jade hand, two clumps of rosy-colored clouds flew across her pretty face, joy appeared on the tip of her eyebrows, she said, Kou Zhong. Kou Zhong hurriedly signaled her with his eyes, Song Yuzhis blush prated even her ears, she spoke softly, You may withdraw. The four maids responded and left. Without waiting for the four maids to leave the hall, Kou Zhong could not wait any longer, he pulled her soft jade [lit. nephrite jade], warm fragrance into his embrace. He was about to seek her fragrant lips when Song Yuzhi, with fiery passion, raised her fragrant arms, wound around the nape of his neck like a water snake and taking the initiative, she offered the kiss first. The outside world suddenly disappeared, leaving only the fiery passion. All the gratitude and grudges of the past no longer had anything to do with them. Their rtionship seemed to start at this moment, and continued on until the extremities of heaven and the end of the earth. If the heaven and the earth crumbled at this moment, they would also cross together to the limit of the universe without a single fear, two hearts became one With their lips parted, Song Yuzhis tender body was trembling, she could not stop panting, her pretty face flushed red, her star eyes were half-closed. Kou Zhong almost wanted to carry her into the room, only too bad Shang Xiufangs jade countenance suddenly floated into appearance, a feeling of wounding-the-spirit-severing-the-soul guilt welled up in his heart, he sighed and said, Ay! Yuzhi, I Song Yuzhi strived to open her beautiful lips, her high, erect, and perfectly straight nose, which put her character in full disy, sniffed and absorbed the air he breathed out, her pretty eyebrows lightly knitted, she looked closely at him and said, Why did you want to say something but then hesitated? In Yuzhis heart, Zhong Langs [term of endearment, husband] achievement, since the dawn of time to today, no one canpare. Just now when Yuzhi entered the city and saw the jubnt scene of the city, I was moved to tears. This time I came here to reward you well, and to love you with my heart and soul. Just then, a burst of firecrackers came from somewhere in the city outside the pce, bing the best exnation to her words and serving as a background in order to bring out what she said with greater brilliance. Kou Zhong realized that her eyelids were indeed slightly swollen, so he could not help kissing her eyes lightly, kissing her nose that made him the more he looked, the more he loved her. I made another mistake! Song Yuzhis tilted her cicada head slightly, pulled back from him a little, and spoke blissfully, You mean Chuchu Jie [older sister]? Idiot, I will only be happy that Zhong Lang is an affectionate and true person, how can I me you? Yuzhi will send people to Liangdu to bring Chu Jiejie to Changan. We will get along very well. She called him Zhong Lang on the left, she addressed him Zhong Lang on the right, Kou Zhongs heart went limp, his bones turned to jelly, he felt remorseful and distressed even more. He said, Its not Chuchu, its Shang Xiufang. Song Yuzhis reaction waspletely beyond his expectation. She just cast him a sidelong nce, still full of joy, she spoke softly, Any other Meirener? Quickly own up to the facts to Yuzhi. Kou Zhong shook his head and said, No! Really not. Ay! Its my fault, I shouldnt Song Yuzhi sealed his mouth and left before he wanted to move forward a step further by asking for a kiss, using this sweet gesture to stop him from continuing. As tender and soft as water, she said, Lets just consider the merits and demerits offset each other! Shang Cainu [talented woman] willing to be Yuzhis sister, it is Yuzhis honor. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Really? Pretending to be displeased, Song Yuzhi said, When did I ever lie to you? Oh, Zhong Lang! The beautiful things you have done for themon people of the world make Yuzhi only hopes that in the next half of your lifetime I can reward you well, to make you happy. Xiuning Gongzhu is here. Song Yuzhi pushed away Kou Zhong, who, when he heard that Li Xiuning arrived, had sinister design in his heart, and said, Yuzhi and Xiuning Gongzhu have a lot of things to talk about in private, go and do what you need to do. Die told me to pass on to you: Xielis army will show up when you least expecting it. Being busy until this moment, there were still arge number of court officials waiting respectfully for Li Shimins summon. In charge of arranging the audience with the emperor, Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling saw Xu Ziling and Ke Dazhiing together, they did not dare to neglect. While sending someone to report to Li Shimin posthaste, they took the two men into the study room. Li Shimin went out of the room to personally greeted them; he spoke cheerfully, Im just having a good chat with Wei Qing [subject]; we all are of the same side, no need to have any scruples. Oh! Dont worry about all court etiquettes. Xu Zilingughed and said, Huangshang shouldve call himself Zhen [I, imperial use] to conform to the etiquette and propriety between a ruler and his ministers. In high spirits, Li Shiminughed hoarsely and said, Ziling actually came to tease me? Ha! Very well! Deference is no substitute for obedience [idiom; it is said to ept somebodys request, invitation, etc.]. In the future, Ziling must not me me for having the impertinence to address you and Kou Zhongcking of propriety. One hand pulling Xu Ziling, the other pulled the rather overwhelmed-by-favor-from-superior Ke Dazhi, he took striding steps into the imperial study room. Wei Zheng stood up to greet them, with smile across his whole face, apparently he was getting along well with Li Shimin, like a fish back in water. Li Shimin did not sit on the dragon desk, he first told Ke Dazhi and Wei Zheng to sit on one side, while he himself dragged Xu Ziling along to sit side by side on the opposite seats, and said withugh, Wei Qing taught Zhen to select the best persons not based on personal association, those who bear aspirations and professionals that use up their talents to the utmost. Every word is gems of wisdom, Zhen have learned a lot. What Wei Qing said is very true. In the current situation, only those who pay no attention to close and distant rtives, not remembering hatred and desire for revenge C can be used, can be trusted without any doubt. Only then will our Great Tang have the hope for revival, not fail to live up to Song Fazhus earnest hope toward us. Xu Ziling had a good feeling. Actually, Li Shimin already had this intention, yet he still patiently listened to Wei Zheng giving the same advice and even spoke some words of praise, which demonstrated his tolerance and generosity, willing to listen to his ministers opinions and encouraged them to express their ideas. Submitting cheerfully, Wei Zheng said, Just now Huangshang pointed out to Weichen [this small official] that toward the monarch, officials should obey more and oppose less. Willing to speak as a means to ept tolerance, this is precisely what the emperor guards against and detests. Therefore, he urges Weichen [plural] to speak in the future, not to have anything hidden, must be willing to speak out about the emperors fault. Li Shimin nodded happily and said, Anyone who can admonish frankly with no regard to his own heart will be able to put it into effects in government and education, Zhen will certainly treat them with the courtesy of a friend from whom you can seek advice. Turning toward Xu Ziling, he said, You dont know how much I wish I coulde to Fu Ju Lou to seek you guys to drink and chat merrily, only too bad I have no time to spare. And then he said to Ke Dazhi, Ke Jiangjun is Zilings brother, whatever it is you have to say, speak without any convenience, Zhen will certainly exhaust my strength to aplish Ke Jiangjuns cherished desire. Li Shimins astuteness and broad-mindedness really made Ke Dazhi emotionally moved, thereupon he told the matter. Li Shiminughed aloud and said, Such a trivial matter, if Zhen go as far as refusing it, will I still have the face to see Ziling? Then he instructed the attendant to immediately summon Wen Yanbo. Ke Dazhi had never thought that it would go without a hitch, so he promptly stood up and was about to kneel down to express his gratitude for the emperors favor, but Li Shimin helped him up, and spoke earnestly, The reason why Ziling and Shaoshuai think so highly of me, Li Shimin, is because they think that I, Li Shimin, can bring about unity and peace to the world, instead of disasters and wars. In Zhens eyes, Hua Yi [China and non-Han] One Family, plus with Yang Guangs overturned cart [learning a lesson from the mistakes of ones predecessor (idiom)], Zhen will never allow myself to make the same mistakes. Different ethnic groups can coexist peacefully, it will only be beneficial without any harm to all parties. Ke Dazhi revealed a touched expression, he said, How will Huangshang deal with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall? Li Shimin smiled and said, This aspect, Zhen leave it to Shaoshuai to take full responsibility. Shaoshuais heart has be very soft now. There is nock ofrades in arms and brothers within the allied armies, Dazhi should feel relieved. Wei Zheng stood up and bowed and said, In Chenxias [official in feudal court] opinion, presently it is really not suitable to confront the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall directly, even though Weichen has full confidence in Shaoshuai, and certain that under Shaoshuais leadership our chance of victory isparatively high. Li Shimin told Ke Dazhi and Wei Zheng to sit down. With his hands behind his back, he walked to the front of the table, his eyes fell on the seal of state that Li Yuan had personally handed to him on the desk, his eyebrows slightly knitted, he said, Wei Qings proposal puts Zhen in a very difficult position. Disregarding life or death, considering power and position like mustard grass, Shaoshuai came to help Zhen, what he is asking is righteousness, one character. Now if I, barely ascending to the emperor position, immediately overthrow the former promise and hole up in Changan and do not go out, sitting and watching the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall creating destruction and looting everywhere, how can I be worthy of Shaoshuai? Moreover, I will be unable to forgive myself. Ke Dazhi revealed auding expression, but Xu Ziling had another set of ideas. He had long understood how Li Shimin could control his ministers, could employ their talent to the fullest. Now the topic under discussion was incisive and pressing, not to make Wei Zheng dumbstruck and unable to reply, but to inspire Wei Zheng to use his brains again, toe up with ways to solve the problem, to brave death in utmost remonstration, and to measure Wei Zhengs real weight even more. If because of this Wei Zheng cowered, he would definitely not be put in an important position by Li Shimin in the future. Wei Zheng was about to stand up to state his views, but Li Shimin moved to Xu Zilings side to sit down again. He smiled and said, Lets just treat it as a small talk, Qingjia does not need to stand on ceremony. Wei Zheng was obviously moved by Li Shimins open-mindedness and sincerity in epting his remonstrance. After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, he spoke respectfully, There are two reasons to support Weichens view. First, Huangshang ascended the throne only today, while Taizi and Qi Wangs remaining power has not disappeared. Domestically, many things are waiting to be done, the great undertaking of reunification still has its repercussions, it is not suitable to cause heavy casualties due to military campaign, it will affect the stable development of national conditions and popr sentiment. Secondly, even if we prevail, it will only aggravate the hatred and desire for revenge between the Central Earth and various tribes beyond the Great Wall. Sooner orter, inevitably the one to suffer will be us again. This is Weichens humble opinion, Huangshang, please cote and examine critically. Li Shimin cheerfully said, Wei Qings words, each one is bead of irregr pearl [precious], you stand tall and see far. That being the case, what is the best way to solve Zhens difficult problem? Wei Zheng said, Shaoshuai has great wisdom and great courage. As long as we tell Shaoshuai as things really are, he will have a way to satisfy rival demands. Ke Dazhi pped his thigh and said, That is the best way. Dazhi also has an eight-character true statement, which is Empty is real, real is empty [xu ze shi zhi, shi ze xu zhi]. Li Shimin, Xu Ziling, and Wei Zheng, three men were emotionally moved at the same time. Xu Ziling asked, Is Dazhi warning us? Ke Dazhi smiled and said, You could say that. One of the reasons is that the Great Khan did not reveal the slightest bit of his battle n to me, showing his suspicion of me, which made me no longer wish to follow him, to vow loyalty and devotion to him. More importantly, I believe that with Kou Zhongs ability, we can surely meet Wei Xianshengs request, to dissolve the disaster of war into nothingness. But I am putting forward a suggestion like this, in the end, I am still giving thought for the Tujue people, I dont want our n to establish such a formidable opponent as the new Great Tang. Moreover, I believe firmly in Huangshangs Hua Yi as One good faith, I am convinced of Kou Zhongs promise of peaceful coexistence between the Central Earth and foreign countries. In the end, it is still a bit selfish, hoping that Huangshang will treat my nsmen remaining and living in Changan kindly. Remaining cool-headed, Li Shimin said, Was that Dazhis pure spection, or did you grasp spiders thread and horse track [clues]? Ke Dazhi spoke heavily, The timing of the coalition troops gathering in the northern border of Taiyuan does not seem to conform to reason, furthermore, it is not in line with the usual tactics of using wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly] that the Great Khan loves to use. From the northern border to here, a thousand li distance, it surely is hard to avoid your eyes and ears. Even if they can reach Guanzhong, certainly they will suffer devastation by ambush along the way. I dare say that the reason why Shengzhe [the saint] left in a hurry is because the coalition forces have sessfully sneaked into Guanzhong, they can reach the outside the City of Changan within a few days. Li Shimin stood up abruptly, he spoke decisively, Zhen want to see Kou Zhong immediately. Inside the imperial study room, finished listening to Ke Dazhi view, Kou Zhongughed and said, Ha! Good kid. I did not mean you, Dazhi, but that old kid Xieli. My father-inws vision was even more like a torch, he urged Zhizhi to remind me that the coalition forces could appear suddenly at any moment. Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, Shaoshuai is in a very good mood! Kou Zhong responded casually, So good that I almost burst into a song, only Im afraid you cant stand my tone. Ha! Huh? Why is your expression so heavy? Whats the big deal? Counter soldiers with arms, water with an earth weir; Laozi practically does not fear any allied armies. Li Shimin heaved a sigh, he said to Wei Zheng, Wei Qing may report the view in your heart to Shaoshuai as things really are. Turning to Wei Zheng sitting beside him, Kou Zhong asked in astonishment, What is it that you want to say to me? Thereupon Wei Zheng expressed his viewpoint again. Listening to that, Kou Zhongs brows greatly knitted, he looked at Xu Ziling first. Thetterughed and said, Whats so good to look at? Dont you think what Wei Xiansheng said makes sense? Li Shimin spoke earnestly, Ill leave everything to Shaoshuai to decide. Ke Dazhi remained silent. Smiling apologetically at Xu Ziling, Kou Zhong said, What Ling Shao thinks is right, how can I, this little Shaoshuai, dare to oppose. I was justparing the situation between the enemy and us in my heart. Wei Xiansheng is right, we, not just in name only, but also in reality, have the foot of our troop disposition not stable yet, the public sentiment is so, in the military affairs, this is also so. Even if the Shao Shuai Army, the Song Family Army, and the Jianghuai Army, three armies arrive in time, we still have problems withmand and cooperation, newers barely arriving and are immediately thrown into battle, while the other sideing with stored up momentum, with adequate training. It will be even harder for us to be optimistic. His grannys bear! If he, Xieli kides with real is empty or what have you, I will pay him back with empty is real. Leave everything to me. Greatly delighted, Li Shimin said, Shaoshuai has thought of a way to deal with it? Kou Zhongughed and said, My brain is particrly nimble today. Xieli has moved stealthily for a thousand li, eventually he will show up. But only when he ising near that we are going to wake up with a start; that would be very bad. Therefore, the top priority before our eyes is to figure out clearly which route the opposide side will take to attack Changan? Li Shimin said, Xieli wants to avoid our spies eyes and ears, so he will Ke Dazhi stood up and saluted, Dazhi wants to see my nsmen and tell them about Huangshangs favor, Huangshang, please grant your permission. Before Li Shimin could speak, Kou Zhongughed and said, We are all brothers, what is there to avoid as taboo? Quickly sit down for me. Ke Dazhi shook his head and said, I will leave for Shanhai Pass immediately. If we are brought together by fate, another day I will raise my cup and have a heart-to-heart chat with gentlemen brothers. Li Shimin nodded and said, Dazhi, set your heart at ease, your nsmen will live in peace and work happily in Changan. This is Zhens promise to Dazhi. Xu Ziling stood up and said, Let me see Dazhi off for a while. After the two left, Li Shimin continued, They will take a more westward route. The terrain of Jingzhous mountains and rivers are the most suitable to conceal the troops and horses track. Supposing before today he hides by day and travels by night, our side would be too busy to pay attention, indeed they would be able to avoid our eyes and ears. Kou Zhong asked, What important city is there in Jingzhou? Li Shimin said, The most important and strategic city in Jingzhou is Wugong, located north of the Wei River. There is an official road that leads directly to Xianyang, less than a hundred li away from Changan, and even closer to Xianyang. Supposing they take Xianyang, they could then control the temporary bridge over the Wei River, and cut off the passage between the north and south, two banks of the Wei River. Advancing they could attack Changan, retreating they could defend Xianyang. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up, he said, If we could defend Wugong and Xianyang firmly, wouldnt Xieli have no room to advance or to retreat? Li Shimin cheerfully said, Shimin has exactly this intention. If Xieli wanted to enter Jingzhou the gods did not know the ghosts did not perceive, he would have to drastically reduce his troops, with light cavalry and in clothes, plus not being able to carry arge amount of army provisions even more. Therefore, if he could not quickly capture the city, in the supply aspect, immediately difficulties will arise. Wei Zheng said, Xianyang and the city of Jingyang to the north are interdependent, we must strongly defend the three cities at the same time. Although the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall can obtain food and grass supplies from Gaoling County on the way from Wugong to Xianyang, the quantity is limited, only enough to support him for ten to fifteen more days, depending on the number of men. Kou Zhong spoke in astonishment, Unexpectedly Xiansheng is so proficient in Guanzhongs situation, it is amazing. Wei Zheng sighed and said, In the past, when I followed Mi Gong, I made ns to attack Guanzhong many times for Mi Gong, but now everything has be the past. Li Shimin said, The change in the situation in Changan must have been greatly beyond the enemys expectations. Not only the army and civilians in Changan are of one heart, the vitality is not hurt the slightest bit, and it is unlikely that the news would be leaked, which is very beneficial to us. Shimin will dispatch the troops first to substantially reinforce Wugong, Xianyang and Jingyang city defense. Other things, I leave it to Shaoshuai to be in charge, even if Shaoshuai decides to confront Xieli head-on, Shimin will have no objection. Kou Zhongughed and said, Wei Xianshengs proposal is thought-provoking. I, Kou Zhong, am not a brave-and-fighting-ruthlessly person, not to mention within the allied armies are many of my brothers. Ha! All of a sudden I feel like victory is within our grasps. Huangshang, please give an order to reward the three armies, all the brothers who worked hardst night shall have a good rest, leave everything to my subordinates. As long as the three cities are as stable as iron barrels, this battle will be a sess. Li Shimin said, The tactic Shaoshuai is using must be elite troops strategy, how many men and horses do you want Shimin to allocate to you? Kou Zhong smiled and said, No need to inconvenient Huangshang with a single soldier, a single pawn, my three-thousand-man elite troops will do. Li Shimin said, How does Shaoshuai want me to cooperate? Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, The problem is that my troops have not slept all night, at least they must have a good rest for four sichen before they can set off. In fact, your subordinates are also in the same situation. Li Shimin thought about it and said, Then I will make two-pronged preparation. On the one hand, I will give the order for the troops that will go off to war to rest. On the other hand, I will assemble the fleet, and load the equipment and foodstuff onto the warship. The three units of vanguard army will set off at xu hour [7-9 pm] to separately head off to the three cities, they must be able to consolidate the city defenses before daybreak, and then I will personally lead the main force to join you. Kou Zhong stretched his limbs and said, While there is still some time, I will force Ling Shao to take me to see that Meirener of his, to see how much the woman who can make Ling Shao fall in love can really move other peoples heart. Book 63: Chapter 6: Empty and Real Tactic

Book 63: Chapter 6: Empty and Real Tactic

Outside the imperial study room, Kou Zhong conferred with Xu Ziling, he said, Wheres Dazhi, that kid? Once a brother, we should give a good farewell dinner for him. Xu Ziling said, Let him leave quietly! Fenghan and Xibai are going to pick up Badaier to Xing Qing Pce. Just now Li Dage told me that Pei Ji, Wang Bodang and Zhuge Dewei, three men have been taken into custody, waiting to be dealt with. Yang WenGan, Chi Shengchun and the others are still missing. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Wanwan wouldnt lie to us, would she? Xu Ziling shook his head and said, There is no need for her to lie to us. On Zhizhis aspect, what do you have to say? Pleased with himself, Kou Zhong said, I never thought she could talk so good to me like this. I hadnt had a chance to say anything about a one night of passion or giving a vehement full ount, unexpectedly she took the initiative to encourage me to ept Shang Xiufang. Naturally its not to be taken as a precedent. Xu Ziling said, In that case, I really must to congratte you! This is the best example of when the boat reaches the bridge, it will pass underneath without trouble [proverb: everything will be all right]. And then his expression turned grave, he said, Before leaving the pce, Dazhi specifically reminded me that Bi Xuan, Zhao Deyan and the others clearly left immediately after Jianchengunching the coup dtat. ording to Dazhis guess, Bi Xuan and the others rushed to meet Xieli in such a hurry to urge Xieli to seize the opportunity of the great chaos in Changan and the instability of the armys heart. Therefore, Xielis vanguard troops are likely to arrive at any time either today or tomorrow, these two days, in order not to give Changan a chance to breathe. Kou Zhongs countenance changed, he said, Then how am I going to meet my midnight appointment with Xiufang tonight? Xu Ziling spoke in displeasure, If you cant go tonight, there will be tomorrow night. After beating back Xieli, there will be countless nights waiting for you, this lecher. Kou Zhong said decisively, Your lecture is well-taken. Go find Lao Ba and Xiao Hou immediately. After I exin to Li Kid, we, four major martial art masters will set off immediately. Hee hee ! When you are in Qingxuans presence, wont you also be a lecher? Aghast, Xu Ziling said, Youre not joking, are you? What makes you think the four of us can deal with Xieli? How would that be different from throwing away our lives? Besides, we dont know the exact route that the enemy is taking to invade our territory. Kou Zhong smiled and said, This is precisely the empty is real strategy. As long as we can drag it until tomorrow, our army willplete the operation of establishing our presence in various military strategic towns, Xieli will be foreordained to return without any achievement [idiom: go home with ones tail between ones legs]. Kou Zhong strode into Li Shimins imperial study room again, he smiled apologetically to the six senior ministers who were having an audience with Li Shimin and said, Please dont me Kou Zhong for being disrespectful, because this kid has urgent matters that must be discussed in secret with Huangshang immediately. The six senior ministers were shocked, all they could think about was the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, how could they still be in the mood to me him? Being tactful, they hurriedly took their leave. Li Fan closed the door behind them. Proud of himself, Kou Zhong said, I finally passed the craving of power as government official, as prime minister or a great general. For the time being, it is the power to overturn an imperial court, with Huangdi Laozi [old man the emperor] giving consent, every cab minister immediately leaves on their own initiative. Li Shiminughed hoarsely, he said, Luckily I have youing often when I feel vexed in dealing with this thing to relieve my boredom. Ay! Your way of thinking is correct, being the emperor is definitely exhausting. Kou Zhong sighed and said, I also wanted toe often to relieve Huangshangs boredom, only too bad there is no time to dy, we must set off immediately, hoping to scare Xieli to stop and give us one night of time toplete the three cities defense. I propose to use Ma Changs troops to defend Wugong instead. Ma Chang is my most remarkable number one great general, he will definitely live up to my trust. And then he exined the reasons for changing the n. Li Shimin said, Very well! I aming with you. Kou Zhong was shocked, You are joking, right? he said, If you go, who will keep watch in Changan? Li Shimin spoke glibly, How about your Li Jing Dage? Whether in term of ability or prestige, he can take my ce, in term of moral standing, there is absolutely no problem even more. Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, Frankly speaking, that is not the real reason why I dont want you to take risks. The real reason is that I am afraid that your poor martial arts will be a burden on us instead. Understand? Huangshang? Li Shimin roared inughter and said, Only now that I feel that you really think of me as a good brother like Ziling. My martial art is poor, you are surely joking? In which battle I did not fight at the head of my troops? Sometimes with just a few people I killed from the front of the disposition of troops all the way to the tail. Each time, there were thousands of pairs of eyes watching. Kou Zhong dejectedly said, You are the Huangdi Laozi, the final decision is of course in your hands. Being alone turns out can be so hard to take. Ha ! Li Shimin cheerfully said, I finally got half a day to spare, so temporarily I dont need to be the emperor. The single-masted boat turned into the Wei River and sailed in the direction of Wugong. Onboard the high-speed boat, there were not only the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the world, Xu Ziling, Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai, but also Li Shimin, the new master of the Great Tang. Li Shimin sat next to Xu Ziling, who was operating the sail. Checking the darts and arrows he brought, he dered, You must not call me Huangshang. Tonight, I am fighting side by side with you guys as a brother. Leaning against the hull, with a leisurely demeanor, wiping the Stealing-the-Heaven Sword, Ba Fenghan looked askance at Li Shimin, and spoke indifferently, Since for the time being you are not the emperor, I dont need to be polite to you, may I ask, there is the good fortune of being the emperor you dont enjoy, but you want to apany us through this muddy water instead? The standing at the stern of the boat, feeding grass to the five warhorses with Kou Zhong C Hou Xibaiughed and said, ording to Kou Zhong, being an emperor is more exhausting than going to the battlefield, ha ha! Li Shimin spoke glibly, First of all, we want to use the what-is-true-and-what-is-false-is-hard-to-fathom tactic to confuse the enemy. With Shimins participation, at least our persuasive power will be increased. When the enemy sees Shaoshuai, they will think that the Shao Shuai Army is lying in ambush somewhere in the rear; seeing Shimin, they ought to remember that Changan is firmly in our hands, and we are going all out to face their attack head-on. Xu Ziling agreed, Thats true. Li Shimin smiled and said, Secondly, no one knows the geographical situation over there better than me. Only I can urately grasp the enemys marching route. Kou Zhongughed and said, It was precisely because I thought of this point that I could not refuse your participation. In Luoyang, we had already experienced Shimins ability in this aspect. Ba Fenghan spoke heavily, If Shimin Xiong guesses wrong, not only are we going in vain this time, we may even lose an important city near Changan! Kou Zhong looked forward to the sun going down behind the mountain in the west, he said, Shimin cant go wrong in this regard. However, if we want our operation to seed, however many falcons there are in the sky, we must shoot them all. Its a pity that Shimin Xiongs spirited vulture stays in Luoyang, otherwise this problem can be solved by raising your hand. Hou Xibai was speechless, he said, And Xieli has brought hundreds of falcons, wouldnt we be up to our ears in work? Ba Fenghan sneered and said, Falcons that can be trained to scout the enemy not necessarily one in a thousand. The entire army could have two, that can already be considered not bad. Besides, dealing with such intelligent beasts, we have ample experience. First lure them with bait, once they enter my Shooting-the-Moon Bows range, I guarantee not one can return to its master. Li Shimin looked up at the sky and said, Before the sun goes down, we should be able to cross Wugong and reach the bestnding spot! The five riders rushed out of the trail in the dense forest area and climbed to the top of a small hill. The Wei River was flowing on the left, ahead was the vast area of ??sparse forests and ins ten li west of Wugong, far away on the right wereyer uponyer of unbroken chain of peaks, hills and ins; the bright moon was gradually climbing to the sky, its clear splendor beam of light casting long shadows of men and horses onto the hillslope ahead. What time is it now? Kou Zhong asked. Hou Xibai replied, About the turn of the you hour [5-7pm] to wu [fifth of the ten Heavenly Stems]. If the enemy arrives at this time and rushes to Wugong at full speed, they can control and block Wugong before our troops enter and garrison in Wugong! Li Shimin pointed his horse whip ahead, If the enemyes to attack Wugong, this is the only route to take; moreover, because the Wei River is nearby, there is no fear of water shortage, and the grasnd area can provide tender grass for the warhorses! Xieli has Xiang Yushan leading the way, they will not give up the easy to take the difficult, and waste some precious time! After a short pause, he continued, Since Xielis goal is Xianyangs Bianqiao [lit. temporary bridge, not sure if it is a ces name], he must capture Wugong and Jingyang at the same time, and then Xianyang will be the object in his bag. The first unit of our troops to set off from Changan, led by Jingde, should arrive at Jingyang at this time. We should have plenty of time to make arrangement calmly! Judging from the fact that Xielis vanguard troops have not yet arrived here, the wonder troops that Xieli dispatched separately to cross the mountains to attack Jingyang could onlyunch surprise attack on Jingyang, at the earliest, after chou hour [1-3 am]. His analysis made the four men fully appreciate his ability to strategize and predict the enemy like a deity. It was precisely because he knew the geographical situation like the back of his hand, and he was proficient in the art of war that he could take the lead everywhere, making arrangement calmly, living up to his reputation of being an expert in defense. Ba Fenghan jumped off his horse, ran down the hillslope,y prostrate and stuck his ear on the ground,unching his earth listening technique. Hou Xibai said, Xieli is as cunning as a fox, he deliberately pretended to assemble arge army to the north of Liu Wuzhous former territory, to make us think that he was going to mount a sneak attack toward Taiyuan County, cross the Yellow River and charge into Guanzhong, turns out it is only secretly crossing the Wei River at Chencang. Using Liang Shidu as a cover, he sneaked to the Wei River, from the west to the east, to invade Changan. If he catches us unprepared and upy Wugong, Jingyang, and Xianyang, three cities, Changans main force will not be able to move a single step, the other cities will be in danger. Xu Ziling smiled and said, Fortunately, the crisis in Changan was resolved overnight, otherwise there would be a great chance that Xieli would prevail. Ba Fenghan flew back, he spoke cheerfully, Shimins guess is unmistaken, a team of light cavalry with more than a thousand men ising at full speed from about four li away! Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, We are half sessful! Hou Xibai looked around at the sky, he spoke in astonishment, Howe we have not seen the falcons shadow? Kou Zhong responded in a rxed manner, Because Xieli, little kid, thought that in Changan, fire beacons are everywhere, blood flow bes a river, corpses are piling up like a mountain. He practically did not expect us to be in this pass to wait and wee the army to be stationed here. In his vision for the future, Wugong could withstand a sichen of his attack, it could already be considered very remarkable, hence there is no need to send a falcon to explore the route ahead, the falcon must still be hiding inside the falcon cage. Li Shimin did not understand, he asked, In that case, if Xieli released a falcon, wouldnt our empty forest tactic be exposed immediately? With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, When ites to dealing with falcons, I am the expert. When a falcon sees the enemy below, it will fly in a circle above the enemy. The eagle master can estimate the range of the enemys distribution based on the size of the eagles circle. Therefore, if Lao Ba, Xiao Hou and Ling kid, three men galloped into the forest, far away from each other and from different directions, the falcon will fly around in big circles, so that the enemy mistakenly think that there are arge number of hidden troops on both sides of the passage inside the dense forest! Not only we do not need to cruelly shoot the falcon dead, we can also use it in turn to trick the enemy! Ha such a perfect n. Ba Fenghan leaped onto his horses back,ughed, and said, If your n doesnt work out, I hope you have another perfect n to escape n, ha Ziling, Xibai, let us, these little pawns, carry out Shaoshuaismand! The three men urged their horses to turn around and rush into the jungle! Kou Zhong listened carefully, he spoke cheerfully, The enemy is here, I really wish its daytime, so that we can enjoy the surprised expression on the enemys face when they see us. Li Shimin took out the torch, he sighed and said, I never thought that I would confront the Golden Wolf Army, which can be rated as unequalled in the universe C side by side with Shaoshuai. When I think about it, I also feel the bizarre twists and turns of the affairs of life, which exceed all expectations. The sound of hoofbeats gradually arose, suddenly, about half a li ahead, everything was covered with dark, dense Tujue cavalry, stirring up the dust, the moon and the stars lost their splendor. Two torches were burning brightly, separately inserted on the ground by Kou and Li, men and horses side. Standing on top of the hill, the two men appeared to be immortals. Actually, these two also represented the current eras most outstanding military talents of the new generation of the Central Earth. Looking at them makes one think of the tworgest military forces in the Central ins, the twobined into one. Bugle horn sounded, one after another the enemy riders reined in their horses. Kou Zhong said to Li Shimin, It is indeed Xielis Golden Wolf Army, which shows that the trust among the various ethnic groups in the allied armies is not enough. Otherwise, Xieli would have allowed any one of the Khitan Army, Shiwei Army or Huihe Army to be the vanguard troops. Li Shimin said, If the enemy troops attacking Jingyang are also the Golden Wolf Army, only then will Shaoshuais thinking can be verified. Kou Zhong nodded, Thats true, he said. And then he shouted loudly in Tujuenguage, Kou Zhong and Li Shimin are here, respectfully weing Great Khan Xieli. One general of the opposite side urged his horse toe out, and shouted wildly, Dont think Ill fall for your tricks, charge! The thousands of Tujue warriors all shouted, bugle horn sounded again, the warhorses neighed, and more than a thousand horsemen lined up in three rows, front and rear. The first row, more than three hundred men, urged their horses to sprint first to charge toward the small hill, and then the other two rows followed closely to rush out. Immediately the hoofbeats thundered, the shout of battle cry shook the sky. Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, The oneing out and hu hu he he just now, wasnt it Kang Qiaoli? Li Shimin did not show the slightest bit of shock either, he nodded glibly and said, Looks like Xieli ising in a hurry, and he must be striving for time, hence he uses a great general tomand the vanguard army, and as soon as they arrive, they attack Wugong. The enemies in the first row rushed to a distance of 1,500 paces, and suddenly the bugle horn was sounded again. The entire enemies reined in their horses and halted more than 1,300 paces away! Kang Qiaoli came out from the crowd for the second time and shouted loudly, Even if you have magnificent army with thousands of men and horses, you will only be used by our Tujue iron hoofs to trample on! Kou Zhongughed and said, Kang Qiaoli is timid! Can you understand his Tujuenguage? Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, Since the age of eight, Xiaodi has learned to speak Tujue. Shaoshuai does not need to trante. Kou Zhong shouted in Tujuenguage, saying, Kang Qiaoli, how dare you brag in front of me, Kou Zhong. In the past, who greatly defeated your Golden Wolf Army in Rushing Wolf in? In your own territory you still suffer big defeat from me, Kou Zhong, let alone you toiled your army in faraway expedition, prating deeply into our territory. Ha! Let me be honest with you, we are now ying the empty city stratagem, here, we only have the two of us. If you have enough guts, give me all you got, see if we can meet you. If you dont have enough guts, you are the grandson of a turtle. Ha ! Kang Qiaoli shouted his order, but not tomand his men to charge over, to prove that they were not grandsons of a turtlecking the guts. He just instructed his subordinates to light dozens of torches, immediately the mes were raging, suddenly it seemed that the two torches on Kou Zhongs side were alone and weak, difficult topete for splendor. Several Tujue high-ranking military officers gathered by Kang Qiaolis side to speak, and under the light of the fire, they debated whether to attack or not. Kou Zhongughed proudly and said, If we really want to lure the enemy to advance deeply, what step should we take now? Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, Naturally dispatching the troops to take the initiative to attack, to arouse the enemys anger, ay! Your n to deal with the falcon, basically there is no favorable position to use your skill, because the enemys vanguard unit is not apanied by a falcon. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Shimin Xiong, please stay here to watch the fun, Xiaodi is leaving! mping the horses belly, the Piercing-the-Sun Bow already out in his hand, it opened up, and when the warhorse rushed down the hill, he used his unique skill to pull out four powerful arrows from the quiver, and charged straight towards the enemys line. Kang Qiaoli and the various other generals were shocked, they had no time to discuss further, they returned to their own team in a hurry. All the Tujue warriors did not wait for orders, everybody bent their bow and put on an arrow, ready to meet Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose name shook the Central ins and beyond the Great Wall. In a breath, Kou Zhong urged his horse down the hill, four powerful arrows were shot out in rapid session from beyond the enemys arrow range, spiraling forward. By the time four horses were hit by the arrows and fell to the ground, another string of four arrows was shot from the Piercing-the-Sun Bow and flying away swiftly using spiraling momentum. At the enemys front line, warhorses fell to the ground one after another in a great mess. More than a dozen Tujue warriors had their vicious nature aroused, ignoring themand, they urged their horses to rush out, so that the men behind them did not dare to shoot arrows instead, for fear of identally hurting their own warriors. Kang Qiaoli shouted loudly to stop them. Kou Zhong fired the third round of arrows. Among the seventeen warriors charging towards him, four riders copsed, so the soldiers on horseback were all thrown to the ground. Qiang! Kou Zhong pulled out the Moon in the Well, right hand holding the saber, left hand the bow, without extra trouble he swept away the arrows shot at him. In an instant he encountered the enemy on the open country between the two armies. Greatly delighted, Kang Qiaoli issued the order to attack. Three rows of cavalry immediately sprinted towards him at full speed. Amidst the cry of pain and miserably groan, those who met Kou Zhong were either hit by the back of the saber, or swept off the horseback by the Piercing-the-Sun Bow. And then Kou Zhong turned around and simply left, unleashing the man and horse as one technique, swiftly pulling away from the range of arrows that the cavalry was shooting at him, rushing to the bottom of the hill. Bugle horn sounded. The Tujue warriors rescued their sides fallen horse, unexpectedly they pulled back a thousand paces, before forming a strict formation and returning to the previous standing-opposite-to-each-other position. Kou Zhong galloped back to return to Li Shimin side, heughed and said with a grin, How about showing off a couple of hands? Li Shiminughed and said, Shaoshuais move is targeted at smart enemies, and Kang Qiaoli did not disappoint us even more. Kou Zhong reined in his horse, he stared into the distance, and spoke heavily, Xielis good-self is here! Li Shimin also heard the sound of galloping warhorses in the distance, he looked up at the sky and said, Shaoshuais perfect n can be expected to seed. A dot of ck shadow appeared high in the starry sky and was flying towards them. Kou Zhongs countenance suddenly changed, he said, Bad! We missed one detail! Book 63: Chapter 7: The Decisive Battle in Front of the Disposition of Troops

Book 63: Chapter 7: The Decisive Battle in Front of the Disposition of Troops

Kang Qiaolis vanguard unit changed its formation, one divided into two, from the center point it changed into two wings. Therge unit of Golden Wolf Army, in a spirited-movement-like-deity high speed rushed forth from the sparse forest area like a tidal wave, everyone was murderous-looking. It seems to be abrupt and in disorder without any pattern, but in fact, they have developed team spirit and tacit understanding to the transforming state of without-method-surpassing-with-method. With the two wings holding out the disposition of troops, they set up the battle array slightly behind, putting their natural color of unequalled mighty army division in full disy. Suddenly, a group of more than fifty warriors rushed forward, holding the shields on their left hands and the spears on the right, shouting and yelling battle challenge, but then swiftly retreating, followed by the second team rushing out and making all kinds of provocative actions, but not attacking for real, yet it was enough to pull tight the enemys nerves so that they did not dare to rx. Li Shimin asked, What am I missing? Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, I forgot that under such circumstances, Xieli practically has no other choice. He could only attack with troops, regardless of how many troops lying in ambush we had. Because if they were blocked here, they would not be able to join forces with those attacking Jingyang, because in that case, the troops attacking Jingyang will be severely defeated due tock of reinforcement andck of food supplies. Li Shimin stared nkly for a moment, then he nodded and said, Thats right! Much less Xieli has full of confidence in himself that he wont believe that the Golden Wolf Army will be defeated in the ins battle. Ay! Its not that I havent thought about this issue, but it only shed and died down, I also think that with Shaoshuais prestige, we can temporarily press down and scare Xieli, and in fact we still have no choice. Kou Zhong raised his head to look back, after flying severalrge circles, the falcon flew back to the enemy line. Li Shimin smiled and said, Our achievement so far can be considered impressive, at least we can dy them for nearly a sichen. After the first unit of the Golden Wolf Army retreated, the other two units came out at the same time in military show of force and shouting match, indeed it could make people lose their courage before engaging inbat, no one knew when this kind of taking turn to challenge the opponent to fight would suddenly be real strike. The sound of hoofbeats arose, Ba Fenghan urged his horse, rushing to Kou Zhongs other side, he said, Somethings wrong! Looking at the situation, Xieli is going to ignore the ambush and send his troops to attack! One after another Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai rushed to the top of the hill, they both had grave expressions. This moment, the two units retreated, and suddenly there was a thunderous, shaking the heaven cheers, under the flying banner, Xieli, surrounded by Zhao Deyan, Tonyukuk, Xiang Yushan, and a group of tribal chiefs, along with several hundreds of personal guards escorting him, upright and unafraid C rode his horse in between the front disposition of troops, which split up to create a passage lined by wall of men and horses, straight to the front of the formation. From Kou Zhong and the others point of view, before their eyes were Tujue elite cavalry, extending into the infinite depths of the sparse forest, everything clear and in good order, in neat disposition of troops, and tight formation. Knitting his brows, Li Shimin said, They have thirty-thousand men, enough power to attack three Wugong cities! Kou Zhong spoke heavily, Do you see Bi Xuan? Ba Fenghan replied, Its impossible for him not to be in it, only we have not found his shadow yet! Hou Xibai said, There is only one move left, we immediately retreat into the jungle to see if they really dare to attack! Ba Fenghan said, And if they really dare to attack? Xu Ziling sighed and said, We have no choice but to flee to Wugong City immediately, try to defend it to the death, and wait for reinforcements toe to lift the siege Smiling ruefully, Li Shimin said, That is an inferior n! The other sides reinforcements might arrive one after another, cutting off the traffic, both water andnd routes to Wugong, and then as easy as blowing off dust, they would be able to defeat Ma Changs three-thousand men, before attacking Wugong and sending troops to invade Xianyang and Jingyang, while we are trapped firmly inside the city of Wugong, however, I cannot think of a better n either. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I still have a n. Greatly delighted, Hou Xibai said, Speak quickly, if you dy, Im afraid it will be toote. Kou Zhong cast his gaze to watch the movements on Xielis side, he spoke calmly, Its Lao Ba going down the arena to challenge Bi Xuan! Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, Xieli is not going to let Bi Xuan to take such an unnecessary risk, its not worthwhile to deliberatelyplicate the issue even more, because he has the confidence to break through our practically non-existent hidden troops! Xu Ziling said, Kou Zhongs words are not without any reason, because in Longquan, Bi Xuan once agreed in public to fight Fenghan. If Bi Xuan shrink his head [like a turtle] and does note out, it will affect the Tujue sides prestige! The problem is that I dont think Fenghan should be allowed to take this risk. Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, What if I take this risk? Xieli definitely will not let Lao Bi go out to fight Fenghan, but if he can kill me on the spot, it will be akin to he wins this battle, so much so that he is aplishing the purpose of the entire invasion operation! Knitting his brows, Ba Fenghan said, If the one challenging him is you instead of me, wont you be afraid that the other side will get suspicious? Kou Zhong said, I dont have time to exin, Lao Ba quickly challenge Lao Bi! Ba Fenghan shouted loudly in Tujuenguage, Bi Xuan you dare to fight to the death with me, Ba Fenghan, to continue the unfinished karma outside the City of Longquan? The Tujue warriors suddenly fell silent, waiting for Xieli to speak. Xieli, who was giving orders to his various generals, looked at them. Throwing his head back, he roared inughter and shouted loudly back, Ba Fenghan, if you want to follow the path to your own doom, no one is going to stop you, if you can survive being trampled by our Golden Wolf Army, Shengzhe [the holy one] will naturally make his move to send you on your way! Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Such a beautiful speech. Turns out little kid Xieli is afraid that Shengzhe would be ughter by my brother, hence he does not dare to let Shengzhe go out to fight. Ha! Really funny! Xieli was suddenly very angry, all the Tujue warriors were even more furious, they shouted and cursed together. Tujue people attached utmost importance to the warrior honor, how could they endure the person they revered the most to be publicly humiliated like this? Bi Xuans voice came out from inside the opposite disposition of troops, each word shook the eardrums, but the tone of his voice remained calm; he said, Bi Xuan wishes to decide life and death with Shaoshuai first, Great Khan, please bestow permission! The crowd of Tujue warriors burst into thunderous cheers, they were greatly excited because Bi Xuan turned the table by challenging Kou Zhong. It should be noted that Kou Zhong once rendered big blow to the Golden Wolf Army at the Rushing Wolf in, bringing extraordinary shame and humiliation to the entire Golden Wolf army. If Bi Xuan could defeat Kou Zhong, naturally it would be to the satisfaction of everyone. Xieliughed heartily, acting as if Kou Zhong could only me himself for this, acting very pleased with himself without any care to anybody else; he shouted, Kou Zhong, did you hear that? Let us see if you have the guts, dont tell me you dont dare to meet the enemy head-on! It was only this moment that Li Shimin and the others understood Kou Zhongs brilliant scheme of spurring the opponent into action by making negative remarks, yet they were also very worried. Do you have the confidence? Hou Xibai asked. Kou Zhong responded with a smile full of confidence, he shouted loudly, Pei! Its not the first time I fight hand to hand with Bi Xuan, what guts do you need? Finished speaking, he pped the horse to gallop down the hill and shouted loudly, Bi Xuan, where are you? Li Shimin, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, and Xu Ziling, four men, unable to take their eyes off, they look at where Xieli and his subordinates, the great general and tribal chiefs were, waiting for Bi Xuan to appear. The Tujue warriors at the front of the formation kept adding new torches that they held high in their hands. The stars and moon in the sky were robbed of their radiance by the blood-red firelight. Suddenly, from Xieli down, everybody let out Ouwo shout like wolf howl. From the front of the formation extending far away to the rear, for a period of time, the entire forest and in were filled with wolves howl stuffing the sky and filling the earth, scaring the warhorses that they skipped over. Those who heard it had their heart chilled. It was in this strange, indescribable atmosphere that Bi Xuan, ck robe draped over his body, holding ance in his hand, urged his horse to gallop slowly out from the split open disposition of troops to meet Kou Zhong, standing proudly outside the formation. Ba Fenghans pair of eyes narrowed, it was focused on Bi Xuan. He sneered and said, Thence in Bi Xuans hand weighs ny-nine catties. The name of thence is Agushihuaya, and old Tujue expression, which means the wolf in moonlit night. When he was young, he relied on it to charge and break through enemy lines, crisscrossing the grasnd without any rival, since his debut he had been acimed as the adversary whom no one can knock down from horseback. After he turned sixty years old, he gave up thence and no longer used it; who would have thought that today, not only he dons armor and goes into battle, he is even using this wolfnce again. Kou Zhong reined his horse to halt, looking at Bi Xuan who was continuouslying near, heughed aloud and said, Turns out the skill that Shengzhe kept at the bottom of your chest is unexpectedly a heavy steelnce; forgive me for failing to show respect! Bi Xuan remained unmoved, his demeanor was calm and cool-headed, so much so that he appeared without any emotions of joy, resentment, delight, greed, anger, hatred, and fear that human beings should have, his pair of eyes grim, just like a vicious wolf staring fixedly at its prey. Suddenly the warhorse reared and stood on its hind legs. The moon wolf spear pointed diagonally at the night sky, the wolfs howl immediately turned into thunderous cheers and shouts, enhancing this grandmasters, who considered himself unexcelled in the world C spirit! Qiang! The Moon in the Well left its sheathe. When the front hooves of Bi Xuans warhorse touched the ground, Bi Xuan mped the horses belly, the warhorse shot out like an arrow dart. The Moon Wolf Lance drew circles in the air, both sides, the enemy and us, felt that with each circle, the Moon Wolf Lances power was increasing by anotheryer, until the moment he was about to cross swords with Kou Zhong, thences power reached its peak. On the Tujue side, everybody shouted themselves hoarse, expecting Bi Xuan to defeat the enemy with a singlence, sweeping Kou Zhong off the back of his horse. The moment Kou Zhong held the saber in his hand, all doubts, worries, victory or defeat, life and death were all thrown beyond the clouds of the Ninth Heaven. No matter how important this battle was, how it concerned the safety of Central Earth, no matter how big Bi Xuans reputation was, how overbearing his strength, his heart still did not carry anything. The Tujue warriors shout and cheer for his opponent did not have the slightest bit of influence to him. His sense of touch extended from the tip of the Moon in the Well in his hand, all the way to the mount under his crotch, and then extended continuously to the inexhaustible mother earth, covering the night with the moon and the stars over the big earth. No victory, no defeat, forget the person, forget the saber. Kou Zhongughed aloud, he mped his horse to meet Bi Xuan. The two mounts continuously approached each other, the speed was gradually increasing. On the Tujues side, everybody was as if they were drunk and stupefied, their shouts shook the earth! Anxiety hung in Li Shimin and the others guts; just by looking at how as soon as he made his move Bi Xuan already used all his strength, it could be seen that Bi Xuan wanted to decide victory or defeat against Kou Zhong within a few strikes, and whether Bi Xuans power, which surpassed sixty years of cultivation, on direct brute forcepetition, would overwhelm Kou Zhongs exquisite-like-a-deity Eight Methods of the Well. Only Xu Ziling clearly grasped the moment when Kou Zhong drew the saber into his hand, he had already seeded in entering the peak state. The most subtle and astonishing thing was that although the horses speed kept increasing, the Moon in the Wells momentum was getting slower and slower, so that the speed became a sharp contrast. It appeared that Kou Zhong had already captured some kind of secret, mysterious principle hidden between the heaven and the earth, hence Xu Ziling knew that Kou Zhongs slowness could just restrain Bi Xuans speed! And he knew even more that Kou Zhong, just like him, understood clearly that Bi Xuan had made a serious mistake. Thence spinning above Bi Xuans head turned into a whirlwind, starting slow and quickly became fast, creating a Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! whistle splitting the air, suppressing and frightening the entire arena. Looking at the speed in which the two horses were approaching each other, those with brilliant eyesight could see Bi Xuans exquisite grasp of the timing, he could raise the stream of power to the highest peak and presented thence to Kou Zhong. Not good! Li Shimin blurted out. Ba Fenghans expression also became extremely grave, he spoke heavily, Kou Zhong still has a masterstroke! He had not even finished speaking, Kou Zhong, who was only about three zhang away from Bi Xuan, beyond everybodys, both sides, including Bi Xuans C expectation, both the horse and the person, jumped into the air, leaping to a height of about a zhang, and pounced down straight from the air towards Bi Xuan. Man and horse as one. The opposite troop disposition suddenly quieted down like they became mute and unable to make any noise, everyone was dumbstruck, unable to believe what was happening before their eyes. Not only did Kou Zhong disy the mysterious wonder of man and horse as one technique, he even went one step further by using his unique schools secret method of reversing true qi on the horse to bring about miraculous changes. Bi Xuans warhorse was the first to be frightened, instinctively it moved away to one side, while Bi Xuan still needed a short moment before his could store up his full power in hisnce, yet he had no choice but to ruin the enterprise for the sake of one basketful by meeting Kou Zhongs saber strike covering his head and shing down C head-on. Kou Zhongs saber still maintained the slow-moving momentum since the beginning, however, due to the high speed of the warhorse pouncing down from the air, the extremely slow saber strike became as rapid as lightning. While Bi Xuans warhorse continued to stagger to the side, the Moon Wolf Lance turned from a whirlwind that could not be seen clearly to ance shape and picked up at an angle forward to meet Kou Zhongs saber strike that was mysterious, strange, and magical to the extreme point. As the two sides held their breath and quieted their qi to watch attentively, thence and the saber collided, sparks burst forth and sshed, producing a shaking-the-eardrums sharp noise. Bi Xuans warhorse spun on the spot twice in a row, and then its four legs turned weak. Its front legs buckled and dropped to the ground, and then it neighed sadly, and copsed sideways. Evidently Bi Xuan failed topletely neutralize Kou Zhongs spiraling saber power, and thus brought disaster to his mount. Kou Zhong was like an immortal descending to the earth, he controlled his mount that man and the horsended behind Bi Xuan. Under the million pairs of wide-opened eyes, the warhorse rushed forward more than ten steps, and then, without making any noise, it stumbled weakly forward, its head touched the ground first, followed by the horses body sliding on the grass, it kept rushing for nearly a zhang before it finally stopped altogether. Bi Xuan leaped off the slumping horseback, the man followed thence, the tip of thence was aimed at Kou Zhongs back. The Tujue side exploded into cheers again, but it was far less intense and full of confidence than before, because on the surface, Kou Zhong was at least able to share the limelight Bi Xuan. Xu Ziling knew that both men were injured at the same time, but he was greatly reassured instead, because the Long-Life Qi had given Kou Zhong more capital to resist injuriespared to Bi Xuan, not to mention that Kou Zhong was at least sixty years younger than Bi Xuan. [Note: sixty years (һ C yi jia zi) refer to one cycle of 12 zodiac and 5 elements.] Ba Fenghan was able to see that Bi Xuansnce momentum was somewhat inferior to before, he said, If Bi Xuan is defeated and dies, what will be the consequences? He knew the answer better than anyone, the reason he said that was to remind Li Shimin. Before Li Shimin could answer, Kou Zhongs, who had not yet touched the ground C saber struck backhandedly, heavily hacking Bi Xuans spearhead. And then he seized the opportunity to somersault several times in a row andnded to the side close to the slope of the hill. At first nce, both sides seem to be making moves at will, far less swift and fierce, intense and beyond everybodys expectation than confrontation on the horseback just now, but actually it was the result of thousand-hammer and hundred-refinement martial art cultivation, which had reached the transformation state between with and without intention. Bi Xuansnce strikes repeatedly disappeared and attacking, like flowing water and floating clouds, hiding ingenuity within clumsiness, countless changes werepletely hidden within the seemingly straightforward and honestnce strike, not much inferior to the Heavenly Saber. But Kou Zhong counterattacked with a backhanded saber strike, it was even more remarkable. Purely by virtue of the man and heaven merging into one, surpassing ordinary persons agility and reaction, he broke Bi Xuansnce momentum changes in one fell swoop, and found Bi Xuans escaping one. However, if it werent for previously Bi Xuans horsemanship was inferior, whichnded him in the disadvantageous position, he would not have been able to achieve such good results. From this, it could be seen that when martial art masters fought, it was a matter of finding ws and pressing against gaps, fighting for a cun difference. Bi Xuan spun around like a whirlwind, his long robe rose up, unexpectedly he simply tossed away the Moon Wolf Lance,ughed cheerfully, and said, The past is indeed an unnecessary burden. I never have thought that after the small farewell in Changan, Shaoshuais saber technique has made another progress, which made me pleasantly surprised! On the top of the hill, Xu Ziling sighed and said, Bi Xuan finally understands his mistake, but Kou Zhongs advantage has been established, even if Bi Xuan still has the power to reverse the rotation of the sky, it will be difficult to distinguish between victory and defeat. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Because he still cant let go of the past glory and war! It was only this time that Li Shimin answered Ba Fenghans previous question, If Bi Xuan dies in battle, the 30,000 Golden Wolf Army before our eyes will lose their reason, everyone will want to wash away the humiliation brought about by Bi Xuan being killed C like mad. They would want to kill as many Han people as they can, to massacre and wash Wugong with blood. Aghast, Hou Xibai said, What should we do then? Other than the empty forest strategy, we have an empty city strategy. Wugongs current city defense is less than five hundred men, practically it is unable to withstand a single blow! Xu Zilingughed and said, Xibai, dont worry, Kou Zhong knows this fact better than we do! Kou Zhong stood with the saber in his arms, he spoke respectfully to Bi Xuan, standing three zhang away, This kid Kou Zhong was lucky to take chances and seeded, making use of the warhorses nature to save his little life, plus Shengzhe was starting off leniently! I am asking Shengzhe to allow me, Kou Zhong, to take back the delirious utterance that was blurted out just now! Bi Xuan knew his own condition, the internal injury he received was more serious than Kou Zhong, yet Kou Zhong modestly admitted defeat and publicly dered it in Tujuenguage, it was precisely to give him a fair chance to step down the stage. No matter how much hatred he had for the Han people. But because of his outstanding status within the Tujue, if he pressed on and incurred his own defeat, he had no choice but to think thrice about the consequences, also, he could not help having good impression toward Kou Zhong. He smiled and said, Shaoshuai need not modestly decline. Martial art masters vying against one another, it is to seek after victory, by fair means or foul. Between you and I, although victory or defeat has not been decided, if we continue to fight, it will be a mere act of courage. Unfortunately, this battle is rted to the rise and fall of our Tujue, not something that Bi Xuan could settle with his words. Everything will be up to the Great Khan to decide! Finished speaking, heughed aloud, returned to the formation, and disappeared behind the disposition of troops. Sitting high on the horseback, the fierce light in Xielis pair of eyes ring greatly, he ferociously stared at Kou Zhong. No one made the least bit of a noise, time seemed to stop suddenly. Kou Zhong returned Xielis prating gaze, he had a faint feeling that Xielis hatred against him was greatly reduced. Because he was willing to let Bi Xuan save his face and step down the stage, but of course this did not mean that Xieli had the intention to pull his troops back. Just as Bi Xuan said, it was rted to the rise and fall of their nation, people and tribes, plus the entire invasion, military operation this time was led and spurred on by Xieli. Like an arrow leaving the bow, there was no possibility to take it back. Li Shimin and the others held their breaths and calmed their qi. Other than waiting for Xielis reaction, there was no other way. Were it not for the heavy spring fog, they could release fire to burn the forest, to temporarily obstruct the enemy troops. Ba Fenghan looked into the distance at the enemy ranks, he spoke heavily, I dare to bet my head that Xielis will immediately issue the order to attack. Suddenly Hou Xibais entire body shook. Stunned, the other three men looked at him. Hou Xibai reached into his bosom and said, I have an idea. Book 63: Chapter 8: Strung Through and Filled with Evil

Book 63: Chapter 8: Strung Through and Filled with Evil

Bang! The firework rocket shot straight from the top of the hill into the sky, and exploded into a clump of blood-red me, illuminating the big earth. On Xielis side, everybody, from top to bottom, raised their head to looked. Just like them, Kou Zhong was just as confused, as he watched the red light disappear and turned into dots of red light sprinkling down and then disappeared without leaving a trace. On top of the hill, Hou Xibai gesticted wildly at him. Kou Zhong immediately came to his senses. The fireworks arrow that Hou Xibai released was given by Lei Jiuzhi. It was originally to be used to contact Ma Changs army, butst night there was no opportunity to use it. Now Hou Xibai saw the turn of events was not too encouraging, being able to think fast in an emergency, he used it to summon Ma Changs three thousand elite troops heading for Wugong. From the enemy ranks, the bugle horn was sounded. Kou Zhong was shocked, wondering if this was not trying to be clever and ended up with egg on their faces, provoking Xielis side to think that they wereunching an attack, and thus they gained the initiative by striking first. It was not until he looked at the enemy ranks that he started to feel relieved. Sure enough, the enemy cavalry was maneuvering, they fetched their bows and put on the arrows, but they remained spread out everywhere,ying out a defensive troop disposition. He could not helpughing at his owncking in confidence. The fact was that Xieli toiled his disposition of troops toe, but was stopped here, on top of that, they were afraid of him, Kou Zhong, so that they had be a bird startled by the mere twang of a bow, and were even more afraid that Kou Zhongs military strength to meet the enemy head-on lying in ambush here was several times higher than his. How could they know that in the dense forest behind the hill not a soul was in sight? And whether his own troops could arrive in time was still unknown. Kou Zhong hurried several steps forward, he shouted loudly, Great Khan is getting agitated too quickly. We released fireworks and rockets, only because our military strength is weak, afraid that it would not be enough to intercept the Khans army, hence we called in reinforcements. Everything can be discussed. If Great Khan is willing to cease the weapons of war, we will definitely repay. How about presenting the Great Khan with a thousand taels of yellow gold, three thousand oxen and horses, ten carts of mink fur, ten thousand carts each of cotton and silk textiles, and silk cloths, plus five more carts of spices and ten carts of fine wine? Hearing that, Ba Fenghan on top of the hill shook his head and said, This kid casually opening up a river, but all in all he speaks clearly and logically. In this regard, Ol Ba really has to sigh while seeing only his dust and have no hope of catching up. Hou Xibai said, He is showing generosity to others, but firmly set on emptying out Huangshangs familial property. Li Shiminughed and said, As long as I dont need to see them off, I can still afford it. Xieli pped his horse to rush forward nearly a zhang and cursed on him, You think I, Xieli am a three-year-old child. Unexpectedly you, Kou Zhong are so friendly. Pei! This time I aming with an army of one million men, wont your sons and daughters, wealth and silk be for me to take and bring back? Kou Zhong, stop talking nonsense, just bring it on, let me see what ability you have. Kou Zhong mused that I precisely want to talk nonsense, to stall for time. He heaved a sigh and said, Great Khan may not know it, but since Longquan, my heart has already softened! Ay! To be honest, if Great Khan thinks that by attacking Jingyang your army can prevail, you are gravely mistaken. The reason why we were able to prepare adequately this time to wait respectfully for the Great Khan and talk about the conditions for peaceful coexistence, there is actually another inside story, but let me make a reportter. For now, lets set aside this aspect and not talk about it first. Lets talk about Great Khans army of one million. If the Great Khan is willing to assemble your one million men and horses, let me count them one by one. Supposing the number is really one million, I, Kou Zhong, will immediately kill myself in front of the Great Khan. Hearing that, Li Shimin and the others let out a loudughter, but Xieli was dumbstruck and unable to reply; he spoke angrily, How many men and horses I bring, why should I prove it to you? Do you think Im an idiot? Kou Zhong hit the snake following the stick, he hurriedly smiled apologetically and said, Great Khan, please calm down. We know everything about Great Khans entire marching n like the back of our hand. Would Great Khan be interested in investigating it? Xu Ziling had no choice but to praise inwardly that Kou Zhong was very smart, because he hit the vital point of Xielis misgivings, and achieved their purpose of stalling for time. Although he still could not guess what lie Kou Zhong was going to tell Xieli, but since he was a kid, thering nonsense has always been Kou Zhongs forte. When Xieli saw that there were no enemiesing out of the dense forest behind the hill, he became overly suspicious. Hearing that, he could not help saying, Speak up! No one is keeping your mouth shut. Kou Zhong said, In this matter, we should thank Yushan Xiong a lot. Next to Zhao Deyan, Xiang Yushan knew the turn of events was far from good, his countenance changed, he said angrily, Great Khan must not listen to him babbling nonsense, creating something from nothing to nder Yushan. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Yushan Xiongs Tujuenguage is very fluent. Ha! Im telling the truth, it was all thanks to youying out the n on a tray, informing your lingxiong [your esteemed older brother] Shengchun, and Shengchun Xiong surrendered to us, plus Huangshang and I discussed it in detail, hence we were not caught off guard like waking up from a dream when the Great Khans soldiers are at the city wall. Ha! Yushan Xiong, dont you think we should be grateful to you? Immediately the murderous intent in Xielis pair of eyes were ring greatly, he turned around to look at Xiang Yushan. Greatly terrified, Xiang Yushan said, Great Khan, please believe Yushan, I swear I didnt tell anyone, Shifu! Thest word was addressed to Zhao Deyan. Xieli shouted angrily, Guoshi [teacher of the state]! How could you rmend such a rubbish for me to use? Bowing his head, Zhao Deyan said, Deyan knows his guilt. Xiang Yushans face was without human color [i.e. pale] even more, he spoke in a trembling voice, He is framing Yu ah! Zhao Deyan backhandedly pped him in the face, Xiang Yushan screamed in agony, flew backwards and fell off the horse, and died on the spot. A burst of emotional stirring welled up in Xu Zilings heart. Xiang Yushans death could not wipe out his crimes! But after all, he was Little Lingzhongs biological father. To end up like this, it made people sad. Also, it was precisely due to this rtionship that he and Kou Zhong had never been able to harden their heart toward him. Ba Fenghan shouted in a low voice, Good kid! Li Shimin said happily, Theyre here! The sound of hoofbeats came faintly from behind, from afaring near. Hearing the sound of hoofbeats, Xielis countenance changed slightly, he urged on his horse to return inside the disposition of troops. Kou Zhong had no time toment the death of Xiang Yushan. This was his very formidable move [in the game of chess]. Not only did he borrow Xielis, whose frame of mind was suboptimal, to get rid of Xiang Yushan, this cmity within his bosom, he also made the Tujue side to believe firmly without any doubt that there were hidden troops inside the dense forest, because since they already knew from Chi Shengchun about the offensive n of the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall, surely they would set up an ambush separately, and were fully prepared, leaving Xieli with no option except meeting the attack head-on. Under such circumstances, Xieli would not be stupid enough to deploy his troops to attack the Great Tang Army, who have been waiting with stored-up momentum, but would wait for the allied armies to assemble together, and only after they have cultivated their spirits enough would they determine victory and contend for supremacy with the opponent on the battlefield. The sound of hoofbeats gradually approached, under Ma Chang, Song Faliang, Song Shuang, Song Bang, and Wang Xuanshu, the Shao Shuai and Song Family Armys three-thousand-man elite cavalry appeared on the forest path. They split into five teams of six hundred men each, their banner flying, they galloped over. Two teams went straight up the hill, one team stayed behind the hill, and the other two cavalry teams galloped to the left and right of the in. Just by looking at their formation, they knew that these were the elite of the elites, their movement quick and efficient. As soon as arriving at the scene, they formed troops formation that could attack and defend. On top of that, everyones spirit was trembling with excitement [idiom: full of energy], without the slightest sign of fatigue. Kou Zhong knew the time hase, upright and unafraid he stepped forward and said with augh, Great Khan hase a long way on an arduous journey, we might as well have a cease fire tonight, retreat twenty li each, and wait until the two sides gather the men and horses, and then decide victory or defeat in one battle, better than you look at me I gaze at you until dawn in here, and still dont know when we can go back to lie down and get a good sleep. Tonyukuk and Kang Qiaoli separately approached Xieli to talk, while Xieli stared ferociously at Kou Zhong without saying a word. Kou Zhong knew that Xiele was afraid he was ying trick, he sighed and said, When did what I, Kou Zhong say did not count? Whether tonight will end peacefully or not, Great Khan can decide with one word. Xieli ferociously threw his horsewhip to the ground, pointing his halberd fingers, he cursed, Retreat, I want to see how long you, Kou Zhong can becent! Knock! Knock! Knock! Kou Zhong sat up from the bed, he said in shock, Is the enemying? Where am I? Wang Xuanshu pushed the door and entered in, he said respectfully, There is still no trace of the enemy, this is the Zongguan Mansion inside Wugong City. Kou Zhong still had lingering fears, he said, Just now I dreamt that Xieli came to besiege the city. His grannys! I hope that after disposing Xieli, that little kid, I wont have this kind of a nightmare, Ive had enough. Waiting upon him to put on his clothes, Wang Xuanshu said, It is already two oclock, Huangshang, Xu Ye, Hou Ye, and the others are waiting for Shaoshuai to have lunch in the main hall. And then, lowering his voice, he said, I wonder if Shaoshuai would allow Xuanshu to deal with Yang WenGan, that traitor. Kou Zhong said in astonishment, Yang WenGan? Did you find him? Wang Xuanshus pair of eyes turned red, he nodded and said, We conducted a citywide searchst night and arrested Chi Shengchun, Yang WenGan and fifty-seven thugs from Jingzhao Lian on the spot at the East Gate. As he was freshening up, Kou Zhong was greatly delighted, he said, No wonderst night Xieli and Zhao Deyan believed my words without any doubt. Turns out Chi Shengchun is hiding in Wugong to provide assistance from the inside, he indeed knew about Xielis n, ha! Of course I can hand over Yang WenGan to you to deal with. But you must promise me that after getting rid of Yang WenGan, you have to throw out all hatred and desire for revenge, and treat my good Meizi Xiao Heer well. Even more, you must not view Shuni as the enemy, all right? Wang Xuanshu nodded incessantly, hot tears gushing out, he sobbed and said, Xuanshu ept the order, thank you very much Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong picked up a steamed bun and chewed vigorously, he sighed and said, I never thought there would be such delicious food during the war. Oh! Why arent you guys eating? Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan replied, I already ate a sichen ago, now I am too full to eat anything else. You, this kid, slept until the sun is four poles high before getting out of bed; we even had to send someone to coax and plead with you. How can amander-in-chief be thatzy? Li Shiminughed and said, Sleep is a good fortune. In the main hall of the Wugong City Zongguan Mansion, they all gathered around the table for lunch. Apart from Li Shimin, Kou Zhong, Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling, Hou Xibai, and Ma Chang, there was also Pang Yu, who had just hastened here to report the situation to them. Kou Zhong remembered what Yang Gongqing said that amander-in-chief must be able to sleep peacefully, yet Yang Gongqing could not personally witness the grand asion of the unification of the world. His heart ached, he turned to Pang Yu and said, Pang Xiong, please repeat your report. Pang Yu hurriedly said, Jingde went to defend Jingyang, and sure enough, a ten-thousand-man Tujue army came to attack, they were caught unprepared by Jingdes hidden troops; the beheaded were more than a thousand, the captured were more than five hundred, including their captain Sijinashidewumechuo. Kou Zhong spoke in delight, This is good news. Such a long name, fancy that you are able to say it in one go, ha Does that mean that we can keep these three cities to serve as barriers north of Changan? Li Shimin replied, The situation is not optimistic at all. The key is that time is not on our side. Because our massive military force is divided between Taiyuan and Luoyang, the military strength in Changan is weak. Even if we add the Imperial Guards, it is only a mere forty-thousand men. If we divide our troops further to strongly defend the three cities, Changans military strength will be reduced further to a half. If Xieliunches an attack within three days, he could easily cut off the connection between the three cities. At that time, if he concentrates his forces on attacking one of the cities, this city will definitely be hard to protect. Our situation is precarious. Kou Zhong said, We could help via the waterway. With pincer attack from front and back, how could Xieli not withdraw his troops? Ba Fenghan said, We have just studied this problem, it depends on the strength of the allied armies. For example, if the number of troops Xieli can use is two hundred thousand or above, as long as they split fifty-thousand men and horses and stationed them north of Bianqiao [temporary bridge] of the Wei River, Changan wont be able to split the troops to help, because it is powerless to defend itself. And Xieli also have enough power to cut off the traffic of the Wei River, both water andnd, two routes. Hou Xibai said, If Xieli wants to capture Changan, he must take the three cities first, to obtain rations and fodder, and establish a stronghold. ording to the intelligence report, after pulling back his troops more than ten list night, Xieli immediately sent his men to the Wei River to fish and hunt in the nearby mountains and fields. Clearly the Tujue sidesck of food supplies is serious, it might force Xieli to disregard everything andunch an attack. Kou Zhong grabbed a steamed bun and chewed it vigorously. His expression rxed, he asked, What other information is there about Xieli, little kid? Ma Chang replied, Another army of more than ten thousand men arrives, but it is not yet clear they are the warriors of which tribe? Kou Zhong looked at Li Shimin, he said, Huangshang wont me me for the voice of the guest overwhelms that of the host [idiom: minor yer upstages the main attraction]? Li Shiminughed and said, Go to your grannys! Quickly find a way for me. Nobody thought Li Shimin would speak vulgarnguage, immediately theirughter shook the hall. Kou Zhongughed and said, Turns out Huangshang is more fluent in vulgarnguage than Laozi [I, your father]. Ha! What about my Shao Shuai, the Song Family, and Laodie [ol dad], three armies? Ma Chang replied, Justst night,ing by boat from Liangdu to the west. On the way, they will rendezvous with Li Shiji Xingjun Da Zongguan [big chief of marching army], the total military strength reaches 170,000 men. They also bring thirty Eight-Bow-and-Crossbow-Arrow machines, and fifteenrge Flying Stones. The Flywheel fleet will arrive approximately early morning the day after tomorrow. Xu Ziling said, If we can buy three more days, there will be enough strength to face Xieli. Hou Xibai sighed and said, The situation is not optimistic at all. As long as Xieliunches an attack today, our only option is to abandon the three cities and strongly defend our position in Changan. In any case, its better than attending to one thing and lose sight of another, and fail to defend Changan. Acting as if he did not hear him, Kou Zhong patted his belly, showing a satisfied expression of eating and drinking to the full and intoxicated. His gaze swept over everybody, unable to take their eyes off him, pricking up their ears to listen to what he had to say. Finally his eyesnded on Xu Ziling, heughed and said, Ling Shao, have you withdrawn your magic weapon [orig. ancient weapon like a long solid metal truncheon]? Xu Ziling spoke indifferently, I know you have a card up your sleeve, yet because you are so pleased as to lose your sense of measure, you are keeping listeners in suspense. Just say it! Dont let Xielis soldiers at the city walls before you realize that you are wasting propriety-must-be-argued time avable. Ba Fenghan caught on, How is your injury? he asked. Kou Zhong replied, That was just the reason why I slept until the sun is four poles high. Ha! I can make Xieli dare not stand up and take the risk, andunch an attack without waiting for the main forces to assemble. Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, I know Xielis nature better than you. Dont be fooled by his irascible and ferocious outward appearance. The fact is that he is a daring but cautious person, adept in winning by a surprise move, once he figures out what is true and what is false in us, he will definitelyunch a fierce attack immediately. ording to my estimation, he will rest well during the day and start operations at night. The Golden Wolf Army has always excelled in night attack. Kou Zhong said, He will never understand our inside information clearly, because he lost the Xiang Family, who had be the traitor and be his spy. And our strength can be hidden inside Changan and the three northern cities. With his current military strength of forty-thousand men, to capture any one city outside Changan is still something that he cannot aplish in an hour or three quarters of an hour. Focusing on this point, we can assemble warships at the Wei River north of Changan City to bluff by put on an air that we could support the three cities any moment. If there is no other choice, how could Xieli dare to take any risk? If his vanguard unit is destroyed, other things need not be mentioned. Knitting his brows, Hou Xibai said, But because ofck of food, Xieli might have no other choice. As long as he sends his troops to attack any city outside Changan, our momentums original identity will be fully revealed. Grinning, Kou Zhong said, The most ingenious part of my n is to let him have a choice. Li Shimins pair of eyes lit up, he said, The n will be calmly revealed? Kou Zhong calmly shrugged his shoulders and said, Its very simple. If hecks food, we will send him two- or three-days worth of food to meet his needs, so that he wont need to take a risk out of desperation due tock of food. Everybody could only return a nk stare. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Wont it show clearly that we are afraid of him? The more Kou Zhong thought about it, the more amused he was, he said, Au contraire, it is a continuation of empty is real, and its abination of kindness and power. We will use that Siwhatsisnamemedechuo inpany with the more than five hundred prisoners to escort the food carts, surely it will make Xieli and Zhao Guoshi and the others be shrouded in a thick haze of doubts and suspicions. It will also show that we are attentive and thoughtful toward him. I dare to guarantee that they will be unable to make any sense of the matter, and because they have the capital to make a choice, they have to wait until they arepletely sure before nning to have a decisive battle with us on the in on the north bank of the Wei River. Li Shimin nodded and said, This can still be considered as troops-deployed-to-mislead-the-enemy tactic, but the rations and fodders must be delivered to the enemys camp before dusk. Pang Yu stood up and said, Chen [I, your servant] will go immediately And left in a hurry. Ba Fenghan said, Supposing Xieli still chooses to attack, how should we respond? Remaining m and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong said, Wugong is real, Jingyang and Xianyang are empty, Changan is empty, the fleet of ships is real. No matter how Xieli has three heads and six arms, he still cannot escape my, Kou Zhongs five-finger barrier. pping the table, Li Shimin said, Ipletely agree. I will personally defend Wugong City, in concert with Shaoshuai, we will adopt a flexible strategy of steady defense and sudden and violent attack. If Xieli dares to invade our territory, he will be humiliated. Kou Zhong said, Our advantage is that not only we have a city to defend, even more crucial is the control of the Wei River. If we divide the fleet into two, one group can be stationed at the Wei River Bianqiao, the other group is stationed near the enemy. Merely such arrangement will be enough to make Xieli not daring to rush indiscriminately into action. Ba Fenghan finally agreed, he said, If I were Xieli, I wont dare to take such a strange risk. If the retreat route is cut off, in case I suffer defeat, it will be difficult to escape the fate of total defeat of an army. Kou Zhong turned to Ma Chang, heughed and said, Why were Yang WenGan and Chi Shengchun so easy to get along with, unexpectedly willing to have their hands tied and waiting to be captured? Ma Chang replied, Their luck wascking, at that time, knowing that the turn of events was not too encouraging, they wanted to force their way through the city gate, and happened to run into Mojiang and Falianging back from patrolling the city, so they were caught red-handed. Kou Zhong said to Li Shimin, Will you let me I deal with these two people? Without a second thought, Li Shimin replied, They are yours! Stretching his limbs, Kou Zhong said, Time is short, we will look into how to move an army and send a general, and then put them into practice. I hope tonight I can get a good nights sleep. Hou Xibai spoke cheerfully, Shaoshuai ought to have your wishese true. Ba Fenghan said, But I thought we wont have a chance to sleep tonight. Xieli will, with thousand ways, a hundred ns C sound out our ability to meet a contingency. If you want to sleep, you should go to bed now. Xu Ziling nodded and said, I agree with Fenghan. Tonight will not be a peaceful night. And then his gaze turned to Hou Xibai, revealing a rarely-seen mischievous smile, he spoke slowly, And it will be a brilliant night with fireworks show. Everyone understood, they cheered in chorus. Book 63: Chapter 9: Brotherhood

Book 63: Chapter 9: Brotherhood

By the time the falcon flew back to the camp, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, wearing nightwalker attire, were already crouching on the top of a small hill facing the Wei River, from which they could look down at the enemy camp in the distance. The enemy camp was widely spread in the hilly area on the north bank of the Wei River, about fifty li west of Wugong. The camp was built following the terrain,ntern lights flickered, from time to time they could hear the neighs of the horses and voices of the men. On the surface it appeared exceptionally tranquil. Kou Zhong looked at the camp where the falcon had dropped, heughed and said, Xieli probably never thought that from the falcon, we can, as easy as blowing off dust, find where his Khan tent is located. Whats your n? Xu Ziling asked. Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong replied, I have no specific n, I dont want to see the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall be the dehumanized defeated army we encountered before, killing and burning along the way, raping and looting, taking prisoners as they are defeated and returning to the territories beyond the Great Wall C even more. That will bring about dreadful harm to the people. Bang! From inside the sparse forest on the side of the Wei River about ten li away, fireworks rocket soared into the sky, bursting into an orange light high in the sky. Kou Zhong said, Here ites! Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai were the ones setting off the fireworks. The four men split up into two groups to separately monitor any sign of activity in the enemy camp. Xu Ziling smiled and said, We summoning the reinforcements with fireworks ought to remain fresh in Xielis memory. Seeing the fireworks now, he should know what is happening without anybody reminding him. This moment, two teams of men and horses separately rushed out of the camps located in the middle and on the north side. In the dark night, they did not make any noise, like a cavalry unit that was made of ghost, but naturally they could not hide from the two boys acute vision. Kou Zhong raise his hand to release two fire arrows in session, Xu Ziling was in charge of lighting it. Two brilliant sparks of different colors burst out from the top of the small hill, adding color to the starry sky. It was fleeting, but beautiful and pleasing to the eyes. The three fireworks had more persuasive power than thousands of words, making Xielis side understand that the Golden Wolf Armys movements werepletely under their surveince, their wonder troops were no longer wonder troops. The two boys gaze fell on the eastern end of the Wei River, where a fleet of the Great Tang Navy, consisting of more than twenty warships, was sailing, upright and unafraid C to the west. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Ma Chang is setting off! Boom! Boom! Boom! The war drum was sounded on a hilltop in the direction of Wugong. Combined with the fireworks rockets released earlier and the advancing fleet, it created an enormous pressure. Anybody, even Xieli C would still have to think thrice about his operation. Sure enough, the bugle horn sounded, the enemy troops who had just left the camp to mount a sneak attack were called back into the camp. Kou Zhong released another fire arrow. After informing his side, heughed and said, By lighting fireworks, we can scare away the crisscrossing-over-the-world-unhindered Golden Wolf Army. If you tell it out, I guarantee that no one will believe it, yet it is the absolute truth. Xu Ziling said, Last night, Xielis army retreated because of Bi Xuan retreated without attacking, and was forced to pull back twenty li. Their morale and confidence have suffered serious setbacks. Their counting-the-chicken-before-they-are-hatched n to take the three cities of Changan was dead-on-arrival even more. Now Xieli only has the decisive battle on the ins option left, the prerequisite is that they must wait for the troops of various tribes to assemble together first, your n to dy the enemy is expected to seed. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, Tonights trick is not going to be effective tomorrow night, because Xieli wille up with a way to deal with it. The best way is to split apart the coalition forces from within. Now is the time to have a heart-to-heart chat with Tuli and the other brothers. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Its hard to fathom a persons mind, especially if the interests of the survival of his own n are involved, dont you think its too risky? Kou Zhong spoke with determination, This risk cannot but be taken. The current situation shows that the allied armies are at a disadvantageous position. I am most afraid that they will abandon their march to Changan and attack the western cities instead, then it will be our turn to have no room to advance or to retreat. After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, Xu Ziling nodded and said, Very well! Be careful! Kou Zhong patted him on the shoulder and said, Relying on my Moon in the Well, if Im determined to escape, magnificent army with thousands of men and horses still cant stop me, see you tomorrow at Wugong City. Kou Zhong climbed the mountains and leaped over the mountain range, crossing nearly forty li of unbroken chain of peaks, ascending onto the summit of a mountain peak from which he was able to look down on the open country and hills leading to the Wei River. The moon was hanging at an angle in the sky. A cavalry team of nearly fifty-thousand men appeared among the forest trees on the northern horizon, rapidly advancing in the direction of the Wei River. Only from its marching formation, Kou Zhong knew that it was Tulis ck Wolf Army. Before that, he encountered another unit of Golden Wolf Army of sixty-thousand men. Together with Xielis troops on the north bank of the Wei River, the total military strength of the Golden Wolf Army alone reached a hundred-thousand men, enough power to turn any city into ruins, which made him even more aware of the sacred mission he was carrying on his back. Only by persuading Tuli, Pusa, Gunatai brothers and the others could the Central Earth remain intact and wee the arrival of the new era of great reunification. Heroic feeling, strong pride welled up in Kou Zhongs heart, letting out a long whistle, he went down the mountain at full speed, ran towards the ck Wolf Army without fear, and shouted in Tujuenguage, Kou Zhong is here, asking for an audience with Tuli Khan. Warhorses neighing wildly, people stood up immediately. The leading high-ranking military officer of the ck Wolf Army reined in the horse, ordered his attendants to light up torches, and spoke in astonishment, It really is Shaoshuai, halt! His subordinate immediately blew the bugle horn. The high-ranking military officer urged his horse to rush forward, with a somersault, agile like a leopard cat, he dismounted from the horses back, opened his arms wide andughed heartily, Does Shaoshuai recognize me, Luogulesidu? Kou Zhong vaguely recognized him as one of the tribal chiefs under Tulismand, his cordiality was greatly beyond his expectations, hurriedly he responded with the same cordiality, giving him a Tujue-style hug, and thenughed and said, Of course I do, who does not know that Luogulesidu is a strong and courageous man of the Tujue. Thousand times bore through, ten thousand times bore through; horses fart does not bore through [meaning Anything gets through me except horse fart (Courtesy of Sunnysnow during Eagle Shooting Hero trantion project)]. Greatly delighted, Luogulesidu said, I will immediately take Shaoshuai to see Khan. Khan is worrying about how to contact Shaoshuai. Still not presenting a horse? Thest sentence was shouted to the men behind him. Flipping over onto the horses back, the two men, one in front of the other, galloped along the space between the troops, toward the rear of the army. Ahead, a group of men and horses came to meet them, the leader was surprisingly Tuli, whom he had not seen for a long time. Behind him was Tulis younger brother Jieshelu and more than a dozen tribal chiefs that Kou Zhong recognized. Tuliughed aloud and said, Xiongdi! We meet again! The two sides reined in their horses, Kou Zhong slowly approached Tuli, he said, Are we still brothers? Tuli reached over from the horses back, grabbed his hand tightly, and spoke with solemn expression, Shaoshuai and I are brothers for life. The crowd of tribal chiefs shouted Good! in unison, the emotions were intense. Tuli spoke happily, Did you see that? They all support you, as long as you say the word, we will seize Changan for you. Having a headache, Kou Zhong said, You, LaoGe do not seem to know why I came to you? Revealing a brilliant smile, Tuli said, Lets talk on the side. The two men rode side by side up a hill to the east, while on the vast in and open space, the fifty-thousand-man ck Wolf Armys troop arrangement at its peak, were waiting quietly for the oue of their talk. Tuli dismounted the horse, Kou Zhong followed suit, the mountain wind blew, their clothes produced rustling noise, it still carried the remnant of the winter chill. Tuli pulled his arm and said, Of course I know why you came to look for me. The situation in Xielis side has already been reported clearly to me, we even encountered Bi Xuans cavalry returning to the prairie. Your saber technique is getting more and more formidable, unexpectedly even Bi Xuan is unable to do anything to you. Bi Xuan is finished! Xieli has lost the backing he relied on. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Then you are teasing me. Tuli said, Im not teasing you, but I dont understand you. Hasnt the unification of Central Earth always been your goal? Its Song Ques expectation for you. Even if you kill me, I still cannot believe you are willing to make Li Shimin the new master of Central Earth. Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, he spoke sincerely, That is a matter of the past, the Kou Zhong now only hopes that all matters in the Central Earth will be undertaken by Li Shimin, and when my service isplete, I will retire, to pass some ordinary, free and unfettered life together with Ling Shao, to enjoy the real interesting things in a life without war and vendetta. Tulis brows greatly furrowed, he said, The kind of situation you dream of will never happen. Before our eyes is Xieli, a good example. He will never let the matter drop. After a slight pause, he looked at him, his pair of eyes twinkling brightly in the dark night, he spoke heavily, Shimin is also my friend, you and Ziling support him, I have no objection. But if you hope that the Central Earth can have days of peace and happiness, there is only one way, and that is to prevent Xieli from returning to the prairie alive. Kou Zhong understood, Tuli was willing to join hands with Xieli to invade the south, he was pressed by the situation. Now that Bi Xuan had gone, the whole situation had been reversed. This brother of his, who was brimming with ambition, gave birth to the intention and desire to take Xieli and rece him instead. He asked, How many men and horses does Xieli have? Tuli replied honestly, The total number of troopsing to the Central ins this time is more than two hundred thousand men. Xielis Golden Wolf Army ounts for a hundred thousand, I have fifty thousand guys [erng, youths], Gunatai brothers ten thousand, Pusa fifteen thousand, Abaojia of Khitan twenty thousand, other tribesbined are more than ten thousand. If you and I, brothers join hands, Xieli will be consigned to eternal damnation. Kou Zhong sighed and said, If Xieli suffers defeat and dies, the Golden Wolf Army will be scattered in all directions, they will flee and roam all over the ce, you, LaoGe ought to know how much destruction they are going to bring about. Tuli spoke indifferently, Naturally there will be a little sacrifice. Kou Zhong said, How about this? When Xieli returns to the prairie, we will deal with him again. Shimin will fully support you. Tuli spoke in displeasure, The issue is in the past, and the situation has changed [idiom], you are a person who knows the troops, how can you miss this once-in-a-thousand-year golden opportunity for nothing? Kou Zhong said, Actually, Im giving thought to you. Your, LaoGes foundation on the grasnd is still not stable, even if you take this opportunity to put Xieli in order, the Golden Wolf Armys remaining momentum still exist, surely there will be other tribal chief rising abruptly and contending for supremacy and fighting for victory with you. The Eastern Tujue will be caught in continuous war, all-split-up-and-in-pieces situation. And the Gunatai brothers, Pusa, Abaojia, and so on, none is ay practitioner of Buddhism, certainly they would take advantage of the chaos between you to expand their power. And you, due to continuous war with the Golden Wolf Army, will suffer wear and tear, powerless to look after them. Bai Ziting incident will continue to recur, and the Western Tujue will seize the opportunity to go east to invade and usurp thend. In the end, there is a great chance that the beneficiary may not be you, LaoGe. Tuli revealed a thoughtful look, he was silent for a moment, and then shook his head and said, The matter between me and Xieli must be resolved eventually, and now is the best opportunity, you are my brother, how can you see me sit and waste a good opportunity? As for the future, as long as you are still willing to support me, I have a great chance to unify the grasnds, only then will the beginning of true peacee. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Borrowing our strength, under such circumstances we kill Xieli, the people on the grasnd will not ept wholeheartedly. I am really giving thought of you. Think about it! Xieliing back without sess, Bi Xuan returning with dishonor, the Golden Wolf Armys prestige will be like rivers pour away by the day [idiom: deteriorating], Tongyehu will definitely not let Xieli off, then let them fight until you die, I live, you, LaoGe will take advantage of this opportunity to expand your power, Shimin will support you in all aspects, as far as his capabilities extend. Bright prospects will be waiting respectfully for your good-self in the days toe. Tuli finally showed a moved expression. After a long silence, he nodded and said, You see farther than I do. I wish to see Shimin and talk. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, You are indeed my good brother. Before the secret meeting with Shimin, youd better hold back your troops without moving in here, wait for me to visit all the brothers one by one, and then I will apany you to Wugong. Smiling wryly, Tuli said, In the end, I cant beat you. Your brothers are not far behind, let me apany you to see them! They are willing to join the coalition, on the one hand, they are forced by the situation, on the other hand, they have the heart to help you. Now you, Kou Zhong want to get another form of help, they should have no objection. Kou Zhongughed and said, We all are brothers, since you havee, I wont let you toe back empty-handed, there will be considerable rewards. Tuli put his arms around his broad shoulders and rebuked him, We all are brothers who treat one another with absolute sincerity, why should you talk about reward? Xielis meticulous n to attack Changanpletely fail, he cant advance or retreat, even Abaojia grew timid. You, Kou Zhong are willing to let them go, they are already very grateful. On the prairie, your name can be used to scare children from crying at night. Kou Zhongughed heartily and said, Im not that scary, am I? Early morning. The main hall of the Wugong City Zongguan Mansion. Ba Fenghan, Xu Ziling and Hou Xibai were having breakfast together. Li Shimin came back from patrolling the city, he sat down and said, I havent seen Kou Zhongs trace yet. Ba Fenghanughed and said, Huangshang, set your mind at rest, on the prairie, brotherhood is the most important thing, not to mention that whoever dares to disrespect Kou Zhong will have endless troubles, how could he be easy to push around? Current situation shows clearly that it is not favorable to the allied armies, at least on the surface it is so, hence the reasonst night the breeze was still, the waves were quiet. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Did I hear it wrong? Fenghan unexpectedly called you Huangshang. Smiling slightly, Li Shimin said, For Fenghan, Huangshang is just mytest nickname, just like Xiao Hous Passionate Prince. How is the situation in other ces? Xu Ziling asked. Li Shimin replied, I just received the report that the defeated Tujue army retreated to the mountain area north of Jingyang to join Xieli. The threat to Jingyang and Xianyang was lifted. Our men set off via thend and water, two routes after sunrise. The night before we cut off the Golden Wolf Armys small hill by establishing stronghold and setting up camp, to suppress Xieli, to show him our strength that we are not afraid of head-on confrontation against him. But until this moment Xieli has not shown any sign of activity. Another unit of Golden Wolf Army of more than fifty thousand men arrived at Xielis camp, increasing his military strength to a hundred thousand men, while the other four armies still have not shown any shadow, any trace. Ba Fenghan nodded and said, Huangshang is indeed proficient in grasping the fortunate timing. Last night the Golden [Wolf] Army did not sleep well, and the newly arrived army is extremely exhausted and could only watch us establishing stronghold and setting up camp. By the time Xieli has the strength tounch an offensive, the marching route into Wugong will already be cut off, so he will not dare to act blindly without thinking. Hou Xibaiughed and said, Huangshang is good at defending, Shaoshuai is good at attacking. This is a seamless heavenly clothes perfect match, Xibai receives the instruction! This moment a personal guard came to report, Kou Zhong, leading Tuli, Gunatai and Pusa, four men came to ask for an audience. Hearing that the four men you look at me I gaze at you, they nearly did not dare to believe their own ears. Kou Zhong could return safely was admittedly a gargantuan good news, now unexpectedly he achieved such an impressive sess, how could they not be pleased beyond their expectation? Ding! Ding! Ding! Nine wine cups collided in the center of the round table, followed by thunderousughter, and everyone drained his cup in one gulp. Li Shimin spoke with serious expression, Inside the Great Wall, outside the Great Wall, although social custom and environment are different, but friendship is the same. As long as we respect each other deeply, not be suspicious and jealous of each other, we could love and be deeply attached to each other. Being suspicious and jealous and view each other as the enemy, this blood rtion will inevitably turn into enmity. Zhen have personally suffered from this. In the past, Yang Guang was tyrannical, he already lost the heart of the people. When he went on various military expedition beyond the Great Wall, people cut off their hands to avoid being recruited into military service, and life was ruined. In the year that I am alive, I, Li Shimin, will never follow the tracks of Yang Guangs overturned cart. This is Li Shiminsmitment to all gentlemen. Kou Zhong nodded and said, What Huangshang has promised, it never does not count. Our Great Tang, ck Wolf Tujue, Huihe, and Shiwei will forever be brothers nations, to be kind and love one another, respecting and helping each other. Brothers who have been through life and death side by side, how could we kill each other? Fortunately, all misunderstandings are eliminated now, everything can be discussed nicely. Tuli spoke cheerfully, Our three troops, seventy-five thousand men, have made up our minds to withdraw from the allied armies, we will leave for the grasnd tomorrow morning. Furthermore, we will notify Xieli, Abaojia, Tiefuyou and the others, respectively. In my guess, apart from Xieli, the other major tribal chiefs have long had the intention to withdraw, so seeing this situation, they have no choice but to follow us advancing and retreating together, otherwise on the road back home they will be unable to move a single step. Pusa said, Tang Zhu [Lord of Tang], please bestow us the necessary provisions and send your people to lead the way. That way, not only we will greatly increase the pace of the march, but also avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. Li Shimin smiled and said, In this regard, gentlemen can totally feel reassured, Zhen will make proper arrangements. Gentlemen are guests from afar, Zhen will not let gentlemen to return empty-handed and not be able to exin to your nsmen. Tuli and the others were greatly delighted, they promptly thanked him for the favor of the emperor, clearly showing their willingness to be Li Shimins ministers, from Tang Zhu, they changed to Huangshang. Kou Zhong exined to Li Shimin on Tuli and the others behalf, Turns out they never knew about the alliance between us, two sides, until Xieli was blocked on the shore of the Wei River. Ultimately, paper cant wrap fire, it caused my brothers extreme outrage for being deceived. Tuli spoke heavily, Our original intention was to vow loyalty and devotion to Huangshang, to help Huangshang to encircle and annihte Xieli, to kill him until not a single piece of armor remains. After Shaoshuai analyzed the pros and cons, we decided to let Huangshang deal with it. Leave Abaojia and the others to us. If they are not tactful, they will never get to the Wei River, and they can forget about returning north of the border. Li Shimin was shocked, he was afraid that Tuli and the others would make any excuses to put Abaojia and the others in order, he hurriedly said, Under current circumstances, Zhen believe it is not advisable to raise the weapons of war against Abaojia, Tiefuyou, and the others. If they refuse toply, Zhen have another way to deal with them. Ba Fenghan spoke coldly, They dont have the right to say no. Bielegunatai smiled and said, We understand Huangshangs intention. Kou Zhong sighed inwardly, although both men were his brothers, but Bielegunatais ambition was not under Tulis. Only this sentence has won Li Shimins good opinion towards him, that he views him in a new light. After the allied armies returned north of the border, the inter-tribal situation would be moreplicated, its rise and fall would depend on its rtionship with Li Shimin. Pusa said, How would Huangshang deal with the Golden Wolf Army? Li Shimin looked at Kou Zhong, he said, Shaoshuai will have full authority to deal with the Golden Wolf Army. Stretching his waist, Kou Zhong said, I will drag Xieli here for ten days, half a month, until my brothers return to the prairie safely, and calmly make the arrangement to wee Xieli, little kid home. Book 63: Chapter 10: Reign of Zhen Guan

Book 63: Chapter 10: Reign of Zhen Guan

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling urged their horses out of the city and galloped slowly towards the Wei River. The sun was high in the sky, it was a warm and fine day, making people felt cozy and unrestrained, especially after solving the difficult problems of Tuli and the other brothers. Kou Zhong said, It all thanks to Dazhis remark that changed the whole situation. If you didnt stop me and Lao Ba from confronting Dazhi head-on, we would have be enemies early on, how could Dazhi remind us? I think this is what the Buddhists call karma. Xu Ziling nodded and said, Tuli and the others do have the ambition to enter the Central Earth to fight for profit and hegemony, but because of Xielis setback, the situation developed rapidly after abrupt turn [idiom: dramatic change], otherwise the situation right now will be apletely different. Shimin Xiong is a standing-tall-and-see-far major talent to rule a country, knowing that he must make the territories beyond the Great Wall to maintain a delicate bnce, only then the Central Earth will have a chance to recover and regain its vitality. If you are in a hurry and show off, you will ruin his big affairs. Kou Zhong nodded and said, Zilings words, naturally Xiaodi will see, hear and obey. You may go back to apany Qingxuan with peace of mind, along the way, please pass on to Zhizhi and Xiufang how I miss them. When youe back, we will have a heart-to-heart chat with Xieli together. Shaking his head, Xu Ziling said, In the current situation, we dont have to look for Xieli, he might be forced toe to us in desperation. The more you make him eat so that hecks nothing, the more doubts and fears he has. Xieli will see that our power is growing every moment, while he is constantly weakened, bing a lone army with low morale. After returning to the prairie, Xielis prestige is no more, his golden days are gone. A sailboat was moored at the dock on the north bank of the Wei River, waiting respectfully for Xu Zilings good self, the Tang army stationed at the dock stood respectfully to salute. They flew off the horseback, Kou Zhong took Xu Zilings hand, smiled and said, I do not have the least bit of hatred in my heart anymore, therefore, I hope Shi Zhixuans affair can be resolved properly. He is, after all, Qingxuans biological father, your father-inw. Xu Ziling grabbed his hand tightly for a moment, and then let it go, and boarded the boat. Kou Zhong returned to Wugong. He originally wanted to find a room to rest, but ended up chatting with Ba Fenghan and Hou Xibai. And then a personal guard came to pass on a message that Shimin wanted to see him, so he went to see Li Shimin. Li Shimin was sitting alone in the study room of the Zongguan Mansion, poring over the piling-up-like-a-mountain official documents and files sent from Changan. Seeing Kou Zhong arrived, heughed and said, Between Zhen and you, no need to be overly cautious. Sit down! Kou Zhong pulled the chair in front of him and sat down, he smiled and said, Ive always been a person who doesnt know how to observe etiquette. Fortunately, Huangshang does not need to put up with me for long. As soon as this matter is over, Ziling and I will leave the capital immediately to enjoy a happy, free and unfettered life. Li Shimin sighed and said, Im finding more and more that you are smarter than Zhen. When I saw these memorials, I felt a headache like you said before. After handling the withdrawal of your brothers, I have to return to Changan to handle some urgent matters. The matter of Xieli will be handed over to you, LaoGe to deal with. Kou Zhongughed and said, There is a favor Id like to ask in exchange, would Huangshang please bestow it? Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, How about Zhen granting it first? Would you be satisfied? Shaoshuai, please bestow instructions. Kou Zhong said, I hope that the one leading the army to pacify Xiao Xian is Li Jing. This is Zilings and my cherished desire. Li Shiminughed and scolded him, Why use Ziling to pressure Zhen? Is there a more suitable candidate than your Li Dage? Granted! Ha! He will assemble arge army in Bashu, sail downstream the river to the east, send a punitive expedition against Xiao Xian, and advance to besiege Jiangling. Grinning, Kou Zhong said, Thank you, master, for the dragon kindness! Li Shimin spoke in displeasure, Stop teasing me! I still have a few headaches to discuss with you. Kou Zhong said, Huangshang forgot to use the unique appetion again, which is against the rules of etiquette. Hehe! Bing an emperor is really not easy Li Shimin did not want to mess with him, returning to the topic, he said, I want to hold a funeral for Jiancheng and Yuanji, but in Taishanghuangs [Retired Emperor, father of the reigning emperor] imperial edict establishing me as the emperor, Jiancheng is conferred the title Xi Wang [Prince of Xi (lit. breath/to cease/stop/rest)] with the posthumous title Yin [secret/hidden]; Yuanji is Hailing Wang [King of Hailing (lit. sea mound)], with the posthumous title Ci [lit. thorn/sting/to pierce/stab]. ording to the posthumous method, hidden refers to the failure to be called hidden, ruthless and disregarding familial rtion is said to be thorn, and I am called filial piety is the foundation of virtue, all around is in the hundred actions, benevolence as heavy responsibility, and all things are in peace to emphasize the fact that the legitimacy is passed down to me. Hidden and Thorn are not good posthumous terms, but of course no one dares to speak up now. However, I feel that it is not too appropriate. Kou Zhong understood. Yin Taizi [lit. the hidden crown prince] and Ci Wang [King Thorn] were not good posthumous titles, but since Li Yuans imperial edict positioned the two men as such, it was very difficult for Li Shimin, who tends to value harmony and rece hatred with love, to alter it as he wished, hence he was very troubled because of it. And it was difficult to hold a beautiful funeral for the two men, to make up for the deep scars left by close kindred ughtering one another. After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, he said, How about letting Wei Zheng do it? Li Shimin pped the table and shouted with praise, saying, Wei Zheng is a man from Jianchengs side, indeed it is a good n. I will first bestow him as the Shangshu You Cheng Jian Jian Yi Dafu [lit. high official right deputy and senior official political adviser], let him graduate and be famous. And then his brows were furrowed in deep thought, his thinking was gushing out like a spring, he said, I can tell Wei Qing [subject] to find a few high-ranking cab ministers to jointly present a memorial, first dere Jianchengs crime of sowing discord, colluding with foreign enemies, and damaging the country and causing suffering to the people. Then we will exin clearly that in order to protect peace in the Central Earth, we have no choice but to adopt necessary measures. Both inside and outside of the court, ask them to hold big funeral ceremony for them, and allow their old family to see off to the tomb. This way, we will pacify the peoples hearts and eliminate the contradictions left by the previous dynasty. Kou Zhong praise, In this respect, Huangshang is indeed better than me. If Huangshang could confer posthumous title of some other king to them, perhaps we might get even finer results. Shaking his head, Li Shimin said, Taishanghuang will not be happy, lets talk about thister. Another issue is concerning Shandongs towering figures, Jiande and Heitas death, which provoked enormous public anger in the region. Moreover, they are not aware of Guanzhongs situation, hearing about the Xuanwu Gate Incident, there are a lot of people who begin to stir. I have sent Qu Tutong to be the Shaanxis eastern roads Xing Tai Zuo Pu She, to go to Shandong to dere publicly andfort the local popce, hoping to interfere and cease the peoples anger. If you, LaoGe, can help by saying a few words, based on your rtionship with Jiande and Heita, we could achieve the effectiveness of half the work, twice the effect. If Shandong is stable, Hebei wont get into trouble. [Note: Xing Tai Zuo Pu She (̨W), lit. left servant archer of Xingtai (outside provinces); I could not find English definition, from what I could find, it is basically a representative of the central government in the conquered area. Or something like that ] Kou Zhong muttered to himself irresolutely for a moment, he said, As long as you publicly execute Zhuge Dewei and dere to the world that he has betrayed his brother, the people of Shandong will be able to settle their grievances. If you add some setting-up-a-pole-and-see-the-shadow [idiom: instant effect] benevolent government, the result will be even better. Li Shimin said, This is precisely one of the things that bothers me. Apart from the friendship between you and Liu Heita, toward our Great Tang, Zhuge Dewei has meritorious deeds without any fault, killing him will certainly attract peoples talk. Fortunately, his days in Changan are still shallow, the effect will not be too big. However, the charges must be carefully considered, merits should not be taken as faults. Kou Zhong sighed secretly, he said, I wonder if Huangshang wants me to let Wang Bodang go? Luoyan will be very unhappy. Li Shimin stared fixedly at him for a moment, then spoke softly, Im giving thought to the overall situation, so I have no choice but to put aside personal grudges. Luoyans aspect, let me cate her, I will leave Wang Bodang as an idle government official outside the area, but if you object, I will deal with it ording to your thought. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong said, To be honest, since I watched Yang Xuyans tragic death under the arrow, my heart suddenly became empty, my hatred disappeared entirely. However Huangshang handle Wang Bodang, I have no objection. At that time, didnt Huangshang say that you understood the reason behind it? After being silent for a while, Li Shimin said, What I thought at the time was that your goal has changed. In the past, you were determined to contend for hegemony over the world, therefore, all means were carried out in this direction. You will be ruthlessly eliminating anybody who stands in your way of contending for hegemony, to implement that principle, only those who are ruthless enough can survive. My current situation is also the same, and the goal is the long-term peace and stability of the country, therefore, Wang Bodangs life must be preserved to offset the bad influence of executing Zhuge Dewei. Everyone will understand that I kill Zhuge Dewei because of you. If you let Wang Bodang go, it will show that the revenge will stop there. I hope you can understand my difficulties. At the same time, I will issue the imperial order to exempt the tax in the Guandong region for one year, which can benefit both sides of the Great River, to let the people, including your Shao Shuai State, enjoy the fruits of the unification of the world. Kou Zhong finally revealed a smiling expression, he nodded and said, Understood! Xiaodi will also pay you back for this. The wealth from the Duke Yangs Treasure-house and the Four Big Bandits treasure caves, I only spend half, the remaining treasures will be presented to Huangshang to make up for the loss of Huangshangs taxes. Greatly delighted, Li Shimin said, With your understanding, my whole body rxed. You greatly split open your own pocket has reduced my worry about financial constraints. Another thing is that the Zhen Guan Bank is like fully opened bowstring, how are we going to fix it? Shrugging his shoulders, Kou Zhong said, Naturally Furong Ye will step down for the worthy candidate, Lei Jiuzhi, who knows more about doing business and possesses chivalrous heart C to take care of it, so as to promote the economy of the new dynasty. Li Shimin smiled and said, You mentioned the word New Dynasty, two characters [xin chao], it reminded me of one thing. I decided to change the era name to Zhen Guan, to eulogize your and Zilings eternal virtues. Kou Zhong was greatly stunned, and thenughed without restraint and said, This action by Huangshang made me feel like I was floating high in the clouds, and continuously disappear and build up, just like my Eight Methods of the Well. Not only it can make Xiaodis guys believe firmly Huangshangs broad kindness and profound intention to us, it can also appease Taishanghuangs heart, knowing that Huangshangs heart keeps filial piety and remember his teachings with reverence. Li Shimin spoke with serious expression, From Wude to Zhen Guan, the situation is extremelyplicated, difficult problems piling up like a mountain. In order toy the foundation for the new dynasty, I must advance gradually and entrench myself at every step, the cab ministers of the previous dynasty, I will use them all, only one person is an exception, which is Pei Ji. Although there is no way to prove that he is a demonic school man, of course he will deny it, but we know whats going on. Kou Zhong knew that he was still brooding about Pei Jis causing Liu Wenjings death. As for he led Li Yuan astray and publicly defended Li Jiancheng, he did not care much instead. Frowning, he said, One saber strike to get rid of him, wont that do? Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, Your proposal is naturally the most neat and tidy, but it will make the senior cab ministers feel themselves in danger, plus it will make Taishanghuang unhappy. Therefore, I decided to give him a way out, enough to feed a vige of 1,500 households. This official sry will be higher than all other minister who have given outstanding service, I will also give him another false title without real authority, and then when everything settles down, Ill slowly put him in order. Shaking his head, Kou Zhong sighed and said, Huangshangs strategy of governing the country and pacifying the people is indeed a hundred times moreposed than mine. Li Shimin said, Sitting in this position, just like I said a moment ago, I have no choice but to earnestly consider the overall situation everywhere, various personal gratitude and grudges will have to be put at the back of my head. If Pei Ji is willing to live in peace, he should be able to spend the rest of his life in peace. But if he is a demonic school disciple, it is hard to change ones essential nature, one day he will get into trouble. There is no harm in us taking a long view to see his end. Kou Zhong said, It seems that Huangshang is struggling with the issue of employing people in the new dynasty, in this regard, I cant offer any help. Li Shimin spoke cheerfully, You are willing to listen to Zhen having bitter digestive fluids rising to the mouth [idiom: toin bitterly], that is enough, Ziling might not have any interest in listening. The new dynasty must have the atmosphere of the new dynasty. Not that the old people are not good, only they are ustomed toply with Huangfus [emperor father] set of previous working style,cking of enterprising spirit. I already have a preliminary concept, Xuanling, Ruhui, Yuwen Shiji, Wuji, your Li Dage, Wei Zheng, Zhijie, Jingde, Shubao, Shiji, and so on will all be put in important position, but they will not be put in the highest position immediately, rather, in two or three years time, to see their actual performance, and gradually promote them to rece the previous team of the highest leadership, so that the change from the old to the new dynasty will not cause a conflict of power, and to maintain the best possible rtionship with the highest leadership. This is my top priority right now. Speechless, Kou Zhong said, Huangshangs deep ns and distant thoughts make me prostrate myself in admiration. If it was me, I would certainly move the entire Tian Ce Fu, intact in original packaging, motionless, into the Taiji Pce two days ago. Li Shiminughed and said, Dont mess and y ghost with me. I know youve been listening and is beginning to lose patience, thest worry is concerning Xieli. Among the memorial to the emperor on my desk today, there is a memorial signed by over twenty high-ranking military officers in Changan City, saying something like, Yidi [barbarians/non-Han tribes in the east and north of China] cannot be trusted, after the alliance generals and soldiers suddenly tread the frontier, they can take advantage of this convenience and break the agreement, therefore, they ask for armed forces to suppress them, and we must hurry or lose the golden opportunity, and so on. What do you think we should do? Kou Zhong jokingly said, This is no small thing, Chen [I, your servant] do not dare to speak rashly. Li Shimin spoke with serious expression, When ites to the decision-making on the military affairs, Zhen only rely on you, Kou Zhong, one person. I am handing this matter entirely to you to handle. Whatever other people say, Zhen will treat it as the wind past my ear. Blurted outughing, Kou Zhong said, Huangshang is really formidable. How about I am forcing Xieli to vow that he will no longer support Liang Shidu in exchange for his safe passage back to the prairie? This way, Huangshang can cate the cab ministers of the war faction. Li Shimin reached out to grab his hands, the two men looked face to face with knowing smile, no words needed to be said. Power is the foundation of all politics, military affairs and diplomacy. Now Li Shimin was gradually grasping the power that can deter the Four Barbarians[1] and unify the world. When Kou Zhong left the study room that has be Li Shimins temporary office, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart. Li Shimins way of governing the country was something he could never imitate, Shi Feixuan indeed did not make mistake. This time Xieli returned without sess, he was destined to be defeated and dispersed. Due to his foundation was not solid yet, Li Shimin postponed the decisive battle with Xieli. There wille a day where Li Shimin would devote all his strength to send a punitive expedition against Xieli, to get rid of this great trouble once and for all, in order to ensure the long-term peace and stability of the Great Tang, and to kill the chicken to warn the monkey [idiom: to punish an individual as an example to others], with the efficacy to tame the Four Barbarians. Xu Ziling arrived in Changan before sunset, Li Jing, husband and wife, personally came to wee him. Gaiety, lively atmosphere and scenes were still everywhere in Changan. To avoid stirring up the crowds excitement, three people boarded the carriage, with imperial guards riding ahead and behind to protect them, as they galloped in the direction of Dong Da Si. Hong Funu happily looked around through the window, she spoke in gratitude, There has never been a war so close to Changan, but contrary to the usual practice, there is no curfew, and no news of casualties ising. This is very beneficial for Huangshangs first ascension to the ny-fifth position [i.e. the throne of the emperor], a gargantuan lucky omen. And then she turned her pretty face around and spoke with serious expression, What Ziling and Xiao Zhong have done for the world, no one will forget. Xu Ziling promptly modestly decline, musing that the sooner it was forgotten the better, the days where ten thousand eyes were staring at him were the most unbearable. Sitting in the back row, Li Jing asked, How is the situation on the front line? The vanguard troops from inside and outside the Pass [Guan] passed through Changan in the afternoon, heading toward the front line. ording to my estimation, the 170,000-strong army will gather in Wugong in three or four days. I heard Tuli and several tribal chiefs went to see Huangshang, they agreed to immediately return north of the border, is that true? Xu Ziling nodded and said, Its true, Xieli only has his 100,000-strong Golden Wolf Army left. Encountering the Golden Wolf Army, whose prestige in in battle shook inside and outside the border C in head-on confrontation, although our sides military strength is superior, it will still be difficult to talk about certain victory. Fortunately, Xielis odds of winning are lower than ours, if the stalemate persists, in the end Xieli will submit, Kou Zhong will let him retreat with dignity. After a short pause, he asked, Any news from Song ErGes side? Li Jing replied, Song Er Gongzi and his party returned safely yesterday morning. More than a dozen leaders of the Xiang family were caught in the, Xiang Guimitted suicide. Before arriving in Wugong, Huangshang ordered to hand over the people of the Xiang Family to you. Xu Ziling said, A nation has the nationalw, there should not be too many exceptions. The matter of the Xiang Family should be handled by the Ministry of Justice. Only the criminal ringleader should be investigated, do not implicate innocent people. Those who follow blindly will be given a chance to reform and start afresh. Hong Funu spoke in delight, Ziling really understands reason, this moment Song Gongzi and the others are in Xing Qing Pce, Song Gongzi was entangled by Lei Dage very badly, he couldnt stop talking about working out a strategy and making ns for the Zhen Guan Bank that is about to open on selected auspicious date, Xiao Jun is in distress about how to resign with honor and glory. Warm feeling welled up in Xu Zilings heart. After arriving in Changan, they had had extremely difficult and frustrating moments, but everything was over, the happy days of living together, perching together with Qingxuan were just ahead to wee him. Since leaving Yangzhou, this was the first time that he felt that the bright future, with real flesh and blood, was grasped in the palm of his hand. Feixuan ought to be happy and pleased by this ideal oue. Under Li Shimins leadership, unprecedented flourishing period was about to appear in the Central Earth, the suffering of the people would be a thing of the past. The first group of vanguard troops arrived by flywheel boats, with Ba Fenghan inmand, apanied by Yin Xianhe and Xiao Heer, they even brought along Kou Zhongs beloved eagle Wuming. Li Shimin and Kou Zhong joined hands to hold a weing ceremony in Wugong, representing the Shao Shuai Army being officially incorporated into the Great Tang Army, vowing loyalty and devotion to the House of Tang. The busiest person was Wang Xuanshu, who not only had to deal with Xiao Heer, whom he had just met again after a long period of separation, but also directing the Flying Cloud Guards in weing theirrades-in-armsing to the west. However, seeing the constant smile on his face, it was obvious that he was overjoyed. Kou Zhong hugged Yin Xianhe and said with augh, The son Saozi [(older) sister-inw] gave birth to, does he look like you, or look like her? Yin Xianhes old face turned beet red, he smiled wryly and said, How could it be that quick? Kou Zhong wanted to help him calcting the date, but Yin Xianhe begged for mercy, Please let me go! he said. Kou Zhong roared inughter and said, Saozi is really amazing, unexpectedly she can turn such a tough guy like Yin Xiong to be so soft that she could wrap it around her fingers. On the other side, Ba Fenghanughed and said, Lucky that Yin Xiong listened to instruction and being obedient by noting with us, otherwise, Im afraid that we would have to go all the way in vain. Xiao Hou and I didnt even have a chance to move our fingers, and the matter is over. Sneering, Hou Xibaiughed and said, Dont pull me together with you, that would be discussing two disparate things together. At least you pulled a bow and shot an arrow, while I was just jumping high and leaping low, running to the left and rushing to the right, ha! Amidst the roar ofughter, Li Shimin sent his men to invite Kou Zhong toe and see him. Kou Zhong was instructing Wang Xuanshu to reward andfort the troops who had set up camp outside the city. With Wuming perching on his shoulder, he entered the city to have an audience with the emperor. In the main hall of the Zongguan Mansion, Li Shimin received Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng who came from Changan. Seeing Kou Zhongs arrival, he praised Wuming without ceasing first, then handed part of the memorial to the emperor to Kou Zhong, and spoke cheerfully, Shaoshuai, take a look! Then he continued to talk with Fang and Du, three men. Kou Zhong ostentatiously sat down on the side, holding the memorial with both hands and reading it carefully. It said, Chen [I, your servant C plural] have received Taishangs order, to be entrusted the East Pce, entering and leaving Long Lou [the Dragon Building], bequeathing the generals and uphold the discipline. The former pce tied dispute with n and society,mitting an offense to men and deities, Chen [plural] must not perish, willing from the massacre, bearing our own guilt and cruelty, really record all around travel, exhaust livelihood, what else is there to report? Bixias [Your Majesty] virtue shines over the four oceans, the crown of the way over the former king, sensing steep deceit, reminiscing over the tang and di [cherry-apple and (Japanese) rose (Kerria Japonica)], clearly the states righteousness, the deep grace extends over ones flesh and blood, the burial of the two kings, and the long-term future. Chen are forever in the past, and the old Chen of the past, losing their lord, gaining their lord. Althoughying out the matter is the courtesy of the lord, the grass that has grown on the grave sincest year will be arranged, not yet extended to send away the grief. Looking far ahead at the Nine Sources [Jiuyuan, the most logical definition that I can find is the cemetery of the ministers of the state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period], the meaning is profound and all-epassing, looking towards the day of burial, will be sent off to the grave. [Apologies, this part is beyond my understanding.] Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, At most I only understand half of it, but it must still be a good essay written by a master. He handed the memorial back to Li Shimin, Du Ruhui hurriedly took it on Li Shimins behalf, and deferentially put it back on the table. Li Shimin could not helpughing, he said, Zhen must return to Changan to deal with this matter immediately, and report the current situation to Taishang personally. The matter here, I must trouble Shaoshuai to spend the effort. And then he said, Du Qing [subject] will stay in Wugong to discuss with Shaoshuai the details of how to incorporate the soldiers and generals under Shaoshuai into the military, as well as all other matters, such as how to manage their official position and their duties, and where they should be located, everything will be dealt with ording to Shaoshuais wish. Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, Thank you for the dragons kindness! I wonder if this matter could be dyed for a day, waiting for our sides men and horses assemble one after another, after they are settled, I will send a suitable candidate to deliberate the particrs with Du Gong [Duke]. Li Shiminughed openly and said, I wonder if that candidate is Xu Xingzhi, Xu Xiansheng? Amazed, Kou Zhong said, Huangshang really knows my situation like the back of your hand; without Xingzhi, definitely I would not be what I am today. Li Shimin cast his gaze on the darkening sky outside the hall, tranquil and calm, andposed, he said, Shaoshuai is able to have the shaking the old and illuminating the new [idiom: surpassing the ancients and dazzling contemporaries, glorious and world-shattering] achievements, it is entire because you are an expert at appointing people ording to their abilities [idiom: to put the right people in the right ces], to use people without suspicions. Zhen should take this as a lesson, the way to use people seems to be easy but is actually difficult, the so-called self-appointed worthy or virtuous person may not necessarily be perfectly virtuous, what the crowd call damaged, may not necessarily bepletely wicked. Knowing ones ability but not using it, this is called missing a talent. Giving up the short to acquire the long, and then act for the sake of beauty. Knowing people is difficult, using people is even more difficult. Kou Zhong was about to respond, a personal guard came to report, Shang Xiufangs boat has reached the Wugong City. [1] Four Barbarians is themon English trantion of the Chinese term sy for various peoples living outside the borders of ancient China, namely, the Dngy | Eastern Barbarians, Nnmn U Southern Barbarians, Xrng Western Barbarians, and Bid Northern Barbarians. Ultimately, the four barbarian groups were either partly assimted through Sinicization and absorbed into the Chinese Civilization in theter Chinese Dynasties or emigrated away from the Chinese hearnd. (Source: Wikipedia) Trantors note: notice how the Chinese text uses four different characters for one English word: barbarians. Book 63: Chapter 11: One Look, Doubt is Gone

Book 63: Chapter 11: One Look, Doubt is Gone

The religious ceremony at the Dong Da Si continued to be held day and night, with the Four Great Holy Monks, without stopping to sleep or have a rest C presiding, it particrly gave people the impression of something unusual was happening. Although Xu Ziling did not know whether the boundless Buddhist Dharma could illuminate all living beings wallowing in the sea of bitterness of the human world, he had a faint feeling that this religious ceremony marked the beginning of an auspicious and peaceful era. Shi Qingxuan left Dong Da Si before he arrived. Xu Ziling kept Shi Qingxuans repeated exhortation in mind, he declined Li Jing, husband and wifes offer to apany him with sincere thanks, and entered the Yu He An next door alone. Suddenly cold wind blew, the continuous spring rain sprinkled down from the sky, shrouding the quiet and solemn Buddhist nunnery in rain and fog, which appeared to be real but also like an illusion. Xu Ziling was neither worried nor saddened by the changes in the weather, his heart was brimming with the wonderful feeling of meeting again after a short period of separation. Yu He An was quiet, without any sound, inside the rain and the fog, only the dimntern lights emitted out of the Buddhist hall forming balls of hazy light filled with moisture. Passing through the small path winding in the bamboo forests, his heart wondered if he woulde across Shi Zhixuan? But until he entered the small courtyard where Shi Qingxuan was staying, Shi Zhixuans trace was still nowhere to be seen. Shi Qingxuan was standing outside the door, she wore all white clothes, including a white flower on her hair, like a specter dissolving in the rainy night. Thinking about tonight and any night, and thinking about her bleak and cold life experience, a burst of emotion, which was more intense than at any other moment before, swept over him like a tidal wave, gripping his heart and soul tightly, causing him to hold nothing back, wishing that he could exhaust all his strength to love and protect her. But he discovered that his legs seemed to be rooted in front of the stone steps leading to the door, as he struggled hard to spit out a call, Qingxuan. Shi Qingxuans jade countenance was pale, she stared fixedly at him for half a day, and then as if she had just recognized him as Xu Ziling, she cried in low voice, Xu Ziling, you are finally here! And then she slowly turned her delicate body and entered the house. The oilmp was bright, the me outlined Shi Qingxuans graceful posture. At one end of the small hallid Bi Xiuxins spirit tablet, in a solemn and sacred atmosphere. The me of the oilntern was like a medium connecting theherworld and the world of the living. Shi Qingxuan turned her head to look at him, the pair of eyes that he could not help thinking about in the lonelyte night, which could be deep, hidden away and sorrowful, or could be innocent and yful bright eyes, revealing a ming expression! Her pretty forehead was lightly knitted, showing a few tiny and lovely wrinkles, she spoke softly, Daizi [Idiot]! What are you doing there? You havente in and kowtow to pay respects to Niang? The rising-abruptly strange feeling and the ice-cold distance, which made Xu Ziling not daring to rush indiscriminately into action, immediately dissolved like ice and snowing across a raging inferno; he hurriedly stepped up the stairs to enter the house, came to her side, and followed Shi Qingxuan going down on his knees. Xu Ziling respectfully knocked his head on the ground three times, Shi Qingxuans sweet voice sounded in his ears, Niang! Xu Ziling is here to see you! Xu Zilings gaze shifted from the jade xiao [vertical flute] enshrined in front of the memorial tablet to Shi Qingxuan kneeling shoulder to shoulder with him. The silhouette of her beautiful profile showed an indescribable sadness. Seeminglypletely oblivious that Xu Ziling was looking at her, she continued to talk to Bi Xiuxins spirit tablet, saying, Didnt you say that when love breaks through the door, there is no way to escape? Daughter finally understands what you mean, because that door is set inside the heart. Therefore, daughter decided to marry Xu Ziling as his wife, to be husband and wife before your soul tonight, even if in the future I am heartlessly abandoned by him, I will never regret it. Severely shaken, Xu Ziling said, Qingxuan! Shi Qingxuan still did not look at him, she spoke softly, If you have something to say, tell Niang directly, Niang is listening! Xu Ziling took a deep breath to suppress the huge waves overflowing-the-heavens intense emotions, earnestly and sincerely he said, Niang! I, Xu Ziling, will cherish Qingxuan with my heart and soul as long as I live, Qingxuan and I will be the happiest couple in the world. To be able to obtain Qingxuans favor that she gives herself wholly to marry me down [marrying a man of lower social status] C is the greatest special favor the Heaven has bestowed upon me, Xu Ziling. Shi Qingxuan said, Niang, did you hear that? From now on, Niang, please rest in peace! A burst of cool breeze rolled in from the door, bringing a puff of spring rain sprinkling on their bodies. Shi Qingxuan blissfully looked at him, she said, Niang agrees! In the continuous rain in the night, Kou Zhong galloped out of the city, intercepted Shang Xiufangs convoy, and boarded her fragrant carriage. Wuming was let soaring in the night sky. Shang Xiufang sat her tender body upright, unable to take her eyes off him, she looked at him as he closed the carriage door and sat down beside her. The carriage continued its journey. Kou Zhong could not move his gaze from her, he watched Shang Xiufangs silky breast moving up and down, suddenly it was as if she just realized something; looking left and right, she said, Outside the city is densely packed with military camps, by the shore is full of warships, are they the troops heading for the front line? So many people! Four eyes looked at each other, Kou Zhong lovingly scrutinized the pair of eyes that could talk, he smiled and said, This time I promise that there will not be a horrible situation of blood flowing into rivers; it is just to scare the other side, to bluff, to see who cannot stand it, but surely it wont be me, Kou Zhong. Shang Xiufangs beautiful eyes shot out a joyous expression carrying a bit of panic and doubt, acting somewhat bashful, wanting to avoid Kou Zhongs burning gaze, yet she clearly was not able to. Kou Zhong was able to hear her fragrant heart beating wildly, his heart grew hot, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his bosom. This touching beauty let out a soft cry, her jade hands wound around his strong neck, she stroked his ck hair and his cheeks, and said with a sigh, Oh, Kou Zhong! Dont forget that this is a big street, oh! Like a rain Kou Zhongs mouthnded on her face, nose, and fragrant lips, the bottom of his heart no longer had the slightest bit of guilty conscience. The zing, intense emotion pushed his heart and soul, he sighed contentedly and said, We can be together forever, Zhizhi already agreed about us. Stunned, Shang Xiufang looked up, knitted her brows, and said, Shaoshuai has some misunderstanding, who wants to marry you? Kou Zhong felt like a bucket of cold water was poured on his head, he stared at her nkly and said, You dont want to marry me? Shang Xiufang tenderly fell into his bosom, pressed his cheek, and spoke softly, You forgot to shave. Kou Zhong anxiously cupped her face, forcing her to make eye contact, and repeated, Tell me! Do you want to marry me or not? Shang Xiufang grabbed both of his hands, and pulled them down slowly. Sighing lightly, she said, Didnt I make it clear earlier? Wanting to marry you is a thing of the past. Kou Zhongs heart sank straight down, hanging down his hands in despair, he said, This is indeed a big misunderstanding, turns out Shang Xiufang doesnt love me, Kou Zhong anymore. Shang Xiufang shook her head slowly, she said, If I dont love you, then I will let you do as you please. Because Xiufang has other ideas, all I ask for is a one night of affection from Shaoshuai. Kou Zhong shook his head angrily and said, No! You practically dont love me. Shang Xiufang spoke softly like she was coaxing a child, Do you remember what Xiufang said? There is no eternal, unchanging love on earth, eternity can only be sought in musical art, and that is where Xiufang willmit myself throughout my life. From childhood, Xiufang has no interest in assisting my husband and educating the children, to bear a son and give birth to a daughter His face stretched taut, Kou Zhong cut her off, Ive never heard any of it! Puzzled, Shang Xiufang looked closely at him, suddenly she noticed that the corner of his mouth was gradually expanding into a smile. Showering her ky fists on his broad chest, feigning anger coquettishly, she said, You are deceitful! Kou Zhong ignored her punches, suddenly he lifted the hanging curtain and stuck his head out of the carriage window, and shouted loudly, Who can tell me? Where is the room with the best view in Wugong City? Im going to spend the night there tonight. Shang Xiufang cried out Ying Ning tenderly [, no idea, lit. enjoining calling of birds, from Baike Baidu: describing clear and delicate voice], the rose-tinted color of clouds at sunset grew on her jade cheeks, blush prated the base of her ears, she fiercely pinched his arm with all her strength. The imperial bodyguards ahead and behind were caught unprepared by his question, they looked at each other as if they were dumb. Li Shimins voice came from the direction of the city gate, saying, It must be the Wugong Bie Guan [annex, lit. separate building] where Zhen was born, eighteen li south of Wugong City, by the shore of Wei River, inside the mountain forest east of the wharf. Shaoshuai is willing to spend the night there, your presence will bring light to the Bie Guan. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Thank you for the Dragons kindness; guys, change the route for me. Pulling his head inside, he turned to the so-ashamed-that-there-was-no-ce-to-put-down-her-countenance Shang Xiufang, and said, The spring night is worth a thousand jin of gold, to absorb the living dragon vital energy of the real dragons birthce shouldnt be too bad! And then he exhaled slowly and muttered to himself, Luckily it coincides with the Son of Heaven going on an inspection tour. Asking for direction, one must ask the right person. Raindrops filling the whole sky, swirling in the airyer byyer and descending to the mother earth. Yu He An dissolved into the heaven and earth that has be fairnd, the water mist annihted the temple halls and the residences into the forest tree, blurring the dividing line between distinct realms of one object with another, bing more and more somber and cold and beautiful, enshrined in the memorial tablets solitarymp dripping with mes. Shi Qingxuan and Xu Zilings ten fingers intertwined with one another, her other hand picked up the jade flute, leaning against Xu Ziling she took a striding step out of the door. Dang! Dang! Dang! The sound of the Dhyana bell came from the Dong Da Si on the other side of the tomb. At this very moment, Xu Ziling especially felt the Buddhism subtleties profound meaning of the melodious bell sound. Suddenly, a singing voice came from somewhere in the nunnery, someone was singing, The gale is rolling, the forest trees are devastated, the mind is bitter as in death, beckoning rest, but none came. A hundred years old is like a stream, riches and honor are cold ashes, the road is passing day by day, suffering is only for the mighty. The warrior flicks his sword, overwhelmed full of grief, deste fallen leaves, leaking rain grew the dark blue moss. The singing voice was exhausted and hoarse, the emotion deep in sadness andmentation, as if the singer has been wandering all his life, selling his art alone on the streets, or like a prodigal son who has roamed far and wide without anywhere to go home to, going through a thousand mountain and ten thousand streams, the heart weary the strength exhausted, returning to thest ce to return to, singing the sad melody of regret, while the years have washed away the radiance that he once had. Shi Qingxuans hand grabbed his hand even tighter, but she did not even say half a word, without blinking at all, her beautiful eyes were fixed on the courtyard gate inside the vast and indistinct rain and mist, her flowery countenance turned white. Shi Zhixuan finally came. Empty deep pools dripping the spring [season], ancient mirror reflecting the deities, the body essence storing up cleanliness, riding on the moon to return to reality. While gazing at the stars, singing to the secluded people, running water of today is the precursor of the moon tomorrow. As the singing approached, Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, whether in term of talent, passion, or martial arts, Shi Zhixuan was definitely the number one figure of the demonic school, no one could surpass him. If it were not for his bitter love to Bi Xiuxin, he would have a great chance to revitalize the demonic school and dominate the Central Earth. The singing changed, bing deste, solemn and stirring, like a traveler in a desert and barrennd, after losing all hope, like silkworms spinning silk and offering to Heaven a sad song at the end its destiny. Searching for the sword over thest thirty years, several times the leaves fell and drew out the branches. Ever since catching a glimpse of the peach blossoms, until now there is no doubt even more. Xu Zilings heart and spirit trembled severely, this song was precisely the true portrayal of Shi Zhixuan himself, in which he could not break through Qingxuan, this only w, so he bowed before Bi Xiuxin to express his inner feelings. Shi Qingxuan gently pulled out her hand, raised the xiao to her lips, the sound of the flute that made Xu Zilings heartstrings shuddered floated like the time between her finger rising up and her finger falling down, breaking into the rain like silk floss filling the night, everything was like a dream that was too thick to be dissolved, as if the firmament was shedding tears for the song of the xiao. The song of the xiao that Shi Qingxuan was ying intertwined with the night sky and the spring rain to form a melody of sadness and beauty and nothingness, brewing a storm of emotions brimming with deep mncholy and depression. It made Xu Ziling feel that he was in the long river of life, and was in the midst of transformation of the blue sea turning into mulberry fields [idiom: transformation of the world], sometimes high and steep, being pulled up to the erect mountain peak, sometimes gentle and soft like a pillow, stacking up Shi Qingxuans soliloquy, fully immersed inside the predestination, twisting life, but also containing the beauty of tranquility that made the heart trembled. He finally appeared. At first, it was a vague silhouette outside the courtyard gate, which gradually became clear, and finally, unexpectedly his face was full of hot tears, the Demonic King Shi Zhixuan, who once able to move across the world unhindered without anybody able to do anything to him. The sound of the xiao disappeared, the heaven and earth returned to its previous tranquility. Xu Ziling gently held Shi Qingxuans drooping, trembling, icy-cold jade hand. From about a zhang away, Shi Zhixuan stared fixedly at Shi Qingxuan, his pair of eyes emitted sorrowful expression as if his heart was shattered, his two lips lightly trembled, he was unable to say half a word. Dang! Dang! Dang! The sound of the Dhyana bell came from Dong Da Si for the second time. Shi Zhixuans body trembled violently, suddenly he moved forward to walk toward them. Xu Ziling intuitively felt that he was going to offer a sacrifice in front of Bi Xiuxins spirit, he pulled Shi Qingxuan to the side. Surprisingly, Shi Qingxuan gently obeyed. Shi Zhixuan stopped next to the two persons, not daring to look at Shi Qingxuan, he turned his eyes to the spirit tablet enshrined in the house, and said with a sigh, Pick the running water, the luxuriant distant spring [season], the sweet, fair and graceful valley, it was the season to see a beauty. Qingxuans song Weaving a marriage deeply catches Xiuxins greatest magnificent of bluish green night, the moon rises in the east. Moreover, the green stems from the blue, what can I, Shi Zhixuan say? What regret may be said? Finished speaking, he climbed the steps with his hands behind his back, his gait was rxed. Xu Ziling looked up at the night sky, the chill night rain sprinkled on his face, all sorts of feelings welled up in his heart. He could almost imagine the scene when Bi Xiuxin met Shi Zhixuan, this soul mate, when the gifted schr met the beautifuldy [idiom: pair of ideal lovers] by chance, only it was a pity that it ended in tragedy! And the affair that have entangled them for many years wasing to an end, because Shi Qingxuan finally yed the song that Bi Xiuxin left behind to Shi Zhixuan, and he even grasped that Shi Zhixuan has made up his mind to die, he was going to kill himself before Bi Xiuxins spirit, yet he had no way to stop it, neither was he able to find any reason to stop Shi Zhixuans only way to extricate himself. Shi Qingxuans hands trembled even more violently, yet her expression was still heartbreakingly tranquil. Shi Zhixuan stopped in front of the spirit tablet, shook his head and chanted, Ice-and-snow beautiful woman [lit. fine person] has the strangest appearance, she often blew her jade flute [here, the word is di, traversing flute] to others. In the song, there are boundless flowers that moved the heart, only perhaps Dongjun [the Lord of the East, the sun god in Chinese mythology] was the first branch. Oh, Xiuxin! Do you remember that time I asked you, In the world, other than being heartless, the flowers and trees blooming and falling deep in the mountains on their own, what does it have to do with my heart? Your answer was, When you havent seen this flower, both this flower and thine heart belong to silence; when you look at this flower, then for a short while you understand the color of this flower, then you know that this flower is not outside your heart. You have always understood, I have never understood. Now that you have reached the without-suffering purend, while I, Shi Zhixuan, am still drifting up and down in the sea of ??bitterness in the world of the living. I wonder if I must pay the price of my own stupidity? Xu Ziling could not bear it any longer, he shouted, Qianbei [Senior]! Hearing the call, Shi Zhixuan shook, with his back toward them, he spoke in grief, How I wish Zi Ling would call me Yuzhang Daren [father-inw (wifes father)]. Shi Qingxuan desperately grabbed Xu Zilings hand, she kept shaking her head, her pair of beautiful eyes looked nk. Although she was hinting to Xu Ziling not toply with his request, but she herself was out of her wits. Shi Zhixuan turned around slowly, tears were streaming down his face, he spoke in pain, My little Qingxuan, Die is going to apany your Niang! Little Qingxuan is not ready to send Die off? Shi Qingxuan weakly leaned against Xu Ziling, shepletely relied on his hands to lightly support her silky back. She lowered her head and bit her lower lip, and after quite a while her cherry lips lightly spat, Until the moment before her death, Niang still did not say half a word of me toward you, she And then the tears flowed down, she was unable to utter a single word. Shi Zhixuans whole body shook and trembled, the originally considered-himself-unexcelled-in-the-world hegemon of the demonic way seemed unable to stand firm relying on his own strength, he swayed back and forth, his pair of eyes shot a look of regret and remorse intersecting each other. Xu Ziling knew the turn of events was far from good. Right this moment, the sound of Brahma shout arose, the sound of the Buddhist ode came from Dong Da Si in the distant, chanting, The wonderful mind of perfect enlightenment is like an empty flower, the empty flower disappears then has the nature of a Vajra. Speaking about feeling ording to illusion is also called an illusion, illusion without awareness has not departed from illusion, knowledge of illusions means separation from convenience, separation from illusions is not gradual; all sentient beings are originally Buddhas, without cultivation, without proof C is a tangible Vajra. Reincarnated empty flower is originally without life, when the empty flower disappears, it is actually not disappearing. Unexpectedly it was the Four Great Holy Monks chanting the ode in unison, and it was clearly sent out at this critical moment, full of boundless Dharma, the Buddhism subtleties artistic conception of universal crossing of all sentient beings. Enraptured in this dream of the sea of bitterness, Shi Zhixuan showed a panic and startled expression, as if he had just woken up from a dream. The non-nature has the nature of perfect enlightenment, following all natures without obtaining evidence, the reality was without nothing. Without nothing, transformation appears and disappears without evidence; the Tathagata perishes with obedience, there is no real cessation and Nirvana. All obstacles are finally enlightened, attaining mindfulness and losing mindfulness is real freedom. The Dhyana sound disappeared, Shi Zhixuan recovered his previous expression, but it was different from normal. He took a striding step out the door, and raised his head to look up at the boundless rainy night where the Brahma chant wasing from, his pair of eyes was sparkling brightly. Xu Ziling felt a dj vu, as if he had seen this appearance before, his heart was suddenly moved, recalling that this was precisely the solemn treasured appearance when he was transformed into the Holy Monk Dade, presiding over the religious ceremony in Wu Liang [sic, I think it was Wu Lou before] Temple. Shi Zhixuan suddenly stood still, his palms sped together, his eyes turned to Shi Qingxuan, suddenly heughed aloud again, lowered both hands, walked down the steps, and walked straight towards the courtyard gate. Die! Shi Zhixuan stopped peacefully, one after another the hair on top of his head fell from its roots in the drizzling rain, scattered and flew away in all directions with the spring wind and rain, in a blink of an eye he turned bald. Putting his palms together, he said, When the dharma breaks the dharma, each is like Nirvana; wisdom and ignorance be Prajna [great wisdom], outside the Bodhisattva all roads lead to bodhi [enlightenment], there is no difference between avidya [ignorance] and Tathata [truth]. This day Shi Zhixuan can obtain the proof and proper oue, it is entirely thanks to Little Qingxuan calling out this word, Die. Looking up to the sky and letting out a burst of longughter, he calmly walked away and disappeared into the depth of the rain and the mist outside the courtyard gate. Shi Qingxuans jade hand no longer trembled, her expression returned to tranquil. Xu Ziling sighed inwardly, this should be the best conclusion for Shi Qingxuan, for Shi Zhixuan, and for him. Shi Qingxuan spoke softly, Oh, Ziling! Shall we find a ce to bury Niangs jade xiao? Qingxuan has observed mourning for Niang for seven days, in the future I will have nothing to worry about, so I can be a good wife to Ziling. The spring rain still continued to fall, but it no longer had the same bleak wind, bitter rain mood as before. Shi Zhixuans sad song before he obtained the Dharma seemed to be sounding in his eardrums again, Ever since catching a glimpse of the peach blossoms, until now there is no doubt even more. Book 63: Chapter 12: White Horse Oath

Book 63: Chapter 12: White Horse Oath

For five consecutive days, the navy ships carried the joint forces the Central Earth to the frontline battlefield on the north bank of the Wei River west of Wugong City. By the time Li Shiji transported the Eight-Bow-and-Crossbow machines and the big-stone-turning-to-the-flying-stone over, the overall situation was settled, the lone-fighting-army Xieli alreadycked the power to upend heaven and earth. When Xu Ziling returned to the front line, Kou Zhong, together with Li Shiji, Ma Chang, Xuan Yong, Bai Wenyuan, Bu Tianzhi, Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji and the others, a group of great generals C were discussing the military situation in the main tent. Seeing Xu Ziling arrived, Kou Zhong ended the meeting, together they rode side by side out of the fortress,ing to a hill where they could gaze into the distance at the enemy camp, and told each other what happened after they parted. Wuming was circling slowly high in the sky, soaring under the rose-tinted clouds before the sunset. Kou Zhong said, Lao Ba and Xiao Hou have just returned to Changan, did you run into them? Shaking his head, Xu Ziling replied, The warships on the Wei Rivere and go frequently, I must have let a great opportunity slip. How is the situation on Xielis side? I heard that he is still holding back his troops without moving, how could he be that obedient? Be careful, he might have other ns. Kou Zhong smiled and said, Xieli lost the chance to rectify the defeat. The three cities behind him are greatly increasing their military strength, and there are Xue Wanche and Feng Liben leading an elite force of 30,000 troops, stationed outside Qishan City. Supposing Xieli dares to divide his troops to attack westward, I guarantee that he will have to pack his bag and leave before finish eating. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Xue Wanche and Feng Liben? Kou Zhong said, Isnt this move awesome enough? No words or actions can better show our trust in the hostile factions of the past than entrusting them with important tasks. Not only it could reassure the hearts of those who defect, it could also stabilize the hearts of the army and the people. Currently, Tuli and all the brothers have safely withdrawn. Even if Lao Xue and Lao Feng were stupid enough to surrender to Xieli, would the officers and soldiers under theirmand follow them? Xieli would not dare to ept them even more for fear it would incur our attack. Now the foot of Xielis disposition of troops is in chaos, their morale is in decline, with no room to advance or to retreat, what he is seeking is a chance to step down with dignity. Then he asked, Did Shi Zhixuan appear? Xu Ziling narrated the affair, he sighed and said, He, the Senior, only has one w, and it was precisely this w that finally made him toprehend the right path [Buddhism concept], to abandon suffering and obtain happiness. Qingxuan also forgave him because of this. Kou Zhong sighed incessantly with him. Looking up at the clear sky, Shang Xiufangs jade countenance and tender disposition floated into appearance in his heart, he spoke gently, I still remember when we were in Luoyang, we sneaked into the imperial pce, listening from the side to Xiufang performing her music for Wang Shichong and Shimin Xiong. At that time, I had a strange feeling, Xiufang, although the person was there, using her musical art to turn all living beings upside down, I seem to see her packing up her luggage, ready to start another journey to wander the Jianghu. Ay! She does not belong to any ce, does not belong to a certain person, she belongs to folk musical theater and the way of the songs. The pursuit of art keeps her searching for a certain goal deep in her heart. Stunned, Xu Ziling said, Is she not willing to marry you? Kou Zhong said, You could say that. That night at the Wugong Bie Guan [Annex], while listening to the sound of fleet after fleet of navy warships breaking the waves as they sailed along the Wei River, I enjoyed her wholehearted devotion and tenderness, the beautiful womans special favor [used to refer to the favor from a ruler/the Emperor] that is most difficult to bear in my life. In my heart, I am both sad and happy, definitely I will not forget for the rest of my life. When she left me early in the morning, I deliberately pretended to be asleep, but I did not miss every dot, every drip of sound of her getting out of bed and dressing and grooming herself. Ay, my Niang! At that time, I was really afraid that I could not help weeping bitter tears like a child, begging her not to leave me. Xu Ziling felt a burst of mncholy in his heart for his sake, a sigh of sorrow, which was hard to express, welled up in his heart. Thinking about Shi Feixuan, who was far away in Ci Hang Jing Zhai, he said, One day, when she is tired, she will naturally return to your side. Kou Zhong looked into the distance at the enemys stronghold, he said, What did Zhizhi have to say? Xu Ziling said, Before I came, Chuchu, Little Lingzhong and Lu Shu [Uncle] had just arrived in Changan, Huangshang personally went to the wharf to wee Lu Shu. Zhizhi implored me to tell you that she will quiet her heart, waiting for her big hero returning in triumph, returning home with honor. Lei Dages bank has found the ideal shop at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, this moment they are carrying out arge-scale construction project, rushing to open it for business in a few days. He told you to roll back to participate in the grand opening ceremony presided by Huangshang himself. Kou Zhongughed hoarsely and said, He, LaoGe finally found pleasure outside the gambling table. In your opinion, does Qingqing Jie [older sister] really have interest in him? Without a doubt, Xu Ziling replied, You can rest assured. If you can see how when Lei Dage sees Qingqing Jie, he is like a mouse seeing a cat, being held down to the ground, but being obedient with as-sweet-as-syrup facial expression, I guarantee you will split your side fromughing. Kou Zhong stretched his waist and said, Bitterness finishes, sweetness begins [idiom: the hard times are over, the good times just beginning], we finally arrive at the auspicious days. Li Shimin is indeed our good brother, he fully epts Xingzhis proposal, so everyone on our side, each in the correct ce [idiom: each is provided for]. Xingzhis n to open a college at Zhongli is also settled. He is definitely a hundred times better than Bai Lao Fuzi [see Book 1, Chapter 1], and he definitely wont be bothered by government officials, because the one in charge of the city is Zhi Shu [uncle]. Ha! Xu Zilings heart grew warm, he said, I am very tired of war. Should we take the initiative to talk to Xieli, topletely resolve the stalemate situation? Otherwise, letting Xieli wander back north of the border might cause serious destruction. Kou Zhongughed aloud, he said, Carefully setting an auspicious date does not beat seizing an opportunity [idiom: carpe diem]. Well settle the matter today, and well return to Changan tomorrow, lest Lei LaoGe mes us for being absent from the grand ceremony. The two boys shouted together, and spurred their horses to gallop towards the enemy stronghold. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling are asking an audience with the Great Khan! Kou Zhong shouted over from a distance, immediately a burst ofmotion arose inside the enemy fort, and then the sound of hoofbeat was heard, obviously someone immediately flew to report to Xieli. Kou Zhongughed and said, Xieli must have been puzzled by the fact that we knew that the Khans tent was behind this hill, he must be at a loss; he thought that we see through the profound mystery purely based on the camp formation and stronghold rampart arrangement, not knowing that we rely on the falcons returning flight position to find the ce where he, the Senior is hiding. Merely this move haspletely achieved the gaining-the-upper-hand-by-a-show-of-strength effectiveness. Xu Ziling looked up at the starry sky, the camp was zing with the light from the torches, reflected in the just-turning-dark sky like a zing red curtain. In the high altitude where the me could not reach, Wuming was spiraling continuously, to show off its mighty power. Kou Zhong sighed and said, There has never been a moment like this when I feel like holding the pearl of wisdom even more, I can almost foresee the situation of Xielis surrender, so much so how he will react and what he will say; I can guess with eighty-, ny-percent confidence. Ha, this fellow is going to act tough and vicious, assuming the air of rather being a shattered jade than being an intact roof tile, but at the bottom of his heart he knows that he is following the tracks of overturned cart [idiom: repeating the same mistakes] of Liu Wuzhou defeat at Baibi. He is afraid of Li Shimins usual style of taking advantage of the enemysck of food supply to pursue and attack, but also more afraid that the one chasing him is me, Kou Zhong. Therefore, as long as we give him a chance to step down the stage, he will immediately call Xiong [older brother] and say Di [younger brother], pretending to be a hero knowing another hero, and epting the condition of withdrawal. Xu Ziling smiled and said, I am most afraid that your estimates will fall through, so we will have to waste and exhaust our strength to charge out of the enemy camp. Kou Zhong said, That situation will not happen. The whole situation is under our control. Xieli has to give thought to his guys, to give thought to the future, to give thought to the Golden Wolf Tujue tribe, to give thought to whether he could roll the dust and start again. With so many reasons, other than surrendering, what option does he have? Even if his defeated army, injured generals could return to the prairie, they would be powerless to contend for supremacy against Tuli. Ay! I really hope that he can be forced to hand over Lao [Old] Zhao. Xu Ziling said, No need to bully intolerably, after this battle, Xieli will no longer trust Zhao Deyan, so what if you let him go now? Kou Zhongs pair of eyes narrowed, refined light shed like lightning, he said, They are here! The rapid sound of hoofbeats came forth from inside the enemy camp, a group of several dozens of riders dashed out from the open-wide stronghold gate, the leader was Kang Qiaoli, they went straight toward the two boys and reined their horses about a zhang away in front of them. The warhorse reared on its hindlegs, Kang Qiaoli shouted, The Great Khan ordered me to ask two gentlemen, visiting the enemy camp at night, what is the reason? Kou Zhong spoke in loud and clear voice, We are here to talk freely and sincerely with the Great Khan, definitely without the slightest bit of malice. Kang Qiaolis countenance softened slightly, he nodded and said, Shaoshuais courage is extraordinary, Kang Qiaoli is full of admiration, two gentlemen, please raise your good-selves. Turning around, he led the way. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling exchanged nces, they urged their horses to follow closely behind him. At least half of Kou Zhongs guess came true, Xieli really had the intention to shake hands and make peace. In the open space outside the Khan tent, there was an open fire where amb was being roasted, four bare-chested Tujue warriors were basting and roasting themb skewered on a rotating iron stick. Amidst the aroma permeating the whole ce, the mutton was cut and presented to the host and the guests, both sides, to sample. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling sat on Xielis left and right sides, respectively, with Tonyukuk, Kang Qiaoli, and eight major tribal chiefs, sitting on the ground, around the fire, Zhao Deyan was the only one not seen. Only Xieli, Kou, and Xu, three men had sheepskin cushions under them. A leather bag containing goats milk was passed around from person to person, after two sips, it was immediately passed on to the next person on the right. The warriors were standing guard on four directions, the atmosphere carried a harmony-within-tension vor. Contrary to Kou Zhongs guess, Xieli did not carry an air of a vicious hegemon who wanted to choose someone to devour, he was actually cautious and polite. After drinking two mouthfuls of goat milk, Xieli handed it over to Kou Zhong, who was full of praise of the tender and savory mutton leg he was holding in his hand. Shifting back to the topic, he said, Aside from our respective opposing position, Shaoshuai is indeed one of just a very few figures in the Central Earth qualified to face off against me on the battlefield, the other is Song Que. I heard that Song Que has some kind of extraordinary charm, which can make every single one of his men willing to die for him. I thought the rumors were exaggerated, but aftering across Shaoshuai, I began to know for sure that there really are indeed such charismaticmander-in-chief in the world as Song Que and Shaoshuai. I am not trying to fawn on you, but I want you to understand that tonight we can sit here side by side and share goat milk, is because I realized that there is practically no way to refuse to see you, and not because I want to seek peace with you. In my, Xielis military career, I have confidence that the final victory will belong to me. Kou Zhong felt the touching feeling that he was making history in his heart. As he expected, Xieli indeed was showing strength while weak inside [idiom], he was starting to have the heart to shrink back. Although the negotiation process was definitely not easy, due to in this regard, Xieli was a seasoned veteran, but everything was under his control, whether to have peace or war, it was entirely in his mind. Kou Zhong cast his gaze to the starry sky. That one night, the crisp and clear night with continuous rain [I know it does not make sense, but thats what it says], appeared in the ocean of his brain. Shang Xiufang was looking down the window and naively asked, Ah, Shaoshuai! Another fleet of warships is passing by! So many men are heading to the front line, will there really be no conflict? Kou Zhongs arm snaked around her small waist, and pressed it on her scorching lower abdomen where she had no excess fat C not one part too fat, not one part too thin, and bent his head to stick it to her fragrant, tender cheek. Herplete ignorance [orig. does not even enter a single aperture of her head] of military matter made him feel that the fire of war was far away even more, thereupon he said to her, The more men go to the front line, the lower the chance of war. Now, just like you, I feel thoroughly weary of bloodshed, I wont let any war to happen because of me. Shang Xiufangs tender body turned weak, she leaned into his bosom, her starry eyes were half-closed, she was panting and said, When I leave tomorrow morning, Shaoshuai must close your eyes and pretend to be asleep, because Xiufang is afraid not to be able to bear the pain of parting, so let the charm and the sadness of leaving be the matter of the past, do you understand? Big bad egg [scoundrel, bastard]. Xielis voice entered his ear at this moment, What is Shaoshuai thinking? Kou Zhong was recalling fondly the emotional storm caused by Shang Xiufangs Big bad egg; hearing the question, he replied, Im thinking of the prairie beyond the Great Wall, with its thousand beauties and ten thousand appearances terrain, the vast mother earth covered by meadow prairie, forest grasnd and dry prairie, the arid great desert that makes people feel intimidated, the rolling hills overgrown with bushes extending continuously, as well as thekes on the grasnds, with tents erected on thekeshores, flocks of cattle and sheep, and endless open country extending forever to the end of the world. It is the natural pasture that Heaven above gives to the brothers beyond the Great Wall to let them gallop its length and breadth unhindered. Whether the white clouds filling the sky, or the stars filling the space, the prairie will always be that fascinating. They have been talking in Tujuenguage, so that everybody present could hear and understand clearly. Perhaps because he was thinking of Shang Xiufang, his voice was brimming with rich emotions. Listening to him telling about his longing to gallop on the copious water supply, the fertile soil, the luxuriant pasture and beautiful prairie, his vision for the future, even the Tujue warriors serving them had their movements slowing down, the feeling of homesickness grew in their hearts. Tonyukuk, Kang Qiaoli, and the group of tribal chiefs were silent, with nothing to say. Xieli nodded and said, Turns out Shaoshuai has such a profound perception toward the prairie. After the first time in joyous intimacy, Shang Xiufang cried in his arms. As he continuously wiped her tears andforted her, but to no avail, Shang Xiufang bit his ear and said, Xiufang is not crying because of tomorrows parting, but Kou Zhong returned to reality once again, still feeling tender, he said softly, The Great Khan in my, Kou Zhongs heart, is the overlord on the prairie that no one can ever knock down. The prairie belongs to the Great Khan, just like the Central Earth belongs to us. Only by coexisting peacefully with each other, we can enjoy the gift of Heaven to the fullest. As long as the Great Khan nods, we will fulfill our previous promise and let the Great Khan to return from a rewarding journey. No matter what, being brothers is better than being enemies, otherwise it will be both sides suffer situation. It will both affect Great Khans prestige on the steppe that no one dares to challenge, and also dyed our Central Earths great cause of unification. These remarks were both tactful and thoroughlyying out the pros and cons, giving Xieli enough face, fully disying Kou Zhongs unique diplomatic style. Hearing it, Xu Ziling apuded in secret. Xieli muttered to himself for half a day, while everyone held their breath and calmed their qi, the only noise was the hissing of the burning fat, and asionally the crackling sound of the sauce dripping from the mutton into the fire. After quite a while, Xieli nodded and said, Shaoshuai can be considered quite a friend, if I, Xieli still refuse, I fail to appreciate your kindness. Its just that there is a clear dividing line between the Tang Kingdom and the prairie, if you wont interfere in any affairs of the prairie in the future, we could end this matter amiably. Smiling wryly, Kou Zhong said, Great Khan, please note clearly, if you were me, Kou Zhong, when Tuli, Gunatai brothers and Pusa, have just looked at my sentiment and face and withdraw from this weapon of war, and then I turned my head and guarantee to you that whatever happens in the prairie, no matter how big or small, I will not interfere, even if they face the distress of life and death, I will still sit and watch, but remain indifferent, what kind of brotherhood is that? The vicious light in Xielis pair of eyes immediately ring greatly, he spoke heavily, If Shaoshuai thinks that I, Xieli have no choice but to ept your any conditions, Shaoshuai is gravely mistaken. The atmosphere suddenly became tense, the negotiation seemed to be on the verge of breaking down. Not one single throat uttered a single breath, only the dialog between the two men reverberated inside the camp. Xu Ziling also felt headache for Kou Zhong. The differences between the two were diametrically opposite, practically there was no room forpromise. Kou Zhong smiled and said, If we cante to an agreement, a full-scale fierce battle will unfold immediately. Admittedly, it would be hard for us to take, but even if the Great Khan can return north of the border, you will immediately have to face the challenges of the enemies from the Central Earth and the prairie, respectively, it is really something that a sage wont take. How about this: each of us take a step back, I, Kou Zhong vow that no matter how the situation develops in the future, Ziling and I will not intervene in anything inside or outside the border, henceforth we will withdraw from Jianghu and live in seclusion. In the future, the Great Khan will not have to worry about the two of us looking trouble all over the ce. I have already stated clearly where I stand, now it only takes the Great Khan to say a word. Xieli looked at him, his pair of eyes shing brightly, he said, You are serious? Xu Ziling breathed a sigh of relief inwardly, Xieli finally found the opportunity to step down the stage. It should be noted that the struggle between inside and outside the border has always been a question of who is stronger and who is weaker. The failure of Xielis invasion to the south did not mean that he would suffer defeat forever, he only had to restrain his anger momentarily. And Xieli suffered big defeat from Kou Zhong at the Rushing Wolf in and the Wei River in session, he was more afraid of Kou Zhong than Tuli or Li Shimin. If the terms of the peace talks included he and Kou Zhong washing hands on the golden tray, withdrawing from the mountain and forest, in the long run, it would only bring benefit without any harm to Xieli. In the past, Xieli was willing to be reconciled with Tuli, he was forced by the situation. Now history was repeating itself. With Xielis current military strength, even if he won at Weibin, he would still be powerless to expand the victory. He also had to worry about sudden changes appearing any moment in the grasnds, afraid that Tuli would seize the opportunity to expand, while he was caught in the bitter struggle in the Central Earth. Kou Zhong asserted, I swear in the names of Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling that if the Great Khan is willing to end peacefully and return to his hometown, the two of us will immediately withdraw from Jianghu and live in seclusion, and will never take part in any disputes inside and outside the Great Wall, otherwise, let the Heaven punish and the Earth extinguish. However, Great Khan must also draw a clear dividing line with Liang Shidu, henceforth no longer show interest in the struggle between him and us. Xieli stared fixedly at him, and then he threw his head back in loudughter and said, What kind of logic is that? You can meddle in the affairs of the prairie, but we have to abandon our brothers in the Central Earth? Kou Zhong said, Let me tell you the truth, the Great Tang unifying the Central Earth, it will still take some time, and after the unification, it will take a longer period of time to recover, to restore their vitality, and straighten out the popr sentiments, practically there wont be any strength, and there wont be any intention, to care about the prairies affairs. This time the Great Khan is returning from a rewarding journey, to some extent, you are able to answer your nsmen. Even more important is to gain the most precious time to deal with the many things you are facing. Otherwise, how the situation will develop in the future, I am afraid neither the Great Khan nor I will be able to predict. Xieli cast his gaze toward the zing fire, he spoke in heavy voice, What do all of you have to say about Shaoshuais proposal? One of the tribal chiefs who wasparatively older said, For both sides, war is not beneficial, peace is beneficial. This is my, Qiliandas opinion, but the Great Khan will make the final decision. Tonyukuk said, Shaoshuai is willing to withdraw from the fray and live in seclusion on the mountain forest, it shows the sincerity of his longing for peace. Great Khan, please consider it. Xielis gaze swept over the crowd of tribal chiefs, he said, Any other opinions? Very well! Xieli stretched his hand out to Kou Zhong, he spoke decisively, Everything will be done ording to the agreement. Tomorrow morning the Tang Master and I will use the blood of the white horse as the proof of forming a peace alliance on the shore of the Wei River. Within three years, neither one must not interfere in the others affairs. Kou Zhong cried Formidable! inwardly, Xieli was indeed a master negotiator. He proposed a non-aggression treaty within three years at this moment, it was reasonable and fair, because it followed Kou Zhongs words, so that it would be difficult for him to refuse. Laughing aloud, he also stretched out his hand to grab Xielis tightly. The crowd of tribal chiefs immediately burst into cheer and apuse shaking the camp. The storm was finally over. Kou Zhong raised thembs leg in his other hand and took a bite, saying, Great Khan is formidable! Xieliughed and said, You and me both. Book 63: Chapter 13: Unifying the World

Book 63: Chapter 13: Unifying the World

When Li Shimin heard the good news, he immediately boarded the boat toe over that very night. Early morning the next day, Li Shimin and Xieli held the Oath of White Horse Punishment between the two army camps, on the shore of the Wei River. The peace treaty officially came into effect. The Great Tang officers and soldiers were ecstatic, the atmosphere was zing hot. In order to show his sincerity, Li Shimin ordered the main army at the front line to withdraw to Wugong, the operation was under the direction of the high-ranking military officers of the former Shao Shuai Army under Xuan Yong and Ma Changsmand. Wen Yanbo, who came with them, went to the Golden Wolf Army camp to be in touch with the person designated by Xieli, to make arrangement for the Golden Wolf Army to return to the north, and to ept the gift from the Great Tang. Everything was settled, Li Shimin said, Shaoshuai and Ziling made Zhen pleasantly surprised, all of a sudden the negotiation with Xieli is settled. Zhixuan,e and tell Shaoshuai and Ziling what happened in Changan this morning. The crowd stopped their horses on a hill outside the Wugong City, watching group after group of troops withdrawing from the front line, their banners flying, they were happy and excited, feeling deeply relieved. Yuchi Jingde, Zhangsun Wuji, Duan Zhixuan, Li Shentong, Feng Deyi, Ba Yegang, Song Faliang, Xu Xingzhi, Du Ruhui, Fang Xuanling, Li Shiji and the others, a group of more than twenty civil and military cab ministers, crowded around Li Shimin Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling, three men. Everybody with a smile spreading across their face, they were ted and excited for the able-to-move-unhindered Golden Wolf Army that was forced to retreat, they understood even more clearly that peaceful reunification was within easy reach. The Dark-Armored Elite Troops with their distinct armor were guarding the four sides, their military banner was held high, dancing in the wind, heightening the Great Tang Armys like-the-sun-at-noons grandeur, which was already like a rainbow, nobody else in the world would be able to resist this regions overlord. This moment, the just-arrived-at-Wugong Duan Zhixuan said to Kou Zhong, Nobody knows who leaked the news this morning, but it spread quickly. Immediately the entire city of Changan is in uproar, every household put onnterns, changed into new clothes, and set off firecrackers. The mood of the people is excited to the extreme point. Li Shiminughed and said, Shaoshuai, Ziling and Zhen will go to Hongyi Pce together to announce the good news to Taishang, and then we will enter the city via the South Gate and go back to the pce along the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, so that we can receive the cheers of the people, in tune with the popr sentiment. Xu Ziling signaled Kou Zhong with his eyes. Stroking Wuming on his shoulder with one hand, Kou Zhongughed and said, Huangshang seems to have forgotten that the moment the White Horse Oath was held, at the same time Ziling and I announced that we will remove the armor and return to the farm [idiom: returning to civilian life], ceasing in glory, withdrawing from the fray and live in seclusion, ha! Li Shimin spoke in distress, This, Zhen understand, but you must participate in the ceremony to enter the city Xu Zilingughed and cut him off, Is this an imperial edict? The various generals in the back could not help smiling, they deeply felt the deep friendship between the three, which did not diminish in the slightest just because Li Shimin became the venerable ny-fifth. Smiling wryly, Li Shimin said, Naturally its not an imperial decree, but a sincere invitation evolving from Shimins true heart, hoping that two gentlemen brothers can enjoy the sound of happyugh in Changan City together with Shimin. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Since its not an imperial decree, then its all right! Hey! Ziling! The happy days of a long vacation have arrived! The two boys mind were interlinked, they bade farewell in chorus. Amidst the loudughter, they urged the horses to gallop down the hillslope, flying far away in the direction of the Wei River under Li Shimin and the others helpless gaze. The warriors who witnessed it shouted in unison, the sound of their cheers echoed between the Wugong City and the grasnd. From Kou Zhongs shoulder, Wuming pped her wings and soared, she flew in the direction of the Wei River first. The two boys galloped to their hearts content along the north bank of the Wei River, rushing towards the Wei River Bian Qiao [temporary bridge]. More than ten liter, they slowed down, both felt delighted and rxed, quite with a light without the burden of officialdom happiness. Kou Zhong rode side by side with Xu Ziling. Casting his gaze at the Wei River rolling and flowing eastward, he sighed and said, Oh Ziling, do you remember the days when we were hanging around in Yangzhou? For a time, we wanted to throw our lot with the militia, another time we wanted to enter the imperial examination, yet actually we were both well aware that it was just a daydream. How could we, two paupers without a fist without valor have the turn to be duke, marquis, general or minister? Ha, who would have thought that these daydreams havee true one by one, everything like it just happened yesterday. Even more unimaginable is that today we are only hoping to return home to enjoy a life in retirement, to pass some days of peace and happiness to concentrate on self-cultivation. What Xu Ziling was thinking about was Shi Feixuan, he casually asked, Are you happy? Kou Zhong said, We lost a lot of roots, but we gained back not a few. Fortunately, we think of the peaceful reunification of the world, people live in peace and work happily, father and mother need not suffer the painful loss of their children, husband and wife, father and son need not be separated in life and death, all the gains and losses are no longer in our hearts. Let the past be like the Long River [Changjiang, Yangtze], flowing to the east like this. Thinking about I am going to meet Zhizhi, Chuchu and Little Lingzhong, to never be parted, I feel an unprecedented joy in my heart, and I understand what it means to be carefree and without worries. Xu Ziling nodded and said, What we have experienced, the twists and turns within it are bizarre, the person who drinks it knows best whether the water is hot or cold [Zen proverb]. Fortunately, our brotherhood can stand the test, otherwise there will never be good times of today. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Lao Nings sess without self-confidence, creation without possession, a few words of gems of wisdom are precisely the best portrayal of our current situation. After entering the city, you go to Yu He An first to pick up Qingxuan and take her back, I will be at the Xing Qing Pce, waiting for you. Xu Zilingughed and said, Shaoshuai has an order, how could I dare not to obey? But we must wear masks before entering the city. Kou Zhongughed aloud and said, Youre still teasing me; this pain-in-the-butt Shaoshuai, Laozi already quit! Ha! When are we going to explore the source of the Changjiang and the Great River [Yangtze and Yellow Rivers]? Xu Ziling smiled and said, Although you have quit being the pain-in-the-butt Shaoshuai, but the inauguration ceremony to be the son-inw of the Song Family must not be declined. It seems that we have to go our separate ways for the time being. Kou Zhong screamed, Ling Shao, you are kidding me, right? We all are brothers, unexpectedly you have deep ns and distant thoughts [idiom: nning far ahead] to deliberately, without any reason C miss my wedding ceremony. Is your heart made of stone? His grannys! You still have your mouth full of some Niangs brotherhood can stand the test. Dont you need to get married? Let us brothers enjoy the blessings together; we can have bridal room and ornamented candles [idiom: wedding festivities] at the same time on the Song Familys mountain city. Ha! At most, I will have to endure yiqi for his grannys a few days. Smiling wryly, Xu Ziling said, Its not that I dont think about brotherhood, its just that Qingxuan loves quiet Cutting him off, Kou Zhong said, Qingxuan, leave her to me to deal with, let me thoroughlyy out the pros and cons, to reason with her, to help you to rouse your guiding principle as a husband. Okay, heres our travel n: we will take part in Lei Laoguais [old weird] opening ceremony of his new shop first, and then go to Jianghuai to pay respects and say hello to Ol Die, go to Niangs grave to offer incense, and then go back to the Song Familys mountain citys bridal room and ornamented candles, and then take the beauties to travel all around the world; with life like this, what else are we looking for? Kou Zhong roared inughter, while Xu Ziling smiled wryly. Amidst theughter, the two boys urged the horses to speed up. The sky falling, the earth retreating, they galloped as fast as lightning along the Wei River towards Changan. Kou Zhong arrived at the Xing Qing Pce, took off the mask of the ugly divine doctor Mo Yixin, and spurred his horse to enter the pce. Full of joy, the bodyguards forgot the sentiment, they shouted loudly, Shaoshuai! He flew off the horse, the imperial guards, striving to be first and fearing to best [idiom: outdoing one another] C rushed over to wait upon him, for fear that he would be less than satisfied. Kou Zhong put his arms around the horses neck, lightly patted the horse, and said with augh, Take a good care of it, you guys should know how difficult it is to walk on the streets of Changantely. The crowd of imperial guards knew that he had a casual personality, never bothered about the difference between superior and subordinates, they roared inughter freely. Kou Zhong looked up to the sky, Wuming was circling above the Hua E Lou. Greatly astonished, he said, This baby is really amazing, unexpectedly she knew I wasing here. The guard replied, Reporting to Shaoshuai, it should be because Heer Xiaojie raised the Shaoshuais banner in front of the building. pping his forehead, Kou Zhong said, I forgot that she and Yin Xiongdi and Lao Ba, Xiao Hou and the others have returned to Changan together, ha! My baby must have seen her. Another guard said, Heer Xiaojie and the others went to the second floors balcony of the Zhen Guan Bank building at the Vermillion Bird Boulevard to watch the ceremony of the army entering the city. They thought Shaoshuai would apany Huangshang to enter the city together. Stunned, Kou Zhong smiled wryly and said, On the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, you wont be able to move a single step, even a needle cannot be inserted, Im afraid I would have to walk over on the roof. The guard respectfully said, Because Li Ji Da Jiangjuns wife is paying a visit, Song San Xiaojie is still staying in the building to speak with Li Furen. Kou Zhong asked in surprise, Shouldnt it be Li Shiji? Lowering his voice, the guard said, Because the character Shi is a taboo, his name is now changed to Li Ji, Shaoshuai, please note clearly. [Note: same Shi character as Li Shimin.] The sound of the wheels was heard, under the escort of nearly thirty imperial guards in front and behind, a horse-drawn carriage was galloping towards the pce gate. Kou Zhong hastened forward and said, Xiaomin [Little/lowly civilian,moner] Kou Zhong pays his respect to Li Furen. The curtain of the carriage was raised, revealing Shen Luoyan and Song Yuzhis two jade countenances like fresh flowers vying to be the most morous. Pleasantly surprised, Song Yuzhi said in, How could you be here waiting for us? Sitting by her side, Shen Luoyanughed and gave her a push;ughing tenderly, she said, Your great hero is here, no need to go to Vermillion Bird Boulevard to see him. And then sheughed at Kou Zhong and said, See you at the imperial pce tonight. Kou Zhong has already opened the carriage door, eagerly attentive, waiting upon Song Yuzhi stepping down the carriage, and then waved goodbye to the knowing-the-facts and tactful Shen Luoyan. Looking at the carriage disappearing outside the pce gate, Kou Zhong pulled Song Yuzhis hand, a burst of warm current of happiness swept through his body, he spoke softly, Where are Chuchu and Little Lingzhong? Are they going out to join in the fun? Song Yuzhis pretty face blushed, she nodded slightly, and spoke softly, How about apanying me taking a short walk? Xu Ziling gently raised the hanging curtain that separated the bedroom and the small hall. Cautious and solemn, he came to the bedside, Shi Qingxuans sleeping spring- Chinese-flowering-crab-apple tender disposition beautiful appearancepletely appeared before his eyes. Her tear-stained pretty face was so beautiful that it enchanted him, her pair of hands was still tightly grabbing her Niangs spirit tablet. Suddenly a smile escaped out of the corner of her mouth, and she talked in her sleep, Xu Ziling, Xu Ziling! She stirred slightly, but did not wake up. Xu Zilings heart and spirit were intoxicated, watching attentively at every subtle change on her face, he recalled the passion when she poured out her heart in the Little Valley, that kind of touching feeling like an electric shock. What is love? He did not have a definite answer. He only knew that love could happen like an avnche, arriving suddenly, not something that any human power could resist. Suddenly, he found himself holding her in his arms. Shi Qingxuan woke up with a start, but immediately hugged him back enthusiastically. Leaning close to her ear, Xu Ziling sighed contentedly and said, Its all over, we can go home. Kou Zhong and Song Yuzhi strolled hand in hand along the Dragon Pond. From time to time they could hear the sound of firecrackers from outside the pce, as if reminding them that their happy days have be the reality before their eyes. Kou Zhong smiled and said, I have endless things I want to say to Zhizhi. Rolling her eyes at him, Song Yuzhi said, If its about Shang Xiufang, you can save your breath, a lot of people around you are my informers. Kou Zhong shocked inwardly, he spoke awkwardly, Her affair has be a thing of the past. Happiness stered across her face, Song Yuzhi said, No need to panic, I am not ming you, adoration is blind, it only sees your strong point. Staring nkly, Kou Zhong said, Adoration? Song Yuzhis pretty face revealed a reminiscing look, she said slowly, From the very beginning I have admired you. At that time, your martial arts skill was not this high, but you were able to contend with the enemy calmly and ingeniously, making the enemypletely bow before you while chatting andughing. But I hate you even more, a blinded-by-greed kind of hatred. I did not offend you, but you insisted on bursting into my life. At that time, I really wished I could get rid of you with a sword strike Kou Zhong continued for her, But you could not bear to do it, right? Ha! Greatly displeased, Song Yuzhi said, Still acting with such revolting behavior; dont think that Yuzhi has no choice but to marry you, I have conditions. Kou Zhong immediately surrendered, smiling mischievously, he said, Whatever the condition, I will ept them all, I am willing to abide by them. Song Yuzhi spoke in delight, From now on, I dont want to listen to you telling the truth, I just want to listen to you coaxing me. Greatly delighted, Kou Zhong said, Zhizhi really understands me. Coaxing people is definitely my specialty [orig. the role an actor ys best (idiom)], telling the truth is not something that I am an expert in. Song Yuzhi cast him a sidelong nce and said, Still talking about specialty? Youre telling the truth again! Kou Zhong said with great happiness, Ought to be time for a kiss! Suddenly from the direction of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard came the startling-the-heaven-moving-the-earth sound of cheers and shouts, the returning-in-triumph Great Tangs Son of Heaven Li Shimin finally led the crowd into the city. Kou Zhong hurriedly climbed the stairs, because he just ran into Xu Ziling outside the door. Knowing that Shi Qingxuans good-self has arrived, he hurriedly left Xu Ziling to act on his behalf to apany Zhizhi, while he himself changed three steps into two steps to scramble up the top of the stairs, as quickly as he could. Shi Qingxuan was standing charmingly by the north window, silently watching the grand view of fireworks exploding together in the twilight above the imperial city, the splendid smoke and fire, setting off spectacr and magnificent sight of the Taiji Pce Hall lowering behind it, awe-inspiring and brimming with gaiety and vitality. The eight firecracker towers erected outside the Cheng Tian Gate across the traversing square were ignited at the same time, fireworks rose into the sky and exploded, the sound of the army and the people cheering echoed back and forth. When Kou Zhong saw Shi Qingxuans extremely tender, elegant disposition and beautifully-shaped graceful back, he was shocked for Man and Heaven, but was secretly happy for Xu Ziling. He stopped about six chi behind her, cupped his fist, and said, Xu Zilings chief good brother Kou Zhong pays his respect to Qingxuan Sao Furen [madam sister-inw]. Pfft, Shi Qingxuanughed tenderly, without turning her tender body around, she spoke softly, How can there be such an out-of-ce greeting? Tell me, from a little pickpocket in Yangzhou to a figure capable of stirring the wind and the cloud now, how did you achieve such a worthy-of-pride aplishment? Kou Zhong mused that turned out Shi Qingxuan was so amiable and easy to get along with, chuckling, he said, If Xiaodis answer satisfies Sao Furen, I wonder if Qingxuan Saozi would y a solo for me? I will choose the ce so that your Fujun Ang [lit. lord husband, beloved young man] that kid cannot share it. Tranquil and calm, and at ease, Shi Qingxuan replied, I can nearly sketch your silly appearance in my mind. Tell me first, let me hear it, and then Ill consider the rest. Muttering to himself irresolutely, Kou Zhong said, Thinking about those days before today, I feel like I was in the middle of a flock of ferocious beasts, they could tear any creatures thate close to pieces, not only you have to be more ruthless than them, but also have to grasp their character, the methods, and the ways to deal with them from different distances, and more importantly, know your own position and set lofty goals. Ay! To be honest, sometimes it surely is really exhausting and extremely difficult. Fortunately, now everything has be the thing of the past,ter on I can apany Saozi to the source of the two rivers, to enjoy the fairy tune you y. Light and graceful, and rxed, Shi Qingxuan turned her tender body around,ughed sweetly, and said, Exposing the foxs tail, are you? Turns out you look like this. Kou Zhongs pair of eyes lit up, severely shaken, he said, No wonder Ziling doesnt even want Xiongdi! When the brocade cloth was pulled down, the goldcquered signboard with the four characters Zhen Guan Qian Zhuang [Bank] inscribed on it, under the expectant gaze of the ten-thousand crowd C was exposed to the sun. The high and big, brilliant sun shone its light, the signboard was gleaming brightly, so that it was hard for people to stare directly. The main store of the Bank appeared to be two-story high, grand in size, its imposing manner majestic. With Little Lingzhong and Xiao Heer in charge of the ignition, the two firecracker towers located at the left and right ends of the vast outer courtyard immediately went Peng! Peng! Bang! Bang! endlessly, followed by the me rising up, brilliant fire and smoke soared into the sky. The multitude of the surrounding streets cheered and apuded, the atmosphere was zing hot. Civil and military cab ministers, wealthy businessmen, and prominent figures [lit. people with head and face] in the City of Changan, all came to offer their congrattion. On top of that, there were the high-ranking military officers who originally belonged to the Shao Shuai Army, the Song Family Army and the Jianghuai Army. The grand opening ceremony of the Zhen Guan Bank was a magnificent and unprecedented event. Horse-drawn carriages lined up along half of the Vermillion Bird Boulevard, it was entirely thanks to the Imperial Guards presiding over the order that everything was going smoothly. The firecrackers burned out, amidst the cheers filling the whole sky, presiding over the ceremony, Li Shimin climbed up to the tform to deliver a speech to the guests crowding the outer courtyard to bursting point that some had no choice but to stand outside the courtyard gate. Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Song Lu, Ba Fenghan, Hou Xibai, Xuan Yong, Zha Jie, Bu Tianzhi, Li Jing, Chen Laomou, Xu Xingzhi, and the others gathered at the northeast corner of the outer courtyard, while the womenfolk, afraid to be squeezed in the crowd, escaped to the rear shop to drink tea and to hear the news and to chat. Xiao Heer took Little Lingzhong to y in the backyard. At the beginning, Li Shimin was talking about routine things like congrattions for the opening of bank and so on, hence Kou Zhong and the others did not pay too much attention, they even chatted with one another in low voice. But then the Great Tangs Son of Heaven Li Shimin made a turn, saying, The Sui Yang was defeated, the defeat disturbed the people and destroyed the government enterprise, he set many camps on the city moats and pce gate towers, went afar to seek for unusual treasures, toiling the army on military expeditions, causing the people unable to plow and weed, the women could not weave silkworms, the fieldsy waste, the works abandoned, hordes of people withered. To the north of the Yellow River, there is no path for thousands li; between the Jianghuai, grass was luxuriant. To the east of Yiluo, chickens and dogs were not heard, the roads were deste, advancing and retreating difficult to block, all because the ruler saw that the people were hungry and cold yet did not ovee it, they saw the people toiled yet did not feel it. The ruler of the suffering people is not the master to govern the people. The words were so impassioned, each sentence powerful and resonating [orig. if thrown to the floor, it will make a sound (idiom)], so that Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling and the others could not help but listen carefully. Li Shimin continued, Whether great governance will arise after the great chaos, the people have many different opinions. After the great chaos, it is difficult to govern! In the whole audience, the crow and peacock made no sound, a falling needle would be heard. The people on the street were affected by the atmosphere in the courtyard, they wanted to hear what Li Shimin had to say even more, suddenly they quieted down. Li Shimin revealed a brilliant smile brimming with confidence, he smiled and said, You are willing to quiet down and listen to Zhens words, which is the clear proof of seeking governance after the great chaos. Only by calming down, from top to bottom of one mind, will sess, not hurrying but swift C be promising. Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong looked at the every-movement-on-the-stage, each-sentence-each-talk was brimming with the charisma of the emperor, the ruler to lead thend under heaven C Li Shimin, sweeping mood of relief welled up their hearts. Li Shimin raised his arms and said, Zhen is new to the throne, obtaining the Mandate of Heaven given by Taishang. When the country is not at peace, themon people are not rich, I should be quiet tofort the people. The ruler depends on the country, and the country depends on its people. Oppressing the people to offer tribute to the ruler is like cutting the flesh to fill the belly, the belly is full but the body dies, the ruler is rich but the country perished. It is beyond foolishness. Therefore, to govern the country, the people must be at peace first. Now Zhen is issuing a decree, we must get rid of extravagance and economize cost, to be light on expenditure and meager in taxation, to elect incorruptible minor government officials, to enable the people to have clothes and food in abundance, the world under great governance. The crowd did not care whether the speech was finished or not, they exploded in cheers, the shout Long live my emperor! resounded inside and outside the courtyard. Kou Zhong reached out, he and Xu Ziling sped each others hand firmly, both knew in their heart that Li Shimin took this opportunity to deliver the most important speech of national policy on governing thend under heaven after ascending the throne, it was for them to hear, to reveal the gratitude in his heart toward them. When Li Shimin stepped on the Victory Avenue, passed through the Xuanwu Gate and ascended to the emperors throne, he became the ny-fifth venerable of the world, the flying dragon in the sky, the unprecedented period of prosperity was unfolding, there was no longer any powerful current in the world that could go against and alter the heart of the people to consider the governance after the great chaos. And they could also withdraw from all the strife and vendetta in the human world, to enjoy the grace [special favor from above] and the gift that life gave to them. After Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling left Changan, Li Shimin immediatelyunched a full-scale military operation to unify the world. The first target was to eliminate Xiao Xian, who was upying the Jianghan in. ording to the original n, a fleet was assembled in Bashu, under Li Jingsmand, the army followed the current eastward. Like a hot knife through butter, they rendered great destruction to the Liang Army, and entered and sieged Baling. Xiao Xian asked Lin Shihong for help, but Lin Shihong was restrained by the Song Family Army under the banner of great generals Wang Zhongxuan, Chen Zhifo and Ouyang Qing, he was unable to send help. Xiao Xian was trapped in the lone city and was forced to surrender. [The Great] Liang perished. Xiao Xian was destroyed, Lin Shihong was unable to withstand a single blow even more. The Great Tang Army, with the mighty power of a gale sweeping away the dead leaves, rapidly swept him t. The south was established, Li Shimin turned to open his saber to the only remaining obstacle to unification, Liang Shidu. First, they used light cavalry to destroy the farnd of Shuofang, causing a food shortage and the army and the people were at odds with each other. In the second year of Zhen Guan, with Chai Shao as themander, they split the troops to encircle and annihte Shidu. Xieli wanted to break his promise toe to help, but it just happened to coincide with the Great Snow [21st of the 24 sr terms, 7th to 21st of December], Xielis army was hindered, countless sheep and horses froze to death. Having the heart but not the power, they could only sit and watch Chai Shao captured Shuofang, Shidu was defeated and died. The great undertaking of unification was sessfully aplished. In the eleventh month of the third year of Zhen Guan, the three-year agreement expired, Xieli gained the initiative by striking first, he invaded westward, attacking each province west of the Yellow River, but was beaten back by the Tang Army, and was entangled in endless battle. Li Shimin knew that with Xieli, it would be difficult to end amiably. Taking advantage of Xielis attention was focused on thend west of the Yellow River, he dispatched Li Jing, Chai Shao, Li Daozong, Xue Wanche, and Li Ji, five great generals, to lead more than 100,000 troops divided into five ways, in a long-range raid into the distance, to storm on Xielis old nest in Dingxiang City. In the first month of the fourth year of Zhen Guan, Li Jing led three-thousand-man light-adornment, exquisite cavalry, setting off from Mayi, bypassing Dingxiang, and reaching the EYan mountain range on the north side, cutting off the enemys retreat route, and then calmly deployed the troops to attack Dingxiang at night, and broke through it in one fell swoop. Xieli ran away in defeat, Li Ji blocked his path and intercepted him, his sides injuries and deaths were disastrous. Xieli retreated to Tieshan [Mount Iron], pretending to seek peace, but Li Jing beat him at his own game, he pursued relentlessly and struck, Xieli was taken prisoner, and thus thoroughly removing the big trouble that has gued the Central Earth for many years. This campaign inspired awe to the territories beyond the Great Wall, it washed away the declining air of the Central Earth Armys dismal prestige since the fall of the Han Dynasty. The tribal leaders of the Four Barbarians [see footnote in Chapter 10] came to the pce to see the emperor, they asked Taizong [posthumous name given to the second emperor of a dynasty] to take the title of the Khan of Heaven [Tengeri Qaghan C God-like Emperor]. Thereupon Li Shimin, using the rulers seal and official document, took the title of the Khan of Heaven ording to all the northwest tribal leaders petition. Within a short four-year period, Li Shiminpleted the thousand-year great undertaking of pacifying the internal and resisting the external. Internally, he strived to make the nation strong and prosperous [idiom], based on the administrative policy he promised to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling when he ascended the throne. In four years, thend under heaven had great governance. At the beginning of Zhen Guan, there were less than three million households. A bolt of thin, tough silk fabric in exchange of one dou [dry measure for grain, 1/10 of a shi] of rice. By the fourth year, one dou of rice was four or five qian [unit of weight, 1/10 of a tael]. Outside doors were not closed for several months, horses and cattle roamed free on the open space, people traveled for several dozen li without fasting for food, people andmodities flourishing, the Four Barbarians surrendered one million two hundred thousand people for the worlds age to pass judgment [on legal case], twenty-nine people were sentenced to death, it was known as the peace and security. Externally, his military aplishment was illustrious, he obtained the support of the Four Barbarians. Internally, his achievement in office was well ordered, the peoples livelihood was prosperous. Thereupon the peace and security that resonated from the ancient times and had never existed before C has arrived. Book 64 – Chapter 14 Epilogue

Book 64 C Chapter 14 Epilogue

The tenth year of Zhen Guan, the first month. Heavy snowfall in Changan. Xu Ziling was sitting at the table by the window in the southeast corner of the third floor of the Fu Ju Lou, staring fixedly at the Yue Ma Bridge under the wind and the snow filling the whole sky C down below. A carriage was just driving up to the bridge. It could be imagined that thousands of people stepped on the bridge and passed by every day, but he was sure that no one knew that this bridge has not only changed his and Kou Zhongs fate, but it also changed the fate of the world. He pulled the hat that was already pressed down to his brow a bit lower, and said with a smile, You came! Turning up his cor that it covered most of his cheeks, Kou Zhong came to his side and sat down, with his back toward the other guests. Leaning against the back of the chairfortably, he brushed off the snow on his body, revealed a brilliant smile, carefully sized Xu Ziling up and down, his pair of eyes brightened up, he shook his head and said with a sigh, How many years has it been, my good brother? Xu Ziling replied cheerfully, Just nine years. After aplishing the magnificent feat of exploring the source of the two rivers, you, this kid returned to the Song Family Mountain City to settle down, while Xiaodi hid in the You Lin Xiao Gu [secluded forest small valley], since then, we havent seen each other and havent passed on any news. Kou Zhong cast his gaze toward thepletely-covered-in-white-snow Yue Ma Bridge, he saw no pedestrians on the bridge. His pair of eyes emitted a reminiscing look, he sighed for the second time and said, The Big Way is so simple that it is very easy. Turns out curing the country is unexpectedly that simple? Shimin really put the words he spoke at the Bank into practice, unexpectedly he aplished the situation before our eyes. But honestly, I exerted myself in secret, to help him rectify the tyrannical viins, the grasping officials, corrupt mandarins [idiom] in the south. Knitting his brows, Xu Ziling said, Are you still brandishing saber, toying with sword? Kou Zhongughed and said, You dont seem to know my, Kou Zhongs status in Jianghu this day and age. After the White Horse Oath, I have never fought against anyone, because practically there is no need to undertake the task, as long as I send someone to say a word, that is enough. Who dares to offend me? Otherwise, Shimins benevolent policy would not have been implemented in the south this quickly. After a short pause, he sighed for a third time and said, Feixuan is indeed the most discerning person in the world, the so-called famous monarch since ancient times, who can match our Great Tang Son of Heaven Li Shimin? He proved it with facts for anybody to see. After the great chaos, there is indeed a great governance. It is the golden age that is unprecedented all the rage for a time [idiom: grand for a limited period of time]. Hey! Why hasnt the richest man in Changan arrived yet? Xu Ziling was baffled, The richest man in Changan? he asked. Suppressing hisughter, Kou Zhong said, Who else but Lei Jiuzhi, the happiest and most blessed old fellow in the world, but he is definitely poorer than many people, because all the real gold and white silver he earns, he is using it to renovate the Great River, so oftentimes his purse is as empty as if it is being washed, like when he used to gamble. Unexpectedly there is such a weird big boss in the world. Xu Ziling said, You know everybodys situation very clearly. Kou Zhong said, How could I not? New Year and after the celebrations, people alwayse to visit me, so that Laozi is awfully busy. This is called withdrawing from the fray and living in seclusion? His grannys! Blurted outughing, Xu Ziling said, I dont want to hear youining bitterly [orig. have bitter digestive fluids rising to the mouth], have you seen Xiao Hou? Kou Zhong nodded and said, I met him once, he came to borrow Gu Kaizhis [346-407, famous painter of Eastern Jin dynasty, one of the Four Great Painters of the Six Dynasties] original works. Listening to the tone of his voice, he seemed to be as romantic as ever. Hey! The richest man is here! The time was half a sichen before the beginning of the lunch crowd, plus it was snowing heavily. There were only a few tables on the third floor with diners. Putting on a hat to cover his face, Lei Jiuzhi arrived in a hurry, he had barely sat down and immediately spoke in low voice, I should have been the one waiting for you guys, but you must not me me foringte, because Huangshang caught me for questioning, and I was forced to betray you. Ha! You still look the same as ten years ago, not like your Dage, me, bing more youthful, more energetic, and have the look of riches and honor even more. Xu Ziling shook his head with a wry smile, Kou Zhong feigned anger and said, Clearly it was you who took the initiative to pat Shimins horse butt, you betray us in exchange for glory, splendor, wealth and rank. Let Laozi lodge an usation against you to Qing Jie [older sister]. Hearing Qingqings name, Lei Jiuzhi was shocked, he raised his cup, smiled apologetically, and said, Dont me a good person wrongly, the problem lies with Hou kid, he reserved the most luxurious side room in Shang Lin Yuan from Lao Tao, and the one patting Huangshangs horse butt is Lao Tao, he thought that this move of Xiao Hous is hiding mysterious principles, hence without waiting at all, he flew urgently to report to Pang Yu, implicating me that I was immediately escorted by the Dayemen [big masters] of the Ministry of Justice to see Huangshang. Huangshang only said to me, Dont waste Zhens time. If you were me, what do I do? Should I offend Huangshang, or should I betray you, these two kids? Which one should I choose? Of course I chose to betray you. Lets all drink a cup, our brotherhood should not change because of anything. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were helpless against him, they raised their cup and toasted each other, and drained the cup in one gulp. Lei Jiuzhi spoke in delight, Xingzhis Zhongli Academy [of ssical learning, from Tang to Qing dynasties] has been very sessful. Many people in Changan sent their sons to Zhongli to receive Xingzhis teaching. Merely based on his remaining prestige as the Shaoshuais Junshi [military adviser], it is enough to make him win instant sess [idiom], not to mention he indeed has two or three degrees of broad axe. Xu Ziling said, Dont meander left and right speaking about him, is Shimin on his way here? Lei Jiuzhiughed and said, Of course Huangshang wanted to rush over right away, its all thanks to me risking my life strenuously admonishing him that Huangshang obey the well-disposed advice like the flow of water, but you must enter the pce tomorrow morning to have an audience with the emperors good-self, otherwise I will be pushed out of the Meridian Gate and beheaded. You guys dont want to implicate Qingqing to live as widow, do you? Understand? Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling looked at each other with a wry smile. They originally did not want to disturb Li Shimin, but things havee to this point, there was nothing pertinent to say. Puzzled, Xu Ziling asked, Why is Xiao Hou so brash? There are many ces to choose from when ites to drinking, yet he simply must choose Shang Lin Yuan? Lowering his voice, Lei Jiuzhi spoke mysteriously, Because he wants to give Shaoshuai an unforgettable pleasant surprise of all his life. Severely shaken, Kou Zhong said, Xiufang? Lei Jiuzhi spoke cheerfully, Ha! Its not entirely concerning Xiao Hous affairs, its our Shang Dajia who has just returned from a long trip, indicating clearly and with certainty that she wants to see Zhong Ye at Shang Lin Yuan. Xu Ziling reached out to light pat Kou Zhong on the shoulder to pacify his stirred-up emotion, and then he asked, Wheres Lao Ba? I havent seen his trace yet, Lei Jiuzhi replied. Kou Zhong suppressed the excitement in his heart, casting his gaze to the street, he said, Hes here! In the heavy snow swirling in the air, Ba Fenghan stood on the street where pedestrians were sparse, looking up at them, revealing a joyous expression of reunion after a long period of separation. Lei Jiuzhi pulled the two boys to stand up, he said, Dont keep Shang Dajia waiting too long, we are going to Shang Lin Yuan immediately. There are also Dazhi and Xianhe waiting for us there to enjoy ourselves to the full. Ill settle the bill for you, you guys go to the street and wait for me. As soon as the two stood up, their outstanding physique and bearing immediately attracted the attention of the other diners. Afraid of being recognized and caused themotion they wanted to see the least, they hurriedly went downstairs. Ba Fenghan walked over leisurely from across the street, stretched out his arms to give the two boys firm embrace. Letting out a longughter, he said, This time we must have a good meeting, its been ten years! The passage of time is like a white steed flitting past a crack [idiom], so fast that its hard to pay attention. Letting go of his hands, with a smile on his face, he looked at the two boys up and down. Right this moment, the three men looked to the end of the street at the same time, a cute little girl about eight or nine years old appeared amidst the heavy snow, bouncing and vivacious, carrying a basket of fresh fruits C was running towards them. The three men were stunned. The little girl, breathlessly, puffing cold mist, stopped and stood in front of them, and asked in her childish voice, Excuse me, may I ask, which one is Xu Dashu [big uncle]? Xu Zilings heart moved, he smiled and said, That would be me! The little girl handed him the basket, in high spirits, she said, Its my Niang told me, Ming Kong to give it to you. Xu Ziling took the fruit basket, the little girl named Ming Kong cheered, and just like that she turned around and ran back to where she came from. In the depths of the rain and snow, a graceful figure of a woman could faintly be seen, wearing clothes as white as snow, and bare feet under her skirt. Knitting his brows, Kou Zhong said, Wanwan? Xu Ziling watched the little girl threw herself into Wanwans bosom, Wanwan lightly waved her jade hand to say goodbye. Pulling Ming Kong along, she gradually disappeared into the depths of the misty snowkes. Xu Ziling said, I wonder if thats the disciple she epted? Or the daughter that she gave birth to? Ba Fenghan cast his gaze toward the gift in Xu Zilings hand, he smiled and said, The bright moon in the sky [ming yue dang kong, same ming and kong characters], its a good name full of imageries. Lei Jiuzhi paid the bill and went downstairs. While chatting andughing, the four men strolled along the streets of Changan, where the snow and the wind filled the whole sky, heading towards Shang Lin Yuan. The End The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!